Pitchfork Festival 2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

The final Pitchfork Festival lineup has now been announced, and in addition to previously announced acts like R. Kelly, Joanna Newsom, and Swans, it now includes M.I.A., Lil B, Solange, Wire, Yo La Tengo, Low, Savages, Toro Y Moi, Phosphorescent, Metz, Autre Ne Veut, Mikal Cronin, Parquet Courts, Merchandise, Woods, Julia Holter, Glass Candy, Andy Stott, Pissed Jeans, Frankie Rose, Ryan Hemsworth, Waxahatchee, Blood Orange, Daughn Gibson, Evian Christ, White Lung, KEN Mode, and DJ Rashad.

Three-day passes and single-day tickets are still available.

In other Chicago music festival news, Lollapalooza early bird passes went on sale today, sold out, and then regular 3-day passes went on sale and sold out. Single day tickets go on sale April 9.

Full Pitchfork Festival lineup and schedule below...

Continue reading "M.I.A., Solange, Wire, Savages, Phosphorescent, Julia Holter, Waxahatchee, KEN Mode & more added to Pitchfork Festival"

Small Black at Brooklyn Museum in June (more by Jessica Amaya)

Today we've posted year-end lists by Andy from Cake Shop, Mark Eitzel, and James from Veronica Falls. Now we've got one from Josh Kolenik of Brooklyn chillwavers Small Black giving us a rundown of 12 singles he loved in 2012.

Based on Small Black's own sound, it's got an unsurprising amount of indie pop, R&B, electronics, and Young Chop-produced hip hop. But he also sneaks in the inclusion of some vintage-sounding psych folk courtesy of Jessica Pratt. Check out his full list of songs, along with streams and/or videos for each track, below...

Continue reading "Josh from Small Black's top songs of 2012"

Pitchfork just posted their Honorable Mention Albums of 2012, which they consider "20 records didn't make [their] Top 50 but they're not necessarily just Nos. 51-70." There are some similarities to their Overlooked Records of 2012 list that they posted halfway through the year. It also includes Frankie Rose's Interstellar, which did actually get Best New Music upon its release, unlike the other albums here. And it's got Waxahatchee's American Weekend and Jeremih's Late Nights with Jeremih, neither of which were reviewed throughout the year. Though they did review Waxhatachee (Katie Crutchfield)'s sister Allison's band Swearin', who also makes this list, and who (along with Jeremih) made Pitchfork's Top 100 Tracks list.

Full list below...

Continue reading "A Few Albums That Definitely Didn't Make Pitchfork's Top 50 of 2012"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Ex Cops - Wonderful Christmas Time (MP3)

photo by Nanci Sarrouf

Admission. Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmas Time" is easily my most-hated holiday pop song. Repetive, grating, plodding, and seemingly recorded by accident, the song makes me want to suck a candycane into a point and gouge out my eardrums. (Unlike, say, The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping" which I can listen to ad infinitum.) So it's a Christmas miracle that Ex Cops have taken this unfortunate Macca yuletide perennial and sped it up, turned it up and transformed it into a rough-hewn little indiepop charmer. We've got the premiere of the song right here in the post to download above or stream below. Merry Ex-mas.

Another present you're going to have to wait a bit for is Ex Cops terrific debut album, True Hallucinations, which hits January 22 via Other Music Recording Company. The band are playing a record release show at Glasslands that same day with Hunters also on the bill (tickets). After that, Ex Cops play Mercury Lounge on February 15 and tickets to that show are on sale at noon. You can see them sooner than that, though, as they were just added to tonight's Paul Banks show at Webster Hall (12/14) and tickets are still available.

Meanwhile Ex Cops' Brian Harding and Amalie Bruun have each submitted lists of their favorite songs from 2012. In a bit of daring, they both include their own single "You Are a Lion, I Am a Lamb" on their respective lists. Check them out below.

Continue reading "Ex Cops cover Paul McCartney, list Top 10 Songs of 2012, opening for Paul Banks + more NYC shows (dates, streams)"

by Bill Pearis

TPOBPAH @ Summerstage 7/7/2012 (more by Chris La Putt)

While The Pains of Being Pure at Heart didn't release an album this year, they have stayed busy touring on the heels of last year's terrific Belong. (They did put out a covers 7" in the UK though which is worth seeking out.) The band play a free hometown show this Friday (12/14) at Brooklyn Night Bazaar with Black Marble, Habibi and Heavens Gate. Doors are at 6 PM with bands starting at 8 PM, and it's all ages. Lines to get in Brooklyn Night Bazaar have been long, but move pretty quickly.

In other TPOBPAH news, singer/guitarist Kip Berman is one of the conspirators behind "Rough Smooch" a new indiepop party that has its debut this Sunday (12/16) at Williamsburg bar Legion. Wear your cutest anorak to this night that features performances by The Hairs, Kissing is a Crime and Grand Resort, plus Kip and WNYU's Maria Sherman on DJ duty. The party is free and starts at 9PM.

And lastly, the Pains were kind enough to send us a year-end music list. The whole band are music obsessives and couldn't whittle the list down to ten, so they sent a list of "some music we thought was cool in 2012." Kip adds, "I'm certain the other PAINS would put Kurt's Ice Choir record Afar on our list, but I think it would make him feel weird and, perhaps, seem nepotistic. But his record is really good, and however you feel about Pains, you should give it a listen." Ice Choir, by the way, play Cameo on December 22 with Cool Angels and Limited (info).

Check out the list below...

Continue reading "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart list 2012 faves (NYC show is this week); Kip Berman throwing "Rough Smooch" party"

by Andrew Sacher

SPIN have revealed their list of the top 50 albums of 2012. It continues SPIN's trend of giving love to crossover punk and metal (which they've been pretty consistent with since naming Fucked Up's David Comes to Life their top album of 2011) with the inclusion of Baroness, Torche, Pallbearer, Cloud Nothings, and Japandroids, but rather surprisingly excludes the SPIN Essential'd Ceremony - Zoo and The Men - Open Your Heart, in favor of popular blowouts by Taylor Swift, fun., and Nicki Minaj. The list also shares its #1 and #2 with the two highest Pitchfork-rated albums of the year. And no Grimes.

The list begins with the Kanye-cribbed disclaimer, "Most critics' taste levels ain't at our waist level. Ain't nobody fucking with our clique." Check out SPIN's Top 50 LPs of 2012 list below.

Continue reading "SPIN names their Top 50 Albums of 2012 (Frank Ocean is #1)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Teen Daze - New Life (MP3)

Teen Daze (aka Fraser Valley, BC resident who goes simply by Jamison) will release his second album, The Inner Mansions, on November 6 via Lefse Records. In these post chillwave times, the record still evokes those hazy warm vibes, though drifts a little more towards Boards of Canada somnambulism than the warped cassette sounds of three years ago. It is indeed a nice record to chill out to. You can download the album's opening track, "New Life," at the top of this post and stream Teen Daze's collaboration with Frankie Rose, "Union," below.

Teen Daze will be down from Canada, visiting NYC for CMJ and dates include the Lefse Records showcase at Pianos on October 16 and the previously-mentioned Force Field showcase at Glasslands on October 18 with Dent May and more TBA. Expect more CMJ shows to pop up as we get closer to the fest. All tour dates are listed below, along with the "Union" song stream.

Continue reading "Teen Daze readies new LP, collaborated with Frankie Rose, playing CMJ (dates, streams and MP3s)"

Tonight (9/6), the stylish and the lovers of free booze and music will be out in force on the streets of Soho, the Meatpacking District and other parts of NYC for Fashion's Night Out.

We posted a giant list of FNO music happenings yesterday and turns out there's way more including: Yoko Ono reveals her new collection at Swarovski Crystallized; A$AP Rocky at Adidas Originals SoHo Store (see below); St. Vincent performing at at a speakeasy themed (and Boardwalk Empire-sponsored) party at Rag & Bone; Sonlange Knowles and Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear at The Ace Hotel; Theophilus London will be at The Rose Bar; Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. performs at Bloomingdale's Soho; Wild Belle at Mulberry (update: this is a DJ set); Frankie Rose and Alex Winston at Theory and more.

Basic info on these additional FNO performances/parties is below. Our previous post is here. All events are free and open-to-the-public unless otherwise noted. You can check the FNO website for more info. Some flyers below too.

What else?

Continue reading "more Fashion's Night Out free shows happening today all over NYC (St. Vincent, Alex Winston & more)"

UPDATE: We found even MORE

As mentioned, Thursday (9/5) is Fashion's Night Out. Basically another excuse to throw a party (in the name of bringing money and attention to fashion), the evening has become music-oriented in the last few years with bands playing stores all over New York City. There's a lot of stuff going on, including the Azealia Banks / DJ Cosmo performance at M.A.C. Soho we already told you about; plus Icona Pop and Maria Minerva at Urban Outfitters; Matchbox Twenty (!?!) at Bloomingdales; Haim at Topshop; La Sera at Helmut Lang; We Were Promised Jetpacks at Rockefeller Center; and Cyndi Lauper at Manolo Blahnik, just to name a few.

Below is a list of all the shows we could find with basic details and links where applicable/helpful. All shows are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Many have free food and booze as well. For more into visit the Fashion's Night Out website. Let us know what we missed, in the comments.

Continue reading "Fashion's Night Out is Thursday -- a list of musical goings on (Chairlift, La Sera, Icona Pop, Haim, Maxwell, Cyndi Lauper & more)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Frankie Rose - The Fall (Fort Romeau Remix) (MP3)

Frankie Rose at Prospect Park, August 2012 (more by Ryan Muir)

With her album produced by Fischerspooner cohort Le Chev, Frankie Rose's Interstellar was born with some dance DNA which will come to full light later this year with some remixes to be included on a single release of album track "Night Swim." One of them is by Fort Romeau (aka La Roux keyboardist Mike Norris) who has taken ethereal album track "The Fall" and transformed it into a sort of Eurohouse lite number, the kind you might have heard on a Kruder & Dorfmeister mix ten years ago. (Admit it, you own the K&D Sessions.) You can download it at the top of this post or stream it below.

Frankie, who most recently opened for Little Dragon in Prospect Park, has also announced a few tour dates in September, none in NYC though. The list of dates and remix stream are below.

Continue reading "Frankie Rose gets remixed, releasing new single from 'Interstellar,' touring (MP3, streams, dates)"

West Coast janglers Craft Spells are heading East next month to play Cincinatti's Midpoint Music Festival (September 27 - 29) which also features the likes of Grizzly Bear, The Walkmen, Dirty Projectors, Sleigh Bells and many more. Tickets for the fest are still available and the whole line-up is at the bottom of this post.

Before the festival, Craft Spells will be in NYC for a show at Glasslands on September 24 with new new romantics Ice Choir. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

You can stream Craft Spells' new-ish EP, Gallery, plus check out the whole Midpoint Music Fest line-up, below.

Continue reading "Craft Spells playing NYC before Midpoint Music Festival (2012 line-up)"

photos by Bryan Bruchman and Ryan Muir

Little Dragon/Frankie Rose at Prospect Park - 8/10/12

Little Dragon and Frankie Rose teamed up for an incredible double billing at Prospect Park on Friday (8/10) for the second to last free Celebrate Brooklyn show of the season (the last was on Saturday). Little Dragon played mostly off of their 2011 LP, Ritual Union, but included a few off of their first two albums as well. If you missed the show, did you stream it on NPR? If you missed that stream, you can listen to the archive of Little Dragon's full set on NPR.

Frankie Rose, meanwhile, had a busy weekend, playing The Surf Lodge in Montauk the next day.

The show began with a Voices of Black DJ set. More pictures of all three acts, Little Dragon's setlist and a video from their set are below...

Continue reading "Little Dragon and Frankie Rose played Celebrate Brooklyn at Prospect Park (pics, video, setlist)"

by Bill Pearis

Here's one for those of you summering in the Hamptons. MNDR will be stopping by the Montauk Beach House this afternoon (8/11), performing a few songs with pal Mark Ronson who is DJing the club's "Poolside Frolic" party. The party is from noon to 7PM and there's more information here.

It's good timing on her part as MNDR's debut album, Feed Me Diamonds, is out Tuesday (8/14). You can stream her new single, "Faster Horses," below. Immediately following the album's release, MNDR will be opening for Duran Duran on a handful of August dates and those are listed at the bottom of this post. She likes these seaside shows... she just played a very big boat.

Speaking of Montauk, Frankie Rose -- who just opened for Little Dragon last night (8/10) in Prospect Park -- is playing the Surf Lodge tonight. (The venue's had cool concerts all summer.) They don't list a set time but shows don't get underway till sunset there. On Twitter today, Frankie said "Doing an all sisters of mercy cover set at montuk surf lodge tonight." She was joking, though I bet she could do a great version of "This Corrosion."

MNDR stream and a list of tour dates are below.

Continue reading "MNDR playing Montauk Beach House today w/ Mark Ronson, touring w/ Duran Duran; Frankie Rose playing Surf Lodge "

The Kills at Terminal 5 in February (more by Devan Council)

As mentioned, Montauk vacation spot The Surf Lodge is hosting shows (like the Dirty Projectors one in June) all summer. The summer is nearing its end, but there's still a handful of notable shows left taking place at the venue.

On August 11, Frankie Rose will play, the day after she opens for Little Dragon at Prospect Park (8/10). Then on August 18 it's Chairlift (who tour with The xx this fall) and a day later (8/19), The Kills will play, after playing their free Hudson River Park show (8/18) (which is "sold out"). As mentioned, Nite Jewel plays the Montak venue on August 25, and finally, Ra Ra Riot on September 1. More info at The Surf Lodge's website.

Little Dragon at MHOW in 2011 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As mentioned, Little Dragon will be playing some dates in the US and Canada this August, including HARD Festival, Lollapalooza, Osheaga, and a free Celebrate Brooklyn show at Prospect Park on August 10 with Frankie Rose. After that show, they'll stick around Brooklyn to DJ Glasslands that same night (8/10). Admission is $10 with RSVP to rsvp@popgunbooking.com. If you're in Chicago, maybe you caught them DJing the bvChicago-presented show at Lincoln Hall this past May, which took place the same night they opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers there.

The band just debuted their new single, "Sunshine," in an Absolut ad, which aired during an episode of The Daily Show last Wednesday (6/27). Since then, they've made a video for the track and put it up on iTunes. You can check out the video for the track and the Absolut ad that it plays in below, along with an updated list of dates.

Continue reading "Little Dragon DJing Glasslands after Prospect Park, made a video for their new single which debuted in a booze ad"

photos by Amanda Hatfield; words by Andrew Sacher

Caveman / Frankie Rose

The official BrooklynVegan Northside showcase went down at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday (6/15) with sets from Caveman, Frankie Rose, Fort Lean, and Hume. Pictures from the showcase are in this post.

Baltimore's Hume kicked things off around 9 PM, sounding much bigger live than they do recorded. From the sounds of the ambient-leaning "Phasing", I was expecting a more subdued set, but instead the band -- with two hard hitting drummers in tow -- were loud and in your face. On top of the double drum attack, they came bearing swirling noise guitars and reverby-yet-clear vocals which helped keep a foot on earth while the rest of the band were floating in space.

Up next were Fort Lean, who contrasted Hume's psychedelic ramblings by keeping things on the relatively more straightforward side of indie pop. They delivered an enjoyable batch of songs led by their singer's strong vocals and flailing bleached hair, and mostly-danceable beats. You can catch Fort Lean again next month on their
tour with Bear Hands.

The mood at MHOW drastically shifted as Frankie Rose took the stage, joined by a 5-piece band, dreamy visuals, and a packed-in crowd. Frankie's set failed to hit a low point as she piled on all of the strongest cuts on Interstellar and included Frankie Rose and the Outs favorite, "Candy," early on as well. She opened the show with Interstellar's opening title track, and though her record is a bit on the small side, when the "oh oh oh"s came in and the drums picked up, Frankie and her band proved that they can turn those songs into pretty anthemic numbers in a live setting. Upbeat singles like "Know Me" and "Night Swim" were obvious standouts (she also covered The Cure's "A Forrest"), but the highlight of the night had to have come with the slow-burning "Pair of Wings," which saw Frankie's voice joined by little more than atmospheric keyboards and sparse drumming.

Caveman closed out the night with a set consisting of material off 2011's Coco Beware and some new ones as well. The band's polyrhythmic pop and reverb-soaked four-part vocal harmonies ended the evening on a high note. The singer rotates between playing guitar and pounding on a floor tom along with the band's drummer, giving the band a solid mix of Grizzly Bear-esque atmosphere and worldbeat indie pop.

More pics from the MHOW show are below.

Continue reading "Caveman, Frankie Rose, Fort Lean, and Hume played official BV Northside showcase at MHoW (pics, review)"

by Bill Pearis (w/ Andrew Sacher and BBG)

Northside Festival HQ

Well it's Day 2 of The Northside Festival and as a Williamsburg resident and concertgoer, it did feel like a real festival this year, at least in that I saw lots of people walking around with Northside totes and badges around their necks (though I say loop it through your beltloop and keep it in your back pocket). And the Festival's HQ this year takes up a whole block on N. 5th between Wythe and Kent, where they have panel discussions and live music and some sort of space age dome thing, and loads of free Heineken. Badges, totes, and beer...that's a festival.

Today at McCarren Park is the big outdoor Northside Fest headlining concert, with of Montreal, Jens Lekman, The Thermals, and Beach Fossils (minus Cole Smith). The weather is gorgeous today, the bands are all good and entertaining performers so even if you don't have a badge or want to fork over the $33.50 for a ticket it might be worth just going and hanging out in the park across the street and just hannging out. Beach Fossils start things off at 5PM.

Dean and Britta headline a free show in the same space on Saturday.

Frankie Rose @ Township (more by Sarah Frankie Linder)

Tonight is also the BrooklynVegan Official Northside Showcase with Caveman, Frankie Rose, Fort Lean, and Hume. Both Caveman and Frankie Rose have been touring their butts off, polishing their live shows to a lovely sheen. And both are coming off great records as well. Opening are Fort Lean and Hume and should be a great evening all around. If you don't have a badge, tickets are still available.

In other Caveman news, you may have noticed their song "My Time" being used as the soundtrack to a new "I Love NY" TV commercial. You can watch it below.

Tonight is also the BBG/BV/Brutal Panda Northside showcase which happens at Union Pool (who only took 30 badges last night, be warned). It's pretty exciting as it features Tacoma's Harkonen who are playing their first NYC show since dissolution in 2005, and who knows when (or if) they'll return back to the East Coast. Also featuring the epic stoner-blues of The Atlas Moth, the Am-Rep-y hardcore of Fight Amp, and the always fun Whores, it'll be a night to remember. Tickets are still available or get in with your Northside badge.

If you need more heavy stuff, there's the WEIRD/Show No Mercy showcase at St. Vitus with Deafheaven, Indian Jewelry, Vattnet Viskar, and Pinkish Black

Kitty Pryde

On the complete other end of the sonic/cultural spectrum, you may be interested in knowing that Kitty Pryde will be in Brooklyn for the Northside Festival tonight (6/15) at Knitting Factory with Deniro Farrar. Tickets for that show are available. Kitty Pryde is a fairly divisive 19-year old rapper from Florida who writes of herself, "I'm Kitty (Pryde) don't listen to what they say on hypebeast!!!! <3 MY MUSIC IS BAD <3." She put up a YouTube video last month for her song, "Okay Cupid" (yeah, it is the same name as that dating website), which went pretty viral (as of this post its got over 300,000 views, 2,300 likes and 1,400 dislikes) and now she's got an EP out called Haha, I'm Sorry, which you can stream or download for $1 on bandcamp. Though the $1 option is there, Kitty also provides a link to get the EP for free from mediafire and writes, "oh btw heres a mediafire link if u wanna do it the FREE WAY idk lol i hate payin for thngs 2." The EP includes "Okay Cupid," a song called "smiledog.jpg" where she addresses her criticism ("You say this little white girl is ruining hip hop/I say damn right and take a look at the ring pop"), and a song called "GIVE ME SCABIES" which overtly samples "Call Me Maybe." She's also got a non-EP track which is a (sarcastically?) stalkerish ode to Justin Bieber. Love her, hate her, or "who?" -- it's likely to be a hot ticket (though still available). Late show, doors at 11PM.

Ice Choir

And more shows...

At Spike Hill, A Heart is a Spade and Punk Photo have put together a nice showcase with sultry sister act Zambri, the totally '80s sounds of Ice Choir, BV pals New Moods, and Fast Years.

The NYC Popfest folks are taking over the new Shea Stadium with Ski Lodge, Beach Day (who were pretty good last night at Knitting Factory), the mopey synths of Plastic Flowers and the provencial South of France.

If you lean toward the dark and synthy, Public Assembly is taken over by the The Bunker tonight with Kassem Mosse, Led Er Est and more.

Pop Montreal comes to Northside for a showcase tonight at Warsaw with Tinariwen and Buke & Gase, one of three Northside shows taking place at the venue this weekend.

You can catch McLovin's band, The Young Rapscallions, at Glasslands tonight. Yes, McLovin's band.

And late night at Glasslands is the Lazerpop party with DJs Pictureplane, Teengirl Fantasy and Hooray For Earth. Pictureplane is playing an actual show (non-Northside) early tonight at 81 Java with Dope Body and more. That's in addition to the Pictureplane dates we posted the other day.

And there's lots more than this, obviously. Check out the whole Friday Northside schedule here. Streams and videos are below.

Continue reading "Northside Fest Friday: Of Montreal, Jens Lekman, Frankie Rose, Caveman, Harkonen, Kitty Pryde, Ice Choir, Thermals & more"

by Andrew Sacher

Baltimore psych poppers Hume have a few dates scheduled this week, including a NXNE show tonight (6/13). We/re thrilled to announce that one of those shows is now also the Official BrooklynVegan Northside Showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday (6/15), which Hume, along with Fort Lean, have just been added to, joining a lineup with Frankie Rose and Caveman. Tickets for that show are still available or you can also try to get in with your Northside badge. We're also giving away another pair of tickets in this post. Details on how to enter to win are below.

Hume were supposed to play Death by Audio on Friday (6/15) with Darlings, but that show is no longer happening and the BV Northside show is now Hume's only currently scheduled Brooklyn date. All of their dates are listed below.

The band are reportedly preparing to release a 12" for their super-reverby single, "Phasing," this year. It's set to include remixes from Doldrums, Dustin Wong, and Aaron Leitko (of Protect-U). You can stream that track below. Also below is a video of an older single titled "Inverse Fireworks," which was shot at Market Hotel in NYC.

Speaking of experimental Baltimore bands, just a reminder that Roomrunner, who Hume have shared bills with in the past, have upcoming dates including their addition as opener to Dan Deacon's free show at Pier 84 on July 12 with John Maus.

Continuing to speak of experimental Baltimore bands, we recently mentioned that Future Islands are about to head on a tour which includes a Brooklyn show at Death by Audio on July 11 with Ed Schrader's Music Beat and Darlings. William from Future Islands' other band Believers and Gerrit from Future Islands' other band Moss of Aura will also share a bill at the Brooklyn venue on June 23.

A list of all Hume dates, stream, video, and contest details below...

Continue reading "Hume playing shows, added to BV Northside (dates & stream); Future Islands side projects playing Death By Audio"

Brooklyn indie pop outfit Fort Lean are heading out on a tour with Bear Hands next month. But before they do that, we're happy to announce that Fort Lean, along with Hume have been added to the BrooklynVegan Northside Showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday (6/15) as part of a lineup which already includes Caveman and Frankie Rose. Tickets for that show are still available or you can also try to get in with your Northside badge. We're also giving away a pair of tickets in this post. Details on how to enter to win are below.

Fort Lean's tour with Bear Hands kicks off in Brooklyn on July 20 at Knitting Factory. Tickets for that show are available. It also includes a Hamden, CT show at July 22 at The Space with Surfer Blood, the day before Surfer Blood plays Maxwell's (7/23). Tickets for the Hamden show are on sale.

Fort Lean put out a single this past February for the track "Sunsick" b/w "The Precinct." You can stream those two tracks below or purchase a download of them at bandcamp. Those song streams, along with a list of all dates and contest details are below...

Continue reading "Fort Lean added to BV Northside Showcase, playing shows w/ Bear Hands & Surfer Blood (dates & streams)"

Caveman at Crossing Brooklyn Ferry (more by David Andrako)

As mentioned several times, the Northside Festival goes down in Brooklyn from June 14 - 17. We're excited to announce that the Official BrooklynVegan Showcase will take place on June 15 at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Caveman, Frankie Rose, and two more artists TBA. Tickets go on sale Friday (5/18) at noon or you can try to get in with your Northside badge.

Caveman recently returned from a spring tour which culminated in their appearance at Crossing Brooklyn Ferry at BAM. They'll play the previously mentioned 'Audiophile' show at Brooklyn Museum TONIGHT (5/17) with NewVIllager.

A list of all Caveman and Frankie Rose dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Caveman and Frankie Rose playing BV Northside Showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg "

Little Dragon @ Le Baron (as seen on the BrooklynVegan Instagram)

Little Dragon, who were just in town to play and record a show at Le Baron (picture above), will headline a free Celebrate Brooklyn show in Prospect Park on Friday, August 10 (five days after they play Lollapalooza) with Frankie Rose and a DJ set by Voices of Black.

Meanwhile, Frankie Rose, who just played a show at Mercury Lounge with DIIV (who she also played Chicago and Austin with), will co-headline the BrooklynVegan Northside Festival showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg (more details TBA).

Frankie is also on the lineup of the just-announced, multi-venue Pygmalion Music Festival in the Chicago area (September 27-29, 2012). Also on that lineup are Grizzly Bear, Dinosaur Jr., Cloud Nothings, Tennis, Owen, Willis Earl Beal, and many more.

All Little Dragon dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Little Dragon playing Prospect Park w/ Frankie Rose who's playing a BrooklynVegan Northside show"

Frankie Rose @ Township (more by Sarah Frankie Linder)

In addition to the Jens Lekman/Of Montreal show at Williamsburg Park, the Northside Festival (June 14 - 17) just announced a slew of confirmed artists who'll be playing this year, including Future of the Left, the U.S. debut of Iceage-spinoff Vår (formerly War), Frankie Rose (playing the BrooklynVegan showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg with more TBA), Grass Widow, Cleveland's Gap Dream, Wymond Miles of the Fresh & Onlys,  Chain & the Gang, Kool Keith and more.

Other 2012 Northside Festival artists we've already posted about include Olivia Tremor Control, GZA, Neil Hamburger, Eternal Summers, Ceremony and Screaming Females and Royal Headache. Badges are on sale now and the full list of confirmed 2012 Northside artists is below.

Continue reading "more Northside Festival artists announced (Frankie Rose, Grass Widow, Felice Brothers, Buke & Gass, Vår, Gap Dream & more)"

by Bill Pearis

Spectrals at SXSW (more)

Scotland's Spectrals -- aka 21-year old Louis Jones -- just wrapped up a tour with Cults and are in town for two shows this week: Friday (5/4) at Glasslands with Twerps and Saturday's (5/5) sold-out show at Mercury Lounge with Slumberland labelmates Frankie Rose and the newly-respelled DIIV.

Spectrals' debut album, Bad Penny, came out earlier this year and got a 7.5 from Pitchfork:

Indie rock readings of Phil Spector pop are almost passé at this point, but Jones makes it work due in no small part to his English wit, articulation, and gray mood. "Get a Grip" opens with a small, fun riff, prefacing a crooned rhyme: "I need to get a grip, I always seem to let my smile slip." His delivery is slow and monotone, as he stretches each fifth syllable or so, but it's a toe-tapper, underpinned by cool bits of bongo and guitar. The bongo drum returns later on "You Don't Have to Tell Me", and whether or not the 50s jazz-club feel comes with a wink, its faux-sophistication still comes over as charming. "Luck Is There to Be Pushed" has a similar effect, but this time with the runs of jazz piano that fleck its dramatically soft guitar strums and subtle, gliding synths.

Friday's show at Glasslands is with Australia's Twerps, who have been visiting America since SXSW and have added this one last show. If you haven't heard their 2011 self-titled album (one of my favorites of last year) you can stream a few tracks at the bottom of this post. They're good live too. Also also playing are Family Portrait. This is an early show as Glasslands hosts Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (sold out) later Friday night.

Continue reading "Spectrals are here from Scotland, playing NYC this weekend with Twerps, Frankie Rose and DIIV"

by Bill Pearis

DIIV, pre-name change, at Red 7 in Austin, April 14 (more Tim Griffin)

While currently busy out on the road supporting Frankie Rose, Dive have changed their name to DIIV. While Allmusic.com lists about 10 artists with the name Dive, Cole Smith tells Pitchfork that the spelling change comes specifically "out of respect" to the Dive that was the pseudonymn of German industrial musician Dirk Ivens. "A name is nothing," Smith told Pitchfork. "I don't really give a fuck what the band is called. I originated this project in a bedroom with no internet and didn't know it would ever leave." Whether the rest of his apartment or his phone had the internet and access to Google.com is undetermined at this time.

DIIV's tour with Frankie Rose, recently hit the Mohawk in Austin and wraps up this Saturday (5/5) with a sold-out at Mercury Lounge that also features Scotland's Spectrals and ex-Team Robespierre duo Black Marble. The band's debut album, Oshin, is out June 26 and you can stream a new song from it, "Doused," at the bottom of this post. DIIV (who played our Hotel Vegan parties during SXSW this year) will headline a record release show at Glasslands on June 23 and tickets are on sale now.

After the record release show, DIIV's only other scheduled show is opening for Grimes and Wild Nothing at Hudson River Rocks on August 9 (DIIV was just added to that bill). Click though for all DIIV tour dates and the stream of "Doused."..

Continue reading "DIVE change name to DIIV, add 2 more NYC dates to tour, streaming new track & other news"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Dive - How Long Have You Known? (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dive - Bambi Slaughter (Kurt Cobain cover) (MP3)

Oshin cover art

Local upstarts Dive have just announced details of their debut album, Oshin, which is out June 26 on Captured Tracks. You can download the album's first single "How Long Have You Known?" at the top of this post, which was crowned Best New Track by Pitchfork today. Dive are playing Le Poisson Rogue tonight (4/6), opening for legendary NYC post punk act Bush Tetras, and will soon be hitting the road with Frankie Rose. (NYC date is May 5.) All Dive tour dates are below.

In addition to the Best New Track nod, the Pitchfork-Dive love can also be seen with a new "Rising" Q&A with frontman Zachary Cole Smith who also spends time playing guitar in Beach Fossils:

Beach Fossils is a big influence on me just because [Beach Fossils leader] Dustin [Payseur] is one of my best friends, and I really respect him musically. But I have not written or played on any Beach Fossils material that people have heard. It's funny to think about the two projects being linked in that way, because to almost every single person who has listened to Beach Fossils, there's no actual connection.

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Dive at "Hotel Vegan" (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Click through for Oshin's tracklist, plus all upcoming Dive tour dates and a video for Bush Tetra's classic "Too Many Creeps".....

Continue reading "Dive announce debut LP details (mp3, artwork), playing tonight with Bush Tetras (and other dates)"