Brooklyn's Body Language, whose billboard in Times Square you may have seen earlier this year when your relatives were visiting, will release their sophomore album, The Grammar LP, in July. Dipping into that early-'80s netherworld where new wave and R&B comingled, it will make head-bobbing summertime listening. The album's first single is "What's the Point?" and we've got the premiere of its video in this post. You can watch below.

Body Language have a couple appearances lined up here in Brooklyn, DJing Friday (4/19) at Brooklyn Bowl as part of French Horn Rebellion's residency there. Tickets are still available. They'll also play Glasslands on May 5 for a Cinco de Mayo party with Pegasus Warning and #1 Kid. Tickets are still available for that one too.

The new video and all dates in list format below...

Continue reading "Body Language releasing new LP, made a new video, playing shows (dates)"

French Horn Rebellion have just announced a "Party Ensemble Residency" that will happen on four consecutive Fridays from April 19 - May 10 at Brooklyn Bowl and each one features a different set of collaborators. April 19 features '80s pop icon Jody Watley (who features on their "Cold Enough" single), plus Body Language DJ set and Ernesto of Penguin Prison; April 26 is billed as "Savoiring the Night" and if you note the spelling you might make guesses as to who the "special guests" might be; May 3 features a live set from Auto Body, plus help from Le Tigre's JD Samson (who guests on "Girls"), plus Ernesto again and a DJ set from Dirty Grand; and the final Friday (5/10) is with Nancy Whang (LCD/Juan Maclean), JPatt of the Knocks and Ernesto. All four shows feature FHR with their full band The Great Apes and tickets are on sale now. Flyer for the residency is below.

Two new remixes of "Girls" (feat. JD Samson and Fat Tony) were released today (by FM Attack and Rogue Vogue) were released today and you can stream them below, along with their recent Love is Dangerous EP and a few other FHR tracks. The band are also heading to SXSW and playing other shows after it, and all tour dates are listed below.

Continue reading "French Horn Rebellion release new remixes (stream); announce NYC residency w/ Jody Watley, Nancy Whang ++ more"

Brooklyn dance duo French Horn Rebellion released the Love is Dangerous EP at the tail end of last year. The record contained "Cold Enough," which paired the band's already '80s-pop-leaning sound with vocals from actual '80s pop star Jody Watley and you can stream that track below. The EP's title track, meanwhile, featured vocals from The Knocks' JPatt and you can stream that below too, plus a few remixes.

French Horn Rebellion play Brooklyn Bowl tonight (1/18) where they'll make their debut as an eight-piece band. Helping out will be Le Tigre's JD Samson. Also playing are synth-poppers Selebrites. Tickets are still available. The band have a few other tour dates lined-up and those are below, along with those song streams.

Continue reading "French Horn Rebellion collaborated with Jody Watley, debuting as eight-piece band in NYC with JD Samson"

Frightened Rabbit @ T5, Nov. 2010 (more by Lionel Bergeron)

SXSW has just announced another round of bands for the 2013 edition of the annual music festival that will happen March 12 - 17. This brings the total current number of acts to around 1300. Someome of the highlights include Vampire Weekend, Frightened Rabbit, The Thermals, Black Lips, Camera Obscura, Merchandise, Bleached, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Eagles of Death Metal, Parenthetical Girls, Indians, Night Beds, IO Echo, KEN Mode, Prince Paul, Pure Bathing Culture, Sepalcure, UK motorik post-punks TOY, Finnish instrumentalists K-X-P, Toronto's Moon King, UK indie rockers Splashh (not Brooklyn Splash with one "h") and loads more. Head to BV Austin for the whole Round 3 list.

Brooklyn Night Bazaar 2011 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

The Brooklyn Night Bazaar, a place to do your holiday shopping, eat and listen to music all at the same time, returns to its warehouse location (45 North 5th St.) in Williamsburg this winter, and is again hosting shows like they did last year (though BrooklynVegan is not involved this year).

The holiday bazaar is open on Friday and Saturday nights from November 23 to December 22, from 6pm to midnight. A lot of the music lineups are still TBA but confirmed bands so far include The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Black Dice, Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio, Ayshay (aka Fatima Al Qadiri), CFCF, Eternal Summers, MEN, and others. Everything is free to the public (except the food and other stuff people are selling there)

The current lineups and sponsors for each day, and much more info, below...

Continue reading "Brooklyn Night Bazaar returns to Williamsburg, live music too"

Savoir Adore at Knitting Factory last month (more by Sachyn Mital)

There's a few chances to catch Savoir Adore singer Deidre Munro in NYC this weekend. First, she'll play tonight (11/2) with her solo project-turned-band Deidre & the Dark at Gottscheer Hall in Ridgewood, Queens (657 Fairview Ave) with fellow Brooklynites Ski Lodge and French Horn Rebellion (DJ). The show is a halloween party and there will be prizes for the best costume. $8 advance tickets are still available and it's $10 at the door with a costume, $12 without.

Then on Saturday (11/3), Deidre will play again, this time as a member of Savoir Adore with another Brooklyn band bill of Jarana Beat and Slowdance at the Brooklyn Museum. The show is part of Brooklyn Museum's Target First Saturdays, for which admission is totally free and includes access to galleries, tours, an interactive space, a light show, and more. The full schedule for this Saturday is HERE. Though note: "Please note, due to Hurricane Sandy the programming schedule for the November 3 Target First Saturday may continue to change", AND NO DANCING.

In related news, right next door to the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden will be reopened with free admission all weekend, starting today and lasting through Sunday.

A video of Savoir Adore playing "Dreamers" at WFUV below.

Continue reading "Brooklyn Botanical Garden open & free; Savoir Adore playing Brooklyn Museum Sat; Deidre & the Dark in Queens tonight"

Cocorosie @ MHOW in 2010 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Brooklyn venue Glasslands have booked a pretty impressive list of upcoming shows this month and next. We've already mentioned last night's John Maus show, the John Maus show coming in June, tonight's Julliana Barwick/Helado Negro show, Adventure and Pat Jordache (5/14), Cymbals Eat Guitars (5/20), an acoustic show with Dum Dum Girls and Crocodiles (5/27), and Love Inks (6/2).

Most notably, in addition to those, CocoRosie play Glasslands on May 23. At the moment it is their only US show before heading to Europe for a July tour. Openers TBA. Tickets are on sale now.

Meanwhile, Princeton play Glasslands on Wednesday, May 11 with High Highs, New Villager, and Ivana XL, before they open for CSS and Sleigh Bells at Music Hall of Williamsburg (5/12) and Bowery Ballroom (5/15). Tickets are on sale now.

High Highs also play a show on May 19th with Acrylics and Junip at Bowery Ballroom, and they open for Memoryhouse at two NYC shows in June. All dates are listed below.

Xylos, McDonalds, Mansions & Junipers, and Flashlights are playing Glasslands on May 12. Tickets are on sale now.

Dirty Beaches @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Dirty Beaches plays Glasslands with Psychedelic Horseshit, Pterodactyl, and Beige on May 13 (tickets), a day after they play Mercury Lounge with Widowspeak (5/12). All tour dates, South Street Seaport included, are listed below.

White Mystery, who just released their sophomore full length Blood & Venom, play Glasslands on May 17 as the kick off to a 5-night NYC run that looks like this:

05/17/11 Glasslands Brooklyn, New York
05/18/11 Generation Records New York, New York
05/19/11 Public Assembly Brooklyn, New York
05/20/11 Death By Audio Brooklyn, New York
05/21/11 Brooklyn Fireproof Brooklyn, New York

Tickets for the Glasslands show are on sale now. All of their dates and a NYC show flyer, below.

My Teenage Stride play an early show at Glasslands on May 21 with Sea Lions, Beachniks, The Surprisers, and Plains. No advanced tickets for that one, or for the free show they're playing at South Street Seaport this summer.

French Horn Rebellion, who recently released Infinite Music Of French Horn Rebellion, are playing Glasslands on May 26 for their album release party. The show is being opened by Savoir Adore, who play Brooklyn Museum on 5/13 and the In Vino Wine Bar on June 26 (Tickets). Tickets for the Glasslands show are on sale now. French Horn Rebellion are on tour with Yelle now.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra, who are currently on tour with Portugal. The Man and Telekinesis play their own show at Glasslands on June 4, one day after they play Webster Hall with those bands. Unknown Mortal Orchestra are releasing their self titled debut on June 21 via Fat Possum. Hear three songs off the album on Fat Possum's website. Tickets are on sale now for the Brooklyn show with with Balkans + more TBA. Updated dates are below.

The Beets (maybe you saw them Saturday at Cake Shop) play Glasslands on June 24. Openers TBA. Tickets on sale now. Meanwhile they are out on tour.

Videos and dates below...

Continue reading "Cocorosie, Princeton, White Mystery, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Dirty Beaches, Savoir Adore & other shows"

French Horn Rebellion @ Brooklyn Electronic Music Fest (more by Chris Doss)

First Fool's Gold, and now Neon Gold are having a party at the new Tammany Hall. Details and RSVP info for tonight's event (1/6), below...

Continue reading "new Neon Gold club night "Popshop" kicking off @ Tammany Hall (w/ MNDR, French Horn Rebellion, Brahms, more)"

photos by Chris Doss

PUBLIC ASSEMBLY - FRONT ROOM
8:00pm Aarnio
9:00pm Class Actress
10:00pm Lemonade
11:00pm Javelin
12:00pm Penguin Prison
1:00am Azari & III
2:15am The Knocks
3:15am Punches

PUBLIC ASSEMBLY - BACK ROOM
8:00pm Free Magic
8:45pm Lloydski & Blu Jemz
9:25pm Michna
10:15pm oOoOO
11:15am Falty DL
12:15am Treasure Fingers
1:15am Tittsworth
2:15am Star Eyes
3:10am Dave P

MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG
8:00pm Boody B & Marcus Price
8:30pm The Glass
9:15pm Body Language
10:05pm FHR
10:55-11:30pm BRAHMS
11:40am CREEP
12:30am Cubic Zirconia
1:15am Kid Sister
2:00am Sinden
3:00am Kingdom

Those were the set times of Saturday's Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival that took place in both venues in one night. A set of pictures from the event, continues below...

Continue reading "the 2010 Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival in pics"

It's a little bit later this year, but the third annual The Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival will take place across two venues in Williamsburg on December 18th: Music Hall of Williamsburg and Public Assembly (if you didn't know, they are right next door to each other). The "fest" will feature acts from across the digital spectrum ("emerging and established bands, DJ's and producers from the Boroughs and beyond") including Sinden, Kid Sister, Javelin, Tittsworth, Class Actress, Brahms, Lemonade, and many others, with more to be announced.

Tickets are currently on "Super Limited Reduced Price Advance" sale.

Lemonade meanwhile is out on tour with their True Panther labelmate Delorean. Two NYC shows happen very soon and both are still on sale.

Initial BEMF lineup and two videos from last year below...

Continue reading "Brooklyn Electronic Music Fest returning (in 2 venues), Lemonade on tour w/ Delorean (dates) "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: A Classic Education - I Lost Time (MP3)

Bologna, Italy's A Classic Education will be here for CMJ, playing six shows:

WED Oct 20 7:00P The Delancey (Lefse & I Guess I'm Floating Showcase) NYC
THU Oct 21 8:30P - Hype Machine & dubFrequency Party @ Backstage (formerly The Annex)
THU Oct 21 10:00P Trash Bar, Brooklyn
FRI Oct 22 12:00P Pop Tarts Suck Toasted @ Cake Shop
FRI Oct 22 6:00P Pianos
FRI Oct 22 8:30P The Charleston, Brooklyn

Maybe you caught them last year when they played one of our CMJ day parties? The band's new EP, Hey There Stranger, came out about a month ago on Lefse Records (How to Dress Well, Dominant Legs) and straddles the line between swoony baroque pop and reverby indie, with plenty of "bah bahs" and "oh ohs." You can download "I Lost Time" from it at the top of this post, and watch the found footage video for it below

Note that one of the shows on their list is the Hype Machine & dubFrequency Party. You can RSVP and stream tracks of the artists playing at Hype's site, and check out full lineup and flyer, and more, below...

Continue reading "A Classic Education returning to NYC for CMJ, playing 6 shows including dF & Hype Machine's party (dates & lineup)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Miracles of Modern Science - I Found Space (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jacuzzi Boys - Bricks or Coconuts (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Aerosols - China (AAC)

The Phenomenal Handclap Band

We'll start this week with a contest. The Phenomenal Handclap Band play Music Hall of Williamsburg this Saturday (6/12) and if you'd like to win a pair of tickets, just send an email to BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM with "Phenomenal" as the subject line (include your first and last name) and we'll pick a winner at random and notify them on Friday. The show is 18+. If you've never seen PHB before, it's '70s psychedelic disco overload, like if Michael Viner had formed a cult where the drink was Mai Tai's, not poison Kool Aid. The record is fun, but seeing them live is where it's at. And, like I said, where it's at is MHoW.

Miracles of Modern Science

If The Incredible String Band wasn't already taken as a band name, that might have been a good one for the next group I'm going to talk about, but since it was they opted for Miracles of Modern Science. Eschewing guitars, the go for cello, double bass, violin and mandolin (plus drums). Actually, I'm pretty sure the whole "science" aspect of their name comes into play too, what with song titles like "I Found Space" (downloadable above), "Bossa Supernova" and "Luminol." So their music is nerdy in two completely separate ways. But it's also clever and catchy and not really pretentious despite all that goddamn science and orchestral stuff they're throwing in our face.

Miracles of Modern Science have a residency at Cake Shop starting this Thursday, with The Albertans (ex-Bravo Silva),  The Royal Chains, and Quiet Loudly rounding out the bill. MoMS play the two following Thursdays as well.

Jacuzzi Boys

Friday night has two competing shows -- both in Williamsburg --  for your garage rock dollar, and if you're into this scene at all you're going to find it difficult to choose between them. Or at least pause for a second.

At Death by Audio, there's Quintron and Miss Pussycat, JEFF the Brotherhood and Golden Triangle. Actually, garage isn't the right term for Quintron's sleazy keyboard R&B which is augmented by some homemade equipment like the Drum Buddy, The Disco Light Machine and the Spit Machine. Quintron shows are a party. As are JEFF shows as you should know by now. As are Golden Triangle shows. Both of whom will be in their element at DBA and it will no doubt be packed to the gills and sweaty as hell. If you want to see JEFF and Quintron (who are on tour together) in more temperature-controlled environs, they also play Santos on Sunday (6/13). More dates HERE and below.

The other garagey option Friday (6/11) is at Knitting Factory with what is a pretty killer bill: Seattle protopunks The Spits, and the depraved lunacy that is Nobunny, plus Florida's Jacuzzi Boys and Liquor Store. I've written about The Spits and Nobunny before so I'm gonna focus on Jacuzzi Boys here if I may.

While definitely within the garage milieu, there's definitely more going on here with this Miami trio. Jacuzzi Boys sound is less blown-out sounding than most of their brethren, with a  strong post-VU New York vibe with them -- Television and The Feelies are pretty obvious influences here I think -- and their album from last year, No Seasons, is pretty damn great. A new single on Mexican Summer is worth checking out too, and you can download it's A-side at the top of this post.

If you can't make it Friday, Jacuzzi Boys also play Cake Shop on Sunday (6/13) with K-Holes (mems of Black Lips) and Xray Eyeballs (half of Golden Triangle).

The Aerosols

Visiting us from San Francisco are The Aerosols, playing four shows this weekend, hitting three boroughs. When you hear about Bay Area bands these days, you tend to think of reverb, scratchy guitars and in-the-red levels of distortion. The Aerosols are more a little more jingle jangle, blissed-out sunshine pop that might go better with a nice cup of tea instead of a PBR. You can check out their song "China" at the top of this post to hear what I mean but if you dig mid-90s Elephant Six you're gonna like The Aerosols. The band they really remind me of -- and I'm going obscure here -- is the late '90s UK band Salako who put out records on Jeepster (Belle & Sebastian's original label) who always sounded to me like a field of daisies.

The Aerosols play Thursday night (6/10) at Silent Barn with My Teenage Stride, Dream Diary (who were one of the Popfest highlights this year) and The Surpriserswhich I think is the don't-miss show of their NYC visit.

They'll also play the Rock Star bar on Friday (6/11) with Fly Ashtray, Nude Broom (members of Flaming Fire), Bucolic Night Light Fungus' Fungus The(e); Staten Island's Doorway (62 Van Duzer St.) on Saturday (6/12) with Artanker Convoy; and then finally the downstairs room at Santos on Monday (6/14) with Persephone's Bees, Lily and the Parlour Tricks, and Alana Amram & the Rough Gems.

A few more shows, night by night:

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9

School of Seven Bells debut material from their quite good second album, Disconnect from Desire, tonight and tomorrow at Mercury Lounge. Both shows are sold out but lurking outside hoping someone's got an extra ticket does pay off sometimes.

Breakthru Radio are throwing a fifth anniversary party at Glasslands with Glass Ghost, Werewolves, Phil & the Osophers and My Teenage Stride. It's a free show with free beer.

continued below...

Continue reading "Miracles of Modern Science, Quintron, Jacuzzi Boys, The Aerosols, TPHB, Starring & more in This Week in Indie "

DOWNLOAD: Neon Indian - Deadbeat Summer (Afghan Raiders Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Neon Indian - Should Have Taken Acid with You (Future Rock remix)
DOWNLOAD: Beach Fossils - Time (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Neon Indian - Mind, Drips (LaundroMatinee.com session) (MP3)

by Andrew Frisicano

Neon Indian played two shows in NYC last week. Thursday night (2/4) they performed at NYU with Atlas Sound and Sisters (which was one day after Atlas Sound played Bell House with Memory Tapes).

The synths, a defining strong point of Neon Indian, shimmered across the top of the rest of the band's instrumentation, pausing occasionally to let stellar guitar work from Ronald Gierhart take the reins. The songs, drawn from the band's debut Psychic Chasms, had a sharper edge to them, dropping fuzz in favor of crisp keyboard riffs and singing guitars. Between songs, Palomo composed glitch interludes, playing with effect knobs across both stereo channels to force lingering melodies to descend into a fog before the drums and guitars launched into a new cut. It was an interesting choice, and one that gave the set a roller coaster feel: a danceable song followed by a sonically interesting but rhythmically lacking break; lather, rinse, repeat. [Melophobe @ NYU]

At the Friday night show at Market Hotel, Neon Indian came on late and to a full house. Palomo and band have succeeded in transferring the sounds of his bedroom recording to a live setting (even if the PA doesn't always cooperate, like at Market Hotel), but their stage presence lags behind the musicianship. The crunchy, distorted songs are spot on, but the band's four members can sometimes come off as reserved or inhibited. The space didn't help in that respect: Ronald Gierhart, the band's shredder, was stuck behind a keyboard on the tiny stage and Alan kept himself busy with his mixer and table of toys. They played without any lights, same as the preceding Teengirl Fantasy, who started slow and sludgy and eventually warmed into bouncy, unpredictable sampler-fed house. I imagine Teengirl fit best with experimental show opener Blissed Out (who I missed, and who play Silent Barn February 10th. more shows listed below).

The minimal, poppy rock of Beach Fossils was the only music to provoke the crowd into a rage (which was good from an energy standpoint, but not so re:comfort in the packed room). A few people in the audience talked fondly about the St. James Church show, which also featured Beach Fossils and was organized by the same promoters. There was more than enough time to chat and make friends - the lull between sets dragged on and on, and Adventure, a one-man outfit who smoked cigarettes and talked to friends while his synth and sampler for the most part played themselves, didn't inspire much engagement.

Neon Indian recently stopped by Laundromatinee, and you can see their performance of "Mind, Drips" for the first time below (and download the audio of the same song above). A remix of "Deadbeat Summer" by Afghan Raiders is posted above, and you can also get a remix of their "Should Have Taken Acid with You" done up by Future Rock. (Future Rock play a Saturday, February 27th show at Bowery Ballroom supported by DJ sets from Junior Boys and Figo. Tickets are on sale.)

Neon Indian will be DJing a late-night Valentine's Day at Glasslands with French Horn Rebellion and Cubic Zirconia. Tickets/RSVP here. Cubic Zirconia plays Mercury Lounge on March 3rd (tickets).

Beach Fossils kick off their tour with the Beets and Christmas Island with a show at Cake Shop on February 9th. That's not the trip's only NYC stop; all tour dates are below. Beach Fossils will also be at SXSW and MtyMx (as will Neon Indian) and play a Kidrockers show, all in March, which is when the band's debut on Woodsist/Captured Tracks should be arriving. "Time," above, is from that record.

More pictures and lots of tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Neon Indian played NYU, Market Hotel w/ Beach Fossils (pics) & Laundromatinee - MP3s, video, remixes & dates "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Oberhofer - Away FRM U (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Golden Triangle - Neon Noose (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Morning Benders - Promises (MP3)

Oberhofer

If you were like me, you spent last night at home puzzling over the LOST premiere (or maybe you went to the Bell House to watch it.) But maybe in an alternate universe I chose instead to go see Oberhofer at Pianos last night. And also in that alternate universe, everyone has health care and I own my own apartment and there is a jukebox in every high school cafeteria. I digress. Luckily for me in this world, Oberhofer are playing again this Friday (2/5) at The Studio @ Webster Hall with Radical Dads.

There's no shortage of bedroom rockers out there hawking their one-man-bands on MySpace, but Oberhofer definitely have something. While there is plenty of every home recording enthusiast's best friends, reverb and distortion, Oberhoffer is not Wavves-style scuzz. The most obvious comparison is probably The Dodos (clattery drums, glockenspiel, whistling), but I even hear a little Real Estate in there too on the track "Away FRM You" which you can download above. You can download a seven-song EP via his MySpace by giving up your email address. While the recordings are just Brad, he's put together an actual band which is what you'll The Studio @ Webster Hall on Friday.

Savoir Adore

Savoir Adore will play Cake Shop the next three Thursdays. Their debut, In the Wooded Forrest, is loaded with great big pop songs and made my Favorite Albums of 2009 list and they are great live too, so if you've yet to check them out live don't wait any longer. The band has hand-picked the bands for their residency shows, and this Thursday (2/4) is especially good, featuring the very good and fun French Horn Rebellion who you might also see opening for Hot Chip this weekend. The two bands help each other out live (FHR's David Perlick-Molinari plays guitar in Savoir Adore; Savoir's singer Paul Hammer plays drums in FHR) so there should be a good party vibe going on.

Also on the bill are DJ/electronic artist Pocketknife and singer-songwriter Cameron Hull. If you'd like to go I've got a pair of tickets to give away. Just send an email with "Savoir Adore" as the subject to BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM and a winner will be chosen at random.

Hot Chip's show with French Horn Rebellion happens Saturday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg. It's sold out, but you can also catch Hot Chip one night earlier at Highline Ballroom with Free Energy. The MySpace Secret Show is free - first come, first served.

Twin Sister

There's a lot going on this week. Also Thursday, at Studio @ Webster Hall is another Twin Sister show put on by blog Chocolate Bobka. (Seriously, McGregor puts on shows like some people put on pants [ie fairly often].) I finally got to see Twin Sister last Friday at Bruar Falls and I was pretty blown away by how good they are live. Last year's Vampires with Dreaming Kids EP (downloadable from their website), as good as it is, doesn't really give an accurate picture of what they now sound like. These days, they're combining '80s-back-to-jazz (Sade, Style Council) with more drony/Krautrock type stuff (Notwist, Stereolab). They were just fantastic live, and I haven't come away from a show that excited about a new band in some time. Totally impressed. Twin Sister have a bunch of shows coming up and I do suggest you check them out soon, as I think 2010 is gonna be big for them.

In addition to Twin Sister, the line-up includes Big Troubles -- who I like and have written about them before), as well as Run DMT, Pigeons, and Alice Cohen.

And a few more quick recommendations:

Miniboone have their record release party at Glasslands on Wednesday night (tonight, 2/3) with a few other worthy bands: Shark?, I'm Turning Into and Pet Ghost Project. $8.

The Soft Pack's debt album is out today, well worth buying, and they play a free all-ages show at Cake Shop on Friday (2/5). Doors are at Midnight. One of my favorite live bands of the last two years. if you miss the small venue show, they'll back back in March April to play Maxwell's, Mercury Lounge and Music Hall of Williamsburg (all just went on sale).

Montreal's We Are Wolves are in town this weekend, and play The Studio @ Webster Hall on Friday (2/5) and Brooklyn Bowl on Saturday (2/6). The Saturday show is also the Hot Chip MHOW afterparty with a DJ set by the band.

Golden Triangle's debut for Hardly Art, titled Double Jointer, is out on March 3 and you can download an MP3 from it, "Neon Noose," at the top of this post. The band will be going on tour around that time as well (tour dates below) but play a one-off show this Saturday at Union Pool with the Cramps-y garage of K-Holes. This should be a fairy debauched good time.

Acrylics play twice this weekend: Friday night (2/4) at Brooklyn Bowl with Tanlines as part of BAM's "Sounds Like Brooklyn" Festival. Then they're on a kind of amazing bill the next night (2/5) at Glasslands that is officially the record release party for Class Actress' debut EP. Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor (who runs Terrible Records that both bands are on) DJs. The show also features Blood Orange (aka Dev of Lightspeed Champion) and The Morning Benders. That's a good show!

An MP3 from The Morning Benders' new album Big Echo (out March 9th on Rough Trade) is above. All of their March and April tour dates in support of the new record are below.

There's a new video for Acrylics' "Molly's Vertigo" after the jump as well, along with tour dates and flyers...

Continue reading "Oberhofer, Twin Sister, Savoir Adore, Golden Triangle, Acrylics, Morning Benders & more in This Week in Indie"

"David Perlick-Molinari [of French Horn Rebellion] is mates with MGMT, having produced and engineered their Time to Pretend EP as well as a "wacky" version of Electric Feel; he describes both projects as "really fun" and his "saving grace", since at the time he was composing music for commercials and "feeling very depressed about the world". [French Horn Rebellion, a duo of brothers, are] an odd pair, and no mistake, the Perlick-Molinari boys. The younger one, Robert, is an accomplished French horn player who became "principal horn chair" of the prestigious Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, which sounds impressive even though we have no idea what it means. When they were kids their mum bought the boys an early form of Logic for their computer in the belief that they would use it to "compose classical music and make arrangements for Broadway hits". They got as far as forming a Ben Folds Five covers band in high school. They explain at great length why they chose French Horn Rebellion for their name - "the French horn is the central reason for why the band exists" - but we still can't work out if any of their songs feature said instrument." [Guardian]

French Horn Rebellion (as previously profiled by Bill) have announed some upcoming shows, most notably, February 6th at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Hot Chip. Stay tuned for ticket information for the show that happens three days before the release of Hot Chip's new album. In the meantime, grab tickets (currently on AmEx presale) for the just-announced 2nd Hot Chip show at Terminal 5 which now has an opener: Gang Gang Dance (who themselves have a show at Music Hall of Williamsburg this Friday).

All FHR dates below...

Continue reading "French Horn Rebellion announce shows (including HOT CHIP @ MHOW), Gang Gang Dance opening new date @ Terminal 5"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Zoos of Berlin - Electrical Way (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fanfarlo - Finish Line (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fanfarlo - I'm a Pilot (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fanfarlo - Luna (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Ballet - The House of Fire (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Phantogram - When I'm Small (Mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Invisible Hand - There's Room in My Will (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Invisible Hand - Caught Myself in a Coy Trap (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Drunk Tigers - Outer Banks, Inner Peace (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Phil and the Osophers - We Have All Summer (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dream Diary - Bird in My Garden (MP3)

French Horn Rebellion

As previously reported, Detroit band Zoos of Berlin are in town this weekend -- playing Matchless tonight (12/18) and Cake Shop tomorrow (12/19). Mixing elements of baroque, Krautrock and '70s shag carpet, Zoos of Berlin don't really sound like anybody else -- which is a good thing, right? They're good live too, maybe even better than on their album (which is worth seeking out).

I'm told Zoos of Berlin are on early-ish (9:45) so my personal plan for tonight is to catch ZoB at Matchless then head over to Cameo Gallery for the Cantora Late Nite Holiday Special featuring Savoir Adore and French Horn Rebellion. Doors are at 11PM and if you RSVP, admission is only five bucks. I think I've probably written enough about Savoir Adore this year (and you can read their year-end Q&A) for you to know that I'm a big fan and think you should go see them. French Horn Rebellion is David Perlick-Molinari, who plays in the live line-up of Savoir Adore, and his brother Robert -- and their brand of funky electro draws inspiration from Michael Jackson and early '80s disco. They know their way around a catchy tune too -- "Up All Night" is pretty irresistible, and will end up on my Best Singles of 2009 list...whenever I get around to putting that together. That song's video is at the bottom of this post. I've never seen them live -- Paul and Diedre of Savoir Adore play in the French Horn Rebellion touring unit -- so looking forward to seeing them.

Fanfarlo @ MHOW during CMJ (more by Tim Griffin)

Also tonight: after a successful CMJ (including their great performance at the Brooklyn Vegan showcase), Fanfarlo are back in NYC, moving up to Webster Hall where they play with Freelance Whales. Not bad for a band who have yet to get written about at all on Pitchfork. (Though they are one of the choices in their Bands to Watch in 2010 section of theirreader's poll.) I'm still listening to their debut, Reservoir, which has held up over the last 10 months or so. It's a nice pairing with Freelance Whales who were lovely the only time I saw them --at the Brooklyn Vegan day party during CMJ where they played acoustic. Fanfarlo seem like a good band to see during the holidays -- they're very Christmasy. Tickets are still available. Fanfarlo recently stopped by the NPR offices to film an acoustic performance, including a cover of Low's "It Was Just Like Christmas," and you can watch that at the bottom of this post.

The Ballet

The long-running indiepop party Mondo! happens tonight (12/18) at Don Hill's and tonight features a performance by The Ballet who were kind of a big deal with blogs a few years back and played on a few choice bills, opening for Voxtrot, The Hidden Cameras and others. And then they just sort of faded away. Well, The Ballet are back with their second album melodic, upbeat synthpop, Bear Life, and I like it quite a bit. You can download album track "The House on Fire" at the top to this post. Stephin Merritt comparisons are inevitable but it's definitely more Future Bible Heroes than Magnetic Fields.

Phantogram

Moving on to Saturday (12/19), there's a worthwhile free show at Brooklyn Bowl with Phantogram and Class Actress. I might try to hit this one as I have yet to see Phantogram live and am a fan of their debut album, Eyelid Movies, which will get an official release on Barsuk Records in February 2010. You can download "When I'm Small" from the album at the top of this post. It's a pretty good taster for the album, which is kind of trip-hoppy but in a '00s sort of way (breakbeats but no John Barry or Morricone samples). Chilled, atmospheric, but still danceable.

Class Actress I wrote about last week, but have now actually seen them play (at Mercury Lounge). I don't think they've quite figured out the live show, but they're not bad. I like the EP which will be out on Terrible Records in the new year.

If you miss the bowling alley show, Phantogram also just added a February 12th show at Mercury Lounge. Tickets are on sale at noon.

Invisible Hand

And finally, for the indie pop fans out there we've got a good show at Matchless on Saturday night, featuring Brooklyn bands Dream Diary and Phil & the Osophers, plus two bands from Charlottesville, Virginia -- The Invisible Hand and Drunk Tigers. The Invisible Hand remind me a bit of Of Montreal by way of Superchunk or the Clean. Definitely a '90s indie rock thing going on, pretty good. You can download two tracks at the top of this post. Drunk Tigers aren't bad either, a little more in the shouty Port O'Brien school of things.

As for the local acts, I'm on record as being a fan of Dream Diary whose jangly style should appeal to fans of The Pastels and other '80s-era Creation Records bands. And Phil and the Osophers have been at it for nearly five years and whose new album, Parallelo, is worth checking out -- you can download an MP3 at the top of this post.

That's gonna do it for this week. No column next week, so happy holidays folks. Videos, flyers and tour dates are below...

Continue reading "The Ballet, Zoos of Berlin, Fanfarlo, Savoir Adore, Phil & the Osophers, Phantogram & more in This Week in Indie"