From Craigslist:

Emmy Winning Reality TV Production Company - Seeking Real Life "Girls" (Manhattan/Brooklyn)
REALITY TV--SEEKING REAL LIFE "GIRLS"

Ever feel like life in the big frantic city is just too much? Are you a twenty-something young woman seeking fame, fortune, love or even a hookup with potential? How do you get from here to there when you can't even get a seat on the L train! Come to a casting call with our Emmy-winning production company and tell us your dreams and woes, your highs and lows, your tales of *** in the city and the outrageous opportunities that have come your way. Is your circle of friends bound together by not just the parties, fights, and brunches but frequent bouts of commiserating over your struggles? It isn't easy taking the road less travelled, but making it as a writer, designer, entrepreneur, actress/model or glorified dog walker never is!

The real life television show we are making follows the trials and tribulations of an ensemble of wise-beyond-their-years young ladies. We are with you living the dream in hipster Brooklyn and lower Manhattan. Only well educated and cultured extroverts need apply. Are you thinking about that show--"Girls?" Well we didn't say it but. . ..now that you mention it.

So just send us an email at blinktipcasting@gmail.com with your name, clear attached photos, a short, informal resume, cell phone, and a brief note about why you think you'd work in the show. We'll be scheduling meetings this week, which will generally take place in midtown Manhattan, but we'll get back to you with the specific time and place. So drop us an email today!

In related news, the show "Girls" recently came out with a soundtrack featuring the likes of Fleet Foxes, Lia Ices, Robyn, Santigold, and more.

"Girls" the TV show, is not to be confused with "Girls" the band whose frontman recently went solo and is in the middle of a two-night run in NYC as I type this.

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Christopher Owens @ Bowery Ballroom, 1/22/2013

Christopher Owens played his first of two Bowery Ballroom shows last night (1/21). Playing the bulk of his solo debut, Lysandre, which barely clocks in at a half-hour, the former Girls frontman then came back for a set of covers. Given the '70s AM vibe of his album, his choices seemed pretty appropriate: Cat Stevens' "Wild World," Donavan's "Lalena," Simon & Garfunkle's "The Boxer," The Everly Brothers' "Let it Be Me" and Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right."

Melted Toys opened the night and will do so again with Owens tonight (1/22) and tickets are still available. Pics from Melted Toys set and more of Owens' are below.

Continue reading "Christopher Owens played Bowery Ballroom with Melted Toys (pics); will do it again tonight"

Santigold @ Bowery Ballroom, 12/10/2012 (more by David Andrako)

As you may have seen last night, HBO's Girls won big at the Golden Globes, grabbing both Best Comedy series and Best Actress for creator/star Lena Dunham. At the same time Dunham was giving her acceptance speech, Season 2 of Girls (now featuring Donald Glover as Hannah's new boyfriend) was making its debut on the pay cable channel.

The soundtrack to Girls just came out last week and one of the songs exclusive to it is Santigold's "Girls." We've got the premiere of its video right here in this post. Shot here in NYC the cool little clip features girls from all walks of life (and all ages) lip-synching to the track and you can watch it below. The Girls soundtrack also features Sleigh Bells, Fleet Foxes, Robyn, Belle & Sebastian and more.

Santigold played Bowery Ballroom back in December and her only upcoming live date is at the House of Blues in Los Angeles on February 9. Video and Girls OST artwork and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Santigold sings about 'Girls' (video premiere); 'Girls' wins big at Golden Globes - soundtrack out now"

Former Girls frontman Christopher Owens releases his solo debut, Lysandre, next week (1/15) via Fat Possum. Going even further in the '70s AM style the second Girls album dabbled in, Lysandre details Owens' time in the band that brought him the spotlight. The New York Times has a feature on him today:

The breakup of Girls drove fervent speculation in the indie world. Mr. Owens said it was simply the result of growing pains and shifting lineups. "Nobody hated each other or anything like that," but success "happened a little too fast," he said. "The band would have survived longer if we would have gone slower."

(Mr. White, the co-founder of Girls, did not reply to requests for comment.)

With "Lysandre" Mr. Owens tells the story of Girls as he experienced it, from his gritty start -- hustling, guns, "sleeping in the back of a pickup truck," as he sings on "New York City" -- to touring the south of France. Along the way there was a breakup with a boy and a long-distance romance with the Frenchwoman. Mr. Owens said he was "very attracted to women" and didn't seek out relationships with men, but they happened.

Veronica Falls at South Street Seaport in June (more by Amanda Hatfield)

UK indie pop outfit Veronica Falls, who are touring in 2013 with great new band Cheatahs, just spoke to us about their ten favorite things of 2012 music, film, and TV-wise. It was singer/guitarist James Hoare, specifically, who sent his list over, and he really likes Girls. He's got the single for "My Ma" by the now-defunct band, the solo album by frontman Christopher Owens (which actually comes out next year, but we'll let it slide), AND the television show of the same name all in his top 10 list. He's also got fellow indie poppers Mac DeMarco and Woods, and reveals his classic rock soft spot by including the new Rolling Stones song.

Veronica Falls' tour with Cheatahs hits NYC on March 8 at Bowery Ballroom with Cold Showers and tickets for that show are still available.

James' full list is below...

Continue reading "James of Veronica Falls lists his top 10 music & film of 2012"

"Just saw Christopher Owens solo show at Le Poisson Rouge. A solid 100 on the Earnestness Scale. So many feelings were felt." - Jason Persse

Christopher Owens @ Le Poisson Rouge - 11/14/12 (via We All Want Someone)

Owens played mostly sitting in his chair, swimming in his professorial, pleated suit, pleading for the attention of an audience that was all too willing to give it. The album's songs, in total, lasted only about half an hour, followed by maybe twenty minutes of covers. All of it was good. The new band he has assembled, thankfully, is just as good as (and, for the most part, the same as) the guys who backed him in Girls. [Shane Barnes]

Christopher Owens will be going on a larger tour surrounding the album's release which includes two more NYC shows. He'll play Bowery Ballroom on January 21 and 22. Tickets for those shows go on sale Friday (11/16) at noon.

All currently known (update: all announced now dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Christopher Owens (of Girls) played Le Poisson Rouge, announces more shows (2 nights at Bowery Ballroom included)"

Ex-Girls frontman Christopher Owens just announced he'll play Le Poisson Rouge in NYC on Wednesday (11/14). Tickets are on sale now. Chris's other upcoming dates are all in Europe and listed below...

Continue reading "Christopher Owens of Girls playing NYC WED. (on sale now)"

Christopher Owens has announced details of his first post-Girls solo album. It's called Lysandre and will be out January 15, 2013. The album was conceived, written and recorded as a narrative about Girls' first tour in summer 2008. Owens says the album is "A coming of age story, a road trip story, a love story." You can listen to the album's first two tracks, "Lysandre's Theme" and "Here We Go," below.

Continue reading "Christopher Owens of Girls releasing solo album in January, listen to two new songs (stream)"

Christopher Owens w/ Girls at T5 in January (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Christopher Owens of Girls revealed today in a series of tweets that he will be leaving Girls, the band for which he is pretty much the brains behind, and a band that has experienced enormous success over the past year. The band's publicist confirms the news is true. The tweets read:

1) Dear all, This may come as a surprise to many & has been an issue of much thought for me. My decision was not easy to make

2) I am leaving Girls. My reasons at this time are personal. I need to do this in order to progress

3) I will continue to write & record music. More will be announced soon. I thank you all for everything. Sincerely-Christopher

The video for "Laura" is below...

Continue reading "Christopher Owens is leaving Girls"

Todd P is taking on Mexico again this weekend and in a mega way. San Pedro Garza García is the home of the annual Festival NRMAL 2012, a one-day (on 3/10, but with multiple-pre, after, and post parties) multi-stage festival that features a whopping 55 bands across thress stages from noon until 2AM. The festival will feature headlining appearances from Araabmuzik, Girls (who have just been announced as part of MWTX during SXSW) and White Ring (who play our day show on Wednesday during SXSW), in addition to performances from Liturgy, Gatekeeper, Friends, Davila 666, Grimes, Teengirl Fantasy and many, many more. Full lineup details are below.

Continue reading "Todd P takes on Mexico Saturday (FESTIVAL NRMAL 2012)"

"Awesome show at Terminal 5 tonight. Real Estate being followed up by Girls was amazing! #imnotahipster" - Ryan DeVoe

"girls at terminal 5 was amaaazing. excellent band, excellent backup vocals, excellent denim pencil skirt" - Eileen Tang

"Girls and Real Estate just blew up Terminal 5. Brilliant!!!" - Bianca Ahmadi

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Girls @ Terminal 5

Girls played their largest NYC show yet (an understatement) on Saturday (1/14) when they headlined the sold out Terminal 5 with Real Estate and King Krule. Girls, with their flowers and trio of female backup singers in tow (like they had at their Bowery Ballroom shows), played almost the entire Father, Son, Holy Ghost, in addition to cuts from Album and the Broken Dreams Club EP.

Real Estate only played material from the recently released Days, save for "Fake Blues," from their debut album, and a cover of jangly post-punkers Felt's "Sunlight Bathed the Golden Glow," which if you didn't know was a cover, could have easily passed as a b-side off Days.

With their new albums, Girls and Real Estate are becoming some of the fastest growing bands in indie, but opener King Krule (and Girls' True Panther labelmate) doesn't seem too far behind them. His set at the T5 show was just after he had played sold out shows at Glasslands and Mercury Lounge earlier that week. His feedback seems pretty positive but the twitterverse seems to agree that his set was suffering from bad sound at Terminal 5. Review and pics of the Mercury Lounge show HERE and Glasslands pics HERE.

Real Estate and Girls both DJ'd at the show's afterparty at Tribeca Grand. How was that? Real Estate have more dates coming up including one for only $5.00 in Queens.

More pictures and setlists from the Terminal 5 show, and a new set of west coast Girls tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Girls played Terminal 5 with Real Estate & King Krule (pics, setlists & some new tour dates)"

Girls @ Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 (more by Tim Griffin)

Girls, who are playing the sold out Coachellas this year, play their big sold out headlining show at Terminal 5 tonight (1/14) along with support from Real Estate and King Krule (who also played Glasslands and Mercury Lounge this past week).

Tonight's afterparty goes down at the Tribeca Grand hotel, upstairs in the Club Room, where Girls, Real Estate, Sky Ferreria, Ilirjana, and Dean from True Panther are all DJing. Expensive Looks is performing live. Like all "Live From Tribeca" events, it's free with rsvp: events@grandlifenyc.com.
Update: Action Bronson was also added to the bill.

In related news, tickets are still on sale for Real Estate's upcoming show at K&K Super Buffet.

Radiohead @ Roseland Ballroom in 2011 (more by Bao Nguyen)

Coachella which is taking place over the course of two weekends this year (April 13-15 and 20-22) revealed their 2012 lineup. Last week, Azealia Banks was the first artist confirmed, and earlier today they confirmed The Weeknd (maybe he found a band?), and before that, Jimmy Cliff, Breakbot, and Housse De Racket. The reunited Pulp then announced itself. The full lineup also includes headliners The Black Keys, Radiohead, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, not to mention, as predicted, the reunited At the Drive In and the reunited Mazzy Star (!), and Madness and Refused (!) and Jeff Mangum and many, many more that you can see below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2012 lineup announced (two weekends worth)"

King Krule

King Krule (formerly Zoo Kid) made quite an impression on NYC during CMJ and has since released a great self-titled EP on True Panther. You can stream the track "Portrait In Black And Blue" off that EP and watch the video for "The Noose of Jah City" below. He'll return to NYC to open for labelmates Girls when they headline Terminal 5 (1/14) with Real Estate. Tickets for that show are still on sale.

While he's here, he'll also play a Philly show with Girls and two of his own headlining NYC shows. Those headlining shows happen at Mercury Lounge on January 11 and Glasslands on January 13. Tickets for Mercury Lounge go on sale Friday (12/9) at noon with AmEx presale starting Wednesday (12/7) at noon and tickets for Glasslands are on sale now.

King Krule recently performed a solo version of his track "Baby Blue" for La Blogotheque's Take Away Show during Pitchfork Paris. The video of that performance is below.

All dates, videos, and song stream below...

Continue reading "King Krule opening for Girls, playing Mercury Lounge & Glasslands (2012 dates)"

DOWNLOAD: Real Estate - "Green Aisles" (MP3)

Real Estate at Williamsburg Waterfront (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

New Jersey's Real Estate just celebrated the month anniversary of their new LP Days recently. The Domino-released record features "Green Aisles" (downloadable above/streaming below) and "It's Real" which has a video you can watch below. Real Estate have a sold-out Bowery Ballroom to contend with on 11/23 (tomorrow) with Big Troubles and Liquor Store as part of their US tour, but if you missed the boat on tickets you can also catch them supporting Girls at Terminal 5 on 1/14. Tickets are still available for that one. As far as headlining shows go, I don't think they've reached the same status as Girls yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if their next NYC show is at Webster Hall.

All Real Estate dates, those streams and a recent take-away show featuring a perfromance of "Green Aisles" is below.

Continue reading "Real Estate finish their tour @ Bowery this week, opening for Girls @ Terminal 5, played a Take Away Show (dates & video)"

photos by Tim Griffin, words by Bill Pearis

Girls @ Fun Fun Fun Fest

San Francisco's Girls, who just played the Fun Fun Fun Fest this weekend in Austin and next roll through NYC January 14 for a show at Terminal 5, have announced a new single, "Lawrence," to be released via True Panther on December 6. The song, which isn't on Girls' album Father Son Holy Ghost, was "written and recorded as a gift to Lawrence Hayward" who fronted cult bands Felt in the '80s, Denim in the '90s and Go-Kart Mozart currently. Christopher Owens explains in an open letter:

Dear Lawrence,

I wonder who will be writing me in twenty years, and what they'll be looking for. Don't worry, I'm not writing to talk about the things I'm looking for in life, I'll spare you that. I'm writing to FINALLY be able to send you a song that I wrote in 2008. When I wrote this song I was the guitarist in a band called Holy Shit, Matt Fishbeck (our fearless leader) was the one who turned me on to Felt. I fell in love with your songs, I wouldn't stop listening, I loved you and Maurice.

To make a long story a shorter story, I once wrote this song and wondered what you would sing to it, I could sometimes hear your voice but I didn't dare write down any words. I never thought for a second you would ever hear it, I wondered if you would like it, all that. I called it Lawrence, after you. To send it to you now is incredible for me, I want to show you I'm thankful. You gave me something to love, or in other words you gave me love itself. You took something that can sometimes feel so common and dull and brought it back to life with so much beauty and verse. You gave me happiness, and you still do.

Anyway, I'd just like you to have it, it's yours, take it as yours. Do anything you want with it. I hope you enjoy listening to it. And all the best to you forever and ever.

With love- Christopher Owens

This is not the first Girls/Lawrence interaction, as French website Magic RPM managed to get the somewhat reclusive singer to interview Owens and Chet White on video two years ago and all three parts of that exchange are watchable at the bottom of this post, along with more pictures from Girls' FFFF set.

Coincidentally, Scottish group Girls Names also have a song called "Lawrence" which is about the Felt/Denim singer too, and can be found on their Slumberland LP Dead to Me from earlier this year. Weird, huh? Maybe somebody can work out a split 7" with both versions.

There's more Lawrence-related news. Paul Kelly's long-in-the-works documentary Lawrence of Belgravia finally made its debut, premiering at the London Film Festival two weeks ago. Reviews have been positive... maybe it'll get American distribution. And First Third Books is putting out a coffee table book of rare photographs of Felt from Lawrence's personal archives with a forward by St. Etienne's Bob Stanley. Only a 1,000 copies are being printed, each signed by Lawrence himself.

Lawrence

If you're unfamiliar with Lawrence's oeuvre, you should start with Felt who released ten albums and ten singles in ten years for Cherry Red and Creation, and whose influence can be heard in Pulp, Belle & Sebastian, The Tyde, Crystal Stilts among many others. It used to be hard to get your hands on the albums but pretty much all of Felt's work is in print now, and available digitally. Felt's sound ranged from uber-jangly indie, to organ-driven pop and even instrumental jazz, so a good place to start is with compilation Absolute Classic Masterpieces which you can listen to on Spotify if you have it.

With his 10-year-plan for Felt complete, Lawrence then formed Denim whose glammy sound was a 180 from everything his previous group stood for. Denim's 1992 debut, Back in Denim, is a classic and still get-able (and Spotify-able), but 1996's Denim on Ice (and the b-sides comp Novelty Rock) is not. Denim's career was derailed in the summer of 1997 when their single "Summer Smash" unfortunately coincided with Princess Diana's death. The single was banned by the BBC and the subsequent album, Denim Take Over, got shelved indefinitely.

Lawrence then formed Go-Kart Mozart with a novetly-ish bubblegum sound, a direction Denim were already heading in. Some of the songs meant for Denim Take Over ended up on Go-Kart Mozart's 2005 album Tearing Up the Album Charts. Lawrence claims to have a new GKM album in the can and ready for release.

Click through for that Lawrence/Girls interview and a live version of Girls Names' "Lawrence," plus some Felt and Denim videos, more pics and all upcoming Girls tour dates.

Continue reading "Girls played FFF Fest (pics), releasing new single for Lawrence of Felt (who has documentaries and books coming out)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Spoon @ Fun Fun Fun Fest

Spoon had nothing to promote and no surplus of new songs to unveil. This was just an Austin band -- Austin's biggest indie band ever -- playing an Austin festival for their only major show of 2011 (at least so far). As a live unit, the four-piece that recorded Transmission (augmented here by an additional percussionist) is as precise as Spoon has ever been, cranking out savagely controlled, often slow-building versions of such songs as "Written in Reverse," "Delicate Places" and the instantaneously applauded "I Turn My Camera On." "We got horns!" frontman Britt Daniel proclaimed, bringing out a six-man section for "Cherry Bomb," "The Underdog" and "Jonathan Fisk." By the four-song encore, the crowd had both increased in enthusiasm and decreased in size -- no doubt some people had wandered to another stage to see the Damned, which Daniel himself had said he wished that he could do. [SPIN]

Our first set of pictures from Saturday, Damned included, are HERE. Our second set continues, more of Spoon included, below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 -- Day 2 pics (part 2) -- Spoon, Tune-Yards, Ra Ra Riot, Tinariwen, Purity Ring & more"

Girls at Bowery Ballroom last month (more by Ryan Barkan)

Girls did us a favor last month and decided to play two shows at Bowery Ballroom (9/23, 9/24) even though they had previously headlined the bigger Webster Hall. Well, don't get used to it because Girls' next NYC show is happening, not down at the small Mercury Lounge or even back at Webster or Irving, but instead at the massive Terminal 5 on January 14th. Tickets go on sale Friday (10/21) at noon.

It's their only currently scheduled US show besides Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin next month. All international dates are listed, with their recent video for "Honey Bunny", below...

Continue reading "Girls headlining Terminal 5 (dates)"

photos by Ryan Barkan, words by Andrew Frisicano

San Francisco's Girls headlined two sold-out nights at Bowery Ballroom on Thursday (9/22) and Friday (9/23). The band performed in a sea of floral arrangements, which seemed to make the connection between their poppy tunes and sunny '60s-era idealism. There was plenty of cheeriness ("Hunny Bunny," "My Love") from their new record, Father, Son, Holy Ghost. But the album has a darker side too: the metal thrashing of "Die," the whispered desperation of "Vomit," with its Dark Side of the Moon-style rapture at the end. The touring band, eight members strong with a trio of backup singers, vacillated between those two modes over the course of their 90-plus-minute Thursday night set.

Girls are excellent at mirroring the musical styles of the past, from surfy Beach Boys tunes to soulful McCartney-esque ballads. And frontman Christopher Owens seemed content to lets the polished sounds of the band take over, though the show's best moments featured him at his most bare. When Owens came back alone for the first song of the encore, "Jamie Marie," the crowd chuckled along at his rambling asides. The band came back to finish that song and play "Substance" and "Just a Song," completing the trio of sleepy send-offs.

In the role of the tortured frontman-down to the bleached blond hair and opiate addiction-Owens is a compelling presence that puts the band beyond being a mere nostalgia act. But the setlist Thursday night didn't really do him any favors. Front-loaded with hits like "Lust for Life" and "Laura," the second-half of the show dragged on, and reinforced the sameness of some of his songs.

Nobunny, whose First Blood is easily one of my top five album's this year, opened the show with a hilarious, grimy set. The opener, "Your Mouth," tipped the crowd off to his perverse humor, which continued with songs that included "(Do the) Fuck Yourself," "Blow Dumb," "I Am a Girlfriend," "Ain't It a Shame" and "You Don't Like Rock 'n' Roll," a Nobunny-penned Hunx song that got the biggest reaction of the night.

The first band, Papa, made up of Girls' guitarist and drummer with a piano player and bassist, proved to be competent musicians, but the group just didn't have the songs to make the set enjoyable.

More pictures from Friday (the review is from Thursday) below...

Continue reading "Girls, Nobunny & Papa played 2 nights @ Bowery Ballroom (pics & review)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Big Troubles - "Misery" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Wild Beasts - "Loop the Loop" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Diehard - A VerySerious Man (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Diehard - Diehard (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cave - Adam Roberts (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dive - Sometime (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Heaven's Gate - Salome (MP3)

Welcome to the first day of Autumn! The air is crisp, it's a pleasure to be outside...which is where you'll be on your way to the many good show options this week. Where to start...

I guess I should mention R.E.M.'s decision to "call it a day." It's the right thing to do... but I sorta wish it'd happened 13 years ago. The post-Bill Berry records had their good songs, but it was never really R.E.M. to me. But their first decade, few bands were as important and influential. Hopefully they continue to make music on their own (Peter Buck's got like four other bands anyway), and cross our fingers that doesn't mean a Micheal Stipe solo album of "standards."

This leads nicely into this week's first real item:  Big Troubles' record release party tomorrow night (9/22) at Glasslands. Mitch Easter, who produced R.E.M.'s first two albums, was behind the boards for their new album, Romatic Comedy, which is out next week on Slumberland.

Those familiar with Big Troubles' sludgy, shoegazy debut album, Worry, might wonder if it's the same band this time. Working with Let's Active's Mitch Easter (who twiddled knobs on R.E.M.'s first two albums [and Pavement's Brighten the Corners), the band have cleaned up into a sparkling pop band. It's a dramatic transformation, not unlike the one Easter helped make happen with '90s shoegaze band Moose on their debut album, ...XYZ. With crazy catchy song after crazy catchy song, Romantic Comedy is a terrific album. You can download "Misery" at the top of this post.

The rest of the country will get to see them soon, as they're heading out on tour with their Slumberland labelmates The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (who headlined Bowery Ballroom this week) and then later with Real Estate who they play Bowery Ballroom with in November. All 2011 Big Troubles tour dates are at the bottom of this post, along with the video for their single "Sad Girls."

In addition to Big Troubles, their record release party also has  The Ice Choir and Cuffs playing as well, plus Ford & Lopatin on DJ duty.

Cuffs is the new band from former Pants Yell! frontman Andrew Churchman (one of Big Troubles is also in the band). They are at the same time more pure pop than PY! were and also more rockin'. They're good live.

Ice Choir

The Ice Choir is the new project from Kurt Feldman who plays drums for Pains of Being Pure at Heart and used to front The Depreciation Guild. It's funky synthpop that sounds an awful lot like...Scritti Politti?! It's true. Listen to the songs on Bandcamp and compare with this. I'm very curious to see what The Ice Choir will be like live. Will Kurt wear a while suit with giant shoulder pads? I hope so.

Wild Beasts

Wild Beasts are back, playing two nights at Music Hall of Williamsburg (Friday 9/23 and Saturday 9/24) with BOBBY opening both shows. The band's third album, Smother, has been a real grower for me and find myself going back to it a lot.  It's definitely a subtler album than Two Dancers  that shows the influence of Talk Talk and The Blue Nile in particular. It's a grower, as they say, and a worthy successor to 2009's best album. Check out "Loop the Loop" at the top of this post and there's a new video for "Bed of Nails" below.

Live, Wild Beasts are truly something to behold,  transcending their records every time (at least every time I've seen them). Sky Larkin's Katie Harkin is back again playing keyboards with the band on this go-round which is an added bonus for some of us. I haven't seen them tour this album yet, so I'm really looking forward to this weekend's shows. All Wild Beasts tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

-------

So Girls' new album, Father, Son, Holy Ghost debuted at #37 on the Billboard which is pretty impressive -- and also means they'll be playing much bigger places next time they roll through town. Their Bowery Ballroom shows this weekend are sold out, natch, but you can try and squeeze into Other Music tonight (9/21) for their free in-store.

Diehard

What else? '90s-rocking locals Diehard are set to release their debut album, The Times We Didn't Have Fun, next week and it's a ripper, full of big riffs, bigger choruses, oohs and ahhs, and hooks o' plenty. You can download two tracks from the album at the top of this post. You can listen to the whole shebang at their Bandcamp page.

The band are throwing a record release party this Friday (9/23) at Bruar Falls with likeminded pals Radical Dads, Shark? and Thunderclap also playing.

Cave @ Issue Project Room in 2010 (more by Greg Cristman)

Cave are here this weekend, playing Saturday, September 24 at soon-to-be-closed Live With Animals (with Amen Dunes, K-Holes & PC Worship), and then Sunday, September 25 at Cake Shop. All tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

As I wrote earlier this week, the band's new album  Neverendless finds finds them locking onto a groove and staying with it in the Neu!/Spacemen 3 tradition. You can download the "Adam Roberts" (the album's spaciest cut) at the top of this post and watch the video for the album's chugging, motoroik single, "WUJ," below.

Dive @ Shea Stadium

And finally, two bands I wrote about last week -- Dive and Heaven's Gate  (MP3s for both above) -- play again together tomorrow night (9/22) at 285 Kent, with Dustin Wong and Prussia. At the time, I hadn't seen either play live but remedied that last Friday at Shea Stadium. Both bands were very good, but different than I was expecting.

Heaven's Gate are much less shoegazy than their old band Sweetbulbs, with more of a blues-punk vibe (think Cramps or maybe JSBE or early YYYs). But their best songs still have some of that melodic swirl to them.

As for Dive, their recordings are very Beach Fossils-y (frontman Cole Smith is in the band). But live, Dive are a motorik dynamo, very Krautrock at times. There's a lot of flying hair, the band are whirling dervishes on stage. I was impressed. Dive are also playing Pianos earlier Thursday night (9PM) if you want to catch them there.

Here are some more picks, by day, not mentioned above:

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

Cymbals Eat Guitars play Music Hall of Williamsburg. Their new album, Lenses Alien, is more '90s style indie rock guitar heroics, maybe a little more pop than their first. Hooray for Earth and Beige open.

Though if you're a '90s indie rock fan, you might instead be seeing Olivia Tremor Control and The Music Tapes at Le Poisson Rouge. OTC's Dusk at Cubist Castle remains a '90s classic. if you can't make it, NPR will be streaming it online.

Or if the '80s is more your thing, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are at Irving Plaza.

There's also the Hipster Puppies Cassette Release Party at Public Assembly. Music critic and frequent Twitter fighter Chris Weingarten is putting out a mix tape companion to his book which is based on his tumblr. Zs, Dinowalrus, Mountains and Burning Star Core all play sets. More info here.

continued below...

Continue reading "Big Troubles, Ice Choir, Wild Beasts, Girls, Diehard, Dive, Heaven's Gate & more in This Week in Indie"

OMD @ Terminal 5 in March (more by Dana (Distortion) Yavin)

As Tune-Yards starts her second of two NYC shows at LPR tonight (9/20), OMD will be beginning their first of two shows at Irving Plaza. And I don't know what is about right now and two-night stands, but Wedneday and Thursday have two Beirut shows (both shows with Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier) and two Opeth shows.Thursday and Friday bring two Wilco shows (tickets went back on sale today) and two Girls shows (who also play Other Music while they're here). Old school East Coast punks (sort of) Blondie (who cover Beirut on their new album) just played two shows at Highline Ballroom. Old school West Coast punks X begin a two night run at Irving Plaza soon, but not before the two Radiohead shows at Roseland Ballroom with Four Tet and friends go on sale, sell out and happen (though Radiohead does overlap with X's Maxwell's show). Megafaun also play two NYC shows next week, as do Mogwai with the Soft Moon. Jay-Z & Kanye West will spend 9/27 & 9/28 11/5 & 11/6 at the Izod Center in NJ. Portishead and Jeff Mangum help end September and begin October with two shows each as part of ATP in NJ. Portishead follow it up with two more shows at Hammerstein Ballroom. I think that's a good place to stop. What else?

today in NYC
* Michael Pisaro @ The Stone
* Steely Dan @ Beacon Theatre
* HTRK @ Home Sweet Home
* Erasure, Frankmusik @ Terminal 5
* The Big Terrific @ Cameo Gallery
* Bomba Estereo @ Le Poisson Rouge
* The Klezmatics @ Highline Ballroom
* Funky Meters, Turkuaz @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Mike Bones, Sleepy Doug Shaw @ Zebulon
* Grouplove, Young Man @ Bowery Ballroom
* Tica Douglas, Gold Smoke @ Cameo Gallery
* Rich Medina, Akalepse @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Two Door Cinema Club @ The Studio @ Webster
* K Holes, Grave Babies, Pop. 1280 @ Cake Shop
* The Gypsy West, Suzanne Real @ Bowery Electric
* Aunt Martha, The Barr Brothers @ Mercury Lounge
* Japandroids, Bass Drum of Death @ Mercury Lounge
* Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax @ Yankee Stadium
* Luck War, Super Melody, Darren Sylvester @ Bruar Falls
* Steve Earle, Allison Moorer @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Gabriel Kahane, Elizabeth and The Catapult @ Littlefield
* Toro y Moi, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Ava Luna @ Webster Hall
* Cinjun Tate, Thunderegg, Clownage, My Dear Mycroft @ Union Hall
* Wolves in the Throne Room, Thou, Mutilation Rites @ Death By Audio
* Saadi, ShadowBox, The Echo-Friendly, Queen of Coney Island @ Glasslands
* Dinosaur Feathers, Man/Miracle, Our Mountain, Adam Faucett & The Tall Grass @ Pianos

Check out This Week In Indie for more.

Girls played two new songs from Father, Son, Holy Ghost last night on Fallon. Videos below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

Girls at FYF Fest 2011 (more by Nathanael Turner)

In addition to previously discussed dates at Bowery Ballroom on 9/22 and and 9/23 (both sold out), Girls have added another, much more intimate NYC show. Girls will play an in-store show at Other Music on 9/21 at 9pm. Flyer is below. NOBUNNY and Papa are scheduled for both dates at Bowery Ballroom, but will not join Girls at OM.

Girls will release their great new LP Father, Son, Holy Ghost on September 13. Stream it. Flyer and all dates are below.

Continue reading "Girls playing Other Music ---- updated dates, LP out this week"

DOWNLOAD: Kurt Vile - The Creatures (MP3)

To quote Matador Records...

On November 8, Kurt Vile will be releasing a brand-new 6-song EP on the 12" vinyl and digital formats, entitled So Outta Reach. The EP contains 5 original songs initially recorded during the sessions for Smoke Ring For My Halo but not used for the album, which were reworked with producer John Agnello this summer. In addition, the EP contains a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Downbound Train."

On the same day there will be a deluxe 2-CD version of Smoke Ring For My Halo with a new color cover. The deluxe CD will include the So Outta Reach EP on a second disc, all at the same price as a regular CD.

Kurt heads out on tour later this month with Bright Eyes who just played Williamsburg last week. Kurt played the same Brooklyn venue earlier in the summer with Sonic Youth and Wild Flag who have a new Tom Scharpling-directed video out today for "Romance". Check it out below. Wild Flag's new album (out 9/13 on Merge) is streaming too.

Kurt's next NYC show is a big headlining one at Webster Hall. All tour dates are listed below.

And speaking of Matador bands that have Manhattan shows coming up in the fall, Girls' new album Father, Son, Holy Ghost is streaming too, and that is also below...

Continue reading "new Kurt Vile MP3, Wild Flag video, Girls album stream, "

The Kills @ Lollapalooza Friday (more by Grant MacAllister)

today in NYC
Whiplash @ UCB
* Takuya @ Zebulon
* Swingadelic @ Maxwell's
* Small Beat @ The Delancey
* Men of Soul @ Wingate Field
* Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Littlefield
* Bobby Bare Jr., Chatham County Line @ City Winery
* Ducky, The Duke of Uke, The Faux Pas @ Cake Shop
* Karl Berger's Stone Workshop Orchestra @ The Stone
* Guster, Jack's Mannequin @ Central Park Summerstage
* Great Falls, A Passage Between, Fashion Week @ Lit Lounge
* Matt McCarthy, Andrea Rosen & other comedians @ Ace Hotel
* Robbers On High Street, The Twees, Brothers @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Wolf!, Erik Deutsch Band, Matthew Trowbridge @ Bowery Electric
* Tony Scherr Trio with Anton Fier and Rob Jost @ The Living Room
* PC Worship, Whatever Brains, Heaven's Gate, Bad Drugs @ Bruar Falls (free)
* Proclamation, Black Witchery, Abazagorath, Decieverion, Villains @ Europa
* The Kills, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, A Place To Bury Strangers @ Terminal 5
* Men of Soul starring Jeffrey Osborne, Peabo Bryson, Freddie Jackson @ Wingate Field
* La Big Vic, Alex Bleeker & The Freaks, Regal Degal, Flower Orgy @ Monster Island Basement
* Nuclear Power Pants, Religious Girls, Blastoids, The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt! @ Death By Audio

The Kills & The Pains of Being Pure at Heart play their first of two post-Lollapalooza shows at Terminal 5 tonight with A Place to Bury Strangers.

Girls have a video for their new single "Vomit." Watch that below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"