photos by Bryan Bruchman / BTRtv; words by Bill Pearis

No Joy / Weekend @ Glasslands, 5/17/2013

No Joy's tour swung through NYC this week, with two shows for the Montreal shoegazers, first at Mercury Lounge (5/15) and then at Glasslands last night (5/17). The band's new album, Wait to Pleasure, is very much a studio creation, with producer Jorge Elbrecht of Violens buffing some of their more jagged edges in favor of more a lush sound that would've been right at home on 4AD Records in 1988. It's a terrific record, but I was happy to see no laptops or headphones at their show last night. While still in possession of honeyed vocals from Jasamine White-Gluz (using a harmonizer to great effect), songs like "Hare Tarot Lies" took on more pummeling form. This was especially true of show-closer "E" (which is opens their album) that is kind of their "You Made Me Realize," disintegrating into pure noise.

For fans of goth-leaning shoegaze, this was a great show as support came from Weekend who moved from San Francisco to Brooklyn last year, and even more recently adding a fourth member, Nick Ray, to the band. With Ray on bass, singer Shaun Durkan now plays second guitar. One might expect that to result in an even greater din, but last night's show was a bit turned-down, volume-wise, for the band. (It was still plenty loud.) Which maybe suited the set, which was made up almost entirely of Weekend's forthcoming album, Jinx, that trades white noise for liquid basslines, dark dance grooves and much hookier songs. The new direction suits them well and if you haven't heard first single "Mirror" you can stream it below.

Weekend's next show will be during the Northside Festival where they'll play Knitting Factory on June 15. Tickets for that show just went on sale today. They've got a few shows in California in July, too, and all dates are listed below.

I missed openers Grand Resort, but they have a few shows coming up including tonight (5/17) at Big Snow Buffalo Lodge where they'll play with Minneapolis' great BNLX. Those dates, along with more photos of No Joy and Weekend, are below.

Continue reading "No Joy played Glasslands with Weekend who are playing Northside (pics, dates)"

by Bill Pearis

No Joy's new album, Wait to Pleasure, came out last week via Mexican Summer. Produced by Violens' Jorge Elbrecht, the album goes beyond the group's pummeling shoegaze start, showing off previously unheard textures, melody and beauty. They can still attain tinitus-level volume, but they've got other cards too. You can stream it via Spotify, and check out their new video for the LP's almost Cocteau Twins-y "Hare Tarot Lies" below.

As mentioned, No Joy's tour will hit NYC in a couple weeks, playing an early show at Mercury Lounge on May 15 (tickets) and then Glasslands on May 16 with the sonically likeminded Weekend (who were great at Shea Stadium last week) and Grand Resort (who also play with BNLX the next day). You can still get tickets to Glasslands but if you'd like to go for free, we've got a pair to give away, along with a copy of No Joy's album.

Contest details, video, album stream and No Joy's current tour schedule are below.

Continue reading "No Joy released 'Wait to Pleasure' and new video; win copy of new LP and tickets to their Glasslands show"

by Bill Pearis

Minneapolis trio BNLX's debut album was one of my favorites of last year. It throws a variety of post punk styles into a blender, and manages both lip-curl attitude and tongue-in-cheek awareness at the some time. The songs are also catchy as hell, and you can stream the whole album below.

The band will be visiting NYC next month, playing two shows: Pianos on May 16 with Wormburner and May 17 at Big Snow Buffalo Lodge with Honduras, Eastern Hollows, and Grand Resort. All BNLX dates are listed below.

Continue reading "BNLX playing shows (two in NYC)"

by Bill Pearis

line to get in Other Music on Record Store Day 2012

As you are probably aware, this Saturday (4/20) is Record Store Day. We've already told you some of our picks from the myriad #RSD13 exclusives, but many of NYC's record stores are having special events that day. While this guide is pretty thorough, it may not be comprehensive. If you know of cool Record Store Day happenings that aren't in this post, let us know in the comments. But here's the stuff we found:

We already told you about Greenwich Village mainstay Generation Records who are having live performances from Forgetters, Doug Gillard, Swearin' and Livids as well as DJ sets from WFMU's Tom Scharpling and Forgetters' Blake Schwarzenbach. Generation will open at 10 AM, with bands starting at 2 PM. Schedule still TBA.

While you're in the area, take a second to walk over to Bleecker Bob's where you won't find any records for sale, but as of Wednesday you could still at least take one more look through the window at the somewhat-still stocked shelves of the closed store.

Over at In Living Stereo on Great Jones, they'll have live performances from Alex Bleeker & the Freaks and Prince Rupert's Drops, plus free PBR from noon. More info here.

Wild Nothing at Other Music, RSD2012 (more)

Other Music isn't big enough to have bands play while people shop, so they have bands DJ during RSD, and this year's line-up will have Parquet Courts, Sharon Van Etten, Jonathan Toubin and more on the decks. Other Music opens at 10:30 AM with DJs starting at noon (schedule is below).

Also having DJs spin on #RSD13, as mentioned, is East Village shop Turntable Lab. Their line-up also includes FaltyDL, as well as Nomi Ruiz, Justin Strauss, Eli Escobar and many more. DJs spin from 10 AM - 8 PM.

Kim's Video & Music promises "DJ sets from some of your favorite local artists and DJ's" but they don't name names. They are, however, open at 8 AM.

Another EV store, Good Records, won't have RSD exclusives, but they will have a bunch of rare used vinyl they'll be putting out that day, including albums by Brian Eno, The Fall, Blur, Pink Floyd, The White Stripes and more. They'll also have free food and beverages. More details are here.

still from Cake Shop's RSD video

Some of you may not remember when Cake Shop back lounge was a record store, but they still carry a few a few new releases and they'll have a selection of RSD exclusives on Saturday. Additionally, they'll have "lots of deals, lots of old stuff we've been holding onto forever etc! Plus: tons of fun, possible balloons and maybe Eddie!" That night Record Store Day moves downstairs with an extremely stacked indie rock/pop line-up, with Literature, Grand Resort, Sparxx, Cascading Slopes, The Hairs, a short solo set from TPOBPAH's Kip Berman and Scott and Charlene's Wedding. Kip and Maria Sherman will also be on DJ duty. Doors for the night show are at 8 PM and is a mere $5 entry. A pretty weird, funny video hyping Cake Shop's RSD fun is below.

Downtown at J&R Music World, Anthrax will be in the house at 12:30 PM signing records and anything else you want their John Hancock on, and they generally have a good selection of #RSD13 exclusives too.

Meanwhile in Brooklyn, Record Store Day will be the last day ever for Williamsburg's Sound Fix, which is probably enough for them (read a new interview with the owner HERE). Last year they had doughnuts and coffee, if memory serves. They're open at 10 AM and in addition to RSD exclusive, their fire sale (which is happening now) includes "25% off all CDs, 10% off all LPs."

Williamsburg stores in general don't seem to be doing a whole lot of special events on Saturday, though both Academy Records Annex and Earwax will have #RSD13 exclusives, and East Village Radio will be streaming live from Academy Records at 4pm.

Co-Op 87 (via)

For the second year, the tiny but well-stocked Co-Op 87 in Greenpoint will be open for the entirety of Record Store Day, meaning midnight to midnight. No in-store performances or celeb DJs, but they are making a special offer for the truly insane record buyers out there:

"If you are tuff enuff to come to Co-Op 87 Records ONCE an hour, EVERY hour of Record Store Day (24 visits!) and spend $10 on a record (not multiple records) at least ONCE for EACH of those hours, you'll be entitled to an INCREASING percentage off, starting at 4% and increasing BY 4% each time on ANY one record UP to $100! That means he or she who braves this madness could by the final hour, buy ANY $100 or less record for a WHOPPING 96% off!"

Elsewhere in Greenpoint, Permanent Records will be open at 10 AM on Saturday with "free gift bags & goodies while supplies last," as well as "nearly all of this year's exclusive releases." And over at Record Grouch, they'll have a smattering of RSD13 exclusives and some choice used records put out just that day, in addition to their extremely well-curated stock of used vinyl.

DUMBO's Halcyon Records will have "instore DJs" and are open at 10 AM.

As for the general NY area, Vintage Vinyl in Ford, NJ will have a full stock of RSD exclusives but no in-stores announced,

And if you happen to be in Philadelphia on Saturday, Main Street Music will feature a special RSD performances by Billy Bragg, the Joy Formidable, Generationals and more.

And if you're in the Windy City, BV Chicago and Saki Records are throwing a RSD party with live performances from Pink Avalanche, The Beets, Twin Peaks and more.

BV Austin discusses what's going on at Waterloo Records this year.

Again, you can see all stores participating in Record Store Day 2013 here.

Other Music DJ schedule, Cake Shop video, Turntable Lab flyer and other RSD videos are below.

Continue reading "a guide to NYC #RSD13 in-store performances & special events"

by Bill Pearis

Close Lobsters / The School

We already knew that The Monochrome Set would be performing at this year's NYC Popfest (May 30 - June 2) but now the rest of the line-up has been announced and it's pretty great with appearances from New Zealand Flying Nun legends The Bats, two bands who featured on NME's legendary C-86 cassette (Scotland's Close Lobsters [!] and London's The Wolfhounds), and long-running California band The Orange Peels; plus newer bands like Wales' The School, UK group Flowers, Hobbes Fanclub and Tigercats, Sweden's Alpaca Sport and Azur Blue, Norway's Making Marks, and Spain's Zipper; and American groups Ringo Deathstarr, Math & Physics Club, Literature, Ski Lodge and more.

I'm particularly excited for Close Lobsters whose debut album Foxheads Stalk This Land is a big favorite of mine. (You can stream it below.) I don't think they've played here in 25 years. Also exciting is the return of The Bats who haven't played NYC since 2006. The band, which features The Clean's Robert Scott, have an amazing cannon of work, including classic albums like Daddy's Highway, 1989's The Law of Things and, most recently, 2011's Free All Monsters.

Alpaca Sports, Azure Blue, Flowers, French Films, Hobbes Fanclub, Tigercats, and Zipper are all making their first U.S. visits for Popfest. NYC Popfest has created a Spotify playlist with all the bands playing this year and made a downloadable mix which you can grab at the top of this post.

Festival passes are on sale now and tickets to individual shows will be on sale later this week. Venues and individual line-ups stil to come, but full band list, flyer and a few videos are below.

Continue reading "The Bats, Close Lobsters, The Wolfhounds, The School, Flowers and more playing 2013 NYC Popfest (line-up, tix on sale)"

by Bill Pearis

photo by Katiera Lyn (via)

Brooklyn's Grand Resort have been around for about a year and recently released their debut EP, Vanguard Dreams. (Though at 30 minutes and eight songs, I consider that an LP but who's to say?) It's loaded with shimmery, super-catchy pop and you can stream it below.

Grand Resort have a few local shows on the horizon actually, including playing tonight (12/13) at Big Snow Buffalo Lodge with Eastern Hollows, The Meaning Of Life, and Softskull. They're also playing the "Rough Smooch" party at Legion on Sunday (12/16) we just posted about, plus Pianos on December 28 with Slonk Donkerson, Butter the Children (ex-Sweet Bulbs), Spires, and Sham-poo; and Union Hall on January 18 with Los Entantados, Chase King and Soft Collapse (tickets).

All tour dates are listed below, along with the EP stream.

Continue reading "Grand Resort released EP, playing 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"

Hilly Eye at Cake Shop in June (more by Andrew St. Clair)

Brooklyn's Hilly Eye have a few shows coming up, including a couple this week during and around CMJ. As mentioned, they play the Life or Death showcase at 92YTribeca on Saturday (10/20) with DIIV, Maria Minerva, Mac DeMarco, Twerps, Starred, Kilo Kish, Slug Guts, Jozef Van Wissem, Sky Ferreira, and Dogbite. After that, they'll play an unofficial post-CMJ day party at 285 Kent on Sunday (10/21) with Blanche Blanche Blanche (who played Glasslands last month with Chris Cohen), Ireland bands Squarehead and So Cow, plus local bands Heaven's Gate, Ava Luna, and Butter the Children, and Massachusetts' Potty Mouth. The show runs from noon to 6 PM and there will be DJ sets by Grand Resort, Noah & Emily, and The Pelly Twins. The show is free to the public.

About a month later, Hilly Eye will play another local show at Saint Vitus on November 30 with their Don Giovanni labelmate Waxahatchee (aka Katie Crutchfield formerly of PS Eliot) and Corita. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Some song streams and videos are below.

Continue reading "Hilly Eye playing CMJ and post-CMJ shows (one with Blanche Blanche Blanche, one with Waxahatchee)"

Delicate Steve at 4Knots Festival 2012 (more by Chris La Putt)

Popgun Booking is turning four years old and they're celebrating with an anniversary party at their homebase of Glasslands on Saturday (9/29) featuring performances by 8-bit partiers Anamanaguchi and instrumental wonderkind Delicate Steve and DJ sets by True Womanhood and Friendly Ghost. (They also list Mitt Romney as DJing which is probably a joke, but his schedule is open that day.) The show is FREE but you do need to RSVP.

Delicate Steve, who spent most of the summer touring his new album, will be here for CMJ too. He's playing a just-announced My Social List showcase at the Martin Room in Webster Hall on October 16 with Teen Daze, Dent May, Heavenly Beat, Mac Demarco, Bleeding Rainbow, The Young Evils and Grand Resort. Tickets are on sale now.

Anamanaguchi, meanwhile, will be touring in October and November with Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin being the trek's midpoint. All tour dates, as well as a flyer for the Popgun Anniversary party, are below.

Continue reading "Delicate Steve playing CMJ after free show at Glasslands with Anamanaguchi who are touring this fall (dates)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Eternal Summers - You Kill (MP3)

via @EternalSummers

Eternal Summers will be here this weekened playing the curated-by-me Sound Bites Series on Sunday (8/12) afternoon at the Fulton Stall Market. I'll be DJing from 2PM and the band goes on at 3PM sharp. It's free. Were you wondering about their taste in vegetables?

Daniel: Carrots. I like to juice them.
Jonathan: Carrots too. I like to crunch em.
Nicole: Green Beans because they go with everything!

What's your least favorite and why?

Daniel: I like okra but sometimes okra can be kinda weird. I hope Okra doesn't read this!
Jonathan: Onion. Texture. Taste. Overrides everything. I don't dig.
Nicole: Radishes but they're not bad. Just not a staple.

Eternal Summers have added a show while they're in NYC, playing 285 Kent on Saturday night (8/11) with Dinowalrus, Life Sized Maps and Grand Resort. If you have yet to listen to the band's great new LP, Correct Behavior, you can grab "You Kill" at the top of this post and stream the entire album via Spotify below.

Continue reading "Eternal Summers playing 285 Kent before Fulton Stall Market"