by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Cymbals Eat Guitars - "Keep Me Waiting" (Hooray for Earth Remix) (MP3)

Cursive at BV-SXSW in 2009 (more by Leia Jospe)

Cursive will release their seventh full length album, I Am Gemini, on February 21 via Saddle Creek. The album was recorded with Matt Bayles, and according to a press release, tells the story of "Cassius and Pollock, twin brothers separated at birth. One good and one evil, their unexpected reunion in a house that is not a home ignites a classic struggle for the soul, played out with a cast of supporting characters that includes a chorus of angels and devils, and twin sisters conjoined at the head." The press release also notes that it's the first album frontman Tim Kasher wrote with the complete story in mind, with the lyrics having been written in order from song 1 through song 13. The album artwork and tracklist is below.

Rolling Stone premiered an exclusive download for album track, "The Sun and Moon," yesterday (1/2). You can download it at RS's site and stream it below. Like the material on 2009's Mama, I'm Swollen, the song hearkens back to the riff heavy work of Cursive's earlier stuff, before they began experimenting with dynamic string and horn arrangements.

Cursive is going on tour in support of the new album in the upcoming months. They've already announced a run in February and March with Ume, Mount Moriah, and Virgin Islands. Now they've revealed a second run with Cymbals Eat Guitars and Conduits that includes NYC shows on April 3 and 4 at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets go on sale Friday (1/6) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (1/4) at noon.

Speaking of Cymbals Eat Guitars, their song, "Keep Me Waiting," was just remixed by Hooray For Earth. Download that remix at the top of this post and stream it below.

All dates, streams, album art and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Cursive releasing new album, touring w/ Cymbals Eat Guitars & others (dates & new song stream)"

Sun Araw at Music Hall of Williamsburg (more by Erez Avissar)

You have two chances to check out Sun Araw Band before the clock strikes 2012. The first is in Rio de Janeiro at the Novas Frequências Fest on December 7th. The next is two days later in Brooklyn at 285 Kent on 12/9 with Regal Degal, Heatwave, CSC Funk Band, and a Prince Rama DJ set.

Prince Rama just finished a batch of dates with Indian Jewelry including one at the Mohawk in Austin with Melt Banana (which we posted pics from HERE). They're now down in Miami for Art Basel and touring their way home. As previously mentioned, Prince Rama play Glasslands on 2/23 with Gary War (tickets), BUT they've also not surprisingly scheduled another show much sooner. One day after they DJ at 285 Kent they'll open for Hooray for Earth, along with Woodsman, at Public Assembly. Tickets are on sale for that too.

More tour dates and videos for "Impluvium" and "At Delphi" from Sun Araw's recent Ancient Romans LP are below.

Continue reading "Sun Araw & Prince Rama schedule more shows (2012 dates)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Wild Beasts - "Loop the Loop" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Wooden Birds - Two Matchsticks (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rayon Beach - Wave Pool Ether (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: John Wesley Coleman - Ooh Basketball (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Urge Overkill - Effigy (MP3)

Tom Vek

This week is kind of nuts. I know you're all probably just going to be spending it reading A Dance with Dragons or going to see Harry Potter, but here's your TWII action... let's get into it.

Tom Vek is here for two shows, his first U.S. shows since 2005: an early show tonight (7/12) at Mercury Lounge and tomorrow (7/13) at Union Pool. I don't think either are sold out. His second album Leisure Seizure -- six years in the making -- has remained in constant rotation on my stereo since getting a copy in May and I'm pretty excited for these shows.

The new record still sounds like Tom Vek -- the staccato drum beats, sparse arrangements, his laid-back vocal style -- and maybe it's the absence but it still sounds fresh. It's a great record and a welcome return. I have no idea who is in his band these days, but he was fantastic live back when he toured for We Have Sound in 2005. I have a feeling he's still got it.

Wild Beasts

Wild Beasts are over for four East Coast shows, including two nights at Le Poisson Rouge on Wednesday (7/13) and Thursday (7/14). (They're also playing Philly and D.C.) These will be the first the band have done since releasing their third album, Smother, back in May. As I've said before, this is 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.

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 playing keyboards with the band on this Stateside jaunt which is an added bonus for some of us. The rest of North America will get a chance to see Wild Beasts in September when they come back for a proper tour.  All 2011 dates are at the bottom of this post.

Urge Overkill

Shifting gears wildly, we've got Chicago rock gods Urge Overkill in town for two shows this week. They play the Rocks Off cruise on Wednesday (7/13) and then the Rock Shop on Saturday (7/16) as part of the venue's big One Year Anniversary which is happening all this week.

Urge Overkill were odd men out in the '90s, doing suave, heavily postured cock rock in an era dominated by slacker indie and stoner sludge. 1993's Saturation is one of the decade's classics, all big riffs and attitude that has only gotten finer with age. The same can't be said for 1995's Exit the Dragon, which found the band succumbed to the rock n' roll excesses the band exemplified. (There were even rumors the band were too fucked up to even play on its recordings, having most parts subbed by session musicians.)

There were various comeback gigs in the '00s but I don't think anybody expected them to make a new album. Which made this year's Rock'n'Roll Submarine (great title) a double shock: it exists and, more importantly, it's pretty awesome. Kato and Roeser keep the same flame alive: badass riffs, supercatchy choruses, and that unfakeable rock n' roll spirit. (No Blackie Onassis, but some chemistry is just too volatile apparently.) There's also a world-weariness that keeps it all real. They aren't trying to pretend they haven't been through some serious shit. But to paraphrase "Effigy" (downloadable at the top of this post), they've always taken the loud way.

The Wooden Birds

Lovely Austin band The Wooden Birds play two shows this week as well: Thursday (7/14) at Mercury Lounge and Friday (7/15) at The Rock Shop. As you may know at this point, this is Andrew Kenny's post-American Analog Set band, which still has his drony motorik style but in a much more acoustic setting. The Wooden Birds' sophomore album, Two Matchsticks, is (in my opinion) much better than their debut: the arrangements are more dynamic and the addition of Matt Pond (both on guitar and vocally) adds a lot. (Matt Pond PA's Chris Hansen is a touring member as well.) You can check out the title track to the new album at the top of this post.

Tune-Yards @ MHOW (more by Amanda Hatfield)

What else? Hudson River Rocks starts this week (Thursday 7/14) with tUnE-yArDs and Austra which is a pretty hard-to-pass-up free show. While I don't reach for her album much, there's no denying Merril Garbus is a magnetic performer who can win over crowds easily. While Austra's Katie Stelmanis doesn't quite have that charm, there is no denying her stage presence either and I'm a big fan of Austra's debut album which came out earlier this year. Thursday is supposed to be beautiful and this show seems like a no-brainer.

Rayon Beach

Austin's Rayon Beach play three shows this week: Thursday (7/14) at Don Pedro, then Friday (7/15) at Bruar Falls and Saturday (7/16) at Death by Audio. I wrote this a year ago and I think it still holds true:

Like a lot of the bands on Hozac Records (or bands from Austin for that matter), this trio fit under the psych/garage umbrella but there's a decided Brit bent to their music. Baroque garage, is that a thing? Think Syd-era Pink Floyd or The Pretty Things more than Woven Bones. Make no mistake -- Rayon Beach can and do get plenty loud. It's just sometimes with pinkies extended.

Rayon Beach are on tour with fellow Austinite John Wesley Coleman III who is awesome in his own right. Last year's Bad Lady Goes to Jail, on Goner, incorporates country, soul and R&B into his sound (not to mention a unique worldview). He definitely stands out amongst the garage pack. If you feel like you've heard enough of this stuff, do give JWCIII a shot.

Anglophiles might already know that Scottish indiefolk cult legend King Creosote is in town this week, playing a late show at Mercury Lounge on Thursday (7/14) and then at the Rock Shop on Sunday (7/17). Both shows are with the equally talented Jon Hopkins. I wrote about King Creosote back in March:

Scottish indie folk royalty Kenny Anderson, aka King Creosote. Anderson (whose brother Gordon was a founding member of The Beta Band and now fronts The Aliens) has been cranking out album after album of melancholic, wry songwriting since the late '90s. (Seriously, check out his discography.) Many of these have been self-released, but he's had records on Warner Brothers and Domino too.

Anderson teamed with Hopkins for his new album Diamond Mine that revisits and reworks gems from Anderson's 40-plus releases. You can check out the video for "Bubble" at the bottom of this post.

The Radio Dept

And now another weekend of Seaport-related shows. Friday (7/15)  is the final night of this year's abbreviated Seaport Music Festival, with The Radio Dept. The band are in the U.S. for this and the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago and that's it -- so we should count ourselves lucky. If you wanted to see them somewhere small, you're out of luck. (Unless you maybe found yourself at a shop that rocked on, say, Thursday night. Maybe.) Last year's Clinging to a Scheme was one of 2010's best albums (according to me) and though I do wish they'd get a drummer to play with them at shows, they still sound pretty great live.

I'm hoping the merch table has the new 180 gram vinyl reissues of the band's three albums. In particular I want to pick up their classic debut Lesser Matters, one of the best albums of the '00s. Opening are Asobi Seksu which is a pretty perfect pairing. The weather's supposed to be gorgeous, the show is free...this'll be sweet.

Saturday is the Village Voice 4 Knots Festival which is going out of its way to let us know it's not trying to be the Siren Festival. It's a nice line-up of bands, though, scaled to fit the Seaport. Apart from Eleanor Friedberger and Oberhofer, it is a pretty rock line-up what with headliners Black Angels, Titus Andronicus, Davilla 666 and Mr. Dream. If you like to dance, they've got an indoor lounge over at 210 Front Street with an all DJ lineup that includes Yeasayer, Dan Deacon, Brahms and the Finger on the Pulse dudes (also DJing as Punches) spinning tunes. Things kick off at 1PM.

Then Sunday (7/17) is the last show of my Sound Bites Series down at the Fulton Stall Market and I'm super pleased to have Hospitality on cleanup. When I found out we were going to be doing the series again, Hospitality were the first band I thought of. If you haven't heard them, you can download their 2009 EP for free from their Bandcamp site. It's quite lovely. The band have gotten less precious since then, though no less charming, and recently the band expanded to a four-piece with drummer Nathan Michel moving to guitar making them decidedly more skronky now.

I am quite enamored with this band and you should definitely come down and see them. They are seriously good. If you come to only one Sound Bites Show this summer... this is your last chance. Hospitality are on at 3PM sharp and I'll be spinning tunes from around 1:30 or so. It's free!

And right after Hospitality finish, you can head across South Street to the Beekman Beer Garden for this week's Beach Party show with Frankie Rose and Xray Eyeballs. Both bands feature on that free downloadable mix you can get over at Insound. The Frankie Rose track is one I hadn't heard before, a cover of Slapp Happy's "Blue Flower" which you may know from covers either by Mazzy Star or Pale Saints.

Last week (Cheeseburger and Hard Nips) was fun and pretty fairly low-key. The spot -- formerly Water Taxi Beach -- is a pretty popular spot on its own, so expect a mixed crowd of those there for the show and those there just for the view/vibe. Bands start at 4PM. It's free.

And that's about it for this week. A few more daily picks are below.

TUESDAY, JULY 12

It's a heatwave today but Cold Cave will have the A/C cranked for their show Knitting Factory tonight. I do really like their new album Cherish the Light Years which kind of reminds me of '80s band Lords of the New Church. The show is with gothy sea chanty singers Cult of Youth, and Zambri who are newly signed to Kanine Records (and who were impressive at Knitting Factory during the Northside fest). The show is part of a tour that ends at Bowery Ballroom with Austra.

The newly reunited Cibo Matto are at Brooklyn Bowl. Though advance tickets sold out, there will be limited availability at the door. Go early. The show is one date of a tour that also hits Bowery Ballroom.

continued below....

Continue reading "Tom Vek, Wild Beasts, Urge Overkill, Wooden Birds, Rayon Beach, King Creosote, Radio Dept & more in This Week In Indie"

DOWNLOAD: Cymbals Eat Guitars - "Definite Darkness" live at BBC Radio 6 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cymbals Eat Guitars - "Wavelengths" live at BBC Radio 6 (MP3)

CEG at Siren Fest 2010 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Cymbals Eat Guitars, who took off in 2009 with their self-released debut, and experimented with the small label Sister's Den Records, have signed with long time suppliers of quality indie pop Barsuk Records to release their sophomore LP, Lenses Alien. Like fellow '90s worshippers Kurt Vile and Male Bonding, CEG have gone with John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr) to produce the album, which comes out September 14 on Barsuk. No recordings from the album have been released yet, but if you saw them at Glasslands on May 20, you would have seen them play the entire album. They also did live recordings of the tracks "Definite Darkness" and "Wavelengths" on BBC Radio 6 in September (some of these songs have been around for a while). Grab those recordings above and watch the video of "Definite Darkness" below.

At the moment, Cymbals Eat Guitars do not have a full tour announced UPDATE: TOUR ANNOUNCED, but they do have two shows announced for this October. One of those shows is a headlining show at Bowery ballroom on October 27. Tickets go on sale Friday (6/24) at noon. No opener has been announced.

All dates, album art and tracklist, and the live video below...

Continue reading "Cymbals Eat Guitars releasing LP on Barsuk, playing shows (live MP3s & dates)"

Australia's Architecture in Helsinki will head to the US to play some dates in June with Hooray for Earth, including Webster Hall on June 16th, Tickets are currently on AMEX presale and go on regular sale Friday at noon (1/28). Though full details are forthcoming, the dates look to be part of a full US assault, and most likely in support of the band's upcoming LP Vision Revision which the band finished last year.

Hooray for Earth supported The Concretes at Bowery Ballroom on Saturday (1/22) and the band will hit the road to head toward SXSW with A Place To Bury Strangers. Both APTBS and HFE have shows at Glasslands in the coming weeks. APTBS will play the previously-mentioned and now-sold-out show at the venue on Saturday 1/29 with Beach Fossils, Caveman, Guards, ARMS, and Dreamers of the Ghetto, and HFE will hit Glasslands on Mar 8th with Zambri, Rewards, and Lemonade on the 1's & 2's (tickets).

All known tour dates and some video is below.

Continue reading "Architecture in Helsinki playing shows w/ Hooray For Earth who is touring to SXSW w/ A Place to Bury Strangers (dates)"

DONWLOAD: The Concretes - "All Day" (MP3)
DONWLOAD: The Concretes - "Good Evening" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Acrylics - "Nightwatch" (MP3)

The Concretes


It's been almost four years since singer-songwrtier Victoria Bergstrom (aka Taken By Trees) left the Swedish band she helped found. But The Concretes are still a band and still making new albums with former drummer Lisa Milberg now in the lead slot. Their new album, WYWH, was released in November. Two MP3s from that album are above. A video is below.

The Concretes kick off a North American tour in support of that album, this week in Minneapolis. It hits Bowery Ballroom in NYC on January 22nd. Tickets are still on sale. All dates are listed below.

Hooray For Earth are opening most dates on the tour, including Bowery Ballroom, and have another Brooklyn show coming up at Glasslands on March 8th with Zambri, Rewards, and Lemonade DJs. Hooray For Earth are releasing their debut LP, True Loves, via Dovecote Records on on 5/3. You can grab a song HERE.

Acrylics, who share the label Friendly Fire Recordings with the Concretes, are also opening at the Bowery Show, and you can catch them in Brooklyn at Union Pool on February 5th with Rewards and Blood Orange (aka Lightspeed Champion). Their debut full-length Lives and Treasure is coming out on March 1st. Download "Nightwatch" (which we've posted before) from that LP above.

All dates and stuff below...

Continue reading "The Concretes kicking off tour w/ Hooray For Earth (Acrylics playing the NYC show too) -- dates, MP3s & stuff"

by Bill Pearis

Yo La Tengo @ Pitchfork Fest 2009 (more by Joseph Xu)

What, it's Tuesday already? CMJ is here and I'm not really ready. Can we postpone for a week? No? All right. Here we go. Let's not go too crazy tonight (10/19), there's still four more days of this to come.

DAYTIME

Pretty much all the free daytime action happens on Ludlow St. today. Biggest among them is The Music Slut's party at Pianos, which features the dark synths of Brahms, the cheery synths of Hooray for Earth, plus Oberhofer (who play our day party on Friday), Young the Giant, Pearl and the Beard, and more. Party starts at noon, with the first band (Vancouver's Yukon Blonde) on at 1PM.

Moving down the street, Paper Garden Records has a showcase at The Living Room, with Denmark's Alcoholic Faith Mission, two bands from Toronto (Freedom or Death, Kidstreet), Emmanuel and the Fear, Motel Motel, Young Mammals and Saadi. First band is on at 1PM.

And then at Cake Shop, it's the Flower Booking/CapeShok party with Million Young, Sunglasses and Azalia Banks. This one starts a little later -- first band is on at 4PM.

And somewhere between day and night is the free New Zealand showcase at Le Poisson Rouge which starts at 5:45PM. I especially recommend you check out Lawrence Arabia, whose material ranges from delicate folk to ELO style orch-pop. Also playing:  electropop artist Zowie, Kids of 88, Street Chant, Ruby Frost and Electric Wire Hustle. Did I mention it's free? You do need to RSVP if you don't have a badge.

NIGHTTIME

Big ticket shows for tonight: Yo La Tengo play for free at the official CMJ kickoff show at Brooklyn Bowl with Screaming Females (who play our showcase Thursday night) and DOM (who play our Friday day party); Former Afgan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli is at Bowery Ballroom with Craig Wedren; and Jenny and Johnny, Wild Nothing, Times New Viking, Happy Birthday and La Sera (Kickball Katy of  Vivian Girls) at Irving Plaza;

If you wanna dance, you might want to head to Highline Ballroom for a night bands that sound like they could be on a Kitsune Maison compilation: the electro-soul sounds of Dan Black, Italo-disco lovers The Golden Filter, helium voiced Neon Hitch, Denver's The Chain Gang of 1974, and more.

UPDATE: "Chain Gang has dropped off tonight's show due to food poisoning. All other shows are set to occur as scheduled." (10/20 @ Maxwell's, 10/22 @ Cameo, 10/23 @ Santos)

For hip hop, it's Duck Down Music vs. Blacksmith at LPR.

And tonight at Cake Shop is your only chance this week to catch The Billy Nayer Show (11PM), the live band behind such cool sci-fi western musicals as The American Astronaut and last year's Stingray Sam. (Frontman Cory McAbee also directs and stars in them.) They're a one-of-a-kind, and playing as part of the Panache Booking showcase that also features Audacity, Dinowalrus, Onra, Janka Nabay, O'Death and Gary Wilson.

There's tons more shows, obviously. But that's what looks interesting to me. What are you going to see? Flyers and day party set times are below.

Continue reading "CMJ 2010 - Bill's Tuesday picks & stuff (Yo La Tengo, The Billy Nayer Show, Greg Dulli, day parties & more) "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Twin Shadow - Slow (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Total Slacker - Cops Freak Me Out (MP3)

Summer Blondes

Ok it's a busy weekend of shows. It always is, I always say that. But this TWII is seems more packed than most. No doubt, it is time to try a little harder in the band name department. Especially when it comes to beachy ones of which, anyone who even casually checks in with Pitchfork can tell you, there are too many of. Adding to the band name clutter and confusion are Oakland, CA's Summer Blondes who are visiting us this weekend. They play tonight (7/21) at Shea Stadium, a house party in Bushwick on Friday (7/23) and Bruar Falls on Saturday.

Given their name and hometown, it may not surprise you learn that Summer Blondes (who are dudes, maybe that's a surprise) make low-fi surf garage rock. That said, and lack of moniker originality aside, I like these guys. Alternating between laid back instrumentals and blown-out rockers (and some that most interestingly fall in between), there's more musicality going on here than you might expect. Also: their drummer is a manic powerhouse, and their singer/screamer appears to be a little nuts. No records out yet, but the band do have CDR demos they've been handing out at shows so keep an eye/ear out for those.

Pujol

Also playing that Saturday Bruar Falls show are Nashville's Pujol who are on JEFF the Brotherhood's Infinity Cat label. Is it just me or does it seem like there's a Nashville band in town every weekend? Bye bye JEFF and Heavy Cream, but hello Pujol. You may know him from Wizardz or MEEMAW if you follow the Nashville scene closer than I do. Like all the bands on the Infinity Cat roster, Daniel Pujol makes poppy, punky party rock that is hard to dislike.

If you can't make the Bruar show, Pujol also play Silent Barn on Sunday night and that one's with The Beets, Knight School, and Moonmen on the Moon, Man. Check out a couple Pujol music videos at the bottom of this post with all dates.

Moving from Nashville to Memphis, as mentioned in the previous post, we've got Magic Kids in town for a couple of show. Read more about that there.

Twin Shadow

For being in a band who have never done a whole lot for me one way or the other (there, I admit it), I like every band on Chris Taylor's Terrible Records.  The label's next release is the debut from locals Twin Shadow which will be out September 28. The brainchild of stylish New Yorker George Lewis Jr., Twin Shadow mix a variety of '80s influences into a pretty distinctive sound. For example, on "Slow," which you can download at the top of this post, you can hear a little Joy Division in the drumbeat, and the arpeggiated, delay-effected guitar is straight out of The Chameleons or U2's playbook. You can even hear a little Prince ("I Would Die 4 U") and Bruce Springsteen ("I'm on Fire") in there too. But he makes it all into something new.

Lewis, who sounds like The Blue Nile's Paul Buchanan but looks more than a little like Phil Lynott, is a charismatic cat on stage... see them now in small places while you can. Twin Shadow play Cake Shop Thursday (7/22) and Coco 66 on Friday (7/23). Both shows are with Hooray for Earth.

Free Energy @ the Pitchfork Festival (more by Kate Gardiner)

And last but certainly not least, this Friday's edition of the Seaport Music Festival might just be the biggest of the Summer with Free Energy, Best Coast and Loose Limbs. Best Coast couldn't be any hotter right now with just about every media outlet writing about their debut album which comes out next week. It's a fine showcase for Bethany Cosentino's natural way with a melody, her great Loretta Lynn-ish voice, and her ability to rhyme the word "crazy." Much has been made of the single-minded lyrical themes -- a very bad breakup, weed -- but I prefer to focus on those melodies and her voice which can stop you in your tracks. It a gorgeous record in that respect, and Best Coast, now with full-time drummer Ali (swiped from Vivian Girls), have been good the three times I've seen them this year (twice at SXSW, once at Knitting Factory). It's also Best Coast's only NYC show (not counting the invite-only one last night) until they return at the end of September. All tour dates are below.

Headliners Free Energy should be right at home on a big outdoor stage, as their album is loaded with festival-ready fist-pumping rock anthems, stealing the best bits of Thin Lizzy, ELO and '80s stadium rock. Perfect summer music, that goes down easier than Bud Light. Get there early for trio Loose Limbs (who are signed to Seaport Music Records), and I'll be DJing a second week in a row. Will I play The Darkness? Seems likely.

--

That's gonna do it for this edition. There's some more daily picks of things worth checking out that I didn't cover above:

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21

Montreal's Parlovr and Suuns play the first of their two shows this week at Mercury Lounge and both are worth catching (and one is now signed to Secretly Canadian). It's an early show.

You could make a Montreal night of it by then heading over to Home Sweet Home for the Wierd party where Automelodi play at Midnight.

Sludgy noisemerchants Total Slacker (check out new MP3 "Cops Freak Me Out" at the top of this post) and funky Ava Luna (who impressed during Northside) headline a bill at Glasslands that also includes Mala Strana and Baltimore's loud Weekends.

Diehard, who'll have a new EP out soon of catchy, classic-sounding indie rock,  at Union Pool with The Waylons and World War.

continued below...

Continue reading "Summer Blondes, Twin Shadow, Violens, Free Energy, Pujol, Best Coast, Midnight Juggernauts, more in This Week in Indie"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Surfer Blood - Swim (MP3)

Surfer Blood @ Market Hotel in February (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart will be at Other Music for Record Store Day. It's their only NYC date at the moment. Their tour with Surfer Blood and Hooray for Earth doesn't start til June (and doesn't have an NYC date yet). All of those dates are below.

Before then, Surfer Blood will play a show at Princeton on Thursday (tonight) and SUNY Purchase Friday (4/16) for Culture Shock.

For Record Store Day, Surfer Blood will be dropping a split single with Holiday Shores. One side is Surfer Blood's "Take It Easy (live)" featuring Marnie Stern, and the other is Holiday Shores' "Your Motion Says," an Arthur Russell cover. Russell's disco-burner original is below along with video of Marnie performing with Surfer Blood at Cameo on New Years Eve.

Surfer Blood was recently featured on the web show Dirty Laundry. Video of that show and all tour dates (plus details on Hooray for Earth's Cinco de Mayo show at LPR) are below...

Continue reading "Surfer Blood in NJ, SUNY Friday, tour dates w/ Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Record Store Day release w/ Marnie Stern"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Oh No Ono - Internet Warrior (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Oh No Ono - Helplessly Young (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hooray for Earth - Surrounded by Friends (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Field Music - Measure (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Twin Sister - Vampires with Dreaming Kids EP (Zip)

Oh No Ono

Denmark's Oh No Ono are in town this week for their first-ever NYC shows, the first of which was an in-store at Sound Fix last night. Anybody go? I'm seeing them tonight at Mercury Lounge, where they'll be playing with Bear in Heaven, ArpLine and Jaguar Club. Tomorrow they're at Union Hall with Depreciation Guild and Hooray for Earth. Oh No Ono's new album, Eggs, is impressively bonkers and almost impossible to describe succinctly. It's psychedelic, baroque, glammy, 70's AM, with some synth pop and the occasional church choir thrown in. And very catchy stuff too. Maybe they're the Sid and Marty Kroft version of Mew? Hear it for yourself -- there's two tracks at the top of this post. I can't wait to see how they pull all this off live.

Tonight's Mercury Lounge show is sold out, no surprise given they're playing with Bear in Heaven. Tomorrow's Union Hall show is just as solid though, with eight bit shoegazers The Depreciation Guild who will soon head off with Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Kurt Feldman's in both bands) for a tour of Japan. Also playing are Hooray for Earth, who neatly straddle the line between electronic pop and electrified rock. The sound is familiar and inviting yet I don't seem to be able to come up with any obvious comparisons to another band, which is a good thing. They've got a new EP, Momo, that is currently only available through Emusic (the latest in the Emusic Selects series) but I wouldn't be surprised if they were selling it at their merch table. It's definitely worth picking up. You can download the lead track, "Surrounded by Friends," at the top of this post.

Field Music

After cancelling their performance last-minute at Skippy's birthday party back in December, Field Music are back for their make-up date this Saturday (1/30) at the Bell House. If you bought tickets before, they're still valid. And if you haven't got tickets, they're still on sale. The Brewis brothers' new album, Field Music (Measure), is out February 16 and here's what I wrote last time:

...it's another knockout from the Brewis brothers, 20 tracks that further refine their distinctive mix of nervy new wave, prog, krautrock, tea party pop and whatever else they're into at the time. It's a Field Music album, no doubt about it, but it's less buttoned up, more rhythm heavy ("Let's Write a Book" shows that one of them's been listening to Can) and willing to give anything a try. If you've never seen Field Music live before, you should definitely come out, the Brewises are shit-hot musicians as well (David is an especially impressive drummer). There used to be a lot of switching instruments when they were a trio, but now as a four-piece I wonder if that'll still happen.

It really is a great album, probably the best thing the Brewis have done together or apart. You can download "Measure" at the top of this post which is reminiscent of Peter Brewis' The Week That Was project from 2008. Additionally, Field Music have announced dates for a spring North American tour opening for The Clientele that includes a March 23 stop at Bowery Ballroom. All Field Music/Clientele tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

Twin Sister

Friday (1/29) at Bruar Falls is a band a lot of people seem to be talking about right now: Twin Sister. To me, there's a little '80s delay-pedal shimmery-ness to them (Cocteau Twins, Disintigration-era Cure), nods to '70s muted-fretboard soft rock soul, as well as a pastoral folk thing going on. Basically, dreamy and beautiful stuff. They also remind me a bit of Montreal's Luyas who, if they ever make it down this way, Twin Sister would make a perfect double bill. Thier EP from last year, Vampires with Dreaming Kids, is a free download from their website, which we link to at the top of this post. A new EP titled Color Your Life is due in March on Infinite Best Recordings. There's a video trailer for the EP at the bottom of this post.

Twin Sister have a bunch of shows coming up. In addition to Friday's Bruar Falls -- which is free, btw-- they're also playing Saturday (1/30) at the loft above Richie's Gym which is out by the Myrtle JMZ stop. Both those shows are being presented by busy blog Chocolate Bobka and also feature Austin's languid, reverby Pure Ecstasy. The Bruar show also has Family Portrait and Baltimore's Run DMT. Twin Sister have a bunch more shows lined up in February, including 2/25 at Cameo with Toro Y Moi. All dates are at the bottom of this post.

A few other weekend picks, videos and tour dates below...

Continue reading "Oh No Ono, Hooray For Earth, Field Music, Twin Sister, Javelin, Diehard & more in This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Uninhabitable Mansions - Do You Have a Strategy? (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hooray for Earth - A Simple Plan (Zip)

Hospitality

In my haste to bring you my weekend picks I realized I left out some stuff. First of all there's the opening of Littlefield, and its two free shows.

Second... Brooklyn's Hospitality, who play at Death By Audio tonight (5/22), have opened for Stereolab and Frog Eyes but remain mostly under-the-radar. (They did make L Magazine's "8 NYC Bands" runner-up list.) Singer Amber Papini's delicate, airy voice matches so perfectly with her songwriting: jazzy pop that kind of reminds me of '60s chanteuse Claudine Longet or Austin's Yellow Fever. I've yet to see them live but I'm kinda in love with the songs. While the focus tends to be on Papini, Hospitality are a trio and the most recent songs on their MySpace (recorded on a telephone, believe it or not) have a definite band feel to them. Also on the bill tonight at Death by Audio: Arizonans Stephen Steinbrink and Hell-Kite (who play at Cake Shop with The Kingsbury Manx tomorrow), and the countryish Little Gold, which all should make for one of the gentler nights at Death by Audio...ever?

Darlings

And on Memorial Day if you haven't been put into a food coma from too much BBQ, there's a great show that night at Union Pool featuring Uninhabitable Mansions, Darlings, Boogie Boarder and Ambergris. The show is a benefit for Smoke Signals, a new all-comics newspaper that Williamsburg comic/book/art store Desert Island is going to start publishing. This is likely to be Uninhabitable Mansions' only show till the fall, as Annie Hart will be busy touring with her main band, Au Revoir Simone for most of the summer. Their debut 7" is worth picking up, and you can check out it's b-side in MP3 form above. Darlings, you may remember, are one of L Magazine's "8 NYC Bands You Need To Hear" and their description of Teenage Fanclub-meets-Sloan is all I need to get me to the show. As for the other bands: Boogie Boarder are noisy low-fi and mostly instrumental; Ambergris have been dabbling in arty psych folk weirdness for a few years now. The show's $8 and all proceeds go to printing costs A worthy cause if you ask me.

And Speaking of Uninhabitable Mansions, Robbie (who is also in Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) and Chris of that band are also in Radical Dads, who play Public Assembly on Wednesday (5/27) with the interesting, somewhat genre-defying Hooray For Earth (I've seen comparisons to Joy Division, Guided by Voices, and Yeasayer... really?) and catchy synth-rockers Zambri.

Videos and flyers after the jump. Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

Continue reading "Hospitality, Darlings, Uninhabitable Mansions, Radical Dads & more in This Week In Indie (part 2) "