by Bill Pearis and Andrew Sacher

Ex Cops DJing at Other Music, RSD 2012 (more)

We're about a week out from Record Store Day 2013. When it began in 2008, RSD was a celebration of brick-and-mortar stores in the face of digital downloads, offering up exclusive releases to get people out to stores. It's blown up considerably since then, with hundreds of RSD-only releases. (Many of which fall into the hands of folks who turn it around on Ebay that same day, but what can you do?) While it is a mob scene these days, there is no doubt it helps what record stores there are left -- though not enough, as Record Store Day will be the last day for Williamsburg's Sound Fix. Participating stores around the country are listed here.

There are always some pretty cool exclusives too, items that may have never seen the light of day without RSD. With that in mind we've gone through the list of North American RSD exclusives to highlight a few things to keep an eye out. This isn't comprehensive, just stuff we wanna get. What records are you trying to get this year?

We've written about the Sacred Bones comp, the Astralwerks comp, Old 97s, Frightened Rabbit, Austra, Sonny & the Sunsets, and Titus Andronicus Check out our new list below...

Continue reading "a guide to Record Store Day 2013"

photos by PSquared Photography

Jacco Gardner @ Mercury Lounge, 3/23/2013

Dutch wunderkind Jacco Gardner played NYC before heading to Austin for SXSW (where he played one of our day parties) and was kind enough to hit the Big Apple again on the return trip, bringing his Trouble in Mind labelmates MMOSS with him for a show at Mercury Lounge on March 23. It pretty amazing how well he and his band pull off the pristine, baroque pop sounds of his debut album in the live setting. Hopefully he's come back soon (and maybe coerce another Trouble in Mind artist, Maston, to head this way too). Meanwhile, more pics from Mercury Lounge are below.

Continue reading "Jacco Gardner and MMOSS @ Mercury Lounge (pics)"

photos by Sarah Frankie Linder

Beach Fossils/The Spits/Parenthetical Girls

The second of our four SXSW day parties at connected Austin venues The Main and The Jr. happened Thursday (3/15). In addition to Cloud Nothings' joyously raucous set, The Main was fairly wild all day. We got reunited Detroit protopunk legends Death, fellow Micheganites The Spits, Pacific Northwest fuzz-freaks Milk Music, highly-excitable Canadians METZ, plus Rough Francis and Single Mothers.

Meanwhile on The Jr. stage, things were a little more indie, with a double shot headlinging sets from two Captured Tracks bands, Widowspeak and Beach Fossils. Not to mention: Dutch artist Jacco Gardner made amazingly precise recreations of late-'60s baroque pysche pop; Scotland's PAWS did raw-throated, seriously catchy yell-alongs; Parenthetical Girls kept Austin strange during their mesmerizing set; Toronto's Moon King gave a dose of shoegaze; plus Japanese singer-songwriter Shugo Tokumaru and the folky sounds of J. Thoven. What a day!

For those reading this in NYC, don't forget Parenthetical Girls play Glasslands on March 25 (tickets) and Bowery Electric on March 26 (tickets); and Jacco Gardner plays Mercury Lounge on March 23 with his Trouble in Mind labelmates Mmoss (tickets)

In addition to the music, Onkyo was there, sampling their new headphones which hit stores next month. mophie, maker of invaluable iPhone chargers, were giving away discount cards good at their pop-up shop which was set up right across the street on Red River.. We were also serving complimentary Jameson, and Zico coconut water, free vegan queso and chips from Food For Lovers, and free vegan breakfast tacos from Pink Avocado. We also had BrooklynVegan t-shirts for the first 50 people in the door, thanks to American Apparel. Also thanks to our other sponsors, Korg, Vox, Blackstar, Creative Recreation, Signazon, Mirrored Media, ASCAP, and Redigi.

Our free Friday day party at The Main and The Jr. just got underway. The Main stage will be crowded for 20-something headliners The Polyphonic Spree, and that side will also have sets from Akron/Family, The Thermals, Shout Out Louds, Diamond Rings, TOY, and Half Moon Run.

The Jr. stage today is curated by out loud brethren at Invisible Oranges, with Today is the Day, Pallbearer, Royal Thunder, Inter Arma Batillus, and Babtists.

Then tonight is the official BrooklynVegan showcase at Maggie Mae's Rooftop with 3421, Brooke Candy, Giraffage, Man Without Country, Mykki Blanco, Pictureplane, The Underachievers, XXYYXX, and Zebra Katz. If you're in Austin, come on down!

More pics from Thursday's day party are below.

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan SXSW Thursday day party in pics (METZ, Beach Fossils, Widowspeak, Parenthetical Girls, Spits + more)"

by Bill Pearis, Fred Pessaro and Andrew Sacher

Savages @ CMJ 2012 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

SXSW gets underway today (3/13) in earnest, with 83,207 bands* playing SXSW this year. Trying to figure out who to see can be an overwhelming feeling. (Actually, just standing on 6th St. on Friday night is an overwhelming feeling.) Hopefully this post will give you some inspiration if you're among the throngs of people. Or maybe just some new stuff to listen to if you're not there.

Of course you could just hang out at all our day parties (our first starts at noon today!) and evening showcases, as we're really proud of our line-ups. But there are bands who we are pumped to see who aren't playing too. So here are 40 bands we're genuinely pumped to see in Austin this week. We made a Spotify playlist of all the bands (at least the ones on the service) you can stream below.

Check out our list below...

*not the actually number of showcasing bands. But it feels accurate.

Continue reading "40 artists we're excited to see at SXSW"

As you know, BrooklynVegan is returning to Austin for SXSW this year and throwing four days of day parties at The Main & The Jr aka 603 Red River Street at the corner of 6th aka the old Emo's location. Those happen Wed (3/13), Thurs, Fri and Saturday (3/16). All shows are 100% FREE with RSVP.

We announced the Saturday lineup, and then the Friday lineup, and now HERE IS THURSDAY...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan free SXSW 2013 Thursday day party lineup (Cloud Nothings, Death, Parenthetical Girls, Widowspeak, METZ, Beach Fossils, Milk Music, Spits, Single Mothers & more)"

by Bill Pearis

Jacco Gardner at Death by Audio - 3/2/13 (via BrooklynVegan Instagram)

Psychedelic pop visionary Jacco Gardner is on a tour now, which just hit NYC last weekend (3/2) at Death by Audio. If you like the harpsichord-y baroque psych found on his album Cabinet of Curisoties, you'll like his live show too -- he and his band pull off that sound almost flawlessly, from the groovy, flowing basslines to the three-part harmonies. It was hands-down the best-sounding show I've ever seen at Death by Audio. It was an impressive set.

NYC has another chance to see him on the other side of SXSW on March 23 at Mercury Lounge with his Trouble in Mind labelmates, Mmoss (tickets). But before that show, as mentioned, he'll stop in Austin for SXSW, and his show schedule has been revealed. He's playing a ton of parties and showcases, like the Austin Psych Fest party, the Trouble in Mind party, two Panache shows, FADER Fort, and more.

He'll also play a BrooklynVegan day party on Thursday, March 14 at 603 Red River St. (the old Emo's location). He's on at noon on the same stage that Parenthetical Girls play later that day. The party is 100% FREE with RSVP and the rest of the lineup will be announced soon. The flyer for Jacco's SXSW schedule is below.

Updated dates are listed, along with the flyer and a Spotify stream of his debut album, Cabinet of Curiosities, below...

Continue reading "Jacco Gardner played Death by Audio, announces more dates & SXSW schedule (free BrooklynVegan day party included)"

"Quilt at Glasslands - reminding me a little of tame impala meets beach house #somethinglikethat" - @Widder_Twidder

Quilt at Glasslands - 2/17/13 (via Mexican Summer)

Boston psych folkies Quilt just came to Brooklyn over the weekend (2/17) for a show at Glasslands with Alex Bleeker & the Freaks and Weyes Blood. If you missed them, or just want to catch them again, Quilt have announced that they'll return to the same venue for a show on April 14 with Prince Rupert's Drops, Electric Mess, and visuals by Drippy Eye Projections. Tickets for the newly added Glasslands show are on sale now.

Quilt's only other upcoming show that we're aware of is in Cambridge on March 3 at The Middle East as a support act for psychedelic pop artist Jacco Gardner. That show is part of Jacco's upcoming US tour which hits NYC on March 2 at Death by Audio and March 23 at Mercury Lounge with Mmoss (tickets).

You can stream Quilt's 2011 self titled album below...

Continue reading "Quilt played Glasslands, playing again in April"

SXSW is no doubt a great way to see a lot of bands in a short amount of time and can be a lot of fun. But it can also be a little much for some. If you'd like to see many of the same bands but in a more genteel setting, you might be interested in The Savannah Stopover which happens the weekend before SXSW (March 7 - 9) in at various clubs in Savannah, Georgia. Over 100 bands will play, including Of Montreal, Merchandise, Mac DeMarco, Chelsea Light Moving, Hunters, Braids, Delicate Steve, Turbo Fruits, Ducktails and loads more.

Tickets ($30 per day or $75 for three-day pass) are on sale now and more info is at Savannah Stopover's website. The full announced lineup is below.

Continue reading "of Montreal, Chelsea Light Moving, Merchandise, Mac DeMarco, & more playing Savannah Stopover before SXSW"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Jacco Gardner - The Ballad of Little Jane (MP3)

Jacco (second from right) and his band

We mentioned previously that Dutch wunderkind Jacco Gardner would be over for SXSW and we're pleased to learn that he'll be touring to and from the Austin fest, including two dates in NYC: March 2 at Death by Audio and March 23 at Mercury Lounge. No advance tickets for the DBA show, but tickets for Mercury Lounge go on sale Friday (1/11).

Jacco's debut album, Cabinet of Curiosities, comes out February 12 on Trouble in Mind and is a kaleidoscopic trip through lush, baroque psychedelic pop. If you like The Left Banke, The Zombies and think Pink Floyd peaked with "See Emily Play" you're going to dig this album. You can stream four tracks from the album below (plus a b-side), along with a list of all tour dates.

Continue reading "Jacco Gardner announces 2013 U.S. tour, including two NYC shows and SXSW (dates)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Jacco Gardner - The Ballad of Little Jane (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Maston - Young Hearts (MP3)

Jacco Gardner

We've posted about a lot of psych-related bands today, the from the mindblowing awesomeness of Swedish weirdos Goat to the more garagey drone of Price Rupert's Drops. Here's more, though in a more baroque, Alice in Wonderland style. Dutch musician Jacco Gardner released "Where Will You Go" on 7" this year via Trouble in Mind and, with it's rolling bassline, harpsichords and mellotrons, you're swept back in time to The Zombies, Billy Nichols and Syd Barret-era Pink Floyd. You can stream it below.

Both sides of that single will appear on Jacco's debut album, Cabinet Of Curiosities, which is out in February 12 on Trouble in Mind and is pretty terrific if you have any affection of this kind of music whatsoever. You can download another track from the album, "The Ballad of Little Jane," above or stream it below. Jacco Will be visiting North America next year to come to SXSW, so let's hope he makes time for some other cities as well.

In other Trouble in Mind news, the label will release Shadows, the debut album from Los Angeles' Maston who have a similar love of baroque pop, but with a distinctly West Coast vibe. You can download "Young Hearts" above and stream it below. Shadows is also out February 12.

Meanwhile, The Paperhead, who released one of my favorite singles of the year ("Pictures of Her Demise," also on Trouble in Mind, streamable below), are on tour and will play Death by Audio on December 19 with their TiM labelmates MMOSS (whose album Only Children came out earlier this year and is streamable below). All tour dates are below.

In related news, Merge Records has signed Mikal Cronin whose Trouble in Mind debut from last year was my #5 album of 2011. He's currently touring as part of Ty Segall's band, but will release his next album on the North Carolina label sometime next year.

And finally, if you want to play catchup with some of Trouble in Mind's many great recent release, the Chicago label is offering up a 16-track sampler, Trouble In Mind's Stax​-​O​-​Trax!, that features the likes of Mikal Cronin, The Paperhead, The Liminanas, Wax Museums, MMOSS and more. You can stream it below or download the whole thing on one American dollar. That's a good deal.

Paperhead tour dates are listed below, along with various streams from all bands mentioned above.

Continue reading "Jacco Gardner and Maston ready 2013 LPs (streams); Mikal Cronin signs to Merge; Paperhead & MMOSS touring (dates)"