Industrial vets Throbbing Gristle are finally getting around to completing their "reinterpretation" of Nico's Desertshore, an idea of member Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson, who has since passed away. The record, finished by Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti, is being billed as TG's "nascent, and final, studio album," will come out on November 26, two years after Christopherson's death. It's set to include guest vocals by Antony Hegarty, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Blixa Bargeld, Marc Almond (who was a member of Soft Cell and also collaborated with Christopherson's other band Coil), and Sasha Grey. The band have two teaser videos for the album, which you can watch below.

Speaking of tributes to albums that Nico took part in, there's a Velvet Underground & Nico tribute on the way which features Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees (who both just played The Well and will play Death by Audio tonight [9/24]), plus The Fresh & Onlys, White Fence, Kelley Stoltz and others. The album will gradually surface digitally across various websites from October 15 to 29 and will be out on vinyl on November 6 via John Dwyer's Castle Face label. The tracklist is below.

Antony and the Johnsons - 'Cut The World'

Speaking of Antony Hegarty, he released his new album, Cut The World, last month via Secretly Canadian. The album features "live symphonic performances" of songs from his first four albums which were recorded on September 2 and 3, 2011 at the DK Concert Hall in Copenhagen. The title track for the album is a new one, however, and it will be featured in The Life and Death of Marina Abramovi, directed by Robert Wilson and staring Antony, Marina Abramovi and Willem Dafoe. He also just made a video for that song, directed by Nabil (Frank Ocean, Bon Iver, Kanye West). Watch that video below. You can read an interview with Antony and Nabil about the video at Pitchfork.

All videos are below.

Continue reading "Throbbing Gristle releasing Nico tribute; Thee Oh Sees & more on Velvet Underground tribute; Antony has a new LP & video"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Sonny Smith - Over the Border and Into the Night (MP3)

Sonny & the Sunsets have added another NYC area show to happen while they're here in in August. In addition to dates at Mercury Lounge (8/16) and Glasslands (8/18) the band will also play Maxwell's on August 15 and tickets for that show are on sale.

Sonny's new terrific new album, Longtime Companion, is out June 26, and he also just got his 2005 album One Act Plays reissued on vinyl via Secret Seven Records. The album features guest appearances from Neko Case, Edith Frost, Mark Eitzel, Rico Bell, Jolie Holland, Peggy Honeywell, Virgil Shaw, Eugene & Akire Chen, Andy Cabic, and John Dwyer. The album's got an interesting backstory and we'll let Sonny fill you in:

The songs on One Act Plays started out as real one act plays written for the theater. But in writing them I began to make them songs at some point. I can't remember when this mysterious shift happened. However, ultimately the plays as songs were performed on stage in a play called The Dangerous Stranger, so somehow it came full circle. The Dangerous Stranger was supposed to be about reality being the dangerous intruder of fantasy, and fantasy being a dangerous intruder to reality. I can't remember if the play was successful at conveying this idea at all. That was the kinda stuff on my mind at the time I guess. I had a few influences at the time I was writing them. One was Terry Allen's Juarez, a concept record with recurring characters. Also I was really into Sam Shepard at the same time so I was reading a lot of his stuff. A few of the songs, like 'Eddie and Rita' even have some stage directions lifted directly from one of his plays. The song 'Following Father' took a bunch of facts from my dad's cousin, a Texan who always had some get rich quick scheme that never lasted. I was trying to make some kind of Tennessee Williams like thing apparently. Epic! Large! Family! Redemption! Well, anyway, most of these plays are fictional, except for 'Freaks In Space' and 'Honey Roy Rockwell'. Those two are the complete truth. The terrible truth.

You can download "Over the Border and Into the Night" from the album at the top of this post. Only 400 copies of One Act Plays were pressed and you can order one here. Secret Seven will also release the second volume of their San Francisco artists In a Cloud series on July 17 which features previously unreleased cuts by Sonny & the Sunsets, Vetiver, Ty Segall, Hannah Lew (of Grass Widow), Kelley Stoltz, Tim Cohen, The Papercuts and more. It's only being released on vinyl but you can stream the whole compilation below.

And in more Sonny Smith news, they just released the third in his "100 Records" series in which he wrote and recorded 100 songs under the guise of 100 different fictional bands. Some of those, like "Year of the Cock" have ended up on actual Sunsets albums (in that case, his new one), others haven't. You can stream a few from Vol. 3 below and order the vinyl here.

All song streams and a list of updated dates below...

Continue reading "Sonny & the Sunsets add Maxwell's date and related news"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Intelligence -They Found Me in the Back of the Galaxy (MP3)

Smartass post punks The Intelligence are back with a new album, Everybody's Got it Easy But Me, that's out via In the Red on June 19 . Like on 2010's Males, main brain Lars Finberg is eschewing the scuzzy reverb-mired roots of the band in favor of clean mid-fi production. Some of that nervy angst, so integral to 2009's Fake Surfers, is back, however, with room for a few barn-burners, a couple introspective numbers and a cover of Del Shannon's "Little Town Flirt" where Finberg duet's with Shannon of Shannon and the Clams. It's a teriffic record.

You can download the LP's ripper of a first single, "They Found Me in the Back of the Galaxy," at the top of this post. (Snippets of the whole album can be heard here.) Cover art and album tracklist are below.

Finberg, who has also played in Thee Oh Sees and Wounded Lion in the last year, recently relocated Seattle to Los Angeles, and apparently has LA and Seattle versions of the band. (No tour dates yet.) The added sunshine of his new home doesn't seem to have affected his outlook on the world just yet, though the album -- the band's seventh -- opens with a song called "I Like L.A." We'll see if Finberg ever finds love.

"They Found Me in the Back of the Galaxy" will also be on one side of a split 7" that The Intelligence is sharing with Kelley Stoltz. Speaking of, Stoltz has a new 7" single out via French label Les Discs Steak that you can stream below.

Continue reading "The Intelligence releasing 'Everybody's Got it Easy But Me' (MP3) and a split 7" with Kelley Stoltz "

photos by Vincent Cornelli

It is with huge regret that the Echo & The Bunnymen concert scheduled for the 20th May Las Vegas - Red Rock Casino.

The venue promoter decided to cancel the concert, we appreciate that lots of you have purchased tickets and booked flights and again we apologise. Ticket refunds are available from the place of purchase.

As soon as we have more details we will post them here.

Ok, that message from the band was actually posted before they even got to NYC this past weekend, but in case you hadn't heard, do not head to Vegas this Friday for a show by Echo and the Bunnymen and Kelley Stoltz. Last Friday was the date of the first Echo show at Irving Plaza. We already posted a set of pics from that one with the setlist from both nights at the NYC venue. Here are the pics from night two. More of them, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Echo & the Bunnymen still on tour, but aren't playing Vegas (here are the pics from the 2nd NYC show)"

photos by Matthew Eisman

Echo & the Bunnymen @ Irving Plaza

In the last few months they've been extensively touring, playing their first two albums in their entirety each night: 1980's Crocodiles and 1981's Heaven Up Here. It has been very successful thus far, and in May, they bring the Crocodiles & Heaven Up Here Tour to the U.S. It's a real treat for fans who've been there since the beginning. Or fans like myself who dove into the entire discography and cherished these records years after their release. But does playing two entire albums every night wear them out?

"Well, we'll play both records in their entirety, then go offstage for a few, then come back and play more songs. Songs that aren't on either of those records, just ones we want to play anyway. It's a long show. It doesn't feel exhausting vocally; it's a pleasure really, and we all get a real thrill from it. I don't feel tired on stage. It's all split up; we play slower songs to relax a little then dive into rougher songs. There's an almost physical ebb and flow to it. Honestly, I could have a broken back, but once I'm on stage I don't feel anything else," said Ian McCulloch to the Aquarian Weekly

That tour, with Kelley Stoltz, came to NYC for shows at Irving Plaza on Friday and Saturday night. Pictures from the first night, and both setlists, below...

Continue reading "Echo & the Bunnymen & Kelly Stoltz played 2 nights @ Irving Plaza (night 1 pics, both setlists)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Generationals - Trust (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gross Relations - No Lines (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gross Relations - Blame the Record (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shark? - Down Low (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shark? - Shark? (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Savoir Adore - Sparrow (MP3)

Generationals

I take you away from trying to figure out the identity of The Modern Weepers (my favorite comment guess: Hard-Fi) to talk about shows happening this weekend. As always, this being New York City, there's lots of great options.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are in town this week with Generationals and the two bands play tonight (5/11) at Mercury Lounge (sold out!) and tomorrow (5/12)  at The Rock Shop (not sold out!). Dale Jr Jr also play Kidrockers on Sunday [5/14] at the Rock Shop with Pearl and the Beard.

I feel like there's been enough talk about Dale, whose dreamy brand of synth rock can be heard on their pretty good upcoming album It's a Corporate World which is out June 7. So I'm here to talk about Generationals who are surely one of the few indiepop bands in New Orleans. Unlike Big Freedia, they haven't appeared yet on an episode of Treme but their new album Actor-Caster is loaded with clever, tunefull pop. What they do isn't particularly cool at this second in time, but I think stuff like this is never really out of style. You can download the title track to last year's great Trust EP at the top of this post and there's a widget below that will get you two tracks from Actor-Caster for the price of your email.

Malajube

Also here this week for a couple shows are Montreal's Malajube , playing The Rock Shop tonight (5/11) and will be at Bowery Ballroom on Friday (3/13) with the epic and amazing Besnard Lakes (and Nova Scotia's Wintersleep).  If you were in Austin for SXSW this year, you may have seen Malajube at our SXSW day party this year we co-presented with M for Montreal who we are co-presenting a show with this Friday in Brighton (if anyone is headed to the Great Escape).

Like a lot of folks, Malajube made a big impression on me in 2006 with their record Trompe-L'Oeil and, even more, their string of fantastic CMJ performances that year. The tunes were catchy, they were great live, the language barrier didn't matter so much. I must admit 2009's Labarinthes didn't make much of an impression but I've really been enjoying the band's brand new album La Cavern. The album is out now in Canada and will be available in the U.S. sometime soon on MB3 Records. Maybe they'll have it at the merch tables this week.

The new album walks the line between guitar pop and space rock and I keep imagining them performing songs like the vaguely disco "Le Blizzard" on the Muppet Show. There's a general soft filter '70s vibe to the whole of La Cavern that feels very comforting. You can listen to the whole thing via a streaming widget doohickey at the bottom of this post.

And go see the Besnard Lakes, for whom I have declared my love for many, many times. And go early for Malajube.

Echo & the Bunnymen are at Irving Plaza on Friday (5/13) and Saturday (5/15) playing their first two albums -- 1979's Crocodiles and 1980's Heaven Up Here -- back to back, in their entirety. This may not be quite as exciting as seeing them at Radio City doing Ocean Rain with a full orchestra, but it's still pretty awesome.

Especially because the albums are post-punk classics. Crocodiles is all scratchy nervous energy and contains no mediocre songs whatsover. I could list them all if you wanted, each one amazing. The whole thing still sounds fantastic. Heaven Up Here is considerably darker, more paranoid but no less definitive. "Over the Wall" is one of their best-ever songs. These two records are also a great showcase for Will Seargent's guitar-playing that still sounds innovative today. I'm a little sceptical of Mac's ability to belt out these songs -- it's gonna be a workout on his pipes -- but the chance to hear deep cuts like "All That Jazz," "It Was a Pleasure," "Happy Death Men," and "With a Hip" is exciting.

Opening for both shows is Bunnymen megafan Kelley Stoltz, who has covered Crocodiles in its entirety, both on record and as an infrequent but incredible tribute act that also featured Spiral Stairs of Pavement and Shayde Sartin who's now in The Fresh & Onlys. (They played CMJ 2003 at Arlene's Grocery, it was awesome.) Anyway, Stoltz is now an established artist in his own right, putting out terrific records on Sub Pop when not playing drums in Sonny & the Sunsets.  So if you're going to this show, do go early.

Gross Relations

We now enter the local band portion of This Week in Indie. Let's start with L Magazine 8 Bands runners-up Gross Relations who are playing three times this week: tonight (5/11) at Don Pedro with Raccoon Fighter and The Horehounds, then tomorrow (5/12) at Bruar Falls with deVries and Hunktronic, and on Friday (5/13) at Cake Shop with The Bynars, Field Mouse and Infinity Hotel.

The band have been releasing a series of digital singles via their bandcamp page, all of which exemplify their brand of supercatchy, keyboard-friendly indie rock. You can download the A-sides of the last two at the top of this post. "Blame the Records" is especially good. As I said previously, those keyboard lead lines make for easy comparisons to the Rentals which I'm gonna guess is probably what they were going for. Which is fine -- the hooks are undeniable.

Radical Dads

Radical Dads, meanwhile, were actually picked by the L Mag as one of those 8 Bands You Need To Hear and I certainly agree. And hear them you can Thursday at Cake Shop. The band's debut album, Mega Rama, is out next month and it's pretty damn good. I hear a lot of '90s DC  here -- more Simple Machines and DeSoto than Teenbeat -- whether that was intentional or not. Which means, basically, strident, melodic indie rock. The record is also a contender for my favorite album art of the year, done by Michael Deforge, which you can see below. Also below is yet another widget, this one will allow you to stream or download Mega Rama track "New Age Dinosaur." Oh, and they are quite good live.

Also playing that Cake Shop show tomorrow are Shark? whose debut album True Waste comes out May 24. The band worked with former Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone on the record and what I've heard sounds really good. You can download two tracks from the album up top, and Shark?'s Pixies-ish theme song is pretty fun.

And lastly, I'd like to write a little about Vacation who are opening for Oberhofer at Coco 66 on Saturday night (5/14). The band are pretty new. What started as a solo project for Paul Greenfield Daly, formed into a band during one of the blizzards this year. Vacation have only played out a couple of times (Brad Oberhofer was in the live incarnation briefly.) But I really, really like the songs available as free downloads on Vacation's Bandcamp site. While I wouldn't call it synthpop, Vacation are definitely danceable, kind of groovy and motorik.  The track "Jean" in particular sounds like a hit to me, definitely check that one out.

That Coco 66 show also has the lately ubiquitous Widowspeak, and with Oberhofer that makes for a pretty good Saturday night. If you can't make it this weekend, Vacation are playing Pianos on May 22 with Dinner at the Thompsons.

OK that's the big stuff this week. Here are a few more picks, day-by-day:

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11

It's a night of well-dressed pop at Glasslands with Princeton and the High Highs. I keep meaning to catch High Highs again, I was impressed when they played with Radio Department last year.

We haven't heard from locals Gray Goods since last year's Northside Fest. They emerge from their cocoon, sonically reborn, tonight at Union Pool, with Zachary Cale and D. Charles Speer and the Helix.

continued below...

Continue reading "Generationals, Malajube, Echo & the Bunnymen, Kelley Stoltz, Gross Relations, Radical Dads, Shark?, Vacation, Karaoke Underground & more in This Week in Indie"

by BBG

Echo & The Bunnymen (more by Toby Tenenbaum)

Echo & The Bunnymen will repeat themselves, sort of. The band will return to North America to focus on, like they did at Radio City, playing a full album (actually albums) for a tour that includes Irving Plaza on May 13 (the site of their last NYC appearance) and with Kelley Stoltz, who joined them at the venue in 2008 and on a UK tour in 2010... but that's where the similarities end.

Whereas the Radio City show focused on Ocean Rain in its entirety, Irving Plaza will focus on their first TWO LPs, Crocodiles & Heaven Up Here, in their entirety, plus a selection of "hits". Tickets for the NYC show are on sale in regular and VIP varieties, which include "front of the line access, a poster, and access to a designated area of the balcony". All dates below.

In related news, Kelley Stoltz was involved in a fascinating project by Sonny Smith:

Last year, local songwriter/cool guy Sonny Smith started an art project you may have heard a thing or two about: He invented 100 fake bands, wrote 100 different singles from each one (with an A side and B side!), and made art for those 100 singles.

But then, Smith and a bunch of friends began recording some of those songs... Collaborators on the project include: Ty Segall, Kelley Stoltz, the Sandwitches, Tim Cohen of the Fresh & Onlys, and others. -[SF Weekly]

Here's a bit more ridiculousity, as each single has its own post, band name, and bio (!) on the 100 Records site. I guess none of this would matter if the jams weren't interesting, but you can judge for yourself in the streaming song "I Wanna Do It" by Earth Girl Helen Brown below. The track comes from the new release Sonny Smith's 100 Records Volume 2: I Miss The Jams, out now on CD via Turn Up Records.

That song stream, all tour dates and some video is below.

Continue reading "Echo & the Bunnymen performing 'Crocodiles' & 'Heaven Up Here' on tour w/ Kelley Stoltz (who's involved in '100 Records')"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Sonny & the Sunsets - Lovin' on an Older Gal (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Kelley Stoltz - I Don't Get That (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Film School - Heart Full of Pentagons (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Home Video - Smoke (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Winter Gloves - Plastic Slides (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: El Guincho - "Bombay" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: El Guincho - FM Tan Sexy (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Casiokids - Finn Bikkjen! (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Foals - Spanish Sahara (Deadboy Remix) (MP3)

Casiokids

Didn't the weeks leading up to CMJ used to be a little calmer? I feel like we're just going to be pile-driving into that week (Oct 19 -21) with show after worthwhile show. This week / weekend too. Even with Matador 21 and Pop Montreal siphoning lots of big names, this is one of the more more exciting weekends for shows in a long while. For me at least.

Let's start this week with a contest. As previously mentioned, BV/TWII faves Casiokids play Sunday (10/3) night at Glasslands and we've got a pair of tickets to the show plus a copy of the band's CD, Topp stemning på lokal bar, for one lucky person. To enter, just send an email to BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM with the subject line "Casiokids" and we'll pick a winner at random. Please note that Glasslands is a 21+ venue.

If you've never seen these Norwegians before, they're a lot of fun and Glasslands should be conducive to their low tech brand of dancepop. Also on the bill: Brahms, Bikini and VonChina. All Casiokids dates below.

Film School

What else? San Francisco's Film School are in town, playing Glasslands on Thursday (9/30) and Mercury Lounge on Friday (10/1). Both shows are with like-minded New Yorkers The Depreciation Guild with whom they're going on tour. Film School have been doing the dark shoegazy thing since the start of the '00s, back when that sound was fairly unfashionable. But these days the '90s are hot so it's good timing that Film School have released maybe their best album yet, Fission.

I found 2007's Hideout to be murky and meandering, but the band seem really focused this time out. There are still the moody basslines and effects-heavy guitars, but the songs great this time out, and the production feels modern and bright. Some rays of light are peeking through their normally cloudy sound -- hell, their new single is called "Sunny Day." (You can watch the video below.) That song features lead vocals from bassist Lorelei Plotczyk, whose frequent presence behind the mic is one of the reasons Fission works so much better than Hideout. You can download "Heart Full of Pentagons" at the top of this post.

The Glasslands show also has Brooklyn duo Home Video who have been kicking around for half a decade or so and are set to release their second album, The Automatic Process, on November. Download first single "The Smoke" at the top of this post. I don't think I've seen them play live since they opened for Fujiya & Miyagi at Mercury Lounge back in 2006 but I remember thinking they were pretty good. And the new album sounds alright after a couple listens -- synthpop that seems equally inspired by Vince Clark and Thom Yorke.

Kelley Stoltz

While we're in San Francisco, a reminder that Sonny and the Sunsets and Kelley Stoltz will be here this weekend: Mercury Lounge on Thursday(9/30) and Union Hall on Friday (10/1). Both shows are early ones, especially the Merc show which starts at 7PM. If you like '60s inspired pop at it's finest, do yourself a favor and go see this great double bill.

Stoltz is a charismatic performer, prone to anecdotes, occasional props and obscure impressions. Do pick up is terrific new album, To Dreamers, when it comes out in two weeks. And I'm really looking forward to seeing Sonny and the Sunsets (of which Stoltz is a member) for the first time. Their new album is great. Check out tracks from both of them at the top of this post.

Sub Pop just released a short film on the making of Stoltz new record, To Dreamers, made by the Yours Truly folks, which shows off his literal DIY approach to analog recording. It's funny and charming, just like Stoltz. Watch it further down this very post.

Winter Gloves

If you're not going to Pop Montreal this weekend, you can get a taste of Canada here in New York as Born Ruffians and Winter Gloves are here playing the Knitting Factory on Friday (10/1) and Bowery Ballroom on Saturday (10/2). Born Ruffians are a fine band but have been covered many times here and have been through town many times before. So I'm gonna focus on their touring mates Winter Gloves. The Montrealers schedule and cancel NYC gigs with frequency so now's your chance to see them.

I caught them at M for Montreal in 2008 and they were one of the highlights of that weekend, kind of a slinkier, funkier Tokyo Police Club. Their new album All Red is a lot of fun and they are definitely worth seeing. (They're quite popular in MTL.) Download "Plastic Slides" from the new album at the top of this post.

Foals

The show I'm most excited about this weekend is Foals who play Bowery Ballroom on Friday (10/1) and Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday (10/2). Both shows are sold out unfortunately, but tickets being released day-of-show isn't an uncommon occurrence.

Foals' new album, Total Life Forever, is one of my contenders for Album of the Year which is not something I was really expecting before I heard it. Where their first album, Antidotes, was all mathy angularity, Total Life Forever has...um... soul? There's also a Big '80s Trevor Horn vibe going on -- the drums on single "Miami" seem to be lifted from Yes' 90125 LP. (Or maybe The Power Station.) It's funky and genuinely danceable, with a lot of heart. Foals used to be easy to like hard to love. Not so hard this time out.

Foals have always been good live, full of nervous energy -- they're the only band I've ever seen puke onstage -- and can't wait to see them with such stronger material.  I can't wait for Saturday.

If you're going to the Bowery show on Friday, definitely get there in time to see openers Esben & the Witch who just signed to Matador and are a bit like Zola Jesus but more interesting to watch live. Their guitarist has the most pedals I've ever seen not counting The Edge. They were pretty good at Glasslands last week.

El Guincho

And finally, El Guincho returns to NYC this week for a string of shows that began last night at Mercury Lounge. He plays Santos tonight (9/29), a free show at Zebulon on Thursday (9/30) and a late night show at Cameo on Friday (10/1).  When I saw him play two years ago at Mercury Lounge opening for Cut Copy it was just Pablo Díaz-Reixa and his sampler, but this time El Guincho is a trio which should make things a lot more interesting and fun.

El Guincho's new album, Pop Negro, eschews the dreamlike haze of his debut (which was a real precursor to the chillwave invasion) for more straight up dance pop that is definitely not low-fi. In his own words:

It's a pop album sung in Spanish. Tracks are based on big syncopated beats, loud kick drums, snares and claps on a very wide stereo image full of different synthesizer timbres, subdivided hi-hats, funk bass, line recorded guitars and multi tracked backing vocals. Production is based on hi-fi aesthetics from the golden era of recordings...the main sentiment is a sort of nostalgic love for the music that I heard on FM radio as a kid/teenager, that "promise" that music gives you, not eternal/eternity because pop music is not supposed to be like that, but that thing you feel when you're on a car with your friends or family and you listen to a certain hit and it makes you think you want to be inside of that. I wanted to write something based on that. Not plain hits, but a whole album that makes you feel that thing, arrangements that can take your mind that state if you know what I mean.

You can download two tracks off Pop Negro at the top of this post.

That's gonna do it for this week. A few daily picks not covered above follow:

WEDNESDAY, September 29

Best Coast swing through town again, playing Bowery Ballroom tonight (and MHoW tomorrow). Summer may be over, but Bethany's songs of love and weed still sound good.

If you didn't get enough '90s nostalgia last week with Pavement, former indie rock power couple Juliana Hatfield & Evan Dando (they did date, right?)perform together as Jullianna & Evan.  Julianna has intimated she might retire from live shows in the near future, this seems like a good way to see her one last time. They play Thursday too. Both shows are sold out, natch.

THURSDAY, September 30

The forecast is calling for "rain from Tropical Rainstorm" which might put a damper on the night's biggest show, Belle & Sebastian, who play the Williamsburg Waterfront with fellow Glaswegians Teenage Fanclub. A light sprinkle would be fine...B&S' music has always been sort of rainy day music anyway. If you ponyed up the dough for a ticket, do get there early for Teenage Fanclub who were phenomenal at Bowery Ballroom last night. Big hooks, bigger harmonies, positive vibes. Video of them playing Jimmy Fallon is at the bottom of this post.

FRIDAY, October 1

Pennsylvania dream pop band SOARS play Glasslands. Haven't seen them live, but if you're a fan of Slowdive or bands that sound kind of like that, you might want to check them out.

SATURDAY, October 2

Union Hall has a totally weird lineup tonight. Headlining is synthpop act Neighbors, with Year of the Tiger (kind of a more tuneful, less abrasive Sleigh Bells). So far so normal. But opening is Sky Ferreira, who has appeared in Uffie videos and is, if her Myspace is any indication, being bred as a Pop Star. Expect lots of old guys in suits at the show, at least till she finishes her set.

OK that's really it for this week. Tour dates, videos and flyers are below...

Continue reading "Foals, Kelley Stoltz, Winter Gloves, Casiokids, El Guincho, Film School, Home Video & more in This Week in Indie "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Sonny & the Sunsets - Lovin' on an Older Gal (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sonny & the Sunsets - Too Young to Burn (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Kelley Stoltz - I Don't Get That (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Kelley Stoltz - Rescue (MP3)

Sonny & the Sunsets & Stoltz

Kelley Stoltz and Sonny & the Sunsets are going to be tourmates for the next couple of weeks, but they are more than just roadmates... they play in each other's bands. Or to put it another way, when Sonny sings it's the Sunsets, and when Stoltz sings it's his band. That's one way to save on touring.

Their tour includes NYC stops at Mercury Lounge on Thursday, September30 and Union Hall on Friday, October 1. Both are early shows. Both are on sale (click the links).

Stoltz produced Sonny & the Sunsets' Tomorrow is Alright, which also features members of Thee Oh Sees and The Fresh & Onlys. It's ten songs of laid-back California folky charm, spare but produced just enough to give it flair. Two of those songs are downloadable at the top of this post, including the terrific, melancholic "Too Young to Burn." The record was originally released on vinyl via Soft Abuse but can now be got in digital and CD form through Fat Possum.

Kelley Stoltz

Meanwhile, Stoltz is set to release his third album for Sub Pop, To Dreamers, on October 12. A devout home taper, this is  definitely his most "produced" record yet, and the first where Stoltz didn't play all the instruments himself. It still, however, continues his obsession with all things Kinks, Beatles, and Bunnymen. (Maybe a little Turtles and Monkeys too.) Check out the crazy-catchy "I Don't Get That" at the top of this post.

After their tour together, Sonny & the Sunsets will tour with Best Coast (whose current tour hits NYC this week) for some Southwest and West Coast dates, as well as dates with Tennis and Pains of Being Pure at Heart (who headline the BrooklynVegan CMJ showcase this year).

Then in December, Stoltz will open for his heroes Echo & the Bunnymen on a UK tour. You may remember that Stoltz' first-ever release was Crockodials, a song-by-song redo of the Bunnymen's classic 1980 debut. You can hear his version of "Rescue" at the top of this post.

Aside: Crockodials was also a tribute band he fronted, whose sporadic live shows were the stuff of legend in San Francisco, complete with camo gear, smoke machines and mouthy Ian McCulloch stage banter (Stoltz does a seriously good Mac impersonation). The band included Pavement's Scott Kannberg and now Fresh & Only Shayde Sartin. Crokodials actually perfomed at CMJ 2003 -- a fun if very, very late Arlene's Grocery show the same night the Bunnymen played Webster Hall.

All Kelley Stoltz and Sonny & the Sunsets tour dates -- together and apart -- are below....

Continue reading "Kelley Stoltz touring and playing w/ Sonny & the Sunsets (dates, new albums, MP3s & stuff))"

The Kelley Stoltz (Sub Pop) show originally scheduled for Mercury Lounge tonight (April 9) is instead happening at Union Hall. Kelley is also currently on tour with The Dirtbombs.

Instead at Mercury Lounge tonight - 2 promising shows (early & late): Jason Collett of Broken Social Scene plays the early one. White Hinterland (with gear hopefully) and Throw Me the Statue play the late one.

DOWNLOAD: Kelley Stoltz - Your Reverie (MP3)

Kelley Stoltz - Sub Pop showcase, SXSW 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

Since we're talking about Sup Pop, it's worth noting that Kelley Stoltz's latest album "Circular Sounds" came out on Sub Pop in February, and that he's playing Mercury Lounge and Maxwell's in April. All tour dates and a video below.....

Continue reading "Kelley Stoltz (Sub Pop) - 2008 Tour Dates, MP3, video"

photos by Ryan Muir

DOWNLOAD: Sera Cahoone - Only As The Day Is Long (MP3)

Handsome Furs, SXSW 2008

The Sub Pop showcase was one of the greatest official lineups at SXSW this year (Friday, March 14, 2008).

BOURBON ROCKS STAGE (inside)
Love As Laughter - 8pm
Sera Cahoone - 9pm
Grand Archives - 10pm
Kelley Stoltz - 11pm
Fleet Foxes - 12am
Blitzen Trapper - 1am

BOURBON ROCKS PATIO STAGE (outside)
The Ruby Suns - 8:30pm
Pissed Jeans - 9:30pm
Handsome Furs - 10:30pm
The Helio Sequence - 11:30pm
No Age - 12:30am

Fleet Foxes and Blitzen Trapper are currently on tour together. The March 29th Bowery Ballroom show (which also has Ola Podrida on the bill) is still not sold out. Handsome Furs are opening for Spoon at Terminal 5, and playing Bowery Ballroom without Spoon even sooner. No Age have a Bowery Ballroom show coming up, and Pissed Jeans have one scheduled at Knitting Factory.

The Ruby Suns just played two NYC shows, and they're coming back soon with Foals (also on Sub Pop). All those dates and pictures of them from SXSW are HERE. The rest of the SXSW showcase photos are below....

Continue reading "Handsome Furs, Pissed Jeans & more SubPop (dates & pics)"