photos by Amanda Hatfield; words by Andrew Sacher

"Saw Torres play their first New York show tonight at Cake Shop. SO good. Do yourself a favor and check out her record. Her voice is KILLER." - Sharon Van Etten

Nashville's Torres (aka Mackenzie Scott) came to NYC over the weekend for her first two shows here, having played Cake Shop on Friday (2/22) and The Paper Box on Sunday (2/24). Mackenzie's voice is great live and her band sounded well-practiced and really tight, as they brought a sincere mix of folk, country, grunge and punk to back Mackenzie's personal lyrics. We caught her Paper Box show (and as you can see from the quote above, Sharon Van Etten caught her Cake Shop show), and more pictures from that show, including openers Mainland and Divining Rod, are below.

Continue reading "Torres played Paper Box after NYC debut at Cake Shop (pics)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Torres - "Mother Earth, Father God" (MP3)

Nashville singer/songwriter Torres (real name Mackenzie Scott) hails from a long-running breeding ground of folk and country music, and she takes after her hometown's lineage, but also weaves in grunge and punk inspired grit like EMA or Sharon Van Etten. Her self titled debut album, which Torres self released last week (1/22), arrived fully formed, strikingly self-aware, and subtly diverse.

On a track like "Jealousy And I," Torres recalls the bedroom folk of the early '70s, while "When Winter's Over" is a straight up '90s alt rocker, yet the album never fails to feel concise and cohesive. And when she spills lines like, "Feed me something real while I've got youth left in my veins," you know Torres is an album with purpose. You can stream two album tracks, "Honeys" and "Mother Earth, Father God," below, and download the latter at the top of this post. The album is available on iTunes.

Torres is playing a record release show in her hometown this February, and after that she'll play a few other dates, including her first Brooklyn show on February 24 at The Paper Box with Mainland and special guests TBA. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

UPDATE: She also plays another NYC show on February 22 at Cake Shop.

A list of all dates and song streams below...

Continue reading "check out Torres who released LP, playing shows (dates, MP3)"

Palma Violets at Glasslands, 1/23/2013 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Palma Violets have been here from the UK for the past week or so, playing a string of wild, sweaty shows. If you haven't caught them yet, you now have two more chances to see them. In addition to the previously-announced Glasslands show tonight (1/28) with Devin and Mainland (tickets), BrooklynVegan is presenting an early show tonight at Pianos. The band go on at 7 PM and $5 tickets are on sale now. That ticket will also allow you to stay for the late show that features Wolves, Of the Opera, Night Vision and Nylon Riots.

Check out Palma Violets' new video for "Step Up for the Cool Cats" below.

Continue reading "Palma Violets add BV-Presents early show TONIGHT at Pianos before their Glasslands show"

by Bill Pearis

Parlovr at Hotel Vegan, SXSW 2012 (more by Tim Griffin)

Montreal's Parlovr are visiting NYC, playing Glasslands TONIGHT (5/30) with Mainland, We Run, and The Drowners. Tickets are still available. It's a one off show for the band before they head out on a tour of the US and Canada in June.

Parlovr just released their second album, Kook Soul, on Dine Alone records. The album was a long time coming for the band, starting two years ago when the band were on the verge of breaking up, reveals a story in the Montreal Mirror:

...they continued touring in support of an album they were tired of, forced to spend long hours on the road--not an ideal situation for a pair of combustible personalities at drastically different points in their lives. Alex Cooper had pencilled in a wedding date with his longtime squeeze, only to have her end it. Louis Jackson, by his own admission, "was becoming a complete whore." A van ride from Brooklyn to Providence on a blistering July day almost sealed the group's fate.

"Every single word uttered devolved into petty arguing, and we still had six hours to go. [Drummer] Jeremy [MacCuish] was in the back, I don't know how he put up with it," recalls Cooper.

"It was also the hottest day of the year in New York," interjects the stoic MacCuish, with only a faint hint of exasperation. "It was bumper to bumper through Connecticut because everyone was driv­ing to the beach, and the air-conditioning was broken."

The band sorted things out, obviously, and Kook Soul is a big step up from their self-titled debut, influenced heavily by repeated listens to The Flaming Lips' The Soft Bulletin and old '50s records. The songs sound good live too -- I caught Parlovr a couple times during SXSW this year. Check 'em out if you can.

You can stream Kook Soul below, and check out all listed Parlovr tourdates.

Continue reading "Parlovr released 'Kook Soul,' playing Glasslands tonight"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Terry Malts - Nauseous (MP3)

Terry Malts's debut album, Killing Time, is one of 2012's more enjoyable slabs of wax: 14 tracks of buzzy pop in 33 minutes, loaded with "whoah ohs," party anthems, sing-a-long choruses and feedback. You can download "Nauseous" at the top of this post, watch the video for "I Do" below or stream the entire album at Spotify.

Terry Malts begin a US tour next month that will bring them to New York for a April 21 show at Glasslands with The Suzan and Mainland. Click through for all Terry Malts tour dates.

Continue reading "Terry Malts released 'Killing Time', touring (dates & MP3)"

by Bill Pearis

It's that time of year again, when The L Magazine picks "8 Bands You Need to Hear Right Now." Like usual, the 2011 list is a mix of bands you may have seen, may have heard of, and more under-the-radar picks. No photoshoot at Bushwick Country Club this year. Here's the list, with the artists' next next NYC area show (where applicable):

Grand Rapids (no upcoming shows)
Devin Therriault (no upcoming shows)
Radical Dads (April 28 [tomorrow], The Delancey)
Mainland (May 25, Brooklyn Bowl)
Luke Rathborne (no upcoming shows)
Slowdance (May 9, Knitting Factory)
Yellow Ostrich (June 3, Mercury Lounge)
Family Trees (no upcoming shows)

This year's Honorable Mentions list includes Gross Relations, The Weed Hounds, The Hairs and more. There's also an entertaining sidebar where The L asks local bands and tastemakers "So, What's Wrong With the Brooklyn Music Scene?"

And if you missed it, The L Mag's Northside Festival just announced a slew of new bands to this year's line-up, including Surfer Blood (opening for GbV), Sharon Van Etten (opening for Beirut), Iceage (U.S. debut), Frankie Rose & the Outs, Teengirl Fantasy, Theophilus London, DOM, Mount Eerie, White Fence, Blondes, Janka Nabay • Holiday Shores, Eternal Summers, Delicate Steve, Gatekeeper and pretty much every band on the "8 Bands" list.