by Bill Pearis

still from "Rapid Reality" video

As mentioned, Brooklyn indie rock trio Radical Dads' second album, Rapid Reality, is out May 21 on Uninhabitable Mansions. The band have made a video for the album's title track which makes its premiere in this post. The clip, directed by Katie Armstrong, features impressionistic watercolor-style animation and is, well, pretty rad. Watch it below.

Radical Dads have a few local shows coming up, including tonight (4/10) at Death by Audio with Little Gold, Todd Killings, and Heaven's Jail Band; and April 19 at Pianos with Kleenex Girl Wonder, Overlord, and Ma'am (tickets). The band also have a few dates with Total Babes in May and all are listed below.

Continue reading "Radical Dads made a new video, playing shows (dates)"

by Bill Pearis

Allo Darlin'

Hope you all survived Record Store Day. I didn't find most of what I was looking for (most of which was UK only) but I did get that great Lee Hazlewood comp on Light in the Attic. Hope you found what you wanted the most. Lots of good stuff this week, so let's get into it.

The most TWII show of the week happens tonight (4/24) at Mercury Lounge: Allo Darlin' and The Wave Pictures. It's the start of the two bands' tour together that will wrap up on Sunday, May 20 for the last day of the NYC Popfest which is happening at Littlefield (w/ Ladybug Transistor, White Town and about six more that day). All Allo Darlin'/Wave Pictures tour dates at the bottom of this post.

Allo Darlin's second LP, Europe, came out last week to pretty much across-the-board acclaim. It's a little more melancholy than the band's debut, with a lot less ukulele this time out. Maybe that seems like a good thing, but I must say I miss the exuberance of Allo Darlin's debut. The more subdued nature of the songs and production make it sound like a Camera Obscura album much of the time, a comparison I would've never made before. But Elizabeth Morris' songwriting and voice are still in fine form, it's all just a little more "mature."

You can stream Allo Darlin's Europe at the bottom of this post. I'm sure one thing that hasn't changed is Allo Darlin's ability to charm in the live setting.

The Wave Pictures

The same goes for The Wave Pictures who I will always go see live even if I'm not so crazy about the album they're touring to support. Not that they change so much from record to record. Their new album, Long Black Cars, is pretty good (listen at Spotify) I think but much like the rest: Dave Tattersall spins fascinating, funny stories with a singsong delivery. Most of their albums sound like they were recorded live, but it always comes off a million times more compelling when you actually see them play. Tattersall is also one of the funniest between-song banterers of our age. Also funny: the Darren Hayman-directed video for their song "Spaghetti" which you can watch below.

Here We Go Magic

Here We Go Magic will release their third album, A Different Ship, in a couple weeks (May 8 specifically) and soon head out on a short UK tour before covering most of North America with Hospitality. (All dates are below.) Before that, HWGM play this Friday (4/26) at Knitting Factory with Glass Ghost.

The new album has an interesting birth. Stuck playing a pre-noon set at Glastonbury 2010, the groggy band were playing to a groggy crowd, none of whom seemed to be having any fun. Except for two guys dancing right up front, who turned out to be Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich. The band met Yorke and Godrich after their set and Godrich turned up at more European shows... and ended up producing Different Ships. This is the bands first album that didn't start with Luke Temple doing demos on his own, and with the band incorporated from the beginning (and working in Godrich's studio). While still boyant and dreamy, Different Ships feels a little bigger, a little more fully formed than the previous two. You can stream "Make Up Your Mind" at the bottom of this post as well stream new single "How Do I Know?" at Secretly Canadian's SoundCloud page.

The Feelies at Prospect Park in 2011 (more by Tamara Porras)

And finally, while Feelies shows have become less rare since the band actually made a new album, but any chance to see one of the most influential NYC-area bands of the last 30 years is one you shouldn't pass up. And you have that chance on Friday (4/27) at the Bell House. While bands from Luna (who had the Feelies' Stanley Demeski on drums at the beginnning) to The Strokes have taken from them, there's no substitute for that Bill Million/Glen Mercer guitar interplay that still sounds like magic.

You can listen to the Feelies' terrific album from last year, Here Before, as well as some of their classic ones, at Spotify. The Feelies also play Saturday (4/28) at Club Helsinki in Hudson, NY if you're up that way and a few more scheduled dates throughout the summer which are further down this post.

That's the big stuff this week. Day-by-day picks of things not covered above, are below.

Diehard

TUESDAY, APRIL 24

Diehard are at Union Hall tonight with Everest, Benjamin Cartel (of Kaiser Cartel) and Resistor. Diehard just released a video for their theme songwhich you can watch below. It's from last year's The Times We Didn't Have Fun which you can download for free from Bandcamp. Diehard also play Saturday (4/28) at the Rock Bar in the west, West Village.

Colorado's Gauntlet Hair are in town at GLasslands tonight with dream poppers Field Mouse and Baby Alpaca.

Catch new Captured Tracks artist Mac Demarco tonight at Bowery Ballroom opening for Nite Jewel.

Nick Lowe

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25

One of the coolest cats around, Nick Lowe is at at Town Hall with nearly 40 years worth of amazing songs in his arsenal. Last year's The Old Magic was another winner from the Basher and you can stream it at Spotify and watch the comedy star-studded video for "Sensitive Man" below.

Sacramento's astral trio Sister Crayon wrap up their Pianos residency tonight with support from Megafortress, New Moods and Tygerstrype. Stay late for a free show from Japanese rockers ZZZ's.

continued below...

Continue reading "Allo Darlin', The Wave Pictures, Here We Go Magic, The Feelies, Nick Lowe & more in This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Eternal Summers - Prisoner (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Crystal Stilts - Through the Floor (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Zaza - Distance Creator (ZIP)

Lyonnais

Coachella may be happening on the other coast but it's a lovely day here in NYC and I don't feel like I'm missing anything this weekend staying here. For one thing it's Record Store Day which also falls the same weekend and Tax Day which may be good or bad depending how you did this year. And there's lots of other stuff worth seeing too, so let's get into it.

McDonalds are one of these local groups whose name I'd seen around for a while and given the bands they often played with -- German Measles, Home Blitz, Tyvek -- I had it in my mind they sounded one way when, in fact, they don't. Well, that's not exactly true. They are kind of shambly indie. But their great new single "Good Parts" is like some lost obscure 7" from 1990 Manchester, that era when C-86 melted into the baggy scene. You can check it out -- in video form -- at the bottom of this post in a fun green-screened clip starring a lot of people you might recognize if you hang out at Bruars Falls or Cake Shop with any regularity.

McDonalds have three shows coming up in the next week: tonight (4/14) at Union Pool with Lyonnais and Helado Negro, then Saturday (4/16) as part of Cake Shop's Record Store Day extravaganza (more on that in a minute), and then next Wednesday (4/20) with former Swell Maps/Television Personalities dude Jowe Head & The Extremities.

As mentioned above, also playing the Union Pool show tonight are Atlanta four-piece Lyonnais whose dark, ethereal sound will likely draw comparisons to My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive... or even mid-'80s goth like Xmal Deutchland or Red Lorry Yellow Lorry. Their debut album is still being shopped around, but you can stream "Transitive Properties of Youth" at the bottom of this post, and a few more at their MySpace.

In addition to tonight's show, Lyonnais play tomorrow (4/15) at Glasslands and I imagine playing under the venue's stormcloud installation will be pretty apropos. I hope they are really loud too.

Eternal Summers

That Glasslands bill also features Roanoke, VA's Eternal Summers who have a new EP titled Prisoner out on Kanine/Forrest Family next week. The title track -- downloadable above -- is one of my favorite Eternal Summers songs yet and the whole EP is pretty excellent overall. The band, at least the last time I saw them, have expanded to a trio for live shows which fills out their sound nicely.

The Glasslands show, in addition to Eternal Summers and Lyonnais, features Toronto's Golden Dogs and locals Dream Diary who don't play together so much anymore now that guitarist Madison moved to Memphis. Brad Oberhofer will DJ in-between bands.  That's a good night of music.

Eternal Summers also play Cake Shop on Saturday (4/16) which is the venue's Record Store Day extravaganza, featuring a slew of great -- mostly local -- bands. The downstairs will be a record mart during the day (noon - 6PM). Bands during the evening include the previously-mentioned McDonalds, Natural Child, Widowspeak, Overlord, Hands & Knees, Night Collectors and Twitchers. Eternal Summers head out on tour next month with the Beets and all those tour dates are at the bottom of the post.

Also, for the real record nerds, Cake Shop is running a fun little contest. They've made 77 versions of the Record Store Day flyer, each with different backgrounds taken from album covers. Take a look, name the artist and album of as many as you can and email your answers to cakeshopusa@gmail.com. The entry with the most correct answers (or first entry in case of a tie) wins either a $77 bar tab at Cake Shop or $77 credit for the Cape Shok record mart during that day. Winner's choice. I got about 55 for sure, with another 15 I could figure out with a little time.

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And finally, Spectrum (aka Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember who also co-fronted Spacemen 3) are in town this weekend playing two shows with Crystal Stilts: Saturday (4/16) at Le Poisson Rouge and Sunday (4/17) at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Kember is one of the forefathers of drone pop and in the past few years has become known for his work behind the boards, having produced MGMT's underrated/misunderstood Congratulations album, and he mixed the new Panda Bear. There's a new Spectrum album duo sometime soon too. Kember's influence seems more relevant than ever. Glad to see he's staying busy.

Crystal Stilts

Crystal Stilts owe more than a little to Kember's many records. The band just released their second LP, In Love with Oblivion and I think it's pretty great, pretty easily besting their 2008 debut (which was one of my favorite albums of that year.) The production's better, the songs are better, and the artwork's really nice as well. It's hard to listen to the new album without thinking of Frankie Rose whose relentless drumming style, I feel, probably had a lot to do with the way standout songs like "Sycamore Tree" and "Death is What We Live For" were formed. Both of those Kraut-heavy tracks made their debut in late 2008. As much as I like Rose's solo work, I miss her being in this band.

But the new new songs show that it's still guitarist JB Townsend and singer Brad Hargett writing great songs. The biggest improvement over the first album is probably the influence of keyboardist Kyle Forrester, whose parts add a bright color to Crystal Stilts' sound, especially on "Silver Sun" and single "Shake the Shackles." The record got a deserved 7.9 in Pitchfork today. You can download "Through the Floor" at the top of this post and watch the video below. Crystal Stilts are on tour starting next week and all dates are below.

That's it for this edition. Some daily picks and more after the jump.

Continue reading "McDonalds, Lyonnais, Eternal Summers, Record Store Day @ Cake Shop, Spectrum, Crystal Stilts, Zaza, Rebecca Gates & more in This Week in Indie"