DOWNLOAD Laura Stevenson & the Cans - Master of Art (MP3)

Screaming Females at Barbarella (more by Tim Griffin)

Screaming Females, who just completed a run of shows that brought them to Santos Party and Maxwell's, and who will be playing Culture Shock up at SUNY Purchase in April, will head out on tour in June with Lemuria and headliner Against Me!. The tour actually kicks off May 31 in Millvale, PA, though Lemuria and Against Me! both also play Krazy Fest in Louisville on May 21. The tour hits NYC at Webster Hall on June 7th. Tickets go on AmEx presale today at noon (4/6) and regular sale on Friday. All tour dates are below.

Against Me!'s last NYC shows were two opening slots at Roseland and a last minute, headlining matinee at the intimate Mercury Lounge.

Meanwhile, Lemuria is heading out on tour with Joyce Manor & White Wives. That tour hits The Studio at Webster Hall on April 27th. Tickets are on sale for the show that also includes Banquets. All dates are listed below.

The last time that Lemuria and Screaming Females crossed paths in NYC was at the Don Giovanni showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg in February. There the bands were joined by Laura Stevenson & The Cans who also just announced a big tour including a run with Fake Problems, Pomegranates and Into It. Over It that hits Brooklyn's Knitting Factory on May 10th (tickets) and Manhattan's Mercury Lounge on May 13th (tickets).

Laura Stevenson & the Cans meanwhile are hitting road in April after a public show at Baruch College on April 8th (tickets are on sale). The band's sophmore album is out via Don Giovanni on April 26th. An MP3 from that record is at the top of this post.

All dates and stuff below...

Continue reading "Against Me! touring w/ Screaming Females & Lemuria ++ Laura Stevenson & The Cans tour w/ Fake Problems (dates)"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Aloha - Moonless March (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Aloha - Waterwheel (MP3)

"Moonless March" is possibly most in your face, immediate song Aloha has ever written. For a band known best for their intricate arrangements and atmospheres (and ever-present, otherworldly marimba), it signals a new page for their upcoming, fifth record, Home Acres, which comes out March 9th on on Polyvinyl. If "Moonless March" is the straight-away single, "Waterwheel," a song you can get exclusively above, is its gentler cousin. Both come with warm overdriven layers and cryptic, possibly apocalyptic lyrics rich in imagery.

After the record's release, Aloha will head out a series of April shows around the US. Most of those will be opened by Cincinati's Pomegranates, who worked with Aloha's TJ Lipple on their 2009 record, Everybody Come Outside. The bands visit NYC on April 17th for a show at Knitting Factory. Tickets info to come.

The remaining tour dates, new album info, and older videos are below...

Continue reading "Aloha - new album, MP3 & 2010 tour dates (Knitting Factory)"

photos by Chris La Putt, words by Bill Pearis

Au Revoir Simone have spent the better part of 2009 working on, promoting and touring in support of their second album, Still Light, Still Night, wrapping things up -- for now, at least -- with a Brooklyn show at the Bell House on October 24 (tickets), which is part of the CMJ Music Marathon. The Bell House is also where their new video, "Shadows," was filmed. You can watch it over at the David Lynch Foundation Television website. Lynch has been a fan ever since he and ARS were paired together for that Barnes & Noble Upstairs at the Square event two years ago. He even wrote a nice little blurb for the girls:

"I LOVE AU REVOIR SIMONE ..... THESE GIRLS HAVE WHAT IT TAKES ..... MUSIC JUST FLOWS OUT OF THEM SO NATURALLY - AND IT'S GREAT MUSIC ...... THIS VIDEO FOR "SHADOWS" - FROM THEIR NEW ALBUM "STILL NIGHT, STILL LIGHT" IS MIGHTY - THE COLOR AND THE LIGHT ARE STELLAR - THE MOVES AND LOOKS - MINIMAL - CLEAN - MODERN AND SOLID ..... IT ALL COMES ALONG SO WELL SUPPORTING THE GIRLS AND THEIR MUSIC ..... ANNIE, ERIKA AND HEATHER HAVE GOT THEIR ACT TOGETHER - THEY'RE BIG - BUT THEY'RE GONNA BE BIGGER - THEY'RE GONNA BE REAL BIG"

I hope someone has since told David his Caps Lock was on. That Bell House CMJ show also has baroque pop band The Postmarks, and San Francisco's folk-ska ensemble Still Flyin' on the bill.

In November, Au Revoir Simone travel to China for shows in Beijing and Shanghai. Tour dates are at the bottom of this post, as are more pictures from Au Revoir Simone's Bowery show from back in June. Findlay Brown, who is also playing CMJ at the same venue (Bowery), opened that June show.

In between now and ARS's trip to China, ARS member Annie Hart will spend some time with her other band, Uninhabitable Mansions, which also features Robbie and Tyler from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Uninhabitable Mansions' debut album, Nature is a Taker, is out now digitally, with the CD version due at the end of October and vinyl in January. Uninhabitable Mansions, which now includes Annie Hart's husband (and former Dirty on Purpose member) Doug Marvin on drums, has two NYC shows coming up: a free show next Wednesday (10/14) at Cake Shop which is part of the MIXER Reading Series, then they'll play the Bell House on October 22 (part of CMJ) with Robbers on High Street, Freelance Whales (who are also on the Bowery Ballroom show Findlay is playing), Pomegrates and others. After that, they're going on a short East Coast tour, ending with a October 30 show at Union Pool. Then the band's on hold until the new year when they expect to launch a more extensive U.S. tour.

And while we're here, Robbie and Chris of Uninhabitable Mansions have another band,Radical Dads, whose new self-titled EP is downloadable for free.

CYHSY front-man Alec Ounsworth meanwhile has been doing his own thing and is appearing at Mercury Lounge during CMJ, as well as at a free BrooklynVegan day party at Pianos that same day (10/22). More details TBA.

Tour dates for Au Revoir Simone and Uninhabitable Mansions, plus more pictures from Au Revoir Simone's June 28 Bowery Ballroom show are below...

Continue reading "Au Revoir Simone, David Lynch, Uninhabitable Mansions, Radical Dads & CMJ - tour dates, pictures, free music & more"

As previously warned, single day XX Merge festival tickets went on sale today, and like the five-day passes did before them, they sold right out. At the moment, there are only still tickets for the Sunday show with She & Him, American Music Club, and Wye Oak.

Speaking of Wye Oak, they have a new album coming out soon

Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack came together to make their sophomore record, The Knot, with a whole new set of challenges and expectations than they had when they made If Children. In the past, songs were written separately and they came together to work on arrangements. That method changed after the release of If Children. Jenn & Andy loaded up the mini-van and toured the US and Europe for nearly a solid year. When they returned to their shared house, the luxury of privacy was gone, but a new musical closeness was formed. "Musically, we were finishing each other's thoughts," says Jenn.

Andy says, "Having the chance to play these songs live for a year or so before going to record them gave us the chance to really explore them and tighten them up. On If Children, it felt like our default solution to any problem was to layer and layer more parts on top of one another. We made a conscious effort to temper that impulse this time around, also as a result of feeling more comfortable with our live duo setup. Of course, in certain songs, we couldn't help ourselves and just had to pile it on!"

The Knot will be released on June 21st (on Merge of course).

Wye Oak are currently on on tour with Pomegranates. Their NYC show happens tonight, May 13th, at Mercury Lounge, AND Winter Gloves are also on the bill. Dates and videos below...

Continue reading "XX Merge (mostly) sold out, Wye Oak (new album info) here "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Winter Gloves - Smells Like Teen Spirit (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Winter Gloves - Let Me Drive (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pomegranates - Corriander (MP3)

Winter Gloves, who got stuck at the border when they were supposed to play here last month, are coming back to the US for a short tour in May, including a May 13 stop at Mercury Lounge. Here's what I said last time:

I caught Winter Gloves last November at M for Montreal where they were already local favorites. Not dissimilar from Tokyo Police Club, we're talking keyboard-driven dance rock with a lot of participatory handclapping. "Let Me Drive," which you can download at the top of this post, is pretty typical of their debut album, About a Girl, which came out last year. They're great live and worth the $8 alone.

In addition to "Let Me Drive," check out their cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" the band recorded recently in tribute to the 15th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death.

The Mercury Lounge show (tickets) is a great bill: BV-faves Wye Oak headline the show, and Cincinatti's fine Pomegranates also play, so that's three worthy bands. Wye Oak and Pomegrantes are on tour together and played the Bell House in Brooklyn with Croooked Finges the other night. Check out Pomegranates' "Corriander" above too.

Before heading across the border, Winter Gloves will be doing a series of opening dates for Thunderheist in Canada. All dates and the video below...

Continue reading "Winter Gloves tour dates - NYC w/ Wye Oak & Pomegranates"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Wye Oak - Warning (MP3)

Andy Stack of Wye Oak @ Pianos (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Baltimore duo Wye Oak (Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack) is set to play two NYC dates during its month-long tour, which kicks things off at the Bell House on Tuesday, April 14th (tix on sale). Crooked Fingers and Takka Takka are also on that Brooklyn bill. From there they hit the road with Ohio's Pomegranates which eventually has them back in NYC on Wednesday, May 13th for a show at the intimate Mercury Lounge with Winter Gloves (who recently had some trouble getting into our country) (tix on sale).

Since starting to actively tour in early 2008, Wye Oak has played NYC almost non-stop with '08 shows in January, February, April, June, July, September, four CMJ shows in October (including a BV day party at Pianos, 10/23/08, and Merge showcase at Mercury Lounge, 10/23/08)), and most recently a December 5th show with O'Death at Bowery Ballroom.

Live, Wye Oak doesn't let its diminutive lineup diminish the sound. The pair mix up arrangements with drastic dynamic shifts and sections that snowball from quiet melodies to shoegazy rock-outs. Still no word on a follow-up to 2008's If Children, understandable with all this touring.

Merge is currently offering the band's single "Prodigy," originally released on a Record Store Day 7-inch, as a free download.

All tour dates and a video below...

Continue reading "Wye Oak - 2009 Tour Dates (Bell House, Mercury Lounge) "