Says the PR

On the heels of a highly successful, critically acclaimed sold-out 2012 festival, the Sasquatch! Music Festival unveils its 2013 lineup, which once again features 4 days of music. The festival, hailed as "a model of well-paced programming...in a four-day schedule as efficient and natural feeling as an expertly built algorithm" by NPR Music while Wired notes, "leave the landscape out of it and Sasquatch! has a lineup to kill for," runs May 24-27 (Memorial Day Weekend) at The
Gorge, the internationally acclaimed concert venue carved in the basalt cliffs high above the Columbia River Gorge in Quincy, WA.

Continue reading "Sasquatch! Music Festival 2013 lineup is here"

by BBG

Total Control at Fun Fun Fun Fest (more by BBG)

Total Control's Henge Beat was a favorite around these parts, and now the band recently released a split 12" with Thee Oh Sees. Check out a video for Total Control's "For Lease" from that split below and order your copy via Castle Face.

Total Control currently have no US dates scheduled. Thee Oh Sees, on the other hand, will spend their summer abroad and have a handful of appearances in the US. The band, who recently played Austin Psych Fest, will play a gang of festival dates including the previously discussed Pitchfork, Outside Lands, Hopscotch, ATP I'll Be Your Mirror and the sold-out Woodsist Festival in Big Sur.

In addition, the band just signed on to be a part of the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle WA, joining names like Neko Case, Major Lazer, Fitz And The Tantrums, Phantogram, The Lumineers, Grimes, Aesop Rock w/ Rob Sonic & DJ Big Wiz, Youth Lagoon, Diplo, Cloud Nothings, The Psychic Paramount, Twin Shadow, Dam-Funk and so many more across six-stages and as many city blocks during three days in July (7/20-7/22). Current lineup is below and tickets are on sale.

All tour dates, the Capitol Hill Block Party lineup and that "For Lease" video is below.

Continue reading "Total Control release video from split with Thee Oh Sees; Seattle's Capitol Hill Block Party announces lineup"

photos by Joe McCabe

Though we missed openers The Drowners, here are some pictures from the 4/23 Vaccines / Porcelain Raft show at Webster Hall. More below...

Continue reading "The Vaccines & Porcelain Raft @ Webster Hall (pics)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Drowners - Long Hair (MP3)

We mentioned in passing that local four-piece The Drowners are opening for The Vaccines and Porcelain Raft at Webster Hall on April 23. If you're free tonight (4/17), you can go see them at Pianos for free. They're on at 11:30 and the bill also features Broncho (feat. Ryan Lindsey of Starlight Mints) and NYC band Brothers.

The Drowners don't seem to have been around long (they started their Facebook page last month!) but the two songs posted are pretty good, UK-leaning (singer Matt Hitt is from Wales), breezy guitar pop that recalls the lighter side of the Arctic Monkeys or laid back Californians The Tyde. (Their name makes me think of Suede's debut single.) You can download "Long Hair" at the top of this post (or stream it below) and there's a second song you can stream at their Tumblr.

Continue reading "check out The Drowners (playing free show at Pianos tonight, opening for The Vaccines) -- dates & MP3"

Off! @ NXNE 2011 (more by Natasha Ryan)

The most memorable thing that happened the year I visited Toronto for NXNE was Iggy Pop & The Stooges playing their big, outdoor, free, no-ticket-or-badge-required show downtown at Yonge-Dundas Square. Last year the Descendents did it. This year they've landed the Flaming Lips which should be an amazing spectacle. And:

NXNE Music has confirmed that Bad Religion, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah and Matthew Good will headline free shows at Yonge-Dundas Square (YDS) throughout the seven-day festival. The NXNE Music line-up also includes performances at YDS and in the clubs by Of Montreal, No Use For A Name, Purity Ring, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Death Grips, The Men, Bleached, Good Riddance, METZ, Ceremony, Plants & Animals, The Death Set, The Sadies & Andre Williams, Oberhofer, Reigning Sound, Action Bronson, 2:54, Yamantaka/ /Sonic Titan, The Hundred in The Hands, Rival Schools, Killer Mike, Young Magic, Hayes Carll, Friends, Hollerado, Bran Van 3000, The Black Belles, Doldrums, Odonis Odonis, Mac DeMarco, Bass Drum of Death, Porcelain Raft, Exitmusic, Violens, Grass Widow, Eight and a Half, DZ Deathrays, Jonathan Toubin, Art vs. Science, B L A C K I E, The Nils and Ivan Julian (ex-Richard Hell & The Voidoids).

This year's fest takes place at multiple venues across Toronto from June 11-17, 2012. Tickets are on sale.

Last year BrooklynVegan co-hosted a boat party with M For Montreal and Bruise Cruise.

Porcelain Raft at Webster Hall in January (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Porcelain Raft, who made quite an impression at their MHOW show with Youth Lagoon, who they're still currently on tour with, has added another NYC show to their schedule. They'll be back for a show at Mercury Lounge on June 1 with Firehorse (not fIREHOSE) and Jane Jane Pollock. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday, 4/20 at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (4/18) at noon.

You can also catch Porcelain Raft in NYC even sooner when they open for The Vaccines at Webster Hall (4/23) with The Drowners. Tickets for that show are still available.

Porcelain Raft recently released the video for "Drifting In and Out" off his 2012 debut LP, Strange Weekend. Check out that video and all dates below...

Continue reading "Porcelain Raft schedules June shows, opening for the Vaccines even sooner (dates & new video)"

by Andrew Sacher

photo via loganhyde

Youth Lagoon's tour brought him to Music Hall of Williamsburg last night (3/28) for his second of two sold out NYC shows. Pictures from the first night at Bowery Ballrom (3/27) are HERE.

The show began with a set from Buffalo, NY's Cemeteries, the recording moniker of Kyle J. Reigle (he has a band live). Last night and the previous night's Youth Lagoon shows were the second time Cemeteries played NYC, having first opened for Howler this past January. Not the most exciting band to watch, but they had a nice batch of catchy dream pop songs and didn't overstay their welcome. You can catch them in NYC again when they open for Gauntlet Hair in April.

Up next was Porcelain Raft, whose live set up now includes main Porcelain Raft guy Mauro Remiddi and a live drummer. After walking on stage, Remiddi triggered a drum/synth loop and for about 6 seconds. They sounded like what I pictured Porcelain Raft sounding like live, until the explosive drumming and soaring guitar came in. For someone who seemed so set on abandoning his rock band for the bedroom musician approach, Mauro Remiddi looked like he was meant to be on stage. He moved around as if he was backed by a full band, traded melodic parts with noise guitar freakouts, and kept an overall confident demeanor on stage. His drummer was as charismatic behind the kit as Remiddi was behind the mic, and he rotated between high energy rock beats and crescendoing sound pieces that fell somewhere between the noise breakdowns of Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley and the improvisational rhythms of Joanna Newsom's Neal Morgan.

Youth Lagoon, who I personally had not seen live before, finally took the stage a bit before 11 PM, opening with "Afternoon," off of his 2011 debut, The Year of Hibernation, which he played all of, in addition to both tracks on the bonus 7". Like others have said, I wish he would get a live drummer, but I was surprised at how loud he sounded with the drum machine and how much it got the crowd dancing (and fist bumping).

Trevor Powers and his guitarist Logan Hyde definitely know what they're doing on stage, but the intimacy that makes The Year of Hibernation such an appealing album was lost in the live setting. Trevor sang without reverb/distortion and revealed that he's actually got an incredible set of pipes, but I thought it took away one of the album's most attractive aesthetics. Members of the crowd didn't help and were in part to blame for taking other listeners out of the moment (the quietest parts of songs were met with football fan cheers of "YEAH TREVOR"). That's out of the band's control, but it just acted as another signifier that maybe these songs only belong in the bedroom. I know it's selfish of me to imply Youth Lagoon shouldn't move forward in his career (just look at how far Bon Iver has gone), and it wouldn't be fair to call the show a disappointment (again, they did play really well and the crowd was very into it), but it just wasn't the experience I expected (or was looking for).

YL continues on tour. All dates and the setlist from the Brooklyn show below...

Continue reading "Youth Lagoon played MHOW w/ Porcelain Raft & Cemeteries (review, setlist)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Chicago band The Smith Westerns headlined the final date on their tour with Porcelain Raft and Bleached on Saturday 2/4 in Milwaukee, four days after the band hit Webster Hall on 1/31. Pictures from the NYC date are in this post.

Porcelain Raft blogged their way through the US tour and will head to Europe for a string of dates, presumably blogging on the way. Check out a recent video for "Unless You Speak From Your Heart" by the band below.

If you missed Bleached, make sure and check them out at Knitting Factory on Saturday (2/11) with their tour-mates Black Belles. Tickets are still available for the show which also features the recently-renamed Bleeding Rainbow and Habibi.

All tour dates, that video and more more pictures from Webster Hall are below...

Continue reading "Smith Westerns played Webster Hall w/ Porcelain Raft & Bleached (pics)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: My Best Fiend - "Higher Palms" (MP3)

My Best Fiend

Brooklyn band My Best Fiend recently signed to Warp Records, who will release their debut LP, In Ghostlike Fading, on February 21 in North America and a day earlier elsewhere. There's a sort of catchy, soaring psych rock to the new single, "Cracking Eggs," which features the guest vocals of Shannon Funchess of Light Asylum, and ends in a shattering refrain. Stream that and the bluesy album opener, "Higher Palms," below, the latter of which you can also grab an MP3 of above. The album's artwork and tracklist is below too. You can pre-order it now at Bleep.

My Best Fiend have two hometown shows coming up this month including one TONIGHT (1/11) with Porcelain Raft at Cameo Gallery (they play "after Porcelain Raft and before Crinkles") and another at Glasslands on January 27 opening for fellow Brooklynites/Warp labelmates The Hundred in the Hands. Bikini is also on the bill and so is a DJ set by Bear in Heaven. Tickets for the show are on sale now.

Speaking of Bear in Heaven, they'll kick off a tour this spring in honor of their upcoming LP, I Love You, It's Cool. That tour includes NYC shows on May 8 at Bowery Ballroom and May 9 at MHOW. Tickets for both shows are still available.

All dates, streams, album art and tracklist below...

Continue reading "My Best Fiend releasing LP on Warp (MP3), playing w/ Porcelain Raft tonight & w/ Hundred in the Hands later (dates)"

by Andrew Sacher

Porcelain Raft at Union Pool in 2011 (more by Chris La Putt)

As mentioned, Porcelain Raft is releasing his debut LP, Strange Weekend, on January 24 via Secretly Canadian, and kicking off a long tour next week in support of it, which includes dates with M83 and a Webster Hall show on January 31 with Smith Westerns and Bleached. Tickets for the Webster Hall show are still on sale.

Before the tour starts, he'll play a NYC show at Cameo Gallery on Wednesday (1/11) with My Best Fiend (who is playing second) and Crinkles (who is headlining). No openers have been announced yet and there are no advance tickets.

Though Strange Weekend is Porcelain Raft's first full length, he's put out a number of releases over the past two years (including the Gone Blind EP) and the album feels like the culminating statement of all of the material he has been working on. Like on his earlier EPs, he's bringing in a lot of sounds to Strange Weekend, but ultimately determined to keep the sound small. When gentle acoustic guitars come in over synths and beats, and subtle effects wash over his slightly Dan Bejar-ish voice, it sounds like a complete work, yet never tries to escape the confines of his bedroom walls. The Lennon-esque approach to dream pop taken here is hard not to compare to the most recent Atlas Sound album, and fans of that album will likely find something of interest in Strange Weekend. The video for the first single "Put Me to Sleep" and a stream for the new single, "Unless You Speak From Your Heart," are both below.

Updated dates, video, and stream below...

Continue reading "Porcelain Raft adds more shows (dates), streaming new song from 'Strange Weekend' (listen)"

Smith Westerns at MHOW in October (more by Toby Tenenbaum)

After releasing their sophomore LP Dye It Blonde at the beginning of this year, Smith Westerns have gone on a number of tours in support of it, most recently opening for Arctic Monkeys which culminated in a MHOW show at the end of last month. They'll continue in 2012 with a headlining tour that will bring the band back to NYC on January 31 on Webster Hall with Porcelain Raft and Bleached. Tickets go on sale Friday (11/18) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (11/16) at noon. Other dates on this tour haven't been revealed yet, but the tour announcement should come soon. Meanwhile those from the band's hometown of Chicago can catch them for free on 12/2 at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Speaking of Porcelain Raft (aka Mauro Remiddi), he recently signed to Secretly Canadian and will release his debut full length, Strange Weekend, on the label on January 24. You can stream album track "Put Me to Sleep" below, along with the album's tracklist. The show with Smith Westerns takes place during a break in Porcelain Raft's European tour with M83. All Porcelain Raft dates are listed below.

All dates, song stream, and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Smith Westerns headlining Webster Hall as part of tour w/ Bleached & Porcelain Raft (who announced an LP)"

photos by Chris La Putt

Parts & Labor @ Union Pool

Chris stopped by the Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar/Dead Oceans CMJ showcase at Union Pool on Wednesday night, but left after catching one of Parts & Labor's last-ever shows to check out the raucous Davila 666 at Knitting Factory (you can catch them again this Saturday night opening for the Black Lips). Pictures from his night continue below...

Continue reading "CMJ Wed night w/ Parts & Labor, Davila 666, Porcelain Raft & Exitmusic (pics)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Still Corners - Into the Trees (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Immaculates - Hey Joe Kelly (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gospel Music - This Town Don't Have Enough Bars for Both of Us (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Radiation City - The Color of Industry (MP3)

Still Corners

I think Wednesday is my favorite day for CMJ day parties. You get a lot of good bands, but it's not insanely packed like the weekend shows. And this year, there are a lot of great Wednesday afternoon options.

Before we get into it, I would like to say that Spotify has been a giant help in checking out music from bands playing and if you have the service, I recommend using it. (If you don't, chances are someone you know has invites to give out.) Much easier than Googling for Bandcamp, Soundcloud or (heaven forbid) Myspace sites. Spotify doesn't have everything, but it has most everything. I've got a CMJ 2011 Playlist that I update when I find something new and interesting which you're welcome to check out.

[editor's note/update/disclaimer: Spotify has partnered with us on all BV CMJ events this year, but Bill did not know that when he wrote that above paragraph, so please no conspiracy theories!]

Anyway, day shows:

PICK OF THE DAY: Under the Radar party at Public Assembly has a line-up that is pretty hard to beat, including one of my favorite bands of late, Still Corners whose chilly, majestic debut, Creatures of an Hour, came out last week on Sub Pop. Check out an MP3 of new single "Into the Trees" at the top of this post and you can stream the whole album at the bottom. Public Assembly is good and dark, ideal for their trippy accompanying lightshow. Still Corners also play Public Assembly Wednesday night which must be nice for them not having to schlep their gear around. They also play tomorrow at our day party at Knitting Factory and then the Sub Pop showcase at Mercury Lounge that night.

Also playing at Public Assembly: Norway's super-fun Casiokids, Fiery Furnaces' Eleanor Friedberger (who maybe you caught last night with Wild Flag at Bowery Ballroom), the retro funk of The Stepkids (who also play our TBA Saturday party at Public Assembly), plus Chad Valley, Porcelain Raft. It's kind of a slam-dunk show.

The Immaculates

THEN AGAIN... the folks at Terrorbird Media have put together a pretty great show at Cake Shop. It kicks off with newish, shit-hot Brooklyn garage-soul band The Immaculates who are worth showing up early for. Check out an MP3 at the top of this post. Then it's Virginia's Eternal Summers who have really come into their own since expanding from a duo to a trio.

Gospel Music

Then it's Gospel Music which is Owen Holmes who used to be in CMJ 2007 buzz band Black Kids but now makes indiepop somewhere between Stephin Merrit and Jonathan Richman (which is a definite sweet spot for me.) Holmes got help from Hefner's Darren Hayman, Camera Obscura's Traceyanne Campbell and others on last year's Duets EP, but for his full-length debut, How to Get to Heaven from Jacksonville, FL,  he shares the mike full-time with fellow Jacksonville resident Madeline Long. Check out an MP3 of first single "This Town Doesn't Have Enough Bars For Both Of Us" and watch the video (which features his old Black Kids pals) at the bottom. Gospel Music's other CMJ dates are down there as well.

The rest of the Terrorbird line-up: Cloud Nothings, Mux Mool, Widowspeak, Teen Daze and Cubik Zirconia. That's a quality free show too folks.

Of course the nice thing about the Lower East Side is that every venue around there has a day show. At Pianos there's the We Listen For You party with Arms, Guards, The Pass, Parlovr, Nerves Jr. and Headless Horseman in the main room; upstairs it's the Big Hassle Media party with Radiation City, Aeroplane Pagaent, Clubfeet, Marques Toliver, J. Viewz, Pyramids and Army Navy.

Radiation City

If you're in the Ludlow area, do try and check out Portland's Radiation City (3PM) who've made one of the year's more charming debuts which drifts between moody, organ-driven numbers and more upbeat pop. Papercuts covering The Free Design? Add in some Mazzy Star smokiness and you're almost there. Check out "The Color of Industry" at the top of this post, and go seem them live at some point this week. Radiation City also play the PASTE party at The Living Room today too (4PM) and have shows this week, and all dates are at the bottom of this post.

That PASTE party, which goes from 4 - 7 PM also features Lord Huron, Santah and The Lonely Forest.

And finally over at Fontanas (which you may remember from BV day parties of old or episodes of Louie) is this year's Pirate! Island party with a pretty good bunch of bands too: Canada's Hollerado, Nick Diamonds, Fairmont, Army Navy, The Great Book of John and The One & Nines. Set times at the bottom of this post.

Click through for flyers (including a couple day shows I didn't mention), streams, videos and set times. I'll have Wednesday nighttime picks a little later.

Continue reading "CMJ 2011 - Bill's Wednesday daytime picks (Still Corners, Gospel Music, The Immaculates, Radiation City & more)"

photos by Tamara Porras

AMNY: When did you discover the music of the '90s?
When I was around 17, I got introduced to some really good stuff by my friends, like Lambchop, Smog, Dinosaur Jr. and Will Oldham. That had a massive significance. It's the best feeling when someone shows you something new.

Many reviews said you seemed nervous onstage during Yuck's first shows. Has that changed?
We made these songs in Max's room without any fans. We didn't even know we'd be putting a record out. Then, suddenly, we're playing in New York. I guess it's something you get used to. Music is quite a personal thing -- it's abstract, and it's sometimes difficult to understand how people are connecting with what you're doing.

What was your first visit to New York like?
We had loads of issues with visas. We played a show at Glasslands where we had to rush from the airport and go right onstage. Then, on our second visit, we heard gunshots as we were checking into our hotel. That was interesting coming from the U.K., where we don't really have guns.

Yuck recently released a deluxe version of their self-titled LP for Fat Possum Records which includes a new song called "Soothe Me". Stream that below.

Yuck are finished with their US dates for now, excpet for a previously announced date on the Weezer Cruise in the new year. All international tour dates, that song stream, and more pictures from Music hall of Williamsburg are below.

Continue reading "Yuck, Porcelain Raft & the Babies played 2 shows @ MHOW (pics)"

I'll just quote this little blurb the label sent me:

New York noise czars A Place to Bury Strangers are making moves. Never ones to stand still for very long (literally and figuratively), the band is announcing a new label and new music. Dead Oceans is proud to welcome APTBS to their roster. Label co-founder Phil Waldorf says, "I've been enamored with A Place to Bury Strangers since I first heard their debut album. Their live shows have rattled me time and time again. It is not often you get to work with a band that you've been closely following for years, and we are honored to be a part of their new chapter. Wait until you hear what comes next." The band will join artists such as Akron/Family, Gauntlet Hair, Phosphorescent, the Tallest Man on Earth and more.

Having put on numerous wild shows across the US and Europe -- their recent Rockoff Cruise included band members tossing plugged in amps overboard -- APTBS' ferocious live performances have won over a wide range of audiences. Their solid wall of sound is built meticulously, brick by brick, to form a cohesive all-encompassing experience: physical, intellectual, emotional. In the last year the band has grown to include bass player Dion Lunadon from The D4. Dion has joined Oliver Ackerman (guitar/vocals) and Jay Space (drums) in shaping the direction for APTBS, co-writing songs and sharing backup vocal duties. Of their Dead Oceans signing Ackerman says, "We are very excited to be signing with [the label]. I have been a fan of their taste in music since the label started and it's going to be cool to be a part of what they have built independently over the years."

The trio has been hard at work on a new set of 5 songs, which will be released on Dead Oceans as an EP in early 2012. More details on the new EP and tour dates will follow soon.

Dead Oceans and its sister labels Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar are holding a CMJ showcase at Union Pool in Brooklyn on 10/19. It was previously announced with a secret headliner who can now be revealed. Guess who that is? Full lineup/flyer for the show, along with a full set of Gauntlet Hair tour dates (they're playing a lot during CMJ), below...

Continue reading "A Place to Bury Strangers sign to Dead Oceans (announce new EP), Gauntlet Hair touring, both playing CMJ"

DOWNLOAD: Porcelain Raft - Come As You Are (MP3)

Porcelain Raft at Cameo Gallery in August (more by Jessica Amaya)

As mentioned, Porcelain Raft is going on tour with Yuck this September and October. That tour concludes in NYC on October 13 and 14 at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Those shows also mark the US debut of Gross Magic, who will release the physical version of his debut EP in the US on Fat Possum a few days earlier.

Before kicking off the Yuck tour, Porcelain Raft will play his own show in NYC on September 22 at Mercury Lounge with The Archive. Tickets for this show are on sale now.

Like many are doing during Nevermind's 20th year, Porcelain Raft just released a Nirvana cover. Download above. Stream, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Porcelain Raft covered Nirvana (MP3), playing NYC before tour w/ Yuck (dates)"

UK-based lo-fi indie poppers Gross Magic have just signed to Fat Possum in North America. Gross Magic is the current project of Sam McGarrigle, started after the break up of his previous band Hocus Tocus. Gross Magic's debut EP, Teen Jamz, is available now on iTunes with a bonus track. The bonus-track-less version can also be streamed below. Fat Possum will release the physical version of the EP in the US on October 11. You can also check out a music video and a Bowlegs session of the EP's single, "Sweetest Touch," along with a Bowlegs session of bandcamp bonus track "P.Y.T."

Gross Magic will make their US debut opening for Fat Possum labelmates Yuck at Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 13 and 14. Porcelain Raft is also on both of those shows. Tickets are still on sale. Gross Magic will stick around NYC too, to play Cameo Gallery on October 15. Tickets are on sale for that too.

All dates, videos, and EP stream below...

Continue reading "Gross Magic signs to Fat Possum, making US debut in NYC (opening for Yuck, playing Cameo too)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Keep Shelly in Athens - "Hauntin' Me" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Keep Shelly in Athens - "Running Out of You" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Keep Shelly in Athens - "A Tear In My I" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Keep Shelly in Athens - "Song to Cheer You Up" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Keep Shelly in Athens - "Fokiones Negri Street" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Keep Shelly in Athens - "Cremona Memories" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Keep Shelly in Athens - "Running Out of You" (Memory Tapes Remix)
DOWNLOAD: Blood Diamonds - "Lasting Love" (Keep Shelly in Athens Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Porcelain Raft - "Tip of Your Tongue" (Keep Shelly in Athens Remix) (MP3)

Greek electronic duo Keep Shelly in Athens will be making it over to North America this fall to play Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX. While they're here, they'll play some other dates too. A full tour hasn't been announced (yet?) but you'll be able to catch them in NYC on November 18 at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets for the NYC show go on sale Friday (8/26) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (8/24) at noon.

I've never actually been to Greece, but if the coasts are as gentle as Fleet Foxes describe them, these guys sound pretty befitting for a blissful evening on a Grecian beach. Dreamy female vocals swirl around lush atmospheres and head-nodding beats as the duo takes you on a trip through the Mediterranean. They've remixed Blood Diamonds and Porcelain Raft and have been remixed by Blood Diamonds, Maria Minerva, Memory Tapes, and others. You can grab MP3s of some remixes and KSiA's original work at the top of this post and check out some more remixes below.

They've also recently made a mixtape featuring Toro y Moi, Star Slinger, SLEEP OVER, Games, Blackbird Blackbird, and more, which you can stream below. A video for their most recent single, "Hauntin' Me," is also below. That single was released as a limited 7" b/w "Song to Cheer You Up" via Transparent this past February and is now sold out. They're also set to release a split cassette with Disclosure via Loud and Quiet on August 29, limited to 75 copies. Forest Family is another one of their label homes.

Dates, video, song streams and mixtape below...

Continue reading "check out Keep Shelly in Athens --- dates & MP3s"

photos by Jessica Amaya

The War on Drugs @ Cameo Gallery

The War on Drugs played two NYC shows this past weekend that took place at Cameo Gallery on Friday (8/19) and Mercury Lounge on Saturday (8/20). The Cameo show was with the impressive lineup of both Caveman and Porcelain Raft, and the Mercury show was with Porcelain Raft and Arc in Round. We've got pictures and videos from the Brooklyn show (Cameo) in this post.

The War on Drugs released the Slave Ambient LP on Secretly Canadian last week (8/16). You can order the album in a number of different formats at the Secretly Canadian webstore. The video for album track "Baby Missiles" is below and a free download of the track is HERE. The band will tour this fall with Purling Hiss and Carter Tanton. No NYC date has been announced for that tour (yet?). It took a few years for The War on Drugs to work out their kinks, but the band has really come into their own now. If Bill is right, we won't be seeing War on Drugs in venues as small as Cameo for much longer. All dates are listed below.

Caveman is continuing to to tour with The War On Drugs for the next few weeks. After that Caveman will play their own Mercury Lounge show (9/15) with JPF.

More pictures and videos from the Cameo show and all dates below...

Continue reading "The War on Drugs, Caveman & Porcelain Raft played Cameo (pics, video & more dates)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Brooklyn Denim Co. and Nudie Jeans are presenting a free show on Wednesday (7/27) at Brooklyn Denim Co. in Williamsburg on 85 North 3rd St with Oberhofer and Porcelain Raft. The show runs from 7 - 10 PM, open bar included (presumably making the show 21+). To RSVP email rsvp@deathandtaxesmag.com. Flier below.

In August, Porcelain Raft is opening a bunch of dates for The War On Drugs, including Cameo on 8/19 and Mercury Lounge on 8/20. All dates are listed below.

Oberhofer recently played the 4Knots Fest at South Street Seaport. A second set of pictures from that show is in this post. More of them with the dates and flier, below..

Continue reading "more Oberhofer 4Knots pics, a free show w/ Porcelain Raft who's playing shows w/ The War On Drugs too (dates)"

photos by Diana Wong

DOWNLOAD: Junior Boys - "A Truly Happy Ending" (Diamond Rings Remix) (MP3)

Diamond Rings @ Europa

Speaking of Diamond Rings, they've been announced as the opener on the previously discussed Twin Shadow tour which hits Maxwell's on September 6 and Webster Hall on October 7. Tickets go on sale Thursday (6/23) at 9 PM for the Maxwell's show and Friday (6/24) at noon for the Webster Hall show.

Diamond Rings, who recently signed to Astralwerks, re-released his debut Special Affections on the label today (6/21). In light of the reissue, the album is currently streaming on Spinner.

Diamond Rings also keeps busy making remixes. We just posted one he did for Handsome Furs. Above you can grab a new one he did for Junior Boys.

Diamond Rings just played a Northside Festival show on Sunday with Porcelain Raft and Bell. Pictures from that show continue, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Diamond Rings played Europa w/ Bell & Porcelain Raft (pics), remixed Junior Boys (MP3), touring w/ Twin Shadow (dates)"

Diamond Rings backstage at Radio City Music Hall (more by Chris La Putt)

Speaking of Toronto artists with ties to Fucked Up, congrats to Diamond Rings, who signed to Astralwerks worldwide last month (except for Canada, where he'll stay at Secret City Records). The label will give last year's Special Affections the reissue treatment, look for that starting on June 21st.

Maybe it will even be at the merch table two days early, when Diamond Rings plays with Porcelain Raft at Europa on June 19th as part of the Northside Festival. Tickets for the Brooklyn show are on sale, or you can try to get in with a Northside badge.

Porcelain Raft meanwhile plays a show with Here We Go Magic at Mercury Lounge on May 14th. Tickets are on sale for that, and NT and Bizi Gara are both also on the bill. For HWGM it's one of many May tour dates they have scheduled.

All tour dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Diamond Rings now on Astralwerks, playing w/ Porcelain Raft who plays w/ Here We Go Magic who are on tour (dates)"

by Rachel Kowal

Gobble Gobble @ the renovated Glasslands - 4/8/11 (by Eric Rex)

I don't know if it's just solid booking (a la PopGun), or if it's just that SXSW has me recognizing more bands - whatever the case may be, Glasslands is on top of their game lately. (Craft Spells, Surf City, Timber Timbre, Grouper, Eternal Summers/Dream Diary, Free Energy, and Hunx/Grass Widow are just a few of the artists stopping by in April.) And after some renovations earlier this week, the venue is looking pretty good too. The stage occupies the same corner but now faces the door, so there's actually room to stand in front of the stage without having to worry about people constantly walking in front of you. The stage is also bigger and, according to the venue, the capacity of the club has increased. You can sort of see the difference in the picture from Friday night's Gobble Gobble show in the picture above.

I arrived to the show at Glasslands on Thursday, 4/7, just as the second opener, Young Magic, was wrapping up, but I managed to catch Oupa, the side project of Yuck guitarist/vocalist Daniel Blumberg (who also opened for Sebadoh and Richard Buckner at Bowery Ballroom Saturday night). It may have been the Porcelain Raft song "Dragonfly" (video below) that initially convinced me to head over to Glasslands, but it was Oupa's performance that I found to be the most compelling.

Long before he sheepishly confessed to being nervous, Blumberg's mannerisms and posture gave him away. He walked out without a word and carefully arranged a collection of hand-illustrated cassette tapes along the front of the stage. As curious onlookers filtered up to check out the goods, Blumberg began to play, his sound check sneakily morphing into his performance.

Though quite tall, Blumberg occupied minimal space on stage. He hunched down low over his keyboard, his unruly curly hair and loose-fitting denim button-up shirt doing much to obscure him from view, as if decreasing his surface area would also minimize his exposure to the crowd and keep him safe. Even the heavy reverb on his vocals seemed to be more than just an aesthetic choice. It provided yet another wall to hide behind.

But despite his obvious unease with being the only one in the spotlight, Blumberg played with a quiet confidence, and his beautiful, forlorn music perfectly matched his unassuming body language and enigmatic demeanor.

Though brief, I could have left satisfied after hearing just Oupa's set, but I was curious to see how Mauro Remiddi would craft his lush, multi-layered music in a live setting.

Porcelain Raft's music may not be particularly lively, but it did feature some pre-fab drum beats and bass, which was all the encouragement some needed to start dancing. (Compared to the set that preceded it, the music was downright festive after all.) Though the additional musical components succeeded in perking up the crowd and sound decent recorded, on stage, Remiddi seemed to be at his best when he peeled back the effects to reveal the more organic elements: the guitar, keyboard, and vocals.

Remiddi concluded his equally brief set with what is perhaps his most popular and immediately catchy song, "Tip of Your Tongue." You can watch the video for that song, and a whole bunch of videos from the Thursday show, below...

Continue reading "Oupa & Porcelain Raft played the RENOVATED GLASSLANDS (Gobble Gobble too)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Yuck @ Stubb's

Yuck last and first visited NYC during a blizzard in January to play Glasslands after cancelling their Mercury Lounge show that was scheduled one day earlier which came after they cancelled CMJ due to similar visa issues. Earlier this month the UK band returned to America for a string of shows at SXSW that included a BV Day Party and a showcase at Stubb's which is streaming at NPR and which is the source of the pictures in this post.

The band are now already back on home soil, but Daniel Blumberg of Yuck will be back here soon to play Glasslands on 4/7 and a sold-out Bowery Ballroom show with Sebadoh on 4/9 as part of his side project Oupa (who also played SXSW). The Oupa shows precede a Yuck tour with Tame Impala that include Webster Hall on 4/25, after which Yuck will play their own, just-announced NYC date at Bowery Ballroom on May 7. Tickets for that show are on AmEx presale now with regular sale starting on Friday at noon.

The Oupa show at Glasslands on 4/7 is with Porcelain Raft, who played a few NYC dates in late February, and with Young Magic and Computer Magic. Tickets are still available. Oupa have a new record on the way, Forget, and you can stream the title track below.

All tour dates, the new Yuck video for "Get Away" and, UPDATE: a new streaming track called "Doctors in My Bed", and more SXSW pictures, also below...

Continue reading "Yuck played SXSW (pics & stream), add NYC show (dates) ++ side project Oupa is playing shows too"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Porcelain Raft - Talk To Me (MP3)

Porcelain Raft is the moniker of 37 year old singer-songwriter Mauro Remiddi, previously of indie pop band Sunny Day Sets Fire who released their only full length album, Summer Palace, in 2008 on Iamsound Records. Since then they released a remix EP featuring remixes done by CSS, The Cool Kids, Diplo, and others.

Remiddi was born in Italy and currently resides in London, where he self-records all of the material for Porcelain Raft. Looking to abandon the more produced sound of his previous project, Porcelain Raft's material takes on a much more lo-fi approach, and all of the music is released for free on his website and bandcamp. His newest EP Gone Blind was just released this past Tuesday (2/22) on Acéphale. Download the track "Talk To Me" from the EP above.

Maybe you caught Porcelain Raft last night (2/23) at the Fader issue release party they held at Shea Stadium. If not, he will be performing two more nights in NYC including tonight (2/24) at Mercury Lounge with Aislyn and Friday (2/25) at Glasslands with Idiot Glee, High Highs, and Baby Alpaca. Aislyn (featuring Ian Hultquist of Passion Pit) will also be in New York on March 12 at The Rock Shop with FM Belfast.

All dates (SXSW included), some videos and the EP tracklisting, below...

Continue reading "Porcelain Raft is here w/ a new EP -- MP3, videos, tour dates "