by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Cate Le Bon - Puts Me to Work (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ed Vallance - Crystaline (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Old Monk - Warm Moustache (MP3)

Veronica Falls

Veronica Falls are back for what is, by far, their biggest NYC show to date: they play Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday. The band's debut was my #2 Album of 2011:

"Found Love in a Graveyard" made my Favorite Tracks of 2009 list and have been waiting a full-length ever since. The band does not disappoint. There's not a dud in Veronica Falls' 36 minute running time. New songs are equals to early singles which appear here in newly recorded versions that might actually improve on the originals. This is haunted pop, a brisk October breeze that calls for a nice cardigan.

Veronica Falls just released a new track, "My Heart Beats," to coincide with their North American tour and you can stream it at the bottom of this post. The song is sunnier than what they normally do but still fits within their sound. Sounds like a single to me. The band are touring with Slumberland labelmates Brilliant Colors (in from San Francisco) and local noisemakers Grooms are also on the bill.  Tickets are still available. Veronica Falls look timid in their press photos, but they whip up a storm live. Go see 'em.

Bleached at BV CMJ 2012 (more by Chris La Putt)

After the MHoW show, Bleached will also be part of the Veronica Falls/Brilliant Colors tour. (Dates at the bottom of this post.) The band are currently on the road with The Black Belles, a tour that rolls into town onSaturday (2/11) at Knitting Factory that also has Bleeding Rainbow (formerly Reading Rainbow) and Habibi on the bill. I caught Bleached at the BrooklynVegan day party during CMJ last year and thought they were a lot of fun in a Runaways kind of way. Good snarly attitude and big hooks. Maybe you caught them last week opening for Smith Westerns at Webster Hall?

Habibi

It's worth showing up early for Habibi, whose debut single (streamable below) is a cool, understated take on '60s girl group sounds. You can stream it below.

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Cate Le Bon

As excited as I am to see Veronica Falls on Thursday (2/9) , I might be slightly more pumped to catch Cate Le Bon's early set at Mercury Lounge that same night. (She also plays Maxwell's on Friday [2/10] as part of her tour) I've been pretty enamoured with the Welsh singer's new album, Cyrk, that came out a few weeks ago. The spare, detached vibe is a little like the Velvet Underground or Electrelane or Stereolab, but there's a hint of pastoral psychedelia in there too. (Shades of Welsh indie royalty Gorky's Zygotic Mynci). The record is loaded with wonderful little touches that reveal themselves with repeated listens. It's a fantastic album.

You can download single "Puts Me to Work" at the top of this post and stream Cyrk at Spotify. Cate has played New York a few times, usually solo, but for this tour she's got her band with her which should be pretty special. Both shows are with local band Pigeons.

Ed Vallance - 'Volcano'

What else is going on? London born, Brooklyn-based singer Ed Vallance released his second album, Volcano, this week and plays a record release show tonight (2/8) at Pianos. The record is dramatic turn from the indie folk of his debut. I bet he still writes his songs on acoustic guitar, but the approach to the arrangements and production are definitely have definitely taken a pop approach this time. While this sort of stuff isn't in vogue so much these days (it's got a distinct early '00s post-Radiohead vibe) it's quite lovely nonetheless. You can download the single "Crystaline" at the top of this post and stream the album at Spotify.

In addition to tonight's show at Pianos, an early show with Pursesnatchersopening, Ed's doing a month-long residency at the Ace Hotel, playing every Sunday in February.

Jeremy Jay

And finally, K Records artist Jeremy Jay is in town this week, playing Glasslands tonight (2/8) and Cake Shop tomorrow (2/9). Jeremy's most recent album is Dream Diary, which came out about a year ago. Like most of his work, it's minimal folk rock with a strong '80s influence. He's an engaging live performer, and tonight's Glasslands show is a stacked bill with Boston psych-folk band Quilt, quality locals Slowdance and Backwords. The Cake Shop show is with Sapphire Mansions and a couple TBDs. (Cake Shop's website isn't especially updated these days.) Jeremy lives in London these days, so go see him while he's here -- all tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

That's the big stuff this week. Some more day by day picks, of things not already covered, are below.

Old Monk

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8

The second week of Old Monk's Cake Shop residency is tonight. These guys are good! Tonight's with Haybaby, elctro-rockers Year of the Tiger and Code Name Viper.

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Continue reading "Veronica Falls, Bleached, Habibi, Cate Le Bon, Ed Vallance, Jeremy Jay, Ida & more in This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Radical Dads - Little Tomb (Pursesnatchers Remix) (MP3)

Radical Dads at Bruar Falls, CMJ 2011

As I mentioned earlier, Radical Dads are playing the BV Holiday Party at Brooklyn Night Bazaar on Friday, December 16 that also features headliners Fucked Up, plus Big Troubles, Caged Animals (and more more TBA) as well as Frankie Rose on the decks. All for only $10. One of my favorite live bands in Brooklyn, Radical Dads are definitely worth showing up early for.

Before that you can see Radical Dads open for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah this Wednesday (12/7) at Webster Hall. Waters also play the show and tickets are still available. Robbie Guertin will be a busy man that night, as he's in both bands (drums for Rad Dads, guitar in CYHSY).

By the time of our holiday show, Radical Dads' debut album, Mega Rama, should be out on vinyl (and at the merch table) which would make a great holiday gift for the classic indie rock lover in your life. As I've said before, if you like Wild Flag, this has a similar vibe and great songs, though much less hyped. We've got a version of LP-opener "Little Tomb" remixed by Pursesnatchers, adding a few layers of soaring guitars to the song which was already reaching the stratosphere. Download it above. And you can stream all of Mega Rama at the bottom of this post.

Continue reading "Radical Dads playing BV night @ Brooklyn Bazaar, opening for CYHSY @ Webster, remixed by Pursesnatchers (MP3 debut)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Title Tracks - All Tricks (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pursesnatchers - Baseball on the Radio (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Paperhead - Back to Those Days (MP3)

The Paperhead

First up is The Paperhead who are in town for two shows: Tonight (7/2) at Death by Audio and Friday (7/22) at Bruar Falls. I caught The Paperhead at SXSW during the Trouble in Mind day party where the Nashville band stood out from than the rest of the bands on the bill (or the label). Instead of fuzzed-out garage rock, The Paperhead favor paisley-powered psych. Their Trouble in Mind debut is a nice cup of mushroom tea and the band (who also look the part) are pretty good live.

The Gytters

Tonight's show at DBA is with fellow Nashville residents and tourmates D Watusi, plus The Gytters, The Hairs and which is a pretty good bill all around. Get there early to check out openers The Gytters who I caught a couple weeks ago at Bruar Falls. The band is fronted by Scott Rosenthall who plays keyboards in Class Actress and has played with (and produced) The Beets. Sorta twangy new wave, you can download their song "Divebombers" from their bandcamp site. And The Hairs play this show too. Their 7" on Magic Marker is four songs of near-perfect snarky indiepop.

Friday's show at Bruar Falls is headlined by Conversion Party who manage to be anthemic without the pretense that often comes with it. D Watusi also play, plus Pennsylvania's Royal Shoals and Tank.

Pursesnatchers

You may remember Doug Marvin from mid-'00s band Dirty on Purpose where he played drums and also sang (and wrote) some of the neo-shoegazers' catchiest material. Since DoP went kaput, Doug has continued making music under the Pursesnatchers moniker. Originally a true solo project, Pursesnatchers have become a real band with Doug moving to guitar, for a lineup and that also includes his wife Annie Hart (one third of Au Revoir Simone, and they both play in Uninhabitable Mansions) who also takes lead vocals on a couple songs.

That band made Pursesnatchers' new album, A Pattern Language, which just came out this week. The sound is an extension of what Doug did in Dirty on Purpose: melodic, brittle songs that are bolstered by waves of guitar. It's a really nice record. You can download "Baseball on the Radio" at the top of this post.

The point of all this is that Pursenatchers are playing a record release party for the album Friday night (7/22) at Union Hall with The Thieves and Finding Fiction.

Title Tracks

John Davis' post-Georgie James group, Title Tracks, are also here this weekend, playing Cake Shop on Saturday (7/23) with Face Time, Steel Phantoms and Follower. There's been a little shifting in the Title Tracks camp who are now playing as a (power) trio. There's a new Title Tracks album too, In Blank, which is another platter of terrific power pop in the Nerves/Shoes/Nick Lowe tradition. You can download "All Tricks" at the top of this post. I haven't seen the new line-up but if it's anywhere near as good as previous incarnations, I heartily endorse seeing Title Tracks live.

Parlovr

And finally, Montreal trio Parlovr are in town for two shows: Friday night (7/22) at Glasslands and then Monday (7/25) at Mercury Lounge opening for Cloud Control. Parlovr make good use of their visa and play here fairly often but I really do think they're great live and are absolutely worth checking out. As I wrote before:

Singers Louis Jackson and Alex Cooper semi face each other from opposite sides of the stage rocking back and forth like manic Drinking Birds, flipping their '90s skate rat hair around, while mountain man drummer Jeremy MacCuish holds down the beat. They clearly enjoy playing, and it's a lot of fun to watch too.

Their new EP, Heaven/Hell/Big/Love, goes a long way to getting that live energy to a recording. You can download the title track, a live favorite of mine, at the top of this post.

That's it for this week. There are a few more day-by-day picks below.

THURSDAY, JULY 21

Dent May has been on tour with Real Estate but plays a smaller show with Real Estate's Alex Bleeker and (underwater) peep Julian Lynch, at Glasslands. Prince Rama will be your DJs for the evening. Dent ditches the ukulele for his great new single "Fun" which is almost a dance track with its groovy bassline, keyboards and electronic handclaps. It's available digitally now, and the 7" is out physically in September. You can stream it below.

Cass McCombs, Lower Dens should make for a lovely evening of mellow music at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

The Monkees play for free at Coney Island at the Cyclones Stadium. While a lot of people just remember them for "Daydream Believer" they made a lot of great music, actually, and hopefully they'll play some deep cuts like "Randy Scouse Git" and "Forget That Girl." Hopefully they won't play that Davy Jones song from the Brady Bunch. Actually that songs pretty good.

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Continue reading "The Paperhead, Pursesnatchers, Title Tracks, Parlovr, Dent May, The Monkees & more in This Week in Indie"

Theophilus London will headline the "Official Northside Festival Opening Party" at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday, June 16th. Tickets go on AmEx presale Wednesday at noon, and then general sale Friday at noon. You can also try to get in with a Northside Festival badge.

The hip hop artist is one of 65+ new artists being officially added to the lineup of this year's Northside Festival (June 16-19 in various venues across Williamsburg and Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY). Here's the full list:

Continue reading "Northside Fest adds 65+ bands to lineup, Theophilus @ MHOW, Mount Eerie, Iceage & more ++ open studios & DIY films"