by Bill Pearis

Some of you may remember early/mid-'00s Detroit-area band Thunderbirds Are Now!, who are in semi-permanent hibernation at the moment. Singer Ryan Allen is now in Destroy This Place which he co-fronts with former New Grenada member John Nelson and the line-up includes Allen's Friendly Foes bandmate Sean Sommer on drums. The band just released their eponymous second album which roars with crunchy, anthemic indie (the Allen songs), and big riff rock (via Nelson, who sounds a skooch like Ozzy at times). You can stream the whole album below.

Destroy This Place gig a lot in Michigan but don't make it out of the area that often, but the band are going on tour this summer, including a stop in NYC on June 29 at Death by Audio with Turing Machine, Shark? and Your Skull. All tour dates are listed below.

Continue reading "Destroy This Place (ex-Thunderbirds Are Now!) released their second album, touring (dates, LP stream)"

by Andrew Sacher

Low Fat Getting High at Cake Shop earlier this month (more by Chris Gersbeck)

Brooklyn punks Low Fat Getting High have been playing raucous local shows for some time now, and as mentioned, they're finally laying down that intensity for a new EP, which is called Bad Yoga, and has just been officially announced. The EP will be out on July 18 via Dead Broke/Money Fire Records. It kicks off with three tracks of menacing, breakneck-speed punk, and culminates in a fourth track of Bleach-style noise and sludge. The whole thing is just over ten minutes and it's a real ripper so keep an eye out for it. You can stream the opening track, "Better Better Worse," along with the artwork and tracklist below.

Low Fat Getting High have a ton of upcoming shows as usual, including a previously discussed Gimme Tinnitus-presented show TONIGHT (5/22) at Big Snow with another solid local punk band, Big Ups, CYHSY-related Radical Dads (for whom the show is a record release party), and Miniboone. $7 at the door gets you into tonight's show. Doors are at 8 PM. All ages. Show flyer below.

After that, they've got a bunch of other local dates, including a Converse Rubber Tracks show on June 12; Silent Barn on June 14 with another great local punk band, Sleepies, noise rockers Eula, indie rockers Shark?, sludgy psych rockers Psychic Blood and others; a release party for the new EP on July 18 at Shea Stadium with Big Ups, Vulture Shit, and Flagland (who play with Butter the Children and Ovlov soon); and even more local dates, all of which are listed below.

In related news, as mentioned, Big Ups and Psychic Blood also play a Northside show with Nu Sensae and Destruction Unit.

All LFGH dates are listed, along with the song stream and album info, below...

Continue reading "Low Fat Getting High announce new EP & upcoming shows"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Speedy Ortiz - "Silver Spring" (MP3)

As I've said before, new music releases start calming down around mid-December and it's a great time to check out stuff that went overlooked throughout the year. One release that dropped over the summer that I've been spinning a lot this past month is Speedy Ortiz's EP, Sports, which came out via Exploding In Sound Records. They hail from the growing Northampton/Amherst scene (which has also given us California X, Potty Mouth, and other great bands) and play the type of rock that pulls equally from punk and indie rock that's made a great comeback in 2012. Think The Breeders meets The Thermals with some noodley guitar and their own personal attitude thrown in and you've got a pretty good idea. The EP's a quick listen and it's got a very fully realized sound for a band that formed just over a year ago. You can stream the whole thing below and download the track "Silver Spring" for free at the top of this post.

Maybe you caught Speedy Ortiz when they toured through NYC last month? (They played two shows including one with Thurston Moore and John Moloney.) They've got a few shows scheduled for 2013 too including a NYC date which happens on February 23 at Cameo Gallery with Sleeping Bag and Shark?. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

A list of all dates and the EP stream are below...

Continue reading "check out Speedy Ortiz, who released an EP and are playing shows (streams, MP3, dates)"

Eternal Summers at Knitting Factory in June (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Roanoke, VA indie pop band Eternal Summers will be heading out later this year as a support act on Nada Surf's tour which comes to NYC on December 14 for a show at Bowery Ballroom. Nada Surf also plays Bowery Ballroom again the next night (12/15) but no opener has been announced for that show. Tickets for both of Nada Surf's Bowery Ballroom shows are on sale now.

Eternal Summers will be in NYC much sooner though, seeing as they're scheduled to play at least three CMJ week shows. First they'll play the Kanine Records/Wild Honey Pie/Etnies/Brooklyn Brewery/BreakThru Radio day party at Cameo Gallery on October 19 with Valleys, Beach Day, Bleeding Rainbow, Zambri, Moon King, Roommates, and DJ sets from Patrick Wimberly (of Chairlift), Thomas Fekete (of Surfer Blood), Allen Blickle (of Baroness), and Xray Eyeballs. The party is free and starts at noon (flier below). Then they'll play the Dirty Laundry & Get Bent party at Pianos on October 20 with Har Mar Superstar, The Sundelles, Fergus & Geronimo, Shark?, Squarehead, Radical Dads, and MØ. Tickets for that show are on sale now and the flier is below.

Eternal Summers will also play our BrooklynVegan day party at Public Assembly on Saturday (10/20) which is totally free. More info on that coming soon. Meanwhile we announced the lineup of our Friday day party at the same venue.

The band released their new album, Correct Behavior, over the summer and already have videos for its tracks, "Millions" and "You Kill." They recently finished up the video shoot for "Good As You," which you'll be seeing in the near future and are also holding a video contest for "I Love You." Entries are due October 31. You can watch those two aforementioned videos below, where you'll also find show flyers and a list of upcoming dates.

Continue reading "Eternal Summers playing CMJ shows (including BV day party on Saturday) before touring w/ Nada Surf (dates)"

The full list of artists confirmed for the 2012 CMJ Music Marathon so far is below...

Continue reading "CMJ 2012 initial lineup announced"

Surfer Blood in Long Island in 2011 (more by Greg Cristman)

As mentioned L.E.S. rock club Cake Shop is going through some tough financial times and have started a PledgeMusic campaign to raise money to stay alive. There's seven days left on that campaign and the venue is 63% of the way there. If they don't reach their target, they won't get any of the money raised, so show your support -- we need Cake Shop around!

Meanwhile, Cake Shop has had some benefit shows like the one earlier this month where Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were the secret headliner.

The venue is throwing another benefit show this Thursday (7/19) with Grand Rapids, Shark? and a headliner listed as "extra secretly special band (bring yr wakeboard and some band aids!)." Hmm. $12 - 20 sliding scale cover.

In other news, Surfer Blood opens for Death Cab at Wellmont Theatre that night (7/19) (sold out) and also plays with Grand Rapids at Maxwell's on July 23 (tickets).

And in more related news, Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard will release his debut solo album, Former Lives, on October 16 via Barsuk in the US and a day earlier in Europe via City Slang. The album was recorded at Aaron Espinoza's (Earlimart) studio, The Ship. Some tour dates in support of the release are TBA.

photos by Andrew St. Clair, videos by (((unartig)))

Widowspeak @ Death By Audio - March 24, 2012

Brooklyn DIY venue Death By Audio is celebrating five years, and Saturday night's special bill included Eternal Summers, Bleeding Rainbow, Shark?, and a headlining set by Widowspeak (who just played one of our parties in Austin). Pictures from the whole night, and video of three of the bands, below...

Continue reading "Widowspeak, Bleeding Rainbow, Eternal Summers & Shark? played Death By Audio (pics, video)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Widowspeak @ Hotel Vegan

Widowspeak are back from a trip that brought them to Mexico for Festival NRML and to Austin for SXSW where they played they played Hotel Vegan. Bill Pearis wrote:

Widowspeak were the first of three bands who played our party Friday that are on Captured Tracks. (DIVE and Craft Spells would be the others.) Molly Hamilton gets compared to Hope Sandoval a lot, and they both do have that sultry breathy vocal quality but Mazzy Starr never got up enough speed for song like Widowspeak's "Fir Coat."

Bleeding Rainbow didn't play any of our SXSW parties, but Bill did catch them in Austin the same day he saw Widowspeak, and wrote:

Bleeding Rainbow were on their last couple songs when I got to the Iron Bear. A year ago, the Philadelphia band were a duo (still with the name Reading Rainbow) but added a member last fall and then changed their name. Now... they're a four-piece and sounded fierce!

Bleeding Rainbow have on other show on their upcoming calendar, on March 30th at Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia supporting Cloud Nothings. Cloud Nothings play two NYC shows next week with A Classic Education, at Mercury Lounge and Glasslands (both are sold out).

NYCTaper was on hand for Widowspeak's last NYC show earlier this month, and has the audio from the show to prove it.

Check out some Widowspeak video/interviews from during SXSW/Festival NRML, more pictures from Hotle Vegan, and updated Cloud Nothings dates below....

Continue reading "Widowspeak played BV-SXSW (more pics), playing Death By Audio w/ Bleeding Rainbow & more (Saturday)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Cloud Nothings - "No Future/No Past" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Cloud Nothings - "Stay Useless" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: My Best Fiend - "Higher Palms" (MP3)

Nada Surf

The column comes early as it's a busy week and there are lots of shows to talk about. First up, venerable NYC trio Nada Surf's new album, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, is out today and the band play Bowery Ballroom this evening to celebrate. Tonight's show is sold out but Nada Surf will be streaming the show live via their YouTube channel starting at 10PM. The band then head out for a good two months of touring and all dates are at the bottom of this post.

The band's seventh album, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, is another fine record in Nada Surf's catalog of positive-vibe guitar pop, bolstered this time out by Doug Gillard who provides a lot of great lead work. This kind of music may not be in fashion right now, but it also never really goes out of style. And they do it really well You can stream or download the ebullient first single "Waiting for Something" at the bottom of this post and Spotify users can listen to the album here.

Cloud Nothings - 'Attack on Memory'

Also out today: Cloud Nothings' Attack on Memory which, as Andrew noted a couple weeks ago, is much more sophisticated and agressive than the tuneful pop-punk the band have released in the past. They're still writing catchy songs -- check out "Stay Useless at the top of this post -- but the shift is fairly radical, so much so that main man Dylan Baldi briefly considered changing the name of the band. (It's not that radical.) It's a very good album, and you can listen to it on Spotify and watch the brand-new video for "No Future/No Past" at the bottom of this post.

The album, you may have seen, got Best New Music on the 'Fork yesterday, and despite this there are still tickets to be had for Cloud Nothings' show this Thursday (1/26) at The Studio @ Webster Hall though I imagine not for long. Knowing how good the band are live (what a drummer!) I'm really anxious to hear these songs live. It's a one-off show, but the band will tour starting mid-February including, need I say it, time in Austin for SXSW. All dates are at the bottom of this post.

The Hundred in the Hands - Bowery Ballroom Feb. 2011 (more)
 

The Hundred in the Hands are playing their first show in a long time this Friday (1/27) at Glasslands, which will give us the first taste of the duo's second album which will be out on Warp at some point this year. While they haven't released any tracks from it yet, they are still updating the THITH Zine, the band's culture zine that most recently interview artist Zander Blom. There's a lot of interesting stuff in the archives that's worth checking out.

My Best Fiend

A lot of people will be at Glasslands on Friday just to check out THITH's Warp labelmates My Best Fiend whose album In Ghostlike Fading is out February 21. My Best Fiend are not your typical Warp act, closer to the space blues of Spiritualized or My Morning Jacket (or Neil Young) than the electronic music that fills most of the label's roster. The band have been plugging away in the Brooklyn scene for upwards of seven years and its good to see it pay off for them. You can download album-opener "Higher Palms" at the top of this post and you can stream "Cracking Eggs" (which features Light Asylum's Shannon Fuchness) further down.

The Glasslands show also features duo Bikini who make unapologetic four-on-the-floor dancefloor fodder, and Bear in Heaven will be DJing between sets, hopefully not playing all the records at 400,000% slower than normal.

Guy Harvey

And finally we have Florida's Guy Harvey, which is a band and not a solo artist and should not to be confused with Elbow frontman Guy Garvey which I did for half a second. The band are on tour with Gainsville residents Averkiou and hit NYC this weekend for two shows: Friday (1/27) at Cake Shop and Saturday (1/28) at Death by Audio. All GH/Averkiou dates are at the bottom of this post.

You may recognize Guy Harvey frontman Adam Perry from his moonlighting gig as an auxiliary member of Surfer Blood. There's not a lot of Guy Harvey music out there to listen to, but both sides of a 2010 7" (streamable below) are ace, with a strong Flying Nun influence. If you liked the Twerps album from last year, give Guy Harvey a listen. Averkiou, meanwhile, make fuzzy, shoegazy pop not too far from early Teenage Fanclub. Check out a few streaming tracks at the bottom of this post.

Friday's Cake Shop show is with Byrdsy locals Slow Country whose new album is a name-your-price download at their Bandcamp and is quite nice. Saturday's show at Death by Audio also has underrated Brooklyn bands I'm Turning Into and Bright Lights. Either show is worth checking out. Or go to both!

That's the main stuff for this week. Below are a few more picks, day-by-day, of shows not covered otherwise.

The Hairs

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24

There's a TWII-approved line-up at East Village mainstay Lit Lounge -- that is now booking bands I've heard of again -- with The Hairs (new single out next month), Pigeons, and Gross Relations.

Friends have shown up on most of the "Bands to Watch in 2012" lists. Go watch them in 2012, tonight, at Cameo as part of a very solid bill with Phonetag and Spanish Prisoners.

continued below...

Continue reading "Nada Surf, Cloud Nothings, Hundred in the Hands, My Best Fiend, Guy Harvey, Averkiou & more in This Week in Indie"

As you know, Williamsburg music venue Bruar Falls is sadly closing at the end of this month. As just mentioned, tonight is their first "Last Night Ever". The full final (as of today) schedule below...

Continue reading "Bruar Falls is having its Last Week Ever"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Caged Animals - Teflon Heart (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Caged Animals - Girls on Medication (MP3)

Caged Animals, the new project from Soft Black front man Vin Cacchione, will release their debut album, Eat Their Own, on Sept 27 via Lucky Number. You can download the album's first single, "Teflon Heart," at the top of this post. You can also go see them play live this week: Thursday (8/25) at Union Pool with Life Sized Maps and Shark? and then on September 1 at Shea Stadium with Dive and Forest Fire (whose 2nd album is coming out soon on FatCat).

Where Soft Black (who are still together if you were wondering) are a straight up guitar band, Caged Animals began as a home recording project for Cacchione, using ancient drum machines and keyboards...and modern technology too. The resulting album is minimal and joyous, with Cacchione's melodic abilities as a songwriter fully intact. Despite the understated production, "Teflon Heart" is a pretty soaring pop song with a chorus that could get lodged in your head for a while.

Live, Caged Animals are a quartet, including violinist Magali Charron, and Vin's sister Talya which should flesh out things a bit. Also check out non-LP single "Girls on Medication" from earlier this year at the top of this post and watch its video below.

Continue reading "check out Caged Animals (MP3 premiere, video & dates)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Wild Beasts - "Loop the Loop" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Wooden Birds - Two Matchsticks (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Rayon Beach - Wave Pool Ether (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: John Wesley Coleman - Ooh Basketball (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Urge Overkill - Effigy (MP3)

Tom Vek

This week is kind of nuts. I know you're all probably just going to be spending it reading A Dance with Dragons or going to see Harry Potter, but here's your TWII action... let's get into it.

Tom Vek is here for two shows, his first U.S. shows since 2005: an early show tonight (7/12) at Mercury Lounge and tomorrow (7/13) at Union Pool. I don't think either are sold out. His second album Leisure Seizure -- six years in the making -- has remained in constant rotation on my stereo since getting a copy in May and I'm pretty excited for these shows.

The new record still sounds like Tom Vek -- the staccato drum beats, sparse arrangements, his laid-back vocal style -- and maybe it's the absence but it still sounds fresh. It's a great record and a welcome return. I have no idea who is in his band these days, but he was fantastic live back when he toured for We Have Sound in 2005. I have a feeling he's still got it.

Wild Beasts

Wild Beasts are over for four East Coast shows, including two nights at Le Poisson Rouge on Wednesday (7/13) and Thursday (7/14). (They're also playing Philly and D.C.) These will be the first the band have done since releasing their third album, Smother, back in May. As I've said before, this is subtler album than Two Dancers that shows the influence of Talk Talk and The Blue Nile in particular. It's a grower, as they say, and a worthy successor to 2009's best album. Check out "Loop the Loop" at the top of this post.

Live, Wild Beasts are truly something to behold,  transcending their records every time (at least every time I've seen them). Sky Larkin's Katie Harkin is playing keyboards with the band on this Stateside jaunt which is an added bonus for some of us. The rest of North America will get a chance to see Wild Beasts in September when they come back for a proper tour.  All 2011 dates are at the bottom of this post.

Urge Overkill

Shifting gears wildly, we've got Chicago rock gods Urge Overkill in town for two shows this week. They play the Rocks Off cruise on Wednesday (7/13) and then the Rock Shop on Saturday (7/16) as part of the venue's big One Year Anniversary which is happening all this week.

Urge Overkill were odd men out in the '90s, doing suave, heavily postured cock rock in an era dominated by slacker indie and stoner sludge. 1993's Saturation is one of the decade's classics, all big riffs and attitude that has only gotten finer with age. The same can't be said for 1995's Exit the Dragon, which found the band succumbed to the rock n' roll excesses the band exemplified. (There were even rumors the band were too fucked up to even play on its recordings, having most parts subbed by session musicians.)

There were various comeback gigs in the '00s but I don't think anybody expected them to make a new album. Which made this year's Rock'n'Roll Submarine (great title) a double shock: it exists and, more importantly, it's pretty awesome. Kato and Roeser keep the same flame alive: badass riffs, supercatchy choruses, and that unfakeable rock n' roll spirit. (No Blackie Onassis, but some chemistry is just too volatile apparently.) There's also a world-weariness that keeps it all real. They aren't trying to pretend they haven't been through some serious shit. But to paraphrase "Effigy" (downloadable at the top of this post), they've always taken the loud way.

The Wooden Birds

Lovely Austin band The Wooden Birds play two shows this week as well: Thursday (7/14) at Mercury Lounge and Friday (7/15) at The Rock Shop. As you may know at this point, this is Andrew Kenny's post-American Analog Set band, which still has his drony motorik style but in a much more acoustic setting. The Wooden Birds' sophomore album, Two Matchsticks, is (in my opinion) much better than their debut: the arrangements are more dynamic and the addition of Matt Pond (both on guitar and vocally) adds a lot. (Matt Pond PA's Chris Hansen is a touring member as well.) You can check out the title track to the new album at the top of this post.

Tune-Yards @ MHOW (more by Amanda Hatfield)

What else? Hudson River Rocks starts this week (Thursday 7/14) with tUnE-yArDs and Austra which is a pretty hard-to-pass-up free show. While I don't reach for her album much, there's no denying Merril Garbus is a magnetic performer who can win over crowds easily. While Austra's Katie Stelmanis doesn't quite have that charm, there is no denying her stage presence either and I'm a big fan of Austra's debut album which came out earlier this year. Thursday is supposed to be beautiful and this show seems like a no-brainer.

Rayon Beach

Austin's Rayon Beach play three shows this week: Thursday (7/14) at Don Pedro, then Friday (7/15) at Bruar Falls and Saturday (7/16) at Death by Audio. I wrote this a year ago and I think it still holds true:

Like a lot of the bands on Hozac Records (or bands from Austin for that matter), this trio fit under the psych/garage umbrella but there's a decided Brit bent to their music. Baroque garage, is that a thing? Think Syd-era Pink Floyd or The Pretty Things more than Woven Bones. Make no mistake -- Rayon Beach can and do get plenty loud. It's just sometimes with pinkies extended.

Anglophiles might already know that Scottish indiefolk cult legend King Creosote is in town this week, playing a late show at Mercury Lounge on Thursday (7/14) and then at the Rock Shop on Sunday (7/17). Both shows are with the equally talented Jon Hopkins. I wrote about King Creosote back in March:

Scottish indie folk royalty Kenny Anderson, aka King Creosote. Anderson (whose brother Gordon was a founding member of The Beta Band and now fronts The Aliens) has been cranking out album after album of melancholic, wry songwriting since the late '90s. (Seriously, check out his discography.) Many of these have been self-released, but he's had records on Warner Brothers and Domino too.

The Radio Dept

And now another weekend of Seaport-related shows. Friday (7/15)  is the final night of this year's abbreviated Seaport Music Festival, with The Radio Dept. The band are in the U.S. for this and the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago and that's it -- so we should count ourselves lucky. If you wanted to see them somewhere small, you're out of luck. (Unless you maybe found yourself at a shop that rocked on, say, Thursday night. Maybe.) Last year's Clinging to a Scheme was one of 2010's best albums (according to me) and though I do wish they'd get a drummer to play with them at shows, they still sound pretty great live.

I'm hoping the merch table has the new 180 gram vinyl reissues of the band's three albums. In particular I want to pick up their classic debut Lesser Matters, one of the best albums of the '00s. Opening are Asobi Seksu which is a pretty perfect pairing. The weather's supposed to be gorgeous, the show is free...this'll be sweet.

Saturday is the Village Voice 4 Knots Festival which is going out of its way to let us know it's not trying to be the Siren Festival. It's a nice line-up of bands, though, scaled to fit the Seaport. Apart from Eleanor Friedberger and Oberhofer, it is a pretty rock line-up what with headliners Black Angels, Titus Andronicus, Davilla 666 and Mr. Dream. If you like to dance, they've got an indoor lounge over at 210 Front Street with an all DJ lineup that includes Yeasayer, Dan Deacon, Brahms and the Finger on the Pulse dudes (also DJing as Punches) spinning tunes. Things kick off at 1PM.

Then Sunday (7/17) is the last show of my Sound Bites Series down at the Fulton Stall Market and I'm super pleased to have Hospitality on cleanup. When I found out we were going to be doing the series again, Hospitality were the first band I thought of. If you haven't heard them, you can download their 2009 EP for free from their Bandcamp site. It's quite lovely. The band have gotten less precious since then, though no less charming, and recently the band expanded to a four-piece with drummer Nathan Michel moving to guitar making them decidedly more skronky now.

I am quite enamored with this band and you should definitely come down and see them. They are seriously good. If you come to only one Sound Bites Show this summer... this is your last chance. Hospitality are on at 3PM sharp and I'll be spinning tunes from around 1:30 or so. It's free!

And right after Hospitality finish, you can head across South Street to the Beekman Beer Garden for this week's Beach Party show with Frankie Rose and Xray Eyeballs. Both bands feature on that free downloadable mix you can get over at Insound. The Frankie Rose track is one I hadn't heard before, a cover of Slapp Happy's "Blue Flower" which you may know from covers either by Mazzy Star or Pale Saints.

Last week (Cheeseburger and Hard Nips) was fun and pretty fairly low-key. The spot -- formerly Water Taxi Beach -- is a pretty popular spot on its own, so expect a mixed crowd of those there for the show and those there just for the view/vibe. Bands start at 4PM. It's free.

And that's about it for this week. A few more daily picks are below.

TUESDAY, JULY 12

It's a heatwave today but Cold Cave will have the A/C cranked for their show Knitting Factory tonight. I do really like their new album Cherish the Light Years which kind of reminds me of '80s band Lords of the New Church. The show is with gothy sea chanty singers Cult of Youth, and Zambri who are newly signed to Kanine Records (and who were impressive at Knitting Factory during the Northside fest). The show is part of a tour that ends at Bowery Ballroom with Austra.

The newly reunited Cibo Matto are at Brooklyn Bowl. Though advance tickets sold out, there will be limited availability at the door. Go early. The show is one date of a tour that also hits Bowery Ballroom.

continued below....

Continue reading "Tom Vek, Wild Beasts, Urge Overkill, Wooden Birds, Rayon Beach, King Creosote, Radio Dept & more in This Week In Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Natural Child - Hard Workin' Man (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Natural Child - Yer Birthday (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Miracle Fortress - Miscalculations (MP3)

Happy Summer everybody. Before we get into this week's recommended shows, I hope you've been spending the week, like I have, listening obsessively to Domino Radio which has put together an incredible all-star lineup of presenters for this seven-day experiment. All the shows are archived, so go back and listen to Felt/Denim mastermind Lawrence, Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie (who appears on the new CSS record), Mute Records founder (and former Silicon Teen) Daniel Miller, Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos spin tunes, among other notables. Upcoming DJ slots include Radiohead's Colin Greenwood on Friday, Robert Wyatt and Alfie are on Saturday, and The Pastels on Sunday. Here's hoping they bring it back at a later date.

Ume

Ok, let's get into what this weekend and beyond has in store. Austin powerhouse trio Ume's current tour hits the city this weekend for two shows: tonight (6/9) at Pianos and Saturday (6/11) at The Rock Shop. As previously reported, the band just signed to Modern Outsider records who will release their debut album, Phantoms, in August. Pretty much everybody here at BV are Ume fans. They write great songs and, yes, they are a bundle of energy on stage with some serious guitar heroics provided by singer Lauren Langer Larsen. After NYC the three of them head north to the NXNE festival. All Ume dates are at the bottom of this post.

Memoryhouse

Memoryhouse also roll into town this weekend. They play Glasslands on Friday (6/10) and Piano's on Saturday (6/11). Both shows are with dreamy acoustic trio High Highs who are worth getting there early to see.

As you may have heard the Toronto duo are now signed to Sub Pop and should have something out on the label by year's end. Memoryhouse is also now a full band, including a drummer, which make the likelihood of their music remaining Eno-ambient less likely. I'd probably have more of a clue if I'd caught their set at our SXSW party this year. Reports I could find from Austin were positive, though not especially descriptive. Anyone got a firsthand report? Personally I"m hoping this more traditional band format pulls them into Slowdive territory. We shall see.

Both shows have their individual draws. Glasslands also has personal faves North Highlands whose debut album is in the can, apparently, and now we just have to wait for someone to release it. They will definitely be the most energetic live band on the bill, unless all the other groups have radically changed. Well, I've never seen Wonder Bear live but judging by the chill sounds on their album Avalanche (a free download) but I have to imagine it will be a mellow affair.

Speaking of chill, you may remember the sweatbox that was Glasslands last summer, well with the new club's new makeover they also finally got A/C. Certainly the 90 degree heat of this week will be a good test for it's power.

Meanwhile the Pianos show on Saturday has Foxes in Fiction which is, on record, basically Warren Hildebrand who is now also a member of the Memoryhouse live touring unit. At SXSW he was backed by Memoryhouse so I'd expect the same here. Last year's Swung from Branches mixed soundscapes with more structured songwriting (he gets compared to Bradford Cox a lot) and his most recent FiF release, Alberto (download the whole thing for free HERE), finds him moving into even more pop territory. It's a packed Pianos bill, including Eastern Conference Champions and Suns (not Suuns).

Natural Child

Let's keep going, shall we? Nashville party rock trio Natural Child are here for a two-night stint at Death By Audio, playing Sunday (6/12) and Monday (6/13). The band's debut album is out now on JEFF the Brotherhood's Infinity Cat label which should give you a good idea of what you're in for. An even better indicator are the two tracks from it at the top of this post from the album. If you like Thin Lizzy, honky tonk side of the Stones and JEFF the Brotherhood, you'll probably dig Natural Child too. These shows are bound to be packed and sweaty (and smokey) so be prepared for that, as well as for having a good time.

Laetitia Sadier

On the opposite end of the spectrum is former Stereolab vocalist Laetitia Sadier who will be playing  Le Poisson Rouge on Monday (6/13) and The Rock Shop on Wednesday (6/15). Her solo debut, The Trip, came out last year on Drag City and was a lovely album. Not that far off from what she did with her band for the last 15 or so years, but it has it's own special charms as well.

Miracle Fortress

And lastly this Tuesday (6/14) is a swell double bill of danceable Canadians at Webster Hall: Junior Boys and Miracle Fortress. Junior Boys' fourth album, It's All True, is out that same day on Domino and is another fine example of their lithe, breezy style. Miracle Fortress -- aka Graham Van Pelt of Think About Life -- just released its second album, Was I the Wave, which finds him setting aside the first LP's guitars in favor of electronics with a decidedly Eno-esque slant. You can download album track "Miscalculations" at the top of this post. It's a really nice record. When I caught him at SXSW, Van Pelt performed solo surrounded by tons of equipment and a few vintage table lamps. Not bad for a one man show.

That's it for this week. A few more day-by-day picks follow.

THURSDAY JUNE 9

Looking for some quality indie rock newcomers? TWII-approved bands Radical Dads and Gross Relations are at Cake Shop tonight.

Did you know The Cloud Room was still together? They are and play Mercury Lounge tonight. Of course they're going to play local hit "Hey Now Now," no need to shout for it.

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Continue reading "Domino radio, Glasslands A/C, Ume, Foxes in Fiction, Natural Child, Miracle Fortress & more in This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Generationals - Trust (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gross Relations - No Lines (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gross Relations - Blame the Record (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shark? - Down Low (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Shark? - Shark? (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Savoir Adore - Sparrow (MP3)

Generationals

I take you away from trying to figure out the identity of The Modern Weepers (my favorite comment guess: Hard-Fi) to talk about shows happening this weekend. As always, this being New York City, there's lots of great options.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are in town this week with Generationals and the two bands play tonight (5/11) at Mercury Lounge (sold out!) and tomorrow (5/12)  at The Rock Shop (not sold out!). Dale Jr Jr also play Kidrockers on Sunday [5/14] at the Rock Shop with Pearl and the Beard.

I feel like there's been enough talk about Dale, whose dreamy brand of synth rock can be heard on their pretty good upcoming album It's a Corporate World which is out June 7. So I'm here to talk about Generationals who are surely one of the few indiepop bands in New Orleans. Unlike Big Freedia, they haven't appeared yet on an episode of Treme but their new album Actor-Caster is loaded with clever, tunefull pop. What they do isn't particularly cool at this second in time, but I think stuff like this is never really out of style. You can download the title track to last year's great Trust EP at the top of this post and there's a widget below that will get you two tracks from Actor-Caster for the price of your email.

Malajube

Also here this week for a couple shows are Montreal's Malajube , playing The Rock Shop tonight (5/11) and will be at Bowery Ballroom on Friday (3/13) with the epic and amazing Besnard Lakes (and Nova Scotia's Wintersleep).  If you were in Austin for SXSW this year, you may have seen Malajube at our SXSW day party this year we co-presented with M for Montreal who we are co-presenting a show with this Friday in Brighton (if anyone is headed to the Great Escape).

Like a lot of folks, Malajube made a big impression on me in 2006 with their record Trompe-L'Oeil and, even more, their string of fantastic CMJ performances that year. The tunes were catchy, they were great live, the language barrier didn't matter so much. I must admit 2009's Labarinthes didn't make much of an impression but I've really been enjoying the band's brand new album La Cavern. The album is out now in Canada and will be available in the U.S. sometime soon on MB3 Records. Maybe they'll have it at the merch tables this week.

The new album walks the line between guitar pop and space rock and I keep imagining them performing songs like the vaguely disco "Le Blizzard" on the Muppet Show. There's a general soft filter '70s vibe to the whole of La Cavern that feels very comforting. You can listen to the whole thing via a streaming widget doohickey at the bottom of this post.

And go see the Besnard Lakes, for whom I have declared my love for many, many times. And go early for Malajube.

Echo & the Bunnymen are at Irving Plaza on Friday (5/13) and Saturday (5/15) playing their first two albums -- 1979's Crocodiles and 1980's Heaven Up Here -- back to back, in their entirety. This may not be quite as exciting as seeing them at Radio City doing Ocean Rain with a full orchestra, but it's still pretty awesome.

Especially because the albums are post-punk classics. Crocodiles is all scratchy nervous energy and contains no mediocre songs whatsover. I could list them all if you wanted, each one amazing. The whole thing still sounds fantastic. Heaven Up Here is considerably darker, more paranoid but no less definitive. "Over the Wall" is one of their best-ever songs. These two records are also a great showcase for Will Seargent's guitar-playing that still sounds innovative today. I'm a little sceptical of Mac's ability to belt out these songs -- it's gonna be a workout on his pipes -- but the chance to hear deep cuts like "All That Jazz," "It Was a Pleasure," "Happy Death Men," and "With a Hip" is exciting.

Opening for both shows is Bunnymen megafan Kelley Stoltz, who has covered Crocodiles in its entirety, both on record and as an infrequent but incredible tribute act that also featured Spiral Stairs of Pavement and Shayde Sartin who's now in The Fresh & Onlys. (They played CMJ 2003 at Arlene's Grocery, it was awesome.) Anyway, Stoltz is now an established artist in his own right, putting out terrific records on Sub Pop when not playing drums in Sonny & the Sunsets.  So if you're going to this show, do go early.

Gross Relations

We now enter the local band portion of This Week in Indie. Let's start with L Magazine 8 Bands runners-up Gross Relations who are playing three times this week: tonight (5/11) at Don Pedro with Raccoon Fighter and The Horehounds, then tomorrow (5/12) at Bruar Falls with deVries and Hunktronic, and on Friday (5/13) at Cake Shop with The Bynars, Field Mouse and Infinity Hotel.

The band have been releasing a series of digital singles via their bandcamp page, all of which exemplify their brand of supercatchy, keyboard-friendly indie rock. You can download the A-sides of the last two at the top of this post. "Blame the Records" is especially good. As I said previously, those keyboard lead lines make for easy comparisons to the Rentals which I'm gonna guess is probably what they were going for. Which is fine -- the hooks are undeniable.

Radical Dads

Radical Dads, meanwhile, were actually picked by the L Mag as one of those 8 Bands You Need To Hear and I certainly agree. And hear them you can Thursday at Cake Shop. The band's debut album, Mega Rama, is out next month and it's pretty damn good. I hear a lot of '90s DC  here -- more Simple Machines and DeSoto than Teenbeat -- whether that was intentional or not. Which means, basically, strident, melodic indie rock. The record is also a contender for my favorite album art of the year, done by Michael Deforge, which you can see below. Also below is yet another widget, this one will allow you to stream or download Mega Rama track "New Age Dinosaur." Oh, and they are quite good live.

Also playing that Cake Shop show tomorrow are Shark? whose debut album True Waste comes out May 24. The band worked with former Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone on the record and what I've heard sounds really good. You can download two tracks from the album up top, and Shark?'s Pixies-ish theme song is pretty fun.

And lastly, I'd like to write a little about Vacation who are opening for Oberhofer at Coco 66 on Saturday night (5/14). The band are pretty new. What started as a solo project for Paul Greenfield Daly, formed into a band during one of the blizzards this year. Vacation have only played out a couple of times (Brad Oberhofer was in the live incarnation briefly.) But I really, really like the songs available as free downloads on Vacation's Bandcamp site. While I wouldn't call it synthpop, Vacation are definitely danceable, kind of groovy and motorik.  The track "Jean" in particular sounds like a hit to me, definitely check that one out.

That Coco 66 show also has the lately ubiquitous Widowspeak, and with Oberhofer that makes for a pretty good Saturday night. If you can't make it this weekend, Vacation are playing Pianos on May 22 with Dinner at the Thompsons.

OK that's the big stuff this week. Here are a few more picks, day-by-day:

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11

It's a night of well-dressed pop at Glasslands with Princeton and the High Highs. I keep meaning to catch High Highs again, I was impressed when they played with Radio Department last year.

We haven't heard from locals Gray Goods since last year's Northside Fest. They emerge from their cocoon, sonically reborn, tonight at Union Pool, with Zachary Cale and D. Charles Speer and the Helix.

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Continue reading "Generationals, Malajube, Echo & the Bunnymen, Kelley Stoltz, Gross Relations, Radical Dads, Shark?, Vacation, Karaoke Underground & more in This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Dirty Beaches - Lord Knows Best (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dum Dum Girls - He Gets Me High (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Widowspeak - Harsh Realm (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Esben & the Witch - Warpath (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Wise Blood - B.I.G. E.G.O. (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Mr. Dream - Crime (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Duzheknew - Came Out the Other Side (MP3)

Dirty Beaches

We're 1700 miles and two weeks away from the eye of the storm, but you can feel the SXSW hurricane forming from here. People have begun talking about breakfast tacos and the clubs are filling with bands from Canada, Scandinavia and the UK. Even moreso than normal.  There is too much going on. Decisions, decisions. Let's get into it.

Tonight (3/2) marks the American debut of UK duo Summer Camp who play an early show at Mercury Lounge with High Highs.

Dirty Beaches play two shows this week: a headlining slot at Glasslands on Thursday (3/3) and then opening for Dum Dum Girls at Bowery Ballroom on Friday (3/4). The pseudonym of Montreal artist Alex Zhang Hungtai, Dirty Beaches sound like a band invented by David Lynch (or maybe Jim Jarmusch), like a half-remembered dream infected by an oldies station playing on a vintage transistor radio. It also kind of sounds like Suicide. Dirty Beaches' forthcoming album, Badlands (out March 29 and pictured above), is at times pretty, twangy and vaguely sinister. He's definitely got a vision to what he's doing. Check out "Lord Knows Best" at the top of this post for a sample.

The Glasslands show also has Austinites (and TWII faves) YellowFever on the bill, as are Widowspeak whose new single is out now on Captured Tracks (the a-side is downloadable above), and Ela Orleans. Plus, Dee Dee of Dum Dum Girls is DJing. This should be a good night.

As should Dum Dum Girls' show on Friday. Their new EP, He Gets Me High, came out on Sub Pop this week and you can download the title track at the top of this post. I loved DDGs' debut, but I think these new tracks are a definite improvement: a little tougher, the production's better and the songs are solid. And I dig the Smiths cover as well.

Former Dum Dum Girls drummer Frankie Rose is also on the bill, and she has dropped The Outs from her name... and the band. This show will mark the debut of her new group and perhaps a new sound? We shall see. Frankie is promising mostly new songs for this one and I'm curious as to what Frankie Rose Mark 2 will be like.

Rounding out the Bowery line-up are MINKS. Tickets are still available.

Esben and the Witch

Also here this week are UK neogoths Esben & the Witch who play The Bell House on Friday (3/4) and then Mercury Lounge on Saturday (3/5). While I'm not crazy about their debut album, Violet Cries, which meanders a bit and generally takes too long to get going, I do recommend going to see them live. Guitarist Daniel Copeman rivals The Edge or Kevin Shields for the Most Effects Pedals award and the sounds he creates with them is genuinely mesmerising. He is also a whirlwind onstage. They are so much more compelling live, and worth giving a shot even if the record does nothing for you.

Opening the Mercury Lounge show is Wise Blood who has gotten a lot of love from Pitchfork, Altered Zones, GvB, etc. The alter-ego of Chris Laufman, Wise Blood is firmly in the low fi sample-based collage world. Some of it is pretty interesting for sure  -- check out a track at the top of this post --  but I'm always a bit dubious about seeing this kind of stuff live. Maybe he'll pull it off. Maybe he'll be the next How to Dress Well. How was he last night at Glasslands with Young Magic? Wise Blood will also be at SXSW.

Duzheknew

Representing Canada this week are Duzheknew and Cousins who play Bruar Falls on Sunday (3/6) and Death by Audio on Monday (3/7). Both bands hail from Halifax, Nova Scotia -- a town that hasn't had much of a scene (from what I can tell) since its '90s heyday of Sloan, Eric's Trip, Jale and Thrush Hermit. Duzheknew, from the tracks I've heard (like the one at the top of this post), sound somewhere between Wolf Parade (vocally), early Talking Heads and their hometown indie elder statesman. Cousins are a little more straight-up garage rock. Both sound pretty good.

Mr. Dream

And now onto some local action. Mr. Dream's debut album, Trash Hit, was released this week and will certainly appeal to those with a fondness for early '90s indie rock, be it Nirvana, The Pixies, Jesus Lizard, etc. Which is to say it's loud, it rocks, there is some yelling and snarling... but it's also got hooks,  no shortage of tunes, and badass flinty basslines all over the place. You don't have to remember the early days of Late Night with Conan O'Brien to dig Mr. Dream. As far as I'm concerned this kind of stuff is timeless. You can download "Crimes" at the top of this post and stream the entire album via a widget below.

Mr Dream celebrate Trash Hit's release this Friday (3/4) at Glasslands, with Sleepies and Fort Lean (making their debut) along for the ride. I also hear Derek from Sleigh Bells will be performing as well, but not sure exactly in what capacity. Mr. Dream will tour with Sleigh Bells in April.

Shark?

Another Record Release show is happening Friday night, this time at Cake Shop where Shark? celebrate the birth of their new 7" single "Kreegah." It's too bad Shark? and Mr. Dream couldn't have coordinated their parties together as Shark?'s straight-up, super-catchy indie rock would have made a great opening act. You can stream both sides of the single below. Personally, I'm partial to the b-side, "You Don't Love Me (Anymore)." Both songs will be on the band's debut album, True Waste, which was produced by Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone and should be out sometime soon?

Shark? hit the road next week, touring with the Sundelles on their way down to SXSW. Sundelles also have a show coming up at Glasslands with Cloud Nothing and Craft Spells. All tour dates are below.

And that is basically it for this week. Expect an equally-lengthy TWII next week. A few more day-by-day picks below:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2

Tennis, La Sera, and Holiday Shores team up for their first of two NYC shows together, tonight at Bowery Ballroom. They then play The Bell House on Thursday (3/3).

Norway's Heroes & Zeroes play Pianos tonight before heading to Alaska to play a string of gigs in Alaska, believe it or not. Tonight's show is an eclectic bill to say the least, with with French psycho noiserockers Headwar and Koonda Holaa adding to the strangeness.

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Continue reading "Mr. Dream, Dirty Beaches, Wise Blood, Esben & the Witch, Frankie Rose, Duzheknew, Shark? & more in This Week in Indie"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

Obits @ Knitting Factory

Obits played two hometown nights in a row at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn over the weekend. On Friday, November 12th, the packed show was with Shark? and Jawbreaker frontman Blake Schwarzenbach's band forgetters. Saturday night was with Bottomless Pit (ex-Silkworm) and Black Helicopter. Pictures from Friday are in this post, as is a full video stream of Obits' performance, captured by the Knitting Factory livestream, from that night (below in two parts).

Obits are now resting for the holidays, but will head out on a proper, albeit short, Southeastern tour in the new year with Gentleman Jesse and His Men who meanwhile have New Years Eve and New Years Day shows scheduled at the Earl in Atlanta with Gringo Star and Noot d' Noot. Gentleman Jesse and His Men played a show at Knitting Factory back on 10/22 (CMJ), and Knitting Factory taped that, and you can watch that in full below too.

Tour dates and more pictures and those videos, below...

Continue reading "Obits played 2 shows @ Knitting Factory -- Friday w/ forgetters & Shark? (pics & full video stream)"

As I say every year, the Atlantic Antic is one of NYC's greatest street fairs and filled with music. This year's goes down this Sunday, 9/26, and has added an 'indie rock' stage...

Although the Antic is beloved for its cornucopia of global chow, from banh mi to custom-cured pastrami (the official slogan of the event is "Eat it at the Antic, Walk it off on Atlantic"), this year's iteration also includes a bounty of independent music and art, two of Brooklyn's most visible cultural exports.

The Roebling Inn (97 Atlantic Avenue, between Hicks and Henry Streets, Brooklyn Heights), a dark, vintage-inspired bar that opened in December, is hosting, in partnership with the music media company Future Sounds, the Antic's first stage exclusively featuring indie-rock.

"It was a no-brainer when we got the space," the inn's manager, Jason Furlani, said. "We knew we would do something for the Antic."

While part of the joy of the Antic is its spectacular diversity (on 13 other stages, visitors can take in Brazilian samba, Latin jazz, children's folk songs, Middle Eastern belly dancing, electric blues, string bands, South Louisiana Cajun music and more), Mr. Furlani and his partners wanted to pay specific tribute to Brooklyn's indie empire. Larry Little, the chief executive of Future Sounds, booked four emerging Brooklyn bands (Dinosaur Feathers, Shark?, Arms and German Measles) and one, Grandchildren, from Philadelphia. All share a penchant for fuzzy, nostalgic guitar. [NY Times]

The 36th Annual Atlantic Antic

Sunday, September 26, 2010 from 10am to 6pm, rain or shine
Atlantic Avenue from Hicks Street to Fourth Avenue
10 Blocks of Food, Festivities, and Fun Through the Heart of Brownstone Brooklyn...

Continue reading "The Atlantic Antic is Sunday, now with more indie rock "

Tombs @ the Studio in 2009 (more by Jason Jamal Nakleh)

today in NYC
* H2O on a boat
* Robert Black @ The Stone
* Ute Lemper @ Joe's Pub (early & late)
* Leon Russell @ Mexicali Live (NJ)
* Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio @ Jazz Standard
* Forest Fire, Oh Land, Normandy @ Glasslands
* Scott McMicken of Dr. Dog, Springs @ The Rock Shop
* Diddy, Rick Ross, Ciara & more @ Governors Island
* Hannibal Buress, King Sickabilly @ Knitting Factory
* Miya Masaoka, Mary Halvorson, Okkyung Lee @ The Stone
* Reid Paley Trio, Sam Chanse, Sugar Life @ Knitting Factory
* Nullsleep, Bit Shifter, Glomag, NO CARRIER @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Tombs, Radiation, Planks, Gods & Queens, Dawn @ Death By Audio
* Chromeo, The Suzan, Telephoned, Kid Sister @ Williamsburg Waterfront
* Metal Rouge, Sam Hamilton, Jane Austen, Greg Fox, Diablo @ Silent Barn
* Seaven Tears (Charlie Looker), Tartar Lamb (Toby Driver), Music of the American Avante-Garde (Bracken/Kidambi) @ Zebulon
* Religious To Damn, Fielded, Psychic Steel, Kevin Hufnagel @ Bruar Falls
* The Big Sleep, Fan-Tan, Sensual Harassment, Replicas, Michna (DJ Set) @ Cameo
* Mia Riddle, Pearl & The Beard, Madison Square Gardeners (Farm To Folk Fest) @ Union Pool (see below)
* New York Night Train's Ya Ya Yacht w/ DJ Mr. Jonathan Toubin & DJ Ian Svenonius
* Saviours, Priestess, Ramming Speed, Antidote [NYHC 1983], Rorschach DJ's, Hamsoken, Gatekeeper, Cult of Youth, Naam, Titan, Natur, Snake Sustaine, Primitive Weapons, Cleen Teeth @ Santos Party House
* K Holes, Electric Tickle Machine, My Teenage Stride, Food Stamps, Weekends, Weed Hounds, Shark?, Lost Boy, The Runaway Suns, The Caterpillers (and much more) @ Don Pedro (see below)

A lot to do today for a rainy Sunday at the end of a slow week.

Individual tickets are on sale today for the 2010-2011 NY Philharmonic concert season.

To make sure they don't get shut down, tonight's sold out H2O show happening on a Rocks Off boat is going to be dry ("Our First Ever NO BOOZE CRUISE - Straight Edge on the Hudson!"), which is ironic since those that step outside will probably not be dry at all thanks to the H2O coming down from the sky.

Good thing there's going to be a Pool Party on August 29th. Otherwise they would have went out on a rainy note. If it doesn't get cancelled, Chromeo, The Suzan, Telephoned, and previously-known-as "Special Guest" Kid Sister play the free show at the Williamsburg Waterfront today.

Today is the day The Specials were supposed to play in the rain at Central Park Summerstage.

Though there are still free events, there are no more free concerts on Governors Island this summer, which means tonight's potentially-soggy Diddy fans paid for their tickets. Same situation for the Jonas Brothers fans at Jones Beach.

Two indoor options today include "Farm to Folk Fest" at Union Pool (3-8pm) and "My Endless Summer" at Don Pedro from 4pm to 4am. Flyers and more information for both below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Bottomless Pit - "38 Souls" (MP3)

Obits at a Pool Party (more by Chris LaPutt)

I know it's easy to get riled up about the recent impromptu Hot Snakes reunion, but the bands that spawned from that are also great. Obits have lined up a pair of NYC dates in the coming months. Tickets go on sale on Saturday, 8/21, at 10AM for a pair of Obits shows at Knitting Factory: November 12th with forgetters and Shark? & November 13th with Bottomless Pit (ex-Silkworm) and Black Helicopter.

Speaking of Forgetters, the band is preparing it's debut release, a self-titled double 7" due on September 21st. Preorder a copy and stream snippets of it at the distro site.

Bottomless Pit (ex-Silkworm) have just released their new LP, Blood Under The Bridge, via Comedy Minus One. Spanning nine tracks, the LP is the band's second full-length, and features "38 Souls" available for download above.

Full Obits and Bottomless Pit dates, Forgetters album art/tracklisting, and more below..

Continue reading "Obits dates, forgetters 7", Bottmless Pit"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Standard Fare - Dancing (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Standard Fare - Fifteen (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Lower Dens - Tea Lights (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Lower Dens - Hospice Gates (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Inocultist - Prophecy for the Summer (MP3)

Standard Fare

Last night was kind of a blowout night for NYC concert-going. So many great shows, big and small, I hope you all went to something and didn't stay home watching Top Chef or something. (I missed it all, I had to work.) The weekend doesn't look quite as action-packed but there's no hurting for great music options.

My top pick for the weekend would be Standard Fare who are over from England and are playing two NYC shows: tonight (8/5) at Bruar Falls and tomorrow (8/6) for the Mondo! party at the about-to-be-renovated Don Hill's. I've written about Standard Fare more than once, so I'm just going to quote myself here:

Standard Fare's The Noyelle Beat (out now in America on Bar/None) is one of the best indiepop records of the year (along with Allo Darlin's debut). Cute, romantic, but with some muscle in there too. You can download a couple of tracks from it above. You should also watch the new video for their great single "Philadelphia" at the bottom of this post.

Inoculist

If you're not at Bruar Falls, you might consider its sister venue, Cake Shop, tonight (8/5) to catch Lower Dens, Air Waves and Inoculist. Lower Dens and Inoculist played together last night at Glasslands and by all reports (the ones I heard anyway) it was a great show. You can watch video from last night's show shot by Bleary-eyed Brooklyn at the bottom of this post. I saw Lower Dens during the Northside Fest and thought they were terrific and have been singing the praises of their debut album, Twin Hand Movement, all summer. The record sounds better now as our shadows get longer and the nights cool off. This is a August/September kind of album.

Inoculist (which I keep mispelling "inocultist) is fronted by Jana's brother John, and the two siblings definitely pull from the same record collection. Inoculist's debut, Spells, is a laid back affair, and comparisons to Low's first few albums are not unwarranted. Hunter and keyboardist Ashlyn Davis' voices are well matched for the band's mellow vibe. Really nice. The Hunters will be touring together for a couple weeks, but will split off mid-month and Inoculist will then head out with Little Gold for a week of shows while Lower Dens go it alone down the West Coast and the South.

Rounding out the Cake Shop bill is Air Waves whose debut album is due out on Underwater Peoples sometime in the near future. See them while you can -- Nicole is moving to Austin at the end of the month. Air Waves still have a few NYC shows left till then, though, including next Saturday's (8/14) Underwater Peoples Summer Showcase -- a blowout at Shea Stadium featuring Julian Lynch, Big Troubles, Fluffy Lumbers, Ducktails and more. Advance tickets are available at the UP website. See the flyer at the bottom of this post for the full line-up, and all remaining Air Waves NYC shows are down there too.

And a few more recommended weekend shows that I didn't cover above:

THURSDAY, AUG 5

Want to see some anthemic rock from popular Canadians? I guess I should be more specific. Want to see some anthemic rock from popular Canadians that is outdoors and free? Metric play Celebrate Brooklyn at Prospect Park with Joan as Policewoman and Holly Miranda.

SHARK? are busy working on their Kickstarter-funded album but are taking a break to road test some songs at The Rock Shop. (Download previous SHARK? releases here.) where they'll play with The Great Unwashed (the ones from Staten Island, not New Zealand), Conversion Party, and The Rabbits.

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Continue reading "Standard Fare, Lower Dens, Inoculist, Jack Penate, Cut Copy, Metric & more in This Week in Indie "

"Like last year, everything will be taking place in Williamsburg and Greenpoint because walking long distances is a drag when there are bands to see and beer to drink, we mean seriously. Us here at The L Magazine will be booking a share of shows on our own, but, for a large chunk of the festival, we've once again handed over curatorial control to some of the most tasteful, talented and dedicated folks in New York's independent music scene -- record labels, bloggers, promoters and more -- allowing them to showcase the bands they think you need to hear. The Williamsburg Gallery Association is again on board to highlight special exhibitions and other events at over 25 art galleries in the neighborhood. And to celebrate Northside's second year, we've invited a few of the city's biggest aficionados of independent film to curate four nights of New York-made movies at Brooklyn's new, as-yet-unopened film house-music club-restaurant-bar, indieScreen."

Music, art and movies will be happening at "30+ venues" and "dozens of galleries" over the course of four days in Greenpoint and Williamsburg. Like SXSW & CMJ, you can buy tickets to individual events, or you can get a badge which gets you in to everything that isn't already at badge-capacity. $50 badges are now on sale to those 21 and over. If you buy a badge, "Arrive to venues early - badgeholders are admitted on a first-come, first-served, one-out, one-in basis."

If you buy a badge you can take your chances at getting into one of the four Northside shows happening at Music Hall of Williamsburg (BrooklynVegan showcase included), Fiery Furnaces at Brooklyn Bowl, and WAVVES & Cloud Nothings at Knitting Factory. TONS more shows TBA, but the initial list of bands that will be playing has been announced (I'm especially excited to see The Wave Pictures, Fucked Up, Liars, Parenthetical Girls and Les Savy Fav on there in addition to what we've previously talked about) (and yes Titus Andronicus is on there). Check it out below...

Continue reading "2010 Northside Festival - tickets & intial lineup (includes Liars, Fucked Up, Les Savy Fav, Polvo & many more)"

by Bill Pearis

The L Magazine's fifth annual "8 NYC Bands You Need to Hear" issue just hit the streets and the internet. It's got some familiar names (Twin Sister, North Highlands, Oberhofer) and some less-known ones (Nohow On, Asa Ransom). And like ever year, it's sure to spark some friendly debate, which I'll start: what, no Beach Fossils? Anyway, here's the L's Class of 2010, with each band's next NYC show just in case you wanna check 'em out (three of them are conveniently playing together at Cake Shop this Tuesday, April 6):

• Ava Luna (April 6, Cake Shop)
• MiniBoone (April 6, Cake Shop)
• Twin Sister (April 1, Glasslands)
• Asa Ransom (April 6, Cameo Gallery)
• Nohow On (April 17, Cameo Gallery)
• Ball of Flame Shoot Fire (April 6, Cake Shop)
• North Highlands (April 15, Union Hall)
• Oberhofer (April 6, Music Hall of Williamsburg (opening for Cymbals Eat Guitars)

P.S. The L Magazine-produced Northside Festival returns this year: June 24-27

DOWNLOAD: The Morning Benders - Promises (MP3)

photos by Waverly Rose / second set by Fresh Bread

A trio of bands - Cuddle Magic, Morning Benders and Shark? - played acoustic sets at Housing Works's CD swap on Thursday, February 25th. Two separate sets of pictures from that Hype Machine-sponsored event are in this post.

Morning Benders then played Market Hotel two days later and they have a busy upcoming schedule - they'll tour to SXSW and return to NYC for a show on April 22nd at Mercury Lounge which is now sold out (though Harlem, the early show at the same venue that night, is still on sale). Didn't grab tickets? Well, they've added a second show. The new Mercury Lounge date is Wednesday, April 28th. Tickets go on sale soon.

Can't wait that long? The band's album, which you can stream online and get a song from above, comes out March 9th on Rough Trade. So to celebrate they'll play a BrooklynVegan-presented CD release show at The Cameo this Monday, March 8th. The place is small. The show is FREE. Arrive early if you want a shot at getting in. Flyer below.

The rest of Morning Benders' tour dates, including SXSW, are HERE (plus there's at least one more Austin show still TBA). Flyers, a live session with friends (that include members of Girls & John Vanderslice), and more pictures are below...

Continue reading "Morning Benders played Housing Works (pics), add 2nd Mercury Lounge show, playing free CD release show @ Cameo"

DOWNLOAD: The Morning Benders - Promises (MP3

Morning Benders...

Morning Benders, Shark? and Cuddle Magic all convene at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe for a show/CD swap at 6:30pm tonight (2/25). The event, hosted by Max Silvestri and The Hype Machine, benefits Housing Works and to get in you need $5 + at least 1 used CD (to trade).

The Morning Benders' new album Big Echo comes out March 9th on Rough Trade. You can check out a song from it above, or catch the band at one of their many upcoming dates, posted below. They'll be at Market Hotel with Surfer Blood this Saturday (2/27). The band will also tour to SXSW for shows that include the Rough Trade showcase at Emo's Jr. on Wednesday, March 17th with The Strange Boys, The Unthanks, Basia Bulat, Dylan LeBlanc and Warpaint. They'll be back in NYC for a show at Mercury Lounge on April 22nd with Minature Tiger. Tickets are on sale now.

A flyer for the HW show and all Morning Benders and Shark? tour dates are below...

Continue reading "CD Swap at Housing Works (tonight) & other Morning Benders tour dates"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Oberhofer - Away FRM U (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Golden Triangle - Neon Noose (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Morning Benders - Promises (MP3)

Oberhofer

If you were like me, you spent last night at home puzzling over the LOST premiere (or maybe you went to the Bell House to watch it.) But maybe in an alternate universe I chose instead to go see Oberhofer at Pianos last night. And also in that alternate universe, everyone has health care and I own my own apartment and there is a jukebox in every high school cafeteria. I digress. Luckily for me in this world, Oberhofer are playing again this Friday (2/5) at The Studio @ Webster Hall with Radical Dads.

There's no shortage of bedroom rockers out there hawking their one-man-bands on MySpace, but Oberhofer definitely have something. While there is plenty of every home recording enthusiast's best friends, reverb and distortion, Oberhoffer is not Wavves-style scuzz. The most obvious comparison is probably The Dodos (clattery drums, glockenspiel, whistling), but I even hear a little Real Estate in there too on the track "Away FRM You" which you can download above. You can download a seven-song EP via his MySpace by giving up your email address. While the recordings are just Brad, he's put together an actual band which is what you'll The Studio @ Webster Hall on Friday.

Savoir Adore

Savoir Adore will play Cake Shop the next three Thursdays. Their debut, In the Wooded Forrest, is loaded with great big pop songs and made my Favorite Albums of 2009 list and they are great live too, so if you've yet to check them out live don't wait any longer. The band has hand-picked the bands for their residency shows, and this Thursday (2/4) is especially good, featuring the very good and fun French Horn Rebellion who you might also see opening for Hot Chip this weekend. The two bands help each other out live (FHR's David Perlick-Molinari plays guitar in Savoir Adore; Savoir's singer Paul Hammer plays drums in FHR) so there should be a good party vibe going on.

Also on the bill are DJ/electronic artist Pocketknife and singer-songwriter Cameron Hull. If you'd like to go I've got a pair of tickets to give away. Just send an email with "Savoir Adore" as the subject to BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM and a winner will be chosen at random.

Hot Chip's show with French Horn Rebellion happens Saturday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg. It's sold out, but you can also catch Hot Chip one night earlier at Highline Ballroom with Free Energy. The MySpace Secret Show is free - first come, first served.

Twin Sister

There's a lot going on this week. Also Thursday, at Studio @ Webster Hall is another Twin Sister show put on by blog Chocolate Bobka. (Seriously, McGregor puts on shows like some people put on pants [ie fairly often].) I finally got to see Twin Sister last Friday at Bruar Falls and I was pretty blown away by how good they are live. Last year's Vampires with Dreaming Kids EP (downloadable from their website), as good as it is, doesn't really give an accurate picture of what they now sound like. These days, they're combining '80s-back-to-jazz (Sade, Style Council) with more drony/Krautrock type stuff (Notwist, Stereolab). They were just fantastic live, and I haven't come away from a show that excited about a new band in some time. Totally impressed. Twin Sister have a bunch of shows coming up and I do suggest you check them out soon, as I think 2010 is gonna be big for them.

In addition to Twin Sister, the line-up includes Big Troubles -- who I like and have written about them before), as well as Run DMT, Pigeons, and Alice Cohen.

And a few more quick recommendations:

Miniboone have their record release party at Glasslands on Wednesday night (tonight, 2/3) with a few other worthy bands: Shark?, I'm Turning Into and Pet Ghost Project. $8.

The Soft Pack's debt album is out today, well worth buying, and they play a free all-ages show at Cake Shop on Friday (2/5). Doors are at Midnight. One of my favorite live bands of the last two years. if you miss the small venue show, they'll back back in March April to play Maxwell's, Mercury Lounge and Music Hall of Williamsburg (all just went on sale).

Montreal's We Are Wolves are in town this weekend, and play The Studio @ Webster Hall on Friday (2/5) and Brooklyn Bowl on Saturday (2/6). The Saturday show is also the Hot Chip MHOW afterparty with a DJ set by the band.

Golden Triangle's debut for Hardly Art, titled Double Jointer, is out on March 3 and you can download an MP3 from it, "Neon Noose," at the top of this post. The band will be going on tour around that time as well (tour dates below) but play a one-off show this Saturday at Union Pool with the Cramps-y garage of K-Holes. This should be a fairy debauched good time.

Acrylics play twice this weekend: Friday night (2/4) at Brooklyn Bowl with Tanlines as part of BAM's "Sounds Like Brooklyn" Festival. Then they're on a kind of amazing bill the next night (2/5) at Glasslands that is officially the record release party for Class Actress' debut EP. Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor (who runs Terrible Records that both bands are on) DJs. The show also features Blood Orange (aka Dev of Lightspeed Champion) and The Morning Benders. That's a good show!

An MP3 from The Morning Benders' new album Big Echo (out March 9th on Rough Trade) is above. All of their March and April tour dates in support of the new record are below.

There's a new video for Acrylics' "Molly's Vertigo" after the jump as well, along with tour dates and flyers...

Continue reading "Oberhofer, Twin Sister, Savoir Adore, Golden Triangle, Acrylics, Morning Benders & more in This Week in Indie"