As pointed out in the comments already, Atlas Sound plays a show with Neon Indian and Sisters at NYU one day after the Atlas Sound show at the Bell House.

photos by Ryan Muir

"The band on everyone's lips [at Pop Montreal] was local solo artist tUnE-YaRdS, a.k.a. Merill Garbus, whose looped ukulele electronica captured many people's attention at the festival. (Her track "Sunlight" was also the de facto Plateau coffee shop jam.) Though attendees planned to give it up for Faust, and sang the praises of local heroes like The Luyas, you couldn't escape the giddy enthusiasm they had for Think About Life. Dancing in a packed room with everyone I'd met that week, I finally understood just how small the Anglo music scene really was. And I kinda liked it that way." [Eye Weekly]

Merill Garbus performed at least three times last week in Montreal. One emotional show was her last with her band Sister Suvi (RIP). One (pictured above) was in a museum...

"Tune-Yards blew me away this time when she played at the Museum of Contemporary Arts.
This time she had a backing band and sounded alot better than her being just one musician.
There was also visuals during the show.
Totally packed the small theatre." [MW Music Review Blog]

And finally there was a private performance that was being filmed by Vincent Moon for a new La Blogoteque Take-Away show. It's her second Take-Away show as tUnE-YaRdS. The first was made at SXSW. You can watch the older one below.

Last night (10/6), tUnE-YaRdS shared a bill with Dragons of Zynth at Union Hall in Brooklyn. In November she's touring with Dirty Projectors (with four more NYC shows on that schedule). Ryan Muir, who spent a bunch of time with Vincent at Pop Montreal, was at all three of Merill's performances. More more pictures of both of the tUnE-YaRdS ones, below...

Continue reading "tUnE-YaRdS played Union Hall, a museum for Pop Montreal (pics), another Take-Away show (pics & video) "

photos by Ryan Muir

"I headed back to St-Laurent too late to return to Cabaret Juste Pour Rire and catch Clues, so I poked my head in at a couple places along the way and made it up to Club Balattou a bit past 1 AM. I've been following Montreal-Toronto band Sister Suvi online for a couple years and picked up their new album in the spring; they've never played Halifax and I'd never seen them live elsewhere. Drummer Nico Dann and I took art classes together in high school, and he was doing weird noise-art performance stuff that was pretty cool back then, so it was no surprise that he was in a cool band eight years later.

The guitarist and bassist Patrick Gregoire [used to be in] Islands, and rounding out the drums and bass is ukuleleist Merrill Garbus. And yes, a drum kit, a bass and a ukulele is more than enough. They are offbeat, catchy, mystic and charming, which was why I was unhappy to hear via audience members' shouts that this was their last show. They're one of those bands that just seem really happy to be playing with each other, and were debuting some lovely new songs even though they're breaking up. By 2:30 in the morning with a stuffed venue full of band friends getting emotional, I felt like a bit of a party crasher, so I headed out for the leisurely 40-minute walk to my sister's couch. You can still buy their album online, though, and I suggest you do." [The Coast]

As the review states, Thursday's Sister Suvi show at Pop Montreal was their last, though Patrick Gregoire (1/3 of Sister Suvi) was seen playing in tUnE yArDs (aka 2/3 of Sister Suvi) at another Pop Montreal showcase. tUnE yArDs is the solo project of Sister Suvi member Merrill Garbus that just signed a record contract with 4AD.

Sister Suvi's 2nd to last show was two days before Montreal, at Sycamore in Brooklyn. tUnE yArDs's next show is TONIGHT (10/6) at Union Hall in Brooklyn. More pictures from Sister Suvi's final performance, below...

Continue reading "Sister Suvi played their LAST show @ Pop Montreal - pics "

Anti-Pop Consortium @ ATP NY Day 2 (more by Ryan Muir)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* Bebel Gilberto @ The Box
* Fever Ray, Vuk @ Webster Hall
* Mono, Maserati @ The Bell House
* Obituary, Goatwhore @ Gramercy Theatre
* Au, Bell, Julianna Barwick @ Union Hall
* Anti-Pop Consortium @ Santos Party House
* Langhorne Slim CD release show @ The Cameo
* Sister Suvi, Afuche, Suite Unraveling @ Sycamore
* The Jealous Sound, The Spanish Prisoners @ Southpaw
* Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Services @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Peter Evans Quartet, Mike Pride's Bacteria to Boys @ Zebulon
* Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog with Eszther Balint @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Angela Jaeger, Alan Licht, Pat Irwin, Cynthia Sley, Chris Brokaw @ Issue Project Room
* The Coathangers, Nervehunt, X-Ray Eyeballs, Swimmingcitiesoceanofblood, Red Dawn II, Queening @ Death By Audio
* Wizard of Oz screening & show w/ ?uestlove, Jennifer Hudson, Julianne Hough, Bilal @ Rumsey Playfield

Anti-Pop Consortium have a CD release show for their newest album, Fluorescent Black (out October 6th) at Santos Party House.

Sound Fix is hosting a release show for Langhorne Slim's latest, full-band record out today, at The Cameo at 7pm. "Free" show with purchase of $10 CD. Full album is streaming at Spinner. His new video is below...

Sister Suvi member Tune Yards is on her way to being more popular than her band. Catch them (Sister Suvi) tonight at Sycamore.

Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs play at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Services. It's a venue much smaller than the show they just played the other day.

Karen Oberlin is at Iridium Jazz Club.

Karin A aka Fever Ray and Vuk play for a second night at Webster Hall.

Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog featuring violinist Eszther Balint performs at (Le) Poisson Rouge.

Mono play the Bell House with Maserati, who have some new records you might be able to pick up.

The Maze at Death By Audio hosts The Coathangers, Nervehunt (ex-member of WAVVES one-off show), Teeth Mountain), X-Ray Eyeballs, Swimmingcitiesoceanofblood, Red Dawn II and Queening.

There's a Wizard of Oz screening & show with ?uestlove, Jennifer Hudson, Julianne Hough and Bilal performing music from the film at Rumsey Playfield.

Tiesto just completed a three-night run at Hammerstein Ballroom this past weekend. His new song featuring Priscilla Ahn is below.

Andrew W.K. played, and will play again, at Joe's Pub. A video of him below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday? (Karen O vs Karin A)"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: JEFF the Brotherhood - Heavy Damage (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Coin Under Tongue - The So Far EP (link to zip)
DOWNLOAD: Sisters - Accolades (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sisters - Street Cars (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Lovvers - Human Hair (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Darlings - If This is Love (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Darlings - Teenage Girl (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Savoir Adore - Machines EP (link to Zip)
DOWNLOAD: Acrylics - Molly's Vertigo (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Clientele - I Wonder Who We Are (MP3)

JEFF the Brotherhood @ Death By Audio (more by Leia Jospe)

JEFF the Brotherhood are back in town! If you missed them the last two times they were in town, well, you've got three more chances this week: tonight (7/15) at Death by Audio, Thursday (7/16) at Cake Shop and a secret show on Friday (7/17) that will be announced day of show via their Twitter. Seriously, Jake and Jamin put on one of the rockin-est, most fun shows I've seen this year. The boys are putting the final touches on their new album, Heavy Days, which comes out October 6 via their own Infinity Cat label. They've also got a new 7" single, "Heavy Damage," that they should still have copies of at shows, but you can download the a-side at the top of this post. They'll also be touring with the legendary Shonen Knife this fall.

Tonight's show at Death by Audio should be deafening. JEFF shares the bill with noise-pop duo Sisters, who I've written about more than once already, and have become big fans of. Third on the bill are Sisters' Death By Audio Records label-mates Coin Under Tongue who make the kind of stoner, punk-inflected hard rock that Sub Pop used to specialize in, in the label's early days. (I'm talking Tad, Mudhoney, Das Damen). There's other influences in there too -- metal plays a big part, as does UK punk and postpunk I suspect. And there are some really nice guitar parts when the guys aren't stomping on the pedals but basically you're getting balls-to-the-wall, scream-the-chorus rock. It goes without saying Coin Under Tongue are really, really loud. But they've got songs to match the volume. They're finishing work on their new album, but have offered up a progress report of an EP that you can download at the top of this post. It rocks.

Lovvers

Thursday night's show at Cake Shop (JEFF plays first, like 8:30) is also a good lineup, with the kickoff show of Brit band Lovvers' American tour. Try not to hold that double V against them, these guys are good, and play sloppy, catchy garage punk. You see Wipers and Germs comparisons thrown around a lot, but I was more encouraged to check them out when they listed '60s-loving '80s UK act The Baracudas as an influence on their MySpace. There's an EP out now -- you can download it's lead track "Human Hair" at the top of this post -- and their debut album OCD Go Go Go Girls is due out in October.

Also on the bill are Darlings who, now that I've seen them play and heard their album, I don't think sound anything like Teenage Fanclub or Sloan (so said L Magazine). To me, it's more '90s slacker indie rock -- Pavement, Sebadoh (which The L cited too), or even Small Factory. Comparisons or no, Darlings' debut, Yeah I Know, is chock-a-block with stick-in-your-head songs, two of which you can download at the top of this post.

Rounding out the Cake Shop line up is Stupid Party and Ex-Humans.

Acrylics

Savoir Adore have been written about more than a few times this year and am a big fan. Sometimes anthemic, sometimes danceable, singer-guitarists Deidre Muro and Paul Hammer write hopeful, melodic, pristine pop and their isn't a dud among the 14 tracks on their debut album, In the Wooded Forrest, which is out this week digitally and has been in constant rotation on my stereo this week. They're even better live if you ask me, giving maybe the best performance I saw during the Northside Fest. You can see them live and pick up the album at their record release party Friday night at Cameo Gallery (7/17). The $10 entry gets you a copy of the CD which is a pretty good deal. You can get three of the album's songs for free via their Machines EP which is linked to at the top of this post.

Making it an even better deal is that the show also features Acrylics who were easily the best Northside Fest performance by a band I hadn't seen before. Like Savoir Adore, Acrylics make '80s-tinged guitar pop with boy-girl harmonies and big hooks. You can download their song "Molly's Vertigo" at the top of this post.

Grand Duchy

You can also catch Acrylics with fellow Cantora artists Francis and the Lights at Music Hall of Williamsburg for the official Siren Fest afterparty. This year's Siren is the best line-up they've had in ages... maybe ever. Built to Spill, Thee Oh Sees, Micachu, Japandroids, A Place to Bury Strangers, Monotonix, Future of the Left, Frightened Rabbit -- it's pretty much good band after good band. The worst thing about it is having to make a choice between bands, or trying to run between stages and miss half a bands set in the process. I would like to call out Grand Duchy which is Frank Black and his wife Violet Clark. If you haven't heard their album, Petit Fours, it's really good and not quite like anything like Frank Black has been involved with before. You can also catch Grand Duchy on Friday at Maxwell's.

Saturday's weather report isn't so hot right now -- they're calling for thunderstorms -- but we can hope they're wrong.

Also this weekend are a couple shows featuring bands who'll soon play Merge Records' 2oth Anniversary spectacular, XX Merge. This Friday's (7/17) edition of the Seaport Music Festival is Superchunk and Versus. Superchunk's influence on indie rock over the last 15 years cannot be overestimated (and I'm not even considering that Mac and Laura started the label) while Versus were one of the '90s more under-appreciated groups who are currently recording their first new album in nine years!

And then Sunday, The Clientele are playing Music Hall of Williamsburg -- and you can check out "I Wonder Who We Are," the first released track from their new album, Bonfires on the Heath, at the top of this post.

That's it for this week. Videos, flyers and tour dates are after the jump...

Continue reading "JEFF the Brotherhood, Lovvers, Sisters, Savoir Adore, Darlings, Coin Under Tongue & more in This Week in Indie"

DOWNLOAD: Tune Yards - Sunlight (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Phosphorescent - Torn Up Praise (MP3)

Tune Yards @ MHOW 2/4 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Tune Yards (or tUnE yArDs as its usually written) is the one-woman band of Merrill Garbus. Her debut record BiRd-BrAiNs, previously out on Marriage Record, is being re-released by 4AD, first as a limited-edition screen-printed CD on August 18th, then to wider release later in the year. "Sunlight," a track from that record, is posted above.

As Tune Yards, she tends to perform solo -- she also plays as part of Sister Suvi. Tune Yards will be performing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday, September 5th with (opening for) Phosphorescent (also a one-person band, Matthew Houck, though live he usually has company). Tickets go on sale Friday, July 17th at noon.

A track from Phosphorescent's latest, To Willie, is also posted above. Their most recent NYC shows took place in Prospect Park and in Bruar Falls.

Check out a video of Merill at Trophy Bar during the Northside Festival (with Zach Condon of Beirut, a band that Tune Yards has opened for, and who are also on 4AD, in the audience) and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "tUnE yArDs signs to 4AD, playing MHOW w/ Phosphorescent"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Thao with The Get Down Stay Down - Bag of Hammers (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Thao with The Get Down Stay Down - Beat (MP3)

Thao @ Mercury Lounge 6/4/08 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Kill Rock Stars' Thao with The Get Down Stay Down will play SXSW before heading out on a monthlong US tour with Sister Suvi and Samantha Crain. The dates include the previously mentioned NYC stop at Bowery Ballroom on Thursday, May 14th. Tickets are still on sale.

Down at SXSW, Thao with The Get Down Stay Down's appearances include the previously mentioned Kill Rock Stars day party (3/18) with Marnie Stern and The Thermals; NPR day party (3/19) with Dirty Projectors and Blitzen Trapper; Hotel Cafe SXSW Showcase (3/19); and KUT SXSW Showcase (3/20). Thao w/ TGDSD will also play the Brooklyn Vegan SXSW day party at Radio Room on Thursday, March 19 (her third show that day) (full line-up to come).

The Thermals are also playing the Rachael Ray SXSW day party (plus 7 other SXSW shows), then touring w/ two NYC dates.

Sister Suvi, who will be touring with Thao post-SXSW, is traveling first with Takka Takka - both visit the Cake Shop on Sunday, March 15 before heading south to Austin.

As an aside, Merrill Garbus, one of the members of Sister Suvi, is Tune Yards, who played MHOW w/ Beiruit and Inlets on 2/4. Tune Yards also released its debut, BiRdBrAiNs, as a for-donations download.

In 2008, Thao with The Get Down Stay Down played a ton of NYC gigs, including a headlining Mercury Lounge show (2/4), two nights opening for Rilo Kiley at Terminal 5 (2/2 & 2/3), and a solo appearance at the Revenge of the Book Eaters benefit on October 7th. And 2008 also saw Thao's debut We Brave Bee Stings and All on Kill Rock Stars.

All Thao Nguyen with The Get Down Stay Down and Sister Suvi tour dates below...

Continue reading "Thao with The Get Down Stay Down - 2009 Tour Dates w/ Sister Suvi, SXSW & stuff"

TT & SS

Takka Takka has three NYC shows coming up at the moment. The first is the previously-mentioned Guilt By Association party this Saturday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg that Jukebox the Ghost, Lowry, and Robbers on High Street are also playing. It's a "Guilt by Association" party because that's the name of the new album that all the artists on the bill contribute a cover track to. Tickets are still on sale.

Almost a month later Takka plays a show at Mercury Lounge. It's February 27th with the Swirlies. And the third show is March 15th at Cake Shop. That one is also the first night of a tour they're going on with Sister Suvi that will bring both bands from NY to SXSW (and then also other places).

Sister Suvi is Patrick Gregoire of Islands' other band. Here's a live review...

Montreal/Toronto three-piece Sister Suvi blessed the hundred-plus patrons at the expansive Hart House performance hall with a relentless display of innovative, energetic (and alternating) instrumentation, so much so that lead singer Merrill was tinged crimson by the second song. Her comedic character carried the songs with impressive gusto, and her ukulele skills were not to be scoffed at, especially when she pulled out her violin bow and went to town with an even more animated display of performance power. [NOW Toronto]

All dates below...

Continue reading "Takka Takka & Sister Suvi - 2009 Tour Dates "

Cloud Cult sort of acoustic @ Pianos in 2006 (more)

Who would've thought? Cloud Cult's song "Please Remain Calm" (video below) was played on the TV show Gossip Girl on September 22nd. They also have three songs in MTV's Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Island this week and were featured on the Weather Channel. On October 21st they return to NYC, sort of... Craig, Connie and Sarah (three members of the band) will be playing a Cloud Cult show acoustic at Knitting Factory in Tribeca as part of the Homespun CMJ showcase. Paramount Styles (stripped down set featuring Scott McCloud from Girls Against Boys with special guests Paul Cantelon and Angela McCluskey), Sister Suvi (featuring Patrick Gregoire of Islands) and The King Left (also playing acoustic) are also on the bill. Tickets are on sale. All CC dates below...

Continue reading "Cloud Cult - 2008 Tour Dates (CMJ acoustic), Gossip Girl "