words & photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

There's not much else that can be said here about Sheffield's indiepop trio, Standard Fare. Bill Pearis has written, and gushed, extensively about the band on the occasion of their two forays to the States (the first included a successful turn at SXSW in March.) Their current tour, which had two stops in New York last week, including Friday night (8/6) at the Mondo Indie Dance Party, concludes with a slot at Athens Popfest on Thursday. The band return to England for more touring and an eye toward the follow up to their excellent debut, The Noyelle Beat.

Pics from their Don Hill's set on August 6th, as well as video and a setlist are below...

Continue reading "Standard Fare played Don Hill's (pics, video, setlist) "

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.

Tonight's Bruar Falls show would be worth going to even if Standard Fare weren't playing. Also on this all-over-the-place bill are low-fi legend R. Stevie Moore (who recently played with Ariel Pink), all-girl trio Brian, and Japanese cosplay singer, Reni. Video of the latter is 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.

continued below...

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

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Standard Fare - Dancing (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Standard Fare - Fifteen (MP3)

Standard Fare

Sheffield, UK's jangly pop trio Standard Fare are heading to Athens Popfest (Aug 10 - 14) and are making the most of their trip with an East Coast tour of the States. They'll play Bruar Falls on August 5 and Mondo! at Don Hill's on August 6. 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 tracks from it above. You should also watch the new video for their great single "Philadelphia" at the bottom of this post.

Maybe you saw them back in March? They are fun (and funny) live too. Don't miss 'em.

Athens Popfest, which took last year off, is back with a strong line-up that, along with Standard Fare, includes The Wedding Present, Mission of Burma, BOAT, Apples in Stereo, Rose Melberg, Dream Diary, Gold-Bears, Quintron & Miss Pussycat, and about 30 more.

All Standard Fare dates below...

Continue reading "Athens Popfest & other Standard Fare tour dates"

by Dominick Mastrangelo

SXSW Day Three started over at the free Dickies Sounds Day Party. Free silk-screened posters with all the bands playing that day (including She & Him and Surfer Blood at the official showcase that night) were printed up and handed out on the spot. People played ping pong next to the house while around the corner Greg Laswell played a few new songs, several old ones, as well as his incredibly depressing take on Cyndi Lauper's "Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun". After a quick dash over to the convention center it was back to Dickies, where there was suddenly a long line, to catch the all-girl quartet, Warpaint, who were fantastic. Then Rogue Wave closed out the day portion. I still can't get excited about their new record, but live Zach Rogue and his newly configured lineup have it down and the crowd we're into it from the start. The highlight being "Lake Michigan" and a slow-building, two-minute intro.

For the evening I set up camp at the Mohawk for the Slumberland/Cake Shop Showcase. Sheffield's indiepop trio Standard Fare opened inside and their performance was great. A better batch of indie pop songs you'll be hard-pressed to find this year. Philadelphia drum-guitar duo Reading Rainbow were next and another indie pop band, the excellent Summer Cats (from Australia), followed. Frankie Rose and the Outs were up next with their hazy, lo-fi rock. I skipped out after that to nip over to the Galaxy Backyard to catch The Antlers (completely forgetting I would see them the following afternoon at another Party.) Their third show of the festival and they just nailed it. People around me who had not heard of them were won over after just one song (the increasingly uptempo "Sylvia".) By the end, one girl put her hands up in the shape of a heart right in front of Peter Silberman, eliciting a smile from the frontman mid-verse. From there it was a quick dash back up Red River to the Mohawk where both inside and outside were at capacity with Miike Snow about to go on outside (followed by Mayer Hawthorne, neither of who I caught) and Pains of Being Pure at Heart inside. "Welcome to the Cake Shop," said Kip Berman at the start of the New York indie pop band's set, pointing at the Cake Shop banner on the wall behind them.

Day One HERE. Day Two HERE. Day Three continued below....

Continue reading "SXSW 2010 day 3 in pics & review (Pains of Being Pure of Heart, Rogue Wave, Antlers, Cake Shop, Warpaint, more) "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Standard Fare - Dancing (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Diehard - Cool Kids (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sally Head - Man with Small Hands (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Woods - I Was Gone (MP3)

Standard Fare

It's March Madness, people. New York is very lucky to get a lot of SXSW runnoff and between now (3/11) and Monday (3/15) you can go see loads of great bands from all over the world -- Norway, England, Bushwick -- and they'll probably play longer sets than they will in Austin. So if you're not going to the fest (and most people aren't despite how empty Williamsburg will be next week), here's your chance to experience some of the fun. And if you are going, you can cross some bands off your list early and start getting used to late nights, loud music and cheap beer. If you're not already used to that.

I already talked about Free Energy. And speaking of Philadelphia, that the name of my favorite song on the new album by Sheffield, England's Standard Fare who play tonight at Cake Shop (3/11). It's got one of the better opening lyrical salvos that I've heard in a while: "Global warming is getting me down / It's making the sea between us wider and deeper / Now, I'm not Moses and I don't know how to split up the ocean and drive right on over." The music -- sprightly indie jangle -- suits it perfectly. The album's called The Noyelle Beat (out 3/16) and I highly recommend it, as well as going to see Standard Fare live.

Tonight's show is headlined by Diehard who if you haven't seen yet you should correct that soon. Unabashed lovers of '90s indie (but I wouldn't call them retro), they know their way around stick-in-your-head hooks. A perfect way to warm up for those Pavement reunion gigs. Also playing are Vancouver's low-fi rockers Makeout Videotape and Brooklynites Sally Head.

Virgina's Wild Nothing are back in town, playing Market Hotel tonight with Fluffy Lumbers, former Cibo Mato singer Miho Hatori and Blissed Out, and then they open for Woods, Real Estate and Happy Birthday at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday (3/12).  I really like their debut album, Gemini, that will be out in May on Captured Tracks. The label just put out Wild Nothing's cover of Kate Bush's "Cloudbusting " as a new 7" that's worth picking up while you wait for the album. If you like early '90s UK shoegaze and twee (Pale Saints, Field Mice are good touchstones) you should definitely check out them out. They haven't quite figured out the live show, but they're getting there and worth showing up early to check out. They'll also play Shea Stadium on Saturday (3/13) and will be back in two weeks to play Glasslands on April 2.

If you're going to the MHoW show on Friday (sold out), do get there early as Happy Birthday are worth seeing too. I caught them a couple weeks ago opening for the Dum Dum Girls and was taken by their mix of Big Star powerpop and Dinosaur Jr. sludge. Their album, due on Sub Pop this Tuesday (3/16), also has some synthy numbers on it too which they eschewed live when I saw them. It's not the most cohesive album, but almost all the songs are good. They'll be at SXSW too.

Woods, meanwhile, just announced that their new album, At Echo Lake, will be out May 11 on Woodsist. Check out the first song released from it, "I Was Gone," at the top of this post. Tracklisting and all tour dates below.

I feel like it goes without saying that all these bands written about this week will be heading to SXSW, including a bunch from here. Seven (mostly) local bands who are Austin-bound will be playing at Cake Shop on Saturday (3/13) which will serve as a gas money fundraiser for their trip down to Texas. Playing will be: Darlings, Sundelles, Total Slacker,  Big Troubles, I'm Turning Into, My Teenage Stride, pus Raleigh, NC's Whatever Brains, and Virgina's Invisible Hand. The $10 door gets split equally between all bands, who each get 20 minute sets. There's additional drink specials if you bring road snacks for the bands.

While I'm here, I should mention that one of my favorite songs of last year was My Teenage Stride's digital single "Creep Academy" which has just been pressed as a real 7" so I urge you to pick that up, as well as any other merch from the other bands that might suit your fancy. Extra gas and food money for the bands.

Fliers, tour dates and a few more daily picks below...

Continue reading "Wild Nothing, Woods, Standard Fare, Diehard, Sally Head, pre-SXSW shows & more in This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Standard Fare - Dancing (MP3)

From Sheffield, England come trio Standard Fare, who'll be in New York (and Philly and Boston) before heading to SXSW: They'll play Cake Shop on March 11 (w/ Diehard) and March 14 at Death By Audio. Singer Emma Kupa has a way with a tune as well as clever, lovelorn lyrics and Standard Fare's debut, The Noyelle Beat, is pretty sweet. It comes out March 16 on Bar None Records. Download their single "Dancing" at the top of this post. If you like the likes of Sky Larkin, The Lodger, Los Campesinos! or The Blake Babies, you should definitely check them out. If you're going to SXSW they'll be playing the Cake Shop/Slumberland party on Friday, March 19 at Mohawk with Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Grass Widow, Frankie & the Outs, Summer Cats and Reading Rainbow, plus a few day parties during the week.

All tour dates, plus a video for "Dancing" are after the jump.

Continue reading "Standard Fare MP3 & tour dates (2 NYC shows, the Cake Shop/Slumberland SXSW showcase & more) "