by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Amor de Dias - "Jean's Waving" (MP3)

Amor de Dias, the duo of Alasdair MacLean of The Clientele and vocalist Lupe Núñez-Fernández of Pipas, surfaced in 2011 with the Merge release, Street of the Love of Days, a charming album which married touches of bossa nova and flamenco with indie pop. On January 29, the duo are set to release its followup, The House at Sea, also via Merge, which was recorded by Brian O'Shaughnessy (My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream). The new album brings together similar sounds to its predecessor, but does lean a little more on the indie pop side, especially with songs like single, "Jean's Waving," which you can watch the video for below and download above. The cover art and tracklist are below too.

Amor De Dias will be supporting the new album with a tour this March into early April which hits the NYC area for shows on March 21 at Maxwell's and March 22 at Knitting Factory. Tickets for the Maxwell's show and the Knitting Factory show are on sale now.

A list of all tour dates, video, cover art, and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Amor de Dias releasing new LP, touring (dates, MP3, video)"

DOWNLOAD: Damon & Naomi - "Walking Backwards" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Damon & Naomi - "Shadow Boxing" (M4A)
DOWNLOAD: Amor de Dias - "Bunhill Fields" (MP3)

Damon & Naomi

Damon & Naomi will add to the embarassment of Record Store Day riches by playing a free show at Sound Fix in Brooklyn on 4/16 at 7PM, AND releasing a limited 7" featuring "Walking Backwards" with a cover of Scott Walker's "The World's Strongest Man" on the flip. Look for that limited 7" wherever new vinyl is sold.

The former Galaxie 500 pair are also headining out on a US campaign with Amor de Dias in May, adding Ghost/Boris axeslinger and frequent collaborator Michio Kurihara (Boris, Ghost) on some dates and saxophonist/arranger Bhob Rainey of nmperign on others. Look for Kurihara at their Brooklyn show on May 22nd at Knitting Factory. Tickets are on sale.

Damon & Naomi will be touring in support of their new album, False Beats and True Hearts, which is out 5/17. Download "Walking Backwards" and "Shadow Boxing" from that CD above. Stream the same songs, and watch their new video, below.

Amor de Dias

Amor de Dias ("Love of Days") is the duo/supergroup of Alasdair MacLean (The Clientele) and Lupe Núñez-Fernández (Pipas). Their album, Street of the Love of Days, is also due 5/17. Their label is Merge Records, and Merge says:

"Over the course of three years, they quietly put together their debut record during evenings and weekends as they called in local friends (Louis Philippe) and visiting musicians (Damon and Naomi, Gary Olson) for sessions, building up the songs' multifaceted arrangements and vocal harmonies with harps, bouzoukis, strings, recorders, and brass over the core of dual Spanish guitars and the dream imagery of their bilingual lyrics.

The result is a focused, cohesive jewel of chamber pop that reflects a little of Gal Costa and Caetano Veloso's elegant brand of bossa nova, a bit of Erik Satie's haunting night music, and a large dose of spooky psychedelic folk. But the beautiful harmony that sings throughout the record makes it all their own."

Expect a bit of collaboration between the two duos on tour. All dates below...

Continue reading "Damon & Naomi have a new LP, playing Record Store Day show @ Sound Fix, touring w/ Merge power couple Amor de Dias"

Memorial Day Weekend officially opened the summer, and for those in the Pacific Northwest it also brought Sasquatch Music Festival (pictures from all three days are coming soon). Now the lineup for its Labor Day cousin, Bumbershoot 2010, has been announced. That fest, happening at Seattle, WA's Seattle Center September 4th-6th, will include headliners Bob Dylan, Mary J. Blige, Weezer, Hole, Rise Against, Neko Case, The Decemberists, J. Cole and "one more very special guest to be announced soon."

Tickets (including non-Mainstage 'economy' passes) are on sale now. The rest of the lineup (by day) for the seven-stage festival is posted below...

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2010 lineup (Bob Dylan... Hole... Mary J Blige)"

Field Music's cancelled December 3rd Brooklyn show has been rescheduled for January 30th. No advance tickets to the Bell House show at the moment, though the venue reminds us that "tickets from the 12/3/09 show will be honoured this evening." The Spinto Band is the opener.

That U.S. trip won't be a long one for the UK band though. Look out for them to possibly schedule a Chicago show while they're here. Then they go back home in time for a show in Scotland on February 24th before returning to North America again in March to tour with The Clientele from March 15th through the March 23rd show at Bowery Ballroom which is now on sale. All dates below...

Continue reading "Field Music - 2010 Tour Dates (rescheduled Brooklyn show & dates w/ The Clientele) "

"Alasdair, Mark, James & Mel will be stateside in February to support their new album, Bonfires on the Heath." The Clientele kick off a tour with Vetiver at Maxwell's in Hoboken on February 21st. Tickets are on sale now.

Vetiver leaves that tour after a March 1st show in Austin, but The Clientele keep going until March 23rd when they end things back in NYC on \at Bowery Ballroom (ticket info & openers TBA).

Before then Vetiver go on a tour of their own that has them at The Bell House in Brooklyn on January 21st with Avi Buffalo. Tickets are on sale for that too. All dates below...

Continue reading "The Clientele & Vetiver - 2010 Tour Dates "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Clientele - I Wonder Who We Are (MP3)

The Clientele only played two North American shows in 2009 -- one at Music Hall of Williamsburg and one at XX Merge, both in July. The band's latest album of lovely, autumnal dream pop, Bonfires on the Heath, is out October 6. You can download the album's first single, "I Wonder Who We Are," at the top of this post and stream the whole thing at Merge Records' website.

New Yorkers will get one more chance this year to hear these songs live when Clientele songwriter/frontman Alasdair MacLean plays a solo show at Joe's Pub on October 29. MacLean is an entertaining performer, one who has the ability to sing while finger-picking complex guitar parts, and his between-song banter consistently had the MHoW audience cracking up in July. Hopefully, The Clientele will be back for a real tour of the U.S. in 2010.

The full band are also playing a couple shows in London in November and December, and those dates, and a video, are below...

Continue reading "Clientele frontman Alasdair MacLean playing solo (Joe's Pub)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Mac and Britt embrace (Triangle Music)

The much anticipated XX Merge Festival took place last week in North Carolina with a five-day (July 22-July 26), Wednesday to Sunday run of shows. Last night (Sunday)'s show with She & Him, American Music Club and Wye Oak was the only fully announced lineup. The other four nights (and one day) were a grab bag of any number of Merge bands past and present. Did you go? What were the highlights?

Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band, who recently played a pair of big NY shows, headlined the fest's first night (which also included Magnetic Fields). Superchunk, which features Merge founders Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan, topped the bill of the second night. The third night included the reformed/reunited lineups of Spent, Polvo and Pipe.

Mac McCaughan came out on stage before [Pipe] instead of the night's emcee and announced that there was a lone protester outside. He invited him up on stage and it was Jon Wurster decked out in Phillies gear as Philly Boy Roy. He was holding a sign that said "Boycot MERGE." He complained that Merge didn't have any Philly bands on their roster and Mac said that they have bands from Jersey, which is close to Philly. You never compare Jersey to Philly in front of Philly Boy Roy. It was hilarious.

All of this led to the introduction of New Jersey punks Pipe. As soon as they kicked into their first song, beer cans and plastic bottles started flying. Frontman Ron Liberti ate it up and even put himself in the line of fire, headbutting some of the cans while kicking some back into the crowd. Liberti bounded around the stage, essentially taunting the crowd. The crowd loved the band's antics as did I (but that may have been different if I hadn't managed to stay dry). [triangle music]

In addition to the Cat's Cradle shows (the venue for 4/5 of the night shows), Saturday featured a day show that included Julian Koster solo as Music Tapes and Mac McCaughan with violin accompaniment as Portastatic. A few videos from that set, below.

M. Ward, who's playing the Central Park Summerstage this Saturday (August 1st), played at the fest's Saturday night showcase. Zooey Deschanel joined him for a cover of the Beatles' "Birthday." Not too big of a surprise considering She & Him headlined the Sunday night show.

Other XX Merge artists who recently stopped in NYC include The Clientele and Richard Buckner (they played Music Hall of Williamsburg last Sunday), Versus and Superchunk (they played South Street Seaport last Friday), and Spent (they played Coco 66). Spoon didn't play a NYC show, but they were spotted in the audience of Paul McCartney's third of three shows at Citi Field in Queens. Destroyer is on his way up. He plays Bowery Ballroom on Thursday. Mark Eitzel (as American Music Club) played Le Poisson Rouge and Maxwell's before XX Merge, and now he's on his way back for a show at The Bell House.

Lineups for each night of XX Merge, with videos, and a bunch of setlists, below...

Continue reading "Merge celebrated their 20th w/ 5 days of shows in North Carolina (lineups, reviews, pics, video setlists...)"

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"

by Bill Pearis

Wispy Brits The Clientele play Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on July 19 with Richard Buckner opening. Tickets are on sale. It's a quick stop in NYC for both artists who will be on their way to the Merge Twentieth Anniversary Music Festival which happens in Carboro, North Carolina from July 22-26.

Superchunk and Versus have a similar pre-XX Merge stop planned in NYC at South Street Seaport on July 17.

The Clientele have also finished recording their new album for Merge which is titled Bonfires on the Heath and should be out in October. Frontman Alasdair MacLean recently talked with Pitchfork about what we can expect. In addition to relating a story of getting dosed with LSD and its affect on the album, he implies Bonfires may be, just maybe, The Clientele's last...

Continue reading "the Clientele & Richard Buckner in Brooklyn before XX Merge "

The Clientele are going on tour with Peter Bjorn & John in September. One of the shows they'll play together is the still-not-sold-out September 6th Roseland gig in NYC. One of the shows they won't be playing together (actually, who knows - maybe they will) is the one one PB&J just added a day earlier at Maxwell's in Hoboken - a much smaller venue. Tickets for Maxwell's go on sale Friday @ noon. All the latest tour dates below....

Continue reading "The Clientele touring w/ Peter Bjorn & John who are playing Maxwell's"