by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Disappears - Superstition (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Disappears - Gone Completely (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Concretes - Good Evening (MP3)
DONWLOAD: The Concretes - All Day (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Concretes - All Day (Juuso Pikanen remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Weird Wives - EP (mediafire Zip link)

Disappears

There is a whole of good stuff going on this weekend, so let's get to it. Everyone really needs to go out and see Chicago's Disappears, who play tonight (1/19) at Union Pool and tomorrow (1/20) at Cake Shop. The band's new album, Guider, just came out yesterday and is their second in less than a year. It's 31 minutes of awesome, piledriving, motorik psych-punk.  Check out "Superstition" above to get a taste, plus "Gone Completely" from their first album, Lux.

As great as their records are, Disappears really need to be experienced live. These guys lock into a groove and step on the gas and the audience hangs on for the ride. Their show last summer at Union Pool knocked me for a loop. And as previously mentioned, Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley is filling in on drums which is an added bonus.

Opening the Union Pool show tonight is Prolix, which is Tunde of TV on the Radio and drummer Ryan Sawyer. The Cake Shop show has Soft and The Sundelles. I can't recommend seeing one of these two shows -- or both -- more highly.

The Vaccines

The Vaccines, the most hyped new band in the UK, are here this week to try and get America excited too. They play tomorrow (1/20) at Bowery Ballroom and Saturday (1/22) at Glasslands (Sold Out).

As of right now, there's only about three Vaccines songs to be heard (videos for a couple of them at the bottom of this post) but the band has just announced details of their debut album, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?, which is out March 21 in the UK. (U.S. date TBA.) If you like early '60s rock n' roll and the Pixies, the Vaccines might just be for you. Personally... I'm curious enough to go see them this week and hope that the live experience will make me see what folks I know at The Fly and NME are so excited about.

The Concretes

What else? Sweden's The Concretes play Bowery Ballroom this Saturday (1/22). The band's new album, WYWH ("Wish You Were Here"), is their second since Victoria Bergsman's departure, though 2007's Hey Trouble didn't get released in the U.S. The album finds the band toying with dance grooves, albiet in a very understated way. It's a nice little record and you can download two tracks and a remix at the top of this post.

Opening are fellow Friendly Fire recording artists Acrylics whose debut album, Lives and Treasure, is out March 1. The album is pretty mellow, which showcases the band's songwriting talents. I miss the more electrified line-up Acrylics sported two years ago but there is no denying the songs. Also playing are Hooray For Earth who are taking a break from recording their debut album to tour with The Concretes.

Weird Wives

Finally, Weird Wives are in town playing Bruar Falls Thursday (1/20) and Death by Audio Friday (1/21), both of which are with Philly band Weekends (not to be confused with SF band Weekend).

UPDATE: Weird Wives have cancelled their tour.

You may recognize these guys as most of them are in Surfer Blood. But don't go expecting super-catchy indie rock jams. Weird Wives are loud skronky shouty thrash. You can download an EPs' worth of songs at the top of this post.

That's the big stuff in TWII world. Here are few more worthy shows, day-by-day, of things not listed above.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19

Mississippi duo Bass Drum of Death put on a pretty rockin' set last night at Glasslands opening for Smith Westerns. Tonight they open for Captain Shafts at Pianos. They're also going to play a free in-store at Co-Op 87 tomorrow (1/20) at 6PM.

Cloud Nothings and Toro Y Moi at Mercury Lounge.

The Drums, Guards and The Hairs (Kevin of Knight School's new band) at Studio at Webster Hall, the $25 ticket benefits former Hot Rod Circuit drummer Dan Duggins who is recovering from a stroke.

It's a dance-centric lineup at Glasslands tonight, with Free Blood, Arpline, Expensive Looks and Ego Puppets.

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Continue reading "Disappears, Vaccines, Concretes, Weird Wives, MINKS & more in This Week in Indie"

DONWLOAD: The Concretes - "All Day" (MP3)
DONWLOAD: The Concretes - "Good Evening" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Acrylics - "Nightwatch" (MP3)

The Concretes


It's been almost four years since singer-songwrtier Victoria Bergstrom (aka Taken By Trees) left the Swedish band she helped found. But The Concretes are still a band and still making new albums with former drummer Lisa Milberg now in the lead slot. Their new album, WYWH, was released in November. Two MP3s from that album are above. A video is below.

The Concretes kick off a North American tour in support of that album, this week in Minneapolis. It hits Bowery Ballroom in NYC on January 22nd. Tickets are still on sale. All dates are listed below.

Hooray For Earth are opening most dates on the tour, including Bowery Ballroom, and have another Brooklyn show coming up at Glasslands on March 8th with Zambri, Rewards, and Lemonade DJs. Hooray For Earth are releasing their debut LP, True Loves, via Dovecote Records on on 5/3. You can grab a song HERE.

Acrylics, who share the label Friendly Fire Recordings with the Concretes, are also opening at the Bowery Show, and you can catch them in Brooklyn at Union Pool on February 5th with Rewards and Blood Orange (aka Lightspeed Champion). Their debut full-length Lives and Treasure is coming out on March 1st. Download "Nightwatch" (which we've posted before) from that LP above.

All dates and stuff below...

Continue reading "The Concretes kicking off tour w/ Hooray For Earth (Acrylics playing the NYC show too) -- dates, MP3s & stuff"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: 14 Iced Bears - Inside (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: 14 Iced Bears - Like a Dolphin (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: 14 Iced Bears - Hay Fever (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The 1900s - Babies (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tuung - Don't Look Down or Back (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Blank Dogs - Northern Islands (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dead Gaze - This Big World (MP3)

14 Iced Bears

I did a double take when I saw that UK indiepop cult heros 14 Iced Bears were playing The Rock Shop on Thursday (11/11). I didn't even know they had reformed. They're associated with the jangly C86 scene (though not actually on that famed cassette) and released singles on seminal indiepop labels Sarah and Slumberland. You can download three songs at the top of this post, all of which are on the Slumberland-released singles comp In The Beginning. A little more on the band from Slumberland:

Formed in 1985 by Rob Sekula, 14 Iced Bears ably blended shambolic pop with a psychedelic punk edge that set them apart from their C86 contemporaries. Inspired by bands like the Stooges, Velvet Underground, 13th Floor Elevators and Echo & the Bunnymen, Sekula injected the then-nascent indie-pop sound with a twisted dose of noise and experimental menace. While still owing plenty to the Byrds/Ramones influences evident in the output of labels like Creation and Pink, it was this dark 60s flavor that always set the 'Bears apart. [Slumberland]

If you can find 14 Iced Bears 1988 debut album, it's an underheard classic of the era. I also really like their fuzzed-out cover of "Summer Nights" from Grease, which was my introduction to the band. If you like Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Dream Diary and Crystal Stilts, here's some OG indiepoppers making a rare, totally unexpected appearance on American shores. The band broke up in 1992 and these are their first shows since then. Highly Recommended. The band are over, ostensibly, for Popfest New England which happens this weekend, but are making a short Northeast tour out of the visit. All 14 Iced Bears tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

1900s

The other super-exciting this weekend is the return of Chicago's The 1900s who haven't played NYC in almost two years. They play an early show at Mercury Lounge on Thursday (11/11) and then The Rock Shop on Saturday (11/13). Their new album, Return of the Century, is pretty fantastic, somewhere between Velvet Underground and Fleetwood Mac, brimming with perfectly crafted pop. Says Chicagoist:

The 1900s have many musical precursors, but it seems unfair to name check any of them since the group has obviously labored so hard to create something of their own. And in that they've succeeded. Return of the Century is surrounded by a golden warmth, coursing through every harmony and bittersweet guitar chord. The band has mastered the art of creating a genuine atmosphere, as opposed to taking musical shortcuts to convey sentimentality, and it's impossibly not to lay back and luxuriate in the sound washing over you. Previously The 1900s excelled in mirroring sounds from the past, and the sonic dressings haven't changed, but now there's a genuine and unique beating heart giving their tunes life. It's like watching the difference between four-color print and HD TV, only through gauzy pastels.

You can listen for yourself -- the whole of Return of the Century is streaming via a widget at the bottom of this post. And if you haven't already, you can download an MP3 of single "Babies" at the top of this post. And I do urge you to go see them. The 1900s are just as skilled live, and a lot of fun too.

Tunng

If you don't mind paying again 'cause it's a separate show, you can stick around after The 1900s play at Mercury Lounge on Thursday (11/11) and catch folky UK act Tunng. They also play Bruar Falls on Saturday (11/13). The band have gone through some line-up changes since their last album, most notably the departure of singer Sam Genders (he of the Robert Wyatt-esque voice).

Losing their singer/songwriter could prove disastrous (see: The Concretes new LP review in P4K) but Tunng's fourth album, And Then We Saw Land, is pretty good, if a little more straight-up folk pop than their previous albums which mixed acoustics with glitchy electronics. Laptops still make appearances here and there, but the new LP is breezy pastoral stuff. You can download "Don't Look Down or Back" at the top of this post, and watch the video for single "Hustle" at the bottom. The Mercury Lounge show is the first of a short North American tour, and all dates are at the bottom of this post.

Blank Dogs

There's so much good music coming out on Captured Tracks lately much of it in single form. If you haven't heard Craft Spells' "Party Talk" or Soft Moon's "Breath the Fire," you should definitely seek them out. Don't forget about Blank Dogs, the musical alter ego of C/T major domo Mike Sniper. Blank Dogs new album, Land and Fixed, has come a long way from the murky, effects-overload of their early EPs into new sonic clarity. There's still a lot of delay and chorus effects but it no longer sounds like it was recorded in a bog. If you like the weirder side of early Mute Records (Fad Gadget seem a big influence), or the dark pop of Ohio cult legends My Dad is Dead, give BD's new album a listen. It's pretty good.

Really more of a studio thing, the Blank Dogs Live Experience has been a bit more of a mess, but Sniper has formed a new power trio version of the band and given the strength of the last few records it may be time to revisit. They play Friday night at Glasslands as part of a really good bill. Also on the bill: Mississippi's Dead Gaze (super-catchy bedroom recorded pop, check out an MP3 above); Swimsuit (new band from Fred Thomas of City Center/Saturday Looks Good to Me); and the jangly psych-pop of Minneapolis  Velvet Davenport (who also play Shea Stadium on Saturday [11/13]).

That's the main stuff this week. A few more picks, night-by-night, of things not covered above.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10

I'd kind of forgotten about Favourite Sons who haven't released an album since 2006's underrated Down Beside Your Beauty. But after a dormant period they're about to release it's follow-up, The Great Deal of Love, and play Union Pool tonight. (Watch a video of the title track at the bottom of this post.) Singer Ken Griffin, who sounds a little like Ian McCulloch, fronted the excellent but mostly forgotten '90s band Rollerskate Skinny (seek out 1996's Horsedrawn Wishes, it's a lost classic).

Tonight at Bruar Falls is what is likely Pursesnatchers' last show for what will likely be a while, as Doug Marvin and Annie Hart are expecting a bundle of joy any second. They're on at 8PM and it's FREE.

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Continue reading "14 Iced Bears, 1900s, Tunng, Blank Dogs, Obits, Magic Kids, Popfest New England & more in This Week in Indie "

DOWNLOAD: James Yuill - Over The Hills (Milberg remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: James Yuill - A Lighter Shade of Red (MP3)

Hello America!

It seems my album "Turning Down Water For Air" comes out today (26th May) on Nettwerk. Hurrah!

I'm currently doing a short tour with M83 across the west coast and then working my way to the east side...

Hope you like the album... I wrote and recorded it in my bedroom during many evenings and weekends after getting back from work...so basically it's very home made...

Cheers.
- James Yuill

James's M83-supporting dates have already past, but it's not too late for his three remaining US shows, which happen this week. He'll play Chicago June 3rd, then visit NYC for two shows on June 4th and 5th. On Thursday, June 4th, he'll be joined at the Music Hall of Williamsburg by Viva Voce and Cut Off Your Hands. Tickets are on sale.

On Friday, June 5th, Yuill plays the weekly Ruff Club party at NYC's The Annex with Field Recordings and True Widow.

After that, it's all summer dates around Yuill's homebase of London. The laptop whiz last visited NYC for a pair of shows in April. Cut Off Your Hands were here in May. Last weekend, James's tour partner M83 played Sasquatch...

M83 @ Sasquatch 2009 (more by Chris Graham)

James was at the festival too, but as a member of the crowd....

...this was effectively a day off for me and Paul we took in the sights and watched a few bands. Namely, The Walkman (who were amazing!), TV on the Radio (whose sound was less than amazing), obviously M83 (who in my unbiased opinion were on top form and gave a particularly special show. That's when I took this first video [below].

Then it was the highlight of my day when I got the chance to see Deadmau5. Oh my lord was it brilliant. That's where the second video comes in [also below]. I know the quality of these two videos is not great, but hopefully the mood of the what was going on translates. I haven't felt this good at a dance gig than when I saw Justice at the mean-fiddler in London when they did their album launch party. -James

On June 16th, Yuill will release his new Over the Hills EP in the US via Nettwerk Records. (It's already out on Moshi Moshi overseas.) Two tracks from that EP, the "Over The Hills (Milberg Remix)," featuring Lisa from the Concretes, and the b-side, "A Lighter Shade of Red," are posted above for download. Title track "Over the Hills" also has a new video, and we're premiering it. Check it out, along with the full EP track list, all tour dates, and the videos James shot at Sasquach, below...

Continue reading "James Yuill - video premiere, EP, 2 NYC shows & other dates"

This is a whole bunch of of Swedish awesome....

Continue reading "Lykke Li, Shout Out Louds, Robyn & The Concretes - A VIDEO"

DOWNLOAD: Taken By Trees - Lost and Found (MP3)

I was taken (aka they are really good) by a few Taken By Trees songs I heard when the album ("Open Field") first came out on Rough Trade (September 11th 2007). Then I totally forgot about it by accident. I didn't even realize at the time, (DUH) that the voice I was hearing was Victoria Bergsman of The Concretes and "Young Folks" fame. It's true she can come off a little icy in person (or is that a cultural thing?), but I'm excited nonetheless - for their first American show at the Zipper Theatre Hiro Ballroom in NYC on February 22nd is what I mean. Tickets go on sale Tuesday January 29th at noon. A video and all tour dates below....

Continue reading "Taken By Trees (Victoria Bergsman) Tour Dates, MP3, video"