"Micachu and the Shapes (and Olly) have been stuck in LA due to volcanobiotch. So we had some drinks and a brownie waffle." - Max Goldblatt

Micachu @ LPR in March (more)

Micachu & The Shapes were supposed to play the Ether Festival in London on Wednesday (4/21), but instead they'll take The Mary Onettes' spot at Mercury Lounge in NYC for a show the same day (TOMORROW). The Mary Onettes are stuck in Europe. Micachu is stuck here in the United States. Mon Khmer remains on the bill. Stay tuned for more show details.

DOWNLOAD: The Mary Onettes - Puzzles (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Mary Onettes - Dare (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Mary Onettes - Once I Was Pretty (MP3

The Mary Onettes are stranded

Sweden's The Mary Onettes have been forced to cancel their US tour, which was to start today (4/20) in Washington DC and included an April 21st show at Mercury Lounge, because of the Icelandic volcano that's been erupting (and canceling flights) since last week.

UPDATE: Micachu & the Shapes will take their place at Mercury Lounge!

Three songs by the band are reposted above. A note from The Mary Onettes and those canceled dates (plus a handful of Euro shows scheduled this summer) are below...

Continue reading "The Mary Onettes cancel US tour because of volcano"

DOWNLOAD: The Mary Onettes - Puzzles (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Mary Onettes - Dare (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Mary Onettes - Once I Was Pretty (MP3)

Sweden's '80s-inspired The Mary Onettes will be coming back to the United States for an 11 date tour this April. One stop on that will be an April 21st show at NYC's Mercury Lounge with Mon Khmer. Tickets are on sale.

The first two singles from their 2009 album Island are re-posted above, along with the record's third track, "Once I Was Pretty." A live video of that song and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "The Mary Onettes touring in April - 2010 dates & MP3"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Grass Widow - To Where (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Frankie Rose - Thee Only One (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Mary Onettes - Puzzles (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Mary Onettes - Dare (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Carsick Cars - You Can Listen You Can Talk (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Carsick Cars - Zhong Nan Hai (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: PK-14 - Behind All Ruptures (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Xiao He - MTV (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Answering Machine - Another City, Another Sorry (MP3)

Frankie & the Outs - debut show @ The Woods on Halloween

I'm barely recovered from post-CMJ cold and we've got a week that is so packed with good shows it feels like another festival is in town.

Mercury Prize nominees The Invisible are playing their first U.S. shows this week, starting with a free one tonight at Brooklyn Bowl. Their lauded debut album doesn't fit into one easy category, which befits a band on Matthew Herbert's label. It's all fairly warm and soulful, but with forays into funk, sparse ballads, electro and Krautrock. There's a lot going on and I'll be curious to see how a three-piece can pull it off live. The Invisible also play Santos tomorrow (11/5) opening for Dragonette, and then on Friday at Pianos (11/6) where they'll be on the same bill as Freelance Whales.

The Mary Onettes, here from Sweden, play their first NYC show this year, tonight (11/4) at Union Hall where they'll play with Blacklist. As I said before, like a lot of the bands on Labrador, The Mary Onettes love the '80s and wear those influences on their black-clad sleeves. But their second album, Islands, wears them a little more subtly, though they are still writing reach-for-the-stars chorus -- now with strings. I like them a lot. They also play Friday (11/6) at Studio @ Webster Hall and then Sunday (11/8) at Mercury Lounge.

Grass Widow

San Francisco's awesome Grass Widow are also in town this weekend for a string of dates, starting tomorrow (11/5) at The Woodser with Frankie & the Outs, Air Waves and Hot Box. (There was to be a second show tomorrow, late at Monster Island, but that has been cancelled.) There are more than a few all-girl trios out there playing vaguely C-86 style indie (including fellow San Franciscans Brilliant Colors), but Grass Widow write better songs than most, and I really like both 12" EPs they've released this year.

The Woodser show was to be notable as the live debut of Frankie & the Outs, but then they went and played Halloween night at similarly named Willliamsburg bar The Woods (picture above). Frankie's debut single, "Thee Only One," is out now and is worth picking up -- though I think more for the dreamy b-side "Hollow Life" than the A-side (good as it is, and downloadable above) which is a little more of what you'd expect from someone who spent time in Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts. Frankie's got a way with harmonies, and the less that gets in the way of them, the better. There were a couple of songs The Outs did Saturday which were similarly laid back, and the best songs of the night.

The Bitters

Grass Widow also play Market Hotel on Friday night (11/6) along with Vivian Girls, The Bitters and Stupid Party. If you haven't heard The Bitters, the Toronto duo feature Ben Cook of Fucked Up (who play Thursday at Masonic Temple) and Aerin Fogel. They've got a single and an EP on Captured Tracks, the latter of which I dig (haven't heard the single yet). While definitely on the "low" end of the "fi" scale, Bitters are different from anything else on Captured Tracks with an early-'60s rock n' roll vibe (or early '80s West Coast punk), and Ben and Aerin's harmonies front-and-center.|

Grass Widow also play Saturday (11/7) afternoon at the Brooklyn Museum with Crystal Stilts and the Beets, a show which finally today was officially announced by the museum...

"Inspired by Gail's idea, and because we love Brooklyn photographers, on First Saturday we are inviting local photographers to come and shoot the bands that are playing and post their photos to the Brooklyn Museum's flickr group. Afterwards, Bob Gruen, a rock photography legend who is featured in the exhibition and has shot the likes of Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and The Clash, will look at the photos and blog about his favorites here!" [Brooklyn Museum]

Grass Window then play again at Market Hotel that night, for a show with Small Black, Pictureplane, Girls at Dawn and Cale Parks (formerly of Aloha). They're also going to play somewhere on Sunday (11/8)... venue TBA. Go see them if you can.

Carsick Cars

There's also the China Underground Invasion tour this weekend, with three of Beijing's best indie rock bands: Carsick Cars, PK-14 and Xiao He. In particular, I'm excited about Carsick Cars who I've actually heard of prior to this tour thanks to a friend who is living in Beijing and occasionally sends me music. They're definitely of the Sonic Youth/Dinosaur Jr school of noise n' drone. I only just got their new album, You Can Listen, You Can Talk, but have been listening to their 2008 debut a lot, and am told that its "Zhong Nan Hai" is like the Beijing indie anthem. The tour hits PowerHouse Arena tomorrow (11/5), Glasslands on Friday (11/6) and Santos on Saturday (11/7).

Tonight (11/4) is also the second week of The Answering Machine's three-week residency at Coco 66. The band has also added three more NYC dates while they're here: Nov. 9 at Pianos, Nov. 11 at Bruar Falls and Nov. 12 at Cake Shop.

Tahiti 80

And finally, Saturday night (11/7) French pop band Tahiti 80 play Mercury Lounge (tickets). When it comes to Franco-pop, Phoenix get the lion's share of the attention, but Tahiti 80 have been at it almost as long (if not just as long) and have made four danceable, hook-filled albums. The most recent of which, Activity Center, came out last year in France but is just now getting an American release. The band have retreated a bit from the full-on disco that was 2005's Fosbury, and gone back to the '60s sunshine of 2002's Wallpaper for the Soul which definitely suits them better. I haven't seen them play in ages, but they were always a good live band. Opening is Brookville, the other band from Ivy's Andy Chase -- who also produced Tahiti 80's first two albums.

Videos, tour dates and flyers are after the jump...

Continue reading "The Bitters, Grass Widow, Tahiti 80, The Mary Onettes, Frankie Rose, The Invisible & more in This Week in Indie "

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Mary Onettes - Puzzles (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Mary Onettes - Dare (MP3)

Sweden's Mary Onettes are back in the U.S. next week for a string of East Coast dates, including three dates in New York: November 4 at Union Hall, Nov. 6 at The Studio @ Webster Hall and Nov. 8 at Mercury Lounge. Next week also sees the release of their second album, Islands, which is out on Labrador Records (The Legends, Pelle Carlberg and The Radio Dept.). You can download the Island's first two singles, "Puzzles" and "Dare," at the top of this post. Where their first album went for more of a straight early-'80s, guitar-driven Cure/Bunnymen/JAMC gloomy pop vibe, Islands is much more lush, with layers of strings and keyboards added to mix. Though not synthy/dancey, Island's big choruses and plaintive vocals kind of remind me of Xymox's poppy 1989 album Twist of Shadows, which is not a bad thing at all.

I saw both of The Mary Onettes when they played here in May 2008 and was impressed by their ability to incorporate what are almost strictly '80s influences but not make it feel like someone else's nostalgia. Maybe it was the volume. They are quite loud. The Mary Onettes have some well-chosen openers for their three NYC shows, as well: Blacklist, with whom they played last year, will open at Union Hall; the dancey dreampop of Kordan for the Studio @ Webster Hall (you can download their new EP for free); and The Art of Shooting at Mercury Lounge.

The Mary Onettes also play Boston and Philly while in America. All 2009 tour dates and a video below...

Continue reading "The Mary Onettes - new album, MP3 & 2009 Tour Dates"