by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Diehard - Karaoke King (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Small Black - Despicable Dogs (MP3)

Free Energy

Philadelphia's nostalgic party rockers Free Energy are playing The Bell House next Tuesday (11/10). This is the band's first NYC show since a pretty successful CMJ run:

This group's laser-guided desire to be the go-to Dazed and Confused house band makes their ultimate intent curious. Considering the caveman riffs, boogie bass, and lyrics like, "you can do what you want to do," the question is: Are these guys kidding? The answer is (basically), "no."

Because when Sprangers sings, "you can do what you want to do," or, "never give up," or even, "bang pop pop," he means it-- possibly more than a grown man should. So this is seriously fun music, the type of thing Weezer have attempted for the last few years except not as creepy or cloying. [Pitchfork]

After the Bell House show, Free Energy are hitting the road for a string of South West dates that were supposed to be with UK band The Rakes who instead decided to break up instead. (They announced it during CMJ, which somewhat explains why we're only mentioning it now.) The Rakes will be missed, but here's hoping singer Alan Donahoe finds a new band soon. He'll need to do something with that nervous energy. The affected NYC date is November 12th at Highline Ballroom ("refunds available at all points of purchase").

Free Energy are also playing Santos Party House on November 28 with Glint opening.

Back to the Bell House show though. Also playing are another band who had a good CMJ, Brooklyn's Small Black. While they seem a little more song-based than most of the bands lumped in with this chillwave/glo-fi thing, there is a Washed Out remix of their (very good) current single "Despicable Dogs" So let's just lump them in there too and make it easy on ourselves for now. Unlike Washed Out though, Small Black have already figured out how to make their live show interesting. So if you missed them during CMJ, here's another chance. They play Market Hotel on November 7th too, with Pictureplane, Cale Parks, Grass Widow, and The Girls at Dawn. All dates below.

Also on the Bell House line-up are relatively new band Diehard who seem to be actively channeling mid-'90s American indie rock like Superchunk, Archers of Loaf and Pavement, and they do it very well. Check out their song "Karaoke King" at the top of this post, and if you like that they've got two more downloadable MP3s at their website.

Live videos of Free Energy and Small Black from CMJ, plus all tour dates are below.

Continue reading "Free Energy tour dates without the Rakes who broke up, a show w/ Small Black who play Brooklyn w/ Pictureplane too"

by Bill Pearis

The Rakes

Philadelphia's retro-rocking Free Energy are going on a 10-city tour with UK band The Rakes beginning October 31, that includes a Nov. 12 show at Highline Ballroom. (Tickets are on sale.) While Free Energy's debut album isn't due till next year, the band is releasing a three-song digital EP tomorrow (9/22) via the usual online outlets, and they'll have CD versions of it available at their merch table at shows. It includes their anthemic, nostalgic, kinda irresistible "theme song," (watch the video below) plus "Something in Common" and "Dark Trance."

Before the tour with the Rakes, the band play China and will most likely be unavoidable at next month's CMJ fest in NYC. After their stint with The Rakes, Free Energy will stay on the road for some southern dates. I saw them a few times over the summer and, questionable fashion sense aside, Free Energy are a lot of fun live and if you don't have an aversion to late '70s/early '80s stadium rock, the hooks are undeniable.

Headliners for the tour, The Rakes, are finally getting a U.S. release for their very good third album, Klang!, on Oct. 20 -- albeit only in digital form. Maybe you caught them when they played NYC in April. I wrote this about their Bowery Ballroom show:

Not seen here since May 2007, the London four-piece haven't had a record out in the States since their first (and the band just released their third, Klang!, in the UK), but you wouldn't know it judging by the crowd at Bowery Ballroom who are singing along to every word, whooping and hollering and generally going mental. Singer Alan Donohoe, sporting the kind of unfortunate front-only dye-job you might've seen Nick Rhodes wear in 1986, is in top twitchy form, even if he doesn't rock either of my favorite dance moves. (Both of which I've actually named: "The Elbow" and "Hot Corners.") He's got an awkward charisma that could mellow into Jarvis-like appeal in a couple albums. Really. The Class of 2005 may not be the coolest kids in school anymore (and this lot were always the underdogs anyway) but The Rakes, who now include a fifth member on guitars and keys, are as tight and appealing as ever.

All upcoming tour dates for Free Energy and the Rakes are below, as are their most recent videos...

Continue reading "The Rakes & Free Energy - 2009 Tour Dates & stuff"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Rakes - 1989 (click to stream)

London's The Rakes are back in New York this week (Monday 4/6 at Bowery Ballroom; 4/7 at Union Hall) for their first shows in almost two years. The band took a break after their second album, Ten New Messages (which didn't get a U.S. release), but reconvened last year in Berlin to record their new album, Klang!, which was just released in the UK. It's been two years since The Rakes last played NYC. Klang! was recorded in Berlin with producer Chris Zane (Les Savvy Fav, The Walkmen). Why Berlin? Singer Alan Donohoe told Drowned in Sound:

The London music scene is so dull right now - it's like wading through a swamp of shit. We just wanted to be somewhere more inspiring...The album is raw, playful, exciting, complex and schizophrenic - much like the personality of Berlin itself. It couldn't be more of a fitting place to record it. Chris has found this raw but massive sound, it's sharp like razors; like pouring boiling bleach on our peers.

While you couldn't call Klang! a big departure from their two previous albums (tales of urban ennui set to spiky guitars and nervous rhythms), it's another solid record from one of Britain's more underrated bands. Check out the album's first single, "1989," at the top of this post. (Its video is below.) And of the UK Class of 2004/2005, the Rakes have always been one of the best live bands, playing even faster than on record, and are as tight as they are tightly-wound. But for me it's singer Donohoe's awesomely spazzy dance moves that really make The Rakes so much fun to watch, some of which can be seen in a live video at the bottom of this post. below. Tickets are still available for both the Bowery (The Dig and Sean Bones open) and Union Hall (Radical Dads open) shows.

Videos and tour dates below...

Continue reading "The Rakes are here - new album & 2009 Tour Dates"

A homemade documentary on the Bowery show.....

Continue reading "VIDEOS: Franz Ferdinand (before, during, outside & in) @ Bowery Ballroom (& The Rakes)"