by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: The Veils - Killed by the Boom (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Foreign Born - Vacationing People (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Foreign Born - Early Warnings (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jaguar Club - Sleepwalking (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hospitality - Betty Wang (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Horse's Ha - The Piss Choir (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Polvo - Beggar's Bowl (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Obits - Two-Headed Coin (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Obits - Pine On (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Blacklist - Flight of the Demoiselles (MP3)

Jarvis Cocker @ MHOW in 2008 (more by Ryan Muir)

There is a ton of stuff going on this weekend, but clearly the gig of the week is Jarvis Cocker (who is also on Jimmy Fallon tonight) at Music Hall of Williamsburg (7/30). The last last two years Jarvis held my top spot for Show of the Year and I have no doubt he will deliver tonight as well. He's truly on another plane of existence when it comes to performers. But I'm like a lot of you this year, I didn't buy tickets for Terminal 5 (a venue I'm kind of proud I've never been to) and then kicking yourselves when the show got downgraded to MHoW. It's kind of killing me that I won't be at this show, but luckily there are a lot of other good options.

The Veils

If you are an Anglophile, I think your best bet tonight (7/30) is at Mercury Lounge for The Veils and Foreign Born. Tickets are still available. The Veils' new album, Sun Gangs, is a little more palatable, in my opinion, than 2006's Nux Vomica with singer Finn Andrews' vocals a little more reigned-in and less histrionic, though I realize that was a selling point for some people. (I was more of a fan of the first album, The Runaway Found, than the second album.) The new record is good, for fans of moody, heart-swelling anthemic rock. Check out "Killed by the Boom" at the top of this post. Having seen The Veils play for both previous albums (and both times at Mercury Lounge) I have not doubt that Andrews (son of XTC/Shriekback's Barry Andrews) will give 110%, if only that were possible. He will also likely wear a big hat.

Foreign Born

Foreign Born, meanwhile, are from L.A. but clearly were raised on classic KROQ and the influence of The Smiths, Echo & the Bunnymen, and House of Love was an undeniable presence on their 2007 debut, On the Wing Now, of which I was a fan. Their new album, Person to Person, still bears those influences but they've folded them in more delicately with their distinctly American sound so that it's more nuances than nods. (I do still hear a lot of House of Love in the guitars, though.) It's a really good album. They got a boost back in March when Ed Droste gushed about their new record on Grizzly Bear's blog:

I was pretty vocal about my love for their last album On the Wing Now, and this time around it's even better. I gotta say, something about the production of this album is really doing it for me. Crisper sounds, and Matt's voice sounds wonderful. This track "Vacationing People" is a lovely little pop gem, and it's not even scraping the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the album. I hope that you all enjoy the song and check these guys out.

You can download Foreign Born's "Vacationing People" and "Early Warnings" at the top of this post. If you are going, do try and go early and catch locals Jaguar Club who definitely fit well with the night's proceedings. Their debut, And We Wake Up Slowly, is out September 1 and is a nice distillation of various gloomy Brit-rock influences. They're young, still evolving, but worth checking out.

If you can't make Mercury Lounge tonight, both Foreign Born and the Veils are playing on Monday at The Bell House and you can get tickets here.

The Horse's Ha

Another good option tonight (7/30) is at Bruar Falls which has the first Hospitality show since late May, as their bassist pulls double-duty in White Rabbits who were on tour the last two months (and play Saturday at All Points West). I previously wrote in May: "Singer Amber Papini's delicate, airy voice matches so perfectly with her songwriting: jazzy pop that kind of reminds me of '60s chanteuse Claudine Longet or Austin's Yellow Fever. I've yet to see them live but I'm kinda in love with the songs." I've listened to their swoon-worthy CDR EP I don't know how many times since then and was quickly won over when I saw them live. Check out "Betty Wang" at the top of this post and see if you don't feel the same way. They've promised to play a whole bunch of new songs tonight, too.

Also on the Bruar Falls bill are Chicago's The Horse's Ha which is reason enough to go. Primarily a duo of James Elkington of The Zincs (kind of the Windy City's American Analog Set), and Janet Beveridge Bean who has spent time in the great '90s indie rock band Eleventh Dream Day as well as '00s folkies Freakwater. The Horse's Ha are their homage to late-'60s/early '70s Euro-hippy-folk like Fairport Convention and Pentangle, and their voices sound great together on their debut album, Of the Cathmawr Yards, which, like their name, is a Dylan Thomas reference. With a backing band of ace improv-jazz players (Fred Lonberg-Holm, Nick Macri, and Charles Rumback), this should be something. You can download their song "The Piss Choir" at the top of this post.

The Mekons

The Horse's Ha are also playing two more shows this weekend, both of which are opening slots for The Mekons who also call Chicago home these days: Friday at The Bell House and a sold-out show at Mercury Lounge on Saturday. What do you say about the Mekons these days beyond that they are probably the only band from the original punk/post-punk era to rival The Fall on longevity, relevance, line-up changes, and essential output -- the only constant being change. The band are working on their 27th album, recording in Wales, so expect some new tunes at these two gigs: the Bell House show being semi-acoustic, the Mercury Lounge being full electric. Anyone who's seen the Mekons before should know to be prepared for a marathon, booze-soaked performance with a crowd of die-hard hard fans who match the band shot-for-shot, pint-for-pint. It can be a bit much for the uninitiated (or casual fan) but worth the effort. They are legends.

Obits

It's a great double-bill at the Seaport Music Series on Friday: Polvo are in town fresh off their appearance at XX Merge, have just re-signed to the label who will put out In Prism, the band's first album in ten years. You can check out "Beggar's Bowl" from it at the top of this post and if it represents the rest of the album, it definitely sounds like the Polvo I remember: intricate guitar lines, rhythmically complex, shredding indie rock. And Obits have put out one of my favorite rock albums of the year: full of pedal-to-the-metal, cheap trucker's speed style jams. I've seen them twice already this year, and Rick Froberg hasn't lost any snarl. Two downloadable tracks off their I Blame You album at the top of this post.

A complete 180 from Obits are... Modern English. Yes that Modern English, whose classic '80s single "I Melt With You" has been used at least twice in commercials to sell various things with cheese on it over the last 10 years, will be performing at The Studio at Webster Hall on Friday CANCELLED. While that may be the only thing anyone remembers about them, the album that song came from, After the Snow, is actually a really solid platter of goth-tinged pop which, you may not remember, came out on 4AD (home of Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil and The Wolfgang Press). It also contains the absolutely brilliant single "Life in the Gladhouse," probably the best thing the band ever did. The two albums that surrounded it (1981's Mesh and Lace and 1984's Ricochet Days) aren't bad either. I have no idea who is in this version of the band -- certainly singer Robbie Grey, probably guitarist Matthew Shipley -- or whether they're any good, but Modern English were more than a one-hit flashback fave.

Blacklist

I wonder if the members of Blacklist wouldn't be watching Modern English if they weren't playing at Cameo on Friday (7/31). Surely they've got a copy of Mesh & Lace in their record collection somewhere. Blacklist's debut, Midnight of the Century, was released this week and would've sounded at home on 4AD or Beggars Banquet in 1984. They've worked out the best bits of '80s goth: killer pumping basslines, effects-drenched guitars, the just-melodramatic-enough singing, and giant anthemic choruses. If you ever liked Sisters of Mercy, The Bolshoi, Death Cult, Xmal Deutschland, you're gonna dig Blacklist. It's pastiche, but it's done to perfection. You can check out "Flight of the Demoiselles" at the top of this post.

The Cameo show also features Austin's loud-as-hell shoegazers Ringo Deathstar who are way better than their name might suggest. Might be a good way to prep your ears for the My Bloody Valentine aural assault that will happen at All Points West on Saturday (7/31).

Justin Ripley

This is a big column this week! And it's almost over. Seattle's Justin Ripley is also in town this weekend. You may remember The Pamonas, the band he had in Lawrence, KS a couple years ago. Since relocating to Seattle, he went on a songwriting binge and has released three downloadable albums this year so far. It's a lot of material, wildly ranging in styles and fidelity, but quality across the tracks is surprisingly high. Plus, he's got power pop at his core and I'm gonna guess that's what you can expect from this weekend's shows, especially with half of the awesome, raucous Rooftop Vigilantes as his backing band. He plays Glasslands on Friday (7/31, with Midnight Masses), the Alphabet Lounge on Saturday (8/1) and Monkeytown on Sunday (8/2).

And finally I would be remiss to not mention All Points West, which is at Liberty State Park this weekend as I'm sure BV readers are already aware. I think it's a better lineup overall than last year (no Jack Johnson) and Saturday and Sunday are both pretty strong, though I'd have to give a slight edge to Sunday, what with Echo & the Bunnymen, Elbow, MGMT, Slilversun Pickups, Mogwai and Lykke Li. (Also La Roux, who I'm curious as to what they're like live.) I am no fan of outdoor festivals, but I had fun last year and am looking forward to this weekend.

Tour Dates and videos after the jump....

Continue reading "The Veils, Foreign Born, Hospitality, Horse's Ha, Mekons, Polvo, Obits, Modern English, Blacklist, Jarvis, Justin Ripley, Ringo Deathstarr, APW & more in in This Week in Indie"

DOWNLOAD: The Veils - Killed By The Boom (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Foreign Born - Early Warnings (MP3)

UK band the Veils are coming to North America this July with LA band Foreign Born. That tour has two NYC stops. The Veils and Foreign Born play the Mercury Lounge on Thursday, July 30th and Brooklyn's Bell House on Monday, August 3rd. Tickets to the Merc Lounge show are on sale.

The Veils just released a new album, Sun Gangs, on Rough Trade in April. The BBC is not totally sure why...

"Rough Trade maintain the faith by continuing to issue The Veils' albums to little commercial or critical acclaim so label-boss Geoff Travis must see some worth in them. Yet the real problem lies in their lack of real development in the last five years. Unless Finn and Co. can get a move on - creatively speaking - their days may well be numbered." [BBC]

The MP3 above, "Killed By The Boom," is from that record, as is the video below for "The Letter."

Foreign Born's new album Person To Person is due out June 23 (and June 15 in the UK) via Secretly Canadian. The first single, "Early Warnings", is the free download above.

All Veils & Foreign Born tour dates, the Veils video and a short film on the new Veils album, below...

Continue reading "The Veils & Foreign Born - 2009 Tour Dates, MP3, new album"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Army Navy - Saints (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Army Navy - My Thin Sides (MP3)

Army Navy

Not the most action-packed week of shows, at least as far as I'm concerned, but there's always a few worthwhile things to check out. In town this week are LA-via-Seattle band Army Navy, playing shows tonight (9/2) at Mercury Lounge and Thursday (9/4) at Union Pool. These guys mostly mine various eras of Scottish jangle, from the brittle, manic sounds of early-80s Postcard Records (Orange Juice, Joseph K) to the harmony-laden sounds of Teenage Fanclub and Cosmic Rough Riders. This is super-catchy stuff -- their self titled debut (due Oct 14) has spent a lot of time on my stereo this past week. You can download two tunes from the album at the top of this post -- they're both really good.

It was only after listening to -- and liking -- the album did I find out some interesting factoids about the band: Frontman Justin Kennedy spent his Seattle youth in Pinwheel, the "shitty punk band" that also featured Ben Gibbard; When their drummer left to pursue a screenwriting career (he's penning the Peter Berg-directed Dune redux, due in 2010), Attractions drummer Pete Thomas filled in on the stool for the album's recording sessions; and they're featured on the soundtrack to the music-obsessed comedy Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist which you might've seen a thousand commercials for already. And they're playing this week.

Ringo Deathstarr

In competition with Army Navy on Thursday are Austinites Ringo Deathstarr (not to be confused with Atlanta's Gringo Starr), and also draw influence from Scottish indie rock. But in this case it's The Jesus and Mary Chain (circa "Sidewalking") and My Bloody Valentine. We're talking striped-tees-and-sunglasses shoegaze. Are they doing something new? Maybe not. But do they do it well? Definitely. Their show at Cake Shop is their only NYC show so if you're a dreampop fan, this might be a good holdover till MBV for real.

Liam Finn

I'm not sure there's a whole lot else going on this week that hasn't already been mentioned multiple times. Liam Finn plays Bowery on Thursday and if you've never seen him before I can't recommend it much higher. He's certainly not the only performer to do the loop pedal one-man-band thing, but few do it as well or with better songs. Just wait till he gets on the drums. His album from last year, I'll Be Lightning, is fantastic. Also playing that show (and the rest of of Finn's US 2008 dates) are The Veils whose first record I liked a lot more than their most recent one but frontman Finn Andrews (who, like Liam Finn, has a notable dad, XTC/Shreikback's Barry Andrews) is also an engaging live performer.

And then there's the three free music festivals on Saturday, though it's really hard to compete with the East Village Radio Festival's killer line-up but that's just me.

All tour dates below...

Continue reading "Army Navy, Ringo Deathstarr, Liam Finn & The Veils. ....................... it's This Week in Indie"

The Veils (a band I got obsessed with for a minute) finish up their current U.S. tour at Bowery Ballroom in NYC tonight (Sep 10, 2007). Also on the bill: The XYZ Affair - the band with the video with the Double Dare guy in it. Next stop for the Veils is a tour of Europe with Ed Harcourt, and then some stops in Australia, New Zealand, etc....

Continue reading "The Veils - 2007 Tour Dates (Bowery Ballroom tonight)"

What did you do last night? First I went to the early Veils show at Mercury Lounge.

The Veils w/ top hat @ Mercury Lounge, NYC - June 7, 2007

The Veils have great songs (even if one sounds exactly like a U2 song - even more so than that Polyphonic Spree song sounds like Blondie), and they were a lot of fun live, though at times I wished the band members could play better - especially during this one slower jazzy song that I like a lot on the album (the one he wrote in his mom's laundry) - it kind of fell apart.

Finn Andrews is an excellent frontman though. I was happy to see him wearing his hat - it may be permanently attached to his head - nobody knows for sure. Overall good stuff, and I'm still enjoying the new album. The cover of Bruce Springsteen's "State Trooper" was nice too. Music Snobbery has the whole setlist.

The Veils have Billy Corgan-like taste in bassists @ Mercury Lounge

Then I ran to Gramercy Theater to see Calexico, I mean Califone (I always do that). The contrast was amazing - I was looking forward to both shows, and they were both great, but in different ways. Califone have that talent I was wishing for at the Veils. In fact Califone don't just have one ridiculously awesome drummer - they have two, and a whole band full of extremely talented musicians that put me in a trance - there were seats, and I was seated. Really, really nice....

Califone @ Gramercy Theater, NYC - June 7, 2007

Tony was there. Really, really awkward....

Califone & Tony @ Gramercy Theater, NYC - June 7, 2007

But more on that tomorrow (or feel free to leave the story in the comments).

The Sea & The Cake @ Paradise Rock Club in Boston - June 5, 2007 (CRED)

Two big indie rock tours hit NYC tonight - Califone is at the Gramercy Theatre, and The Sea & Cake is at Webster Hall. Which do you choose? Tonight is also The Veils and Dinosaur Jr.

At first I hated it, but the hat is actually starting to grow on me....

Continue reading "VIDEO: The Veils - Calliope"

DOWNLOAD: The Veils - Advice For Young Mothers to Be (MP3)

The Veils have added a third NYC date at Mercury Lounge, so their NYC tour schedule now looks like this:

Jun 7 @ Mercury Lounge w/ Bon Savants (early) (TICKETS)
Jun 7 @ Mercury Lounge w/ The Phoenix Foundation (late) (TICKETS)
Jun 8 @ Union Hall w/ Elizabeth Harper (TICKETS)

The new show is the late one at Mercury Lounge, and the new opener is also from New Zealand. More tour dates HERE.

The Veils' new album Nux Vomica is streaming at AOL, and I'd definitely say it's interesting enough to give a listen. Tickets are still on sale for their June NYC shows. All tour dates here.

DOWNLOAD: Veils - Advice For Young Mothers to Be (MP3) (video)
DOWNLOAD: The Veils - Under The Folding Branches (MP3) (VIA)

The Veils (originally from New Zealend, but now from the UK) are visiting the U.S. in June for a tour that includes two NYC dates:

Jun 7 - Mercury Lounge, NYC (TICKETS)
Jun 8 - Union Hall, Brooklyn (TICKETS)
Do you know them? Sixeyes gave their Nux Vomica (out in the U.S. on April 24th) a 9/10. All tour dates below....

Continue reading "The Veils - new album, MP3, Tour Dates"