by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: BNLX - Living in Exile (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BNLX - Vaporize (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: BNLX - Dance Dance Dance (on the Radio) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Senator (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Tigers (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Male Bonding - "Bones" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Male Bonding - Tame the Sun (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights - Diamond Mine (MP3)

I guess we'll start this week with Stephen Malkmus who is doing two in stores on Thursday: Academy Records in Williamsburg at 6pm and then Other Music at 9PM. His new album Mirror Traffic, as you may know, was produced by Beck. I'm not sure what that was supposed to connote (more acoustic guitars? L. Ron Hubbard references?) but it's a pretty typical Malkmus solo album with some tight pop songs ("Tigers," downloadable above, and "Stick Figures in Love") and maybe a little more focused and less jammy than he's been in a while. But not much less jammy.

I'm the guy that thought his first solo album was a step in the right direction and has been somewhat ambivalent by what's followed since. But they're always worth hearing. Malkmus and the now Weiss-less Jicks are on tour next month and all upcoming tour dates are at the bottom of this post, along with the video for "No One Is (As I Are Be)."

Voluminous and enigmatic Minneapolis duo BNLX are visiting this week, playing The Rock Shop tonight (8/24) and Pianos on Thursday (8/25). This is their third trip to NYC, and the first since releasing the 6th release in their quarterly EP series. It's description in typical BNLX corporate-speak:

BNLX commences the next phase in the BNLX First One Year Plan (extension two) with its sixth consecutive quarterly EP release of "music." These compositions combine rhythmically-expressed poetry in popular idiomatic vernacular ("rhymes") with pulsating percussive elements ("beats") and harmonic modulations/variations/transpositions (melody). The resulting unique juxtaposition of auditory and narrative elements can only be described as "music". Thematic topics on this release include IED's, event horizons, beards and banjos, and deposed royalty. "Vaporize" leads off the EP with a high-energy blast of high velocity psychedelic noise pop.

Three of the four EP tracks are available to download at the top of this post. What I really like about BNLX is that they seem to be doing this for fun and it really translates to the songs, and to the listener. This is well-tread territory, but it's a pleasure to crank up loud. Or to go see live. BNLX are an aural (LOUD) and visual (strobes, smoke machines) assault in concert and it works. Go see 'em.

The Rock Shop show is with Delaware's Sky Drops; the Pianos show also has Jeane (who I finally saw last week, liked 'em), Phone Home and Ventilader.

Speaking of regimented release schedules, Violens have been releasing a digital single every month this year, the latest of which, "Through the Window," is my favorite so far. With a skittering drumbeat and delay-drenched arpeggiated guitars, it sounds a little like Kitchens of Distinction (if you remember that early '90s band). Violens will be playing a lot of their new material tonight (8/24) at Glasslands.

The rest of tonight's bill is also worth checking out. Dive is the new band from Zachary Cole Smith who used to play drums (and wear mom jeans) in Beach Fossils. (He's also played in Soft Black and with Darwin Deez.) The one track I've heard is definitely a bit Fossil-ized, but am curious to hear more and see what they're like live. Dive play again on September 1 at Shea Stadium with Caged Animals and Forest Fire.

Opening the Glasslands show is Philadelphia's psych-shoegazers Arc in Round. whose most recent EP is cacauphonous and captivating...and sound like they might be very good live.

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Personal and the Pizzas are delivering in our area this weekend: Friday (8/26) at Maxwell's and Saturday (8/27) at Death by Audio. If you like good time Ramones style rock n' roll, and pizza (with extra cheese) you're gonna have a good time. I don't know what else to tell ya. There's video at the bottom of this post.

Lastly, we've got Male Bonding rolling into town: Glasslands on Saturday (8/27) and Mercury Lounge on Monday (8/29). The UK band's new album, Endless Now, is out next week and as mentioned before it moves away from the swampy sound of their debut into defiant mid-fi. Any more fidelity with melodic punk like this and you might start getting into Blink-182 territory. This album is as produced as it needs to be and is a pretty fun listen with just enough shoegaze nods to keep old guys like me interested. You can download two songs off it at the top of this post.

The band are on tour with Austin's Love Inks who are 180 degrees from Male Bonding's sound: gentle, minimal, croony. The jury is still out on their live show (my jury at least) but I do really like their album.

That's the main stuff I'm talking about this week. A few more worthy picks -- day by day -- are below.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24

Head to Pianos to catch dark and sexy ZAZA,  who play with Australian group Sherlock's Daughter who are on an extended New York holiday, as well as My Best Fiend, Our Mountain, and Alak.

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Continue reading "Stephen Malkmus, BNLX, Male Bonding, Violens, David Kilgour, Dive, Joe Pernice & more in This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Widowspeak - Harsh Realm (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Hoop Dreams - XCPR (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Crinkles - I'm a Dog (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: VHS or Beta - I Found a Reason (MP3)

Widowspeak

After last week's crazy abundance of sonic riches, this week is nicely slim on choices (at least for thing's that interest me.) But even a fallow week has plenty to do.

Tonight (8/2) at Glasslands is the record release party for Widowspeak's self-titled debut, which is out on Captured Tracks. This local trio gets compared to Mazzy Star a lot -- and I am as guilty as anybody -- which is to say singer Molly Hamilton has the same smoky vocal quality as Hope Sandoval. And the band make vaguely '60s-ish pop, dreamy and twangy with lots of vibrato.

I pulled out She Hangs Brightly last night and, really... Widowspeak doesn't really sound all that much like Mazzy Star. Hamilton's voice is more breathy and effervescent than Sandoval's (and an undeniably powerful weapon live, a subtle knife), and their music isn't nearly as drowsy or patchouli-soaked. Beyond that, the band are good songwriters and performers -- the album is quite good. Though I still say their cover of "Wicked Game" is a little too on-the-nose.

Hoop Dreams

The Glasslands show also is NYC live debut of new Captured Tracks signing Hoop Dreams. The six-piece are from Blacksburg, VA, same as fellow C/T band Wild Nothing. (The label has a stronghold on Southwest Virginia talent it seems.) The A-side to their Captured Tracks single, all two minutes of it, is hook-filled in a Spencer Krug kind of way, and you can download it at the top of this post. (The b-side is a little more dour.) It doesn't sound like six people made it, so I'm curious to see them play tonight.

You can also catch the shoegazy sounds of Burlington, VT's Crinkles (check out "I'm a Dog" at the top of this post) and Excops (new band from Hymns frontman Brian Harding).

Big Audio Dynamite @ Coachella 2011 (more by David Andrako)

The newly reformed Big Audio Dynamite, who last played a somewhat prohibitively expensive (but awesome) show at Roseland back in April, are back in town to play Brooklyn Bowl tomorrow night (8/3). Tickets, a more reasonable $35, are sold out but there will be "limited admission" at the door, which will open at 6PM. Here's some of what I wrote about the Roseland show:

Getting nearly every single the band released plus some choice album cuts, the NYC show was a pretty perfect showcase for what made B.A.D. so great: killer dance songs ("C'mon Every Beatbox," "E=MC²," "Just Play Music"), hip hop and reggae-influenced jams ("Sightsee MC," "BAD"), the band's love of film ("Medicine Show"), and genuinely affecting pop ("The Other 99," "V. Thirteen"). We also got "Beyond the Pale," one of the best songs Jones has ever written, dedicated last night to Joe Strummer (who cowrote much of No. 10 Upping St.).

Apart from the tip of the hat to Strummer, Jones didn't do a whole lot of "remember when" talk and kept things mostly free of drippy nostalgia. He was, however, jovial and chatty, joking with the audience between songs or when things went askew, like a false start to encore number "E=MC²."

Band co-founder Don Letts is just one of the coolest dudes on the planet, and B.A.D. really came alive on any song that featured him, of which there was a fair amount: foreign war critique "A Party," the hard-hitting London travelogue that is "Sightsee MC!" and the band's theme tune, "BAD." (Also the reggae hoedown "Battle of All Saints Road," though I would've prefered No. 10 Upping St.'s "Ticket.") Letts, who's inching towards 60, jumped around the stage, dreads hitting the ground, like it was 25 years ago.

Also playing is Bad Brains frontman HR, and onetime Smiths bassist Andy Rourke will DJ in between sets.

And that's the big stuff for this week in the TWIIverse. (Told you it was a quiet week.) As usual, some more daily picks, starting at Wednesday, are below.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3

Though it's been a while since they've been in the spotlight, Fountains of Wayne continue to write winning powerpop about everday minutae. That includes their just-released Sky Full of Holes. Hear songs from that -- as well as probably "Stacy's Mom" and "Radiation Vibe" -- tonight at Bowery Ballroom with Nicole Atkins opening. It's sold out, as is their acoustic show on Friday (8/5) at City Winery.

This week's Summerscreen in McCarren Park is '90s classic Clueless, with the sultry and danceable Zambri opening the show.

Music streaming service Spotify is sponsoring a free show at Mercury Lounge with Suckers and Headless Horseman at Mercury Lounge. First come first served, no RSVP necessary.

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Continue reading "Widowspeak, Big Audio Dynamite, Hoop Dreams, Crinkles, VHS or Beta & more This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: A Classic Education - I Lost Time (MP3)

Bologna, Italy's A Classic Education will be here for CMJ, playing six shows:

WED Oct 20 7:00P The Delancey (Lefse & I Guess I'm Floating Showcase) NYC
THU Oct 21 8:30P - Hype Machine & dubFrequency Party @ Backstage (formerly The Annex)
THU Oct 21 10:00P Trash Bar, Brooklyn
FRI Oct 22 12:00P Pop Tarts Suck Toasted @ Cake Shop
FRI Oct 22 6:00P Pianos
FRI Oct 22 8:30P The Charleston, Brooklyn

Maybe you caught them last year when they played one of our CMJ day parties? The band's new EP, Hey There Stranger, came out about a month ago on Lefse Records (How to Dress Well, Dominant Legs) and straddles the line between swoony baroque pop and reverby indie, with plenty of "bah bahs" and "oh ohs." You can download "I Lost Time" from it at the top of this post, and watch the found footage video for it below

Note that one of the shows on their list is the Hype Machine & dubFrequency Party. You can RSVP and stream tracks of the artists playing at Hype's site, and check out full lineup and flyer, and more, below...

Continue reading "A Classic Education returning to NYC for CMJ, playing 6 shows including dF & Hype Machine's party (dates & lineup)"

Romy Madley Croft @ Le Poisson Rouge - Jan 2, 2010

Saturday night The xx's female vocalist Romy Madley Croft spun records for her headlining 2AM DJ set at the West Village's Le Poisson Rouge. Finger on the Pulse and VHS or Beta packed the dance floor with their pounding DJ sets before handing the decks off to Romy.

Quite different from what you'd expect to hear on an album by The xx, Romy's solo set consisted of hip hop and pop classics from the likes of Aaliyah, Adina Howard and beyond. It was a great way to kick off the first Saturday of 2010. [Tastes Like Caramel]

The xx will headline Webster Hall in NYC on March 31st, part of their tour with jj. Tickets go on American Express presale Wednesday at noon, and then general sale Friday the same time (thx Phil).

Tickets are also on sale for the show jj are playing at Knitting Factory one day earlier.

photos by Paul Birman

DOWNLOAD: The xx - Space Bass (Jamie xx's Remix of the xx) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The xx - Do You Mind (Kyla cover) (MP3)

"In a recent interview, the xx talked about expanding their sound. So much has happened to them in the short space of time since they recorded this debut that their next record can't fail to be infused with this experience. All the more reason to cherish this album, then. For this was more than just the sound of 2009, it was a distinctive musical statement of the like we may never get to hear again." [The Guardian]

The xx finished a tour with Friendly Fires at Webster Hall in NYC on December 5th. We already did a post about that show, but then the very talented Paul Birman mentioned he had a set of pictures that could use a home. Those are the pictures in this post.

Five days after the NYC show, The xx made their network television debut on the Carson Daly show. Video from appearance is below.

And I'm not sure what brings them back, but The xx must be hanging around a bit because they have another NYC appearance scheduled for January 2nd.. It's not a live show though, they are just DJing at Le Poisson Rouge at a late night party with VHS or Beta Dee Jays and Finger On The Pulse. Tickets are $5+fee if you buy them in advance or slightly more if you wait for the door.

Tickets are also still on sale for the show that The xx is playing with Hot Chip at Terminal 5 on April 22nd.

All dates with the rest of those pictures and the video below...

Continue reading "The xx Carson Daly video, (another set of) Webster Hall pics & an upcoming DJ gig in NYC "

LCD Soundsystem, RJD2, Devendra Banhart, Mum, The Decemberists, Neon Neon, Devlin & Darko, My Morning Jacket, VHS or Beta, Diplo, Gnarls Barkley, Tim & Eric, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings are among the artists contributing tracks to Causes 2, an album to benefit Darfur (out March 2009).

Causes 1 is out now and has tracks by Animal Collective, Bloc Party, Death Cab, Spoon, The Shins, Bright Eyes, Cornelius and many others.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and the Decemberists are also among the artists who contributed to Dark Was the Night, a new comp to benefit the Red Hot Organization which will be released in February.

Sharon Jones just announced some tour dates. My Morning Jacket will be at MSG on New Years Eve.

A video trailer for Causes 2, below...

Continue reading "Causes 2 - a new CD comp for Darfur w/ LCD Soundystem, My Morning Jacket, Decemberists, Sharon Jones & many more"

by Finger on the Pulse

DOWNLOAD: VHS or Beta ~ Can't Believe a Single Word (LA Riots Remix V6) (MP3)

SXSW was a lot fun. We saw a lot of our favorite people in a different setting, drank a lot of free beer, listened to a lot of music, and did a lot of catching up with both friends and acquaintences. So many of our favorite artists were in town to play shows - LA Riots being one of them, so not surprisingly we ran into Daniel from LA Riots (who we've worked with before) on Saturday and we started talking about these posts. He said he'd send us a new track this week, and he didn't break that promise. Download the VHS or Beta (a FOTP fave) MP3 above - it's a smoothed out electro journey for this rainy hump day.

If you have a track you'd like to see up here, please send to music@fotpnyc.com for consideration. If you are in the NYC area this Thursday night, come to Upstiars. We're guest djing. And if you're inn New Orleans on Friday night, make sure to say hello to Terry D. He'll be playing at the Whirling Dervish. LA Riots tour dates right HERE. VHS or Beta tour dates below....

Continue reading "VHS or Beta - LA Riots remix MP3, 2008 Tour Dates"

DOWNLOAD: VHS or Beta - Can't Believe a Single Word (MP3) (via)

VHS or Beta and Walter Meego have two upcoming NYC shows. One is at Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday (Aug 29), and the other is the next day at Studio B in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn one is free if you RSVP. The Manhattan one is not free, but if you email BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: VHS), and tell me you want to go, I do have a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky random winner.

VHS or Beta's (bad?) new album Bring On The Comets is out today on Astralwerks. You can stream it in its entirety @ AOL. All tour dates below....

Continue reading "VHS OR BETA free shows, tour dates, new album & stream"

That random Stills show at Don Hill's in NYC is tonight (June 6, 2007), except it's not that random anymore - it's part of a tour. VHS or Beta are also DJing the show, and VHS or Beta are DJing the night after at Hiro Ballroom. VHS or Beta are also playing live at Bowery Ballroom on August 29th - one day after their new album 'Bring on the Comets' comes out. The Stills are also playing Maxwell's and Prospect Park. All tour dates for everyone below...

Continue reading "The Stills & VHS or Beta - 2007 Tour Dates"