by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: White Fence - Get That Heart (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: White Wires - Be True to Your School ('Til You Get Kicked Out) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Buffalo Tom - "Arise, Watch" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Modern Skirts - Happy 81 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Modern Skirts - Bumber Car (MP3)

White Fence

It's been kind of a bummer week with way too many great musicians lost (Gerard Smith, Poly Styrene, Pheobe Snow) but Spring is finally here and, well, the beat goes on. Lots of worthy shows this week.

First up is White Fence who are making a rare trip to the East Coast this week, playing a few shows here in NYC: Thursday at 285 Kent with Woods and Spectre Folk, then Saturday (4/30) at Cake Shop. I feel fairly certain that they are also "Beige Swordfights" listed as part of a sweet Death by Audio show on Friday (4/29) that includes The Beets, Fergus and Geronimo and The Sundelles.

White Fence is Tim Presley who also fronts LA psych-rock band Darker My Love. Where that band is more groovy in a JAMC/BJM kind of way, White Fence sounds like a lost nugget from the late '60s flower power scene. White Fence released its debut on Woodsist last year, and the second album, ...Is Growing Faith, came out this January. Both records are weird and wonderful, lots of great songs made more interesting with vintage sound and old-school tape effects. If you like Love, The Left Banke or, more recently, the Lilys (to name three L bands) you'll dig White Fence's scene.

White Wires

Keeping with the color scheme, Ottowa, Ontario's White Wires are back in town for a one-off show on Thursday at Bruar Falls as part of a fun line-up of party rock and power pop. One of my favorite live bands of the last few years, White Wires play no-nonsense three-minute pop and do so with a joy you can't fake. White Wires new album, WWII, gets in and gets out in less than 30 minutes and should appeal to fans of the Nerves, early Tom Petty and The Undertones.

The rest of the show, brought to you by the good folks at Daed Pizza, looks pretty cool too with all-girl trio Babyshakes, and Games which is a new band formed from ex-members of Gentleman Jesse and Busy Signals. Obviously, this is not the synthy Games who now go by Ford & Lopatin. You can listen to this Games' swell debut single over at the Rob's House Records website.

Buffalo Tom

What else? Buffalo Tom play Bowery Ballroom on Thursday (4/28). The Boston trio were once dubbed "Dinosaur Jr. Jr." (being signed to SST and having J Mascis produce your debut, it was an easy joke) but became one of the most popular bands of the early '90s alt rock scene. 1990's Birdbrain and 1992's Let Me Come Over are indie rock classics that were unavoidable on college radio and Alternative Nation (or episodes of My So-Called Life) and still hold up.

The band went on hiatus around 2000 but returned with 2007's Three Easy Pieces and have just released a new album, Skins, which came out in February. It's pretty good. More mature, yes, but Buffalo Tom can still bring the noise too. If you have any doubt, you can download the entirety of Buffalo Tom's Mercury Lounge show from November 2010 courtesy NYC Taper. You can also check out a track from Skins at the top of this post.

Modern Skirts

And finally, Lord Huron are here on Thursday (4/28, the night of Too Many Good Shows) at Mercury Lounge. (And at tonight at MHoW with Femi Kuti) (we're giving away a pair of tickets on Facebook). I like their EP well enough, and the Merc show seems likely to sell out, so I'm really here to say if you're going do go early enough to check out North Highlands who play right before them. It's their first show in a long time, as the band have been putting finishing touches on their debut album which they've been working hard on all winter. The band are promising lots of new songs which is pretty exciting. Anyone who's seen them play know North Highlands are great live and I think 2011 is gonna be a big year for them. Go see 'em! And yeah, stay for Lord Huron I guess.

That's mostly it for this week. A few more daily picks are below:

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27

Blogs may have gotten over their crush on Austin band Oh No! Oh My! but that doesn't mean they've gone stale. Hear their still-catchy indiepop tonight at The Rock Shop tonight. Go early to catch Atlanta's underrated Modern Skirts (check out two tracks at the top of this post).

Diehard, who've been busy recording their Kickstarter-funded debut album, try out some songs live at Cake Shop. One of NYC's best indie rock rock bands.

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Continue reading "White Fence, White Wires, Games (not Ford & Lopatin), Buffalo Tom, North Highlands, Modern Skirts, Yelle & more in This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Violens - Acid Reign (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Violens - Violent Sensation Descends (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fergus & Geronimo - Powerful Lovin' (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Warm Ghost - Open the Wormhole In Your Heart (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Weed Hounds - Beach Bummed 7" (ZIP)
DOWNLOAD: Acylics - Nightwatch (MP3)

Violens

We'll start of this week with a giveaway. Violens play Santos this Saturday and if you'd like to win a pair of tickets to the show as well as a copy of the band's new album, Amoral, just send an email to BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM with "VIOLENS" as the subject and we'll pick a winner at random.

I think Violens' debut is a pretty sweet slice of glossy goth pop, heavily in debt to bombastic '80s UK mope but with a modern sheen. If it's out-of-step with what's currently in favor in Brooklyn, it's all the more distinctive for it. It also sounds really good loud. Amoral may hold up pretty well down the line, too, as songs like "Violent Sensation Descends," "Acid Reign" (both downloadable above) and "The Dawn Of Your Happiness Is Rising" are cleverly-produced and catchy-as-hell.

The whole Santos show should be pretty fun, with the awesome Light Asylum and Caveman opening (plus, BBG reports that Krallice drummer Lev Weinstein is now playing as a member of Violens too).

John Grant

What else is going on this week? MOJO Album of 2010 recipient John Grant plays two shows this week: an early show tonight (12/8) at Mercury Lounge and then Saturday (12/11) at The Rock Shop. If you haven't checked out the former Czars frontman's solo debut -- produced and backed by Midlake -- you should really do so. From MOJO's year-end review:

[Midlake]'s intervention supplied confidence, empathy and a meticulous '70s soft rock sound, allowing Grant to channel a life's worth of vitriol and self-flagellation into songs of spiritual hunger, emotional fireworks and bile-black humour that always searched for self-improvement and atonement. Here were tales of alcohol and cocaine dependency, self-hate and destructive love affairs that raised the twin ghosts of Patsy Cline and Karen Carpenter. The result was in an intensely bittersweet pop record, that, like a couple of similar MOJO classics before it -- Antony's I Am a Bird Now and Bon Iver's For Emma... -- sounded like it's creator had been waiting his whole life to make.

You can listen to the whole shebang via a widget at the bottom of this post. Unfortunately, Midlake won't be backing him on these shows so we won't get Queen of Denmark is it's truly epic glory but I have a feeling that Grant, with help from multi-instrumentalist  Casey Chandler, will do just fine on a smaller scale.

Tricky

Trip hop pioneer Tricky is here this week as well, with shows at Le Poisson Rouge tomorrow (12/9) and Brooklyn Bowl on Friday (12/10). Here's one of those artists that even that despite a string of lackluster records, I always give the new album a chance. While there are more than a few regrettable moments on Mixed Race (I don't think anybody could make a Peter Gun sample work in 2010), there's also some of the best we've heard from him in ages that drip that paranoid, slow-burn cool that made his first two albums classics.

Atlas Sound, Feb 2010 @ the Bell House (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

While Deerhunter's terrific Halcyon Digest is finding its way into many's Top Ten of 2010 lists (maybe mine, we'll see), Bradford Cox stays busy as Atlas Sound who play an Maxwell's on Friday (12/10) and The Bell House on Saturday (12/11). Has any other artist been on such a creative hot streak as Cox since 2008? The guy releases at least one "official" album a year in one of his two guises, with regular demo dumps via his blog that are almost always worth downloading. Like the four-part Bedroom Databank series we got in the last two weeks. May this ride never end.

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And a few more picks, day-by-day, for shows not covered above.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8

It's the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's death, and Glasslands pays tribute tonight with a cavalcade of indie names, including: Acrylics, Amazing Baby, Nicole Atkins, Here We Go Magic, Eytan & The Embassy, Psychic, Teen, The Royal Chains, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Bizi Gara, Class Actress, and Brian Harding. Proceeds go to Arts Education International.

My Teenage Stride, who have five new downloadable songs up on WFMU's Free Music Archive, play Pianos tonight with The Art of Shooting, Minneapolis duo Fort Wilson Riot, and Desert Stars.

Over at Death by Audio, you can catch a rock-solid bill featuring bash-pop duo Sisters, Total Slacker offshoot Web Dating, indie rock quartet Shark?, sleazoid garage rockin' X-Ray Eyeballs, and Philly duo Slutever.

Captured Tracks band Further Reductions bring the minimal synth sound to the Weird Party at Home Sweet Home.

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Continue reading "Violens, John Grant, Tricky, Atlas Sound, Weed Hounds, Acrylics, My Teenage Stride & more in This Week in Indie"

Tombs @ the Studio in 2009 (more by Jason Jamal Nakleh)

today in NYC
* H2O on a boat
* Robert Black @ The Stone
* Ute Lemper @ Joe's Pub (early & late)
* Leon Russell @ Mexicali Live (NJ)
* Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio @ Jazz Standard
* Forest Fire, Oh Land, Normandy @ Glasslands
* Scott McMicken of Dr. Dog, Springs @ The Rock Shop
* Diddy, Rick Ross, Ciara & more @ Governors Island
* Hannibal Buress, King Sickabilly @ Knitting Factory
* Miya Masaoka, Mary Halvorson, Okkyung Lee @ The Stone
* Reid Paley Trio, Sam Chanse, Sugar Life @ Knitting Factory
* Nullsleep, Bit Shifter, Glomag, NO CARRIER @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Tombs, Radiation, Planks, Gods & Queens, Dawn @ Death By Audio
* Chromeo, The Suzan, Telephoned, Kid Sister @ Williamsburg Waterfront
* Metal Rouge, Sam Hamilton, Jane Austen, Greg Fox, Diablo @ Silent Barn
* Seaven Tears (Charlie Looker), Tartar Lamb (Toby Driver), Music of the American Avante-Garde (Bracken/Kidambi) @ Zebulon
* Religious To Damn, Fielded, Psychic Steel, Kevin Hufnagel @ Bruar Falls
* The Big Sleep, Fan-Tan, Sensual Harassment, Replicas, Michna (DJ Set) @ Cameo
* Mia Riddle, Pearl & The Beard, Madison Square Gardeners (Farm To Folk Fest) @ Union Pool (see below)
* New York Night Train's Ya Ya Yacht w/ DJ Mr. Jonathan Toubin & DJ Ian Svenonius
* Saviours, Priestess, Ramming Speed, Antidote [NYHC 1983], Rorschach DJ's, Hamsoken, Gatekeeper, Cult of Youth, Naam, Titan, Natur, Snake Sustaine, Primitive Weapons, Cleen Teeth @ Santos Party House
* K Holes, Electric Tickle Machine, My Teenage Stride, Food Stamps, Weekends, Weed Hounds, Shark?, Lost Boy, The Runaway Suns, The Caterpillers (and much more) @ Don Pedro (see below)

A lot to do today for a rainy Sunday at the end of a slow week.

Individual tickets are on sale today for the 2010-2011 NY Philharmonic concert season.

To make sure they don't get shut down, tonight's sold out H2O show happening on a Rocks Off boat is going to be dry ("Our First Ever NO BOOZE CRUISE - Straight Edge on the Hudson!"), which is ironic since those that step outside will probably not be dry at all thanks to the H2O coming down from the sky.

Good thing there's going to be a Pool Party on August 29th. Otherwise they would have went out on a rainy note. If it doesn't get cancelled, Chromeo, The Suzan, Telephoned, and previously-known-as "Special Guest" Kid Sister play the free show at the Williamsburg Waterfront today.

Today is the day The Specials were supposed to play in the rain at Central Park Summerstage.

Though there are still free events, there are no more free concerts on Governors Island this summer, which means tonight's potentially-soggy Diddy fans paid for their tickets. Same situation for the Jonas Brothers fans at Jones Beach.

Two indoor options today include "Farm to Folk Fest" at Union Pool (3-8pm) and "My Endless Summer" at Don Pedro from 4pm to 4am. Flyers and more information for both below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Eternal Summers - Able To (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Beach Fossils - Youth (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: North Highlands - Collarbone (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Regal Degal - I Saw the Smoke (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Common Loon - Dinosaur Vs. Early Man (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Natural Child - Dogbite (MP3)

Eternal Summers

Happy Tax Day! This week's column is jam-packed with cheap options for great shows if Uncle Sam left your bank accounts depleted. Let's get to it.

Duo Eternal Summers have been getting blog attention for about a year, and I'll admit I didn't listen at first due to their name, fearing they'd worsen my Beach Music Fatigue (BMF). But then I saw they were from Roanoke, Virgina and my interest was piqued. I grew up 90 minutes West of Roanoke which had the closest good record store to me (The Record Exchange, which closed in 2006).

Back then they didn't have a music scene outside of country and cover bands. (Though I did see Huey Lewis & the News at the Civic Center way back when.) Not sure how thriving it is now, but Eternal Summers have, in my book, put Roanoke on the map. (Their label, Chimney Sweep, shows that Southwest Virgina's doing well musically.) I'm glad I listened. Apart from their name, they don't really have a lot in common with the beach scene (be it Real Estate, Washed Out, Best Coast, etc). The guitars are a little more slashy, the vocals less bathed in reverb. Check out their song "Able To" at the top of this post, which is from their self-titled EP. If anything, to these ears they're more akin to the C-86 inspired pop of San Francisco's Brilliant Colors.  There's a definite Anglo slant to their sound.

Eternal Summers have three shows in three days. Friday (4/16) is at Bruar Falls where they're part of a killer bill that includes Beach Fossils, Total Slacker, Air Waves, and Beachniks. They will also play Saturday (4/17) at Glasslands with The Beets, The Maine Coons, German Measles and Family Trees. And then on Sunday, Eternal Summers play Coco 66 with Marshmallows, Honey Dos, Beachniks, and The Maine Coons. Do check out one of these shows.

Natural Child

Natural Child play an awesome bill at Death By Audio Saturday including , Sisters, Boogie Boarder and Regal Degal.

The trio are Nashville neighbors, pals and labelmates of JEFF the Brotherhood, and play shambly, garagey party rock. I don't mean just that they're fun (and they are), but also that all of their songs are about some aspect of partying. Whether they bring the party to their live shows or not, I have yet to experience. But I'm ready to find out.

Natural Child also play Friday night (4/16) at Lulu's in Greenpoint with Liquor Store and Foster Care, and have dates in New Brunswick, NJ and Philly --  all 201o tour dates are below.

Beach Fossils

That Beach Fossils show Friday night is the only one they've got lined up for a month so you might want to head that way. (Plus the rest of the bands that night, all of which I endorse.) If you haven't  seen them lately, or ever, Beach Fossils have really come into their own I think, not bad for a band that's barely been playing for year. They've worked out a distinctive sound -- almost no strumming, instead spinning interweaving lines of guitar and bass -- and are confident singers now too.

And they're a great live band too. None of the four members stay still longer than they have to, twirling around like tops, with mom-jean-wearing drummer Cole Smith doing as much dancing as banging on his instrument. They were fantastic opening for Love is All at Knitting Factory a few weeks back, video from which is below.

The band's self-titled debut is set for release May 25 on Captured Tracks and you can download the jangly "Youth" from the album at the top of this post. I've heard the whole thing and it will definitely make for great summer listening. After Friday, Beach Fossils' next local show is May 13 at Brooklyn Bowl with Midnight Masses.

Sisters

A little more on the Death by Audio show on Saturday (4/17). Sisters have finished their album for Death by Audio Records which should be out sooner than later. You can hear two of the album's tracks ("The Curse" and "Glue") on their MySpace, both of which I like a lot. Sisters also play tonight (4/15) at Brooklyn Bowl with Darlings. That's a pretty good show too.

The other band on the DBA bill is Regal Degal, who I caught last Friday at newish venue North Fourth.  The trio is fronted by Josh da Costa who you may know as Dinowalrus' drummer. Regal Degal are less psych and more post-punky, drawing influence from post punk's darker side. (I hear a lot of Chairs Missing/154 era Wire in them.) The band doesn't have a MySpace, but they do have an infrequently updated blog. You can check out their song "I Saw the Smoke" at the top of this post, which they describe as sounding like "we're playing from within a beautiful porcelain toilet bowl. This is the result of spending a lot of time on an initial mix, then too much time listening back to it and not enjoying it enough, and then spending very little time on this more enjoyable and questionable mix."

Common Loon

This column is never-ending I know. Champagne, IL duo Common Loon have flown into town for two shows: tonight (4/15) at Union Hall and then Friday night (4/16) at Pianos. Both shows are with Tulsa, OK's Unwed Sailor. Common Loon's debut album, The Long Dream of Birds, came out last week on Hidden Agenda (home of The 1900s and Moonbabies) and it's recommended if you you like hazy 90s-ish indie like Oliva Tremor Control, Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips. You can check out their song "Dinosaur Vs. Early Man" at the top of this post.

Also playing tonight's Union Hall show is North Highlands who I've written about a few times already and were recently named one of the "8 NYC Bands You Need to Hear Now" by The L Magazine. You can hear them, in fact, right now by downloading their lovely track "Collarbone" at the top of this post. They are very good live and I think 2010 will be a big year for them.

In addition to tonight's show you've got two more chances to see them in the next week. They play Sunday (4/18) at Glasslands with Uninhabitable Mansions, Polite Sleeper, and North Carolina's Charming Youngsters. And then they play next Saturday (4/24) at Solar One with Cold Cave, fellow L Mag pick Oberhoffer and a "surprise headliner."

North Highlands

Speaking of L Magazine "8 NYC Bands" issue, Twin Sister play this Saturday at Los Hermanos Tortilleria in Bushwick. The show is being put on by blog Chocolate Bobka and also features Austin, TX's Pure Ecstasy and local band Weed Hounds. Go early (doors at 7pm) for free tacos (while supplies last which probably won't be very long). They've got good tacos (which are cheap even when not free). $7, BYOB. Twin Sister also open for the Morning Benders at Mercury Lounge on April 28 if you're going to that (sold out).

And finally, don't forget, Saturday (4/17) is Record Store Day and local shops participating include Other Music, Etherea, Academy Records Annex, Rebel Rebel, Sound Fix, and loads more. There's tons of cool exclusive releases coming out, and the RSD website has a handy, fairly comprehensive list of what is being released (PDF). Other Music has live performances by The Drums and Pains of Being Pure at Heart, plus indie celeb DJs. There's similar things going on at other stores too - like Generation Records, and we'll be posting more today and tomorrow.

Okay, that's enough for four days. Click through for tour dates, videos and lots and lots of flyers...

Continue reading "Eternal Summers, Natural Child, Beach Fossils, Regal Degal, North Highlands, Twin Sister & more in This Week in Indie"