Sleepy Sun at ATP 2010 (more by BBG)

Sleep Sun will release their third album and first since the departure of Rachel Fannan, Spine Hits, on April 10 via The End Records. The album was recorded with Dave Catching, formerly of Queens of the Stone Age. The album artwork and tracklist are below.

Sleepy Sun are going on an international tour in support of the new album which hits NYC on April 9 at Glasslands and April 10 at Mercury Lounge. Both NYC shows will be opened by White Hills, who just played Mercury Lounge and also open a number of other dates on the tour. Tickets for the Glasslands show go on sale Friday (2/10) at 7 AM and tickets for the Mercury show go on sale Friday (2/10) at noon and are on AmEx presale now.

All dates, album art and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Sleepy Sun releasing new LP, touring w/ White Hills (dates)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

White Hills @ Mercury Lounge

As advertised, psych rockers White Hills played a show at Mercury Lounge on 1/24 with MOFO. Here are some pictures. More of them below...

Continue reading "White Hills & MOFO played Mercury Lounge (pics) "

White Hills at Terminal 5 (more by BBG)

White Hills will welcome their previously mentioned new LP Frying on this Rock on March 20th via Thrill Jockey. It was recorded by Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Brian Eno, Swans, Herbie Hancock, Boredoms). Album art and tracklist below...

The new effort will be the band's focus at an upcoming NYC date (their only US date as of this posting) on January 24th at Mercury Lounge with MOFO (ex-members of A Place To Bury Strangers who are also prepping a new release). Tickets are on sale.

White Hills also recently welcomed their new live record, Live at Roadburn 2011. Order it via Thrill Jockey. You can pick up a copy of their 2011 album H-p1 at eMusic.

Continue reading "White Hills announce new LP, NYC show w/ MOFO (ex-APTBS)"

DOWNLOAD: Pontiak - "Lions of Least"(MP3)

White Hills at Terminal 5 (more by BBG)

"White Hills' sound has changed a bit compared to its catalog, particularly on the two songs enhanced by Oneida's Kid Millions' drums. Hawkwind's big riffs-in-space sound remains an obvious influence, though at different moments the band veers harshly into abstract Kraut electronics, or, as on "No Other Way," approaches stoner rock with a bass line identical to one on Sleep's Holy Mountain. As with those bands, the occasional thin, straining vocals detract from the overall sound, particularly on the otherwise raging "Upon Arrival."" [Dusted]

White Hills opened for Sleep at Terminal 5 earlier this year.

White Hills released Rough Trade favorite LP H-p1 in June and are already planning a follow-up on Thrill Jockey for early 2012. Similarly, their labelmates Pontiak are preparing for their release of Echo Ono on Feb 21 featuring "Lions of Least" which you can download above. A teaser video for the album is below.

White Hills and Pontiak will head out on a short tour in December including a show on 12/10 at Littlefield. Tickets are on sale. Their full slate of dates and that teaser video, below...

Continue reading "White Hills & Pontiak going on tour, prepping new LPs"

Josh T Pearson @ BV-SXSW 2011 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Check out Rough Trade's list of the Top 100 Albums of 2011 (yay Josh T Pearson!), below...

Continue reading "Rough Trade's Top 100 albums of 2011 "

The Psychic Paramount at Cake Shop (more by BBG)

The Rock Yard returns with its third show of 2011 at The Morgan on 9/3 (first was with The Growlers, second with Danny Brown). The full lineup this time, as partially mentioned before, is Pictureplane, White Hills, The Psychic Paramount, Wise Blood and The Realness (aka MVSCLZ). The show, The Psychic Paramount's only current date, pops off at 2PM and is FREE. Details (set times, etc) are below.

The show is one of two dates for Pictureplane that week, who will also hit Cameo Gallery on 9/1 with Autre Ne Veut. Tickets are on still sale. Pictureplane also participates in the upcoming "Check Yo Ponytail Tour" with Spank Rock, Big Freedia, The Death Set, and Franki Chan. That tour hits Brooklyn Bowl on 10/29 and tickets are on sale.

Pictureplane played PS1 over the weekend with help from Juan Maclean, Sloange, Blood Orange, Ford & Lapatin, and Grimes; check out pictures HERE.

White Hills will jet to the West Coast for some dates shortly after the Rock Yard show and then after two weeks, will head to Europe for a string of dates. Check out their tour sked, their new video for "Paradise", all dates and Rock Yard details below...

Continue reading "White Hills playing Rock Yard w/ Psychic Paramount & others -- dates, video & stuff "

by BBG

Sleep played Terminal 5 last night (6/22) with help from death-doom pioneers Winter and Brooklyn's own White Hills. It was one of only a few dates scheduled for the legendary stoner doom gods.

Similar to their appearances at Brooklyn Masonic Temple (pics from night 1, night 2) and ATP New York (photo set 1, set 2), Sleep kicked off their set with a segment of "Dopesmoker" before moving into faves like "The Druid", "Dragonaut", and "Holy Mountain". I've heard the complaints about Terminal 5 sound and while they can be somewhat warranted, I must say that from all three levels and every vantage point Sleep sounded incredible in that space.

Supporting bands were impressive too. Winter's set seemed more relaxed and (naturally) larger in the Terminal 5 space vs Union Pool, while White Hills (which featured Liturgy drummer/phenom Greg Fox for the evening) were the best I had ever seen them. Catch White Hills at their record release party on 7/14 at Union Pool. Excellent three band bill, and the perfect way to come in from the downpours that drenched the folks waiting in line as doors opened.

More pictures from Terminal 5, including Sleep's setlist, are below.

Continue reading "Sleep, Winter & White Hills played Terminal 5 (pics & setlist)"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: White Hills - "The Condition of Nothing" (MP3)

White Hills performing Mudhoney at Bowery (more by Amanda Hatfield)

White Hills are preparing to release their new full-length H-p1 on June 21 via Thrill Jockey where you can preorder it. Download "The Condition of Nothing" from the LP above, and check the video for that song, and a brand new video for the title track from the LP below.

White Hills have shows coming up too. Most notably they've landed an amazing slot supporting none other than Sleep at Terminal 5 and with Winter! Tickets are still available.

The Brooklyn band will play a headlining show on home turf to celebrate the record as well. Look for them at Union Pool on July 14th with Oneida side project Man Forever and Weird Owl who have a new LP on the way too. Tickets are on sale.

All dates and videos below...

Continue reading "White Hills releasing H-p1, playing shows (MP3, video, dates)"

Here is the initial lineup for Willamette Week's MusicfestNW, scheduled for Sept. 7-11, 2011 in Portland, Oregon, and it's pretty great. The multi-venue fest includes big outdoor performances by Band of Horses (Sunday, Sept. 11), Explosions in the Sky (Saturday, Sept. 10), and Iron & Wine (Friday, Sept. 9), in addition to shows with everyone from Archers of Loaf to Big Freedia to Butthole Surfers to Neurosis. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 3rd. Check out the full list below...

Continue reading "MusicfestNW 2011 -- dates & initial lineup"

photos by Amanda Hatfield, words by Andrew Frisicano

The "Our Band Could Be Your Life" tribute Sunday night at Bowery Ballroom ran more than four hours with 14 bands playing the music of 13 bands (plus a special encore act that covered Nirvana). Set changes were kept short, and bands generally played about 10-15 minutes (between one and four songs). Unannounced guests included Tim Harrington and Lee Ranaldo singing the Minutemen, Craig Finn playing the role of Minneapolis cop, and Dan Deacon's multimedia barrage and three-piece band. More highlights, lots of pictures, and a bunch of videos (UPDATE: NPR has audio of the show) are below...

Continue reading "'Our Band Could Be Your Life' in pics, video & review (Dirty Projectors, St Vincent, Dan Deacon, Ted Leo, Wye Oak & more)"

by BBG

Winter at Union Pool (more by Greg Cristman)

As if you didn't have enough reason to see Sleep when they come through NYC and hit Terminal 5 on June 22, here goes another one. The weedian loords of the riff-filled land will be supported by none other than Winter when they return to NYC, as well as Brooklyn's White Hills. Tickets are still available.

White Hills is in Austin now to play Austin Psych Fest along with names like Roky Erickson, The Black Angels, Spectrum and more over its three days (April 29-May 1).This is what the lineup looks like for tonight (4/29), on just one of the stages:

Stage One
06:30 - ZaZa
07:30 - Beach Fossils
08:30 - Night Beats
09:30 - Atlas Sound
10:30 - Crystal Stilts
11:30 - A Place to Bury Strangers
12:30 - Omar A Rodriguez

White Hills play on Saturday. The whole schedule is HERE.

Winter returned to the stage in early April, playing a sold out show at Union Pool before their trip to Roadburn.

All Sleep dates and some video is below.

Continue reading "Winter & White Hills added to Sleep show ++++ Austin Psych Fest is this weekend"

photos by Chris Gersbeck,

Mudhoney @ Bowery Ballroom Saturday

[Mudhoney's] set on Friday night [at ATP] was the perfect dichotomy of punk energy and lackadaisical sludge. The set built in energy from the grinding early tracks like the invincible 'Sweet Young Thing...' and 'Mudride' to the punk riot marathon of 'In-N-Out of Grace'. The ATP NY main-stage is in this great, tiered, Borscht Belt ballroom and when Mudhoney launched into the body of 'In-N-Out of Grace' the crowd went so ballistic that it seemed like bodies were crowd surfing from the highest tier all the way down to the floor. One of the many things I love about ATP NY is that the crowd is mostly composed of true die-hard music nuts, so when a band is lighting it up on-stage that crowd reacts in whatever way their genre demands. -[We Love DC]

The above review refers to Mudhoney's performance of Superfuzz BigMuff + Early Singles at Kutsher's Friday night, part of ATP's Don't Look Back series . The next day, Mudhoney teamed up with Pissed Jeans and White Hills (who would play ATP NY on Sunday) for a show at Bowery Ballroom....

"During songs like "Suck You Dry" people would try to climb on stage to crowd surf.. there was a roadie pushing everyone back into the crowd-or if they made it on stage walking them off stage.. So the jumpers would have to be quick.. when they dove, they were rarely caught.. I saw some chick get up there (not the thinnest of women) and take a jump and disappear into the floor quickly-there was nothing pretty about it: The essence of grunge. She didn't care that she looked like an Asshole-she's rocking out. And we all salute her (and chuckle)." [The Jay Porks Experience]

Pics and video from that NYC show adorn this post.

BEAK> played Bowery Ballroom one night earlier, and ATP NY one day later.

No more US tour dates for Mudhoney for now, but the band will play a string of dates in Europe at the tail-end of this month and into next. Those dates, as well as the rest of the Bowery pics, some videos, and Mudhoney's setlist, are below...

Continue reading "Mudhoney played Bowery Ballroom w/ Pissed Jeans & White Hills (pics, video & setlist), touring Europe (dates) "

words and photos by BBG, more photos by Samantha Marble

Thurston & Jim @ ATP NY (photo by Abbey Braden for ATP)

My 11 Most Notable Moments at ATP NY 2010 by Adrienne Day

(11) Book club with Samantha Hunt and Luc Sante. Apparently Nikola Tesla thought he was married to a pigeon. #ThingsIlearnedatATP

(10) Jim Jarmusch and Thurston Moore's silly but entertaining exchange about "weird New York"

(9) @janelerner's Mary-Poppins-like bag with its bottomless supply of comforts from home

(8) Sleep's defibrillating two-hour-plus set

(7) Blagdon Lake at dusk: http://twitpic.com/2m59gh

(6) Beak> opening with the terrific "Blagdon Lake" and keeping it surprisingly cohesive / groove-able for the whole set

(5) Injuries sustained while losing at air hockey: a heavily bruised knee and what feels like a torn rotator cuff

(4) Years of incontinence producing an unmistakably ripe aroma in Kutsher's front elevator

(3) Stooges scholarship ("Williamson should go back to designing computer chips"; "Iggy's slowed down a bit but still, holy shit")

(2) This little pumin has apparently already been featured on Brooklyn Vegan: http://twitpic.com/2m59bb

(1) no wifi as its own time warp, leading to in-depth convos and contemplative gazing on the lake

Our own ATP NY review now concludes with a recap of Sunday. If you're just joining us, start with Friday and then read Saturday, before continuing...

Ron Jeremy & new friend @ ATP NY Sunday night

How do you get out of a conversation with Ron Jeremy? It's 1:30 AM on Monday (Sunday night), my friends are talking to the porn legend, and all I can think about is rest. It's been a brutal weekend of fantastic performances, great conversation, contact highs, 30 packs of beer, fantastic people, not to mention great music. But by the end of Sunday (the final day of ATP NY 2010), I just needed some Zs.

After a day-opening set of psychedelia from White Hills on stage two (which I enjoyed though it didn't manage to give me the kick in the ass I needed), The Greenhornes held down my interest for what I caught of their set. The Detroit Cincinnati band's garage pop played to one of the biggest early day crowds that I had seen on all three days. Kurt Vile's garagey punk followed on the second stage, sounding much heavier live than I had anticipated.

Fucked Up was next on the main stage, so I made sure to secure a primo slot for the mayhem. Madman Pink Eyes, who sang 2/3 of the show from the crowd, did all of the following during his set in the Stardust Room: crushed a coke can like Stone Cold Steve Austin, sprinkled Cocoa Puffs on the crowd, smeared himself with Oreos, performed all of "Crusades" with a plastic bag on his head, laid down in the center of the crowd, instigated a group hug of 20-30 people, and took audience members on piggy back rides. After two days of festival madness, it was definitely the shot in the arm I needed. Vivian Girls, who followed them on the second stage, was a bit of a comedown, but then again who wouldn't be?

GZA's set was moved to later that night on stage two (which I would end up missing due to Altar), so his stage one slot was filled by comedian Hannibal Burress who had also performed Friday night. I missed his set and ended up catching Wooden Shjips' powerful psychedelic set on the second stage. There were many retro-leaning bands playing over the course of the weekend. My favorite sets in that category came from Dungen and The Black Angels. Powerful, trippy and fantastic.

With the lights down low, Hope Sandoval played xylophone and crooned with her enchanting voice to the Stardust Stage crowd. On any other occasion, I might have found the set mesmerizing, but at that moment another pick me up was needed and I surprisingly found that in Girls's sunny Elvis Costello brand of pop directly afterward. With all of the recent brutality (Fucked Up, Wooden Shjips, and in a much different way, um, Vivian Girls) it was a fun change to see the band run through tracks like "Laura" from their recent LP. Great set from this Cali crew.

T Model Ford

Of all the artists walking around Kutshers during ATP weekend, the two that seemingly had the most fans/people clamoring to meet them were Sunday's curator Jim Jarmusch, and T-Model Ford. It didn't hurt that T-Model was apt to take his guitar out and play anywhere with a little battery-powered amp. The bluesman finally got his time under the lights of the second stage on Sunday night though, and the adoration continued, with people cheering while he tuned (multiple times).

Raekwon took the stage a touch late with an introduction from Ron Jeremy, running through the classic Wu material: "Protect Ya Neck", "C.R.E.A.M.", "Ice Cream", set opener "Motherless Child", "House of Flying Daggers" and many more. Though I nerd out to the tracks and even ODB classic-that-felt-like-set-filler-in-a-Raekwon-show "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" on the Stardust Room system, the set felt phoned in. Not to sound insensitive, but is a few-minute shout out to your grandfather who is buried in Monticello really necessary? GZA, Kim Gordon, and Thurston Moore watched the set from the sides of the stage.

I missed GZA's rescheduled set completely on the second stage (because of Altar), but he reportedly delivered a freestyle-heavy set. The Wu-tang rep later showed up at The Deep End Bar to greet the legendary Kool Herc who was DJing late-night...

GZA & Kool Herc ATP (Kory Grow)

Partway into [Kool Herc's] set, in walked Wu-Tang Clan's GZA, who had played a sort-of aggressive set at the same time as Altar (I went back and forth between the two.) ...in the presence of Herc, he was nothing but reverent. He nonchalantly stepped behind the turntables and said hello. ...It was one of those rare moments where you felt like you were seeing something rare and historic. GZA grabbed the mic and talked about what a legend Kool Herc was and thanked him before leaving.-
[Sadness Is Delicious]

After leaving Altar, I spent a good portion on my way out saying goodbyes to the many new friends I had made at ATP. The festival is more than a string of shows, a worn-down hotel, and a few too many beers; it's a community of like-minded and friendly people that I have not experienced anywhere else. ATP New York was tons of fun, and I spent a good portion of Sunday lamenting that my experience was almost over and I'd have to wait another year. But I'll definitely be there.

Pictures from Friday HERE and Saturday HERE, and the rest of Sunday, below...

Continue reading "ATP NY 2010 - Day 3 pics (Jim Jarmusch, Thurston Moore, Ron Jeremy, Fucked Up, Girls, T Model Ford, Raekwon & more) "

by BBG

Kurt Vile at Brooklyn Masonic Temple (more by Lori Baily)

It's almost final and official, ATP New York is ruling. The best Hudson Valley festival to ever be held in a 1960s time capsule has announced the "final additions" including two comedians chosen by Syd Butler of Les Savy Fav (more to come... that's all "so far"), as well as a few new and interesting additions to the Jim Jarmusch curated date. Behold:

Continue reading "ATP NY announces (almost) complete lineup (GZA, Kurt Vile..)"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: The Entrance Band - "Grim Reaper Blues" (MP3)

Sunburned Hand Of The Man

The 1st Annual Memory Burn Psych Fest is a one night affair on Saturday, May 29th, 2010 @ Glasslands in Brooklyn, NY. Inspired by such psych-minded festivals over the past few years such as the Frisco Freakout in SF, Memory Burn gathers a stylistic smattering of local heady, heavy hitters in New York's psych scene for an evening of tripped-out fun...

The inaugural Memory Burn Psych Fest is a doozy, featuring performances from Revival Times, Weird Owl, Future Hunter, The Black Hollies, White Hills, Hopewell, Golden Triangle, Psychic Ills, and Sunburned Hand of the Man. The show kicks off at 7PM and $12 gets you in the door.

Another notable psych-related event in the near future includes The Entrance Band, who will team up with The Growlers at Mercury Lounge for a show on June 12th. Tickets are on sale. The Entrance Band play Bonnaroo just two days prior.

Sunburned Hand of The Man recently contributed to a tribute LP for the fallen Jack Rose, who passed away late last year. The album, entitled Honest Strings: A Tribute To The Life And Work Of Jack Rose, is out now via Fina Music and also features contributions from Bardo Pond, MV & EE, No Neck Blues Band, Six Organs of Admittance, Spectre Folk, and many many other notables. All proceeds from the sale of the record go to the estate of Jack Rose. Pick up that record, and read more about it at the label's site.

The Memory Burn flyer and some video, including a few of Golden Triangle at Sound Fix Tuesday (5/4) is below...

Continue reading "Memory Burn Psych Fest, Entrance Band, a Jack Rose tribute "

Boris @ ATP NY 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

There aren't many music news items that get me excited as ATP lineup additions. This one is no different. Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions, Torotoise, Bardo Pond, Beak> featuring Geoff Barrow of Portishead, Sleepy Sun, Avi Buffalo, Sunn O)) & Boris performing material from their collaborative album Altar, Dungen, and White Hills have all been added to the already-stellar bill of the 2010 festival at Kutsher's Country Club in Monticello, NY (Sept 3-5). All confirmed artists and more details below...

Continue reading "ATP NY expands 2010 lineup - Hope Sandoval, SUNN O)) & Boris, Tortoise, BEAK> (Geoff Barrow of Portishead) & more!"

by BBG

Cave

Chicago's Cave and NYC's White Hills will team up for a night of rip-roarin' psychedeli-madness at Brooklyn's Death By Audio on 11/16. The show is one of two lined up for the Cave. The second is an opening slot for Times New Viking at Mercury Lounge on 11/18, the first of three NYC area dates for TNV this month. Tickets are still available.

Cave are touring behind their album Psychic Psummer which was released earlier this year on Important Records. The first pressing sold out, but you can pick up a second press copy here. Important also has a few one minute snippets from the LP here.

White Hills recently dropped a new 12" on Thrill Jockey, Dead, their second release for the label, as Heads On Fire was reissued earlier this year. You can view a video for Dead below. White Hills played Roadburn 2009.

Speaking of Roadburn, the festival added some more high-profile bands to their already outstanding 2010 lineup including Yob, Kylesa, Church of Misery, The Gates of Slumber, Nachtmystium, and many more. The current lineup is below. Tickets go on sale 11/28.

The current Roadburn lineup, Cave tour dates and the White Hills video are below.

Continue reading "Cave touring (dates) - NYC shows w/ Times New Viking & White Hills +++ 2010 Roadburn lineup expands"

DOWNLOAD: Tyvek - Air Conditioner (MP3)

2NITE's shows @ MARKET HOTEL will definitely feature a huge, awesome, new soundsystem & probably (presuming the installation today goes as scheduled...) AIR CONDITIONING!!!! waiting on some variables for the a/c to happen, but cross your fingers! -Todd P

The shows (plural) Todd is referring to are Oneida (early) and Extreme Animals (late). Tyvek is not playing Market Hotel, but they should because they sing about an air conditioner and also happen to be in town (with Coconut Coolouts and Personal and the Pizzas). Full Market Hotel lineups below...

Continue reading "Market Hotel got a soundsystem & air conditioning (maybe)"