by Bill Pearis

Portland's dreamy trio Blouse are playing their first NYC show at Glasslands on September 15, opening for Unkown Mortal Orchestra. (Woven Bones and Man/Miracle also play.) It's their only NYC show too, though others may be added?

Blouse currently have singles out on Sub Pop and Captured Tracks. The latter will be putting out their debut album this fall and like a lot of C/T bands, Blouse channel the John Hughes '80s: icy synths, moody basslines, delay-pedal guitars and big catchy choruses. You can stream a few songs at the bottom of this post.

Continue reading "check out Blouse --- song streams, tour dates, a NYC show"

photos by Chris La Putt

DOWNLOAD: Frankie Rose and the Outs - Candy (Dinowalrus remix) (MP3)

Frankie Rose & band

Two days after The Radio Dept and Asobi Seksu played South Street Seaport and one day after 4Knots and just hours after Hospitality played the Fulton Stall Market, Frankie Rose, Woven Bones, Xray Eyeballs & Davilla 666 took over Beekman Beer Garden at the Seaport for a free Sunday show (last Sunday was Cheeseburger & next Sunday is Swirlies). More pictures from this one, below...

Continue reading "Frankie Rose, Woven Bones, Xray Eyeballs & DJ Davilla 666 played Beekman Beer Garden (pics)"

Woven Bones at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 (more by BBG)

Todd P is promoting some good shows coming up this weekend, and a lot of them. There are three tonight (7/15) and two Saturday (7/16).

=FRIDAY-6PM=-
| "BAD BITCHES" games opening - alt.sexy video games |
Woven Bones | My Teenage Stride | Easter Vomit | Teen Witch
@ 285 KENT AVE

-=FRIDAY-7PM=-
INDIAN REBOUND | Honey Dos | DDIILLIIAANN | Crazy & the Brains
@ MONSTER ISLAND BASEMENT

-=FRIDAY-11PM=-
I'M TURNING INTO | Dinosaur Feathers | Shark? | Sweet Tooth
@ MONSTER ISLAND BASEMENT

-=SATURDAY=-
ONEIDA | Notekillers | Call of the Wild | Gary Higgins
@ MONSTER ISLAND BASEMENT

-=SATURDAY=-
FRIENDS | New Sweet Bulbs | Vacation | Hunter
@ LIVING BREAD

To quote Bill,

Dinosaur Feathers, Shark?, and I'm Turning Into are at Monster Island [Friday]. I'm Turning Into's debut album, Parcel of Marbles, just came out on cassette and digital download. It's worth a listen for sure, especially as you can download it for free this week only at their Bandcamp site.

The Monster Island show on Saturday (7/16) was curated by Onedia and includes folk legend Gary Higgins who recently released rediscovered material from the early 70s.

Woven Bones, who play 285 Kent tonight (7/15), have also been added to the Beekman Bear Garden Beach Party this Sunday (7/17) with Xray Eyeballs, and Frankie Rose. The guys from Davilla 666 have also been added as DJs. Xray Eyeballs also DJ the show at 285 Kent tonight. That's also an Xray Eyeballs shirt Woven Bones dude is wearing in the picture above. (Xray Eyeballs and Woven Bones sitting in a tree...).

Catch Woven Bones later this summer when they open for Unknown Mortal Orchestra at Glasslands on September 15. Tickets are on sale.

All Woven Bones dates and Todd P show details below...

Continue reading "Woven Bones playing one of the many Todd P shows this weekend, added to Beekman Beer Garden gig Sunday too"

Dum Dum Girls at Bowery Ballroom (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Dum Dum Girls, Crocodiles, and Woven Bones will unplug and team up for an acoustic show in NYC on May 27th at Glasslands. Tickets are on sale.

The NYC date is one of two US dates for the Dum Dum Girls, who will also play B.O.M.B. Fest in Hartford, CT with Weezer, Best Coast, Health, Titus Andronicus, and many more over over two days (5/28 & 29). Tickets are still available.

Both Crocodiles (who just played MHoW ) and The Dum Dum Girls are also scheduled to play NXNE in Toronto, and eventually, Sled Island in Calgary. Both bands also appear on the recently-released "Flowers in the Dustbin" compilation. All Dum Dum Girls dates and some recent videos below...

Continue reading "Dum Dum Girls playing acoustic show w/ Crocodiles before B.O.M.B. Fest"

by BBG

Digital Retribution: When I last interviewed you, you said of the Dead Kennedys reunion, "I thought it was fucking pathetic, though, when The Dead Kennedys went out without Jello as their singer." What I meant to say instead of whatever monosyllabic witticism I spouted is: What's the difference between DK and the reformed Misfits, who GWAR toured with?

Dave Brockie (aka Oderus): I think there is a big difference, but don't expect the original product in either. I like Jerry and I would rather have him out touring and having fun than have him working in his machine shop. You can't blame him for wanting to cash in on how great The Misfits were, and enjoy himself in the process, plus give all of his pals jobs in his crew, and show his kids the time of their lives! So in that aspect, I think Jerry and what's left of The Misfits is cool, as long as you don't go in there expecting to see Glenn Danzig! I feel Jerry has earned the right to do whatever the fuck he wants through 30+ years of dedication to this music. Jerry never lets up, he is always gigging. Whereas the Dead Kennedys thing was just a one-shot money grab. They knew they could get away with it, do a year or two, cash in, and bail...and also, The Misfits actually got away with replacing their singer, with Mike Graves, and did a couple of great records! That was when we toured with them, and that was great! American Psycho is a great fucking album!

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 - Day Two in pics (part 4) - Gwar, Jeff the Brotherhood, Municipal Waste, Dam-Funk & more"

Tim's complete set of pictures from FFF Fest Saturday are split into two posts: HERE and HERE. A third set, that I took with far inferior skills and camera, but that fills in some blanks and includes stuff like a dude being thrown into a pool filled with thumbtacks, a member of Gwar storming the stage during Municipal Waste's set, and people waiting in line to get Wavves' autograph, continues below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 - Day Two in pics (part 3) - Jacob Calle, Butcher Bear and Charlie, Gwar vs Municipal Waste & more"

photos by Diana Wong

Surfer Blood @ Stratosphere Sound

This can best be described in the words of the person who invited me to this:

"we're going to be hosting a private, unofficial CMJ artist lounge here at Stratosphere Sound (James Iha, Adam Schlesinger and Andy Chase's studio in Chelsea) on Thursday, October 21st.

We're going to be having [8] bands recording 2-3 stripped-down songs (which will be recorded by our Grammy Award-Winning engineer Geoff Sanoff, and then featured in a special Insound.com mixtape a week later). Confirmed acts:

11AM - Fake Problems
12PM - Dom
1PM - Bear Hands
2PM - Surfer Blood
3PM - Ma.Mentor
4PM - Woven Bones
5PM - Class Actress
6PM - Jukebox the Ghost

Additionally, [we'll have a lounge where artists and industry folks will be invited to enjoy drinks from our liquor sponsor Maker's Mark, and check out free goodies from Fred Perry]

Continue reading "Surfer Blood, Dom, Bear Hands, Woven Bones & others played Insound Sessions @ Stratosphere Sound (pics) "

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: The So So Glos - "Lindy Hop" (MP3)

So So Glos Fans (more by Zach Stern)

The lineup has been announced for this year's SUNY Purchase Fall Fest, an annual one-day, students-only festival which will take place on November 5th in the SUNY Purchase Student Center (The Stood). Fall Fest '10 (aka Halloween 2) will be headlined by Raekwon, and features a very varied lineup of other acts including Death who just announced a NEW album...

BASEMENT OF WHAT WAS ONCE KNOWN AS GROOVESVILLE STUDIOS - DETROIT, MI - May 7th, 2010

"After searching for almost eight hours, I removed a box with a Master in it and vaguely saw some big red letters on the box below it. I shinned the light on this box to clearly see the writing in big red letters DEATH. I screamed with excitement DEATH!!, DEATH!!, DEATH!! Everyone in the building starting to scream and wildly cheer and applause. Upon seeing those tapes, it brought it all back, David had written those big red letters on the tape. Engineer Jim Vitti had jokingly drew a skull and crossbones on the box after the name to which David did not like telling him "We are not that kind of Death". I was full of emotion, I cried. We were all elated, Jacque was elated, I called up Dannis who was in Vermont and he began to joyfully celebrate. I thought about David. If David were here with us all that has happened to Death up to this point would pale in comparison to what we found today. The tapes were right where Brian said they were sitting there awaiting us for 34 years." - Bobby Hackney

Spiritual, Mental, Physical is the new Death CD/LP and it will be released 01/25/11.

The So So Glos will also be performing at SUNY, and are about to embark on a Five Borough NYC tour to celebrate the release of their new EP, Low Back Chain Shift, which came out Tuesday, October 12. The NYC tour happens to take place during CMJ, kicks off in Staten Island, includes a Queens BBQ with Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus, and a showcase at Pianos...

Friday, Oct. 22
at Pianos
158 Ludlow St

Force Field PR Official CMJ Showcase
08pm - Lord Huron
09pm - La Sera
10pm - Violens
11pm - Woven Bones
12am - Wild Nothing
01am - The So So Glos

FREE w/ CMJ Badge
or $10 advance / $12 at door

Omar Souleyman will be performing at SUNY as the concluding date on his current tour, which also includes a November 2nd show at MHOW. Updated dates below.

Fucked Up is also returning to Purchase after getting their set cut short by the police at their 2008 Culture Shock Performance.

Full Purchase lineup, videos, and other tour dates below...

Continue reading "Purchase Fall Fest, new Death, So So Glos dates, Omar Souleyman's updated schedule & stuff"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Big Troubles - Freudian Slips (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Big Troubles - Drastic and Difficult (MP3)

Big Troubles' full-length debut, Worry, came out a couple weeks ago on Olde English Spelling Bee. You can download two tracks from it at the top of this post and listen to the whole album via their Bandcamp page.

The band play Thursday (9/23) at Glasslands with Alex Bleeker & the Freaks, Christmas Island, and The Babies (the latter two also just opened for Wavves at MHOW). Big Troubles also have some CMJ dates announced too, including a pretty sweet Saturday, October 23rd all day capeshok/inflated showcase at Bruar Falls with Woven Bones, Eternal Summers, Pregnant, Shrag, Sweet Bulbs, Mathemagic, Dead Gaze, Flight, Oberhofer, Rooftop Vigilantes, and Frankie Rose & the Outs.

For Frankie Rose, that makes at least two shows you can catch her and band at during CMJ, though it's unclear if either show is "official".

Woven Bones also play the Hardly Art show happening at Shea Stadium that week.

As a onetime '90s shoegaze obsessive, Worry really pushes all my buttons. It's got that gauzy mix of effects-laden guitars, distortion and melody down pat. And while I can hear specific touchstones -- The Boo Radleys, Medicine, Drop Nineteens as well as some of the more obvious ones -- the songs definitely stand on their own. You don't need to have remembered Revolver and Moose to appreciate the album --Worry is choc-ful of catchy songs.  And with a live drummer replacing the sequenced beats on the record, they're good live too.

A couple music videos and all upcoming Big Troubles live dates are below.

Continue reading "Big Troubles playing shows, soon & during CMJ (MP3 & dates) "

La Sera

"La Sera - the brand new project of Katy Goodman (Vivian Girls, All Saints Day) - has signed with Hardly Art for their debut LP. La Sera makes lush, dreamy songs of heartbreak, love, and death, all written by Goodman and recorded with Brady Hall in Seattle. Hardly Art will release the first original material by La Sera on November 16th via a 7" featuring the album track "Never Come Around" b/w exclusive b-side "Behind Your Eyes", which will be followed by a debut full-length in early 2011 (release date tbd). La Sera will also have a cover of "Watch Me Jumpstart" on an upcoming Guided By Voices comp, though I don't have further details on that release.

Further! Related to both new projects, the unofficial Hardly Art CMJ showcase - AKA The Great All-Nighter - will be presented by Todd P and will take place on Thursday, Oct 21 at Shea Stadium (20 Meadow St.) in Brooklyn. The lineup is:

Xray Eyeballs
Circle Pit
La Sera
Fergus & Geronimo
Secret Special Guest
Woven Bones
Golden Triangle

by BBG

Off! (photo by Lindsey Byrnes)

Whether or not the band name Off! is a not-so-subtle reference to another band that featured the great Keith Morris and dealt destruction to the insect populi, one thing is certain, they rule. Besides the incredible vocalist for Circle Jerks/Black Flag, punk supergroup Off! also features a killer lineup including Dimitri Coats (Burning Brides), Mario Rubalcaba (Earthless/Hot Snakes/Rocket From the Crypt) and Steven McDonald (Redd Kross) and the foursome have announced their debut material to be released with Vice Records!

Off!, who you may have caught at SXSW this year, will release the accurately titled First EP via limited edition 7" inch on October 12th. Featuring art and an exclusive poster courtesy of Raymond Pettibon, aka the evil genius behind Black Flag's iconic album covers, the release is the first of four 7"s to be compiled on the First Four EPs (another Black Flag nod) due on November 23rd - a collection of 16 songs which will each feature its own Pettibon sleeve art.

As the tour dates indicate below, Off!, in addition to playing FYFFest and Riot Fest this year, has announced their involvement in Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest (happening November 6th and 7th). For those of you counting at home, that brings the list of confirmed FFFFest bands to Woven Bones, Suicidal Tendencies, Slick Rick, Best Coast, Dirty Projectors, Cap'n Jazz, The Gories, Yelle, Snapcase, The Dwarves, High On Fire, and The Hold Steady! Stay tuned for more lineup announcements for the great Texas festival.

Meanwhile, Mario Rubalcaba was NOT part of the recent (and impromptu) Hot Snakes reunion that took place on July 29th at an Obits/Night Marchers show in San Diego, CA (the bands were on tour together).

You can view video of the three Hot Snakes songs from that set, as well as all Off! tour dates & a video from their first show in LA, below...

Continue reading "Off! signs to Vice, Fun Fun Fun Fest announces part of the lineup, Hot Snakes reunited (sort of) "

words by Bill Pearis, SXSW photos by Tim Griffin,

DOWNLOAD: Frankie Rose and the Outs - Little Brown Haired Girls (MP3)

Despite her dislike of touring, Frankie Rose is taking the Outs on the road in October to support their self-titled Slumberland debut which is released September 21. You can download "Little Brown Haired Girls" from the album at the top of this post. The East Coast tour launches October 18 in Chapel Hill but more dates seem likely to be added, certainly on the way down to North Carolina. Before that, the Outs have two local shows scheduled: Saturday, August 14 at the Jelly's Rock Yard with Chief, Minks and Total Slacker; then an official record release show at Glasslands on September 15 with Light Asylum, Minks and Mirror Mirror (tickets).

The Outs have slimmed to a four-piece (no more keyboardist) and have become a pretty solid band in the last year. Maybe you caught their last-minute late night set this past Saturday (7/24) at Cameo, sharing the bill with Magic Kids and Xray Eyeballs. (Video from that below.) The album, 11 songs clocking in just under 30 minutes, has a definite through line of all the bands Rose has been in over the last three years (Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts) but she is definitely doing her own thing, with an emphasis on multi-part harmonies. (Most evident on their gorgeous cover of Arthur Russell's "You Can Make Me Feel Bad" which there's live video of below.) It's more mellow, dreamy, than anything she's done before. Twangier too.

All Frankie Rose and the Outs tour dates, plus album art and a couple live videos, and a set of unplublished pictures from SXSW this year, are below...

Continue reading "Frankie & the Outs album info, MP3, video, tour dates & pics"

photos by Chris La Putt

Beach Fossils

"Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said Friday that it closed a second store in New York due to a bed bug infestation.

The preppy teen clothing seller said it closed a Hollister store on Thursday in the SoHo neighborhood of New York. That location is expected to open at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

It closed a second location, an Abercrombie & Fitch store in the South Street Seaport, on Friday for the same reason." [Huffington Post]

The next free Seaport show will feature The Old 97's on the 4th of July...

"Texas on Tour is a high-tech, interactive, roadshow featuring virtual reality, green screen video and photography, interactive games and more. Texas on Tour transports the consumer to unique outdoor Texas experiences that are highly entertaining, educational and personalized - from a virtual reality kayaking trip through Texas waterways to a dome theater offering a glimpse of the seven diverse regions of Texas.

Visitors can "picture themselves in Texas" and stroll along a Texas beach through the use of green screen technology. Live performances from a variety of Texas musicians and entertainers will also be featured.

Don't miss the special LIVE performance by The Old 97s on July 4th at 7pm."

More pictures from the Beach Fossils and Woven Bones show below...

Continue reading "Beach Fossils and Woven Bones (and bed bugs) at South Street Seaport (pics) +++ Old 97's play on the 4th of July"

by Bill Pearis

The Feelies on 4th of July (more by Jason Bergman)

If you're not skipping town for an ocean view, there is no shortage of great music options this weekend.

Independence Day Weekend means The Feelies at Maxwells and tickets are still available for all three shows: Friday (7/02), Saturday (7/03), and Sunday (7/04). The excitement of their 2008 reunion might have faded a bit, but the music has not. The influence of these New Jersey legends can be heard all over releases from Woodsist and Underwater Peoples and their four albums are all worth owning. The first three -- Crazy Rhythms, The Good Earth and Only Life -- are back in print, the first two on vinyl.

If you've seen their Maxwell's shows before, you know they play epic sets, peppered with choice covers and extended instrumental sections. I hesitate to call it jamming, probably because I like when they do it,  but also because it's that interplay between Glen Mercer and Bill Million where The Feelies really come alive. As good as their records are if you haven't seen them live, you've never really heard The Feelies.

-------------------------------------

The Seaport Music Festival has it's first show on Friday, a double-dose of Texas with Woven Bones and YellowFever. Yes, both bands were here recently (and Woven Bones play tonight, more on that in a minute) but there are several advantages to Friday's show. The Seaport is a great place to see a show, the setting spectacular, especially at sunset. You can drink where you please, it's generally chill, and, most importantly, it's free.

I also think Woven Bones' fuzz-driven scuzz rock is gonna sound amazing through a really big PA. I've only seen them in tiny clubs where the sound doesn't do them justice. What the band lacks in diversity of material, they make up for in being really good at that one thing they do and the louder the better. Seaport sound guy: turn it up.

I've seen YellowFever on big stages and small, and they pretty much are great wherever they are. I just wish they'd get around to writing and recording some new songs. "Making it" has never seemed to be a priority to these two, which is part of their charm, but can also be a bit maddening for fans. There is a new tour EP, according to their MySpace, so let's hope that's actually some fresh tunes. And the band are about to embark on a pretty big tour so maybe we're entering a new era of YellowFever productivity. All YF tourdates are at the bottom of this post.

In addition to the bands, the Lone Star state theme continues at the Seaport this weekend with something called Texas on Tour. They were setting up on Wednesday while I was down there for the last of the Sound Bites Lunchtime shows (yes I have worked with the Seaport folks so, you know, full disclosure) and it looks like some sort of Texas-themed traveling carnival, including a water ride for kids and one of those domed theaters. Yee haw?

MINKS live

This weekend also marks the debut of a new monthly party that Captured Tracks is putting on at Bruar Falls. The label is becoming a real contender with great debuts from Wild Nothing and Beach Fossils, as well as new signings like London's Veronica Falls, Spain's Aias, and locals MINKS who'll play Captured Tracks Night 001, as Saturday is being billed. No doubt MINKS' debut single, "Funeral Song," owes a bit to the Cure but, as I've said before, the band are much sunnier sounding live (despite all six members wearing black every time I've seen them). Take away the vocal effects on "Funeral Song" and add some female backing, as it does live, and the song moves over to early New Order territory. Compare and contrast the live and recorded versions -- video of the live version shot during the Northside Festival is at the bottom of this post.

Other songs, the names of which I don't know,  while still '80s-ish, are even more poppy, with nods to early records on Creation and Cherry Red. The one unreleased song I really like I shot video of back when they opened for Veronica Falls at Glasslands (also below), which reminds me a lot of Felt. MINKS  have played the same short set all three times I've seen them, but I like all six (five? seven?) songs they do and will be there a fourth time on Saturday.

In addition to MINKS, label domo Mike Sniper will be sharing the decks with Peggy from Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and there'll be a merch table with a wide variety of C/T releases, including a mix tape exclusive to this night. Entry is $5.

And if you can't see MINKS here, they play next Friday (7/9) at Monster Island Basement with fellow Captured Tracks band Wetdog (over from the UK), YellowFever and Larkin Grimm.

A few more shows, night by night:

THURSDAY, JULY 1

I mentioned above that Woven Bones are playing tonight. The show is at Bruar Falls and it's part of a killer line-up also featuring The Beets and Beach Fossils. Any one of those bands might be enough to get you to the show. All three, it's hard to pass up. Beach Fossils were great when they played with Wild Nothing a couple weeks back. If you haven't picked up their album on Captured Tracks, it's highly recommended.

Over at sister venue Cake Shop, Nobunny will be taking off most everything except that mask, which gets grosser looking every time I see them play. Does he ever wash that thing? Also playing are fellow Bay Area residents Apache who will also play Don Pedro's on Friday (7/2) and the Delancey on Saturday (7/3).

Knitting Factory is hosting another one of those Scion Garage shows, this time with Memphis legends The Oblivions who reformed last year. The show, which is free, is also RSVP'd out, unfortunately if this is the first you're hearing of it.

Big Troubles play Cameo Gallery. These guys are giant fans of '90s shoegaze and will talk your ear off about Revolver and Drop Nineteens if you let them. It comes through in their music which they do a great job of putting their own spin on that era's sonics. Their new 7" on Old English Spelling Bee is really good and look for their debut album sometime in the not too distant future. They're playing this night with a bunch of bands I've never heard of, including Slothbear (sludgepop), No Demons Here (K records style cassette hiss), and Gross Relations (whose Myspace songs sound pretty good).

continued below...

Continue reading "Feelies, YellowFever, Woven Bones, Beach Fossils, Captured Tracks shows, July 4th & more in This Week in Indie"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Anxiety (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Goodnight Loving - The Pan (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Goodnight Loving - Nothing Conquers Us (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Disappears - Gone Completely (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Woven Bones - Guess You Already Knew (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Woven Bones - Your Way With My Life (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ponys - Check the Door (MP3)

Eddy Current Suppression Ring

I haven't been this excited about a weekend of music in a long time. So much so I don't know how I'm gonna fit it all in.

Let's start with Australia's Eddy Current Suppression Ring who play Cake Shop on Friday (6/18) and Death by Audio on Saturday (6/19) (the second show was originally scheduled to take place at Market Hotel). The band have, to me at least, one of the great band origin stories ever: they formed after a drunken Christmas party at the vinyl pressing plant where they all worked.  whose new album, Rush to Relax, is one of my favorites of the year so far. Download "Anxiety" from it above. It was was supposedly recorded in six hours though it doesn't sound it. Or maybe it does. There's a definite nervous intensity to it -- ECSR are pretty highly charged in general -- and bristles with energy. A lot of this comes from front man Brendan Suppression, whose delivery sounds like he's pacing the entire time. It's a great album.

Eddy Current Suppression Ring live shows are legendary. (There's video from a recent Sydney show at the bottom of this post.) You'd be dumb to miss them. Both nights are with Pissed Jeans which should add to the insanity. Seriously, go see them!

The Goodnight Loving

The other touring band I'm super-pysched about seeing this weekend is Milwaukee's The Goodnight Loving, who play Silent Barn tomorrow (6/17), then Bruar Falls on Friday (6/18), Cake Shop on Saturday (6/19) and Maxwell's on Sunday (6/20).

As I wrote previously, these fine Midwesterners channel the twangier side of the '60s British Invasion (Out of Our Heads era Stones, or the Kinks around Face to Face) and do it with some great songwriting. There are two MP3s at the top of this post: last year's great single "Nothing Conquers Us" and "The Pan" which is from their new album, The Goodnight Loving Supper Club, due out July 20 on Dirtnap Records.

If you're looking for something to tide you over till then, the band just released a new 12" on Italian label Wild Honey that has five new tracks on one side, and some lovely silk-screened artwork on the flip. I'm hoping they're gonna have copies of that at the merch table. And 2006's Cemetery Trails is excellent too.

The Silent Barn show is with '90s shoegaze lovers Big Troubles, Bright Lights and Fire Season; the Bruar Falls show also has Ex Humans and Bass Drum of Death; the Cake Shop lineup includes SpaceCamp and Prince Rupert's Drops; and at Maxwell's  you also get Reigning Sound (one night after they play Southpaw).

Disappears

The Ponys are in town this weekend playing two shows with fellow Chicagoans Disappears and Austin's Woven Bones: Friday (6/18) at Mercury Lounge and Saturday (6/19) at Union Pool. I think the last time I saw the Ponys was probably at Siren Fest 2004? Can that be? That was around the time of their great first album, Laced with Romance, which still sounds awesome. Quiet since 2007's Turn the Lights Out, The Ponys are back with a new EP, Deathbed Plus 4, that finds them pretty much where you remember them: cranking out catchy, goth-tinged garage. (I wonder if they got the EP name from the cult horror film Death Bed: The Bed That Eats? Probably not.) The goth part comes through loud and clear on "Check the Door" -- downloadable above -- which just maybe sounds a little like Joy Division's "New Dawn Fades."

Ponys guitarist Brian Case fronts Disappears who are worth seeing in their own right. Their new album, Lux, is dark and heavy, kinda Kraut-y, definitely loud and pretty great. So if you like the '80s Flying Nun or Pre-Brix era Fall (or any Fall, really) you should check out Disappears. You can download "Check the Door" at the top of this post.

All three of these bands appeal to the same crowd, but Woven Bones are the sneering-est, scuzziest of the lot. The songs on their new album, In and Out and Back Again (dirty!), are all cut from the same blueprint (the two MP3s above is the extent of their stylistic range) but they are masters of their sound. They're good live, too -- the room seems to heat up whenever they play.

Should mention that the Mercury Lounge show also has The Forgery Series, which is Sohrab from Obits amongst others.

AND A FEW NIGHTLY PICS:

Wednesday, June 16

As previously mentioned (but not in tonight's What's Going On post), tonight's "secret" show at Death By Audio features Bleach Waffles, Mild Touching and, Slankie Morose. And if you can't figure out who that is well... try harder. It's a late one, doors at 11PM, but it's only $5. And a five-spot for some mild touching...that's a bargain.

Swedish pixies First Aid Kit, who played last night at The Bell House, play again tonight at Mercury Lounge with Peter Wolf Cryer.

continued below with dates, videos, flyers and more...

Continue reading "Eddy Current Suppression Ring, the Goodnight Loving, The Ponys, Disappears, Woven Bones, Wild Nothing & more in This Week in Indie"

DOWNLOAD: Woven Bones - Guess You Already Knew (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Woven Bones - Your Way With My Life (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ponys - Check the Door (MP3)

Woven Bones...

The Commune: What are some other bands you're into that you could recommend to our readers that you're into. Not necessarily influences, but contemporary bands out there?

Andy Burr of Woven Bones: Oh definitely Dum Dum Girls, The Fresh and Only's, Jacuzzi Boys, Crocodiles, Frankie Rose, Reading Rainbow and The Spits.

Before then, Woven Bones will be touring with Chicago garage bands Disappears and The Ponys in June. All three play a June 18th show at Mercury Lounge with The Forgery Series (project of Obits guitarist Sohrab Habibion). Tickets are on sale. Also part of that tour is a show the next night (6/19) at Union Pool. Tickets are on sale.

Woven Bones' new record, In and Out and Back Again, comes out May 18th on HoZac. A track from it is above, and the video for their song "Your Way with My Life" is below. The Ponys also have a new release, their first since 2007's Turn Out The Lights. That EP, Deathbed + 4, came out April 20th (digital) and comes out May 25th (on 12-inch vinyl) on Matador. A song from that is above. Disappears just released their debut LP, Lux on Kranky.

All tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Woven Bones, Ponys & Disappears - MP3s, albums & dates"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Loose Limbs - Red Hands (MP3)

While we wait for the new Seaport Music Festival website and the full (we already know the partial) line-up of who is playing this summer (and even more is listed below), you can check out the first vinyl offering from Seaport Music Records: a 7" from gargey Brooklyn trio Loose Limbs. (Seaport Music released a digital Christmas single last year you may remember.) You can download the A-side, "Red Hands," at the top of this post. The single was produced by Dean Baltulonis who did the new Hold Steady record.

There's a record release party tonight (5/6) at Bruar Falls where Loose Limbs will be playing with Matamoros, Imaginary Friends, and Ghost Trio. Loose limbs also play at the Knitting Factory on May 22 as part of the Eye and Ear Festival, and will open for Free Energy and Best Coast at the Seaport on July 23.

In other Seaport Music Festival news, it's just been announced that Austin bands Woven Bones and YellowFever play on July 2 as a warm up before the festival kicks in proper with Bear in Heaven and Zola Jesus on July 9. And So Cow has been added to the July 16 show with Thee Oh Sees and Golden Triangle.

YellowFever has also been added as opener to both of the final Voxtrot shows at Bowery Ballroom which happen towards the end of June.

Click through for the Seaport Schedule as it stands now -- I'm told there's more to come -- plus a flyer for the Bruar Falls show and all Loose Limbs dates.

Continue reading "more 2010 Seaport Music shows, Loose Limbs dates, an MP3"

by BBG

Rorschach at The Charleston (more by Ryan Muir)

Last year's jaw-dropping lineup at Chaos In Tejas was sick, and 2010 is proving to be no different. For four days across four different Austin venues, May 27th to the 30th at Emo's, Mohawk, Red 7 and Beerland, the festival will offer some of the most impressive names in the independent/underground scene including the indestructible Rorschach, the first ever US appearance from Australian punk greats X, a one-time reunion of Japanese crust-core band Bastard, the quirky cutesy indie pop-punk of Grass Widow, Gehenna (who just played A389), Subhumans, Bastard Noise (who have a new record), Bone Awl, BV faves Jeff The Brotherhood, The Spits, Psychedelic Horseshit, Ty Segall, The Ponys, Iron Lung (who recently played Cake Shop), Poison Idea, Inquisition, and many many many others.

In addition to the obvious mayhem that will ensue over the four days, Chaos in Tejas will also showcase art from some of the scene's most interesting names including Tim Kerr (of Big Boys), Winston Smith (responsible for tons of collage work, including the Dead Kennedys best album art), and Bryan Ray Turcotte (best known for his book Fucked Up and Photocopied).

The full (and intimidating) list is below...

Continue reading "Chaos in Tejas 2010 (May 27-30) - intial lineup (Rorschach, Bastard reunion, Spits, Bone Awl, Ty Segall, much more)"

by Bill Pearis

The Primitives

The '80s-era indie power-pop band The Primitives have reformed and will be playing The Bell House on May 8. Tickets are on sale now. The band, fronted by platinum blonde Tracy Tracy, was best known for their hit "Crash" which was inescapable on modern rock radio in 1988 and has since been covered by nearly every pop punk band in existence. They went on to make three albums, and called it quits shortly after 1991's Galore. The Primitives reformed late last year, playing their first reunion show in their hometown of Coventry on October 2. The Bell House show will be the first American show since their split.

Opening the show are Frankie & the Outs who are currently recording their debut album for Slumberland, and also just posted a bunch of new dates, including February 13 with So Cow at Market Hotel, and February 19 with Kurt Vile and Fucked up at Europa.

Frankie herself (who we recently interviewed) will pull double duty on February 21 as the Outs open for Dum Dum Girls (Frankie's the drummer) at Mercury Lounge. Tickets go on sale Friday.

Frankie (and the Outs) pulled double duty on New Years Eve as well. They played both Cameo (a beach party w/ Surfer Blood and others) and Cake Shop (with Screaming Females, etc) that night.

Frankie & The Outs @ Cameo on New Years Eve (Abby Braden/PunkPhoto)

Dum Dum Girls' debut LP, I Will Be, comes out via Sub Pop on March 30. Both of Frankie's bands will be hit SXSW in Austin this year too.

Video from the NYE show at Cameo, a couple Primitives videos, all Frankie & the Outs tour dates, plus video of Dum Dum Girls playing Boston back in October, below...

Continue reading "The Primitives return. Frankie & the Outs will open the Brooklyn show, for Dum Dum Girls @ Merc & other dates "

The Intelligence @ Market Hotel (more by Tim Griffin)

The Intelligence have added another NYC show happening before they continue out of town on tour. It's happening at Don Pedro's rooftop with Woven Bones TONIGHT (9/15). The Intelligence say they go on at 9PM sharp.

'this week in indie' PART TWO actually...

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Super Furry Animals - Inaugural Trams (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Intelligence - Thank You God for Fixing the Tape Machine (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Desolation Wilderness - Boardwalk Theme (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Woven Bones - Yr Sorcery (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Box Elders - Hole in My Head (MP3)
STREAM: Kings of Convenience - Boat Behind (asx STREAM)

Earlier this week we had two nights with Sondre Lerche and tonight (9/10) is more Norwegian jazz pop when Kings of Convenience play a sold-out Bowery Ballroom, their only U.S. show, that I'm guessing they're playing while in NYC doing press for their new album, Declaration of Dependence, which is out next month. Quiet remains the new loud for Eirik Glambek Bøe and Erlend Øye if the reports are true that the single "Mrs. Cold" is the really the most upbeat track on the record. If so, it's going to be a super mellow one, though really you could say that about all their records. I think we tend to remember singles like "I'd Rather Dance With You" and forget that the rest of Riot on an Empty Street was pretty spare too. I've only heard a few tracks from the new one, so I'm looking forward to more tonight. Hopefully we'll get a lot of everything, as they don't play America very often. As there's no opener, we can hope for an epic "evening with Kings of Convenience." The band's on at 9:30.

As I'm sure you've heard if you read this site with any regularity, this weekend is All Tomorrow's Parties and if you're not going there's a little runnoff with bands playing New York shows around it. Case in point: Super Furry Animals will do their only U.S. shows in support of new album Dark Days/Light Years. Specifically, tomorrow's (9/11) show at Highline Ballroom (Tickets still available) is the "only U.S. club show for 2009" and Saturday (9/12) at Maxwell's (tickets) is the "only U.S. restaurant concert this year!"

I'm a huge SFA fan, think they're one of the most consistently great bands of the last 15 years. I've seen them upwards of 20 times and they're always entertaining. Their live shows got a little over-the-top around 2005's Love Kraft with electric jumpsuits, synched video projections and prerecorded backing tracks, but they've scaled back the last couple years and there's a more spontaneous vibe these days. And the new album is really good, a nice mix of punchy rockers, sunshine pop, epic space rock, Welsh boogie, and weird disco. In other words, a Super Furry Animals album.

Woven Bones

Did I mention this weekend is super-packed? Austin's Woven Bones are on a fairly extensive U.S. tour, making two stops in NYC this weekend with Seattle's The Spits. They play the brand-new Knitting Factory on Friday (9/11) and Cake Shop on Saturday (9/12). Woven Bones spew out dirty, fuzzed-up blues-punk surf rock. Their new EP, which they will hopefully have for sale this weekend, is on San Diego's Zoo Music who put out the first Crocodiles single and a Dum Dum Girls EP, so that right there should give you an idea what to expect. You can download the a-side from their "Yr Sorcery" single at the top of this post. The Spits, meanwhile, straddle the line between straight-up garage punk and Devo-esque lo-fi keyboard proto-punk. Both are pretty catchy, but I think the latter is more interesting as you just don't hear that sort of thing so much these days. And something tells me their show might lean toward the theatrical. If you can't make either of these shows, Woven Bones play Monster Island Basement next Wednesday (9/16) with Box Elders, and then Cake Shop again next Friday (9/18) with Girls at Dawn and Reading Rainbow.

The Spits

We'll continue with the garagey sounds because Seattle's mighty Intelligence hit New York this weekend too, playing Market Hotel on Friday (9/11) and Cake Shop on Sunday (9/13). The Intelligence's new album, Fake Surfers, has yet to get old for me, I listen to it at least once a week. I think it's one of the year's best. While the building blocks are the same (surf, garage, reverb, distortion), Lars Finberg exists in his own weird universe of lyrics and sound and his songs just come out different than your Oh Sees or Sic Alps or Ty Segalls. (All of whom I love too, btw.) I know this weekend is choc-full of must-see shows, but make some time for the Intelligence.

The Market Hotel show also features Brooklyn's own (and awesome) Golden Triangle, plus Wild Yaks, Arrington de Dionyso (of Old Time Religun) and Smarts.

Desolation Wilderness

The Intelligence Cake Shop Show on Sunday is with fellow Seattle band Desolation Wilderness who are worth seeing as well. If you like the breezy beach music that is coming out of NJ's Underwater Peoples (or anything Dean Wareham's ever done), then you'll probably dig Desolation Wilderness if you if you're not already familiar with them. Their new album, New Universe, is their second for K Records and is just lovely stuff -- languid, dreamy melodies, with guitar flourishes that ebb in and out, perfect for this late summer weather. You can download "Boardwalk Theme" from the new album at the top of this post. They also play Silent Barn on Saturday (9/12) with Real Estate and "The Maze" at Death by Audio on Monday (9/14).

As mentioned fleetingly in the bit about Woven Bones, Omaha, Nebraska trio Box Elders are here next week before hitting their record label's garage rock extravaganza, Gonerfest in Memphis from Sept. 24 - 26. They play Cake Shop on Tuesday (9/15) and Monster Island Basement the next night. These are their first NYC shows since April, and their first since the release of their debut LP, Alice and Friends. With that Leslie speaker keyboard sound and their major chord melodies, Alice and Friends is like '60s bubblegum and R&B as reproduced by a bunch of kids in a basement. Which I guess it kind of is. They are really entertaining live, with drummer Dave Golberg simultaneously manning his kit as well as the keyboards, and brothers Jeramiha and loin-cloth clad Clayton McIntyre rocking and bouncing in the foreground. It's a fun show.

So that'll do it for this weekend. For more picks (Marmoset, Wild Beast) see yesterday's TWII Pt 1. Videos and tour dates for most bands mentioned can be found below...

Continue reading "Woven Bones, Intelligence, Desolation Wilderness, Kings of Convenience, Box Elders, SFA & more in This Week in Indie "