Young Chicago dudes and Orwells affiliates Twin Peaks self-released their debut album, Sunken, back in July. It's a strong collection of glam-influenced garage rock that DOESN'T sound as if a bunch of youngsters made it. You used to be able to listen to the whole album via their bandcamp, but they've recently inked a deal with Autumn Tone Records (congratulations, guys!), and it disappeared. - [BV Chicago]

Meanwhile, NYC can go see Twin Peaks (who played BV Chicago's 2013 SXSW party) live as they're here for the Northside Festival. They'll play Public Assembly on Saturday (6/15) as part of a pretty great line-up including fellow Chicago band Outside World, plus Quilt, Turnip King, and The Teen Age. $10 at the door, or use your Northside badge to get in. They'll stick around to play Pianos on June 19 with Conveyor and Bad Cop (tickets).

All tour dates are listed, along with the "Fast Eddie" video, below...

Continue reading "Chicago band Twin Peaks are here for Northside, rereleasing debut album, made a new video (dates)"

"Quilt at Glasslands - reminding me a little of tame impala meets beach house #somethinglikethat" - @Widder_Twidder

Quilt at Glasslands - 2/17/13 (via Mexican Summer)

Boston psych folkies Quilt just came to Brooklyn over the weekend (2/17) for a show at Glasslands with Alex Bleeker & the Freaks and Weyes Blood. If you missed them, or just want to catch them again, Quilt have announced that they'll return to the same venue for a show on April 14 with Prince Rupert's Drops, Electric Mess, and visuals by Drippy Eye Projections. Tickets for the newly added Glasslands show are on sale now.

Quilt's only other upcoming show that we're aware of is in Cambridge on March 3 at The Middle East as a support act for psychedelic pop artist Jacco Gardner. That show is part of Jacco's upcoming US tour which hits NYC on March 2 at Death by Audio and March 23 at Mercury Lounge with Mmoss (tickets).

You can stream Quilt's 2011 self titled album below...

Continue reading "Quilt played Glasslands, playing again in April"

Quilt at Mercury Lounge in 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Brooklyn venue Glasslands will a feel a little more like late '60s San Francisco on February 17, when they host Real Estate side project Alex Bleeker & The Freaks (who are way more psych/blues than Alex's other gig), the Summer of Love vibes of Boston's Quilt, and the drone folk of Weyes Blood. Tickets for what should be an all around great show are on sale now.

In related news, Alex Bleeker just interviewed Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham for Relix. One of the things they spoke about was Fleetwood Mac's influence on Alex and the surrounding indie culture:

AB: I have my own opinion on this, but have you noticed a younger audience showing up at your shows or showing an appreciation for not only Fleetwood Mac records but your solo work? Have you noticed any increase in that [demographic] in the past couple of years?

LB: Well, you know, I guess you can qualify anything I say by saying, "The longer you're around, [the] younger people start to look." But yes, I'd say that it's probably true. Even if you were to take the solo work out of the equation and just talk about the body of work that Fleetwood Mac has. Sometimes it takes sowing those seeds and letting things take root and seeing what is going to make sense to people down the line. What's going [on] in an album like Rumours makes sense to any number of generations on a mainstream level, but then you've got something like Tusk which is going to make sense to people that have a more indie sensibility. That's been very gratifying because that's what that album is all about.

...

AB: Well I don't know if [ Relix ] told you anything about me, but I'm not a journalist or writer. I'm 26, I play in a rock band and I can confidently tell you that Fleetwood Mac and of course your solo work has had a tremendous influence and is particularly popular with musicians right now in a more countercultural community.

LB: You know, that's one of the lessons you start to learn. And again, why being in Fleetwood Mac is so helpful and so meaningful is because I can go out there and undermine the brand, if you will.

Some song streams and lists of other upcoming dates for all three artists, below...

Continue reading "Alex Bleeker interviewed Fleetwood Mac, playing w/ Quilt & Weyes Blood playing Brooklyn in Feb"

by Bill Pearis and Andrew Sacher

Rufus the cat getting good use out of CMJ badge (via @robotsvsghosts)

Oh hey, it's CMJ time again (Wednesday to be exact). Here's a little recap of what BrooklynVegan did on Tuesday (10/17) night with some you-are-there type Instagrams. (Follow along in real time with @Brooklynvegan on Instagram or @BVpics and @bvCMJ on Twitter.) Here we go...

Ghost Wave @ Le Poisson Rouge

I was a little thrown off Tuesday as my original plan revolved around seeing French acts Bertrand Burgalat and Juveniles at the Union Square Ballroom. When both canceled last-minute, I had zero plan. After picking up my badge (a breeze) at Judson Memorial Church, I headed over to Le Poisson Rouge for some of the New Zealand showcase that's become an annual CMJ kickoff event at the Village venue. I caught the latter half of Ghost Wave (horrible name, but pretty good classic Flying Nun-style indie) and stuck around for about half of Die! Die! Die! whose blitzkrieg punk was certainly fun to watch.

I then hoofed it over to the L.E.S. where fellow BV writer Andrew Sacher already was... (-Bill)

Indians @ The Living Room (via @llllbfgllll)

The ease of making a record by yourself in your bedroom has inspired countless artists to do so, resulting in a ton of filler, but every now and then some real gems pop up. If you're looking to find a new one of those gems at this year's CMJ, Copenhagen's Indians (aka Soren Lokke Juul) is a good place to start. He played his first CMJ show at Living Room last night (10/16) for a WFUV showcase, and though he didn't have the highest attendance (early Tuesday is tough), those who were there were attentive the whole show. Rather than hiding his voice behind reverb or distortion like many of his peers, Soren's voice is his strong point. He belted out every song while providing piano, acoustic guitar, drum loops, and ambient backing tracks. Even on his own everything was well put together, so when Soren begins playing with a full band (like the one in his 4AD Session video), it feels pretty safe to say it's gonna be great. You can catch Indians again tonight (10/17) at the Hype Machine party at Brooklyn Bowl and Thursday at Fader Fort.

Quilt @ Arlene's Grocery (via @brooklynvegan Instagram)

Boston's Quilt made their way over to NYC last night for their only CMJ show this year, the Easy Apple/Vinyl District/Beyond Beyond is Beyond Records showcase at Arlene's Grocery. The band have been in NYC a bunch of times (they called it their home away from last night) but I've somehow managed to miss them every time until last night, and glad I finally caught them. They filled the venue with trippy Haight-Ashbury vibes, and still managed to sound fresh despite their obvious lineage to an era which is almost half a century old. I guess I had assumed they'd be playing acoustic guitars, but they went strictly electric and still captured the delicate folkiness of the record -- plus it allowed them to throw in some noise freakouts. The band were charming on stage too, cracking tongue-in-cheek jokes about how Flea is no longer in their band, and they gave a shoutout to Bob Weir, who turned 65 yesterday and said he was on stage with them on spirit (which also came off as a joke, but to some extent, they weren't wrong).

If you haven't heard Quilt's self titled LP which came out in 2011 on Mexican Summer, you can stream it at bandcamp. They'll be back in NYC to open for The Fresh & Onlys on November 8 at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets for that show are still available.  (-Andrew)

Back to Bill...

Foxygen @ Mercury Lounge (via @brooklynvegan Instagram)

After seeing Quilt at Arlene's Grocery with Andrew, I walked over to Mercury Lounge (a trip Michael Cera needed a car for in Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist) for the showcase put on by our West Coast blog friends Aquarium Drunkard. Waiting in line to get in I met, Foxygen singer Sam France's two aunts and grandmother who were very, very proud of him. Not sure if they had an influence on me, but I thought Foxygen was the best thing I saw last night, a confident melange of late '60s / early '70s psych pop and glam that was exemplified by the closing number that seemed to merge "Under My Thumb" and "Suspicious Minds" into a new baby. France was a funny frontman too who seems to really enjoy the frontman role. Catch them at our day party on Friday.

Tashaki Miyaki @ Mercury Lounge (via @brooklynvegan Instagram)

Los Angeles trio Tashaki Miyaki were up next. I enjoy their hazy sound (Mazzy Star-esque as noted before) but they were not completely on their game last night, though their laconic vibe is a tough follow to Foxygen's showmanship. I spent much of their set trying to figure out how leftie guitarist played his righthanded instrument upside down. (Some brains just work that way.) Still, current single "Best Friend" sounded pretty sweet, and they should be a nice soundtrack to the early afternoon of our Saturday day party at Public Assembly (where you can catch them again while getting a free tattoo).

BV photographer Amanda Hatfield (her cat Rufus is at the top of this post), who had been at Ben Gibbard's intimate HiFi show earlier in the evening, tried to get in to Mercury Lounge but found it sold out, or badged-out or both. Some venues adopt a one-in-one out policy during CMJ, others give you a stamp that allows you to get back in anytime and others have the old "no reentry" policy, though you don't see that so much in the 10 years since the smoking band came into effect. Whatever way, it pays to show up early to something you really want to see.

Orwells at Mercury Lounge (via @brooklynvegan Instagram)

At midnight it was the NYC debut of Chicago's The Orwells whose album is out on Autumn Tone records (which is run by Justin of Aquarium Drunkard). All still in High School (or should be) and looked it too, they cranked out a hyper set of angst-fueled garage pop driven by wild-eyed frontman Mario Cuomo (not that one) who stalked the stage and generally went apeshit. In a well-worn Batman tee, he definitely brings the danger to The Orwells that otherwise look like someone's nice younger brothers. They were all clearly stoked to be playing New York City. They're playing many times this week, including an opening slot on our Saturday day party at Public Assembly.

Then I went to bed. It was only Tuesday, plenty of late nights to come. (-BIll)

What are you seeing tonight?

--

Savoir Adore played two CMJ shows last night, and one as part of the pre-CMJ Conflict of Interest party on Monday night at Rebel NYC. We missed all three, but check out a video from the Monday one, and a video of Spacehog playing "In the Meantime" at Rockwood Music Hall (true story), below...

Continue reading "CMJ 2012 kicked off Tuesday (Indians, Quilt, Foxygen, The Orwells, Savoir Adore, New Zealand bands + more)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield, words by Bill Pearis

Cate Le Bon @ Mercury Lounge, 9/21/2012

Cate Le Bon is on tour was in New York for two shows this weekend, following an appearance earlier in the week at Pop Montreal. Friday night (9/21), one night before she hit Union Pool, she played an early show at Mercury Lounge with Boston psych-folk quartet Quilt making for a well-matched double bill.

Those whose only know Le Bon from her mostly gentle debut album and her tour with St. Vincent (where she played alone) does not prepare you for the wonderful, weird Welsh world of seeing her with her ace band who also feature on her fantastic album CYRK (one of 2012's best) from earlier this year. Songs turn on a dime from delicate finger-plucked Wendy and Bonnie faery folk to ragged Neil Young-style ragers, with moments of organ-fueled Krautrock groove as well. Mind you it all makes sense when watching Le Bon's do her magical thing.

I missed Quilt but will hopefully catch them while they're on tour with The Fresh and Onlys which hits Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 8. Tickets for that show are still available. Cate Le Bon's North American trek rolls on through the South, playing Raleigh, NC tonight (9/25).

Pictures of Quilt and Cate Le Bon (including the setlist for Cate), along with a list of tour dates for both, below...

Continue reading "Cate Le Bon & Quilt @ Mercury Lounge (pics, setlist, review)"

Hume at BV-Northside 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Baltimore reverberators Hume, who played the BV Northside showcase back in June, are set to head out on an extensive North American tour which kicks off later this month. That tour brings them to NYC for a stacked bill with local faves Quilt and Andrew Cedermark at Cameo Gallery on August 31. No advance tickets for this show, but $8 tix will be available at the door.

Quilt just wrapped up a tour with Young Magic which culminated in NYC at Mercury Lounge on Sunday (7/29). That show was one of four NYC shows this week and last for Louisville band Murals, who also played Pianos last Friday (7/27).

Meanwhile, you can catch Andrew Cedermark in NYC even sooner when he supports Real Estate at their upcoming Webster Hall show on August 11 with R. Stevie Moore. Tickets for that show are still available.

A list of all dates and streams from all three artists below...

Continue reading "Hume touring, playing Cameo with Quilt and Andrew Cedermark (dates & streams)"

Louisville's Murals released their debut album, On A Passing Cloud, earlier this month. It's a nice dose of Shins-y folk pop with some lighthearted psychedelia mixed in. You can stream the whole album below. That's the cover art above.

Murals are going on a tour in support of the album which comes to NYC for four shows: July 26 at Cameo with Indian Rebound, Treppenverter and The Split; July 27 at Pianos with A Lull, Black Light Dinner Party, and Nightmare Air (tickets); July 28 at Delinquency BLVD (1031 Grand St.); and July 29 at Mercury Lounge to open the Quilt/Young Magic show with Secret Mountains (tickets).

A list of all dates and the album stream are below.

Continue reading "Murals released 'On A Passing Cloud,' touring, playing 4 NYC shows (dates & album stream)"

DOWNLOAD: Doldrums - "Egypt" (Young Magic Redux) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Doldrums - "Egypt" (MP3)

Young Magic at Mercury Lounge in 2011 (more by Jessica Amaya)

Brooklyn psych poppers Young Magic and Boston psych folkies Quilt are teaming up for a psych-filled co-headlining tour this summer. The tour kicks off with a Brooklyn show on June 28 at Glasslands, and after hitting up other parts of the US and Canada, returns to NYC to wrap up the tour at Mercury Lounge on July 29. Tickets for the Glasslands show and the Mercury Lounge show are on sale now.

Young Magic also just remixed the Doldrums track "Egypt" off of his upcoming EP of the same name, due out June 4 via Souterrain Transmissions. Download the remix and the original above, and stream both below. Doldrums was just in NYC for two shows with Bear in Heaven and Blouse.

All dates and streams below...

Continue reading "Young Magic touring with Quilt, remixed Doldrums"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Mac DeMarco - "Baby's Wearin Blue Jeans (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: TOPS - Turn Your Love Around (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Korallreven - Sa Sa Samoa (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Korallreven - Sa Sa Samoa (For Real For Sure For You) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD:  Young Prisms - Floating in Blue (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Boy Friend - Egyptian Wrinkle (MP3)

Mac Demarco

It begins. Bands from all over the world -- England! Canada! Sweden! New Zealand! Virginia! -- descend on New York as they beat a path to Austin for this year's SXSW. Which is good for those who aren't going, as well as folks who are but want to see bands play longer than 25 minutes and aren't strung out on a four-day diet of free breakfast tacos, Vitamin Water and Amstel Light. There's lots more going on than what is covered below, but it's what I'm interested in over the next few days.

New Captured Tracks signee Mac DeMarco is in town from Vancouver to play a couple shows. He plays an all-C/T bill tonight (3/2) at Music Hall of Williamsburg with DIVE, Hoop Dreams and headliners Beach Fossils (sold out), and then Glasslands tomorrow (3/3) with  headliners Widowspeak and  Quilt.

Demarco, who used to record under the name Makeout Videotapes, has a smoky baritone that is part Chris Isaak and part Tindersticks. His music owes a little to Isaak as well, with an early '60s vibe (Ricky Nelson, Gene Vincent) by way of '80s neon, all on a four-track budget. You can check debut "Baby's Wearin Blue Jeans" from his debut, Rock n' Roll Hotel (out 3/20) at the top of this post, which is indicative of what Demarco is all about. You can also watch the video for "Only You" which is kind of NSFW. Dude's a provocateur.

Hoop Dreams

Tonight's MHoW show is the first NYC show we've had from Blacksburg, VA's Hoop Dreams in a long while. They were good when I saw them at Glasslands last year and have the potential to be breakouts for the label if they ever get around to releasing another record (only a single so far). Live, they're more in the Arcade Fire/Editors anthemic style than the single might suggest. It will also be a good opportunity to hear new music from Beach Fossils who are busy at work on their second LP.

And of course, DIVE, who are probably one of the more exciting live bands in Brooklyn right now and are a definite SXSW must-see if you don't live here and have the opportunity to catch them twice a week like we currently do. (They're also touring with Frankie Rose in April.) The show is sold out tonight, but I'd be shocked if there weren't tickets at the door at least when the box office opens.

TOPS

Montreal band TOPS are playing 285 Kent tomorrow night as part of a killer bill that includes Blood Orange, Phone Tag and  Caged Animals. The four-piece is comprised of most (if not all) of MTL's Silly Kissers who played here a few times over the last few years and were a little on the precious side (they sometimes wore mime makeup). TOPS, however, are more in the Ariel Pink/Puro Instict brand of minimal keyboard pop. Their debut, Tender Opposites, came out this week on Artibus Records, which is also home to Grimes (in Canada). You can download "Turn Your Love Around" at the top of this post and stream the whole thing (and watch the further down.

As you may have read, 285 headliners Caged Animals will open the Official BrooklynVegan SXSW showcase on March 14 at Bar 69 which also includes Titus Andronicus, Screaming Females, 2:54, The Young and one more TBA. If you haven't heard their tuneful, charming debut Eat Their Own yet, it's still streamable at their BandCamp. And they're terrific live.

So is Blood Orange, despite it just being Dev Hynes, his guitar and a laptop. I saw him last weekend at Glasslands where he spent as much time in the crowd as he did on stage. I do wish he'd get a band, but the one-man Blood Orange is a lot of fun. I haven't seen Phone Tag in a while, but I dig their brand of '80s synthpop.

Korallreven

Sunday night (3/4) at Bowery Ballroom is the NYC debut of Swedish duo Korallreven, one half of which is The Radio Dept.'s Daniel Tjäder. I like their debut album a lot, all lush, synth-driven dream pop but, like a lot of music like this, I wonder how they're going to make it an interesting concert experience. I envision two guys behind laptops and keyboards bobbing their heads and singing, with some projections and hopefully smoke machines.  Maybe they could move the downstairs couches to the main room? Maybe I'm wrong. We'll see. I'm sure it will sound great in any case.  If you haven't heard them yet, you can download "Sa Sa Samoa" in regular and remixed form at the top of this post and watch the video at the bottom of this post. Also playing: Lemonade and Young Magic.

Bachelorette

Also playing Sunday night, at Cameo, is Bachelorette -- aka New Zealander Annabel Alpers who I think lives here now. Buoyed by Alpers delicate, breathy voice, Bachelorette make ethereal synthpop not miles away from The Magnetic Fields, with whom she's going on tour for seven shows. (All dates at the bottom of this post.) I liked it better when she had a band, but the loop pedal incarnation is pretty lovely too. You can check out a couple videos below or stream her most recent album on Spotify.

Young Prisms at the Comet, Seattle (photo by Finest Kiss)

And looking into early next week, San Francisco's Young Prisms and Austin's Boy Friend are at Glasslands on Monday (3/5). Young Prisms new album, In Between, is out March 27 on Kanine and is a real step forward for the band. Their still mining first-wave shoegaze, but the songs are much stronger this time out with a couple that go for jangly Velocity Girl style pop. They will be very loud I guarantee you. Boy Friend will make a nice opener, with their hazy, 4-AD miasma vibe. You can download MP3s from both bands at the top of this post. Also playing, seemingly from another show, are Alex Bleeker & the Freaks and Tanks Amigo.

That's the big stuff for the next four days. But wait, there's more. Day-by-day picks of things not covered above:

The Young Empires at M for Montreal 2011

FRIDAY, MARCH 2

Like Friendly Fires and Foals? Check out Toronto's Young Empires are at Glasslands, with Saint Motel, Fan-Tan, and Transmission NYC (DJ set).

Expect a wild evening at Death by Audio with "original line-up" Tyvek, plus Habibi, Feelings and the Numerators. Stick-in-the-muds, go see something else!

Boston's pop veterans The Figgs play Littlefield. The band's new double album, The Day Gravity Stopped, is out sometime soon.

continued below...

Continue reading "Mac DeMarco, TOPS, Korallreven, Bachelorette, Young Prisms, Boy Friend and more in This Week in Indie"

DOWNLOAD: Beach Fossils - "Shallow" (MP3)

Captured Tracks signee Mac DeMarco, who has an upcoming Brooklyn show opening for labelmates Beach Fossils at MHOW on 3/2, just scheduled his own show, which will happen one day later at Glasslands (3/3). Tickets for that show are on sale now, and UPDATE: Widowspeak and Quilt are now listed as playing the show too. You can stream a Mac DeMarco track below.

Speaking of Beach Fossils, they're set to release the "Shallow" 7" b/w "Lessons" on February 21 via Captured Tracks. You can stream that track below and download it above.

Speaking of Captured Tracks, read about their big show at 285 Kent last week, HERE, and don't forget DIVE opens for Frankie Rose at Knitting Factory on 2/21.

Songs and dates, including the lineup of the Captured Tracks SXSW showcase, below...

Continue reading "another Mac DeMarco show (with Widowspeak & Quilt) & a new Beach Fossils track"

The Fresh & Onlys @ Psych Fest 2011 (more by Tim Griffin)

The Reverberation Appreciation Society and The Black Angels have released the initial lineup poster for the 5th annual Austin Psych Fest. This year's fest, running from April 27th - 29th (in Austin), will take place at Austin's two newest big venues, recently opened Emo's East and the soon-to-be open Beauty Ballroom which is next door.

Emo's East is now the only Emo's since their Red River location closed on 12/30, and the Beauty Ballroom is (hopefully) having their rescheduled Grand Opening on January 27th (with Theophilus London and Treasure Fingers) and continuing on January 28th.

APF will feature around 60 bands over the three day, two room event. About 40 are included in the poster below, with another 20 or so to be announced in March. Announced bands include the Black Angels (who played Emo's East on New Year's Eve), the Black Lips, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Dead Meadow, Olivia Tremor Control, Wooden Shijps, and many more. Weekend passes go on sale this Saturday (January 21st) at 12pm CST at austinpsychfest.com.

Check out photos from the 2011 edition of Psych Fest (held at Seaholm Power Plant) HERE.

Chaos in Tejas, a different kind of Austin music fest that happens in June, also announced bands on their lineup today.

SXSW, which is in March, continues to announce bands all the time and recently posted their initial schedule.

Psych Fest 2012 poster, lineup and Bandcamp mixtape, below...

Continue reading "Austin Psych Fest annnounces initial 2012 lineup, new venue; SXSW posted their initial schedule"

by Bill Pearis

To say that the second album by North Carolina native Jonathan Wilson feels a bit like getting a free reflexology treatment and a small dose of diazepam combined is, accordingly, no criticism. This immersive double-length album is so languid that it might have its own gravitational field, pulling you earthwards to examine the sky in some detail, growing your hair out with every slowly unfurling guitar line. Even if you care nothing for the culture of Laurel Canyon, the Los Angeles crucible of stoned country-rock back in the 70s and Wilson's recent stomping ground, his unhurried, backward-glancing Gentle Spirit might speak to you, in a whisper laden with effects...

...Wilson's prescription for our ills is simple: flutes, pianos, organs, guitars (acoustic and electric, and lots of them) and guests (even more of them). This album grew - very slowly - out of regular Wednesday night jam sessions that Wilson hosted at his old Laurel Canyon base...Jonathan Wilson is a producer, guitar-maker and veteran of Robbie Robertson's, Jackson Browne's and Elvis Costello's bands. Wilson's fellow Canyon noodlers included Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes (who doesn't appear on the album), plus a Jayhawk, bits of the Steve Miller Band and Andy Cabic of Vetiver, another bunch of psychedelically leaning longhairs, all of whom do. [The Observer]

Jonathan Wilson hits the East Coast next week, which will include three stops in NYC: he plays two nights at  Mercury Lounge (an early show on January 19 and a late show on January 20 with Quilt) and then hits the Rock Shop on January 21. He also plays Philadelphia's World Cafe Live on January 18. Click through for those dates in list form (as well as European dates), plus a few music videos and MOJO's full 2011 list...

Continue reading "Jonathan Wilson released MOJO's #4 album of 2011, playing three NYC shows (and one in Philly)"

Boston psych-folkies Quilt have a few shows coming up in early 2012, including two in NYC. They'll open for Jonathan Wilson at Mercury Lounge on January 20 and will open for Jeremy Jay at Glasslands on February 8. Tickets for the Mercury show and the Glasslands show are on sale now.

Quilt released their debut LP on Mexican Summer last month. You can stream the whole thing at their bandcamp and purchase it at the Mexican Summer webstore.

All dates below...

Continue reading "Quilt schedule some shows, one with Jeremy Jay"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Quilt - Penobska Oakwalk (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Quilt - Cowboys In The Void (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Lilac - So Young (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Total Slacker - Secret VHS Collection (MP3)

Quilt

2011 is winding down, holidays are on the horizon and bands, for the most part, stop touring till the new year. Not quite yet, but things are starting to slow down significantly. Which is a good chance to check out local acts if you're still itching to go see some live music this weekend.

Quilt are not local but it's a short trip down from Boston they're making to play Glasslands tonight (11/9), the record release party for their debut LP which came out on Mexican Summer this week. Like a lot of music on the label, there's a laid-back psych quality to the music and, as Andrew Sacher noted previously, Quilt have an undeniable late '60s Haight-Ashbury vibe. Maybe a few less flowers in their hair, but it's there. This kind of stuff also evokes New Zealand comparisons too whether they've ever listened to the Clean or Tall Dwarves before or not. It's a terrific record and you can download two tracks off it at the top of this post and the whole thing is up on Spotify. I heard good things about Quilt's shows at CMJ too.

Lilac

It's a pretty stacked bill tonight at Glasslands. Also playing are San Francisco's Lilac who appear to be jetting in just for this show. They've also got a psych-rock thing going on, but it's filtered more through '80s UK acts like Primal Scream, the Bunnymen and the Stone Roses. (Some Velocity Girl in there too maybe.) Organ-heavy and danceable. Lilac released their first EP over the summer which is pretty damn good and you can download the single "So Young" at the top of this post and watch the video below.

Also playing are instrument-destroying, '90s-loving locals Total Slacker who released their debut album, Thrashin', not too long ago. It's a little too '90s at times -- I'm surprised they don't have an Angelfire website -- but I can't deny it's a pretty fun record. The band they remind me the most of, and this is an obscure reference, is late '80s band Christmas who later morphed into Combustible Edison. There's a similar melodic and harmony style to what they did and Total Slacker do, not to mention a love of psychedelics. You can download album cut "Secret VHS Collection" at the top of this post (and watch the video below).

Still more bands playing tonight's Glasslands show: Dive, who seem to be playing every show everywhere these days, and Royal Baths.

I'm Turning Into

Tomorrow night (11/10) at Union Hall is a band who doesn't get enough attention. I'm Turning Into have been around for a couple years, having moved up from the DC area and quickly ingratiating themselves into the Bushwick indie community. (Two of them became My Teenage Stride's rhythm section what seemed like almost immediately.) The band's Parcel of Marbles was released on cassette (and digitally) this summer and is appropriately low-fi given the release format. More in a Robert Pollard kind of way, than the more recent garage scene that people associate with the low-fi tag. I'm Turning Into have plenty of pop smarts and its eminently likeable. You can stream the whole of Parcel of Marbles at the bottom of this post.

Also playing are Pre-War which is some sort of Conversion Party offshoot, and The Thieves.

ARMS

ARMS released their new album Summer Skills this week and they play a record release party for it this Friday (11/11) at Glasslands. Earlier this year, Todd Goldstein described the record as a "sort of sci-fi breakup album" and that comes through, I think, even without focusing on the lyrics. The fat synths give the record an epic, widescreen quality. You can download three tracks from Summer Skills via ARMS' Bandcamp site and get the whole record from your digital retailer of choice. Physical release is still TBD.

Also playing: TWII faves Hospitality, Franz Nicolay and The Building.

Moonmen on the Moon, Man

And finally, Friday is November 11 which makes it 11/11/11 which is kinda cool and might "mean something" to numerologists. (Though not as much as November 11, 1111 did. That was a party.) To the folks at Cake Shop, it's an excuse to have 11 bands play in one night. You might expect an appropriate cover charge, but it's actually half that. Yes $5.50 gets you in, probably the first time ever the door will have had to deal with coins which should make the door person real happy. Amongst the bands playing are Cake Shop house band Moonmen on the Moon, Man who have been gigging around a lot lately and have become pretty good. If you like early '90s indie like Eleventh Dream Day or Madder Rose, check 'em out. There's a whole bunch of songs up on their Bandcamp page to listen to.

Cake Shop is still looking for that 11th band (or maybe its a surprise guest?) but the rest of the line-up is American Darlings, Celestial Shore, Mainland, Birdhand, Young Heel, Corsair, Edelweiss, Night Manager and Normally Important.

That's it for this week. A few day-by-day picks follow for shows not covered above.

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10

It's week two of Miniboone's Thursday's in November residency. If you go tonight you get a free copy of their just-released debut album, On Miniboone Mountain. You can download a couple tracks right now at their Bandcamp.

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Continue reading "Quilt, Lilac, Total Slacker, ARMS, I'm Turning Into, Moonmen on the Moon Man and more in This Week in Indie"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Quilt - "Penobska Oakwalk" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Quilt - "Cowboys In The Void" (MP3)

Boston psych-folk quartet Quilt are set to release their self titled debut LP on November 7 via Mexican Summer. The band's male/female vocal harmonies are about as Haight-Ashbury c. 1967 as a Boston band from the 00's can get without being a disingenuous imitation, and when set to gentle guitar patterns and Eastern-tinged drones, Quilt are making some of the most refreshing '60s nostalgia I've heard this year. Take a listen to "Cowboys In The Void" and "Penobska Oakwalk," which you can download above. Both songs appeared on a single the band released this past March which also included two other songs and an instrumental version of "Penobska Oakwalk." You can stream all five of those tracks and purchase them for $4 at bandcamp. You can check out the album art for that single and the upcoming LP below.

Quilt will celebrate their LP with a record release party in NYC on November 9 at Glasslands. Tickets for the show are on sale now. No openers have been announced yet.

Album art and some recent live videos below...

Continue reading "Quilt releasing debut LP on Mexican Summer (MP3s), playing Glasslands (watch some live videos too)"

Lower Dens @ Bowery Ballroom during CMJ (more by Amanda Hatfield)

John Hunter of Lower Dens aka Glory Girls have replaced Lower Dens on tonight's Mercury Lounge show because Lower Dens had to cancel due to losing a member. The band posted this message last week:

"Our guitarist, and sometimes drummer, Will Adams, has decided to leave the band, due to exhaustion. As a result we are very sorry to announce the cancellation of some of our upcoming shows. Will's gonna be sorely missed, and we're not sure yet exactly what that will mean for the future of our band, but there will be one."

"To be clear, we're still working things out after Will's departure, but we are BY NO MEANS breaking up, and we still plan on playing all the other shows we have scheduled this summer and beyond, including Marfa, Austin, Houston, NYC, etc. See yall soon. - jh"

Tara Jane O'Neil was also listed on tonight's show, but now the openers are Quilt, Battle Circus and Marlon Rando.

Other Lower Dens dates and a video of Glory Girls playing Glasslands, below...

Continue reading "Will left Lower Dens who are replaced by Glory Girls at Mercury Lounge, but the band is not broken up"