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Trashcan Sinatras, Miles Hunt, Lights On, Blind Man's Colour, Yeasayer, School of Seven Bells & more in This Week In Indie

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Lights On – John and Anne (MP3)

Trashcan Sinatras
Trashcan Sinatras

Glasgow’s Trashcan Sinatras have been with us for 20 years now, having perfected their brand of sparkling, literate guitar pop that initially garnered them comparisons to The Smiths. Like fellow Glaswegians The Blue Nile, the Trashcan Sinatras take their time between albums — the brand new In the Music is only the band’s fifth. (It should be noted that time between albums is not entirely their doing — the band have had colossally bad luck with record labels.) The band made the album here in New York with Ivy guitarist Andy Chase behind the boards. Like their other four records, it’s loaded with gorgeous songs, arpeggiated guitar lines and swoon-worthy harmonies. Weirdly, it’s also got Carly Simon singing backing vocals on the song “Should I Pray?” How did that come about? Guitarist Paul Livingston explained to Bullz-Eye.com:

PL: Well, after we recorded the backing tracks in New York, the producer, Andy Chase, was going to set up a studio at his house in Martha’s Vineyard. And he said, “Come on, Carly Simon lives here.” And we were floored, and thought, “That would be great if we could meet her.” And so he asked her to sing on a song, and we got her a lot of the songs we were working on. But the disappointing thing was, when we were in Martha’s Vineyard, she was in New York. So we didn’t meet her, which is kind of a bummer.

BE: Oh, that’s no fun.

PL: Yeah, that’s shit, isn’t it? The idea was that she’d come to Martha’s Vineyard and sing, and that’d be great. And then when people asked us in interviews, ‘what was it like,’ we thought we’d have a better answer than, “We didn’t meet her.” But we’re going to invite her to some of these gigs, see if she’ll come. But it was really nice of her to be so into the music.

Maybe Carly will show up at Trashcan Sinatra’s show this Saturday at Bowery Ballroom (8/15). Tickets are still available. Either way, they tour here about as often as they make records so don’t miss this chance to see them. Opening is Andy Chase’s other band, Brookeville, who definitely owe a little to Trashcan Sinatras and other pristine ’80s pop.

Miles Hunt
Miles Hunt

You could make it a night of late-’80s/early-’90s UK pop Saturday (8/15) if you bolted from Bowery Ballroom right after the Trashcans and hit Cake Shop where former (and sometimes current) Wonder Stuff frontman Miles Hunt will be performing. For those who don’t remember, the band were originally part of the short-lived UK “grebo” scene (bands that looked like hippies but sounded punk-ish) that also included Pop Will Eat Itself (Hunt was their original drummer) and Neds Atomic Dustbin, but the band soon developed a celtic pop sound that got them into the British charts many times. In those days of the most unfortunate fashion in modern history, The Wonder Stuff were staples on U.S. college and commercial alternative radio too, with cheeky songs like “A Wish Away,” “Don’t Let Me Down Gently,” and “Welcome to the Cheap Seats.” Miles is touring with Wonder Stuff violinist Erika Nockalls which is nice since fiddle played heavily into their sound.

Lights On
Lights On

Also this week: San Diego’s Lights On make their first trip to NYC, playing four shows starting Thursday night (8/13) at Club NME at the Annex. I don’t know a whole lot about them, but their self-released debut EP is a nice collection of ’80s-influence pop — most reviews I’ve read bring up New Order and Echo & the Bunnymen, both of which are pretty easy to detect in their sound. But it’s definitely more influence than imitation, and I like them enough to check out one of the four shows (all dates at the bottom of this post). If you could go to any of the four, I’d recommend the Saturday (8/15) show at Union Hall in which they’re part of a solid lineup that also includes Philly’s can-banging Drink Up Buttercup, Kiwi-influenced Brooklynites Beach Fossils, and Florida buzz band Blind Man’s Colour.

Blind Man’s Colour
Blind Man's Color

Blind Man’s Colour make the sort of cut-n-paste psychedelia that gets you quick comparisons to Animal Collective, and they’ve been praised by Kanye West (“SOME DOPE SHIT FOR MY APARTMENT”), as well as by people you might more expect (Ed Droste, Stereogum, Pitchfork). Their debut album, Season Dreaming, which I like about half of, is out next week on Kanine Records (Grizzly Bear, Chairlift, Princeton) but I’d have to imagine they’ll be selling it at the merch table. These guys had their first-ever live show a couple weeks ago, so you might want to go in with lowered expectations. BMC are playing a number of shows this weekend, and all area dates are listed at the bottom of this post.

YeasayerOther shows happening this weekend: Tonight (8/13) at Hudson River Park at Pier 54 we’ve got a free River Rocks show with Yeasayer and Amazing Baby. I haven’t seen Yeasayer since All Hour Cymbals was still fresh (circa CMJ 2007?), so I’m curious to hear some of their new material and check out the now five-strong lineup. As for Amazing Baby, it’s well documented on this site I’m a fan but realize many are not. Chacun à son goût.

Friday is the final show of this year’s Seaport Music series, ending strong with School of Seven Bells and The xx. The forecast looks good, and shows have been sounding great at the Seaport all summer so this is how I’d recommend you kick off the weekend, though I realize many will be at Prospect Park for Animal Collective. But Seaport is free.

Too much going on Friday. If you want to dance, Littlefield has Canada’s slightly nerdy duo Woodhands and the Latin-loving Project Jenny/Project Jan.

And if shambly DIY pop is more your thing, The Beets (who will soon be hitting the road with Vivian Girls), German Measles, Pop.1280 and the new-but-quite-promising Fluffy Lumbers play Silent Barn. It’s a birthday bash for my pal Rachel (full disclosure!) but everyone’s welcome. Flyer below.

I think that about does it. Tour dates, videos and flyers are after the jump…

Birthday

Trashcan Sinatras – Hayfever

Trashcan Sinatras – To Sir, With Love

Trashcan Sinatras – 2009 Tour Dates
Aug 13 rock & roll hotel, washington, dc
Aug 14 tin angel, philadelphia, pa
Aug 14 tin angel, philadelphia, pa
Aug 15 bowery ballroom, new york, ny
Aug 16 t.t. the bear’s, boston, ma

Miles Hunt – 2009 Tour Dates
Aug 13 The North Star Bar Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Aug 14 WBJB Songwriter in the Park Red Bank, New Jersey
Aug 15 The Cake Shop New York, New York
Aug 20 The Half Moon (with The Wonder Stuff) Putney
Aug 21 The Hippo (with The Wonder Stuff) Plymouth
Aug 22 Beautiful Days Festival (with The Wonder Stuff) Devon
Aug 30 Solfest Cumbria
Sep 10 The Liquid Room (with The Wonder Stuff) Tokyo
Sep 27 The Rock House Derby, Midlands
Oct 9 Sands Centre (with The Proclaimers) Carlisle
Oct 10 Apollo (with The Proclaimers) Manchester
Oct 12 UEA (with The Proclaimers) Norwich
Oct 13 Corn Exchange (with The Proclaimers) Cambridge
Oct 14 02 Academy (with The Proclaimers) Oxford
Oct 16 Royal Centre (with The Proclaimers) Nottingham
Oct 17 Guild Hall (with The Proclaimers) Southampton
Oct 18 University Great Hall (with The Proclaimers) Exeter
Oct 20 Colston Hall (with The Proclaimers) Bristol
Oct 21 St. David’s Hall (with The Proclaimers) Cardiff
Oct 22 Hammersmith Apollo (with The Proclaimers) London
Oct 24 Warwick Arts Centre (with The Proclaimers) Coventry
Oct 25 Venue Cymru (with The Proclaimers) Llandudno
Oct 26 Symphony Hall (with The Proclaimers) Birmingham
Oct 28 Philharmonic Hall (with The Proclaimers) Liverpool
Oct 29 Oct 30 Leeds 02 Academy (with The Proclaimers) Leeds
Nov 1 City Hall (with The Proclaimers) Newcastle
Nov 19 The Thunderbolt Bristol
Nov 20 Voodoo Lounge Stamford
Nov 21 The Uxbridge Hednesford
Dec 6 Katie Fitzgeralds Stourbridge, Midlands
Dec 17 02 Academy (with The Wonder Stuff) Birmingham, Midlands

Lights On – 2009 NYC Dates
Aug 13th 8:00pm CLUB NME @The Annex 190 Orchard St. NY (w AUTOMATIC CHILDREN/PURACANE/GLISS)
Aug 14th 8:30pm PIANOS- 158 Ludlow St. NYC
Aug 15th 8:30pm UNION HALL 702 Union St. Park Slope (w DRINK UP BUTTERCUP/BLIND MAN”S COLOUR/BEACH FOSSILS)
Aug 16th 9:00pm BRUAR FALLS – 245 Grand St. Williamsbug Brooklyn

Blind Man’s Colour – Never Hope for Treasure

Blind Man’s Colour – 2009 Tour Dates
Aug 13 Cake Shop w/ Beach Fossils New York, New York
Aug 14 Cameo Gallery w/ ZAZA Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York
Aug 15 Union Hall Parkslope, Brooklyn, New York
Aug 29 Crowbar Tampa, Florida
Sep 18 Club Downunder Tallahassee, Florida

School of Seven Bells – My Cabal

School of Seven Bells 2009
Aug 14 – New York, NY @ Seaport Music Festival/Pier 17
Aug 28 – Paris, France @ Rock en Seine Festival
Sep 25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas
Sep 26 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
Sep 27 – Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
Sep 28 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
Sep 29 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
Oct 01 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
Oct 02 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
Oct 04 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
Oct 05 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
Oct 06 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
Oct 08 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Oct 09 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
Oct 10 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
Oct 13 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
Oct 14 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Oct 15 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
Oct 16 – Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street Nightclub
Oct 17 – Boston, MA @ Paradise
Oct 23 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall/CMJ Music Marathon

The Beets – 2009 Tour dates
Aug 12 Benefit for Cinema Lolita @ Santos Party House w/ THE VIRGINS and DJ set by ANIMAL COLECTIVE New York, New York
Aug 14 Rachel’s Birthday Bash @ Silent Barn w/ GERMAN MEASLES + FLUFFY LUMBERS + POPULATION 1280 Ridgewood, New York
Aug 25 Death By Audio w/ VIVIAN GIRLS – Kicking off the Nightmare of Sound Tour!! Brooklyn, New York
Aug 26 The Barbary w/ VIVIAN GIRLS Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Aug 27 Andy Warhol Museum w/ VIVIAN GIRLS Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Aug 28 The Summit w/ VIVIAN GIRLS Columbus, Ohio
Aug 29 Cowboy Monkey w/ VIVIAN GIRLS Champagne, Illinois
Aug 30 The Empty Bottle w/ VIVIAN GIRLS Chicago, Illinois
Aug 31 7th St. Entry w/ VIVIAN GIRLS Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sep 1 The Aquarium w/ VIVIAN GIRLS Fargo, North Dakota
Sep 4 Union Hall w/ VIVIAN GIRLS Missoula, Montana
Sep 5 Comet Tavern w/ THE FUCKING EAGLES + TY SEGALL + JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD Seattle, Washington
Sep 6 Black Lodge Mountain w/ DIMPLES + M. WOMEN Seattle, Washington
Sep 7 TBD in Portland w/ VIVIAN GIRLS Portland, Oregon
Sep 9 Rickshaw Stop w/ VIVIAN GIRLS San Francisco, California
Sep 11 The Echo w/ VIVIAN GIRLS Los Angeles, California
Sep 14 The Manor Tempe, Arizona
Sep 17 Emo’s w/ AIR WAVES + YELLOW FEVER Austin, Texas
Sep 18 JJ’s Pizza! w/ AIR WAVES + FUNGI GIRLS + THE JESUS FURS Denton, Texas
Sep 19 The Bucaneer w/ AIR WAVES Memphis, Tennessee
Sep 20 TBA Atlanta, Georgia
Sep 21 TBA w/ AIR WAVES + TITANS OF FILTH Athens, Georgia
Sep 22 Local 506 w/ AIR WAVES + STILL FLYIN’ Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Oct 8 Santo’s Party House w/ MONOTONIX + TURBO FRUITS Manhattan city, New York..

Yeasayer – “Sunrise” – Pitchfork Music Festival 2009

Yeasayer New Song “LEAKED”