03:06 PM - Renminbi - The Phoenix pre-release Saturday
This Saturday, StereoActiveNYC Presents the pre-release party for Renminbi's new album The Phoenix at The Delancey. Details on the bands, all timed out so you can plan yr night accordingly: 8pm - Big / 9pm - Luff / 10pm - Pink Noise / 11pm - RENMINBI / DJ SANYC all night! One of the first reviews I wrote for the Deli back in the day (like, years ago) was of a Renminbi ep that included a couple of the tracks found on this new full length. The stuff sounded cool then, but the band has definitely been working hard and made a solid album that you should pick up at the show. Highly recommended if you're into Helium (I think they're just my reference of the month, actually, deal with it!), Sleater-Kinney (who I'm convinced stole one of Renminbi's riffs for a song on The Woods), and just a little bit of mathiness to your rock music. You can RSVP if you're into letting people know where you'll be and such (oh and you can win stuff/get discounts by doing that too).
View original photo by Arno Tijnagel
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02:32 PM - Nada Surf - Lucky
I don't even want to get into how long ago I did this drawing and tried to review the new Nada Surf disc, Lucky. This is a record that I've been having trouble with since I first heard it. The lead track, "See These Bones," kicks off with and instantly memorable line, and then the music slides right into a distinctly familiar Nada Surf style. That's all great, and the whole album is a good listen, but there's something just a little "off" with it. Maybe what bothers me the most is that my favorite track, "The Film Did Not Go 'Round" was not actually penned by the band (but rather, but someone I happen to know, which I was unaware of until recently). Even without comparing the other tracks to this standout, the collection falls a bit short of what Nada Surf are capable of. While there's no reason to expect them to be as angsty or noisy as they were in the High/Low days, it feels like they're playing it a little too safe on Lucky. Songs like "From Now On," "Ice On The Wing," and "Weightless" definitely make attempts at capturing some of the magic of past hits, but unfortunately the're a little too close - so much so that they don't stand up on their own. However, Nada Surf remain one of my favorite current bands, and I'll be looking forward to the next record.
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02:11 PM - The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
The great thing about the Raveonettes is that they're predictable. That's not something you want to say about every band, but sometimes it's exactly what's needed. You're going to get simple drum beats, shimmers of bells and such scattered throughout the songs, and sharp waves of fuzzy guitars and assorted sonic destruction, all on top of great surfy pop ditties. The band's latest, Lust Lust Lust (Vice), doesn't change much from their previous releases in terms of production value or style, though the catchiness of the songs seems to have taken a giant step forward (as if that was even thinkable!) Jams like "Aly, Walk With Me," "You Want The Candy" (video here), "Hallucination," and the single "Dead Sound" will make you shake it. They balance the album pretty well, with the darker side resting in tracks like "The Beat Dies" and "Expelled From Love," which give the duo's dark side a chance to... um, not "shine" exactly, but stand out. No matter which you prefer, they do happy and sad pretty well, and the gray area in between (in which they usually play ) is the real treat. To promote the record, they're running a contest where you could win an autographed heart-shaped guitar (awww) - get in on that before February 21st. Watch and listen: Read on for dates...
"Dead Sound" Video
"Dead Sound" MP3
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12:31 PM - The Lisps - Country Doctor Museum
The Lisps are not exactly a rock band (and trust me, this was cause for some funny looks when I booked them on MiG's release show in June of last year). "Quirky" is an unavoidable description of this quartet, as their tendency towards a (quite refreshing) sense of humor in their music and performance is something that music fans don't seem to get much of these days. Acoustic guitars and melodicas take the place of loud electric guitars, but don't think that makes this band subtle. They create quiet a racket and can get any room going. However, some of their more effective musical moments tend to be when they tone down the theatrics and let their incredible pop and folk songwriting skills come through. The first proof of this came in the form of songs like 2006's "Pepper Spray" and is true of new material as well. This weekend The Lisps celebrate the release of their first full-length album, Country Doctor Museum (officially out Tuesday, January 8th) with a show at Joe's Pub in New York City on Saturday, January 5th [click for flyer]. The album covers a huge range of styles, and has everything that Lisps fans have come to love about them over the past two years, here's a sampling that cover (in order, to over-generalize) the folk, the quirky fun pop, and the ambitious and downright cracked out epic sea shanty/hootenanny: The Lisps - "Brackish Water" My favorite track on the record is among the most sedate. "Heaven" tells a simple tale of missing someone and trying to find them (more or less.) The first time I remember hearing it was upstairs at Pianos, and I'm not sure why but it made me sad, though it was a really beautiful song. As I tend to do, I've been pestering Crazy César Dino Head (my current nickname for the member of The Lisps who sings the tune - he has a blog too!) about my fascination with it, enough so that he revealed a bit about the origins of the song: "I wrote that song on new years day 2007, shaking from my hangover, the only thing i could do was play something soothing on guitar, to not feel sick and i came up with that song." It definitely is soothing, and now just over a year later it's finally available on a record for the world to hear. Check it out: Buy tickets to The Lisps' record release show at Joe's Pub this Saturday. 
View original photo by Paul O'Reilly
The Lisps - "I'm Sorry"
The Lisps - "The Familiar Drunk"
Buy the album.
Befriend The Lisps on Myspace.
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08:54 AM - DJ Shufflelovers - playing Bloggers Delight 12.17.07
Shufflelovers is "the mp3/mixtape blog of Travis Harrison where he posts podcasts derived exclusively from honest to goodness, real life excerpts from his iPod's ShuffleSongs. The iPod has mystical and mysterious powers." It is also important to know that this Travis Harrison* character is the mastermind behind the Serious Business empire, as well as the drummer for The Unsacred Hearts and DraculaZombieUSA (among others). When he's not recording hit records, running a quickly growing record label, or hitting things, he can be found spending quality man-time sharing his wealth of musical knowledge with those around him. As DJ Shufflelovers, the song selection is deliberate (as opposed to, based on an iPod's shuffle setting) and inspired. Don't be afraid to ask about the jams. Download the latest MP3 mix from Shufflelovers, featuring a globe-trotting spectrum of fine selections. But make sure to read the commentary that goes with it! The links and stories are as much a part of it as the songs. myspace.com/shufflelovers | shufflelovers.com DJ Shufflelovers will keep ears happy and spirits up between the bands this MONDAY, DECEMBER 17th @ THE KNITTING FACTORY TAP ROOM as part of the FREE Subinev.com Bloggers Delight show. Band includeThe Shamblers, Hotpipes, Mancino, and Phantom Buffalo. * This is the THIRD time that Travis has been roboted here on Subinev.com. See also DZUSA (on left) and Unsacred Hearts (second from left). That's a record!
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09:18 AM - The Shamblers - playing Bloggers Delight 12.17.07
There's not much to say about the Shamblers other than they're from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, they're amazing, and they shamble. If that doesn't describe the music perfectly, then you're not paying attention. Download this hot jam (recorded at their November 3rd practice) and keep rockin' yr awesome shades of love. Exclusive download. You know it. The Shamblers - "Awesome Shades Of Love" This band will be your new best friends/worst enemies/heroes. You can hear more from the Shamblers on their Myspace page, and in person on MONDAY, DECEMBER 17th @ THE KNITTING FACTORY TAP ROOM as part of the FREE Subinev.com Bloggers Delight show. Also playing are Hotpipes, Mancino, and Phantom Buffalo.
From a photo the band sent me. Note that Peter is missing from it, probably because he had to take the picture.
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11:57 AM - Phantom Buffalo - playing Bloggers Delight 12.17.07
Once upon a time there was a band from Portland, Maine called The Ponys. They were invited to play at SXSW, as was a Chicago-based outfit by the same name. Being totally awesome and agreeable dudes, Portland's Ponys took the opportunity to pick a new, way more kickass animal-themed band name, becoming Phantom Buffalo (it's even in their Wiki. This being over 3 years ago now, they seem to have settled into their name, with Rough Trade UK rereleasing the stellar 2002 release, ShiShiMuMu, in 2005 under the current moniker. That release includes what may be the city of Portland's (Maine, remember, not the one that was named after it) unofficial theme song, "A Hilly Town." This band is one for fans of current indie superstars The Shins and New Pornographers, with phych pop and rock 'n' roll tendencies (think Buddy Holly, the Breeders, and the Kinks playing nice). Here is an exclusive download of a new track from Phantom Buffalo. The band says this is the latest song they've recorded and should give a good indication of what to expect on Monday. Enjoy! Phantom Buffalo - "Radio Signal" You can hear a whole bunch of their songs on Myspace (which also seems to be their only official web presence at the moment). PS. As a side note, which I thought of because I mention SPACE and have a growing interest in bands in Portland, Maine (apparently I'm not the only one) - Satellite Lot have a new record out and will be playing a release show tomorrow (December 14th) at SPACE. I couldn't put it any better than the decription on the SPACE website: "Reminiscent of Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, and The Go Team!, they feature pulsing digital beats, huge multi-layered percussion, kool synths and thrashy PIL-style guitars." If you're in New England, suck it up and ignore the snow and get over there! Get the disc at Bull Moose (my second favorite real-world record store, after Amoeba in SF - which will hold that distinction until the day that Somethin' Else finally comes back) and get a free ticket to the release show.
View original photo by Jon Donnell
Here's a video I found of the band performing at their hometown joint Space (a really awesome venue and art space) on New Year's Eve two years ago. That's about the size of a crowd I hope to see for their Midnight set on Monday at the Knitting Factory. Ok?
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02:08 AM - Hotpipes - playing Bloggers Delight 12.17.07
There's something distinct about Nashville indie rock. I've been trying to put my finger on it for a long time now, but still it just seems like that city has it's own special brand of cool (granted, most do, and it comes through in the music - think Chicago, Austin, Brooklyn...). I've seen it in bands like The Features, De Novo Dahl, and The Privates, and drawn connections to some of the more recent waves of music coming from right here in NYC (The Walkmen, Takka Takka, Harlem Shakes, etc.) who've helped to bring a different crop of vintage influences back to the forefront. They've made it ok for rock songs to sound a little country and folk songs to be dancey and everything to be wrapped up in a package by a charistmatic (if nervous or at least a little awkward, depending on which band you're talking about) crooning singer - and it's at once new and exciting and familiar enough to cozy up next to in a bar. But when things turn around and the whistling stops or a burst of noise from a synth interrupts the acoustic guitar, you'll always look up and keeps listening. This brings us to Hotpipes. Their self-titled full length from last year was a sleeper - though there was some support behind the record, it's too bad it didn't get in front of a much wider audience. The next one (Future Bolt?) will hopefully get this band coming up to NY to play on a much more regular basis. Until then, I've had to take matters into my own hands. That's why I asked them to play my Bloggers Delight show at the Knitting Factory this coming Monday. They'll be playing two warm-up gigs in the area this weekend (Saturday @ Trash Bar with The Bosch and Psychomodo and Sunday @ Pianos) and I highly recommend making it out to all three. Here is an exclusive download of a track from Hotpipes' upcoming album. This is the demo version of the track "A Brain Or A Vegetable." Hotpipes - "A Brain Or A Vegetable" (DEMO version) You can hear more from Hotpipes on their Myspace page, and in person on MONDAY, DECEMBER 17th @ THE KNITTING FACTORY TAP ROOM as part of the FREE Subinev.com Bloggers Delight show. Also playing are The Shamblers, Mancino, and Phantom Buffalo. Hotpipes' video for "Song For The Late Riser"
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01:12 AM - The XYZ Affair (tonight at Union Hall)
The XYZ Affair are a local band who've been picking up a considerable amount of steam in the past 6 months, playing to bigger and bigger local crowds, with tours and more of a national presence likely on the horizon. Last time I saw them (in August at Union Hall with Via Audio) the show was packed but their anthemic pop wonder found its way to the back of the room, where you could practically hear singer Alex Feder smiling, even if you couldn't always see him through the crowd. The XYZ Affair - "The Professional" The XYZ Affair's over-the-top dramatic super sweet pop would have fit nicely on a bill with the sorely missed Polyvinyl no-bass threesome, Volcano, I'm Still Excited! but obviously it's a few years too late for that to happen. Instead, catch XYZ tonight at Union Hall with Sport of Kings (their singer is named R. Kelly and they play indie yacht rock) and Solid Bunny (bunnies are cute and bouncy and sometimes vicious, apparently so is this band). You've already seen the awesome video for "All My Friends," right? p.s. Comments are dead and not coming back (thanks, spambots, again) so if you want to tell me something, use email or something.
View original photo by Meg Wachter
The XYZ Affair - "All My Friends"
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12:57 AM - Gorillaz
This is a Thanksgiving Day quickie for you. This week Gorillaz put out D-Sides - a two disc collection of B-sides, demos, remixes, and assorted rarities (in the expected hit-or-miss, but mostly hit, fashion) of songs from their last proper full length, Demon Days. The deluxe edition comes with all sorts of sweet artsy goodies, and you know I'm a fan of those - especially since Jamie Hewlett's work has become a big favorite of mine since Gorillaz started a few years back (I dug Tank Girl but couldn't get into the art style in a full comic book format for whatever reason - maybe my attention span is just too short for spastic and often absurdist illustrated narratives). Though Gorillaz is a group where I still tend to go back to the first release whenever possible, they haven't disappointed yet. We threw disc one on in the van on the way out to Jersey tonight and the looser vibe of those tracks was a perfect fit for crossing the Outerbridge on an increasingly foggy night.
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12:55 AM - She Keeps Bees
I've been meaning to write something about this band for a long time now, but somehow they just keep slipping through the cracks, and then, well, I just don't write anything about anything. I found out about She Keeps Bees when I saw them at NXNE in Toronto earlier this year. I liked their soul-blues indie rock so much that I invited them to play with Man in Gray and Gold Streets at Union Hall for the StereoActiveNYC Roadshow kickoff (photos still to come). Not long after that I went to see them at The Yard (those photos also on the way). Tonight, they'll be playing at Union Hall for the latest Neon Lights show. They're on first and the show is going to be a crowded one, so get there early. The band has a video for the track "Cagematch" that you can see here. Listen on Myspace or in Jeff's post. The Most Serene Republic - who I haven't mentioned in a long time but am excited about seeing again - are the headliners tonight. They were also on the Crackers United 2nd Birthday show last night - which I missed to go play skeeball and Family Guy pinball at a friend from high school's birthday party - but from what I'm hearing today the show (especially A Place To Bury Strangers' set) was a really good time. Also on tonight's bill are High Places - I'm not very familiar with them yet but it looks like they've been recommended by more than a few people this week. By the way, for anyone in the Park Slope area, Man In Gray are playing the Brooklynbretta Music Fest tomorrrow on Sackett St (near 4th ave and the Union St R train) with El Jezel, Breakup Breakdown, and more. It's free and outdoors. Stop by!
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12:01 AM - Liars - Liars
My introduction to Liars had nothing to do with the fact that I lived in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn in 2002 (that feels like lifetimes ago, by the way). While in Atlanta on a road trip, I read a review of They Threw Us All In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top that made me stop by the next record shop I found to buy it. Having been bit of a rock purist (and not exactly into any sort of dance music) the spazzy shake of those songs was something brand new to me. Even all these years later, I still get a rush any time a track like "Mr Your On Fire Mr" comes on that hardly any other band can cause. Through the splits and singles I paid attention and enjoyed what I heard, but it was all just a little like that record without breaking any more ground, so I kept going back to the perfectly long-titles album. By the time They Were Wrong, So We Drowned came around it was no secret that the band had been getting more and more experimental and changed the lineup significantly. Appropriately, it came at a particularly strange time for me, so the dark and spooky tone of the whole thing was a welcome one. I was ready for the change and it hit me just right - in fact I think that their release show (with TV on the Radio and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) landing on my birthday was perfect, and if nothing else it provided a great distraction. Either way, once again they'd made a record that got me excited about music, while being nothing like what they'd done before. Moving along to Drum's Not Dead - Though it was enjoyable and obviously built on the themes uncovered with They Were Wrong..., I didn't give it the attention it deserved at the time. I blame working at a record shop and being exposed to an overload of new music - not much from that time period really stuck very well. Finally we're at today. Liars' fourth full length album is a self-titled one, and it makes perfect sense. After flirting with something dark and frightening and then possibly going entirely off the deep and and exploring primal rhythms, it's as if they were able to pick up their former selves from 2002 and teach them a few lessons - like how to simplify things and dance in new ways. Though there's much more rock (and, specifically, guitars) on Liars it's still the next logical step after stripping away all the guitars, somehow. The first track (and first single) - "Plaster Casts Of Everything" - gets my vote for jam of the year already. I love a relentless beat behind a two note riff with shrieking vocals - the turn at the end is so satisfying to the earholes, I smile every time I hear it. To make it even better, the video is amazing (and of course, incredibly spooky): watch the video. Track two has already proven itself to be perfect mix cd fodder (for those times when you want a Beck song but don't want to go for an obvious single), and the rest of the album (which has only a few down moments scattered throughout it) manages to keep rocking with that unique dark pop style. Liars is out today on Mute. There is also a review of the record along with a download (for today only) of "Plaster Casts Of Everything" at CMJ.com.
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01:10 AM - Goes Cube interview by the numbers
The lineup for this Saturday's After The Jump Fest is a diverse one. Though some of the acts might not make a lot of sense together on your average show, getting to see all sorts of acts in one place is the beauty of a festival. If anything is certain, it's that Goes Cube will be the loudest band of the day. I don't usually interview bands (though the Bling Kong BBQ&A was fun - they're also playing the After The Jump Fest Day Show) but I've made an exception here for the distinction of being the first (and hopefully, according to Dave, the last) to conduct an interview with Goes Cube in the most obvious manner possible: by asking them numbers. I figured that a band whose song titles are all numbers should be up to the challenge, and of course the trio came through with some hilarious (maybe a few too informative) responses... Goes Cube - "Song 30" 3. 2? 4. 88? 5. 11231? 6. 11? 7. 3? 8. 50? You can see Goes Cube for free this Saturday at the After The Jump Fest at Studio B in Brooklyn. They're on EARLY. Hey, did somebody say something about Slagkicks? myspace.com/goescube / goescube.com Other bloggers are catching up with the bands playing After The Jump, here are a few recent interviews:
Earfarm's video for "Goes Cube Song 34" - proof that they are great jumpers
* Stereogum just posted a new exclusive track: Goes Cube - "Song 46"
1. 24?
Dave: Hey, "Goes Cube Song 24" was the first song we wrote as a trio (Kenny
had just joined the band).
Matt: What is 3x8?
Kenny: Fucking horrible show on tv starring the guy from the Lost Boys.
2. 37?
D: According to Wikipedia, 37 A.D. was the year an earthquake destroyed
Antioch. But, also, according to Wikipedia, Stephen Hawking's nickname
is "Ol' Dick and Balls." So, you know...take it with a grain of salt.
M: Prime number.
K: The number of dicks Dante's girlfriend sucked in the movie Clerks
D: I prefer the more formal II.
M: Never heard of it.
K: My up-to-date testicle count
D: Show me a number that doesn't look better on the back of a football
jersey.
M: Fingers Louie
K: when Doc's Delorian hits that speed, "you're gonna see some serious
shit."
D: BROOKLYN, WHAT?! CARROLL GARDENS, WHAT?!
M: Where I answer this from.
K: Roughest neighborhood in Brooklyn... and by roughest, I mean most
candy-assed
D: The thing is, Bryan, you're really coming at us with the hard-hitting questions. And I just don't know if I can answer something like this
right now.
M: I agree with Dave. This is too personal to answer.
K: My soccer number in high school... Also the age I lost my
virginity... just kidding... or am I?
D: Nothing compared to 23. Donnie Baseball, baby.
M: Leave it to Dave to admire a baseball player who is a goddmaned
hippy. Cut those sideburns Mattingly.
K: The number of guys in our band... also the number of "gays" in our
band.
D: Is that a request? OK, we'll play "Goes Cube Song 50" at ATJ.
M: What Dave said.
K: fifty dowwa bill... FIFTY DOWWA BILL!!!! FIFTY DOWWA BILL!!!!
Disconap / Bling Kong
The Music Slut / Spectrum
Music Snobbery / Jukebox The Ghost
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08:35 AM - Finian McKean: playing tonight at Union Hall
Far from his roots in the 90's band The Push Kings, Finian McKean has established himself in Brooklyn as a unique and strong (primarily solo) songwriter and performer. Honing his craft by playing regularly at a local bar (in fact the best bar in Red Hook, if you can remember which days of the week they're open!), Finian has developed a style that moves from the almost spiritual folk to blues-inspired heavier rock (often dependent on the venue and musical accompaniment). I've seen him play in venues ranging in size from a large rock club to a small room (my kitchen, specifically), and each time the performance has fit perfectly. Tonight, Finian McKean plays at Union Hall, which falls somewhere in between in terms of size. Here are some tracks: Finian McKean - "Dropping Roses" And a classic track (well, to me at least)- the title track from his previous LP: Finian McKean - "Shades Are Drawn" I chose two tracks with dominant use of a tremolo effect because it's interesting to see how in the older track it really drives the pulse of the music, whereas in the newer one it's subtler but mimicked and strengthened by a similar piano figure and the vocals. There's more to listen to on FinianMcKean.com and myspace. One of the other bands on the bill tonight are Austin's The Lovely Sparrows. Their recent Daytrotter session is pleasant, and really gives their ambitious instrumentation a chance to come through strongly. The vocals are along the Neutral Milk Hotel nasal side of things, and though they come close sometimes they never get to be too much to bear. While the music never really gets to fully rock out, if it did I could imagine it sounding a lot like Wolf Parade. I'd expect to see a lot of acoustic stringed instruments onstage. They should be a good match tonight for Finian. The Lovely Sparrows - "Chemicals Change" Also on the bill is David Garland - I'm not familiar with his work though I imagine quite a few people know some of the contributors to his music, including Sufjan Stevens, Diane Cluck, Mira Romantschuk, and more. Will they all be there to perform tonight? If so, it could get a little crowded in that basement! In other band news: From their ever-growing page full of free and legal amazing mp3s, Beat Radio have a new mp3 for you, off the upcoming Miracle Flag ep (the release show is Saturday, August 11th @ Union Hall). Beat Radio - "What I Love The Most The XYZ Affair are Spin's Band of the Day! Congrats!
View original photo - taken by me
Finian Mckean - "Sumthin' Wrong"
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08:39 AM - Mason Proper
At last year's CMJ Music Marathon I was lucky enough to stop by the Dovecote Records showcase long enough to catch Tim Williams (and subsequently become a big enough fan to invite him to play my own show not long after) but all I heard later was how I missed out by not sticking around for Mason Proper's set at that same show. The name is misleading - I had wrongly assumed at first that this group was a solo act with a quirky name. When I finally got around to checking out their record There Is A Moth In Your Chest (and it's incredible packaging/artwork courtesy of the genuises at Little Jacket) what I found was refreshing. What I heard first was a lot of Blur and Flaming Lips (who they'll be playing with at Monolith) coming through all the spastic fuzz pop and synths - a potential catastrophic mix of vocal oddities for any band but the gentle touch (with piano and multi-part vocal harmonies!) is even reminiscent of Self at times - a sure bet to get my attention. Dig into this record for a bit and you'll eventually get past the immediately fetching first few tracks (amazing as they are) and by the time the last 4 come around you're likely to be pretty worn out, so it's appropriate that things start to cool off at that point (and a likely Radiohead influence becomes apparent). These boys from Michigan don't come through NYC often enough, so make sure to take advantage of it when they do. They'll be at Mercury Lounge this Thursday, July 19th. Can't make it? Luckily they'll be back in September (though at Pianos that time around.) Full tour dates after 'more.' Mason Proper - "My My (Bad Fruit)" / Video <--- it's amazing!
Mason Proper official site.
Dovecote Records.
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09:09 AM - De Novo Dahl
A bit of background knowledge is required before we get on with this: De Novo Dahl's first release was a double disc set (a full album and a remixed version) in 2005 on Theory 8 Records. Earlier this year they were signed to Roadrunner and have an EP and full length in the works. Though there are really only four people in the group, Nashville's De Novo Dahl have enough presence (and awesome outfits) to make a huge impression when they hit the stage that it feels like they could even rival a massive group like Bling Kong or maybe even the Spree when it comes to making a spectacle of a rock show. Musically, as I've said before, though they can be quirky they don't waste time trying to shock anyone with weirdness - where they succeed is in making glammy indie rock that doesn't deny their Nashville roots (singer Joel J. Dahl lets that background shine through strongly in his solo work). Incidentally, DND's song "Shout" reminds me of The Gang's "SeA So" every time I hear it - they share that sort of chanty jubilence that's rare in indie rock (or pop) and both songs make me want to sing along every time I hear them. NYC can catch De Novo Dahl TONIGHT at part one of the two night double-header Neon Lights extravaganza at Union Hall (happy one year anniversary next week!) in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Joining them will be my own friends and favorites, El Jezel and Mancino, as well as Baltimore's Thrushes. Fun fact! De Novo Dahl share a bassist with Nashville's own quirk-pop equivalent of NYC's own Harlem Shakes, The Privates. Visit De Novo Dahl on Myspace. Click 'more' for De Novo Dahl tour dates across the country.
View original photo by Jonathan Kingsbury
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12:35 PM - Poingly: birthday show tonight
It's Poingly's birthday today. Who the hell is Poingly? Wouldn't you like to know. What's important is that he wants to do really naughty things to you. Sound good? Come to Trash bar tonight. Also playing his party are Radio Shock, Corn Mo (legendary!), Project Jenny/Project Jan (so rad!), and DraculaZombieUSA (East Coast Annex). It's a night heavy on the electro-dancing-weird-ass-business and light on the dudes-with-guitars. Always nice for a change. Open bar in the back from 8-9. Don't forget about the free tots! Sweatervest is ready.
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09:11 AM - Great Northern
I first checked out L.A.'s Great Northern about a year ago (yes, I now realize there is no "The" in the name, thank you) but it wasn't until recently that their Eenie Meenie Records debut, Trading Twilight For Daylight, was officially released and found it's way onto good old Louie (that would be iPod number two - any guesses as to who exactly this one is named after?). This past weekend the record got some play and a pretty good response from the MiG crew as we were driving back from Canada in our van without any license plates (damn Toronto thieves!). If there is to be a 90's alt-rock revival (I'm thinking after grunge and before neo-grunge or whatever you call Nickelback and Creed - more like Smashing Pumpkins and the Flaming Lips) then Great Northern are at the forefront, along with fellow west-coasters like Silversun Pickups and Agent Sparks. Great Northern are in town tonight (Bowery Ballroom, 9pm, sold out) and tomorrow (Union Hall, 9pm, w/Eames Era + Exit Clov). More tour dates and songs can be found at their myspace page.
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08:56 AM - Ruined Music party tonight: The Shondes
This morning on the train it dawned on me that I might talk about The Shondes more if I had more than just three songs from their demo to listen to. I posted about them a while back, but don't let that make you think I haven't been keeping an eye on them. Their tour schedule has been full (and continues to be!) but luckily when I offered it, they had room on their crowded calendar to play a show tonight. Reminiscent of recently-disbanded favorites Sleater-Kinney, The Shondes play punky, upbeat songs with the added unique flavor of a hyperactive violin, bringing out some strong classical sounds that are pretty rare in this sort of rock music. The Shondes - "The Mother And The Colony" The Shondes join (other Robotinev alums) Beat Radio and the Unsacred Hearts at the Ruined Music One Year Anniversary Party at the Delancey tonight (details on Going.com)! They're on first, but so is the free PBR (7:30-8:30) and special combo rock show / rooftop BBQ ticket.
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08:53 AM - TME Presents: The Robot Ate Me
The Robot Ate Me is a man named Ryland. Apparently he wears a dog head everywhere. I'm down with that. Sure, why not? Check out the video for "Crispy Christian Tea Time." It's sort of awesome. The Robot Ate Me - "Djien" Catch The Robot Ate Me this Sunday (April 22nd) in Brooklyn at Union Pool with Mancino and Run Chico Run. The fish will keep crying unless you come.
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08:00 PM - TME presents: Run Chico Run
When last we saw our Canadians heroes in the band Run Chico Run, they were reading the morning paper and enjoying a cup of coffee in my old apartment and playing their first NYC show to a too-small crowd. This weekend they'll make their return and The Mayan Empire has decided that simply housing, feeding, bathing, and holding hands with the B.C.-based duo simply wasn't enough, so we set up a show for them. Don't miss Run Chico Run at Union Pool this Sunday. They're sandwiched quite deliciously in between openers Mancino and touring-mate The Robot Ate Me. Run Chico Run - "Clockwork Crows" Run Chico Run on Myspace.
Run Chico Run official site.
Boompa Records. [buy their records!]
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02:34 PM - TME Presents: Mancino
I've only seen Mancino play live a few times now, but they've gotten better every time. This most recent experience (@ Hot Rocks this past weekend) was by far the most interesting circumstance - read about in my post (with photos) on the CMJ blog. Though that show was good, I'm thinking of it as a warm up to this weekend. It was an easy choice to pick these three Gowanus-loving boys to open for Run Chico Run, since "circus," "fun," and "playful" tend to come up in descriptions of both groups. Listen to and make friends with Mancino on Myspace. See them this sunday (April 22nd) @ Union Pool in Brooklyn, NY with Run Chico Run and The Robot Ate Me. Show presented by TME. The bear chasing the fish wants you to come.
View original photo (also by me)
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09:04 AM - Palomar - "All Things, Forests"
I believe that my first impression of Palomar a few years ago involved describing them as The Corrs on speed. Since then, the band has been toughening their sound and even tightening things up, even when it's meant slowing down their hopped-up style (only sometimes though) - though the catchiness hasn't suffered at all. Their latest, All Things, Forests, is out now on Misra and while it's certainly not a huge departure from where they left off with 3.5, when you put it next to something earlier like II, the growth is apparent. Palomar celebrates the record release (officially out March 20th) with a show tomorrow (Thursday, April 12) at Mercury Lounge in NYC. Also on this bill are The Oranges Band, Illinois, and Kapow! Show starts at 8pm with a $10 cover - Palomar goes on at 10pm. I know I've posted this track again, but it's the only one they make available and I don't want to go and spread any unauthorized mp3s around... Order Palomar records. By the way, I don't know why the girl bots decided to shoot the Dale bot, that just wasn't very nice of them!
Palomar on Myspace.
Palomar official site (new!)
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08:13 AM - Land of Talk: Applause Cheer Boo Hiss
It looks like this week will see NYC becoming the land of Land of Talk, as the Montreal-based trio shows up to wreak havoc in the area for three nights, starting tomorrow. If you're not familiar with this band yet, then you probably don't read music blogs (that certainly isn't a fault). Though Brooklyn Vegan has been talking about this group for some time now, the release of their ep Applause Cheer Boo Hiss has gotten many more people talking about them. There must be something in that Canadian water that makes the girls sing in hushed, cracking soothing voices layered with delay - it's familiar territory for fans of Broken Social Scene or Metric, though the first track, "Speak to Me Bones" shimmies and swaggers like the Gossip. The danciness isn't too prevalent (or tiresome) and things tend to take a broader, poppier tone for most of the 7 tracks. I'm as wary as anyone of bands bands known primarily for the blogs that love them, but this is certainly an exception. The first of their shows is tomorrow, Tuesday night, at Union Hall. Bonus! Opening this show? The Muggabears [Robotinev here]. You couldn't ask for a more perfect combination of venue and fine bands and awesome people. If you're coming to this DO NOT SHOW UP LATE! Tuesday - Union Hall - Brooklyn, NY w/the Muggabears WOXY posted about Land of Talk's recent stop by their studio (at SXSW) on their new blog, The Futurist. Land of Talk on Myspace - you can purchase their album here.
View original photo (Hilary Leftick)
Wednesday - Maxwell's - Hoboken, NJ w/Lady Radiator + Butterfly Explosion
Thursday - Mercury Lounge - NYC, NY w/Mahogany, Vampire Weekend, Balun
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05:38 PM - EZ Machine | Not going to Austin (PART 5)
Two brothers. A Keytar. Killer covers. Vocoder song about Jersey. What better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Huh? Well, even if it doesn't seem appropriate, it's my plan. EZ Machine are playing at Freddy's Backroom at 9pm tonight and it's free. No word on if there will be green beer or not, but I wouldn't rule it out. I last caught up with EZ Machine when they played Beg Yr. Pardon and they've sworn to me that this time they'll keep playing shows... we'll see about that. They're also schedule to play at Lit next weekend, on the 24th. EZ Machine official site. And now, the final installment of NOT GOING TO AUSTIN. We're ending on a pretty quiet note with shows in NYC on Sunday... again, let me know if there's something worth mentioning that I've missed. SUNDAY, MARCH 18th 9PM @ Lakeside Lounge (21+, free) 9PM @ Glasslands (21+) 7:30PM @ Mercury ($12, 21+, sold out)
EZ Machine on Myspace, complete with lots of trashy girls.
Arkadelphia
Suishou no Fune, Matallama
Fujiya & Miyagi, Prototypes
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09:26 AM - Who By Fire | Not going to Austin (PART 4)
From what I've seen of their short history as a band, Brooklyn-based Who By Fire haven't played that many shows, in fact they don't even have a website aside from their Myspace page (where you can find two tracks - all the recorded material the band has to show for itself). Typically this sort of behavior will keep me far away from a band, as if they don't seem "serious" enough, but here I make an exception. Recently the band was featured on The Deli Magazine's blog, where Paolo (the Deli's editor) fixated on the band's similarities to groups like Interpol. They do tend to douse their beat-heavy rock songs in reverb and delay and sing dramatically, but what wasn't mentioned there (likely their only press thus far) was that there's an apparent grunge influence when things get a little heavier, in the same way that other locals like Goes Cube and Morning Theft (who are by far the most akin to Who By Fire at least in terms of aesthetics - maybe the two should think about playing together...) have been showing that not everybody making music in NYC these days is fixated on the music of the 70's and early 80's. It wasn't looking promising a few years ago when a new breed of "grunge" bands came along, detuning guitars and growling through their Kurt-ish locks and 5 O'clock shadows that did little more than mimic their influences. What the bands I've just mentioned have done is taken that influence (which if you think about, was probably popular right when they were becoming interested in music, the formative years I suppose) so there's been a good amount of time to absorb it and even move on, such that the influence remained and informed what they're doing now, even if it's not intentional, and that's a good thing. Who By Fire play with Object at Lit tonight. Risk breaking your neck on the ice and go see them (show starts at 8:30, $6 cover). SATURDAY, MARCH 17th 8PM @ the Delancey ($10, 21+) 8:30PM @ Maxwell's ($15, 18+) 7PM @ Pianos ($10, 21+) 8PM @ Sin-e ($10, 21+) 8PM @ Union Hall ($7)
And now, the St. Patrick's Day installment of NOT GOING TO AUSTIN.
8PM @ Cake Shop ($8, 21+)
The Double, Crystal Stilts, Japanese Beetles
Junket, The Orphans, Future in Plastics, Tree of Mind, The Falsies, Savilian 
9PM @ Freddy's Backroom
EZ-Machine!
7PM @ Knitting Factory ($12, all)
The Appleseed Cast, The Life and Times, Le Rug
Blackfield feat. Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree
Lizzyhead, Howling Hex, Mighty Flashlight, Mike Deej, Carlin, Hello Eden
6:45PM @ Roseland ($54, all)
The Pogues, The Tossers
Chris Glover, The Brother Kite, Holler Wild Rose, Ben and Vesper, Clear Tigers
7PM @ Southpaw ($10, 18+)
Maria Taylor, Jennifer O'Connor, A.A. Bondy
8PM @ Tonic ($10)
Nymph, Alex Delivery, Viz (ex-Excepter)
vial, Knife Fight
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01:48 AM - Fulton Lights (Record release tonight) | Not going to Austin (PART 3)
At first appearing to be something of a solo project for Andrew Spencer Goldman, Fulton Lights is at the same time a massive collective, featuring the sort of contributors whose names might not make the press come running, but who certainly indicate the level on which this music is working. Among the credited players are members of more than a few highly respectable groups: Chrismas Decorations, Eggs, Dalek, Demander, Beauty Pill, Ida, among others. With so many names attached, you'd expect quite a racket - but the result is very controlled and subdued, though its airiness and slow pace feel like it can grow in the way that other local bands like Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective have mastered so well - though where they tend to head off into a claustrophobic world of indistinct sonic textures, the music of Fulton Lights is sweeter and keeps a steadier hand. Less drug music, more daydream music, I'd say. Fulton Music - "Fire in the palm of my hand" Tonight, Fulton Lights celebrate their record release with a show at Tonic. Joining them are Still (who also plays with the band) and Frances. Fulton Lights on Myspace And now, the third installment of NOT GOING TO AUSTIN. FRIDAY, MARCH 16th 9pm @ Glasslands (21+) 9pm @ Pete's Candy Store (free, 21+) 8pm @ Silent Barn (aka Raven's Den) ($6, all ages)
Fulton Lights official site
Buy the record
8pm @ Bowery ($18, 18+)
Blackfield feat. Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree
8pm @ Cake Shop ($8, 21+)
The Double, Mike Wexler
D Charles Speer, Mark Morgan (of Sightings), Apothecary Hymns, Pigeons
10pm @ Lit (21+)
Who By Fire, Object
8:30pm @ Luna Lounge ($12, 21+)
Ambulette (aka Bella Lea), The New Trust (members of Velvet Teen)
8pm @ Mercury ($10, 21+)
Maria Taylor, Louis, JAYMAY, Pete Francis
The Golden Revelry, Blanket of Snow, Alice Cohen
Balthrop, Alabama, K-Nowledge and Phenomenom, Createsound's High School Sadnes
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11:49 PM - Slim Cessna's Auto Club | Not going to Austin (PART 2)
Slim Cessna's Auto Club don't need to go to Austin. Sure, Texas might sound right, especially considering they've been called "the country band that plays the bar at the end of the world" (Jello Biafra - whose label, Alternative Tentacles, they record for), but I'm glad they're spending this week here in our part of the country instead. Imagine a group of men possessed. As in fall to the floor, throw your hands up, wild-eyed terror and joy posessed. Then give them instruments (including a banjo played like the most shredful guitar ever) and let them go at it. They'll keep the dancing going all night and by the end you won't be sure if you've just given your soul to the devil or perhaps been saved - but somehow I guess what it amounts to is a bit of an otherworldly experience. When I saw them play at the South Park Music Fest in Fairplay, Colorado (Sim Cessna's hometown - they were sort of the stars of the festival) I had never heard them before and didn't know what I was in for. By the end of their nearly 2 hour set I was fully converted and ready to hear whatever Slim and his cohorts (including the impossibly talented Denver scene mainstay Munly, who opened for MiG later that night) had to throw at me. If you're still in NYC, come out to the Mercury Lounge tonight to see Slim Cessna's Auto Club for yourself - with them will be Scourge of the Sea, My Summer, and Magic Cyclops. They'll also be at Europa in Brooklyn tomorrow, with Magic Cyclops again. Slim Cessna's Auto Club - "This is how we do things in the country" Continuing on, here's what's up in NYC for tomorrow... THURSDAY MARCH 15th 8pm @ Bowery (18+, $15) 8pm @ Cake Shop (21+) 6:45pm @ Roseland
Slim Cessna's Auto Club - "Cranston"
Remember, dancing robots () indicate highly recommended shows...
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Secret Chiefs 3
PG Six, Fern Knight, The Big Huge8pm @ Europa ($12, 18+)
Slim Cessna's Auto Club, Magic Cyclops
The Pogues, Langhorne Slim ($54, all)8pm @ Tonic ($8, 18+)
Fulton Lights (CD release show), DJ Still, Frances 8pm @ Union Pool (21+)
Awesome Color, The Woods
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09:06 AM - The Undisputed Heavyweights
A band whose website is betterthanelvis.com better be really really good. Luckily, The Undisputed Heavyweights have made quite the name for themselves as one of the best live acts around - in fact they've decided to put out a live album. Tonight the band plays at Mercury Lounge to celebrate the release of Live In New York, the first installment in The Bootleg Series, a limited edition box set by Family Records. The show tonight starts at 7:30 and also features Derek James, Val Emmich, and Wintersleep. Make friends with The Undisputed Heavyweights on Myspace.
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04:13 PM - A Sunny Day In Glasgow / release show / Neon Lights tonight
D has been talking about A Sunny Day In Glasgow for a while now, so it's pretty exciting that they decided to make their Neon Lights appearance tonight the release show for their new album, Scribble Mural Comic Journal. A lot of ground has been covered with this band on various music blogs and in *gasp* real magazines (Jeff has a rundown), but they're still pretty new to me. All I know is that for a band that is primarily a one-man operation (with help from a few people, obviously), A Sunny Day In Glasgow turns out some dense dense dense music stuffed with layers upon layers of guitars and what could very well be the sounds of psychotic pigeons mating in the dark. And yes, it all sounds quite... pretty. Bonus: awesome line drawing artwork! A Sunny Day In Glasgow - "Best Summer Ever" Come see for yourself tonight at The Delancey.
- A Sunny Day in Glasgow (11:30)
- Apache Beat (10:30) - I'm curious about this band too
- the Muggabears (9:30)
- Please Dept. (8:30)
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08:15 AM - Sure Juror
Though they're from NJ, Sure Juror sound like they'd be more at home in Oklahoma, free to run wild with the likes of the Flaming Lips, Colour Music, and whatever other wild-eyed crazed indie pop freaks are running around out there. I get the sense that the songs they're writing feel like tight little pop nuggets to them - they certainly contain elements of traditional pop songs, but then there's a breakdown with backwards guitars and weirdo mumbling. Quirky is an understatement. It's not for everyone, but at the very least it's got to be interesting to see exactly what they do live. Tonight, Sure Juror play at Union Hall (as previously mentioned) for Knockout Round 2, thanks to The Battering Room.
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12:46 PM - Beat Radio headline Union Hall tonight
Beat Radio has played at Union Hall a number of times, but tonight is special. Why? It's the first time that they will be headlining a show there! I was impressed the last time I saw them there, and I have a feeling tonight will be even better, with a little more excitement in the air. The album that you can download from their site, The Great Big Sea, is fantastic - one of the best of last year, and from the looks of things this could be a very good year for the band. No need to link to mp3s, just go download the whole album. The show tonight starts at 8pm. Tall Hands open.
View original photo (by Elizabeth Sendrowitz)
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09:14 PM - Grizzly Bear (on tour)
I feel like Grizzly Bear are due for a good year. Though last year's album, Yellow House (get it at insound), was fantastic and did find its way onto a number of year-end lists, the release seemed overshadowed by another big indie record that came out the same day. Then in November their gear was stolen and their European tour cancelled. I'd say that qualifies them for some good luck about now, right? Tonight they're starting their tour in Philly tonight(don't complain about me tell you too late - the show was already sold out anyway, as is tomorrow in Boston) and they'll be on the road in the States through February and into March - no mention of SXSW on the calendar but they end in New York just before it - plenty of time to head back to Austin. Joining them on the road are a number of interesting acts - all worth showing up early/sticking around for, including Dirty Projectors, the Papercuts, Peter & the Wolf, Deerhunter, and Beach House. Full tour dates after they clicky click. Visit Grizzly Bear on Myspace.
Get their records at insound.
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02:15 PM - SHLSHKD - last show ever
Quick history lesson - in the early days of MiG, I did a lot of searching around on the internet for bands in New York who I liked and would want to play shows with. One of the first bands that I found this way (keep in mind this was long before the proliferation of music blogs) was Colossus, who got extra points for having an X-Men-referencing name. That band eventually produced what would become Shellshocked, a seriously fierce DC-style (with some great NY-noise touches) punk band with consistently impressive artwork from guitarist Sam (who had been in Colossus). I knew of the singer, Don Cambria, as he'd previously been the drummer (and occasional singer, for a song or two) with X The Owl - a similarly punk-influenced but much more art-rock-oriented outfit. There was some question when original bassist Oraia decided to leave the group to focus on her organizatino, Right Rides, but thankfully SMalak stepped in and things kept right on going for some time... until now. Lead singer/2nd guitarist Don Cambria (drawn above with "HK" on him) has decided that it's time for him to move on, and he's picking up and heading for New Orleans, so the group (for some time now just calling themselves SHLSHKD) made the tough decision to put the band to rest with one final show, just before Don heads off. The last SHLSHKD performance is tonight at Cake Shop. If you love them and want to see them one last time, this is your chance. If you've missed them all this time and want a chance to catch up, this is it. If you have been wondering where good, interesting, aggressive music with meaning is in NYC, well it's about to leave. The venue is at 152 Ludlow Street in NYC. Doors at 8pm, 21+, $6. Joining SHLSHKD will be Kickstart and S-s-s-spectres. Goodbye, SHLSHKD, and thank you.
Original photo (by gatlinguns)
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02:05 AM - Lewis and Clarke
It's a double-header today! Do you get it? This means I really think you should check out the show tonight... I must have lucked into it (or Mary just picked the perfect random show from the local listings) but sitting on the floor in a strange record shop was the perfect setting for my first exposure to Lewis and Clarke. It's just one man and his guitar, though you'll hear other instruments and such coming through in recordings (and perhaps at some shows - I don't actually know for sure) - but the songs have a way of wrapping themselves around you, the circular movement of sounds resonating so strongly that you can feel it deep inside. Even if you're not into folk music, or if you think it's a little too weird or mystical, there's no way that you can escape Lou Rogai's voice - it's soft and gentle and confident. The songs of Lewis and Clarke tell the stories that hide inside your head - and beautifully. With several albums of assorted shapes and sizes (including a vinyl pressing of a live radio performance) there is a good amount of material to explore. A new album, Blasts of Holy Birth, is due in February. For now, I suggest you start with 2005's near perfect Bare Bones and Branches. The title track (which also appear on the Solid PR comp that came out a while back) is simply outstanding. Here's the (very hypnotic) live verion of it from the WPRB session. Lewis and Clarke - "Bare Bones and Branches (live WPRB)" Listen to more here and on Myspace. Lewis and Clarke plays tonight with The Black Swans at the Marquise Dance Hall in Williamsburg. He'll also be back in town next month, playing a Jezebel Music show on February 24th (my birthday!) at Union Pool (also in Williamsburg.) I know there are a lot of options for shows tonight - you've got Mission of Burma (robotinev) at Irving Plaza (but Turing Machine dropped off the show, Parts & Labor took their place - not a bad trade); Takka Takka (robotinev)@ the Knitting Factory, Jealous Girlfriends @ Trash (but you're coming to see them at Union Hall with MiG next week anyway, right?); the Luna Lounge opening with the Comas; and the Jezebel Music benefit show a Northsix (with a super tight lineup including the charming Via Audio). Whew. That's a lot for one night. All great options, but I strongly suggest you head over to Marquise Dance Hall (251 Grand St) at 8pm to see Lewis and Clarke and The Black Swans.
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12:49 AM - The Black Swans
If you're not into the sex talk, you might be interested in checking out their first record, Who Will Walk in the Darkenss With You, which shares the theme of relationships, longing, and trying to get by on your own (in certain ways, if you know what I mean). Here are the two tracks the band makes available from that record: The Black Swans - "Who will walk in the darkness with you" I feel bad for not getting around to posting this earlier as I had planned - the Black Swans performed last night at Tonic (I missed it too.) But don't worry, you haven't missed your shot at seeing them in this not-frequent-enough stop in NY! They'll be at the Marquise Dance Hall in Williamsburg tonight (Friday, January 19 - moved from the Syrup Room - which is closed for good now?) along with Lewis and Clarke, which is who I saw them with the first time in a tiny, way awesome record shop in Maine last year. By the way, according to Brooklynvegan, everybody gets signed! (including Palomar! - perhaps a congratulatory robot drawing is in order, it's long overdue for one of my longtime favorite local bands) and Sin-e and R+R are going bye-bye. So what's left for decent smallish shows on the Lower East Side? The Delancey, the Annex, and Fontana's? 
View original photo
The Black Swans are from Columbus, Ohio, and they always travel in a ’95 Ford Taurus. Their latest release is a 5-song ep entitled Sex Brain (my second favorite ep of 2006) that explores some pretty uncomfortable, if often funny and always universal subject matter, and in the sweetest of ways. This is folk-ish music, with soft melodies and acoustic instrumentation and hushed vocals that are sometimes just barely choked out by singer Jerry DeCicca.
The Black Swans - "Blue skies"
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12:35 AM - [Robotinev #50!] O'Death
As you can see, local band O'Death won the contest to pick the 50th robot drawing that I would do of a band. Matt from Earfarm was the first to suggest them (and in fact they were the only band that got multiple votes) so there will be a fancy full color print of the drawing headed his way. However I'd like to mention that some of the other recommendations - particularly Gwar and the Polyphonic Spree - would be a lot of fun to do, and I just might get around to them some day. I'm glad O'Death came out on top, as they're long overdue for some serious attention here on Subinev. Even though I was impressed by their first record and wrote a nice review of it for the Deli, and I thought they were cool guys back in the days of the Apocalypse Lounge (oh I miss that place!) I didn't make it out to see them live until even after their second record, Head Home, came out and they sent me a copy. Whereas they originally sounded like they might crawl out of the gutter or a back alley and git' ya (in 1800, mind you) before, they were starting to sound more likely to be crowded around a fire in the woods, perhaps only 100 years ago - though listen closely and you'll here modern music creeping in there a bit. Maybe a little bit of their intoxicating psychosis simply cleared up, or maybe they got better recording equipment (that's probably it) but what's certain is that the songs are undeniably strong (particularly "Only Daughter" - which slows things down a bit and oddly enough sounds like taking the band out of the imaginary place in the past which they occupy and dropping them in more or less modern times) and that yes, there's something very wrong with these people. No, not the nails-on-a-chalkboard vocals or the frenzied pace of the songs or the drum set made of - what is that stuff - pots and garbage and such I suppose, played with a chain sometimes - but that they seem seriously troubled - posessed, even. This definitely is not rock n' roll, but it feels just as good, if not better, and absolutely more exciting. O'Death plays tonight at Union Hall in Park Slope, with Tim Fite and Graham Smith (Kleenex Girl Wonder). Make friends with O'Death on Myspace.
No mp3s for you. Just go buy the record.
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02:25 AM - Subinev Holiday Party: Mussels
I can't believe that in the (almost 50) bands that I've drawn as robots this year I haven't included Mussels. They were one of the first bands I posted photos of after the big overhaul of Subinev.com in January 2005 (yikes, that's just about two years ago!), I experienced some crazy weirdness with an advance copy of their cd and iTunes, and I wrote a few too many show reminder posts with not-so-witty plays on their band (which I won't bother linking to.) Even though their album, Night Lights is a pretty substantial effort, especially considering that it's only an ep - and not a super long one, the boys quickly went back to work writing and recording, and supposedly are hard at work on a full length destined to blow some minds. As I've said before, fans of guitar-based indie rock with super pop hooks along the lines of Weezer and Jimmy Eat World, as well as some quirkier stuff like Pavement and the most similar current band, Hockey Night (who I love as well), and more rockin' and "guitary" stuff like Dinosaur, Jr. but even some of the newer "buzzy" indie bands (do I need to name them?) should absolutely check these guys out. How's that for a RIYL? Mussels don't make any songs available for download (maybe it's because they don't even have a website right now?) but you can listen to some old and new tracks (Oh! You CAN download two tracks at Purevolume, hooray!) for now. Hey guys, how about some regular old mp3s somewhere? You can stop worrying about hunting down tracks by Mussels and just come out and see them play tonight at the Subinev Holiday Party at Union Hall. They play 3rd, at 10pm. Walk past the bocce courts and head downstairs. They'll be waiting there to rock your face off.
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02:11 AM - Subinev Holiday Party: Alina Simone
I first got to know Alina Simone last year just as she was ending her stint as the lead singer for the now-defunct band Emma La Reina. Her powerful voice was a perfect fit for the beautiful sonic chaos happening around her in that band. About a year later, she'd left New York for North Carolina, racked up an impressive amount of super enthusiastic press for an ep (with Emma La Reina backing her own music) and her live performances, toured the country and the world, and finished a well-rounded debut full length album (Placelessness - listen to "Saw Edged Grass" from it here) that is in need of the right label to put it out properly. Alina Simone - "Love and Rockets" (from Prettier in the Dark ep) For an electronica-tinged take on Alina's style, check out The Artifical Sea, a duo which she is half of and with which she recently toured France. The Artificial Sea - "Outpost" Alina is no stranger to compilations, and the new year will see her alongside M. Ward, The Gunshy, Matthew Ryan, Hayden, J. Tillman, Sarah White, Chris Bathgate, Oweihops, Paleo, Nic Garcia, Hezekiah Jones, The Hotel Ghost, and more on a Yer Bird Records comp. She'll also be doing a special digital release that I'll have more info about to share with you soon. And I'm pretty excited about that one. You'll see. You can see Alina Simone tonight at the Subinev Holiday Party at Union Hall. She plays second, at 9pm. Union Hall is only a block away from the R train, I swear. Just head uphill.
View original photo (not mine, though I did some for her too)
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04:00 PM - Subinev Holiday Party: Tim Williams
He's like a one-man Decemberists or Death Cab for Cutie. Seriously, there's a lot of talent and passion packed into Tim Williams' small frame (hey everybody looks small to me.) When I saw him at the Dovecote Records showcase during CMJ I was impressed enough to ask him to play my Holiday Party at Union Hall. Today I came across this bit of news on Tim, over at Puddlegum, which reports that in addition to the upcoming full length When Work Is Done, Tim Williams will also be releasing a "a covers EP will feature songs written by Bob Wills, Hank Williams, The Byrds, and others" that will be made available online for free. Sounds good to me! You can catch Tim Williams live tomorrow at the Subinev.com Holiday Party at Union Hall. He opens the show at 8pm. Union Hall is in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and it's much easier to get to than you might think. Tim Williams - "Novel"
Tim Williams - "I am wearing it"
Tim Williams on Myspace
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11:30 AM - the Privates
I was going to say I had no recollection of where I read about the Privates but I just realized that it was on Out the Other. What caught my attention was probably what will initially grab most people who check out the Privates: the "members of..." thing. In this case you've got Lambchop (respectable), De Novo Dahl (awesome), the Features (even more awesome), and the Pink Spiders (well, say what you will, but at least you've heard of them.) The band's sound is definitely an example of modern Tennessee indie rock, or what I know of it at least - not too far off from the bands it's own members are/were in (mostly the Features) There's a bit of a swagger that reminds me somehow of Ted Leo and these guys would go nicely on a bill with some of NYC own hotshot bands like Takka Takka (speaking of which - a photo I took of them at the Syrup room is in New York Magazine this week!) and the Harlem Shakes. Seems like it's hard for the Privates to do much touring (due to other band responsibilities and such) but they're trying to do as much as they can in 2007 - hopefully we'll get to see them here in NY some time early in the year. Their debut full length, Barricades, came out this week on the new label, Mean Buzz. I've got three tracks for you:
The Privates - "Barricades" (my pick of these three)
The Privates - "Hearts got a hole"
The Privates - "My Shoes"
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12:23 AM - The Muggabears
Muppets and Care Bears getting together to cover Pavement. Right? That's what this must be. (Sorry kids). Ok the Pavement sound is there and it's strong, but the grooves are a lot tougher than good old Malkie's crew ever really cared to sink it in. This band really is fierce! Tough! Strong! Argh! Roar! And they've self-released the 3-song Teenage Cop ep, which you can order right here. Full Teenage Cop album stream. Speaking of Union Hall, next week will see both (recent robotinev subjects) Via Audio (11/28) and the Harlem Shakes (11/29) playing there. Also plan to be heading there for something special on 12/22. Details soon.
The Muggabears play tonight at Union Hall in Park Slope, Brooklyn with the Diggs and Beat Radio (who deserve a post of their own - for now just download "Ancient as the stars #2" and "Treetops" and if you like those get the whole album - we'll discuss it later).
The Muggabears - "I'm coming true"
The Muggabears - "Sister Now"
The Muggabears on Myspace.
The Muggabears official website.
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03:10 PM - Harlem Shakes / PLUG Brooklyn show Friday
The Harlem Shakes are a band who have made a name for themselves around town by opening for most of the great acts to come through over the past year, and it doesn't look like it will be long before they're headlining the same venues themselves. No downloads for you, but check the tracks on their myspace page - including two of the earlier demos which remind me of something between old local faves of mine The Atomic Missiles and perhaps OK Go. The new track ("Carpetbaggers") is much more developed and stronger though and well, sounding good! The Harlem Shakes join other local favorites Takka Takka, Dragons of Zynth, and Illinois in co-headlining the Brooklyn stop on the PLUG City Hilights tour (did you vote yet?) - also DJ's Finger on the Pulse all night (we mean it - until 4am!). They ran a contest on imeem.com to pick the opening band for the show and... well, um... Man in Gray won. No joke. So MiG will open the show. I swear this was not supposed to be a self-promotional post but I'm definitely not complaining that it worked out that way. Tomorrow - Friday, November 17th at the Syrup Room (directions) in Brooklyn. Show starts at 8pm and it's FREE but you must RSVP at http://plugbrooklyn.imeem.com - I suggest that you RSVP if you're even considering going just in case - you wouldn't want to get out there and not be able to get in. This is going to be one hot show.
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02:39 AM - Rainer Maria break up
Pitchfork has the exclusive - the band whose last album was titled Catastrophe Keeps Us Together has decided not to stay together after all. After 11 years Rainer Maria, the only band that I would dare listen to and call "emo" without punching myself in the face are apparently moving on. Both Sleater-Kinney and Rainer Maria call it quits in one year? Who's next, Nada Surf? Rainer Maria - "Tinfoil" (don't forget to clap along one last time) Final shows: There are going to be a lot of sad cute girls in sweaters at these two shows. Here are some photos I've taken of Rainer Maria (at a free show at Arlene's Grocery).
December 15 @ First Unitarian Church, Philly
December 16 @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC
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08:53 AM - spankrock
The first time I saw Beck perform, the other acts on the bill were Dave Matthews Band and Ben Folds Five. That was 8 years ago. Things have obviously changed a bit, as the opening act at the show on Saturday was Spank Rock - a much more appropriate pairing if you ask me. With live percussion, multiple dj's, electronic beats and effects, they put on a great show and I think they won over most of the crowd - even if the house was mostly seated and only half full while they were on. (note - as far as I know, only one guy is actually Spank Rock, but I'm mostly referring to the whole act here). I wasn't very familiar with them before - aside from knowing (and performing) a DraculaZombieUSA remix of one of their tracks) but I'm definitely interested now and want to hear more. You can see Spank Rock tonight at Bowery Ballroom. Openers are The Epochs and Rod Lee.
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08:39 AM - Beck - The Information, Loews Theater show
There aren't many surprises in Beck's new album, The Information. If anything stands out as odd or out of place, it's that at times he's starting to sound more like the people who sound like him than actually, well, like himself. For example - "No Complaint" feels like it could easily be an Eels or Self track (convenient, since with Matt Mahaffey as his right-hand man in the current touring band he basically has Self at his disposal onstage) and the big beat tracks such as "Cellphone's Dead" and "We Dance Alone" could pass for Gorillaz if his voice dropped an octave on the choruses. Wherever it is that this record takes the listener two things that are certain are that 1) it starts perfectly with "one, two, you know what to do!" kicking off "Elevator Music" and 2) it ends on a weird note with the epic "The Horrible Fanfare/Landslide/Exoskeleton" - a track that threw me for a loop and got some serious eye-rolling at first, but after reading this bit about it I'm willing to ease up on the groanage (though the Dave Eggars / Spike Jonze business is ridiculous). The disc comes with a dvd full of fun lo-fi music videos and of course the d.i.y. (do it yourself, right, NY Times?) stickers and graph paper album cover (no need to discuss this, it's all been well covered). Now, take it to the stage, I say! Indeed I got to see Beck and his top-notch band (as well as openers, Spank Rock, who I'll talk about later) on Saturday night in New Jersey. There's no need for a play-by-play of the whole two hour performance, but a quick overview should include mention of the puppet versions of the musicians filmed and projected above the stage, the unbelievable dinner table percussion section - complete with acoustic slow jams from Beck, some serious bearsuit action, the Jersey City Puppetron video with a serious "Living on a Prayer" obsession, and an inexplicable finely dressed gentleman with a tie who apparently got into an argument with the air, causing him to fight it all night long. There were a lot of cameras in the air at the concert, so it's no surprise that there are some videos online. Here's part of "Where it's at". There are plenty more where that came from so go poke around and you might get lost. It's rare that I go to any sort of "big" concert but this one was definitely an amazing experience. Note that show also happened to be in quite a remarkable venue - the Landmark Loews Jersey Theater. Also, Brooklynvegan has some great photos of the concert the next night - a stripped down, mostly acoustic version of what I saw, set in a synagogue. Nuts. Buy The Information from Insound.
Beck is on myspace, of course.
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06:04 PM - Bling Kong
Everybody knows that I love Bling Kong. I even invited them over to my house once for a barbecue/interview. I'd heard some talk of the idea before, but their concept for a Choose Your Own Adventure rock show is finally going to become a reality! Here's what Brad (the wild-eyed one in the middle in the robotinev above) had to say about it: "The choose-your-own-adventure rock-opera is something we've been working on for over 2 years at this point (hopefully it is worth it). It is a series of tragic stories about a couple who get bored with their everything-is-fine-type relationship, end up cheating on each other and live out various scenarios that end in loneliness, death and/or robbery. Most rock-operas seem to be pretty abstract where ours shares more with musicals in the way that there are definite characters with voices and a linear story-line that takes place over one weekend. There you have it. Let's hope it does go well and the hometown crowd gets to see it on November 2nd at Fontana's. I'll be there. Click "more" for the Bling Kong II tour dates (note that in Kentucky they're playing with The Features - a weird match but an awesome show)! I really think Bling Kong should do some shows with DZUSA one of these days. There'd be a lot of cheering going. Bling Kong - "Bling Kong girls"
We're going on the road in two weeks to test out ways to perform it live, but basically there are points in the story where the characters have to make decisions. We plan on letting the audience decide what happens and that will then determine what we perform next. (As Martin puts it: this makes it the audience's fault if our set sucks.)
The Wexner Center For the Arts - the modern art museum in Columbus, OH - is actually bringing us out there to perform this thing. We just decided to play a couple dates on the way out to practice.
So yeah, if everything goes well we'll be performing this thing on 11/2 for CMJ."
Listen to Bling Kong on Myspace.
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11:04 AM - Via Audio
Before I start in with the hyperbole, I want to set some things straight. I often talk about bands being "one of my favorite local band" or "the best thing happening in town right now" and I've come to realize that this might create confusion. For the record, The Unsacred Hearts are above all by default and without doubt my favorite local band (of a certain "level, you see), with others such as El Jezel, the Song Corporation, Mistakes, The Secret Life of Sofia, Up The Empire and a handful of others. Then there are some such as O'Death (officially the "best thing happening in NYC right now" if you ask me) Standing Nudes, Takka Takka, and Aloke who come along and completely blow me away in a way that gives me chills whenever I get a chance to see them play. Via Audio are in this category of bands. I'm not really clear as to where they're from, some sort of NYC/Boston hybrid it seems. I first saw them at a Beg Yr Pardon show and was really quite impressed by them. With a cast of multi-instrumentalists swapping drums and guitars and vocal duties, there's a very large Broken Social Scene atmosphere to them (and a bit in the sound as well - there's a bit of the Postal Service in there too) and the best part is that they're just all smiles. There seems to be an incredibly happy vibe going on with these people, and with the attention they've started to get and where they seem to be headed, I can understand why. Unfortunately I have no mp3s for you to download, but you can stream their music on their MySpace page and on their website. Buy their ep at Interpunk. Watch the adorable karaoke (yes! really! sing along!) video for "Developing Active People".) I'll be honest - tonight my band is playing a show with Via Audio, but they are going on before us so I want to encourage anyone already planning on coming to show up earlier than they otherwise might in order to catch them at 8pm. The show is called Jezebel Music Presents: Bands and it begins at 8pm at the Delancey. The cover is $8, Matt Earfarm is DJing, and the other two bands are Mancino and Hexa.
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01:29 AM - The Big Sleep: Son of the Tiger
I've been listening to The Big Sleep's record so much that it feels like I've had it in my collection for years - though in truth it was just released yesterday. The songs on Son of the Tiger have a way of sneaking up on you and enveloping you before you even realize that you're tapping dancing uncontrollably right there in your chair. Since there's already and interview/feature on the band and album up over at StereoactiveNYC, I won't say much here. Just go listen to the album (you can stream it this week at AOL) and pick it up, preferably at their release show tomorrow (Thursday, 9/21) at the Mercury Lounge (with Other Passengers, 120 Days, and The Comas.) Unfortunately I'll be out of town and missing this one, so make sure to take lots of photos and tell me all about how awesome the show is. Really. If you go to the show and post about it on your own site, I'd love to read it next week when I get back. Say hi to the band for me, too. The Big Sleep - "Murder" The Big Sleep official site.
The Big Sleep - "You Can't Touch The Untouchable"
The Big Sleep on MySpace.
French Kiss Records.
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02:00 PM - The Thermals: The Body, The Blood, The Machine
The Thermals are one of my favorite bands around these days, and their third full length is more or less a concept album. For a minute I wondered if Hutch had suddenly gone off the deep end into uber-rightwingism but that does seem a bit far-fetched, and really it's pretty obvious what this is about - imagine that a group of Bible-beating fascists took over your country and were telling you how to live and you wanted to escape - this would be your soundtrack. The Body, The Blood, The Machine is a bit of a shift from the band's past work - the songs are a little longer, the vocals are less distorted (though certainly not too shiny), and oddly there's less urgency to the music than before - even though you'd think the subject matter would be something to get riled up about. I'm going to wager that some of these differences are due to the recent changes in the band's lineup: drummer Jordan Hudson left the band, leaving just Kathy and Hutch to play all the instruments (apparently their new drummer is Lorin Coleman - not sure when the happened as the last report I heard named somebody else - maybe that was just a temp?) Listen/download: The Thermals - "A Pillar of Salt"
This certainly doesn't stand up to the first album in terms of thrashy good fun, but it's still a good listen. I'm having a hard time getting past the concept aspect of the record enough to enjoy the songs on their own, for now at least. "Test Pattern" might be my favorite track, partially because it's a slower, more 50's rock style dreamy number, but also because it feels like more of a love song than just following the theme of the rest of the album. Listen to a few of the songs and decide for yourself at the Thermals MySpace page.
Watch the video for "A Pillar of Salt"
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05:41 PM - The Zutons: Tired of Hanging Around
This is one of those times when I want to tell you how much I like a band and to recommend tracks from their record and such, but that whole post just disappeared so instead I'll just provide some links to convince you to check out the Zutons' new record, Tired of Hanging Around: the video for "Oh Stacey" - it's not my favorite track on the album but the video definitely helps to accentuate the track's creepy/spooky vibe, a specialty for this band. the video for "Valerie" - fun in prison! cockroach races, chain gangs, a daring escape attempt, and hooks that could like the Stones any day. Listen on the Zutons' Myspace page. For a bit of old school Zutons Fever, watch this video of them doing "You Will You Won't" on tv. Want mp3s? Dodge had some a while back, so did Covert Curiosity (including that Gnarls Barkley cover.) Order Tired of Hanging Around now or download it from iTunes.
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11:33 PM - TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
I'll confess. I listened to the early leaked version of this record. And you know what? I loved it. Five months later and I'm still listening to it frequently and getting songs like "Wolf Like Me" and "I Was A Lover" stuck in my head on a near-daily basis. With an official prerelease copy in hand (correct tracklisting and songtitles and all!) I took a fresh listen to Return to Cookie Mountain which has been available stateside as an import for a minute now, but will finally see a real release on Tuesday, September 12th. Coincidentally enough, that's the day I'll get back from the long drive to and from the South Park Music Fest (Man in Gray plays on Saturday night at midnight - the Mania TV show) - if Brooklyn is my cookie mountain (whatever that means - is it a Mario Bros. reference?) then it works - and for our purposes let's say it's exactly that. If what you expect from TV on the Radio is what you like about them - well the persistent beats and layers of sound and washes of guitars and impressive multipart vocal loops and harmonies are all in there. The music is a bit less spastic (and perhaps a little less creative at times) than on their previous efforts, but what still stands out for me are the lyrics - Tunde's not just doing vocal trickery for the sake of sounding good. Listen to their music and check out the band's upcoming tour dates (with Grizzly Bear, whose new record, Yellow House, is out today - and it's fantastic as well) at Myspace. TV on the Radio has a blog. For a long time it was their only web site, and that frustrated me. They're a little easier to find now, but no less abstract. Unrelated to TVoTR, there is now a Ruined Music shop. Why not plaster your body with the cute little record player logo I drew? Either way, keep those submissions coming!
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11:56 AM - A Place to Bury Strangers
A Place to Bury Strangers are known to many as the loudest band in NYC. It's true - they are - though it's not just noise in all that volume - their music is itself huge and overwhelming, and their live show is an experience not to be missed. Tonight they play the StereoactiveNYC/Beg Yr Pardon 7 show at the Delancey, along with Gold Streets, the Secret Life of Sofia, and Western Civ (all the way from Florence, Alabama.) As always the show starts at 8pm, cover is only $5, there's BBQ on the roof for $5, free baked treats all night and free beer during the last band. Danny from The Big Sleep (their awesome new record, Son of the Tiger, is out 9/19 on French Kiss) is DJing, as is mister SANYC himself (no, not me, the other guy.) Check out the latest track from APTBS:
A Place to Bury Strangers - "I Know I'll See You"
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07:15 PM - Western Civ
Florence, Alabama's own Western Civ are finally making their long-awaited trip up north to play in NYC for the first time next week. They're playing the StereoactiveNYC/Beg Yr Pardon party on Tuesday (August 29th) and everybody is especially excited about getting to see them at the Delancey - particularly the members of Man in Gray who met on tour in March. An interview with the band is up now at SANYC. Western Civ - "Got the Number" Make friends with Western Civ on Myspace.
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08:45 AM - Gold Streets
I've never seen Gold Streets live. Over the past year or so I've hung out with the band, listened to their ep, Red, and talked about how they always play on these great shows that I keep missing. Finally I'll get to change that, as they're on the StereoactiveNYC / BYP show this coming Tuesday. In preparation for what's sure to be quite a memorable show, there's an interview with Gold Streets up at SANYC today!
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03:20 PM - Ben Kweller
Have you been paying attention? Do you still think that Ben Kweller is that mop-haired kid who isn't Adam Green that sang the "sha-sha song" ("Sha-Sha")? Perhaps you happened to catch on to his underservingly overlooked album from last year, On My Way? With a new album due out September 19th on ATO Records (preorder here) he's been gearing up for a tour with a series of short videos (a new one each week) called "One Minute Pop Song." He's up to episode three, in which he rates his musical technical skills on a scale of 1-10. Ben Kweller's One Minute Pop Song videos on YouTube Listen to "Sundress" from the new album here. Ben Kweller will be at Webster Hall in NYC on October 20th and 21st. Click "more" for full tour schedule. Listen to Ben Kweller on Myspace.
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
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11:31 AM - Pretty Girls Make Graves
The last time I saw Pretty Girls Make Graves it was at The Delancey, at some weird last minute "secret" show. Today PGMG play the Tripwire.com curated Pool Party at Mcarren Pool in Williamsburg. The show is free and it starts at 2pm. The other acts are Jason Lytle (Grandaddy) and Bon Savants, with DJs All England Club.
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01:50 AM - Tiny Masters of Today
At the record shop today a fresh new 7" from some band called Tiny Masters of Today greeted me out of nowhere, adorned with a cute drawing on the cover and that fresh glean of new vinyl, so I threw it on to check out. The music was playful punk, childish even. Fuzzy guitars and clicky clack drum machines. Small voices squeaked and squawked songs about "Stickin' it to the man" and rants about the president (the worst Bushy, for sure!) But hold on - this isn't some hipster silliness 80's revival twee finding the inner child such nonsense - these are real kids. As in they're a brother and sister duo aged 12 and 10, respectively. No joke. And they're from right here in Brooklyn, though the record, Big Noise, comes from Tigertrap Records, all the way across the ocean. This was a nice surprise and certainly made a long day in the summer heat a little more bearable. Do yourself a favor and go grab this record. For the digital minded, well you can go ahead and stream the three songs from it (as well as "Cell Phone" in which a guitar solo imitates a cell phone ringtone - I'm pretty sure that's a first) on the Tiny Masters of Today's Myspace page. Bonus: Don't miss this video, in which somebody mistakenly assumes that Russell Simmons (of Def Jam Records) is interested in recording the band, as opposed to Russel Simins (drummer from Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.) Oops. Double bonus: MSNB did a piece on the band last month. I'm so behind! Tiny Masters of Today are playing a rare all ages version of the Death Disco party at the Annex on July 30th and Mcarren Pool with the Detroit Cobras on August 6th. Awesome.
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02:01 AM - Agent Sparks
Funny story. It was 4th of July weekend and I found myself in New Jersey with nothing to do but drive around. I visited a music store that I hadn't been to in, oh, about ten years, and thought it would be nice to find some new music (mostly because the mp3 cd I've had in the car for the past year is getting a bit old). I combed through pretty much every cd in the shop, finally decided upon Agent Sparks' Red Rover, as it had the most colorful album cover with the most promising descriptive sticker on the front - it said something along the lines of "co-ed indie rock" and "strong Pixies influence." Well that sounds familiar... my hunch that I'd like it did indeed pan out and I drove home getting acquainted with some great indie rock along the lines of Metric - though a strong Pixies influence is definitely there - but no more than Radiohead and the Cure as well. Some moments are even very much like Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. Back at the house I check out the band's myspace page to find that though they are from California, they were on tour with 30 Seconds to Mars (um, yikes) and had been playing just down the road at the Stone Pony that very night. Too bad I hadn't gone out looking for new music just a few hours earlier! The band's tour continues through the end of the month. The single, "Poly Anne," is incredible with a great driving beat and actually pretty good lyrics. This is great pop music for indie rockers - though it could easily be seen the opposite way it's got just enough quirks and imperfections to keep it from sounding like something quite different. Apparently Agent Sparks have some big music industry inside connections and we all know how that can make some people suspicious, but this record sounds very honest and no matter how it got to my ears, I'm glad that it did. Hopefully Agent Sparks will come back to the east coast soon so I can see them in action. Agent Sparks official site.
Agent Sparks on myspace.
Order Red Rover.
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01:18 AM - Proton Proton
I got turned on to Proton Proton a while back by Stasha from Pio Mazzotti. Every time I'd go in to her shop to buy picks or get my guitar fixed, she'd start playing their music. At the time I hadn't heard much about them from anywhere else, but apparently that sort of enthusiastic fandom is contagious. I saw Proton Proton play at the last Deli party at Asterisk (though I got locked outside for the first half of their set, grrr stupid door rule!) and they completely tore it up. They're loud and complex and bizarre but with some prominent tasty tambourine and strange instruments like a toy piano and the gass (half bass, half guitar, of course) they stand out from all of the other sort of weird bands in NYC (trust me, there are tons of them.) Proton Proton have two 6 song eps out, both of which you can purchase from their website. In my last post I recommended that you go see Professor Murder at a pre-Siren Fest party, and now I'm telling you to go see Proton Proton play a Siren afterparty this Saturday, July 15th. Continuing their trend of opening kickass shows (they just played the first Pool Party), Proton Proton are on first with Roxy Pain, the Rogers Sisters (who are playing Siren earlier that day), and Radio 4. This is an amazing lineup and the Hook is a great place to get to see all these bands - I almost wish I wasn't going away just so I could go to this (almost.)
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12:32 AM - Professor Murder: ...Rides the Subway
The first time I saw/heard of/experienced Professor Murder was when they played a show with Man in Gray at Siberia a couple of years ago. Friends of friends, did some recording at our favorite studio, etc etc. At the time they were doing a bit of the dance punk thing but with loud loud loud guitars at the forefront. It was at a party some time later that lead singer Mike told me that he was going to get rid of his guitar and make dance music. I was a bit disappointed because I liked what they were already doing.... But now, over a year later, the band is about to release their first proper EP on Kanine Records and all this getting rid of the guitars nonsense suddenly makes A LOT of sense. More bass. More percussion. MORE COWBELL. It's in there and the result is a perfect mix of all the best things that bands like Liars (on the first record), Radio 4 (who they recently opened for at Bowery Ballroom in NYC), and LCD Soundsystem have to offer. PMurder's press kit even makes reference to the incredible group Fire Engines and these tracks are just jittery enough to warrant it. Brief interlude, while I'm thinking of it - do yourself a favor and go buy Codex Teenage Premonition by Fire Engines right now. Back to the band at hand. Professor Murder are four guys out of Brooklyn, NY. Ok, so you probably could have guessed that one. For the amount of time that they've been active they've gone for way too long at times without playing enough shows but it looks like that will likely change soon. The EP, entitled Professor Murder Rides the Subway, comes out on July 25th (that's two weeks, kids - though you can always order the record on Insound now). Before that you can catch them at Insound's pre-Siren party at Supreme Trading in Williamsburg tomorrow (that's Thursday, July 13th). They also have a few dates out in the midwest this weekend. Professor Murder's myspace page.
Professor Murder's web site.
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01:26 AM - Sleater-Kinney on hiatus
After eleven years as a band, Sleater-Kinney have decided to go on indefinite hiatus. The upcoming summer shows will be our last. As of now, there are no plans for future tours or recordings. Click here to see the list of their final shows... including one on August 2nd at NYC's Webster Hall (which is supposedly sold out at this point.) I got to the S-K party a bit late, not really getting too into them until somewhere between '97's Dig Me Out and '99's The Hot Rock (which, along with the next effort, All Hands on the Bad One, saw more play on my college radio show than most records, except for maybe the first Self record.) I saw the band a number of times over the years and always had fun at their shows, even when a horrible opening band (though obviously I got over that one) nearly ruined the show for me. I'll admit it, I wish I could play guitar like Carrie. It's amazing. Too bad they're going "on hiatus" and I suppose the best we can hope for is that they get the inevitable reunion happening sooner rather than later. Two tracks from their last album, The Woods.
View original photo
From Sleater-Kinney's official website (as also seen on several blogs and music sites):
We feel lucky to have had the support of many wonderful people over the years. We want to thank everyone who has worked with us, written kind words about us, performed with us, and inspired us.
But mostly we want to extend our gratitude to our amazing fans. You have been a part of our story from the beginning. We could not have made our music without your enthusiasm, passion, and loyalty. It is you who have made the entire journey worthwhile.
With love and thanks,
Sleater-Kinney
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01:33 AM - Lean Seasoned Beef
This is either a joke band or there really are a couple grizzled truckers out there called Molten Chambers and Elkton Peters who like to play mathy rock. Whoever they are (and couldn't you almost believe either one?) they have a new CD, "Bad Attitude" which was released on May 23rd, "and is based on kickin' your ass up and down the PA Turnpike." I'm sold. Word on the street (or at the truckstop) is that these two nasty truckers are joined by Sir Jack-Knife-a-lot and Marshall T Mofo to fill out their live sound to match the awesome production value found on their recordings. Take a listen to some of the new songs on their Myspace page and get ready to be impressed, enamored, incensed, confused, befuddled, and bashed around by a screaming trucker. Lean Seasoned Beef - "Win a Dance With Molten Chambers" (myspace mp3) Lean Seasoned Beef will play their first live show this Wednesday, June 28th, at the Trash Bar in Brooklyn. It's a Trucker Party (and the "Bad Attitude" release show) and if you come as a trucker or a lizard you get a prize (but hipsters, a simple trucker hat alone isn't enough)! With LSB, The Song Corporation (recently on Subinev), Cholo (BYP#1 alums), The Payola Reserve, and Brownbelt. I don't know anything about this band Brownbelt but I think I need to look into them - they have a Robot playing electronics and doing backing vocals, according to their bio. This make me wonder - if I did a Robotinev of a robot, would I have to turn it into a human? OMG my head totally just exploded.
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12:45 PM - Unsacred Hearts
I don't really need to go into ANOTHER gushing post about the Unsacred Hearts for you to know that you need to go see them, right? Ok, good. That's what I thought. If you need some background, read about their recent record release show here. Tomorrow night (Thursday, June 22nd) provides a perfect opportunity to finally get out and see the best damn rock n' roll band in town, as Crackers United brings us Friction @ Sin-e. The Unsacred Hearts are up first at 9pm (after free Sparks from 8-9pm, oh boy!), then Levy and The Big Sleep. It's one hell of a lineup and the best thursday night show you could possibly go to until, well, next week's thursday night show at Midway (plug plug plug!) Here's some Hearts goodness to cram in yr earholes, including a song I wrote that they covered ("Hoboken"), for vanity's sake: Unsacred Hearts - "Somewhere Deep in NYC" Remember to wish guitarist Dave a Happy Birthday at the show! (his birthday is Friday, the same as Mary!)
Unsacred Hearts - "Hoboken"
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12:00 PM - Takka Takka
Looks like Amrit beat me to posting about them today, but here you go anyway... Here's a more recent track from the band:
Whenever one of the songs from Takka Takka's web-only album, Fall Apart Art comes up on shuffle on my computer I get this weird sense familiarity and excitement. There's a definite Pavement vibe to them, with some Unicorns-style wackiness, all wrangled by some very tight (not to mention concise!) songwriting. I'm still not sure what to expect from these guys at their live show, but I'm betting it's going to be good. I'll find out tonight (and so should you) when they play Beg Yr Pardon #2 at the Delancey with Telenovela Star (previously featured), Planes for Spaces (also previously featured), and Higgins. There will be free cupcakes and brownies all night, free beer from 11:30 to 12:30, and the awesome DJ skills of Travis Gravitas (of Serious Business, Unsacred Hearts - who play the Friction party this week, and DraculazombieUSA - who are playing the next BYP on June 29th). All for 5$. Show starts at 8pm.
Takka Takka - "We Feel Safer at Night"
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10:31 AM - The Secret Life of Sofia - welcome home!
Subinev friends and favorites The Secret Life of Sofia have just returned from their first tour! They kicked it off with a hometown show at the Mercury Lounge and then took off for just over a week, traveling all the way to Chicago and back. Word is the tour was a huge success and the addition of more percussion and vocal backing in the live set apparently went over very well. Guitarist and Tom Cruise look-alike Eric tells me that they played with some great bands who are worth checking out - Husband&Wife, the Kyle Sowashes, the Tapes, Pattern is Movement, and St. Vincent (Annie Clark - who some might remember from the Branca recording session in LIC a while back - of the Polyphonic Spree backed by Pattern is Movement). He also says they will have some video from the road to show their fans soon. Awesome. Now they just have to get busy recording a full length! The Secret Life of Sofia - "Hospital Inside Me" Listen and make some handsome new friends at The Secret Life of Sofia's Myspace page. Their next show is the Earfarm Presents... show at Sin-e on June 29th with Mancino, the Isles, and Daylight's For the Birds.
view original photo - also by me
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12:34 AM - Telenovela Star
For reasons I'll never understand, there isn't much press about local band Telenovela Star. The female trio has been around for a while but managed to keep fairly quiet while recording and playing infrequent shows - they even scored by getting one of their songs used as the theme song for the surfer girl show, Beyond the Break. Luckily for us they've started booking more shows, so more people can finally get a chance to see them live - where hopefully their sexy mathy indie pop (yes, I mean it) will come across as well in person as it does on record. Your next chance is this Tuesday at the Beg Yr Pardon #2 party at the Delancey. Also on the bill are Higgins, Takka Takka, and Planes for Spaces. Listen to Telenovela Star on their Myspace page, which is apparently their only official web page now. I also highly recommend their self-titled EP, which you can order from their page.
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03:32 PM - Sonic Youth: Rather Ripped
I didn't see Sonic Youth play at CBGBs this week. Not my fault! It's Ticketweb's fault for being useless. I guess I can get over missing an "intimate" Sonic Youth show after having some wonderful close encounters with ye olde Sonics last year - at least until I watch them from inside an empty pool in Brooklyn in August (with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Awesome Color). The new full length, Rather Ripped, is the band's first since the departure of (temporary, in retrospect) member Jim O'Rourke, and honestly it doesn't seem to have made much of a difference. I suppose that O'Rourke's role was much more for the live show than anything else - which would explain why Pavement's Mark Ibold is joinging the band onstage for this tour. About this album - it starts strong, and sunny, with Kim Gordon singing before 5 seconds are up. That's certainly refreshing, and most of the tracks here share a a very straightforward momentum that never gets too fast or too slow, and has just enough of the expected noise, but really stays pretty close to the pop side of Sonic Youth. Even the song lengths are pretty conservative - only two come in at more than 6 minutes and for the most part they're between 3 and 4 minutes a piece. Fans of Sonic Nurse will definitely be pleased. If you're waiting for the next Daydream Nation, keep holding your breath. The last track, "Or," is a mystery to me. It's a total slow jam with Thurston's stream-of-consciousness style lyrics, subdued tribal percussion, and barely-there guitars but it just doesn't add up. Each time I get to the end of the record and hear the closing lyrics: "What comes first? The music or the words?" it just frustrates me and I can't believe it ended on such a down moment. But maybe that's just me. Find out for yourself by buying the album. You might want to get a preview by streaming the songs here. In somewhat related news, I saw Be Your Own Pet on Monday (they've been touring with Sonic Youth). Their records are some of the more fun and exciting music to come out lately, and their live show is, as could be expected, equally as energetic. They're young and goofy and having fun and it all shows - though I think that Jemina's Karen O / Emily Haines moves are a bit too carbon-copy most of the time, and that really turned me off to most of their set. She's got the energy and voice and moves, but it's a little too obvious that she's been rehearsing. Still, the music is great fun and worth having, and the show is good if you're tired of seeing sad bastard bands bathed in blue lights drooling over their delay pedals. 
(original photo found in cd packaging)
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11:37 AM - New Up the Empire single
What I'm going on about is the new single from Up The Empire. The boys just recently played the first Beg Yr Pardon party (thanks!) and they did a great job. They're leaving on tour next week and have a ton of great shows lined up (read 'more' for all the dates) so in preparation they put out a new single off their upcoming full length, Light Rides The Super Major. This track just so happens to be my favorite from their live show. The band's next NYC show is (conveniently enough) the Terset release show at the Brooklyn Lyceum here in Park Slope, along with Man in Gray (gee, how'd that happen?). Up The Empire's web site. Up The Empire previously on Subinev: BYP#1, Up The Empire on WOXY, the Empire is out of control, Friction 2/07 Wow, it sure looks like UTE are way overdue for a Robotinev, wouldn't you say? (Update: got it up there now!) Wish the guys luck on their tour! Update: Looks like UTE have managed to scare Gothamist with their press kit. Hah!
How the hell did I miss this one? A note to bands that I'm friends with - when you have news please tell me! Just give me a call or something.
Up The Empire on Myspace.
Purchase their Seaside ep at The Cougar Label.
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08:54 PM - Be Your Own Pet
For some reason I kept feeling like I'd been talking about this band too much, but doing a quick search of my archives, their name hardly pops up, and when it does it's just in passing. Well, let's change that. Be Your Own Pet are one of the few bands that have been promoted to me lately which I would actually say I've become a big fan of. Perhaps it's because they've got the Thurston Moore stamp of approval, or because the singer is a cute girl (but probably not as she's just simply not my type), or because I'm going through one of those times when I just want something a little more exciting to break out of all the sad bastard and fake dance music that gets crammed in my earholes. Yeah, that could be it. Don't misread this - BYOP certainly aren't breaking any new ground or changing the face of music, but they sure sound exciting. That's all it takes right now. Exciting. Fun. Maybe honest. Whatever it is that they have, they sound great and they make me feel like a friggin kid running around screaming my head off in my bedroom. The musical references are easy - if you like the Gossip and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Metric or even Morningwood then you'll probably like Be Your Own Pet. Their Summer Sensation EP did some serious damage with big beats and fast dirty riffs, shouted lyrics and sing-along choruses - it's a simple formula and they're doing it just right. The self titled full length released this week (with a glowing review in PitchFork) expanded on that with more fun songs that should at least keep you driving your ten speed too fast down the sidewalk through the summer. Listen on their site and on myspace. Watch the new video for "Bicycle, Bicycle You Are My Bicycle" here ! See Be Your Own Pet at the Knitting Factory in NYC this coming Monday, June 12th. I'll be right up front screaming like an idiot.
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06:58 PM - Mission of Burma : The Obliterati
How are you supposed to feel when your favorite band, who you always though to be long gone before your own time of musical actualization, is suddenly resurrected, not to be some nostalgia act but to pick up where they left off and actually move forward, challenging you to question the untouchability of their back catalog - a virtue bundled with extinction - so that you might actually have to ask if something new might possibly be even better than that which you thought to be unbeatable? Well? Of course there's no answer for that, but if you want to try, direct your attention to Mission of Burma. You know the story of their early not-quite-success, twenty year departure, and triumphant return (if not, go learn at the Obliterati / MoB wiki). 2004's On Off On proved that they could still rock, and that the songwriting wasn't at all stagnant, but with that much time apart it wasn't surprising that they could put together a good album (some were even songs left over from years earlier). Could they do the same in just two more years? There was a lot of anticipation for The Obliterati - the 12" subscription series should have been gearing fans up and whipping them into a fevered pitch by this week's release date, but things didn't quite work out. No matter the technical issues - the songs eventually got out and all us little fanboys should have our Shepard Fairey-design etched 12" singles (which are GORGEOUS) by now. Those 8 tracks actually represented a majority of the LP - the 6 songs that we had to wait for being "Donna Sumeria," "1001 Pleasant Dreams," "Good, Not Great," "13," "the Mute Speaks Out," and "Is This Where?" I can see why they picked what they did, with some of the strongest, most brutal and faster songs (stream all 8 here) going out first, though some choice cuts were definitely left for the record, namely "Donna Sumeria" which is just mindblowing. I listened to it 8 times today and will probably add a few more to that. You can hear it on the band's Myspace page. Though still very fresh, these 14 tracks are some of the best rock songs I've heard so far this year. I'm glad to see that Mission of Burma still has "it" and that they're going strong. The cd also comes with a DVD so you can get a taste of the live experience by watching performances of a few classic songs. Mission of Burma is currently on tour and will be playing at Warsaw in Brooklyn on July 14th. No word on who will open, but I have one damn good suggestion. (Sorry, I couldn't help it). Order The Obliterati at insound. Previously on Subinev: There's a Time and a Place to Punctuate, Mission of Burma Subscription Series (to answer your question, yes, I am speaking well of the record...)
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09:30 PM - Morning Theft
My first encounter with Morning Theft was in a steel cage match in June 2004. MiG vs. MT at OfficeOps out in Bushwick. I can't really say who won, but Rob Holmes and the rest of the MT boys certainly put up a good fight. Morning Theft's sound is far from the hipster gloss and shine of most of the bands running around the Lower East Side these days, and that just might be exactly the thing that's kept them going so strong for so long. They also happen to be a band split between two hometowns -not just NYC but also Boston, where they seem to be received even better than in the city they officially call home. While most 20-somethings in this town look to the early 80's for their musical inspiration, Morning Theft are a bit more current, drawing on more of the 90's, crafting a sound that evokes Nirvana, the Pixies, Sunny Day Real Estate, U2, and Failure. Not exactly retro - just coming from a different place than most of what I hear these days, and that's very refreshing. As previously mentioned, Morning Theft went and got themselves all wrapped up in some battle of the bands and have managed to kick the butts of various ska and soft-rock bands (trust me I suffered through some of them) to make it to round three, in which they will perform this Friday (May 26th) at 8pm on the main stage of the Knitting Factory. This will be the band's first time playing the main space and they could certainly use all the support they can get - plus they just straight up deserve the attention (like being the Gothamist band of the week!) Honestly I'm not so hot on this Emergenza thing, but I like the band and would love to see them move on to the next round - which means playing at Webster Hall. Superfancy. Listen and watch and go see them. (There is an audio player here with a mix of songs and they are also on Myspace) As you might have noticed from my comments, the lead singer from Morning Theft, Rob Holmes, has been harassing me, trying to bribe me* into doing this Robotinev of his band ever since the first robot version of a band's press photo appeared on this site. Well, I'm not telling you what he agreed to pay me with, but I sure did make out on this deal! Whee! Also, "MC Holmes" will be one of the DJ's at the first Beg Yr Pardon party at the Delancey on June 6th. *Rob Holmes never tried to bribe me. I was going to get around to doing this anyway and made the mistake of telling him that. Oops.
Morning Theft - "Always A Bridesmaid"
Morning Theft - "Weakness"
Morning Theft - "Living With Your Ghost"
Budweiser True Music video clips: Interview (part 1 + part 2); "Negative Press" (clip); "Horseshoes and Hand Grenades" (clip)
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12:55 AM - Planes for Spaces
Planes for Spaces are one of those "it came from Myspace" bands. Or rather more accurately, "it came from D, who spends all day scouring Myspace, knee-deep in crappy bands, dragging the great finds up to the surface." In this case, she recommended the band for a Beg Yr Pardon show (which they are playing - BYP2 on June 20th at the Delancey!) and we all went "bwuh?" as we'd never heard of them. But there you have it, they've been booked, so obviously we liked what we heard when we finally did. They have a sort of slow dark groove thing going one, a little Joy Division (no not like Interpol, I mean LIKE JOY DIVISION) with some Cure-ish gothiness and even Sonic Youth-style noise and indie rock standby moves - with yelping and singing and hissing and purring and crescendos and sudden stops like you wouldn't believe. Don't forget the delay and reverb - this stuff is dripping with it. Here's the only track available for download, but do yourself a favor and listen to the others available on Myspace. Planes For Spaces - "Dream Number One" Get a first taste this Thursday when Planes for Spaces play an early 8pm set at Sin-e, then see them again in a month when they come back from their home of Minnesota for BYP2. By the way, I do realize that this Robotinev (as I've started calling the robot band drawing I've been doing here on Subinev lately) is one of the less impressive ones in terms of details and such... don't worry, the next one is really good - at least I think so. I know one pesky commentor that will be happy, at least.
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07:14 PM - Margot and the Nuclear So and So's
In one of those cases when I was invited to come see a band that I didn't much care about, I luckily took a minute to see who else was on the bill to see if the show was worth checking out and in this case, an 8-member band whose name had crept up in my Myspace travels just a day or two before was on there, and so that's how I ended up seeing Margot and the Nuclear So and So's for the first time after listening to their songs on Myspace way too many times. At the show I picked up their preview ep which contains four songs off The Dust of Retreat and was impressed at the range that they managed to cover. There were bits of Nada Surf and Bright Eyes (with far less whining) style fragility, but bursts of Broken Social Scene magnitude joyous explosions (or at least Stars in lesser moments). It's all there, plus some good old Brooklyn style (ugh, I know, but it's true) danciness for flavor. Overall Margot and the Nuclear So and So's can be a little unbalanced at worst, but overambitious and daring at best. Most importantly, the songs are all pretty reliably great, and the live show is a spectacle to be seen. The band was featured on AOL's "The Interface" and performed four songs off their record, along with a DJ set and interview. The podcast (which includes the songs and interview) can be found here. Listen on Myspace.
Margot and The Nuclear So and So's are playing tonight at the Mercury Lounge in NYC with the Fatales and Film School.
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04:08 PM - The Hard Lessons
I first saw The Hard Lessons at Lit last September and was impressed with their very Detroit-style rock. Their sound is heavy on the shakin' variety of garage rock with a whole lot of soul - organ and all. Check out this list of bands they've shared the stage with: Brendan Benson, The Dirtbombs, Hot Hot Heat, The Paybacks, Modey Lemon, The Killers, Sum 41, The Apes, Von Bondies, Electric Six, The Gris Gris, Social Distortion, The Detroit Cobras, Oh My God, Tough and Lovely, RPG. Not to mention a recent tour with emo-superstars Motion City Soundtrack. Quite an assortment of musical styles represented in there - but it all works, and my guess is that these three blew most of those bands off the stage. If a party is what you want, a party is what you'll get - but still with all the satisfaction that you get out of "indie rock." Think the first couple White Stripes records but with some synths and sexy female vocals. Watch a live video of "Come Back to Me" from February. The Hard Lessons are coming back to NYC (driving all the way after their gig at the Detroit Music Awards tonight!) to play at The Trash Bar tomorrow night! Looks like they're on around midnight, but who knows - I'd get there by 11pm if I were you. This trio doesn't come around here all that often so don't miss out this time! Listen on the band's myspace page. Check out the first two tracks available, off their new ep, Wise Up. The Hard Lessons - "Share Your Vanity" (from their excellent album, Gasoline)
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05:30 PM - the iOs
I was going to tie this in with the next installment of "Where are they now: 2002" but they came too far at the tail end of that year and I just haven't gotten around to it, so my timing is just a little off here, but no matter, I've got a band to talk about. The iOs started (as I can remember) as a duo, with just Chris and Autumn (and a drum machine). Then they went through a number or changes and additions until they wound up with the current 5 member lineup. The band recently signed to Kanine Records who have since put out their debut 7"("Resident Alien") and are releasing their first full length, In Sunday Songs, this next tuesday. If you've ever heard any of the eps that the band has made over the past few years, then you're already familiar with the style of boy/girl harmony-laden pop that they make. They've got a knack for all things 'cute' but there's a very solid rock vibe behind it - drawing almost equally from both Mates of State and (Blue Album era) Weezer. Of course you also might have wondered about why it took so long to get around to putting a full length out - from listening to it I'd wager that the band was just putting everything they had into it. The production is really wonderful - especially on my personal favorite track of the bunch - "Rockets." Don't be surprised if The iOs are popping up on your tv (they'd be perfect for the OC, no?) before long. For music, the band directs you to their myspace page. There is a listening party for In Sunday Songs tomorrow (May 12th) at Supreme Trading in Williamsburg, and the band will play an instore at Soundfix - also in Williamsburg - on Saturday (May 13th) at 4pm. The official record release show is May 27th at the Tiswas party held at the Annex. The iOs are one of the bands in the running for The Deli Magazine's June 2006 Band of the Month Poll. They're up against other Subinev favorites the Unsacred Hearts and Japanther (among others). That's some tough competition. The iOs previously on subinev and such: "resident alien," "ios @ luna lounge: the last note" *by the way, the kitty in the band's photo is Squalkers, their official publicist.
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04:25 PM - El Jezel: tonight at Death Disco
El Jezel are a very special band. I've talked about them plenty here on Subinev, I've done their press photos, made their pins, and even played a Sonic Youth cover with them at Pianos. George, Jess, and Dan are three incredibly talented and almost impossibily sweet people, and the music they make shows it. Add to that the fact that George and Jess are quite in love (they're getting married next month! and having a big party at Galapagos, but you'll hear more about that later...) and it makes for some music that couldn't be made by anyone else. Though they've got the whistful shoegaziness down like nobody's business, they can rock it like you wouldn't believe in an instant. El Jezel plays at Death Disco tonight (which is FREE and happens at the Delancey every Wednesday at 8pm), along with other Subinev favorites, Mo Matching Drapes (I'm still mad at them for ditching the tuba though). Purchase El Jezel's debut full length, Elements of Being Put Together here. Listen to their music and become their friend on myspace. Bonus: Jess and George have a side project called Carol Ann and the Fantastic Stand. The two songs they have available are actually covers of Man in Gray songs, from the Guitarded and Guitarmy albums. Also sort of related: Beg Yr Pardon is a new biweekly Tuesday night party starting up at the Delancey in June. 4 bands, ipod dj's (that means YOU), baked goods, maybe bbq. Go here or here and write here if you want in (err, bands and people with ipods and good taste in music, that is).
view original photo (also by me)
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09:55 AM - Radio 4: Enemies Like This
I already told you about Radio 4's new album coming out this month - and I imagine that at this point you've hopefully at least listened to the title track, "Enemies Like This." There hasn't been much in the way of downloads yet (nor even streams - despite mention of plans to roll out new tracks on myspace before the release...). The album is about what I've come to expect from Radio 4 - dancey with tons of layers of great instrumentation and masterful percussion. Though the last album got some complaints for being a little heavy on the electronic side (though it's certainly not like they're sitting there pumping beats out of a computer), and still a far cry from the fuzzed-out bliss of Gotham, Enemies Like This seems to rely more on the stronger elements of Stealing Of A Nation. The much more direct approach of songs like "Absolute Affirmation" from the last record has apparently stuck, as there are less vocal filters and overwhelming alien sounds bouncing around the tracks. "Punchy" could be an easy way to describe it. There's not really any filler here (though that's debatable with the dubbed-out "Ascension Street" which, though a good track, meanders a bit in the way that "Coming Up Empty" did, but never fear, I'm sure there will be a ton of killer remixes of it soon enough.) As for subject matter - the title implies more heavy-handed political rhetoric like their last effort, but it's misleading. There certainly are moments where there's no question that the government is the target of the lyrical assualts, but much of the time it can be just as easily argued that much more personal issues are at stake - in fact there are a number of definite love songs on here. The band even offers a song-by-song explanation for you on their website - here. Though I doubt that it will end up being a single, "Always A Target" is my pick for the best track off the album. It has what feels like a perfectly balanced mix of straightforward and simpler dance music with just enough glitchy nuances to keep it recognizable as a R4 song - plus that great catchy-as-hell slower chorus thing that they're doing so well these days. Also highly recommended: "Grass Is Greener" and "Packing Things Up On The Scene." One thing that always goes unmentioned is the contributions of others to the Radio 4 records. For one thing, Nick Forte has been adding often subtle, sometimes not-so-much, touches of knob-twisting noises that have added quite a bit to the music and production, wether it's always obvious or not. Also of note: the artwork on this record is great. It's what I've wanted their artwork to be - very close to that of their fantastic posters with utilitarian angular lettering and two-color perfection. A very nice touch. Radio 4 will be on tour in Europe and the states through May and June, with a show at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC on July 6th. Small Sins opens on the American dates. This week they're playing a not-at-all-a-secret show (actually there was an ad in the Voice apparently, so yeah...) at the Annex on Thursday. Enemies Like This comes out May 16th on Astralwerks. Pre-order it from Insound. Listen on myspace or stream "Enemies Like This."
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01:38 PM - Hockey Night
I missed out on these guys the first time around. One night at Northsix when MiG was playing with Troubled Hubble, one of the guys from that band introduced me to one of their labelmates from Hockey Night. I hadn't heard of them, and didn't think to ask if he had a cd on him, nor did I remember to investigate further later that night as I'd meant to. Not long after that I was sent a copy of their album Keep Guessin' which did a great job of providing Pavement-like satisfaction in those rare moments when even Malkie can get a bit old-sounding. My only time seeing them live was the tail end of the 05 CMJ set at Rothko (which if you've been keeping up is currently closed for a month while they figure out the building's structural integrity or something), which looked pretty catastrophic from where I'd planted myself at the back of the room, near the merch table and (um, not by accident) my second favorite Mary. The point is that this band has two drummers, sounds remarkably like Pavement (though less so on the new tracks), comes from St. Paul, Minnesota, and is worth listening to right now, especially if you need to brighten your day just a bit. YANP points out the good news that these boys have three tracks from their new record available on Myspace for listen to, and download. How nice of them! Hockey Night - "Who We Are" Hockey Night are on tour and will be playing in NYC twice next week. Skip the Cake Shop show (how the hell will they even fit two drum sets in there?) on Tuesday and see them at Mercury on the 13th with the always upbeat and cute Palomar and Austin-bred Gothamist golden children Ghostland Observatory. Also, if you like these guys, you really need to check out local NYC band Mussels. Somebody put these two bands together on a show, please.
Hockey Night - "Dark Trance"
Hockey Night - "Save The Clock Tower"
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01:58 AM - DraculaZombieUSA
The story I'm about to tell is a bit like in that Marky Mark movie, Rock Star - where a fan suddenly gets to join his favorite band and fill the shoes of his heroes. D laid out the histoire de Dzusa for you already, so I won't rehash it all - though the basic idea is that there was a band, some people moved away, now there are two franchised versions of said band, one per coast of the USA. When I first heard DraculaZombieUSA (under a different name at the time) I thought it was a joke. It was only one song. I hadn't seen the live show. I had no idea what was going on. By the time I heard more tracks and saw the live show - it all made sense. It all worked. The songs, despite not being rock songs played by a bunch of dudes, rocked me. So hard. Will programs all the music, and on the East coast Travis Gravitas plays live drums while a group of fools prance around singing Will and Danielle and A. Ross's parts (and some more), myself being one of them. It's only because I have no hand at all in creating the music that still feel like just a lucky fan of DZUSA, though circumstances have made so that if you go to see the band (at least in NYC) then I'll (probably) be one of the people onstage. Check out some tracks from the self-titled debut album. The band is working on a (bicoastal!) album to be released soon on Serious Business Records. DraculaZombieUSA - "The Summer Jam" DraculaZombieUSA is playing this Thursday (May 4th) at Glass House Gallery with Vic Thrill, Mad Happy and Brokendomer. The venue is at 38 South 1st street (b/w Kent and Wythe) in Brooklyn. DZUSA will also be at Fontana's in the city a week later on Thursday, May 11th. A special treat: Will updates the DZUSA blog about all sorts of music and such for you.
DraculaZombieUSA - "I Like the Snow"
DraculaZombieUSA - "Bear Island"
DraculaZombieUSA - "Thomas Window Paine"
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01:25 PM - The Pinkmeat
The story of The Pinkmeat goes something like this - they existed as a band for a while, then they disappeared, then I hunted them down and talked them into playing at the Deli Magazine party that I threw in January. Now they're fully back in action (with a new drummer - Sam from Plastic East, who also played that Deli show) and are releasing a new ep. The release will be celebrated tonight with an all-girl show at Fat Baby. Other bands on the bill include Broadband, Bruises, and Russian Vogue. The Pinkmeat lists their genre of music as "Experimental/Funk/Metal" and that's about as perfect description as I could ever come up with (minus funk, though if you drop the "k" then fun definitely applies.) There's more than just a hint of riot grrrl style in the music, but there's not all that much anger in the lyrics. Taly and company are out for a good time, more along the lines of The Donnas or Morningwood, but with much sharper teeth and dirtier thoughts - other applicable references are Joan Jett, The Hard Lessons. A word of warning: Beware, as Taly just might try and get down on the floor and hump you silly during their set. MP3's from myspace: Related: There will be another Deli Magazine benefit party at Asterisk Art Space in Brooklyn this Saturday. Man in Gray, the Detachment Kit, Emma La Reina, Goes Cube, and the Diggs are playing - among many more. Details here.
The Pinkmeat - "Should have kissed"
The Pinkmeat - "Rawk"
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04:11 PM - Glenn Branca, Pitchfork
Pitchfork has a new interview with Glenn Branca, all about the 100 guitars symphony (or symphonies, depending on if you consider them different pieces though they've had the same name for each performance but with considerable changes - I played on the abandoned LIC recording and the concert in NJ.) He makes mention of a performance in Belgium in 2007 and an upcoming Bang on a Can-sponsored one here in NY. I hope that's happening and it's the same group again. Also, via a bunch of the blogs, here's an article about Pitchfork from the Washington Post. Visit Glenn Branca's website (with lots of audio clips here.)
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05:00 PM - M!stakes
I've posted about this band multiple times before. I've documented them in digital photos on the internet multiple times. They are M!STAKES, and by now you should really be paying attention to them. They're dance punk without being anything like those bands (Rapture, !!!, etc) but with more energy and better songs and more of everything good. I understand that posting this after 5pm probably isn't going to do a whole lot to help out the attendance of the show they're playing tonight, but I had to put this out there. M!STAKES have become one of the darlings of the Deli Magazine (ever since I saw them on a random night at the Delancey when they played with TSLOS) and will be playing at the Issue 6 Launch Party tonight at Tonic. Show starts at 8pm. M!STAKES are on at 9. Justin and Dot (aka The Obsessive Compulsive) are DJ'ing. Bands: 8:45pm The Bosch + The Porn Horns!, 9:25pm Mistakes, 10:05pm Semi-Precious Weapons, 10:45pm The Negatones, 11:30pm Right On Dynamite. Listen to M!STAKES (myspace):
view original photo - also by me
Mistakes - "In the Middle"
Mistakes - "Mobile"
Mistakes - "The Judge"
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10:27 AM - The Song Corporation
I don't remember exactly how I found out about The Song Corp. I know it was during one of my periods of scouring the local papers and club listings and web sites for exciting new bands to fawn over, though where exactly they popped up, I'm not sure. I got in touch and met Kristie, who sent me a copy of their demo, which I instantly fell in love with. It's true. Those songs are some of my favorites (and the subject matter can't be beat: Indiana Jones and midgets! Yay!) and I get super excited when they still play them these few years later. Since then the band has added a member (Felipe, on bass,) released another EP (The Raisin Bran EP) and developed their music into something much more focused and stronger than what I first heard from them. Musical reference points: Sonic Youth, Talking Heads, the Clash, Pixies. You will fall in love with Kristie. You'll be either scared of or in awe of Mike (depending on which songs he gets to do and how far into the crowd the mic cable reaches.) You'll be impressed by Felipe and George's musical abilities. Most importantly if you talk to them for a minute or two you'll quickly realize that they're some of the nicest and most fun people on the planet and you'll want to sit down and have a beer right away. Ok, why all this now? As I mentioned a few weeks ago, during the month of April The Song Corp. has been doing a Wednesday night residency at the Delancey (another post about a Delancey residency this week! Crazy!) and tonight will be the last one. Each week they've invited friends' bands to join them, and tonight the other bands will be Flasher, the Wowz, and Man in Gray (AplusP and Haunted Horses are also on the bill later.) The show is free and you are strongly encouraged to attend. TSC goes on at 8pm, with MiG following them at 9. The Song Corporation - "The Bug Speaks" (from the Raisin Bran ep)
view original photo - also by me
The Song Corporation - "Salvation Army" (from demo)
The Song Corporation - "A Carpenter's Cup" (from demo)
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07:28 AM - The Secret Machines: Ten Silver Drops
Ten Silver Drops has been out in a way - as a digital release - for a little while now, but the real, hard, cold, plastic disc actually hits stores today (um, stores that obey street dates I suppose - since I bought it last week, not even realizing that I shouldn't have been able to.) Mary is right about the Secret Machines. They made a great record and all they needed to do was keeping making music just like that and they did - by making a very similar record. Nothing's wrong with ripping off your own last album, right? Listen to it on their website (using the flash player on the bottom left-hand of the page.) Watch the video for Lightning Blue Eyes Catch the band tonight on Conan! (And the Flaming Lips are on Leno! Yowzers!)
Download the album on iTunes
Buy Ten Silver Drops from insound
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01:24 AM - Pela
I first saw Pela when they opened for Rainer Maria at Northsix couple of years ago. Their sound was huge - with hints of U2-style dramatic guitars and epic vocals, which wouldn't normally describe my sort of music, but something about Billy and the rest of the band's stage presence, along with the incredible sound at the venue, really made me fall for them very quickly. Lately the band has been doing very well for themselves, having recently played with the Flaming Lips and getting a song played on Scrubs. They've been doing a Monday night residency at the Delancey this month, and tonight marks the end of that. Pela will play at 10pm, but get there early as it's bound to get crowded. After the show, head up to the roof to celebrate with an afterparty, co-hosted by Oh My Rockness. Take a listen below and come out and see these guys in a cozy small venue before it's too late. Pela - "Lost to the Lonesome" Also this week at the Delancey: Wednesday - Man in Gray,The Song Corporation (who have been doing a Wednesday night residency this month,) the Wowz, and Flasher. And if you are curious about the picture of Pela above - I've decided that when I feature a band and want to include a picture of them, if I haven't taken a live or press photo myself, I'll just take their press shot and draw it, replacing the bandmembers with robots.
Pela - "The Trouble with River Cities"
Pela's Myspace page.
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