I’m sure the phrase “burning hotels” has been a temptation for the band on their long east coast road trip, but Ft. Worth’s The Burning Hotels are swinging one more time through the south before crossing state lines back home. Their upbeat rock-dance mix mines similar ground to The Killers and Placebo with a dash of moroseness similar to Lovedrug. What it is though is very tight, very likable, and from all accounts across the great state of Texas, a very excellent live show. The Eight Five Mirrors EP is available at their MySpace and on iTunes.
Tour dates below w/ a vid of the band after the jump:
May 19 2009 9:00P Local 506 Chapel Hill, North Carolina
May 20 2009 10:00P The Double Door Inn Charlotte, North Carolina
May 21 2009 10:00P The Mercy Lounge Nashville, Tennessee
May 22 2009 12:00P Whaleapalooza at the Squid & Whale Pub Eureka Springs, Arkansas
May 23 2009 10:00P Vino’s Little Rock, Arkansas
May 24 2009 8:00P The Moon Bar w/ the Orbans Fort Worth, Texas Read the rest of this entry »
Glancing through my local event listings and noticed that the Ataris (yes, the boys of freakin’ summer) are still playing shows, still going on tour, with…wait for it…a new album this summer. Who likes The Ataris anymore? Aren’t they stuck in the dreaded no man’s land? The mainstream doesn’t know they exist anymore after their flavor of the week status has ended, yet they’re original fans remember the betrayal. No place for the Ataris to go. Maybe they should bank on whole new level of nostalgia and call themselves The N64s.
Tour dates (in case you’re interested) and the “Boys of Summer” vid for (old time’s sake) after the jump.
The Magik Markers focus on rock, literally. The cover of their new album, Balf Quarry (out on Drag City) refers to a rock quarry outside of Hartford, CT. But based on your pretentious definition, songs like “Don’t Talk In Your Sleep” may be more melancholic shoegaze fuss, while something like “Jerks” is amped-up passionate spazz punk with the fuzz up to eleven. And sometimes, they go on and on in their rock with a great spoken word rant on “The Lighter Side…of Hippies.” Balf Quarry is my first intro to the duo of Elisa Ambrogio and Pete Nolan, and I like it. It’s not really down for those want a boring old rock show, but only for people who DIG new ROCK. Yeah, capitals for hidden messages are awesome, because then they’re not hidden, THEY’RE RIGHT THERE in the open. Because ROCK makes the earth able to be lived on. OR SOMETHING. And The Magik Markers make good rock.
And right now The Magik Markers are on tour w/ Ghost. These fine cities are near me in heart and spirit:
May 11 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
(w/ Ghost)
May 12 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle Tavern & Music
(w/ Ghost)
May 13 Athens, GA Tasty World
(w/ Ghost)
May 14 Birmingham, AL Bottletree
(w/ Ghost)
This video is one somebody made up to go along with the song “Taste” off a previous Magik Markers album. But it’s freakin’ awesome, with a crazy off-road race. After the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Everyone screams “Fugazi” at Durham’s Red Collar, but there’s more nuance to this band than a classic punk rock comparison. Between the dynamic interplay between Jason Kutchma and Mike Jackson there is a penchant for the dramatic, for the grand. Passionate live shows made even better by their blistering and exciting brand of punk and contemplative, motivating anthems about life, work and music. So if you ever say “Fugazi” at them, the guys and gal of Red Collar might take it another way than in a musical comparison. They will take it as an order, as a command to reach for the musical heavens for the greatest realms of musical integrity and ideals. Somehow, they have a unique gift for understanding common life experiences and elevating them to the most hopeful heights. For any doubters, listen to the live version of “The Commuter” at their MySpace and listen to Kutchma give an impassioned speech about a radio station. Was that really off-the-cuff? If so, he could sell squirrel meat to Ruth’s Chris. Their new disc is called Pilgrim and can be ordered from their website.
Do not miss if you need inspiration and a good time at a show. They’re coming closer to home in North Carolina, so the shows are sure to be doubly-inspired. Vid of “Pilgrim” after the jump:
Fri May 08 09 9:00 PM Snug Harbor, , Charlotte, NC
W/ Prabir and the Substitutes & the lights fluorescent
Sat May 09 09 9:00 PM Local 506, 506 W Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC, 27516, US
W/ Death to the Details and The Lights Fluorescent
Tue May 12 09 7:00 PM The Camel, 1621 W Broad St, Richmond, VA
Wed May 13 09 7:30 PM The Velvet Lounge, 915 U St NW, Washington, DC
W/ noon30, Wicked Hemlocks, Triathletes, Spiral Beach
Thu May 14 09 9:00 PM The Outback Lodge, 917 Preston Ave, Charlottsville, VA
Fri May 15 09 7:00 PM The Calvert House, 6211 Baltimore Avenue (US 1), Riverdale, MD,
W/ Escape Artist + Lonely are the Brave
Pretty & Nice are killing it with snappy whiplash rock-pop somewhere between a melodic Pattern is Movement, Q and Not U and Elvis Costello. Their last album, Get Young features the quality “Tora, Tora, Tora” and “Grab Your Nets.” They released it last fall on Hardly Art and are making their way across the southeast as part of the P&N Party Adventure. Dates in St. Pete, Lake Worth, ATL, Charlotte with a vid of “Solar Energy” after the jump.
May 7 2009 9:00P Star Booty Salon St. Petersburg, Florida
May 8 2009 8:00P Propaganda Lake Worth, Florida
May 9 2009 8:00P Drunken Unicorn Atlanta, Georgia
May 10 2009 8:00P Milestone Charlotte, North Carolina
May 11 2009 8:00P New Brookland Columbia, South Carolina
May 12 2009 8:00P Local 506 Chapel Hill, North Carolina
May 13 2009 8:00P Soapbox Laundro Lounge Wilmington, North Carolina
May 14 2009 9:30P Union Hall Brooklyn, New York
May 15 2009 8:00P The M Room Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
May 16 2009 8:00P Rock N Roll Hotel Washington, DC, Washington DC
Don’t mean for this to turn into an alt-country rant, I’ll try and dig up some mellow electro-shoegaze very soon. Despite the obvious name reference, American Aquarium has more of a classic country/honky-tonk feel that makes it hard to believe they played a few dates with Against Me! Fronted by a piano this is a mellow Uncle Tupelo, but some gruffer vocals puts the “alt” and Lucero references in play. No matter, the Raleigh band is playing a ton of shows in Georgia, Florida and even hitting the no man’s land of touring groups: Mississippi and Alabama. Video of “Louisiana Beauty Queen” and tour dates after the jump:
There’s no doubt that indie rock exists in two spheres: that of independent rock of punk and screamo bands on labels like Fat Wreck Chords or Victory and that of “indie rock” stereotyped as pretentious holier-than-thou starving artist types. Is there any room to unite? Can we allow Thursday and The Thermals to exist in the same world? Or Dashboard Confessional and Colin Meloy? Maybe it’s not style, but melody versus non-melody. One of my faves in this is The Appleseed Cast. They’re on a teeny-bopper punk label for the most part, but play introspective moody math (formerly emo) rock. Please point me to common ground.
Now here comes a fairly new entrant: The Gaslight Anthem. With upbeat, competent and at times even impressive alt-country stylings, Gaslight contains the new fad of Brooklyn’s best posers as an upbeat, updated version of The Hold Steady. And Alt-Press covers to boot Williamsburg cred out the door. Good thing they’re from Jersey. Their label may or may not help. Side One Dummy contains indie rock fave Gogol Bordello along with other punk bubblegum pop like Broadway Calls.
So can the Gaslight Anthem do it? If not them, hopefully somebody and sometime soon. Vid of “Great Expectations” after the jump.
May 5 2009 ATL, GA @The Masquerade w/Heartless Bastards and Good Old War
May 6 2009 CARRBORO, NC @ Cat’s Cradle w/Pela and Good Old War
May 7 2009 Towson, MD @Recher Theatre w/Pela and Good Old War Read the rest of this entry »
Nashville and popular blog fav (uh…not this one) JEFF the Brotherhood wrap up their east coast tour before sitting back down at home for a few more dates then launching out again. They’ve got a slew of new 7″ splits and some CD-Rs that may or may not be sold out, but view the MySpace for that. For those inclined to know what the northeast looks like in the spring, here are more of the bro’s band blog antics. (band blog antics have been a fav of my as of late.)
Check JEFF for some scuzzy electro-punk akin more to melody than moshing. No word on if JEFF is jazzy or not.
Vid of “I Dream of Jake and Jamin” after the tour dates.
May 1 2009 8:00P bbb complex (bury your bike 2 fest) jacksonville, FL
May 7 2009 8:00P the end (w/ screaming females) nashville
May 14 2009 8:00P mercy lounge (w/ royal bangs) 18+ nashville
May 19 2009 8:00P new french bar (w/ turbo fruits) asheville, NC
May 21 2009 8:00P meat town u.s.a. (w/ turbo fruits) new brunswick, NJ
May 22 2009 8:00P cakeshop (w/turbo fruits) New York, New York
May 23 2009 8:00P don pedros (w/ turbo fruits) Brooklyn, New York
May 24 2009 8:00P the khyber (w/ turbo fruits) philladelphia
May 26 2009 8:00P go bar (w/ turbo fruits) Athens, Georgia
Jul 9 2009 8:00P the end (w/ jay reatard) Nashville, Tennessee
We Are The Union something like ska, but not. Heavy on the old school Less Than Jake influence.
Apr 30 2009 5:00P Sector 7G Augusta, Georgia
May 1 2009 8:00P Soapbox Laundrolounge Wilmington, North Carolina
May 2 2009 8:30P Attitudz Virginia Beach, Virginia
May 3 2009 8:00P The Artful Dodger Harrisonburg, Virginia
May 4 2009 6:30P Temple of Doom (House Show) Richmond, Virginia
Guess the only reason to write is because the album “rocks” or something, though Dish has more of an eye on Southern groove surf music with Ma Raison De Vivre Ton Amour like their pensive Orlando location would give them. Stuck between two oceans but not close enough to either, this is the musical expression of being influenced by the coast and the confederacy. (Update: their Myspace says Deland, so really that’s the Atlantic, not the Gulf…I think the “expression” statement still holds true, however).
“This Ain’t Livin” gives us the classic line “I’m so hungry I could eat my stomach” before morphing from a laid-back acoustic into a rowdy Ben Kweller breakdown (if Ben Kweller is rowdy…). But rowdy enough to cause one of the bros, Nathaniel to leave which kind of sucks…Dish bends and twists several musical styles on Ma Raison De Vivre Ton Amour, I think I was told to write by somebody something akin to the Cold War Kids, but I’m also thinking The Raconteurs, so maybe they told me to write that too. “Cold Is,” the second album track, was recently on NPR so maybe I’m way behind on this or NPR is way cool. I choose neither, except I choose Dish.
Other faves include “Death and Romance” with upbeat melodic distortion if there is such a thing; and “Family Tree” which follows the same slow, slow, faster, slow, rock, rock, rock formula of some of the others mentioend here. I hear they use a lot of pots and pans and random objects for percussion, so continue to dish up this goodness. Hopefully the bros find ways to trade music files over USendIt and keep this stuff coming.
Okay, so they’re actually from Pittsburgh. But falsehoods should not keep you from seeing The Takeover UK on their tour with Gliss. The Takeover UK mixes dirty Brit-rock with newfangled whiny pop, somewhere between Jet, The Strokes and Lovedrug. Yeah, that’s it. The songs I’ve heard off Running with the Wasters are clever, well-orchestrated and full of bravado in fun pop hooks. Give me some more cliches for “good” and I’ll throw those in there too. By the way, their tour blog from the last two months is pretty entertaining–just remember, don’t yank on any cooler doors and be wary of Pittsburgh night life. Vid of “Ah La La” right here or after the jump.
The Takeover UK are rolling south, some dates with Gliss :
Apr 27 2009 8:00P Village Tavern – w/ Gliss – 18+ Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Apr 28 2009 8:00P Local 506 – w/ Gliss, House of Fools Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Apr 29 2009 8:00P Snug Harbor – w/ Gliss, House of Fools Charlotte, North Carolina
Apr 30 2009 8:00P The Camel – w/ Gliss Richmond, Virginia
May 1 2009 8:00P Purple Fiddle – w/ Gliss Thomas, West Virginia Read the rest of this entry »
Yeah, Triangle trio Embarrassing Fruits are hitting up a tour to promote the new Community/Exploitation record from Trekky Records. There is this darker folk feeling that sneaks its way through the Embarrassing Fruits’ offerings, like a rat that isn’t supposed to be in the house, but then he is, and everyone gets used to it. No that didn’t sound right. Anyway, this tends towards the lighter side, but the songs never slight and never hold back from rockin’ in the Embarrassing Fruits way. Front guy Joe Norkus has this really easy going manner that flaunts innocence but omniscience that it is impossible to ignore the fact that these guys know what they’re doing. Or something. I’ll try again: Embarrassing Fruits are for those who prefer lighthearted but earnest country-twinged modern rock full of forward moving chords and verses and choruses that stay around for a few days. Like that rat I mentioned earlier. Love some “Nakata” off Community and “First Time” off the original EP, The First Time. And a vid follows after the jump.
Some tour dates:
04-24 Wilmington, NC – The Soapbox
04-25 Athens, GA – The Rye Bar
04-26 Asheville, NC – New French Bar
04-29 Charlottesville, VA – Tea Bazaar*
04-30 Richmond, VA – Rumors
05-01 Baltimore, MD – Talking Head
05-07 Raleigh, NC – Tir Na Nog
05-15 Chapel Hill, NC – Nightlight Read the rest of this entry »
Indie rock group North Elementary dropped Not for Everyone Just for You this past week and some southeast shows to back it up. Last time I saw North Elementary they made fun of the crowd as most of them turned a deaf ear. Then I picked up the 7″ which is a good time of elongated jam songs. Not For Everyone… features stand out tracks in “Tumbleweed Stars” and “Medical Sunset” and they’ve found a place somewhere between the Foo Fighters, Nada Surf and The Flaming Lips, with soft choruses and nice melodic distortion (is that possible?) for filling. Definitely worth checking out from Eskimo Kiss. Video of new album track “Golden Tigers” also below.
Dates:
April 23 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 w/ Pistolero, Wembley, The Popular Kids, DJ Steve
April 24 Charlotte, NC Snug Harbor w/ Pistolero and Transmission Fields
April 25 Atlanta, GA Star Bar w/ Pistolero and Thee Crucials
Instrumental provocateurs The Bronzed Chorus is wrapping up a tour in support of their new album, I’m the Spring. That album is on Hello Sir, home to such luminaries as Maserati and Cinemachina. Composed of Adam Joyce on guitar and Brennan O’Brien on drums, The Bronzed Chorus whips out punk-inflected instrumental songs like any decent orchestra would. Think Appleseed Cast, Saxon Shore as more of a heady-type experience than space-out space-age jazz mixes that some kooks are turning out.
Live vid of “Tired of Trying To Sound Smart” after the jump.
Remaining Dates:
04.22.09 Atlanta, GA @ the Drunken Unicorn w/ Bambara and Nigredo
04.23.09 Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone w/ Jews and Catholics
04.24.09 Chapel Hill, NC @ Jack Sprat w/ Gray Young, Bottle Rockets
Manchester Orchestra was kind of taking off when I was in Atlanta a few years ago. Though I haven’t heard the whole new album, Mean Everything to Nothing, this one has a fuller sound, like Andy Hull is finally letting everyone participate. I’ll admit, I wasn’t always high on these guys, but they’ve come along nicely and it’s true that Hull has immense talent as a lyricist and guitar player. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for him, he started this stuff back in high school going straight to indie rock and sideswiping any punk rock diversions. So, Hull and the rest of his Manchester Orchestra are able to grab youth and maturity at the same time–this fluctuates bounces between a couple of southern-fried riffs, to a bit of alt-country, but isn’t afraid of embracing some of the more modern rock tendencies of shouted intensity. And they do all of that in one song: “I’ve Got Friends.” Less brooding, more cavorting, what’s left is Kings of Leon with cajones and something that modern rock (!) fans can enjoy rather than another dose of adult-alternative.
Here are their southern tour dates w/ FUN (former member of Anathallo) and Atlanta’s Winston Audio with a link to the “I’ve Got Friends” vid. No embedded vid link b/c Sony is apparently keeping a tight leash. Guess they’ve gotta lot banking on these guys. (Does the music industry get a bailout too?)
Apr 18 2009 8:00P Criminal Records Atlanta, Georgia
Apr 21 2009 8:00P Exit/In Nashville, Tennessee
Apr 22 2009 8:00P 40 Watt Athens, Georgia
Apr 23 2009 8:00P Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, North Carolina
Apr 24 2009 8:00P The National Richmond, Virginia
(THEN OTHER PLACES)
May 29 2009 8:00P Spanish Moon Baton Rouge, Louisiana
May 30 2009 8:00P Proud Larry’s Oxford, Mississippi
May 31 2009 8:00P Bottle Tree Birmingham, Alabama
Jun 2 2009 8:00P State Theatre St. Petersburg, Florida
Jun 3 2009 8:00P The Social Orlando, Florida
Jun 4 2009 8:00P The Social Orlando, Florida
That’s how far it is from Cincy to Graceland, according to the self-proclaimed “country punk” band. The singer Ryan Mallott and crew seem to take their role of country punk preservationists pretty seriously, as the wit of the fiddle matches the three-chord chunks. Though more than upbeat bar music, they definitely hold the key to being The Hold Steady country-fied. They need to add a few more dates in Nashville or try and score a gig with The Avett Brothers while in the Carolinas to get some momentum. What’s perplexing is how they got that old guy on board (but a great addition). More perplexing for 500 Miles to Memphis is why the heck Deep Elm would offer a contract to these guys. The ever-shifting sands of the once proud Deep Elm has left the label in a bit of a sinkhole or poised to take on the next gen in a way no one has imagined yet. Their MySpace says there is an album for download at their website. But MySpace is known as a haven for those prone to lie.
500 Miles to Memphis Upcoming Dates and a vid after the jump:
Apr 16 2009 10:00P The Longbranch Saloon Knoxville, Tennessee
Apr 17 2009 10:00P The Milestone Charlotte, North Carolina
Apr 18 2009 10:00P The Garage Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Apr 19 2009 9:00P Mansion 462 Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Apr 21 2009 10:00P The Palm Room Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina
Apr 23 2009 9:00P Lenny’s Bar Atlanta, Georgia
Apr 24 2009 10:00P The Nick Birmingham, Alabama
Apr 25 2009 9:30P The Boiler Room Lexington, Kentucky Read the rest of this entry »
Gizmodo makes selections for 10 of the Geekiest videos. Some “winners” include Weird Al’s “White and Nerdy,” Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You” and The White Stripes “Fell in Love with A Girl” But my favorite is by our deposed King of Pop, which is after the jump. But what about the Napoleon Dynamite dance sequence? Guess that doesn’t count. Read the rest of this entry »
Saddle Creek cult member Beep Beep just released their second album, Enchanted Islands. I haven’t heard all of it, but it seems a more muted and less wild edition of Beep Beep from the corporate angst of Business Casual. Oh, but the rad colored pencil drawings have made it another round. Southeast dates below and the “Executive Foliage” vid from the previous album after the jump:
Apr 15 2009 8:00P Local 506 Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Apr 16 2009 8:00P The Milestone Charlotte, North Carolina
Apr 17 2009 8:00P Caledonia Athens, Georgia
Apr 18 2009 8:00P Drunken Unicorn Atlanta, Georgia
Apr 19 2009 8:00P Backbooth Orlando, Florida
Apr 20 2009 8:00P New World Brewery Tampa, Florida
Apr 21 2009 8:00P The Engine Room Tallahassee, Florida
Apr 22 2009 8:00P 1982 Bar Gainesville, Florida Read the rest of this entry »
Everyone’s fav. trio Hammer No More The Fingers is hitting up the east coast of the NC in support of their new release, Looking for Bruce just released on Church Key Records. If you’ve never caught a HNMTF show, you will not believe the transformation of Duncan, Joe and Jeff from the mild-mannered nice guys they are into the total thrashers once on the stage. Their uproarious new 90s-esque alt-math-rock totally blows the mind of those minds previously unblown. Upcoming dates (includ show with Superchunk) are below and a live vid is after the jump:
Apr 10 2009 8:00P Soapbox WILMINGTON, North Carolina
Apr 11 2009 8:00P Spazz Benefit NEW BERN, North Carolina
Apr 15 2009 8:00P Cat’s Cradle w/ SUPERCHUNK CARRBORO, NC
Apr 24 2009 8:00P New French ASHEVILLE, North Carolina
Apr 25 2009 8:00P Annual Daniel PULASKI, Virginia
Apr 30 2009 8:00P Tir Na Nog RALEIGH, North Carolina
May 1 2009 8:00P Speakertree LYNCHBURG, Virginia
As I’ve probably said before, I like the stuff coming out of Lujo Records. Pomegranates, The Dark Romantics, Cool Hand Luke, Look Mexico. They’ve got a new EP and here’s a video for “You’re Not Afraid of the Dark, are you?” off of Gasp Asp. They tend towards whatever the pop-punk post emo sound is these days, but I think there’s an intricacy here (listen to the bridge…) and a complexity that goes beyond their peers. And who doesn’t like pie and red wine in white shirts? In other words, a good chance for a good career.
Got a copy of Peachcake’s “What Year Will You Have the World?” in the mail last week, and think these guys are on to something. The Phoenix (I mean Carefree/Cave Creek…what a place) band has an innovative blend of punk rock and electronica, with enough brazen ridiculousness to bowl over even the most ridiculously critical critic. Live video of “Did I Just Do That or Was It Jim Carrey?’ after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Magnetwrites up a piece about Matthew Houck and his band Phosphorescent. He’s releasing an album of Willie Nelson covers. This confirms the rumblings I’ve heard of Americana bands in Brooklyn. Good interview, though. The best: “I think doing cover songs is a way to sort of just play, and not worry so much about an artistic statement or anything like that. Just enjoying playing music, you know?”-Matthew Houck in Magnet
No doubt I’m a big fan of MC Lars, just got his new one–Gigantic Robot Kills in the mail. His cutting commentary about punk rock and other suburban pop topics is definitely needed. Good to see then a nat’l mag like URB is giving him some love with an interview. This is one of the few on-set, in-person interviews I’ve seen with him. (h/t Emotional punk).
And after the jump, a vid of Lars’ “Guitar Hero Hero” with a bunch of kids messing around.
The best: MC Lars: “Honestly, nerdcore to me is kind of a limited genre,” he professes. “There are all these kids now who sample Nintendo music and rap about how high school is boring, and that is so uninteresting to me. It’s hip-hop in that people are talking about their lives, but the problem with nerdcore is that it’s a joke.” Read the rest of this entry »
Finally got this after deciding I couldn’t wait any longer for the vinyl. Some comments I’ve seen has said this is like Sufjan–one problem, however is Anathallo had their full orchestral bent going strong back in ‘02 and ‘03, just when Sufjan was getting his wings. Canopy Glow maintains the feel of Floating World though I was hoping for a few numbers closer to “Don’t Kid Yourself, You Need a Physician,” but those days are over. Interesting enough, the last song of “Canopy” was followed on my iTunes with the “Aaron Held His Peace” from Sparrows and honestly, I wasn’t sure of the difference. The same quiet has always been there, Anathallo has it leveraged towards its full maximum effect. And Noni’s Field and The River are remarkable songs. Vid for “Bells” after jump. Read the rest of this entry »
In classic Viva Voce fashion, the band announces new members to further their touring. Plus, spring tour dates! And new work coming soon (at least we can all hope).
Tour dates (what no east coast love?!?) and the vid for “Alive with Pleasure” after the jump.
“Viva Voce rise like a Pheonix (or is that Phoenix-ed.) in 2009. Forever swearing off being a
two-piece band, Anita and Kevin Robinson have broken up, reformed adding
two of Portlands finest, and will unveil a new record in the coming
months. Notably more angular songs than the previous “Get Yr Blood Sucked
Out”, Viva Voce set out to perform the new tunes on a spring tour,
ending with a Portland homecoming a year in the making.” Read the rest of this entry »
The St. Louis-based Gentleman Auction House probably put out three of my favorite songs of 2008 (or were they from 2007?). Here’s the vid for one of them, though their whole album is great, especially “We Used to Dream About Bridges.” But here’s “Book of Matches” from their album, ABCEDFGraveyard. after the jump.
Mix-up Annuals and you get Sunfold, led by Annuals‘ guitarist Kenny Florence and made up of Annuals members. More of a classic rock, guitar solo funk vibe than the indie-pop Annuals comes out with. Sunfold wears its influence on its sleeve, but moves things forward without being too much of a tribute to anything.
Been in a New orleans funk today of sorts, so here is Rotary Downs of the Crescent City. They’ve got a fusion lounge sound, and the concept of this vid is a bit cheesy, but fast forward past the minute mark for the good stuff.
I was trolling around on The Militia Group website looking for info about the new Brandtson but alas it has been delayed. Not that you would find that from the militia group page.
But being there reminded me of this band, Controlling The Famous, who put out a pretty smart punk album called “Automatic City” a few years ago. They broke up last year, but this song was on Fuel TV, an acoustic version of “the easy life” which may be some sort of ironic band lament.
On the indoor stage on thursday, July 3, Cincy’s All the Day Holiday lays down the rock, in the vein of Saxon Shore but with vocals–this is pretty intense. At first, I thought they were just like a melancholy Copeland, but this is a great video–and it’s over a year ago. Definitely will be tracking these guys.
ATL’s Ocean is Theory is playing Cornerstone at the New Band Showcase on Sat. I never saw them in Atlanta, as the surburban screamo bands never really hung with the urban indie/garage rockers, for whatever reason. But there’s a lot of energy and sincerity here, and they accomplish the new breed of screamo quite well.
Here’s “a city of water” at the Masquerade last fall.
…Bells on the wrists of the guitar player and the random guy gyrating madly probably like I would. This is from a fest in MA, but it’s a small room with everyone sitting around. Intimate setting. Bicycles and Gravel convinced the crowd to get into it by the end however, as their typical indie rock reached a swell. Not a lot new here except for energy, which is saying a lot, I guess. “Let’s get back to what got us here.”
If The Blair Witch Project had a musical interpretation, ghost punk by These Are Powers would be it. Anna Barie provides the movement, the shivers and the wild yawps, while Pat Noecker (former of Liars) provides the steady drone of the fuzzed out sound of an emergency broadcast signal or something like that. Vid from a Punkcast show at Death by Audio in Brooklyn.
…fresh out of the west coast Seattle scene, the Biography of Ferns take a low-key approach to their vid for “John the Barber.” The typical crowded garage scene and shadows highlighted by the overpowering sunlight pile on the cliches. The only thing holding this video together is the music itself–an odd jumble of indefinite lilts and riffs from the crockpot of punk rock history. The music is good; the video too basic for its own good.
Congratulations, Built By Snow. You are Rad Dudes. 80s video game nostalgia bleeding off the edges. Plenty of cheeseburgers to go around in the end. Punk whimsy.
…”Classy Penguin” is from The Books’ recently released DVD Play All. This vid is mostly about the life of boys growing up, and focuses on one infant quite a bit, and then tracks the things that boys might get into–i.e. playing guitar and jumping off of stuff. The Books’ videos are like their songs–collages of everyday life and sound.
…this is actually a homemade clip of scenes from Tokyo, but it fits some of The Books’ other vids quite well. The song has a high, heavy picking sound, and the rhythm of the songs fits the selected clips. I like the animation and the closing one of the race horses.
Saw this band last week on tour with The Honorary Title. Their catchy folk rock was a lot better than The Honorary Title’s nervous emo-lite stuff. This is “Shelter,” and the vid is about killer sandwiches, which includes a part where the sandwiches spit up a weird mix of ketchup and mustard. The band then comes in and beats up the sandwiches. Sounds like a bad trip to Subway.
bit behind with this one, but this is foxy shazam. Hyped-up lounge act on the basketball court. Touring with the tricky Fall of Troy. Does the lead singer look like Jack Sparrow?
