Upcoming Shows: Dan Deacon, Coltrane Motion + more

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]
TONIGHT! Thursday, May 27

Dan Deacon, Dustin Wong, Big Troubles @ Cake Shop * LES, Manhattan * $10
Dan Deacon is some sort of DIY/punk hero and I never really paid attention to him but a lot of people do. Dustin Wong is the insanely awesome, brilliant, superhuman guitarist of experimental, gleeful noise-rock quartet Ponytail. Big Troubles are from New Jersey and they play rock music that is LOUD LOUD LOUD and they have good songs and are extra awesome and will be famous soon, I think. [dd myspace] [dw myspace] [bt myspace]


TOMORROW! Friday, May 28

So So Glos, Grooms, Fiasco, Ava Luna @ Monster Island Basement * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $7
In a typical Todd P line-up that is bound to leave everyone pissed off, four bands that have absoltutely nothing to do with each other - but three of the four are good. So So Glos are a melodic hardcore punk band and most similar to them, Fiasco play heavy, mathy, fast post-hardcore with screaming distortion. Grooms are plunked incongruously between these two. They play a dark, noisy, experimental post punk that's most easily compared to Sonic Youth. They are way slower and way quieter (or at least more restrained) than the other two. And then kicking it off is the shameful new face of anti-feminist backlash, Ava Luna - a band that features guys who play instruments and sing lead vocals (thank god for men) and girls who sing back-up vocals. There are seven of them and they get compared to Dirty Projectors which means they are probably the worst new band in Brooklyn (except Freelance Whales, maybe). They aren't very popular despite playing the game pretty well, so with any luck, they'll fizzle out and disappear of the music radar shortly. BUT the other three bands, despite being vastly different, are all awesome and since Ava Luna is playing before them, just go a little later. [ssg myspace] [grooms myspace] [fiasco myspace]

Darlings @ Death By Audio * Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Darlings are crazy. They sound like any other really good poppy indie rock band except like they are on crack. Their live show is the kind that keeps you on edge because the whole thing seems about to fall apart, but instead it all comes together and is awesome and makes you smile. They interrupt their sugary hooks and melodies with abrupt noise and teeter on the brink of chaos and remain one of Brooklyn's best. [myspace]


Saturday, May 29

PC Worship, Needle Gun (mems Teeth Mountain, Matmos) @ Death by Audio * Williamsburg, Brooklyn
PC Worship play sad, lo-fi tunes and sound experiments (alternately or at the same time). In a city full of throwbacks and copycats, PC Worship are original. Needle Gun, well, I have no idea what they sound like. But they have people from very talented, first-rate experimental bands Teeth Mountain and Matmos, so check it out. [pc myspace] [needle myspace]


Tuesday, June 1

Coltrane Motion @ Bruar Falls * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * FREE!
Coltrane Motion are one of my favorite favorite favorite unknown pop bands. They play a sort of electro indie pop that has got noise and out of tune notes and the best fucking melodies I've heard in ages. This show is free and you have to go, or we aren't friends any more.[myspace]


Wednesday, June 2

Sisters @ Death by Audio * Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Sisters are a duo who play in that new genre that's been christened "noise punk." They are highly recommended for fans of No Age, Male Bonding, Japanther, Japandroids and the like. Their songs are short and sweet with huggable riffs and melodies, but with crazy distortion and yelling and crashing and their live show is a sort of flailing, awkward affair and everyone, absolutely everyone, can love them. [myspace]

Led Er Est @ Bruar Falls * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $8
Led Er Est play cold-hearted, post-punk electro that's experimental and fresh and new and people seem to be noticing them a bit more now. Another of Brooklyn's best rising bands, get 'em while they're hot. [myspace]

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]
The long view...

May
June
3
Lil Kim @ the Fillmore

4
Slingshot Dakota, The Measure SA, Black Wine @ Death By Audio
Grouper @ Issue Project Room
Psychedelic Furs @ the Fillmore

5
Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

6
Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Webster Hall

8
Here We Go Magic @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

11
Jeff the Brotherhood, PC Worship @ Death By Audio
Friendo @ Cake Shop

13
Friendo @ Glasslands

14
Coyote Eyes @ Cake Shop

15
Dan Deacon @ Red Hook Park

18
Marnie Stern, Anni Rossi, True Womahood @ Glasslands
Pissed Jeans @ Cake Shop

19
Pissed Jeans, Pop. 1280 @ Death by Audio
Melvins + Isis @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

24
Wavves @ Knitting Factory

25
Fiery Furnaces @ Brooklyn Bowl
Silversun Pickups, Against Me! @ Williamsburg Waterfront

26
Fiery Furnaces @ Mercury Lounge
Titus Andronicus @ Newtown Barge Park
Liars, Fucked Up, High Places @ Newtown Barge Park

27
Les Savy Fav, Polvo @ Newtown Barge Park

July
6
B-52s @ Highline Ballroom

11
The Roots, Talib Kweli @ Prospect Park

13
Cheap Trick @ Radio City Music Hall

16
Weezer @ Williamsburg Waterfront

17
Siren Fest: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Matt & Kim, Ted Leo, Surfer Blood @ Coney Island

22
Antlers, Dinosaur Feathers @ Pier 54

23
Modest Mouse @ Williamsburg Waterfront

24
M.I.A., Sleigh Bells @ Governors Island

26
Flaming Lips @ Central Park

27
Black Keys @ Central Park
The National, Beach House @ Prospect Park

28
Black Keys @ Central Park

30
Big Takeover: Springhouse @ Bell House

31
Sonic Youth, Grass Widow, Talk Normal @ Prospect Park
Big Takeover: Springhouse, For Against @ Bell House

August
12
Gang Gang Dance, Grizzly Bear, Walkmen @ Governors Island

15
Public Enemy @ Central Park

17
MGMT @ Radio City Music Hall

18
MGMT @ Radio City Music Hall

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]

Album: Beach Fossils - Beach Fossils

Album: Beach Fossils
Captured Tracks, 2010
Rating: ******* (7/10)

Here's a shocker! I don't hate the Beach Fossils album (self-titled, out today). I really thought I would, cause when I saw this band live, they just annoyed me and my tolerance has certainly not grown over time. But I have to admit, this album has its moments that are not just passable, but actually good.

Now, let's not get carried away. Beach Fossils still sound pretty much like the 9,000 other reverby, lo-fi-ish indie bands that are so popular right now. You know, the kind that make up 95% of Todd P bills and 50% of Stereogum playlists. But as I remarked after the last show, this band is definitely better in than most of them - they have good songs and hooky melodies and even some variance, track to track.

The opening track, though hitting it off in a major key, seems to herald something subtly sinister. Post-punk darkness casts a shadow over the sound. In fact, despite the name, this band little to do with surf and sun - the jangly reverb may take a page from Brian Wilson's book, but the melodies are more British post punk and even C86 than they are surf. In other (non-geek) words, the tunes are at once tight and open, warm and melancholy. "Vacation" is the perfect example - measured vocal harmonies over sparkling, appreggiated guitar chords and a quick but hushed, marchy beat.

A little further on, "Twelve Roses" finds the guitar with a richer, more immediate tone while a simple earworm of sung melody rings out in warm layers. "Daydream" falls in and out of step in a touchingly human way, while "Golden Age" kicks out a stronger beat over which guitar and vocals meld to almost indistinguishable tones. Near the end, the explorative guitar riff and sad singing of "Wide Awake" obscure a soft, intensely poignant bass line.

The album also has its share of forgettable tracks, especially arriving as it does in the heyday of its genre. The jazzy bass on the closer, "Gathering," is way overdone (despite being low in the mix) while songs like "Youth" and "Window View" fail to stand out from so many similar songs by similar bands on similar albums.

Still, if we're going to pay attention to anyone in this bloated DIY scene, it may as well be Beach Fossils. There are some moments of real beauty and meaning on Beach Fossils and some signs of real talent. Do you need this album? No. But if this kind of stuff floats your boat, throw out Real Estate and make space on the shelf for these guys.

[myspace]

Upcoming Shows: Eye and Ear vs. PopFest (The Ultimate Indie Showdown) + more

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]
TOMORROW!!! Friday, May 21

Fuck Buttons @ Music Hall of Williamsburg * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $16/$18
Fuck Buttons are a wack electronic duo that make highly experimental, loud, droning and pulsing noise. If you like that stuff, these guys are among the best. [myspace]


Saturday, May 22

Pterodactyl @ Cake Shop * LES, Manhattan * $10
High-speed, weightless, LOUD noise rock from some of Brooklyn's best musicians, Pterodactyl make music that's fascinating for your brain and endlessly ecstatic for your heart. They put on a GREAT live show. [myspace]

NYC PopFest: Wake, Boat, My Teenage Stride + more @ Bell House * Gowanus, Brooklyn * $15/$18
Interestingly, NY Eye and Ear Fest and NYC PopFest fall on the same weekend this year, and that's this coming weekend. Eye and Ear focuses on the strange, dark and experimental while PopFest focuses on, well, pop, of the indie variety. Despite having Blank Dogs on Saturday, Eye and Ear's line-up loses to PopFest for the night (they win on Sunday, though - see below). That seems unlikely, but the Wake and Boat are both a rare sight in this town. The Wake recently reformed after fifteen years off. Historically, they're less indie pop and more post punk and even goth. They lasted from the early 80's to the mid-nineties, several lifetimes for most twee projects. And they released music on Factory FUCKING Records. Boat are newer and from Seattle and are among the best indie poppers of this new generation. And then you've got NYC mainstay My Teenage Stride to add some bonus points to the line-up - their shouty indie pop will make you smile, I promise. [Note: Don't look at the PopFest website because that's from 2008.] [wake myspace] [boat myspace] [mts myspace]

New York Dolls @ Warsaw * Greenpoint, Brooklyn * $35
The New York Dolls, along with the Dictators, bridged the gap from sleazy glam rock to punk.

Fuck Buttons @ Le Poisson Rouge * Greenwich Village, Manhattan * $15
See above.


Sunday, May 23

NY Eye & Ear Fest: GDFX, Led Er Est, Freshkills, Hunters + many more @ Knitting Factory * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $17
Yeah, Eye & Ear beats PopFest on Sunday with a killer line-up including the lovely and dark drones of GDFX, one Greg Fox, an NYC musicians' favorite. Freshkills kick out the JAMZ with nervous, sharp guitar-driven post-punk and some dramatic, melodic vocals. And of course, my personal favorites: for one, the ice cold, pitch black electro of Led Er Est, one of NYC's most promising and underrated bands. [canceled, or I hallucinated their name on the listing] And for two, Hunters, featuring Isabel Ibsen of Beluga and Odell Nails of Mahogany. The sound is much closer to the former - that is, insane punk rawk, but Hunters have more intense musicianship and more complex compositions that Ibsen's other project. Or that's what they were doing back when I heard them ages ago. Oh, and there's a whole lot more bands playing too. [gdfx myspace] [fresh myspace] [led myspace] [hunt myspace]


Tuesday, May 25

Werewolves, Soft Black @ Death By Audio * Williamsburg, Brooklyn
I love Werewolves. They net all the good things psychedelic music has been over the decades, from the Doors to Pink Floyd to Echo & the Bunnymen to My Bloody Valentine, and weave it all together to create something totally fresh and new. Soft Black plays more old school psych rock meets folk/country a la Neil Young and James Taylor (the vocals are definitely more James Taylor). [ww myspace] [sb myspace]

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]
The long view...

May
27
Dan Deacon, Big Trouble, Dustin Wong (Ponytail) @ Cake Shop
Forgetters @ Bell House

28
Holy Fuck @ Le Poisson Rouge

29
Psych Fest: Weird Owl (yay), Hopewell (blech), Golden Triangle (blech), Psychic Ills (yay), Sunburned Hand of the Man (yay) + more @ Glasslands

June
1
Coltrane Motion @ Bruar Falls

4
Grouper @ Issue Project Room
Psychedelic Furs @ the Fillmore

6
Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Webster Hall

11
Friendo @ Cake Shop

13
Friendo @ Glasslands

15
Dan Deacon @ Red Hook Park

18
Marnie Stern, Anni Rossi @ Glasslands

19
Melvins + Isis @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

24
Wavves @ Knitting Factory

25
Fiery Furnaces @ Brooklyn Bowl
Silversun Pickups, Against Me! @ Williamsburg Waterfront

26
Fiery Furnaces @ Mercury Lounge
Titus Andronicus @ Newtown Barge Park
Liars, Fucked Up, High Places @ Newtown Barge Park

27
Les Savy Fav, Polvo @ Newtown Barge Park

29
Passion Pit, Tokyo Police Club @ Prospect Park

30
Passion Pit, Tokyo Police Club @ Governors Island

July
6
B-52s @ Highline Ballroom

11
The Roots, Talib Kweli @ Prospect Park

13
Cheap Trick @ Radio City Music Hall

16
Weezer @ Williamsburg Waterfront

17
Siren Fest: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Matt & Kim, Ted Leo, Surfer Blood @ Coney Island

22
Antlers, Dinosaur Feathers @ Pier 54

23
Modest Mouse @ Williamsburg Waterfront

24
M.I.A., Sleigh Bells @ Governors Island

26
Flaming Lips @ Central Park

27
Black Keys @ Central Park
The National, Beach House @ Prospect Park

28
Black Keys @ Central Park

30
Big Takeover: Springhouse @ Bell House

31
Sonic Youth, Grass Widow, Talk Normal @ Prospect Park
Big Takeover: Springhouse, For Against @ Bell House

August
12
Gang Gang Dance, Grizzly Bear, Walkmen @ Governors Island

15
Public Enemy @ Central Park

17
MGMT @ Radio City Music Hall

18
MGMT @ Radio City Music Hall

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]

Live: Los Campesinos!

When: 4/22
Where: The Fillmore at Irving Plaza

I always seem to be running behind on live reviews. This show was ages ago, but here goes...

So Los Campesinos! are enough Welsh kids to cramp a tour van (let's hope they get a bus) and they originally played manic pop music and in a way, they still do, but they are depressing while being manic and their latest album proved how much they've aged in just a couple of years.

Even when they got their first break with Hold On Now, Youngster, Los Campesinos! had an excellent command of the stage, despite being barely old enough to drink beer in the U.S. Now, with their deepening maturity as musicians and as humans, the band play as well as any seasoned old pros. I mean that strictly in a good way - the band's youthful energy is certainly intact.

Guitarist Tom Campesinos (not his real last name) may bear a lot of the weight when it comes to writing, but frontman Gareth Campesinos (not his real last name) carries the weight in the live show. And Gareth has what it takes. He's passionate and sincere with every note and when he's not banging on his glockenspiel, he's climbing around on the drums and pogoing with an odd intensity and jumping out into the audience, as he did once during the set, walking all the way to the back (an extremely long mic chord was hooked up in anticipation). Gareth is an indie kid and certainly shows no trace of ego when he performs. In fact, the whole thing seems rather painful for him - as it surely must be, if you actually listen to his lyrics and actually know they are entirely true.

The Campesinos have had some personnel changes, most notably losing their keyboards and female vocalist Aleks - to higher education, if I'm not much mistaken - and adding in her stead Gareth's sister Kim. Kim was certainly struggling when I saw the band - her singing was offkey and the situation wasn't helped by her mic being mixed too loud. As I've said many times, it's never fair to judge a vocalist by one show. Everyone has nights where they can't hear themselves and are just swinging at pitches in the dark (baseball metaphor turned bad pun?). Anyway, I sure hope it was just a rough night. The other big change was an eighth Campesino lurking in the back with auxiliary percussion. I'm guess this is Rob Campesinos but he kind of blended in - which is good, auxiliary percussionists should probably not be too showy.

The setlist was great. The band hit a lot of old favorites and many of the best songs off their new record. They let some of their more post-rock tendencies shine through as well, with a few swelling instrumental sections that, while not show highlights, avoided being overindulgent or boring. The band's end of set tricks were different from last time I saw them, but they did again descend into noisy camaraderie. On stage and off, it seemed like everyone was having a good time.

Albums: Friendo - Cold Toads

Album: Cold Toads
St Ives, 2010
Rating: ******* (7/10)

I wish I knew quite what to make of Friendo's album, but then again, I wouldn't want a Women side-project to be straightforward. And Michael Wallace has delivered.

Cold Toads weaves strange soundscapes using that palate of notes most notably developed by Sonic Youth - strange out-of-key-signature notes used to make chords that are not so much discordant as they are disorienting. The record is full of exploring electric guitar lines winding and grooving and twisting through just enough reverb and distortion. Sometimes the guitar is swirl and at other times it rocks out on thick, gritty chords, but no matter where it leads, the rest of the music follows.

But that doesn't mean the rest of the music should be ignored. The understated vocals lace the album with a sense of mystery and a sense of human connection. Most lines are chanted, but melodically so and with a subtle pop sense. Female vocals pop up now and then too, most notably on "Hailey Oman," where Nic Greedy (I am assuming that's the woman, since the other two members on myspace are listed as "Michael" and "Henry") shouts out her words like punchy slogans in a way that is simply impossible not to compare to Kim Gordon.

But although Sonic Youth is the obvious reference point for Friendo, they aren't pure imitators. Friendo is focused with hands-on mixing that throws in some unexpected sounds (like the hint of electro in track one) and some unexpected noise shifts (like the guitar cutting in and out at the beginning of "Hailey Oman"). The Velvetoid "Young Fellows" flips back and far as though Wallace is standing across the room, then suddenly directly in front of you and then across the room again. Even within this single song, one can spot a myriad of influences. The jerking opening bars of "Young Fellows" seem to nod to the American indie experiments of the early 90's - Slint and co., for example, while the melting sound in the final minutes of the record recall MBV's Isn't Anything.

Cold Toads is an album of remarkable restraint. The entire thing seems hushed, almost muffled. Even when the distortion kicks in, it does so with a weird feeling of distance. The dark, tightly wound "New Sibley" is the album's most aggressive track but the band doesn't need to shove their music in your face to captivate and unsettle, and indeed, the sense that something is being held back is part of what gives the album its nervous edge.

Although Cold Toads is a dark album, it is not intensely so. Some of the melodies are downright foot-tappable and a hint of brightness shows around the edges. "Liners" tumbles through a ringing major key and the guitars in "Oversees" are nothing if not warm. At the same time, however, something is always off and whatever that something is, it's been carefully crafted by the band to never resolve. As the album goes on, it just gets better, while you slowly sink into the band's otherworldly terrain. It may not grab you from note one, but keep listening - I promise you.

[myspace]

Album: Woven Bones - In and Out and Back Again

Album: In and Out and Back Again
HoZac, 2010
Rating: ****** (6/10)

I got pretty interested in Woven Bones a few months ago and even meant to put them on my Bands to Watch in 2010 list. I didn't because I lost the paper where I wrote down the list, though, and when I recreated it from memory at the last minute, I missed these guys. But it turns out, it's just as well. In and Out and Back Again is a bit underwhelming. It's not bad, but it sounds like exactly everything that's come out on Siltbreeze or, well, HoZac, in recent years.

The album is a series of crusty, reverb-drenched psych-punk pieces that land on the more agressive and abrasive side of garage rock. The skuzzy, lo-fi production is nice, but hardly anything groundbreaking or even trend-defying. Tom-heavy drum beats thud thud thud and amps feed back a little and some really cool riffs turn up here and there.

Most notable in the melee is the voice of singer Andrew Burr. He doesn't hit a correct pitch once on the album - intentionally - but still manages to map out some supercatchy tunez. The high pseudo-yelp that ends many of his lines is more than a little reminiscent of Iggy Pop, which is a good thing and less cliche than trying to sing like Ian Curtis.

The minimalism and restraint of drummer Carolyn Cunningham and bassist Matty Nichols are just right to support the Burr's best guitar hooks. For example, both the impatient "Half Sunk Into the Seats" and the more measured, Stooges-esque "Creepy Bones" rock crunchy, spy-movie-worthy themes. Songs like the energetic "Couldn't Help but Stare" and poppy, major key "I'll Be Runnin" keep the album from becoming tedious.

If this album came at a different time, it might fare slightly better, but the whole skuzzy, lo-fi, Jesus & Mary Chain meets Nuggets thing has really been beaten to death in the last few years and I just can't get it up for another intentionally crappy recording with overly reverbed vocals. I don't think this band is trying to jump on a bandwagon, but they have the misfortune of ending up on one anyway, and ending up on it late in the game. Maybe that would be overridden if the songs were amazing, but they aren't. The riffs are solid and the melodies can be pretty head-noddable, but being late-comers to a trend - well, early bird gets the good reviews, I suppose.

[myspace]

Albums: The Depreciation Guild - Spirit Youth

Album: Spirit Youth
Kanine, 2010
Rating: ***** (5/10)

So Depreciation Guild are three attractive (if short-ish) guys who play electronics and guitars and make electro-shoegaze-pop. It's a good enough combination to pique my interest and the interest of quite a few young hipsters as well. But the band is starting to wear thin already.

Spirit Youth starts with cheesy electronics that open into a reasonably dense wall of sound and an interesting-enough melody. If the album kept this up, it would be decent, even interesting, but only three or four minutes in, the melody shifts to something off Top 40* radio - you know, where the guy's voice drifts around to a bunch of notes so that the tweenage girls think he's so talented. Not that Depreciation Guild are trying to win over tweenage girls - but then again, maybe they are.

The lyrics are deeply lamentable. A song titled "Crucify You" doesn't exactly bode well and it certainly lives up to expectations: "Sometimes I can't control the things I do / but you know I always want the best for you / ...I will crucify you." Yikes. And the rest of the album follows similar lines, although luckily, sometimes the lyrics aren't really audible.

With the highish, processed male vocals, Depreciation Guild sound like Mew but without the darkness and volume that keeps Mew at least semi-interesting. Instead, Spirit Youth is flowery and sappy and even formulaic. I like a good pop melody, but a good pop melody is like the Beatles or even like Depreciation Guild's Kurt Feldman's other band, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. It's not this formless three note banality.

Now, the shoegazer in me does have to give the band some credit. Each song is packed with a shimmering wall of sound and the arrangements - electronic lines cutting in and out, layer upon layer of processed guitar, it's good, solid, dreamy noise pop. There's nothing amateurish about Spirit Youth, particularly where sonic polish is concerned. Every sound in every song seems painstakingly shaped and mixed, forming lush waves of noise that few bands could match.

However, the sonic success is not enough to really make this album worthwhile. Twice, I tried to relisten to this album today to refresh my memory for the review, and both times, I could only sit through a few songs, all with the same sound, same tempo and same nebulous sort of melody, before I shut it down and turned on Sleigh Bells.

Hey, at least the album art is cool! [myspace]

* There are some good songs in the Top 40 from time to time. I am just referring to the bad Top 40 songs. And that is the majority.

Album: Thee Oh Sees - Warm Slime

Album: Warm Slime
In the Red, 2010
Rating: ******* (7/10)

Two adjectives come to mind for Thee Oh Sees - prolific and consistent. And those two adjectives are a rare combination. Thee Oh Sees (and their other incarnations) release a record of some sort every few months, it seems like, and although I haven't listened to them all, all the ones I've listened to have been solid.

Warm Slime is basically a long EP, or maybe a mini LP (seven songs, thirty minutes), and it features the same sort of lo-fi, psychedelic pop-punk that we've come to expect. The melodies are irresistable, the scuzzy guitars delightful, the distorted and reverbed vocals rockin'. The entire record is just plain fun.

The album opens with the classically bluesy title track which rocks as hard as any Oh Sees tune to date. The rolling bass line has attained perfection. The song is thirteen minutes long, ten of which are spent slowly breaking down and noising up and breaking down and noising up the song established in the first three. It's too long, but then again, this isn't a proper LP and Thee Oh Sees have earned a little self-indulgence by this time.

The rest of the album continues is a similar vein - lo-fi renditions of what would otherwise totally be classic rock songs or garage rock songs or something from the 60's. The wild "Castiatic Tackle" balances the steady march of "Everything Went Black," while "Mega-Feast" and "MT Work" start the album as lively as it began.

In many ways, it sounds as if Warm Slime were sequenced according to rock convention and then reversed. Starting on the long jam and ending on two catchy and short tunes is a subtle way to keep this record from feeling like we've heard it before.

Warm Slime doesn't break the mold or pave new ground. It's not headline news. But it's full from start to finish with solid tunes and great sound. Thee Oh Sees are a band to count on. [myspace]

Upcoming Shows: Buzzcocks, Public Image Ltd + more

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]
TONIGHT!!! Thursday, May 13

The Buzzcocks @ The Fillmore * Union Square, Manhattan * $35
Um, hello? It's the Buzzcocks. One of the top four original UK punk bands. Then again, it's $35.

Big Troubles, My Teenage Stride, Knight School @ Death By Audio * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $7
These three bands have two things in common - they write great, catchy pop songs and they are noisy. MTS are the most conventional "twee" influenced group of the three. They play tightly but their songs are charmingly dorky. Knight School write amazing little pop tunes and soak them in some distortion and fuzz. Big Trouble are a little more rock'n'roll, with a heftier sound - actually, a sheer roar. Three bands for the price of one. And a great venue to top it off! [bt myspace] [mts myspace] [kf myspace]

Panda Riot @ Lit Lounge * East Village, Manhattan * $6
I don't normally advertise shows at Lit Lounge because the acoustics are horrible and the space is small and poorly managed. But Panda Riot are a really great shoegaze band that come all the way from Chicago and this is our big chance to see what they can do live. [myspace]


Tomorrow! Friday, May 14

Silver Apples, Oneida @ Abrons Art Center * LES, Manhattan * $15/$20
Silver Apples were a super obscure wacked out band in the 60's who really pioneered the use of synthesizers and were a precursor to every synth duo ever. They don't normally exist anymore, so this is a rare thing. Oneida play trance-inducing rhythmic music that doesn't really excite me that much but a lot of people think it's good. [sa myspace] [oneida myspace]

Talk Normal, Asa Ransom, Miniboone @ Glasslands * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $8
Seriously, you would be hard put to find three more different bands in New York. But they do have one thing in common - they are all great. And since Deli Magazine is highlighting the best bands in NYC, they picked well. Miniboone play large-scale, old-school pop with punk rock energy. Asa Ransom make dark, rhythmic dance punk. Talk Normal are pretty avant garde, with drones and pounding and rants. They are both ladies. (The other bands are all fellows.) [tn myspace] [ar myspace] [mini myspace]


Saturday, May 15

Parts & Labor, Talk Normal @ Knitting Factory * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $10
Parts & Labor are super loud. They make slamming, skull shattering noise with guitars and electronics and distortion. But winding through this soundscape are stunningly beautiful melodies any pop fan would love. Talk Normal, I already explained about (see above). [pl myspace]

The Vandelles, El Jezel @ Cameo * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $10
The Vandelles play feedback but every second of feedback is tied into high-energy classic pop-rock gems. I haven't heard El Jezel in forever, but if I recall their influences are shoegaze and a little post-rock and lots of regular old cool, melodic indie rock. I could be wrong, though, it's been a while. [vandelles myspace] [ej myspace]

Aa, True Womanhood, These Are Powers @ Secret Project Robot * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $10
Aa are an NYC mainstay of highly percussive, throbbing-beat music you have to dance (or head-bob) to. True Womanhood, well, they sound like Radiohead. Rhythmically off-kilter songs with spooky guitar. These Are Powers have the same throbbing-beat thing but are not nearly as good. I think they were aiming to fill a certain niche, but someone much better beat them to it. Still, should be a fun night, especially if you like to move. [aa myspace] [tw myspace] [tap myspace]

Mahogany @ Open Road Rooftop (Rooftop Films) * LES, Manhattan * $10
Mahogany, masters of noise pop and decade-long veterans of indie music, will be playing on a roof on the Lower East Side before a movie is screened on that same roof. Nice! [myspace]


Sunday, May 16
Silver Apples @ Coco 66 * Greenpoint, Brooklyn
A show that I'm guessing will be cheaper than Friday's and a little less weird (the other features a light show), I suppose I'd recommend catching Silver Apples (see above) here instead.


Tuesday, May 17

Public Image Ltd @ Terminal 5 * Midtown, Manhattan * $40
Don't go to this show to hear seminal post punk band Public Image Ltd - it's Terminal 5 and I promise you won't be able to hear anything. Go to this show to be in the same room as John Lydon a.k.a. Johnny Rotten. I need to touch him. [myspace]

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]
The long view...

May
19
Public Image Ltd @ Terminal 5 Music Hall of Williamsburg
Diana Ross @ Radio City Music Hall

21
Fuck Buttons @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

22
Fuck Buttons @ Le Poisson Rouge
New York Dolls @ Warsaw
NYC PopFest: Wake, Boat, My Teenage Stride + more @ Bell House

27
Forgetters @ Bell House

28
Holy Fuck @ Le Poisson Rouge

29
Psych Fest: Weird Owl (yay), Hopewell (blech), Golden Triangle (blech), Psychic Ills (yay), Sunburned Hand of the Man (yay) + more @ Glasslands

June
4
Psychedelic Furs @ the Fillmore

6
Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Webster Hall

18
Melvins + Isis @ Webster Hall
Woven Bones @ Mercury Lounge

24
Wavves @ Knitting Factory

July
24
M.I.A. @ Governors Island

30
Big Takeover: Springhouse @ Bell House

31
Big Takeover: Springhouse, For Against @ Bell House

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]

Album: Woods - At Echo Lake

Album: At Echo Lake
Woodsist, 2010
Rating: ******** (8/10)

OK, I admit, I'm one of those fickle critics (or wannabe critics) who build a band up and then suddenly turn on them and tear them to shreds. I would fit in well in the UK, where they love to generate insane amounts of hype and declare a band the best thing since the Beatles, then in a fit of sobriety or shame or vengefulness, turn the band into the butt of a national joke. You can't with them, or me.

So last year around this time, Woods were one of my favorite bands. But it's been a long year and my thoughts on music have really evolved since then. I wouldn't take back my reviews of Woods or revoke the nine(!) stars I gave their last album, but I am certainly far less excited about anything related to folk music than I was at the beginning of 2009. The ultraconservative attitudes that have hijacked indie rock have grown increasingly obvious in the last year and I've come to see any music that doesn't challenge the backwards backlash as a dangerous and cowardly abuse of the art form.

On the other hand, I can't ignore or deny that Woods write beautiful music. And I wouldn't even argue that they are derivative. They have forged a unique sound that, yes, pulls audibly from Neil Young and the Grateful Dead but spins it as something distinctly post-2000. Drenched in LSD, their warbly, poppy folk and shimmering, folky pop conveys an intangible sense of mystery, like the band is playing from very far away.

At Echo Lake is pretty much like every other Woods album. Of the four, this has the most consistent quality of songs - and keeps them all well under the five minute mark. The arrangements are the richest and most complex the band has offered to date, showing a growing musical sophistication.

The real skill that has always set Woods apart is their ability to write beautiful melodies and Echo Lake shows they haven't yet exhausted the well. Centerpiece "Time Fading Lines" is a particularly notable melancholy masterpiece. Early on in the album, "Suffering Season" shows Woods exploring new layers of sound while earthy, simple songs like "Get Back" keep the record down to earth. And despite a more major-key opening than previous Woods albums, that same darkness lurks just behind the music.

Woods remain one among the finest songwriters on the indie scene today and their sonic experiments are distinctly their own. After seeing Sleigh Bells tonight, a folk-tinged lo-fi psychedelic band seems pretty insignificant in the progression of pop music, but this is pure beauty, at once saccharine and haunting, in sonic form, and that's worth a listen or ten.

[myspace]

Live: Sleigh Bells + Cults

When: 5/11
Where: Ridgewood Temple

Let's just get this out of the way - M.I.A. was not at the Sleigh Bells concert last night. I take full responsibility, I totally jinxed it by boasting to my friends that I was going to see her. She was never announced, but a big enough deal was made of the promised "secret guests" that it was generally concluded she would make an appearance in one way or another. And for the record, this assumption was not actually incorrect. According to inside sources, M.I.A. was actually the intended "secret guest" but she got sick at the last minute so DJs Shirley Braha (New York Noise) and Peggy Wang (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart) were called in to take her place. I left after Sleigh Bells but there were meant to be other DJs, supposedly including M.I.A.'s assistant. Who is M.I.A.'s assistant? And does she know how to DJ? Weird.

I showed up in time to see Cults play. They are a band with a bunch of dudes with long hair playing instruments and one American Apparel-type hipster girl with long hair singing. I don't know how this band built so much hype on what's only their third show and only a few months into their existence. But however they got to be a buzz item, it wasn't through being a great band. To put it concisely, they sucked.

The band was originally and remains at its core a duo, Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin. According to an interview with Pitchfork, Follin actually has a punk rock background, which makes the anticourageousness of Cults all the more maddening. The band sounds like 60's girl groups meet 80's indie pop, which is really not the most original or exciting combination, especially these days. The songs are well enough written and arranged but there are no surprises and nothing original. Worst of all was the singing. Now, it's never fair to judge a singer from a single live performance because it's always possible to have a situation where you can't hear yourself well, but this girl was way off key the whole time. I mean, it was painful.

Cults certainly didn't ask for their quick rise to fame and given that they aren't even prepared for that, they can't be prepared for the backlash that's about to start, especially from grumpy bloggers like me. Well, buckle up, kids, cause there's no stopping the hype train.

Sleigh Bells headlined. Now, I found out about M.I.A.'s absence upon arrival but there was no official announcement of her canceling because she was never on the bill in the first place. I expected awkwardness at the end of Sleigh Bells set while the crowd waited for the superstar that would never appear. But I underestimated Sleigh Bells. They blew the crowd away and didn't need any secret guests to make this one of the concerts of the year.

Although Sleigh Bells' rise to fame has been intensely fast, they seemed surprisingly comfortable handling a crowd that probably bordered on four digits. Alexis Krauss seems made for this. She stormed the stage, shaking off her hood, grabbing the mic with both hands and shouting "What's up Brooklyn!" to a cheering room. The band wasted no time, slamming into the opening bars of the opening track on their new album and only allowing the audience one deep breath before launching into each new song.

There were only two problems with the show. The first was that while the Ridgewood Temple is a very hip place for a show, they don't have even a fraction of the sound system it would take to do Sleigh Bells justice. The band did the best with the volume you had and the screaming crowd made up the difference. The second problem is a bit more damning. Not very much of Sleigh Bells' music is actually created live. They just hit play on each track and added guitar and lead vocals. This was first of all robbing the audience of the thrill of seeing the music actually created, and second of all, held the band to pretty much exactly replicating their album rather than branching out. I do wonder if there's more they could do - starting and stopping individual loops instead of the entire mixed track, for example - that would make this seem less like lip syncing. (To be clear, I'm not saying they were lip syncing. Not literally, anyway.)

Anyway, that may sound like a big problem, but this band is so good that even that can overlooked. Hooded and not at all reformed hardcore guitarist Derek Miller layed out shattering guitar while Krauss sang and shouted and screamed (she loves to throw in a good high-pitched scream), sometimes all at the same time. She's a crowd pleaser, squatting at the front of the stage, passing the mic into the audience for the better-known choruses and affectionally grabbing at the outreached hands in the front rows. Then, at the end of the last song, the ultra-awesome "Crown on the Ground," she launched herself into the audience with absolutely no warning. The fans barely caught her, so sudden was her leap, but they hoisted her up and passed her around. She was still out from the stage when the song ended and she was handed back to the front to an explosion of applause.

The band didn't indulge themselves at all, though many young bands in their position would have. They played a relatively short set (with an odd number of non-album tracks) and kept their encore to a single song, "Rill Rill," their answer to M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes." (And no, it's not as good as "Paper Planes" but it's getting there.)

The press presence at the show was insane. I heard folks from places like, say, MTV, were being booted from the guest list in favor of "higher priority" media. (No idea who is higher priority than MTV.) But even the small army of photographers running around on stage right were no distraction. Instead, they added to the feeling that this was something historic. And one look at the crowd could confirm this. Hundreds of hands in the air, hundreds of girls and boys jumping in unison with the floor bowing dangerously under them, strobe lights flashing, beach balls and bodies flying - this is it. Sleigh Bells are the future of music. Score one sick distortion.

Album: Sleigh Bells - Treats

Album: Treats
Mom & Pop, 2010
Rating: ********* (9/10)

What a week for new music! In case you were in a coma during CMJ last fall, Sleigh Bells are a LOUD electronic duo that were the surprise stars of the festival. Their debut album is finally out (today) and it definitely lives up to the hype.

Now, I spend a lot of time lamenting the lack of balls in indie music. And Treats, from the first note, seems to agree. "Tell Em" starts out with explosive hits and nasty, distortion-laden guitar. Alexis Krauss tops the rage with a surprisingly sweet, quick melody, even while amplifiers around her explode.

"Kids" follows, a jolting, static-thick beat and peeling guitars broken by girlish monologues about sunglasses and vacation. "Riot Rhythm" runs along similar lines, while "Infinity Guitars" starts with a rock'n'roll guitar hook and finds vocals more shouted than sung (though still with a certain girlishness) over a bare-bones, slappy beat. It sounds like the Kills - well, if the Kills did a whole lot of crack and then turned their amps up way past eleven. Then, two minutes in, the song suddenly lurches into overdrive with the loudest guitars this side of A Place to Bury Strangers, a sheer atom bomb of sound.

The next few tracks don't quite live up to the strong starters, but hold out to "Rill Rill." A sampled guitar and piano over deep, deliberate beats support Krauss's finest moment on the album. By far the most melodic and, well, prettiest track on the album, "Rill Rill" has the potential to be a left-field hit. The open arrangement allows the vocals to shine and prove that they need no sonic tricks to prop them up.

After the song's closing chime, the in-your-face roar of the rest of the album is back. "Crown on the Ground" opens with sneering guitar, then BAM, a whomping beat with hip-hop smarts threatens to bust your speakers entirely. Here again, Krauss's melody is nothing short of lovely, standing as always in juxtaposition to the ruthless instrumentals. "Straight As" comes on even stronger, with a twisting minor-key guitar riff that borders on metal, switching between gritty crunch and a sheer wave of distortion.

The album ends a little weak on a title track that really doesn't live up to its name. But at this point, if you're not begging for mercy, you don't have your stereo loud enough. Sleigh Bells are here to cause as much hearing damage as possible and I have to say, it's worth it.

But aside from competing with A Place to Bury Strangers and My Bloody Valentine for the Loudest Band Award, Sleigh Bells present something totally fresh. Yes, there are precursors to their sound - Germany's EC8OR comes close - but in the constant contrast between the vocals and the instrumentals, in the strange annihilation of the border between guitar rock and electronica, in the particularities of the distorted, trashed production, Sleigh Bells have got something that's entirely their own. It's about fucking time.

[myspace]

Album: Foals - Total Life Forever

Album: Total Life Forever
Transgressive/Subpop, 2010
Rating: ******** (8/10)

Maybe I should keep you all in suspense a little longer, but I'm gonna just break the bad news right here. Total Life Forever is not as good as 2008's Antidotes. Which isn't to say it's a bad album - after all, Antidotes was amazing (and if you haven't heard it, go check it out right now!).

There are two major ways in which Total Life Forever branches off from the band's debut. The first is evident from track one on - this time around, Foals rely far more on Yannis Philippakis's vocals to carry the songs. The opening track, "Blue Blood," leaves Philippakis almost bare and he (mostly) proves up to the task. His voice has always been distinctive while also being really on pitch, a rare enough thing from a male indie singer.

The second alteration the band has made in their sound, obvious in the opening bars of track two, is a move towards their electronic and dance inclinations. Foals were never a proper rock band, and here they've shifted further towards the synthetic and they've really deepened their beats. Sure, funk and dance rhythms provided the foundation of Antidotes, but these rhythms were always couched in an indie rock sensibility. Total Life lets go.

Like one would expect from a band of this caliber, the album has great songs. "Blue Blood" finds Philippakis bravely naked, while a pair of knock-out centerpiece singles keep the record from peaking too soon. "Spanish Sahara" is a warm melancholy with building urgency that breaks into a bizarre, uneasy fluttering pulse. Surprisingly, even this is outdone by what's next. "This Orient" opens with a playful amalgamation of sound but soon reveals itself to be as serious as any other. The tinkering intro opens into lush song with the kind of chorus that will get stuck in your head periodically for years to come - and you won't mind when it does.

Although the mistitled "Fugue" is a short instrumental waste of a track (it sounds like something the band threw together to solve a sequencing/segue issue), the slow, haunted "Albaster" pounds the album back to life. The soft clattering beat of "2 Trees" supports stunning waves of guitar arpeggios while the closer, "What Remains" thunders over some deep, deep bass.

Despite the great songs, despite the immaculate production, despite everything Foals have done right here, this album is a bit disappointing. The slick, rhythmic riff of "Miami" may be first rate, but another band could write this song. No song on Antidotes sounded like anyone but Foals. Total Life is a step towards the generic, both in the use of electronica and in the reliance on lead vocals. The vibrant instruments and the very humanness of the rhythms were what made Foals stand out - way out - from their peers. And while they are still themselves on Total Life, some of their most interesting features are fading more and more into the background. Sacrificing immediacy for polish, the Foals are at risk of losing their edge. Come back, guys!

[myspace]

Album: Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts

Album: Nothing Hurts
Subpop, 2010
Rating: ******** (8/10)

I've been waiting for this album for a long time now, and it's finally here! (Well, tomorrow it is.) Male Bonding are a noise-punk/noise-pop band from the UK who I heard in the middle of the night at CMJ. From the first time I listened to their dang myspace page, I got the sense this is a band of great potential and nothing I've seen since has called that into question.

Nothing Hurts is maybe not quite everything I hoped it would be, but it is above all, a bullshit-free record. It doesn't deal with slow intros and non-song filler. Each track, without a second pause, launches into a speedy guitar blast, cymbals crashing all over the place.

While Male Bonding aren't exactly breaking the mold, they aren't quite like anyone else - too giddy for grunge, too complex for hardcore, too aggressive for pop. Scored, the guitar lines echo some of the best jumpy, distorted walls of sound of the 90's - everything from Jawbreaker to Nirvana to Smashing Pumpkins. However, the intentionally soup and reverb-heavy production is clearly contemporary, as are the earthy vocal melodies. If you follow bands like these, imagine a more straight-forward No Age, more sloppy Jeff the Brotherhood or more sophisticated Wavves.

Although parts of the album could certainly be faulted for being "samey," there are a few that stand out. "Franklin" is far darker and sadder than the surrounding tracks, while "T.U.F.F." shows an angular, metal-influenced side of the band. "Nothing Used to Hurt" starts in a deep buzzing drone of guitar (again, think No Age), then opens into a quick, looping riff and even quicker, briefly minor-key chorus.

Opening tracks "Years Not Long" and "All Things This Way" are easily among the album's best, with melodies that immediately prove Male Bonding are not just the next band in the lo-fi revival - they have something special. For sheer, jubilant energy, though, the album doesn't peak until its second-to-last track, "Pumpkin," with the sort of leaping bass line that makes me jump around my room/the subway platform/the subway car/the middle of the street...yeah, I'm a dork. But you knew that, because I have a blog.

Male Bonding aren't dorks, though. They are just plain awesome. Buy their album. [myspace]

Album: Holy Fuck - Latin

Album: Latin
Young Turks/XL, 2010
Rating: ******* (7/10)

Although I'm not really a fan of instrumental music nor of electronica, I've long been a fan of Canada's Holy Fuck, a (now) quartet who proved to me that electronic groups could put on a live show worth watching. Their recorded material, however, I've always been able to live without - it's not bad but it rarely holds my attention. Still, I thought I'd give their new LP a listen - third time's the charm, right?

Well, Latin doesn't really contain any surprises. It may well be the group's most direct album today, with focused songs mostly sticking well under the five minute mark. However, despite scaling back some of the repetition and other indulgences, any LP without melodies (vocal or otherwise) is going to struggle to keep its audience's interest. That's not to say Holy Fuck should add vocals or even extended instrumental melodies - that's not who they are. It's jut to say that who Holy Fuck are puts them in a tough position from the start.

They do have a few new tricks up their sleeves this time around. The opener, "1MD," builds gently from silence into a hum of noises. While this does demonstrate more restraint than the band usually shows, if we've learned one thing from post-rock, it's that no matter how well executed, any slow swell of noise is an easy and predictable trick.

Speaking of post-rock, the album's two calmest tracks, centerpieces Stay Lit and Silva & Grimes, are oddly post-rock-esque. There's a similar feeling of measured exploration and winding, indirect structure. I haven't decided yet whether this is a good or bad thing.

"Red Lights" and "Latin America" (which, incidentally, does not use Latin rhythms, as one might expect) get the album out to a strong start, but the sequencing is a bit surprising, since two of the coolest, slickest tracks come near the end, "Stilettos" and "Lucky." All four of these songs keep head-bobbing beats at the fore while adding some surprisingly beautiful noises to the mix.

Closing things out, "P.I.G.S." is the album's longest and most unruly track - and that's fine, every decent band gets at least one song like this per album, and especially as a closer, it works. The band lets lose a little, moves between sections and really shows their chops.

All in all, it's an album I wouldn't mind not owning. It's not bad - in fact, it is Holy Fuck's most consistent and disciplined effort to date. If you like pulsing electronica and excited noise, you'll like this. But personally, I'm going to hold out for the next time they come through town.

Live: Pissed Jeans

When: 4/9
Where: Knitting Factory

Last year, I got my hands on a copy of the album by Pissed Jeans that came out and I gave it a good old girl scout try. But I just couldn't get into it. It's a lot of shouting and heavy guitar - which I like - but lacking in melodies or unusual rhythms or most of the sort of things keep my attention.

But live, Pissed Jeans is another beast. Still no melody, no cool beats, none of that. But for two big differences - seeing the band and seeing the audience. The band themselves are not too tough looking. In fact, they look like totally normal (if extremely pale) guys - until the music starts.

Vocalist Matt Korvette is the quintessential anti-hero. He may thrash and headbang all hardcore-like, but he also busts out some extremely awkward and ill-fitting dance moves, grotesquely shaking his booty and gyrating, shirt off. Henry Rollins pops off his shirt because he's got scary muscles, but when guys like this do it, it seems almost a self-loathing gesture, inviting ridicule - which isn't to say Korvette is bad-looking, he's just not quite swimsuit model material. More to the point, it's like when you see some animal outside its usual shell or its usual subterranean environment. There's something almost fragile about it.

Although Korvette's unpredictable presence is enough to capture the audience's attention, the rest of the band is also laying it out like they mean it. And they keep it going even when Korvette molests them, even when audience members rush the stage, even when all hell breaks lose in the room. Focused and heavy, they make a (figurative) brick wall at which the vocalist and the audience can (figuratively) hurl themselves.

In the non-figurative world, though, there's plenty of collision going on. This audience came to brutalize their bodies as well as their ears. The mosh pit was good-natured but still scary as they joined in the band's violence and debasement. The bouncer did haul out a fighter or two and a few people seemed eager to really injure others, but there are always a few, huh? Mostly it was just nice kids come to let out some anger and some energy and I can think of few bands with as cathartic a live show as this.

I'm still not sold on the recordings. I respect the band, but I just can't find a thing to grasp. But as a physical experience to share with a roomful of people, this one not to miss. So don't: they play Death By Audio on June 19 and tickets are on sale now.

[myspace]