Upcoming Shows: Antlers, Elika, Bellmer Dolls + more

TONIGHT - Monday, March 2

Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers @ Santos Party House - Chinatown, Manhattan - $8/$10
I've told you to go see Shilpa Ray many times. Trust me, she's totally nuts. Here's my live review. :: MySpace


TOMORROW - Tuesday, March 3

The Bellmer Dolls @ Lit Lounge - East Village, Manhattan - $6
Garage goth pioneers and nihilistic nightmare of club owners everywhere, Bellmer Dolls are the Real Deal. Here's my very recent live review. Last time I saw them at Lit they did so much damage I'm pretty shocked they were invited back. They are one of today's most innovative bands and one of the best live shows out there. You'd be a fool to miss this. :: MySpace


Wednesday, March 4

Bridges and Powerlines @ Mercury Lounge - LES, Manhattan - $12
Nothing super amazing is going down Wednesday, but if you're in a show-going mood, check out B&P, one of NYC's most solid up-and-coming indie rock acts. They're an opening band so get there early. :: MySpace


Thursday, March 5

The Antlers @ Union Hall - Park Slope, Brooklyn - $10
The CD release party for the album I spent over 1,000 words raving about last week (scroll down), this show is going to be amazing. Don't miss a chance to send the Antlers off on tour - if the world is just, they won't be playing small shows when they get back. Melancholy lo-fi ambient music at its most interesting. :: MySpace


Saturday, March 7

So So Glos @ Market Hotel - Bushwick, Brooklyn
The So So Glos are hot shit in the New York underground right now. I've never heard them, but everything I've heard about their raw punk makes me think they're worth a gamble. And they're pretty much Market Hotel's house band, so it should be an relaxed, fun show. :: MySpace


Sunday, March 8

The Homosexuals @ Mercury Lounge - LES, Manhattan - $8
British DIY-style post-punks are resurrected. They're no Wire, but they're as close as you're gonna get, especially for only eight bucks. :: MySpace

Elika @ Union Hall - Park Slope, Brooklyn - FREE
I gave Elika a rave review for their 2008 album. Their dreamy, shoegazey electro-pop is some of the best out there - they could even give M83 a run for their money. Speaking of money, the show is free. So this is about as good as it gets. :: MySpace

Five Unjustly Overlooked Albums of 2008 - Part 1

OK, I'm still trying to get my best of 2008 lists together, but here's a little something to tide you over. Five albums that didn't get the buzz they clearly deserve, in no particular order...


Tears Run Rings
Always, Sometimes, Seldom, Never
Clairecords, 2008

OK, I'm not ranking the albums on this list, but if I were, this would be #1. It's beyond disappointing that even though everyone and their grandmother is in a self-proclaimed "shoegaze" band these days, one of the very best actual shoegaze bands of the year has gone virtually unnoticed. Sure, they got some blog mentions around the time of the album's release this spring, but I haven't seen it on any year-end lists, even for top debut albums. Granted, it may not be in the top dozen or so records of the year, but on longer lists, the omission of TRR is glaring.

In terms of the actual music, the record is spine-tinglingly gorgeous shoegaze that follows more in the path of Pale Saints, Slowdive and Opal than that of My Bloody Valentine or the Jesus & Mary Chain. It's a long album and it may not hold your attention all the way through, but the best moments (and there are many) are some of the most profoundly beautiful in shoegaze music's past ten or fifteen years.

MySpace



Team Genius
Team Genius
Self-Released, 2008

I gave this record a pretty warm review not too long ago and since writing that, it's only continued to grow on me. Basically, Team Genius is like your mom's macaroni and cheese - maybe not your all time favorite food [album], but when you need comfort, it's the perfect thing to warm you up inside and make everything seem OK. NYC reviewers should have made more noise about this release instead of freaking out about the Vivian Girls all fall (barf), but at least you and I know better!

MySpace



Elika
Trying Got Us Nowhere
Fiercely Independent, 2008

Another album I wrote up recently, I can't believe I haven't heard more about Elika's debut LP, especially in the NYC-based blogs. Their shoegaze-inspired electronica is simply miles better in its execution than the overwhelming majority of the band's peers. I've said it before: this is, hands down, one of the best debut albums of the year. Wake up, people!

MySpace

Stay tuned for Part 2...

UPDATE: Here's part 2!

Album: Elika - Trying Got Us Nowhere

Album: Trying Got Us Nowhere
Fiercely Independent, 2008
Rating: ******** (8/10)

I've been following New York's electro-shoegaze duo Elika for over a year now, so I don't really have a good excuse for not getting this album review up until a full week after the official release date. Sorry guys! Without further ado...

Elika's debut LP is only seven songs long, which immediately boded well - at last, a band who can edit themselves and not dilute a great album with filler or mediocre tracks! And after a couple of listens from start to finish, I can honestly say I doubt I'll be hitting the "skip" button much, even on my hundredth time through.

My only significant complaint about the entire album is that the vocal melodies are a little dull. Singer Evagelia Maravelias has a lovely voice, and the parts she sings aren't unpleasant by any stretch, but they are just predictable and unremarkable. There's a lot of lost potential, and I wonder to what heights this band could soar if they are able to improve this one aspect of their song-writing.


Elika
But that's small beans compared to amazing sounds this band makes. The arrangements, heavily electronic, are stunning enough to send shivers up my spine. Elika crafts their textures with restraint, precision and extraordinary vision. Best of all, unlike those of so many "shoegaze" bands, Elika's soundscapes are always dynamic, gently propelling the songs forward, never once stagnating. On a broader scale, the songs are structured with care, full of remarkable contrast between swells and lulls, harmony and dissonance, convention and experimentation.

The album does falter just a little towards the end. "Let Down" is the most conventional pop number on the record. Its structure and melody may make it stand out in the context of the album, but in a larger context, these features could easily let it get lost in the hum-drum world of similar songs. The following track, "They'll Hate Us," has the potential to be one of the album's strongest, but it's damaged by a dated-sounding beat that is simply not of the caliber of the rest of the album.

But we can forgive Elika these small things, easily. Why? Because they've put out one of the most beautiful and mature debut LPs of 2008. Simply put: hats off.