Tonight!! Thursday, May 19
NYC PopFest: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Gold-Bears, Sea Lions + more @ Cake Shop * LES, Manhattan * SOLD OUT!
This year's PopFest is pretty lame, mostly featuring bands that even people active on the indiepoplist (the global twee listserve) haven't heard of. The fest did get one major coup though, tweegazers the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, whose adorable pop songs are covered with a sheen of distortion. Seeing the Pains in Cake Shop is, simply put, classic and not an opportunity that comes around very often anymore. So if you can find a way in and don't mind being crammed in a wall to wall crowd of cardigans and print dresses, it should be a cool show. [pains video]
The Antlers @ Music Hall of Williamsburg * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * SOLD OUT
The Antlers play sad music that's also noisy sometimes. Reference points would include Arcade Fire, Radiohead and Neutral Milk Hotel. They aren't as good as any of those three yet, but I think they will be. [video]
Tomorrow!! Friday, May 20
Thurston Moore, I Feel Tractor @ Music Hall of Williamsburg * Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Thurston Moore is the guy from Sonic Youth. His solo gigs vary from freeform noise to oddball lo-fi punk. At a venue like this and in light of the fact that this is in support of Thurston's new solo album, I'd expect a much more song oriented set than usual. I Feel Tractor is a cool band with a cool name and they are opening. [thurston video]
PC Worship, Zulus, Space Lions In Outer Space @ Monster Island Basement * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $Donation
Don't mistake this for a free show, they'll make ya pay. But it's worth paying because these bands are good. PC Worship wasn't great last time I heard them, but I'm hoping it was a fluke - at their best, they play a strange combination of lo-fi folk and free jazz/noise. Zulus play loud and heavy and fast and yell a lot in a way that might scare children or your parents. I haven't seen Space Lions in Outer Space, but they do have an amazing name. Theirs is a sort of electro-noise experimental poppy something, I believe. [pc video]
S.V.B (So L'il + Booboniks), Electric Djinn (mems Lumipad), Season Finale, Panda Riot @ Studio Maya, 603 Bergen Street * Prospect Heights, Brooklyn * $10 + open bar!
These are very strange shoegaze/dreampop/triphop bands. I don't know what to expect, but whatever happens, it's going to be awesome.
The Antlers @ Bowery Ballroom * LES, Manhattan * SOLD OUT
See above.
Other shows
Cymbals Eat Guitars (shouty pop like Modest Mouse), Radical Dads (mem. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) @ Glasslands ($10)
French Miami (cool fast guitar stuff), Beast Make Bomb (pop punk), Selebrities (intensely terrible/fascinating new wave throwback) @ Knitting Factory
Real Estate, Big Troubles, Family Portrait (NJ kids singing about the beach and shit, but some of the better ones so if that's your thing) @ Bell House ($12/$14)
Saturday, May 21
Pregnant @ 538 Johnson St.* Bushwick, Brooklyn
Pregnant are a loud and nasty hardcore/post-hardcore band. They are badass. Go hear them play. [video]
Other shows
Dinowalrus (psychedelic synth and guitar music that you might dance to) @ Brooklyn Bowl ($5)
Sunday, May 22
Various Bands Covering Various Other Bands from the Book Our Band Could Be Your Life including performances by: Ted Leo, Titus Andronicus, tUnE-yArDs, Dan Deacon, St. Vincent, Wye Oak and others @ Bowery Ballroom * LES, Manhattan * SOLD OUT!
This show sounds a little lame to me even though I love that book and almost all the bands in it and like a lot of the bands that are performing. I just don't see how that many bands covering that many other bands is going to maintain interest when bands are almost always better playing their own dang stuff. But obviously, I find it worthy of note.
Other shows
Damon & Namoi (slowcore indiepop) @ Knitting Factory ($15)
Monday, May 23
Thurston Moore @ Other Music * East Village, Manhattan * FREE
Thurston Moore doing a free in-store show on Monday at 8 PM. It will be crowded but probably worth fighting the crowd. I explained who Thurston was above. I should also mention that he's very tall.
Other shows
Liquor Store @ Shea Stadium
Company (Fat Possum), Shark? @ Death By Audio ($7)
Tuesday, May 24
French Miami @ Death By Audio * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $7
I think I saw French Miami once and they fingertapped stuff on guitar with one hand while playing keyboards with the other. Then again, that was a long time ago, so I could be remembering wrong.
Other shows
Balun (electro-shoegaze-pop) @ Pianos ($8)
Arctic Monkeys @ Central Park ($35/$43)
Company, Space Lions in Outer Space @ Bruar Falls ($6)
Wednesday, May 25
Hunters @ Bruar Falls * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $7
Hunters are wild. They roll around trying to make out and/or kill each other with their guitars. [video]
Other shows
Miniboone @ Brooklyn Bowl (free!)
Hilly Eye (mem. Titus Andronicus) @ Death By Audio ($7)
Yvette, Shapes, Dirty Fences (good aggressive experimental) @ Glasslands ($8)
Converge @ Santos Party House ($15)
The long view...
May
26
Big Freedia (dirty south rap in drag), Javelin @ Mercury Lounge
Darlings (messy/noisy indie pop) @ Death By Audio
27
Dum Dum Girls, Crocodiles, Woven Bones (lo-fi post punk pop, but all doing acoustic sets so it won't be as good as it sounded at first) @ Glasslands ($10)
Pterodactyl, Screens, Zulus (noize rock with experimental bent) @ Death By Audio ($7)
Times New Viking, Babies (lo-fi) @ Knitting Factory
Fang Island (lots of guitars) @ Brooklyn Bowl
28
Big Freedia (see above) @ Brooklyn Bowl ($5)
30
Brick Mower, Mattress @ Silent Barn
June
1
Zs (experimental/noise) @ Silent Barn
2
Liturgy (black metal crossover), Sightings (experimental/noise) @ Knitting Factory
Stiff Little Fingers (late 70's UK punk) @ Europa ($20)
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Silk Flowers, R. Stevie Moore @ Irving Plaza ($20)
5
Against Me!, Screaming Females, Lemuria (first and last = BEST pop punk; Females = just plain BEST) @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
7
Against Me!, Screaming Females, Lemuria (see above) @ Webster Hall
10
Bush Tetras (original early 80's experimental post punk funk by ladies) @ Le Poisson Rouge ($12/$15)
11
Pygmy Shrews, Pop 1280, White Suns (post-hardcore/experimental/noise) @ Death By Audio ($7)
12
TSOL (one of the best original SoCal hardcore punk bands) @ Santos Party House
14
Japanther (arty poppy punk), Shellshag, Heavy Cream @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
16
Northside Festival: Atlas Sound (Deerhunter side project) @ St. Cecilia's ($15/$17)
Swervedriver (original shoegaze) @ Irving Plaza
17
Dean Wareham plays Galaxie 500 (slowcore shoegaze), Vacant Lots @ Bell House ($15/$20)
Northside Festival: Surfer Blood, Eternal Summers, Grooms, Xray Eyeballs @ Knitting Factory ($12/$14)
Northside Festival: Woods @ St. Cecilia's ($12/$15)
18
Northside Festival: Guided By Voices (original line-up), Wavves, Surfer Blood, The Babies @ McCarren Park
Northside Festival: Eleanor Friedberger (Fiery Furnaces, see above) @ St. Cecilia's ($15/$17)
19
Northside Festival: Mount Eerie (aka Microphones, the best lo-fi noise folk since Neutral Milk Hotel) @ St. Cecilia's ($12/$15)
Swervedriver @ Irving Plaza
23
Dinosaur Jr (late 80's/early 90's loud proto-alt rock, performing their classic album Bug), Fucked Up (wall of sound meets hardcore/thrash meets best thing ever) @ Terminal 5
24
Special guest (it definitely is a big deal and involves ladies, so make your guess), Coathangers, Religious to Damn @ 285 Kent
25
Archers of Loaf (one of the best 90's indie bands) @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (SOLD OUT)
26
Archers of Loaf (see above) @ Webster Hall (SOLD OUT)
July
12
Animal Collective @ Prospect Park
Cold Cave @ Knitting Factory
14
Gary War, K-Holes, Pop. 1280 (noisy post punk and post punky noise) @ Union Hall
29
Black Lips @ Bowery Ballroom
August
8
The Kills @ Terminal 5
12
Sonic Youth @ Williamsburg Waterfront
Streets, El-P @ Terminal 5
##
Showing posts with label The Pains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Pains. Show all posts
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Album: Gold-Bears - Are You Falling In Love
Album: Are You Falling In Love?
Slumberland Records
Release Date: May 17, 2011
Rating: ******** (8/10)
It would be nearly impossible for me to overstate my love of Haribo Gold-Bears candy. The floor of my room is littered with empty gummy bear packages and I've been known to hide stashes of the little bear-chens around my room drug-addict style. When friends come from Europe, they come bearing Bears - at least, if they want to sleep on my couch, they do. So admittedly, I am a bit biased in favor of the new Slumberland band by the same name - I mean, if they are the kind of people who appreciate this candy, they're my kind of people. And really, they do have a fair amount in common with the kindercandy - their sound is technicolor and sugary and makes me smile!
Calling Gold-Bears Atlanta's very own Pains of Being Pure at Heart would be lazy and not entirely accurate, but it's hard to ignore the parallels between the bands. Both are adorable indie pop quartets with catchy melodies buried beneath walls of guitar sound. Both are signed to Slumberland Records. Both feature three white guys and an Asian woman. Both are playing at Cake Shop Thursday for the opening night of NYC Popfest 2011.
But there are some key differences. Gold-Bears' melodies are more nuanced than the Pains - still Chock full o' Hooks, but with a scattering of unexpected notes that shift the emotion of whole songs. Their noise is also different from that of the Pains. The Pains' songs are coated in a shoegazy sheen, while Gold-Bears' songs sink into pools of sonic murk. The result is a much darker sounding album, one where the saccharine poptunes seem barely able to keep their heads above water - relentless bleak/black waves threaten to swallow them entirely.
The best example of this sonic struggle for survival is the title track. Warm blankets of guitar muffle the vocals and drums. But these blankets are at once comforting and dangerous - squeals of feedback peel out of the drone. It's as the though the guitar is some half-wild animal loose in a corral - the band isn't making this sound, just containing it. Indeed, they seem to approach the sound like you would an animal you hope one day to tame - gently coaxing it, patiently nurturing it but respecting that it's a long way from being yours.
There are more than a few songs on Are You Falling that would need only minor adjustments to fit snugly under the "pop-punk" label. In their composition, tunes like "Record Store" and "In this City, I'm Invincible" are all youthful energy; the band's sophisticated sound defines the band as indie pop or post punk, but in terms of songwriting, this band could be mistaken for high-end kiddiepunk. Which may sound like a jab, but it's not meant that way at all - it's far from easy to master songwriting with the consistency displayed on Are You Falling and the deceptively simple, bite-sized and easily digestible song structures are what guide us through the album's more abstruse elements.
In addition, Gold-Bears are succinct and even abrupt. While many "twee" bands shy away from anything startling, these kids aren't afraid of quick starts and stops. The music isn't jerky but when the band decides a song has lived its life, they cut it off and jump into the next without stopping for a breath. It's easy to get swept up in this exhilarating pop rush and it's also refreshing to find a band that seems eager not to waste our time.
Although the lyrics can be hard to make out in the aural fog, they seem to hit your usual indie pop subjects. The beautiful anthem "East Station Attendant" is a classic crush-from-a-distance tale, while "Beside You," a story of confused young love, is a bittersweet goodbye letter to childhood. The naive "Xmas Song" confesses secret insecurities and the restrained "Are You Falling In Love?" is a modern love story, equal parts regret and hope.
From the triumphant (and excellently named) "Totally Called It" to the pleading "Yeah, Tonight," Are You Falling is a heartfelt record of youth trying to make sense of beauty and pain. It's executed with rare talent and rare passion. Sure, it's not the most original album in history and may be a bit sappy for some, but as an exercise in indie pop, it succeeds beautifully. Indeed, it is one of the most accomplished albums in its genre in recent years and it will stay with you long after its (startling) end.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Albums: The Depreciation Guild - Spirit Youth
Album: Spirit Youth
Kanine, 2010
Rating: ***** (5/10)
So Depreciation Guild are three attractive
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.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Upcoming Shows: Jesus Lizard, Shilpa Ray + more
Thursday, November 12
Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers + Soft Black @ Death By Audio | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Shilpa Ray has more balls than all the men in Williamsburg put together. She's a badass lady who plays a handpowered harmonium without making that gimmicky. She plays slick rock and roll and yells a lot of obscenities. [RFR Review] [MySpace]
Friday, November 13
Pterodactyl @ Death By Audio | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Pterodactyl are one of the only bands around doing something new. They don't sound like anyone else, and somehow they still rock hard and have amazing melodies. Their audience usually alternates dancing around nicely and crashing into each other, because their music makes you want to do both. Plus, this is a Showpaper benefit, and things with "benefit" in them are usually extra good, be they charitable concerts or hot friends. [RFR Review] [MySpace]
Saturday, November 14
Slumberland anniversary show: Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Crystal Stilts, Brown Recluse, Frankie Rose + more @ Bell House | Gowanus, Brooklyn | $15
At first, Slumberland billed this show as having a secret "special guest" headliner. But then the rest of the bill listed most of their roster, at least on the east coast. I guess they realized anyone with half a brain would be able to figure out who was headlining, so they added the Pains to the list. The Pains are fuzzy indie pop with sheets of distorted guitar and saccharine melodies, adored the world round. The Crystal Stilts are gloomy, disaffected, poppy post-punk with a lot of bass and reverb and bouncy, baritone melodies. The rest of the bands are pretty much somewhere between these two ends of the post-punk-indie-pop spectrum. With such an extensive bill of mostly good bands, $15 is a deal. [Pains RFR Review] [Pains MySpace] [CS RFR Review] [CS MySpace]
Monday, November 16
Jesus Lizard @ Fillmore at Irving Plaza | Gramercy-ish, Manhattan | SOLD OUT
The Jesus Lizard are one of the best post-hardcore bands ever. They came out of that era when that shit was good - people were playing really loud, angry, metal-influenced indie music with great musicianship and a punk rock attitude.
Tuesday, November 17
Jesus Lizard @ Fillmore at Irving Plaza | Gramercy-ish, Manhattan | $25
Same deal, only not yet sold out.
Dinowalrus @ Glasslands | Williamsubrg, Brooklyn
If you go to see Jesus Lizard on Monday or the Tuesday show sells out before you get tickets or you don't have $25 + Live Nation fees (firstborn child or equivalent in gold), go see Dinowalrus at Glasslands. Dinowalrus are an experimental rock band based on doing a lot of drugs (or sounding like it). They drone and groove and make loud noises. It's hard to explain. Like Sonic Youth doing acid and trying to play Krautrock...or something. [RFR Review] [MySpace]
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Release: Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Higher than the Stars [EP]
Release: Higher than the Stars [EP]
Slumberland, 2009
Rating: **** (4/10)
Tweegazers the Pains of Being Pure at Heart put out a surprise hit (or at least "hit" in the indie world) record this winter, but it's eight months later and for a pop band in the internet era, buzz never lasts that long. So, with an ongoing tour and year-end lists drawing ever closer, the Pains need to do something to keep their name in the press.
Sadly, instead of getting themselves arrested for doing something ridiculous or pulling some other dangerous publicity stunt, the Pains decided to call people's attention with a new release, a five song EP out this week.
The EP is thoroughly disappointing. With more electronic beats and synthesized sounds, the band sounds more and more like an 80's throw-back, which is, of course, what they always were, but more subtly than this. The Pains may have been the best twee band since the heyday of Sarah Records, but "Higher than the Stars" and the Cure-esque "Falling Over" sound like any of dozens of New Wave revival bands. They lack Kip Berman's signature guitar sheen, replacing that with overused pop sounds.
"103" and "Twins" sound more like the Pains we know and love, with Berman's guitar making a buzzy, fuzzy wall from start to stop. But here, the melodies don't match those the Pains have written previously. "Twins" is, well, boring and "103" is catchy only in that it has nearly the same riff and melody as their previous single "Come Saturday." Resorting to recycled melodies only two years into their career doesn't bode well for the band. Then again, a lot of people won't notice.
The lyrics are Berman's usual fucked up, creepy words that you don't understand and assume to be sweet until you look at the lyric sheet. The dark themes should be an asset, but for some reason - perhaps because there is nothing in the music, including in Berman's singing, to indicate anything sinister - it just doesn't amount to anything.
The "Higher than the Stars" remix that closes the EP is better than the original, delving into the deeper sounds and far more interesting rhythms, thanks to dub-inspired producers St. Etienne. Still, a remix can't make an EP worthwhile, under any circumstances.
The Pains must decide whether to wallow into their indie pop until they become generic or to pursue more innovative ideas. The band has influences far broader and more interesting than the music lets on and they have the potential to evolve. If they don't, they'll have to face being forgotten as quickly as they were discovered this spring.
[MySpace]
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Dust It Off: The Fizzbombs - Surfin' Winter
Album: Surfin' Winter [EP]
Calculus, 1988
With all the hullabaloo over the Pains of Being Pure at Heart this spring, I've been thinking a lot about the fuzzed-out indie pop bands of yesteryear. One of the fuzziest and certainly one of the best was Edinburgh's Fizzbombs.
As compared to the Pains, the Fizzbombs' guitars are bit nastier and their noise a bit noisier. There are all sorts of strange, chaotic sounds in the background of each song. In fact, the roughness of the sound, coupled with the surf element of this release, might make a comparison to Wavves more apt than one to the Pains. Either way, the Fizzbombs would fit right in in today's indie scene.
There's more than a little humor in a Edinburgh band putting out a surf album, but the surf roots of the music and beach-bum lyrics fit together perfectly. There are plenty of other obvious reference points - the jangly indie pop of C86, the full melodies of post-new wave 80's pop, the guitar roar of the Jesus & Mary Chain. Anyone who likes both pop and noise will find the Fizzbombs irresistible.
Boasting two women of three members (originally three women of four members), the Fizzbombs were part of a greater movement in the 80's UK that brought increasing numbers of female musicians into the indie rock scene. The band members all played in other bands, most notably bassist Sarah Kneale of the Shop Assistants.*
Often, EPs are really just extended singles, with one great song and some chaff to fill up the rest. But if that was the intention with this record, it's difficult to say what song they were emphasizing. All five tracks are positively gems. "Beach Party" has got some bizarre back-up vocals in a bass register and a fast, driving guitar riff. "Blue Summer" and "Test Pilot" are noisy and rich, but with equally addictive melodies. "Surfaround" is the most surf-influenced track on the album, with a Beach Boys-esque tune and a quick, skipping surf rhythm on the drums.
The EP's centerpiece, "Cherry Cherry," is perhaps the highlight (though as I've said, it's hard to pick). The 80's pop melody is reminiscent of the catchiest of Blondie or the Go Go's. As such, it's most mature and bold track on the record. That may sound counter-intuitive, but jangly surf-imitations were a dime a dozen in the UK underground around this time. Serious songwriting far less so.
If you like high levels of distortion laced with sunny melodies, look no further. If Surfin' Winter doesn't satisfy you, nothing will.
*I owe a big thanks to this blogger for explaining the line-up changes as relative to the releases. I never would have got that on my own.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Upcoming Shows: Japandroids, Mission of Burma + more
TONIGHT - Monday, July 6
Peter Murphy @ Highline Ballroom | Chelsea, Manhattan | $35
Pete Murphy is the original goth, the frontman of Bauhaus.
TOMORROW - Tuesday, July 7
Peter Murphy @ Highline Ballroom | Chelsea, Manhattan | $35
See above.
Wednesday, July 8
Sundelles, Little Girls @ Cake Shop | LES, Manhattan | $7
I haven't seen the Sundelles, but they're meant to play garagey indie pop - 50's revival with a punk 'tude. People like them. Little Girls are one of the five bands I've recommended you watch in the rest of 2009 - a recommendation made by "Jasper" but which I can now more confidently confirm, having seen them at this weekend's Woodsist/Capture Tracks festival. Dark and gloomy DIY punk from Canada that's very worth checking out. [Sundelles MySpace] [Little Girls MySpace]
Thursday, July 9
MC Lyte @ Von King Park | Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn | FREE!
MC Lyte is one the greatest MCs ever, and was one of the first women to get behind a mic and rap. She was a revolutionary, paving the way for women in hip-hop and expanding the boundaries of what rap music could say and do. I'd pay way more than $0 to check this out.
Friday, July 10
Japandroids, Little Girls @ Cameo | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $8
Japandroids have recently become one of my favorite new bands. Like No Age but more conventional and with more tightly-written songs, Japandroids offer an amazing mix of roaring noise, punk energy and infectious melody. This is what pop-punk should have been. I just told you about Little Girls (see Wednesday listing). [Japandroids MySpace] [Little Girls MySpace]
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ South Street Seaport | Downtown Manhattan | FREE!
The Pains have got nothing on Japandroids, but they are pretty good pop music that the kids are crazy for. Their ascent from playing loft parties to a few dozen friends to scoring full features in Spin and Newsweek has been dizzying and makes me kind of want to hate them. But I can't hate them because they are nice people, outstanding songwriters and great performers. Like I said, you should go see Japandroids, but if don't have eight bucks, this FREE show is a pretty sweet alternative. [MySpace]
Saturday, July 11
Japandroids @ Pianos | LES, Manhattan | SOLD OUT!
Japandroids rock. (See above.) [MySpace]
Parts and Labor @ Market Hotel | Bushwick, Brooklyn | $7-20 (donation)
Parts and Labor are a super-rad NYC band. They play experimental rock that can be kind of like Oneida and kind of like Liars and often like no one else in particular. They have some very pop moments and some very weird ones, inhabiting the no man's land between pop music and noise-rock more fully and broadly than any of their contemporaries. Since you went to see Japandroids on Friday and Pianos is sold out anyway, you'll want to head over to Market Hotel on Saturday night. [MySpace]
Sunday, July 12
Mission of Burma, Fucked Up, Ponytail @ Williamsburg Waterfront | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | FREE!!
Daaaamn. Mission of Burma has been redefining indie, punk and noise since the early 80's and their reunion a few years ago came a surprise to those familiar with the band's good-natured break-up, meant to save the last remaining shreds of Roger Miller's hearing. Better earplug technology has allowed them to regroup and play awesome shows like this. Fucked Up are one of the best hardcore punk groups around these days, and as for Ponytail, they are amazing live as well as recorded. [MOB MySpace] [FU MySpace] [Ponytail MySpace]
Peter Murphy @ Highline Ballroom | Chelsea, Manhattan | $35
Pete Murphy is the original goth, the frontman of Bauhaus.
TOMORROW - Tuesday, July 7
Peter Murphy @ Highline Ballroom | Chelsea, Manhattan | $35
See above.
Wednesday, July 8
Sundelles, Little Girls @ Cake Shop | LES, Manhattan | $7
I haven't seen the Sundelles, but they're meant to play garagey indie pop - 50's revival with a punk 'tude. People like them. Little Girls are one of the five bands I've recommended you watch in the rest of 2009 - a recommendation made by "Jasper" but which I can now more confidently confirm, having seen them at this weekend's Woodsist/Capture Tracks festival. Dark and gloomy DIY punk from Canada that's very worth checking out. [Sundelles MySpace] [Little Girls MySpace]
Thursday, July 9
MC Lyte @ Von King Park | Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn | FREE!
MC Lyte is one the greatest MCs ever, and was one of the first women to get behind a mic and rap. She was a revolutionary, paving the way for women in hip-hop and expanding the boundaries of what rap music could say and do. I'd pay way more than $0 to check this out.
Friday, July 10
Japandroids, Little Girls @ Cameo | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $8
Japandroids have recently become one of my favorite new bands. Like No Age but more conventional and with more tightly-written songs, Japandroids offer an amazing mix of roaring noise, punk energy and infectious melody. This is what pop-punk should have been. I just told you about Little Girls (see Wednesday listing). [Japandroids MySpace] [Little Girls MySpace]
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ South Street Seaport | Downtown Manhattan | FREE!
The Pains have got nothing on Japandroids, but they are pretty good pop music that the kids are crazy for. Their ascent from playing loft parties to a few dozen friends to scoring full features in Spin and Newsweek has been dizzying and makes me kind of want to hate them. But I can't hate them because they are nice people, outstanding songwriters and great performers. Like I said, you should go see Japandroids, but if don't have eight bucks, this FREE show is a pretty sweet alternative. [MySpace]
Saturday, July 11
Japandroids @ Pianos | LES, Manhattan | SOLD OUT!
Japandroids rock. (See above.) [MySpace]
Parts and Labor @ Market Hotel | Bushwick, Brooklyn | $7-20 (donation)
Parts and Labor are a super-rad NYC band. They play experimental rock that can be kind of like Oneida and kind of like Liars and often like no one else in particular. They have some very pop moments and some very weird ones, inhabiting the no man's land between pop music and noise-rock more fully and broadly than any of their contemporaries. Since you went to see Japandroids on Friday and Pianos is sold out anyway, you'll want to head over to Market Hotel on Saturday night. [MySpace]
Sunday, July 12
Mission of Burma, Fucked Up, Ponytail @ Williamsburg Waterfront | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | FREE!!
Daaaamn. Mission of Burma has been redefining indie, punk and noise since the early 80's and their reunion a few years ago came a surprise to those familiar with the band's good-natured break-up, meant to save the last remaining shreds of Roger Miller's hearing. Better earplug technology has allowed them to regroup and play awesome shows like this. Fucked Up are one of the best hardcore punk groups around these days, and as for Ponytail, they are amazing live as well as recorded. [MOB MySpace] [FU MySpace] [Ponytail MySpace]
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Upcoming Shows: New York Dolls, Secret Machines + more
Sorry for the absence and generally being flaky on the blog recently. Regular posts will resume after this weekend's show.
TONIGHT - Wednesday, June 17
Jonathan Richman @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | $15
Jonathan Richman is the guy from the Modern Lovers. If you don't know the Modern Lovers, I'd describe them as an unpretentious version of the Velvet Underground. Richman was indie before there was indie, he was straight-edge before there was straight-edge, he was twee before there was twee. In other words, he's one of the great innovators in American pop and has been for about 40 years. [MySpace]
TOMORROW - Thursday, June 18
Twee As Fuck: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Cause Co-Motion!, Crystal Stilts @ Cake Shop | LES, Manhattan | $10 / $8 (students)
Nevermind that only one of these bands (The Pains) could remotely be called twee, this is an amazing line-up. And the bands will probably be on the ball, given how often they've played Cake Shop and how much they love the place. The downside is that it's going to be crammed full, wall to wall, with indie pop kids, and you undoubtedly won't be able to move or see anything. So, I'd personally stay home, but if big crowds in small rooms are your thing, you couldn't choose a better set of bands. [Pains MySpace] | [CCM MySpace] | [CS MySpace]
Friday, June 19
Secret Machines, A Place to Bury Strangers @ Santos Party House | Chinatown, Manhattan | $10
Secret Machines are shoegaze-inspired wash-ups trying to make a comeback after the decline of a middling career that saw them flicker on the Billboard 200 in 2006. The band is kind of past its prime, but they're still better than most of what's out there. And APTBS are just fucking amazing. Ten bucks for both? Don't think twice. [SM MySpace] | [MySpace]
Saturday, June 20
Radio Flyer Review Presents: New York No-Gaze - 28 Degrees Taurus, Ifwhen, Gracefully @ 255 McKibben St. | Bushwick, Brooklyn | $5-8 suggested donation
I picked these bands because I think they are amazing and I really admire what they do. They all play experimental, uncompromising shoegaze-influenced music. And they're all great live acts. Booking them for my first RFR Presents show is the highest recommendation I could give. [28DT MySpace] | [Ifwhen MySpace] | [Gracefully MySpace]
Monday, June 22
The New York Dolls @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $32.50
If any pre-punk band was directly responsible for the rise of New York punk, this was it. Though still glammy hard rock, the Dolls raw music and image were one of the most important influences on the inventors of punk proper on both sides of the Atlantic. Without them, there may have been no Ramones, no Richard Hell, no Sex Pistols, at least not as we know them. And the recently reunited Dolls aren't getting any younger, so pay up and get your ass to MHOW on Monday or live a life of shame and regret.
TONIGHT - Wednesday, June 17
Jonathan Richman @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | $15
Jonathan Richman is the guy from the Modern Lovers. If you don't know the Modern Lovers, I'd describe them as an unpretentious version of the Velvet Underground. Richman was indie before there was indie, he was straight-edge before there was straight-edge, he was twee before there was twee. In other words, he's one of the great innovators in American pop and has been for about 40 years. [MySpace]
TOMORROW - Thursday, June 18
Twee As Fuck: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Cause Co-Motion!, Crystal Stilts @ Cake Shop | LES, Manhattan | $10 / $8 (students)
Nevermind that only one of these bands (The Pains) could remotely be called twee, this is an amazing line-up. And the bands will probably be on the ball, given how often they've played Cake Shop and how much they love the place. The downside is that it's going to be crammed full, wall to wall, with indie pop kids, and you undoubtedly won't be able to move or see anything. So, I'd personally stay home, but if big crowds in small rooms are your thing, you couldn't choose a better set of bands. [Pains MySpace] | [CCM MySpace] | [CS MySpace]
Friday, June 19
Secret Machines, A Place to Bury Strangers @ Santos Party House | Chinatown, Manhattan | $10
Secret Machines are shoegaze-inspired wash-ups trying to make a comeback after the decline of a middling career that saw them flicker on the Billboard 200 in 2006. The band is kind of past its prime, but they're still better than most of what's out there. And APTBS are just fucking amazing. Ten bucks for both? Don't think twice. [SM MySpace] | [MySpace]
Saturday, June 20
Radio Flyer Review Presents: New York No-Gaze - 28 Degrees Taurus, Ifwhen, Gracefully @ 255 McKibben St. | Bushwick, Brooklyn | $5-8 suggested donation
I picked these bands because I think they are amazing and I really admire what they do. They all play experimental, uncompromising shoegaze-influenced music. And they're all great live acts. Booking them for my first RFR Presents show is the highest recommendation I could give. [28DT MySpace] | [Ifwhen MySpace] | [Gracefully MySpace]
Monday, June 22
The New York Dolls @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $32.50
If any pre-punk band was directly responsible for the rise of New York punk, this was it. Though still glammy hard rock, the Dolls raw music and image were one of the most important influences on the inventors of punk proper on both sides of the Atlantic. Without them, there may have been no Ramones, no Richard Hell, no Sex Pistols, at least not as we know them. And the recently reunited Dolls aren't getting any younger, so pay up and get your ass to MHOW on Monday or live a life of shame and regret.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Upcoming Shows: Glenn Branca, Mike Watt and more
TONIGHT!!! Thursday, May 7
Whatever you do tonight, you'll be kickin' it old-school.
Glenn Branca @ Issue Project Room | Gowanus, Brooklyn | $15
Glenn Branca. If you don't know who that is or why he's awesome, you need to go out and do some reading. Starting (but not ending) with this little paragraph. Glenn Branca is an avant-garde composer, a punk rocker, a minimalist innovator and one of the biggest of the big names in the legendary "no wave" movement. Branca reinvented the electric guitar, using alternate tunings and extreme volume to generate completely new tonalities. Some of the most innovative guitar players of the 80's and 90's first cut their teeth with Branca, a list that includes Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo and Helmet's Page Hamilton. He'll be playing one of his classic compositions, "Lesson No. 3," at IPR. Really, you should go.
Eddie & the Hot Rods @ Southpaw | Park Slope, Brooklyn | $14
Eddie and the Hot Rods were once upon a time the Sex Pistols' biggest competitors. As it turned out, Eddie was just a pub rock band while the Sex Pistols invented British punk, but then there couldn't have been a British punk scene if it hadn't been for aggressive pub rockers like these, who pushed the boundaries of British rock in rawer, wilder directions. And for that, we all owe them at least $14 and two ears for a night.
Fear @ Europa | Greenpoint, Brooklyn | $25
Twenty-five bucks is a lot, too much for me to strongly recommend this show. But if money is no object, then you better check it out. Fear are a classic West Coast punk outfit, one of the first and one of the most aggressive. They make most hardcore punks look like fluffy kittens.
TOMORROW!!! Friday, May 8
Seriously, how to choose?!?
Mike Watt & the Missingmen @ Mercury Lounge | LES, Manhattan | $15
Mike Watt was one of the first and most important players in the West Coast hardcore scene. Unlike Fear (see above), however, Watt didn't amp up the machismo of hardcore, he amped up its brains. As a member of the revolutionary trio the Minutemen, Watt broadened the musical and intellectual horizons of punk by making music that was lyrically thought-provoking and political and sonically challenging and diverse. Since then, he's continued to push the boundaries in fIREHOSE and
this, his new project, the Missingmen. [MySpace]
**CANCELLED**The Antlers @ Cameo | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
The Antlers' lo-fi, ambient electronica is the saddest music around. They are one of the few truly innovative bands in the New York scene and their recent album Hospice is one of the most profound contributions to indie rock in the last decade. [MySpace] **CANCELLED**
Coyote Eyes, Pow Wow, My Teenage Stride @ Lit Lounge | $6*
Good cheap fun! It's worth the six bucks despite being in one of the worst venues in town.Coyote Eyes sound like Sonic Youth but with prettier singing. They are minimalist, they are loud and they are very worth checking out, since they could take off any day now. Pow Wow just got named one of L Magazine's "Eight Bands You Need To Hear," which is frankly kind of silly because they are entirely typical. But that doesn't mean their lo-fi pop isn't great. It's actually lovely! (Just not "top eight" lovely.) And My Teenage Stride, officially the first band I reviewed on this site, are an indie pop mainstay in New York, with some of the best songwriting and best melodies around. If you catch all three bands, that's only $2 a pop. Not too shabby. [CE MySpace] [PW MySpace] [MTS MySpace]
**UPDATE: Apparently, Coyote Eyes and MTS aren't playing. In a typically irresponsible gesture, Lit Lounge has just forgotten to update their calendar. Bummer.**
R. Stevie Moore @ Cake Shop | LES, Manhattan | $8
Good ol' R. Stevie is the punk rock Santa Claus. He's been making lo-fi pop music since he was a kid, putting out his first recordings in the 1960's. Phenomenally gifted and perpetually overlooked, Moore is justifiably pissed off, and his bitterness is especially justified when it comes out in his kick-ass punk-rock power-pop performances. His last show at Cake Shop was one of the best shows I've ever seen ever. A true forgotten pioneer, Moore is well worth checking out. [MySpace]
Saturday, May 9
Real Estate, So So Glos @ Santos Party House | Chinatown, Manhattan | $10 *
Real Estate are the latest buzz-band out of the no-fi/neo-punk crowd that brought us the likes of Wavves, Woods and Blank Dogs. Real Estate fall at the slow, hushed end of that spectrum and while their recorded material can be rather boring at times, the very little I've seen of this band live makes me think they're good on stage. The So So Glos, on the other hand, take a more direct route to punk rock - fast, loud and rude. [RE MySpace] [SSG MySpace]
Monday, May 10
Woods, Times New Viking @ Market Hotel | Bushwick, Brooklyn*
I'm not a huge fan of TNV, to be quite honest. The constant comparisons to Guided By Voices are just not accurate; see, GBV were great because they wrote great pop songs, and TNV, for all their cool sound, just don't write great songs. So the real reason to go by this show is psychedelic folk-pop quartet Woods. In my last live review of them, I called them "one of the most outstanding and original bands of our time" and I'll stand by that statement. [TNV MySpace] [Woods MySpace]
Wednesday, May 12
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | SOLD OUT
You should track down some tickets to this show. Tweegaze heartthrobs the Pains will be celebrating their (brief) homecoming after an extensive national tour - and right before an extensive international tour. Their songs are way too cute, but so well written that they're hard to hate. And a seamless wall of distorted guitar noise covers everything - bring earplugs. [MySpace]
*This is seems to be a week of bands and venues not working in tandem, and there is some conflicting information about these shows, so you may want to try to confirm they are happening as scheduled before you make a trek to the venue.
Whatever you do tonight, you'll be kickin' it old-school.
Glenn Branca @ Issue Project Room | Gowanus, Brooklyn | $15
Glenn Branca. If you don't know who that is or why he's awesome, you need to go out and do some reading. Starting (but not ending) with this little paragraph. Glenn Branca is an avant-garde composer, a punk rocker, a minimalist innovator and one of the biggest of the big names in the legendary "no wave" movement. Branca reinvented the electric guitar, using alternate tunings and extreme volume to generate completely new tonalities. Some of the most innovative guitar players of the 80's and 90's first cut their teeth with Branca, a list that includes Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo and Helmet's Page Hamilton. He'll be playing one of his classic compositions, "Lesson No. 3," at IPR. Really, you should go.
Eddie & the Hot Rods @ Southpaw | Park Slope, Brooklyn | $14
Eddie and the Hot Rods were once upon a time the Sex Pistols' biggest competitors. As it turned out, Eddie was just a pub rock band while the Sex Pistols invented British punk, but then there couldn't have been a British punk scene if it hadn't been for aggressive pub rockers like these, who pushed the boundaries of British rock in rawer, wilder directions. And for that, we all owe them at least $14 and two ears for a night.
Fear @ Europa | Greenpoint, Brooklyn | $25
Twenty-five bucks is a lot, too much for me to strongly recommend this show. But if money is no object, then you better check it out. Fear are a classic West Coast punk outfit, one of the first and one of the most aggressive. They make most hardcore punks look like fluffy kittens.
TOMORROW!!! Friday, May 8
Seriously, how to choose?!?
Mike Watt & the Missingmen @ Mercury Lounge | LES, Manhattan | $15
Mike Watt was one of the first and most important players in the West Coast hardcore scene. Unlike Fear (see above), however, Watt didn't amp up the machismo of hardcore, he amped up its brains. As a member of the revolutionary trio the Minutemen, Watt broadened the musical and intellectual horizons of punk by making music that was lyrically thought-provoking and political and sonically challenging and diverse. Since then, he's continued to push the boundaries in fIREHOSE and
this, his new project, the Missingmen. [MySpace]
**CANCELLED**
The Antlers' lo-fi, ambient electronica is the saddest music around. They are one of the few truly innovative bands in the New York scene and their recent album Hospice is one of the most profound contributions to indie rock in the last decade. [MySpace]
Good cheap fun! It's worth the six bucks despite being in one of the worst venues in town.
**UPDATE: Apparently, Coyote Eyes and MTS aren't playing. In a typically irresponsible gesture, Lit Lounge has just forgotten to update their calendar. Bummer.**
R. Stevie Moore @ Cake Shop | LES, Manhattan | $8
Good ol' R. Stevie is the punk rock Santa Claus. He's been making lo-fi pop music since he was a kid, putting out his first recordings in the 1960's. Phenomenally gifted and perpetually overlooked, Moore is justifiably pissed off, and his bitterness is especially justified when it comes out in his kick-ass punk-rock power-pop performances. His last show at Cake Shop was one of the best shows I've ever seen ever. A true forgotten pioneer, Moore is well worth checking out. [MySpace]
Saturday, May 9
Real Estate, So So Glos @ Santos Party House | Chinatown, Manhattan | $10 *
Real Estate are the latest buzz-band out of the no-fi/neo-punk crowd that brought us the likes of Wavves, Woods and Blank Dogs. Real Estate fall at the slow, hushed end of that spectrum and while their recorded material can be rather boring at times, the very little I've seen of this band live makes me think they're good on stage. The So So Glos, on the other hand, take a more direct route to punk rock - fast, loud and rude. [RE MySpace] [SSG MySpace]
Monday, May 10
Woods, Times New Viking @ Market Hotel | Bushwick, Brooklyn*
I'm not a huge fan of TNV, to be quite honest. The constant comparisons to Guided By Voices are just not accurate; see, GBV were great because they wrote great pop songs, and TNV, for all their cool sound, just don't write great songs. So the real reason to go by this show is psychedelic folk-pop quartet Woods. In my last live review of them, I called them "one of the most outstanding and original bands of our time" and I'll stand by that statement. [TNV MySpace] [Woods MySpace]
Wednesday, May 12
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | SOLD OUT
You should track down some tickets to this show. Tweegaze heartthrobs the Pains will be celebrating their (brief) homecoming after an extensive national tour - and right before an extensive international tour. Their songs are way too cute, but so well written that they're hard to hate. And a seamless wall of distorted guitar noise covers everything - bring earplugs. [MySpace]
*This is seems to be a week of bands and venues not working in tandem, and there is some conflicting information about these shows, so you may want to try to confirm they are happening as scheduled before you make a trek to the venue.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Upcoming Shows: Wavves, Shilpa Ray, The Pains + more
Thursday, February 5
Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers + the Soundscapes @ Le Poisson Rouge - West Village, Manhattan - $13
Thirteen bucks is a lot, so you may want to hold out and catch these bands at a later time for less (both have more NYC shows coming up). But I thought I'd mention it because if you've got the money, this will undoubtedly be the coolest place to be this Thursday night. You can read my last review of Shilpa here and my last review of the Soundscapes here. :: Shilpa Ray MySpace :: Soundscapes MySpace
Friday, February 6
Wavves @ The Market Hotel - Williamsburg, Brooklyn
WAVVES is the project of Nathan Williams, who is some kid from California who doesn't give a fuck that it's 2009. It could just as well be 1979 or 1989 or 2029, his music is timeless and it's what rock music should be. He plays something you could call noise-punk or noise-surf, massively distorted numbers with classic short pop songs buried somewhere beneath the fuzz. He also throws in some electronic-ish experimental songs to round things out. His last release made my top five records of 2008. :: MySpace
Saturday, February 7
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart + Depreciation Guild, Cause Co-Motion! and Zaza @ Mercury Lounge - LES, Manhattan - $10
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is a tweegaze band and they are putting out a record tomorrow. I already reviewed it for you here. Depreciation Guild is a wonderful shoegaze band (and cute boys to boot). My last live review of them is here. Cause Co-Motion are a somewhat overrated but still highly enjoyable noise-pop band who play a lot of songs clocking in under two minutes. Zaza is an electronic duo that sounds like Suicide. My last live review of them is here. :: The Pains MySpace :: Depreciation Guild MySpace :: CCM! MySpace :: Zaza MySpace
Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers + the Soundscapes @ Le Poisson Rouge - West Village, Manhattan - $13
Thirteen bucks is a lot, so you may want to hold out and catch these bands at a later time for less (both have more NYC shows coming up). But I thought I'd mention it because if you've got the money, this will undoubtedly be the coolest place to be this Thursday night. You can read my last review of Shilpa here and my last review of the Soundscapes here. :: Shilpa Ray MySpace :: Soundscapes MySpace
Friday, February 6
Wavves @ The Market Hotel - Williamsburg, Brooklyn
WAVVES is the project of Nathan Williams, who is some kid from California who doesn't give a fuck that it's 2009. It could just as well be 1979 or 1989 or 2029, his music is timeless and it's what rock music should be. He plays something you could call noise-punk or noise-surf, massively distorted numbers with classic short pop songs buried somewhere beneath the fuzz. He also throws in some electronic-ish experimental songs to round things out. His last release made my top five records of 2008. :: MySpace
Saturday, February 7
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart + Depreciation Guild, Cause Co-Motion! and Zaza @ Mercury Lounge - LES, Manhattan - $10
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is a tweegaze band and they are putting out a record tomorrow. I already reviewed it for you here. Depreciation Guild is a wonderful shoegaze band (and cute boys to boot). My last live review of them is here. Cause Co-Motion are a somewhat overrated but still highly enjoyable noise-pop band who play a lot of songs clocking in under two minutes. Zaza is an electronic duo that sounds like Suicide. My last live review of them is here. :: The Pains MySpace :: Depreciation Guild MySpace :: CCM! MySpace :: Zaza MySpace
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Album: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Album: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Slumberland/Fortuna Pop, 2009
Rating: ******** (8/10)
There's probably a good reason the "twee" movement died out in the UK in the early 90's - the style, a tiny sub-sub-genre within indie pop, known for its self-consciously innocent lyrics and general cutesiness, was called "twee" after British babytalk for "sweet." (I didn't know British babies talked differently from American ones, but apparently they do.) The approach was fun, but like all small musical movements, it ran its course and had long grown stale by the time patron label Sarah Records shuttered in 1995.
But just as there came time for the "twee" fad to end, there has come a time for it to be revived. All the other movements of the late 80's and early 90's are being brought back to life these days, and that's not just out of nostalgia, it's also because enough time has finally passed to allow them to sound fresh again. With grunge, shoegaze and lo-fi on the rise, a return to indie pop is certainly due.
And if proof was wanting that it's time for a second generation of twee, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is it. With disgustingly adorable song titles like "This Love Is Fucking Right!" and "Young Adult Friction," the Pains aren't shy about their indie pop heritage. Their melodies and boy-girl vocals are shamelessly sticky sweet, but so good that you pretty much have to love them.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Moreover, unlike many of the band's indie pop forebearers, the Pains aren't totally sissy - their songs may be self-awarely cute, but they bury it under layers of shoegazy, fuzzed out, super-loud guitar. To get the full effect, you really have to crank up the volume. Trust me.
The Pains aren't the first band to combine shoegaze guitar noise with indie pop melodies - in fact, the two styles were always closely linked and many bands (Velocity Girl, Black Tambourine, etc.) straddled the line. But the Pains could run with the best of those - their pop is nothing short of infectious, and their noise is well thought-out, masterful and very delicious.
There are some songs on the album that I find annoying and undoubtedly most listeners will be put off by one track or another. "A Teenager In Love" misses the "catchy" mark by a ways and is just irritating, while some other songs, like "The Tenure Itch," seem to lack focus. But the best tracks, "This Love Is Fucking Right!," "Come Saturday," "Everything With You" and "Young Adult Friction," make the whole album worthwhile.
It's retro, it's revivalist, but it somehow still sounds fresh and is, if nothing else, a damn good pop album that will make you smile and tap your foot.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart will be released everywhere this Tuesday!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Fifteen Bands to Watch in 2009 - Part 3
PREVIOUS>>
Part 1
Part 2
Led Er Est - A new band in the Weird Record crowd, Led Er Est's dark electronica falls somewhere between Krautrock and goth. It's simultaneously spooky and catchy and their intriguing songs have a haunting appeal. :: MySpace
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - They're getting big in Europe. By which I mean, they are touring there eating pastries and candy all the day long. No, actually, I mean they are getting popular there. They are adorable and sweet, but they blast your eardrums at the same time. :: MySpace
Pet Ghost Project - I'm not generally a fan of solo projects and I'm definitely not a fan of bands with "project" in the name, but I am a fan of this highly creative low-fi noise pop! And I think if Justin Stivers plays his cards right, it could fare very well in 2009 indeed. :: MySpace
The Ruling Class - Britpop is back, with all its best elements in place: classic British pop melodies, rolling dance beats, soaring vocals and shoegaze-inspired guitar reverb. It's 1989, 2009 style. :: MySpace
The Spanish Prisoners - The opener of choice among NYC's most buzzed bands, these guys can't be long to follow. It may be standard angular, catchy indie rock, but it's really good and it's got potential to be better. :: MySpace
Part 1
Part 2
Led Er Est - A new band in the Weird Record crowd, Led Er Est's dark electronica falls somewhere between Krautrock and goth. It's simultaneously spooky and catchy and their intriguing songs have a haunting appeal. :: MySpace
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - They're getting big in Europe. By which I mean, they are touring there eating pastries and candy all the day long. No, actually, I mean they are getting popular there. They are adorable and sweet, but they blast your eardrums at the same time. :: MySpace
Pet Ghost Project - I'm not generally a fan of solo projects and I'm definitely not a fan of bands with "project" in the name, but I am a fan of this highly creative low-fi noise pop! And I think if Justin Stivers plays his cards right, it could fare very well in 2009 indeed. :: MySpace
The Ruling Class - Britpop is back, with all its best elements in place: classic British pop melodies, rolling dance beats, soaring vocals and shoegaze-inspired guitar reverb. It's 1989, 2009 style. :: MySpace
The Spanish Prisoners - The opener of choice among NYC's most buzzed bands, these guys can't be long to follow. It may be standard angular, catchy indie rock, but it's really good and it's got potential to be better. :: MySpace
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Live: Zaza
When: 11/16
Where: Cake Shop
Electronic duo Zaza caught my eye a while back, but this Sunday at Cake Shop was the first time I'd had a chance to hear them live. The two official members were joined by Kurt Feldman of the Depreciation Guild and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart on a spartan two-drum set, adding a touch of raw power to their electronic beats.
Zaza isn't exactly my "thing," it turns out. I'd liked them better recorded, but live, they were too lacking in structure to really draw me in. But that's just a personal preference - if you are a fan of bands like Can and Suicide, you will definitely want to check these guys out. A clear attention to detail goes into the crafting of their textured soundscapes and both members are clearly gifted at synthesiser and guitar alike.
Zaza
The highlights for me were the complex and tense bass lines, which propelled forward songs that might otherwise have stagnated. The vocal lines were unremarkable and flat, but their atmospheric quality shows potential if the singer (whose name I cannot find anywhere, sorry) is willing to expand his range a bit. Frustratingly, though the electronic beats were well-composed, the sound quality was cheap - vintage and campy gear can be great for synths but for drum machines, it is often damning. However, it won't take much to change that problem if the band decides to do so.
Most promisingly, a few times during the set, the band tried experiments with dissonance and resolution that were, in the context of their dreamy sound, nothing short of stunning. I'm not hooked, but if the band keeps pushing their music forward, I will be soon.
Where: Cake Shop
Electronic duo Zaza caught my eye a while back, but this Sunday at Cake Shop was the first time I'd had a chance to hear them live. The two official members were joined by Kurt Feldman of the Depreciation Guild and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart on a spartan two-drum set, adding a touch of raw power to their electronic beats.
Zaza isn't exactly my "thing," it turns out. I'd liked them better recorded, but live, they were too lacking in structure to really draw me in. But that's just a personal preference - if you are a fan of bands like Can and Suicide, you will definitely want to check these guys out. A clear attention to detail goes into the crafting of their textured soundscapes and both members are clearly gifted at synthesiser and guitar alike.
Zaza
The highlights for me were the complex and tense bass lines, which propelled forward songs that might otherwise have stagnated. The vocal lines were unremarkable and flat, but their atmospheric quality shows potential if the singer (whose name I cannot find anywhere, sorry) is willing to expand his range a bit. Frustratingly, though the electronic beats were well-composed, the sound quality was cheap - vintage and campy gear can be great for synths but for drum machines, it is often damning. However, it won't take much to change that problem if the band decides to do so.
Most promisingly, a few times during the set, the band tried experiments with dissonance and resolution that were, in the context of their dreamy sound, nothing short of stunning. I'm not hooked, but if the band keeps pushing their music forward, I will be soon.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Live: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
When: Friday, 10/24/08
Where: NY Noise CMJ Showcase at Cake Shop
There's been a lot of hype around the Pains of Being Pure at Heart over the last few months and I've been struggling to form an opinion unbiased by the natural resentment I feel towards anyone who is both cuter and more successful than me (please pick one or the other, people! don't be cruel!).
Recorded, the band plays a sweet tweegaze that they accurately describe as some combination of Black Tambourine and the Pastels. The songs are adorable, with love-filled, cheerful lyrics and sing-song melodies, but underneath is a continuous layer of fuzzed-out guitar. Live, the band does exactly the same thing, only about fifty times louder. And, as it turns out, that's awesome. Not only does the band seem to be having great fun on stage, but they actually do know how to rock out (albeit in a rather wussy way).
So far, the Pains aren't doing anything that wasn't done a hundred times over in the UK 18 years ago, but they are doing it better than anyone else these days. And after hearing the shoegazey power of their live show, I have higher hopes that as their sound matures, they could one day break the mold and really move pop in a new direction. But even if all they ever do is play their noisy twee until the end of time, that will be enough for me!
Where: NY Noise CMJ Showcase at Cake Shop
There's been a lot of hype around the Pains of Being Pure at Heart over the last few months and I've been struggling to form an opinion unbiased by the natural resentment I feel towards anyone who is both cuter and more successful than me (please pick one or the other, people! don't be cruel!).
Recorded, the band plays a sweet tweegaze that they accurately describe as some combination of Black Tambourine and the Pastels. The songs are adorable, with love-filled, cheerful lyrics and sing-song melodies, but underneath is a continuous layer of fuzzed-out guitar. Live, the band does exactly the same thing, only about fifty times louder. And, as it turns out, that's awesome. Not only does the band seem to be having great fun on stage, but they actually do know how to rock out (albeit in a rather wussy way).
So far, the Pains aren't doing anything that wasn't done a hundred times over in the UK 18 years ago, but they are doing it better than anyone else these days. And after hearing the shoegazey power of their live show, I have higher hopes that as their sound matures, they could one day break the mold and really move pop in a new direction. But even if all they ever do is play their noisy twee until the end of time, that will be enough for me!
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