Album: Mirrorring - Foreign Body

Album: Mirrorring
Kranky
Release Date: March 20, 2012
Rating: ******** (8/10)

If there was an award for saddest-slowest-quietest abstract songwriter of the last five years, Jesy Fortino (better known as Tiny Vipers) and Liz Harris (better known as Grouper) would have to duke it out. But there is no such prize. Instead, Fortino and Harris have formed some sort of sad-slow-quiet abstract Dream Team, named it Mirrorring, and put out a record. >> Read the full review at popmatters.com

Live: Pterodactyl, Screens, Keepaway

When: 5/27
Where: Death By Audio

Another shamefully overdue review, but a couple of weeks ago, I caught Screens and Pterodactyl at Death By Audio.  I missed Zulus, who played first, but I did catch the second opener, Keepaway.

Keepaway is one of those bands that's so bad it transfixes you.  I couldn't look away.  If you are ever making a funny movie and you need a band to parody the worst side of parochial pop, Keepaway are the guys you want.  When the band started with their cheesy, tacky, unartful electronica, all over the worst canned beats imaginable, it was jawdropping.  "Jasper" theorized that they were the guys who got rejected by the Animal Collective cover band.  My own assessment was similar, but rather more harsh.

Unfortunately, as the set went on, the music got slightly better, which ruined the band's only appeal - the sheer awesomeness of how terrible it was.  If they'd managed to stay godawful the whole time, they'd be more worthy of note, but as their music reached regularly-crappy levels, they became less and less interesting.

However, one part never ceased to horrify - the lyrics.  It was like poetry by a 13-year-old.  A melodramatic and not very bright 13-year-old.  I cannot get over how bad these lyrics were.  It was PAINFUL to listen to.  Of course, it was made more painful by the nearly tone-deaf "singer."  You could tell there were supposed to be melodies, but his attempts at executing them were grating.

If the band didn't seem to take themselves seriously, I might be interested in them as a sort of "meta" critique.  But everything about how they conducted themselves indicated that they actually think this music is good.  They didn't even seem to be having that much fun, they just did a generic indie rock performance, head nodding to the rhythms, their "drummer" randomly tapping along to the programed rhythms like a talentless four-year-old.  The whole thing was self-indulgent, boring and embarrassing.  Please stop.  ["jam session" video]

Screens played next.  There was a time I was super excited about Screens and thought they were the second coming but I've been a bit disappointed with the band.  The problem with them is that they are tantalizingly close to something awesome, but they just keep missing the mark.  Their largely synth-driven music is fresh and smart, sheets of noise and danceable beats pasted together like a carefully crafted collage.  Their music stutters and veers but never at random - everything that's placed together in a song belongs together.

However, there are some very poor decisions in the mix.  Most glaringly, the vocals are laden with effects.  Most songs feature tremendous delay on the vocals, so every shout or scream is repeated in full several times after it's uttered.  Added to that is a gratuitous amount of reverb and often distortion.  There's absolutely no substance to the vocals themselves - they're entirely effects.  The band would be better off without vocals at all.  But better than that, even would be if the band could learn to use vocals as effectively as they use the other elements of their music.

The effects on the vocals thing would be silly regardless, especially given current trends towards doing this, it also has the effect of making the band sound generic.  The frontman is enthusiastic, but he seems a little disconnected from the band as well, both because he's sonically superfluous and because he doesn't seem to engage them or vice versa.  If the band learns how to incorporate its members with the same fluidity as they incorporate the components of their songs, they'll be genius.  But as it stands, they're frustrating.

I've seen Pterodactyl a bazillion times and reviewed them almost as many times.  The last two, they were a quartet, but at this show, they were back down to their core trio and it was the best set of theirs I've seen in a long time.  Perhaps it was the comfort of being a trio and on something close to home turf.  Their frenetic noise-rock folded more smoothly into their new, slower, syncopated sound.  Matt Marlin really is an outstanding drummer and really holds the reigns - with a flick of his wrist, he can quickly change a song from breakneck punk to relaxed calypso to deep blues and back.

There's not much else I can say without repeating my other reviews.  The band is exceptionally tight and their sound is bold, original and buoyant, bubbling with genuine joy.  So, basically, they still got it. [old ptero video]

Album: Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact

Album: Eye Contact
4AD
Release date: May 10, 2011
Rating: ******** (8/10)

After 2008's exceptional Saint Dymphna, Gang Gang Dance are back to business as usual for their 4AD debut, Eye Contact, out tomorrow. The band are the uncontested masters of rhythm 'n' synth experimental dub, weaving waves of electronic sound and Lizzi Bougatsos's enchanting/crackpot vocals through ritualistic percussion and club-worthy bass. Eye Contact is a distinctive album, but it falls well within the boundaries established by the band's previous releases - there's not a lot of new ground covered here.

GGD is not an easy band. They've never handed their music to their listeners in a simple pop-song package. (The closest they got was a handful of tracks on Saint Dymphna.) As a result, GGD can be a challenging and frustrating listen, and Eye Contact is no exception. The eleven-plus minute first track is more than half intro, just wafts of synth sound, light cymbals and snippets of a man's voice. I have to admire the band's self-control and somehow, it comes off more ballsy than indulgent when they dare to ask the same patience of their listeners. In the fourth minute of the track, the small cymbals give way to rumbling toms while the synths gradually begin to carve out melodic motifs. But it's only after the six minute mark that the song truly begins and we first hear Bougatsos's familiar ululation.

The album pushes the band's mysticism to the fore with three interludes (titled respectively "∞" "∞∞" and "∞∞∞"), the first of which features a stunning sample of what sounds like an eastern orthodox hymn (according to The Guardian, it's Bougatsos's late uncle) laid gently in an analog-sounding bed of synth. The third interlude, sung by Bougatsos, sounds equally religious, drawing on eastern European and Middle Eastern scales that carry through the next and final track, "Thru and Thru." The band's shamanistic instincts were apparent on their last two LPs but never so literal as here.

Eye Contact is certainly a remarkable album and displays the band's control as well as their unending passion for riddim. The band is fascinated with every beat they can find, and they've searched the world for groove, drawing on sources that range from UK underground dance music to reggaeton to South Asian percussion ensembles. Surprisingly, given the breadth and spirit of the album, it doesn't overreach, nor does it sound bloated or narcissistic. First of all, Eye Contact can't overreach because the band is just that good. And it is saved from narcissism by the band's very real curiosity about the musical territory they inhabit. It's immediately evident that no one but Gang Gang Dance could have made this album.

But on the other hand, it hasn't got the richness or the punch of Saint Dymphna. A few tracks are exceptions: the club-inflected soundworld of "Adult Goth," the reggaeton-house anthem "Mindkilla" and the deep post-funk groove of "Romance Layers" come close, but nothing here is quite as good as "First Communion" and "House Jam."

The difference, and the reason that this album isn't quite equal to its predecessor, is in songwriting. Gang Gang Dance is one for sprawling epics that twist and morph and never give a hint of verse, chorus, bridge or any other recognizable building block. Sometimes the result is tight and bold, like Saint Dymphna's epic "House Jam" but other times, it can sound aimless and begs for an editor.

There are some duds on Eye Contact as well. "Chinese High" is uncharacteristically bright, even hinting momentarily at calypso. While that in itself is not bad, the band pushes it past sunny and into corny with the synthesizer's melodic motif at the end of the song. "Sacer" also gets a little lost with a melody that's simply too formless to carry a six minute song.

The final track, "Thru and Thru," may be the album's strongest. Eastern melodies intertwine with warm layers of sound and a beat that seamlessly merges the "tribal" with a eurodisco nightclub pulse. It's a perfect closer for the album, showing both sides of the record's split personality - its 3 AM clubhopper and its mystical seer - and finally satisfying both.

An album as bold and accomplished as Eye Contact shouldn't be a disappointment, but the band has simply set the bar so high that I've come to expect a revolution from them on every LP. Eye Contact isn't that, it's more about honing the band's existing sound, articulating its longing and its euphoria, going deeper into the trance. It's an album of exploration, like all of GGD's albums, but its exploration doesn't cover new latitudes, it just plunges deeper and reaches higher. It doesn't always succeed in these endeavors and can come off as detached and disconnected from the real world in a frustrating and at times even arrogant way. But the album's failures are part of its charm - its power comes from its fearlessness, its willingness to fail and to document its failures. That's what makes this album worthwhile.

Album: Coltrane Motion - Hello Ambition!

Album: Hello Ambition!
Data Was Lost, 2010
Rating: ******* (7/10)

Coltrane Motion are one of those bands that illustrate just how much of a crap-shoot the indie scene is. As an electronic indie pop duo, they certainly aren't the edgiest/artsiest/most prentious band around, but they are as catchy as anyone and there's no reason they shouldn't be getting some serious love.

But so far they've been flying under the radar, especially outside of their windy, square-shouldered hometown. And yes, that sucks, but selfishly, I am glad to have a chance to see them at the miniscule Bruar Falls tonight.

And what of their new album? It's what those who have heard the band have come to expect - a string of knock-out, sweet, noisy, heartfelt electropop songs that make you jump up and down a little and smile a lot. There's nothing that quite equals the blasting, hooky "Year Without a Summer" but there's not a bad track either. The opener, "When We Were Old," sets the tone with a rich, driving pop gem. The more measured, expansive tune on "Maya Blue" keeps the record from getting ahead of itself, while the deep bass on "I Forgot There Was a War On" keeps it from falling behind.

The album ends strong as well. "High Tide" loops over a bobbing, synthetic bass line, while the buzzing, lo-fi jangle pop of "My Heart Might Go On" nods to Yo La Tengo's warm, dreamy soundscapes. Rounding it out, "Please Call It a Comeback" holds its breath for a full minute before exploding into a dark, shivering swirl of melancholy pop.

Coltrane Motion could stay an undiscovered gem forever, but there's certainly no guarantee - and certainly every reason for the kids to get hip to Hello Ambition! So get your ass to Bruar Falls (or Arlene's tomorrow), pick up a copy and enjoy the secret while it lasts.

[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]

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.

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: 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: A Place to Bury Strangers, Big Pink

When: 3/30
Where: Webster Hall

I've never thought about A Place To Bury Strangers being a particularly tight band but that's only because they are so seamless, you don't even think about them stumbling. At least, I never had until I heard them in the craphole that is Webster Hall.

Turns out APTBS now have a friend doing their sound, and while friends are awesome for listening to your problems and buying you beer when you have a bad day, they aren't necessarily awesome for controlling a sound board in a way that sounds good. I know it's an uphill battle to sound anywhere near decent in Webster - the acoustics in that room are notoriously slushy. But the room and the untrained sound guy - well, with their forces combined, they nearly trainwrecked one of NYC's most unstoppable bands.

From the get-go, it sounded like the three musicians on stage could not hear each other. At times, the drums and guitar seemed to be in entirely different places. The bass was barely audible. The guitar noise was a mess, at once hollow and muddy - and then it cut out all together for quite a long time. In the middle of one song, guitarist Oliver Ackerman walked over to the bass amp and adjusted the sound from there. That's a sure sign the guy in the sound booth is failing.

Several times, I thought the band was going to lose it entirely, fall apart and end their set. Much to their credit, they hung on, plowed through and finished in style. For all it ravaged their sound, the venue did beef up the band's visuals, with some serious smoke machine action and some serious strobe lights. The band's visual intensity helped mask the sonic failings, Ackerman in flashing silhouettes abusing his weathered Fender Jag. The deafening noise jam near the end of the set finally managed to lock in the sound a bit and the band exited with their audience rapt.

Though this was by far the worst set I've ever seen from this band, I think the problems were only visible to loyal fans. Anyone seeing APTBS for the first time was bound to be impressed - how can you not? And for those of us who did notice the band struggling, it could only increase our admiration as well. Anyone else would have given up and left the stage, but this trio rode their intensity alone and put on a damn show.

Of course, adding to the problems was the fact that APTBS were opening. Opening bands usually have their volume capped ten or twenty decibels below the headliner, and since APTBS's sound is based on pure volume, the dimmed sound destroyed what little clarity they may have been able to achieve. The true power of the massive speakers hanging in front of the stage was immediately apparent, however, when The Big Pink appeared. The bass was loud enough to severely damage my eardrums despite my fairly heavy-duty earplugs. It was the kind of bass that rattles your bones to the point of physical discomfort.

But I could see why the band cranked up so loud - except for the phenomonally brain-shattering volume of their bass line, there was absolutely nothing going on. How did this band get so popular? Their songs have no substance at all. There were a few decent beats but not a tune, not a song, not cool guitar sound, not an emotion, just vapid showmanship.

And let's talk about the showmanship too. The front man has a rock star haircut and was sporting a tattered white t-shirt under a black leather jacket. Several metal chains hung from his neck. The other major force in the band, the DJ, was a stockier fellow in a black hoody, hood up. Um, could you get any more cliche? Please? Cause that's just not enough for me.

Meanwhile, the bass player was entirely unremarkable and the drummer, well, the drummer makes me sad. See, I hate to hate on a female drummer, but this girl, one Akiko Matsuura, is NOT a good drummer. Granted, she was scantily clad and flailed her arms pretty good, but as a drummer, she sucks. Luckily, about 80% of the beat was coming from the DJ, so her inabilities were well hidden. But seriously, folks.

Maybe if I did a lot of drugs, I might have enjoyed this band. But it would have to be a lot of drugs. As it is, the Big Pink is a waste of time and space. Wanna be ahead of the curve? Forget about them. Everyone else will have forgotten them in a year too. Thankfully.

Album: MGMT - Congratulations

Album: Congratulations
Sony/Columbia, 2009
Rating: **** (4/10)

In 2008, the trend of rich college kids making trashy hipster pop reached its zenith (though sadly, that sun has not yet set) and suddenly Wesleyan duo MGMT crashed on to the scene, a little too late. Their trashy hipster pop was unabashedly trash, throw-away psychedelic synth hits catchy enough to land the band on Sony/Columbia well before their full-length debut. But somehow, despite all of this, the band had some appeal, some hint of integrity that their fellow spoiled-East-Coat-collegiate-douchebag bands lacked.

I guess it's because MGMT seemed to be gaming the system. They were snagging serious bucks from the major label machinery on behalf, it seemed, of smart-ass indie kids everywhere. The whole thing had the air of a colossal prank. The band certainly reinforced this by doing things such as suing the president of France for unauthorized use of their songs, then donating the settlement monies to legal aid for artists (I'm getting this from Reuters).

But the band's attitude and ability to not take themselves at all seriously wasn't the only thing that made them worthy of note. None of use would have heard of them and they never would have had these opportunities if their songs weren't so damn catchy. Sure, they're cheap pop songs, but they are near-perfect cheap pop songs that dare you not to like them. If someone tells you they don't like "Kids," they are probably lying.

And this is where Congratulations fails. It explicitly forgoes any attempt at singles. Big mistake. Singles are exactly what MGMT did right. The new album lacks melodies and more generally, lacks focus. It's a random, half-assed jumble of psychedelic ideas. Selecting producer Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember can't have helped the band either - based on my encounters with Kember, I'm perpetually surprised he hasn't died of an O.D. yet. He's certainly not going help anyone make judgment calls or edit themselves.

MGMT are still cool guys and they still know their music is garbage - and for that, I will always respect them. However, bland and nebulous, Congratulations isn't even worth a listen. There are better ways to spend 45 minutes.

Upcoming Shows: Mission of Burma, Les Savy Fav + more

Tonight!!! Wednesday, January 27

El Medio @ Bruar Falls | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $5
El Medio are an awesome lo-fi pop band who hardly ever play live, so go see this. They are sad and restrained and their songs are truly beautiful. [myspace]

Benefit for Haiti: The Walkmen, Ted Leo, Cold War Kids, the Wrens, Here We Go Magic, A.C. Newman, Rhett Miller, Freelance Whales (YUCK), Jimmy Fallon @ Bell House | Gowanus, Brooklyn | SOLD OUT!
This is some line-up! And for a good cause too - no wonder it's sold out. If you can make it, make it. But skip Freelance Whales. I first became aware of Freelance Whales this fall when I was on a subway car with them and eavesdropped long enough to find out their name. Even if the name weren't so stupid, though, I knew the music would be awful just from sitting near them on a train. Imagine my surprise when a few months later, their name started popping up all over the place! And everything we've learned from the blogger buzz deepens my disapproval of their existence. I don't even need to listen to them to know they suck. But anyway, I digress...the rest of this line-up is amazing. You should go.


Tomorrow!!! Thursday, January 28

Mattress, Weird Fantasy Band @ Shea Stadium | Bushwick, Brooklyn | $7
Mattress is a punk band from the New Brunswick scene, which means true, down-to-earth, old-school DIY American hardcore punk. Weird Fantasy Band is kinda the same thing - it seems to be one man backed by a variable collective out of that scene. I haven't enjoyed WFB's music all that much, but "Jasper" says they are amazing live. [mattress myspace] [wfb myspace]


Friday, January 29

Sounds Like Brooklyn: Les Savy Fav + Vivian Girls @ Brooklyn Academy of Music | Fort Greene, Brooklyn | $20-25
Les Savy Fav are one of the hardcore bands fronted a bald, bearded fat dude who strips to his underwear. They aren't the best of such bands, but might come in a respectable second. One of the Vivian Girls just e-mailed me and asked me why I keep taking cheap shots at her band. I take cheap shots because I don't think they are worth the hype and I find them boring. And boring music to me is like waterboarding to most people. But they have improved significantly over the last year and I'm warming up to them ever so slowly. So, I dunno what to say. They mostly still suck, but at least they are better than the Freelance fuckin Whales. [lsf myspace] [vg myspace]

Oneida @ Market Hotel | Bushwick, Brooklyn | $10
I like Oneida's older stuff better and they've changed a lot over the years, but they basically play pretty heavy music that jerks like metal, smiles like punk, bristles like industrial and most of all, breaks your head like krautrock, looping and trancing the hell out. So yeah, it's interesting. [myspace]

Mission of Burma @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | $20
Mission of Fucking Burma, folks. They were one of the first of the second generation of American punk bands, but their music was a bit slower and a lot more complex than the rest of the hardcore crowd - they brought musical sophistication back to punk. And they are still awesome. Go see them Saturday, though, because there are too many other shows going on Friday.

PC Worship @ Glasslands | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $7
PC Worship is amazing lo-fi avant-rock with noise experiments and sadness. But there's too much else going on for me to recommend this show, especially since the rest of the line-up sucks. They are a Brooklyn band, so you'll get another chance. [myspace]

Drunkdriver @ Union Pool | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
One of NYC's most hateful hardcore bands, Drunkdriver put on an unforgettable live show. They seem like really nice people, but would definitely freak your parents out. [myspace]


Saturday, January 30

Mission of Burma @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | $20
See above.

Sisters, Fluffy Lumbers, Total Slacker @ Shea Stadium | Bushwick, Brooklyn | $7
Sisters are the BOMB. Among noise-punk/noise-pop duos, they are easily one of the best. See them now before they go the way of No Age and Japandroids and start playing fewer and bigger spaces. Fluffy Lumbers and Total Slacker are all the rage. I haven't listened yet, but they are probably worth at least checking out. [sisters myspace] [fl myspace] [ts myspace]

PC Worship @ Market Hotel | Bushwick, Brooklyn
See above.

Dinowalrus + Javelin @ House of Yes! | Bushwick, Brooklyn | $10
I've never heard of this place before, but my guys Dinowalrus are playing there Saturday, so if for some reason you skip the above shows, consider this one. Dinowalrus play art. Like Sonic Youth, but only in spirit. Javelin plays throw-away post-disco dance-pop, but I gotta admit, their whole amplification by radio broadcast (BYOB, bring your own boombox) is pretty cool. [dinowalrus myspace] [javelin myspace]


And then there are like no shows worth mentioning for several days...weird...

Live: Coyote Eyes, Frozen Warnings + No Place, Blast Off!

When: 1/14/09
Where: Death By Audio

First things first. At the Death By Audio show a week ago, the bookers had an interesting idea - have a band play short sets in the back room between bands on the main stage. It could have been pretty cool, I guess, except that they selected a group called Blast Off! to fill this role. Blast Off consisted of aimless "jamming" on instruments including saxophone. And by jamming, I mostly mean repeating the same several notes over and over again for twenty minutes with slight variations. The first break I heard them cover sounded marching band-inspired. Tellingly, that was the best part - awful but at least original. It just got worse as the night went on, repetitive, cliche, totally bland. I wish bands like this wouldn't play in the winter; you have to pick between listening to them and standing in the cold. Tough choice. [myspace]

Now, I've been excited to hear Frozen Warnings for a while, the new project of central Werewolves member Brian Amsterdam. All I knew about the band, other than that it involved Amsterdam, was that it was synth-based. My reaction to the set (of which I missed the first half) was a little mixed.

For one thing, the lyrics were...wanting: "Do you come here often?" repeated eighty times again isn't exactly interesting. Also, the synth sounds seemed a little unrefined - I couldn't understand if they were going for old-school or up-to-date, rough or polished. I imagine that's something that will get worked out over time. Obviously, this is a very new band.

And everything else about them suggests they have enormous potential. The songs are as good as any Werewolves fan would expect - enveloping, intense slow-pop songs with spacey melodies. The sounds, though still underdeveloped, are rich and noisy. Meanwhile, the canned rhythms became much less canned as they devolved into breaking polyrhythms, multiple tempos ignoring each other but somehow interlocked. Frozen Warnings have the talent. Let's see if they have the will and the luck to make it to the next level. [myspace]

Frozen Warnings were followed by a band called No Place, who did not fit with the line-up at all. While the rest of the bands, even the unforgivable Blast Off!, had true artistic ambitions, No Place were rockstar wannabes who sounded like a poor imitation of the Strokes. Now the Strokes are fine, but they didn't exactly tear down any barriers. And No Place is a long way from even that level of merit - usually, a little offkey imperfection adds character, but this was more than a little - it was grating. Meanwhile, the rest of the band kept stumbling. They seemed ill-prepared, moved very slowly from song to song and generally showed themselves to be as unprofessional as they were uninspired. [myspace]

But I had to stick around, in order to see Coyote Eyes, long one of my favorite emerging Brooklyn bands. And DAMN I'm glad I did. Although this band has consistently impressed me with their arty post punk, this show was hands-down the best I've ever seen from them. Last time I saw them, they started out slow and failed to grab their audience. This time, they started the set with their strongest and most familiar song, "Yellow Red," which starts with a demanding half-tempo riff. As the band came in with far more volume and force, the difference in the audience reaction was obvious. While at the Mercury Lounge show, with the gradual build up, the audience drifted over towards the stage for the first few minutes of the song, every conversation was wrapped up within 30 seconds of the opening note of "Yellow Red," the audience immediately turning their attention to the band on stage.

Unfortunately, due to some equipment problems, especially with the drums, some of this inertia was lost during a long break after the first song and subsequent pauses later in the set. The downtime wasn't as well handled as it should have been, but it wasn't terrible either - Coyote Eyes have an intraband banter more amusing than most.

In any case, despite some problems between songs, the songs themselves have taken yet another step forward. In another sign of the band's growing confidence, guitarist and sometimes-singer Manny Nomikos is finally coming into his own as a vocalist. Before, he neither used nor hid the idiosyncrasies of his voice, but this time around, he exploited them. Instead of being a typical indie rock guy who can't sing great but does anyway - which is alright, but a little overdone - he's developing a unique voice that turns any weakness into an asset.

On the other side, bassist and singer Marta DeLeon wasn't at the top of her game vocally. I don't know why - maybe she had a cold, maybe she couldn't hear herself, maybe it was just a tough night. She was a touch offkey, and I look forward to hearing the band when both singers are at their best, when her melodic voice and his oddball yelps and hollers are juxtaposed to maximum effect. Next time, I guess.

Meanwhile, the band's material is great. The songs I know are stronger than ever and the newer ones promise even more exciting directions. Drummer Jeremiah McVay, who has always struck me as exceptionally gifted, seemed to be pushing himself even harder, trying out new ideas and bulking up songs in the subtle ways only an experienced drummer can. Over his unshowy but lavish beats, Nomikos and DeLeon strangled and pounded their guitars into a tight mesh of sonic strangeness. Anyone who saw this show should have no doubt that Coyote Eyes is one of the most bold, original and talented bands in Brooklyn. Is it too soon to say "I told you so?" [myspace]

Live: Drunkdriver + Blues Control

When: 1/9/10
Where: Death By Audio

It was a confusing night for me at Death By Audio, seeing bands I thought I knew and discovering they were not who I thought. First up, Blues Control. This duo uses synthesizers and guitar, but more of the former, which is certainly not what I expect from a band on the lo-fi, "shitgaze" label Siltbreeze. The band clearly has talent but their songs, which have no vocals, didn't really hold my attention - Blues Control's skills lie in sound-making and certainly not in composition. Their image was also off - I don't like when bands dress up all fancypants for gigs, but the baseball cap gave me the feeling the band would rather be home eating potato chips or something than playing a show. Maybe I was the only person to have that reaction, but it certainly threw off my enjoyment of the set.

"Jasper" thought the line-up pick didn't make sense, but I understood it to an extent. Blues Control may not be a guitar-based band or a punk band, but they have a similar aggressive artiness. Unfortunately, the band didn't live up to their potential or their reputation, instead meandering aimlessly through their way-too-long set. [myspace]

Now, I also thought I had seen Drunkdriver earlier this year but when they took the stage, I was pretty sure I'd never seen them before in my life. The three members are much younger than I thought and their music much more straightforward hardcore. Frontman ("singer" is not appropriate) Michael Berdan clearly follows in the tradition of great hardcore vocalists like Henry Rollins. Heavily tatooed, he paced the stage like a caged tiger, yelling "FUCK YOU" to hecklers (and some non-hecklers) and stage diving early and often. The audience seemed to know the routine, shouting insults between songs.


Drunkdriver
(photos from Parts Unknown Records myspace, not from this show)
And while Berdan is definitely the showman of the band, Kristy Greene (guitar) and Jeremy Villalobos (drums) are musicians. Greene's guitar was positively brutal, with sick, weighty riffs that your parents would hate. She and Villalobos locked in tightly, taking cues from noise, math rock, post hardcore and industrial music in their sheer sheet-metal sound and relentless complexity.

I like a band with a vocal melody, so I can't count Drunkdriver as a personal favorite. But they are masters at what they do and put on a classic live show for all your moshing needs. [myspace]

Upcoming Shows: Dinowalrus, Gang Gang Dance + more

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]

TONIGHT!!! Wednesday, January 13

Mahogany @ Bell House | Gowanus, Brooklyn | $7
Mahogany have been one of the very best dream pop bands for over a decade. Their dense, shimmering walls of sound are made up of intricate guitars, synthesizers and drums locking in like gears. And the melodies are good too. [myspace]


Tomorrow!!! Thursday, January 14

Frozen Warnings, Coyote Eyes @ Death by Audio | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $7
Two of the bands I told y'all to watch in 2010 are playing together tomorrow at Death by Audio, only the best DIY venue in town. Frozen Warnings are new but probably psychedelic and noisy with deep understated melodies - we'll see. Coyote Eyes play arty post punk with great singing and an amazing use of rhythm. They are both just so friggin awesome. Go to this show. [fw myspace] [ce myspace]


Friday, January 15

Gang Gang Dance + DJ /rupture @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $15
Gang Gang Dance are some hardcore motherfuckahs. Their intensely rhythm-focused experimental dub has club/dance smarts but builds eclectic sonic art around that core. The result is relentlessly inventive, dark and enticing. Gang Gang Dance are too cool for words. [ggd myspace] [dj/r myspace]


Saturday, January 16

Dinowalrus (record release!), Aa + PRSMS @ Cake Shop | LES, Manhattan
I just reviewed Dinowalrus's new record. It is awesome and they are even better live. Go celebrate with them and their even odder, more drum-focused pals Aa at Cake Shop. Do it... [dino myspace] [aa myspace]

Bell, Grooms @ Glasslands | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $5
You should go see Dinowalrus but if for some reason that doesn't pan out, you should check out this show instead. Bell is one of the better Bjork-compared singers, with an odd but powerful voice and pretty strange music to back her up. Grooms sound a lot like Sonic Youth, with experimental, noisy post punk that explores dark melodies and deafening sound. [bell myspace] [grooms myspace]

Dinosaur Jr. @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | SOLD OUT!
Dinosaur Jr. put the guitar back into indie rock in the 1980's. Let's hope they can do it again now! At the time of writing, there are still tickets available for the 1/18 show at Brooklyn Bowl. [myspace]


Sunday, January 17

Dinosaur Jr. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | SOLD OUT!
See above. [myspace]

Mos Def @ Highline Ballroom | Chelsea, Manhattan | $45 adv. / $50 dos.
I don't care how much white people like him, Mos Def is not worth $50. But if you just won the lottery or something and want to go see a rapper who white people aren't afraid of, you couldn't do better than this show.


Monday, January 18 - MLK Day!

Dinosaur Jr. @ Brooklyn Bowl | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $20
See above. [myspace]


[Upcoming Shows Playlist]
The long view...

January 2010
20
Big Troubles, My Teenage Stride, the Sundelles @ Le Poisson Rouge

22
Bob Mould @ City Winery

23
Pterodactyl @ Issue Project Room

25
Cheap Trick @ The Fillmore

26
Beach House @ Bell House (sold out)

29
Asobi Seksu @ Le Poissson Rouge
Here We Go Magic @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Mission of Burma @ Bowery Ballroom
Oneida @ Market Hotel
Sounds Like Brooklyn: Les Savy Fav, Vivian Girls (yick) @ Brooklyn Academy of Music

30
Mission of Burma @ Bowery Ballroom
Sisters, Fluffy Lumbers, Total Slacker @ Shea Stadium

February
3
Atlas Sound @ Bell House

4
Atlas Sound, Neon Indian, Sisters @ NYU Kimmel
Cold Cave @ Mercury Lounge

5
Sounds Like Brooklyn: Ra Ra Riot, the Antlers @ Brooklyn Academy of Music

6
Don Giovanni showcase: Shellshag, Screaming Females, Jeff the Brotherhood + more @ Bowery Ballroom

9
The Residents @ Webster Hall

10
Harlem @ Mercury Lounge

12
Jonathan Richman @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

13
Jonathan Richman @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
The Magnetic Fields @ Brooklyn Academy of Music

14
Jonathan Richman @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

19
Fucked Up, Kurt Vile, Frankie Rose & the Outs @ Europa
Andrew W-K @ Santos Party House

20
Crystal Stilts, Beets, Beach Fossils, German Measles @ Music Hall of Williamsubrg

21
Dum Dum Girls, Frankie Rose & the Outs @ Mercury Lounge

26
Wild Beasts @ Bowery Ballroom

27
Glenn Branca (record release) @ Le Poisson Rouge

28
Wild Beasts @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

March
5
Muse, the Silversun Pickups @ Madison Square Garden

6
Titus Andronicus, Parts & Labor, Babies @ Bowery Ballroom

10-11
The Magnetic Fields @ Town Hall

12-13
Henry Rollins @ The Fillmore

18-19
Killswitch Engage @ The Fillmore

23
Black Lips @ Brooklyn Bowl

25
Nada Surf play Let Go + surprise guest @ Bowery Ballroom

26
Nada Surf play The Weight Is a Gift + surprise guest @ Bell House
Spoon, Deerhunter @ Radio City Music Hall

27
Nada Surf play Lucky + surprise guest @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

30
Big Pink, A Place to Bury Strangers @ Webster Hall

April
15
Liars @ Bowery Ballroom

18
Liars @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]

Album: Dinowalrus - %

Album: %
Kanine, 2009
Rating: ******** (8/10)

When I first heard Dinowalrus recorded, I wasn't taken with the music. I didn't understand it and I couldn't digest it. However, after seeing them live, I began to grasp what they're all about. And I decided with their album release this week, it was time for me to give their recordings another go.

From a relatively young band with a name like Dinowalrus, you'd certainly be justified not expecting a particularly mature album. But for a very indie Brooklyn band, Dinowalrus proves with % that they are as grown up as anyone. The record is sophisticated and polished and is certainly a serious and substantial undertaking. This isn't scene, it isn't attitude, it's music. And maybe that sounds obvious in a music review, but it's really not - most bands are at least partially about something other than the music - and there's nothing inherently wrong with that. But if Dinowalrus has another motive, it doesn't show here.

Peter Feigenbaum, Dinowalrus's frontman, told me he doesn't listen a whole lot of to contemporary music, partly "in order to maintain aesthetic sovereignty." And that clearly works for Dinowalrus, because % sounds like no one else. It's dense, spacey psychedelia with deep grooves, raging guitar riffs and a million noises you can't quite identify. The songs are epic and multidimensional but rock hard. Sounds here are clearly a medium, the album a collection of art pieces, but that makes this sound pretentious and burdensome. Instead, it's fun and beautiful and badass, all at the same time.

My main criticism of Dinowalrus in the past has come from a certain amorphousness and I still see that here to some extent. It's not defining of the entire album, but there are certain places where I wonder if a particular chorus or verse might work just as well in a different song. The large components of each song aren't always glued together as well as I'd like.

But on a smaller scale, it would be impossible to fault the band for their arrangements. Each song is a complex mesh of sounds, painstakingly engineered and carefully, dynamically mixed. The songs are at once wild and disciplined, improvisational and meticulously planned.

Though the band's sonic palate is uniquely their own, it sometimes seems to want for breadth - every song is slathered in a similar dark, reverbed haze. However, there is always a trade-off between cohesion and variety and % manages a better balance than most. From the tightly-wound half-kraut, half-punk "Electric Car, Gas Guitar" to the bluesy riff of "Cage Those Pythons" to the warm, dreamy "Haze on the Mobius Strip," the songs create their own rich space for the listener to crawl inside.

It's hard to pick highlights from the album. "BEAD" may be the big hit song (err...) but its psych-funk groove (think ESG, Liquid Liquid or Konk on acid) is matched by the monumental krautrock-influenced anthem "I Hate Numbers." "Nuke Duke 'Em" burns like a fuse to a block of TNT, twisting and turning as it consumes itself.

% is original to its core. Though you can spot plenty of reference points in it, you won't see anything resembling imitation. There is simply no substitute. If you like this, you better get your hands on it because it's one of a kind.

Albums to Watch for in 2010

*** DISCLAIMER: As with last year's list, these are albums I would like to see in 2010. Some have not been announced, and some probably don't and won't exist. I'm not trying to start rumors, I'm just an optimist!!***

Dinowalrus - This one is real and it's coming out soon. Like, in a week. I haven't listened yet, but I'm pretty sure it's going to kick ass. The band's experimental psychedelic drone probably isn't for everyone, but if you're into that stuff (and you should be!), this is as good as it gets. [myspace]

Dum Dum Girls - The debut is out in March. Dum Dum Girls are what's right about this whole lo-fi pop revival. [myspace]

My Bloody Valentine - A girl can hope, right? Right?

Ringo Deathstarr - I was hoping for this one last year, but this year it's actually looking promising. The loudest, densest, prettiest shoegaze in ages. [myspace]

Seawhores - Heavy and confrontational, yet melodic, Seawhores have earned their cult following. I don't know if they are planning an album, but since they signed to Death By Audio Records, they must intend to release something at some point. [myspace]

Shellshag - This one is real too, it comes out in February and it's going to rock. The band's two members like to get fucked up and fuck up and fuck you up. What else could you want? [myspace]

Titus Andronicus - Titus Andronicus play hardcore punk that's at once traditional and original, pushing boundaries with their ambitious compositions, shoegaze-influenced guitars and thoughtful lyrics. [myspace]

And keep an eye out for these too...

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (March)

Fiasco (we'll see...)

Interference (February)

Liars (March)

Los Campesinos! (January)

Quasi (February)

Radio Dept. (February)

Sisters (we'll see...)

So So Glos (we'll see...)

Spoon (January)

Who to Watch in 2010: Part 3

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Part 1 (reruns)
Part 2

Knight School - Indie pop has certainly experienced a bit of a revival lately and I have a hunch Knight School will be one of the next swept up the craze. They aren't anything new, but slightly harder-edged and rawer than the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and their ilk, they have a niche. Their songwriting is consistently superb, with Bealtes-esque melody. And they've got all the right friends. Stay tuned. [MySpace]

Male Bonding - This one may be a bit of an easy pick, but so far, the U.S. press hasn't really picked up on these new signees to SubPop. My first thought about this band (aside from the fact that they share a name with an early incarnation of Sonic Youth) was, what do we need with another DIY punk band? But it quickly became apparent to me, especially seeing the band live at CMJ, that they have something special. Their music is simply explosive - let's hope people on this side of the Atlantic take notice soon! [MySpace]

PC Worship - I was originally under the impression this band was quite a bit more avant-garde than they really are. They do build a space in their music for a lot of sonic experimentation, but their murky, echoey noise carries twice-removed psychedelic melodies and lo-fi charm. [MySpace]

Screens - Screens dub their reverby drones with spooky, emotive vocals and organic sounding electronic grooves. The band may be a little too strange to make it really big, but hey, you never know. And whether or not they garner attention, I am willing to bet they will do something bold and exciting in 2010. [MySpace]

Sleigh Bells - This is another somewhat obvious pick. I mean, even my mom has heard of them! But they were little known until this October, when they became the surprise stars of CMJ. They are an electrodance duo, but with serious no wave, punk and noise influences. From searing distorted guitars and searing distorted vocals to ten thousand pound downbeats, this band will make a real impact. And not just an impact on your eardums, but that too! [MySpace]

NEXT>> Part 4

Best Albums of 2009, Part 5: #5-1

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Part 1 - Rules and Runners Up
Part 2 - #25-21
Part 3 - #20-16
Part 4 - #15-11
Part 5 - #10-5

#5

The Horrors - Primary Colours
XL

I've hated on the Horrors pretty seriously based on seeing them live, but after a recommendation from my punk heroes Fucked Up, I decided to give the album a fair chance. And I gotta put my foot in my mouth after those snide remarks. This band is what it would have sounded like like if Kevin Shields had been Joy Division's guitarist instead of Bernie Sumner. The guitar itself isn't mixed high, but its twisted reverb and overtones play off the tense Peter Hook-esque bass. The vocals are influenced by Ian Curtis in their flat, desperate melodies, but the delivery is slightly higher and younger - this is no aping. The songwriting may be a throwback to the 80's, but sonically, despite each component's obvious roots, Primary Colours sounds far more ahead of its time than it does retro. Moody but catchy, the Horrors' music is well worth the attention it's garnered. I'm sorry I didn't know that sooner.

How I found it: It was Fucked Up's Best of 2009 list that made me give it a fair chance
Track picks: "Mirror's Image," "Who Can Say"
Link: [MySpace]


#4

Pterodactyl - Worldwild
Brah

As I explained, this is a list of "most exciting" albums, and Worldwild is certainly that. It may not be as professional as the releases by been-around-the-block musicians like Sonic Youth, Raekwon and Flaming Lips, but it proves that it's still possible to find new directions for music in 2009. And though Pterodactyl sound like no one else, they are accessible and melodic. Fast, arpeggiated guitars, jumpy drums and soaring multi-part vocals combine for a totally fresh take on indie rock. The whole album speaks of exploration, energy and elation. Even the album cover, depicting two hikers under a glitchy, digital rainbow, evokes a strange and beautiful otherworld. Unjustly overlooked, Worldwild is good for your brain and your heart.

How I found it: They opened for Oneida.
Track picks: "One With Everyone," "Share the Shade"
Link: [MySpace]


#3

Wavves - Wavvves
Fat Possum

Last winter, Wavves was the first breath of fresh air for me as an indie reviewer. It's a return to the simple, minimal, poppy guitar punk of the 80's. There's no gimmick, there's no bullshit. I know something this simplistic doesn't sound revolutionary, but in a scene dominated by orchestral pop, self-aware art rock and pseudo-ironic hipster club tunes, someone needed to bring us to our senses. And who better than the 21-year-old slacker Nathan Williams whose four-track tunes exploded out of his bedroom and across the indie world last winter and spring, then crashed and burned its way out of the spotlight just as fast? We'll see if Wavves can dust themselves off from their sharp tumble and continue on, but what really matters is that in 2008 to 2009, they were exactly what indie rock needed.

Read more from the original RFR review...

How I found it: I don't remember!
Track picks: "California Goths," "No Hope Kids," "Beach Demon"
Link: [MySpace]


#2

Dinosaur Jr - Farm
Jagjaguwar

In the 1980's, Dinosaur Jr put lead guitar back into indie rock. Without their tuneful but heavy anthems, rock would not be the same today - they paved the way for grunge and 90's punk bands like Nirvana, who, um, might have influenced other bands to say the least. Though J Mascis has most of the songwriting credits, Dinosaur Jr's unique energy has always come from the friction among its three members. Farm can stand alongside the band's best (i.e. first) albums, and for those of us who weren't yet in kindergarten when the band first imploded, it's great to experience Dinosaur Jr not as some historical artifact but as something relevant to our time. They may have some gray hairs, but Dinosaur Jr haven't aged at all. And what could be more exciting than a truly great album by one of the greatest rock bands of all time?

How I found it: It's Dinosaur Jr, duh!
Track picks: "Pieces," "See You," "I Want You to Know,"
Link: [MySpace]


#1

Antlers - Hospice
Frenchkiss

Hospice is the kind of album that changes lives. Exploring the guilt that lingers after abuse and after loss, Hospice is a painful record. Tales of mental illness, terminal cancer and emotional abuse enigmatically intersect while singer-songwriter Peter Silberman comes to terms with the fact that love does not conquer all. Musically, the shaky, dark electronica creates a distinctive soundscape perfect for the psychological decay and hospital setting of the album, while Silberman's high, clear voice unnervingly reveals dark secrets and deep fears. It's rare that an album comes along with the power to mend people, to change their lives permanently. Hospice is one of these albums, surely not for everyone, but for enough of us to be numbered among the greats.

Read more from the original RFR review...

How I found it: Pop Tarts Suck Toasted
Track picks: "Two," "Atrophy," "Wake"
Link: [MySpace]