On The Blog Reel: Black Lips, Good Old War, Care Bears On Fire

Featured:

BLACK LIPS "I'll Be With You"

GOOD OLD WAR "That's What's Wrong"

CARE BEARS ON FIRE "Everybody Else"

Isn't watching home videos the best, you guys? Every couple of years, your parents dig those puppies out for entertainment and embarassment purposes, and you're never surprised at what you find. More often than not, these videos are about absolutely nothing. They feature you as a kid sitting around, doing something arbitrary like playing with a toy, perfectly content to mind your own business, but perplexed as to why your dad is uncomfortably zooming in on your face for long periods of time while fumbling with his camcorder and NEVER FIGURING OUT HOW TO FOCUS THAT GODDAMN THING. Well, that's kind of what the Black Lips' new clip for "I'll Be With You" is like. Except, instead of playing with toys, the guys are getting drunk and burning their guitars in the family fireplace. Smile! 

Meanwhile, Langhorne, PA's finest acoustic folk trio Good Old War are far less extreme in their no-frills, studio-centric video for "That's What's Wrong." The song, from last year's seriously underrated Only Way To Be Alone, is a modern-day update on CSNY, featuring intricate golden harmonies from the group's three members. Oh, and we've followed lead singer Keith Goodwin since his time spent in Days Away, and he's looking more and more like Charlie from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (sans the glue) each time we see him. Just an observation. Finally, we're fairly certain that the three girls in Care Bears On Fire have yet to reach Bat Mitzvah age, but that doesn't stop them from confidently rocking out in their debut video for "Everybody Else." We get a major School Of Rock vibe from these chicks; i.e., the song is pretty terrible, but in that "hey, they're young, so good for them!" way. Including this one for the creative paint-by-numbers concept, though. 

As usual, you can find all the videos after the jump. It's good to have you back, Blog Reel! 

Tour Alert: Marissa Nadler

[MP3]

Marissa Nadler - "River of Dirt"

Coming off her recent release, Little Hells (dropped March 3 on Kemado), Marissa Nadler is heading on a fairly large world tour kicking off in L.A. on April 7. Matt posted on this awhile ago. Besure to check out her tour dates after the jump.
MARISSA NADLER ON TOUR
Apr 7 - 8:00p - Hotel Cafe - Los Angeles, CA
Apr 8 - 9:00p - Cafe du Nord - San Francisco, CA
Apr 10 - 8:00p - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA #
Apr 11- 8:00p -The Media CLub _Vancouver, BC
Apr 12 - 9:00p - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR
Apr 16 - 9:00p - 400 Bar - Minneapolis, MN +
Apr 17 - 8:00p - High Noon Saloon - Madison, WI+
Apr 18 - 8:00p - Shubas Tavern - Chicago, IL +
Apr 19 - 8:00p - Shubas Tavern - Chicago, IL +
Apr 21 - 8:00p - El Mocambo - Toronto, Ontario +
Apr 22 - 8:00p - Black Sheep Inn - Wakefield, Quebec +
Apr 24 - 9:00p - Lizard Lounge - Cambridge, MA +
Apr 25 - 8:00p - Highline Ballroom - New York, NY +
Apr 26 - 8:00p - IOTA - Arlington, VA +
May 1 - Vooruit - Gent, Belgium - w/ the Great Lake Swimmers
May 2 - The Chapel Arts Center - Bath, UK
May 3 - Halifax Parish Church - Halifax, UK
May 5 - Arts Center - Norwich, UK
May 4 - Captain's Rest. - Glasgow, Scotland
May 6 - The Luminaire - London, UK
May 7 - The Glee Club - Birmingham, UK
May 9 - Chapelle St. Jacques - Vendome, France
May 10 - Parlement de Bretagne - Rennes, France
May 14 - Init - Rome, Italy w/ Josephine Foster!
May 15 - Casa 139 - Milano, Italy
May 16 - Spazio 211 - Torino, Italy
May 20 - Le Romandie - Lausanne, CH
May 22 - Admiralspalast 101 - Berlin, Germany
May 23 - Studio 672 - Koln, Germany
May 24 - Brotfabrik - Frankfurt, Germany
May 25 - KAMPNAGEL - Hamburg, Germany
May 27 - Club Woody - Gothenburg, Sweden
May 28 - Revolver - Oslo, Norway w/ Jamie Stewart
May 30 - Orange Blossom Festival - Beverungen, Germany
May 31 - De Buze - Steenwijk, Netherlands
June 1 - Paradiso - Amsterdam, Netherlands
+ - w/ the Handsome Family
# - w/ Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter

Wavves @ the Mercury Lounge

Photo Credit: Georgia Kral

Wavves - "So Bored" - mp3

FAN: "Your drum rolls sound like my grandmother rolling on ecstasy!"
DRUMMER (Ryan): "Tight?"
NATHAN: "Gross."

One of the elements of a great rock and roll song has always been hand claps. Ba-bap BAP Ba-bap BAP. You can hear it in your head - that old "I Want to Hold Your Hand" hand clap pattern. This simple rhythmic nuance lies at the heart of almost every Wavves tune, even if no one on stage is playing it. THAT'S what makes Wavves poppy. Other than that, there isn't much else besides gloriously-distorted guitar, endearingly off-key vocals and full-speed-ahead drumming.

Wavves (Nathan Daniel William and drummer Ryan Ulsh) last night at the Mercury Lounge, were tight. "It's been 60 days. We're tired," William said. It didn't really seem so on stage. Their third night in New York proved an odd scene at the usually, quite chatty club. As loud as Wavves' songs were (they could've been louder), the crowd was just as silent during the tuning breaks between songs --it was eerie. This of course prompted fan banter (see above).

More on the Wavves show after the jump...

Wavves require few words to describe their shows. It would seem wrong to write an effusively long post on a compact, efficient, 25 minute rock set. The duo took the stage, turned up the guitar, (answered a cell phone call) and played their three minute rock jams. Yes, at times the melodies recalled the Beach Boys, and yes, Wavves are also from LA. He's got great hair and a Marshall stack. He headbangs, the drummer drums, the songs are catchy and the lyrics simple: "His feet were torn/by his skateboard/ripped jeans to shorts/won't do no chores." It was a fun time.

Cumbia Comes to the U.S. Bearing Mixtapes

Caught this on the XLR8R blog yesterday, and after some investigation it seems to be a treasure trove of the crazy, South American dance music...Cumbia. We've read a bunch about the all-night dance parties, the tireless DJs and general dance craze that has swept our neighbors in the southern hemisphere, but honestly, we have never really been sure what to check out or where to start. Enter ZZK Records and Zizek. Zizek Club will be touring the U.S. this spring and summer making stops at Santos Party House and Union Pool (really?) in New York, and hitting up larger venues such as the Coachella fest. ZZK is also sponsoring a Remix Flyer Contest for the best Zizek tour flyer. The winner gets tickets to a show, a copy of the record and widespread usage of the image. We're in the process of downloading a few of the mixtapes that ZZK is offering to see if in fact, we are actually fans of Cumbia. Thousands of South Americans can't be wrong, can they?

Call to Readers in China, We Have Free Music Too!

Alexander F. Yuan/Associated PressKai-fu Lee of Google Greater China, in Beijing on Monday.

This post goes out to our readers in the greater-Asian continents: Yeah, we see you on our analytics, and we want to see more!

Blogger, for those of you know don't know, is a subsidiary program of Google. In recent NYT news, the geniuses at Google said they will now offer free music links to China, something unavailable in any other reach of the globe. Why China you ask? For starters, over 300 million Chinese are Internet users; it is said that over 99% of the music downloads in China are illegal; and, I had to Google this, China's population stands at 1,319,175,333. Check out this sadistic site.

What does this all mean? It means that we, as an emerging blog, would love to express our non-communist-enforcing, non-illegal downloading love to our Chinese readers. There are plenty of you: Come ravage our free music, tell your friends, and return any and all the time.

Google will serve as our international liaison. Here's to corporate exploitation! Get some.

Brossa d'Ahir

Pep Laguarda - Cims I Abismes - mp3

What keeps me in this blogging game is the discovery of records such as PEP LAGUARDA & TAPINERIA's Brossa d'Ahir. This came to me not through a publicist or label, but through Other Music's weekly newsletter. While only through my first listen, its languid-folk melodies, softly-tasteful instrumentation and hushed-Spanish vocals bring you instant flashes of serenity. Maybe this is one of those records that everyone else knows about already, and I missed the boat somewhere -- I'm not a Spanish folk expert. So, it's new to me and if you haven't heard it, I hope you'll enjoy it as much I am right now. Here's a quote from Michael Klausman's Other Music review.

"It's [not] some monumentally groundbreaking artistic achievement, but that it's one of the most comfortably persuasive compulsive listens you'll ever be privy to, and one of the rare albums where I'd be astounded if the listener was not moved by it... Everyone I've played it for has been as surprised as I at how lovely it is. It's not the kind of thing that'll have to grow on you either, for it isn't particularly weird, or psychedelic, or anything like that. It's just, well, like I said, lovely. Warmly and impeccably recorded by Daevid Allen in 1976 in Deia, Mallorca, Pep Laguarda and Tapineria's only album Brossa D'ahir seems to just gently float outside of time."

Howard's Got A One Man Show

You all know how much we love Dent May around these parts. We post about the bespectacled troubadour like, all the time. He's the only musician in Stark history to be featured as an I Shall Be Released, On The Blog Reel AND an Artist To Watch 2009, so you know our love for this cat is legit. So anyway, adoring preface not needed this time. Check out Dent's new video for "Howard," a personal favorite from January's excellent The Good Feeling Music of Dent May and His Magnificent Ukelele. There are so many great filmmaking techniques employed here that middle schoolers learn in their summer movie classes offered at community colleges. So one of those middle schoolers probably made this video. (Natch, we don't know who directed the clip, but it obviously didn't cost a whole lot.) Anyway, thanks to Stereogum for premiering it. Enjoy!

Ezra Furman and The Harpoons plus Elizabeth and the Catapult

Photos by Karp

Maybe it was just the finely groomed mustache he has cultivated, but Ezra Furman and his band the Harpoons seemed to have grown up a bit since the last time we saw them. Their songs will always have a youthful energy, but some maturity in their looks and stage presence have done much to bring them above typical college band stereotypes. While still operating largely under the popular radar, Furman's set at the Mercury Lounge on 3/26 was as tight and propulsive as any we have seen. Featuring music from his two excellent Minty Fresh LP's Banging Down the Doors and Inside the Human Body plus two highly promising, but seemingly unfinished new songs, Furman & Co. delivered a rollicking-rock set. Playing a few folk-inspired acoustic songs (see: "I Want to be a Sheep") Furman relied heavily upon his electric, post-punk inspired tunes (see: "Big Deal"). Furman even commented: "I don't want to play those folk songs." While the electric numbers were quite enjoyable, and surely more fun to play, we hope Furman won't neglect his more sparse acoustic ruminations, which have earned him the most critical praise and feature some of his best lyrical and musical writing (see: "American Highway" and "I dreamed of Moses"). Boy, these kids today with their electric guitars; it was all downhill after Newport '65.

More photos and Elizabeth and the Catapult review after the jump...

Elizabeth and the Catapult

For her part, Elizabeth Ziman has one of the best voices in the singer songwriter genre these days. Working hard on the regional touring scene for the past three years or more, Elizabeth and the Catapult have secured a label deal with Verve and plan to release their first LP this June. While featuring all accomplished musicians, the performance did little to challenge the listeners and placed few demands on their attention. This, of course, is fine for some fans and the mostly full Mercury Lounge was highly pleased with the set. Yet, it just didn't satisfy us in the way we were hoping. Personally and professionally Ziman is fantastic and is likely to garner a great deal of success behind the new record. Yet, the jazz/rock/folk/singer-songwriter genre in general is one we may have personally grown out of. While a relatively safe set-up, piano based songwriting featuring a slate of band members including upright bass, will never go out of style. Luckily for Elizabeth she has the songwriting chops and voice to make each performance highly worthwhile.

Goldenvoice Is Trying Its Hardest To Avoid An All Points West Sophomore Slump

...But the jury's out whether or not they'll have succeeded by the time the last throng of Coldplay fans exits Liberty State Park at midnight on August 2nd. We attended Saturday's go around last summer, and listen, there was a lot to love about the inagurual soiree -- namely, Radiohead -- but there was also a lot to kind of bitch about too. The beer thing was a fiasco for a lot of people, as was the ill-conceived matter of getting everyone out of Liberty State Park at festival's end. But mostly, the heart of the festival (read: the bands) was undeniably lackluster. (Choosing to decide who to see between Alberta Cross and Sia was the most boring dilemma ever, you guys.)

So Goldenvoice has certainly attempted to add a bit more shine to this year's lineup. Beasties, Fleet Foxes, My Bloody Valentine, Mogwai and MGMT are all worthy of shelling out enough cash for at least one day. And there's comedy this year, an inclusion that makes Sunday an automatic must-see (SHOWALTER!) But Coldplay? Come on. Replacing Jack Johnson with Chris Martin and Co. does not a successful improvement make. But whatever. Chances are, we'll still be riding the Light Rail at least one of the days. 

All the info can be found at APW's official site. 

Get the New Bob Dylan MP3 Now, Before it's Too Late

Bob Dylan's 46th career release, Together Through Life, drops April 28 on Columbia. From now until midnight tomorrow, an exclusive first track MP3 for the album is available HERE, on Bob Dylan's homepage. The tune titled, "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'," rollicks with the blues-infused power of previous efforts such as 2006's Modern Times. Highlighting a subdued brass section, accordion and vivacious guitar lines, Dylan jangles along in typical, modern day fashion. There isn't much departure from the newer, more grizzled sound of Dylan's vocals; we weren't expecting another life chapter here, but there is no lack in musical quality either... it's Bob fucking Dylan.*
Pre-order the album here.

* As the rock myth goes, there have been three Bob Dylans: the first died in the infamous motorcycle crash in Woodstock, and the next was so bad, Columbia had him killed. We are living through the third Dylan currently, and Together Through Life doesn't seem to be a mythical, posthumous release.

Give Me More McCarren Pool! Swim!

Watch the full concert at baeblemusic.com

Ask and you shall receive. NYT just reported that the Williamsburg waterfront will serve as the new, premiere, outdoor concert venue; it will be the new McCarren Pool. Hipsters rejoice! Hungover Sunday's can now be boozed away (again) while basking in the decadent sun and listening to the musical stylings of probably... Khan!!! So wrangle up your headbands, skinny jeans, don your best sleeveless shirt and St. Marks Ray Ban rip-offs and dance. Give me more cowbell...Give me more McCarren...Give me Williamsburg waterfront.

New Deer Tick Record - June 23

DEER TICK - BORN ON FLAG DAY - JUNE 23rd - (Partisan)

Hey kids. Heading out the door to go catch Ezra Furman later tonight, but wanted to throw this up for ya'll. Just got it in, and you know how much we loves us some Deer Tick. MUCH better art than both versions of War Elephant. Tour Dates with Jenny Lewis and track listing after the jump.



Deer Tick
Born on Flag Day (Partisan)
Street date: June 23, 2009

1. Easy
2. Little White Lies
3. Smith Hill
4. Song About A Man
5. Houston, TX
6. Straight Into A Storm
7. Friday XIII
8. The Ghost
9. Hell On Earth
10. Stung

DEER TICK

Thu-Mar-26 Durham, NC Duke Univeristy Coffeehouse *
Fri-Mar-27 Baltimore, MD The G-Spot *
Sat-Mar-28 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda's *
Fri-Apr-03 Swarthmore, PA Olde Club - Swarthmore University
Thu-Apr-23 Boston, MA Harpers Ferry
Fri-Apr-24 Providence, RI Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel #
Mon-Jun-08 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero %
Tue-Jun-09 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg %
Wed-Jun-10 Boston, MA House of Blues %
Thu-Jun-11 Washington, DC 9:30 Club %
Fri-Jun-12 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle %
Sun-Jun-14 St. Louis, MO The Pageant %
Mon-Jun-15 Lawrence, KS Granada %
Wed-Jun-17 Omaha, NE Slowdown %

* = w/ Phosphorescent
# = w/ Elvis Perkins in Dearland
% = w/ Jenny Lewis

New Passion Pit! Stream Single Here.

Hey all,
You need not hear about how fantastic Passion Pit is; we've told you enough. Here, here and here. Today we exist only to offer you their newest single, "The Reeling" which you can stream after the jump. Tour dates and track listing for their to-be-released LP, Manners dropping May 19 on Frenchkiss also after the jump.



Passion Pit Tour Dates:

05-01 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso - London Calling Festival
05-04 Berlin, Germany - Knaak Klub
05-06 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique
05-07 Dublin, Ireland - Academy
05-11 Manchester, UK - Manchester Moho
05-12 Sheffield, UK - Leadmill
05-13 London, UK - Heaven
05-14 Southampton, UK - Southampton Orange Rooms
05-15 Brighton, UK - Great Escape Festival
05-16 Bristol, UK - O2 Academy
05-23 George, WA - Sasquatch! Music Festival
05-24 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
05-26 San Francisco, CA - Bimbos
05-28 West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour
05-29 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
05-30 Pomona, CA - The Glass House
06-02 Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre
06-03 Austin, TX - Emos
06-04 Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
06-05 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
06-06 Atlanta, GA - The Drunken Unicorn
06-08 Richmond, VA - The National
06-09 Washington, DC - Black Cat
06-11 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
06-13 Covington, KY - Mad Hatter
06-14 Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom
06-17 Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place
06-18 Boston, MA - Paradise
06-19 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
06-20 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
07-04 Malsaucy, France - Eurockeennes
09-11 Isle of Wight, UK - Bestival

Manners Track List

01 Make Light
02 Little Secrets
03 Moths Wings
04 The Reeling
05 Eyes As Candles
06 Swimming In The Flood
07 Folds In Your Hands
08 To Kingdom Come
09 Sleepyhead
10 Let Your Love Grow Tall
11 Seaweed Song

Jeremy Jay Releases "Slow Dance"

Jeremy Jay - "In This Lonely Town" mp3

We've been following this shy, baby-faced pop/rock artist for a good bit now, and it's nice to see him really start to get the love he deserves. Jeremy Jay released Slow Dance yesterday on K Records, and it's filled with the nostalgic, yet charming songs we've come to love and expect from Jay. We caught him last year at the Mercury Lounge, and his stylish look and endearing stage presence made up for a sometimes wobbly voice and sloppy guitar work. Despite his imperfections live, we gotta say that his records come off as quite lovely and at times, tender and sad in all the right ways. Jay is an artist whose songs defy specific musical eras. It's best to sit back and imagine these songs playing in whatever setting you please-- be it a high school dance as Pitchfork did, or some gray mid-afternoon March day in New York City.
Tour dates after the jump...


US Tour Dates

4/2 – The Smell – Los Angeles, CA
4/3 – Café Du Nord – San Francisco, CA
4/4 – The Partisian - Merced, CA
4/5 – Luigi's Fun Garden – Sacramento, CA
4/7 – Sunset Tavern – Seattle, WA
4/8 – KPSU Presents @ Rotture – Portland, OR
4/9 – Cherry City Music Festival – Salem, OR
4/10 – Jewel Box Rendevous – Seattle, WA
4/11 – The Peanut Gallery – Vancouver, BC
4/12 – The Northern - "Slow Dance" Record Release Show – Olympia, WA
4/22 – Gooski's – Pittsburg, PA
4/23 – Talk Head Club – Baltimore, MD
4/24 – Union Hall – Brooklyn, NY
4/25 – The Silent Barn - New York, NY
4/26 – Velvet Lounge – Washington, DC
4/27 – Philadelphia – Philadelphia, PA
4/28 – T.T. The Bears – Boston, MA
4/29 – Zoo Bizarre – Montreal
4/30 – Bug Jar – Rochester,NY
5/1 - Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH
5/2 – The Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL
5/4 The Treehouse - Columbus
5/22 – The Smell – Los Angeles, CA
12/7 – The Hologram – Angel Town, CA

Harlem Shakes Stream Technicolor Health

Brooklyn's very own Harlem Shakes just released their much anticipated debut LP, Technicolor Health yesterday; to celebrate, a show this evening at MHOW. The album is now available for full stream here. This quintets' ragtag, excitable music features pop-infused rhythmic beats, nasal vocals and hooky choruses. Their most popular tune, "Strictly Game" feels like dirty Vampire Weekenders bloodied and coked-out after a party with, then beating by, the Dirty Projectors; Harlem emerges from the gutter as Robert Johnson did the crossroads, with something raw and ambitious.

Limited tour dates and track list after the jump...

Harlem Shakes Tour Dates:
03-26 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
04-11 Washington, DC – DC9
04-16 Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
04-18 Williamstown, MA – Williams College (w/Deerhoof)

Technicolor Health Track List:

01 Nothing But Change Part II
02 Strictly Game
03 TFO
04 Niagara Falls
05 Sunlight
06 Unhurried Hearts (Passaic Pastoral)
07 Winter Water
08 Natural Man
09 Radio Orlando
10 Technicolor Health
11 Nothing But Change Part I (Exclusive iTunes Bonus Track)
11 Marian (Exclusive eMusic Bonus Track)

Win A Free Copy Of The Drones' Havilah, Get Your Ass Destroyed

[mp3]

The Drones: "The Minotaur"

One listen to "The Minotaur," from The Drones' brand new record Havilah and you'll sensibly want to run and hide in the attic. We mean that in the best way possible. The band of Aussies' excellent track starts off innocently enough, but slowly teeters on the verge of destruction before finally reaching a thrilling, ultimately frightening climax of screeching guitars and vocalist Gareth Liddiard's strained shouting. (Shit, we just gave away the ending.) Havilah just dropped via ATP, and we're lucky enough to be giving away two free copies of the album right now! 

All you have to do is send an e-mail to me: Blueintheface@gmail.com with your name and address, and we'll have a copy of this thing in the mail to you faster than you can even comprehend. First two to e-mail win. Get on it!

Telepathe - "So Fine"

We posted the other day on Telephathe's upcoming record Dance Mother and how the quality of the album far surpasses the Brooklyn dance duo's highly polarizing live performances. While we can't claim to be in the category of "fans" of their live show - this record is absolutely worth checking out. Dance Mother is out digitally now and physically on April 14th via IAMSOUND. Here is a cool video for one of the best tracks from the record "So Fine" directed by Katherine Nolfi. Highly repeatable.

Shins Leave Sub-Pop

It seems the rumors are true, the Shins have indeed left Sub Pop. I actually dislike this news. Sub Pop has always been one of the good guys and the money they made off of the Shins helped them fund some great records that may not have seen the light of day otherwise. I'm all for bands making it on their own and jockeying "the system." I've just always considered Sub Pop outside of the real "industry-type" realm, and this just seems like an unnecessary blow to a good label. Of course, I could be wrong, and I'm sure that the Shins have their reasons for this, but I just don't feel like this is "happy" news to report. Via Pitchfork:

Some big news from Sub Pop: The Shins are no longer with the label. One of the world's biggest indie bands has parted ways with one of the world's biggest indie labels. A label rep says the band is working on new music, but they have no idea when it'll be out. It just won't be out on Sub Pop. More info when we get it.
As we reported yesterday, the Shins will tour in May.

Tour Alert: The Whip

Our friends from across the pond are coming stateside to tour. Manchester's The Whip are pushing their newest release, X Marks Destination, which dropped recently on Razor & Tie. Check out our review of the album here.
Tour dates after the jump.

27 Miami, FL @ WMC - Ultra Music Festival @ Bicentennial Park
28 Miami, FL @ WMC @ The Awarehouse w/ Organicarma
28 Miami, FL @WMC – Onitsuka Tiger/ GET WET Party @ Gansevoort Hotel
30 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl *


APRIL 2009
1 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom**
2 New Haven, Ct @ Yale Afro-American Cultural Center**
3 New York, NY @ Top Shop Soho (DJ Gig for Store Opening 6-8pm)
3 Brooklyn, NY @ Studio B*
4 Philadelphia, PA @ TLA*
7 Washington, DC @ 930 Club*
8 Boston, MA @ Paradise*
9 Montreal, Canada @ Les Saintes**
10 Toronto, Canada @ Kool Haus*
11 Chicago, IL @ Congress*
14 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey**
15 Portland, OR @ Dantes**
16 San Francisco, CA @ Pop Scene**
19 Las Vegas, NV @ Hard Rock
20 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
21 Los Angeles, CA @ Cinespace w/ Steve Aoki


*with DeadMau5 and Late of the Pier
**with Late of the Pier

Gushing About Manchester Orchestra

[mp3]

Manchester Orchestra: "I've Got Friends"

Manchester Orchestra's forthcoming Mean Everything To Nothing is my favorite album of the year so far. It doesn't hit stores until the end of April, but thanks to the kind folks at Columbia, my car's been rocking the disc since February. (Sick brag!) In my small, humble opion, Mean Everything is the logical successor to Foo Fighters' seminal The Colour And The Shape and a kindred spirit to both Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and Weezer's Pinkerton. It's full of raw angst and unfiltered poetry, capturing what it's like to be a twentysomething on the precipice of a new, adult life, split between shunning that tide or reluctantly embracing it. The music is so perfectly composed of passion, quirk and feedback that the band's sound and influences are immediate. I guess I just can't say enough about it. Look for a full review as the release date approaches.

Anyway, hopefully I've gotten you excited, or at least curious enough to check out the videos for the first two songs on the album, "The Only One," and "Shake It Out." The band enlisted directors Clay Lipsky and Jason Bognacki to helm clips for all twelve songs from Mean Everything, similar to what Death Cab For Cutie did with Plans a couple years ago. The videos are being unveiled each week before the album hits, and you can find the aforementioned first two clips in the replies, via Absolute Punk and Spin. Enjoy!

The Only One:

Shake It Out:

.

New Felice Brothers: "Run Chicken Run" Mp3, Yonder Tracklist

[mp3]

The Felice Brothers: "Run Chicken Run"

Team Love is dropping the new Felice Brothers LP, Yonder Is The Clock on April 7th, and we're all pretty jazzed about it. And we're pleased as punch to offer the set's first single, "Run Chicken Run," today. Consider our appetites whetted. (Or is it wetted? We can never remember.) It's a great update on last year's self-titled record, containing the elements you've come to know and love from the boys -- rollicking accordion and fiddle, very-Dylanesque vocals and a made-in-the-mud chorus -- while improving the fidelity and adding new textures, like the fuzzy third verse. You can pre-order the ghostly, Twain-inspired Yonder vinyl at the label's webstore and get an album download link next week. 

Yonder Is The Clock:

1 The Big Surprise 

2 Penn Station

3 Buried In Ice

4 Chicken Wire

5 Ambulance Man

6 Sailor Song

7 Katie Dear

8 Run Chicken Run

9 All When We Were Young

10 Boy from Lawrence County

11 Memphis Flu 

12 Cooperstown 

13 Rise and Shine

Tim Signs Off, Through Photos

Ok - before we post Tim's sign-off, we at Stark want to say a big thanks to him and Baird for risking their hearing, sobriety and virginity to bring you, our readers, some great coverage of the gong-show that is SXSW. We hope to be down there ourselves with Tim and Baird in 2010 consuming delicious tacos and rock. And country. Tim's write-ups have been some of our favorites we've ever posted, and you're certain to see more from him on this "rag." If you haven't yet done so - be sure to check out Tim's music. He's got a great album titled Hello, Daylight in the works and is playing various dates on the East Cost. Until next time...

Heaven = '09 SX New West Party @ Club Deville

I found SXSW to be a big, hot, stinky event full of rock bands hell bent for leather to keep the bar up high high high. It was truly one of those situations akin to pizza/sex/beer, where even the bad bands were still pretty good. Writing all of this crap about these bands was really fun for me, sort of like keeping score at baseball game. I hope you enjoyed my column. Me and my attorney took some photographs we thought you might like as a cap off to Dead Drunk and Naked. Hope I get to do it again next year.

Stand Strong,
Tim

See Tim's photo recap after the jump

Lake is cute.

Wavves

Wavves

This sums it all up.

New West's Tim Easton

Tim Easton

I'm hungry, I got a taco.

We consume music

Most Noteable Release: Fever Ray

We used to have a sweet Fever Ray post I could direct you to, but the DCMA and Blogger took down -- not only the mp3, but also our original writing that went along with it. Yeah, we're bitter. But not to be dismayed, Fever Ray's self titled record comes out today on Mute, who seems to be all over our blog the past few days. The music contained within the excellent packaging, is a stark landscape of sounds, melodies and eerie darkness. Fever Ray is accessible in ways that the Knife's music is not, but strangely unaccessible in its subtleness and understated moments that require a listeners' concentration. You may not want to throw this record on when you're on your way to your spring kickball fest in Prospect Park, but it certainly rewards during the late night hours when you're trying to scare the shit out of the person in bed with you. Try it. But seriously though - this record is great.

This Week's Notable Releases

Amadou & Miriam:
Welcome to Mali (Nonesuch)
MP3: Amadou & Mariam - "Salbali"
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We can't say enough about this Malian, husband and wife duo. Their modernized African music, infused with American R&B and Rap influences may cause spontaneous dancing, porch lounging and cocktail sipping. Listen wisely.

The Decemberists:
The Hazards of Love (Capitol)
MP3: The Rake's Song - MP3
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You've probably heard enough about this albums' genre classifications. They don't want the "rock opera" label, but you be the judge. Some of the album jaunts hauntingly through love loss, while others rise up in Transfigurational-style beauty. Colin Meloy's voice is no different here as on other albums, so if you want that standard Decemberists sound, this is for you.

Pearl Jam:
Ten (Reissue) (Epic)
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It's Pearl Jam. "Jeremy," "Daughter," "Even Flow," "Alive," "Porch." Give me a fucking break. You'll buy it.




Dan Deacon:
Bromst (Carpark)
MP3: "Get Older"
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This is Deacon's Merriweather Post Pavillion; we knew the day that he went slightly mainstream with more accessible, danceable tunes, would be the day drooling, and fawning would occur. Today's the day. Bromst explodes with pithy electro-jams, and songs, may we boldly say, you can sing to? Yeah, this is the shiznit.

I Pledged SXSW

AUSTIN, TX — South by Southwest Countdown: -4. Rogue reporter and musician Tim Emmerick checks in from Austin with up-to-the minute, SX news.

SXSW Day 4: Out with a bang: On a total whim, my attorney and I ended up a party hosted by Vancouver, BC's Mint Records. It was a joyous explosion of rock that made us want to jog in place. So we did. Stay tuned for my SXSW review in pictures.

The Pack AD and The Evaporators at Mint Records' Habana Calle party:
The Pack AD are a bluesy female guitar and drums duo that reminded me of a dirtier, more punky Black Keys. It's rare and feels really good to say that these ladies seriously drop the hammer. Though the songs all revolve around similar blues constructs, their live energy carried them over the hump earning pretty unanimous fist pumps and foot stomps from the crowd. They carried a road worn, self assured presence on stage that heightened the snarly slide guitar and Meg White-y beats. Badass rock chicks excite me.


The Evaporators:
What was the best song in the Evaporators set on Saturday night? Hmm, was it "Sasquatch and Me ate Berries for Free?" Or was it perhaps "Gassy Jack?" Oh, I don't know, I think it may have been "Addicted to Cheese." It was really hard to call in the blur of Canadian Maple Leaf laden spandex suits and various calisthenic eruptions. This was, hands down, the most active (and strangely one of the smallest) crowds of any show I saw at SX. Mysterious front man known only as "Nardwuar the Human Serviette" commanded us crouch down to the floor and then leap to the ceiling, to join hands and dance like sprites of the shire, and to hoist him (and his keyboard) towards the sky for a cacophonous solo. For some reason we did all of these things and applauded. Perhaps is was the brain rot induced by the previous four days of beer, sun stroke and ringing ears. I suspect, however, that the Evaporators also had us under the grip of sneakishly catchy tunes about shit that just made us want to giggle. My SXSW could not have ended on a higher note.

New Music from the UK and Brooklyn

Polly Scattergood "Nitrogen Pink" mp3 (Removed by EMI - good luck paying off that Citi debt Terra Firma)

We received Polly Scattergood's self-titled debut record the other day, and for lack of a better word, it's fantastic. Already making waves in her homeland of the UK and a Stark artist to watch, Scattergood's dark, driving songs are hard to pin down with a description. They build slowly and swirl around a juiced-vocal track; filled with pianos and twinkling electronics, the songs all find their way to catchy, yet epic and dense crescendos. Polly Scattergood comes out in the US on May 19 via Mute Records. I don't really put too many songs "on repeat," but I think I've listened to the single "Nitrogen Pink" more times than any other single in the past few months. Scattergood's newest feature track "I Hate the Way" including b-side "Poet Song" is out now.

In other news from Mute Records...


The Tiny Masters of Today went into SXSW with a good amount of buzz. We haven't heard any reports back yet, but we have been spinning their new record Skeletons quite a bit since we got it. It's a crazy mash up of dance, punk and elctro mixed with some riffy guitar parts and post-rock chord structures. Oh yeah, the band consists of Brooklyn siblings Ida and Ada who are 15 and 12 respectively. Sure, it's a cute marketing angle, but their music stands up. We should also mention the laundry list of credible stars they have worked with such as: Karen O and Nick Zinner, Kimya Dawson, Fred Schneider, and Gibby Haynes. They've been remixed by CSS and Liars and David Bowie even lauded their first homemade single as "Genius." So, there you go -- we give you Tiny Masters of Today. Despite their pre-teen status, they are certainly worthy of the praise they have been receiving. Skeletons comes out June 16th via Mute.

Drop This: Elvis Costello + T-Bone Burnett = New Album

Photo Credit: www.strictlybluegrass.com

Hey, SXSW is over, but don't cry in your PBR's just yet. There is still music to be had.

This via Billboard:

Elvis Costello teams up with producer/music extraordinaire T-Bone Burnett, creating his first acoustic record since 1986.

Secret, Profane & Sugarcane drops June 2 on Hear Music. Billboard reports that the record will hit heavy on "American roots music," which is just fine with us. We're looking for a Costello version of Levon Helm's Dirt Farmer here -- that would be dreamy.

Look for tour dates coming soon. Also, tracklist after the jump.
Here is the "Secret, Profane Sugarcane" track list:

1. Down Among the Wine and Spirits
2. Complicated Shadows
3. I Felt the Chill
4. My All Time Doll
5. Hidden Shame
6. She Handed Me a Mirror
7. I Dreamed of My Old Lover
8. How Deep is the Red
9. She Was No Good
10. Sulfur to Sugarcane
11. Red Cotton
12. The Crooked Line
13. Changing Partners