Tonight: Wild Beasts and Roman Candle

[mp3] Wild Beasts: "All The King's Men"

[mp3] Roman Candle: "They Say"

It's a busy concert week here in NY. We may be the most excited about tonight's show at the Mercury Lounge though which features the quickly rising stars Wild Beasts and Stark friends Roman Candle.

Headliners (8:30 p.m.), the Wild Beasts just received a positive review from Jon Pareles in today's New York Times to go along with their Best New Music tag from Pitchfork. The best part about this English group is that they pretty much deserve all of the accolades they've been receiving. Pareles drew out all the accurate references the 'Beasts draw from, most notably Dirty Projectors, New Order and, of course, the Talking Heads. The Wild Beasts' new record Two Dancers runs the gamut from dark, brooding, English melodies, to more sharp and pointed dance-rock. Two Dancers came out on Tuesday via Domino. Wild Beasts played Joe's Pub on Tuesday, Mercury tonight and Union Pool tomorrow.

Rounding out tonight’s oddly pared bill is openers Roman Candle (7:30 p.m), the smart Nashville-based pop-infused indie rockers who come equipped with more than a tinge of southern roots. Their extremly well-crafted songs are light and generally quite plesant. Exhibiting all the latter in fine form, Roman Candle's recent release, Oh Tall Tree in the Ear, is a crisp and entertaining record reflecting the true genuine qualities of this hardworking and simply put, extremely nice band -- they are great guys (and gal) that put out a good record and are bound to put on a great performance.

Roman Candle - New Album - Pianos Tonight

[mp3] Roman Candle: "Why Modern Radio is OK"

Roman Candle were unfortunate victims of V2 Records' untimely floundering several years ago. They retired to their native Tennessee to lick their wounds and reassess the situation. In 2009, they have returned to the forefront with support from AAA radio, Paste Magazine, a tour and a great new record Oh Tall Tree In The Ear. An obscure reference, but they remind us a good deal of the Deadstring Brothers, a fantastic Detroit band with a Rolling Stones fetish and a kick ass live show. Roman Candle don't count on the Stones as much, but there are elements of their rock/Americana twang that recall the best parts of the Stones' Gram Parsons influenced country rock. Paste (stay strong homey) just called their record a "modern rock masterpiece" - a publicist's dream quote if we ever saw one. While that's some pretty ambitious praise, Roman Candle have made a solid and excellent record that has put them back on the path they were on with V2, if not in an even better place. They play tonight at Pianos and tomorrow at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Certainly a band to watch. Oh Tall Tree In The Ear is out now.

On The Blog Reel: Wednesday's Slew Of Videos

Featured:

THE AVETT BROTHERS "Glory Days"

OBI BEST "Green and White Stripes"

PRINCETON "The Waves"

ROMAN CANDLE "Lake Fever Sessions"

Bruce Springsteen is having a hell of a year so far, crotch slides and all, and it's only getting better. The Boss's official site has enlisted a heap of indie artists to contribute to "Hanging Out On E. Street," a series of video interviews and performances dedicated to Springsteen's songs. Our favorite so far is The Avett Brothers' stripped-down but jubilant take on "Glory Days." The Brothers took a break from recording their Columbia debut with Rick Rubin to participate in the project, which also features bands like The Gaslight Anthem, Teagan and Sara, Ted Leo and Valencia. Check out the performance after the jump.

Meanwhile, there are other great things going on in cyberspace this morning. Obi Best, who is fronted by Alex Lilly (backups on The Bird And The Bee's latest) brings us the dreamy video for "Green and White Stripes." It's directed by Max Goldblatt, who also did MGMT's "Boogie Down" clip. We've also got a showcase from Princeton, who first came on our radar last year. They shot a low-budget video on Super-8 film over the course of a winter weekend in LA for "The Waves," which has serious replay value. Lastly, check out some footage of North Carolina's Roman Candle performing new sessions at the Lake Fever Sessions, complete with a cute little kid talking about boogers in the beginning of the clip. We are so there.

All videos after the jump.

Obi Best "Green and White Stripes" Video from Social Science Recordings on Vimeo.


Roman Candle "Why Modern Radio Is A-OK" from Lake Fever Sessions on Vimeo.