Band of Horses unveil "Cease to Begin" cover art

There it is. It looks an awful lot like a For Stars album cover but maybe it's just the lighting. I like the simplicity, a trait that Band of Horses look for in their album covers apparently. I don't know if they thought of having a dolphin in a mid-air jump featured right there in the moonlight, but it would have been awesome. The highly anticipated album drops on October 9th.

www.bandofhorses.com

Album of the week

Okkervil River
The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar)










hear: Our Live is Not a Movie or Maybe, Unless it's Kicks, Savannah Smiles, You Can't Hold the Hand of a Rock and Roll Man, John Allyn Smith Sails


www.okkervilriver.com
www.jagjaguwar.com

Not so indie - the arrival of Terminal 5

It's the beginning of the end -or maybe the beginning was a while ago, but Terminal 5 proves to be a catalyst in the death of indie. Oh I'm sure it will nice and neat and the sound won't be too bad. I may go to a show here and there, but if there's anyway possible that I can see a band without having to resort to this bureaucratic -perverted extension to indie music, I will surely do it. The whole idea of opening a new venue to exploit the larger -and growing -indie market is sickening. Sure, bands get bigger. But we already have venues for them. We don't need New York City's prime indie venue staple -Mercury Lounge and Bowery Ballroom to sell-out to the masses. It's all fun and games until your 6th-grade sister is headlining Mercury, accordian in hands. Isn't anything?

For addiitonal info, hit up BrooklynVegan, who seem to be part of Terminal 5's PR team if one didn't know better.

Bowery Presents pushes the dagger in further

Inside sources have spilled about NYC's Bowery switching entirely from Ticketweb to the anything-but-indie Ticketmaster. Now, you can see your favorite indie band at Mercury Lounge by simply going online and paying a service fee that is more than the ticket itself. For people who aren't able to make the trip to Mercury in their spare time to get tickets for shows at Bowery, Webster, Town Hall, Terminal 5, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Mercury Lounge, et al., they will have to drop much more cash to see their favorite independent acts. Just think -that Panda Bear/Wilderness/XYZ Affair show will be featured on a nice, slick piece of ticketmaster paper. And don't forget about the Pizza Hut coupon on the back! I can see it now (and myself sick afterward): Mark Kozelek, Will Johnson, and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy written among the endless numbers, sponsors and whatever that is a Ticketmaster ticket. But it's much more than a ticket. It's a symbol of a loss of innocence and purity in music here in New York City. It's a symbol of current trends that are approaching indie music from a growing capitalistic standpoint. The storied Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge are treasured indie music venues that will be forced to yield. The ticketing dragon has been summoned by money-hungry Bowery Presents and there's really nothing the bands or fans can do about it. That's right J. Bax: Move over Punk, indie rock is dying.

Keepon throws another Spoon dance party

Keepon, the adorable yellow robot that can only be described as a hybrid between a snowman and a baby chick, has returned to master yet another Spoon song. First, it was "I Turn my Camera on." Now, it's "Don't You Evah" from Spoon's latest release. When two such forces combine, monumental feats are sure to follow. Just check out the videos!

Album of the week

1990s
Cookies (Rough Trade)









I've already written a bit on 1990s a few days ago after their excellent show at Annex in New York City. 1990s' Cookies doesn't offer anything new to the music world but these 3 Glaswegians do shake up the British 80's-infused trend of the past few years. Not that the chaps don't resemble their contemporaries -most notably, Franz Ferdinand -they make music that's easy to shake to and provide modern-rock style hooks, but the punk-rockabilly, humorous swagger that layers their music is a refreshing change from the glossier sound that has defined much of British rock, resurging in the past few years with the likes of Bloc Party, Franz, Kaiser Chiefs, Etc. Whereas those bands could be linked directly to Gang of Four, 1990s would be linked with bands similar to the Ramones.


Although the lads have signed with relatively-powerhouse indie label, Rough Trade, they meander under the radar -and it seems maybe they prefer it that way as they are older and more mature than most new bands. On the solid "Cult Status", Jackie Mckeown sings "My cult status keeps me alive." I doubt anyone is telling 1990s what and how to go about their routine -another distinction from other contemporaries. Their music resonates with passion and an attitude free of pretenses that makes them easy to like: "I don't care about the clothes I wear, the color of my jeans, or the color or style of my hair." They aren't a young band trying to make it big. They're in the twilight of their youth, just having fun. Despite the humility emanated in their shows, the album is proof that these chaps want to have fun -and they want you to have fun as well. From the beginning, they keep the tempo upbeat and rarely let down the rest of the album, which is full of catchy riffs and melodies, full of "fa la las" and the such. Many of the songs reference drugs: “Now I’m here with my friends, we’ve been taking some drugs, it’s such fun, we’ll be taking some more soon." And with a song title like "Weed" as well, it's not too hard to figure out that these guys want to party. It's quite the dichotomy, considering their meek(yet intense) performance last week. Then again, they're Scottish.

hear: You Made Me Like it, See You at the Lights, Cult Status, Arcade Precinct, You're Supposed to be my friend



www.1990s.tv
www.roughtrade.com

Bonds Breaks Homerun Record!!!

756


Via To New York with Love and Squalor
so we almost missed bonds hit his record-breaking 756th home run tonight because of an OCD gay man. well, we had been flipping between the game and bravo's latest gem of mindless, indulgent entertainment for the "urban & educated"--the show flipping out, which stars a neurotic, OCD, homosexual egomaniac "real estate investor" (read: house flipper in the west LA residential market). and anyway, we had just watched as jeff (egomanic) freaked out over his cat being late for its accupuncture appointment--when suddenly scott flipped back to espn out of some involuntary movement which apparently originated by an instinctual reflex in the nether regions of his heterosexual brain--and bam, barry was up. one pitch. and its solid gold, baby. my roomie ali was already asleep in the next room--but there was jumping and yelling and hugging. yeah, its good to be a giants fan.

Björk "Innocence" video winner

This is Björk's Innocence Video Competition Winner. Out of nearly 500 entries this video was Björk's favorite and also got the viewers. The Video was made by Fred & Annabelle of France. It seems like the trendy thing to do now -artists outsourcing their videos to fans, as Modest Mouse and Bjork have recently done. I'm not complaining -just look at them!

Low does Daytrotter

Low stopped in to play a set for Daytrotter - a set in Daytrotter time is 4 songs. All 4 songs come from Drums and Guns, Low's awesome 2007 release. The chosen four: "Breaker", "Violent Past", "In Silence", and "Sandinista". This session was actually recorded in May, just before the stint with Wilco, but wasn't released till recently. It's slowcore goodness for the whole family!

www.chairkickers.com

www.daytrotter.com

Modest Mouse video - "Missed the Boat"

It's a fantastic song from a fantastic album. Now there's a fantastic video to go along with it, courtesy of twelve fans who sent their homemade videos in for this fan contest that Modest Mouse had set up for the new video. One professional did ad some visuals -the director of the "Float On" video, Christopher Mills.

1990s @ Annex, Thursday night 8.2.07

These lads are commonly linked with Franz Ferdinand -mostly because they're both from Glasgow and because members of each band were cohorts in another musical outfit before the Franz Frenzy. But their music is quite different, showcasing some dance fever as Franz F. does, but with a more punk-rockabilly swag. Their debut album, Cookies, is a solid debut and hints at possible greatness for these 3 nice kids. Nice is definitely a word to describe them. All 3 were very appreciative and were trying to get intimate with the small crowd. They play to please. They have their live act down and you get the sense that they very much do care how the concert experience goes for each of their customers, nothing being done haphazardly, each bop-di-boop measured swimmingly and not reckless or lazy -and they do bop-di-boop a lot. What does bop-di-boop mean? I don't know, but it sounds fitting for some of the key lyrical pieces of many of 1990s' tracks. And no, there is no "the" or apostrophe in their name. So get it straight..cause they'll be around a while. As the predictable NYC music scene goes, 1990s will return probably in 2 years to play at Bowery -maybe Mercury- but not long after they'll hit Bowery. Then 2 years later they'll be back into he routine, playing Webster Hall. And then a few years down the road, we may have them at Radio City Music Hall or the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. That's how it literally went for the Decemberists.


www.1990s.tv

Album of the week

Ulrich Schnauss
Goodbye (Domino)










It's tough to catergoize Ulrich Schnauss's music. In the beginning he was a popular electronica producer, so his music has always fallen under that category even though most of his albums would be considered shoegaze. His latest work, Goodbye -while still accentuated by electronica beats- falls much more on the ambient and shoegazey side of things. Some songs feel more like an ethereal trance than anything. Ulrich succeeds in producing some solid songs on both ends of the spectrum, from the beautiful, melodic "Einfeld" and "Never Be the Same" to the running-beat rhythms of "Goodbye" and "Stars." It's almost as if good ol' Ulrich just wanted to take a break, kick back and see where that attitude would take his sound -but without forgetting his roots. Schnauss's voice kicks up in the second track, but most of the vocals come from the sublime voice of guest, Judith Beck. From the beginning, her minimalistic style voice hovers over the music, acting as a perfect companion to many of Goodbye's dreamy tracks, including the beat-heavier ones. Goodbye is definitely mood music and perhaps not for everyone. If you're a fan of bands similar to M83 or Slowdive, though, it will be an enjoyable listen and worth the effort. And if you really want to be treated to Ulrich Schnauss, check out the excellent A Strangely Isolated Place.

hear: Never Be the Same, Stars, Einfeld, Goodbye



















www.ulrich-schnauss.com
www.dominorecordco.com

Kanye West taps Zach Galifianakis for new video

Zach Galifianakis is the dude who was the comic auctioneer at the Bad Art Auction in New York City this past month, which featured a set from fellow Carolinians, Band of Horses -as well as the world premiere of this video.. Why Zach Galifianakis you ask? Cause it doesn't get much more gangster than the farmlands of North Carolina. The Video also features musician, Will Oldham.

The Veils @ Union Hall, 6.8.07

Yeah this show was like 6 weeks ago but it was so good I had to post it for future reference. The Veils are fronted by Finn Andrews, and his troupe has changed from the 1st to 2nd record, as you may have read before on my quasi-review on The Veils excellent, recently dropped Nux Vomica. Union Hall is tiny...probably ties Club Delancey for smallest venue I've been to. But the acoustics are excellent and unless your stuck in the back, you're pretty much forced to share the performance intimately, which can be a good or bad thing. On this night, it was a great thing. Finn Andrews has pipes that are well suited for a grander stage -so doing Union Hall was a cinch. The Veils, in their entirety, sounded fantastic -almost as if they were actually playing their album in the back. Wait, maybe they were....?!




www.theveils.com

Album of the week

Spoon
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge)









There's been a lot of talk of Spoon now being a full-fledged "Rock" band. Just because their album cover and art and their press photos look more "rock" trendy doesn't make them so. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga doesn't sound too different from the excellent Gimme Fiction and in fact, Ga is probably a bit more experimental and eclectic, albeit very minimlal than Gimme. Many of the songs, including the solid "Rhthm and Soul" and standout "You got Yr. Cherry Bomb" could have easily fit on their last album. However, debut single from Ga, "The Underdog," covers new ground that doesn't sound like any Spoon song I can remember -with it's instumental and melodic experimental traits. It still has the Spoon signature on it though and it makes for an excellent single. "The Ghost of You Lingers" is the most experimental track on the album, with less discernable vocals and more attention to the style and structure as it relates to it's title of the song and less attention to an accessible sound. The style works nicely, as there is an owl-like sound repeatedly in the back ground and a constant pounding of a short range of piano notes, making the song more mysterious and urgent, which is cohesive with its title. However, the song suffers from no real transition...it basically goes nowhere in the end.

What makes Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga stand out from its predcessors is the attention to detail in each of the songs. It definitely has a wider range in sound -as you can hear with the solid standard Spoonish opener, "Don't Make me a Target" ...which then moves to the echoey, haunting "The Ghost of You Lingers" and then to the highlight of the album, "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb." The next track, "Don't You Evah" is a mediocre ode to past Spoon records -still, it standouts in it's timelessness. Then you have "The Underdog" later in the album, which is followed by the worthy, minimalish sound of "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case." Then they have the great "Finer Feelings" which probably should have been placed as the last track. The finale, "Black Like Me" is decent enough but it has a quasi-emoish adolescent indulgent sound and mood to it. While song for song, Ga may not stand up to Fiction, it manages to make the case for being Spoon's fullest realized effort.

hear: Don't Make Me a Target, You got Yr. Cherry Bomb, Rhthm and Soul, The Underdog, Finer Feelings

www.spoontheband.com
www.mergerecords.com

Battles @ Studio B, 7.20.07

Battles have released arguably the best album of the year, and now they have given the best concert I've seen this year -along with Mew. Musical craftsmanship at it's finest. Every member of Battles has already achieved success under another moniker, most notably the brilliant drummer, ex-Helmet's John Stanier. Watching Stanier perform with unparalleled intensity and focus is akin to watching any of the masters of instruments we worship today. It's beautiful stuff. He provided the base for the other 3 to show their unbelievable talent as well. Don Caballero's Ian Williams seamlessly switched between guitar and keyboards, providing such overwhelming content to the songs you wonder how he had time to get it all in there.


Tyondai Braxton (yes, the son of Toni) masters a second keyboard and provides the otherwise placable vocals behind the few tracks that contain indistinguishable words -or a voice. His tone and range synchronize perfectly with the mathematical structure of the music which is highlighted by stimulating, addictive melodies. Then there's the rad bassist, david Konpaka, who could have been president of his fraternity or perhaps an investment banker...just doing his thing, performing some intoxicating solos in the back. Battles also performed probably the single impressive live song I've heard this year, "TIJ," which along with "Atlas" sounded like the biggest crowd-pleasers of the night. Yeah I may have used a few hyperboles- but Battles made me do it.



www.bttls.com

Erlend Øye plays In-N-Out Burger

From the (other) horse's mouth:

"My friends and I were hanging out at In N Out in Atascadero and they challenged Erlend Oye to a freestyle rap battle. He declined, but he did play us a song! I didn't realize he was the guy in the Kings of Convenience but now I realize how cool this was!" -tabbytabby on Youtube

Album of the week

Interpol
Our Love to Admire (Capitol)










Our Love to Admire is a decent album that sounds crisper, uses more electronic tidbits here and there courtesy mostly of the keyboard, and highlights Paul Banks vocal capabilities. He has never sounded better. However, the actual music has. And after 3 years, I can't help but be a little disappointed by the final product. The catchy first single, "Heinrich Maneuver" didn't encourage our hopes that Interpol had added more to their palette, albeit still a solid track. However, the excellent "Pioneer to the Falls" and "Mammoth" do show Interpol expanding their sonic ambitions. This is probably the most anticipated album of the year -definitely for me. Our Love to Admire has received the most intense mixed reviews of any recent record...the British absolutely love it. Sadly, I'm not quite there. But overall there are enough solid moments to make it a pretty dang good album, even if it's not up to the caliber of their past albums.

What puts Interpol in such a tight position is that they already released -what is in my opinion- the best album of the millennium with Turn Out the Bright Lights. Living up to that album is no simple feat so to release a merely good album is to pretty much automatically produce criticism...especially with everyone's high hopes. But as I said, there are positive and encouraging moments on Admire, most important of which is Paul banks vocals. His lyrics are as clever and obtuse as ever: "There are seven ancient pawn shops along the road, and the seven aching daddies you may want to know"("Mammoth"), albeit at times juvenile("No I in Threesome"). The lyrical matter of many of the songs reflect Banks' personal struggles with relationships -and at times, drugs: "I live my life in cocaine, Just a rage and three kinds of yes...You look so young, like a daisy in my lazy eyes" he somewhat laments on one of the standout tracks, "Rest My Chemistry". You don't have to put in too much research to get the idea of "Heinrich Maneuver" -the lyrics centered around a former love who moved west with high aspirations. The lyrics remain somber for most of the album -on the 2ND-to-last track, "Wrecking Ball", he sings "I'm inside like the wrecking ball through your eye...no one's for me. "Who do you think?", one of the better tracks, and "Wrecking Ball" both reflect the U2 influence that has always been there. Sometimes it seems Turn Out the Bright Lights is what The Unforgettable Fire would have sounded like if Robert Smith had been the producer and Ian Curtis the singer. Our Love to Admire will grow on you, and at the end of the year I suspect it will be one of my favorites of 2007.

hear: Pioneer to the Falls, There's no I in Threesome, Heinrich Maneuver, Mammoth, Rest My Chemistry, Who do You Think?



www.Interpolnyc.com
www.Capitolrecords.com

The National cover "Pretty in Pink"

Rarely do bands give-in to fan petitions. So when The National showed up at the Daytrotter sessions, they declared that the songs they would play would be those they regularly do not play live. See, The National faithful took matters into their own hands and made a petition, asking for the boys - who are originally from Ohio but now reside, obviously, in Brooklyn - to add certain songs to the set list. The National, being upstanding fellas, played some of those songs live at Daytrotter to appease their minions. And while at it, they covered The Psychedelic Furs' "Pretty in Pink"! The version is stripped down and doesn't reveal any additional sonic revelations from The National, but it's just nice to hear Matt sing it know that Molly Ringwald hasn't been forgotten. "Lucky You," from Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers is probably the most petitioned song -as it is amazing and I've never heard them play it live during the many times I've seen them. "Gospel" must be another. However, I'm not sure about "Slow Show" which they also play -they played it at their recent Bowery shows and it's one of the highlights from their recently dropped Boxer.

www.americanmary.com
www.daytrotter.com

Secret Stars reunion, Ida play for Callum Robbins benefit

Callum Robbins, the son of J. Robbins and Janet Morgan, who are involved in the bands: Channels, Jawbox, and Burning Airlines, suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy. So friends and family are coming together for the little tot to raise some much needed $( I mean, have u seen "Sicko"? I haven't but I've heard -oh I've heard). Anyway such an event is already starting off positive with the members of Secret Stars reuniting for one night only. Slowcore lovelies, Ida will be performing as well. Both bands were pioneers to the current inide craze back in the late 90's, early 00's. Of course, Ida is still going strong. Well, maybe not strong ..but they're going.

Band of Horses @ Hiro Ballroom 7.10.07

The South Carolina transplants brought their amazing brand of western-ghost town indie rock to the delight of music and bad art fans alike at Hiro Ballroom Tuesday night. After a hilarious, raucous comedic performance -which was pretty much selling bad art - by fellow Carolinian Zach Galifianakis, Ben Bridwell and co. took to the stage to deliver a full set, including teasers from their presently untitled upcoming Fall release. And now that BOH have more than 1 album, they were able to go outside their standard '8-songs from EATT and 2 covers' formula. They actually threw down 14 heart-felt tunes this time around.
They weren't lying about the southeastern tag that's been applied to their new songs, as many tunes reminded of Willie Nelson meets My Morning Jacket meets Midlake. Here's hoping the polished album tracks have a little more of that Northwestern flavor that made their debut so incredible. Having said this, the opener was a newbie and sounded great -and another had a range of Def Leopard like proportions in part of it's chorus and proved to be one of the more enjoyable moments of the show. They seamlessly shifted into "The Great Salt Lake" for their second song. Always a great one live. "Funeral" seemed to be more fluid and clean live than in times past and ended being one of my favorites of the night, along with "Weed Party" and "Our Swords", the latter being the first song of their encore -the finale being a stirring cover of Midlake's "Bandits." The BOH cast has been a revolving door for the past year, but it seems as if they have found the right chemistry. Though not as memorable as the first time I saw them at Bowery, this was a more professional and polished performance than past shows. Now, if they can just get Mat Brooke back....we'd have half of a Carrisa's Wierd reunion again!

Album of the week

The Six Parts Seven
Casually Smashed to Pieces (Suicide Squeeze)









There's something to be said for dependability. Many bands will drop one or two good records and then fade out. Then there are groups like The Six Parts Seven. Granted, their music has a more timeless, versatile quality that makes it easy to enjoy. At the same time, it's not the brand of sound that is going to overly attract the masses -far from it actually as it's the pure indie variety and not what you're hearing over the airwaves or reading in Spin. The Six Parts Seven have never made a significant push with any of their records to grab the limelight, yet listening to their music you can hear the overwhelming talent that exudes subtlety from their songs. They are only in it for the music. The boys don't even have a website -and they've been around for more than 10 years. Even their myspace page isn't run by anyone affiliated with the band, but by fans.

I remember when I first heard Six Parts Seven. It was at a remote joint that few knew about. They were opening for Carrisa's Wierd -or maybe it was Pedro the Lion -can't really remember. I only caught the tail-end of the show but that was enough for me to go outside and buy their excellent Things Shaped in Passing vinyl. Casually Smashed to Pieces immediately identifies itself with the past records, especially with probably their finest work, Everywhere and Right Here. Still not a peep of a voice...just instrumental beauty, highlighted repeatedly by the trumpet. The glory days of ambient, instrumental indie rock and its cousin, slowcore, have ended. But bands such as The Six Parts Seven are still very much relevant and highly respected, mostly because of their influence on the present state of indie music and because they continue to produce quality records that are easy to return to.

hear: Stolen Moments, Falling Over Enening, Confusing Possibilities, Everything Wrong is Right Again
www.myspace.com/sixpartsseven
www.suicidesqueeze.net

The National @ Bowery 5.30.07

So yeah..I'm a little late on this...but it was such a good show!

It's almost impossible to go to a bad National show. Made up of classicaly trained musicians and seasoned veterans, The National have the live equation solved, bringing their raw emotion and vulnerable passion to the stage. Vocalist Matt Berninger has been known to garner a bit of stage fright and his anxious, aggresive reaction always brings an added excitement to the show -whether he has his head snapped back, drinking the microphone as he yelps "squalor Victoria, squalor Victoria!" or when he pulls an impromtu jump to the balcony of Bowery, hanging by his arm and keeping his vocal composure, as he did tonight. Biggest crowd-pleasers of the night were "Abel", "Secret Meeting" and the fresh "Fake Empire." "Mr. November" proved to be the most entertaining number, raising the nervous energery an extra notch and consequantly, getting the crowd all riled up....which led to Matt's stage diving. There was a 6th member to the team tonight -a violinist who stroked his strings with a Jimi Hendrix type ferocity. He was fun to watch -he must be at least 40 yrs. old but you wouldn't have known it. But in the end it's not the showmanship that assures a great National show but the fact that each member is a master of his instrument(s).Go out and buy these albums!!! :
www.americanmary.com

Album of the week

Junior Boys
Dead Horse EP (Domino)









There have been a pluthera of remix albums released lately -My Brightest Diamond, Stars, and fortunately, Junior Boys. Most of these albums didn't need to be made. While there were a couple entertaining or impressive tracks on each, most of it wreaked of experimentation constucted by laziness -or boredom. Then there is Dead Horse. Only 5 tracks on the album, including 2 remixes of the underrated track, "FM." They did it right. Not every song on So This is Goodbye needed an overhaul. What makes the songs on this album so good is that the artists were able to maintain the original charm of the originals while adding excellent variations that allowed each track to still stand independent from the original, most notably the opening track, "In the Morning" remixed by Hot Chip. This is a great album for anyone but it's a must have for those who dig Junior Boys.www.juniorboys.net
www.dominorecordco.com/site

New Interpol video - "Heinrich Maneuver"

The first video off Interpol's much anticpated release, Our Love to Admire, which drops in T minus 7 days. "Heinrich Maneuver" is said to be Paul Bank's ode to California.

www.Interpolnyc.com