WaterCoolerGossip

Tickets for the sold-out show at Mercury are back on sale here.

Posted by 3xWes at 09:51 AM | Permalink

On Monday, I got an e-mail from a reader who insisted I check out New Young Pony Club. Later that day at the Product Shop NYC Sirius radio show, Justine D (Motherfucker/Night Time) had picked the track "Jerk Me" by the band for the playlist. These two recommendations were enough. New Young Pony Club has recently signed to Modular who will be putting out their first single "Ice Cream" soon. But this song actually came out a couple years ago on a 7" by Tirk records. I have tracked down "Ice Cream" because you know if I had two scoops of mint chocolate chip I would share one with you. For their sound, think of a cute girl singing over electro with guitar riffs on repeat, cowbell, and synths. That's the flavor.

DOWNLOAD
Ice Cream (MP3)
The Get Go (MP3) - Bonus scoop: another single from Tirk

UPDATE
Here is Comets' remix by request.
Ice Cream - Comets Remix (MP3)

Posted by 3xWes at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I saw Jens Lekman twice last week and have yet to talk about it. Both shows were great. Before the show, I learned that his first name was pronounced Yens while trying to figure out how to pronounce his last name.

Anyway, at the Mercury Lounge the show centered on Jens' lyrics and he was able weave in and out of songs and banter because everything he says is bone-dry but funny. Wednesday night, I felt like I got to know Jens Lekman. He also suprised the crowd in the encore with horns bursting in at the chorus of "Julie" from the back of the room. Friday night at the Bowery, was more of the spectacle of Sweden and Jens on a grander scale with horns, piano, drums, and backup singers. His band is composed of all blond Swedish girls and they were wearing matching white dresses. Also that gold keyed accordion was killer. "Postcard to Nina" was my favorite song from Friday, everybody in the band was hitting some essential note in that song. Eddie Argos has met his match in repeated stories about girls, because Jens also told a story about Nina both nights. The girls in the band also pulled the horn trick again but this time from the balcony.



Frida Hyvonen was also good but I liked her set a Mercury better. She was slightly more awkward and aloof there with long pauses and weird stories, which worked in her favor. She likes to eat fruit on stage.

More pics after the jump.

MERCURY LOUNGE

Posted by 3xWes at 09:51 AM | Permalink

Cansei de Ser Sexy got crazy at Warsaw on Thursday. The album is elctro but the show was punk. Read more and see more at Product Shop. "C-S-S-Sux!" This is high art.

DOWNLOAD
Let's Make Love and Listen Death from Above (MP3)
C.S.S. Suxxx (MP3)

Posted by 3xWes at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Tapes n' Tapes must have flown into town for Siren because at their show Sunday at Maxwell's they borrowed a drum kit from Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin and Matt set his new keyboard straddled between two chairs. He was hunched over for most of the show. Despite the poor planning, the show was still one of the best of the handful of times I have seen them. They played the same slender set from Siren but at Maxwell's the band was more engaging. Maybe it was the small crowd; maybe it was subtracting the keyboard stand.

Posted by 3xWes at 04:43 PM | Permalink

Think About Life is coming back to New York with Cause Co-Motion, and The Long Blondes. The last time they were here was Art Brut's Knitting Factory Takeover but they did not go on until 1:30am or so. I could not stay but BrooklynVegan was there and got some pics. I won't miss them this time.

These guys make dirty DIY post-punk ripe with raw emotion and distressed keys. This show is a nobrainer. I like their url too, www.thinkaboutlife.org, because it sounds like some online self-help group. The message is so much bigger than the band.

THINK ABOUT LIFE NYC TOUR DATES
Thu 7/27 - Knitting Factory (w/ The Long Blondes, Cause Co-Motion)
Fri 7/28 - Lucky Cat, 245 Grand Street btw Roebling & Driggs (Bunz of Steel (Reserve) Party - midnight performance and free Steel Reserve at 1am, $3!)
Sun 7/30 - Cake Shop (w/ The Long Blondes, Cause Co-Motion, Eyeball Skeleton, and Crystal Stilts)

DOWNLOAD
Money (MP3)
Paul Cries (MP3)
Snowee Caterpillar (MP3)

Check out Dan Bodin's "Think Images." These animated GIFs are mindblowing in a 1997 56kbps sort of way.

Posted by 3xWes at 04:05 PM | Permalink

Nicole Atkins performed in between O'death and Avett Brothers at the Bowery Ballroom Friday night. Here fascination with nostalgia was apparent the moment she walked on stage wearing an early 60s minimal dress with her hair perfectly coifed to match. Later, she mentioned that she and her band The Sea are going to start a slow metal band. The influences go on. She draws from everything from her time as child in Neptune City, New Jersey, as an art school kid in North Carolina, and as a solo performer at the Sidewalk Cafe, the epicenter of the anti-folk scene. She has drifted back and forth between all these places but still has strong family ties.

New Jersey was in the house Friday night and I imagine some younger Atkins siblings or cousins were too. They were yelling a lot and Nicole was happy to entertain their comments. The girl has pipes and a weight in her voice that is seeped in melancholy. Sometimes The Sea was too much of a backup band and remained in the background but on the stripped down songs the melodies stood out. Nicole has an EP coming out in early October called Bleed Diamonds. For now, check out the MP3s below.

DOWNLOAD
Skywriters (MP3)
Neptune City (MP3)

Posted by 3xWes at 05:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So I went to Siren at Coney Island this Saturday. I was deep in the crowd so I don't have any good pics. However, I did have the privilege to actually hear the siren's call during The Stars. A cop and a medic tried to drive straight through the crowd toward the front of the stage and then made a slow left to drive across it. I assumed they were going for some drunken concertgoer who was suffering from heat exhaustion. But they just drove through the crowd, making big distraction. They were blasting their sirens. The Stars did not stop playing but did give a shout out to the police.

Man Man, Art Brut, and the end of Scissor Sisters were my favorite acts of the day. There is real music coverage at every other New York blog on the roll.

Posted by 3xWes at 04:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

When I first heard O'death, I did not believe that these guys were alive, and playing music. Their album, Head Home sounds like a lost session from a rambunctious gang of Appalachians who emerged from seclusion to record this dark and gritty bluegrass. Greg Jamie's voice is scratchy, worn, and actually sounds like he is in a constant tussle with death. But there is nothing really that dates their music this century. Maybe their lyrics, which are crafted as well as any pop song or the over-active drums that roll the songs aggressively forward. However, there is one tune on the album where Greg yelps over the sampled crashes of chains and broken bottles. But live it sounded like they actually had this stuff. They probably broke a whiskey bottle prior to the show—they are that rowdy. The fiddle player was not at the Bowery show but they still tore the roof off Friday night.

Jerry Yeti and Marty Indie-licious also sing praise. Full tour dates at their myspace but O'death will wrap up their tour at the Knitting Factory on September 9th.

DOWNLOAD
Down to Rest (MP3)
Only Daughter (MP3)

Posted by 3xWes at 01:28 PM | Permalink

Professor Murder brought Drums to the Pre-Siren Shorts II party at Supreme Trading. This was yet another example that Drums not dead. I have heard these guys compared to Liars because of their heavy percussion and slight of melody. But Prof. Murder starts dance parties not gritty primal freakouts. With their cowbells, keys, drum pads, kits, bass, and the occasional whistle, these guys could slay any hardcore marching band. The Shorts party was the start of tour and you can catch them live on WOXY (internet radio) at 4:30 on July 19th.



PMURDER UNLIMITED CHIRP TOUR
July 13 - Brooklyn, NY - Supreme Trading
July 15 - Chicago, IL - The Hideout
July 16 - Madison, WI - King Club
July 19 - Cleveland, OH - The Church
July 21 - Worcester, MA - Forbes Mansion
July 22 - Boston, MA - performing as King Oppression

DOWNLOAD
Camron's New Colour [Live April 2005] (MP3) – Described at the show as "Limited Edition Dipset Beanie Babies." Oh Word?
Champion (MP3)






The Big Sleep played after PMurder at the Shorts party. They have recently signed to French Kiss who will release their debut album Son Of The Tiger. I love seeing this band live because there is a quickening that happens in the instrumentation, which grow and decay repeatedly in their four-minute lifespan. You hear the song breath. But you see the band crouched with hair in their faces behind dark shadows cast from floodlights on the floor. The Big Sleep sets an atmosphere well.

DOWNLOAD
You Can't Touch the Untouchables (MP3)
Brown Beauty (MP3)

Posted by 3xWes at 10:24 AM | Permalink

The Gothamist Movable Hype 8.0 was last week but the show is still worth mentioning because some top notch New York bands played: Project Jenny/Project Jan (Where's Project Pat?), Takka Takka, and Goes Cube. Headlining the show was Femme Generation from Toronto.

The singer Project Jenny/Project Jan somehow pulls off big band swing singing that verges on the edges of rapping. They have some really creative samples for their instrumentals too.




Takka Takka had some nice dynamics between the keyboard and guitar. These guys make solid indie rock with lots of instruments.




Goes Cube slays, their sound pummels. These three guys make so much noise. This is one of those bands where I remember the noise and the rock more than lyrics. Goes Cube is kind of like ¡Forward Russia! but more metal riffs. They also number their songs like ¡! but seem to be ahead with numbers in the 30s. Stereogum has some downloads and a good story.




Femme Generation played a tough spot. But nobody could have guessed that the crowd would thin out toward the end. Their songs have a lot of dance elements like cowbell and funky keyboard licks but their lyrics are still rich with narrative and imagery. They also like to kick stuff over.

Posted by 3xWes at 10:12 AM | Permalink

There is a live session with Jose Gonzalez over AOL's The Interface, possibly the best one yet. Remember, you can podcast these things. Check it out here.

Set List: Crosses / Deadweight on Velveteen / Lovestain / Heartbeats

Pic from Jose at Joe's Pub

Posted by 3xWes at 11:28 AM | Permalink

There are two things you should know about (click the images to see flyers bigger):

1. Ex-Lion Tamer and The Subjects at R&R
Yes we are calling this edition of the PSNYC parties Indiesexual. It is tough love. You may have seen the New York centric Movable Hype 8.0 Show earlier this week (more on that later); we are also putting together shows with some really cool New York bands. Come check out Ex-Lion Tamer (10:30pm) and The Subjects (11:30pm) tonight for a measly $7 at R&R (416 West 14th Street). They are streaming music at both their sites.

2. Siren After Party with Stars
Torquil from Stars and Dirty On Purpose will be at this post Siren. I have never been to Union Hall but it is owned by the good folks of Floyd on Atlantic Ave. Supposedly they have two bocce ball courts inside. This might be a good place to relax after a long and hopefully sunny day at Coney Island. There might a suprise acoustic set by a "DJ" too.

Posted by 3xWes at 03:57 PM | Permalink

Incase you are looking for something to do . . .

7/11 TUESDAY
Jolie Holland @ Canal Room
Gothamist Movable Hype 8 @ Knitting Factory
(Femme Generation, Takka Takka, Goes Cube, and Project Jenny/Project Jan)
Brazilian Girls @ Fort Greene Park
(Free, 7pm show)

7/12 WEDNESDAY
Bravo Silva Residency, Week 2 @ Piano's

7/13 THURSDAY
Okkervil River @ Castle Clinton
(Free - tickets are given out starting at 5pm, 7pm show)
Insound's Pre-Siren Party @ Supreme Trading
(Oh No! Oh My!, The Big Sleep, Professor Murder)
The Sound The Hare Heard @ Knitting Factory Tap Bar
(Thao Nguyen, Death Vessel, Essie Jain, and others)
Oneida @ Knitting Factory
Fruit Bats @ Maxwell's

7/14 FRIDAY
Think About Life (Night Time Party) @ Don Hill's
(CANCELLED. Shows later this month – info to come)
The Whigs @ Mercury Lounge
Mission of Burma @ Warsaw
Nicole Atkins @ Bowery Ballroom

7/15 SATURDAY
Siren Festival @ Coney Island
(Man Man and others - starts at noon)
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin @ Mercury Lounge

Posted by 3xWes at 01:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So Sunday was the first JellyNYC Pool Party at McCarren Pool in Williamsburg. There was free ice cream and nonstop dodgeball. Les Savy Fav was the headliner. Tim Harrington is a wildman and gets into everything when he performs, like a racoon rummaging through a trash can. More at Product Shop NYC.

Posted by 3xWes at 11:39 PM | Permalink

Arizona is a New York based band by way of Arizona Atlanta. Sticking pins on that state, I would probably put them somewhere around Carefree, AZ (home of the world's largest sundial). The Shins, who originated one state over in New Mexico, also come to mind as a reference point. But enough geography because Arizona is really all over the map in the sounds they are exploring. "Some Kind of Chill" is mix of simple guitar strums, tambourine shakes, and group harmonies. While "Splintering" is more dramatic, starting with upright bass bowing chased by glockenspiel pings and flipping half way through the song into heavy guitar rips. They have another tune that is entirely in Italian. I like these guys and I am excited to hear their album Welcome Back Dear Children. I like the cover art too, which is drawn by Deems.

You can see Arizona live this Saturday 7/8 around 8:30 at Piano's.

DOWNLOAD
Some Kind of Chill (MP3)
Splintering (MP3)

Posted by 3xWes at 06:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I have been meaning to post about Headlights for a while, especially considering a friend went to college with the band. I was originally going to post "Put Us Back Together Right" from their EP2, but now that their album Kill Them With Kindness is coming out, I will post that version. They have polished the song up a bit. It starts calmly with only a piano but builds to a drum-roll rhythm, tremolo guitar line, and warbling synths. It is the only good song about chairs I know.

DOWNLOAD
Put Us Back Together Right (MP3)

Posted by 3xWes at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)