WaterCoolerGossip

Friday is one of those days where there is too much going on. If these stars are aligned correctly you may be able to hit up the early Love Is All show at the Knitting Factory, head over to The Batteringroom's pre-CMJ party for Mussels at Matchless, then book it out to 3rd Ward for Matt & Kim's CD release party. The last shows for Love Is All and Matt & Kim in New York were giant frenzies, they were so crazy it was difficult to take a clear picture. Who can stand a double dose of that mania in one night? At least there will be time to chill at Knockout! (click for details). Never heard of those bands? Chris Batteringroom explains their merits here.

Posted by 3xWes at 03:45 PM | Permalink

I was not planning on posting these pictures from Okkervil River and Elvis Perkins In Deerland at the Bowery Ballroom two Saturdays ago until I realized that both Elvis and Will have hair that is out of control. The fauxhawk is new for Elvis and I am beginning to wonder if he was inspired on this tour by Will Sheff's messy "I just woke up" stylings. Regardless, it was great to hear Elvis with backing horns borrowed from Okkervil and see Will tear up their set list half way through their performance since they were playing whatever they felt like anyway.

DOWNLOAD
Love To A Monster (MP3) - From the new Okkervil River Australian tour EP Overboard & Down.
While You Were Sleeping (MP3) - From Elvis Perkins in Deerland's album Ash Wednesday. More here.

Posted by 3xWes at 01:30 AM | Permalink

About a month ago my friend Ofer recommended that I check out Herman Dune, which turned out to be a really confusing name to research. At first I thought that it was one guy but found out that Herman Dune is actually three: David Herman Dune, André Herman Dune, and Neman Herman Dune. David, also known as Ya Ya, does most of the singing. The band has roots in Sweden and New York but probably has their biggest following in France.

Herman Dune makes anti-folk similar to the big band sound of Jens Lekman, with a wide range of horns, marimba, ukulele, and percussion. Lisa Li-Lund and The Baby Skins contribute as the Woo-Woos on backup vocals, which makes the music of supposed one guy Herman Dune’s sound even bigger.

This family of musicians has been extremely prolific releasing eight albums since 2000, not including the solo material by David and André, so not every song is fantastic but every album has a few gems. Their newest album Giant is out now in France where they are currently on tour. That album is not out in the US till November so I would recommend starting with Not On Top from 2005. Here are two of my favorite songs by Herman Dune and coincidently one from each of those albums.

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I Wish That I Could See You Soon (MP3)
This Will Never Happen (MP3)

Also Here is the video for "I Wish That I Could See You Soon," which was filmed in LA with Toben Seymour.

Posted by 3xWes at 06:14 PM | Permalink

Remember when indie rock bands didn't really have remixes. That was before the days of the mashups and cross-pollination between genres. Cassettes Won't Listen has put their touch on Pela's "Lost to the Lonesome," which happens to be the first track on their new EP Exit Columbia Street. For some reason I thought Pela's next release was going to be an album but I guess they decided to scale it back and just put the strongest songs on there. You can get it and preview it at iTunes. You can also catch this excellent Brooklyn band at CMJ—dates below.

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Lost to the Lonesome - Cassettes Won't Listen Remix (MP3)

PELA CMJ DATES
10/31 - Halloween party @ B61
11/2 - Gothamist CMJ @ White Rabbit Lounge
11/2 - Amp'd Mobile CMJ @ TBA
11/3 - KEXP and Friction CMJ @ Sin-é
11/5 - The Militia Group and Death & Taxes Magazine CMJ @ Union Pool

Posted by 3xWes at 01:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

NME cover stars The Horrors are vying for the best screamers of the year. The howls and screeches on their EP could have been lifted from a B-movie but instead belong to singer Faris Badwan. The characters in his songs also seem stripped from those movies but actually pay homage to long gone music acts. "Sheena Is a Parasite" is an obvious dark twist on The Ramones' punk classic. "Crawdaddy Simone" shares the same title as the rare 1960's freakbeat classic by The Syndicats. "Jack The Ripper" steals the hook from Screaming Lord Sutch's 1960's horror-rock hit. These grave robbers stitch their monster sound from rockabilly/gothabilly surf guitars, psychedelic organs, and hammering post-punk drums. Their wardrobe is black and white, combining a style of The Strokes meets Count Dracula mixing mod moptops with the gothic teased hair of The Cure. Faris Badwan, Tomethy Furse, Joshua Von Grimm, Coffin Joe, and Spider Webb could be the next pop-star heartthrobs of the undead.

The Horrors are ironically set to make their first U.S. appearance the week of Halloween at Stolen Transmission's party during CMJ. But you should be sure to see them at Product Shop's big show on November 3rd at Studio B (tix).

DOWNLOAD
Sheena is a Parasite (MP3)
Jack the Ripper (MP3)

Also check out this creepy old video of Screaming Lord Sutch singing "Jack The Ripper." Oh the horror.

Posted by 3xWes at 02:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Ferraby Lionhart played an early show to people in the know at Piano's on Wednesday. I think you will be hearing more about this guy come CMJ. He sounds a little like Alex Greenwald of Phantom Planet but is more on the folk singer/songwriter wavelength. His tunes are catchy. Check them out and the review of the show at Product Shop.

Don't forget to buy tickets to our CMJ-style show Nov. 3rd at Studio B in Brooklyn soon because they are going fast. Ferraby will be there!

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Tickets to Crickets (MP3)
A Crack In Time (MP3)

Posted by 3xWes at 08:33 PM | Permalink

I totally forgot to link to The Long Winters review at Product Shop. I was kind of sick that evening. I ate a funky slice of pizza and was not feeling well toward the end of the show. But it was still good (the pizza and the show).

Posted by 3xWes at 08:15 PM | Permalink

Going to see The Kooks at Bowery or Northsix later this month? I am skeptical that this is Arctic Monkeys hype redux so I did not buy a ticket. However, I probably now will get a chance to see them at Sound Fix on Saturday 10/28 at 3pm. Free.

Posted by 3xWes at 03:04 PM | Permalink

I saw Lily Allen last night in her American debut at Hiro Ballroom. She was kind of nervous and probably should have had more than one glass of champagne on stage. Full review at Product Shop.

Posted by 3xWes at 02:12 PM | Permalink

Oxford Collapse held their CD release party at The Glass Lands last Saturday night, which felt less like a club and more like seeing the band in their practice space. Oxford Collapse kept the energy level jumping for the whole show. I watched most of the mayhem from the woodshop balcony. A full review is posted at Product Shop.

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Please Visit Your National Parks (MP3 – via Sub Pop)

Posted by 3xWes at 10:04 AM | Permalink

Jason PSNYC and I have been working on booking this show for a while. We are really excited to see all these bands in one place and that tickets are still cheap. Lots of other people are excited too. Set times will be announced soon. Also as a sidenote, this is The Thermals only other nighttime NYC date on their current tour besides the Sub Pop CMJ Showcase, which will probably sellout instantly based on how stacked that bill is. See them and all these other awesome bands in Brooklyn instead.

Get your tickets here at ticketweb for only $10!

A Night Out With Product Shop NYC
November 3rd. Studio B, Brooklyn. $10. 18+.

The Thermals
The Horrors
Birdmonster
Ra Ra Riot
Sam Champion
Ferraby Lionheart
The Brooklyn Playboys
Echo Station
and a few suprises!

Posted by 3xWes at 07:31 PM | Permalink

Doug Martsch of Built To Spill jammed for about an hour at Sound Fix last Thursday. The performance was scheduled to start at 5:30, when I got there just after 4:30 he was already playing. I was dissapointed that there was no mic set up but listening to him jam was still interesting. He had a giant pedal that could loop riffs and a slide on the pedal that could alter the sample's repetition. The songs were 15 minutes long so some people did not close their laptops or magazines, but most seemed to be starring at Doug. The music was more like Spilled as we watched and listened to Doug push around the post-rock mess. He would sweep it up then spread it all out again. For the people who got there at 5:00, he really only played for half an hour but just seeing one of the OGs of indie rock in a cafe was enough.

Posted by 3xWes at 11:14 PM | Permalink

At Cake Shop last Tuesday, Guy Blakeslee resurrected the Delta blues in a ceremony that was as highly spiritualized, depressed, and sweet as those southern footstompers of the early 1900s. But his band Entrance's performance echoed a séance with Blakeslee straddling the line, pulling his spirit from a dark swirling psychedelic dimension while trying to keep his foot from going too far into the grave. The band was on the periphery but the drummer was tight and the bassist played some melodies that rivaled Blakeslee’s lead on guitar.
There were no organs, electric sitars, or eerie noises that surface on his fourth album Prayer of Death but the barebones performance served Blakeslee’s voice well. After breaking a string on both of his guitars, he finally asked the crowd if anybody knew how to change a string because he is has never been very good at it. Somebody volunteered and he fished the extra string and a tambourine out of his white canvas bag. The band stepped off the stage and Blakeslee sang while slapping the tambourine. The a cappella was hauntingly powerful.
Toward the end of the show the guitar with the new string required some tuning. He plays left-handed on a right-handed guitar strung upside-down and oddly can really shred despite having no formal training. However, he tunes each string individually by ear and does not use the other strings for reference. Who knows how long it would have taken him to perfect their harmony for the last song but after a few minutes he played it anyway. The notes were a bit crunchy but he heightened the mystery of his sound.
Many of the people in the audience at Cake Shop were sitting down, especially those in the front row, but there was one moment when everyone was locked into the beat, swaying back and forth listening to Blakeslee wail.

DOWNLOAD
Prayer of Death (MP3)
Grim Reaper Blues (MP3)

More MP3s here, here, and here. Also, blow your mind here. Prayer of Death was originally released on Entrance Records but comes out on Tee Pee Records November 14th.

Posted by 3xWes at 10:27 PM | Permalink

I saw both Of Montreal and Grizzly Bear in the same night: a dude in daisy dukes and a dude in a Hawaiian shirt, respectively. Go check the reviews at Product Shop if you have not already.

Posted by 3xWes at 08:26 PM | Permalink