5 posts tagged “indie rock”
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09/14/08 BLACK CAT w/ Maps & Atlases, Nurses Washington, Washington DC
09/15/08 TEA BAZAAR w/ Arctic Rose Charlottesville, Virginia 09/16/08 21:11 BEER & WINE Greeneville, North Carolina 09/17/08 GO BAR w/ Iron Hero Athens, Georgia 09/18/08 NEW WORLD BREWERY Tampa, Florida 09/19/08 1982 BAR Gainesville, Florida 09/20/08 TIN ROOF w/ Win Win Winter Charleston, South Carolina 09/21/08 SOAPBOX LAUNDRO LOUNGE w/ Win Win Winter, Fortress of Swatches Wilmington, North Carolina 09/22/08 DRUNKEN UNICORN w/ Liverhearts, Win Win Winter Atlanta, Georgia 09/23/08 RESERVOIR w/ Win Win Winter Carborro, North Carolina 09/24/08 MILESTONE w/ The Lights, Fluorescent Charlotte, North Carolina 09/25/08 TALKING HEAD w/ Deleted Scenes Baltimore, Maryland 09/30/08 BERNIE’S w/ Thin Fevers Columbus, Ohio 10/01/08 EAGLE THEATER w/ Thunderbirds Are Now!, Born Ruffians, Plants & Animals Pontiac, Michigan 10/02/08 RONNY’S w/ Netherfriends, Darren Keen Chicago, Illinois 10/05/08 FOUNDATION Kansas City, Missouri 10/06/08 CONSERVATORY Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 10/07/08 HAILEY’S Denton, Texas 10/08/08 EMO’S LOUNGE Austin, Texas 10/11/08 SKULL ALLEY w/ Young Widows Louisville, Kentucky 10/12/08 BRILLOBOX w/ Life In Bed Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Did I mention dark and moody? How about Rahim? Their sophomore album, Laughter, just came out last Tuesday, and everyone seems to really, really, really love them (especially Spin & Pitchfork to name a few).
Maybe it's my headphones, but, listening to the album, the audio sounds hollow. Like it was recorded on poor recording equipment. Maybe it's intentional, who knows, but it does come off like they recorded inside a padded cave.
I did like the experimental noises, anything from synth to weird percussions to foot stomping (?) on the record. It's obvious, whoever is playing all these instruments is very talented.
The album starts off with an introduction song, "Death" of clanking cans, to give you a taste of what to expect. The first major song is "The Same", which establish your relationship to the band ("hey, it's true, you are the same as me").
The band seems to really like "Through A Window" (which you can download off their myspace). The radio-friendly song sounds too short - maybe too short? In fact, the whole album is a hair less than 30 minutes.
My favorite song off this album is "Laughter", which ends the album. There's some strange cord progression on this song with an almost 18th century monk-like chant that made this song interesting to me.
If you're into indie rock, but with non-traditional guitar/bass/drum equipment, you should definitely check out Rahim.
Laughter is available now from Pretty Activity. In support of this record, expect the band to be touring through your town.
I wanted to post this entire album up here. I really did. field manual is actually Chris Walla's second solo album, and I was more than happy to see it. After a report of the hard drive actually being confiscated at the US/Canada border, I was even a little worried that it would be delayed. Thank God for external hard drives!
If Chris Walla's name sounds familiar, I should probably tell you he's the guitarist/producer in Death Cab for Cutie. He's also done work with The Decemberists and Tegan and Sara. If you're a fan of any of these bands, you're already quite familiar with Chris' sound and field manual doesn't disappoint.
The opening song "Two-Fifty" is full of the harmonies that we are so used to hearing with DCFC. This was my favorite song, not only because it reminded me of those harmonies, but there was something more stripped down and ethereal to them that I really liked. The simple drum beat in the background keeps a simple time and it's really easy to focus on the song and the meaning.
I tried not to make too many comparisons to that other band that Chris is in, but I'm such a big fan that I couldn't help it. I thoroughly enjoyed this album, and I'm on the hunt for more Chris Walla. In fact, Chris has more downloads available at his website Hall of Justice. You can also stream more tracks on his official MySpace page, or pre-order field manual in the Barsuk Shop and enjoy!
field manual is released January 29th, 2008.
Discography
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Johnny Bennett has a new EP out called Red Light Room. All the press material that I've read in my research of this EP is that apparently this EP is a little different: there's pianos. Which doesn't really surprise me as he seems really diverse. Especially considering that he was trained in classical music at the North Carolina School of the Arts.
When he was living in Los Angeles, he formed a band called Fletcher with all the songs written by Johnny Bennett. They were supposed to have sounded like "modern rock with traces of Acoustic Soul".
Red Light Room is a pretty quick listen. The song that stood out for me is the last song, "This Year's Lie". It's really energetic, especially toward the end with the frantic piano playing. This would be a great song to end a live set, leaving the audience to want more.
Bennett is currently based out of Nashville, Tennessee. You can find more information on his myspace page, with all the necessary links to ordering his music online via Snocap (which I have to say that I've used this service before and it's very good).
12/18/2007 10:07:11
vu
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myspace.com/johnnybennett
Two weeks ago, I asked Vu if he wanted to post the news that The Verve had reunited. He encouraged me to do it. I then suggested that he do it. Do you remember either of us posting anything about The Verve? Yeah.
So, guess what, solo-Ashcroft haters? ThE vErVe Is BaCk!
The Verve, minus Simon Tong of The Good, The Bad & The Queen, recently regrouped to record a new album and tour. So far, only six UK dates have been confirmed. All are now sold out.
That's it. Let's see how long this lasts.
They're not the only ones making drippy dreams come true.
On Valentine's Day, Spanish über-rock band, Héroes del Silencio, announced that, after over a decade of pleading, fans would finally be appeased with a meager 10-date reunion tour in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of their first recordings and the tenth anniversary of their break-up.
Héroes was my first introduction to energetic (Hard) Rock music that melded well with Spanish-language lyrics, instead of sounding awkward or awful. Lead singer Enrique Bunbury doesn't waste his words on posturing, tits, or disingenuous panty-wetters. Layered in metaphors, the lyrics often deal with social ills, the human condition, or painful love. And, that's what gets you in the end. The guy is an angry, raspy-voiced romantic. He fiercely emotes, and growls like a wounded animal. Pretty sexy stuff. (Who knew that scrawny-assed vegans could be this hot?!)
Besides the disappointing lack of shows, the other topic of interest is the mystery of lead guitarist Juan Valdivia's hand managing to sucker-punch rhythm guitarist Alan Boguslavsky into submission. Apparently, Valdivia's manus has been "weakened" by an accident, tendonitis, or a muscle-mushiness of some kind. (All I know is that no one seems to be sure what it is, but they - journalists, bloggers, fans - all refer to it as the "lesión".) This has resulted in Boguslavsky, who was added to the line-up in 1993, being replaced by Valdivia's brother for the tour. BUT, it is all in the name of moral support, folks. No hard feelings. They let him know in an email.
Anyway, all tour dates are, of course, sold out. Tickets for the September 28th LA show are up on Ebay, starting at about a $100 a piece. You should really go, if you can make it. If not, don't worry. They're one of the most bootlegged bands in Latin America. We'll see them up on Youtube soon enough.
My friggin' dreams have been smacked, flipped, rubbed down! Soda Stereo returns!
Emerging in the early 80s (with an insignificant, any-band album), Soda Stereo beautifully glided through fifteen years of New Wave, Rock, Dream Pop, Space Rock, and other genres to become one of the most beloved and influential bands in Latin America. If they'd sung in English, you'd definitely have them in your collection alongside Duran Duran, U2, Depeche Mode, The Police, etc.
This June, Soda confirmed that reunion rumors were true. They would briefly reform for twelve shows in seven countries to commemorate their last concert, which took place at the River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires in 1997. They are, however, already at eleven shows in only four countries. Me Verás Volver could very fortunately turn out to be a slightly longer tour than we could've imagined.
In addition to NYC and LA, Chicago and Miami will supposedly be on the itinerary. (No Hispanic left behind... except for those in Texas. But, you know what my man Danzig says.)
I will keep you guys posted. I promise to make you love them.
I'd heard. I'd read. But, I hadn't imagined that it would be this soon. Knoxville's bittersweet, Power Pop darlings Superdrag, are together once more and coming to six US cities (possibly not) near you this Fall.
I always assume that most people, who were of double-digit age in the mid-90s, will probably remember Superdrag's oft-played, MTV Buzz Bin hit "Sucked Out". You know, the "Who Sucked Out the Feeliiiiin?!" song. Yes? No? Well, whether you remember it or not, if you don't at least own one cd, you're missing out on some pleasantly pessimistic, reflexive, fun, endearing music.
After "Sucked Out" climbed Billboard's Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart to number 17, everything quickly turned sour for Superdrag. The second single and full-length follow-up went nowhere; Their label dropped them; And, the bassist left to work on his own project. Still, the quality of their music never suffered. John Davis and co. consistently put out great albums till they called it quits in 2003.
Presale tickets became available last week. You can try to get them here: http://superdrag.ducatking.com/
Oh, did I forget to mention that it's the original lineup of John Davis, Brandon Fisher, Tom Pappas, and Don Coffey, Jr.? Yup, it's 1996 again and I'm miserably happy.
One more: Last week, Digital posted a Myspace bulletin with a link to a Shed Seven reunion story. The whole band, except for Fraser Smith, will reunite for a 14-gig Greatest Hits tour that starts at the end of November and ends mid-December. Tickets went on sale today, though the Wikipedia entry claims that MySpace fans had access to presale tickets on the 7th.
In all my years of loving Britpop, I've never paid attention to this band. While researching them, I've found that they're not bad at all. (Although, I'm pretty sure that I read an interview where one of them badmouthed Catherine Wheel while touring Canada with them years ago. Um. That's a bad thing, as far as I'm concerned.)
Consumed by tedium, Cristina
The Manhattan Love Suicides is a relatively new band from the U.K. They formed in Leeds in early 2006 and released their debut album late last year. I can barely find any information on this band, but I have read that they're known for playing really short gigs (10-15 minutes in length). Apparently they're more concerned with quality over quantity.
They're heavily influenced by noisy shoegaze bands such as The Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine, which to me is a good thing. They also remind me of Velocity Girl, one of my very favorite bands (I'll write about them later). I really like the sound of loud fuzzy guitars and female vocals for some reason.
Useless Trivia: They seem to have taken their name from a 1985 short film called Manhattan Love Suicides, written and directed by Richard Kern.
Link : www.myspace.com/themls
-Randy
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