Beach House - "Myth"

Beach House will release the follow-up to my favorite album of 2010 with Bloom, out May 15th via Sub Pop. In anticipation, the band has posted a new track, "Myth", on their site and this beautiful luscious track seems to pick up right where the band left off.

Widowspeak played Glasslands

Retro dream-pop sensations Widowspeak packed Glasslands last night for a hometown thriller and expanded their lineup to four, as they were joined by bass played Pamela Garavano-Coolbaugh, and oozed their way through a great set of soft, slow burning songs. The always gorgeous Molly Hamilton led the quintet with her forever compared Hope Sandoval-esque voice and ethereal guitar tones that should really be exemplified for their true unique beauty. Despite Glasslands' soft tones, the band was still able to propel beauty and grace through their elegant tracks of blissful guitar melodies and simple rhythms. Favorites from their debut record "In the Pines" and "Puritan" were paired with world debuting new tracks that retain the same poised allure that makes the band so endearing. With full smiles in tact throughout the show, the band's pure joy easily transfered to the mesmerized crowd and set a euphoric tone for the entire evening. The group's charm is the heart of what they do as their tracks are not overly complex and Hamilton's voice can sometimes seem to be barely above a whisper, yet it is the delicate finesse that makes the tracks worth coming back to for repeated listens. "Harsh Realm" closed out the evening of fantastic celestial tunes as the band bashfully thanked all for coming.

Screaming Females - "It All Means Nothing"

New Jersey punk trio Screaming Females will drop the follow up to their awesome record from 2010, Castle Talk, on April 4. The record, Ugly, was produced by Steve Albini and you can check out the video for the lead single "It All Means Nothing" above.

Sleigh Bells played Terminal 5

Get More: Sleigh Bells, Comeback Kid, Music, More Music Videos

Bros were out in full force for Sleigh Bells' biggest headlining show to date in New York last night. Backed with a full wall of Marshall stacks, Derek and Alexis kicked things off with the first two tracks from Reign of Terror before blasting into "Riot Rhythm" which sparked a powder keg of energy that propelled vivacity through the crowd that would not let up until the show ended. Alexis' vocals soared to new heights and even were able to overpower Derek's metal/post-hardcore riffs which were intensified by the addition of a second guitarist backing the duo onstage. While newer tracks fell a little flat, save for singles "Born to Lose" and "Comeback Kid", dance anthems "A/B Machines", "Tell 'Em", and a superb "Infinity Guitars" ignited the crowd and with the help of some blinding strobes and demonstrated that Sleigh Bells' noise-pop attitude is not something to be taken slightly and the duo can certainly hold their own amongst the bigger names of the electronica/dance scene. Despite a less than impressive stage presence, the quality of the songs and enthusiasm from the crowd made it clear that this was more of an experience than a show. Alexis dove into a jubilant crowd to start the encore with a dynamite version of "Rill Rill" and ended the night with a head-banging rendition of "Crown on the Ground". However even as the band left the stage and the house lights came on, the late Whitney Houston's "Dance with Somebody" came over the speakers and continued the dance party for just one more song. Even if the tribute to the late diva was not intentional, it seemed like a fitting end to the evening.

Setlist:
01 Shred Guitar
02 Born to Lose
03 Riot Rhythm
04 A/B Machines
05 Kids
06 End of the Line
07 Comeback Kid
08 Tell 'Em
09 Leader of the Pack
10 Straight A's
11 Treats
12 Infinity Guitars
--
13 Rill Rill
14 Demons
15 Crown on the Ground

Cults - "You Know What I Mean"

Retro-pop duo Cults are back with another beautifully shot video and this time it's for one of my favorite tracks from 2011, "You Know What I Mean". Watch it above via Pitchfork.

Hop Along - "Tibetan Pop Stars"

The Philly trio Hop Along will release their first album (as a full band) Get Disowned this coming Spring and have shared a new track, "Tibetan Pop Stars", via their bandcamp page. Frances' vocals sound as strong as ever on this one and the tune is certainly one of their rockingest tracks to date! [via yvynyl]

Real Estate played K & K Super Buffet

Real Estate - "Easy" from Tom Scharpling      

After an explosive set from noise jam masters Black Dice, New Jersey's Real Estate took to the stage to close out an exhausting night of great music all set in the middle of an exotic Chinese restaurant. They kicked things off with "Green Aisles" and then dove straight into a new tune and played a perfectly balanced set of warm sunny songs taken from both of the band's two great records. While live renditions of their newest tracks really sparkled in a live setting, the sometimes triple guitar sounded so much richer and really allowed for the band to stretch their talents, it was their older tunes that really got the crowd moving. "Beach Comber" sent the crowd into swaying bliss and "It's Real" really took things over the edge. The breezy melodies and flowing rhythms seemed to already have a classic feel and the band cruised through each track as if they have been playing them for years; their effortless riffs floating off into the night.

Jeff Mangum played BAM

The once elusive Jeff Mangum finished a sold out, three run show tonight at the Howard Gilman Opera House to a silent and enraptured audience. Surrounded by four guitars, the myth of a man played a single chord and already applause rang out from the crowd and after two more attempts, Mangum proclaimed "this is the easiest show I've ever played." After he was finally able to dive into a song, he kicked off the evening with Aeroplane's epic finale "Two-Headed Boy Part Two", it was an onslaught of all the classics one would hope to hear. While his performance at I'll Be Your Mirror was like seeing a Blue Whale in it's natural habitat (the last thing you ever thought you would actually witness), his performance tonight was full of energy and a special sparkle that dusted the show with a certain magic of its own. Tracks from Neutral Milk's two landmark albums intertwined through the set and the majesty of the performance was elevated even more so as Julian Koster and the rest of the Music Tapes provided additional beauty as they joined in on french horn, trumpet, accordion, and saw giving an extra glow and allowing for a triumphant rendition of "The Fool". The performance seemed natural and calm, not something you'd expect from a man who spent so long out of the spotlight, and after encouraging the crowd to sing along earlier, "if you're gonna sing at home, you might as well sing here", he started the encore by insisting everyone rush the stage. The night ended in a mob of people gathering at the stage swaying to "Song Against Sex" and Jeff high-fiving everyone in reach.

Setlist:
Two-Headed Boy Part Two
Holland, 1945
Gardenhead / Leave Me Alone
Little Birds
Engine
Ghost
Naomi
April 8
Oh Comely
Two Headed Boy
The Fool
--
Song Against Sex
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Lower Dens - "Brains"

Despite a lackluster and rather dull live performance, Lower Dens can still produce somer killer tunes as displayed in the new track, "Brains", off their new album Nootropics (out May 1st) via GorillavsBear.

Jay-Z - "Glory (Feat B.I.C.)"

In case you missed it, Rap's royal couple (Hov + B) welcomed their first child, Blue Ivy Carter, to the world this past weekend and to celebrate, Jay-Z has released a single entitled "Glory". The track, which actually features Blue Ivy's cries, goes into great detail just how much love the couple have for their little Princess. Listen to it here and grab some tissues while your at it.

On a side note, I'd like to think that the Empire State building was decked out in blue this weekend in honor of this occasion. Congrats to the happy couple!