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March 8, 2013

The Men played Bowery Ballroom

To celebrate the release of their latest effort, New Moon, Brooklyn hot rods Parquet Courts and Nude Beach supported the Men through a blistering night of surging rock and roll. A year ago to the date, the Men were unleashing their breakthrough record Open Your Heart at 285 Kent and while that show saw the band shift from the dark tones of Leave Home to a more structured sound, tonight the band continued their evolving dynamic. The past three years have seen 3 releases from these Brooklyn rockers and the progress unveiled is enough to make most bands jealous. In 2011, it would have been seemed as if these dudes could rule the post-hardcore drone scene and now I wouldn't be shocked if I learned that the band just covered some lost Crazy Horse demos. This is a not necessarily a bad thing. Despite the looser arrangements becoming even more exaggerated in a live setting allow feedback to swallow the stage for some dense noise jams, new stunner "Electric" still packs a Husker Du / Dinosaur Jr. punch and makes great company for solid jams "Open Your Heart" and "Turn It Around". These guys can still rock when push comes to shove and the pacing of the show did a great job of reminding you of that. "I Saw Her Face" can feel a little flat on the record, but it exploded on stage evoking Cortez moments and serious guitar sways. The Men aren't known for being a well-oiled machine and their crusty punk aesthetic still shines through on both their lo-fi recordings and fuzzed out performances and perhaps that spills over onto their records. Their almost frightening ability to shift sonic landscapes in only a matter of years could lead to some isolation or shake off some potential success, but the Men don't seem to care. Their 'don't give a fuck' attitude has been a motif from the beginning and even with acoustic guitars thrown to the front of the mix, the attitude remains the same. The band doesn't harmonize, but rather four of them just sing at the same time. It's rough, dirty and in your face. It is grungy-Americana at its best.

February 27, 2013

Desaparecidos played Webster Hall

Before Conor Oberst became an early indie/emo darling of the early 2000s under his Bright Eyes moniker, he was leading Omaha's Desaparecidos. With one album to their credit, 2002's under-appreciated Read Music / Speak Spanish, it never seemed like there would be much attention surrounding any kind of reunion of the group, but the masses spoke and as the band has slowly been making their way across the country, they've found fans eagerly awaiting to shout along to these tracks like they've been doing in their bedrooms for a little over a decade. While this band never really received critical claim, much like early Bright Eyes records, their resurgence has been welcomed with open arms by true devotees. There were even mouths moving along to the group's newer songs. Perhaps because their biggest fans were still in high school and college during the band's prime and not scoring their Pitchfork reviews, the recent reissues can help back-up the notion that the audience for which this music was intended was clearly not the ones behind the keyboards, it would be easy to forget that Conor was relevant before swooning teenage girls with his alt-country heartbreak. Needless to say, those waiting desperately to shout along with Conor at his most punk moments were overjoyed with "Greater Omaha", "Mall of America" and "Man and Wife, The Former (Financial Planning)" as the crowed swayed and swelled with each epic breakdown, each more intense than the one before it. Conor was still in typical fashion, ranting and raving over his wishes to free Bradley Manning, the terrible state of Arizona, and the 1%. Still overtly politically focused, the group is prepared to release a new 7" single next month tackling the issues of the Occupy Movement and Anonymous and proving that even with their age and "never having to work a day in their life" they are still one with the people. While reunions barely raise an eyebrow these days, the fact that this reunion happened is still a bit of a shock. Aside from Oberst, none of the members went on to any notoriety, the lone album never saw a deluxe reissue, and while another early 2000s indie/emo darling is about to embark on a full fledge arena reunion tour with his one album side project, it is hard to argue that this music doesn't seem a little dated. That being said, the band rocked with precision and brought the high intensity that these tunes deserve. Anyone who waited ten years to hear these songs shouldn't be disappointed in this reunion as long as they remember that they are no longer 15 and what might have at one time seemed brilliant and informant, might now be nothing more than a nostalgia trip at least until Bright Eyes tours Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground in its entirety.

February 18, 2013

Atoms for Peace - AMOK

The hugely anticipated debut album from Atoms for Peace, AMOK, is here via the band's website. The album is out next week on XL Recordings. Stream it below.

February 10, 2013

James Blake - "Retrograde"

Here is the official video for "Retrograde" the first single by James Blake off his upcoming sophomore record, Overgrown, due April 8.

February 5, 2013

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - "So Good at Being in Trouble"

Portland (via New Zealand) psych-rockers Unknown Mortal Orchestra have released a video for "So Good at Being in Trouble" to coincide with the release of their excellent sophomore record, II, which is out today via Jagjaguar.

January 28, 2013

The Knife - "Full of Fire"

It has been seven long years since the Knife released their now classic Silent Shout, however that will change on April 9 when they finally release their forth record, Shaking the Habitual. Pieces of information have been slowly leaking across the internet over the past few weeks (including the fact that this will be a double CD / triple LP coming in just shy of 100 minutes!!) and today we get the official video for the behemoth of a lead single, "Full of Fire".

January 23, 2013

Widowspeak played Mercury Lounge

For the release of their second full-length, Almanac, Brooklyn's Widowspeak descended upon Manhattan's Mercury Lounge for an intimate performance of their latest bout with greatness. Highlighting tracks from the new album, Molly Hamilton and company unleashed breath-taking renditions of their classic style of breathy vocals and dream inducing guitar riffs. New tracks "Dyed in the Wool", "Storm King" and the live debut of "Thick as Thieves" were coated in heavy reverb, probably indebted to a mix of Television style guitars with the cries of Fleetwood Mac, and the compact sound of "The Dark Age' exploded with shoegaze power that spoke volumes about the song's magnitude and the band's songwriting capabilities. Older tracks "In the Pines" and the forever gorgeous "Gun Shy" were particular triumphs of the evening and while the newer tunes don't necessarily bring the group to a new level, there are always certain tracks that will leave one breathless. At this point, it seems irrelevant to mention the obvious influence of Mazzy Star, however even the Galaxie 500 inspiration is quite apparent through the group's hazed instrumentation. Seeing the band transform from a three-piece, to a four-piece, to tonight's quintet, has been a true pleasure as the band's aesthetic has truly erupted over the past few years. Their take on modern dream-pop is clearly in a class of their own. Despite the still noticeable stage fright of Molly, the group shimmers in their own glow of sun-soaked euphoria. Their encore was the lone "Harsh Realm" which welcomed even more praise from the hometown showcase (cries for Molly were forever abundant) and a bashful thank you brought the evening to an end.

January 9, 2013

The Men - "Electric"

Last year, Brooklyn rockers The Men broke through with their incendiary third album Open Your Heart. On March 5, the band will release the follow-up New Moon via Sacred Bones. That's the album art above (which strays from the standard Sacred Bones art work) and below you can hear the first single "Electric" which seems to pick up perfectly from where Open Your Heart finished.

January 7, 2013

Atoms for Peace - "Judge Jury and Executioner"

The official debut album from Thom Yorke led supergroup Atoms for Peace is called Amok and is set for release on February 25 in the UK and the following day here in the US. The latest single is called "Judge Jury and Executioner" and will be released on 12" vinyl along with the b-side "S.A.D." on March 19. Watch an accompanying video for the track below.

December 27, 2012

Guest List 2012