New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
It’s no surprise a long line is quickly forming outside The Echo of those waiting to get The Henry Clay People experience. Not even an unannounced January freak storm could stop fans from packing the beloved east-side hideout beyond fire hazard capacity. When a band has as much hype and scars as this Glendale-based new Americana group, packed shows are the norm.
This is one of those bands that make boys and girls fall in love (with each other and with their music, of course). The Naked Hearts are a not-entirely-bass-less rock duo (live, the bass exists as if by magic even if nobody is playing it, as we have personally witnessed!) which offer some extremely well crafted, melancholic, guitar indie-pop.
Amy Cooper (guitar and vocals) and Noah Wheeler (drums and vocals) are obvious musical soul mates – their voices perfectly complement each other, their songwriting is well integrated, and their performances are flawlessly tight. The simplicity of their guitar pop formula and the clean rock production may be reminiscent of The Strokes, but the main ingredients of their music (songwriting and overall mood in particular) make this debut a completely different beast.
"Mass Hysteria" exists in a musical limbo floating between Belly’s hyper-melancholic psych pop ("Way I See You", "Dark Shade"), the more straightforward and up-beat guitar pop of Juliana Hatfield and PJ Harvey circa 1992 ("Boyfriend"), and the obvious Nirvana influences ("Call Me", "Mass Hysteria").
Of course, The Naked Hearts don’t have the angst that characterized all grunge bands – but it’s their generation that seems to lack that trait. Almost surprisingly, instead, the band uses that genre’s musical signature and fills it with some sort of innocence that instills a refreshing quality. Maybe this is the way the unavoidable, almost due by now grunge revival will sneak back to our ears? The record has at least two singles with noteworthy potential: "Like I Do" and "Mass Hysteria" – true pop gems that build up and open up with harmonized choruses exactly the way we like it – this is stuff that could also work on the dance floor. Is there anything better than dancing intensely to an emotional rocking song, after all?
Don’t miss their free live show at 3rd ward on May 22.
Nashville’s favorite babes Those Darlins are playing this Saturday at Mercy Lounge. On top of that, Daniel Pujol, Natural Child, So Jazzy and "A Very Special Guest" will join them on the bill.
This all presented to you by Nashville’s Dead. Get there early and you can receive a free pair of blue blockers (cool, huh!).
Also, some of the ticket sales will go to help Nashville’s flood victims. Thank you to Those Darlins and the rest of the bands for their help. Now if we could just figure out this oil spil…. – Fletcher Watson
DON’T FORGET: Text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to Nashville’s flood victims.
It’s been a long three years since our boys in Menomena released Friend & Foe, but our wait is over…well, it’ll be over July 27th. This date marks the release of the trio’s newest musical creation on Barsuk, Mines.
The image above is the new record’s front-and-back cover art, and like all other Menomena album art, it is more than meets the eye. I am the Fun Blame Monster came equipped with a flipbook and Friend & Foe with an intricate die-cut puzzle; this one is a stereograph. The front and back images appear to look identical but are actually slightly different stereographic photos that are visible as a single three-dimensional image if the viewer crosses his/her eyes just right (you know, like the “Oh look, it’s a sailboat!” Magic Eye optical illusions). Unfortunately, I’ve never been good at those and more than likely will forever see this artwork in its primitive, two-dimensional form, but at least the broken siren is nice to look at!
Along with announcing the album art, the threesome was kind enough to share the record’s first single, “FIVE ROOMS,” (no, the caps lock was not a typo, check out the tracklisting below) with its fans. The dark, minor-chord (and, of course, saxophone) laden track can be all yours if you go to Menomena’s site and supply the band with your email address.
Here’s what drummer/vocalist Danny Seim posted on the band’s website about the single:
Here are five little facts about "Five Little Rooms"
1. It’s the ninth track on our new album
2. It started out as one song a few years ago and ended up an entirely different song a few months ago
3. It prominently features the words "prostitute", "children", "hung", "bridegroom", "suburban" and "mcdonalds" (we’re edgy now, haven’t you heard?)
4. It was the last song to be chosen for the new record, which, in our perverted world, somehow makes it the most appropriate choice for the first single
5. It’s either the best or the worst song we’ve ever written; you decide!
Our friendly label folks wanted me to rewrite the following info in a more personal way, but I’m having a hard time outdoing their informative enthusiasm. I’ll just cut and paste instead:
"Get a download of "Five Little Rooms" now! In a few weeks, you’ll get exclusive information on the upcoming Mines pre-order including a limited-edition double 7-inch with non-album tracks, exclusive t-shirts, screen-printed posters and more!"
Thank you for caring.
love, Danny / Menomena
Mines Tracklisting:
1.QUEEN BLACK ACID
2.TAOS
3.KILLEMALL
4.DIRTY CARTOONS
5.TITHE
6.BOTE
7.LUNCHMEAT
8.OH PRETTY BOY, YOU’RE SUCH A BIG BOY
9.FIVE LITTLE ROOMS
10.SLEEPING BEAUTY
11.INTIL
-Katrina Nattress
To celebrate the release of their new EP Big Bang and the birthday of band member Vee, The Maybenauts are taking part in a seven band FREE show at The Darkroom this Friday. The show starts at 8pm and I recently had the chance to ask the band a few questions. You can read the interview here.
Diplo will be making his directorial debut with a documentary called Favela on Blast, which he co-directed with Leandro HBL. It’s not surprising to hear that the film will explore the music and the subculture surrounding the berserk Brazilian dance music subgenre known as funk carioca (or baile funk or favela funk), which he’s been championing for years. It features appearances made by scene figures Deize, Tigrona, Mr. Catra, and Duda Do Borell. On July 20, his Mad Decent label will be releasing the documentary on DVD and digital download, and starting July 9, you’ll be able to watch the movie on Pitchfork.tv for one week only. You can check out the trailer above. – H.M. Kauffman
The first lady of Chicago hip hop Psalm One (sorry Kid Sis…) released a new ep called Women @ Work earlier this month. The ep is free and preview of what is to come on her debut on Rhymesayers Entertainment. Go download the ten track ep and blast it!
When you first hear the Nate Wilson Group a little orange and yellow "Led Zepplin" light goes off behind your eyes. Their music is heavily influenced by 60’s and 70’s classic psych rock and contains some country rock hints in some of the songs. Allman Brothers-esque guitar riffs (which probably makes the band a hit with the evolving jamband scene) are sprinkled generously throughout their tunes. Although they’ve played with some major national acts such as Ryan Montbleau, moe. and Martin Sexton, The Nate Wilson Group doesn’t fade from the local scene and is a band who knows how to play around their local turf. They have THREE residencies in June. One in Worcester, MA at The Dive Bar on Fridays, at Stone Church in Newmarket, NH on Wednesdays and at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA on Thursdays.
–The Deli Staff
The latest album for the prolific band Berry was released yesterday by Indiana’s Joyful Noise. Joey Lemon, Paul Goodenough, Shane Bordeau, Matt Aufrecht formed the band in 2002, but didn’t arrive in Chicago until 2007. In the last eight years the band has written and recorded over 100 songs and have released 10 albums and eps. Blue Sky, Raging Sun is the bands eleventh release and their first since singing with Joyful Noise back in March. What is interesting about this album and its sound is that the band decided to stop touring by van and only traveled by train while writing this album. The result is a new sound that is both fresh and classic at the same time. The album is a twelve track travelogue of sorts and pop adventure at every turn.
Nice Nice will be swooping in for a free show tomorrow night at Holocene! Supporting acts such as the joyful drone provided by Asss will be a welcome addition, paired along with the tribal glitch and percussion of duo Romancing and spatial psychedelic mindfucks Golden Retriever. For the rug-cutters, DJ New Moon Poncho, and DJ Tropical Depression (Claudia Meza from Explode Into Colors!) will hold down the segues and faders.
Nice Nice is touring in support of their recently released album Extra Wow, which came out on Warp Records just last month to a variety of strong reviews. Check out the psychedelic swirls of their video for their official single from the album "Everything Falling Apart" below:
Show starts at 8:30 p.m. and, again, is completely FREE.
– Joel Sommer
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. When he heard Homeboy Sandman’s album he realized he’d had it too easy. About three years ago, Homeboy Sand stormed the NYC underground scene attending pretty much every open mic in the city—sometimes two or three a night. His hypnotic, tongue-twisting rhymes and unorthodox beat selection earned him an immediate distinction among his peers. With his third release “The Good Sun” (HighWaterMusic), Homeboy Sand shines with a warm, earnest delivery that reflects his ferocious drive and contemplative nature. His energy pulses through the tracks as he stretches and bends his words around every snap and pop. It’s the type of album that you listen to and wish he was there listening with you so you could high-five him after each track. He’ll be celebrating the release on June 1st at SOBs. Be prepared to spend most of the night frantically hopping around with your hands in the air. – BrokeMC