Former Woods/Meneguar songwriter Christian DeRoeck will be playing Cake Shop with his new band Little Gold next Wednesday, August 11th along with Texas’ Fergus and Geronimo (recent signees to Sub Pop imprint Hardly Art). Haven’t heard Little Gold yet? The material is definitely more upbeat than average Woods songs, and less punky than Meneguar’s ones: it’s DIY indie pop!

EL-P, preeminent producer and founder of Def Jux records, is back to rock the apocalypse. The “Weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamixxx” series, like Atmosphere’s “Sad Clown Bad Dub” releases, began as a mishmash of outtakes and instrumental throwaways released on a limited CD and sold on the road as tour support. Lucky for us all, fans of El-P don’t discriminate between his lyrical productions and his instrumental wallops. In effect, we find ourselves eagerly anticipating the third installment of El-Producto’s signature psycho-space funk. It’s being released on August 3rd by Gold Dust Media, and if it’s anything like its precursors, you can expect gooey synths, gritty drum breaks, and a delightful spread of cacophony ideal for cleaning oil off of dying pelicans. – BrokeMC

Julian Lynch’s most recent LP, Mare, is pure atmosphere. It’s a record you listen to when establishing a natural and relaxed type of setting – chilling outside on the porch, drinking wine, smoking some pot, doing the nature thing. But inside the confines of the dimly lit, slightly smelly basement of the Delancey last night, Julian Lynch’s set was far more impressive both sound and music wise. There’s a powerful intimacy to the music live – it’s all about mood, about ambient movement and organic energy. After taking their time doing the sound check, fucking with their guitars amidst clashing, loungey background music, Julian Lynch blasted into their first song. They jammed through the first, went on to the second, and so on, just jamming. This band is all about instrumentals; heck, even the echoey, primal vocals were instrumental in themselves. And that’s what makes this band so great, so unique. Because, after all, it’s all you want to listen to when hanging out on a couch in the chilly darkness, on a Sunday night in the summer.

In most cases the difference between a musician and a wanna-be is the amount of struggle one is available to put up with in order to keep making music. It’s probably also the (always painful and challenging) acceptance that a music career cannot be judged by the bourgeois standards we all use on a daily basis to define what is successful or not. Choosing the rock’n’roll experience can mean living in a car for 5 years, traveling the country by yourself to play intimate shows, having the self discipline to write 365 songs a year, and the strength of being a team of one. This is what makes Paleo a real indie musician. "A View Of The Sky" is his third effort. The songs contained therein (vivid scrawls of a remarkable mind) are the first compositions he made following a marathon year – it is also Paleo’s first collaboration with Partisan Records out of Brooklyn, NY– home to Deer Tick, JBM, Mountain Man, and more. For a taste of the new album, check out this mp3.

We continue our "Best of NYC Countdown", covering every day one of the artists that made our Year End Best of NYC list (a chart compiled by a jury comprised of local bloggers, music writers, promoters, record store personnel, DJs, and our writers and readers).

In a Brooklyn full of up-and-coming female artists, Van Etten’s sparse yet powerfully passive expressiveness creates a magnetic pull-quality that seems to set her apart. This is most un-rushed stuff I’ve heard in a long time – all while being totally captivating. The slow-paced, hypnotic melodies and harmonies, backed only by an acoustic guitar and set alongside self-reflective lyrics, are by no means boring. Getting utterly lost in the thoughtfully slow-paced arrangements isn’t a voluntary reaction Put that Xanax away – Van Etten’s soft falsetto and meditative melodies will calm both mind and soul. – On August 2, Sharon will be performing at a new venue/bar just next to Brooklyn Lyceum on 4th ave, called The Rock Shop. It’s a cool space, we recommend you check it out.