Daytrotter has posted it’s final session with Owen Ashworth as Casiotone For The Painfully Alone. After 13 plus years Owen retired the name last year to pursue other projects. This was his fifth appearance on Daytrotter.
L.A.
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Olin and The Moon on “One Tree Hill” + SXSW official showcase
Olin and The Moon has been pretty busy since the release of their album "Footsteps" back in January. Their version of the theme song for The CW’s hit television show "One Tree Hill" airs tonight, and they are also feature and make a guest appearance in an upcoming episode! The band also played with country-punk legends Lucero last week at Echoplex, selling over 700 tickets. Their raw folk rock is diverse and has a youthful, honest feel. The more country sounding "Change Your Mind" is about writing the perfect song for a beautiful girl, with the lyrics "She’d be in that blue sundress/And Lord knows she’d be mine/And if I told her everything/I wonder if she’d stay", capturing the hearts of hopeless romantics dreaming of summer love. "Payo" embodies all the harsh realities of life and struggle, starting out with slow acoustic guitar strums and dark piano keys, and transitioning into resentment and angst.
It’s not surprising that the OATM has been chosen as an official showcasing artist for the SXSW festival this month. They will be playing at Black & Tan on Wednesday the 16th at 9:30 p.m. But before they head out to Austin, you can catch them at The Satellite(formerly Spaceland) here in L.A. on the March 13th.
–Jenna Putnam
NYC
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Newvillager release new video for “Lighthouse”
Here’s the new video for NewVillager‘s "Lighthouse", directed by Ben Dickinson (LCD Soundsystem, the Rapture, the Juan Maclean). Debut album details coming later this week.
Nashville
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Raw Artists: Nashville @ Mercy Lounge, 2/17/11
Painting, photography, cinematography, music, fashion, dance; name your creative outlet, and chances are Raw Artists brought it. The Mercy Lounge hosted a fantastic display of art this past Thursday night, showcasing some of Nashville’s most intriguing and captivating art forms. Raw Artists: Nashville compiled a host of talented artists for an evening of schmoozing and entertainment.
The venue morphed into an art exhibit for the night, its walls and walkways displaying photographs and acrylic paintings. One exhibit featured Tim Burton-esque figurines with grimacing faces dressed up in contrastingly bright materials. The showcase began with a satirical short film about the stages of depression after a breakup. It was the only film of the evening and was shortly followed by an interpretive dance performance. After another intermission, the musical performances started with Brandon Jazz & His Armed Forces. Although I enjoyed watching Brandon Jazz parade across the stage, the power-pop melodies and catchy hooks never really landed with me. They put on an entertaining show, but the fact that Brandon is only singing to backing tracks makes me feel like I’m watching a karaoke show instead of a live performance.
The evening progressed with a performance by one of my favorite local bands, The Black Shades. They brought a revitalizing energy to the showcase and unleashed a new song. Evan P. Donohue performed afterward with a set that fit the scene like a velvet glove. Raw Artists: Nashville had a successful inauguration, and my hopes are they take it to a new height for next month’s event. – Marc Chirico
Philadelphia
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Album Review: See Through – Creeping Weeds
It’s been about four years since Creeping Weeds’ promising debut full-length, and from the sound of things, not that much has changed. The band still has a knack for chiseling out perfect, multi-layered pop songs along the lines of Elliot Smith or The Shins, and like those artists, they seem to feel most comfortable eschewing the lo-fi trend in favor of a quaint, yet crystal-clear production sound. If anything at all is different in their latest effort See Through, it’s that these songs have an added breeziness. They’re just a tad bit lighter, both in tone and instrumentation.
Opener “Fountain” starts off with a heady, drifting melody and finger-picked guitar only to surprise you with a sudden rumbling of distortion and propulsive drums. The washed-out licks in “Weekend at the Shore” become a reoccurring theme in the album, as well as the electronic shimmers in “Master Plan”. While “Sirens” has been floating around the internet for years now, it still remains one of the catchier numbers on the album. “(Wrapped in) Gauze” is somewhat of a standout with its different rhythmic approach and sun-kissed chorus. Same goes for “Vampires”, which benefits a lot from its gently oscillating guitar effect. The meditative picking and hushed vocal harmonies of “Hole in the Wall” wrap things up nicely, though perhaps not conclusively as expected.
Front to back, the album exudes plenty of charm and color, and it’s doubtful that any previous fans of Creeping Weeds would be disappointed. The songs here should work equally well on a summer evening as a winter one, and it’s nice to see a pop record these days that’s not the slightest bit ironic, but simply whimsical, hopeful, and just a little melancholy. You can stream and purchase See Through here.
NYC
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NYC Hip Hop: Beans is back with new album “End It All”
Beans has been delivering syllable-crammed poetic space raps for well over ten years. For those familiar with his days with Antipop Consortium, his newest effort delivers more of what you loved from the start and then some. Beans attacks the ferocious beats on “End It All” with a syncopated intensity reminiscent of a robot Rottweiler in a space helmet. He has never been one for punchline rap, and it’s refreshing to see someone stick to his guns in a musical climate that has most artists second-guessing their established and previously-endorsed styles. This album eschews the mishmash jokes and bravado characteristic of its genre in favor of an artistic statement made without pretense, an onslaught of rabid heart and merciless vision; it succeeds where many fail in that it conjures a viscous vibe which enraptures and mesmerizes the listener. – BrokeMC
NYC
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Brahms release DIY video shot using iPhones and…
From this new Brahms video of the (rather "Depeche Modey") song "Repeat it", it looks like we entered a new stage in the "musical DIY revolution"… not only bands record themselves, now they also shoot their own videos! According to Stereogum.com "BRAHMS shot this video while on tour and while in Tokyo, using their iPhones and surveillance cameras." – Hold on a sec… "their surveillance cameras"? How does that work, exactly? Bands tour the world with with their own surveillance cameras?
Philadelphia
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Congrats to Meek Mill for Making XXL Magazine’s 2011’s Freshman Class Cover!
Congrats to Meek Mill for making the cover of XXL Magazine’s 2011’s Freshman Class! It’s their fourth annual Freshman edition and features their picks of the next MCs to look out for in hip hop. This year’s class includes artists like Lil B, Yelawolf and many others. Some hip hop fans are probably wondering why Chiddy Bang was excluded from the cover with the breakout year that they’ve had. Well, as Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Bersein pointed out via Twitter, “Chill! Me n chidd are disqualified from XXL because we are technically a duo or group. No worries! Cool kids and wu-tang couldn’t win either.” So don’t hate; just appreciate that the 2-1-5 was represented! (Now, our only problem is why so many Philly MCs sport Yankee caps in their videos and pics. Where is the love?) – The Deli Staff
L.A.
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Best of LA #37 Hot As Sun & #36 Mad Planet
We continue our "Best of LA Countdown", this time covering two of the artists that made our Year Ends Best of LA Poll list (a chart compiled by a jury comprised of local bloggers, music writers, promoters, record store personnel, DJs, and our writers and readers).
Babe-a-licious duet Hot As Sun gives our ears a tasty treat with their lo-fi ambient waves of sound. As shown above, their music resonates danceable and fun electro-pop, but is certainly far from mainstream. Although the girls do have occasional help from other members, the masterminds behind the group are Deborah Stoll and Jaime Jackson. "Come Come", their most popular song has hip-hop beats and Madonna-esque vocals, while "Only A Woman" has a smoother, transient sound. They have played venues like The Echo and Bardot as of late, and they are offering a free download of "Come Come" off of their 4 track self-titled EP.
If you mix strong bass chords with off-kilter jazz beats, shimmering keyboards, and powerful vocals, you will get Mad Planet. Add Cooper Gillespe’s style, reminiscant of Joan Jett, and Greg Gordan’s afro and you’ve got a sensational duet with contagious chemistry. They just released their EP "Gliese 581g" today, and will be playing at The Viper Room on March 9th.You can also catch them at SXSW.
–Jenna Putnam
Chicago
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The Dogs “Camping”
The Dogs are back with a new album called Camping. The album recording almost entirely on their own with a few microphones and a laptop, but they did use the four hours of studio time that they won in one of our polls. Camping is an example of how mobile the process has become, and the wide range of sounds you can capture. The Dogs are a close group that feels like family, and nothing brings a group closer than roughing it in the woods of Wisconsin.
Camping officially comes out on March 1st. You can grab the first singles from the album on the band’s bandcamp page.
Philadelphia
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Delco Nightingale Open for Wanda Jackson at WCL Feb. 22
Delco Nightingale lead us through a time warp to the 1940s rediscovering the sounds of big-band, jazz and swing standards. However, the four-piece that is made up of vocalist Erin Berry, guitarist Greg Phoenix, upright bassist Brendan Skwire, and drummer Eddie Everett take those opulent orchestrated compositions, strip them down, and inject a bit of the rock ‘n’ roll that really didn’t exist in that time period, thus, creating fun, bouncy numbers for a whole new generation. Well, they have a big show tonight at World Café Live, and I’m thinking that they’ll be right at home when they open for living icon and Queen of Rockabilly, Wanda Jackson. Now, how many people in the world and throughout history can say that they slept with Elvis and rocked out with Jack White? Exactly. World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 8pm, $30 – $55, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman
NYC
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New Numbers release “Vacationland” at Rock Shop on 03.03
New Numbers is the new band of Joshua Abbott and Michael Fadem, former members – together with Holly Miranda – of The Jealous Girlfriends, a band that graced the cover of The Deli in 2006. This new project shares with their previous effort a sober psych rock influence and a punchy, hybrid sound, where guitars and synths cooperate to create thick and textured arrangements. The group’s material reveals all sorts of influences. "Creature Comforts" is the only track from the new CD available online and – I know some people won’t like this, but it’s true – sounds like Simple Minds’ from the "New Gold Dream" period, which is kind of refreshing because Jim Kerr’s band was awesome for many years before becoming extra annoying (everybody should check out their first 3-4 albums). Older songs from the previous "Islands EP" ("She’s So Down", "Whatever I Want") refer more directly to the sounds of the 60s, with beat and psychedelic influences. "Hinterlands" on the other hand is an upbeat pop-rock track with unexpected reggae bridge, more reminiscent of the band’s recent past with The Jealous Girlfriends. New Numbers will celebrate the release of their full length album at Rock Shop on March 3rd – Sean Bones will also be on the bill. These Are Not Records is planning to distribute a limited 300 copies on colored vinyl.
