New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
The iTunes Live: SXSW EP featuring Astralwerks recording artist Dom is available on iTunes. The 4 track EP was recorded live on 3/17 at Central Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas.
Worcester, MA based Dom have been hailed by fans and critics alike for their breezy summer pop jams. The iTunes Live: SXSW EP comes hot on the heels of the band’s critically acclaimed EP, Sun Bronzed Greek Gods, which was re-released by Astralwerks Records on February 15, 2011. Dom will be embarking on a US Tour, they are playing the Paradise Rock Club in Boston on Friday, April 15.
SXSW EP Track Listing
1 Crazy Girl
2. Bochicha
3, Rude as Jude
4. Living in America
Click here to stream Crazy Girl (Live) on the band’s Ping profile
–Chrissy Prisco
You only get a brief sense of what Snow n’ Charm will sound like on their new EP, but you can tell the boys are having some fun making it. The band has released two eps previously and they are available over at bandcamp.
Lia Ices probably couldn’t have written “Grown Unknown” without taking a break from Brooklyn. Released in January 2011 on Jagjaguwar, the singer’s sophomore album collects nine impressionistic fairy tales, each song a misty sylvan dream world unto itself. The music is airy, uncluttered, and untouched by civilization. Prospect Park and Green Wood Cemetery have their dark, secluded spots, but as refuges from civilization—places capable of inspiring the kind of wonder and dread hissing beneath the quietude of this record—Brooklyn’s premier green spaces have nothing on rural Vermont, where Ices spent last winter writing. – Read Ken Partridge’s interview with Lia Ices here.
Lia Ices graced the cover of the winter 2011 issue of The Deli – read it here. This is the video of the single Daphne.
"Daphne" by Lia Ices from Secretly Jag on Vimeo.
Releasing a few tracks here and there since founding Teengirl Fantasy, students Logan Takahashi and Nick Weiss were suddenly shoved into the spotlight with the release of their debut album 7AM last September. Aptly titled, the record’s gentle brand of house music captures the hazy feel of a post-club comedown. With 2010 being a busy year in their fledgling music career, as well as their hefty study scheduled, it’s unsurprising that when I caught up with the duo my casually tossed out greeting is snatched upon as a chance to voice their exhaustion. And considering that the band was just asked to play a UK All Tomorrow’s Party Festival curated by Animal Collective in May, it looks like 2011 might be an even more exhausting (and successful) year for them. – Read Dean Van Nguyen’s interview with the band here.
Robert Kelly should be the next member of the Nashville music collective, Ten out of Tenn. If that doesn’t happen, the guy needs to get his mits on a publishing deal, because every song on his brand new, debut album, "We Are Poetry," reminds me of something I’ve heard on MTV. The album was produced by Thomas Doeve–the same producer of Andrew Belle’s album, "The Ladder,"–and his lush arrangements can certainly be heard on Kelly’s material as well. There is a delightful balance in the heaviness of the wash of sound that is present on most of the tracks, while the lilting bells, acoustic guitar, and background vocals complement the rest of the instrumentation well. Just from a listening standpoint, this album is gorgeous.
Kelly’s positive approach, genuine lyrics, and upbeat energy make each song uplifting in a way that few can achieve without coming across as insincere, cliche, or–well, just plain annoying. Hearing "We Are Poetry" for the first time made it pretty difficult to not become somewhat envious of Robert Kelly’s outlook on life. You know, kind of like listening to a Jack Johnson album with a breeze blowin’ through your hair and a cold beer in your hands. Ah…. paradise. (That, and the acoustic-guitar driven-ness of Kelly’s music–those are the only comparisons that should be drawn between he and Jack Johnson). It’s also especially refreshing to hear an album where the subject matter is more about lettin’ the good times roll than just focusing on heartbreak or unrequited love. With 10 tracks of equal quality and depth, it’s safe to say that this is a genuinely well-thought-out, well-produced, all-around well-done album.
To see these songs performed live, be sure to go to The Basement on March 25th at 7 pm for Robert Kelly’s CD Release Party. Also performing will be My Second Other. Cover is $8, which includes a cd, and it is a 21+ show. No funny business.–Erin Manning
Our current artist of the month Haroula Rose‘s soothing melodies, charming appeal, and impressively swift fingers gracing the acoustic is a combination we couldn’t help but notice. Her musical influences include Leonard Cohen, Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan, Sufjan Stevens, and Elliot Smith to name a few. Rose’s debut album, "These Open Roads" is a 12 track collection of tunes that are both uplifting and heavy on the heart, with some guest appearances from Drive By Trucker’s John Neff and Saddle Creek’s Andy Lemaster. "A Place Under The Sun" is a beautiful song that seems to be made for a golden, saturated sunny Sunday drive down the coast, aiding in self-reflection and realization. The banjo, cello, and twinkling keys give it a weary but hopeful feel, depicting our everyday struggle to break free and escape. The jaded "Duluth" is a rendition of a Mason Jennings song, dark yet sweet. The passionate singer/songwriter bashfully said, “When people say that the songs are honest or that it makes them feel at peace or understood and comforted. It makes me blush and it makes me feel lucky and like I’m on the right path. I want to keep making more music.”
Haroula Rose will be playing at Origami Vinyl in Echo Park on April 1st, and Bootleg Theater on May 15th.
–Jenna Putnam
Local musician and founder of Antiopic Records David Daniell with James Elliott, Thrill Jockey’s Bettina Richards, Regina Greene (Front Porch Productions), and Greg Davis have come together to curate an incredible project that will benefit the relief efforts in Japan. In fact, 100% of the proceeds from the purchase of this release will go to the Japanese emergency response organization Civic Force, Peace Winds, and the Fukushima Prefecture municipality. Benefit for the Recovery in Japan features 64 tracks from some of the best musicians from around the world including Prefuse 73, Parts & Labor, School of Seven Bells, and so many more.
Earth Grid, Zomes second solo album out April 12, is the culmination of Maryland based Asa Osborne’s years of exploring meditative modal models. Written, played, and recorded entirely at home on cassette tape, Earth Grid, is an intimate and intentionally primitive recording. The album was mastered by Bob Weston. The cover art was created by Osborne whose reputation as a visual artist is growing. He has had several group and solo shows, including a show at New York’s Mountain Fold Gallery with Lungfish singer and friend, Daniel Higgs. A fan of primitive and outsider art, Osborne’s work uses common objects to reach transformative ends. A visual reflection of the music, the cover takes simple elements (white medical tape on black paper) and via careful placement and repetition of patterns with subtle variations creates a beautiful space transforming the simple to the infinite.
Zomes will be touring in the US this April with The Skull Defekts, and in Europe with Kogumaza in May. –Courtesy of Thrill Jockey
