New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
How dreamy are you, Blouse? And you’re playing with Starfucker for just five dollars on a Friday night? At the Doug Fir. What! What? I can barely find a thing about you, and so you have become a mystery of dancey goodness, like a wood nymph with a synthesizer. You know where I’ll be Friday. (Swoon swoon swoon).
The ever danceable, bedraggled (wait, I just mean they’re always wearing drag, not that they look derelict), multinominal STARFUCKER/PYRAMIDDDDDD/STRFKR is gracing the wonderful stage of Holocene this Thursday with Guidance Counselor and Brkfst Sndwch. Oh, but it’s sold out. Wait, wait! There will be 100 tickets at the door starting at 9:30pm! Starfucker’s new album, Reptilians, will make your face explode. As much synth swimming in piles of beats as you’d expect, carefully honed in that Starfucker way. I’ll leave it at that. Just come and explode tomorrow.
We have mentioned in the past that Empires were one of sixteen bands from across the country to be involved with Rolling Stone’s "Do You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star” competition. The band has now made it to the final four and are so close to being the winner. The four advancing performers traveled to New York City last week to record and perform one studio song and meet with Rolling Stone editors, Atlantic A&R executives and other industry professionals including Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump. The new song will be added to the portfolio that the musicians started during Round Two of the competition in which each group recorded and perfected two studio songs. In the coming weeks, fans will be able to view videos of the performances and access other content on RollingStone.com. By rating the acts, fans will determine which two will move on to the final round where the bands will battle it out at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in June. The winning band will be signed to Atlantic Records and perform on Jimmy Fallon.
Back in January The Dirty Diamonds released an free ep called The Singularity Pt. 4. The band combine surf rock with soul and r&b, and it is an intoxicating combination. It was the fourth on four ep’s that the band’s has released over the last year. Above is the video for "Heaven’s Plate" whuch is from the first ep. All of the ep’s are available here for free.
Brooklyn alt rockers Alberta Cross came in at 89 on The Deli’s latest Best of NYC Emerging Artists poll (the full results can be seen here). This seems like a deserved achievement considering that they have played festivals all over the country: Coachella, Bonnaroo (also this year), Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits, to name a few, and that they have an upcoming residency at The Satellite in LA. The band was born when Swedish-born Petter Ericson Stakee (the vocals and guitar) and Londoner Terry Wolfers (bass) met in a London bar. The move from London to New York City–as well as the addition of guitarist Sam Kearney, drummer Austin Beede and keyboardist Alec Higgins–influenced Alberta Cross’ new material, evolving the sound in the current direction. Drummer Austin Beede describes their music as “rock with a hint of everything,” citing the band’s collective and individual varied musical interests (from Bob Dylan to Stevie Wonder, Depeche Mode to Nick Cave, Air to Led Zeppelin). We detect a Southern rock twang, pounding beats, and heartfelt elements of folk on their most recent album, “Broken Side of Time.” The quintet’s single, “Leave Us and Forgive Us,” epitomizes the band’s haunting melodies that intoxicate hard-hitting drums, and notable tracks, slide-guitar-ridden “ATX,” dark title-track, “Broken Side of Time,” and menacing “City Walls” reaffirm Alberta Cross’s growing recognition on an international level. If you can afford it you’ll be able to see these guys opening for the Dave Matthews Band on June 24 in Atlantic City NJ. – Leah Tribbett + Meijin Bruttomesso
Gypsy-electro-roots-bassheads Beats Antique has taken its sound circus back on the road. Treading the line between hippie and raver, the Oakland, CA-based trio plays Milford, CT tonight, Burlington, VT on April 27, and Boston, MA on April 28. You can also catch Beats Antique at festivals Bonnaroo, High Sierra, Electric Forest, Camp Bisco, All Good, Lollapalooza, and Bear Creek.
Beats Antique’s eclectic sound appeals to a wide variety of tastes. Like-minded collaborators range from Bassnectar to John Popper. The local favorites quickly sold out the Fillmore in late March, and the show featured surreal animal masks, dancers, live instruments, and, of course, heavy beats. They closed the set with a Glitch Mob remix that left everyone sweaty and slightly transformed. Being Bay Area cool kids, Beats Antique’s refreshed website is worth a look, and there you’ll find the complete 2011 tour schedule. –Whitney Phaneuf
Finally fulfilling the promise of their demo we reviewed recently, Phantom Kicks have announced the release of their official EP Tectonics. Featuring all the songs from the demo plus a few additions, this EP is definitely worth a listen. Grab yourself a copy while it’s still free over at their Bandcamp page and, if it’s not too late to make plans for the evening, catch them at the Hemlock tonight with Ash Reiter and Radiation City.
–Ada Lann
Just want to note that the current poll (up there to the right) is going something fierce, with Bridge Farmers and Holy Wave neck-and-neck as we build up toward Austin Psych Fest 2011…check out the all-psych poll and cast a vote!
Bands of Austin! Over yonder is our Open Blog, a fine, friendly location to post anything and everything about Your Band, and let us know what’s happening…we pull those posts over here to the main page all the time (most recently for Norushi Minx), where you can occupy a front-and-center rectangle to be ogled by all. So now you know…
Rough Francis hails from Burlington, Vermont and are well known across the country and have been positively reviewed by Seven Days to the New York Times. Inspired by the power and magnitude of their father’s (members of the ledgendary punk band, Death) recordings, Rough Francis reincarnated their fathers’ music with a more catchy, new wave accents. Check out their track "Hangin’ On" here:
This show will take place on 4.29 at Precinct at 70 Union Square Somerville, Ma — Doors at 8pm — Nervous 9pm — The Darker Hues 10pm — Rough Francis at 11pm — 21+ — 7 dollar cover charge. Presented by Desert Race Boston.