NYC

Death By Sexy @ Black Cat 8/19 + Interview!

Posted on:

Death By Sexy. It’s a powerful name for a rockin trio that came together in DC back in 2005. When Dex Fontaine (drums/vocals) and Jason Griffenhagen (guitar/vocals) had a chance encounter with Eagles of Death Metal’s Jesse Hughes at a Black Cat pinball machine, their name was spawned. After Christian Baldo (bass/vocals) joined, the rock sensation was in full force, bringing with them an edge of humor so desperately needed in this town. Here they get down and tell us about the wonderful world of Spotify, performing at Gallaudet, Uncle Jesse, and the importance of Dex’s family. On to the interview…

DxS takes to the mainstage at the Black Cat this Friday, August 19 with The Danvilles and Musicband. Doors @9/$10.

Photo by Brad Johnson.

San Francisco

New Video: Dominant Legs, ‘Hoop of Love’

Posted on:

Dominant Legs‘ latest video for "Hoop of Love" features the two band members happily leaving a city that looks to be San Francisco in exchange for a jaunt to the woods. Once there, they act appropriately for the summer, doing backflips (on land and water), eating fresh fruit, smiling a lot and prancing about like an Urban Outfitters ad. "Hoop of Love" froths in Technicolor synth and charming electric guitar shimmies. Ryan Lynch’s falsetto vocals dream of junior high crush awash in pastel flowers and glitter stickers, aching to "keep his mind shut…to not want to know the joke." Dominant Legs’ easy pop is a mechanism to stretch out the blissful days and transform them into an everyday false reality.

–Julianne Wagner

Dominant Legs – "Hoop Of Love" from stereogum on Vimeo.

L.A.

Pizza! Release Video for Be a Man

Posted on:

There’s an unexplained charm about Pizza! Having been around the LA scene for about half a deacde, the lackadaisical lo-fi five-piece stroll on with their idiosyncratic pop reconstructions. Recently, they even participated on the LA Lottery League, in which twelve bands were randomly created from a pool of budding musicians vying for an unpredictable, but hopefully fruitful companionship with other peers. They’ve just released a new video for "Be a Man", a vaguely psychedelic number that brings to mind the unorthodox naivete of early K records. You can also find it on Bogus Rimshots From the Fourth, a DIY compilation of early recordings that should suffice before they purvey some delectable sliced goods this coming November.

 

Philadelphia

Where Is My Mind?: The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel

Posted on:

If nothing else, Slave Ambient is deeply personal. Dropping tomorrow via Secretly Canadian, the War on Drugs‘ second proper full-length was, for outfit mastermind Adam Granduciel, a chance to prove his worth, talent and musical acumen as one of the most prolific and experimental artists to come out of Philadelphia. It’s a record of layered complexity, of intense brevity, of changing hearts, and even in it stark, woven landscape, this record, four years in the making, is voluminously grand. The War on Drugs will be celebrating the release of their highly-anticipated album this Thursday at Johnny Brenda’s with Caveman and Tin Horses. We had a chance to chat with Granduciel about his unconventional approach to creating Slave Ambient, his upcoming tour in support of the album, and why cassettes blow mp3s out of the water HERE.

L.A.

The Ross Sea Party August Residincy + Debut LP

Posted on:

In the history books, the Ross Sea Party refers to a little known yet heroic chapter of the Ernest Shackleton trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914, where a group of men were sent to navigate the immense, unpredictable continent. Like its namesake, the Los Angeles-based quintet strives to explore the unexplored, but of course, in the musical sense. The band produces folk music, and yes, folk’s been done before, especially in LA, but there’s a charm about the Ross Sea Party that makes you want to continue listening. It may be the family band-type energy of the fivesome’s live shows, or it may be the storytelling nature of vocalist Brady Erickson’s lyrics, or maybe it’s the melodic instrumentation, but there’s something that sets this outfit apart from other local folk troupes. If you don’t believe me, go listen for yourself. The Ross Sea Party is in the middle of a FREE Mondays in August residency at the Silverlake Lounge, and the band’s not only playing tracks from its impressive self-released EP, Plains of Id, but Erickson and company are previewing tunes from a debut LP that they will begin recording following the residency. – Katrina Nattress 

Chicago

Ornery Little Darlings

Posted on:

Ornery Little Darlings officially released their first full-length album, O is for Ornery, this past week. The album is available digitally through bandcamp for $0.50, but you can pay more if you enjoy the band’s music. The Chicago trio is plays an arousing brand of indie rock is will have you dancing and grinding in no time. They also like to keep in Chicago by recording with Narwhal Audio at EP Theater in the Pilsen neighborhood. The result is beautifully raw, wild, and riot inducing. This is especially true on the lead off track "Prowler". The rest of the album mixes in jazzy elements with retro pop sounds.

Ornery Little Darlings will be performing at VFW Post 540 (240 N. Throop St) in Woodstock on August 20th and at Empty Bottle on August 31st.

Philadelphia

Dr. Dog Announce North American Tour Dates

Posted on:

The press folks at ANTI- Records just shared the dates for Dr. Dog’s upcoming North American Tour. They’ll be performing next in Philly for FREE on Saturday, September 3 at the WHYY Connections Festival at Penn’s Landing. You can check out their tour schedule below.

 
Dr. Dog North American Tour Dates:
08/30 Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel Providence RI (w/Bright Eyes)
08/31 Williamsburg Waterfront, Brooklyn NY (w/Bright Eyes)
09/01 Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie NY (w/Bright Eyes)
09/03 WHYY Connections Festival @ Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia PA
09/17 HF Festival @ Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia MD 
11/02 Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland OH
11/04 Bluebird Nightclub, Bloomington IN
11/05 The Firebird, St Louis MO
11/07 Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa OK
11/08 George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville AR
11/09 Proud Larry’s, Oxford MI
11/10 Tipitina’s, New Orleans LA
11/12 Orlando Calling Festival, Orlando FL
11/14 The Music Farm, Charleston SC
11/15 40 Watt, Athens GA
11/16 Bijou Theater, Knoxville TN
 
Philadelphia

Kid Dynamite to Perform Benefit Show on Sept. 11 at First Unitarian Church!

Posted on:

R5 Productions just announced that local legendary hardcore outfit Kid Dynamite will be performing at a benefit show on Sunday, September 11 at the First Unitarian Church. A portion of the ticket price will go to the Philadelphia Free School (an alternative, democratic school operated by its students, staff, parents, and community members) to buy instruments for its students. They will also be accepting donations of used musical gear as well as having a raffle for one of a kind goodie bags donated by Alternative Press, Vegan Treats, Fat Wreck Chords, Grindcore House, Chunksaah, Deathwish Inc., Revelation, Jade Tree, Shirts For A Cure and more. No Friends and Spraynard are also scheduled on the bill.
 
NYC

Chappo releases new EP “Plastique Universe II: Pisces Princess”

Posted on:

On Monday, August 15, Chappo will digitally release their second EP "Plastique Universe II: Pisces Princess", finally satisfying our ear buds since their release last year, when the debut "Plastique Universe", gained some commercial recognition when IPod Touch featured the single "Come Home" in a TV advertisement. The record is a concept EP telling the story of a far away ocean love affair between a caped shape shifter and an underwater siren and it was recorded to tape on an (ancient) TASCAM 388 tape recorder in four days. Chappo creates an original brand of psychedelic-garage-pop-rock, engaging audiences with fun live performances – as we witnessed last year at our Deli CMJ show at Spike Hill. Whether in a red cape and military jacket, as Alex & Chris in the “Come Home” video, or outfitted in sequins at The Studio at Webster Hall, Chappo is consistently appealing and differentiates their band by creating a very entertaining "cosmic music experience”. Rumors anticipate the Chappo full-length album later this year. – Gina Alioto

NYC

Little Gold release Weird Freedom on 08.23

Posted on:

I skimmed the press release for Little Gold’s new LP, Weird Freedom. There it was, in the second paragraph. "Folk feral enthusiasts." To be fair to whoever crafted this press release, it was referencing Woods, the old band of Little Gold’s leader, Christian DeRoeck. But the term is equally fitting for Little Gold. Folk with edge, a lo-fi swagger…I mean sometimes they even bust out the electric. The band is not really that much of a departure from Woods, the album even includes an old Woods song, "The Kid’s Got Heart", but, as Christian DeRoeck’s showcase, it’s a pretty impressive portfolio, and "Half the Time" (streming here) it’s a heck of a pop song. You can currently stream the entire "Weird Freedom" album here, its physical version will be released on the Loud Baby Sounds label on August 23, 2011. – allison levin

NYC

Ford & Lopatin video of

Posted on:

We just stumbled upon this video by Ford & Lopatin – Joel Ford and Daniel Lopatin’s project formerly known as GAMES. The video was released a few months ago but we must have missed it – yeah, we are not ashamed to say it, nor to promote it now! The band placed third in The Deli’sYear End Best of NYC Poll for emerging artists and were picked by legendary analogue synth manufacturers MOOG to play the MOOG Fest in October.