New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
Eight Bit Tiger has released a live video for their track "Numbers" which appears on their debut full-length album Parallel Synchronized Randomness which drops on Oct. 25th. The video was recorded at their recent show at Lincoln Hall.
Eight Bit Tiger will be performing at Schubas on Nov. 4th.
Like many musicians residing in Los Angeles, Emily Cook and David Klotz, of Fonda, have day jobs…in the entertainment industry. Cook spends her days writing screenplays (“Ratatouille” “Gnomeo and Juliet”) and Klotz is the music editor for a little television show you may have heard of—“Glee.” On top of working time consuming gigs, the couple recently had a son, Henry, and officially put their dream pop music project on the backburner. The duo admits that the bulk of the recording process for its latest (first in eight years) EP, Better Days, was based around Henry’s nap schedule. Lucky for the new parents, this record was not their first go around. Cook and Klotz have been making music together for nearly 17 years, and in that time have released three successful LPs, showcasing a knack for meshing 1960s-styled indie pop with 1990s shoegaze (think My Bloody Valentine). This latest release comprises six tracks that fit the standard Fonda sound—wispy male/female harmonies floating effortlessly over a wall of reverbed guitars and synth. The twosome released the EP back in June, which indie pop label Minty Fresh quickly snatched up. Look for an extended re-release on November 22nd. – Katrina Nattress
And so it begins… the first lap of the CMJ marathon landed me in the East Village last night until 3ish, starting with Long Island band Wild International at Webster Hall. Wild is a group best described as what Panda bear might sound like were he in a punk band. This three piece moved from jangle to thrash in equal measure and even premiered a brand new song, ‘Creeks’, complete with water sound effects and campfire croons. But by far the best thing Wild International might have been guitarist Ryan Camenzuli’s mom, who was really cool and could have been an Animal Collective fan herself – we all need cool and supportive mothers at shows!
Next up was Mainland. Singer Jordan Topf wins the award for wearing the tightest pair of jeans of the night, and his band’s sound was an equal match. Absolutely one of the most enthusiastic of the night’s groups, their dexterous bassist reacted so joyously to each song’s change you’d think he was more their fan than bandmate. Despite their numerous soundchecks, including a couple broken strings, they powered through in no small part to the young lead singers’ boundless energy.
And then came something entirely different… Click Clack Boom are from rural Pennsylvania but I have a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot more from this group in NYC. The four piece were high energy and ready at a moments notice to nail a solid riff to their material. I could see them grabbing a drink with the Arctic Monkeys sometime and trading stories of filthy lucre and other such debaucheries. One part storyteller/one part auctioneer, lead singer Nathaniel Hoho gave us such endearing lyrics as “I love this woman, she loved cocaine, but she was fucking all my friends.”
And that was it for Webster Hall. After grabbing a quick slice at South Brooklyn Pizza shared with CMJ artist/East Village insider Emily Greene (playing tonight at Spike Hill!), I hurried over to the No Pulp CMJ show at Arlenes grocery to catch (pictureless) glo-fi torchbearer Adrienne Drake bring the romance. This shoe-gazey songwriter swings a big wall of circuitry at melodrama and makes quirky throwback synths dance-ready. Think Ariel Pink covering The Cure.
Next up was a band competing with Click Clack Boom for the comic book-ready band name of the night: Blip Blip Bleep. This Brooklyn-based power pop trio opened with a song to make me wish to god it was Friday already (though not in a Rebecca Black kinda way). Giving The Pains of Being Pure at Heart a run for their money, this three piece put more sounds into their keyboard-backed anthems than most bands twice their size. This included generous doses of Ableton Live, and I should also mention that their very attractive keyboardist Kayce McGehee had two very well endowed mini-korgs of her own to frame her figure. Their cover of ‘Beat It’ was made all the sexier when she turned it around into a feminist disco anthem.
Finally the evening came to a close with Brooklyn’s Deathrow Tull. Here’s a band that has their thing down, with every moment carefully choreographed to the smallest detail. An incredible exercise in jazz/ hip-hop style democracy you don’t usually find in covers of ‘Let’s Get It On,’ There was an excellent juxtaposition here between the smooth soul of Temple Grindin’s soprano, and Broke and Dyalekt’s hard-edged rhymes. It was a sweaty end to my first lap of CMJ, and I can’t wait to get back out there tonight.
– Mike Levine (@goldnuggets)
Tonight at The Living Room on Ludlow St. it’s Roots Music time! 10 incredibly gifted artists will perform starting at 7, come get your weekly fix of folky tunes!
Full listings of the Deli’s CMJ shows here.
P.S. If you are into Pedal Effects, don’t miss The Deli’s STOMP BOX EXHIBIT at CMJ on Friday and Saturday!!!
7.00 – Union Street Preservation Society
7.35 – Dylan Trees (LA)
Mad Decent is celebrating the release of Mad Decent Volume 1 by teaming up with Grooveshark for a remix contest of Diplo’s track “Horsey”. Submissions will be accepted until November 10, and three winners will be selected. Prizes will include the release of the remixes on an exclusive EP via Grooveshark, alongside Diplo’s original version, as well as a surprise Mad Decent prize package. You can take a look at the rest of the deets to enter HERE. Good luck!
We enjoy asking the artists that we interview about local acts that they are into. It’s sometimes a good way to discover underground artists that have been flying under our radar, which is how we discovered Ecomog. The crew made up of Entity, Epidemic, and Tonik aims to preserve the rich heritage of hip hop while also aspiring to help it to move forward. Such is the cycle and evolution of music. You can check out our interview with Ecomog HERE, or just swing by Millcreek Tavern this Friday, October 21 to really find out what they are all about.
Since starting out as a studio project between guitarist/songwriter Dominic Angelella and producer Ritz Reynolds in late 2010, Dragon King has evolved into the majestic indie quartet that they are today. And while their debut full-length Paragraph Nights comes closer and closer to being released, you’ll have a chance to experience what I am sure are the ever-evolving tunes in a live setting when they takeover the stage tonight at Johnny Brenda’s. I am sure the learned guitar licks of Angelella will mesh nicely with the mysteriously quirky genius of Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson. There should be plenty of attendees gettin’ down this evening. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $12, 21+ – Bill McThrill
Chicago’s dancehall guru MC Zulu is back with his new album Electro Track Therapy. The album is out now via Perception2020 Recordings and combines Zulu’s unique take on dancehall with diverse harmonies and rhythms. The album features contributions from Poirier (Ninja Tune), Chrissy Murderbot (Planet Mu), Kush Arora, Maga Bo, Mochipet, Bionik, and many more.
MP3: Call Red Alert
How did the band start?
51 Shortfalls was started when Jon met guitarist Kenny Parker through a fellow musician. Jon was looking for a guitarist for another project he had started about a year before. They spent about a month at the Charlestown Studios jamming. The music that started pouring out of the old brick room was a very different feel than the project at the time and instead of catering to the present we felt like a fresh start was in order. They decided to find other musicians for our new sound.
Click here to read the rest of the interview with 51 Shortfalls.
LA-based band Nite Jewel is set to release their sophomore album in early 2012, but since that’s a long time to wait, they’re going to give us an early treat. On December 6th (just in time for the holidays), Nite Jewel will release a 7" with the single "She’s Always Watching You", off of Love Letters Ink, which is part of the Secretly Canadian label. The 7" will include links to exclusive making-of videos, a handwritten letter from vocalist Ramona Gonzalez AND a $1.00 donation to the Lauren Abramson Memorial Fund to Benefit Citizen Schools of California. The staccato of the 80’s style synth sends the listener on a music time travel odyssey. Gonzalez’s voice is both light and full of a confidence that suddenly makes it ok that she’s always watching you. Stream the single on their Bandcamp page, and be sure to pick up the physical copy when it comes out in December. – Taylor Lampela
Based in Salem, Massachusetts, Machine 475 is an artistic collaborative/electronica-based experimental band featuring live instruments such as sitar, violin, theremin, didgeridoo, vocoder, guitars, bass, and percussion over hypnotizing heavy house/trance beats and softer melodic/atmospheric beats. The next two Sundays in October, they wil be performing at Precinct Bar in Somerville’s Union Square.
Sun. Oct. 23 — 8pm, $7 cover, 21+. Jade Sylvan opens.
Sun. Oct. 30 — (special pre-Halloween show): 8pm, $7 cover, 21+. Claudia Varona opens.
–Chrissy Prisco
