After being handpicked by Trent Reznor to open for Nine Inch Nails on a European tour with merely a handful of performances under their belts and being discovered by Diplo and signed to his Mad Decent label, PO PO’s early success is what rock ‘n’ roll dreams are made of, but like a heavy binge on hard drugs, the pain of the crash can surpass the momentary high. Zeb Malik was forced to watch his band slowly dismantle before his eyes. However, PO PO’s first full-length album Dope Boy Magick has finally come to fruition after three years of hard work and faith tested. With production help from Nick Launay (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire, Gang of Four, etc.) as well as Diplo, Malik has assembled an impressive LP that thrashes and seduces as it leaps from genre to genre. If you’ve been tuned into our site, then you should already know that we are seriously crushing on Dope Boy Magick. PO PO will be celebrating its release tonight when Mad Decent Mondays take over the M Room so make sure to remember to grab your copy for home while you’re getting loaded and shakin’ yo thang this evening because the party really doesn’t have to end when you leave the club. M Room, 15 E. Girard Ave., 9pm, $5, 21+ (Photo by Theophilus London) – Alexis V.
Live Review: Two Gallants Re-Emerge at Noise Pop, Playing SXSW
San Francisco’s favorite Americana-folk-punk duo Two Gallants returned from touring Europe to their hometown on February 23 and 24 for the 20th annual Noise Pop Festival. Two Gallants will begin touring with new material in the states this fall, including three SXSW shows.
Drummer Tyson Vogel and lead singer/guitarist Adam Stephens chose a nostalgic venue from their early days of live performances, the intimate Edinburgh Castle Pub. The two shows sold out their 100 tickets each within hours of going on sale a month in advance, and the crowd seemed to be long time fans. Vogel and Stephens chose the perfect balance of new songs and old favorites. The new songs went over quite well, leaving audience members incredibly eager for the next album.
New song “How’s It Going Baby Girl” is a classic Two Gallants hard rocker with an amazing edge that’s perfect for dancing along to, while “Girl with the Broken Eyes” finds the duo sharing a mic to mimic an acapela-style, sparse harmonica, tambourine and guitar picking their only accompaniment. Although the rocking song exemplifies the band’s talent at controlled chaos, the slower song is especially chilling as the two sing: “Though they say I’ll rue the day I gave you a piece of my heart/ It’s do-re-mi, dust to dust/ Things all fall apart.”
From their beginning as childhood friends to their shows outside the 24th St. Mission BART Stop to the Edinburgh Castle, Two Gallants have found themselves on tour as far reaching as China and Korea. Their unique sound is rooted in their genuine love of the art of musicianship and performance. These two lads certainly have many great years of contributing fantastic music to the Bay Area and beyond.
–Shauna C. Keddy
Young Statues Opening for A Great Big Pile of Leaves at The Fire March 3
Ever since releasing their self-titled debut a few months back Run For Cover Records, Young Statues have been getting a lot of attention for their melodic indie pop. Now, the quintet are getting ready to pack up their equipment for a month-long tour with New York’s A Great Big Pile of Leaves and Kentucky’s Mansions that will also feature a number of SXSW appearances. To celebrate the momentous occasion, the band even released a special acoustic EP that features alternate takes of tracks from their debut (which you can grab HERE). It should also be available when the tour roles into its third day of tour at The Fire for an all ages performance today, they will be joined by South Jersey/Philly rock quartet Wildebeast. The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave., 5pm, $10 adv/$12 door, All Ages (Photo by Mitch Wojcik) – Bill McThrill
Find Some Shelter w/Wigwams at KFN March 3
If you’re in the mood for some alternative indie pop-punk and even if you’re not, you should find some shelter from Philly’s Wigwams tonight when they open the evening at Kung Fu Necktie. You might notice a familiar face, Break It Up’s Dan Morse, occupying the stage pumping out passionate vocals and colorful guitar riffs. Joining the Wigwams will be Young Empires, supplying us with an idea of what disco would sound like in the future, along with Los Angeles’s quartet Saint Motel with its early ought’s British indie vibe. It’s also The Swollen Fox blog’s first presented showcase, and he (now they) will be co-sponsoring it with Y-Not Radio. Congrats Kevin – cheers! Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 North Front Street, 7:30pm, $8, 21+ – Brandi Lukas
NYC purveyors of metal: Tiger Flowers
Tiger Flowers offer an eclectic mix of complex post-hardcore on their eponymous four-track EP. This NYC troupe implement spurts of spastic noise with an alarming use of disjointed riffs (“Cuts”), slurring staccato beats, and heavily effected heaviness to create a devastating mix of metallic destruction that takes the time to strip the lowest common denominator down without leaving a trace behind (“Drag”). Understanding the power of the breakdown as well as the effects of its aftermath (“The Weight”), Tiger Flowers shakes foundations with jarring switches making their spiraling out of control sound. www.tigerflowersnyc.com –Mike SOS
Weekend Warrior, March 2 – 4
SAT Aspiga
SAT American Babies
St. Lucia premieres video for “We Got It Wrong”, plays SXSW
I guess we’ll call this "Electronic, one-man-band-Friday"… Brooklyn’s atmospheric electro-pop project St.Lucia made some deserved waves in the blogosphere recently, and also placed at #58 in The Deli’s Year End Best of NYC Emerging Artists Poll. The band just premiered the video of their single "We Got It Wrong" and announced March tour dates ending in Austin during the SXSW fest.
DC Artists on the rise: Bluebrain
If you’ve ever seen DC based avant-indie duo Bluebrain (ex NYC based Epochs) live, you’ll know that their aesthetic endeavors have the two brothers exploring and pushing both sonic boundaries and the visual landscape. When performing live, their haunting and multi-layered electronic music, rich in deep tones and timbres, textured with interesting instrumentals and various string arrangements, and characterized by dynamic transitions in pace and rhythm, is often accompanied with strange and mystifying visual effects, making them just as much of a performance art act as it is a music show. Their three EPs Soft Power, Cult Following, and Ten By Ten continue to captivate indie rock fans beyond the DMV area. Recently, Bluebrain took their sound to a whole other level of unique art by joining the ever growing world of apps (with location aware album-apps to be specific), and hosted a boombox walk through the U.S. Botanic Gardens earlier this year.
Cheers Elephant Album Release Party at WCL March 2
Portland band on the rise: Hausus open for Cloud Nothings on 03.05
Hausu is the collective output of four schoolmates from Portland’s famously eccentric Reed College. Disciples of punk in all its historical deviations, particularly that of the Cure and the Smiths, Hausu’s music is at once brooding and poppy. All of this nostalgia tempered by a finger on the pulse of the latest blog sounds, there are fresh elements of rhythmic interplay and tongue in cheek lyricism at work on their latest EP. Temporarily on hiatus for the last few months while trying to finish up the school year, the band is promising more upcoming dates with a new set of material to be released as an LP sometime this year. Check them out live at Holocene on Monday March 5th with Cloud Nothings.
Weekly Features: J.Viewz
Jonathan Dagan – aka J.Viewz – doesn’t do things by the book. He writes the book. And, after watching his Grammy nominated project for his newest album, "Rivers and Homes," unfold before our eyes, we see why. Each song on the album, which was 100% powered by fan love and funds, allowed him to create spontaneous music for real people, in real time. The end result? An unwavering fan base and a seamless surge of eclectic, electro-moods, infused with immediacy, and flowing with euphonious ease from break beats-to-trance, funk-to-reggae. – Read Tuesday Phillips’ interview with Dagan here.