I caught San Diego-based surf rock punks Wavves‘ surprise appearance at CMJ’s Pure Volume House. These guys are really getting big, so I don’t need to really delve into it. Overall, they were loud (although they were bitching that it could be louder), and sounded good (although they were bitching that they could’ve sounded better). The group is talented, and ear-splittingly noisy, in a very bearable way. Not so bearable, was their childish brattiness. But, what can I say? Boys will be boys. – Read Alex Vann’s full CMJ report here.
Wednesday night at Santos Party House in NYC was a stacked lineup. I made it in time to catch a bit of LA-based Evan Voytas, and I’m glad I did. Voytas has released a slew of singles so what brings his music together is the consistency between each track. There is an evident spaciness in his pop music: some songs are infused with soft synths, delicacy and nostalgic airiness while others are bouncy, clubby and druggie.There’s definitely very cool ambience going on his music. Baltimore Lower Dens shortly proceeded Voytas – quite the folky, flowy treat. The fuzzy, dragging screeches of the guitar and the singer’s dusky, low-toned voice, created an evocative, atmospheric vibe. After their set, I hung around a little bit to catch SF based Tamaryn.
Their most recent LP, appropriately called The Waves, really sums up their kind of shoegaze rock really nicely – there’s slow movement and echoing vocals amidst upbeat, shaking guitars. Good tunes, nice sounds…Straight up chilling! – Read the rest of Alex Vann CMJ report here.
I saw DOM on Wednesday night during my "Deli CMJ marathon" when the five-piece band opened for Neon Indian and totally dug their sound – a mix of lots of electronic beats, fuzziness, catchy guitars and a I-don’t-give-a-rat’s-ass kind of attitude (which by the way, works well for them). It was a good switch from droning lo-fi and compelled me to make moves to new places. Plus now I can’t get “Living in America” out of my head – “you’re so sexyyy/living in America.” – Read the rest of Alex Vann CMJ report here.
Lesands, Quartet, Matchless
Read the review on our LA site
Oberhofer, Quartet, Brooklyn Bowl
This band is into some heavy rock and roll swagger. The lead singer looked like Jerry Lee Lewis after a long weekend with the Rat Pack. They were just full of sass and really fun and abrasive. They got weird at times – I want to say avant-weird. I would put this record on as I wound up to go get a job. They make you feel cool, with these big, wide-open impacts on open chords and crash cymbals. People start trying to dance but it’s really awkward, but that’s part of the fun. They sound kind of spazzy and punk – David Byrne through Decemberists. I really am digging on the sounds I’m hearing – thrashy and aggressive while remaining playful and classy, like a new puppy shredding your wingtips to pieces.
Keepaway, Trio, Brooklyn Bowl
Keepaway is an impressive live act. Between the straight-up weird voice of Nick Nauman, we have the octopus drumming of Frank Lyon and the awesome sampling of Mike Burakoff. There’s a collaboration of live drumming (sans bass drum) and electronic beats from Mike. They are doing some really great three-part harmonies now, and they sound really, really tight. The first time I got to watch them play was at Zebulon earlier this summer, and everyone was having such a good time – Victor Vasquez was whacking some of Frank’s cymbals from the dance floor. But none of those shenanigans were happening at the dark, somewhat vaudevillian stage Tuesday night. The boys looked absolutely pro – a little stage banter, sure, but for the most part, they kept things real professional. I had to boost after a few songs.
Marnie Stern, Trio, Santos Party House
I don’t get to see too much of this set, but Marnie sounds awesome as always. You cannot beat her presence on stage: genial, sweet, cute, humble. She’s wearing a nice dress. It’s angular and fun and a challenge, and I’m not sure what more you could ask for. Marnie is one of the most valuable members of the indieverse right now – for her ability to bring elements together (Zach Hill, hint, although that guy is a machine) and for her philosophy/scholarship. This intellectual approach to the guitar/drum combo hasn’t been so well since Durutti Column, in my opinion. Keep going Marnie! We need you!
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr, ?, Santos Party House
I couldn’t actually SEE this band, as they played the downstairs stage at Santos late. The room was just packed, overflowing into the lobby of the restroom. But they sound just awesome, doing some really poignant and textured indie pop. The harmonies were liquid and the guitars somewhat trickling, bright. These guys are buzzing all over town, and it’s basically come to the conclusion that, although the name is absolutely fucking ridiculous, the band is good enough to ply its wares only on the basis of its music. What I’m saying is, the buzz might be deserved.
Sam Micken’s Ecstatic Show and Revue, Dectet, Zebulon
An absolutely stunning new musical act from the frontman of the indomitable freak-jazz art-rock trio The Dead Science. They are from Seattle, but Sam moved out here in NYC last year to start this new project. It’s absolutely stunning. It’s performance. It’s pastiche. It’s big band – he croons heavy in front of a sprawling nine-piece band: two kinds of sax, trombone, trumpet, drums, bass, guitar, and keys. It’s a wonderfully orchestrated sound that Mickens himself writes onto sheet music that his buds read off of. It’s tinged with the free jazz of The Dead Science, but it’s a much brighter, tighter, more accessible. Mickens is a performer through and through, a man of a vision and a true artistic sense. Lawerence Welk and Perry Como are two of the more obvious references, but it must be mentioned that this band is fully contemporary. The music is infused with rock elements more than any other, but it’s the textures that make it really worthwhile. And Micken’s voice. Want to call him Bowie in a way. Get excited about this project and maybe we can get him his own variety show. – Dale W Eisinger
I initially didn’t care for Wild Nothing on record, thinking it sounded a little brittle for my taste. But these boys are worth the hype, in my opinion. They share an aesthetic with Beach Fossils, but without the gimmicky surf vibe. Don’t get me wrong, I love Beach Fossils, but can we get a cymbal? Wild Nothing kicks out this awesome, dynamic set. They sound perfectly mixed. They look like they are enjoying shit. And why not? Their music is so fun and bright without being abrasive. It’s part of this wave shit happening with an ear to the sounds of the 1980s, beginning with Violens “Already Over” and ending somewhere on the far side of the new Deerhunter record. – Dale W Eisinger
The lead singer of Lesands has an amazing presence. He’s got this effortless dance thing going that seems neither contrived or rehearsed – there’s a spontaneity that can’t be denied. This guy might be a superstar. It’s my opinion this bands needs a bigger stage. The approach the drummer takes to filling the space with a wash of dark crash just really fills up the room – I can see this happening in an arena, with the lead singer dancing all over a much, much larger stage. I really want to see what kind of moves he could perform without so much constraint. They are showmen, but demure. The spotlight is on the singer for sure. Although there is a weird dynamic between him and the drummer, who, judging by his skill, is probably one of the stronger influences in the group. This is worth checking out! It sounds like Morrisey fronting a dubstep chill wave group. And that’s pretty cool. – Alex W. Eisinger – More CMJ Coverage on our NYC site here.
The independent music scene of the early 21st millennium will be remembered for its DIY modus operandi. The percentage of artists who release home recorded albums has been growing exponentially in the last decade, and some of these records did and do actually sell. Right now, the DIY revolution seems like a one way ticket, but there are some artists in NYC who are already a few steps ahead in terms of "doing it themselves".
One of our "early finds" we are most proud of (the band was featured on the cover of The Deli in the summer 2009) Buke and Gass in 2010 was signed to Brassland Records, toured North America and Europe respectively with Efterklang and The National (who also run that label), and released the debut album "Riposte", finally earning a well deserved "buzz band" status WITHOUT the help of Pitchfork, which at the time of writing still hasn’t spent a single word about this mind blowing project. But besides being one of the most original and edgy sounding indie bands around, the duo has the rather unique characteristic of building all the instruments they play. – Read an interview with Aron Sanchez about the Buke and Gass instruments on Delicious Audio, The Deli’s blog about Pro Audio.
Songwriter/singer, and inventor-genius Matthew Steinke used to stand behind giant towering drum robots, obscured like the man-behind-the-curtain by the machinery of his own creation. Under the name Octant, Steinke built a solid body of work, releasing accessible but experimental LPs. The records span a long career working with human beings and robotic inventions alike, but these days Steinke is focusing on his work as a poet and songwriter. The huge Octant drums, with show stopping robot-bodies built into road cases so large they can only fit in a van, have been benched. Octant’s maestro now plays guitar and sings through a harmonica mic, crafting tender, cerebral music, aided by tiny, idiosyncratic robot companions who truly feel more like supportive band mates than automated devices. I had the opportunity to ask Steinke a ew questions after his July 7th performance at The Tank NYC, an amazing art space in midtown Manhattan. We talked about gear, poetry, inspiration, on-stage dynamics, and the quest to build ever more “humanly” robots. – Read an interview with Aron Sanchez about the Buke and Gass instruments on Delicious Audio, The Deli’s blog about Pro Audio.
We are happy to announce that Shayna Zaid and the Catch (picture below) were added at the last minute to the Thursday Deli CMJ showcase at The Living Room. The bill will be opened by two truly DYI bands (see previous post) and then host a bunch of extremely talented artists all more or less influenced by roots music. Main attractions of the night will be 4AD’s Anni Rossi (top picture), Philly based Strand of Oaks (recently blessed by Pitchfork’s approval), and emerging Alt Soul singer Kendra Morris, but we recommend you check out all the artists on the bill because there’s some real talent there.
NYC based independent record label MPress Records has a roster of interesting singer songwriters based – mostly based in the Big Apple and Massachussets. The lable will showcase its talents on 10.21 starting at 6 at Gallery Bar on Orchard St (just north of Delancey St.) Besides local rootsy pop stalwart Rachel Sage, we are curious to see singer Bostonian singer songwriters Lindsay Mac (in the picture above), a talented cellist singing intimate songs, and Melissa Ferrick (picture below), whose tracks reveal a more rocking attitude. On the bill also Walter Parks, who has forged a distinctive international carreer as the lead guitarist for legendary NYC folk innovator Richie Havens.
Monday night was the start of the ridiculousness most commonly known as the Deli’s CMJ Music Marathon (i.e. covering 26 emeriging bands playing CMJ for The Deli – 26 as in the miles in a marathon.) Luckily (or unluckily?) my first night out on the town was not an insane drunken debauchery. But let’s be serious, there are still four days left for that! What’s good about CMJ, and the relatively small size of New York, is that you can hop from one place to another to check out a bunch of great shows. And this is precisely what I did last night in LES. Per my fellow Deli writer’s recommendation, I started off at the Deli Magazine Showcase at the Delancey to check out the Brooklyn-based Telenovelas (below, a photo of their Fender Jaguar). From the start, these lo-budget, hi-fi, darlings set the mood at the barely lit lounge with their guitar-thickened music. I was definitely digging both the coolness and shoe-gazyness of their music. Great warm up for the night ahead.
I decided to stay around for the next act, another Brooklyn band, Baby Alpaca. Again, the Delancey ground floor is pretty much a perfect fit for this group. The lead singer has a lonesome and heavy emotionality in his voice and the songs kind of melt into themselves, filled with dark and droning qualities. Before I started crying my face off due to these semi-depressing sounds, I headed over to Cake Shop to check out yet another band from BK, Dinowalrus (pictured below), for the Panache showcase.
Before seeing them live for the first time, I decided to listen to their tracks on Myspace and picked up that a rock-turning-pyschedelic pop vibe (kind of). When I saw them live, though, I realized that although the pop sound might be what they are going for – think electronic, bouncy beat openers – it’s not so psychedelic as much as guitar screeching, chaotic rock. These guys are LOUD. But fun. They have this punkish attitude going on, heavy on the instrumentals, not so much on the vocals. I definitely enjoyed their-in-your-face musical enthusiasm, and the lead singer is super entertaining with his goofy antics. Might need some plugs next time so my ears don’t bleed.
I stuck around for a bit to catch a bit of the set by the Parisian DJ, Onra – very nice – then headed LITERALLY next door to the Living Room to catch the LA-based Chapin Sisters – read my review on the Deli LA.
Following the Living Room, I skipped on over to Fat Baby to hear Brooklyn boys, Goes Cube (dudes in picture above pretending to be… rain?) do a set later on in the night. Talk about a shift in musical tone. Again, I was enveloped in some LOUD music. The band’s been described as having a “sledgehammer assault.” My ears concur! The music (feel free to call it metal) was heavy, powerful and all pretensions aside, seriously intense. They smashed, they banged and they made quite the impression.
I’m not really into the whole folky-southern-soft rock thing but decided, in the spirit of good music and CMJ, I would check out the Chapin Sister. Just to give a little back up story, the two lead singers, AKA the sisters themselves, are the beautiful, waify offspring of three time Grammy winner singer-songwriter, Tom Chapin (if that’s any indication of their musical chops). Their sound is soothing, subtle and ethereally sincere. Though there were points in which the songs came off just a little country for my liking, I really enjoyed their short set, which was infused with soft textures and very pretty vocals. – Alex Vann
Midnight Spin, Quintet, Mercury Lounge,
“Welcome to CMJ,” the leade singer said right before plunging us into the Brooklyn-based band’s brand of power pop and rock, riding on the heels of Fang Island’s ultra-concentrated layered sound, the kind of rock that would be comfortable on the playlist of either a 12-18 or 40-60 y/o (BIG selling point, as those seem to be the only age brackets buying records these days!). Pure viscera. As hard as these guys are trying to rock, they are actually quite controlled, with leading dynamics on the drums. It sounds like John Dolmayan on the drums with melodrama on the guitars, a cushy synth, driving bass lines and warm harmonies circling the entire fray.
Luluc, Duo, The Living Room
This black-clad genial pair do flawless harmonies that keep their lead performer in the spotlight through nuanced dynamics. Absolutely perfect tuning, which is worth note because of the old and beautiful, yet finicky instruments they choose. If I don’t mention Simon and Garfunkel I’m ridiculous. Similar in both sound – nylon guitar ostinatos with complimenting lead – and lyrical approach. Sheer and soft harmonies. Her voice carries so much presence. His is perfect match by be unremarkable. Luluc would be good music for road trips in greenery, black clad. Dude gets a solo, with the same kind of subtly that this music seeps in. The New York based band (Austrailian transplants) take up the topic of travel quite a bit, telling tales of road trips next to the very serious metaphor of real poetry. Absolutely stunning voices. Sounds replicated. Sounds perfect. She makes it look so effortless. – Luluc will play at the CMJ after party on 10.24 at Cyber PR Headquarters (389, 12th Street) – be there.
Ill Ease, Solo, Cakeshop
Ill Ease is the one-man dance-loop-poppy-repetitive-minimalism project of Brooklyn’s own Elizabeth Sharp. Sharp gets down and dirty with a towering stack of loops she makes live. Melodic movement is limited – it comes with the order and manner in which the loops get stacked. "I don’t know what I want, I don’t know what I like." She sings during her opener. Well, maybe that’s why she has to play everything. She makes a bass loop, puts that down, makes a guitar loop, puts that down, and then sits behind the kit while singing. It builds into this raucous guitar dude, then crashes back into this funk bass line, not exactly dependent on phrase… Although she probably knows exactly what’s she’s doing. Sassy vocals, relaxed, I don’t give a fuck, this is how I am attitude. Classic metal riffs without being derivative, trying to get folky a little. She actually has good technique on all of it!! Tone and control and tempo. Exploits the limits of the loops by murdering linear notions of time on top of the loop. Wow. Exuberant. And then sure enough, during the awesome “New York London Paris: "I don’t give a fuck." This made me smile and laugh and care about her a little bit too. Cause I think I gave a fuck.
