Fun show at The Living Room on Saturday December 10 with 2 NYC artists we are very familiar with (Psychobuildings and Team Genius, who recently signed with Paper Garden Records) and 2 other ones we haven’t covered as much (or at all for that matter), Cultfever and Swear & Shake.
Cultfever – in the picture – is an electro-pop duo featuring Tamara Jafar’s semi-breathy vocals and J. Peter Durniak’s multi-faceted arrangements. The band released their debut album in October and should have a video ready soon. The track streaming below, entitled "knewyouwell", is our favorite from the record and has the potential to cure – at least temporarily – your Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Swear and Shake will provide a folky break with their Americana tinged rock songs, bringing to the stage instruments foreign to the other bands on the bill, like acoustic guitars and harmonicas. Oh and if you are always on the look for a female voice to fall in love with (like us) you’ll have to give this band a listen – Kari Spieler is her name, see track streaming below.

Lots going on in December for Radical Dads, one of Brooklyn’s most buzzed about bands from the rather new pool of artists intent in instilling new life into the indie guitar sound of the 90s. The trio will open for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on December 07 at Webster Hall, and then celebrate their 2nd CD’s release party at Cake Shop on the 5th. And if that wasn’t enough, the day after they’ll be playing the Brooklyn Vegan holiday party at BK night bazaar. No tracks from the new album are available as far as we can tell, apart from the rather lo-fi Pursesnatchers remix of the song Little Tomb streaming below.

Radical Dads – Little Tomb (Pursesnatchers Remix)
 

Light-hearted power pop quartet the Hoot Hoots know how to have fun, and their newest release Appetite for Distraction proves it. On the shelves since Dec. 3, their second full-length album of the year is rife with singsong choruses, idyllic imagery and enough peppy riffing to keep listeners feeling fuzzy long after the last track has finished. The animated call and response dialogue in “Worlds” is alternately whimsical and unsettling, but never strays far from the lively spirit of the album. “All these men, I hope they get along,” sings frontman Adam Prairie, and it seems hard to picture any kind of confrontation with such a playful soundtrack. The album ends on the appropriately titled “No More Sad Songs”, an appeal for the end of others’ melancholy outlooks. With a handful of shows slated for the coming months, the Hoot Hoots will get the chance to combat those downers themselves, as they bring their party to the people.

The Hoot Hoots’ upcoming shows:

December 17 The Benbow Room in West Seattle

January 7 The High Dive in Fremont

January 28 The Skylark Cafe

-Kate Shepherd

I’m not sure if long running trip-soul NYC band Mudville is still active, but their lead singer Marilyn Carino‘s solo record "Little Genius" keeps faith to that project’s sound – it looks like the other half of Mudville (producer Ben Rubin) is also involved to some extent in this record. Marilyn’s soulful alto takes us for a mesmerizing ride through mostly downtempo, dark tunes with electronic fluorishes, whose natural listening environment is any space suitable for love making. Her show at the small but pretty East Village bar/venue DROM might present you with a great opportunity to set the "right" atmosphere with your (hopefully not too shallow) date.

On the heels of a live appearance on KEXP on Dec. 3, indie rock lightning rod Cristina Bautista will be back onstage at The Sunset Tavern tomorrow night, along with Los Angeles acts Mike Bloom and Miracle Parade. Performing songs from her Gold Parts EP, the six-song follow up to 2006’s This is the Team, Bautista’s live appearances promise an amplified version of the explosive energy found on her recordings. The Visqueen bassist performed in the band’s farewell show on Nov. 26, but the future looks promising for her solo endeavors, something Bautista’s unabashedly honest lyrics and optimistic delivery express with eloquence.

Doors: 9 p.m.

Tickets: $6 advance

-Kate Shepherd

We just realized that Alex Winston released this video for the song "Velvet Elvis" back in August, but it doesn’t look like her team did anything to promote it, at least in the US – no trace of it on the major music blogs like Stereogum, Prefix and Pitchfork. We thought our readers might enjoy it. There is also a similarly titled EP out, probably promotion is about to start as we speak?

It’s never a bad time to have our ears wrapped in a gorgeously atmospheric shoegaze-pop sound. Field Mouse‘s video "You Guys Are Gonna Wake Up My Mom" adds a very appropriate visual component to the band’s single, by playing with lead singer Rachel Browne’s pale, porcelain complexion, stylishly cut dark hair (with one carefully placed feathery blonde streak) and full ruby red lips. The lead singer’s features are treated with various blurring effects and filters, in a way comparable to what the band does on a sonic level to the song’s melody and sounds: reverbered vocals and layers of guitars bring back to mind iconic 90’s dream-pop band "Lush". Multiple images of her, the band and select footage (buildings, flames) all contribute to a visually psychedelic presentation, conveying an overall feeling of uplift and beauty. "Fall asleep – you might just feel brand new," Rachel sings. "I should know, I do the same thing too" she adds with lovely clarity. What’s not to like? – See Field Mouse at the Big Snow Buffalo Lodge (new Brooklyn performance space) on December 22. – Dave Cromwell

Berklee is known for pushing out a certain type of musician. The school is usually associated with the jazz-influenced, folk set you’ve heard in graduates like Julienne Dweck and Jen Hirsch. With Emily Greene however, something different found its way through the guitar and voice lessons. Unlike her peers, Greene’s songs work their way through to you on a much more visceral level, not unlike the how the ladies from Lucius do it, Emily’s old college roommates and go-to collaborators. In performance, ideas are thrown together and batted around until they work themselves into a frenzy. Broadcast through Emily’s powerhouse pipes and washed down with her intimate lyrical range, her shows are not a typical classroom experience. Come out and see what I mean when Emily supports Malaysian artist Yuna at SOB’s on Dec 11th. – Mike Levine (@goldnuggets)

For some, the winter holidays are a time of warmth and togetherness, shared with friends and loved ones. For others, it is a time of acute anxiety, insecurity and, sometimes, even ostracism. If you (or perhaps someone on your gift-giving list) fall into the latter category, then the season might just be the perfect time for the release of Please, Please, Please, a new compilation of tributes to the masters of angst-ridden romanticism, the Smiths. Washington outfits Solvents and Telekinesis have lent their talents to the 20-track ode to Morrissey et al, performing “Is It Really So Strange?” and “Sheila Take a Bow”, respectively. The album is due for release on Dec. 13 from American Laundromat Records.

-Kate Shepherd

Latest tracks by solvents

Michael Benjamin Lerner and company will play their second show of a four-date northwest mini tour tonight at The Crocodile. After an appearance last night in Bellingham, they’ll appear with the Young Evils and Caveman before making their way north. Telekinesis wrapped up a 13-stop American tour supporting February’s 12 Desperate Straight Lines in October, with Death Cab for Cutie and the New Pornographers, and returned to the coast for their last appearance before the new year. They’ll end their abbreviated tour in Portland, rejoined by Death Cab for Cutie.

Doors: 8 p.m.

Tickets: $13 advance

-Kate Shepherd

Telekinesis by telekinesismusic

When they released their new video for "Jerk" three days ago, New Jersey based Stephie Coplan & the Pedestrians made a pact with the Devil that if it hit 3,000 views they would buy him a bottle of champaign. They are now less than 1k hits away from committing a mortal sin (since – as you certainly know – "Thy shall not buy the Devil a bottle of French wine" is the 11th "lost" commandment). But you can’t blame this entirely on the Prince of Darkness’ appreciation for bubbly goodness. Inspired by the (super-awesome) show Mad Men, and directed by the expert hand of David Dutton (who did "Internet Killed the Video Star" by The Limousines) this is a great video for a great pop-rock song. Also, Stephie – who likes to flirt with nerdiness in her press pictures – showcases here a more aggressive side, and a series of hairstyles and slightly provocative outfits which will surely trigger a certain amount of impure thoughts among the non affiliated to the Tea Party movement. The band’s CD release show is going to be on 1/21/12 at Rockwood Music Hall, and we are already wondering what dress Stephie will wear for the occasion.