Recorded almost entirely in the band members’ LES "cozy" bedrooms with the help of a high profile team of audio pros, the thirteen songs on Star Fucking Hipsters‘ new album "Never Rest In Peace" entartain us with screams and riffs about rebellion and punk and ska revolution! The new songs sound more fierce and mature, and benefit from cameos from Dick Lucas (Subhumans U.K., Citizen Fish, Culture Shock), Jasper Pattison (Citizen Fish, Culture Shock), and Bryan Kienlen (Bouncing Souls). It includes art by famed DIY artists Fly (“PEOPs,” Dog Dayz) and Paul Barron. SFH, after touring the U.S. and U.K., and are kicking off a West Coast Tour this week with Citizen Fish (dubbed "Cracktoberfest") including a performance at the Alternative Tentacles 30th Anniversary Festival.
The Diggs – if we remember correctly – played one of our very first Deli shows at Asterisk Art Space ages ago (4 years?). It’s great to see that they are still at it, and admittedly we haven’t covered them in awhile. Their sound seems to have evolved considerably in the last few years. We remeber an aggressive, post-punky power trio; we find now a more mature group whose fast songs show more attention for melody and structure, and benefit from arrangments that – like all the best rock classics – progressively build in layers and intensity. Check out these guys live at Glasslands on 11.03.
Check out Bottle Up and Go at Glasslands on 11.17 with Dinowalrus
Bottle Up and Go is a Brooklyn based duo of rock n’ roll screamers who combine honky tonk fiddling, and horn accompaniments that will whisk you away to a seedy bar full of guys spitting tobacco into silver buckets. Their screeching harmony of guitars, horn toots and tambourine talents have created sonic gems such as “Ain’t Going Down,” a ballad well suited for a rock version of the Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. You’ll know you’re not in Kansas anymore when you hear their song ‘Wayward Son,” a lament of depression and drinking that features a chaotic sax growling for dear life. Enjoy Bottle Up and Go with a bottle of whiskey and sing a long, “I love my baby/but her body is cold/Seems like my liquor/is the only thing.” – Chloe Schildhause
The Barrens release single + play Arlene’s on 11.07
The beauty of The Barrens’ music lies in the little details: the piano accents that hit throughout “12 Petals,” propping up the tune’s winding lead guitar riff; the unexpected, disorienting chord wedged in the middle of the “Ezekiel Saw a Shape” chorus; and the way singer Colin Fitzgerald screams toward the end of “The Green Room,” right before guitarist Mike Koene takes a solo and the already-epic tune spirals further into Doors-esque psychedelic bar-band territory. “Worming,” a bruising track reminiscent of the Who’s “Quadrophenia” gem “I’ve Had Enough,” is the best tune on the band’s MySpace page. Its mean fuzz and memorable hook—“I keep worming/ your love is in the dirt”—combine to form the type of weirdly accessible pop song that is the Barrens’ specialty. The band recently released a new single called “Scoliosis”, another sonic attack that somehow manages to blend punky guitars a la’ Ramones and frozen melodies reminiscent of Clinic with vocal harmonies that would make Kim Deal proud, and “philosophical” melodic openings a la’ early Pink Floyd. Yes, that’s a crazy ride indeed! Don’t miss their show at Arlene’s Grocery on 11.07. — Kenneth Partridge
Glass Ghost opens for Dirty Projectors on 11.18 at Bowery
Glass Ghost‘s "Idol Omen" is The Deli’s September CD of the Month (see review here, right column). The band is obviously getting some love from the music blogs as yesterday they jumped first to position #12 and then to #5 in our "Web Buzz" NYC rankings (orange charts on the left, click on "Popularity" scroll down menu and click on "Web Buzz".)
Yeasayer is back! Download new single from upcoming CD
Yeasayer – winners of The Deli’s Best Emerging Artist of 2007 poll – will re-emerge in early November with "Ambling Alp," the first single off their sophomore record ODD BLOOD (due February 2010 on Secretly Canadian). The single will be released digitally and on a limited 12" vinyl packaged in a space age colored metallic sleeve that will also feature remixes by Memory Tapes and DJ /rupture. You can already downlad "Ambling Alp" FREE at the band’s website.
Yesterday, I was in Williamsburg thrift shopping for my Lydia Deetz costume for Halloween. As I gave up on finding frumpy black clothing and a hat with a wide brim, I stumbled upon an in-store performance by Cymbals Eat Guitars at the new SoundFix store. They were one of the many bands I had planned to cover for CMJ but never got around to attending one of their numerous shows. I had seen them earlier in October when they had had opened for the Pains of Being Pure at Heart at Webster Hall. That performance was awe-inspiring. Dripping with sweat (a pool of it had formed around him), frontman Joseph D’Agostino pulled as much as he could out of his guitar; his hands blurred in front of me as his band mates relentlessly attacked their instruments. Although they took a completely different stage for Thursday night’s performance, the raw energy emanated throughout the crowded store. They began with the anthemic “And the Hazy Sea” and followed it up with “Some Trees (Merritt Moon).” The cathartic screams beautifully wove through the solid instrumental skills displayed during their 30-minute set. Exhausted and possibly gravely sick, D’Agostino asked the crowd if they would like one or two more songs. Of course, fans yelled back two, and they happily complied. With their meteoric rise to indie fame, SoundFix may be the last small venue they’ll ever play in New York City. Cymbal Eats Guitar, together with Mistery Roar and Teletextile, will be performing live on 10.31 at a Halloween Party on 14 Steuben Street, Brooklyn (map). – Nancy Chow
Polite Sleeper new album ‘Lake Effect’ is out now on Sabotage
Tick tick tick, pop pop pop, snap snap snap. That’s the essential staccato loving formula used by Brooklyn band Polite Sleeper – featuring band members of Mountain Goats and Mercury Rev. Every song is set to a rapid metronome of sound, infusing two beloved music genres – folk and punk. Blending these two contradictory styles is not a novel idea – they say that’s what anti-folk is all about – but Polite Sleeper pull it off in addictive songs featuring acoustic guitars, minimal drums, disgruntled lyrics and also the occasional analog synth bassline. Jason’s singing can be theatrical and aggressive (in the calssic not-so-polite anti-folk fashion) but also atmoshperic and contemplative, bringing to mind Michael Stipe’s tone and phrasing. The band’s new album "Lake Effect" is out on Sabotage Records now. If you’re hanging out in Haverford, Pennsylvania you can catch their next show the eve of Halloween at Lunt Basement. – Chloe Schildhause
NYC artists on the rise: Clinical Trials – live at Lot 73 on 11.07
Taking definite inspiration from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is the electronic band of splendor, Clinical Trials. So fixated I am on the similarities I can almost hear them singing “Karen O.” in their song ‘Disco Headphones.’ But beyond the similarities, they do strike out in their own unique sound using a surplus of synth, with a blend of other influences such as a tendency to sing with Le Tigre like passion and Janis Joplin edginess. Listening to them is like hearing your good friends in a comfy garage, but friends who are actually talented and whom you don’t have to politely white lie to when they ask how you enjoyed their music. Catch their next show at Lot 73, November 7th. – Chloe Schildhause
Collision of indie talent at BAM! The National’s multimedial work
The Long Count, part of BAM’s 2009 Next Wave Festival, is a song-filled myth about the beginning of time created by three inexhaustibly original artists – brothers Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner of The National and visual art phenomenon Matthew Ritchie. It also features as guest vocalists the legendary Breeders’ sisters Kim and Kelley Deal, Shara Worden from My Brightest Diamond, and Matt Berninger also of The National. Expect a feast of images, instrumentals, and songs thick with primordial mystery, recreated by a twelve-piece orchestra and the Dessners’ gothic mix of electric and orchestral sounds. Don’t miss this show, there are only 3 dates (October 28, 30 and 31). Tickets can be purchased here.
No Eye Contact‘s eclectic influences are evident in their creative and memorable songs. Drawing inspiration in equal parts from Neutral Milk Hotel and old Appalachia, the band’s sound resides in the strange space where up and down, happy and sad overlap. ‘You and Me and Other Fables’, their debut LP, was hailed by NPR’s Robin Hilton as "stunning and utterly surprising." Recently named to Spin Magazine’s Top 25 Must Hear Artists of CMJ. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).
Dogs of Winter release free acoustic mp3 and video
Music critics were quick to applaud and praise the harmonious dual vocals of Ryan Dowd and Brian Grosz on the stoner-metal debut of Brooklyn’s DOGS OF WINTER, "From Soil To Shale" (Lapdance Academy) – so it comes as little surprise that they’ve decided to re-invent one of their songs as a dreamy, if dreary, acoustic ballad. While the original recording of "Beneath The Fold" was a churning, thunderous maelstrom of psychedelia, Dogs of Winter have stripped the composition down to acoustic guitars, a string section and the sound of traffic passing by the studio in which they recorded. "Beneath The Fold" is here to remind us: just because a song is heavy, doesn’t mean it isn’t beautiful. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).
