I’ve got this big wool sweater and, on more than one occasion, I’ve sat back and thought about what I should be listening to when I’m wearing it.  I’d like something cozy, something with banjos, big choruses, and foot stompers.  Comfortably, Campfire OK has fit my musical wardrobe quandary.  They take the acoustic, rootsy sounds of Fleet Foxes and mesh them with the more orchestral elements of Grand Hallway to come up with some strong jams full of elaborate arrangements and woodsy, lonesome imagery.  Check out Campfire OK at the Capitol Hill Block Party July 24th.

Life Size Maps‘ EP "Magnifier" (out this week) features dominant, treated electric guitars, crooked melodies, loud-quite-loud alternation, and fast, borderline messy drums that take us back to the glorious days of of Pavement’s "Slanted and Enchanted", with an extra "avant" twist. Life Size Maps can be heard live at a Showpaper Benefit show at Monster Island Basement, July 1st with Dinowalrus, Total Slacker, and Soft Black. Check out the single Mechanical Man embedded here.

This week brings about a plethora of new album releases in the city.
NJ based producer Clams Casino (pic above) is set to release its debut EP "Rainforest"which blends Massive Attack, Zero 7 and Cocteau Twins influences for an exciting new soundtrack for your "more intimate moments". Clams Casino plays MoMa’s PS1 Space as Part of their “Warm Up Series” August 18th.

Brooklyn label, Electric Cowbell’s upcoming compilation "101 Things To Do In Bongolia" drops June 28th. This diverse group of songs includes music between the exotic and the experimental by NYC emerging artists we already praised like Superhuman Happiness and Talibam!, and others like surprisignly edgy afro-beat quintet The Sway Machinery and more. The album offers a nice collection of really original, exotic and enjoyable music made in NYC, and is the perfect summer soundtrack for the sophisticated ear.

The funk-infused Aabaraki (pic above) released its self-titled album on June 23rd. The Brooklyn group entertains R&B/soul influences with a quirky twist – their new EP gives indie/alternative lovers a new sound to dabble in.

Dreamy, folk- pop Minerva Lions’ EP "Great Strides, Priestess & Queen" drops this week. The six tracks’ possess sounds similar to Wilco, Blind Pilot, and Andrew Bird – read more about them here.

"Bad Things", the third single from The Whisperians, rounds out this week’s releases. The Whisperians create tunes heavily influenced by the indie rock of the 90s. For those looking for a more classic indie sound, The Whisperians encompass the quintessential grunge summer feel…if there’s such a thing. – Madison Silvers

Wonderful, the summer-soaked indie pop four-piece is back from a five year hiatus with their new album Wake up to Dreamland.  On first listen, their windswept soundscapes lean heavily on the stylings of Animal Collective guru Panda Bear, but considering the many places indie groups pull/lift/steal from, they could do worse.  To their credit, the songs on Wake up to Dreamland are grandiose, audacious pieces that are extremely catchy, and considering the recent lo-fi, bedroom sounds pervasive in indie scenes today, it’s refreshing to hear a band daring to do more with their tunes.

The sonic aspect of what we call Indie Rock has evolved so much in the last 5-10 years that it feels good to hear some good old old school stuff like if it was 1995 all over again. Babe The Blue Ox have been around long enough to give lessons about this: the band formed in 1991, and in the first half of these 20 years (happy anniversary by the way) released 4 full lengths – whose titles, for reasons unknown, are all adaptations of titles of Barbra Streisand albums. Their music is extremely multifaceted, although there’s a clear post-punk/early post-rock undercurrent which ties together their sound. Imagine a math-rock version of Fugazi in their less aggressive moments. The band doesn’t play live often so you may want to catch them at Littlefield in Gowanus on July 7.

This Friday, July 1st, NYC psych-rock band The Barrens will release their first full-length, self-titled album at Cameo Gallery in Williamsburg. From what we can tell from the few songs available online the band in the new record keeps faith to its multifaceted sound: often aggressive and always eclectic, these guys alternate male and female vocals, plucked guitar and full-on distorted chords, and enjoy to follow sparse textural moment with sudden explosion of rock "evil".

 

Check out this video (but mostly the song) by solo "experimenter" Dilian, who claims to be a "human who makes and records and plays music," employing "different sound making devices and mathematical equations" resulting "in a variety of shapes and sounds that can be enjoyed by people of all sizes". Whether this is true or not, we are really enjoying this dark electro-goth-shoegazer number… This is the Sister Mantos remix of the song "Barricades" – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here). The Deli’s NYC Open Blog is powered by The Music Building.

Get spiritual, holy, and divine with Jump Into the Gospel as they mark the end of their month long Pianos residency on June 29. And if you prefer breasts (women’s breasts to be precise) to indie rock or if you dig both equally, you should be aware then that the free show is co-hosted by photographer Henry Hargreaves’s book 3DD: "A Celebration of Breasts" (in 3D!) – now that’s not very holy, is it? The band is getting some deserved attention lately so this is a good opportunity to check them out.

It’s indeed a perfect time for Brooklyn-based Finding Fiction to release a new record – which by the way will be free like these sunny days: “Migraines and Sheep” (scheduled for July) is an album pertinent to the season of rooftop parties, "chillaxing" on the beach, and bbq-ing with friends: it dances with upbeat percussion, bleats with dreamy keys and guitars, and comforts with its chilled out melodies and vocals. Check out the title-track single embedded here, and also the song “Weathermen”, which rings out with clunky drum sounds, and bleeps and whirrs in intricate ways like some sort of industrial-pop tune. Check out the band’s website for updates about the album release and upcoming shows. – Lauren Piper

 

Youth Rescue Mission are currently wandering around California playing shows, but they’ll be back Seattleside soon- July 15th at the Columbia City Theater to be precise.  In March they released a tight, fragile, self-titled debut LP.  Youth Rescue Mission are at their best when they let the music breathe, creating large-scale atmospherics in the song structure vein of Arcade Fire.  But, instead of having the fist-pumping/pummeling swells of Arcade Fire, they show an impressive amount of restraint when crescendoing, giving their music a more delicate vibe.  Here’s a sample of their softy acoustica side.

In a blog post last week we mentioned The Lingering Doubts CD release show saying that they are "a one man project serving a rather intimate folk-pop sound". Well we were quite wrong. Their label LES Records cordially informed us that The Lingering Doubts are led by lower east side based songwriter Christian Dyas, but also include Todd Perlmutter (drums), Dave Steele (guitar), Ezra Gayle (Bass) and Alex Asher (Trombone). Also they brought to our attention that while there are some acoustic "intimate" songs, there are several others that provide a much stronger energy – like this one in the embedded video, which tackles an issue many emerging musicians are familiar with.
P.S. We have to say that we are huge fans of all the bands mentioned in this song, although we would also have included The Pixies and Sonic Youth.

Ubiquitous Long Island power trio Exemption busts through the gate with another mind-bending collection of tunes on their psychedelically sprinkled nine-track affair PUBLIC CEMETERY PARTY. This multi-faceted unit allows its prog rock sensibilities to overshadow their stoner metal tendencies and modern metal panache this time around (“Cold Bodies”) while tumultuous percussive rumbles and layers of delectable guitars illuminate their variety-addled path to musical enlightenment (“White Animal”). Exuding as many moments of jaw dropping musical interludes as produced studio slickness (“Hyper Spiral”) with a boundless energy and freewheeling musical spirit at the helm, the compositions on this release are jam packed with an encyclopedic knowledge of a multitude of rock genres that reaches down deep in the grab bag to obtain wondrous musical prizes for folks who care to have their horizons expanded (“Hounds of Sound”). – MikeSOS