RIP Gil Scott-Heron

Sad news poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron died this Friday afternoon. He was 62.

Enter our Nick Cave Collector's Editions Contest!

Enter for a chance to win our Nick Cave Collector's Editions. One lucky winner will win the prizepack of all four titles on CD: Let Love In, Murder Ballads, The Boatman’s Call, and No More Shall We Part. Enter here!

Arcade Fire tune with David Byrne

Arcade Fire will be releasing a deluxe edition CD/DVD package of The Suburbs on August 2nd. The deluxe edition will include the Spike Jonze-directed short film Scenes From the Suburbs, plus two new tracks. One called "Culture War" and the David Byrne/Arcade Fire collaboration "Speaking in Tongues." You can hear them both below.

Arcade Fire - Speaking in Tongues (feat. David Byrne) by MergeRecords

Arcade Fire - Culture War by MergeRecords

tUnE-YaRdS Buke and Gass live @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

We sadly missed the opening band Afuche but luckily we caught Brooklyn's Buke & Gass early in there set. The two piece duo both named Aron delivered a hyper-charged set while sitting in wooden chairs. Arone’s bandmate’s name is Aron. Aaron Sanchez drums with his feet and plays a gāss which is a a guitar-bass hybrid. Arone Dyer plays būke which is a a self-modified six string baritone ukelele and sings. The duo have been touring with tUnE-YaRdS and the Brooklyn show was the last date. Buke & Gass's songs have a jarring rocking power like bands like No Means No or even Gang of Four but the bands overall sound is very unique and original maybe Sonic Youth come to mind but all explanations so far are vague at best. The duo played songs from their LP Riposte and +/- EP and kept the crowd entranced through their entire set.

After a brief intermission Merrill Garbus better know as tUnE-YaRdS took the stage by herself and kept the night going strong as she built up some of her drum beats thru a looper in real time and played some ukulele and built up some amazing vocal melodies. Later bassist Nate Brenner and a pair of saxophonists joined her adding more textures to the already powerful compositions.



Pics & Words to come by Kevin Serra

TV On The Radio, 05/11 @ MusicBox, Hollywood

Last Wednesday night, Hollywood welcomed TV On The Radio back to town with open arms.  An entirely sold-out house at the MusicBox hosted the band on this, their first time back in the city since their LA recording session for of their newest album, "Nine Types of Light." The album, marking their fourth, was played oscillating in tempo and tone; covering their progression as a band, dating back to their 2003 "Young Liars" release. Between their recent thoughtful/mature release, and the more driving earlier works; TVOTR performed a night's worth of tunes, true to the highest post-punk/indie-rock/art-rock ideals...

The Brooklyn-based band worked their way through highlights from all four of their albums, as well as a selection of EP tracks. Memorable tunes of the evening included the opener "Halfway Home," from 2008's "Dear Science," and they proceeded to give the audience an audible treat from each of their other releases. As for their new "Nine Types of Light," they included catchy "Will Do" as well as the aptly titled "Repetition."

Front-man Tunde Adebimpe varied between playing keyboard while singing, and bounding about stage delivering his vocals, all while the packed audience pushed it's way to get closer to the core of the fevered tempos & tunes. Manning the other stations of the band were: multi-instrumentalist David Andrew Sitek, as well as Kyp Malone on guitars/vocals/giant fluffy beard.

Rounding the corner towards the finish line, the familiar refrain started in, as the audience sung/howled along. "...howlin' forever..., ...howlin' forever..." If I've ever seen something of a hit, it was TVOTR preforming "Wolf Like Me" rounding out the main set. amazing...

The  set was nearly closed, but not before three more tunes fit their way in. "A Method", "DLZ" and "Satellite" from the releases "Return To Cookie Mountain," "Dear Science," and the "Young Liars" [ep], respectively. The night's songs ebbed and flowed between melodic, funky and indie-rock based. In total: TV On The Radio is a band well worth seeing live, if you can score a ticket....

Halfway Home
Caffeinated Consciousness
The Wrong Way
Blues From Down Here
Will Do
Province
Red Dress
Dreams
Young Liars
Staring At The Sun
Repetition
Wolf Like Me
------------------
A Method
DLZ
Satellite

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Clovis IV: Photos & Review
www.clovis-iv.com

EMA Tour Dates

Read our review of EMA Past Life Martyred Saints here.

JUNE 2 COSTA MESA, CA DETROIT BAR
JUNE 3 LOS ANGELES, CA THE ECHO*
JUNE 4 SAN FRANCISCO, CA RICKSHAW STOP*
JUNE 6 PORTLAND, OR MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS*
JUNE 7 SEATTLE, WA TRACTOR TAVERN*
JUNE 9 BOISE, ID NEUROLUX*
JUNE 10 SALT LAKE CITY, UT KILBY COURT*
JUNE 11 DENVER, CO HI-DIVE*
JUNE 13 OMAHA, NE THE WAITING ROOM*
JUNE 14 IOWA CITY, IA THE MILL*
JUNE 15 MINNEAPOLIS, MN 7TH STREET ENTRY*
JULY 15 CHICAGO, IL PITCHFORK FESTIVAL
JULY 16 COLUMBUS, OH THE SUMMIT
JULY 17 WASHINGTON, DC RED PALACE
JULY 18 PHILADELPHIA, PA KUNG FU NECKTIE
JULY 20 NEW YORK, NY MERCURY LOUNGE (early show, 8pm set)
JULY 20 NEW YORK, NY GLASSLANDS GALLERY (late show, 11pm set)
JULY 21 CAMBRIDGE, MA TT THE BEARS
JULY 22 MONTREAL, QC QUAI DES BRUMES
JULY 23 TORONTO, ON THE GARRISON
* supporting Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

tUnE-yArDs "You Yes You" Video

5-19 Washington, DC - The Red Palace* SOLD OUT
5-20 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's*
5-21 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg* SOLD OUT
6-25 West Hollywood, CA - The Troubadour
6-26 San Diego, CA - Soda Bar

Marissa Nadler Releases New Single for "The Sun Always Reminds Me Of You" off Forthcoming S/T LP

Boston dream-folk artist Marissa Nadler has released "The Sun Always Reminds Me Of You," the second single off her forthcoming self-titled album out June 14 on her own Box of Cedar Records. Download and listen to "The Sun Always Reminds Me Of You" at SoundCloud here. Marissa will tour behind the release in June with Timber Timbre and headline her July dates with Boston-based Faces on Film.

Her track for "Baby, I Will Leave You In the Morning" was recently featured as "Song of the Day" on KEXP, the station saying of it "the dreamy vibraphone and washing synths only serve to add to the hazy mystique that her fans have always loved." After releasing several critically-acclaimed albums with Kemado (and having one of her songs inspire the name for vinyl start-up Mexican Summer), Marissa has ventured out on her own for this fifth release. Funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign, where devoted fans donated to support her latest recorded effort, she's also offering a string of hand-painted records and original artwork via Etsy.



Marissa Nadler On Tour
Tue. Jun 7 @ 9:30 PM - Seattle, WA - The Sunset *
Wed. Jun 8 @ 9 PM - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios *
Fri. Jun 10 @ 8 PM - San Francisco, CA - Swedish American Hall *
Sat. Jun 11 @ 8:30 PM - Los Angeles, CA - Bootleg Theater *
Sun. Jun 12 @ 9:30 PM - San Diego, CA - Casbah *
Mon. July 18, - Montreal, QC - Il Motore^
Tues. July 19 - Toronto - ON - Supermarket^
Thurs. July 21 - Chicago, IL - Schubas^
Fri. July 22 - Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club^
Sat. July 23 - Madison, WA - Frequency^
Mon. July 25 - Pontiac, MI - Pike Room^
Wed. July 27 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge^
Thurs. July 28 - Philadelphia, PA - The Chapel^
Fri. July 29 - Washington, DC - The Red Palace^
Sat. July 30 - Brooklyn, NY - Littlefield^

With Timber Timbre *
With Faces On Film ^

Cibo Matto Reunite, Announce Headlining Tour

Cibo Matto, the ground-breaking and genre-bending duo of Miho Hatori and Yuka C. Honda, happily announces their reunion with two short "sneak preview" tours this summer, calling the tours "YEAH BASICALLY CIBO MATTO". The first, from June 21st-26th, will be on the West Coast, with a second East Coast/Midwest run July 11th-20th.

Miho and Yuka are also in the process of writing new songs for an upcoming album, which is scheduled for release by early 2012. One can expect to hear some of these new songs, as well as many from their brilliant 90s repertoire, at these upcoming shows. They may stream some of these new songs on their new website www.yeahbasicallycibomatto.com, as the tours approach. The duo have also filmed a teaser video, featuring a clip of one of the new tracks, available on YouTube and Vimeo.

To the delight of some lucky New Yorkers, Cibo Matto recently played benefit concerts for Japan relief. These shows were not only part of successful and soulful efforts to assist the beleaguered populace of Miho and Yuka's native land, they also displayed a stunning return to form for Miho and Yuka. Their undeniable chemistry, unique sensibility, and infectious grooves will again delight dedicated fans while also attracting new listeners.

6/21 Seattle, WA - Neumo's
6/22 Vancouver, BC - Fortune
6/23 Portland, OR - Doug Fir
6/25 San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's
6/26 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl w/Yellow Magic Orchestra
7/12 Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Bowl
7/14 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
7/16 Toronto, ON - Mod Club
7/18 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
7/19 Washington, DC - Rock N Roll Hotel
7/20 Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall

Cass McCombs & Jana Hunter Live at Bowery Ballroom 5/12/11

The last time I saw Cass McCombs I was pretty disappointed in his set last July. It was also at the Bowery and he had opener Lightspeed Champion. He was playing some new material very seventies influenced which is not what made it on his new album Wit's End.

However tonight's set, his new album and his new band members all drove it back home with style as Cass and crew put on an amazing show delivering a handful of tracks off Wit's End. They opened with "Buried Alive," "The Lonely Doll" and County Line," which he and the band executed with precision and grace. He performed quite a nice set with slow brewing cadence which included a great mixture of older tracks. They did a lovely version of "Equinox" off of PREfections, and from his debut E.P they played "Not The Way." The band delivered some tunes from his 2009 album Catacombs' including "Prima Donna," "Don't Vote," and during "Harmonia" Cass finished a great solo on his nylon string guitar and then called out the next band member. Each member took their turn to showcase their soloing chops before sending it back to Cass who brought his vocals into the mix at the end of this heavy weighted almost instrumental track. He and the band ended the show with some tunes off his album A including "AIDS in Africa" and "When The Bible Was Wrote" and ending with "Bobby, King of Boy’s Town."

It was a delight to see Jana Hunter lead singler/guitarist of Lower Dens opened the show with a amazing solo set. Armed with her voice, a guitar and a looper pedal Jana created some breathtaking swells of music that built and built then gently blew away in a breeze. Back in 2005 prior to her band Lower Dens attention grabbing debut Jana had put out an amazing solo album called Blank Unstaring Heirs Of Doom. It was the first record released on Devendra Banhart's label Gnomonsong. It is a great LP you can read our review of it here. She also put out of few great tracks on some compilations. Jana played many tunes from I recalled "Farm, Ca.," "The Angle" and "The New Sane Scramble." It was really great hear these tracks live and to see her stand so tall as a solo performer.

Photos & Review by Kevin Serra






Setlist: ( You can download this set over from NYC Taper.

01 Buried Alive
02 The Lonely Doll
03 County Line
04 Meet Me Here At Dawn
05 Prima Donna
06 Pregnant Pause
07 Harmonia
08 Meet Me At the Mannequin Gallery [new song]
09 Equinox
10 Don’t Vote
11 Not the Way
12 Aids in Africa
13 When the Bible Was Wrote
14 Bobby, King of Boy’s Town

Outsidelands 2011 Lineup 2011

Click the image or visit www.sfoutsidelands.com for the line up. The festival will be at Golden Gate Park from August 12-14th.

Marissa Nadler - "Baby, I Will Leave You In The Morning" Video

Marissa Nadler - "Baby, I Will Leave You In The Morning" from Alec K. Redfearn on Vimeo.

Video Produced By Marissa Nadler & Guy Benoit Directed By Guy Benoit

Yeasayer North American Tour

"Ambling Alp" by Yeasayer from Secretly Jag on Vimeo.

Brooklyn's Yeasayer will be embarking on a North American tour beginning May 21st.

YEASAYER TOUR DATES
May 21 Solana Beach CA – Belly Up Tavern*
May 22 Pomona CA – The Glass House*
May 23 Los Angeles CA – The Music Box*
May 24 Los Angeles CA – The Music Box*
May 25 San Francisco CA – The Fillmore*
May 26 San Francisco CA – The Fillmore*
May 27 Portland OR – Wonder Ballroom*
May 28 Vancouver BC – Commodore Ballroom*
May 29 Seattle WA – Sasquatch Festival
May 31 Aspen CO – Belly Up Aspen*
Jun 01 Denver CO – Ogden Theatre*
Jun 02 Lawrence KS – The Granada Theatre*
Jun 03 Columbia MO – The Blue Note*
Jun 05 Houston TX – Free Press Summer Fest
Jun 06 Detroit MI – Majestic Theatre*
Jun 07 Toronto ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre*
Jun 08 Montreal PQ – Club Soda*
Jun 09 Boston MA – Royale Nightclub*
Jun 16 Washington DC – 930 Club*
Jun 17 Philadelphia PA – Trocadero*
Jun 18 New York NY – Terminal 5*
*With Smith Westerns, Hush Hush

Tindersticks, 04/30 @ LuckMan Arts Center, Los Angeles

This last Saturday night in Los Angeles, was one full of excitement to catch a band I'd waited for over a decade to see. England's Tindersticks were playing in Los Angeles, and I was damned if I was going to miss them this time. This tour to the states brought the band in support of their recently released; five CD/LP compilation "The Claire Denis Film Scores 1996-2009."

The night started upon entering an unfamiliar LA venue, one on the campus of Cal State LA: The Luckman Arts Center - a minimalist yet beautiful brick theater. As the lights went down, the Tindersticks entered the darkened stage. Coming off sounding subtle yet amazing, the band's soundscapes were perfectly set for film accompaniment. The songs/scores felt cinematically fabricated, belonging somewhere in-between an eerie spaghetti-western and walking into a 1920's cocktail lounge in Madrid (on a bunch of downers), and waiting for the next fight to break out: The calm before the storm...

Focusing on songs/soundtracks from their work supporting the films of Claire Denis, the band preformed superbly in front of a giant film screen, showing a montage of well composed and intriguing films; though the subject matter of the films i was more mixed on. The films seemed largely comprised of vignettes of the human condition: sex & beauty, senseless violence & death. Personally i was in favor of the former of the two groups, but understood the intent - even if watching the latter seemed to detracted a bit from the total evening.

The presentation of songs ebbed and flowed between soundtrack focused, and performance focused; between the film being in the foreground (and the band in silhouette), and the band being the foreground with the film set back as intriguing imagery behind the band. All the while: The eight members of the band radiated a understated yet sophisticatedly cool vibe...

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Clovis IV: Photos & Review
www.clovis-iv.com

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart live in Milford CT

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
With Twin Shadow
Daniel Street, Milford CT
Monday, May 2nd
 
With two full-length albums under their belt, an appearance at Coachella earlier this year and a successful U.S. tour that wraps up May 6th with a sold-out show at New York’s Webster Hall, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have all but solidified their place in the indie mainstream - an odd contradiction, to be sure. So while Milford’s Daniel Street seemed an unlikely destination for a band with such burgeoning credentials, the underrated Connecticut venue provided a unique opportunity for an intimate evening with The Pains and an enthusiastic legion of local fans.

Appearing as a five-piece following the addition of guitarist Christoph Hocheim, The Pains’ live performance largely eschewed excessive bombast and theatrics in favor of sharply-written and arranged shoegaze-inspired songs awash with passion and an understated intensity. The band’s romantic, major chord-driven melancholic pop retained the low-key yet dramatic sensibilities of their recent records, with singer Kip Berman’s gentle, whispered vocals proving the perfect counterpoint to dense, fuzz drenched guitars and synthesizer hooks.
 
The band’s 13-song set was almost evenly divided between their first and second albums, as early singles “Teenager in Love” and “Come Saturday” brimmed with an indelible youthful energy. But The Pains were especially engaged and confident on songs from their recently-released album Belong. The synth-driven dream pop of “The Body,” the Ride-influenced “Heaven’s Gonna Happen Now” and the album’s dynamic title track easily stood as highlights of the evening and demonstrated a marked evolution in the group’s skills as composers and performers. The band presented a balanced, vibrant sound throughout the hour-long set, although Peggy Wang’s synthesizer and backing vocals occasionally sat a little too low in the mix.
 
Even in a relatively smaller venue, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart seemed to derive immense satisfaction simply from performing their songs and being amongst their ardent fans. And if the band’s performance was any indication, opportunities to be this up close and personal will be few and far between in the years to come.
 
Flashing an unqualified love for 80s-inspired post-punk, Brooklyn’s Twin Shadow opened with an impressive set of haunting yet danceable tunes from their debut album Forget. Favoring a darker, more hypnotic cadence than their tourmates, the band conjured up memories of The Chameleons and New Order through the spellbinding “Yellow Balloon” and “Castles in the Snow.” While frontman George Lewis Jr. occasionally overpowered the mix on several louder vocal passages, his charisma and shimmering guitar work contrasted nicely with the musical textures of his shadowy, subdued bandmates.

Review by Jared Savas

SET LIST:
Belong
This Love Is Fucking Right!
A Teenager In Love
Heart In Your Heartbreak
The Body
Heaven’s Gonna Happen Now
Stay Alive
My Terrible Friend
Come Saturday
Young Adult Friction
Strange
 
Encore:
Contender
Everything With You

New Washed Out tune "Eyes Be Closed"

Washed Out - "Eyes Be Closed" by Stereo/Pirate

Within and Without, the long-awaited Washed Out full length debut LP, will be released on July 12 via Sub Pop .