It will be difficult to find a better bill than this as the leaves start to fall. The new faces of Australian pop-rock, The Temper Trap and Mancunian dance-pop heroes, Delphic hit the road together in what could very well be the breakout tour for both bands in the States. Both bands are faves of mine and both debut records still get quality mileage in my house. I hope to see my fellow New Yorkers at the Terminal 5 gig. Let’s go!
SEPTEMBER
26 Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
29 Boston, MA – House of Blues
30 Montclair, NJ – Wellmont Theater
OCTOBER 01 New York, NY – Terminal 5
02 Montreal, QC – Le National
03 Ottawa, ON – Capital Music Hall
05 Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theater
11 Detroit, MI – St Andrews Hall
12 Chicago, IL – Metro
13 Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall
14 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
16 Mexico City – Capital Festival
22 Pomona, CA – The Fox Theater
23 Los Angeles, CA – Club Nokia
So. You liked Blackout, the new single by New York’s The Knocks, yes? You found yourself spending the weekend shaking your moneymaker and posting about it on your Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr page, right? That’s good because the song is definitely perfect for your weekend festivities wherever they may take place. Let’s fast forward to this Thursday, the 6th of May. The time is 10 pm and the location is Baddies on Greenwich Avenue & W 10th. The Blackout single release party will be going down. This should be one good old time as B-Roc & J-Patt will be hitting the decks along with some special guests.
Would you like to come on down and partake in the festivities? Stay tuned for I may have a bit of gift for a lucky twitter-er? Tweeter? Oh…you get the point!
Keeping it funky and fresh out of the LES (that’s the Lower East Side of Manhattan for you out-of towners), The Knocks are about ready to enter the fray and drop some 80s style electro-funk on us. Imagine a much less annoying Chromeo and their overdone auto-tuned vox or what Miami Horror would sound like if they didn’t try to so hard to appear authentic. The Knocks’ debut single Blackout while being an obvious nod to 80’s urban pop still sounds fresh to these ears. A definite party-starter and sure to fill the dance floor, The Knocks are primed to bring some dirty New York flava to the masses one hip-shaker and head-bopper at a time.
What say you, friends? Are you ready for the Blackout?
“All that I fear
don´t turn away
and leave me to plead in this whole other place…what if I never break
estuary won´t you take me
far away
far away”
Let me get this out of the way right now. I heart Interpol. I love them with all my heart. We New Yorkers owe this band owe this band a bushelful of thanks and then some. They, along with fellow favourite sons The Strokes, helped to reinvigorate the local music scene. They helped us to reclaim our identity as the greatest city on Earth in terms of musical relevance. I know I tend to wax poetic often about Manchester but at the end of the day, New York City is the place musicians come to when they want to take on the big boys.
Since their 2002 debut Turn On The Bright Lights, the band has turned the indie scene on its head with dark and moody post-punk. Thanks to Interpol, bands like Editors, White Lies and the like would be able to follow in their footsteps and score major label deals. While I must admit I didn’t go gaga over Interpol’s major label debut, 2007’s Our Love To Admire, nothing changes the fact that the band has accrued enough capital to allow them a mulligan. It also doesn’t change the fact that since then, the band has been sorely missed. New drones and moans were needed in the worst way in the hearts and minds of each and every Interpol fan worldwide.
Time to turn those bright lights on once more, children. The band has come out of hiding and present us with a gift in the form of a new single called…Lights. This is the Interpol I know and love. There’s no thinly-veiled attempt at a pop hit to be found here (Cough…The Heinrich Maneuver…). If anything else, it’s much closer to the debut album’s sound in terms of scope. Much darker and a return to basics of sorts. I could say more but why ruin it? Listen to Lights yourself and rediscover the magic that is Interpol.
It just doesn’t stop. Call me biased all you want but it stands to reason that when it comes to music so dark, so dirty and slippery, nowhere beats New York. Another example is here in the form of the Ropes. I had been following this very talented duo for a little while and nothing made me happier than receiving word of their new EP Love Is A Chain Store just released. A three song teaser chock full of seedy New York-style rock featuring a title track that begs to be on a modern rock playlist. Of course that would mean modern rock would have to play something that strays for the current norm but that’s another story for another time.
A menacing bass line. A beat that sounds like the marching of zombies. Add in the vocals of Sharon Shy, so detached, so lackadaisical yet totally sexy in an Alison Mosshart/Chrissie Hynde way. Throw in a deceptively engaging chorus and you’ve got a track that definitely leaves the listener hanging…on the Ropes.
“Love comes close
But chooses to spare me
Death comes close
But ceases to take me
I want to twist, the knife a bit deeper
To siphon the love from the hearts I believed in
Look outside, world is exploding,
Stay inside, still never knowing.
Taking cover, with each other,
Sleeping off the century of hope”
It was only a matter of time before the electronic pop resurgence we are currently basking in took a sharp turn for the dark and depressing. May I present Cold Cave! A doom-infested electronic pop outfit from Manhattan via Philadelphia whose debut record Love Comes Close (Matador) could quite possibly be the darkest debut record by a band since New Order’s Movement.
Featured above is the title track and if you were to close your eyes, you’d almost swear that you’d be transported back to the early eighties listening to a band like The Wake with a singer who reminded you of an Edwyn Collins or Ian Curtis. The production values which would be considered somewhat subpar today what with the tinny guitar and the programmed drums dominating the song would have fit right at home in the Factory Records catalogue.
It also doesn’t hurt that Love Comes Close is a solid song in its own right. It’s been on constant repeat for me for a while since as you all know I’m a sucker for this sound. It’s only a matter of time before others do too after some care is taken to delve past the gloom and doom.
“Fall asleep
Spin the sky
Skeleton me
Love, don’t cry”
New single by the crown jewels of the New York music landscape, the Yeah Yeahs Yeahs. This is the promotional film for Skeletons. One of my personal favourites from last year’s It’s Blitz record where the trio truly came into their own. So subtle yet arresting. Tender and convincing. It’s a song that truly exhibits the depth the band possesses. Think of it as a sort of companion piece to Maps off of Fever To Tell. Add a beautiful video and you’ve got yourself another hit for the YYY’s. I just wish everyone else would realise how potent this band has become and what more they still have to offer.
“Darling, just don’t put down your guns yet,
if there really was a God here,
he’d have raised a hand by now”
Courtesy of the gang at They Shoot Music Don’t They, here is a really cool acoustic performance of Papillon by Editors frontman, Tom Smith in Vienna. Tom looks like he would be quite at ease busking in the subways here in New York City. Something tells me he’d fetch a few dollars or so doing some Editors songs at Union Square…
It’s the return…of one of New York’s finest. It’s been a long time. A really long time since we last heard from Anti-Pop Consortium, the seminal art-rap trio long considered one of our fair city’s underground treasures since their formation in 1997. A slew of singles and four full-length records, most notably 2000’s Tragic Epilogue & 2002’s underground classic Arrythmia, found their way into the consciousness of discerning hip-hop and indie fans. They would find themselves being admired by the likes of Radiohead which resulted in APC being tabbed to open for them during the European leg of the Amnesiac tour in 2001. Unfortunately as the group were in their ascendancy, personal differences tore at the brittle fibers of the music and the band broke up in 2003 as their final record, the collaboration with Matthew Shipp was released. Many, including yours truly, were heart-broken as it seemed just when we had a band to help guide us through the morass that had been the current state of hip-hop in those days, they fell victim to their own inability to work through internal issues.
Welp…fast forward to 2009. Scroll back up and check out the pics. That was APC last night at their record release party for the new record Fluorescent Black released Tuesday via Big Dada. Yup. It’s true. M. Sayyid, Earl Blaize, Beans and High Priest together on stage again wowing the capacity crowd at Santo’s Party House with their blend of mind-bending beats, staccato raps and peerless interplay made mince-meat of everyone in attendance. The group was clearly revelling in their element and looked like they clearly did not want to get off the stage when their set was over. It’s great to have them back and hip-hop is the better for it.
So there I was at good old Webster Hall, the site where I came of age as a wee young lad dancing to house and techno music under the lights. I marveled at all at my fellow club-goers, the club kids in their beautiful outfits and outrageous antics… Those were the days…but I digress. White Lies returned to the Big Apple and brought their brooding dark post-punk missives with them. The first time I saw them was at the Bowery Ballroom along with the Soft Pack and Friendly Fires. The band put on a solid set that was tempered a bit by Harry McVeigh having throat problems. He valiantly gave it a go but his voice was considerably weak.
That was most definitely not the case Friday night at Webster Hall. I came late to the venue so unfortunately I was only able to catch the latter part of the set by openers, Violens. What I did hear was very promising indeed and I’ll make it a point to see them again. Soon after 9pm, the band hit the stage. The first thing I noticed was that the band definitely stepped up their game and immediately began with Farewell To The Fairground, one of my personal favourites from the self-titled debut record. The audience had already reached fever pitch before in anticpation for the band to get on the stage and from the first song, one could literally feel the floor shake. For a band whose record really didn’t bother the US charts, it’s plain to see White Lies has already garnered themselves a dedicated fanbase who passionately sang every word to every song in the 12 song set.
Any concerns over Harry McVeigh’s voice were quickly quelled as he was able to remind us again why he’s got the most expressive voice in indie rock right now in Fifty On Our Foreheads and A Place To Hide. His voice possesses such a resonance and such a genteel quality, it really enriches their sound and to me, sets the band apart from many of their contemporaries. Coupled with the band sounding much more confident and tighter than before and the reaction of everyone in attendance that the band has truly arrived and is one that won’t be a flash in the pan soon to be tossed out with the bathwater. After all, how can one discard a band who does a Portishead cover? I think not!
if you are the copyright holder of any such media placed on this site and would like it removed, please feel free to get in contact with me
if you would like to submit material for consideration to be featured, you may also contact me
if you need advice on love, life, what music to buy, you can reach me at the same address. if it's a funny question, i'll even place it on the blog!
Stalk Me.