Interview: Slow Club
If you need a little more U.K. folk-pop in your life, join the club.
Sheffield, England duo Slow Club are currently touring to support the stunning Yeah So, an album that would’ve been a shoo-in for our Best of 2009 list if I hadn’t discovered it too late. Over the course of the record’s twelve tracks, bandmates Charles Watson and Rebecca Taylor masterfully walk the line between sincerity and playfulness. As far as adorable rock duos go, they just might be Britain’s answer to the White Stripes. (more…)
Darwin Deez – ‘Radar Detector’ (Video)
Darwin Deez is clearly a guy who knows how to have a good time. The all-dancing, vegan food serving, self-recording musician recently put out his debut full-length—on “deluxe CDR“, no less—which has since been picked up by London label Lucky Number Music. Overflowing with joyous, unabashed pop, the self-titled album’s eccentricities are as engaging as they are amusing.
The new video for “Radar Detector” is a perfect example of Deez’s quirky talent and effortless musicianship. Directed by Ace Norton, the clip gleefully employs cheesy effects to illustrate Deez’s boundless affection for his ladyfriend.
Deez is currently schlepping his bouncy beats and sweet dance moves across Europe on a tour that will last until May. Let’s hope a US tour follows soon thereafter.
RIP: Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse
Mark Linkous, the frontman of Sparklehorse, has committed suicide. Sparklehorse’s albums—particularly 2001’s It’s A Wonderful Life—are some of the saddest and most beautiful music you’ll ever have the pleasure of hearing. A reader named Alex from the Rolling Stone article sums up Linkous’ contributions wonderfully: (more…)
LCD Soundsystem Announce New Album
After a few months holed up in a Los Angeles mansion aptly called “The Manshun”, LCD Soundsytem’s James Murphy has emerged with a 65-minute, as yet untitled new album and a slew of tour dates to support it. The nine-track album is set to be released May 18th on DFA/Virgin. (more…)
Video: St. Vincent; February 21, 2010; Diesel Club, Pittsburgh, PA
St. Vincent, a.k.a. Annie Clark, takes her stage name from Dylan Thomas, a Welsh Romantic poet. In 1953, he died at New York’s St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center.
There are a few theories about why he died: was it alcohol, diabetes, or heart attack? Or something else, or all of the above? There has never been a consensus. When asked about why she chose that specific moniker, Ms. Clark replied, “Because that is where poets go to die.”
I recently had the pleasure of seeing her perform and I found her live show to be charming, whimsical, and yes, poetic. So much so that I decided to film the encore and share it with all of you. I also thought a piece by Mr. Thomas entitled “The Map of Love” would serve as a nice artistic accompaniment to St. Vincent’s musical poetry. Read, watch and listen below. (more…)
Interview: Ray Manzarek
Photo credit: Getty Images
For music fans young and old, Ray Manzarek needs little introduction. In the late 60s, Manzarek co-founded and played keyboards in The Doors, who to this day remain one of rock and roll’s most influential bands. He’s written novels, directed films, and, at the age of 71, he’s still cooler than you are.
Manzarek’s salad days are the subject of the upcoming, award-winning documentary When You’re Strange, and, on February 28th, he’ll be bringing his roadhouse blues to San Diego for a gig at Anthology.
We sat down with Manzarek to discuss everything from fine wine to YouTube, and from Iggy Pop to Weird Al. (more…)
‘I Don’t Recall Our Founding Fathers Using Teleprompters’
On last night’s Daily Show, Jon Stewart talks Tea Party.
Watchlist vol. 3: The Middle East (MP3)
Is America ready for a Middle East invasion?
Ready or not, don’t fret. The deceptively-named band actually comes from the land down under — Townsville, Queensland, Australia to be exact.
They create music as beautiful and diverse as the Great Barrier Reef itself. Their strings, harmonies, and layers have delighted audiences worldwide, yet they remain one of Australia’s best kept secrets.
But now, they have their sights set on America. (more…)
Tortoise ‘Prepare’ Winter Tour (MP3)
Our favorite Chicago post rockers are back with a new video and news of a winter tour. (more…)
Pale White Moon Lures Wolf (MP3)
If you’ve watched Showtime’s Emmy award-winning documentary series This American Life, you’ve probably heard the music of Pale White Moon. (more…)
Review: The Silent Comedy; January 17, 2010; Bar Pink, San Diego
Few bands in San Diego inspire the kind of rabid devotion that the Silent Comedy enjoy. From their Prohibition-era wardrobes and Old West mustaches to lead singer/bassist J. John’s manic ramblings, the band have struck upon a winning combination of musical chops and good-natured theatricality that has earned them a passionate following. Celebrating their return to San Diego at Bar Pink after a brief but hectic West Coast tour, the Silent Comedy were greeted by a characteristically packed house. And, from the raucous opening song “Poison” onward, the band had the crowd exactly where they wanted them. (more…)
‘You Can’t Resort to Childish Attacks as Hominem as they are Nauseum’ (Video)
On Thursday night’s Daily Show, Jon Stewart took Keith Olbermann to task for being a blowhard, and it was awesome.
Blood Red Shoes Get Fired Up (Video)
Rock and roll has seen its share of great duos in recent years—The White Stripes and The Kills being among the best—but no other band attacks the senses with as much raw power as Steven Ansell and Laura-Mary Carter, better known as Blood Red Shoes. The Brighton, England group’s 2008 debut, Box of Secrets, was a cherry bomb of a record that dripped with raw, dangerous sexuality. The fast and furious album’s bloody hooks and visceral appeal landed it a spot on Owl&Bear’s world-renowned Best of 2008 list, and we’ve been waiting anxiously for its follow-up.
But now the wait is over. Out on March 10 through V2 Records, Fire Like This contains ten highly combustible tracks from the band. Those eager for a sampling of the album can go to the band’s official website, where they’re streaming a new track every week until its release. “Light It Up”, “Colours Fade”, and live favorite “Keeping It Close” had previously been posted to the site, and the band just today added the red-hot “Heartsink”, which the group describes as “a pop song that we tried to destroy from the inside out”. Those inclined to join the band’s newsletter will be rewarded with a free download of “Colours Fade”. (more…)
Wilco Annouce Spring Tour Dates
In support of their Grammy nominated Wilco (The Album), Wilco the band have announced a sixteen-date East Coast tour. Promising extended, varied sets in mid-sized theaters, the semi-intimate tour is being billed as “An Evening with Wilco”. Ticket pre-sales start January 6th through Wilcoworld.net. (more…)
The Daily Show’s ‘Decade in Review’ (Video)
Remember the year 2000? Neither do I. Fortunately, your friends at The Daily Show have made it possible to relive the painful past—in all its attention-deficit glory.
And after you’re thoroughly worn out by year one, you can inflict upon yourself recaps of the rest of the painful decade; as an added bonus, you can also watch Jon Stewart slowly get old.
Vic Chesnutt 1964 – 2009
Vic Chesnutt died today.
Holes in his sweater, fluid in his lungs; the experts say
there are things he should have done better, but instead he is just dying young.
Jason Segel with The Broken West – ‘Dracula’s Lament’ (Video)
The Late Late Show’s Craig Ferguson celebrated his 1000th episode on Tuesday night, and he did it in style. Save for the occasional scantily-clad backup dancer, the show consisted entirely of puppets. As if that weren’t cool enough, Ferguson also enlisted the aid of the always-game Jason Segel, who performed his “Dracula’s Lament” ballad from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
In keeping with the puppet-only theme, Segel’s backing band was hidden, but if they hadn’t been you would’ve seen that they were Merge Records band The Broken West. The group fleshed out the song admirably, tweaking it with lush instrumentation and a rock and roll backbeat absent from the Marshall version. We’re not exactly sure how a band gets a gig playing backup for Jason Segel and a puppet vampire, but we do know we want their agent. Check out the festivities yourself—the song starts around the one-minute mark—in the clip above.
Lay Low – ‘By And By’ (Video)
Welcome to Iceland Appreciation Day at Owl&Bear—or “Owl och Björn” in Swedish, which we assume sounds pretty close to Icelandic—where we spotlight up-and-coming musicians from the subpolar island country. Incidentally, Iceland boasts a population of 320,000 and its popular dishes include liver sausage and cured ram scrotum. You heard me.
Okay, it’s not actually Iceland Appreciation Day, but we did just run a story on Seabear, so I figured I’d roll with it. Our next artist to be featured from the land of the great Strokkur geyser is Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir, better known as Lay Low.
The Patsy Cline-inspired singer/songwriter has already developed an immense following in her homeland, claiming the country’s top-selling original album last year with her debut, Please Don’t Hate Me. Lay Low will be turning her sights on the US with the release of her new album, Farewell Good Night’s Sleep, on March 9th, to be followed by an extensive tour. (more…)
Boy Without God Never Sleeps
Boy Without God’s Gabriel Birnbaum isn’t just godless; he’s also restless. The overachieving singer-songwriter released Your Body Is Your Soul earlier this year, a captivating album propelled by Birnbaum’s insightful lyrics and creaking baritone. But while other musicians might be content to rest on their laurels, Birnbaum is already at work recording his follow-up to Soul, entitled God Bless the Hunger.
As if putting out back to back full-lengths weren’t enough, Birnbaum is also releasing two free EPs of material recorded in between those albums. The first EP, Eight Delicate Olives Slowly Chewed at Midnight, is already available as a free download from the Boy Without God blog. The second EP is due for release in a couple of months. Here’s what Birnbaum has to say about Olives: (more…)
Fanfarlo – ‘Harold T. Wilkins’ (Video)
It’s been a busy year for Fanfarlo. Their debut album Reservoir was released in February and recently got picked up by Atlantic for a rerelease. The band is currently touring the US and enjoying some much-deserved buzz for their impressive showing at this years CMJ Music Marathon. And now they’ve released a video for one of this writer’s favorite songs of the year: “Harold T. Wilkins, or How To Wait For A Very Long Time”. Directed by Alma Har’el—who has also directed videos for Beirut and Jack Penate—the clip finds the group telepathically controlling each other’s movements in the forest before culminating in a choreographed Fanfarlo dance and a magical rowboat ride at dawn. No, seriously.
Shout Out Louds Get To ‘Work!’ (Video)
Shout Out Louds came storming out of the gate with their 2003 debut, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, one of the finest records in a year rife with great music. Unfortunately, the Swedish band stumbled a bit with their follow-up, 2007’s overly-polished Our Ill Wills. With its high-production sheen and Cure-esque posturing, the sophomore effort was listenable but frustratingly sterile and derivative. Thankfully, the band seems poised to return to their former glory with the upcoming album Work!
Set for release February 23 on Merge Records, the album forgoes ornate strings and percussion in favor of a more stripped down sound. Work! is produced by Phil Ek, who has done right by bands like The Shins, Fleet Foxes, and Band of Horses in the past. The first video from the album, entitled “Walls”, gives further cause to be excited; its driving guitar, inviting vocals, and perfectly placed piano leave no doubt that the band is in fighting form. If you like the song, you can download an MP3 of it here.
The band will be playing a special album-release show on March 1st at the Music Hall of Wlliamsburg in Brooklyn before embarking on a tour for most of 2010.
Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros – ‘Kisses Over Babylon’ (Video)
As if being one of 2009’s breakout bands—thanks to their incredible Merge release Up From Below—wasn’t enough, it appears that Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros also have some cinematic ambitions. They’ve just released “Kisses Over Babylon,” the second installment in a 12-part video series entitled SALVO! The videos depict a Mad Max-style post-apocalyptic wasteland where water is in short supply and Edward Sharpe is a wanted man. The clip costars character actor-extraordinaire David Strathairn, best known for his riveting performance as Edward R. Murrow in Good Night and Good Luck.
And, since no indie rock video these days is complete without some gratuitous nudity, you should be warned that the video is slightly NSFW. Finally, in case you missed it, we’ve also got the first part of the epic series, “Desert Song”, after the jump. (more…)
Theresa Andersson – ‘Birds Fly Away’ (Video)
If you’ve ever seen Theresa Andersson live, chances are you’ve fallen in love with her. The one-woman-band brings so much intoxicating energy to her performances that it’s impossible to not be taken in by her talent and charm. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of seeing her in concert, some live clips can be found in the new video for “Birds Fly Away”, the latest single off her Hummingbird, Go! album.
Directed by Miranda Penn Turin, the clip sets Andersson against the backdrop of her New Orleans hometown, and the still-ravaged-looking locale adds a layer of bittersweetness to the proceedings.
Andersson will be performing at a benefit concert at the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center on December 9th, after which she’ll head back into the studio to begin work on her as-yet-untitled new album. We’ve got the video for you after the jump. (more…)
