Poetic Memory: Dinosaur Feathers (List)
Dinosaur Feathers have made a bit of a name for themselves back East. With a sound often compared to Animal Collective and the Beach Boys, these Brooklynites have received rave reviews from music fans everywhere, including Paste magazine:
When asked what…generated a bit of blog-buzz in recent months, Sullos demures: “The more you play, the more people talk about it.” True, but it likely has a bit more to do with the band’s melange of Latin and African-infused drum machine beats — plus the fact that these guys can really sing. Sullo and his bandmates use their voices like instruments, stacking and weaving them into a textured sonic tapestry that drips with 60s nostalgia.
We’re excited to see them at The Rumble this weekend, and you should be too. For a taste of their sound, check out “Fantasy Memorial” (MP3). Then, read their Poetic Memory (below).
Stop, Drop, and Rumble at Bar Pink – This Saturday
Click to enlarge
To quote our friends at Future Sounds, “Whatever show plans you have for Saturday night, get rid of them.”
August 7 marks the next Rumble, the multi-band, multi-drink, multi-month music showcase at Bar Pink. Last month’s event featured indie up-and-comers Harlem, What Laura Says, and San Diego’s own Sunday Times. Our friends Indigenous also celebrated their birthday, so it was quite the shindig. There aren’t any officially associated birthdays this time around but, if the lineup is any indication, attendees will still find plenty of cause to celebrate.
Opening the show will be Lesands, America’s Finest City™’s favorite electro-synth rockers. They’re relatively new to the local scene, but they’ve already received positive feedback from KCRW and elsewhere.
Next will be Brooklyn-based Dinosaur Feathers, a band that has exploded in popularity and won’t be playing places like Bar Pink for long. Future Sounds call them “Beach Boys meet Animal Collective,” a band that boasts “amazing vocal harmonies coupled with tropical beats.” Since Animal Collective are already half Beach Boys, that should make Dinosaur Feathers at least two-thirds Beach Boys, and that’s never a bad thing. Paste magazine has praised their use of harmonies “like instruments, stacking and weaving them into a textured sonic tapestry that drips with 60s nostalgia.”
After all that beachy, boyish goodness, Rumspringa will take the stage. They’re headlining the Rumble through August, and will carry it through to Las Vegas. Their upcoming full-length, set to be released on Cantora (not to be confused with Cantore) Records, and live shows have put audiences in “sacrificial trance-like states.” Cool. Click here for downloads and additional info…
Review: Caribou with Toro y Moi; May 20, 2010; Casbah, San Diego
Photos by Eleanore Park
Though you might find the new Caribou album, Swim, tucked in the indie-electronic aisle, frontman Daniel Snaith samples a much wider buffet of genres in a live setting. As you’d expect, you’ll hear him match up against electronic contemporaries like Vitalic, Animal Collective, and even Paul Van Dyk, but a good portion of the show also has the wider influences featured on earlier albums. His previous album, Andorra, had vintage tributes to The Mamas and The Papas (if backed by the relentless drums of, say, Dave Grohl) as well as indie-style jams that evoke My Morning Jacket or Wilco on an experimental kick. Last Thursday at the Casbah, Snaith tied up this diverse palette with a fat beat and dropped it all over a late-night dance party. Continue reading…
Owl and Bear’s Best Albums of 2009
Owl and Bear writers’ favorite albums of 2009. (more…)
Poetic Memory: Boy Without God (List)
Fact: there are more albums in existence today than ever before, and, as more albums are released in the future, that number will most likely increase. We, the intrepid writers for Owl&Bear, stand at the frothy frontline of this constant deluge of new music, bravely filling buckets with the good stuff and presenting it as sweet sustenance to our parched readers. We perpetually receive music from PR people, begging us to check out undiscovered artists, and a lot of it is, quite frankly, underwhelming. But once in a while we come across a diamond in the rough, something that grabs us by the ears and doesn’t let go. And so it happened that, mere seconds into hearing “If You” (MP3), I became a fan of Boy Without God.
Hailing from Massachusetts, famed home of the sassy Congressman, Boy Without God is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Gabriel Birnbaum. His new album, Your Body Is Your Soul, which sounds like Neutral Milk Hotel if they’d been fronted by Johnny Cash, has been on constant rotation in the Owl&Bear offices lately and is shaping up to be one of the best albums of the year. Birnbaum was kind enough to share his influences with us for our newest installment of Poetic Memory.
Poetic Memory is a regular Owl and Bear feature in which musicians disclose their influences—whether it’s albums, songs, artists, or something random. If you’re interested in being featured here, send us an email. (more…)
Review: Animal Collective; September 25, 2007 at the Cannery Ballroom; Nashville, TN
So I went to see the Animal Collective play again, this time in Nashville as opposed to Birmingham, which cut the drive in half.
But let me tell you something. I would have driven to Iceland to see these guys again. I’m typically a fairly cynical guy, but seeing these guys is almost a spiritual experience.
Animal Collective: Miscellaneous Tracks From “Strawberry Jam”
I got my hands on 6 tracks from the upcoming Animal Collective album, Strawberry Jam, and I am floored.
Review: Animal Collective; May 28, 2007 at the Bottle Tree Cafe; Birmingham, AL
Birmingham is four hours from where I stay, so I don’t often visit just to see any flavor-of-the-week indie rock band. Nope, if I’m gonna invest the time in an epic journey across state lines, time, and space, it’s going to have to be special. Last time, it was Califone, this time the Animal Collective. Was it worth it? Telling this early would be no fun.
Panda Bear – Person Pitch
2007, Paw Tracks
Side-projects by members of the New York-based Animal Collective are usually both frustrating and rewarding.
