Archive for October, 2011
Royal Baths Drown Bowery Ballroom
Opening up for a sold out show with eruptive headliners like the Dum Dum Girls and Crocodiles sets out towering expectations on a Friday night at Bowery Ballroom. One of the opening acts, a recently migrated San Francisco quartet Royal Baths hyped the energy with their multi-layered screeching guitar rips and liquidating phased vocals, building a brooding wave of ear-candy distortion. A brainchild of shoe-gazing low-pitched drum progressions and scorching melodic ranges, Royal Baths are a change of taste in the New York horizon.
Viktorsha Uliyanova
CMJ Diary: Wednesday October 20th
By Sedera Ranaivoarinosy
Not to going to go into detail, but my life has never been busier. Still, I decided this year I would let it affect my CMJ time as little as possible. Sure, for these first few days, that means no day parties for me, but hey, there’s plenty for me to see at night. So here’s a little run through of last night:
1. Pujol at Santos Party House
Pujol @ Santos, Oct. 20th, 2011
After almost going in the wrong entrance–two shows were happening at the same time–I make it inside Santos while the members of the band are finishing up their mic checks. Not to be stereotypical but Pujol‘s garage rock is not necessarily the type of music you’d necessarily expect to hear out of Nashville, TN. The club was at that point where there are quite a few people around but it’s not so full that you are squished into everyone so the vibe was welcoming but it was maybe still a bit early for a rager. Nonetheless, Pujol brought it: the bass made the ground under my feet shake and I caught myself checking if someone was texting me because the waves of sound were making my jacket vibrate. Cute note: Daniel Pujol ended the set mentioning that it was his sister’s birthday. It didn’t seem like she was in the audience but if I had had that set dedicated to me, I’d be pretty happy.
Next stop was Pianos. On the train over, I saw a contestant from the dance competition So You Think You Can Dance. It felt like an odd intrusion of the mainstream into my evening of indie takeover.
2. Cloud Nothings and Exitmusic at Pianos
Cloud Nothings @ Pianos, Oct. 20th, 2011
Going from Pujol to Cloud Nothings (if you subtract the subway ride from Santos to Pianos) made for a fairly seamless transition, although the Cleveland outfit could have used the clarity of sound Pujol enjoyed at Santos. Needless to say, my ears might not really ever function the same again but that didn’t ruin their performance per se. In fact, there was something kind of pleasant in the way the songs sounded and the flow of the band’s set. From one track to the next, I felt like I was going back through all the various stages of adolescence: the pop-punk “rebel” phase, followed by the angsty, more “hard rock” one and the more exploratory one, represented by more experimental and noisy sounds. Since these days I live running from place to place without much breathing time, that little bit of nostalgic energy was pretty comforting. But next time, I’ll be careful not to stay as close to the speakers.
Exitmusic @ Pianos, Oct. 20th, 2011
The second Exitmusic started playing, the pace changed immediately. While the music I’d heard until then was immediate and very raw, this was carefully calculated and orchestrated. It was obvious from the moment the band stepped on stage; their polished appearance was a long way away from the torn t-shirts and plain old jeans of the previous bands. In some way, it was almost a little intimidating to see how attractive everyone was in the band but bit by bit, that feeling faded away as the music and Aleksa Palladino’s haunting vocals shrouded the room. As the set built up, it was like we were all suspended mid-air, as if carried by the lofty guitars. And then Cold War Kids’ “Hang Me Up To Dry” started playing as they took off their instruments and it was back to reality where class the next day meant no more shows for that night.
October 21, 2011 at 10:00 am Sedera Ranaivoarinosy Leave a comment
Catch-up With Casiokids
The beauty of CMJ is just the astounding amount of bands that end up playing there. The Norwegians from Casiokids were not about to miss the party and we were not about to miss out on the chance of chatting with them while they were here, especially since their newest album, Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen, just came out on Polyvinyl! We spoke to two members of the band, Ketil Kinden Endresen and Omar Johnsen, in a hallway at Pianos last night and here’s how it went!
Modern Mystery: How many times have you been part of the CMJ line-up? How do you like it?
Ketil Kinden Endresen: This is our second time here, we last came in 2008. It was also our first show in New York, at Cake Shop. But we’ve been in New York many times since then. I think this is our 10th mini tour in the U.S. Playing in New York is definitely one of my favourites.
Omar Johnsen: It’s nice when we’re playing things like CMJ or South by South West, you can stay in one town too. It’s so much easier.
KKE: It gives you time to enjoy the city as well.
MM: So where do you like to hang out in New York?
KKE: We spend a lot of time in Williamsburg. We try to go see museums, go to Central Park and roam around Manhattan.
MM: So your songs are in Norwegian, which can’t be easy for everyone to pronounce. Which place had the oddest pronunciation of Norwegian?
KKE: Probably Russia.
OJ: In a way it was the best and the worst [laughs]. They were very into it but it did not sound like Norwegian!
KKE: Still it was pretty special, they were very passionate. But mostly outside of Scandinavia, there is more dancing than singing along. In Scandinavia, they sing more.
MM: What is your biggest musical influence?
OJ: It’s hard to pin down because everyone is from different places. There is some overlap but I think it comes out through our music. It’s like a pot of stew.
KKE: Well, there is this Swedish band called Bobhund that we all like. There’s also electronic pop like New Order, Kraftwerk, Cornelius…
OJ: I guess also krautrock like Neu… Everyone likes these bands at least [laughs].
MM: Anyone you’re excited to see here at CMJ this year?
KKE: I haven’t really looked at the program to be honest but generally I like to rely on luck. Like tonight we got here and then went upstairs and realized our friend was playing!
MM: So your new album, Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen, just came out. How would you describe to someone who’s never heard your music?
KKE: It was inspired by the story of Dr. Tarzan Monsoon and his discovery of a secret rainforest. It’s quite varied and with electro and dance rhythms. Our stories are in Norwegian and we use a lot of harmonies in our vocals.
OJ: It was also made differently from our past albums. Before, the albums were more like compilations of singles. It’s quite diverse but it’s still a sound that sounds like us. It’s also better produced; we have our own studio so over the years, we’ve learned more and got better.
MM: I hear you’re going to Japan next month! What are you most excited about?
KKE: Yes, on November 6th! I’m excited about the food. Japanese food has to be my favourite food in the world.
OJ: I want to discover the culture, I find it very inspiring. Maybe it’s because I’m half-asian so I have a special attraction.
MM: Do you know when you’ll be back in New York after CMJ?
KKE: Not yet. But we’ll definitely be back sometime in the spring.
Catch Casiokids during the rest of CMJ here:
20.10.11: Glasslands
21.10.11: Spike Hill
22.10.11: AAM Inc party 14:30 @ Knitting Factory
October 20, 2011 at 4:46 pm Sedera Ranaivoarinosy Leave a comment
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Hurricane Through Ace Hotel
Kicking off CMJ with their adroit-charged energy, the Brooklyn-based voyagers Clap Your Hand Say Yeah packed the walls of Ace Hotel on Wednesday afternoon hours before their performance. The band chewed out a compressed thirty-minute set,feeding their fans a combination of pieces from their most recent release Hysterical, as well as transcending back to “ In This Home On Ice” from their debut album and of course, a hit from Some Loud Thunder. CYHSY finished their set with “Satan Said Dance”, where the keyboardist, Robbie Guertin switched gears and teamed up with the drummer to spit out turbulent beats to end the show.
***Set List***
Same Mistake
Maniac
Misspent Youth
Hysterical
Ketamine and Ecstasy
In This Home On Ice
Said Said Dance
Viktorsha Uliyanova
WIN AN OFFICIAL TAPE FROM THE SOMEONE STILL LOVES YOU BORIS YELTSIN “TAPE CLUB”
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin is obviously the #1 band around here at Modern Mystery (Hey we named the site after them, right?), and we have an AMAZING contest for you to enter, that hell, we’re dying to get a piece of ourselves.
Feast your eyes upon the exclusive, original, Tape Club tape from the month April (2006), that Polyvinyl was nice enough to hook us up with. Not only will you win the rare tape from the old club, but also a copy of Tape Club, their new album of demos and unreleased songs due out October 18th on Polyvinyl. Your choice of Black Vinyl or CD. A 26-song double album that spans 10 years of SSLYBY greatness.
The title is a direct reference to the subscription service SSLYBY started in late 2005 to raise money for tour while copies of their debut Broom (which they had just self-released) were quickly selling out. In exchange for signing up, fans were treated to cassette home recordings of unreleased songs packaged in handmade covers.
To Enter, please E-mail us at MODERNMYSTERYBLOG@YAHOO.COM by Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 at Midnight with your Name and Address. You must live in the U.S. to enter.
You can listen to Tape Club in it’s entirety at http://sslyby.bandcamp.com
MEET THE LANSKIES, YOUR NEW FAVORITE INDIE SENSATION; HEADED ON TOUR NOW & CMJ!
Are you a fan of The Futureheads? We Are Scientists? The Kooks? Well, anything and everything that is cool in music? Let us introduce to you the greatest French import of all time, THE LANSKIES
Starting to break out in the U.S. indie rock scene, THE LANSKIES are headed over to our side of the pond to embark on a few impressive tour dates. Are you ready for what they have to offer?
Having already won the prestigious award to support ZZ top in front of thousands of adoring fans at the Vielles Charrues festival in 2008, things have gone well for them since. And it is only looking up from here. Deeming themselves as a “Hot Wave,” group (move over New Wave!), the band is a combination of upbeat post-punk anthems and 80’s New York attitude. A force not to be messed with.
Fronted by Liverpool born, Lewis Evans, a charismatic performer on stage to say the least, he leads the band to the U.S. to take on the crowds. Having toured most of Europe and a successful tour of China, THE LANSKIES are well prepared for the U.S.
The group released their first album Bank Holiday last year and will be following up with the EP titled Romeo due out November 15th.
Meet the leaders of the new Paris-Liverpool rock scene, THE LANSKIES.
Be sure to catch the band on their West Coast and East Coast dates, including a stop at CMJ at The Hiro Ballroom.
TOUR:
10/08 in Los Angeles, CA @ Filter’s Festival (6pm)
10/08 in Los Angeles, CA @ Filter’s Festival (8pm)
10/09 in Los Angeles, CA @ The Cide (10pm)
10/12 in New York, NY @ Fontana’s (9pm)
10/14 in New York, NY @ Shrine Harleme (11pm)
10/19 in New York, NY @ Hiro Ballroom (CMJ) (8pm)
Metric Remix Album Announced
Metric have announced the release date of their fan-collaborated effort Fantasies Flashbacks.
The album will be out October 11th, and features a collection of the band’s favorite mixes submitted by their fans.
The remixes will be part of a deluxe vinyl box set, of which all proceeds go to the Center for Addiction and Mental Health.
The vinyl box will have a huge list of goodies. If you order one, this is what you get:
· 10 x 7″ vinyl singles, each containing an original song from Fantasies and the associated winning remix from the Indaba Music contest;
· A PlayButton digital music player pre-loaded with (the same) 10 winning remixes (one of the first new notable commercial releases available on PlayButton);
· A digital download code redeemable for all music from the 7″ singles (20 tracks including the original studio album version of Fantasies), plus an additional 11 of the band’s favorite remixes. In total this is 31 songs or over 80 minutes of music;
· Two 6″ x 6″, two-sided color inserts featuring fan-created artwork/imagery, track listing, credits and information about the genesis of the remix album and the charitable tie-in with CAMH;
· A limited edition 18″ x 24″ glossy METRIC poster;
· A custom box housing everything listed above.
The package is available for immediate pre-order on Metric’s online store which you can find here, the box will be shipped October 11th.
LA RESISTANCE Play Second NYC Residency Show This Week! Release Covers EP
Covers usually never do a song justice, but LA RESISTANCE is out to prove you wrong. The band has just released a brilliant EP collection of covers titled The Candidate, that will surely make the way onto your Year End lists. The covers that appear on the album are sultry and seductive. From the opener “Lips Like Sugar,” from Echo and The Bunnymen to “Disorder,” by Joy Division, every track somehow outdoes the other. A great accomplishment to say the least.
For New York fans, the band are in them midst of a two week residency at the infamous ARLENE’S GROCERY on SEPTEMBER 28TH and OCTOBER 5TH.
**DOWNLOAD “THE CANDIDATE” FOR FREE**
http://www.laresistancemusic.com
Frontman Greg Summerlin offered some words on the album, which come from a very personal place.
“I wanted to pick a time period and a group of bands that had some sort coherency to them and also were major influences of mine. So, I decided to pick a group of bands from the UK that were really influential in the 80′s that I have become obsessed with at some time or other in my musical history. In my opinion, these are the five greatest bands in the UK from this era,” says Summerlin.
“Lips Like Sugar” – Echo and the Bunnymen
“I went to go see them in Atlanta a couple of months ago and left the show wondering how these guys are not considered one the greatest bands ever. Their body of work to me stands up with any of the great bands in rock history.”
“What We All Want” – Gang of Four
“To me, Gang of Four is one of the most original bands that came out of the 80’s post punk era. The guitar work on this song is incredible and Andy Gill had a great sound and really unusual guitar riffs.”
“Cries and Whispers” – New Order
New Order is probably the band out of this group that has had the most influence on the way I tried to make the La Resistance record, (Philosophy) sound.”
“Head On” – Jesus and the Mary Chain
“The way they just pushed the limits on the amount of reverb and guitar feedback they used influenced all kinds of shoegaze and other bands that came after them. But, they also wrote great pop songs and to me this is one of their best.”
“Disorder” – Joy Division
“This is one of my favorite songs of theirs because the bass riff is great, but the whole song is fantastic and Ian Curtis’ vocals and lyrics are haunting and really give us a great idea of what was going on his head at the time.”
TOUR DATES
OCTOBER 5TH10PM- ARLENE’S GROCERY- NYC
Melissa Nastasi
Eric Phipps
Jen Verzosa
tatyahna
theloudfeelings
danielleque
liv hauck
jdtorres
Joe Madonna
Sedera Ranaivoarinosy
cwaleko
navalmin
John Grimley
micheleyamamoto
wesleyambrecht
fearofdrowning
viktorsha
aitorzabalegui
tonyachin
laurenschwartzberg
merbster
N.Sanchez
leduffy
kenami
ivynoellew
iamrickylewis
travestyofthecondition
mcirigliano2
Gustave
kellykettering
firstrays1
justgentile
pbozic
nmcollins
summer826
Jordannahe
tunmer
sifreelanceguy
cristobalsaez
libbyh9190
benjammin
Zach Yanowitz
ijorissen
gabe563
cst2
bls3390
cjdubs
