by aitorzabalegui

The Strokes go all Escher for Angles cover

The Strokes have finally unveiled what is to grace the cover of their hotly-anticipated/jesus christ, it’s finally coming out fourth album, Angles. Take a good look up there, because those groovy, impossible stairs are a long way developed from this. The impossible stairs, of course, were made famous by Dutch graphic artist and Knight of the Order Orange-Nassau, M.C. Escher. Let’s hope the cover isn’t symbolic of The Strokes seemingly reaching new heights but then realizing they’re actually right back where they started.

I wouldn’t worry about that too much based on this:

02.17.11

by aitorzabalegui

James Murphy is Pissed.

In a development conspiracy theorists could whet their palates over, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem has announced four shows at Manhattan’s Terminal 5 leading up to their final hurrah at Madison Square Garden on April 2nd. Tickets for the MSG show sold out fast — much to the surprise of pretty much everyone except some bloodsucking scalpers. Now that tickets are going up for obscene amounts of cash on craiglist and ebay, Murphy has decided to channel his frustration into more gigs – this time hoping he can actually get tickets to the real fans. In a tirelessly long post on the band’s website titled “fuck you, scalpers”, Murphy vents directly to the fans, who have been affected most. It’s an honest and at times hilarious account from the band’s side of things, with Murphy describing a failed attempt to buy a ticket off a scalper himself.

Anyway, the Terminal 5 shows are going down March 28-31 — only fans pure of heart may wield a ticket. Or so Murphy hopes.

02.16.11

by aitorzabalegui

The Fresh & Only’s Keep it Busy

The Fresh & Only’s make other musicians seem downright lazy. As if touring were an excuse to not have to write new songs and you can just coast along playing the same setlist for two years before you get your ass back in the studio and find that you can’t recapture relevancy. This San Francisco band don’t waste any time in the studio, recently recording their arguably greatest release yet, Play It Strange, in one week. The hastiness was supposedly due to the band attempting to invigorate their studio work with the energetic and spooky nuances they pull off live. From seeing a headlining New Year’s Eve show in The City with Sonny and the Sunsets, The Only’s can be refreshingly good and bad, but never boring — Much like Robert Pollard, this trait suits their prolific nature.

Listen for yourself on these dates:

02/27 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill ~

03/16 – 03/19 Austin, TX SXSW

03/21 San Diego, CA Tin Can Alehouse

03/22 Los Angeles, CA Echo

04/12 Denver, CO Hi Dive &

04/13 Lawrence, KS The Jackpot Saloon &

04/14 Bloomington, IN The Bishop &

04/15 Pittsburgh, PA Brillobox &

04/18 Cincinnati, OH MOTR Pub &

04/19 Saint Louis, MO The Billiken Club !

04/20 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall %

04/21 Toronto, ON Parts & Labour &

04/22 Montreal, QC Il Motore &

04/23 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg %

04/24 Philadelphia, PA Kung Fu Necktie %

04/25 Washington, DC Red Palace %

04/27 Atlanta, GA The Earl %

04/28 Birmingham AL Bottletree %

~ w/ Growlers, Pleasure Kills, Wrong Words

% w/ Crocodiles, Young Prisms

& w/ Young Prisms

! w/ Crocodiles

02.04.11

by aitorzabalegui

Brown Recluse – No, this music is not frightening

It’s a given that Slumberland Records has cornered and rounded up any potentially cute indie bands out there, but with more and more cute bands becoming established acts, it must be harder for fresh little darlings to capture your heart. Not for Brown Recluse. They have a pretty good shot. They’re like the nerdy/blossoming into a full-blown cutie shy girl that regularly writes in a diary, reads Kafka and Tolstoy, is really good at Wii, is down with being around people who smoke pot even though she personally abstains but she can drink herself into the ground, and she’s a mean baker. Yes, this Philidelphia septet craft some downright joyous pop ala POBPAH and Belle & Sebastian. They’ve already released a couple EPs and are prepping their Slumberland debut LP, Evening Tapestry for a February 11 release. Get a better idea from “Impressions of a City Morning”.

01.31.11

by aitorzabalegui

Smith Westerns Line Up U.S. Dates with Yuck

Smith Westerns are a heavy influenced band. The young Chicago foursome has ultimately pooled together all the characteristics of great pop music and, in turn, has crafted nothing but great pop music. Fresh off the release of their sophomore album, Dye It Blonde, on Fat Possum, Smith Westerns have some touring to do. UK labelmates Yuck are set to join them, making it their first visit to the States. Save a date below:

01/31 Athens GA 40 Watt Club*

02/01 Atlanta GA Drunken Unicorn*

02/03 Orlando FL Backbooth*

02/04 Tallahassee FL Club Downunder

02/05 Baton Rouge Spanish Moon

02/06 Houston TX Fitzgeralds*

02/07 Austin TX Emos *

02/08 Dallas TX The Loft*

02/10 Phoenix AZ Rhythm Room*

02/11 Los Angeles CA Echo*

02/12 Costa Mesa CA Detroit Bar*

02/13 San Francisco CA Bottom of the Hill*

02-15 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge

02-16 Vancouver, British Columbia – Biltmore Cabaret

02-17 Seattle, WA – Crocodile Cafe

02-18 Boise, ID – Neurolux

02-19 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court

02-21 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge

02-22 Kansas City, MO – The Record Bar

02-23 Omaha, NE – Waiting Room

02-24 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club

02-25 Madison, WI – The Frequency

02-26 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle

02-28 Toronto, Ontario – Legendary Horseshoe Tavern

03-01 Montreal, Quebec – La Sala Rossa

03-02 Boston, MA – Great Scott

03-04 Washington, DC – Rock and Roll Hotel

03-16 – 03-19 Austin, TX – SXSW

* = w/ Yuck

01.26.11

by aitorzabalegui

Mashup! Tokyo Police Club vs. Two Door Cinema Club

While on the same Winter tour, Tokyo Police Club took it upon themselves to give you a mashup of one of their own tracks, “Breakneck Speed”, and one of their tour mates’ – Two Door Cinema Club – “Something Good Can Work”. The names of the track alone give a pretty good idea of what to expect from this pairing. At little under two and a half minutes, the track opts for reckless and relentless fun – even throwing to the forefront a summery little jam. At points, it sounds about as hectic and muddled as playing two songs at the same time can be, but it’s over before that becomes a bother. Try this link to download.