Tag Archives: Modern Mystery

04.25.11
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Tom Vek Announces His Return!

Listening to Tom Vek’s first album We Have Sound was one of the first instances in my life when I thought, “I want to write about this. This is so good.” For some reason, I never did get to write my awesome review, but now that after five long years, Tom Vek is returning with a new album, if it’s as good (or better) than his first, I might get the opportunity. Leisure Seizure will be released on June 7th on Downtown/Coop USA/Island Records. It was put together during a 3 year set-up period that was followed by a 2 year stretch of musical output. To record it, Vek found a suitable studio space in east London, and set up PALLET Recording Studios.

All this effort seems to have paid off. I don’t want to get ahead of myself here but the first excerpt we have from the new album, a song called “A Chore,” sounds pretty good to me. The video for it, directed by Ollie Evans, is also fun: its retro feel recalls Glenn O’Brien’s show TV Party and BBC’s Desert Island Discs and shows Vek in great form. Figure out what you think about it by watching below!

04.18.11
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Young Prisms Premiere New Video

Most quotes praising Young Prisms include the words “Psychedelic,” “no-fi” (or “lo-fi,”), refer to the washed-out guitars and mention the band’s sunny Californian origins. All these words come together in the band’s latest video for their song off Friends For Now on Kanine Records, “Breathless,” which premiered this week on Altered Zones. Initially shot by Andrew Creighton, the first draft of the video was brought to Denver to director Trevor Peterson, of Woodsman, who shot added more visuals. Watching this video feels like on long look into a big rocking kaleidoscope.

Experience it for yourself. Watch the video for “Breathless” below:

And if watching that video made you want to experience this dizzying experience live, you can! They’ve been touring the US and will be on the road until the end of April with the Fresh & Onlys and Crocodiles on a few dates.

Here are their upcoming tour dates:

4/19 – Frankies – Toledo, OH
4/20 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL (with Fresh & Onlys and Crocodiles)
4/21 – Parts & Labour – Toronto, ON (with Fresh & Onlys)
4/22 – Il Motore – Montreal, QC (with Fresh & Onlys)
4/23 – Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY (with Fresh & Onlys and Crocodiles)
4/24 – Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA (with Fresh & Onlys and Crocodiles)
4/25 – The Red Palace – Washington, DC (with Fresh & Onlys and Crocodiles)
4/26 – King’s Barcade – Raleigh, NC (with Crocodiles)
4/27 – The Earl – Atlanta, GA (with Fresh & Onlys and Crocodiles)
4/28 – Bottletree – Birmingham, AL (with Fresh & Onlys and Crocodiles)
4/29 – The Republic – New Orleans, LA (with Fresh & Onlys and Crocodiles)
4/30 – Seaholm Powerplant, Austin Psych Festival – Austin, TX
04.13.11
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Plan Race Around America

Detroit indie-pop duo Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are gearing up for a headlining national tour in May to support their full-length debut, It’s A Corporate World, which will be released on June 7th through Quite Scientific Records. In celebration of the release, they are even offering up the first single off the album, “Morning Thought” as a free download on their website! Get it HERE.

And because good news never come alone, the bad has announced that in select cities during the tour, fans will get to rock out with the band – yes, you read correctly – by coming on stage to sing with them in skeleton costumes. Also, double EPs on vinyl will be made available for the first time and sold on tour. All these tantalizing prospects should make you want to check out if they are coming anywhere near you below!

Here are their upcoming tour dates:

May 10 -Brighton Music Hall-  Allston, MA
May 11 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY
May 12 – The Rock Shop – Brooklyn, NY
May 13 – The Red Palace – Washington, DC
May 14 – Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA
May 17 – IOTA Club & Cafe – Arlington, VA
May 18 – The Camel – Richmond, VA
May 19 – Local 506 –  Chapel Hill, NC
May 20 – The Earl – Atlanta, GA
May 21 – The Basement – Nashville, TN
May 24 – Bottletree – Birmingham, AL
May 25 – Proud Larry’s – Oxford, MI
May 26 – Fitzgerald’s – Houston, TX
May 27 – Club DaDa – Dallas, TX
May 28 – Emo’s Alternative Lounge – Austin, TX
May 31 – Santa Fe Brewing Company – Santa Fe, NM
Jun 01 – Rhythm Room – Phoenix, AZ
Jun 02 – The Casbah – San Diego, CA
Jun 03 –  The Echo – Echo Park, CA
Jun 04 – Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco, CA
Jun 06 – Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR
Jun 07 – The Tractor Tavern – Seattle, WA
Jun 09 – The Neurolux – Boise, ID
Jun 10 – Kilby Court Gallery – Salt Lake City, UT
Jun 11 – Hi-Dive – Denver, CO
Jun 13 – The Waiting room – Omaha, NE
Jun 14 – The Mill – Iowa City, IA
Jun 15 – 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN
Jun 17- White Rabbit Cabaret – Indianapolis, IN

04.11.11
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Ben Folds, Damian Kulash, Amanda Palmer, and Neil Gaiman Rethink How Music Is Made

Ben Folds, Damian Kulash of OK Go, Amanda Palmer and author Neil Gaiman will be performing a music production superstunt on April 25th at Berklee College of Music. From 4 pm to midnight, a mere eight hours, they will write and records eight songs, and release them 10 hours later at the Rethink Music conference in Boston. Their goal is to show how record companies are becoming less essential to music distribution.

This event will be broadcast live from the recording studio at rethink-music.com and the album will be released through Bandcamp.com. Proceeds from the first week of downloads will go to Berklee City Music, which provides free music education to underserved teens.

The next day, April 26th, Folds, Kulash, Palmer, and Gaiman will give a presentation on the recording project at 10:40 a.m. at Rethink Music, and perform a private concert for the lucky people registered for the conference. at the Berklee Performance Center accompanied by Basia Bulat and Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears.

04.06.11
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Junk Culture Premiere New Video, “Summer Friends”

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Illegal Art released Junk Culture’s album Summer Friends in February, and now, here’s is the video for the song, “Summer Friends”! It’s funny, slightly retro, colorful, just like the song and a good showcase of the one-man band that is Deepak Mantena.

Watch the video below: