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Here’s a new song, a demo, from Soft Landing, a Brooklyn band that features Paul Collins and Perrin Cloutier from Beirut. You can hear a bit of that influence on this song, “Baptism.” There are folksy and shimmering guitar lines and pretty, slightly hypnotic singing aplenty. This is a demo, so i don’t know if the fuzzy sound will extend into their actual recordings, but this sounds pretty nice and Spring-like.
The band is playing at Bruar Falls on Friday night for free. Probably worth checking out, if you’re into pastoral jams that are well thought out and executed. I’m pretty sure that describes this band to a T.
Soft Landing: Baptism
The super talented Erez Avissar shot these pics at MICRO-PIXEL-RITES. He has a certain way of capturing moods, that Rez. Don’t you think? What i get from these pics: serenity, the impermanent feeling of sunshine, familiarity… do you feel that too?
TONIGHT
Micachu & the Shapes, Tanlines at Le Poisson Rouge, 6:30
She & Him, The Chapin Sisters at Bowery Ballroom, 8ish
jj at Knitting Factory, 8ish
Califone, Sonoi at Bell House, 8ish
The Big Pink, A Place to Bury Strangers at Webster Hall, 8ish
Eskimo King (Brian Sullivan of Mouthus), Samara Lubelski, Religious Knives at Zebulon, 9
WEDNESDAY
The Soft Pack, Nodzzz, Beaters at Maxwell’s, 8:30 (and Thursday at Mercury Lounge and Saturday at MHW w/ Male Bonding)
Abe Vigoda, Effi Briest, Cloud Nothings, MINKS at Knitting Factory, 8:30
The xx, jj at Webster Hall, 8
Ryan Moore (drums) w/ Thurston Moore and Daniel Carter at Rose Live Music, 8 (two sets)
THURSDAY
Japandroids, Best Coast, Midnight Masses at Bowery Ballroom, 8
Holiday Shores, Twin Sister at Glasslands, 8
DOM, Golden Girls, Buvette at Pianos, 8
FRIDAY
Blank Dogs, Wet Dog, Wild Nothing, Further Reductions at Glasslands, 8
Phosphorescent at Maxwell’s, 9:30
SATURDAY
The Smith Westerns, Big Troubles, Golden Triangle, Darlings at Market Hotel, 8
Love of Diagrams, Wetdog, Partyline (Alison from Bratmobile), Coasting at Death by Audio, 8
Girls, Dum Dum Girls at Webster Hall, 6 (?)
SUNDAY
The Smith Westerns, Male Bonding, So Cow, The Gaming Commission at Mercury Lounge, 7
Dana Jewell sent me over this beautiful and stark number that he wrote with Drew Donaghy of Pill Wonder when they played together as Moonstruck. “Okay You’re Gone” is another track in an increasingly rich back catalog from Jewell, who lives in the Pac NW (Olympia) and was until recently a member of Pill Wonder, my new favorite band. A lot of goodness going around…
Jewell says he’s planning a trip East sometime soon. He hopes to play shows but prefers to play acoustic and without microphones. Who has ideas for him? House party?!
“Okay You’re Gone” also features what Jewell says may be his only recorded guitar solo to date…The song has a very minimal feel to it but features some folksy guitar picking and drums that echo, which make it feel colossal. Listen and dream this rain away.
Dana Jewell featuring Drew Donaghy: Okay You’re Gone
Jheri at Get Off The Coast is what i’d call the super blogger fan. He’s allll about hyping new bands that he discovers. But he’s also all about loving those artists and paying respect to them. He’s just a super cool dude who wants to show appreciation and love. Hell, he’s got a tattoo that represents, and sorry Jheri for maybe not getting this just right, but it represents the idea of life is good, you can make it what you will, what goes around comes around. He’s just a positive person. Out of that positivity grew this video, for Weed Diamond‘s “Snowmelt.” It’s off a new 7″ on Transparent. Get it!
Weed Diamond: Snowmelt
Check it outttt! Details here.
more about “Weed Diamond – Snow Melt“, posted with vodpod
I’m pretty sure i’ve hailed the mighty Twin Sister a bunch on MME, but I don’t think i’ve done it ENOUGH. For real, this is the most original sounding band i’ve come across in awhile. And they do it through moody prettyness, not harshness, which is how music generally gets through to me. This is straight-up feel good, move to the rhythm of the night music. Some of Twin Sister’s music is 70s influenced disco pop with a rough edge, just enough to enchant you and not overwhelm. Some of Twin Sister’s songs are awkwardly beautiful ballads. Yeah, ballads.
The band is even most impressive live. Singer Andrea Estella casts a tiny shadow, but her voice is low and has a certain dirty, organic quality to it. You wouldn’t expect these sounds to come out of such a petite and nymph-like creature, it’s literally a stop in your tracks surprise. But the way the band supports that voice is what makes Twin Sister so interesting. It’s like a constant give and take. If she’s not crooning, someone else in the band is turning on the fierceness.
Oh, and did I mention this is a band with moves? Especially see the bassist. It’s like he is electrified.
In other Twin Sister news, the band will be back in town soon, playing Cameo on April 1, Bowery Ballroom on April 9 and Silent Barn on April 11 (w/ a certain Freaky band). See dates here.
Twin Sister is releasing a new EP, “Color Your Life,” on Infinite Best. The first single, “All Around and Away We Go,” is below. Also check out the new demo cassette released on The Curatorial Club.
Check out these two videos shot by Liz Pelly at the MICRO-PIXEL-RITES Showcase at SXSW.
more about “Twin Sister “Saturday Sunday” at MICR…“, posted with vodpod
more about “Twin Sister play MICRO-PIXEL-RITES“, posted with vodpod
Twin Sister: All Around and Away We Go
Hey, hey!!
The MICRO-PIXEL-RITES Showcase was truly a fucking rad experience, as has been reported all over Twitter, the Internets, etc. etc. I can’t really add much except to say I drank a ton of beer, smiled a lot, got a sun burn, wore many hats throughout the day (literally and figuratively) and found out that Dana Jewell thinks i’m cute, and we’ve never met! Woo!
My ladies Emilie (Visitation Rites) and Elise (Pixelhorse) have both posted great reports:
We the ladies of MICRO-PIXEL-RITES are glowing as if in basking in the moment after childbirth. Although we’ve been ripped, zipped, and stitched back together, we are forever grateful for the miracle we have been allowed to bestow upon this earth.
See pics at Pixelhorse….
The Micro-Pixel-Rites’ SXSW debut on Thursday, March 18 was a family affair — and not only because it united a host of musicians, label people, and “blogger types” who were already acquainted either online and off. Even if you rolled up to a sea of strange faces, the afternoon was so long and the summer camp vibe was so strong that you were pretty much bound to leave feeling like you had known everyone there since you braved your first cannonball off the dock. I know we are adults now, but it was just that kind of day.
Read more from Emilie and see more pics at Visitation Rites…
There will be more pics coming soon for the always awesome Erez Avissar, so stay tuned for those. We’re also posting what we’re lovingly calling our SXSW “memories,” videos of each band performing that fateful and amazing day.
Memory 1: No Demons Here
Memory 2: Big Troubles
Stay tuned to MICRO-PIXEL-RITES for more memories to come!
Also, see Liz Pelly’s video for Brooklyn Vegan of the high-energy Cleveland boys Cloud Nothings:
more about “Cloud Nothings play MICRO-PIXEL-RITES“, posted with vodpod
The music of Mountain Man is likely performed best in fields, on back porches, in yards and on prairies and mountain tops– or in church basements. The beautiful and harmonic three-part harmonies of Molly, Amelia and Alex ring the most true unamplified and untouched by the tech that can harm them. At the Longbranch Inn Underwater Peoples SXSW show, the women in Mountain Man did what they had to do in the face of technical difficulties: turned the technics OFF.
At first when the microphones were feeding back and interrupting my enjoyment of “Animal Tracks” I didn’t know how Mountain Man was going to handle it. There was nervousness on their faces. Their eyes darted back and forth around the room, from the mics and to each other and at Ari and Sawyer in the front row. And then, the women said “fuck this” and pulled the mic stands to the back of the stage and announced triumphantly that they’d be singing un-amplified. The entire room heaved a collective sigh of relief. After just a few moments the bar was mostly quiet and the crowd was on the ground.
Only power and beauty can do that.
I hope these pictures have captured a bit of the magic from that room.
more about “Mountain Man, Long Branch Inn, SXSW 2010“, posted with vodpod
The MICRO-PIXEL-RITES, “Sisters Doin’ It For Themselves” SXSW Showcase was documented and is being presented one memory at a time. These memories were shot by 2/3 of MICRO-PIXEL-RITES (Emilie and Elise), and Visitation Rites contributor and all-around swell gal Samantha Cornwell.
Here’s Memory #2, Big Troubles doing “Slouch.” If you weren’t there this will magically transport you. Can you feel the sun? It was nice and warm…
more about “Micro-Pixel-Rites SXSW Memory #2: Big…“, posted with vodpod
It kinda makes total sense that of course the best SXSW show I saw actually went down about 30 minutes outside the madness of downtown Austin. Yes, I’m talking about the infamous Underwater Peoples Ranch show. The dudes of UP rented a big ranch with a huge yard and an even more huge bed. At night bugs that resembled fluffy cotton floated through the air. It didn’t really matter that it was close to 40 degrees because when the bands played you forgot and continued drinking.
I saw some of the best bands at SXSW there too… Sleepover, Reading Rainbow, Pill Wonderrrrr. Check the slideshow below for pics of those bands and more, as well as some homies (bloggers) you may recognize. Austin, I don’t miss you. But the ranch? That shit was comfortable.
more about “Underwater Peoples’ Ranch Party“, posted with vodpod
