Cut Copy, THE RADIO DEPT., Kanye West, THE RADIO DEPT., Broken Social Scene, The National, THE RADIO DEPT., Lauryn Hill, Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, the Strokes — this looks epic. And much stronger on a per-day basis than last year’s edition. Full lineup on Coachella.com.
(Photo: One of last year’s concertgoers. By David Greenwald)
Photo by Guillaume Simoneau
You’d be foolish to name your band Little Scream and not have a hell of a voice. Laurel Sprengelmeyer’s instrument is a lovely one, both fine-tuned and impassioned. “The Heron and the Fox” is a warm slice of pastoral folk, the kind of ambling, acoustic track that made Gordon Lightfoot famous. It’s no surprise, then, that it was recorded in Montreal, with the Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry producing. The National’s Aaron Dessner plays on this track, too, but forget the guest list: Little Scream already sounds like a big star.
Little Scream – “The Heron and the Fox”: mp3
(The Golden Record is due on Secretly Canadian on April 12 | more album release dates)
As some of you may know, my weekly Brand X new music column, L.A. Unheard, is getting a concert series. The first installment includes Unheard alumni Lord Huron (with the Calder Quartet) and Gamble House along with special guest Abe Vigoda, at the Autry on Thursday, Jan. 20. It’s $10 and if you come, we’ll keep doing ‘em (so come!). Get your tix on Ticketweb.
Lord Huron – “Mighty”: mp3
Gamble House – “Bonny Doon”: mp3
(More local dates on the ongoing L.A. concert calendar)
The boys get a little help from Steven Tyler and the Aerosmith gang on this one.
Previously: SSLYBY, Tokyo Police Club hitting the road
Brooklyn band Chalk and Numbers’ He Knew EP sounds like She & Him might have if Zooey Deschanel had paired with Saturday Looks Good To Me’s Fred Thomas instead of M. Ward. A ’60s homage on a budget, “He Knew” and “I Hope You Do” nod to the Zombies’ “Time of the Season” and “She’s Not There,” respectively, while “I Really Wanna Work This Out” evokes the Supremes with its staccato bounce. All the songs are charming stuff, recorded with just enough analog edge to recall the classics’ feel without submerging completely in hero-worship.
Chalk and Numbers – “I Really Wanna Work This Out”: mp3
Download and stream the EP for free after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
The Radio Dept.’s recent KEXP session captures the band behind 2010′s best album of the year in stripped-down, semi-acoustic mode — the immaculate cocoon of sound that surrounds the Swedish act on record is pulled away, leaving these songs feeling naked and emotionally charged. Let “Heaven’s on Fire” break your heart a bit.
1. Bus: mp3
2. Heaven’s On Fire: mp3
3. Sleeping In: mp3
4. The New Improved Hypocrisy: mp3
The band plays the El Rey on Feb. 16.
Related: The Radio Dept. | Bootlegs Archive
(Via the Radio Dept.)
Though it arrives with less fanfare than the like-minded debuts of Yuck or Wild Nothing, MINKS’ By the Hedge might be the best of the lot — it’s certainly the most ambitious. In 37 minutes, it spans My Bloody Valentine shoegaze (“Kusmi,” “Bruises”), fractured Deerhunter art-pop (“Out of Tune”), The Cure New Wave (“Ophelia”) and, gloriously, C86 jangle (song of the year contender “Cemetery Rain”) with equal ability. I’m making easy references, but By the Hedge brings the New York band’s influences (all basically varieties of ’80s pop fuzz anyway) under one shimmering roof. Like Wild Nothing’s debut, it’s a fine example of how revivalism can use the past to push forward — and a much-needed slap to the current wave of eBay keyboardists who forgot to write songs before hiring publicists. “Oh, something to believe in,” indeed.
(By the Hedge is out today on Captured Tracks)
Lifetime Collective Fall/Winter 2011 from Salazar on Vimeo.
When he’s not producing Women albums, apparently Chad VanGaalen’s scoring F/W fashion videos. Vancouver brand Lifetime Collective‘s short film, directed by SALAZAR, is a clever, sharp-looking play on Twilight imagery, with horror-film atmospherics from VanGaalen and a brief tease at a new song as it comes to a close. Read my all-encompassing 2009 interview with the enigmatic musician here.
