It is an honor and pleasure to announce our sponsorship of the second date in LA Font’s July Silverlake Lounge residency on Monday, July 11. It’s a free show, so whether you’ve had the band’s garage jams rattling around your headspace for months or you just need some new tracks to impress the cool kids on Turntable.fm, you have every reason to come and pick up group’s new “Sharks” 7”. As you’ll remember, I was in the studio with the band during the recording sessions — it’s a scorcher.

In the spirit of giving, the bill will also include Queen Kwon, the Ross Sea Party and chamber-rock should-be icons Ravens & Chimes. (A Waynestock mini-reunion! Maybe we can get Pepper Rabbit to help out on clarinet.) RSVP on Facebook and grab a live take on the single from the band’s Noise Coalition session below.

LA Font – “Sharks” (live): mp3

Poster by the amazing Traci Larson

No way! Way. Rawkblog and our pals at TwentyFourBit are proud to present our first-ever unofficial SXSW day party, Waynestock, sponsored by Etnies, thinkThin and Origami Vinyl. It’s all happening at the Liberty on Thursday, March 17, and we promise to make Wayne and Garth proud. Here’s the lineup and set times:

12 p.m.: LA Font
1: Scott Bartenhagen
2: Little Scream
3: Ravens & Chimes
4: Pepper Rabbit
5: ARMS
6: Sondre Lerche

We’ll have free Pabst Blue Ribbon until it runs out, free (and gluten-free) protein bars from thinkThin and free shirts from Etnies, so come early and often. You can get to-the-minute updates at our official Twitter page, @waynestockSXSW, and RSVP on Facebook. We’ll obviously be covering the event right here and via @DaveRawkblog and @TwentyFourBit as well.

Take the jump for a free mixtape and more info on the bands playing. Read the rest of this entry »

Summer Darling celebrates its self-title debut’s album release party at Spaceland this Monday. It will be a time. Save some fireworks from Sunday and get excited to hear one of the year’s best albums. The band plays free on Mondays all month, in case you’re making this one an extra-long weekend.

Summer Darling – “This Would Be The Time”: mp3
Summer Darling – “My Reminder”: mp3

Previously:
Premiere: Summer Darling – “Hungry Bees”
Rawkblog Presents: Summer Darling Album Release Party

Summer Darling’s “Hungry Bees” is the most riffy track on the band’s self-titled debut, a rough-hewn tune that recalls both the Promise Ring and Elliott Smith’s forgotten Heatmiser (which is to say, Fugazi). A decade ago, the song could’ve gotten lost in a sea of equals — today, the band’s angsty, ungimmicky approach to pre-MySpace emo is a remind that emotion (sorry, Juliana Theory) isn’t dead. Get your first listen to “Hungry Bees” below; the band’s album is due July 6, a day after they’re playing a Rawkblog-sponsored album release party at Spaceland.

Summer Darling – “Hungry Bees”: mp3

(Hear more Summer Darling on Bandcamp)

More: New Music | 2010 Album Release Calendar

On Tuesday, July 6, our friends at Origami Vinyl will release Silver Lake rockers Summer Darling’s self-titled debut on vinyl and as a free digital download — a historic occasion for the band and for Origami, for whom this’ll be the vinyl shop’s first full-length label release. I’ve been living with the album for a minute now and am proud to present the band’s album release party at Spaceland the night before, which will launch their free residency at the venue every Monday in July. Sonically, the band’s influences are more Omaha and Washington, D.C. than Silver Lake — a bracing guitar record, Summer Darling touches on influences from Fugazi to Cursive to Radiohead. Skip the gym that Monday and come sweat through your (Justin Bieber) Black Flag shirt with us.

Summer Darling – “This Would Be The Time”: mp3
Summer Darling – “My Reminder”: mp3

More: L.A. Tour Dates | 2010 Album Release Calendar