tanlines, keepaway and more at glasslands.

Glasslands should be a good option for Friday night. Tanlines and Keepaway each have a distinctly unique sound and the venue is pretty cool. I wrote them up at Eardrum so you can read that here. Here are some tracks from the groups that are playing.

Tanlines - Real Life

Tanlines - Bees

Tanlines - Reinfo

Keepaway - Yellow Wings

Keepaway - 5 Rings

Memoryhouse - The Waves

Light Pollution - All Night Outside 

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karl denson's universe is small.

Those of you who know me personally (that might be all of you) will recall that I spent some time in Miami a few years back. In Miami I attended more than a few funk jams at a number of different venues. Karl Denson's Tiny Universe was hands down the cream of the crop. Denson rips wholes in the time-space continuum with his blasting saxophone while his band knocks off the smoothest and funkiest tunes known to man. I saw them at Tobacco Road in downtown MIA, where they filled the parking lot with dancing bodies. It was a sweaty mess and nobody left unsatisfied.

The reason I bring this up now is because Denson's band of players is going to douse Brooklyn's premier bowling alley in pure dance sauce tonight! Funk is not my forte, however I fully recommend checking this show out if you (a) like funk music, (b) like jam bands, (c) listen to jazz on occassion, or (d) like to dance. If you don't like to dance, then stop reading this blog.

we are country mice tonight.

The Brooklyn indie underground is great not because there are so many bands to listen to, so many shows to see, or so people to meet. The quantity is there, but the quality is what keeps the scene intact. Quality, in the case of We Are Country Mice, comes in the form of Garage-Country -Psych music. The band was formed in Brooklyn in 2009 by a quartet of Midwesterners looking to start up a musical career in the big apple. Since then they've released a couple successful "7's and have toured around the east and midwest, including 2010's SXSW. Self-described as "Crazy Horse through a psychedelic vacuum," they are also heavily influenced by Wilco and My Morning Jacket. The tunes incorporate a shit-kicking attitude with a brooding flavor. They put on an engaging live show and have been known to steal the night from larger acts. We are Country Mice, playing tonight at Bruar Falls, are among the notable few who bring the quality to Brooklyn.

Joining the Mice are Your Youth, another quality act. Your Youth is more along the lines of what might be expected from a Brooklyn band, mixing shoegaze, garage and psychedelic into a pop category that no other city produces in comparable volume. They make energetic music with a punky tinge that possesses a dark edge, not unlike We Are Country Mice. Your Youth and We Are Country Mice, preceded by Apollo Heights, are likely to bring Bruar Falls to a frenzy of Williamsburg's music hungry hipsters and yuppies alike. The venue, appearing as any old Williamsburg bar to the untrained eye, has served as an epicenter for the Brooklyn music scene hosting acts like Beach Fossils, Dream Diary and North Highlands.

We Are Country Mice - A Good Old-Fashioned Barn Raising
We Are Country Mice - Ballad of John

Your Youth - Boomerang

Your Youth - Small Sparks

Your Youth - Awake

Your Youth - Diamond

Love,
Jake

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introducing otherside.

In the ever expanding world of electronic music there is an almost endless supply of remixes, mash-ups and fixes. Like all indie music, most of them aren't worth a second glance. However, every once in a while you come upon a DJ who can hook up some really great beats that aren't too intense or artsy or dull, they're just right for a good dance party (that is what most electronic music is supposed to do right?). Otherside's mixes are just that. In the tracks below, Otherside (Chris Trano) mashes songs from Deadmau5, Jewelz and more together to create awesome dance tracks. The first two tracks are more conventional mixes, each utilizing sounds from two songs, while the last is a combination of many artists and is pretty intense. You will recognize some of the sounds, probably not all of them. Enjoy listening hour.

Otherside - Deadmau5 vs Deadmau5 (So There I Was vs Slip)

Otherside - Mowgli vs Jewelz

Otherside - 1000 Dooms

Hope everyone enjoyed this beautiful week. Stay happy and healthy,

Jake

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just watch it.

Sonar from Renaud Hallée on Vimeo.

love,
Jake

so much to hear!

There was supposed to be a show at DBA tonight featuring Reading Rainbow, Grooms and The Girls at Dawn. Unfortunately the show was cancelled, but I can still salvage some of my busted preview by telling you a bit about these bands because I think all three of them are pretty cool.

Reading Rainbow is the epitome of reverb drenched lo-fi garage rock. They spare no effort trying to make their music radio-friendly, instead they focus energy towards creating repetitive riffs over which verses and choruses float swimmingly. Despite their fuzzy distorted quality, Reading Rainbow's songs do not cease to be audibly pleasing. The vocals that band mates Robbie and Sarah apply to their mostly single riff songs are at times catchy, at times chantable, and at times indiscernible, but always boisterous and tuneful.

Reading Rainbow - We Are Too Young

Reading Rainbow - Feral Kids

Reading Rainbow - Oh Deer Lord

Grooms are slightly more polished than Reading Rainbow but maintain an underground attitude with detuned guitar riffs, disheveled vocals and competing melodies. Their tunes could be likened to a few 90s Dischord bands such as Faraquet, Trusty and Bluetip, however they incorporate an original ingredient with electronic synth rhythms and a percussive vocal style that is becoming increasingly popular in indie music. The members of Grooms are on the musically talented side of the indie scene and are expected to put on a good musical and stage performance.

Grooms - Dreamsucker

Grooms - Wicked Game

Grooms - Acid King of Hell (Guitar Feelings)

The Girls at Dawn are yet another all-girl garage rock band making headway on the indie front with their EP release, Never Enough. Their melodies are catchy, their tunes are complete, and...they're hot!? Call me on the phone, da da da.

The Girls at Dawn - Every Night

The Girls at Dawn - It's the Only Time

The Girls at Dawn - I'm Not Sad

I was listening to a band called The Bronx from LA this morning and was intrigued by their latest release. The Bronx is a metal band who have been touring the world for about 8 years. Until now they have stuck to their fast, punky brand of metal. In 2009, The Bronx released a double album that featured one disc as metal and one as...wait for it...mariachi music. Under the name Mariachi El Bronx, the group released a full album that stretches far from anything they've ever done before, and it's actually pretty good. Take a listen to Mariachi El Bronx, as well as The Bronx, below.

The Bronx - I Got Chills

Mariachi El Bronx - Quinceniera

Mariachi El Bronx - My Brother the Gun

Mariachi El Bronx - Slave Labor

Mariachi El Bronx - Sleepwalking

Here are some extra Latin roots for you.

Gipsy Kings - Volare

Gipsy Kings - Djobi, Djoba

Buena Vista Social Club - Chan Chan

Buena Vista Social Club - De Camino a la Vereda

Japanther is back in the showing mood and will be playing frequently in the next few weeks. For instance, they're playing tonight at Party Expo, which is very close to my own apartment in Bushwick. The show will be intimate and focused as they will only allow 75 people in and it's a dry show (sounds a little douchy to me but them's the breaks). They'll be playing with Boys Who Say No and Filthy Savage, both hardcore acts. Party Expo is located at 929 Broadway, just West of the Market Hotel.

Enjoy the beautiful weather,
Jake


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new the national, yawn, lusine.

The National, a Brooklyn Night favorite, has leaked a new single from their upcoming album High Violet. 'Bloodbuzz Ohio' isn't a stretch from their previous material; sustained piano chords, racing drums, dark vocal melodies, droning bass, horns, epic finishes. Though I have and continue to appreciate The National's subdued music making tendencies, I wanted to hear something a little more innovative from their newest single. Alas, I will have to settle for another classic The National tune. (Get tickets to see these guys at Prospect Park, July 27. I'll be there.)

The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio

Scanning the internet for worthy listening material, a couple tracks caught my ear. The first is 'Empress' by Chicago's YAWN. Akin to Yeasayer and Animal Collective, YAWN utilizes worldly instrumentation in developing percussive and bouncy music. Compared to much of their other music, 'Empress' is suspenseful and intense. Tension is built simultaneously by a broken percussion track, rigid guitar work, and a dark vocal verse. The lyrics seem to be a commentary on the need for things to seem perfect in an imperfect world. Not new, "You want to be comfortable, so comfortable it hurts." The first line still haunts me.

YAWN - Empress

The second track is by Lusine. I have written about Lusine before and am really into his sounds. The music is danceable but not clubby, it has a certain Four Tet kind of feel but is more intentionally electronic. Check it out.

Lusine - Emerald

That's all for today.

Love,
Jake

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oh no ono and more.

I'm back and better than ever! Enough about me,

First and foremost, Oh No Ono, a group I've written about before, is playing two nights in NYC, Wednesday at Mercury Lounge and Thursday at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Oh No Ono is inventive and prolific. Their music, while remaining pop, runs through an array of musical styles and will be stimulating for even the most discriminating ears. I caught a quiet set of theirs at Soundfix Records earlier this year and was really impressed with what they could do with some tiny amps, a couple mics and a drum machine. Definitely make it out to one of the two shows where they'll be performing full band [more info here]. Here is some music from the bands that are playing.

Oh No Ono - Helplessly Young
Oh No Ono - Swim

Oh No Ono - Eleanor Speaks (Caribou Remix)

Little Dragon - My Step

Little Dragon - Feather

Little Dragon - Looking Glass

VV Brown - Shark In The Water

VV Brown - Leave (Style of Eye Remix)

VV Brown, who will play with Oh No Ono and Little Dragon at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday, disappoints me! VV unsuccessfully tried to fill Amy Winehouse's shoes when she didn't want to go to rehab one too many times. Her music tries to throw back but she cops out and writes formulaic pop songs that everybody has heard before. Take the song 'Shark In the Water' for instance: this song starts like a KT Tunstall tune and then explodes into a chorus that reminds me of Jay-Z's 'Empire State of Mind' (and every other R&B pop song I hear blasting from the gigantic cars in my neighborhood). She could sell a ton of records, which is more than one could say for a lot of the music that is put out there, but won't be remembered. I should say that after a few listens her songs were stuck in my head (god damnit!) but the music is over-produced and uninteresting, though it may be good for a pre-friday night pump-up.

In other news, MGMT forgot to call the plumber and their new album Congratulations has leaked all over the internet. You can listen to the whole thing at their website http://www.whoismgmt.com/ or download tracks from a number of different sources (including me).

MGMT - Someone's Missing

MGMT - Brian Eno

One more group to check out. Empire of the Sun are an Australian group who released their album Walking On A Dream in 2008 which, despite going platinum in their home country, did not receive much recognition nationally. They were recently nominated for two Brit Awards, International Album and International Breakthrough Act, and have earned a fair amount of blogger recognition in the past few months. I hereby award Empire of the Sun my stamp of approval and will jump on the bandwagon of promoting them to the American public.

Empire of the Sun - Walking On A Dream

I love you all,
Jake

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new tracks from mgmt.

As some of you already know, MGMT is expected to release Congratulations, their second full length album, on April 13. From that album, two tracks have been leaked to the internet and made available to pirate bloggers like me. So, I present to you:

MGMT - Congratulations
MGMT - Flash Delirium

Both tracks have a generous helping of MGMT's kooky attitude. 'Congratulations' is a slow track whose strumming guitar is reminiscent of Don McClean or America. In juxtaposition to the song's good 'ol feel, the song pays homage to far eastern influences with a distinctly sounding instrument called a Konghou (Chinese harp). 'Flash Delirium' is closer to what we might expect from MGMT with layered vocals and competing progressions, and finishes with the heaviest section we've heard from them yet.

Enjoy,
Jake

wild nothing all over the place.

Jack Tatum, aka Wild Nothing, will be playing Thursday, Friday and Saturday, all in Brooklyn and all with respectable lineups. Thursday's show at Market Hotel will include Blissed Out, Miho Hatori (who I had never heard of before today - she's great), and Fluffy Lumbers (also playing tonight at Monster Island Basement with Dream Diary and others). Friday is Wild Nothing's biggest gig of the three, at Music Hall of Williamsburg with WOODS and Real Estate; and he will finish up at Shea Stadium on Saturday with PC Worship and The House Floor. All are shows worth attending, do some listening to straighten out your priorities.

Wild Nothing - Summer Holiday
Wild Nothing - Chinatown
Wild Nothing - Confirmation
Wild Nothing - Cloudbusting

Woods - I Was Gone

Woods - Echo Lake

Real Estate - Snow Days

Real Estate - Suburban Dogs

Blissed Out - Jain

Fluffy Lumbers - Harry Dolland's

Love,
Jake

P.S. Go to http://www.eardrumnyc.com/blog/ to check out my preview for these shows.