Former Hardcore Superstar Wes Eisold’s current band, New York City’s Cold Cave, just released a widget that allows you to hear the entire album before it comes out next week. I’ve been jamming on this since it leaked (I pre-ordered it too), and if you’re a fan of Depeche Mode, Gang of Four, or Siouxsie and the Banshees then you’re going to love this.
Standout Tracks: “Underworld USA”, “Confetti”,”Alchemy And You”
Cherish The Light Years drops April 5 on Matador
-Lewis McKinney
Former Belle is a new breed of folky love, or maybe even a dying breed of something old and wise that was shoved out of the way for indie rock. The Philadelphia-based four-piece, which features upright bass, violin, glockenspiel, and other toys that add to Former Belle’s multi-instrumentation, are one of those new artists that make you say “They sound like (blank) but better”. For me, Former Belle sounds better than Bright Eyes, but maybe it’s just because frontman Bruno Catrambone is charming on stage and off, not crying into his microphone. With Former Belle as our “New Artist Of The Month” (are we cool enough to be doing that sort of thing?), Bruno sat down with me to shed some light on what he’s really all about: home recordings, couch surfing, James Taylor, and watching King Of Queens. Continue reading
Indie rock band Manchester Orchestra are set to co-headline Manhattan’s Terminal 5 with Cage The Elephant this May, the day after the release of their third studio album, Simple Math. The band’s first two albums, I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child (2006) and Mean Everything to Nothing (2009) have both been met with critical praise and have gained Manchester Orchestra television performance spots and songs featured on soundtracks. Manchester Orchestra is signed to Favorite Gentlemen Recordings, which also represents related acts such as Bad Books, Kevin Devine, and Right Away, Great Captain!
Songs to check out: “Simple Math“, “Shake It Out“, “Where Have You Been“
Manchester Orchestra / Cage The Elephant
May 11th
Terminal 5
Event Details
Posted in Music News, Upcoming Shows
Summer Stage, New York City’s most popular free summer festival, has started its first ever online campaign in order to announce the line-up of performers for its 26th season. Starting April 1st at 12:00pm, the Summer Stage twitter account (@Summerstage) will announce one performance each day for twenty days in April, and will be including some of the most anticipated artists of the season. Aside from “leaked” line-up info, fans will get a chance to win prizes and preferred venue access by following Summer Stage and looking out for info about the campaign. Don’t miss out!
Run by the City Parks Foundation, Summer Stage brings music, dance, theater, and art of different cultures, from mainstream rock and pop to Latin world music, all together in sixteen of New York City’s parks throughout the five boroughs. The line-up of performers will eventually culminate to a list of over 300 performers and over 100 performances. Since it’s start, Summer Stage has been enjoyed by over six million people!
Performers announced so far for 2011 include Lykke Li, Florence + The Machine, Guster, Jack’s Mannequin, Arctic Monkeys, and Ray Lamontagne.
Summer Stage Official Website
Summer Stage Twitter
Summer Stage Facebook
Posted in General, Music News, Upcoming Shows
Tagged arctic monkeys, florence, line up, lykke li, new york city, summer stage, twitter
French DJ and producer, SebastiAn, has announced his debut album, Total, set to be released May 30th with Ed Banger Records. Total, the 22-track “electronic manifesto”, will feature guest appearances by other electronic artists including M.I.A and Justice’s Gaspard Augé. The first single off of Total, “Embody”, is set to be released on April 5th. SebastiAn is known for his remixes of Daft Punk, Klaxons, Cut Copy, and The Rapture and is called “the dark side of Ed Banger Records” by it’s founder. Continue reading
Posted in General, Music News
Tagged daft punk, ed banger, gaspard auge, justice, m.i.a., sebastiAn, total
Indie rockers Death Cab For Cutie are set to play Manhattan’s Bowery Ballroom this June in support of their upcoming seventh album, Codes and Keys. The band’s last studio album, 2008′s Narrow Stairs, was their first to reach #1 on the Billboard 200 and included the popular singles “Cath…” and “I Will Possess Your Heart”. Death Cab For Cutie’s most acclaimed album is 2003′s Transatlanticism, which garnered highly positive reviews and has been called “one of the most important albums of the decade”
Songs to check out: “Crooked Teeth“, “Soul Meets Body“, “I Will Possess Your Heart“
Death Cab For Cutie w/ Lonely Forest
June 1st
Bowery Ballroom
Event Page
Posted in Music News, Upcoming Shows
Angles – The Strokes
By Ky DiGregorio
What do fine wine, the iPad 2, sushi, and the 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho all have in common? They’re all just like the new Strokes’ album, Angles, obviously. Like a good red wine and Steve Jobs’ newest toy, some bands get better with age and technical sophistication, but some bands are better in raw form (like sushi) and left alone (like how Psycho should have been). The Strokes are all ends of the spectrum, in some twisted way. The guys have grown up over the past five years, during a hiatus following their third record, First Impressions of Earth, and they seem to be more Married With Children than 24-Hour Party People nowadays. Did it ruin their “sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll” reputation and carefree songwriting, though? Some might argue so, but that’s quite shallow. Angles is exactly what it should be: A follow-up as good as Is This It. Continue reading
Posted in Album Reviews, Articles
Tagged album review, angles, fabrizio moretti, julian casablancas, new album, nick valensi, the strokes
Midwest indie rappers, Atmosphere, just churned out a new video for their new single, “Just For Show, the first off of their upcoming studio album. The Family Sign is due out April 12th on Rhymesayers.
Posted in General, Music News
Seattle indie-pop quartet, Ivan & Alyosha, are set to play NYC’s The Living Room this friday. The band’s latest EP, February 2011′s Fathers Be Kind, is pure aural enjoyment via gorgeous instrumentation, soaring folk pop harmonies, and lyrics that dig deeper than most indie acts. Don’t miss this one, it’s a free show!
Songs to check out: “Easy To Love” (Live At NPR Headquarters), “Fathers Be Kind“, “Glorify“
Ivan & Alyosha
March 4th
The Living Room
Event Details
Posted in Music News, Upcoming Shows
Bay-aread based band The Heavenly States are set to play the lower east side’s Pianos this friday. Since their formation, the group have been featured in Spin, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Alternative Press, and many more. The Heavenly States’ upcoming April release, Oui Camera Oui, brings big melodic choruses, grand indie rock hooks, and a little something for everyone, from folk and indie pop to some classic rock inspired riffs.
Take a listen on their myspace page or official website
The Heavenly States
March 4th
Pianos
Event Info
Posted in Music News, Upcoming Shows
