Music Snobbery

MS MR @ Glasslands: Welcome to the Inner-Workings

Now, we're talking, a local band that is worth your time. I'm sure, you're thinking the same thing I am. The New York music is crowded. It seems five rookie bands pop-up every day. After a while, they all bleed together and sound the same. My friends, I'm here to offer relief from your 80s obsessed, day-glo colors, scenester Brooklyn bands. It's MS MR, who I wrote about a few weeks ago when they released their first single, "Hurricane." They are legit, and I usually hate most new New York bands. I saw them perform on Friday at Glasslands, which is their fifth live appearance as a band. Give them a more months to build up their audience and you'll see that they will be worthy of representing NYC.

Any discussion about MS MR (not to be confused with Mr. Mister) must begin with the lead singer. She's got power, she has presence, and hopefully, she has a name. I think it's Liz, because somebody was shouting that between songs. Anyway, not only is her voice deep, clear, soulful and full of energy, she emits a positive vibe on stage -- grooving along, smiling at everyone and rocking some serious threads. It's not like she's trying to hard for everybody to like her, she just owns that stage.

The music is a great compliment to her voice. You have some heavy, slow thundering dance beats and bright synth parts backing her beautiful voice. The comparisons to Bat for Lashes and Florence + the Machine will be inevitable, but you figure, if the music moves you, then who cares who else is sounds like? Other tunes include the piano and strings-laden "Bones" and the rave-up "Ash Tree Lane".

To think they are just starting makes it more exciting. You should see them ASAP before they are beaten down by the music over-hyped machine. They are on their way to the UK to open for one of my artists to watch in 2012 Foe at London's Birthday on the 13th and then to Camden Barfly the next day. After that, they embark on their first cross country trip when they open up for Marina & the Diamonds. Last time Marina toured the U.S., Young the Giant opened up, and now they are like huge. Marina might have a sixth sense in spotting talent.

Bloc Party Finalize Fourth Album, Four

After fits and stops, rumors of lead singer Kele Okereke being replaced and general dysfunction, Bloc Party's return to music making is done. Four is their first album since 2008's Intimacy, and will see the light of a day via Frenchkiss Records on August 21st in the U.S. The album was made in New York under the production of Alex Newport (Death Cab, Mars Volta, At the Drive-in, Frank Turner).

In anticipation for the new effort, the band will return to the U.S. for a handful of dates including Honululu, Las Vegas, festival dates at Outside Lands, Lollapalooza and a three night run at Terminal 5.

July 30: The Republik -- Honolulu
August 3: Hard Summer-- Los Angeles   
August 4: Lollapalooza -- Chicago
August 5: Osheaga Festival -- Montreal
August 7-9: Terminal 5 -- New York
August 10: Outside Lands -- San Francisco
August 11: The Pool @ The Cosmopolitan -- Las Vegas

This is a trailer for the new album:

WTF Happened to These Bands?

News came out yesterday via Rolling Stone that the Ween in no more. My first reaction was, "I thought there were already done." So it got me thinking about a few bands that have been turning up on my iPod in shuffle mode that had me curious about their current status. Broken-up, in limbo or M.I.A.? Time to troll wikipedia and old myspace pages to find the answer.

Black Kids: The Florida band is the best evidence of internet over-hyped. CMJ 2007 they were the band on every body's must-see list. 2008 was their big breakout year -- sold out shows, airplay, song placement, beloved status. Now ask yourself, when was the last time you thought about this band? Their website, http://www.blackkidsmusic.com/, is no longer active. Opps, somebody didn't pay the bill. On their twitter feed, they've posted when their song was used on TV sitcoms. Now, that's progress. Owen Holmes at least has been busy with his Gospel Music project.

The Vines: Get Free, Outtathaway! and the car-selling tune Ride got the Australian garage rockers into people's hearts. When you have to look at Wikipedia to see if a band is still around, it's time to consider another line of work. From wiki: On 30 March 2012, The Vines' Facebook page changed its profile picture to a single previously unseen promotional photo of Craig, strongly implying that he is now the only remaining member of the band. Yup, time to go off into that big clearance bin in the sky.

The Mooney Suzuki: When the band first started out in the 2000s, they were a fantastic live act. I saw them at Maxwell's during the Electric Sweat days and it was loud and insane. Then they got Avril Lavigne's production crew The Matrix to mainstream their sound on Alive & Amplified, and that took out the band's edgy garage rock vibe. Have Mercy was their last in 2007. Now, nothing. File this under inactivity.

Louis XIV: Chocolate girl, you're looking like something I want (finding out true love is blind). Ah and your little Asian friend she can come if she wants (finding out true love is blind) This band had one-hit wonder written all over them. Thus, this is why they are defunct. I remember when I saw them during Wireless Festival and everybody was waiting for to play that one song, so they can go back to not paying attention to them.

The Propellerheads: If there ever was an outfit that never capitilized on their sudden success, it's the DJ/producing duo Will White and Alex Gifford. They were one and done with their only album, 1998's Decksandrumsandrockandroll. It was the following year when their major hit, Spybreak!, scored one of the best, most innovative shootouts in cinema history in The Matrix. Other songs on that Dreamworks album appeared in iconic ads and TV shows. Since then, not a peop from the duo, with Gifford doing production work for the Jungle Brothers and Rufus Wainwright.

Embrace: The veteran British band didn't make much of a dent in the U.S. market even when Embrace superfan Chris Martin wrote "Gravity" for their album, Out of Nothing. That got them their first U.S. release. I went to their Bowery Ballroom show back in the day, and I remember being a little lost when they played their back catalog. Since then, they haven't returned. BUT! They are back in 2012, with activity on their social networks and dropping hints of a new album. Don't all clamor to their website at the same time, you don't want to bring it down.

Travis: Another one of those bands that creep into my ipod on shuffle mode, which causes me to skip past them. Just not bothered to remove them. Heck, "When Does It Always Rain On Me" might score my mood at the right time. Hey man, The Man Who was the bomb back in 1998. It was a polarizing album because you either fell for the melancholy or dismissed it as bed-wetter music. Since them, they had that song "Sing" and holy crap! they've released three albums since then. I didn't even know. Or I knew about it but chose to forget it. I know Fran Healy has been around New York playing solo shows, but I guess Travis is still plugging away waiting for a revival. The band is aiming for 2013 for a new album and a few summer festival in Europe to get them in the music making mood.

Kaiser Chiefs Releasing Greatest Hits Album Even Though They've Made Four Albums

Four albums in seven years ... must be time for a greatest hits complilation. Souvenir hosts 14 of their best known tracks and two new songs to indice you into buying songs you already own. Everything old is new again! If it were up to me, re-release Employment with a few tracks from Yours Truly, Angry Mob and you got yourself a party.

1. Oh My God
2. Ruby
3. I Predict A Riot
4. Never Miss A Beat
5. Everything Is Average Nowadays
6. The Angry Mob
7. Listen To Your Head
8. Every Day I Love You Less and Less
9. Little Shocks
10. Love's Not A Competition (But I'm Winning)
11. Good Days Bad Days
12. On The Run
13. You Can Have It All
14. Modern Way
15. Man On Mars
16. Kinda Girl You Are

On The Run is a newish track that appears on the U.S. release of their last album, Start the Revolution Without Me, but not on the UK version called The Future Is Medieval. Something like that, it makes no sense, neither does this album, which comes out next week.

2:54's Debut Out Now, New Video "Creeping", Touring In June

One of the finest new acts of the year have reason No. 1 to give them a listen, their self-titled debut is out now. UK duo 2:54 have laid down the sinister groove and spooky beats over 10 tracks that you must-listen to now, or when your boss isn't looking over your shoulder. Legendary producer Alan Moulder produced the album for Fat Possum records.

If you missed them during SXSW or their March NYC dates, they will return in June with Widowspeak in tow.

• June 9: Brooklyn, NY -- Knitting Factory 
• June 10: Washington, DC -- Rocknroll Hotel 
• June 11: New York, NY -- Mercury Lounge 
• June 13: Boston, MA -- TT The Bears 
• June 14: Montreal, QUE -- Divan Orange 
• June 15: Toronto, ONT -- NXNE/Lee's Palace 
• June 16: Columbus, OH -- The Basement 
• June 17: Chicago, IL -- Empty Bottle 
• June 18: Minneapolis, MN -- Triple Rock 
• June 21: Seattle, WA -- The Crocodile  
• June 22: Portland, OR -- Doug Fir Lounge  
• June 23: Vancouver, BC -- Biltmore  
• June 25: San Francisco, CA -- Independent  
• June 26: Los Angeles, CA -- Troubadour  
• June 27: San Diego, CA -- Casbah

This is the latest video from Colette and Hannah Thurlow. It's for the track, Creeping.

Keira Knightley Not Marrying You, Engaged To This Guy

Now that's a reaction of a man who just bagged a hottie. Yup, James Righton of the Mercury Prize-winning band Klaxons is engaged to marry Oscar-nominated actress Keira "Yoko" Knightley. Oooooo, the jealously that they over-came -- one's a winner of the MP, the other a Teen Choice award. Hope they avoid fights over mantel space. She fell in love when he sang a few bars of "Golden Skans", and he got misty-eyed when he saw her cry in the rain in Atonement.

Previously:

• Klaxons / Baby Monster @ Maxwell's

Lucius, Snowmine, ARMS, Starlight Girls @ Cameo: The Deli's B.E.A.F. Festival

If you want to know the next big thing out of the New York music scene, then Saturday night's showcase at Cameo Gallery by The Deli Magazine was your answer. It was a proverbial who's who of quality under-the-radar bands that could be the latest in a long-line of great bands to come from the area or just another band to add to the near-do-well list. I tend to think the bands on the bill will do just fine in this crazy town.

Starting with my peoples in the Starlight Girls. I'm excited for them, and you should be too because nobody else in the area sounds like them. They have this film noir/pulp fiction cinematic pop sound with a fierce sinister edge. At the same time, you might be compelled to dance along. You have a bouncy organ line with sweet vocals and punchy guitars to make a mix that makes you think of dark alleys and get-away cars. They have an EP of five-songs that you can download over at the Bandcamp page.

You know ARMS leader singer/guitarist Todd Goldstein with his time with the departed Harlem Shakes. ARMS is now his full-time gig as he released a full album last November called Summer Skills. The skills in this case are long, expanding rock and pop soundscapes with urgency and flare. As they call it, "The resulting noise calls to mind the atmospheric clarity of British pop experimentalists like Talk Talk or Kate Bush, with a nod to the minimalist melancholy of Red House Painters and the end-over-end urgency of early REM." Sounds good to me. I do know that their live set was intense. 

I love seeing a band for the first time, not knowing anything about them and then being majorly impressed by their sound. Snowmine falls into that feeling. It took me a while to wrap my head around their sound because there's a lot good thing happening. You have the smooth harmonies, the electronic soundscapes, the mellow vibe that expands to hit you like a lightning bolt. Members of the band come from jazz, classical and opera background, and it shows in their craftsmanship. Best of all, these guys rock, leaving the crowd asking for an encore. You can check out a few tunes over at Bandcamp.

It doesn't take a genius to know that Lucius are going to be a band that everyone will talk about. Maybe not this year, but somewhere down the line, they will sell out shows and people will be name dropping them into conversations. The running joke of the night was that every band was sticking out to see Lucius thrown down. I don't blame them, the five-piece have already gotten props from the NY Times as "The next Feist" having "luscious, luminous, lilting lullabies".

You start with the two vocalists, who come together as one and provide a captiviting dynamic. They go from soft and gentle to powerful and soulful in the same song. Their main stregth is capturing and defining a mood. Thus, they are a must see act on any stage in any city. Lucius isn't some "stand around a play neo-folk tunes" band, they beat the hell out of their instrument and play like it is the most important show ever. I'm marking my calendar for when they are playing next.

that dog. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

that dog. drummer Tony Maxwell said it best tonight, "What is this? Fucking 90s nostalgia week." Indeed it is. We have Afghan Whigs and Stone Roses both playing their first shows in over a decade, and now, 90s alternative rock super heroes that dog. played their first show in New York in 15 years.

When I write about these reunions, I make the headline, "This Week In Random Reunions". It seems fitting for this band. It slipped under my radar when they got back together last year in Los Angeles. Maybe I've got blinders on, but I didn't think there was much of a groundswell of voices calling for a reunion. Let's face it, that dog. weren't the most popular of the 90s alterna-bands that road in on the wave of the Pixies success. They didn't have a radio hit, but had some popular songs that made its way onto 120 Minutes. I had all but forgotten about them.

So I gave the show a chance, being that I never saw them back in the day. Anna Waronker took a quick survey on who had seen them before vs. who's seeing them now for the first time. The first timers won out ... thus you have your reason why you are seeing more random reunions -- there's a whole new group of fans out there willing to shell out money for tickets, merch and reissues.

Tonight's show did what I thought it would, re-introduce their catalogue to a new fan base as best they could. I have another catch phrase I write on here, "Back and better than ever". Tonight was like, "Back! And it's a work in progress." The first half of the show was pretty shaky, they look lost and disjointed at times, and the vocals didn't have much punch. Around when they trotted out Punk Rock Girl and Long Island, that's when the energy in the room lifted and band became more comfortable on stage.

The setlist. The show clocked in at about an hour and 25 minutes:

• Grunge Couple
• Old Timer
• Ms. Wrong
• Silently
• Being With You
• Lip Gloss
• In the Back of My Mind
• She Looks At Me
• Zodiac
• Punk Rock Girl
• Long Island
• Retreat From the Sun
• Did You Ever
• Gagged and Tied
• annie.
• He's Kissing Christian
• angel.
• Encore: Never Say Never
• Minneapolis
• Michael Jordan
• Hawthorne
• This Boy

Plenty of shouts from the crowd on what that dog. should play tonight. Minneapolis was top on my list of what they should play. It wasn't like they had anything to promote like a new album, so they were able to please all the fans. When they played Never Say Never, it reminded me of the video where Anna is wearing a low-cut sweater, leopard print bra and short shorts. You look at her on stage tonight wearing a loose fitting shirt and she's a mom with her baby in the balcony. Oh, how the times have changed the rock chicks of the 90s.

I joke about the passage of time, because, one day two decades from now, all the new bands we listen to today will outgrow the scene, start families and loose the glow of being young, good-looking and playing trendy music to 20-somethings in Brooklyn. Seeing the members of that dog. joke around on stage and laugh off their problems with remembering the music gave me a smile as well. Recapturing the magic of two decades ago isn't as easy as it looks, aye kids?

In all, it's good for that dog. to get back into things. I was trying to think of bands from today that sound like them, and I couldn't think of it -- the aggressive female vocals in the Liz Phair motif, with the stripped down punk via pop guitar chords. Add in Petra Haden's violin and you've got the that dog. sound. They didn't mention anything tonight about the future of new material or further dates, but I like to see them take a crack at some new tunes.

I give the show a slightly into the positive outcome. Like I said, not the tightest of performances, but the show made me remember all the bands in that era that soundtrack my high school and college years. Then I drove home and cried because now I'm old and boring.

So any other DGC bands want to get back together. Come on, The Sundays. Get it together!