Music Snobbery

Crystal Castles Spread the Plague On New Album, III

From 2009

I'm sure you know the news already and seen/heard the new video, but it's worth a shout out. Crystal Castles is back to blow speakers and minds with their third album. Following the format with their second album it's simply titled, III. It's either eeeeeyyeeee, or ill or the roman number for 3. You really don't need more information than that. You'll get it om November 6, listen to it and then it will scramble your brain sells. "We wanted the new album to sound like a completely different and new experience," says Ethan Kath. “We'd limit ourselves to one take on each song because we believe the first take is the rawest expression of an idea."

The video is crazy, I'm sure you would agree. It's from the 1981 film Possession, starring Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani, who's the one freaking out in the clip. She won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for the role. I haven't seen the film, but now I might have to.

Tour dates as well, with Health! I'm jealous I won't be around to see this go down

September 27: Fillmore Charlotte -- CHARLOTTE, NC              
September 28: Counterpoint Music Festival -- ATLANTA
September 29-30: 9:30 Club  -- WASHINGTON, D.C.         
Rocktober 2: Electric Factory -- PHILADELPHIA
Rocktober 3: Roseland -- NEW YORK
Rocktober 6: House of Blues -- BOSTON   
Rocktober 7: Metropolis -- MONTREAL             
Rocktober 9: Royal Oak Music Theatre -- ROYAL OAK, MI
Rocktober 10: Newport Music Hall -- COLUMBUS, OH             
Rocktober 11: Marathon Art Works -- NASHVILLE
Rocktober 13: Emo's East -- AUSTIN
Rocktober 14: Austin City Limits -- AUSTIN
Rocktober 16: Uptown Theater -- KANSAS CITY          
Rocktober 17: Ogden -- DENVER
Rocktober 18: In The Venue -- SALT LAKE CITY
Rocktober 20: Palladium -- LOS ANGELES
Rocktober 21: Soma -- SAN DIEGO
Rocktober 22: Fox Theater -- SAN FRANCISCO
Rocktober 24: Roseland -- PORTLAND
Rocktober 25: Showbox Sodo -- SEATTLE
Rocktober 26: Commodore -- VANCOUVER
Rocktober 28: Mac Ewan Hall -- CALGARY
Rocktober 29: Edmonton Events Centre -- EDMONTON
Rocktober 31: GarrickTheater -- WINNIPEG
November 1: First Ave -- MINNEAPOLIS
November 2: Congress Theater -- CHICAGO
November 3: Kool Haus -- TORONTO

Lavender Diamond @ Mercury Lounge: Business Casual

Then halfway through the set, Becky tried to levitate the whole crowd with the power of The Force.

After five years, L.A's Lavender Diamond is back on the music scene with a new album. Their set tonight at Mercury showcased all the new tunes off Incorruptible Heart. While their previous work was whimsical and eccentric, this one is more sorrowful. It's a breakup album from lead singer Becky Stark. It actually started as a solo album until she scrapped that idea and decided to turn to her main band to get out her feelings. In those five years, she's been doing vocals with She & Him and The Decemberists and a side project, the Living Sisters with Inara George and Eleni Mandell.

Stark is the main draw of the band. She's a little goofy. It makes her endearing. While she's singing and hitting those difficult high notes, she's sincere. Between songs, she's goes off on tangents and observations. It's almost like stand-up comedy. It reminds me of Kings of Convenience where you go from being involved with the song to expecting jokes and laughter between songs. Tonight, she described the songs they were doing as business casual. For an album that's filled with 60s girl group feelings as filter through a Linda Ronstadt/70s singer-songwriter style, she's a little bundle of delight.

It's probably the reason I've seen them multiple times. I first saw them at CMJ 2006 at North Six (for you youngings, it was where Music Hall of Williamsburg is now), and even back then they were the little band that could. That had a few known songs like "You Broke My Heart" and "Open Your Heart",  which appeared on their Matador release, Imagine Our Love. Their thing is taking complicated feelings and making them beautiful. They closed their set with "Everybody's Heart's Breaking Now", a dreamy ballet of Stark's locals and organ melody.

The sparkly tunes continues into the weekend, where they play Glasslands on Saturday.

MS MR's "Ash Tree Lane" Video Filled With B-Movie Goodness

The movie geek in me freaked out a bit when I watched the clip compilation for MS MR's latest single, "Ash Tree Lane" It's filled with quick cuts B-horror films from the 60s, 70s and 80s. A list of all the film would be great. There were a few Dario Argentio classics tied in there. You can find the new song and a bunch of remixes on the digital EP, Candy Bar Creep Show.

They criss-crossed the U.S. with Marina & The Diamonds. Now, the local duo will repeat the process again with a band that pains me to type out ... Grouplove. groan. A quick side note, I was at a Buffalo Wild Wings (don't ask why) and they played a remixed Tongue Tied at ear splitting levels. What's worst than Grouplove, a douche remixed Grouplove.

In any event, it's best to catch MS MR at CMJ. It's better for your sanity.

Here's the video for Ash Tree Lane:

 

Previously:

• MS MR @ Glasslands

A.C. Newman and The Mynabirds Hitting The Road Together

He's emerged from hiding in the woods with a new album in hand. Prolific songwriter and friend of comedians everywhere Carl Newman is ready with his third solo album. It seems to be the pattern for his career -- New Pornographers puts out an album, then Carl and Neko release new material, and so on. Shut Down The Streets is the name of the new album that Matador will release on Oct. 9. Neko contributes vocals on the track "Encyclopedia of Classic Takedowns". You can download the track "I'm Not Talking" from the new LP off his facebook page. As the press material states, the album is inspired by his move to the Woodstock, the death of his mother and birth of his son.

Next month, Carl will tour with the supremely awesome Mynabirds, including a return visit to Maxwell's and Bowery Ballroom .

• Rocktober 21: Lee's Palace -- Toronto
• Rocktober 22: Bowery Ballroom -- New York
• Rocktober 23: Brighton Music Hall -- Allston, MA
• Rocktober 24: Maxwell's -- Hoboken, NJ 
• Rocktober 25: First Unitarian Church -- Philadelphia
• Rocktober 26: Black Cat -- Washington, D.C.
• Rocktober 27: Motorco Music Hall -- Durham, NC
• Rocktober 28: The Earl -- Atlanta 
• Rocktober 29: Duck Room at Blueberry Hill -- St. Louis
• Rocktober 30: Empty Bottle -- Chicago
• November 1: Turf Club -- Minneapolis
• November 2: West End Cultural Center -- Winnipeg
• November 3: Amigo's -- Saskatoon, SK 
• November 5: Starlite Room -- Edmonton
• November 6: Republik -- Calgary

 

 

Dan Croll Goes Somewhere On From Nowhere

Is it tool late to make a case for your new summer jam? Well, if you live in South America, summer will be upon you in a few months, so you can thoroughly enjoy the debut single from Dan Croll. It's an ambitious jam from a singer-songwriter who deals with more mellow folky tunes. I was breezing through his past work and he does well with earnest tunes with lush melodies set to guitar, accordion and piano. One of the tracks, Marion, was included on Ben Lovett's Communion Records 2012 compilation

Scrap all that and he's brought out the big beats, Metronomy riffs and drum machine for "From Nowhere". It's unabashedly poppy and the perfect soundtrack to your festive summer night. It's the fall around these parts, it can be summer in your mind.

The Liverpool-based singer/songwriter has done some tour dates with Map & Atlases, Sondre Lerche and Michael Kiwanuka. A debut album is in the works.

Check out, "From Nowhere":

Our Long National Nightmare Is Over, LMFAO Cease Operating

Your thoughts, prayers, attention, donations, tweets, FB posts and viral campaigns has worked. Master Douches LMFAO have ceased operations and have gone their separate ways. At first they told the Associated Press that they are perusing solo projects, which nobody will care about. Then, people interpreted that as a break-up. Hey, one can hope. Their people got the word out that they are not broken up. Whatever. Those two douches have had enough of trying to out douche each other. With Jersey Shore ending soon, the public can find something else to waste their time with. Never has some much time has been wasted on so much shite.

 

Emanuel and the Fear Return With New Album, Video and Live Dates

From 2010

Time to catch with local hero and his band of merry making music makers. Emanuel Ayvas is back with his band the Fear for their four release, The Janus Mirror. Since his sound is an anything goes, shape-shifting, non-conformist, defying explanation type of attitude, the new album encapsulates all that. Since he usually plays with an strings and brass, this effort is more rock/experimental-based. He sneaks in that orchestral sound. He's a music teacher, he can't help it. You can listen to it below:

 

The new album comes with a new video, six minutes of it. It's for the track All We Are:

As for the live dates, the record release show is this Thursday at Mercury Lounge. He won't be staying long as he will head over to Europe to play a slew of live dates. Emanuel and the Fear is wanted in Luxembourg and Austria:

September 28: Mercury Lounge -- New York, NY US
Rocktober 2: Dulcimer -- Manchester, UK
Rocktober 3: The New Adelphi -- Hull, UK
Rocktober 4: Arenbergschouwburg -- Antwerp, BE
Rocktober 5: Ekko -- Utrecht, NL
Rocktober 6: d:qliq -- Luxembourg, LU
Rocktober 7: Waldsee -- Freiburg, DE
Rocktober 8: Schocken -- Stuttgart, DE
Rocktober 9: Rote Fabrik -- Zürich, CH
Rocktober 11: I.S.C. -- Bern, CH
Rocktober 12: Kino Ebensee -- Ebensee, AT
Rocktober 13: Roter Salon Club -- Berlin, DE
Rocktober 14: Meskalina -- Poznan, PL
Rocktober 15: Jazzclub Neue Tonne -- Dresden, DE
Rocktober 16: Uebel & Gefährlich -- Hamburg, DE
Rocktober 17: Bahnhof Langendreer Bochum -- Bochum, DE
Rocktober 18: Cafe Central -- Weinheim, DE
Rocktober 19: Gebaude 9 -- Köln, DE
Rocktober 21: Brotfabrik -- Frankfurt, DE
Rocktober 22: The Wilmington Arms -- London, UK
Rocktober 23: The Riverside Bar --Sheffield, UK

 

Wye Oak / Callers @ Maxwell's

Wye Oak visited Maxwell's for the first on Friday, bringing with them the good times vibes and dreamy folk tunes. This is my third time around with them and I've liked them more every time. The first time I saw them at CMJ 2008, I was not into them at all. Then they eventually released The Knot and they figured out what band they are -- cool melodies, low-key attitude and more emphasis on the vocals of Jenn Wasner. She's turning into one of the better voices in indie rock.

Last year, they released Civilian, which the Onion A.V. Club named their album of the year. I do agree with them that the album grows on you at every listen. They seem to escape from their alt-folk roots to bring in more dissonant, edgier guitar licks cutting against some quiet, introspective passages. It's one of the easiest albums to like in that its never dull and there's always some aspect to latch onto. I just love the overall atmosphere.

The Baltimore duo have a great quality in their live shows have a full sound for just being two people. Andy Stack does double duty with drumming and working the electronics. Jenn is un-flashy as the lead singer/guitarist, which lends it's lends itself to their easy-going sound. She ended the show with "Doubt" and that left everybody in awe. The most excitement she generated is when she stormed off the stage, leaving us wondering what was wrong. I thought somebody in crowded was talking to loud or she had to pee. Nope, she forgot her guitar capo. The look on Andy's face when he looked over to see nobody there was priceless.

They finished up their East Coast tour this weekend, before heading over to the UK for ATP Somerset in December. They played a couple of new tunes during the night, which means a new material is in the works.

Wye Oak's BFFs Callers joined them on this tour. Big things are happening for the locals as this fall, they will head off to Europe to tour with Dirty Projectors. They did well on their set. Their sound is a little groovy, jammy based pop sound with some angelic vocals.

Savages Books First U.S. Dates That Will Be Probably Be Cancelled Due to Visa Issues

So I say that Savages will probably have to back out because CMJ and SXSW always have a handful of UK acts that book then eventually back out. It took Django Django three years to get over here. Already, the one man act Actress was support to come in this week and cannot because of visa issues. What I'm going for is more psychological, so if by some miracle Savages makes it over here, their shows will be that much more exciting. The two bands I want to see during CMJ are Savages and Citizens!, so hopefully when I get back from Europe, they will be sorted out. If not, CMJ is worthless.

Now that's out of the way, we can talk about the one of the buzziest new UK bands of the year. Like other buzzy bands, they haven't been together for a year yet and have only a handful of songs. That didn't stop all the UK music press to anoint them as the second coming. They even snagged Sigur Ros's and Fanfarlo's management team to to guide them.

After you hear "Husbands" and "City's Full", you can understand why. The four-piece are not just throw back post-punk in the vein of Siouxsie Sioux and Joy Division with the guttural thrust of Sleater-Kinney, they seem to inhabit that space comfortably without being forced. You feel like you've un-earthed a forgotten band from the early-80s, only to realize that they are from the present.

The band is led by a familiar name to me, Jehnny Beth. She was part of my Camden Crawl bands to watch in 2011 with her duo, John & Jehn. That outfit released an EP on Domino and were a little more on the Echo & The Bunnymen side, but French. What also came from that act was the founding of her label, Pop Noire, which released Savages first single, Flying to Berlin/Husbands.

Their live act is what people are talking about, with their intensity, tight playing and ferocious musical output. So far, they've only booked CMJ Friday (Rocktober 19) at Mercury Lounge.

Check out a live version of Husbands via the BBC

Lavender Diamond Return With First Album in Five Years, Incorruptible Heart

One way to defeat the sophomore slump is too delay your second album for five years. Such is the ways of Becky Stark, whose band Lavender Diamond have been off the radar since the release of their critically acclaimed debut, Imagine Our Love. In that time Stark's brother, Tony, has created a few costumes for his global empire and worked with the Avengers. As for her, she spent some doing backing vocals for She & Him on tour.

For 2012, she dusts off the Lavender Diamond for the release of Incorruptible Heart, an LP of her whimsical pop. OK Go's label Paracadute Recordings will release the album on September 25th. OK Go's Damian Kulash, Jr. and Flaming Lips longtime collaborator Dave Fridmann worked on the album.

1. Everybody's Heart's Breaking Now
2. Dragonfly
3. I Don't Recall
4. Just Passing By
5. Teach Me How to Waken
6. Come Home
7. Forgive
8. Light My Way
9. Oh My Beautiful World
10. Perfect Love
11. Everybody's Song
12. All The Stars

Feel free to listen to one of the tracks on the album. It's the song, Oh My Beautiful World, it's on the  girl group-ish side and then its gets CRAAAAZZZEEEEE:

Of course, the band will play live dates in the area soon:

September 25: Port Chester, NY – Capitol Theater – with Dirty Projectors
September 26: New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
September 27: Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
September 29: Brooklyn, NY – Glasslands
September 30: Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall