Tag Archives: rock
Listen: Lazyeyes – “Islip”
“An ode to the Long Island town, “Islip” starts off with heavy-sounding bass before morphing into an upbeat, jangling number with hooky guitars and rolling drums. There’s a fuzzed-out Kiwipop surf vibe to it all as well, with just a hint of darkened eyeliner.” – Exclaim
Lazyeyes is a three-piece shoegaze / dream-pop band from Brooklyn, New York formed in the summer of 2012. The band released their debut self-titled EP the following January 2013 which was immediately heralded by The Deli Magazine as “Best Psych / Shoegaze band in New York”. After a sold-out record release show at legendary Williamsburg venue Glasslands, the Lazyeyes EP garnered widespread acclaim from numerous underground music bloggers. Best New Bands described their single “Wait” as, “an excellent example of the group’s ability to erupt at an expansive, pyrotechnic level all the while sharply delivering pop-laden hooks.” Purple Sneakers called the EP “a moody and anthemic record, equal parts shoegaze and dream pop.” Soon after, tracks from the EP were featured on BBC Radio, XM Radio & various other FM stations worldwide. The band was founded by guitarist / vocalist Jason Abrishami (The Twees), who was joined by Paul Volpe (Triple Cobra) on bass and Jeremy Sampson (Eastern Hollows) on drums. The band plans to tour behind their up & coming EP which they just releases the first track, “Islip” from. The band will be playing at Rough Trade in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on Friday September 26th.
Listen: Lazyeyes – “Islip”
Filed under Awesome, Check 'em Out!, listen
Album Stream: Jesus on the Mainline
NYC-based jam band Jesus On The Mainline announces the release of their debut self-titled EP. Their sound is reminiscent of rock greats The Black Crowes and Janis Joplin, while simultaneously drawing influences from blues, jazz and funk classics like Stevie Wonder, Louis Armstrong and Quincy Jones. This fifteen-piece band fuses jazz, soul, bluegrass and rock for an improvisational music experience that is unique from show to show.
Lead Vocalist Andrew Neesley is an award-winning musician, who flavors this unique musical collective with his contemporary jazz background. He performed with the Grammy-nominated Bobby Sanabria Big Band, while receiving his advanced degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Jesus On The Mainline formed in 2012 in New York City and currently features a rotating cast of fifteen active members. Singers Mel Flannery, Amanda Brecker and Tim Emmerick compliment frontman Andrew Neesley’s lead vocals, while a sprawling five-piece instrumental section lead on the horns, percussion, keyboards, and guitars.
Neesley has played renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, The Apollo Theater and The Jazz Standard. He has also been awarded the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer’s Award, the Student Award for Best Engineered Studio Album for DownBeat Magazine and won the National Trumpet Competition. Jesus On The Mainline has played sold out shows at famous New York venues, such as Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge.
You can listen to the full EP stream below that Crave described as “…A rising sound that swells like a wave as it blends the spirit of Aretha Franklin into a soulful dance-romp through territories inhabited by Fitz and The Tantrums, Portugal. The Man and beyond.”
Stream: Jesus on the Mainline
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Newest Love: The Ninjas
The Ninjas are a high energy rock duo from Brisbane, Australia returning with their latest single “Never Had Much Time”. Recorded with Australian super producer Magoo this release sees the band take another giant leap forward with slicker production, bigger riffs and a stadium ready sound that is sure to get people dancing. They’re early releases “Yeah Yeah Yeah” and “Kill Em All” gained the band an impressive following online and will all appear on the bands debut EP out this August. If you enjoy The Hives and The Vines, then you’ll love this!
Listen: The Ninjas – “Never Had Much Time”
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Listen: Mainland – Shiner EP
Listen: Mainland – Shiner EP
Watch the video for “Leave the Lights On” below
“Though lead singer Jordan Topf sneers, “Living in the city, I get so bored,” with Julian Casablancas-like aplomb in the track’s bridge, the adolescent energy and colorful nostalgia of these visuals are anything but blasé.” – SPIN
“the spirit of the sunkissed old rock is well alive in this piece, with an infectious guitar line to hook and a solid bass and drum section which gives it an almost krautrocky, motorik feel.” – Tiny Mix Tapes
“They’re great on stage, with tons of humor and energy in each show.” – Blackbook
“Mainland has released a perfect ode to summer: the video for their single “Leave The Lights On.” – Earmilk
“Brooklyn indie rockers Mainland recently released their sophomore EP Shiner featuring four diverse songs of driven guitar rock, including noteworthy single “Savant” (streaming), an upbeat and semi-epic punk rock gem bearing sonic overtones ranging from spaghetti western soundtracks to the irresistible punk-folk of The Pogues.” – The Deli
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Video: Teddybears – “Sunshine”
I love Teddybears. The group and the bears. And now, the group returns with a psychedelic summer jam, “Sunshine” (out now via Big Beat Records) which highlights their signature—pop x electronica x rock n’ roll x hip-hop x reggae x punk—and arrives with a video to accompany that shares an outrageous mix of themes and color schemes.
Featuring Jamaican dancehall star Natalie Storm and Swedish musician Kee Marcello (hailing from mega-bands Europe and Hellacopters); smashing a drum-kit made of ice, this playful video, combined with equal parts electric guitar, gold lamé, and neon illustrations is simply fun to watch – and definitely not like anything else you’ll see all day.
Free Download: 1,2,3 – “Porch Swing Song”
Listen/download: 1,2,3 – “Porch Swing Song”
“…a terrific new band whose 70s-tinged rock, sung with rasping intensity by white soul wonder Nic Snyder,reminds you of some of the best stuff from the pre-punk era…” – The Guardian
“…hints of that Girls-like ’60s revival, indistinct gestures of surf rock, and touches of grainy, lo-fi acoustics….” – Consequence of Sound
Pittsburgh’s genre-defying band 1,2,3 has returned after a two year hiatus, and will be releasing their sophomore double album Big Weather through their newly-founded label American Hermitage on May 27th. The band rolled out “Porch Swing Song” a few days ago, which is the third song they’ve shared from Big Weather (their first two singles “Big Weather Pt. 1” and “Leave Me In The Sky With The Lawnchair” are both still available to stream, see below). Combining classic rock with the best elements of lo-fi soul, punk, garage and even classical music sampling, this is the first new music 1,2,3 has released since their critically-acclaimed debut album New Heaven (2011).
1,2,3 had a turbulent few years since the release of New Heaven. Lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Nicolas Snyder quit the band at the end of 2012, burnt out after touring on the heels of their debut and writing/recording the follow-up for over a year. Several months later, after a few nights of drunken persuasion, he re-convened with the rest of the band and coaxed them back, wanting to finish what they had started. Snyder had been inspired by 70’s dystopian movies, combined with a pattern of strange weather and its resulting destruction (a tornado ripped through his aunt’s house in Pennsylvania… something that shouldn’t happen in PA), along with the tsunami that devastated Japan two weeks later.
The band began recording storms through a screen door in the house they were renting on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, which often flooded, halting production. While recording, the band listened to nothing but local oldies radio stations. Big Weather was recorded entirely on primitive gear, using nothing but creaky old guitars, a bass, and things to bang on. Eventually some classical vinyl sampling was brought in to conjure certain feelings, and add new textures to the short stories and spoken word interludes. The lyrics had all the usual lovelorn, loneliness and death-questioning the band had previously written about, but this time it was more vivid, usually recorded during or after storms.
In the words of Snyder, “it’s more interesting to be lonely in the eye of the hurricane than it is to be in a bedroom. This album is undoubtedly ridden with flaws, but so are its creators, and the circumstances under which it was created… and in that regard, this album feels very special to me.”
The band will be playing their album release show in Pittsburgh on May 30th at Brillobox!
Listen: 1,2,3 – “Big Weather Part 1”
Listen: 1,2,3 – “Leave Me in the Sky with the Lawnchair”
Big Weather Tracklisting:
1. Big Weather Pt. 1
2. Leave Me In The Sky With The Lawnchair
3. Pontoon Song
4. Waiting For The Horsemen
5. Mile High Grass
6. Bus To Babylon
7. Refusal Bop
8. Shapes of Wrath
9. Fear_Pure Elevation
10. Rebuilding
11. Stone Haus
12. Porch Swing Song
13. Big Black Car
14. Big Weather Pt. 2
15. In The House of The Locust
16. When The Levee Broke at The County Fair
17. Strawberry
18. Faith Hill
19. Where We Lived
20. Sick of the End
2. Leave Me In The Sky With The Lawnchair
3. Pontoon Song
4. Waiting For The Horsemen
5. Mile High Grass
6. Bus To Babylon
7. Refusal Bop
8. Shapes of Wrath
9. Fear_Pure Elevation
10. Rebuilding
11. Stone Haus
12. Porch Swing Song
13. Big Black Car
14. Big Weather Pt. 2
15. In The House of The Locust
16. When The Levee Broke at The County Fair
17. Strawberry
18. Faith Hill
19. Where We Lived
20. Sick of the End
Filed under Band Change-ups, Check 'em Out!, downloads, new albums, Shows
Check ‘Em Out: Dwight & Nicole
Dwight & Nicole, an American roots band formed by recording artists Dwight Ritcher and Nicole Nelson, will be self-releasing their new album, Shine On, on April 22, 2014. Shine On puts some impressive talent on display: gorgeous vocals, developed songwriting skills, and masterful playing were all captured live at Boston’s Rear Window Studio. The delivery is often exciting, always multi-dimensional, and never run-of-the-mill. Dwight & Nicole express deep emotion effortlessly on every track of Shine On. This will be their first major release, heavily funded by their devoted fans via music-oriented crowd-sourcing site PledgeMusic.
Their performances have inspired comparisons to some of the greats — Etta James and John Lee Hooker, the Rolling Stones and the Staple Singers — but it is their own fresh blend of spirited blues, rock, and gospel that will land them a spot among the celebrated music makers. Following their critically acclaimed independent release !Signs, the Boston Globe called them, “a tour de force,” and named them among the “25 Most Stylish of the Year.” They have garnered four Boston Phoenix award nominations, six Boston Music Award nominations and Nelson just nabbed a BMA for “Female Vocalist of The Year.”
In September of 2012, Nicole appeared on NBC’s #1 hit show “The Voice,” knocking out all four coaches and winning the hearts of millions with her rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” The song was a hit of its own, rising to #26 on the iTunes Pop chart, and propelling a wave of nationwide appreciation for Nelson’s home grown style. The bright lights of network TV also shed much deserved light on her band—New England’s best kept secret Dwight & Nicole—helping the group to shatter through the glass ceiling that most self-promoting indie artists are up against today.
Their music has already been featured on TV shows such as “Nikita” on CW, “The Forgotten” on ABC, “Missing” on Lifetime, and “The Cleaner” on A&E. Dwight & Nicole starred in the documentary film “Where’s The Music At?” They have performed live at countless world class venues and festivals around the world including Montreal Jazz Festival, Tanglewood, Life Is Good Festival, Symphony Hall, The Somerville Theatre, The Tennessee Theater, The Paradise, The Higher Ground, and The Blue Note in NYC.
Dwight & Nicole have shared the stage with many other great artists including BB King, Buddy Guy, Dave Brubeck, Dr. Maya Angelou, Ray Lamontagne, Los Lobos, Alison Krauss, Martin Sexton, Levon Helm, Norah Jones, Dr. John, Natalie Cole, Winton Marsalis, The Avett Brothers, Raphael Saadiq, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Carly Simon, The Funk Brothers, Maceo Parker, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Buffet, Biz Markie, Little Richard, Angelique Kidjo, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Irma Thomas, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Filed under Check 'em Out!, new albums, video
Check ‘Em Out: Arum Rae
“…a smoky, uplifting sound that fuses blues, rock, country and pretty much every genre in between.” – USA Today
“…we’re digging her combination of raw, bluesy vocals and glitchy electronics.” – NYLON“…sultry cyber-soul.” – SPIN
Brooklyn’s captivating modern day siren Arum Rae is gearing up to self-release her Warranted Queen EP next Tuesday, and in advance, she’s rolled out her dynamic new single “Something’s Happening To Me” with Noisey. “Something’s Happening To Me” is symbolic of Arum’s recent transformation from shedding her traditional singer-songwriter roots, to her entrancing new endeavor under her given name.
Listen/download: Arum Rae – “Something’s Happening To Me”
Her new single follows closely on the heels of her previous stand-out singles “Warranted Queen” and “2001”. Arum’s ability to transcend styles allows the music to resurrect the soul, feel the blues, and then re-invent rock through her deeply rooted foundation as a songwriter. After relocating to Brooklyn from Austin, Arum shed the White Dress moniker and teamed up with producer Sanford Livingston for this new EP (and forthcoming album). Everything Arum has lived through and all of the songs that have been born from it are not meant to impress, they’re meant to lead.
Although being a new endeavor, Arum Rae is no stranger to the stage. She’s toured extensively over the past several years, opening up for and sharing stages with artists like Willie Nelson, Rodriguez, The Kills, Gary Clark Jr., Dan Auerbach, BB King, The Civil Wars, and Peter Bjorn & John, to name a few. With a renewed energy and passion, Arum looks to 2014 to embolden artists and singers like herself to pursue their passions with pause, regret or fear.
Listen/download: Arum Rae – “Warranted Queen”
Listen/download: Arum Rae – “2001”
Filed under Awesome, Check 'em Out!, downloads, listen
Newest Love: Best Revenge
After almost 15 years of friendship, guitarist, songwriter and producer Keaton Simons (Gnarls Barkley,Snoop Dogg, Tre Hardson of The Pharcyde) and experimental drummer, songwriter and producer Deantoni Parks (The Mars Volta, Bosnian Rainbows, T-Bone Burnett, John Cale of The Velvet Underground) have finally come together to form their newest project, Best Revenge.
“Brother Blue” kicks off with the peculiar menace of a 80s film score. It soon devolves into a sneering rockabilly track, lacerating the listener with both a swaggering guitar and bold, vocal machismo. The lyrics convey wisdom through hurt, and Parks’ drums throb with the pulse of reckoning. This is an accessible song with an authentic blues rock mentality… You don’t hear a new track like this often. — INDIE SHUFFLE
Best Revenge mixes modern and old school sounds for a down-home dirty, raw rock ‘n roll vibe with a modern, technological spin. Keaton sings and plays guitar (including electric and acoustic guitars, as well as baritone and fretless), and Deantoni plays drums while he simultaneously live samples Keaton’s voice and plays it on the keyboard through a series of computerized effects – note: there are no loops in Best Revenge. The result is thoughtful music that excites and feels damn good. With a massive sound coming from just the two artists, this new project calls upon the adage “seeing is believing.”
Deemed “a triple threat” by his hometown’s Los Angeles Times, Keaton Simons has been captivating audiences for years with his raw, gritty voice, soul-baring songwriting, and incomparable, sought-after electric and acoustic guitar work. He’s been brought on as a guitarist, as well as bassist, singer, writer and musical director for such notable acts as Gnarls Barkley, Snoop Dogg, and Tre Hardson of The Pharcyde. With his own solo project, Keaton has co-produced and released records on major labels, licensed hundreds of songs for TV and film, toured nationally and internationally, and performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Last Call with Carson Daly.
Hailing form Newnan, Georgia, Deantoni Parks is a new wave/avant-garde experimental drummer, songwriter, actor and record producer. He has written, toured and collaborated with T-Bone Burnett, Bosnian Rainbows, The Mars Volta, Meshell Ndegeocello, John Cale of The Velvet Underground, Yoko Ono, Moby, Basement Jaxx, and Cody Chesnutt. Additionally, Deantoni wrote and played drums for the Grand Theft Auto 5 original soundtrack, and is co-founder of Dark Angels alongside producer and keyboardist Nicci Kasper, as well as a member of KUDU.
Listen: Best Revenge – “Brother Blue”
After meeting almost 15 years ago through jazz/funk trio Soulive, Keaton Simons and Deantoni Parks have not only been close friends, but true admirers of each other’s respective work. Best Revenge is the first of what they hope will be many collaborative projects. Fans will have the opportunity to catch them live in Austin, Texas this week at SXSW. (See schedule below.)
LIVE AT SXSW //
FRI 3/14 @ Austin Ale House – 3PM
301 W 6th Street, All Ages, No Cover
FRI 3/14 @ Listening Room At Winflo – 6:30PM
1315 W 6th Street, All Ages, No Cover
SAT 3/15 @ Quantum Collective Southwest Invasion, Whole Foods Rooftop – 7PM
525 N Lamar Blvd, All Ages, No Cover
http://qc2014.eventbrite.com
Filed under Awesome, Band Change-ups, Check 'em Out!, Newest Love, Shows, video, Whoa!
Musically Amusing 