Month: October 2013

Do you have any plans for Halloween yet? I’m assuming you’re not going trick or treating, unless you happen to be a 12 year old reading this site or a parent forced to walk around with your small children from house to house. All Hallows Eve is also Friday Eve this year, given that it’s on a Thursday. Your typical parties will be either muted or pushed to the following day(s) when people can actually embrace the weekend in all of its drunken glory. So if you’re not dressing up in costume and participating in a contest at your local bar, allow me to suggest heading over to Schubas for a show. Actually, you know what? Schubas is hosting a costume contest during its show featuring Widowspeak and Pure Bathing Culture. So it’s a great way to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. But getting more in depth on the bands, if you’ve never heard Widowspeak before, they’re the duo of Molly Hamilton and Robert Earl Thomas, who together make dreamy 70s-inspired rock and roll with a slight country tinge to it. Their latest album Almanac adds shades of Fleetwood Mac to add to their Mazzy Star-esque melodies/vocals, and it’s a delight. Have a listen to “The Dark Age” and “Thick As Thieves” to get a better idea of what I mean. Opening up the show will be Pure Bathing Culture, who certainly made their mark a couple months ago with the release of their debut album Moon Tides. The duo of Daniel Hindman and Sarah Vesprille both used to be part of Vetiver, and this new project takes the 60s pop sound of their former band and upgrades it with 70s and 80s touches, which is a nice way of saying they work with a lot more synths than before. Their single “Pendulum” is one of my favorites from 2013 so far, and you can also download the track “Dream the Dare” by clicking here. Anyways, these are both pretty cool bands, and I’m intrigued to hear how they play off one another stylistically. If you’re interested in going to the show on Halloween at Schubas, the fine details are that it starts at 9pm, is 21+ and tickets are $12. You can buy tickets via this link. Come on out for a scary good time. Ha ha ha. Okay, let’s talk Pick Your Poison for this Wednesday. Gold star tracks for today come from Cate Le Bon (ft. Perfume Genius), Clara May, Last Good Tooth, Lisa Papineau, Little Suns and The Noise FM. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream tracks from Kurt Vile and Sore Eros, Los Campesinos!, Saintseneca, Star Slinger, Giraffage’s remix of Movement and Lissvik’s remix of HAERTS.

Amy Lynn & The Gunshow – Can’t Put My Finger On It

Cate Le Bon – I Think I Knew (ft. Perfume Genius)

Clara May – American Desi

Gold Panda – Brazil (Slow Magic Remix)

Great Hare – Like Flowers

Johnny Rodgers – Let It Fill Your Whole Heart

Last Good Tooth – What’s What I Do

Le Trouble – Mission Bell

Lisa Papineau – Rainmaker

Little Suns – Sunboat

Mount Fabric – Books

The Noise FM – Crooked Smile

XOV – Lucifer

Young Mammals – Build A House

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We’ve hit another Tuesday, where I’m once again pleased to bring you a quick rundown of artists with brand new music coming out this week. The hope is to either inform you about what’s out there, but also to maybe even remind you if one of your favorite artists is putting out something new and you simply forgot about it. So without further ado, here’s your list for this week: Amos Lee, Anna Calvi, Cage the Elephant, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Darkside, Dave Hause, Deap Vally, Electric Six, Ezra Furman, The Fratellis, Glasser, His Clancyness, Iggy Azalea, Kodaline, Lee Ranaldo and the Dust, Lissie, Little Suns, of Montreal, Papa, Parquet Courts, Patty Griffin, Pusha T, RJD2, Robert Wyatt, Scott Miller, Sleigh Bells, St. Lucia, Turin Brakes, Tim Kasher, Wild Child and Zedd. There’s a couple of really strong records in this stack for this week, so please make some purchases via your favorite digital or physical retailer! Now let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison, where you can discover even more hot new music. Some key tracks you’ll want to give attention to today come from Evan Only, Fruit Bats, Matt Pryor, Mind Spiders, Oozing Wound and The visibles. In the Soundcloud section, stream new songs from Dead Gaze, Pusha-T (ft. Kendrick Lamar), Upset and We Are Scientists.

Atari Jones – Body Feelings

Belladonna – Wonderlust

Evan Ønly – No Matter What

Fruit Bats – When U Love Somebody

Ghost Wave – Kind of a Drag (The Buckinghams cover)

Gloom Balloon – She Was the One That Got Away

Matt Pryor – Kinda Go to Pieces

Mind Spiders – Inside You

Misun – Goodbye Sasha

Monster Rally – Palm Village

Oozing Wound – Call Your Guy

Shapeshifter – Gravity (Pacific Heights Remix)

The Visibles – Clarendon Hills

Wolf Catcher – Marijuana

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If you ask me (you didn’t, but I’ll tell you anyways), Band of Horses have been heading downhill since their very first album, 2006’s Everything All the Time. That was their high watermark, and it seems like with each new release they dip a little further in quality. Apparently I’m not the only one who has noticed this, considering that if you look at a collection of reviews they pretty much all reflect that same sentiment. What seems to be the problem with the band? They remain moderately popular, and can still certainly sell out a decent sized venue, but are the rooms they’re playing in filled with people eager to hear “The Funeral,” or “Knock Knock”? Don’t get me wrong – all indications are via interviews and press materials that the guys in Band of Horses are super nice and a whole lot of fun. They’d be a lot easier band to hate if they weren’t good people. Hell, I’m still rooting for their recovery in spite of everything. As a result, there was a certain degree of happiness that washed over me upon finding out that Band of Horses frontman Ben Bridwell is officially launching a solo project under the pseudonym of Birdsmell. Of course that happiness is tempered with caution, because for all I know Bridwell is the weak link in that band, and his solo stuff could be the worst yet. The press release attached to the announcement of the solo project didn’t instill much hope either. “I enlisted those same musicians [from an earlier single recording] to record some songs of mine that had been sitting around for far too long, some of which could be said to be uncomfortably silly and devoid of all reasonable taste,” Bridwell said. “I wasn’t exactly in a rush to get them out to the discerning earholes of the public. Regardless, this project was pure enjoyment for me and it was nice to not give a damn about anything, but having fun recording these songs.” When you’re calling your solo songs “uncomfortably silly and devoid of all reasonable taste,” it seems to suggest that they’re terrible and probably shouldn’t be heard. Yet he went and recorded them anyways, and three of them can now be streamed via Soundcloud. All three songs will appear on a 7″ vinyl, which will only be available at the handful of Birdsmell shows taking place next month in the Deep South. Where the project will go from there is anybody’s guess. Listening to those solo songs, I’ll say this much: they’re better than I expected them to be. Have a listen for yourself, and maybe they’ll strike your fancy. If not, well, there’s a whole roundup of Pick Your Poison tracks to discover as well. Today’s specials include cuts from Emperors, The Golden Furs, Mansions, Midnight Faces, Teapots and Yo La Tengo. In the Soundcloud section (after the jump), stream new songs from Baio, Destroyer, Juana Molina and Russian Circles.

BASECAMP – Emmanuel (Blackedout Remix)

Emperors – Be Ready When I Say Go

The Golden Furs – Run Back

Honeymilk – Light Entertainment

Mansions – Flowers in My Teeth

Midnight Faces – Fornication

Pattern Is Movement – Untitled (How Does It Feel) [D’Angelo cover]

PET – Talk to You (Kina Remix)

The Royalties STHLM – Your Favourite Song (Secondary Rules Remix)

Schwarz Don’t Crack – Charade (Adana Twins On A Lonely Night Remix)

Spazzkid – Weird Girl

StaG – I Think I’ll Shout (Chakita Remix)

Teapots – Alley

Yo La Tengo – Super Kiwi

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It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another weekly dip into the pool of music news, interviews and videos that I like to call This Week In Music! Yes, in addition to the normal Pick Your Poison mp3s and Soundcloud streams, I like to toss out links to a bunch of other music-related content that I’ve found interesting or worthwhile over the course of the week. I encourage you to check some, if not all of these things out, particularly if you’re looking to waste some time. There’s plenty to see, read and hear:

Watch Steve Albini on the cat talk show “Lil Bub’s Big Show”

Will Morrissey’s autobiography be released on October 17th?

Music Video: Cults – High Road

Watch Julianna Barwick perform “Crystal Lake” at Judson Church, with Sharon Van Etten and Prince Rama

YouTube Audio Stream: Iceage – Jackie (Sinead O’Connor cover)

Music Video: Angel Haze – Echelon (It’s My Way)

Watch Chvrches perform “The Mother We Share” on “Later… With Jools Holland”

Stream Disclosure’s BBC Essential Mix

What are David Bowie’s Top 100 Must Read Books?

Music Video: Courtney Barnett – Avant Gardener

Once you’re done sifting through that pile of this week’s many music-related media delights, be sure to keep scrolling downward for today’s edition of Pick Your Poison. There’s some great downloads in this set from The Bynars, Conveyor, Manicanparty, Saint Motel and Save Ends. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Lauryn Hill, Magik Markers, Paradise and Swearin, among others.

Aufgang – Ellenroutir (Anton Zap Remix)

Avis Norfleet – E.C.C.I. (ft. Mathew Lee Cothran)

BASECAMP – Rydia (Joe Hertz Remix)

The Bynars – Everyone Is Here

Carlton – Little Miss Sunshine

Champions League – My Dears

Conveyor – Pushups

Manicanparty – It’s In Her Eyes

Nathan Angelo – Thank You

New Navy – Regular Town (Baio Remix)

Saint Motel – Get Free (Major Lazer cover)

Satchmode – Old Fears

Save Ends – A Life They Wrote

Thief – Broken Boy (Césare Remix)

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Let’s talk upcoming Chicago shows for just a brief minute. Both of the ones I want to mention are already sold out, so if you don’t have a ticket than you may have to buy them off somebody if you really want to go. Still, these are worthwhile shows from worthwhile artists (clearly, if they’re sold out), and it gives me a chance to talk about them. LA’s Grouplove and Australia’s The Reubens are touring together, and their first stop in Chicago will be at Lincoln Hall next Wednesday, October 9th. That’s going to be a full electric set from both bands. The following night they’ll both be at SPACE in nearby Evanston, where they’ll both perform acoustic sets. If you pay much attention to radio these days, or are even calibrated to Internet buzz, than you’ve likely heard about Grouplove before. Their debut album Never Trust A Happy Song put them on a lot of radars, thanks largely to their hit indie pop song “Tongue Tied.” A couple weeks ago they put out their sophomore album Spreading Rumours, which is getting strong attention thanks to their latest single “Ways to Go.” Meanwhile, The Reubens are touring the U.S. for the first time in their young careers, in support of their self-titled debut album. Their sound might be best described as Jack White meets The Black Keys in terms of blues-inspired rock, though they’ve got something of a pop edge to them as well. Check out their single “My Gun” to get a feel for their sound. And as a nice spot of fun, the guys in The Reubens performed a cover of Grouplove’s “Ways to Go” and mixed in some bits of “My Gun,” for one singular fun track to celebrate their tour. Check that out here. So if you have the means to get into either of the two shows these two bands are playing in town next week, I highly recommend that you go. Now let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison. Highlights include cuts from A Beautiful Friend, Blank Maps, Cameron McGill, FMLYBND, The Parson Red Heads, SWF and Zeds Dead with Major Lazer. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream tracks from Flume (ft. Freddie Gibbs), Jensen Sportag, Kwes., Widowspeak and Fort Romeau’s remix of Cut Copy’s latest single.

A Beautiful Friend – Romeo

Blank Maps – Calm

Blue Sky Black Death – Keys (ft. Gucci Mane, Deniro Farrar, Nacho Picasso, and Mack Shine)

Cameron McGill – Good Love

Dream Shake – Buffy

FMLYBND – Come Alive

Hollow & Akimbo – Still Life

MondreM.A.N. – MC ILLIN

The Parson Red Heads – Every Mile

SWF – Turtle Brain

Todd and Erin – All I Can Think About Is You

The Union Electric – Day of the Dead

Unlike Pluto – Bollywood Summer

Zeds Dead & Major Lazer – Turn Around (ft. Elephant Man)

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Okay kids, we’ve hit another Tuesday, where I’m once again pleased to bring you a quick rundown of artists with brand new music coming out this week. The hope is to either inform you about what’s out there, but also to maybe even remind you if one of your favorite artists is putting out something new and you simply forgot about it. So without further ado, here’s your list for this week: Agnes Obel, Bailterspace (featured below!), Basia Bulat, Blitzen Trapper, The Blow, Bonobo, Cathedral, The Crookes, The Deep Dark Woods, Deltron 3030, Dr. Dog, Elf Power, Fuzz, Gambles, Grails, Haim, Hunters, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Johnny Flynn, Justin Timberlake, Leverage Models, Lorde, Melt Banana, Moby, Ohm, Oneohtrix Point Never, The Paper Kites, Polvo, Quasi, The Sadies, Those Darlins, Tired Pony and Yuck. There’s some real gems in that pile, so check some of these artists out if you haven’t already. You may wind up discovering your new favorite band. Or you could do the same thing as part of today’s Pick Your Poison. Highlights today come from Body Parts, Chad Valley, CUSCINO, Harness Flux, Miko & The Musket and Sidney York. In the Soundcloud section after the jump, stream songs from Editors, Popstrangers, We Are Scientists, White Lung, and Jagwar Ma remixing an Angel Haze track.

Bailterspace – Trinine

Body Parts – Be A God

Budo – Fremont

Chad Valley – Real Time

CUSCINO – Only the Beginning

Emillia Rich – Wild & Dirty

Fijuka – Phantom Sentimental

Harness Flux – Privacy Policy

Les Level – House of Need (Dirty Dub)

Miko & The Musket – On Your Mark

Mist Glider – Flash Back

Morgan Doctor – West Coast

Sidney York – Dick & Jane

The THANGS – Wedodo

Vincent Vocoder Voice – The Unbearable Heaviness of Having

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