Here’s one of the more talked about additions to the Indie Pop circuit, who also pay homage to 80s synthpop. Their debut album, ‘Partie Traumatic’, is releasing this month. This is a video of their single, ‘I’m not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance.’ If you weren’t looking you might mistake this for a new track from The Cure.
Artist: Black Keys
Album: Attack & Release
File Under: Lo-fi Indie Rock
Recommended if You Like: White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Black Angels
Featured Track: Psychotic Girl
I had all but given up on the Black Keys. I’ve followed them since their debut and loved their bluesy minimalist sound. (I’ve always described them as White Stripes meets Stevie Ray Vaughn.) But each successive album seemed to be just more of the same and less creative. I don’t think I would have bothered to pick up their new album, ‘Attack and Release’, if it weren’t for an interview I saw of the duo on Pitchfork.tv that completely cracked me up.
I’m glad I did because it’s become one of my favorite albums this year…like reconnecting with an old friend. The album is dark and moody for sure, but oh so sexy. Their collaboration with Danger Mouse on this album adds subtle layers of complexity to give it a more ethereal and eerie sound than their prior releases.
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Former Simian vocalist, Simon Lord, has a new band – The Black Ghosts – and a self-titled debut album to be released July 7. This is the new video for their catchy track ‘Repetition Kills You’. Chalk one up to 80s synth pop!
Caution: Contact high may occur while listening to this album, especially under the influence of black lights.
Okay, this Austin-based psyche rock band definitely fits nicely into my dark and moody ‘black’ band category. The band, whose mantra is ‘Turn on, Tune in, Drone out’, has a very soul-satisfying stoner rock sound that draws references to groups like Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Doors. Lead singer Alex Maas’ vocals have an eerie resemblance to Jim Morrison, in particular.
I adore their debut album, Passover, that was released in 2006. Their new album, Directions to See a Ghost, released this a couple of months ago is a solid effort but not quite as good as their debut, in my opinion. Definitely a band worth a listen regardless. Check out this track, You on the Run, from their latest album.
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buy it at insound!
Scrolling through my music library recently – in alphabetical order of course – it became apparent to me that if you want to be a hip, cutting edge indie rock artist, you should insert the word ‘black’ or ‘crystal’ into your band name somewhere. There have been three debut LP/EPs from Crystal bands alone this year: Crystal Antlers, Crystal Stilts and Crystal Castles. Not to mention the bevy of ‘black’ dubbed bands with new albums out like Black Angels, Black Keys and Black Mountain to name a few.
Personally, I find myself more drawn to the ‘black’ bands as these groups tend to be of a more dark and moody ilk. (You know, the kind that attracts a predominately male audience.) For some reason, whenever I free associate ‘crystal’ bands, my mind immediately goes to 80s synthpop. I just can’t help it. I’m very judgmental toward the ‘crystal’ set. Is this fair? Is there any relevant basis for me to draw such a biased conclusion? And why is there no band named Black Crystal yet?
Welcome to the first OCMD Trendspotting series – Black Crystal Bands– where I’ll explore some of the new emerging artists in this category (read: no Black Crowes, Black Sabbath, etc.), attempt to answer some of these questions, and hopefully turn you on to some great new music in the process!
I’ve got at least 10 bands to tackle in this series, but I would love to hear your thoughts, comments and additions of other worthy bands I may have missed.
Tune in tomorrow for The Black Angels.
My 3 year old is obsessed with The Duke Spirit and their lead singer Liela Moss. Every day he practices singing his favorite Duke Spirit songs into his microphone and playing his tambourine – ‘just like Liela’. Part of his self-prescribed training involves intently studying all of The Duke Spirit videos available on YouTube. They only have videos out for a few songs and most of the live footage available is unwatchable (‘that’s a bad one mamma’). So imagine my surprise when I stumbled across this amazing live performance from the soon to be launched DigforFire.tv.
There’s not a lot of information on the site as to what it’s all about, other than it looks to be NYC-based, if not affiliated with 89.1 WNYU. Whatever the case, the quality of the small amount of content they have up there now makes Pitchfork.tv look like amateurs. It’s like the IFC for indie music, with well produced documentaries, interviews and live sessions.
I can’t wait to see more from these guys. In the meantime, we’ll be rocking out to this great live track from The Duke Spirit – This Ship Was Built to Last. They look so polished and professional here it’s hard to imagine they’ll be playing such a tiny venue as The Bottom of the Hill on July 23.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Topspin officially emerged from stealth mode last week to unveil their technology platform that aims to help music artists build their business and brand directly with fans – without the help of a label. There’s not a lot of public information on the product itself other than it sounds like a Salesforce.com (CRM) for the music industry – a suite of tools designed to help artists build relationships and distribute music directly to fans.
What’s great is that Topspin is not trying to brand this product to consumers. It’s completely B2B, which means artists will be able to incorporate Topspin technology into their own websites and social networking platforms. Reportedly artists like David Byrne and Dandy Warhols are already using the technology to offer a subscription model to fans that will give them access to a host of content either exclusively or before general release.
While the direct-to-fan model is not a new concept – think Radiohead, The Raconteurs and supposedly the forthcoming Beck album – not every band has had the longevity or popularity of groups like these to implement such a strategy successfully. That’s where the beauty of technology like Topspin comes in. As Topspin’s new CEO, Ian Rogers, stated in this month’s Billboard interview, it empowers the middle class of artists – those either past their commercial prime or too new to enjoy the marketing support of a major label.
It’s a paradigm shift either way you slice it, for both artists and fans in terms of how music is distributed and consumed. I can’t wait to see how it all plays out. I just hope Topspin plans on launching a similar platform for the film industry too!
One of my guilty pleasures, Panther, is coming to town tomorrow to play at the Bottom of the Hill. The two-man show headed by Charlie Salas-Humara on vocals and Joe Kelly on drums is like James Brown and Peaches mash up. They make me smile. Check out this video and see for yourself.
Oakland-based Port O’Brien posted the official video for the track ‘I Woke Up Today’ from their debut album, All We Could Do Was Sing. After seeing them at SXSW this year, I’d say their video fairly accurately portrays their on stage presence as well – a raucous, ragtag ensemble of massed choruses and dancing kooks. Still, there’s something there. Even Pitchfork gave the album a coveted 7.5. Go East Bay!
Artist: Handsome Furs
Album: Plague Park
File Under: Indie Rock
Recommended if You Like: Beck, Wolf Parade
Featured Track: Sing! Captain
The influence and reach of Montreal-based Wolf Parade and its members is quite astonishing. I’ve always been intrigued by Spencer Krug and his impressive list of side projects. (Sunset Rubdown was one of my favorites last year.) Now Wolf Parade guitarist and vocalist Dan Boeckner has his own, Handsome Furs.
Formed as a concept project with his drum-machine playing wife, Alexei Perry, in 2006, the duo booked a tour before even they’d even written a song. The two holed up in an apartment belonging to members of the Arcade Fire and wrote their debut album, Plague Park.
Featuring a drum machine, guitar and Beck-like vocals, their sound is dark, bare and stirring. I love it.
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the OCMD 