San Francisco’s 7×7 Magazine has now stepped into the mix to shed some light on our city’s battle to keep our cherished all ages music venues alive – such as Bottom of the Hill, Slim’s, The Fillmore and Cafe du Nord.
Stay involved and on top of the latest developments on this issue by joining one of the groups on Twitter or Facebook.
The Layaways – “Keep It To Yourself”
One of the most brilliant things about music is the ability express a mood or articulate a feeling that you just can’t put into words yourself. Chicago indie rockers, The Layaways, do just that for me. I think La Blogotheque expressed it best when they said, “J’aime bien les chansons de The Layaways.” Moi aussi. Their bittersweet, melodramatic indie pop hooks tap into a kind of universal woeful lament that anyone can relate to at some point in time in their lives.
But best of all, the band is giving away their latest release, “The Space Between“, for free! Absolutely no strings attached. Go get it and enjoy.
Artist: She Keeps Bees
Album: Nests
File Under: Lo-Fi Indie Rock
Recommended if You Like: Heartless Bastards, Cat Power, Nina Simone, PJ Harvey, Jack ‘n Meg
Featured Tracks:
No frills, stripped down, raw, lo-fi, bluesy indie rock. You like that kinda music? Me too. And this Brooklyn-based duo, comprised of Jessica Larrabee (vocals, guitar) and Andy LaPlant, gives it up in spades. The first hit I got when I heard their album was a stripped down version of the Heartless Bastards. Like Erika Wennerstrom and Cat Power, Larrabee’s voice has a similar bluesy, soulful quality. And given their relationship status (boyfriend/girlfriend) and blues rock vibe, it’s hard not to draw comparisons to The White Stripes.
Oh, and then there’s the songwriting! Powerful and seductive, it’s hard not to get caught up in Larrabee’s conviction on “Gimme” as she pleads “Gimme, gimme, give it to me daddy/ Work me like my back ain’t got no bone.” And my personal favorite, “My Last Nerve”, where she growls “Lord, I am tired of this same old bullshit…” just gets me every time.
Nests, originally self-released by the duo in 2008, has been reissued this year under Names Records along with their Revival EP. Go get it. You won’t be disappointed.
Thanks See What You Hear for turning me on to this one!
I can’t emote enough about Grizzly Bear. I truly believe they are one of the seminal bands of our time and will inspire a generation of musicians to come. And they’re so young! But oh so talented. Each of them playing a multitude of instruments and contributing vocally to their beautiful, ethereal harmonies. The sound they create is simply symphonic. Their instrumental and vocal arrangements are so beautiful, well-crafted and of such far grander proportions I have a hard time lumping them into the category of ‘indie rock.’
As much as I love Grizzly Bear, as was just as excited to see Here We Go Magic. On the album, Luke Temple’s voice is on par with that of Ed Droste. In person, there’s absolutely no comparison. Mr. Droste wins hands down. I was actually quite disappointed with Here We Go Magic. Their album is great, it just didn’t translate live for me.
So with that, I’ll leave you with a video I captured from the show. It wasn’t until later did I learn that you’re not supposed to do that. I didn’t know! I don’t get to The Fillmore much. I usually stick to the smaller venues and shoot video no problem. It just seems a shame to let it go to waste. So I put it here with the pinky promise that – cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye -I will never ever shoot video at The Fillmore again.
Sunset Rubdown, one of the many side projects of Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug, released their fourth LP today, Dragonslayer, on Jagjaguwar. Go get it! This album is all the talk right now. San Franciscans, the band will be playing The Rickshaw Stop Wednesday, June 24.
Vice Records announced on their website last week that King Khan and BBQ Show, the Black Lips and Mark Sultan have joined forces to create a new band, The Almighty Defenders. Wow! Just pause for a moment to wrap your head around that one. Both King Khan and Black Lips have such notorious live shows, one can hardly image what would happen if they all got on stage and performed together. Spontaneous combustion?
Their self-titled debut is due out September 22. No MP3s released as of yet, but I will be tracking this one closely.
North Carolina’s Floating Action self-titled debut is the latest work of Seth Kauffman – who already has a couple of albums under his belt by his own name. He mashes up a lot of influences on the album, but the jangly, soulful, lo-fi rhythms shine through. The perfect song for such a beautiful, balmy day here in San Francisco.
Jack White’s new band, The Dead Weather – featuring Alison Mosshart of The Kills, is ramping up for the launch of their debut album, Horehound, on July 14. Will the sum be greater than the parts? We’ll have to wait and see. Luckily not for long. The band has announced a live performance on From the Basement TV this Monday, June 22 at 9PM BST/ 1PM PST. Mark your calendars and tune in.
Here We Go Magic, “Tunnelvision”
The debut album by this Brooklyn-based group has been on heavy rotation for me quite a while. Even more so now that the Grizzly Bear/ Here We Go Magic show at The Fillmore is merely days away. I’ve been listening to it incessantly all week and I am as infatuated with Luke Temple’s (Magic) voice as I am with Ed Droste’s (Grizzly Bear). Both are pure and angelic and the two bands complement each other perfectly.
Both albums are atmospheric but Magic is decidedly more lo-fi and ambient in a Panda Bear kind of way with lots of loops and multi-tracked vocals. The beautiful, murky rhythms of “Tunnelvision” and “Fangela” are representative of much of the sound found on the album. But I must confess they lose me on a couple of their noise, experimental tracks toward the end. While it’s a bit incongruent to the overall flow of the album, it doesn’t overshadow the overall experience – enchanting.
This was the scene out my back door this morning. Set up by my 4-year old, Judah. He just received a box full of Matchbox cars from his cousins in Chicago. And this is either an extremely organized display of admiration for his new booty or he has some serious Type A tendencies. Only time will tell.
the OCMD 