Portugal. The Man - New Album Out Today!

Portugal. The Man's new record The Satanic Satanist comes out today! They are also playing some gigs in our neck of the woods, August 4th at Union Pool (Brooklyn) and August 5th at Mercury Lounge (NYC). See you there!

- Sonic

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As Tall As Lions - New Record Hits August 18th

It’s Been Fun, But Looks Like We’re All Doomed!

To quote the last line in the song Be Here Now, by the ridiculously cool band As Tall As Lions:
“It’s been a good life – I’ll be sad to see it go …”

Clicking this link will explain why and apparently how we’ll all die.

So, why not check out a sweet ass live version of the aforementioned As Tall As Lions song?

- Goodchild

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Julian Casablancas of The Strokes Releasing New Solo Album

Julian Casablancas of The Strokes will be releasing a solo record entitled Phrazes For The Young. All of the other members of The Strokes have released work on side projects but this will be the first for Casablancas. The record is due out in Fall of this year, but check out the preview video for now.

- Sonic

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Brand New: Music Hall Of Williamsburg 07.11.09

Music Hall of Williamsburg is a rather small venue for a band like Brand New, and as our very own Mitch will tell you it sold out in minutes. There was a 2 ticket limit and a will call only policy on the show to prevent people from selling tickets for ridiculous prices.


The first half of their 90 minutes ish show was mostly songs off of Your Favorite Weapon and Deja Entendu. Then they played a few songs of their upcoming album Daisy which will hit the US on September 22nd. On first listen I definitely liked it, kind of in the vein of God And The Devil Are Raging Inside Me but a little heavier.


They finished the show with "Soco Amaretto Lime" and the whole place was singing along. A great show and I know a lot of you missed it but they will be playing Nassau Coliseum with Glassjaw on November 27th so keep you eyes and ears out for ticket info. I will also have an exclusive video up of them playing a song off of Daisy so check back tomorrow!

- Sonic

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Featured Band: Wavves

Wavves' is a band from California playing some surf rock with a punk rock attitude and lofi textures. Maybe the word band is inaccurate since it is currently comprised only of singer Nathan Williams. Drug and alcohol problems led to an abrupt end of their set in Spain earlier this year where he fought with drummer Ryan Ulsh and the crowd. The rest of the European tour was cancelled and Ulsh left the group earlier this summer.

Williams is back though with a few gigs booked including one at Bowery Ballroom on July 15th.

- Sonic

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Video Pick: The National - Mistaken for Strangers

This video is from The National and the song is called Mistaken for Strangers. They will be at the All Points West Festival this year, we will be doing a preview of the festival soon. For now enjoy the video to a really good song.

- Sonic

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Featured Band: Phoenix

Phoenix

The synth has definitely made a comeback lately but these guys have incorporated that element to their music for years. Phoenix is a band from France and one you guys should check out. They are on a big European tour but will be stopping by LA and NYC. The September 25th show at Central Park is sold out but they added another show on the 26th and Passion Pit is opening which is awesome because Passion Pit is one of my faves as of late.

+ Phoenix on Myspace

- Sonic

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Video Pick: So So Glos - Black & Blue

So So Glos opened for Titus Andronicus on Saturday at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and they were great. They bring a Clash kind of punk rock that is very genuine and fun. Check them out!

- Sonic

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Titus Andronicus @ Music Hall of Williamsburg - 06.06.09

photo by Sonic

I finally got a chance to see Titus Andronicus live over the weekend at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. The show wasn't sold out but it was a good turn out especially since they have played the NYC area several times already this year and they were headlining this time around.

They busted out new material during the middle of their set which was a 15 minute long non-stop medley of songs or quite possibly one long ass song. No one really knew which of the two it was, but I think it may have been the latter taking into account what singer Patrick Stickles said. Apparently their label (XL Recordings) is not too crazy about the idea for their next record.

The show was high energy and super loud and the front half of the crowd was going nuts all throughout the set. Some might say they are terrible live, and that they are just loud noise and unintelligible vocals. But there will also be people that will say they are great. My experience was both of those things, and although I feel they can polish their performance a little they still kicked ass. I hope they figure out their situation for their next record because from what they played it is going to be rockin' whether it is a 15 minute tune or not.

photo by Sonic

- Sonic

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Featured Band: Cage The Elephant

photo and copyright by Danny Clinch

I played a gig with this band at last year's CMJ showcase but I was busy getting ready for the show and I didn't really get to check them out. I was looking at the line-up for this year's All Points West Festival and I came across their name as was like "Oh, yeah I've heard of these guys." And here we are.

I've been up all night working on some ish so I'm gonna make this short and get my ass to bed, but they are really fun and supposed to be a great live. You can go to their myspace page to listen to some tracks. I highly recommend "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked" it's a great song. Good morning to everyone, and goodnight to me!

+ Cage The Elephant on Myspace

- Sonic

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Northside Festival

People at The L Magazine have teamed up with local music businesses to put together the first annual Northside Festival taking place in Greenpoint and Williamsburg Brooklyn from Thursday June 11th to Sunday June 14th. It will showcase bands and artists of the independent music and art scene in the NYC area.

Some of the bands playing include The Hold Steady, Bishop Allen, O'Death and Aa. The Williamsburg Gallery Association will be helping out featuring artists throughout the art spaces in the area. Tickets are $45 passes for all 4 days and they are not doing single day tickets apparently. It is cheap considering but it is only available for all of us 21 and older. I think you can get tickets for the individual shows through the venues though. My friends O'Death are playing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and I'm pretty sure you can get tickets for that specific show online.

It's pretty much an uber hipster festival I'm assuming, but I can totally be wrong and on the flipside it's a music and art festival what can go wrong? Check out their website for complete line-ups and schedules. www.northsidefestival.com

+ The Northside Festival - Snooze [Lucid Culture]
+ The Northside Festival is coming to Brooklyn [Brooklyn Vegan]

- Sonic

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Featured Band: The Go! Team

"The Go! Team are an English, Brighton-based six piece band (with two drummers) whose songs are a mixture of action theme songs, cheerleader chants, guitars and early hip hop, with a hint of '70s funk. Their songs are a mix of live instrumentation and samples from various sources."

That's what it says on the first paragraph on their Wikipedia page, and that along with their band name, artwork (images, videos and what not) pretty much sum it up. To be honest some of their stuff I really don't get at all but there are also times when I think they are just brilliant. Check out the video above for starters but link up to their myspace page to check out more tunes.

- Sonic

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Featured Band: White Rabbits

photo and copyright by Lucy Hamblin

White Rabbits are another band that is from Brooklyn, but really from somewhere else. That somewhere else being Missouri in their case, but I'm not being snotty here in fact the opposite. It doesn't matter where you're from, a great band is a great band and the White Rabbits are awesome!

They are a six piece band with two drummers which often is absolutely pointless to be truthful. I can't really name too many bands if any that have 2 drummers or extra percussionists that actually serve a purpose. Most of the time when a band has two drummers its just a way to say "Hey! We have two drummers, we must sound interesting and cool." Fortunately that is not the case for the White Rabbits and it is evident in the mix. You can hear the different percussive elements really working together making a unified beat but doing different things.

They have a new record entitled It's Frightening coming out tomorrow. You can catch them on Letterman tonight, or check them out live this Thursday at the Bowery Ballroom. I think tickets are still available if you haven't picked them up already!

+ White Rabbits on Myspace

- Sonic

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Feature Band: Point Juncture, WA

photo by Sonic

So who were the openers for The Thermals show? Point Juncture, WA was one of them (pronounced Point Juncture Washington), and they were great. This band is from Portland Oregon and is made up of different members or other bands in the Portland scene. The main singer plays keys and sometimes trumpet, but the other 3 members rotate instruments depending on the song. It's always impressive to see people play drums and sing at the same time. I really enjoy the drumming in their songs, the rhythms are really cool and it serves as a great foundation for the other parts to ride over. Anyway, go check them out on their myspace page.

photo by Sonic

- Sonic

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Highlark Was There: The Thermals at Bowery Ballroom 05/09/09

So I went to Bowery Ballroom on Saturday to check out The Thermals. They were great and I had a lot of fun. Here is a live video for their song "We Were Sick" which I took on my camera... it's kind of crappy but the audio is pretty good I think. Check out our YouTube Channel for the live video of The Thermals performing "Now We Can See."

photo by Sonic

photo by Sonic

photo by Sonic

- Sonic

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Featured Band: Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band on Myspace

Of course you know Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes, and you may have picked up his solo release Conor Oberst which came out last year. The Mystic Valley Band actually backed Oberst on the Conor Oberst record, and the new record Outer South which is due out tomorrow (May 5th) is considered the second record by Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. The backing band is included in the band name this time, possibly due to the fact that some of the songs on Outer South were reportedly written and even sung by members of the band other than Conor Oberst.

They will be playing a free show at Battery Park in NYC on July 4th with Jenny Lewis.

- Sonic

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Featured Band: The Helio Sequence

The Helio Sequence

Whether it's on recording or live The Helio Sequence is just two guys, Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel. You may notice that their songs don't have any bass, which I think is a brave move on their part but also the reason they can pull off their songs live with just them two. Honestly you hardly notice though, and their electronica blended indie rock sound fills up a lot of the audio spectrum as is.

This duo from Portland Oregon will be in the NYC area on May 27th at the Radio City Music Hall opening up for Keane and Mat Kearney, and will be headlining their own show on May 28th at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

On a side not did you know Benjamin Weikel used to play for Modest Mouse? Interesting stuff, but anyway check them out!

+ The Helio Sequence on Myspace

- Sonic

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Featured Band: Camera Obscura

Camera Obscura at Myspace

This group has been around for over ten years but they are definitely reaching a wider fan base and getting some well deserved recognition of late. You may remember this UK band's last record Let's Get Out Of This Country which came out in 2006, but they will be releasing a brand new record titled My Maudlin Career April 21st which is tomorrow!

Camera Obscura plays mellow indie pop with a real nostalgic feel; at times very fun and at times well.... mellow. The voice of main vocalist Tracyanne Campbell is as their bio says sweet and sad, and the melody lines she sings is quite addictive as well. They will be at Webster Hall on June 24th for all you New Yorkers out there, but check out their myspace for their complete tour routing.

- Sonic

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Featured Artist: Pomegranates

Pomegranates

Pomegranates from Cincinnati Ohio are another one of those bands that got signed within months of their inception. It's truly amazing what the world of internet social networking and blogs can do these days, but listening to their catchy tunes how can you resist?

These guys maybe young, but they write great melodies and harmonies and craft them into fun indie pop tunes. They are on tour now, and will be at the Mercury Lounge (NYC) on May 13th with Wye Oak. Their new record Everybody, Come Outside! will be out tomorrow, so go check them out on their myspace page.

- Sonic

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Featured Band: Silversun Pickups

photo by Autumn de Wilde

The Silversun Pickups are a band from LA, more specifically from the Silver Lake music scene which gave birth to the likes of Elliot Smith and Rilo Kiley. They often get compared to the Smashing Pumpkins for their sound and possibly even for their line-up that boasts a female bassist. I totally see where the comparison comes in, but the Pickups definitely hold their own.

No NYC dates are scheduled yet, but they will be playing the All Points West Music Festival at Liberty State Park in Jersey City this summer (August 2nd). They are also releasing a new record entitled Swoon on April 14th. You can listen to the song "Panic Switch" off of said record on their myspace page. If you don't know about these guys yet, definitely check them out!

+ Silversun Pickups [Myspace]

- Sonic

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