A couple days before Twin Sister played Bruar Falls with Pure Ecstasy, Hunter from Infinite Best Records sent over a track by them called “Kimmi In A Ricefield.”  Twin Sister had been getting a lot of blog press, but this was the first track that I heard by them…and I was absolutely floored.  Hunter knew I was liked minded catching the White Lodge reference.

While Twin Sister’s sound is ever evolving “Kimmi In A Ricefield” is an instrumental track that evokes the eeriness of the woods, and not just any woods those of the Pacific North West.  Maybe it was just Hunter’s suggestion of hearing this song for the first time after a two week long Twin Peaks marathon, but it’s pretty clear that Twin Sister was channeling Angelo Badalamenti during the song writing process on this one.  This enchanting track diverges from Badalamenti influence with the use of light dance grooves, and echoing percussion creating something that is very much their own.  Even in a track like this that seems like this that seems far from a dance jam… Twin Sister can put their subtle touch on it, and make it entirely unique and with a bit of a indie disco edge.  The night that this song was sent over I sat at the computer, and listened to it over and over…I hope you have the same experience:

[mp3] Twin Sister- “Kimmi In A Ricefield”

“Kimmi In A Ricefield” is a master piece, and I can only hope to hear more music that sounds like this from Twin Sister.  This track has been available on Twin Sister’s website for quite sometime now, and will be featured on The Report compilation being put out by none other than Chocolate Bobka.

While their live set was very different from the track above that didn’t take away from their talent and showmanship.  Twin Sister was initially supposed to play before Pure Ecstasy, but they ended up headlining.  While Pure Ecstasy was great, but no one could have followed Twin Sister that night.  Extremely tight, and for a band I had heard very little of their music they truly blew me away.  This band is a pleasure to see live, and they have many tour dates coming up (see the bottom of this post) so go check them out.  I’m extremely happy with how some of my photos came from that night, and I am very excited to share them with you.  These photos are from the White Lodge.

If you would like to hear more Twin Sister you can download their fabulous EP Vampires With Dreaming Kids for free here.

[full album download] Twin Sister- Vampires With Dreaming Kids

Also keep an eye on Infinite Best Recordings for their upcoming 12″!
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Twin Sister is tour to and from SXSW!  Go See Them:

• Mar 6 2010 @ Coco 66 w/ Amniotic (Ex-Psycadellic Furs)–> Brooklyn, New York
• Mar 13 2010 @ Full House Gallery w/ Galaxies, Mount McKinley, Oberhofer, Secret Hideout–> Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Mar 17 2010 @ SXSW –>Austin, Texas
• Mar 18 2010 @ SXSW – Creekside Lounge –>Austin, Texas
• Mar 19 2010 @ SXSW–> Austin, Texas
• Mar 20 2010 @ SXSW – Karibu w/ Pure Ecstasy, Pearl Harbor–> Austin, Texas
• Mar 21 2010 @ MtyMx Todd P. After Party–> Monterrey, México
• Mar 23 2010 @ The Mink w/ Holiday Shores, Caliban Goodbrain–> Houston, Texas
• Mar 24 2010 @ Hailey’s Club w/ Holiday Shores, Writer, Manned Missles–> Denton, Texas
• Mar 25 2010 @ Proud Larry’s w/ Holiday Shores, Young Buffalo–> Oxford, Mississippi
• Mar 26 2010 @ Al’s Bar w/ Holiday Shores, Idiot Glee (Presented by “I Guess I’m Floating”)–> Lexington, Kentucky
• Mar 27 2010 @ Vollrath Theatre w/ Holiday Shores (Presented by “My Old Kentucky Blog”)–> Indianapolis, Indiana
• Mar 28 2010 @ The Bishop w/ Holiday Shores, French & Indian War–> Bloomington, Indiana
• Mar 29 2010 @ Daytrotter Sessions w/ Holiday Shores (Day Show)–> Rock Island, Illinois
• Mar 29 2010 @ Huckleberry’s Pizza w/ Holiday Shores (Evening Show) –>Rock Island, Illinois
• Mar 30 2010@ Halfway Lounge w/ Holiday Shores, Thin Hymns, Distractions –> Chicago, Illinois
• Mar 31 2010 @ Case Western University w/ Holiday Shores –>Cleveland, Ohio
• Apr 1 2010 @ Cameo w/ Holiday Shores –>Brooklyn, New York
• Apr 9 2010 @ Bowery Ballroom w/ Xiu Xiu, Tune-Yards, Zola Jesus –>New York, New York
• Apr 10 2010 @ The Middle East (Downstairs) w/ Xiu Xiu, Tune-Yards –> Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Apr 13 2010 @ First Unitarian Church w/ Xiu Xiu, Tune-Yards –>Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Apr 14 2010 @ DC9 w/ Xiu Xiu, Tune Yards –> District of Columbia, Washington DC

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These photos of Twin Sister were taken on January 29th, 2010 at Bruar Falls, and are from the White Lodge. If you would like to use one of these photos please link back to the flickr page, and credit the White Lodge.

• more posts featuring photos from the White Lodge can be found here.

When your first introduction to a band is a cover song an initial opinion is typically made pretty quick, and there was no exception with Pure Ecstasy.

Winter time is the time of year, oddly enough, when I gravitate towards reggae…I bust out my Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, Soul Jazz and Pressure Sounds comps, Scientist LPs, and The Abyssinians…but I honestly don’t own anything by Toots & The Maytals…that didn’t mean I wasn’t familiar with “Pressure Drop.”

“Pressure Drop” is one of those songs that if you have the slightest interest in reggae as a genre you have probably heard(or maybe you have heard one of the many covers of it), and to hear a cover coming from a fuzzy indie band I can say at the very least I was skeptical, but I shouldn’t have been.

But Austin, Texas’ Pure Ecstasy hit this one right on.  Pure Ecstasy manages to stay true to both the song itself, and to their own sound.  While it’s not clean cut that it is a cover of a reggae classic, but the tone and vibe manage to remain true to the original.  On top of this Pure Ecstasy manage to incorporate their lightly fuzzed out mellow pop into it, and let both sides shine.  In my opinion they accomplish everything that should be present in a good cover song.

[mp3] Pure Ecstasy- “Pressure Drop”

• originally appeared on Friendship Bracelet Club Vol 2. (get that here)

Bringing Pure Ecstasy back to their own tunes is the track “Easy”  the A Side off of their 7″ on Light Lodge Records.  I was able to pick this 7″ up when I saw them play at Bruar Falls with Twin Sister last month (which is also where these pictures were taken).  “Easy” showcases Pure Ecstasy’s laid back indie pop, and has been playing on my iPod way before I got the 7″.  I’m so used to short songs these days, and everytime I play “Easy” I forget that it is a four minute jam…mellow, and long enough to let you truly get into it and relax.  Just when you think the track is over it goes into a ambient drone with just a vocal melody…and the then the guitar kicks back in to finish out the song… a perfect end to the track.

[mp3] Pure Ecstasy- “Easy”

• Buy the Easy from Light Lodge Records here.
  • buy their the very limited repress of their Future Nostalgia 7″ here.
  • pre-order their new 7″ Voices here.

After listening to “Easy” you can really see that Pure Ecstasy’s sound really does shine in “Pressure Drop.”  Looking forward to more from these dudes.  I know their trip to NYC wasn’t the best…some asshole had to steal their guitar.  I really hope they will be back.

Pure Ecstasy tour dates can be found here.

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The photos of Pure Ecstasy were taken on January 29th, 2010 at Bruar Falls.  These photos are from the White Lodge.

• more posts featuring photos from the White Lodge can be found here.

My first show of Twenty Ten will be tonight, and as far as I’m concerned it couldn’t be any better than Julian Lynch.  Julian Lynch made one of my favorite records of 2009 (my lists are still to come), and he will be contributing his own best of list to the Great Pumpkin later this week! I also hope to shoot a little video at the show tonight as well…we will see.

If you can make it this should be a really good show(oh and it’s FREE!), honestly it would be a really good show if Julian was the only one playing…but I’m pretty excited to see Big Troubles as well.

I’ve been digging on the Julian Lynch tracks that Friendship Bracelet posted a while back from the Birthday CDr on Buffalo Songs, and I thought I would share one here with you now.  Just as dreamy as Orange You Glad, but with some found tapes and loops added in…initially reminded me of the backwards speak in Twin Peaks.

[mp3] Julian Lynch- “dubna”

If you missed it a while back I posted Big Troubles “Freudian Slips,” and here it is again:

[mp3] Big Troubles- “Freuduian Slips”

Here is to hoping that all of Big Troubles’ songs are this wonderful.

See you at Bruar Falls tonight! Again this show is FREE!

Links:

• more on Julian Lynch here.
• more on Big Troubles here.
• this show is presented by PopJew
• Concert Poster by Courtney

Grass Widow have released two 12″s with in a matter of months.  Their self titled record on Make A Mess was one of those albums that I looked for for ever, but had no luck.  The first pressing of the LP went out of print very quickly, and even though I tried calling record stores in other parts of the country trying to mail order it I had no luck.  From what I understand the remaining copies of this LP floating around at your local shop are from the second pressing…that appears to be going out of print as fast as the first. It was a nice surprise walking into Permanent Records, and seeing this one up on the wall long after I had given up on it.

Girl pop seems to be king, or queen in this case, and these days there is no shortage of all girl bands…but there are three that I feel are a step above the rest, and Grass Widow is one of those.

Their debut full length on Make A Mess channels a more powerful force, at least for me. In the depths of their music I can feel the faintest hints of Beat Happening.  One might think that this would be a hard thing to pull out of their music being that they are an all girl band, and that one of the corner stones of Beat Happening is Calvin Johnson’s baritone voice, but it is more the subtleties in the music more than a direct comparison that brings this to mind….a vocal cadence or part of a drum beat.  It’s not necessary to see this, but it’s something I pick up on…and in the end anything that reminds me of Beat Happening tends to be a winner with me.

I feel that Grass Widow emphasis this on “Celebrate the Mundane” the second track off the Make A Mess full length.  Even at first listen Grass Widow are clearly different than their contemporaries in the way that they utilize every member of the band.  All three of the women in Grass Widow contribute to the vocals, and it is not just on choruses but at times all three of them are simultaneously singing different lyrics….creating harmonies that at first don’t seem possible.  This combination of lyrics, vocals, cadence, and harmony are where I truly see the connections I alluded to above, but occasionally in the beat as well.

[mp3] Grass Widow- “Celebrate the Mundane”

Grass Widow bring in the the horns later on in the LP, and overall have created a truly beautiful post-twee record. Extremely impressive as a debut LP, and one that has been spinning on the turntable and headphones for weeks. It’s looking like this is another one in my year end list as well.

Buy Grass Widow’s Self Titled album here.

A couple Sundays ago Grass Widow jumped on the bill for the Tom Tom Magazine launch party at Bruar Falls.  Grass Widow had been playing shows all weekend, but I didn’t quite make it to any of them, and when I heard this show was at Bruar Falls I couldn’t not go.  If you the Great Pumpkin you already know this, but Bruar Falls just happens to be my favorite venue right now…so the location was perfect.

I got to Bruar Falls about 20 minutes before Grass Widow went on, and the place was totally packed.  It seemed like more people were there for the magazine than the music (this was made clear by how many people just talked through the bands sets), but I guess that could be expected.  I was a little surprised by the music that was being played between sets…after all Tom Tom Magazine is a magazine about female drummers, but I’m pretty sure there wasn’t an actual drum set used in any of the dance/hip hop music that was being played (I guess a party atmosphere was the desired effect)….just thought this was odd and worth mentioning.

By time Grass Widow took the stage I was really ready to hear the music that I came for, and these ladies brought it.  With songs like “Celebrate the Mundane” and “To Where” it can be hard for a band to pull it off live, but Grass Widow were well practiced and sounded great even on what I assume, due to the distance they traveled without a full tour, was borrowed equipment.  It’s really impressive that all three of their vocals can be so tight in a live setting.  I was able to capture some of this on video, and I am now happy to share it with you.

Grass Widow- “Lulu’s Lips”

[mp3] Grass Widow- “Lulu’s Lips” off of the Captured Tracks 12″.  Buy it here.

While reviewing my recordings I realized that I didn’t know three of the tracks I taped.  I emailed Grass Widow, and Hannah was kind enough to help me identify them.

Hannah informed me that the three tracks are from their yet to be recorded album for Slumberland Records!  Grass Widow will be hitting the studio in January, and these three tracks, and many others, will be put to tape.  Enjoy:

Grass Widow- “Give Me Shapes”

Grass Widow- “Landscape”

Grass Widow- “Uncertain Memory”

Thanks to Hannah, and the rest of Grass Widow, for identifying these songs for me.  I’m really looking forward to the new record, and to your return to New York!

Links:

• Buy Grass Widow releases here.
• Grass Widows website/myspace
• more on Slumberland Records here.
• more on Captured Tracks Records here.
• more on Permanent Records here.
• more gprecs videos here.
• more This Week In Mail Order here.

A couple weeks ago I got a copy of BOAT’s new album Setting the Paces. It’s not unlike me to get obsessive over an album, but it has been damn hard to get Setting the Paces out of my headphones (literally at least once a day since I got it).

BOAT make up beat indie pop with catchy hooks, and lyrics that are borderline twee (and as you probably know I have no problem with this) that latched on to my brain. When some bad things started happening around me lat week I was really glad to have BOAT to help pull me out of the sadness.

Setting the Paces is BOAT’s 3rd LP, but the first that I am hearing…and if it is any indication of their other work there is a strong chance I might end up with all of them.

BOAT was one of those bands that didn’t initially sink in, and “Name Tossing” was the first track that I heard (and this was long before I heard the whole album).  It ended up on a mix I made out of  tracks I downloaded.  At first I was indifferent, then I kept going back to it, and then I played it on repeat…it was a slow but gradual progression to obsession.  At that point I snagged a couple more tracks from The Finest Kiss and Soundbites, two blogs that have been championing BOAT for quite a while.

There is something intensely personal about BOAT.  Their songs aren’t just songs…they are stories about friends, family, life, and fantasy.  BOAT is a band that indie pop fans will probably fall in love with, and if the musicians are anything like their music…people you would want to be friends with as well.  When a band writes a description of their own music…I am typically skeptical…but I think BOAT’s is true to form:

Reptile boy vocals being sung in the same room with many guitars, a bass, two drumsets, a Wurlitzer, several keyboards, mediocre talent, fragile egos, some soft tacos, a piece of pizza, and several Diet Cokes. (via)

Besides the diet cokes, this sounds pretty much amazing…and Setting the Paces is the product of this.  And from this description you  can only expect lyrics about eating nachos, hanging out with the family, friends of past and present, and stories of sadness and success.  You will probably find yourself singing along with lines like “I knew you when your mini van was up on cinder blocks” (from “Reverie”) or “I was eating nachos, sitting with my mother, talking bout nothing, talking about growing….up in New Jersey, a state without a hero…who could be our hero?  Drive into the City!”  (from “Lately”).   It’s very seldom that a band can write lyrics like this, and not sound cheesy…but rather completely honest and sincere, and from what I can tell…BOAT does this better than anyone.

[mp3] BOAT- “Price of Tacoma”

[mp3] BOAT- “Lately”

both are from Setting the Paces…if you like these you are sure to love the whole album.

Buy Setting the Paces here!

then…..

Go see BOAT play live, on what I think is a very rare East Coast tour:

“we could be the touring band and eat take out food every night of the week, but I’m not all that interested in that” (from “Jeff Fell Dream #48″)

• 11/11/09-  Boston, Massachusetts @ PA’s Lounge
• 11/12/09-  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania @ Pilam (all ages!)
• 11/13/09- Brooklyn, New York @ Union Hall
• 11/14/09- Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY @ Bruar Falls

If you can make it to any of these shows I’m pretty sure that it is guaranteed to be an energetic fun filled night.  I don’t know about you, but I think I can use one of those. Setting the Paces appears to be BOAT’s first album to be put out on LP, and I can’t wait to pick one up on Saturday at Bruar Falls.  BOAT claims that their line up for this East Coast tour knows 23 BOAT songs, and all will be played…I predict good things to come of this.

Links:

• Boat’s Website
• Magic Market Records
• more this week in mail order.

This past Monday Dum Dum Girls played a show at Bruar Falls.  The show might have been last minute, or at the least not very publicized, but when I got there at a quarter after eleven the bar was packed.  Monday’s are typically a free show night at Bruar Falls, but no one seemed to have a problem paying five bucks to see one of Sub Pop’s newest acts.

I picked up the Yours Alone the 12″ EP that came out on Captured Tracks back in March, and have been pretty into that record.  The songs are solid, but I didnt’ really know how it would transfer to a full band format.  In July the Dum Dum’s played with Dee Dee fronting the band, and Mike Sniper, Brandon Welchez of Crocodiles (her husband), and Frankie Rose, but this show at Bruar Falls showed the Dum Dum Girls new line up…Frankie Rose is still on drums, but they are joined by Jules and Bambi.

The four ladies on stage were dressed to impress, and their music did the same thing.  The fuzzy lo-fi sound that I was expecting totally fell away, and the Dum Dum Girls brought loud,  slightly gothy, rock and roll to the audience.  The vocals and the guitars were crisp…it was perfectly wonderful.  For a band that has only played like 10 shows (or any band for that matter) these ladies totally have it together, and I was completely impressed.  I can’t wait to hear the full length that is slated for Sub Pop…it should be a great record.

The ladies played for just under45 minutes, and a couple of the songs were from records that I have heard, but the majority were new to me.  I captured a couple of them on video to share with you…if you happen to know the name of the last song…please let me know…as far as I know it is unreleased.

Dum Dum Girls- “Don’t Talk To Me” (G.G. Allin cover)

Dum Dum Girls- “Bang Bang”

Dum Dum Girls- “Jail La La”

[mp3] Dum Dum Girls- “Jail La La”

Dum Dum Girls- “untitled” (possibly unreleased)

See Dum Dum Girls live:

• 10/30/09- New York, New York @ Bowery Ballroom w/ King Khan & BBQ Show
• 10/31/09- Brooklyn, NY @ The Bell House w/ King Khan & BBQ Show
• 11/1/09 Philadelphia @ First Unitarian Church w/ King Khan & BBQ Show
• 11/12/09- Sonoma Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern w/ The Raveonettes & Crocodiles
• 11/27/09- San Diego, CA—> Art Fag Fest w/ No Age, Crocodiles, Best Coast, Ganglians, & Pearl Harbor (all ages)
• 11/28/09- LA, CA @ Spaceland

Links:

• more on Dum Dum Girls here.
• buy releases by Dum Dum Girls (and Dee Dee’s other band Mayfair Set) here.
• more on Captured Tracks here.

Thomas Function played Bruar Falls this past Friday. It was the last of their string of New York shows, and even though they had a run in with the police earlier that day they were still spot on. They played for a little under an hour, and sounded very much live like their southern influenced punk pop album Celebration. Even the newer songs were faster than on recording, but it just seemed to fit in with their stage presence.  I wish I would have gotten to see more than one of these shows (there were some songs I really wanted to hear that weren’t played), but I guess that is what happens when a band has several shows in a row.

Thomas Function are still on Tour…the rest of those dates can be found here. I highly recommend catching them…it’s a really fun show.

Links:

• more on Thomas Function (mail order info, mp3s, ect.) here.
• a couple more photos can be found here.

Thomas Function are coming to New York City today!  They have three shows lined up too (hitting three of the five boros!):

• Tonight- Wednesday September 30th! PopJew Presents:
  • Thomas Function, Yussuf Jerusalem, Indian Casino & Jail Hippies
    • At the Silent Barn
• Thursday October 1st
  • Thomas Function and Yussuf Jerusalem
    • at The Studio at Webster Hall
      
• Friday October 2nd
  • Thomas Function, Yussuf Jerusalem, Nice Face, and Georgiana Starlington
    • at Bruar Falls!
• all other tour dates can be found here.
  

I recently got copies of both Celebration, and their forth coming record In the Valley of Sickness.  Both records are great in very different ways… Celebration showing a slightly faster more punk rock side of the band, and In the Valley of Sickness experiments with song writing showing maturity and growth.  In the Valley of Sickness seems to be a natural progression for Thomas Function, and I’ve been spinning the LP every chance I get.

Celebration came out on Alive Records (who does super fast mail order…my record was at my house with in the week), and has the song that has been in my head for the past two weeks… even though I don’t know all the words I still try to sing it:

[mp3] Thomas Function- “Relentless Machine”

and while I’m at it…here is another great track from this album:

[mp3] Thomas Function- “A Long Walk”

Buy Celebration from Alive Records here.

I discover something new about In the Valley of Sickness with each listen, and it slowly bring a little bit of blues, country and folk into the foreground while the band remains deeply routed in energetic pop.  I’m really hoping to hear “ADP Blues,” the opening track from the new record live…the record is almost worth it for that song alone.  In my last post (part of my This Week In Mail Order series) I put up two tracks from the new record (mistakenly thinking they were from Celebration)…which I will re-post here for the sake of completeness.  These are the two songs that got me hooked on the TFunk.

[mp3] Thomas Function- “Belly of the Beast”

[mp3] Thomas Function- “Picking Scabs”

Buy In the Valley of Sickness from Fat Possum on CD here, or on LP here. It will be released on October 13th (I think they are shipping mail order early).

Thomas Function really bring a smile to my face both musically and lyrically (really some of their lyrics are hilarious!).   These guys have something, and I’m not sure what it is…but I plan to find out on Friday at Bruar Falls…If you can I highly recommend making it out to one of these shows…it will be fun.

Links:

• more on Thomas Function here.
• buy other Thomas Function releases here.
• more This Week In Mail Order here.