Bethany Constentino and Bobb Bruno are bringing Best Coast back to New York City for three shows in the very near future.  Best Coast is a band that I’ve had my eye on for sometime now. They have been getting the press they deserve all over the internet, and even recently NPR has taken notice putting a totally amazing live set recorded by KEXP up on their website.

Constentino and Bruno have released five 7″s, a tape, and the full length LP has been recorded and will see the light of day sometime this year.  While Constentino is drawing comparisons to Liz Phair from some music critics, as far as I’m concerned the handful of songs that Best Coast has put out have moved me much more than Liz Phair’s entire catalog.  While many of the Best Coast releases are currently out of print Art Fag and Post Present Medium are repressing two of these 7″ again in limited quantities.

It is an extremely exciting time for this band from playing in Bloomingdales to 16 year olds birthday parties it seems like they are doing it right, having fun, and staying true to themselves.  As far as girl rock goes these days Best Coast is near the top for me, and if they keep up what they have been doing they probably will be for you too.

Best Coast recently did a stunning rendition of Lesley Gore’s classic 1964 chart topping song “That’s the Way Boys Are.”  Constentino and Bruno add their own signature California sunny fuzz to the track making it completely their own.  I love covers of classic songs.

[mp3] Best Coast- “That’s The Way Boys Are”

While Best Coast releases are scarce right now…you can buy what is available here.

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Listen to Best Coasts fabulous KEXP session for NPR:

[stream] Best Coast live at SXSW 2010

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If you know what is good for you you should catch Best Coast on their upcoming US/European tour:

• Thu 04/01/10 @ Bowery Ballroom- New York NY w/Japandroids
• Fri 04/02/10 @ Clementine  (MACRoCK)- Harrisonberg, VA (show at 4:30)
• Sat 04/03/10 @ The Barbery- Philadelphia PA w/Reading Rainbow, Creepoid
• Mon 04/05/10 @ Meat Locker-Montclair NJ
• Tue 04/06/10 @ Knitting Factory – Brooklyn NY w/ The Bitters
• Wed 04/07/10 @ Mercury Lounge- New York NY w/The Bitters
• Sat 04/10/10 @ Chum’s Coffeehouse @ Brandeis University- Waltham MA
• Sun 04/11/10 @ The Crane Room-Medford MA
• Mon 04/12/10 @ The Friendship Cove- Montreal QC w/ No Joy
• Tue 04/13/10 @ The Garrison- Toronto ON w/ Memoryhouse
• Wed 04/14/10 @ Magic Stick- Detroit MI
• Thu 04/15/10 @ Dionysus Disco- Oberlin OH
• Fri 04/16/10 @ Schubas Tavern- Chicago IL w/ Light Pollution
• Sat 04/17/10 @ WIUX Culture Shock- Bloomington IN
• MORE TOUR DATES CAN BE FOUND HERE!

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More on Best Coast can be found here.

It’s no news that Ariel Pink is an amazing musician, and master of the psychedelic arts but if you haven’t heard of him before you might just some new guy on the scene trying to be hip.  I’ve been surprised by all the fanfare that Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti’s new single has been getting…really making waves all over the internet.  I feel like I can’t look at my reader or twitter over the past two weeks without hearing about it.  but after all it is a great track, and deserves the attention.  ”Round and Round” keeps in the same R&B tradition as 2008′s “Can’t Hear My Eyes,” but brings in a bit of a of a disco undertone, and as always is filled with Ariel’s mysteriously mind blowing lyrics.  A great teaser to his upcoming single, comp tracks, and new full length album…and on that note…check it out for yourself:

[mp3] Ariel Pink- “Round and Round”

• eventually you will be able to buy the new single and LP here.

But the real question is why didn’t more talk about Ariel Pink’s Flashback 7″ from 2009 released on Cooler Cat Records (if you can find a website for this label let me know)? I didn’t even mention it, or if I did it was in passing…maybe I was frustrated at the time that I paid $10 for the 7″ (which is way too expensive), but in this case totally worth it.  But the short fact of the matter is that the Flashback 7″ contains the song “Flashback” which should have made my best songs/7″s of 2oo9…but some how I missed it.  “Flashback” draws on everything we know about Ariel Pink, but bring in an unexpected element…and that is arena rock.  ”Flashback” fits in with Ariel Pink’s discography, but it would also fit for a band that is opening, or if it is Ariel Pink one that should be headlining for a great classic rock band.  The first time I heard it I think my reaction was laughter, but play after play you realize how fucking great it is.  Ariel could start another band, and base it’s sound completely around this track and be selling out stadiums in no time.

“Flashback…see the days are done…Flashback…my love for you is gone…because of you everybody has withdrawn…my love for you is as addictive as a song”

[mp3] Ariel Pink- “Flashback”

• Thanks My Old Kentucky for the mp3, previously I could only find bad vinyl rips.
• This record is way out of print, but more info on it can be found here.

This track was a departure from “Can’t Hear My Eyes” and is no where close to “Round and Round,” but this makes me even more excited for his new 7″ featuring “Round and Round” is due out on 4AD on April 26th and an LP will follow later this year. It’s about time that Ariel Pink and his Haunted Graffiti found a home at a largish record label…I can’t wait to see what is done

This past Friday New Jersey’s own Real Estate played MHOW before their big journey to SXSW, and NYC Taper was there to capture the action.  Real Estate played homage to great L.A. bedroom psych pop mastermind by covering “My Molly,” which was released on a 2006 EP that carried the same name.  This was a nice surprise to find when writing this article, and totally worth a listen (snag the whole set through the link below).

[mp3] Real Estate- “My Molly (Ariel Pink cover)”

• recorded by NYC Taper
  • get Real Estate’s whole set here.

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• more on Ariel Pink here.
• buy Ariel Pink’s releases here.
• more on Real Estate here.
• buy Real Estate’s releases here.

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This post is the first in my series called Time-Slip.

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 7″ 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.

It’s not often you hear two three bands cover the same song with in a week of each other, but with Halloween quickly approaching I guess it’s not a surprise that the Misfits are out in various forms.

I’m actually really happy to be hearing covers of the Misfits, because although I hadn’t thought about it until recently the Misfits are one of those punk bands, especially down south, that gets embraced by frat boys.  Where you might be walking past a Frat house, and hear it blasting loudly out of the windows.  Nothing wrong with this, but not the punk rock mentality I had when I was rocking it in eighth grade…and after all the Misfits weren’t all that great after Walk Among Us.

The first cover was a little more out of left field, and came from the pop group A Sunny Day in Glasgow, who are headed by Ben Daniels.  I haven’t put on a Misfits’ album in years, but this cover seems to be popping up on my iPod quite a bit these days.   It’s an interesting more upbeat take on the goth punk classic, and in my opinion done really well.

[mp3] A Sunny Day In Glasgow- “Hybrid Moments”

During all of the CMJ craziness I was fortunate enough to make it into the Matador/True Panther showcase at the Suffolk last Friday night.  The Suffolk was a weird space with a lobby area that felt like a warehouse,  a tiny little bar, a theatre that had random bleacher seats on the side, and a smoking area that wasn’t much bigger than my living room which had formerly been covered in sand.  The space was pretty empty, but the owner of the space (not Matador) was freaking out, and said it was at capacity.  People got let in slowly, but friends of mine waited in line for well over an hour.

It was all worth it for Cold Cave (more to come on them later), and Ted Leo. This was my first time seeing Ted Leo, and while I have known about his music for a long time this year is the first time that I have really gotten into it.  I knew that Ted Leo had been associated with the punk scene, and put out numerous albums on the new defunct Lookout! Records, but when listening to his unique voice and great guitar on your stereo you don’t necessarily realize that his shows are very much punk rock.

Ted Leo played an amazing set, and the second to last song was…you guessed it:

Ted Leo- “Hybrid Moments” live at the Matador/True Panther Party at The Suffolk

Please excuse the shakiness…I got a little bit moshed, and as you can see by the end of the video security wasn’t so happy about the moshing/stage diving…I guess they deserved it for being so up tight about letting people in.  Ted Leo really knows how to bring it.

And while I’m at it…the original:

This puts me in the mood for pumpkin carving… tonight.

UPDATE:

Ryan over at Catbird Seat just posted another version of “Hybrid Moments” in the comments.  This time it is the Minus Story.

[mp3] Minus Story- “Hybrid Moments”

this version appears on the Minus Story’s Heaven and Hell.  Buy it here. This is the most mellow of the four versions, and makes me think that I should probably be checking out more music by the Minus Story…a great introduction! Thanks again Ryan.

Links:

• Buy releases by A Sunny Day In Glasgow here.
• Buy releases by Ted Leo here.
• Buy the Misfits’ Static Age here.
• Buy releases by Minus Story here.

Charlotte, friend of Los Campesinos! and part of Judy and the Blumes, recently did a cover of the Los Campesinos’ track “Heart Swells/Pacific Daylight Time”.   Initially I’m skeptical of covers, but if they are good I embrace them…and Charlotte’s is extremely sweet sounding and impressive.  A wonderful minimalist rendition of one of my favorite tracks from We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed.

Charlotte, thank you for sharing with Gareth so that we can all enjoy it:

[mp3] Charlotte- “BST (GMT +1)” (Los Campesinos cover, via LC!)
Buy the original here.  See Gareth’s post here.

Los Campesinos!‘ have finished recording their new album, but while we are waiting for new songs we can still get some new recordings (of old songs).  On July 3rd Daytrotter released a really wonderful five song session with Los Campesinos!   I’m happy to hear these alternate versions, and think the session turned out great…check it out:

[Stream/mp3] Los Campesinos!’ Daytrotter Session!

More on Los Campesinos! here.