Mon 15 Mar 2010
Photos by Frances Carter
More photos of Wilberforces, Rackets, Fatangryman and Kitsunegari
Posted by Nick Fulton under Auckland
No Comments
Mon 15 Mar 2010
Last night we watched The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights, a film by Emmett Malloy documenting the Detroit duo’s extensive escapades in Canada in 2007. The incredibly detailed documentary intersperses live footage with intimate interview sequences with the band, mainly Jack, whose upfront character is brought to light in a particular scene where he basically forces Meg to say his outspokenness doesn’t cause her to be mute. Meg laughs awkwardly and says, “It has nothing to do with you, Jack.” The glaring light Malloy casts on his subjects brings out their true qualities. Here, Jack comes across as a Dylan-esque figure, spewing forth a constant rambling narrative; he’s both consistently composed and spontaneously fiery. Meg, meanwhile, is her typical diminutive self, arching her back and tilting her head to the side, there are brief moments where she opens up, but largely she is overshadowed by the huge personality that is Jack, the firecracker, true blues performer, abruptly poetic and unapologetically abrupt. The music itself, on DVD and CD, boasts the breadth and depth of their catalog, featuring outstanding performances of the ramshackle jig ‘Little Ghost’, the fiery garage rock of ‘Black Math’, the downward blues of ‘I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself’, the wickedly rambling ‘The Union Forever’; their best songs, basically. Of course there’s the live staple, too: the cover of Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’. On CD, UGWNL swiftly and succinctly moves through these highlights from their various live shows, but it’s on DVD that the material really comes alive. The pair, still doggedly insisting (well, Jack anyway) their brother-sister status, traverse the great North, visiting Inuits in a retirement home to trade performances of traditional songs, playing major shows in beautiful theatres and, best of all, odd little side shows in such un-tread turf as a tiny square, a school, a bowling alley and a fishing boat. Malloy’s camera work is dignified and clear, reminiscent of old school film making. The recording and editing is brilliant, rekindling the love of a band who left an immeasurable impression on the last decade of music.
The White Stripes- Ball And Biscuit (Live, Under Great White Northern Lights): MP3
Posted by Sarah Gooding under Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A
No Comments
Fri 12 Mar 2010
Photos by Michael Harvey
More photos of Street Chant, The Transistors and The Datsuns
Posted by Nick Fulton under Wellington
No Comments
Thu 11 Mar 2010
Photos by Ema Richards
More Deerhoof, Grayson Gilmour and Seth Frightening live photos
Posted by Nick Fulton under Wellington
1 Comment
Thu 11 Mar 2010
SCREENS’ press release caught my eye when I noticed that they are touring with another one of my favourite bands, Aa. They’ve also got a whole stack of shows coming up (including SXSW) with Beach Fossils, Vivian Girls, Death Sentence: Panda! and Male Bonding. The four piece, who joined forces in Brooklyn, New York, after playing in various other bands across the US (Apes, The Mall, Medications), make rather fucked up noise similar to HEALTH, but with less gadgets and raw power. They rely on percussion to punch their music into shape, while Casio keyboards squiggle and Breck Brunson sends vocals whistling through a reverb box. Their music gets bent into shape rather than taking an obvious melodic path, running through a gauntlet of flailing fists before reaching its final destination. They have just finished recording their debut album, however its release date is still unknown.
Posted by Nick Fulton under Brooklyn, New York
No Comments
Wed 10 Mar 2010
Disappointment struck me yesterday when I read that one of my favourite bands of 2009 had split. But the bad news was quickly overcome when I learnt that The Widow Babies had just downscaled and changed their name to Rare Grooves, with guitarist Danny Millar and drummer Tabor Allen continuing to work together. They’ve also managed to draft legendary Minutemen bassist Mike Watt into the fold, to hit the strings on their first official release, due out in late March.
When I interviewed Danny last year he spoke openly of his friendship with Tabor, and briefly mentioned that before forming The Widow Babies he and Tabor had been in other bands together. “Tabor, Elise McCuthchen (The Widow Babies’ vocalist) and I all met at our high school in Santa Ana, Orange County. Tabor and I met in PE class and we had a mutual love for Led Zeppelin and Marilyn Manson so we really hit it off. We played in bands for a couple of years together and then Tabor started dating Elise so we started a side project called The Widow Babies.” The “side project” later became their main project.
No explanation has been given for the split, but a statement on the band’s myspace confirms, “we are very sad to announce that The Widow Babies have broken up.”
Danny and Tabor have wasted no time getting Rare Grooves off the ground. Yesterday they unveiled their first offering, a limited edition 7″ vinyl containing the songs ‘Cause For Concern’ and ‘No Garden’. Both songs were recorded with Mike Watt playing bass guitar, a dream come true for the pair whose first Widow Babies release was a homage to their hero, titled The Mike Watt EP. The songs were produced by Chris Schlarb, who produced both The Mike Watt EP and The Widow Babies’ full length album Jetpacks.
As could be somewhat expected, Rare Grooves sound reasonably similar to The Widow Babies, especially with Danny’s signature guitar playing remaining the main focus of the band. However both songs have a much more chilled out vibe, with less punk rock elements and more California surf, teetering on the edge between chillwave and post-punk but not really bowing to either genre. They meander and glide rather than chug and twist, adopting more of a natural flow that is less spastic and has a much simpler song structure.
You can pre-order Rare Grooves’ debut 7″ via Sounds Are Active for a special pre-sale price of $3.99 (US). It will be officially released towards the end of March.
Rare Grooves- Cause For Concern: MP3
Posted by Nick Fulton under California, Los Angeles, U.S.A
No Comments
Tue 9 Mar 2010
Imbuing a ramshackle country quality to their magical, jangly folk pop, brother-sister duo Camille and Alexander McGregor have been making music under the heart-explodingly cute moniker Ponies In The Surf for five years. Their crafty tales are executed with swooning, sighing play off voices and gentle acoustic guitar on ‘Ventricle’, elsewhere lather on a foamy, energetic pace in the rockier ‘Holes In The Walls’. The brilliance of PITS is that they aren’t painfully cutesy or sickeningly sweet. Their songs are clever and a little bit fruity in their laid back, weird and fraying attire. Alexander, on organs, guitar, bass and cornet, sings in his boyish, conversational tone against Camille’s sweet, gentle lulls while Andrew Churchman of Pants Yell! plays minimal but energetic drums. Their songs are like old friends you’ve known all your life – comfortable to be around, fun and endearing. PITS have a few releases on Darla Records and Asaurus Records.
Ponies In The Surf- Fairy In My House: MP3
Posted by Sarah Gooding under Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A
No Comments
Mon 8 Mar 2010
Mixing Casiotone For The Painfully Alone’s sincerity and speedy drum machine beats with Moldy Peaches’ ramshackle insecurity and Daniel Johnston’s wavering tone of despair, California’s Jon Barba, AKA Nicole Kidman, makes cautiously heart-on-sleeve, scratchy pop music. ‘Thirst For God’ is a speedy attack aiming straight for the heart, and ‘Obsessed’ could have been plucked straight from Johnston’s catalog; its traditional structure with wobbling, soul-crushing lyrics overtake the crunchy guitar at the very last moment. ‘Tyrone’, written and produced with Kevin Greenspon, will stick in your head for days with its short and simple chorus hook. Barba knows a thing or two about simple, succinct pop songs. ‘Miley Is Awesome’ epitomises the girl-crushing guitar-strumming approach and shows Barba’s true talents as a songwriter. Playing regular gigs in LA’s cultural melting pot with the likes of Foot Village and Former Ghosts, Barba has a CD-R and a 7″ pending to add to his collection of cassettes and CDs released on Greenspon’s label Bridgetown Records.
Nicole Kidman- Thirst For God: MP3
Nicole Kidman & Kevin Greenspon- Tyrone: MP3
Posted by Sarah Gooding under California, Los Angeles, U.S.A
No Comments
Sat 6 Mar 2010
Photos by Ema Richards
More Mint Chicks, Die! Die! Die! and BANG BANG ECHE live photos
Posted by Nick Fulton under Wellington
[3] Comments
Sat 6 Mar 2010
Photos by Ema Richards
More Street Chant and Nevernudes photos
Posted by Nick Fulton under Wellington
No Comments
