Twin Sister :: All Around and Away We Go
Memoryhouse :: Lately (Deuxième)

Twin Sister create the kind of buzzy hypnotic pop you’ve been dreaming about since Galaxie 500 fizzled, cut with Tusk-era Fleetwood Mac thump, and a shot of Lynchian weirdness for good measure. They’re slack yet focused, a spark in the dark distance on a desert highway where speed is relative. Formed in Long Island two years ago, the band has lately been wooing fans and critics alike, with glowing write ups in Chocolate Bobk, Pitchfork, Stereogum, Said the Gramophone, My Old Kentucky Blog, and dozens more, all on the strength of a free debut EP. Their first official release will be entitled “Color Your Life”, and is being released in May on Infinite Best Recordings. More than anything, Twin Sister want to make music you could feel comfortable cheating on someone to.

Amidst a haze of sepia-tinged delirium, the swirling reverb-cloaked concoctions of Toronto, Canada’s Memoryhouse exist to soundtrack the indelible moments residing in the obscure backrooms of memory. Translating songwriter Evan Abeele’s experience with classical modes and modern ambient composition, Memoryhouse create vivid depictions of surrealist beauty, unfolding with crystalline clarity and with a gentle vulnerability both lush and subtle. Accompanied by singer Denise Nouvion’s tender, nostalgic vocal delivery, Memoryhouse renders the blending of the contemporary with the forgotten, the traditional and the technological, the visual and the aural, forged within the sonographic landscapes of ‘dream pop’.

Islands :: Switched On

Nick Diamonds’ polymorphous pop band, Islands, is back with their third studio album, Vapours.  The 2006 debut, Return to the Sea, found eccentric and mellifluous pop tunes performed with a cast of characters from Montreal’s thriving music scene (including members of Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade), helmed by Nick Diamonds and Jamie Thompson.  Thompson departed amicably from the group shortly after the album was released, and 2007’s Arm’s Way found the band turning in a new direction towards lushly orchestrated, guitar-driven prog-rock.  Thompson has returned to the band for Vapours, a record that flits back and forth between moody synthesizers and drum-machine-heavy beats, while remaining firmly rooted in the classic pop sensibilities and multitude of melodic hooks that Islands is known for.

Produced by Nick Diamonds and Chris Coady (who has worked with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blonde Redhead, TV On The Radio, among others), this is the group’s most stunning work to date. Read the full story

KELE :: Tenderoni

Kele Okereke’s new solo album titled ‘The Boxer,’ will be released on June 21 2010. The Bloc Party frontman has quietly been at work on the anticipated album since the release of the British band’s third studio album Intimacy in 2008.

Bloc Party’s debut album Silent Alarm in 2005, was a raw, political reaction to the then state of the Iraq War. Many of the tracks, dealt with confusion and despair, with scattered lyrics and repetitive chants. The overall sound of the album could be described as a cross between the early releases of The Jam and The Cure. The second studio album A Weekend in the City, released in 2007, dealt with everyday themes from isolation, terrorism, drug use and broken relationships. Intimacy, which featured a wider electronic soundscape in comparison with the earlier guitar driven releases, featured the rock band embracing electronic dance music – particularly on the tracks ‘Ares’ and ‘Mercury’.

Okereke’s interest in dance music can be traced back to his memorable 2005 collaboration with The Chemical Brothers titled ‘Believe.’ Okereke also collaborated with Tiësto in 2009 on the song ‘It’s Not The Things You Say.’ Yet despite dabbling with electronica in recent years, in a new interview with NME, Okereke stated creating an album without his trusted guitar proved unnerving: ”It’s scary, but doing things in a new way is kind of the point of making music”

Presented by AEG Live and The Crofoot

A night of multiple genres: Dubstep, House, Hip Hop and Dance. Featuring:

Shigeto (Ghostly International) – Live Set
Lord Scrummage (Scrummage University) – Live Set
Milieu (intheburrows.blogspot.com) – Live/DJ Set
BOGL (Dubstep, SF) – DJ Set

Plus Special Guests: Freddy Toddy, Midcoast Most, Leaf Erikson

Black Sun Empire represent the finest in dark and techy dancefloor drum & bass. Since bursting onto the scene back in 2000, they’ve continued to develop their own unique style and sound, releasing numerous singles as well as three full-length LPs and establishing themselves as leaders in the field. With their awesome DJ skills and inspirational productions, Black Sun Empire have reached far beyond their native Holland. They’ve toured the world over, playing dates in the USA, UK, Russia, Korea, Australia and New Zealand to name but a few, and continue to build on their growing reputation as some of the most exciting and consistent performers around. Black Sun Empire have been setting the pace again in 2009, with collaborations alongside the likes of Eye-D and N.Phect, remixes for Gridlok and Cause 4 Concern plus the launch of their new label Shadows of the Empire. They’re currently Read the full story

Cirque du Womp’s “Dubstep Circus” is a community-driven event which has grown at an overwhelming rate in its very short lifespan of about five months.  Using the Internet as its main organizing tool, Dubstep Circus works to inspire positivity within local youth culture while fusing collective activism, outreach, interpretive painting, stellar lighting and visuals, live circus performance, DJ skills, and a few dudes with weird masks. While the freaky chaos ensues by the hour, there is always a simultaneous (and different) Donations Outreach Project of some sort taking place. It’s a party, it’s got a purpose – It’s the Dubstep Circus! Event is $14 at door or $10 with donation of sunscreen or new/gently used socks for Alternatives for Girls Street Outreach. DJS: K@DOG (Detroit), Modified Noise (Orlando), and Sheepdog (Ohio). Electric Violinist Dixon’s Violin, and 3D String Art by Chris Griffin of Neural Patterns Deco.

The Dead Weather :: Die By The Drop

The fine folks at Filter Magazine have lined up all kinds of sweet goodies to give away to you and yours. How do you get in on this hot action, you ask? Simply hang out with us on Thursday, June 3rd in the Cafe and soak in the new Dead Weather album, “Sea Of Cowards.” We’ll be playing it over and over until Dean Fertita shows up and orders some Mexican Fried Ravioli. Party starts at 9pm.

Will Hoge has made a career of writing and singing powerful songs about life’s cruel and dark turns. Not long ago, he fell victim to one such turn. As Hoge rode his scooter home from the studio, he was struck by an oncoming van that had veered into his lane. There were no skid marks. Launched off his bike, Hoge ended up bloodied, broken-boned, temporarily blinded, and near death. “ It was like stopping a record as it spins,” says Hoge, who had been halfway through recording material for his new record before getting derailed. “It was like taking the needle and pushing it off the turntable.”

For ten months, the accident sidelined Hoge. For ten months, it made him do something he hadn’t done in 18 years: stop the music. Larger matters dominated his life, like physical recovery and the well-being of his family. “People would say, ‘I bet you’re ready to get back to playing and writing.’ I’m thinking, ‘Playing or singing is not the issue right now. I’m ready to get back to Read the full story

Chromeo :: Momma’s Boy

Chromeo is Pee Thug and Dave 1: best friends since their adolescence, virtuoso musicians, walking hip hop encyclopedias, and the only successful Arab/Jew partnership since the dawn of human culture. The two met in high school when Macklovitch joined Gemayel’s band, around the time they were both 15. During this time, Macklovitch’s brother A-Trak started winning the DMC championships, becoming World Champion in 1997. After the band, Dave 1 and P-Thugg started to produce hip hop together. Also, at this time Tiga was working with Dave 1 at a record store and asked Dave 1 to work on a project for his label, Turbo. Dave 1 and P-Thugg signed as Chromeo in 2001, and started creating tracks in 2002.

Their debut album, She’s in Control, released in 2004, defined Chromeo and started their music career. Reviews were mostly favorable, comparing the sound to 80’s groups like Hall & Oates, Klymaxx and Sylvester. ”Needy Girl” became a world wide club hit. After a three year break, they released a second album, Fancy Footwork. The album took them on a two-year world tour performing in festivals such as Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds in the Read the full story

Earl Greyhound :: Oye Vaya

Earl Greyhound formed in 2002 with the collaboration of songwriters Matt Whyte and Kamara Thomas, who began performing regularly as a duo in NYC. All the while, they were crafting the unique sound and songs that would form the foundation for a colossal rock band. Their influences swept from the strident English three- and four-pieces of the 70’s, to the dark pop and heavy grunge grooves of the 90’s, to the transcendental, noisy acid sounds of modern rock.

In 2005, EG recorded their first album, Soft Targets, but they also hit their first snag when drummer Chris Bear left to pursue his fortunes with the band Grizzly Bear. Reluctant to release the album without a permanent drummer, Matt and Kamara vowed to play relentlessly until their dream drummer found them. Guitar player Kirk Douglass (The Roots) witnessed a show and brought his friend and Gold Crowns band mate Ricc Sheridan to the next few gigs. Ricc says, “I awoke from a dream one night, and I knew this was my band.” A few weeks later, a rockneck-inducing jam confirmed that the band had found its soul mate, and they hit the ground running. Soft Targets and EG’s wrecking ball of a live show earned them oodles of fans and Read the full story