popwreckoning

I’m always one for hop-hop shows. The energy is high with heavy bass and a sea of people who know how to get down and dirty. And I mean, if nothing else, it’s a great place to people watch. Thursday night’s show of The Cool Kids at the Granada Theater in Lawrence did not let me down with the large crowd and not to mention the killer performance. Kansas City – based publication Ink Magazine hosted The Cool Kids concert and brought in local rap artists Gee Watts, Atilla, Ebony Tusks, and Greg Enemy to open for the nationally known group.

Earlier in the evening I stopped by White Chocolate Skateboards (933 Mass St. Lawrence, KS) for a meet and greet with The Cool Kids. Surprisingly there weren’t very many people there, but I had no problem meeting Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish. They were both very friendly and seemed to enjoy talking to their fans. To promote their first full-length album When Fish Ride Bicycles, which released July 12^th of this summer, signed posters, stickers, fish gummy candies, and key chains were in abundance to give away. The Cool Kids also hosted a raffle for a skateboard deck with their album artwork on the underside.

Several hours later, I was ready to get to The Granada and get my dance on. When I arrived the line was out the door to get in, which is never fun. To my surprise the line went by fast with nice, helpful door-guys. Everyone inside was decked out in fresh kicks, crisp hats, and the latest designer tees the repped their favorite labels. The bars were backed up with people, so I figured it wasn’t worth the wait for a gin and tonic. The venue’s energy was high while everyone waited for Gee Watts to open the night.

Gee Watts did a great job setting the mood for the rest of the night with catchy bass lines and several friends rapping alongside him. Based out of Kansas City, MO Gee Watts had a decent following that showed up to the Granada to show the love. Kansas City hip-hop/funk artist Atilla performed afterwards with a good sized following as well. His soul/funk infused beats got the crowd swaying and moving during his set.

Lawrence-based rapper Ebony Tusks involved the crowd in his set with callbacks and hand swaying, which was a sight to see. Hyped on the crowd’s energy, Ebony Tusks was all over the stage engaging with his fans. He definitely held a presence on stage that was a force to be reckoned with.

Capping off the set of openers was Kansas City rapper Greg Enemy. Known for his hit song Fly Ass Glasses Greg has a decent following throughout the Lawrence and Kansas City area. Greg sat poised and relaxed on a stool for half of his set, then engaged with the crowd for the rest. At the end of his set, fellow rappers and supporters stormed the stage while Greg Enemy crowd surfed, making a great end to the opening artists.

By the time The Cool Kids stormed the stage, the venue was nearly packed to the brim with a crowd that was clearly excited in anticipation of the headlining set. Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish had great chemistry feeding off of each other’s energy, which reflected in the crowd’s energy. Hands were swaying, bodies were moving, and everyone seemed to have a good time. Even the VIP lounge on the balcony was getting down. The Cool Kids performed a good variety of old popular hits, and newer songs off of their new album. Ink Magazine did a fantastic job with the lineup of this show. I think it’s safe to say that from beginning to end, the show was a hit.

This post was written by Rebecca Dreyfus.

The Germans are coming, the Germans are coming! Brandt Brauer Frick, the German trio who has been bringing their unusual blend of classical elements and minimal techno to speakers across Europe, will be releasing their hotly anticipated second album, Mr. Machine, in the U.S. on October 25 on !K7 Records.

The band – Daniel Brandt, Jan Brauer, Paul Frick – have been working hard to reinvent their live performance by eschewing the programmed computers that defined their 2010 debut You Make Me Real and have expanded to a ten-piece live line-up for an upcoming American tour this fall. The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble tour of America begins on October 24 in Minneapolis and finishes in Los Angeles on November 12. To get an idea of what the BBF experience is going to be like, watch the performance video for their song “Bop” below.

Tour Dates
Oct 24 – Cedar Cultural Center / Minneapolis
Oct 27 – Glasslands / Brooklyn
Oct 28 – Red Palace / Washington, DC
Oct 29-30 – Moogfest / Asheville, NC
Oct 30 – 529 / Atlanta
Oct 31 – Back Booth / Orlando
Nov 01 – Club Down Under @ FSU / Tallahassee
Nov 03 – Prophet Bar / Dallas
Nov 04-06 – Fun Fun Fun Fest / Austin
Nov 11 – Rickshaw Stop / San Francisco
Nov 12 – Luckman Fine Arts Complex / Los Angeles

Brandt Brauer Frick: website | myspace

The great thing about most debut albums? A band can go balls to the wall and give it everything they’ve got and want to give, because they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. This definitely describes the Static Jacks‘ first album length offering to the world, If You’re Young. Despite the fact that the band hails from New Jersey, they sound more like the Libertines than Bruce Springsteen. They mix anarchic punk, the angst of youth, and remarkably accomplished instrumentation to create a really engaging sound.

My first introduction to the quartet was their impressive opening set in support of one of my current English rock band favorites, the Futureheads, in June 2010. I remember hearing them let rip onstage at the Black Cat and thinking, yep, I know exactly why the Futureheads chose them for support. While they must certainly have had different musical upbringings (the Static Jacks are very young: when I saw them, they all had Xs on the backs of their hands), I imagine the two bands’ mindsets are pretty similar: make it loud, make it powerful, and make it fun.

If You’re Young is, from what I can tell, a pretty good distillation of the band’s frenetic energy in live performance. Some of the songs are as chaotic as beloved Ramones numbers from the ’70s that should appeal to people who think American guitar rock is dead. (It’s not. There are plenty of indie bands in America. They’re just not getting played on the radio. Thanks Kings of Leon.) Opening track “Defend Rosie” tells you straight out from the gate that you are not dealing with just any band. The Static Jacks are a force to be reckoned with. “Girl Parts,” another high octane track, features added vocals from Ceci Gomez from Brooklyn band Beast Make Bomb.

But there are more melodic numbers that show off the band’s songwriting and musical ability. “Into the Sun” is a great example of this, with great guitar work and lead singer Ian Devaney‘s powerful vocal delivery. Other contagious tunes include “My Parents Lied,” a song I immediately picked up on live because of the infectious handclapping and minor key melody, and “Mercy, Hallelujah” and “Relief,” which both remind me of, dare I say it, the Boss. (I know. To some of you out there, that’s flat-out heresy. But I’m saying it because I want you to give this album a chance.) “Blood Pressure,” with its great singalong of “I’m afraid of the future / I want to share it with you” is oddly touching: as Devaney said in a recent interview about the album, “It’s mostly saying ‘if you’re young – or if you ever were – you’ll know where we’re coming from with these songs.’ These are pretty universal experiences that most people experience from their late teens and early twenties. It’s such a transition period, figuring out what you want to do and where you want to go. Youthful anxiety, I suppose.”

There are some surprising moments on here as well. “Sonata (Maybe We Can Work It Out)” is the band’s attempt at a tender ballad, with Strokes-like guitars, but its “partner” song, “Walls (We Can’t Work It Out)”, brings things back up tempo with feverish intensity. Considering their relatively young age, the Static Jacks have managed to put together a nice collection of hard rocking, memorable songs that show off their talents, talents that are sure only to grow. Catch the band live this fall as alongside New Yorkers the Postelles, they open for English rockers the Wombats. Will I be there for the opening night of the tour? You bet.

The Static Jacks’ debut album, If You’re Young, will be released in North America on August 30 on Fenway Recordings.

Track Listing
01. Defend Rosie
02. Girl Parts
03. Into the Sun
04. My Parents Lied
05. Sonata (Maybe We Can Work Out)
06. Walls (We Can’t Work It Out)
07. Mercy, Hallelujah
08. Blood Pressure
09. This is Me Dancing
10. Relief
11. It’s Such a Shame
12. Drano-Ears

Tour Dates
Oct 21 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC*
Oct 22 – Johnny Brenda’s / Philadelphia*
Oct 24 – Jefferson Theatre / Charlottesville, VA*
Oct 25 – Local 506 / Carrboro, NC*
Oct 26 – Loft / Atlanta*
Oct 29 – Fitzgeralds / Houston*
Oct 30 – Parish / Austin*
Nov 01 – Granada / Dallas*
Nov 02 – Record Bar / Kansas City*
Nov 04 – Outland / Columbus*
Nov 05 – Subterranean / Chicago*
Nov 07 – Varsity Theater / Minneapolis*
Nov 10 – Wonder Ballroom / Portland*
Nov 11 – Venue / Vancouver*
Nov 12 – Crocodile / Seattle*
*opening for the Wombats

The Static Jacks: website | myspace | @ Black Cat

Slave Ambient is the second  album from Philadelphia’s The War on Drugs, and the followup to last year’s Future Weather EP. That EP is important to mention since it was released because Slave Ambient was taking longer to record than anticipated. Slave Ambient boasts new versions of two songs from Future Weather, and another of the songs is predated by an instrumental from the EP. This is all fine. Slave Ambient is it’s own entity, made richer by the hints that were given about what was to come.

The songs on the album meander, and like any War on Drugs record it takes a few listens for the songs to distinguish themselves. The songs are hazy, and jammy, and often completely spaced. It occasionally sounds like a stoner’s dream record, but it’s just as good blind sober.

Not to say this album doesn’t have fantastic eye opening moments, because it does. The first track, “Best Night” opens the album with a general theme that seems to run through the album. “I believe that I’ve been cursed” sings songwriter Adam Granduciel through a mass of freewheeling guitars and keyboards. He continues: “It’s you I hope survive without fighting.” It’s a song about struggling through the frothy bullshit of life, while trying to ignore the fact that you’re doomed anyways. It’s heavy, heady stuff, and the musical atmosphere suits it perfectly.

A new version of Brothers from Future Weather is next, and it’s at least as powerful as the earlier version. Granduciel sings about wondering where his friends went, and why they didn’t take him. It’s all very transitory. The narrator looks around, isn’t sure if he likes what he sees, or where he’s been, but he’s reminiscing nonetheless. “My life is filled with fear, I can’t believe in the truth.” It’s a little terrifying in a way.

Following that is “I Was There,” one of the album’s standout tracks. It’s a ramshackle waltz, breezy, and piano driven, filled with noodling guitars  and Dylan-esque vocals. It winds its way through like a slow train rumbling past some obscure mid-west city.

The best thing here is “It’s Your Destiny.” “I’ve been struggling,” Granduciel sings through guitar and keyboard loops, and we’re right there struggling with him, doing our damnedest to avoid whatever  fate the world has in store for us.

The album continues to float through a few more songs, and short instrumental pieces, before the closer “Blackwater Falls.” It’s a mostly acoustic song, similar to “Barrel of Batteries,” which closed the first War on Drugs album, Wagonwheel Blues. This song is much deeper, however. “There is a train we take downtown,” Granduciel sings. You get the feeling of people hanging out on the outskirts of town. The narrator asks someone to remember him, and he sings about “the smell of defeat,” and how “there is no way to carve your righteous path of rage.” It’s very melancholy, the song is loss, and leaving, and lyrically unsure, but the music is perfect. Once the electric instruments kicks in the song moves at an assured pace, leaving just before it outstays its welcome.

Slave Ambient doesn’t have any monster classic songs like “Arms Like Boulders” from Wagonwheel Blues, and there isn’t an eight minute drone piece like Future Weather’s best song “The History of Plastic.”  These are missed at first, but soon enough the album reveals itself as its own thing. It’s one long jam, best heard as a whole. It takes a while for the songs to differentiate themselves as their own entities but that’s not a bad thing.  The production is incredibly layered. A listener can spend a lot of time picking out strange chord progressions, and other odd noises. This is easily one of of 2011’s best records, and is not to be missed.

Tracklist:

Best Night
Brothers
I was There
Your Love is Calling my Name
The Animator
Come to the City
Come for It
Its your Destiny
City Reprise #12
Baby Missiles
Original Slave
Black Water Falls

When coming up with a theme for this brand new feature of mine, I couldn’t help but think about all the open mics I’ve attended in the last year in Seattle and the surrounding area. One of them being at the Conor Byrne pub. If you live anywhere near Seattle, you may have heard of it – but if you don’t, I’ll fill you in.

Conor Byrne open mics are every Sunday night, in the heart of the laid-back Seattle neighborhood of Ballard. One band you may have heard of – the Head and the Heart – got their start there just over a year ago, and look at where they are now! So clearly Conor Byrne brings out some amazing musicians – including Damian Jurado, Tony Kevin Jr., the Local Strangers, Johnny Unicorn, and many others I can spend hours talking about.

One band that recently started playing Conor Byrne in the last few months is Bainbridge Island’s St. Paul de Vence, compiled of Benjamin Doerr as lead songwriter, Mike Sievers, Alex Malloy, and Justin Froese. The band plays lovely folk songs lined with banjo, ukulele, and accordion. Like the band’s name, St. Paul de Vence’s music has a French feel – filled with beautiful melodies and lyrics filled with history and longing. Perfect for a lazy summer night, and I love it.

Doerr says his songwriting began as a way to tell his grandfather’s story, “in particular his war experience in the south of France, where he grew up under German occupation and fought with the Free French to liberate his country,” Doerr writes on the band’s Facebook page. 

The first night I met Doerr was the first time St. Paul de Vence had played at Conor Byrne, and one thing I can say about this particular open mic – everyone there is incredibly nice and supportive and it feels like a community, even after playing there just once. As my boyfriend and I were leaving the pub, we passed by Doerr to tell him how great they were – and they were great. Doerr thanked us graciously and handed us both a little band flyer for their Bandcamp page.

Since that night, I attended one of their first shows in the U-District in Seattle about a month ago, the band released several music videos made by local filmmakers, and they’ve recently released their second EP, also on their official Bandcamp.

So why am I writing this right now?

St. Paul de Vence’s new EP, For Hummingbird, Heron, and Honey Bee, is available for a ‘pay-what-you-want’ on their Bandcamp page – so you can donate however much money you want to help pay for the band’s full-length this fall, or stream it and download it for free! I suggest donating just a little bit, because this band needs to put out a full-length. I heard plenty of amazing songs at their headlining show in Seattle last month that deserve to be properly recorded.

And hopefully St. Paul de Vence can follow a similar road as Seattle’s newest sweethearts the Head and the Heart. They have all the grand songwriting and awesome talent to warrant it.

For the full set of photos I got from their show last month, go here.

And for now, here’s a video from the show at Q Cafe last month I took.

Upcoming shows for St Paul de Vence are as follows:

Sept. 1 – Tractor Tavern – w/ Tony Kevin, Jr. and Sean Flinn & The Royal We
5213 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
$6 | 21+
9pm

Sept. 16 – Q Cafe – w/ Noah Gundersen and Zach Fleury
3223 15th Avenue West
Seattle, WA 98109
$TBD | all ages
8pm

For more information on this wonderful band, visit St. Paul de Vence’s website at http://www.stpaulband.com

Also, while you’re at it, check out St. Paul de Vence’s first EP, When Our Boys Have Been Buried, which is also awesome.

Keep your eyes open for more ‘Fantastically Local’ columns in the coming weeks!

Earlier this week, Popwreckoning announced through the site’s twitter that we would take part in the Manhattan, Kansas music festival Aggiefest 2011. Since that initial tweet, the details of Popwreckoning’s role in Aggiefest have become more clear.

Popwreckoning will be allowed to host an 18 band showcase over the course of 2 days. From 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. on Friday September 23rd and 4:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Saturday September 24th, Popwreckoning will showcase the finest bands from Lawrence and Kansas City in 45 minute sets. The free showcase will allow those wandering the streets of Aggieville, the college strip of Kansas State University, access to come and go as they please, wandering from bar to bar in the Manhattan, Kansas version of South by Southwest.

We are currently looking for 18 bands who are willing to make the trek to the little apple to represent our collective scene and this site, Popwreckoning. We’re currently taking emails from interested bands before making our final selections and announcing the showcase lineup September 9th. If you are interested in taking part in the event, please email me at joshua(at)popwreckoning.com. Unfortunately, we will likely receive more interest than spots available, however every submission will reviewed. Please supply a sample of your music and a link to your website (Tumblr, Facebook, Bandcamp, yada yada) enclosed in your correspondence.

We will be partnering with Element Recording Studios,ZombieCat Promotions and Sisters of Sound Records in order to host this showcase. Lets take this opportunity to show just how diverse our local music scene is and take this festival by storm. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

In preparation of the upcoming release of her new album Night of Hunters, Tori Amos is premiering the video for one of the album tracks, “Carry,” on her Facebook page. The album will be released on September 20 on celebrated classical music German label Deutsche Grammophon. In the interests of utilizing social networking to spread the word about the new release, Amos’s fans will also be able to unlock a stream of the album’s opening track “Shattering Sea” by sharing the video via Facebook.

Visit Tori Amos’s Facebook page to watch the video.

Organ Music, Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped is a strange and mysterious thing. The latest project from Moonface, or Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade/Sunset rubdown) follows up last year’s Dreamland EP with a collection of avant-garde pop songs. They might not appear to be pop songs on the surface, but once they get under your skin, they won’t let go.

To describe the sound of the album – let’s use Krug’s words, from the press release: “It’s music played with an organ, organ beats, organ beeps and bloops, and some digital drums. Music based on layers and loops, the hypnotizing sound of a Leslie speaker, and the onslaught of melody.”

OK, so where the fuck does that leave us? Well, it’s lyrically dense and completely strange. It’s the least commercial thing Krug has done, but it’s also the best. Once you get past the unexpected sounds of the thing, it’s an album you’ll find yourself humming and singing along to. Oh yes.

Organ Music has five tracks, and it’s just under forty minutes long. With that in mind it’s probably best to examine it from a lyrical perspective, and track by track. So we go.

Track one is “Return To the Violence of the Ocean Floor.” Remember, we’re ignoring the music because it mostly serves as a backdrop, and a melody for Krug’s strangely enchanting obscure mumblings. This song has a great (almost) chorus, and approximately a million great lines, but the song culminates in a list. As Krug sings: “One, we got the spirit, two, we got the music, three, we got the past and four, we got the future.” This brings back to chorus: “And five, we got some kind of lust to return to the violence of the ocean floor.” It might look inane on paper, but against the organ beats, and with repeated listens ,it comes across as a litany, and one not to be ignored.

The next track, “Whale Song,” bellows with a subtle noise.  It aches, as Krug sings: “’’this is a song instead of a kiss.’” and is that the saddest thing to know? No, it’s not the saddest thing to know. “He continues on,  he talks of a pond where a whale will stay, he talks of how there will be a garden, and he seems to urge a lover on. It’s odd and plaintive, but also brimming with hope.

“Fast Peter” is a quicker number, in which Krug seems to be relating the stories told by another friend: “he told me all about it on the balcony when we were high on drugs.” It’s the story of Peter, a girl, and why “he held her up to the heart’s perfect’s light.” Krug questions Peter’s motives, but secretly hopes he succeeds. It’s a tender moment in an album full of tender moments you have to dig for.

After that, “Shit-hawk in the Snow” is probably the densest thing here. It’s almost impossible to discern what Krug is talking about here, but it contains at least one great WTF line “smoking cigarettes like it’s two thousand and three.” It seems to be at it the most basic about a girl, and the reminders of a girl. Krug repeats the mantra “and it will hypnotize you,” and somehow, we’re there. It’s a gradual song, probably the most gradual of the five.

The last song “Loose Heart = Loose Plan” might be the most pop orientated thing here, but it’s just as hard to grasp as the rest. The song is a shout out to and against nostalgia, and the fleeting nature of things. The song’s final verse seems to be a sarcastic coda for the record as a whole. Krug sings “lets  leave the revolution to the revolutionaries” and then “come on, let’s kill individual will.” The song ends with Krug pledging that he will over and over. Is this album revolutionary? God, no. It’s new and exciting, but it’s also the sound of a man doing whatever weird shit comes to his brain.

Even with that, it’s hard not to smirk as Krug endorses the death of the individual self. That might lead one to believe the whole thing is a joke, but that would be a false presumption. This is not Metal Machine Metal. It encourages the listener to come in closer, to put their head against the speaker. Organ Music is full of myths, honesty, lies, and humor. It’s something brand new. It’s not the sound of the future, but something better. It’s the sound of something we’ve never heard before, and might not hear again.

Reptar have announced that they have signed to Vagrant Records, who will be working in partnership with Make Records Not Bombs on the upcoming Oblangle Fizz Y’all EP.  The EP was due out digitally on August 2nd.

The band will later take to the road to support the Oblangle Fizz Y’all EP by playing Austin City Limits music festival, after already playing Lollapalooza.  A nationwide tour with Foster The People and Cults will immediately follow ACL festival in September.

Tour Dates:

September 15 – House of Blues – Dallas, TX * ^
September 16 – Austin City Limits Music Festival — Austin, TX
September 17 – House of Blues – Houston, TX * ^
September 19 – House of Blues – New Orleans, LA *
September 20 – Beacham Theatre – Orlando, FL *^
September 21 – Masquerade – Atlanta, GA *^
September 23 – The National – Richmond, VA *^
September 26 – 9:30 Club – Washington DC *
September 29 – House of Blues – Boston, MA *^
September 27 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY *
October 1 – Sound Academy – Toronto, ON *
October 2 – Newport Music Hall – Columbus, OH *^
October 4 – The Vogue – Indianapolis, IN *^
October 6 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN *^
October 7 – The Aquarium – Fargo, ND
October 9- Showbox at the Market- Seattle, WA*
October 10 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC*
October 15 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA
October 18 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA
October 23 – Chicago, IL – Metro **
October 24 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon **
October 26 – Minneapolis, MN – First Ave **
October 27 – Omaha, NE – Waiting Room **
October 28 – Denver, CO – Marquis Theatre **
November 01 – Sacramento, CA – Harlow’s **
November 02 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore **
November 03 – Santa Barbara, CA – Soho **
November 04 – Los Angeles, CA – The Music Box **
November 05 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent **
November 08 – Dallas, TX – The Loft **
November 09 – Austin, TX – Mohawk **
November 10 – Houston, TX – Fitzgeralds **
November 11 – Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon **
November 12 – Birmingham, AL – Workplay Theatre **
November 13 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade **

* w/ Foster the People
^ w/ Cults
** w/ Phantogram

For more information on Reptar please visit their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/reptarmusic

Canadian quartet Tokyo Police Club announced an ambitious project with Polaroid and Red Bull Studios, recording 10 cover songs from the years 2001-2010 over the course of 10 days. The band has revealed the potential songs for each year for fans via the project’s official website, www.polaroid.com/tokyopoliceclub, created by Polaroid. The final track will be revealed each night prior to recording.

The project begins today at 12pm PST, Tuesday, August 23 at the Red Bull Studio Los Angeles when the band enters the studio to rehearse and record a cover song over the next 10 hours, to be premiered the following morning at 10am PST by one of seven exclusive media partners starting Wednesday, August 24. The final song will be premiered on Saturday, September 3. The band will be creating daily Polaroid photo diaries and filming the entire recording process. In addition, each song will have unique artwork created from a Polaroid image shot that day in the studio.

Song premiere schedule:

Wednesday, August 24 – 2001 – EntertainmentWeekly.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Thursday, August 25 – 2002 – AlternativePress.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Friday, August 26 – 2003 – AlternativePress.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Saturday, August 27 – 2004 – Spinner.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Monday, August 29 – 2005 – Mashable.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Tuesday, August 30 – 2006 – AVClub.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Wednesday, August 31 – 2007 – AVClub.com – 1pm EST/7am PST
Thursday, September 1 – 2008 – Filtermagazine.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Friday, September 2 – 2009 – Filtermagazine.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Saturday, September 3 – 2010 – ARTISTdirect.com – 1pm EST/10am PST