popwreckoning

Top 3 Albums of 2011:

• Sainthood Reps – Monoculture
• Fullbloods – The Perpetual Machine
• Yuck – Yuck

Honorable Mentions

Into It. Over It. – Proper
Former Thieves - The Language That We Speak
Surfer Blood – Tarot Classics
Mixtapes – Maps and Comparisons

Best Show of 2011:

2011 has been a great year for music. My first year at SXSW which included amazing shows such as the Topshelf Records and Count Your Lucky Stars Showcase, seeing Aziz Ansari, and especially the MidCoast Takeover were all great. I saw Junius and Caspian for the first time and they were incredible. So, to sum it up, SXSW was my best show(s) of 2011.
Most Anticipated in 2012:

Touring more. Also, new albums from:

• Joie de Vivre
• Scouts
• SUNS
• we are voices

Most Overrated in 2011:

• Dubstep
• Google+

Favorite Musical Memory of the Year:

Joie de Vivre’s last show ever that wasn’t actually their last show ever. I was on tour and happened to have a day off before Chicago which landed on the same day as Joie de Vivre’s “last show” in Rockford. So, naturally, I convinced everyone that we should go. And it was definitely worth it.  All of my favorite people and bands in the same place at the same time, best bro-downs, best memories.

Top 3 albums 

•  Young Rebel Set – Curse Our Love (Big Flame in the UK; they don’t have a US record deal)
• Noah and the Whale – Last Night on Earth (their UK record label is Mercury, not sure what their US one is)
• Patrick Wolf – Lupercalia (their UK record label is Mercury, not sure what their US one is)

Best show of 2011

• Casiokids at DC9, October 17, 2011 – they turned an otherwise sleepy, cold October Monday night into a crazy dance party.
• White Lies at 9:30 Club, May 20, 2011 (runner-up) – their official return to DC 2 years after their first appearance was confident and awe-inspiring.

Most overrated of 2011

• James Blake.  And the return of Radiohead.  Zzzzz.

Most anticipated for 2012

Two Door Cinema Club and Delphic’s tricky second albums.  I’m not really sure what I’ll do if I hate them because I adored their debut albums last year.  But I know both bands are hard at work at new material, so fingers crossed!

Favorite music moment of 2011

Actually three separate moments on the same night, October 21, 2011.  Sitting on the Wombats’ tour bus interviewing their bass player Tord Øverland-Knudsen; getting not one but two shoutouts from the Postelles’ lead singer Danny Balk at the 9:30 Club; and dancing up a storm at the Wombats’ DJayed afterparty at DC9.

Can a band be raw and polished? I had never really thought about it until I saw White Rabbits at their Kansas City stop. Their sound had such strong, uninhibited emotions that it came off with raw garage-rock-band sound. But at the same time everything from vocals to percussion, were precise and perfectly timed, giving the show an overall sheen of quality and talent.

The night jumped between selections from It’s Frightening and a new album (to hopefully be released soon). The older songs got the crowd on its feet, while the newbies kept the curiosity alive.

“The Salesman (Tramp Life)” with its light and airy notes, started a gentle groove in the audience. One wouldn’t think this song would translate well to the stage, due to the fact that in general it’s a rather simplistic song. But between the melodic repetitions and hints of harmonies, this ended up being a great energy build for the evening.

Stepping back a few decades to an 80s folk/rock flavor was “They Done Wrong / We Done Wrong”. Guitars managed to squeeze an acoustic sentiment out of an electric model and when combined with a slap-beat from the drums, made this one intriguing to watch and soothing to hear.

Mixed in between a few new songs, [which unfortunately came to us without titles] was “Lionesse”. If the Rabbits can combine raw and polish, then it’s a not a stretch for them to combine dance-y with eerie. The beginning of this song is set so low on the bass notes that when met with whispering lyrics, goosebumps start to form. However eventually, we were able to see one of the main elements that makes the White Rabbits who they are – percussion. The entire night there wer two drummers on stage, but there were those select songs where each drummer played a significant role. This was one of those songs.

While main rhythm was kept on the kit, a handful of marching drums were given quite a beating. So much was going on stage that you didn’t know whether to dance or just stand there in amazement.

“Percussion Gun” was the entire reason I started listening to the Rabbits and it was apparent that this was the same for most of the audience. When the opening drum beats came bursting off the stage, cheers erupted. Soft and polished lyrics were set on top of distorted guitar strums and beats so quick Matthew Clark seriously had to be crazy in order to keep up. Again we were back to a base of minimal frill music, but there’s something about this band that never lets their sound come off as anything but amazing.

A short encore indulged the crowd with a couple more songs. Ending everything off with “Rudie Fails” a sound similar to that of how they started the evening. There was just enough of an up-tempo to keep the heads nodding and sashaying hips moving. The white keys really stood out as a main player with their cleverly placed chords.

A smaller venue was the perfect setting for a White Rabbits set. The amount of things happening on one stage at one time requires a setting for complete concentration. Not to mention the fact that the intimate approach just made the evening that much more entertaining.  And to top it off, the introduction of new music was a fantastic Christmas present.

As PopWreckoning’s Music Editor, I strive to post things that may or may not have been heard by the world. Most of the time, the posts on this site reflect the musical taste of each writer, I love that. We are a creative site that works toward bringing music to your ears and we hope that you enjoy it. With that said, here is a list, including silly notes, of some of my favorite bands right now (that you may not have heard of, yet).

Millions of Boys (Omaha, NE) – a three-piece with an attitude. quick, poppy, and so much fun. It’s like lo-fi punk and catchy imperfection, all while being perfect.
Noteworthy lyrics, “that girl is the bomb/that girl is the bomb/but that bomb was a DUD” – from “Dudcats”
Download their Demos for free:
millionsofboys.bandcamp.com

Night Beds (Colorado Springs/Nashville) – slow, ambient harmonic vocals meet pedals with soothing tunes. perfect driving music through mountains and amazing scenery.
Download both of their EP’s for free:
nightbedsmusic.bandcamp.com
www.nightbeds.org 

Sleeping Bag (Bloomington, IN) – upbeat rock that includes claps and deep vocals. think a bit like Cake without all of the horns. the entire album keeps heads bopping and feet tapping along.
Buy their self-titled album!
sleepingbag.bandcamp.com
sleepsleepingbag.com

Last Year’s Men (Chapel Hill, NC) – garage rock with traces of blues and soul. see these guys live if you have the chance, the energy and emotion will blow you away.
Sidenote: super nice guys all around. talk to them at shows and buy them sandwiches.
lastyearsmen.bandcamp.com

Dowsing (Chicago, IL) – soooo emo. soooo awesome. songs about friends, and girls, and life. on Count Your Lucky Stars (who also has great emo bands).
Digital download for whatever you want to pay, vinyl for $5:
dowsing.bandcamp.com

More than Skies (Long Island, NY) – side project of Adam Tomlinson from other LI band, Sleep Bellum Sonno. acoustic with his heart poured into the lyrics. there’s happy lyrics, and sad. something for any mood.
Noteworthy lyrics, “if not for you, I would have given up by now/I wouldn’t have made it to the door./If it was for me, I’m sure I’d mess things up.”
Get the EP with a tape:
morethanskies.bandcamp.com 

I also know it says new music but these aren’t necessarily new releases, these are bands that I hope are new to you as a listener and reader of our site. Enjoy!

Now, Now made a gargantuan impression with their small hands at Kansas City’s Recordbar on Thursday, December 1.

Sliding in perfect unison along the bellowing bodies of their semi-hollow Telecasters, the trio (although absent in bass) did not let simplicity override intensity.  Accompanied by voluptuous percussion and seemingly coagulated samples, the dark indie pop outfit attacked the unsuspecting venue with enrapturing hooks and espoused harmonies.

The evening hosted a largely female crowd in support of the famed Sick of Sarah. I think it’s pretty safe to say that while I had listened to Now, Now‘s Neighbors EP, I had underestimated the ferocity of the girls as guitarists. To watch their fingers waltz across the fretboard was almost too distracting from the fluidity of the music itself. Despite the slight aggression of being relatively somber instrumentalists, their soft-sung lyrics cut through the reverb andfuzz of the classic DS-1 Distortion to produce an almost-cuteness in the vein of Gregory and the Hawk. To directly quote SOS: “Those girls in Now, Now can sing to me any night.”

Showcasing Bradley Hale on drums, the set induced a mechanical head-nodding that trended by the end of their second song all the way into a climax with “Neighbors.” His precision with each crack on the snare followed by a sequence of rim clicks proved mesmerizing, forcing the audience to donate their eyes equally.

As the introductory band of the tour, Now, Now kept the set very characteristic to the members themselves: short and sweet.

Sick of Sarah took the stage next, followed by Deas Vail with a series of Christmas covers in light of the season. While each band produced an exciting and diverse performance, the energy was none compared to the temperament and honesty of Now, Now‘s exhibition.

Now, Now is:
Cacie Dalager- vocals, guitar, keyboard
Jess Abbot- guitar, vocals
Bradley Hale- drums, backing vocals

Review by Stephanie Castor
Photos by Stefanie Petrozz 

Let’s just start by saying all three bands that played Sunday night, November 27, were terrific and finish with; why do bands request monotonous lighting? As much as I love a band, I get tainted when I’m robbed of capturing them at their best. I’m wrong, I am sure, but isn’t the whole idea to see said band in the throws of passion? Blah, blah, blah I’ll stop whining now.

During my sophomore year at college I was exposed to Bauhaus and Sisters of Mercy. That would have been 1987. Two years earlier I got hooked on Love and Rockets, albeit, through Ian Anderson’s flute solo on “No New Tale to Tell”. I was, um… am, a huge fan of Jethro Tull. I felt cheated to have come around so late. Why didn’t I grab hold of where L&R came from not just where they were going? It is pretty cool to be photographing and writing about music that has helped steer my path for 24 years though. I am grateful.

Peter Murphy and his band, Mark Gemini Thwaite (GT)/ guitars, Jeff Shartoff/ bass and violin and Nick Lucero/drums, took the stage and opened up with “All Night Long” from ’88′s Love Hysteria. Sweet start, a pretty song with all the ranges of Peter’s vocals and bright 12 string guitar from Mark GT.

Then a swing to the rocking glammy “Velocity Bird” from Ninth. Two more Ninth songs followed with the rest of the set swelling in and out of Deep, more Cascade and Ninth and four Bauhaus songs. The songs seemed to flow seamlessly, peaking in rocking numbers and leveling off to crooning selections that gave a little breather.

“Subway” from Cascade was played in the Dust style. Shartoff added beautifully effect laden violin. The trance continued on “Gaslit” from the EP of B-sides The Secret Bees of Ninth and was gently broken by “Deep Ocean Vast Sea.” The set closed out with the Mark’s severely compressed and gated guitars on “Uneven and Brittle” and the awesome Bauhaus song “In A Flat Field.”

Mark GT has been with Peter since at least 2008 when he played the Retrospective tour. His brand of guitar has shaped a lot of the feel of Ninth. It is a welcome marriage with Peter’s voice that brings a hardness back to the songs that is invigorating. After a brief dismount from the stage the band returned to a chanting audience. Picking up with the gentle “Marlene Dietrich’s Favorite Poem” and favorite “Cuts You Up” from “Deep.” I’m pretty sure that David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” ended the show. By this time I was a little delirious. There were three encores on the set list but I think the show was shortened. I do remember that “Ziggy Stardust” rocked properly though! During the whole song Peter walked back and forth across the stage clasping hands of his devoted fans. Of note, there was no barrier. One had been set up and taken down on the band’s request. Pretty outstanding of Mr. Murphy to stay so close to everyone, especially since the last time he came through Kansas City a burly Mohawked fan jumped on stage, danced around and gave him a hug before being nicely removed!

She Wants Revenge started dead on time. I always appreciate the consideration this shows to everyone waiting patiently. It was a little weird though, ten minutes before the band arrived from the green room the background music was either too low to hear or just nonexistent. Awkward. Justin Warfield/ vocals & guitar, Adam Bravin (12)/ bass & keyboards, Thomas Froggatt/ guitar and, dang, I don’t think Scott Ellis (no trademark cigarette and a different drum setup)/ drums. Not “dang” bad, just “dang” I couldn’t find out who was playing drums on this tour anywhere!

So, the band came out strong with “Written In Blood” from This Is Forever and then dug into Valleyheart for three songs, “Up In Flames”, “Reasons” and “Little Stars.” All of which seemed to have more dimension and breathing room than SWR’s first two full lengths. A few of the things I like about their self-titled and This Is Forever are the drone, the ebbs in dynamics, the morose passion. I think Valleyheart keeps these elements while dropping some of the dancy bits; it sounds fresh and inspired.

With “What I Want” SWR reverts back to earlier music and then one last Valleyheart song, “Take The World” before staying with earlier numbers for the rest of the set. I would have liked to see some change in red the lighting during the performance. Occasionally a blue or green light would hit Justin but the rest of the band was in a dim red light all evening. Both Adam 12 and Justin entertained with gentle banter engaging their fans and pumping opener Hussle Club.

On that note, Hussle Club, on tour from New York City, started off the night. Prince Terrance, drummer from Santigold, Spank Rock, Hearts Revolution and Major Lazer, led the band on vocals in a mash up of new wave, post punk and goth. Though they don’t have much recorded music out there, they should, a limited 7″ was available at the show.

“High Expectations” led the set moving on to “Children Of The Underground” with a nod to Sisters of Mercy. They exuded a young high energy that was catchy. The guitar work was noisy and a blast. Even though I couldn’t get a good photo of the guitarist it sure was fun watching him! They were plagued with feedback but took it in stride without stumbling. Hussle Club had the best light of the night, well, at least until Terrance got shy and ask to have them turned down. After their set I talk with Terrance as the band was getting ready to load up the van. I mentioned I love seeing out of town bands lugging C&C drums around. Turns out it was Terrance’s kit.

The sound for both She Wants Revenge and Peter Murphy was overly brittle. Usually I am very tolerant of club acoustics but I’ve heard both bands have better mixes at the Beaumont. Especially disappointing was how far back Peter’s vocals were and the lack of definition between his vocals and the bass guitar. Even so I would come back and see them both in an instant!

The crowd was gracious as I weaseled in to photograph the first three songs of each band. I even had a reserved spot in front saved for me. In payment for this kind of treatment I always offer a HiRes image to the few people I impose upon, just a little “thank you” for being cool. It wasn’t a huge crowd, disappointing for such iconic music, it was a devoted group at least. Peter even mentioned that he appreciated the manners of the Kansas City fans compared to the rush of LA. The last time SWR played the Beaumont Justin gushed “you may be few, but you are MIGHTY” which brought a roar loader than five times what the numbers added up to. Nicely done Kansas City. This is a splendid place to live.

Photos and Review by Todd Zimmer

Setlist:
PETER MURPHY -
All Night Long
Velocity Bird
Peace To Earth
Memory Go
Strange Kind of Love
I’ll Fall On Your Knife
Silent Hedges
Too Much 21st Century
I Spit Roses
Subway
Gaslit
Deep Ocean Vast Sea
The Prince And Old Lady Shade
Uneven And Brittle
In The Flat Field
//
Marlene Dietrich’s Favorite Poem
Cuts You Up
Ziggy Stardust

SHE WANTS REVENGE -
Written In Blood
Up In Flames
Reasons
Little Stars
What I Want
Take The World
Sleep
This Is The End
Pretend the World Has Ended
Disconnect
These Things
Rachel
Out of Control

HUSSLE CLUB -
High Expectations
Children of The Underground
Loose Tights
Quaranteenagers
FCK SHT UP
Uptown Downtown

Beach-goers will be getting a taste of the Midwest this December as the indie pop boys in Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin head out on the two-week second leg of their tour in support of recent release Tape Club. Missouri mates in Ha Ha Tonka will be contributing an alternative country set as co-headliners while the bands venture down the West Coast.

The kick-off was held on November 30 at the Hi Dive in Denver and will take the bands as far north as Vancouver, then all the way back to New Mexico.

The tour will feature performances off the 26-track album, Tape Club, compiled of rare and previously unreleased tracks from SSLYBY’s career thus far.

SSLYBY West Coast Tour Dates w/ Ha Ha Tonka
11/30 – Hi Dive, Denver, CO
12/1 – Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
12/2 – Neurolux, Boise, ID
12/3 – Tractor Tavern, Seattle, WA
12/4 – The Wild Buffalo, Bellingham, WA
12/5 – Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver, Canada
12/6 – Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR
12/8 – Hotel Utah, San Francisco, CA
12/9 – Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles, CA
12/10 – Soda Bar, San Diego, CA
12/12 – Club Congress, Tucson, AZ
12/14 – Sol Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM

SSLYBY | website | facebook

Post written by Stephanie Castor

Puscifer is currently touring their new album Conditions of My Parole.  As the tour made their way to the midwest, Puscifer played a show at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis.  Puscifer lit up the opera house with their unique mix of sound and the audience stood at their seats awed by the amazing theatrical show that put on before them.

The members of Puscifer are as follows, Maynard James Keenan, Mat Mitchell, Carina Round, Matt McJunkins, Jeff Friedl, and many others.  Mat Mitchell took some time between shows to answer a few questions.

Elicia Nichols, Popwreckoning: What bands have the members of Puscifer been involved with?

Mat Mitchell, Puscifer: Carina Round has several solo albums as well as a band Early Winters, which was a little more folk.  Matt McJunkins came from Ashes Divide, Jeff Friedl also plays with Devo and both Matt and Jeff did the latest A Perfect Circle tour.  My history is with punk rock bands in the late 80’s early 90’s then I got off that bid. I was doing more soundtrack work and video game kind of stuff, then I got into more behind the scenes work I worked with Nine Inch Nails, Tool and Katy Perry.

PW: How did the members meet and end up forming Puscifer?

MM: Maynard had the skit on Mr. Show and he and Danny Lonard had done one off things for soundtracks, and then when they were ready I was working with him quite a bit we started building the first full length record.  Danny worked with us on the Mission.

PW: What brings this range of music together to create such a sound that Puscier possess?

MM:  I think what brought us all together as musicians are the range of music and the style we like and similar influences.  We enjoy the style of super high tech electronic programming and then bringing a banjo and things like that.

PW: When the idea of Puscifer started was this dynamic range of musical talents planed of did it just fall into place?

MM: I’d say it was planned out we wanted to do something that was not the guitar based drum kind of rock thing.  We experimented with different orchestra.  We try to deconstruct what rock music is, we deconstruct it to reconstruct it to what we want.

PW: In the song “Conditions of My Parole” was Maynard experimenting with a rap type sound with the lyrics in the sound?

MM: I don’t know if he was looking for that style but he is notorious for being able to give you vocals that will hit you out of left field.  When you are working on a song you hear what you think the vocals are going to be he takes it to the next level and he has mastered that.

 PW:  Since Puscifer formed only three years ago, you are still pretty fresh.  Have you experienced any hard ships that a new band tends to face?

MM:  Well I think we are in a unique situation where Maynard has such a following that we have been fortunate to not deal with those situations.  Something we set early on that this is supposed to be fun so if something is causing stress we try to defuse it right out of the gate it out of the gate.

PW: You listed the Verde Valley as a place of inspiration, how did Puscifer pull the inspiration out the Valley?

MM:  Well most of us live in LA, and while I love LA it’s very fast paced it’s hard to focus but there is so much going on the energy is different from the Valley.  The Valley is in the Valley you don’t get cell phone reception so there is far fewer distractions. The landscape is amazing, so it’s like when you grow up in the city and then go camping and the shift you get your body that allows you to mellow out. It’s really inspirational and it allows you to be focus on being creative.

PW: Did you write the entire album in the desert?

MM: We did some pick up stuff in LA.  We definitely did 99% of it in the AZ and we got together separately and then in a group and put it all together.

MM: The live aspect of things is where we like to push ourselves to be untraditional just like our music.  We are not trying to reinvent rock we are trying to push ourselves to have you come to a rock show we want you to not expect a rock show.

Interview and photos by Elicia Nichols

Long Beach, Calif. band, The Fling is getting a taste of the Midwest during this chilly month with Yukon Blonde. Both bands will be playing this upcoming Friday, December 2 in Omaha at Slowdown Jr and the very next day in Kansas City at the Riot Room.

Being on the road since October with David Vandervelde and Floating Action, they’re finishing up the third leg of tour with Canadian rockers, Yukon Blonde.

The Fling are currently supporting their recent seven song EP released on Dangerbird Records, What I’ve Seen. Along with the EP, you can view a video from their single “Dogpile” here.

Yukon Blonde also has a new EP out, Fire//Water, released in September on Dine Alone Records. Watch the “Water” video here.

These are both two bands you won’t want to miss especially on the same bill together. Check out their tour dates below, websites, and other cool things.

Tour Dates:
Thu, Dec 1    Ames, IA  @  The Maintenance Shop
Fri, Dec 2    Omaha, NE @   Slowdown Jr
Sat, Dec 3    Kansas City, MO @   Riot Room
Sun,Dec 4    Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory
Tue, Dec 6    Little Rock, AR  @  Juanita’s Cantina
Wed, Dec 7    Dallas, TX  @  Double Wide
Thu, Dec 8    Houston, TX  @  Fitz Downstairs
Fri, Dec 9      Austin, TX  @  Emo’s Inside
Sun, Dec 11    Denver, CO  @  Larimer Lounge
Tue, Dec 13    Salt Lake City, UT  @  Kilby Court
Wed, Dec 14    Boise, ID  @  Neurolox
Fri, Dec 16    Spokane, WA  @  A Club
Sat, Dec 17   Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Café
Sun, Dec 18  Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
Wed, Dec 21 San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar
Thu, Dec 22  Los Angeles, CA @ Echo

The Fling | website | facebook | twitter
Yukon Blonde | website | facebook | twitter

X is for Love is the first vinyl release for Golden Sound Records and Baby Teardrops. To celebrate, Baby Teardrops played a show at the Brick on November 25. Below are photos from the event:

Missed the show and want to grab a record? Head over to Golden Sound Records to buy one.

Photos: 2011 Todd Zimmer