As a record label, Paris’s Kitsune seem unable to make a misstep when signing bands. The latest artists they took a chance with that made it huge here in the U.S.? Hopefully La Roux and Two Door Cinema Club ring some bells for you. And it’s quite possible that the first album Kitsune releases on this side of the Atlantic, thanks to a recent deal with Cooperative Music and Downtown Records, could be just as big. As might be expected from their name, Is Tropical, a dance trio from London, make tropical music. And their debut album Native To, which quite possibly might be “the” soundtrack to the summer, is dropping just in time for the warmer weather, this Tuesday.
Early on in the game, Kitsune gave away “The Greeks” as a free download. With its quick guitar line, infectious chorus and relentless beats, it’s no surprise it’s been a runaway success online. Certainly, some of its popularity has to do with the unveiling of its NSFW promo video featuring kids in shooting each other, cartoon blood flying. Not really my thing at all, but I guess dubious promotion is better than no promotion. I like “South Pacific,” the opening track, much more; it’s got the same guitars as ‘The Greeks’ but is more mellow and less frenetic, which is better for summer driving music anyway. It’s like a tropical version of the The’s “This is the Day”. Watch the video for it below.
The tropicalia vibe continues through “Land of the Nod,” sounding like it could easily be placed as the background music for a Club Med advert, and “Clouds,” suitable for a Super Mario game set in the islands, mon (if Nintendo ever decides to go there, that is). “Think We’re Alone” will remind you of Cut Copy. And I did say this band was “dance”, and this is clear in the track “Lies” (not to be confused with Fenech-Soler‘s “Lies”). Compressed synths stretch around this track’s corner, and the words “they don’t love you / they just need a little sex sometimes / gotta shine through / don’t beat yourself up for being too blind,” while cynical, they ring true about some of the worst liaisons, don’t they? “Berlin” sounds like Kraftwerk redux, but with more heart. And vocals echoing all the while.
Here is the main problem I have with Native To: while of course there is echo and reverb on dance albums, for some reason, there’s too much of both on here. I admit that to some people, this is endearing because it gives the music a “lighter”, floating on air-type of quality. But a song like “Zombie,” with a dark vocal and even darker buzzing synth, tells you this band is capable of being a heavier band. It’ll be interesting to see what direction they take for future material – whether they stick with the tropical, dance beat formula or go somewhere else.
This is a good question, because there are songs on here that just don’t relate to the others. “What????” isn’t satisfying, with quickfire rap as an overlay on an otherwise hohum synth base. After Lupe Fiasco “lifted” the chorus from Modest Mouse‘s “Float On” for his recent single, “The Show Goes On,” you should be looking at the Is Tropical tune “Take My Chances” with a jaundiced eye. The melody’s a bit similar, isn’t it? Groan. The album ends with the instrumental jam “Seasick Mutiny.” It’s okay, just repetitive. While there are definitely some worthwhile tracks on Native To, I can’t call it a 100% stellar album. But it’s definitely worth looking into if you want to equip your car with some fun new tunes this summer.
Native To by Is Tropical will be released in North America on June 14 on Downtown Records.
Tracklisting
01. South Pacific
02. Land of the Nod
03. Lies
04. The Greeks
05. What????
06. Clouds
07. Take My Chances
08. Oranges
09. Berlin
10. Think We’re Alone
11. Zombie
12. Seasick Mutiny
Influential Paris dance label Kitsune, winning the prize for being the first to sign now internationally-acclaimed acts Delphic, Two Door Cinema Club and La Roux (just to name three), and international label group Cooperative Music have extended their international license deal to include America and Canada.
On this new partnership, Kitsune founder Gildas Loaec has said, “For the past eight years, we’ve been sharing our passion for music through our now worldwide known Kitsune Maison compilations and singles. Two years ago we entered a label deal with Cooperative Music in Europe as to start developing artists and release their albums in the best way possible. The success that Two Door Cinema Club are experiencing now with nearly 200,000 sales just in Europe and a gold record in the UK is the perfect example that we made the good choice. This is why extending this label deal to the United States and teaming up with Downtown on top was a logical step. I’m really proud to join Downtown records, Josh Deutsch and his great team to develop Kitsune projects in the States and I feel that the collaboration between Kitsune / Downtown will create the perfect dynamic for our forthcoming Kitsune artist album releases [for] Is Tropical and Housse De Racket.”
So what exactly does that mean for us on this side of the Atlantic? Well ladies and gentlemen, this means Cooperative Music will be releasing Kitsune’s artists and compilations through its new understanding recently launched in conjunction with New York-based Downtown Records. The first release will be from Is Tropical, who you may know through their “Come Back Home” remix on Two Door Cinema Club‘s Tourist History deluxe edition (review here). The masked London trio will be releasing their debut album Native To here on June 14. For a free taste of Is Tropical, you can download their new single “The Greeks” for free from Kitsune‘s website here.
Two months later will be the release of the second album from French rock / pop duo Housse de Racket. The 11-track album, called Alesia, was produced by superstar producer Philippe Zdar, who has worked with Phoenix, Two Door Cinema Club, and the Rapture. Kitsune is pretty famous for their dance compilation albums. Both of these acts contributed tracks to the 11th Kitsuné Maison compilation album The Indie Dance Issue, to be released in the States on May 16. Keep your eyes and ears open for more from this exciting business partnership.
When independent artists continue to stay independent instead of succumbing to the living hell of corporate record labels, rarely are they as well known as Skrillex is. With his newest release Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites, his first on Big Beat Records in coordination with Mau5trap records (founded by legendary electronic artist Deadmau5 and in it’s infancy), it dominated the charts on Beatport- and not just for dubstep but for many other subgenres as well, taking number one spots across the board.
Not only is his original work absolute genius, he is a master remixer. So far, Lady Gaga, La Roux, and Black Eyed Peas, to namedrop a bit, have commissioned him for official remixes. Even with the fame, Sonny Moore still stress that it is really about innovation in music. “For me, it’s important to believe in and love the music you’re making. I gave away my first EP on my manager’s website, just so people could hear the music,” he enthuses. “It was downloaded by the thousands in just a couple of months, and it hasn’t let up since. That’s all the inspiration I need to keep making music. SKRILLEX can be anything I want it to be,” he continues hopefully. “There are so many different avenues for music now. Video games, movie scores – the possibilities are endless, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
I happened to catch a 2.5 hour set in Seattle a few months ago, just days after the new EP dropped. I have NEVER seen a venue in Seattle THAT packed with sweaty bodies in my decade plus of Seattle scene stalking. It was insane to say the least, but probably one of the best shows I have ever seen, and probably one of the top two electronic artsits I have ever had the privilege of seeing.
If you’re in town for the fest and even have a remote interest in dance music, this is another show that is a must see. Take a few minutes and just go dance your heart out. It’ll be the highlight of the fest for you.
Friday March 18 @ 12:00AM- Mohawk Patio (all ages)
High off the energy of a Parade down the streets of Kansas City, colorfully-dressed (some broke away from the standard t-shirt and jeans look to as extreme as shirtless and caped) people poured into the Power and Light District for the celebratory event. Power and Light was decorated with posters and banners supporting Pride week.
It’s a bit hard to even begin to explain what was happening at P&L, but the best description I can come up with is a very, very large house party. As excited as people said they were for La Roux, I think a mooing cow on stage would have pleased this exhuberant audience.
A drag queen came out to pump the audience up (not that it was needed, but this was still a fun host) and said that the lady of the hour would be on in just “2 and 2.” I’m not entirely sure what that meant, but my best guess is that it either means “just after Lady Gaga and Ke$ha music videos” or “30 minutes.”
La Roux, aka Elly Jackson, came skipping out in a gold jacket and immediately got the crowd dancing to its electrop pop hit: “Quicksand.” The red-haired singer embraced her title of “La Roux” even more thoroughly as she was bathed in a wash of red lights.
Jackson was backed by a live band and by some pre-recorded vocals, which were pretty evident when she held out the microphone to the crowd, stopped singing, but the vocals kept going. This isn’t to say she was lip-syncing the show because her overshot pitches made it clear that there were times when she was doing the real thing as well.
La Roux played through a short set of roughly eight songs that included songs such as the upcoming single, “In for the Kill,” “Colourless Colour,” “Fascination,” “I’m Not Your Toy,” and of course, the popular “Bulletproof.”
I love the album and it is hard to not want to dance to this music, but I think if La Roux didn’t have such an enthusiastic audience to begin with and if the group would have had to work to build up the energy, anyone else would have noticed that this set fell flat.
I recently had a chat with guitarist Sam Halliday of up-and-coming Irish indie rock/pop band Two Door Cinema Club. The band was in New York City to do requisite press before getting ready for two shows in the city. Sam tells me about how much they enjoyed Austin (and their tasty food in large quantities) and the music festival experience, and we talk about their debut album Tourist History and their promo videos. Read on.
Mary Chang, PopWreckoning: Hello Sam. So how are you guys, where are you guys at the moment? And what are you doing? Sam Halliday, Two Door Cinema Club: Yeah, we’re good. We’re presently in New York City at our hotel in Manhattan. We have a bit of promo today, then we have a show in Brooklyn tomorrow and at the Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday. MC: So how are you enjoying New York? Is it your first time there? SH: No, it’s my third time. But the other guys [guitarist/lead singer Alex Trimble and bassist Kev Baird], it’s their first time. We arrived at about 2 a.m… MC: Oh wow…! SH: Yeah, and we went straight out to, sort of, go see Times Square. They’d never been here before so… MC: Excellent. So I guess you’re the globetrotter of the group then? SH: Yes, I guess, yeah! (laughs)
MC: So let’s talk about your debut album, Tourist History. I’ve been playing it a lot since it came out. It’s really fantastic. If you had to explain what you sounded like to an American who’d never hear any of your songs, how would you describe it? SH: Um, I think it’s not quite rock music; it’s not quite indie music; it’s not quite electro music. I think if you’re open to any type of music I think you might like it. It’s very accessible. You know, it’s a lot of upbeat [sound]. And you know, I mean, we love it, we think it’s a great album. We think it’s for everybody. We loved bands likeDeath Cab for Cutie,Modest Mouse and Bloc Party; they’re kind of the bands that we agreed on early. We love all types of music but those were the bands we bond over most.
MC: So your name…back in February I sat in on an interactive chat with the Gigwise folks the three of you did in London… SH: Yes! MC: …during which you replied to an English fan that it came from the Tudor Cinema near where you lived in Ireland. SH: Yes… MC: I’m sure everyone’s asking you about the band name on this tour and where it comes from. (Sam laughs) Have you been back since to tell the proprietor of the Tudor Cinema that his theatre is now famous? SH: We went back [to Ireland] before we kinda became a bit big, we went back and recorded like a music video, for “Something Good Can Work.” This was a couple years ago. Just a friend did it with us recorded it over there. We moved off to doing different things and we can’t see him anymore, sadly. And then we kind of did the official one. Yeah, we haven’t been back as a band. Yeah, it would be good to go back, I think.
MC: The three of you are from Bangor, in Northern Ireland, right? SH: Yes. MC: But I’ve heard that you now call London home. SH: Ohhh…I wouldn’t personally call London home. MC: Okay, so it’s a temporary home then? SH: It’s more of a base. I call it a base. We have a band flat there. You know, it’s great because it’s easy to get flights from Heathrow [Airport] and things, it’s just very handy that way. And honestly, we have our management there, and there’s lots of press people in London. So it’s a good place to have a base. But you go home and have friends and family in Bangor. MC: What has been your family and friends’ reaction to all that’s happened to you guys so far? SH: They’re very supportive and very happy, yeah. In my experience, my mum would always be on our Facebook page and our Twitter page, paying attention and telling me before I read it what people are saying on things, read reviews. It’s very exciting [for her] I think.
MC: So it sounds like you’ve barely been able to take a breath with all the relentless touring. You’ve been around Europe and then America with Phoenix, and now are in the middle of your first headlining tour of North America. From what I hear, your shows have been going down great with the locals and you’re selling out most everywhere, so congratulations on that. SH: Thanks. MC: What’s been your most memorable show so far this year? SH: (whistles) Well, it was only last week, but I think one of the real highlights was when we played in L.A. last week. You know, the Troubadour show? It’s just crazy, because it’s kind of our first headline show of America. Having been from somewhere small and having never played here, and we’ve never come here before. It’s crazy that how well we were received! It’s just amazing, feeling like we’ve “gone” somewhere! It was cool. Other than that, since the album has been released, all the shows, you know, have kind of stepped up in attendance and it’s really been amazing, because people know more of the songs and they sing a bit more, because they enjoy the album. The [album] launches were great in Belfast, in London, and in Paris.
MC: Great. Do you have a worst moment? Or any funny tour stories you care to share? SH: Ooh…um… (laughs) oh boy…you know, everything’s been great, really. It really has. Touring with Phoenix was a great experience, they’re lovely, lovely guys. It was so great to tour with a band that was much better and more experienced. You learn so much, in terms how they act, how they play their sets. I can’t think of any stories off the top of my head…I dunno! (laughs)
MC: Before coming over to North America, how did you prepare for your first-ever shows on this side of the pond? SH: Oh, I dunno, I guess we’ve been so busy! Over the past year touring all over Europe. So we were really excited to go somewhere new. It’s always really great to go somewhere new. It’s great to go to places you’ve played before, but it’s somewhere new. It’s just real exciting. I think we’ve been playing together for long enough that we’re confident in our live show – well, I am. So we weren’t too nervous about the show, we were more excited to play to new people. MC: I think it was Fearne Cotton’s Radio1programme in February when you guys did a set and a short interview…she asked you what you were looking forward to, and this was far, far in advance of you guys coming over here. And one of you said visiting Texas. I know you guys have been to Texas now, and you were in Austin. I read on your Twitter that when you were in Austin, Kev got a tattoo and you bought a guitar…? SH: Haha, yeah, that’s right. MC: So what did you think of Texas? Did it live up to everything you thought it was going to be? SH: Yeah, it was brilliant. It’s just so different. Everywhere in America is so different between cities and states. But Texas was really cool. We got to spend a couple days in Austin in particular. Great weather, being able to sit in our dressing room, outside, in the late hours of the night. Just kind of laid-back atmosphere sort of a city. Yeah, um, obviously Kevin got a tattoo…(I laugh)…of the cat’s eyes from our album [cover]. And then we went to a pawn shop. We wanted to do a kind of typical American thing and so we would go around to pawn shops and picked around. And we went and found this amazing old guitar. I really wanted to get a guitar from this tour, to kind of have something to remember it by, so it was a great find. MC: That’s cool. SH: And we had some great Texas barbecue. MC: How does it compare to the food at home? SH: Oh, there’s a lot more of it here! MC: (laughs) That’s what most people [from outside America] tell me! SH: The portions are, very, uh, large. MC: Yeah, sometimes they last for days, usually. SH: Yeah! We actually have a competition, it’s quite sad. We have a competition, because we knew your American food was very tasty and very big. So we have a competition to see…we’ve documented each other’s weights, so we’re having a competition to see who put on the most [weight from the tour]. Whoever puts on the most has to take the person who puts on the least out to dinner. MC: Oh, okay. SH: I know, not very rock ‘n’ roll. (both laugh)
MC: So I’ve had a look at your very busy summer schedule. You’ve confirmed festival appearances at Glasto[nbury] (England), Hove (Norway), Benicassim (Spain), Summersonic (Japan), and Reading/Leeds (England) among many others. You played Glastonbury for the first time last year…what are your feelings on the summer festival circuit? SH: Ah, they’re so much fun, it’s kind of great, because you see so many bands. Like, being on tour all the time, you don’t get to see that many, unless you they ask you to tour with them. But being at festivals is amazing because…especially at Glastonbury, we’re spending the whole weekend there, so we’ll get to see loads of bands, which will be cool. We’re real excited to be doing all the European ones this year, and Australia and Japan, because you know, last year we only did one outside the UK. It was amazing, it was our favorite last year. It’s called Riga in Latvia. It’s a totally different kind of vibe than the European ones. So it’ll be great to experience all those.
MC: So you have signed to the French label Kitsune Maison for your European releases and Glassnote Records here in America. How did the Kitsune people find you? SH: They were trying to put another one of their parties in Paris, and they were trying to find an up-and-coming UK band to bring over. And so a promoter in France told them about us, and then whenever they listened to us, I think they liked us a lot more than they thought they would, and [they] wanted to put out our single. And then our relationship just grew from there. And then they released our single and finally our album. It’s great. It all felt really natural. MC: What is it like being Irish on a French label? Did it seem weird that a British label didn’t come to you first, or another European one? SH: I mean, yeah, maybe it sounds a little weird. But for us, being from Bangor, we weren’t really connected to the London music scene all that much. We’d only played in London a couple times before we signed the record deal, and it’s just…it’s don’t really have a connection with that sort of scene. For us, we feel apart from that, just as much as we feel part from the Paris music scene. And they seemed like the right label for us, we didn’t want to go with a major label, and they were really passionate about working with us. MC: Have you been able to hang out with the other UK bands they’ve signed likeDelphic and La Roux? SH: Well, we got a chance to tour with Delphic back in October in the UK. Yeah, we really hit it off with them, they were really great guys, into the same, similar stuff. So we formed a little friendship with them. We’ve seen them a few times since, they’re fun. Can’t really think of any other people…Kitsune is really good with DJs and things, some great people have remixed our stuff through Kitsune. That sort of thing.
MC: Going back to your debut album, Tourist History, is definitely one of my fave releases of 2010 so far, I really love the album. Loads of fun, poppy, peppy, and brilliant. How long did it take to record everything and put together? SH: The one thing we do, once we write a song, we would demo it ourselves, and kind of get it to the point where it’s not the best recording, but we know where all the parts are, of what we’d want to be in the song. So we had this whole album demoed ourselves, and then it was about getting to a studio and doing it professionally, you know, getting a producer’s point of view and things, and trying different things like. So then we went to the end of June then we finished tracking by the end of July, and it took a month to mix the album. Once that was finished, we had some further mixing done with Philippe Zadr [the producer of Phoenix's albums United and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and a member of French house duo Cassius] in his studio in Paris, and for the songs that might be singles. It was great getting people’s different perspectives on our music and we respect their work, so it was amazing.
MC: Your promo videos. The “I Can Talk” video was actually the first videos of yours I ever saw. It was so frenetic, Alex’s head was coming off, clothes were flying around…whose idea was that? SH: That was a French team called Megaforce, that was from a suggestion of Kitsune’s. They came out with that. MC: It’s a real cool-looking video! SH: Yeah, it was the first proper video. And we shot it in a really crammed chateau in Paris. MC: Yeah, I was wondering about that. Because it has a very old-fashioned dollhouse kind of feeling, almost. SH: Yeah, you don’t really see a lot of it in the video.
MC: A while ago you guys released a newish video for “Something Good Can Work” [watch video here]. In this new one, you guys are at a fancy resort, the forest, the desert, an amusement park. Where did you go to film all the scenes for it? SH: We got to go to Gran Canaria [the second most populous island of the Canary Islands], and everything was shot there. Yeah, they’ve got a little different kind of scenes there, they have forest, and mountains, and nice beaches and sand dunes and things. MC: Hopefully you got some vacation time in then? SH: No, unfortunately we were only there for 2 days. MC: Only 2 days? Golly. Well I hope you get to spend some time there in the future, because it looked so beautiful on screen. When I first saw it in March, I was thinking, “this is the perfect summer song.” SH: We wanted to capture that kind of sunshine, the summery feel with it.
MC: I have Steve Lamacq to thank for playing “Something Good Can Work,” a long while ago it feels like, on his 6music programme. I have my own strong opinion on the subject, but what are your thoughts on the BBC’s proposed closure of 6music? [In early March, Director General Mark Thompson of the BBC Trust announced that BBC 6music, along with the Asian Network, may be closed due to budget cuts.] SH: Oh yeah, it’s awful. I mean, especially because Radio1 is kind of being taken over by r&b and just bland pop tunes. There’s really not a lot of room for up-and-coming or not commercially appealing bands. So yeah, and especially because we got our first airplay on 6music, and without it we wouldn’t have gotten so much attention.
MC: Speaking of the UK, have you been following the general election while you have been in America? SH: Yes, we have been, just on the BBC News website. I’m not really too involved in our politics. MC: Any of you endorsing any particular political party? SH: I think this is the problem, I don’t think anyone wants to be in government. Completely. I think that’s the problem here. I dunno, I don’t really know too much about it. MC: Neither do I, but it was interesting watching everything unfold real time on the website. SH: Yeah.
SH: I’m being told I need to move on… MC: Okay, so one final question. Based on the crazy reception for your first tour of America, so when are you guys coming back here? SH: We’re going to come back in October. MC: Great. SH: Yeah, very soon. MC: Well, thank you so much Sam, I appreciate it, I know you’re very busy doing a lot of press. So enjoy New York and I will see you guys on Thursday [in Philadelphia]. SH: Brilliant, can’t wait! MC: Take care. SH: Thanks.
Two Door Cinema Club‘s debut album Tourist History is available now from Glassnote Records. The band has several more dates in North America before their first headlining tour of our continent ends May 17 in Toronto.
Tour Dates
May 11 – Bell House / Brooklyn
May 12 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City
May 13 – Johnny Brenda’s / Philadelphia
May 15 – Great Scott / Boston
May 16 – Salla Rossa / Montreal
May 17 – Wrongbar / Toronto
2010 just might be the year female English singers break through big in America. Just like electropop goddesses La Roux and Little Boots, (Vanessa) VV Brownis already a major deal at home in England. But she’s cut from a slightly different cloth. Originally from Northampton, the 5-foot, 11-inch tall songstress is a model (recently scoring an advertising deal with UK supermarket chain Marks and Spencer) and has her own online vintage clothing store, in addition to being a successful songwriter not only for her own music but for other artists as well. Friday night Brown played to a packed club during Liberation Dance Party at Washington’s DC9. D.C. was just one of four stops on her first-ever headlining tour of America.
One of my picks for best bet in town, Liberation Dance Party goes on at DC9 every Friday night. I love it becauseBill Spieler, the DJ / compère, does his research and always spins great dance, pop, and electronic tracks, mostly stuff I know well and mostly English. Right up my alley. Here’s a short list to give you an idea of what kind of music they played:
Brown and her three-piece band arrived on stage to loud, appreciative cheering. Her headgear should have been my first clue that this show was going to be as crazy as a Mardi Gras celebration, just 3 days late. I was a bit disappointed that her trademark retro hairdo and most of her face was obscured by a red, glittery, feathered headdress. But this was just part of the VV Brown spectacle. During her less than 40-minute set, she played most of the songs off her debut album released last year in the UK, Travelling Like the Light, written about a failed relationship.
She has excellent stage presence, giving insight into her songs, and effectively pumping up the crowd. Brown described one of her major hits, “Crying Blood,” as “the first song I ever wrote, the first song I ever released on 7″, the first song I ever wrote on a one-string guitar.” This is a good example of her music, with Brown’s punchy vocals, driving drums, and an overall infectious retro sound that mixes elements of pop and soul. After playing this, she talked about her background – her mother is Jamaican, and her father is Puerto Rican – and in honor of her heritage did a shortened version of the song in a reggae style, encouraging everyone in the club to raise their hands in the air and sway along to the island beat. “Back in Time,” a song about love and time travel, was prefaced with Brown’s cheeky insistence, “I would date Albert Einstein if I could.”
The most surprising moment of the night? Brown asking the audience, “Do you like hip hop? Can I do a cover of Drake‘s ‘Best I Ever Had’? Will you all go fuckin’ crazy?” What kind of questions are those for a D.C audience? Of course the crowd went crazy as she launched into her take of the Drake hit. The best moment of the night? Hands down it was “Shark in the Water,” the whole crowd bouncing to the rhythm and singing along to the fun chorus of the unconventional poppy love song. The smile on Brown’s face made me melt. Check out this live performance of the song on ITV’s “This Morning” show from last year.
After Brown and company left the stage, Spieler reappeared, encouraging us to make some noise for Brown and her band. The crowd’s efforts at hooting and hollering worked; they returned for a one-song encore to play what Brown admitted was a complete improvisation. (I really don’t think she was expecting this kind of reception in D.C. at all and looked sincerely touched by the adulation.) But it didn’t matter: with all arms waving in the air and gig goers shouting back lyrics to Brown, it was clear she had already won over the crowd with her animated live act.
It was sheer magic to witness the realization of a dream for the young woman standing before us. Years ago she wrote songs, alone in her bedroom, hoping for success one day. The audience’s excitement was not lost on Brown, who after the show Tweeted, “this was an absolutley [sic] fuckin unbelievable gig !!! sold out gig, absolutley [sic] amazing !! Im totally on a high !!! big time !!!!” And I agree. If Friday’s show was any indication, Brown is ready to take on the world.
VV Brown has another headlining date at the Great Scott in Allston, Massachusetts, on Monday before going on tour as a supporting act for Swedish electronic band Little Dragon starting in March. If you can’t see her live on this go-around, no worries, you’ll be able to see Brown on the small screen in the near future: she announced at the DC9 show that she and her band will be appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and the Late Show with David Letterman soon.
Tour Dates:
Feb 22 – Great Scott / Allston, MA
Mar 22 – Rapture / Charlottesville, VA*
Mar 25 – Music Hall of Williamsburg / Brooklyn*
Apr 01 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago*
Apr 04 – Walnut Lounge / Denver*
Apr 05 – Urban Lounge / Salt Lake City*
Apr 09 – Nectar Lounge / Seattle*
Apr 11 – Wild Buffalo / Bellingham, WA*
Apr 12 – Mississippi Studios / Portland*
Apr 13-14 - Independent / San Francisco*
* supporting Little Dragon
Currently my favorite Northern Irish band, electropop / indie rock trio Two Door Cinema Club have announced they will be playing in North America for the first time this spring. Following European dates in late March supporting French indie rockers Phoenix, the trio will be joining Phoenix on nine dates of the French band’s North American tour starting in late April. Following this support slot, Two Door Cinema Club will embark on their first headlining tour of North America, starting on May 2 at West Hollywood’s Troubadour through to May 17 at Toronto’s Wrongbar.
Tourist History, the band’s debut album, is set to be released on March 1 in the UK by French label Kitsuné Maison (the same folks that signed English electropop acts Delphic and La Roux). “Undercover Martyn,” the band’s third single to be released ahead of Tourist History, will be released in the UK on February 22. But I fell in love with them upon hearing “I Can Talk,” a frenetically-paced pop tour de force. You can watch the equally frenetic promo video below.
Tour Dates
Apr 20 – Schubas / Chicago
Apr 21 – Uptown / Kansas City, MO*
Apr 22 – Louisville Palace / Louisville, KY*
Apr 23 – Vanderbilt / Nashville*
Apr 24 – Tabernacle / Atlanta*
Apr 26 – Constitution Hall / Washington, DC*
Apr 27 – Norva / Norfolk, VA*
Apr 29 – Stubb’s / Austin*
Apr 30 – Verizon Wireless Theatre / Houston*
May 01 – Edgefest / Dallas*
May 05 – Troubadour / West Hollywood
May 06 – Popscene / San Francisco (tickets only available night of show)
May 07 – Doug Fir / Portland
May 08 – Nectar Lounge / Seattle
May 12 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City
May 13 – Johnny Brenda’s / Philadelphia
May 15 – Great Scott / Boston
May 16 – Salla Rossa / Montreal
May 17 – Wrongbar / Toronto
* supporting Phoenix
English synthpop duo La Rouxfeaturing the vocals of Londoner Elly Jackson have announced a North American tour for 2010 to begin January 31 in Boston. Catch the act responsible for “Quicksand,” “In For the Kill” and “Bulletproof” in a venue near you.
Tour dates
Jan 31 – Paradise / Boston (rescheduled from cancelled October date)
Feb 02 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago (rescheduled from cancelled October date)
Feb 03 – Imperial Du Quebec / Quebec City
Feb 05 - Metropolis / Montreal
Feb 06 – Capital Music Hall / Ottawa
Feb 09 – Voyeur / Philadelphia
Feb 10 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC
Feb 11 – Webster Hall / New York City
“I’m Not Your Toy”, La Roux’s latest single, was released on September 28 in the UK on Polydor Records. Check out the promo video below.
I used to listen to my mom’s old 80s cassette tapes and records, merely because I hadn’t developed my own taste in music. Even if I was born in the latter half of 1989, I can still say that I’m a child of the 80s. Elly Jackson is a fellow child of the 80s, but listening to her and recording partner Ben Langmaid‘s debut La Roux (in French meaning “red-haired one”), you wouldn’t expect the self-proclaimed “ginger boy” to be just 21. Released in the States Sept. 29, the music that Jackson and Langmaid turn out sounds more like the old 80s cassettes I stole from my mom than the hits coming through the airwaves these days, and it’s incredibly refreshing.
Sure, electro-pop has gotten its second wind in 2009 with Lady GaGa and Little Boots sending everyone into a tizzy, but La Roux‘s sound takes advantage of the distinctly 80s synth they’ve adopted. Starting off the record, “In For The Kill” sends us straight into Jackson’s falsetto and a complete track void of bass, giving a youthful, tinny introduction to a outstanding debut. Most artists wouldn’t have the cojones to sing falsetto on the first song, but Jackson succeeds her age in most aspects on the record.
Both the second song on the record, “Tigerlily,” and the second single released in the UK months ago, “Bulletproof,” surely show another side of Jackson’s voice, and another attitude. “Tigerlily” is both sassy and sexy, with a killer beat on Langmaid’s part. And as upbeat and danceable as “Bulletproof” is, it’s essentially Jackson telling a gent that she’s not going fall for his crap anymore. It’s modern-day girl power, even if Jackson’s persona is indisputably androgynous.
From there, La Roux dives into tracks featuring synthed steel drums, so reminiscent of Yazoo and Erasure, you almost forget you’re listening to someone who’s 21 years old right now. The lyrics are the one giveaway that Jackson is still young – but not immature. The ideas aren’t dated, or clichéd, and relatable without being pedestrian. The one thing, musically, that La Roux does differently than their much older influences is the vocal layering – especially on “In For The Kill,” “I’m Not Your Toy” and “Reflections are Protection.” Those songs – as well as the rest of the album – are best when listening to them on large, doughy headphones that cover your ears completely. It’s just too bad La Roux isn’t coming anywhere near Seattle on their next tour, as I’d like to hear how to these songs sound live.
It seems that this “red-haired one” and her partner have become the new leaders of the 80s comeback. If you haven’t realized that yet, I highly recommend finding their album.
British magazine The Fly says: “With this superb self-titled debut, which is every bit as good as the hype hinted at, the flame-haired Brixtonite has managed to paint sublime pictures of love and loss with squelchy synths, clipped beats and shimmering electronics.”
Tracklisting:
01. In for the Kill
02. Tigerlily
03. Quicksand
04. Bulletproof
05. Colourless Colour
06. I’m Not Your Toy
07. Cover My Eyes
08. As If By Magic
09. Fascination
10. Reflections Are Protection
11. Armour Love
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As a record label, Paris’s Kitsune seem unable to make a misstep when signing bands. The latest artists they took a chance with that made it huge here in the U.S.? Hopefully La Roux and Two Door Cinema Club ring some bells for you. And it’s quite possible that the first album Kitsune releases on this side of the Atlantic, thanks to a recent deal with Cooperative Music and Downtown Records, could be just as big. As might be expected from their name, Is Tropical, a dance trio from London, make tropical music. And their debut album Native To, which quite possibly might be “the” soundtrack to the summer, is dropping just in time for the warmer weather, this Tuesday.
Influential Paris dance label 
MC: Before coming over to North America, how did you prepare for your first-ever shows on this side of the pond?
MC: I have Steve Lamacq to thank for playing “Something Good Can Work,” a long while ago it feels like, on his 
