popwreckoning

An all New York City bill went down at DC’s Red Palace Saturday night. The Postelles were in town to celebrate the release of their debut album on +1 Records on Tuesday. With them were their buddies Ambassadors and a band that surprisingly they had never run into back home, the Dig. I wasn’t about to miss a Postelles show; not counting this gig, I’ve seen them three times, and they never disappoint. Saturday’s show in Washington was as good of an excuse as any for the band to party with what lead singer/guitarist Daniel Balk counts as one of his favorite cities to play in.

Ambassadors was the only act of the night I’d never seen live before. I try not to overuse the word “eclectic” in any of my writing, but I don’t know how else to describe this band’s music. Their song “Bodybag” could have easily fit in Fleet Foxes’ repetoire. In another song, lead singer Sam Harris was using a bow on his bass guitar: unusual, no? Their closing number sounded more MGMT. Lead guitarist Noah Feldshuh had a Nord in front of him, which seemed strange considering Harris’s brother Casey is their dedicated keyboardist. They have some good songs, but I think trying to focus on one general genre would probably serve them well, so they would have a better chance at hawking their debut album (to be released sometime in 2011) around to labels.

Having seen the Dig open for two great British bands (Editors and the Joy Formidable) last year, I knew I was in for a treat. Personally, I feel that the Dig should have a larger profile on the American music scene, already having released a very good debut album last year (Electric Toys, review here). Their hard rock yet fun sound is the kick in the pants that American rock stations need. In addition to playing “Two Sisters in Love,” “You’re Already Gone,” and “Look Inside,” the band also played some new material that I hope will be released on a new EP or album sometime in the very near future.

Then 11:30 rolled around and it was time for the main event. The Postelles’ debut album has 12 songs, yet they only played 8 of them, which was a little disappointing to me, since I love the entirety of The Postelles. “Sleep on the Dance Floor” was peerless, as were “1, 2, 3 Stop” and “Hey Little Sister,” the latter with Balk asking the crowd to sing along at the end on the “hey little sister!” refrain. I don’t know how it’s possible, but the band sound tighter each time I hear them play, and it’s been great seeing their progression from support to headliner. I can’t wait to see where these guys go.

My only complaint: maybe the band is bored of playing the songs off the album, because they played what I considered two completely non sequitur cover songs. In the middle of the set, they played the late ’70s Wreckless Eric hit “(I’d Go the) Whole Wide World,” a song by an English singer/songwriter than I’m sure very few patrons present had even heard of. This was later followed by a cover of the Rivieras‘ “California Sun,” which is a fun summer song for sure, but I never put surf pop and the Postelles in the same sentence, so it seemed a little out of place. Still, it was a really enjoyable show, and it was obvious that the crowd was enjoying it as well. Loud, drunk girls shouted as to how hot bassist John Speyer’s vest and drummer Billy Cadden‘s v-neck t-shirt were. Is this the kind of reception the Beatles got in their early days?

Oddly, the sets grew shorter as the night progressed, with the Postelles only playing about 35 minutes, including the encore. I found out after the show that this had to do with a curfew (rats) but I was promised by Balk that they would return. Whenever the Postelles do, they will have a fanatical crowd waiting for them, no doubt about it.

The Postelles Set List
Stella
She She
Sleep on the Dance Floor
Looking Glass
Hey Little Sister
(I’d Go the) Whole Wide World (Wreckless Eric cover)
1, 2, 3 Stop
Running Red Lights
California Sun (the Rivieras cover)
Can’t Stand Still
White Night
//
Boy’s Best Friend

Tour Dates
Jun 15-16 – NXNE / Toronto
Jun 17 – Schubas / Chicago
Jun 18 – Summer Soulstice Music Festival / Milwaukee
Jun 20 – Tractor Tavern / Seattle
Jun 23 – Popscene @ Rickshaw Stop / San Francisco
Jun 28 – Echo / Los Angeles
Jul 07 – T.T. the Bear’s / Cambridge, MA

The Postelles: website | myspace | interview with | @ Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel | The Postelles Premiere First Promo Video, “White Night” | The Postelles Announce Fall North American Tour | @ Red Palace, February 2011 | The Postelles review
Ambassadors: myspace
The Dig: myspace | @ 9:30 Club | The Joy Formidable / The Dig Live Performances / Webchat on May 10 | Thrice announce 2nd leg of Summer tour w/Kevin Devine, Bad Veins & The Dig | Electric Toys review

It’s taken a long time, but the Postelles are finally releasing their album their eponymous debut album this upcoming Tuesday (June 7). The New York good time rock ‘n’ roll band – comprised of lead singer/guitarist Daniel Balk, lead guitarist David Dargahi, bassist John Speyer, and drummer Billy Cadden – are close friends and this is reflected by the musical harmony heard on The Postelles. Does this sound familiar to you? It should. They consider the Beatles a big influence musically, which should come as no surprise when you listen to the record. Major keys to the Fab Four’s success were excellent songwriting skills, equally excellent musicianship, and enough charm and charisma to send millions of hearts a-flutter. The Postelles already have #1 and #2 in the bag. It’s only a matter of time before #3 becomes a reality for them.

Strong songs and strong music is where The Postelles is at. This is an album that will get your toes tapping and put a smile on your face, because this is a band that excels in crafting the pop tune. It should also be noted that this album was produced by Albert Hammond Jr. of the Strokes, so you know there was good work done behind the scenes. If autotune (um, Kanye West) leaves you cold and you’re tired of style over substance (um, Lady Gaga), than this is the album for you. The most “high-tech” gadgets used on here are the maracas on “She She.” I used to think that this genre of rock was just a throwback to the ‘60s, but giving that label is doing a great disservice to the Postelles. It’s not easy in this day and age to write songs like they did back then. There’s so much pressure these days to use fancy thingamabobs in the studio. Why? Because they are there and you can. But when you’ve got songwriting chops and don’t need all that electronic wizardry, why use it?

The Postelles specialize in straight-forward rock ‘n’ roll: guitars and drums paired with lead vocals, augmented by tight harmonies. Seriously, how often do you go to a gig and not see a Macbook or synthesizer hooked up somewhere? The Postelles don’t need them. Take for example the single they released last year, “White Night.” Balk’s voice slinks up and down the notes effortlessly, with Dargahi’s backing vocals in response and in harmony just sound so sweet. If you’re like me and think Please Please Me was one of the Beatles’ best albums, this should be music to your ears.

And “Sleep on the Dance Floor” (watch the video below), the song that immediately follows “White Night,” is even better. This, along with so many others on the album, has a great singalong chorus. The Postelles want to entertain you, but they also want to engage you. Listen to this a couple times and before you know it, you’ll be crooning “fell asleep…on the dance floorrrrr…” along with Balk. Same goes for “Hey Little Sister,” featuring a rare lead vocal from lead guitarist Dargahi; and “Stella,” Balk telling off a girlfriend, finally leaving her, his bandmates shouting with gusto, “Stella, you’re on your own!”

Most of all, I encourage you to listen to The Postelles closely. The bass line in “Can’t Stand Still” can’t be beat. “Hold On” (acoustic, pared down version above) demonstrates the band’s deftness with the ballad; it’s a good break from the other songs of a pretty brisk pace. And by the way, “brisk pace” and “good-time rock ‘n’ roll” do not mean these guys from New York City are lightweights in the topical sense. A fact-based account of a former girlfriend of Balk and Cadden’s, “Boy’s Best Friend” is the realization that the girl you once went out with has now come out as a lesbian. “Whisper Whisper,” echoing Stephen “Tin Tin” Duffy’s “When You Go to Bed” more than Aerosmith’s “Janie’s Got a Gun,” provides insight into an abusive relationship.

Fifty years ago, the world was infatuated with the Beatles. Now it’s the time the world became infatuated with the Postelles.

The Postelles’ self-titled debut album will be released on July 7 in America on +1 Records. The band will be touring the U.S. and Canada in June and July.

Tracklisting
01. White Night
02. Sleep on the Dance Floor
03. 1, 2, 3 Stop
04. Boy’s Best Friend
05. Can’t Stand Still
06. Hold On
07. Stella
08. Hey Little Sister
09. Whisper Whisper
10. Sound the Alarms
11. Blue Room
12. She She

Tour Dates
Jun 07-08 – Mercury Lounge / New York City
Jun 10 – Kung Fu Necktie / Philadelphia
Jun 11 – Red Palace / Washington, DC
Jun 15-16 – NXNE / Toronto
Jun 17 – Schubas / Chicago
Jun 18 – Summer Soulstice Music Festival / Milwaukee
Jun 20 – Tractor Tavern / Seattle
Jun 23 – Popscene @ Rickshaw Stop / San Francisco
Jun 28 – Echo / Los Angeles
Jul 07 – T.T. the Bear’s / Cambridge, MA

The Postelles: website | myspace | interview with | @ Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel | The Postelles Premiere First Promo Video, “White Night” | The Postelles Announce Fall North American Tour | @ Red Palace

Do the best with what you got, is a good motto for bands to follow. However in the case of Portugal. The Man, not only did they do the best with what they had, they took it 15 levels higher. Their recent show in Kansas City resided at the Record Bar. And to say I was impressed would be an understatement. To say I was grabbed by the ears and taken on a mind-numbing, intergalactic journey would be more accurate.

With their seventh studio album set to release in July, their energy was high. But something tells me every show is performed at that level. Their sound felt as though it hooked onto each laser beam and leapt off the stage to pierce its way into the crowd. Surrounded by colors and notes the show began.

The fact that a new album was a couple months away didn’t really have much bearing on the set list. Selections were mixed from nearly every record they have written. A slighter heavier emphasis was placed on what could be considered their most successful album to date: The Satanic Satanist.

Songs like “The Home” and “The Woods” with their sexy beats and infectious (and even harmonious) vocals, meshed perfectly with a stage lit by entrancing green beams of light. The bass did a bit of a blues sashay, causing the audience to uncontrollably sway in time. Talk about a multi-sensory aesthetic experience.

The hint of machine smoke coated the aforementioned laser lights and created an environment of light blankets and perfect for a number like “Mornings.” A song that’s core is undeniably blues and soul. Take the intro guitar solo, it’s sultry, while nearly bringing a tear to your eye. The harmonies are soft and inviting. Set at an alto octave makes them comforting without losing any power.

One of the few new songs that made it into the night was “Got It All.” This time the tempo was set a bit faster and the vocals were a tad higher. The sound leaned closer to the Rock of a Beatles era, than the Prog Rock of a Mars Volta time.  Fancy backing vocals “prettied up” the tone, while a lead guitar found a plethora of melodies to showcase. It came complete with under tones of politics in the chorus.

Nothing about Portugal fit into the average “band mold” and this I like about them. But to push that even more, they stuck the single, [that undoubtedly would appeal to every person in that sold out show] at the second to the last spot. “People Say” easily contains the catchiest lyrics of any of their songs. Even though it’s on the less-complex level, when it comes to song structure, it was still quite enjoyable. This is one of those songs that is guaranteed to induce audience participation.

The show was unexpectedly fun, engaging, mind-blowing and all together awesome. And that’s just the live stuff; their albums are in a completely different galaxy.

These days when I think of great Irish bands, there are three that come to mind immediately: Two Door Cinema Club, the Script and the Coronas. If you’ve been keeping up with what I’ve written here at PopWreckoning, you know I am not shy in proclaiming my love of both Two Door and the Script, and I feel validated now that both bands have enjoyed well-deserved success here in America. The Coronas don’t have a record deal in the U.S. as of yet, but I became completely convinced Tuesday night watching them live that they will soon be offered a deal worth their talent. (If there are any label bosses reading this article, definitely check them out. And sign them. You won’t be disappointed.) The Dublin rock/pop quartet Washington to deliver a solid set to an appreciative crowd at Red Palace.

The opening band for the night was New York City-based band the Kin. I looked them up prior to the gig, bemused with their “alternative / pop / shoegaze” genre label on their MySpace. Not exactly what I envisioned as support for the Coronas. Turns out the band is actually brothers Isaac and Thorald Koren, originally from Adelaide, Australia, but who have found themselves in the Big Apple working on their dream. Both brothers sing (and sing harmonies very well, I might add), with Isaac playing keys and synth and Thorald playing guitar. While travelling around New York by subway, they found a busker named, inexplicably, SHAKEALEG and decided he was the live percussionist they were looking for. He doesn’t play drums the way everyone else does; he has a very unusual setup with a conga drum and high hats and does not use sticks, only his hands, fingers wrapped up with athletic bandages. The live result is highly dynamic, and the band manages to effortlessly switch between pop, rock, and soul genres. “Wind Over Southern France” had a soulful bent, the instrumental intro of their closing number sounded like a homage to the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows”, etc. etc. etc., you get the idea.

As usual for most live gigs, I bet everyone was here for the headliner; I don’t think too many people had even heard of the Kin. But by the end, everyone was behind them, singing along to songs that they had just learned. After the fifth song, all three of them left the stage without an explanation. Where did they go? They jumped into the crowd and did two songs entirely acoustically. Well, I use the word “acoustically” very loosely because SHAKEALEG brought his beats via…tapping on a clipboard. That’s right, a clipboard. Check them out.

This is the Coronas first headlining club tour of America, but lead singer / acoustic guitarist / keyboardist Danny O’Reilly reveals to us before the band plays the unusually titled “Tony Was an Ex-Con” that they were over here doing a very small scale tour of North America before. During that tour, they retained the services of a driver who they would later find out was actually a former convict, and his name was Tony. Too funny. There’s something disarming about O’Reilly and really, all of the band, as the whole gig feels very comfortable, as if we were sitting in someone’s living room and the band were playing for friends. It also happened to be the birthday of their guitarist Dave McPhillips, which made things feel even more festive. Their years of playing for growing crowds of fans in Ireland has obviously paid off, as they look very relaxed performing for a new audience while they trot out hits from the two best-selling albums released back home. There is also definite onstage chemistry between all of the band members, smiles all around.

The DC crowd got the special first listen of a new song, “Dreaming Again,” and as pointed out by my gigging companion, it has a Two Door Cinema Club quality, owing to Graham Knox’s relentless bass line. But the highlight of the night for me was the one song that has remained my favorite Coronas song to this day, “Someone Else’s Hands.” O’Reilly left his guitar behind to position himself behind the keys and begin singing what quite possibly is one of the most beautiful songs written about heartbreak to date. But I don’t want you thinking that all they do are lovey-dovey swoony tunes, though mind you, they do that type of song very well.

If the Script are said to the current best Irish soul pop band and Two Door Cinema Club are the current best Irish indie dance pop band, then the Coronas are the current best Irish rock pop band out there. I’m a stickler for lyrics, and the Coronas have excellent lyrics to go with great guitars and the occasional piano chords. They have introspective numbers – see “All the Luck in the World” and the inspirational “Heroes and Ghosts” – but can accept and laugh at themselves, as evidenced by the song that broke them, “San Diego Song,” explained by O’Reilly as embracing the stereotype that the Irish are drunks. He said this not flippantly but with an honesty that the crowd ate up. I couldn’t believe it but it felt like everyone in the venue knew the words and was singing along. And the Coronas can rock out with the best of them with songs like “Listen Dear” and “Far From Here,” the latter with O’Reilly’s voice taking on a jaunty, dancehall quality, the others joining in on harmonies and Conor Egan’s pounding drumming driving the song along. I can’t imagine ever going away from a Coronas’ gig without a huge grin on your face.

The Coronas Set List
Far From Here
Won’t Leave You Alone
Listen Dear
Heroes or Ghosts
What You Think You Know
Dreaming Again (new song)
San Diego Song
Someone Else’s Hands
New song tentatively titled “The Rainbow Song”
Tony Was an Ex-Con
All the Luck in the World
//
Warm
The Talk

Tour Dates
Mar 10 – Brighton Music Hall / Allston, MA
Mar 11 – The Craic @ Mercury Lounge / New York City
Mar 12 – North Star Bar / Philadelphia
Mar 15 – Beachland Ballroom and Tavern / Cleveland
Mar 17 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago

The Coronas: website | myspace
The Kin: website | myspace

While on holiday in England in April 2007, I saw the indie rock group Hot Club de Paris open for Carl Barat and Gary Powell‘s post-Libertines band, Dirty Pretty Things, at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire. I was very confused that the trio was singing harmonies with an English accent and not a French one. Turns out the band is from the Northwest of England, Liverpool to be exact (yes, the home of the Beatles), and is comprised of principal songwriter / lead vocalist / bassist Paul Rafferty and a pair of brothers, Alasdair (drums) and Matthew Smith (guitar). Songs like “Shipwreck” from their 2006 debut album Drop It ’til It Pops turned into singalongs that Sunday night at Shepherds Bush, confirming to me that even though they aren’t massive in Britain like, say, Coldplay, they’ve got a devoted fanbase at home and in Europe. And for a British band, that’s a major thing to have under your belt: it gives you the clout to keep making records.

Hot Club de Paris‘ last two EP releases in the UK, With Days Like This as Cheap as Chewing Gum, Why Would Anyone Want to Work? (released February 2010) and The Rise and Inevitable Fall of the High School Suicide Cluster Band (released May 2010), have now been combined into one album for their North American album debut, the whimsically titled Free the Pterodactyl 3. Their record label, Moshi Moshi, may not be familiar to you, but past acts like Florence and the Machine and Friendly Fires should be, having released their earliest works on the indie London label before moving on to bigger things.

Hot Club de Paris is an interesting amalgamation of punk and pop. They make music under their own terms, putting out what they want (which explains why they put out two EPs in the UK last year instead of one long player) and bowing to no one. The backstory of the title track of the album is described by Moshi Moshi as “a slow and wistful jam about singer Paul Rafferty’s scrape with the law whilst attempting the liberation of a 3-metre fibreglass pterodactyl from a derelict fun fair with a couple of friends.” Sounds like a punk, all right (watch the black marker and drum-centric promo video for the song below). Their sound is at times angry and angular as math rock, but also maintains a pop edge, making them accessible to anyone. I mean, really, what punk band can you name that regularly breaks out into three-part a cappella harmony at a gig? While I haven’t seen the band in four years, I imagine “The White Town Express (Get High, Stay Low)” would be perfect to showcase their gorgeous harmonies live.

My favorite songs from this band are of the winsome, up tempo variety. “I’m Not in Love and Neither Are You” and “Dog Tired at the Spring Dance Marathon” have fun guitar lines running underneath the insistent, shouted vocals. “Dance a Ragged Dance” has feel-good harmonies and the proof that well-read Rafferty is handy with choosing words (“…buildings / booked basement parties, sad times / the moonlight lit a kiss on the stairs…“) without abandoning punk (“we can either dance or die!“). The song also ends with xylophone, more Freelance Whales than punk.

Despite the name, “Biggie Smalls and the Ghetto Slams” is not a rap song at all but instead tells the story of young kids and their ill-fated band. If you haven’t figured this out already, Hot Club de Paris likes to be different, but not for the sake of being different: it’s just not in their nature to operate any other way. And I’m glad, because their sound is all that’s great about the young North. “The Rise and Inevitable Fall of the High School Suicide Cluster Band” and “Fuck You, the Truth” (with the question, “are you guys having a good time?“, and response from the crowd, “noooo!“) are more punk, but there’s something charming about the way the lyrics are shouted at you. You want to root for this band. It’s not hard to imagine fans at a gig shouting the words back at them, fists in the air. Me? I want to be a part of that.

While Free the Pterodactyl 3 is not a cohesive album (and if you’ve read this far, you understand why this is the case), it’s a good introduction to an exciting Liverpool band that deserves success on this side of the Atlantic.

Track Listing:
01. I’m Not in Love and Neither Are You
02. The Rise and Inevitable Fall of the High School Suicide Cluster Band
03. Fuck You, the Truth
04. Biggie Smalls and the Ghetto Slams
05. Free the Pterodactyl 3
06. Dance a Ragged Dance
07. Dog Tired at the Spring Dance Marathon
08. They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
09. The White Town Express (Get High, Stay Low)
10. Three Albums and Still No Ballad
11. Noses Blazing
12. Extra Time, Sudden Death

Free the Pterodactyl 3 is available now from Moshi Moshi.

Hot Club de Paris: website | myspace

Sometimes, usually when I have too much time on my hands, my mind drafts off to the land of make-believe where I ponder situations such as this – if The Beatles had formed today, what would they sound like? Who would’ve inspired them? How would’ve the updated technology change their playing styles and instrument choices? Would they still matter?

I have to believe their updated sound would end up somewhere in the range of Smith Westerns. Heavy with vintage overtones, Smith Westerns take an approach to album creation that few bands are currently attempting. On Dye It Blonde, they simply playing the hell out of their instruments. Refusing to hide behind the trendy wall of computer generated hooks the indie movement has currently adopted, the band’s gutsy guitar solos and swooning vocals combine for a glam rock meets the white album sound if it were produced in the highlight of the 1990s. While looking in the rear view mirror and using the road map left for them by their founding fathers of music, somehow Smith Westerns manage to not only be relevant today, but turn out to be pretty vital.

With scruffy but danceable numbers like “Imagine Pt. 3” and “Dance Away” placed on an full length that is listenable from start to finish, Smith Westerns has succeeded where MGMT could not. They’ve managed to be more than just a throw back synth-pop band producing a spin-able single and a bunch of album filler. Hell, just give “Weekend” a spin and try to tell me that it cannot go toe to toe with “Time to Pretend.”

It needs to be stated just how extreme of a cleansing process it has been for Smith Westerns to get where they’re standing now. Just over a year ago, the band released a lo-fi, do-it-yourself garage rock release that yielded a limited future and limitless possibilities of failure. However, the obvious growth between releases is not only worth a listen, but worthy of praise. Keeping in mind that these kids are 21 at their oldest, one should be pleased with the unquestionable amount of maturity blasting through your headphone speakers. Hopefully that pans outward into a long and fruitful career. If it sounds anything like Dye It Blonde, I’ll happily add the catalog to my shelves.

4.5 out of 5 stars

“Are you ready to rock?” asked a jovial Barry Hyde of the Futureheads Friday night. Cheering ensued. He flashed an evil grin. “You’re in the right place, because we are too!” The Sunderland, England punk rock quartet played a blazing set of favorites old and new to a crowd raring to go at the Black Cat in Washington. Their latest album The Chaos was released in America this past Tuesday on Dovecote Records.

The first of two support acts, the Static Jacks, seemed perfectly matched to the punk sensibility of the headlining Sunderland rockers. This five-member New Jersey band is a band primed for success that you’ve probably never even heard of by name before. According to Wikipedia, tunes by this self-described garage-soul band have graced “The Hills” and “The City” and have been featured on stateside satellite radio. Despite sporting a haircut reminiscent of Lyle Lovett, singer Ian Devaney has the swagger and aura of coolness of Joey Ramone and the magnetism of the Horrors‘ Faris Badwan. I was standing in front of bassist Spencer Kimmins and guitarist Henry Kaye and nearly got hit in the head by wayward guitar necks; this didn’t put me off at the slightest, because this is what you should expect during a high energy punk set. You don’t expect the bass player to hit a suitcase with a stick like it was a drum either, but you go with it if the music is good. Despite their young age (all of them under 21, according to the Xs on their hands), they have a polished but aggressive sound. If they keep this up, expect big things from this band soon.

The Like, an all-girl group from Los Angeles, have previously toured with some heavy hitters – Muse, the Arctic Monkeys, and Razorlight, just to name a few. Given their sometimes punk, sometimes sunny pop sound, the comparison to the Go-Go’s is inevitable. There are also whiffs of the Beatles (check out the video for “He’s Not a Boy” below, which reminds me of the nightclub dance scenes in “A Hard Day’s Night”) and the Beach Boys with their harmonies. Oddly, their set sandwiched in between the Static Jacks and the Futureheads almost felt like a rest period because they couldn’t match the liveliness of the other two acts. I would have preferred if they stuck to punk (and showcase their technical chops) than with retro pop. Their next album produced by Mark Ronson, Release Me, will be released on June 15 on Downtown Records.

He’s Not A Boy from The Like on Vimeo.

Sunderland, nestled in the far reaches of Northeast England, has been criminally neglected by music pundits in the past, but mark my words, it won’t be for much longer. One of these days someday soon, America will come to its collective senses and realize the wealth of music there, from the likes of Field Music, Frankie and the Heartstrings, and Friday’s headliners the Futureheads. I should have known I was in for an amazing nights simply from a message lead singer/guitarist Barry Hyde sent me hours before the show, “we’re going to rock your socks off!”

The moment Hyde and his band stepped on the Black Cat stage, you could sense the electricity in the air. The driving count-in of “5-4-3-2-1!” of “The Chaos” was a superb way to begin a set that never let up in sheer intensity and fun. “Heartbeat Song” was prefaced by Hyde with, “imagine it’s the ’80s. You’re in a John Hughes film, and you’ve just fallen in love.” Wow. It’s the obvious earworm single of The Chaos, and was simply breathtaking live as a pop-punk masterpiece. I previously linked to the excellent promo video for the song on a tour announcement 2 months ago, but check out this “making of” video that shows you just how fun these guys are.

Their roadie had painstakingly taped down all the guitar cords onstage, and this was because guitarist Ross Millard, bassist Jaff Craig, and most often Hyde himself could be found roaming the stage while frenetically going at their instruments with gusto. By the second song in, all of them were covered in sweat. Having never seen this band before live, I was not expecting the very funny stage patter from Hyde and the interaction between him, Millard, and Craig. It made an already stellar gig even better, and I’d argue they rank up there with We Are Scientists for pure during-gig hilarity. Early on in the show, Hyde chided a drunk couple who had been chatting throughout the set, one of whom had thrown a empty glass at his feet. “You do know this is a gig, right?” The crowd cheered in response.

During their cover of Kate Bush‘s “Hounds of Love,” Hyde involved the audience in a shouting contest, as Millard was unable to do his harmonies due to a sore throat, Hyde admitting he was scared to sing part of a song that he’d never done live before. Aww. (If you were wondering, my side singing along with Craig won the contest due to our enthusiasm in participating.) For the encore, Hyde indulged a devoted fan as the band played “Man Ray” from their 2004 self-titled debut album, saying to her, “after every single song we’ve played you shouted for this.” Just goes to show that persistence, in the presence of a obliging band, pays off. After such an energetic set, it was obvious that these chaps from Sunderland could have played on for hours and hours and the crowd would have eaten it all up. I can’t wait to see these guys again soon.

The Futureheads Set List
The Chaos
Meantime
Heartbeat Song
Decent Days and Nights
The Baron
Area
Struck Dumb
Sun Goes Down
Skip to the End
The Connector
I Can Do That
The Beginning of the Twist
Hounds of Love (Kate Bush cover)
Jupiter
//
This is the Life
Man Ray
Work is Never Done

Tour Dates
Jun 07 – Paradise / Boston
Jun 08 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City
Jun 10 – Mod Club / Toronto
Jun 11 – Magic Stick / Detroit
Jun 12 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago

The Futureheads: website | myspace | The Futureheads Ready for June North American Tour
The Static Jacks: website | myspace
The Like: website | myspace

Liam Gallagher of Oasis says he will begin his debut as a movie producer with a biopic of the Beatles in their final years.

Gallagher is working with Revolution Films and is expected to announce the film at Cannes Film Festival next week.

The film is based off of the 1972 book by Richard DiLello, The Longest Cocktail Party: An Insider’s Diary of the Beatles, Their Million Dollar Apple Empire and Its Wild Rise and Fall. It is one of Liam Gallagher’s favorite books.

Other details have yet to be revealed.

Cymbals Eat Guitars is now quite the formidable band. When I’m doing my usual trawling through British music magazine web sites, it’s great to see an American band get praised. Here’s an example: a couple months back, respected Fly Magazine brought the band into their London office to record songs for their FlyTV in the Courtyard series; not just any band gets invited to do these. Their profile has dramatically increased since the last time I saw them, in September 2009 at the Black Cat, opening for fellow New Yorkers the Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

At the time, they had a different line-up and amp problems plagued their set. Having been hand-picked by Wayne Coyne to support the Flaming Lips for a London residency last November and having played well-attended and well-received shows across the UK, Cymbals Eat Guitars already have some invaluable experience under their belts. Last Saturday night they played a sold-out show at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel in Washington. I don’t think the gravity of the event was lost on singer Joseph “Ferocious” D’Agostino, who sat cross-legged with guitar in lap prior to playing, as if gathering his thoughts and getting into the zone.

However, there were two opening bands, one of which I’ve missed twice before and the other I knew nothing about. You know you’re in for a unique experience when you see a banjo, a Korg, a xylophone, and a watering can filled with plastic drumsticks lined up on a stage. Collectively, Freelance Whales, a quintet from Queens, New York City, sound as if the masculine synth bits of Passion Pit and the mellowness of folky Fanfarlo has a love child. At times lead singer Judah Dadone sounds like Michael Angelakos but looks more like “the Big Bang Theory”‘s Johnny Galecki when plugging away at his Korg or strumming a guitar or banjo.

Otherwordly synths may seem at odds with the folk music aesthetic but for Freelance Whales, it works. “Ghosting,” a highlight of their set, was described by Dadone as being about “sleepwalking to try and find your soul mate.” There’s quite a lot of industry buzz about this band, and it’s well-deserved: whether it’s masterful instrumentation or rich harmonies that ring your bell, there’s a lot to like about this band. Their self-released debut album Weathervanes will be released on April 13 in America.

I didn’t know anything about Brooklyn-based Bear in Heaven going into this gig, so I was pleasantly surprised – and even a bit wowed! – by the trio’s eclectic mix of experimental, rock, and dance sounds. The band is definitely rocking the facial hair: drummer Joe Stickney has a beard that makes him look like a cross between George Carlin and Jarvis Cocker, and the other two have mustaches. Memorably, leader Jon Philpot (vocals / synth / guitar) responded with a jovial “mustaches forever!” when crowd-goers went ape about their love of what was described by someone near me as “one fierce mustache.”

Based on their grungy lumberjack look, you would not expect such interesting music. I definitely was not expecting the sheer power of drumming from Stickney, which worked great as the backbeat for the experimental numbers (like the fabulous “Lovesick Teenagers”) as well as the more dancey ones (“Wholehearted Mess,” for one). Guitarist Adam Wills gets kudos for discussing his pedal set-up with the guitar heads down at the front.

In their current incarnation, Cymbals Eat Guitars appear tighter live, a more well-oiled machine, with little discussion between band members required to move from one song to the next. In addition to playing tracks from their critically received Why There Are Mountains, they also debuted several new songs, including one that required keyboardist Brian Hamilton to artfully balance a triangle to hang from his mike stand. The highlights for me were “Under a Hazy Sea” and a personal favorite, “Indiana” (described to me by new bassist Matt Whipple with “I like to think of it as our Sonic Youth song that becomes a Beatles song“). On most songs, D’Agostino looked blissfully lost in the music while wailing on his guitar but when singing, the emotions pour out of his body as easily as the sweat beads roll off his cheeks. Whipple is an asset, his backing vocals a welcome addition to the live Cymbals Eat Guitars sound. These are four guys who are still very young and have a lot of promise.

Tour Dates
Mar 10 – Pilot Light / Knoxville, TN
Mar 11 – Ear / Atlanta
Mar 12 – Harvest Of Hope Festival / St. Augustine, FL
Mar 13 – Will’s Pub / Orlando
Mar 14 – Engine Room / Tallahassee
Mar 16 – Mango’s / Houston
Mar 17-21 – South by Southwest / Austin
Mar 22 – Rhythm Room / Phoenix
Mar 23 – Casbah / San Diego
Mar 24 – Echo / Los Angeles
Mar 25 – Bottom Of The Hill / San Francisco
Mar 28 – Crocodile Café / Seattle
Mar 29 – Biltmore Cabaret / Vancouver
Mar 31 – Kilby Court / Salt Lake City
Apr 01 – Hi Dive / Denver
Apr 02 – Replay Lounge / Lawrence, KS
Apr 03 – Turf Club / St. Paul
Apr 04 – Schuba’s / Chicago
Apr 06 – El Mocambo Club / Toronto
Apr 07 – Il Motore / Montreal
Apr 08 – Middle East / Boston

Cymbals Eat Guitars: website | myspace | @ Black Cat
Freelance Whales: website | myspace
Bear in Heaven: website | myspace | interview with

Getting together with friends is important: you can catch up, re-acquaint over times gone by, and create new memories. A good split-disc functions in much the same way. Two bands come together to share a common space and, hopefully, create some pretty memorable sounds.

The Sanderlings and The Dashburns have now entered into this familiar territory with the aptly titled The Sanderlings/The Dashburns. Friends for years, the two bands lend three songs each to this split-disc released by Ark Royal Records.

On the disc and at live shows the Sanderlings occupy the Beatles/Apples in Stereo role while the Dashburns fulfill the Rolling Stones/Grifters part—music that utilizes harmonies and  intricate song craft and music that is propelled by energy and rhythm.

The first three tracks belong to the Sanderlings. They open with “Oh Darlin” and “Chicken Pox.” “Oh Darlin” is the poppier of the two while “Chicken Pox” comes through with an epic, tango feel. Both showcase the band rocking through tightly crafted songs with the voices of Josh Evans and Ben Masters skillfully working around lyrics that are at times reminiscent of They Might Be Giants.

The stand out track is “Reptoids.” It opens with a raucous riff and then expounds on the theme of strange reptilian creatures that may or may not control the world. With tight harmonies and lyrical content it is a polished rock ‘n roll spin.

The Dashburns portion of the disc starts with “Second Coming.” The guitars are distorted, creating a layered effect that draws on the sound of Spacemen 3. The vocals are more often screamed than sang, imbuing shoegaze-y songs with the power of the Stooges.

“Scrimshaw” may be the best song for that reason alone; however on “The Wheel” the band goes on a different tangent. They blend two parts of varying tempo to create a solid contrast. The whole thing leads into a closing jam with each band member producing tightly syncopated parts that bring the disc to finish.

Track Listing:
1. Second Coming
2. Scrimshaw
3. Wheel
4. Oh Darlin
5. Chicken Pox
6. Reptoids

The Sanderlings: myspace
The Dashburns: myspace