Tommorow Pretty & Nice and You Can Be A Wesley are playing at Oasis Pub to kick off a mini tour. Admittedly its a late catch on my part which I regret because Tora!Tora!Tora! by Pretty & Nice was my early summer jam last year. From what I've heard from YCBAW, I could say with no doubt this show will be one of the funnest in a while.
Sunday night at The Space, you can catch some fantastic new folk singers:
Josh A. is working on a new EP that is really promising. Josh used to be in Hi-Planes Drifter, though his solo tunes sound completely different, and I have to say, I'm completely psyched about his new music. The new songs are sort of an atmospheric minimalist foray into folk music, but they're much more complex than the average folk tune. I'm pretty excited to hear the new EP when it comes to fruition. Check out "The Foe" below to hear a sample:
Based on the energy D. Gookin exerts during his live shows, I doubt he ever has to go to the gym. This one-man band armed with a drum kit, a laptop, and a looper works himself into a frenzy until you think he might burst. His latest EP, From Here the Wall of Undoing, encapsulates this boundless energy. D experiments with more distortion, resonating synths, and crisp drum beats. The five tracks run the gamut from the melodic "The Spirit Link" to growled lyrics and primal screams on "Mad Mallow". If you like what you hear, catch this technoise live at Café Nine on February 4.
"...formidable and fresh, intelligent and riveting...an explosive physicality tempered by sinuous lines and subtle drama..." -Minneapolis Star Tribune
Minneapolis-based Morgan Thorson makes her Connecticut debut with her newest work, Heaven. This sensory work explores the nature of ecstatic perfection by synthesizing vocal and physical rapture (body) with omnipresent lighting effects (spirit). Thorson's choreography is gleaned from research into religious forms and devotional practices. Light, movement and sound combine as equally expressive partners to create a vibrant onstage world of euphoria and paradise meant to rouse performers and audience into an ecstatic experience. Funded by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project.
About Morgan Thorson: Heaven
...Maybe I will use my psionic powers to command Parker to do this, so don't be surprised if she shows up at Daniel Street in a trance.
Initially a bunch of demos, and eventually released as a full album, Women's Basketball's "An Octopus, But Like, an Octopus with Massive Wings, and Junk" is a fantastic adventure into lo-fi pop.
Steven Deal
Boy Genius and Mr. Ray Neal
The Thermals have recently released their fourth and possibly best album to date, Now We Can See. After an amicable split with Sub Pop, the band has signed with the iconic Northwest label Kill Rock Stars, recently relocated to Portland, Oregon. Now We Can See was recorded by John Congleton (Explosions in the Sky, Polyphonic Spree) again at Supernatural, and at Congleton's studio Elmwood in Dallas, Texas. NWCS is full of the hi-fi power for which Congleton is famous, and continues The Thermals' tradition of raw punk energy combined with brilliant melodies and intelligent lyrics. Hutch and Kathy recorded NWCS the same way they did TBTBTM: as a duo, with Foster acting as a one-woman rhythm section for the entire record. Westin Glass joined The Thermals soon after the recording was completed, to become the fourth drummer for The Thermals, sixth if you count Harris and Foster. Please insert your own Spinal Tap joke here, thanks.
The Thermals are most famous for discovering a fourth chord in pop-punk. It's F#minor, in case you were wondering. The Thermals have also made many fine contributions to rock journalism, including the terms no-fi, some-fi, mid-fi, post-pop-punk, pre-post-punk, neo-grunge, post-power-pop, i.d.w.t.d.i.m. (i don't want to do it myself) and s.e.d.i.f.y.(somebody else does it for you).
~Jonathan Walcher PhotographyTabloid life surrounds us. Artifice has replaced art, style trumps substance. Sincerity and honesty got lost along the way. Once in a while though, something breaks through. It can crack the shell of bitterness and send a memo reminding us that it’s entirely possible we haven’t become too jaded, at least not yet. That’s where The Uglysuit and their self-titled record come in.
Made up of six friends from Oklahoma City ranging in age from 20-23, The Uglysuit brings a different mentality to what they do – remarkably fresh-faced and honest, the band believes in letting loose, fostering a heartfelt atmosphere of hope and love, and works hard to shape what comes naturally. Playing together since their early teen years has given them an almost familial connection which shines through on their beautiful, fully-realized debut album.
The comfort and ease The Uglysuit shares in performing together is evident in the direction each song takes. Some start as one thing and end as something completely different, but in a way that fits together perfectly. Nothing is sacrificed and everything makes sense. “Brownblue’s Passing” begins delicately before orchestral elements take a march-like turn, leading to a finale that becomes increasingly hypnotic and epic. “…And We Became Sunshine” opens with a bouncy intro that eventually transforms into a soaring chorus of guitar washes, keyboard flourishes, and lush, layered vocals. “Chicago” brings together a more traditional song structure, a melody painted with piano and delicate guitar lines, and a refrain that can stay embedded in your brain for days.
The Uglysuit’s music is an extended love song to the notion that everything is possible, yet nothing is guaranteed. It’s born of excitement and energy and built on potential and promise. It’s based on the premise that change exists in everything, and where a wide-eyed view of the world doesn’t equal naiveté. It reminds us that we are alive, and that maybe it’s not too late.
Wallingford's Hostage Calm have been a confusing, yet welcome, oddity within the local punk/hardcore scene since 2007. Since then, they have released a four-song demo and an LP, both of which surprised listeners by refusing to rely on classic hardcore formulas like speed or heaviness. Instead, they take influence from 90's post-hardcore bands like Quicksand and 80's alternative rock bands like The Smiths. By drawing from these influences, they have formed a unique sound which is poppy and melodic while still aggressive and in-your-face. The label Run For Cover Records recently announced that they would be releasing Hostage Calm's second full length later this year.
Sunday is local band night at The Space. The Nathan Hall Band from Fairfield will be playing - go check out "Annals" on their myspace, it's damn catchy. Also on the bill is Zero Proof and TBH.
Finally got around to listening to The Procedure Club's It's Only Fair cassette, which is basically an appetizer consisting of three tracks from their most recent album Music For The Leisure Time, a favorite from their self-titled, and four new ones. The new ones are kinda meh, sounding a little like the kludge-formed interludes that the Swirlies used to do. But The Procedure Club even at their sloppiest have Andrea's eerie vocals holding the most ridiculous finger pounded drum machine beat together.
The Procedure Club has opened some of Connecticut's greatest underground shows, such as Ariel Pink back in 2008, Doomstar! in 2009, and most recently the final Shaki Presents show at BAR, opening for Gary War. Along with the Unexplainable Recordings release of It's Only Fair, The Procedure Club have a release on the singles-based digital label Beko. Their self-titled is available from the Mexican net-lable Scribble Kite, and the Series Two Records CD-R of Music For The Leisure Time can be ordered from Insound. Oh yeah, and what's this business with The Procedure Club signing with Captured Tracks? I guess someone at Captured Tracks has the same terrible taste in music as myself.
