Tuesday's Trimmings: What of December edition

Ok ... so we skipped documentation of several really solid sets that were posted to Dropbox. Excuse my absence, or don't. Do the interwebs maintain grudges?

Let's just decide to enjoy this last set of new tunes for the year.



Artist                                                              Track

• Bowerbirds                                            Tuck the Darkness in
• Dear Lions                                            Boarding House
• French Films                                         Pretty in Decadence
• Guards                                                  I See It Coming  
• Guards                                                  Resolution of One
• Heartless Bastards                                 Parted Ways
• Keegan Dewitt                                       Colour
• Lana del Rey                                         Born to Die
• Lissy Trullie                                           Madeleine
• Not in the Face                                     Downtown Girl
• Plants and Animals                                Lightshow
• School of Seven Bells                            The Night

• Snowmine                                             Beast in Air Beast in Water

• The Dodos                                            So Cold
• The New Division                                  Sense
• The Pack AD                                        Making Gestures
• Wooden Wand and the Briarwood Virgins         Winter in Kentucky

Streaming Bonus Goodness

New Track from Band of Skulls: 

Sweet Sour by Band of Skulls

Interesting Audio from Zulu Winter:

 DD008 A2: Zulu Winter // Let's Move Back To Front by Double Denim Records 

 DD008 A1: Zulu Winter // Never Leave by Double Denim Records 

Pop-guitar-rock sounds from The Savage Nomads (British lads you are likely to hear on this side of the pond any day now...):

.... And your Xmas Present .. where is that? what is that? How about a lame "Best of" list in the next week or so? Sure, not what you asked for, but I don't really care. 

Guineafowl

Guineafowl, hailing from Sydney, Australia, have crafted a set of tunes on the Guineafowl EP that I've been waiting on for quite some time ... a tight mesh among some lo-fi electronic songs and detailed, well-played rock guitars and drums. I shouldn't claim that this has not been accomplished to some extent before. But, Guineafowl have blended the sounds extremely well to deliver a well-crafted Rock record. Let me say it again ... an energized Rock record. Yes, they have those all too familiar electro-elements, but they don't let those sounds dominate what is some quality guitar and drum work.

Here is a sample. Enjoy. Perhaps repeat. If you are in the NY area, you should get yourself to the Heart is a Spade CMJ showcase to catch a live set.


 Guineafowl - The Lie Is by dewprocess





What's that, you say? .. you hear some of that Arcade Fire-esque orchestral rock too, especially in The Lie Is...so it's not just me.

Tuesdays Trimmings: More October

What do you do when your &^&(%*^R(%*&^() external hard drive fails at the end of your day??!!! Turn to some tunes and hope they help you forget about that wall you promised to punch repeatedly!! 


Ok ... block out the anger ... block out the anger


So, here we are, solidly in October. The fall album rush has descended with the likes of Wilco and Feist trying to separate you from your hard-earned coin. Overall, both of those offerings are solid outings from the tried-and-true blockbuster indie artists (Can I say that? The universe won't implode from some disruption of the oxymoron continuum paradox?). But that isnt what we do here. 


What we do here is new tunes that you probably won't hear thumping through the fall air on an outdoor PA. This week's trimmings introduce you to Alex Clare, Daughter, Girl in a Coma, Mr. Gnome, and News of the Fire. From this set of musicians, you are likely to hear immediate noise about Daughter. Elena Tonra's project is popping up all of the interweb nodes, and her effort has even managed to secure the second hit in a Google search for the band's word-namesake. I'm betting some ridiculous tween-drama network insert (/commercial) is in Daughter's near future (which will result in my telling my wife I know that band in the background and her rolling her eyes in my direction for interrupting her show once again). 


This week, we (a.k.a, I) bring you more from Brown Shoe, Blood Orange, First Aid Kit, and M83. I have been really digging the Brown Shoe tracks from their upcoming The Gift Horse. I think we shall be hearing a good deal about these gentlemen once this album hits the shelves. The Blood Orange track is another solid tune from this subtle bluesy, trip-hop band. The M83 track is huge and awesomely hair. I have read that the new album is stellar! Pitchfork was so excited they had to post a rambling review that contained a thousand grammatical errors and nearly unintelligible sentences packed with obscure references. 


Next to last, but not least on any rock scale, a new track from Band of Skulls. It has been a long time coming. But, in all its thick glory, here it is. Must be a new album on the horizon. Slightly giddy ... ! 


A mini spotlight falls on Youth Lagoon. The debut album The Year in Hibernation is a wonderful piece of bedroom pop with crescendo reverb and clap-along twee rhythms. Sounds great on your best set of headphones.




Artist                                                              Track

• Alex Clare                                            Damn Your Eyes (Etta James Cover)
• Band of Skulls                                      The Devil Takes Care of His Own
• Black Pistol Fire                                   You're Not the Only One
• Blood Orange                                       Are You Sure You're Really That Busy  
• Brown Shoe                                         Diving Bell
• Craft Spells                                          Your Tomb 
• Daughter                                              Love
• First Aid Kit                                         The Lion's Roar
• Girl in a Coma                                      Smart
• M83                                                    Steve McQueen
• Mr Gnome                                           House of Circles
• News of the Fire                                  Faces

• Weekends                                           Hazel

Mini Spotlight: Youth Lagoon

• Youth Lagoon                                     Afternoon
• Youth Lagoon                                     Bobby
• Youth Lagoon                                     Cannons

Midnight Love by Cave Painting

Dreamers of the Ghetto full length coming

Dreamers of the Ghetto are an emerging band that likes big landscapes and aren't afraid of some space. This "family" band from Indiana has captured the art of using simple rhythms and minimal song structure to deliver large atmospheric sounds. In particular, they aren't afraid to open up a huge space in their songs and let a swelling rhythm carry everyone forward. And the vocals ... none of this would be possible if it weren't for the melodic Springstein-like grit of Luke Jones' vocals. Can you imagine a scenario in which Phil Collins adds a little heavier rock to bleed more deeply into romantic 80's dream-rock and then invites a Springstein/Bon Jovi combo. to lend some harmonic, yet occasionally dirty and growling vocal stylings? This is as close as you are going to get ... and it's happening now.

Listen below. In each of the numbers, you can hear that everyone in the band knows their role and plays it their best ability to create that big sound.

Full-length hits next week (first in October). Can't wait.



 Connection by Dreamers of the Ghetto

Note: The original cut of "Tether" that hit the interwebs clocked in at a trance-inducing 7:31. This cut from their bandcamp site is shorter by over 3 minutes. I'm guessing the band trimmed the number for the LP. I really like the tune, so I prefer the long-play cut.

Dreamers of the Ghetto - Phone Call by morrisday

Dreamers of the Ghetto - Regulator from LaundroMatinee on Vimeo.

Tuesday's Trimmings: Some Mid-September Ease

Fall is on the doorstep, supposedly. Steadily the music world turns as the more fall-feeling albums begin to drop (too many Fall analogies to pair with that, so I'll let you fill in your own). There are a good deal of more gentle numbers with an ease of pace appearing this week; even the rocky-er numbers have a more golden sense to them this time of year. Jump right in to this week's selections. 


For a real Fall treat, hit the previous post for a full stream of Twin Sister's first full-length In Heaven.


Artist                                                             Track

• AA Bondy                                            Surfer King
• Blitzen Trapper                                     Street Fighting Sun
• Lanterns on the Lake                             Keep on Trying
• ARMS                                                  Fleeced
• Caveman                                              Thankful
• Friends                                                 I'm His Girl
• Liam Finn                                             Cold Feet
• Los Campesinos!                                  By Your Hand
• PAPA                                                   I Am the Lion King
• The Rest                                               Always on My Mind
• Wild Beasts                                          Thankless Thing
• Weekend                                              The One You Want

• You Won't                                            Fryer (from Wild Honey Pie Studio Session)

• You Won't                                            Who Knew (from Wild Honey Pie Studio Session)

fun -- We Are Young


fun.: We Are Young ft. Janelle Monáe by Fueled By Ramen

Twin Sister "In Heaven"

The long anticipated full-length from Twin Sister in advance! These sharp, yet restrained pop numbers feel like fall encapsulated. Enjoy.

The album officially hits the shelves Sept. 27 via Domino.

New Tunes Tuesday: More of Less Heat

Let's not waste any more time on the heat, and get on into the fall. 


 Artist                                                             Track

• Carter Tanton                                        Horrorscope
• Hospitality                                            Friends of Friends
• Leisure                                                 Green Light
• Slow Club                                             If We're Still Alive
• The Big Pink                                         Stay Gold
• The Morning Clouds                               A Walk Home
• The Spires                                            Clock Out the Clocks
• Tiger Waves                                          Funeral March
• Tiger Waves                                          Slow Loris
• Wilco                                                    Dawned on Me
• Yuck                                                    Cousin Corona

... and two streamers .....


Sissy and the Blisters -- Let Her Go

Sissy & The Blisters - Let Her Go by charmfactory




I Break Horses -- Wired



I Break Horses- Hearts by Bella Union

Tiger Waves: Only Good Bands Have Animal Names

Here's to a celebration of our modern ability to share lots of high-quality information almost instantly (get your tri-quarters out!).

Tiger Waves (James and Reid) are a Postal Service-style effort. They crafted and produced their melodic, lo-fi, surf-influenced tunes through interwebs file sharing and emailing. The two collaborated on fragments of punchy, reverb-filled numbers and added layers of melody from separate locations in Austin and Chicago. That's right ... a true bedroom recording produced in two separate bedrooms with only the interwebs in between.

The result is a wonderful marriage of lo-fi reverb with surf punch and jangle. The bedroom production adds an appropriate amount of garage, while the melodic layering (not too thick mind you) keeps the riffs generally clean (with intentional exceptions on some numbers) and discernible below the vocals. Enjoy, and squabble after the break.






Head on over to Tiger Waves bandcamp page and grab the full album while it's still gratis!
http://tigerwaves.bandcamp.com/album/only-good-bands-have-animal-names

Some New Tunes Just Before The New Tunes

Why is it that simply being away from your usual abode disrupts the whole routine? After a 2.5 week stay in Long Beach and a short trip to St. Charles, Mizzou, I'm still recovering. Bring on the normalcy and the routine ... time to settle back in for the fall.

The travelogue is an attempt at an excuse for an untimely post. Today, I give you a quick-fire new tunes prior to a proper New Tunes Tuesday. Here is a list of tracks that predominantly preview some releases to come in the next few weeks. Enjoy and complain after the break.

       Artist                                                             Track

• Girls                                                         Honey Buny
• Dum Dum Girls                                          Bedroom Eyes
• Lower Dens                                               Deer Knives
• St. Vincent                                               Cruel
• Brown Bird                                                Thunder and Lightning
• Male Bonding                                            Tame the Sun
• Sundress                                                   Derelict
• Sundress                                                   Thirteen
• Widowspeak                                              Gun Shy
• Young Man                                                Tired Eyes 

Tempe to Long Beach, Long Beach to Tempe (i.e., reality): Stream Girls and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

   Is it really necessary to explain lack of posting when the people who read this blog are folks I strong-armed? Perhaps not ....perhaps .... We could argue, but you will have it regardless.

   I settled in Long Beach, CA for 2.5 weeks during a research get-away. It was a completely different world. The neighborhoods were cottage-communal, the landscaping was immaculate, the weather was a dream, and there was almost no need for a car. It already seems like the Long Beach experiment was not real. Overall, it was a lot of things that Tempe is not, and here I am back in reality ... that is Tempe.  

   To ease back into this reality of heat, let's begin with some out-of-the-gate streaming options (little work for me, and little work for you). 

   Stream the highly anticipated new Girls release Father, Son, Holy Ghost: 

                                

  Stream the long-awaited (and hopefully return-to-form) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah release entitled  

  Hysterical:

   
                                                **STREAM DISABLED    

Comments, thoughts, reactions, and irrational emotional responses ? Carry on with comments. 

Tuesdays Trimmings for the First One in August

Took a small, undeserved hiatus last week from the new tunes listings. There were some interesting tracks floating through the interwebs, but not enough to warrant a full buffet of new audio ... then, the week went along and I eventually found myself on a wine tour in Sonoita, AZ. 

We (as in I) are back this week with a bevy of new selections. Without further delay ....

Artist                                                                                 Track

Alex Winston                                                                    Velvet Elvis

Blitzen Trapper                                                                  Love the Way You Walk Away

Boy + Kite                                                                        Think in Stereo

Class Actress                                                                     Let Me Take You Out

Il albanico                                                                          Songs of Love

King Orchid                                                                       Trigger Finger

Milagres                                                                             Here to Stay

Octoberman                                                                       I'm on Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover)

Peter Wolf Crier                                                                 Settling It Off

Sleeper Agent                                                                     Get It Daddy

The Echo-Friendly                                                              Same Mistakes

The Great Book of John                                                      Robbin Hood

Waters                                                                                Take Me Out to the Coast

Wild Flag                                                                            Romance

At the moment, I have Boy+Kite and The Great Book of John in the constant spin category. I am trying to scratch a deep itch for more solid rock, guitar-driven numbers (minus the now annoying surf-I-can't-your damn-vocals-because-the-washed-out-delay-is-too-darn high!!). I am also really digging the shimmering, reverb twinkle of the Class Actress track. I find this to be a refreshing number that does the shimmer correctly, without all that crazy delay and reverb (see above) that is omnipresent at this point.

I also draw your attention a bit to the new Alex Winston track. I discovered Alex Winston in an amazing La Blogotheque performance (http://en.blogotheque.net/2011/05/04/alex-winston-en/). Watch it ... find yourself enthralled with the wonderful rhythms and the stellar earthy vocals and harmonies, and then wonder why Alex decides on studio cuts to wash that organic tastiness away with modern electro-tronics. I plan a more in-depth post introducing Ms. Winston to all you readers (a.k.a., no one, with apologies to the voice in my head for not getting a head count).

Frightened Rabbit Tour EP -- new tunes

Oh, Frightened Rabbit .... you have me worried, lads. Your shambly, Scottish-churning urgency and clumsily brilliant lyrics have soundtracked large portions of my life. I can tell tales of attempting to sing along to The Twist with my wife and sister-in-law while trying to drive blind through summer fog in Newfoundland .... or humming Keep Yourself Warm during a Screech (Newfie bath-tub rum) chug-a-thon prior to a rainsoaked Newfie hike. You also delivered one of the best shows I've seen in a small-ish bar here in Tempe (I think the crowd that night surprised even you). Thank you for playing nearly the entire catalogue in a cathartic power set after you had to cancel the Tempe date a year prior due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland.

I would plead with you not to lose the melodic, ramschackle brilliance as you transition to major label heights, but I think I would be preaching to the choir in a sense. I trust that is on the radar. That being said, I do have to ask about this tour with Death Cab for Cutie. My question is simply, "Why?" And then I worry.

The news that Frightened Rabbit has released some new material on this arena experiment does restore some faith that this jump won't interrupt the song-craft too much. Keep it up Frightened Rabbit, and DON'T take a single word of advice or influences from Death Cab ... please.

Frightened Rabbit's tour-only EP (being sold at the merch booths) contains three tracks. It offers a studio version of "Scottish Winds" and another studio cut of "Fuck This Place" featuring Camera Obsura's Tracyanne Campell. It also contains a track called "The Eork" with Scottish folk singer Archie Fisher. Stream the tracks here:

Frightened Rabbit - Scottish Winds by ListenBeforeYouBuy


Frightened Rabbit - Fuck This Place (Featuring Tracyanne Campbell From Camera Obscura) by ListenBeforeYouBuy


Frightened Rabbit - The Work (Featuring Archie Fisher) by ListenBeforeYouBuy


Let's hope they eventually offer the EP to all their fans online.

I (and Im betting others like me) can't make that show to purchase the EP, because I can't fathom paying for a high-priced tick for a Death Cab concert (in an arena, no less). I want to salute Music Savage (http://www.musicsavage.com/) for expressing the same thoughts (http://www.musicsavage.com/2011/07/new-music-frightened-rabbit-ep-tour-only/).

Twin Sister Bad Street Video

Ever since I found Twin Sister and their stellar little album Color Your Life, I can't get enough. Yes...it's a full-on band crush. Twin Sister is steadily churning out some new material. The band treated us this summer to Bad Steet, a trademark floaty, dance-ish number (with a melodic, subtle beat that delightfully pumps along at a cool 15 mph in a 25 to 30). Now, they give us a summer-y video to pair with the tune:




The debut LP entitled In Heaven, from Domino, will drop September 27th.

Support Twin Sister; enable them to make more fantastic tunes for our pleasure. Do so here:
http://twinsistermusic.com/music/release/color-your-life/



Twin Sister are touring the US this fall. Highly recommend you see them now in a more personal venue while you can. See dates below.

09/01 September 1st Tucson Rialto w/ Explosions in the Sky 
09/02 September 2nd San Diego SOM Aw/ Explosions in the Sky
09/03 September 3rd FYF Fest 1st and Main Downtown LA
09/04 September 4th San Francisco The Rickshaw Shop
09/05 September 5th Big SurHenry Miller Library w/ Explosions in the Sky
09/08 September 8th MFNW Festival Holocene
09/09 September 9th Vancouver Vogue Theater w/ Explosions in the Sky
09/11 September 11th Boise Egyptian Theater w/ Explosions in the Sky
09/13 September 13th DenverFillmore Auditorium w/ Explosions in the Sky
09/14 September 14th Albuquerque Sunshine Theater w/ Explosions in the Sky
09/15 September 15th Marfa Vizcaino Park w/ Explosions in the Sky
09/16 September 16th Dallas AT&T Performing Arts Centerw/ Explosions in the Sky
09/29 September 29th New York Mercury Lounge
10/01 October 1st Chicago Lincoln Hallw/ Wild Beasts
10/02 October 2nd Milwaukee Turner Hallw/ Wild Beasts
10/04 October 4th Minneapolis Varsity Theaterw/ Wild Beasts
10/14 October 14th Oklaholma City University of Oklaholma w/ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
10/15October 15th Memphis Hi Tone w/ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
10/16October 16th Nashville Mercy Lounge w/ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
10/18October 18th Baltimore The Ottobar w/ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Tuesday's Trimmings

From a perusal of the great blogosphere,it seems that the industry is getting ready for a fall push. Tracks from some established and some up-and-comings are surfacing. Here is a list of some compelling new tunes for this week.

Artist                                                              Track

Army Navy                                                      The Long Goodbye
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah                              Maniac
Dum Dum Girls                                                Coming Down
Gardens & Villa                                                Black Hills
Girls                                                                Vomit
Letting Up Despite Great Faults                         Sophia in Gold
Letting Up Despite Great Faults                        Teenage Tide
M83                                                                Midnight City
Scharling                                                          Steal the Sun
Seryn                                                               River Song
Seryn                                                               So Within
The War on Drugs                                            Come to the City
Yellow Ostrich                                                 13 Mary


The Dum Dum Girls track and the Girls track are both stand-outs here. They have been on heavy repeat this week.

However, new favorites have to go to Seryn and to Yellow Ostrich. I suggest locating those tracks and getting familiar with them. You will not be disappointed.

I would also like to point you to the streaming tracks posted earlier in the week. The Analog Rebellion tracks and Laura Marling's "Sophia" would certainly have made our list this week if we (I) could have located an mp3 format.

Crescent Ballroom to Open in Downtown Phoenix

Here at Pulled Pork, we (as in I) often come face-to-face with the hard reality that the greater Phoenix area epitomizes the strip-mall daytime and the foam party nighttime. Phoenix, you may have a "newish" metropolitan smell and a lot of fancy Escalades surrounded by bougainvillea, but you live and die by the credit card and you have the taste of a washed-out frat boy/sorority girl. You are, in a nutshell, culturally shallow. It's not too much of a knock; it's just who you are.

Perhaps, though, change is possible. Recently, with the indie scene catching the popular eye, the consumerism of Phoenix has taken notice. The hipsters are growing in numbers, and the little bars that used to cater to small numbers trying to catch a blur of their favorite midlevel band as they race through town are filling up. Now, Phoenix will get its very own mid-range, hipster venue.

The Crescent Ballroom will open it's doors in October to a flurry of concert activity. It is the work of hard working promoter Stateside Presents (Charlie Levy). It appears he shall use his influences to fill our ears with even greater goodness at this new establishment. The venue will be located at 308 N. 2nd Ave, Phoenix, AZ.

Check out the full schedule here: http://www.crescentphx.com/

We will be updating the calendar with the new ballroom dates.

Note: You can also read a news story about the new venue here: http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/music/articles/2011/07/27/20110727phoenix-music-venue-crescent-ballroom.html

Laura Marling "Sophia"

Folky songstress Laura Marling has released a unraveling, jaunty tune named "Sophia". It's a beautiful and long-developing number. Moreover, it bears the same namesake as my gorgeous wife (Although I should reserve some judgement on any association until AFTER I have dived into the lyrical content, as my Sophia is a beautiful, stunning woman.).

Marling's new, already-thrid disc named "A Creature I Don't Know" will be released on Sept. 12th.


Laura Marling - Sophia by ListenBeforeYouBuy

Analog Rebellion

The self-important indie-verse is filling up fast with righteous hipsters chasing the sound dejour. I hate to say it, but its getting cliche at this juncture. I think I started to lose my palette a little with the Mumford and Sons explosion of toneless, pop-folk-grass. Yes, the popular eye has turned on the indie-hipster scene, and the copycats and soul reavers are starting to amass.

When you find an artist who just straight-up plays the hell out of his instrument and writes strong rock songs, you have to celebrate it. Time to celebrate the craft once again, ladies and gentlemen.

Analog Rebellion is one Daniel Hunter who returned from the electro-pop badlands (gotta love his F*** Auto Tune merch gear) to master catchy guitar riffs and get lost in song construction. The influences and sound are right up front and the music doesn't hide behind most current fads. Have a listen here and keep your eyes open for some new material.

Analog Rebellion - Father Abraham from Yes Go Productions on Vimeo.

Head over to Futuresounds http://futuresounds.com/ for additional info.

Girls "Vomit"; new album 9/13

I have to admit that I wasn't a tremendous fan of Girls after the debut album. I found some appeal in the straightforward Americana, countrified surf with drug culture influences, but not too much to get excited about.

Then, Girls released the Broken Dreams Club EP. It's in that record that I hear the full-tone country-wrappped Cali sound with a pining lyricist from beach street-kid environs. Broken Dreams Club contained a mini-epic of a track called Carolina that pointed the way to new and ambitious frontiers. Go locate a copy of that EP if you don't already have one.

In anticipation of their new alum (dropping 9/13), Girls hit the blogosphere with their next sprawling mini-epic Vomit. Enjoy .. I know I am.




Girls - Vomit by sexmusic

Stream the Horrors Skying

The IT Crowd is a brilliant show. Part of that brilliance is a goth to "recovering goth" to "reformed goth" named Richmond. Is this a common occurrence in the British isles, so much so that it requires its own character-spoof on a nationally televised Brit-com??

Perhaps it is. Reformed hyperbolic-goth-horror rockers The Horrors truly transformed themselves and their sound with their last album Primary Colours. Great album ... great droning, landscapey sound.

The Horrors have now all but gamed the system in another evolution that demonstrates they may have more greatness to come. The new effort Skying is a great listen, and has now debuted at No. 5 over the pond.

Stream here:


Discuss, praise, or complain below.

New Dum Dum Girls

On the heels of their amazingly thick EP enttiled He Gets Me High, the Dum Dum Girls offer up more new goodness. The band found their sound in the EP to produce a record of early 60's inspired pop-punkish rock tracks with significant space and depth. Too many bands in the genre turn to the distant reverb sound (ala Best Coast). Dum Dum Girls, instead, have thickened-up that sound and located a lot of space in their tracks for a full sound that I really dig. These are tracks so wonderfully thick that you can hear the recorded space; when you listen, you can hear the depth of the room and the place of the instruments in it. Heard several complaints that the sound is too Tarantino-filmish ... but Im liking the full sound with the clean vocals.

Download the new track for the price of your email address.