Dinosaur Feathers are pushing out a brand spankin new EP on the 18th but for you eager fans I have a track you can get at RIGHT NOW! They’re playing in Brooklyn tonight at Public Assembly and in Philly on September 9th at Danger Danger gallery.
Here ya be….
Don’t Fear The Vegabonds
I received this mix from Primate King an indie artist out of the Bay area yesterday and it blew my socks off. It is 58 minutes of smacktacular danceyness and it is sure to cure whatever ails ya this Wednesday morning.
Electro Pusher Deux
There is a lot of goodness tucked into this Remix Rehash. A track to jam to while cruisin with your windows down, a little 80′s sounding trancey synth
In need of a little workout music? then you should check out the offerings of Borracho. A Canadian duo dedicated to setting the perfect get your groove on dance party atmosphere. They know their way around pacing a mix so you just. keep. wanting. more.
100% Puerto Rico (Big Pun)- Borracho Remix
In honor of the group Little Man Tate’s decision to hang up their hats Don Diablo offers up this remix of their song I Am Alive. Its a feel good bit you won’t be able to resist hitting replay (over and over again). Clearly Mr Diablo has nothing but love for the guys on LMT.
I Am Alive (Little Man Tate) – Don Diablo Remix
This one comes from RQM’s new EP. Fresh off the OMG! presses this will appeal to anyone who likes their electro to have a hint of 80′s set to a nice synthy beat. Kindly offered up is this take of Barely Evil it should tug at ya enough to go check out the rest of RQM’s offerings
Barely Evil – RQM Remix
And finally a little somethin somethin for your cruisin needs. Its a little bit playful and a lot a bit head boppin. Perfect to toss on when you just want to chill back and relax. Enjoy!
We Won’t Break (Zoot Women)- Mr Vega
Bad Veins are two guys from Cincinnati and a reel-to-reel deck named Irene. They don’t pay much attention to the common curiosity about the origins of their band name, how their lady friend came to be known as Irene nor are they much bothered with buying into what is expected of an indie band trying to make it either (you won’t see them moving to Brooklyn any time soon). And that is perhaps why they may be some of the coolest fellas touring their asses off right now.
But, it isn’t what makes their music so fucking pausing. That is directly related to the great deal of intent and musical intelligence that goes into the creation and presentation of each song.
What started as the solo tinkerings of Ben has now grown to involve the classy presence of Irene and the frenetic talents of Sebastien. Ultimately creating a trio so obvious and wickedly tight they melt away and leave their music to do their talking. Considering they do trend towards the leaner side when compared to the bands consisting of small armies that seem to be so popular right now but their sound, man, their sound is powerful.
Their album was recorded largely in Ben’s home studio where he and Sebastien masterfully built layers of bass, rhythm, loops and even strings then passed them on to Irene. When you listen to their record it is impossible to miss the assortment of elements that are pulled together to achieve their greatness. Some parts are surprisingly simple, like the fuzzed out bass lines on Falling Tide others are unexpected, for example the strings on The Lie. While they aren’t members of the every album needs to read as a whole camp the entirety of their debut album shares a thread of epic potential that ties it together nicely. They reach for realms most small groups wouldn’t even begin to fathom and not only do they achieve a thoroughly developed sound but they stretch their skills over enough territory that you are left wanting more, much, much more.
Seeing them live is one way to scratch that “more” itch and I’m happy to say the same amount of musical smarts go into their live show. Both Sebastien and Ben recognize the importance of putting on an entertaining live show. To Sebastien this means giving the audience plenty to watch and move to for Ben it means blowing them away with compact and constantly engaging sets. They create quite the homey little set up on stage drum kit to the left, bunches of homemade noise makers to the right and Irene holding court in the middle. It looks like an arrangement devised by the Cohen brothers especially when the buys take the stage in their military button downs.
The amount of sound they blew through the speakers on Wednesday night was astonishing. It was probably a good thing they keep their sets on the shorter side because it was a lot to take in. Sebastien is a whir of energy which plays nicely with Ben’s emotional delivery. Both are clearly investing a great deal of themselves in their performances and it creates yet another layer to their sound. The vocals are moody and sincere and the presence of the live drummer are what keep the electronic components from becoming static. This is an act that doesn’t really need improvement yet I have a feeling will present itself in a number of different forms as the group continues to play and experiment.
For all of you who missed Wednesday’s show you’re lucky. Bad Veins will be returning to Philly’s North Star Bar on September 20th. For the rest of you non Philly readers. They are going to be all over these United States over the next few months so be sure to check out their tour schedule.
Be sure to get their album but here is a nibble for your needs
Gold & Warm
Mando Diao
I have quickly become addicted to this posse of Swedish lads. They create a punchy pop sound that over the course of their existence have smartened up and acquired a wee hint of Motown rhythm countered with a skotch of southern edge. There are quite a few delectable tracks , The Wildfire or You Can’t Steal My Love. Its the kind of music you put on when you have some intense ya-ya’s needing to be danced out. You can hear bits of their next album, Give Me Fire, on here but the Gloria, employs some early wall of soundesque lady background vocal. I Wanna Dance With Somebody makes you want to do just that. Go acquire any and all Mando Diao you can get your hands on and try to spread the love so that they may stray in their extensive European touring to come state side.
River City Extension
This is another group that immediately left a big impression on me. I wrote about them briefly a few weeks ago after their lead singer played a moving solo set with Dinosaur Feathers. Then… I listened to their album Nautical Sabbatical. This entire album is a pleasure to listen to. They cover some good genre ground from the soundtrack friendly Its No Ha Ha to the banjo picking awesomeness of Clever & Quickness its layer upon layer of rollicking good music. There are a whole slew of folks who contribute their skills to build RCE’s layers, which means there are more opportunities than usual for things to get messy; however, it stays within the lines to push its way into your heart and keep yers feets a stompin. I’m beyond anxious to take in their live show, which of course I’ll report back to you diligently.
Mark Mallman
When I first saw Mark Mallman live I was a sophomore in college and he was insane. He screams he is in your face and at times I thought I was witnessing a breakdown. I saw him many more times over the course of my college career (he is a Twin Cities artist and they love to play the Cave) and after a while I realized there was definite method to his madness and my fandom was cemented. He popped into the main stream when his side project Ruby Isle released their full length album last year to wide praise. But his solo work deserves as much, if not more attention. He has an album coming out so he will be doing a whole bunch of touring [including PHILLY!!!! on Sept. 22nd] it is now your duty to go out and experience the whirl wind that is Mark Mallman. For your enjoyment here is the video for Invincible Criminal,a single of his new album, as well as one of my fav. older tracks Knockout on 22nd
I took some time at the beginning of the month to embrace one of those quintessential American past times, the road trip. I had to get back to the Twin Cities for a family reunion and thanks to a absurdly wired car I was able to work from the road. My partner in crime and I mapped out a meandering route hitting up friends and family along the way.
Of course there was excellent music along the way. On the way out PIC and I did a little exchange of what we both considered “essential” music. We would take turns playing albums and sharing all our knowledge about each of them. I shared Allman Brothers, Derek & The Dominoes, Buddy Holly, Marc Cohen etc while he shared Foo Fighters, Hum, Dismemberment Plan and so on.
Music popped up other places as well. We spent the 4th in a Chautauqua community in Lakeside OH where the all-American children sang patriotic songs. At the Metrodome where I saw my final Twins game in that deplorable arena (and they lost to the Yankees of course). And the night around the fire at my family reunion when my cousins and I sang the entirety of Gin & Juice (the Gourds version) and most of the Drive By Trucker’s song book.
On the whole it was a pretty spectacular trip so I thought I’d share a little mix tape with you of a few of the better tracks that made their way through our speakers.
Gin & Juice – The Gourds
Just (Radiohead) - Nickle Creek
Bell Bottom Blues - Derek & The Dominoes
Silver Thunderbird – Marc Cohen
Jack & Diane – John Mellencamp
Locked Out – Crowded House
Twilight (The Band) – The Jones Street Boys
Everlong (Foo Fighters) – Wakey!Wakey!
Heavens To Purgatory – Most Serene Republic
Enjoy the whole soundtrack
It turns out when you take two days off to be sick everything ferments and grows this mold of immediacy. Its true in work, social and blog. You just gotta spend the time deciding whether its the good kind of mold (ie penicillin or bleu cheese) or the tossable kind (um, you know it). I am still waist deep in these determinations so I can’t provide you the full analysis of these except to say they were the one’s that jumped straight from “inbox” to “yes please” surpassing “maybe for a slow week” and “if it fits.” Enjoy!
Remedy (Little Boots) - Buffetlibre vs Sidechains remix
The Woods (Cartridge) - Buffetlibre
Who’s There (Riton & Primary 1)- IAMXL remix
Let The Bodies Hit Thunder - Crookers vs. DJ Sega (DJ HLM More Bass Edit)
Treat Me Like Your Mother (The Dead Weather) - Diplo Remix
We Are Golden (Mika) - Don Diablo Remix
Disco Disco Disco – Don Diablo
So sorry that I haven’t been posting this week. I have been rather ill and finding the energy to pull it together to function let alone blog has been rough. But I finally got the meds I needed and will be back in full force by Monday with three awesome new post in the making. But since I never like you to leave here empty handed enjoy this video of a wedding that took place in St. Paul. I actually heard about this from friends when I was back there a few weeks ago and got a good laugh when it went viral. I can’t imagine a better way to dance yourself into your marriage.
And to inspire your own spectacular dance ideas Philly’s own DJ Shawn Ryan recently sent me this excellent summer mix Superprince II. Its packed with awesomeness so download it now.
The World In A Paper Cup and Bag Of Songs co hosted a night of new music last Sunday at The M Room. I brought in Dinosaur Feathers for their Philly debut and BOS invited River City Extension over from Toms River NJ. It was the end of a long weekend for all involved but that didn’t stop either band from putting on a truly entertaining show.
If you aren’t already familiar with Dinosaur Feathers getter done and be sure to see them live. Their easy stage presence belies the intense amount of skill and vocal awareness that brings their harmonies to life. Its becoming more acceptable to have less then tailored vocals leading an indie band. In most situations it becomes an instrument enveloped by the rest of the band to the groups benefits. All three vocalists in DF have excellent voices and they combine to build incredible and unexpected harmonies, in particularly for an all male trio. They flexed this muscle on History Lessons and Sleeping In on Sunday and it was flawless. On their newer stuff they maintain the strong vocals and start tinkering with punk and alt. rock guitar riffs. Their set was a fantastic cross section of where they’re at now and where they are headed. They begin recording next month and hope to release an LP this winter. But do yer best to see them live so you can add them to your list of “I knew them before they were big.”
River City Extension, a seven member outfit from Tom’s River NJ were supposed to follow however, after opening for Cake Saturday night in Baltimore only their lead singer Joe could muster up the energy to perform. I truly had no idea what to expect but was thoroughly blown away by what I witnessed. This was a v. intimate performance, just a man his guitar and a few folks dedicated enough to stay out late on a work night, but he put his all into his 45 minute set.
RCE is an alt country band and Joe, I gathered, is its driving soul. He has a beautiful voice (a perfect compliment to DF opening set) and true knack for crafting lyrics. He has a rasp about his voice that suggest he cut his teeth belting out Springsteen tunes before introducing a little bit of a raw southern country influence. I took a stab at capturing his solo set with my iPhone and surprisingly got some good material. There were moments when I got the chills watching Joe go to town, caught in the moment, busting guitar strings just to entertain the small but enthralled audience. I couldn’t have imagined a better way to cap off the night. Next up for me is to catch the entire RCE crew at one of the many shows they have lined up over the next few months. I suggest you do the same.
Teenage Whore – Dinosaur Feathers
Friends & Family (live) – Joe (River City Extension)
Bone Marrow Twist & Shout (live) – Joe (River City Extension)
Come one come all its going to be a good time!
