CMJ » 2011

Best Of 2011: Staff Picks

webmaster — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:00:57 +0000

How to make a year-end list: Write down all of the albums you listened to a bunch in 2011. Usher’s Confessions came out in 2004. Cross it out. Narrow this pool to 10. Now deal with the fact that you are only allowed five. Stop crying. There’s no room on my desk for your tears. Get rid of the ones you are only putting on there for cool points. Examine play counts on iTunes for a reality check of your real favorites. Fine, hypothetical bootlegs of live shows from 2011 may remain. And yes, you may group multiple mixtapes from the same artist as one entry. Sign, seal, submit, post for public viewing. Brace for judgment. Cope with regret. Make up for it all in 2012.

Kristen Bayusik

Data Manager

Feist – Metals

(Interscope)

Listen to “How Come You Never Go There”

Foo Fighters – Wasting Light

(RCA)

Listen to “White Limo”

Kvelertak – Kvelertak

(Indie)

Listen to “Mjod”

Mastodon – The Hunter

(Reprise)

Listen to “Curl Of The Burl”

Portugal. The Man – In The Mountain, In The Cloud

(Atlantic/Approaching Airballoons)

Listen to “Sleep Forever”

Amy Hintz

Marketing Director

Boy & Bear – Moonfire

(Universal Republic)

Listen to “Feeding Line”

Gotye – Making Mirrors

(Eleven)

Listen to “Somebody That I Used To Know (Feat. Kimbra)”

Laura Marling – A Creature I Don’t Know

(Virgin)

Listen to “Sophia”

Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes

(LL)

Listen to “I Follow Rivers”

Washed Out – Within And Without

(Sub Pop)

Listen to “Eyes Be Closed”

Lisa Hresko

Editor-In-Chief

Bollywood Bloodbath – Various Artists

(Finders Keepers)

Listen to Sapan Jagmohan’s “Sote Sote Adhi Raat”

Cambodian Space Project – 2011: A Space Odyssey

(Metal Postcard)

Listen to “Have Visa, No Have Rice”

Destroyer – Kaputt

(Merge)

Listen to “Poor In Love”

Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise

(Circus Company)

Listen to “Keep Me There”

M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

(Mute)

Listen to “Midnight City”

The post Best Of 2011: Staff Picks appeared first on CMJ.

National @ Beacon Theater: December 15, 2011

Alex Eriksen — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:32:42 +0000

National - Photo by Alex Eriksen

The National played the Beacon Theater all this week, and last night the band hit its stride. Frontman Matt Berninger, who bears a striking resemblance to actor Kevin Kline in person, was very comfortable in the space. He swapped jokes in between songs and let loose sometimes explosive energy during them. The band’s amble from backstage to front was streamed live onto a huge movie screen; with cameras set up all around the stage, there’d be live footage all night.

Berninger’s classic baritone warmed up with “Thirsty” off of Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers. As the lights went up you could see he wouldn’t be as lonely as some of his songs would make him out to be. The National performed with up to eight additional musicians. There was a string quartet and a horn section flanking the band on either side. Jenn Wasner from Wye Oak guest appeared on guitar for a few songs. It wasn’t so crowded though; guitarist Bryce Dessner found enough room to go center stage and take his axe down on one knee before the front row. He’d repeat that action a few times over the night and got so close you could reach out and touch him. The band was showcasing its latest efforts, playing seven of 11 tracks off of the critically acclaimed High Violet.

If all you’d heard from the National was “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” which was making the rounds on a lot of “best of” lists this time last year, you might take the band as sort of low key. Berninger’s voice is indeed well suited for NyQuil ads, yet he’s able to ramp up the decibels and deliver a full-on scream. The band did “Abel” off of Alligator, and Berninger gave his cords a pretty brutal trashing. “My mind’s not right!” he shrieked over and over in the chorus. Behind him a clip from Night Of The Living Dead played in a loop while bursts of blood red exploded all over the screen. It was either during that song or a throat-lacerating take of “Mr. November” that Berninger spiked the microphone like a touchdown pass into the stage. The National is anything but tame.

Closing with four encores, the band played a new song called “I Need My Girl,” an acoustic heart-string puller about a rough world closing in. “Exile Vilify,” which the band recorded for a video game, Portal 2, had a simulated snow storm on screen. The set wound down with two more tracks from High Violet, “Terrible Love” and “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks,” which the band and guests did all acoustic. As the show ended, those in the front row all stuck their hands out to Berninger for a shake. He obliged, and as he bent down a woman reached up and dug both hands into his beard.

Photos by Alex Eriksen.

The post National @ Beacon Theater: December 15, 2011 appeared first on CMJ.

Kids And Explosions (Toronto, Canada)

Alex Eriksen — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:06:44 +0000

Mash-up is an ill-fitting term. I always imagine a squashed tomato. The art of making it and performing it is really more akin to sculpture. To do it takes a near omniscient understanding of music, a track collection to rival the Library Of Congress and a set of well-trained ears. Josh Raskin of Kids And Explosions has all three. But the Canadian artist is not in the business of building dance-floor atom bombs. He’ll hardly count himself among the freshman class of either the Girl Talk or 2 Many Djs school of thought. Raskin goes more the route of independent studies, spending time, mostly alone, deconstructing songs and arranging the standout hooks, beats and lyrics that blend best to him.

Raskin is a Toronto native. His musical beginnings are rooted in DJing, which he’s been doing for longer than he can remember. “I was always torn between making weird beats with computers and writing sad guitar songs,” explains Raskin, “until a few years ago when I realized I could kinda do everything at the same time.” His choice samples are typically from sad songs, the acoustic plucking on Iron And Wine’s rendition of “Such Great Heights” for instance. The rap verse, such a versatile and ear-fondling remix device, gets like treatment. Selections include Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” which Raskin cuts up to the point Em’s underdog anthem is near unrecognizable. The result heightens the themes of confusion and frustration in the original. Raskin is at his best on “There Is A Burning Ball Of Fire In Outer Space” where he blends the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Suicidal Thoughts” with Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor.” “The best thing about making music is discovering two things that are amazing on their own but combine to make something entirely new, either musically or conceptually,” says Raskin.

Most of the songs on his album, Shit Computer, came together in a “complex series of accidents.” The process begins by voraciously consuming music. “I can listen to an album on loop for months,” says Raskin, only stopping whenever he’s recording. He searches out connections in the songs he loves, most of which you’ll recognize, and goes to work blending them. A song contains three or four recognizable elements but with Raskin’s distinct signature left on them. He uses most a kind of stutter effect to switch up timing on notes or meaning on lyrics.

Raskin is an Oscar nominee and an Emmy winner but not for his music. He’s part of a trio that made “I Met The Walrus,” an animated short derived from a taped interview with John Lennon in 1969. A 14-year-old Jerry Levitan snuck into the Beatle’s hotel room in Toronto, reel-to-reel recorder in hand, to interview him. When Levitan grew up he came across some of Raskin’s student work as an animator and a filmmaker and pitched a project to him. Levitan had a full-length documentary in mind, but Raskin favored doing it as an animated short. With the tape, an illustrator and a designer, Raskin locked himself into a studio and cranked out the project. Aside from the Emmy win and the Oscar nod, Raskin and co. netted for themselves near two and a half million views on YouTube.

His next undertaking is a tour, beginning in February. He’s also working on a music video for his song “Swear Words.” “It’s like Guitar Hero but horrible,” says Raskin. A second album is in the works to be released soon. “Soon” is relative to how fast or slow Raskin pieces together his next collage.

The post Kids And Explosions (Toronto, Canada) appeared first on CMJ.

The Year In Lil B: The Good, The Based And The Ugly

Andrew Olshevski — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:13:13 +0000

Lil B - Photo by Generation Bass

Thank you, Based God, for another fruitful year of #based music. The Internet rap phenomenon known as Lil B had his biggest year yet in 2011, putting out eight releases that spanned mixtape, album and Garage Band .mp3 formats, including the 676-song Free Music: The MySpace Collection. Having already compared himself to the likes of Ellen DeGeneres, Miley Cyrus and, um, God, the walking rap meme upped the ante this year, releasing YouTube gems such as “Justin Bieber,” “Charlie Sheen,” “Bill Bellamy” and “Dr. Phil,” to name a few.

But it wasn’t just his steady stream of output, goofy or otherwise, that boosted his popularity. Following his announcement in May that he would be releasing a record titled I’m Gay, even news publications like New York Magazine and CNN wanted to pick his brain, yielding some pretty hilarious interviews. Lil B’s growing influence manifested itself outside of the World Wide Web, like in the NFL where his signature Cooking Dance inexplicably became one of the league’s most popular celebration dances. And though Lil B remained voluntarily label-less in 2011, his buzzing rap descendants like A$AP Rocky were able to cash in on a style that Lil B pioneered, which includes rapping over the ethereal dreamscape beats of producers like Clams Casino and boasting about how “pretty” you are.

With so much #based music to sort through from 2k11, we picked out a few of our favorites from Lil B’s wildly productive year.

Best Album: I’m Gay

The heterosexual Lil B’s self-proclaimed “statement to the world” had little to do with homosexuality but much to do with fine-tuning his sound in his most affecting release to date. I’m Gay opens to find our hero “Trapped In Prison,” waxing philosophic about the prevalence of “mental slavery,” something he seeks to abolish over the ensuing 11 tracks of fascinatingly warped conscious-rap. It’s unfailingly positive and, at times, genuinely inspirational, especially on cuts like the Obama-sampling “Gon Be Okay.” But the Based God is at his best when going in over luminous soul samples, as on the headnodic “Get It While It’s Good” (streaming below) and the shimmering standout “I Seen That Light.”

Best Song: “Based For Your Face”

When you release as much music as Lil B does, it’s not such a bad idea to provide people with an entry point. This came around in a big way on the 9th Wonder-produced, Flavor Flav-sampling “Based For Your Face,” one of the Based God’s most accessible songs to date. Although backpack heroes Jean Grae and Phonte lay down a pair of first-class verses, Lil B remains the main attraction. As he spits, “Based for your face two times/You don’t see no actin’/All they do is rhyme words/Such typical rappers.” After all, it’s not lyrical skill that has people far and wide tweeting at Lil B that he can “fuck their bitch”—it’s his one-of-a-kind je ne sais quoi.

Worst Mixtape: I Forgive You

The recipe for most Lil B mixtapes goes something like this:
1 strangely captivating intro
3-4 cool songs with great beats
3 meh songs
2-3 awful songs with baffling beat selections
1-2 laughably goofy songs
1 inexplicably excellent song

Sometimes it works out better than others, like on I’m Gay or on his latest, the surprisingly consistent BasedGod Velli. With I Forgive You, however, something went horribly wrong. The songs are uninspired and overly long, plus they sound like they were recorded and engineered by his cat.

Worst Song: “I Got AIDS”

Lil B likes to play pretend. And he’s not so bad at it, which is to say it’s pretty entertaining when he’s “cooking” like a chef or “winning” like Charlie Sheen. But when he tries to put a more serious hat on, like on this failed attempt at an AIDS awareness anthem, it lands more like a naked belly-flop in a kiddy pool—a little uncalled for, awkward, possibly offensive.

Best/Worst Album Art: Bitch Mob: Respect Da Bitch Vol. 1

The cover for Lil B’s throwaway mixtape Bitch Mob: Respect Da Bitch Vol. 1 encapsulates a lot of what makes him so special. Who else has an imaginary posse whose members refer to themselves as bitches…and only consists of one person?

The post The Year In Lil B: The Good, The Based And The Ugly appeared first on CMJ.

Super Guachin – Piratas Y Fichines

Elissa Stolman — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:00:01 +0000

If Super Guachin’s Piratas Y Fichines EP sounds a little cheesy and late-20th century, that’s because that’s exactly what it was going for. Luciano and Ignacio Brasolin, the two brothers of the Argentinian electronic duo Super Guachin, charge in the general direction of the bassosphere equipped with computer noises, old video game consoles and pixelated imagery. The recently-retro aesthetic fulfills the duo’s on-purpose campiness that starts with its name, which translates to something along the lines of “super bastard.”

The Brasolin brothers play their music on a keyboard and some old game consoles, like a Game Boy and a Commodore 64, a feat you can see performed here. Piratas Y Fichines is littered with samples from old computer programs and video game noises. The brothers goofball their way through five Latin electro tracks that sound as pixelated as the graphics they favor in videos and the album artwork, pitting a saw-like mid-range bass against a catchy South American melody. Super Guachin’s synths buzz more often than they pierce, creating tracks as coarse as sandpaper.

The tracks on Piratas Y Fichines are not very different from one another, but to Super Guachin’s credit, Latin-electro bass-dance music isn’t exactly a well-traveled genre. So far the brothers have made it their job to carve out a sound without worrying about much more than lighthearted fun, a sound that is at once fresh and new but distinctly South American.

The Brasolin brothers are natives to Argentina, where the Zizek nightclub has hosted many like-minded acts hoping to program Latin music with digital inspiration. For Super Guachin, that means salsa-influenced melodies created on outdated video game consoles and a healthy serving of boyish humor: The first track on the album, “Un Pirata Soy,” features lyrics about being a pirate (translating here!) and, in a less forgivable display of boy-humor, a big belch. You guys are cute, but not that cute—I’m wearing headphones.

The post Super Guachin – Piratas Y Fichines appeared first on CMJ.

My Morning Jacket @ MSG: December 14, 2011

Alex Eriksen — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:49:04 +0000

My Morning Jacket - Photo by Alex Eriksen

My Morning Jacket made one final stop last night at Madison Square Garden before a holiday rest. As part of the Circuital tour, MMJ played for nearly three hours with as much energy as if the band were just embarking on a fresh tour. Frontman Jim James came out on stage wearing some manner of sound processor around his neck, looking a little like Darth Vader. He’d don his signature black cape toward the end of the show, again looking very Vader-ish. The band launched into “Victory Dance” off of last spring’s Circuital, James spinning modern prophesies to an electric organ riff. Following up with the Circuital title track and “It Beats 4 U,” MMJ got things off to a great start.

With a setlist 24 songs long, MMJ had plenty of room to move around its catalog. “I’m Amazed” from Evil Urges evoked sing-along vibes among the crowd. There were some guests on stage too, with flutist Brian Jackson, collaborator with the famed Gil Scott Heron, helping out on a few songs. MMJ invited on a horn section for a few tracks, giving the show a kind of late-era Elvis vibe of a big rockin’ band. MMJ bandied about between Southern rock shakedowns, James’s balladeer numbers, as well as a little playful experimentation. At one point James fiddled around with that processor he’d been wearing Flavor Flav style. He let loose a burst of synth sounds from the strange machine, and the huge display hanging above the band flashed and changed seemingly by his direction.

Just when you thought the show was ending, it would keep going. And going. The six-minute “Mahgeetah” rocked and swayed with all manner of Southern swagger. Every crescendo wound you down just to rev you back up again. James took these moments to show off a little fancy footwork, doing some high knees and leg-thrusting kicks in time to the music. For a big guy he’s pretty limber. With every power chord blasted there was a risk of a boot inadvertently flying off into the audience. “Take a look at yourselves!” James shouted to the crowd between songs. “Look how beautiful you are!” Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. James, not that you needed it last night.

Photos by Alex Eriksen.

The post My Morning Jacket @ MSG: December 14, 2011 appeared first on CMJ.

Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy Reports The Weather. No, Really.

Alex Eriksen — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:52:00 +0000

There’s a little video of a weather forecast on Chicago’s WGNTV website, and we’re scoping out this low-pressure system when suddenly, out of no where, in walks Jeff Tweedy. The Wilco frontman gets the weather reins forced into his hands by chief meteorologist Tom Skilling. Tweedy is a little out of his depth here but gives reporting the weather a shot. “Uh, it looks pretty good,” Tweedy says. “I don’t know, things could be worse?” So, coat today then, Jeff? Tweedy and Skilling trade quips about hair before Tweedy makes his exit. Not sure what he’s doing at a local TV station, but Tweedy is an Illinois native, so his being there is not totally out of the ordinary. The appearance does raise the question of what a music-oriented weather report might look like. We picture Skrillex dropping basslines as well as tornado warnings.

The post Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy Reports The Weather. No, Really. appeared first on CMJ.

Registration And Artist Submissions Now Open For CMJ 2012

webmaster — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:07:21 +0000

At this year’s CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival, we laughed, we learned, we got kicked in the chest—and we’re already gearing up to do it all over again in 2012.

CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival has officially opened registration and artist submissions for next year’s event, held October 16–20, 2012. Register now through December 31, 2011, to purchase a general registration badge for 45 percent off of the full walk-up price. Student registrants with a valid student ID may purchase a $95 badge, a discount of more than 70 percent off of the full walk-up price.

Also available is CMJ ShowPass, which allows access to all CMJ Music Marathon showcases and Film Festival screenings, subject to venue capacity. The ShowPass is available in limited quantities for $149. All badge types are currently available for purchase here.

For you artists out there, CMJ has also opened artist applications for 2012′s showcases, exclusively via Sonicbids. Find them here. An early-bird discount will be offered for submissions received by January 6, 2012. All submissions will close June 26, 2012.

CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival 2012 takes place October 16-20 in New York City.
Check this off of your to-do list today, and watch more festival details unroll from now until next October here.

The post Registration And Artist Submissions Now Open For CMJ 2012 appeared first on CMJ.

Youth Lagoon Tours This Spring, Covers John Denver

Elissa Stolman — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:00:16 +0000

It’s only been a few weeks since the bedroom indie dream-rocker who is Youth Lagoon wrapped up his most recent tour, but Trevor Powers is already plotting his next move. Perhaps it’s the neuroses that inspired the content of his debut album that pushed Powers to stay on the road.

Powers, the 22-year-old frontman of his homemade Youth Lagoon project, has booked dates all across the U.S. this March and April, but in the months between now and then he’ll be traveling to gigs in Seattle, Vancouver and Portland. His tour stops indicate the success of the album he recorded in his bedroom; while just a few months ago Powers played Mercury Lounge in New York, his two-gig stop in March is slotted for the much larger Music Hall Of Williamsburg and Bowery Ballroom.

The tireless musician may or may not have finished up at Boise State University (and he definitely quit his job at Urban Outfitters), but he certainly has the motivation to fuel his musical career. He recently recorded a John Denver cover for Sirius XMU, which is streaming below. “John Denver was cheesy as hell, but he had a few good moments,” Powers posted on Facebook.

Tour Dates For Youth Lagoon:
01/19 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
01/20 – Vancouver, BC – Biltmore
01/21 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir
03/10 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
03/11 – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
03/12 – Lawrence, KS – Jackpot Music Hall
03/18 – Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s
03/19 – New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks
03/20 – Tallahassee, FL – Club Downunder
03/21 – Orland, FL – The Social
03/22 – Atlanta, GA – Drunken Unicorn
03/23 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
03/24 – Washington, DC – Rock N Roll Hotel
03/26 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
03/27 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
03/28 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall Of Williamsburg
03/29 – Cambridge, MA – Middle East Downstairs
03/30 – Montreal, QC – La Sala Rossa
04/02 – Indianapolis, IN – Radio Radio
04/03 – St. Louis, MO – Firebird
04/04 – Chicago, IL – Metro
04/05 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall
04/08 – Mexico City – Indie O Fest
04/11 – San Diego – Porter’s Pub at UCSD
04/12 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
04/13 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent

The post Youth Lagoon Tours This Spring, Covers John Denver appeared first on CMJ.

Ty Segall – Singles 2007-2010

Alex Eriksen — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:00:31 +0000

It’s rare you get the feeling of being in the studio with an artist while she or he works out the kinks, but that’s what you find on Ty Segall’s singles collection. But these tracks, compiled over three years at Goner, are more than mere blueprints; they give access not only to Segall under development but also an intrinsic part of his musical character. The 25 songs, clocking in under an hour, paint a picture of a frenetic, hard-charging kid throwing everything he’s got at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Segall’s fuzzed-out Fender blares and blasts right from the get go. “Where We Go” opens up a door to Segall’s world, one where ’60s garage, surf and psychedelia never died out. Singles is presented to us in true lo-fi form, jagged edges and all. Count-offs, false-starts and studio chatter preserve the adolescence of the tracks. Segall’s vocals are also characteristically brash here. They’re loud with plenty of wails and howls, like he’s dying just to be heard. This can devolve at times into pure mayhem. “Booksmarts” starts out innocently enough, all surf tones, crashing drums and delay/reverb vocals. With 30 seconds to go the song implodes into a mess of tape squeal, fractious drums and guitar notes spilled all over the place. With a strong corollary to his most recent single, “Spiders,” we can tell Segall hasn’t lost his love or appreciation for just noise.

Tracing Segall’s musical roots is not difficult on Singles. The oddball humor of the Kinks-era “Fuzzy Cat” is a love letter to the British Invasion. The swirling electric organ on “…And then Judy Walked In” recalls a fraternity of ’60s groups making liberal use of it, bands like the Castaways, the Kingsmen and ? And The Mysterians. The standout here is “Skin,” appearing only here and on a Daytrotter
session from last year. That organ appears again but coupled with Segall’s natural gift for punk timing and energy. There’s a cover of David Bowie’s “Suffragette City” that Segall did with Mikal Cronin that really ought to be on here, given the record’s spirit to mix one measure tribute with two measures fierce creativity.

There’s plenty to enjoy in this collection of garage rock broadsides. There are yet unheard tracks as well as rougher cuts of what are by now standards for Segall. Glimpses too of his process prove enticing for those who are interested. Segall’s take on the ’60s “Hey everybody, I’ve got a new dance” song, “The Drag,” has a beat supplied by drum machine. Is the version that ultimately appeared better? No doubt. But it’s a worthwhile look at Segall’s development and process. Singles is a loud, fractious ride but one that casts a light on Segall’s own art and the art of those he admires.

The post Ty Segall – Singles 2007-2010 appeared first on CMJ.

Shins Reveals Details For Fourth Album, ‘Port Of Morrow’

Zoe Camp — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:37:23 +0000

Way back in 2007, a little album by the Shins‘ called Wincing The Night Away was all the rage. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, spawned a highly successful amphitheater tour and was CMJ’s No. 1 album of the year. Now, five years and a Danger Mouse collab later, James Mercer and company are back. The band will release its fourth LP, Port Of Morrow, this March, on both Aural Apothecary and Columbia.

The forthcoming record will mark the Shins’ departure from longtime label Sub Pop, and the as-yet-unannounced tour dates will feature Mercer along with Crystal Skulls‘ Yuuki Matthews (bass), Jessica Dobson (guitar), singer-songwriter Richard Swift (keyboards) and Modest Mouse‘s Joe Plummer (drums). Greg Kurstin—known for his work with Foster The People and the Flaming Lips—produced the record, so perhaps Port Of Morrow will mark a poppier turn for the band. With tour announcements and more news on the LP slated for the next few weeks, Shins fans will soon find out.

Tracklist For Port Of Morrow:
01. The Rifle’s Spiral
02. Simple Song
03. It’s Only Life
04. No Way Down
05. September
06. Bait And Switch
07. Fall Of ’82
08. For A Fool
09. 40 Mark Strasse
10. Port Of Morrow

The post Shins Reveals Details For Fourth Album, ‘Port Of Morrow’ appeared first on CMJ.

1,2,3 On Pittsburgh, PA

webmaster — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:11:42 +0000

Photo by Kyle Dean Reinford

In Scene Report, musicians from all over the globe fill us in on what’s going on sonically in their hometowns. This week 1,2,3 gives the scoop on Pittsburgh, PA.

Bands Worth Watching

Machete Kisumontao

They’re a Puerto Rican band that does traditional Latin songs. They’re so exciting live. I happened upon them one night, and my chin hit the floor. We had them play our album release party, and it was an honor for us.

New Shouts

Derek (one of the two singers) has been working with us for years. He was an original member of 1,2,3 in fact. They’re really good friends of ours. They’re super talented, feverishly obsessed with ’60s girl groups and fun as shit live.

Red Western

These guys are really good friends as well. Like their name suggests, they’re a country/Western band. But they write their own songs, and they’re really good and getting better all the time. Their guitar player is sometimes our vocal effects engineer live, but he plays like Tom Verlaine over country.

Loves You by The Red Western

Next page: Venues Of Note

The post 1,2,3 On Pittsburgh, PA appeared first on CMJ.

2NE1, La Vida Boheme, Yuna, Gyptian @ Best Buy Theater

Lisa Hresko — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:00:27 +0000

2NE1 - Photo by Lisa Hresko

In case you didn’t realize it, Beatles-level teen hysteria still happens, and on Monday night, it showed up in the form of the Blackjacks. These are the fans of K-Pop wonder-women 2NE1, who headlined MTV Iggy’s Best New Band Concert 2011. Coincidentally it was also 2NE1’s first U.S. performance, and a line of giddy teens as rabid as those Beliebers or Gaga’s Little Monsters snaked around the block. To name 2011′s Best New Band In The World (a pretty heady title there), MTV fans across the globe hit the Internet in droves and voted for their favorite artists, and, I must say, the result was a quality showing. Hosted by long-time MTV VJs Sway and Suchin Pak and music encyclopedia Matt Pinfield, it was a bit of an odd bill that, between sets, was punctuated too heavily with commentary on obliquely “international” ephemera, precooked colonial stereotypes and occasional quips from Diplo; regardless, there was some quality talent and entertainment on the stage.

The show, filmed and broadcast live on the Web, began with Caracas’ punk-rock politicos La Vida Boheme. The modern-day Mick Joneses kicked off the concert with an explosive performance of single “Radio Capital.” Last time we ran into La Vida Boheme was during LAMC, where articulate frontman Henry D’Arthenay spoke on a panel about the band’s eager homegrown fans, self-named La Revolucion. The foursome cracked a few jokes in both English and Spanish (“If you don’t know us, we’re called Menudo.”) but, as a constantly self- and community-aware band, still drew attention to the difficulties rampant in Venezuela.

Kuala Lumpur’s Yuna also showed up to perform, admitting to CMJ after the show that she “was so nervous!” to perform in the big space. Last time we saw her was in a more intimate setting, but the unassuming singer-songwriter shone just as bright in the more cavernous Best Buy Theater with two original tracks and her striking cover of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are.” Representing the U.S. because “it’s part of the world, too!” (had you forgotten?) was reggae break-out star Gyptian, whose steel-drum seduction ballad “Hold You” has dominated commercial radio for the better part of 2010 and 2011. Awkwardly flanked by boobie- and bootylicious babes and sexin’ the audience and the cameras, Gyptian’s performance was like an island version of a music video (sans fish-eye lens) from any Bad Boy artist circa 1995—with purring; he purred at the audience. Or maybe just at the women in the audience?

Hallyu, the global wave of Korean cultural exports—the bouncy K-pop of the past decade included—is not a new phenomenon, but this four-song performance was 2NE1’s debut show in the United States. MTV interviewed a few intensely tongue-tied fans and rewarded them with entrance into the venue; there were about five hype-building false starts; designer Jeremy Scott was interviewed. Despite the overly dramatic and entirely unnecessary pomp, the ladies of 2NE1 were literally named queens of the evening, gold plastic crowns and all. 2NE1 staged a perfectly choreographed pop performance with “Fire,” “Can’t Nobody,” the ballad “Lonely” and current pop hit “I Am The Best,” whose chorus is still ringing in my mind. But it’s not 2NE1’s voice I hear: It’s that of a thousand Blackjacks in hypnotic bliss.

The post 2NE1, La Vida Boheme, Yuna, Gyptian @ Best Buy Theater appeared first on CMJ.

Debut Album From 2 Bears Coming January On DFA

Zoe Camp — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:58:40 +0000

The 2 Bears—the dance duo consisting of Hot Chip‘s Joe Goddard and Greco-Roman contributor Raf Daddy—has announced its debut LP. Be Strong, slated for a January 31 release on DFA, marks the second offering by the duo in the past 12 months; this summer, the guys released the generous Bear Hug EP, an ebullient dancescapade shaped by the London dance scene that brought the two collaborators together in the first place.

The London love isn’t going anywhere on Be Strong, as the group promises the album will deliver the precise soulfulness of the U.K’s biggest city, right down to “the glorious, schizophrenic sound of a late night cab ride listening to a radio with a mind of its own.” Although the LP will play heavily to Goddard and Raf Daddy’s dance sensibilities, there will be ventures into “garage reggae,” as well as “bouncing prison yard laments” mixed in with the infectious, rubbery grooves.

You can check out the video for “Work,” Be Strong‘s first single, below.

The post Debut Album From 2 Bears Coming January On DFA appeared first on CMJ.

Xray Eyeballs’ Sophomore Release Coming February

Alex Eriksen — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:00:53 +0000

Xray Eyeballs - Photo by Veronica Ibarra

The Xray Eyeballs will be serving a second helping of guitar clang and dark melodies this coming February on Kanine. The band’s sophomore release, Splendor Squalor, arrives February 28 and with a new lineup too. Sarah Baldwin from the Girls At Dawn and Fergus And Geronimo will be on drums. Liz Lohse of Heaven and Runaway Suns will add her guitar and synth to the mix.

“Die Little Love,” one of two new tracks found on the band’s website, is a bouncy new-wave take high on garage aggression; full of bouncy guitar clatter and a soft underbelly of synth. It’s danceable, yet with enough grit to satisfy punk sensibilities. The other track, “Gotham Low Lives,” is five minutes of tom and tambourine slow-stomp with Interpol guitar lines. More tracks from the new release can be found on the band’s SoundCloud, including “Scorpio”:

Scorpio by xrayeyeballs

The album’s mission statement appears to be New York sleaze. “Low-lifes, night-walkers, pill-riders and other sordid characters” are promised to us in the press release. We’ll leave you with a video of the new lineup doing a song called “Deja Vu” off of a 7″ the band put out on Hardly Art. Walking Dead fan film or PSA on public intoxication? Hard to tell.

Tracklist For Splendor Squalor:
01. Four
02. Die Little Love (Menthol 100′s Version)
03. X
04. Blue
05. Syrup
06. Gator
07. Pill Riders
08. Cold Bones (Golden Triangle cover)
09. Scorpio
10. Gotham Low Lifes
11. Summer Daze

The post Xray Eyeballs’ Sophomore Release Coming February appeared first on CMJ.