Preview: Banditas and Waking Lights @ Great Scott 1.30.11

Sure it's only Monday, but that isn't too early to start making weekend plans.  Banditas will be at Great Scott on Sunday 1/30 along with New Jersey's Waking Lights.  Boston's Banditas feature a sparse, lo-fi country-blues sound and dusty female harmonies, while Waking Lights feature lush, orchestrated pop arrangements.  We think it's the perfect way to close out your weekend.

Check out Banditas' "Heartbreaker Blues" and head to their bandcamp page to grab four more tracks for free.

Banditas - Heartbreaker Blues

Listen to Waking Lights' single "The Sounds" below, and scroll down to see the beautiful video for "Where It All Began".

Waking Lights - The Sounds

New music: Ruby Coast - Whatever This Is

I forget where I found out about Ruby Coast's new album Whatever This Is - may have been one of countless emails I get on a daily basis, or a serendipitous twitter post.  Doesn't matter - these are fun tunes and they're free.  Come to think of it...when's the last time I shared music that actually cost real money anyway?  In any case Canada's Ruby Coast make lush, summery indie pop that is the perfect cure for those wintertime blues.  Sticky-sweet, summery garage-pop at its best.  Nothing serious, just fun.

I couldn't decide which song to pick - so I went with two.  Listen to them, then head here to get the entire thing for free. 

Ruby Coast - Whatever This Is
Ruby Coast - Made To Change

New music: Mean Creek - "Sunlight"

More great music from a Boston band -- I can barely keep up.  Mean Creek has released an excellent four-song EP titled Hemophiliac.  Fans of the band's guitar-driven sound will love this stuff - and it becomes even easier to love given the backstory.  Apparently the band had planned to go into the studio to record a full-length record before finding out they had no funding.  Undaunted, they recorded all the songs they could afford to fund themselves -- the result is Hemophiliac.  They might be offering it for free, but I'll gladly pay for tunes this good.

Check out super-catchy "Sunlight", then head over to their bandcamp page to get the rest.  You'll also want to check out the band's EP release show at Brighton Music Hall on 1/29.

Mean Creek - Sunlight

Review: Hands and Knees - "Wholesome"

2010 was a great year for Boston bands, with killer records from Kingsley Flood, Viva Viva, Doomstar!, Faces On Film and St. Claire, just to name a few.  Well, 2011 is shaping up to be even better.  Barely 2 weeks into the year Hands and Knees has released Wholesome, their follow-up to 2009's excellent Et tu, Fluffy? and my personal soundtrack to the past few weeks (and it's not leaving the rotation anytime soon).

Wholesome plays like your favorite mixtape -- you know, the one that you listened to nonstop on that roadtrip until it wouldn't play anymore so you just sang the songs from memory?  What I'm getting at here is that Wholesome covers a lot of stylistic ground, and does it all well.  From jangly soul-tinged rock to catchy indie-pop to dusty country-folk, all with a broken-in lo-fi feel that matches the tunes perfectly.  The key is, it never seems forced or contrived -- it sounds like a fucking blast.  Like friends playing tunes they love. This is a record I know I'll be listening to for a long, long time.

Wholesome should open lots of doors for Hands and Knees -- so, while you still can, head over to the band's bandcamp page to grab the album for whatever you want to pay (including $0, but c'mon...).  You can also pick up the vinyl, which includes instant download for the super-reasonable price of $10 -- or spring for the limited edition vinyl version for just $5 more.  Catch the band's CD release show at Great Scott on January 27.

Stream or download the incredibly catchy "Sitting at the Piano Disappearing" below, and check out the Visible Voice Winter Mixtape to hear another track from Wholesome.

Hands and Knees - Sitting at the Piano Disappearing

John McCauley (Deer Tick) Live at Middle East 1.14.11

Deer Tick's John McCauley and Ian O'Neil played an early, sold out show at the tiny Middle East Upstairs last Friday - showcasing old favorites and trying out some new material, with a few covers mixed in for good measure.  The show got underway with New York's male-female folk-rock duo The Shivers who played a short set as the already full room grew even more tighter in anticipation of the main event.  The pair traded off vocal duties, accompanied by just guitar and keyboards.  Though they struggled to keep the frat-heavy crowd engaged at times, they intrigued me enough to check out their 2009 full length In The Morning which sounds pretty good after a few listens.

Ian O'Neil took the stage by himself to start the headlining set, opening with a solo-electric version of Dave Van Ronk's "He Was A Friend Of Mine".  After playing two new originals, he turned the stage over to John McCauley, whose usual nicotine-weathered and nasally voice was reduced to a hoarse rasp due to a recent Nirvana cover show.  The Deer Tick frontman surprised the packed crowd with "Sink or Swim", a deep cut off War Elephant, followed by "Daydreaming", a gorgeous love song from the upcoming Middle Brother album.  O'Neil then joined McCauley on stage for a blistering take on "Baltimore Blues No. 1".  The rest of the night would follow this pattern; O'Neil and McCauley taking turns on stage alone with just electric guitars, occasional collaborations and a mix of Deer Tick tracks, new songs and covers.

The highlights of the show were without question the solo takes on Deer Tick favorites and previews of the upcoming Middle Brother album.  McCauley gave "Portland", a cover of The Replacements outtake that will be on the Middle Brother record, a swagger that the twangy, late-period 'Mats original lacked.  Another Middle Brother track that didn't make the record featured overdriven Keith Richards-inspired riffs and a refrain of "love is such a funny word".  Deer Tick originals included selections from War Elephant and The Black Dirt Sessions - "Choir of Angels", "Ashamed" and "Piece By Piece And Frame By Frame".  Covers of Hank Williams, Neil Young, John Prine and The Replacements anthem "Can't Hardly Wait" rounded out the set.  Overall the show was loose, fun and endearingly rough around the edges - exactly what I hoped for.

Full recording from the show is available below for stream or download.  Sound is excellent thanks to a wonderful soundboard + audience matrix - enjoy!  (Note:  the unrecorded tracks were removed at the request of Deer Tick's management.  You'll have to wait to hear those in their final form!)

John McCauley + Ian O'Neil (Deer Tick)
Middle East Upstairs - Cambridge, MA
January 14, 2011

Full set download:  mp3 zip

He Was A Friend Of Mine (Dave Van Ronk)
Unknown - Ian
Unknown - Ian
Sink or Swim
Daydreaming
Baltimore Blues No. 1
She's Not Spanish
Unknown - Ian
Someday You'll Call My Name (Hank Williams) > Lookin' For A Love (Neil Young)
Choir of Angels
Portland (The Replacements)
Unknown - John (Middle Brother)
Unknown - Ian and John
Unknown - Ian and John
Cake and Eggs > Ashamed
Piece By Piece and Frame By Frame
Unwed Fathers (John Prine)
Can't Hardly Wait (The Replacements)

Photos

 

New music: Apex Manor - "Under The Gun"

Fans of The Broken West's sunny power-pop should take note - Apex Manor have risen from the ashes following the breakup of The Broken West in 2009.  Songwriter Ross Flournoy got his groove back while writing a song to submit to an NPR songwriting contest (seriously), and began writing new songs at a feverish clip.  He recorded the songs with help of fellow Broken West bandmate Brian Whelan.  That first song was "Under The Gun", which you can stream/download below.  If you were a fan of The Broken West (which I was) or Merge labelmates Telekinesis, you will probably dig this.

Apex Manor - Under The Gun

Debut album The Year of Magical Drinking drops 1/25 and Apex Manor supports The Damnwells at TTs on 3/23

New music: Brenda - "Girl Don't Grow" (demo)

The guys in Portland ME's Brenda reached out to share a couple of great new demos.  Their debut record Silver Tower is a blast of 90's alternative-inspired rock and comes recommended.  You may also remember that the band got a big break last summer when they were asked to play at Wilco's Solid Sound Festival, performing to a large, attentive mid-day crowd. 

Now the band returns with two brand new demos - check them out below and then head over to their website to buy Silver Tower or download a live recording of their set from Solid Sound.

The Low Anthem: Live at Lily Pads 1.8.11, preview new songs

Just a few short weeks away from releasing their highly-anticipated follow-up to 2008 breakthrough Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, and fresh off a tour with Emmylou Harris, The Low Anthem played an intimate show in the rural Rhode Island town of Peace Dale on Saturday night.  I was lucky enough to be there as the band gave a sneak peek at much of the upcoming Smart Flesh.

Lost on the back roads of Rhode Island, I thought I had made some kind of mistake -- this couldn't be where The Low Anthem was playing, could it?  Once I found the tiny church that would serve as venue for the night, I soon realized that it was going to be a special night.  Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons took the stage first, bringing an acoustic version of their outlaw country, rock and folk.  Joe Fletcher's booming voice filled the room and brought the crowd to their feet.  The band's recently-released album White Lighter has been in constant rotation for me (look for a full review soon) and the songs took on even more power in live form as Fletcher's lyrics jumped to life, complimented by mandolin, fiddle, percussion and upright bass.  Singalong set closer "Too Many Doors" featured The Low Anthem and forced the packed crowd to bring Fletcher and company out for an encore.  A brilliant set from a band you need to know.

After a brief intermission that gave attendees a chance to grab some homemade baked goods, cider and merch, The Low Anthem took the stage.  After starting with a couple of favorites off of OMGCD, "Ticket Taker" and "To The Ghosts Who Write History Books", the band began to showcase some of the new songs.  "Apothecary Love" and first single "Ghost Woman Blues" have been mainstays in the set for the better part of a year - the former a lilting song of love found over the drugstore counter, the latter showcasing the band's gorgeous four-part harmonies alongside a simply-strummed acoustic guitar and clarinet.  "I'll Take Out Your Ashes" a solemn meditation on loss that is probably as affecting of a song as I have ever heard.  

While I had become familiar with a few of the "new" songs over the past few months, for a number of the songs this was my first listen.  Whisper-soft "Burn" (I believe the only true "premiere" of the night) was gorgeous, featuring a simple melody accompanied by banjo and glockenspiel.  Ben Knox Miller described "Matter of Time" as "the laziest love song", but its beauty lie in the simplicity and honesty of the lyrics, a beautiful song.  As on OMGCD, there are a number of upbeat songs to balance the slower ballads -- "Hey, All You Hippies!" comes rambling "o'er the Hollywood hills" calling out entitled so-called-"hippies" and "Boeing 737" is a stomping rocker that rides a descending bassline. The centerpiece of the show and a stunning highlight from my perspective was the title-track from the upcoming album, "Smart Flesh" - a deeply personal rumination on the mortality we all share and a simply beautiful song.

It's clear that the band is gaining confidence as performers and reaching maturity as songwriters.  Ben Knox Miller has an incredible gift.  He writes songs that can make you smile and cry in the same moment; songs that are deeply personal yet universal.  In my eyes he is leading the pack in a new generation of songwriters.  The Low Anthem were already my favorite band, and they're only getting better.  Based solely on this sneak peek, Smart Flesh is going to be hard to top as my album of 2011. 

The full show is available for stream below - sound is generally excellent.  Thanks to The Low Anthem for their taper-friendly policies -- please support the band by preordering Smart Flesh here.

The Low Anthem
Lily Pads - Peace Dale, RI
January 8, 2011

Ticket Taker
To The Ghosts Who Write History Books
Apothecary Love
Hey, All You Hippies!
Burn
Ghost Woman Blues
I'll Take Out Your Ashes
Matter Of Time
Home I'll Never Be
Cigarettes and Whiskey
Smart Flesh
The God Damn House
Snake and Lightning Rod
Boeing 737
The Auld Triangle
Love and Altar
Charlie Darwin

Full set download:  mp3 zip

Keep an eye out for details about what sounds like it will be a special CD release show in Providence.  Other area dates:

March 4 - Boston MA, Old South Church
March 5 - N. Adams MA, Mass MoCa
March 7 - Portland ME, SPACE Gallery

Previous recordings from The Low Anthem:

Boston MA, Paradise Rock Club - 4.20.10
Portland ME, SPACE Gallery -4.23.10

New music: Lonesome Lake - Tributaries EP

New Hampshire's Lonesome Lake make lovingly crafted folk music that reflects chilly and rugged landscapes in which it was created.  The songs that comprise their new Tributaries EP feature fingerpicked acoustic guitar and sparse percussion - with the occasional accordion, fiddle or horn taking turns in the spotlight.  These are songs of struggle and pain, but the end result is simply beautiful - for every whispered, reflective lyric there is a soaring melody or fiddle line to lessen the weight of the words.

The gorgeous Tributaries EP deserves attention - keep an eye on Lonesome Lake.  Get the full EP here.

Lonesome Lake - Between the Lines

Check out another song from Tributaries on our Winter Mixtape.