A Mountain of One - Institute of Joy (sept. 2009)

Listen to their single “Bones”

This release came and went under my radar. Just the other day there was a remix of their song “Bones” inside this Ghostly International mix I was listening to, and it gave me those kind of ’shit what could this be?’ chills. The album is a worthy psychedelic escape from all the noise that’s been clogging our ears lately. The expansive single Bones is a brilliant recipe including all the great changes going on in rock music right now. Moving from the eerie chords of the single to the next track ‘Lie Awake’, things start to make sense. Although there’s a disconnect in the momentum, it’s a comfortable transition. This release is more about the feeling, you know? Check out A Mountain of One on Myspace.

dOP - Blanche Neige, Genius of the Crowd (2008, 2009)

Listen to their single “Blanche Neige”
Listen to “Genius of the Crowd”

Nothing fits what I can get down with right now more than organic house music- live house music. dOP from France is a trio of guys programming beats and recording with only real instruments. Their myspace is littered with photos of them in their studio, full of strange instruments. Their sound could be described as ambient, house, acoustic, techno, disco- they’re located on some middle ground in there. That’s a good place to be right? Blanche Neige is a dark, hypnotic percussive track pushed by a conga groove and overlaid with beautiful French vocals. I’ve been told the vocals describe a guy talking about this Queen- the beauty of the Queen- and how people revel at her majesty. The beat is intoxicating and the ambient playground sounds churn this into something to keep your attention for the full 8 minutes. “Genius of the Crowd” leans more toward a club track, but makes fun of itself. dOP needs to be on your list of bands to check out.

Oh My God from Chicago is on tour now supporting their new release, “The Night Undoes The Work of the Day, which is out now. You can buy it at their website. The group uses the sounds, as their bio says, “of distorted organ, an overdriven bass guitar, driving drums and harmony-rich vocals - drawing comparisons to everyone from Quasi to Queen.” They have been garnering more and more press. The Chicago Tribune called their shows “glam-rock anthems with a twist, [with] Ig’s organ propelling the way. Their concerts are sweat-inducing events, with drummer Bish hammering away as theatrical frontman and bassist Billy O’Neill works the crowd.”

The group is playing tonight at Cowboy Monkey. The show starts at 9pm. The price is $5. Cowboy Monkey’s site says they should go on at midnight, but I wouldn’t trust it. Get there a bit early & get out and support some music.

AP: “Not your parents art rock…soulful vocals set against an experimental backdrop of organ and drums”.

Beginning next week, Atlanta’s Atlas Sound and Birmingham, England’s Broadcast are teaming up for an extensive North American tour. Both groups are touring in support of new material surfacing this month.

Atlas Sound will be releasing Logos on October 20th via Kranky. Bradford Cox, the force behind Atlas Sound, explains that in contrast to his “introverted” debut album, this follow-up includes collaborations and takes on a more “panoramic view.” Logos collaborators include Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox and Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier. Cox also describes the album as being “like a live album” as every song was recorded in one take, a strong testament to the talent Cox has in a live setting.

The co-headlined tour will see both bands trading off set times, with The Selmanaires taking the opening slot each night.

ATLAS SOUND/BROADCAST TOUR DATES
10/15 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
10/16 Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
10/17 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
10/18 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
10/20 New York, NY @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
10/21 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10/22 Boston, MA @ The Paradise
10/23 Montreal, QC @ Le National
10/24 Toronto, ON @ Lees Palace
10/25 Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center
10/26 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
10/27 Northfield, MN @ The Cave
10/30 Vancouver, BC @ Richards On Richards
10/31 Seattle, WA @ Neumos
11/01 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
11/03 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
11/04 Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour
11/05 Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
11/07 Denton, TX @ Hailey’s

We’ve got a great special guest this week at Canopy Club, Kirkwood West! Kirkwood West describes his style as minimal techno house with lo-fi flavors. Expect nothing but excellent sounds and a good time. Me and Famicom will also be playing some music. Here’s the lineup for tonight:

10.00-11.00: Early chill set
11.00-12.00: Lucknow
12.00-01.00: KIRKWOOD WEST
01.00-02.00: Famicom

See you all tonight.

The Sound of Arrows - Into the Clouds (Music video) from The Sound of Arrows on Vimeo.

The guys from The Sound of Arrows moved over to the UK sometime this year and have been focusing on their new release “Into The Clouds”. The result is something that’s got me moving like their old tune “Danger”. The awesome video above was directed by the band themselves. great visuals come hand in hand with this group.

Big up for atmospheric pop!

Check them out on Myspace
Read a past review from The Sound of Arrows show

Wildbirds & Peacedrums has released an animated video for “My Heart” from their recent album The Snake. The video was directed and animated by fellow Swede Sara Frisk (http://www.sarafrisk.se/) and can be viewed here: http://www.vimeo.com/6282871

Wildbirds & Peacedrums - My Heart from Leaf Label on Vimeo.

Thanks to everyone who has been making it out to Physical Challenge at Canopy Club every Wednesday. The night wouldn’t exist without your continued support! The crowds are growing and we have some exciting DJs coming in to play. We will release news soon!

If you guys don’t know what physical challenge is, then come out to canopy this wednesday, enjoy some great house/electro music, share a drink with friends, and have a good time! We have three resident Djs that rotate each week, it’s free, and what else is more exciting on a Wednesday night?

official website: physicalchallenge.tumblr.com

check out pictures from our set this Saturday at Pygmalion here.

RVSP to this week’s event here.

Dirty Projectors are embarking on a North American tour this fall in support of their latest release, Bitte Orca. The band consists of David Longstreth (lead vocals, guitar), Amber Coffman (vocals, guitar), Angel Deradoorian (vocals, keyboard, guitar, bass), Brian Mcomber (drums), Nat Baldwin (bass) and vocalist Haley Dekle.

DIRTY PROJECTORS TOUR DATES
10/20 - BALTIMORE, MD - Ottobar
10/21 - PHILADELPHIA, PA - Trocadero
10/22 - WASHINGTON, DC - Black Cat
10/24 - ATLANTA, GA - Masquerade
10/25 - LAFAYETTE, LA - Nitetown
10/26 - AUSTIN, TX - Antones
10/28 - PHOENIX, AZ - Rhythm Room
10/30 - SAN DIEGO, CA - North Park Theatre
11/01 - SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Bimbo’s
11/03 - PORTLAND, OR - Aladdin
11/04 - SEATTLE, WA - Neumo’s
11/07 - SALT LAKE CITY, UT - In The Venue
11/08 - DENVER, CO - Bluebird
11/09 - LAWRENCE, KS - Granada
11/11 - MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
11/13 - CHICAGO, IL - Bottom Lounge
11/14 - TORONTO, ON - Opera House
11/15 - MONTREAL, PQ - National
11/17 - BOSTON, MA - Paradise
11/18 - NEW YORK, NY - Bowery Ballroom
11/19 - BROOKLYN, NY - Music Hall
11/21 - BROOKLYN, NY - Music Hall
11/22 - NEW YORK, NY - Bowery Ballroom

UK’s Wave Machines released some new videos for their songs ‘I Go I Go I Go’ and ‘Punk Spirit’. I’m still really liking the Kylie Minogue feel in ‘I Go’. That piano riff makes the song for me. But I am a sucker for any bright piano riffs.

More blog posts coming.

Check out the videos below.

Director John Hughes (The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) passed away this morning. To celebrate his 1986 film, here’s a little video edit my friend Famicom made a few weeks back.

SHAKE IT UP! & RIP, Mr. Hughes.