Tag Archives: San Francisco

New songs to listen to this week

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Blitzen Trapper- photo by Leslie Simon

Blitzen Trapper- photo by Leslie Simon

New music to listen to this week- the sun is shining, spring has arrived, and I’m really feeling sunny, dreamy songs with the occasional dance beat to get down to. Here are some of my favorite songs that have been released recently that you should check out:

King of Prussia “Your Work is Magic”- uptempo indie tambourine pop out of Athens, Georgia with unexpected and fantastic horns that remind me of a less political King Khan. Available for stream or download here at Stereogum:
http://www.stereogum.com/1673969/king-of-prussia-your-work-is-magic-stereogum-premiere/mp3s/

Yann Tiersen “A Midsummer Evening”- Toy instruments mix with acoustic to create a warped, gorgeous song complete with angelic backing vocals. Psychedelic church.

Medeski, Martin and Wood + Nels Cline “Bonjour Bese”- mixing wild spacey reverb noise with the heavy hitting sounds of MMW is a dream come true. If you don’t like dissonant noise fast forward three minutes (but really you should embrace the noise, it’s beautiful). Exclusively at Esquire here:
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/mmw_nels_cline

Alpha Consumer “Ms Positron”- taking cues from 80’s art rock and adding mega fuzzy guitar riffs and catchy hooks, this Minneapolis group has collaborated with everyone from Andrew Bird to Brother Ali and are releasing their new album April 15th.

Thee Oh Sees “The Lens”- yet another awesome track from the upcoming release. Monty Python-esque psychedelic videos that are done well are always a treat.

Allah-Las “Had It All”- california psych pop with a delicate touch and throwback as hell

Chain and the Gang “Devitalize”- some of my favorite garage rock that doesn’t take itself so seriously. Plus, I’m a sucker for really bratty vocals.

Horse Thief “Little Dust”- psych tinged roots rock from Oklahoma City with theatrical fascinating Cameron Neal’s quirky pretty vocals taking the lead.

Driving Mrs. Satan “Hells Bells”- when I got an email about this band and saw “acoustic heavy metal” I put it on thinking I would get a laugh. Instead, I found they have beautiful arrangements, gorgeous vocals, and I like it better than the original.

Green Day’s Kerplunk! is the album I’m most thankful for.

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The Westword asked me to write about the album I’m most thankful for, and it was a no-brainer. This album started my obsession with finding new bands, and the reason I created the blog in the first place.

Read it here: Album I’m most thankful for is Green Day Kerplunk!

Band of the Day – The Spyrals

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SPYRALS

Hypnotic garage bands from San Francisco absolutely do it for me. The Spyrals have risen above the rest with a more classic approach, tight drumming and dizzy guitar riffs. This trio is jangly, fuzzy, trippy, and lead singer Jeff Lewis has a great commanding presence and a perfect rock star voice, he can cry without whining the way Neil Young sings. Their album they released this summer, “Out of Sight”, is a great collection of tight, Bay Area sounding rock and roll. I know it’s a cheap cop out to say a band sounds like another, but these guys really do the early Rolling Stones sound well. Opener “Need Your Fire” sounds like it should be in a Quentin Tarantino movie, while “Such A Pain” makes you shimmy with the heavy use of tambourine and delicate repeated guitar riffs. The title track is exactly what you would think a San Francisco garage rock band would sound like, man they nail this sound.

Most of the songs clock in under three minutes, making this album very economical and great for running errands, you never have to sit in the parking lot for eleven more minutes til the song ends like you do with the Grateful Dead. While they have psychedelic tendencies live, at the end of the day this is a tight, concise garage rock band that needs to be played on everyone’s radio. The bassist Dylan Edrich has done time with Thee Oh Sees and Mikal Cronin, so fans of those should check these guys out. Future looks jangly and bright for these guys.

Listen to the album at their bandcamp: The Spyrals “Out of Sight”

New Small Black single ready for summer mixtapes

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Small Black is another great band I caught at Southby. Ladies seem to love these guys, very catchy songs that you can’t help but dance to. Pretty synths build with pleasing vocals, the new album comes out May 14th. Going to sound great mixed in with other poolside music this summer.

No Stranger by Small Black

They are ending the tour right here in Denver at The UMS

TOUR DATES:
05/10/13 Brooklyn, NY – 7 Dunham Gallery Art Show
05/29/13 Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall*
05/30/13 Montreal, QC – Club Lambi*
05/31/13 Toronto, ON – Wrong Bar*
06/01/13 Ferndale, MI – The Loving Touch*
06/03/13 Chicago, IL – Schubas*
06/04/13 Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center*
06/07/13 Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret*
06/08/13 Seattle, WA – Barboza*
06/09/13 Portland, OR – Bunk Bar*
06/11/13 San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop*
06/13/13 Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex*
06/14/13 San Diego, CA – Soda Bar*
06/15/13 Phoenix, AZ – Last Exit Live*
06/17/13 Dallas, TX – Club Dada*
06/18/13 Austin, TX – Red 7*
06/19/13 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s*
06/21/13 New Orleans, LA – Hi-ho Lounge*
06/22/13 Atlanta, GA – Drunken Unicorn*
06/23/13 Nashville, TN – Exit In*
06/24/13 Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506*
06/25/13 Washington, DC – Rock & Roll Hotel*
06/26/13 Philadelphia, PA – Morgan’s Pier*
06/30/13 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg*
07/20/13 Denver, CO – The UMS

Phish Tour Tickets OBTAINED

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20130328-134353.jpg photo by Andee Kuroda

Besides keeping up with new music, I’m a major Phish fan. Today was a day of Ticketmaster madness, but through Ticketmaster skills and a LOT of kindness from my fellow Phish obsessives, I’m in for Toronto, San Francisco, Tahoe and Hollywood Bowl so far. All I have to worry about is SPAC and Dick’s.

UPDATE in for SPAC and Chicago. Follow my blog this July, will be reporting the kooky scene I adore from the field.