New music: Northern Primitive - Self-titled

Northern Primitive's self-released, self-titled debut is a fuzzed-out, spaced-out good time, and one of my favorite discoveries of 2011 so far.  Raw and ragged in the best ways, catchy but a little woozy, melodic enough to cut through the noise but still a gorgeous lo-fi mess. 

There are moments that recall Minneapolis 80s college rock's greatest hits -- but maybe more stoned.  "Highway" is a road song for midnight drives, jacked-up on caffeine and rumbling across neverending interstates.  "Soul Machines" is the would-be anthem.  "Stay Low" starts slow but closes the album out with a punishing, head-banging assault.  Clocking in at under 30 minutes it leaves you wanting more - just like a good record should.  My new favorite band of the moment. 

 
Check out "Space Traveller", then immediately go download the whole album.

Northern Primitive - Space Traveller

(P.S. - is it just me or does the album cover look a lot like The Moondoggies' Don't Be A Stranger?)

Preview: Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin' On

Timber Timbre's self-titled third album was in heavy rotation about a year ago this time (I was a little late on the 2009 Polaris Prize nominated album).  The band's sparse blues-folk songs feature Taylor Kirk's deep, rich voice and startling imagery - stark, haunting and a creepy in a backwoods Nick Cave kind of way.  It looks like the band's fourth album, aptly titled Creep On Creepin' On, will pick up where the last record left off.  Check out the slightly terrifying preview video below, along with "Demon Host" from the last album.  Creep On Creepin' On drops April 5 on Arts & Crafts, and Timber Timbre will be at Brighton Music Hall on 4.11 -- more tourdates below.

Timber Timbre - Demon Host

Creep On Creepin' On tracklist

Bad Ritual 

Obelisk 

Creep On Creepin’ On 

Black Water 

Swamp Magic 

Woman 

Too Old To Die Young 

Lonesome Hunter 

Do I Have Power 

Souvenirs

Timber Timbre 2011 tourdates

3/24 - Longueuil, QC @ Théâtre de la Ville w/ Patrick Watson

3/25 - Sain-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC @ Cabaret-Théâtre du Vieux-Saint-Jean w/ Patrick Watson

3/26 - Saint-Thérèse, QC @ Théâtre Lionel-Groulx w/ Patrick Watson

4/08 - Toronto, ON @ Trinity Church

4/09 - Ottawa, ON @ First Baptist Church

4/11 - Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall

4/12 - Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live

4/13 - New York, NY @ Joe's Pub

4/14 - Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands

4/16 - Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre

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.