The Weekend In The District

There are a lot of quality shows in DC this weekend, including a pair of CD release shows tonight.

Friday
- Apes (CD Release)/ Kid Congo Powers/Food For Animals @ Black Cat
- Black and White Jacksons (CD Release) @ Velvet Lounge
- Vandaveer/The Lisps/Audrey Ryan @ The Red and The Black
- Via Audio/Tigercity @ Mitchell Hall Theater

Apes - Walk Through Walls
Kid Congo Powers - Power
Food For Animals - Swampy Summer Jam
Black & White Jacksons - Racing Horse
Vandaveer - However Many Takes It Takes
The Lisps - I'm Sorry
Audrey Ryan - Dishes & PillsVia Audio - We Can Be Good
Tigercity - Are You Sensation


Saturday
- Dengue Fever/Exit Clov/Cordero @ Black Cat

Dengue Fever - Sober Driver
Exit Clov - Violent Berries
Cordero - Close Your Heart Down


Sunday
- The Coast @ The Red and The Black

The Coast - The Lines Are Cut

The Joy Formidable

If you’re going to claim “Other/Other/Other” as your musical genre on MySpace, you better have a whole lot of “Other” to back yourself up. Fortunately, I’m finding that London’s The Joy Formidable have just that. Their stymie catch lies in their strong, varied music over consistent front vocals approach, which is tough, as this tends to drown out other favoring artists. I hate to end this with a formulaic remark about how The Joy Formidable is a really infectious band with a perfect and eclectic sensibility, but sometimes the truth is best stated plainly.

Austere
Cradle

Sybris Set To Release Into The Trees

Chicago female-fronted rockers, Sybris will release their sophomore LP, Into The Trees on Absolutely Kosher Records. Angela Mullenhour's edgy, yet somewhat endearing, vocals over a fulfilling dose of drum-based rock and roll create a complete package. Apparently, Into the Trees, recorded with Grammy-nominated engineer John Congleton (Explosions in the Sky, Mountain Goats), came together in the backwoods of Minnesota at Pachyderm Studio, a location sounding unlike your typical solid rock atmosphere. But as the studio also birthed both Nirvana and PJ Harvey LPs, I guess I’m dead wrong about assumption. Into The Trees drops May 20th.

Oh Man!

Tokyo Police Club News

Tokyo Police Club have released a new track from their upcoming full length, Elephant Shell. The track is entitled "In A Cave" and true to TPC form, it is under 3 minutes.

The band will also be out on tour and hit the region later in the spring.

4/28: First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA
4/29: Black Cat, Washington, DC

In A Cave

The Dodos

San Francisco's The Dodos drop their second full length, Visiter on March 18 and are already in the throws of a national tour. In my opinion, any band named after a squat, flightless bird deserves a listen. The half experimental, half indie rock duo played around with mic placement and impromptu horn sessions on Visiter, a record written from an on-tour perspective, as the band has mostly had that for the past few years. They come our way in March and April and they just recorded a Daytrotter session that is worth checking out.

3/30 – Washington, DC – DC9 w/ Silje Nes
4/04 – Washington, DC – The Black Cat w/ Les Savy Fav and The Big Sleep
4/05 - Philadelphia, PA - Theater of Living Arts w/ Les Savy Fav and The Big Sleep

Fools
Jodi

The Bittersweets

Taking their natural sound and random beginnings into consideration, The Bittersweets have pulled things together rather quickly. Within weeks of starting a string of jam sessions in a barn behind vocalist Hannah Prater’s house, neighbors started pulling out lawn chairs and rehearsals became impromptu concerts. To boot, The Bittersweet’s current drummer, Steve Bowman (former Counting Crows member), jumped on board after hearing just a couple of demos. With this type of background, their full-length debut, The Life You Always Wanted, seems aptly titled. In the streak of Over the Rhine's Karin Bergquist, Prater carries the sweet, doleful Americana straight through each and every song. They travel to Arlington's IOTA on March 11 and meet up with local, bleary-eyed crooner, Rose.

Check out a live video of “Long Day” and the mp3 for "Rapture".



Rapture

Nicole Atkins: Still Eerily Perfect

With a vocal range straight out of the 50’s pop scene, Nicole Atkins brings a sweet and spooky tone to storytelling. Columbia Record’s slightly psychedelic tough girl stops in our area on her way from SXSW. She’s just as brilliant live as she is recorded; the mark of an artist with staying power.

March 24 – Washington, DC- Rock and Roll Hotel
March 25 – Philadelphia, PA – Word Café Live


Check out her Letterman performance of "The Way It Is" from a few months ago:



And her performance of "Maybe Tonight" from her January appearance on Conan:



Carouselle

The Terrordactyls Are Anyone Else But You

Well, The Terrordactyls seem to have figured out how to jump to the top of the whole Twee genre. When in doubt, hitch your wagon to the biggest star in the game. This duo, comprised of Michael Cadiz and Tyrel Stendahl, recently put out their eponymous debut featuring the wonderful track, "Devices," with none other than Kimya Dawson of the Moldy Peaches and, I suppose, Juno soundtrack fame. Now, I've been a fan of Ms. Dawson ever since I first heard the Murderball soundtrack, but I was unsure of my stance on that whole lo-fi, twee thing. Well, if The Terrordactyls are any indication, I suppose I'm going to have to say that I'm a fan. Implementing such instrumental mainstays as kazoo and toy piano, the boys put out an upbeat, enjoyable sound that, quite frankly, gets my toes tappin'. Think getting into a room with a bunch of English majors who had garage bands in college, with a lot of pot thrown in for good measure. Or maybe I'm just projecting.

The Terrordactyls are getting ready to put out the Mike Bowers EP, five cover songs of Seattle's The Pharmacy. The boys look to be heading to the area in late March, but haven't settled on venues yet. Keep an eye on their calendar on myspace for more details. In the meantime, here are a couple of tracks to check out.

Devices
Fall

This Week's Mix

February 29 only happens once every four years, so I decided to do something special for my weekly Friday mix. In addition to my normal new indie mix, I decided to add an all hip-hop one. Both consist of the normal 10 songs. I asked Joe to help me out and he came up with a 9 track classic indie mix to round everything out to 29 songs. So here are 3 in 1 post. Have a great weekend.

Part I: Indie
Fionn Regan - Be Good Or Be Gone
Philip Uster and the House Floor - Sign My Caste
Colin Meloy - We Both Go Down Together
Neutral Milk Hotel - The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. One
Francis And The Lights - Striking
Squaaks - Two Hippies
The Seldon Plan - Colored Lenses
White Rabbits - The Plot
OK Go - Here It Goes Again
Papertrigger - We Are Nations Now!

Part II: Hip-Hop
Elucid - Battle Scars (ft. Von Pea) (download full mixtape)
M.I.A. - Paper Planes
Lady Sovereign - Gatheration
Lifesavas - Shine Language
Rich Boy - Throw Some D's
Memphis Bleek - Alright (Ratatat Remix) (download full mixtape)
Amplive - Nudez (ft. Too $hort & MC Zumbi) (download full mixtape)
Jurassic 5 - What's Golden
The Ugly Truth - Survived Another Winter
Faithless - In The End

Part III: Classic Indie
The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored
Pavement - Summer Babe (Winter Version)
Pixies - Levitate Me
The Smiths - Girl Afraid
New Order - Age of Consent
Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap
R.E.M. - Talk About The Passion
Ryan Adams - Come Pick Me Up
The Replacements - Within Your Reach

Beach House

Baltimore's Beach House are set to kick off their tour with Papercuts tonight. In honor of the release of Devotion, they are starting things off with a hometown release show at G Spot. Can't make it tonight? They finish the tour up regionally in early April.

4/03: The Barbery, Philadelphia, PA
4/04: Rock and Roll Hotel, Washington, DC

Also, check out their brand new video for "Heart of Chambers."



Beach House - Gila
Papercuts - John Brown

Kadman to Release Studio Recording

Baltimore's Kadman are set to release Sing to Me Slower on Slo.Bor Records on March 18th. The careful minimalist rockers mark this as their first studio recording, offering up a record that switches from ambient crafting to electric-based alt-rock, laying down 11 original tracks. The CD release party glides into Baltimore’s Metro Gallery on March 14th.

Blue Walls

In the Band

George Clinton arguably did it first with Parliament/Funkadelic. RZA conceivably did it best with the Wu-Tang Clan. Of late, Broken Social Scene seems to have a death grip on the concept and my wallet with their furthering of the process.

What the hell am I going on about? Kick ass bands that invariably have solo projects by various member that, while sometimes markedly different from the group sound, kick just as much ass on their own.

Not to be outdone by the competition, it would appear Zero 7 now is firmly in the game. Sure, most of us know about the many, splendid wonders of Sia and Jose Gonzalez, but the adoring crowds need at least one more player to put Zero 7 onto the same playing field as the aforementioned groups, yes?

Enter Tina Dico. If the name doesn't immediately leap out at you, let's see if this rings a bell. She was the lead singer on "Home" from When It Falls.

Ms. Dico is getting ready to drop her fourth solo studio album, Count to Ten, April 8th on Defend Music. While she's received numerous accolades in her native Denmark, going so far as to snag a Danish Grammy for Best Songwriter and being named Best Composer at the Danish Music Critics Awards, we'd like to see her get a little more love Stateside.

Count to Ten is mostly Dico and an acoustic guitar, with splashes of piano and drum here and there. She retains the vocal strength she demonstrated with Zero 7 and could well have a hit with "On The Run." Of course, you can decide that for yourself below.

On The Run

Kid Theodore

I know that IA has a rather natural East Coast bias. After all, it is where we are based. That said, there is good music that exists elsewhere. One such band is Kid Theodore from Salt lake City, UT. While you may not have heard of them, they have played with bands like Voxtrot, Why?, Snow Patrol, Ben Kweller, St. Vincent, Dan Deacon, Ladybug Transistor, Ghostland Observatory and Arizona. As that list would suggest, they are rather eclectic. Personally, I would describe them as an indie rock band that is strongly influenced by classic rock. For example, the track "Lady Luck" brings to mind The Doors. But what do I know? Listen to a couple of tracks and decide for yourself. As you will learn, no 2 tracks sound the same.

Lady Luck
HORSE

The Lisps

When I first listened to The Lisps, I thought about that tunnel scene in the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’m not sure exactly why, but that sense of wicked amounts of fun flashed into my mind. To be fair, it might be because I started out with the nutty, “Chaos”, and then moved to their slower, yet equally as playful work. With looks towards Joanna Newsom and Kimya Dawson, singer Sammy Tunis’s vocals find ways to move with every song, both the specific and the fluid. If I was in the business of making up genres I would make up one called “Practiced Vaudeville” and I would name The Lisps reigning champions.

Catch their area national tour stops, in celebration of their debut full-length album, Country Doctor Museum:

2/29: The Red and The Black, Washington, DC w/ Vandaveer
3/01: John and Peters, New Hope, PA
4/04: Millcreek Tavern, Philadelphia, PA

Listen to a few tunes:
I'm Sorry
Heaven
Brackish Water

But most importantly, in the grand spirit of Election Fever, watch their video for "I’m Sorry":

The Panderers Announce National Tour

About a year ago, The Panderers (an auspicious group of ruffians from the west coast) befriended me on MySpace. Soon after, I noticed that they posted a bulletin every few days that featured a “Fun Fact” or definition of a highly circulated phrase like “when pigs fly”, attached to one of their tunes. As a lover of word definitions and odd history, I've been coming back for more, time and time again. Since then, I’ve spent a few minutes each day hoping they’d venture over to the east coast. Apparently all of this hoping and praying has worked, as they’re setting out on a nation-wide tour, this March, in celebration of their new EP, to be released on Snack Bar.

Local Tour Dates (w/ Mike Doughty):
Apr. 03: Chameleon Club – Lancaster, PA
Apr. 05: 9:30 Club – Washington, DC
Apr. 11: TLA – Philadelphia, PA

The best kind of band mixes a seriousness of well-composed tunes with a wit in promotion and The Panderers have it pretty much down pat. Check out one of the most infectious music videos I’ve ever seen, for the equally infectious “Come On”.

TonightAt DC9

AutoVaughn and Plain Jane Automobile make a stop in DC tonight. You can catch them at DC9.

AutoVaughn - One More Time
Plain Jane Automobile - Stones

Basia Bulat

Basia Bulat is out on tour in support of her new disc, Oh, My Darling. Regionally, you have a couple of chances to see her this week.

2/27/08: Jammin' Java, Vienna, VA
2/28/08: Tin Angel, Philadelphia, PA

In The Night

Keren Ann/Dean & Britta

Keren Ann - credit
Keren Ann and former Luna-ites, Dean & Britta, are making their way through the region. You have a couple of opportunities to catch them this week.

2/27/08: Black Cat, Washington, DC
2/28/08: Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA

Dean & Britta - Words You Used To Say
Keren Ann - Lay Your Head Down

KEXP and DC Need You!

For those of you who do not regularly listen to KEXP, you may not know that the independent radio station is commercial free. This gift to the listeners requires the station to rely heavily on periodic pledge drives to fund itself. For the current pledge drive, they are having a city to city challenge to see which city pledges the most and will then broadcast there for a few days, as a reward. Washington, DC is very high in the running and needs your help to bring a great independent radio station to our home town.

KEXP is a radio station that is based in Seattle, but is streamed live all over the world. It always supplies me with new artists to check out. On top of their indie heavy rotation, they play specialty shows that contain anything from hip-hop to honky tonk. You can check out how the cities are doing here and pledge here. You can check out the real time play-list and see links to stream KEXP here. I believe that $10 is the minimum that you need to donate. Let's band together and bring this home to DC.

Putting Pork Fat in Your Earhole

First, my credentials, lest you gentle readers assume I'm completely out of my mind. I saw Tupac when we was a back-up dancer/singer for Digital Underground, Slick Rick before he went to jail, Professor Griff prior to his fall out with Public Enemy and Heavy D when he still had all his Boyz.

Now, my gripe. Let's face it. For the overwhelming part, rap has sucked (at best) since the early to mid '90s. What once was a genre for self-expression and, quite frankly, good times, has been transformed into an on-going lame joke comprised entirely of misogyny, product placement and violence. With the exception of a nearly microscopic handful of acts, there hasn't been an original or entertaining voice in the game for damn near a decade. For every MF Doom and Talib Kweli, there are literally dozens of poseurs and wanna bes that don't entertain anyone but the most misguided of souls.

Well, I'm delighted to say Kansas City, Missouri is attempting to come to the rescue in the form of the most bizarre, funny and offbeat rap act I've come across in a long, long time. Allow me to introduce you to Bacon Shoe. I believe their bio pretty much sums it up:

"This trio — consisting of an MC (Lethal D) who raps about sex and disease, a hype man ('Toine) who shouts out the number of beers he happens to be holding and calls himself "the cocktopus" (because he's got eight dicks), and a guy in a paramedic suit and mangled dog-head mask (Mr. Ruggles) who cooks bacon on a griddle onstage and distributes it to the crowd — treads the line recklessly between insult and tribute."

Seriously, if including a furry in your act isn't praiseworthy, I simply don't know what is. The lyrics are brilliant nonsense, the flow is tight, the beats are lethal and the message is, well, damned if I know what the message is, but I'm certainly interested in figuring it out.

No tour dates currently are planned for the area, but here's hoping that a little blog love will change that sooner than later.

A New Discovery Shed

Yeasayer News

credit
Yeasayer has graced us with a new video for the song "Waiting For The Summer." The song has been redone for the single release and sounds much different than the original.



We also got a remix of the song "Sunrise," by the DJ group Hey Champ, in our e-mail boxes the other day. I love well done remixes and this is one of the better ones that I have heard in a long time. It seems like an '80s remix of the song.

Sunrise (Hey Champ Remix)

Finally, the band has announced that they will be returning to Black Cat on April 10. More details to follow.

This Week's Releases

Even though there are some great releases this week, my pick for this week exceeds them in every way possible. Ghostland Observatory's third studio album Robotique Majestique, is by far my favorite release so far this year. I have been a fan of their's for a little while now, but this album just makes me want to quit school and follow them around on tour. Every song is masterfully crafted and seduces your ear to beg for more. Once you get through the end of the album, your adrenaline is pumping so hard that you need to start it over again from the beginning.

Ghostland Observatory

Robotique Majestique (Buy) - "Heavy Heart" & "Full Album Stream"

Other Notable Releases:

Beach House (Bmore)

Devotion (Buy) - "Gila"

La Scala

The Harlequin EP - "Parallel Lives"

The Dirtbombs

We Have You Surrounded (Buy) -"Sherlock Holmes"

Goldfrapp

Seventh Tree (Buy) - "Caravan Girl"

Tift Merritt

Another Country (Buy) - "Morning Is My Destination"

Lemuria

Get Better (Buy) - "Pants"

Mezzanine Owls

EP (Buy) - "Snow Globe"

St. Vincent

credit
St. Vincent is out on tour again and will be in the region for the next couple of days. Foreign Born will be offering support on both dates and Philly's Pattern is Movement will be joining them in their hometown.

2/26/08: St. Vincent/Foreign Born @ Rock 'N Roll Hotel
2/27/08: St. Vincent/Foreign Born/Pattern Is Movement @ First Unitarian Church

St. Vincent - Paris Is Burning
Foreign Born - Into Your Dream
Pattern Is Movement - Right Away

Bowerbirds and Phosphorescent

Photo by Charlie Laskowski

Break the mid-week blah with a great show. After their Sunday show in DC, Raleigh based Bowerbirds come to Johnny Brenda's in Philly Tuesday night. They'll be joined by the acoustic folk pop of Phosphorescent.

Bowerbirds - In Our Talons
Phosphorescent - Wolves

Dalek/Russian Circles/Young Widows

Dalek

If you are looking for something a bit harder this week, check out the hard-to-define Dalek, drawing comparisons like Public Enemy meets My Bloddy Valentine. They are touring with heavy instrumental duo Russian Circles. And opening up the bill are noise rockers Young Widows. This is going to be a loud show.

2/26: Philly @ The Barbary
2/27: DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel

Dalek - Content To Play Villain
Russian Circles - Carpe
Young Widows - The Charmers

The Boxing Lesson Drop Wild Streaks & Windy Days

Since I left Austin last year, I have been remiss in my coverage of some of those bands that befriended me. Last week, I got my hands on the new release from one of said bands, The Boxing Lesson. Entitled Wild Streaks & Windy Days, this album lives up to its title. Wild is not the right word for the musical roller coaster the songs take you on, but it fits. Opening with a Pink Floyd homage "Dark Side of the Moog", the psuedo-psychedelic keyboard and brooding guitar overtones continually flow through most of the entire album, blending 70's mind-bending rock with the New Wave "wall of sound" explosion of the 80s. Lead singer Paul Waclawsky's plaintive vocals is reminiscent of Catherine Wheel's Rob Dickinson, lilting on the upper registers of his range, then diving back down octaves, all without breaking a stride. Two tracks that break away from the mold are the ultra-catchy pop of "Hopscotch and Sodapop", which reminds me of the kind of song the '80s alternative' bands would put out just so they can get some radio play and the rocky-er "Freedom", a stadium anthem in waiting, with its simple chorus (and call back vocals) and driving rhythm and guitars. While the album is not a total departure from their previous work, its a definite step forward musically, encompassing an array of genres and bringing them together into a sound of their own.

If you are heading down Austin way before or for SXSW, check The Boxing Lesson shows.

2/28: The Parish (CD Release Party!)
3/11-14: SXSW (multiple shows, grab a guide, you'll find them)

Dark Side of the Moog
Freedom

This Week's Mix

As there was no mix this past Friday, we will have two this week. All of the songs for this mix were recently sent to us in promo e-mails.

Nick Jaina - Power
Pattern Is Movement - Right Away
Jeremy Jay - Airwalker
Disintegrated Einstein - Nevermind the Mollusk
Hysterics - Mostly Untitled
Downliners Sekt - Scope Creep
Yeasayer - Final Path (Daytrotter Session)
The XYZ Affair - All My Friends
The Coco B's - Modern Lover
The Lisps - Familiar Drunk

Bellman Barker in Wilmington

Join me at Mojo 13 tonight for the catchy pop musings of one of our favorites from DC, Bellman Barker. The venue is a little different and an unlikely setting for them, but don't let that and the weather deter you. Here's something not found on the EP, a little variace from the usual B&B.

Two Bees

Crazy February Weekend

I think we are all just about sick of winter. That said, there are plenty of regional shows to brighten our spirits this weekend.


The Selmanaires
Friday
Atlas Sound/Valet/White Rainbow @ Johnny Brenda's
Daniel Johnston/The Capitol Years @ The Troc
Ingrid Michaelson/David Ford/Matthew Perryman Jones @ World Cafe Live
Travis Morrison Hellfighters/Zulu Pearls/The Epochs @ Black Cat
Will Hoge/Jason Isbell/Dawn Landes @ 9:30 Club
The Selmanaires/Anna Kramer & The Lost Cause @ Baltimore Chop
The Bravery/Switches/Your Vegas @ TLA

Atlas Sound - River Card
White Rainbow - Mystic Prism
Valet - My Volcano
Daniel Johnston - True Love Will Find You In the End
The Capitol Years - You Can Stay There
Ingrid Michaelson - Breakable
David Ford - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (Smiths Cover)
Travis Morrison - As We Proceed
Zulu Pearls - Ways To Wind You Up
The Epochs - Opposite Sides
Will Hoge - Lover Tonight
Jason Isbell - Dress Blues
Dawn Landes - Bodyguard
The Selmanaires - Nite Beat
Anna Kramer & The Lost Cause - All Those Pretty Things
The Bravery - An Honest Mistake (Superdiscount Mix)
Switches - Lay Down The Law
Your Vegas - In My Head


Wilco
Saturday
Thrushes @ Baltimore Rock-n-Romp *10 AM*
Wilco/John Doe @ Tower Theater
Headlights/Evangelicals/Exit Clov/Carol Bui @ The 3rd Floor
Bellman Barker @ Mojo 13
Daniel Johnston/Benjy Ferree @ Black Cat
Gene Loves Jezebel @ Bedrock
The Shondes/Murder Mystery/Bryan Scary and The Shedding Tears @ Rock and Roll Hotel

Thrushes - Heartbeats
Wilco - Thirteen (Big Star Cover)
John Doe - The Golden State
Headlights - Cherry Tulips
Evangelicals - Skeleton Man
Exit Clov - Violent Berries
Carol Bui - Modern Dance
Bellman Barker - Two Bees
Benjy Ferree - In the Countryside
Gene Loves Jezebel - Killer Hurts (Love & Rockets Remix)
The Shondes - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
Murder Mystery - Honey Come Home
Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears - Imitation of The Sky


Bowerbirds
Sunday
The Jet Age (CD Release)/J. Forte + The Secret Pop Band @ DC9
Daniel Johnston/Jason Dove @ Ottobar
Bowerbirds/Deleted Scenes/Kitty Hawk @ Black Cat

The Jet Age - False Idols
J. Forte + The Secret Pop Band - Lines To Follow
Jason Dove - End of The Year
Bowerbirds - In Our Talons
Deleted Scenes - Trying To Remember A Dream
Kitty Hawk - Bear In The Morning

Daniel Johnston

An essential of the Austin music scene and acclaimed and covered by well over 100 artists, Daniel Johnston is hitting the IA area over the weekend. His music has been called painfully direct, spinning heart-rending tales of unrequited love and life's ups and downs. His live shows are typically unpredictable, as he suffers from bipolar disorder (controlled through medication) and is autistic, yet they are always enjoyable. You just never know what you are going to get.

An Austin landmark by Daniel Johnston (21st & Guadalupe)

2/22: Philly @ The Troc (w/ The Capitol Years)
2/23: DC @ Black Cat
2/24: Baltimore @ Ottobar

True Love Will Find You In The End

Headlights & Evangelicals

Headlights and Evangelicals are out on tour together and they will be hitting the region three times over the next several days. We Were Pirates will join them in Arlington tonight and they will be joined by Exit Clov and Carol Bui in Fredericksburg this weekend.

2/21/08: IOTA, Arlington, VA
2/23/08: The 3rd Floor, Fredericksburg, VA
2/25/08: Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA

Headlights - Cherry Tulips
Evangelicals - Skeleton Man
We Were Pirates - The Wolf

Atlas Sound/White Rainbow/Valet

Atlas Sound is rolling through the area with support from White Rainbow and Valet. You have a couple of opportunities to catch them.

2/21/08: Black Cat, Washington, DC
2/22/08: Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA

Atlas Sound - River Card
White Rainbow - Mystic Prism
Valet - My Volcano

January Rewind

After struggling through our Best Of 2007 posts, Joe and I decided to start a new feature. At the end of every month, we are going to recap some of the musical highlights of the month that was. Videos, albums, remixes... this will help you find anything that you may have missed. Plus it will really come in handy in December, when we have to go back through the year. Since February is already half over, let's get cracking...

January was a great month for regional releases. There was not a huge quantity of them, but there definitely was quality.

Jukebox the Ghost

Let Live and Let Ghosts (Buy) - Good Day

The Shackeltons

The Shackeltons (Buy) - Your Movement

Telograph

Telograph (Buy) - Caught in Headlights

Thao & the Get Down Stay Down

We Brave Bee Stings and All (Buy) - Bag of Hammers

In addition to those, a few bands released some one off tracks and live music, including a track by Bellman Barker that they recorded exclusively for us.

Bellman Barker - Two Bees

Philly's The A-Sides recorded a Daytrotter Session and DC's Jukebox The Ghost stopped by WOXY's studios.

The A-Sides - Cinematic (Daytrotter Session)
Jukebox The Ghost - Victoria (Live on WOXY)

Beyond the IA region, January also had plenty of nice national and international releases.

The Bell

Make Some Quiet (Buy) - I Am History

Bodies of Water

Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink (Buy) - These Are The Eyes

Dead Confederate

Dead Confederate EP (Buy) - The Rat

Evangelicals

The Evening Descends (Buy) - Skeleton Man

The Helio Sequence

Keep Your Eyes Ahead (Buy) - Keep Your Eyes Ahead

The Magnetic Fields

Distortion (Buy) - Please Stop Dancing

MGMT

Oracular Spectacular (Buy) - Time To Pretend

Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend (Buy) - A-Punk

The Whigs

Mission Control (Buy) - Right Hand On My Heart

The Whitsundays

The Whitsundays (Buy) - Sorry James

Plenty of good videos made their way into the world during January. Both regionally....


Thao with The Get Down Stay Down - Geography

The Death Set - Negative Thinking

Celebration - Heartbreak (Prefix Studio Session)

Tereu Tereu - Furwinked! (The Lion/Bear Song)

Carol Bui - Modern Dance


Exit Clov - MK Ultra



Jukebox The Ghost - Live On WOXY


Middle Distance Runner - PSA


And beyond...


The Mary Onettes - Explosions


Vampire Weekend - A-Punk

MGMT - Time To Pretend


Dirty on Purpose - Audience In The Room

Morrissey - That's How People Grow Up

The Futureheads - The Beginning of The Twist


Iron & Wine - Live In Amsterdam (1/27/08)

That is it for January. See you in a couple of weeks, when I tackle the month that was February.