Vandaveer Releases Record Hits Road

Vandaveer announces US tour dates for August and September 2009 supporting the upcoming new album, Divide & Conquer being released through Supply and Demand Music on August 25, 2009. European dates are scheduled for October with more US dates in November 2009. Vandaveer will play an album release show at Washington, DC’s The Black Cat on Thursday, August 20, 2009.

The dates...
8/20 Washington, DC - The Black Cat
8/22 Baltimore, MD - The Metro Gallery
8/24 New York, NY - Pianos
8/25 Boston, MA - TT The Bear's
8/27 Burlington, VT - The Monkey House
8/28 Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall
8/29 Philadelphia, PA - The Fire
9/01 Pittsburgh, PA - Club Cafe
9/02 Morgantown, WV - 123 Pleasant Street
9/03 Detroit, MI – PJ’s Lager House
9/06 Indianapolis, IN - The Vollrath Tavern
9/08 Newport, KY – The Southgate House
9/09 Lexington, KY - The Green Lantern
9/10 Louisville, KY - The 930 Listening Room
9/11 Nashville, TN - The Basement
9/12 Birmingham, AL - The Bottletree Cafe
9/15 Asheville, NC – BoBo Gallery
9/16 Roanoke, VA - Kirk Avenue Music Hall
9/17 Charlottesville, VA - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
9/19 Washington, DC – Comet Ping Pong
9/29 Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg – Rockhal Luxembourg
9/30 Namur, Belgium – Theatre Jardin Passion
10/1 Lille, France – Le Drugstore
10/2 Rouen, France – Espace Moineau
10/3 Rouen, France – Espace Moineau
10/6 Paris, France – Café De La Danse
10/7 Besancon, France – Les Passagers du Zinc

Download: Turpentine
Watch: Fistful of Swoon

The Ever Pious Father Abraham

Father Abraham isn't a local member of the clergy, but a producer and rapper from Boston, Massachusetts.

The good Father released his album entitled I Am Not a Sailor I Am the Captain a while back. As the story goes he was able to dedicate time to recording the album after he quit his job in January of 2008. From that point on he worked on the record from 12am-8am in a converted mill in Chelmsford, MA.

Now with the economy being what it is Father Abraham still has some time on his hands so he's undertaken a new project. His goal as he preaches the gospel is to produce, record, and release one song per week for all of 2009. That's a busy schedule, it's essentially an unpaid full time job!

You can visit the project at http://52pickup.us/ and check it out.

Father Abraham reminds me of MC Chris with absolutely no Adult Swim links and a whole ton of talent. His tunes have some sort of 80's hip hop Miami vibe to them and that's why I love them. He might not be religious but his gospel is good!

Download: All My Friends Are CFO's
Download: Elevator
Download: Spacemarch

Only In These United States

With their third full length release in 18 months, These United States surrender themselves to unbridled rock and roll exuberance: ringing guitars, thundering drums, desperate yearning bordering on hope.

Everything Touches Everything, out Sept. 1 on Colorado-based United Interests, came together the week of January 20th, 2009, as 4 million new friends descended on the city of Washington, DC (one of two places, with Lexington, KY, the band calls home). Laughter, belief, chaos, history, frigid cold wild mercury winter morning sunshine - it was a good place to be making music.

And apparently they can't stop making music! Not only have they released three albums worth of material in 18 months, they've also played 500 shows since coming together. You want to talk about motivated? That would be These United States.

Here are their dates:
08/13 Cincinnati, OH The Southgate House Parlour
08/14 Indianapolis, IN Vollrath
08/15 Chicago, IL Subterranean
08/16 Chicago, IL Green Music Festival
08/18 Milwaukee, WI Club Garibaldi
08/19 Cleveland, OH Beachland Tavern
08/20 Maumee, OH Village Idiot
08/21 Pittsburgh, PA Brillobox
08/22 Rochester, NY Bug Jar
08/23 Boston, MA TT The Bear's
08/24 Portsmouth, NH Red Door
08/25 Providence, RI Club Hell
08/26 Philadelphia, PA The M Room
08/27 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
08/28 Brooklyn, NY Union Hall (2 Shows, early and late)
08/29 Washington, DC Black Cat
09/12 Morrison, CO Monolith Festival
09/23 Boise, ID Downtown Summer Series
10/21 - 10/23 New York, NY CMJ

Download: I Want You To Keep Everything
Watch:

You'll be Sensually Harrassed.

Sensual Harassment is a Reptilian Humanoid alliance utilizing sonic mind control through beat-driven psych-pop.

In their debut broadcast, the scaly Brooklyn trio seamlessly shape-shifts from re-verb-drenched post-Apocalyptic new wave to epileptic space disco. Recorded at their clandestine headquarters in Southside Williamsburg, the band wisely recruited Jesse Cannon (The Cure, Animal Collective and The Misfits) to help engineer the cerebral revolution.

Bold yet subdued, "Soldier" is an electrified symphony soaked in icy analog synths concluding in a melodic crescendo that is equal parts Pet Shop Boys and The Chameleons. Cut with razor sharp synths, "Daddy Long Legs" is a cosmic dance party fueled by grimy Italo arpeggio's while evoking the pulsating funk and visceral aggression of Fugazi.

Download: Soldier
Download: Daddy Long Legs

Her Lips Might Shatter

Her Lips Might Shatter (consisting of Kiev-born, Houston-raised, Boston-schooled, Los Angeles-based female producer Alisa Nizhniy) calls upon influences from 80’s euro-synth-pop, disco-house, and industrial music. "I try to make electroclash, but I always get side-tracked,” says the ex-contortionist.

Alisa Nizhniy checked into the indie electronic music scene in 2006 at 18 years of age, as one half of the ghettotech, emotronic project, PseudoNecrophile, which is a collabo with Steven Clark, the photographer responsible for the visual imagery behind Her Lips Might Shatter.

Her Lips Might Shatter is the latest young female electronic artist to make some sort of impact, But where as most rely on help in some form, Her Lips Might Shatter sets herself apart as an entirely self produced musician doing every bit of tweaking herself!

And you know what, it's impressive stuff. Her songs have a gritty almost ADULT. sort of feel to them with a bit of proper synth pop and maybe even a bit of Peaches thrown in. The tunes just about jump around more than a kid on a hopscotch court. HLMS is not held back by genre or production ideals, oh no, Alisa just mixes everything she loves into a giant beatific gumbo that's as slinky and sexy as it danceable, cold, and calculated. It's really quite nice stuff.

Download: Blood
Download: Counterfeit
Download: Out of Body DJ Mix (via Megaupload)

In An Octopus Garden

Austin four-piece The Octopus Project are getting ready to hit the road once again [tour dates below]. The band has kept busy this past month, touring around the south (where they debuted the first of many "Visual Music" performances), playing at Austin's Fashion Awards last week, and rounding out an incredible 4th of July show at Stubb's with Explosions In the Sky and The Wooden Birds. The OP will set out once again on an extended North American tour behind their forthcoming Golden Beds enhanced EP, which features five different tunes and seven brand new videos, and will be released on Peek-A-Boo Records on July 28th.

Here's the dates...
07/24 - St. Louis, MO @ Luminary
07/25 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
07/27 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
07/28 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
07/29 - Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
07/30 - Boston, MA @ TT the Bears
07/31 - Providence, RI @ Jerky's Live Music Hall
08/02 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
08/03 - Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
08/04 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
08/05 - Chapel Hill, NC @ Cat's Cradle
08/06 - Atlanta, GA @ Starbar
08/07 - New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jack's
08/08 - Houston, TX @ Free Press Summer Fest
08/13 - Tucson, AZ @ Plush
08/14 - Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
08/15 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
08/17 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
08/18 - Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
08/21 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
08/22 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge

Download: Wet Gold

I Was Totally Destroying It!

Hailing from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, I Was Totally Destroying It (IWTDI) have been swinging sledgehammers at barriers since early 2007. Here's like the one band from Chapel Hill that doesn't sound like Polvo or even anything related to Merge Records. It's a bit of a shock to be honest because IWTDI are like the exact opposite of everything that Chapel Hill is musically known for.

Yes, IWTDI is an indie-rock band but they have a certain level of sheen about them that makes them stand apart from the rest of their hometown crowd. With a bit of non-post grunge sounds taking the forefront, and ridiculously addictive female vocals making things even cooler, IWTDI play some sort of indie rock/pop crossover that makes sense. With members coming from Sorry About Dresden, A-Ok, and Strunken White the pieces of their musical puzzle all slide into place with experienced ease.

In October 2008, IWTDI released a free, seven song EP, Done Waiting. Left up for over six months, it received attention and praise (and thousands of downloads). Now repackaged into a limited edition, 12" vinyl, dual EP including four brand new songs, IWTDI will hit you again with Horror Vacui, due to reach stores October 13th.

Download: The Witch Riding On Your Back
Download: Negative Agents

Sabrosa Purr Will Stalk You

Starting in a dark, musty rehearsal room/den of thieves on Santa Monica Blvd., Sabrosa Purr is a genre-defying rock band from Los Angeles, California, comprised of members Will Love, Jeff Mendel, Ry Sarmiento and Angie Mattson.

Their new EP Volaras, produced by Tracy Chisholm (Stone Temple Pilots, Belly, Scott Weiland, Devics), prepares the way for their debut full-length this Fall.Not a bad start at all, but stay tuned, there's much more to come.

The single 'One Weak Moment' is a spooky dreamy tune that wanders aimlessly like a ghost looking for someone to haunt. It's a moody delight that reminds me a bit of old Verve. It's beautiful stuff that will whisper in your ear and terrorize your dreams. Good stuff then!

Download: One Weak Moment

Enter the Disco of Doooooooom

Rising up from the gurgling belly of the underworld comes Disco of Doom, the brand new project from production and DJ duo Tom Real & The Rogue Element.

The Disco Of Doom is a place of unspeakable depravity from whence Tom and Rogue deliver twisted, filthy productions. 'Warpig' and 'Spawn Again' follows their first EP which came out last year on Passenger Records to critical acclaim.

'Warpig' takes things deep, dark, heavy and churning with surprises at every turn just when you thought it was safe to get back on the dancefloor. The track has somewhat of a dirty feel to it and sort of reminds me of Boys Noize and Justice at times. 'Spawn Again' brings you back to the jack of old school Chicago acid madness while simultaneously slicing in the heavy duty rave sounds...and sounds like a pack of 909's and 808's went on a bloody rampage and killed everything in their paths.

Both tracks are nuts and will more than likely cause you a trip to the ear doctor afterwards.

Download: Warpig
Download: Spawn Again

Shonen Knife Return!

Shonen Knife is the legendary all-female Japanese pop-punk band formed in Osaka, Japan in 1981. Heavily influenced by 1960s girl groups, pop bands, and early punk rock acts, such as The Beach Boys and The Ramones, the trio plays stripped-down songs with infectious melodies and simplistic, exuberant lyrics sung both in Japanese and English. Despite their pop-oriented nature, the trio maintains a distinctly underground garage rock sound rooted in edgy instrumentation and D.I.Y. aesthetics.

The bands twenty-seven-year career has seem them tour the world with Nirvana (on the Nevermind tour), Sonic Youth, the BMX Bandits, and as part of Lollapolooza. They recorded sessions for John Peel, appeared on MTV's Beavis and Butthead, 120 minutes, the Conan O'Brian show and recorded "Buttercup (I'm a Supergirl)" for that for the hugely popular cartoon 'The Powerpuff Girls'.

And they're still around. The concept of their new album Super Group is to "go back to the starting point of ROCK". With all the lyrics on Super Group in English it's a trip back in time by leaping forward. With influences running the gamut from Jonathan Richman to even Macca, the record covers all the cute, pop punk territory that Shonen Knife are known for. In other words, this album will make everybody happy.

Download: Super Group

The Rocketboys Prepare to Launch

Austin, Texas-based band The Rocketboys have released their first new track in over two years. The track, 'Like Ice In Water', is from the groups upcoming full-length album 20,000 Ghosts, to be released September 29.

20,000 Ghosts, was engineered and produced by Louie Lino (Nada Surf, Matt Pond PA), mastered by Alan Douches (Sufjan Stevens, Animal Collective) and features artwork from “Dark Was The Night” artist, Ryan Feerer.

As for 'Like Ice In Water,' it's a moody atmospheric track that's not unlike Coldplay at it's best. The vocals soar, the guitars jangle, and the drums roll along. It's a track that actually ends up feeling chilly and detached just like it's title. If 'Like Ice In Water,' is any indication of how the rest of the record is going to sound, then we're in for a treat!

The release of 20,000 Ghosts will be followed by a North American tour and several festival appearances, including CMJ in New York.

Download: Like Ice In Water

Julian Plenti is a Skyscraper

The sorting of email continues, and as I stumble through the ton of it that I have in front of me, I'll post some of the more interesting things that have shown up. That leads us to Julian Plenti.

Julian Plenti began writing music in 1996 in New York City. Almost immediately he started playing solo acoustic shows at NYC venues like Tobacco Road, Pete's Candy Store, The Knitting Factory, The Living Room, and “Lach’s Antihoot” at the Sidewalk Café.

In 2001, he stopped performing. Though he continued writing and doing occasional engineering work, he essentially went on sabbatical. That was until 2006 rolled around and he discovered Logic Pro. From there the three year trip that would wind up with his solo album being released involves, finding classmates, find sessions musicians, reworking old tunes, and convincing peers to appear on the record.

Miraculously, his solo effort Julian Plenti...Is Skyscraper doesn't sound like he ever went on sabbatical. His songs are atmospheric and kind of Interpol-ish at times and in listening to them you would never get a sense that he took five years off from music. At times the material feels like darkly tinged power pop totally in touch with its mortality.

Are the songs any cop? Yeah, they're pretty damn good and Julian should rest easy knowing that thirteen years in the making, he can write an album of music that's not only relevant today but pretty decent as well. Mr. Plenti's album comes out on August 4th and he will be performing on NBC’s Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Friday, August 7.

Download: Games for Days
Download: Fun That We Have

The Popadelic Firs

Pomegranates lead singer Joey Cook presents his latest work – this time teaming up with friend Sophia Cunningham and coming out as a solo artist with his first full-length as Firs.

The songs Firs write are dreamy, fuzzy, and catchy. The hooks come out of the fuzziness and give you bear hugs in hopes that you won't forget them. I doubt that you will. If you were looking for a comparison Firs are like MGMT if they were teddy bears and had a female vocalist.

The debut album Man In Space is an unabashedly strange record teeming with raw energy. It follows-up two underground Firs EPs and will be released on the Pomegranates’ long-time label home, Lujo Records.

My recommendation would be to get it.

Firs
Download: Welcome Home
Download: Destroyer of Worlds

Pomegranates
Download: Everybody Come Outside

Download: Beachcomber