Filed under: Emerging Artists, Features, Issue 19, Issue 19 Artists | Tags: Clocks and Calendars, Sammy Awards, Square Studio, Syracuse New Times, White Picket Fence
White Picket Fence are a young band living life and doing what they do best
Take a minute and picture Varsity Pizza on a weeknight. The radio hums in the background. An employee behind the counter systematically wipes down pans. A couple sits quietly in the corner while cooks bustle around the kitchen, shouting light-hearted insults as they work.
And when the Camillus-based band White Picket Fence enter the room, everything somehow becomes brighter, warmer and more pleasant. Such is the charm of the gang of recent high school grads, who promptly pull together their shared pizza order, sit down together like a family and begin cheerfully recounting the story of how they became local legends.
For the women of the band, at least, that story goes back more than 10 years. Frontwoman Elise Miklich has been a vocalist since primary school, close with the band’s guitarist Kelly Clancy since the girls were in second grade. Drummer Garrett Koloski, bassist Ryan Chapman and guitarist Logan Messina joined the girls after they graduated from high school last June – a month that also saw WPF play their first show and release their debut album, Clocks and Calendars. They won a “Best Pop” nod at the Syracuse New Times’ Sammy Awards not long after. (more…)
Filed under: Editor Picks, Emerging Artists | Tags: Zooey Deschanel, Scarlett Johansson, Pete Yorn, Serge Gainsbourg, Brigitte Bardot, Shania Twain, Amy Winehouse, Relator, Lost in Translation, Nanny Diaries
Scarlett Johansson and Pete Yorn release 2006 recording of "Relator," to be featured on their upcoming album
PREVIEW: Download Scarlett Johansson and Pete Yorn’s “Relator” MP3
WATCH: Video below the cut
Zooey Deschanel x Amy Winehouse + Shania Twain = Scarlett Johannson. Throw in Pete Yorn with his typical unrealistic sappy ex-boyfriend vibe. No, this is not the script for the weirdest porno ever, but the formula for Scarlett Johannson and Pete Yorn’s “Relator” song and music video. Somehow it works.
The project was inspired by the Brigitte Bardot/Serge Gainsbourg duets. Considering these French nymphomaniacs produced a song (although this version was never actually released) so erotic the Vatican denounced it, the similarities between the originators and their less-believable imposters are few.
However, if you ignore the clearly contrived decision to hide the less hot of the two behind sunglasses and a crafty use of blurring, you can detect some traces of chemistry between Scarlett and Pete. I don’t mean as a couple, but more importantly, they complement each other vocally. And the outcome is as bouncy and inoffensive as you’d expect of this collaboration. (more…)
Filed under: Editor Picks, Emerging Artists | Tags: Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, M. Ward, Smith Westerns
The Smith Westerns' blend of 1950s pop and garage-rock is a hit
PREVIEW: Download The Smith Westerns’ “Girl in Love” MP3
The opening notes of The Smith Westerns‘ latest single, “Girl in Love” will inevitably evoke images of M. Ward’s “Never Had Nobody Like You.” As much as the similarities are both present and true, try to look past them. For all of the sometimes-corny nostalgia Ward has been able to conjure up over the years, specifically with this year’s Hold Time, it still doesn’t hold a candle to what The Smith Westerns have going on right now.
Within a few months of their self-titled debut, these four guys from Chicago have managed to carve out a fairly unique, and highly listenable sound all their own. Mixing elements of garage-rock and indie-pop with a 1950s songwriting style, it would seem they’ve got a monopoly on the hokey scene at the moment.
Still, the boy-meets-girl, “please fall in love with me” vibe works to perfection, catching the ears of many-a-blogger, this one included. For their first effort, every track shows a gutsy sort of initiative that’s refreshing, as well as surprising. If you have any appreciation for Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons-type stuff, you’ve probably found your match with this one.
– John Cassillo, Reviews Editor
Filed under: Emerging Artists, XCLUS!VES | Tags: Afro, Alex Toth, Brooklyn, Depeche Mode, Funk, funk n waffles, Hail to the Thief, Kalmia Trever, Kuma, Landing, Michael Jackson, Orchestra, Radiohead, Rose's Dream, Rubblebucket, Sophistafunk, Syracuse, The Bell House, There There, Thriller, Utica, World is Gonna Drown
Dancing the night away
PREVIEW: Download Rubblebucket’s “Bikes” MP3
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Emerging Artist: Rubblebucket Orchestra
VIEW: Photos below the jump
The lounge and bar area of Brooklyn’s The Bell House had less people sitting on the stools and chilling on their couches Friday, August 7, than usual. Instead, most of the people were in the back venue listening to some extraordinary live jams while chowing on waffles (Funk ‘n’ Waffles that is).
By a quarter to midnight Syracuse’s own Sophistafunk had ended their high energy performance that included a guest horn section from Utica whose saxophonist was especially feeling the groove. They blew the audience away with her insane improvisations. After such a finale it was hard to see how anything could follow up such a tour de force. Yet based on this writer’s experience, Rubblebucket Orchestra (or Rubblebucket—as they seem to be calling themselves now) have developed reputation of always miraculously exceeding expectations as they did in this show.
The way they entered the stage at The Bell House was uncharacteristically low-key, as the nine-piece band simply walked on stage by midnight and put their instruments on. My encounter before, with Rubblebucket was much different. It was at Syracuse’s Funk n Waffles and the show started with lead band members Alex Toth and Kalmia Traver entering from the front door — with a confident swagger that personified cool as they blew into their respective instruments and banged on a bucket, heading toward the stage and jamming into their first number as if it were nothing. (more…)
Filed under: Emerging Artists | Tags: Cobra Starship, Lil Jon, LMFAO, Party Rock
LMFAO did an interview half naked last Thursday (8/6) in Times Square
PREVIEW: Download LMFAO’s Rock Party (Full album) MP3
LMFAO, a vulgar and obnoxious DJ duo nicknamed Redfoo and Sky Blu aren’t class-acts, but they spin the sickest club jams you’ve ever heard.
Although their rap lyrics mix guy-humor and self-aware goofiness, they make up for it with creative electronic sound-mixing and collaborating with big artists, like Lil Jon. I like to think of them as a hip-hop heavy version of Cobra Starship. It’s quite literally the hottest hip-hop/house music I’ve heard this summer. It’ll only be five seconds until you jump out of your chair and start air-humping.
They performed on MTV’s It’s On with Alexa Chung Thursday, and did an interview with MTV News in Times Square that afternoon. Luckily 20Watts was on the scene to take snapshots, and things got awkward immediately (see above). LMFAO decided they wanted to get a tan in New York City, so they stripped down to their boxers before the interview. Classic attention-whores, they pranced around yelling at tourists and danced with gawking girls. They knew damn well what they were doing and you can hear it in their music as well.
Filed under: Emerging Artists | Tags: 60's, California, Crosby, East Coast, Fleet Foxes, Green technology, Grizzly Bear, I'm Waiting for the Man, Lou Reed, Mamas and t, Metal Machine Music, Nash and Young, Pink Floyd, Quentin, Quentin Tarantino, revivalist, San Francis, San Francisco, Scott Walker, Stills, Syd Barrett, The Beach Boys, The Fresh & Onlys, The Mamas and The Papas, The Velvet, The Velvet Underground, Thee Oh Sees
Fresh out of their garage
PREVIEW: Download The Fresh & Onlys’ “I Saw You (It Was Strange)” MP3
These days nostalgia for the past is at an all-time high. Whether it’s fashion, cars, or music, we’ll just mix n’ match and recycle old ideas and make them new again! That’s why we have groups like The Fresh & Onlys that are a part of this burgeoning “’60s revivalist” movement carelessly wearing its influences on its sleeves.
The most popular of these “revivalist” groups today are bands like Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear, who have infused the lovely harmonies of ’60s California bands, from The Mamas and The Papas, The Beach Boys to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
The Fresh & Onlys call back to the grittier bands from the East Coast and some sounds that weren’t even popular in the 1960s — with songs that sound as if they’re being played on scratchy 45s you could only find in a jukebox in a Tarantino film. Surprisingly enough, this band is from sunny San Francisco.
The influences can be spotted a mile away by any casual audiophile who hasn’t already ruined his/her hearing from listening to Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music. On “Tell Me What You Want to Know” The Fresh & Onlys employ a juggernaut of rhythm that harkens back to The Velvet Underground classic “I’m Waiting for the Man.” Tim Cohen’s vocals combine haunting Scott Walker and abrasive Lou Reed impersonations.
Their track “I Saw You (It Was Strange)” clashes old school American early ’60s rock with the jolting psychedelic melodies of Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd. This occurs in a break between the indistinct, yet lovely, “aww-aww-awws” with the first lyrics “I saw you/ Yes it is/ Seeing me/ Through-ough you.” They aren’t the most brilliant lyrics: at first glance, they sound like Barrett-wannabe’s. But that’s hardly any reason to pin The Fresh & Onlys down since the atmospherics they instill in their recordings are good enough to make you forget about the words.
If you’re in California be sure to check them out this month in the handful of gigs they’re playing all over the state. For the rest of you, check them out on their upcoming cross-country tour with Thee Oh Sees!
– Charlie Weeks
Filed under: Emerging Artists | Tags: Bikes, Brooklyn, Chicago, Orchestra, Rose's Dream, Rubblebucket, The Bell House
Looking like the cast from Heroes
PREVIEW: Download Rubblebucket Orchestra’s ”Bikes” MP3
Whatever rubblebuckets are, as long as they make awesome music they’re okay with us. Over a year after releasing their bopping debut Rose’s Dream and tireless touring all over the country in their van (affectionately named “Puppy”), Rubblebucket Orchestra are preparing to release their second album: Rubblebucket. To whet our appetites for the October 1st release, the band have given away their first single “Bikes.”
With singer/saxophonist Kalmia’s light-hearted “la-la-la’s,” the single begins like a careless stroll through the park when suddenly, in distinct Rubblebucket-fashion, the song quickly builds with the other eight pieces of the band entering into the funky mix. When the Chicago-esque horns in the song come in, they let you know that this band means business.
What soon follows are Kalmia’s hypnotic lyrics that fall in place with the latin-funk rhythms and the horn section melody that comes back in between lyrics. All in all, “Bikes” is just as enthralling as anything they have put out before.
Look out for them on their upcoming Northeast tour that’s starting at The Bell House in Brooklyn on August 7th!
– Charlie Weeks
Filed under: Editor Picks, Emerging Artists | Tags: Wale, Asher Roth, Drake, Lady GaGa, Talib Kweli, Common, Dr. Dre, Yael Naim, Back to the Feature, Wiz Khalifa, BKS, Mark Ronson
"New Soul" stands out on Back to the Feature
PREVIEW: Download Wale’s “New Soul” MP3
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Emerging Artists: Wale, New Wale Single Chillin’ f. Lady GaGa
Surprisingly, my favorite song off Wale’s star-studded Back to the Feature mixtape is not one produced by Mark Ronson and doesn’t even feature Talib Kweli, or Lady Gaga.
“New Soul” comes last on the mixtape, and there’s no better impression he could leave his audience with. Of all the hip-hop freshmen Wale gives a shout out to on “New Soul” — Asher Roth, Wiz Khalifa, Drizzy Drake — Wale is undoubtedly the most promising. As the BKS-produced beat samples Yael Naim’s hit “New Soul,” Wale brilliantly knocks all of hip-hop’s new souls and set himself apart. He recognizes the current Drake craze, and dismisses it by rapping, “Slow and steady wins this race / F*ck leading.” It’s almost comical that releasing a mixtape every year since 2005, like Wale, is considered “slow and steady” nowadays.
Filed under: Emerging Artists | Tags: Australia, Empire of the Sun, Jet, Luke Steele, MTV, The Sleepy Jackson, TRL, Walking on a Dream, YouTube
PREVIEW: Empire of the Sun “Walking on a Dream” MP3
The best way to experience Aussie electronic-pop duo Empire of the Sun is to do so visually. It’s a shame they are about 10-20 years too late with their “Walking on a Dream” music video. This one could have been on constant, heavy rotation on TRL — back in the days when MTV actually used to show music videos.
Their first single “Walking on a Dream” instills classic pop song structures with a deceptively simple sound and style. Singer Luke Steele (formerly of Aussie alt-rock group you’ve probably never heard of: The Sleepy Jackson) won’t be upstaged by a guitar solo with his shift in octaves from the “spoken-rather-than-sung” main verses to the ridiculously high-pitched chorus. The ethereal keyboards provide the base of the song from which all the other instruments are tethered. Meanwhile the guitar serves more as a rhythm instrument, countering the disco-esque drumbeat.
Empire of the Sun are the best thing from Australia since … Kangaroos? No … But they sure do beat Jet in the “Best Dressed from Down Under” category — not to mention that they’re one of the more unique-sounding groups currently around.
– Charlie Weeks
Filed under: Emerging Artists, Free 4 All | Tags: Beach Boys, Bloomsbury-EP, Calypso Gold, Cocoon of Love, Crash Test Dummies, Princeton, Ra Ra Riot
Princeton are a three-piece from LA, not Jersey
PREVIEW: Princeton songs streamed free on imeem
Don’t let the name fool you! Princeton may not be from Princeton, NJ, or even go to Princeton University, but their EP Bloomsbury is filled with nerdy analogies and euphemisms. Unlike the EP’s title reference, the band’s first album Cocoon of Love, which drops September 29, show no signs of Victorian England.
“Calypso Gold,” the band’s first single off Cocoon of Love, starts off with a fresh opening sound of maracas comparable to The Beach Boys‘ “Kokomo,” the song quickly takes a turn toward electric and new wave. There is a definite indie influence in the band’s sound, but there is something refreshing about Princeton’s lead singer’s deep voice, reminiscent of that of Crash Test Dummies‘ Brad Roberts. (more…)
