Filed under: Editor Picks | Tags: Air Waves, Dan Deacon, Kimya Dawson, Nicole Schneit
Brooklyn band, Air Waves is expected to follow up the release of their stellar EP with a full-length debut this fall.
PREVIEW: DOWNLOAD Air Waves’ “Shine On” MP3
When asked why her band name Air Waves is spelled as two words rather than one, singer, Nicole Schneit responds, “If it’s one word, it’s the transmission of sound. If it’s two words, it’s just the air and the water.” Like the elements, Air Waves’ sound is familiar, but more comforting than hackneyed — or, as Dan Deacon better puts it, “The music [Nicole] writes is like a favorite blanket wrapped around you.”
Evolving from Nicole Schneit’s singer-songwriter career, Air Waves is now a three-person band. Schneit’s pre-pubescent boy-like voice is reminiscent of Kimya Dawson, except far less cutesy and annoying. It adds a childlike innocence to their music, especially in the already playful “Shine On.” Download Air Waves’ 5-song EP, or check them out at one of their many upcoming Brooklyn performances.
– Carly Wolkoff, Managing Editor
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: andrew bird, Animal Collective, Bat for Lashes, Beirut, breakfast at sullimay's, Common, Dan Deacon, Dirty Projectors, Eminem, Grizzly Bear, Matt + Kim, Wilco, Yo La Tengo
My grandmother hasn’t acknowledged the existence of an album since Frank Sinatra’s Nice ‘n’ Easy. Thus, the idea of her listening to the latest from Beirut, Common or Yo La Tengo isn’t just comical — it’s downright ridiculous. It’s also the concept behind Breakfast at Sulimay’s, a video blog/online television series that you (and your grandma) are gonna want to check out, if you haven’t already.
From the corner of what appears to be a B-grade suburban diner, three lovable senior citizens don headphones, jam to the latest from the likes of Andrew Bird, Matt & Kim and Bat for Lashes, and deliver their ruling on the tracks.
My grandmother would surely grimace and pronounce that Dan Deacon’s “Snookered” was in headache-inducing poor taste.
Joe, Ann and Bill are totally down, though — they love Dan Deacon! They love Eminem! And of the latest from Grizzly Bear, they say:
“Is this… English?”
Priceless! Youth is wasted on the young.
– Caitlin Dewey
Filed under: Editor Picks, Scene Around Town | Tags: Beach House, Cake, Dan Deacon, Deerhunter, Dirty Projectors, Girl Talk, Grizzly Bear, HEALTH, Max Tundra, No Age, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
I swear this is my last mentioning of Dirty Projectors. I apologize for the cluster of posts about them, but this is important. This will be the last one for a while.
The Dirty Projectors show at the Williamsburg Waterfront on July 19th in Brooklyn is FREE!! The opening act is a band called Magnolia Electric Co.
I was going to go to this anyway, but hey, all the more reasons to go now.
This venue is apparently new this summer and has a stacked schedule full of free concerts:
-HEALTH, July 26th
-Dan Deacon, No Age + Deerhunter, Aug. 2
-Girl Talk + Max Tundra, Aug. 23rd
-Grizzly Bear + Beach House, Aug. 30th
The venue is the East River Park between North Eighth and North Ninth Streets.
If you’re in the city for the summer, these shows have to be a must. This is blowing my mind! Read up!
The best free shows I’ve ever seen are: Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Cake.
–Jett Wells
Filed under: Free 4 All | Tags: Beirut, Dan Deacon, Daniel Johnston, Lady GaGa, Max Tundra, Vivian Girls
A website that gives away free music that’s legal and portable? No way! Don’t get too excited, but this new site, Free Music Archive, gives away free live tracks from selected new artists, like Vivian Girls and Max Tundra. The whole site is funded by the the New York State Music Fund, according to the SPIN article.
The music is provided by three major independent radio stations based in Seattle, Portland and Jersey City, and the basic idea is to create a blog version of these radio stations, except no commercials, you pick the song and you get to keep it.
Don’t be scared off by the word “live,” because these tracks have quality sound, and it’s hard to tell if the recording is live at all.
There’s one catch though; you’re not going to find big mainstream acts on this site. There’s not going to be any Lady Gaga or Beirut, but you can get some quality tracks from Daniel Johnston and Dan Deacon. Not a bad consolation prize.
The number of available songs will certainly grow, and there’s plenty of artists on the site you’ve never even heard of. One mini-flaw in the format is that there’s no super-advanced sorting system. You basically just pick a song, listen and decide if you like it. I love the idea because it forces you to discover new groups while getting to keep the music in return. I’m sure this site is going to start a wave of other non-profit projects like this later. It’ll get interesting when more radio stations get involved.
–Jett Wells, Co-Reviews Editor
Leaking Monday night was Dan Deacon’s Bromst, his follow-up to Spiderman of the Rings. With Bromst, Dan Deacon has taken his electronic solo performance to a full band.
While he composed his songs electronically, he has transcribed them to be played for his live shows with a huge band consisting of eight percussionists, five electronic musicians (including himself) and two guitarists— all from other bands like Ponytail, Videohippos, Adventure and Future Islands from his hometown of Baltimore. It’s an epic achievement where he creates a fully human experience from an electronic medium.
Dan Deacon takes us on a thrilling ride with moments of euphoria toned down by slower, moodier pieces. Highlights include “Red F,” “Snookered” and “Woof Woof.” The odd track is undoubtedly “Wet Wings,” which seems out of place within the scope of the album, but interesting as a standalone track.
Filed under: Editor Picks | Tags: Animal Collective, Bat for Lashes, Dan Deacon, Junior Boys, Lotus Plaza, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
I’ve got a ton of albums I’m waiting to listen to (like The Decemberists and Peter Bjorn and John) but here’s what I like right now.
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion (1/6): The “album of our generation,” says Bradford Cox. Leading the top albums of 2009 list.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (2/3): Noise-pop? Shoegaze? 80’s? Simply fantastic.
Lotus Plaza – The Floodlight Collective (3/23): From Deerhunter guitarist, Lockett Pundt. “These Years” is one of the best songs ever. Yes, ever.
Dan Deacon – Bromst (3/24): I can’t wait to see him live with his 15 member band.
Bat For Lashes – Two Suns (4/7):Top 20 of 2009-worthy, if not top 10.
Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care (4/7): “Dull to Pause” is so much fun.
A lot of these albums have leaked (check out my leak of the week column on Fridays!) if they haven’t already come out. I highly recommend them! And I love this music video:
- Tuan Le, co-reviews editor
