Start your weekend off right with a selection of music from artists featured this week on BestNewBands.com

“The Honest Truth” – Typhoon

Liz Livengood caught the “epic” Portland dodectet (that’s a 12-person group, she says) at the Doug Fire Lounge in Portland last week.

Liz wrote, “I can’t say enough good things about Typhoon. Their songs linger in my head throughout my day, and every listen brings forth new details I hadn’t noticed before. Seeing them live was a treat. I can safely say it was one of the best shows I have ever been to. Their set ran somewhat like a play. Act I began with ‘Mouth of the Cave’ which is sounds like a shortened version of ‘The Honest Truth,’ from their new album A New Kind of House. Several spirited songs followed, many I had never had the pleasure of hearing before. Then, Typhoon did something…odd. They had an intermission.

“Why don’t more bands do this? It was the perfect break to refresh the beer, hit the bathroom or jockey for a better place to watch the show. No one was certain if the show had started again when one of the drummers came out and started jamming. Slowly, the remaining members trickled in and took their positions. The band broke seamlessly into a song with tremulous horns and deafening percussion. Typhoon is perhaps at their very best when they are in full force, all instruments and voices blending into harmonious perfection.”

Read the rest of Liz’s review here.

“Don’t Grow” – The Goldberg Sisters

Laurel Kathleen gave us the lowdown on actor Adam Goldberg’s musical endeavor, The Goldberg Sisters.

Laurel wrote, “As diverse as his acting roles are, [Goldberg] always seems to have this magnetic intensity that’s hard to ignore. His latest project is a diverse album of ten tracks consisting of bright moments of pop bliss surrounded by shimmery psychedelia and the more than occasional unforgiving look into the human psyche. The arrangements are more than a nod to The Beatles’ and John Lennon’s solo work. His timbre has a little bit of a nasal quality akin to John’s, and there were even skits with the same spooky sounds of records played in reverse, the repeated words ‘number eight,’ and nervous giggles. It’s obvious that he’s being purposefully light and humorous (The Beatles favored ‘number nine’) in the skits, but the weight of the lyrics and emotion in his vocal delivery is extremely heavy. I find that most Beatles enthusiasts fall into one of two camps: the purists, and the nostalgics. The purists may eschew this project, finding it too similar to the point of being derivitave. But the nostalgics will enjoy it, and there are a lot of really incredible things happening on this record that are worth hearing. “

Read the rest of Laurel’s review here.

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“Last Night At The Jetty” – Panda Bear

On Tuesday, Kristina Villarini reviewed “Tomboy,” a new album from Panda Bear, aka Noah Lennox.

Kristina wrote, “One part of Animal Collective, a band that now commands the respect of millions after people ‘suddenly’ began paying attention to Merriweather Post Pavillion, and one part indie darling, Noah Lennox has always hand-crafted sounds. That work, continues to inspire and impress as Tomboy, his fourth solo album, drops today. People looking for some kind of ‘sequel’ to Person Pitch may be surprised, and even disappointed by the shortened song lengths and tame structure, but it’s worth noting that the sounds are still there. Lennox’s voice is still an instrument and it still takes you to odd places.

“Tomboy will no doubt be compared to the Animal Collective (and his own) catalogue, and people will cite the wistful experimentation or undeniable fun of those other records, or the stiff emotional darkness of Young Prayer. What will people say about Tomboy? I hope people will listen to “Surfer’s Hymn” and be able to smell the summer, or hear “Drone” and get lost in the weight of a sound that fills every corner of your head. There is an ease by which you could get suffocated listening to Lennox’s voice and tracking the tiny silences. You could even imagine the noises that would fill a Panda Bear song that hasn’t been used yet.

“This record is, in fact, a tomboy, challenging what it’s supposed to be or sound like. It’s androgynous and beautifully done so, never pushing or pulling from the wrong source material or even trying to sound like a Panda Bear record. It just is.”

Read the rest of Kristina’s album review here.

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“Telephone” – The Black Angels

In a preview for the upcoming Austin Psych Fest, Lauren Novik recently spoke to Christian Bland of this Austin experimental band. Here’s some of their conversation:

Lauren Novik: So let’s talk about your main musical influences for a second.

Christian Bland: Well, my favorite album is The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, the first Pink Floyd album. My dad had a pretty cool record collection going on- a bunch of Bob Dylan, the Beatles- so I used to just listen to that all the time. Then I saw Apocalypse Now when I was about 13 and got into The Doors, and that opened me up to the Velvet Underground… It’s sort of like you discover one band and then another door’s opened to several more.

LN: Would you say these are the main influences for the band as a whole- or are they different from member to member?

CB: I’d say they’re pretty much the same — that’s kind of why we work so well together!

LN: Well, you guys have been touring non-stop — happy to hear you’re all getting along!

CB: We really do! You know we have our little fights but for the most part we all get along. We’ve loved together with each other for a while now- so we’re used to being in close quarters.

LN: Little bit of the family vibe going on!

CB: Exactly! It’s kind of the best way for a band to be successful is to live together.

Read the rest of Lauren’s interview here.

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“Boho Chic” – Alto

Claire Gallagher interviewed the lovely ladies of LA’s folk duet, Alto. Here’s some of their conversation:

Claire Gallagher: How did the band come together?

Jessica Jones: We met during orientation for UCLA (our freshman year), so we have known each other for about a year and a half. We are also roommates.

Nicole Yarbrough: I heard Jessica play solo a couple of time before we were a band and I thought she was awesome. We knew each other through music, so we started hanging out and jamming.

JJ: I had a band during high school, so I really missed writing and performing my own music. As a Classical major, I had a lot of opportunities to perform, but nothing like the band. I heard Nicolette playing in the UCLA Bluegrass Hoppers and I thought she was an awesome fiddler. We were in freshman theory class together, and we often had composition assignments, so we both heard each other’s writing/voices.

CG: So what’s the story behind your band name? How did it come about?

JJ: Alto is the vocal range we can both sing in, although Nicolette is technically a soprano and I am an alto. As a violinist, Nicolette reads treble clef, and as a bassist, I read bass clef, so I though a nice compromise would be to use alto(clef) to identify ourselves. Alto also means ‘tall’ in Spanish (laughs) and I’m tall. I think we both like the way the word sounds!

CG: What do you think you would be doing right now if you weren’t a musician? What did you want to be when you were a kid?

NY: uuummmm… (Sigh) I would… probably be a different type of artist. (Photography, fashion, or visual arts.) I did a lot of that as a little kid. Or a farmer! Or a cat breeder. I can’t really imagine myself doing anything else.

JJ: That’s really hard. Both Nicolette and I grew up in musical households (her father is a professional violist and my mother teaches music) so picturing a life without music is incredibly difficult. I would probably be a professional fortune cookie writer.

Read the rest of Claire’s interview here.

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“Understand At All” – Cloud Nothings

“Sunshine” – Indian Rebound

Kelly Knapp caught the two acts this week at the Mercury Lounge in NYC.

Kelly wrote, “Indian Rebound came out with immediate energy. New York natives Ethan Levenson, John Kallen, and Gianni de Falco are still in high school, but they sound older. Already, there is evidence of influences from the 50s, 60s, and definitely 90s, along with some borrowed sound from the contemporary local bands who also borrow from earlier sound. It’s a big tangled musical web we weave. They opened with “Crack a Smile,” and went into another song that sounded similar until the drummer busted out with a 50s rock n’ roll beat out of nowhere midway through. It’s strange how classic concepts can still sound refreshing, and this was.

“We love Cloud Nothings here at BestNewBands.com. Collin recently reviewed their show in Portland, and I interviewed Dylan back in February. I was happy that I would finally get to witness their live show for myself. Cloud Nothings wasted little time taking the stage after Indian Rebound, with Dylan Baldi placing both a bottle of water and bottle of honey next to his monitor before sound checking his guitar. Come to find out, he was losing his voice … Despite that, he still delivered the high energy show I expected. When they played “Hey Cool Kid,” one lone cool kid ran up to the front of the stage to dance.”

Read the rest of Kelly’s review here.

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“Lover’s On” – yOya

Laurel Kathleen recently chatted with yOya to get the lowdown on Brokechella, a $5 alternative to the uber-spendy Coachella. Here’s some of their conversation:

Laurel Kathleen: Tell me a little bit about the event.

yOya: I think this is the first Brokechella, but it looks like it’s shaping up to be pretty rad. It seems like not just your average Coachella-weekend party; lots of great art and music for a fraction of the hassle. We’re excited to be a part of it.

LK: Have you ever played a festival before?

yOya: We’ve played SXSW. And we’ve been to Bonnaroo! But we didn’t play. We mostly just listened to other people play.

LK: Who else are you excited to see that’s playing?

yOya: LA Font!

LK: What other non-musical events are you excited about? The outdoor gallery, stand up comedy, PBR sculptures, grilled cheese food trucks?

yOya: A graffiti artist called Trouble will be doing live art out back – he’s an old friend of ours so we’re psyched to see his work. We’re also big fans of grilled cheese.

LK: As with all festivals, people-watching is usually just as entertaining as the music. What are you hoping/expecting to see (body paint, feathers, “Green Man”, hula hoops, glow sticks)?

yOya: Well we’ll be wearing all of the above, so we’ll just have to see if anyone can top that.

Read the rest of Laurel’s interview here.