photo credit: Liz Livengood
Here are some tracks to relive a few of BNB’s musical happenings this week.
“Fake Out (Glass Ghost Remix)” – Bear in Heaven
“When We’re Dancing” – Twin Shadow
On Monday, we released our weekly list of concert picks from across the country. Kristina Villarini picked Bear in Heaven’s show with Twin Shadow at The Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Here are a couple tracks from the two acts.
Check out the rest of our weekly concert picks here.
“Go Dancing” – Eux Autres
Liz Livengood reviewed Eux Autres‘s performance at the Mississippi Studios in Portland.
Liz wrote, “Eux Autres’ set was short, but it didn’t disappoint. Opening with ‘Ecoutez Bien,’ (Listen Well, for all you non-frenchies out there) a song punctuated with ‘woos’ of joy, the audience at the intimate venue were fully entertained with what I like to call sunshine pop. It just makes you want to dance and/or skip when you hear it.“
“Two Sisters” – Fiction Plane
On Tuesday, Sherene Hilal reviewed Fiction Plane at the Mercury Lounge in NYC.
Sherene wrote, “You rarely go to smaller concert venues and find an audience ready to sing along, but the fans rendition of ‘It’s A Lie’ and ‘Two Sisters’ nearly drowned out the band. Fiction Plane functions like a band that knows that they will be big. They give a modest yet powerful performance. No exaggerated antics that give the pseudo-appeal of great shows; they stand on stage and play their music and get so into it that you could close your eyes and still have a fantastic time.”
Read the rest of Sherene’s review here.
“Purple” – California Wives
Kelly Montgomery chatted with the band California Wives in her “Nine Questions and One Embarrassing Story” feature. Here’s an excerpt of their conversation:
Kelly: Tell us the story of how the band got together…
Dan Zima: Three of us, minus Jay, had been in a band together since high school. We started California Wives as a side project of that. We’d mess around once or twice a week, and when the main act fell apart we had this to start working on. We wanted another person, someone who played keys because we already had a synthesizer but barely knew how to use it. Jay practiced with us and it clicked.
K: Who are some of your sonic influences?
DZ: We all kind of bonded on the idea of sounding like New Order. But we’re not as smart as them, so what we got is what we’re capable of. I think there’s a good amount of The Cure in us too.
Read the rest of the Q&A here.
“Long Legs or Something” – Some Awful Bridge
Sherene Hilal interviewed Some Awful Bridge before the band’s show tonight at The Delancey in NYC. Here’s an excerpt of their conversation:
Sherene: So I’ve listened to all of your recording and there’s a lot of cohesion in your sound for a band that flirts with experimental. What is your music-making process?
Mark: it’s somewhere between pretentious stochastic composition and a blend of everything else. Sometimes it builds, sometimes we hear things ready-made.
Michael: Like hearing a chord progression and building off that.
Ari: Starting with some type of drum tempo, and create as we go along.
Sherene: What about musical influences?
Michael: I was influenced by the 90’s alternative rock scene, The Cure, Pixies, Zeppelin.
Ari: 80’s alternative, 90’s alternative, The Chameleons.
Mark: It’s something that’s more than us. Not to sound pretentious. I have a, “don’t introduce band members on stage rule” because it’s fine for others to do that, but it’s not us. If you’re looking for a genre, there are words that can be applied if it gets people to come out to shows.
Read the rest of the Q&A here.
“Colours” – Grouplove
On Wednesday, Jesse Diener-Bennett reviewed a concert at The Bowery Ballroom that featured Grouplove.
Jesse wrote, “Grouplove’s songs are moving in their unadorned honesty and their effortless joy. They sing about love, simple pleasures, and friendships. Energetic drumming and folky guitars back the band’s tight harmonies and memorable melodies, with the occasional mandolin joining in on the fun. [...] Lest you think that Grouplove is an endless font of happiness, they do have a dark side. On “Colours,” a song (to put it too simply) about mysterious and painful changes, Zucconi’s powerful voice was at its most sorrowful, and most effective. “
Read the rest of Jesse’s review here.
“Bullfighter Jacket” – Miniature Tigers
“Hannah” – Freelance Whales
On Thursday, Cervante Pope reviewed Freelance Whales at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa, CA. Miniature Tigers opened the show.
Cervante wrote, “I had never heard [Miniature Tigers] before, but I definitely do approve. They were even kind enough to have one of their biggest fans come up on stage and play drums for some of the songs. Charlie (lead vox) and Rick (vox and keys) had stage antics that made the band’s presence much more worthy of credit besides just being an opening act. [...] Freelance played almost all of the songs off Weathervanes, with ‘Location,’ ‘The Great Estates’ and ‘Hannah’ being some of the crowd favorites. [...] They all kept switching instruments and each song focused on a different member in the forefront. Though dizzying at first, it gave me a new appreciation for what they do.”
Read the rest of Cervante’s review and watch the music video for “Hannah” here.
Innundir Skinni – Olof Arnalds
Kelly Montgomery previewed the Blonde Redhead and Olof Arnalds show at the Roseland Theater in Portland.
Kelly wrote, “[Arnalds] sounds a bit like a mellowed-out and less eager Joanna Newsom, with a similarly warbly voice that is bound to be divisive, just like Newsom’s. The distinctive voice may also remind some of her countrywoman Bjork, who contributes vocals on single ‘Surrender,’ but Arnalds is a true folk musician at heart. Her songs use little more than her own voice and a traditional instrument or two, and evoke a sense of woodsy scenery and charming fairytales.”
Read more of Kelly’s concert preview here.
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