New York – It was past 10:40 on Monday night when Here We Go Magic took the stage at the Brooklyn venue Baby’s All Right, beers in every hand like a troop of champs. Broken-off bottoms of colored bottles makeup the backlit mural of the stage. Against this backdrop, the band stood boldly silhouetted by
London – The west coast of Ireland isn’t necessarily synonymous with happy-go-lucky garage pop. Indeed, at this time of year, the Emerald Isle can be somewhat weather beaten. However, despite the meteorological challenges, Galway’s Dott have already garnered a reputation for being pretty damned uplifting. After forming just last year, the band has already performed
Los Angeles – The Glass House on Saturday felt like a high school dance. Between the gymnasium floor, the Christmas trees on stage, the red and green spotlights and the floating, twirling mirror ball hanging from the ceiling rafters… It was romantic. Like Christmas. And then there was the youth factor. “My first boyfriend was
Los Angeles – The El Rey is a venue that is near and dear to the principle members of PAPA. In a series of high school battle of the bands appearances held at the old L.A. mainstay, local products Darren Weiss and Danny Presant had the pleasure of taking last place honors on more than
London – After a somewhat turbulent couple of years, Los Campesinos! followed up 2011’s Hello Sadness with the release of the highly anticipated No Blues in late October. The band’s first album since the departure of founding member Ellen Campesinos! in December last year was supported by a mini-tour at the start of December with
Nashville – Just in time for Christmas, Albatross will be releasing Out From Under, an EP of five, heartfelt tunes. The uplifting lyrics are a welcome contrast to the winter cold. Albatross is the moniker of Adam Stockdale, a Brit turned Nashvillian who has a knack for artful but stripped down songwriting. The warmth of
Chicago – In the spring of 2012, Arvid Öberg left his home in Lund, Sweden for a four month trip to Montreal. His experiences within the Canadian music scene prompted a series of self recorded demo tracks which he sent back to his fellow Above Orange band members in Sweden with the intention of inspiring
Nashville – Washed Out’s set at Exit/In began with “Entrance,” the first track off the new album, Paracosm. Ernest Greene walked on to the stage about a minute into the song, just as it sounds like the gates of heaven are opening with harps and cooing angels to greet those who enter. Half a goofy
Los Angeles – Welsh singer-songwriter Cate Le Bon, known for her dark, quirky lyrical style and her vocal resemblance to Nico, took a few moments out of her busy touring schedule to answer some questions for BestNewBands.com. BNB writer Brigit Anderson reviewed CLB’s Dec. 6 show at Barboza in Seattle, in which she described the
Chicago – It’s that pre-holiday time in December when you realize you’ve barely made a dent in your shopping list. Relax. You’re online. Check out these songs as your e-commerce soundtrack and start surfing the virtual aisles. You’ll be done in no time. And while you’re at it, why not treat that special someone (you)