Rejoice! Fans of local DIY sensation Shark Week can now relive their killer live shows with the release of their debut 3-track EP today, aptly titled EP.
The pay-what-you-want EP is now available from Bandcamp, and the quartet kicks off the release with a show at Montserrat House tonight. Presale tickets are still available until 4pm today, so hurry! Tickets at the door will be limited and are sure to sell out.
When not practicing law, reporting on the government beat, or running Mount Pleasant’s “premiere basically-legal hair salon,” the members of Shark Week make laid-back-but-vibrant, punk-infused garage rock with a throwback vibe.
California-by-way-of-New-York quintet Big Tree recently released their sophomore LP This New Year on absolutely stunning “autumnal split color” vinyl (see a snapshot of the test pressing below), and we have a chance for one lucky reader to win his or her very own copy of the official release.
Big Tree was kind enough to let us premiere their new video for “Augury” from This New Year, a TVD exclusive. The rolling grasslands and beaches in the video are a fitting backdrop for the lush vocals of Kaila McIntyre-Bader and Anna Ghezzi.
Soul Step Records released this limited edition run of only 100 split color records, which are sure to sell out soon. The album, the Lexington, Kentucky label’s second release, is also available on black vinyl.
In an upcoming Vmagazine interview set for newsstands on July 5th, Fiona Apple admits that as part of growing up, “I became less inhibited. I don’t care about being judged.”
This was quite apparent on Tuesday night at the Warner Theatre. A gaunt, muscular Apple, no longer the malcontent ingenue of her explosive debut Tidal from sixteen years ago, treated a sold-out and appreciative audience to an emotionally dense set that drew from her entire career, showcasing songs from all four albums.
Backed with a jazzy five-piece band, Apple left us transfixed with her powerful, still-sultry voice, beginning with “Fast As You Can” from her sophomore effort, When the Pawn… Of the handful of songs where her plaintive wails were accompanied by her grand piano under changing-colored lights, “Shadowboxer” was an early and obvious favorite. Expectedly, the set was punctuated with huge applause and a standing ovation. In fact, Apple delivered everything that was expected, and more.
Now grown up, the crying waif who shocked audiences in the late ’90s and early ’00s still has a defiant streak, but it is now better harnessed and controlled, tempered by maturity, even if there are glimpses that even though she is more comfortable in her skin, she is a bit weary at times. During “Sleep to Dream” Apple stomps a booted foot angrily, in a stance with hands on hips; at other times, she broodingly sings with eyes closed, perhaps to lovers not yet forgotten, dancing in memories, gyrating underneath the familiar feel of hands long gone; still other times, she sings to the corners of the theatre, coquettishly wide-eyed, gazing out instead of lost in her own reverie.
Tomorrow is supposed to be clear, sunny, and 90 degrees. You know what that means. It’s time for a pool party.
Mother Trucker returns to the Capitol Skyline pool with some of the best DJs in DC. There will also be food trucks! Drinks! Hot bodies! Girls with hula hoops! A fire breather! Corn hole! Slip and slide! Aerial suspension artists! A photo booth!
If that weren’t enough exclamation points, Fort Knox Recordings is taking over Mother Trucker tomorrow with a slew of artists from the label DJing sets poolside. The pièce de résistance is that Fort Knox Five will be battling it out with Thunderball (ESL Music)—two DJs on four turntables.
To celebrate all this Mother-Trucking fun, FK5 have released a free download of a remix of Three Dog Night’s “Mama Told Me (Not to Come).” Grab it below with your email address.
You probably know The Temper Trap from 2009’s Conditions and the runaway success of its single “Sweet Disposition,” whose sugary indie pop was featured in an artificially sweetened Diet Coke commercial.
The Aussies have a new self-titled album out, and they are currently touring in support of the album across North America, Europe, and Australia in the company of School of Seven Bells, Crocodiles, and Coldplay.
We have your chance to snag a special picture disc 7″ UK import of “Need Your Love” b/w “Rabbit Hole” from the eponymous LP. Fancy!
Right on the heels of the Scarlet EP last fall and the new album’s first single “You’re Early” last month, the ladies of 2:54 release their eponymous debut LP today via Fat Possum, and we would love to send a copy to one lucky reader.
“Creeping” was debuted earlier this month by Zane Lowe on BBC’s Radio 1, and next week, London-based sisters Colette and Hannah Thurlow kick off their thirteen date North American headlining tour with support from Widowspeak after a festival stint, a few UK dates, and lending support to The xx. Busy, busy!
Stereogum has described 2:54 as is “a pair of British blood sisters with shoegazer and eyeliner smeared all over their music,” and mentions how they named themselves after a specific moment in “A History of Bad Men,” at their favorite (and totally fierce) part of their favorite Melvins song.
Tomorrow night will feature a special double-header of smart DC rock releases, as both Last Tide and Fire and the Wheel will be celebrating the release of new albums on the Black Cat Mainstage.
Last Tide is Nate Frey (guitars, vox), Rob Miller (bass), and Mike Baxter (drums). In their words, the psych trio’s first release since 2009, Lost to Memory, is a a nine-track album that “showcases a heavier, more guitar-centric sound than that of their debut EP.” Recorded nearby in Baltimore, MD and Mt. Rainier, MD, the album was mixed by Simon Cohen of Midnight Eye and mastered by local legend Chad Clark (Beauty Pill, Smart Went Crazy).
The entire album is streaming on Bandcamp for your listening pleasure! Give it a listen before stopping by the Cat tomorrow night.
You’ll probably recognize members of Fire and the Wheel, which comprises current and former members of local bands Lightfoot (Ron Storhaug, trumpet and keys), Mittenfields (Brian Moran, drums), The Strange Loop (Joey Harrison, lead vocals and guitar), and Loose Lips (Donny Potter, keyboards). They’ve combined forces to form Fire and the Wheel, who debut their self-titled LP at their first big venue show at the Black Cat tomorrow.
They regard the LP as a concept album, which features seamless tracks “inspired by Pink Floyd’s The Wall and the second side of The Beatles’ Abbey Road, and shades of both bands can also be heard throughout the record. We aim high.”
To be honest—I went to the sold-out Bear in Heaven show at the intimate Black Cat Backstage last Tuesday because I am a huge fan of second opener Blouse. Nevertheless, I left a convert and bemoan my previous nonchalance. Apologies, kisses, etc.
I became familiar with Blouse last year when vocalist/guitarist Charlie Hilton and bassist Patrick Adams shared a couple of touching stories with us during our Captured Tracks Spotlight week. The Portland trio, which also includes producer and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Portrait, released their self-titled debut last year on the prestigious Brooklyn-based independent label, along with a single for “Into Black” b/w “Firestarter.” They have also released a 7″ single for “Shadows” on the powerhouse Sub Pop label.
On stage, Hilton and Adams, sans Portrait, are joined by drummer Paul Roper and keyboardist (I must resist the urge to say “synth chic”) Misty Marie. Trio in studio, quartet on tour; get it? This particular night, they make ethereal dream-pop sung angelically by the lovely Hilton, as she plays a naughtily Mustang-cherry-red guitar.
Next Friday, May 4th, Bacardi+ is presenting +(PLUS) Fest, a night of live music across the country, to celebrate the national launch of its pre-mixed cocktails, Torched Cherry + Cola and Arctic Grape + Lemon-Lime Soda.
What this means for you is that more than forty acts will appear simultaneously in ten cities, including Chicago, New York, DC, and Austin. Artists include MSTRKRFT, who will be headlining Chicago’s show, Kendrick Lamar, Big Gigantic, Danny Brown, Rob Garza (of Thievery Corporation), Beats Antique, Big Freedia, and The Hood Internet, and all performances are free.
The catch is that venues will be kept secret until they are announced on May 3rd! To make sure that you are included in the fun, RSVP at the +(PLUS) Fest facebook event. Confirmed attendees will receive an email on the evening of May 3rd revealing the +(PLUS) Fest venue in their city.
+(PLUS) Fest is free for adults 21 and older via RSVP.
Megan Reilly’s third album The Well was just released this past Tuesday, and we want to put a copy of her new LP in one lucky reader’s hands.
Reilly originally hails from Memphis but moved to New York City at the age of twenty-three to further her singing career. Her debut album Arc of Tessa was hailed as an “unheralded gem of alternative-country,” and her second album, Let Your Ghost Go, gave “beauty and pain a palpable sonic presence… Another triumph.”
Since releasing her second album, Reilly has had a child, moved to Philadelphia and then New Jersey, and has embraced a domesticated life. As such, the new album is a reflection of the vast changes that Reilly has undergone in the five years since Ghost.
Her website elaborates, “The album title refers to the muse that lies deep within that propels the music. ‘Despite my fear that I had used up all my talent on my first two records and had nothing to offer, the best work I’ve ever done was lying dormant all along, waiting for me to pay attention.’ The Well is vast and deep, running from Memphis to New York. It’s haunting and lovely. It’s a breakout work.”
FORWARD DC is back! Entering its fifth year, the five-day celebration of electronic creative culture is presented by EightyEightDC and showcases music, art, and new media.
Through electronic creative culture, FORWARD aims to unite artists, attendees, and the greater D.C. community in cultivating a caring, conscious society interested in pro-actively pushing things forward.
The festival, which features live performances, art exhibitions, and workshops, kicks off tomorrow and runs through Sunday, and this year’s theme is “Organic.”
The aim is “to get back to our roots, live healthy and embrace that which is raw and pure. Artistically, organic will be represented in all visual aspects of the festival, with a particular focus on the 5 Chinese elements of the natural world: Fire, Water, Earth, Wood and Metal. Musically, the festival will focus more on back-to-back DJ nights, artists that we feel have an organic sound, and installations that reflect the theme.”
New Yorkers get to celebrate Record Store Day early this Saturday, as Greenpoint’s Co-Op 87 Records will open at exactly midnight on April 21st and will close at exactly 11:59 pm that night.
WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!
I had the pleasure of visiting said establishment over the weekend, and the cozy shop houses an excellent selection of new and used LPs, expertly curated by Mike Sniper (whom you may also know as Blank Dogs), Benjamin Steidel (currently on tour with his band Lemonade), and Mike Catalano.
Between the three, their credits include “running the local record label Captured Tracks, as well as formerly operating shops like Academy Records in Brooklyn. . . Using taste and experience they’ve warped the space into a true record buying destination. Co-Op 87 is a sweet addition to an ever growing neighborhood, filled with an oasis of handpicked vinyl ranging from all genres and time.”
Sixteen years after the release of her breakthrough debut album Tidal, Fiona Apple is back on tour for her fourth studio album The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, more commonly known as simply The Idler Wheel…, set for release on June 19th.
She’s coming to the Warner Theatre on Tuesday, June 26th, and tickets go on sale this Friday at 10am, but we have a pair of tickets for one lucky winner to win before they even go on sale.
The defiant, piano-playing chanteuse was catapulted to fame in the late ’90s with the release of the Grammy-winning “Criminal,” the most successful single from Tidal. When the album was released in 1996, Apple was a mere 19 years old, but the provocatively sexual, confessional album earned her critical acclaim for its naughty, brooding, sophisticated work.
Rejoice! The Cult are coming to the Fillmore Silver Spring on June 12th! Tickets go on sale this morning at 10am, but you can enter to win a pair of tickets right now.
The British rockers are touring in support of the band’s first studio album in five years, Choice of Weapon, which will be released May 22nd via Cooking Vinyl. Recorded in New York City, Los Angeles, the California high desert, and the band’s Witch Mountain studio in the Hollywood Hills, Choice of Weapon was written by founding members frontman Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy and produced by Chris Goss (Queens of the Stone Age, U.N.K.L.E., Masters of Reality) and Bob Rock (Metallica, Bush, The Cult’s Sonic Temple).
Astbury acknowledges, “We have had the opportunity to work with two of the most influential and talented producers in the world today. . . They pushed us beyond our comfort zone, and helped us craft Choice of Weapon.” Duffy goes further to assert that “We went deeper. . . we worked a bit harder on this record. We have great fans, and they deserve our best, and I feel this is one of our best records, maybe the best.”
Erin Go Bragh! As you gear up for St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow, tune in to St. Patrick’s Day Radio on Slacker, where each track has been hand-selected by Celtic punk rockers Flogging Molly.
This free station, found among Slacker’s Seasonal stations, includes exclusive commentary by Flogging Molly on the tracks that have inspired and influenced them most.
Because this is your lucky day, Slacker is giving away three 3-month Slacker Premium subscriptions to TVD Readers!
