The Wall Street Journal has published a brief write up about The Stepkids in regards to their show with us tonight at Brooklyn Bowl! Read the full article here, or grab a copy of the paper and check out the article on page A24. Either way, get yourself to this show tonight, it’s not to be missed!
Here is one last live clip of the band to show you why you need to be at Brooklyn Bowl tonight.
TurnStyle Music Group is proud to announce the launch of an amazing partnership with Grolsch beer for the duration of 2013! As part of the aptly dubbed “#ChooseInteresting Concert Series”, we’ll be highlighting some of our most unique and highly talented acts via exclusive video interviews, hosting several major shows at our regular downtown venues, and offering exclusive discounts on the iconic Dutch lager at every NYC show!
Be on the lookout for a soon-to-launch microsite where you can enter to win a VIP ticket package to see some of your favorite acts — like the just announced Alberta Cross show at DROM on 3/21!
To make sure you’re the first to know about all the latest developments, sign-up for our mailing list, ‘Like’ us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter today! Until then, continue to #ChooseInteresting by checking out all the great acts we’ve got lined up for you in 2013, and enjoying them with an ice cold swingtop beer.
Check out this awesome acoustic version of “Crooked Smile” by Moxie Kids. Chris hooks the listener immediately with an earworm of a riff, that leads directly in to a strong vocal melody. Kyle plays the piano instead of drums, but still propels the song by keeping the pulse driving forward. Give a listen and make sure to catch the band this Wednesday (1/23/13) down at El Rio. They start at 10pm, and will be followed by friends and fellow SF band, future us. Discounted tickets for the show can be purchased in advance here.
Author : Paul LaScolea
There is a moment on Tame Impala’s sophomore album, Lonerism, when I realized that I was listening to one of the best psychedelic rock albums of the year. When the fourth track, “Mind Mischief”, transitions from a catchy guitar groove to full-on harmonic bliss at the two-minute mark, I also realized that this one of 2012’s best albums of any genre. Lonerism is stuffed to the brim with transcendent moments such as this; crammed with imaginative details exploding off of warmly fuzzed-out guitars, bouncing bass lines, and heavily reverberating vocals. An important difference between this effort and Tame Impala’s debut, Innerspeaker, is the dominance of synthesizer and keyboards throughout. While Innerspeaker used keyboards to accent and surround many of the songs in a haze, Lonerism is happy to utilize them side by side with the guitars, in many cases completely taking the lead as the driving force.
It’s easy to peg a band many classify as “psychedelic rock” as entrenched in the past. This is simply not the case with Tame Impala. The songs here are based off of elements I could identify as “psych” or “prog”, but at no point could I picture this music coming from decades prior. Something about this band is completely modern and fresh sounding. Much could be said about this album’s lyrical content being laser-focused on themes of loneliness, isolation, and general outsider tendencies. The vocals, while quite catchy, also seem to have a lazily bittersweet current coursing through them. However, the music is so inviting and huge that it is nearly impossible to come away without a smile after finishing the record’s 52 minutes. Lonerism is one of the year’s most essential pop albums, and one that sounds destined for classic status.
Listen to stand out tracks “Apocalypse Dreams” and “Elephant” below.
Watch this amazing cover of “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” by the PS22 Chorus from NYC. This displays the pop brilliance of these songs.
Wild Nothing is the dream pop project conceived by Jack Tatum in his college dorm room about 3 years ago. What began as a solo project, and remains in terms of songwriting and recording, has been fleshed out with a full live band. They have just released their second full length album, Nocturne, slightly over a week ago through the indie label Captured Tracks.
The style that Tatum has perfected over the last few years draws from the C86 mixtape style that NME created as a way to classify a group of UK bands in 1986 and in turn promote the readership of their magazine through the “discovery of a new genre”. The genre stemmed from the post-punk and new wave of the late 70s/early 80s and is obviously indebted to shoegaze which puts the former genres through walls of reverb and other effects, with heavy padding from cheap synthesizers. Tatum and the band have mastered the pop side of this genre, wearing their influences, like their hearts, on their sleeves. The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Echo and the Bunnymen and Cocteau Twins would be great starting points to see where this style came from.
I am off to see the band tonight at the Great American Music Hall here in San Francisco. If you’re interested in seeing them live, take a look at their tour dates here, where you can also sample some of their older material.
Stream the entire new album, Nocturne, below. Stand out tracks include, “Shadow”, “Nocturne”, “Paradise” and “The Blue Dress”.
