New Leland Sundries Video

It's been a momentous year for Nick Loss-Eaton. His band, Leland Sundries, has had multiple US based tours, released the Apothecary EP, and now, a new music video. The video really captures the haunting-but-gruff theme that defines Leland Sundries sound. Shot in the Staten Island Tugboat Graveyard and directed by Scott Variano, the rusting metal and decaying ships remind us how quickly we forget once great things.



And for good measure, a video of "Giving Up Redheads" live in Brooklyn earlier this month.

Family Portrait is Playing Again

Remember this post? It caused quite a stir, and I was very unpopular for my comments about the show. At any rate, Family Portrait is playing again, this time with Miracles of Modern Science and Tennis. Nice work boys! Come check them out at Mercury Lounge 12/1 for ten bucks. Tennis is awesome and you won't regret it even if you hate the other bands on the bill (which you won't).

See you there

xoxo
The Elephant

Emerging Music: Perfume Genius

I was at work today, furiously sketching away and I got a text from a friend mentioning a band called Perfume Genius, whom he had heard on KEXP. I made a small mental note of it, and continued along in my fluorescent hell. A few hours later my most trusted source of music texted me telling me to listen to Perfume Genius. Her exact quote was "its like a quieter gayer Antlers". Ok kids, I get it. Perfume Genius, when I get home I'll look into it.

So I came home and got the album. I intended to work on editing the interview of another awesome band that I did on saturday, but instead I just kept listening to Perfume Genius. Its got some hymnaly undertones, some serious lyrics, some organs and some catchy piano melodies. I have a soft spot for soaring emotional music. This is soaring and emotional. 2010 has been a bit of a dead zone in terms of really new music, so I am pretty stoaked about it.

Seattle based Mike Hadreas released Learning with Matador, and you can buy it here.

Th Elephant

Concert Review: Leland Sundries

Left: Dan Kaplan, Right: Nick Loss-Eaton

Leland Sundries is the mostly solo project of New York based Nick Loss-Eaton. He is re-branding Nashville’s original blues Americana with a touch of indie rock sarcasm.

Although he isn’t the first person to use a resonator guitar (see “Bon Iver”), it is a refreshing sound in a landscape of bands utilizing the same 3 piece set over and over. Leland Sundries has also been known to use a 2 string Cigar Box Guitar made in Memphis, giving his New York audiences the chance to experience something that few city kids even realize exists. Loss-Eaton also uses a megaphone-harmonica set up which captures the vintage-recording-scratchy echo that defines the original Americana sound for modern audiences.

For me, the cigar box was a sound that I had heard many times, but could never actually identify. Played with some hefty slide and nice backing guitars by Dan Kaplan, the Cigar Box was definitely my favorite surprise at the show. The stand out Leland Sundries song was “Giving Up Redheads” which according to insider,s might just be Loss-Eaton’s favorite kind of lady. Touching on the classical theme of love-lost man, Leland Sundries takes the twang-y Americana sound and infuses it with a little bit of classic rock styling and extra energy.

Leland Sundries plays both solo and with Dan Kaplan’s back up guitar. I liked a little bit of back up guitar and vocals to both support and define Loss-Eaton’s intended sound. I also saw some of Dan Kaplan’s solo set (with some nice backing by Mr. Nick Loss-Eaton) and was struck by the charming quality to Kaplan’s voice. His acoustic guitar and sweet vocals are certainly a crowd pleaser.

Although I only stayed for a few songs, I felt there was real potential for a bigger collaboration between Loss-Eaton and Kaplan. They have very different sounds and very different strengths. I want some banjo/cigar box twang with Kaplan’s soft strumming and delicate vocals. I want some deep spoken word growls from Loss-Eaton on top of the soft strumming and delicate voice of Kaplan. There is a juxtaposition there that I think could be explored.

Leland Sundries is playing in October, but there are whispers of shows upcoming in the next few weeks, if I hear anything I’ll post it.

Concert Review: Patrick Watson and the Wooden Arms at The Bell House

All Photos: Jeremy Bold

It was one of those beautiful spring evenings, where being indoors feels like a travesty. The only thing keeping me from the fading sunlight was the promise of an incredible live show. Patrick Watson and the Wooden Arms delivered. The audience literally couldn't get enough of Watson and his circus act of musicians.

Watson is idiosyncratic to say the least. He seems to be receiving an outside energy at all times, struggling to contain it within his body and release it through his music. He rocks, sways and bobs his head, conducting the onstage musicians even when he is playing solo. His performance is visual as much as it is musical. Strobes and lighting from the floor of the stage emphasize the highs and lows of Watson's style. It felt like a depression era circus with a fun house and beautiful ladies riding plumed horses.

They opened in total darkness with "Fireweed", the strings and guitar solo drifting over the hushed audience. As the sound increased, so did the lighting, a sort of visual foreplay to the impending swell of the music. Watson's songwriting features a lot of slow build ups to cacophonous sounds, which cut back to delicate vocals. As a live audience member, watching these swells was a joy. Everyone on stage is building, adding layers and adjusting to each others sounds. It reminds me of the ocean, with calms between sets of waves.

He followed with "Beijing" which always feels like an opera, telling a story. In this case, the story was taking place under the graceful chandeliers of the Bell House. The sound was wonderfully complicated as it floated up to the wooden rafters. During "Traveling Salesman" Watson crooned into a megaphone as though he were a trumpeter, using a mute to create the "wah waaah waaaaaahhh" sound which we use in colloquial speech. For "Crickets" he made the entire audience hush because he swore he was hearing crickets. When we all stopped to silently listen, sure enough there were crickets (which turned out to be ventilation fans). It was an amusing lead into "Crickets" during which he sometimes chose not to use the mic, instead cupping his hands to his mouth. He also played a new song called "Sit Down Beside Me" which featured guitarist Simon Angell playing with a spoon.

When they played the last song, the audience was going wild, Watson came out and announced that they had a little something special and would be right back. He reemerged wearing a contraption sprouting stems topped with megaphones and bright LED lights like a crazy sea creature on his back. He and the band came to the middle of the audience and we all sang "Man Under The Sea". The drummer played the saw with a violin bow, and the guitarist stood on a folding chair. It felt like a summer camp sing-a-long on the last night before we all returned to our suburban homes, The Bell House's rafters and buffalo art emulating summer cabins in Maine and Vermont.

This did not quell the audience's desires to hear more, so the whole band returned to the stage and played a little improv piece from an audience suggestion entitled "Where are my Pyjamas?". It had a Radiohead-y sounding guitar line, and was truly a unique experience. Although Watson gets most of the attention, his band, Simon Angell, Robbie Kuster and Mishka Stein were wonderful. Watson introduced them and the strings many times throughout the night, in a self humbling and appreciative way. They were wonderful and deserve their own props for working with Watson to create his Time Burton-esque dreamland.

Doveman opened with delicate gentle indie-folk-jazz. I'm not quite sure how to categorize his music, but it was soft and fleeting, with lots of improv. I felt like I should have been in a speakeasy wearing a gown and holding a cigarette. It was completely lovely and set the tone for the Wooden Arms perfectly. Doveman front man Thomas Bartlett is a well known musician in his own right, playing with The National, Norah Jones and David Byrne.

Watson's Wooden Arms and Close to Paradise are available here. Doveman's The Conformist is available here.

xx The Elephant

Partick Watson is Coming!

Thursday May 6th is a big concert night here in New York, there are 3 excellent show choices, including Local natives with Suckers , Beach House and Canadian indie folk band Patrick Watson and the Wooden Arms. I myself will be at the Patrick Watson show at the Bell House. Watson is a known for his crazy instrument choices and his breathy vocals. Most bands get together with the intention of record deals and tours, but Watson's troupe came together to make music to go along with a book, and after a few live shows with enthusiastic responses decided to stick with it.

Here's Watson's Fireweed for you guys to prep for the show. Listen for the trademark percussive drumming and airy vocals. Also check out these awesome Take Away videos.

Hope to see you there!

xx The Elephant

Free Album Download!

Brooklyn based The House Floor is giving away their wonderful album Warship for free! that's right folks, some things in life are free! It sounds like a fuzzy, rocked out Conor Oberst album without all of the overt political innuendo. What I'm really saying is that the lead singer's vocals remind me of Bright Eyes, but that the actual music sounds nothing like them. What I like about this album are the injections of gentle guitar riffs with lots of reverb and breathy vocals. It still qualifies in my book as garage rock, but there are some softer jammier moments.

Enjoy!

xx The elephant

Concert Review: The Morning Benders @ MHOW 4/24

The Morning bender's Chris Chu, photo: Jeremy Bold

Saturday night's line-up at Music Hall of Williamsburg was a sunny pop-rock theme adventure. Featured headliners The Morning Benders are from lovely San Francisco and their music certainly reflects it. As much of today's west coast rock, they are breezy and infectious--ladies seem to be most susceptible to the beguiling charms of lead singer Chris Chu's charms. Big Echo has received tons of critical acclaim (a great 8.2 from LTH) throughout the blogosphere since day 1, so it was no surprise that they were able to completely sell out 2 shows here in New York. Their particular brand of 50's surf inspired indie pop is nice because it blends contemporary indie rock with obvious throwbacks and lots of charisma.

The first thing I noticed about the stage was the clean set up. The space was completely clear of extraneous objects (amps, cups, cords, instruments, etc.) with the bass, guitar and keyboard/guitar players all standing in a clean line across the front of the stage facing out toward the audience. The drummer was on a platform directly behind the lead singer. The simplicity of the set up felt fresh, there was no machinery, just people and instruments, making genuine music. Secondly, this open space allowed for lots of movement from Chu which he freely used for almost every song. The other endearing thing that Chu does is thank the audience between every song, and announce the song title. His unpretentious attitude was cute and very strongly targeted his large group of youthful female fans.

They opened with a fuzzy tune up that turned into a swelling song which I failed to write the title in my notes. I did write a note to myself that my photographer Jeremy confirmed: there are some really Grizzly Bear-ish elements to their music. Certainly more pop hooks and catchier tunes than GB. A little research confirms my suspicion: they toured in Fall 2009 supporting Grizzly Bear, and GB's Chris Taylor produced the album. The strong drum line and piercing guitar in songs like Hand Me Downs and Promises are where I was hearing the influence most. I think the California take on the GB sound is really working for them. Frankly, every song was solid, and more exciting live than in recording. We lucked out and they also played a new song called Go Grab a Stranger which featured a great interaction between the guitarists who happen to be brothers (its extremely apparent on stage).

As much as I enjoyed the performance, I did feel like the quantity of interaction between Chris Chu and the audience was a little bit extreme. This was certainly the closest I've ever come to being near a heartthrob. During their viral hit Excuses, he outright jumped off the stage and was roaming around in the audience. Interestingly, there is very little written literature about them. Stereogum did an interview, but I'm curious about the band itself, and looking for more history from them.

Holiday Shores guitarist wailing on a symbol, Photo: Jeremy Bold

I only heard one of the openers, but it was a band from Tallahassee FL called Holiday Shores. We happened to be positioned next to their super fans and record reps, so it seemed like everyone around us was really enthusiastic about their performance. I certainly liked them, and thought they were a great fit for The Morning Benders. Holiday Shores sounds like a jammy/psych pop explosion. There was lots of crazy onstage dancing, particularly from the lead guitarist wailing on a symbol. The lead Singer/Key Boardist reminded me of Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig. Also, I think I need to personally do some vintage shopping in Florida, because i was obsessed with both his floral printed shirt and his cardigan.

Concert Review: Harlem w/ Girls at Dawn at Mercury Lounge 4/22

Image via Matador Records

Much hyped Texas trio Harlem graced New York with a quicky on Thursday. I can think of lots of adjectives to describe their show: silly, giddy, playful, unpretentious...the list goes on and on. They certainly don't take themselves too seriously lending to a signature stage presence.

A lot of bands attempt to play everything technically correctly in their live shows, but Harlem certainly isn't one of them. Not only did they restart songs several times, but at one point during the show, singer/guitarist/drummer Michael Coomers said "Its only been four minutes and I already fucked up". The great thing about this show was how much fun the band was having, they were on stage rocking out, talking to each other over the mics, and entertaining all of us. Instead of worrying about playing a flawless show, their wild on stage attitude lends itself to a true rock and roll vibe. Everything about them was, in a word, badass. The experience of seeing them interacting on stage was as important as the actual music.

The set was relatively short, as is the nature of their dizzying, all-out intensity songs. They covered a great deal of Hippies bringing the messy characteristic of their tracks to life. Every song felt impromptu, as though they had a loose set list and they certainly didn't feel any need to stick to it or even discuss the changes amongst themselves. They seemed to be constantly surprised at themselves, taking a moment to get into the groove of each song. I liked the unrehearsed nature of the show. Abandoning the shiny, pretty boy rock of most pop music seems to be their MO, and it works.

After all of this talk about sloppy performance, I should clarify that there was a great deal of musicianship displayed on stage. The show began with Coomers as lead singer/guitarist with Curtis O'Mara on drums and Jose Boyer on bass. About half way through the set, O'Mara and Coomers traded positions and assumed new roles. The transition was seamless, and I hadn't expected that from the recordings. If either Coomer or O'Mara prefer one role over another, it isn't apparent.

Image via The Girls at Dawn Myspace

Supporting Harlem were Brooklyn based The Girls at Dawn. As my concert buddy said, they were "total babes". As a chick myself I was certainly envious of their position opening up for three other sexy rock boys. They played punk inspired grunge/psych rock. The Girls aren't trying to float by on their looks: they played a tight set which felt well rehearsed and solid. They didn't have a strong stage presence though, it felt a little bit timid and shy. This could be the result of almost constant harmonic vocals, preventing any serious dancing and jumping around, but the show was static. As an opener for Harlem they seemed organized but reserved.

Harlem Hippies is out on Matador, The Girls at Dawn are out on Captured Tracks (who also have Woods, Ganglians, and Dum Dum Girls...I like this label!)

xxThe Elephant

Review: Real Estate and Family Portrait at Monster Island Basement 4/16

Last time I saw real Estate they were opening for Woods at Market Hotel. I liked them well enough then to catch them at another Todd P show this weekend, featuring a total of 4 bands, although we only saw 3 of them.

Big Troubles was on stage when we got there, and they were going at it (EDIT: A very concerned commenter has brought it to my attention that this band was Big Troubles, not Liam the Younger as previously posted. When we walked in and asked at the door who was on stage we were told that it was Liam the Younger. My apologies to Liam the Younger for any trouble this may have caused.) They weren't bad, but they did need some help in the vocals department. Both of the singers were a little bit weak. Neither projected enough and there wasn't any balance, you could barely hear the poor kids. I am going to chalk it up to a little bit of inexperience and a little bit of nerves.

Family Portrait was up next, and in my opinion, they stole the show. Their music has a lot of variety and a lot of energy. Styles swing from 60's surfer songs to Nirvana inspired rock songs. Despite the range of influences, it was still a consistent sound, and enjoyable the whole way through. I look forward to hearing more from these boys (guys? we were guessing at their ages, and the results were inconclusive). Whatever they are doing, I hope playing Todd P basement shows is the springboard for a real record. Stay tuned, I'll be following up on them.

Real Estate headlined the show. Here's the thing about them: they are extremely consistent in their sound. They all sort of blend together a little bit. They put on a good show technically, despite a crowd of adoring fans, people weren't getting into it. On another note, they had some er...supporters there who were sort of shouting in between songs and it was rather unprofessional. I don't want to be that uptight person at a show...but I feel like these guys are probably going to do very well for themselves in the next couple of years and the time to establish themselves as professionals is now. As far as their musical performance was concerned they played like top notch gentleman, I think they just need to get their friends under control a little bit.

A few words about Monster Island Basement: I miss Market Hotel. It had such character (i think that character was old nicotine) and it was a good shape so that you were never in a bad sopt. MIB has lots of suppor beams, and a weird corner stage that makes it easy to be in a blind zone or stuck right next to a speaker. I'll take it over nothing for sure, but I amholding out hope that Todd P can get proper licensing in place for MH so that it will come back to life. Without the nicotine.

xx The Elephant

Fucking Amazing Patrick Watson Video

Review: Liars at Bowery Ballroom 4/15

Upon initial listen, Liars sound rather hardcore and angry, and you know me, I shy away from hardcore. Lately though I've been signing a different tune, I have started to get into lo-fi, which has led me closer to noise rock and hardcore.

So with a little nudging from the deeply trusted Nana, and some other music friends, I decided to go see them at Bowery Ballroom. If I don't like them at Bowery, then they just aren't for me. I really gave their 2007 ST album a few good listens before the show. At Jeremy's recommendation I started with the last track, Protection. It's the softest and most melodic track, and really demonstrates the depth of what Liars are doing. Before the show I was still not 100% on board, but hey, I love shows, so nothing to lose.

We got there just in time for Liars. To me they seem to be a great paradox: the sound doesn't match the act of the band. This can be either a good thing or a bad thing, in this case it's a wonderful thing. They clearly work really hard to build the sound they create, and do it with fervor and enthusiasm. Front man and lead singer Angus Andrew has incredibly long forearms, and when he dances he looks a bit like a transvestite orangoutang, very feminine and little awkward. I loved his dancing, it really defined the paradox: post punk meets Brittany Spears? Also, Andrew is totally raging on stage, and sweats like crazy. He would be still for a moment and then start head banging, and it was like a backlit shower. In the meantime, while Andrew is on stage rocking out, the crowd was essentially moshing in the front. Their music does have some violent undertones ("Blood, Blood, Blood" from the track "Broken Witch") but also some sweet moments. Part of me wonders if it is intended as sarcasm and humor, validating the fact that upon first listen they are merely a hardcore band, but in reality they have a serious musical background and strong theme.

They were having fun onstage, and being badass rocker pirates has nothing to do with the image, and everything to do with the music. They were incredible onstage, created such energy that I am considering seeing them again at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sunday. They make me want to run out and see Fuck Buttons and No Age and every other angry band that I previously thought I didn't want to see.

Have a nice weekend Lovies!

xxThe Elephant

La Blogotheque: Beach House

xx The Elephant

The Notorious XX

I think free music is a really beautiful thing. There are so few things in life that are free, and giving away one's work for the sake of everyone's enjoyment, thats good people. I also really admire wait what, because he works at a tech company in San Fran, but still finds time to do something he loves. Respect that. So give it a quick listen and let me know what you think. Its a pretty amazing release... It takes my favorite things about hip hop/rap and combines it with my favorite things about indie rock. It's melodic, and a little bit bittersweet. Download your FREE COPY here. Thanks wait what!!!

xx Th Elephant

Review: Ruby Suns w/ Toro y Moi at Brooklyn Bowl

You know, I can't decide how I feel about Brooklyn Bowl. Its disarmingly big, and the crowd is odd...both times I've been there for shows there was a huge crowd for the opener and it diminished as the evening wore on. Its sort of like people wanted to stop in a get a beer before they really go out, so they watch the band, drink a couple of beers and go. It feels like only 20% of the people there have even heard of the bands.

As a result, there was a big crowd for Toro y Moi, the one man act from South Carolina. He came onstage wearing a pink zip up and some serious specs. At first I thought he was a DJ, but then he sort of stopped messing with the loops and started singing. Ah yes, I see the problem. He can't (yet) sing and do sound at the same time...This causes some of his transitions to be a bit choppy and with some awkward halting moments in his music. The desire to be a singer and a DJ at the same time is cool, and I can see where he's going with it, but it needs a little bit more time to get used to performing. I think that a lot of energy went into creating the loops and beats, which unfortunately caused him to be sort of unprepared to sing. He wasn't really able to divide his attention between singing and his sound board. I think he has solid underlying ideas and they will be able to shine a little bit when he doesn't have to focus so much on the technical aspects of creating the music.

After his set ended I guess the crowd lost interest in the venue, because the audience thinned out quite a bit. This was cool with me, I was pretty interested in seeing Ruby Suns, and didn't need to be in the armpit of a sweaty hipster whilst doing this. Right off the bat, my brother pointed out something that I wouldn't have ever been able to pinpoint on my own: the drummer should really play the synth, and the keyboardist should play the bass. How did we come to this crazy conclusion? There was almost no bass, at all. The keyboardist was playing beats on the synth, and the drummer was using an electronic kit, making essentially similar sounds as the keyboardist. This creates sort of an eerie sound, but it also sounded a little bit thin where we were standing.

The music is one part Cut Copy, one part Animal Collective. Since they are Kiwis, I'm going to let them off the hook for sounding almost too much like AC (like Dusty Fruit). There was a whole group of songs that had a really strong Caribbean influence (also, Like Dusty fruit). These felt like their strongest players: they had solid rhythms and good dance potential. They played a couple of songs off of their previous album, and I must admit, I was not impressed. They were jumpy and all over the place. Their newer work feels fairly cohesive, both on record and live. The old stuff was sort of out of left field. Don't play so much of that stuff guys, you are giving yourselves a bad name.

In short, I like the Ruby Suns. There are some great influences that need to be explored (dance-y Caribbean inspired tunes maybe?). The crowd wasn't going crazy and dancing, but I think the potential is there. Give them some time to get radio play, and I think the crowd will get into it.

x The Elephant

Where Fashion meets Music

Image via Mister Mort

So I just stumbled across this post. Its our lovely friend, Joanna Newsom, wearing a badass Comme Des Garcone trench. I would kill for a trench like that for SS10. I know this doesn't appeal to a lot of my readers, but I deeply love fashion and would love to find a way to look at fashion on my blog without losing my music readers. depending on my upcoming free time, I think I'll probably start writing a bit more and maybe I'll just throw in some fashion tidbits as I see fit. You can just avoid them if you don't like them, right?

Also, I found this because I am "acquiring" the new album as I type this. I'd like to absorb it tonight and write a few tidbits about it.

<3 The Elephant

Avi Buffalo Plays a NY Show (w/ Final Fantasy!!!)

Ahhh...I just read their myspace...they signed with Sub Pop. If you click the label below you'll see that I wrote about them in June of 2008, back when I wrote in my blog religiously, and had a passion for finding amazing new music. Remember that post? I said that they needed a couple of years to "marinate". They album drops this spring. Thats about 2 years. Sometimes I amaze myself. And I'm really modest. As a side note: my mom read that post and called me about "smoking bowls and stealing traffic cones". Thanks Mom.

Anyways, they are playing on January 16th at Pianos, and the 18th at Bowery Ballroom. I think I might try to stop in and check them out...They are very california sunny etc. Check them out here.

<3 The Elephant