popwreckoning updates |  |
- Spoon’s “Transference” out in January, play New Year’s Eve with Jay Reatard
- Leighton Meester performs with Weezer
- The Avett Brothers @ Canopy Club, Urbana IL
- This Is Me Smiling Reveals Cat Heaven Mystery
- Tegan and Sara @ Town Hall, NYC
- Fanfarlo Announce First Headlining Tour of North America
- Britt Daniel @ PDX Pop Now Benefit, Mississippi Studios, Portland OR
| Spoon’s “Transference” out in January, play New Year’s Eve with Jay Reatard Posted: 02 Nov 2009 04:44 PM PST Just in time for my 25th birthday (wow..weird to say), indie gods Spoon are releasing their first full length in nearly three years, Transference, on January 26, 2010 (wish me a happy 25th on the 24th) through Merge Records. Produced by the band, Transference is made up of 11 new gems that honor the Spoon tradition while pushing the envelope of the band’s sound ever further. “Before Destruction” opens proceedings with a transfixing air of foreboding before “Is Love Forever?” and “The Mystery Zone” kick in with hooks that grip the listener’s cortex with the tenacity of an aural tapeworm. “Who Makes Your Money” and first single “Written In Reverse” will be familiar to Spoon fans who witnessed the band playing prototypical live versions at select dates in 2008, as will “Got Nuffin,” title track of the EP released by the band earlier this year. View Transference’s tracklisting below. Earlier this year, the foursome — Britt Daniel, Jim Eno, Eric Harvey and Rob Pope — saw the worldwide digitally released their first four albums, Telephono, A Series Of Sneaks, Girls Can Tell and Kill The Moonlight, on their website.. The albums were formatted as MP3s and high quality FLAC audio, with digital liner notes provided for the first time. Spoon will end the year playing a New Years Eve extravaganza at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee with Jay Reatard supporting. Tour dates supporting Transference will be announced as they are confirmed. Tracklisting: Related Posts |
| Leighton Meester performs with Weezer Posted: 02 Nov 2009 04:24 PM PST This Halloween, Gossip Girl and budding pop star Leighton Meester skipped out on trick-or-treating to join forces with Weezer at their Hammerstein Ballroom show in NYC. During a special performance of the band’s first single “(If You're Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To,” she traded off lead vocals with front man Rivers Cuomo. Nat Wolff (of the Naked Brothers Band) joined in on guitar! Check out the concert footage beow! You can now download Leighton’s single “Somebody to Love” featuring Robin Thicke from iTunes here. Watch for the video to drop soon! Leighton’s debut album will be released early next year. Leighton Meester: website | myspace | twitter Related Posts |
| The Avett Brothers @ Canopy Club, Urbana IL Posted: 02 Nov 2009 11:30 AM PST Having seen the Avett Brothers at Austin City Limits earlier in the month, imagine my delight as I was fortunate enough to cover the Brothers Avett once again as their tour made its way to Urbana, IL home to the University of Illinois. While I enjoyed their set at ACL, I much preferred the rowdier atmosphere of the Canopy Club as the brothers ripped through songs fast and slow, with much of the set list composed of tracks of their newest release, I and Love and You. If you haven't gotten a copy of yet, shame on you It's one of the best records to come out in 2009 in my humble opinion. The brothers ability to give it all they have night after night deserves the recognition its received plain and simple. In addition to showcasing their versatility with each song, they find themselves with different instruments sometimes sprinting from drums to keys mid song. The energy is always high, providing good reason as to why the Avett Brothers have become what they are today, a band deserving of their very dedicated fan base. Highlights of the set include the duet with opener Nicole Adkins in “Swept Away,” the solo rendition of “Black, Blue” and the hootin' and hollerin' as the bluegrass breakdown of “Laundry Room” brought the evening full circle. Having seen them three times now this year, I can truly say each show is a different experience and I look forward to seeing them again very soon. I only encourage you to see this band now before you start kicking yourself for waiting so long, I know I am. Set list: The Avett Brothers: website | myspace Related Posts |
| This Is Me Smiling Reveals Cat Heaven Mystery Posted: 02 Nov 2009 10:30 AM PST Recently, you might have been sucked into another viral campaign fanfaring “Cat Heaven.” It seemed to have some mysterious connection to Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, the Matches and Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack. Well the mystery is over. The Keys to Cat Heaven is the name of the new album from pop quintet This Is My Suitcase. A few years ago, you might remember their lo-fi gem of a MCS cover where they turned a Motion City song into a Thanksgiving song. Their album The Keys to Cat Heaven is available now. Check out the title track: .“Welcome to Cat Heaven” Oh and for those of you who did see the viral campaign and were curious of the following: I SAW WELCOMETOCATHEAVEN.COM AND WHAT IN GOD’S NAME DO YOU HAVE TO DO WITH PATRICK STUMP/THE MATCHES/MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK/LIMBECK/BOBCAT GOLDTHWAIT? IS THIS SOME NIGHTMARISH SUPERGROUP? This Is Me Smiling explains:
This Is My Suitcase: website | myspace Photo by James Roh Related PostsThis posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Tegan and Sara @ Town Hall, NYC Posted: 02 Nov 2009 09:30 AM PST Tegan and Sara christened the birth of their 6th labor of love, Sainthood, at New York City's historic Town Hall on October 30th and 31st, an event that Tegan confessed had been a dream of Sara's since they began their career ten years ago. The twins played two sold out shows debuting the new album in its entirety on both nights as well as beloved fan favorites such as "The Con," "I Bet It Stung," "Knife Going In," and "Where Does the Good Go," among other classic T&S gems. Having been a certified fan of the girls upon seeing their show last year at Terminal Five in New York, I was anxious to relive the infectious way in which they engage with their audience and the awe-inspiring way the band beasts through a two-hour set with muscularity and prowess. After losing yourself in the angsty wrench of "Nineteen," it's easy to resurface and doltishly think, She's singing that to me, right? While revisiting the hits was definitely a priority, fans were feverish for a live peek at new tracks from Sainthood, screaming loudest for Sara's slinky ode to 80s synth-pop, "Alligator." The new material, which the girls recorded with a live band in the studio, translated seamlessly to the stage and proved the oft-overshadowed fact that T&S are a masterful live band. In addition to the epic set list, the girls entertained adoring fans with their ever-endearing, self-deprecating, twin-teasing banter. Sara treated us to a ten minute monologue on Friday night, in response to Tegan's taunting admission that "Sara has the asthma," sharing her thoughts on Armageddon, survival of the fittest, and concluding with an offering of her body to Tegan for food and clothing should the end of the world, in fact, come. Sara says she's not going to fight it if it happens. It's just this kind of dark, antagonistic banter between the twins that their fans have come to cherish, that keeps them connected, and that sets them apart from other artists. In this sense, T&S are pioneers, "tweeting" from the stage before the Internet even existed. Other highlights included a dedication on Halloween night to Sainthood producer Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie), who was in the audience Saturday and rumored to be dressed as "Kenny The Page" from 30 Rock as well as a gushing thank you from Tegan on behalf of both twins, for continuing to support the band after so many years, turning the raucous encore applause around on the fans, house lights up, urging us to applaud ourselves for a job well done. Despite a restless nod to unrequited love inherent in many T&S songs, the sentiment bouncing around in the theatre this weekend definitely found a welcome place to rest.
Tegan and Sara: website | myspace | interview with: Tegan pt. 1, pt. 2 | @ terminal 5 | Sainthood review Written by Reni Papananias. Related Posts |
| Fanfarlo Announce First Headlining Tour of North America Posted: 02 Nov 2009 08:37 AM PST
While you are waiting to see them in a town near you, check out their stripped down version of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.” Tour dates: Related Posts |
| Britt Daniel @ PDX Pop Now Benefit, Mississippi Studios, Portland OR Posted: 02 Nov 2009 05:30 AM PST I happened to be in Portland this weekend seeing some friends, and one of those friends also happened to mention that Britt Daniel of Spoon would be playing a solo show as part of a benefit for PDX Pop Now, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to Portland's local music scene. They've released a few compilations and put on free all-ages festivals since 2004. That's pretty cool. Britt Daniel wasn't the only person playing this small show at the off-the-beaten-path Mississippi Studios, which is a pretty nice venue if I do say so myself. The guy who sold my friend and I our tickets didn't even argue with me when I took my camera in. He said, "Just don't use any flash." The only bad part was the way they separated all-ages from 21+. Us young'ns got to sit up in the balcony while the 21+ crowd was on the floor. But because of the intimacy of the venue and the wraparound balcony, there wasn't a bad seat in the house. The show opened with local band IOA (pronounced like Iowa) – a hodgepodge of a French horn, trumpet, the Latin guiro, keyboard, several drums, bass and a ukulele. Compiled of various members of other bands, mainly from another local Portland band, Point Juncture, WA, lead vocalist Amanda Spring confessed that this was their first show. They were quite at ease on stage, even though there were six people along with their instruments on the tiny stage. It's hard to describe their music, because with all those instruments, they didn't really have a genre. Or I guess I could say it was very Portland, if that makes sense. It was the perfect example of what PDX Pop Now was trying to accomplish – exposing those underappreciated bands of Portland. After a 45-minute set, we all took a 15-minute break while Anita and Kevin Robinson of Viva Voce, a.k.a. The Robinsons, set up. I'd never heard of Viva Voce, but I was very impressed by the technical talent that Anita and Kevin possessed. Anita's slide guitar was mystifying, and when she picked up the electric, it made me want to pick up my Les Paul again and learn some new sweet grooves. Kevin did most of the talking, and he thanked PDX Pop Now several times. He also mentioned that the PDX Pop Now festival was the first time he crowd surfed. "I won't crowd surf now," he said. There was a lot of love in the room. There wasn't a lot of energy, but with an acoustic show, there can't be much dancing, just more head-bobbing. The Robinsons were a nice balance of mellow songs with heavier, more epic songs with lots of droning guitar riffs on Anita's part, while Kevin kept the rhythm with his acoustic. Anita even played a xylophone through one song. I strongly recommend picking up their newest album, Rose City, released last May. Up until now, people had been trailing into Mississippi Studios slowly, filling up the 35 seats on the balcony and lining the wall all around it. The floor below had become far denser since the show started at 8. After all, most people were there to see Britt Daniel anyway. And let me tell you – I love Spoon. It's one of those bands you don't get tired of. And Britt Daniel's distinct voice is also one you don't get tired of. His voice worked well with mellow songs like "I Summon You," or with the louder shouts in "Don't Make Me a Target," and harmonizing with his guest drummer on a few songs, former Sleater-Kinney member Janet Weiss. Daniel played plenty of Spoon hits, and a few new songs, which made me really excited, plus some lesser-known songs. One song in particular, from the Home split EP with Conor Oberst, he preempted with a little story about Oberst, which got some laughs. "Not a good guy to go to a Haunted Corn Maze with. He was scared. I had to walk in front of him the whole time. Janet was there," he said as he looked over the Weiss on the side of the stage. "You were there too." Daniel switched from acoustic guitar to electric guitar to a bass throughout night, which fed the energy of the room, taking the small intimate crowd on an-hour long tour of Spoon's newer hits from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and older songs from Gimme Fiction, Kill the Moonlight, and Girls Can Tell. Plus, we got a four-song encore, which was pretty sweet. I also was thoroughly impressed by the way the club sounded. Mississippi Studios has such a unique set up that it fit the persona of Portland just right. And the minimalist vibe of the show mixed with Daniel's raspy vocals and modest charisma made the crowd – both on the floor and the balcony – feel very connected. Mississippi Studios doesn't need fancy light work or large crowds to put on a good show. They just need easygoing doormen and great music.                PDX Pop Now: website Related Posts |
The London folk scene is alive and well. And one of the newest bands of that scene, Fanfarlo, has announced their first headlining tour of North America for this November and December. Having played CMJ two weeks ago and received glowing reviews, this tour couldn’t have been timed better. The band released their debut album, Reservoir, earlier this year.| You are subscribed to email updates from popwreckoning To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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