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Neogaf Rock/Indie/Alt Music Thread (RockGAF?)
- Thread starter amnesiac
- Start date
I hope for you they'll come to Best Kept Secret.
I hope it for me too
We also have Le Guess Who? May Day, the one day edition of the festival. They had Neutral Milk Hotel headlining this year.
Just hoping Down the Rabbit Hole won't take a couple of those very interesting names. That's a Live Nation festival competing in the same market and only one week after FKP Scorpio's Best Kept Secret.
chris121580
Member
Man, the new TV on the Radio album is real good. So much better than Nine Types of Light but not quite on par with RTCM and Dear Science
The horns in Could You. I'm in love.
Live video of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8_DYpl7-lo
equippedwithtowel
Member
May is far enough off to possibly trip down to Toronto. Sold
New A Place to Bury Strangers song + new album announcement
"Straight"
yeah idk but at least the cover art looks nice.
"Straight"
yeah idk but at least the cover art looks nice.
sweet. love them.
Just gonna skip the west coast? K :[
Ride should do a double bill with Slowdive in the US. That would minimize the financial risks they might have to take by going there. Shoegaze never was really big in the states after all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW-8FejNYjE
Sweet KEXP set with Courtney Barnett.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW-8FejNYjE
Sweet KEXP set with Courtney Barnett.
Stairouais
Member
Anybody listened to Mourn?
They're supposed to be the next big hype BNM thing, being 17 and just signed on Captured Tracks.
But yeah...
They're quite good.
They're supposed to be the next big hype BNM thing, being 17 and just signed on Captured Tracks.
But yeah...
They're quite good.
Man, they do sound great. Pretty refreshing to see a bunch of 18 year olds come up with music like this. Was gonna say the bass player looks cute, but she's 15 lol
Also cool to find out they're from Spain. When I listened to the song at first I just supposed they're from America. Silver Gold sounds great too. With Viet Cong and this 2015 is already looking interesting for new bands.
EDIT
Apparently they're already booked for Eurosonic over here. That's our yearly event for young and new bands from all over the world, but mainly Europe as the name suggests.
Also cool to find out they're from Spain. When I listened to the song at first I just supposed they're from America. Silver Gold sounds great too. With Viet Cong and this 2015 is already looking interesting for new bands.
EDIT
Apparently they're already booked for Eurosonic over here. That's our yearly event for young and new bands from all over the world, but mainly Europe as the name suggests.
eh. Mourn are wild boring to me. nothing in their music catches on to me and their rise seems manufactured. Captured and p4k have a ton of connections so it just seems like CT found a marketable band of handsome 16 year olds and p4k agreed to give every note they produce a BNM stamp for at least a year. Puts me to sleep. good on them making money though
anyone else spending a lot of time with the Bedhead reissues? Had never heard Transaction de novo or most of these singles & b-sides. The joy Division cover is incredible.
anyone else spending a lot of time with the Bedhead reissues? Had never heard Transaction de novo or most of these singles & b-sides. The joy Division cover is incredible.
I really hope these kids don't read comments like this.
Cosmic Bus
pristine morning snow
The music biz is no different from the rest of life: if they can't take some (very valid) criticism, then get outta the game.
Ander's comment is spot-on.
Ander's comment is spot-on.
Serpentine
Banned
yeah i'm not really feeling Mourn myself. I think it's the vocals.
i'm open to liking bands full of kids with connections though
i'm open to liking bands full of kids with connections though
Sounds pretty good to me.Anybody listened to Mourn?
They're supposed to be the next big hype BNM thing, being 17 and just signed on Captured Tracks.
But yeah...
They're quite good.
Well the thing is, it's not spot-on. I can get he finds them boring and doesn't like them. But the rest of his post is just uncalled for and unfair for the band. And on top of that, they don't even have connections. They emerged from a local music scene in which most bands know each other and play shows locally. That's how they got signed for a Spanish label. That label did their first album and then passed on the music to Captured Tracks. And well, CT liked it and decided to invite them over leading to signing them and taking over distribution of their record worldwide. They've been working for this as a band and start to get some success.
I guess Captured Tracks made the same kind of deal for Perfect Pussy by the way. I don't like the way they sound, but Pitchfork gives a BNM for every piece of shit they put out. Captured Tracks must be generous.
this is pretty bad. yikes.
lol I'm not calling it a conspiracy. And saying they have connections isn't an accusation but a fact, and I don't mean it entirely pejoratively. Sometimes it results in publications ringing the bell for good music. like with Perfect Pussy, who I enjoy a ton. But no shade, you're delusional if you don't think pubs like pitchfork and labels like CT aren't looking for acts they can market. Some of it is definitely people listening and just plain liking, but it's not like pitchfork writers trawl bandcamp looking for what's legitimately the best or exciting or new. They have links with all kinds of "independent" labels, those labels find acts they think can sell well and fit to a brand, pitchfork figures out a coverage angle, boom people are listening to Mourn. [again this isn't always a bad thing-- for instance I like a lot of bands on, I dunno, Kranky. pitchfork and kranky seem connected, so pitchfork posts about kranky bands. Which can help me keep track of those releases. but it's not like some pitchfork writer would find some ambient record online and cede a Kranky spot for it.]
"manufactured" sounds harsh possibly, but all I mean by it is that these groups are tightly knotted and it's in both their interests to go for bands with hooks, like being young as 16. not doubting that people at CT and pitchfork genuinely like the music, just acknowledging that on top of liking it they both have an incentive to choose marketable artists.
Olga Bell - Krai
And in other news, Noveller has released a track from her new album that's coming out in January. I feel like this might be her big break (and it probably helps that she recently toured with St. Vincent).
Noveller - Into the Dunes
I just found this album and I'm still not sure what to make of it, other than that I love it. I don't even know how to describe it. Russian folk-post-rock-tronica? Fuck if I know. Each track takes a very different approach, which makes it even harder to describe, so I would advise against writing it off after listening to one song. And as an additional incentive to check it out, Olga Bell has been a member of Dirty Projectors since Swing Lo Magellan as Angel Deradoorian's replacement. And she's also worked with Das Racist, apparently? She's released an EP and an LP previously under the name Bell, but they're a lot more straightforward than this one (but still awesome). This is at least top ten of 2014 for me.
And in other news, Noveller has released a track from her new album that's coming out in January. I feel like this might be her big break (and it probably helps that she recently toured with St. Vincent).
Also the beginning of the song makes me think it's going to be Good Morning, Captain by Slint.
Noveller - Into the Dunes
Though I don't agree with everything you say here this post is at least muc more nuanced. The days of Pitchfork searching forgotten basements and old local music venues to discover new bands are long gone. Everything they hype comes to them on a platter from a variety of Indie focused labels. No doubt about that. And Pitchfork also got their favourites in the music scene. Not saying labels, but certain genres (like garage rock) seem to get good verdicts from Pitchfork easier.
I'm just not so sure about the marketable part. If you just look at Captured Tracks current roster alone not one of those artists are money makers. All of them play in small venues and none of them looks very likely to go bigger than that. And the kind of music they play generally attracts people who look for a certain sound in music and really don't give two fucks about how the band members look. Well this time they got handed a young Spanish band with cute band members. But hey, they also managed to make Mac DeMarco popular, certainly not the most handsome fella in the music business. I do believe appearance and such matter but I don't think Captured Tracks would sign a band just for marketing purposes.
Got The Seshen EP in the mail, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g--1l4c8N0o
Still waiting for the Girlpool EP to ship, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP6ljoc-qQI
Still waiting for the Girlpool EP to ship, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP6ljoc-qQI
In other news, tonight's the night.
Gonna go with: Perfume Genius -> Viet Cong -> Ought -> Iceage -> Parkay Quarts -> White Lung.
Will have to skip about 15 minutes of Perfume Genius and probably 5 minutes of Ought to make it all work. But it's gonna be one tight evening/night.
Gonna go with: Perfume Genius -> Viet Cong -> Ought -> Iceage -> Parkay Quarts -> White Lung.
Will have to skip about 15 minutes of Perfume Genius and probably 5 minutes of Ought to make it all work. But it's gonna be one tight evening/night.
I was thinking the exact same thing and with a name like mourn I was expecting something more evocative.
I think Cosmic posted it but I'll re-recommend Rozwell Kid's Too Shabby. just some solid as a rock 90s power pop, maybe lags a bit in the middle but overall a great listen. best song is the opener.
as for CT as a case study--their bands aren't that small. Like, between DIIV and Mac and Perfect Pussy, Craft Spells Wild Nothing Medicine: none of these bands are playing arenas but they're playing the mid-sized venues in every city, landing festival spot after festival spot, on semi-regular album cycles, so on. They're at the "music as career" level, which is higher than 95% of bands get. That mid-level of the industry is just as shrewdly controlled as any major.
that LGW lineup is insane. especially the last 5 in a row there, feel like I'd be exhausted halfway through.
not to draw this out by picking nits but: Mac's "ugly" image is super easy to sell. It's part of why he's gotten so big. Teenage girls on tumblr fucking love mac--or loved, until he became problematic~. He's basically a boy next door type, unconventionally handsome and consistently uncouth but ultimately a genial person. Slacker dudes like Mac are actually the perfect example of what I'd say is a solid image and coverage angle that works perfectly for both the label and the site. Obviously Mac truly is this guy and has been for years, by all accounts. But I guarantee, with him and with Mourn, conversations about whether or not to sign went beyond whether or not CT crew liked the music. They gotta make a living too.
as for CT as a case study--their bands aren't that small. Like, between DIIV and Mac and Perfect Pussy, Craft Spells Wild Nothing Medicine: none of these bands are playing arenas but they're playing the mid-sized venues in every city, landing festival spot after festival spot, on semi-regular album cycles, so on. They're at the "music as career" level, which is higher than 95% of bands get. That mid-level of the industry is just as shrewdly controlled as any major.
that LGW lineup is insane. especially the last 5 in a row there, feel like I'd be exhausted halfway through.
Yeah, sometimes you tend to forget that there are countless of bands out there who never make it beyond their hometown. So in that way every band on their label achieved a stable stream of income indeed. I guess it's always hard to depict if a band is marketed in a certain way or if they just are that way. Your initial post just came across quite harsh for me. At the end of the day labels like Sub Pop, Captured Tracks and Jagjaguar all need to make a living indeed. I do wonder by the way how much a label like Captured Tracks makes on their artists. None of them ever plays a headline spot or bigger venues than let's say ~1500 people or there about. Well at least their bands don't have to live out of a van
And I'm still considering changing up my schedule tonight. Maybe skip White Lung for Cut Hands. But I'm not sure. Decisions.
And I'm still considering changing up my schedule tonight. Maybe skip White Lung for Cut Hands. But I'm not sure. Decisions.
equippedwithtowel
Member
I missed White Lung after they decided to play a 12:30 show and I PTFO'd after an insanely busy day. Biggest regret of my year, all reports were stellar.
Shinobu has a new record coming out. I've pimped them in here before... kinda like Pavement but more punky...
they are so cool. Once they raise $3,000 in preorders they will release the record for free.
here's the first song they released, "Culture, Inc.":
http://www.avclub.com/article/shinobu-announces-new-album-streams-first-song-cul-210782
they are so cool. Once they raise $3,000 in preorders they will release the record for free.
here's the first song they released, "Culture, Inc.":
http://www.avclub.com/article/shinobu-announces-new-album-streams-first-song-cul-210782
Cosmic Bus
pristine morning snow
I guess that Viet Cong thing is out there now.
Viet Cong just finished. They had some material hick ups. The singer broke his high G string on bass and had no replacement. But other than that it was pretty cool. They ended with a 15 minute long song. I heard four songs I didn't know so I suppose those come of their forthcoming record. Next up Ought then. That will be a blast, no doubt.
Cosmic Bus
pristine morning snow
Lmao, wow.
Kinda made me want to check out the album (haven't heard it yet).
Nick Bassett is such a weird dude. I've come to the conclusion that the acts he's involved in are at their best when he's not the sole creative force behind them. Which is why Sway is Whirr's worst release yet, and why Guilty of Everything is a much better album. Alexandra Morte's new band Night School is showing a lot of promise too.
Anyway, Distressor still utterly destroys all of the above, even if Bassett is a cunt.
Anyway, Distressor still utterly destroys all of the above, even if Bassett is a cunt.
Well that was a great night. Parkay Quarts turned out to be pretty much a Parquet Courts set. Which was a good thing, because they fucking killed it. The drummer chick looks cute and the bass player was great too. Wouldn't have noticed they played with two different band members if they were behind a screen. I spend most of the gig in the middle of the pogo crowd so I had no energy left after the gig. Decided to finish the night with Cut Hands instead of White Lung. Great set from him.
In other news, I'm now listening to Viet Congs forthcoming debut album. I love it. The 15 minute song I mentioned turns out to be the album closer and is 11 minutes on record.
In other news, I'm now listening to Viet Congs forthcoming debut album. I love it. The 15 minute song I mentioned turns out to be the album closer and is 11 minutes on record.
I just listened to that Night School EP for the first time. Really like it!
edit: going through Whirr's discography for the first time and I think you're right. Really enjoyed Pipe Dreams and Distressor, whereas Sway is just okay in comparison.
Man, my 2015 gig calander is already slowly filling up.
January: #Winterpol
February: Viet Cong and TV On the Radio
March: Ariel Pink and Sleater-Kinney
May: Ride
Time to make some money, my wallet is not liking this
NO, just No Linuis.
He is bloody horrible live and on top of that, he is acts like an asshole when the people who watch him stop being patient.
Serpentine
Banned
Only gig that's (kinda) certain for me right now is Whirr/Pity Sex in January, partially so my friend sees Alvvays with me on Friday