Music Video Mondays: Brown Recluse

This new video from Philly sweethearts Brown Recluse is a perfect gem of twee pop goodness, complete with slightly off-putting, obscure video footage.

"Mirror" appears on their new EP, Panoptic Mirror Maze, which you can download FOR FREE on Bandcamp. Also stay tuned for their first proper LP, Evening Tapestry, out March 15 on Slumberland Records. I know I'm looking forward to it!

Check out my interview with Brown Recluse back in 2010 here!

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Haiku Review: The Dismemberment Plan

Where were you when D

Plan played "The ice of Boston?"
Right answer: on stage

Photo Kate Bracaglia for Phrequency.com.


Read the full review (Thursday night, Starlight Ballroom) here!

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Best New Music: Cloud Nothings

Listening to Cloud Nothings makes me wish I was back in high school -- even though high school was full of angst and stress and debate team practice and boys who didn't like me because liking dorky girls wasn't cool yet. (As opposed to now, when it's major indie cred.) It brings back all these raw feelings and emotions -- of being frustrated, and confused, and angry, and in love -- and letting it all out in short bursts of pop punk splendor. (I used to sing in my hairbrush locked in my bedroom, and drive all over Jersey on the weekends to see bands like Saves the Day.)



Yes, there is definitely a retro quality to this band, and that rulez. Think brash, adrenaline-fueled, accidentally sunny, garage rock, with lyrics about growing up and fitting in. If this came out in 2002, it probably would have been my favorite thing ever. (Coming out now -- let's be honest -- it's still a contender.) Wanna know what specifically makes their tunes so rad? You know where to turn....the one and only Phrequency.com!

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YRock on XPN Playlist, 1/24/11

Cold weather tunes and new tunes, plus the greater solo works of the Strokes, and a coupla oldies to close things out.

6:00

Smith Westerns, "Fallen in Love"
Album: Dye It Blonde

Mazarin, "For Energy Infinite"
Album: We're Already There

Celebration, "Great Pyramid"
Album: Hello Paradise

Maximum Balloon, "Young Love"
Album: Maximum Balloon

Little Comets, "Isles"
Album: In Search Of Elusive Little Comets

The Golden Filter, "Hide Me"
Album: Voluspa

Cocteau Twins, "Heaven or Las Vegas"
Album: Heaven Or Las Vegas

The Apples in Stereo, "Hey Elevator"
Album: Travellers In Space and Time

Head Like a Kite, "We Hang Our Hearts From the Willows"
Album: Dreams Suspend Night

Clinic, "The Return of Evil Bill"
Album: Internal Wrangler

Charlotte Gainesbourg, "Greenwich Mean Time"
Album: IRM

The Cardigans, "Erase/Rewind"
Album: Grand Turismo

The Church, "Under the Milky Way"
Album: Starfish

Solid Space, "A Darkness in My Soul"
Album: Space Museum

Sonic Youth, "Kissability"
Album: Daydream Nation

The Breeders, "Bang on"
Album: Mountain Battles

Bad Sports, "Nothing but Agitation"
Album: Bad Sports


Bad Sports. (From Bad Sports.) They always did have a sense of humor.


7 p.m.

The Raveonettes, "I Wanna Be Adored"
Album: 50 Years Of Dr. Martens

GoodBooks, "The Illness"
Album: Control

Julian Casablancas, "Left & Right in the Dark"
Album: Phrazes For The Young

Albert Hammond, Jr., "Bargain of a Century"
Album: Como Te Llama?

Little Joy, "Brand New Start"
Album: Little Joy

Nickel Eye, "You and Everyone Else"
Album: The Time of the Assassins

The Hold Steady, "The Swish"
Album: Almost Killed Me

The Wrens, "Faster Gun"
Album: The Meadowlands

White Rabbits, "While We Go Dancing"
Album: Fort Nightly

Brown Recluse Sings, "Margo, Left in Bed"
Album: Black Sunday

Arcade Fire, "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)"
Album: Funeral

Yo La Tengo, "Mr. Tough"
Album: I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, "Dawn (Go Away)"
Album: Forever Legends -- Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons

Van Morrison, "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)"
Album: Saint Dominic's Preview

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, "Gardenia"
Album: Real Emotional Trash

Missed the show this week? No worries. I'll be back again next week, and every Monday after that, with more musical magic. 6-8 p.m. Good times.

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Music Video Mondays: Little Comets

Little Comets are a British pop band -- whose sunny chords and radio-friendly melodies are undercut by front man Robert Coles's jarring, impassioned vocals, and dark lyrical themes. Known across the pond for their guerrilla performances (in the subway/ bakery aisles/ college lecture halls) and much-publicized split with label Columbia (who wanted glossy hits) -- their debut record, In Search of Elusive Little Comets -- has been forthcoming for over a year now and is finally available for the world's greater listening pleasure. (In fact -- "like" the band on Facebook and hear the whole thing for free!)

"Isles" is one of the first singles, and a mesmerizing -- if bleak -- reflection on the state of the nation that SO bespeaks these gloomy, recessionist times. Perfect music for below-freezing weather!

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Yo La Tengo came to Philly last night, and all we got was "The Sounds of Science, Pt. 2"

Well, sort of. Prolific Jersey fuzz-makers Yo La Tengo kicked off their most recent tour with a stop at the Trocadero last night, and usual (and unusual*) Yo La Tengo-y shenanigans ensued.

It all started when Leah -- a seemingly regular audience chick -- was picked to spin the colorful wheel of live carnival magic. Said wheel contained a variety of enticing themes for the band's first set, including "The name game" (songs with people names, + Ira Kapalan chanting "Leah Leah Bo Beah, Banana Fana Fo Feah"); "Songs that start with S" (Sugarcube, Stockholm Syndrome, Season of the Shark, Saturday); and the elusive "Sitcom Theater" (James McNew in a wig; Georgia Hubley as a damsel in distress?)

Le wheel. Crappy quality due to my non photo-pass approved
battery operated camera from 2002.

But then Leah landed on "Sounds of Science, pt. 2" (the second half of the band's low-key soundtrack to Jean Painlevé's underwater documentary) --and the audience slumped. "I was looking forward to the groans of disappoint," joked Kaplan. I was just happy to have a beer.

"The Sounds of Science, pt. 2" was nice. Stirring, even. There is no question that YLT are masters of mood, and can build intensity, and then let it go, just like that. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping for something with....well, words. Or nonsensical, amorphous lyrics even. Or what if "The Sounds of Science" was accompanied by the film it was written for? I could get down with that -- immersing myself in their fluid, underwater world, watching fish scurry across the screen. Part of the splendor of "Science" is how remarkably it captures the mood and teeming activity of the life it narrates. Without those visuals, it's hard to find that mood. Or maybe I was just mentally psyched for "Sitcom."




Either way, I had no complaints about the band's second set -- a more straight-forward (no spinning wheel involved!) celebration of some of their best -- including "Autumn sweater," "Last day of disco," "Moby Octopad," "Pass the hatchet...", "Nothing to hide," and, amazingly, the song I have been humming all week, "Mr. Tough" (featuring James's very awesome falsetto.)

In true YLT style, there were a couple covers in the mix (Sun Ra's "Someone's in love"; NRBQ's "What can I say") and James lamenting the demise of Tasty Cakes. ("I can not -- will not -- live in that world!") And there was certainly lots of frenzied guitar, epic bass lines, and even more epic feedback. All in all, a satisfying performance from a band that always keeps me guessing -- and really, what more can you ask for?

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*By this I mean: it is usual for Yo La Tengo to do unusual things. Like showing up unannounced with the Sun Ra Arkestra (like at XPoNential Fest '10), or reviving a long-forgotten alias and releasing Ray Davies covers.

Best New Music: Celebration

They call themselves "Celebration" -- but think more in the sense of appreciating the world's beauty and splendor than throwing a ridiculous rager. (If that was their game, they would call themselves LCD Soundsystem.)

A Baltimore trio who write the sort of moody, moving, psychedelic jams you're apt to get lost it -- Celebration have spent the past couple of years decidedly OUT of the spotlight, writing grooves in their bedroom, and posting them online slowly. Together, they make up Hello Paradise, their first LP in nearly 4 years and a stunning collection of 9 tunes inspired by the cards of the tarot deck.

Celebration - a rare live show

From ominous, brooding rock explorations to melt-y, languid melodies, Paradise shows off the band's breadth and depth in a truly spectacular fashion. Get lost in one of their arty videos, and learn how to download 2/3 of the album for free -- at your Free Stuff HQ, Phrequency.com. This calls for a celebration!

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Radio showwwwwwwww, playlist #2!

Didn't get a chance to catch my show last night on YRock on XPN? Not a prob. Check out my playlist here!

6:00

1990s, "You made me like it"
Album: Cookies

The Morning Benders, "All day daylight"
Album: Big Echo

Tennis, "Marathon"
Album: Cape Dory

The Little Ones, "Morning tide"
Album: Morning Tide

Lilys,"The generator"
Album: The 3-Way

The Kinks, "Better things"
Album: Give the People What They Want

The Fresh & Onlys, "A plague of frogs"
Album: Play It Strange

Tapes 'n Tapes, "People you know"
Album: Outside

The Beets, "Your name is on my bones"
Album: Stay Home

Harlem, "Tila and I"
Album: Hippies

Twin Shadow, "Slow"
Album: Forget

Talk Talk, "It's my life"
Album: It's My Life

The Go! Team, "Grip like a vice"
Album: Proof of Youth

Hockey, "Learn to lose"
Album: Mind Chaos

Jamaica, "By the numbers"
Album: No Problem

Swedish for Beginners, "This city is not for me"
Album: Facts and Fabrications

Iggy Pop, "Lust for life"
Album: Lust for Life


Iggy Pop: Lust for a personal shopper?


7:00

Seth Kallen, "Something more"
Album: Seth Kallen

Hurricane Bells, "Will you still love me tomorrow?"
Album: Down Comes the Rain

Obits, "Two-headed coin"
Album: I Blame You

Jawbreaker, "Save your generation"
Album: Dear You

Superchunk, "Digging for something"
Album: Majesty Shredding

Japandroids, "Young hearts spark fire"
Album: Post-Nothing

Oi Va Voi, "Yuri"
Album: Oi Va Voi

Of Montreal, "Forecast fascist future"
Album: The Sunlandic Twins

King Kong, "Funky future train"
Album: Hey Drag City

The Feelies, "Sooner or later"
Album: Time for a Witness

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Heads will roll"
Album: It's Blitz!

Spirit, "1984"
Album: Clear

Zager & Evans, "In the year 2525"
Album: 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)

Magic Kids, "Hey boy"
Album: Memphis

The Four Tops, "I can't help myself"
Album: Forest Gump Soundtrack

The Postelles, "Stella"
Album: The Postelles

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Mp3 of the Moment: Seth Kallen + "Something more"

Indie folkster Seth Kallen is certainly no stranger to a good melody, having spent the past few years working with Jukebox the Ghost and Savoir Adore (two bands I pretty much adore), and this tune only proves the association is far from a fluke. From his self-titled EP, here's "Something more."

Ignore the sorta crappy video quality -- it's the only one I could find. Wanna hear the even prettier, more awesome recorded version? Surf on over to Seth's Myspace -- or tune to YRock on XPN this evening from 6-8 p.m., where this very tune may or may not be making an appearance on somebody's radio show.

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Best New Music: Tennis

Much like the sport itself -- which is always associated (at least in my mind!) -- with flouncy white skirts, Connecticut estates, and well-manicured courts on beautiful beachfront country clubs -- Denver's Tennis occupy a world of classic summertime splendor -- where melodies are breezy and sweet, guitars low key and jangly, and even lo-fi bands know better than to swaddle their tunes in layers of hazy feedback, à la Dum Dum Girls or Surfer Blood.

No -- Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore (the husband/wife duo behind Tennis) aspire to create something simpler and purer -- something reminiscent of an earlier time in music, before auto-tune and dubbing and fancy electronic glitches. Their debut LP, Cape Dory, was inspired by an 8-month trip to sea, where the duo lived and breathed nature, and allowed the sights and smells to translate into an easy-going collection of gentle vintage pop.


Dying for an island escape right now? (Do I need mention there is snow everywhere outside?) Head over to Phrequency.com to read more, and catch a vid of the duo in action.

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Check out the playlist from my first radio show!

Last night was my debut as a DJ for Y-Rock on XPN. Here's what I played!

6:00

The A-Sides, “Sidewalk chalk”
Album: Hello, Hello

Creaky Boards, “You can’t turn me off”
Album: Brooklyn is Love

The Rosebuds, “Kicks in the schoolyard.”
Album: The Rosebuds Make Out

Maritime, “The guns of Navarone”
Album: Heresy and the Hotel Choir

Islands, “No you don’t”
Album: Vapours

Cake, “Love you madly”
Album: Comfort Eagle

The Cure, “The lovecats”
Album: Greatest Hits

Dum Dum Girls, “Catholicked”
Album: Yours Alone (12”)

Minks, “Funeral song”
Album: Funeral Song (7”)

The Chimeras, “Gladys”
Album: Her

Oxford Collapse, “Back of the yards”
Album: Bits

Screaming Females, “Bell”
Album: Power Move

The New Pornographers, “Mass Romantic”
Album: Mass Romantic

Sondre Lerche, “Almighty Moon”
Album: Heartbeat Radio

Camera Obscura, “James”
Album: My Maudlin Career

Paul Simon, “Kodachrome”
Album: There Goes Rhymin’ Simon

J Roddy Walston and the Business, “Don’t break the needle”
Album: J Roddy Walston and the Business


J Roddy Walston and the Monkey Business


7:00

Savoir Adore, “We talk like machines”
Album: In the Wooded Forest

Phoenix, “Long distance call”
Album: It’s Never Been Like That

X , “Soul Kitchen”
Album: Los Angeles/ Wild Gift

The International Noise Conspiracy, “Capitalism stole my virginity”
Album: A New Morning, Changing Weather

Jaill, “There’s no sky (Oh my my)”
Album: There’s No Sky (Oh My My)

Male Bonding, “Pumpkin”
Album: Nothing Hurts

The Hidden Cameras, “Ban Marriage”
Album: The Smell of Our Own

The Boo Radleys, “Find the answer within”
Album: Wake Up!

Super Furry Animals, “Juxtaposed with U”
Album: Rings Around the World

Boat, “Lately (I’ve been on my back”)
Album: Setting the Paces

Gospel Claws, “Avenues”
Album: C-L-A-W-S

The So So Glos, “Here comes the neighborhood”
Album: Low Back Chain Shift

Sparks, “Amateur hour”
Album: Kimono My House

Supertramp, “The logical song”
Album: Breakfast in America

The Velvet Underground, “Femme Fatale”
Album: The Velvet Underground & Nico

Silver Jews, “We could be looking for the same thing”
Album: Lookout Mountain Lookout Sea

Little Brazil, “You and me”
Album: You and Me

Missed the show this week? No worries. I'll be back again next Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. Listen in here!

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Music Video Mondays: Tapes 'n Tapes

Outside, the new record from Tapes 'n Tapes, has been getting mostly mixed -- and mediocre -- reviews -- but I'm really digging this tune "Freak out", and the video makes me want to get drunk and eat a really big sandwich, then play a mean game of twister and vomit on my boyfriend. (Who doesn't love a good, sandwich-y vomit?)

Thanks to Jarryd for sending it my way!

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They're putting me on the radio!!!!!

Yes, it's true. Every Monday from 6 - 8 p.m. you can hear me -- droppin' grooves and spinnin' tunes -- as a DJ for Y-Rock on XPN.

To quote my good friend and Philly tastemaker Samantha Lazar:

"AWESOME!!!!! Now I can finally hear all those bands you're always talking about without having to download the records!"

It's 10 o'clock, do you care where your parents are?

My first show will be this coming Monday, January 10. It's also my first time on the radio EVER, so I can not promise it will be perfect. (The tunes, however, will def be sweet!)

To listen, visit Y-Rock online, to stream the show live. Or, if you have an HD radio, tune to 88.5 -2.


Thanks for your love and support thus far!

xoxoxo,

Kate

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Best New Music: Teen Daze

No one knows his real name, or even what he looks like* -- but somehow, that makes him even cooler. A Vancouver mix-master who crafts hazy jamz with surprisingly danceable beats -- Teen Daze is music for hour 8 of your beach party -- when the sun is setting, and everyone is a little drunk, but still grooving (solo cups in hand!) -- and you crave a soundtrack that mirrors that feeling exactly.

From Teen Daze's tumblr. Is one of these dudes the man himself?
Are they really a duo? Or are these just 2 complete randos, thrown up
for maximum confusability? The world may never know.

Of course, Teen Daze didn't ALWAYS sound like this. His first 2 EPs (the very excellent Four More Years and Beach Dreams) were more "straight-up" chillwave (as if there is such a thing!) -- all relaxed grooves for slipping in and out of casually. But even then, it was clear he had a thing for beatz, and this love is crystallized on his awesome full length, My Bedroom Floor.

From swirling synths to relentless bass beats -- morphing in unexpected ways as your body twists and turns -- My Bedroom Floor rules in the bedroom and beyond. Need a pick-me-up these dark, frigid days? Head over to Phrequency.com for more details, including how to stream the whole album for free. It's like total bedroom democracy. Or something.

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*Note: this statement obviously not entirely true. I am sure very close friends, lovers, and possibly even a smattering of acquaintances have seen the man behind the music. And it's not like he can hide his identity forever, right?

Music Video Mondays: The So So Glos

I've had my eye on the this band ever since I caught them opening for Ted Leo in December '09 -- and was impressed by their energy, attitude, and ability to open their mouths really really wide (check out photos/recaps from that show -- at the First Unitarian Church -- here.)

A Brooklyn 4-piece who write raucous garage punk jamz with a surprisingly jangly edge -- this video comes from their recently-released EP, Low Back Chain Shift, which is just as good as anything they've ever released, and seriously -- pretty sweet. Cuz sometimes we all have delusions of Astaire-like grandeur.

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