[in my head] The Box Tiger "Knives" + Sinnet "Year Of The Whale" // 04.30.13 @ T.T. The Bear's Place

Been all about Toronto bands lately, from the sweaty punk blitz of METZ to Parallels' glitzy dance floor dominance to the '90s alt-rock smile of the C'Mons. Clearly this upturn in the Canadian city's music scene can be attributed to the Blue Jays going back to their classic logo last season, and now indie band The Box Tiger, the best Ontario export since the Leafs handed our city two choice draft picks for Phil Kessel arrives tomorrow night at T.T. The Bear's Place just in time for sooth those pesky Rumble withdrawals.

The Box Tiger have been around since the dark days of the Jays wearing black tops (that's 2009), but this latest single, "Knives," grooves with the urgency of Alex Anthopoulos on the waiver wire. It's a nice guitar-rock throbber that should sound even more alluring live on stage, where singer/guitarist Sonia Sturino hold court.

Usually a band like this would be enough to get us out of the house on a Tuesday night, but the bill is rounded out by some local Vanya faves in power-pop bouncers The Susan Constant (one of my Best New Bands of 2013 in the now-murdered Boston Phoenix), and Sinnet, who also have a tasty new track ready for quench our collective dry thirst for gravelly indie-pop. I've been a fan of Aaron Spransy earlier songwriting work, most notably 2011's Midwest Manners, so it's good to have some new tunes from him and his now-rounded-out ensemble.

Again, great bill all around, and a solid way to close out April. Doors at 8:30, there's an $8 cover, and it's an Indie Rock Ranger gig. Here's the Box Tiger tour poster, but don't spent too much time looking at it, because many of these dates have passed. Sorry.

[tomorrow in ??????] Fat Creeps 12-inch split release show @ ????

There's probably a betting pool to see how long it would take me to mention FAT CREEPS here on the ol' VLand. If you had April 4, congratulations! The beloved North Shore garage rock trio are still making noisy waves, and a few months after MTV got all sweet on their latest video "Daydreaming," which also go the AVA treatment from me when it popped, the ladies and dude are now set to release a 12-inch split with Western Mass' ZUBU! off Feeding Tube Records.

They're opting for the basement show treatment for this release, and you know how HOT a topic that is around Boston these days, what with the cops all acting the fool over DIY spaces around our creative neighborhoods.

So... we won't tell you where it is, you'll just have to figure it out, yo. But we can tell you that Don Gero, Omnivore and Guerilla Toss are on the bill. And it starts on the early side of things, so bring dinner and a post-meal snack.

We can also tell you that the Creeps rule and the new jams are just as tasty: the aforementioned "Daydreaming" and the WFNX-fave "Dad Weed." Word up.

Also, in case you missed it, check me out getting SLAPPED in their previous video, for "Cherry." I miss last summer. And sexy pizza.

In My Head: Merchandise "Totale Nite" EP // performing @ TT The Bear's 06.09.13

Tampa rock band MERCHANDISE are either in an enviable situation or an unwinnable one, a band that seems to already have something to prove while actually just getting started. Last year's Children Of Desire EP was a startling debut, a moody, desolate, and at-times brilliant spin on modern post-punk and indie rock led by the majestic 11-minute epic "Become What You Are," which not only was my favorite song of 2012, but my final act of No Rules Radio for WFNX a few weeks ago when I queued it up in the system for over an hour and walked out for the last time.

The lyrics to that gem, "I'm a mother's son, I'm a rolling stone / I don't want anything, that I have to own" seemed to echo my sentiments towards the station's misguided suits better than any extended middle finger. It was that type of raw captured emotion that made Children of Desire so palatable. Outside of Japandroids' battle cries, 2012 wasn't really a stellar year for quoting lyrics in fits of rage or passion. Apologies go out to all the graduates who had to fill their yearbooks with something else.

Anyway, now Merchandise is back with a fairly quick turnaround record, the five-song/33-minute Totale Nite, out now via Night People and streaming in its entirety via the YouTube link above. It continues Merchandise's skill for detached melody, and droning, seemingly-endless sonic-journey songs that don't feel quite as long as they are. The Smiths reference is already dated, but a lot of these tracks, like last year's collection, have a loose, distant cousin in the feel of "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me." And while the "they're from Florida?!?" card has been played countless times before, it's raised here not that in surprise this band is from the middle of the cultural wasteland Sunshine State, but in that these songs have a frigid chill to them. Sunny pop this is not, a winter band this very well may be.

Since last year's release the band has added a member of two, and one of the highlights of this recent SXSW excursion was seeing them at the Viceland party, joined on stage by a saxophonist and while changing up some of the lyrics, able to convey live the type of removed sincerity so expertly displayed in the bands recordings.

After several listens, Totale Nite doesn't have the immediate gravity of a "Become What You Are," but it easily feels more balanced, and with a greater texture in sound and wider approach (hey there harmonica!), practically eliminating any genre label limitations. It's nice evolution from the last EP, and deserving of just as much praise.

MERCHANDISE perform at T.T. The Bear's Place in Cambridge on Sunday, June 9, with Destruction Unit and Milk Music (that's quite a show). Tickets are $10 in advance and are available here.

In My Head: The Bynars "All I Wanna Do Is Have Some Fun Tonight" / 04.24.13 @ Great Scott

It seems like only yesterday THE BYNARS performed with an up-and-coming fun. at the Lansdowne Pub as part of the WFNX Disorientation 2011 series. Since then, the where-are-they-now? fun. have virtually disappeared from the music landscape, drowning in obscurity, playing for dozens (including long-suffering girlfriends) while intent on penning their own Behind The Music-type of comeback. Meanwhile, the Boston-based quirk-pop band the Bynars have tirelessly honed their nerd-rock craft around Massachusetts, releasing intricate pop music with even more intricate music videos, and the tasty fruits of their bountiful labor finally re-surfaced today with the 12-minute one-stop electronic cruise ship "All I Wanna Do Is Have Some Fun Tonight," a synthpop jam that's an EP unto itself. And no, Sheryl Crow is not invited to this party.

The track is the first single from the Bynars' upcoming sophomore LP, X vs. X, which, if this song is any indication, is roughly three hours long.

"AIWDIHSF" gets real good around the seven-minute mark, kinda like how the outro to Flock of Seagulls' "Wishing" grabs hold of the listener and spins them around the dance floor inside your smart phone. If only they had smart phones in the mid-'80s.

Peep the track, then catch the Bynars at Great Scott on April 24 with Andre Obin and others.

[tonight in cambridge] Jamaican Queens @ TTs

Kicking around the possibility of going to see JAMAICAN QUEENS tonight at TT The Bear's Place in Cambridge. I'm digging the spring-y synth-y feel-good tropical-pop vibes of this track, "Kids Get Away," and Bowery Boston's Carl Lavin has been raving about these dudes for a bit now. Plus, they're from Detroit, and I love the movie 8 Mile. However, as someone who had to take the LIRR every day back when I lived in New York and still cringe every time I hear the words "Change at Jamaica," this band name elicits some weird emotions. Thank goodness they're from Michigan and not from, like, Queens.

Also, their home city is providing some musical inspiration as well, though much like Eminem, it's born out of struggle. Posted on the video's YouTube page, singer/songwriter Ryan Spencer offers up this explanation for the song, claiming inspiration from an attack a friend of his suffered in Detroit:

"I wrote this song to myself as a reminder that I live in a very dangerous place and that I shouldn't be so naive. Violence is everywhere, and though I'm more likely to be victimized in Detroit than almost anywhere else, this city also has so much going for it that no other place I've ever been does. The possibility of violence is no reason to flee what I feel to be the best place I've ever lived. This song is a reminder to myself of that. Be careful, but don't give in to fear.

"

Plus the Tigers are likely gonna win the World Series this year so he has that going for Detroit as well. Don't ever leave, man.

In My Head: People At Parties "Mazes"

While I was setting up the Vanyaland soundcloud last night, I stumbled upon a new track posted only three days ago from one of my favorite artists, New York/San Francisco dark dance trio PEOPLE AT PARTIES. They've been rather quiet lately, and the last post to their FB was back in October -- but this new song "Mazes," was just posted a few days ago. It also appears on their homepage, along with little else.

"Mazes," true to form another passionate 3am electronic slow-burner from P@P, and again is led by the haunting vocals of LK Naps, whose damaged Siouxsie fetish I've long appreciated. It's been a few years since the trio blew me away with their demo EP -- tracks like "Happy Birthday" and "Control" are among my all-time faves, and listed the former in my Best of 2011 -- and last I heard from them was a track called "Tides" posted around 7 months ago, also to their Soundcloud.

So what's up? Is a return in order? Or are they just releasing some leftover stuff from when they were more active, around 2011 or so? I'm pretty sure I heard this track and "Tides" in their sets a while back. I can only hope this is a tease, a re-boot of some older material, and more new stuff is on the way...

In the meantime, there's also a video for "Mazes." Very NYC.

In My Head: Petty Morals "Radio Action" / debut gig 04.06.13 @ Radio

"We do not share the values of the establishment. We are not old men. We are not worried about petty morals." --Keith Richards

Continuing the What If theme from the previous San Cisco post, this track embedded below, "Radio Action" from the newly-minted PETTY MORALS, was scheduled to be the Boston Accents Song of the Day on WFNX this past Monday. Obviously, that never happened. Kinda a bumout, as I've been digging this squealing synth-punk number from the moment it found its way into my inbox. It got spun on Accents maybe two or three times before the shutdown.

The ladies of Petty Morals -- who have performed in a host of past and present Boston rock dynamos as Tijuana Sweetheart, Cult 45, Ghost Box Orchestra, and the Grinds -- first met in rehearsals for a Joan Jett tribute show late last year, and after realizing a shared love for a more rock and roll side of synthy disco (think late '70s/early '80s NYC subculture, as well as stuff like the Cars, Le Tigre, and the Sounds) they hatched this new band. A few months later, the Cotton Candy Demos were born.

Their first gig is April 6 at Radio in Somerville, for Jay Allen's 50th birthday bash alongside Muck & the Mires, Dirty Truckers, and Dogmatics. People are gonna eat this shit up.

Thursday 03.21.13 @ Great Scott: San Cisco

So I guess for the next few weeks these posts will be a series of What Ifs. Shows that never happened, songs that never got played, bands not written about blah blah blah all that regretful shit.

But here's something I'm legit bummed about: Aussie pop act SAN CISCO were supposed to perform a private set at the Museum of Fine Arts tomorrow, part of the years-long WFNX sessions that in the past housed the Vaccines, Dropkick Murphys, Airborne Toxic Event, and so on and so on. We were currently in talks to host future sessions with the Breeders and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. But those, like San Cisco tomorrow, won't ever happen.

In any event, WFNX had been spinning their breakout hit "Awkward" for a while on the stream. People were feeling it.

They are in town to begin with, of course, because they're at Great Scott in Allston tomorrow night, 03.21.13, so we'll just have to settle for a regular ol' plugged-in show. So it goes.

Despite the song title, there’s nothing “Awkward” about San Cisco’s bubbly brand of love-pop, and like the Naked and Famous and Strange Talk, the band is the latest in a string of acts from Australia and New Zealand blurring the lines between indie and electro. Their 2012 Awkward EP was one of the more overlooked records of the year, but I think their 2013 success will more than make up for it.

Later, WFNX. Here's an hour of Merchandise

On my last day of work at the Boston Phoenix (RIP), I went into the WFNX studio, and started spinning songs I merely wanted to hear: Suede (all seven of them), New Order, Pulp, a bunch of Britpop hits from our Top 100 Britpop Anthems of the '90s feature from August 2011.

Then, around 5pm, as my colleagues and I were headed to An Tua Nua for some memorial cocktails, I set Merchandise's 11-minute epic "Become What You Are" on repeat seven times, filling more than an hour, separated only by our robot DJ, 3001, saying "Whatever, man" in between.

That was my sendoff. To quote Carson Cox in my favorite lyrics of the song (at least how I hear them): "I'm a mother's son. I'm a rolling stone. I don't want anything that I have to own."

Peace out, WFNX. <3

Where they're going? Cut Copy goes Britpop

Cut Copy - "Where I'm Going" by Some Kind of Awesome

Boston Phoenix OTD repost: On Friday, Australian dance-pop trio Cut Copy unveiled their new single “Where I’m Going” for free download through their website, and beyond an hour-long avalanche of re-tweets and Facebook posts, buzz kinda died out rather quickly. Maybe everyone was too busy TGIFing it up.

But it was mildly surprising, as the stand-out tracks and their eventual remixes from 2008’s sterling In Ghost Colours album — “Lights & Music,” “Hearts On Fire” — can still be heard most indie and electro clubs from here to Melbourne. I mean shit, this is the new Cut Copy jam we just got, and the weekend’s almost here!

But something odd happened on the way to the dance floor. While everyone was ready to get sweaty under strobe lights, the dudes in Cut Copy changed course and hit the bar instead.

“Where I’m Going” — intended as a teaser track from January’s as-yet-untitled new album — is probably the best Britpop song in at least a decade. It’s far more sing along in the pub than make out on the dance floor, and its tumbling rhythm, sunshine-pop melody and fist-pumping “yeahs” and “woos” recall that sorely missed era mid-'90s UK guitar rock. Shit, if Select Magazine or Melody Maker were still around they’d be posting blog-gasms felt all the way from Haywards Heath, carefully positioning the Cut Copy boys to be the next great faces of a new era of Lad Mags.

Fitting for a jam that recalls Britpop, the track is insanely catchy, rife with traces of Cast, Shed Seven, and even a mascara-mod touch of the late, great Menswe@r. Sure, it’s all quite a departure from the band's previous synthed-out electronically-hinged sound, but it’s also the sign of a band ready to evolve and re-define themselves. You certainly can't be the Presets forever, you know, and the Britpop sound is ripe for a comeback. Even if it comes from the land Down Under.

Download it via the above link, or listen to it on Soundcloud.

MIA on Letterman

MIA was "whoring" herself out on Late Show with David Letterman last night (her word), bringing a bunch of hey-didn't-Eminem-do-this doppelgangers on stage with her to perform "Born Free." But oooohhhhhhh shit, she also got Suicide's Martin Rev on synths, and really, the best part of this performance is Rev turning his back of Ol Dave at the end. Born free, yo.

Natalie Portman gets dumped by Brite Futures

The pill's favorite Seattle synthpop kids Natalie Portman's Shaved Head -- who killed it with us in August 2008 -- are breaking up with Natalie Portman. Yeah yeah, guess the actress wasn't fond of the band name, and I guess recently they have been going by the more obscure NPSH.

Now they are called BRITE FUTURES -- but not before breaking up with Nat-Nat on YouTube. Band statement after the best name-change-gimmick-by-a-band-with-a-gimmicky-name-ever:



Said the new Brite Futures:

“We chose our band name on a whim when we were still in high school, and ‘Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head’ has seen us through an unexpectedly amazing four years. Our love affair with Natalie’s name was like a summer fling that lasted… and lasted… and lasted… But now it is summer once again, and time for a change. Also it has recently come to our attention that our muse Ms. Portman is not so keen on us using her name in ours… Ultimately we are lovers, not fighters, and our mamas didn’t raise no fools, so we feel it is time to move forward with a new name. We are BRITE FUTURES. Ps no hard feelings Natalie. You remain +1 on every guest list.” --Brite Futures

VIDEO: Hundred In The Hands 'Tom Tom'

In the previous post I mentioned New York duo The Hundred In The Hands. Seriously people, I am not fucking around here. Live tonight at the Mid Easy...

Best Coast debut album drops July 27

12 songs! 29 minutes! Endless noisy melody and heartbreak! Oh yes, the long-awaited Best Coast debut album will see the light o' day through Mexican Summer Records on July 27. It's called "Crazy For You" and I'm already obsessed with it without even hearing it! OH MY!!!

And -- get this -- it'll be ALL NEW JAMS, not just a collection of previous singles and 7-inches (though Vanyaland obsession "When I'm With You" is rightfully all up in that bitch as a bonus track). Post-grunge surf-pop, bitches!


Here's word from those LA cats at Rock Steady:

The band's much-awaited debut album was recorded at Black Iris, a studio in LA's Echo Park neighborhood, by Lewis Pesacov of the bands Fool's Gold and Foreign Born. The result is a collection of maudlin and magical songs that approach relationships with a pure heart, a cloudy mind and pair of gas station sunglasses.

None of the songs on Crazy for You were previously released on the earlier 7-inches. For the album's sessions Cosentino brought in a collection of demos she had never sent to Bruno. "I wanted the record to be something completely fresh and new," says Cosentino. "I just felt like my first record needed to be really special."

With an exciting press embrace, and an aggressive touring schedule, Best Coast are bound to be a memorable and important act starting in Summer 2010 and imminent adventures onwards.

Track Listing
01. Boyfriend
02. Crazy for you
03. The End
04. Goodbye
05. Summer Mood
06. Our Deal
07. I Want To
08. When The Sun Don't Shine
09. Bratty B
10. Honey
11. Happy
12. Each and Everyday
Bonus Track: "When I'm With You"


Tour Dates
06/18 Pitchfork Music Festival - Chicago, IL
07/23 South Street Seaport - New York, NY
09/09-11 Hopscotch Festival - Raleigh, NC

The Drums cover the Supremes

Friday night at the pill I spun the Drums' "I Felt Stupid" right into an old Elkland jam, "I Think I Hate Her." It felt right. Way before the Drums set a course to become pop darlings -- watch it happen this summer -- Jon Pierce fronted a NYC synthpop explosion named Elkland (also featuring Drums guitarist Adam Kessler).

They played the pill several times, including our 8th anniversary, and well, few boys have ever stolen my heart's sanity like Mr. Pierce. This was rare air.

So yeah, watching/listening to him sing the Supremes "Where Did Our Love Go" for the UK Sun's Showbiz Bizarre Bizsessions just takes me places few people, boys or girls, could ever dream of. Le sigh. Press stuff from Girlie Action after the video jump.



Following a massive wave of critical acclaim, New York City’s own The Drums are preparing to release their self-titled debut album on Downtown Records.

It will be available June 8th digitally, with the vinyl following on August 10 and the CD will hit stores in September. The US version of the CD will contain bonus tracks not found on the UK release.

After the release of their debut EP Summertime! and a string of tour dates in the UK, The Drums were listed at #1 on both Clash and NME’s Top Tips of the Year and #5 on the BBC’s Sound of 2010 poll. Pitchfork’s readers voted the band as ‘Best Hope for 2010’ in their 2009 Readers’ Poll and the band topped Shazam’s Sound of 2010 list as the most searched band by users in 2009.

You’ve heard the buzz and with the release of the band’s debut album, the songs speak for themselves.

Battles gets all up in the 'Twilight' saga

With each new Twilight movie soundtrack comes the collective groan of the vaunted indie elite bemoaning their fave band's inclusion to the teenage vampire weekend in the theatres. Boo hoo vs Get Paid. Now that we've offered up Muse to the Cullen-ary Gods and written off that big arena ticket, sights have been apparently set on Battles, the New York-based experimental rock band who -- based on this new track -- really don't seem out of place in the "Eclipse." But nooooooooo, not Battles, "Atlas" wuz mai jam!!! Chase paper 2k10. Cool track, though.

IMH: Delorean's Cold Cave 'Life Magazine' remix

Today's hot hump day jam comes from Fader, which just premiered the new Delorean sunrise-party remix of Cold Cave's otherwise distant "Life Magazine."

Says da 'Fade: Delorean lifted the vocal and buried and echoed it underneath their seashore synthesizer melodies before the ending jack-attack, air horns and acid house yelps. This will go over great anywhere people like to dance with their hands in the air, your dorm or Ibiza, whatever. Indeed. Pop bottles.

Premiere: Cold Cave, &#8220;Life Magazine (Delorean Remix)&#8221; MP3

MIA releases new album cover art

Pitchfork has the juice on the cover art for MIA's new album, /|/\/\A/|\ or whatever the fuck it's called, spelled, whatevs. I'm getting a vibe that screams modern update of Elastica's "The Menace." Didn't MIA design that too?

VIDEO: Kylie Minogue 'All The Lovers'

I'm all about Kylie Minogue, and think it was a global crime that "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" was left off most Best of 2000s song list (turns out we could get her out). But she's been spotty since then, and I can't even think of any other songs to properly name drop here. My brother in LA posted this yesterday, and while the song is another pint-sized serving of Meh, people are getting all sorts of Freak Nasty. Good enough for Hump Day.

EDIT: Is there some Human Centipede action going on in the YouTube screen-freeze?

The Heavy and Letterman's encore (HoB 2nite)

British soul group the Heavy hit the House of Blues tonight with Sharon Jones & Dap Kings, and while I'll likely sit tight and wait for the Brits' oncoming club-date string, "How You like Me Now" is still all kinds of lethal. Even David Letterman thinks so, bringing the boys back around again for a rare "Late Show" encore. Really cool stuff.