Pages tagged “band of the week”

Hometown: Ballyporeen, Ireland

Fun Fact: Hayes co-wrote the song "Hazy" with Adam Duritz of Counting Crows for his band's New Amsterdam live album. Duritz is rumored to have subsequently referenced her in the song "Washington Square," when he sings "I wandered the highways from Dublin to Berkeley / And I heard the songbirds of Ballyporeen."

Why She's Worth Watching: Hayes' elegant, thoughtful songs span a variety of sounds and stylings, but it's her songwriting that sets her apart from her contemporaries. At times achingly romantic, and other times piercingly melancholic, her words are the words of a visionary with a mindful eye for catchy pop hooks.

For Fans Of: My Brightest Diamond, The Weepies, The Frames

Gemma Hayes loves music so much she had to take a two-year break from it. Not just time off for traveling or pursuing other artistic ventures, either. She physically did not write a song, pick up a guitar, attend a concert, or listen to the radio for two entire years. It was right around the time her debut album, Night on My Side, really started to pick up steam, netting a prestigious Mercury Prize nomination for album of the year.

Hometown: Oxford, Miss.
Fun Fact: Founder and main songwriter Talbot Adams used to live 100 yards from William Faulkner’s grave, where tourists often huddle around to drink whiskey and leave bottles as an homage to the late author.
Why It’s Worth Watching: As we’ve said previously, The Black and Whites are “a quintessentially rock 'n' roll band, one that seems to pull equal influence from the poppiest moments of bands like Weezer and Guided by Voices and the punkiest moments of bands like the Ramones and Black Flag.”
For Fans Of: Jay Reatard, MC5, The Ramones

Talbot Adams was preparing to move on from rock ‘n’ roll. Into his thirties, engaged and mellowing out, he gathered friends to help him record a few songs—holdovers from his years playing in garage bands like the Dutchmasters, the Preacher’s Kids and Jenny Jeans—mostly for the purpose of documentation.

Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.

Fun Fact: Before launching a songwriting partnership with Suzanne Santo, guitarist Ben Jaffe composed music for Nickelodeon and various cartoon shows. Meanwhile, Santo paid the bills as an actress, landing supporting roles in Law & Order, Blind Justice and the Sigourney Weaver film Imaginary Heroes.

Why It's Worth Watching: Alternately rustic-retro and cool-contemporary, honeyhoney’s First Rodeo displays the common pop thread between alt.country, spaghetti western soundtracks and swampy blues.

For Fans Of: She & Him, Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood, Jessie Baylin

Three days after the release of honeyhoney’s debut, bandmates Suzanne Santo and Ben Jaffe are on opposite coasts. Santo is spending the weekend in Atlanta, where her boyfriend has landed a job on the set of Road Trip 2. Meanwhile, Jaffe putters around the kitchen in Los Angeles, having chosen to stay home and enjoy the lingering warm weather. As his bandmate talks about the opulence of her hotel (“This is where they had the Gone with the Wind premiere!”) and the left-leaning population of Atlanta (“Everybody here seems ready to kick it with our main man, Obama.”), Jaffe valiantly offers up his own interesting tidbits.

Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Members: Daniel Rossen, Fred Nicolaus
Fun Fact: In Ear Park was recorded in an old church in Brooklyn where Grizzly Bear rehearses. "We just set up there right in front of a giant stained glass window, which is kind of cool," explains Nicolaus. "There's a lot of sounds on the record that come from the church, like the sound of a church organ turning on and off and us stomping around on the stairs and the sound of the pigeons that live in the window. We weren't trying to consciously use the sounds of the space but you just cant help it, this enormous room where the ambient sound is going to get in there whether you want it to or not. So we tried to make something out of it."
Why It's Worth Watching: Despite some random label the press has bestowed upon the band, it's truly beautiful pop music at its best. "Folktronica is definitely a sound label that I’m not 100% behind," Nicolaus says. "I think about it like pop in that we try to write these melodies that are concise and direct and catchy."
For Fans Of: Dirty Projectors, Grizzly Bear, Inlets

Fred Nicolaus may have to quit his day job. Although neither of them studied music,  Nicolaus and Daniel Rossen formed the Department of Eagles in 2000 after being randomly assigned as roommates at NYU. "Every year that we've done it together it's gotten slightly more serious," Nicolaus says, "to the point where we occasionally refer to ourselves as a band. That was kind of a rule in the beginning, that we weren't a band."

Hometown: Athens, Ga.

Fun Fact: The band recorded its debut album in a compact, claustrophobic concrete box of a room in the same Austin, Texas studio where the sound effects for the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre were recorded.

Why It's Worth Watching: Epic hooks, rollicking guitars, febrile swells and tortured lyrics soaked in anger all coalesce into post-modern rock that places the emphasis back on rock.

For Fans Of: Nirvana, Sonic Youth, My Morning Jacket

Perhaps it's the fiery drawl and breathy croaks of frontman Hardy Morris. Maybe it's the painstaking, angst-ridden lyrics. It could be the boisterous jolts of the guitars and drums. Whatever it is, Dead Confederate has been drawing comparisons to Nirvana.

Borough: Bushwick, Brooklyn
Fun Fact: Lead singer Ryan Reesey recently starred in a commercial for Guitar Hero.
Why They're Worth Watching: Me You Us Them meld an intense blend of distorted, off-kilter guitar riffs with searing vocal melodies, rendering them one of the most memorable shoe-gaze groups in recent memory.
For Fans Of: Sonic Youth, Jimmy Eat World, The Jesus & Mary Chain

Tucked away in a booth at a Williamsburg watering hole, a few feet away from one of Brooklyn's more rowdy election night Obama victory parties, the members of Me You Us Them consider how the current state of politics have influenced their musical approach. "It's certainly affected us," guitarist/vocalist Ryan Reesey says. "You actually have to get off your ass and do something."

Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.

Members: Kirpatrick Thomas, Dan Allaire, Henry Evans, Dave Koenig, Jason "Plucky" Anchando, Julie Patterson, Frankie Emerson, Marcos Diablero

Fun Fact: Frontman Thomas used to work the merch table for Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Why It's Worth Watching: A mix of psych-rock and the Spaghetti Western sound of Ennio Morricone equals the perfect soundtrack for your next trip to a ghost town.

For Fans Of: Black Angels, Ennio Morricone, The Doors

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, takes visitors on a trip through music history. For Kirpatrick Thomas, it was a ticket to ride. In 2001, the Newark, Del. musician was in the midst of a road trip to Los Angeles, looking to start anew after more than a decade fronting his band, Spindrift. The post-punk band had self-released a handful of albums and developed a solid reputation locally, but found it difficult to break through, particularly in the shadows of much larger music scenes in D.C., Philadelphia and New York.

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio 

Fun Fact: The band jokingly lists The Oneders—the 60's pop heartthrobs from the Tom Hanks movie That Thing You Do!—as its one and only influence. And for the record, it's pronounced "wonders," not "oh-knee-ders."

Why They're Worth Watching: D.I.Y., multi-instrumentalist duo crafts light-as-air melodies that hark back to an era of unassuming, saccharine-free feel-good pop. 

For Fans Of: The Shins, Rogue Wave, Camera Obscura

At first, the songs from Cleveland-based duo Bears sound casual and jaunty, exemplifying breezy pop that aspires to be nothing other than good-natured and agreeable. But there proves to be underlying hurt behind some of the lyrics. On "Wait and See," the band bemoans: "I can't take it / I give up / I knew that we were doomed right from the start." The relationship-minded songs are accompanied by sunny, toe-tapping arrangements, and it's a juxtaposition the duo embraces—as if they take the good with the bad in equal stride, and hope for the best at the end of it.

Hometown: Philadelphia, Pa.

Fun Fact: Singer Toby Leeman had to cancel the first few shows of the band's latest tour due to a freak tubing accident that damaged his esophagus.

Why It's Worth Watching: Roosty guitars, soaring harmonies and trippy melodies rustle throughout the band's latest album, Fate.

For Fans Of: My Morning Jacket, Wilco, the Grateful Dead

All bands have different ways of disappearing into their music, different methods of preparing themselves to bridge the gap from reality to stage performance. For Dr. Dog, it's all in the name.

Hometown: Barcelona, Spain
Fun Fact: Album title Alegranza! roughly translates to “joy” in Spanish and is also an island in the Canary Islands. El guincho is a rare, endangered bird from that area.
Why He’s Worth Watching: El Guincho’s sample-cluttered, buoyant avant-pop pulls in a world-wide array of sounds to captivate passive listeners and rowdy dancers alike.
For Fans Of: Panda Bear/Animal Collective, Gilberto Gil, Brian Wilson

It takes ninety seconds of El Guincho's "Antillas" to feel slightly uneasy. The stuttering polyrhythms and carnival motifs hammer on, cyclic and unremitting. Finally, nearing the four-minute mark, a cymbal crash ushers in a euphoric climax, layers of chiming melodies and pattering drums cascading through the mix: Sweet, strange relief through deferred resolution.

Hometown: Seattle, Washington

Fun Fact: Prior to lending his melodic tapping to Minus the Bear, virtuosic guitarist Dave Knudson was a founding member of the revolutionary hardcore outfit Botch. Other MTB members were previously in a rival hardcore band called Kill Sadie.

Why It's Worth Watching: Trading violent screamo thrashing for mellow arrangement, the men of Minus The Bear create a pleasant culmination of lighthearted melody and tireless rhythm.

For Fans Of: Circa Survive, Cursive, These Arms Are Snakes

They say that it is the journey, not the destination, that is most important in life. Seattle's Minus the Bear couldn’t agree more. That is, of course, since the band's recent acquisition of a tour bus. “We’ve paid our dues with the whole band-in-a-van thing,” says bassist Cory Murchy, “If I never have to squeeze into a tightly packed van with five other guys, I’ll be okay with that.”

Hometown: Nashville, Tenn.

Members: Trevor Nyman, Dave Arnold, Tim Twinem and Jeremy Flick

Fun Fact: The band is currently scoring indie film The Time Closet.

Why It's Worth Watching: The Champion and His Burning Flame strives for the whole artistic package, from the recording process to photography and packaging, from the stage to, in the near future, print.

For Fans Of: Elliott Smith, Bishop Allen, The Shins

At a little more than a year's worth of bandship, this could be considered a fledgling pursuit. However, there is a chemistry and honesty in The Champion and His Burning Flame's inaugural effort, The French EP, that begs for listening, pondering and then listening again. Twenty-two minutes and change span six chapters, each portraying an observation of social interaction.

Hometown: Decatur, Ga.

Fun Fact: As a teenager, vocalist Chris Rowell arrived at a party in Birmingham, Ala. after midnight and told a total stranger that he felt like there was a drummer in their midst. He was introduced to future Warm In The Wake drummer James Taylor Jr. for the first time moments later and the two formed a bond that has spanned a decade and a half.

Why It's Worth Watching: As raconteurs for the everyman, the band's unique brand of American Realist Rock combines scenic snapshots of the tangible and unhurried, organic instrumentation with a nod to Regionalist painter Andrew Wyeth.

For Fans Of: Band of Horses, Bon Iver, Cass McCombs, The National

"It's about needing to feed the exploration part of our personalities. I mean geographically," explains vocalist and guitarist Chris Rowell, describing the mindset behind the opening track on Warm In The Wake's new, digitally-released EP, Speak Plainly. "Not whatever dirty thing you were thinking," he continues, every bit as straightforward about the group's third recorded effort as would be expected from the no-nonsense lyricist.

Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.

Fun Fact: In high school, founding member David Metcalf was in a band called Hitler’s Gay Son.

Why They’re Worth Watching: The prog-meets-gospel-meets-psych pop of the band's second full-length, A Certain Feeling, boasts an enticing mix of rich vocal harmonies, proggy guitar jams and lively horn flourishes.

For Fans Of: Arcade Fire, Yes, Os Mutantes, Polyphonic Spree

Grand, theatrical, multi-part arrangements. Bold group harmonies. The lingering presence of an organ. All of the above created by a set of musicians anchored by a husband-and-wife team.

Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.

Fun Fact: Abigail and Lily Chapin are credited as back-up singers on Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen’s 1992 album Brother for Sale.

Why They’re Worth Watching: With their gorgeous harmonies and dark lyrics, the Chapin Sisters put a modern spin on ‘60s SoCal folk.

For Fans Of: Ida, Vetiver, Judee Sill

“I just need a new doormat and a new shelf, so I came to IKEA,” explains Abigail Chapin, sitting on a bench outside one of the blue-and-yellow megastores in Los Angeles. It’s a mundane setting for an interview, but one that seems especially incongruous with the Chapin Sisters, whose out-of-time debut LP, Lake Bottom, sounds anything but sleek and contemporary. The three siblings—Abigail and Lily Chapin and Jessica Craven—often perform by candlelight in vintage dresses, singing dark lyrics and gorgeous harmonies as if they were traipsing around Laurel Canyon 40 years ago.

Hometown: Elktooth, Colo.
Fun Fact: Singer/songwriter David Eugene Edwards claims a Native American influence on his next album and says the song “Kingdom Of Ice” best embodies Wovenhand’s sound in his mind.
Why It's Worth Watching: The band’s fifth album, Ten Stones, features its signature booming sound recorded with members of Danielson.
For Fans Of: The Cure, Iron & Wine, 16 Horsepower

David Eugene Edwards has no delusions of grandeur. His songs don’t get radio time in his home country, so he’s aware of his band Wovenhand’s finite longevity, especially compared with his muse. “What God makes is what is going to stand and not what I make,” he tells Paste. “These songs that I make will not endure.”

Hometown: Nevada City, Calif.

Members: Adam Kline and “whoever else happens to be around.”

Fun Fact: More than 30 people have at some time or another been a part of Golden Shoulders.

Why They’re Worth Watching: Ballads like “I Will Light You on Fire” and eloquent political statements like “The Honey, the Power, the Light,” for starters.

For Fans of: The Beatles, George Harrison, The Kinks

If you ask Adam Kline for the current line-up of his band, Golden Shoulders, and he starts laughing, don’t be offended. “That’s a trick question,” the lead singer and songwriter says mid-chuckle. “I’m the principal member, but I can give you a list of about 30 people who have been or are currently involved with the band.”

Hometown: Oklahoma City, Okla.
Fun Fact: The group’s moniker comes from the hideously quirky finds its members have unearthed at thrift stores and, at one time, donned on-stage. “We actually have a slew of fans who will come to our shows in ugly suits,” says keyboardist Jonathan Martin.
Why They’re Worth Watching: Via a mix of lavish keyboards and ethereal touches, The Uglysuit serves up a generous helping of good vibrations.
For Fans Of: Travis, The Shins, Ben Kweller

 “Okay, I’ve got to tell you this story,” says multi-instrumentalist Crosby Bray of The Uglysuit, his slight Oklahoma drawl suddenly vibrant. The listener braces herself for the kind of madcap caper any newly-signed, all-dude sextet of early 20-somethings might get into under influence of cash advance.

Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden
Fun Fact: A then-unknown Li got one of her first Stateside gigs by telling a clueless New York City booking agent that she was a famous Swedish singer.
Why She's Worth Watching: The genre-hopping firecracker combines organic instrumentation with her unique voice and a distinctly danceable sensibility, to mesmerizing effect.
For Fans Of: Robyn, early Madonna, The Cardigans

Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.

Fun Fact: Album track “Butterfingers” was inspired by a candy-loving Caravans song called “Three Musketeers” from a hard-to-find Hipsville Records compilation.

Why He’s Worth Watching: Gentleman Jesse’s irrepressible ditties are as refreshing as dousing your face in a cool pool of water on a sweaty summer day—if the water also has a magical chemical content that impelled you to twist and shout and shake your fist.

For Fans Of: Elvis Costello, Exploding Hearts, Wreckless Eric

Crafting a lyrical hook to stimulate crowd participation is feat enough for most musicians, but Atlanta power-pop maestro “Gentleman” Jesse Smith extends his art to guitar solos. “My rule is that you should be able to sing them,” he says. “That's why I don't like Jimmy Page. I love Led Zeppelin, but I wouldn't ever want to emulate his guitar playing because you can't sing his solos. They're way too coked out.”

Hometown: New York, N.Y.

Fun Fact: Bowery Boy Blue principal Zeb Gould’s father provided dobro and banjo on the group’s new debut album, Stalk That Myth.

Why It's Worth Watching: Bowery Boy Blue’s first record is full of string-laced Americana that’s as stirringly beautiful as the city and stories that inspired it.

For Fans Of: Neil Young, Magnolia Electric Co., Will Oldham

It’s nothing new or original to say that New York City is a bustling hotbed of emerging talent. On any given day, the coffee houses, poetry clubs, small-music venues, street corners and subways are alive with aspiring artists peddling their musical wares to anyone within earshot.

Hometown: Richmond, Va.

Fun Fact: Prabir and the Substitutes are touring the East Coast this summer in support of The Silver Beats, Japan’s premier Beatles tribute band.

Why They’re Worth Watching: Full of crunchy guitars, McCartney-inspired bass lines and cooing harmonies, Five Little Pieces takes the best bits of classic pop/rock and funnels them through a beat-to-hell Fender Deluxe amplifier.

For Fans Of: The Sonics, The Hollies, Dr. Dog

Hometown: Shawnee, Okla.

Fun Fact: At the tender age of 17, Samantha Crain debuted at her hometown's now-defunct coffeehouse, Bean and Berry, performing a set chock full of Radiohead and Creedence Clearwater Revival covers.

Why She's Worth Watching: Vocalist/guitarist Crain, along with her band The Midnight Shivers [drummer Jacob Edwards, bassist Andrew Tanz and guitarist Nate Hendricks], delivers a refreshing brand of indie-folk that fuses accessible, narrative lyrics with a home-grown wholesomeness reminiscent of her rural origin.

For Fans Of: Martha Wainwright, Pete Seeger, Neko Case, Feist

Samantha Crain is not your stereotypical Southerner.

Hometown: San Francisco, Calif.

Fun Fact: John Dwyer picked up his guitar style in Providence, R. I. playing on a daily basis with Brian Gibson, the current bassist for Lightning Bolt.

Why They're Worth Watching: Thee Oh Sees specialize in the kind of no-frills garage rock that's free of pretension and full of psychedelic goodness.

For Fans Of: Black Lips, The 13th Floor Elevators, Nuggets

Hometown: Seattle, Wash.
Fun Fact: Fleet Foxes’ debut album cover sports a painting called Netherlandish Proverbs by Pieter Bruegel. The band's Sun Giant EP cover is a collage made up of photos from the Library of Congress.
Why They're Worth Watching: Fleet Foxes’ rococo harmonies capably quarry the breathless spirit of their parent’s musical zeitgeist with an evergreen ardor of their own.
For Fans Of: Crosby, Stills & Nash, Fairport Convention, Midlake

Hometown: New York, N.Y.
Fun Fact: Frontman Andy Butler composed music for choreographers in college.
Why They’re Worth Watching: Hercules and Love Affair creates disco music that’s intelligent, personal and complex, but always fun.
For Fans Of: LCD Soundsystem, Arthur Russell, The Rapture

Hometown: Raleigh, N.C.
Fun Fact: Guitarist/vocalist Phil Moore and multi-instrumentalist Beth Tacular have spent the last year building an eco-friendly house all by themselves to replace their AirStream trailer.
Why They’re Worth Watching: Moore, Tacular and multi-instrumentalist Mark Paulson create truly organic folk songs, full of haunting melodies and honest lyrics without layers of production.
For Fans Of: Phosphorescent, The Avett Brothers, The Mountain Goats, Bon Iver

Hometown: Philadelphia, Penn.
Fun Fact: While singer/guitarist Adam Granduciel treats the feel and ideas of his songwriting on the band’s debut very seriously, he’s careful on certain compositions to not finish his lyrics in advance of recording, in order to allow for improvisation.
Why It’s Worth Watching: Granduciel's plainspoken voice and his band's dreamily textured, ambient sound are alluringly compatible, lush and dreamy with a familiar rock 'n' roll bite.
For Fans Of: Tom Petty, Willie Nile, Brian Eno, Sonic Youth

Hometown: Bernville, Pa.
Fun Fact: Priscilla Ahn once shared an L.A. apartment with Meiko, another small-town expatriate with a talent for indie-folk songcraft.
Why She’s Worth Watching: Shifting between soft-spoken ballads and upbeat odes to love and childhood, A Good Day is a classic folk album for the iPod generation.
For Fans Of: Jaymay, Missy Higgins, Ingrid Michaelson, Joni Mitchell