Reviewed - Pinback

Royale, Boston, MA

  

Last night, one half of the Galley had the pleasure of catching Pinback's show at Royale in Boston, MA. Led by singer/guitarist Rob Crow and singer/bassist/keyboardist Armistead Burwell Smith IV, Pinback captivated the crowd for almost two hours with their soothing sounds. Based in San Diego, CA, the group has recently released a new EP titled Information Retrieved, Pt. A ahead of their upcoming full length, expected in 2012. Crow and the boys ran through a huge portion of their catalog on stage, playing hits and deep cuts off all of their four full lengths. They sounded amazing live and I would definitely recommend catching them live if you can. Also keep an eye out for Judgement Day, the opening band that put on a rousing show (and played an incredible game of "Violin Hero") with their violin-cello-drums version of classical metal.

Pinback-"Non Photo-Blue"

Pinback-"Good To Sea"

Milo Greene - The Hello Sessions

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of stumbling upon information on Milo Greene, an L.A. based quintet that has been generating a bit of buzz over their two-song Hello Sessions. Reminiscent of Local Natives with a slightly poppier/peppier twist, these songs give me a lot of hope for the future of this group. Even though these are the only songs of theirs online, they have me as excited as two songs can get me. So excited in fact, that I already bought tickets to a show of theirs. "1957" is available for free download on Bandcamp. Give these guys a listen. You won't regret it!

Milo Greene-"1957"

Milo Greene-"Don't You Give Up On Me"

Radio Playlist #19 - Shower Hour

I had another great radio show last night. I played some new Fleet Foxes, and the Galley's interview with the great Slug of Atmosphere!! Check it out!

Shower Hour - Show #19

New Fleet Foxes Album Streaming

Fleet Foxes' upcoming, highly anticipated album, Helplessness Blues, is now streaming in all of its glory on NPR! Enjoy!

Listen to Helplessness Blues

Recent Recommended Releases 4-26-2011

Explosions In The Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Buy on iTunes / Buy on Amazon
Explosions In The Sky-"Postcard from 1952"
Explosions In The Sky-"Trembling Hands"

My Morning Jacket - Holdin' On To Black Metal - Single
Listen on the band's Facebook Page
Buy on iTunes / Buy on Amazon


Steve Earle - I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive
Buy on iTunes / Buy on Amazon

Emmylou Harris - Hard Bargain
Buy on iTunes / Buy on Amazon

Radio Playlist #4: The Security Dilemma

I did an all hip hop playlist last night. It was a lot of fun. Check it out here!

The Security Dilemma - Show #4

The Belle Brigade

The Belle Brigade, an L.A. group fronted by siblings Barbara and Ethan Gruska, has released their self-titled debut album on Tuesday. As we mentioned in our previous post, we were extremely excited about the album after hearing the singles. Now that it is out, it has exceeded all of our expectations and is already starting to make some pretty big waves. The Brigade performed "Where Not To Look For Freedom" and "Losers" on Jimmy Kimmel Live and recorded a session on Daytrotter, all on the day their album came out! The album is one of the best debuts we have heard in a while and we strongly recommend it. Enjoy!

Buy on iTunes / Buy on Amazon

The Belle Brigade-"Sweet Louise"

The Belle Brigade-"Losers"

The Belle Brigade-"Belt Of Orion"

The Belle Brigade-"Shirt"

Radio Playlist #18 - Shower Hour

I had another radio show last night. Lots of good stuff on there this week! I played some Macklemore and various Coachella highlights. Enjoy!

Shower Hour-Show #18

Reviewed - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Brighton Music Hall, Allston, MA

Last week we had the pleasure of seeing Macklemore and Ryan Lewis perform at the Brighton Music Hall in Allston, MA and they were INCREDIBLE. They put on one of the most lively, passionate, entertaining shows I have seen in my entire concert-going life. Macklemore raps with such passion and controls the audience with amazing stage presence. I was also able to sit down with them before the show and ask them a few questions. If you have the chance to see them live I would jump at the opportunity! You won't regret it!

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Interview

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis-"Irish Celebration"

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis-"The Town (Sabzi Remix)"

New Self-Titled Bon Iver Album Announced

Bon Iver, the brainchild of musical demi-god Justin Vernon, have finally announced a followup to their tremendous 2008 release For Emma, Forever Ago due out June 21. We could not be more excited.

Here's the full track listing for Bon Iver (thank you NPR):
1. Perth
2. Minnesota, WI
3. Holocene
4. Towers
5. Michicant
6. Hinnom, TX
7. Wash.
8. Calgary
9. Lisbon, OH
10. Beth/Rest

While we wait: Bon Iver-"For Emma"

Coachella Wrap-Up

Luckily, half of the Galley was able to make it the the Coachella Valley Arts & Music Festival in Indio, CA. Here's our take:

THE BEST:


The Black Keys:

Playing one of the most exciting, raw sets of the first day, Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach rocked through 45 minutes of their bluesy best. Highlights: A huge disco ball rising up from the stage for "Everlasting Light" and the crowd wishing drummer Patrick a happy 31st birthday.

Freelance Whales:

This show early on Saturday showed exactly how new some of the bands at the festival really are. While they looked extremely nervous and admitted to being afraid of public speaking, the New York group's show was an awesome way to start the day.

The Tallest Man On Earth:

The acoustic beauty of Swede Kristian Matsson was at its finest in the Gobi tent on Saturday. Running through all of his fan favorites, Matsson's set was essentially perfect. Highlight: The fan sing-along to "The Dreamer"

Mumford & Sons:

A crowd as large as any the whole weekend showed up for these guys and it was well worth the crowded, bodies-packed-like-sardines atmosphere. The band, wide-eyed at the biggest crowd they have ever played to, kept their cool and had the fans singing along to almost every song. They even played a new tune "Lover of the Light", something unusual and refreshing for a band that high up on the bill. Funny moment: Prior to the band's entrance, a spontaneous crowd rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody" started up, leading a Mumford "fan" to ask, "Is that a Mumford and Sons song??"

Arcade Fire:

The finale of Saturday, hundreds of huge flashing color balloons dropping from a crane onto the crowd during "Wake Up," couldn't have been better. The group sounded amazing, playing a wide-range of their material and ending the night with a bang.

Angus and Julia Stone:

This brother-sister duo from Australia was a total treat. The funny Julia and shy Angus had a wonderful dynamic and relaxed the masses in their hippie-like outfits. Highlight: Julia rocking out on the guitar, piano and trumpet.

Ellie Goulding:

British singer/songwriter Goulding is known by many through the dozens of popular remixes that have been done of her electro/acoustic ballads. Highlight: Everyone wearing star-shaped glasses during her hit "Starry Eyed" and her incredible cover of Elton John's "Your Song".

Tinie Tempah:

I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that Tinie Tempah, a British rapper that has made waves in his homeland, is going to get big. Maybe it was his incredible command of the audience or the fact that he showed up twenty minutes late due to technical difficulties and the initial booing turned to cheering when the band played their first note. Or maybe it was the fact that David Hasselhoff, Clint Eastwood, and Usher all showed up to catch his set. Either way, the highlight was definitely when Ellie Goulding returned to the stage to join him for "Wonderman".

Chromeo:

The electrofunk duo, made up of Dave 1 and P-Thugg, kept the crowd moving Sunday night with their infectious dance cuts. Highlights: The band being joined by Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig and Dave 1's younger brother, A-Trak.

Kanye West:

Needless to say, this was the biggest show of the weekend. After entering on a riser, emerging from the middle of the audience, dozens of ballerinas accompanied West on stage as he ran through 25 of his biggest hits. The set, which he dedicated to his mom, was clearly a huge hit with the crowd, who sang along to most of the choruses. Backed by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver on backup vocals, who was never credited in any way, Kanye was surprisingly without any special guests the whole show. Rumors had been circulating about Rihanna, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, or even Daft Punk possibly joining him on stage. But this event, Kanye wanted to enjoy all to himself. Even so, this show was epic.

THE WORST:


Kings Of Leon:

While their headlining set on Friday night wasn't bad, it was simply boring. There was none of the flair or excitement that was clear during Arcade Fire and Kanye's sets.

Cee-Lo Green:

This complete failure of a show made headlines. After showing up about 30 minutes late, Green complained about poor sound quality during his show and the crowd singing along to his hit "Fuck You" seemed to be directed right at him. He was soon booted off stage during a strange cover of "Don't Stop Believin'".

Animal Collective:

The die-hard fans up front were having fun, but the experimental group drew a much smaller crowd than Mumford & Sons who played right before them and seemed to only appeal to those at the festival who chose to be inebriated enough to enjoy anything.

Wiz Khalifa:

This up-and-coming rapper's set drew a huge crowd during the middle-of-the-day heat but fell flat with boring beats and tired rhymes that were all about "Money and Ho's".

The Strokes:

While this set wasn't bad at all, (the group sounded amazing), Julian Casablancas wins the award for the worst stage banter of the weekend. After describing his flight in on a "diamond encrusted jet," and making a snide comment about Californians in California, the crowd seemed slightly put-off.

Radiohead-"Supercollider/The Butcher"

Not an hour ago, I received a lovely thank you email from Radiohead for the purchase of King of Limbs, their newest and decidedly worst album to date. To my surprise though, along with the email came the free download of two tracks just released for Record Store Day. I'm only a few spins in, but I can already say that I'm enjoying both songs more than anything off King of Limbs. And to be frank, that's heartening. Let me know what you think. As always, enjoy!


Radiohead-"Supercollider"

Radiohead-"The Butcher"

Radio Playlist #3: The Security Dilemma

I had another great show last night. It's mostly new music from some of my favorite artists with a couple classics thrown in for good measure. Enjoy enjoy.

The Security Dilemma-Show #3

Vids Worth a View #3

The Decemberists-"This Is Why We Fight"

The Decemberists have just released the music video for "This is Why We Fight," one of many excellent tracks off of their latest LP The King is Dead. The album is easily one of my favorites of the year so far. If you haven't listened yet, here's a snippet!

My Morning Jacket - Circuital (Single)

The return of My Morning Jacket. The boys have just released the title track off their forthcoming album Circuital (out May 31st) as a free download on their website. The track hearkens back to the Jacket of old, before 2008's Evil Urges, an album that for me felt wrong all the way through. This feels right, like a cut off It Still Moves or more broadly the kind of song I believe comes naturally to this band. This is Jim James getting back to the music he makes well, and if it's any indication of what's to come in late May, boy I'm excited. Oh and I really can't wait for the return of the skeleton boots. Too much fun.

My Morning Jacket-"Circuital"

Radio Playlist #17 - Shower Hour

Hey all! Here is the next installment of Shower Hour on WMFO, 91.5. It airs 1-2 am EST on Tuesday nights/Wednesday mornings. Enjoy!

Shower Hour - Show #17

Atmosphere - The Family Sign

Atmosphere, one of the leading voices in the independent rap world, is one of our favorite groups. For you diehard fans out there, prepare yourself for something different. The Family Sign, the new 14-song disc from Slug (MC), Ant (Producer), and two new members on guitar and keyboards, is not like any previous Atmosphere work. There is more instrumentation (2 of the songs are almost completely instrumental) and an all around bigger sound. They continue the trend of their past few albums as they move away from sampling and use more live instruments. And unlike most Atmosphere releases, a few songs just fall flat, especially "Bad Bad Daddy". As you might expect from the title, the album is all about the family unit, and the issues that arise within it. At first, fans of older Atmosphere material may be disappointed in the clear loss of Slug's attitude, his "swagger" if you will. But it is important to realize that Slug is now 38! What I think makes him still relevant is that he acts his age. He rhymes about things in his life now, not his life 20 years ago and he still has his old lyrical chops. That makes this album a logical next step in Atmosphere's discography and definitely worth getting. Enjoy!

iTunes / Amazon

Atmosphere-"The Last To Say"

Atmosphere-"Became"

Atmosphere-"If You Can Save Me Now"

Atmosphere-"Something So"

Atmosphere-"My Notes"

TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light

For Brooklyn group TV On The Radio's newest album, they took things slow. While usually recording in the hustle of New York, the group shifted to L.A. to record Nine Types of Light. This change in tempo is clear on their new disc. Synths are all over the place on this awesome slow-jam-filled release. This is a great follow up to 2008's extremely well-received Dear Science. Enjoy!
iTunes / Amazon

TV On The Radio-"Second Song"

TV On The Radio-"Repetition"

TV On The Radio-"Forgotten"