Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Video of the Day: The Heavy - "What Makes A Good Man?"


Today we have for you "What Makes A Good Man?" from UK band The Heavy.  The song is from their upcoming album, The Glorious Dead is scheduled for release August 31 here in the US according to Ninja Tune (August 21 in the UK).  

Check out the video below.




Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Upcoming: Jeremy Pelt Quintet at Brooklyn Museum, June 28


New York, Jeremy Pelt will take the stage with his quintet this Thursday, June 28 at 7PM over at the Brooklyn Museum. The show wraps up the six-event series Jazz: Brooklyn's Beat which is a partnership between Heart of Brooklyn and WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM featuring low-cost and free jazz performances in Brooklyn.  The performance is free to members of WBGO and Brooklyn Museum while suggested admission for non-members is $12 adults / $8 students and senior citizens.

Jazz: Brooklyn’s Beat, a month-long celebration throughout June, gives music fans of all ages a chance to enjoy world-class jazz music at some of the borough’s favorite cultural destinations.  Heart of Brooklyn and WBGO, in collaboration with Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park Alliance and Prospect Park Zoo, have been working together since 2007 to bring jazz musicians, singers and artists from around the globe to Brooklyn. The series showcases the borough’s diversity and the musical form of jazz through concerts, dances, lessons and more.

For more information, please visit www.heartofbrooklyn.org/jazz or www.wbgo.org/brooklyn, or follow @heartofbrooklyn and @wbgo on Twitter (hashtag: #JazzBklynsBeat).


Monday, June 25, 2012

Hank & Cupcakes Get Naked


Earlier this month, Brooklyn based duo, Hank & Cupcakes released their Ludwig Boss produced, full-length debut album, Naked.  It's eleven irresistible songs that immediately get stuck in your head.  I've spent the last few weeks under the weather and the infectious Naked has been my go to feel good album.

For those familiar with Hank & Cupcakes' shows, you'll notice right off the bat that Naked manages to capture their live energy.  From Hank's seductive rhythms and fuzzy bass effects to Cupcakes pounding drum beats, everything that has made the pair one of New York's hottest acts is captured.  The only thing missing is an audience full of people dancing themselves into a sweaty mess. 

Cupcakes strong, oft times sassy, sometimes gritty vocals guide you through their fun, funky, rhythmic wonderland of well crafted, catchy songs.  Naked is easily one of the top releases of 2012.  I suggest you get on board with this record now.  

Hank & Cupcakes may not be FDA approved but they come pretty darn close to curing what ails with this release. 

Gig Alert!!! Hank & Cupcakes will be at Mercury Lounge on Friday, July 6. Doors are at 10:30PM and it will cost you $10 advance / $12 dos but you better grab a ticket quick, it will sell out!

And, for your visual pleasure, check out the video for "Tame The Fool" from Naked below.



We had a week of pre-production rehearsals in an old building in East Berlin and then entered the studio for 10 days, working at an average of 16 hours a day. We originally planned to record 8 songs but working with Ludwig Boss was so fruitful and the time we spent in Berlin was so magical and inspiring that we ended up recording 14 songs. ‘NAKED’ includes 10 of these recordings, a re-master of HIT and a remix for our song ‘Aint No Love’ produced by Will “The 83rd” McNair and featuring Kalae All Day.

We feel that the album has a wholesome sound yet a diverse lineup of songs. There are pop oriented songs such as Born Again, Fly, Liquid Mercury & Aint No Love as well as rougher songs such as See Through, Sweet Potion & Pleasure Town. HIT & Jersey Girl are more on the dance music side and we even have a ballad - Tame The Fool, to show our hidden soft side. Aint No Love & Pleasure Town, previously released on our 2010 EP were re-recorded at Hansa and in our opinion have reached a level of precision that we hadn’t managed to achieve before. We’re very happy with the result and can’t wait to share this album with the world!


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Saint Motel Pay Homage To Benny Goodman


Yesterday I posted a track from Saint Motel.  Today, we have another one for you.  The track is called "Benny Goodman" and is from their upcoming debut album Voyeur.  For a limited time, you can download the song for FREE!  We like when cool bands give us free stuff, thanks guys!

Download the song using the handy widget below and if you're diggin' what you hear, on July 10 show them some love and pick up their album.  You can pre-order it HERE.




Video of the Day: Summer Camp - "Always"


Today we have for you, the video for "Always" by Summer Camp.  The song is the title track from their upcoming 5 song EP which is scheduled for release here in North America on July 10 (July 9 in the UK).  The clip was directed by Oliver Evans.

The UK duo put together an amusing piece where they take the time to enjoy the day in between offing some poor fella and getting rid of the body.  Check out the video below.





Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Caught My Ear: Saint Motel - "1997"


The artists known as Saint Motel are releasing their debut album, Voyeur, on July 10.  They premiered their new song "1997" about a month ago. I know, I'm a little behind but better late than never when it comes to good stuff! Check it out below using the handy widget.





   SAINT MOTEL - 1997 by saintmotel

With sophisticated savvy and singularity, the Los Angeles quartet Saint Motel has built a formidable reputation on the back of inventive indie pop and wildly-fun live shows. Mixing raw energy and rousing rhythms, Saint Motel's aural catharsis is pure bliss with a twist of cynical humor. According to A/J Jackson, singer and creative force behind Saint Motel, the band recently has expanded its repertoire to include “new elements that I would describe as tropical, Latin, big band, retro, that I don't think would have applied to our earlier music.”

This is the way of Saint Motel, not to be held down by stagnancies, but to continue a natural progression.  Once the listener is pulled in by the pulsating and joyous melodies, delight can be found in the surprisingly avant-garde lyrical subject matter. Voyeur is lush with stories that reveal themselves through thematic twists and turns with a narrative voice both subversive and sincere. With themes ranging from the lure of plastic surgery, to the dangers of honest feedback, to the taboo bonds of friendship within the Heaven’s Gate cult, we end up with tongue-in-cheek notions strung together by honest motifs, delivered with charm, often leaving the song’s meanings open to interpretation.

Jackson admits “while all the songs are based on what many would call ‘absurd’ subject matter, many of the songs have various levels of subtext that I hope the listener will decipher with repeated listens. “And so, what might be easily perceived as sexy with one listen, with another might seem mean-spirited or flatly perverse. That is the flair of Saint Motel's rapturous pop and the graceful dichotomy of its existence.

Upcoming: The Van Allen Belt Take On NYC


Hey New York, The Van Allen Belt will be bringing their dreamy electro pop to our fair city. Drop by a show or two and show them some love the details are below.  And if you're unfamiliar with their sound, check out the video for their song, "Lovely In Akron" at the bottom of the post.


 
 

Gig Alert!!!

Thursday, June 21st
Goodbye Blue Monday / 1087 Broadway / Brooklyn, NY 11221 / (718) 453-6343
8pm / 21+ / FREE

Friday, June 22nd

Lit Lounge / 93 2nd Ave # A / New York, NY 10003 / (212) 777-7987
9pm / 21+ / $6

Sunday, July 8th

Piano's / 158 Ludlow Street / New York, NY 10002 / (212) 505-3733
10pm / 21+ / $8

Monday, July 9th

Cameo Gallery / 93 North 6th Street / Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211 / (718) 302-1180
8pm / 21+ / cost TBA



Sunday, June 3, 2012

The Heavy Announce New Record

 
A favorite around these parts, The Heavy, have announced their new record, The Glorious Dead.  The record is scheduled to be released on August 21 via Counter Records/Ninja Tune.  New York, I hope you got tickets to their NYC June 18th show at Mercury Lounge before it sold out. It's sure to be a good one.  I first saw the band there and they put one hell of a show. It was full of hot, sweaty goodness!

Self-produced and with their unique, raw eclecticism fully intact, it's their most fully-realized record yet, mixing together soul, hip-hop, rock, blues and funk into glorious, raucous party music that is equally full of heart.

The first single from The Glorious Dead, "What Makes A Good Man?," was snatched up by Miller Beer for a national ad campaign (featuring the band in a dressing room cameo). The song follows in the footsteps of the band's sleeper hit "How You Like Me Now?" with its monumental chorus and crunching beats. But there's more to the album than just that, from the horror film atmospherics of "Can't Play Dead" to the laid-back sincerity of "Curse Me Good," the funked-up hip hop rhythm of "Big Bad Wolf" and the epic, heavy-hitting gospel rock 'n' roll of "Same 'Ol." Throughout, vocalist Kelvin Swaby's voice soars, packed with yearning and pure soul.