If I Dropped By... with Nytyly

Today, we hypothetically drop by the home of audio visual performing artist Nytyly (pronounced nightly).  I was recently turned onto her music and liked what I heard.  So, with an upcoming FREE show at The Delancey on Wednesday, December 11 (doors at 11:45PM / show at Midnight), it seemed like a perfect time to 'drop by' for a visit with Nytyly. 

Quirky NY Chick (QNYC): ... and brought a friend who didn't know your music, what song of yours would you play for them and why?

Nytyly: Thank you for hypothetically coming over (: I appreciate it. Love me some music loving house guests! 

Currently "Legs ' r '$hakin"  - a good place to start. It's got electronics which is very 2013, this way I appear hip to the groove. You know, despite the washy reverb doubled up vocal thing.

My friend Nate Terepka from the band Zula says "reverb is auto-tune for hipsters".  

Absolutely true, lol. 

Only my self accepting hipster aspect really shines forth in this track. The tuning of the guitar is bit-off, but that makes it sort of special. Like a misshapen shadow that looks beautiful for some reason. And I also appreciate the occurrence of a 1980's electronic breakdown section which reminds me of a Barbie Workout video I used to exercise to as an awkward duckling (Jennifer Love Hewitt was the dance instructor). 

The track means a lot to me. I wrote and produced it.  It has an unconventional structure and a very strangely enticing logic to it.  Maybe because of the odd tuning and the strict adherence to sparse instrument ion. It is just guitar, drum and vocal + one sample.

Limitation necessitates ingenuity and creativity. 

This song marks this big break through where I realized that songs are meant to be simple. The complexity comes from simplifying and simplifying.  That mindset carried over into my LIFE. It changed my being entirely. That and regular prayer, lol. (: 

At any rate, it is a spiritually energizing and unique pop tune. 

Thank you for metaphorically visiting me lol, come again soon! 

MammaBear - “Red’s Dead”

Atlanta’s MammaBear released their first album, Vol. 1 “Birds of Paradise”  earlier this year.  Check out their video for the single “Red’s Dead”, below.  The album has that lo-fi, retro, fuzz and jangle tinged garage rock sound that makes you feel like you should be crammed into some small, dark, dank, smelly, sticky floored club while listening to it. 

The video was directed by Patrick Davis, George Dunlap and frontman Kyle Gordon. Gordon, an Atlanta songwriter for ten years now, feels age both gently leading him by the hand and also dragging him along, kicking and screaming. When he isn’t busy learning from his past, he’s lamenting falling back into self-destructive patterns. Themes of attempted growth, the desire to settle down, and asking whether this is, indeed, as good as it gets, permeate the self-titled debut of Gordon’s new act MammaBear. 

After years of navigating the politics of working with other musicians, Gordon finally set out on his own, playing each instrument to achieve a more accurate representation of his vision. “I wanted to make a record by myself,” he admits, “the way I wanted to make it, the way I wanted to hear it. I didn’t have to ask anyone’s permission or try to coax or explain my ideas in the hopes that they would be understood or used.”  

MammaBear is a back-to-basics, reverb-heavy pop constellation that harkens to the “wall of sound” era of recording. The songs range from aggressive and messy (“Rodents,” “Something to Say to You”) to melodic and airy (“Birds of Paradise,” “Raven Falls”), but the common thread is a simple pop sensibility, interpreted through classic instruments and recorded through vintage means. 

Although conceived as a one-man band with studio-only aspirations, MammaBear is now a band being primed by Gordon for upcoming shows to promote the release. “I was originally just going to put out a new volume every year or so,” explains Gordon, “but what has started out as a studio project has evolved into a real, tangible band.” Along with a new album and a new band, Gordon is also launching a new independent record label called No Ego Records.

Clairy Browne & the Bangin' Rackettes To Play 2 NY Shows

Clairy Browne & The Bangin' Rackettes

Aaron & The Spell

Friday, December 6

Knitting Factory

361 Metropolitan Avenue

Brooklyn, NY

Doors: 8:30PM / Show: 9PM

Tickets: $15 adv / $17 dos

and

Clairy Browne & the Bangin' Rackettes

The Jay Vons

Saturday, December 7

Mercury Lounge

217 E Houston Street

New York, NY

Doors: 10:30PM

Tickets: $15 adv / $17 dos

21+

The Postelles Release New Single

The Postelles released a new single last week.  Check out and download “On My Shoulder” below.

If I Dropped By... with Julie Edwards of Deap Vally

A while back, I was introduced to the music of Deap Vally.  My first thought was simply “woah”.  They are full of attitude, they are raw, they are bluesy, they are balls out, sexy, sweaty rock ‘n’ roll.  The duo, Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards, released their debut full-length album Sistrionix this past October.

With Deap Vally poised to take the Mercury Lounge stage this Sunday, December 8 (doors are at 7PM, $12), I posed my “If I Dropped By...” question to drummer Julie Edwards.  This is what I found out during my hypothetical visit to her home.

Quirky NY Chick (QNYC): ... and brought a friend who didn't know your music, what song of yours would you play for them and why?

Julie Edwards (JE): Six Feet Under, because it's one of our favorites, heavy and sexy and slow.

New Release From She & Him

She & Him released The Capitol Studios Session on December 2.  It’s a digital only release of new versions of four songs from their latest album, Volume 3.

The She & Him band convened in Los Angeles in June of 2013 to capture a more intimate version of their vibrant new songs. The novelty of having the whole band together in a legendary recording studio inspired the looser arrangements characteristic of the band’s live performances. 

Recorded at Capitol Studios, mixed by Larry Crane, and mastered at Gateway Mastering, The Capitol Studios Session features Zooey Deschanel, M. Ward, Abigail Chapin, Lily Chapin, Mike Coykendall, Tom Hagerman, Scott McPherson, and Chris Scruggs.

Track List

• I Could’ve Been Your Girl
• Shadow of Love
• Snow Queen
• Turn to White

Yuna - “Rescue” + NYC Show

Malaysian songstress Yuna recently released a video for her song “Rescue”.  The track is from her latest album, Nocturnal.  Take a gander below.  If you haven’t had the chance to see her live, she’s one to check out.  I saw her a couple of years ago in a stripped down set and, um, wow.  She’ll be at Highline Ballroom on Thursday, January 9.  Also on the bill that night is Hurray for the Riff Raff; we enjoyed seeing them this summer.  They have a new album, Small Town Heroes, scheduled to be released on February 11.

Yuna

Hurray for the Riff Raff

Rebel Tumbao / DJ Joaquin Joe Claussell

Thursday, January 9

Highline Ballroom

431 W 16th Street

New York, NY

Doors: 6PM / Show: 7PM

Tickets: $20 advance / $25 dos

Control Group Release Debut EP + NYC Show

Control Group, the new band comprised of Evan Reynolds (vocals, bass, guitar); Darren Korb (vocals, guitar, drums) and Jeremy Parker (vocals, guitar, drums), recently released their debut EP, Shoes Of The People.  Check out the track, “Leave It Alone” below. And, if you want to go and show them some love live, they’ll be at Arlene’s Grocery on Wednesday, December 4...see below for full details.

Control Group

Wednesday, December 4

Arlene’s Grocery 

95 Stanton Street

New York, NY

7PM

Tickets: $8

21+

Control Group is a new band comprised of three singer-musicians with some impressive Indie cred: between them they have recorded three BBC Peel Sessions, won Best Original Score at the Spike Video Game Awards, sold 200,000 albums, got NME's Single Of The Week, won a Rock Band® National Championship, had a Swirlies’ song named after them, and toured with bands like Girls Against Boys, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and The Damned. Having left their previous projects behind with the other detritus in rock music’s roiling wake, Control Group found each other in the creative petri dish of Brooklyn. There they set about discovering their new style, expressing the spirit of their surroundings. 

The band say their inspiration derives from their method as much as from their musical influences. They spontaneously record their instrument parts without a master plan, like splattering paint on a canvas. Then each of the three takes ownership of a skeletal musical form and breathes emotion into it by adding vocals. Many tracks don’t make the cut, but some of these experiments result in wonderful, gut wrenching treasures. As singer Evan Reynolds observes, “The name Control Group is kind of ironic, because everything is so incredibly out of control.” 

The band’s debut 7” single contains two such treasures. It’s a limited edition, hand-labeled, hand-packaged labor of love. Recorded mostly live in a Bed-Stuy basement, this record is gritty and raw. Its heavy dynamic shifts and dark sound capture the the band’s nervous energy. Control Group has already drawn comparisons to the Scottish trio Paws, London Pitchfork darlings Yuck, and the still-vital Western Mass veterans, Dinosaur Jr. The digital version of the single was actually mastered from the vinyl, so it retains all the graininess of its physical origins. “We liked the feel of the vinyl versions so much, we wanted to keep that sound in the digital versions”, says singer Darren Korb.

Upcoming: Firehorse at Mercury Lounge on 12/3

Firehorse

Gold Lake

Tuesday, December 3

Mercury Lounge

217 E Houston Street

New York, NY

Doors: 9:30PM

Tickets: $10

21+

Check out the track “Fool” from their album Pills From Strangers.

These Animals - “Oak” + NYC Show

Check out the clip for “Oak” by These Animals.  The track was directed by Samuel Aaron Bennett and is from their full-length, debut album Pages.  The band will be at Mercury Lounge on Friday, December 6.  Doors are at 6:30PM and it will cost you $10.