May

14

The Host - Transmit EP + Video

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May 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Cincinnati continues to churn out great local music of late. The newest band to impress my ears from the area are The Host, a group that upon first taste might seem a to have more of a hard edge than I usually gravitate towards. However, the rough and tumble backing is fronted by some really genuine, and almost delicate lyrics and vocals that make it all go down easy. Or as my friend Kevin described it to me, “hard rock without the screaming….”

The band are preparing to release a brand new EP, thier second, this weekend and have a show scheduled for this Saturday night, May 17th at the Madison Theatre in Covington. I don’t have a download of a song for you today, but I do have a very cool video that Kevin (same as quoted above) from Soft City Lights recently passed along to me. If you are not familiar with Soft City Lights, check out some great video at his site right away…..


Soft City Lights: The Host from Soft City Lights on Vimeo.

Enjoy this video of The Host and do your best to get out to their show this weekend to pick up the new EP.

May

12

My Morning Jacket On Saturday Night Live

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May 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment


Just in case you only visit this music blog (cause everyone is posting it) even though we doubt you do, here are the two videos of My Morning Jacket performing this past weekend on Saturday Night Live. Remember, Evil Urges is due in stores next month, can’t wait!

May

12

The Lodger - Life Is Sweet

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May 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment


I’m a sucker for fast moving British (or Scottish) Pop music, always have been to a certain extent actually. And if you read this site you know I am partial to bands like The Maccabees, Maximo Park, The Cribs or even Arctic Monkeys. And The Lodger fall right in the center of that category. Their debut album, Grown Ups, was one of my favorites that came out of nowhere last year.

And now they return for another new record, once again on Slumberland Records and titled Life Is Sweet. While I can’t say it grabbed me the same way Grown Up’s did as a whole, there are 3 or 4 songs here that could be better than anything on the debut. Have a listen to one of them below and get ready for the new album, which will be in stores May 18th.

The Lodger - The Good Old Days

May

8

((sounder)) - Good Things Come And Go Like Bad Things

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May 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment


There is something oddly addictive about the music of ((sounder)), something ever so familiar yet is nothing like you have ever heard before. It dips in and out of several genres and is the type of discovery I love to get my hands on. Especially since ((sounder)) was a discovery I made a couple years ago and wrote about here on ENS.

((sounder)) was formed back in 2005 and is a duo comprised of Mike Aho and Steve Stratton. As I mentioned before, the songs are just familiar enough to keep me listening and odd enough to keep me intrigued. The last album had a similar effect on me as well. This new disc, Good Things Come And Go Like Bad Things not only makes my ears happy, but I also appreciate some of the better song titles within as well. Tunes like “Things Are Gonna Get Worse (Before They Get Worser)” and “Those Days Were Good Days (as Days Sometimes Are)” are worth a listen, but the track that has me reaching for this disc most is “Daily I Will Calculate The Distance” a true gem.

You might not hear about this record all over the blogosphere, but it is as worthy of your attention as any right now, so check out these two songs from ((sounder)) and if you dig em, buy the record!

((sounder)) - Those Days Were Good Days (as Days Sometimes Are)
((sounder)) - Oh River

In addition to this great music, Mike Aho is also a budding video director and as a companion to this release has started the ((sounder)) Director Collaboration Project. This will encompass a series of videos released through the spring and summer of this year in support of the new album. Check out the first two videos after the jump….
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May

7

Black Kids Pink Vinyl Giveaway!

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May 7, 2008 | 1 Comment


The last half of 2007 saw Black Kids rise to the top of the heap among indie buzz bands online. The Jacksonville band actually took that to a new level during last years CMJ by playing to a few sold out crowds in NYC as well. This was all on the strength of 4 songs they put on myspace for people to download, and we all ate it up.

Flash forward to May 2008, and Black Kids have resurfaced, no more myspace downloads for these guys though, as the band have signed to Columbia Records here in the USA to release their debut record, Partie Traumatic. In anticipation of that, they have some teaser material out there to tide us over until the full length is ready to drop.

One of those pieces is a beautiful 7″ record on pink vinyl and I have one to give away here on Each Note Secure this week! Have a look at the picture to the right. Here are the songs on this piece of wax.

SIDE A
1. “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You”
SIDE B
1. “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover

To win the vinyl, just email your registration to enscontests@gmail.com. Make the subject “Black Kids” and make sure you send from an email address I can reach you at should you win.

The band is also heading out on tour this month with another buzz band, Cut Copy, here are the confirmed dates as of right now…

May 7 - Chicago, IL at The Abbey Pub*
May 8 - Detroit, MI at Magic Stick*
May 9 - Toronto, ON at Lees Palace*
May 12 - Boston, MA at Paradise*
May 13 - Brooklyn, NY at Studio B*
May 15 - Washington, DC at Black Cat*
May 16 - Philadelphia, PA at Pure*
May 17 - Baltimore, MD at Sonar*
May 18 - New York, NY at Bowery Ballroom

*with Cut Copy

And finally, check out this great remix of “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend To Dance With You” for free download….

Black Kids - I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend To Dance With You (Twelves Remix)

May

6

New Interpol Video - Rest My Chemistry

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May 6, 2008 | 1 Comment

Just ran across a new video from Interpol that I wanted to share with you today. The vid is for “Rest My Chemistry”, another tune from their 2007 album, Our Love To Admire. Not your average music video either. Apparently, visual artist, and Interpol fan Aaron Koblin, approached his production company about making a video/art piece set to “Rest My Chemistry.”

It wasn’t supposed to be a video per se, but the idea was that he wanted to use the technology/process he had been working on for creating his pieces to make a visual companion piece for the song - basically taking the lyrics to heart and creating a sort of digital map of the human experience from cells to person to city to world to space, etc.

So check it out below, and let me know what you think of this new video….

May

5

Butcher The Bar - Sleep At Your Own Speed

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May 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment


I think I have mentioned here in the past (maybe several times) that I usually am listening to music all day long. And also, that I prefer to get my morning started with something a little easier on the ears. Something soothing to my musical palette. Well, today I took a slight risk and strayed from my recent favorite morning albums, (Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid & the Once soundtrack) to something brand new.

What I found was a perfect companion to those albums, as well as a new morning favorite. The album comes from Butcher The Bar, the stage name for one Joel Nicholson. Joel is a young chap from Manchester who creates beautiful bedroom pop songs. His lo-fi but highly emotional style of songwriting truly made my Monday morning get started off on the right foot.

He sounds more like Elliott Smith than he probably wants to hear about, but also strikes similarities to another young songwriter from overseas, Fionn Regan.

Have a listen to this tune from his new album, Sleep At Your Own Speed. The album is out May 27th from the good folks at Morr Music.

Butcher The Bar - Leave This Town

May

2

The Explorer’s Club - Freedom Wind

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May 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment


Over the past couple years or so, it has become quite popular for bands to unearth their inner Brian Wilson or declare their love for Pet Sounds Beach Boys material. And I have no issue with that, Pet Sounds was and is a brilliant album made by a brilliant musician, so it is only natural that bands of all ages would be influenced.

Groups like The Besnard Lakes and Panda Bear fall into this category, whos reviews are rarely without a Wilson parallel of some sort. And the indie rock world loves it, as both bands have been praised for their work overwhelmingly. Cue The Explorer’s Club. A band not only influenced by The Beach Boys, but come off at times as just a few steps below a BB cover band. And not in a experimental Pet Sounds kinda way either, more in a “Little Deuce Coup” or “I Get Around” Beach Boys vibe.

And here is the thing, I like it. Despite the overwhelming similarities (the band’s album cover is almost the exact same as The Beach Boys record All Summer Long) these guys have me hooked. The sun soaked dual harmonies are incredibly tight for a young bunch and the mix of keys, horns and guitar and some well placed tambourine, of course, make the album feel like it was meant to be played live at a beach party.

And with song titles like “Don’t Forget The Sun”, “Summer Air” and “Do You Love Me?” this one is a shue in to get heavy spins for me as the warm weather months approach.

Check out “Do You Love Me?” below and get ready for the album, Freedom Wind, which gets a release from Dead Oceans records on May 20th.

The Explorers Club - Do You Love Me?

Also check out the bands blog here….

Apr

30

Coming To Cincinnati - Mates Of State + New Album

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April 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment


Mates Of State have alot going on, a new album, a new addition to their family, and now a tour for this summer as well. The husband and wife duo have always done well here in Cincinnati as well, playing the Desdemona Festival a few years back, and will be stopping in the Queen City on their upcoming tour as well.

The tour begins next month and stretches all the way through the summer, ending with some festival dates at Lollapalooza, All Points West, and ACL. The Cincinnati date is June 17th at the Southgate House. The new album is called Re-Arrange Us, and is out May 20th from Barsuk. Get your first taste below with a video to a new song, “Get Better.

Full listing of dates after the jump…..
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Apr

28

Okkervil River Live @ Mad Hatter

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April 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Last Thursday night I made sure to head down to Covington for the Okkervil River show for several reasons. First of which was that the band do not seem to play in Cincinnati (have they ever?) or at least have not in years. And in recent years, but appreciation of the band has grown in leaps and bounds. I was hopelessly addicted to both Black Sheep Boy and the Black Sheep Boy Appendix and was equally blown away by their 2007 album The Stage Names. And after hearing Will and some of the band play in the WOXY.com lounge earlier that afternoon, I knew that passing up this show would be a big mistake.

I arrived at the venue after one great local band (Wussy) was finished with their set and was making way for another great local band, Turnbull ACs. Turnbull sounded great and I was almost as impressed with Dan Mecher’s 1990 Cincinnati Reds World Champs t-shirt as I was with the songs. Great stuff on both counts.

Okkervil River took the stage next, sporting a new lineup that includes Wrens guitarist Charles Bissel. Charles recently came on board after longtime Okkervil River guitarist Brian Cassidy decided to give up touring to focus on his family. Being a big fan of The Wrens, I found this to be a great fit and Charles jelled with the rest of the band as if he had been playing with them for years.

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