Who would have guessed there was a hot nightclub scene in Saugus? Hell, who would have guessed there was any sort of scene in Saugus. But when I skeptically ventured out and into Polcari’s on Route 1 to see R&B cover band extraordinaire MojoSlim, I stepped unwittingly into some kind of cosmic time warp back to a swinger lounge of the 1970s, with the vibe of a North Shore, Boston edition of Jersey Shore.
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If you’re in the mood for some lovely singer-songwriter acoustic ‘psych rock’ Tuesday night, head over to T.T. the Bear’s Place for Maine-based Jeff Beam. He’ll be on at 8:45pm, and will be performing with The Sea Life, Old Abram Brow and Wilder Maker.
For now, have a listen to You’ll Find That It’s Stranger Than Known (non-album tracks from 2012), which, just for the record, is an album title I feel a particularly affinity with at the moment.
The Rebel Light released their debut self-titled EP back in November. Now based in L.A., the band is comprised of two brothers from Montauk, New York and their “long lost cousin” from Yucaipa, California. In true DIY spirit, the EP was recorded and mixed by the band themselves, with the vocals captured in the bathroom and the drums tracked in a wood shed. They’ve got an exuberant and celebratory sound with lots going on in this 3 song EP (plus radio edit). There’s the pop balladry of “Goodbye Serenade,” the fully orchestrated production of “Wake Up Your Mind,” and somewhere between those two with the Beatlesque “My Heroes Are Dead.”
Have a listen below, and if you like what you hear, give the band a little tip when you download it. You can grab it from bandcamp or noisetrade.
“Goodbye Serenade,” is especially strong, anthemic in its chorus and horn revelry. It achieves a special poignancy when experienced along with their video, which combines brief clips of band members interspersed with a cultural collage of our world’s history, our best and worst moments. I’m not certain of the intention, but it takes a song about a personal relationship to a completely different place with its refrain, “strange days going in circles…” Definitely a band to watch.
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Here’s some lovely music from This Much, a relatively new band based in Allston who have recently released their first 2-song EP, “Steady Feet / The Noise” (listen below). Very pretty and contemplative, with some heartwarming acoustic guitar and thoughtful, intelligent lyrics. Note: this is important. A song can have a nice or interesting sound, but lame, last-minute words thrown on top can completely ruin everything. That’s just me, of course. Maybe it’s you too; I don’t know. But when I hear a line “and I can’t wait to see you on steady feet,” that’s something that deserves further attention. I’ll be watching these guys. Their second EP, “Interest / Spiral” will be coming soon.
This Much is: Terrence Mulhern – vocals, guitar, keyboards, recording/mixing; Denny Kennedy – drums, manager; John Stricker – bass. I just love that – “drums, manager.” How’s that for an authentic indie band?
Steady Feet/The Noise by This Much
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photo by Kai Benson
Singer, rapper and lyricist Dessa (of Doomtree) will be performing with her full band at The Sinclair on Sunday, January 13. You can buy tickets here. Also on the bill will be Adeem, H.W. & DJ Emoh and Betta.
::: facebook event :::
Her latest album is Castor, The Twin, and she’ll also be performing new songs from her forthcoming album, due out in the Spring. Castor, The Twin featured reworkings of songs from her debut album, A Badly Broken Code, with an ensemble that will also be featured in her live performance. This will include voila, stand-up bass, grand piano, mandolin, vibraphone and timpani.
Life is pressing down, but here’s something nice and upbeat for you tonight. From Australia, it’s Xavier Rudd. His latest album is Spirit Bird (on SideOneDummy). More about him when I have a little more time. Peace out.
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“Where We Are Now” by David Bowie (the original vimeo wouldn’t let me embed, so thank you SparkyHughes33 on YT)
Happy Birthday, David Bowie. For his 66th birthday, he’s decided to give all of us a surprise present—a brand new song after nearly a decade of musical silence. “Where Are We Now” is a harrowing ‘state of the planet’ assessment, viewed from a place where he probably felt most, if you’ll forgive the New Ageism, “grounded”—his time spent in Berlin in the late 1970s. The song is produced by long-time collaborator Tony Visconti and the video, directed by Tony Oursler, is disturbingly stunning. It features footage from that time, of his old Berlin neighborhood, mixed in with scenes from a cluttered loft, David and an unknown companion in the guise of sad and neglected children’s dolls, and enough cryptic imagery to keep a team of psychoanalysts happily engaged for decades. It’s a beautifully orchestrated, lyrically wistful, piano and strings-driven stroll through a winter forest of melancholia. Welcome back, David.
If this song out of nowhere isn’t enough to leave one breathless, there’s also a new studio album called “The Next Day” (his first since 2003), to be released on March 8 (Australia) and March 12 (U.S.) on Columbia Records. The album will feature 14 songs, and a deluxe edition will include three bonus tracks. No word yet on if there will be any tour. His last stage performance was at a New York charity concert in 2006. In other Bowie news, Victoria and Albert Museum in London will have a major exhibition dedicated to him, which opens on March 23.
This is going to be quite a year.
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Some very sad news tonight. One of my favorite Eastside L.A. bands, The Deadly Syndrome have called it quits (band announcement). As I just reported in my ‘infamous roundup’ of those marvelous bands of Silver Lake, Echo Park and surrounding areas, The Deadly Syndrome released their third full length album last year, All In Time, and I was looking forward to seeing what they had planned for 2013, and especially if they’d be (finally) touring on the East Coast. Alas, that wasn’t to be.
However, rather than mourn, let’s celebrate the great music they gave us. Some of my personal favorites from their debut album The Ortolan were “Wolves in the Garden,” “Eucalyptus” and “Animals Wearing Clothes.” As for their follow-up, Nolens Volens, I named it as a favorite in the Ryan’s Smashing Life 2010 Album Buyers Guide. What I said was this: “Quirky, fun and folky on their debut, The Deadly Syndrome dips into more adventurous (though still melodic) waters and pushes their sound into new places. Lyrically there’s an increased self-awareness and edgier quality that shows a band in transitional growth.” On “All In Time,” they were still pushing boundaries and trying new things, not content to rehash previous successes.
It’s been a supreme challenge to see my beloved Eastside L.A. bands in the flesh, though I’ve been very fortunate, considering the 3,000 mile chasm. I had the great pleasure of seeing The Deadly Syndrome—along with The Union Line and Earlimart—at a curious little venue in the oft-maligned Orange Country, the Slide Bar in Fullerton (Bostonians, it would be analogous to seeing an Allston band performing in Saugus).
As I don’t see “The Ortolan” on their bandcamp, I’ll leave you with their latest. I’m sure they had their reasons not to include it. They probably just wanted to move on. Go ahead and buy it. You’ll thank me.
To The Deadly Syndrome—thank you for being one of the three bands who played a now legendary gig at Spaceland back in December of 2008. Just hearing about that show started me on a long, wonderful musical odyssey where I would be totally knocked out by many fine bands. My very best wishes to you in all your future endeavors.
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Meet Great Caesar, a sextet from Brooklyn, New York. They’ve just released a new EP, Scattered Air. Consider them ‘indie rock big band’ with a bit of a lyrical dark streak. It’s a huge sound and yes, it’s rather anthemic (though I dislike the term) and will likely garner the expected comparisons, but no, I won’t. I’ll just say it’s epic and grand, with guitars, crashing percussion, triumphant horns and exuberant harmonies. There’s also a strong jazzy flavor and a charming retro feel (“Fact,” “Rearview”). Having said all that, my favorite track on the 4-song EP is “Son,” which is much more low key and shuffles along, featuring some lovely vocals, a seductive sax line and a crashing frenzy of guitar and horns. Just beautiful. They’ll be performing on Friday, January 25 at Stella Blues in New Haven, CT.
Enjoy this live acoustic version of “Son,” performed in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
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A few bands with new albums out this year: The Happy Hollows, The Airborne Toxic Event (Anna & Noah at Osheaga) and Radar Bros.
I hope you enjoyed part I of the Eastside L.A. 2013 Roundup. In part II, we pick up where we left off, with the lovely Miss Sarah Negahdari‘s side project, Pisces.
Same rules apply. If the last update was last summer and not a word since then, I’m going to call the band MIA and assumed gone or on extended hiatus, unless I hear otherwise. Confirmed as defunct: Shadow Shadow Shade and Walking Sleep.
We continue now with the rest of our roundup. Good night, and good luck. >>
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