Being that Philadelphia’s Cold Fronts recently signed to Warner/Sire records, they’ll probably be out of the picture for awhile recording an expensive debut and plotting a big marketing campaign. That said, it’s commendable that a label that large would choose to sign a barebones rock band in this age of pop divas and indie-electro.

“Know It All” is a solid taste of the band, who come off like a more pop-leaning Strokes, also close to the sound of the Postelles (who could easily be considered their NYC counterpart). Cold Fronts’ sound is simple, catchy, and their greatest accomplishment thus far is consistency. They’ve got seven songs out at this point and they’re all winners, having an unpolished feel and an obvious energy to them.

Instead of shooting for that glossy chart-topping single, Cold Fronts have opted to just be a good band. It shows in their songs.

Official Site

The post Cold Fronts – “Know It All” appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

As mentioned last month, I’ve been working with Caesars’ Entertainment’s “Total Rewards” program, with 100+ grand prizes and 80,000+ other Total Prizes. Join the loyalty program for free, and then play the game that just launched. For some free plays on the game, enter in this code: 3RHK4G.

They have nearly 40 locations around the world, so it’s an ideal getaway… especially if you happen to win one of those prizes. In the middle of spring, we all feel like a vacation. So combine this worthwhile program with a travel mix, consisting of everything from dice-rolling (“Try Your Luck” and “What You Don’t Know About the Girl”) to lounging on a tropical oasis (“Stay Another Season” and “Acapulco”). Some names that were featured in the past, but still remain under-exposed, include the Leisure Society, Luxembourg, Scouting For Girls, Tap Tap, and Youth Group. Click on any of the preceding links to read the articles. Some, like Luxembourg and Tap Tap, date back to 2006!

It’s a topical way to revisit tracks that still get plenty of repeats half a decade later.

01. Air France – June Evenings
02. The Strokes – Try Your Luck
03. Avalanches – Stay Another Season
04. Roger Joseph Manning – What You Don’t Know About the Girl
05. Dennis Wilson – Moonshine
06. Leisure Society – Love’s Enormous Wings
07. Luxembourg – Pin Me Down
08. Weezer – Acapulco
09. Scouting For Girls – Mountains of Navaho
10. Tap Tap – Way to Go, Boy
11. Youth Group – Dead Zoo

I am honored to be an Influencer for the Total Rewards brand. Material and/or financial incentives may be received as a result of my involvement.

The post ‘Plot Your Escape’ Travel Mix appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

MP3: Swells – Lost At Sea

Swells are a quartet residing in San Francisco. Their new release, a collection of self-recorded demos, presents laid-back indie-rock with relaxing West Coast vibes akin to The Morning Benders and Surfer Blood. Swells contains four varied and exciting songs that should appeal to most indie-rock fans, especially if they’re fans of The Walkmen.

“Lost At Sea” is a very strong opener. Comparisons to The Walkmen’s Hamilton are immediately apparent. Singer Ian Bruce has similar versatility and fervor, his voice alternating between high-pitched yelps and drawn-out pronunciations. From start to finish, Swells is a delightful listen that gives me the feeling of being on the California coastline. When I opened my eyes, it was still fall on the East Coast, and the Hudson River was still my closest shore, but the sweet feeling of Californian indie-rock was taking over my ears. The instrumental arrangement is zesty without being overpowering. Swells find excellent balance between guitar, drums, and vocals. Bruce’s vocals jive perfectly and have an intriguing flavor. Like Leithauser’s voice, his contains a slight twang that brings a bit of country-rock to the table. It is almost impossible to not instantly like “Lost At Sea”.

“Ships Set Sail” rolls at a slower pace than “Lost At Sea” at first, with Bruce’s voice sounding more Julian Casablancas than Leithauser. In the middle the song picks up in a fluid manner and moves between its fast and slow progressions, reminiscent of swift rock-pop groups like The Strokes and Two Door Cinema Club. Again, the song relies heavily on guitar and drums that highlight Bruce’s strong vocal performance. Swells’ ability to introduce simple melodies while infusing a wide vocal range keeps the level of accessibility high. This is definitely a track that will be on repeat.

“Ships Set Sail” continues by seamlessly transitioning into “For Miles”. The release’s third song is packed with intricate guitar work and tight drums, which create smooth overlapping harmonies inspired by dexterous surf-rock. ”For Miles” slowly fades out, leaving the listener wanting more.

Swells is a great showing from this new group. Even though it is bursting into a well-known genre, it does so with a strong, clear voice.

RIYL: The Walkmen, The Strokes, Surfer Blood, The Morning Benders

Bandcamp / Facebook / Twitter

The post Swells appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

The Rozzes are a very young band with an extra dose of talent and vigor, similar in mold to recent youthful power-pop successes like Cloud Nothings. Similarly, they possess a musical intellect that presents talent well beyond their years. They are a band to watch closely as they develop into stars. Even if comparisons to groups like The Strokes are persistent at this point due to their similar styles of production, it is impossible to deny The Rozzes’ inseparable talents, especially when the quality of their material is growing at such a rapid rate. Listeners will be shocked when realizing how young these guys are. They have such an astute grasp on the garage-rock sound they’ve achieved in a short time that musicians ten, twenty, and thirty years their senior will scratch their heads, perplexed as to how it comes this naturally to them.

Both chemistry and similar musical genes play roles in The Rozzes’ quick maturing process. The California-based quartet consists of four cousins that grew up in the same house together. Music was a huge part of their lives at an early age and their interest in it grew along with them. As such, their lifetime commitment to music has resulted in a continuous songwriting process. Their debut album will be released for free in the coming months, followed by appearances at multiple festivals throughout August and September.

Judging by their Twitter account, it’s not surprising that The Rozzes have been in contact with Ryan Gentles, manager of The Strokes (and called by some “the sixth Stroke”). They certainly resemble the prestigious indie-rockers at their earliest/best stages. The main chorus in “Leave Without Me” – particularly when lead singer Isaiah Navarro belches out “Tonight let’s start outside / Now you know I’ve got nowhere to hide” – resembles The Strokes’ “Trying Your Luck” on multiple levels. In addition to Navarro’s unavoidable similarity to the scraggly vocals of Julian Casablancas, a fuzzy rhythm guitar is muzzled under a mix of tremolo-laden guitar trickles and evolving bass lines. The three-minute mark introduces a more prominent bass, which is somewhat puzzlingly mixed higher than usual. The spontaneous increase works advantageously though, producing a sound that is hectically infectious but never rushed nor desperately concocted.

Of course, the smoothly crafted hooks help make such comparisons abundant. You can find them in every chorus on “Leave Without Me”, which progresses to be a polished example indicative of the group’s future. That is, sitting comfortably in the role of radio darlings. “Native Sun” is more amateur in its production and spastic rhythmic patterns, the chorus failing to separate itself from the verse like when it was done exceptionally on the aforementioned “Leave Without Me”. But it is a worthwhile nugget nonetheless, showcasing a band clearly learning the ropes and discovering their sound. As something like “Native Sun” proves, ambitious prog-rock is not out of the question for a band with genuine chemistry like The Rozzes. They’re clearly on the path to bigger and better things.

The final mix of “Indians” is another example of the group’s phenomenal pacing and stirring evolution; the latter is occurring right now. With more ferocity and garage-rock vigor than most ‘00s indie-rock groups (The Strokes included), this fast-paced burst of energy brings to mind a recent movement ignited by groups like Cloud Nothings and Smith Westerns. Bringing along a variety of styles from blues and power-pop to the ambitious proto-punk of groups like Television and The Stooges, “Indians” is one example of a revival that listeners should hope to hear more of this decade. It marks a revival that, instead of relying on hype or trendiness, brings back the raw energy and combustible hooks of past rock acts that remain essential to this day – especially after they defied initial misconceptions about their so-called “amateur” approach. Amateur my ass.

RIYL: The Strokes, Cloud Nothings, Smith Westerns, Rooney, Television, The Stooges, Girls, The Babies, Harlem, Wavves, Craft Spells, Real Estate, Surfer Blood, Magic Kids, Best Coast, Crystal Stilts, No Age, Male Bonding, Wild Nothing, Vivian Girls

The Rozzes – Leave Without Me

The Rozzes – Indians

The Rozzes – Native Sun

Official Site / Facebook / MySpace

The post The Rozzes appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Regular readers know this by now: the aim of Obscure Sound is to expose quality artists that, for whatever reason, have yet to achieve substantial recognition despite their excellent material and prevalent talent. I believe that the music blogosphere has a positive effect on a music industry currently plagued by a money-first ideology that results in bland, repetitive, and uninspiring material. Sites like ours hope to showcase quality music that defies this. Every single site like this – ranging from amateur Blogspots to fully-staffed machines – has the potential to show someone their new favorite band, something they may carry throughout their entire life. Unlike the actual music industry, this is not a very competitive atmosphere. Many bloggers become friends and even business partners, all knowing that there is an excess of under-exposed quality in music that no single site can cover in full. Naturally, when I am presented with a project that aligns with my ideology and that of my music-oriented friends and readers, it is always worth looking into.

I have been working alongside a very promising company the past month or so that promotes the same vision that I do. While Obscure Sound helps the sales of aspiring independent artists through exposure, this particular project is even more direct in doing so. The aim of Groopease is to promote the work of overlooked and aspiring independent artists with worthwhile material, just like Obscure Sound. The fascinating thing about their route is that they work with the artists directly to offer an exclusively discounted rate on their material, in a format similar to Groupon. This pertains to the artist’s actual releases, and in the future may extend to merchandise and tickets. For all of you that just download the material for free knowing that iTunes and management would take the bulk of profit regardless, Groopease is an excellent alternative that re-routes the proceeds to more deserving ends: charity and the artists. The digital age has made it very difficult for independent artists to support themselves, mainly because listeners are strapped for cash themselves and deem it wasteful to give their hard-earned money to big companies. After all, it is so easy to obtain full-length albums for free via file sharing, so why not do just that?

Easily one of the most rewarding things for me is viewing this site’s Amazon Associates account to see which artists we have legitimately helped out. Seeing that this review alone sold 70 copies of Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs was cool, but they’re already quite popular so it’s hard to say we did much. Most of those buyers already knew who Arcade Fire were, and simply happened to buy it via the review since it was convenient to do so. That doesn’t mean much to me. It’s actually rewarding when this site sells a handful of copies of a legitimately independent album, from a band that probably has a day-job in addition to their artistic work. The fact that this site sold ten copies of Kinetic Stereokids’ excellent album Kid Moves is a lot more rewarding to me than any number of Arcade Fire albums. That makes me feel great, like we’re making a difference (albeit a small one), and is honestly the reason I will continue to do this for as long as possible.

Speaking with those in charge of Groopease, it’s clear that they get a similar sense of satisfaction from allowing truly talented independent artists to simultaneously achieve recognition and profit for their work. To make it even better, they donate a portion of the album’s proceeds to a charity. For example, you can purchase the new album from yesterday’s featured band The Filthy Violets for only $5, a whopping 50% discount from anywhere else. 5% of those sales are donated to The Empower Nepali Girls Foundation, which provides educational scholarships to neglected children of Nepal. There are several bands and charities per week. Like this site, they feature several artists per week that are pretty much unheard of. In doing so, they have already introduced me to some great new stuff! The first is a band called The Salvadors. Groopease is invitation-only, but do not fear. As a reader of this site, you get a free invite by clicking here. Feel free to tell your friends to join as well; you get $1 in Groopease credit per invite. So invite five, and you can essentially get the album for free AND support the artist! It’s an awesome program for all parties.

On to the first Groopease band that really caught my attention: The Salvadors. The Australian five-piece craft a beautiful form of indie-pop that takes enjoyable cues Afro-pop/beat. Rolling Stone and Australian radio station Triple J have already flagged The Salvadors as one of the most promising acts from Australia. But before you group them in with Vampire Weekend and the countless number of imitations, take a listen to their new album Misspent Youth. Featuring eight tracks with expansively buoyant choruses, sugary male-female harmonizing, and slick Afro-beat guitar constructions. Their music video for the excellent “Wilson” is quite effective in capturing the visions that their sound ignites; a carefree day in the sun, with your biggest worry being if your best friend catches a bigger fish than you. Catch a bunch of them for dinner, and then ride home in a pick-up as the summer breeze blows against your body. And there isn’t a cold chill in the air! Ah, many of us desperately need that feeling right about now. Just a few more months!

The Salvadors are more reminiscent of Little Joy and Surfer Blood than Vampire Weekend. There are some relaxed Latin influences in addition to the Afro-beat, but one can also expect familiar indie-pop in the sugary hook-filled vein of The New Pornographers and Mates of State. Misspent Youth is actually superior to either of those group’s most recent release. This is a debut that should give The Salvadors some international acclaim in addition to the pre-existing buzz in their native Australia. Songs destined for the charts include the exuberant “Wilson” and the soft jangly appeal of “Westfield”. Shimmering indie-pop is not the only flavor on here though. Delicate folk is echoed in “Miss Munroe”, with swaying acoustics and a slight touch of keys. The hushed use of strings during one verse is complete with a male-female duet, beautifully interwoven as the beautiful melody forms completely. There actually isn’t a weak track on the entire album.

Misspent Youth is highly recommended, and for ONLY $3 on Groopease is an absolute steal. Just join for free and give it a go.

RIYL: Little Joy, Surfer Blood, The Morning Benders, Vampire Weekend, Elbow, The New Pornographers, Mates of State, British Sea Power, Suede, Yeasayer, Arcade Fire, Los Hermanos, Marcelo Camelo, The Strokes, Mallu Magalhães

The Salvadors – Westfield

The Salvadors – Wilson

The Salvadors – Eliza Jane

Blog / MySpace / BUY

The post Groopease + The Salvadors appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Now 21 years old, David Pollack’s music continues to evolve. Often an age like this marks the beginning of an aspiring music career, but this NYC-based singer/songwriter has been at it for years already. I featured Pollack nearly four years ago when he was 18 and fronting a band called Play. Even at that point, the reception for his material was glowing. Tracks like “Rainbow Schemes” and “Get a Hold of You” garnered a very positive response in this site’s comments section alone, drawing comparisons to Weezer, Ozma, and other hook-filled alt-rock acts of the ‘90s and early ‘00s. Play disbanded in 2008 when Pollack went to college at the University of Vermont, but he continued writing songs. He joined the jazz vocal ensemble and an A-capella group, honing his already-amiable voice and keeping musically active. His native NYC kept calling though. He moved back last summer as a result, reuniting himself with a city and friends close to his comfort zone. This return to normalcy resulted in his first official release since 2006’s Play EP.

Pollack’s new EP, Out the Other Side, is the first under his name. It makes sense too; the songs are emotional and thought-provoking in a very personable format. Lo-fi songs that that “indicate the dark side of depression” place more emphasis on lyrics than his past material. Whereas Pollack’s past efforts would be very melodically inclined with somewhat forgettable lyrics, his evolution as an artist is occurring simultaneously with his maturity as an individual. Even though he never had issues turning emotions into melodies, it is now apparent that Pollack is also able to transpose his emotions into words without the slightest touch of melodramatic desperation. Not surprisingly, the musical accompaniments follow suit and make for his richest material to date. His melodic chops remain the same – strong. And his lyrical wits and structural tendencies have improved, resulting in an even more promising outlook for his musical future than when he was 18. Rarely does an artist’s potential increase with age, but Pollack appears to be an exception.

As he grows as an artist through his solo material, his talents continue to spread to other projects as well. In addition to his solo work, Pollack has spent most of his time recently with his new band, Bridges. He and friend Steele Kratt formed the five-piece last year, playing a natural progression of Pollack’s interest in ’90s alternative. It is more in the infectious vein of Play than his emotive folk as a solo artist. The difference simply shows off his diversity as a songwriter. Bridges’ new EP will be released shortly, but in the meantime one of its tracks – “Again and Again” – gives us a nice taste of what to expect. This time around, bands like The Wrens, Teenage Fanclub, and Guided by Voices are more apt comparisons than Weezer, even if emphasis on power-pop and some punk is still there. As far as more recent comparisons go, the soaring guitar work of British Sea Power is not too far off from their sound. In “Again and Again”, the suitable amount of distorted rhythm guitars and its lead twang-y counterpart mixing infectiously over Steele Kratt’s succinctly tight drumming. “I wake up from my slumber,” Pollack kicks it off with subdued restraint, before yelping “clock tells me it’s a quarter-to-three!” The chorus is just as impulsively excitable, capped off by several band members shouting “again and again and again!” It is a damn catchy track that should make any alt-rock fan excited for Bridges’ upcoming release.

“Again and Again” is infectiously distorted enough to prevent Pollack’s lyrical sentiments about daily monotony to dominate the track. His solo material, on the other hand, emphasizes wordplay and emotion with prominence. “The Right Night” is one of the finest examples of Pollack’s development as both a songwriter and lyricist. Touched with the delicate touch of horns (via Harry Hipwell), it utilizes the brass with grand proficiency. So many artists, especially young ones, tend to over-use an instrument simply for its novelty. Pollack, though, clearly knows how to write for a specific instrument; it is particularly useful in a genre like this. There are moments where Elliott Smith, DeVotchKa, and Smog might come to mind as influences, but “The Right Night” is clearly an individualistic piece. “It only happens when the stars collide, that’s what happens when you feel high,” he sings over a beautifully arranged acoustic melody. “That’s when you found your happy place.” The depth on Out the Other Side exceeds Pollack’s previous work – which was impressive in its own right – in the seamless accommodation of his stirring arrangements and the genuinely expressive pathos it accompanies. The expansive “Why Not Now?” blends lovable lo-fi alt-rock with bluesy stream-of-consciousness sentiments, producing a result just as successful but with added vigor and intricacy. Especially based on his recent material with Bridges and as a solo artist, David Pollack’s future continues to look bright.

David Pollack and his band Bridges will be playing tonight, 9PM, at Sullivan Hall.

RIYL: Weezer, Ozma, Built to Spill, British Sea Power, Teenage Fanclub, The Wrens, Guided by Voices, Archers of Loaf, Sublime, The Kinks, Sebadoh, The Strokes, Paul Simon, Pavement

Bridges – Again and Again

David Pollack – The Right Night

David Pollack – Why Not Now?

David Pollack – Official Site / Bridges’ MySpace / BUY

The post David Pollack’s Bridges appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Top News Story:

There’s a whole lotta tourin’ going on.  Terrible pun aside, a slew of bands announced tours this week.  Sleigh Bells, Neon Indian and CSS will be starting their tour at the Coachella Music Festival, Lil Wayne announced his “I Am Music II” tour with co-headliner Nicki Minaj, and supporting cast Rick Ross, Mix Master Mike, and Travis Barker.  Black Lips and Vivian Girls announced their tour across the east coast and most of the Midwest.  Wavves and Best Coast are hitting the road together, while The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are touring with newcomer Twin Shadow.  The spring is looking to be quite a busy season.

On a side, and extremely sad, note, the Coachella Music and Arts Festival is sold out.  Tickets were only available for 4 days before selling out, and they’re now being sold on eBay, Craigslist and ticket bartering sites for as much as $1,500.

However, All Tomorrow’s Parties new festival in Asbury Park (starting 9/30) still has some tickets left, even though Jeff Mangum’s private Monday show is sold out. Curated by Portishead, they will play alongside Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Shellac, Chavez, and many more to be announced. 3-day passes run for $269.

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New Tracks:

Young Galaxy – We Have Everything

* Young Galaxy had the misfortune of being lumped into the chillwave obsession of 2010, but their brand of chilled-out electronic swirls have Studio’s Dan Lissvik producing their upcoming album, Shapeshifting.  “We Have Everything” is an absolute pleasure to hear. The bleeding vocals compliment the lighthearted melody without overpowering the overall mood.

Memory Tapes – Today Is Our Life

* Memory Tapes’ 2009 LP was fantastic. “Today Is Out Life” comes from the new Love SIC Disco compilation.  The track showcases a more focused style from Memory Tapes than was seen in ’09, but still retains Dayve Hawk’s signature hazy flutterings.  Hawk also stated that the song would be included on the Memory Tapes sophomore release.

Times New Viking – No Room to Live

* The first single from their new album, Dance Equired, which is out on Times New Viking’s brand new label, Merge.  This single is telling of TNV’s move toward more traditional recording methods whilst attempting to keep an air of analog goodness.  The obvious shift in style between Rip It Off and Born Again Revisited is even more evident in “No Room to Live.”

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Best New Album of the Week:

Destroyer – Kaputt

Destroyer – Chinatown

Destroyer – Suicide Demo for Kara Walker

Destroyer – Blue Eyes

Dan Bejar decided on the name ‘Destroyer’ for his side project because he was so surprised no other band had ever taken the name.  And while the name has a negative connotation, Bejar’s experiments in the world of singer/songwriters has produced some of the best albums of the last decade.  Destroyer albums range from the minimal and acoustic to the sonic and electronic. With Kaputt, Destroyer delves even deeper into Bejar’s experimental personality.  One of the biggest examples is the first track, “Chinatown”, which employs a late-80s synth/drum/sax combination that, when coupled with Bejar’s haunting vocals, produces a track that sounds out of place at first, but then eases into itself and eventually sounds no more awkward than most of Trouble in Dreams. With Kaputt, Bejar keeps to an overall thematic use of synthesizers and 80s style arrangements; long, luscious and overdone.  And while today’s music tends to veer away from this perceived fault, Bejar uses it with such confidence that he has you believing Olivia Newton John will start playing next.

Read Mike’s review of the album here.

BUY

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Song of the Week:

The Strokes – 12:51

by Jay Mattson

Room on Fire was released when I was a senior at Grimsely Senior High School.  This was a time before I wanted to hear anything beyond what the radio played.  But I bought the sophomore album from the Strokes, mostly because the scene girls in my art class talked about how good Is This It? had been.  Obviously fawning for their attention by letting the album sit halfway out of my book bag so they could see I had it didn’t work to curry their favor.  Instead, it became one of my favorite albums. Specifically, “12:51” was one of the best songs I had ever heard.  It was short, to the point; “rock ‘n’ roll”, but not bawdy; it had the garage aesthetic without sounding overly grimy.  Some of the reasons I love the Strokes are the same reasons other people dislike them.  “12:51” became a sort-of mood lifter for me.  Whenever I was having a bad day, I’d pop Room on Fire into my car stereo.  To this day, “12:51” makes me smile, not only because the track is one of the Strokes’ best work, but also because it reminds me of the days when I first became enamored with Casablancas and Company.

BUY

The post Week in Review (1/29) appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Lauren Tischler

Though we’re forever resistant to let go of the warm weather, the transition from summer to fall is never unpleasant. Sweaters and autumn-colored foliage greet us warmly, while our ears begin to beg us for grunge over the pop-filled melodies we have been continually listening to under the sun. Fall 2010 has already proven to be a friendly listening season, with noteworthy album releases from Of Montreal, The Drums, and Blonde Redhead. With more coming from Badly Drawn Boy, Simian Mobile Disco, Belle and Sebastian, and Sufjan Stevens to name a few, we’ve got a lot to look forward to. Get ready for the color of music to change this season along with the leaves, making a smooth transition with this dark and dusky playlist.

The Temper Trap – Fader (buy)

Local Natives – Airplanes (buy)

Summer Camp – Round the Moon (buy)

Dirty Projectors – Remade Horizon (buy)

Santogold – Say Aha (buy)

The Dead Weather – Hustle and Cuss (buy)

Cold War Kids – We Used to Vacation (buy)

Why? – By Torpedo or Crohn’s (buy)

Coldplay – Yellow (buy)

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – House Fire (buy)

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero’s – Home (buy)

Dr. Dog – My Old Ways (buy)

The Strokes – Trying Your Luck (buy)

Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood (buy)

Grizzly Bear – Cheerleader (Neon Indian Remix) (buy)

The White Stripes – This Protecter (buy)

Band of Horses – The Funeral (buy)

DOWNLOAD ENTIRE COMPILATION>>> (72.8MB, .RAR)

The post Lauren’s Fall Playlist appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Taylor DeBoer

With 240,000 people, 130 bands, and 110 acres of the beautiful Grant Park, Lollapalooza‘s 19th year as a festival was an overwhelming success for the Austin-based promoters C3. Perry Ferrell’s traveling festival is a distant afterthought. Instead, we’ve become accustomed to the three-day event and are finally getting used to it as a mainstay Chicago event every August.

It’s become evident that America really has three main festivals: Coachella in Palm Springs, California; Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee; and Lollapalooza in Chicago. Considering the substantial distance between Maryland, Chicago and Manchester, the lineups are often the most influential in the decision-making process. I couldn’t resist a headlining indie lineup of The Strokes, Phoenix, and Arcade Fire. And although those three acts were probably the highlights of the show, there were several other bands that really brought their game to music’s biggest stage.

Of many memorable performances, a few really stuck out in my mind:

Day One:

The Walkmen: Playing an early 1PM set following up-and-coming rapper, B.o.B., was certainly not an easy task for this New York rock band, especially since their sound was out for the first two minutes. With smiling faces, Hamilton Leithauser and company embraced the adversity and laid down a flawless set of ambient but gruff rock tunes spanning across their 5 studio albums (including Lisbon, which drops next month). The highlight was when they played their breakout song, “The Rat” from 2004’s Bows + Arrows. Leithauser’s bellow lofted over the sweaty crowd of eager fans. MP3: Rue the Day (live)

The Black Keys: If you’re into obscure indie rock or experimental music, The Black Keys are not for you. If you like retro blues-rock, then they’re right up your alley. Not a stellar lyricist but one of the best guitarists I’ve ever seen live, Dan Auerbach is quite the performer. Auerbach’s partner in crime, drummer/producer Patrick Carney is nothing to sneeze at either. It was an ideal show to lead into The Strokes. MP3: Strange Times

The Strokes: For upper twenty-somethings whose musical taste evolved from The Cars and Guided By Voices into The Strokes and The White Stripes in the early 21st century, this was clearly the weekend’s highlight. One festival-goer even said to me right before The Strokes came on, “I’m going to find my wife in this crowd, right up front.” The show was not as tight as three years ago but it was more nostalgic. In the midst of various solo projects and a very mysterious album that is allegedly coming out in March, thousands of fans packed around the stage of Friday had a weird feeling that window to see one of this decade’s most influential bands is closing fast. I’d say the crowd got what they were seeking for and deserved from Casablancas and crew. MP3: Someday

Day Two:

Spoon: The tenured indie band from Austin, Texas proved on Saturday why they’ve been around for so long and why they had such a large crowd of people, ranging in age from 15 to 50. Brit Daniel is a captivating veteran front man whose gruff but bouncing voice sounds as good live as it does on their albums. MP3: You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: The gang of hippies started by the alter-ego of a newly-sober Alex Ebert is a retro shock back to ’70. Starting in LA and working their way around the country, the show in Grant Park was euphoric. The highlight was when Ebert climbed down into the crowd, sat on the grass, and sang the beautiful ballad, “Brothers”. MP3: Home

Phoenix: Thomas Mars and crew have gone from the indie pop underground in France to the kings of indie music in America since their 2009 release of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Their unique blend of new-wave indie-rock and dance-pop made for one of the best performances from Lollapalooza. Closing the show with the upbeat and catchy “1901” was certainly among the highlights, which included a crowd surf by Mars. Phoenix may have yet to reach their full potential, so hopefully we’ll hear even more from them in the coming years. MP3: Lasso

Day Three:

Blitzen Trapper: Imagine The Band, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Jackson Browne, and Pavement all wrapped into one. The up-and-coming Portland band, Blitzen Trapper, are all over their place with their musical style, drawing from various folk and rock styles across the board. MP3: Dragon’s Song

Yeasayer: Wow. This band is a cross between cheesy art-pop and afro-electric. They’re Animal Collective meets The Cars and they’re catchy as hell. The musical swells of “Tight Rope”, “Madder Red”, and of course “Ambling Alp” are infectious live. MP3: Ambling Alp /// Review of Odd Blood

Arcade Fire: Not only the best performances of the weekend, but one of the best of the summer. Arcade Fire is a live band. Their albums are understood completely only after seeing them live. The way they switch instruments for nearly every song creates a captivating environment that keeps your eyes fixated on the stage for the entire set. Not to mention, their backdrops and slideshows are as mesmerizing as they are bizarre. If you haven’t seen them, go see them right now. They’re only getting bigger. MP3: Rococo /// Review of The Suburbs

Next year is Lollapalooza’s 20th anniversary. Can it get any better?

Photos courtesy of Max Fishkin.

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As our pleased ears have told us, bands that form with members from other influential bands are usually victorious. In regard to these sometimes-called “supergroups”, one reputable name is Jonathon Donahue, whose short but praised presence in both the Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev make him a rare example of a musician treading between two of the most acclaimed acts in a given genre and time period. The Rassle contains four members that can relate somewhat to Donahue, at least in his juggling of work between two bands that some consider chronologically suitable rivals. The Rassle, which focuses on reviving the post-punk sound, has extreme chemistry despite the members’ mixed backgrounds. It is probable that this instant chemistry was a result of The Rassle’s make-up and experience, which includes former Virgins affiliate Erik Ratensperger, Marc Solomich of The Takeover UK, and Reed and Blair Van Nort of Young Lords.

The Rassle formed after a long acquaintance and a short history of playing shows together, mostly at random venues in New York City, soon forming the name The Rassle. “It’s a slang word,” Blair Van Nort says on the name. “Reed and I are brothers and we come from a small state in the south called Texas and we used to joke about rassling when we moved to New York many years ago.  Things like: “Rassle me up a 40 when you’re at the bodega.” Or, “If you don’t clean up your room I’m gonna rassle your ass.” We just thought it was a funny word but also loaded with enough context to make it a good band name,” he explains. “And we also liked that people might not be familiar with the word, so they could apply their own contextual imagery without the words defining the band first.  Kinda like when we were kids and heard about Oasis.  We didn’t think about what a stupid band name it was, ’cause we had no idea what an Oasis was.”

With the age of technology at its prime, we are frequently seeing bands take advantage of it by setting up extensive MySpace pages, twitters, blogs and websites. Characteristically, The Rassle’s Myspace page is vague and has a sense of humor to it. With Biggie Smalls and Little Richard listed as their musical influences, and a minuscule amount of friends, first-time viewers might question the band’s legitimacy. “We’re still so new,” Erik Ratensperger says on their lack of Internet partake. “We only launched these songs a few months ago, but it’s nice to see such a positive response so early.  This is definitely not a side project; when we started this, we didn’t know exactly how it was gonna go, but we quickly realized that something was there.  It was pretty magical, it just sparked and we decided go full steam,” Ratensperger finishes, before Reed Van Nort quickly pipes in, “Who’s on MySpace anymore anyways?  I think as Seth Meyers put it: MySpace: The Abandoned Amusement Park of the Internet.”

So with Young Lords and Virgins influences present, should we expect a similar type of listening experience from The Rassle?  “This is an entirely different band,” Ratensperger boldly states. “I think the music we are making now is a lot better than what we did with Young Lords,” Blair Van Nort adds. “But we are older now and have learned a lot more about making music and we have a clearer vision of what we want to see when we reach the light at the end of the tunnel.” Though they aim for a fresh style, the band incorporates a cumulatively equal style in the songwriting process. Ratensperger sees the process as mutually beneficial. “It’s a collective effort.  It’s really nice when we’re working on something and everyone’s just bouncing off each other with different ideas on what might make a song move,” he said. “But because this is still so new, I think we’re also still learning the process as we write and record more songs.  It also usually also involves a few cold ones and Doritos.”

Being an unsigned band fairly new to the music scene, The Rassle decided to take the initiative and recorded a few demo songs on a cheap microphone in their apartment. “From the beginning we decided to throw the kitchen sink at these songs,” Blair Van Nort says on his band’s loose recording process. “We had all been in bands that got pigeon-holed into these genres and styles and we were super reluctant to allow this new project to be defined by his or her dogma. So we tried adding and subtracting lots of different sounds and instruments until we found the parts we felt added up to the highest degree of sonic purity. But ultimately you know we were super limited by our tools since we made these songs at our apartment using Garage Band and Pro Tools Lite, but I think it turned out great. We stumbled into something so much more honest and true to ourselves being cramped in our tiny apartment but dreaming big.”

With a few rough songs, some upcoming shows in the New York/ New Jersey area, and an optimistic attitude, The Rassle have already began their journey of taking over the indie rock world. “We just really wanna make music that inspires other people,” Blair Van Nort says on his band’s goal. When asked for a few last words, the guys summarize in a few of their own lyrics. “Celebrate the days!” Blair exclaims, as Reed pipes in, “If it’s all you got!”

RIYL: MGMT, The Virgins, The Takeover UK, Young Lords, Black Kids, Mystery Jets, Good Shoes, The Maccabees, The Pigeon Detectives, The Teenagers, The Strokes, Passion Pit, Klaxons, Two Door Cinema Club, The Kooks, The Clouts, Blonde Acid Cult, Dear Future, The Redwalls

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The Rassle – Wild Ones

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The Rassle – Born Free

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The Rassle – Celebrate the Days

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Official Web Site

MySpace

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