StereoactiveNYC

Review: Bel Air – Into The Sea

If you are looking for a new soundtrack to heartbreak, look no further than the just released (on 7″ vinyl) 2 song EP, Into The Sea, by Brooklyn-based band Bel Air. The twangy pop instrumentation underneath the melodic, easy vocals of Allison Langerak on “You Can’t Do Much” reminds us of the cruel paralysis of a broken heart and the hope that they still might come around: “Baby, Rescue Me/ You Know Where I Am”.  The song is accompanied by a Mazzy Star sort of arpeggiated guitar, but is driven by Langerak’s powerful sentiment. Hers is a bold, ready voice — more like Neko Case than Sandavol’s shy coquettish whisper.

Jeff Mensch’s title track, “Into the Sea,” sounds like an homage to early 90s REM, circa Life’s Rich Pageant and Out of Time, that narrates a story of wanting. The song sweeps you in and along for a languoring ride in folky woefulness, but with rays of hope that grab you in the belting of the chorus and throughout the harmonies. “I never thought this night could mean so much,” “Fall on Me/ Into the Sea” calls to mind that perfect night that maybe only happens once a lifetime.

Into The Sea, a successful and extremely listenable EP with an unashamed alternative college radio sound, reminds us of making out with our first love back in school. It was in a tree-house, there were braces, and we wore long sleeves to cover our hands. And now we can listen to Bel Air whenever we want to think of things that are true and beautiful like that magical night.

The band has graciously allowed us to offer both tracks here as mp3s:

mp3: “Into The Sea” by Bel Air

mp3: “You Can’t Do Much” by Bel Air

The band is playing tonight at Mercury Lounge in NYC; they’re on at 8pm.

Editor’s note: this is our first post by new contributor, Lora Grillo. Thanks, Lora!

Scrambler Seequill Release New Album / Show Tonight + mp3s

Whereas many bands seem to be concerned with taking something pretty-sounding and making it dissonant, Scrambler Seequill has an interesting way of taking dissonance and making it sound pretty. They’re adept at mixing different textures and sounds — big drums, electronic bits and blips, thoughtfully-played spaghetti western guitars, dreamy reverb vocals, string orchestration — as if assembling a collage made up of sounds they’ve torn apart and recomposed to their distinct liking along with whatever interesting outside fragments they’ve discovered in the process. There’s a certain sense of curiosity built in to much of the music, like they were constantly just trying things out as they went, that makes it all seem somewhat lighthearted even as there’s a sense of interesting murkiness that seems to come from the knowledge that maybe the chance they’re taking might not work out. But they try things out anyway and are better for it.

Scrambler Seequill is playing tonight at Littlefield to celebrate the release of the album. And here are a couple of preview tracks for you to sample:

mp3: “Rest For Now” by Scrambler Seequill

mp3: “One Design” by Scrambler Seequill

You can also get a couple of more free downloads and preview the entire album via bandcamp.

Dinosaur Feathers LP Presale + mp3/more

2009 has been a year in which many new(er) bands have really come into their own in NYC/Brooklyn. Bands like pow wow!, Shark?, Pet Ghost Project, and Dinosaur Feathers have played scores of shows (often together), put out multiple singles and EPs and even managed to improve upon strong starts to become more and more interesting. It would be hard to hold it against any of them if they wanted to take a bit of a break after such a busy year, but it looks as if all that was just preparation for even an even more impressive 2010.

Case in point: Dinosaur Feathers, whom we’ve had the good fortune of working with already (with another show already in the works — details soon), who released a free digital EP just a couple of months ago, and are now set to release their first full-length album. Fantasy Memorial will be out March 2nd, but is available for pre-order at Insound. We were lucky enough to get a preview copy of the album and have been enjoying it immensely, so suggest you go ahead and order it. Here’s a preview track from the album:

mp3: “Vendela Vida” by Dinosaur Feathers

And we also recommend checking them out at Cameo on Thursday as they finish up a residency there, playing with Pterodactyl, Grandchildren, and Julianna Barwick.

The Antlers Sign To French Kiss Records // Will Re-Release Hospice

A message from The Antlers:

We, The Antlers, are thrilled to make some official announcements:

1) We’ve signed to the wonderful Frenchkiss Records, who will be re-releasing Hospice digitally June 16th and physically August 18th.  The record’s been remastered, and there shall be vinyl.

2)  After a bunch of exciting NYC shows, we’ll be hitting the road for a few weeks with Au Revoir Simone and Cotton Jones!

via MySpace.com Blogs – THE ANTLERS MySpace Blog .

New Split 7″ From Alina Simone + The Black Swana

A message from Ms. Simone:

Hi Folks,

you can listen to my new song “Snowfall & Starlight” on

www.mbvmusic.com/the-black-swans-alina-simone-split-7/9391

The song is featured on a 7″ Vinyl Split Single, released May 19th on Sunken Treasure!

A limited edition of 50 red vinyls is now available for pre-oder here:

http://sunkentreasure.org/store1/

via MySpace.com Blogs – Alina Simone MySpace Blog .

At The Deli: Pink Noise

The band is almost a late-2000s-NYC rock music time capsule; they texture their tunes with an abundance of electronically-manipulated guitars, sparse alternative percussion in reverberant space, and shifting dynamics. “Moving In” features Sulami growling like a hoarse, accented Kim Gordon, and tracks like “I Shut My Eyes” feature guitar harmonics riffage and slappy drum grooves pulsating along with a dance-y bass. Softer songs like “I Miss You All” and “Insomnia” float out on hushed horns and shoegazing reverb. The end result is a welcome and fitting addition to the indie rock canon of the here and now. – Toney Palumbo

via The Deli NYC

2009 Releases: Spanish Prisoners – Los Angeles Guitar Dream EP

Spanish Prisoners – Los Angeles Guitar Dream EP

Official Website | MySpace | Facebook | Bandcamp | Muxtape

Spanish Prisoners’ new Los Angeles Guitar Dream EP offers a bit of a shift from the band’s preceding full-length effort. The three songs offered here are  more tightly arranged than what we’ve heard from them before, but still manage to maintain much of the psychedelic ephemera that made the previous work interesting. Perhaps what makes Spanish Prisoners so intriguing to listen to is the sense that they seem to be quite comfortable placing their tongue in cheek as they go about making serious music. The wordplay of the opening song, “Kiss The Lawn Goodbye” (at least we assume it’s wordplay), immediately makes the song beam with a sense of charm that nearly masks what just may be a decidedly dark mini-narrative. This mix of charm and tonal ambiguity laced throughout the three tracks makes for a very enjoyable ten minute listen that easily tempts the clicking of the “repeat” button.

Take a listen to the first track:
mp3: “Kiss The Lawn Goodbye” by Spanish Prisoners

You can also stream and download, currently for free, the entire EP via spanishprisoners.bandcamp.com:

Also, check the band out live tomorrow night at Crash Mansion as they celebrate the EP’s release. Details are on our showpage.

2009 releases so far by favorites of StereoactiveNYC:

• The Antlers - Hospice
• Asobi Seksu - Hush
• chopshop - Hugs And Hand Shakes
• The Fatales - Great Surround
• Goes Cube – Another Day Has Passed
• Harlem Shakes - Technicolor Health
• The Jaguar Club - Sleepwalking/Blood Pressure EP
• Le Rug - Party Rock EP / America EP
• Limbs - Seeds On Stone
• My Teenage Stride – Singles Series
• The Naked Hearts - These Knees EP
• Screaming Females – Power Move
• The Secret Life Of Sofia – Empty Sleeves EP
• Spanish Prisoners – Los Angeles Guitar Dream EP

Pop Tarts Suck Toasted Reviews Screaming Females’ Power Move

Screaming Females‘ new full-length, Power Move, is out today and Pop Tarts Suck Toasted has a good write-up of it:

After years of building a DIY sensibility, self releasing two albums, playing countless basements, this power trio have latched on to a label for their more mature, poppier third release Power Move… [snip]… Screaming Females did some great things as a DIY band from the state of New Jersey, but they’ve gone and taken a huge step with Power Move, a step that puts them right in line to join the greats that have come from the state before.