Photos: The Sundelles at Northside Festival

Another band we checked out for the first time on the last day of the Northside Festival was The Sundelles. We came across them recently online and liked what we heard, so, when we saw them listed in the festival program, we made sure to make it to the 1928 Recordings showcase they were playing at Bruar Falls. The trio plays tightly structured, pleasantly fuzzed-out pop that, live, brought to mind what Weezer might sound like if Rivers Cuomo woke up one morning to find he’d switched bodies Freaky Friday-style with Anton Newcombe of Brian Jonestown Massacre. Listening to some of the recordings we’ve found online, we also notice a nice dash of Jonathan Richman/Modern Lovers style here and there. Especially in this demo:

mp3: “Keep It To Yourself” by The Sundelles

Sorry to go so far down the “this band reminds me of…” rabbit hole. We really enjoyed/are enjoying these guys a lot, so we highly recommend checking out their mp3s available via RCRD LBL from earlier in the year and heading out to one of their slew of upcoming shows, such as the one tonight at Union Pool with Crocodiles.

Photos: Dinosaur Feathers at Northside Festival

By Sunday evening this past weekend, it was becoming obvious  the Northside Festival was winding down — the showcases seemed to be a little more scattered schedule-wise and people seemed, in general, to be getting into that “it’s Sunday night and now I have to start thinking about next week” frame of mind. We caught a few bands throughout the late afternoon and evening that we were interested in checking out.

The last of those was Dinosaur Feathers — who we’d hoped to catch the day before but unfortunately had to skip — and they were well worth the wait. The band featured bass, acoustic guitar, keys/synths, and some very danceable programmed beats as well as excellent vocals with healthy helpings of multi-part harmonies. We’re guessing their tropical-tinged pop probably garners them plenty of comparisons to Vampire Weekend and the like, but we’d rather not go there. Don’t get us wrong: we enjoy V.W. and their ilk, but there’s always seemed to be a certain seriousness in the way they do things that we didn’t miss for the lacking in Dinosaur Feathers. It’s not that they were clowning it up on stage or anything, but they really seemed to be enjoying themselves, which can go a long way toward making a performance enjoyable on its own — and an even longer way when the music is already pretty damn good to start with.

These guys have quite a few shows coming up, including one this evening at Le Poisson Rouge with pow wow! and Browns. We suggest you check them out soon. Here’s an mp3:

mp3: “History Lessons” by Dinosaur Feathers

Here are a few photos from the showcase, which was at Public Assembly and presented by Popgun Booking and Zombievielle (also on Flickr, along with more festival photos):

Northside Festival: Ear Farm Showcase at Spike Hill

This past weekend, The L Magazine held their first of what, after a seemingly successful time, we assume will be their annual Northside Festival, featuring music and art all around Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We were able to make it out to a few shows to see some favorite bands of ours, as well as a few new ones.

On Friday night, we caught the showcase curated by Ear Farm at Spike Hill, featuring Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers, tUnE-YaRdS, The Secret Life Of Sofia, pow wow!, and Coyote Eyes. Here are some photos and thoughts about most of them:

pow wow!

Just as the last time we saw them, pow wow! brought their scrappy, retro-ish indie-pop and got many heads bopping and toes tapping. They’re a fun band to watch live and we look forward to seeing them again soon.

mp3: “No One’s Gotta Know” by pow wow!

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The Secret Life Of Sofia

The Secret Life Of Sofia continues to be one of the most consistently impressive bands we know in NYC/Brooklyn. About half the set was new to us, which was nice, and the new sound system at Spike Hill really allowed the band to sound the way they need to — something we were frankly wondering about before arriving to see that there was indeed a new sound system in place. We’re looking forward to becoming more familiar with the new material at upcoming shows.

mp3: “Moon On The Sea’s Gate” by The Secret Life Of Sofia

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tUnE-YaRdS

Sister Suvi was originally scheduled to play the showcase, but unfortunately had to cancel. Bandmember Merrill Garbus was still available, however, and stepped in to perform as her solo project: tUnE-YaRdS. We weren’t really sure what to expect, but as we saw her set up and line-check a floor tom, a snare drum, a ukulele, a loop station, and a keyboard to be played with her foot, we guessed it would be interesting. There was something refreshingly primitive about the way she went about building her songs, looping simple beats on the drums and rims into multi-tracked  grooves before venturing in with her electrified uke and vocals. We’ve seen and heard people do this sort of thing before, but it’s usually come across as somewhat gimmicky. Not here, though. Garbus makes it work well, but it’s not just her ability to craft songs from loops that’s impressive. She’s got a phenomenal voice.

mp3: “Hatari” by tUnE-YaRdS

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Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers

After stepping outside to get some air after tUnE-YaRdS, we went back in to find the room even more packed than it was before and were never able to get as close to the front as we would have liked (hence the single wideshot photo). We’ve been a fan of Shilpa Ray since her days in Beat The Devil, but, until Friday, had not had the pleasure of really seeing her and her new(er) band at full power. We saw a somewhat loungey set upstairs at Pianos a while back and while her voice then was, of course, impressive as always, we assumed a show on a full stage in a bigger room would incorporate some of the ferocity she put on display in Beat The Devil. So, yeah, that assumption was correct. She and the band boosted the intensity in the room up a couple of notches and never let up, their gyspy-esque rock providing just what was needed to leave everyone exhausted the way a great showcase should finish.

mp3: “Filthy And Free” by Shilpa Ray And Her Happy Hookers

Our thanks to the fine fold at Ear Farm for putting together such an entertaining show. They always do.

You can view more photos from the Northside Festival on Flickr.

Sun, 6/14 – Alina Simone + Susu
(MARTIN BISI SHOWCASE) – Spike Hill

Sat, 6/13 – Sharon Van Etten
(HOOVES ON THE TURF SHOWCASE) – Trophy Bar

Sat, 6/13 – La Strada
(ERNEST JENNING RECORD
CO. SHOWCASE) – Union Pool

Sat, 6/13 – Grooms
(formerly The Muggabears)
(LESS ARTISTS MORE
CONDOS SHOWCASE) – The Shank

Sat, 6/13 – Bridges And Powerlines
+ Pet Ghost Project
+ pow wow! – Matchless