So, A LOT has been going on lately, and it’s hard to keep up with everything! Saint Louis’ own The Riverfront Times gave our blog a lovely little mention in their “Best Of St. Louis” issue! We are besides ourselves with excitement about this! It totally rules to be recognized even though we sometimes spell words with z’s and use the word “cray cray” entirely too much! We’ve been working on this blog for under a year but are glad about the response it’s received so far!
Check out the write-up here, or pick up a copy practically anywhere around the Lou (and make sure to czech page 156)!
We also wanted to shout a little holla at Apop Records’ Camp Concentration for the “Best Underground Club” nod!
Another thing worth mentioning is tonight’s Billiken Club show: Damien Jurado is playing with Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson and Saint Louis’ own Theodore. As always, this show is free, all ages, and open to the public. Doors at 8pm, show at 9pm. Jurado released Caught In The Trees on September 9th to much critical acclaim, so tonight should be a real rowdy-dowd! Not to be missed.
It’s that time again for the (newly) weekly installment of Grab Bag Thursdays. This week, I present some gems from Tobacco, Thievery Corporation, and PWRFL Power for your listening enjoyment.
Oh, Tobacco. I am really excited about his new album Fucked Up Friends for maaany reasons: 1) Mr. Tobacco himself has done a lot of work with Black Moth Super Rainbow, a band that is particularly mind slaying. 2) He recorded this album in rural Pennsylvania using only analog instruments and a tape machine. 3) Its sound is very refreshing and far-removed from all of the empty, Justice-y computer generated craziness that is bombarding us these days. 4) It just downright rules.
Thievery Corporation’s latest album Radio Retaliation features the group’s long time cast of musicians and collaborators, however this time around they’ve got some worldly new additions on board. Nigeria’s Femi Kuti throws down some afro-beat loveliness, Brazil’s Seu George (remember him in The Life Aquatic?) lends his singing/songwriting abilities, and Indian sitar master Anushka Shankar really shreds. (I love sitars.)
Lastly, Seattle/Brooklyn/Japan’s own PWRFL Power writes lovely little ditties about brushing your teeth and teaching his lady how to use chopsticks. Pretty adorable, lo-fi acoustic sounds generate from this dude who is also a member of Cop Killahz. Additionally, he is currently on tour with Grampall Jookabox and will be playing TONIGHT at the Billiken Club with Grampall and Pattern Is Movement. I’m thrilled.
I don’t know how many times we have to stress that we love Pattern Is Movement, but we do. A lot. Their latest album, All Together has been playing on repeat the second it came out. It probably will be in our top ten at the end of the year. But these fuzzy and bubbly boys fuze a mixture of indie experimental sound bytes with a classic tenor voice. The complex beats are drowned in your brain and “Trolley Friend” will constantly be stuck in your head. These boys are superb and its about time they get the recognition they deserve. You can see them performing at The Billiken Club this week, September 18th. You know what that means, a FREE Pattern Is Movement show! That’s where you will find me on Thursday. So let’s give a hand to these boys for protecting the world from demons.
YES. I am so happy they finally released this track! I kept hearing it whenever I saw Mahjongg live and it drove Sanita and I cray cray. But, we finally got our hands on this Chicago, ILLinois outfit’s gem of a tune and so can you!
The dudes are getting ready for a pretty massive Fall tour through Europe, but I’d like to speculate that they might be back in St. Louis in the near-distant future…
With the help from my sister from another mister, Emily Jones, she recommended this band that she found through emusic. I usually trust everything that she tells me about and Breathe Owl Breathe definitely proves this true once again. This Michigan based band offers a mixture of quiet acoustic indie pop on the lines of Okkervil River, Bowerbirds, and The Dodos. I know I’m always recommending the newest quiet acoustic indie pop, but I seriously think these cats are going to be big. It won’t be before long before you’ll be reading about them on all the hot indie blogs. It just so happened that we’re writing about them earlier. Their tour schedule is pretty limited, only sticking around the Michigan area, but if you kids jump on the band wagon early, maybe we can get them to the Lou pretty soon. So check out a few tracks by them below.
Here is a little treat to celebrate the end of the schoolday/workday/whatever with: San Francisco’s Little Teeth are releasing their debut LP, Child Bearing Man, tomorrow on Absolutely Kosher. It recalls a folkier Animal Collective (think Prospect Hummer EP) if Avey Tare was a female. The trio is going to be at CMJ next month and I know I am going to try my hardest to see them!
So, after about a year of workin’ hard and touring like crazy, of Montreal are finally ready to release their new album, entitled Skeletal Lamping, on October 7th. In true of Montreal style, it’s gonna be crazy. The album actually exists as a “collection”, and is either going to include a CD, LP, T-shirt, tote bag, button set, paper lantern, and wall decal set. Each item in the Skeletal Lamping Collection includes both the digital album and its unique packaging of the album art. So, as you see, it’s gonna be cray cray and pretty awesome. But that’s not all.
For example, the CD packaging turns into a completely unique 32-panel fold-out/pop-up art piece produced by singer David Barnes and Gemini Tactics. The 2xLP comes with a giant 3 foot by 4 foot poster designed by David Barnes. The paper lantern designed by Gemini Tactics includes the album download and many more items listed above in the collection.
You can see all that you’ll be in store for at their store! Hah. Do y’alls think more bands will start following this whole “releasing an album as a Collection” trend? Or is of Montreal truly just so weird and conceptual (or egotistical?) that no one else will even want to attempt it? Tell us what you think, and download the first single off of Skeletal Lamping below:
In an attempt to blog more (and due to the massive influx of MP3’s I’ve been receiving on account of my job as Music Director at KSLU) I am initiating a little thing I like to call Grab Bag Thursdayz! Why? Because we like to share good musics with you in hopes that you will eventually buy all of it. This week, we’ve got some stuff by Atlas Sound, Parenthetical Girls, and Ponytail.
We love Bradford Cox. That being said, we’re pretty much down with everything he is involved in. Atlas Sound is obviously no exception. And while Deerhunter is off doing dates with Nine Inch Nails (still not sure how that one worked out) we will wait for Bradford’s triumphant solo return. The track below is off of Atlas Sound’s Atlas Shrugged 7″.
Parenthetical Girls is Zac Pennington, Dead Science’s Jherek Bischoff, and Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart. Their third and exceptionally original new album, Entanglements, is set for release on Tomlab on September 9th. Pre-order your copy on insound.com NOW!
What can I say? Baltimore’s Ponytail has been a personal favorite of mine for a while now. Their latest album, Ice Cream Spiritual, came out in July (a long time ago in the blogging world) but I can’t stop supporting these spazzy weirdos.
I Love You will be performing at the Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center tonight, September 4th! Yes, the weather is atrocious today, but considering how much more pleasant it was yesterday and I still didn’t see you guys at These United States at The Billiken Club. These Kansas City natives are supporting their newest album Drone, Drugs and Harmony. The show starts at 8PM and will cost you a good $5. That’s my recommendation if you are looking for a way to celebrate your thirsty Thursday in a dry way.
I’m pretty sure this show is going to be awesome. They play a brand of good ole’ whiskey rocking folk jamz. It really is lovely and you shouldn’t miss it. If you do miss it then I’m going to assume that you are a communist that hates the United States. Yes, that’s right, a communist! So only those who come to the show will be true Patriots!
St. Louis’ own, Thankful Tree will be there playing enjoyable folk music and you shouldn’t miss any of his set either.
But as always you know that Doors 8PM| Show 9PM | All Ages | FREE | Open to the Public!
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL RECORD STORES, YA HEARD??
We here at Toe Taps and Spastic Claps love free music as much as the other, but these mp3s are for promotional use only.
If you really enjoy the artist, it's highly recommended that you buy their work. If you are an artist and would like us to take down your music for whatever reason, please feel free to contact us at toetapsandspasticclaps@gmail.com and we'd be much obliged.
Their tour schedule is pretty limited, only sticking around the Michigan area, but if you kids jump on the band wagon early, maybe we can get them to the Lou pretty soon. So check out a few tracks by them below.
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Stumble It!
Catfish Haven- Devastator
David Vandervelde-Waiting For The Sunrise
Tobacco- Fucked Up Friends
Skeletons - Money
Religious Knives - The Door
Grampall Jookabox - Ropechain
