Whoa. Finish Ticket are a new band out of our new hood of San Francisco and the accomplished indie rock of “Doctor” is the band’s lead single from the upcoming debut Pierre de Reeder (Rilo Kiley) full length. “Doctor” is impressive; not just melodically or technically, the song is impressively real. There are no poses or goofy postures just A+ indie rock and roll that reminds, for us at least, of some of the genre’s greats. Get familiar with the Finish Ticket kids below.
The syrupy toned Damien Jurado drops off a Christmas original in the form of the ballad-y “Kalla Hus”. A collaboration with fellow Seattle musician Kyle Zantos, who composed the music for the tune, the track gets right the references to winter-y vistas and that special brand of holiday nostalgia and regret as well as jingle bells. There are jingle bells. Get it, girl.
It’s hard to believe that LA party punks Fidlar don’t already have an album out. That will change on January 22. They’ve made waves not only in the US, but around the world; especially in the UK where their Reading and Leeds Festival sets created massive buzz. They just dropped a new track, “Gimmie Something” from the album. The song is stellar and a little more melodic and less crazy than most Fidlar fare. We at B3SCI are big fans of this band, and melodic is almost always a good thing. The Fidlar guys love Creedence Clearwater Revival and they managed to grab old CCR footage to make it seem as if it’s CCR that is performing “Gimme Something” live. I hung out in studio with Fidlar at the beginning of this year, and many of the songs they played will be on the album. You can check out our interview session here. Not a coincidence that they covered CCR’s “Lodi”, which you will see in the video. By Bruce Rave
*Check out Bruce’s Moheak Radio “Go Deep” show on Sunday nights 7-9 pm Pacific, 10-12 am Eastern, 3-5 am GMT. Listen to past shows at Bruce’s blog and follow Bruce on Twitter.
“The Dark Age” is the latest from Widowspeak’s upcoming sophomore LP Almanac. “The Dark Age” is a bit of that dramatic dreamy-riff laced rock with a soulful underbelly that hits squarely into the b3 rock and roll sweet spot.
Trails and Ways have just released this stellar remix of their single, “Border Crosser” by fellow Bay Area collective The Seshen. We can’t get enough of The Seshen’s reverb pulsed, chopped and screwed interpretation of the track’s already tense bass, synths, and melody. This cut is the first release from a new remix EP that Trails and Ways will be releasing January 8th, 2013. Keep a look out for Trails and Ways debut full length, Trilingual expected to drop sometime next year.
We’re pretty excited to start off the week with something piping fresh from Eliza and the Bear. “Upon The North” is the new uptempo, head bobbing, singalong anthem from the harmonious Essex collective. This track is currently on repeat at B3 h.q. It will be part of a new double A-side release with “The Southern Wild” expected 2/25/13. Get more familiar with Eliza and the Bear below.
Trapdoor Social is a new band from LA that consists of Merritt Graves and Skylar Funk (his real family name). They will be hitting the airwaves near you in 2013. The band’s first EP Death Of A Friend is now out, and you may have already come across “Away” via ESPNU’s sports programming. The whistling intro immediately made me think of The Drums’ “Let’s Go Surfing”, and about two-thrids of the way into “Away”, the heavy guitar break and the following complex vocals hit me by surprise, and helped show me what this very commercial band is capable of. I’d love to know what you guys think of the track or anything else about the band… By Bruce Rave
*Check out Bruce’s Moheak Radio “Go Deep” show on Sunday nights 7-9 pm Pacific, 10-12 am Eastern, 3-5 am GMT. Listen to past shows at Bruce’s blog and follow Bruce on Twitter.
“Letter Of Intent” is the absolutely catchy new synth-pop single by Ducktails (Real Estate’s Matt Mondanile). Previewed from a forthcoming Domino Records release, The Flower Lane, “Letter Of Intent” seems nothing short of a solid indication that this album will be a noteworthy one. The single features Jessa Farkas (Future Shuttle) on vocals, Joel Ford (Ford & Lopatin) playing bass and Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) on the keys. Ducktails hits the road in early 2013 with dates in New York City, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and the United Kingdom. By Brian Litwin
Crooked Hands, a new five piece out of Newcastle UK, serve up an excellent debut track with the beautifully pensive “Under”. Atmospheres of guitars & voice, kinetic at a constant unfurl, do a neat job of framing the track’s sharp set of melodies. Definitely one not to miss.
Jagjaguwar doesn’t miss. The label’s latest announced release is Naomi, the upcoming fourth LP from Seattle’s The Cave Singers. “Have to Pretend”, the LP’s lead single, is the sort of gritty slightly menacing soul-driven rock and roll that demands attention.
Following up a recent and well received show at the world famous Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, The Colurs, fronted by Max Townsley and Drew Erickson, performed a mellow set this past Friday night at the extremely elegant SoHo House. Complete with an 8 piece band, and over looking a cloudy Friday night skyline of Los Angeles, The Colurs played a collection of songs from their recently released self-titled EP. The dinner and drink crowd was especially receptive to the collective’s brand of orchestral pop and in the dimly lit room, the experience both rhythmically and harmonically found the pocket. A highlight of the set was a bouncy, well arranged version of the track “Easy To Love”, as was the beautiful love ballad, “Julia”. Having only formed in Denton, TX in 2011, we expect to more buzzing yet to come from The Colurs. By Brian Litwin
It’s no surprise that Canada has treated this 6-piece from Regina, Saskatchewan so well. Having been crowned “Best New Canadian Band” and “Best New Alternative Band” by iTunes Canada in 2009, Rah Rah recently released their new album The Poet’s Dead in the US and it’s an album I’ve spent some time with. For several band members, their last week’s visit to LA for a small handful of shows was their first trip ever to California. As with other folk-flavored rock bands that veer between a harder and softer dynamic, I’d hoped this live show would rock (rather than put me to sleep). I’m glad to say this band not only rocked it, but exceeded lofty expectations. Rah Rah can play. Literally, band members often switched up on instruments, between tunes or even sometimes mid-song. They perfectly nailed their tempos and crescendos bringing select highlights to a supreme level of intensity.
Rah Rah’s set opened with their infectious song, “Art & A Wife”. This track reminds of New Pornographers around the time of their Twin Cinema album. Throughout the song, and even the set, Rah Rah feature male-female vocal exchanges. In general, four band members in Rah Rah provided lead vocals with Marshall Burns handling most of them. Marshall’s voice sounds a bit like Neil Young — more so live than on the recordings. His vocal on “Dead Men” was a highlight that night, as was “Prairie Girl” sung by Erin Passmore. And some locally Regina-flavored humor was found in the set’s finale, “Duet For Emmylou And The Grievous Angel”.
Rah Rah obviously enjoy playing, and they have a down to earth, winning way in their stage manner. Still building their loyal L.A. following the comfortable crowd was responsive and offered them a very warm encore. By Bruce Rave
*Check out Bruce’s Moheak Radio “Go Deep” show on Sunday nights 7-9 pm Pacific, 10-12 am Eastern, 3-5 am GMT. Listen to past shows at Bruce’s blog and follow Bruce on Twitter.
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