Today marks the release of some indie’s most hyped albums of the year, as Conor Oberst’s Conor Oberst, The Faint’s Fasciination, Clinic’s Funf and Oxford Collapse’s Bits, all hit the shelves today. But the best album to get it’s release today has to be Marching Band’s Spark Large. Who and what you ask?

Well, Marching Band is Swedish duo Erik Sunbring and Jacob Lind. The band’s sound is very reminiscent of the Shins and Belle & Sebastian with a little bit of Jens Lekman pop thrown in. Spark Large, the band’s first full length, features shared vocal duties by the pair and an eclectic multitude of instruments including xylophones, banjos, marimbas and vibraphones. “Gorgeous Behavior,” “Letters,” and “Feel Good About It” are obvious stand out tracks, but overall, not one song on the album is weak and each is so effortlessly poppy. The album is light, airy, and will probably end up as my “summer album of the year.”

Complete Album Stream: Spinner.com

MP3> Marching Band ‘Feel Good About It’

As much as I resisted this band for awhile, I have learned to love them even more. Fleet Foxes have produced one of the most beautiful and moving recordings of the this year. Here they are performing one of my favorite tunes off the self titled release “Blue Ridge Mountains”. Robin Pecknold sans his favorite piece of clothing though.

Watch:

Listen:

MP3> Fleet Foxes ‘White Winter Hymnal’

On last week’s All Things Considered on NPR, the program caught up with Spencer Elden (now 17), the boy in the iconic album cover of Nirvana’s Nevermind. Apparently now he’s just a “straight up” California kid, who hates high school and plays Rock Band. The only difference between him and a typical teenager is that he owns a platinum record and his penis has been seen by millions of people. Check out the interesting interview HERE.

We Are Scientists have released a new video for “Impatience,” their latest single, and probably best song off their most recent album Brain Thrust Mastery. The comical, Teen Wolf-esque video continues the band’s recent string of humorous music videos. If you need a good laugh today (or just want to listen to a good song), make sure to watch this video.

photos : valerie@fremin.net

Friday night at La Zona Rosa brought two incredible Canadian bands to town. Opener Wintersleep proved their recent Juno win for New Group of the Year was no fluke. Mixing exquisite harmonies and thoughtful lyrics, the band captured the minds of the audience. Their long instrumental songs were a little too long at times, but they did provide for a stellar live show and perfect opener to get the crowd ready for the main act of the night.

Playing their “first real performance in Austin ever,” as lead singer/guitarist Dan Boeckner put it, Wolf Parade took the stage to a sold-out crowd of anxoius fans Friday night. Opening with “You Are a Runner and I Am My Father’s Son” followed quickly by “Soldier’s Grin,” the respective lead tracks off of the band’s 2005 release Apologies to the Queen Mary and their 2008 release At Mount Zoomer, the band signaled the start of a powerful set with old favorites and new jams.

Keyboardist Spencer Krug and guitarist Dan Boeckner took turns at the mike, switching back and forth after each song, much like the track order on their albums. Krug was subdued as he pounded away at his digital instruments and Boeckner ripped on his guitar all night, while fellow WP members Arlen Thompson (drums), Hadji Bakera (keyboards) and Dante DeCaro (guitar) each added their own passion to the set. Older songs like “Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts,” “Shine a Light,” and “California Dreamer,” prompted audience sing-alongs, while the newer tracks from At Mount Zoomer seemed less familiar to the audience. It was however, new songs like “An Animal in Your Care” and “Language City” that best showcased the intensity and depth of the band’s live show.

There were some dull points in the night however. The room was extremely hot, causing Krug to repeatedly sweat into his electronics, which in turn caused numerous technical breaks. Each time he apologized for the delays, but the excitement that had just been created the song before, was lost in half of audience almost instantly. The other half seemed to have almost no idea who the band was, and it could have just been the heat, but they just remained planted with their arms-crossed staring at the stage throughout most of the set, seemingly questioning whether or not Wolf Parade lived up to the hype they had heard so much about.

“Kissing the Beehive” was by far the highlight of set, as Boeckner and Krug traded off on lyrics and verses, creating an epic end to the pre-encore set. The encore itself was almost predictable in song choice (”I’ll Believe in Anything” and “Fancy Claps”), but it was the encore that brought the audience back to life and proved to all that yes, Wolf Parade does live up to the hype plus much, much more.

Wolf Parade probably won’t be making their way through town again for a long time. With this being their first real show in Austin (well, technically second–ACL ‘06), and with all of the side-projects of the band members, one must assume that another Wolf Parade visit to Austin in the next year seems impossible. But one can hope of course, and with a live show that at times out performs the records themselves, it’s only a matter of time before the band eventually returns to town.

-EmilyJ

I’ll be the first to admit, it took me awhile to get on board with the sweet sweet sounds of Fleet Foxes, but am admitidly a converted card carrying member of the band’s fan club. NPR has for you a stream of a Lillywhite Session with the band just recorded recently, and if you can’t get enough of of these guys, as I cannot, it’s a must listen.

check it here: Fleet Foxes: The Lillywhite Session

Our friends over at Ultra8201 are reporting that local band And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead are slated to play this year’s Funx3 Fest, even headlining. The Source Code for this information could be questionable, but the likelihood of this being a possibility is ripe. Trail of Dead have been fairly quiet on the national scene for awhile after the lukewarm response to the bands 2006 release So Divided, but have been holed up in the studio preparing for a release that is hoping to see daylight sometime this fall. The timing seems appropriate.

MP3> Trail of Dead ‘Will You Smile Again?’

In the studio video:

Austin’s own Octopus Project have been busy racking up accolades in the music scene for the past couple of years. Rolling Stone’s David Fricke picked them and fans adore them. The band starts a month long west coast tour that kicks off at Lollapalooza and finds them landing back home at this year’s ACL Festival.

MP3> The Octopus Project ‘Bees Bein Strugglin’

* w/ Diagonals

08/02 Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s

08/03 Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza

08/04 Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar

08/05 Norman, OK @ Opolis

08/06 Lubbock, TX @ Tequila Station

08/11 Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room*

08/12 Tucson, AZ @ Congress Theater*

08/13 San Diego, CA @ The Cashbash*

08/14 Los Angeles, CA @ Knitting Factory*

08/15 Visalia, CA @ Cellar Door*

08/16 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill*

08/18 Portland, OR @ Satyricon*

08/19 Seattle, WA @ Nectar Lounge*

08/20 Vancouver, BC @ Richard’s

08/22 Edmonton, AL @ Velvet Lounge

08/23 Calgary, AL @ Hi Fi

08/25 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge

08/26 Denver, CO @ Hi Dive

08/28 Dallas, TX @ Lola’s*

08/29 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live*

09/28 Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival

photo : valerie@fremin.net

Kings of Leon have a new recording becoming available September 23rd titled Only By The Night. Here is the first available offering from the upcoming release titled “Crawl”. I for one, am curious as to which direction the band is going to head with the new recording. Because of the Times was a slick departure from earlier recordings, and one would wonder if Only By The Night might see a return to the southern rock roots with a dash of the new and improved Kings.

MP3> Kings of Leon ‘Crawl’

Only By The Night video teaser

If you put off purchasing your 3-Day pass to ACL Festival 2008, you put it off too long. They are gone. You can still purchase a single day ticket at the price of $80, but chances are those will go fast. Historically the Saturday and Sunday tickets go first, so check the schedule and get on board.

This year’s peformers include: Beck, Foo Fighters, Manu Chao, Band of Horses, The Mars Volta, The Raconteurs, Connor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Against Me!, Vampire Weekend, and the list goes on and on…..

First it was Gorilla Vs Bear unveiling the short list of “D” performers rumored to be performing at Fx3 Fest ‘08, with names Dan Deacon, Deerhoof, and Dead Milkmen. Now we have the fine folks over @ The Austinist peeling back another tiny layer revealing more Fx3 artists. Leaning heavy on alphabet letter number 4 still, we have DJ Z-Trip, punk legends D.O.A, and breaking from the alphabet lock, Minus the Bear. That is something to start getting excited about. The “official” lineup won’t break until August sometime, but keep checking back with your local blog buddies for leaks.

MP3> Minus the Bear ‘Pachuca Sunrise‘

Haven’t experienced the Fun Fun Fun Fest? The name tells all.

Taking Place Nov. 8th and 9th @ Waterloo Park
Check out this video recap of 2007 fun.

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo.

Montreal Sub Popper’s Wolf Parade finally make their return to Austin this Friday night. It’s been two years (ACL ‘06) since the indie rocker’s last show in town, and the band has recently released a new album entitled At Mount Zoomer. The album is a bit of a departure from their universally glorified ‘05 release Apologies to the Queen Mary, but the new songs should still come off pretty strong live.

Opening the night is fellow Canadian indie rock band Wintersleep. The Halifax group recently won the Juno Award (Canadain version of the Grammy’s) for New Group of the Year. Their songs have extremely catchy melodies, and they put on a stellar live show so make sure to show up early and check them out.

Wolf Parade w/ Wintersleep @ La Zona Rosa. Show @ 9.
Suprisingly this show hasn’t sold out yet, so do yourself a favor a buy a ticket now.

MP3> Wolf Parade ‘Call It A Ritual’

One of the more interesting musical discoveries for me last year was this band Grizzly Bear. I didn’t really get it at first, but upon hearing “Knife”, I became extremely curious and hearing them perform the track live was haunting. Check out the band performing the new track “Two Weeks” on Letterman last night. Tour dates follow, with the band performing a few dates in support of a little band called Radiohead.

UPDATE: Looks like the video has been removed. Sorry. Or maybe not?

MP3> Grizzly Bear on Letterman ‘Two Weeks’

• Jun 25, 2008 - Calgary, AB - Central United Church for the Sled Island Festival
• Jul 31, 2008 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge*
• Aug 01, 2008 - Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
• Aug 02, 2008 - Louisville, KY - 930 Listening Room*
• Aug 03, 2008 - Noblesville, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center w/ Radiohead
• Aug 04, 2008 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center w/ Radiohead
• Aug 06, 2008 - Montréal, QC - Parc Jean Drapeau w/ Radiohead
• Aug 07, 2008 - Northampton, MA - Calvin Theater w/ The New Pornographers
• Aug 08, 2008 - Jersey City, NJ - All Points West Music & Arts Festival
• Aug 11, 2008 - Washington, DC - Sixth & I Historic Synagogue*
• Aug 12, 2008 - Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center w/ Radiohead
• Aug 13, 2008 - Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts w/ Radiohead
• Aug 14 - Boston, MA - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• Aug 15 - Toronto, ON -Molson Amphitheatre

photos : valerie@fremin.net

Even though they were playing support act to the RX Bandits, experimental indie rock band Portugal. The Man still managed to gather a rather large crowd of faithful fans for their show Friday night at Emo’s.

One of the joys of seeing the band in person is experiencing the songs that you know and love from their records, turned into epic jam sessions live. They opened the show with the moody “AKA M80 The Wolf” off the band’s 2006 debut full length album Waiter: “You Vultures!” and stretched the normally 4 minute long song, into a near 9 minute long jam. Lead singer and guitarist John Baldwin Gourley’s unique high pitch vocals were stunning on “Bellies are Full” and “Church Mouth,” (both off 2007s Church Mouth) especially when backed by the harmonies of keyboardist/percussionist Ryan Neighbors. At times the songs blended together into one giant eclectic mess, visually backed by an erratic light show, but the audience remained captivated the entire time.

The band has recorded a new album entitled Censored Colors, and while no release date has been announced as of now, the band previewed one of the new tracks for the crowd. That track, “And I” features beautiful vocal harmonies and a slightly slower overall energy, and it seemed to go over well with the audience. The exploding “The Devil” and crowd favorite “My Mind” closed out the seven song set.

Portugal. The Man will continue their US tour supporting the RX Bandits through the end of August [dates here], then head over seas for some European dates. Hopefully they will then embark on a headlining US tour, so we can hear some more of the new tracks live.