Violens: Brooklyn Shoe Gazers Play Record Release Show at Le Poisson Rouge on May 16th

Violens' forthcoming album, True, finds the Brooklyn three-piece further amplifying their innovative songwriting with a palette of exquisitely crafted sound. The band's music eludes classification, expertly blending percussive guitar work and silky harmonies, seeking the silver lining yet to be discovered between the sounds we know and love. With a wash of 90s sonic pop drawn from artists like Pale Saints, Cocteau Twins and McCarthy, Violens paint soft watercolor notes across their compositions, adding crucial emotional depth via layered vocal harmonies.

The album's first single, "Totally True," demonstrates this with its stone-washed, semi-improvised feel, celebrating bands like The Chameleons and Martin Newell's Cleaners From Venus. The guitars are clean and jangling, meshing perfectly with the driving bassline. The lovely vocals have an almost 60s feel; their debt to such soft-rock touchstones as The Association and Sagittarius is one of the unique elements of Violens' sound that sets them well-apart from many of their contemporaries. According to the band, "'Totally True' is a nearly impossible idea if you think about it, but a fun song to play live. I think we were imagining an ego-driven 19-year-old when we wrote it, extremely attractive, blonde and treacherous. It took Jorge months to learn the solo and he still fucks it up all the time..." The b-side, 'Something Falling', is a dreamy ballad marked by an effectively spare production, sweeping synths and the band's trademark harmonies.

Violens East Coast Tour Dates (more dates to be announced soon)
4/14 - Miami, FL @ Maps Backlot -Art Walk Concert Series
4/28 - Hamden, CT @ Outer Space w/Lower Dens
4/29 - Boston, MA @ Great Scott w/Lower Dens
5/03 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's w/Lower Dens
5/04 - Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel w/Lower Dens
5/05 - Baltimore, MD @Otto Bar w/ Lower Dens

5/16 - New York, NY @Le Poisson Rouge (Record Release show)
Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 DOS



Links:
Violens

To The Wedding: Boston Shoe Gazers Play Lit Lounge on March 19th

DOWNLOAD: To The Wedding - "Let Love In"

Sadly, I've got about a thirty second attention span with bands that I'm not familiar with. I've now listened to all four song on To The Wedding's debut EP (which is a pay-what-you-will download on Bandcamp) and enjoyed the band's layered neo-psychedelia/shoe-gazer sound. Some EPs have left me wanting to hear more - in the case of To The Wedding, I'd like to hear them live and Lit Lounge's dungeon-like basement seems like the perfect environment for the band's sound.

To The Wedding are playing Lit Lounge on March 19th along with Brooklyn's Manner and Koelie. Tickets are $6 and To The Wedding kicks off the evening at 9PM.



To The Wedding from Boston, MA is rooted in the shoe-gazer genre. Their songs are constructed with attention to melody, space, and emotion. The mix of Lauren Grubb (Vocals, Guitar) Evan Orfanos (Bass) Mickey Vershbow (Drums) and Addam Zaino (Guitar/Piano) make To The Wedding's distinct sound. In December 2010 the band released their self titled EP, and their single, "Let Love In", garnered attention around Boston. A follow up EP is due out Summer 2011.

Pete of WZBC’s Love and Mathematics describes the band as..
"Layering elements of psych, shoe-gaze, and ambient over Boston’s traditional garage-rock template. Creating something new while still retaining what I consider to be the essential characteristics of (i) sounding great on headphones when listening in the library and (ii) sounding even better when played loudly, on a stereo at a party or live in a bar. Making music, that is, for people who like to think but love to rock." - http://loveandmath.wordpress.com/

UPCOMING SHOWS:
3/13 @ Precinct
3/19 @ Lit Lounge in NYC
4/16 @ PA’s Lounge/Deep Heaven Now

Links:
To The Wedding

Dirty Dishes: Boston Indie-Rock Band Plays Show at Knitting Factory on Oct. 27th

DOWNLOAD: Dirty Dishes - "Stolen Apples"
DOWNLOAD: Dirty Dishes - "Deer in Headlights"

Dirty Dishes formed in 2009 and have been described as striking "a delicate balance between all out psychedelic and easily accessible grungy indie-rock. The band weaves in and out of low-end saturated guitar and bass riffs and super tight, staccato rhythms. (Boston Band Crush)" Good points of comparison would be The Breeders or Kim Deal's songs with The Pixies.

Dirty Dishes began 2010 by playing a sold out show at House of Blues with Boston natives Passion Pit. They have since shared the stage with Autolux and Gobble Gobble, played several shows at SXSW including two packed nights at the Austin Museum of Art, traveled to Toronto as an official NXNE artist, and snagged the front page of the Arts & Entertainment section of The Weekly Dig in Boston.

The band is playing a show at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn this Wednesday with Quilty, Total Slacker and the dubiously named Easter Vomit (who have sort of a Velvet Underground thing going on - check out this free download). Tickets are $7.00 and the show starts at 8:30PM.

Links:
Dirty Dishes

Dead Leaf Echo Release New Vinyl 7" "Half-Truth"

DOWNLOAD: Dead Leaf Echo - "Half-Truth"

Brooklyn-based shoe-gazers Dead Leaf Echo have announced a pre-sale for their new single, "Half-Truth", which is from their forthcoming release Truth.

This is the band's first release on vinyl and the b-side is a new, unreleased song entitled "Babyeyes". The first 100 copies are hand-numbered with hand-screened covers that come in 3 different colors.

Click on the 7" cover to go over to Custom Made Music's pre-sale site.

Links:
Dead Lead Echo

Brown Shoe Are Playing Public Assembly (7/27) and Fontana's (7/28) Next Week (shoegazer alt-rock)

Folsom, California alt-rock shoegazers Brown Shoe seem to be spending most of this year on the road. The band is back in town for shows at Public Assembly (on Monday night) and Fontana's (on Tuesday night). Monday night's show is with Trashed on Fiction and Black Swan Green; tickets are $10. Tuesday night's show is with Athens (from Chicago) and admission is $7.

Brown Shoe just released a video for "The War" which is from their third release Jackalope.



Links:
Brown Shoe's MySpace Profile

Brown Shoe Are Playing Fontana's on March 29th (shoegazer alt-rock)

Folsom, California alt-rock shoegazers Brown Shoe are playing a show at Fontana's on March 29th. The band is touring behind their third release Jackalope which came out toward the end of last year.

Here is how the Times-Delphic (which is the Drake University student paper) describes Brown Shoe:

Although the hint of different bands can be heard here and there, Brown Shoe's songs have their own unique flavor. They don't hit you with a lot of guitar right off the bat but, instead, build each song into its own musical story. Each note and chorus builds to end with a pleasant sound of soothing vocals and what Baggaley labels "tribal drums."

"Our sound is influenced by all of the current bands, but we try to separate ourselves from the music we enjoy in order to come up with our sound," said Aaron Baggaley, the band's guitarist.

Tickets for the show are $8.00 and the show starts at 8PM.

Check out "Aquarium" - the first video from Jackalope.


Links:
Brown Shoe's MySpace Profile