Little time has passed since we last saw Little Boots stateside, and with good reason. Since her last gig, her debut album Hands was officially released alongside a teaser EP, and Boots easily became one of the most hyped artists of the last year. In promotion of the album, she’s embarked on a tour with Canadian sweethearts Dragonette and New York chill wave trio Class Actress, which made its stop at the El Rey in Los Angeles last night. In all honesty, the last Little Boots show famously fell short of expectations, so those in the crowd who had seen her before were a little nervous about what was to come later that evening. The buzz was that she had a larger budget and was working on updating her live band (buzz supported, in part, by her twitter page).
It’s a testament to her humility and tenacity that Kid Sister shows no signs of getting fed up yet. Four months after the long-awaited release of her debut album, Ultraviolet, Kid Sis is still playing shows that don’t properly showcase her formidable stage presence and talents.
Backed solely by a DJ, Kid Sister pounced on the stage at the Roxy last night, opening with “Right Hand Hi,” the mind-bogglingly polyrhythmic lead single from her album. Immediately going into “Life On TV,” it was clear that no ammount of speed-rapping or booty shaking was going to leave this artists winded or in need of a break.
In an announcement that surprised nobody, Capitol/EMI and OK Go revealed their separation yesterday and today, OK Go unveiled their own label, named Paracadute. Last month, Damian Kulash, the band’s frontman, wrote a spirited editorial in the New York Times bemoaning EMI’s policy of not allowing certain music videos to be embedded by third party hosts. Kulash is a smart guy and was able to connect his band’s influence in the popularity of YouTube four years ago and the subsequent institutionalizing of the medium by corporate labels. While it would have been interesting if perhaps beneficial to see Kulash and his band fight the machine from within, it was probably (understandably) intolerable. By taking the walk offer from EMI, OK Go is now able to promote their new album (Capitol has seemed somewhat uninterested in this – the band had outside promotion in place already) and their elaborate video for “This Too Shall Pass.”
If you haven’t heard Céu’s Vagarosa, the Brazilian’s singer’s 2009 sophomore album, it’s time to get seduced. Of course, there are the obvious comparisons to Bebel Gilberto – both women rework Brazilian musical traditions with contemporary, often electronic production. But while Gilberto heralds Rio’s bright colors and sunshine in her songs, Céu is from Sao Paolo and has an edgier, more nighttime palette. She doesn’t tour much, so this is a brief but good opportunity to see her.
Boy 8-Bit has been getting props from people like The Black Ghosts and Florence and the Machines for a hot minute now. This spring he tours North America, including dates during SXSW and WMC, possibly positioning for a global breakout hit. His new single, “The Keep,” drops in April, but in the meantime you can check his remix for La Roux’s “Quicksand” below.
Going to a Crystal Castles show is like stepping into some sort of tripped-out Tim Burton musical. Or at least, that’s how it felt at Vancouver’s Gossip Night Club on the last Saturday of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Flowing white curtains hung from the ceiling, with pink lights clashing against them. Spiral chandeliers reached out towards the floor. The bar was backlit with odd arrangements of red, black and yellow lights. And perhaps scariest above all was that a beer cost nearly nine dollars! Guess that’s the price you pay for living in an Olympic city.
There ain’t nobody out there making shit, quite like her, quite like Kid Sis and starting tonight everyone will get to see how on what is essentially Kid Sister’s first headlining tour. Now, this isn’t a major show -she’s playing mid size clubs and a few SXSW parties – but this is the first time [...]
We’re digging Seabear, the hypnotic pop outfit form Iceland. They tour the eastern US and Canada next month with Via Tania and hopefully will be back this summer. For now, they’ve made a little video for “I’ll Build You A Fire” that will help you have psychadellic dreams. If you need to catch up on [...]
Little time has passed since we last saw Little Boots stateside, and with good reason. Since her last gig, her debut album Hands was officially released alongside a teaser EP, and Boots easily became one of the most hyped artists of the last year. In promotion of the album, she’s embarked on a tour with Canadian sweethearts Dragonette and New York chill wave trio Class Actress, which made its stop at the El Rey in Los Angeles last night. In all honesty, the last Little Boots show famously fell short of expectations, so those in the crowd who had seen her before were a little nervous about what was to come later that evening. The buzz was that she had a larger budget and was working on updating her live band (buzz supported, in part, by her twitter page).
If you haven’t heard Céu’s Vagarosa, the Brazilian’s singer’s 2009 sophomore album, it’s time to get seduced. Of course, there are the obvious comparisons to Bebel Gilberto – both women rework Brazilian musical traditions with contemporary, often electronic production. But while Gilberto heralds Rio’s bright colors and sunshine in her songs, Céu is from Sao Paolo and has an edgier, more nighttime palette. She doesn’t tour much, so this is a brief but good opportunity to see her.
Going to a Crystal Castles show is like stepping into some sort of tripped-out Tim Burton musical. Or at least, that’s how it felt at Vancouver’s Gossip Night Club on the last Saturday of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Flowing white curtains hung from the ceiling, with pink lights clashing against them. Spiral chandeliers reached out towards the floor. The bar was backlit with odd arrangements of red, black and yellow lights. And perhaps scariest above all was that a beer cost nearly nine dollars! Guess that’s the price you pay for living in an Olympic city.
