PREVIEW: Houseguests EP Release Show (9/11)

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By Deanna Archetto

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Fresh off of another tour, this time to the Midwest and back, Boston-based sugar punk band Houseguests just independently released their new 6-song EP, A Carnival Game.  They’re playing a record release show on 9/11/15 in Allston and want you to be there.

The last time we talked to Houseguests, they were wrapping up their winter tour. Or did they ever really stop touring? Either way, it’s amazing some of the members are still finishing up college in Boston. It’s a tough balancing act, but definitely a rewarding one.

This homecoming show is in celebration of their new EP, A Carnival Game. They’ve been perfecting some of these songs live for a while now, but it’s a real treat to be able to have your own copy of songs like “Indian Summer” and “Like Warriors.”

You can listen to the whole EP on bandcamp and support the heck out of Houseguests at their show tomorrow night.

PREVIEW: The Takeover with Brazil, Honeysuckle, Mark Gilday Jr. (9/11)

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By Jenny Usovicz

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Have you ever heard of a little show house called The Womb? Well if you haven’t it was home to some of the best basement shows for the past few years Allston had ever seen. Sadly, the days of stumbling down the basement stairs, tracing your fingers along the naked ladies plastered on the walls to lead you down to the disco-ball-lit-floor are done. Even if the new owners reprise the house’s role, they’ll have some super-sized shoes to fill.

And yet, the basement boys are still around and some of them are taking over the House of Blues Foundation Room this Friday September 11, 2015. Alex Judd, lead singer of Brazil (and one of the nicest people you will ever meet), used to live at The Womb where he frequently hosted bands like Vundabar, Dent, and Palm Spring Life.  Brazil is bringing their experimental indie rock and folky interludes to The House of Blues Foundation Room, check out their song, “Machine” with techno keyboard and layered jangly guitar riffs sure to get anyone nodding their head along to the beat. Honeysuckle will be bringing some downright folky Americana to the show on Friday, with Holly McGarry’s soulful voice carrying over delicate banjo-laced ballads. Check out, “Josephine” for some heart-wrenching lyrics and again, some killer banjo. Mark Gilday Jr. is like a more country Conor Oberst but way way less depressing. Check out “Tiger’s Grin” for his take on lyric-heavy, storytelling songwriting, and catch him tomorrow night opening for Brazil and Honeysuckle.

Unlike many other show houses, The Womb didn’t enforce a strict $5 cover, they were just nice kids who wanted to share music and give their friends in small bands a venue and a crowd to play to. But if you do have an extra $5 to spare tomorrow night, support your local scene and head over to The Foundation Room.

CMJ Music Marathon 2015 Initial Lineup Announced

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By Reggie Woo

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Earlier today, no rx CMJ reminded us that time is always passing and that their annual Music Marathon is quickly approaching. Announcing the initial lineup of artists for the 35th round of marathoning, a couple strong Boston names made the shortlist with Vundabar, Potty Mouth, Oh Malô, Infinity Girl, and Avi Jacob joining the jam-packed, star-studded lineup that featured huge names like Panda Bear, Titus Andronicus, and Neon Indian. Time to face towards the future with smiles as we can await more artist announcements for the October 13-17th extravaganza.

REVIEW: Infinity Girl at Great Scott (9/5)

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By Tim Gagnon
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“It’s like this every day in New York, clinic ” Nolan Eley observes, cialis gazing upon the post-Allston Christmas trash heaps surrounding Great Scott before the show. “We’ve seen some good moving today though, a lot of that ‘one person carrying mattress’ game going on.”

The questions of loyalty over a once-Boston band playing a “homecoming LP release show” with casual Allston Christmas jokes thrown in can run high for some scene purists (especially when said band chose to become dreaded Brooklynites), but Eley and the rest of Infinity Girl seem to resemble men without country rather than abandoners.

Formed in the fall of 2011, Infinity Girl quickly became Boston’s representative in the shoegaze revival with a strong debut LP (2012’s Stop Being On My Side) and an equally promising EP, Just Like Lovers, that winter. Following that, the band inexplicably went silent for three years.

“I left almost immediately after [Just Like Lovers] to Botswana for the next year,” drummer Sebastian Modak offered. “Mitch [Stewart, bassist] left to New York right after that, and then the next fall, Nolan and Kyle [Oppenheimer, guitarist] moved to New York too.” Although Infinity Girl appeared to have been left in suspended animation during their moves and travels (which meant no “Tswana polyrhythms or djembes” were considered, Modak joked), Harm, the resulting LP after reconvening in New York, is the kind of snarling advancement in sound any band on a three year break would only hope to produce.

Kicking off their set with Harm opener “Hesse” only solidified the notion that the multi-year gap wasn’t a concern for Infinity Girl’s homecoming set. Buzzsaw guitars squealed without abandon to give way to Eley’s ethereal moans, combining to form some of the most menacing shoegaze in recent years. Although the set remained away from favorites from Lovers and Side, the diverse nature of Harm was on full display, moving effortlessly through wide-eyed dream pop (“Dirty Sun”, “Not Man”), woozy slacker rock (“Hold”), and jittery blasts of fuzz (“Heavy”) And sure, they kept true to shoegaze conventions by keeping banter to a minimum and focus set squarely on their pedals, but when a titanic-sized anthem to anxieties in a new city like “Young” closes the night, talk or conventions cease to matter.

Aside from getting album co-signs from former Boston mainstays Topshelf Records and current Allston tape label Disposable America, the local support for the resurrected Infinity Girl was effervescent in fans and bands alike. While newcomers Gold Muse laid out some seriously jangly dream pop and humbly praised Infinity Girl for the opportunity (given that it was their first show ever), psychedelic night cappers The New Highway Hymnal reminisced how it was their first shared bill in ages with the now-Brooklynites. Fiddlehead laid out truly Bostonian feelings between their blasts of ‘90s hardcore reminiscing, adding a grinning taunt of “New York sucks” after singing their praises for Boston’s scene throughout the years. The smile was crucial though, fully aware that it didn’t matter if the band of the hour were making music out of Boston, New York, or Botswana. Infinity Girl, in short, belong anywhere they damn well please… let’s just hope the wait for their next offering won’t be as long.

For all photos from the show, view our gallery below. Harm is out now via Topshelf Records and Disposable America.

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The Showgoer’s Guide to Phone Etiquette

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By Mo Kelly

LATR2q1441663945Last May I caught Hop Along at Great Scott. Like most at the sold out show, I looked forward to hearing the band’s long-awaited second release in person. I was thrilled when they delivered. Painted Shut was just as gripping on stage as its recordings, mixing the energy of new material with live spontaneity and Frances Quinlan’s unmatched voice. The crowd on the other hand, well, they were a different story.

I’d have to pinpoint one showgoer: the fan directly in front of me, who eagerly awaited Hop Along’s set as Palehound and Thin Lips played… by texting. Harmless enough, until it turned into a leisurely jaunt through social media. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat. But it wasn’t until Quinlan and Co. took the stage that things really got wild, when—hold on. She really was on Tumblr!

We’ve all been there, and seen that. The kind of people who get to the gig, and keep their eyes on their phones like they never left home in the first place. The kind of people who make us cringe and wonder, “why watch the show from behind a screen?” And like the case of my tumblin’ homegirl, “do you even care about this band?”

Leaving Great Scott that night, ears ringing and iPhone set to vibrate, I walked home with the fervor of a seriously pissed off Steve Jobs. And like the Apple icon, a call to action hit me as I reached full frustration—which was really somewhere around Harvard Street.

So here it is, folks. Some basic tips for using your phone at shows. Internalize them, practice them, for God’s sake, just hear me out!    

The Showgoer’s Guide to Phone Etiquette

How Did I Get Here?
First thing’s first, no noodling around on your phone at the front of a venue. Whether a big turnout or awkward basement show, it simply doesn’t make sense to fill a space regarded for the most engaged fans, to then disrespect a band or artist by ignoring them completely. If you want to be on your phone all night, head to the back of the venue. I even heard there’s free Wifi outside. 

The Bigger, the Better. Or Worse.
iPad use at shows is an issue I’ve experienced at bigger venues, like Neil Young’s stop at the Wang last November. Think stoner moms and dads with a $9 glass of wine in one hand, shakily glowing tablet in the other. Let a generational gap be an excuse for their folly. Let anyone under 30 who uses their E-Reader while Belle and Sebastian play to be struck down by a single bolt of lightening.

Wallflower, Wallflower
Going to a concert alone can be tough. Wanting to seem like you’re too busy answering emails between sets to mingle doesn’t make you a terrible person, but it does make you a little boring. If you’re at a show alone and don’t want the downtime between bands to feel like solo-loitering outside the gates of Hell, have a beer or two. You’ll be more at ease with yourself and your peers, and maybe even enjoy the music a bit more. Don’t drink? Have a glass of water. You’ll be hydrated and glowing, and everyone will want to be your friend.

Camera Obscura
There are actually people who make a living documenting concerts! Boston has no shortage of these freakishly talented people—take Ben Stas and Leah Corbett as two excellent examples of show photography. Look at Louis Roe’s unique way of capturing music moments, or the AP video teams’ near perfect use of concert stock.

Yes, there are people that go to concerts exclusively to record the bands we worship. And they’re very good at what they do. Which is all the more reason for you to relax and take in the music exactly as it unfolds. Their work will be online in a day or two. That’s right, the perfect thing to distract yourself with on Monday morning, as you sit at work with a cup of coffee and wonder when your coworkers will finally realize you’re a fraud.

Be the Chuck Norris You Wish to See at the Show
You want to post about the show because:

  1. This genre is totally part of your brand
  2. FOMO, or whatever
  3. “The demand to be loved [on social media] is the greatest of all arrogant presumptions.”
    —Nietzsche

If you’re going to use your phone at a gig, be efficient. First, take a moment to think about what you want to share with your followers. With Twitter, it’s like thinking before you speak, but instead of offering wise words to a friend you’re sharing 140 well-crafted characters with a bunch of people you’d avoid in person. When it comes to Instagram, just find a good angle and press that button a few times. It’s a win-win. Online, you’ll have solid content. In the real world, you’ll spend less time fiddling with your phone and other people’s sanity.

#Endrant
Things get a little depressing when you think about our attachment to technology. How many times have you ignored a friend in person to answer Group Chat? When was the last time you went on an adventure—getting in the car and just going—without Google Maps? Have you ever felt like garbage after something you wrote for the internet fell flat? In that case, remember, the writer is so much cooler in person.

Taking a step back from your iPhone, iPad or whatever robot Samsung’s cooked up shouldn’t be a show-specific goal. We’d all be better off if we spent less time FaceTiming, and more time face-to-face with the people and things we truly care about. From concerts to socializing, or even just quality time with a good book, being fully present is a skill to master in any situation. And it’s never too late to start practicing. So, if you’re reading this at a show, please. Put your phone away.

Free Converse Show Announced: Lower Dens & Hop Along

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By Deanna Archetto

 

converseThese are the last few breaths of summer, folks, and Converse wants you to breathe it all in.

Join Converse on the LovejoyWharf Stage on September 9 (that’s tomorrow!) at 5 PM for a free show featuring Baltimore synth nerds Lower Dens and Philly alt angels Hop Along.

Check out the song “Waitress” from Hop Along’s new album Painted Shut via Bandcamp below:

Listen to the song “To Die in L.A.” from Lower Dens’ album Escape from Evil via Soundcloud below:

Cancel all your other plans, because it can wait. Peep here for the Facebook event and see you there!

INTERVIEW: Lou Barlow

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By Sami Martasian

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Lou Barlow’s relationship with Massachusetts is the stuff of legend now. Decades after his infamous run as the bass player for Dinosaur Jr., and another handful since his last solo album, it doesn’t seem to matter where Barlow actually is; kids in the Massachusetts suburbs still proudly hold on to him as a local success story and an innovator in the world of the lo-fi and downright weird. From the punk overtones of Bakesale to the fuzzy, fragile and personal moments of III, Barlow is constantly changing styles and arrangements to prevent a staleness that we so often see in musicians with careers as long as his, continuing with his latest release Brace The Wave. Barlow plays Great Scott TONIGHT (9/8) with T. Hardy Morris. We were lucky enough to have an opportunity to check in with him beforehand about his Ukulele, the Massachusetts music scene and his personal process.

Allston Pudding: How would you describe your relationship with the Massachusetts music community? Do you feel that over various phases in your career that relationship has changed?
Lou Barlow: I think the proliferation of colleges and college radio in the state made it (and makes it?) a viable environment for new music. More so than almost any other part of the country. Boston supports new bands or, at least, has a long history of being the place that new bands can find an unexpectedly large audience.

“Growing up in Massachusetts definitely made my life more musical than it may have been elsewhere. “

It’s also outside of the industry of making music (NYC, LA) so bands can develop relatively untouched by the kind of expectation and pressure that can bring. I was in LA for 17 years so I’m not sure i can speak about my ‘relationship’ to Massachusetts other than to say, as a musician, I am happy to be back and it has always been good to me.

AP:This new album features more ukulele work- for you, what are the advantages to writing on the ukulele? 
LB: I wrote my first real songs on ukelele and have been using baritone (the largest uke) or guitars with 4 strings as writing tools since 1985. Less strings means less work and it seemed to me, early on, that people who play standard 6 string only play about 4 strings at once anyway (requiring a lot of muting and curbing my desire to strum)  I have never played the ukelele in a standard ukelele tuning or used ukelele strings. I use heavy acoustic strings and come up with my own tunings.

AP:Is there anything that you were listening to or doing that gave you the energy or direction for Brace The Wave? 
LB: It was my first time in a studio with exclusively acoustic instruments in a very long time so that , in itself, was energizing. I love acoustic music and feel like there’s a lot of unexplored territory. Towards the end of the recording i heard Carrie and Lowell by Sufjan Stevens and was blown away by it’s simplicity/complexity. So the last track of Brace, “Repeat”, was directly influenced by that.

AP: Having lived in Massachusetts for a while, have you been to shows at Great Scott, and if so, who did you see? Do you have any specific memories there?
LB: I live in Greenfield, MA, so I’m over an hour away from Boston. Allston has energy though. Always has. I lived in Boston from 1989-1997 and loved it. An amazing place to be young and obsessed with music. I mostly went to the clubs in Central Square at that time. TT’s, Middle East.

AP: When you write a song, do you do so with the recording style in mind or do you decide on recording process after the songs are done?
LB: Both. If a song isn’t quite finished when I take it to the studio the recording method can shape the emotional feel of the song and influence the vocal approach and lyrics.

AP: The cover art for Brace the Wave stands apart from cover art that accompanied many of your past projects. It feels more intimate because of its self portrait vibe. For you, does this album feel self reflective? 
LB: All of my records are personal but I do think I purposely made this one more spare, focused and intimate by consciously attempting to keep the sound consistent from track to track.

AP: Are there any bands that you’re playing with in the upcoming months that you’re particularly excited to see?
LB: I’m not really sure what I have in store in the upcoming months re: other bands. I’m currently trying to rehearse the new record and figure out a cohesive live set of songs to play!

AP: Do you ever feel pressured by the success of past projects to make new songs sound a certain way? Does it ever feel like people expect something specific from you and if so do you like that or is it frustrating?
LB: I guess, honestly, I feel like most of what I’ve done has failed, either creatively in my own perception or literally in the public/critical response. So I approach each new project feeling like I have a blank slate and grateful that i even have the opportunity to put a record that people will actually try to listen to. I do have an idea of what i like and what works and assume that the closer i get to that the better the response will be. It’s not frustrating but it’s definitely challenging.

Brace the Wave is out now on Joyful Noise. Lou Barlow plays Great Scott TONIGHT at 9pm with T. Hardy Morris. Tickets are still available here.

INTERVIEW: Dan Goldin of Exploding in Sound

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By Karen Muller
Art by Alyssa Alarcon
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Even if you aren’t directly familiar with Brooklyn-based record label Exploding in Sound, chances are that you know at least a few of its bands. Over the past 4 years, the label has built an impressive roster of local rock talent, including Palehound, Pile, Krill and Speedy Ortiz. It’s no coincidence that the full roster reads more like a list of recommendations from a friend with great taste— that’s exactly how it started.

Founded as a Boston-based music blog by then-Northeastern student Dan Goldin in 2008, Exploding in Sound moved to New York and became a label in 2011, developing a talent for scooping up house show heroes and putting them on bigger stages. Since then, the label’s accomplishments have unfolded in a way that mirrors many of its bands’ approaches to songwriting: unconventional and sometimes risky, but brilliant in execution. Amid the commotion of the “Thank You For Being a Friend” weekend and on the brink of a big season for new releases, we chatted with Goldin about how far EIS has come, the strains of surviving as an “artist-first” operation and what he really thinks about all those Pavement comparisons.

Allston Pudding: Over the past 4 years you’ve gone from a small local label to a launchpad for bands that are now receiving national attention and critical acclaim. What has that transition been like for you?

Dan Goldin: I find that as things get better and better, it gets crazier and crazier and there’s more work to be done. It’s not like “oh yeah as soon as they get this attention things will become more relaxed.” It’s very much the opposite. It’s amazing. I’m just happy that the word is getting out.

AP: Do any moments stand out as turning points?

DG: It’s not necessarily the turning point in the label or anything, but I felt really good after the second birthday party of the label. We did a CMJ showcase at Silent Barn [in Brooklyn] that started in the middle of the day. It was an all-day showcase, and it sold out before the first band even went on. And it was just like, to me, “oh, people do care!” Just little things, little affirmations here and there that keep it going.

AP: It seems like Exploding in Sound has struck the balance between maintaining DIY credibility and establishing itself as a rock label among a wider audience. How do you keep that balance?

DG: We just keep everything really humble and genuine for that. A lot of the bands that we sign, they’re just bands that want to be making music and nothing more than that. None of them have these expectations of blowing up and becoming huge. I think that plays a big part in us keeping things casual and reaching out without big budgets, or any budgets really.

AP: In the past you’ve described Exploding in Sound as “an artist-first label almost to a fault,” and mentioned that your priorities lie beyond producing hits to make money. That being considered, what does success mean in EIS terms?

DG: That’s still true. It’s a success to me if everything a band does is better than the last thing. Not even in terms of music, but is this tour better than the last tour they did? Is this album better received than the last album? And it’s always progressing— that’s success. What that scale of success is doesn’t necessarily matter as long as it’s always getting better.

AP: You’ve also described EIS as not just a label, but as a kind of community. What is your process for discovering and signing artists that fit that community?

DG: It’s kind of just a natural thing. Almost every band on the label I found through either someone on the label, like friendships between existing bands already, or bands that have played shows with other bands on the label that you see around all the time. You get that vibe that not only are they a band making great music, but they’re also happy to be on the label because it’s already very interconnected and everyone’s a fan of everyone else. Anyone can be an insider, it’s just a matter of having that relationship.

AP: Do you ever take outsiders into consideration?

DG: Yeah, kinda. Dave [Spak], the other guy that works for the label, listens to them. I don’t generally unless it’s someone I know personally. One of the other things is that I would never sign a band that I’ve never seen live. You’ve got to know that a band is good live. That’s what makes a great band, how they perform a show. Random submissions are typically not the way to go.

AP: So would you say that ‘must give a great live performance’ is part of the EIS aesthetic?

DG: Absolutely. At the end of the day you can make a great record, but if you can’t perform those songs live then it loses its appeal, in a way. We like our bands to tour as much as they can so people can see them in a live setting. That’s always easier said than done because it’s not easy for bands with no money to tour all the time, but you kind of see that the bands that do tour harder do better.

AP: On a different note, it seems like critics really can’t stop comparing EIS bands to Pavement. What are your thoughts on that?

DG: Some of them are influenced by them, some of them definitely aren’t. It’s very easy for critics to go “Oh, this has guitars, and it’s kind of weird but still catchy… Pavement!” But yeah, I don’t know. I mean, they’re a great band, sure, I’ll take it. And they could be comparing them to Dave Matthews Band…

AP: It seems like EIS often gets name-dropped in association with that style of guitar rock’s return to popularity. Is that sound a conscious decision?

DG: Oh, definitely not. On my behalf it’s no return, because I never stopped listening to loud guitar rock. It just happened be that it got trendy as we were doing our thing. When it’s no longer trendy we’re still going to be doing it. I’m happy to say that it will always be that way.

AP:So if you had to sum up the EIS sound in a couple sentences, how would you do that?

DG: I’ve been trying to make it so that it can’t be summed up in a couple sentences. I think it’s kind of weird that people generalize the sound of the label into one or two things when there’s twenty-something bands on the label. Yes, they all play guitars, but Pile and Leapling couldn’t sound less alike. At the end of the day, I think they’re just all really great songwriters to the point where, yes, some of them are making very loud, aggressive music and some of them are making more pretty, ethereal things, but if you stripped them all down— played acoustic, even— the songs would still all hold. And that’s a testament to the songwriter.

New Somerville Venue Thunder Road Opens Sept. 8

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By Sydney Moyer

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Sit tight, take hold (of yr butts), because the latest entrant into Union Square’s burgeoning nighttime scene is new rock club Thunder Road, set to open up shop at 379 Somerville Ave this coming Tuesday, September 8. The space boasts of two floors, coffee-rubbed bourbon ribs, among other ~fancy bar foods~, live music seven nights a week and, most importantly, a 90s night on Thursdays (your move, Common Ground).

It looks like the venue’s first act will be The Party Band, a New Oreleans-style brass band made up of 20 members that hails from Lowell. In fact, it seems The Party Band will be a Thunder Road mainstay, headlining every Tuesday – ahem, “Fat Tuesday” – for the foreseeable future. To learn more about Thunder Road or plan out a night to go check out the space, head over to their website.

Battles Tease New Album with “FF Baba”

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By Reggie Woo

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Why hello there, Battles. Man, where have you been this time? After almost 4 years since the release of Gloss Drop, the NYC experimental math rocker outfit is finally planning on releasing a new album in a few weeks on September 18th. And it’s known simply as La Di Da Di. Earlier today, the band shared the song “FF Baba”, which you can check out below.

It, along with the album’s single “The Yabba” (which you can watch below), show that despite the passage of time, Battles will always be that reliable quirky-sounding group you can count on for all your ear-orgasmic needs.

If all that wasn’t good enough for you patient fans, Battles hits up Boston pretty soon too with a date at Paradise coming up on September 30th. Time to save all your moneys for this one, kiddies.