Drink Up Buttercup hail from Philadelphia and strictly based on their new single, “Even Think”, they seem like a lot of fun.  Reminds me of a more upbeat, less weird Man Man (maybe it’s the crunchy keyboards).   It’s a bit sugary in spots but considering it’s Friday, that’s fine by me.

They play the Zodiac Tuesday night with Honne Wells and Blood Warrior (nov. 10th), so it’ll be interesting to see if their entire show compares to this single.  The rest of the songs on their myspace page sound pretty DIY/raucous/indie circus, so considering the size of Zodiac, it could turn into quite the night-before-veterans-day. The Tequila Tuesday special next door at Club Charles certainly won’t hurt.  See you there?

Drink Up Buttercup – Even Think (MP3)

Their name is pretty sweet too.

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This is a first for me here:  a book recommendation.  But since it’s from the same author who wrote High Fidelity (Nick Hornby) and the book itself, Juliet, Naked, talks about music and in particular the Internets effect on music i thought it was worth mentioning.

I bought this book on a friday and had it finished by monday so it’s a pretty quick read, funny, and poignant for anyone who likes music enough to search it out on the blogosphere.  Proper credit to largehearted boy for piquing my interest enough to buy the book.

Get it here.

And i thought this song was appropriate:

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It was nice to get into work on a Monday morning and hear some nice new Minus the Bear songs. Judging by how good these songs are, I’m definitely looking forward to their new album coming out early next year. I was a little disappointed with their last effort, it was good just nothing amazing… but I feel like they are always one album away from their best. “Into the Mirror” has a groovy Steely Dan feel to it.

Related:

• Minus the Bear “Guns & Ammo”
• Minus The Bear “Acoustics” EP

Yeasayer is offering their first single, “Ambling Alp”, off their forthcoming album Odd Blood (out in 2010).  I always liked their first album, even though i don’t think it was as good live, and i think they got overshadowed by releasing that album around the same time as MGMT (and touring with them) back in 2007/2008.  This song sounds just as layerd, semi-psychadelic, and catchy as the songs off that debut album…so I am definitely looking forward to this new one.  Plus i love the singers voice…unique, but not annoying, which isn’t easily acheived.  Interesting they’ve added brass to this song, i would love to see them tour with a whole horn section.

Download “Ambling Alp” HERE.

Stream it here:
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

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The Junior Boys are here to start your Halloween weekend off right with what’s sure to a be a dancer-ific set at Sonar.  I have seen them twice this year and can attest to their downtempo-shake-your-feet goodness.  Of course this being baltimore…i am always weary of if an actual crowd will show up (i mean lcd soundsystem was half full a couple years back), so hopefully people stop by.  Junior boys are definitely a more the merrier affair.  Anyone up for some drinks before hand?

Check out my pics of their show in DC here.

Junior Boys – Hazel (MP3)

Junior Boys – Work (Prins Thomas Remix)

Related:

• Junior Boys – Black Cat – 5/5/09
• New Junior Boys: “Parallel Lines”
• Junior Boys Remix Sally Shapiro: "Jackie Junior"

SO when you search a band/song/album etc. on google, you will also be presented with a play button to preview or listen to song from the band and/or album. Good start, will be interesting to see how far google takes this.

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• Review: Sea Wolf, Port O’Brien, Sara Lov @ Talking Head 10/18/09
• Sea Wolf: “Wicked Blood” Stream, Tour Dates
• Sea Wolf: New Album, MP3

1. Pantha Du Prince “Suzan”
2. Vaselines – No Hope
3. Neon Indian – Terminally Ill
4. Mellowdrone – Lady In Her Underwear
5. OldCanes – Little Bird Courage
6. Holy Fuck – Royal Gregory
7. Lightning Bolt – Birdy
8. Frankie Rose – Thee Only One
9. Cruisin’Gang – America
10. Bernard Estardy – Tic Tac Nocturne
11. Field Music – Measure
12. Washed Out – Phone Call
13. A Place To Bury Strangers – Missing You

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• A Mix for the Long Weekend
• Random Mix for The Weekend
• Obligatory Fall Music Mix
• Wall-E Inspired Robot Mix

This past sunday i headed down to The Talking Head to check out Sea Wolf and was surprised with a couple solid opening sets by Port O’Brien and Sara Lov.  The night started out a bit delayed as the sound check was still going on well after doors were supposed to be opened, so the crowd just hung out in the lovely talking head alley in hopes of staying out of the way of whatever death metal fest was going on next door at sonar.

When the fairly large crowd (for the talking head) got in and the first opener, Sara Lov, took the stage you could definitely still hear said death metal band as if they were about to come through the wall.  This was not a good scenario for a couple reasons:  1) Lov was playing with only the help of an instrumental version of her album mic’d up 2) it was actually skipping from the bass coming from the room next door and 3) her songs were quiet to begin with.  This was really unfortunate because it eventually lead to a couple songs having to be stopped and/or stumbled through – and when she was singing and playing i really really liked what i heard.

She was really apologetic and the crowd was in a great “you can do it” mood, so it didn’t take away from her set as much as it could have, but i felt bad for her, as she was obviously shaken by it.  The highlights (and reason i bought her EP The Young Eyes) were a perfect-for-the-fall piano ballad “Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming” followed by her dark and deconstructed cover of arcade fire’s “My Body Is a Cage”.  I will definitely be keeping an eye on her.

Next up was Port O’Brien – who brought a lot of energy to the stage, but who’s songs weren’t nearly as memorable.  They were really into it, and at one point mentioned the singers parents had flown in to see the show, which was cool…but it wasn’t exactly something that kept my interest; that is until their last song, when they passed out pots and pans for people to bang on as they played their 2007 blog favorite “I Woke Up Today”.  Will be interesting to see where these guys go next.

Last of the night, but certainly not least, was Sea Wolf, which was comprised of lead singer/guitarist Alex Brown Church (a dead ringer for a younger Jeff Tweedy), a keyboardist, lead guitarist, bass player, drummer, and cellist (excuse my lack of names for the other instrumentalists).  I never got their 1st album, but i loved the single as well as what i’d heard of their latest release, White Water, White Bloom…so i was hopeful it would be a good set.

Well, I’m happy to say they met my expectations and then some.  Their (his?) live show gave their songs a great jolt, which is great, as i usually hate when live a band sounds just like their album, and Sea Wolf’s mellow-ish songs really benefited from the live versions (not that the album versions arren’t good).  Particularly the electric guitar accents (shreds?) in the middle of some songs, which definitely caught me off guard, but were a great surprise.  The cellist was also great, as was everyone really.  They seemed to also be having a genuinely good time, not unlike the rest of the crowd, who seemed to be really into the band.  It was a solid set, and i picked up said album and it’s only gotten better with each listen throughout the week.  Especially without the death metal backing track.

Sea Wolf – You’re a Wolf (MP3)

Sea Wolf – Stanislaus (MP3)

Related:

• New Sea Wolf Video: “Wicked Blood”
• Sea Wolf: “Wicked Blood” Stream, Tour Dates
• Sea Wolf: New Album, MP3