Kyle Gilkeson

Little Dragon

Concert Photos: Little Dragon @ Relentless Garage (London, UK)

Swedish synth-pop quartet Little Dragon performed at HMV’s Next Big Thing festival in London earlier this month, alongside other up-and-coming artists like dubstepper James Blake and the great, ALARM-endorsed Stateless. Little Dragon, led by vocalist Yukimi Nagano, has been making waves with its ’80s-throwback dream pop mixed with dub and African rhythms. ALARM contributing photographer Gavin Thomas captured these images of the band’s show in London, and he even managed to snap a few up-close-and-personal portraits backstage.

Little Dragon

The Church

Concert Photos: The Church @ Park West (Chicago, IL)

Australian rock band The Church formed in 1980, making its current US tour a 30th-anniversary celebration. The “Future Past Perfect” tour finds the quartet performing three full albums each night: Untitled #23, Priest=Aura, and Starfish. If you’re unfamiliar with the band, you’ll probably recognize its biggest hit, “Under the Milky Way,” which cracked the US charts in the late ’80s. Photographer Drew Reynolds attended the show at Park West in Chicago and captured these great images of the band.

The Church

Mystery Train Records

Behind the Counter: Mystery Train (Gloucester, MA)

Each week, Behind the Counter speaks to an independent record store to ask about its recent favorites, best sellers, and noteworthy trends.

For Gloucester, MA-based Mystery Train Records, vinyl is the name of the game — it always has been and probably always will be. In fact, the store doesn’t order any new records. If you’re in the area and want to thumb through some carefully selected records — and maybe unearth a true vintage gem or two — look no further. We spoke with one of Mystery Train’s employees, Tim, and he gave us the lowdown on how the Train just keeps on runnin’.

Tim holds The Rock Ensemble 77's Faces
Tim holds The Rock Ensemble 77's Faces

What are the origins of Mystery Train?

Mystery Train began 30 years ago in Harvard Square, Cambridge selling only used vinyl (CDs did not exist), expanded over the years to five stores, then settled back to one large (most vinyl in New England) store in Gloucester, MA. Jack Evans, who originated the business, is now partners with Tim who will continue to focus on providing interesting vinyl for current and future generations of record fiends.

Tortoise

Concert Photos: Tortoise @ Empty Bottle (Chicago, IL)

Experimental instrumental quintet Tortoise played a pair of hometown shows recently, performing in front of welcoming crowds at the Empty Bottle in Chicago. The incomparable rock-dub-jazz shape-shifter garnered a “This Week’s Best Albums” tag for its 2009 release Beacons of Ancestorship (Thrill Jockey). Since then, it has released a 13-minute single (Ice Ice Gravy) and a Japan-only CD (Why Waste Time?).

As you wait for a new Tortoise full-length, check out photographer Drew Reynolds‘ captures from the performance, and then click on over and revisit guitarist Jeff Parker‘s late-2010 show with Andrew Bird right here.

Tortoise

Starfucker

Guest Spots: Starfucker’s cell-phone-picture tour diary

Starfucker: ReptiliansStarfucker: Reptilians (Polyvinyl, 3/8/11)

Starfucker: “Bury Us Alive”

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Portland, Oregon-based Starfucker (or STRFKR, if you’re into the whole no-vowels thing) has made a name for itself by crafting consistently catchy, effervescent electronic pop. Since its inception as a solo project, founding member Josh Hodges has added three members, and the band inked a record deal with Polyvinyl last summer.

With a new album, Reptilians, set for an early March release, the band is on the road, plying its trade. We caught up with multi-instrumentalist Keil Corcoran, and he gave us a grainy, lo-res glimpse into the wild world of STRFKR.

Starfucker’s Cell-Phone-Picture Tour Diary
by Keil Corcoran

My name is Keil. I play drums for Starfucker. I have a piece-of-shit phone called the Motozine ZN5. I have this phone because:

1. It was free
2. It has a five-megapixel camera
3. I am broke
4. It was free

This camera is by no means fit to photograph anything of true consequence. It is, however, terribly handy on tour when awesome things happen/appear.

Starfucker

Ryan [Bjornstad] and Shawn [Glassford] in Seattle looking fine.