The high-intensity pop-rock duo Sleigh Bells emerged in 2009 with power-packed guitar riffs that were coupled by sweet female vocals. The video for “Demons,” off of January’s metal-infused Reign of Terror, makes a strong argument for why this is one band you should see live.
Music
Video: Mucca Pazza’s “Boss Taurus”
The Chicago 30-piece Mucca Pazza is an ensemble of fun-loving band geeks that includes guitarists, trombonists, sax players, percussionists, and — let’s not forget — cheerleaders. Though they look and behave like perhaps the world’s coolest marching band, their sound is far more suitable for summer festivals than pep rallies.
Mechanized music marks Eli Keszler’s “L-Carrier” installation
The ambitious 28-year-old musician, composer, and visual artist Eli Keszler has an exciting month and road ahead of him. On June 5, he is releasing a two-CD compilation via Berlin-based PAN entitled Catching Net, and on June 7 he will perform alongside his newest installation piece, “L-Carrier,” at Eyebeam Art & Technology Center in New York City. The live event will be streaming at http://turbulence.org/works/l-carrier, and the installation will remain at Eyebeam through June 23.
Catching Net assembles selected old and new compositions that also can serve as stand-alone installations. It’s mostly centered around “Cold Pin,” which uses motorized arms to pluck, tap, and scrape against piano wires of varying lengths to produce percussive noise that is abrasive yet musically resonant.
Video: Jherek Bischoff’s “Young and Lovely” f. Zac Pennington & Soko
Get ready to hear the name Jherek Bischoff a lot more often. The multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and ex-Parenthetical Girls member has crafted an epic orch-pop debut called Composed, which is coming via Brassland on June 5.
And if you need a few familiar names to get you interested, the album features David Byrne, Nels Cline (Wilco, Nels Cline Singers), Craig Wedren (Shudder to Think), Greg Saunier (Deerhoof), Zac Pennington (Parenthetical Girls), Soko, Carla Bozulich, Dawn McCarthy (Faun Fables), and even more notables.
Review: Janel & Anthony’s Where is Home
Janel & Anthony: Where is Home (Cuneiform, 5/22/12)
“Big Sur”
[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Janel__Anthony_Big_Sur.mp3|titles=Janel & Anthony: “Big Sur”]A dynamic DC duo versed in the East, the West, and the rest, Janel & Anthony is cellist Janel Leppin and guitarist Anthony Pirog. Together, they’ve studied and performed everything from surf rock to jazz, modern classical, and Hindustani ragas, and those assorted influences mesh into one beautiful, indecipherable whole on Where is Home, their second full-length album.
Photos: Spindrift & The Asteroid #4 at Psych Fest (Austin, TX)
For the past five years, Austin’s Psych Fest has collected a number of distinguished and up-and-coming acts from across the country to celebrate the city’s vivid (read: hallucinatory) music history. This year, the three-day festival was assembled in a makeshift passageway connecting Emo’s East and the Beauty Ballroom, and it included psych-crossover outfits Spindrift and The Asteroid #4 (among many, many others). Photos by Maxxx Von Willmann.
Video: B. Dolan’s “2Bad” f. Sage Francis
Bearded MC B. Dolan is releasing the second installment of his House of Bees mixtape on June 12 via Sage Francis’ label, Strange Famous Records. Mixed by Buddy Peace, its old-school form returns Dolan to his roots as an emcee, while singles “Still Here” and “2Bad” take his rapper/activist persona to the next uncompromising level.
Members of The Mars Volta, Triclops!, Minutemen, and Sleepy Sun announce debut as Anywhere
Because the world needs more awesome super-groups, Christian Eric Beaulieu of Triclops!, Cedric Bixler Zavala of The Mars Volta, and special guests Mike Watt (Minutemen) and Rachel Fannan (Sleepy Sun) have coalesced as a project called Anywhere.
The group’s style is a blend of Eastern-influenced acoustic/psych punk, and you can hear the jangly, falsettoed, self-titled single below. Anywhere’s self-titled debut is out in the USA on July 24 via ATP Recordings.