Twin Cities: - Jen Paulson reviews Neil Young's show at the Xcel Energy Center for Spin. ( link ) - The Star Tribune's Chris Reimenschneider reviews Young's opening act, Death Cab For Cutie. ( link ) - Prior to the band's Varsity Theater show, Minus The Bear performed a studio set for The Current. ( link ) - Alejandro Escovedo also stopped by The Current Wednesday prior to his show at the Fine Line Music Cafe. ( link ) - MFR reviews Jeremy Messersmith's Silver City . ( link ) [...]
Blackout Beach [ Official Site ] is the solo nom de guerre of Carey Mercer (from Frog Eyes and Swan Lake ), and Skin of Evil is his second full-length, and it tells the story of "Donna" and each of her lovers (past & present) say their peace in song. Composed, played and recorded entirely by Mercer alone, these songs revel in the dark side of the heady proto-punk Cleveland axis (e.g. Peter Laughner , David Thomas ) with a minimal, textural [...]
Blackout Beach is the solo psuedonym of Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes and Swan Lake), who will release his second full length under the moniker, Skin Of Evil , this December 2 on Soft Abuse . Composed, played and recorded entirely by Mercer alone, these songs revel in the dark side of the heady proto-punk Cleveland axis with a minimal, textural & almost Suicide-ish sense of pop form and the experimental nature of recent Scott Walker works. A concept album, Skin Of Evil is the story of "Donna" - whether fictional or not [...]
The video for "Rat Patrol And DJs" takes place in Denton, Texas, outside the local bar/club Dan's Silverleaf. The resulting clip was shot with no edits after 16 takes, but as you'll note, there was post-production involved: The animation's the work of one Mark Ray, i.e. Matt Pence's drums didn't actually sprout a tree (though he does go through some real-time wardrobe shifts) and while Will Johnson has a great voice and often beautiful lyrics, his mouth wasn't really leaking stars, stripes, or psychedelic shapes.
Something evil this way comes. "Cloud of Evil" is the scene-setter for the second album from Frog Eyes / Swan Lake bard Carey Mercer's Blackout Beach solo project, Skin of Evil , the follow-up to 2004's Light Flows the Putrid Dawn . Mercer's oracular bleats, largely indecipherable save for scattered fragments like "golden crescent of the sky" and "raise the sacrficial goblets", [...]
As if Carey Mercer-- of Frog Eyes and Swan Lake fame-- didn't have enough going on already, we get this: Skin of Evil is the sophomore set from Blackout Beach , Mercer's solo project, which follows 2004's Light Flows the Putrid Dawn . The disc is due December 2 from Soft Abuse , and Mr. Mercer was kind enough to write up a little [...]
So I've been wondering what the good boys of Wolf Parade are up to of late since it's been all side projects of late (or is Wolf Parade a side project, I'm not quite sure at this point), from Spencer Krug's Sunset Rubdown to Dan Boeckner's Handsome Furs . (Not that I really mind, as I'm a fan across the board). Anyhow, looks like WP have some shows at the end of the summer (not anywhere near the west coast), with one new one added in Montreal due to popular demand. Hell, if you [...]
Here's a brief history of Carey Mercer's band Frog Eyes ' recordings in recent years, taken from the Soft Abuse label's website: Hailing from the hamlet of Victoria, British Columbia, Frog Eyes create terribly original, frightening, and ecstatic rock music. Carey Mercer formed Frog Eyes after the demise of Blue Pine , a short-lived but brilliant quartet that released one album for the Global Symphonic label before dissolving. For Frog Eyes, Mercer recruited Mike Rak (a Blue Pine bandmate), Spencer Krug [...]
Frog Eyes have a new record coming May 1st, titled Tears of the Valedictorian , it will groan under the weight of this track, "Bushels". If you haven't heard singer Carey Mercer, be prepared to be amazed, shocked, astounded, etcetera... this is a voice you can't ignore, you'll either take it in, or slam the door in it's face. bushels [mp3] Pre-order the record from Absolutely Kosher . From The Folded Palm [...]
Marcellus Hall I'm Not Laughing At You Dr Dog Livin A Dream (Live on XFM X-Posture) Blackout Beach Claxxons Lament Alec Ounsworth(Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) Underwater(You and Me) (Demo)
I picked this album up in January. It haunts me; I dream in its colors. I'm not going to review it or even talk about it. Buy it or we're not friends anymore. Blackout Beach - Skin of Evil Blackout Beach - Cloud of Evil Download audio file (cloudofevil.mp3) Blackout Beach - Nineteen, One God, One Dull Star Download audio file (nineteen.mp3)
Culture Bully
Radio Exile
The Tripwire
Stereogum
Pitchfork: Forkcast
Macktronic
VAGUE SPACE
*SIXEYES
Snakes Got A Blog
Houston's Most Hated
Afrojack Goes Big For His ‘Jacked’ Summer Tour
Friday Remixes
The National - The Rains Of Castamere [Game of Thrones Soundtrack]
Princeton – Grand Rapids (RAC Remix)
Summer Camp – Always
