Damien Jurado + JBM / Andy Warhol Museum / 05.17.2012 Words by Brendan Whether or not you already know about Damien Jurado , he deserves your attention, and his music deserves your ears, hearts, and minds. He signed to indie stalwart label Sub Pop back in 1997 and has been releasing album after album of impressive material since then, continually reinventing his sound, from acoustic folk to punky garage pop to pyschedelia, on his latest, Maraqopa . We're pleased to announce that (a) Jurado [...]
Words by Rick OK, so when all else fails, start your album with feedback. Even that long-awaited disco album slaved over in your home studio deserves the added spunk of some hi-pitch amplified noise (plus friends will think you're less of a dweeb for recording a disco album). On their new LP, Slices not only preps listeners with a shot of feedback but then accelerates into a punkified Thin Lizzy -like guitar riff on opener "Trying to Make a Living" after a muscle car revs its engine, as if signaling, "Fasten [...]
5 Songs is a weekly series where we point out the strange, the grand, and the unique connections between our favorite songs. Let's get weird. Words by Chris If you look deep into a doggie's eyes, you see either pure innocent love of life or the kill-or-be-killed instinct sewn into their DNA by their savage wolf heritage. Here's some songs right on that line. [...]
Words and puzzle by Brendan Welcome back to this monthly feature! Be sure to check out the previous puzzles- Puzzle #1 and Puzzle #2 and Puzzle #3 -and their solutions are posted there, too. The theme of this here puzzle is on the harder side, but there are plenty of musical references and easy clues on the non-theme entries to get you started. I'll even give you a hint in the line below this one; just highlight the text to make it appear. Keep in mind [...]
Words by Brendan There's nary a moment of let-up in Royal Headache 's self-titled debut. Guitar, bass, and drums all kick in at 0:01 on opener "Never Again" with maximum energy and seriously hookiness, and exactly 30 seconds later, the vocals join in and grab you and you know you're listening to something new and special. Far from being an "in your face" heavy punk record, though, this is actually soulful garage pop, scuzzy and lo-fi and rumbling in all the right places, while the vocals are deeply steeped in Motown hits. Imagine [...]
Words by Rick OK, so The Ceiling Stares rocked their 73 release show at the Brillobox on April 13th (at least I think they did-a 24 hour stomach flu trapped me in bed), so fuck me if this review isn't fashionably late. Don't get me wrong-my first listen to their new single incited some immediate written praise, but I'm terrible at finishing things. (My stolen copy of The Red Badge of Courage from 9th grade still sits with bookmark in place. My apologies, Mr. Crane). At least a solid amount [...]
Here We Go Magic + Hospitality / Brillobox 05.15.2012 / Doors 9:00 / $8 Words by Brendan Next Tuesday night is going to be a night of truly interesting pop music at the Brillobox. Between Here We Go Magic 's swirly synth folk and Hospitality 's quirky indie pop, there will be so many hooky melodies that you best be sure not to accidentally leave your ears at the venue! Both bands have new albums out this year (with Hospitality 's being a highly [...]
5 Songs is a weekly series where we point out the strange, the grand, and the unique connections between our favorite songs. Let's get weird. Words by Chris *Movie trailer voice* In a world with Grassy knoll. Bunker Hill. Hippie Hill. Mulberry Hill. Now Draw Us Lines will thrill you where no one is safe and only the brave will survive and nothing can stop it and hold on tight this summer [...]
[The Lookahead is a monthly segment where we get to be all newsy and point out cool stuff going down in the next 30 days or so. We'll have cool Pittsburgh music shows and events, local album releases, and some national releases of interest. This is the good stuff we've heard about. Come back on the 1st of each month for more!] We shared some upcoming Pittsburgh shows we're excited for, and now it's time to talk about the music, and the music of Pittsburgh bands [...]
[The Lookahead is a monthly segment where we get to be all newsy and point out cool stuff going down in the next 30 days or so. We'll have cool Pittsburgh music shows and events, local album releases, and some national releases of interest. This is the good stuff we've heard about. Come back on the 1st of each month for more!] I know it's pointless (and trite) to gripe about Pittsburgh weather but, hey, we all do it anyway (whence the triteness). I [...]
Song: "Haunted Heart" Artist: Little Hurricane I was initially drawn to this song when I heard it on Little Hurricane 's Daytrotter session a month or so ago. It was exactly the kind of grungy blues rock I was looking for at the time, and I chuckled to myself at being able to add another item to my "bands that kinda sound like their name" list. This song's thumping percussion and riffy guitar lines fit perfectly alongside other garage rock duos like The Black Keys and Boom Chick , [...]
So we typically toss a video onto a post when highlighting a new band or a show preview or something and let you draw your own conclusion about it. Sometimes we throw a change-up... strike that - let's call it a round up. Most of these videos are of bands we have previously talked about here on Draw Us Lines, so we won't be telling you much about those bands themselves, just some musings that really aren't worth a damn. If a picture is worth 1000 words, then a video must be worth a million. Hold on to your hats! [...]
It's nice when one great band leads you to another. The internet makes finding good bands both so easy and incredibly difficult, because there's tons of stuff widely available now, but there's also TONS of STUFF widely available now. Finding Pond was pretty easy for me, though. I absolutely loved Tame Impala 's 2010 release, Innerspeaker (my far-and-away fave of that year), and earlier this year noticed some Facebook posts or something like that about another band named Pond . The bands share three members and have a similar psychedelic rock vibe, and I [...]
Sharon Van Etten + Flock of Dimes Carnegie Lecture Hall / 04.28.2012 / Doors 7:00 / $12-$15 Words by Brendan We're big fans of Sharon Van Etten around here. Same goes for Wye Oak , so when we heard Sharon will be stopping at the gorgeous Carnegie Lecture in Oakland with special guest Jenn Wasner from Wye Oak -playing as Flock of Dimes -we could barely contain our excitement. The show is now only a few days away, [...]
Words by Brendan It's sometimes tough and precarious to judge a band on just an EP's worth of tunes. Even if it's on the longer side, there's just barely enough time and space to get a band's mission statement. Sometimes, though, a shorter release is so dense and surprising and unabashed in its musical self-awareness that you just know you're gonna dig whatever this band comes out with next. That's how I feel about Mittenfields and their EP, The Fresh Sum . But hey, don't take my word for it. Take [...]
Starting at midnight tonight and continuing all day tomorrow, it's the 5th annual Record Store Day! What started in 2008 as a way to celebrate brick & mortar, mom & pop, independently-run record stores has grown into ... well, the very same celebration but on a much larger scale. Tons of labels and bands are sharing exclusive releases and vinyl reissues, and music lovers-like us here at DUL-will be out and about to support our local shops. We suggest you do the same, so we're sharing some info here about how to get involved. Read on for a list of [...]
Words and puzzle by Brendan Welcome back to this monthly feature! Be sure to check out the previous puzzles-Puzzle #1 and Puzzle #2-and their solutions are posted there, too. This puzzle has a quirky, humorous theme and plenty of musical references. Have at it! I'll remind you of the free AcrossLite software to open and solve .puz files on your computer. Highly recommended. There's an iPhone/iPad app for that program, and there's Shortyz for Android. If you're a novice solver, check out some helpful tips [...]
Song: "Hold On" Artist: Alabama Shakes Certainly, these rock 'n rollin' folks don't necessarily need any more publicity (not that this here post is gonna help much anyway ) but we're not ones to shy away from popularity when it's darn well deserved. There's no better introduction to the Alabama Shakes sound than this here tune, which also kicks off their debut album, Boys & Girls , which is physically released today (though it's been available digitally for a couple weeks, too). Rootsy bass and [...]
5 Songs is a weekly series where we point out the strange, the grand, and the unique connections between our favorite songs. Let's get weird. Graphic by Lisa (with Android app Sketch n Draw ) Words by Chris This category is self-explanatory so why did I bother to write this sentence? Why did you bother to read it? [...]
Words and photos by Brendan I haven't been writing many concert reviews lately. This is partly due to time, partly due to my desire to write a whole bunch of other posts that are more timely and interesting, and partly due to the notion that concert reviews might not mean too much to somebody who wasn't there or isn't a superfan of the bands involved. I still like writing these reviews-in fact, writing them regularly as a kind of concert journal is what got me into music blogging in the first place!-but I like [...]
Draw Us Lines
Sound of Summer (v. 3.1)
When Florence danced with Calvin
The National - The Rains Of Castamere [Game of Thrones Soundtrack]
[REMIX] Dragonette – “Let it Go (Faustix Imanos Remix)”
