
The Clean were a New Zealand based band, formed in 1978. They were one of the quintessential Flying Nun bands, alongside The Verlaines, The Chills, The Bats etc. Their debut single 'Tally Ho!' surprisingly reached number 19 in the New Zealand charts followed by a few number 1's. Despite this the Clean are little-known outside of New Zealand, although their influence is surprisingly far-reaching. They became a staple of US college radio in the 1980s, Stephen Malkmus of Pavement cites them as a major influence, and the band's droney 80s output is a [...]
SOTC roots for the home team. So does Impose Magazine 's Jeremy Krinsley. Vivian Girls get mauled by a bear!?! Vampire Weekend continue to rule the known universe, claiming their third night at the cavernous Terminal 5 after selling out their first two . They also won a Q Award for one of their music videos in the UK, appeared on the soundtrack of Nick and Norah , bailed [...]

Saturday night I saw two bands with standup female drummers. Before heading to Mercury Lounge see Glasvegas (standup drummer Caroline McKay), I went to Death by Audio to catch Crystals Stilts (standup drummer Frankie Rose) who were playing with their Slumberland label-mates caUSE co-MOTION . I really wasn't sure I was going to be able to see either of them. Death by Audio's set times would be loose if they actually posted them anywhere, and when I asked the two door persons what band was on next, they looked [...]
kommen in den nächsten tagen gleich mit zwei alben, die konsequenterweise "animal" und "not animal" heißen, auf "not animal" gibt es tracks mit dem namen "hello vagina" oder "holy cow" oder "german motor car", das kann ein spaß werden: margot & the nuclear so and sos - hello vagina (daytrotter session) auch am 07.10. starten sie mit "life like" durch: The Rosebuds - Life Like [...]
Not Animal is the version of the new Margot and the Nuclear So and So's album that their label Epic wants them to release. Basically the band and the label disagreed on which version of the new record to release, so in order to please both sides we are going to get both versions. Animal!, the band's preferred version, will be released on vinyl (this Tuesday) and Not Animal gets the more high
Nothing like some a new edition of our Friday Mixtape to warm up you from the frigid fall months. Alright so maybe it's not all that cold just yet, but we had to come up with some good excuse. Plus, just in case you missed anything from this week (between ACL , My Bloody Valentine , Ben Folds , and Beck there was a lot), you'll have now have some nice music to accompany your reading... NEW Singles: "Devastator" by Catfish Haven [...]

by Bill Pearis DOWNLOAD: Crystal Stilts - Shattered Shine (MP3) DOWNLOAD: caUSE co-MOTION - Which Way is Up? (MP3) DOWNLOAD: Bearsuit - I Thought You Said You Were Blind (MP3) Crystal Stilts A few items of note that I neglected earlier in the week . Brooklynites and Slumberland Records labelmates Crystal [...]

Mucho hype surrounds the Crystal Stilts . I hear that their long player, Alight Of Night comes out on October 28th on Slumberland Record s (them's the good folks who brought you The Pains of Being Pure At Heart ). The prerelease mp3 has the same surfrock-meets-Joy-Division-de rived-indierock tone of their self released tracks. You dig? Listen: "Shattered Shine" (box.net mp3) Slumberland Records is here . eMusic page is here . Old GT post (with three mp3s) is here . Consider CLICKing [...]

TLC saw Crystal Stilts this past September at eMusic Select's show case at Le Poisson Rouge along with headliners High Places . I really enjoyed the band's garage rock energy and eccentric stage presence! It seems Crystal Stilts has outgrown their opening slot now and are ready to hit the road on their own. Check out Crystal Stilts on tour this fall, venue highlights for me include Death by Audio and of [...]
Moody, moddy lo-fi garage poppers Crystal Stilts will follow up their well-received self-titled EP with a debut full-length collecting 11 tracks and entitled Alight of Night . Night will fall October 28 thanks to Slumberland , right around the time the Stilts pick up with their similarly skuzzy labelmates caUSE co-MOTION! for a mess of West Coast tour dates. CC! also have a disc out that day from Slumberland: [...]
Eric Pulido plays guitar in Midlake: The Texas band, who last released The Trials of Van Occupanther two years ago, are currently at work on a followup in their Denton studio. Pulido also stays busy running a coffee company Cappulido and Nova Posta Vinyl , a label he started with fellow Bella Union artist Robert Gomez. I spoke with him about his coffee and his label, learning the intricacies of "Fair Trade" beans and seemingly confirming my thoughts about flavored coffee. After our conversation, take a listen to Nova Posta's first band, Denton-based folksy and [...]

Brooklynites Crystal Stilts and caUSE co-MOTION will be heading out on tour together in November right after the CMJ Music Marathon here in NYC. Nine dates, which, strangely, is also the number of times Crystal Stilts played in the NY area last week. I kid. But they play here a lot...and I went to most of the shows. They're also playing together this Saturday at Death by Audio for what will surely be a packed show. Both bands have albums out on the newly-revitalized, newly [...]

I make a lot mixes for my friends' video store and the most recent was turning out really good, so I thought I'd reinstate the seasonal mixes with a slightly adapted version. Expect more of these, but not on a weekly basis -- they're too time consuming -- but there will probably be another before October is over. (I'm thinking a Classic Goth Halloween.) Hope you like it, this one turned out pretty well. And like my Summer Fridays series , the songs actually segue together, so no shuffling please. Spooky cover art, once again, adapted from [...]
Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: Cause Co-Motion : "Which Way Is Up?" [mp3] from It's Time! (out October 28th) other Cause Co-Motion posts at Largehearted Boy Crystal Stilts : "Shattered Shine" [mp3] from Alight of Night (out October 28th) other Crystal Stilts posts at Largehearted Boy [...]

The bands Crystal Stilts and Cause Co-Motion! are hitting the road. The joint tour will reach into November, with eleven dates so far. Kicking it off with two stops in New York, including a show at the Force Field PR CMJ Showcase , the band will move on to hit the West Coast hard with 9 shows in 9 days. The tour will hit just in time both bands' October 28 separate releases (Crystal Stilts: Alight of Night & Cause Co-Motion!: It's Time: Singles and EPs 2005-08 ) on Slumberland Records [...]

I'm usually not a big fan of posting tour dates, but when I have the ability to share two new tracks from forthcoming albums, it makes it all worthwhile. Slumberland artists Crystal Stilts and Cause Co-Motion! will be heading out on tour together. It will be the first time Crystal Stilts have played the west oast, while Cause Co-Motion! have made the pilgrimage before. Crystal Stilts & Cause Co-Motion! Tour Dates : [...]
Crystal Stilts I get to check both bands out live during CMJ in NYC on October 23rd at the Force Field PR CMJ Showcase. Meanwhile Portland has to wait until November 7th when they arrive at Holocene as part of their West Coast Tour. Two doses of Velvet Underground inspired, twang and reverb inflected noise pop. [...]

Not to be confused with Crystal Antlers , Crystal Castles or Crystal Gayle , Crystal Stilts are bringing back moody garage pop to the indie kids. It's also fitting that the band will release its forthcoming album Alight at Night , dropping October 28, on the influential Slumberland Records -- whose early roster boasted similar sounding bands like the Ropers, Velocity Girl, and the Lilys . The group [...]
If there's anything Crystal Stilts like more than moody vocals and jangly guitars, it's alliteration. "Crippled Croon" opened the Brooklyn band's self-titled debut full-length , on which their first single, "Shattered Shine" (produced by Sean Maffucci, who recorded Gang Gang Dance's God's Money ), also appeared. The track's rough, echoey lo-fi pop scrawled its way across four-and-a-half minutes on that release, surrounded on each side by pillows of guitar noise. For the group's [...]

Half Machine decamped to New York City for a week, here's a little round up of the trip: I arrived in NYC on Thursday, after a quick trip to the hotel to ditch my stuff and see some friends, we went to Other Music to waste some money on stuff I could get in London. I was a little disappointed with Other Music, after the big sell it had from everybody. It's kinda like the old Pure Groove on Holloway Road, with a more second hand vinyl. I did manage to [...]