We closed out last week with a post on what will likely be one of the last summer jams of the year. It seems only appropriate to kick off Monday with a song fit for fall. We were big fans of the now defunct Bay Area project Port O'Brien . Fortunately, that break-up has given life to some terrific new projects. In 2011, Van Pierszalowski offered up one of the best records of the year in the debut release from his project WATERS . In Light remains in steady rotation, a timeless rock release with a [...]
![[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (7-18-2012)](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/4396263_lg.jpg)
Mighty Sea Mix Sort of an Old Man and the Sea-inspired HDPP this week. Seems like a lot of musicians have drawn their creativity from the epic force that is the ocean. Enjoy Stream the playlist below (or by clicking here ). :: Hump Day Power Play (7-18-2012) :: 01 :: "You're a Wolf" - Sea Wolf 02 :: "Fisherman's Son" - Port O'Brien 03 :: "House By The Sea" - Iron and Wine [...]
The debut album from Van Pierszalowski's WATERS - the current project from the ex- Port O’Brien frontman - was released last September, though more music from its sessions is surfacing. "If Only" is a psychedelic-pop Nugget bursting with fizzy, buzzy, Wavves-y energy and melody, over before it begins, and built for constant replays. Check it out: Read More...
Stereogum The debut album from Van Pierszalowski's WATERS - the current project from the ex- Port O’Brien frontman - was released last September, though more music from its sessions is surfacing. "If Only" is a psychedelic-pop Nugget bursting with fizzy, buzzy, Wavves-y energy and melody, over before it begins, and built for constant replays. Check it out: Read More... [...]
For a recent competition called the Music Video Race , artists were asked to find a director and shoot a video within 48 hours. So WATERS - the current outfit of Port O'Brien frontman Van Pierszalowski - and director Peter Ruecktenwald put together a clip for WATERS' wispy "Mickey Mantle" on the fly. It's a visual stuffed with quotidian anxiety. Watch it below. Read More...
Stereogum For a recent competition called the Music Video Race , artists were asked to find a director and shoot a video within 48 hours. So WATERS - the current outfit of Port O'Brien frontman Van Pierszalowski - and director Peter Ruecktenwald put together a clip for WATERS' wispy "Mickey Mantle" on the fly. It's a visual stuffed with quotidian anxiety. Watch it below. Read More... [...]
The newest video from former Port O'Brien frontman's Van Pierszalowski's solo outfit WATERS , is the stop-motion glory of "Mickey Mantle." The video, as part of the Music Video Race project, was filmed in less than 48 hours, which ended up winning Best Song (not best video). Check it out below.
![[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (4-18-2012)](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/4208046_lg.jpg)
Afternoon Dream Edition I can't get enough of Kishi Bashi's newest LP 151a , and since you can't access that album on Spotify currently, I've put together a playlist that pulls from the same sounds of airy/folksy dream pop. As the weather warms and the days grow longer, this week's Hump Day Power Play is perfect for lounging next to the open breezy window. So go ahead and grab your favorite book, hit play on this HDPP, and as always, enjoy. Hear it by simply clicking [...]
![[SXSW] – WATERS](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/4142830_lg.jpg)
by Mila Matveeva One of my most anticipated performers at SXSW was WATERS , who I'd written about before and was deemed "One To Watch". The San Francisco band fronted by Van Pierszalowski really brought it down in front of small crowd in Austin this week, with a punkish energy that highlighted the folky indie song-writing, reminiscent of Pierszalowski's former days in Port O'Brien . Their record " Out In The Light " was one of my favorites from last year and these songs performed live [...]
DOWNLOAD : WATERS - "Take Me Out to the Coast" DOWNLOAD : WATERS - "For the One" (Live HearYa Session) On the heels of a European tour supporting Nada Surf, WATERS has announced their 2012 SxSW schedule. The band will perform eight times over four days at the Austin festival next week; a full schedule is below that offers ample opportunity to catch WATERS' blistering live show. Today, HearYa blog posted their live session with WATERS, recorded in Chicago in [...]
Following winter dates supporting Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, WATERS has announced a lengthy new run of spring tour dates supporting Delta Spirit . The tour will travel throughout the US and into Canada, and launches on March 19th at the Revolution Music Room in Little Rock, AR, before wrapping up on May 11th at The Music Box in Los Angeles, CA. The dates include a March 29th New York show at Webster Hall. WATERS - whose debut LP Out In The Light was released [...]
Waters', the new project from ex-Port O’Brien frontman Van Pierszalowski wanted to "make a fast-moving, entertaining and somewhat insane first video for WATERS," and "didn't want to hold anything back at all." When he saw the videos from Allen Cordell, he knew he was the person for the job." And so "For The One" is a [...]
I think I made a mistake not seeing WATERS when they came through in both June and October for shows at Mercury Lounge. In a live setting, the band’s songs have a raw energy that wasn’t fully captured on the band’s debut CD and frontman Van Pierszalowski plays guitar with an intensity that reminds me of Evan Dando when The Lemonheads were first starting out. The band [...]
![[Ones to Watch] – Introducing – WATERS](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/3898098_lg.jpg)
Tweet The album "Out In The Light" 's opening track "For The One" begins with Van Pierszalowski singing "Oh my god, I thought I was a free man out on the road!" I love that that's the start of his debut album with WATERS . After the breakup of Port O'Brien front man Pierszalowski (also an early former member of The Morning Benders ) found inspiration for this solo project after spending time in Oslo, Norway recharging. [...]
Dark and light; light and dark. A week of two halves. A source of great light: daughter sprat’s birthday. A girl who finds great joy in many things, who notices the little things that matter. I’m probably a lot better at hiding the dark than I used to be; comes with a bit of practise in recent years, sadly. But I’m sorry to say I can’t be upbeat this week. I’ve tried and tried but I just can’t do it. My heart feel like it’s made of lead. Smiling on the outside, crying on the inside. [...]
WATERS features ex-Port O'Brien frontman Van Pierszalowski, and the group's latest video splices together live performance footage and on-the-road shenanigans. Kiki Allgeier and Christian Stavros direct. Check it out after the jump. Read More...
Hot off the heels of Palindrome Day the eleven day of the eleventh month of the two thousand and eleventh year. Otherwise known as, Nigel Tufnel Day . To celebrate, we're sharing our 11 Most Räwkin Tunes of 20112s Friday Fives. In no particular order… Dananananaykroyd “All Us Authors” ( via ) Forgetters (Blake Schwarzenback) “The Night Accelerates” ( via ) Mind Spiders “No Romance” ( via ) Rooftop Vigilantes “Copper Is Free” ( [...]
I've truly enjoyed Van Pierszalowski as a human being since we first met. I've had the privilege of producing multiple Port O'Brien shows and sessions for Laundromatinee.com/SIRIUS XMU. We bonded over the highs and lows of The Los Angeles Dodgers in recent years. The first thing he responded to me with when I requested this interview was, "Hey Dodge, my boy! Great news out of L.A, today, huh? McCourt is no more. We can move on now." I chuckled, equally grateful. I've been regrettably slow to cover Van's new project, [...]
![WATERS – Out In The Light [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/3827983_lg.jpg)
WATERS is the band that emerged after Port O'Brien dissolved. Founding POB front man, Van Pierszalowski, fled the States for Oslo, Norway after the breakup before continuing his travels to Alaska where he'd spent time working with his father, a commercial fisherman. Then off to his hometown in Northern California, over to Brooklyn, then back to Oslo to put a band together and form WATERS. Port O'Brien was a band near to my heart after discovering them shortly after I moved to the Bay area in 2007. I saw them in four different cities, had a [...]
Yes yes, I still have days 2 to 5 to report on from the recently completed music marathon that was, is, and will be again, CMJ. Alas, unable to face the mammoth task of writing up another 20 odd bands worth of live music - and this was a light year - I thought I'd delve a little deeper into just one of those artists: WATERS . [...]
Thought on Tracks
Three Colours
Stereogum
Groove Radio PT
Bears and Bullets
Listen Before You Buy
BrooklynRocks: NYC Music Blog
LOCAL SUICIDE
Mad Mackerel's Blog
Unnecessary Umlaut
My Old Kentucky Blog
HearYa: An Indie Music Blog
Heavier ~ Than ~ Air
New Diarrhea Planet – “Separations”
Sexy Track // “Devil Or Angel” // Lou Doillon
HAERTS: “All The Days”
Sasquatch! 2013 Day One Photos #sasquatch
