interview & Cake Shop photos by Gabi Porter The Soft Pack @ Cake Shop The Soft Pack celebrated the release of their self-titled debut LP on Kemado records at the Cake Shop on the Lower East Side of New York on Friday (2/12) with a free and packed midnight show . We had the chance to chat with lead singer Matt Lamkin after the show and before the boys from San Diego hit [...]

When we interviewed Xavier Rudd last month , we learnt of his environmentalist outlook and energy saving, disconnected house. We heard the lively stage-front greeting as he hung up the phone and stepped into an Australian arena, and we absorbed his love of 'energy', how grateful he feels to have developed his almost nomadic lifestyle and his ambitions for the world. In fact, there was only one thing we found it hard to go into great detail with Xavier on, and that's his music: spiritual, heady and close to the heart. His music, fortunately, speaks for itself. [...]

Unless you've been living in an isolated, internetless location for the last four years, you're likely aware of Daytrotter . The site started in 2006 and, in the four years since, has provided listeners with nearly ten million free, live tunes from their favorite bands. I will say that again for dramatic effect and because I enjoy repeating myself: ten million tunes. Free. As important as providing music lovers with access to all of those sessions, Daytrotter offers a reminder of just how pure and rewarding it is to really love, and really appreciate, music is. Stripped [...]

The Soft Pack The Soft Pack Kemado Records [2010] Fire Note Says: Believe the hype and not their name as The Soft Pack take you on a rockin' ride! Album Review: The sophomore record from San Diego's The Soft Pack is as care free musically as their cover suggests. The lyrics, chords and structures feel completely loose but yet the album has well confined and tight instruments [...]
You have to give credit to Yeasayer for being brave. After releasing one of the more adventurous albums of 2007 with their world music-influenced debut, All Hour Cymbals , the Brooklyn band returns with a romantic and nearly electro-pop experience for their sophomore release, and you can already feel a backlash coming. They had previously positioned themselves between Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors in their sensibilities, but with Odd Blood , they sound closer to Depeche Mode (that is, if [...]

When There's No Other Choice but to Believe I have been perhaps the most lax blogger in the short history of blogging. Blogging can sometimes appear analogous to the whole 'If a Tree Fell in a Forest" and no one was present to witness; what does it all mean anyway? Then again, writing a blog for anything other than the pleasure of writing, might be delusional - unless of course one has made some serious connections and inroads in a post-Pitchfork impacted field, meaning advertising dollars and promo CDs. Of [...]

Hanging out in your room/apartment/house on a snowy day can have the same effect that the commercial with that Rhapsody guy saying that Temper Trap's "Sweet Disposition" is his 'moment' song. You go a little crazy inside. But, then you find something great to listen to, and you forget about that 'anyone' dude riding his bike off into the sunset at a moment's notice to what used to be your favorite song. Here are a few of our snowy day weekend picks to listen to as you doze off to your favorite episode of Extras [...]
Thought this week would be a good one to do an album run down for. I'm pretty busy at the moment so I haven't got time to do full reviews for them all, sadly. This Monday there was so many worth mentioning so I'm giving them all a quick run down because none deserve to go unmentioned. Hope you're having a good week, and that at least a couple of these are soundtracking it for you. ALBUM OF THE WEEK: First Aid Kit - The Big Black And The Blue [...]
Last weekend the very awesome, The Soft Pack , played an insane 10 shows in one day! ONE DAY! Gorillavsbear pointed this out, and I watched the video and was blown away by their efforts! Check it : Now that is how you promote a new album! They are some hardworking musicians, that's for damn sure. They look like they rock it live and bring a lot of fun energy. I wish I could spend some time on a bands tour. Everyone on their bus looked like they were having the [...]

Lets get something out of the way. Yes, the Soft Pack was the band formerly known as the Muslims. It's the exact same band. And no matter what you feel about the name change, its here to stay and has nothing to do with their San Diego beach-brand of easy garage punk. So get over it! Besides, the name change seems to all make sense now. No way could they have released this album under their previous moniker. Their debut release was full of pissy, stripped-down rock 'n' roll that landed them somewhere between the Dead Boys, the [...]

A bootleg post, 'cause it's been a long time since I did one. Betcha all thought I'd gone soft, eh? Ryan Adams and the Killers, from 2003 in London. 11/26/03 to be exact. Set 1 1. Shadowlands 2. This House Is Not For Sale 3. She's Lost Total Control 4. Note To Self: Don't Die 5. Boys 6. Wish You Were Here 7. Shallow 8. Firecracker 9. Luminol 10. Love Is Hell 11. Do Miss America (barbershop style) [...]

We've reached February, shockingly enough, and it's the Hallmark month of Love. Luckily I won't have to concern myself with Vermont Teddy Bears and outlandishly priced roses again this year, but that doesn't mean I can't get into the spirit. It was Ground Hog day here in the Northeast yesterday and of course we are due for another six weeks of hard winter followed by another six weeks of soft winter. Opening Day at Boston's Fenway Park will take place the first week of April and anybody who's ever been to a [...]

Standard Fare Standard Fare are a brilliant new Sheffield band, comprising Emma Kupa (bass, vocals), Danny How (guitar, vocals) and Andy Beswick (drums). They've released two singles so far: 'Dancing', on a split 7" with Slow Down Tallahassee in April 2009 and 'Fifteen'/ 'Understand' on beautiful blue vinyl last month (January), both on Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation. (There's also a bittersweet Christmas song, 'Tinsel Politics', available for download on the web.) Their debut [...]
by shannon moore If you were there, I'm sure you have your own dimly lit, grainy circus story to tell. If you braved the Industrial labyrinths of warehouses on this particular sub-zero Saturday night and followed the soft glow and faint pound of music to the doorstep of the House of Yes , then I'm sure you're still talking about it right now, as the weekend ends. There were hundreds of us there. Three hundred and forty last I checked the head count with my pals [...]
Chart courtesy of The Economist 01. Azari & III, "Reckless (With Your Love)" [ Permanent Vacation ] ( buy ) With the deluge of year end lists finally petering out I've finally had a chance to dig into music released at the end of 2009 that was overlooked. There's no better place to start than with Azari & III's irresistible tune, "Reckless (With Your Love)," one of the year's few house anthems. In keeping with the old school instrumentation and track structure, [...]

I thought I'd mix things up and get my best albums of the year 2009 out first then work backwards through what I listened to (According to Last.fm). I must say this was an amazing year for music and I plead with my friends who "cannot find anything new to listen to" that they just need to listen around, become an ear slut, do what you have to do to get into all this great music. Partly, this year for me has been a good one in music because I've been sitting at the computer so much after work [...]

2009 the Year in Music Welcome! You have just found one of the most exhaustive and well-considered lists of quality, new music available in 2009. We don't promise to have everything that's out there but what is comes in one easy-to-digest package ! Read on below: Ultimately, we consider this to be an A-Z shopping list (we have great confidence that any and all of these belong in your permanent collection) is a reflection of [...]
The countdown to The Soft Pack 's debut album is less than a week away. So, you'd think one a band whose blowing up like the San Diego natives might take it easy before what is sure to be a whirlwind year. Sorry, not their thing. Instead, they band will be playing 10 shows across their new home of Los Angeles and beyond. That's right, 10 shows. Take that, Def Leppard . According tp DistrictWeekly.com and LARecord.com , the January 30th shows are sure to excite [...]
"This is the story of three Texas boys busy mindin' their own business when the Angel of the Lord appeared unto them saying: 'When the Winston Churchill's start firin' their Winston rifles in the sky from the Lone Star State, drinkin' their Lone Star beer and smoking their Winston cigarettes, You know the time is drawin' nigh when the sun shall be lifted on high.' We told them that didn't sound very Sunday-go-ta-meetin'. 'What do you expect?' they said 'When God calls [...]
Todo producto nacional y bien fresco, oiga! Eme con su selección para Enero de 2010... Eme dj - Enero 2010 by eme dj Kaze nos manda su nueva mixtape, Rock The World... KAZE ROCK THE WORLD DJSET 2010 by KAZE Y Telexketch presenta la segunda parte de RollerDisco, con 2 cedés dedicados a la música disco... [...]