[photo] The Morning Benders' frontman Chris Chu sent over this new remix of Big Echo highlight "Cold War," reworked by Oakland's Wallpaper. mp3: the morning benders :: cold war (wallpaper. winter remix) The band also posted up new song "Go Grab a Stranger," a Big Echo b-side that Chu tells us was originally slated to make the record, and now appears on a limited tour 7": ... click through for more...
Miniature Tigers - Gold Skull Found this gem in my inbox this morning. It’s the first single from Miniature Tiger’s new album FORTRESS, out July... (Visit my blog for more!)
We've talked about Miniature Tigers as a great live band more than a few times already. We haven't yet focused on the catchy tunes this band is responsible for. Come later this summer, the Phoenixites-turned-Brooklynite s will be releasing their new album, Fortress . As you can plainly see from this post's title, Miniature Tigers' new single, "Gold Skull" was produced by Neon Indian . But Alan Palomo isn't the only big name attached to Fortress ' production credits - no, main Morning Bender Chris Chu credited to being the album's chief [...]
While we can't refer to Miniature Tigers as a local band any longer, we still know where they got their start and appreciate the attention they're bring to the local scene. No doubt the band made an intelligent move by packing up and heading to Brooklyn, as it's clearly paying off with all the praise being thrown their way recently. Praise like having the first track released from their new album premiered on the biggest music blog in existence. That's right, earlier today Stereogum posted "Gold Skull", which is the debut single from their upcoming LP [...]
We love our Moms. We love excuses for creating playlist mixes. We love sharing them with you. We love that we're on the cusp of summer. "First-Time Mother's Joy (Flying)" - Mercury Rev from The Secret Migration (2005) "Treat Me Like Your Mother" - The Dead Weather from Horehound (2009) "Mother" - Pink Floyd from The Wall (1979) "Mother's [...] Related posts:Mother's Day Playlist: Iron & Wine, The Kinks,... Read more, get songs or stream the entire mix on Indie Rock Cafe
The Morning Benders played their third and final show in New York at the sold out Mercury Lounge on April 28 (don't worry they will be around in June when they open for Broken Bells and July when they open for The Black Keys). The crowd had, as lead singer Chris Chu said, "perfect Wednesday energy" as the place was packed and buzzing with eager fans. Before The Morning Benders could work their spell on the audience, Twin Sister opened and it won't be long until they break out, much like The Morning Benders did last year. [...]
There is gonna come a time in the not too distant future where The Morning Benders are mentioned with some of the biggest names in the world of music. Like Vampire Weekend and MGMT before them, The Morning Benders seem to be handcrafted to make the leap to the mainstream music world. Playing Mercury Lounge on Thursday night you could see it all laid out before them thanks to a perfect mix of professionalism and joy that few bands anywhere come close to matching. Sticking to the material of their recently [...]
California's own The Morning Benders are steady on the rise in the indie rock circuit. The success of their second full-length, Big Echo, (which was produced by Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor and released last month) has allowed them to support big-name acts such as Yeasayer and MGMT in the short-span of their existence. A new video for the single, "Promises" has been released and is really nothing short of greatness. Download the track here:
Plenty of bands announced summer 2010 tour dates in North America today, so I figured I would compile them in a easy to access post with all of the info in one place. We got new dates from Free Energy, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Liars, The Whigs, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, and One EskimO. Check them out after the jump: Free Energy announce more 2010 dates supporting Mates of State: Headline Shows: 4/21: [...]
Monday: Darlings, The Sneaks, Cybelle Blood, + Night Reports @ Bruar Falls 8pm FREE [ info ] While Monday may just be the most depressing day of the week, it can be made better when you know there's a kick ass free show lined up to end your day. Tonight three bands I've never heard of and Darlings open the doors to Bruar Falls for a free show. Now I know there's always a bit of trepidation when you don't know the bands, but since there's no cover or [...]
Illustration by Mike Well, what can I say??? Saturday was epic in more ways than one! First off, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! With your help & your legs, on a windy day with impending rain, on a holiday weekend filled with egg hunts, church services, and men dressed up as bunnies, we were able to raise... $610 for breast cancer research!!!! Personally, I think that's fantastic! Thank you so much to everyone who took the time, took their bikes, and showed up to my super SUPER no-frills charity [...]
HIGHLY REC'D is an unofficial monthly newsletter/mixtape that comes to my inbox on the first of every month full of great tunes that come, well, highly recommended. April 2010's HIGHLY REC'D mixtape is quite good, featuring new songs from The Morning Benders, Rogue Wave, Free Energy, She & Him, and many more. Here is the tracklist: 1. Fang Island - Welcome Wagon 2. Kiss Kiss Kiss - Miss Meredith 3. The Silver - The Signs 4. The Royal Chains - [...]
The Morning Benders hail from California, which perhaps makes for a fitting explanation for the panoply of trippy studio-pop affectations that grace their latest album Big Echo . The band have always sported a diffident charm, but the new songs seem to have galvanized lead songwriter Christopher Chu into attempting something altogether more adventurous. "Promises" captures a mood of picaresque wonder that is positively jubilant, its torrent of melodies floating ever so effervescently above the steady backbeat. And the laidback ambience clearly plays to the Morning Benders' strengths, with the readymade sunny feelings of “Promises” coming through ever [...]
In the last few days alone I've received a hefty handful of emails about this amazing cover of the Morning Benders ' "Excuses" that's been making the rounds on YouTube. Most notably, it came recommended by Will Oliver . The cover is indeed amazing; it's performed by two friends, Andy Fitch and Brian Russo, who in the video, are playing the ukulele, trumpet, acoustic guitar, banging on wooden chairs and empty buckets, shaking bottles of Tylenol and singing their hearts out in an attic. No seriously, I'm not lying. I'm not sure what to [...]
Alright it's time for another Mixtape. Actually it's been time for a Mixtape for a while now. I've had these tracks sitting on my desktop for far too long, just taking up space and doing absolutely no good at all. All those little icons staring at me, actually more like glaring at me. Crying out for me to stop being such a lazy ass every time I turn on my computer. So put the songs to use and grab the whole mix at the bottom or take what [...]
Alright my friends, it's about time for this bird to take a day off and go see Mama & Sister Tsuru down in Flo-Ri-Da! But before I do.... RIDE UPDATE! Did you see that the TSURURADIO SUPER AWESOME NO-FRILLS BIKE RIDE for BREAST CANCER on APRIL 3RD has been updated with Maps & Routes ??? That's right! The routes are solidified! Here's what we've got.... We've got a lovely riverside bike path 10 miler, a slightly more challenging [...]
On Talking Through Tin Cans , the band's last proper album, The Morning Benders didn't seem to have any grand aspirations. "Damnit Anna" was a modest acoustic romp; "Crosseyed" was a Shins-y foray into acoustic pop; "Chasing a Ghost" added some electric elements rock to the formula. But Big Echo is different. The band wants the album to be more . If Talking Through Tin Cans was shit-eating innocence, Big Echo is the advent of adulthood. The production value is used to the band's advantage (having Grizzly Bear bassist Chris [...]
![The Morning Benders – Big Echo [Album Review]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/2393409_lg.jpg)
Remember that line in As Good As It Gets when Nicholson's character used one of the greatest panty-dropper lines of all time, "You make me want to be better man." The Big Echo makes me want to become a better reviewer of music. The Morning Benders shine a bright light on my shortcomings as I struggle for words to describe the brilliance of Big Echo . I saw them perform for us in a HearYa Live Session. I watched them perform at our SxSW party in 2009. I listened (and loved) their previous [...]
Here is a little mix I put together from my favourite 2010 albums released up to this point. There are links to buy all of these records in the heavy rotation box, and almost all of these artists are hitting Atlanta soon, so dive on in: Liars : Scissor Midlake : Winter Dies Twin Tigers : Red Fox Run The Besnard Lakes : And This Is What We Call Progress [...]
Gorilla Vs. Bear
Ears of the Beholder
Pretty Much Amazing
Factory Made Future
Indie Rock Podcast Stream
TheMusic.FM
Pop Tarts Suck Toasted
EastofLA.com
We All Want Someone To Shout For
T S U R U R A D I O
i'm waking up to...
5 Score Pachyderm
Knox Road
HearYa: An Indie Music Blog
Ohmpark
Glorious Noise
Stream: Disclosure – When A Fire Starts To Burn
40 Year Itch: David Bowie TV Documentary Shot
Boards of Canada :: Tomorrow's Harvest
You’ve GOT to Hear This: “Enemies”
