Some more shoegazey melodies for you today. Check out The Hectors going all cosmonautical in the new video for their song Carol and Sanford. Spacey coolness extraordinaire.


The Hectors - Carol and Sanford

Hey shoegazey pop fans, BOS favorites and former Philadelphians now via Chicago-ites, the infinitely cool Panda Riot, have just announced a short run of summer tour dates that will bring them back east for a few shows in the next couple weeks. So make it a date and get on out and show them some love.

Tour Dates
Aug 7 Rehab (formerly Club Midway) 8pm NY,NY
Aug 8 Metro Gallery 8pm Baltimore, MD
Aug 10 M Room 8pm Philadelphia, PA
Aug 13 Athens Popfest August 13-16 8 pm Athens, GA
Aug 23 KALAMASHOEGAZE Kalamazoo, MI

Updating the post a bit today with a brand new song for you !!!!

Panda Riot - Streetlights And You And Me

and one older one

Panda Riot - Art School Girls Of Doom
Buy She Dares All Things

[MYSPACE]

My apologies to Lillie Ruth Bussey for missing her set as I arrived at Johnny Brenda's this past Thursday Night for Aderbat's Cd Release party just as Bitter Bitter Weeks was taking the stage. They opened with one of my personal favorites of theirs, Lo-Res and the night was off to excellent start. Bitter Bitter Weeks jangly shimmering guitar pop sounded excellent despite the fact that Brian McTear was having some trouble with his voice going out early into their set. Next up was an hotly anticipated set by East Hundred, the crowd in the room seemed to double as they prepared to play. Fronted by the charismatic and charming Beryl Guceri their audience seems to be growing everytime I see them. They have a keyboard driven sound with an early eighties feel that would not sound out of place alongside bands like Echo and The Bunnymen or Siouxsie And The Banshees. Aderbat was up next, kicking off their set with We Belong To The Sea, the title track from their brilliant new album. Aderbat's music is a finely woven tapestry of melody and soft dynamics that draws you in deep and keeps you there. Frontman Matt Taylor has a look similar to a young Bob Dylan and voice I can best describe as somewhere between Jeff Buckley and Nick Drake. Imagine all that together and you'll have an idea of what they kind of sound like. An excellent night of music all around.

Bitter Bitter Weeks

East Hundred
Aderbat

A random pick from the inbox todaythat caught my attention, a band from Nashville called Magic Wands. I'll let them tell their story. Enjoy.

Here's their info:
Magic Wands are a Nashville based girl/guy duo fronted by singers/guitarists Chris and Dexy.

The first time they met, the two only spoke briefly outside a show on in Hollywood in 2006 when Chris was visiting Los Angeles. They wouldn't talk again for over a year.

In 2007 while living in Nashville, Chris found a song on Myspace that he listened to repeatedly, day and night. Soon he discovered it was a song by Dexy, called Teenage Love. He sent her a message, and soon the two began talking and exchanging mp3s of their music.

Having recently both quit playing punk music, they both agreed they wanted to start something completely different. For fun they began recording songs together over the internet, the first being a song Chris wrote for Dexy called Kiss Me Dead.

Most nights that summer they were on the phone until dawn, 2000 miles apart and talking about things like music, magic, love and dreams.

They would also send packages to each other—gifts such as toy lions, old records, handwritten poems, candy, clothes, plastic rings and one glowing heart lamp.

Quickly they decided they had to be together. So Chris came to L.A. to meet up with Dexy at an old bed and breakfast in the Hollywood Hills. They instantly hit it off— playing guitars, visiting old churches and wearing crowns they bought at a magic shop on Hollywood Blvd.

After Chris left, they decided they were destined to be. Two weeks later he was back in L.A. helping Dexy pack up her old Mercedes Benz for a trip across the country.

When they arrived in Nashville they began recording under the name Magic Wands, taken from one of Dexy's favorite things that Chris sent her—a magic wand.

Currently Magic Wands are living together in Nashville and will release a ltd. EP in the Autumn.

Magic Wands - Black Magic
Magic Wands - Teenage Love

[MYSPACE]

[Photo By Nina Stiller]

Proving that Switzerland is more than just fine chocolate, cheese and numbered bank accounts, here's one I stumbled across while randomly traversing the wide, wide, world of the interwebs recently. It's the third release from Swiss band My Name Is George entitled Black and Blue and it was released back in May. It's twelve songs of garage-y, new wave-y, guitar and keyboard driven ear candy running the whole gamut from the rocking(Why Won't U B My Love, Mary Jane,C'mon C'mon), to the slow and soulful(Honey B,Dancing In The Fire(Free Falling)) to songs like Flowers(When I'm Gone) which could easily pass for one of MGMT's dancey numbers. Or, as they say in Switzerland "dass die Rock and Roll!"










My Name Is George - Why Won't U B My Luv ?
Buy Black And Blue

My Name Is George:
Albert den Dekker - Vocals
Daniel Gisler - Hammond, Rhodes, Synth
Philip Harrison - Guitar, backing vocals
Stefan Traxler - Bass, backing vocals
Mathias Kräutli - Drums, backing vocals

They're not hitting the US anytime soon but there's plenty of shows coming up to check them out :
Sat 26. Jul 2008 - Pfadi Bundeslager, Unterlager 3
Fri 15. Aug 2008 - Open Circle Festival, Spreitenbach
Sat 16. Aug 2008 - Frischluftkultur, Muri
Sat 23. Aug 2008 - Out In The Kraut, Schangnau
Fri 29. Aug 2008 - Monkey Honeymoon, Herznach
Sat 30. Aug 2008 - Clanx, Appenzell
Sun 31. Aug 2008 - Musikfestwochen, Winterthur
Fri 3. Oct 2008 - Schüür, Luzern
Sat 4. Oct 2008 - Scala, Wetzikon
Thu 8. Oct 2008 - Centre Fries, Fribourg
Wed 9. Oct 2008 - Bierhuebeli, Bern
Fri 17. Oct 2008 - Bären, Münchenbuchsee
Sat 18. Oct 2008 - KIFF, Aarau
Fri 24. Oct 2008 - Werkstatt, Chur
Fri 31. Oct 2008 - Kammgarn, Schaffhausen
Fri 14. Nov 2008 - Gare De Lion, Wil
Sat 15. Nov 2008 - Kaff, Frauenfeld
Fri 21. Nov 2008 - Talhof, St.Gallen
Sat 22. Nov 2008 - ZAK, Jona
Fri 28. Nov 2008 - Kuppel, Basel
Sat 29. Nov 2008 - Kofmehl, Solothurn
Sat 13. Dec 2008 - Kraftwerk, Krummenau

[WEBSITE] [MYSPACE]

Just about a year ago, I saw David Vandervelde play one of the best shows I witnessed in all of 2007. He was touring in support of his first album, The Moonstation House Band, a melodic swirling, psychedelic, glamrock gem steeped deep in the influence of artists like Marc Bolan and and David Bowie. For his new one, Waiting For The Sunrise, David softens the focus a little bit an comes up up with a twist on that sound that ends up falling somewhere between the seventies California sheen of Fleetwood Mac and the midwestern alt country pop of The Jayhawks, and even includes a song co written with Jay Bennett of Wilco. If you're currently digging on the new folky sounds of bands like Fleet Foxes or Midlake, this is one you won't want to miss.

David Vandervelde - I Will Be Fine
Buy Waiting For The Sunrise (release date August 5th, 2008)

Upcoming Tour Dates
07/18/08 Chicago, IL KEXP Live From Chicago with Cheryl Waters
07/27/08 Chicago, IL Schubas
07/31/08 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge w/ Grizzly Bear
08/31/08 Los Angeles, CA Fuck Yeah Fest

[WEBSITE] [MYSPACE]

Although Dan Dyer's musical career has taken him from Austin, Texas to New York City and back again to Austin to record his new album,it is drenched in a deep southern, swampy, gospel soul sound that is more hot, humid, New Orleans night than a sound associated with either of those cities. A sound typified by artists like The Neville Brothers or Dr John, whose Walk On Gilded Splinters Dan does a smoldering cover on the new self titled disc. Never fearing to embrace his influences, Dan is no imitator, his smooth, soulful voice stakes it's own place in keeping a genre alive for a new generation.

Dan Dyer is being released nationally on August 26, 2008 via Fat Caddy Records but you can pick a special limited edition release now via Fat Caddy's website.

Dan Dyer - Love Chain
Buy Dan Dyer(ltd edition early version)

[WEBSITE] [MYSPACE]

Some photos from the early afternoon portion of this weekend's WXPN XPoNential Music festival at Wiggins Park on The Camden NJ waterfront. Cheers Elephant kicked the day off on the Marina stage in fine style with an outstanding set, followed by new wavey sounds of Zolof The Rock And Roll Destroyer and then the rhythmic indie rock of Delaware's Spinto Band on the main stage.


Cheers Elephant

From the opening guitar strum and, the softly spoken intro "Reservoir Park, 1, 2, 3, 4" to the closing sing along at the end of Armageddon Time, "Now I've got you by my side, and I'm feeling alright" The Dutchess And The Duke's, debut full length She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke careens along in it's lo-fi immediate glory like a combination of Bob Dylan, The Mamas & The Papas and early Rolling Stones swagger. With the familiar warmth of a lost 60's classic and the jagged edge of a modern recording, everything old is new again and sounding better than ever. Kimberly Morrison(aka The Dutchess) and Jesse Lortz(aka The Duke) holed up last fall at Magical Basement Studios in West Seattle with Bryan Standridge behind the board of an 8- track and recorded a modern folk classic. It's chock full of strummy acoustic guitars and percussion with more than enough pure pop melodies and sing along vocal harmonies to have you hooked after just one listen. I'm not the first one to sing their praises and I certainly won't be the last, jump on the bandwagon now, because this record really is as good as all of the buzz you've been hearing about it. One of my personal favorites of the year so far.

The Dutchess And The Duke - Reservoir Park
Buy She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke

The Dutchess And The Duke are out on tour now with fast rising folky buzz band of the moment, Fleet Foxes.
Be sure check them out when they come to a city near you.

07.07.08 - Washington, DC - Black Cat Backstage #
07.08.08 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church #
07.09.08 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom #
07.10.08 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall #
07.11.08 - Brooklyn, NY - Academy Records in-store
07.12.08 - New York, NY - TBA
07.13.08 - Brooklyn, NY - Charleston Bar & Grill $
07.14.08 - Cambridge, MA - The Middle East Upstairs #
07.16.08 - Cleveland, OH - Now That's Class
07.17.08 - Lafayette, IN - Zoolegger's ^
07.18.08 - Rock Island, IL - Huckleberry's Pizza Parlor
07.19.08 - Chicago, IL - Cobra Lounge %
07.20.08 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry #
07.22.08 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive #
07.23.08 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court #
07.25.08 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir #
08.09.08 - Seattle, WA - Sonic Boom (Capitol Hill)
08.09.08 - Seattle, WA - Wild Rose

# - w/ Fleet Foxes
$ - w/ Pink Reason. I hear you get a free slice of pizza when you buy a beer there.
^ - w/ The Mans, Big Willie & Lil' Suzie
% - w/ Sang des Loups

[WEBSITE AT HARDLY ARTS] [MYSPACE]