Sound Bites

Crystal Stilts, caUSE co-MOTION Playing Saturday in Brooklyn, Touring Together Later, Putting Out Records, etc etc etc

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 hot Slumberland Records on October 28. Crystal Stilts will be releasing their much-anticipated debut album, Alight of Night, which I've listened to about 50 times, it's fantastic, and will be on my Best of 2008 list no doubt. With it's spooky, twangy, echo-out-the-wazoo vibe, it will also make the perfect acompanyment to that upcoming Halloween party. (Yet it reminds me of The Chills.) As for caUSE co-MOTION, "It's Time!", collects their five scratchy, blistering 7" singles, including the new "I Lie Awake" onto one CD. Not one of the songs on it reaches the two minute mark. Here's samples from both:

MP3: Crystal Stilts - Shattered Shine (pre-order)

MP3: caUSE co-MOTION - Which Way is Up? (pre-order)

Crystal Stilts/caUSE co-MOTION 2008 US Tour:

Oct. 04 Brooklyn, NY Death By Audio
Oct. 23 New York, NY Pianos (Force Field PR CMJ Showcase)
Nov. 01 San Diego, CA Che Cafe
Nov. 02 Los Angeles, CA The Echo / Part Time Punks
Nov. 03 Oakland, CA House of Nostromo
Nov. 04 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
Nov. 05 Sacramento, CA Luigi's Fun Garden
Nov. 06 Eugene, OR Samurai Duck
Nov. 07 Portland, OR Holocene
Nov. 08 Olympia, WA The Big Room
Nov. 09 Seattle, WA Chop Suey

Here Come the Girls

San Francisco's boy-boy duo, The Girls, invade NYC this weekend for the first time with their feedback-drenched pop. RCRDLBL has two songs to download but the jam is "Morning Light" and here's the video:

Really good, right? The Girls play Glasslands with The Crystal Stilts on Saturday night, which in my opinion is a must-see double bill (yes I know Siren is early in the day but we can rally, people!) but here are all the NYC dates:

Jul 17 Market Hotel (Stereogum / Anthem Magazine party)     New York
Jul 18 The Delancey     New York
Jul 19 Supreme Trading (early show)   Brooklyn, New York
Jul 19 Glasslands     brooklyn, New York

Crystal Stilts + The Duchess and the Duke | The Charleston | 7.13.2008

Last time I saw a show at the Charleston it was in the back of the bar and the cranky old owner provided the lightshow by flipping the lightswitch on and off. The place has been under new management for a while now and is now booking shows in the Charleston's dank, unfinished basement making it sort of the Cake Shop of Williamsburg I guess.

Crystal Stilts went on around Midnight which, after a full day of sun and beer at McCarren Pool and the aftershow at Music Hall of Williamsburg, it felt like 3AM. This was the third time I've seen them and with each show they've veered further and further away from the obvious Jesus & Mary Chain comparisons that were unavoidable when talking about their debut EP which is two years old but most people seem to have just discovered this year. (People including me.) The reverb is still there, but influences seem to be moving backwards to the dawn of rock n' roll. Specifically you can hear Bo Diddley in that beat (courtesy standup, cymbal-less drummer Frankie Rose) and vibrato guitar. I'm anxious to hear their debut album, which is in the can and will be released on Slumberland later this year but in the meantime he's one from the EP:

MP3: The Crystal Stilts - Converging on the Quiet (buy)

Crystal Stilts are also playing Saturday night at Glasslands if you've still got energy after the Siren fest. (Or if you couldn't be bothered to go to Siren.)

Also on the bill were The Dutchess and the Duke who I'd seen open for Fleet Foxes earlier in the week at Union Hall. They sound a lot like their Hardly Art labelmates Arthur & Yu (also from Seattle), which is to say folky and bluesy in a late '60s sort of way, complete with cool old hollow-body guitars and nice harmonies and a percussionist who kind of looks like Peter Tork or Denny Doherty. Their debut, She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke, came out last week and is a great lazy Sunday morning record. And they're a pretty good late Sunday night kind of band too.

MP3: The Dutchess and the Duke - Reservoir Park  (buy)

Love Is All + Versus + Crystal Stilts | Bowery Ballroom | 6.16.2008

I know this wasn't the coolest show of the night (Sigur Ros) or the coolest show of Love Is All's visit (Cake Shop or Market Hotel win over this) but what show! And band-for-band one of the best I've seen this year.

Somehow I've managed to not see Love Is All till now. I had tickets to that Knitting Factory show, like everybody else, way back when but couldn't go, or didn't go for some reason. And I liked, not loved, their album Nine Times That Same Song and wasn't quite sure what all the fuss was about. I do now. Of course, Love is All are giant grin wonderful on stage, with boundless energy. It's a kind of joy that CSS have too, that makes you stop being cynical, momentarily, and be glad you're here seeing this amazing band. I was won over in about 30 seconds.

MP3: Love is All - I Ran

That's from a tour-only CDR called Love Is All Play 5 Covers. From the back cover: "We each picked a song with no member getting a say, recorded live at practice." You might have seen the YouTube footage of them doing this Flock of Seagulls nugget at Cake Shop last week. Other covers on the EP include Dire Straits' "So Far Away" and Prince's periodical-loving classic, "Darling Nikki."

Underappreciated '90s indie rockers Versus, who broke up in 2001 but have played one-off shows here and there since (including Union Hall last November), seem to be back for real and this show is arguably their highest-profile gig since the Teenbeat 20th Anniversary. (Certainly the biggest venue.) No lyrics sheets tonight, the three-piece Versus (James and Patrick were busy with +/- duties) seemed pretty tight and brought with them a handful of new songs. (One of the Fontaine-sung ones was really good.) And there were a lot of people there just to see them, which I must admit surprised me... happily. Rumors are flying about a new album -- and a label to put it out -- but for now I'd just like to say welcome back.

Crystal Stilts were on first. The band have been getting a lot of good press -- a glowing Pitchfork review, they're part of the same Brooklyn scene that Vivian Girls, ca-USE co-MOTION (both of whom were there at the show), and Pains of Being Pure at Heart are apart of. And I do think it's a scene -- new groups influenced by C86, Slumberland Records, etc. I really, really like The Crystal Stilts record, which is so Jesus and Mary Chain (or the Bodines or Jasmine Minks) at times it borders on theft but they do it so well I don't care.

Despite a friend telling me they were awesome when they opened for the Clean at Cake Shop, I was a little worried Crystal Stilts would be, well, stilted live. They've definitely got a schtick. The singer stands motionless, eyes closed, the guitarist was sitting the whole time. And new drummer Frankie Rose plays standing up, with only three pieces to her kit: bass drum, floor tom and a snare, though she used a tambourine instead of a right stick on some songs. Super cool: She's like Mo Tucker and Bobby Gilespie rolled into one. Schtick it is, but it's a brilliant one makes for a complete package with their reverby, garagey sound. I can see how it would be better to see them somewhere smaller, darker but they held their own on the bright Bowery Ballroom stage.

MP3: Crystal Stilts - Bright Night Nusery (buy it)