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| Slonk Donkerson |
POTPOURRI
Moving slowly today. Got home early this morning from Queens, but damn it if those cooldaughters don't still have to get fed and driven to school in the morning. Anyway, I spent the morning editing pictures and thinking about some of the stuff I'd like to tell you about.
Blox Cord 1 featured Slonk Donkerson, Fruit & Flowers, The Vaughns, Leland Sundries at The Footlight Bar in Ridgewood, Queens
Here are just a few quick notes and links to some pics from last night's first-ever monthly Blox Cord showcase at Ridgewood's Footlight Bar.
1. It was great to meet the folks from Elmore Magazine and The Joy of Violent Movement face-to-face. The music world is an interesting place now with people laboring to tell you about new and interesting stuff just because they feel like it. Emily and William are dedicated folks who also know how to rock out.
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| Will (The Joy of Violent Movement), Emily (Elmore Magazine), and Mike (SIMGE) |
3. The bill was eclectic and solid. My first experiences with Leland Sundries and Slonk Donkerson were highly positive. The Vaughns made the absolute most of their debut NYC gig. And -- I think I keep saying this -- Fruit & Flowers are just better and better every time I see them.
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| The Vaughns |
5. Thanks to Mike over at Speak Into My Good Eye for including me on the first go 'round. Good luck with the future showcases. And don't lose my number.
Pics from the evening are in the Flickr galleries and on the Facebook page.
NGHTCRWLRS, "Coffee and Weed"
NJ-based alt / indie rock band, NGHTCRWLRS, are back next week with their sophomore LP, Raging Hot. Earlier this week, they gave us single "Coffee and Weed."
It's a one-minute burst of a guitar freak out, short on lyrics but long on emotion. I'm going to admit to being able to identify only with the magic of a morning cup of coffee, but I get where the guys are coming from.
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| NGHTCRWLRS |
The LeMats, "The Astronomer"
New Asbury Park four-piece, The LeMats, released their first single just before playing the Halloween installment of Happy Mondays at Wonder Bar.
"The Astronomer" is alt-rock with some prominent lead guitar. The guitar moves in tandem with the vocals in a way that -- and I'm reaching back into the memory bank here, but sometimes music will shake things loose like that -- reminds me of a band like The Church. Remember them?
Anyway, it's a solid first effort from a new band with kind of a classic sound; and it will be interesting to see where they take things from here.
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| The LeMats |
Very Fresh, Hey, It's Me!
Sometimes, you come across something that just gives off a vibe that speaks to you. Very Fresh ringleader, Cindy Lou Gooden, infuses EP Hey, It's Me! with a personality and sense of humor that manage to connect with my indie-rock fan brain.
The sound of Hey, It's Me! harkens back to 90s indie like Pavement and Liz Phair (though, I've read interviews where Gooden says she hasn't spent much time listening to Phair): left-of-center guitars, vocals that alternate between sneering almost spoken word and sweet singing. The subject matter is personal: the struggle to grow up and act responsibly ("Schedule IV"), mapping your life out according to a pre-determined set of expectations ("Cool Kids"), and wrapping part of your identity up in a relationship ("Hat Tree").
It's some pretty inwardly-focused type stuff that I've wallowed in a bit myself over the years, and Gooden seems to acknowledge having some guilt over her feelings on "Kamikaze."
Hey, It's Me! is funny, honest, and self-aware; and, rather than treating its subject matter in quiet, acoustic, singer / songwriter style, it pretty much rocks.
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| Very Fresh |
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