Lincoln Hall was filled to the brim with excited fans this past Sunday as every sunburnt kid with a penchant for indie rock trekked it to the north side of Chicago to catch Tanlines’ exclusive Pitchfork after show ($7 with a Pitchfork wristband… basically a no-brainer). Tanlines released their first full length album in March of this past year, titled Mixed Emotions, to rave reviews that have built them a pretty serious following. They took the stage with Rain Delay after an ambient introduction comprised of wind chimes (which also served as transition from song to song, something I would normally think of as being cheesy but totally worked in this situation since both Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm seem pretty authentic as far as musicians go). Filling the transitions with funny anecdotes about their short stay in Chicago (buying scalped tickets to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field, welcome to Chicago…) they moved on to play most songs from Mixed Emotions as well as a few previous tracks from EPs and one brand new song that was received well by the crowd. My personal favorite song of the night was All of Me that just sounded so perfect live mostly due to Jesse Cohen’s performance on his impressive set up of drum kit, MacBook Pro, and keyboard.
Honestly, I couldn’t have been more impressed by Tanlines’ live performance. They’re a band I’ve wanted to see live for a while and Lincoln Hall was the perfect place for them to play. Somewhat intimate and filled with fans that truly wanted to be there set the perfect environment. My only complaint is that they didn’t play my personal favorite track off of Mixed Emotions: Abby. I really expected this to be their encore, I even loitered for an awkwardly long time to make sure they weren’t coming back out on stage to play it or even any sort of encore. That being said, I would see them again in a heartbeat and owe it to them for giving me one of the best nights I’ve had all summer.
**If you haven’t listened to Tanlines yet… just do it:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKJ3z9Pa7AU&list=UUfIBo0eCZMykG27FpCeYI6g&index=1&feature=plcp[/youtube]
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New Brighton based artist Tourist, or more easily Google searched as William Phillips, is someone who I’ve been meaning to write about for months now. A friend sent me a link to Placid Acid back in January and I couldn’t get enough. I sought out everything else he had recorded to tide me over until he released his first EP which dropped just a few weeks ago (and is fantastic). Luckily, he also posts remixes under the name Little Loud that are just as great to listen to. Placid Acid feels like there should be lyrics to memorize even when none are present. It’s reminiscent of Jamie XX and Animal Collective without feeling like a knock-off which is refreshing in the middle of the EDM era we’re currently in. His sound is versatile; translating anywhere from easy-listening to dance floor.
Check out Placid Acid before he gets big, I promise you won’t regret it:
Swedish natives Miike Snow recently released the highly anticipated follow up to their self titled album. Happy To You has arrived two years later but it was worth the wait. The album builds on the foundation its predecessor laid, adding more layers to their sound, some dissonant and some made purely for dancing. There really isn’t a single track on Happy To You that isn’t noteworthy. The two most circulated tracks thus far have been Devil’s Work and The Wave but my personal favorite is Pretender (and also the transition from the track leading up to it, Bavarian #1). If you can, I would recommend getting your hands on the Deluxe Version since it includes two phenmenal remixes by Wolfgang Gartner and Alex Metric.
Yo! I have a flight to catch in about 4 hours, yours trulyis goingback toSXSW. I’m currently shaking with anxiety, as there is so much to do so much to see, that I have oodles of content from last years SXSW that I never got to share with y’all (stay tuned I’ll probably crack open the vault real soon).
Incase you are curious are/or going to be down there, here are some showcases that caught my eye/people forwarded to me:
The old woman that I’m slowly turning into has been wary of this new trend in streaming concerts, not trusting video quality or not wanting to watch a concert that I can’t make it to. I’ll admit, and I don’t do this often, that I was wrong, it’s awesome. I recently tuned into Foster the People’s set on Live on Letterman, having missed the live airing, and was totally pleased to have the best seat in the house all while never leaving the couch. Their lead singer gets me every time because he dances so enthusiastically (let’s be real, awkwardly) that I can only imagine that’s what I look like when I’m getting down. I was really pleased that they took the time to rock out some of their better songs and didn’t stick to milking Pumped Up Kicks for all that it’s worth. Foster, you’re good, you don’t have to rely on 15 minute Pumped Up Kicks jam sessions. The most notable tracks that they killed it on were Miss You (maybe I’m biased, but I just love that song), Helena Beat (another favorite), and Color on the Walls (ugh, I love every song, I have a problem). Although I’ve been pimping out this band since the beginning of the summer if you haven’t checked them out yet this is a perfect opportunity, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Bombay Bicycle Club’s A Different Kind of Fix only dropped two days ago but that hasn’t stopped my iTunes from already having it on repeat five times in a row (it would probably be a higher number, but a girls gotta go to class). Each track flows so seamlessly to the next that by the time the album finishes it feels like you’re still on the first song without anything feeling redundant in the least. The front running track seems to be Lights Out, Words Gone featuring bouncing guitar, etherial vocals, and steady cymbals. This might be my favorite album that Bombay has released so I would catch it now so you can say you heard it first (we all wanna be first, right?).
Little known New York five-man-band Caveman has crept into the music scene with Thankful, a jam that seems to be the perfect precursor to fall. Originating only in January of 2010 it is next to impossible to find enough of their music to satiate my desire to listen to them all day. Luckily, Thankful is a song that you can put on repeat and it doesn’t get old. The hollowing percussion paired with irresistible guitar gives me hope that their LP debuting on September 13th is going to be something none of us will want to miss.
Danger Mouse has inevitably been a part of what seems like every other musical project over the past few years. Recently (but not too recent, this project was five years in the making) he paired up with Italian composer Daniele Luppi to create Rome. Needless to say I love it. One of my favorite tracks is Black which features Norah Jones showing off the darker side of her vocal abilities.
Sometimes, it’s frustrating sifting through piles of musical shit on Soundcloud for properly mastered remixes; most of the time (all of the time), I wish there was a law prohibiting anyone from adding Avicci-esque beats to a song; but every day, I wish that bros didn’t have access to Fruity Loops. Luckily, I was cut out for dirty jobs and found this gem. Yuksek remixed Noah and the Whale’s Life is Life which was originally a melodramatic anthem (still awesome) and provided a deft hand in creating a dance-hall number that doesn’t destroy the underlying structure that Noah and the Whale provided. This is one of the more solid remixes I’ve heard lately and I really love the transformation given to the song, I’m definitely going to keep my ears peeled for more of Yuksek’s work.
