Pasta Primavera

Monthly Archive for September, 2008

Friendly Fires

UK based Friendly Fires have been heating things up across the internet hype world with their new self titled debut album.  I’m here to throw more fuel on the fire.  Ed Macfarlane, Edd Gibson, and Jack Savidge play you can enjoy dancing to, but also sitting on a park bench blasting your eardrums through another seemingly too short lunch break.  Friendly Fires sparks catchy pop diamonds like Franz Ferdinand ot The Killers, then drench them with some no nonsense funk and loads of percussion.  Finally a band is here that answers the call of ‘more cowbell’.

mp3: Friendly Fires – Jump In The Pool

mp3: Friendly Fires – In The Hospital

Buy Friendly Fires

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Video – Annuals “Confessor”

The other day MTV’s Subterranean Blog premiered Annuals new video for the track Confessor off of the soon to be released Such Fun album.  Annuals have had a great tradition of creating stunning visual representations of their sound and they do it here as well.  The video was thought up by band member Zach Oden and illustrated by Daniel Auber (a proud member of the Monty Python animation team).  If you’re in the mood for a fairytale…

mp3: Annuals – Confessor

Buy Annuals Such Fun

photo by Autumn de Wilde

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The Week That Was

I was always a big fan of Field Music before this ‘hiatus’.  Earlier this year the world was luck enough to have David Brewis (of Field Music) release his solo project School Of Language which we loved and reviewed here.  Now Peter Brewis (David’s brother and band mate from Field Music) has put out his own effort under the moniker The Week That Was.  On this self titled debut I hear some similar angular beats as School Of Language, but everything is a tad more experimental and somewhat less guitar driven rock then his brother.  Where The Week That Was hits it for me is the beautiful integration of strings, percussion, and piano.  Each part echoes the other making the already powerful rhythms explode into stirring anthems.

mp3: The Week That Was – Learn To Learn

mp3: The Week That Was – The Airport Line

Buy The Week That Was

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The Run Down – Tuesday September 30, 2008

Tonight in DC don’t miss Stereolab, Atlas Sound, and Chessie Club at the 9:30 Club.  Also in DC are Dressy Bessy, Squaaks, and Hot Lava at the Black Cat.  UP north in Philly there’s a good amount of sweet shows around.  First up is The Juan MacLean, Holy Ghost, and BitClipr at Johnny Brenda’s.  Over at the North Star Bar is Glasvegas, The Cobbs, and DJ Joey Sweeny.  The Barbary has the honor of hosting Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and finally the Fillmore at the TLA has Pinback with sBach.  Enjoy!

mp3: Stereolab – Three Women

mp3: Atlas Sound – Without Headlights

mp3: Cut Copy – Hearts Of Fire (Holy Ghost Remix)

mp3: Hot Lava – Jpg In The Sun

mp3: Glasvegas – Daddy’s Gone

mp3: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Heavy Metal

mp3: Pinback – Loro

mp3: sBach – Cold Hearted Snake

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Netherfriends

I never knew how prominent a role the glockenspiel has played in independent music, but apparently a significant one.  I say this because every time I read in the liner notes or on a myspace page that a band uses the glockenspiel, I usually end up enjoying them quite a bit.  This happens to be the cased with Chicago’s glockenspiel-toting Netherfriends.  They’ve just released a new EP, feathers and dots (Black and Greene Records) and it features layers of a wide variety of musical instruments (including the glock obviously) and fiendishly catchy melodies that have me singing along as I write this.  A band can easily over do it with mass overdubs of sounds, but Netherfriends manage to incorporate each one, yet let their light-hearted pop lyrics and delivery stand in front for a bucked up, sunshiney feeling. *Smile*

mp3: Netherfriends – Stop Smoking A$$hole Cigarettes

mp3: Netherfriends – Tac Tac

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Random Randomness For A Random World

Brainless next train head games rainbow warrior!

image via wooster collective

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The Run Down – Monday September 29, 2008

Tonight there are two splendid Philadelphia shows you might be interested in attending.  The first is The Extraordinaires, Child Bite, and Voodoo Economics.  That trio of bands is playing The Khyber.  Finally tonight, Black Kids take over the First Unitarian Church on their spirited tour with The Virgins and Magic Wands.  Definitely a good one.

mp3: Black Kids – Hurricane Jane

mp3: The Virgins – Teens Lovers

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The Run Down – Sunday September 28, 2008

Tonight in Baltimore don’t miss the amazing event at Sonar with The Dodos, Au, and Wye Oak.  Or maybe you’d want to take a few steps over to The Talking Head to check out Mock Orange, Miniature Tigers, and Pillow Queens.  Down in VA the Galaxy Hut has Prabir and the Substitutes and The Ambitions.  Finally up in PHilly don’t miss a great hip hop show at the Fire with Mr. Lif, Reef The Lost Cauze, MAGr, and Cymarshall Law.  Also in Phill are Cheers Elephant, Butane Variations, Creeping Weeds, and I Am The Heat who play the M Room.  Enjoy!

mp3: The Dodos – Red and Purple

mp3: Wye Oak – Please Concrete

mp3: Mock Orange – World Of Machines

mp3: Creeping Weeds – The Desert

mp3: Mr. Lif – Earthcrusher

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