Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye is back, and “Flick Of the Finger” is our first taste. It’s got that Liam intensity, augmented with a consistently present and bold horn section along with some spoken word parts. It’s a winner for me, and hopefully for you as well. We’ll hopefully hear the entire album in June. Liam is saying it will be “pretty druggy”.  

Beady Eye – Flick of the Finger

Beady Eye (Official) (Facebook)

* Links and playlists from Rave’s weekly new music show can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!

By Trevor Meyer

Wirral’s finest, The Coral put a lovely spin on a Byrds classic. Somewhere in the Irish Sea, with his sail cascading in the wind, ship captain, seafarer, and musical savant, David Crosby is channeling the voice of James Skelly and drawing inspiration for his next nomadic tale (well, maybe not). The Coral are always at their best, and their rendition of “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better” is right on cue.

The Coral – I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better (Byrds Cover)

The Coral (Facebook)

Rating 8.1

2011. What wasn’t to love? The rise of weirdo R&B, the fall of chillwave, the end of R.E.M. We started the construction of this list over a month ago. One truly epic and extensive Google spreadsheet later, we arrived at this Top 50. We sorted and sorted and sorted, listened through a TON OF STUFF, “traded jabs” on whether James Blake or Jamie Woon put on the tougher persona, etc. Thanks for reading and we hope y’all enjoy the list!

01. James Blake – The Wilhelm Scream (Buy It) (Read)

02. The Weeknd – The Morning (Buy It) (Read)

03. Lana Del Rey – Video Games (Buy It) (Read)

04. Gotye – Somebody That I Used to Know (Feat. Kimbra) (Buy It) (Read)

05. Britney Spears – ‘Till the World Ends (Buy It) (Read)

06. Maverick Sabre – I Need (Buy It) (Read)

07. Drake – Marvin’s Room (Buy It) (Read)

08. Beyonce – Party (Feat. Kanye West & Andre 3000) (Buy It) (Read)

09. Jamie Woon – Lady Luck (Buy It) (Read)

10. Michael Kiwanuka – I Need You By My Side (Buy It) (Read)

11. Kendrick Lamar – ADHD (Buy It) (Read)

12. The Alabama Shakes (formerly The Shakes) - I Found You (Buy It) (Read)

13. Nneka – My Home (Buy It) (Read)

14. Rihanna – We Found Love (Feat. Calvin Harris) (Buy It) (Read)

15. DJ Khaled – I’m On One (Feat. Drake, Rick Ross & Lil’ Wayne) (Buy It) (Read)

16. Adele – Rumour Has It (Buy It) (Read)

17. Labrinth – Earthquake (Feat. Tinie Tempah) (Buy It) (Read)

18. Jay-Z & Kanye West – Otis (Buy It) (Read)

19. Flo Rida – Good Feeling (Buy It) (Read)

20. Bon Iver – Towers (Buy It) (Read)

21. Azealia Banks – 212 (Buy It) (Read)

22. Big Black Delta – Huggin’ & Kissin’ (Buy It) (Read)

23. Florence + The Machine – What the Water Gave Me (Buy It) (Read)

24. Flight Facilities – Foreign Language (Feat. Jess) (Buy It) (Read)

25. Cults – Abducted (Buy It) (Read)

26. Raphael Saadiq – Good Man (Buy It) (Read)

27. Spector – Never Fade Away (Buy It) (Read)

28. Marina & the Diamonds – Radioactive (Buy It) (Read)

29. Afrojack – Lionheart (Buy It) (Read)

30. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – If I Had a Gun… (Buy It) (Read)

31. Active Child – Playing House (Feat. How to Dress Well) (Buy It) (Read)

32. M83 – Midnight City (Buy It) (Read)

33. Radiohead – Lotus Flower (Buy It) (Read)

34. Madlib & Freddie Gibbs – Thuggin’ (Buy It) (Read)

35. The Rapture – How Deep Is Your Love (Buy It) (Read)

36. NO CEREMONY/// – Hurtlove (Buy It) (Read)

37. Ifan Dafydd – No Good (Buy It) (Read)

38. Bombay Bicycle Club – Shuffle (Buy It) (Read)

39. TOKiMONSTA – Little Pleasures (Feat. Gavin Turek) (Buy It) (Read)

40. Colleen Green – Cujo (Buy It) (Read)

41. Foxes – Youth (Buy It) (Read)

42. Jacques Greene – Another Girl (Buy It) (Read)

43. Grouplove – Gold Coast (Buy It) (Read)

44. Family of the Year – St. Croix (Buy It) (Read)

45. Lucy Rose – Middle of the Bed (Buy It) (Read)

46. LIPS – Everything to Me (Buy It) (Read)

47. Trophy Wife – Wolf (Buy It) (Read)

48. Dev – In the Dark (Buy It) (Read)

49. John West – Lovely (Feat. Pusha T) (Buy It) (Read)

50. Anchorsong – Ghost Touch (Buy It) (Read)

2011, it’s been real! To kick off our b3sci 2011 year end coverage, we start with Top 10 albums lists from each of b3science’s seven contributors. (We’ll detail our overall site picks in the next few days). 2011.

Troy:

01. Drake – Take Care 02. The Weeknd – House of Balloons 03. M83 – Hurry Up We’re Dreaming 04. Metronomy – The English Riviera 05. A$AP Rocky – Live Love A$AP 06. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake 07. James Blake – James Blake 08. Kendrick Lamar – Section.80 09. SBTRKT – SBTRKT 10. Active Child – You Are All I See

Mike:

01. WU LYF – Go Tell Fire to the Mountain 02. The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From… 03. Jay-Z & Kanye West – Watch the Throne 04. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 05. Low Roar – Low Roar 06. The Weeknd – House of Balloons 07. Wye Oak – Civilian 08. Explosions in the Sky – Take Care, Take Care, Take Care 09. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues 10. Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’

Chris:

01. WU LYF – Go Tell Fire To The Mountain 02. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost 03. Giraffage – Comfort 04. The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From.. 05. Washed Out – Within and Without 06. James Blake – James Blake 07. The War On Drugs – Slave Ambient 08. The Postelles – The Postelles 09. Harrison Hudson – American Thunder 10. Caveman – CoCo Beware

Trevor:

01. James Blake – James Blake 02. A$AP Rocky – Live Love A$AP 03. Wale – Ambition 04. Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’ 05. Harrison Hudson – American Thunder 06. Fiore – Fiore 07. Benjamin Francis Leftwich – Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm 08. M83 – Hurry Up We’re Dreaming 09. Mike Higbee – Secret Life 10. Chris Wollard & The Ship Thieves – Chris Wollard & The Ship Thieves

Erin:

Let’s be honest. I probably didn’t listen to ten complete LPs this year that I would somehow deem “best” – it just isn’t in me anymore, maybe. I did, however, have enough musical bests paired with actual full records I loved to complete a top ten. Let’s review my 2011 faves: there are ten, they are not ranked.

tUnE – yArDs, W H O K I L L (4AD) If someone forced me to name my best record of the year, I’d bet this would be it. While I’ll never get over the late 90s stylization of her musical pseudonym, Merrill Garbus made songs that said things I wanted to hear couched in melodies and harmonies that push me from Africa to doo-wop to “America.” There is true joy in the music she makes, even if she’s talking about eating disorders or inner-city violence. High up on the “things I danced to alone in my room” list of this year.

turntable.fm/Spotify While I’d consider turntable.fm mostly dead in my day to day life, it ruled my world for a few weeks over the summer. I heard more great stuff I know I would’ve never come upon on my own, but I guarantee you it wasn’t in dubstep rooms. I spent time chatting and playing jams with friends I wouldn’t see for months. Turntable gave me all of the plus factors of a 1996 chatroom backed with a way better soundtrack than I would’ve had then. Spotify swooped in a few weeks later, and now I find myself listening to nearly anything I want at any time while creating playlists with friends throughout the day. Not as immediate as turntable, but somehow less of a time suck. I don’t love the ads, but I know I can get rid of them if I want.

PJ Harvey, Let England Shake (Island/Vagrant) Overwrought concept albums can be a drag. (Confessional: I am a long-time PJ Harvey fan, guilty of knowing all of the words to “Rid of Me” by heart at a very young age.) If someone had told me a concept album by Harvey about England, bloodshed and warfare would be one of my favorite releases this year, I might have been a bit perplexed. The melodies, language, and instrumentation around this record, however, do more to transport listeners rather than alienate them. “Inaccessible” is a word often used to describe records, and I could see how some of Harvey’s records may be that way. This, however, works magic.

Jay-Z & Kanye West, “Why I Love You” (Roc-A-Fella/Roc Nation/Def Jam) I know this record is on everyone else’s list, and that’s fine, but only one of its tracks got repeat plays with me. The production on Watch The Throne is amazing, I can’t deny it, but nearly nothing about that record sticks for me. I revisited it months after it leaked and I still couldn’t get into it as a whole. Jay-Z and Kanye West are two of my all-time favorites and I thought this record would be my dream. It wasn’t. “Why I Love You”, though, is a jam. Great sample, great chorus, okay-enough rapping.

Iceage, New Brigade (What’s Your Rupture?) There will never be a time in life that I don’t like channeling my inner teenage dude. I know he’s there, just waiting for me to listen to the Stooges for another few hours or cackle while watching episodes of Beavis & Butt-head. 24-ish minutes of gothy punk energy (the longest track at 3:08), Iceage are my Ramones for 2011.

Drake, Take Care (Young Money/Cash Money) I can’t stop playing this record. Merrill Garbus and Drake might have to duke it out. I thought Thank Me Later was lackluster – too much bravado and cameo, not enough actual persona. With Take Care, though, I feel like Drake is getting back to a place where he’s comfortable: an introspective, lonely look in the mirror at fame and alienation from where he thought he was a few years ago to now. On hip-hop records I’m usually disappointed if they’re not full of bangers but this one tempers enough production with the same amount of restraint.

Willie Mae Rock Camp & Kelly Clarkson, “Since U Been Gone” (RCA) Over the summer, I volunteered for the first time at Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls in Brooklyn. I spent an exhausting and fulfilling week making sure a bunch of 8 & 9 year olds made it to their instrument class, ate their lunches, and sort-of listened during workshops about the blues, gender, and other topics regarding women in music. Every counselor had her musical kryptonite and everyone very quickly found out Kelly’s jam was mine. I danced & sang to it all week when it played during various end-of-day dance parties, and one of the campers and I shared it as our best memory of the week from songwriting class. At the showcase wrapping up camp, the volunteer band played it as their song for soundcheck. I belted it just as I had every other day.

Party of Helicopters at Death By Audio, Williamsburg, February 13, 2011 I got my knees slammed into the stage all night long at this show, with terrible bruises to show the next day, but it was well worth it. They are my favorite band from my most formative years, the one whose album art my body will carry to my grave; every opportunity to relive that time while seeing them live is worth it. Even though they’ll never play “A New Kind of Power” for me no matter how many times I request it, I don’t care. I love them. Forever.

Björk, Biophilia (One Little Indian/Polydor) There was a time growing up that I spent most hours lying on the floor in my room listening to records. Bjork was always a part of this ritual, and listening to this record sends me back to that time in my life (I am full of memories this year). “Crystalline” is a perfect hybrid of Telegram-style remixes and Vespertine vocals. “Cosmogony” hearkens back to the antics of Medulla. Everything is nostalgic, but everything is new. The David Attenborough-narrated companion iPhone app is an excellent companion if you can’t make up your own visuals in your mind.

Sharon Van Etten, “Serpents” (Jagjaguwar) Seeing her play this live last Tuesday only further got me stoked for her record next year. Her voice is the most haunting to me, and this is that quality at its finest. Percussion and expansion of her sound into what it is on this track alone (I hear you, Aaron Dessner) bode well for the rest of Tramp. Can’t wait.

Bruce:

01. The Kills – Blood Pressures 02. Elbow – Build A Rocket Boys 03. The Airborne Toxic Event – All At Once 04. The Vaccines – What Did You Expect… 05. Foster The People – Torches 06. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light 07. The Black Keys – El Camino 08. Sleeper Agent – Celabrasion 09. The Rapture – In The Grace Of Your Love 10. The Wombats – This Modern Glitch

11. Honorable mention to My Morning Jacket and Teddybears

Elliott:

01. Alex Clare – The Lateness of the Hour 02. Nero – Welcome Reality 03. Thievery Corporation – Culture of Fear 04. SBTRKT – SBTRKT 05. Tyler, the Creator – Goblin 06. Bassnectar – Divergent Spectrum 07. Dave Nada – Blow Your Head Presents: Moombahton 08. James Blake – James Blake 09. M83 – Hurry up, We’re Dreaming 10. Crookers – Dr. Gonzo

Last Friday night at Royce Hall in Los Angeles, The Hours took full advantage of an audience looking for something new in a familiar framework. Like Royce Hall (*see below) and headliner Noel Gallagher, history serves an indicator.

The UK collective fronted by Antony Glenn (former Pulp and Elastica fame to name a few) and Martin Slattery (who shares a connection through collaborations with Joe Strummer) kicked things off with recent single “I Want More.” The song caught the attention of fans stranded in the lobby trying to quickly finish their drinks. The Hour’s opt for Slattery’s multi-sectional musicianship in favor of a traditional bass player. Their blend of pop melodies and driving rhythms conjures an eclectic mix of everything from The Doves, Spoon, The Rolling Stones, and Spiritualized, with even moments Jeff Buckley and his protégés coming to mind. The band’s airtight set consisted heavily of material from their new I Want More EP as well as the band’s It’s Not How You Start, It’s How You Finish US debut. At one point The Hours invited two soulful women to stage to sing a few tracks with them. The audience’s playful approval of hoots and hollering felt most convincing during “Soul Music for Troubled Souls”. It’s the sort of song concerned with bigger messages and overall statements. And in such an economically wounded political environment, something like that might have been why the girl behind me tapped my shoulder to ask who the opening band was. The song drew a welcome response, as the did the band – as well as the bro-Noel banter between tracks. “What’s not to love about Noel” Antony asked? True, but there’s lots to like about watching The Hours. Get familiar and pick up a copy of I Want More.

The Hours – Soul Music for Troubled Souls

The Hours (Official)

A musical homage to Noel Gallagher’s mentors played through the house speakers during the sets interlude. It was the High Flying Birds second night in LA on a sold out six city American tour. Having recorded the album in LA, I wondered about Noel’s affinity for American culture? The album artwork on the streets of Los Angeles, the music video in a Pioneer Town like desert world? What role did the west coast play in High Flying Birds? There’s even an American in the band, as Noel himself takes the piss at later in the show. More importantly being a KROQ Presents show, and him being here now with HFB, will Americans find any new inspiration in him?

A variation of “If I Had A Gun” from Noel Gallagher’s forthcoming Amorphous Androgenous collaboration lay stealth in the speakers as the lights soon dimmed and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds took stage. A folky version of early b-side “It’s Good to Be Free” opened the show; offering a fresh take on something classic. Which would set the tone nicely for the rest of the set. In true house band fashion the High Flying Birds performed a majority of their self-titled debut LP near sequentially with several musical intermissions of fan favorites.

Noel looked alive and free of any preconceived notions about his stage presence in Oasis. Standing in the middle of the stage with the conviction of Noel Gallagher, and joining him were four of his High Flying Birds on bass, keys, drums and guitar. Given all of it’s various versions, lead album track “Everybody Is On The Run” sounds even complete with a five piece. Noel’s band sounded great. The back up singing, even finger picking on bass, all the versatility felt just right. But these weren’t hired guns, they each played with style. Noel wears great musicians like he does great songs. But to hear drumming from Jeremy Stacey of The Lemon Trees on songs like “If I Had A Gun” played with the same type of spunk as the early Tony McCarroll… it became clear that this band was a very well fit experience.

“The Good Rebel” first broke the album’s sequence sneaking in before it’s release’s flip-track “Death of You and Me” – a song that really brings out the Ennio Morricone in Noel Gallagher, with it’s ragtime piano and lyric “I’m watching the TV or is it watching me” maintaining there album highlights. New song “Freaky Teeth” followed as the audience got their second taste of what’s to come from Noel in 2012. Similar to the variation of “If I Had A Gun” mentioned earlier, “Freaky Teeth”explores classic rock and psychedelic roads travelled much less if ever by Oasis. To wrap intermission Noel played a pair of near solo acoustic classics. The audience tried to let him sing “Wonderwall” but couldn’t resist on “Supersonic”.

Switching gears back to High Flying Birds the audience adjusted their Gallagher frequency as the sampled sound of children playing filled the atmosphere leading the band into new album’s anthem “(I Wanna Live In A Dream In My) Record Machine”. In-between songs fans shout for requests as if to indulge in the hilarity of Noel’s retorts. Following “Broken Arrow” Noel mentions that in his head he’d just heard “The Masterplan” the entire time’. Other highlights from the set included High Flying Birds ancestor track, “Half the World Away” and a few extended jam sessions prompting Gallagher to actually introduce each of the band members before ending the set.

The Chief returned to stage with a “thank you so fucking much” for a small encore set of fan favorites before he and his birds took a final bow.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – The Good Rebel

Noel Gallagher (Official) (Album Stream at Rolling Stone)

Rating 8.7

*Royce Hall kind of reminds me of the Soldier Field renovation in Chicago. Circumstances differ but Royce Hall was renovated and redesigned as contemporary within elements of it’s original framework. Add world-renowned acoustics and well I see why the venue fit the evening’s event.

NG’s songwriting clinic continues on “Alone on the Rope”. If Noel were a new artist every bloggerdude out there would be falling over themselves to content farm this shit. Perception is the game. Noel is old and Oasis aren’t cool. We love you Noel.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Alone on the Rope

Noel Gallagher (Official)

Rating 8.4

“I’d Pick You Every Time”, the b-side to NG’s “If I Had a Gun” single, continues Noel’s record with great b-sides that stretches back to the earliest days of Oasis. It’s often that Noel saves these more folkier divergences for the b-side. And the half-time, almost countrified (is that a banjo, Noel?) “I’d Pick You Every Time” is very much in that “Folky” Noel lane. Spin it below.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – I’d Pick You Every Time

Noel Gallagher (Official)

Rating 8.2

Noel Gallagher’s never been too shy to fuck with a drum set or two. “AKA… What A Life” commands a dance floor. As adept as he is with chord progression and melody, Noel is well capable at capturing rhythmic moments when he wants to. Who else would have known Whitey’s drumming chops were the perfect fit for the rest of WTSMG? “AKA… What A Life” finds the pocket and maybe gives a glimpse to Noel’s forthcoming collaboration with Amorphous Androgynous.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – AKA… What A Life

Noel Gallagher (Official) (Facebook) (Noel’s 50 Funniest Quotes)

Rating 8.2

Uncle Noel drops another session of “songwriting 101″ on “If I Had a Gun”. “Gun” is how you do it, kids. Want to learn how to write like the best, you gotta learn from the best. And Noel, even at his ripe old geezer age, can still write circles around pretty much any other songwriter remotely in his genre. Thematically, “If I Had a Gun” dips a bit more into Noel’s affinity for Neil, the dusty ballad Neil, and Zimmerman, but the moment that chorus hits you’re back in the familiar and loving territory of anthemic NG shout-a-longs.

Noel Gallagher (Official) (Facebook) (Noel’s 50 Funniest Quotes)

Rating 8.2

Someday when we meet Noel Gallagher one of the questions that we will ask him about is his perception on b-sides. “The Masterplan” “Talk Tonight” “Listen Up”, undoubtedly some of the best songs Noel’s ever written have been b-sides. “The Good Rebel”, despite not making the cut for his forthcoming two completed solo albums, holds ground with those other great tracks in the Noel b-side pantheon. If a b-side can rule this hard, we can’t wait to see what else NG has.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – The Good Rebel

+

Noel Gallagher (Official) (Facebook) (Noel’s 50 Funniest Quotes)

Rating 8.3

Our favorite well-dressed geezer Paul Weller has returned with new single “Starlite” on Island. Offered up with the new track is this smooth new mix by Russian electronic artist D-Pulse. Pulse dude styles “Starlite” with far-away deep-in-the-mix vocals, spare on-the-one piano jabs and layered angular rhythmic syncopations. p.s. Noel we wish we could pull off the “Paul Weller look” so effortlessly too.

Paul Weller – Starlite (D-Pulse Remix)

D-Pulse (Official)

Rating 8.0

If you’re an Oasis fan, make that if you’re a music fan, then you have waited for this. You’ve likely contemplated at some point, ‘what would Noel Gallagher do if he weren’t in Oasis?’ (of course, your worse fear being that it would just sound like Oasis).

A few days ago Noel released a choral and strings version of a track that we had first heard of from a soundcheck in Brazil in 2009. Clearly the song has gone places. Noel has completed 2 studio LP’s which are seeming less like a Le Noise approach in favor of something more George Martin, more Burt Bacharach, more cinematic, more “The Importance of Being Idle”. Not that we’re complaining, “The Death Of You And Me” is epic and High Flying Birds is sure to be nothing short.

Noel Gallagher – The Death of You and Me

Noel Gallagher (Official) (Facebook) (Noel’s 50 Funniest Quotes)

Rating 8.5

“Days Are Forgotten” is rumored to be the next single off Kasabian’s Velociraptor, due 19 Sep. “Days” tends more towards the sound of Kasabian’s first couple records than first single “Switchblade Smiles”. “Days Are Forgotten”, from its punchy tense verse to its anthemic choruses, screams radio single. Kasabian dudes, we need the hook up on those Noel solo record promos. I know you guys can help. Tweet at us.

Kasabian – Days Are Forgotten

Kasabian (Official) (Myspace) (Facebook)

Rating: 8.5

Fortunate for Brother they have taste for Oasis’ best music. “Still Here” would line up sharp next to “Cigarettes & Alcohol” and “Digsy’s Dinner”. jk Noel! p.s. trying to find a picture of Brother on google images that’s not Jonas Brother or Naked Brothers (WTF) is sort of tough. The magic keyword is “Slough”.

Brother – Still Here

Brother: (Official) (Myspace)

Rating: 8.0

Jeremy Messersmith @ The Ale House

Jeremy Messersmith was a treat. “Tatooine” is a gem that made our top 50 list last year and we couldn’t wait to have the experience live. Pleasantly surprised. Jeremy’s set proved more quirky than expected. Concluding with “Violets”, his band helped carry a sound reminiscent of The Turtles and other late 60′s West Coast bands. Messersmith has talent and just seems to radiate longevity.

Jeremy Messersmith – Tatooine

Sweet Jane @ B.D. Riley’s

One of the best things about SXSW is that you can just walk down a street and your ears can bring you to something you’ve never heard before. In preparing some post-festival coverage, I recalled one of those bands that drew me in. If you’re a fan of Noel Gallagher (like we are) and his guitar playing (guilty again), you won’t be able to resist listening to Sweet Jane. Lydia Des Dolles lead vocals add a fresh compliment to a fantastic British sound. Into it.

Sweet Jane – Close Your Eyes (Single Version)

Black Milk @ Billboard Bungalow

The line was around the block on E 6th street during peak freak hour Saturday night. Passing through three layers of security was necessary to enter Billboard Bungalow (patdowns included) I felt like I was going upstairs to see Obama. Black Milk is a pro. His killer on stage presence gets the crowd moving and into it. This man loves to perform. The live band was an….interesting touch. The sound was cool, the band was unique but somehow came off a bit flat, amateurish. The drums were set up in an odd, “less than traditional way”. The keys didn’t seem to be working. The bass was lose. It felt pretty backyard. “Dead Medley” was a highlight. Black Milk, the MC (minus his band), proved worthy of a long performance career, Common-style

Black Milk – Overdose

Curren$y @ Billboard Bungalow

Curren$y enters late and totally high. He’s completely non-chalant as he commands the stage. Basically the opposite of what we just saw from Black Milk. The stage show went something as follows: he first came out, then a second MC joined him, then like four 19 year old looking dudes came up on stage to stand behind him, and they were stoned. As is Spitta’s M.O., the raps were smooth and the track were short. His rambles between tracks were actually pretty tight. As he did a solid job hyping the crowd between songs.

Curren$y – Address (Feat. Stalley)

Eliza Doolittle @ Cedar Street Courtyard

Earlier in the day, deep in the underbelly of Austin, we crossed paths with our girl Eliza Doolittle. One look at the b3sci posse, and at least one member of our crew got prob the hottest demand of the weekend, “Take off Your Skinny Jeans! You!” We were caught. Eliza had us. Of course, what to do when an adorable British girls calls at you to remove yer trousers, well never tell. But we did make it back over to Cedar Street, pants and all, to catch Eliza’s Saturday night set. We’ll drop this in again, just once more, to be, you know, official about it. Eliza Doolittle is adorable. And that sort of defined her set. “Money Box” was sunshine-y, feel good, glad in all the right places. Part of Eliza’s charm is her ability to connect. She could be looking into the audience at a 90 degree angle to you, or at her band, or up into space, and still all the while, you feel like she’s singing to you and only you. “I want to go back to a time when I was young. No not when I was 16 or something like that. No, I’m talking really young. I want to go back to when I was three.” And you stand there, as she smiles at you delivering that line, and you’re like, “Yeah, Eliza, that sounds like a pretty nice idea.”

Eliza’s secret weapon is her band. Her bassist, playing a stand up double bass, was ridiculously good. Her drummer, likely more at home in a different genre of music, was ace. The energy in the rhythm section, pitch perfect harmonies, and wisely placed guitar/uke make for a great stripped down feel good vibe. Eliza’s songs are uptempo, kinetic and they move with her. Where does an artist like Eliza go from here? How will she manage in the states? Can she be as big as Adele.. Lily Allen, Kate Nash? Take note.

Eliza Doolittle – Skinny Genes

Ty Segall @ Mohawk

If you love what made Grunge great, big guitar sound, rock and roll attitude. In the year 2K11, Ty Segall is about as close you can get. The packed house for Ty was brimming with all sorts of arrogant attitude. Like it came with admission. Segall and his youthful angst-driven bandmates delivered their sound heavy and intense, reminiscent of live Nirvana. Ty Seagall is prob a bit of an acquired taste, an acquired taste we just so happen to love. Long live the 90′s.

Ty Segall – Standing at the Station

Funeral Party @ Cedar Street Courtyard

Just when I thought I’d had enough; so many bands, so much music, so much that it started become noise; I still trudged back to the Cedar Street Courtyard, I had one last band to see, east Los Angeles act Funeral Party. The Steve Madden/Grooveshark Party had nearly emptied out. The few sticking around were mainly press congregated near the front of the stage with large cameras. The band brought with them to the stage a lot of energy, maybe the most energy- packed performance I’d seen all SXSW. A guitarist flying there, a bassist there. The guitarist’s acrobatics at one point caused him to trip, causing frontman Chad to wisely state ” Steve Madden shoes look great, but they still need a few days to break in.” This was the sort of band Victory Records should have signed 5 years ago, Funeral Party have a great new alternative sound, with great songs and great arrangements. The band’s live chops were obvious and when lead vocalist Chad Elliott is in key they are borderline unstoppable. During the breakdown of “NYC Sound Goes To LA…” a lyrical cameo from “Champagne Supernova” found it’s place “how many special people change, how many lives were living strange”. Where were you while we were getting high? This guys are that kind of band. Camera flashes were plenty and the venue had nearly filled back up by end of set. Funeral Party definitely helped wrap SXSW on a high. Take notes, rock and rollers, this band plays like they have nothing to prove, it’s real. They don’t give a fuck about what else is happening in indie rock or alternative music or anything like that, and really, why should they?

Funeral Party – Carwars

Death From Above 1979 @ Beauty Bar

Your Miranda Rights are all that you got. Pretty much. As you’ve likely heard by now there was a riot at Death From Above’s reunion gig @ Beauty Bar. Being there in that moment. There’s a feeling, a certain sensation at your insides (not that $7 burrito we grabbed on the street on the way over) that experience when you were among a crowd that’s beginning to lose control. And there, there’s a feeling like anything can happen. The next bit of your life, those events, are not quite in your control anymore. The show, itself, was terribly handled by the venue. The location of the line was not clear, where the line started and ended was not clear, whether anyone was actually getting in was not clear. A definite vacuum of information existed. (Riot criteria 1). What is Beauty Bar? Beauty Bar is a venue that maybe holds 200 people. It’s essentially a piece of a larger asphalt lot with a tent on top of it. “In line” or probably more appropriately mobbed about there venue there were maybe 600-800 people “on the outside”. A large throng of people in a tight space (Riot criteria 2).

The band starts. Immediately, (and obviously any chance of getting in the venue dashed) the crowd turns violent. Beers fly, stones, garbage they fly too. Someone throws a chair. The chainlink fence that divdes the outside from the inside is under siege. The kids are intent in bringing it down. They shake, they climb, they kick. The fence lasts maybe 10 minutes. It’s down. By this time the venue has circled several bouncers to where the fence once stood. They’re holding the crowd back now. They’re the final bit of defense between the current situation and total mayhem (the latter quickly becoming more and more the former). Then suddenly, the fence is boosted back up. The kids are trying to help. They’re trying to keep some bit of order. The overall crowd, though, grows angrier. The fence is almost now in a state of volley. Bouncers to Crowd. Crowd to Bouncers. Mace sprays from the venue. The mob is pushed back. Time for us to check the fuck out with mounted riot police, arrests, and all that reality TV stuff pending. It was certainly one hell of moment.

p.s. The band was awesome. Seeing Jesse and Sebastien on stage together performing DFA 79 songs fucking ruled.

Death From Above 1979 – Romantic Rights

Catch all of b3sci’s SXSW 2011 coverage HERE

Photography by Genevieve Sheehan

We won’t front, when we first saw “Dum Dum Girls” paired with “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” we feared the worst. “There Is a Light” is at least one b3sci’ers fav Smiths song so the bar is a little on the high side. Dum Dum Girls smash it though. From the moment we hit play, and the those big Surfaris-esque guitar tones came in we were hooked. Catch the wave below.

Dum Dum Girls – There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (Smiths Cover)

Purchase / Official

Rating: 8.2

In fine b3sci tradition… Noel Gallagher covers Slade’s ’73 classic “Merry Xmas Everybody”. This track was recorded exclusively for the 2002 War Child NME charity compilation, 1 Love, which echoed a 1995 War Child benefit album Help. Both albums feature covers from the likes of Oasis, Blur, Suede, Radiohead, Elbow, Muse, Stereophonics, Sinead O’Connor, Portishead and more. They are great collections and you should treat yourself to them Here. If this track doesn’t get you in the holiday spirit, then you must not be fond of holidays… and that’s just a pity.

Oasis – Merry Xmas Everybody

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rating: 10

The Chief and the boys pay homage to the David Bowie and Brian Eno penned classic. Circa ’97, “Heroes” is a b-side to the Be Here Now 7:22 long debut single “D’You Know What I Mean”. A song, by the way, which should win an award as one of the greatest debut singles, to a post global phenomenon album, of all time.

Really, how ballsy is “D’You Know What I Mean”? Other than the fact it’s basically “Wonderwall” a half step down, just listen to it let alone the entire Be Here Now LP. It’s coked out, it’s Liam Gallagher hurling in between vocal takes, it’s infinite layers of consonant genius.. it’s getting kicked out of Abbey Road Studio’s ballsy. Be Here Now radiates the sort of ambitious irony that only a band that believes they are the greatest band in the world can create. And for that reason it is genuine, and for that reason it is great. Noel claims to hate Be Here Now par a few tunes. Liam… us… and select Oasis fans around the world rather claim it’s one of the best Rock and Roll albums of all time. Either way look at it, it’s “Coming in a mess, going out in style”.

“Heroes” finds a nice home as part of the Oasis B-side legacy. Part of an infamous B-side collection that would be a worthy A-list collection to a majority of artists. Example, dude’s performed their ’95 b-side “Acquiesce” on Saturday Night Live in 1998. How good was it? Good enough for Saturday Night Live to include it on their SNL Celebrates 25 Years of Music 2 CD collection. And they’ve got LOTS of music to chose from. Get it here!

Oasis – Heroes (David Bowie Cover)

more Oasis on b3sci

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“Bring The Light” is the new and first offering from Liam Gallagher‘s post-Oasis group, Beady Eye. With a full-length Steve Lillywhite produced debut expected to drop in early 2011, this band of former Oasis members Gem Archer, Andy Bell, and touring drummer Chris Sharrock [plus unofficials: Jay Darlington (keys man) and Jeff Wootton (bass man)] is no doubt looking to hit the ground running in the New Year.

I once read a quote along the lines of “Oasis is like religion, you either believe in it or you don’t”. Over time and after many conversations with music fans I’ve learned this happens to be a very true statement. (Whats the Story) Morning Glory was a first album of mine, a collection of songs with such a sound… and Alan White’s drumming was such an ideal complement… it’s needless to say not many albums since have measured up. While Oasis and non-Oasis fans alike may claim that Liam isn’t much of a singer anymore, let alone a songwriter, this album should put such concerns to rest one way or another. In our books, Liam Gallagher ranks one of the best frontmen of all time and we can only hope that he’s got a spark of that brilliant rock-naivety that brother Noel Gallagher seemed to have lost sight of, or interest in, post Be Here Now.

Oasis LPs, Definitely Maybe, Don’t Believe The Truth, Be Here Now all were in heavy rotation here at B3SCI throughout the night until 2:00 am (LA time) as we anticipated the official (UK 10:00 am) release, reminding me of past days waiting at Tower Records for midnight album releases. The track doesn’t disappoint. It’s classic oldskool Rock and Roll with the type of attitude any Oasis fan of the band’s last four albums will appreciate. If you’re one of those expecting “Supersonic” or “Columbia”, then don’t even press play. And one thing is for sure, it’s definitely not the song from the 22 second clip that the band leaked earlier in the week! The release is now available for free download on the band’s website and as a limited 7-inch press that also features a b-side of the groups take on World Of Twist’s “Sons Of The Stage”. Also worth mentioning for all the Shoegaze fans in the house, the former Ride guitarist Andy Bell has turned in his Oasis bass for a guitar in Beady Eye, and along with Gem Archer will be contributing some new songs to the forthcoming album.

In other news, Noel Gallagher, former “Chief” guitarist and Oasis songwriter is expected to drop his solo project sometime next year. Alan McGee (founder of Creation Records) recently mentioned during an interview with BBC Six music that he’s heard some of Noel’s new material, “Noel’s demos are absolutely amazing. Totally amazing. The reason that guy is quiet is he knows what he’s got up his sleeve.” We can’t wait.

Beady Eye – Bring The Light (FREE download)

Beady Eye info / buy it / Pretty Green

rating: 8.5

gotta love a song that’s replay worthy… like 2 days straight now replay worthy. “Set Me Free” is previewed from The Sand Band’s forthcoming All Through The Night release. needless to say, we’re into it, and their take on Broken Social Scene’s “Lover’s Spit” is rather nice too.

word on the street is that Noel Gallagher has been on the prowl for a new backing band… enter Liverpool’s The Sand Band. one listen to “Set Me Free” and we get it. that plus degrees of connection to The Coral, and the fact Chris Sharrock’s son (Jay) is in the group, and it all comes together.

The Sand Band – Set Me Free

The Sand Band – Lover’s Spit

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so the good news is that these guys are pretty awesome. the less-good news is that noel’s upcoming tour won’t be solo. guess that’s ok, we still have moments like this to hold on to…

rating: 8.6