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In the Mix

Mixtape: Taste of Weewuu – May 2014

sanders

Longtime reader/friend of the blog Weewuu debuts his new monthly mixtape wrap series featuring tracks from Jhene Aiko, Shura, Ghost Loft & SteLouse.

reviewed by
05-09-14

Review: The Crookes @ The Echo in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 23

Crookes live

After three different visits by The Crookes to SXSW over the past few years, LA fans finally got to lay their eyes and ears on this engaging Sheffield, UK band. While still young, this is a band about to release it’s fourth album, “Soapbox”. They’ve been looking forward to this LA performance debut for a long time and it’s safe to say that virtually everyone at The Echo was more than pleased with the show. This extremely likable ‘lot’ have winning melodies and play airtight with energetic crispness.

The sound couldn’t have been any better that night of March 23rd. The Crookes nailed current single “Play Dumb”, which was a “Rave’s Fave” on this site. Show opener “Don’t Put Your Faith In Me” is a mid-tempo, wise choice for a second single. It could be that with The Crookes’ melodies, lyrics, and George Waite’s beautiful voice, their breakthrough single just might turn out to be a slower charmer. With strong songs from each of their albums, there are no dull moments at a Crookes show. For their encore, the band slipped into the crowd for a mic-less acoustic version of “The Cooler King” from 2013’s “Hold Fast” album. Word is they only do this when they’ve had a great time, and what a dope way to end a show. That bonding provided great vibes, with pictures and videos being shot from every direction. The great Brit bands need to tour… tour, and the tour some more in America. Such is the case with The Crookes, who hope to be back on our shores soon. Plan to see them when you can. Reviewed By Bruce Rave

The Crookes england (Facebook)

Hear Bruce’s “Go Deep With Bruce Rave” weekly new music show on Indie1031/Los Angeles and WSUM-FM/Madison. Details and archived shows can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!

reviewed by
04-02-14

Bruce Rave Interviews The Orwells

the orwells

I recently had a chance to hang with The Orwells after soundcheck at the Troubadour in LA, before they played live on Saturday, March 22. You can see their highly-buzzed about Letterman appearance below, and the band is blowing up at an even faster rate because of it. We discussed this, as well as some of their songs, touring with Arctic Monkeys and Fidlar, getting banned from the High Noon Saloon in Madison, and what people can expect from their “Disgraceland” album that will drop in June. Have a listen below. Also, worth noting our chat about the Lettterman gig didn’t come through real well, so I begin by summarizing what happened and what they’ve had to say about it. – By Bruce Rave

The Orwells (Facebook)

Hear Bruce’s “Go Deep With Bruce Rave” weekly new music show on Indie1031/Los Angeles and WSUM-FM/Madison. Details and archived shows can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!

reviewed by
03-30-14

RAVE’S FAVES: Howler – Al’s Corral

howler_new

Their World of Joy album drops here in the US on Tuesday. Lead Howler Jordan Gatesmith likes to describe their punk and 60’s/70’s influenced music as “bratty”, and this sophomore collection is somewhat brattier than their America Give Up debut. While he wrote the songs for the first album, this follow-up is more of a collaborative group effort. “Al’s Corral” provides a hot, hard, and hooky album opener. If you recognize traces of Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak”, you’re spot on as Jordan admits to borrowing from that classic. These guys are a major entity in the UK. They will tour the UK and Europe for the next few weeks. After only playing a few US dates last time around, they look to hit a US harder this time around. See them at a venue near you sometime soon. Reviewed by Bruce Rave

Howler – Al’s Corral

Howler minnesota (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!

reviewed by
03-23-14

SXSW 2014: B3SCI’S 15 Most Anticipated Acts

100s

100s (Berkeley CA)

angelolsen2

Angel Olsen (Chicago IL)

arthurbeatrice

Arthur Beatrice (London UK)

banks

BANKS (Los Angeles CA)

chloehowl

Chloe Howl (London UK)

damonalbarn

Damon Albarn (London UK)

jungle

Jungle (London UK)

kaytranada

Kaytranada (Montreal QC)

liz

LIZ (Los Angeles CA)

samsmith

Sam Smith (London UK)

sango

Sango (Grand Rapids MI)

Sohn

SOHN (Vienna AUT)

sza

SZA (Los Angeles CA)

preatures

The Preatures (Sydney AU)

tinashe

Tinashe (Los Angeles CA)

reviewed by
03-11-14

Premiere: Ida Maria – Sick of You

IdaMaria_AH_DD

Ida Maria is back—in a big way. She’s known for her global hit “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked” off of 2008’s Fortress ‘round My Heart. Ida’s 2010 album Katla was superb but under appreciated. During her brief hiatus, Ida overcame an alcohol addiction and has come out blazing on the other side. Her brand new, excellent EP Accidental Happiness is now streaming on SoundCloud and available digitally on iTunes. Ida has always been all about rock and roll, but she’s never hit the hammer harder than she does on this bonus track “Sick of You”. Think melodic retro garage punk at its most wicked. She’s sounds very sick of someone whom she wants to “fuck off”, but the song’s an irresitable fun romp with more hooks in it than a closet. Reviewed By Bruce Rave

Ida Maria: (Official)

Hear Bruce’s “Go Deep With Bruce Rave” weekly new music show on Indie1031/Los Angeles and WSUM-FM/Madison. Details and archived shows can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!

reviewed by
03-07-14

B3SCI Presents: Jungle w/ James Supercave @ The Echo in LA on Monday, March 17, 2014

Jungle for Echo

London newcomers Jungle are one of emerging music’s most exciting stories right now. After a buzz ridden last half of 2013, and only a small handfull of tracks having been released by Chess Club and B3SCI Records (that’s us), Jungle are poised to make a major splash in 2014 with their forthcoming debut full length via venomous indie champions XL Records.

The band will surely be riding high from their busy week in Austin, TX for SXSW… and so, we are thrilled to have the chance to team up with The Echo to present Jungle’s Los Angeles live performance debut along with support from this month’s artist in residence (the also very awesome) James Supercave. Advance tickets for the show are sold out, but rumor has it that there will be a select amount still available at the door for early birds trying to get a glimpse. More details for the show are available at the link below.

The Echo (Event Info)

reviewed by
03-06-14

B3SCI Presents: SXSW Day Party w/ Wind-Up Records, My Old Kentucky Blog and Unrecorded @ La Barbecue, Austin TX 03/13/14

Windup-SXSW-Party

The next entry in B3SCI x SXSW 2014 is next Thursday 03/13 where we’ll be co-presenting at La Barbecue (1200 East 6th Street) an A+ day party with the very esteemed Windup Records and our bloggerati buds My Old Kentucky Blog and Unrecorded.

The positively loaded line-up includes B3SCI Records artists MISUN, Zella Day & Rare Monk as well as OZ alt-pop champs The Griswolds & Strange Talk, old B3 friends Blondfire and Little Daylight, and the mystery-shrouded but still much lauded Great Good Fine OK.

Also, there’s FREE BARBECUE (c/o of Applauze), FREE BEER (thx Pabst & Lone Star)! Additional thanks are in order to our other sponsors Mailchimp, Moniker Guitars, and Vitacoco. Thanks!

You can be there for this rad FREE party but you’ve got to RSVP, which you can do here. Be early or be square as we can’t guarantee entry once the venue is at capacity.

Line-up:
Jillette Johnson
Wakey! Wakey!
Crobot
The Revivalists
Zella Day
Strange Talk
Great Good Fine OK
Little Daylight
Blondfire
The Griswolds
French Horn Rebellion
MISUN
Stamps
Rare Monk

reviewed by
03-03-14

B3SCI Presents: SXSW Day Party @ Red Eyed Fly. Austin, TX. on Wednesday 3/12/14

B3SCI Red Eyed Fly March 12 SXSW for WEBSITE

Team B3 is very pleased to announce the 2014 edition of our B3SCI PRESENTS: SXSW Day Party in Austin, TX. Join us as we kick off SXSW Music on Wednesday, March 12th at Red Eyed Fly (located at Red River & 7th St) with a full day of live sets from the best/coolest/need to know emerging talent right now, great food & drinks (of course), and excellent art from NYC-based rising music/media star Young & Sick.

We’re inviting you to THE Wednesday SXSW day party! Entry for the event will be granted to SXSW badge holders as well as guest list via RSVP (below). Be sure to arrive early because we can’t guarantee entry once we’re at capacity.

Can’t make it to Austin? We’ve got you; tune into our live HD Audio Streaming powered by Spacebar and IROCKE for select live sets from the show.

RSVP NOW CLOSED (limited space will be available at the door). Details and more info on the event below and check it out on Facebook here.

Wednesday March 12, 2014

Red Eyed Fly
715 Red River St
Austin‎ TX‎ 78701

Doors @ 11:45 am
Ages 18+

Food Cart at Venue

INDOOR STAGE

12:05 – 12:35 Beat Culture
12:55 – 1:20 Moses Sumney
1:40 – 2:10 Zella Day
2:30 – 3:00 Avid Dancer
3:15 – 3:45 Sivu
4:05 – 4:35 Tove Lo
4:55 – 5:25 GEMS

OUTDOOR STAGE

12:00 – 12:30 High Highs
12:50 – 1:20 Rare Monk
1:40 – 2:10 MISUN
2:30 – 3:00 Wolf Alice
3:20 – 3:50 Arthur Beatrice
4:10 – 4:40 Jungle
5:00 – 5:30 Tokyo Police Club

See you in Austin!

B3SCI PRESENTS @ SXSW 2014 Mixtape

reviewed by
03-03-14

Rave’s Fave: Temples — A Question Isn’t Answered

TEMPLES_Sun Structures

After a string of stellar singles, Temples finally dropped their Sun Structures full-length this week. All the singles are included on the album and the goodness doesn’t stop there. Not surprising considering that this band even comes up with awesome B-sides. Among the deeper gems on the album is “A Question Isn’t Answered”. It fades up with handclapping and a melodic tribal chant over a mid-tempo stomping groove. The song builds into what has been called a rock freight train. Psychedelia is prominent in Temple’s sound, and this tune has a heavy John Lennon/late-Beatles feel. One can even imagine John writing the line “a question isn’t answered if an answer isn’t questioned”. Temples are aiming high, as well they should be. Following an extensive UK and European tour, they will hit Coachella, and then hit a few more US dates before gracing various summer festivals. I saw them last May in England and can vouch for their live chops. Temples should be slotted in the top tier of any list of UK bands with the best chance to break loose in 2014. Reviewed by Bruce Rave

Temples — A Question Isn’t Answered

Temples england (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!

reviewed by
02-11-14

Bruce Rave Interviews Islands

Islands

Nick Thorburn’s band Islands are celebrating their ninth anniversary this month. Bruce Rave enjoyed a chat with Nick at the Troubadour prior to their fine LA show last month. They of course chatted about the new album, band mortality, and Islands’ decision to go DIY. Nick’s actor friend Michael Cera produced a Spinal Tap-flavored Islands rockumentary that you can see below. Bill Hader, formerly of SNL, perfectly plays the role of Island’s ‘fictitious manager’. Enjoy the interview, then check out the video. You’ll probably see characters who remind you of people you know. Side note on the interview: the very beginning of the recording got cut off. Nick has lived in various cities and was in Montreal when Arcade Fire were first coming up. I asked whether that time in Montreal was his most formative musically and he replied that it was actually high school that really set him in motion. That’s where we join the chat.. By Bruce Rave

Islands canada (Facebook)

Hear Bruce’s “Go Deep With Bruce Rave” weekly new music show on Indie1031/Los Angeles and WSUM-FM/Madison. Details and archived shows can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!

reviewed by
02-08-14

Review: The Strypes @ the Troubadour in Los Angeles on 1/28/14

TheStrypes troubadour

If you fancy seeing a new band that aces a modern version of early Stones meets The Yardbirds meets soul, you can put this in the bank: You will love The Strypes live. These Irish kids are in their mid-teens, they’ve played hundreds of shows around the UK and Europe, and their “Snapshot” album went top ten in England. The time has finally come for them to invade America. The Strypes will surely have a high profile at SXSW, and they recently flew over for a handful of major market shows in addition to their winning US TV debut on Conan O’Brien.

The Troubadour in LA show was star-studded on January 28. Elton John, whose management company handles The Strypes, was perched in the VIP balcony. Members of Muse, Blondie, and many other bands were on hand to see this band getting some much deserved attention in the States. I’d seen The Strypes and interviewed them last May at The Great Escape in Brighton, England so I knew what I was in for. The young lads more than delivered, playing over an hour. Like their album, there were lots of cover songs and there was only one song that wasn’t blazingly fast. This band is letter tight and, if anything, they might have actually played a bit too fast. Chalk that up to LA adrenaline.

The Strypes even dressed smart with suits with open shirts and they really locked in to a perfect groove with about five songs remaining. They band especially hit their stride during a covers medley of “You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover” into “Si Si Rider”. Their “Blue Collar Jane” EP is out now with the album “Snapshot” dropping stateside in mid-march. Beyond their youthful intensity, this is a supremely talented band. See this band live! Reviewed by Bruce Rave

The Strypes ireland (Facebook)

Hear Bruce’s “Go Deep With Bruce Rave” weekly new music show on Indie1031/Los Angeles and WSUM-FM/Madison. Details and archived shows can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!

reviewed by
02-07-14