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Rave's Faves

Rave’s Fave: Foals – Providence

foals

Foals’ Holy Fire album came out last week and this third album of theirs rocks. Since dropping the well-received single “Inhaler” their lead up to the release of the entire album has seemed nothing but strong. Holy Fire delivers the goods. The guitar-oriented dance dudes in Foals explore oft different directions in their compositions, and they do so nicely with “Providence”. After a strange, dark lead-in vocal, the song kicks into one of the finest grooves I’ve heard in recent memory as momentum increases into a climax that is perfectly over the top. It will be fun to hear what Foals do with this song in concert. Be sure to catch them at Coachella this year. By Bruce Rave

Foals – Providence

Foals england (Official)

* 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
02-15-13

Rave’s Fave: Tribes – How The Other Half Live

Tribes-2013

Tribes’ second album Wish To Scream won’t drop until May, but the single “How the Other Half Live” has hit the airwaves in the UK since being minted Zane Lowe’s Hottest Record In The World on Radio 1. Tribes is one of the best bands at combining older rock influences with a thoroughly modern feel. The new single not only continues in that tradition, and showcases growth on the pop side. Wish To Scream was recorded at the legendary Sound City in LA and the band stayed at a pad in Malibu with an ocean view. Talk about the best of both worlds, as Sound City of course is the subject of the new Dave Grohl film documentary. The Sound City room is famous for the drum sounds it produces, and you will appreciate that when you hear drummer Miguel Demelo’s driving beats on this track. By Bruce Rave

Tribes – How the Other Half Live (Official)

* 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
02-06-13

Rave’s Fave: Everything Everything – Duet

everything everything arc

The first time I heard “Station Approach” from Elbow, I fell in love with the track and the band. The same holds true for Everything Everything’s “Duet”. It’s an absolute beauty of a track and the vocal harmonies seem to parallel Elbow at times. Everything Everything’s newest album Arc just hit the UK charts at #5, and the Cough Cough EP sees release here in the US next Tuesday. It’s way too early to start thinking about year-end lists for 2013, but “Duet” is a strong bet to land amongst my top contenders. I haven’t yet gotten my arms and ears around everything by this band, but rest assured they’ll be getting lots more of my attention. By Bruce Rave

Everything Everything – Duet

Everything Everything (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
02-01-13

Review: Parquet Courts @ The Echo in Los Angeles, 1/15/2013

I recently caught Brooklyn-based, and punk-influenced, Parquet Courts as they stopped by The Echo in Los Angeles last Tuesday night. The band were on the west coast leg of their first national tour in support of their debut album Light Up Gold. That night PC exuded a noteworthy and raw energy, fitting nicely with the likes of Cloud Nothings and Metz. While the set began somewhat on the ragged side with an instrumental jam, things kicked-in full force by the time the band launched into their single “Borrowed Time”. From that point on the show was tight and the musicianship stellar as Parquet Courts blasted through their set of short, well-crafted tunes. Set finale, “Yr No Stoner” surprised me with its approximately 10-minute bluesy jam which showed off another side of the band. These guys can definitely play. Parquet Courts’ onstage vibe is southern in an earthy way.

Highly unassuming, the guys didn’t interact much with each other or with the crowd. They didn’t come off as aloof. It was more like a bunch of guys with integrity who might work at Whole Foods or Google. Guitarist-vocalist Andrew Savage commented that the crowd was very still and he was right. The half-capacity throng was quiet, but this band held their attention and the after-show assessments tended to be very positive. By Bruce Rave

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

Parquet Courts – Borrowed Time

Parquet Courts (Official)

reviewed by
01-23-13

Rave’s Fave: BRMC – Let The Day Begin (Single)

If this were an random choice for a cover of The Call, it would be awesome enough. Not only does Black Rebel Motorcycle Club totally nail this version of “Let The Day Begin”, but leader Robert Bean was the son of Michael Bean, who fronted The Call in the 80’s. Father Michael was on the road with BRMC in Europe, doing sound for the band, when he suddenly passed away in his early 50’s. Specter At The Feast is the new album from BRMC that drops in March, and this is the first single. What a great choice! For my ears, my fave BRMC tunes are always the more uptempo tracks that rock. By Bruce Rave

BRMC – Let The Day Begin (Official)

* 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
01-22-13

Rave’s Fave: Palma Violets – Step Up For the Cool Cats

Here’s a “fave follow-up” on Palma Violets. The UK band, whose “Best of Friends” single topped tracks lists for 2012 and radars to watch for 2013, have just dropped a new single in their home country. Gotta love that organ in the intro and that ____ melody. Palma Violets will be playing in New York next week and at SXSW in March. Needless to say, lots of UK-philes will be very keen to check them out, including the team at B3Sci. By Bruce Rave

Palma Violets — Best of Friends england (Official)

* 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
01-19-13

Rave’s Fave: Jake Bugg – Lightning Bolt

Jake Bugg entered the UK charts at #1 last fall, which means his debut album came in ahead of Muse and Mumford & Sons. Jake recently spent a week in the US having played in New York, LA and San Francisco, including a performance on Conan along the way. This Wednesday night B3SCI and I were on hand for his sold-out and spectacular set at the Troubadour in LA. Word is that he’ll be back for more dates this spring, including Coachella. UK hype aside, this dude is absolutely for real, and even the skeptics attending in LA seemed convinced. Most new bands play sets that sound somewhat redundant. Not Jake Bugg. Whether the songs were fast or slow, hard or soft, this 19 year old from Nottingham nailed them. He has been called the British Bob Dylan. To me, he’s slightly reminiscent of Dylan on record but sounds lots more like him live. “Lightning Bolt” is the track currently lighting up the UK and it was the set-closer here in LA this Wednesday. Check it out below.

Jake Bugg – Lightning Bolt

Jake Bugg 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
01-17-13

Rave’s Fave: Palma Violets — Best of Friends

I’d barely heard of Palma Violets until a few months ago when NME Magazine touted them as one of the best new UK bands. By the time NME’s Top Tracks of 2012 was published, “Best Of Friends” was #1 with all of the usual suspects. The band is known for frenetic live shows, and the verdict so far is that this band is for real. You can see Palma Violets live version of “Tom the Drum” below, as played on the BBC’s Jools Holland show. Get ready for these guys to invade shores stateside. You can catch them at SXSW this March. By Bruce Rave

Palma Violets — Best of Friends england (Official)

* Check out more from Bruce Rave at his ‘Go Deep’ blog here and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter.

reviewed by
01-10-13

Rave’s Fave: Pulp – After You (feat. James Murphy)

Jarvis Cocker demoed this song a year ago and kept it on the back burner until both Pulp and James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) were on the S.S. Coachella together. I think you’ll like the result of this collaboration, and I like the idea of Pulp over a dance beat. By Bruce Rave

Pulp – After You (feat. James Murphy)

PULP (Official)

*Check out Bruce’s Moheak Radio “Go Deep” show on Sunday nights 7-9 pm Pacific, 10-12 am Eastern, 3-5 am GMT. Listen to past shows at Bruce’s blog and follow Bruce on Twitter.

reviewed by
01-01-13

Review: Alt-J @ Fonda Theater, Los Angeles 12/12/12

Writen by Bruce Rave / Photo Credit: Timothy Norris

I hit last week’s Alt-J show at the Fonda in Los Angeles not knowing what to expect. I’d heard how incredibly good the band were at Bardot and The Bootleg on a prior trip to town, but I decided not to ask many questions. What I soon found on stage was a talented and personable band that plays with purity and preciseness.

Alt-J gave it straight to the delighted, sold-out and packed Fonda Theater. Any industry types standing in back were swaying to the group’s knack for unique beats. Having been recently crowned the Mercury Prize winner’s in 2012, the band’s set actually brought prior Mercury Award alumni Elbow to mind. Not that the two bands sound alike, but the presentation is similar with positive vibes and no frills. It’s all about the musicianship with these guys. Alt-J effectively interpret album versions of their tracks in a live setting, intricately playing off of each band member in way that seems so simple, yet you know is complex. The biggest responses of night from the crowd were for their single “Fitzpleasure”, as well as “Something Good”, and “Breezeblocks”.

The band’s very evenly paced set lasted a little under an hour. While Alt-J’s set dynamics could use some growing in to, their consistent energy level works fine for now. Chatting with the band after the show, the guys reflected on what a blur these past seven months have been since things started to blow up for them in England. They anticipated that the Fonda would be a small club, similar to what they’ve been playing in the US. What a pleasant surprise for them to discover that it’s a 1300-person venue and that it was jammed!

Alt-J (Official)

*Check out Bruce’s Moheak Radio “Go Deep” show on Sunday nights 7-9 pm Pacific, 10-12 am Eastern, 3-5 am GMT. Listen to past shows at Bruce’s blog and follow Bruce on Twitter.

reviewed by
12-19-12

Rave’s Fave: Fidlar – Gimme Something

It’s hard to believe that LA party punks Fidlar don’t already have an album out. That will change on January 22. They’ve made waves not only in the US, but around the world; especially in the UK where their Reading and Leeds Festival sets created massive buzz. They just dropped a new track, “Gimmie Something” from the album. The song is stellar and a little more melodic and less crazy than most Fidlar fare. We at B3SCI are big fans of this band, and melodic is almost always a good thing. The Fidlar guys love Creedence Clearwater Revival and they managed to grab old CCR footage to make it seem as if it’s CCR that is performing “Gimme Something” live. I hung out in studio with Fidlar at the beginning of this year, and many of the songs they played will be on the album. You can check out our interview session here. Not a coincidence that they covered CCR’s “Lodi”, which you will see in the video. By Bruce Rave

Fidlar (Facebook)

*Check out Bruce’s Moheak Radio “Go Deep” show on Sunday nights 7-9 pm Pacific, 10-12 am Eastern, 3-5 am GMT. Listen to past shows at Bruce’s blog and follow Bruce on Twitter.

reviewed by
12-14-12

Rave’s Fave: Trapdoor Social – Away

Trapdoor Social is a new band from LA that consists of Merritt Graves and Skylar Funk (his real family name). They will be hitting the airwaves near you in 2013. The band’s first EP Death Of A Friend is now out, and you may have already come across “Away” via ESPNU’s sports programming. The whistling intro immediately made me think of The Drums’ “Let’s Go Surfing”, and about two-thrids of the way into “Away”, the heavy guitar break and the following complex vocals hit me by surprise, and helped show me what this very commercial band is capable of. I’d love to know what you guys think of the track or anything else about the band… By Bruce Rave

Trapdoor Social – Away

Trapdoor Social (Facebook)

*Check out Bruce’s Moheak Radio “Go Deep” show on Sunday nights 7-9 pm Pacific, 10-12 am Eastern, 3-5 am GMT. Listen to past shows at Bruce’s blog and follow Bruce on Twitter.

reviewed by
12-09-12