Image

Rock

Foals – My Number

Oxford based Foals have released another track from their third studio album Holy Fire, due out on February 12th, 2013. The first single, “Inhaler” served a nice preview for the album, but the second track “My Number”, which recently dropped via their Youtube channel, is what has me sold. This math rock quintet wastes no time ripping right into the lively track with an upbeat feel throughout. Foals have a slew of live dates lining the beginning of 2013, but all in Australia and Europe. I assume they will come Stateside for the summer touring season, maybe a major festival or two? Fingers crossed. By Brian Litwin

Foals – My Number

Foals england (Official)

Rating 8.7

brown8

reviewed by
12-20-12

K H U S H I – Magpie

“Magpie” by London band Khushi can only really start to be described as indie pop of the supremest vintage and composed of that perfect nexus of great melodic writing, beautiful instrumentals, and phenomenal harmonies that assure Khushi are band we will be hearing much more of (we hope!) in 2013. (ATG)

Khushi (Facebook)

Rating 8.4

brown8

reviewed by
12-19-12

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

Walk off the Earth – Reckoning Song (One Day) (Asaf Avidan Cover)

Canadian band Walk Off the Earth turn out a vibrant indie cover of Asaf Avidan’s “Reckoning Song” complete with a soaring vocal harmony and jivey folk vibe. The five member group (best known for their snappy well-played covers, use of eclectic instruments and clever low-budget videos) went viral this year with a brilliantly understated video for their cover of Gotye’s “Somebody I Used To Know”. The video which features the entire band playing one guitar is one of this years most notable vids. WOTE rounds out a reasonably good 2012 with the release of their R.E.V.O. EP and the recent premiere of their latest video for the EP’s uplifting original track “Gang of Rhythm”. Good stuff. We look forward to hearing more from this multi-talented and refreshingly playful group of rising stars. By Erin Feathers

Walk off the Earth – Reckoning Song (One Day) (Asaf Avidan Cover)

WOTE (Facebook)

Rating 8.1

brown8

reviewed by
12-19-12

Premiere: Finish Ticket – Doctor

Whoa. Finish Ticket are a new band out of our new hood of San Francisco and the accomplished indie rock of “Doctor” is the band’s lead single from the upcoming debut Pierre de Reeder (Rilo Kiley) full length. “Doctor” is impressive; not just melodically or technically, the song is impressively real. There are no poses or goofy postures just A+ indie rock and roll that reminds, for us at least, of some of the genre’s greats. Get familiar with the Finish Ticket kids below.

Finish Ticket – Doctor

Finish Ticket (Facebook)

Rating: 8.1

reviewed by
12-18-12

Damien Jurado – Kalla Hus

The syrupy toned Damien Jurado drops off a Christmas original in the form of the ballad-y “Kalla Hus”. A collaboration with fellow Seattle musician Kyle Zantos, who composed the music for the tune, the track gets right the references to winter-y vistas and that special brand of holiday nostalgia and regret as well as jingle bells. There are jingle bells. Get it, girl.

Damien Jurado washington(Facebook)

Rating 8.2

brown8

reviewed by
12-17-12

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

Widowspeak – The Dark Age

“The Dark Age” is the latest from Widowspeak’s upcoming sophomore LP Almanac. “The Dark Age” is a bit of that dramatic dreamy-riff laced rock with a soulful underbelly that hits squarely into the b3 rock and roll sweet spot.

Widowspeak (Facebook)

Rating 8.1

brown8

reviewed by
12-12-12

Trails and Ways – Border Crosser (The Seshen Remix)

Trails and Ways have just released this stellar remix of their single, “Border Crosser” by fellow Bay Area collective The Seshen. We can’t get enough of The Seshen’s reverb pulsed, chopped and screwed interpretation of the track’s already tense bass, synths, and melody. This cut is the first release from a new remix EP that Trails and Ways will be releasing January 8th, 2013. Keep a look out for Trails and Ways debut full length, Trilingual expected to drop sometime next year.

Trails and Ways california (Facebook)

Rating 8.5

reviewed by
12-10-12

Eliza and the Bear – Upon The North

We’re pretty excited to start off the week with something piping fresh from Eliza and the Bear. “Upon The North” is the new uptempo, head bobbing, singalong anthem from the harmonious Essex collective. This track is currently on repeat at B3 h.q. It will be part of a new double A-side release with “The Southern Wild” expected 2/25/13. Get more familiar with Eliza and the Bear below.

Eliza and the Bear england (Facebook) (Soundcloud)

Rating 8.2

brown8

reviewed by
12-10-12

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

Ducktails – Letter Of Intent

“Letter Of Intent” is the absolutely catchy new synth-pop single by Ducktails (Real Estate’s Matt Mondanile). Previewed from a forthcoming Domino Records release, The Flower Lane, “Letter Of Intent” seems nothing short of a solid indication that this album will be a noteworthy one. The single features Jessa Farkas (Future Shuttle) on vocals, Joel Ford (Ford & Lopatin) playing bass and Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) on the keys. Ducktails hits the road in early 2013 with dates in New York City, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and the United Kingdom. By Brian Litwin

Ducktails (Facebook)

Rating 8.4

brown8

reviewed by
12-07-12