Shanna Zell, The Courtesy Tier and Victory Grin are among tonight's 13 performers for the second night of theDeli Sponsored 5th Annual LC Fest, organized by independent music community Local Correspondents at Bar4 in Park Slope. Shanna Zell (in the picture), whose latest EP, Coming Undone, was just released in January 2011, plays quiet, vulnerable rock songs, while bluesy, electric duo The Courtesy Tier, whose new album "The Resolution" comes out later this spring, blends a Jimi Hendrix vibe with catchy rhythms and uncontrived lyrics. Victory Grin is the new side project of Derek Zimmerman, vocal arranger and keyboard player of Dinosaur Feathers., which combines elements of pop, dance, folk, jazz and experimental music. For the complete schedule of performers for all six nights of the festival, (from May 17th to the 22nd), visit the Local Correspondent website.
We've always been big fans of Luke Temple, and it's good to see that, together with the Here We Go Magic crew, the man is keeping at it with increasingly beautiful records and videos. The band's new album "A Different Ship" (stream it here) will be out on May 8, and betrays at least a partial return to Luke Temple's more intimate and melodic sound from his solo repertoire - in this regard, lend a ear to "Hard to Be Close," "Alone but Moving" and "Over the Ocean". This is welcome news for fans like us who always thought that in most HWGM material Luke's noteworthy songwriting skills seemed a little sacrificed on the altar of textural experimentation. This doesn't mean that the band's signature hypnotic, impressionistic sound is lost - it's just that these two elements work together better than they did in past records, and this is what makes this album one of the NYC highlights of the year so far. Indeed, this collection also features songs more in line with the band's past releases ("Make Up your Mind", "I Believe in Action"), which follow on the steps of brainy-pop icons like Brian Eno and The Feelies, but there's definitely a balance here, also betrayed by the almost perfect alternation of melodic songs and less traditional ones.The just released video of "How Do I Know," telling the story of a rejected dancing robot that ends up revitalizing an older man's appreciation for life, seems to reflect on this brain/heart, mechanic/organic dichotomies and somehow bring them to unity. - PDG