Our "dynamic" intern Amanda organized this show at Arlene on 11.06 without even asking our help, and we are very impressed with the selection of bands. Here's what she has to say about them:
Little Sur (http://littlesurmusic.com/) are a duo who met at NYU in the Clive Davis recorded music program. They make indie folk music tinged with banjo and guitar, experimenting with any friends’ voices and instruments at hand. Their songs invoke hints of nostalgia, with lyrics that call upon stories of love lost and the bittersweet feelings of growing older.
Americana and soul music is constantly reimagined by Flearoy, a band of five NYC musicians who, since their start in 2008, have played venues all over NYC, won runner-up in the SongCircle Music’s annual songwriting contest, and recorded with legendary country songwriter Rodney Crodwell. The band draws their signature folk/funk/soul sound from influences as diverse as Otis Redding, The Band and Destiny’s Child.
Town Hall was started by three NYU students with a love for experimental indie and acoustic music who brought their three distinct personalities to songwriting together. Their quirky and memorable songs (featuring a well-used mandolin) reflect on life’s hardest moments in a way that makes the three young band members seem much older than 20.
Brooklyn’s Phil and the Osophers are a Deli NYC favorite who make folky and upbeat indie “mid-fi” rock music. Their latest 7” Figures of Speech is out now on Factual Fabrications Records.
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
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