So this (neo-goth subtleties, strobe-tastic live shows) is why Crystal Castles recently scored a fashion spread in SPIN, five months after their debut dropped.
Archive: August, 2008
If you’re wondering why we ran a haunting hallway photo here instead of, say, Twine themselves, the choice has nothing to do with the duo’s camera shyness. It’s just that nothing quite evokes the lingering music of Greg Malcolm and Chad Mossholder quite like sepia tones, peeled paint and melancholic mood lighting. Hence their MySpace-provided shot.
To put things into perspective, Twine’s last LP (their self-titled Ghostly debut and second full-length) was one of those records we put on and simply couldn’t walk away from, no matter how disturbing it sounded. And it was mighty disturbing, from the muffled, Mulholland Drive-channeling cries of “Girl Song” to “Plectrum”’s disembodied vocals and steady downward spiral into madness.
By Aaron Richter
NYU is back in session, as was evident by the frosh and frat crowd in attendance for The Virgins and Young Lords at Santos Wedesday evening. The place was packed, more packed than we’ve seen Santos yet, with oblivious boyfriends, screaming fangirls and awkward nose jobs galore.
Wow. As if things weren’t tough enough on Sean Carlson this summer (the 23-year-old concert promoter took his F Yeah Fest on the road amidst the hard realities of 26 hot, hungry people on a bus for 28 shows in 27 days), he’s now been the victim of an alleged attack by Hollywood Bowl security outside a Radiohead show Monday night.
According to an LA Weekly report, Carlson and co-promoter Phil Hoelting were handing out flyers for this weekend’s Los Angeles show while Michael Reich of Videothing.com shot their every move for a documentary. Nearby, an ejected concertgoer was allegedly getting roughed up by four CSC Security guards.
“The guy was screaming,” Reich told the Weekly, “and trying to tell them that he would leave peacefully if they let him go.”
They didn’t. So Reich turned his camera on the proceedings only to get the following reaction …
[Photos by Shawn Brackbill]
By Andrew Parks
The last time I spoke to Conrad Keely for a story, he was ‘borrowing’ the gargantuan office of an Interscope exec for the entire week. Not just conducting interviews for the afternoon; we’re talking some serious mi oficina es tu oficina action, as the …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead frontman chipped away at the artwork and sequencing of the band’s last major label album (2006’s So Divided).
In retrospect, the idea of Keely roaming free in a skyscraper suite (the room had a goddamn stand-in shower) is ironic to say the least. After all, Trail’s break from Interscope was far from amicable, leading Keely to completely reconsider his career path after more than a decade of tireless recording and touring.
By Aaron Richter
As we all know by now, new releases hit record-store shelves and digital-download services each Tuesday. That’s why self-titled presents the following every week: a new release you’d be stupid not to own (Buy It), one worth checking out if you’re the curious type (Burn It) and something you might have heard about but probably should avoid (Skip It). Simple, ain’t it?
Simian Mobile Disco have been selected for the sixth installment of Nike’s “Original Run” series. (Previous contributors have included A-Trak, Aesop Rock and the Crystal Method. LCD Soundsystem also lent their “45:33″ track to Nike in 2006.) Urb.com has an exclusive five-minute edit of the duo’s track here. From the sound of said stream, it appears that ACIDDDDD is indeed back to bump electro DJs off hipster-approved dancefloors.
As for details on the release date of SMD’s contribution, we don’t know much right now other than that it’s probably coming out this fall.
[youtube 57VDKd9VPk0]
So we might as well dub the next couple days “…And You Will Us By the Trail of Posts” week. Aside from our review of last night’s special …Trail of Dead set and a studio report on the band’s sixth album that’s arriving later this afternoon, a reader just forwarded the double-take documentary above. All we’ve got to say is they haven’t changed a bit …
[Photos by Shawn Brackbill]
By Andrew Parks
Before we get to any sort of review here, please take a look at the set list after the jump …
THE KILLS point and shoot
By Andrew Parks
With picks from self-titled’s two supporting editors now out of the way (see Part One and Two of this fidgety year-end list feature), I spent this past weekend poring over what I’ve dug and disliked about 2008. While more time needs to be spent with some of the fall’s more anticipated albums (TV on the Radio’s Dear Science, Deerhunter’s Microcastle) before they can truly be considered potential Top 10 material, the following set of LPs are must-listens that touch upon everything from dubstep to cosmic disco to thinking (wo)man’s metal …
