ST004 UNVEILED: Flip Through Our New Issue, Including Features on Florence and the Machine, Patrick Wolf, Sunn O))), The Horrors & More, Plus a Priceless GZA/Telepathe Interview

Posted on July 31, 2009
Filed Under News, ST004 | 1 Comment

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[Florence & the Machine photo by Ivan Jones]

We know, we know—the idea of diving into a digital magazine is still foreign to most of you. Hell, you might even equate it with something as stale as ‘perusing a PDF’. Not true, kids. And goddammit, we’re not willing to accept no as an answer this time; not when self-titled just unveiled a complete redesign that shifts our focus to massive, monitor-friendly photos and the kind of features you’ll never read on a regular Web site. Or in a ‘real’ magazine for that matter, since many of the good ones have fallen prey to the print industry’s ongoing money problems.

Here’s the breakdown this time around: Read more

S/T Survived … The ‘Red Carpet’ & Raucous Photo Pit At Diesel’s Clusterfuck of a Free Concert, F/ Kanye West, Lykke Li, Passion Pit and More

Posted on July 31, 2009
Filed Under Reviews, S/T Survived | 3 Comments

Cobra Starship get all hot and bothered.

Cobra Starship get all hot and bothered, leave us all cold and bored.

Words and Photos by Sean Edgar

So self-titled really isn’t sure what kind of publicity Diesel is trying to attract with their increasingly ape-shit free shows. Starting off last fall as a full international tour—including a carnival-esque stop at the Brooklyn Waterfront—its first iteration sported a very pregnant M.I.A., Hot Chip, Franz Ferdinand and a host of PR-baiting hyperbole, hell-bent on occupying every single indie blogger for a solid five hours. Last night, Webster Hall witnessed the company’s latest concert, the Diesel:U:Music tour with a lineup that included Passion Pit, Cobra Starship and The Roots. The weird thing about these promotional orgies is that a name brand designer is actually trying to build street cred among the unwashed hipster masses. Either Salvation Army’s going to have to step up its game or Mugatu knew what was what. Read more

HYPE CHECK: M.I.A. What? Janelle Monae Who? Ebony Bones Makes Her Bid For 2009’s Avant-Pop Crown At Bowery Ballroom Show

Posted on July 30, 2009
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Words and Photos by Andrew Parks

The Artist and Her Latest Album: Ebony Bones, Bones of My Bones (available as a Japanese import; U.S. version due through an undetermined label)

What’s Been Said: “With a truly wild wardrobe, a rocking band, and a raw sound somewhere in between M.I.A. and Talking Heads (just listen for yourself—Harry Potter fans should beware that MySpace profile is slightly NSFW), Ebony’s definitely someone to keep an eye on. Just don’t go blind staring at the slightly seizure-inducing video for ‘Don’t Fart on My Heart,’ which looks more suited for the Tate Modern than MTV.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Ebony Bones is the difference between Steve Coogan and Jason Alexander if Steve Coogan was a band and Jason Alexander was a band. This is why ESG are from the US and wear sweatpants and Ebony Bones is from the UK and she wears clown make up and gigantic couture chain link necklaces.” — FADER

“…pretty damn thrilling, a skronking ten or so piece band backing the woman herself (dressed like something out of The Fifth Element, possibly), lashing us with chaotic slews of er…  dunno, what do you call this? DIY funk oddness will probably do me.” — Drowned In Sound

“An Internet favorite, Ms Bones is a hardworking independent British artist whose attention to detail and daring, uncompromising image matches her colorful, genre-smashing sounds. A cultural sponge, absorbing the multi-faceted world of modern day London, Ebony has graced the pages of Dazed and Confused and even wowed the socks off of Timbaland.” — Clash

“Perhaps thee most chattered about act in London right now, Miss Ebony Bones is a one of a kind producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and all-round femme fatale who mixes up post-punk stylings, with pure girl sass. Enlisting her crew of rhythm section and backing vocalists, the Ebony Bones live experience is one part punk rock show, one part Mardi Gras carnival parade.” — Time Out

Our Take: Read more

TEST PRESSING: White Rainbow Lulls Us Into a Deep, Deep Sleep With an Exclusive Live Set From Last Year’s Halleluwah Festival

Posted on July 29, 2009
Filed Under Media, Test Pressing | 1 Comment

[Photo by Sarah Meadows]

The first time we witnessed a White Rainbow set was completely by accident. After showing up early to Atlas Sound’s first full band show (rounded out by White Rainbow and members of Valet and Nudge), we immediately bypassed the Music Hall of Williamsburg’s downstairs bar and followed Adam Forkner’s debilitating drone tones like they were the work of a riff-raking snake charmer. Since many White Rainbow performances—including the one below—play out like one psych-damaged piece, we couldn’t help but stare at the guy as he piled on layers and loops with his guitar and a slew of effects pedals. Read more

THE DAILY GRIND: Decibel’s Editor Reveals His Favorite Speaker-Searing Records From Pig Destroyer, Brutal Truth & Repulsion

Posted on July 29, 2009
Filed Under Features | 1 Comment

Brutal Truth: Making sandals look extreme since 1990.

Brutal Truth: Making sandals look extreme since 1990.

No matter how ‘true’ all of you are, we’re willing to bet that most self-titled readers don’t know the first thing about the frenzied full-lengths of Pig Destroyer, Repulsion and Brutal Truth. Maybe that one record Pitchfork recommended, but that’s about it. Which is a shame considering all three bands will perform rare sets this Friday,  delivering the nastiest Brooklyn Masonic Temple show since Neurosis and Mastodon plowed the place in early 2008.

Enter Albert Mudrian: the author of Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore, and the editor of Decibel magazine and its new book, Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces. Since he knows the world of blast beats, down-tuned riffage and high-pitched shrieks better than any of us, Mudrian agreed to share his favorite records from the Blackened Music Series bill, including “the greatest grindcore album ever recorded.” Read more

A QUICK TALK WITH YACHT ABOUT … Life, Death and Their Rejected DFA Record, a ‘Playable Copper Album of Mantras’

Posted on July 28, 2009
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[Photo by Sarah Meadows]

Like most ignorant people, we assumed the newly-minted duo incarnation of YACHT would basically be the Blow with a different female singer. What we didn’t expect was an entire ‘YACHT philosophy’ presented alongside drastically-improved songs, three of which—”Summer Song,” “Psychic City (Voodoo City),” and the dancefloor-bound two-part epic “It’s Boring/You Can Live Anyway You Want”—are tailor made for DFA’s 12″-centric release schedule.

So yeah; the addition of former noise rock musician Claire L. Evans has been a match made in heaven. Somewhat literally. See what we mean in a minute… Read more

MICROWAVE ONLY: Turkishomework Invades S/T’s Bandwidth for a New Weekly Photography Column

Posted on July 28, 2009
Filed Under Media, Microwave Only | 1 Comment

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Photos by Turkishomework

Eyes wide. We’re pleased to announce a new visual column on self-titled called Microwave Only. Each week we’re featuring the unique vision of NYC nightlife by photographer Turkishomework, whose gritty take on documentary images slings a deceptively hard edge, a thin veil for the soft haziness, candid playfulness and genuine emotion caught within these shots. On Saturday, Turkishomework stormed the FIXED party at Tribeca Grand, featuring sets by Free Energy and Lemonade. Check it out after the jump.

Read more

1MM: Photographer Victoria Jacob Snaps Suckers at Their Pianos Residency

Posted on July 28, 2009
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Photos by Victoria Jacob

self-titled first heard Suckers from the bathroom line at Glasslands several months back. But even with our bladder threatening to rupture, the Brooklyn group—part of the borough’s new wave—sounded stunning, like Yeasayer on ‘ludes tangling with Alec Ounsworth’s down-home bleat. And perhaps most importantly, marked in face paint as if they’d been Sharpie’d while passed out on an unfamiliar couch the night before. So we sent photographer Victoria Jacob to catch the guys on a night of their recent Pianos residency. We’re dying to hear a full-length record. But in the meantime, check out Victoria’s shots from the show after the jump. Read more

COFFEE TALK: The Latest Posts, Profiles & Think Pieces on Pixies, Mayer Hawthorne, Zomby, Kid Koala, Bergraven, Goodie Mob and More

Posted on July 27, 2009
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Zomby

And our video of the day—related to this post—just made us feel really out of shape… Read more

FREE ASSOCIATION: Knight Rider’s Got Nothing To Do With Gavin Russom’s Black Meteoric Star Project, a Synth-Driven Descent Into Darkness

Posted on July 27, 2009
Filed Under Features, Free Association | 1 Comment

[Photo by Tina Tyrell]

If there’s one DFA album we always return to beyond the usual suspects (Hot Chip’s The Warning, LCD Soundsystem’s Sound of Silver), it’s Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom’s first and last full-length, Days of Mars. A trance-inducing cult favorite that generated one of the greatest Carl Craig remixes of all time, it’s what the self-titled office listens to when we want to descend into a dream world populated by little fluffy clouds and planetarium light shows. (Like the fifth grade field trip that blew our goddamn mind.)

While it’s just as trippy as Days of Mars, Russom’s latest project—the synth-slinging, cassette deck-captured solo vehicle Black Meteoric Star—doesn’t bother pausing to breathe or carefully build its tracks. Instead, every single one seems to hit the (dance)floor running, with visions of vintage acid techno tracks dancing in Russom’s demented little head. That, and such cheery things as unleashing our inner animal, driving through Russia’s ice-coated “death tunnel,” and recording music in the midst of a black out (the kind involving alcohol)… Read more

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