Thao Nguyen With The Get Down Stay Down

Upon first hearing Thao Nguyen you will likely perceive a striking vocal similarity to Cat Power, but something won't sit right. You'll wonder where's that leisurely bluesy ache which is Cat Power? Under Thao's control, this shared vocal gift sits in the sun streaming through the windows, it's not stretched out in the shadows with Ms Marshall. These songs are having fun they've shaken off the weight of the world which imbues much of Cat Power's material. Just give one song of Thao's a chance, give "Beat (Health, Life, and Fire)" a listen or two... and then you can thank me if you're so inclined (although, please thank this talented 23 year old woman by going here or here).



Ms Nguyen released a debut record back in 2005 titled, Like The Linen, and this coming January 29th will see the welcomed release of her label debut, We Brave Bee Stings And All, on Kill Rock Stars.

BUY Thao's music at insound.
You can download a few of her songs found on Kill Rock Stars compilations at eMusic. Look into eMusic's free trial offer here.


We Brave Bee Stings And All Track List:
01 Beat (Health, Life, and Fire)
02 Bag of Hammers
03 Big Kid Table
04 Swimming Pools
05 Geography
06 Feet Asleep
07 Yes, So On and So On
08 Fear and Convenience
09 Violet
10 Travel
11 We Go

Check out Thao's Daytrotter session:

Discover: The Countless Jibes and Heartbreak Scene

Here are a couple of bands that are new to me and at opposite ends of the indie spectrum, but both are more than good enough to share with the discerning visitors which brighten this dark space called Sixeyes. But since we're talkin' Vancouver here, there are connections between these bands.... Steve Balogh of The Countless Jibes, Marcy Emery of Heartbreak Scene and Mark Szabo were in a band called Capozzi Park. Jesus, it's like one big musical orgy out there on the coast, with bastard children poppin' out left and right.

* * * * * *

If you're tired of trying to listen to the latest from Black Mountain and you want something to make you shake your ass, something to knock you up against the garage wall, or through the garage door... ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce Vancouver's The Countless Jibes.

going for dead (live) [mp3]
do the jibe (live) [mp3]
jibes alright (live) [mp3]

These are live performances, the band is not signed, but has ties to many indie acts in Vancouver and beyond like Destroyer, Pink Mountaintops, Jackie-O Motherfucker, BatEater, Secret Three, Kid Champion, !Eye!, Fuck Me U.S.A., Anemones, Victoria Victoria, Capozzi Park, Nasty On, Sparrow, Citroen, Sick Buildings, Leviathans, The Cinch, The Book of Lists, Sun Arise, and The Christa Min.

* * * * * *

Heartbreak Scene is a band drawn together by vocalist Marcy Emery to give the songs of Vancouver BC songwriter Mark Szabo a larger audience. Emery enlisted the talents of Destroyer's Dan Bejar, Steven Balogh (of the aforementioned Countless Jibes), and the New Pornographers John Collins. Here are a couple of mp3s from the record, The Mark Szabo Songbook.

love outside movies (a duet with Dan Bejar) [mp3]
alibi [mp3]

Szabo's music also boasts supporters like Franklin Bruno and the Mountain Goats John Darnielle... how can you go wrong with fans like this?

BUY here.

And here is a low bit rate mp3 of the man himself, Mark Szabo...
by a nose [mp3]

Merry Christmas... Here's The National

If you're only familiar with The National through their latest album, Boxer, a record that, by the way, was picked as album of the year here at Sixeyes... and at Paste Magazine, as well, you've got to give a look and listen to these videos of older songs... and then you'll know that this is one band you must see live (and a band that always had something special... isn't hindsight great!?).

BUY Boxer here.
Download The National's music at eMusic.


"Slipping Husband" MP3


"Sugar Wife"


"Fashion Coat"


"Son"


"Cold Girl Fever" MP3


"Available"


"Murder Me Rachael" MP3

The Veils: Black Sessions for Xmas

Once more, after several requests I think it's about time that some of you, who haven't had the chance, get that chance to hear The Veils' Black Sessions (which are French radio sessions done before a live audience). So, here they are, a little Christmas gift for those who asked... and... what the hell... even for those who didn't.

links are dead and gone

RELEASED: December - January

December

12/11/07 Coil Ape of Naples (4xLP version) Important

12/11/07 Mary Onettes Mary Onettes Labrador

12/11/07 Meredith Bragg Silver Sonya The Cora

12/18/07 Lupe Fiasco Lupe Fiasco's The Cool Atlantic

12/18/07 Mum Marmalade Fires 7" FatCat

12/18/07 Rivers Cuomo Alone: The Home Recordings Geffen

12/18/07 Yarrows Plum Empryean

12/29/07 Trey Told 'Em Super Epic Thrill Jockey Mega Massive Mix Thrill Jockey

January

01/01/08 Bjork Declare Independence (12"/ CD+DVD) One Little Indian

01/01/08 Radiohead In Rainbows ATO

01/08/08 Marah Angels of Destruction! Yep Roc

01/08/08 MGMT Oracular Spectacular Columbia

01/08/08 Shondes The Red Sea Album Self-Released

01/15/08 Constantines Hard Feelings b/w Easy Money 7" Arts & Crafts

01/15/08 Magnetic Fields Distortion Nonesuch

01/15/08 Mike Ladd Nostalgialator Def Jux

01/15/08 Rings Black Habit Paw Tracks

01/15/08 Steve Bug Fabric 37 Fabric

01/22/08 Baby Dee Safe Inside The Day Drag City

01/22/08 Birds of Maya Vol. 1 Holy Mountain

01/22/08 Black Mountain In The Future Jagjaguwar

01/22/08 Blood On The Wall Liferz The Social Regisry

01/22/08 Bodies of Water Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink Thousand Toungues

01/22/08 Castanets Strong Animal 7" Asthmatic Kitty

01/22/08 Cat Power Jukebox Matador

01/22/08 Collections of Colonies of Bees Birds Radium

01/22/08 Damian Jurado One Side 12" Burnt Toast Vinyl

01/22/08 Envy Abyssal Temporary Residence Ltd.

01/22/08 Envy All the Footprints You've Ever Left… Temporary Residence Ltd.

01/22/08 Eric Matthews The Imagination Stage Empyrean

01/22/08 Evangelicals The Evening Descends Dead Oceans

01/22/08 Fleshtones Take A Good Look Yep Roc

01/22/08 Ghislain Porter No Ground Under Ninja Tune

01/22/08 Hello Blue Roses The Portrait Is Finished and I Have Failed To Capture Your Beauty Locust

01/22/08 Hexlove Knew Abloom (Life’S Hood) Holy Mountain

01/22/08 Hey Willpower P.D.A. (us edition) Tomlab

01/22/08 Instruments of Science & Technology Music From the Films of R/Swift Secretly Canadian

01/22/08 Jack Penate Matinee XL

01/22/08 Jason Ringenberg Best Tracks and Side Tracks 1979-2007 Yep Roc

01/22/08 Love Is All Mixed Up Phonica Records

01/22/08 Mahjongg Kontpab K

01/22/08 MONO The Sky Remains The Same as Ever DVD Temporary Residence Ltd.

01/22/08 Munch Munch Wedding 7" Tomlab

01/22/08 Photon Band Back Down To Earth Empyrean

01/22/08 Rafter Sex Death Cassette Asthmatic Kitty

01/22/08 Robert Pollard Superman Was a Rocker Happy Jack Rock Records

01/22/08 Susumu Yakota Love or Die Lo Recordings

01/22/08 Times New Viking Rip It Off Matador

01/22/08 Vetiver You May Be Blue 12" Gnomonsong

01/22/08 Whigs Mission Control ATO

01/29/08 Chris Walla Field Manual Barsuk

01/29/08 Dub Trio Another Sound Is Dying Ipecac

01/29/08 Ex Building a Broken Mousetrap Touch & Go

01/29/08 Future of the Left Curses Too Pure

01/29/08 Helio Sequence Keep Your Eyes Ahead Sub Pop

01/29/08 Ida Lovers Prayers Polyvinyl

01/29/08 Jeffery Lewis 12 Crass Songs Rough Trade

01/29/08 Louis XIV Slick Dogs and Ponies Atlantic

01/29/08 Mars Volta The Bedlam In Goliath Universal

01/29/08 Quinn Walker Laughter's An Asshole/ Lion Land Voodoo Eros

01/29/08 Radar Bros. Auditorium Merge

01/29/08 Sons & Daughters The Gift Domino

01/29/08 Sun Ra Some Blues But Not The Kind That's Blue Atavistic

01/29/08 Thao We Brave Bee Stings and All Kill Rock Stars

01/29/08 The Kills U.R.A. Fever limited 7" Domino

01/29/08 These New Puritans Navigate, Navigate 12" Domino

01/29/08 Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend XL

01/29/08 Vandermark 5 Beat Reader Atavistic

01/29/08 Xiu Xiu Women As Lovers Kill Rock Stars

The Sunparlour Players

The Sunparlour Players aren't as refined or archaic sounding as their name would have you believe. The word 'sunparlour' conjures images of old ladies drinking tea while sitting in stiff floral wingback chairs draped in antique doilies. This is not how this three piece band sounds, not one bit. The S.P.P. are organic, they've got dirt under their nails, sweat soaked into their collars, these are heavy metal dreams (they cover AC/DC in their set and list Pantera as an influence) channeled through acoustic instuments by the will of singer and songwriter Andrew Penner. The band's shoutin' and stompin' is aided and abetted by addtional members Dennis Van Dine (bass, piano, clarinet, banjo, percussion, vocals) and Michael "Rosie" Rosenthal (drums, glockenspiel, bass, shouting).

Their first full length offering Hymns For The Happy was self-released last year, but the band was recently signed by Toronto indie label, Baudelaire, which has re-released the record after some sonic tweaking by the band. Give a listen and please, if you can, get out and see these guys, you won't be disappointed.

Here's a couple of mp3s from the new record:
dyin' today [mp3]
if the creeks don't rise [mp3] - i love this song

You'll find a few links to BUY the record on their myspace page.

An earlier post on the band can be found here.

New Downloads at eMusic

It's been quite a while since I tipped all of you good readers about what's available at eMusic. So, here's what you can find, or what I found... and don't forget, if you aren't already signed up, you can get 25 free MP3 downloads via their free trial offer:

MIA
Kara
Arular

The Hidden Cameras
The Smell Of Our Own

Pink Floyd
London 1966/1967

The Libertines
The Libertines

British Sea Power
The Decline Of British Sea Power

Andrew Bird
Ballad of the Red Shoes

Interpol
C'mere

And here are some relevant artists on site:
Sufjan Stevens
The National
Peter Bjorn and John
Chromeo
Bloc Party
Hot Chip


Check out the free emusic trial here.

Andrew Bird : Beacon Theatre: Live Review

Andrew Bird @ Beacon Theatre: written by Alex Pellerano

What a Friday in NYC.

An impromptu exchange with a limo driver named Bobby resulted in my arrival at Beacon theatre in a white mini-stretch. An affordable and credit card accepting liquor concession graced the lobby. A 'Jack on the rocks' brought me to row G. A phenomenal performance ensued, highlighting a complete evening.

Andrew Bird is firmly cementing himself as one of the most talented musicians in indie rock. In the midst of an international tour, alternating between theaters and festivals, his Beacon Theater performance was classical and enjoyed. Playing tracks off various albums, the set list was buoyed by; "Heretics", "Fake Palindromes", "Opposite Day", "Plasticities", and "Dark Matter", among others . He played and plucked the violin with extreme proficiency, switching between guitar, xylophone, and whistling mid-song.

The elegance of his sound bends genres. Seeing him live can chill you out and inspire. Andrew's 2007 release is titled Armchair Apocrypha and is available on Fat Possum Records.

Alex Pellerano

** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

Here is Andrew Bird's Black Session from 2005:
intro
sovay
why
a nervous tic motion of the head to the left
measuring cups
banking on a myth
masterfade
fake palindromes
armchair apocrypha
tables and chairs
capital isle
lull

Check out his upcoming tour dates here.