Tag Archives: Uncorked™

UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 (5.17.12) Kishi Bashi

17 May

Kishi Bashi is pure Joy for your mid-May afternoon. Enjoy


UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 (5.17.12) Kishi Bashi
Some little bird told me that Kishi Bashi made her cry at his show in Boston. I said, “Come on, tears? This isn’t the 1984 Victory Tour with the Jacksons”, but I will say that his Flaming Lipsish soft orchestra approach is alluring. His live shows are mesmerizing and women, children and men may spontaneously weep, but it’s his layered complicated approach that will get him the notoriety he so deserves. Fall in love with Kishi like we have, the video game accompanying tracks make for a joyful experience, hear “Bright Whites” as he blends Eastern sounds with Western friendly tracks. Two tracks below. New record 151a is available here.

Vitals:
Hometown: Norfolk, VA
Members: K Ishibashi (aka Kishi Bashi) – He is a one man army of orchestral layers, Japanese vocals, and pure joy
Sonic Soulmates™: Flaming Lips, Brian Wilsonesque Smile,
Trackables™:
“It All Began with a Burst”

“Bright Whites”

Follow:
KishiBashi.com
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Twitter

UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 (5.14.12) Kids on a Crime Spree

14 May

Why we love you? Because you’re just like us, from the East Bay and all full of fuzz. Kids on a Crime Spree

UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 (5.14.12) Kids on a Crime Spree

There was a time when new bands were pouring out of our pockets. It’s that the bands dried up, it’s just that good ones have. We’re like fine wines here at NBD, we like to chill with our music in oak barrels and enjoy the finer parts, not just post a band for the sake of posting. Too many shitty blogs create expectations that force them to feature bands they don’t love. Well screw them, we love our NewBandDayians! They are lovely and they are starting to get noticed. We’ve enjoyed our East Bay brothers and one sister for some time now. I think it was May of 2011 that we first heard “I Don’t Want to Call You Baby, Baby” and we’ve begged for more shows, more songs and more love from them. We’re finally sharing our secret stash of bands…here you go.
Vitals:
Hometown: Oaklandish, CA
Members:
Mario Hernandez
Bill Evans
Becky Barron
Sonic Soulmates™: Girls Names,
Trackables™:
“Dead Ripe” Do you like the Play Button from Spotify??? Please tell us

“I Don’t Want to Call You Baby, Baby”

Follow the Kids
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Spotify

UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 (4.5.12) Crybaby

5 Apr

Crybaby is his name and sadness is his game.


UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 (4.5.12) Crybaby

We’re busy but we’re not too busy to find great new bands on this eve of Coachella. Crybaby is the brainchild of Danny Coughlan, his passion for the soul music led him down the path of success, eventually to Crybaby. His love of Morrissey all things soul, pushes this record to the top of our list of 2012. We hope you love it as much as we do. Danny’s love of Garney Mimms gave birth to the name Crybaby from Mimms classic track “Cry Baby” Listen to Cry Baby by Garnet Mimms

Vitals:
Hometown: Bristol, Leeds, UK
Members: Danny Coughlan (vocals, guitar)
Sonic Soulmates™: Roy Orbison, The Smiths, Phil Spector and the Jesus & Mary Chain.
Trackables™:
“I Cherish Heartbreak More than the Love That I Lost” –

Follow:
Facebook
Crybaby site
Spotify

UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 (3.6.12) Rose Elinor Dougall

6 Mar

Rose Elinor Dougall is the love of my 2012. Her EP with The Distractions is so distracting that I can't listen to anything else.

UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 (2.20.12) Rose Elinor Dougall

It seems as if the female lead is gaining traction again. I don’t know if the females really ever left, but the music hitting my InBox these days seems to be so much better from the ladies. I’m in love with Rose, have been since her 2010 LP. Not only is quite hot but the new EP that hit my Inbox back in January has me stirring. The Distractions who accompany Ms. Dougall are shoegazey with such great guitar riffs i feel like I’m listening to My Vitriol or early Cure. Her lyrics and Hope Sandovalish voice are emotional and alluring. The two together sound like The Sundays discovering Teenage Fanclub. Rose’s roots are in that Spectorian sound having been part of The Pipettes, but that is long gone from her repertoire, it’s been replaced with something special. The Distractions EP is worth the listen, I’ve posted my favorite track below.

Vitals: London, UK
Members:
Rose Elinor Dougall – Vocals, Keys
The Distractions:
Tom Dougall – Guitar
Ralegh Long – Guitar, Mandolin, keys
Georgia Lee – Bass, Vocals
Martin Dean – Drums
Sonic Soulmates™: The Distractions = ’90s Brit-alt pop My Vitriol, Teenage Fanclub or The Sundays, Rose = Hope Sandoval, Holly Miranda
Trackables™:
“I’ve Always Known” –

Follow:
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Her site
Spotify

UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 (3.1.12) Grimes

1 Mar

Grimes is it

UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 (3.1.12) Grimes
By the way, let me just emphatically state this, I LOVE GRIMES! I want that t-shirt made now, hell, just buy it here. She is my muse for the dark times. Maybe she’ll be playing on 12.22.12 when that rolling ball of fire engulfs the world. Whatever the scenario, the new record Visions is a mixture of her 80’s electro-pop obsession from her first two records with a dash of polished digitalism. It’s a beautiful record and one that I would have played over and over and over again in 1986 while playing Ultima IV, or in 1994 playing Sega or today while playing Spotify. We don’t use love lightly around here, but Grimes is our lover and we are obsessed little puppies waiting for our next little aural treat.

Vitals:
Founded: 2009
Hometown: Montreal, Cananda
Members: Claire Boucher
Sonic Soulmates™: Stacie Q, Polica, Class Actress
Trackables™:
“Be A Body” – My prediction for a chart topper…wow

“Colour of Moonlight” – My secret obsession

The entire record:

Follow:
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Her Website
Twitter

UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 (2.20.12) Apteka

20 Feb

Best New Band of 2012 --- Chicago's Apteka


UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 (2.20.12) Apteka

I commute a lot. This gives me time to pour through the massive amount of music that The Turk sends me. Often times, I am balancing my shuffle’s choice of some live Radiohead track or some horrible garage punk mess. It’s not often that I get to pull the iPhone out of my jacket pocket to see which band is playing. The most recent incident was last on my flight home from Columbus, OH. At first I thought it was a new record from Janes. That didn’t get me overly excited, having heard the past few from them. I seriously think Perry lost his edge. He’s doing reality TV for God’s sake. Apteka has the ’90s sound with a Perryesque vocal lead but they sound current. They’re like a pair of retro shoes. They look classic, but feel (sound) current. Love these Chicago boy.

Vitals: Chicago, IL
Members:
Adam Lukas, Dino Balocchi, Jesse Hozeny, and Dave Narey
Sonic Soulmates™: Jane’s Addiction, Screaming Trees
Trackables™:
“Gargoyle Days” –
“In Clouds” –

Follow:
Apteka site
Spotify

UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 (2.6.12) This Many Boyfriends (UPDATED)

6 Feb

This Many Boyfriends are what The Housemartins are to a Monday morning...good fun!


UNCORKED™ – Best New Bands of 2012 – This Many Boyfriends

Is anyone else having this issue where you feel like everyone knows what you’re listening to…Facebook streaming and Spotify have made me self conscious of my guilty favorites. Now that everyone knows what I listen to, I feel like you’re judging me. Don’t judge my love for Neil Young, Nada Surf, Pearl Jam, Echo, etc. It’s okay, sometimes I want to be reminded about the past. Music is the greatest story every told…you can go back to a song and it reminds of exactly the moment you heard it first or last. So here’s to guilty pleasures. This Many Boyfriends is derived from the happy bouncy 90’s Britrock pop dreams of Teenage Fanclub, the cynicism of The Smiths and their obvious love of Norman Cook and The Housemartins. Good solid happy poppy English rock for a Monday.

Vitals:
Hometown: Leeds, UK
Members:
Daniel Boyfriend – Guitars
Laura Boyfriend – Drums
Richard Boyfriend – Vocals
Tom Boyfriend – Bass
Sonic Soulmates™: The Smiths, The Lodger, The Housemartins
Trackables™:
“Young Lovers Go Pop!” –

NEW TRACK – “Starling”

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Spotify
Twitter

UNCORKED™ – Band of the Day (2.1.12) Porcelain Raft

1 Feb

Thank you Porcelain Raft for creating a fantastic record. Thank you Maria Scalera for the photo

Uncorked™ Porcelain Raft

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit…the Muse always tells me that it’s good luck if you say Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit first thing on the first of every month. So that’s a little rabbit foot for all of us on NewBandDay…I have to admit when I first heard today’s band I thought it was a new track from Beach House. Good compliment right? Porcelain Raft is Italian-born singer/songwriter Mauro Remiddi. Raft is a solo project of dreamy indie pop with a whole lot of Beach House, a sprinkle of Real Estate and the upbeat vibes of Neon Indians. Strange Weekend the debut full-length of Procelain Raft was released on Secretly Canadian in January of 2012, followed by a tour with M83 and Smith Westerns. Grab the new album here:

Vitals:
Hometown: Brooklyn/NY
Members: Mauro Remiddi
Sonic Soulmates™: Beach House, The Drums, Real Estate, Neon Indian
Trackables™:
“Put Me to Sleep”

Follow:
Facebook
Official
Spotify

UNCORKED™ – Band of the Day (1.23.12) Pow Wows

23 Jan

Pow Wows make me feel this way inside. Photo credit: http://wearethelastbeatniks.com/2011/09/16/pow-wows/

Uncorked™ Pow Wows

Definitely a dry spell. Can’t even remember the last band we profiled from Toronto, ON…after a little research, it just so happens to be the one year anniversary of our last Toronto band. That’s right, the Black Pistol Fire, sure thought they were gonna big. There’s still time. What does that mean? Have the hipster journalists finally left the cleanest city in the world? Maybe or just maybe we were waiting for Pow Wows to emerge. Maybe there’s a backlash up north, the underwater dreamscapes may have finally been drowned out by the re-emergence of some good ‘ol garage rock. The MC5 style, dingy clubs, heavy distortion, Elvis crooning, leather and greased up locks. I chose three tracks from Pow Wows debut. The three that made me feel good inside, the ones that showcase good rockmanship and some catchy hooks. Think of The Cramps and The MC5 sucker punching Bowie and dragging him to a biker bar. Really Bowie in a Biker Bar, leather and no make-up. Love it!

Buy the new record Nightmare Soda here here

Vitals:
Hometown: Toronto, ON
Members:
Rocky Rircardo
Kelly MacGrewver
Jay Share-It
F. Scott Baudelaire
Juarez Laredo
Sonic Soulmates™: The MC5, The Cramps, Bowie getting all sweaty
Trackables™:
“Seeing Black”

“EIO (During the Flood)”

“Seance” – Great track

Follow:
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UNCORKED™ – Band of the Day (1.18.12) HOWLER

20 Jan

You won't need a ladder to reach the top boys. You're too good. HOWLER photo by Robert Carino

Uncorked™ Howler

Holy fack, these boys sound like so many bands it’s hard to pin them to one Sonic Soulmate™. Really, I’m struggling…what? You’re begging me for one? Just one…fine The Strokes impregnated in some dark alley under a pile of trash by the Cramps. Hell, Jordan Gatesmith, the primary Howler is only 19 years old and he and his Minny pals created a record that is so damn good! The record came out yesterday. By the way these boys will be the band in every commercial, every video game, hell they may even be better than the aforementioned bands. They’re hooks are so catchy, not even a catfish could escape. I’m hooked and the entire 2012 America Give Up record is worth the vinyl purchase. Thank you Turk. I think you will agree. Enough of my yapping, just listen.

Vitals:
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Members: Jordan Gatesmith on lead guitar and vocals, Brent Mayes on drums, Ian Nygaard on guitar, Max Petrek on keyboard, and France Camp (real name Jay Simonson) on bass
Sonic Soulmates™: The Vaccines, Surfer Blood, The Strokes
Trackables™:
“Back of Your Neck”

“Beach Sluts”

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Official
Spotify

UNCORKED™ – Band of the Day (1.17.12) CLASS ACTRESS

17 Jan

Class Actress sheds light on what can be good in 2012.


Uncorked™ Class Actress

I’m a sucker for female leads. I’m also a sucker for minimalist electronic music. The stuff you can create on your kid’s toys…all said, simple beats and unlayered tracks may replace the cluttered underwater gargle we’ve been dealing with over the past two years. Class Actress is one stellar example of the mid-80’s Kate Bush led Depeche Mode tribute sound. Elizabeth Harper is the muse that leads Class Actress, having been at electronic music since 2009, she drafted the help of producers Mark Richardson and Scott Rosenthal. They created what is today one of our favorite late ’11 and early ’12 faves. Where Chairlift bores and drones, Class Actress soars. Her new record Rapprocher was released late 2011 it good and her following is growing fast. Elizabeth is Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells without the anger, she’s what makes music great these days. Here’s to a new age of female leads in 2012.

Vitals:
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY via Philadelphia, PA
Members: Elizabeth Harper
Sonic Soulmates™: Twin Sister, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, Chairlift
Trackables™:
“Weekend”

“Keep You”

Follow:
Facebook
Spotify

UNCORKED™ – Band of the Day (1.12.12) I Break Horses

11 Jan

Is this becoming the year of selfish band names? I Break Horses bring home cooked Swedish dream pop.


Uncorked™ I Break Horses

When we listen to music, we often joke here about how it made you feel. It most cases, we don’t feel anything. In some cases we tap our toes and in the rare case we get that chill up our spine and the hair on our head tingles. I’m not a scientist, so I can’t explain why that happens, but I can say that’s a good thing. I remember the first time I heard all of my favorite bands. I Break Horses isn’t your typical dream gaze XX/XY duo. Fredrik Balck, is the instrumental guy, and Maria Lindén who handles the vocals met in 2008 under unusual circumstances: both self-professed hypochondriacs, visited the same online medical sites, discovered they shared friends as well as a passion the same music. Their tracks aren’t layered in heavy shoe gaze wall of sound, rather, they take the Washed Out route and keep the instrumentals simple. Maybe two-three layered tracks with Maria’s beautiful voice adorning the sound. They use their fear of dying as inspiration for their lyrics, focusing on the fragility of life. I will say that the first time I heard Hearts that chill ran up my spine and NO I wasn’t worried that I had some rare spinal virus…Thank you again to AZ Turk for adding them to his Top Gems of 2011

Vitals:
Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden
Members: Fredrik Balck, Maria Lindén
Sonic Soulmates™: Washed Out, Jesus and Mary Chain, Echo Lake
Trackables™:
“Hearts”

“Pulse”

Follow:
Facebook
I Break Horses Official
Spotify

UNCORKED™ – Band of the Day (1.11.12) Ryan Stively

10 Jan

The ghosts of Port O'Brien come to life with a record built for a Hummingbird Award - Ryan Stively


Uncorked™ Ryan Stively

Port O’Brien breaking up messed with my head. I loved their last record Threadbare so much, it was a combination of Built to Spill and Bowerbirds. Folky, fuzzy and good. Then they dissolved the unit, Van floated over to WATERS and Ryan Stively, the long-time member and co-conspirator has now stepped out to create some southern fried, San Francisco gems on his debut record Soft Kingdom. It was recorded over the span of 6 months on borrowed and leftover studio time with former tour-mate and Portland multi-instrumentalist Cory Gray (Carcrashlander, Desert City Soundtrack). It’s part Broken Social Scene, part National brooding and a whole lot of Wilco (Tweedy) or even Bridwell’s stylings for Band of Horses…hell even a little M. Wardy. These 8 tracks could rival any record we’ve heard in the past 6 months. Buy it here.

Vitals:
Hometown: Portland, OR, San Francisco, CA (Right in our own backyard)
Members: Ryan Stively (Port O’Brien), Cambria Goodwin (Port O’Brien), Graham LeBron (Rogue Wave, Album Leaf) and Joey Ficken (Sea Wolf) appear.
Sonic Soulmates™: Bowerbirds, Wilco, Broken Social Scene, Rogue Wave, M. Ward
Trackables™:
“We Forget Everything”

“Soft Kingdom”

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