[Night Out] YAK @ Berlin (03/30/2016)

Sometimes I don't want a big fancy show where I'm singing along with 700+ other people smart enough to like the same artist as me. 

Sometimes I just want to sweat and have some sassy guitarist randomly fling himself in the middle of a crowd and almost knock me on my ass in the process. 

This was the case with last Wednesday night at Berlin. As a #teen this was a regular occurrence for me, so where some people would get really irritated to have someone fling their entire bodyweight in your direction or get sprayed by a bottle of water, but these kinds of shenanigans leave me squealing in delight. 

Fresh off their stint at SXSW, London's noise-rock trio YAK has thrashed their way around North America and directly into my heart. As soon as singer Oli Burslem wandered onto the stage with his pants and belt undone yelling about how he just needed to take a piss before they started their set, I immediately knew that I would need to be on high alert for the next 30something minutes of my life or else I might get kicked in the head or something of that nature. 

YAK are as playful as they are loud. Burslem made sure to multitask his beer breaks, occasionally playing guitar using his beer bottle or enabling the occasional sip for drummer Elliot Rawson like he was giving a baby some milk. This was before the occasional thrash about into the crowd, which sent other folks snapping photos into a frenzy every time.

The nice thing about being a band who doesn't give a fuck is if you feel like playing a song over because you think you could do it better the second time around, you just do it. This was an added bonus for me considering of all of their songs I attempted to learn as quickly as possible, my favorite is "Victorious (National Anthem", which is the one that received the special do-over treatment. 

YAK's debut album Alas Salvation will be dropping on May 14th, courtesy of Octopus Electrical. Be sure to have a look at my photos from the show below to see all the fun you missed out on / prepare yourself for awesomeness for when they roll into your city! 

YAK ON TOUR

Apr 7       Amsterdam Paradiso w/The Last Shadow Puppets
Apr 15      Festival Printemps de Bourges
May 11      Birmingham The Rainbow
May 12      Sheffield Bungalows & Bears
May 13      Glasgow Stereo
May 14      Manchester Deaf Institute
May 15      Leeds Brudenell Social Club
May 17      Reading Purple Turtle
May 18      Bristol The Exchange
May 19      Leicester Cookie
May 20      Southampton Joiners Arms
May 21      Oxford The Bullingdon
May 24      London Dingwalls
May 26      Paris Point Ephemere
May 28      Lille La Peniche
May 29      Gent Big Next Festival
May 30      Nijmegen Merleyn
May 31      Amsterdam Paradiso
Jun 1         Hamburg Molotov
Jun 3         Nimes This Is Not A Love Song
Jun 4         Clermont-Ferrand Europavox
Jun 30       Garorock Festival
Jul 2          Eurockennes
Jul 7          Lyon Les Nuits De Fourviere

[Watch] HUMANS - "Water Water"

I have been hypnotized by Vancouver outfit HUMANS' latest track, "Water Water" for the past couple of weeks now. You may have enough noticed how I low key included it in last week's diSKOAver weekly playlist, all 9 minutes and 47 seconds of its sexiness. Now the song (the radio edit of it anyway) has a video, which is mostly just an ad for these baller jackets that feature the artwork from last year's album, Noontide, which is currently up for a Juno for Best Electronic Album. I should make myself clear that when I say baller I mean this on multiple levels. In addition to looking really awesome, you literally have to be a baller to afford one at it's actual retail price of $600. Oof. The band admits that the jackets are, "'spensive" but hopes that you will pony up because co-founder Peter Ricq apparently has a crush on the girl who embroiders these baller jackets, so "by ordering this jacket you are likely being a great wingman / winglady."

For those of you who are at SXSW sipping margaritas while having a skim here, the band will be performing a handful of shows throughout the week so if you are free during any of the times during the flyer below be sure to check them out. For everyone else, the band will be heading out on tour in support of their new EP Water Water, which just dropped via Mom + Pop. Obviously I will be at Baby's because I love myself, so be sure to say hi if you're there, too! 

HUMANS TOUR DATES

March 25 - Celebrities - Vancouver

March 26 - Velvet - Toronto  

April 7 - Underground Arts - Black Box - Philadelphia

April 8- Baby's All Right - Brooklyn, NY

April 9- Middle East Upstairs - Cambridge

April 26 - Schubas Tavern - Chicago

April 27 - Soda Bar - San Diego

April 28 - The Echo - LA

April 29 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco 

April 30 - Barbosa - Seattle

[Watch] XO - "Divine Disaster (feat. James Chatburn) (Official Video)"

What's that? You've been itching for some thump with a little pinch of wobble in your life? I gotchu fam. Enter: Staffordshire producer/songwriter XO and his first ever music video for his latest track, "Divine Disaster", which features Sydney's own James Chatburn on vocals. You may recognize the location of this video even if you're not located across the pond because it was featured in a fairly memorable scene in the film A Clockwork Orange. The single, which also includes the b-side "Night Time Solace" is now available for you to purchase (and you should because both tracks are quite delightful). 

Once you've found yourself wanting more XO in your life, be sure to check out his previous two EPs, which are equally as awesome. 

[Watch] You Wont - "Ya Ya Ya (Official Video)"

As a self-proclaimed lover of all things weird but totally awesome I can't begin to tell you how equally confused and delighted I am by the video for Massachusetts duo You Wont's single, "Ya Ya Ya". I am always the first to admit that I am bad at "getting" videos, but honestly I don't think there was an actual point to this video other than to make something for the sake of the lulz. I get that the powdered wig getup is a hint towards their forthcoming sophomore album, Revolutionaries, which drops on April 29th. Anything past that though? I'd rather not overthink it and just enjoy it, which you absolutely will. This tune will leave you involuntarily swaying and head bobbing. You'll also probably attempt to yodel along and feel embarrassed that you won't be as good at it. That may or may not have actually happened to me. This is probably a silly way to describe their sound, but I liken them to Wilco's more upbeat cousin. I think you'll hear what I mean courtesy of the video below. 

Like any good hard working band should, You Wont will be hitting the road in support of the album, which kicks off the day of its release. NY fam you have 2 different chances to catch these guys live so you have no excuses. I will probably go to both because I love myself, so I look forward to seeing you there! 

You Won't Tour Dates, Spring 2016

4/29 - Portland, ME @ One Longfellow Square

4/30 - Portsmouth, NH @ Birdseye Lounge

5/03 - Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory

5/04 - New Haven, CT @ BAR

5/06 - Boston, MA @ Sinclair

5/07 - New York, NY @ Berlin 

5/08 - Northampton, MA @ Parlour Room

5/10 - Toronto, ON @ The Drake

5/12 - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle

5/13 - Madison, WI @ Frequency

5/14 - Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club

5/16 - Bloomington, ID @ Bishop

5/17 - Nashville, TN @ Hi Watt

5/18 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl

5/20 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle Back

5/21 - Washington, DC @ DC9

5/22 - Philadelphia, PA @ Boot and Saddle

[Listen] Summer Heart - "Pretty Haze" x "The Forbidden"

It's so damn lovely out in NYC and these are the jams you should be playing as you twirl around in the sunshine. Like the name of the song hints, "Pretty Haze" sure to leave you in a lovesick haze.  Likewise "The Forbidden" continues to envelope you in subtle serenity. Both tracks come from Summer Heart's forthcoming EP, which drops later this year. These songs going to be the soundtrack to couples cuddling on blankets in McCarren Park this summer, so if your relationship survived cuffing season, you're welcome in advance for the inevitable swoonfest you'll experience from this. 

Per his tweets and snaps, the Swedish mastermind behind the project, David Alexander is currently in Brooklyn working on more music, so it's most likely that yours truly is going to be making him #SKOAfam very soon. 

If you're one of those patient people with money heading to SXSW in the next couple of days, make sure to add at least one of his performances to your daily agenda alongside the BBQ eating and standing in long lines. If SXSW isn't in your sights, you can always come to the Knitting Factory near the end of the month and hang out with me. 

Summer Heart On Tour
16 – The Townsend (1:05am), SXSW, Austin
19 – Icenhauer’s (1am), SXSW, Austin
23 – The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NYC

[Watch] Nodaway - "Chariot (Official Video)"

Nashville you're on a rolllllllllllll y'all! Why weren't the local bands in Nashville all this good when I lived there? I mean damn I would've at least considered stickin' around for at LEAST another... week... maybe.... before inevitably packing my bags and hightailing it to New York. 

After being thoroughly delighted by fellow Belmont alum Nodaway's debut single "Hairspray" and subsequent EP 500 Days of Whatever ***which is still my favorite album name of 2015*** , the band is back with a new single and an even snazzier video than last time. I had already been on board with their punchy poptasticness, but this new track, "Chariot" honestly caught me off guard in terms of how quickly they've managed to develop in such a short period of time. Although I've never had children, I liken it to sending your kid off to summer camp and he/she returning a foot taller. It's clear that they've chosen a artistic direction, both musically and visually, and it more than suits them. 

We know how good I am with artsy videos. I have no idea what all of the elements are supposed to mean in this video but man is it entertaining to watch. WARNING: when the song ends they show some fun footage of the folks involved goofing off and someone gets quite the scrape. If you're squeamish, it's slightly NSFL. 

Either way, enjoy new Nodaway! 

Also a fun thing I learned while trying to make sure I was up to speed on all things Nodaway. Did not know you could actually purchase Nodaway branded hairspray that smells like watermelon and has a QR code so you can download their EP for free. THIS IS VERY CLEVER AND I ENJOY THIS GREATLY. Here is what said b(r)anded hairspray looks like: 

Attraction enhancers, EH? Guess I'll need to acquire a can of this to see if I can attract some attention while I'm shopping for records at Rough Trade on a Friday night. Kiiiiiiind of kidding? Not about shopping for records on Friday night (unless there's a show).

[Download] Noah Kittinger - All I Know"

Good news everyone! I've stopped avoiding the Soundcloud inbox! Honestly I've been avoiding basically all SKOA inboxes like the plague lately because the increasing unread messages that I can't get to give me major anxiety.

I'm happy to report, however, that while testing the waters to see if I could re-train my brain to not be so stressed out that something wonderful happened: I had a mini-SKOA Family reunion! 

Nashville based Noah Kittinger used to go by the name BEDROOM. The homey Adrian extensively showed it all of the love throughout its existence. And rightfully so, the sleepy melancholic jams that I've since rediscovered were as befitting for love as they were the project's name. 

At any rate, Kittinger has re-emerged, this time choosing to release new songs under his own name. Of the two that he's released so far, "All I Know" quickly became my favorite. I especially love his minimalist approach and how the song manages to be effortlessly peppy despite how distressing the lyrics are. 

Kittinger is currently prepping an EP that's slated for a spring/summer release. In the meantime, peep "All I Know" below. Be sure to also check out "N.Y.E" in addition to his BEDROOM creations. 

[Night Out] Sean McVerry @ CHCM Boutique (1/20/2016)

WINTER BREAK IS OVER. IT'S TIME TO GET BACK TO ROCKIN'! 

LET'S TALK ABOUT MY FIRST BABY BAND OF THE YEAR! 

I had the pleasure of attending an intimate preview of the debut EP from Sean McVerry, a one-man band of sorts hailing from Connecticut on Wednesday night. Squeezing into NoHo boutique CHCM, we did the stereotypically hip NYC thing - sipping our PBRs and chatting while the EP played in the background. When it came time for McVerry to perform cuts from Hourglass Switchboard I, the first of his three-part EP series, things got very real. 

I had spun the record a few times prior to arriving to the show. Based on my initial impression of the record, I assumed that by looking at his setup when I arrived that we wouldn't get the full experience. 

Boy was I wrong. We actually got more than that. As he was nearing the end of his set, there was a loud crackling noise and then the music stopped. The poor kid had gotten lost in the moment and stomped on the HDMI cable keeping everything together to the point that it was beyond repair. That's when the magic happened. Unfazed, McVerry stepped from behind his setup and climbed on a display that people were sitting on and proceeded to perform the last song acapella, stomping away throughout to keep time. As impressive as his instrumental abilities are, his voice dominated the room, shutting up every last attendee (which up until this point he was unable to do because New Yorkers are the worst at this as you know from our Son Little outing). 

If you need additional proof of his vocal talents, please see this Play Too Much performance of his single, "Kerosene". 

Yeah. See? Told you. 

Have to say, very anxious to hear the other 2 EPs that he's got up his sleeves. Something tells me I might have opinions about which songs belonged on which EPs, but regardless I suppose you could say Sean McVerry has made an amazing first impression on me in a MCVERRY BIG WAY. 

(#sorrynotsorry couldn't resist!) 

While he's not officially #SKOAfam yet (we've still gotta do an interview when he comes back to Mercury Lounge in March!), this rock mom is DYING for you to hear how talented this guy is. 

Have a listen to Hourglass Switchboard I in the player below. 

You can also catch him on tour if you don't live by me!