Posts Tagged ‘ art rock ’

Palm: January 29, 2016 Palisades

February 3, 2016
By

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The band Palm bring an impressive amount of music experimentation to the table, especially for a fairly young band. The compatriots, who met at Bard College upstate, but now reside in the independent music hotbed of Philadelphia, claim to be short on formal training, but I’m calling B.S. on that. Or rather, if their ability to produce intricate, jazz-inflected songs filled with unusual, shifting time signatures is something they just came up with on their own, then formal training may as well hang it up. On this packed weekend night at DIY-ish Palisades, the foursome came ready to wow us, playing only one song from their standout 2015 LP Trading Basics, released by Exploding In Sound. So we got the (relatively) hooky “Ankles” from that record, paired with a slew of relatively new or very-new songs, many of which the band themselves don’t have titles for. You could see that at points the members were feeling the songs out among each other, casting glances across the stage, but you wouldn’t have known it without looking at them; this material feels dialed-in and ready for primetime. What Palm are doing certainly has its cultural touchstones — some of the great “math rock” bands of mid-late-90s like Faraquet, Smart Went Crazy, June of 44 and Polvo — but it’s also daring and fresh at a time in “rock” music where the norm is more often party music that keeps a low bar. If the band’s subsequent releases have anything in common with what we heard tonight, or Trading Basics, then we’re going to be impressed by them for a very, very long time.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK22 open cardiod microphones onstage together with a soundboard feed from Palisades FOH Ariel. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3/FLAC]

Palm
2016-01-29
Palisades
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded by acidjack and nyctaper
Produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK22 (ORTF, stage lip)>NBob cables>PFA + Soundboard (engineer: Ariel Bitran)>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, narrow onstage image)>Izotope Ozone 5 (effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (track, amplify, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 [new song 1]
02 I Don’t Want to know
03 Ankles
04 [new song 2]
05 Crank
06 [new song 3]
07 [new song 4]
08 Two Toes

SUPPORT Palm: Facebook | Bandcamp

Viet Cong: January 28, 2015 Union Pool – FLAC/MP3/Streaming

February 1, 2015
By

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[photos courtesy of P Squared Photography]

Sometimes there’s something to the wisdom of crowds. Viet Cong, from Canada’s less-celebrated center (Calgary, to be exact) sold out this Union Pool show long before the not-at-all-catastrophic snowstorm hit New York City this week. Still, it takes something special to pack in almost any room on a slushy, freezing night in January, and Viet Cong had the place well past capacity. Half-composed of former members of the band Women, who we were lucky enough to see in their prime, Viet Cong continues that band’s art-rock mission, if not expands it. What makes the band’s live show flat-out better than their very-well-regarded debut LP is simply that watching them put this music together gives you a clearer sense of how much is going on. The interplay between guitarists isn’t simply your usual rhythm/lead dichotomy; guitarists Scott Munro and Daniel Christiansen’s instruments are almost in opposition to each other at points, at others answering each other note-for-note. Both guitarists double up on keys as well, but don’t think vocalist/bassist Matt Flegel isn’t producing himself. Granted, some of the members have history together, but this is still an incredibly tight unit for a band with only the Cassette EP and the new album to their credit.

The band’s sound mimics the bleak landscape of their hometown at times; the show, and the album closed with a ten-plus minute dirge named “Death”.  But there’s also humor running through Flegel’s lyrics, when you can make them out, and the Cassette songs, especially, have a more straightforward appeal. Ultimately, though, what comes across most about this band is just how effing good they are. The complexity of their work may suggest that this is music for musicians, but what Viet Cong do so well is make that complex music relatable, even fun, to listen to. This show will set a high bar for the rest of 2015, in the best possible way.

I recorded this set at the soundboard with Schoeps MK4V microphones and a stereo feed from Union Pool engineer Doug. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the complete show/download individual songs: 

Viet Cong
2015-01-28
Union Pool
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schleps MK4V (FOB, DFC, PAS)>KCY>Z-PFA>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (engineer: Doug)>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (align, mix down, compression, fades)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, tape effect, imaging)>Audacity 2.0.3 (tracking, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks [Total Time 49:00]
01 Silhouettes
02 Bunker Buster
03 March of Progress
04 Oxygen Feed
05 Unconscious Melody
06 Pointless Experience
07 Continental Shelf
08 Death

If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Viet Cong by buying their albums here, or on Amazon for vinyl.

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Heroes of Toolik: May 14, 2014 Cameo Gallery – FLAC/MP3/Streaming Full Set

August 28, 2014
By

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[photos by acidjack]

Heroes of Toolik are an art rock band from the New York/New Jersey area comprised of veteran players – Peter Zummo (trombone) is an avant jazzer (ex-Lounge Lizards), while Arad Evans (guitar/vocals) has toured with avant-noise luminaries Rhys Chatham and is a current member of the Glenn Branca Ensemble. Ernie Brooks (bass) was in the original Modern Lovers, while Jennifer Coates (violin/vocals) is an accomplished old style country fiddler with her own band, Jenny Gets Around. What comes together among the group of them is a brand of well-informed rock n’ roll that draws on these influences without over-complicating itself.

This show at Cameo Gallery served as a warmup for Heroes of Toolik’s just-released Aquarium School seven-inch, and found the band previewing that material alongside work from their 2012 debut LP Winter Moon. The band performs with the cohesive, relaxed vibe you’d expect of accomplished musicians, and the stylistic palette of these tunes reflected artists from the Velvet Underground to Zappa and Beefheart to hints (for me) of the Grateful Dead. The band gave us two takes of “Aquarium School”, which was also being filmed for video, the better of which came at the end of the set and is the version recorded here. We recommend you check out their upcoming gig on September 24 at the Zurcher Gallery in Manhattan, which should be a fine combination of an art rock band playing among visual artwork. The gallery is featuring work by Michael Dotson and Irena Jurek from now through just after the date of the show.

I recorded this set with Schoeps MK4V microphones and a soundboard feed from the house engineer, Brendon Clark. The sound quality is outstanding. Enjoy!

Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]

Stream the complete show: 

Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request.

Heroes of Toolik
2014-05-14
Cameo Gallery
Brooklyn, NY USA

Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack

Schoeps MK4V (FOB, DFC, PAS)>KC5>CMC6>Sound Devices USBPre2 + Soundboard (live mix: Brendon Clark)>>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (mix down, adjust levels, compression)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.0.3 (tracking, fades, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Young Venus
02 Something Like Night
03 Blind Man’s Stare
04 Yellow-Haired Sea
05 Lou Reed
06 Perfect
07 Aquarium School
08 F String

If you enjoyed this recording, please support Heroes of Toolik, like them on Facebook, and buy the Aquarium School 7″ here.

The Caribbean: June 5, 2011 Mercury Lounge – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

June 18, 2011
By

carribean
[Photo by acidjack]

No, there is nothing tropical about The Caribbean. Hailing from Washington, D.C. (not exactly Antigua, by any stretch), this experimental pop trio has been putting out their challenging brand of music since 1999, after the DC bands Townies and one of my personal favorites, Smart Went Crazy, imploded. Their latest record, Discontinued Perfume, continues the band’s tradition of marrying traditional softcore indie rock songwriting to jazz and ambient textures. If you want fist-pumping, major-chord-driven rock, keep moving – The Caribbean aren’t interested in delivering the big hooks and immediate melodies that drive today’s car-commercials-first mainstream. Theirs is a style that rewards repeat listens and a little deep thinking. Lucky then, that we caught them on a very subdued Sunday night at the Mercury Lounge, where we had a chance to fully appreciate the band’s set without distraction. The material from Discontinued Perfume was the focus, and it deservedly stood out, including the closer (and one of the catchier songs on the record), “The Clock Tower.”

hi and lo and I recorded this set from our usual location in the venue with Schoeps supercardiod microphones running into an ultraquiet preamp. This is an excellent capture, especially thanks to the use of the high end preamp and the respectful crowd. Enjoy!

Stream “The Clock Tower”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/C6500Caribbean2011/09 The Clock Tower.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [MP3]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Follow acidjack on Twitter

The Caribbean
2011-06-05
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded by acidjack and hi and lo for nyctaper.com
Produced by acidjack

Equipment: Schoeps Mk41>CMC6>EAA PSP2>Sony PCM-M10 (24/44.1)
Position: At soundboard, ROC, mics PAS
Mastering: 24bit/44.1kHz WAV>Audacity (set fades, tracking, amplify and and balance)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Collapsitarians
02 Artist In Exile
03 [unknown]
04 Do You Believe in Dinosaurs?
05 Mr. Let’s Find Out
06 [tuning]
07 Supply Lines
08 [unknown]
09 The Clock Tower

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT The Caribbean, visit their website, and buy their records directly from Hometapes [HERE]

Suuns: January 25, 2011 Rock Shop – FLAC and MP3 Downloads + Streaming Song

February 2, 2011
By


[Photo by Eloy Anzola. Visit his website here]

Montreal’s Suuns are one ambitious, exciting band. If you punched up any random 30-second clips of tracks from their debut LP, Zeroes QC, you could encounter any number of distinct musical ideas. You might find the Zeppelin-on-acid riffs that are the foundation of “Armed for Peace,” or the brooding, addiction-nightmare hiss of the vocals over a spare beat on “Up Past the Nursery,” or even the slowed-down dubstep beat on “Pie IX”. The point being, Suuns make angular, twisted art rock without a single stylistic straightjacket. From the get-go, this brash set at Rock Shop set a dark mood; the opening number “Skyscraper” blistered us with its marshal, repetitive drumbeat and bassline, clanging keyboard riff and frontman Ben Shemie’s seething, ravaged vocal. Whether during the tightly-wound intro to “Pie IX” or the door-blowing assault of the set’s closer, the eight-minute “Sweet Nothing,” Suuns held our attention with their controlled intensity. They are a challenging band in the best of ways, unconcerned with pop convention or pandering. And although it is true that they can veer dizzyingly between tempos, styles and structures, their talent is equal to their ideas.

I recorded this set from our usual location in this outstanding venue, with the Schoeps microphones and a soundboard feed from the Rock Shop’s team. The sound quality is excellent. Enjoy!

Stream “Armed for Peace”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/S0125Suuns0211/05 Armed for Peace.mp3]

Stream “Pie IX”:
[audio:http://www.nyctaper.com/S0125Suuns0211/08 Pie IX.mp3]

Direct download of MP3 files [HERE]

Download the Complete show in FLAC [HERE].

Suuns
2011-01-25
Rock Shop
Brooklyn, NY USA

An acidjack master recording
Recorded and produced by acidjack for nyctaper.com

Equipment: Schoeps CMC6/mk41+Soundboard>Edirol R-44 [Oade Concert Mod] (24/48)
Position: At soundboard, LOC, mics pointed at stacks at 8.5′
Mastering: 2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Audacity (EQ audience source, mixdown, set fades, tracking, smooth peaks, amplify and balance, downsample)>FLAC ( level 8 )

Tracks
01 Skyscraper
02 Arena
03 Up Past the Nursery
04 [new]
05 Armed for Peace
06 Gaze
07 [banter]
08 Pie IX
09 Sweet Nothing

If you download this recording from NYCTaper, we expect that you will PLEASE SUPPORT Suuns, visit their MySpace page, and purchase Zeroes QC from Secretly Canadian records here.

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