woods

Fixture Records was started by Brave Radar’s Conor Prendergast and Tessa Smith after self-releasing their debut record. They now release “small runs of strange pop music,” which includes the lo-fi sounds of Dirty Beaches and Cresting. (Nate has already had some nice things to say about Dirty Beaches.) Tessa was kind enough to send us a few tracks from Cresting’s debut, an e.p., and I am oh-so-happy they did. Cresting is actually Montreal-based recording artist, Gabriel Ng, who happens to be a part of Brave Radar’s live lineup. His minimalist compositions are dreamy loops of warm, fuzzy analog sounds, both nostalgic and hopeful. This track has a clattering beat and what sound like tropical steel drums that give it the kind of summery, underwater vibe that seems to be so of-the-moment.

Cresting – Sashes

You can hear more on Cresting’s MySpace page, as well as on the Fixture Records website, where you can purchase the cd for just $5.

The website also offers the 13 track Fixture Records compilation album, House No. 1, as a free download. This track, from Cresting’s debut, is featured on the compilation.

Cresting – Variation On A Variation

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This entry was written by nate, posted on August 13, 2009 at 6:56 pm, filed under New Tunes and tagged brave radar, cresting, dirty beaches, fixture records. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

upcoming//wtf?!

clipse_8_12

Wednesday, August 12

Clipse / The Cool Kids @ Granada Theater

THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

No word yet on the reason for the cancellation of the best hip-hop lineup to hit Dallas in some time. Even better lineup than last week’s Wu-heavy show. No Jewish Pyrex. No bringing ‘88 back.

Bowerbirds / Megafaun / Matthew Gray, Delves Into The Humanity Pools @ Hailey’s

Go to this show instead. Bowerbirds and Megafaun each have gorgeous new records that should sound fantastic at Hailey’s. Local boy Matthew Gray’s new moniker/side project isn’t much of a departure from the Arrogant Sea (not a bad thing), but I’m really digging the slightly murkier sound of the new recordings.

Thursday, August 13

Smith Westerns / Girls / Teenage Cool Kids / Fergus & Geronimo @ Mable Peabody’s

Nate already mentioned this show (scroll down). Two of my favorite Denton bands playing with two of the best new bands anywhere. If you’re in Denton, you must go.

Saturday, August 15

Los Campesinos! / Girls / Smith Westerns @ Granada Theater

Nate has also already mentioned this show. If you want to go (you should), and if you haven’t entered already (you should have), then enter now for free tickets before it’s too late. This lineup is ridiculous. You are an absolute fool to miss this show. Thank you, Granada. WTD loves you.

This entry was written by nate, posted on August 11, 2009 at 10:09 pm, filed under Shows and tagged Bowerbirds, clipse, Fergus & Geronimo, girls, los campesinos!, Matthew Gray, Megafaun, smith westerns, Teenage Cool Kids, The Cool Kids. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

upcoming//tonight: de la soul

3 Feet High

Friday, July 31

De La Soul @ House Of Blues Dallas

NY’s finest, De La Soul, will be live in Dallas tonight. I’ve seen them only once before at Pitchfork in ‘07. It was quite a party. This show should be no different. Apparently they haven’t aged since ‘89. Rhythm Roots Allstars will serve as backing band.

Here’s one of my favorite tracks off De La’s underrated AOI: Bionix. There’s no reason this Wings‘ sample should work, but it soooo does.

De La Soul – Simply

Tuesday, August 4

Glasvegas / Ida Maria @ The Loft

I’m not the biggest Glasvegas fan, but this show seems interesting to me. I think Glasvegas could sound a lot better live, especially in the confines of The Loft. The real draw here, however, is Norway’s Ida Maria. Her sound is not the most original, but her vocal performances are often captivating, as evidenced by this track off of her debut, Fortress Round My Heart.

Ida Maria – Oh My God

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This entry was written by nate, posted on July 31, 2009 at 4:43 pm, filed under Shows and tagged De La Soul, Glasvegas, Ida Maria, Rhythm Roots Allstars, Wings. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

dirty beaches

dirtybeaches

Been digging on the artists at Fixture Records since my recent acquaintance, Dirty Beaches in particular. Their most recent ep, Bird, is seven tracks of mellow ghostly atmosphere with an almost a jazzy outlook. According to FR’s blog, Dirty Beaches has a new six track cassette set to drop via Night People some time in the coming month. Rose Quartz had the pleasure of debuting one, “Low Rider”. A completely different approach than what is offered on Bird, Alex Zhang Hungtai’s latest is more upbeat and accompanies the background with a haunting whisper. Order a digital copy of Bird here and check his myspace for two more tracks to drop on the cassette, “White Sands” and “Coast to Coast”.

Dirty Beach – Low Rider
Dirty Beaches – West Coast Bird

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This entry was written by nate, posted on July 30, 2009 at 2:26 pm, filed under New Tunes and tagged dirty beaches, fixture records, night people, rose quartz. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

upcoming//tonight: sonic youth!!

Sonic_Youth

Just a reminder. Sonic Youth is in Dallas tonight (7/15) at House of Blues. Tickets are/were available through Ticketmaster, which means you’ll have to sell a kid or a kidney to afford to go. I bought a general admission ticket at $25.50. After Ticketmaster got done fisting me, my total came to $40.21. Fuck you very much. And of course I’ll also have to pay $10 to park. I miss Denton. But… it’s Sonic Youth! So I guess I’ll just have to do less cheese. Awesome Color open.

This entry was written by nate, posted on July 15, 2009 at 3:30 pm, filed under Shows and tagged Awesome Color, sonic youth. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

upcoming//tonight: low

LOW

Low is playing Dallas tonight! And we get an interview!!

Slow start to the week of live music in DFW, with the exception of the always amazing Abe Vigoda at The Cavern last night. I hope someone went. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it. I’ve seen Abe Vigoda at least three times, and not only do they put on a fantastic show, they’re also super nice guys. The very promising Seattle art-punk trio Talbot Tagora, who I’ve never seen live, opened the show. Their upcoming album Lessons in the Woods or a City, is out July 21 on Hardly Art. As for the rest of the week…

Thursday, July 9

Low @ The Loft

Minimalist. Slow tempo. Beautiful two-part harmonies. Shut up and listen. And for fuck sake, stop calling them slowcore.

Friday, July 10

Deer Tick @ Hailey’s

Raw. Rootsy. Rock.

Strange Boys / The Coathangers / Bad Sports @ The Lounge on Elm Street

Watch out. The Coathangers girls spit. A lot.

The Paper Chase / Matthew and the Arrogant Sea @ Dan’s Silver Leaf

Two local bands. Denton’s own Matthew and the Arrogant Sea have a new record called Family, Family, Family Meets the Magic Christian out on Nova Posta Vinyl October 28.

Saturday, July 11

Matt & Kim @ House of Blues Dallas (Cambridge Room)

This was supposed to be a free Bacardi show with Major Lazer. Don’t know what happened. Very cool of Matt & Kim that they’re still coming to Dallas. You won’t see two happier people on stage. Such a fun show!

This entry was written by nate, posted on July 9, 2009 at 5:33 pm, filed under Shows and tagged abe vigoda, bad sports, Deer Tick, Low, Major Lazer, Matt & Kim, Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, strange boys, Talbot Tagora, The Coathangers, The Paper Chase. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

upcoming//july 4th weekend

surface of sun

Living in Dallas is like living on the surface of the sun. This place is not fit for human habitation. Especially if you’re blue-eyed and pasty-skinned like me. I’ve always found the Fourth of July to be an overrated holiday. There’s a built-in obligation to be outside. I love my country and all, but I want no part of the heat. Even after the sun goes down, beers get warm too fast to provide any relief. Fireworks are exciting, sure. Up north. Here, they’re best viewed on a wall-mounted Samsung while basking in glorious central a/c. I say fuck the fireworks. Go to a show.

Friday, July 3

Teenage Cool Kids / Angry Businessmen / Fungi Girls @ Rubber Gloves

Three of Denton’s finest. Teenage Cool Kids are celebrating their Foreign Lands record release. Angry Businessmen are apparently reuniting. Fungi Girls are… rad.

Saturday, July 4

INDENTONDANCE DAY: Neon Indian / many others… @ Hailey’s

Diverse lineup of DJs and bands. Doors at 6pm. Free until 9pm. They say, “you got yer rap, yer electronic, yer foot stompin music, yer chiptunes, and yer sikk djs.” Alan Palomo aka VEGA aka Ghosthustler is making his live debut as Neon Indian. Dude gets better with every name change. If that’s not enough, they’ll be “giving away free POP POP SNAPPERS and POP ICE POPSICLES all night!”

Western Giants / Touching Tongues / Manned Missiles / Violent Still Life @ The Cavern

All local bands. My esteemed colleague Nate has blabbed about his love of Western Giants. I share his love. The other bands on the bill are new to me, but based on their MySpace pages, I’m intrigued enough to get there early.

4th of July Blowout: Riverboat Gamblers / Red City Radio / Bad Sports / The Uptown Bums @ Rubber Gloves

Punk seems to be the uniting thread for this lineup. Riverboat Gamblers have notoriously riotous live shows. Another chance to catch Bad Sports, who Nic has photographed and spoken kindly of.

This entry was written by nate, posted on June 30, 2009 at 8:31 pm, filed under Shows and tagged Angry Businessmen, bad sports, fungi girls, Ghosthustler, Manned Missiles, neon indian, Red City Radio, Riverboat Gamblers, Teenage Cool Kids, The Uptown Bums, Touching Tongues, VEGA, Violent Still Life, western giants. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

crystal fighters//xtatic truth

Crystal Fighters

I know what you’re thinking. Seriously? Another fucking crystal band. Just what we need. Why not add an unnecessary double or triple consonant to their name? If I were a band, I’d be called Cryssstal. I wouldn’t even have to release any music. My name would say it all. You’d just know that I’d be good. I could sell t-shirts that say Cryssstal. And people would be jealous.

Originally from Spain, Crystal Fighters are more than just a trendy band name. On their MySpace, they describe their music as “fast dance music with Basque instruments, synthesizers and our voices.” That description seems pretty accurate. The few tracks I’ve heard combine Spanish-named acoustic instruments with huge synths and a shit-ton of bass. Cooler-than-you French label Kitsune just put out the Xtatic Truth EP which features the titular single backed with three solid remixes. It is available for download from iTunes. I posted the original below.

Crystal Fighters – Xtatic Truth (Original)

They’ve also done some fine remix work for others.

Magic Wands – Black Magic (Crystal Fighters Remix)

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This entry was written by nate, posted on at 1:36 pm, filed under New Tunes and tagged Crystal Antlers, Crystal Castles, Crystal Fighters, crystal stilts, Magic Wands, Nodzzz, wavves. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

upcoming in june//the wizard

the_wizard

No apologies this time. I already missed the Jenny Lewis / Heartless Bastards show this Tuesday. Pissed. Really wanted to go. I’ve loved her since Troop Beverly Hills and The Wizard. Someone please tell me about the show. Send me pics. Please.

Thursday, June 25

Starlight Mints / Evangelicals @ Granada Theater

John Vanderslice / The Tallest Man On Earth @ House Of Blues Dallas

Oklahoma must be a weird place. On the one hand, the Official Rock Song of Oklahoma almost definitely puts your state’s Official Rock Song to shame. On the other hand, this is the state that gave birth to Bush-fellating douche-bag, Toby Keith. Thankfully, the two Oklahoma bands playing Granada on Thursday night have more in common with Yoshimi than with Shock’n Y’all.

If you really hate Toby Keith, you should definitely check out the John Vanderslice show. His 2005 album, Pixel Revolt, and 2007 album, Emerald City, are extremely rare in that they actually say something intelligent about post-9/11 America. The multi-talented Vanderslice happens to have been in one of my favorite bands of the 90s, MK Ultra (their 3 records are available in hi-res mp3 for free), and he’s also collaborated with some of my other favorite bands like The Mountain Goats and Spoon. I’m not sure the political leanings of Swedish folkster Kristian Matsson aka The Tallest Man On Earth, but I’m guessing he’s no Keith fan either.

So basically, either way, the terrorists win.

Friday, June 26

Cryptacize @ Rubber Gloves

Ben Kweller @ Granada Theater

Cryptacize is an unconventional band. Much like Deerhoof is an unconventional band. When Chris Cohen parted ways with Deerhoof, I thought one of my favorite bands might be ruined. Instead, Deerhoof never missed a beat, and thankfully Cohen found a new avenue to explore his unorthodox arrangements and childlike sense of wonder. Cryptacize continue to get better, and I can’t wait to see them up close and personal on stage at Rubber Gloves. Apparently, they use very tiny drums.

If you want to make your girlfriend happy, take her to see local hero Ben Kweller. Girls dig Ben Kweller. It’s a fact. Just be sure to have your girl pack a few tampons. For Ben.

This entry was written by nate, posted on June 24, 2009 at 7:05 pm, filed under Shows, Uncategorized and tagged Ben Kweller, cryptacize, deerhoof, Evangelicals, Heartless Bastards, Jenny Lewis, John Vanderslice, MK Ultra, Spoon, Starlight Mints, The Flaming Lips, The Mountain Goats, The Tallest Man On Earth, Toby Keith. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.