The Dirty Diamonds - Meet The Dirty Diamonds

Recently, I was in my totally balla local sandwich shop (props Malibu), where they have a habit of sporadically bumping early rock and roll and some bangin' soul tunes, amongst some genuinely questionable music. Something like the Andrews Sisters was spinning and I had one of those moments of "who decided there was something wrong with this sound? Why did bands stop doing this?" like you do when you hear great stuff from yesteryear (see further: face-melting solos, epic wails).
Then karma/the internet smiled upon me and dropped a little gem in my lap - a couple weeks back BW featured "Naughty Girl" by the Dirty Diamonds. The band have gone on to cop some solid buzz, and the generous Diamonds themselves have offered us a link to their spanking new EP Meet The Dirty Diamonds. The soul-inflected indie pop and doo-wop sound of Naughty Girl is continued throughout the 4-song EP. It's a fun, fresh, eminently likable collection, and offers the increasingly rare treat of something different. BW reckons there's gonna be some serious chatter about them.

The Dirty Diamonds - Meet The Dirty Diamonds EP

Myspace

Icy Demons

In more P4k Music Fest news, organic Chicago band-experiment Icy Demons played what was apparently a banging set. I've had a jonesing to see this arrangement in action since I stumbled across their back catalogue a little while ago. Unfortunately, I live in the Antipodes. They're welcome to bring theyselves down Australia way though, and hit us with their TVOTR-meets-Can-meets-prog-rock goodness.

Icy Demons - Crittin' Down To Baba's

Myspace | Website

Les Savy Shave

MOKB posted some snaps of LOLz-factory Tim Harrington of Les Savy Fav running a rookie barber stall at the Pitchfork Music Festival. I doubt that I'd trust him to not cut me, although he does look bang into it. Hilar.

ANTE UP!

The funniest thing I have seen in a long time. So simple yet so awesome.

....kidnap that fool!

Part of the weekend never dies.....

Part of the Weekend Never Dies trailer

David and Stephen Dewaele are just too damn talented. They rock it with Soulwax, mash it as 2manydjs and reach for the lasers with their remixes of everyone from Daft Punk to Robbie Williams.

Now they can add a kick ass tour/concert film to thier resume. See above.

Extra props to the loose chick at the end of the trailer, cracks me up every time.

Dr Dog

While sampling the excellent Fader podcast I stumbled upon this gem. Having now listened to their latest album Fate I can confirm that Dr Dog is worth a minute of your time.

Think Tapes n' Tapes kicking it with Spoon and your close. All rustic pop rock with splashes of psychedelia thrown for good measure. They have been around for a minute with a number of albums and their own record label, parkthevan. Get into it.

Dr Dog - The Ark

Myspace | Website

How the fuck!

House of Cards (Official video)


How do they keep doing it.

Amazing albums.
Brilliant live shows.
Mind melting videos.

Above is another example of said videos - perfectly catching the mood of the track while looking like nothing that has come before it.

Yes I know that this is all over the net but I just wanted to bow down. Can't wait to see what they come up with for 'All I Need'

Find the making of here.

New Converse Ad*

• Pharrell: that cool.
• Santi White: almost that cool.
• Julian Casablancas: halfway between Kid Rock and Jack White. YOU JUST BROKE MY HEART JULIAN.

*so it's an ad. 'Evs.

It's Summer Somewhere

So Sydney is mentally cold right now* which always succeeds in totally bumming me out and making me feel lonely. Always. So in between wishing I was on tour (for what I'm not sure: I'm not a musician), being a total Passion Pit booster and thinking about what it would be like to be married to Amanda Blank (superbabe wife, but would I get weird about her lyrics?), I discovered Noah And The Whale. English bands have an unmatched ability to make wistful pop, and these subjects** are no exception. So before you go "oh more nice-sounding folk-pop whatevs why don't you marry it," listen to the music, and then think about it playing while you're at a picnic on a beautiful summer's day and totally giggling out with your friends. A twee image maybe, but that shit is FUN. And I miss it. And I want winter to pack up and give me my sun back. NATW's album "5 Years Time" comes out August 4th, so it's in time for Spring if you're south of the equator, and timed just right to get all wistful during Fall if you're north of it.

Noah And The Whale - Shape Of My Heart

Myspace | Website

*Not, like, New York cold, but we live at the beach, so it's different.

**Apparently, if you come from the UK, you're a subject rather than a citizen.

The Peach Pit

So there is already a gushing post over at GWFAS, one of BW favourite blogs, about Passion Pit. How ever after living with a number of their tracks over the past week I just had to hype this band a little more.

Hailing from Massachusetts in the US of A, they spit a type of warped psychedelic pop that seems to all the rage in 08. While GWFAS chose to feature the brain-melting Sleepy Head, I have opted for the more expansive I've Got Your Number from their first EP Chunk of Change.

Passion Pit - I've Got Your Number

Myspace | Label

I SWEAR IT ON THE BIBLE!

We've been massive Black Kids cheerleaders at BW (here, here and here) and we, along with many others, knew that 2008 would be huge for the bunch of young Floridians. At the moment they're finding themselves in probably the biggest month of their lives: Glastonbury last weekend, Lollapalooza in a few weeks time, and their debut full-length, Partie Traumatic, dropping in between those two slots.
Most of the album will be familiar to those of you that have been following Black Kids over the last year. It has the four tracks from the official Wizard of the Ahhhs EP, plus the other three tracks that have been floating around the interwebs for the last 6 months. Because of this, I was concerned that the record might suffer from some fatigue.
My anxiety was so misguided. Not only is the experience so much crisper, with Ali and Dawn's vocals much clearer behind Reggie's, the familiar songs have all had new studio takes, with new harmonies and variations on the breakdowns adding some extra polish to what were already some of the most exciting tunes of the last decade.
There are also three new tracks. I don't want to single any of them out because they are all in the Black Kids vein and they're all bumpin' pop tunes. The title track, Partie Traumatic, kicks it up; I'm Making Eyes At You is beautiful, almost Cut Copy and Postal Service-like; and Look At Me closes the album, not letting up in tempo in a way only Black Kids can.
If you're yet to hear Black Kids then I can't emphasise enough how much I want you to listen Partie Traumatic. If you're already a fan you must, must, must listen to the album because they've taken it to another level.
Hmmm, is this the time to mention pressure and sophomore together...?
My only other question: when are you coming down under Black Kids? When!?

Elbow Magic

Elbow live at Glastonbury. Go on... feel the love.

More choice Glastonbury videos.

Website | Myspace