Photos/Review: Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Festival @ BAM (Twin Shadow, Sharon Van Etten, The Walkmen)

Crossing Brooklyn Ferry (Day One) @ Brooklyn Academy of Music
Photos: Mariel Marrelli / Review: Debbie Chou

2011 was musically a very good year for me. My friend Jay Sharp introduced me to Twin Shadow and I immediately became obsessed, being the 1980’s music lover that I am. However, I missed every opportunity to see them perform in NYC. I met the critically acclaimed Sharon Van Etten at SXSW after her final song “Love More” made me cry. She consoled me with a sincere, gracious hug. Magic Sundae Radio started off the year with The Walkmen's “In The New Year” on their podcast, giving me hope and joy for the year ahead. Although The Walkmen have been around for several years, I finally got around to listening to all of their albums.

Imagine my excitement when Aaron and Bryce Dessner announced Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, a three-day festival at Brooklyn Academy of Music featuring Twin Shadow, Sharon Van Etten, and The Walkmen on the first night. To make the event more special, I decided it would be a great birthday gift for our Mariel Marrelli.

This Week's Nostalgia (4/30 - 5/6)

The Cranberries / Photo: Jess Baumung

By Trista Hou (Binshu Hou)

Do you still remember who the very first rock bands that enlightened you to start listening to indie music were? Do you still remember that once upon a time, there was an Irish frontwoman named Dolores, and her keening, powerful voice singing classics such as "Zombie,""Linger,"and"Dreams"? Yes, The Cranberries are back. The band even announced they would release their first new studio album, Roses, in over 10 years, which is due for release on May 5. Check them out at Terminal 5 on May 2 and 4 to reminisce, and let us know how many times your eyes well up with tears. 

Finishing her two-weekend journey in the Indio desert of California, Feist comes to town again touring in support of her album Metals, released in 2011. Considering its slow-to-bloom beauty, her live is still worth enjoyment. You can see her at Radio City Music Hall on May 5.

Xiu Xiu and Dirty Beaches are playing together and it only costs you $16 to $18? This is way too good a deal, alright? Xiu Xiu, a San Jose avant-garde group that has been active for the past 10 years, is the brainchild of vocalist Jamie Stewart--often earning a comparison to The Cure's Robert Smith. This is a band that you shouldn't neglect. As for Dirty Beaches, a band I am personally quite fond of, their lo-fi full-length album Badlands was released last year. With Suicide-like drum machines and hypnotic loops, Badlands conjures up images of surrealism, which could possibly drag you into an endless black hole.

Here are the rest of shows you should check out in New York City this week...

FN News Roundup: April 25, 2012

It's Wednesday! It's Hump Day! It's Administrative Professionals Day! And my cousin Drew's 22nd Birfday! Wow, what else could possibly be happening today?! Oh, right. This:

• Flip-flopper Damon "I-do-what-I-want" Albarn is keeping hope alive by saying that future projects with Blur and the Gorillaz have not been ruled out. You'll just have to control those blue-balls, everyone, and wait and see what happens (NME).

• In yellow-truck news, Jack White's Third Man Records Rolling Record Store is coming to the NYC tomorrow and giving out 5 pairs of tickets to this Friday's show at Webster Hall! Follow this shizz on Twitter (@ThirdManRRS) to keep track of their locations throughout the day (BroolynVegan).  

FN News Roundup: March 20, 2012

Happy Spring, true believers! We've got a glut of great news to share today, check it:

• Oh yes. As foretold by the seers, Neil Young And Crazy Horse will be releasing their new LP Americana on June 5. The legends' first new album since 2003's Greendale AND the first to feature the full Crazy Horse lineup since 1996's Broken Arrow will be a full-on American folk tribute with tracks like "This Land Is Your Land" and "Oh Susannah" (Rolling Stone)


• Tickets for Hot Chip's 2012 summer shows are on sale!!!!! (Hot Chip)


• Check out the video for "Adult" from Ceremony's very awesome new LP Zoo below (Matador)


• Stream Sharon Van Etten's Tramp B-Side "Life of His Own," and then catch her on Conan later on tonight! (Pitchfork)


• Questlove of The Roots continues to be a total badass by curating Shuffle Culture at BAM, a two-night (April 19 & 20) musical experience featuring Reggie Watts, Deerhoof, & more! (BAM)


• Sub Pop will be fully rocking Record Store Day (April 21) with a limited edition blue vinyl 7" of rare & unreleased Beach House tracks, an artist sampler, and much more. You can pre-order Beach House's new album Bloom (out May 15) to get it on limited edition white vinyl. Good times, guys (Sub Pop)

Photos: Shearwater/Sharon Van Etten @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Shearwater

Sharon Van Etten

Shearwater/Sharon Van Etten @ Music Hall of Williamsburg - February 24, 2012

Photos: Chris

The last time I caught Sharon Van Etten, at the much smaller Mercury Lounge, she was basically testing out her new band for the first time with her latest material--performing Tramp in full for an audience who had not yet heard it. Her and her band's performance was flawless, but she was clearly reserved and a little nervous, barely speaking a word in between songs. What a difference a few weeks on tour makes. 

On Friday night, Van Etten headlined a very sold out Music Hall of Williamsburg where she looked extremely comfortable on stage, joking frequently with the crowd and her band--her performance no less flawless than I would expect. With The National's Aaron Dessner (who also produced Tramp) on guitar from the middle of the set on, Van Etten and her band played through most of her latest excellent album, along with "Save Yourself" and "Don't Do it" off her last album Epic. Highlights of the set included her performance of "Serpents," which, let's just say it: that's pretty much the best song of 2012 so far. And her encore-ending performance of "Love More" brought the entire show full circle, reminding me of why I fell in love with her music in the first place.

Major credit has to go to openers Shearwater, who are doing one of the most original things in indie today. Their latest album Animal Joy, which is one fine record, takes new shape in a live setting--with frontman Jonathan Meiburg leading a band of four highly talented musicians through a set of layered, melodic and rhythmically complex songs. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what Shearwater are doing right now, but it's clearly not being done as passionately and unique by anyone else at the moment.

Below, take a look at a full set of photos of both bands including Van Etten's setlist...

FN News Roundup: March 7, 2012

All the top news of the day, delivered straight to yo' face in one quickie blog post!

• Geoff Barrow confirmed that there WILL be a new Portishead album! Once his studio's working! (Prefix Magazine)


• The name of Fiona Apple's new LP will definitely take you back to the good ol' When The Pawn... days, and it'll be out in June. (Pitchfork)


• Check out Sharon Van Etten's new video for "Leonard" below! (Beats Per Minute)


• ...And then check out footage of Yasiin Bey (formely Mos Def) performing a new J Dill-produced track "Sunshine Screwface" below that! (Consequence of Sound)

Holy Moly: Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Festival Coming In May (St. Vincent, The Walkmen, Sharon Van Etten, & More)

Have you ever gotten the feeling that someone out there has some sort of machine that reads your innermost musical wishes and turns them into reality? Maybe that's just me being kind of nuts, but that seems to be happening quite a bit lately. The latest case in point: a whole ton of our Future Nostalgia favorite artists and bands apparently met up in an Indie Rock Hall of Justice to put together an awesome new three-day music festival taking place here in NYC from May 3 through May 5.

The Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Festival is being curated by The National's Wonder Twins Bryce & Aaron Desner and will take place at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)'s own Howard Gilman Opera House and BAM Cafe. The lineup, of course, reads like an all-star lineup of indie rock greats:  The Walkmen, St. Vincent, Sharon Van Etten, Beirut, The Antlers, Atlas Sound, Twin Shadow, Tyondai Braxton (formerly of Battles), and many more. There will also be films shown at BAM Rose Cinemas, and there will be a closing night DJ Pat Mahoney and Nancy Whang, the DFA heroes who were core members of LCD Soundsystem.

Yeah, so you want tickets. Three-day Fest Passes go on general sale on March 6, while day passes go on sale March 12. If you're a Friend of BAM, you get advance presales on March 5 and 8, respectively.

Make it happen, and you bet we'll be right there covering it all.  

ATP I'll Be Your Mirror USA 2012 Festival Tickets On Sale Today, You Should Buy Them

Yep. We gave you quite a compelling reason to get psyched for All Tomorrow's Parties (ATP) upcoming I'll Be Your Mirror USA 2012 festival back in December, and in advance of general tickets sales kicking off TODAY (2/27) at 10am ET, ATP gave us a ton more:

"ATP are very pleased to confirm our return to Asbury Park, New Jersey USA with a new I'll Be Your Mirror event, the Saturday night of which will be headlined by The Afghan Whigs (who have reunited after a 13 year hiatus) and curated by their frontman Greg Dulli. Formed in 1986, the bands career from then until 2001 saw them release six acclaimed albums during their career. Fusing classic rock with grunge-era distortion and a heavy soul influence, The Afghan Whigs were one of the most renowned live bands of their time and ATP is excited to be a part of this long awaited reformation.

We are also very excited to present Grammy Award winner LOUIS C.K. (handpicked by Greg Dulli) who will be making a rare festival appearance, the fantastic THE ROOTS, JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ, a show from the reformed THE MAKE-UP and many others, see below for full line-up confirmed so far."

If your credit card's not at the ready, you may want to check your pulse. Go to ATP's website at 9:59:59am and get your window refresh on until you get a ticket. and check out the most recent confirmed line-up. You can also check out a clip of The Afghan Whigs performing "Debonair" for a very young Conan O'Brien.

And hey, if you wanna grab ME a ticket in honor of my 30th birthday that weekend ::cough::, that would be rad indeed.


ATP IBYM USA 2012 Initial Lineup:

Chosen by Greg Dulli (The Afghan Whigs):

THE AFGHAN WHIGS
LOUIS C.K.
THE ROOTS
JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ
MARK LANEGAN BAND
DIRTY THREE
THE ANTLERS
THE DIRTBOMBS performing Ultraglide In Black
SCRAWL
SHARON VAN ETTEN
EMERALDS
VETIVER
QUINTRON AND MISS PUSSYCAT
CHARLES BRADLEY AND THE EXTRAORDINAIRES
DJ QUESTLOVE
REIGNING SOUND

+ more to be confirmed

Chosen by ATP:

THE MAKE-UP
(reforming for IBYM)
HOT SNAKES
THE MAGIC BAND
AUTOLUX
THEE OH SEES
FACTORY FLOOR
DEATH GRIPS
I BREAK HORSES

+ more to be confirmed

Shearwater & Sharon Van Etten in New York City tonight and tomorrow (Stream Shearwater's Animal Joy)

Sharon Van Etten @ Mercury Lounge in March (more here)

If you've been paying any attention to the new music we've been drooling over in 2012 so far, then you're probably well aware of the excellence of Shearwater's Animal Joy and Sharon Van Etten's Tramp. Two records that beg to be given consideration to as album of the year despite the fact that it's not even March yet.

Which is why you'd be smart to find some way into the sold out shows both acts are playing together--tonight at Music Hall of Williamsburg and tomorrow at Bowery Ballroom. Sharon Van Etten plays an additional show on Sunday at Bowery with Carter Tanton and Glass Ghost (also sold out). Check StubHub though, because there actually are reasonably priced tickets available on there right now.

In the meantime, you can stream Shearwater's Animal Joy in its entirety below...

Stream Shearwater's "Animal Joy" In Its Entirety

"The cat's out of the bag. You can hear the new album here." -- Shearwater on Facebook

Well there you have it. As we shared last week, Austin's own Shearwater is releasing their new album, Animal Joy, this Valentine's Day on venerable indie label Sub Pop. And like clockwork, good ol' NPR has said LP up for streaming on this week's edition of "First Listen."

Check it out over here in case you missed that link a few lines up, and be sure to pick up the album in time for their two NYC shows on February 24 and 25 at Music Hall of Williamsburg & Bowery Ballroom with FN favorite Sharon Van Etten. Both shows are sold out, but find a way in because they'll undoubtedly be awesome. More tour dates after the jump.

Listen To Sharon Van Etten's "Tramp" In Its Entirety On NPR

We recently had the pleasure of seeing Sharon Van Etten deliver a beautiful performance at Mercury Lounge,  of her brand new album Tramp, set for release on February 7 via Jagjaguwar. And thanks once again to the great folks at NPR, you can now have an exclusive first listen to said album as part of their ongoing "First Listen" series.

You can check it out over here, and as a special treat, you can tune in to NPR at 11am ET TODAY for a special listening party and Q&A featuring the artist herself. Conveniently enough, that takes place at the same link, so grab a coffee and get ready for a fun listening experience.

As we mentioned, Sharon will be playing Bowery Ballroom on February 24 and then Music Hall of Williamsburg on February 25 and 26. Tickets are still available for the 24th and 26th, so definitely make it happen.

Shearwater releasing their Sub Pop debut, playing pair of NYC shows

Back in April of 2011, it was announced that Austin-based indie band Shearwater had signed with Sub Pop Records to release the follow up to their critically acclaimed record The Golden Archipelago (released on Matador in 2010). Well my friends, the time is almost upon us for that new record to be unveiled. Animal Joy will be released on February 14 and is currently available for preorder over at the Sub Pop website.

The record is expected to be more rock-oriented than their last few experimental recordings, the trilogy of albums that included Palo Santo, Rook and The Golden Archipelago. Which makes perfect sense, considering Shearwater's drummer Thor Harris was last seen playing percussion in, um, the heaviest band on planet Earth--Swans. And with the new record only weeks away from release, that means the band is about to hit the road in support of it.

For those of us in New York City, the tour will bring Shearwater to Music Hall of Williamsburg and Bowery Ballroom on February 24 and 25 respectively, opening for the wonderful Ms. Sharon Van Etten (with whom they are touring with). Van Etten has a new album coming out of her own, which we just saw her play in its entirety last week. Tickets are still available for both shows, so grab one while you can--they are likely to sell out. Below, take a listen to "You As You Were" off of Animal Joy, and check out where Shearwater will be playing near you...

Photos/Review: Sharon Van Etten @ Mercury Lounge

Sharon Van Etten @ Mercury Lounge - January 18, 2012
Photos: Chris / Review: Jennifer Harmon

Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten delivered a beautiful, heart-stirring performance at The Mercury Lounge last night, sharing for the very first time new songs from her third studio album Tramp, which will be released February 7 on Jagjaguwar.

We stood quietly in the perfect spot nestled close to the stage, prepared to savor every word. At around 8 PM, the lights dimmed and Sharon Van Etten and her band made their entrance. Dressed in all black, the lovely raven-haired singer captivated us immediately. After greeting the audience and adjusting her guitar strap, she launched an hour-long set, playing the new album in its entirety, filled with alluringly anguished vocals mixed with ripe, full arrangements of guitars and drums.

“I loosen my grip from my palm and put it on your knee/You’re the reason I’ll move to the city. You’re why I’ll need to leave,” she sang during the heartbreaking tune, “Give Out.”

She became one with the guitar, allowing her dark locks to cover the left side of her face as she bent forward. Under the shinny haze of the red and blue stage lights, I was mesmerized by the way Sharon’s body and voice showcased such a wide range of happiness, fear and pain.

With a guitar pick in her mouth, we did not mind the fact that she apologized to the crowd at least a couple of times for “being clumsy” in between songs. Her voice was outstanding, showcasing powerfully passionate lyrics on all of the songs from the new album. The foursome sounded superb at Mercury Lounge, with the luscious mix of guitars and vocals, and even a harmonium, ukulele, and an omni chord in the mix.

She thanked the crowd numerous times for coming out on hump day - on a cold, winter Wednesday night. “But it’s still early so you can go on a date and have dinner still,” she told us.

It was not surprising that one female fan was close to tears. Sharon told her, “It’s okay to cry.” Her distinctive voice digs into your soul. At this small, intimate venue, I glanced around and observed how multiples faces in the audience appeared hypnotized by her voice and the lyrics off of the new album. At times, I felt overcome by sadness and regret but I also experienced a deep sense of satisfaction and hope. I longed for more.

“I am alone in this room with you/I tried,” she sang out during the last song of the night.

Sharon’s latest gig at Mercury Lounge performance is proof that this New Jersey native has taken her songwriting abilities to the next level. Her new material is a brilliant experience of everything she has created thus far. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

---

Tramp is currently available for preorder over at Jagjaguwar's website. Sharon will be playing Bowery Ballroom on February 24 and then Music Hall of Williamsburg on February 25 and 26. Tickets are still available for all three. Below, take a look at a full set of photos from last night's show...

Future Nostalgia: Sharon Van Etten playing Mercury Lounge 1/18, ticketson sale at 12pm

While poking around on the Bowery Presents website this morning, I happened to notice that one of my favorite artists around today--Sharon Van Etten--will be playing the intimate Mercury Lounge next Wednesday, with tickets going on sale today at 12pm. Van Etten recently just opened for The National at the Beacon Theatre, and is about to release her third album Tramp in February, produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner for Jagjaguwar. Tramp will be the much anticipated follow up to her excellent album Epic, one of my favorite records of 2010. If you’re smart, you’ll grab a ticket to this and revel in one of indie’s greatest young talents, playing a venue considerably smaller than she will be playing in the months to come. See you there.