Feb 27: Cult Citzen feat Downtown Boys, Aye Nako, CCTV, AMOR Prohibido @ Baby’s All Right, 8PM ($13)
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Mar 18: SXSW Showcase presented by Burger Records x Alt Citizen feat Hinds, The Shivas, Tijuana Pathers + more @ Pearl St, 8PM (FREE!)
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Nowhere Now Tour Details
“Nasa’s dubbed this the “Nowhere Now Tour,” a five-week-long excursion with a handful of others including her sister, an intern, and Grace Miceli of Art Baby online gallery, who will be curating a traveling art exhibition. They’ll be making stops in Los Angeles, SXSW, and a bunch of places in between. “Throughout the country we’re going to find DIY venues and galleries that we can just kind of do our thing in,” Nasa explained. Having met countless bands throughout the years from her work as editor-in-chief at Alt Citizen, which is primarily a music writing publication, Nasa said that she was inspired by touring, which is “this old method that’s proven to work for years in building a fan base and a community.”
Continue reading here.
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60 Years of Spanish Music
Growing up in a Cuban-American home, I was exposed to a lot of spanish music. As I grew older, I listened to it less and less – until it became something I only heard from my grandmother’s room on Saturdays. After realizing my music library was filled with thousands of songs, all in English, I’ve been trying to restore my love for the music I grew up with. Below is a collection of spanish songs that I’ve inherited from my family and some that I’ve discovered on my own.
(1958)
(1963)
(1965)
(1969)
(1975)
(1984)
(1988)
(1992)
(1994)
(1995)
(1997)
(1998)
(1999)
(2000)
(2001)
(2002)
(2003)
(2004)
(2007)
(2008)
(2013)
(2014)
(2014)
(2014)
(2015)
(2015)
(2015)
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Give Up The Roast: Madcap Coffee’s Lake Effect vs. ‘Apologies To The Queen Mary’ by Wolf Parade
Give Up The Roast is a column that collides delicious caffeine with auditory revelry a la a bi-monthly coffee and album pairing—the perfect combination for perking you up during that midday slump. Here, columnist Shannon Shreibak investigates all of the notes, from fruit rinds and spices to perfect fifths smothered in grinding distortion. So come on all you coffee shop novelists, DIY freaks, and connoisseurs of fine taste—keep your mind here in the GUTR and catch a buzz with us.
Living in a media landscape that shamelessly exploits nostalgia for gain, it’s near-impossible not to grow cynical amidst the rash of cash-grab reunion tours, wallet draining box sets, and glut Urban Outfitters “curated vintage” t-shirts emblazoned with the cotton crunched likenesses of our musical heroes. Memories are the new currency, and we’re all indebted to the culture of our pasts.
One reunion announcement that I greeted with an open heart (and wallet), though, is Wolf Parade. The Canadian proto-pop rockers recently announced the end of their indefinite hiatus, breaking through the static of navel-gazing throwback tours. While I’m eagerly awaiting WF to announce a return to Chicago, I’m biding my time by revisiting their 2005 debut, “Apologies To The Queen Mary” and, of course, sipping on some caffeinated libations.
BEHIND THE CURTAIN (BACKGROUND)
“Apologies To The Queen Mary” is one of those albums that, theoretically, should not have become an enduring work in the indie rock canon. The album isn’t musically groundbreaking or lyrically earth shattering, but it is a triumph of partnership between two auteur frontmen: Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner. Krug relies on complex chamber rock stylings and cryptic lyricisms; Boeckner serves as a stylistic foil choogling full steam ahead with grim Springsteen swagger and boot stomping rock riffs—the confluence of these two masterminds is the real triumph of “Apologies.”
BRASS TACKS (THE COFFEE)
Wolf Parade’s sound orbits around the juxtaposition between its two distinct vocalists—Dan Boeckner with his craggy wails and Spencer Krug’s dynamic hiccoughs. Not unlike Madcap Coffee’s Lake Effect, Wolf Parade is a polarizing experimentation of taste, texture and metaphor.
Stationed in Grand Rapids, Madcap Coffee has maintained an unwavering commitment to the specialty coffee niche long before the artisanal food and goods trend hit. Focused on building strong relationships with farms spindling across the globe, Madcap’s eclectic inventory is a tour de force offering brews for every palate and wanderlusty coffee freak.
Mirroring the complexities and contradictions of Wolf Parade’s catalog, Madcap’s Lake Effect reigns as one of the most intriguing offerings on shelves today. Comprised of beans hailing from Kathakwa, Kenya (one-half); Yukro, Ethiopia (one-quarter); and Reko, Ethiopia (one-quarter); the brew pairs the most complex African coffees to create a harmonious sip of juicy and spicy notes.
WHITE NOISE (THE MUSIC)
Informed by the sappy sucker sound of Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock (who produced a good hunk of the album), Wolf Parade’s debut LP poises on a bedlam of slick synth sounds, finger-tangling keyboards, frenetic drum fills and dual vocals. With near-perfect alternation between Krug and Boeckner-led cuts, the immediacy and themes of “Apologies” become even more novel FINISH
The album kicks off with “You Are A Runner And I Am My Father’s Son,” in which Krug yelps through romantic confessions over drummer Arlen Thompson’s unflappable snare jabs. Every syllable Krug spits from his silver-threaded pipes shoulders a sense of urgency that even his own voice can barely support, crushing every lyric beneath his own self-awareness. The track is followed by Boeckner’s grand entrance, an bare-boned lamentation on technology’s tightening grip on society titled “Modern World.”
Krug’s “Grounds For Divorce” explores the demise of both relationship and self-worth as he whimpers, “there’s a hole in my neighborhood / down which of late I cannot help but fall.” Boeckner’s “Same Ghost Every Night” chomps through six minutes with indulgent arpeggios and meditations on the imminence of death.
“Shine A Light,” world-weary and harmony-dense, punches up the mood and continues forth with the idealistic glint of “I’ll Believe In Anything.” Crackling with cryptic modernity-fearing nuggets and Krug’s Ritalin-starved delivery, Wolf Parade’s takes on the alienated teen dream love song is home to some of the groups strongest lyrics:
“if I could take the fire out from the water / I’d share a life and you’d share a life / if I could take the fire out from the water / I’d take you where nobody knows you / and nobody gives a damn”
The album closes with Boeckner’s pomp ‘n play ballad “This Heart’s On Fire,” laid on a bed of Springsteen guitar chug and lyrical knife twists (“I am my mother’s hen / and left the body in the bed all day / we don’t know what to do”). Penned about the death of his mother, Boeckner’s sorrowful ballad digs its heels into hapless triumph as he repeatedly refrains “it’s getting better all the time,” never sure if he actually believes it.
While “Apologies” didn’t disrupt the continuum of modern music or win any trophies, it’s an album that bookends the crisis of love, loss and spirit that plagues us all. Framed as a debut, but enduring as a homily, “Apologies To Queen Mary” is the debut that no one was expecting and everyone needed from a gang of young and wild-eyed malcontents with so much more to say.
Column by Shannon Shreibak. Go forth and be loud with her on Twitter @ShannonShreibak.
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Photo Diary: Sizzy Rocket’s Thrills PJ Party!
Sizzy Rocket just released her debut album Thrills and we hosted a PJ party and gave away goodies from Alt Space to celebrate! Stream her album here! Cheryl Georgette captured our night of debauchery below.
Tracklist
Bad Kids
Wrote this one about being a rebel – that’s what most of my art is centered around young, iconic, rock n’ roll, Kurt Cobain, teenage rebellion. That’s why I chose this as track 1 – it’s a good starting place. it’s how I felt when I first moved to New York.
Need Somebody
It’s simple and it’s clean and it’s such a raw feeling, to want somebody. This song is about just putting all of that on the line like – let’s do this. That’s how I am. The best thing about love is that it’s kind of like a secret between two people.
Bestie
Based on a true story between a night I had with my bestie at the time, drug and sex-fueled at the Thompson Hotel in the LES. I like to make parodies out of my darkest moments.
THRILLS
This song is the youngest, most amateur pop song on the record but that’s what makes it charming. It’s about getting fucked up. That’s what THRILLS meant to me in 2012 when I wrote it.
Helium
This one is about realizing that you only love someone because it gives you power – “baby I’m a queen, and you are the high that I need”. It’s fucked up, but we’ve all felt it.
Boy
I never really intended to keep this song because I thought it was way too pop, but I like it. I recorded the vocals when I had a bad cold so it sounds nasally to me but we ended up keeping them.
In It
Wrote this one about my ex but it’s a pretty self-explanatory break-up song.
Joy Ride
I have a thing for cars and hip hop, so obviously Joy Ride is one of my top picks on the record. And Oak is a genius, so.
Young & Stupid
This is my favorite song on the record. It’s so nostalgic, which is such a present emotion in my life, and it just feels summery and young and the lyrics are sexy and clever. Everyone has a high school boyfriend they think about once and awhile. My advice? Never grow up.
Feel Dis Shit
Everyone told me not to put this song on the album because no one would “get it” but it’s one of my favorites and I love doing it live. It makes me feel like Lil Wayne, especially the middle part where I’m just screaming bloody murder. It’s a song about fucking hangovers, how could I not include it on an album called THRILLS.
Dazed & High
Another nostalgic one but this time it’s dark and powerful. Wrote this about one of my longest and most important relationships. I was blacking out and doing a lot of drugs and it wasn’t pretty – it’s a love song in retrospect, an apology. I love you Erin.
Champange Room
I have so many vices, and this song is about indulging in them all and the guilt that comes with that as a consequence. Is the high worth the low? Yes. The answer is always yes – it’s part of what “thrills” is and I’ve learned that as I’ve grown up.
Crooked
I wrote this one in my bedroom at 7am after a night of bingeing. It’s raw. I used to do a lot of “crooked” shit – that’s slang for fucked up.
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Apr 13: Tacocat, Lisa Prank, Surfbort @ Palisades, 8pm ($12)
Seattle pop punk quartet Tacocat are hitting New York promoting their third studio album. You can catch them rocking Palisades this Wednesday along with Lisa Prank and Surfbort.
All Ages. $12-14. Purchase tickets here.
Listen to Lost Time below.
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Video Premiere: Plain Dog “Cherry Cola”
an unusual summer night
Have you ever experienced a dramatic trip to the bodega? Maybe you bought enough junk food to feed yourself for a year, maybe you ran into the last-person-on-this-fucking-planet you wanted to see, or maybe you had a public meltdown because they stopped selling Rice Krispies Treats (TM). Whatever it is, it pales in comparison Plain Dog’s bodega binge gone awry.
“Cherry Cola” is the visual companion to a new single off the bodega-familiar Brooklyn band’s first full-length album, which touches down this Spring. The band’s debut music video was co-filmed, directed, and edited by Russell Efros (vocals/guitar) and Alec Nichols (drums) in Miami of January 2016.
“Cherry Cola” – Plain Dog – Bandcamp
Plain Dog will be performing April 25th @ Black Bear Bar (Brooklyn, NY).
Band:
Russell Efros - Vocals, guitar
Willie Almack – Lead Guitar
Alex Thompson – Bass
Alec Nicholas – Drums
Super cute, neon-lit, prom themed, band pic credit:
SINJUN STROM
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Mixtape: Getting Back Into the Swing of Things
It’s been a busy few months. I took a much needed break from the real world for two months, and now I’m back to pick up the pieces of my life that I put on halt. Winter is dwindling down and warmer weather is in the foreseeable future. To insure that I have an amazing summer, I’m gonna have to start getting my shit back together. So I made the perfect playlist to do just that. Press play and together lets get back into the swing of things.
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May 3: Silverteeth, Mobile Steam Unit, The Continuums, Jhai @ Shea Stadium, 8PM
Cool fun show to check out tonight! Before heading over listen to new music from our buds in Mobile Steam Unit. The band plays with Silverteeth, The Continuums, and Jhai at Shea Stadium Tuesday, May 2! Doors open 8PM. Tix and details here!
Shea Stadium is located at 20 Meadow Street, Brooklyn NY 11206.
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May 5: Big Ups, Dirty Dishes, Washer, IAN @ Shea Stadium, 8pm ($10)
Another day, another amazing show to go to. Tonight, Brooklyn bands Big Ups, Dirty Dishes, Washer, and IAN are playing Shea Stadium. Don’t miss it!
Shea Stadium is located on 20 Meadow St. Purchase tickets here.
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7 New Albums to Stream
There is never a shortage of amazing music to listen to, but sometimes it takes a little searching to find it. Never fear though, Alt Citizen is here with some incredible new albums that you should totally be listening to. This list would have included Radiohead’s “A Moon Shaped Pool” if it weren’t only available on Apple Music, but that’s besides the point. So pop on your headphones or turn up your speakers and check out this list of albums to stream this week.
White Lung: Paradise
ANONHI: HOPELESSNESS
Death Grips: Bottomless Pit
Beverly: The Blue Swell
James Blake: The Colour In Anything
Skepta: Konnichiwa
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Nonagon Infinity
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May 12: La Luz, Las Rosas, High Waisted @ Market Hotel, 8pm ($13)
It’s a beautiful day to listen to some surf rock tunes. So go see Seattle girls La Luz play Market Hotel tonight along with Brooklyn babes Las Rosas and High Waisted.
All ages. Purchase tickets here.
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May 12: Wall, Bambara, Threats, Weeping Icon @ Berlin, 8pm ($8)
In the mood to rock out tonight? Well then you should go see punk bands Wall, Bambara, Threats, and Weeping Icon play tonight at Berlin NYC.
21+. Purchase tickets here.
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May 14-15: Gigawatts Presents Dances, Slonk Donkerson, Dead Stars, Haybaby + more @ Alphaville, 6pm ($8)
Music and art mag 1.21 Gigawatts is coming to an end. To say goodbye, they put together one last kick ass lineup. Two nights, 14 bands – including Alt Citizen favorites such as Dances, Slonk Donkerson, Dead Stars, Haybaby, Cosmonauts, and Total Slacker. All door money will go to benefit 826NYC. Kicks off at 6pm at Alphaville. Farewell Gigawatts, thanks for everything.
$8 each night. More info here.
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Listen: Mourn “Second Sage”
I must say, I am very excited for Spanish band Mourn’s second album, Ha, Ha, He! So far, they’ve released some absolute killer singles for the record such as “Evil Dead” and “Storyteller” – with “Storyteller” probably being one of my favorite songs of theirs to date. And now, they’ve just shared their third single “Second Sage”, and it’s another hit. Ha, Ha, He! is out June 3rd on Captured Tracks. Listen to “Second Sage” below:
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Mixtape: Stoner Mix
We have the perfect playlist for all you stoners out there (you know who you are). I originally made this mixtape to post on 4/20, but as you can imagine, I got too stoned and forgot to post it. Now, here it is, weeks later. USUALLY, I am a very productive high… 4/20 is an exception. So enjoy guys, I did it for you.
Mixtape by Brittany Marino. Follow her at @brittanyamarino.
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8 New Albums to Stream
Out of music to listen to? Done replaying your favorite album to death? Looking for something new? Well, some amazing albums came out recently and we’ve got our picks for the week. Jam to these 8 new albums from artists like Young Magic, Car Seat Headrest, Colleen Green, Twin Peaks, and more! You can thank us later.
Young Magic: Still Life
A Giant Dog: Pile
Car Seat Headrest: Teens of Denial
Shit Robot: What Follows
Colleen Green: Colleen Green EP
Mind Spiders: Prosthesis
Twin Peaks: Down in Heaven
Liss: First
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Watch: Fat White Family “Tinfoil Deathstar”
Fat White Family just shared their video for “Tinfoil Deathstar” – a track from their sophomore album Songs for Our Mothers, which they released earlier this year. The video shows the band jamming casually with a backdrop of projections including footage of military parades, violent explosions, and dictatorship propaganda. Plus, Lias Saoudi is having his severely burnt skin peeled off of his body. It’s definitely a sight to see, watch it for yourself:
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Watch: Ty Segall “Candy Sam”
Aw! What a cute video of a bunch of babies….. wait no, actually – its just another one of Ty Segall’s weird videos. This time, it’s the music video for “Candy Sam”, a track from his 2016 release Emotional Mugger. There’s not much to explain. The simple video contains footage of adorable infants, slightly manipulated to create an erie effect. Also, a cameo from Segall’s iconic mask. Watch it here:
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More Pages to Explore .....
