Unfortunately, Martin Dosh is one of those artists I’ll admit to sleeping on…which is sort of shameful considering I did once spend any evening gawking over his rather baffling ability to hold down the drum kit, effortlessly looping rich mosaics of rhythm and pattern with rigorous responsibilities on the keyboard. Amazing. That was backing up Andrew Bird nearly a year and a half ago, and Dosh’s The Lost Take has tempted me ever since. Of course I never acted; a big mistake as my own indecision has now left me dangerously ill-prepared for Dosh’s latest batch of ambient jazz, electro, hip-hop, and pop.

Boisterous, brash, and bratty might sound like characteristics best used to describe foul-mouthed punks and the “ready, steady, go” rush of guitars and drums they embrace. But as Los Campesinos!’ debut album Hold on Now, Youngster… (Arts and Crafts) affirms, such aforementioned adjectives are hardly limited to rock and roll’s pissiest of genres. No, this crew of Cardiff kiddos (who all sport the mythical surname of Campesinos) flip classic punk cynicism on its’ head instead, fashioning something a little more pure in spirit. Why they even tune their instruments (almost) up to notes that resemble that of the melodic tones they were always meant to output. Thus results in a band that fondly embraces the energy and spirit of their punk rock brethren, without ever tapping into the chaos and madness that made it so dangerous (at times). Of course Los Campesinos! aren’t wimps either. They just play pop music of a more highly caffeinated variety.

As previously reported, Ladytron’s got a slick new batch of songs coming…June 3rd if you want to be all precise about it. Kind of a little bit of a wait, right? I know. It’s killing us to. But at least the band is kind enough to shed some light on Velocifero (Nettwerk).

Trying to shoot dead center for the musical heart of Los Angeles’ Lucky Dragons is no easy task. How does one target what holds together the work of a group of artists who cover so much creative territory at once? Folk, electronica, world, rock, pop; there certainly exist glimmers of each dancing around the Dragon’s transcendent craft. But to pinpoint and prefer one over the other…to say the experimental group’s music is more one thing than another…it doesn’t really work.

Here’s a quick assignment. Find the nearest calendar, snag a thick red Sharpie, and circle…big and bold now…Saturday June 7th. Got it? Good. Now mark it “Philadelphia, PA – Festival Pier”. That best be your destination if you’re a supporter of all things Hip Hop and happen to find yourself within, say, 200 miles of the city of Brotherly Love. Of course, it would probably behoove you to check in with your nearest ticketing outlet this Saturday at 10AM before you make the trek. Tickets for The Roots Picnic are going to go fast.

Sifting through email messages from Jesse Elliott feels a little bit like hopping a high speed hot rod at midnight. Your driver? Why they’re clouded in mystery…a dark silhouette seated steady at the wheel. All that makes sense is this ride is wild and unpredictable. The kind those hairpin curves your twisting ‘round have never seen before. Oh, and one more thing. The headlights…they don’t really work. They just kind of flash on every now and then, illuminating just enough of the razor’s edge you’re free wheeling. And yet, somehow, you survive…somehow you hop off that hot rod in the end, better for having braved the journey.

For all that Montreal has given indie music (send your thank you notes to Arcade Fire, Chromeo, Islands, Wolf Parade, among others) Plants and Animals' debut album Parc Avenue (Secret City Records) marks the first time I can remember hearing from one of the city’s hippy dippy inhabitants. Even before giving this one a whirl, all signs point towards Patchouli. First there’s that name of their’s. Kind of embraces everything, everywhere, you know? Like all there is to love about life, and the very essence of being. It’s all right there man! Plants and Animals…you dig? Then there is the matter of all those lovely folks on the cover…doing whatever it is they like to do with themselves in the woods. Last time these Sgt. Peppers got together they were staring back at me from Devendra Banhart’s Cripple Crow. KEEP READING

With both a bonafied hit of comedy series on HBO and a golden Grammy in their pocket for The Distant Future EP, Flight of the Conchords – “New Zealand’s fourth most popular folk comedy duo” – have hit it rather big. Like, way bigger than the Doggy Bounce ever will (“Doggy dos and doggy don’ts, doggy wills and doggy wont’s). But a little indie cred - a tip of the cap in the name of all that is real – why, that’s really where it seems to be at these days, and on April 22nd Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie will officially get theirs. Releasing an album on Sub Pop tends to do that kind of thing.

Prepping his ’07 breakthrough Person Pitch, Animal Collective’s Panda Bear approached the release like that of a dance album; issuing vinyl only singles for almost every track on the album. Of course the power of Person Pitch lies in its deep rooted, introspective qualities…a listen best experienced from a more horizontal posture, rather than say…movin’ and groovin’ on the dance floor. Not the case with his latest project.

Is every major North American market getting its’ very own three-day summer music festival? As news piece after news piece continue to roll in, ’08 is beginning to look like a banner year for live music. What’s the next city to be called on to host such an event? Why San Francisco of course. It was only a matter of time before that glorious Golden Gate Park of theirs was put to use.

We here at Baeble would never fib. So believe us when we tell you that the first leg of Radiohead’s upcoming North American tour just got a tad more decadent (as if it was needed). Noise, prog, hard rock, punk, industrial, and who knows what else: avant trio Liars are confirmed to unleash their beautiful and bizarre mess of experimental soundscapes for crowds on a select number of dates, making those last anxious moments before the lights drop out and the Oxford band takes the stage ever more bearable.

Few souls burn as intensely as The Veils' Finn Andrews. When the gothic laced mad hatter took the Bowery Ballroom's stage for this performance, he quickly assumed the agonized face that his theatrical, unrestrained, and discontent music so rightfully demands. The Smiths, Stone Roses, Nick Cave, The Cure, and The Clash…the New Zealander and son of former XTC keyboardist Barry Andrews took welcome live musical cues from a host of acts who knew music was no game, but rather a deeply personal and spiritual phenomenon.

Battling that dreaded space cadet feeling this Monday morning…Could be the 5:30AM wake up call (courtesy of my current crop of foster cats, expressing their collective unhappiness with a closed bedroom door). Or the waning effects of a 5-hour journey from Philly to NYC (um, it’s only about 90 miles). Maybe it’s even got something to do with the hangover from an unexpected three day weekend. Whatever the reasons, this here noggin is perched a little too heavy for my shoulders today, making it a rather splendid time for naval gazing to the tune of Imaad Wasif’s Strange Hexes.

The Saturday Knights’ unique hip hop habits make plenty of sense. Both DJ Suspense and MCs Tilson and Barfly call Seattle home…the same city countless bands help fashion the rock capitol of the world back in the ‘90’s. Just imagine how many indie/alternative heavyweights these boys witnessed coming up. Of course this doesn’t explain the group’s full range of sonic bits. For that, look to the lending hands of a cast of collaborators that include artists like The Dap-Kings, Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil, and former Nirvana producer Jack Endino. Girl group doo-wop, surf pop, classic rock and soul; these Knights don’t ride no one trick pony. Theirs is a more seasoned stallion…one that bucks and kicks to the group’s celebratory sound. – David Pitz

There aren’t many acts that do the whole live performance thing better than New York’s own Les Savy Fav. That’s just a ‘lil something something we here at Baeble have picked up on over the years, and a point hammered ever more home by the band’s wild, free wheeling performance at last summer’s Solar One Festival. And while we certainly prefer the whole package…audio, video, etc…a live album would definitely be something to our liking. If only there was such a thing out there…

Washed ashore by the recent tsunami wave of Swedish talent, I’m From Barcelona are certainly one of our favorite players in indie rock’s ongoing Scandinavian invasion. You might remember we were tickled pink by the band…all 20 + members… when they played only their second US show at McCarren Park last August. If you weren’t so lucky, Emanual Lundgren’s charming crew of over-zealous pop-cionados will be making a return trip to play 6 US dates this spring. Highlights include stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, and at Coachella.

It’s looking like Barsuk Records day. How do I know? Well, this marks my second post concerning a Barsuk band today. What do you propose we call it? That’s what I thought. Barsuk Day it is…even though, technically, Death Cab for Cutie can no longer call the indie label home. ‘Course the label still does have plenty invested in their darling Death Cab. They’re kind of responsible for the band’s existence. And they still even handle their vinyl releases…

As reunions go, the B-52s return after 16 years is hardly the stuff of rock and roll wet dreams. Nobody’s really been sitting ‘round, pining for something new from the campiest of crews for the last decade and a half, have they? Not a chance. Those kinds of thoughts are generally reserved for more epic contemporary possibilities…think Pavement, The Smiths, or a Led Zeppelin line-up willing to play more than a one-off tease. Yet therein lay the beauty of an album like Funplex (Astralwerks). Listeners probably never missed the band, much less expected their first album of the 21st century to pack such a probable punch. This is ok, of course. In this case, finding ones’ self pressed under the wheels of such a surprisingly fresh bit of punk, new wave, and vintage rock is a rather splendid place to be. KEEP READING – David Pitz

Five albums strong? Mates of State can soon boast a catalogue five albums strong? Holy Smokes! Forgive my disbelief. I remember their squeaky clean, college radio kind of debut crossing my desk at, of all things, college radio years ago. But flash forward to present day and Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel are prepping album #5, Re-Arrange Us, for a May 20th release on Barsuk Records.

I’m beginning to like this new music model. It sort of keeps one on their toes, doesn’t it? Why just today we heard Jack White and Brendan Benson’s Raconteurs have announced their brand new album, Consolers of the Lonely, will be available soon…like March 25th, soon. Didn’t see that one coming…

And now, not to be outdone…though actually, I think they’ve been outdone…Gnarls Barkley have just announced that their sophomore album, The Odd Couple, previously scheduled for an April 8th release, is actually available…RIGHT NOW!

Lacing up their sneaks to make a little March Madness (and beyond) run of their very own, Montreal’s soothing, pop aficionados Stars will kick off a month long, 16 date tour in Baltimore tomorrow evening. Before they do, however, they’ll punch their ticket to the big dance with their network television debut on Late Night with Conan O’Brien this evening. After that, both a plunge down the east coast and a climb back up through the mid west is in order. The tour culminates with a Coachella performance on April 27th.

Plugging Chicago…that mighty, broad shouldered jewel of a city that holds down the South Western corner of Lake Michigan…is never a problem for me. Some might say, I got me a major man sized crush on the place, and consequently, almost anything associated with it…Like Cool Kids. I caught Chuck English and Mikey Rocks last fall when they whirled through town like a CMJ cyclone. And if you happened to catch the same show I did…the one that was 12 minutes long…well, you’ve probably been waiting for them to return. Turns out we are in luck.

On first listen, it’s easy to think that the title of Hot Chip’s follow-up to the highly successful album The Warning, Made in the Dark (Astralwerks), is referring to the tonal shift their music has taken. Opening tracks “Out at the Pictures” and “Shake a Fist” definitely take a darker approach than the songs on the previous album, with “Shake a Fist” even sounding sinister, combined with a tribal beat that seems borrowed from The White Stripes. The later tracks of the album, however, don’t all employ this darker tone, but what they do share with the initial tracks is a lack of predictability, as though listeners are the ones who will be “made [to be] in the dark.”

The 2008 North American festival circuit is officially a full on, continental kind of affair, thanks Live Nation’s newly inaugurated Pemberton Festival. Scheduled to take place July 25th – 27th, Pemberton is a three day, European style festival set against the majestic backdrop of British Columbia’s jagged, snow capped peaks…a concert setting that will give all but Washington State’s aw inspiring Sasquatch fest a run for its’ money in the aesthetic department.

I could start with his back story, but questions concerning Athens, New York, and his subsequent relocation from the little college music town that could, to the bustling borough that always has, do not draw many wide eyed revelations. Of course, why should they? Ask a man if he likes where he lives, receive a shrug, a smile, and a simple “yes”, and move on. Next question.

No, where Matthew Houck abandons his tendency to trail off somewhere past mid thought (yet offering just enough insight to let you know where he was headed all along)…where the stumbles, stutters, and awkward “I don’t knows” give way to the kind of thought, articulation, and passion I presume to be buried in the man…concerns the one and only thing that brought us together on a Wednesday night in Williamsburg Brooklyn. His music.

Sera Cahoone won’t dash through the listener’s comprehension, mucking up the place with high brow poetics and experimental fits of song. No, Only as the Day is Long (Sub Pop) keeps classic and country; the kind of immediate, warm blooded listen that seeps and settles in on first listen. ‘Course this is a good thing. Records that reveal their intentions from the get go often take off at the same kind of pace. Ask Band of Horses – the band Cahoone once slapped skins for – where the straight and narrow of breakout, Everything All the Time – the album Cahoone played on – lead them. That would be where most musicians only dare to dream. Could Cahoone’s wonder touch strike again? Perhaps…But like Eleni Mandell tuning in to twang a few years back, Cahoone the cowgirl is a refreshing listen; one I’d imagine listeners the world over will have no problems falling for.

13ghosts are a ten year old band...news to me as their apparent fourth album The Strangest Colored Lights (Skybucket) seeps through my headphones. Of course with a close ear on the album, their age and season is obvious enough. Inexperienced bands generally don’t plod through as much sonic terrain as 13ghosts. They also usually don’t have the privilege of recording an album in a studio specifically built for the project. Yet that is just what Buzz Russell, Jason Lucia, Sammy Boggan, Brad Armstrong and Andrew Vernon did when it came time to follow up their nichely acclaimed ’06 release, Cicada.

-photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Masonic Temple

Polite, intelligent, good looking; these are the not too shabby characteristics that best describe the gathering of a few hundred at Brooklyn’s Masonic Temple last evening. ‘Course this kind of a thing is no surprise considering the Swedish-Argentinean crooner drawing ‘em all in to the boxy auditorium…With two acclaimed collections of dark and stormy acoustic fair (05’s Veneer and ‘07’s In Our Nature) nicked up his sleeve, a live performance from José Gonzalez is a unique and rare treat. Tap a semi-formal, mostly mysterious Temple to host such an affair, and the beautiful flock of folks makes sense…at least in this city anyway.

Once again an MC works with a label that he should’ve worked with before. Although it took another label dropping him in order for it to happen, it’s worth the wait. 11th Hour, the new album from Del the Funky Homosapien, finds itself on the premiere indie-rap label Definitive Jux after Del was let go by Elektra. Like the recent release of Mike Ladd’s for European-ears-only Nostalgiator, 11th Hour is the perfect album for anyone who only knows Del’s voice through work with Handsome Boy Modeling School and the Gorillaz’s “Clint Eastwood.” KEEP READING – Stephon Johnson

“Super Group” may be the cringe worthy label that has been all too aptly applied to New Pornographers ever since they formed back in 1996. But the band’s performance at NYC’s Webster Hall proved that it’s not just household names that set them apart from many of their peers. Granted, the evening did mark one of the few occasions to check out the full ensemble of musicians associated with the band...Carl Newman, Neko Case, Dan Bejar, John Collins, Blaine Thurier, Kurt Dahle, Kathryn Calder, and Todd Fancey…recreating live material from Challengers, Twin Cinema, Electric Version, and Mass Romantic. But by flooding the spacious stage with up to thirteen musicians at a times, and showing off their famously seasoned sound for a brawny hour and forty-five minute set, the band proved their reputation comes by way of their unselfish willingness to provide an entertaining autumn evening for 1800 friends. – David Pitz

Bumping this bit back up the blog today, but with mighty good reason. For all those headed to Austin, be sure to stop by Antone’s this evening. That’s because Baeble is teaming up with the gang from Domino Records to offer plenty of coverage of the label’s official SXSW Showcase. With The Kills, Sons and Daughters, Lightspeed Champion, These Puritans, White Williams, and Simian Mobile Disco all slated to perform, what better way is there to kick off a long week of bands, booze, and BBQ? Be sure to get in line early, enjoy some of the best emerging bands at the festival, and then head over to Baeble in the weeks that follow to relive the evening that was. – David Pitz

Isn’t it funny how the world works? We’re just sitting here, letting Goldfrapp’s Seventh Tree (Mute) spin its’ wheels this morning, when what should arrive in the inbox? Why news of a few upcoming tour dates of course. And while this batch of shows are of a super exclusive variety, fans in New York and San Francisco can punch their ticket early by visiting Ticketmaster to swipe up some pre-sale tickets. For folks looking for tix in New York, visit HERE. Those in San Francisco, head HERE. In addition to both shows, Goldfrapp is also scheduled to play the Coachella Music Festival. – David Pitz

I’ve been trained to expect the very best out of mighty Merge Records over the years. So seeing such names scribbled in one place shouldn’t seem like such a shock. Yet ticking down the list before me, I’m reminded of just how many artists these guys have managed to slip up their sleeves over the years.

Summertime in Chicago…is there another city quite like it? The Lakefront, the parks, the block parties, the ballgames; never have I ever spent time in a place that embraces May through September quite like that jewel of a city. And after the winter that town has seen? Why it seems only right to hand my fellow Midwesterners the kind of good news that will have them dreaming of BBQs and mid season collapses.

“When I try to get a minutes rest there is always someone trying to do their best to exhaust me completely”

Hmmm…Perhaps a solo project was not the sharpest of ideas if a little rest is needed. T.S. Mr. Moren…We dig “Social Competence”, the first track to appear from Peter Moren's (of Peter, Bjorn, and John fame) upcoming record, The Last Tycoon. We’re rather happy he’s so willing to exhaust himself…and for such a cause at that.

If you have been paying any attention to the site over the last few months, you know what kind of fans we are of the FADER. Why, just last fall we teamed up with ‘em, filming every band that played their CMJ sideshow on the Lower East Side.

Hesta Prynn, Spero, and Sprout (aka Northern State) pop the champagne cork on their long awaited album Can I Keep This Pen (Ipecac Recordings) for a spirited gathering at Brooklyn’s Luna Lounge. Hosted by the very show biz savvy, Mr. Murray Hill, Northern State set their cerebral blend of hip hop beats, live rock riffs, and tight as a hipster’s belt buckle lyric delivery to a Wild West, show down at the OK coral theme. Yee haw ladies…

We all know SXSW to be a primo destination to scope out the best and brightest up and comers in independent rock. But what if you’re a hip hopper at heart? Options certainly run a tad more limited. No worries though. Here at Baeble, we got your back…or at least two of indie hip hop’s biggest names do.

As if Bon Iver’s ungodly good album For Emma, Forever Ago wasn’t excruciatingly heart felt enough, take a moment to read through the circumstances our friends at Jagjaguwar set forth that lead to the filming of Justin Vernon’s first video, “The Wolves (Act I & II)”.

It’s not that they're overlooked…not at all actually. It’s just, something deep down inside says the Polyvinyl Record Co. just doesn’t receive the full credit they deserve sometimes. Rarely, does their name crop up in relation to other elite, independent labels. I know I know…this is all sounding a compliment of the backhanded variety. Believe me, it is anything but. We love Polyvinyl. They gave us classic artists in Aloha, AM/FM, Braid, Joan of Arc, Of Montreal, Rainer Maria…we could go on and on.

First things first…Let’s just go ahead and get it over with. A wince, a cringe, a flinch…whatever it is you happen to call that semi “huh?” reaction that inevitably traces the mind the first time you read These United States. Just who’s got the moxie to represent themselves in such a way? Well, the answer to that question belongs to Jesse Elliot – a wilder, more poetically American name in indie rock there is not. And after several listens to his recently released debut album, A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate To The Garden Of Eden, you’ll have no need to wonder why. KEEP READING – David Pitz

Some folks might look at this performance from Imperial Teen as proof that punchy pop music knows no age barrier. Fair enough. We, on the other hand, would like to walk a line that goes a bit beyond that, suggesting this band of veteran musicians continues to season more scrumptiously as the years tick on. Want to know a thing about melody, harmony, song structure, dynamics? Hell…want to see some timeless pop songwriting unfold before your very eyes? Imperial Teen pump out the kind of blissed out bouts of pure and painless pop every student of the genre should study.

Today we fix our gaze on everyone’s favorite little label to the North, and the rather epic gathering of bands they will be hosting down South. Perusing their ever expanding artist roster, it’s pretty safe to say Toronto’s Arts & Crafts label all but owns the highly heralded, Canadian indie scene (Broken Social Scene, Stars, Feist). Of course, a recent rush of new signees (Los Campesinos!, Phoenix) suggests the label hardly intends to limit themselves to their country’s borders. This year A&C will showcase five of their bands at The Parish on Saturday March 15th. We’ve got plenty of info to wade through, plus an Arts & Crafts SXSW compilation for download, after the jump. – David Pitz

Bands, Booze, and BBQ; these would be the three basic staples of any SXSW experience. Of course how you whisk it all together…therein lies the real trick. Held March 12th – 16th, the annual industry blitz on Austin can be a bit of a monster to navigate. That’s why we, your trusted Baeble bloggers, have offered to shed a little light on the conference. Over the next week or so, we’ll offer a variety of daily highlights on what should be some of the more exciting soirees going. So stick with us kid…we promise you’ll get your full fix on all that SXSW has to offer.

From behind the closed doors of a rural, one room church…a place generally reserved for quiet chorales and holy hymns...comes a more modern psalm; one that presses up against the lofty ceilings, and sends a collective creak through the old, wooden pews that line the sanctuary.

How much line and lyric can one cram into a song? If you were to pose such a question to Ezra Furman, the answer would be plenty. In this performance from the The FADER Sideshow, Furman and his Harpoons play one group of cool daddy-o’s, ranting and rolling there way through a fine set of vintage folk rock.

For those of you keeping tabs on the ever developing Maxim review scandal, we’ve got one saucy little update for you. But before we launch into all the details, let’s give those just joining us a chance to catch up. Last week a press release rolled in concerning a review of the new Black Crowes album Warpaint that appeared in cheeky, dorm room staple, Maxim Magazine; an interesting phenomenon considering the band had yet to send out advance copies of any kind.