Favorite Albums of 2013 (10-1)

10. The National - Trouble Will Find Me

Death, taxes, and The National putting out fantastic albums. They'll probably never top the one-two punch of Alligator and Boxer, but I'll continue to buy their albums and listen to them try.

9. Postiljonen - Skyer 

Why this album has gone mostly under the radar while everyone gushes about CHVRCHES, I'll never understand. I love both bands, but Skyer is clearly the superior album.

8. Moonface - Julia With Blue Jeans On

Maybe my judgement is clouded by my fandom for all things Spencer Krug, but this is another record that is severely underrated in the landscape of 2013 albums of the year. It's just Spencer at a piano, but the songs are utterly sublime.


7. Arcade Fire - Reflektor

Many bands kiss of death is when they decide to switch up styles and try something different. That might be a problem for lesser bands, but Arcade Fire didn't have that problem. The Talking Heads influenced 4th album gets better with each listen.


6. Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience 1 of 2

I feel the need to clarify that my number 6 album of 2013 is only the first volume of Justin Timberlake's 20/20 Experience. Like many others volume 2 feel flat with me, but this one has so much pop goodness it's hard to understand how the second volume could sound so much worse.


5. My Bloody Valentine - m b v

Of all the comeback albums of the year, none had more potential for disaster than the followup from My Bloody Valentine to the brilliant Loveless album. This album has been 20+ years in the making and defies expectations by being really, really great.


4. Ha Ha Tonka - Lessons

How bands like The Lumineers and The Head & The Heart are popular while Ha Ha Tonka still is relatively obscure baffles me. I wouldn't compare them very closely with the aforementioned bands, but they have a similar vibe to them. Ha Ha Tonka's newest album, Lessons, absolutely blows anything those bands have done away by a long shot.


3. Iceage - You're Nothing

I don't dig too deep into obscure punk rock & hardcore enough, but there seems to be a serious lack of anything sounding as remotely dangerous as Iceage does on their second LP You're Nothing. I got to see them in KC this year for Middle Of The Map and it was an absolute shit-show in the best way possible.


2. Jason Isbell - Southeastern

I said to someone recently on twitter that I didn't think there was a better songwriter around right now than Jason Isbell and I believe it. Cleaned up and going full force on Southeastern, it's by far his most cohesive album with some of the best songs he's ever written.


1. Deafheaven - Sunbather

Never in a million years would I have expected my favorite album of the year to come from the black metal genre. Some metal nerds will argue this isn't black metal, but they're wrong. If you get past the high pitched, unintelligible black metal-esque vocals and view his voice as another instrument it's such a beautiful album. The music sounds like a post-rock heaven somewhere in between Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor which is what drew me in initially. I should also mention the lyrics are really amazing but most likely you'll have to look them up online to understand what they are.

Favorite Albums of 2013 (50-11)

50. Midlake - Antiphon
49. The ACBs - Little Leaves
48. Low - The Invisible Way
47. Blood Orange - Cupid Deluxe
46. Savages - Silence Yourself
45. Twin Peaks - Sunken
44. Disclosure - Settle
43. Crocodiles - Crimes of Passion
42. Cut Copy - Free Your Mind
41. Iron and Wine - Ghost On Ghost
40. Mutual Benefit - Love's Crushing Diamond
39. Cowboy Indian Bear - Live Old, Die Young
38. Dawes - Stories Don't End
37. Hospital Ships - Destruction In Yr Soul
36. Sigur Ros - Kveikur
35. Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels
34. TV Ghost - Disconnect
33. Janelle Monae - The Electric Lady
32. The So So Glos - Blowout
31. Phoenix - Bankrupt!
30. High Highs - Open Season
29. CHVRCHES - The Bones Of What You Believe
28. The Appleseed Cast - Illumination Ritual
27. Local Natives - Hummingbird
26. Okkervil River - The Silver Gymnasium

25. King Khan & The Shrines - Idle No More

The garage rock phenom's best album in my opinion, Idle No More, expands the usual King Khan sound with flourishes of R&B and especially classic rock like The Stones.

24. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away

Although I'm not sure this album would crack my top 10 favorite Nick Cave albums of all time, it's still one of the better albums of 2013. A bit mellow for Cave, but the songs are so good that you hardly even notice.


23. Jim James - Regions of Light and Sound Of God

There are always a few albums that don't stick with me immediately, but will after I see them played live and Jim James first solo album falls under that category. Jim James always seemed to be the soulful influence in his mostly rock focused band My Morning Jacket, and here he got to fully express that.


22. David Bowie - The Next Day

It had been over a decade since David Bowie had released a solo album and arguably even longer since he'd released a good solo album, so it was a nice surprise when The Next Day came out earlier this year.


21. Mikal Cronin - MCII

Few genres sound as good to me as a really good guitar pop/rock album and the Mikal Cronin album MCII delivers in full.


20. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires In The City

I've gone back and forth previously with my feelings on Vampire Weekend. My wife can attest that at one time I thought they were the most overrated band around, but I've come around with their third LP. I can't deny how great this album is.


19. Kurt Vile - Walkin On A Pretty Daze

Kurt Vile continues to put out great album after great album. His last album was my favorite album of 2011, so any follow up was likely to be a bit of a drop off, but Walkin On A Pretty Daze is still a really solid album.


18. Palma Violets - 180

I first heard about Palma Violets when someone described them as a British version of The Replacements. Since The Mats are one of my all time favorite bands, that's a tough comparison to stomach, but I was pleasantly surprised when I checked out their debut album 180.


17. Deerhunter - Monomania

I don't think I need to write anymore about how brilliant I think Bradford Cox is and how almost everything he puts out by Deerhunter or Atlas Sound is worth your attention. But I guess I just did....

16. Volcano Choir - Repave

It's interesting to think Justin Vernon only contributed vocals to this album because in reality it sounds like a third Bon Iver LP.


15. Neko Case - The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You

I wasn't in love with the last Neko Case album. Don't get me wrong, any Neko Case album is going to be good because it's got her singing on it, but the songs seemed weaker to me. She comes back this year with one of her strongest albums ever.


14. The Men - New Moon

I'm sure there are a ton of fans of The Men that despise this album. From a band that's previous work was loud, abrasive and messy it might be tough to stomach them settling down on their new album. For me, however, the flashes of classic rock and Crazy Horse are enough to almost push this into my top 10.


13. Diarrhea Planet - I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams

The best description I've read of any band this year belongs to Diarrhea Planet. Their bio describes them as "The Ramones holding Van Halen hostage with an arsenal of fireworks and explosives", which is something I needed to listen to immediately. I really really hate their band name, but dammit I love this album.


12. Phosphorescent - Muchacho

I've been following Matthew Houck's band Phosphorescent for a while now and have liked a lot of stuff he's done. However, I've been waiting for him to put out a great album and he's done so with Muchacho. Now if he would just come through KC to play a show sometime.

11. The Grisly Hand - Country Singles

What is my 11th favorite album of 2013 would also be classified as my favorite local album of 2013. Kansas City based The Grisly Hand put out an absolutely delightful country album that in a just world, would catapult them to stardom. It will be a goddamn shame if it doesn't.

Stay tuned for my top 10 favorite albums of 2013.

New Music: Drowners

There always seems to be a "next big band" out of New York and it's hard to really get excited about many of them. However, when I first heard of Drowners a few months ago and heard comparisons to The Strokes and The Smiths, I knew I should check them out. At that point they only had a short three song EP called Between Us Girls, but all three songs were incredibly catchy and really pretty great.

Now the band is poised to release their first full length and self-titled LP on Frenchkiss Records.

You can check out two videos below. The first one is for the newest single they've released, 'Luv, Hold Me Down' and the second is one from their first EP 'You've Got It All Wrong'

Drowners - 'Luv, Hold Me Down':



Drowners - 'You've Got It All Wrong':

New Album: Moonface - Julia With Blue Jeans On

One of my all time favorite songwriters & musicians of the past 10 years or so has been Spencer Krug. Best known for his time as co-leader of Wolf Parade, he's also been busy with side projects such as Sunset Rubdown, Swan Lake and Moonface. Of all the aforementioned bands, Moonface has always been the project I've had the hardest time getting into. That's seemed to change pretty quickly with the release of the newest Moonface LP Julia With Blue Jeans On.

Krug's music has always had many layers to unwrap and his lyrics can tend to be cryptic and really strange at times, so this new album is quite a departure. The music is sparse as it's just Krug's vocals and a piano and the lyrics are the most straightforward love songs he's ever written. Those combined make for one of the most gorgeous albums I've listened to this year.

Check out the video for 'Barbarian' below.

Stream New Arcade Fire Album: Reflektor

I know I'm a day late on this, so if you're hearing this first from me you must not frequent too many other music sites! Either way, the new Arcade Fire album leaked yesterday, so the band did what many now do in that situation and stream it online themselves.

Listen to the full album below:

New Album: Ha Ha Tonka - Lessons

Well, my blogging hiatus was much shorter than I anticipated. Partially because of some nice feedback I got and partially because there is just too much good music out right now. Even if I'm updating the blog less frequently than normal, I'm still going to try and update when I can.

Let's start with what is quickly making it's way to the top of my favorite albums of 2013 list: Ha Ha Tonka's fabulous new album Lessons. Ha Ha Tonka originated in the Ozark region of South-Central Missouri, but since they're close enough, we like to claim them as locals. I've been a fan of theirs since the debut album, Buckle In The Bible Belt, came out in 2007 but Lessons, the band's 4th full length, is definitely their first GREAT album. Whether it's the poppy, bouncing 'Colorful Kids'; the Fleet Foxes-esque 'Arabella' or the dark & groovy title track, there are more fantastic moments on this album than I can count. 

Although the band just came through Lawrence in the last few weeks, you KC folks will have another opportunity to see them next month. The band will be playing a show in KC at the Record Bar the night before Thanksgiving on Wednesday, November 27th. This show usually sells out pretty quickly so I'd jump on tickets sooner, rather than later.

Update

If you're reading this, thank you, you may be one of the last few readers of this fine blog. I haven't been good about updating this recently because of the birth of my first daughter. It seems with work and a baby, updating the blog takes a clear backseat.

I probably won't be updating this very often going forward. I might post a year end best of albums list each year and a few one-off posts if I feel motivated to do so, but for the most part, this is the end.

I still love & listen to music on average for at least 4 or 5 hours each day (my job allows me to strap on headphones for most of the day) so my opinions and suggestions on music and shows is not dead. In fact, the best place to get updates on what I'm listening to and what I'd recommend would be to follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MattSchram.

Thanks for reading!

-Matt

Recommended Shows This Week (8/11 - 8/18)

I'm a few days late with this post for the week, but since all three recommended shows are this Friday night, I guess it's okay that it's already Tuesday.

Friday: Sleepy Kitty @ Czar Bar

Although the Czar Bar website has KC's Gentlemen Savage headlining this show, the band I recommend checking out is St. Louis's own Sleepy Kitty. Sleepy Kitty plays loud, awesome garage rock with great vocals and crashing drums. Their live shows have earned quite a reputation as well, so don't miss this show. Their sophomore album, Projection Room, will be out in early 2014, but you can hear a taste of their stuff here from a single off their first album 'Speaking Politely'.

Friday: Kurt Vile & The Violators @ The Granada

The show I'll be attending on Friday will be Kurt Vile in Lawrence at the Granada. Vile is touring behind his excellent new album Wakin On A Pretty Daze, and will be joined by Sonny & The Sunsets.

Friday: Bob Mould @ The Bottleneck

If I have time after the Kurt Vile show, I'll be heading down the street to The Bottleneck to check out Hardcore/Punk legend Bob Mould. Best known as one third of Husker Du, Mould's music has since gotten more accessible in his old age with bands Sugar and his solo career. His last solo effort, Silver Age, was excellent and this should be an outstanding show.

Recommended Shows This Week (8/5 - 8/11)

Monday: Smith Westerns/Wampire @ The Riot Room

Both recommended shows for this week are on Monday night and are good headliners paired with good openers. Chicago's Smith Westerns are continuing to gain notoriety with their third (and best) album, Soft Will. The band is fantastic live so don't miss this one. Portland duo Wampire will open the show with indie rock clearly influenced by the likes of Ariel Pink.

Monday: Naam/Radkey @ Czar Bar

Also on Monday, Brooklyn psyche/drone rockers Naam will be at Czar Bar. With songs that can exceed seven minutes regularly and sometimes in the fifteen minute range, Naam could be the second coming of Black Sabbath. Local favorites Radkey will not only be opening this show, but will be opening most of Naam's nationwide tour dates in August. Congrats to them!

Recommended Shows This Week (7/29 - 8/4)

Tuesday & Wednesday: The Postal Service @ The Midland

The Postal Service reunion tour will finally make it's way through Kansas City. After initially adding the Wednesday show and it selling out immediately, they've added a second show on Tuesday and tickets are still available. Local success story Mates Of State are opening and Jenny Lewis is a member of the touring band if you needed any additional reasons to attend.

Wednesday: Atmosphere @ CrossroadsKC

I refuse to acknowledge that Atmosphere isn't headlining this show. Instead of talking about the generic headliner, I'll focus on three fantastic indie rap artists you can see the same night instead. Slug (of Atmosphere), The Grouch and Eligh are all world class hip-hop MC's and you rarely get a chance to see The Grouch and Eligh in KC. Hopefully they come back through sometime on their own tour.

Saturday: Queens Of The Stone Age @ Sandstone

Another buzz show where they bring in a band I'd love to see but pair them with a really bad headliner. Queens Of The Stone Age are sandwiched between the fun live band Gogol Bordello and the really overrated headliner The Killers. I'd love to see QOTSA play their own show at The Uptown, but I should just be thankful they're coming to town at all I suppose.

Sunday: Frank Smith @ The Replay

Frank Smith are a band, not a man, from Austin, Texas who will be playing a show at The Replay in Lawrence. They're touring behind their new album, Nineties, which is a fantastic mix of alt-country, rock and indie music. They sound like a really great, polished bar band which is my favorite type of band. Opening the Replay show will be Jordan Geiger (of Hospital Ships).

Concert Announcement: Built To Spill

One of the bands at the top of my "haven't seen them live but really want to" list is Boise, Idaho's Built To Spill. Guitar virtuoso Doug Martsch has been the creative force behind the indie rock band for over 20 years now. They've got a couple of new band members and will be bringing their show to The Bottleneck on Saturday, October 19th.

A bonus is that Lee Ranaldo, formerly of Sonic Youth, will be opening the show with his new project Lee Ranaldo & The Dust.

Built To Spill - 'Carry The Zero' (live)
Built To Spill - 'Car'

New Song/Video: Volcano Choir - 'Bygone'

I'm a couple of weeks late on this, but Justin Vernon (from Bon Iver) is back with another one of his bands Volcano Choir. They recently announced their upcoming sophomore album, Repave, which will be out September 3rd on Jagjaguwar. They announced tour dates as well (no KC date currently) in addition to the first single 'Bygone'.

Check out the video below.

Concert Announcement: Jim James

Jim James, the front-man for My Morning Jacket, recently added some additional dates to his solo tour and we're lucky that Lawrence made the cut. He'll be bringing the tour in support of his fantastic solo album, Regions Of Light And Sound Of God to Liberty Hall on Wednesday, September 11th.

Tickets are on sale on Saturday, July 27th at 10am.

Jim James - 'Know Till Now'
Jim James - 'A New Life'

Recommended Shows This Week (7/15 - 7/21)

Monday: Night Beds @ The Record Bar

One of the bigger surprises so far of this year for me has been Night Beds. In the same vein as the almost country singer songwriter stuff, Night Beds debut album Country Sleep is really fantastic stuff. Winston Yellen's band will be at The Record Bar on Monday night and if it isn't already sold out, it most likely will be by tonight.

Tuesday: And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead @ The Record Bar

I'm not going to lie, I've never been a big Trail of Dead fan. Their debut album famously received a 10 from Pitchfork (meaning it's a perfect album, it couldn't be any better, right?!?) but it never did much for me. They've had a lot of lineup changes since then, but I hear their live shows are really great.

Wednesday: Night Moves @ The Riot Room

I've already written about Minneapolis' Night Moves earlier this month (and here's another chance for me to remind you we're giving away tickets to this show!) but let me reiterate that these guys have put out a really great debut album and this show should be a lot of fun.

Wednesday: Freedy Johnston @ Czar Bar

Although I'm not really familiar with a ton of Freedy Johnston's stuff, I'm purely recommending this show because he's a Kansas native and also because of the song 'Bad Reputation'. The song has nostalgic value to me because it was in the closing credits of the fantastic movie Kicking and Screaming (not the Will Ferrel movie).

Sunday: Glossary @ The Riot Room

Alt-Country, Americana or whatever you want to call it, Tennessee's Glossary has been doing it for years and are criminally unappreciated. If you like Lucero, Drive-By Truckers, American Aquarium or one of the many other Americana bands I write about frequently, you probably dig Glossary too. They'll be at The Riot Room on Sunday night.

New Music/Video: Postiljonen

The hazy, dream electro-pop thing is pretty big in indie music these days. The fact that bands like CHVRCHES are playing The Granada in Lawrence before even releasing a full-length album is pretty telling. The next band that should be making that kind of leap in popularity is Sweden's Postiljonen. The band will release their debut album Skyer on Best Fit Recordings on July 22nd and it is easily going to be one of my favorite albums of 2013. If you like stuff like M83 or jj, you'll most certainly find a lot to like here as well.

There doesn't appear to be any word on a US tour at this point and there is surprisingly little written about them from blogs outside of a handful that I can find. The band also has a video out for what might be the best track on the album, the closing track 'Atlantis'. The song sounds like it could have been a track off the last M83 album, which is just about the highest compliment I could give it.

Check out the video for 'Atlantis' below and I'll make sure and post something if they ever make it Stateside.

Recommended Shows This Week (7/8 - 7/14)

Monday: Deafheaven @ The Record Bar

What could be the show of the summer will be The Record Bar on Monday night. Deafheaven gets described as hipster black metal, but I can only assume it's because Pitchfork and NPR love them. I usually can't stand black metal vocals, but when they're paired with gorgeous post-rock type music, it's bliss. Don't miss this show.

Tuesday: The Appleseed Cast @ The Riot Room

My all-time favorite local band is making a return to The Riot Room for their first area show since Middle Of The Map. The Appleseed Cast is touring behind their fantastic new album, Illumination Ritual, and they really are one of the best live bands around. Joining them are locals The Life And Times and Muscle Worship for what will be one helluva show.

Tuesday: Steve Earle @ CrossroadsKC

Also on Tuesday night is songwriting legend Steve Earle at Crossroads KC which will be the perfect venue for him. He's prolific as hell so it can be intimidating getting into his stuff if you aren't already familiar but I recommend starting with 1996's I Feel Alright. He'll be joined on Tuesday by his band The Dukes.

Friday: David Byrne & St. Vincent @ CrossroadsKC

Another show that could be really special is on Friday night when former Talking Head's front-man David Byrne & St. Vincent will be at Crossroads KC. Although I wasn't a big fan of their 2012 album Love This Giant, it's impossible to ignore the greatness of the two's output elsewhere. Also, the pair does appear to cover St. Vincent and Talking Heads tunes in addition to their own stuff at concerts.

Saturday: The Architects @ The Riot Room

Probably one of the most popular local bands nationally in the past few years is punk band The Architects. They recently held a kickstarter campaign to fund their new album/comic book project called Border Wars. On Saturday they'll be holding a release party at The Riot Room. Also on the bill are some fantastic local bands Waiting For Signal, The Slowdown and Clairaudients.

Video: Bruce Springsteen - 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

Happy Birthday 'Merica!

 

Win Tickets To See Night Moves @ The Riot Room!

I always love it when we get a chance here to give away some tickets to a show. It's even more satisfying when it's to a show we are really excited about ourselves. Hailing from the Twin Cities, Night Moves will be at The Riot Room in KC on Wednesday, July 17th, and we're giving away a pair of tickets to the show!

The band's debut album, Colored Emotions, is a fantastic listen and sounds like a band that's been around for years rather than a debut. There's elements of country, pop, psychedelia and rock and it all mixes together quite well with John Pelant's vocals being the highlight of much of the album. He's got one of those voices that is absolutely mesmerizing from the beginning of the album to the end.

Their live shows are already getting great reviews after an opening stint for Django Django and here is your chance to see them in KC for free! Just send us an email to jeopardyofcontentment(at)gmail.com with the "Night Moves tickets" in the subject line and we'll pick a winner by Sunday, July 14th!

Night Moves - 'Headlights' (live on KEXP)

Recommended Shows This Week (7/1 - 7/7)

Tuesday: Futurebirds/Diarrhea Planet @ The Riot Room

Only a couple of shows this week that I can truly recommend. The first is Athens, GA alt-country band Futurebirds. After what I hear was a fantastic performance on the outside stage at Middle Of The Map, it's good to see them come back through KC this year. Joining them are the horribly named,  but really great punk band Diarrhea Planet.

Sunday: Gregory Alan Isakov @ The Riot Room

South African born, Philadelphia raised Gregory Alan Isakov (who now resides in Denver) is another show not to miss. He could be categorized as your typical singer-songwriter fare, but his songs have much more depth and emotion than many that wear that tag. I've never caught him live before, but I hope to this weekend!

New Pixies Song/Video: 'Bagboy'

Great new to kick off the weekend as the Pixies have released their first new music in almost 10 years. The single 'Bagboy' sounds great and despite the recent news that Kim Deal has left the band it still appears to feature her (Edit: Frank Black has said that the female vocalist is NOT Kim Deal).

You can download/stream the album below and check out the video for 'Bagboy'.

New Music: The Jinxed

More and more fantastic local releases are continuously coming out in 2013. This one is essentially a collaboration between members of local favorites Antennas Up and Bad Wheels (it also feature trumpet from the drummer of Ha Ha Tonka).

They've released a digital 7" single for now, that you can check out HERE. The first track, 'The Loon', is catchy pop brilliance. The b-side 'Say To Me', is more on the mellow, ballad-y side of things, but is still a fantastic song.

Hopefully there is more to come from The Jinxed, we'll keep you up to date on any news from them.

Concert Announcement: The National & Tame Impala

Two of the better indie rock bands around right now will be pairing up for a couple of dates around Austin City Limits festival and one of those dates is in Kansas City. The National and Tame Impala will be together at Starlight in KC on Friday, October 11th. I've written about The National extensively, but if you aren't yet familiar with Tame Impala, I can't recommend them highly enough. Their last album, Lonerism, was one of the best of 2012 (in fact, if I redid my list today, it would be in the top 5 or 10).

The National - 'Demons'
Tame Impala - 'Elephant'

Recommended Shows This Week (6/24 - 6/30)

Monday: Cayucus @ The Riot Room

California indie pop band Cayucus will be making their way through Kansas City tonight with an appearance at the Riot Room. Their new album, Bigfoot, is a lot of fun and was produced by fellow Secretly Canadian label-mate Richard Swift.

Tuesday: Jonathan Richman @ The Record Bar

I can't say I know too much about Jonathan Richman's solo stuff, but he was the man behind The Modern Lovers, who could be credited for being pioneers of Punk and New Wave music. He'll be performing at The Record Bar.

Tuesday: Lady Lamb the Beekeeper @ Czar Bar

Lady Lamb the Beekeeper (the alias of Aly Spaltro) grew up in Maine, but now resides in Brooklyn. She's touring behind her fabulous new album Ripely Pine and is opening for Torres at the Czar Bar. We're pretty sure she won't be opening for other artists for too much longer so don't miss her show Tuesday night.

Friday: Yeasayer @ The Granada

One of my favorite live bands is one of the few bands to reschedule a local show after the demise of Kanrocksas. Yeasayer will be at The Granada in Lawrence on Friday night for what will surely be one of the better shows of the month. I've seen them a half dozen times and they never disappoint.

Saturday: Hospital Ships @ Frank's North Star Tavern

I've mentioned Hospital Ships three times in the past month and a half, so this might be the last for a little while. Just to reiterate, their new album is brilliant, this is the last show of their tour, you should see them immediately before they move to Austin.

Saturday: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros @ Crossroads

The other concert that rose from the ashes of Kanrocksas that I'm excited about is Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. They'll be at CrossroadsKC on Saturday with ZZ Ward opening. I haven't given their second album enough of a chance, but the first is a lot of fun and I've heard their shows are as well.

Recommended Shows This Week (6/17 - 6/23)

Tuesday: Mount Moriah @ The Replay

With the press this band has been getting, I'm a little surprised they're aren't playing somewhere a little bigger. If you're into the whole Americana/Alt-Country thing, you'll really enjoy Mount Moriah.

Wednesday: The Mountain Goats @ The Record Bar

If you've waited until now to decide you want to see the legendary Mountain Goats at The Record Bar on Friday night, I'm sorry to inform you that it's already sold out. If you got on this early and already have tickets, I certainly don't have to tell you what a great show this will be.

Thursday: Jason Isbell @ Crossroads KC

Touring on the back of one of the best albums of 2013 so far, Southeastern, Jason Isbell will be making a stop in KC this week. He's co-headlining with Turnpike Troubadours with American Aquarium opening. Don't miss this show!

Friday: Snowden @ The Granada

I'd imagine the inadvertent web hits for the band Snowden have skyrocketed over the past few weeks. I saw them open up for Kings Of Leon years ago and they were fantastic live. They're touring in support of their new album, No One In Control.

Saturday: Evangelicals @ The Replay

Honestly, I had no idea Oklahoman s Evangelicals were even still around. I hadn't heard anything from them since their 2008 album The Evening Descends until I heard they were playing a show at The Replay in Lawrence. They're weird and awesome so go check them out!

New Album: Hospital Ships - Destruction In Yr Soul

Lawrence band Hospital Ships are continuing the streak of fantastic Lawrence/KC albums coming out in 2013. Their third full length album, Destruction In Yr Soul, is set to be released by Graveface Records on June 18th. 

The album really expands on the previous output which leaned towards minimalist bedroom recordings. Destruction In Yr Soul takes the great melodies that Jordan Geiger has been coming up with for multiple bands for the past years and really fleshes them out with a full band. I hear comparisons made between Hospital Ships and Built To Spill, but the only similarity I see is the singers high pitched vocals. 

Hospital Ships have a couple of shows coming up this month that you should check out. This Thursday, June 13th they'll kick off their tour at Replay Lounge in Lawrence with Cowboy Indian Bear. They'll also end their tour in Lawrence on Saturday, June 29th at Frank's North Star Tavern.

Finally, you can stream the entire new album over at Pitchfork Advance.

VIDEO: Hospital Ships - 'Servants'

Concert Announcements: Phoenix, Neko Case, Yeasayer and more

There have been more than enough concert announcements over the past week to warrant a separate post for them all. Top of the list is the announcement that Phoenix will be headlining 96.5's Buzz Beach Ball show on September 27th at Berkeley Riverfront Park in KC. Also joining them are a handful of decent smaller acts and a bunch of really average bigger acts including Alt-J, Awolnation, Cage The Elephant, Atlas Genius, Daughter, Coheed and Cambria, Courtney Love, MS MR, Kitten, Wavves, Hanni El Khatib and Little Green Cars.

Also exciting new that my favorite female vocalst, Neko Case, will be in Lawrence at Liberty Hall on Tuesday, October 15th.

Finally, the bands that were suppose to play Kanrocksas are beginning to announce shows at other venues around town. On Friday, June 28th Yeasayer will be at the Granada in Lawrence and on Saturday, June 29th Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and ZZ Ward will be at the Crossroads in KC.

Here is the full list of recently announced shows:

Fri 06/28 Yeasayer @ The Granada, Lawrence
Sat 06/29 Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros @ Crossroads, KC
Mon 07/15 Night Beds @ The Record Bar, KC
Sun 08/11 Mobb Deep @ The Riot Room, KC
Sat 09/21 Rancid @ The Granada, Lawrence
Fri 09/27 Phoenix/Alt-J/Awolnation/Cage The Elephant/Atlas Genius/Daughter/Coheed and Cambria/Courtney Love/MSMR/Kitten/Waaves/Hanni El Khattib/Little Green Cars @ Berkeley Riverfront Park, KC
Mon 09/30 Nine Inch Nails/Explosions In The Sky @ The Sprint Center, KC
Mon 09/30 Why?/Astronautalis @ The Granada, Lawrence
Tue 10/15 Neko Case @ Liberty Hall, Lawrence
Sun 10/20 King Khan & The Shrines @ The Record Bar, KC

Recommended Shows This Week (6/10 - 6/16)

Monday: Lord Huron @ The Riot Room

I was able to catch Lord Huron with a very intimate performance at the Replay in Lawrence a few years ago and I'm excited to see them now come through KC to the Riot Room. They're very Fleet Foxes-eque if you've never heard them and they're great live, so this show is highly recommended.

Thursday: Hospital Ships/Cowboy Indian Bear @ The Replay

Two of Lawrence's best bands have put out really, really great albums this year and will be playing a show together on Thursday to kick of Hospital Ships June tour. Shows like this make me curse my 9-5 job. Get to Lawrence, watch a great show and pick up both bands albums.

Friday: Reverend Horton Heat/Ha Ha Tonka @ CrossroadsKC

The band that tours more than the Grateful Dead ever did are making their annual appearance at CrossroadsKC. Always a really fun show, The Reverend will be joined by Springfield, Missouri band Ha Ha Tonka who seem to get more and more national attention as time goes by. On a Friday night this show will be one heck of a party!

Saturday: Shakey Graves @ The Bottleneck
Sunday: Shakey Graves @ The Riot Room

You'll have two chances to see the antifolk phenomenon Shakey Graves. He'll be at The Bottleneck in Lawrence on Saturday and The Riot Room in KC on Sunday, so you won't have to drive very far either day to see him. Here's just a taste of what you can expect!

Sunday: Father John Misty/Pure Bathing Culture @ The Granada

The show of the week (for the third week in a row) is another show at The Granada. Father John Misty put on one of my favorite shows of 2012 at the Bottleneck, so I expect this show to be fantastic as well. If you aren't familiar, you can expect sweet melodies and seductive dance moves.