Enjoy a collection of tracks from artists that we are working at the moment. Be sure to open the player in a new window if you’d like to keep listening as you continue browsing.
North Carolina is bursting at the seams with local talent, but very few can capture the same intensity and all around awesomeness as Impossible Arms. For the bands debut album, they chose to avoid the now common recording process of multi-tracking, overdubbing, and post production for a truly raw sound. The band recorded this one over the span of two days, basically two taking all of the songs of the record (save a few backing vocals and bass player Justin Blatt on Viola and Violin…he can’t do it all at once!) The result is an incredible organic record that relies on awesome guitar licks, catchy vocals and all around gritty rocking. Impossible Arms’ debut record Ripped In No TIme is available now!
Chapel Hill’s Americans In France will release their newest album, Pretzelvania on May 12th on the newly formed Odessa Records. They’ll be embarking on a tour the next day, up the coast, ending with two dates at New York’s Cake Shop and Home Sweet Home.
The drummer/vocalist for Americans In France is the accomplished Casey Cook. On top of her duties in the band, she’s also a critically praised visual artist. She’s shown her art in galleries in New York and Los Angeles, and as far as Zurich, Switzerland and Turin, Italy. Check out her work at Branch Gallery.
Grayson Currin, who frequently contributes to Pitchfork, posted this about Americans In France on Raleigh’s Independent Weekly feature, the Top 40 Songs of 2008:
“‘Liking You’ begins with what sounds like a music box, a miniature universe of sound that will play the same tune forever so long as you keep cranking its handle. The song and its subjects seem to operate on much the same principle of cyclical infinity: Though the tempo and textures of ‘Liking You’ change, they do so in tiny waves, moving from quiet to slightly less quiet to very quiet, adding a distorted guitar tone here and a drum turn-around there. But the song seems like it could spin forever, continuing the self-perpetuating, dangerous crush loops of which drummer Casey Cook sighs and sings so carefully. She recognizes the problems of the relationship ahead, like the drinking and the lack of communication and the desperate clinging of two lonely souls. But in this submerged duet, she goes with it, adding a soap-opera magnetism to the woozy washes of these Beach House shores. You’ll recognize these miniature emotional battles.”
Here’s a video of Americans In France performing at Local 506 in Chapel Hill:
And be sure to catch Americans In France on that aforementioned tour:
05.01•Local 506 (Chapel Hill, NC)
05.13•Soapbox (Wilmington, NC)
05.14•Tin Roof (Charleston, SC)
05.16•Wormhole (Savannah, GA)
05.16•Stardust (Orlando, FL)
05.18•Jackrabbits (Jacksonville, FL)
05.22•Metro Gallery (Baltimore, MD)
05.23•Cakeshop (New York, NY)
05.24•Home Sweet Home (New York, NY)
There’s no overstating it: Akron/Family are bad ass as all get out. Every time I’ve seen them I spend the first four minutes with my mouth agape, simply standing in awe of one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen. Then they kick it into high gear and I cannot help myself from shaking my ass and screaming like a banshee. No one can escape this feeling, as evidenced in this radical video for the totally excellent “Everyone is Guilty”
Experience the Magic for yourself:
05.05 Middle East Downstairs (Cambridge, MA)
05.05 Bowery Ballroom (New York, NY)
05.08 Club Metronome (Burlington, VT)
05.09 Bennington College (Bennington, VT)
07.23 10,000 Lakes Festival (Detroit Lakes, MN)
09.12 Kutshers Country Club w/Animal Collective, Panda Bear, Atlas Sound (Monticello NY)
Over a decade has passed since Paleface put out a major label release…it’s funny to think of what you were probably doing ten years ago. I was still WAY into professional wrestling, Pokemon, and fearing that the Spice Girls would never disappear. The decade-long sabbatical from one of the founders of the “anti-folk” movement is over as he releases his brand new record The Show Is On The Road! The title is all the more fitting as Paleface (along with girlfriend/drummer Monica “Mo” Samalot) will be hitting the road over the next few months in support of the brand new release on Ramseur Records. And now for your viewing pleasure, check out Paleface and Mo performing the track “Traveling From North Carolina”!
Kyle Andrews just finished this amazing new video for his insanely catchy tune “Sushi”…themed around YouTube and their annotation feature…
The director, Dennis Liu (who did the Mac themed video for the Bird and the Bee last year), pulled over 1.4 million titles, and thousands of unique YouTube video stills to make this groundbreaking mosaic video…and, to add to the fun, there’s over 350 annotations embedded within it, taking you to 378 other classic YouTube videos at various points through the song…so it’s as that element of surprise and makes it kinda like a game…
A blog featuring indie music, band interviews, music news, and Windsor Ontario Pickled Pork.
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The Cropper! accepts submissions of music of all kinds. Though we can’t guarantee write-ups, we eagerly anticipate writing about new and exciting artists. Submit your music now. Thanks!
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