tonight: Bishop Allen & The War On Drugs

"Digging For Diamonds"

We've had these tickets for a while but it was only recently that excellent Philly group, and recent Secretly Canadian signee's, The War On Drugs were added to Bishop Allen's neighborhood show. If you've yet to hear The War On Drugs, you can download the Barrel of Batteries EP for FREE at Secretly Canadian's site (click here!). The excellent EP is composed of a few "Dylan-y" songs, as well as some inebriating atmospheric tracks (highly rec'd). SC is also giving away "Taking The Farm" from The War On Drugs forthcoming Wagonwheel Blues (out 6/19), which has been getting a lot of repeat listens on my iTunes. And, of course, Bishop Allen is playing too! Tickets are still available, so come enjoy this rainy May Friday with Bobka, Bishop Allen and The War On Drugs.

The War On Drugs- Taking The Farm


Bishop Allen "Click, Click, Click" (as seen on Sony commercial)

we saw: Atlas Sound

Ethereal and atmospheric ambient shoegaze

The slowly spinning disco ball hanging above the stage at Johnny Brenda's in Philly on Friday night was the perfect fit for the lo-fi, ambient pop-rock of Atlas Sound. Much like the music, the reflected blue light created a methodical, entrancing, and slightly disorienting psychedelic vibe that made the room feel as if it were floating in space.

Atlas Sound is a strange mix of heavily looped and processed guitar and keyboards, densely layered on top of simple song structures. The slow-motion rhythms that shape the tunes are sparse, leaving plenty of room for the distorted soundscapes to flesh out the rest, while providing the perfect complement to singer Bradford Cox's introspective and repetitive lyrics.

Despite having to play the show with borrowed gear (a busted van transmission left their equipment stranded in Baltimore), the band seemed relaxed and jovial, performing a large chunk of their fantastic debut album in between extended episodes of ridiculous stage banter, which included a graphic retelling of Bradford's disastrous first encounter with the Philly breakfast staple, scrapple. Somehow, it all came together as a coherent whole and made sense when bathed in the otherworldly disco lights hanging from above.

Download a live track below and then head over to the band's MySpace to stream their new album. Atlas Sound plays tonight at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Atlas Sound- Recent Bedroom [recorded live on Feb 16 in Athens, GA]
Atlas Sound MySpace

mmm warm vinyl: Dr. Dog

"I Hope There's Love At The End of Your Day To Take You Away"

I will start by apologizing for not having written anything about Dr. Dog's phenomenal mystery tour masquerade We All Belong. It's been on of the most enjoyable releases of 2007 and I feel bad for not mentioning it more often. However, I'm gonna make up for that right now. When the Philly based psych-popsters dropped We All Belong in February they packaged it with a special limited edition 7 inch exclusively at select independent record stores nationwide. Luckily Burlington's Pure Pop is straight legit and hooked me up with a copy. A good friend transfered these fuzzy 8-track gems for all to hear. Enjoy the A & B sides. Real gems.

Dr. Dog- Goner
Dr. Dog- I Hope There's Love