mp3: Pigeons Liasons LP & Vison of the Valley EP

Pure
Fresh off the release of the heavenly psychic Si Faustine, Bronx-based Pigeons are back with a pair of new releases on Soft Abuse. The duo includes the remarkable Liasons full-length, a record which finds Clark & Wednesday exploring the paisley side of their nouvelle-psych. The exploration is fitting for the duo, who've been carving a niche for themselves by crafting songs as equally romantic as they are narcotic. Personally, the only thing I can liken their sound to is a good film noir...informed by flower child sensibilities. Hints of Opal, as well as Kendra Smith's solo work, looms, as does the effected wonder of wah'd out bedroom compositions...with a bosaa-drum machine beat, and a lil' flute for flavor. And that's just the opener, "Smoke," a track which appeared on Pigeons TCC tape. The second track, "Race," wanders down all the rain soaked alleys you'd want to walk down at 4am in Paris drunk on good wine and too many rollies.

Pigeons- Race

In addition to the beautiful Liasons, Pigeons are also releasing a new 7-inch, Visions of the Valley, which contains two brand new tracks from the band. Released in an edition of 200 with hand-printed sleeves. Be sure to snag one of those on their tour with Fabulous Diamonds. Listen to the whole thing below.

Pigeons - The Postcard
Pigeons- Sunset Park

show: This is not a CMJ Show 10/20 Pianos

This Is How We Do It

Free Day Party. Come hang.

Flyer by Alan H.

update: OESB

So Sing Along

Well, Todd just laid an Operative Dumbo Drop sized box on my mailbox. Major update from the always provocative Olde English Spelling Bee, who are finally putting Big Troubles debut LP Worry in the palm of the listener's hand. Been waiting for this for over a year, and couldn't be more stoked. Might as well be a major label debut, whatever that means these days. Be sure to grip it asap, which you can, as all orders will be going out this week. Don't hesitate. Seriously.

In other OESB realms, Bobka favorites Pigeons are back with a new 7-inch, the first since their heavenly Lunettes last year on Soft Abuse. Clark & Wednesday are now back in the States, and somehow found time to produce a video for "The Paradise," the A-side from the new single. (View above)


It's been a while since we heard from Greatest Hits, the danse pop machine fronted by Zak Mering (Raw Thrills) and Tyler Thacker. Last I saw them they were DJ'ing at Silent Barn between sets by Speculator, Tonstartssbandht and Run DMT. Seems like they've been re-working their dance floor sensations in bedrooms across Bushwick and are now ready to drop their debut single. If you slept on their (formerly) free to download record Greatest Hits Vol.1, stop dreaming and hop to. The rest of your 2010 will be incomplete if you do not funk on the madness that is "Danse Pop" and "Make You Mine." Serious jammers, for serious party people.

OESB, along with our homeys at Upstairs CDR, are also proud to bring the debut (lots of debuts) from Autre Ne Veut to the listening arena. A bombastic blast of pop sorcery, AVN's been splicing synthetic tracks together 'neath the murky streets for a while, occasionally popping out of a manhole to wiggle & wail on the floor of a beer soaked "venue." His jams are often headphone appropriate, with nether land swirls bringing ethereal melodies to light under solar examination. Been intrigued with his live show and the tracks on MySpace for a minute, as well as his last (NSFW) video, but "Soldier" is what really grabs me. Unpretentious drum-machine enabled bliss pop. Check the video below. Highly rec'd.

And last, but not least, some new shit by OESB mainstay Ducktails. The label's got the new 7-inch, featuring "Hamilton Road," a cut from the forthcoming Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics LP, set for November release on Woodsist. Also, Ducktails Live on WFMU 12-inch from Inflated just came today, and the mastered version of this LP sounds phenomenal. DL it here, and make sure to delete your old unmastered copy.

mp3: Pigeons "en rêve"

"Life's A Gas"


TCC006 - Pigeons C28

On the trail of their Lunettes 7-inch on Soft Abuse and barely preceeding the release of Si Faustine on OESB, this collection of songs finds Pigeons exploring their inner realm. Originally intended to be a live release, TCC006 grew to include new songs (the intoxicating allure of "en rêve" and the luminous "Masks"), as well as homages to some of their favorite songs (Mark Bolan's "Life's A Gas", Dwight Twilley's "Looking for the Magic" and Jimmy Page and Del Shannon's "In My Time of Sorrow.") The B-side is filled with a live set recorded in the dead of winter on the Lower East Side and showcases songs from the forthcoming Si Faustine. Order here.

Pigeons- en rêve

video: Pigeons "Fade Away"

I've been greatly anticipating the release of Pigeons Si Faustine since the band released the Lunettes 7-inch last year on Soft Abuse. The crimson noir of Wednesday Knudson's seemingly timeless voice is a mesmerizing entity capable of seeping into the psyche like a long-lost relative skirting across the floor boards and into your bedroom to pass along advice from the nether world. The tambourine jangles brightly in the corner of Si Faustine, its shadows breathing on the wall with every beat. A fire grows in the hearth, as lost spirits scatter to find the keepers of their misfortunes, the lone soul who can flesh them from purgatory and send them into eternity. "Fade Away," built around repetitive hand drums and Wednesday's intoxicating vocal, possibly birthed from an ancestral encounter, is the unceremonious passing of knowledge from a being to a vessel. When full of understanding, the vessel, propelled, in this case, by a whirling dervish of reverse-delayed guitars and meditative hand drums, glides off into the atmosphere, before dissolving into the purgatorial realm.

Pigeons Si Faustine will be released on OESB on June 28th and is currently available for pre-order. In other Pigeons news, the group recently put together a release for the Curatorial Club, which will be out this week. Until then, check out "Wrong Man," a new track from Si Faustine, of which a live rendition will appear on TCC006.

Pigeons "Wrong Man" by OESB

radio: Sunday Brunch Ep2

"Bagels"

Week two of the Sunday Brunch found Ari and I locked out of the studio sitting in a frosty hallway eating bagels while some modern rock band practiced down the hall at the Danbro Studio. Shortly there after, we burst through the studio door, and bombarded with the air waves with hangover jams, pushing light vibes and big drums like Juan Valdez slang's java. The highlight of yesterday's set was Pigeons live four song set. Check back next week for more shenanigans, Sunday afternoons 2-4pm EST on NewTownRadio.com.

* Btw, all vinyl set.

Download Sunday Brunch Ep2

Brian Eno- I'll Come Running (from Another Green World)
Roxy Music- India (from Avalon)
Roxy Music- While My Heart Is Still Beating (from Avalon)
Sarolta Zalatnay- Munanyag Almok (from Sarolta Zalatnay)
Asi Kapela from Zaire- Yo Yo Yo (from Sound d'Afrique, Vol. 2: Soukou)
The Beatles- You Know My Name (Look Up My Number) (from Let It Be 7")
J Dilla- Don't Cry (from Donuts)
Susan Christie- Yesterday, Where's My Mind? (from Paint A Lady)
--Pigeons Live Set--
New Riders of the Purple Sage- Dirty Business (from self-titled)
Fleetwood Mac- Angel (from Tusk)
Deerhunter- Microcastle Mellow #3 (from Sub Pop Singles Club)
Matrix Metals- Flamingo Breeze Pt.1 (from Flamingo Breeze)
La Bandas- Democraicas Jam (from La Bandas)
Bruce Springsteen- Dream Baby Dream (Suicide cover)
Beach Boys- Feel Flow (from Surf's Up)
Julian Lynch- Andaza (from Orange You Glad)
Pill Wonder- What We Know (from Jungle/Surf)
Vincent Ahchehinnou- Ou C'est lui ou C'est Moi (from Africa Scream Contest)
Animal Collective- Safer (from Peacebone 10")
Oneohtrix Point Never- excerpts from Russian Mind LP

Download Sunday Brunch Ep 2

show: Twin Sister, Big Troubles, Pigeons, Alice Cohen....

"Nothing But Violent"
We're hosting another great event this week, this time with the inimitable Olde English Spelling Bee. Running the line between blissed out fantasy and fantastical reality, this show might be one of the best curations of talent in NYC right now. Not only does it feature both Twin Sister and Big Troubles, who have been slaying Brooklyn audiences for months, but also the fragile psych of Alice Cohen and Pigeons AND the warped scapes of Run DMT. Not trying to melt completely into utter Fantasia, all good, as DJ Raw Thrills, aka Zak Mering, will be pointing you in the uber-zone, where idiosyncratic twist & shouting is not only demanded, but required. Not really sure what that means, though I can guarantee Thursday night will be a good time.

The Studio at Webster Hall (aka Downstairs)
125 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003
Thursday, Feb. 4th
8 pm doors
9 pm show
$5 advance / $7 at door

Twin Sister- I Want a House
Big Troubles- Sick Days
Pigeons- Tendress

Raw Thrills- Why Can't I Say Let Go


Alice Cohen- Memories of Glaciers

mp3: Pigeons "Tendress"

"Lowest"
A few months ago a little birdie whispered some words in my ear about Pigeons. I vaguely remember searching for Pigeons, then getting sidetracked when I found myself inside a Walton Ford painting. It took months to escape, but when I did, the first thing that flew my way was Pigeons.

Probably one of the most slept on songs of 2009, "Tendress", the first track on the Lunettes 7-inch released on Soft Abuse, is the sort of super reverb'd psych Tarantino, filling the role of music director would use to a score a Neil Krug film. (see: example) One part understated desert psych, one part mystic sorcery, Pigeons exist in the ghostly halls of the Bronx, NY, free to conjure spirits from the nearly departed realm. Something tells me the group has spent some time on Hart Island, and if not, they really should try to get out there sometime soon. Rumor has it a forthcoming LP will be released on OESB, in the meantime, pick up Lunettes from Soft Abuse.

Pigeons- Tendress