Today it was announced that Vita.mn would be producing a New Year’s Eve party at The Loft above Barfly. What’s so special about The Spirit of ‘09-branded party, you ask? Here’s a taste of the lineup:

DJ sets from New York City’s disco revolutionary and gay icon Hercules and Love Affair, Atlanta-bred wunderkind DJ and producer Le Castlevania and the legendary hip-hop remixer DJ Klever. The Spirit of ’09 will be hosted by the notorious local DJs The Moon Goons and will also feature a live performance from Minneapolis’s own Solid Gold.

Hercules and Love Affair: (Official) (MySpace) (Wikipedia)
Le Castlevania: (Official) (MySpace)
Snowden “Black Eyes (Le Castlevania Vania Remix)” (mp3)
120 Days “Come Out (Le Castlevania Electric Rock Extended Mix2)” (mp3)
120 Days “Come Out (Le Castlevania Electric Disco Extended Mix2)” (mp3)
DJ Klever: (MySpace) (Wikipedia)
The Moon Goons: (Official) (MySpace)
Solid Gold: (MySpace)

Also: (Four Takes on Hercules and Love Affair’s “Hercules and Love Affair”) (Hercules and Love Affair “You Belong” Video) (Solid Gold “Bodies of Water” Review) (Solid Gold @ Varsity Theater) (Solid Gold “Bible Thumper” Video)

Smashing Pumpkins: (Official) (MySpace) (Wikipedia)

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Also: (Smashing Pumpkins on Jimmy Kimmel Live) (Smashing Pumpkins Perform For AOL Sessions) (Smashing Pumpkins on the Late Show part 2) (Smashing Pumpkins on the Late Show with David Letterman) (Smashing Pumpkins Reunion Tour Video)

William Elliott Whitmore is set to spend the month of January traveling from the snowy east to sunnier climes as his tour with City and Colour makes its way from Detroit on January 9th to finish in Los Angeles on January 28. Whitmore’s ANTI- Records debut Animals in the Dark comes out the following month on February 17.

01/09 Detroit MI, The Fillmore
01/10 Buffalo, NY Town Ballroom (seated)
01/11 Cambridge, MA Middle East
01/12 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
01/13 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
01/14 Washington, DC Black Cat
01/15 Philadelphia, PA World Café (seated)
01/22 Chicago, IL Lakeshore Theater
01/23 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater (seated)
01/24 Omaha, NE Waiting Room
01/25 Denver, CO Bluebird Theatre (partially seated)
01/27 San Francisco, CA Slims
01/28 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre

(I have no idea if “seated” means that Whitmore will be seated, or if it’s suggested that the audience sit while watching the performance…)

William Elliott Whitmore: (Official) (MySpace) (Wikipedia)
William Elliott Whitmore “Old Devils” (mp3)
City and Colour: (Official) (MySpace) (Wikipedia)
City and Colour “Forgive Me” (mp3)
City and Colour “What Makes a Man” (mp3)
City and Color “The Death of Me” (mp3)

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[by Matt Brown]

Darren Hayman’s knack for verbalizing the trials and traumas of lower-middle Britain is well documented. As the driving force behind 1990’s indie outfit Hefner he grew a cult and enthusiastic following that hung on his every acerbic turn of phrase and whom took a great amount of pride from supporting a band rubbing delightfully against the grain. As a solo artist he’s continued resolutely on this idiosyncratic path but, as evidenced by Pram Town, has visibly mellowed with age.

Pram Town finds Hayman in wistful mood and it’s an absorbing - if somewhat unexpected - spectacle. Basically a concept album dealing with a nameless young man stuck in the colorless and oppressive confines of commuter-belt England, it paints a sobering picture of suburbia that most listeners will be achingly familiar with no matter which side of the Atlantic they come from.

Named after his hometown of Harlow, Essex – a nickname given to the London commuter town to reflect the influx of new families into the area – this is a gentle, folk-infused collection of songs that is equally moving and funny. Hayman’s penchant for well-observed lyrical couplets remains evident. When he talks of the planning vision behind new towns and of “digging holes and pouring concrete” on “Our Favourite Motorway” every word paints its own intentionally drab story.

When he goes on to speak candidly about the populace’s frustrating lack of ambition you sense also that this isn’t a sentiment Hayman reserves purely for the residents of Harlow. He’s talking about every dowdy, unmotivated lower middle class area in Britain and he’s ruthlessly spot-on. But this isn’t the type of caustic kitchen-sink melodrama that critics have often accused Hayman of carelessly slipping into. This time around Hayman simply assembles the characters and events within the story and leaves the listener to fill in the gaps. Subsequently every single listener will end up drawing their own conclusions and taking something different from this album. For that reason alone Pram Town deserves plaudits aplenty.

Through banjo, bells, glock, trombone, trumpet and strings, Hayman assembles a warm and comforting musical accompaniment that sets the story’s individual scripts off deliciously. This is by far the most accomplished solo album from Hayman and evidence that age is helping the songwriter explore rich virgin territory. Long may it continue.

Darren Hayman “Losing My Glue” (mp3)
Darren Hayman “Amy and Rachel” (mp3)
Darren Hayman “Big Fish” (mp3)

Darren Hayman: (Official) (MySpace) (Wikipedia)

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[Guest contributor Matt Brown also writes for Fresh Deer Meat]

EPMD: (MySpace) (Wikipedia)

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Also: (VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2008: Musical Performances)

[by Adam P. Newton]

It’s become altogether too effortless (approaching the point of cliché) to rail against the music industry and what passes for contemporary pop music. Yes, we are all aware that the major labels support safe, easily marketable acts to continue to increase their bottom line in an era of declining physical album sales. And yes, the media moguls who run radio stations want to play a continual stream of the “hits” in a time when people increasingly look online or to their mp3 players for their music. These folks like money – that’s not new!

But are the artists, critics, and fans actually doing anything about these supposed injustices? Not really, even if you do count the “pay-what-you-want” set-ups that have become all the rage. Like liberal intellectuals whining about conservative politics and conservative pundits ranting about liberal amorality, everyone in the music industry is pointing fingers at the other side and attacking straw men, shrieking about what they see to be wrong without actually providing any substantive answers to right those perceived wrongs.

So, along comes a group like Peachcake to provide some solutions, in the form of both cooking up some catchy, hook-laden electro-pop music and engaging in grassroots community activism. The duo’s new album, What Year Will You Have The World?, finds Stefan Pruett (aka Space Panda) and John O’Keefe (aka DJ JohnO) creating an alternate reality through their brand of songcraft. At once, the record features an exciting melding of creeping synth and bass lines with spacey beats that serve as the foundation for the upbeat, hopeful messages in their lyrics.

Maybe you feel that I’ve employed some empty rhetoric here. That’s fine - ignore my words, but don’t ignore this band’s music. Anyone whose nasty mood has ever been lifted by the power of music will find much to love in the music of Peachcake: it’s as if ‘80s new wave was reincarnated without the bad hair and mopey ambiance, and was instead propelled by on optimistic, DIY, “Yes we can!” dynamic. From toe-tapping tracks like “Did I Just Do That, Or Was It Jim Carrey “ and “Stop Acting Like You Know More About The Internet Café Than Me,” to the decidedly danceable delights “Make Movement, Not War!” and “The Song Of The Century!,” What Year Will You Have The World? is a record designed to be a positive offering into a music industry that sad, cynical, jaded, and waging a bitter internal war about the future the business. If there is an answer the band hopes to provide, it’s this: “Go local and have fun!”

Peachcake: (Official) (MySpace) (Wikipedia)

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[Guest contributor Adam P. Newton also writes for Dryvetyme Onlyne]

Wale: (MySpace) (Wikipedia)

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Also: (Wale “The Mixtape About Nothing” Review) (The Roots & Wale on the Late Show with David Letterman)

Twin Cities News:
— Britney’s coming to Minneapolis, playing the Target Center in April.
— Pack the clown masks and grab the kids, Slipknot’s coming back to town.
— City Pages recaps last week’s Aids Wolf show at The Entry.
— Glasvegas is coming to town, playing the Varsity in April.
— In case you missed it, we’re is presenting Yo! Majesty in February.
— All day protection with the clean scent of Culture Bully on Facebook.

Local Concert Highlights
— Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings @ Pantages Theatre
(Official) (MySpace) (Wikipedia)
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings “100 Days, 100 Nights” (mp3)
— Bring Me The Horizon, Misery Signals, The Ghost Inside & Confide @ Station 4
Bring Me The Horizon: (MySpace) (Wikipedia)
Misery Signals: (Official) (MySpace) (Wikipedia)
Misery Signals “The Failsafe” (mp3)
Misery Signals “One Day I’ll Come Home” (mp3)
Misery Signals “The Year Summer Ended In June” (mp3)
Misery Signals “In Response To Stars” (mp3)
The Ghost Inside: (MySpace)
Confide: (MySpace)

Daily Audio Downloads:
— The Do “When I Was Last Home (Aether Remix)” (mp3)
— Handsome Boy Modeling School feat. Cat Power “I’ve Been Thinking (Aether Remix)” (mp3)
— Lykke Li “Little Bit (Aether Remix)” (mp3)
— Delroy Wilson “Dancing Mood (Aether Remix)” (mp3)
(Official)
— Salme Dahlstrom “C’mon Y’all (Klubjumpers remix)” (mp3)
— Salme Dahlstrom “C’mon Y’all (DJ Brad Smith Electro mix)” (mp3)
— Salme Dahlstrom “Hello California” (mp3)
(Official) (MySpace)
— DJ Doc Rok “She’s Not There” (mp3)
(Official) (MySpace)
— El Goodo “She Turtle” (mp3)
— El Goodo “Feel So Fine” (mp3)
(Official) (MySpace)
— Honey Claws “Words” (mp3)
(MySpace)
— The Kyoto Connection “Christmas in Japan” (mp3)
(Official) (MySpace)
— Roger Joseph Manning Jr. “Down in Front” (mp3)
(MySpace)
— Now, Now Every Children “Cars” (mp3)
(Official) (MySpace)
— Talons of Spring “InBetween” (mp3)
— Talons of Spring “Comfort Drag” (mp3)
(MySpace)

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[by Josh Keller]

I fear you, my darkness, the debut EP from the Minneapolis based group Lookbook is a study in contrasts and is a strangely beautiful album that has very dark undertones. The duo is comprised of former Digitata singer Maggie Morrison on vocals and Grant Cutler from various local bands doing the music. The sound and structure of the band remind me of a more electronic version of Beach House. The songs are simple musically with programmed drums often barely accompanied by hushed keyboards and swirling collages of noise. There are a few moments on the record where the dramatic nature of the songs becomes dangerously close to sounding like bad 1980’s ballads, but the album is an overall success. Both the music and the lyrics make this album a great winter album to put on in the late hours of the night. The whole mood of the album is morose and everything from the song titles to the vocal melodies are dramatic and create a quietly somber atmosphere.

The record starts out with over a minute of silence with only a quiet drum track clicking. This silence sets the mood for the entire album and leads into the first song, “Steal The Night,” which starts the album with a bang. A sparse drum beat is overlapped with a simple synth progression. The song builds into the chorus of Morrison repeating the mantra “We may not steal the night” until she finally ends it with a defeated sounding “but that’s OK.” The whole album has many moments of silence that make the album even more densely dramatic. One of the songs, “Pyramid”, is entirely instrumental and is a lushly gorgeous track that has an eerily loneliness to it; the other five songs all feature Morrison’s beautiful vocals. Where Digitata was more upbeat and warranted a much different vocal style, these songs really let her show her great singing and her sad and defeated lyrics. Other highlights of the album include the swirling second track, “My Darkness,” which after the period of silence after the first track, continues the sullen lyrical context and overtly dramatic musical arrangements. Like a few of the tracks, the song features multiple vocal tracks that add nicely to the feel of the song. The song, and album, is at its best during the chorus of this song where multiple vocal parts repeat the title of the album over and over with a pulsing keyboard line rolling behind them. Another strong track is the album closer “I’ve Seen This Coming,” which is a nice end to the EP, as it has the feeling of someone coming to terms with the crushing nature of their problem and has learned to simply accept their fate.

photo: Robert M. Luna

This was an album that I did not warm to immediately, although I did enjoy it on some levels on my first listen. The simple nature of the songs and the glum lyrical context grew on me after multiple listens and it became an album, like the Burial disc Untrue, that will have a place reserved in my stereo during certain times, namely after midnight on cold and lonely winter nights. The band has created an album that functions at its best when it is taken as one flowing piece of work compared with listening to it sporadically or as separate songs. The band has a really good starting point and I hope they can take the strong points of this album and find a way to make them work in the future on a full length LP.

Lookbook: (MySpace)

Lookbook “I Fear You, My Darkness” (album)
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Culture Bully presents Yo! Majesty and Natalie Stewart of Floetry at the Triple Rock Social Club Feb. 2, 2009.

01/15/2009 Autin, TX Mohawk
01/16/2009 Denton, TX Haileys
01/17/2009 Houston, TX Walters
01/18/2009 New Orleans, LA Parish
01/21/2009 Miami, FL White Room
01/22/2009 Atlanta, GA Apache
01/23/2009 Raleigh, NC Brewery
01/24/2009 Washington DC Black Cat
01/25/2009 Philadelphia, PA M Room
01/27/2009 New York, NY Highline Ballroom
01/28/2009 Boston, MA Harpers
01/30/2009 Pittsburgh, PA Bellveders
01/31/2009 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
02/01/2009 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
02/02/2009 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club
02/03/2009 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall
02/04/2009 Iowa City, IA Picador
02/06/2009 Denver, CO Marquis
02/07/2009 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
02/09/2009 Seattle, WA Nectars
02/10/2009 Portland, OR Berbatis
02/13/2009 San Francisco, CA Slims
02/14/2009 Los Angeles, CA Echo Plex
02/15/2009 San Diego, CA Casbah

(Purchase Tickets Here)

Yo! Majesty “Club Action” (mp3)
Yo! Majesty “Hit It And Quit It” (mp3)

Yo! Majesty: (Official) (MySpace) (Wikipedia)

Yo! Majesty “Futuristically Speaking: Never Be Afraid” (album)
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