Professional Fans Showcase 006: LENZ, Pure Bliss, Tears Club, Tiaras
This Sunday, Professional Fans will bring the party to Thee Parkside. Pure Bliss, Tears Club, and TIARAS will support headlining band LENZ. Oakland's LENZ was formed in 2010 by Andy Jordan, Ray Seraphin, and Kephera Moon. Once the band established its "ice-pop" sound drawn from krautrock, post-punk, and pop, LENZ released its first 7-inch with SS Records' Scott Soriano in 2011. Drummer Brett Eastman joined the band in 2012, and the quartet released four new tracks as a 12-inch EP on Tic Tac Totally. Moon has since left the band, and Matt Bulimore was brought on as the second guitarist. [...]
Review & Photos: DIIV, Wax Idols, SISU, LENZ at Brick & Mortar Music Hall, 3/2/13 (Noise Pop 2013)
There was a lot to choose from among Saturday's Noise Pop 2013 festivities. So thank the gods of psych-pop that I ended up in front of DIIV's second consecutive sold -out show at Brick & Mortar. I've been hooked on DIIV's Oshin for the past few weeks, so I had high hopes for the heavily-anticipated Noise Pop '13 act - but I was not expecting to be so thoroughly winded by their gorgeous dreamy gloom and varied paradox of a live show. I'm not sure how they're able to mix floaty shoegaze and echoey grunge so eloquently, but I'm sure [...]
Adam Widener releases new EP, playing at Monarch 1/10/13
San Francisco's Adam Widener, who once played bass for Bare Wires, is set to release a new EP Gimmee Gimmee Scientific Stuff on January 22nd. A vinyl copy of this album would make a sweet addition to your collection even if it wasn't full of catchy, high-energy garage pop. The album cover is actually an old school 3D image designed by Widener, and the red and blue translucent vinyl functions as 3D glasses. Although the album isn't officially out until the 22nd, you can order it now from the Sexy Baby Records Bandcamp page. Widener will be playing live with [...]
Live This Month: January 2013 — an audio guide through SF concerts this month (Podcast #296)
Live This Month: January 2013 — an audio guide through SF concerts this month (Podcast #296) In Live This Month, we sample some of the great local and out-of-town bands performing in the coming month in the San Francisco Bay Area. Plenty of local bands are highlighted among this month's picks, including Kowloon Walled City, a heavy SF quartet celebrating their new LP, Container Ships, with a show at the Hemlock Tavern this month. It's a great bill from top to bottom, rounded out by SF psych rockers Golden Void and instrumental trio Minot. Meanwhile, after last year's terrific Under [...]
LENZ's Andy Human releases 'Freeze'
Andy Human - "Land Of The Dinosaurs" We've been digging Andy Jordan's work with LENZ, but the former Cuts/Time Flys member also has been recording solo as Andy Human. Take a listen below to Freeze, a glammy collection of nerve-infused pop songs that comes out in October on Chromewaves Radio Records. FREEZE by Andy Human
DIIV and Bleached come to the Rickshaw Stop on 8/1/12
One of my most recent obsessions, DIIV, are scheduled to play The Rickshaw Stop this Wednesday, August 1. The Brooklyn-based band plays a laid-back, reverb-soaked brand of upbeat indie pop — the kind of music you might want to dance to with your head cast down, arms out to the side and lightly listing and twisting from side to side. Kinda like you might dance if you were on "one part THC and two parts MDMA," as the band is described in their official bio. DIIV (formerly known as Dive) do a lot with a little. "How Long Have You Known" [...]
Live This Month: April 2012 — an audio guide through SF concerts this month (Podcast #276)
Live This Month: April 2012 — an audio guide through SF concerts this month (Podcast #276) In Live This Month, we sample some of the great local and out-of-town bands performing in the coming month in the San Francisco Bay Area. In curating this podcast, we got the nagging feeling that April is a little slow on the local album release front. We're not sure why that is -- Festival fatigue? Buildup for a big summer? -- but it's likely only a momentary blip. A number of exciting new Bay Area records are coming soon, and we're especially psyched about [...]
March’s Best: Our favorite Bay Area songs from the blog last month
Here's our latest month-in-review mix collecting some our favorite new (or new to us) songs recently posted on the website. So much good stuff came our way in March that we've actually got a two-part mix of blog songs this time. As always, we've included links below to download each of these songs individually. Mixtape: Best of the Blog March 2012 (Part 1) Mixtape: Best of the Blog March 2012 (Part 2) Tracklisting: Mix 1 1. Grass Widow - "Goldilocks Zone" 2. Ty Segall & White Fence - "I Am Not A Game" 3. Twin Steps - "Pinkie Promise" 4. [...]
New EP from Lenz (Cuts, Impediments) out on Tic Tac Totally
Lenz - "Hourglass" Recently, Oakland’s Andy Jordan (The Cuts, The Time Flys, and Andy Human) joined forces with Ray Seraphin (Buzzer, Hunx & His Punx, Impediments, and Andy Human) to create the infectious glam punk of Lenz. Following the band's debut S.S. 7-inch, Lenz’s new EP, Under Neon, was released via Tic Tac Totally Records on February 28th. With a nod to their krautrock predecessors and boatloads of old 80s synths, there's an urgency to these four tracks that begs repeat listens. Check them out below: Under Neon by LENZ Lenz will be performing on Thursday, April 5th at The [...]
Jonathan Toubin benefit on 1/18/12: Ty Segall, Shannon and the Clams and more to perform
New York Night Train's Jonathan Toubin was seriously injured in Portland last month, when a cab burst through his ground floor hotel room wall and ran him over. While Toubin recovers in an intensive care unit in a Portland hospital, his friends are throwing a series of benefits nationwide. The SF benefit is, as the poster says, Wednesday, January 18th at the Mezzanine, with the stellar lineup of Ty Segall, Shannon and the Clams, Hank IV and Lenz, with DJ Primo and more. All proceeds go to Toubin's recovery, making this night of great bands all the more compelling. Ty [...]