7/22 Soft Gang & Young Widows @ Kaiju

NYC based Soft Gang  (featuring Dom Cipolla of Phantom Family Halo & Starkiller) will be playing at Kaiju on Friday July 22nd with Young Widows and Pet Eunuch. This is an album release show for Soft Gang's s/t LP on Sophomore Lounge, recorded by Martin Bisi and features Tokyo embroidery artist Kaori Nakamura.

 Soft Gang album cover by  Kaori Nakamura

2nd ANNUAL SOPHOMORE LOUNGE FREE HALLOWEEN PARTY

Our pals at Sophomore Lounge are throwing their 2nd annual FREE Halloween party Tuesday October 29th at Nachbar, with 37FLOOD favorite GIVING UP and others.

Cropped Out 2013

Our favorite Louisville DIY underdog music fest has just announced it's line up! Cropped Out is a festival championed by local record label Sophomore Lounge. We are big fans of these guys and have reviewed many of their offerings in the past. you may not have heard of many of these bands, but don't let that stop you; it's the heart of their work that has grabbed us over the past few years. as their press release says: "What our festival intends to define is a renewed sense of enthusiasm about Kentucky’s cultural offerings by pairing some of our favorites from the Bluegrass State with similarly progressive and expressive examples from alternate alleys of the world." These guys are also the heroes that are bringing us WIRE on July 18th at the Clifton Center. 

Review: Giving up/Putting out cassette

I like Giving Up. not that I know too much about Giving Up besides a handfull of moments here and there over the past year, but I am a fan.  I am somewhat unacquainted with Putting Out, but The DIY record label 'Sophomore Lounge' describes these two as follows:
PUTTING OUT is a right of passage. A junior in highschool realizing it's time to jump on the band wagon, let his or herself be taken to a new realm of physical engagement, or on the other side of that coin, one can let his or herself go completely, and feel like he or she has become a worn-in trampoline of degeneracy. Similarly, GIVING UP can be an act of submission and degradation, or it can be a positive liberation from oppressive values instilled within oneself. GIVING UP and PUTTING OUT are two actions that go together like moonstone and rose quartz.
I'm not sure if there is that solid of a connection between the two, I've defiantly Given Up on the idea of getting a chance to Put Out.. But this is either here nor there.. the real connection between the two is the new Cassette split release of Giving Up and Putting Out.
I instantly liked Giving Up because it reminded me of the Boyfriend/Girlfriend pop/punk bands of the late 80's and early 90's like Small Factory, Superchunk, and Black Tambourine (if you don't know, find out). Similarly I Like Sophomore Lounge, for the same reason. they tend to stick to tried and true heart-crushed pop punk  rather than jumping on the band wagon of whatever glossy pop is in favor at the moment.  I suppose that is why this new release is on the format of cassette tape with the lost art of the bedroom door sized poster.
This release is a 24 minute, 7 song lovely trainwreck dominated by Giving Up with 3 solid tracks reminiscent  of the 90's lovesick releases by the indie label Simple Machines. The opening track "Armatage Shanks" hits with crashing drums and harmonies that remind me of a young Second Story Man and keeps going strong to the end of side A.
Similarly, the Putting Out offering is reminiscent of an earlier Giving Up release, Web, or even latter recordings of Throbbing Gristle; distorted drums strewn with samples of talking, screaming,  and other noises that somehow converge into something pretty.

Giving Up/Putting Out split cassette (with digital download) out 6/21/11

pre-order at sophomore lounge $7

6/19 Jeff the Brotherhood at MAG

Sophomore Lounge presents Jeff The Brotherhood (ex-Be your Own Pet) sunday 6/19 at the Mag Bar. State Champion and Cy Barkley playing too. $7 21+ 8pm

Review: Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Phantom Family Halo EP "The Mindeater"

when I first heard that Will Oldham (Bonnie "Prince" Billy) and Dom Cipolla (Phantom Family Halo) were working on a record together, I thought it was such a clash of sound that it might not meld nicely. But the more I thought about it, it seemed odd that it hadn't happened sooner. The two most prolific song writers in Louisville that have been operating  and collaborating with other musicians for years had never crossed paths before. And although their sounds are very different from one another, the two do present an other worldly and ethereal quality both vocally and lyrically.
The first 2 tracks from the 'Mindeater' EP are acoustic and lean more in the Bonnie "Prince" Billy world, with departures into Dom's patented tremolo voice and erie keyboard chorus'. And even though they tend to be passing the spotlight back and forth to each other rather than melding together, the formula works, painting a vivid picture of men tortured by their own minds as well as the world around them (a theme both are familiar with). On the second track,  'Roki For Now', Will and Dom proclaim "my eyes were wide, full of sin. knock at the door, I'm a crazy man. I opened it up and you came in."
But it's the last two tracks that make this album a must have. The 3rd track is an explosive 8 minute cover of The Everly Brothers "Wonder If I Care As much" showing the full strength of this alliance with powerful psychedelic guitar and drum solos bleeding into a chorus of them both singing at full tilt that would indeed make the Everlys proud.
The EP ends with "Suddenly The Darkness", an infectiously catchy folk tale that takes us back to the Palace years. With warnings about sin and retribution and a chorus that will climb in your head and refuse to let go, you will be humming this song for weeks guaranteed: "when darkness comes your way, you know to stay away. you have got break your self free, it's the only way to be. you have to stay in the light, and say goodbye to the night.. Suddenly the darkness is coming for you!"
'The Mindeater' EP will be avialable in an edition of 1000 colored vinyl. If you are a fan of either of these artists, grab it fast.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Phantom Family Halo

"The Mindeater" EP

available May 17th on Sophomore Lounge Records 

Phantom Family Halo album out today

New album from Phantom Family Halo out today on Sophomore Lounge..

sophomore lounge has been putting out some good stuff lately, such as the new Giving Up album, and it seems PFH has joined the the list.. 

keeping in PFH manner, the press release is as cryptic as their music can be. here is what they said about the new album 'Music from Italian TV':

'In spite of its minimalistic appearance, is a most intricate light work which, in its scope and originality, defines its own aesthetic. The number of persons involved may vary. Although thirteen has been suggested as the optimum number, two would usually be referred to as a working couple (in any combination of sexes.) Within the community, many believe that a number larger than thirteen is unwieldy, citing unwieldy group dynamics and an unfair burden on the leadership. When this has grown too large to be manageable, it may split, or "hive". Most often utilizing electronic instruments or electronic processing of acoustic instruments, they typically create dense, unmoving harmonies and a stilled or "hovering" sense of time.'

order 'music from Italian TV' here.