We All Want Someone To Shout For

Beach House opened up with a gorgeous set at Prospect Park last night setting the mood right as the sun started to set. I saw them last fall when they opened for Grizzly Bear at Vassar and it was a good set, but they sounded even better last night. Victoria’s voice was spot on, bringing delights from Teen Dream like “Take Care” & “10 Mile Stereo” to new heights. They sounded great.

I have been fortunate to see The National three times this year, and they made last night’s set exciting by changing the set around enough to make it seem like it was the first time that I had seen them in years. They started off with a bare bones performance of “Runaway”, letting the crowd build in anticipation off what was to come. They answered with all the best cuts from all of their albums. They gave us the beautiful classics like “The Geese of Beverly Road” while making somewhat funny/wrong jokes about the NYC geese. “Conversation 16″ sounded ten times more epic than their recorded version. “Available’ from their Sad Song For Dirty Lovers days was a dominant force due to a strong vocal performance from Matt who seemed to have no problem yelling once again.

The National are a band at the top of their career and if this isn’t their peak, I can only imagine what they will do over the next couple of years.

Setlist:

The National:

See the rest of the photos by clicking read more:

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Check out Zane Lowe‘s insightful interview with Arcade Fire’s frontman Win Butler about the making and thought process of The Suburbs:

So it looks like Kanye gave some exclusives performances of some new songs in a capella fashion. The performance was giving in quite an intimate setting…….the facebook offices. Only ‘Ye!

He performed three new songs called “Lost In The World”, “Chain Gang”, & “Mama’s Boyfriend”. They are rumored to be on his upcoming new album, which may or may not be titled Good Ass Job. The performance was Kanye spitting rhymes with no beats, or music of any kind. It’s just him and the room full of facebook staffers. Kanye’s raps sounded fierce and powerful, certainly sounds like he is back with a vengeance.

Watch the clips below, they are quite good. It’s good to have you back Kanye!

The “Lost In The World” / “Chain Gang”:

“Mama’s Boyfriend”:

Gorillaz have another their full North American Tour Dates for this fall. This will include a stop at Madison Square Garden on October 8th.

They posted this little teaser video of the Plastic Beach Tour that leaves you with no reason not to go:

No word about the MSG sale date, but once I here it I will post or tweet it. The full tour dates are posted below:

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Hello there Hey Marseilles. How did a band that wrote such a magical song like “Rio” avoid my radar for this long? My inbox is so backlogged that I missed the promo e-mails that I received on them. I’m not proud to admit that, but at least I am experiencing their glory now.

The band released their debut album To Travels & Trunks this past June 29th, and I am gonna have to play catch up with it. After listening to “Rio”, I have already grown quite fond of these guys. They come from Seattle, but bring a worldy sound that sounds like a poppier Beirut. In other words, they’re incredibly talented.

You can’t really argue with this song:

[mp3]: Hey Marseilles – Rio

Watch it’s music video below. This is one of the more creative & generally pleasant music videos that I have had the pleasure to watch in recent memory:

Oryx and Crake are a large band from Atlanta, Georgia. How large? How about 9 members large…. Yeah, damn is right.

Check out their stunning song “Fun Funeral”, and try not to be moved or affected in anyway. It’s an incredibly moving song thanks to haunting strings and emotional depth brought out by careful use of their instruments. I hear many different influences in Oryx and Crake. Lead singer Ryan Peoples vocals + the dark atmosphere remind me of Radiohead. Their is clearly an emotional depth to their music. I don’t think you should be without it:

[mp3]: Oryx and Crake – Fun Funeral

Oryx and Crake are going to release their self titled debut album on August 28th. In the meantime, get to know the band on myspace, facebook, twitter, or their website.

Loving “Hearts Beat Loud”, a song from Keegan DeWitt. The music video is perfect for it too. Watch that below:

“Hearts Beat Loud” is taken from Keegan’s new EP, Nothing Shows which was exclusively released via Daytrotter’s Record Barn.

I posted a stream of Lissie’s “Bully” last week, but now there is a mp3 that I can legally share with you guys for free download. This song sounds even better than it did the last time I heard it. This girl is damn special. I’m in love!

[mp3]: Lissie – Bully

“Bully” is off her debut album Catching A Tiger which will be released on 8/17 via Fat Possum. Her new single “Cuckoo” is coming out on 8/30 (in the UK I believe) and will feature her incredible cover of Lady GaGa’s “Bad Romance”. Can’t wait for that.

J. Tillman is Fleet Foxes drummer. However, he has been releasing solo albums since 2005. He is gearing up to release his 7th album, Singing Ax, on September 14th via Western Vinyl.

You can grab an mp3 of a song from the album called “Three Sisters” which sounds like a trip through J. Tillman’s darkest place. “Three Sisters” is an emotional song which is certainly on a personal level with Mr. Tillman. I can picture him strumming away to this song alone in an isolated cabin during a cold/dark winter night.

[mp3]: J. Tillman – Three Sisters

His US Tour with Phosphorescent begins tomorrow. You can see full tour dates posted after the jump:

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Don’t know how I missed this gem from The Delta Mirror. It’s the moving song, “He Was Worse Than The Needle He Gave You”, from their debut album Machines That Listen. It’s starts off as a slow grinding ballad that transforms into a blissed out electronic jam in the matter of seconds.

Glad I found this now. Better late than never…

[mp3]: The Delta Mirror – He Was Worse Than The Needle He Gave You

The band will be at Brooklyn’s Union Hall on 8/14, and The Cake Shop on 8/15. For more on the band, visit their myspace.