We All Want Someone To Shout For

I’m not a very organized person in general. Imagine how I am with CMJ. One of the few things I was on top of was making sure I saw Caveman, who were one of my must see acts of CMJ 2011. Everything that I’ve heard from their debut album, CoCo Beware has been pure maigc. Their Yourstru.ly performance of “Great Life” was enough to sell me that these guys are a must see live act.

They didn’t disappoint. Heavenly arrays of strong willed percussion filtered through harmonies that sounded like a trippier Grizzly Bear. The set was nothing short of incredible chamber pop. Lead singer Matthew Iwanusa admitted that the band was tired, after a very busy CMJ schedule, but it didn’t stop them from dazzling.

The whole point of CMJ is discovering great young acts that will transition into some of the best and brightest of the future. Even more importantly, you may find your next new favorite act. That’s exactly what happened during this heartwarming set.

Hit the jump for more photos, and the Yourstru.ly performance of “Great Life”:
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A little bit of a different rap set than the previous, Asap Rocky’s set with Clams Casino was a chilled out rap set that I would probably prefer listening to at home, rather than live. I’m not your go to guy for rap, but Asap Rocky is probably going to be a rap name that you’ll be seeing more of, if you haven’t already.

Main Attrakionz weren’t really my thing live. Some rappers are hit and miss live, and I just wasn’t too blown away. However, they did have a lot of energy and were having fun, which isn’t something you can always say.

You can grab a free download of their album 808s & Dark Grapes II here.

Seeing King Krule in person puts his talent in perspective. He and his band look even younger when seen in person, but remember, age is just a number. His music was distinct and full of soul. He didn’t play his Zoo Kid track, “Out Getting Ribs”, a clear sign that this young man has truly moved on as his new persona, King Krule.

It was one of the many shows that he played during CMJ, and I don’t know where it stands with the rest, but I was very impressed at the talent of this young man.

Found him after the show and just a quick handshake made me realize at just how young he is. I’m only 21 yet I felt real old. The sky is the limit for Mr. Archy. It’s gonna be fun to watch his rise.

>Hit the jump for some more photos:
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“Down” is another cut off of Summer Camp’s debut album, Welcome To Condale. It’s sugary sweet in all the right places, with a healthy dose of romanticism. This is how Jeremy Warmsley, 1/2 of the band, described the song:

This song seems to totally divide opinions down gender lines. All the guys in the team working on the album say they love it, but it leaves the girls cold. Weird. I had the guitar riff way back in 2007 – I seem to recall writing it sitting on a wall in Nottingham when I was supporting I’m From Barcelona. I played it to Elizabeth and then the song just fell out.

Give it a try:

Welcome To Condale will be released on November 8th via via Apricot Records/Moshi Moshi Records.

The Black Keys have announced that they will release a limited edition 12-inch of their new single, “Lonely Boy” on Black Friday as a part of Record Store Day’s “Back to Black” Friday.

The single will be accompanied by “Run Right Back”. Both tracks will appear on the bands upcoming new album, El Camino, which is out on December 6th.

Kanye West took to twitter to make a surprise tweet (his first in a month) that hinted at a new album release in 2012. However, it isn’t a new solo album. Rather it’sgoing to be  a compilation album with all the artists of Kanye’s G.O.O.D. music team.

Big Sean, Pusha T, Common, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Mos Def and Mr Hudson are all expected to have appearances on the album. The release was confirmed by Def Jam, the label that G.O.O.D. is under.

Should be one of the more interesting releases of the year. Hopefully it’s not the only new Kanye that ’12 brings.

“Oblivion” is from Grimes’ upcoming album, Visions due out on January 31, 2012. The 23 year old from Montreal does everything right on this track, painting herself in delightful mystique that isn’t tough to enjoy. It gets better on each listen too.

[mp3]: Grimes – Oblivion

Grimes is playing a free CMJ Show at Fader Fort tomorrow evening at 5:30. See you there.

Seeing the Arctic Monkeys at such an intimate of a venue as The Music Hall Of Williamsburg is a big deal. It be near impossible to see them in such an intimate setting in the UK. It was the last show of their North American tour, and everyone was in high spirits including of course, Arctic Monkeys themselves. Immediately Alex Turner teasingly asked the crowd, “Are you in a better mood than I am? You wouldn’t know that, would you? I would doubt it.” Oh, we would soon be, Alex.

“Pretty Visitors” kicked things off, and right away I noticed a more interactive frontman in Turner who was nearing the edge of the stage, teasing all of the eager fans mere feet away from the band. The band gave a thunderous performance of “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair” with a hint of bad-ass that hinted at Mr. Josh Homme. The band sounded tight and relaxed, and looked like they were having a genuine blast playing, which isn’t always the case live. They were all smiles, and I could just sense the band letting loose a bit, and just having fun with it.

“Fluorescent Adolescent” got things moving a bit in between “She’s Thunderstorms” and “The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala”, but I was shocked at how tame the crowd was for an Arctic Monkeys concert. Turner’s watchful eye must have taken note as he told the crowd it was time to get serious, before launching into the beautiful assault of “Brianstorm”, “The View From The Afternoon”, “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor”, “This House Is A Circus” and “Still Take You Home”. Everything about the crowd being calm was immediately erased on the floor of sweaty organized chaos.

“Evil Twin” the spanking new b-side to “Suck It And See’ is dynamite live (video), a perfect compliment to the title track which absolutely hit home live. “When The Sun Goes Down” was just as electrifying as ever, but the gold star goes “Do Me A Favour” once again proving why it’s a staple track of an Arctic Monkeys setlist.

Turner started the encore is similar fashion once again teasing the crowd with “Are you still in a good mood? Are in a better mood than me yet?”, before smashing through “Teddy Picker”, an awe inspiring version of “Crying Lightning”, and “505″ which the band put everything they had left into.

With about 500 people in attendance, it’s safe to say that this show will go down as one of the best Arctic Monkeys gigs to date. The songs were loud, strong, and played even better than we remembered them. The band was happier than ever, interacted with the crowd and even showed some bromance (Alex kissing Jamie on the cheek). It was a good crowd, one that I was proud to sing, push, and dance with. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Turner ended things with an encouraging, “See you next year, New York!”. I’m already counting down the days.

Setlist:

Smith Westerns opened the show. There were some sound issues, but as a whole the band sounded pretty solid. Still wish they would show some more energy live. They’re a talented bunch, just need some more time I believe.

Check out some photos:

Smith Westerns:

“Belly Of The Beast” is a new song from Howth written in response to the Occupy Wall Street protests and as a general reflection of the shape the country is in.

Here’s what Carl, who wrote the song, had to say about it:

The song Belly of the Beast was written by Carl after attending the Occupy Wall Street protests at Times Square on 10/15/11 with Blake and Mecca Lecca Recording Company founder Jonny Leather.

After the protests, a General Assembly was held at Washington Square park where Professor Gayatri Spivak of Columbia University gave a speech stressing the importance of political action by Occupy Wall Street demonstrators because they are in “the belly of the beast.”

Some footage of Professor Gayatri’s moving speech can be found here:

Because amplification is not allowed at public protests in New York City, those that attend General Assemblies must utilize a series of echoes to spread the message of speakers to the entire group, an experience that is truly powerful to witness and be a part of.

“Belly Of The Beast” is a solemn mindful affair that speaks of the current situation with poetic ease. It’s not to be missed.

It’s released as a mini EP that comes with two live tracks. You can download it over at bandcamp. The band has two CMJ dates this week. Check those out after the jump:
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