mp3: The Love Language "Heart To Tell"

mp3: The Love Language "Heart To Tell"

Here's the truth kids.

I live in the small-ish beach town where Stu McLamb of The Love Language came to recover and get his musical feet back under him after whatever else he had going on.

Guess this was like 2 years ago.

And...truth, be told: I never saw them play. For awhile they were playing every weekend. They almost had to be avoided. I just thought they'd be around.

These cats at the local record store are friends w/ them...they broke the Merge Records news before anybody. I'll catch them next time was always the reason. Also, the early buzz wasn't that good...but that quickly changed as you can now tell.

Snowed in with The Love Language from Jason Arthurs on Vimeo.

Merge has got them now, of course and the new album, Libraries is a go for July 13. I'm gonna put this into the category of "highly anticipated." At least Merge finally signed another Carolina band.

Track listing & some Carolina tour dates are after the jump...


Tour Dates:
04-15 Raleigh, NC The Pour House
04-22 Greensboro, NC Earth Day Celebration at Center City Park
04-24 Washington, DC Sweetlife Festival
04-28 Chapel Hill, NC Memorial Hall w/ St. Vincent
09-11 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Festival w/ Public Enemy

Libraries Track Listing:

1. Pedals
2. Brittany’s Back
3. This Blood Is Our Own
4. Summer Dust
5. Blue Angel
6. Heart to Tell
7. Anthophobia
8. Horophones
9. Wilmont
10. This Room

More after the jump...

2009 Troika Fest in Durham, NC

Troika Festival is this weekend in Durham, NC.
Was just going to make some picks for the Troika Festival this wknd in Durham, but screw it, here's the whole schedule with some nice vids scattered in.

Thursday, Nov 5

Durham Central Park



7:45 Megafaun
7:00 The Beast

Backstage at the Durham Performing Arts Center
11:00 Bowerbirds
10:00 The Future Kings of Nowhere
9:15 Humble Tripe
8:30 Ghost Cats

The Pinhook
117 W. Main St

11:15 Max Indian
10:30 Aminal
9:45 House of Fools
9:00 The Desmonds

Duke Coffeehouse

11:45 Future Islands
10:45 EAR PWR
10:00 The ExMonkeys

Broad St Cafe
1116 Broad St

11:45 The Moaners
11:00 The Dry Heathens
10:15 Pink Flag
9:30 Regina Hexaphone

Rest of the schedule after the jump...

Friday, Nov 6

"Troika Evenings" at West End Wine Bar

601 W. Main St

8:30 Birds and Arrows
7:45 Liza Kate
7:00 Tea and Tempests

Marvell Event Center

119 W. Main St





10:30 Embarrassing Fruits
9:45 The Proclivities
9:00 Wembley
8:15 Ryan Gustafson

The Pinhook
117 W. Main St

11:00 Bellafea
10:15 Caltrop
9:30 Grappling Hook
8:45 Scientific Superstar

Trotter Building
410 W. Geer St

12:30 Dex Romweber Duo
11:30 Gentleman Jesse & His Men
10:30 Hammer No More The Fingers
9:45 Brett Harris
9:00 The Huguenots

Duke Coffeehouse

Duke University
East Campus

12:00 Birds of Avalon
11:00 I Was Totally Destroying It
10:15 The Pneurotics
9:30 The Ringing Cedars

Broad St Cafe
1116 Broad St

12:15 Pipe
11:15 The Dirty Little Heaters
10:30 Whatever Brains
9:45 Jews and Catholics

"Late Night" at Bull McCabe's
427 W Main St

12:15 Beloved Binge
11:30 All Your Science

Saturday, Nov 7

"Rock, Paper, Scissors" at Trotter Bldg

Arts & crafts marketplace!

410 W Geer St

2:30 Mount Moriah
1:30 Tin Star
12:30 Three Days in Vegas

"Troika Evenings" at West End Wine Bar

601 W. Main St

8:30 The Tender Fruit
7:45 Jasmé Kelly
7:00 Sequoya

Marvell Event Center
119 W. Main St

10:30 Luego
9:45 Lud
9:00 Bright Young Things
8:15 Sea Cow

The Pinhook
117 W. Main St

11:00 Gray Young
10:15 Citified
9:30 Veronique Diabolique

Duke Coffeehouse
Duke University
East Campus
Trinity Ave & Buchanan Blvd

11:15 Lonnie Walker
10:15 Schooner
9:30 Veelee
8:45 D-Town Brass

Trotter Building
410 W. Geer St



11:30 Red Collar
10:30 The Travesties
9:45 Maple Stave
9:00 The Bronzed Chorus

Broad St Cafe
1116 Broad St

12:00 The Love Language
11:00 The Loners
10:15 Rat Jackson
9:30 Dynamite Brothers

"Late Night" at Bull McCabe's
427 W Main St

12:15 Pistil
11:30 Butterflies

More after the jump...

review: Hear Here: The Triangle Various NC artists

Hear Here: The Triangle
WKNC and Terpsikhore Records and Flying Tiger Sound
Various North Carolina Artists, 2009

Compilations are always a weird beast to review, because well, they are disjointed by their very nature. There is not supposed to be continuity, only fresh revelations. It's hell to listen to, because I have to keep referring to the tracklisting just to see which song is going. But none of that is the fault of Hear Here because it does what a comp is supposed to do--introduce excellent new music. But Hear Here takes it a step further and does not just throw a bunch of songs on a disc, but asked all of the bands included to record an original song. And we're not talking slouches. Here's a new Rosebuds single, a new Love Language and Birds of Avalon single, something from Annuals and Terpsikhore Records spin-off band, Sunfold. And Lonnie Walker, Hammer No More The Fingers, The Never are like old nearby friends--it's always good to see them in the neighborhood.

All of the bands are from the Triangle area of North Carolina, an area that is being flooded with good music. But the good kind of flood. There is a serious revolution going on there; it's no joke. In fact, it's easy for me to name another 6-8 unsigned/independent bands that should've been on this comp, that could have created an equally as satisfying mix of music. Hit up this and this for a few examples. So there's no Bellafea, no Midtown Dickens, no Red Collar, no Aminal, no Megafaun, no Bowerbirds. Only one Trekky Records band. But then, this comp succeeds in introducing me to yet another wave of bands that are now on the totally awesome list, like Motorskills. Their song "Right As Hell," sounds like it was a Thom Yorke B-side, which in this case is a good thing. They do not copy Thom Yorke, they embody him, or at least a really air-tight compact version of something he might do. The Kingsbury Manx also offers a gem with "Custer's Last Stand" as they take a new surf music approach to a U.S. western showdown.

A friend of mine told me it was a big deal that Colossus had a new song on here, as they're an older-type metal band who are getting back together for a few shows. So the song is a good welcome back gesture.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Americans in France track, their snotty, dirty garage sound is finally endearing to me. Also surprised by the track from The Never. Called "Littlest Things" it doesn't veer far from their previous work, but it does incorporate some gentler, quieter parts than I'm used to with their music--usually it's so quick and poppy, whereas this is simple and understanding rather than on a sugar rush. It's good for them and their harmonies on this track soar.

There are several hip-hop/rap songs on here from bands like Kooley High and The Beast that I can't really comment on because I have no knowledge of them or other groups that may be like them. With that said, I guess I will comment--I enjoyed "My People" by The Beast.

This disc is worth picking up and knowing about because knowing is knowledge in case anyone was wondering. Track list is after the jump...



Track List:

1. Lonnie Walker, “Feels Like Right”
2. Kooley High, “Can’t Go Wrong”
3. The Love Language, “Horophones”
4. The Never, “Littlest Things”
5. Colossus, “Sunglasses in Space”
6. Birds of Avalon, “Telepathic Creep”
7. Hammer No More The Fingers, “The Visitor”
8. Motor Skills, “Right as Hell”
9. The Kingsbury Manx, “Custer’s Last Stand”
10. Blount Harvey, “The Three”
11. Static Minds, “Time Bomb”
12. The Beast, “My People”
13. Americans In France, “No Love for a Prophet”
14. Inflowential, “Sheriff”
15. The Old Ceremony, “Gone Go the Memories”
16. Sunfold, “Weeping Wall”
17. The Rosebuds, “Brad Cook is Not Your Man”




More after the jump...