Late Show
Xylos
Cultfever
Modern Rivals
I Am Lightyear
Fri, December 7, 2012
Doors: 9:00 pm
Mercury Lounge
New York, NY
$12
Tickets
This event is 21 and over
http://www.mercuryloungenyc.com/event/170759/
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Xylos - (Set time: 12:00 AM)
"Xylos, a five-piece band from Brooklyn, makes stylish electro-pop, gesturing toward sensuality but also holding it at arm’s length for appraisal. That policy plays out clearly in “Not Enough,” the first single from the group’s self-titled full-length debut. With twinkling arpeggios fortified by bubbly rhythm, the song presents what seems at first blush like a pickup anthem, an ode to blithe submission.
Monika Heidemann has a warmly soothing voice, succulent even at its most ethereal. A transplant from jazz and experimental-rock circles, she sings with arresting projection, intense even in stages of repose. On the album’s inviting opener, “Darling Dearest,” her murmured reassurances suggest a riff on Sade. Attacking the brighter cadence of “Second Order,” she evokes a young Morrissey.
Despite all the synthetic elements here, you hear the rattle of hand percussion, the light scrape of fingers on a fret board. For Xylos, sound is one more thing to adjust, just so."
-New York Times
Monika Heidemann has a warmly soothing voice, succulent even at its most ethereal. A transplant from jazz and experimental-rock circles, she sings with arresting projection, intense even in stages of repose. On the album’s inviting opener, “Darling Dearest,” her murmured reassurances suggest a riff on Sade. Attacking the brighter cadence of “Second Order,” she evokes a young Morrissey.
Despite all the synthetic elements here, you hear the rattle of hand percussion, the light scrape of fingers on a fret board. For Xylos, sound is one more thing to adjust, just so."
-New York Times
Cultfever - (Set time: 11:00 PM)
CULTFEVER is a collaboration between Brooklyn-based musicians TAMARA JAFAR and JOE DURNIAK. Their self-titled and self-produced debut album, released November 1, 2011, has been rapidly generating buzz among indie music enthusiasts for its cinematic soundscapes and moments of unhinged romanticism. Within a week of its release music blogs such as The Kollection, Music Ninja, and Music Savage were among the many to hail the debut while veteran music journalist Lorraine Ali (Spin, LA Times, Rolling Stone) commended the album for being “cool and cohesive” and “sublime as it is dynamic.” The glow of early reviews demonstrates a simple, essential truth about Cultfever: their strength is in their range.
Their talent for dynamic story-telling is clear from the moment the album opens with a dramatic drop into its first track, KNEWYOUWELL. Ghostly, soaring vocals thread over and under frenetic synth lines and a pulsing beat which propels the escapist anthem towards a surprise break into starkness and sparcity. The eight impeccably vivid tracks that follow present a refreshing and unruly inventiveness. Cultfever’s songwriting harnesses a manic energy that explodes out of unexpected arrangements—it’s addictive. In one instance, FARM, the duo weave together psych-rock guitar licks, marching boots, slide whistles, triumphant strings, home-made synths, horns, and quietly seductive—though at times violent—vocal stylings.
Cultfever’s brand of genre-irreverant, intellectual-pop quirk generated “one hell of a debut” (Bowlegs Music Review). The self-titled album is available online at iTunes, Amazon, and Bandcamp.
Their talent for dynamic story-telling is clear from the moment the album opens with a dramatic drop into its first track, KNEWYOUWELL. Ghostly, soaring vocals thread over and under frenetic synth lines and a pulsing beat which propels the escapist anthem towards a surprise break into starkness and sparcity. The eight impeccably vivid tracks that follow present a refreshing and unruly inventiveness. Cultfever’s songwriting harnesses a manic energy that explodes out of unexpected arrangements—it’s addictive. In one instance, FARM, the duo weave together psych-rock guitar licks, marching boots, slide whistles, triumphant strings, home-made synths, horns, and quietly seductive—though at times violent—vocal stylings.
Cultfever’s brand of genre-irreverant, intellectual-pop quirk generated “one hell of a debut” (Bowlegs Music Review). The self-titled album is available online at iTunes, Amazon, and Bandcamp.
Modern Rivals - (Set time: 10:00 PM)
"Charmingly earnest indie-pop songwriting and sprightly chamber pop flourishes make their little record essential listening, and hopefully a sign of good things yet to come."
- Absolutepunk.net
"Infectious hooks, communal harmonies that beg the audience to join in and some beaming lead keys all add up to an absorbing debut...Modern Rivals have crafted a contagious five-track debut that acts as both a satisfying and fulfilling EP as well as a good sign of things to come."
- Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist
"If you like your indie-pop to be all about the sparkling keys, gang melodies and quick bursts of energy - you’ll find this quite pleasureable."
- BeatTheIndieDrum.com
"Modern Rivals EP is a solid record full of indie pop and powerpop deliciousness...It’s just really really good and I can’t get over that, nor do I have much else to say."
- ancopout.wordpress.com
"Their blend of powerpop indie rock is so addicting, full of energy, and wonderfully crafted; there is little to say except I can’t stop listening to it."
- musicsavage.com
- Absolutepunk.net
"Infectious hooks, communal harmonies that beg the audience to join in and some beaming lead keys all add up to an absorbing debut...Modern Rivals have crafted a contagious five-track debut that acts as both a satisfying and fulfilling EP as well as a good sign of things to come."
- Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist
"If you like your indie-pop to be all about the sparkling keys, gang melodies and quick bursts of energy - you’ll find this quite pleasureable."
- BeatTheIndieDrum.com
"Modern Rivals EP is a solid record full of indie pop and powerpop deliciousness...It’s just really really good and I can’t get over that, nor do I have much else to say."
- ancopout.wordpress.com
"Their blend of powerpop indie rock is so addicting, full of energy, and wonderfully crafted; there is little to say except I can’t stop listening to it."
- musicsavage.com
I Am Lightyear - (Set time: 9:00 PM)
The ability to reinvent yourself takes talent, without a doubt, both because it requires enough skill to remake your persona and enough courage to let go of who you were before. Lightyear, the brand new electro-pop baby of Lauren Zettler, is the product of such talent in action. Lightyear combines stark, popping electronics, warm, bouncing basslines and Zettler’s own airy vocals, to create a sound that’s both human and intangible—filled with space and feeling. It’s strong music
that addresses vulnerability while revering strength, in the great tradition of Emily Haines and Patty Griffin.
“It Beats” is a song about how even when you know you need everything to be different, you can rely on the fact that your heart can be trusted and will keep on beating. It might seem like a tried and true theme—trust yourself, everything will be okay—and it is. Zettler draws her songwriting
inspiration from such classic pop composers as Billy Joel and Elton John, neither of whom were strangers to themes of the heart, but her lush instrumentation makes the tunes more than just love songs. “Home” is another such example. Zettler once again takes the form—the break-up song—and adds her own twist, both through a driving guitar line and swirling keyboards and through her philosophical look at something so sad and simple as being absent and present at the same time, disappearing from someone’s life but knowing you’re still there.
Lightyear is true to its name. The songs are filled with space and sound that’s bright as light, and they all take on a shape that’s much larger than just their lyrics and arrangements. They pull from themes of change and heartbreak that are without a doubt familiar to everyone, and tap into that
feeling you always forget about until you’re in it again. The feeling that everything is open and your life seems to be made of nothing and capable of everything at once.
that addresses vulnerability while revering strength, in the great tradition of Emily Haines and Patty Griffin.
“It Beats” is a song about how even when you know you need everything to be different, you can rely on the fact that your heart can be trusted and will keep on beating. It might seem like a tried and true theme—trust yourself, everything will be okay—and it is. Zettler draws her songwriting
inspiration from such classic pop composers as Billy Joel and Elton John, neither of whom were strangers to themes of the heart, but her lush instrumentation makes the tunes more than just love songs. “Home” is another such example. Zettler once again takes the form—the break-up song—and adds her own twist, both through a driving guitar line and swirling keyboards and through her philosophical look at something so sad and simple as being absent and present at the same time, disappearing from someone’s life but knowing you’re still there.
Lightyear is true to its name. The songs are filled with space and sound that’s bright as light, and they all take on a shape that’s much larger than just their lyrics and arrangements. They pull from themes of change and heartbreak that are without a doubt familiar to everyone, and tap into that
feeling you always forget about until you’re in it again. The feeling that everything is open and your life seems to be made of nothing and capable of everything at once.
