Listen Dammit blog, Nick Loss-Eaton Media, and Highline Records will
host a free CMJ day party at Skinny Dennis in Brooklyn, NY on
October 19, 2013. Curated by Eric Danton of Listen Dammit and Loss-Eaton, here's the lineup:
12:30 Modern Merchant
The haunting melodies and pulse-like rhythms of Brooklyn-based quartet
Modern Merchant will get you a bit dazed and glassy-eyed. Layered
harmonies and dynamic shifts work to create a soundscape that's at once
experimental yet grounded in pop sensibilities.
1
Leland Sundries
“Not only does Brooklyn singer-songwriter Nick Loss-Eaton write richly
detailed, sepia-toned tunes that layer America then and now atop one
another like a ghostly palimpsest, he’s just as handy at knocking out
Johnny Cash-worthy trifles like ‘Giving Up Redheads.’ His quartet has
been spending a lot of quality road time lately, so expect them to be
well-marinated for this homecoming gig.” – The Village Voice
1:30 Shelby Earl
Named the "#1 Outstanding 2011 Album You Might Have Missed" by
Amazon.com, Shelby Earl's debut solo album, Burn the Boats (produced by
John Roderick of The Long Winters and released in November 2011 on Local
638 Records) inspired NPR/LA Times Ann Powers to dub Earl her "new
favorite songwriter" (see below for full letter from Miss Powers).
Collaborators on the album include members of The Long Winters,
Telekinesis, (former) Fleet Foxes, The Head and the Heart, the Maldives
and more. Earl has since shared stages with everyone from Benjamin
Gibbard, Rhett Miller and Lavender Diamond to Loudon Wainwright III,
Crooked Fingers and the White Buffalo. Earl's sophomore solo album Swift
Arrows (produced by Damien Jurado), was released July 23, 2013 and is
fast earning critical acclaim.
2:15 Jay Arner
Every sound you hear on his eponymous debut album — due out this summer
through Mint Records — was self-recorded by Arner in his 72-square-foot
practice space using a precariously perched desktop computer and his
home recording gear. The sum of his many talents, these 10 songs sizzle
with DIY energy and encompass the scope of the songwriter’s diverse
resume. Opener “
Midnight
on South Granville” sets a dark tone with its coldly mechanical intro
before flourishing into a lush post-punk synthscape that reflects
Arner’s love of analogue electronics. Elsewhere, the bass-heavy pulse of
“Broken Glass (In the Hall of Shattered Mirrors)” draws on ’70s
pseudo-funk, while “Wildest One” is an abrasive surge of distortion and
“Don’t Remind Me” is a soaring pop anthem that recalls classic
Murderrecords songcraft. The lyrics are filled with self-doubt and wry
cynicism, but don’t expect confessional heartbreak — these timeless
melodies and intricately wrought arrangements are filled with noisy pop
sweetness, and there’s not an acoustic guitar to be found.
3
John Murry
John Murry -- the Bay Area-based second cousin of William Faulkner's who
makes incredible Southern indie-noir music – is touring in October
opening for Shuggie Otis. It cements his status as a national act in
2013: NPR "World Café Next" artist and a "breakout" (NPR Here &
Now); sold out UK shows; 5-star reviews in the Guardian and MOJO;
playing festivals in the UK and California; a Weir Here taping curated
by Bob Weir; raves from MTV Hive, Black Book, Wall Street Journal,
Esquire, Daytrotter, American Songwriter, San Jose Mercury, and Baeble
Music; and signing with Windish Agency. He will also tape NPR's Beale
Street Caravan performance show during a headlining performance in his
former hometown of Memphis, TN, October 5. It'll be his third NPR taping
of the year.
3:45 Wry Climate
NY indie rock/shoegave band Wry Climate has been compared to Sonic
Youth, Lotus Plaza, Pavement, MBV, Dirty Projectors, Real Estate, and
Deerhunter, combining jangly electric guitars with amp feedback and
digital delay noise effects. Based in Brooklyn and Purchase, NY, Wry
Climate is the project of Dan Nelson and friends.
4:30 Defibulators
The Defibulators, described alternately as "Hee-Haw on mescaline" and
"CBGB-meets-Grand Ole Opry," released 'Debt'll Get'em,' the follow up to
their acclaimed 2009 debut 'Corn Money,' on
August 27th.
Recorded in Woodstock with D. James Goodwin and Eli Walker and Brooklyn
with co-producer Brian Bender (Langhorne Slim, Jose James), the album
is an au courant, urban take on classic country, channeling the frenetic
energy of their legendary live shows into tight, punchy hooks and
foot-stomping sing-alongs.
5:15 Kingsley Flood
Kingsley Flood – the band whose Newport set grabbed the attention of NPR
Music, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Paste – are having a breakout year.
Drawing comparisons to The Replacements, Deer Tick, Lucero, Wilco, and
the Clash, the band's six members tore up the stage in a misting rain,
with lead singer Naseem Khuri ripping at his guitar while Jenée Morgan
Force alternated between violin and saxophone, forming an impromptu horn
section with keyboardist Chris Barrett picking up the trumpet. NPR
Music streamed the set.
About
Listen Dammit
Listen, Dammit was founded in 2009 by Eric R. Danton, who was rock
critic at the Hartford Courant in Connecticut from 2002-2012. He also
writes for RollingStone.com, Salon, The Wall Street Journal, and M Music
& Musicians magazine.
About
Nick Loss-Eaton Media
Nick Loss-Eaton has been a freelance music publicist since April, 2011
and previously, at Shore Fire Media since 2005, most recently as
Director of Publicity.
About Highline Records
Highline Records started in London in 2011 by Heather Willensky, who
wanted to return to her indie roots after working at EMI Music
Publishing. With a roster focused on brilliant songwriters, Highline has
released albums in the UK, Europe and North America by Correatown,
Still Flyin', Piney Gir, Western Lows, Sweet Lights and Ralfe Band
amongst others, and publishes The Ladybug Transistor, Tim Ten Yen,
Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou and Dennis Hopper Choppers.
