Show: Raindeer EP Release with Cex

Photos: Co La, Raindeer, Happy Family

A few weekend's ago the Hexagon hosted an evening of sample-based solo projects, capped off with the full-on electro psych sounds of Raindeer. Matthew Papich's Co La set was particularly captivating, projecting images of champagne while he had a waitress pass out free glasses of bubbly. His Friends Recs release, Dial Tone Earth, is out soon.



Valerie attended the affair and captured shots of Raindeer and Co La.

Zu Shapes - "Speak In Sheets"

Just announced: Zu Shapes will make his live debut at the Hexagon on Saturday (4/23) where he'll be opening for Raindeer, Co La, and Happy Family. The show starts at 9 PM.

Friends Records is debuting a handful of brand new cassettes over the coming weeks, one of which is the debut from Zu Shapes who I introduced you to a few weeks back. Zu Shapes is Beau Cole of Lands and Peoples and Raindeer, and his debut is called Merigold. More new sounds have now surfaced, take a gander at "Speak in Sheets" below.



"Speak In Sheets" has been stuck in my head for the past month, but I sure as fuck don't mind. These sounds emanate the surf-pop of the 60s, but do so from the perspective of modern day bedroom pop with a jaded twist. "Speak In Sheets" is Zu Shapes' oceanfront sing-a-long, a glowing anthem that the late Dennis Wilson would likely be proud of.



You can pre-order Zu Shapes' Merigold cassette from Friends Records right here.

Show: Future Islands, Weekends, Dope Body, more

If you've been outside today, you are aware that spring time is here. To celebrate this year, Hopkins' Spring Fair has teamed up with the "Baltimore Curators" for an event.



On Saturday, April 16 both are proud to present an outdoor bill on the Levering Quad that's free to the public. The lineup reads like a week of post titles on this here blog, so naturally we're stoked. Bands include Future Islands, Weekends, Dope Body, Lands and Peoples, and Raindeer. Did we mention that this was free? Because it is.

The show runs from 4:45 until 10 PM, and the full schedule is below. RSVP right here.

4:45 - RAINDEER
5:30 - LANDS & PEOPLES
6:15 - WEEKENDS
7:00 - DOPE BODY
8:00 - ADVENTURE
9:00 - FUTURE ISLANDS

Clusterfuck: Height with Friends, Future Islands, The Snails, Bird Names, Disturbed Individuals, Twin Shadow, Raindeer

 flyer by Patrick Byrd

This weekend sports a plethora of options, starting tonight with two solid choices that are more than worth your ears. The first one is to be hosted at the Copycat Theatre.


The Snails, otherwise known as "Baltimore's answer to the California Raisins", will be making their first appearance in over a year. This super-group hodge podge sports members from Future Islands, Small Sur, Lower Dens, and Nuclear Power Pants.

The Snails play tonight with Bird Names and Whoarfrost at the Copycat Theatre.



Also tonight, Raindeer play their second ever Baltimore show at the Ottobar. They will be opening for Twin Shadow, fresh off the release of their debut LP that's been met with lots of critical acclaim. A bunch of unfairly catchy electronic pop music for just $10.


Tomorrow night the Golden West is a fine place to be, as Height with Friends jump-starts their 2011 mega tour that spans over 50 days throughout North America.



This one goes down at 10 PM at the Golden West, and sports support from Mobil, Disturbed Individuals (Food For Animals), and R.M. O'Brien of Nuclear Power Pants.

Transmodern Festival is also holding a benefit at Floristree, and its called Head 2 Head. Performances by Dan Deacon, M.C.Schmidt, DJ Jason Willet, J Graf, Jack Topht and the Vegetables. The event also promises head to head battles by your favorite Baltimore personalities, and will run you upwards of $12 all together.


Saturday night you can start over in East Baltimore at the Creative Alliance, where Future Islands are back in their first local action of 2011. In addition to this performance, don't forget you can go see Future Islands on their biggest Baltimore stage yet, opening for Celebration at the 2640 Space on Saturday, March 5.



But this weekend is a free show in Patterson Park, where they'll be playing an acoustic set in addition to an electric set afterwards. Expect to hear new songs.


After the Future Islands show is over, head to Golden West for a great bill, as the psychedelic warlords Sri Aurobindo are joined by Secret Mountains and Birds of Maya.



This one starts at 10PM at the Golden West and costs just six dollars.

Photos: Raindeer, Winks, Weekends, Holy Ghost Party

A few weeks ago we presented a killer bill at the Golden West which included Raindeer, Weekends, Winks, and Holy Ghost Party. Some of our favorite younger bands from our fair city, the evening proved to live up to the hype by selling out and providing stellar aural pleasure for those who made it in to the Golden West before capacity was reached.



Valerie was there to capture all the action, including Raindeer's first ever Baltimore show which had kids dancing and singing along the words to tracks from their debut EP.

Clusterfuck: Shark Tank, Weekends, Moss Of Aura, Winks, Arbouretum, Raindeer, Secret Mountains, Holy Ghost Party

 flyer by Patrick Byrd

I haven't done a Clusterfuck post in a while, but this weekend's abundance of shows is calling for it. I've already highlighted the majority of these shows, so we'll keep it short and sweet as a friendly reminder of what you can treat your ears to this weekend.



Tonight the Windup Space is where you should be, as Shark Tank will be rocking their record release show with Ed Schrader and Moss of Aura. More info right here.



Tomorrow night sports a bill curated in full by yours truly, as Weekends, Raindeer, Winks, and Holy Ghost Party take over the Golden West. These are some of my absolute favorite new bands from Baltimore, and I'm stoked to bring them all together for one bill. This one's just $5, more info on the affair can be found right here.





And last but not least, Sunday night's got a killer show as well, as everyone's favorite doom-folk outfit will be celebrating their new record upstairs at the Ottobar. For their record release show, Arbouretum will be joined by Secret Mountains, making this more than worth not paying for. Yup, this one's free, and it starts at 9 PM.

Zu Shapes - "Olivia"

 art by Na Kim

A new solo project from Beau Cole of Lands & Peoples and Raindeer - I present you with Zu Shapes. The debut EP got started last summer and is being finished up as we speak, and Beau recently shared the first track to be heard from the debut, dubbed "Olivia".



"Olivia", the first heard track from Zu Shapes, is a catchy-as-fuck slow-building pop song that eventually erupts with luminous chants and a beat strong enough to summon your inner-glee. Beau tells me the song is about social anxiety, living in your mid-twenties, and watching old girlfriends get married and have kids.

I was chatting with Beau last night, and along with an abundance of other info about the new project, he filled me in on where the moniker "Zu Shapes" came from:

"Zu Shapes is this game my mom and I used to play one the highway in Mississippi. There's kudzu EVERYWHERE there. It takes over everything: trees, powerlines, entire buildings. My grandmother called it "foot-a-night" because it can grow more than a foot in a 24 hour period. My mom and I used to call out what the kudzu forms resembled, and she'd make me laugh with silly voices and we'd just have a good ol' time."

Beau Cole plays with his two other bands this week in Baltimore, starting with tomorrow night as Lands & Peoples play the Talking Head with Colour Revolt. On Saturday night, you can catch Beau as part of Raindeer who play the Golden West with Weekends, Winks, and Holy Ghost Party. Look for more to come from Zu Shapes in the coming months.

Show: Weekends, Raindeer, Winks, Holy Ghost Party

 flyer by Patrick Byrd

Next month is looking pretty stacked in terms of shows to see in Baltimore, and we were stoked to add another to the batch by putting this bill together. On Saturday, February 12 the Golden West will host four of our absolute favorite newer local projects with Weekends, Raindeer, Winks, and Holy Ghost Party all rounding out the raucous lineup.

Tickets are just $5 and you can grab them in advance right here. Starts at 10 PM.



The duo of Holy Ghost Party contains 2/3 of Dope Body, but is a whole other entity in and of itself... a psychedelic blast of prog pop with just about everything in between.



Winks is Chase from INEVERYROOM and Adam from Weekends, and this is to be their first show of 2011. This will be your first chance to grib their new album, She's Done.



This will be Raindeer's first ever hometown show, the project of Charlie Hughes joined by Beau Cole of Lands & Peoples and Devin Byrnes. New material out soon via Gprecs.



Weekends continue their onslaught of free-form pop scuzz, with their first proper LP Strange Cultures dropping right around the time of this show on wax via Friends Records.

Raindeer - "Moon Child"

Our city is chock full of a range of different sounds, and right now Raindeer seems to be set firmly at the top of Baltimore's offering of psychedelic disco pop.



Above is a first look at a brand new tune that Raindeer passed along this week, dubbed "Moon Child". This is by far the darkest song to emerge from the project, seemingly a song about loss and heartbreak. The electronic overtones provide a unique glow for this sort of darkness, similar to the neon lights that radiate from a seedy strip club.

Much like the project's debut EP that dropped this summer, silky smooth production is evident throughout the track. But more importantly, Raindeer continues to create a sound that's pretty tough to come by these days. With blends of psych, dance, prog, synth pop, and disco all in the mix, the result is an infectiously catchy and quite brilliant.

"Moon Child" will be on Raindeer's forthcoming release with Fight The Future.

Raindeer Needs a Guitarist

Raindeer is the project of a friend/neighbor in Hampden named Charlie who makes disco psych pop that is weird and reminisces faded memories that you either experienced or have watched/read about. The band needs a guitarist soon for some future shows.



Raindeer released their first album to the interwebs for free a few months back, and many welcomed the sounds of the EP. A NYC-based blog/label called the Great Pumpkin is releasing a new album by Raindeer in the coming months, and has lined up some enticing gigs up North for the band to play. Things are brewing around here, too.

If you play guitar, like the way this album sounds, and want to play some shows - please get in touch with raindeerbooking@gmail.com to set something up with Charlie. Serious inquiries only, please and thank you. Full EP is available below.

Raindeer

I present you with a brand new EP from a relatively new project out of Baltimore. While Raindeer has been in the works for several years, it's only until now the artist is given a proper a name, which is now matched with a it's first release.

Raindeer's first EP is several years in the making, which is easy to tell based on the impeccable production found throughout the six tracks. Hear for yourself...



"This Is My Last Transmision" is the last track on the EP, and is also one of the more beautiful and lush songs created by Raindeer. The release's repertoire runs incredibly deep, with traces of prog, psych, pop, dance, and so much more. It's clear Raindeer's influences have a pretty wide range, yet the release feels as complete and cohesive as can possibly be.

Going from the 80s prom styles of opening track "From The Lagoon" to the dark and dreamy vibes of "Social Networking" makes sense, especially when considering the chorus of the latter - "Dance, I don't dance". While this may get dubbed a bedroom project, the production and sensibility are far from any bedroom project I've ever heard. This is an independent treasure that wouldn't be out of place on a big budget Hollywood film or the next dumb iPod commercial.

Charlie Hughes, the man behind Raindeer, is currently putting together a band so he can take the project to the stage. But for now, get the new EP for free from his site.

Raindeer
self-released
2010

1. From the Lagoon 04:04
2. Social Networking 03:50
3. Juanita 03:23
4. Dark Place 03:53
5. Green Light 04:01
6. This is My Last Transmission 04:42

Listening Party: Sci-Fi and the Sunflowers

Sci-Fi and the Sunflowers are a new local outfit playing a show tonight at the Golden West. These here fella's come from a few different area backgrounds. Brian is formerly of Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad's "Pikesville Gynecologist" fame, and has a current solo project dubbed Brian Adam Ant. Charlie has been perfecting Raindeer over the past few years.

While tonight also features some other choice show options, this is their first bill under the Sci-Fi and the Sunflowers moniker and will provide a taste of something new.

A few of the songs they've shared with us below have grown from other prior outlets, including one of my favorites, "South Dakota".

"South Dakota" is beefed up into a pop track in its new digs, and a pretty catchy one at that. I might have known Brian to listen to bit too much Brit pop and rock in his day, but I think this one really benefits from it. It uses those elements and slaps on the usual smidge of psych-Americana that some of Brian Adam Ant's other tracks are laced with.



"Roll Down the Hill" immediately calls to mind Ween, with a more subdued and tainted pop feel.



While the first two tracks sport the vocals of Brian, "Transylvania Mania" features Charlie's. His other project Raindeer is something to keep your eye on in the near future. This one benefits from the more haunted sounds Charlie has crafted before, but throws a whole sunny melodic thing into the mix.



Catch them tonight at the Golden West, with The Volunteers and The Diamond Center.