Henry Darger Won't Be In Bmore Tomorrow

He's dead. But influenced rock band Vivian Girls will be. The Brooklyn trio plays the Ottobar Wednesdey eve, just off the re-release of their debut full length from In the Red today. If you haven't already jumped on the hypewagon, a link to 9 free tracks is below. The show is 10 bucks, and sports support from Tyvek and locals Baby Venom.

MP3s: Click here for link to a free Vivian Girls live recording (via WFMU).

The Dodos, Wye Oak, & Au

I was excited for this show back in July, and yes, am still a bit giddy. Sunday night at Sonar features San Francisco's The Dodos, Bmore's own Wye Oak, and Au who originate from Portland. Coincidently Au just released the video for their carnival of a single "RR vs. DD" (above). If you haven't already gotten tickets, the playlist below is sure to sway your thoughts. Hopefully the creepy girl in the video will not be in attendance.

Ponytail: Video Premiere

In keeping with this week's theme of local hypercolored video awesomeness, thought I'd share this with you. The first track off Ponytail's happy go lucky Ice Cream Spiritual, the clip for "Beg Waves" kaleidoscopes wonderfully along to the sounds of the album. If you didn't already break into convulsions from Adventure, this should do the trick.

Adventure

Among the heaping load of releases today lies the debut from Adventure. Baltimore by way of North Carolina synth banger Benny Boeldt has dropped his self titled jaunt on DC's Carpark. Recommended, the LP's 8-bit glory sounds like the best Sonic the Hedgehog video game ever. Catch Adventure September 30 at the Talking Head with Future Islands. Check out the video for "Ultrazone" above, and try not to have a seizure.

Stream the New Beach House

Beach House released a stream for their new 7" which debuts in a month on Carpark.

Same As It Ever Was

David Byrne played the lyric last night to a packed hometown crowd. His band included a drummer, percussionist, bassist, 3 multi-talented backup singers, and 3 stage dancers. All dressed in white, some of the most influential songs of our time were played.

David Byrne has not missed a beat, often getting in on some of the theatrics which were just about as weird you might expect. But an excellent job was done in keeping things simple, and allowing the music to take priority. Byrne shouted the vocals for "Help Me Somebody", and other highlights included "Life During Wartime" and "I Feel My Stuff".

Mr. Byrne seemd to be genuinely appreciative of the diverse crowd, an audience that took every chance it got to get up and dance in their opera house seats. Byrne's parents were even in attendance, both of whom had the pleasure of babysitting my girlfriend in Columbia back in the day. Lucky.

Unsure of what to expect, this show was a feel good affair in all regards.

TV on the Radio: Video Premiere

TV on the Radio's new album Dear, Science hits shelves next week. The video for "Golden Age" dropped yesterday, and hints that the new album might be a more dance-oriented affair than the atmospheric gems of their past. Either way, its probably going to rock.

The Octopus Project & Yukon

October 21 brings ambitious post synthetic power rock to a stage near you. Sonar will be hosting The Octopus Project, with the mighty Yukon pulling support for the night.

The local fellows of Yukon just released Medallion. The 4 tracked disc leaves you unbuckling your belt, not craving more like your typical extended player. With drums out the wazoo, the EP sounds like a more controlled Oxes, sprinkling in vocals and math rocked goodness. Dudes also play with Little Women at the Copycat October 18.

The Octopus Project hail from Austin, and impressed the heck out of me at the Ottobar last year. Last year's LP was superb, but their ultimate ear melter was the collaborative effort with Black Moth Super Rainbow called The House of Apples & Eyeballs.

This show more than likely promises to make going out on Tuesday worth your while.

HampdenFest

This years HampdenFest takes place this Saturday the 13th. Always a good time, this year's highlights include Thrushes, Lexie Mountain Boys, The Oranges Band and tons more. As usual its a free affair, check out deets on all the action below:

CITYPAPER STAGE
11AM - Degenerettes
12PM - Harlot
1PM - Baby Aspirin
2PM - Impossible Hair
3PM - lo moda
4PM - HAMPDEN IDOL
5:30 - 7PM - The Oranges Band

ATOMIC BOOKS STAGE
11AM - The Jennifers
12PM - The Lexie Mountain Boys
1PM - Thrushes
2PM - Secret Crush Society
3PM - Ed Schrader
4PM - Squaaks
5PM - The Ubangis
6PM - Pulaski

BALTIMORE MESSENGER STAGE
11AM - Barrage Band Orchestra
12PM - Art Department
1PM - Susan Alcorn
2PM - Tritons
3PM - Courtney Dow
4PM - K Love The Infinite with DJ Nett & Reina Williams

Future Islands: New Stuff Galore

Future Islands might be preparing for world domination. A supremacy of the synth/punk/dance variety, the band will seemingly be everywhere in the coming months.

Their LP has dropped on the UK's Upset the Rhythm. Wave Like Home unleashes furious waves of minimalistic catchiness from start to finish, with some slower jams mixed in for a breather here and there. Expect the vinyl pressing from Wham City shortly.

307 Knox has released a split 7 inch with a rare Dan Deacon b-side. The record is limited to only 1000 copies, but Soundgarden might still have some. The video above features the Future Islands a-side, and makes me wonder how this one got left off the full length.

The band has plans to tour relentlessly. This month they will be roaming with Adventure, ending September 30 at the Talking Head. In October they will be billed on the "feet night" of the Baltimore Round Robin Tour, which might have a rehearsal in Bmore.

Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez Album Droppage

Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez creates art. His visual art is displayed above, and more can be found here. Lesser's aural works have been collected on Carpark's Why is Bear Billowing?. The album consists of just him and his guitar, and proves to be all that is needed.

The LP swoons along simplistically leaving behind aftertastes of Devendra Banhart and the late Nick Drake. Often consumed by music that combines every genre possible, its always nice to hear songs that aren't hidden behind any unnecessary layers.

Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez has gotten some national press as of late, some of which appears to be confused. Pitchfork "reviewed" the album a few weeks back. However half the piece was spent claiming that Lesser did not fit in with his peers, referring to "the wham city membership card he carries."

Since when do art collectives have to contain bands that all sound the same? And since when did such collectives have membership cards? Is this similar to the one I got when I joined the Bo Knows fan club on the back of my Wheaties box in 1989? Who knows.

I do know that Lesser will be touring the U.S. throughout September with Jana Hunter, and I also know that I couldn't think of a more perfect fall show to attend.