Video: Lower Dens - Take Away Show

The French video blog La Blogotheque recently posted their encounter with Baltimore's Lower Dens, which took place down in Texas for SXSW. La Blogotheque caught up with Jana Hunter and her band after a hectic schedule of shows, just in time for a couple of low-key renditions of "Deer Knives" and "Tea Lights" under the Austin trees.

Lower Dens - "Deer Knives"

Record Store Day is this weekend, and this year it comes bearing new Lower Dens via a brand new single and 7" titled "Deer Knives". Hear the new recording below.



While the new song is welcome news, the bigger news here is that the new song comes compliments of Sub Pop. While there is no official word that the band has been signed to this indie label behemoth, one can likely assume something is brewing as their new single is being released by the label as a 7" and it is being included on their Record Store Day compilation. Another Baltimore dream-pop band to be signed to Sub Pop?

As for the music, Lower Dens does it again with another atmospheric burst of pop bliss plucked from their live set and put to the test in the studio. The result is a winner of course, as "Deer Knives" rambles on just as good as anything off of Twin-Hand Movement, if not better. Clearly there is plenty left to come from Lower Dens.

Get the "Deer Knives" 7" single or the Sub Pop compilation on Record Store Day.

Tonight: Co La, Hubble, Future Shuttle, more

If you're not heading down to the Black Cat for their sold out affair with Wye Oak, Lower Dens, and Lands and Peoples tonight, then the Soft House has surely got you covered.




Tonight the space hosts Co La (Matthew Papich's awesome new project that I gushed about last week), Future Shuttle, Hubble, Bow Ribbons, and Nugg (Comeback Ranch).

The show tonight starts at 10 PM, probably accepts donations, and you can RSVP here.

Tonight: Lower Dens, Ed Schrader's Music Beat, Dope Body

Two rad shows tonight more than worth mentioning, as Lower Dens, Dope Body, and Ed Schrader's Music Beat all play shows this evening. Lower Dens headlines the Ottobar with Magik Markers, and Dope Body and Ed Schrader's Music Beat host some touring bands at the Bell Foundry. Ottobar is $8 and starts at nine, Bell Foundry is $5 and starts at ten.

Photos: The Snails at the Copycat Theatre

The Snails crawl on to a Baltimore stage about once a year. "Baltimore's answer to the California Raisins" consists of members of Future Islands, Lower Dens, Small Sur, and Nuclear Power Pants. Last week saw their 2011 debut at the Copycat Theatre.

Valerie was there to capture all the action, some of the more colorful shots you'll likely see on here. Sam Herring and William Cashion of Future Islands make up a chunk of the Snails, and you can catch those dudes at one of their biggest local shows ever this Saturday at the 2640 Space for Celebration's LP release show with Arbouretum too.

Show: Lower Dens, Secret Mountains, Weekends

 photo by Emily Wandres

We're pleased to help present a great show down in D.C. next month - as Lower Dens, Secret Mountains, and Weekends all bring Baltimore to it's neighboring beltway.







This offering of some of Baltimore's finest will take place at Subterranean A, a small and fantastic space that just got up and running last year. Weekends' drenching noise-pop sonics will blast your ears backwards while Secret Mountain's lush psychedelic swirls will capture your hearts as Lower Dens' undeniably amazing brand of rock will leave you breathless. Yeah, it'll be like that and you're not going to want to miss it.

This show takes place on February 23, which also happens to be my birthday. I would like to thank the bands in advance for the killer birthday present, and hope to see everyone down in D.C. in a month. The show costs $7 and will get going around 8 PM.

Click through below to after the jump for a couple videos from these folks.

Video: Lower Dens - "Batman"

Hauntingly radical new promo video for the new Lower Dens 7" called "Batman". [via]

Lower Dens - "Batman"

As last year's best of 2010 lists started to roll in last month, it became evident that Lower Dens weren't just a favorite here in their hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.



Their first release since the debut LP Twin Hand Movement, the new "Batman" single will hit stores on January 18. Streaming above, "Batman" has become one of our favorites in the band's live show repertoire over the past year - specifically recalling the rendition played at Whartscape last year after the surreal storm that sent the fest down to Sonar.



The B-side of the single is a cover of Mayo Thompson’s “Dear Betty Baby", a more careful and heavy melodic excursion. Together, they further cement that this band isn't going anywhere anytime soon as they churn out song after song of ghostly folk pop bliss. Their next regional date is at the Black Cat in D.C. on March 11 with Wye Oak.

Lower Dens' Batman 7" is available via Gnomonsong on January 18.

Video: Lower Dens - "Batman"

A few months ago I posted a live set of Lower Dens that included a new song called "Batman". This week Yours Truly featured video of a studio performance with the band performing said track. Check out their rad footage of Lower Dens above.



The footage was shot at Different Fur Studios out in San Francisco while the band was on tour. Lower Dens' Twin Hand Movement has already been making it to handful of year's best lists, including our own. The band just started announcing a tour for next year, including a run with The Walkmen and some dates with Wye Oak.

Top 20 Baltimore Albums of 2010

Below is a list of my favorite records released by artists from Baltimore in 2010. Before I began to ponder these albums, I had to decide whether or not to include work released through a local label that got started up this year, Friends Records.

I've never considered Bmore Musically Informed a proper form of journalism, but I still feel uneasy about endorsing records on this list that I have personally been involved with releasing (re: Height, Sri Aurobindo, Weekends, Celebration, and other friends). While I have chosen to leave them off this list, my affection for them is already pretty clear.

Again this year there was a long list of amazing releases to come out of Baltimore, churning in all kinds of diversity to invade your ear-space. Hear for yourself...



20. Holy Ghost Party - Prog Parents // Wtr Clr



19. Pfisters - Narcicity // Fan Death



18. Crazy Dreams Bands - War Dream // Holy Mountain



17. Lizz King - All Songs Go To Heaven // Ehse



16. Rapdragons - Featuring Baltimore // LTD Comp



15. Dead Drums - Fashion Defense // Self-released



14. Raindeer - Raindeer EP // Self-released



13. The Art Department - Paperwork / Birdwork // Gen Pop



12. Romantic States - Romantic States // Tater Junction



11. Do While - Do While // Wigflip



10. Mickey Free - Last of the Tight Wiggers // Self-released



9. Happy Family / Run DMT - Banana Split // Wigflip



8. Daniel Higgs - Say God // Thrill Jockey



7. Jason Urick - Fussing & Fighting // Thrill Jockey



Wye Oak - My Neighbor / My Creator // Merge



5. Double Dagger - Masks // Thrill Jockey



4. Beach House - Teen Dream // Sub Pop



3. Dustin Wong - Infinite Love // Thrill Jockey



2. Lower Dens - Twin Hand Movement // Gnomonosong



1. Future Islands - In Evening Air // Thrill Jockey

Tonight: Lower Dens, Woven Bones, & more

I mentioned this last week, but tonight the Ottobar hosts Lower Dens' last Baltimore show of 2010 along with Woven Bones, Frankie Rose and the Outs, and Junkers.

Upcoming Shows @ The Ottobar: Lower Dens, Wye Oak, Future Islands, more

The Ottobar has a trio of shows in October/November that each feature a different local headliner, and all of which have put out some of our favorite releases thus far this year.



Starting with next week, Lower Dens headlines the Ottobar on October 19 in what will be their last Baltimore show of 2010. They play with the much-hyped garage pop of Frankie Rose and the Outs and Woven Bones, and locals Junkers will be opening. Lower Dens just finished up a massive North American tour, complete with visits to NPR's Tiny Desk and Daytrotter, both of which are worth checking out.



On Friday, November 5th, Wye Oak headlines the venue. This one is supported by two other local bands that have always come recommended by us - Height with Friends and The Art Department. The local indie hip hop mainstay Height and the quirky and angsty poppers of the Art Department have both dropped excellent full lengths on vinyl this year.



And lastly, Future Islands will headline the Ottobar on Saturday, November 20th. This is the seven inch release party for a split they are putting out with Lonnie Walker, which contains the forthcoming Future Islands single "The Ink Well". The limited split is pressed to peach-colored vinyl and comes via Friends Records. Nov. 20 will be the last stop on a 17-date November tour that both bands are a part of. Opening the Baltimore release party will be Winks, a project that has a new full length coming soon.

Future Islands are currently finishing up in Europe, where they ran into Dan Deacon...

Live MP3s: Lower Dens at Metro Gallery

Lower Dens just started a two month tour, and just released their debut LP dubbed Twin Hand Movement. The record is easily one of the best albums to come out of our fair city this year, and Jana Hunter's crew have played a slew of killer sets this year as well.

The most recent was the first show of their current tour with Inoculist, played here in Baltimore at the Metro Gallery on August 1st. Lands & Peoples also opened, and Lower Dens headlined with an hour long set full of familiar songs and some new material. Guy Werner recently passed along the recording of the whole set, including this track.



You won't find "Batman" on Twin Hand Movement, a song that I instantly fell in love with as they played it to close out their set at Whartscape. This new(ish) jam is a fine representation of the vibe-induced melodies, floating vocals, and infectious rhythms that make up the new LP. Jana Hunter let me know yesterday that while "Batman" isn't really a new song, it will be first released as an upcoming single via Gnomonsong. Rad.

Full Set MP3 Link: Lower Dens - Live @ Metro Gallery (recorded by Guy Werner)

Download the whole set at the link above, including the last song which was a cover of the Cass McCombs track "What Isn't Nature". View the whole set list after the jump.

Lower Dens
Metro Gallery, Baltimore
8-1-10

Tangier
Deer Knives
Batman
Tea Lights
Blue and Silver
Dog's Dick
Hospice Gates
2 Cocks
Plastic and Powder
Rosie
Nervous
What Isn't Nature (Cass McCombs cover)

Photos / Review: Whartscape 2010 Sunday

While most reports of this year's Whartscape might first call to mind the blazing heat wave, only on Sunday did the weather actually affect the musical happenings. A major storm's wind took control of the massive tarp over the the main stage, lifting it high up near the roofs of the buildings and then slamming it back down on the stage. Many might blame the vibes of Little Howlin' Wolf's set for the storm, and I'm guessing the band would probably consider that a compliment.


The heavy rain began, the music halted, and folks scattered - but those who stayed were treated to an epic rain dance performance starring Adam Endres and April Camlin. The music at Current Space was announced to be canceled for the day (even though Ducktails and a few others still performed for a small crowd outside after the storm) and Sonar was named the new location for the lineup of Beach House, Celebration, Health, Wye Oak, Deakin, and Lower Dens. Many kudos to those who made a shift like this happen with such short notice.


The change allowed for more people to come see these acts, but also forced a handful of bands to move to the H&H bill that night. The vibe at Sonar was at times a bit off when compared to the usual Whartscape aura, but all of the performances were beyond spectacular. Celebration and Wye Oak's new material showed much promise for their new LPs in the works, and Lower Dens nailed a set chock full of the amazing material off their freshly released Twin Hand Movement.


Firemen were visible towards the end of the evening, a presence that lead to the hasty halt of Beach House's set. After responding to a pulled alarm over at the show going on simultaneously in the Club stage, the Baltimore City Fire Department shut down Sonar smack in the middle of Beach House's set - sending the packed house home or onward.


The H&H bill was heavily beefed up that night by adding Future Islands, Prince Rama, and Talk Normal to the 5th Dimension lineup after the storm changed plans. This allowed Future Islands to close out Whartscape 2010 for those who made it into the 5th Dimension space. Their set was nothing short of legendary, and the crowd stormed the stage during the last song. The band was also joined by Katrina Ford of Celebration, whose soaring vocals contributed to another amazing rendition of "In The Fall".



THANK YOU WHAM CITY FOR 5 YEARS OF WHARTSCAPE.

More from Valerie's photo set after the jump.

Lower Dens


Wye Oak


Deakin


Celebration


Health


Beach House


Prince Rama


Talk Normal


Future Islands



Photos by Valerie

Rapdragons - Featuring Baltimore

From the first time I met Nick Often and Greg Ward of Rapdragons last year, the two Baltimore rappers were enticing me with a local-oriented project they had in the works. The project is titled Featuring Baltimore, and it will be officially released for free tomorrow via their very own LTD Comp.

Featuring Baltimore is a full length mixtape, where in which each song samples from a different Baltimore artist. The result of Nick and Greg's superior taste in local music and knack for beat-cooking is 16 tracks of hip hop ready for any summer party. Hear a taste below.



"Dragon's Heart" samples "A Dog's Dick" by Lower Dens, one of the standout tracks on the new Lower Dens LP that drops later this summer. The Rapdragons take on the jam capitalizes on the killer bass line found in the original, and of course adds on top verses of Nick and Greg's party rap that Bmore has come to know and love.

The full release can be downloaded for free on LTD Comp tomorrow, and features samples deriving from The Agrarians, Beach House, Double Dagger, Future Islands, Ponytail, Weekends, Baby Venom, Dope Body, Arbouretum, Secret Mountains, Mr. Moccasin, The Art Department, Lo Moda, and more. Peep the full track listing below.


Rapdragons - Featuring Baltimore (LTD Comp.)

01 Early for Work (samples Late for School by Ponytail)

02 Come Harvest (samples Growing Season by Secret Mountains)

03 Plot Twist (samples Shakescene by The Agrarians)

04 Trivial Prey feat. Rebel Conscious (samples Grave Hunter by Mr. Moccasin)

05 Camp Everywhere (samples Camp Nowhere by Weekends)

06 Real Summer (samples False Spring by Arbouretum)

07 Memory (samples Vision by Dope Body)

08 Manifest (samples Camouflage by Double Dagger)

09 Bury (samples Dig by Blood Baby)

10 Rap'n'Roll feat. AK & Hanna Badalova (samples Rock'n'Roll by The Art Department)

11 Slick Rick (samples Eyepatch by Baby Venom)

12 I Went to Her feat. Seven (samples You Came to Me by Beach House)

13 Constant Metropolis (samples Istanbul by Lo Moda)

14 Dragon's Heart (samples A Dog's Dick by Lower Dens)

15 Big Dreamers (samples Little Dreamer by Future Islands)

16 Gotta Go feat. Hemlock Ernst (samples Cannot Move by Existencils)