FRICTION NYC » FRICTION

Ra Ra Riot “Too Dramatic” Preview from The Orchard LP

Nghia — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:33:38 +0000

Cannot wait for the new Ra Ra Riot album The Orchard out August 24th on Barsuk Records.

Ra Ra Riot “Too Dramatic” (Preview) from Barsuk Records on Vimeo.

The beautiful Orchard LP cover below plus multiple tour dates in NYC and Brooklyn.

July
21 Hiroshima, Japan – Hiroshima Club Quattro
23 Yokohama, Japan – Yokohama BLITZ
24 Tokyo, Japan – ZEPP Tokyo
27 Kyoto, Japan – KSB Hall
28 Kyoto, Japan – KSB Hall
August
01 Montreal, QC – Osheaga Festival
04 Columbus, OH – Columbus State Fair w/Devo
28 Toronto, ON – Molson Amphitheater w/ Tegan & Sara and City & Colour
September
05 Seattle, WA – Bumbershoot
09 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom/MFNW
12 North Dorset, UK – End of the Road Festival
18 Geneva, NY – Three Stories Benefit @ Cracker Factory
21 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
22 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
23 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
24 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
27 Northampton, MA – Pearl St.^
28 New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place^
29 Providence, RI – The Met^
October
01 Boston, MA – Royale^
02 Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero^
03 Pittsburgh, PA – Diesel^
04 Ann Arbor, MI – Blind Pig^
05 Chicago, IL – Metro^
07 Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theatre^
08 Omaha, NE – Waiting Room^
11 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theatre^
12 Salt Lake City, UT – In the Venue^
13 Crystal Bay, NV – Crystal Bay Club^
17 San Francisco, CA – Treasure Island Music Festival
19 Pomona, CA – Glass House#
20 Los Angeles, CA – The Music Box @ Henry Fonda#
21 San Diego, CA – Belly Up Tavern#
22 Tempe, AZ – The Clubhouse#
24 San Antonio, TX – White Rabbits#
26 Austin, TX – Emo’s#
27 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live#
28 Dallas, TX – Granada Theatre#
29 Little Rock, AR – Rev Room#
30 Nashville, TN – Exit/In#
November
01 Birmingham, AL – Workplay Theatre#
02 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade#
03 Asheville, NC – Orange Peel#
04 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle#
05 Washington, DC – 930 Club#
13 Vancouver, BC – The Commodore*
17 Calgary, AB – MacEwan Hall*
19 Saskatoon, SK – Louis’ Pub*
20 Winnipeg, MB – The Garric*

^ w/ Chikita Violenta
# w/ Givers
* w/ Wintersleep

FRICTION NYC presents: Pretty & Nice, Fugitive Souls, The Valley Arena | 8.01.09 @ littlefield

Nghia — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:23:37 +0000

Get Hype!!! FRICTION is back from a break with a night at new performance and art space littlefield in Brooklyn. ~~Headlining this month’s post mid-summer classic are NYC’s The Forms with Special Guests.~~ On the bill are Boston’s Pretty & Nice who bring their form of frenetic and danceable form of pop and punk. Just added are Fugitive Souls with their dark, guitar-based angst mixed with electronic flourishes. All the way from Long Beach, melodic post-punkers The Valley Arena open up this as usual exciting night.

Advanced tickets are available at littlefield website. Doors open at 8 PM, flyer, mp3’s, and more below.

…Pretty & Nice re-imagine the playfully manic, barbed-wire sounds of Devo, XTC, and This Year’s Model-era Elvis Costello. Their approach is so guileless and giddy, you’ll get drunk on that spazzy, sneering sound all over again. Though the rousing, delightfully messy songs on their sophomore album are neither pretty nor nice, they do show off some masterfully economical riffs and herky-jerky (if not outright dance-y) rhythms. …swells with energy and amphetamine-addled pop hooks, making it hard to ignore and near impossible not to like. [Pitchfork]
[MP3]: Pretty & Nice “Tora Tora Tora”

Brooklyn’s Fugitive Souls are here to serenade you with the dark, romantic melodies on this week’s free download, “Hang On”, off their debut EP, Strangers. Singer, Mark Allen, formerly of the The Shapes, delivers an intimate, yet powerful performance akin to Muse’s Matt Bellamy. Beautiful piano chords punctuate Allen’s vocals while disco rhythms beat across the drummer’s hi-hat…[Our Stage]
[MP3]: Fugitive Souls “A Secret Weighs A Ton”

Long Beach’s Valley Arena deliver a dynamic, well-crafted modern rock album—I guess you could say that their sound has evolved and grown up, but they bring enough of their old building blocks to the studio to have assemble something mostly new, yet hazily familiar. They’re able to strike that delicate balance of their noisier/more frenetic elements with newly focused song structure that lends itself well to their individual playing styles. The real brilliance on this record is found in the guitar/bass tones… [L.A. Record]
[MP3]: The Valley Arena “Grayscale”

FRICTION NYC presents: The Golden Filter, Heartsrevolution, Pink Skull | 1.30.09 @ (Le) Poisson Rouge

justin — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:48:17 +0000

We’ve followed the golden fox, held the golden key, and have seen the golden light. The band that’s piqued everyone’s curiosity for the last six months is about to shed their veil of mystery. On January 30th, New York City’s nu-disco outfit, THE GOLDEN FILTER, will make their North American debut at (Le) Poisson Rouge. HEARTSREVOLUTION with their distorted, punchy electro 8-bit and fine purveyors of dirty Philly tech-house bangers, PINK SKULL, round out this modern-day disco rager. FINGER ON THE PULSE DJs drop the jams all night. Presented by FRICTION NYC and (Le) Poisson Rouge. GET HYPE!

Advanced tickets are available at the (Le) Poisson Rouge website. Doors open at 10:00 PM, flyer, mp3′s, and more below.

“New York City’s THE GOLDEN FILTER may have just put out one of the sexiest jams of the summer with ‘Solid Gold’ and no one knows a single thing about them. A revved up, glittery disco-bassline and icy synths anchor your feet to the dancefloor while airy female vocals breeze past on rays of golden light – a combination that’s enough to cool you on the most humid of days.” [FRICTION NYC]
[MP3]: “Solid Gold”

“Beware; those who enter the HEARTSREVOLUTION world may never leave. Ben and Lo’s music takes hold of you with its silvery, digital clutch – cut’n’paste, overlapping beats, dream-like synths and mantra lyrics – and never lets you go.” [NME]
[MP3]: “C.Y.O.A.”

”
PINK SKULL‘s first full-length released earlier this year (Zeppelin 3), plays like a time- and genre-transcending masterpiece like nothing you’ve heard — a mélange of soundscapes ranging from dancefloor killers to experimental funk to psych-rock to ultra-low-key acoustic folk.” [Prefixmag]
[MP3]: “Unicorn Harpoon”

In part with:

FRICTION @ Mercury Lounge w/ Violens + Telepathe + Picture Picture + Zaza | 11.20.08

justin — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:50:50 +0000

GET HYPE one last time in 2008! Prior to the mad-rush of the holiday season, FRICTION is back at The Mercury Lounge for one final show in 2008, closing out three full years of shows. This lineup features Violens, Telepathe, Picture Picture, and Zaza, four local acts you’ll be hearing plenty more from in 2009.

Advanced tickets are available on The Mercury Lounge website. Doors open at 7:30pm, flyer, mp3′s, and more below.

“VIOLENS clearly draws from the mid-’80s U.K. indie scene (Aztec Camera, the Pale Fountains, Prefab Sprout) but doesn’t sound derivative of anyone; the group’s evocation of that era’s internationalist style and wit comes wrapped in a cool emotionalism that also characterizes Violens’ onstage vibe. The only issue with their shows is that we can’t get them to play a song more than once.” [Time Out NY]
[MP3]: “Violent Sensation Descends”

“TELEPATHE forge largely improvised guitar gusts, woodsy chirps, wraithlike Bjorkian harmonies, and powerfully jabbed drums into minimalist baroque.” [Village Voice]
[MP3]: “Devil’s Trident”

“PICTURE PICTURE are nestled pretty nicely in the Brooklyn nu-psych scene that’s birthed MGMT, Yeasayer, and Chairlift. ‘Liftoff’ begins with an off-tempo blues sample that’s then doused in squirming moogs, autotuned falsettos and enough jagged editing to make your skull shake. It’s heady, for sure, but it’s also strangely enjoyable, never once seeming complacent or cliché, unless to be ironically so.” [RCRD LBL]
[MP3]: “Jealous Change Of Mind”

“New York-based two-piece, ZAZA, let their echo-laden vocals wash over waves of gothy, post-punk-influenced guitars and muscular percussion for a sound that is, at once, sensual and suspenseful. Erotic thrillers would be well matched with these eerie, enticing songs, which can make crime scenes and sex scenes alike seem more mysterious.” [Rumblefish]
[MP3]: “Sooner Or Later”

In part with:

FRICTION NYC & FLYING V present: Crystal Antlers, Pink Skull, Mythical Beast | 10.26.08 @ The Barbary

justin — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:29:31 +0000

Making their Philadelphia debut, Long Beach, CA’s CRYSTAL ANTLERS (Touch & Go) bring their combustible live show to The Barbary on October 26th. With an explosive build-up of noise and melody blended with raw vocals and twisting riffs, this quintet has mastered the art of thrash. Philly’s hypnotic, dance-floor-friendly enthusiasts, PINK SKULL (first-ever all ages show!!!), and Kansas City’s fine purveyors of dark psych, MYTHICAL BEAST round out the bill. Be sure to knock back a couple of extra Bloody Mary’s at brunch and/or an extra six-pack of Kenzinger during the game before heading over to The Barbary for this Sunday evening jawn.

This is an ALL AGES EARLY SHOW!!! with doors opening at 6:00pm. Advanced tickets available here. The Barbary is located at 951 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125 (215 634-7400).

GET HYPE!

“Existing at the cross-section of so many styles, CRYSTAL ANTLERS debut EP (Touch & Go) finds the band at a more important nexus of potential and realization. In person, Crystal Antlers look like outcasts from six different bands, and at various points on this record, they sound like it, too: Merging psych, garage, lo-fi, prog, and countless other influences, the group easily maintains consistency despite a complete inability to be pinned to any specific movement or trend.” [Pitchfork, Best New Music]
[MP3]: “A Thousand Eyes”

“PINK SKULL‘s first full-length released earlier this year (Zeppelin 3), plays like a time- and genre-transcending masterpiece like nothing you’ve heard — a mélange of soundscapes ranging from dancefloor killers to experimental funk to psych-rock to ultra-low-key acoustic folk.” [Prefixmag]
[MP3]: “Unicorn Harpoon”

“Steeped in the darkest recesses of psych’s heart, MYTHICAL BEAST‘s tracks [on their debut album, Scales] smolder with scorched earth and the black taste of doom. But there is light at the edges of Mythical Beast’s universe and though the themes are dark there’s a sad hope that looms present behind the clouds of destruction. The band has pulled itself to the forefront of modern psychedelia, and this album [recorded with Greg Weeks at Language of Stone in Philly] will more than likely serve as a jumping off point for great things to come.” [Raven Sings the Blues]
[MP3]: “Cycle/Circle”

FREE CMJ Afterparty w/ Crystal Antlers, Best Fwends, & Ninjasonik | Tonight! @ Cake Shop

Nghia — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:55:50 +0000

FRICTION NYC and FUCK YEAH FEST bring a little bit of the right coast, left coast, and in between to the Cake Shop for this CMJ Afterparty TONIGHT! Austin, Texas’ BEST FWENDS, along with Long Beach, California’s CRYSTAL ANTLERS, and Brooklyn’s very own NINJASONIK get hype for CMJ. Best Fwends gets shit moving at 1AM. No RSVP bullshit — just show up and GET HYPE! Free PBR while it lasts!

I didn’t even write any of this people, I put in something else earlier. Justin changed my shit up, another case of not being able to delegate and being controllingly anal. -Nghia

“BEST FWENDS’ music is a big attention-deficit-disordered smash-up of punk, early Beastie Boys and unrefined 8-bit sounds. It’s a kindred sound to those of British bands like Gay Against You and Applicants: frantic, but rooted in pop and/or rock. It’s trashy, cheap, headachy noise, but noise that a lot of love has clearly been put into.”
[MP3]: “Orange Marker”

“Existing at the cross-section of so many styles, CRYSTAL ANTLERS debut EP (Touch & Go) finds the band at a more important nexus of potential and realization. In person, Crystal Antlers look like outcasts from six different bands, and at various points on this record, they sound like it, too: Merging psych, garage, lo-fi, prog, and countless other influences, the group easily maintains consistency despite a complete inability to be pinned to any specific movement or trend.” [Pitchfork, Best New Music]
[MP3]: “A Thousand Eyes”

“Looking for a good time? You might want to call NINJASONIK. These Brooklyn art-hop pranksters combine spiky beats with rhymes about grabbing asses and the skinny jeans they wear…Mostly, though, people have been talking about these foul mouthed Ninjas for their debauchery fueled live shows, which has seen plenty of crowd diving and drunken punk rock antics…Whoa! Don’t say we didn’t warn you.” [Brooklyn Radio]
[MP3]: “Tight Pants”

10.19.08 FRICTION: IN PICTURES

justin — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:08:42 +0000

10.17.08 FRICTION: IN PICTURES

justin — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:07:29 +0000

FRICTION @ Cake Shop w/ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart + Women + The Beets + Katie Stelmanis | 10.19.08

justin — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:04:27 +0000

GET HYPE! With our second show of the weekend, on the eve(-ish) of CMJ, FRICTION invades Cake Shop with a lineup designed to make you stay put. Save those feet from all of the pavement pounding they’re about to do a few days later and get a jump on some of the most anticipated bands featured during this year’s CMJ ~~clusterfuck~~ festival. New York City’s blissful noise-pop darlings, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, along with recent Jagjaguwar signees Women (Alberta, CA), and fine purveyors of 60s garage straight-outta Queens, The Beets are featured on this bill. Toronto’s Katie Stelmanis and her aresenal of piano and MIDI noise percolations and classically trained vocals to boot, opens the show.

Tickets are just $8 and available the night of the show at Cake Shop. Doors @ 7:30pm

THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART “mix sugary boy/girl vocals, Jesus & Mary Chain’s rain clouds and Darklands drum machine minus the face-melting noise, sneaker-gazing a la Black Tambourine (or, hey hey, rifle through the rest of the Slumberland back catalog to namedrop something with a bit more jangle) and punky Comet Gain(s) into addictive pop gold that locates a place beyond the band’s well-chosen influences.” [Stereogum]
[MP3]: “Come Saturday”

WOMEN “straddle the 1960s divide between the Warhol crowd’s speed-addled New York cynicism and the echoes of psychedelic San Francisco that bubbled up across the pond in the fey, catchy pop of UK groups like the Zombies.” [Pitchfork]
[MP3]: “Black Rice”

“I’d stay for just one song, but once they began playing their classic 60s garage rock I was gripped. Twin guitars beamed rhythmically forward, punctuated by strokes of brush snare and flicking around vocals that seemed perfectly, timelessly at ease in the music. This is a band that seemed to have appeared out of the ground (of Queens, apparently) fully formed without a formative period. Predictions are dangerous so I’ll try to sidestep making one now, but wherever THE BEETS may go from here, I have a feeling it’ll be worth watching.” [Impose]
[MP3]: “Happy But On My Way”

“The drama of Kate Bush and Toyah Wilcox mixed with the
sturm and drang of Diamanda Galas and the pop bubbles of Lena Lovich or Ann Steel shouldn’t make any sense whatsoever but in the world of 23-year-old Torontonian KATIE STELMANIS it comes together. Possessed of a classically trained voice that stuns at 10 paces, Stelmanis’ arsenal is simple—piano and midi noise percolations shape simple songs that subtly grow into powerful, cathartic moments.”
[MP3]: “In My Favour”

In part with:

FRICTION @ Mercury Lounge w/ Japanther, Ninjasonik, Killer Dreamer, SS Pyramid Snake | 10.17.08

justin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:50:06 +0000

Japanther, Ninjasonik, Killer Dreamer, and S.S. Pyramid Snake bring the fucking party to The Mercury Lounge on Friday, October 17th for this installment of FRICTION. Brookyn’s very own lo-fi heroes, Japanther celebrate their RECORD RELEASE and North American tour kick-off with San Pedro’s Killer Dreamer! DJ Porkchop of SSPS and Excepter fame spins all night. Free rides for the first 50 guests on our BombPop-horned unicorn, Maverick!

Advance tickets available here, Doors @ 7:30pm

GET HYPE!

“JAPANTHER is one of the hardest fucking bands in Brooklyn right now. They sound like Iron Maiden, Throbbing Gristle, and Lightning Bolt gave birth to a squealing little baby with flaming guitars for arms. Their shows are chaotic and danger-charged lovefests and they are frighteningly dedicated to keeping it underground.” [Vice]
[MP3]: “Challenge”

“Looking for a good time? You might want to call NINJASONIK. These Brooklyn art-hop pranksters combine spiky beats with rhymes about grabbing asses and the skinny jeans they wear…Mostly, though, people have been talking about these foul mouthed Ninjas for their debauchery fueled live shows, which has seen plenty of crowd diving and drunken punk rock antics…Whoa! Don’t say we didn’t warn you.” [Brooklyn Radio]
[MP3]: “Tight Pants”

“Beer-in-bag, dirty zombie action rock via San Pedro, CA. One song’s about a dinosaur bird plucking a friend off the street, then blood dripping from the sky. These two songs fit nicely, somewhere between the Bananas’ knack for making songs that rock hard and sweet yet remain fuzzy and gritty and the Fleshies’ superhuman ability to trailer hitch old-fashioned rock hooks onto new, not-quite-definable wingnut weirdness. Live, KILLER DREAMER boom the hell out of a living room.” [Razorcake]
[MP3]: “Headache”

“Fucking hell S.S. PYRAMID SNAKE, did you create music just for us!? With woeful synth moans, burned by the heat from molten lava and death march undead b-boy beats that sound like the irregular heartbeat of an android being killed by metal hungry zombies, SSPS kill with a pleasure that only an ancient Nazi reptilian Hell spawn would know how.” [20 Jazz Funk Greats]
[MP3]: “Deceptive Eye”

In part with:

FRICTION NYC » FRICTION

Ra Ra Riot “Too Dramatic” Preview from The Orchard LP

FRICTION NYC presents: Pretty & Nice, Fugitive Souls, The Valley Arena | 8.01.09 @ littlefield

FRICTION NYC presents: The Golden Filter, Heartsrevolution, Pink Skull | 1.30.09 @ (Le) Poisson Rouge

FRICTION @ Mercury Lounge w/ Violens + Telepathe + Picture Picture + Zaza | 11.20.08

FRICTION NYC & FLYING V present: Crystal Antlers, Pink Skull, Mythical Beast | 10.26.08 @ The Barbary

**FREE** CMJ Afterparty w/ Crystal Antlers, Best Fwends, & Ninjasonik | Tonight! @ Cake Shop

10.19.08 FRICTION: IN PICTURES

10.17.08 FRICTION: IN PICTURES

FRICTION @ Cake Shop w/ The Pains of Being Pure at Heart + Women + The Beets + Katie Stelmanis | 10.19.08

FRICTION @ Mercury Lounge w/ Japanther, Ninjasonik, Killer Dreamer, SS Pyramid Snake | 10.17.08

FREE CMJ Afterparty w/ Crystal Antlers, Best Fwends, & Ninjasonik | Tonight! @ Cake Shop