Writing about these guys sure brings back memories of seeing them play in the studio.

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

In other news if you are wondering; his musical partner Andy Bell from Erasure will release his second solo album, Non Stop, on May 25 via Mute Records.

Washington, D.C. area indie rock act, Unrest, were a band I first heard about in my teenage years from the inevitable source that most teens in my situation discovered interesting music, MTV’s 120 minutes. Today, that station holds about as much worth as the steamy pile of warm shit I pick up off the sidewalk every morning after my dog generously leaves it there for me. But, back then, it played a significant part in what I listened to, kinda like how everyone gets a big veiny hard-on every time a Pitchfork staffer graces a record with a number greater than eight. I’m not sure if it was during Matt Pinfield’s or Lewis Largent’s reign on 120 Minutes in the early 90s when I first saw the video for Unrest’s catchy pop song “Make Out Club” (I’m assuming it’s the latter).

Like most of my favorites from that time, I caught onto the group while they were on their way out, but perhaps at their best. Although “Make Out Club” was a minor MTV hit in 1993, I didn’t pick up their Simon Le Bon (don’t even say it Theo) produced album Perfect Teeth until some years down the road. Started by Teenbeat main man Mark Robinson and drummer Phil Krauth, Unrest began in 1985 as a noisy-punk improv band while they were still in high-school in Arlington, Virginia. During recording and practice the group had agreed to never play the same thing twice. Always experimentalists, Unrest’s released a slew of avant-garde (sometimes barely listenable) albums from 1985-90 including 1990’s Kustom Karnal Blaxploitation (say that fast three times), which was highlighted by their interpretation of the anthemic “Teenage Suicide” from the 80s favorite flick Heathers.

A few of Kustom’s soft and shimmering tracks hinted at the direction the band would take on its next two records, Imperial f.f.r.r. and Perfect Teeth, which also marked the arrival of bassist Bridget Cross (Velocity Girl). Imperial, the trio’s debut LP with Cross as a permanent member, mixed Unrest’s pop and experimental sensibilities into an infectious indie pop gem. Perfect Teeth, released in 1993 with its lushly crafted pop songs, light dosage of experimental tinkering, Cross’ bright and throbbing Peter Hook-inspired bass, and beautiful packaging brought the band’s sound and Robinson’s regard for British imprint Factory Records full circle.

Unrest split in 1994, but re-formed in 2005 for a one off performance at Washington, D.C.’s Black Cat for Teenbeat’s 20th Anniversary Showcase. Bridget Cross, now living in Alaska has a self-titled record out on Teenbeat under the moniker Maybe It’s Reno. Both Krauth and Robinson make appearances on the release, as well as significant other George Kuhar.

Grab “Light Command” and check out the video of “Make Out Club” (both from Perfect Teeth) below.

[MP3]: Unrest  ”Light Command”
Perfect Teeth, Teenbeat; 1993

Previous “Trackback” Posts

Video for Tickley Feather‘s scratchy bedroom track “Fancy Walking” features Philly favorite Annie Sachs tapping her toes around the occasional appearance of a tabby cat. Tickley Feather plays the POPPED! Music Festival in Philadelphia on June 22nd with Daniel Johnston and FRICTION at NYC’s Cake Shop on June 29th with Crystal Stilts, Rings, and PWRFL Power.

[MP3]: Tickley Feather  ”Fancy Walking”
Tickley Feather, Paw Tracks; 2008

Skate season is in full swing and the parks are open and events are happening all over the City. I kicked things off with a new setup. My Girl deck was inspired by the groundbreaking video from Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Jackass), Fully Flared. The intro above is just a taste of the style and beauty of this work.

The video was four years in the making, and is not suprising, considering the amount of footage and dangerous work. The intro ends with a “Switch Napalm Flip”, followed by a staircase being blown up with napalm. The soundtrack is equally impressive, complimenting the different skaters’ personalities. Here’s the list by skater/feature:

Intro: M83 “Lower Your Eyelids to Die With the Sun”
Mike Mo Capaldi: Arcade Fire “No Cars Go”
Anthony Pappalardo: Bad Brains “Don’t Bother Me”

Jesus Fernandez: Calexico “Alone Again Or”
The Royal Family: The Charlatans “The Only One I Know”
The French Connection #1: David Bowie “I Wish You Would”

The French Connection #2: Mannie Fresh “Real Big”

Cairo Foster: The Flaming Lips “The W.A.N.D.”

Jeff Lenoce, Scott Johnston, Rob Welsh: The D.O.C. “Lend Me An Ear”

Alex Olson stress: Hot Butter “Popcorn”

Alex Olson: King Diamond “One Down Two To Go”

Rick Howard: Echo & The Bunnymen “The Cutter”

Mike Carroll #1: Judas Priest “Riding On The Wind”

Mike Carroll #2: Three 6 Mafia “Triple Six Club House”

Brandon Biebel: Young Jeezy “I Love It”
Eric Koston #1: Public Enemy “Night Of The Living Baseheads”

Eric Koston #2: Public Enemy “Harder Than You Think”

Guy Mariano #1: Band Of Horses “The Funeral”

Guy Mariano #2: Band Of Horses “Is There A Ghost”

Marc Johnson #1: Q Lazzarus “Goodbye Horses”

Marc Johnson #2: Fischerspooner “All We Are”

Marc Johnson #3: She Wants Revenge “Us”

Credits #1: Unkle ‘Heaven”

Credits #2: Franz Ferdinand “All My Friends”

Full video (poor quality) here.

Get ready for Monday!

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden created an impressive timelapse of the famed Cherry Walk from over 3,000 photos. It’s peak bloom people so get out there before the weekend rain washes them away.

The refrain of “There’s no escape from this circling place” on The Notwist’s new track “Where in This World” can be taken many different ways. It can be looked at as the daily routine of life that many of us endure that at times may feel like being stuck on the tumble cycle in the dryer. The soothing orchestral compositions merged with gentle electronic beats and Markus Archer’s innocent uttered vocals on “Where in This World” provide relief from the sometimes cyclical routine of everyday life. Of course there are other interpretations of the lyric as director Markus Wambsganss shows in his video for the track where a young couple that builds a flying apparatus to escape their humble abode. Failed attempts, cold cans of beans, and frustrations don’t prevent this couple from reaching for the sky.

“Where in This World” appears on The Devil, You + Me, which is out via City Slang in Europe in late May and Domino in North America in early June.

As a kid, I was way into dinosaurs, always fascinated by the exhibits of their bones at museums and would be constantly reading about them in books and encyclopedias (the Wikipedia of yesteryear). And who can forget “Land of the Lost” let alone the blockbuster hit “Jurassic Park?” Shit, I’m still into the prehistoric beasts to this day, I can’t lie, I get pretty hype for those Discovery Channel specials like “Walking With Dinosaurs” and “When Dinosaurs Roamed America.”

HEALTH brings back sounds of the Cretaceous with their single “Triceratops” from their self-titled debut long player. The LA quartet dips into the primordial soup, crafting sonic assaults of rumbling guitar lines, massive electronically produced locust-like buzzes, shrieks, thundering drums, squalls of noise, crashing symbols, along with Cro-Magnon chants and screams (yeah, I know part this doesn’t jive with the prehistoric timeline). The Saul Levitz directed video for “Triceratops” shows band members intensely performing the track live in front of a small audience for Dublab’s “VisionVersion Project.” The audio accompanying the video is also the live version and not the album recording of the song.

HEALTH brings the noise to New York City next Wednesday for FRICTION with Crystal Castles, Team Robespierre, and Apache Beat. Grab the album version of “Triceratops” below.

[MP3]: HEALTH  ”Triceratops”
Health, Lovepump United; 2008