Podbop

Nouvelle VagueNouvelle Vague

Nouvelle Vague is no secret in the blogosphere. Fronted by two sexy women and backed by some talented musicians, this French collective only plays cover songs. Sure, there are cover bands playing every night in your town, so why support this one in particular?

Because they support these albums by putting on a fantastic live show. They redefine each song in their own style, adding a new wavey and sultry feel. What's even more, they put on really, really, really eye-catching shows. They have a lot of fun on stage and it quickly becomes contagious. You'll simultaneously fall in love with one of their singers, depending on which is your type. When I saw them in Orlando last year, and they got to their fantastic cover of Dead Kennedy's Too Drunk To Fuck they danced on the bar and handed out free shots (and took their turn) 'til a whole bottle was gone. Right now they are only touring across seas but I wouldn't be surprised to see them back in the States in early fall.

They recently released their version of Late Night Tales which collects their favorite tracks from other artists into a sexy compilation where French pop is also well represented. They also contribute one previously unreleased track, Come On Eileen (a Dexy's Midnight Runners Cover) which I've posted below.

Be sure to check out Cool Hunting's Nouvelle Vague: Nugroove vol 5 which is half interview and half music video done quite beautifully.

Photo by Tiefseefisch

Azreal Abyss Throws Some GoatsAzreal Abyss Throws Some Goats

Living in San Francisco--land of electronica, ethnic music, and drum circles--I'm always jonesing for aggressive guitars. I figured the Cradle Of Filth show last week at the Fillmore would satisfy, at least enough to tide me over for the next coupla months.

Though I steeled myself for an evening of metal (wait! I just made a clever pun without trying!) I instead discovered the rescusitation of another '80s genre--goth. As in well-thought-out theatrical performances of despair. During two of three sets, I was instantly thrown back to a time when many friends donned all black to be individualistic (but they ALL wore it), and when screaming battleaxes shared the stage with lush keyboards. So it was in the past, and so it shall be again.

The frontman of the headlining act, going by the moniker Dani Filth, has wild dark hair, a leather outfit that would induce envy from Catwoman, and weird light-colored contact lenses a la Marilyn Manson. Vocals (Filth's and a female backup's) blended operatic training with the hopelessness of black metal, while the keyboardist glared out into the crowd more menacingly than the guitar players. All this resulted in music equally appealing to "Saturday Night Live" goth-kid character Azreal Abyss as well as to the headbanging longhaired masses. I found them compelling enough to give them a thumbs-up to a friend who'd missed the show but who used to be a metal DJ in school. They'll never be among my favoritests, but I'm glad they made the trip from Suffolk, England to tour the U.S.

An enigmatic second act, The 69 Eyes sounded more Jim Morrison and less James Hetfield. These Finnish dudes are properly preoccupied with hell and sin, but with mohawks and a few shirtless torsoes, the guys reminded me of the artistic nihlism of bands whose followers sported Siouxie And The Banshees shirts skull accessories--but touched with a Doors-like psychedelia. Strange? Yeah. But worth checking out.

Opening the night was 3 Inches Of Blood, the Canadian outfit I interviewed last year (see my post)--and man, did they sound tight. Freakin' tight, and the group's latest album doesn't even drop until May. I could barely believe this was the same band I first saw at the now-defunct PoundSF just over a year ago; they've traded in sheer volume for virtuousity. And like Disco Stu, they don't advertise--rather than black leather like the other groups, 3 Inches played in the same clothes they wear riding their van.

Tour lasts through March 4 in New York; see http://www.cradleoffilth.com/.

The Pre-Hype Machine: Moon And MoonThe Pre-Hype Machine: Moon And Moon

Weekly feature where we pluck something (that has zero results on Hype Machine) out of obscurity and serve it up hot and toasty.

I stumbled upon Moon & Moon at the Knitting Factory during their CMJ performance. It's best described as captivating freak-folk gypsy storytelling with a slew of belly dancers. It also draws comparisons to Godspeed You Black Emperor, if only because they both share this sort of "can't help but be epic" feel. Later on that night, while at the bar, I ended up next to Will Lemon, the charismatic singer of the group, who threw a demo disc to me and vividly explained his artwork on the cover; narration to the songs that unfold like a tall tale. It drew me in so much, I've been spinning his CD-R all month and emailed him to get some more info about his band.

Podbop: A few places online cite that Moon And Moon consists of members from An Albatross, Devendra Barnhart and Polyphonic Spree. Who exactly are the members?
Will Lemon: There has been a couple manifestations, but the current line up has been working together steadily since the late winter of '05. We are: Stephen Kurtz (big beat drums), Ed Clinger (steel drums and singing percussion), Jay Hudak (bass guitar), Lou Rogai (keys), Joe Maffi (synth and sound effects) and myself on horn and narration.

There have been shows that we have played with guest characters who have become a part of the unfolding of the story as it plays out on stage. We try to encourage the expansion of the musical and theatrical nature of what we are trying. Devendra has performed with us. He played the character of the Angry God, who rises from the ashes of the city, during the 4th song. That was a wonderful show and I wish we could play together more often. The member of Polyphonic Spree you are talking about is Louis Schwadron, a brilliant musician who plays keys on some of our recorded songs, but who lately has been working on a musical funeral for himself, awesome. Jay Hudak is also the bassist for An Albatross, and one of the most beautiful people I've ever met.

Podbop: Your album is a narrative consisting of 7 acts. Can you tell us the story?
Will Lemon: The story that we tell is the story of a conflict and the 6 perspectives within any one conflict. Each song is told by a different character and describes that character's feelings. The first moments of the story is the weather-beaten king finally reaching a beautiful harbor with his boy-army. On the horizon, he sees a beautiful rising city and a tall tower. In the tower, he can barely make out the figure of a woman standing, silhouetted, against the rising sun. He falls madly for this shadow of a woman and is incensed and angered greatly that the people of this city would jail such a beauty. So the king blows his horn 7 times and causes the walls to fall in on the unrighteous inhabitants; save for the tower that contained his beautiful queen.

The Pre-Hype Machine: Lasse GjertsenThe Pre-Hype Machine: Lasse Gjertsen

Weekly feature where we pluck something (that has zero results on Hype Machine) out of obscurity and serve it up hot and toasty.

Lasse Gjertsen (aka Lasses Shit) is a 22 year old from Sweden who is part electronic beat maker and part film clip editor. Combine the two and you get his unique beat box video clip sampling that has been blowing up on the 'tube.

Just watch him perform his song "Amateur" and become a believer:

What's even more amazing to me is all the tributes he's already spawned with his new genre of beat mixing.

After the initial awe of his music videos wear off (though after half a dozen plays I still haven't tired of it) you can check out his actual music, which is incredibly catchy. If the two MP3's below wet your appetite, you can stream and download more off the non-english Swedish site Urort (hint: "Lytt" = listen ). And if anybody knows Swedish (or whatever language that is) please translate his biography because I'm dying to know how "suger cock" fits in to his upbringing.

Check out another video after the jump...