SWL #7: Detective Agency, "Just Like Heaven (The Cure Cover)"

I’ve been in love with English post-punk/goth godfathers The Cure since high school and I’m extremely leery of covers of their material. To be fair, they can be well done, like Dinosaur Jr.’s take on “Just Like Heaven”, but 311’s dub jam version of “Lovesong” still makes me ill. So, when I clicked on Detective Agency's cover of “Just Like Heaven” I was more than a little apprehensive about what the Seattle garage-pop group had done to one of my all-time favorite songs. The track is a low-key and playful acoustic duet, and although they take few liberties with the original melody, these changes (especially the male/female contrast) turn the song into an unaffected sing-a-long—recapturing, but not impersonating the feeling of the original. I approve. You can see Detective Agency at Columbia City Theater on the 25th of April.

*Updated 3/24* Upcoming Seattle Shows

To start with, let me say that Barboza is the place to be this week--whether you see the Arbutus Records showcase on the 26th (Arbutus released Grimes' early records before she signed with 4AD), Ducktails with Mark McGuire on the 28th (Mondanile is also in Real Estate and McGuire was in Emeralds), or the fabled Shawn Reed of Night People records as part of Wet Hair on the 30th, you can't go wrong. Other shows of note: Nor-Cal garage titan, Ty Segall, is coming to the Black Lodge with his new band, Fuzz; unfortunately, they will be playing at the same time that Texas' Pure X will be melting the Rendezvous with reverb-drenched pop music. English folk/soul up-and-comer, Lianne La Haves, is going to be at the Crocodile; Week of Wonders will be christening Atlas Clothing in Fremont; Vox Mod is celebrating the release of their new record at Vermillion, and CT PAK's Justin Timbreline and Moose Portrait will be taking over the Glitterbox. 

However, we will not be at any of these shows because we're going to Oahu for the week. I don't expect anyone to feel bad for me, but if anyone gets any cool pictures, tweet them to us @ngdseattle so I can live vicariously through you. Have a great week!

March
24 Pony Time, Stickers, Universe People and Ubu Roi at Heartland

24 Lianne La Havas at the Crocodile

26 Grave Babies at Chop Suey

26 Doldrums with Blue Hawaii and Sean Nicholas Savage at Barboza

26 Fuzz (Ty Segall), Night Beats, Unnatural Helpers, Wimps at Black Lodge 
26 Pure X with Swamp Meat at Rendezvous

27 Graves at Sea, Aldebaran and Ash Borer at Black Lodge

27 Widowspeak at Chop Suey

27 The Specials at Showbox at the Market

27 The Joy Formidable at Neptune

27 Ducktails with Mark McGuire at Barboza

28 Week of Wonders, Vacation Club, Crys Branden Daniel and the Chics at Black Lodge

29 Phoenix at Paramount

29 The Pharmacy, Scream Queen, JAN, and YOURYOUNGBODY at the Comet

29 Vox Mod, OcNotes, Olav and DJ Riz at Vermillion

30 Merchandise with Wet Hair + Naomi Punk at Barboza

30 Justin Timbreline, Moose Portrait and Battle Sound Grammer at the Glitterbox

30 Week of Wonders and YOURYOUNGBODY at ATLAS Clothing

30 Yuni in Taxco with Orchids and Charms at Rendevous

30 Dreamsalon, Sex Church, and the Lindseys at Highline

31 Comadre, No Sir, Lee Corey Oswald Livingston Seagull at Black Lodge

31 JUJU Fuzz (African dance music) with DJ Slow, Explorateur and Veins at Electric Tea Garden

31 Fuzzy Cloaks, Johnny De Courcy, Brain Drain and So Pitted at the Comet

April

3 Billy Brag at Neptune

5 Johnny Marr at Neumos

5 Kinski with Mark McGuire and Bali Girls at The Sunset

6 Alt-J at Neptune

6 Sky Ferreira with How to Dress Well at Barboza

6 Wimps, Dude York and Chastity Belt at Blue Moon

7 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at Paramount Theater

7 Pressures, Void Vision, Futility and Dr. Troy at Electric Tea Garden

8 Spiritualized at Neptune

9 Jessie Ware at The Crocodile

14 Naomi Punk, The Exquisites, Wild Moth and Elch at Black Lodge

15 Bad Religion at Showbox at SODO

16 Bat for Lashes at the Showbox at the Market

17 Medical Record Showcase Pressures, Void Vision and Futility at Electric Tea Garden

18 The Revival Tour 2013 with Rocky Votolato, Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Tim McIlrath (Rise Against) and more at Showbox at The Market

18 Airport, Black Hat, Bankie Phones, and Magisterial at Electric Tea Garden

19 Big Eyes, Shivas, Hornet Let and Mega Bog at the Josephine

19 Gems with Gold Wolf Galaxy and Vox Mod at The Sunset

20 Abbey Arts presents CATHEDRALS: Mirah, Moondoggies acoustic, Shenandoah Davis at St Mark's

20 The Men and Dude York at Vera Project

23 James Blake at The Neptune 

24 Purity Ring at Neptune

26 Chad Valley and Ski Lodge at Barboza

26 Space Needles, Universe People and the Gallow Swings at Blue Moon

30 Crystal Castles at Moore

May

1 Bleached, EX-COPS and Guests at Chop Suey

1 New Build with NO CEREMONY/// at Neumos

2 Marina and the Diamonds with Charli XCX at Showbox at the Market

4 Metz at Neumos

5 Stacian, Samantha Glass and DR. Troy at Electric Tea Garden

10 Kisses and Trails and Ways at Barboza

12 The Appleseed Cast, Hospital Ships and Guests at Chop Suey           

15 MGMT at Showbox SODO

16 Hair and Space Museum and JJAAXXNN at Electric Tea Garden

17 Yo La Tengo at Showbox at the Market

19 Cannibal Corpse and Napalm Death at El Corazon

22 Flying Lotus with Thundercat at Showbox SODO

25 Thermals and WIMPS at Neumos

25 Avi Buffalo at Barboza

June 2013

6 They Might Be Giants at Showbox at SODO

14 Mount Kimbie, Holy Other and Vinyl Williams at Neumos

22 Camera Obscura at Showbox at the Market

July

19 Peter Murphy performing only Bauhaus material with Ours at Showbox at the Market

Our Picks for Record Store Day 2013 (April 20th)

Local record shops serve an important cultural role by connecting people to their local scene, local businesses, and to the broader world. It’s for this reason that since 2007 the third Saturday in April has been devoted to Record Store Day. The now international holiday is celebrated by labels and artists of all sizes and genres with the release of unique titles and reissues that encourage people to get out and buy--most of which are not available elsewhere. The official list of releases has been announced and we’ve gone through and picked out the titles that we’re most excited about. You can find the entire list here, and the list of participating Seattle stores here (everybody from what I can see).

1. At the Drive-In, Relationship of Command 12-inch vinyl 
2. Best Coast, "Fear of My Identity"/"Who Have I Become" 7-inch vinyl 
3. Black Lips/Icky Blossums, "Cowboy Nights" 7-inch vinyl 
4. Bonobo, The North Borders 10-inch vinyl box set 
5. David Bowie, "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" 7-inch vinyl 
6. Billy Bragg, "No One Knows Nothing Anymore"/"Song of the Iceberg" 
7. Braid, Frames & Canvas 12-inch vinyl 
8. Brian Eno and Grizzly Bear, "Lux"/"Sleeping Ute" (Nicolas Jaar remixes) 10-inch vinyl 
9. Cake, "Sheep Go to Heaven"/Jesus Wrote a Blank Check" 7-inch vinyl]] 
10. Captain Beefheart, Frank Freeman's Dance Club 12-inch vinyl
11. King Dude, Sing Songs Together 7-inch vinyl 
12. The Cure, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me 12-inch vinyl 
13. Cut Copy, Bright Like Neon Love 12-inch vinyl 
14. David Bowie, "Drive-In Saturday Night"/"Drive-In Saturday Night (Russel Harty Plus Pop Version) 7-inch picture disc 
15. Earth Crisis, Firestorm 12-inch vinyl 
16. Flaming Lips, Zaireeka vinyl box set 
17. Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson, "The Bottle" 7-inch vinyl 
18. The Glove, Blue Sunshine 12-inch vinyl 
19. Grizzly Bear, Horn of Plenty 12-inch vinyl 
20. The Hold Steady, "Criminal Fingers" 7-inch vinyl 
21. Hüsker Dü, "Amusement" 7-inch vinyl 
22. Daniel Johnston, Fun 12-inch vinyl 
23. The Joy Formidable, A Minute's Silence 
24. Junior Boys, Even Truer 
25. Stephen Malkmus and Friends, Ege Bamyasi 12-inch vinyl 
26. Mercury Rev, Deserted Songs 12-inch vinyl 
27. MGMT, "Alien Days" cassette 
28. Misfits, "Side By Side: Skulls" 7-inch picture disc 
29. Moby, "The Lonely Night" 7-inch vinyl 
30. Moon Duo, Circles Remixed 12-inch vinyl 
31. Thurston Moore, The Only Way To Go 12-inch vinyl
32. No Bunny, Love Visions 7-inch vinyl box set 
33. Orange Juice, Texas Fever 12-inch vinyl 
34. Orange Juice, Rip It Up 12-inch vinyl 
35. Orange Juice, The Orange Juice 12-inch vinyl 
36. Orange Juice, You Can't Hide Your Love Forever 12-inch vinyl 
37. Van Dyke Parks, Super Chief vinyl 
38. Van Dyke Parks, Song Cycle vinyl 
39. Phoenix, "Entertainment" 7-inch vinyl 
40. A Place To Bury Strangers, Strange Moon 12-inch vinyl 
41. Placebo, B3 EP 10-inch vinyl 
42. Public Image Ltd., "Public Image"/"The Cowboy Song" 12-inch vinyl 
43. Pulp, "After You" 12-inch vinyl 
44. Pussy Galore, Groovy Hate Fuck 12-inch vinyl 
45. Rhye, Open 12-inch vinyl 
46. Rise, Face to Face 10-inch LP 
47. Ty Segall, Ty Rex 2 7-inch vinyl 
48. Sigur Rós, Agaetis Byrjun LP 
49. Elliott Smith, Alternate Versions from Either/Or 7-inch vinyl 
50. Sonny & the Sunsets, "Imagine" (John Lennon cover) / "Surfer Girl" (Beach Boys cover) 7-inch vinyl 
51. Sonny & the Sunsets, Tomorrow Is Alright 12-inch vinyl 
52. Superchunk, "Void"/"Faith" 7-inch vinyl 
53. Surfer Blood, "Demon Dance"/"Slow Six" 7-inch vinyl 
54. Tame Impala, Tame Impala EP 12-inch vinyl 
55. Tegan & Sara, Closer Remixed 12-inch vinyl 
56. Various Artists, The Taste of Burger Records cassette 
57. The Thermals, Desperate Ground Demos EP 7-inch vinyl 
58. Destroyer, This Night 12-inch vinyl 
59. Trashmen, Live at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go St. Paul Minn. 1966 7-inch vinyl 
60. Sharon Van Etten, "We are Fine" 7-inch vinyl 
61. Jozef van Wissem featuring Jim Jarmusch, Apokatastasis 7-inch vinyl 
62. The xx, Jamie xx Edits 12-inch vinyl 
63. Frank Zappa, "I'm the Slime"/"Montant" 7-inch vinyl
64. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Animal X 
65. Garbage, Because The Night 10-inch

Our Review of This Weekend's Show Choices (March 22nd and 23, 2013)

March 22nd 

Unknown Mortal Orchestra with Foxygen and Wampire at Crocodile:
This show is officially sold out, so I won't say much about this event except that those of you concerned with lo-fi, psych-flavored, indie rock should find a place to camp and scrounge tickets. Listen below to hear what you're missing.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra, "Ffunny Ffrends"

Foxygen, "San Francisco"

 

White Lung with Monogamy Party and TacocaT at Chop Suey:
 White Lung is female fronted post/speed punk band from Vancouver that write songs steeped in a strong sense of hardcore urgency. Local favorites Monogamy Party and TacocaT bring a similar level of punk-punk/hardcore fury, and altogether I'm sure you won't get a moment of peace all evening.  
White lung, "Deadbeat"
Monogamy Party, "Drunk or Dying"



Black Hat, Lie, KORBAN, Bardo.Basho, and Daniel Shuman at Heartland: 
 The release of Spectral Disorder on Debacle Records (a NGD favorite) was a fitting introduction for Seattle's experimental music community to Oakland transplant Nelson Bean, whose songs push the limits of ambient experimental music through the incorporation of soul-shaking tribal and industrial themes. He is joined by Lie (cold-punk) and Koban (industrial punk/darkwave) from Vancouver, Bardo.Basho from CTPAK records (sounds like a stripped-down, experimental version of tUnE-yArDs), and Daniel Shuman of Sabbath Assembly. Should be a strange evening fit for those who revel in experimental music.  


Black Hat, "#000000"
Lie, "Muse-DEMO"
Kōban, "Down in the well"
Golden Grrls, Detective Agency with Chastity Belt at Cairo Seattle:
Golden Grrls will be supporting Brilliant Colors and Veronica Falls at the Tractor on the 21st, but you can also see them as a headliner at Cairo Seattle the following evening. For the Cairo show they are supported by the Seattle garage pop-ers, Detective Agency, and the always prolific Chastity Belt. Lots of nerdy dancing and good times for the twee inclined.

Golden Grrls, "Past Tense"
Detective Agency, "Daggers"






Gems listening party at Vermillion Art Bar:

Gems are funky in a way that is almost unfathomable to the uninitiated. The Seattle-based band utilizes two different drummers and two keyboardists to sculpt their stellar electro-grooves, and on their only release to date, 2011’s eponymous ep, it definitely pays off. The band is having a listening party for their new record, titled "Tall Mountain", at Vermillion on the 22^nd of this month. Be there or be square.

Gems, "Phillip's Glass Eye"

March 23nd 

Landmine Marathon, Transient, Brain Scraper at Black Lodge: This show is going to be brutal. Landmine Marathon is a killer death metal band from Phoenix and they will be joined by Portland's Transient (grindcore) and Seattle's own Brain Scraper (black metal/ crust).

Landmine Marathon, "Dead Horses"

Transient, "Smash Therapy" Brain Scraper, "Lobotomizer"

Charms, the Echo Echo Echos, So Pitted, The Lindseys at Blue Moon:
Charms are a garage indie band from Seattle that feature distant vocals delivered over crisp, dreamy (almost sonic youth-ish) guitars and crashing symbols. They are joined by the Echo Echo Echos, who self-identify as making "music for a beach day", as well as So Pitted, and The Lindseys.
 
Charms, "Wartime"

The Echo Echo Echos, "Surfer Girl"
 

Thrones, Midlife Vacation, Mutant Video and Total Life at Heartland:

A night (actually a weekend if you go to Heartland both nights) worth of sonic oddities. Kevin Doria (also of Growing) is celebrating the rebirth of his Total Life moniker with a new album titled Bender/Drifter on Debacle Records and this is the release show. Doria is joined by Midlife Vacation and Mutant Video, both of which will warp your fragile brain with droning electronics. Mutant video is described on bandcamp as "creeped out basement men playing John Carpenter soundtrack jams at 16 rpm with a strong hardcore undercurrent". This is where I'll probably be on Saturday night. 

Total Life, "Bender"

Midlife Vacation, "Weird Baggage"


Waxahatchee at Porchlight:
Waxahatchee's "Be Good" was named one of NPR's top 100 songs of 2012 and its not hard to see why people find Alabama's Katie Crutchfield so endearing. She delivers folk music in a way that avoids all the boredom-inducing pitfalls of many singer-songwriters and instead goes strait for the down-homeness in your heart you didn't even know you had. 
 
Waxahatchee, "Black Candy"