Land Of Talk thrilled me with their live performance a while back, but first they started me out with their music, and their videos too. I’m happy about them. I love their energy and they do everything right – like writing songs and the way they portray their music in their videos they are something that most bands are not and that is creative and genuine. Here’s their new video for “Quarry Hymns” off of their new album Cloak and Cipher from those longtime lovers over at Saddle Creek.

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This is Part 1 of a live interview and concert with Dan Sartain that my friends Monti Smith, Tyler Dixon and I recorded for IRR. Dan is one of those rare talents whose many sounds are rivaled only by his many facial expressions. In this part, Dan talks Mexico, zebra-painted donkeys and compromising his morals. Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 where Dan talks about why his new record sounds British, why rock ‘n’ roll isn’t dead and why the Ramones are still his favorite band. And go out and buy his new record – Dan Sartin Lives (www.myspace.com/dansartain).

Dan Sartain Lives – Part 1 from Ryan Bunker on Vimeo.

Check out our previous interview with him here or our album review here.

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It was May 4th, 2010 that Athens, GA based Gift Horse released their debut album Mountain of Youth. Like the fool I am I didn’t take much notice of the release until a week or so ago when we got lucky with an opportunity to premiere a new video for their song “Missionaries”. It’s a gentle rocker that pulls on my memories of when I first heard Built To Spill, Boilermaker, and perhaps Nada Surf. It’s a good song, I can’t speak for the album though, as I haven’t heard it yet. For all you factoids they did record with Hank Sullivant (The Whigs, MGMT), which should keen you up. Enjoy!

Visit Gift Horse

After watching the new OMD video Dan Black’s video doesn’t make me want to puke in my mouth.

Tim Kasher at The Tonic Room, Chicago, IL
From July 27, 2010
Review by: Derek Walker

Tim Kasher is a strange sort. After much success with Cursive, the band that made many a high schooler’s awkward phase just a little bit easier, he swapped bandmates and started The Good Life. The reviews were mixed. Some enjoyed the more somber, heartfelt lyricism of the new band, while others wished for more classics from Cursive. Both sides had their merits, and Kasher never really conceded one way or the other; he still releases albums under both monikers – good ones, at that. And now it seems he’s trying to outdo himself again with a third project, this one under his own name.

Kasher brought some new material to The Tonic Room in Chicago Tuesday, and the lot of it was fairly impressive. The venue itself was rather narrow, holding about 100 people on the best of nights. I have to admit it was awkward seeing the guy so close and candid. Having seen Cursive at festivals and medium-sized venues, one gets the illusion that Kasher is untouchable, a god of the stage who is just out of reach. To see him at a bar on the city’s north side, nervously strumming through poignant, delicately worded songs he attributes to nobody but himself was something special. He was backed by a three-piece band which included Geoff Dolce on bass and violin, Erin Tate (Minus the Bear) on drums and Patrick Newbery (Cursive, Head of Femur) on keys and horn.

The set list contained a good portion of Kasher’s upcoming solo album titled “The Game of Monogamy,” a cover of Tom Waits’s “I Want You” and a tremendous rendition of The Good Life’s “Night and Day.” Songs like “Monogamy” and “Uh-huh,” meanwhile, were true gems that allowed Kasher to belt out some of those “Ugly Organ”-era screams. On the whole, he looked a lot more comfortable than he did several months ago at a house show, also in Chicago. There, he forgot words and had to start a few songs over – which he alluded to and joked about during the most recent set.

It was a treat seeing such a high-profile musician in such an intimate setting. Even if the goal of this set was to work out the kinks of the new songs and test them out in front of an audience, nobody left disappointed.

“The Game of Monogamy” will be released October 5 on Saddle Creek Records.

Set list:
1. Bad, Bad Dreams
2. I’m Afraid I’m Gonna Die Here
3. There Must Be Something I’ve Lost
4. No Fireworks
5. Strays
6. I Want You (Tom Waits cover)
7. A Grown Man
8. Just Don’t Get Caught
9. Night and Day
10. Monogamy
11. The Prodigal Husband
12. Cold Love
13. Uh-huh

FOLLOW TIM KASHER ON FACEBOOK
VISIT TIM KASHER ON SADDLE CREEK

(Courtesy: Tim McPherrin)

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Filmed by our official Acoustic Video Session creator Aaron Blumenshine, on a sunny day somewhere around San Francisco with the guys of Not An Airplane bringing their music back to where it came from.

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Jeremy Messersmith finds inspiration by the Twin Cities. So he put together a visual playlist all about the city, or songs that kinda deal with the city!

1. “Dixon’s Girl” by Dessa
Literate, thoughtful, and philosophically precise, Dessa sounds unlike anyone else I know and that’s about the best compliment I could give anyone.

2. “Drumroll” by POS
I love seeing Minneapolis as a post-apocalyptic winter war zone; the video matches the explosive quality in POS’ rhyming perfectly.

3. “Guarantees” by Atmosphere
I had the hardest time picking what Atmosphere song should be on here. They’re all fantastic.  Seriously, leave some good songs for the rest of us.
Funny story- Slug and I were backstage at a show awhile back, seated directly across from each other, and I couldn’t think of any way to introduce myself without sounding like a total schmoozing fanboy, so we just sat there awkwardly for 5 minutes until finally I just left. I’ll think of something someday!

4. “Over and Over” by Lookbook
I love the combination of 80′s synth pop and powerful female vocals. Also, the way the song all comes crashing together is extremely exciting.

5. “Bible Thumper” by Solid Gold
I was walking around Austin at SXSW this year and saw a billboard with these dudes on it. I immediately called them and they admitted that yes, they had seen it, and then proceeded to invite me to paint mustaches on all of them later in the evening. I politely RSVP’d that I could not attend, but informed them to please continue without me.

Great hooks and entrancing production make this entire record work for me.

6. “On the Gaudy Side of Town” by Gayngs
Okay, this isn’t technically a video, but it’s such a great tune I need to put it on here. Gayngs is a Minneapolis area supergroup that has members like Dessa, Bon Iver, Solid Gold, Mike Lewis (and a whole lot more) all working together to make fantastic baby-making music.

7.  “Urban Lull (At Once Charmed) by Umbrella Sequence
The super compressed drums, tasteful electronic blips and some relentless acoustic guitar make this song work for me. Also, the video shows how much you can do with a little cardboard, construction paper and tape.

8. “Everybody Here is a Cloud” by Cloud Cult
Cloud Cult is an actual cult. They have white robes and shave their heads and everything. They have a compound somewhere in northern Minnesota. They are the best live show in the Twin Cities hands down. Only one of the above statements is true.

9. “Red River of the North” by Rogue Valley
Rogue Valley (spearheaded by songwriter Chris Koza) is releasing 4 full length records with 1 arching narrative this year. Pretty ambitious if you ask me! Epic in scope, this tune is about the Red River in Fargo, ND that seems to flood frequently.
http://roguevalley.bandcamp.com/album/crater-lake

10. “Sunlight” by Mason Jennings
Okay, this isn’t really a video either, but it is a really good song. Mason is sort of a reclusive Yoda-like figure in Minneapolis. He’s rarely seen, but when he appears he dispenses profound wisdom and bestows the gift of amazing songs like this one.

Visit Jeremy Messersmith

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Here’s a bit of Dan Sartain’s new music for his new album. Atheist Funeral is his first official video and the first single taken from the album ‘Dan Sartain Lives’.
Release Date: 10th May 2010

Meet up with Dan Sartain

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Off of their forthcoming covers album if i had a hi-fi, “Electrocution” was written by Cleveland musician Bill Fox, one of the many artists covered by Nada Surf for the release.  If i had a hi-fi is in stores June 8^th via the band’s label Mardev Records, but fans may purchase the album in CD and Vinyl format exclusively at their upcoming us tour dates.

“Electrocution (Bill Fox)” – Directed by Eli Stronberg

Upcoming 2010 Summer Tour Dates:

MAY
24 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern
25 – West Hollywood, CA – Troubadour
26 – West Hollywood, CA – Troubadour
27 – Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA
29 – George, WA – Sasquatch Festival
30 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
31 – Seattle, WA – Crocodile Café

JULY
08 – Palma de Mallorca, ES – Cultura Club
09 – Santa Pola, ES – Camelot Club
10 – Liege, BE – Les Ardentes
12 – Holland, US – Effenaar Eindhoven
13 – Luxembourg, US – Rockhal Club
14 – Amsterdam, US – Melkweg Max
16 – France, FR – La Guerre du Son
17 – Stuttgart, Germany – Tubingen Lauscht
19 – Paris, FR – La Maroquinerie
20 – Paris, FR – La Maroquinerie
22 – Luzern, Switzerland – Schuur
23 – Eberndorf Osterreich, AT – Acoustic Lakeside Festival
24 – Feldkirch Vorarlberg, AT – Poolbar Festival
26 – Aschaffenburg, DE – Colos saal
27 – Numberg, DE – Hirsch
28 – Munich, DE – Backstage
30 – Grossenfehn, DE – Omas Teich

AUGUST
07 – Messe, Japan – Summer Sonic ( Marine Stadium)

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We just got word about a fun new video project by Akron Family that involves fans sending in their homemade videos and the band sorting through them, finding their faves, and posting them up on their Vimeo site.
http://vimeo.com/channels/wildfreevideos

“They’ve received a number of great, homemade visual takes of songs off of Set Em Wild, Set Em Free. Akron/Family loves them and has been inspired by them so much that they want to keep it rolling. We want fans to take whatever track (or tracks) they would like from the record and set them to the weirdest, simplest, or funniest visual material they like. A bear attacking a trash can. A quarterback being blitzed repeatedly. A herd of buffalo stampeding across the Dakotas. Whatever is their pleasure.”

All entries should be sent to akakdreamtime@gmail.com