Band In Boston

Naked Gods are hands down our favorite band from the bustling Asheville, NC scene. They stopped by for the second time a damn year and a half ago just as their latest album, No Jams, was coming out. The album itself is a beautiful exercise in restraint for the boys- their live shows are one of the most dynamic and moving experiences you’ll have. They let it loose for us. This one is a definite not-to-be-missed! nakedgods.com Download individual tracks here, or stream the whole thing, with attic chatter:  

Landlady is the baby of New Yorker and multi-instrumentalist Adam Schatz. You may know him as the saxophonist in the Teenage Prayers (though he wasn’t around when they came in), but he also plays keyboards, guitar, and whatever other instruments he needs to in order to translate his songs from their usual 6-piece band arrangement down to one-man-band territory. The result is a spacey, trippy, jazzy loop-based take on the full-band performance. Prepare to have his improvisations mess with your brain a bit, and his cover songs to go somewhere the originals never did. He’ll be playing solo (with a guest) this Wednesday at TT the Bear’s. Adam’s Web Site. Landlady on Facebook, Bandcamp Download individual tracks here, or stream the whole thing (with attic chatter).

No, it’s not a belated April Fools joke. We have some new sessions! Brooklyn’s Food Will Win The War came in almost a year ago, and they are far too sweet to be from Brooklyn. They’ll be playing at the Loft in Somerville this Saturday! FWWTW’s web site Download individual tracks here, or stream the whole thing.

The very first band to play in the new “studio” (our attic) was Boston’s own Banditas. It was a sweltering July day, and the attic can get unbearably hot. Luckily, Banditas have the sweltering hot souls of the American Southwest, and Hayley even showed up in a bikini to prove that you just can’t keep these gals down. Download individual tracks here, or stream the whole thing, complete with borderline filthy studio banter:  

We are happy to announce that our move from living room to attic (and Somerville to Boston!) was a resounding success. To mix things up a bit, we’re going to be using all new fancy graphics for Flophouse Sessions going forward – they almost look like real albums, don’t they? Doing the honors to kick off this new chapter at BiB is Brooklyn’s own Quiet Loudly. They call themselves “soul-gaze”, and we couldn’t put it better ourselves. But why are we even trying to explain it. Give it a listen. Download individual tracks here, or stream the whole session, silly studio banter included:

Back again we are! Yoda we speak like! Yep, we’re giving it another shot – let’s see if we can keep it up. This week’s (year’s?) show features Robbers on High Street, I Have Ears, Future Carnivores, Eldridge Rodriguez, Babydriver, Shake the Baron, The New Highway Hymnal, Dan Baker, Marc Pinansky, Shelterbelt, Guillermo Sexo, Marconi, Spirit Kid, and Oranjuly.

…And we finally get to the last Flophouse Session recorded in our old house – featuring Australia’s one and only The Lovetones! For the uninitiated, The Lovetones are fronted by Matthew Tow, who, besides being a stellar songwriter and performer of his own, was a member of the Brian Jonestown Massacre a few years back. When they stopped by last year for the beginning of their US tour, they brought along fellow BJM member and producer Rob Campanella (whom I misheard as Rolf, which neither I nor he heard the end of). There’s even a guest appearance by Sasha Lucashenko from The Morning After Girls as kazoo tech. What are you waiting for – all in? The Lovetones online Download individual tracks here, or stream the whole thing:

Yoni Gordon seems to write songs at a record-breaking pace. And he’s not one to get stubborn about genres. In the years between his first visit and this one, he shifted from angly new wavey rock to a bit more of an Americana-ish feel. Just after recording this session, he set out on a tour of the US that consisted of setting up tents outside of venues for that authentic southern revival vibe. Yoni on the web Download individual songs here, or stream the whole thing:

Dead Heart Bloom blew us away with their first session, and didn’t let up with the second batch – they even gave us a new version of one of the tunes. Dead Heart Bloom online Download individual songs here, or stream the whole thing:

Hailing from Rochester NY, Man vs. Moon stopped by last September and laid down some tasty indie rockness, complete with the most obvious and well-executed Stairway to Heaven ripoff since Led Zeppelin ripped off Stairway (from “Taurus” by Spirit, if you didn’t already know).  Based on their internet presence, they may have entered the witness protection program, but these tunes should hold us off until they reappear! Man vs. Moon on Facebook. Download individual tracks here or stream the whole thing:

We weren’t planning on putting this one out for a while, but after seeing Viva Viva knock the socks off of Precinct (and with only 3 members!), we decided to bump it up in the queue. This one’s a bit of a bittersweet session for us, as it was the last one we recorded at the original Flophouse. At least we went out with a bang. Be sure to check out their earlier sessions, download individual tracks here, or stream the whole thing, complete with studio chatter and a bonus off-the-cuff cover of Rumble by Link Wray:

In case you’re as dense as me, Fan-Tan is not the latest in spray-on sun tanning technology. It’s actually a Chinese gambling game. Look it up and explain it to me if you can. More importantly, in this case it’s a band from Brooklyn that makes some damn pretty post-punk music along the lines of a modern Echo and the Bunnymen or The Psychedlic Furs. Fan-Tan on the web Download individual tracks here, or stream the whole thing:

As we gear up for the new and improved Flophouse (the Newhouse?), we finally have time to share the last few that we recorded at our old place. And they are all great – Baby Driver is no exception. A hard style to define- I suppose you can throw them into the “indie” bucket and call it a day, but we’re going to go with “bittersweet yet poppy and somewhat theatrical”. And really fun. Baby Driver on the Myspaces. Download individual tracks here, or stream the whole thing:

We stumbled upon Christy & Emily when they were a duo opening up for Hallelujah the Hills at Bruar Falls in their home (sub-)town of Brooklyn. Thus proving our motto: always check out the opening band. They stopped by when they found themselves in our neck of the woods, and brought a couple of friends along to help out. They brought us four tunes – one from each of their first two albums, and two from their latest, the Hans Joachim Irmler (of Faust)-produced No Rest. You can thank my crack photography skills for getting a photo in which NO ONE is looking anywhere near the camera. Pro move there. Song List 1. Firefly 03:53 2. Thunder and Lightning 03:23 3. Kings and Monsters 03:11 4. Tigers 03:23 Christy & Emily on the web Download individual tracks here, or stream the whole thing:

It seems fitting that this photo came out so weird. Miniboone has an uncanny ability to write catchy new wavey indie-pop songs and then add one surprise after another. Check out their first session here. Song list: 1. Devil in Your Eyes 04:00 2. Little Things 03:39 3. The Other Summer 05:29 4. Rosalina Must Dance Alone 02:37 5. Brand New Thing 03:55 6. Why Would You Walk Away 05:06 Miniboone’s website Download individual tracks here, or stream the whole thing: