Watching the rabid gyrations of Karen O perform at theAustin City Limits Festivalearlier this month with theYeah Yeah Yeahsstunned us at Cannibal Cheerleader so completely, so devastatingly as to inspire a month-long self-imposed exile from the blogging community. The blazingly electric setlist, featuring carnal classics like “Gold Lion” and “Maps”, new-wave crooners like “Skeletons” and “Runaway”, and neurotically ferocious takes on barn-burners such as “Date With the Night” and “Dull Life”, may go down as so utterly picture-perfect as to inspire every other band to call it a day.
Flawless delivery from an utterly flawless band. Oh to be the microphone knawed between the jaws of Karen O as she wails like a possessed banshee. Oh to be the strings of pulsating power, whipping and cracking under Nick Zinner’s spidery fingertips. Oh to be the drumsticks, withered to the raw, blasting asunder as Brian Chase throws us to the pad below like a weightless guillotine. Contender for show of the year bar-none and a renewal of our faith in modern music.
Actually Cannibal Cultists a lot has been in the works as of late. Applying to law school. Heading off with Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures on a nationwide tour. Preparing to maim and destroy everything and everyone. But now we’re here. Cannibal Cheerleader – back and on the attack.
It’s been a hot minute since we reported on the activities of one of our favorite discoveries of the year, NYC garage-rocker Lissy Trullie and her company of dashing Boho-rejects and art-school dropouts. Seems as if LT and the gang will be swinging through Austin next month at Emo’s in support of another Cannibal Cheerleader fave, the Virgins. It’s a genuine New York City meets Lone Star State affair, so be there people! Here’s a few Lissy Trullie videos to quench your thirst until then!
Straight from the record label (Little Black Cloud Records) that brought us the inimitable Ringfinger comes Cinemasophia, a Richmond quintet by way of Brooklyn that blaze a brand of shoegaze-meets-electro, Stars-inspired indie rock in an equal parts subdued and fuzzed-out manner that’s wholly unique. Featuring faraway, distant vocals like an early emo-record or a long-worn cassette, Cinemasophia are crafting bedroom ready tunes that are nonetheless sure to rattle the windows from their panes. Tracks like “Pet Enemies” simmer with an undercurrent of electronic warbles before dipping into guitar heroics near the song’s end. The band’s intense use of volume disparity and sonic shifts give their music an unpredictable and electric feeling, churning behind a Firefox window for a few minutes before bursting up and making the listener click on the iTunes icon to see just who is that playing again. Very addictive, check it out below.
This year’s Austin City Limits Festival lineup has been revealed and while we here at Cannibal Cheerleader are excited about a few of the choices (the Virgins, the Raveonettes, the Decemberists, Arctic Monkeys, and Sonic Youth to name a few) the headliners are considerably weaker this year. While we can’t fault anyone for liking Pearl Jam (not our cup o’ tea) and we have a passing interest in the Beastie Boys (early 90s anyone?), to have Dave Matthews Band, nemesis of all indie-rock fans, headlining the event is pretty grotesque. Oh well, you’ll still definitely be seeing us at the show, if only to check if the Arctic Monkeys will be playing any new material. Check out the whole lineup below:
Pearl Jam Dave Matthews Band Beastie Boys Kings of Leon Ben Harper and Relentless7 Thievery Corporation John Legend The Dead Weather The Levon Helm Band Ghostland Observatory Sonic Youth Mos Def Toadies Flogging Molly The B-52s Lily Allen Citizen Cope Arctic Monkeys The Decemberists Coheed and Cambria Andrew Bird Girl Talk STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9) Phoenix Bassnectar Bon Iver !!! The Avett Brothers The Airborne Toxic Event Medeski, Martin & Wood Clutch Michael Franti & Spearhead Grizzly Bear Heartless Bastards Passion Pit White Lies Dan Auerbach The Walkmen The Scabs Reckless Kelly Devotchka Blitzen Trapper The Virgins Here We Go Magic Eek-A-Mouse K’ Naan Asleep at the Wheel Dr. Dog The Raveonettes The Knux Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears State Radio Los Amigos Invisibles The Felice Brothers Federico Aubele Raul Malo Daniel Johnston Poi Dog Pondering Brett Dennen Rodriguez Henry Butler Preservation Hall Sam Roberts Band The Greencards Sara Watkins Walter “Wolfman” Washington David Garza John Vanderslice Zac Brown Band Todd Snider School of Seven Bells The Dodos Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 Alberta Cross Deer Tick Bell X1 Alela Diane The Wood Brothers The Parlor Mob Rebirth Brass Band Marva Wright Terri Hendrix L.A.X. Lisa Hannigan The Low Anthem Sons of Bill Suckers Sarah Jaffe Cotton Jones The Henry Clay People Papa Mali Jypsi Vince Mira Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights Mimicking Birds Jeffrey Steele Jonell Mosser Leatherbag Keith Gattis Damien Horne Sarah Siskind Dexateens Nelo Danny Brooks Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band The Soul Stirrers The Durdens Palm School Elementary The Gospel Silvertones Diaconos Quinn Sullivan Ralph’s World Q Brothers Milkshake Telephone Company Loose Cannons Lunch Money
I spent much of this week looking for new and different bands, all the while considering putting them up on this site. Coming up empty I began to get discouraged. “Will anyone even read this post? Will people even care what new artist I put up? Does anyone read Cannibal Cheerleader?” I thought to myself. Through this depressing haze came the low, Pacific-Northwest strum of an old friend, Seattle’s long dead legends Carissa’s Wierd.
Carissa’s Wierd is a reminder of why I love music, why I love writing about music, and why I’m doing what I’m doing. When I was a lonely indie kid growing up in small town Texas poking around Limewire looking for friends to filter through the expensive headphones I bought to keep the world out I found the lonely keyboard clinks and male-female change-off vocals of Carissa’s Wierd. The perfect indie-rock group, with modernist, soulful leanings, obscure instrumentation, and heartfelt emotion to spare. Since their breakup members of the group have gone on to found great but lesser groups (Band of Horses, Jenn Ghetto’s solo project S) and their demise saddened many.
Last night I found the band’s Myspace, or not really the band’s per say, but a fan page featuring their songs created by “a Colorado boy with nothing better to do with his time”. The page itself is not unlike the band itself. A seemingly thrown-together, simplistic piece with nonetheless a great depth of emotion and caring for its subject manner. The picture up there is the guy’s choice for the profile picture on the Myspace and it seems fitting for their sound. Under the ‘Sounds Like” section the Colorado boy writes “Punk kids grown up and gone sad.” Nothing could be more apt. Check them out if you like this crazy thing we call music. Here’s a live video by them.
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To end the week off I’ll post about to of my favorite things: My Morning Jacket and Austin. Check out this Google video version of their Austin City Limits performance. See you next week and please comment if you like what you see!
