PONYTAIL LIVE IN AUSTIN Wonderful week of live shows here at Cannibal Cheerleader with one of our personal favorites Ponytail from Baltimore absolutely wrecking shop at Red 7 last night. A completely amped up crowd mobbed the front of the stage from song one and given that the quartet never let the energy-level drop below ‘blazingly electric’ the enthusiasm ripped the night in half. Much is written about the vocal stylings of Molly, Ponytail’s lead vocalist, but it was her backing band that stole the show, with churning guitar lines seamlessly converging into dueling spidery solos, all backed by the furious assault of the drummer who left his seat on more than one occasion with reckless abandon, wailing on his drums like he was beating back hellfire. Playing through classics old and new, including personal CC favorite “Late For School” (yay!) the band cemented their reputation as not just another instrumental band but a indie-rock powerhouse with enough energy to power a small city into the new millennium and beyond. Fantastic set. . Ponytail – “Celebrate the Body Electric (It Came From An Angel)” ******************************************************************** NEW AGENT RIBBONS 7″ Our friends in Agent Ribbons have been busy bees lately, what with opening up for Camera Obscura and picking up Naomi Cherie from the sorely departed Southern Drama all in the last few months. And now the California trio, on top of eberything, have sneaked in time to record a fantastic new 7″ entitled Your Love is the Smallest Doll, and it combines the lyrical whimsy and vaudevillian stylings of earlier recordings with a more fleshed-out sound care of Cherie’s string section. Featuring some of the group’s most infectious tunes, this EP comes highly recommended, if only for the title track’s vocal harmonies and liberal usage of toy piano. Agent Ribbons – “Your Love is the Smallest Doll” ******************************************************************** PULL IN EMERGENCY TO RECORD FULL-LENGTH Here’s the word from Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Pull In Emergency via the band’s Myspace:
” we’ve been a bit quite recently mainly because of the ol GCSEs/ A Levels so this is just an update.during the summer we’re going to be recording our debut album… and hopefully doing lots of gigs and stuff, underage is going to be sickkkkwe think the albums going to be out in February/ March of 2010, we’re going to New York in December for some gigs in Manhattan and Brookyln all in all, sorry for being quiet recently, but this summer is going to be intense…PIE.xxxxx“
New Pull In Emergency album? Sign us up immediately. If we hear anything we’ll be sure and alert the CC faithful first!
Pull In Emergency – “Planes” ******************************************************************** NEW ACTION DESIGN VIDEO Lots of news in the Action Design department, as the band is currently flying about the country on a new tour and will be touching down in Austin on May 25th. Not only that but the band has a new video forthcoming for standout single “Landmines” and we have the ‘pre-video video’ here to prove it. Check it out below!
The Action Design – “Move On” ******************************************************************** NEW HEARTSREVOLUTION VIDEO Been a while since we sat down with the Heartsrevolution crew but the duo of Lo and Ben have been getting a lot of press recently, what with their inclusion on Gossip Girl (quite a soundtrack that show) and being given the Kitsune Maison nod. Now the group has a new video for a song entitled “The Rose and Her Prince”. A much for downbeat tune for the group but a welcome experimentation for such an interesting band. Can’t for the life of me figure how to embed this but check it out here.
Heartsrevolution – “Ultraviolence” ******************************************************************** HAPPY BIRTHDAY May 22nd is JB’s birthday! If you see him celebrating with cheap beer and expensive cigars tomorrow night at his favorite Austin hangout (Crown & Anchor Bar) holler at him and he’ll give you a sticker or a zine!
THE ACTION DESIGN LIVE IN AUSTIN In what will probably go down as one of our favorite punk shows of the year, the Action Design, starring M formerly of one of our favorite bands of all time Tsunami Bomb, brought their powerful brand of pop-punk to an excited Red 7 audience who thrilled at seeing the gang in fine form. Whipping through a set that included four tracks from their Into a Sound EP and another seven from Never Say, the band rocketed between soul-wrenching classics like “Lounge in Formation” to balls-out rockers like “Landmines”. Dressed complete with her now famous elephant necklace and belting out tunes with all the fire we’ve come to expect, M and co. definitely recalled a time where punk meant more than askew haircuts, tight jeans, and a video on MTV. The Action Design is genuinely the real deal, punk at its finest in 2008, pop sensibility meshing wonderfully with fiery rock and roll. Definitely grab a ticket to the tour if they’re heading through your town, check out their Myspace for dates! More pictures below. The Action Design – “Empty Face” ******************************************************************** JENNY LEWIS FULL ALBUM STREAMING Over on our friend Jenny Lewis’ Myspace you can find the enirety of her new album Acid Tongue streaming right freaking now! Go now young son, and listen to the country-rock majesty of the Rilo Kiley frontwoman’s sophomore effort!
Jenny Lewis – “Acid Tongue” ******************************************************************** TRYOUTS: THE ACTION DESIGN’S NEVER SAY Having just picked up the new CD from the Action Design that is coincidentally only available right now from their tour merch table, we decided we’d right up a little review of what’s promising to be one of our favorite releases of the year. Right from the get-go, M and her TAD cohorts jump in with the soaring choruses that utilizes the lead vocals and churning guitar parts to masterful effect. Seriously, it’s as if a band has finally caught up with Emily Whitehurst’s incredible vocal delivery after all these years, creating a band that works as a cohesive whole. Standout tracks include “Landmines”, “Empty Face”, and “Tokyo Train”, though the album flows so well, working carefully through more dynamics than Tsunami Bomb’s whole discography in a single song, that to call out single songs is quite pointless. Definitely pick this one up if you can (I believe it’s available from Interpunk right now if TAD’s not swinging through your town) and buy some old Tsunami Bomb stuff while you’re at it. Definitely makes the team, though it probably spends more time skateboarding than practicing any cheers.
The Action Design – “Landmines” ******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER: THE BOXING LESSON If you’ve lived in Austin for any time at all you’ve probably at least heard of the Boxing Lesson, even if you haven’t heard their music directly. I moved here five years ago and in that time I’ve seen them all over the place, on every flyer on every bulletin board in town. Of course, this is not without just cause, as they’re one of the most exciting and innovative Austin acts that the capital city has to offer. With a sound that’s equal parts electronica-tinged atmospherics and chugging, psychedelic indie rock, the band has honed a unique sound over the years that coalesces perfectly on their new CD Wild Streaks & Windy Days. They’re playing tomorrow with Tokyo Police Club and the Whigs at Emo’s so be sure and check them out. We’ll be keeping track of these guys from now on!
VOTE ACTION DESIGN FOR LOLLAPALOOZA Here’s a video from M of the Action Design letting the world know that the band is taking part in a contest that could end up getting them a spot playing Lollapalooza this year. Watch this: Lollapalooza 08
Seems pretty straightforward. Just go to this site and vote for Action Design as many times as possible (once a day with each email you have, make sure to confirm in the email you voted). Tsunami Bomb were one of those great punk bands that never got the credit they deserve so let’s not let that happen with the Action Design, get out there and vote!
Wonderful week of live shows here at Cannibal Cheerleader with one of our personal favorites Ponytail from Baltimore absolutely wrecking shop at Red 7 last night. A completely amped up crowd mobbed the front of the stage from song one and given that the quartet never let the energy-level drop below ‘blazingly electric’ the enthusiasm ripped the night in half. Much is written about the vocal stylings of Molly, Ponytail’s lead vocalist, but it was her backing band that stole the show, with churning guitar lines seamlessly converging into dueling spidery solos, all backed by the furious assault of the drummer who left his seat on more than one occasion with reckless abandon, wailing on his drums like he was beating back hellfire.
Playing through classics old and new, including personal CC favorite “Late For School” (yay!) the band cemented their reputation as not just another instrumental band but a indie-rock powerhouse with enough energy to power a small city into the new millennium and beyond. Fantastic set.
Our friends in Agent Ribbons have been busy bees lately, what with opening up for Camera Obscura and picking up Naomi Cherie from the sorely departed Southern Drama all in the last few months. And now the California trio, on top of eberything, have sneaked in time to record a fantastic new 7″ entitled Your Love is the Smallest Doll, and it combines the lyrical whimsy and vaudevillian stylings of earlier recordings with a more fleshed-out sound care of Cherie’s string section. Featuring some of the group’s most infectious tunes, this EP comes highly recommended, if only for the title track’s vocal harmonies and liberal usage of toy piano.
Agent Ribbons – “Your Love is the Smallest Doll”
Here’s the word from Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Pull In Emergency via the band’s Myspace:
Lots of news in the Action Design department, as the band is currently flying about the country on a new tour and will be touching down in Austin on May 25th. Not only that but the band has a new video forthcoming for standout single “Landmines” and we have the ‘pre-video video’ here to prove it. Check it out below!
Been a while since we sat down with the Heartsrevolution crew but the duo of Lo and Ben have been getting a lot of press recently, what with their inclusion on Gossip Girl (quite a soundtrack that show) and being given the Kitsune Maison nod. Now the group has a new video for a song entitled “The Rose and Her Prince”. A much for downbeat tune for the group but a welcome experimentation for such an interesting band. Can’t for the life of me figure how to embed this but check it out here.
