SKIPSTER / ECHOING VOICES OF INDEPENDENT MUSIC IN UPSTATE NY

SATURDAY (5/1)
Beach Fossils and Hotel Reverie

May is finally here, and with that comes our show with Brooklyn’s Beach Fossils. The band which plays jangly reverbed rock will play a skipster show at the WildFire Lounge Saturday night. We’re absolutely psyched and hope you’ll come out to get yr dance on with us for another night of skipster fun. As we’ve said, Hotel Reverie will be opening the show and Mike and I will be doing a DJ set to bring the night to a close. Drinks and Dancin’ for all!

Tickets are still on sale at the advance price of 8 bones. You can grab ‘em at The Shop or WildFire (the restaurant). If all you want to do is dance to some indie wonderment, you’re welcome to come later in the night ’round midnight for a reduced cover.

SUNDAY (5/2)
The Babies and Sweethot (formerally Tropical Punk)

If Saturday is leaving you still hungry, head on over to *Itty Bitty Kitty Braces’s company picnic. This up and coming feline orthodontic office is hosting a brilliant afternoon of music and fun featuring music from lo-fi supergroup, The Babies. Featuring Cassie from Vivian Girls and Kevin from Woods, their lo-fi bouncy pop is just what a Sunday afternoon calls for. For a mere $5 you can become an honorary employee of this wonderful company! As an honorary employee you’ll receive their wonderful benefits package which includes beer,  food, and limited health care- what a deal! The doors of 523 E. State St. Apartment #4, will open around 2:30, with music beginning around 3.

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*hopefully you realize the company is fake…and that these guys are just really fun jokesters..it’ll be a good time.

As seen on  Stereogum, Sun Kil Moon shared new song “Australian Winter” with the blogosphere today. The song, which will be featured on the forthcoming Admiral Fell Promises is exactly what one should expect from Mark Kozelek. It’s solemn lyrics and dark feel are accompanied by Kozelek’s usual minor chord finger picking. The song is very reminiscent of “Heron Blue” from Sun Kil Moon’s 2008 effort, April.

Ever since hearing Kozelek and his haunting voice leading the Red House Painters on Rochester’s WBER airwaves, I’ve been addicted to the melancholy music he creates. Though Kozelek may be fighting many inner demons, the reactionary art in which he creates is always nothing short of exquisite. Hear “Australian Winter” below:

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Admiral Fell Promises will hit shelves on July 13th via Caldo Verde. If you pre-order the album now, you’ll receive a bonus EP which includes covers of a strange array of musicians ranging from Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (an obvious choice for Kozelek?) and the Jackson 5.

Featured in web-series Bright Falls comes “Our Deal” slated for inclusion on the forthcoming Best Coast album.

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The tune’s incredible production harnesses Spector’s “Wall of Sound” FTW, using simple lyrics that could have been ripped straight from a Marvellettes’ album. It’s certainly Best Coast at its best, and is even more proof that this debut album is something to look forward to. Strangely enough they’re not getting this thing out before the summer…looks like I’ll have to listen to something else while tanning at the beach or riding my bike with the girls.

The only interesting thing** M.I.A. had to share with us when taking over Pitchfork’s twitter account was the link to what we shall assume is the artwork for the debut Sleigh Bells album, Treats. Due May 11th, we’ve been feverishly asking ourselves, “with the impending date, where the hell is the artwork?… clips?… tracklist?”

Well, ladies and gentleman, until we can be proven wrong, here it is… the Treats cover. Seriously, until this thing is in our hands, any news is worth screaming about. SLEIGH BELLZ 4 EVRRRR.

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** (Mike’s editorial note: “only interesting thing” is radically false… remember when she revealed her own tentative tracklist and dropped verses using hybridized technological terms? That was awesome.)

Neu Magazine just brought our attention to this beautiful new track from Orlando, FL-based Emily Reo, the first off her forthcoming Witch Mtn EP. Imagine Grouper singing along with a drum machine, a baby mobile and the organs off Beach House’s debut album and you’ll have some idea of what territory this song’s charting. Seductive, yes, but it wisely subverts its own dreaminess with a certain lullabied foreboding that keeps the mood slightly unknowable, demanding further scrutiny and revisitation.

Emily Reo – “above ground and a golden cloud”

Witch Mtn is out May 25th on Breakfast of Champs.

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So far all we know, thanks to a cleverly flown blimp at Coachella, is that MIA’s new album is dropping June 29 on Interscope/N.E.E.T. (MIAs own subsidiary).

The new song, titled “Born Free”, is fresh and much different from anything the Sri Lankan artist has ever produced before. Considering its the weekend, I felt obligated to offer this song up so you all have something to listen to when pre-gaming tonight, that’s right, give “Paper Planes” a break…Listen below:

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Ithacans, are you looking for something to do tomorrow night? If you aren’t enthused about bro-ing out with Bob Saget at his Toga Party, then head over to the Big Red Barn for a lineup of Zach Hill, An Albatross, and Bees, presented by Cornell’s Fanclub Collective &  Ithaca Underground.

This diverse group of artists is sure to get you on your feet, providing an interesting mix of intense head banging, body slamming, and hip swaying. Some background on the bands:

Zach Hill, the drummer for the West Coast band Hella, is a self-taught percussionist with a unique style and entrancing footwork. Besides Hella, his resume includes stints with Wavves as well as Marnie Stern (woo!). An Albatross hails from Pennsylvania, and is known for delivering a high energy noise-rock performance, during which the lead singer is likely to try and climb objects surrounding the stage (thanks for the insight, youtube). And, last but not least, are Bees, the three piece noise rock group from Binghamton. (editors note- we originally mentioned UK band, Bees. we were wrong. pardon us)..

So, get yourself over to the Big Red Barn tomorrow for an assortment of musical stylings. The show starts at 9 pm.  Click here for a map on how to get there (thanks to Facebook!).

Fo’ Rochester: Zach Hill will be playing at Bug Jar tonight with Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos and Bygones) and Triglactagon. This one starts at 9 and is 18+, more details are available here.

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(photo by Trent Lesikar)

While I wait patiently for Lissie’s forthcoming full-length, I’m finding solace in all these great quality videos of Lissie and her band that keep springing up on the interwebs. The latest, which comes from music collective, Plays Well With Others, was filmed at SXSW and features Lissie performin’ “Little Lovin”. Plays Well With Others is a music site that features a lot of high quality footage of nifty bands. In addition to the vids they combine this music with important social causes, which is nothing short of honorable.

They also have an interview with Lissie, that you can check out here.

We’d like to take this opportunity to introduce a new contributor to skipster.us… Her name is Marisa and this is her (feel free to stop her on the street) She’s our official skipsterette.

Marisa is a government and sociology major at Cornell, but would gladly trade in her studies of comparative politics and international relations to become a master accordion player (inspired by the Bowerbirds’ Beth Tacular). Hailing from San Francisco, Marisa is a wannabe hippie beatnik hybrid. The first album she ever purchased was Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill — unfortunately, this choice has influenced her musical preferences ever since.

this one’s for you, Marisa:

Just ‘cuz I’m in NY doesn’t mean I’m out of the loop, as I just got wind of this  new lil’ PJ Harvey song. Harvey, being in my holy trinity of female ladies (alongside Tori Amos and Bjork), this new song couldn’t have made me happier. Harvey appeared on BBC’s Andrew Marr morning  show alongside the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown (strange pairing..).

PJ strums the autoharp on new tune, “Let England Shake”, singing a strange melody over the famous song “Istanbul (Not Constantinople), creating an eerie end product. It’s a definite departure from Harvey’s last album White Chalk, however it sounds as if it could have lain comfortably on PJ’s  collaborative effort with John Parish from last year, A Woman A Man Walked By.

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