Night Panther :: "Two Weeks" and "Fever"

Night Panther, the creators of "Snudge", are heirs to the New York City sleek, animal band throne that Tigercity once occupied with divine right panache. Here, the band turns themselves on "Two Weeks", the song that made Grizzly Bear sort of famous three years ago, recast with an emphasis on colliding crystalline vocals. On "Fever," an original composition, the band makes their play for both commercial syncs and a slice of your sensual heart. Full of guitar bursts, a rolling bass line and horn punches, it's easy to see this cast in a national television campaign or on repeat in your iTunes. The central lyric, "you were always in my mind," a wonderful second movement to the sound crafted on "Snudge" and applied to Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks", making Night Panther a band to watch in the coming months, the east coast's answer to the rapidly increasing animal empire of LA's Wildcat! Wildcat!. Meaning, they'll either tour together or meet in Kansas City to tear the place to bits.



Download :: Night Panther - "Fever"

Spacecamp :: "Miko D.T.B."

It will have been a long time since you had this much fun listening to a rock band from New York City. Spacecamp with their debut EP Alibi just released on Tuesday, offer up lead single, "Miko D.T.B" or, if we can gather from the song's first lyrics, "Miko dropped the ball." What emerges is a song in two movements, the first a glittering array of synths and angular guitars that almost recall the dulcet tones of Tigercity (although, for other animal references, there's some Wolfgang in there too), centering on the lyric, "Pull yourself together", a useful and pragmatic notion if there ever was one. The second half of the arrangement is fuller, climatically organized around a sea of backing vocals and a finishing kick that feels like a Local Natives jam shot full of amphetamine and rocked into outer space. Spacecamp still urges you to "Pull yourself together" but the bass line is so alive and well, so bordering on out of control, that it's hard to believe they mean it. Instead, maybe the point is to lose your damn mind.  

The band plays their EP release party at The Wooly in the Financial District with Computer Magic on December 1st.

Miko D.T.B. by SPACECAMP

Tigercity :: "Fake Gold"

An aside: [In April 2007 I wrote a high-concept article about seeing Tigercity. The narrative thrust of the piece was about how weird it would be if tigers organized themselves into a sustainable and cohesive social fabric. What if tigers, instead of being exotic jungle cats, were just like the rest of us? What if there actually was a "tigercity?"It was an exciting trip into magic realism and just the kind of thing I thought was groundbreaking 2.5 years ago.]

Tigercity released their six-song EP Pretend Not To Love in the fall of 2007. I more than expected them to blow up; national tours, college and maybe even modern rock radio. It kind of happened and it kind of didn't. Things should have been "awesome" for this band and they just got "good." In the intervening period, my major connection to the band was limited to seeing the lead-singer on an Uptown F train a few times.

Now, in late '09 the band looks ready to deliver with a full-length entitled Ancient Lover. Lead-single, "Fake Gold" is a glossy, stomping affair. The synths take over in the bridge and the production shine is as intentional as it is appropriate. The candor of the lyric, "I just want you to know/that I'm wearing fake gold," is as funny as it is crushing. We're dealing with artifice, image and how they can be divorced from reality; or maybe artifice as a form of reality. But this is a windows down, summer rock song and there's nothing fake about it.

Listen :: Tigercity - "Fake Gold"

Tigercity :: Live on XFM [9.18.08]

Tigercity has been one of my favorite New York bands ever since I saw them open for Junior Boys in early 2007. I was blind-sided. I ended up not even staying for the headliner. It was both mainstream and avant-garde at the same time. It was somehow derivative and exciting. In the best spirit of indie rock, it was looking backwards while trying to sprint through a wall. At the time, I made some Hall and Oates references but Tigercity was more than a few name-checks in a decently put together concert review. More than many bands I saw that year, I felt Tigercity had a chance to get up and get out. I started rooting for them.

That was 18-months ago. They're still touring behind a mini-album Pretend Not To Love and last night they hit XFM with a two-song set and a brief interview. Is this a step-towards that super-hit status? Maybe. But probably not. I guess I thought they would be bigger by now. And I'm not happy they're not. But, in the great spirit of indie rock, I'll keep it like a secret.

Listen :: Tigercity (Live on XFM 9.18.08)