Sweetness and light

 

Blushing was a standout band from last week's New Colossus Festival — playing five showcases, including a shoegaze extravaganza at Arlene's Grocery... the Austin, Texas-based quartet recruited shoegaze legend Miki Berenyi from Lush for this single, "Blame."

Broadcast 'News'

 

Local band Beechwood headlines Arlene's Grocery tomorrow night (March 12) ... as part of the New Colossus Festival taking place at several nearby venues through Sunday. 

The video here is for "Front Page News," from Beechwood's January release Sleep Without Dreaming.

Have the 'Blues'

 

NYC's Wah Together is one of the 100-plus bands playing the New Colossus Festival at neighborhood music venues next week. The band features bassist Phil Mossman (ex-LCD Soundsystem), drummer Vito Roccoforte (the Rapture), producer/guitarist Steve Schiltz (Longwave) and vocalist Jaiko Suzuki. 

The video here is for "You Got the Blues," the second single from the band's debut LP "Let's Wah Together," out today. 

Also, today is a Bandcamp Friday, where all the sales go directly to the artists.

By the Way...

 

Clovis, a local band we like, released this video for "Other Way Out" on Feb. 18. 

And you can catch Clovis live with Computerwife and PlayShoes on Tuesday night at Nublu, 151 Avenue C. Find details here.

You give love a bad...

 

Dehd's new single, "Bad Love," debuted this week (appropriately enough on Feb. 14 and featuring another rather campy-goofy video — this one is still a fave) ... this is the Chicago-based band's first single from the upcoming album Blue Skies, out on Fat Possum May 27.

And Dehd will be at the Bowery Ballroom on May 24.

Killing me 'Softly'

 

Arlo Parks released a single titled "Softly" at the beginning of the month... a season-appropriate song "about how fragile you feel in the dying days of a relationship when you're still desperately in love." 

The British singer-songwriter is on a bill with Clairo at Radio City on Feb. 24.

Teenage fanclub

 

Catching up to this Pom Pom Squad release from late December 2021... in which the NYC band shared this cover and frame-by-frame video reproduction of Nada Surf's "Popular" from 1996. 

Also, Bandcamp Fridays are back ... in which the music platform waives its revenue share for the day.

Angels and demons

 

The latest video from Surfbort came out this week... the video, which marks the directorial debut of pro skater Lizzie Armanto, is for "Lot Lizard 93" via the Keep On Truckin' record.

Hope to see you again

 

Cat Power's excellent new record of covers, titled Covers, was released on Jan. 14. In this video, Powers (aka Chan Marshall, a one-time East Village resident) provides a mournful reinterpretation of "I'll Be Seeing You."

A fine mess!

 

Local band Clovis, who we've happily seen a few times, has a new video out for their single "Clutter." The trio is on a bill at the Mercury Lounge on Feb. 11. Meanwhile, you can check them out on Bandcamp.

Please be mine

 

A special edition of the weekly Fridays at 5 feature... Remembering David Bowie on what would have been his 75th birthday... this is the video for "Be My Wife," from Low, which was almost released 45 years to the date.

David Robert Jones was born on Jan. 8, 1947, in Brixton, London. He died on Jan. 10, 2016. He made his home nearby on Lafayette Street just south of Houston.

Alone together again

This week, local faves Hello Mary released a video for the pandemic-related single "Evicted" ... you can check it out ☝️ ... find their music on Bandcamp here... a new interview with them at this link ... and check out this EVG feature on the band here.

'Love' crazy

 

• I've been listening to "We Love You" by the Rolling Stones because the song reminds me of a friend who died this year.
• Somehow, I'd never seen the promo video for the song from 1967 that (thank you, IMDB, cutting and pasting) included footage from recording sessions along with segments that re-enacted the 1895 trial of Oscar Wilde, with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Marianne Faithfull respectively portraying Wilde, a judge and Lord Alfred Douglas.
• The IMDB description helpfully notes the following: "Footage also appears of Brian Jones, apparently high on drugs with his eyes drooping and unfocused." (So 2021!) More facts about the song here.

Anyway, anyhow, anywhere

 

Maybe a song you haven't heard 100000000x this season... from 2013, it's !!! with "And Anyway It's Christmas." 

Relive your 'Feelings'

 

A favorite track/album from 2021... London-based Dry Cleaning with "Strong Feelings" from their debut release New Long Leg.

Horse sense

 

The Chicago-based teen trio Horsegirl recently released this video for "Billy," a forthcoming 7-inch single (with a cover of the Minutemen's "History Lesson Part II" on side B) via their new label, Matador. 

The band has said the song is "a love letter to past music scenes we wish we could have witnessed."

True romance

 

Valentine, the second record from Snail Mail, aka current East Village resident Lindsey Jordan, will likely end up on some best-of year-end lists. (Here's a nice recap on her two-album career via NPR.) 

The video for the title track is from "The Late Show" earlier this month.

'Tomorrow' never dies

 

In case you were looking for some new dream pop ... the Swedish quintet Makthaverskan just released a new record titled För Allting via Run For Cover. 

The audio track above is for "Tomorrow." 

Hopefully, the band will be back around these parts someday.

Boxing Bush Tetras

 

Today is a good day to celebrate Bush Tetras, the local post-punk pioneers who formed in 1979.

Today marks the release of the career-spanning box set "Rhythm and Paranoia: The Best of Bush Tetras," which features 29 songs across three LPs pressed onto 180-gram vinyl and remastered by Carl Saff, plus a 46-page book with photos, an original essay on the band by Marc Masters, and shorter essays by Thurston Moore, Nona Hendryx and Topper Headon, among others.

As you may know, Dee Pop, the band's longtime drummer, passed away on Oct. 9. According to an announcement by the band, he died in his sleep. He was 65. 

Don Christensen, who played in Bush Tetras for a time in the 1980s as well as the Contortions and the Raybeats, will be taking over on drums ... as there's a record-release show tomorrow night at LPR on Bleecker Street. 

BTW, Stereogum has an interview with the band's two veteran members, Pat Place and Cynthia Sley, right here. 

Now to the video... Wharf Cat Records recently released a remastered version of "Too Many Creeps" from 1979... a song and video (filmed along the Bowery) that remains an all-time EVG favorite.

Previously on EV Grieve:

• Things that go boom in the night: As Bush Tetras prepare for their 40th-anniversary show

How 'Soon' is now

 

Loveless, My Bloody Valentine's sonic masterpiece, turned 30 yesterday. (Happy anniversary!) 

So enjoy the video for the album's last track — "Soon." 

You can read more about the record here ... and here.