Cheers! Cheers Elephant

According to the Philadelphia quartet, Cheers Elephant, the first elephant to arrive in America had the knack of being able to open beer bottles and drink their contents. The elephant developed this ability because the Derby-owned ship carrying him (I’m assuming it was a male elephant) was lacking in potable water, and in turn, the only thing left for the elephant to drink was dark beers. The poor bugger got hooked on the bottle and became written off as a sideshow. After discovering the elephant’s “talent,” the ship-owner, Captain Jacob Crowninshield charged spectators to watch the elephant uncork and drink bottles of beer, while, I’m assuming becoming pissed off his ass. The story makes me think of that elephant on a bottle of Delirium Tremens, and man, that shit can surely turn you into a sideshow if you drink enough of it.

The story only rings partly true, Crowninshield is in fact the first person to bring an elephant to the U.S. arriving on April 12, 1796. He purchased the two year old pachyderm in India for $450 and brought it to New York City – afterwards touring the country with the elephant and later selling it for a profit of $9,550.

I found the story quite interesting and the 10-minutes of Wikapediaing (is this a word yet?) was well worthwhile and I can now use my new found knowledge at my next bout of Trivial Pursuit or something. The story was also interesting enough for Philly’s Cheers Elephant to name their band after the beast that was exhibited in their hometown on Market Street in November 1796 for 25 cents. You’d expect a band that named themselves after a drunken elephant and located in the City of Brotherly Love to play quirky, folky, Philly-esque songs akin to Man Man, Dr. Dog, The Teeth, The Extraordinaries, and the like. There is a bit of that Philly sound in the band’s music, but the group reaches overseas to the country’s ship that delivered the U.S. its first elephant to create their unique sound.

Cheers Elephant sounds more British than most budding Philadelphia bands, blending Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur -era Kinks and other British Invasion psychedelia along with melodic pop, folk, and indie rock. “Here We Are” features wheezing organs and a “Paint It Black” inspired guitar line, while “Space and Time” and “Hey Pagoda” recall the brawny folk-psych melodies of 13th Floor Elevators. The intricately pure, catchy, and care-free tracks that make up the quartet’s debut EP Here We Are certainly show a great deal of potential for the young local quartet.

Philadelphians certainly have plenty of chances to catch Cheers Elephant who are playing a slew of local shows beginning this Saturday, March 8th at The Fire. Check their MySpace page for more dates, tracks, and to buy the EP. Personal favorite “Sunshine Spaceships” below.

[MP3]: Cheers Elephant  ”Sunshine Spaceships”

FRICTION Tonight | The Big Sleep (RECORD RELEASE!) + Sian Alice Group

FRICTION is back at the Mercury Lounge tonight celebrating the RECORD RELEASE of The Big Sleep‘s sophomore effort, Sleep Forever. Expect a night filled with walls of noise and emotion as London’s Sian Alice Group and Brooklyn’s Priestbird and Heavy Creatures support the Brooklyn trio known for their brilliant live show. Art After Midnight’s Chris Alker spins between sets.

Sleep Forever is out now. GET HYPE!

[MP3]: Heavy Creatures  ”Nightwitches”
The Cymbal And The Skull

Photo by Brandon Bogajewicz

The Big Sleep | Sleep Forever Stream + Tour Dates

New York psych rockers, The Big Sleep, have their entire sophomore record, Sleep Forever, streaming over at the French Kiss website via a handy e-card. Sleep Forever drops on Tuesday, February 19th and the band will be celebrating with a FRICTION record release party on Thursday, February 21st with Sian Alice Group, Priesbird, and Heavy Creatures.

The e-card also has a link to the trio’s performance at drummer Gabe Rhodes’ cabin in the woods of upstate New York for One Take NYC. Pictures from the performance are on One Take’s Flickr page. Following the FRICTION show next week, the band heads out on tour, playing dates with Say HI, Old Time Relijun, Parts & Labor, and Les Savy Fav and also includes a stop at SXSW.

[STREAM]: The Big Sleep  Sleep Forever

The Big Sleep Sleep Forever Tour:

2/21 New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge (FRICTION/CD Release Show)

2/27 Grantham, PA @ Messiah College

2/28 Washington, DC @ Black Cat

3/01 Allston, MA @ Great Scott *

3/05 Norfolk, VA @ The Boot *

3/06 Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 *

3/07 Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn *

3/08 Birmingham, AL @ Bottle Tree *

3/12 Austin, TX @ Mohawk (Frenchkiss Records Showcase)

3/13 Austin, TX @ Red Eyed Fly (Noise Pop Party)

3/14 Austin, TX @ Beauty Bar (Little Radio Party)

3/15 Austin, TX @ Saxon Pub (Outside Distro Party)

3/18 Bloomington, IN @ The Blue **

3/19 Chicago, IL @ AV-Aerie #

3/20 Columbus, OH @ Ravari Room

4/04 Washington, DC @ Black Cat ##

4/05 Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts ##

* w/ Say HI

** w/ Old Time Relijun

# w/ Parts & Labor

## w/ Les Savy Fav

FRICTION @ The Mercury Lounge | 2.21.08

FRICTION kicks off 2008 at The Mercury Lounge with a double record release party, celebrating the sophomore full-length from Brooklyn’s psychedelic post-rockers THE BIG SLEEP, along with the U.S. release from London’s SIAN ALICE GROUP. Rounding out the rest of the bill are fellow Brooklynites PRIESTBIRD (formerly Tarantula AD) and HEAVY CREATURES while Art After Midnight’s Chris Alker spins between sets.

Check out the click-able flyer below (designed by Karyn Jimenez) which has embedded links to [MP3s]: of all four bands on the bill, along with a link to buy advance tickets and other good stuff.

The second album from Frenchkiss behemoths, The Big Sleep, Sleep Forever lands February 19th while Sian Alice Group’s debut, 59.59 drops the same day via Social Registry. GET HYPE!

Rings | Black Habit

Like many of releases from Paw Tracks, it took me a fair amount of listens to fully warm up to Rings debut long-player, Black Habit. Take last year’s Person Pitch for example, I listened to the record when it was first released in the summer, but it took repeated spins and many months of going back to the record before it finally clicked for me in late November (subsequently after hearing the Turbostation remix of “Comfy In Nautica”).

Over the last few years I’ve realized that I need to be in the right mood for certain types and genres (ie. experimental otherworldliness) of music for songs and records to “click.” After the first round of listening (and not initially liking), I’ll usually go away from said record and come back to it at a later date. A friend of mine uses the “three listen” philosophy and if after the third spin he doesn’t like it, he’ll move onto another record. I tried this method in the past and it didn’t really pan out too well, I was overlooking too many good albums.

“Rings” is a fitting name for the Brooklyn-based trio (formerly known as “First Nation”) of Nina Mehta, Abby Portner and Kate Rosko, as Black Habit is a collection of loose tribal-inspired circular compositions. In their bio, the band also attributes their more fitting moniker to the bonds between them, decision-making processes, and their feminine beliefs, which are described as “interlocking, connected, whole, and continuous.” It’s also fitting that a large print of a dolphin graces the background of the band’s MySpace page – throughout Black Habit female reverb-heavy vocals echo each other in a similar fashion to dolphins echolocation (“Scape Aside”), while intricate arrangements of piano, flutes, and guitars fall to the background letting their gorgeous vocals to come front and center. “Double Thanks” takes inspiration from the Raincoats with its chanting chorous (“…Shy shy shy shy child…”) while the spooky “Is He Handsome” abounds with samples of a woman wheezing set against the bark of a dog and weird oscillations with interplaying female vocal harmonies dominating the stage.

The strenth of Black Habit lies in the trio’s ability to let their vocal harmonies play off each other and not allowing them get subdued in the instrumental haze and falling to the background. Rings plays Glasslands this Saturday (January 20th) before heading on a tour supporting FRICTION alum White Williams, which includes a stop at SXSW. Black Habit is out now on Paw Tracks, Other Music has the digital download and Insound has the CD version.

[MP3]: Rings  ”Is He Handsome”
Black Habit, Paw Tracks; 2008

Ravens and Vultures | Keep Your Kill

Over the weekend, Philadelphia’s Ravens and Vultures celebrated the release of their new (and debut) EP, Keep Your Kill (which sports a fierce looking penguin as its cover art) at Johnny Brenda’s supported by locals Ape School and NYC faves Dragons of Zynth. The EPs four tracks combine elements from shoegaze and dream-pop to rāga to dance-punk to electronica to straight up indie pop. Just listen to the EPs title track “Keep Your Kill” and you’ll hear a unique mix of these influences – melodic and soaring guitar lines blend with laptop generated beats while rāga melodies are layered over a Gang of Four/Rapture bassline and cowbell. I’ve had the track on repeat since first listening to it – highly recommended.

The trio consisting of former DJs (and identical twins) Chetana and Darshana Borah and Andrew Ryan (ada Illoin) will be digitally releasing the EP tomorrow (January 15th) along with a “special” bit-torrent edition that is already available online. The band has set up a donation page for those choosing to download the four tracks via torrent.

Check out the mesmerizing and ethereal “Willow Tree” set to be included on the band’s debut long-player, Last Love slated for release later this year. Head over to MySpace for further listening and Philebrity has “Keep Your Kill” streaming on their site. Order the EP directly from the band and within 24 hours you’ll receive a download link.

[MP3]: Ravens and Vultures  ”Willow Tree”
Last Love, TBA; TBA

The Cobbs

The Cobbs have become one of my favorite live acts in the city ever since seeing them for the first time this summer at one of Philadelphia Weekly’s outdoor jams at Rittenhouse Square. The five-piece lead by Paul and Ryan Cobb (not actually related) played a solid all Philly bill on Friday night at Johnny Brenda’s with Cowmuddy and (the recently returned to Philly) Blood Feathers.

I’ve seen the unsigned act at various venues in Philly and New York, but on Friday night The Cobbs brought the fucking roof down at Johnny Brenda’s. A combination of JB’s sound system and an incredibly tight garage-psych inspired set by The Cobbs made braving the cold that night a wise choice. A perfect “first” show to kick off the New Year. This is one of the best live acts in Philadelphia.

Paul and Ryan have been making music in one form or another since high school under the monikers “The Trip,” “Ty Cobb,” and “Mad Action.” For their most recent project, the duo teamed up with members of Philly’s “Bombs” which included bassist Maxwell Lee, drummer Chris Coello, and guitarist/keyboardist Ryan Smith to form The Cobbs. Their debut record, Sing the Deathcapades, a combination of garage and psych rock was self-released in 2006. The band got some good press over the summer when they took their live act on the road supporting Black Rebel Motorcycle Club on some of their U.S. dates.

Not sure what The Cobbs have up their sleeves in regards to upcoming releases, but those of you living in/around Philadelphia should be sure to catch them live on January 25th with a slew of other kick ass Philly bands. But, I’m sure I didn’t have to tell you that. Check out the sleazy and stomping “Say You Never Knew Me” below along with the video for “Smile,” and head over to the band’s MySpace page for the dream psych track “Lift,” one of my favorite recorded tracks from The Cobbs.

[MP3]: The Cobbs  ”Say You Never Knew Me”
Sing the Deathcapades, Self-Released; 2006