Something at the root of old American rock n roll will always grip the contemporary audiophiles, no matter what. It’s that raw soulfulness that came pouring through the speakers then, just as it might now, whenever played loud and careless of what a neighbor might think. Sure, you might think it’s a bygone era in music, one that’s merely left to the ol’ classic-rock radio station these days. But nostalgia aside, the talent that’s been concentrated in Leopold and His Fiction really makes me think, ‘holy shit, it’s true—the essence of rock n roll music will never die if it keeps passing along and aging like this’.

I could easily compare Leopold and his Fiction to a vintage wine, a vintage car maybe, but they’re more like a rough piece of aged leather, one that’s been soaked and handled accordingly, reconstituted for a modern-day take. That’s just what they are. A close, almost perfect fit, Daniel James (guitar + vocals), Jon Sortland (keys + drum) and Micayla Grace (on bass) make up this San Francisco-based trio. Stirring up James’ Detroit aesthetic with a bit of Sortland’s jazz/funk drum, Grace’s steady, flaring bass keeps the boys well in tune. They’re a sight to be seen soon enough. After recently exiting the studio with Thom Monahan (Devendra Bandhart and Au Voir Simone), the road — hard as it can get — seems to be hitting a straight. And we suggest they gun it.
[audio:http://www.strangerdance.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/LAHF_GoldenFriends_EQd1644MSTR.mp3]

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It’s been a while since we last heard the clamorous sound of We Have Band, but for obvious reasons. Having toured extensively in 2009, the London-based trio took the later part of last year to enter the studio with producer Gareth Jones (Grizzly Bear, Interpol, Depeche Mode, These New Puritans). Now, the debut We Have Band album is due to drop in a few days.

We’ve been enjoying the new tracks, they’re well balanced, with that typical upbeat electro pop that they’re already known for, but also include some amazing tracks that slow things down a bit (Piano and Buffet, in particular). And they’ll be supporting the release with yet another world tour — starting in the UK first and then moving through the rest Europe across summer. Be sure to attend an intimate show if you can. Otherwise, you’ll have to continue waiting patiently like the rest of us.
[audio:http://www.nialler9.com/mp3/We_Have_Band_-_DJ_Mujava_edit.mp3]

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The demise of our beloved print medium is a harsh reality that a lot of independent magazines have been dealing with for the past five years at least. So we all frequent a ton of different sites that we like and one in particular that’s really given itself a pick-me-up online, for the better good of longevity and legacy, is Planet magazine.

Though it recently turned off the old press, the uniquely curated global concept of ‘bohemian chic’ now lives on, virtually that is, through a newly redesigned site. It’s a nicely dressed-up blog, if we wish to stick to that terminology. Embracing a very minimalist form of presentation, but still engaging in all the right ways — mainly thanks to some very solid content — it reflects the relevant editorial focus that some pretty interesting readers (and writer) came to know, worldwide at one point. We wouldn’t dare call it another blog, just some other friends roaming out there.

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Edward Sharpe looks so much like the ideal Western image of a young Jesus Christ, it’s almost unsettling. Conceptually, that might be half the point, irony and all that good-looking fun as a rock star, or perhaps not. Regardless, Sharpe and his nine, yes nine, Magnetic Zero friends make one hell of a wanderlust band — and we can’t wait to see them again on their current stateside tour. In particular, we’d like to acknowledge that awesome old-school bus of theirs (though it’s probably not all that good for the environment).

It just seems like such an epic trip on that thing! Image and all, it’s like a red flag to come out LA looking this good — and yet sounding this great, too. They’ve been playing their free-spirited souls out to every crowd they meet, according to a recent chat on the road, and they’re being well received as they keep on roaming. If you’re in need of a lively act to cheer you up, don’t miss these saints when they come marching in.

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Magic Wands are a burgeoning young duo playing some really fun music these days, and the most recent remix of Warrior sounds especially sweet to my ears this week. Uh, maybe because I just saw them live the other night, and they exceeded the expectations of an opening act. We love it when that happens. Don’t we?

Chris and Dexy have their roots in Nashville, Tennessee but seem keen to take their sound as far as it’ll take them. Granted they have a bit of that ’80s flare going on — dare we call it a trend — it’s not too surprising to see that they have some real British appeal as of this last tour in the U.K. The upside to this is that the sound is totally susceptible to some pretty great remixing. Like stuff that really makes you want to get up and get down.

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Here We Go Magic came together fairly organically, just over a year ago, from the haze of an old Brooklyn party. Though Luke Temple (founder and lead singer) was known as the main creative force behind much of this first album. Working primarily on his own at the time, he still admits not really knowing what the hell he was creating when writing the first few songs that would ultimately become part of Here We Go Magic’s debut. So maybe a little alakazam was involved after all. When Temple came out of his solitary, songwriting coma (joined by one of his oldest colleagues, Michael Bloch), he encountered the lovely beings that make up the rest of his band — musicians that all remain amazed at Temple’s self-produced work, but even more so of the new sound they’re currently creating with him.
[audio:http://www.poptartssucktoasted.com/LP6.29/Monday/july/Here%20We%20Go%20Magic%20-%20Ahab.mp3]

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Minnesota? Well, it’s cold. That’s about all we know. Gold, I mean. It’s gold. In all fairness, there’s actually much to be said for this city in terms of music—apparently full of young and savvy creatives doing their thing at a cheap cost of living. One act in particular that we can’t stop listening to is the cheeky synth-pop trio Solid Gold and their debut album, Bodies of Water. And though the boys must have some solid balls to name themselves Solid Gold (not being officially signed and all), well they’re about as indie as indie can get these days. Ironically, they were turned down by iTunes to distribute digitally, after proudly mentioning they were unsigned and completely self-produced. Go figure. Anyhow, the tracks sound sharp and seamless, and dare I say worthy of a little repeat. Either way, keep your eyes and ears open for these gents. They’re bound to warm things up at a party near you.
[audio:http://www.nialler9.com/mp3/Solid_Gold_-_Armoured_Cars.mp3]

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Ian Johnson is an artist that’s been calling back the dead for years, but he’s just acknowledging spirits. Focused mainly on the forefathers of American jazz music, his works — both illustrated and painted on wood and canvas — have adorned top gallery spaces as much as they have his limited edition skate decks for Western Edition in San Francisco. Vibrant and colorful, the works are a take of American subculture in its early heyday, and with merit, a few somber low points as well (see Chet Barker’s portrait in particular). Johnson’s subjects might be fallen or forgotten stars, but they sit plain and gorgeous when presented formal on a wall.

The portraits take much from Francis Wolff and his photography, candid moments taken for the artwork of Blue Note Records during the label’s prime. Simple but creatively charged images, they seem to refocus the harmony and distress of a time when normalcy was the enemy. And we suppose it still is. Regardless of what you might be listening to these days, the work beckons a little jazz play. Dizzy, Billie, Miles, Monk or Chet — any will do to remind you that the improvised and creative way paved by these artists is perhaps one of the most important cultural manifestations of the human race. Yeah, that’s what I just said.

New works by Ian Johnson show at White Walls Gallery in San Francisco from May 9.

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Considering the first impression of Papercuts in 2004, the lo-fi aesthetic of Mockingbird was a hazy and modern take on the old. A ‘vintage’ concept in many respects, it expressed a sort of devoted appreciation for this faded era in music that rang loud throughout the mid-sixties (much of it influenced by the UK at that time). Calling back the Zombies and perhaps some stony aftermath of love gone wrong, Papercuts’ sound is all a drifting dream from start to end.

Now with the third album around, You Can Have What You Want, highlights a strongly maturing Jason Robert Quever, a nostalgic songwriter still, but mastering his trademark sound in good form. With some heavy base line and raspy drum — not to mention those chiming organ pipes — the music seems just right, in all the wrong ways, for that recent heartache.
[audio:http://awmusic.ca/1/mp3/Papercuts%20-%20A%20Dictators%20Lament.mp3]

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Stored somewhere in an old shoebox, there’s a pile of old photos that retain random slivers of our lives. For San Francisco artist Manny Fabregas, these forgotten images seem to hold something beyond his imagination. Arbitrary images that might seem worthless in a digital age are the very snapshots of people and things that he values most as an artist. Fabregas paints in traditional form of oil on canvas, but his works vary in social concept and format. The works draw from a serious (and not so serious) source of visual stimulus — a draw full of vintage photos found at flea markets and garage sales. ‘Every photograph serves as visual groundwork for an intriguing narrative’, he says. ‘It’s the mysterious journey of the vintage photograph that constitutes the focus of my paintings’. His work is showing from May 8 at San Francisco’s Hyde Street Gallery.

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