Thursday, May 31, 2012

Primavera Sound 2012 Wishlist


Barcelona’s Primavera Sound is one of the best indie music festivals that Europe has to offer (if not the best). They’re able to gather some of the most interesting and talented international acts out there, as well as showcase lesser-known bands, particularly Spanish ones. It takes place in the Parc del Forum, a breathtaking stone park that is right on the Mediterranean Sea and is studded with trees (that you can even pick berries from) and modernist architecture. Bands play with the backdrop of sailboats and Barcelona’s signature cinderblock cubes (or cindercubes) that jut out of the water in every direction.
I went to Primavera Sound last year and crossed a bunch of names off my list of bands to see before I die. Among them were Sufjan Stevens, Animal Collective, Deerhunter, The National, M. Ward and Belle & Sebastian. The festival unofficially started yesterday, and officially starts tomorrow (May 30). This year has just as many heavy hitters, including Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum, but I’ll get to that.
Watch a teaser below.

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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Walking Under Picore's Balls

Photo by Arianne Picón.
picore-picore.bandcamp.com 

Picore say they work hard to make their music “suggestive and danceable” and there are always people moving around at their shows. However, there’s still something about their style that seems like every once in a while it would have to be met with slack jawed staring and drooling while you oozed off into space.

The Spanish band (from Zaragoza) use a few superfluously hyphenated self descriptions that play with the idea that their songs and lyrics could be hymns. For example, “angular-rock-with-sermons” or “danceable-but-not-hype-rock-with-prayer-lyrics-in-Spanish.” The meandering guitar and sluggish tempo force singer Dani Jiménez to chant more often than sing.

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