Bears And Bullets Albums Of The Year (Missed The Cut)

Continuing with list week, we honor the best of 2013's albums with a few honorable mentions. Check it out after the bump.

Review: Iceage @ First Unitarian Church (Philadelphia, Apr. 19)

Photo by Oda Edjar Starheim

The ruminations of one of Philadelphia's most well put together punk shows had a risk. Heading the formative billing of White Lung, Night Birds, and METZ was Iceage, the youngest of the four bands with easily the most buzz surrounding them. And with that favor came the band's less-than proud reputation of its listless live shows, which, given their youth, was somewhat unsurprising.

Preceding Iceage were three groups with consummate energy. White Lung, starting relatively early, ripped through last year's Sorry LP as guests leaked out of the earlier church ceremonies upstairs. Given the band's relatively surging popularity and the fact that the Vancouver group boasted the only female acts of the entire night (a welcome sign in the least), it was somewhat surprising that local band Night Birds were set to play afterwards.

The New Jersey punk band housed some of the nights best energy, which coincidentally featured a fellow Rowan University friend on guitar (awesome). Their self-branded American stylized punk wasn't much of a separator in terms of individual vision, but the piece-by-piece energy output of the foursome was certainly adept for the basement.

Which led to Toronto trio METZ, which had arguably the most proud reputation of ecstatic live displays. Each of the three acts soundly followed the last, showing its own merits and setting themselves apart from one another, with METZ coming out arguably as the night's best. They didn't meander through in-between song discussions, suffered little to no technical setback, and confidently strode through as a band that profoundly knew had to make a name for themselves.

As side-ways rain began to fall outside, making the floors even slicker than before from beer and sweat, Iceage quickly topped off the night. Still the biggest name of the four, the crowd stayed packed, and was more than admiring. The Dutch foursome still had some issues outside of lead singer Elias Bender Rønnenfelt commanding his own spot, but a more than anxious crowd helped deter what could of otherwise been seen as a standard quick performance. Which proved, more than anything else, that crowd command matters more than young artists might realize.

First Unitarian Church, April 19 - Iceage (Preview)

Culminating an impossibly stellar lineup of garage punk up-and-comers Night Birds, White Lung, and METZ, is frequent buzzing Dutch four-piece Iceage tonight at Philadelphia's First Unitarian Church. The outstanding youth of the group is still well known, despite crossing over on the U.S. scene roughly two years ago. Still, the power and brevity of the band's most recent LP You're Nothing on a jump to Matador makes Iceage leading the other bands almost unquestionable.

The Copenhagen band, led by workaholic at-heart Elias Bender Rønnenfelt (who's still churning out stuff as part of Marching Church and Vår), feeds on torrid momentum on You're Nothing, taking the exhausted jubilant nature of New Brigade without relinquishing the - as Anthony Fantano says it best - "chaotic apathy." The sounded is refined - something fairly improbable for any version of punk - but patterns and melodies don't just seem thrown in from varying minds of the band, rather, sticking as a whole scheme.

Whether or not that tooling of the technique means anything for the band's live persona should hold high, given the years of touring and the vigorous attitude the band has towards moving forward. It has to, regardless, because a lineup featuring White Lung and METZ will have plenty craving for a righteous finale.

Tickets for the show are still available, with doors opening at 7 p.m. and beginning at 7:30.

New Iceage video - Ecstacy

After debuting "Coalition," the stellar lead-single from Iceage's sophomore LP You're Nothing, the Danish punks premiered the album's first video for "Ecstacy." Filmed in the band's native city Copenhagen by director Catherine Pattinama Coleman, the video shows several shots from a couple house shows and smoky imagery.

Check the video out below, and grab the band's upcoming Escho 7", which features "Coalition," "Ecstacy," as well as a special B-Side "A Rifle." The 7" will be released February 5, which you can order over at the Matador store.

New Iceage - Coalition

Danish punks Iceage, who made huge noise back in 2011 with their debut New Brigade, will be making its Matador debut next month with the hugely anticipated You're Nothing LP.

Today marked the first listen of the new album with the short and empowering "Coalition," which you can stream below.

As well, the band will be going through a rigorous tour in the coming weeks, making a first stop at Connecticut's Wesleyan University Eclectic House January 24, which is actually a free show. You can check out the other tour dates and "Coalition" below.

Review: Iceage @ Johnny Brenda's (Philadelphia, July 23)

Cast on a tiny stage, Danish punk four-piece Iceage made a more lasting impression last Monday night at Johnny Brenda's than fans may have anticipated.

Following a somewhat confusing short set from Brooklyn duo LAW, and a calmly chaotic performance from Dirty Beaches (Alex Zhang Hungtai), Iceage cast a fast-paced 30 minute set in front of a mixed audience. While most were clearly there for the headliner, some had stayed behind for Hungtai. So for some, the frenzy was a little centralized.

The band, although only a year or so into their post New Brigade LP careers, has earned a not so welcoming reputation for its lives performances. Lead-singer Elias Bender Rønnenfelt dictates a decent amount of energy on the crowd, although most seem slightly inaudible. His three counterparts, however, play through shorts jolts of energy some methodically that to them they appear almost completely separate.

Although only 30 minutes, the band has limited material to work from. That in its own gives the band a pass, because the more the show went along, the better and better the energy transferred around the room. The set's closer, "You're Blessed," seemed to resonate extremely well, despite its abruptness.

With more source material, the band should be bigger in a few short years. As for now, New Brigade will carry them as far as they can go.

Johnny Brenda's, July 23 - Iceage, Dirty Beaches, LAW (Preview)

Rousing, effortless, and criminally enjoyable, Iceage's 2011 New Brigade tracks in barely at 26 minutes, but unnerves the unsuspecting listener.

The band's debut album, which landed #10 on Bears and Bullets best albums of 2011, showcases the unquestioned potential of the four (at the time) Danish teenagers. Since setting out on their first tour last year, the band has been refining their style and stage presence, converting their chaotic sounds to furious live experiences. Although still learning and still young, the band continues to make a noise all uniquely their own.

Making an effort to catch the act this Monday, at Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia is all the more important considering how big this band will likely be in a few short years.

Alongside Iceage will be Alex Zhang Hungtai, otherwise known as Dirty Beaches. The Canada-via-Taiwan lo-fi act adores the mellowed, soulful styles of West coast punk. His eerie debut, Badlands, showcased his affectionate and noir take on murky surfer elements and modern rockabilly.

The style obviously differs from the aforementioned Iceage, as well as lead-in act LAW, an emerging experimental duo from Brooklyn. LAW are set to release their studio debut in the near future.

Doors open at 8 p.m., with the shows slated to begin at 9. Tickets are a mere $12, and are still available.

Bears and Bullets Albums of the Year: Pt. IV

We'll continue today with our top 25 countdown with albums #10 through #6.

#10: Iceage - New Brigade
And all of you said there's no way anyone will talk about Danish punk music. Well, no one said that, but before Iceage's New Brigade, no one was thinking of it either. The messy, cathartic, and often disheartening record has no common pulse, just launching forward with unpolished, grimy sheen. The fact that Iceage are Danish teenagers does little to put New Brigade in a clever niche. It's carefully all over the map, from garage punk to polished underground new wave, in a tinge all its own.

#9: Danny Brown - XXX
Collectively speaking, 2011 was somewhat of a disappointing year for music in general, full of less-than expected album releases and a slew of band breakups. With that in mind, however, hip-hop came through stronger than it has in years with a new class of rappers garnering national attention. Danny Brown, the often overlooked, off-beat Detroit rapper, and his latest XXX comes through as a dirty, close to death last-call. Brown proudly retells his kinda disgusting instincts in porn-riddled tracks like "I Will," but fills you in on his less-than stellar ambitions like how he wants to, "Party like Chris Farley" on "Die Like a Rockstar." XXX, like the title, is indulgence and the underscored after-effects, crushing and killing the soul without resolution.

#8: White Denim - D
Psychedelia has uncomfortably addled itself next to 'boredom' in a music sense. The long-winded emphasis on musicianship strangling anything of the idea of new age virtuosity has, no matter how stereotypical, constantly attached itself to the genre. Enter White Denim, Austin's answer to a generation of music listeners who never try to confide their time in the aging music movement. For every guitar-driven episode on D, the group's fourth studio album in only three years, there's a change of pace to softer, pop sounds. So while "At the Farm" sounds like every other early 70s jam piece, "Street Joy" comes through unlike anything else on the album at that point. Guilty indulgence on all-too long instrumental pieces are fine, but White Denim puts out consistently strong albums because they understand that it isn't the end-all, be-all of music, and for very good reason.

#7: Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
The Black Lips have made a career resting on the laurels of garage punk. Little to no instrumental showmanship has ever showed up on the group's studio releases, and if you ever experience the group live, you'll understand that the instruments are merely a tool to help them wade through and project their collective insanity. Knowing that, the band's previous albums haven't tried too hard for craft, true garage punk by its most modern means. But on Arabia Mountain, arguably the group's best work yet, the band comes to understand that the grime of their early years can still exist, but not necessarily present it in such a meager way. There's a necessary polish on the album that fits the band well, but never hinders the joyful, careless nature of the message. Call it growing up for people who were always cooler when they were kids.



#6: James Blake - James Blake
The dubstep genre has been mangled by misguided, preconceived stereotypes and club aesthetics to the point where artists like James Blake are hardly identifiable in the oft-ridiculed movement. In part, because the construction of Blake's work is hardly aligned with those misgivings - slow, soulful, and delicately moving through the London-natives harping voice. The electronic architecture of Blake's self-titled album are merely means of conveying his deceptively artful songwriting, rather than the distracting centerpiece.



We'll continue our countdown tomorrow with albums #5 - #1 ...

Thursday Bears: New Iceage video - You're Blessed

As of until recently, I've been stupidly unaware of Iceage, the New York noise punk band that released this year's New Brigade LP. Bar-none, it's one of 2011's finest albums, and the group has gotten their first video treatment with "You're Blessed," which is mostly just a collage of the group's underground gigs.

Iceage - You're Blessed