EAR FARM Presents... at Sin-é - 29 June, 2006

Last night, EAR FARM sponsored a show at Sin-é. Unfortunately, the skies opened up and there was a downpour right before the first band started. Also, there were a bunch of other great shows going on in NYC and my BYP friends held the third Beg Yr Pardon last night so there were definitely a few reasons for people to not show up. Point being the turnout was pretty good, all things considered, and the night overall was a total success. See, the four bands were all flat out EXCELLENT. More than a few people talked to me about how much they liked (not just one, but ALL of) the bands, and the chance for more people to be exposed to musicians I really believe in is what these EF Presents shows are all about.

Daylight's For The Birds
The early evening thunderstorm actually set the mood nicely (even if it may have kept a few people from braving the rain to come to the show early) for the first band of the evening, Daylight's For The Birds. Whether you're already familiar with this band or not, get ready to hear a lot more from them. Gorilla vs. Bear posted about them a while ago and Chromewaves posted about them, again, this past week. Their recordings I listened to before seeing them live promised a sweet mixture of classic shoegaze sounds from bands like Slowdive and dream pop bands like Cocteau Twins. Sounds such as these are often not easy to bring to life on a stage but Daylight's For The Birds was completely up to the task. I was entirely impressed with their performance, with Amanda Garrett's vocals, and with the overall image the band has put together...from pre-show music to the dormant disco balls on the stage to their straight-forward confident demeanor.

Random comment made to me about them: "their sound was so amazing, it really filled up the room and kinda blew me away".

Listen:
"To No One"

Visit Daylight's For The Birds on MySpace.

The Secret Life Of Sofia
Band number two - The Secret Life Of Sofia. Loved their set. Loved it. It's that simple. What else can I say? Want to know what they sound like? Well, remember when I said:

"I could see some of the songs by The Secret Life of Sofia being the soundtrack to the wintry landscape paintings by Caspar David Friedrich. The ones where everything is all massive and dark and snowy and humans are nothing more than a small part of the whole. Like this one and this one."

Yes, so I stand by that description and to see them live was like finally getting to see a favorite painting in person at a museum after falling in love with pictures of it online or in books. It's evident that their recent tour probably helped the band build upon their live chops and chemistry as they seemed extremely comfortable together on stage and confident in their ability to deliver a fully memorable show. They did just that. Go see one of their upcoming shows to see what I mean.

Random comment made to me about them: "I loved The Secret Life Of Sofia, they reminded me of '80s Cure but with more friendly vocals".

Listen:
"Hospital Inside Me"

Visit The Secret Life Of Sofia on MySpace.

The Isles
Here I am, writing about another live show by The Isles...two in one week. I guess you might as well get used to it, their music has really been quenching my thirst lately. Previously I talked about their sound in terms of The Smiths but comparisons such as those don't convey what you need to know about this band. Let me say it like this, because it's the straight truth: if you grew up listening to Duran Duran, New Order, Squeeze, The Smiths, Suede, Blur...if you love Interpol but are a bit put off by their clinically calculated take on the aforementioned bands...if you've loved British indie-pop for as long as you can remember and wouldn't mind finding a New York band who plays music as if they wrote it just for you...if this is you; get up off of your bedroom floor, put down the book, and go see The Isles. Last night their kick ass rhythm section grooved so hard that a member of the audience got up on stage and danced along to a song. Ben's guitar playing was, once again, fully on point and I'll just let the below comment speak for Andrew's vocal skills.

Random comment made to me about them: "That guy's voice is amazing, it's just one of those voices that can totally carry a rock band".

Listen:
"Major Arcana"

Visit The Isles on MySpace.

Mancino
Mancino. They blend '60s pop and jazz sensibilities with time changes and an indie-rock attack reminiscent of Pavement. Each member adds vocals to the mix and at times it seems like this three piece is conjuring extra instrumentation out of thin air. Given how many times I've seen Mancino live throughout the past few years I can say without pause that this band has taken great leaps forward in the past few months with the new songs they've written for the soon-to-be recorded LP. The new stuff is magnetic, complex, and catchy and last night's outstanding set was made up almost entirely of these new songs. I am extremely excited for what lies ahead and for the rest of the indie-rock loving world to start paying attention to Mancino.

Random comment made to me about them: "Mancino pretty much blew me away".

Listen:
"Hiccup Lines"

Visit Mancino on MySpace.

Once again, my friend Franz showed up and did some sketches of three of the bands last night. Wicked cool stuff, check them out below. You can find more such drawings done by Franz of bands from BYP #1 HERE. Also, be sure to visit his site FMP Studio.com.

The Secret Life Of Sofia

The Isles

Mancino


And finally, all of the performances last night were videotaped so stay tuned for some footage from the show! Thank you very much to everyone who made it out last night!