I know why you’re here. You came for the 30 Clash covers or The Top 25 Indie Albums Ever.
Yeah, it’s been a banner week for us here at Berkeley Place, largely due to those posts. But I don’t want to get all this out of hand. It has recently come to light that at least one record label, Def Jux, has begun attacking Blogger, asking the host to delete all logs that post links to material to which Def Jux owns the copyright. It’s the beginning of the end. And while I don’t blame my blog (I blame all the album blogs out there, ruining it for guys like me who mostly post material that’s either live or sent to me by a label), I recognize the signs on the wall. I never went into blogging to be popular. I went into blogging because of a (then) little known band called Arcade Fire. I stay blogging because of little-knowns like Saturna and Drunk Country. That’s what BP is about: Helping little bands reach ears. So, while I appreciate all of my readers, even those who only find me because of aggregrators and who are looking for a hot single on Hype Machine, I’m really here about little bands.
Like Minus Story.
If you haven’t heard of Minus Story yet, you have now. And I bet you will here more before the end of the year when indie bloggers compile their best-of-the-year lists. Quiet/loud indie rock in vein of Arcade Fire/Ponys/Stills/Band of Horses, Minus Story’s new album, My Ion Truss, is a solid debut . . . Even if it isn’t. The band has two records under their belt already (one self-released), but this is the first with John (Explosions In the Sky, The Polyphonic Spree) Congleton at the boards, and it feels different. Fuller, richer, more important. The album provides anthem after anthem of drama and power.
It’s a great introduction to a talented group of musicians who fit in nicely with the Jagjaguwar label—kinda fuzzy, kinda garage, but well-crafted and more subtle. The standout track is “Battle of Our Lives,†but sadly the label doesn’t want it posted. I bet it would sell records, though.
Stitch Me Up (from the new release).
Older stuff:
Catch ‘em on tour:
06/15/07 Denton, TX – Rubber Gloves w/ Shearwater
06/16/07 Austin, TX – Emo’s w/ Shearwater
06/18/07 Tucson, AZ – Plush w/ Shearwater
06/19/07 Los Angeles, CA – The Echo w/ Shearwater
06/20/07 San Francisco, CA – Bottom Of The Hill w/Shearwater
06/21/07 Portland, OR – Dante’s w/ Shearwater
06/22/07 Seattle, WA – Crocodile Cafe w/Shearwater
06/25/07 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club
06/26/07 Chicago, IL – Schubas w/ Old Canes
06/27/07 Cleveland, OH – The Grog Shop w/ Old Canes
06/28/07 Buffalo, NY – The Icon w/ Old Canes
06/29/07 Brooklyn, NY – Southpaw
07/02/07 Philadelphia, PA – The Khyber w/ Old Canes
07/03/07 Washington D.C., – Rock And Roll Hotel w/Old Canes
07/06/07 Champaign, IL – Cowboy Monkey
07/07/07 Lawrence, KS – Jackpot w/ Old Canes
