Music

NORTH BY NORTHEAST (NXNE) shared their first round of band announcements today and what's to come for the festival in Toronto, June 17-21.

We want to grab our Doc combat boots and join Tei Shi and her gang of female rebels in her video for "Bassically." Directed by Nicolas Pesce, we watch Teicher and her girls hunt while being sucked in by her soft voice and hypnotic track. And can we talk about those badass outfits for a minute? We love how Brittany Berger styled this video. Check it out below.

In anticipation of their forthcoming album Noontide, Vancouver's electronic duo Peter Ricq and Robbie Slade of HUMANS would like to invite you to an exclusive listening party and art show, offering guests the chance to preview Noontide days before its release. Peter will also be showcasing the artwork behind Noontide, which he created, and a limited amount of vinyls, shirts, goodies and prints will be available for purchase.

The thing about Nashville, Tennessee is that it's not a "scene" in the way you think about Athens, or Portland, or that Gen X fairy tale known as the Seattle grunge phenomenon. Nashville creates, connects, and exports all of the world's music; from billboard hot 100 pablum like Taylor Swift and Ke$ha, to countrypolitan acts like Darius Rucker, to a stylish mid-level gatekeepers like Jack White. However, the most enjoyable stuff out of the city is probably the kind of butt wiggling garage thrash you can literally find in garages on the city's east side.

ION Cover Artists alumni Purity Ring will return with their second album entitled Another Eternity on March 3rd (via Last Gang Records). The album will be released digitally, on CD, and on white vinyl, however you can pre-order their sophmore album now on iTunes and at the Last Gang Shop. Pre-orders on iTunes will instantly receive album tracks "Begin Again" and "Push Pull." Here's the track for "Begin Again." We can't stop staring at the faces of the Canadian duo.

I'll have another glass of the "guitar pop" please, it's a great vintage (being a moderately priced new bottle that tastes like a fuzz aged sixties bottle) and from the highly regarded wine region of Britain. Delicious. I didn't think so much of Feel Something from The History of Apple Pie at first.

"Back in 1992…" are the first words you hear on We Come From The Same Place, the third full-length album from Allo Darlin’. It’s fitting as the band wears its early nineties influences so clearly on their sleeve. Carrying on the tradition of great Aussie pop bands, like The Lucksmiths, Frente, and even stretching back to The Go-Betweens, this is the kind of college rock that was the antithesis to the MTV "alternative nation" at that time.

Directed by Bon Jane, a woman who claims her concepts were once stolen by the Black Keys, Idgy Dean's "The Indian Squirrel Dance" creates a playful scenario for the mid-twenties Brooklynite. Dean spends most of the video switching between beating her drum skins like they slept with her boyfriends and floating on air, singing tenderly to the viewer.

Acts that are on the legend tour are notoriously disappointing, unless of course you go to VH1 for your contemporary content. The Primitives’ new release is a shocking treat, maintaining their songwriting chops, and cashing in on a resurgence of dream pop, with younger bands name checking The Primitives as influences giving them a bump not unlike that time Morrissey was photographed wearing one of their shirts.

You've finally made it to prom and it's better than you could've imagined in your wildest dreams. Sally Johnson (Sally freakin' Johnson!) is on your arm, your rented tux really fits quite well, that corsage you picked out wonderfully compliments Sally's (SALLY FREAKIN' JOHNSON!) dress and hell, even the punch is tasty. Speaking of punch, it's time to get a refill. But where's Sally? She was dancing with Tony, which is fine because they're just friends now and it's only one dance anyway. Though she has been gone for some time and the night is winding down.