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Asa Ransom (live), The Sky Report (dj set) at Cameo Gallery On Tuesday 4/13 INFO TICKETS

Sharon Van Etten Added to Pitchfork Music Festival, Covered By Bon Iver READ

Velvet Davenport Recruits Ariel Pink and Gary War For New Single READ

The Sky Report Radio 24/7 LISTEN

Exclusive Listen: Sharon Van Etten

Exclusive Listen: Sharon Van Etten’s New Single “Love More”

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SHARON VAN ETTEN Announces January Tour

Singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten has just announced a two week tour of the Northeast, including dates with Bowerbirds, Final Fantasy and Damon & Naomi. If you've never seen her live, don't cheat yourself! Get there! All dates below.

1/15 - Columbus, OH @ The Summit w/ Shilpa Ray
1/16 - Chicago, IL @ Schuba's w/ Final Fantasy, Peter Wolf Crier
1/17 - Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon w/ Bowerbirds
1/18 - Iowa City, IA @ The Mill w/ Bowerbirds
1/19 - Minneapolis, MN @ The Varsity Theatre w/ Bowerbirds
1/20 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Cactus Club - Muzzle of Bees Presents...
1/21 - Indianapolis, IN @ Locals Only - Presented by My Old Kentucky Blog
1/22 - Pittsburgh, PA @Most Wanted Fine Art Gallery
1/23 - Brooklyn, NY @ MonkeyTown - - SHARON VAN ETTEN presents a Night of Music - Flower of Flesh and Blood, Twin Sister, Soft Landings, and Sultan
1/30 - New York, NY @ 92Y Tribeca w/ Damon & Naomi, Michio Kurihara
1/31 - Cambridge, MA @ The Brattle Theatre w/ Damon & Naomi, Michio Kurihara

Best of 2009 - Guest List - The Antlers

As a precursor to our impending year-end list, we've asked some of our favorite artists to select their five favorite releases of 2009. The Antlers have quietly become the breakout band of the year. Their third album Hospice has shown up with high placing on year-end lists such as The Music Slut, Stereogum and NPR's All Things Considered. And just last night they headlined a sold-out Bowery Ballroom. I think you get the point - the album is amazing!

Here are The Antlers' six favorite songs of the year, according to drummer Michael Lerner:

(In no particular order)...

Bon Iver - "Bloodbank"

Justin Vernon's soul/folk picked up right where he left off with For
Emma, Forever Ago. Beautiful melody and imagery here.

Sharon Van Etten - "I Wish I Knew"

Can a song be both fragile and powerful at the same time? Absolutely!
Just a gorgeous song. Sharon's live shows are also a must see.

Phoenix - "1901"

I feel like I heard this song everywhere this year and it still
continues to dominate my iPod. It completely succeeds in striking the
perfect balance between pop and rock.

Grizzly Bear - "While You Wait for the Others"

Such a great song! The verses slyly creep along before exploding into
the soaring chorus. The harmonies in that chorus are amazing! Also
great is the way the downbeat is dropped and lands on the 2 - Love
that!

Dirty Projectors - "No Intention" / "Stillness is the Move"

Ok, maybe I am breaking the rules by choosing both of these songs here
instead of just one, but I don't care - they are both that good!
2 of the best songs you'll never hear on Hot 97 but totally could/should.

FULL YEAR-END COVERAGE

Best of 2009 - Guest List - NATUREBOY

As a precursor to our impending year-end list, we've asked some of our favorite artists to select their five favorite releases of 2009. Natureboy blew my mind this year. I don't think I've spent more personal, alone time with any other record this year. So, I am humbled and gracious that Sara Kermanshahi, the brainchild, songwriter and vocalist behind the band, would share her favorite recordings of the year with us.

1. Masterface Freedom Tower
Seamless, new, innovative and irie. "Excuse Me Girl" is one of my favorite songs of all time.

2. Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavillion
Seemingly effortless yet brilliant vocal melodies.

3. Discovery LP
Trippy, really catchy electro/pop. Lots of arpeggios.

4. Sharon Van Etten Because I Was In Love
Strong and moving songwriting, very full and realized record. Gorgeous voice.

5. Werewolves Dance Raincoat Glass
Garage/punk/psychedelic converge to create impassioned, muse-driven songs.

FULL YEAR-END COVERAGE HERE

Best of 2009 - Guest List - SHARON VAN ETTEN

As a precursor to our impending year-end list, we've asked some of our favorite artists to select their five favorite releases of 2009. Next we have Sharon Van Etten, who has had an absolutely amazing year. When I first hung out with her at SXSW last March, she seemed confident, yet altogether unsure of what the outcome of her new LP would be. Weeks later, the staggering Because I Was In Love was released and the blog world was stunned. What a shockingly sparse, honest, and cohesive album she had up her sleeve! All the major players cited her with positive remarks - Pitchfork, Gorilla vs. Bear, Spinner - and if that weren't enough, she popped up on The Antlers' Hospice LP, an album that is in serious contention for record of the year. And now she's laying her own claim on best of lists, just yesterday topping Said the Gramophone's Best Songs of 2009 list. Yes, she came in at #1! And just to add more fuel to the fire, she shows up on Earfarm's Top Ten Bands To Watch in 2010. I think I've said enough. Here are Sharon's top 5 selections for 2009...

#1 - The Antlers - Hospice - They've worked really hard. They are genuine, sweet, honest people and every time I put the record on, I am reminded of that.

#2 - She Keeps Bees - Nests - Jess and Andy are amazing together. They have the best rock show hands down I have ever seen - and her voice SLAYS. Be on the look out for a light coming your way through blues methods.

#3 - Natureboy - Natureboy - Her arrangements are STUNNING and her songwriting is classic. Gets stuck in my head every time. And Sarah's voice reminds me of Betty Serveert which was one of my favorite bands in high school - so I get SUPER reminiscent.

#4 - Glass Ghost - Idol Omen - Another really hard working ny band. I got to play with them a few times and it is so exciting to see them go further and further. I have been looking forward to this one for over a year now. Crazy mix of hip hop, indie, jazz, spoken word. David Byrne reincarnation - no doubt.

#5 - Rain Machine - Rain Machine - Kyp Malone is the most balls out, risk taking, honest, blunt writers I have ever met and have been lucky enough to know and to play with. I played with him when he was still playing these songs solo. To see them grow (organically) with his friends - to see his ideas brought to a whole new level is so exciting to me. It's rare to get this kind of honesty in music these days... and to hear and understand his incites has always been inspiring to me.

FULL YEAR-END COVERAGE HERE

SHARON VAN ETTEN, NATUREBOY, REY VILLALOBOS This Saturday in Brooklyn

Kevchino.com Presents . . . .
Sharon Van Etten, Natureboy, Rey Villalobos
Saturday, November 7th Union Pool
DJ Scot Bowman of The Sky Report will be spinning between sets
Reindeer Art show by Brad Nack in the lobby
$10 Advance online and $12 at the door. 21+
TICKETS

KEVCHINO.COM presentsSharon Van Etten, Natureboy,Rey Villalobos

The Sky Report will be providing music in between sets by Sharon Van Etten, Natureboy, and Rey Villalobos at Union Pool in Brooklyn on Saturday, November 7th. This is kevchino.com's first showcase and it's sure to be an amazing night of live music. Tickets are $10 and available now at brownpapertickets.com.

THE ANTLERS - Two

The Antlers' debut album Hospice is hands down one of the most solid albums of the year. Read our review of the album from back in February. The band just released this impressive animated video for the new single "Two", further strengthening the album's staying power for year-end lists in December.

SHARON VAN ETTEN On A Rowboat In Central Park

My friends at Kevchino.com got Sharon to play "For You" on a rowboat in Central Park yesterday. As usual it is just beautiful.

THE NORTHSIDE MUSIC FESTIVAL

photos by Jessi Bautista
Last weekend's Northside Music Festival was a melting pot of musicians converging on various venues in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Of the many great artists who played over the four day festival, I managed to see 6 solid acts who proved they are worthy of their buzz. Sharon Van Etten's wistful, captivating presence struggled at first to silence the semi-rowdy 5 o'clock crowd at Trophy Bar on Saturday. But with a voice like Van Etten's, it was only a matter a minutes before the bar quieted down and paid witness to her astonishing talent.

The night prior, I headed over to Death By Audio, where I caught great sets by Air Waves and Real Estate. I had never heard of Air Waves before, but they impressed me with their easy-going sing-song tunes, reminiscent of lighter Yo La Tengo fare when Georgia's at the mic. Real Estate delivered their psychedelic progressions to a suddenly packed house. They sounded great and their catalog is developing nicely.

Next, headed over to Spike Hill to catch Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers. Wow! This show was fantastic! If you ever have a chance to catch their live set, don't hesitate.

Saturday at The Shank in Greenpoint, buzz band Woods lived up to the current hype. The smoke-hazed warehouse grew increasingly crowded when the band went on, but it was the ideal venue for their potent set. I was particularly impressed with Lucas Crane, the bands electronic mad scientist.

We rounded out Saturday night at Studio B to catch the Daedelus set. Oh my God this guy is brilliant. Part DJ, part composer, part conductor on acid, Daedelus creates a schizophrenic menagerie of samples, beats and sounds. The highlight was definitely the sped-up, meth-crazed reversion of a Beirut track. I was a bit sauced, but I believe the track was "Elephant Gun". This was so awesome I wish I had a copy for myself!
All in all it was six for six in my Northside Music Fest experience. I'm impressed and really hope the festival returns next year.

SHARON VAN ETTEN - For You

The lovely and talented Sharon Van Etten has one of the most gorgeous voices I've heard in a long time. Full of fragility and beautiful sorrow, Sharon has that rare ability to touch your most delicate of nerves. A TSR insider attended a listening party for her new record a couple of weeks ago and said everyone in the room became misty-eyed. She has already won over a quite devoted following thanks to her captivating live shows and her sold out Home Recordings disc.

Recently Sharon opened for Beirut in the US and London and is currently on a European tour with Great Lake Swimmers. The new album Because I Was In Love is out on May 26th via Language of Stone. Check out the video for the track "For You".

The Sky Report in Austin

The Sky Report will take on SXSW for the first time this week - totally rogue (no badges, no wristbands here). I hope to give a daily account of my adventures, though I have absolutely no idea what to expect. Though it seems I'll have had my fill of Vivian Girls and Wavves, as they are both playing just about every showcase I plan to attend. I'm also hoping to grab quick video interviews with a handful of up & coming Bushwick acts in Austin, such as Asa Ransom, Sharon Van Etten, and Bad Credit No Credit.

Stay tuned and wish me luck.

Review THE ANTLERS - Hospice 85%

Review by Matthew Dunehoo, contributor

The Antlers’ Hospice features artwork that is delicate but painfully red, and the title instills more dread than anything ever conjured by Cannibal Corpse. Supposedly the self-released album began as a narrative if not a memoir of Peter Silberman’s experiences with self-imposed isolation and discouragement experienced shortly after arriving in New York City, 2006. Here, Silberman is joined by a full band, as well as Brooklyn vocalist Sharon Van Etten.

There is an undeniable thread of sadness pervading Hospice. One envisions the still air found in rooms of care for those with terminal illness. The distant sounds here swell, become throbbing sensations, cede again. As with sickness, there is a sedentary nature to the record, it’s often parked and it festers, but with all the fascinating, hallucinatory imagery one may imagine the terminally ill (or deeply heartbroken) to encounter.

The two singles from the album are excellent pop songs. “Two” became a blog darling after its September 2008 release and “Bear” was released just last month. Neither one of these tunes contain the same degree of imminent fear and vulnerability that the majority of the album’s songs seem to. Siberman’s delivery is more rollicking, bolder, as demonstrated:

“Daddy was an asshole and he fucked you up, built the gears in your head, now he greases them up.”

Moments like these serve to remind that not all of hospice lives on cold linens; there is real dream sway here, blissed tunefulness. Though, for the most part the lyrics remain focused on physical and emotional confrontation and discomfort, conveyed via shimmering falsetto.

The Antlers will release Hospice, on March 3rd, 2009.

Purchase
The Antlers - Bear (mp3)
The Antlers - Two (mp3)
myspace

CD release party at Union Hall, March 5th.

Sharon Van Etten

Underground Alert - SHARON VAN ETTEN

Sharon Van Etten is a gorgeous singer/songwriter based in Bushwick, who recently got a lot of blog love during the CMJ Music Marathon. Her independent release of "home recordings" is a beautiful collection of raw and personal compositions that reveal an emerging voice of astounding talent. The opening track "I Wish I Knew" is so heart-wrenching I find myself gutted with every listen. I am kicking myself for accidentally missing her performance at the Northeast Kingdom lounge last night, but she is playing again at Zebulon in Brooklyn on Sunday night.

"I Wish I Knew" also appeared on this summer's Welcome to Bushwick compilation.

Sharon Van Etten - I Wish I Knew (stream)

Listen to more from Sharon Van Etten here. You can also purchase the limited edition independent debut via Paypal.