Friday Music News

10/23/2015

Janice Headley

Over the summer, Matt Berninger of The National and Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls/Menomena secretly played an EL VY show at Los Angeles venue Largo as part of Pete Holmes' monthly showcase. Matt's brother, Tom, captured video of the duo performing the track "Need a Friend," which you can watch on their Facebook page here. (Tom's not too shabby with a camera: he's already directed a few of the band's videos, and The National documentary Mistaken for Strangers.) Their eagerly-awaited debut Return to the Moon hits stores October 30th via 4AD, and KEXP presents the twosome at Neumos on Wednesday, November 4th with Hibou. [Pitchfork]

Brooklyn-via-Johannesburg musician Jean-Philip Grobler (a.k.a. St. Lucia) shares a fantastic new track today: stream the shimmery synth-pop grooves of "Dancing on Glass" below. No word yet on a follow-up to his 2013 debut When The Night, but if this track is any indication of the direction he's going, we can't wait to get there. [Spin]

Former Jenny Lewis backing band musician Natalie Prass has some unusual covers lined up for her upcoming EP, Side by Side, out November 20th via StarTime International. Not only will it feature a couple of album tracks from her self-titled debut which came out earlier this year (such as "My Baby Don't Understand Me," which you can stream below), but it offers up her takes on tracks by Anita Baker, Simon & Garfunkel, and Grimes. About the Grimes cover in particular, Prass says, "I think the world of her... I think it works although she's probably going to say 'what is this jazz shit' and hate it." KEXP Presents Natalie Prass on Friday, October 30th at Neumos. [Consequence of Sound]

Canadian rockers The Dears share a new video for the track "Here’s to Death of All the Romance," a track off last month's release Times Infinity Volume One, out on Dangerbird. The clip was directed and animated by artist Sinbad Richardson, who also worked on the lyric video for "I Used to Pray For the Heavens to Fall." Keyboardist/vocalist Natalia Yanchak told Brooklyn Vegan, "Illustrator and animator Sinbad's style brings a classic Montreal vibe to this video in that it's bright and irreverent, inviting while almost abstract." Watch below: [Under the Radar]

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