Washington, D.C.’s Black Cat has some great shows coming up in the next few months. And we’ve got a couple of giveaways for some lucky music fans. Just fill out the form below for your chance to win.
With a sharp tongue and a droll art rock sound, Art Brut return to the U.S. and play Black Cat on June 22.
Nick 13, leader of psychobilly band Tiger Army, plays Black Cat with Billy Woodward & The Senders on June 25.
Art Brut
Brilliant! Tragic!
Cooking Vinyl
After years of being compared to other “Art Wave” artists such as Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party, Art Brut have taken the genre to the next level. They’ve done so by creating an album more explosive and vibrate than any artist in their genre has ever done before. Brilliant! Tragic! proves to be the group’s most diverse and colorful record, making Art Brut vs. Satan pale in comparison, and judging by the response from that record, that is no small feat. … Continue Reading
Chicago hipster rapper Kid Sister is gearing up to be on the road for a handful of dates this summer. Signed to Downtown Records (Cold War Kids, Miike Snow, MSTRKRFT, Art Brut) Kid Sister’s 2008 single “Pro Nails” (featuring Kanye West) received a healthy dose of buzz, securing the rapper a comfortable spot on indie-dance playlists everywhere.
Kid Sister released her full-length debut Ultra Violet in the fall of 2009. The record includes her Kanye West collaboration as well as a track featuring Cee-Lo Green (Gnarls Barkley, Goodie Mob), Estelle and DJ Gant-Man.
See Kid Sister at Washington, D.C. at the U Street Music Hall on Thursday, July 15.
Follow Kid Sister on Twitter at twitter.com/KIDSISTER
Everybody Was In The French Resistance … Now!
Fixin’ the Charts Vol. 1
By Jennifer Gibson
Art Brut’s Eddie Argos and his girlfriend Dyan Valdes of The Blood Arm may have made one of the most intellectually-stimulating records in recent memory. Stimulating, that is, for music geeks. For everyone else, it’s just one of the easiest good times they might have all year.
Fixin’ the Charts Vol. 1 is their debut as Everybody Was In The French Resistance … Now! It’s a mouthful, but so is the concept – take several hit songs and rewrite them from a skewed but more interesting viewpoint. Part of the fun is trying to decipher which songs inspired them. Some are obvious – “Billie’s Genes” takes on the son who was denied by Michael Jackson all those years ago, while “Hey! It’s Jimmy Mack,” defends Martha and the Vandellas’ wronged boyfriend with the line, “If that’s your attitude, I’m never coming back!” Others might take a moment to get, like “Coal Digger,” which tells the side of the story neglected by Kanye West in “Gold Digger.” And some are just funny, like when Argos tells the stalker Avril Lavigne, “I’m very in love with someone else, I’ve got concerns about your mental health,” in “G.I.R.L.F.R.E.N. (You know I got).”
But response songs aren’t much of a novelty, and that in itself isn’t a reason to like the record. It’s Argos’ inexplicable wit and charm, which shine through on each track (other than the bratty Cockney accent it’s hard to grasp), and clever lyrics that carry the record. And the music is a blast, not so much indie rock as it is a funky blend of pop and retro horns. (Especially “(I’m So) Waldo P. Emerson Jones.”) It makes for 12 seriously fun, danceable tracks, and if you happen to connect the dots when your friends can’t maybe you’ll feel smarter, too.
Everybody Was In The French Resistance … Now! play DC9 on May 15
… and The EARL on May 17.
Connect With Us!