With expertly layered, nuanced music that belies their age, you’d have no idea Daughter, the group The Guardian calls “the progeny of Enya and Eno,” hasn’t even been together for two years. But all that makes this English experimental-folk trio a band not to miss—brooding atmospherics, moody lyrics and a beautiful voice—is revealed in this stirring rendition of “Youth” for The Bowery Presents Live.
British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is a bona fide phenomenon. After crushing the charts abroad in 2011, Sheeran, 21, visited New York earlier this month to finally launch his debut album, +, in the States, culminating with a sold-out gig at Music Hall of Williamsburg. While his devoted fans waited in the rain for doors to open, The Bowery Presents Live slipped into the venue to watch him deliver an exclusive performance of “The A Team,” his breakout hit.
Afterward, the singer-songwriter sat down with us to talk about the thrill of Stateside success, whether he’ll ever play with a backing band and why he’s fond of being a solo artist. Watch the interview here. And to see more performances and interviews like these, subscribe to The Bowery Presents Live.
Mere hours after unveiling tunes off their just-released fifth album,Synthetica, for a horde of adoring fans inside the cozy Music Hall of Williamsburg, Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw of Metric invited us into a posh suite at NYC’s Bowery Hotel to tape a performance for The Bowery Presents Live channel on YouTube, which posts awesome sessions like this one every week (see them all here).
At the hotel, the duo stripped away the electric throb of their new single, “Youth Without Youth,” down to two-part harmonies, acoustic guitar and harmonica (!). All that remained from the original was a spare, digital beat, saddled up through Shaw’s iPhone.
After performing, the duo talked about their origins in NYC and Brooklyn, hanging with members of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Stars and TV on the Radio, and how NYC helped shape the sound of Synthetica. Watch the interview here.
Breaking up is hard to do, especially when your former love is the only other person in your band. Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp, the couple behind the Rosebuds, got a divorce as a matter of course, but still managed to remain bandmates. Their marriage dissolved, but the band evolved, thanks to the twosome’s keen storytelling abilities, capably straddling the line between lightness and melancholy. The personal, revealing Loud Planes Fly Low tells the story of their breakup. And, as today’s featured band on The Bowery Presents Live, they do a cool, acoustic take on one of its songs, “Woods,” on the streets of Greenpoint in Brooklyn. And don’t miss them talking about their early musical perspectives, New York City being a fun place to live and not getting too comfortable with an instrument. For more videos like this one, plus live-streamed shows, cool performances and intimate interviews, subscribe to The Bowery Presents Live.
Some bands develop a certain sound early on and rarely stray from it. But that’s not the case with Delta Spirit. The now-based-in-Brooklyn quintet has boldly moved in a new direction, leaving behind gritty roots rock in favor of the bigger, ethereal sounding music that fills arenas. While they once used lo-fi instruments like a trash-can lid to make Americana-tinged music, this year’s self-titled disc, filled with soaring guitars, is more polished, the result of using a broader palette that includes drum machines and samples. As today’s featured band on The Bowery Presents Live, they perform a stripped-down version of the album’s first single, “California.” Also, don’t miss the guys in the group talking about what they would do if they weren’t making music. And make sure you subscribe to The Bowery Presents Live for more videos like this and live-streamed shows, cool performances and intimate interviews.
The English trio Fleeing New York—Matt Hayward, Russell Marsden and Emma Richardson—began playing shows around London about eight years ago. At first blush, their songs might have come across as just your standard guitar-drums-and- bass fare. But the music was like a restaurant with a straightforward menu comprised of high-quality ingredients. And so what seemed simple was actually a bit more complex. This really began to become obvious following the group’s name change to Band of Skulls (in 2008) and the release of their debut album, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey (in 2009), with its lead single “Light of the Morning,” which later appeared in a Mustang commercial. Cut to this year, and Band of Skulls have put out another top-flight album, Sweet Sour. As the featured band today on The Bowery Presents Live, see them play the album’s title track, above, in a sculptor’s studio in Brooklyn and then watch them talking about letting their experiences into their music. And, of course, make sure you subscribe to The Bowery Presents Live for plenty of performances, interviews and live-streamed shows.
Andrew (drums and percussion) and Brad (vocals, guitar and keys) Barr, who have been members of the Slip and Surprise Me Mr. Davis, moved to Montreal after one of the brothers fell for a local waitress. Early on, Brad and neighbor Sarah Page (harp) could hear each other playing through the walls and struck up a musical friendship. Then, with the addition of Andres Vial (keys, pump organ and bass), the Barr Brothers were born. The band’s first album, a quality self-titled blend of folk and Americana, came out last year. And today The Bowery Presents Live features the Barr Brothers. Watch them, above, performing “Old Mythologies” and then see them on the roof of a building discuss growing up and how they flesh out songs. And, of course, make sure you subscribe to The Bowery Presents Live for plenty of performances, interviews and live-streamed shows.
Jesse B. Marchant is a talented singer-songwriter with a classical training in guitar, but what you’ll probably first notice about the guy who makes and performs music by his initials, JBM, is his voice, which has earned him comparisons to Jim James and Justin Vernon. Marchant has a sold-out show with Damien Jurado at Mercury Lounge on 5/19, and the following week his second album, Stray Ashes, comes out. But today JBM is featured on The Bowery Presents Live. Watch him, above, playing “Ferry” at a metal shop in Brooklyn and then check him out playing the piano and talking about why he sometimes goes through long periods when he doesn’t want to listen to music. And, of course, make sure you subscribe to The Bowery Presents Live for plenty of performances, interviews and live-streamed shows.
U.S. Royalty—drummer Luke Adams, bassist Jacob Michael, singer John Thornley and guitarist Paul Thornley—formed in 2008 and put out an EP, Midsommar, in 2009. Since then the Washington D.C. quartet has kept busy playing live shows and self-releasing Mirrors, which came out last year. But today the band is featured on The Bowery Presents Live. Watch them play “Sleepy Eyes,” above, and then check them out discussing why D.C. is a good place for a band and their plans “before the end of the world.” And, of course, make sure you subscribe to The Bowery Presents Live to stay in touch.
The Brooklyn trio Suckers’ brand new album, Candy Salad, just came out two days ago. And today we feature them on The Bowery Presents Live. On the disc, the band—Quinn Walker (vocals and guitar), Austin Fisher (guitar, keys and vocals) and Pan (bass, trumpet, percussion and vocals)— expertly combines psych rock and chamber pop, which you can check out, above, on “Chinese Braille.” But don’t miss them discussing Bono, a David Lee Roth lookalike and not wanting to be influenced by other music. And make sure you subscribe to The Bowery Presents Live to stay in touch.
David Quon (guitar), Derek VanHeule (bass) and Nathan Warkentin (drums) grew up in Long Beach, Calif., which is where they first began playing music together. And when their previous group disbanded, the trio, now based in Brooklyn, formed We Barbarians—and with their bluesy rock earned some pretty heady comparisons to Arcade Fire and early U2. Last summer the three-piece released the critically acclaimed EP Headspace, and while We Barbarians are gearing up to head to Europe in support of Foster the People, today they are featured on The Bowery Presents Live. See them, above, playing a quieter take on the anthemic “Chambray” and then watch them discuss why, despite the challenges, moving here from Southern California has been a good fit. And make sure you subscribe to The Bowery Presents Live to stay in touch.
Ex Cops began when former Hymns frontman Brian Harding moved in with Dan Shapiro, a recent music-school graduate interested in producing. Last summer they put out an EP, White Women, filled with sunny music and a lo-fi sound. And then the band began to grow, with Amalie Bruun adding another voice and then Sam Bair, Leif Huckman and Kai Kennedy adding guitar, bass and drums. They have a new LP in the works, but today Ex Cops are featured on The Bowery Presents Live. Watch them play “Millionaire,” above, and then check them out discussing making music and why sometimes trying isn’t the best policy. And make sure you subscribe to The Bowery Presents Live to stay in touch.
Although they’re really from small town Athens, Ala., Alabama Shakes seem to have come out of nowhere. Their debut LP, Boys & Girls, just came out last week, and there’s deservedly been a lot of buzz behind them—mainly due to Brittany Howard’s dynamic voice—ever since they played The Bowery Ballroom at last year’s CMJ Music Marathon. And today they’re featured on The Bowery Presents Live. See them, above, playing “Boys & Girls” in the coat-check closet at Mercury Lounge and then be sure to watch them discuss their fast start and musical roots, plus a playlist of the band’s choice cuts. And make sure you subscribe to The Bowery Presents Live to stay in touch.
Brooklyn’s Caveman—Jeff Berrall (bass), Jimmy “Cobra” Carbonetti (guitar), Sam Hopkins (guitar), Matthew Iwanusa (vocals and guitar) and Stefan Marolachkis (drums)—released their debut LP, the guitar-filled CoCo Beware, last year. And today, they’re featured on The Bowery Presents Live. Watch them, above, playing “My Room,” and then check out an interview and some choice cuts. And make sure you subscribe to The Bowery Presents Live to stay in touch.
