Giveaway: we have 3 copies (CD) of the new album, paired with posters, to give to 3 lucky winners, courtesy of the fine folks at Thrill Jockey Records.  Just comment, leaving a contact email to join our kind-of monthly email list, and you could be randomly drawn on Friday!

Winners!

Katie

James

Petrnotail

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MP3: Double Dagger – The Lie/The Truth

Double Dagger are undoubtedly one of our fair city’s most brilliant and potent gems.  Combining the best parts of the music and arts scenes from around town, the talented trio bridge the oft-chasmic valleys separating the social circles of indie, hipsterism, art and hardcore punk roots in the town.  Their broad appeal is a testament to their talent and magnetism.  And with this latest album, they assert themselves as a constantly progressing entity that can be so much more than the tongue-in-cheek amalgamated genre they wittingly (and back-handedly) coined “graphic design-core” so many years ago, and have been straddled with ever since by the lazy music writers of the world. Read the rest…

Aural States, in association with Thrill Jockey, are proud to host the premiere of “The Lie/The Truth” from Double Dagger’s upcoming full-length, MORE.

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MP3: Double Dagger – The Lie/The Truth

Disclaimer: Double Dagger is one of my favorite bands.  And on top of that, they’re exceedingly friendly guys.  So with great relish I met up with them pre-practice this past Saturday afternoon at the Copycat and we proceeded to discuss past, present, future and everything MORE, their first release with their new label Thrill Jockey, which drops on May 5.

Also, the boys have some shows lined up this week:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 (TONIGHT)
Towson, MD / Celebrated Summer Records
w/ Masshysteri (from Sweden, ex-The Vicious), Deep Sleep
All ages! 8:00 PM. (limited capacity)

THURSDAY, MARCH 19
Brooklyn, NY / Market Hotel
w/ Future Islands, Teeth Mountain, Liturgy
www.myspace.com/markethotelnyc

FRIDAY, MARCH 20
Philadelphia, PA / Danger Danger Gallery
w/ Future Islands, Reading Rainbow, Hot Guts

Aural States: Let’s start with a brief history.  The abbreviated version of how Double Dagger started.

Read the rest…

Luckily, my editor is on in-between semester break. Otherwise, I’m sure he would be in T.A. mode and grade my late post accordingly…

However, I dragged my feet somewhat deliberately. What’s the point of a 2008 summation if you don’t have at least a little critical distance between current time, and the past year? One doesn’t write a book report until the book is actually finished. A conclusion about a hypothesis can’t be reached until the experiment is actually completed. You don’t say, “Wow, baby…that was some good sex,” until the deal is sealed–unless you’re an ego-tripping moron with a teenager’s maturity level.

January 29, 2008 was my emergence from the world of sub-par print music journalism into the realm of much more serious online music writing. I don’t take credit for the upgrade; that goes solely to Greg Szeto, the music editor at my former publication, and the founder and managing editor of Aural States. I know good coat tails when I seem them, and I was really excited to jump into this venture with Greg. 

The results have been unthinkable, really. Much of the work I’ve felt the best about, and been the most proud of in the past several years has been for Aural States.
For me, 2008 has been a year of amazing music–recorded, live, and starting recently, making it again. To be accurate this journey’s proper beginnings are in the fall of 2007, but isn’t it weird how events usually arise from prior events in sequential order? Event chains, I think they are called.  I have been into music all my life, but 2008 is unique in the fact that I actually, in some small way, took a spot in a broader network of music, and culture-of-music people. I began blogging, and people were actually reading what I wrote.

This status of blogger doesn’t feel quite like it fits yet. Around Baltimore, indie/hipsters types (definitely loaded words, which are commonly mistaken for being synonymous with “music types”) don such close-fitting clothes. Perhaps, feeling as though this is a role I need to grow into is a healthier stance, than having skin-tight clothing restricting, and inhibiting movement (read: critical movement, and development).

Also, clothes being the signifiers that they are designate people into one group. I personally don’t fit into one single group musically, and probably not socially, either. From my understanding (and I think it’s an accurate understanding) the same goes for Aural States. To be clear, this does not mean AS has to be everything musically to fulfill our eclectic mission statement, but we simply need to be who we are, and only who we are.

And who are we? Music geeks: pure, unabashed, genuine music geeks.

My (Highly Subjective) Most Memorable Live Performances of 2008 (in no order, and it’s more than 10)
Read the rest…

Photo credit: Greg Szeto

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MP3: Double Dagger – Catalogs from the Bored Meeting 7″ (2008)

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MP3: Double Dagger – No Allies performed live @ the Ottobar (2008.10.20), recorded by Jeff the Taper

Congratulations seem in order for Nolen, Bruce and Denny. The fine boys of Post Typography (2/3) have signed to Thrill Jockey as Double Dagger.  Chicago’s TJ is home to a bevy of beastly artists including Arbouretum, Pontiak, the Fiery Furnaces, Human Bell, Daniel Higgs, Thank You and Tortoise.

It also seems Post Typography has a new textbook coming out.  Double kudos.

via Pitchfork

This is coming a few days late and will probably be a lot too short. But hey, take these pills of MP3 forgiveness and read on, intrepid music fan.
All photos: Beau Finley

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Zulu Pearls – If It’s All the Same

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Double Dagger – Luxury Condos for the Poor

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Double Dagger – Camera Chimera

This show had great potential. Musically, I thought for the most part the artists kept up their end of the bargain. Double Dagger and Imperial China killed it. Zulu Pearls, not so much, but they were earnest, I will give them that. But come on DC; you had 3 (4, but I missed B&W Jacksons) prime and distinct sounds to get down to and you mostly failed.

Imperial China, this being their CD release, did get the most people moving. But Double Dagger’s performance was pure electricity. But let’s start from the beginning (well, mine)…Zulu Pearls.
Read the rest…

What seems to be the designated “big” show this month, is going down tonight at Sonar. Spoon (pictured left) supported by the Walkmen and the stellar, super-friendly White Rabbits (who we recently did an interview with).

I am actually on the BYT clock to cover the event, which got a strong endorsement from an envious Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak) who is out of town touring this weekend and missing a chance to see her BFFs/label-mates Spoon in something smaller than a stadium-sized venue. So I will make the most of it, as should you. See if you can score something reasonable off Craig and get there, it’ll probably even be worth the $50 price-gouge. Do yourselves a favor and get to this however you can, whatever it takes.

If you don’t happen to be into Spooning…I may have your prescription. I have it on good information that Ted Leo (pictured right) is playing a free show at Goucher College during its G.I.G. festival today, Friday April 11.

Continuing the free show concept is Double Dagger with Thank You at UMBC, also on this jam-packed Friday.

And on Saturday, a day of rest. But Sunday, one of my all-time favorites, Colin Meloy is playing his solo gig at 9:30 Club in DC.

Get hyped. Here’s some morsels to get you started:

Spoon – Cherry Bomb Country (demo)

White Rabbits – March of the Camels


Ted Leo – Biomusicology

Colin Meloy – Barbara Allen (Shirley Collins cover)