Reader Rewards: See Mobius Band For Free Sunday In Cambridge

Longtime readers know that we're strong proponents of Mobius Band, and have been since 2002, when our friend who was scouting them for a certain label made the introduction. Fast-forward five years and the Brooklyn-based trio has just released its second full-length, Heaven, on Misra. We don't think we're giving anything away by saying that the dense, dark set, Mobius Band's best to date, is going to be featured in our year-end list. That's all the more reason for Boston-based indie rubberneckers to get out and see them Sunday night at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, Mass. Lucky for you, thrifty music fans, we're able to give away two tickets for free thanks to the band's management. But first, allow us to digress briefly.

As we said in the item below, we were pleased to see the band give props to "Snow On Snow," an older cut from the band's last self-released EP. Well, there were a bunch of EPs in there, so we're not sure if it was the last one. But the point is, "Snow On Snow" was released on Three in 2002. The previous EP Two, however, contains the jam that first sucked us in to Mobius Band's world. It's called "The Lights Are Always On," it's a throbbing krautrock gem, and the first time we saw the act we witnessed some dude lose his mind while the band laid this one out. It made quite an impression. Before we give away some Mobius Band tickets, we'd like you to hear the tune, so here's an MP3.

Mobius Band -- "The Lights Are Always On" -- Three EP
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[buy Mobius Band records from Newbury Comics here]

Now, about those tickets: we've got two of them, and the first two people who email us at the address linked in the righthand column will win them. Please use as an email subject line "The Lights Are Always On." Doing so will prove to us that you have good reading comprehension skills, and after all, reading is fundamental. We'll update this item when we have two winners.

Incidentally, if you are looking for a show and a bit of seasonal cheer tomorrow night in Cambridge, check out friend-of-Mobius Band Most Bitter performing at a loft in Somerville not too far from the quaint indie rock venue P.A.'s Lounge. We think the loft belongs to a private citizen, so we don't want to post the address and whatnot here, but hit up the Most Bitter MySpace casa here and message Mr. Bitter himself and we're sure he'd be happy to provide the data. While you are there make sure to listen to his cover of Kate Nash's "Foundations."

Today's Hotness: Frightened Rabbit, Distophia, Mobius Band

>> We're back. It's nice to be here.

>> We were just thinking the other day that Glaswegian powerfolk trio Frightened Rabbit would be a bunch of silly Scots if they didn't release their tune "It's Christmas, So We'll Stop" at Christmas time, for obvious reasons. A demo version of the tune has been hanging around on our hard drive for months due to the kindness of a nice, connected fellow. According to this AngryApe item, Frightened Rabbit will indeed release the tune as a limited-edition single on FatCat Dec. 17. The flipside is a choral version of "It's Christmas..."

Perhaps, like us, you scratched your head at this YouTube clip posted a month ago of FR drummer Grant conducting a chorus; well, now it all makes sense, doesn't it? The song will not be featured on Frightened Rabbit's forthcoming sophomore set, which is expected to be released in late Spring 2008, so you'd best grab the single while there are copies to be grabbed. If you'd like to try before you try to buy, you can stream the track at FatCat's web site: click this link and hunt around for the media player and click "New & Forthcoming." We reviewed Frightened Rabbit's Nov. 11 Boston show here earlier this month.

>> We continue to be blown away by the great songs recorded by Birmingham, England's defunct Distophia, who you may recall we first wrote about here. The band has posted four-track and eight-track demos at this MySpace domicile, and every song is a gem. Particularly arresting is the track "Ten Inch," which wraps a nice melody around a stuttering 5/4 tempo. The track packs tons of tricks into 1:57, including airy "bops" in the bridge, an extra sludgy chorus, some really present ride cymbal work at one point, and incisive guitars with a really nice jangle hear and there. It reminds us of the incredible tracks on Mock Orange's First EP, the only Mock Orange record we've ever been able to get into, but well worth hunting down. Anyway, "Ten Inch" is an impressive, impressive song. Distophia is giving it away at the MySpace coordinates noted above, but we'll save you the trip. Distophia, why'd you have to go?

Distophia -- "Ten Inch" -- MySpace Demo
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>> Mobius Band doesn't want you to forget they are kicking off another leg of their fall tour this weekend. And if you are cool you already received the email and MySpace bulletin telling you as much. One item of particular interest is the Brooklyn-based act has dug into its catalog to offer up an MP3 of "Snow On Snow," a track from the trio's 2002 EP Three. Longtime fans know that Mobius Band once had a much more pronounced post-rock bent, and while "Snow On Snow" isn't particularly post-rock-flavored, the band's first three EPs had that flava, and we've missed hearing those songs. So it is nice see the band take an interest in this very good track again. Perhaps a clue as to what to expect in its current live set? Mobius Band plays Cambridge's Middle East Downstairs Sunday night. We'll be there with our mental paper and mental pen.

Mobius Band -- "Snow On Snow" -- Three
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[buy Mobius Band recordings from Newbury Comics here]

>> Jeanette Sliwinski, the suicidal motor vehicle operator who senselessly killed Silkworm drummer Michael Dahlquist and two of his colleagues two years ago, has been sentenced to eight years in prison. Pun Canoes has a few more details here. Eight years hardly seems like punishment enough.

>> We really, really, really wanted this Idolator item to be about Kelly Clarkson covering the amazing Judas Priest song "Screaming For Vengeance," the title cut to the very first cassette we ever bought, purchased in the record section of the Devon, Pennsylvania K-Mart in 1982 or 1983. Can you imagine Ms. Clarkson hitting that first Halfordian howl that kicks off this killer jam? Oh well, maybe she'll get around to it. Have you never seen this live video of "Screaming For Vengeance"? It'll change your life.

>> Well would ya look at that: Robert Hazard. It seems only yesterday we were comparing Philly power pop trio RunRunner to Mr. Hazard's great rock/pop concoctions of the early '80s. We reviewed RunRunner's self-titled debut here in April.

From The Admin Cubicle: Thanksgiving Break

Your :: clicky clicky :: service will return next week. Please be certain to check back in with us for our reviews of forthcoming Johnny Foreigner and Mobius Band shows, as well as our year-end lists. In the meantime, here are some random things to be thankful for, in the event you are at a loss: "Unchained" by Van Halen; Michael Vick being jailed for dog abuse; Yeungling; free speech; non-commercial radio. Happy Thanksgiving.

Today's Hotness: Zeke Fiddler, Home, Johnny Foreigner

>> Folks of a certain vintage whose stomping grounds included the Western Massachusetts music scene may have heard the name Mal Thursday bandied about, if they don't already know the guy. Our spidey sense tells us we met Mr. Thursday once, but memories of our time spent in the clubs in Northampton during college grow more and more faint. Imagine our surprise to see email from Thursday a week or so ago pointing to his new blog and posts therein in which he details his stewardship over Chunk Records. For us Chunk is best known for releasing in 1994 the scene compilation Hotel Massachusetts, a spotty collection that included a handful of excellent tracks from scenemakers including New Radiant Storm King, Sebadoh and Zeke Fiddler. But there is far more to the Chunk experience, and we encourage you to read the first two installments (1, 2) of "The Chunk Records Story."

Here are two of the best tracks from Hotel Massachusetts. First up is Zeke Fiddler's "Half Baked," an excellent song also released as Chunk's seventh single (as described in "The Chunk Records Story Part Two."). Zeke was a big, friendly guy who played a small black Les Paul. Unfortunately, nothing from Zeke's full-length debut on Spin-Art, Watery, grabbed us nearly completely as "Half Baked." But the tune is among the finest written by a musician working in Western Mass at the time. The second track we're offering is "Sunday" by a band called Home. Information about Home is hard to come by on the Interweb. We know because we've tried looking, spurred on by memories of a very impressive live set at the Bay State Hotel during the Loud Music Festival in 1995. At the time Home struck us as kindred spirits of Pittsburgh's Karl Hendricks Trio. "Sunday," a melodic folk-rocker with some nice cascading chord changes, doesn't necessarily bear out that comparison, but that made the performance all the more affecting.

Zeke Fiddler -- "Half Baked" -- Hotel Massachusetts compilation
Home -- "Sunday" -- Hotel Massachusetts compilation
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[buy Hotel Massachusetts from Amazon here used but real cheap]

>> The critical praise for Johnny Foreigner's Arcs Across The City is starting to roll in. We won't be getting the record until the band's show Nov. 30 in Manhattan, but you can be sure we'll have something to say after that. Especially since we've already written a couple hundred words about the record based on the fact that we've already heard all the songs on it (although not the exact versions). Drowned In Sound here rates the EP a 10 out of 10 and dubs the set "the [U.K.] debut album release of the year, hands down." Another Form Of Relief here says "Johnny Foreigner are the best band in the [U.K.] right now." The only correction we have to that is that technically Johnny Foreigner is in the U.S. right now, recording their full-length debut. Assuming you are not as rabid a fan as we, you probably do not know that the Birmingham-based trio just posted a new track at its MySpace berth. It is called "Eyes Wide Terrified" and it was recorded for a recent Radio One session. Go listen to it now.

Lost In The '90s: An Imeem Playlist

A friend and digital music veteran recently left one of the most successful digital music enterprises to take a position with social music play Imeem, so we thought we'd best give it more than the cursory once-over we'd made earlier this year. While we don't think the user interface has achieved perfection yet, it is hard to beat the functionality it provides, at least for music bloggers. The embeddable player is not terrible to look at, seems to buffer streams exceptionally well and has very nice sound quality for audio playback. So earlier today we uploaded a bunch of odds and sods from the '90s, many taken from Purderous Magina Records first cassette compilation La Affection / Affection. Many of the bands featured include the same players, which is one thread that ties things together. And then there are a couple random tracks. And since we went to the trouble of creating the playlist for the purposes of feeling out the Imeem service a little more, here it is.

Today's Hotness: Report Suspicious Activity, Ringo Deathstarr

>> Just in time for the American election cycle, hardcore rabble rousers Report Suspicious Activity are back with new music posted on their MySpace page. There's also word of a new EP, whose album art is posted to the left and whose title may be Dreamland. In terms of pure vitriol, the new tunes at MySpace don't come close to the rager "Subtle" from the band's 2005 self-titled set on Alternative Tentacles. They are less heavy and more indie-sounding. In a way, we're disappointed, because what the world needs now is an angry hardcore record to render some healthy perspective. Report Suspicious Activity, in case you didn't know, features former Articles Of Faith member Vic Bondi and studio genius and Jawbox/Burning Airlines/Channels guy J. Robbins, among others. You may recall Mr. Bondi as being the guy with the best quote in the excellent documentary film "American Hardcore." Because we are so adamant that something like "Subtle" is what America needs right now, we're posting it below. While we're at it, we're throwing in a real classic of second-wave American straightedge hardcore, the title track to Uniform Choice's absolutely crucial 1986 set Screaming For Change.

Report Suspicious Activity -- "Subtle" -- MySpace download
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[buy Report Suspicious Activity from Newbury Comics here]

Uniform Choice -- "Screaming For Change" -- Screaming For Change
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[improve your life -- buy Screaming For Change from Amazon.com here]

>> We've got it on good authority that rising shoegaze behemoths Ringo Deathstarr will be playing Boston (well, Cambridge) on Feb. 25 at a small club whose name rhymes with Crabby Flounge. Mark your calendars, restock your earplug supply, take out a life insurance policy, etc. And buy the hard copy version of Ringo Deathstarr's flawless self-titled EP. There are all manner of buy links at the Texas-based quartet's MySpace dojo here.

>> Icelandic teen wunderkinds Jakobinarina just canceled their entire UK tour, according to this recent MySpace bulletin from would-be tourmates The Video Nasties. That's too bad.

2007 In The Rear-View: Shout Out Louds Blossom In "Hard Rain"

As far as we're concerned there is only one more record coming out in 2007. It's called Arcs Across The City, it's by a little trio from Birmingham, England called Johnny Foreigner, and you might have seen us refer to it previously, oh, once or twice. We're taking the opportunity presented by the fading 2007 release schedule to look back on deserving records that we were unable to find time for earlier in the year. Soon 2007 will be over, but we expect these records will stick with us for a long time.

One of the bigger surprises of the late summer was just how strong Shout Out Louds' Our Ill Wills is. We got the Swedish pop quintet's prior release Howl Howl Gaff Gaff after seeing them perform on a late night show two or three years ago, and we thought there were a few very strong numbers on it (including "The Comeback," "Please Please Please" and "Hurry Up Let's Go"). And while the single "Tonight I Have To Leave It" that preceded and opens Our Ill Wills is an arresting pop concoction, as is the superlative New Romantic strummer "You Are Dreaming," we'd argue those tracks are pieces of a larger story. On a related note, we'd also argue that you could reverse the running order of Our Ill Wills and have an even more compelling record, as the album closer "Hard Rain" is the real highlight and points to incredibly fertile ground for the band to explore. So wait, scratch that: Our Ill Wills must end with "Hard Rain," and here is why.

While much of Our Ill Wills deals in bright colors and panoramic views, "Hard Rain" is a remarkable step beyond the power twee upon which Shout Out Louds built its reputation and into something darker and less certain. The seven-minute track is the most epic recording we've heard from Shout Out Louds, and easily the most sonically aggressive. Guitars shimmer and build in the wings, vocal lines tangle, the rhythm section is unstoppable (later the cowbell tattoo familiar from "Tonight We Have To Leave It" makes an appropriate thematic return, neatly bookending the record). And then the song crosses the four minute mark, past the odd chirp in the right channel at 4:20, and becomes unhinged. There commences a steady noisy crescendo that is spine-tingling and one of the most exciting things we heard from *any* act in 2007. We hope Shout Out Louds' next record uses the song as a jumping off point. Check out the IMeem stream of the track below. Merge released Our Ill Wills Sept. 11.



[buy Our Ill Wills from Newbury Comics here]

Shout Out Louds: Interwebz | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

That Was The Show That Was: Frightened Rabbit | Great Scott

Prior to seeing this clip (in which the band explodes like ordnance at about the 3:50 mark), Glaswegian trio Frightened Rabbit was simply a new band that had made a superlative record full of heart-on-sleeve indie rock. But seeing the clip of "Square 9" from the band's first U.S. appearance in January vaulted our esteem for the act considerably and had us immediately imploring the lads to come to Boston. Ten months later, Frightened Rabbit more than made good, delivering Sunday night and into Monday morning an excessively sweaty, shattering set whose pace and energy grew and grew and grew until the band almost literally played itself right off stage. The show was the band's last in America after a five-week stint here.

Glasgow's finest unassumingly took the stage around 11:30, said some how-dos, and dug in for a remarkably intense 40 minutes, during which sweat dripped, lyrics were hollered, and drums were beaten so severely -- almost out of all proportion to the rest of the music, but somehow never overplayed -- we wouldn't have been surprised to hear them beg for mercy. The trio proffered about a dozen songs, beginning with a blistering take on the "Modern Leper" and eventually closing -- if memory serves -- with exceedingly revved-up renditions of "Square 9" and "The Greys." Upon the completion of the latter track, the lads dropped their guitars on the floor and walked off. In between there were raw and raucous renditions of much of the material from the so-nice-they-released it twice Sing The Greys record and a handful of tracks we expect will feature prominently on Frightened Rabbit's planned sophomore set.

It was not all cacophony and mayhem, as there were some quieter points. These included the goose bump-raising, a capella opening to the stellar "My Backwards Walk." Another cut not featured on Sing The Greys, "Old Old Fashioned," was also relatively subdued. We were surprised not to hear "Go Go Girls," but Frightened Rabbit has no shortage of great material. The boys are back in the UK now and will embark on some tour dates there at the end of the month. In the meantime, enjoy an MP3 of "Modern Leper" that Frightened Rabbit was giving away at its MySpace page earlier this year. It's a hot rocker, and we highly recommend buying the band's live set from SXSW to hear the version they played in Austin last spring. We'll link to the buy page for that below, too. Oh yeah, here's a link to the pictures we shot last night.

Frightened Rabbit -- "Modern Leper" -- MySpace download
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[buy Sing The Greys from Newbury Comics here]
[buy Frightened Rabbit's live set from SXSW from EMusic here]

Frightened Rabbit: Internets | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Previous Frightened Rabbit coverage:

Greys Over America: Frightened Rabbit Prep Next U.S. Onslaught [w/ Interview]
Frightened Rabbit Releases Sing The Greys In US Oct. 2
Saturday Night's Alright For Frightened: New FR Live Set
Show Us Yours #5: Frightened Rabbit [MP3s]
Coming To Your Local Bandstand: Frightened Rabbit [MP3]

Today's Hotness: Revelation Records, Metal Hearts, Assembly Now

>> According to this engrossing interview with Revelation Records head Jordan Cooper, a second notable documentary about the hardcore punk scene -- in addition to the excellent "American Hardcore," this one focusing on the New York Hardcore scene that produced legendary acts like BURN, Quicksand, Judge and Bold -- has been underway for some time. Originally helmed by krsnacore posterboy and former Youth Of Today and Shelter fronter Ray Cappo, the film is nearly complete, although Cappo apparently had to switch his focus to his own work and family matters. Says Cooper, "I agreed to take it over and find someone to finish it which is something I'm in the process of doing. It will definitely come out, but there are more interviews to get and we're pretty much starting from scratch with the editing." We're particularly excited to see this, as by the time we got turned onto New York Hardcore in 1990, the scene was pretty much dead.

>> Notable neo-slowcore duo Metal Hearts has officially disbanded, according to this MySpace bulletin. Anar Badalov is busy with his new band Travels, which just released its first full length, while Flora Wolpert Checknoff is apparently traveling (weird coincidence, no?) and has posted some solo material online here. The erstwhile Baltimore-based act released the full-length Socialize in 2005 on Suicide Squeeze. We reviewed the record here. The title track is wholly mesmerizing and excellent and you can download it from the band's MySpace. We'll save you the trip and post it below. Bradley's Almanac has more info about Travels and an MP3 here; dig it.

Metal Hearts -- "Socialize" -- Socialize
[buy Socialize from Newbury Comics here]

>> The New York Times presents this morning a very interesting examination of so-called 360 (as in 360 degrees) record deals. One interesting thing we learned was that the label concern Fueled By Ramen is affiliated with Atlantic Records. Granted, none of the indie bands we follow will likely ever score a major label deal, let alone a "360" deal, but it is interesting to note what the growing trend is at the top of the food chain, and how it is viewed -- by both proponents and detractors -- by the capital I industry. Read the whole piece here.

>> Did we mention London indie rock foursome Assembly Now is recording a full-length record? It's true. To date we think the band has only released three singles, all of which are very good. So good, in fact, that at least as of now Assembly Now's "It's Magnetic" is in our top ten most played tracks of 2007 in ITunes. We'll likely do a year-end list of favorite albums and songs, so consider this information a bit of a preview. Here are our favorite records of 2006.

How The Radishes Get Their Cleaning Done: With Rock

The Radishes. They've seen the end of the world and they're not impressed. They also nestled an awesome, hip-shaking fist-banger deep into their recently self-released record Good Machine. Observant readers will recall that Boston trio Pending Disappointment also tried to hide a great song from us by putting it near the end of their record, which we wrote about below. But you guys can't hide the rock from us. Time for some Wikipedia-stylee disambiguation: The Radishes are not Radish, Ben Kweller's '90s grunge vehicle, but rather an amped-up, garagey quartet whose primary songwriter has an eye-catching last name for indie rock fans (although we expect there is no relation between The Radishes' Paul Stinson and The Replacements' Stinson brothers). Those in search of some pedigree in the band need look no further than bassist Paul Barker, whose name astute fans will know from Mr. Barker's work with Ministry and Revolting Cocks. Barker doesn't play on Good Machine, but he and former Ministry/Scratch Acid/Rapeman drummer Rey Washam apparently play on a forthcoming EP.

Since we're name-dropping some bygone acts we might as well insert here that The Radishes were the first band to play the legendary San Francisco hardcore venue Mabuhay Gardens when it re-opened in September. But let's focus. We're here to tell you about "Hook Me Up," which blasts out of the gate with straight snare banging and tons of swagger. The magic of this song is that it's stripped to the bare essentials and paced for a the dramatic conclusion of a hipster dance-a-thon. The band was cool enough to allow us to offer the track as an MP3. Download "Hook Me Up" now so you can crank it when you crack those first beers tomorrow night. You'll thank us later. The Radishes released Good Machine Oct. 16.

The Radishes -- "Hook Me Up" -- Good Machine
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[buy Good Machine from CD Baby right here]

The Radishes: Interwebses | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Don't Get Too Attached To Pending Disappointment

Obviously the name Pending Disappointment should be your first hint. But the track we discuss today, "I'll Leave You Behind," is a more explicit warning: self-deprecating, feels-good-feelin'-bad indie rock ahead. But we've jumped ahead of ourselves... The bands surrounding Boston/New York rock concern Midriff Records, including flagship act The Beatings, share common members, but the label's "sound" is less specific than you might imagine. While The Beatings channel Burma-esque postpunk, and side project E.R. proffers a folksier bent, Midriff's latest release -- Pending Disappointment's New York Penn, NY -- takes cues from '90s favorites including Archers of Loaf and Quicksand.

It is this latter influence that features prominently in the track "I'll Leave You Behind," which is a little similar to Quicksand's phenomenal rocker "Too Official" from the 1993 masterpiece Slip. Boston-based trio Pending Disappointment has curiously banished "I'll Leave You Behind" -- an MP3 of which is posted below -- to the far end of the new record (two songs proximal to the amazingly titled album closer "FFF=666", which of course nods to Jawbox's amazing For Your Own Special Sweetheart) despite the fact that it rocks most steadfastly. Punctuated with harmonics and burbling bass playing in the verse, the track would have made a nice closer or a pointed album opener. Stuttering dynamics in the bridge drive toward an ascending melody and deflating denouement. For optimum enjoyment this track should be blasted loudly. New York Penn, NY will be released Thursday. Pending Disappointment's debut Off The Starboard Bow was released by Midriff in 2005.

Pending Disappointment -- "I'll Leave You Behind" -- New York Penn, NY
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[buy New York Penn, NY from Midriff right here]

Pending Disappointment: Interweb | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Previous Midriff coverage:
That Was The Show That Was: The Beatings | TT The Bear's
That Was The Show That Was: E.R. | TT The Bear's
That Was The Show That Was: E.R., The Mitchells | PA's Lounge
Review: E.R. | This Conspiracy Against Us
!Exclusive! The Beatings MP3

Today's Hotness: Black Stoltzfus, Johnny Foreigner, Xiu Xiu

>> Awesome things about the return of Quentin Stoltzfus, the man behind the indie rock act formerly known as Mazarin. 1) The new name for his act, Black Stoltzfus, is vaguely piratical 2) There is now a picture of Stoltzfus dunking at this re-branded MySpace page linked a little further on, which we've stolen and placed supra for your enjoyment 3) The little slogan thingy on Black Stoltzfus' MySpace page gleefully proclaims: "Hi! We used to be called MAZARIN." Stoltzus and posse have scheduled a small run of tour dates with art-poppers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, many of which already appear to be sold out. The first of these is Nov. 12 at the Middle East in Cambridge, Mass. See all the dates and more at Black Stoltzfus' MySpace shed here. Incidentally, we thought the last Mazarin record We're Already There was stellar; we reviewed it for Junkmedia here back in '05.

>> It looks like like "Junior's ting" has become a real song. Observe. Johnny Foreigner's Arcs Across The City streets Nov. 26 on Best Before Records in the UK; you can already pre-order it from Amazon.co.uk here.

>> Songs that gave us chills: the live version of Joy Division's "Ceremony" as performed by Xiu Xiu at this year's CMJ conference. The Sound Of Indie has the recording posted here. We've loved Xiu Xiu's take on the track since Spoilt Victorian Child posted it here way back in April 2005.

YouTube Rodeo: Mobius Band, "Three's Company"

Mobius Band's new video for "Friends Like These" turns the tune's somewhat dour subject matter (betrayal) inside out and focuses on the positive. In doing so it captures the cyborg-rock trio's humorous side and chemistry so that the video comes off like an episode of "Three's Company" rather than, well, a video for a song that talks about how you have to fake it on Sunday mornings. We're somewhat surprised that this track -- which is really very good -- continues to get all the emphasis in the blogosphere, considering how strong all of Mobius Band's new record Heaven is. Perhaps it is because -- after all their well-documented travails -- the band wants to focus on a feel-good jam. Perhaps it is because no one buys records any more so they only know what is spoon-fed to them. In case you haven't heard it, the new set is packed with impressive, multidimensional tracks, including the sonically aggressive "Secret Language" and "Leave The Keys In The Door." The latter cut is remarkable because of a smart, asymmetric verse and because it may be the densest, grittiest Mobius Band song recorded.

So hopefully there will be a video made for one or both of these songs at some point that is half as good as the excellent video for "Friends Like These" linked above, which you may recall is what we are actually talking about here. The clip is funny: mustachioed drummer Noam Schatz weightily ponders guitarist and singer Ben Sterling's outfit for a party; bassist and singer Peter Sax puts off a girl he is talking up to turn around and deliver a chorus; the entire band kills their own party by insisting on showing slides. We've posted an MP3 of "Friends Like These" below. Mobius Band's current, evolving tour comes to Massachusetts at the end of the month. The band plays former sorta-hometown Northampton, Mass. Nov. 30 and Cambridge's Middle East Dec. 2. Watch for our coverage of the Middle East date; full tour dates below. Heaven was co-released Oct. 2 by Misra and Ghostly International.

Mobius Band -- "Friends Like These" -- Heaven
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[buy Heaven from Newbury Comics here]

Mobius Band: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

11/04 -- Columbus, OH -- The Basement
11/06 -- Pontiac, MI -- The Pike Room
11/07 -- Toronto, ON -- The Horseshoe
11/08 -- Montreal, QC -- Petit Campus
11/09 -- Ithaca, NY -- Cornell University
11/29 -- New York, NY -- Bowery Ballroom | 6 Delancey Street
11/30 -- Northampton, MA -- The Iron Horse
12/02 -- Boston, MA -- Middle East
12/04 -- Atlanta, GA -- 736 Ponce De Leon Avenue
12/06 -- Orlando, FL -- Backbooth
12/07 -- Tampa Bay, FL -- Crowbar
12/08 -- West Palm Beach, FL -- Respectable Street
12/09 -- Jacksonville, FL -- Jack Rabbits
12/10 -- Charleston, SC -- The Map Room
12/11 -- Chapel Hill, NC -- Local 506
12/12 -- Norfolk, VA -- The Boot
12/13 -- Baltimore, MD -- Lo-fi Social Club
12/14 -- Washington, DC -- Rock 'N' Roll Hotel
12/15 -- Philadelphia, PA -- North Star Bar

Previous Mobius Band coverage:
Mobius Band With "Friends Like These"
!Mobius Band In Signing To Misra Shocker!
That Was The Show That Was: Mobius Band, Baby Dayliner
Show Us Yours #4: Mobius Band

Today's Hotness: Ted Pauly, Neptune

>> "I love this song, I used to sing it falling asleep..." We were scrobbling last night after a crazy week of work when we noticed the little icon at Last.fm that indicated a free Ted Pauly track was available. We followed the thread to find that Pauly, fronter of the tragically defunct indie rock act Haywood, has posted 13 tracks for free download as a set called Tadpoley. Many of the tunes are re-recorded (or at least more crisp- and clean-sounding) versions of the demos that formed the foundation for the second posthumous Haywood set released earlier this year; we noted As Long As There Is Track, I Will Not Go Back's new availability via Insound here last week. Perhaps more exciting is Last.fm now hosts a somewhat sketchy video of Pauly performing "A Light At The End" live in a club somewheres (although we can't resize the video as we can with YouTube clips -- boo). There is sadly zero video documentation of Haywood left on the web these days. The erstwhile quartet once had shows available via Digital Club Network back when there was such a thing (someone tell us: who owns those videos now that DCN is dead? Seems like those shows would have greatly increased value now that video on the web has taken off), so this video is sort of a big deal for fans. Plus, it is funny when Pauly gets derailed by an audience member cheering. Anyway, of the Tadpoley tracks we particularly recommend the non-Haywood-ified tracks "Your Mix Tape Broke" and "No One Knows His Part," so here they are.

Ted Pauly -- "Your Mix Tape Broke" -- Tadpoley
Ted Pauly -- "No One Knows His Part" -- Tadpoley
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[grab all the Tadpoley tracks at Last.fm here]

Ted Pauly: Interwebzez | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

>> Boston noise juggernauts Neptune have released a limited edition, five-song EP entitled Paris Green. The title track is taken from the band's forthcoming full-length Gong Lake, which will be released in February on Radium/Table of the Elements. Only 100 handmade copies of Paris Green are available, so compulsive collectors should click here now to get in on the action. The home-made instrument-wielding band is on tour now and will be out on the road for the next couple of weeks. If you haven't seen Neptune live, we just feel bad for you [see here], so get thee to etc. The trio is in Philly tonight. Here are the dates:

11/03 -- Philadelphia, PA -- West Philly Warehouse
11/04 -- Washington, D.C. -- Velvet Lounge
11/05 -- Winston-Salem, NC -- The Wherehouse
11/06 -- Asheville, NC -- Harvest Records
11/07 -- Knoxville TN -- The Pilot Light
11/08 -- Chicago, IL -- AV-aerie
11/09 -- St. Louis -- Lemp Arts Center
11/10 -- Iowa City, IA -- The Picador
11/13 -- St. Paul, MN -- The Turf Club
11/14 -- Bloomington, IN -- Bear's Place
11/15 -- Cincinnati, OH -- Art Damage Lodge
11/16 -- Columbus, OH -- Skylab Gallery
11/17 -- Cleveland, OH -- Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art
11/18 -- Buffalo, NY -- Soundlab