In the course of their seven year career, the Animal Collective have released some records that are absolutely stunning in their beauty and complexity, and others that are absolutely stunning in their "what the hell was that?" factor – the kind of “what the hell?” that makes you wonder if you are just a few steps away from missing something transcendant, or just two steps away from an audio car wreck. It’s crazy variance that makes for a can’t miss...

Having just finished up a tour of UK, France and Belgium (where their noise-rock leanings undoubtedly make them gods), Thee More Shallows will embark on an extensive US jaunt in support of their new album Book of Bad Breaks. GC recently sat down with bandleader David "Dee" Kessler to talk about the album and said European tour, and you can read about it here . THEE MORE SHALLOWS – BOOK OF BAD BREAKS TOUR 2007 Friday May 4th, San Francisco,...

The other day I was walking to the local market when I passed a tattered homeless man selling incense out front. He was talking to another guy and I caught the words "The Beatles? They're still making music. The Asian son of John Lennon was at the Roxy…" It's always a surprise when I discover which likeminded people share the same musical tastes as me. Just as the incense peddler said, on Tuesday night fans gathered in the cozy blue-lit...

Hot flying balls of absolute awesome!!! One of Ground Control's favorite bands, Pela, is finally—FINALLY!—hitting the road for a full U.S. tour, where they'll be opening for Electric Soft Parade, who are far from shabby themselves. Both bands will be supporting their recently released albums—ESP’s No Need to be Downhearted (read the review here ) and Pela’s Anytown Graffiti (read the Pela interview here ). They’ll be joined on tour by BrakesBrakesBrakes, and EVERYONE. SHOULD. GO. Listen to Electric...

Classic, mature, and seasoned are not the first words that come to mind when describing Blonde Redhead's new full length record, 23, a recording that bulges at the seams with fresh ideas and new directions. However, there were some people in the crowd on April 23, including this reporter, at Bimbo's 365 club in San Francisco who have literally grown up with the band since they came on the scene more than 13 years ago. Flash back to the mindset...

Kicking off May 1 in L.A., the mighty Mastodon are embarking on what looks to be a pretty insane summer tour. A nice change from last year’s arena tour with Slayer—not that it’s bad, just different. It will be nice to get all intimate with the guys in front of say, 4000 people, rather than 18,000. By the end of the tour, Mastodon’s 5th full-length, Blood Mountain , will have been circling the planet for a full year, ruling over...

It would be silly to count the times you heard Chromeo’s “You’re So Gangsta,” “Me & My Man” or “Needy Girl” at a bar with a DJ providing the night’s entertainment. The best part is when you hear all three played in a row—double disc vinyl allows for that kind of creativity—as no one knew who this band was in the first place. If you heard three Bloc Party songs in a row, people might assume it’s a “Rock Block”...

I’ve been following Thee More Shallows since their first album A History of Sport Fishing. The band, who was at the time Tadas Kisielus and David “Dee” Kesler, had just changed the name from Thee Shallows to Thee More Shallows. All thanks to some fellow San Franciscan named Brian Gregory who had a band The Shallows and hired an attorney to intimidate Kisielus and Kesler. It turned out that this Brian guy and his Shallows project released a whopping one...

ARTIST: Midnight Movies on Tour DATE: 04-20-07 WRITER: Clara Druzgalski With the release of Midnight Movies’ lauded LP, Lion the Girl, lurking (April 24 on New Line Records), the quartet is poised to bring its haunting melodies to a city near you.The band’s 60s-inspired sounds will serve as a perfect aperitif to the Raveonette’s fuzzy noise pop, when the two journey up the West Coast together this June. But first, Midnight Movies will head out with art rockers Blonde Redhead...

ARTIST: Kings of Leon on Tour DATE: 04-20-07 WRITER: Clara Druzgalski PHOTO: Press McGee Kings of Leon’s new record, “BECAUSE OF THE TIMES,” has debuted at #25 on the Billboard Top 200, selling 41,919. This is the band’s biggest one-week of sales in America to date, and doubles their prior best week. Kings of Leon mania has also spread to other parts of the world, debuting at #1 in the UK and New Zealand, #3 in Ireland and #4 in...