Most will recognize Adam Green as part of the former Moldy Peaches, especially after their resurgence in popularity following the release of Juno (in which their song Anyone Else But You was featured), but it should be noted Green has also established a prolific solo career, wooing his listeners with often controversial – always witty – lyrics. Though his upcoming album, showing a more serious side, is somewhat of a departure from his five previous releases, his sixth is sure to not disappoint.

Minor Love is set to be released February 16th on Fat Possum Records. In the meantime, check out the first song off the album!

Adam Green - What Makes Him Act So Bad.mp3

Elvis Perkins in Dearland @ Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY - December 4, 2009 - Photos by Amanda Hatfield

Elvis Perkins in Dearland came through New York City this past weekend to play a set of shows in Manhattan and Brooklyn. This first one, at Bowery Ballroom, was opened by the excellent Bowerbirds and Dave Godowsky. It was an evening that displayed the multifaceted nature of the pseudo-genre of new folk that's risen into prominence in more recent years. Acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies are paired up with violins, accordions, and horns; the results are beautiful, and as evidenced by the sold out crowd, I'm not the only fan of the sound. ~ Amanda Hatfield

Click here for more photos!

Imogen Heap @ Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY - December 3, 2009 - Photos by Amanda Hatfield

Imogen Heap brought her tour to a stunning conclusion on December 3 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, celebrating her new album, Ellipse, and the announcement earlier in the week of some Grammy nominations. Billboard Live broadcast the show as it was happening on their site, and you can still check out a stream of it here. Opening (and absent from the webcast) were two of her bandmates, Back Ted N-Ted and Tim Exile. Watching both experimental acts was a good introduction to what to expect from the evening. Back Ted N-Ted looped his guitar and voice, and Tim Exile sampled bits of voices and sounds on the spot to create dance music. We were also treated to a couple of songs from a special guest, cello player extraordinaire Zoe Keating, who would also play later on some of Heap's songs.

Imogen Heap and her merry band of noisemakers exist somewhere on the border of pop and electronica. Heap herself has a lovely soaring voice, and she augments it with keyboards, a piano, and a wide variety of unusual instruments and objects: small bells, a singing tube, an odd gold contraption scraped at with a bow. The sounds made by these and picked up by mics wired to her wrists, and looped throughout the songs. It's easy to get caught up in curiosity over the technical hows and whys of all of this, until Heap (a tall, lanky presence on stage with teased hair and sequined leggings) opens her mouth and starts to sing. Then, all you can think is how awesome it all sounds. ~ Amanda Hatfield

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The Mountain Goats @ Bell House - Brooklyn, NY - December 2, 2009 - Photos by Amanda Hatfield

The Mountain Goats and Final Fantasy ended their tour together on December 2 at Brooklyn's Bell House, which is one of the loveliest rooms around to see live music in: small, intimate, and wider than it is long, so there isn't a bad view in the house. Owen Pallett, aka Final Fantasy, had injured his index finger the night before, and wasn't able to play his violin. A crippling blow to a musician for whom violin is his primary instrument, but Owen didn't let that stop him. Instead, we were treated to a short but sweet set of looped piano songs. Slightly awkward but nonetheless impressive, especially considering the last minute nature of the arrangement.

Then John Darnielle ran barefoot onto the stage, threw high fives at the whole front row, and grinning widely, proceeded to bring the house down. The crowd was riveted, cheering and singing along, and at times Darnielle even stepped away from the mic to let our collective raised voices drive the choruses on crowd pleasers like "No Children". The real highlight of the evening for me was when Owen Pallett joined Darnielle and band for "This Year". Everyone in the room, band members and audience alike, shouted along as one, "I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me!" I felt goosebumps raise on my arms and a swell of emotion surge through my chest. Altogether an incredibly special evening from two fantastic bands. ~ Amanda Hatfield

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Metric @ The Republic - New Orleans, LA - November 29, 2009 - Photos by Liz Caruso

I love Metric! Even after being snubbed for the prestigious Canadian Polaris prize up north for the best indie album of year, Emily Haines and Metric are still touring like crazy.

Check out some lovely photos of Metric in New Orleans.

Lissie @ Bootleg Theatre - Los Angeles, CA - November 24, 2009 - Photos by Darren Kim

While touring and opening for Ray LaMontagne, Lissie headlined her own show for a very receptive crowd in Los Angeles. At first glance, it's easy to dismiss Lissie Maurus as yet another country-folk wannabe musician making her home in LA, but don't let the singer-songwriter label turn you away from listening to her creatively fun debut EP Why You Runnin' (out now on Fat Possum Records). Click here for some photos of the show!

Happy Hollows @ Spaceland - Los Angeles, CA - November 23, 2009 - Photos by Darren Kim

The Happy Hollows' November residency at Spaceland continued on Monday with another stellar performance in support of their new self-released album Spells. A couple years ago, The Happy Hollows were almost unanimously declared by bloggers to be the next big act to come out of LA. They signed with Nettwerk only to be dropped by their label earlier this year. As a result, their debut album and possible career seemed to be in limbo for quite a while.

Well, things look brighter now that Spells is finally out. It even received a decent Pitchfork rating today. It's about time.

Click here for more photos!

Röyksopp @ Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA - November 19, 2009 - Photos by Amber Gregory

Röyksopp played to a sold out crowd in San Francisco last week. Anneli Drecker, vocalist and frequent contributor to the Norwegian group, joined the duo on stage. Check out some photos by Amber Gregory!

Dirty Projectors @ Bowery Ballroom - November 18, 2009 - New York, NY - Photos by Amanda Hatfield

Dirty Projectors, riding high on acclaim for their album Bitte Orca, made a triumphant return to the NYC area with a string of sold out shows at Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg this week. I caught the first night at Bowery Ballroom on November 18th, and was once again delighted by the combined vocal stylings of Angel Deradoorian, Amber Coffman, and Haley Dekle. Obviously Dave Longstreth has a huge role in the band's sound and a lot going on himself, but let's face it: the truly mesmerizing thing about listening to these songs is the masterful way the aforementioned ladies blend their voices into intricate harmonies, sometimes with words and others just stacatto bits of sound. It's a testament to the band's musical chops as a whole just how good they sound live, considering the often challenging and unusual arrangements they tend towards.



As great as Dirty Projectors are, though, the real surprise highlight of the evening was opener tUnE-YaRdS: one Merrill Garbus, a ukulele, two drums, and a looping machine. (Live, she's also backed by a bassist.) Let me be the first to admit, I took one look at her band name, complete with its alternating capital letters, inwardly rolled my eyes, and prepared to be bored at best. As it turns out, bored? Anything but! Merrill's vocal manipulations have a similar texture and slight R&B influence to those of the ladies of Dirty Projectors. Using looping pedals she harmonizes with herself, creates elaborate drum beats, and finally sings and plays ukulele over the whole thing. The effect is awesome, and even better, the whole thing isn't just an exercise in technical geekery: it's powerful, and it sounds really, really good. Overhearing conversations after she left the stage with a bow to enthusiastic applause, it was clear I wasn't the only convert - I heard exclamations of "best opener ever!" more than once. ~ Amanda Hatfield

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Peaches @ Terminal 5 - November 14, 2009 - New York, NY - Photos by Dese'Rae Stage

It's been a busy year for Peaches with the release of her album I Feel Cream, a multitude of videos, and a full US and world tour. She's currently in the midst of her second US tour in support of her new album. Dese'Rae was at the New York date to take some photos.

Check them out!

Amanda Palmer Soundcheck @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg - November 14, 2009 - Brooklyn, NY - Photos by Dese'Rae Stage

Dese'Rae was at Amanda Palmer's soundcheck, and took some portraits and photos. Check them out!

Final Fantasy @ Henry Fonda Theater - November 15, 2009 - Los Angeles, CA - Photos by Wei Shi

The Mountain Goats and Final Fantasy played to an enthusiastic crowd at The Music Box in Hollywood last Sunday. Final Fantasy opened the night and I am convinced that Owen Pallett is an amazing violin playing machine. When I first heard of Final Fantasy, I had my reservations about indulging in a band named after a video game. However, it took only one song to win me over. Pallett's velvety voice transforms from soothing to vaguely brooding in nature while his violin orchestrations sound effortlessly brilliant. It was a treat to catch him live since he layers songs together with loop pedals. It resembled watching a master chef combine ingredients together to create a final spectacular dish. Pallett kept the show laid back as he talked about how great LA was and joked about the public transportation.

Final Fantasy finished their set with "This is the Dream of Win and Regine," and then The Mountain Goats hit the stage with cheers from the audience. Frontman, John Darnielle, started the show from the piano and then moved to the center of the stage on guitar. People sang along and some even danced to the folk tunes. Pallett reappeared on stage to accompany some of the songs on violin.

The Mountain Goats released a bible based concept album last month called The Life of the World to Come. Final Fantasy's new album, Heartland, is due out in January next year. ~ Wei Shi

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Amanda Palmer @ Music Hall of Williamsburg - November 14, 2009 - Brooklyn, NY - Photos by Amanda Hatfield

For the uninitiated, walking into an Amanda Palmer concert can be an overwhelming experience. This isn't the kind of show that you casually decide to check out with some friends who may or may not be familiar with the band in question because there's been some blog buzz; this is where you go to feel part of a tribe of fellow devotees. Because by and large, fans of Ms. Palmer are anything but casual: they follow her on Twitter (where she's delightfully accessible and prolific), they know all the words to all the songs (and they've probably even bought physical copies of the cds), they affect manners of dress and makeup reminiscent of Amanda's style in the Dresden Dolls and now: doll like face makeup, corsets, striped stockings. Sometimes there's a theatrical element, with fans organizing performance art before the opening acts, and at this particular show two visual artists painted as Amanda played, with the resulting pieces being auctioned off before the last song.

It's easy, too, to be taken aback by her music, which tends towards piano based rock songs with heavy lyrics. There are also moments of genuine levity - and songs like Oasis, which is probably the most upbeat tune about rape and abortion you'll ever hear. Which isn't to say it trivializes or makes light of either issue, but these aren't songs to characterize as goth or emo, wallowing in their own dark subjects. Amanda was backed on this tour by the Nervous Cabaret, who added drums, horns, and guitar to her piano. Having the accompaniment seemed to push her energy even higher, and she and the band pulled out all the stops on favorites from The Dresden Dolls and her solo album, as well as some truly fun and fabulous, if slightly messy covers. The Ting Ting's That's Not My Name and The Animals' The House of the Rising Sun were particular highlights, as was a spontaneous post show ukulele performance in the lobby of Making Whoopee from atop some lucky guy's shoulders. Love her or hate her (if you're anything like me it's love) you can't deny Amanda Palmer's charisma and musical passion, and she left the crowd wanting more, more, more after yet another inspired show. ~ Amanda Hatfield

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The Silversun Pickups video for "Substitution" has been out for a couple months, but did you know the girls featured in this rather unlikely musical chairs scenario were snatched up from a casting call for the new Melrose Place? Aha! And did you know the video was also directed by the Malloy brothers, Emmett Malloy and Brendan Malloy, who also directed such wonderful masterpieces such as Avril Lavigne's "Complicated" and the Jonas Brothers' "Burnin' Up". Now you've gotta check it out!

There's also a complimentary behind the scenes video below:

Freelance Whales have been getting a tremendous amount of attention since their CMJ shows which apparently caused a number of record labels clamoring to sign them on the spot. I'm not exactly sure who they signed on the dotted line with, but according to reports, their debut album will be properly released in Spring 2010.

via NPR:

Freelance Whales' members make music that's undeniably quirky and fun. But the instrumentation isn't a gimmick: The band produces textured music with powerful rhythms and a keen sense of melody.

They recently announced tour dates with another amazing upstart band, Fanfarlo. Do NOT miss these two bands.

Tour Dates:
11/13 - Moe's - Englewood, CO
11/14 - The State Room - Salt Lake City, UT
11/16 - The Knitting Factory - Boise, ID
11/17 - Crocodile Cafe - Seattle, WA
11/18 - Media Club - Vancouver, BC
11/19 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR
11/22 - Rickshaw Shop - San Francisco, CA
11/23 - The Echo - Los Angeles, CA
11/24 - The Casbah - San Diego, CA
11/27 - Muddy Waters - Santa Barbara, CA
11/29 - Club Congress - Tucson, AZ
11/30 - Santa Fe Brewing Co - Santa Fe, NM
12/02 - The Independent - Austin, TX
12/03 - The Loft - Dallas, TX
12/04 - Walter's on Washington - Houston, TX
12/06 - The Bottletree - Birmingham, AL
12/09 - Metro Gallery - Baltimore, MD
12/10 - Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia, PA
12/11 - Iota Cafe - Arlington, VA
12/12 - Brillobox - Pittsburgh, PA
12/14 - Majestic Cafe - Detroit, MI
12/15 - El Mocambo Club - Toronto, ON
12/16 - Il Motore - Montreal, QB
12/17 - TT the Bears - Cambridge, MA
12/18 - Webster Hall - New York, NY