Tastes Like Caramel :: Relaunch Feb. 2010

Cold Cave at Mercury Lounge 2.4.10

It was a bitter cold Thursday night but weather was not a deterrant for ticket holders and hopefuls who lined up outside of Mercury Lounge for the ultra cool and sold out self-titled bill!

Ramona Gonzalez and her band Nite Jewel kicked off the night at 10 PM with a fantastic, dark and spacey set of 11 dance tracks. For those who missed out, the entire set (which included a killer cover of Suicide’s Shadazz) is available for stream on WNYC.

Shortly after 11 PM, Cold Cave assumed positions behind their 3 standing synths for a detached headlining performance. Cold Cave’s numbing melting pot of synth noise, darkwave and standoffish vocals are an infectious cross-pollination of industrial, goth and disco that comes across flawlessly live.

Like their 9-track debut Love Comes Close, Cold Cave’s live set is short but definitely worth facing the harsh elements for.

Keep your eyes on CC’s MySpace page for tour dates! Upcoming Nite Jewel tour dates can be seen HERE.

mp3: Nite Jewel – Heart Won’t Start [alt]
mp3: Nite Jewel – We Want Our Things [alt]
mp3: Cold Cave – Youth and Lust [alt]
mp3: Cold Cave – Life Magazine [alt]

Nite Jewel at Mercury Lounge 2.4.10

Mon-Khmer
/ˈmoʊnˈkmɛər, -kəˈmɛər/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [mohn-kmair, -kuh-mair]
–noun
1. a group of Austroasiatic languages that includes Mon, of Burma, and Khmer, the language of Cambodia.
–adjective
2. of or pertaining to the Mon-Khmer.
-noun
3. an awesome band from Brooklyn, New York.

Luckily, I arrived early to Mercury Lounge to catch Brooklyn quartet Mon Khmer’s supporting set for Savoir Adore last month. I’d never heard of the band prior to that night so it was a great surprise to catch the band’s captivating live show. Rather than following the current  psych/electro trends of modern rock, MK have carved out an updated classic rock sound that flows organically live and on the record. Mon Khmer will surely gain a bigger following throughout their spring tour as well as their gigs during SXSW.

Keep an ear open for Mon Khmer and check out a few of my choice tracks from their EP released last year below! More pictures from their Savoir Adore supporting set can be seen below as well.

Update: The songs below were part of an unreleased demo EP I got my hands on, the band personally requested they be removed as they were unfinished. Stay tuned for their upcoming full length!

Stream: Birthplace

mp3: Mon Khmer – Change [alt]
mp3: Mon Khmer – GTS [alt]
mp3: Mon Khmer – Populist [alt]

The countdown to the release of the highly-anticipated third studio album from Gorillaz is nearing an end! To whet our appetites for the March 8th (UK) and 9th (US) release of Plastic Beach,  the animated misfits shared the following clip via MySpace earlier this week. Check out the clip below and stay tuned for a tour announcement HERE (hopefully.)

The Mute’s official YouTube station MuteChannel unveiled a new teaser for Goldfrapp’s forthcoming new album Head First. Check out the clip below which ties in the album’s dreamy pop artwork. Head First is out next month on the 22nd in the UK and on the 23rd in the US!

Gonzales may be best known for his songwriting and production work with Peaches, Jamie Lidell and Feist but Canadian born Jason Charles Beck has come a long way in the music industry. In the early 1990’s he was a part of the alternative rock band Son before emigrating to Berlin to reinvent himself as  a hip-hop infused pianist , songwriter and eclectic instrumentalist.

Tonight kicks off Chilly Gonzales’ Piano Talk’s residency at Joe’s Pub in New York, a month-long engagement with a very special guest every night. Tonight’s guest is none other than Sia, with Andrew WK, A-Trak and Princess Superstar following suit every Thursday night from February 4-25th.  More info and tickets can be found HERE. Don’t miss this very special experience!

Fun Fact: Last May Gonzales broke the world record for the longest solo-artist performance from behind the piano, clocking in at 27 hours, 3 minutes and 44 seconds.

mp3: Sia – Breathe Me (Mylo Remix) [alt]
mp3: Erol Alkan – Waves (Chilly Gonzales Piano Remake) [alt]
mp3: 50 Cent – Many Men (Chilly Gonzales Piano Version) [alt]
mp3: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix) [alt]

Awards season officially kicked off Sunday night with the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards!

In all honesty I feel most awards ceremonies are so out of touch with what I consider quality music, but nonetheless I always tune in for the performances, fashion, surprises and disappointments.

Sunday night’s’ show kicked off on a high note with Lady Gaga performing a high-concept run through of Pokerface and duetting with no other than Sir Elton John for lovely renditions of Your Song and Speechless. High performance notes came from Pink who performed nerve-wracking acrobatic rendition of Glitter in the Air, Stevie Nicks, Maxwell with Roberta Flack and Jeff Beck with Imelda May in tribute to guitartist Les Paul. The eloquent acceptance speech by Prince Jackson and Paris Jackson on behalf of their late father Michael Jackson was also very sweet and endearing.

There were no big shockers on the fashion side (beside Gaga being a bit subdued): Rihanna and Beyonce glamming it up, Katy Perry and Ke$ha appearing haggardly, and Fergie and Britney not dressing up for the occasion. Along with the dead air censored performance by Lil Wayne, Eminem and Drake, Gaga and Yeah Yeah Yeahs being snubbed, the overly hyped 3-D visuals that accompanied the Michael Jackson Tribute were a disappointment.  The headache-inducing 3D visuals didn’t really work with the visuals and overall it was just distracting, but the performances were great. I was also disappointed by the lack of crowd shots and lack of awards handed out. Also, WTF did Beyonce sing You Oughta Know?

mp3: Pink – Sober (Bimbo Jones Club Mix) [alt]

mp3: Kings of Leon – Use Somebody (RAC Remix) [alt]

mp3: Lady Gaga Featuring Beyonce – Telephone (Passion Pit Remix) [alt]

A few awards I agree with are below, fill list of winners HERE.

I’m so excited to share the latest demos to have sprang a leak (possibly) from Kelis‘ upcoming fifth album FleshTones. Kelis’ upcoming album may be one of my most anticipated for 2010, I can’t wait to see and hear where she takes this. But hopefully there won’t be much more of THIS.

Check out the songs along with a clip from her performance on Saturday night at the Data Awards where she performed an incredibly awesome medley of 4th of July, Milkshake and the album’s first single Acapella!

mp3: Kelis – 4th of July (Live) [alt]
mp3: Kelis – Scream and Shout [alt]
mp3: Kelis – They Say (Featuring Kid CuDi) [alt]

Yesterday Florence unveiled the stunning new music video for Hurricane Drunk. In all honesty the song was not my favorite from Lungs but after seeing the accompanying video clip I’ve changed my opinion. Check out Flo doing her best asymmetrical bird impersonation in the clip below and don’t miss her on tour this spring including Coachella and Terminal 5.

Happy Friday! It’s been quite a hectic week of shows and continuing the move the site over to our own server (http://tlc-blog.com) but the great music doesn’t stop pouring in. Check out a few of my favorites from over the course of the week below.

Bloc Party’s Russell Lissack and female vocalist Melina Mepris make up the electro-pop outfit Pin Me Down.

• mp3: Pin Me Down – Time Crisis [alt]

Finally a decent remix of the The Xx, this time by none other than Matthew Dear.

• mp3: The Xx – VCR (Mathew Dear Remix) [alt]

The gorgeous photo to your right is a brand new Goldfrapp press photo for Head First, complimentary to Believer the second track to make it’s way onto the internet.

Stream: Goldfrapp – Believer

Last Friday the entertainment world joined forces for the Hope for Haiti telethon, raising an impressive $61 million. One of the most moving performances came from Christina Aguilera who debuted a brand new song Lift Me Up, co-written with Sia from Xtina’s upcoming album Bionic – scheduled for an April release. You can purchase the exclusive 20-track iTunes charity album for just $7.99 HERE.

Although it pains me to admit to never having visited Paris before, getting a personal tour of underground Paris by Dan Black is pretty awesome. Check out the video segment below along with our interview with Dan during CMJ HERE. Stay up to date with Dan Black’s upcoming tour dates HERE.