Tonight kicks off a 5-night east coast tour from local psych/shoegaze band 28 Degrees Taurus. Having recently come back from two midwestern tours (the last of which was with their Midwestern "sister band" Gospel Gossip) this marks the first area performance from 28DT in several months.
Minneapolis' Gospel Gossip will be accompanying the band on this tour. Some folks might remember Gospel Gossip from their last New England appearance in August at Deep Heaven Now. Combining energy, intensity and raw, emotionally-charged vocals from Sarah Nienaber, this band's shoegaze will leave you completely spellbound.
Do yourself a favor and make it to at least one, if not all, of these shows.
Friendly People’s debut, self-titled 3-song EP gives a concise taste of a promising young Cambridge, MA-based band. Their jangly indie pop is peppered with hints of Americana, roots rock and folk with vocals that owe a debt to Neil Young. The EP’s clear highlight is its opening track—their namesake song—“Friendly People”. It’s a tremendous, positive track buoyed by a horn section in the bridge which lends a mariachi feel. “A Lot of Work To Do” brings out Harvest-era Neil Young, starting as a plaintive acoustic ditty which builds slowly into a passionate electric number. Closing track, “Branches”, follows the same acoustic-to-electric path. As the song builds, it introduces tribal rhythms that are reminiscent of 80s indie-punk legends, the Volcano Suns. Friendly People are scheduled to record their debut full-length in March. If the Friendly People EP is indicative of what we can expect from this young group’s next batch of tunes it will be a record to keep an eye on later in 2012.--George Dow
