Justin Levinson and The Valcours will be performing Saturday, March 10 at The Lizard Lounge. The show is celebrating the release of Levinson's latest album, This Side Of Me, This Side Of You, a ten-song ode to love and its repercussions. Dressing his distress in an eclectic mix of piano, loud guitars, horns, strings, and dreamy harmonies, the album also features contributions from acclaimed singer/songwriters Will Dailey (MA), Gregory Douglass (VT), and Liz Longley (PA).
Other supporting acts for The Lizard Lounge appearance include Yellowbirddd (NY) and The Days Weight (MA). Show is 21+ and $10 dollars at the door.
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
