The Teenage Prayers excel at the art of writing barnburners. A hair shy of overblown (or sometimes just real gone), stompin', hollerin', sweaty numbers such as "I Like It" and "Good Voodoo" were made for cramped juke joint stages such as the one they'll take at The Star Bar this Wednesday.



Produced by Steve Wynn, Everyone Thinks You're the Best, the New York act's second full-length, is most memorable when in the throes of full-on bar band ecstasy, but ably simmers down to explore a variety of different styles and tempos. "I'm in Love Again" sounds at times like a Steely Dan outtake; "Heiroglyph" plays with dub even as it's a rousing shout-along; "Dreams of the South" has a steady, epic strength. The songs all hang together, members of the same wild, beautiful gang.

Unified by a whopping dose of ragged soul, this is a band whose sound jumps out of your headphones and starts a riot. Live, they ought to be dangerous.

The Teenage Prayers play The Star Bar tonight with Hymns and Spottiswoode & His Enemies. Catch them on tour as follows:

Thursday, March 20 - Charlotte, NC - The Milestone
Friday, March 21 - Raleigh, NC - Slim's Downtown
Saturday, March 22 - Baltimore, MD - Lo-Fi Social Club
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Lewis Black's Root of All Evil
Comedy Central, Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m. EST



Crankypants and The Daily Show's "Back in Black" correspondent Lewis Black now has an even bigger forum in which to vilify anything and everything that pisses him off. Structured like a mock trial, Root of All Evil lets Black's fellow comedians present arguments in each installment about which of two modern institutions is worse. Episode one pits Oprah Winfrey against the Catholic Church. Paul F. Tomkins makes the case for Oprah's cult-leader qualities and overblown narcissism ("Oprah wants you to love and respect all women who are Oprah"), while Greg Giraldo skewers the Catholic Church for plaguing its members with fear, guilt and "boy-fucking."

This show will appeal to anyone who relates to Black's misanthropic, about-to-blow demeanor and his cohorts' crude wisecracks. Its setup feels a little loose so far, but give it time. If this week's offenders (Donald Trump and Viagra) are any indication, getting to the root of all evil ought to take years.

- Amanda Langston

Official Show Site
Lewis Black's Official Site

Labels: tv

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Hot Chip
Made in the Dark (Astralwerks)

After the success of "Over and Over," Hot Chip are suddenly ubiquitous. They've become the go-to guys for remixes of everyone from Amy Winehouse to The Rolling Stones, and were even asked to pen a song for Kylie Minogue's latest (they declined). So, Made in the Dark comes with some pretty high expectations. Fortunately, they have delivered an album that proves they are worthy of all the acclaim.

Hot Chip have completely abandoned the shambolic sounds of their first album, while further developing the glistening pop moments of 2006's The Warning. The first four tracks alone are an onslaught of danceable, brightly energetic tunes. The band moves through the insistent "Out at the Pictures," the pounding dance breaks of "Shake a Fist," the pure synthesizer pop of "Ready for the Floor," and the bouncing, skittering beats of "Bendable Poseable."

The energy level drops briefly for the dreamy balladry of "We're Looking for a Lot of Love," but the band never lets the listener rest for long. The slow moments that riddle the second half of the album are immediately followed by tracks like the world beat-meets-New Order funk of "One Pure Thought" or the rhythmic "Touch Too Much."

By structuring their album this way, it is easy for the quieter moments to be eclipsed by the big beats. But that does not mean the ballads and soulful touches are mere filler. If anything, it is a testament to how much impact is made by the other tracks. Hot Chip simply threaten to overshadow themselves with their own mastery of dance grooves.

- Stuart Myerburg

Hot Chip
Astralwerks

Hot Chip tour dates:

- Saturday, March 8 - Hamburg, DE - Uebel & Gefahrlich
- Sunday, March 9 - Berlin, DE - Postbahnhof
- Monday, March 10 - Munich, DE - Elserhalle
- Tuesday, March 11 - Cologne, DE - Gloria
- Thursday, March 13 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
- Friday, March 14 - Brussels, Belgium - Botanique / Orangerie
- Saturday, March 15 - Lille, FR - Grand Mix
- Monday, March 17 - Paris, FR - Trabendo
- Tuesday, March 18 - Rennes, FR - Ubu
- Thursday, April 10 - Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom
- Friday, April 11 - Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club
- Saturday, April 12 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
- Monday, April 14 - Boston, MA - Paradise
- Tuesday, April 15 - Montreal, QC - Metropolis
- Wednesday, April 16 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix
- Thursday, April 17 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
- Friday, April 18 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
- Monday, April 21 - Vancouver, B.C. - Commodore Ballroom
- Tuesday, April 22 - Seattle, WA - Showbox
- Wednesday, April 23 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
- Thursday, April 24 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
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Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend (XL)

Behold! It's that time again, when one band out of a million are crowned the reigning kings of right now. The Vampire Weekend buzz has been building over the last 6 months or so, and seems ready to explode. Driving this frenzy is a worthwhile, if not mind-blowing, debut album, one whose beatific melodies are a teasing preview of springtime.

It's impossible to read about this group of Columbia grads without seeing their work compared to Paul Simon's Graceland. One has to wonder if the plethora of writers throwing around the G-word to encapsulate Vampire Weekend's sound have bothered to play this 1986 album since its Grammy-winning heyday, or if they were even alive then. Yes, both incorporate sparkling African rhythms (in Simon's case, via authentic African musicians), into their effusive, brainy New York pop. The Vampire Weekend boys even admit being influenced by a parent's copy of the record, but the similarities are superficial. If the two works share anything, it has more to do with their mix of bubbly sonic optimism and a knack for highbrow storytelling than a strong geographic connection.

Murmurs of colonialism have followed the band, along with derision towards their Ivy League background (face it, "Walcott" could totally be the name of a Whit Stillman character). In truth, Vampire Weekend draw as much from art-pop and garden-variety indie rock sources as they do from traditional African sounds. Upper-crust strings (indigenous to the Upper West Side) dress "M79" and the aforementioned "Walcott" in mannered attitude; the offhand vocals on "Oxford Comma" trill with careless ennui. For every wobbly-kneed, awkward dance groove, there's the prickly guitar melody of "Bryn," which has a crisp, rousing Celtic feel.

For all their exposure, this isn't yet a band with a personality-driven identity (I, and I suspect many listeners, can't yet name an individual band member offhand). What stands out is their fresh, youthful feeling - the free-spirited bounce of "A-Punk," the lovely back-and-forth of "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," and the excitement of confounding those who would rather music and culture stay in specifically designated boxes, never to mix inappropriately. If they become the biggest band in the world or we never hear from them again, this is a strong, infectious collection of songs that deviates from the everyday. And, damn it, that's nothing to be embarrassed about.

- Amanda Langston

If they recover from performing on Saturday Night Live tonight, Vampire Weekend will perform (along with The Walkmen) at the Earl this Sunday, March 9.

Vampire Weekend
XL

Vampire Weekend tour dates:

- Monday, March 10 - Birmingham, AL - The Bottletree (w/The Walkmen)
- Tuesday, March 11 - New Orleans, LA - Pocket Park at the LBC quad, Tulane University
- Wednesday, March 19 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah (SOLD OUT)
- Thursday, March 20 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre (SOLD OUT)
- Saturday, March 22 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent (SOLD OUT)
- Sunday, March 23 - San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Shop (SOLD OUT)
- Tuesday, March 25 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge (SOLD OUT)
- Wednesday, March 26 - Seattle, WA - Nuemos (SOLD OUT)
- Thursday, March 27 - Vancouver, B.C. - Richards on Richards (SOLD OUT)
- Saturday, March 29 - Missoula, MT - The Badlander
- Sunday, March 30 - Boise, ID - Neurolux
- Monday, March 31 - Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue
- Tuesday, April 1 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
- Thursday, April 3 - Minneapolis, MN - The Triple Rock Social Club
- Friday, April 4 - Madison, WI - The High Noon
- Saturday, April 5 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
- Sunday, April 6 - Chicago, IL - Metro (SOLD OUT)
- Friday, April 11 - Providence, RI - Brown University Campus Green
- Friday, April 25 - Indio, CA - Coachella - 1 p.m.more...
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Miss Kittin
BatBox (Nobody's Bizzness)

DJ and musician Caroline Herve, better known by the moniker Miss Kittin, inexplicably dubs herself "Ms. Kittin" on the cover of her newest release, BatBox. Perhaps the minor name change echoes the subtle shift in her music from her previous, more experimental solo album. BatBox has a slicker, more polished sound, thanks to producer Pascal Gabriel, whose recent production credits include pop divas Dido, Kylie Minogue and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

Despite the glossier production, Miss Kittin does not stray far from her usual formula. She has always been fascinated with the trappings of fame and celebrity ("Madame Hollywood," "Frank Sinatra") and continues to explore that theme on "Sunset Strip" and "Playmate of the Century." Her trademark blend of deadpan delivery paired with Eurodisco electro beats is also evident throughout most of the album. She almost revels in it on "Machine Joy," where she proclaims, "Joy is in the rhythm of the machine."

But there are hints of new directions amid the usual sounds. A subtle goth undertone permeates the album, most notably in the album title and the cartoon bats gracing its cover. The theme continues on "Kittin is High," with its reference to "vampire and witches" and her promise to "bite you in the neck" on "Solidasarockstar." Even the guitar sounds on "Grace" are reminiscent of Joy Division and Bauhaus.

A gentleness also emerges on "Play Me a Tape," where Miss Kittin urges a lover to play her a tape "to show me you love me." Backed by sweet synthesizer sounds that would not be out of place on an early Depeche Mode recording, she demonstrates a charming, sensitive side. Stripped of her detached irony, she reveals the human behind the machines.

- Stuart Myerburg

Miss Kittin
Nobody's Bizzness

Catch Miss Kittin on tour:

- Saturday, March 8 - Tokyo, JP DJ/live BatBox release showcase @ Womb
- Saturday, March 15 - Singapore, SG DJ/live BatBox release showcase @ Zouk Club
- Thursday, March 27 - Paris, FR Special New Wave DJ set w/ The Hacker @ Le Paris - Paris
- Friday, March 28 - Montpelier, FR DJ/live BatBox release showcase @ La Villa Rouge
- Wednesday, April 23 - Berlin, DE DJ/live @ Watergate
- Saturday, May 3 - Offenbach, DE Robert Johnson
- Saturday, May 10 - Venice, IT Il Muretto
- Wednesday, May 21 - Paris, FR Mkth DJ set @ 15 years of Rex Club anniversary @ Rex Club
- Friday, May 30 - Sevilla, ES Territorios Festival @ Andalusian Center of Contemporary Art
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