Friendly Fires and The xx in Brooklyn

We were really looking forward to this gig at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in hipster central (i.e. Brooklyn). The last time we were there, Lykke Li was headlining but a surprisingly fun band popped on stage to open up, Friendly Fires. They got the crowd riled up and you could definitely see their potential in ’08. Last night was finally their chance to headline their first show in Brooklyn to great effect.

I was expecting to have a good night of fun, but what I got was much better. We got there at around 9:00, went downstairs to get a ridiculously overpriced drink and sat around and chatted it up for a while. I had no idea who was opening but good thing I was there to see them. The xx, a band we wrote a little something something about back in May were playing. They came out, went into a corner, said “hello” in funky British accents and started playing. They played a short set of about 6 or 7 songs but were awesome. Its the kind of music you could mellow out to sipping on some cervezas on any given afternoon. It has got a lo-fi feel to it with incredible, perfectly harmonized vocals. Very simple but with a lot of flavour is how we like to describe it.

Moving on to the real goodies though. I was so ready to dance and bob my head to some sweet riffs and they did not deny me that at all. Friendly Fires came out of the gates hard with “Lovesick” and the rest was history… They played with such an intensity, you could tell they were truly enjoying themselves on stage. Lead singer Ed MacFarlane’s dancing, which seems to have influence from Mick Jagger and my Dad, never stopped and Edd Gibson, the guitarist, rocked out as if he was John Fruciante fuzed with a kid with ADHD.

The music had the crowd going insane, everyone was dancing and jumping around everywhere. At one point, when they were playing “Paris”, a drunk chick jumped onto the stage and started dancing around. After harassing the band for twenty or so seconds and almost getting shoved offstage by MacFarlane, a dude came out from backstage and threw her into the crowd for a short-lived crowd surfing session. Following this incident Ed said “[He] felt really rude about kicking her off,” so basically they invited the whole crowd to join. This led to something I had never seen: 15 kids jumped on stage and started dancing. Keep in mind this was the last song of the night so people were going nuts. They go into a little jam session, I’m minding my own business dancing around and suddenly I see the guitarist, guitar and eggbeater (don’t ask me why) in hand, right in my face. It was incredible, the guy just wanted to dance around so we did for a while, then the lead singer came down and we were all dancing in a crazy circle. It was hysteria, fans all dancing up on stage and the band down with us on the floor getting their groove on.

It was a dope concert and I recommend trying to catch a show before the tour is over. They are heading to Cali the 23rd and 24th of this month, and then they go on to take care of business in Europe.

Here is a vid I found on YouTube from last night, of the drunk girl storming the stage. Funny funny funny:

Tomas Ferraro

Known to Blow Fuses

Lykke Li – Everybody But Me

6.7/10. An old track off of her album Youth Novels. While it may only be an album cut, her sultry voice still shines through.

Clipse – Kinda Like a Big Deal feat. Kanye West

8.6/10. ”A far cry from the stash in the rental van/ I’m the reason the hood need a dental plan.” Clipse has moved away from those insane minimalist beats that The Neptunes hooked them up with on their last album and have adopted this riff-driven beat produced by DJ Khalil.

Peaches – Trick or Treat

7.8/10. Peaches may be 40 but she’s still pumping out sultry tracks that have nothing to do with anything but sex. Here you will find one of her more ridiculous beats as the German hits it hard again. Potential girl-power anthem.

Annie – Two of Hearts

6.5/10. Can you say Madonna? This track is straight 80′s and straight danceable.

Annie – Anthonio (Fred Falke Remix)

8.8/10. The Norweigan’s candor is unmistakable as she sings about dancing with an unbeknownst gentleman.

Annie – Anthonio (Designer Drugs Remix)

8.8/10. Expect Designer Drugs to flip this track into an up-tempo rave-worthy track. 

Annie – Heartbeat (Alan Braxe Remix)

9.0/10. Quite a euphoric track.  The vocals truthfully remind me of TATU (remember those Russian lesbians), while the track itself has all the tenets to become a smash.

Kid Cudi – Embrace the Martian (Tevar Edit)

8.1/10. Once this track kicks, it won’t stop. The beat is far better than the vocals, which is usually the case with Cudi but he does do some singing on the hook here.

Lewis Corson

Lykke Li

Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson, the indie-pop Swedish sensation better known under her performance name of Lykke Li, has been sweeping the blogosphere by storm over the past nine months.  On Hype Machine she has consistently been one of the “most blogged about artists” during this span and her debut LP Youth Novels has consistently been rated as one of the best albums of 2008.  This is an LP filled with gems.. there are only a couple pure “album cuts” and even those show promise.  The album was produced by fellow countryman Björn Yttling from Peter, Bjorn and John and has all the sounds that we are accustomed to with traditional  Swedish pop (see: ABBA, Peter, Bjorn and John, Shout Out Louds, José Gonzalez and The Knife).  

Li has brought an undeniable sex appeal to the Swedish indie-pop scene that is quite a refresher when taking other Swedish acts in the same genre into account.  Check out her “Little Bit” video below:

What needs to be emphasized in this starlet’s so-far short career is that there has been an abundance of mash-ups, covers and reproductions with her wonderful voice out there.  Here at [cardboardliving] Lykke Li is one of our favorite artists.  So we have provided a list of downloadable tracks below:

Little Bit (Loving Hand Remix)

Rating: 6.7/10 –> Slower remix with some horns.

Little Bit (Suck Shaft Remix)

Rating: 7.9/10 –> May sound like a pornographic remixer, but these are some more Swedish compatriots. I really dig the funk in this remix and the echoing vocals in the background.

Little Bit (Death to the Throne Remix)

Rating: 8.2/10 –> You can definitely groove to this one.  A more aggressive take on the song.

Little Bit (AutoErotique Bootleg Remix)

Rating: 8.7/10 –> The best out of the bunch.  A techno, groovy backing beat.  Totally danceable.

Dance Dance Dance (Fromage Wants You to Know Remix)

Rating: 6.1/10 –> One of the weaker remixes out there.  The original track should be listened to at Li’s website in place of this one.

Breaking it Up (Pocketknife’s Loosefoot Remix)

Rating: 8.3/10 –> Great cover/mashup with Pocketknife.  This has a stronger percussion line but not as much emphasis on Li’s charming vocals.

Breaking it Up (Punks Jump Up Remix)

Rating: 8.4/10 –> Another electro remix that every fan must have.

I’m Good, I’m Ghost (Lykke Li vs Holy Ghost The Hood Internet Remix)

Rating: 7.8/10 –> The Hood Internet rocks.

I Don’t Mind (Jump On It)

Rating: 6.9/10 –> A rarity for collectors?

Until We Bleed (Landers Remix)

Rating: 8.0/10 –> Landers has crafted a very chilled-out version of this track with some really cool strings.

Kings of Leon vs. Lykke Li (Knocked Up Rodeo Mashup)

Rating: 9.3/10 –> Undoubtedly the best mashup/remix out there with Lykke Li.  This was the most downloaded track on Hype Machine for months and still sounds great.

LuC