TVD Ticket Giveaway | The Caribbean, Sunday (7/18) at Galaxy Hut

If you've been playing along at home over the past two weeks, you're well aware that we've been following The Caribbean all through the mid-west and down south via their between libations Tour Diary. The 'Discontinued Perfume' Tour Diary to be exact.

And if you have been following this missives from the road, you've probably asked yourself two things: 1. How can these guys be so damn charming? and 2. Just when the hell are they playing in our neck of the woods?

The answer to number one leans heavy on writer's embellishment and the answer to number two is this coming Sunday night (7/18) at Galaxy Hut. Lucky you!


The charming and effusive gents of The Caribbean, fresh off a tour of the heartland's seediest dive bars, have bequeathed TVD a pair of tickets to Sunday's show to put into one pithy commenter's hands.

That's right - leave us some feedback in the comments to this post and the most charming among them will score the pair of tickets for Sunday night's show. We'll choose our winner by noon on Saturday (7/17) so make with the word-smithery already. And remember to leave us a contact email address!

TVD Summer Vinyl Giveaway | School of Seven Bells "Disconnect From Desire"

Man, I love to hate on Pitchfork. And I have here with frequency— so I'll spare ya the tirade.

But...crap. Today I totally agree with their review of School of Seven Bells' sophomore release, "Disconnect From Desire." I mean, they gave it an 8.0.

"SVIIB have since toured extensively, and their road-tripping appears to have made them more focused songwriters and performers. In the last two years they've not only coalesced into a band, but a band with a distinctive signature. That the flirtatious earworm "Bye Bye Bye" on new album, Disconnect from Desire, near-quotes "Soon"'s hiccupping breakbeat seems appropriate somehow. SVIIB still work with a handful of shoegaze motifs, which they now use to highlight certain emotional states (typically turmoil and ambivalence). But it's the band's assertive pop melodies that prevail on their sophomore album.


Desire's lead track and first single "Windstorm" signals the transition as its instrumental drone slides into the Dehezas’ crystalline vocals. Far from fuzzy and undefined, the song draws clean, three and a half minute pop parameters. "Joviann" and "Babelonia" achieve similar results with intros, outros, and choruses drenched in atmospheric distortion that dissipates to reveal melodic throughways. "Heart Is Strange", a marvelous club banger with the zeal and vivacity of Ladytron's "Destroy Everything You Touch", marks yet another shift in aesthetic priorities..."

Don't take it from me—or from Pitchfork for that matter—decide for yourself as we've got"Disconnect From Desire" on vinyl for one of your mailboxes out there. Get at us in the comments to this post with your plea for the LP and the one that reaches 8.0 or higher will score the record.

And please—I can't stress this enough—leave us a contact email address. You could pen a 10.0 comment but if we can't let you about it, you're outta luck.

We'll choose our winner next Thursday, 7/22.


School of Seven Bells - Windstorm (Mp3)
School of Seven Bells - Babelonia (Mp3)
Authorized for download!

TVD Fresh Track | New Elf Power

I walked home last evening with the first breezy, summery track from the new Elf Power release whispering in my ear. Perfect, really.

Tonight: you're up.

Elf Power's new eponymously titled album is coming out on September 14th on Orange Twin Records. U.S. and European tours are planned for the fall.

Elf Power - Stranger in the Window (Mp3)
Authorized for download!