Tastes Like Caramel Has Moved to Tumblr!
Over four years ago Tastes Like Caramel was conceived on Blogspot, and then made a move to WordPress, then WordPress self-hosted. The time has come to pack up and move to Tumblr because in all honesty, it’s nearly impossible to set aside time to write long-form blog posts anymore with the social and work demands of my time sadly. However, I still attend shows REGULARLY and am always on the prowl for new and amazing tunes. Tumblr is a bit more impulsive like myself and takes seconds to get a post up. I hope you’ll continue to read along and stay tuned!
About the move… This page will stay live, but tlc-blog.com and tasteslikecaramel.com will soon redirect you to tasteslikecaramel.tumblr.com.
The Xx Set Off Alarms Last Night at Staten Island Gig + New Song “Chained”
Last night I boarded the Staten Island Ferry for (only) the second time in the 10 or so years I’ve lived in NYC. The reason for visiting this southwest borough was a very intimate gig by The Xx. Announced as a last minute addition to their sold out Terminal 5 gig, the 16-song setlist included 6 new songs and was so good that it managed to set off the fire alarms (see for yourself below)!
Check out a video of Take Care + Swept Away (featuring some fire alarm-strobe light action) along with Chained which was released today.
Coexist is out on September 11th in the US, tracklist below:
01 Angels
02 Chained
03 Fiction
04 Try
05 Reunion
06 Sunset
07 Missing
08 Tides
09 Unfold
10 Swept Away
11 Our Song
New Crystal Castles Track “Plague” + Tour Dates
During the opening notes of Plague at last months’ Lovebox in London’s Victoria Park, a lavender bobbed Alice Glass emerged onstage through a cloud of smoke at dawn. Today the duo share the track as a free download via Soundcloud! Check out the track below along with upcoming tour dates. Check out pictures from Crystal Castles’ Lovebox set here. Stay tuned for the band’s upcoming third album!
August 09th, 2012: Festival Pantiero – Cannes, France
August 24th, 2012: Reading Festival – Reading, England
August 25th, 2012: Leeds Festival – Leeds, England
Sept 02nd, 2012: Electric Picnic – Stradbally, Ireland
Sept 28th, 2012: Counterpoint Music Festival – Fairburn, GA
Oct 02nd, 2012: Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA
Oct 10th, 2012: Newport Music Hall – Columbus, OH
Oct 12th, 2012: Austin City Limits – Austin, TX
Oct 22nd, 2012: Fox Theater – Oakland, CA
Bat For Lashes Reveals ‘The Haunted Man’ Artwork, Tracklisting, and Video Clip for ‘Laura’
After catching Bat For Lashes’ extremely intimate warmup gig in Cambridge last month, I’ve been itching to have those songs on my iPod. The wait is over for one of those tracks as Laura was released today on iTunes along with the video clip (below) and the cover art of The Haunted Man (pictured). Pre-order the album here and receive a free download of Laura!
The Haunted Man Tracklisting:
1. Lilies
2. All Your Gold
3. Horses of the Sun
4. Oh Yeah
5. Laura
6. Winter Fields
7. The Haunted Man
8. Marilyn
9. A Wall
10. Rest Your Head
11. Deep Sea Diver
A New M.I.A. Demo Surfaces Online + Bad Girls Remixes + Festival Appearances
Let’s start off with the William Orbit-produced demo M.I.A. recorded for Madonna‘s MDNA album that hit the internet waves this afternoon. M.I.A. took to Twitter to address the leak of the song titled Baby:
The Hackney Festival appearance with Jay-Z:
The first remix by Switch from M.I.A.’s Bad Girls remix EP was released late last month with a guest appearance by Missy Elliott and Rye Rye. Check out the stream below and stay tuned for the rest, pre-order the USB chain bundle here.
The House of Vans 2012 Full Lineup!
Check out the full line-up and be sure to RSVP at vans.com/houseparties before you’re locked out! Check out coverage from the kick off gig with The Rapture and Tanlines here.
New Santigold Music Video: The Keepers + The Knocks Remix
Santigold premiered the video clip for The Keepers earlier this month. Stream the video below along with a remix of the track by The Knocks. Check out reviews from Santi’s NYC gigs earlier this year and be sure to pick up Master of My Make-Believe now!
The Rapture and Tanlines Kicked Off The House of Vans Music Free Series in Brooklyn + Video
My first gig after coming back from vacation/being out of the loop with all things New York was the House of Vans kick off with Tanlines and The Rapture. The line to get into the venue was the most insane I’ve seen for any (free) gigs in a long time, but we stuck it out and got in for the last few songs in Tanlines’ set at least.
After seeing The Rapture at Primavera a week or so prior during my birthday I was worried that I would taint that same feeling, but it was pure sweaty bliss. Check out some pictures from the show below along with some videos. The Rapture play three shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg in September, be sure not to miss one or all. The House of Vans lineup is available here.
Crystal Castles and The 2 Bears Played Lovebox 2012
I squeezed in one last gig before leaving the UK, making my way to Victoria Park after work just in time for The 2 Bears and Crystal Castles. The 2 Bears played a live DJ set in the muddy fields as rain drops sporadically fell on the crowd (I expected a rainbow to appear at any moment) who were amped up thanks to the colorful stage dancers.
Crystal Castles played an extremely short 30 minute set on the mainstage before Hot Chip, where Alice debuted a lavendar bob and a new song or two possibly? Check out pictures and video from Lovebox below, full gallery here.
Bat For Lashes Debuted New Material at The Junction in Cambridge Pictures + Video!
A few weeks before leaving for Europe, I just so happened to wake up at 5AM to a tweet from Bat For Lashes stating “Tickets for Bat for Lashes intimate Cambridge Junction performance are now on sale - http://bit.ly/Io3v7W“, I impulsively bought them knowing that this was the only opportunity to see her for a long time.
I knew that some major news from the Bat For Lashes camp was on the way, and sure enough on the day of the show it was announced that Bat for Lashes’ third album titled The Haunted Man would be out on October 5th!
On the afternoon of June 13th, I took a train out to Cambridge and bee-lined directly to The Junction. 45 minutes before showtime the venue was already packed, most of the attendees being die-hard fans who were old enough to be my parents. I was impressed to say the least, you would never see that in New York!
Along with debuting stellar new material for the first time (Marilyn, Laura, Rest Your Head, A Wall), Natasha also debuted her all male band and a more electronic sound. It was a very special and intimate experience that I will never forget, especially since I got stranded in Cambridge for the night. Don’t ask.
Setlist: What’s a Girl To Do? // Sleep Alone // Glass // Travelling Woman // Horse and I // Oh Yeah // Moon and Moon // Marilyn // Laura // Rest Your Head // Prescilla // Siren Song // Trophy // A Wall // Encore: Wilderness // Pearl’s Dream // Daniel
