White Rabbits and Here We Go Magic come to Metro on Sunday 4/25

The Salesman (Tramp Life) mp3 (Daytrotter Session) Percussion Gun …. buy it! and do go over and check out that Daytrotter session, you can download lots more from them for free!

Collector mp3 Pigeons Here We Go Magic ….. due June 8

Two great bands are coming to town this Sunday and for once I’ve got a post going in advance to let you know about it. Oh yes, this tart has her shit together, ever so briefly! White Rabbits put out Percussion Gun last May to the relief of many critics who had already told us just how fucking great this would be. Yes, yes it was. Yes, it has a bite and a smooth hand across the cheek afterward too. There’s a raw masculine edge to Steve Patterson’s vocals that plays nicely with the heavy percussion on many of the tracks. Harmonies are sparse and well placed. And the guitars, well… this is pure head-nodding goodness. Long, hard, down-beats with strong bass notes are always accompanied by jangly guitar riffs, except when they’re not. And those moments are punctuated with such creative flurries of keyboards (“Lionesse”), tambourine (“The Lady Vanishes”), or vocals simply pared down to the point of exquisite, agonizing simplicity which builds to a thundering climax, as in “The Salesman (Tramp Life)” my favorite track of all. Can you tell, I love this album? I can’t wait to see this live.

Here We Go Magic is new to me. It’s a five-piece band, their debut was released in 2009, self-titled. Pigeons is coming out on June 8, look for it! Their single, “Collector” is a fast-paced little number. The vocals are a little chirpy but in a really nice way. I think it’s a nice compliment to what we here in Chicago know from Skybox (what I can tell from this one song, mind you) and maybe a bit like Freelance Whales? I hate comparing bands, but based on only one song, I’m not left with much options. If you’ve got experience with Here We Go Magic, let me know in the comments what you think. I look forward to finding out more and seeing how they pair up with White Rabbits!