It has always struck me just how accurate the tagline Cincinnati’s The Lions Rampant use to describe themselves. “Blues Infused, Garage Brewed, Rock N’ Roll.” It’s hard to top that, I must say. The Cincy trio last visited us in the lounge back in the fall of 2007, just about a year after forming, and in the time since have become one of the best live bands in the midwest and certainly in our fair city.

For this performance, we get a special treat. Not only does it contain six brand new songs from their upcoming debut full length album, It’s Fun To Do Bad Things, but we get to hear it performed with the core members, Stuart, Nate and Nick, as well as guests Dan Mecher of The Turnbull AC’s on keys and Cameron Cochran of The Sheds on lead guitar. Cameron also happens to be the man who recorded and mixed their new record.

Enjoy an incredibly fun session with The Lions Rampant, and keep your ears open for the new album, which should be available sometime later this summer.

Track Listing:
Give Me
Lights On
It’s Fun to Do Bad Things
- interview -
Shake
Do You Feel It
Cigs + Gin

The Lions Rampant - Give Me (Live On WOXY.com)
The Lions Rampant - Lights On (Live On WOXY.com)
The Lions Rampant - It’s Fun To Do Bad Things (Live On WOXY.com)
The Lions Rampant - Shake (Live On WOXY.com)
The Lions Rampant - Do You Feel It?
The Lions Rampant - Cigs & Gin (Live On WOXY.com)

The Lions Rampant - Live On WOXY.com (full session download)

This young band from Houston caught our attention with their excellent debut EP Microscopic Metronomes.

Originally formed as a folk duo of Cody Swann and Zahira Guiterrez, the band expanded into a 5-piece and their songs evolved from their earliest arrangements into delightfully catchy sing-along pop that has earned them nominations for Best New Act and Best Indie Rock Band at the Houston Press Music Awards.

In this performance, they play 3 songs from their debut EP and also share 2 brand new unreleased cuts with us.

Track Listing:
Cake (new/unreleased)
Fruit Tea
My Favorites Die
- interview -
Spanish & Jazz
Late Night Television (new/unreleased)

Wild Moccasins - Cake (Live On WOXY.com / new-unreleased)
Wild Moccasins - Fruit Tea (Live On WOXY.com)
Wild Moccasins - My Favorites Die (Live On WOXY.com)
Wild Moccasins - Spanish & Jazz (Live On WOXY.com)
Wild Moccasins - Late Night Television (Live On WOXY.com / new-unreleased)

Wild Moccasins - Live On WOXY.com (full session download)

Usually, it takes a year or more for a band to join us for a lounge act after they land in our studios the first time around. That was not the case for Austin, Texas rockers UME. The trio was a big part of our first day in Austin earlier this year for the SXSW festival back in March, and here we are only three months removed from that performance, welcoming the band in again.

One of the most talked about bands at SXSW this year, UME turned alot of heads that week, and everything seems to be taking off for the band in the time since. They stopped by our Cincinnati studios while out on a tour that was planned around an appearance at the NXNE festival in Toronto Canada and treated us to another stellar set of rock n’ roll.

For this performance, you get two brand new songs which were titled on the spot, as well as one from their Sunshower EP and also one that happens to be one of the first songs the band ever created, which turned up on their 2005 debut, Urgent Sea.

Track Listing:
The Means
Slow Girls (new/unreleased)
- interview -
Captive (new/unreleased)
Hurricane

UME - The Means (Live On WOXY.com)
UME - Slow Girls (Live On WOXY.com / new-unreleased)
UME - Captive (Live On WOXY.com / new-unreleased)
UME - Hurricane (Live On WOXY.com)

UME - Live On WOXY.com (full session download)

Here is a recap of week number 9 of the Pampelmoose New Music Hour radio show on WOXY.com. This week Dave features cuts from Portland bands, in fact the whole hour is dedicated to Portland’s rich music scene. You’ll hear The Decemberists, The Builders and The Butchers, Loch Lomond, Mirah, Menomena, The Thermals, Starfucker and more.

The Decemberists - The Rake’s Song
The Builders and The Butchers - Barcelona
Run On Sentence - The Afterlife Pt 1
Autopilot Is For Lovers - Trust
Loch Lomond - Virgin Mountain
Mirah - Nola [Feat. Marisa Anderson]
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
The Upsidedown - Black Rainbow
Starfucker - Myke Ptyson
The Thermals - No Culture Icons
The Planet The - Dreams Of Your Co-Workers
Nice Nice - Nein
Menomena - Coughing Coughing
The Beauty - Abbi

Get ready for a new Pampelmoose New Music Hour tomorrow night at 6pm ET, 3pm PT on WOXY.com!

We had an instant connection to Amazing Baby here at Future Sounds because of our amazing baby logo and that both of us share the common love of the band, Suede. Then we found out that singer Will Roan was formerly in Lions & Tigers, a band we featured way back on FS26, and again we bonded. Turns out, we first played “Headdress” on our former radio show back in May 2008 and have been waiting, holding our breath actually for the full-length to arrive and this single to officially surface. Now it has in the form of Rewild (Shangri-La Music).

The session was recorded at 4th Street Recording in Santa Monica. We walked to find bassist Don Devore sleeping face down on the floor, as the band had flown in from New York the previous evening and looked as though they had fun upon arrival in LA. At first I hesitated to do an acoustic session, worried somehow the Pretty Things-meet-Blur psychedelia that is Amazing Baby would be washed away, but upon seeing drummer Matt Abeysekara pull out the congas and hearing the deconstruction of “The Narwhal” I had a seat and enjoyed the show.

The band is gearing up to hit the road on tour with Phoenix before ending up at Lollapalooza. The full-length, Rewild, is set for a June 23rd release date.

Amazing Baby - Bayonets (Live On WOXY.com)
Amazing Baby - The Narwhal (Live On WOXY.com)
Amazing Baby - Headdress (Live On WOXY.com)

The Friedbergers are back, and with a sunnier, lighter feeling album than you might be used to from them as well. Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger are, of course, The Fiery Furnaces, a band whose back catalogue includes some of the most talked about indie releases of the past decade, including Blueberry Boat, Bitter Tea, an album recorded with their Grandmother (Rehearsing My Choir), and who could forget the epic, but probably way too long live album from last year, Remember.

The bottom line is that The Fiery Furnaces are pretty good at keeping their fans on their toes. You really never know what they might do next. While there’s nothing predictable about the band, their upcoming album (their third release on Chicago-based label Thrill Jockey Records) sees the band going back to basics in some ways, and it pulls their fans back that may have been ostricized during some of their more polarizing moments.

I’m Going Away carries a lighter air about it in general, with shorter poppier numbers led by the always steady piano work from Matthew. The sunnier feel is intentional too, as Matthew has said that the album means to take on more of a sitcom approach, like “Taxi”, as opposed to a full length feature film, like “Titanic.”

And if the parallel holds, I’d take it a step further and say that the key-driven tunes, combined with Eleanor’s infectious croon make for a perfect summer soundtrack in the city, with songs like “The End Is Near”, “Charmaine Champaign” and “I’m Going Away” coming in fast and short with just at or under three minutes of summer heat. It’s another change of pace for the band, who really bowled us over with their last studio album, Widow City, which seemed to really show off the band’s muscles with big swooping rock tunes that moved to the steady bass guitar heartbeat provided by Furnaces collaborator and Sebadoh member Jason Loewenstein (who also happens to have recorded and mixed I’m Going Away.)

And this is not to say that I’m Going Away does not “rock”, because at the core of the band, they play rock ‘n’ roll. But I think this is as poppy and possibly accessible you might find the Friedberger siblings, brandishing their self-described “Democ-Rock” for both longtime fans and maybe for those looking for a good summer soundtrack or some relief from reality, because after all, times are tough.

I’m Going Away is out July 21 from Thrill Jockey Records.

The Fiery Furnaces - The End Is Near

Future Sounds first caught wind of Lissy back in November of 2008, when we got an early copy of the rough demos that would later be the Self-Taught Learner EP and instantly connected with the tough-chick vocals that are reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. A former graphic designer and high-fashion model, she appeared in places like Elle and SOMA and was the face of Chloe Sevigny’s clothing line, as well regular scene DJ in New York City. Yet, it was music that was always her calling. Lissy (real name: Lizzy McChesney) formed a band that caused enough of a stir that she’s recently signed with Wichita Records in the UK, and with Downtown Records in the US (what indie band wouldn’t be in heaven with that combo?).

We chatted them up and found out they are writing their forthcoming full-length and so gave Future Sounds & WOXY the exclusive preview of a new song, “U Bleed U” from the next batch of tracks.

The Lissy Trullie cover of “Ready For The Floor” rivals, if not tops, Hot Chip’s original version, but on this Friday morning after they played a sold out show at The El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles with The Virgins, they delivered a couple tracks we’ve been spinning on the weekly show live: “Boy Boy” and “Self-Taught Learner”. The band is still on the road with The Virgins rapping up a US tour before jumping over to Europe in Mid June for tour dates there.

Track Listing:
Bad Boy
Self-Taught Learner
U Bleed U (unreleased)

Lissy Trullie - Bad Boy (Live On WOXY.com)
Lissy Trullie - Self Taught Learner (Live On WOXY.com)
Lissy Trullie - U Bleed U (Live On WOXY.com / unreleased-new)

It has already been a very busy 2009 for John Vanderslice. Since the beginning of the new year, John has already embarked on the “Gone Primitive Tour” with friend and fellow prolific musician John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, celebrated the 10th anniversary of his now storied studio in San Fransisco, Tiny Telephone, and released an excellent album for a new record label, Dead Oceans.

Despite the busy schedule, John and his touring band were able to drop by the WOXY Lounge again this summer for a return performance while out on the road with The Tallest Man On Earth. Enjoy this performance that features four great songs from his brand new album, Romanian Names.

View the entire photoset, taken by Keith Klenowski, here.

Track Listing:
Romanian Names
Forest Knolls
- interview -
Sunken Union Boat
Too Much Time

John Vanderslice - Romanian Names (Live On WOXY.com)
John Vanderslice - Forest Knolls (Live On WOXY.com)
John Vanderslice - Sunken Union Boat (Live On WOXY.com)
John Vanderslice - Too Much Time (Live On WOXY.com)

John Vanderslice - Live On WOXY.com (full session download)

This was the third Lounge Act session for Cincy rockers Wussy, although their first here playing with new drummer Joe Klug (formerly of Staggering Statistics).

For their third (and self-titled) album, they worked again with John Curley. This time around, Chuck & Lisa seem to split their singing duties pretty evenly.

We caught the band before heading out on a brief East Coast tour. Check out this performance and then be sure to see them when they hit cities like Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and NYC in the weeks ahead.

View the entire photoset here

Track Listing:
Gone Missing
Death By Misadventure
Maglite
- interview -
Happiness Bleeds
Muscle Cars

Wussy - Gone Missing (Live On WOXY.com)
Wussy - Death By Misadventure (Live On WOXY.com)
Wussy - Maglite (Live On WOXY.com)
Wussy - Happiness Bleeds (Live On WOXY.com)
Wussy - Muscle Cars (Live On WOXY.com)

Wussy - Live On WOXY.com (full session download)

This week on Local Lixx, we bounce in and around the tri-state area as usual, getting music from Cincinnati and Columbus. But we also blur the lines a bit with music from a couple of artists usually not heard on this program. Enjoy another brand new episode of Local Lixx.

Brian Olive - Ida Red
Alina Simone - Snowfall & Starlight
Slow Claw - Hamilton Hotel
Cash Flagg - Funhouse Mirrors
Vandaveer - Turpentine
The Black Swans - Country Cookie #3

Local Lixx - Episode 38 (full episode download)