Local/Indie Music - "constellations" by darwin deez

Genre: Indie Pop/Rock

Hometown: New York, NY
Label: Lucky Number
Latest Album: Darwin Deez
Release Date: May 10th, 2010
Notable Tracks: "Radar Detector"

On Tour?: Yes
NYC Tour Date/Venue: n/a

Fun Fact: Darwin Smith, aka. darwin deez, made a name for himself on the UK charts after the release of the single "constellations" in 2009. His UK tour extends through the beginning of 2011.

Darwin Deez Website

Blalock's Indie/Rock Playlist

Local/Indie Music - "Family Waves" by Dinosaur Feathers

Genre: Indie Rock

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Label: Insound
Latest Album: Fantasy Memorial
Release Date: March 2nd, 2010
Notable Tracks: "Fantasy Memorial" and "Teenage Whore"

On Tour?: Yes
NYC Tour Date/Venue: Sept. 26th @1PM (The Atlantic Antic) and Sept. 29th @ 8PM (Death by Audio)

Fun Fact: After an interview with Daytrotter, the Dinosaur Feather guys didn't have a promotional poster to hang, so they presented an Igloo cooler as a parting gift - complete with a can of soda, a ham sandwich and refreezable cooler packs.

Dinosaur Feathers Online.

Family Waves by Dinosaur Feathers from Big Ugly Yellow Couch on Vimeo.

Local/Indie Music - "Two Weeks" by Grizzly Bear

Genre: Indie/Acoustic/Experimental

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Label: Warp
Album: Veckatimest
Release Date: May 26th, 2010
Notable Tracks: "Two Weeks" and "Foreground", as well as "Knife" from Yellow House (2006)

On Tour?: Yes
NYC Tour Date/Venue: n/a (already past)

Fun Fact: Grizzly Bear used to be the nickname of the lead singer's ex-boyfriend.

Grizzly Bear WEBSITE

Local/Indie Music - "Collector" by Here We Go Magic

I'm going to admit that the first thing that got my attention about Here We Go Magic was their sweet band name. Hailing from Brooklyn, they recently signed with the amusingly-titled label Secretly Canadian and dropped their first full-length album on June 8th, with the track "Collector" as the first single.

So far through 2010, they've opened for impressive names such as Grizzly Bear and Beach Fossils and they're continuing their tour through the fall in the UK. When they come back to the states in the fall, I certainly plan to check them out live. You should too.

Here We Go Magic on MySpace.

Local/Indie Music - "Actor Out of Work" by St. Vincent

I first heard St. Vincent while I was living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was driving to work and heard her song "Actor Out of Work" on 88Nine Milwaukee and immediately pulled the car over and wrote down the song title and artist's name. Annie Erin Clark, otherwise known as the artist St. Vincent, is a multi-instrumentalist/vocalist artist from Oklahoma, who currently resides in New York City. She has played with artists such as Sufjan Stevens, The New Pornographers and has recently begun working with The Polyphonic Spree.

The thing that struck me most about this artist, who seems so immensely talented she should be on a major record label, was her insistence on staying indie - even at the expense of having a proper mainstream career. She believes art is art and once you sign a contract, you sign away control and that was the only thing she valued as an artist.

Not only do I think she is a brilliant artist, but this video is fucking brilliant, too. The title has never resonated with me as much as it does now - especially if you let the intensity of the emotion in this video hit you. Or not. Either way, it's powerful stuff.

IloveStVincent.com