New York-Based Band News

The National and The Bravery both have new records coming out next Tuesday, 5/22 (as well as an excellent album from Handsome Furs). Right now, I think Boxer is my favorite album of the year. It's a serious grower and at this point, nothing else sounds better. I think this may be their opportunity to step up into the American indie rock big leagues along with Wilco, Spoon, The Shins, and the Black Keys. My money is on The National as the best of the bunch right now.

They'll be performing on MTV tonight. From the band:

We will play in the MTV studios in New York City as part of a 24-hour Human Giant marathon at roughly 1:30 am. If you want to come see us (PLEASE DO!), the arrival time is 12:45 am on 45th street and Broadway. THIS IS A FREE EVENT! The only requirement is that you be at least 18yrs old. To get free tickets, send an e-mail ASAP to battleofthebands@mtvstaff.com and please include the following:

-Name
-Age
-Phone number

As InMyTree mentioned Monday, you can stream their album on AOL or MySpace.

You can also stream the new album, The Sun and the Moon, from The Bravery on their MySpace page. I'm 5 songs in and while I'm not sure what this means but it's not horrible. Although the 5th song, "Bad Sun" is definitely the worst I've heard thus far.

In other news, although not an NYC band, Franz Ferdinand just announced that they'll be doing an "intimate show" here in the next few weeks. No details on where this will be but I have a feeling it will be a tough ticket.