Battery Park

"Men of Station" a few weeks back threw off my expectations. If you've heard the song, it might lead you to believe this album is the sequel to The Notwist's Neon Golden. Really it's the only track that comes close to recapturing the melancholy beauty of Neon. Elsewhere, Themselves rap over smoothed out, Notwist-style beats and moody instrumentals threaten with dark edges and muted voices. Overall the album doesn't quite satisfy the urge for new Notwist material, but it's more than just a placeholder.

It's tough to take a vacation without missing at least a couple good events in NYC, and my trip to Florida is a perfect example. I'm leaving this afternoon and it's definitely for the better - all the sun and baseball will be a nice relief from this "spring" weather. But before running out, I need to plug a few things:

Dead Meadow are at the Mercury Lounge tonight and tomorrow night. Their new one Feathers seems to be converting a lot of new fans, and rightfully so. These guys absolutely rule live, and with a new guitarist in the mix it's even more mental. Well worth checking out. I'm glad I got to see them at Supreme Trading last month.

DJ C + DJ Ripley are at subTonic tomorrow night. DJ C spins ragga jungle, and his Junglist Bashment mix (MP3) is SO good - definitely check it out if you enjoy the stuff. (And it may get you hooked if you're not a fan.) The Mashit site has some other new mixes that I need to catch up on, but I've been a fan of DJ C's mix for a while - I wish I could catch him live. DJ Ripley is meant to be great as well. More info is available at the Bunker site.

A Guy Called Gerald will be spinning an old school acid-Detroit-house set at a loft party at 69 West 14th Street this Saturday. Carter Reece and Cowboy Mark are also on the bill. More details are available here.

John Tejada is playing for free at APT on Tuesday, and there's a vodka open bar if you get there for the first hour. Matthew Dear got lots of love last year for his brand of vocal microhouse, but I think Tejada did it better on Logic Memory Center. This is just a DJ set, but it should be a blast.

Also on Tuesday, Yo La Tengo are doing two sets at the Tonic. The good thing about YLT is that they're always doing random one-off (two-off?) performances like this. I wish I could be there, but I'm sure I'll get another chance soon.

And with that, I'll hand the reins over to Jason - see you folks next week...