Last Tuesday, one of my favorite bands, Germany’s The Notwist (officially pronounced “know-twist”) performed an awesome set in support of their new album The Devil, You and Me at The First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. For those of you who are not familiar with their music, it’s a mix of glitchy electronics, looped melodies, guitar riffs and gentile vocals that come together to form a powerful and honest brand of post-everything pop.

After their set I had a chance to sit down and speak with lead singer and main songwriter Markus Acher and programmer Martin Gretschmann aka Console (who notably uses Wii sticks to control some of his electronics during live sets) about their music and other things…

Last Friday I had the pleasure of catching Brooklyn’s Takka Takka play their mix of highly nuanced and textual indie-pop at Philly’s MRoom. Indeed, the band sounded great (especially vocals, which were thankfully set high in the mix). After the show, I sat down with lead vocalist Gabe and guitarist Drew, had some beers, and attempted to find out what this band, with an unusual name, is all about.

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The Brooklyn band Asobi Seksu, (Japanese for “playful sex”) comprised of Yuki Chikudate (vocals, instrumentation), James Hanna (various instruments) and friends is one of our favorites here at The Walrus. Often compared to My Bloody Valentine, their melodic, ethereal noise-pop certainly has it’s roots in late-80’s/90’s Shoegaze, but its beauty is timeless.

I recently had a chance to speak with Yuki about the in-progress follow-up to 2006’s excellent album Citrus, as well a few other points of interest. Check it out:

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In the falltide, fellow Walruser Michael gave some love to three Aussie prog-rockers otherwise known as Midnight Juggernauts. Sweet find! Thanks to this hawt tip, I grabbed an opportunity to shoot the shit with the Juggernauts before a sweaty-as-hell dance-fest at Johnny Brenda’s on Wednesday night!

I must say, going through with the interview was a good decision. Midnight Juggernauts are more than their slightly pigeon-holed, yet duly-earned “Justice-approved” moniker. Plus, they rocked the Art in the Age threads I brought for them! Follow along as I head into the proverbial unknown with these intergalactic chaps…

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On Tuesday night, Robin and I headed over to Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia’s Fishtown section to catch Sweden’s newest pop chanteuse, Lykke Li. Yep, we were psyched! It was a beautiful night and we sat outside eating chicken tacos and hummus, as we awaited her arrival. Soon enough, Lykke and her crew, including the super-talented El Perro Del Mar, arrived out front in a giant dark blue bus. When Lykke got settled in and made her way outside for some air, we quickly introduced ourselves and invited her to our table for a quick chat before soundcheck.

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May it be stated right off the bat that I skipped a mandatory class to interview Honus Honus (aka Ryan Kattner), the lead singer of MAN MAN, a troupe of five Philly musicmakers under absurd monikers with even crazier live performances.

Avoiding the requisite Tom Waits and Frank Zappa comparison questions, we chatted about important issues of the current age – from ladyfolks and defecating bums to how ridiculously psyched we are for MAN MAN’s record release show this Tuesday night right here in lovely Philadelphia!

My apologies, World of Academia. I find myself more excited for MAN MAN than my next project. Read on and you’ll understand why…

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I’ll admit, when I first heard the L.A. noise band HEALTH, I wasn’t that into them. I was a bigger fan of the remixes that artists like Crystal Castles and CFCF had done for them. Over time their album began to grow on me like a fungus. It really doesn’t sound like anything else at the moment. So, when HEALTH came to perform in Philly I made it a must to attend the show and catch a few words, er a lot of insightful words with the band’s multi-instrumentalist John…

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Philadelphia definitely has its share of weird and interesting bands. The hip-hop meets electro meets opera meets space disco group known as GANG, may be one of the most interesting. Made up of four friends; Amanda (vocals), Jaclyn (Glockenspiel, Vocals, Percussion), Nicole (Bass, Keyboards) and Tim (Drums), their live shows are high-energy, choreographed mini-spectacles that feel like pep rallies in outer-space.

I recently caught up with the band, at a gig in Philadelphia, and proceeded to pick their brains about aliens, influences and the future of the band…

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Yep, last Christmas was a plentiful one for Last-Christmas.com. Five friends set out to collect, receive and subsequently archive every cover version of Wham’s “Last Christmas”. They succeeded in their mission and ended up with 192 versions, ranging from German-Country to Hip-Hop mash-ups to Gregorian chanting…there was even a version made on a Gameboy.

The gang is back this year, but will they be able to out-due last year’s splurge of wonkiness? I sat down with LC’s Alex Liebold to find out the answer to that question…and others.

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My introduction to Damo Suzuki was through the 1970’s German Krautrock band Can. Hearing Ege Bamyasi for the first time was a formulative musical milestone. Whenever I listen to this album, I’m always satisfied by its liberal craftsmanship. Last week, West Philly promoter Ben Morgan brought Damo Suzuki to town for a couple of shows and I made certain to attend.

Damo played his first ever Philly show at the Rotunda with Bardo Pond. After sound check, he was cool enough to sit on a step outside and talk about something other than Can.

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