The Animals will forgive us again.

Tigers & Monkeys - I'll Ruin your Thoughts - Tigers & Monkeys is described as a solo project of Shonali Bhowmik, but she's frequently backed up by a rotating cast of NY Rock all stars. But it's definitely all her at the center. "I'll Ruin Your Thoughts" seductively lopes through droning blues chords with a raspy, scorched vocal style. It's somewhat reminiscent of the Kills, but it lacks the distinctly pissed off razor sharp vibe of that duo, instead sounding more relaxed, more confident, and more welcoming. Be sure to also check out "Vampire in a Dirty City" at the bands website.


[I can't seem to find a link to buy the 5 song demo/EP I bought at a show a year ago, but the band is playing a few NYC shows in August, so if you're local, check them out.]


The Invisible Cities - Birthday - The Invisible Cities take their name from the surrealist Italo Calvino, and this is entirely appropriate. Their debut album, Watertown, has an airy, floating quality, insubstantial, but huge. Birthday is a perfect example. The tiniest hints of a rhythm section creep through the quietly strummed guitar and the wishing, hopeful vocals. Is it supposed to mean something that the song is immediately followed by the drunken, loud, riotous, and short "Double Fisted"?


The Invisible Cities - Bumper Cars - I'll give you three today. "Bumper Cars" is a whole other side of Watertown. Where "Birthday" is all loss and regret and nostalgia, "Bumper Cars" is a wild night on the town, bright lights, impaired judgement, no though, all action, all fun. There's still a certain delicacy in the layering of the instrumental work, but it's all overwhelmed by the momentum of everything. Any element in the song that doesn't move forward is simply left in the dust, in favor of pushing ahead, and pulling the listener along.

[The Invisible Cities have a very nice website where you can buy

Watertown

, and even listen to the whole thing first.]

On the Music News front, Franz Ferdinand, TV On The Radio, and Cut Copy are touring together in the fall. On the one hand, this is the making of a very cool line up. On the other hand, they are playing arenas, which will likely blow. More importantly though, according to Pitchfork, the tour has been dubbed the "Teaching the Indie Kids to Dance Tour 2005." I haven't been able to get in touch with anybody to confirm this, it could very well just be some shit that the fork came up with. If someone who knows is reading, please do let us know. As it is, I want my royalty check. Or at least some tickets or something.

UPDATE: Well, that was fast. Pitchforks Rob Kleckner has informed me that is is in fact a classic little piece of Fork Wit and not an official name.

Ah well, the righteous fury was fun for a few hours.