Liars played the Temple of Dendur

If you live in New York long enough and and are a dedicated enough music fan, you'll have the
opportunity to see some pretty awesome things. For example: Arcade Fire playing in Judson Memorial Church, My Bloody Valentine playing their first US non-festival show in 16 years, Daft Punk join Phoenix for a surprise encore, or Dinosaur Jr bring out their friends to celebrate their landmark You're Living All Over Me. Liars playing in the Met's Temple of Dendur was not the best concert I've ever been to, however the experience was one of the most unique live performances I've ever seen. With the temple behind the crowd, the band infront of the moat, and abstract projections on the stone walls behind, there was never a dull moment. "Welcome to the temple" Angus bellowed before the band dove into a fervent set of dense electronic noise rock. The band played a lot of new material, very much in the vein of last year's underrated and under-appreciated WIXIW, as well as a lot off that album. The sharp, heavy synths were accompanied by booming bass that bounced off the solid stone walls that enclose the room. Behind the band were striking visuals. 3D renders of each band member appeared amongst hieroglyphics, distorted shapes, and a spectrum of free-flowing graphics. The intensity of their past albums might not be as prominent on their new tracks, but in a live setting, everything is as ferocious and powerful as one could hope. Given the unusual setting, the sound traveled exceptionally well and the juxtaposition of ancient Egyptian artifacts and Liars was a pairing most probably never knew they needed to witness, but will never be able to forget.

Julianna Barwick - "Forever"

On August 20th, Julianna Barwick will release Nepenthe, the follow-up to her gorgeous sophomore record, The Magic Place. In anticipation, Barwick has shared a trailer for the new record which features a new track, "Forever".

Besnard Lakes played Bowery Ballroom

Following the release of their recent album Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO, Canada's Besnard Lakes have hit the road to deliver walls of noise on willing crowds across the country. Carefully straddling the line of shoegaze and post-rock with a little bit of spaced-out psych-rock thrown in the mix, the band builds their sound to extreme levels before breaking down into a massive all out guitar assault. Olga Goreas' thudding bass blends perfectly into the group's dynamic and her dueling vocals with Jace Lasek were in perfect form. The gangly front man, dressed in a floral cowboy shirt and oversized glasses, unleashed his killer vocals through a ravaged mop of hair as waves of guitars crashed over the crowd. For better or worse, a lot of the tracks on their records can really get lost in the shuffle giving each album their own distinct feeling and while a lack of catchiness does make it difficult for songs to stand on their own, their live anthemic renditions brought each song to soaring new heights. Standout "Albatross" from 2010's Are the Roaring Night was played with such finesse and feature a My Bloody Valentine style whiteout noise breakdown with obligatory strobe lights. The band seemed particularly on point for the show as they flexed their muscular sound to highlight every groove and ooze out every last detail.

Lower - "Another Life"

Danish punks Lower are set to release their debut record this coming fall. In the mean time, they've unleashed another raw pummeling track,"Another Life", which continues to hit hard in all the right places.

Savages - "Shut Up"

Silence Yourself, is the hotly anticipated debut album from London post-punkers Savages. After gaining rave reviews from an impressive EP and their wild live setting, "Shut Up" gives high hopes that more great things are indeed coming from this fiery foursome.

The National - "Demons"

Brooklyn indie-rockers The National are set to release their latest album, Trouble Will Find Me, on May 20th. Today they've shared the first single "Demons" and it seems to continue down the path the National have traveled on all of their releases so far. In other words, it sounds just like the National.

Deerhunter - "Monomania"

Deerhunter are set to release Monomania, the follow-up to the epic Halcyon Digest, on May 7. Check out the title track below and if this is an indication to the rest of the album, we're in for another treat.