…in case you haven’t been tuning in as of late, tonight brings the second epic Dual Release show of 2010 to Dayton. In the friendly confines of Blind Bob’s, two of Dayton’s longest running outfits return with new albums of exceptional quality. Space-rockers Lab Partners present Moonlight Music and the twitchy aggro kids of 8-Bit Revival offer up You’ve Been Believed. Along for the ride are relative newbies Okay Lindon, who have quietly been gaining some notoriety around town for crafting some impeccably catchy indie pop. With the sun shining on Daytonia today, this seems an excellent way to spend yr Friday evening. See you there…

MP3: Lab Partners “Barn Burner”

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MP3: 8-Bit Revival “Man Made Gods”

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MP3: Okay Lindon “The Truth About Everything”

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…it’s been far too long since Lab Partners have graced us with a new release. Since 2007’s Keep Quiet EP [Reverb Records], the band have changed labels [to Chicago's Pravda Records], battled with their home studio flooding and having to be rebuilt, and bringing in a new drummer: Kevin Vaughn [ex-Heartless Bastards]. While some bands might have crumbled under these pressures, Lab Partners thankfully endured and now present an incredibly rewarding new album: Moonlight Music…

…recorded at their home studio over the last couple of years [and through a flood & subsequent rehabilitation of the studio], Lab Partners continue their trajectory fueled by vintage British shoegaze, 60s psych, and anthemic choruses that are easily transferable to a Wembley-sized context. Weaving between fuzzed-out space-rock epics and delicate, pastoral lamentations, Mike Smith’s ethereal vocals seep through layers of consciousness in reverb-soaked waves. While Vaughn and keyboardist Amy Smith hold down the rhythmic center, guitarist Mike Volk traces subtle outlines around the vocals with distinctive lines that alternately compliments and juxtaposes with an ease that makes these songs feel as if they’d always existed. Throughout the course of the disc, the band finds itself equally at home occupying bombastic and quiet spaces, lending the disc a dynamic quality that will likely provide the disc with a longevity that many contemporaries do not. Whatever the sonic ornamentation, these are songs that burrow in and remain….

…Lab Partners will celebrate the release of Moonlight Music with a performance at Blind Bob’s this Friday, April 2 along with 8-Bit Revival [who are celebrating the release of their new disc, You've Been Believed] and Okay Lindon…

MP3: Lab Partners “Strange”

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MP3: Lab Partners “We’ve Been Burned”

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…it’s been a while since we’ve heard anything new from Dayton’s spazzed-out faves, 8-Bit Revival. Well, that’s all about to change. The quartet has a new album due out April 1 on the Minor Manor imprint entitled You’ve Been Believed. Picking up where 2007’s Under the Fairweather album left off, YBB finds the band honing a blend of slashing guitars, swirling synth punctuations, and propulsive rhythms into an infectiously understated dance party. Lead track “Man Made Gods” serves to introduce 8BR circa 2010 as the driving drum intro quickly gives way to the interweaving snarl of guitar and vocal lines while the relentless bass line subtly underpins every twist and turn…

MP3: 8-Bit Revival “Man Made Gods”

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…having recently returned from a 6-week bout of touring that took them from coast to coast, The Story Changes make their triumphant return to the Gem City tonight at Blind Bob’s to celebrate the release of their new split album, Analogies. Sharing disc time with AZ outift Let Go, Analogies is the result of a trip out west earlier this year to record with producer Jaime Woolford (Let Go/Punchline/Gin Blossoms) who mixed the songs together for a consistent sound and feel. This is the first release from TSC since 2007’s The Way of the Dinosaur. Also along for the ride this evening are good friends The Sound for Language (with a new lineup), Stone the Mayor Sheriffs, and 8-Bit Revival. See you there…

MP3: The Story Changes “Move Forward”
MP3: The Sound for Language “You’re Not Alone”
MP3: Stone the Mayor Sheriffs “Intuition Is Now”
MP3: 8-Bit Revival “We Space Out”

…tonight is the close of all the Halloween festivities kids, and you’ve got some excellent options to help you celebrate…

…if you head out early, swing by the Dayton Dirt Collective for their Misfits Tribute show. Twenty bands are gonna take turns bashing out a couple of tunes each, so it should be a good time…

…after that, you’ve got some choices to make. You can head over to Blind Bob’s for a fun bill with good friends. The Story Changes is hosting and have brought compatriots The Sound For Language, Stone the Mayor Sheriffs, and 8-Bit Revival along for the ride…

…or…you’ve got one of the single-longest-running annual events in Dayton music with the Monster Hop over at Canal Street Tavern. Brought to you by local punk icon Jamy Holliday, his Luxury Pushers will host Toronto’s Saigon Hookers and yet another local icon, Mitch Mitchell’s Terrifying Experience. Your eardrums will never be the same….

…as is becoming typical in Dayton these days, you’ve got a couple of good options for showgoing tonight…

…over at Gilly’s, you’ve got some of Dayton’s finest doing a retake of last year’s highly successful Legalize Gassett benefit. This one’s for the bands, however, so head on down and check out Mouth of the Architect, Captain of Industry (whose latest album, The Bronze, entered the CMJ charts this week), 8-Bit Revival, and Goatherd…

…there’s also a good one over at Dayton Dirt Collective tonight with the ambient Tin Can Telephone, Men as Trees, and one of our newer favorites, Lvngs. Get on out and check these shows out…

…while technology impeded the climate comfort of Canal Street Tavern on this unbearably balmy evening, the heat did little to dissuade either audiences or performers. From the start of their set, 8-Bit Revival unleashed a bevy of new material that left us eager for the release of their new album. Despite operating under sauna-like conditions, 8-Bit held nothing back on this night as their trademark howls and jarring dissonance perfectly framed their anthemic tunes…

…after a nearly year-long absence from the Gem City, Cincinnati’s Eat Sugar made the jaunt up I-75 much to the delight of the crowd on this night. With vocalist Aidan Bogosian strutting and exuding a nearly untouchable cool and the rhythm section of bassist Jim Reynolds and drummer Greg Poneris laying down a brutally danceable backbeat, Eat Sugar quickly turned the horde into believers. As keyboardist Mike McBride’s synths held down the pulsating melodies, the band drove through song after song and got the audience moving by the end of their set…

…with the attendees fully ready to let loose, Boston’s Pretty & Nice hit the stage with such a electricity that within a matter of minutes the crowd was theirs. As the band’s signature tazer rock buzzed through the crowd, the waves of disjointed dance rhythms, jarring dissonance, and singalong melodies whipped the crowd into such an blissful, sweaty frenzy. Propelled by guitarist Jeremy Mendicino’s drum crashing and sudden outburst into the audience, Pretty & Nice elevated to an infectious level of energy that enveloped the entire room. By the end of their set, Pretty & Nice had earned a number of converts from the Gem City…

…closing out the evening, perennial Dayton faves Grizzzzy Bear officially christened their new moniker, Friday Night Vampire Club. Unfortunately on this night, the band had clearly celebrated a bit too much for leader Brian Baker’s birthday throughout the night. By the time the band hit the stage, at least one member of the band was wholly unable to function and sadly inhibited the band’s performance. Although the band tried to soldier on, the chorus of missed notes that landed largely off time simply could not be ignored. The band did their best to compensate, with bassist Christian Roerig prowling the stage, drummer Colin Croom doing his best to hold the ship together, and keyboardist Lucian Naragon delivering the hooks. By the time the band reached set closer “Mr. Bloodsuck”, they finally started to find a bit of footing. We hope that this was merely a single misstep and not an emerging trend…

…all black and white photography by Marla Bremer. For more photos from the evening, go here.

…tonight at Canal Street Tavern, The Buddha Den kicks off its month-long birthday celebration with a bill of monumental proportions. Headlining the evening, the newly christened Friday Night Vampire Club (formerly Grizzzzy Bear) will be celebrating a birthday of their own with frontman Brian Baker. Also along for the ride will be the patented tazer rock of Boston’s Pretty & Nice who are currently out on tour in advance of their new album due out on Hardly Art. Add in the frenetic electro-soul of Eat Sugar (from Cincinnati) and one of Dayton’s longest running outfits, 8-Bit Revival, and you’ve got a show that you know everyone will be talking about tomorrow….

…perhaps it was all the confusion with Grizzly Bear, perhaps it was the confusion between the solo work of Brian Baker and the live band, but whatever the reasoning Grizzzzy Bear has announced that will now be known as Friday Night Vampire Club. They will make their first appearance under the new moniker next Wednesday night at Canal Street Tavern for The Buddha Den Presents with Pretty & Nice (Boston), Eat Sugar (Cincinnati), and 8-Bit Revival….

…if you feel like warming up yr weekend, head on over to Dayton Dirt Collective tonight where two of Dayton’s finest will be serving it up. Indie mainstays 8-Bit Revival and indie punks The Sound for Language kick things off early at 7 pm. Don’t forget kids, this is an all ages show…