Baltimore's next music wave: Lower Dens, Future Islands, J. Roddy Walston and the Business, Weekends, Lands & Peoples
For Sunday's paper, I profiled several local bands, none more than five years old, that are poised to become Baltimore's next breakouts.
There's Lower Dens - which despite being about a year old, and only possessing some 20 songs in their repertoire - was one of the most sought-after bands at the CMJ Music Festival last year. Their first album, "Twin-Hand Movement" - a set of 11 spare rock tracks - has sold a remarkable 3,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
There's also Future Islands, the North Carolina art-pop trio that relocated to Baltimore in early 2008, and whose new album, "In Evening Air," also sold 3,000 copies last year.
Adam Lempel and Brendan Sullivan, both 24, started Weekends in 2008 by playing small venues like Charm City Art Space and the Copy Cat, where Sullivan lived. But next month, they'll release their first label album, "Strange Cultures," via Friends Records. Other bands featured: rock 'n' rollers J. Roddy Walston and the Business - which reformed in Baltimore in 2004 - and Lands & Peoples, who makes understated, atmospheric pop.
(Incidentally, Lower Dens and Weekends, along with another young band, Secret Mountains, just announced a show on February 23 at D.C.'s Subterranean A, 1432 R St. NW)
The story focuses on both the young bands that had the most successful year, but also those that have moved here to live and work. They say that it was the city itself that made it possible for them to flourish in 2010.
The full story, along with a photo gallery and selected videos, is here.
Below, a full list of the band's upcoming regional shows:
Lower Dens will perform March 11 at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St NW Washington. The band just released a new 7-inch featuring single "Batman."
Future Islands will perform February 26 at the Patterson, 3134 Eastern Ave. and on March 5 at 2640, 2640 St. Paul St.
Weekends will have their album’s release party February 12 at Golden West Café, 1105 W. 36th St.
Lands & Peoples will perform February 10 at the Talking Head, 407 E. Saratoga.
Listen to the bands at their websites by clicking on their names: Lower Dens, Future Islands, J. Roddy Walston and the Business, Weekends and Lands & Peoples.
Photo: Lower Dens (Jed Kirschbaum/Baltimore Sun)
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
