Here at ATG, we rarely write about a band so closely affiliated with ourselves. We pride ourselves on bringing you new music from around the world. However, we would be remiss if we did not inform you of the final opportunity to see DC’s Fear of Virginia.

Fear of Virginia is the kind of band we all wish we could play in; a group of DC residents (including ATG writer David) who just wanted to find a way to jam and blow off some steam after work. FoV started out just playing covers and pissing off neighbors with their loud late-night jams, but have developed a sound very much their own. A folk-alt-rock sound that the band describes as “Friday night rock” is both agreeable to the ear and causes spontaneous foot stomping.

What makes their live show so fun is that the band and audience can relate over the same tedium that occurs during the course of their workweek. Their shows are poignant reminders, that though not all of us are rockstars during the day, for a few hours each week, we can sing along and pretend to be rockstars once the weekend starts.

Sadly, the realities of adulthood have caught up with FoV and tonight will be their final show before they scatter their separate ways. Do yourselves a favor and join the boys (and girl) tonight at Rock and Roll Hotel at 9 PM — tickets are only $10 — for one last celebration of “Friday night rock.”

Here are some tracks from their EP  recorded in a shed on H Street.

MP3: Fear of Virginia – Weary Wind
MP3: Fear of Virginia – Take It Out On Me
MP3: Fear of Virginia – Long Day

Not long ago we got a taste of The Walkmen‘s upcoming album in the form of its title track, “Heaven.” Today the band released another cut off the album, “We Can’t Be Beat.” If the song is any indication of Heaven‘s direction, its title could not be more accurate.

“We Can’t Be Beat” starts with a slow, acoustic guitar melody, frontman Hamilton Leithauser’s distinctively sonorous vocals and soft vocal harmonies from the rest of the band, setting the tone for some decidedly reminiscent lyrics. Lines like, “Oh, golden dreams, golden dreams all lose their glow” create the feeling of remembrance, but about halfway through the track is where the listener really starts to hear the band’s nostalgia. “It’s been so long, been so long/But I made it through,” sings Leithauser against a slow tambourine beat, triumphantly drawing out the notes as he sings, “We’ll never leave, oh/We can’t be beat, oh.” Against a steadily plucked guitar and jingling tambourine, the lyrics certainly ring true for a band over ten years in the making.

Check out summer tour dates for The Walkmen on the band’s website. Heaven drops May 29th on Fat Possum.

STREAM: The Walkmen – “We Can’t Be Beat”

Last Thursday the one and only Alex Winston played one of her first shows in the States for a long while at a special edition of All Things Gold. Fortunately, U Hall now allows concert photos so we were able to capture her, along with fantastic openers Long Walks On The Beach, on camera. Scroll through some fantastic shots of the night, courtesy of the always-amazing Laura Lopez, after the jump.

STREAM: Alex Winston – “Velvet Elvis”

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Nothing about Clock Opera is effortless. If there’s anything bad to say about frontman Guy Connelly, it’s that he tries too hard, but in the same way Grizzly Bear tries too hard—the perfection throughout some songs is so striking you actually feel weighed down by how much effort went into crafting them. Like eating ice cream prepared with liquid nitrogen, you find yourself asking, “it’s good, but is it so good it was worth all the trouble?”

After listening to their new album, Ways to Forget I’d say yes. Calling it a “new album” is misleading; many of the songs have been floating around since as early as 2009. Now they’re finally coming together for the first time, like childhood friends who spent their college years on different coasts, counting down the days until they could graduate and share a flat in a foreign city with some pals they each picked up along the way. And while strong characters living together don’t always work out, the huge personalities of each track on Ways to Forget bring out the best in one another; like learning a new language, the intonations and crescendoes become predictable in an exciting way rather than growing old

Chose your own adventure: If you’re not familiar with their older songs, you can backtrack a bit with our coverage of “Lesson No. 7,” “Belongings,” their SXSW performances of “Once And For All” and “A Piece of String” and our interview with band. If you’re already acquainted with these excellent tracks, I recommend focusing your attention on Man Made, a night cruise in 5th gear, and “Move to the Mountains,” the soundtrack to your journey off the couch, out the door, and into the life you’ve always wanted. I got pretty stoked on the chorus of “The Lost Buoys,” as well, but I’m generally hesitant to recommend anything that “gets really good when the synths kick in.”

If you’re big into lyrics, Connelly’s obsession with impermanence and inescapable transience might strike you as heavy-handed, but again, nobody promised you subtlety. Stream the album below courtesy of Hype Machine. Ways To Forget is out now on Universal Island.

STREAM: Clock Opera – Ways To Forget

From April 19th – 29th, the No Kings Collective and Popal Group will host the Water St. Project, a pop-up space along the water in Georgetown that will showcase some of the best art, culture and music that DC and beyond has to offer. On Friday, April 27th we’ll be taking over the space and curating a night of fantastic music. On the decks we’re bringing in Penguin Prison — who aside from being an amazing live act opening for Miike Snow the next night at the 9:30 club has some impressive DJ chops — and resident ATG beatsmith Lightwaves. On stage we’ll have ATG first-timers Nicos Gun. If this Philly four-piece has proved anything, it’s that they know how to get electric real fast.

Join us Friday, April 27th at 9PM at the Water St. Warehouse (3401 Water St. NW, Washington, DC 20007). Tickets are only $10 and the venue is amazing, so get on it people.

TICKETS: Eventbrite

STREAM: Miike Snow – “Paddling Out (Penguin Prison Remix)”

STREAM: Nicos Gun – “Dirty Girl”

STREAM: Nicos Gun – “Party Cult”

STREAM: Mausi – “sol. (Lightwaves Remix)”

The Black Lips want their fans on the dance floor, pronto. The B-side to their newest single, “Dance With You,” proclaims it so. But these rockers don’t exactly provide the sonic backdrop conducive to twists, turns, and shimmies. Nope. Head-banging, sporadic fits, kinetic freak-outs, guitar-smashing, and the gator dance would be more appropriate for this brooding, thrashing psych rock number. A bass line fit for a 1950s television series private eye serves as the canvas for the group’s signature sloppy, scuzzy garage rock glory. Enjoy.

MP3: Black Lips – “Dance With You”

As frontman Alex Schaaf noted at the beginning of their set, this was Yellow Ostrich’s third time playing at Black Cat but their first time headlining. The sold out crowd at Black Cat seemed to realize the subtle significance of this statement. The band’s popularity has changed quite a bit since recording Strange Land. The critically acclaimed album has put them on a clear path to indie stardom. Their inclusion in this year’s Lollapalooza line-up should be enough proof. Needless to say, last night, their fans were psyched.

The first thing you notice about Yellow Ostrich is that, for three members, they have a lot of gear. I counted at least 40 foot pedals, three different horns, and a steel pedal guitar to go along with the traditional set of instruments. Once the show kicked off, it was impressive to watch Schaaf and multi-instrumentalist Jon Natchez harmonize and play off each other in innumerable ways. The way they kept track of so many things at once, you would think in another life they were air traffic controllers.

The set started with “Whale”, a surprise from Schaaf’s first album, The Mistress.  Schaaf’s superb vocals were in full display from the get go, and drummer Michael Tapper’s minimalist kit somehow provided for some complex percussion. By the time “Marathon Runner” rolled around, the entire crowd joined the band in singing every, single, word. “Daughter” and “Elephant King” brought a good amount of energy into the show, and pretty much everyone was frothing at the end as they listened to “The Shakedown”. The encore started with a nice surprise version of The Talking Heads’ “Heaven” and closed out with a powerful rendition of “Mary”.

All in all, a great set from an up-and-comer on the indie circuit. They are a talented trio, destined for the main stage when they come back to the District. Check out some pictures from the show after the jump.

MP3: Yellow Ostrich – Marathon Runner

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mewithoutYou is set to return to the scene with Ten Stories, the band’s first album since 2009′s It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All A Dream! It’s Alright. Our first taste of the record is “February, 1878,” a powerful album opener that stays true to the Philly outfit’s inimitable brand of spoken word psych-rock. mewithoutYou will be releasing Ten Stories on their own label, Pine Street Music Collection, on May 15th.

STREAM: mewithoutYou – “February, 1878″

Those well-versed in the ways of DC indie rock have come across Mercies at one point or another. My first experience with the band — made up of guitarist John Russell, bassist Justin Hunter Scott and drummer Ezra Finney — was at a house show in Petworth a month back, where they won me over pretty quickly with their sweat-drenched garage rock. Mercies’ new EP, This Is Not About Control, captures the trio’s energy in full lo-fi glory. Those of you living in the District should mark May 11th on your calendars, when the band will be returning to the local live circuit with yet another house show, details on which can be found here. Listen to This Is Not Control below and check out the EP artwork after the jump.

STREAM: Mercies – This Is Not About Control

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Slam Donahue‘s new mixtape, “Big House Nice Dreams,” proves that sometimes the best way to think outside the box is to think inside the boombox. The band, consisting of vocalist/guitarist David Otto, bassist Thomas Sommerville and Fort Lean’s Keenan Mitchell on drums, recorded all seven songs through a boombox to “reflect upon the subconscious anxiety of growing up” using the most appropriately lo-fi means imaginable.

The grungy adolescent paroxysm of a single, “No More Talking,” will undoubtedly be voted prom king of the mixtape as it racks up play counts across the ‘net. But I find myself crushing harder on the song’s understated little brother, “How To Be Cool,” which quietly takes a back seat to the more thrill-seeking tracks surrounding it. This is the song that sits on the front stoop watching the cute girl across the street but can’t think of one thing to say to her until he’s had too much Goldschläger at some party he wasn’t even invited to and suddenly he has EVERYTHING to say to her. And it’s not pretty.

Anyway, the song’s not asking for anyone’s attention, which makes it most worthy of yours. Grab it here, then hit up the whole collection via Cantora Records or the bands website.

MP3: Slam Donahue – “How To Be Cool”