Arms and Sleepers

Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Middle East Upstairs

CASS MCCOMBS (Domino Record Co.)
Viking Moses
Arms and Sleepers

18+
$9
9PM doors

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CASS MCCOMBS (Domino Record Co.)

Cass McCombs is an ingenious and unorthodox singer/songwriter. His influences range from The Velvet Underground to Morrissey, and his style blends folk and art-pop. McCombs is often distinguished by his crooning and described as an indie heartthrob.

Though born in Concord, Calif., he set off to the east coast at 23 and began performing at open mics around New York City and Baltimore. McCombs' travels throughout the states inspired many of his vivid and often whimsical lyrics. Though some are enigmatic and complicated, they encourage the audience to not only listen to the music, but also analyze it. His quirky lyrics combine with surrealist music to create eccentric, tender work. — NPR

Artist Website: http://www.cassmccombs.com/

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VIKING MOSES

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Many balls-to-the-wall musicians adopt a bohemian persona to fit their music, but Viking Moses is the real deal. Living a nomadic life for nearly a decade now, Brendon Massei has released banjo and acoustic guitar albums under several names. Perpetually on tour (since 1996), he has played with Will Oldham, Cat Power, Songs: Ohia and Devendra Banhart, to name a few, yet Masseis body of work has received little commercial or critical attention. His newest full-length under the Viking Moses moniker, the story-song cycle Crosses, is by far his most accomplished work, and ranks among the best of the newest crop of American folk recordings. For anyone who has seen Massei perform live, the delicate mood of Crosses may come as a bit of a surprise. While a Viking Moses show often finds Massei on his knees wailing like a man possessed, Crosses consists of nothing more than a softly picked nylon-string acoustic guitar, a bass, and some piano flourishes, with Masseis trademark baritone rarely reaching its cathartic heights. While Massei may be accused of holding back, Crosses is actually strengthened by his reserve; otherwise, these odes to a girl named Emma could have come across a bit too earnest. Masseis simple, and thoroughly endearing lyrics complement the breezy melodies. On Little Emmas Smile he sings, I love the fishes that swim around me / God made the fishes and God made me / I love Emma, her smiles so free / God, may little Emmas smile find me against a melody that could just as well be a nursery rhyme. There is a sense of childlike wonder throughout reminiscent of another of Masseis old touring partners, Little Wings. But where Little Wings Kyle Field turns his wonderment outward towards nature, Massei is content to wonder at the ways in which love alters ones perception, as he sings on Little Arms: When you hold my little arms wrist out / you show me just how little I really am. The simplicity of the music allows Masseis lyrics, with their roughly sketched narrative, to be the albums centerpiece. In My Husbands Hand, Massei imagines himself in Emmas place, watching a group of children and feeling his/her biological clock ticking. At just a minute and a half, it epitomizes the albums precision just over 30 minutes without a single unnecessary note. While it can sound overly precious at times for the pysche-folk crowd, Crosses is a quiet piece of lamentation and joy that is hard not to embrace. — Dusted Magazine

Artist Website: http://www.myspace.com/vikingmoses

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ARMS AND SLEEPERS

It was in July of 2006 that the members of Arms and Sleepers locked themselves in an old drafty apartment in Cambridge and began composing and recording new material. The last few years had been both exciting and promising playing with the dream pop outfit The List Exists, but in the end, even after two EPs and a US tour, the fate of the band was all too obvious. They say that with every death there is a birth, and in this case, that certainly proved to be true. Fed up with the recently failed music relationships, Max Lewis (programming, keyboards, bass) and Mirza Ramic (keyboards, bass) wasted no time in forming Arms and Sleepers, a project that would not limit itself to any artistic boundaries or music genres. The road was wide open, and Arms and Sleepers found themselves comfortably standing in the middle of it.

The result of these initial compositions was "Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive", a 7-song EP released through Fake Chapter Records in December of 2006. Mostly instrumental, this debut record is a warm offering of the band's unique yet engaging sound.
According to PlugInMusic.com, "Arms and Sleepers soar in with their multilayered sound on 'Bliss...' and make you forget that this debut EP is only their introduction." N/A reviews writes, "Arms and Sleepers are venturing to bring in a new element to ambient music and it just happens to work perfectly."

After touring the US for several weeks in spring and summer 2007 and the release of a limited EP on Milkweed Records, "Black Paris '86" will be the bands first album.

Artist Website: http://www.myspace.com/armsandsleepers

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Buy tickets online at Ticketmaster

http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/8547

Tickets for Middle East Club events are available:

* In person at the Middle East Box Office - 1pm to 7pm, seven days a week -- without service charge.

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For general info call the Middle East box office at (617) 864-EAST ext 221.

********************Cass McCombsArms and Sleepers