NOS Primavera Sound 2014 Preview

In a time where the greatest of alt-music festivals have either gone mainstream (Coachella, Lollapalooza) or disappeared (All Tomorrow’s Parties), Primavera is not only standing tall (QRO preview) but also standing wide with its second edition, NOS Primavera Sound (formerly Optimus Primavera Sound). Begun as a sister to Barcelona’s Primavera Sound in 2012, NOS Primavera comes once again to Oporto, Portugal, Wednesday-Saturday, June 5th to 7th:

THURSDAY, JUNE 5th

NOS Stage Kendrick Lamar, 00:40 NOS welcomes a newer hip-hop hit, Kendrick Lamar (QRO photos at a festival), who got notice with his 2010 mixtape, Overly Dedicated, and lived up to the hype (QRO photos at a festival) in 2012 with debut, good kid, m.A.A.d city – he’s got no “Fuckin’ Problems” (QRO video). Photos from Primavera Sound the prior weekend

Caetano Veloso, 21:45 Spoon, 19:45 As The Tick would shout, “Spoon!!!” Austin’s Spoon (QRO live review outdoors) has been turning heads in the indie-sphere for a while with their trademark indie-rock, but with 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (QRO review) & 2010’s Transference (QRO review), the group (QRO photos at a festival) has launched into the stratosphere, including headlining at New York’s own ultra-upscale Radio City Music Hall (QRO live review). A festival veteran (QRO photos at a festival), including headlining fests (QRO photos headlining a festival), they come to NOS behind word of a new album this year. Three cheers for “The Underdog” (QRO video)! Photos from Primavera Sound the prior weekend Also: Os da Cidade, 18:00

Palco Super Bock Jagwar Ma, 02:05 At the wee hours of the morning is the perfect time for the psych-dance of Jagwar Ma (QRO live review).

HAIM, 23:30 Sisters Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim, along with drummer Dash Hutton (QRO photos at a festival), only started putting out music last year, but have already been turning heads (QRO photos), thanks to great single “Don’t Save Me” – and come to NOS (QRO photos earlier in 2014) after last year’s debut full-length, Days Are Gone (QRO review). Photos from Primavera Sound the prior weekend

Sky Ferreira, 20:40 Sky Tonia Ferreira (QRO photos at a festival) grabbed eyes & ears by just uploading videos of her songs onto MySpace, but shifted from her electro-pop into incorporating more experimental sounds on her delayed debut full-length, Night Time, My Time. She comes to NOS Primavera after opening for Miley-twerkin’-Cyrus… Also: Rodrigo Amarante, 18:50

FRIDAY, JUNE 6th

ATP Stage Shellac, 02:15 Famed producer Steve Albini started in eighties punk act Big Black, and keeps him hand in the performing side of the game fronting Shellac – who will be coming off six years in a row at Primavera Sound Barcelona (QRO photos at Primavera Barcelona ’11).

Loop, 00:50 These days, computers and synthesizers make it easy for anyone to do electronic loops, but back in the long, long ago of the nineteen-eighties, London’s Loop did their loops the old fashioned way. The group broke up in 1991, but saw their legacy and influence only grow bigger as circuits grew smaller, and last year they reunited to co-curate the final holiday camp edition of All Tomorrow’s Parties. Now they hit the festival circuit proper (QRO photos at a festival), and are a fitting act for the ATP Stage at NOS.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor, 22:35 Post-rock is littered with seminal acts, but none, none is more important and acclaimed as Godspeed You! Black Emperor (QRO photos at a festival). The Montreal ensemble have done everything from curate numerous All Tomorrow’s Parties festivals around the world (QRO photo at an ATP) to working with Grant Hart (QRO interview) on Hot Wax (QRO review). They come to NOS off of 2012’s ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend. Photos from Primavera Sound the prior weekend

Pond, 21:00 The new wave of psychedelic rock comes to NOS Primavera from the other side of the globe in Perth’s Pond (QRO photos at home in Perth).

Television, 19:35 From nineteen seventies rock scene that produced everyone from The Ramones to The Talking Heads, Television defined its auteur edge in guitarists Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd and debut Marquee Moon (QRO photos at a festival playing Marque Moon). They broke up in 1978, with sporadic reunions since then, until Lloyd’s health issues forced him to retire after a 2007 show at Central Park SummerStage (QRO venue review). However, Verlaine, drummer Billy Ficca, bassist Fred Smith, and new guitarist Jimmy Rip have kept on going, with a new album rumored. They come to NOS to play Marquee Moon. Photos from Primavera Sound the prior weekend Also: Föllakzoid, 18:25 Vision Fortune, 17:15

NOS Stage Mogwai, 01:25 There are a few icons in post-rock, such as Explosions In the Sky (QRO live review) and Mogwai. The Scottish outfit has done everything from a live DVD, Burning (QRO photos at a festival) to soundtracking Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait (QRO review – though that was before the French football star did his illegal head-butt in the World Cup). 2011 awesomely titled Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (QRO review) was a major comeback after the disappointing The Hawk Is Howling (QRO review), though this year’s Rave Tapes (QRO review) seemed overdone. But it’s still a much in-demand tour (QRO live review) that comes to NOS (QRO photos at Primavera Sound ‘11) after playing America (QRO photos from America the month before).

Pixies, 22:35 NOS has had many reunions of eighties and nineties greats, but the band that set the alt-reunion standard was the Pixies (QRO live review). The group had some of the strongest records of those two decades, like 1989’s Doolittle (QRO twentieth anniversary live review) and songs such as “Gouge Away” (QRO video) & “Nimrod’s Son” (QRO video), but broke up just before alternative music got successful. The members went on to various other projects, most notably singer/guitarist Black Francis reversing & Anglicizing his name into ‘Frank Black’ (real name: Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV) for his solo career, and singer/bassist Kim Deal teaming up with her sister as The Breeders for the very successful Last Splash (QRO twentieth anniversary live review). But the hatchet between those two was buried in 2004, when Frank/Francis, Deal, guitarist Joey Santiago, and drummer David Lovering reunited at Coachella – and began this century/millennium’s alt-reunion tradition. Admittedly, the reunion was strictly a nostalgia one (QRO live review), as the Pixies didn’t make new music, just toured the old (QRO live review), while Frank continued to put out solo work (albeit back under his Francis name – QRO live review) and Deal reunited with her sister for the unimpressive Mountain Battles (QRO review). But eventually both dams burst: out came the new song “Bagboy”, and out went Deal (again), to spend full-time in Breeders (including Optimus last year – QRO photos). The Pixies recruited first Kim Shattuck to pick up the bass & female vocals for tour (QRO live review), then Paz Lenchantin, and come to NOS (QRO photos at a festival) behind their first new album in over twenty years, Indie Cindy (QRO review). Photos from Primavera Sound the prior weekend

Warpaint, 20:00 The experimental, even psychedelic rock of the four ladies that make up Warpaint (QRO photos) has taken a while to take hold, but is really starting to by now (QRO photos), and they come to NOS Primavera (QRO photos) behind this year’s self-titled full-length. Photos from Primavera Sound the prior weekend Also: Torto, 17:55

Palco Pitchfork Bicep, 04:00 Todd Terje, 02:55 Darkside, 01:30 Electronic musician Nicolas Jaar & multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington (QRO photos) combine as Darkside.

Also: Joana Serrat, 22:40 Courtney Barnett, 21:30 John Wizards, 00:00

Palco Super Bock Trentemøller, 00:15 Slowdive, 21:10 Shoegaze was always at its biggest in Britain in acts like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, whose members spun off into various other projects in the nineties (including Mojave 3 – QRO photos), but this year announced a reunion.

Midlake, 18:50 Denton, Texas’ Midlake (QRO photos outdoors) have swerved around a bit in the indie-rock realm, most recently into the sweet-sounding Americana with last year’s Antiphone and 2010’s The Courage of Others (QRO review), but have stayed true to Texas (QRO photos). Photos from Primavera Sound the prior weekend Also: HHY & The Macumbas, 17:00

SATURDAY, JUNE 7th

ATP Stage Ty Segall, 01:55 California’s Ty Segall (QRO photos at a festival) has evolved from his ‘kick in the pants’ early work to a more effortless boot to the fanny these days (QRO photos), where he’s been quite prolific, including Slaughterhouse (QRO review) with his band & Twins solo. He comes to NOS (QRO photos at Primavera Sound ’11) behind last year’s Sleeper. Photos from Primavera Sound the prior weekend

Slint, 00:25 Louisville’s Slint broke up after the second album, Spiderland, way back in 1990, with sporadic reunions before this year’s more substantial one (QRO 2014 photos) behind the deluxe box set of Spiderland.

Charles Bradley, 23:00 The ‘Screaming Eagle of Soul’, Charles Bradley is one of the many great soul singers to emerge from Brooklyn’s DapTone Records, which also brought the world Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings (QRO album review) and Budos Band (QRO album review), but Bradley more than stands on his own, from festivals (QRO photos at a festival) to topping the bill at the one-and-only Apollo Theater (QRO photos)!

Standstill, 21:30 Barcelona post-hardcore act Standstill comes to NOS after playing Primavera Sound for a third time.

Also: Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, 20:00 – QRO photos Hebronix, 18:35 Eaux, 17:25

NOS Stage !!!, 01:20 Sacramento dance-punk act !!! (QRO photos) – pronounced “chk chk chk” – were seriously blowing people away a handful of years ago (QRO live review) with Myth Takes (QRO review), then seemingly disappeared, only to come back (QRO live review) in 2010 with the somewhat derivative Strange Weather, Isn’t It (QRO review). But the now-New York outfit (QRO live review in New York) came back in force with last year’s great TH!!!ER (QRO review), and the band still knows how to liven it up live & outdoors (QRO live review outdoors), even at festivals (QRO photos at a festival). Photos from Primavera Sound the prior weekend

The National, 22:30 Cincinnati-by-way-of-Brooklyn’s The National (QRO photos outdoors) hit it big in 2007 with Boxer (QRO review) and tracks like “Fake Empire”, “Mistaken For Strangers”, and “Apartment Story” (QRO video) – and again in 2008 with the Virginia EP (QRO review), but that just presaged 2011’s High Violet (QRO review), which debuted at #3 on the Billboard charts (QRO expanded edition review). An impressive and much-in-demand act (QRO live review), they’re fitting in nicely as even festival headliner (QRO photos headlining a festival) or curator (QRO photos curating a festival), like at London’s All Tomorrow’s Parties in 2012 (QRO photos). Blown up to the point that New York Times Magazine ran a feature on them (QRO spotlight on) & Obama used (a family-friendly) bit of “Mr. November” (QRO video at a festival) as a campaign song, The National (QRO photos at a festival) returned from an hiatus last year to take North America by storm (QRO photos headlining a festival) behind Trouble Will Find Me (QRO review), after having done so in Europe (QRO photos in Europe), the festival circuit (QRO photos at a festival), the European festival circuit (QRO photos at a European festival), Canada (QRO photos at a festival in Canada), Boston (QRO photos at a festival in Boston) & their own Brooklyn (QRO photos in Brooklyn). They look to keep it going (QRO photos in 2014), coming back to Oporto (QRO photos in Oporto) to headline NOS (QRO photos at Primavera Sound ‘11). Photos from Primavera Sound the prior weekend

Neutral Milk Hotel, 20:00 Jeff Mangum formed Neutral Milk Hotel around him in the late nineties, released In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, and the rest was history. One of the most critically acclaimed records of the past twenty years, NMH still disbanded before the decade/century/millennium was over, thanks to Mangum’s growing disillusionment (and later nervous breakdown). It all seemed to be the story of a candle that burned too bright for too short a time, but then Mangum began touring a few years ago (QRO live review), including Primavera Sound ’12, and then came a full-fledged reunion (with the line-up that played on Aeroplane) last fall, which comes to NOS. [note: put your cell phones and cameras away for this performance, as Magnum notoriously hates photographing at his performances…] Also: You Can’t Win, Charlie Brown, 17:55

Palco Pitchfork Pional, 04:00 Madrid producer/remixer Miguel Barros, a.k.a. Pional, comes to NOS after playing Primavera Sound for the second time in three years.

Cloud Nothings, 02:55 Young Dylan Baldi (QRO photos) throws back to music older than he as Cloud Nothings (QRO live review) with 2012’s Attack On Memory (QRO review) and this year’s Here and Nowhere Else (QRO review), and brings his power-pop to NOS Primavera (QRO photos at a festival).

Glasser, 01:30 Cameron Mesirow’s Glasser (QRO photos outdoors) is the daughter of a member of the Blue Man Group and a member of minor New Wave hit Human Sexual Response, with a musical style somewhere between prog-rock and krautrock (QRO photos at Primavera ’11), if you can picture that (QRO photos at a festival).

Speedy Ortiz, 00:00 There’s tons of buzz around Brooklyn’s new Speedy Ortiz.

Dum Dum Girls, 22:35 One of the multitude of bands that garage ‘it girl’ Frankie Rose played drums in before fronting her own band (QRO photos), the Dum Dum Girls (QRO photos at a festival) combine garage, girl-group, and New Wave for a sound (QRO photos) that does stand out from the pack (QRO photos) – especially live (QRO live review) & in costume (QRO photos at a festival), or on this year’s Too True (QRO review). Photos from Primavera Sound the prior weekend Also: Mas Ysa, 21:05

Palco Super Bock St. Vincent, 00:10 After the one-and-only Annie Clark (QRO interview) made 2007 her break-out year, both as part of The Polyphonic Spree on The Fragile Army (QRO review) and with her own debut as St. Vincent (QRO photos), Marry Me (QRO review), she followed that up with even-better years (QRO spotlight on), gracing festivals (QRO photos at a festival), charming and surprising crowds with winning humor live (QRO live review), and bringing a stable of new songs (QRO live review). Those new songs, like “Laughing With a Mouth of Blood” (QRO video) and “Actor Out of Work” (QRO video) formed into 2009’s Actor (QRO review), which vaunted her into the even bigger time (QRO photos at a festival), including playing Lincoln Center (QRO live review) and other storied concert halls (QRO photos at a festival) & venues (QRO photos at Royal Albert Hall). Admittedly, 2011’s Strange Mercy (QRO review) wasn’t quite as good, but then she teamed up with the one-and-only David Byrne (QRO photos at a festival together) for 2012′s Love This Giant (QRO review), and now the holy St. Vincent (QRO photos) comes back with a vengeance this year on St. Vincent (QRO review), and an absolutely stellar live show (QRO photos in Europe), with her platinum grey hair and mannequin moves shining at festivals (QRO photos at a festival) and in the Old World (QRO photos in Europe). A must-see at NOS Primavera ‘14 (QRO photos at a festival).

John Grant, 21:25 Former lead singer of Denver’s The Czars, John Grant (QRO photos) has always found more success in Europe. Photos from Primavera Sound the prior weekend

Lee Ranaldo & The Dust, 18:50 Widely regarded as one of, if not the greatest guitarist in indie-rock, Lee Ranaldo has been perhaps the greatest member of one of, if not the great bands in indie-rock, Sonic Youth (QRO live review). From the group’s start in New York’s no-wave sub-culture in the early eighties, late eighties acclaim on Daydream Nation (QRO live review), through grunge-era breakthrough a decade later, from their wildly experimental outings, like last year’s soundtrack to the film Simon Werner a Disparu (QRO soundtrack review), to 2009’s last studio record, The Eternal (QRO review), Ranaldo has been maestro of Sonic Youth. In 2011, Youth singer/guitarist Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon announced they were divorcing after twenty-seven years of marriage, and Sonic Youth’s future remains uncertain, with no new material or concerts planned – but Ranaldo hasn’t stayed still, releasing his latest solo record, Between the Times and Tides, in 2012.

Also: Refree, 17:00