Hey! I actually got out of my house before 2! Progress, man. I suppose I stopped drinking early enough the night before that it made for a somewhat conventional nights' sleep, odd hours. I woke up to a barrage of text messages from last night. My phone had died and I was playing catch-up on my life while trying to make it to Baby's for the Captured Tracks unofficial day party. Jesus I think this thing's starting to take a toll on me. I'm uncharacteristically writing this on the fly, on my rejuvenated telephone, trying not to fall behind. Or asleep. - keep reasing JP Basileo's report of Day 3 of the CMJ Music Marathon 2014 (picture by Micah Weisberg)

New York label Captured Tracks celebrates its 5th anniversary with a two day festival this weekend at The Well in Bushwick.

The Saturday show is headlined by breakout stars DIIV, who have redefined the standard for feel good guitar-bass interplay. Floating, reverberated vocals add to the joyous vibe that makes you want to dance and dream at the same time. Of equal importance on this night will surely be the romantic pop and classic hooks of MINKS. Their most recent release “Margot” is about as perfect a summer fall in love song one could possibly hope for. It’s the synth pop we loved in the 80’s with a truly engaging front vocalist and a chorus that tugs hard at your heart. Heavenly Beat, Chris Cohen and Blouse round out day 1.

Sunday’s show kicks off the first of the month with three homegrown acts whose prominence continues to rise. Widowspeak rightly places clear emphasis on Molly Hamilton's somnolent vocals and centralized presence. Guitarist Robert Earl Thomas keeps everything from getting too dreamy and sleepy, by ripping guitar lines with forceful clarity. Beach Fossils continue to grow and expand their sound in unpredictable ways. The signature piercing guitar sound remains, but is now driven along by a more powerful percussive element. Wild Nothing, Soft Metals, Alex Calder and a “Special Guest” round out this second night. - Dave Cromwell

Widowspeak - which seems to have become a duo - just announced the release of their second full length scheduled for early 2013. Preview track "Ballad of the Golden Hour" replicates their usual, indolently dreamy atmospheres, with a progressive build up that's slightly noisier and faster than what we would normally expect from them. The press release promises "denser arrangements" and exploring of "new sonic territory" - but as long as the songs are as consistently good as the ones in the band's previous release, pretty much anything will do, really...

Man, these aloof Widowspeak hipster guys are making us GREEN! We love their music but they wouldn't play our shows (or even make a Facebook post about our coverage) to save their own lives. We must have tried to dat... ahem, book them half a dozen times by now and we are afraid it ain't gonna happen at this point... Their record came out about a year ago - cool beijey cover, mellow sounds, a beauty - but we met them way before then. It was The Deli NYC's Album of the Month in August 2011, and it still finds its way into our ears. The guys also placed 3rd in our latest Best of NYC Emerging Artists Poll, but they never really seemed to care much about this stuff... But wait! Fashion magazine "Interview" interviewed them the other day! They wrote a post on Facebook about it! Same thing with Noisevox, Wow Magazine, Vice Germany... what the heck Widowspeak?! You flirt with huge publications owned by even bigger corporations behind our back? INDIGNATION! BETRAYAL OF BROOKLYN DIY ETHICS! - Or maybe just jealousy of a small, unloved (but cute) local rag...
P.S.You were on the cover of our latest issue, did you even notice? - Read Ed Guardaro's feature on Widowspeak here.