Skeleton Swoon

Today is the day to post about creepy music. Whereas everyone seems to think Vampires are trendy I have always been into them. Growing up with an older sister who was fascinated by Anne Rice and had a crush on Robert Smith you either became a follower or you spent your time being scared of things that were frequently surrounding you. Then there is the whole aspect of being a major science geek and wondering about aliens...which leads to ghosts...you tend to like things that freak you out. It is healthy. It is fun. It makes you feel alive.

Matador's latest signing of Esben and The Witch is perfect background music for a cold November night when you are walking down a deserted street with dead curled leaves scraping the ground, crawling their way back to a semblance of life with their veins holding them together before the first winter snowfall. The track, "They Use Smiles To Bury You" echoes like a beseeching call down an empty corridor...lonely, scared and sad. They will be journeying stateside in October, first playing Bowery Ballroom on October 1st and then The Knitting Factory on October 26th. Sure to be a band to keep track of they are bound to draw compliments for being similar to Bat For Lashes and The XX.

Visit their Myspace for a fairy tale depicting the characters that outline the band's name:

"Sir Red now told the king that the brothers could bring him a lamp which could shine over seven kingdoms. Esben asked his brothers this time for a bag of salt. For this task Esben had to enter the witches home, he entered secretly by the chimney. He crept about the decaying house but could not find the lamp which the witch guarded carefully. Esben hid in the baking oven and waited. The witch called to her daughter and demanded some porridge with no salt added, Esben emptied his bag into the porridge slyly when it was left unattended. The hag complained and had her daughter make more; she found though that they needed more water. The daughter requested the lamp from the witch so she could go out in the gloomy forest to fetch more. Esben followed her to the well, pushed her in and stole the lamp."

Definitely something to enjoy as August unwinds and heads into my most favorite season of all. Fall.

****Esben and The Witch Tour Dates****
SEPTEMBER
5--Offset Festival--London, UNITED KINGDOM
23--7th Street Entry--Minneapolis, MN
24--Lincoln Hall--Chicago, IL
25--Magic Stick--Detroit, MI
27--Lee's Palace--Toronto, ON
28--La Sala Rosa--Montreal, Quebec
29--Paradise Rock Club--Boston, MA
3--First Unitarian Church--Philadelphia, PA
OCTOBER
1--Bowery Ballroom with The Foals--New York, NY
3--Palms Casino Resort--Las Vegas, NV
5--Masquerade--Atlanta, GA
6--Club Downunder--Tallahassee, FL
8--Walter's on Washington--Houston, TX
9--The Mohawk--Austin, Texas
10--The Nightmare--Dallas, TX
12--Larimer Lounge--Denver, CO
14--Casbah--San Diego, Ca
18--El Rey Theatre--Chico, CA
19--The Blank Club--San Jose, CA
20--Bottom Of The Hill--San Francisco, CA
21--Doug Fir Lounge--Portland, OR
22--Venue--Vancouver, BC
23--Neumos City Arts Music--Seattle, WA
26--The Knitting Factory--Brooklyn, NY
NOVEMBER
4--La Boule Noir--Paris, France
10--Electrowerkz--London, UK
11--The Deaf Institute--Manchester, UK
12--Captain's Rest--Glasgow, Scotland
14--Leeds University--Leeds, UK
*Esben and The Witch Tags