Band In Boston

Naked Gods are hands down our favorite band from the bustling Asheville, NC scene. They stopped by for the second time a damn year and a half ago just as their latest album, No Jams, was coming out. The album itself is a beautiful exercise in restraint for the boys- their live shows are one […]

Landlady is the baby of New Yorker and multi-instrumentalist Adam Schatz. You may know him as the saxophonist in the Teenage Prayers (though he wasn’t around when they came in), but he also plays keyboards, guitar, and whatever other instruments he needs to in order to translate his songs from their usual 6-piece band arrangement […]

No, it’s not a belated April Fools joke. We have some new sessions! Brooklyn’s Food Will Win The War came in almost a year ago, and they are far too sweet to be from Brooklyn. They’ll be playing at the Loft in Somerville this Saturday! FWWTW’s web site Download individual tracks here, or stream the […]

The very first band to play in the new “studio” (our attic) was Boston’s own Banditas. It was a sweltering July day, and the attic can get unbearably hot. Luckily, Banditas have the sweltering hot souls of the American Southwest, and Hayley even showed up in a bikini to prove that you just can’t keep […]

We are happy to announce that our move from living room to attic (and Somerville to Boston!) was a resounding success. To mix things up a bit, we’re going to be using all new fancy graphics for Flophouse Sessions going forward – they almost look like real albums, don’t they? Doing the honors to kick […]

Back again we are! Yoda we speak like! Yep, we’re giving it another shot – let’s see if we can keep it up. This week’s (year’s?) show features Robbers on High Street, I Have Ears, Future Carnivores, Eldridge Rodriguez, Babydriver, Shake the Baron, The New Highway Hymnal, Dan Baker, Marc Pinansky, Shelterbelt, Guillermo Sexo, Marconi, […]

…And we finally get to the last Flophouse Session recorded in our old house – featuring Australia’s one and only The Lovetones! For the uninitiated, The Lovetones are fronted by Matthew Tow, who, besides being a stellar songwriter and performer of his own, was a member of the Brian Jonestown Massacre a few years back. […]

Yoni Gordon seems to write songs at a record-breaking pace. And he’s not one to get stubborn about genres. In the years between his first visit and this one, he shifted from angly new wavey rock to a bit more of an Americana-ish feel. Just after recording this session, he set out on a tour […]

Dead Heart Bloom blew us away with their first session, and didn’t let up with the second batch – they even gave us a new version of one of the tunes. Dead Heart Bloom online Download individual songs here, or stream the whole thing:

Hailing from Rochester NY, Man vs. Moon stopped by last September and laid down some tasty indie rockness, complete with the most obvious and well-executed Stairway to Heaven ripoff since Led Zeppelin ripped off Stairway (from “Taurus” by Spirit, if you didn’t already know).  Based on their internet presence, they may have entered the witness […]

We weren’t planning on putting this one out for a while, but after seeing Viva Viva knock the socks off of Precinct (and with only 3 members!), we decided to bump it up in the queue. This one’s a bit of a bittersweet session for us, as it was the last one we recorded at […]

In case you’re as dense as me, Fan-Tan is not the latest in spray-on sun tanning technology. It’s actually a Chinese gambling game. Look it up and explain it to me if you can. More importantly, in this case it’s a band from Brooklyn that makes some damn pretty post-punk music along the lines of […]

As we gear up for the new and improved Flophouse (the Newhouse?), we finally have time to share the last few that we recorded at our old place. And they are all great – Baby Driver is no exception. A hard style to define- I suppose you can throw them into the “indie” bucket and […]

We stumbled upon Christy & Emily when they were a duo opening up for Hallelujah the Hills at Bruar Falls in their home (sub-)town of Brooklyn. Thus proving our motto: always check out the opening band. They stopped by when they found themselves in our neck of the woods, and brought a couple of friends […]

It seems fitting that this photo came out so weird. Miniboone has an uncanny ability to write catchy new wavey indie-pop songs and then add one surprise after another. Check out their first session here. Song list: 1. Devil in Your Eyes 04:00 2. Little Things 03:39 3. The Other Summer 05:29 4. Rosalina Must […]

After the epic grandeur of [T]SR[IATW]’s first session, we had high hopes for a return visit. And they did not disappoint. Even the weather set the tone for the slightly darker musical textures this time around: we recorded this during one of the heaviest rainfalls of the summer. The rain you hear at the beginning […]

We are indeed back, with big big news. Jen got a new kidney, and as we all know, rock n’ roll is primarily processed by the kidney, so this means we’re back to doing this show on a nearly-weekly basis. Thanks to everyone that has been incredible (and there are so many of you!!) during […]

Invisible Hand swung by on their tour with Naked Gods. An entirely different sound, but equally worth your time. Give it a whirl. Song List: 1. Poppy Cock 03:47 2. There’s Room in My Will 03:17 3. Instrumental 02:25 4. My Heartbeat is Making my Ears Ring 03:27 5. Death Bellows 04:26 6. Black Tie […]

Hey, we’re back! The list of excuses for going so long without a release is forthcoming (and extensive, and convincing!), but in the meantime, we have a few sessions from the old Flophouse to let you in on! Boone, North Carolina’s Naked Gods came back to lay down some of the most soulful stuff we’ve […]

Holy crap, we’re back! A year-long hiatus comes to an end. Hopefully we remember how to do this… Featuring Bigger Princess, Mr. Sister, Mount Peru, The Points North, Diamond Mines, Mitten, Brown Bird, Cat-Tooth Jim, Coyote Kolb, Carlisle Sound, See Through Band, Earthquake Party!, Bozmo, Mmoss, Vandaveer, and Nicole Reynolds. MySpace playlist of all the […]

There’s not much we can say about RoHS that hasn’t been said before. Expertly-crafted pop rock tunes that are just done RIGHT. Song List: 1. Watch Me Disappear 03:00 2. Electric Eye 03:08 3. Hollow Hill 03:33 4. Descender 03:35 5. Something to Say (The Action) 03:43 6. Opal Ann 03:54 Robbers on High Street […]

The last time Israel Darling passed through town, they didn’t have time to set up the whole band, so we got a great solo performance from Jacob. This time around, we got the whole shootin’ match. Song List: 1. To New York, To Miss Marie 05:58 2. Whistling Dixie 05:46 3. Samson the Mason 04:48 […]

No flowery description for these guys – I’m running out the door. Trust us, though. This is some purdy music. We’ll make up for the crappy description with a bonus video tomorrow! Song List: 1. Water and Smoke 02:21 2. Marchers 02:35 3. Dear John 03:26 4. Spark 02:36 5. Settlement 04:21 6. St. You […]

The New Highway Hymnal certainly hits the genres you’d expect from their name – Bluesy Americana and the like – but just when you’re getting comfortable, they can mix it up with a 60s vibe, or even what could be a lost Janes Addiction track. They’re playing from New York to Maine in the next […]

Straddling that strange meeting point between prog rock, psych, post-rock and a healthy dash of good old noise, we were expecting a much bigger challenge to get them to embrace the Flophouse vibe. Luckily for everyone, they took to it quite nicely indeed. Song List: 1. Afraid of Home 01:29 2. Octopus 04:18 3. Pets […]

When you have a band made up of about-to-graduate MIT students, you can pretty much guess what they are going to sound like. Lots of computers and samplers, probably some kind of one-of-a-kind instrument made with lasers, and herky-jerky new wave music that could be called the opposite of “Americana”. And in the case of […]

After seeing a duo version of Tallahassee at the Johnny Cash tribute that we helped put together, we knew we had to get them in for a session as soon as possible. Lead singer Brian Barthelmes honed his songwriting chops as a lineman for the New England Patriots (no joke), but the soulful americana that […]

Stopping by for their third session (check out their earliers here), Brooklyn’s The Press continues to be one of those “Why doesn’t EVERYONE know about this band?” kinda bands. In our humble opinion, their brand new album, INTEOTWIJTEOAE (listen closely and you’ll know what it stands for), finally does justice to the intricate patchwork of […]

Via Audio came in, wow, over two years ago. In the meantime, they have really honed their sound (and hopefully we’ve gotten better at this whole “recording” thing). They revisit a few tunes from their first visit, and unleash a batch of new goodness. Song List: 1. Oh Bla Wee 02:41 2. Happening 04:10 3. […]

It seems like everyone’s been talking about Girlfriends lately. Just a few months into their existence, they’ve been nominated for a BMA for best garage rock band (amidst some very tough competition), and have a cross-country tour lined up that will keep them busy for every single day from July through mid-August. Yow. This Sunday, […]

Worldmap… I couldn’t come up with a way to describe them until I saw their MySpace profile, where luckily they figured it out: baroque punk. Their songs are somewhat atonal and can be nearly assaulting live, so of course they went the complete opposite direction here. Song list: 1. That’s Pejorative 02:09 2. His Penis […]

Landing the coveted (is it?) #250 spot is Boston’s own The Longwalls. A perfect blend of Americana and catchy-as-heck pop, I dare you not to find yourself singing Zombies (source of my current favorite lyric: “It’s not a social commentary when I say there’s zombies at the mall”) at some point this week. And mark […]

The winners of last year’s Happy Valley Showdown, Bunny’s a Swine is a band that loves two things: long confusing titles and playing music. And maybe booze. They also may soon be your new favorite band. They’re definitely one of ours. Song List: 1. Fuck Graph 03:11 download 2. This Place is a Meat Market, […]

Ambitious Tugboat has one last date (March 7) left in their untraditional residency at O’Brien’s pub in Allston. Instead of the usual weekday night schedule that most bands opt for, they have been playing on Sundays at 2:30, along with some excellent other locals. So go support this cool idea, would you? Song List: 1. […]

Brooklynites K.C. Quilty remind me of those heady days of the late 80s/early 90s, when MTV learned (or invented) the term “alternative music,” and it felt like music like Nirvana, The Breeders, Pavement, and so on would forever wipe away the scourge of hair metal and neo-disco. Ah, we were so innocent. K.C. Quilty shows […]

Dan Shea has been putting out some great albums through his label, Bodies of Water Arts and Crafts for quite a while. Now he steps out from behind the microphone (is that a phrase?) to lead The Needy Visions. They’re what you might expect The Kingsmen to sound like if they formed today. Since they […]

They say that everyone’s a Beatles person or a Stones person. (For the record: Andy=Beatles, Jen=Stones.) Philadelphia’s The Day Life is clearly on the Beatles side of that demarcation, but not only due to their great cover of Don’t Let Me Down (and possibly band name reference?). From some of the smoothest harmonies we’ve had […]

TAB the Band has a brand new album (Zoo Noises), and a CD release show this Saturday at the Middle East. Since their first visit to the Flophouse, their sound has really matured beyond the straight-out rock of their earlier offerings. For this session they went all acoustic and showed us a whole new side […]

We lose so many bands to NYC up hear, it’s good to see a great one go in the opposite direction. Dania and Zilpha play what they may have inadvertently labeled “folk music in space”. Sometimes a duo, sometimes, a trio, maybe occasionally a quartet, for this session they brought along sometimes-bass player Jerrick (confirming […]

From “North of Massachusetts” (Maine, to be more exact), Tiny Fires is a musical trip through a truly impressive range of influences. Featuring members of Tiger Saw, South China, Brown Bird, and a variety of other two-word-named bands, i pick up hints of The Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd, and, for some reason, My Bloody Valentine. […]

For a bunch of Northerners (as far as we know), Dressing the Debutantes would be right at home on a rickety porch overlooking a swamp. With a vocal style reminiscent of John McCauley from Deer Tick, Chris Hutchison-Jones and company deliver a mix of southern-tinged ballads and boot-stomping testimonies. If these 11 songs aren’t enough […]

Here’s how to make your band hard to pigeonhole: do a cover of a Zombies song and a Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass tune. Mix it with equal parts Elvis Costello, Squeeze, and throw in a pinch or two of Pavement, perhaps a little Built to Spill, and you’ve got yourself Boston’s own The […]

We switched around our mic setup the day before The Accident That Led Me To The World came in, and what good timing it was. This may be the prettiest sounding thing we’ve ever put out, if I do say so myself. TATLMTTW call themselves a folk band, but we think that may be selling […]

Philly doesn’t seem to provide an overwhelming number of bands, or perhaps they’re protective of their local talent. But the ones we do hear of tend to be worth noting – Dr. Dog, The Teeth, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, to name just a few. Add to that list Drink Up Buttercup. They put on […]

Bird & Flower from Columbus Ohio is your basic three piece folk band – banjo, ukulele, harmonium, glockenspiel, keytar… Wait, keytar? Yup. Much like the occasional inclusion of an instrument you would never expect, their songs have a freshness and an honest-to-god groove that makes them a lot more than your typical folk group. They […]

Boston’s own Antiques, back again! Song list: 1. We Don’t Dream 03:19 2. Happy 03:28 3. Family Heirloom 02:57 4. No Fortune 02:39 5. Feather in Your Cap 02:04 6. Fire Away 04:52 7. Picture Book 04:42 8. Tea of Marshall 03:32 9. The Mark/Wasting Time 06:49 10. Thunder 03:27 Antiques online Download individual tracks […]

Merry Christmas everyone. Here’s a live version of Silent Night, performed by Tulsa at the Middle East downstairs on December 17, 2009!

Cambridge’s Thick as Thieves are a diverse pack of musicians. Actually, it’s a bit difficult to describe what they do, musically. Sometimes T. Rex, sometimes Television, but never boring. And they seem just as comfortable playing a song full-out on stage, or much more intimately, like here in our living room. Song List: 1. Weak […]

We had so much fun the first time our favorite Texans came in that we made sure they paid us another visit. Here’s another batch of wonderful tunes! Song List: 1. Tennessee Coalmine 02:58 2. Fast as I Can 03:46 3. Don’t Waste Your Day 02:41 4. Bowling Green 03:27 5. Make a Wish 03:14 […]

Israel Darling is another great badn from North Carolina – Greensboro, to be exact. Their songs tend to start with a folky melody, and then they add layer after layer of goodness. Today, Jacob takes it all back down to the bare bones. Song List: 1. Woman God and Pity for a Man 03:58 2. […]

When The Dead Trees did their first session (Mike solo), they were a Boston band. When they did their second session, they were a Portland (Oregon) band. These days, they are based out of LA, and in the intervening years have toured with Little Joy and Albert Hammond Jr.. They treated us to an all-too-short […]