#mittenfields

We recently streamed “Optimists,” the title track from Mittenfields’ forthcoming debut LP, on our “Listen / Watch” section. Now, the Washington, DC indie rock band have shared a brand new music video for the song. Watch above.

Mittenfields - Optimists (Official Music Video)

Title track "Optimists" off Mittenfields debut LP, out April 28, 2015.

Every time Your Tuesday Afternoon Alternative arrives – we work to bring you exciting new indie music. And this week is no exception. In fact, we have some tunes we are very excited to share with you!  On Tuesday, March 17th we have something a little extra special for you music lover!

Mittenfieldshave new music coming our way and we have the radio premier of several songs from them this week.…

It is a Two for Tuesday on Your Tuesday Afternoon Alternative

This week we continue the smash that is “toast and jams” by playing songs that go together like… well, you get the idea, right? Things that go together make for more fun for all of us. Music is no exception. So, listen for the songs that we pair together for some reason. We also have some CDs to give away this week from Go Robot, Go!

We have so much new music that we cannot play everything and…

Wow it's been way too long since I've been to a show.  And this one, sadly, I had to attend alone since apparently all of my friends are lame.  It's always harder to convince friends to go see local music, even when it's a very solid triple bill.

I've seen Mittenfields a few times before.  On their first EP, The Fresh Sum, they have a fairly straight-forward indie guitar rock sound.  Live, they are much louder and very, very shoe-gaze influenced.  Not many bands have three guitars and handle it well, but Mittenfields does a good job of crafting layers of guitar distortion that balances noise and texture with melody and progression.  I recently picked up and am really liking the newest My Bloody Valentine record, and it pleases me that Mittenfields are making sounds in the same vein.

Cake and Calculus were the only band in this line-up that I don't have any prior experience with.  A relatively new band, I was surprised to see them in the middle spot on a Rock and Roll Hotel bill (and equally surprised to see Mittenfields opening instead of closing).  That said, they probably brought the largest portion of the crowd, and played a really solid set.  Their music reminds me a lot of Pinback, and at times has the sort of really smart melodic sensibility of local DC favorites Deleted Scenes.  It also reminded me a bit of my old college scene, which made this set feel vaguely nostalgic and fresh at the same time.  They were the least loud band of the night, which probably isn't saying much.  Also, all their songs are apparently about wizards.

I know I've seen Monument before, perhaps even played on a bill with them, but for some reason going in to this show I thought they were a mostly-instrumental desert/stoner-rock band.  I must have had them totally mistaken for another band, because, that's not what they are at all (aside from a couple of their heavier moments).  Actually, Monument lined up really well with the other two bands--their sound being somewhat in-between the other two.  They have some of Mittenfields' loud, layered guitar work and some similar vocal and melodic work to Cake and Calculus.  I also heard hints of post-punk in their set, and they tended to stick to faster tempos than the other two bands.

Mittenfields - My Mind is an avalanche