Daily MPMFer: Freelance Whales, Leogun and more

By Mike Breen for CityBeat

The MidPoint Music Festival countdown is down to just 3 days, kicking off this Thursday. Here are our daily MidPoint Music Festival 2012 picks …

BIG SHOT
Freelance Whales (Queens, NY)
Baroque Indie Electro Pop
Frontman Judah Dadone founded Freelance Whales in 2008 and recorded much of the band's lauded, self-released debut album from late 2009, Weathervanes (reissued by Frenchkiss and Mom + Pop in 2010). The band not only scored a lot of fans based on the album, but also a ton of licensing (for a variety of films and TV shows). The band's consistent international touring, external exposure and word-of-mouth PR has built anticipation for its new album, Diluvia, to a fever pitch. The LP is set for an Oct. 9 release (MPMF serves as the opening date on the band's tour behind the record). Freelance Whales' mix of electronic sounds and Chamber Folk ideals has led them to be compared to everyone from The Postal Service to Sufjan Stevens.
You'll Dig It If You Dig: Sufjan Stevens making a Postal Service album; Postal Service making a Sufjan album. (Mike Breen)

Freelance Whales (their name, if you're wondering, was inspired by the huge amount of "freelancers" working in NYC) performs Saturday in Washington Park at 7 p.m. (taking the slot vacated by Sleigh Bells). Here's a new track from Diluvia, "Spitting Image."

SLEEPER PICK
Leogun (London, UK)
Rock & Roll
With “big breaks” today mostly coming in the form of internet exposure, London trio Leogun’s big-time entry into the music biz was decidedly old-fashioned.

Singer/guitarist Tommy Smith snuck into an Eagles of Heavy Metal show in London and met an industry heavyweight who introduced him to Elton John’s Rocket Music Management. From there, the band became the first band signed to instrument-maker Yamaha’s new record label. Leogun went to Nashville to lay down some of their timeless, passionate Rock & Roll, the first results of which are set for an EP due Oct. 16 (a full-length is planned for 2013). Leogun’s transcendent take on vintage Blues-inspired Rock & Roll is strong enough to earn them one the “bands most likely to return soon for an arena show” awards from this year’s MPMF.
Dig: Wolfmother, Pearl Jam, Queens of the Stone Age. (MB)

Leogun performs at The Drinkery Saturday at 12:30 a.m. Here's the band's new single and video, "Let's Be Friends," which just premiered on MTV.com.

LOCAL LOCK PICK
The Perfect Children (Cincinnati, OH)
Garage Soul
The Perfect Children is a duo featuring guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist/songwriter Kristen Kreft (a musical theater veteran formerly of J. Dorsey Blues Revival) and drummer Adam Shelton (Barbury Coast, RX-2, Gordy Horn) sure to be blowing fuses and minds with Kreft’s gale force voice and the twosome’s versatile instrumental skills. From Peggy Lee Soul/Pop grooves to Etta James Blues moves, management cannot be responsible for dropped jaws. Dig: A Garage duo with the Soul of Otis Redding, the cool of Etta James and Nina Simone and the Rock of Bo and Chuck. (Brian Baker)

The Perfect Children perform Friday at Japp's at 10:30 p.m. Click here to listen to their song "Tumblin' Down" and other MPMF tracks, courtesy of the Vitaminwater media player.

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