Another nice new single from Kllo – “Dissolve.”

Kllo Shares New Single “Dissolve”
Listen Here

Backwater Out October 20th On Ghostly International

World Tour Begins This Month

Photo by Hayley Louise Brown
Kllo are sharing their new single, “Dissolve,” via Consequence of Sound. It’s taken from their debut album, Backwater, coming out October 20th on Ghostly International. “Dissolve” complements the series of previously released singles “Virtue,” “Downfall,” and “Nylon,” which have garnered praise from The New York Times, Pitchfork, Stereogum, NYLON, XLR8R, Paste and more.

“‘Dissolve’ was triggered by overhearing a bad Skype call in our hotel lobby in cologne,” Kllo says. “The lack of intimacy led to a heated conversation. As soon as we went back to our hotel, I picked up the microphone and sang one of the lines i overheard and it went from there. There’s a huge disconnection when speaking through a screen, things can easily be misinterpreted.”

Listen To Kllo’s “Dissolve”:
https://soundcloud.com/kllomusic/dissolve
Kllo – an electronic pop collaboration between Melbourne cousins Chloe Kaul and Simon Lam – waded in figurative backwater for much of 2016 amid an extensive world tour. These were exciting times; the duo’s Well Worn EP furthered the promise of 2014 EP Cusp, receiving millions of streams and landing Kllo on festival stages as well as Artists-to-Watch lists. Nonetheless, the stretch kept them far from home, isolated and vulnerable, treading through perpetual uncharted territory while yearning for the comforts of the familiar.

As a result, Kllo’s full-length debut depicts inner adjustment to outer change. Songs were written partially on the road and developed back at Lam’s bungalow, a haven that harbors creative spontaneity and catharsis.

“It’s the first time we hadn’t felt like kids anymore,” says Kaul. “We were really able to dive in deeper and bring out a lot more of us into the music.”

Kllo first emerged with a sound beyond their years; fully formed, fusing elements of R&B, UK garage, and 2-step. Well-versed students of artists like James Blake, Lauryn Hill, and The xx, the duo extend an amalgamation of established pop elements with modern sensibilities and wide-eyed sincerity. Backwater arrives as a refined, coming-of-age account. The LP format finds Kllo with more room to breathe and sync their rhythms with emotions. Kaul’s smoky voice emanates with assurance and leisure. Lam’s production invents brooding, steely undercurrents hemmed with charming crescendos.

Kllo have officially come out the other end of the stilted estuary with twelve compositions cultivated to feel timeless and crafted, and equally current. The duo’s second release on Ghostly International — and their most realized work to date — Backwater celebrates the ephemeral and the enduring changes in emotion, the downfalls and the dissolves. It’s an album that parts course with its flow, and flourishes in a lowland.

This month, Kllo begin their world headline tour in support of Backwater. They kick it off in North America where they’ll perform material from Backwater live for the very first time. Kllo’s last North American dates were in Winter 2016 supporting RÜFÜS DU SOL with a pair of one-off headline shows including a packed house at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn for their New York City debut. This time around they’ll headline multiple nights in NYC including brand new venue Elsewhere. A full list of dates is below.

Listen To Kllo’s “Dissolve”:
https://soundcloud.com/kllomusic/dissolve

Watch & Listen:
“Downfall” video – https://youtu.be/RCR8TBqR_EU
“Downfall” audio – https://soundcloud.com/kllomusic/01-downfall
“Virtue” video – https://youtu.be/4vSVpoABRRU
“Virtue” audio – https://soundcloud.com/kllomusic/virtue
“Nylon” audio – https://soundcloud.com/kllomusic/11-nylon

Kllo Tour Dates:
Oct. 18 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas (tickets)
Oct. 20 – Detroit, MI @ El Club (tickets)
Oct. 27 – Vancouver, BC @ Waldorf (tickets)
Oct. 28 – Seattle, WA @ VERA Project (tickets)
Nov. 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Resident (tickets)
Nov. 2 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill (tickets)
Nov. 4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere (tickets)
Nov. 5 – New York, NY @ Berlin (tickets)
Nov. 12 – Madrid, ES @ Costello
Nov. 13 – San Sebastian, ES @ Dabadaba
Nov. 14 – Barcelona, ES @ Sidecar
Nov. 16 – Paris, FR @ Supersonic
Nov. 17 – Rotterdam, NL @ V11
Nov. 18 – Brussels, BE @ Les TransArdentes at Palais 12
Nov. 20 – Amsterdam, NL @ The Sugar Factory
Nov. 23 – London, UK @ XOYO
Nov. 24 – Bristol, UK @ The Louisiana
Nov. 25 – Manchester, UK @ The Soup Kitchen
Nov. 27 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast
Nov. 28 – Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete’s
Nov. 29 – Leeds, UK @ Headrow House
Nov. 30 – Nottingham, UK @ The Bodega
Dec. 3 – Berlin, DE @ Badehaus
Dec. 4 – Cologne, DE @ Yuca
Dec. 5 – Hamburg, DE @ Haekken
Dec. 8 – Sydney, AUS @ Oxford Arts Factory
Dec. 9 – Perth, AUS @ Jack Rabbit Slim’s
Dec. 14 – Brisbane, AUS @ Woolly Mammoth
Dec. 15 – Melbourne, AUS @ Corner Hotel
Dec. 16 – Adelaide, AUS @ Fat Controller
Praise for Backwater:

“’Virtue’ is a sterling new single… Ms. Kaul has an oozy, aspirated voice, and smears it tactfully atop Mr. Lam’s euphoric, quick-stepping production, which bridges fiery garage and joyous disco.” – The New York Times

“Once things get started on ‘Virtue’ it’s like a sonic boom. Heavy bass blasts find a home next to frantic dance beats and Kaul’s cooing, serene vocal delivery.” – Stereogum

“In its slow build and beauty, ‘Downfall’ feels like having ascended a ladder to a particularly gorgeous vantage point, and enjoying the journey on the way there, too.”
– Pitchfork

“Ecstatic and melancholic by turn, ‘Virtue’ is a striking introduction to the duo’s most cohesive body of work yet.” – NYLON


Backwater artwork

Flat Worms’ new single, “Pearl,” sure to melt your face.

FLAT WORMS ANNOUNCE SELF-TITLED DEBUT ALBUM,
OUT OCTOBER 20TH VIA CASTLE FACE

WATCH VIDEO FOR DEBUT SINGLE, “PEARL”
https://youtu.be/HA7AU95C_zU
 [photo credit: Cayal Unger]

Flat Worms announce their self-titled debut full-length album, due out October 20th via Castle Face. Today the band, comprised of Will Ivy (Dream Boys, Wet Illustrated, Bridez), Justin Sullivan (Kevin Morby, the Babies) and Tim Hellman (Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Sic Alps) also share the Kevin M. Gossett directed video for lead single, “Pearl.”

Having already released a 7” on Volar, Flat Worms continue their ride on a buzzsaw wave of feedback-tipped riffs into the middle distance, smog choked sunset receding in the rearview, a thousand yard dead-pan surgically pinned to a high octane set of boredom energized punk pistons. Flat Worms – an ears-a-ringing missive from the end of the cul-de-sac, the mirage of direction wavering above a mid-sized American suburb at dusk, constellations bleached black by the sprawl. A little Wipers, a little Wire, and a lot of late-capitalist era anxious energy – Flat Worms scratch the itch quite nicely, we think.
Watch video for “Pearl” –
https://youtu.be/HA7AU95C_zU

Flat Worms Tracklisting:
01. Motorbike
02. Goodbye Texas
03. Pearl
04. Accelerated
05. White Roses
06. 11816
07. Followers
08. Faultline
09. Question
10. Red Hot Sand

Pre-order Flat Worms:
https://midheaven.com/item/flat-worms-by-flat-worms

[Flat Worms album artwork]
Flat Worms online:
Instagram
Bandcamp

Lindstrom releases “Tensions” from his upcoming album of space disco.

LINDSTRØM, “THE KING OF SPACE DISCO” (NEW YORKER),
SHARES NEW SINGLE, “TENSIONS,” OFF IT’S ALRIGHT BETWEEN US AS IT IS,
OUT OCTOBER 20TH ON SMALLTOWN SUPERSOUND

LISTEN HERE

(above image by Lin Stensrud)

“More long and futuristic cuts from the Norwegian producer who can make Daft Punk and Terry Riley fans dance into the afters.” – New York Magazine Fall Preview 2017

“’Shinin’ is filled with a captivating melange of synths and a shuffling drum beat. Hall’s rich croon matches the track’s cosmic vibes though her lyrics about hanging at the park with a new flame help ground ‘Shinin’ in the real.” – Rolling Stone

“[Lindstrøm & Hall’s] partnership is capable of creating moments of genuine inspiration; at one point near the track’s final stretch, they weave in a sort of ululating vocal loop that sounds like Hall singing an arpeggiation. . .  set against the backdrop of Lindstrøm’s sheeny production, it totally works, and injects just the right amount of weirdness into this otherwise crystalline track.” — Pitchfork

Norwegian producer Lindstrøm will release his fifth solo album and first since 2012, It’s Alright Between Us As It Is, on October 20th via Smalltown Supersound. After presenting debut single, “Shinin” feat. Grace Hall, one of three guest vocalists on the album alongside Frida Sundemo and Jenny Hval, who “lends her haunting, whispered vocal to his twisted, dark disco” (MOJO), Lindstrøm now shares “Tensions.” It’s “classic Lindstrøm…enveloping electro-disco that seems to build and build until dizzy with joy” (Uncut). The album, presented as one continuous stream of nine interlocked tracks, aggregates all the best elements of his long and varied career and newly reveals Lindstrøm to be a commanding mood sculptor.
The “Tensions” 12”, which also features a remix by Will Long, is available for purchase now.
Listen to Lindstrøm’s “Tensions” –
http://smarturl.it/sts31812-digi
Pre-order It’s Alright Between Us As It Is –
http://smarturl.it/sts320-bcamp

Purchase “Tensions” 12 —
http://smarturl.it/STS31812-retail

         Lindstrøm Tour Dates:       
Fri. Aug. 25 – Niort, FR @ Jeudis Niortais – Les Jardins François Mitterand
Fri. Sep. 1 – Randaberg, NO @ Randaberg Kulturhus
Sat. Sep. 2 – London, UK @ Village Underground
Sat. Sep. 16 – Bucharest, RO @ DokStation at Control Club
Thu. Nov. 9 – Brooklyn, NY @ Good Room
Fri. Nov. 10 – McDade, TX @ Sound On Sound Festival
Sat. Nov. 11 – Chicago, IL @ Smart Bar

Download hi-res press images of Lindstrøm and album art –
http://pitchperfectpr.com/lindstrom/

(It’s Alright Between Us As It Is cover art)

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Murder of the Universe

In this day and age, I’m fairly certain that few bands could make a good concept album.  Fewer still could make one about a cyborg who wants to be fully human while interacting with a wizard attempting to stop a monster from destroying all of creation.  King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have done just that, however, with Murder of the Universe.

In case you’re unaware, this is KGATLW’s second album of the year, and they plan to release three more before the end of 2017.  The first was the excellent Flying Microtonal Banana and the third, a collaboration with Mild High Club called Sketches of Brunswick East is already available for pre-order.

Lyrically and sonically, Murder of the Universe links up well with Flying Microtonal Banana and the outstanding Nonagon Infinity.  It’s like they’re a complete trilogy, and some people have suggested the robot in Nonagon Infinity‘s lead track, “Robot Stomp,” is the cyborg caught up in the Murder of the Universe.  You can also hear the beginning of Nonagon Infinity‘s “People Vultures” on this new record (on “Some Context”).

The album’s intro, “A New World,” has a haunting poem spoken by a young woman describing the aftermath of a nuclear war and how even more horrible things are to come afterwards.  The first is an “Altered Beast (Part 1).”  The band comes out like an angry, roaring bear from of its den.  Parts 2, 3, and 4 of the song alternate with the three-part “Altered Me.”  The war’s survivor realizes he must adapt to the new environment and new beastly overlord to survive (or did the beast alter him for a dark purpose?).  Each song flows seamlessly into the next and KGATLW slays each part.  Guitars assault you from every direction but can still stop on a dime.  The double drumming is insane, and the synths bring a wild, weird 1980’s horror film vibe to the whole thing.

The survivor has become an altered beast by the end of “Altered Beast IV,” feeling nothing but still remembering his humanity and the idea of freedom.  He has lost the concepts of “Life / Death,” but still clings to the idea of revenge.  He finds a possible ally in “The Lord of Lightning” (in which lead singer Stu Mackenzie yells “Nonagon infinity!” a few times).  It’s a wicked song that would leave anyone who’d never heard a KGATLW song before dumbfounded.  It tells the story of an epic mystical battle yet the song blasts by you like something shot from a catapult.

“The Balrog” could be the altered beast, but he is certainly the Lord of Lightning’s enemy.  The song is a sonic fiery claw in your brain with crazy percussion and even wilder guitars.  “The Floating Fire” is all that’s left after the war between the Balrog and the Lord of Lightning.  The Balrog becomes “The Acrid Corpse” by the end of it, but only eternal darkness remains after the Lord of Lightning leaves.

The future is left to the few survivors who have become cyborgs in order to live in the new world.  It’s all “Digital Black” in this new time.  People have willingly given up their humanity (“We’ve turned our bodies into computers…”) in a quest for what they thought was perfection.  The bass riff in this is great, as is the hard-hitting beat throughout it.

One such cyborg is “Han-Tyumi the Confused Cyborg,” the survivor of the original meeting with the altered beast.  All he wants is to vomit and die.  He wants pain, stench, and some sort of end instead of his endless digitized illusion of life and pleasure.  His “Vomit Coffin,” a machine of his own design, might help him do it.  It’s another weird rocker mixed with digitized vocals and synth grooves as Han-Tyumi gives himself over to full digitization in order to free himself (and perhaps the world) from his living death.

The title track has Han-Tyumi expanding far beyond his physical form until he’s traveling at the speed of light and infiltrating every living cell and atom.  The only way for him to find death is to destroy everything, and he does it.

So, yeah, it’s not a happy-go-lucky record.  It’s a crazy concept record about a giant monster attack nearly destroying the world and changing the few survivors left into cyborgs who are left with an even bleaker world after a lightning god battles a giant fire monster, which drives one of the few cyborgs with any shred of humanity left to destroy the entire universe in order to free himself from an eternal life of cold, digital monotony.

Why haven’t you bought it by now?

Keep your mind open.

[Subscribing may or may not give you lightning powers.  Try it and find out.]

 

“Welcome to an Altered Future,” has the cyborg, Han-Tyumi, describing how the digital age led to the death of the world thanks to artificial intelligence.  “We turned our bodies into computers,” the band’s lead vocalist, Stu, sings on

Comacozer – Kalos Eidos Skopeo

Australian psych / stoner rock powerhouse Comacozer have returned with another instrumental freakout – Kalos Eidos Skopeo.  The name of the album, of course, is a play on the words “kaleidoscope” or “kaleidoscopic,” suggesting that the music can be viewed / interpreted many different ways at once.

Take the opener, “Axis Mundi” (the cosmic / world axis), for example.  It begins with squawking guitars that sound like something from a slasher film soundtrack, but the track becomes almost a meditative piece by the time it reaches the five-minute mark thanks to skillful use of guitar reverb and subtle yet precise drumming.

“Nystagmus” might bring on its namesake (involuntary twitching of the eyes) with its cosmic jam guitars, slightly creepy bass, and doom metal drumming.  I love how “Hylonomus” (the name of the earliest known reptile) starts off sounding like it’s a spaghetti western song and then morphs into a Middle Eastern-flavored dream that might be happening in the mind of an ancient lizard dozing in the stump of a massive, dead tree.  It then morphs a second time into a great groove that belongs in a car chase sequence in a big budget film.  It’s great to hear Comacozer cut loose like this.

Need to knock out a wall in your house to expand your kitchen?  Don’t bother with sledgehammers.  Just play the closer, “Enuma Elish,” and aim your speakers in the right direction.  The song is about the Babylonian creation myth which involves – among other things – the god Marduk defeating the goddess of the oceans and creating the earth and sky out of her body.  Comacozer somehow manages to put all this epic stuff into one song (that last nearly 12 minutes).

You might have noticed that this album only contains four songs.  Don’t let that worry you, because all of them are around thirteen minutes in length.  It’s a full album of instrumental cosmic psychedelia and worth every penny.

Keep your mind open.

[You won’t get nystagmus from reading my posts, so feel free to subscribe.]

Shame release a sharp new post-punk single – “Concrete.”

UK’S SHAME RELEASE NEW SINGLE & VIDEO, “CONCRETE“, TOUR NORTH AMERICAN IN NOVEMBER

DEBUT ALBUM COMING IN EARLY 2018

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “CONCRETE”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MVLqZpnwow

Today, one of the UK’s most talked about young bands (and new Dead Oceans signing) Shame shares their new single and video, “Concrete.” A bracing jolt of a song, “Concrete” races forward on a tightly wound post-punk riff, its call-and-response vocals capturing the turmoil and schizophrenic internal dialogue of the song’s subject matter.

“It’s about someone who’s trapped in a relationship and they’re being pummelled into surrender,” says singer and lyricist Charlie Steen. “It’s not about a physically abusive relationship – more an emotionally and psychologically draining one. The call-and-response vocals [between Steen and bassist Josh Finerty] is the central figure’s own internal dialogue. They are dealing with two different things that they don’t want to address.”

The band cite The Fall, Parquet Courts, Country Teasers, Television Personalities and Wire among their biggest influences, and the icily claustrophobic sound of “Concrete” sets it in a lineage with Magazine, Joy Division and Siouxsie & The Banshees.

As a lyricist, Steen is a modern flâneur, forensically observing the lives of others around him as they unspool and fracture, with Hubert Selby Jr. and Irvine Welsh his primary literary influences. “That graphic and harsh style of writing always interested me,” he explains. “It’s not about the shock factor; it’s about the fact they are talking about these things in such great detail without stripping anything back.”

The London five piece have swiftly earned a reputation as one of the most visceral and exhilarating live bands in the UK, their combustible shows being honed through a heavy touring schedule in the UK and across Europe. Cutting their teeth on the squat-punk scene in the Queen’s Head in Brixton in 2015, where they were taken under the wing of Fat White Family, the white heat of their gigs quickly landed them support slots with Slaves and Warpaint. They were also personally invited by Billy Bragg to play the Left Field stage at Glastonbury this year.

Following two official singles –”The Lick”/”Gold Hole” and “Tasteless” on Fnord Communications as well as the digital-only Theresa May-baiting “Visa Vulture” (described by Steen as “the worst love song ever”) – “Concrete” is the first track to be released as part of their record deal with Dead Oceans.

“We started this band as a joke that went too far,” deadpans Steen. “What we do is quite strange and quite weird, but I get to meet a lot of people and I get to hear a lot of things. I am interested in the surrealism of reality.”

Shame are: Charlie Steen (vocals); Sean Coyle-Smith (guitar); Eddie Green (guitar); Charlie Forbes (drums); and Josh Finerty (bass).

PRAISE FOR SHAME“This U.K. band marries performance, poetry and punk in a way I won’t soon forget.” – Bob Boilen, NPR Music

“Grimy post-punk with a whiff of menace” – Q

“Expect them to turn up the heat even more as they progress” – Time Out 

“The forefront of a compelling new scene in the capital” – NME 

SHAME TOUR DATES (North American dates in bold)
Sat. Sep. 30 – Margate, UK @ By The Sea Festival
Mon. Oct. 9 – Bristol, UK @ Louisiana
Tue. Oct. 10 – Leeds, UK @ Lending Room
Wed. Oct. 11 – Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen
Thu. Oct. 12 – Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete’s
Fri. Oct. 13 – Liverpool, UK @ Buyers Club
Sat. Oct. 14 – Dublin, IE @ Workamn’s Club
Wed. Oct. 18 – London, UK @ Scala
Sat. Oct. 21 – Cardiff, UK @ Swn Festival
Tue. Oct. 24 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen
Wed. Oct. 25 – Groningen, NL @ Vera
Fri. Oct. 27 – Amsterdam, NL @ London Calling Festival
Thu. Nov. 2 – Reykjavik, IS @ Iceland Airwaves Festival
Fri. Nov. 10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
Sun. Nov. 12 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
Mon-Nov-13 – Washington, DC @ DC9
Wed. Nov. 15 – New York, NY  @ Home Sweet Home
Thu. Nov. 16 – Allston, MA  @ The Great Scott
Fri. Nov. 17 – Montreal, QC  @ M for Montreal
Sat. Nov. 18 – Toronto, ON @ Hard Luck
Sun. Nov. 19 – Buffalo, NY  @ Mohawk Place
Mon. Nov. 20 – Arden, DE  @ Arden Gild Hall +
Fri. Dec. 1 – Paris, FR @ Point Ephemere
Sun. Dec. 3 – Frankfurt, DE @ Zoom *
Mon. Dec. 4 – Heidelburg, DE @ Halle O2 *
Wed. Dec. 6 – Köln, DE @ Gebäude 9 *
Thu. Dec. 7 – Munster, DE @ Gleis 22 *
Fri. Dec. 8 – Essen, DE @ Hotel Shanghai *
Sat. Dec. 9 – Dresden, DE @ Groove Station *
Mon. Dec. 11 – Hannover, DE @ Bei Chez Heinz *
Tue. Dec. 12 – Bremen, DE @ Lagerhaus *
Wed. Dec. 13 – Hamburg, DE @ Knust *
Thu. Dec. 14 – Braunschweig, DE @ Eule *
Fri. Dec. 15 – Rostock, DE @ Helgas Stadtpalast *
Sat. Dec. 16 – Berlin @ Festaal Kreuzberg *
Fri. Feb. 2 – Adelaide, AU @ Laneway Festival
Sat. Feb. 3 – Melbourne, AU @ Laneway Festival
Sun. Feb. 4 – Sydney, AU @ Laneway Festival
Sat. Feb. 10 – Brisbane, AU @ Laneway Festival
Sun. Feb. 11 – Perth, AU @ Laneway Festival

+ with Ought
* with Gurr

Ty Segall has a new single for you.

TY SEGALL PRESENTS NEW SINGLE, “ALTA”
It’s a new day in the world of Ty Segall, and every truly new day means another truly great song! Captured in gleaming widescreen, “Alta” is a hometown jam that Ty (with his Freedom Band) has been playing at shows all over the place this year. It’s a nature jam as well – basically a “f**k-the-last-500-years” jam – which shows just how far back Ty‘s willing to go to get really back to nature. It’s a love song to the natural state of hometown grounds – and to convey the feelings, a wistful electric piano lick is ridden out on some crazy guitar horses and Ty’s heartstruck vocal. Ty(guitar, vocals, percussion) now reconvenes with the Freedom Band — Emmett Kelly (guitar, vocals), Mikal Cronin (bass, vocals), Charles Moothart (drums) and Ben Boye (keyboards) – for new single, “Alta,” recorded at Electrical Audio with Steve Albini during a break on tour this past spring. A shining new day indeed!
Listen to Ty Segall’s “Alta” –
https://tysegall.bandcamp.com/track/alta
https://itunes.apple.com/album/id1288117513

Ty Segall Tour Dates:
Thu. Oct. 5 – Tucson, AZ @ The Rialto Theatre
Fri. Oct. 6 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
Sat. Oct. 7 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
Sun. Oct. 8 – Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
Tue. Oct. 10 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Bunkhouse Saloon
Fri. Oct. 13 – Joshua Tree, CA @ Institute of Mentalphysics

Live: Kasabian and Slaves – Chicago, IL – September 19, 2017

I still don’t know why Kasabian didn’t sell out their Chicago House of Blues show last week.  They sold out Chicago’s Metro a couple years ago when I saw them with Bo Ningen.  Yet, here they were with fellow Brits Slaves in a venue about the same size, but tickets were still available at the box office an hour before the show.  As one guy behind me in the crowd said, “These guys sell out at Glastonbury.  Where the hell is everybody?”

That’s not to say there was barely anyone in the place.  The venue was nearly full, and I was happy to see so many people there in time for Slaves’ set.  I’ve been keen on this duo since I heard their single “Where’s Your Car, Debbie?”  Their newest album Take Control was one of my top records of 2016.

They came out oozing punk attitude and were soon tearing through songs like “Sockets” and “White Knuckle Ride.”  My friend, Portia, had just seen them open for Buzzcocks earlier in the month and knew their set.  She and I were the only people in the audience, it seemed, who knew how to reply when Slaves’ drummer and lead singer, Isaac Holman, told the story about how a man once asked him, “Where’s your hi-hat?” after a gig.  The correct response, by the way, is “Fuck the Hi-Hat.”  My friend and I were yelling it so much during the build-up to the song that people around us thought we were angry drunks.

People were still buzzing about them after their too-brief seven-song set, and I’d like to see them in a small venue where they’re the headliners.  I’m sure that would be nuts.

Kasabian soon emerged and ripped into a fun set that had the crowd bouncing for most of the show.  They started with “Ill Ray” and “Bumblebee” and had the crowd in their hands by the time they reached “Ez-Eh.”

A funny moment happened when they messed up the introduction to “Underdog.”  “That’s the first time that’s happened,” said lead singer Tom Meighan.  “I’m glad you were all here to see it.”  They jumped back on the horse and nailed the song.  Everyone laughed with them.  Up next were three solid cuts, “Shoot the Runner,” “You’re in Love with a Psycho” (from their newest record, For Crying Out Loud), and “Club Foot.”

The rest of the show was just as fun, with “Empire,” “L.S.F.,” “Bless This Acid House,” “Vlad the Impaler,” and “Fire” being good highlights.  It was a fun Tuesday night crowd (perhaps that’s why it didn’t sell out) rocking to two solid bands.  It’s too bad if you missed it.  Much praise also to the HOB and tour sound crews.  The mix for both bands sounded great.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

Voodoo Music Festival 2017 one-day tickets now on sale.

The premiere rock / hip hop / alternative music festival in New Orleans, Voodoo, has recently released one-day tickets for sale.

They have a good lineup, as usual.  As for Friday, Kendrick Lamar is one of the biggest names in rap right now, and LCD Soundsystem should never be missed.  Prophets of Rage are probably the must-see band of the year, and I’d love to see Marian Hill again.

On Saturday, don’t miss Foo Fighters, Crystal Castles, the Record Company, or the Black Angels.  I’d check out Cold War Kids, La Femme, Ron Gallo, and Bleached on Sunday.

Keep your mind open.

She-Devils – self-titled

She-Devils’ (Audrey Ann Boucher and Kyle Jukka) self-titled record is a lovely blast of electro dream pop that we need more of in this world right now. The opener, “Come,” is a slightly trippy seduction and (“Don’t try to resist me,” Boucher sings) I think a salute to orgasms. It’s the best song about such subjects since Frankie Goes to Hollywood sang about them. The follow-up, “Hey Boy,” mixes shoegaze and electro so well that you can barely tell where one influence ends and the other begins. I like the low-tuned guitar throughout it by Jukka, and Boucher’s voice is playful and a little bit dangerous. It’s the kind of track the Dum Dum Girls used to make.

“Make You Pay” feels like something out of a shoegaze sweat lodge as Boucher sings about exacting revenge (via firearm) against her cheating lover. In “Darling,” however, she professes her love again as the guitars shuffle like a soft shoe dancer around her. “How Do You Feel” and “Blooming” are ethereal dream pop songs in which Boucher questions both her lover’s intentions and her desires. “I can’t do anything for you,” she sings on “You Don’t Know.” Her lover doesn’t know what love is, so she can’t help him see what’s bugging her.

On the weird and wonderful “The World Laughs,” Boucher boldly proclaims “I want to go inside of you…” Well, well, well. The guitars sound almost like something from a reggae record that’s been left out in the Jamaican sun too long. Trust me, it’s pretty neat. “Never Let Me Go” and the closer, “Buffalo,” are haunting love songs with Boucher’s vocals coming at you like incense smoke down a dimly lit hall and Jukka’s instrumentations ranging from Angelo Badalamenti influences to hints of psychedelic-era Brian Wilson.

This is the kind of album that makes you want to hear the next sooner rather than later. Improving on this already fine record will mean something stunning in the future.

Keep your mind open.

[Hey, boy, don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]