Nik Havert

The Beths announce live album, concert film, and massive tour.

Playing a home show still feels special for The Beths, who began playing shows in 2015 and quickly won over local audiences with a low-key approach that disguised their drive for excellence. Today, the band announces its first live recording and film, Auckland, New Zealand, 2020, out September 17th on Carpark Records. The announcement also comes on the three-year anniversary of the release of their debut album, Future Me Hates Me. Auckland, New Zealand, 2020 showcases the infectious energy The Beths bring to every performance. Native birds, wonkily crafted by the band from tissue paper and wire, festoon the venue’s cavernous ceiling while house plants soften and disguise the imposing pipes of an organ. The presence of the film crew isn’t disguised: much of the camerawork is handheld; full of fast zooms and pans. “Watching the film for the first time brought back all the emotions of 2020 for us. Sports Team have done such an amazing job of capturing the mix of anxiety and simple joy that was touring music in NZ at the time. We are so grateful that it happened and grateful to have it documented with so much love and care,” says lead vocalist/guitarist Elizabeth Stokes.

“Future Me Hates Me” is a fan favorite, as both band and audience feed off the mutual energy in the room.

Watch “Future Me Hates Me (Live)”

After building a loyal following through live performances and their 2016 EP Warm Blood, The Beths signed to Carpark Records and released the debut album, Future Me Hates Me, in 2018. Jump Rope Gazers, released in July 2020, was a slower, yearning follow-up that still fizzes and sparks with pop-punk sensibilities. Immediately seized on by both fans and music critics as a bright spot during an otherwise dark year, Jump Rope Gazers was named Album of the Year at New Zealand’s national Aotearoa Music Awards in 2020, and secured the band awards for Best Group and Best Alternative Artist for the second year running. The releases catapulted the band straight into lengthy international tours that saw them support legends like The Pixies and Death Cab For Cutie as well as headlining increasingly large shows of their own.

Auckland, New Zealand, 2020 has its genesis in an urge to share the now-rare experience of a live show as widely as possible. The accompanying film makes the deep bond Stokes, lead guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck clearer than ever: capturing the in-jokes they share with audiences during on-stage banter, and foregrounding their mutual preoccupations with the game of cricket and New Zealand’s native birds. It’s a collective exhalation, in one of the few countries where live music is still possible. They deliberately include the date and location, because “That’s the sensational part of what we actually did,” says Pearce. In a mid-pandemic world, playing to a heaving, enraptured home crowd feels miraculous.

The band will follow up the release of Auckland, New Zealand, 2020 with a North American headline tour in 2022. “Our last North American tour was in summer of 2019, which feels like a century ago. There is no way to describe how much we have wanted to be over there playing music. Finally it is happening?! See you soon. xo,” says Liz. An artist pre-sale will begin on Wednesday, August 11 at 10am local time, with a Brooklyn Vegan pre-sale running on Thursday, August 12 at 10am local time. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, August 13 at 10am local time. Tickets are available at thebeths.com. Fans can join the band’s new Patreon in the meantime.

Watch Auckland, New Zealand, 2020 Trailer & “Future Me Hates Me” (Live)Pre-order Auckland, New Zealand, 2020

Album – https://found.ee/beths_nz2020
Film – https://found.ee/film_nz2020

Live Album Tracklist:
1. I’m Not Getting Excited
2. Great No One
3. Whatever
4. Mars, the God of War
5. Future Me Hates Me
6. introduction
7. Jump Rope Gazers
8. Uptown Girl

9. bird talk
10. Happy Unhappy
11. Out of Sight
12. thank you
13. Don’t Go Away
14. Little Death
15. Dying to Believe
16. River Run

Film Setlist:
1. I’m Not Getting Excited
2. Great No One
3. Whatever
4. Mars, the God of War

5. Future Me Hates Me
6. Jump Rope Gazers
7. Uptown Girl
8. Happy Unhappy
9. Out of Sight
10. Little Death
11. Dying To Believe
12. You Wouldn’t Like Me
13. River Run

Tour Dates:
Fri. Sept. 17, 2021 – Auckland, NZ @ The Others Way
Tue. Sept. 28, 2021 – Auckland, NZ @ Whammy Bar
Wed. Sept. 29, 2021 – Auckland, NZ @ Whammy Bar
Thu. Sept. 30, 2021 – Auckland, NZ @ Whammy Bar
Fri. Oct. 1, 2021 – Auckland, NZ @ Whammy Bar
Sat. Oct. 2, 2021 – Auckland, NZ @ Whammy Bar
Fri. Oct. 22, 2021 – Tauranga, NZ @ Tauranga Arts Festival
Sat. Oct. 23, 2021 – Hawke’s Bay, NZ @ Labour of Love
Fri. Oct. 29, 2021 – Wellington, NZ @ San Fran
Sat. Oct. 30, 2021 – Wellington, NZ @ College of Creative Arts, Massey University (AA show)
Sun. Oct. 31, 2021 – Nelson, NZ @ Nelson Arts Festival
Thu. Nov. 4 – Sydney, NSW @ Factory Theatre
Fri. Nov. 5 – Brisbane, QLD @ The Zoo
Sat. Nov. 6 – Melbourne, VIC @ The Night Cat
Sat. Dec. 4 – Auckland, NZ @ The Outerfields

Thu. Jan. 20, 2022 – Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat
Fri. Jan. 21, 2022 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Sat. Jan. 22, 2022 – New York, NY @ Rough Trade (in-store signing)
Sat. Jan. 22, 2022 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Sun. Jan. 23, 2022 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
Tue. Jan. 25, 2022 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz
Wed. Jan. 26, 2022 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
Fri. Jan. 28, 2022 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
Wed. Feb. 2, 2022 – Calgary, AB @ Commonwealth
Fri. Feb. 4, 2022 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
Sat. Feb. 5, 2022 – Seattle, WA @ NeumosSun. Feb. 6, 2022 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Tue. Feb. 8, 2022 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Thu. Feb. 10, 2022 – Los Angeles, CA @ Regent Theater
Sat. Feb. 12, 2022 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
Tue. Feb. 15, 2022 – Austin, TX @ Parish
Wed. Feb. 16, 2022 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
Fri. Feb. 18, 2022 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hall)
Sat. Feb. 19, 2022 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
Sun. Mar. 27, 2022 – Southampton, UK @ The Loft
Mon. Mar. 28, 2022 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Tue. Mar. 29, 2022 – Glasgow, UK @ St Luke’s
Thu. Mar. 31, 2022 – Manchester, UK @ Club Academy
Fri. Apr. 1, 2022 – Bristol, UK @ SWX
Sat. Apr. 2, 2022 – Birmingham, UK @ The Castle and Falcon
Mon. Apr. 4, 2022 – London, UK @ O2 Forum Kentish TownTue. Apr. 5, 2022 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde II
Thu. Apr. 7, 2022 – Paris, FR @ Point Ephémère
Fri. Apr. 8, 2022 – Lyon, FR @ Le Marché Gare
Sat. Apr. 9, 2022 – Dudingen, CH @ Bad Bonn
Sun. Apr. 10, 2022 – Lausanne, CH @ Le Romandie
Tue. Apr. 12, 2022 – Milan, IT @ Biko
Wed. Apr. 13, 2022 – Munich, DE @ Feierwerk
Fri. Apr. 15, 2022 – Vienna, AT @ B72
Sat. Apr. 16, 2022 – Prague, CZ @ Underdogs’
Mon. Apr. 18, 2022 – Berlin, DE @ LidoTue. Apr. 19, 2022 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Ideal Bar
Wed. Apr. 20, 2022 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow
Thu. Apr. 21, 2022 – Cologne, DE @ Bumann & Sohn
Fri. Apr. 22, 2022 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
Sat. Apr. 23, 2022 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Sun. Apr. 24, 2022 – Esch-sur-Alzette, LU @ Kulturfabrik

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Sam Evian announces new album, “Time to Melt,” and brings us a new single – “Knock Knock.”

Today, Sam Evian announces his new album, Time to Melt, out October 29th on Fat Possum, and presents a new single/video, “Knock Knock.” Additionally, he announces a fall 2021 Northeast tour. Following a brief decampment to upstate New York to create his last album, You, Forever, Sam realized he could no longer resist the urge to escape the anxious city life. He and his partner, Hannah Cohen, split, building their refuge and Sam’s studio, Flying Cloud Recordings, in the quiet of a Catskills town. That reflective, relaxing environment inexorably shaped Time to Melt, a glowing set of soulfully psychedelic pop gems and a testimonial to the life and wisdom to be found when you give yourself the mercy of space.

During the last decade, Sam has become a preeminent collaborator, producing and engineering records for the likes of Big Thief, Cass McCombs, Cassandra Jenkins and Widowspeak. In their new home, he and Hannah hosted bands like house guests as he helmed their sessions. The coronavirus, though, clamped down on those interactions, largely sealing the couple from their longtime scene. So Sam tried something new: He sorted through more than 60 instrumental demos he’d recorded in the last two years and began shaping the most enticing of them into songs with help from Hannah and long-distance friends—Spencer Tweedy, Chris Bear, Jon Natchez (The War On Drugs), even strangers who sent him voice memos via Instagram. He took the unexpected time at home to dig deeper than ever before into his world of sounds and ideas, calmly considering our moment of prevailing chaos through a lens of newfound distance.

Time to Melt reckons with the weight of our time, even when it sounds largely weightless. New single “Knock Knock” taps Sam’s memories of race-and-class violence in the small-town South where he was raised and his subsequent reckoning with our crumbling American façade. The track, finished in June of 2020 as protests unfolded across the country, is a tribute to the perseverance of the vulnerable, who find community and joy in spite of the way centuries of miscreants try to deny it. “’Knock Knock’ is a song of commiseration,” says Sam. “It’s a conversation with my sibling, and really anyone else with a conscience. We talk a lot about the small town in Eastern North Carolina where we grew up, and why we left. Growing up we saw a lot of racism, violence, poverty, disparity, ignorance…all of it not so hidden under a veil of southern hospitality and dogmatic beliefs. A year later after George Floyd’s murder, I hope we can keep the conversation going. The veil is lifted for all to see. Knock knock – who’s there? A broken America.”

The song’s cinematic, light-hearted video, created by Josh Goleman and filmed in the almost completely abandoned town of Meltsville, New York, brings the Time To Melt album art to life.

Watch Sam Evian’s “Knock Knock” Video

Time to Melt is an album of sounds so pleasant and compelling that you put it on and follow the slipstream. There are songs of celebration on Time to Melt, paeans to whatever joy it is we find in life or love, such as the previously released “Easy to Love,” an ode to finding a new paradise outside of the city where you can plant love and literally watch it bloom. The album’s intoxicating rhythms and timbral webs are as settling, even seductive as an evening glass of wine. But whatever your day’s end ritual may be, it isn’t some idle exercise. It’s a place to unpack the pain and wonder, the suffering and promise of the moment, to reflect on where you have been and what might come next. In 40 striking minutes, Time to Melt sorts through a year of a life spent in rage and hope, lockdown and love.

The Sam Evian band will tour the Northeast this fall in support of Time to Melt. Sam (guitar, vocals) will be joined by Brian Betancourt (bass), Michael Coleman (keys), Sean Mullins (drums), and Liam Kazar (guitar, synths). Tickets are on sale this Friday, August 13th at 10am EST.
Watch the “Easy To Love” Video

Watch Sam Evan Perform “Easy To Love”

Pre-order Time to Melt

Time to Melt Tracklist
1. Freezee Pops
2. Dream Free (feat. Hannah Cohen)
3. Time To Melt
4. Knock Knock
5. Arnolds Place
6. Sunshine
7. Never Know
8. Lonely Days
9. Easy To Love
10. 999 Free
11. Around It Goes

Sam Evian Tour Dates
Fri. Oct. 29 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom
Sat. Oct. 30 – Woodstock, NY @ The Colony
Wed. Nov. 3 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Thu. Nov. 4 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
Fri. Nov. 5 – Asbury Park, NJ @ The Saint
Sat. Nov. 6 – Washington, DC @ DC9
Wed. Nov. 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas
Thu. Nov. 11 – Holyoke, MA @ Gateway City Arts
Fri. Nov. 12 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre
Sat. Nov. 13 – Portland, ME @ Space Gallery
Fri. Nov. 19 – Amagansett, NY @ Stephen Talkhouse
Sat. Nov. 20 – Troy, NY @ The Hangar

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rewind Review: The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers (1971)

Widely considered one of the best Rolling Stones albums ever and one of the best rock albums of all time, Sticky Fingers is a dirty, grungy, sweaty, horny record. I mean, how could it not be with that title and that infamous cover?

It’s full of mega-hits, to boot. The opener, “Brown Sugar,” is an instant classic recorded in the famous Muscle Shoals studio in Alabama and brazenly covered taboo subjects in that part of the U.S. – interracial sex, heroin, slavery, and cunnilingus among them. The album goes from what sweaty blues rocker to the slower, fuzzier “Sway.” Mick Taylor‘s guitar work on it is outstanding (and his lack of a writing credit on it would be among his reasons for leaving the band down the road).

“Wild Horses” is one of Mick Jagger‘s many songs about being emotionally fragile after a breakup (and about missing home while being on the road). Keith Richards‘ Nashville-style playing is so subtle and masterful that it’s easy to overlook. “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” is one of the best one-take tracks in rock history, with Richards’ open-tuned guitar laying down sharp fuzz, Charlie Watt‘s pristine beats, Jagger’s pleading vocals, Taylor’s wild, jamming riffs, and Bill Wyman locking everything into place with his bass. The greatest part of it is the extended jam, which wasn’t intended, but started when Taylor decided to keep playing and everyone joined in with him…resulting in a wild, psychedelic trip that includes great saxophone playing from Bobby Keys (who almost makes the song his own), sweet conga from Ricky Dijon, and Billy Preston‘s outstanding organ work.

“You Gotta Move” is their version of the African-American spiritual standard, and Richards and Taylor crank up the fuzz and grit on it. “Bitch” is another instant-classic rocker with the bold horn work from Keys and Jim Price (on trumpet), and, as the story goes, Richards came up with the riff while eating a bowl of cereal. “I Got the Blues” is pretty much a Stones tribute to Otis Redding.

The title of “Sister Morphine” denied it airplay and release in the United Kingdom when the original version was first released by co-writer Marianne Faithfull. The Stones’ version is full of dangerous guitar from Richards and Taylor. “Dead Flowers” is one of the Stones’ many forays into country music…and it’s also a song about heroin. “Moonlight Mile” came about after a long night session between Jagger and Taylor and is an ode to love and sex…and possibly cocaine.

Sex, drugs, rock and roll…It’s all here. It’s all what you’d expect from vintage Stones, and it comes in an Andy Warhol-designed package. What more could you want (apart from a vintage vinyl copy with the working zipper on the cover)?

Keep your mind open.

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Gordon Koang releases “Disco” in time for your end of summer parties.

Legendary South Sudanese pop star Gordon Koang releases a new track, “Disco,” off of his forthcoming Coronavirus / Disco 12”, out today via Music in Exile. “Disco” follows the recently released “Coronavirus,” but the new single was actually written by Koang in 1997.

Although it’s been a highlight in his live performances, this is the first time “Disco” has been recorded and made available for his audience to dance to at home. Written as a love song, “Disco” shares his trademark messages of peace and unity, dance floor style. Beginning with fast and almost rap-like vocal delivery in his native tongue, Nuer, the energy is high from the very start. With pulsating bass lines and interweaving instrumental melodies, the band is almost mesmerizing and urging in their accompaniment. When asked what he wants listeners to feel when hearing this song, he says “I need them to be happy, to listen to the song, to know that they will get advice from this song, to feel it in their heart, when they listen to music they will
be comfortable, be happy!”

Listen to Gordon Koang’s “Disco”

The Coronavirus / Disco 12” is his first offering since 2020’s “idiosyncratically joyous”
(Bandcamp) Unity. After two weeks in hotel quarantine (following a visit to his family), Gordon and Paul returned to Melbourne, eager to record music once more. With lockdown lifting, Gordon headed to the studio with a new band featuring Zak Olsen (ORB, Traffik Island) Jack Kong (Baked Beans, Traffik Island), David “Daff” Gravolin (ORB), and Jesse Williams (Leah Senior, Girlatones). This new release is the result of these studio sessions, jamming and recording at Button Pusher in Preston, Melbourne.

The “Coronavirus / Disco 12” will feature a pull-out poster from Gordon, encouraging listeners to stay positive during this difficult time.

Order “Coronavirus / Disco 12.”

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jim at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Butterfly 3000

Released without any singles dropped ahead of time, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard‘s newest album, Butterfly 3000, was a mystery up until its release…and still is in many ways. The cover alone has things hidden in it, the lyrics are full of introspection and philosophy, and it’s an electro record to boot. This from a band known mostly for its psychedelic sounds, or even thrash metal.

The album opens with a track called “Yours,” an indication that the album is a gift to all of us. The poppy, happy synths bump hips with Michael Cavanaugh‘s joyful drumming and you instantly know that this KGATLW album will be different from any you’ve heard before now. The album was made in quarantine by the band members sending each other samples, loops, and tracks via e-mail and digital download. Frontman Stuart Mackenzie has famously said the album cost nothing for them to make as a result.

The vocals on “Shanghai” blend into the synths to the point where you’re not such which is shadowing which. “Dreams” could be the track that sums up the whole album. Every track is about some kind of journey, growth, or peeling away of illusions. “I only want to wake up in my dream,” Mackenzie sings. Where does the dream end and reality begin? It’s difficult to tell at times, and sometimes you’d rather stay in one than return to the other. The song melts / morphs into “Blue Morpho,” which will probably end up in an Australian sci-fi movie soundtrack in the near future.

“Interior People” is the closest the band gets to a “classic” King Gizz-type of jam with its rolling beats and guitars, but those know when to step back and let the synths and electric piano move to the front. “Catching Smoke” is a standout, with electro-disco synths and hip-shaking beats. It reminds me of some of Bayonne‘s work. “2.02 Killer Year” is probably a treatise on 2020, but it’s so damn peppy that you can’t be sad while hearing it. I mean, it’s full of bright sounds, lasers, hungry hippo bass, and even harp plucks.

“Black Hot Soup” seems to harken back a bit to the psychedelia of Gumboot Soup, but still keeps synth effects on the vocals. “Ya Love” mostly repeats the title as the band jumps back and forth between happy puppy synths and rollercoaster rhythms. The electric heartbeat of the title track closes the album alongside a building synth riff that takes off like a new butterfly emerging from its cocoon and fluttering toward the sun.

The whole album is like that – a liftoff to a brighter future. We could all stand to follow KGATLW’s lead and move forward instead of letting 2020, or our past in general, weigh us down.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Arthhur – Occult Fractures

Looking at the cover of Occult Fractures – the new album from Chicago’s Arthhur – you might guess that it’s a psychedelic rock record, or perhaps a doom album with its images of a skull, bone, and some sort of black ooze creeping from under a door.

No, it’s a dance-rock record – and a good one.

It opens with “Antihistamine Money,” which is over eleven minutes long, and percolates with vintage synths, funk bass, and LCD Soundsystem-like beats while lead singer Mike Fox sings about the club scene, those who put on airs in such a scene, and learning not to give a damn about them while you’re having fun. It’s an amazing track and a bold burst out of the gate for Arthhur. Luke Dahlgren‘s bass on “Doom Journalism” sounds like it’s plugged into a Red Bull can while they sing about the twenty-four -hour news cycles (“Fear is the engine, and they are the wheels. We are the drivers.”).

“Ripped and Dumb” is a funny track about people wanting to improve themselves not to better themselves, but actually to impress other people (and not realizing those people don’t give a crap). Sure, the subject says, “I don’t like you or any of your friends,” but who else is he trying to impress? “(Immanentizing the) Eschaton” is another long track with tick-tock percussion from Matt Ciani and guitar work that moves around the room like an intriguing stranger at a party while Mike Fox sings about trying to bring about the post-afterlife in the here and now. Heavy stuff, indeed, but it’s full of krautrock grooves, so don’t let it worry you.

“Keep Moving” drips with funk and is full of lyrics about getting up when the chips are down (“When the dark closes in, don’t stop.”). “No Results,” with skronking, crazy saxophone work by Joe Duran and Noah Wood, is pretty much a straight-up punk rock tune that knocks you back on your heels. “Never Enuff” gets back to the soul / funk grooves and has those formerly angry saxophones now playing sexy bedroom grooves. The title track is a slow-building jam that reminds me of Ghost in the Machine-era Police mixed with a bit of yacht rock. “Ripped and Patient” closes the album with a slower instrumental version of “Ripped and Dumb” – almost like a record player winding down due to a power outage.

It’s a sharp record, and I’m keen on catching these guys live sometime. I’m sure they’d put on a fun show judging from this funky mix of styles.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Matt Ciani.]

Rewind Review: Shonen Knife – Adventure (2016)

It’s amazing how relevant Shonen Knife‘s 2016 album, Adventure, is to a world emerging from a pandemic in which we were shut in our homes. Shonen Knife have always been one of the most optimistic bands on the planet, and I’ve always believed it’s impossible to be sad if one of their songs is playing. That enthusiasm is everything everyone needs as we leave our cocoons and get back to baseball games, the Dairy Queen, and hugging each other.

The album opens with “Jump into the New World,” with Naoko‘s lead guitar and bouncy vocals encouraging us to “Feel a bright light, yeh, yeh, with a happy song in your heart.” and “Challenge yourself, yeh, yeh, with a happy song in your heart.” “Rock ‘n’ Roll T-shirt” (with guest background vocals by Naru) is an ode to band shirts, and it’s amazing no one else before Shonen Knife thought to write a song about them. Naoko proudly declares that she wears them to bed, at shows, and everywhere else. “Calabash” has a great bass walk from Atsuko, and a saucy solo from Naoko.

“Dog Fight” (with Ritsuko on guest bass) is a story of Naoko visiting a beach and walking into a scene with two dogs engaged in a brawl. The beat and rhythm are too peppy to be depressing. “Wasabi,” with Atsuko on lead vocals, is one of many Shonen Knife’s songs about food; and, like so many others, it shreds. Risa (who is an absolute beast behind a drum kit) puts down a wicked surf beat and, thanks to Atsuko, I’ve learned that wasabi is good with avocado. Risa takes the lead vocals on “Green Tangerine (Kabosu),” which, on its face, is about eating the fruit, but, below the surface, is about embracing an unknown future.

“ImI (emoji)” is a salute to the “devil horn” sign of metal (“They say that it was created by DIO a long time ago. Keeping us away from evil harm. Now! You’ve got the power.”), and it appropriately rocks. Naoko sings about her dream vacation on “Hawaii” – a song that blends psychedelic surf guitar with Risa’s beach cook-out drums. Naru picks up the bass on “Tasmanian Devil,” another fun Shonen Knife song about a cute, furry animal that can be quite vicious. The album ends with “Cotton Candy Clouds” (with Ritsuko on backing vocals) – a lovely track about wanting to eat clouds because they look like the delicious fair food.

It’s a fun record, as is par for the course with a Shonen Knife album. They continue to make fun music and live the high life. We should all be so lucky to have an adventure like that.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: My Bloody Valentine – EP’s 1988 – 1991 (2012)

Released almost a decade ago, but sounding like it could’ve come out yesterday, My Bloody Valentine‘s collection of EP’s and rarities, appropriately titled EP’S 1988 – 1991, is a two-disc wallop of sound that collects the band’s four, rare EP’s and multiple bonus tracks.

The first five tracks on disc 1 come from 1988’s You Made Me Realise. The title track, with its punishing drums and bass, opens things with enough fuzz for an entire album (and reveals the massive influence MBV had on A Place to Bury Strangers). Debbie Googe‘s heavy bass propels “Slow” while Kevin Shields‘ guitar sounds like he left it in the sun too long. “Thorn” more than doubles the speed of the previous track and has some of Shield’s clearest vocals, which almost seem odd to hear when you’re used to so many tracks dripping with reverb and distortion. “Cigarette in Your Bed” does a neat balancing act with Bilinda Butcher‘s ethereal vocals and Colm Ó Cíosóig‘s voodoo drumming. “Drive It All Over Me” is one of MBV’s most upbeat tracks and makes you want to road trip with your friends.

The next four tracks are from the Feed Me with Your Kiss EP (also from 1988) . The title track also appears on their Isn’t Anything album from the same year. It’s a wild track with Shields and Butcher trading vocals while all four band members bounce around the room like a punch-drunk boxer intent on destroying everything in his path. “I Believe,” with its pounded piano keys, seems to indicate a love of The Stooges. Shields’ vocals on “Emptiness Inside” have a bit of a punk sneer to them, and Googe’s bass spares no mercy throughout it. “I Need No Trust” could’ve been a Velvet Underground track in a previous life.

MBV returned in 1990 with the Glider EP, and the lead single, “Soon,” became one of their biggest hits. It’s no surprise. The song is a shoegaze delight with Cíosóig’s beats sounding like early rave riffs, Googe’s hip-shaking bass, and Butcher and Shields’ twin wall-of-sound guitars and soft vocals. The EP’s title track sounds like it’s made up of parts of “Soon” played backwards. “Don’t As Why” brings in acoustic guitars to mesh with the fuzz and is a song Oasis probably wishes they’d written. “Off Your Face” has a bit of a psychedelic bend and some of Butcher’s loveliest vocals on any MBV track.

Disc 2 starts with the Tremolo EP from 1991, and the first cut, “To Here Knows When,” also appears on their classic Loveless album from the same year. It’s a swirling, fog-like track that seems to envelop you with its fuzzy, bright warmth. “Swallow” has Middle Eastern touches in its percussion and even adds a flute to the mix. “Honey Power” again puts Butcher on lead vocals and deftly moves back and forth between shoegaze pop and shoegaze power. “Moon Song” begins like some sort of death dirge, but soon turns into an incense smoke mind trip.

What follows are rare tracks and previously unreleased material. “Instrumental No. 2″ (the mellow one) and Instrumental No. 1” (the scorching one) are from a bonus 7-inch single released with Isn’t Anything. The full version of “Glider” (from 1990’s Glider E.P. Remixes) is over ten minutes of psychedelic drone. “Sugar” is from a rare 1989 split 7-inch flexi-disc and sounds like a Nine Inch Nails song if Trent Reznor were a lot happier in 1989.

The last three songs are the previously unreleased ones – “Angel” (seductive shoegaze with lead vocals by Butcher), “”Good for You” (a high-speed fuzz-fest), and “How Do You Do It” (a dangerous track with everyone playing their instruments like a professional hit squad). All of them are great treats to hear.

This stuff is essential if you’re a fan of MBV, shoegaze, noise rock, drone rock, or guitar rock…or even just rock in general. MBV are still a powerhouse and a band with whom you should not trifle. Approach with caution, but you’ll love them if you embrace the power.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Ennio Morricone – Morricone Segreto

Containing seven previously unreleased tracks and twenty more rare film score tracks, Morricone Segreto from the Cam Sugar label is a great treat for fans of the maestro – Ennio Morricone. Most of these tracks are from giallo, horror, and crime films from 1969 to 1983 – and all of them have weird, psychedelic jazz touches that showcase what kind of genius Morricone was.

The previously unreleased alternate take of “Vie-Ni” (from the film When Love Is Lust from 1973) starts off the album with sharp vocal sounds, plucked string instruments, and a piano that sounds like a clock in a haunted house. “Fantasmi Grotteschi (Edit)” (from 1980’s Stark System) blends lounge jazz with circus-like arrangements. Vita E Malavita” could work in either a comedic chase scene, a psychological thriller chase scene, or as the opening credits of a mystery film featuring a wizened detective (but is actually from a 1975 film about teenage prostitution).

“Tette E Antenne, Tetti E Gonne” is the longest track on the album (5:10) and has a bit of a bossa nova flavor to it that makes it dreamy (despite it being from an espionage thriller from 1975). The alternate take of “Patrizia” (from 1971’s Incontro) is anothe dreamy track with a cool lounge groove running through it. “Per Dalila” is pure bedroom jazz with its sultry organ and supple beats.

“18 Pari” continues the bedroom grooves with its fine touches, which are perfect for a film about a safecracker looking to do one last score (1972’s The Master Touch). The previously unreleased “Psychedelic Mood” will put you into that within seconds. “Fuggire Lontano (Edit)” has a bit of a Motown sound with its bass and drums, and the rest is cool jazz…until that fuzzy guitar comes in to melt your brain.

“Jukebox Psychedelique” has Middle Eastern guitars and instrumentation, just to throw you for a bit of a loop and prove that the Maestro could compose anything he damn well pleased. “Fondati Timori” is downright creepy, with the snare drums sounding like rattlesnakes and the horns like an angry nest of hornets. Speaking of instruments sounding dangerous, everything from the vibraphone to the synthesizers on “Edda Bocca Chiusa” (another previously unreleased track) sounds like its stalking you.

“Non Può Essere Vero” is a perfect track for 1972’s My Dear Killer, as the whole thing sounds like the theme song for a professional hitman who probably drinks too much and has one last score to settle. “Eat It” is not a cover of Weird Al Yankovic‘s parody of Michael Jackson‘s “Beat It,” but it is a weird track full of fuzzy guitar, Phantom of the Opera organ work, strip club beats, and what sounds like people wailing in agony. It also features Morricone on trumpet. “Nascosta Nell’ombra” has a wild organ (a Hammond B3?) riff running around the room for about a minute straight.

“Dramma Su Di Noi” exchanges the organ for psychedelic guitar and juke joint piano. “Lui Per Lei,” the title track from the 1971 film of the same name, could easily be the opening theme to a soap opera…or a softcore porn film. “Beat Per Quattro Ruote” is a slow, trippy jam with drum beats that sound like they’re happily drunk. “Stark System (Rock)” is the theme you’ll want in your earbuds during your next cardio-kickboxing class, because it will make you feel like a bad ass mofo.

“Il Clan Dei Siciliani (Tema N. 5)” is the title track to the film of the same name from 1969, and it’s perfect for a crime movie with its driving beat and suspense-inducing guitar and synths. “René La Canne” is the title track to another film (from 1977) that leans heavily on vintage 1970s synths. Police whistles take on a prominent role on “Ore 22,” as do woodwinds and gritty percussion instruments. “Sinfonia Di Una Città – Seq. 4” sounds like something Morricone might’ve conjured up with John Carpenter. “L’incarico” is the sound of a lonely trumpeter playing outside a closed jazz club at 3am.

“L’immoralità (Edit)” (from 1978’s film of the same name), meanwhile, is the soundtrack of that jazz player having a nightcap with the lovely singer from the club. The previously unreleased “Insequimento Mortale” is full of panicked strings, which is befitting for a song from a film about a psychopath with a venom-dipped knife stalking women at a health spa. The closing track is the haunting, breathy “Macchie Solari (Versione Singolo).” It’s from a 1974 film of the same name about a morgue attendant who gets caught up in a string of murders. In other words, it’s perfect for a Morricone score.

The whole album is great, and will make you want to track down these obscure films. The Maestro’s catalog never seems to end, which is fine by me.

Keep your mind open.

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

Caleb Landry Jones announces new album – “Gadzooks Vol. 1” – due September 24th.

“The perspectives from which I write, jump erratically and can turn on a dime. Others grow and burn, only to sometimes vanish on the spot, just before the hat drops. . . My intention is to not rob the listener of their own fantasies by describing the annals of purpose which in turn, only unearth a fragile magic. I am interested only in the album’s response by its audience. The album is there to be digested, not by the front of your brain, but by the back. It is for the lover of labyrinths and quagmires.” — Caleb Landry Jones

Over the weekend, Caleb Landry Jones won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in the film, Nitram. Today, the actor, musician, and visual artist announces his new album, Gadzooks Vol. 1, out September 24th on Sacred Bones, and presents lead single/visualizer “Bogie.” The follow-up to his debut, The Mother Stone, Gadzooks Vol. 1 moves from joy to despair, from horror to glib humor. Its sounds range from spider-like wisps of neo-psychedelia through to vast swathes of synthetic chords; it’s thrilling, shocking, and wonderfully entertaining as each song starts and finishes in entirely unique places, often totally divorced from each other. Lead single “Bogie” lurches with brass and tumbling percussion. Caleb’s voice cuts through as he continues to enter new terrains.

Watch Caleb Landry Jones’ “Bogie” Visualizer by Jacqueline Castel

Just a few months after recording The Mother Stone, Gadzooks Vol. 1 was written in Albuquerque, New Mexico while filming the dystopian themed film, Finch, alongside Tom Hanks. “I stole from what was around me, what fell out of the television, what passed below my windows, relationships, old and new. My frustrations, desires, day dreams and fears scattered themselves throughout my writing,” says Caleb. “It is a direct response to the album before it. I felt whatever I wrote next needed to be more consistent. I knew that I wanted to put everything down on tape. I wanted the same players as before but to go further.” He’d idle away his hours on location by focusing on creativity, and when filming stopped, Caleb knew he had to get straight back into the studio.

Caleb would soon link with the same cast who formed The Mother Stone, including producer Nic Jodoin, based out of the elegant Valentine Recording Studio in Los Angeles, and Drew Erickson who handled string and horn arrangements. Together, Caleb and Nic would work 18-hour days, bringing Caleb’s vision into focus. Recording to tape, Caleb would hack away at each take, reassembling the songs like Escher diagrams. “It’s like when you’re swimming in the pool and you’re doing a bit of butterfly, and then that gets old after a while. So then you start doing breaststroke, and then that gets old after a while. I think it’s just a reaction from the place where we were before.”

Part of a flood-tide of creativity – as its title suggests, a second half to this album is already on the horizon.

Pre-order Gadzooks Vol. 1

Gadzooks Vol. 1 Tracklist
1. Never Wet
2. Yesterday Will Come
3. The Loon
4. Bogie
5. Gloria
6. California
7. For A Short Time
8. A Slice of Dream
9. This Won’t Come Back

Keep your mind open.

[Gadzooks! You haven’t subscribed?]

[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]