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Author: Nik Havert
I've been a music fan since my parents gave me a record player for Christmas when I was still in grade school. The first record I remember owning was "Sesame Street Disco." I've been a professional writer since 2004, but writing long before that. My first published work was in a middle school literary magazine and was a story about a zoo in which the animals could talk.
MIEN release first single, “Black Habit,” and it’s a doozy.
Is it too early to say I’ve already heard one of the best singles of the year? MIEN, consisting of the Black Angels‘ Alex Maas, Elephant Stone‘s Rishi Dhir, the Earlies‘ John Lapham, and the Horrors‘ Tom Furse, have released “Black Habit,” the first single from their debut self-titled album due out April 6th.
The single is a heady, almost nightmarish trip blending psychedelia with a bit of dark wave. The album is available for pre-order and the band will play live at Levitation Austin this April. I already have my tickets for their performance. Don’t wait to get yours, or to order this record.
Keep your mind open.
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Five David Bowie albums due out February 23rd individually on vinyl for the first time since 1991.
All five David Bowie albums released in last year’s A New Career in Town box set are being released individually on February 23, 2018 for the first time on vinyl since 1991. The albums include all of Bowie’s iconic “Berlin” trilogy – Low, Heroes, and Lodger, as well as Scary Monsters and the live album Stage.
Don’t miss out if you’re a vinyl collector, Bowie fan, or both.
Keep your mind open.
[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]
Kelly Lee Owens announces March U.S. tour.
KELLY LEE OWENS ANNOUNCES MARCH 2018 U.S. TOUR
LISTEN TO KELLY REMIX ST. VINCENT’S “NEW YORK”
https://youtu.be/fw1uuMxoZG0
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Shopping – The Official Body
Are you shopping for Valentine’s Day gifts? Do you need something for your lover who hates everything played on commercial radio, or your husband who loves 80’s music, or your wife who enjoys funk and dance rock, or yourself? Let me save you some time: Buy them The Official Body by Shopping.
Consisting of just three members (Rachel Aggs – guitar and vocals, Billy Easter – bass and vocals, Andrew Milk – drums and vocals), Shopping’s third full-length is the grooviest post-punk album I’ve heard all year. The opener, “The Hype” (which you’d better believe with this band), begins with a Bow Wow Wow-like drum count before the three of them put down a groove that instantly gets you moving. I love their vocals bounce off each other like they took lessons from the B-52’s.
“Wild Child” (a song about keeping up appearances) continues the dance grooves (and Easter’s killer bass work), but brings in some subtle synths into the mix. The use of synths is frequent throughout the record and brings even more of a dance-punk feel to the album. Aggs’ guitar on “Asking for a Friend” is bouncy and tight, which is difficult to pull off, but she seems to do it with ease. “Suddenly Gone” is a sharp song about Aggs’ struggles of being black and queer in an industry dominated by straight white dudes.
Milk sings about losing one’s sense of self on “Shave Your Head” while Aggs’ guitar chatters over his typewriter-like beats. The synth bass on “Discover” is a bit jarring at first, but I love the darkness it brings to a song about being desperate for attention. “Control Yourself,” despite its title, will get your toes tapping before you realize it (thanks in large part to Milk’s wicked beat). I also love the chorus of “I know what I like, and I like what I know.” It sums up the (closed) mindset of many these days.
Aggs’ guitar work on “My Dad’s a Dancer” is a bit Middle Eastern and her vocals about bigotry (i.e., “Would you like me if I looked like you?”) are sharp as a knife. “New Values” begins with synth bass that reminds me of weird 1990’s 16-bit video games, but Easter’s vocals are solidly in the modern world. “Overtime” seamlessly blends the synths and the traditional instruments as it builds in tempo toward an exhilarating finish to the record.
I’ve been on a post-punk kick all year, and The Official Body is a great kick-off to 2018 for me and the genre. Don’t let it slip by you.
Keep your mind open.
[Don’t procrastinate. Subscribe now.]
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Wrong Creatures
I’ve been looking forward to Wrong Creatures, the new album from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, for a while. I was interested to hear how they’d follow up Spectre at the Feast – an album that dealt with loss and upheaval following the death of bassist / vocalist Robert Been‘s father, and how they’d bounce back after drummer Leah Shapiro was diagnosed with a brain disease and had to undergo surgery (from which, thankfully, she’s fully recovered).
The new album is mellower than some of their past material, but no less haunting. Most the tracks have names that evoke images of ghosts, shadows, dreams, or the unknown. After a brief instrumental opener (“DFF,” which almost sounds like a haunted train station), the first full track is “Spook.” It starts with that rough, almost spaghetti western soundtrack guitar (from co-vocalist and guitarist Peter Hayes) that BRMC does so well and I’m happy to say that Ms. Shapiro is still able to lay down serious beats. The lyrics mention dead cities falling into ruin. One of the first lyrics on “King of Bones” mentions living on borrowed time. Been’s fuzzed bass growls through the entire track.
“Haunt” comes after it, with Hayes taking lead vocals on what almost becomes a western-twinged ballad. “Echo” is aptly named. Sometimes it’s big and bold, other times it’s quiet and distant. “Ninth Configuration,” with its rainstorm-like guitar work (some of Hayes’ best on the record), lies somewhere between shoegaze and dream pop. “I’ll give you what you want if you promise you’ll keep walking away,” Been sings on the wicked “Question of Faith” – a song about obsession and heartbreak.
“Calling Them All Away” sprinkles in what sounds like a sitar with Hayes’ droning guitar and Been’s humming bass. The piano in it is another nice touch. “Little Thing Gone Wild” is a scorcher, with Hayes shredding harmonica and guitar and Shapiro sounding like she’s beating her kit to make up for the time she lost while recovering from surgery. Another aptly named track is “Circus Bazooko.” It has this slightly creepy circus sideshow organ riff throughout it while Hayes swaggers, Been grooves, and Shapiro puts on a precision clinic.
“Carried from the Start” brings back the wall of fuzz BRMC mastered a long time ago while Shapiro’s beats border on Native American pow-wow rhythms before hammering out solid rock riffs. The album ends with “All Rise,” a slow burn of a track that builds to stadium rock levels (and includes violin!).
It’s nice to hear BRMC stretching their muscles. Not counting the instrumental “DFF,” the shortest song on this album is 3:19. It’s also nice to hear them embracing the soft and the hard, which are found in all of the album’s themes (death, sex, love, etc.).
Keep your mind open.
[I’d go wild if you subscribed.]
Red River Dialect shares first Pink Floyd-like single, “Gull Rock,” from upcoming album.
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L7 – Detroit (live)
There aren’t many better ways to start a new year than a release from L7, and it’s ever better when it’s a recording of a crazy 1990 live show in Detroit. Detroit begins with the band apologizing for arriving late, co-lead vocalist and guitarist Donita Sparks making fun of a drunk guy in the crowd, and then having issues with guitarist / co-lead vocalist Suzi Gardner‘s microphone before unleashing a sonic assault with “Fast and Frightening.” Thankfully, Gardner’s microphone works just fine for “(Right on) Thru” as she belts out the vocals like a professional boxer.
“Scrap” chugs along like a monster truck. “Broomstick” is a forgotten metal classic. “Packin’ a Rod” seems to fly by at 100mph (and ends with more great banter of Sparks taking down the rude drunk). The inclusion of one of their earliest hits, “Cat-O’-Nine-Tails” is a welcome one, and the first time I’ve heard it live. It’s crazier (and better) than I’d hoped it would be. “Deathwish” is like a saw slicing through a log while the lumber mill is being swarmed by killer bees. It ends with more fun banter like Sparks promising she’ll learn how to play guitar before their next tour.
“Till the Wheels Fall Off” has drummer Dee Plakas going bonkers through the whole track and probably terrifying most of the men in the crowd. Gardner’s vocals on “Shove” are, as always, more like a hockey check than a push. They end on “Bloodstains” before coming back for a fiery encore. They initially offer to take requests, but that quickly devolves into drunken chaos in the crowd and Sparks dealing with tuner problems. Bassist Jennifer Finch briefly teases playing some Black Sabbath before they announce “This is really going to suck, but we’re gonna do it anyway,” and launch into “Shitlist.” This was when “Shitlist” hadn’t reached its levels of popularity that it has today. This is the first time I’ve heard reverb effects on Sparks’ vocals (as she dedicates the song to her broken tuner), and they push her voice to the back wall of the venue.
Detroit is a welcome edition to L7‘s catalogue, and a nice time capsule of raw 1990’s rock. By the way, they haven’t lost a thing. They still hit as hard almost thirty years later.
Keep your mind open.
[Shove your e-mail address in the subscription box before you go.]
Suuns’ new album, “Felt,” is due March 2nd, but the first single is out now.
Suuns Announce New Album, Felt, Out March 2nd On Secretly Canadian
Watch Video For Lead Single “Watch You, Watch Me”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
[Photo by Joseph Yarmush]
Suuns are pleased to announce their new album, Felt, coming out March 2nd on Secretly Canadian. Singer/guitarist Ben Shemie says, “This record is definitely looser than our last one [2016’s Hold/Still]. It’s not as clinical. There’s more swagger.” You can hear this freedom flowing through the 11 tracks on Felt. It’s both a continuation and rebirth, the Montreal quartet returning to beloved local facility Breakglass Studios (where they cut their first two albums [Zeroes QC and Images Du Futur] with Jace Lasek of The Besnard Lakes) but this time recording themselves at their own pace, over five fertile sessions spanning several months. A simultaneous stretching out and honing in, mixed to audiophile perfection by St Vincent producer John Congleton (helmer of Hold/Still), who flew up especially from Dallas to deploy his award-winning skills in situ.
Felt lead single “Watch You, Watch Me” debuts today via NPR Music. The song showcases an organic/synthetic rush that builds and builds atop drummer Liam O’Neill’s elevatory rhythm. O’Neill exclaims, “It was different and exciting. In the past, there was a more concerted effort on my part to drum in a controlled and genre-specific way. Self-consciously approaching things stylistically. Us doing it ourselves, that process was like a very receptive, limitless workshop to just try out ideas.”
Complementing O’Neill are the ecstatic, Harmonia-meets-Game Boy patterns unleashed by electronics mastermind Max Henry. Eschewing presets, Henry devised fresh sounds for each song on Felt while also becoming a default musical director, orchestrating patches and oscillations. Quietly enthusing about “freaky post-techno” and Frank Ocean’s use of space, he’s among your more modest studio desk jockeys: “Yeah, I sat in the control room while the others played – hitting ‘record’ and ‘stop’. It also gave me the flexibility to move parts around and play with effects. I do have a sweet tooth for pop music.”
Accompanying “Watch You, Watch Me” is a video directed by Russ Murphy. “Often we think we know peoples’ faces well, especially casual acquaintances but when we stop and really stare at them they start to look different to us,” says Murphy. “I wanted the video to give you that slightly odd feeling and also the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. Mainly I wanted it to be a crazy, frenetic & unsettling like the track itself.”
Suuns are proud of their roots in Canada’s most socialist province, whilst not sounding quite like anything else the city has produced. Quebecois natives Shemie and Joseph Yarmush founded the group just over a decade ago, the latter having moved to Montreal from a nearby village. The only member not to be formally schooled in jazz, guitarist Yarmush studied photography and utilized his visual training to help realize Shemie’s novel concept for the eye-catching album artwork.
“I was at a barbecue last summer and there were balloons everywhere,” recalls the singer. “I like this idea of pressure, resistance, and pushing against something just before it brakes. And there is something strangely subversive about a finger pushing into a balloon. It seemed to fit the vibe of the record we were making. We made plaster casts of our hands, going for a non-denominational statue vibe. Joe came up with the colour scheme, the sickly green background, and shot the whole cover in an hour.”
It’s a suitably outré image for Felt, which breaks with Suuns’ earlier darkness for a more optimistic ambience. The record’s playful atmosphere is echoed by its double meaning title. “Some people might think of the material,” muses Ben. “I like that that could be misconstrued. Also it’s to have felt and not to feel – a little introspective, but that feeling’s in the past.”
Watch Suuns’ “Watch You, Watch Me” Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Felt Tracklist:
1. Look No Further
2. X-ALT
3. Watch You, Watch Me
4. Baseline
5. After the Fall
6. Control
6. Make It Real
8. Daydream
9. Peace and Love
10. Moonbeams
11. Materials
1. Look No Further
2. X-ALT
3. Watch You, Watch Me
4. Baseline
5. After the Fall
6. Control
6. Make It Real
8. Daydream
9. Peace and Love
10. Moonbeams
11. Materials
Tour Dates:
Fri. Feb. 9 – St-Casimir, Canada @ La Taverne
Fri. Feb. 16 – Trois-Rivieres, Canada @ Le Zenob
Sat. Feb. 17 – Gatineau, Canada @ Le Minotaure
Sat. Mar. 3 – Guadalajara, Mexico @ Festin de Los Munecos
Wed. Mar. 7 – St-Hyacinthe, Canada @ Le Zaricot
Sun. Mar. 25 – Knoxville, Tennessee @ BIG EARS FESTIVAL
Thu. Mar. 29 – Rome, Italy @ Monk Club
Fri. Mar. 30 – Milan, Italy @ Magnolia
Sat. Mar. 31 – Winterthur, Switzerland @ Salzhaus
Sun. Apr. 1 – Marseille, France @ Espace Julien
Tue. Apr. 3 – Saint-Malo, France @ Nouvelle Vague
Wed. Apr. 4 – Paris, France @ Elysee Montmarte
Fri. Feb. 9 – St-Casimir, Canada @ La Taverne
Fri. Feb. 16 – Trois-Rivieres, Canada @ Le Zenob
Sat. Feb. 17 – Gatineau, Canada @ Le Minotaure
Sat. Mar. 3 – Guadalajara, Mexico @ Festin de Los Munecos
Wed. Mar. 7 – St-Hyacinthe, Canada @ Le Zaricot
Sun. Mar. 25 – Knoxville, Tennessee @ BIG EARS FESTIVAL
Thu. Mar. 29 – Rome, Italy @ Monk Club
Fri. Mar. 30 – Milan, Italy @ Magnolia
Sat. Mar. 31 – Winterthur, Switzerland @ Salzhaus
Sun. Apr. 1 – Marseille, France @ Espace Julien
Tue. Apr. 3 – Saint-Malo, France @ Nouvelle Vague
Wed. Apr. 4 – Paris, France @ Elysee Montmarte
Thu. Apr. 5 – London, United Kingdom @ Scala
Fri. Apr. 6 – Brussels, Belgium @ Le Botanique
Sat. Apr. 7 – The Hague, Netherlands @ Rewire Festival
Sun. Apr. 8 – Koln, Germany @ Gebaude 9
Mon. Apr. 9 – Hamburg, Germany @ Molotow Musikclub
Tue. Apr. 10 – Berlin, Germany @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
Wed. Apr. 11 – Istanbul, Turkey @ Babylon
Sat. Apr. 7 – The Hague, Netherlands @ Rewire Festival
Sun. Apr. 8 – Koln, Germany @ Gebaude 9
Mon. Apr. 9 – Hamburg, Germany @ Molotow Musikclub
Tue. Apr. 10 – Berlin, Germany @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
Wed. Apr. 11 – Istanbul, Turkey @ Babylon
Felt artwork
Pre-order Felt – suuns.lnk.to/felt
Caroline Rose releases “Soul No. 5” from album due out next month.
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