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.
Sharon Jones, lead singer of the funk / soul / R&B powerhouse band Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kingshas died at the young age of 60 of pancreatic cancer. She fought a good fight, even releasing two more records and touring after her cancer diagnosis. Her albums with the Dap-Kings were a shot in the arm to the music industry which had pretty much ignored her for years. They couldn’t ignore her when she was dropping future classics like “100 Days, 100 Nights,” “How Do I Let a Good Man Down?”, and “Your Thing Is a Drag.”
Her live performances (none of which I ever got to see, apart from recorded video) were fiery affairs, and she caught and held your attention from the moment she stepped onstage. You knew things were about to get real when she’d kick off her shoes so she could get down harder.
She will be greatly missed, but take heart in knowing she’s strutting with James Brown somewhere right now.
Landing like a meteor impacting the moon, Belgium’s Fire Down Below (Kevin Gernaey – guitar, Sam Nuytens – drums, Jeroen Van Troyen – guitar and vocals, Bert Wynsberghe – bass) brings us Viper Vixen Goddess Saint – a good bit of stoner rock to get you through the coming winter.
After a short, almost bluesy instrumental intro (“El Viento del Desierto”), the band comes out chugging with “Through Dust and Smoke.” Imagine punk drumming, Wolfmother guitar licks, and prog-rock vocal stylings and you’ll get an idea of this track. They come out swinging and hit a triple.
“Roadburner” has a great heavy charge throughout it, and I love the way it breaks into a faster beat even before the first lyrics. It reminds me of a mix of Helmet and Quicksand, but with epic arena rock vocals from Van Troyen. “Universes Crumble” might refer to the eventual heat death of the galaxy, but the track is cosmic in its scope. The hand percussion throughout it is a great touch that brings a bit of a meditative aspect. The first line Van Troyen sings is “You are stars.” We are made of stars and to the stars we eventually return. A universe can crumble, but even that energy is reborn into another form. The song weaves back and forth between cosmic psych-rock and prog-metal. It’s outstanding.
“Dashboard Jesus” is quite suitable for late night pedal-to-the-metal drives along European coastlines, city highways, or dusty back roads. The guitars shred hard and Nuytens seems to have grown a third arm by the time this track comes along because it sounds like he’s hitting multiple cymbals at the same time (and the breakdown he has with Wynsberghe is sweet). After another bluesy instrumental (“Resurrection”), the album ends with the appropriately titled “The Mammoth.” It’s appropriate because it’s over eleven minutes long and is has heavy as a woolly mammoth walking across a hardwood floor. It’s an epic finish to a cosmic trip, like the aforementioned meteor smacking the moon.
I had no idea there was a stoner rock scene in Belgium, so I’m glad these guys sent me their record. You should seek them out if you enjoy stoner rock, prog-rock, or psych rock.
Keep your mind open.
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Looking for hard rock best suited for running moonshine or chugging it? Look no further than Scattered Hamlet (Richard Erwin – bass and vocals, Adam Joad – vocals, harmonica, and guitar, Jake Deling Le Bas – drums, percussion, and vocals, Adam Newell – lead and slide guitars, vocals) and their new album Swamp Rebel Machine. The interior art features a rendition of the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, but the logo has been changed to “Don’t fuck with me.” It’s a theme evident in the opening track, “Battle Hymn,” and the instrumentation is indeed not something with which to fuck.
“Whip-Poor-Will” hits as hard as any Zeke track (especially Erwin’s bass groove). “Stonewall Jackson” starts with a conversation between two pals – one of who would rather watch The Dukes of Hazzard than get laid. I can’t help but wonder if this is based on a real conversation one of the band members with someone. Newell shreds on it, by the way.
“Four Barrel Mojo” is dirty honkytonk rock. “White Trash” grooves so well that the Donnas might smash a couple guitars in “Why didn’t we come up with that lick?” rage. The title track is the first single off the record. It’s a good choice since it sums up the band’s ethos (hard-workin’, hard-rockin’, hard-drinkin’, school of hard knocks graduates). “Green Bastard” has some of Le Bas’ hardest and funkiest drumming on the record. Joad salutes his grandmother on “Outlaw Breed” (“Grandma taught me nothing’s guaranteed except the hillbilly pride and the outlaw breed.”).
“Rimfire” reminds me of good hair metal, which is an elusive beast these days. “Buckshot” could be a lost Nashville Pussy track, and I love the way Joad’s vocals border on screams for a lot of it. The closer is “The Lesson,” which ends the album on a metal note that would make Clutch proud. Newell goes for broke on it, and I love the drum and bass breakdown near the end.
Swamp Rebel Machine is a good, dirty, gritty, heavy rock record. We need this kind of “Don’t fuck with me” rock right now. People are pissed and making their voices heard, and they could very well be playing this record in their earbuds as they march or mosh.
Australian psych-rock workhorses King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have pledged to release five albums in 2017. The band is already prolific and this feat, if they can do it, will make them legendary.
The first album is Flying Microtonal Banana. It’s named after a guitar made for lead singer / guitarist Stu Mackenzie by a friend. The guitar has extra frets on it so he and the other band members (who also have customized guitars) can play 24 notes per octave rather than 12. Sounds crazy? Wait until you hear it on the first single – “Rattlesnake.”
Ride Your Heart from Bleached (Jennifer Clavin – vocals, guitar, piano, percussion, Jennifer Clavin – guitar, bass, vocals, percussion, lap steel, Dan Allaire – drums) is a great, California sun-soaked pop-punk record about looking for love. The lead track, “Looking for a Fight,” has Jennifer Clavin warning a potential suitor to back off, but the following track, “Next Stop,” is about tearful goodbyes at the train station. Both have excellent guitar work by Jennifer and her sister, Jessica.
“Outta My Mind” has lovely vocals from both Clavins and instrumentation taking the album briefly into psychedelic territory. Jennifer Clavin goes back to wishing love would stay away from her and stop complicating everything, but it’s too good to avoid. However, when we get to “Dead in Your Head,” she roasts her ex for screwing up the great thing they had. She apologizes for her own bad behavior on “Dreaming without You,” in which she sings, “…I won’t hold you back. I know I’m a heart attack. You’ll be fine without me.”
“Waiting by the Telephone” could be their tribute to Blondie’s “Hanging on the Telephone,” because both songs have the same theme – anxiously awaiting the call of a lover. Bleached’s version rocks as much as Blondie’s, by the way. “Love Spells” has Jennifer Clavin first spurning love (“I don’t wanna see you no more. You keep on running back to my door. Told you once, yeah I told you before. Your love spells don’t work anymore.”), then hoping it returns (“Will I see you tonight when I open up my heart?”). It’s a clever song about the confusing nature of love.
“Searching through the Past” is a fine power pop song about missing a lover and hoping for a return to good times. It has great guitar solos by the Clavin sisters as well. The title track is not unlike a Pixies song with quiet verses backed with rock riffs that crank up during the chrous. “Dead Boy” is good, solid fuzz rock that builds to a sweet guitar fade-out. “Guy Like You” is about a guy who keeps breaking Jennifer Clavin’s heart, but she “can’t get enough” of him. It’s a sweet, sad song with lap steel guitar by Jessica Clavin that takes the song to a great, lonely place. The closer, “When I Was Yours,” builds to a wall of psych-fuzz bliss and leaves you hoping the track would go on for another five minutes or more.
The Clavin sisters thank, among others, “ex boyfriends,” in the liner notes to the album. The entire record is about them and the mindboggling nature of love, and it’s a fine salute to both.
Keep your mind open.
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PRIESTS SHARE VIDEO FOR “PINK WHITE HOUSE” AND ANNOUNCE TOUR DATES
NOTHING FEELS NATURAL OUT 1/27 ON SISTER POLYGON
Today, Priests share the video for their new song, the presciently titled “Pink White House,” and announce an extensive tour in 2017. The song comes off their forthcoming debut full-length, Nothing Feels Natural, out 1/27 on Sister Polygon Records. Singer Katie Alice Greer had this to say of the song and video:
Lyrically, this is a Priests song I am maybe most proud of to date. I am very inspired by the filmmaker Adam Curtis, the first time I saw “It Felt Like A Kiss” I thought, man, I want to start a band where I can write lyrics the way this guy makes films, like these politically pointed surreal avant-garde narratives, and then I met Daniele and we started Priests. So for me, “Pink White House” is a step towards achieving this style of lyricism. I’m excited about that. Musically we wrote the first half and then were like, “where do we go from here?” We wanted the second half of the song to feel like you’re in a new scene of the story, where “come on palm trees” starts. It was very fun and adventurous for us, writing this way! For the video, I wanted to do something playing on the notion that pop culture repackages your identity and sells it back to you for “entertainment.”
Priests have also announced and extensive tour in 2017 in support of the new record. Don’t miss a chance to see one of the most dynamic and exhilarating bands in the country.
PRIESTS TOUR DATES: Thu. Nov. 10 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Broad w/ Rhys Chatham Sat. Jan. 28 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Night Bazaar Fri. Feb. 3 – Philadelphia, PA @ Everybody Hits Sat. Feb. 4 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott Mon. Feb. 6 – Montreal, QC @ Casa del Popolo Tue. Feb. 7 – Toronto ON @ Silver Dollar Room Wed. Feb. 8 – Detroit, MI @ UFO Factory Thu. Feb. 9 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen Fri. Feb. 10 – Madison, WI @ Rathskeller Sat. Feb. 11 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry Wed. Feb. 15 – Vancouver, BC @ 333
Thu. Feb. 16 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project Fri. Feb. 17 – Portland, OR @ Disjecta Sat. Feb. 18 – Eugene, OR @ The Boreal Sun. Feb. 19 – Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club Mon. Feb. 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex Wed. Feb. 22 – San Diego, CA @ Che Cafe Thu. Feb. 23 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar Fri. Feb. 24 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole Sat. Feb. 25 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf Mon. Feb. 27 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda Tue. Feb. 28 – McAllen, TX @ Yerberia Cultura Wed. Mar. 1 – Houston TX @ Walter’s Thu. Mar. 2 – New Orleans LA @ Siberia Fri. Mar. 3 – Tallahasee, FL @ Wolf’s Den Sat. Mar. 4 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn Sun. Mar. 5 – Durham, NC @ Pinhook Sat. Mar. 11 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
PRAISE FOR “JJ”
“‘JJ,’ the new song from the excellent Washington punk band Priests…begins with flickers of surf rock, the sort that inspired and also began to suffocate indie-punk circa 2009. But in the hands of this band, the sound gets harsher and less lithe. When the frontwoman Katie Alice Greer begins to sing, it eradicates any ease that style connotes: “I thought I was a cowboy/because I/Smoked Reds! Smoked Reds! Smoked Reds!” And in the video, the band members are filmed up close as their faces are aggressively poked and prodded. It is a siege — surf’s down.” – The New York Times
“Over surfy, shimmying guitars and a twinkling piano, Greer and her elastic growl reflect on bygone self-assurance, days when cigarette brands could work like masks.” Pitchfork [BEST NEW TRACK]
“If 2014’s Bodies And Control And Money And Power EP explored how politics informed the band’s personal lives, then “JJ” dives into the weirdness of the interpersonal — not offering solutions, just asking more questions, which has long been Priests’ M.O. In the melodic mayhem, a “rich kid, low life in a very big jacket” becomes a stream-of-consciousness portrait of human relationships, particularly from a woman’s point of view. Greer doesn’t so much howl and scream but rather growls and coos like Eartha Kitt wound up and snapped into a surrealist punk rage.” – NPR Music [Songs We Love]
“Priests veer hard here into groovy ’50s sock-hop sounds without losing the immediacy that marks them as one of the greatest young DIY bands of this moment.” – Stereogum [5 Best Songs of the Week]
Born from late night jam sessions in singer/guitarist Fran Keaney’s bedroom and honed in the thrumming confines of Melbourne’s live music venues, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever began to take shape as audiences got moving. Sharing tastes and songwriting duties, cousins Joe White and Fran Keaney, brothers Tom and Joe Russo, and drummer Marcel Tussie started out with softer, melody-focused songs. The more shows they played, the more those driving rhythms that now trademark their songs emerged. Since then, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever rode that wave from strength to strength. Touring around the country on headline bills and festival slots, they entrenched themselves with their thrilling live shows.
In early 2016, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever released Talk Tight, their first EP. That effort put the group on the map with glowing support from SPIN, Stereogum, and Pitchfork, praising them as standouts even among the fertile landscape of Melbourne music. Chock full of snappy riffs, spritely drumming and quick-witted wordplay, Talk Tight was praised by Pitchfork “for the precision of their melodies, the streamlined sophistication of their arrangements, and the undercurrent of melancholy that motivates every note.”
“Julie’s Place,” the first single off Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever’s forthcoming EP for Sub Pop (due in 2017), levels up on everything that made Talk Tight such an immediate draw. It’s about being young and dumb but full of bravado. Sprinting guitars mimic singer Keaney’s pangs of heartache, his awkwardly sensual lyrics calling to mind the chaos and confusion of being around someone you can’t get off your mind.
Foxygen, the duo of Sam France and Jonathan Rado, announce their new album Hang, out January 20th on Jagjaguwar, its lead single, “Follow The Leader” and accompanying video, and a North American tour.
On their first proper studio record, the Los Angeles pair once again present their uncanny knack for pulling together myriad strands of influences to an elaborate, uncompromising vision. And this time, they’ve gone true big band! Every song on Hang features a 40-plus-piece symphony orchestra arranged and conducted by Trey Pollard with additional arranging from Matthew E. White. Additionally, Hang was recorded with the brother rhythm section duo of Brian and Michael D’Addario, also known as the Lemon Twigs, and features Steven Drozd of the Flaming Lips on select tracks. Written and produced entirely by Foxygen, Hang was recorded on 2” tape at Electro Vox Studios in Los Angeles.
Lead single, “Follow The Leader,” is one of the album’s most upbeat songs. As described by the band, “it was a blast to make! It’s a positive anthem, with some lyrical scenarios we don’t quite understand.” The song’s video was directed Cameron Dutra (who directed Foxygen’s “San Francisco” video).
Foxygen’s Hang is available for pre-order now. All digital pre-orders come with instant grat downloads of “America” and “Follow The Leader.” The Jagjaguwar album bundle will include Hang Demos flexi disc with “Follow The Leader (demo)” and “On Lankershim (demo)”. The first 50 preorders will also receive an autographed piece of sheet music from the Hang recording sessions.
Hang Tracklisting:
1. Follow The Leader
2. Avalon
3. Mrs. Adams
4. America
5. On Lankershim
6. Upon A Hill
7. Trauma
8. Rise Up
Foxygen Tour Dates: Wed. Nov. 9 – London, UK @ Oslo – SOLD OUT Thu. Dec. 1 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade – SOLD OUT Tue. Mar. 21 – Richmond, VA @ The National Wed. Mar. 22 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club Fri. Mar. 24 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
Sat. Mar. 25 – Boston, MA @ The Paradise Sun. Mar. 26 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer Tue. Mar. 28 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House Thu. Mar. 30 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall Fri. Mar. 31 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre Sat. Apr. 1 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre Sun. Apr. 2 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave Tue. Apr. 4 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre Wed. Apr. 5 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room Fri. Apr. 7 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent Sat. Apr. 8 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Sun. Apr. 9 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory Tue. Apr. 11 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom Thu. Apr. 13 – Dallas, TX @ Trees Fri. Apr. 14 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk Sat. Apr. 15 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Mon. Apr. 17 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks Tue. Apr. 18 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West Wed. Apr. 19 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel Thu. Apr. 20 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
[above image by Per Erik Adamsson]
It’s a match made in dancefloor heaven: Swedish house maestro Mr. Tophat and pop phenom Robyn have come together for “Trust Me,” a three track EP of dark disco and luscious grooves. With each track going well beyond the nine-minute mark, “Trust Me” is the artistic culmination of two artists joining together in the studio and putting pure inspiration to tape, resulting in some of the loosest and most intriguing music either has made in their careers. Further strengthening the EP’s disco bonafides are contributions by Abba’s original drummer, Per Lindvall, and his brother, bassist David Lindvall.
Although Robyn and Mr. Tophat have known each other personally for nearly a decade, the first time they professionally crossed paths was last year, when the latter contributed a few remixes of material from Robyn’s “Love Is Free” EP with La Bagatelle Magique. “I wasn’t making my own music at the time, so he forced his way into my studio and said, ‘We’re going to make music now,’” Robyn recalls the beginnings of the pair’s creative process. “It was really nice for me to be submerged into his world and lose myself in something that wasn’t my own.”
“Trust Me” is certainly situated in Mr. Tophat’s world. The Stockholm-based Junk Yard Connections owner and Karlovak co-founder has spent most of this decade releasing a brilliant stretch of side-long singles with production pal Art Alfie. Those singles’ dense, lovingly handcrafted club vibes are perfectly realized on this EP, with some subtle tweaks to the winning formula—a rich intricacy embedded within a deeper-than-deep sound perfect for peak-hour dancing and 3 AM comedown communions alike.
I’m hard pressed to remember an album I’ve recently heard that starts off as well as The Kills’ (Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart) Blood Pressures.
“Future Starts Slow” is one of their biggest hits, and it’s for good reason. Hince’s guitar is like a haunting alarm and Mosshart’s pleading vocals (“…don’t ever give me up. I could never get back up when the future starts so slow.”) have both rock swagger and blues desperation. “Satellite” is another song pleading for more time to love as the Kills’ phone calls to respective lovers are cut off by bad satellite transmissions beyond their control.
“The Heart Is a Beating Drum” is a reminder to keep passion burning in a relationship. Mosshart sums up a hundred thousand sex life columns as she sings, “And you feel like you been here so many times before. It’s not the door you’re using, but the way you’re walking through it.” Hince’s guitar has this cool low fuzz to it well-suited for late night dalliances. There also this cool percussion that sounds like a sped-up Ping-Pong game throughout it that I love.
For having such sad lyrics (i.e., “I’ve made mistakes I can’t take back home. I love you just not the way you want.”), “Nail in My Coffin” has one of the best grooves and some of the heaviest guitar on the record. “Wild Charms,” with Hince on lead vocals, is a nice introduction to “DNA,” in which Mosshart references them (“True, I had those wild charms for you, but oh how my fire burnt them out.”) as she oozes sexual power and attitude.
“Baby Says” has a slick bass line throughout it and sounds like an early Blondie track. “The Last Goodbye” is a heartbreaking break-up song as Mosshart swears this will be the last time she returns to “half hearted love.” “Damned If She Do” has hints of heavy fuzz rock but the lyrics are pure blues. “You Don’t Own the Road” has Mosshart telling her ex that he doesn’t have a monopoly on loneliness and misery, but she’s willing to make him feel better (“Come on over if that’s the way you feel when you’re lonesome. Steal it back when you’re lonely.”). I love the way her vocals get slightly distorted in the chorus. They match the great crunch of Hince’s guitar work. The closer is “Pots and Pans,” in which Mosshart tells her lover that she’s done caring (“Ain’t enough salt in the ocean that care enough to keep you floating.”), and Hince’s fuzzy acoustic guitar draws a line in the sand.
Blood Pressures is solid rock about heartbreak and passion. Both subjects are easy to make sappy or over the top, but the Kills make it look easy. It’s not, because the road you have to walk to write songs like these isn’t easy. Most can’t handle it. The Kills did.
Keep your mind open.
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