Central Heat Exchange (C.H.E.) is a collaborative project by musicians spread throughout the US & Canada, primarily in the central time zone. Split across Austin, Chicago, & Winnipeg, its core members are Adam Soloway of Living Hour, Santiago RD of Daphne Tunes and Jacob and Paul Stoltz of Varsity and Pool Holograph, though their forthcoming recorded output involves a broad network of collaborators. Today they are announcing their signing to Birthday Cake, Citrus City and Sunroom Records, and sharing their debut single “Tulips At My Bedside,” which features vocals from Living Hour’s Sam Sarty and contributions from members of Lala Lala and The Hecks.
WATCH: Central Heat Exchange’s “Tulips At My Bedside” Video on YouTube
“‘Tulips at my Bedside’ tells of a brief summer fling and the exploration that happens during and afterward, with themes of self-reflection, health and growth,” explains Sam Sarty. “I see the song as almost a collective joy/celebration of silly everyday things that make up living, especially at the end with the group vocals. Everyone chiming in and almost giddy that we get to experience the simple hellos when we meet each other. That warm humid freedom of a summer night bike ride, with huge birch trees swaying way up above, rooted in the ground that has seen more than you ever will, a deep smile within yourself of knowing rolling around and your legs are alive and the person behind you on a bike is too.“
“Tulips At My Bedside” is available to purchase on Bandcamp and on all streaming services. It will appear on the forthcoming debut LP from Central Heat Exchange, which is expected in the fall of 2021.
TORRES (moniker of Mackenzie Scott) announces her new album, Thirstier, out July 30th on Merge Records, and a North American and European tour. In conjunction, she unveils the album’s first single/video, “Don’t Go Puttin Wishes in My Head.” Thirstier, the follow-up to 2020’s Silver Tongue, is Scott’s most exuberant and daring record to date, showcasing her in thrilling freefall. “I’ve been conjuring this deep, deep joy that I honestly didn’t feel for most of my life,” says Scott. “I feel like a rock within myself. And I’ve started to feel that I have what it takes to help other people conjure their joy, too.” The album revolts against the gray drag of time, a searing and life-affirming eruption of an album that wonders what could happen if we found a way to make our fantasies inexhaustible. Thirstier explodes the borders of imaginative possibility.
Recorded in the fall of 2020 at Middle Farm Studios in the UK, Thirstier marks a turn towards a bigger, more bombastic sound for TORRES. The anxious hush that fell over much of Scott’s previous music gets turned inside-out in songs tailored for post-plague celebration. Scott co-produced the album with Rob Ellis and Peter Miles, drawing on her experience self-producing Silver Tongue to push her music onto an even broader scale. Guitar-driven walls of sound, reminiscent of producer Butch Vig’s work with Garbage and Nirvana, surge and dissipate like surf in high winds, carrying Scott’s commanding voice to the fore.
“I wanted to channel my intensity into something that felt positive and constructive, as opposed to being intense in a destructive or eviscerating way,” Scott notes. “I love the idea that intensity can actually be something life-saving or something joyous.”
This massive sound and celebratory mood is evident in lead single “Don’t Go Puttin Wishes in My Head,” a sparkling country romp. Bolstered by glistening synth, it’s a defiant yet disarming number that sees Scott singing of a love that knows no bounds, while sharing her vulnerabilities with remarkable candor. Its charming video was shot in Scott’s apartment with her partner. In her own words, it’s “my relentless arena country star moment—my shameless Tim McGraw cheeseball hit.” Watch TORRES’ “Don’t Go Puttin Wishes in My Head” Video Thirstier clasps together love songs from all angles. Romantic love, platonic love, familial love, self-love, and freeing spiritual love all commingle, all feeding one another and vaulting toward the horizon. Scott sings of love that never knows scarcity. With Thirstier, TORRES clears the way to that wellspring and invites others to follow her there. Pre-order Thirstier
Thirstier Tracklist 1. Are You Sleepwalking? 2. Don’t Go Puttin Wishes in My Head 3. Constant Tomorrowland 4. Drive Me 5. Big Leap 6. Hug From a Dinosaur 7. Thirstier 8. Kiss the Corners 9. Hand in the Air 10. Keep the Devil Out
TORRES Tour Dates (tickets on sale May 12 @ 10am Eastern) Sun. Aug. 29 – Fairfield, CT @ StageOne Mon. Aug. 30 – Portsmouth, NH @ Press Room Tue. Aug. 31 – Cambridge, MA @ Sonia Fri. Sept. 3 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place Mon. Sept. 13 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern Tue. Sept. 14 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups Wed. Sept. 15 – Detroit, MI @ Marble Bar Thu. Sept. 16 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle Fri. Sept. 17 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry Sat. Sept. 18 – Kansas City, MO @ Record Bar Sun. Sept. 19 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway Tue. Sept. 21 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge Wed. Sept. 22 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court Sat. Sept. 25 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Festival Mon. Sept. 27 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern Tue. Sept. 28 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge Thu. Sept. 30 – San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar Music Hall Fri. Oct. 1 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Atrium @ Catalyst Sat. Oct. 2 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar Sun. Oct. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour Mon. Oct. 4 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge Wed. Oct. 6 – Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Co. Thu. Oct. 7 – Houston, TX @ Bronze Peacock Fri. Oct. 8 – Austin, TX @ 3TEN @ ACL Live Mon. Oct. 11 – Chattanooga, TN @ House Show Tue. Oct. 12 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl Wed. Oct. 13 – Asheville, NC @ ISIS Asheville Thu. Oct. 14 – Nashville, TN @ EXIT/IN Fri. Oct. 15 – Knoxville, TN @ Open Chord Sat. Oct. 16 – Durham, NC @ The Pinhook Sun. Oct. 17 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage Mon. Oct. 18 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s Thu. Oct. 21 – New York, NY @ The Bowery Ballroom Fri. March 11, 2022 – Glasgow, UK @ Mono Sat. March 12, 2022 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club Sun. March 13, 2022 – Manchester, UK @ Night & Day Mon. March 14, 2022 – Bristol, UK @ Exchange Tue. March 15, 2022 – London, UK @ Bush Hall Thu. March 17, 2022 – Paris, FR @ La Boule Noire Fri. March 18, 2022 – Gent, BE @ Charlatan Sat. March 19, 2022 – Utrecht, NL @ Ekko Mon. March 21, 2022 – Berlin, DE @ Frannz Club Tue. March 22, 2022 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich (Turmzimmer) Wed. March 23, 2022 – Cologne, DE @ Bumann & SOHN Thu. March 24, 2022 – Heidelberg, DE @ Karlstorbahnhof Fri. March 25, 2022 – Zürich, CH @ Rote Fabrik Sat. March 26, 2022 – Bologna, IT @ Locomotiv
Keep your mind open.
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Chicago-based band Bnny, led by Jess Viscius alongside her twin sister Alexa Viscius, plus best friends Tim Makowski and Matt Pelkey, is Fire Talk’s newest signing. In conjunction with their signing announcement, they present their new single, “Time Walk.” The song is featured in the finale of the new season of Shrill, which drops in its entirety tomorrow.
Jess Viscius started Bnny in the moment, after someone’s guitar had been left at her apartment. After teaching herself a few chords, she quickly found songwriting to be therapeutic in ways visual art couldn’t touch. Eventually, her sister Alexa and former Bnny drummer Drew Ryan persuaded Jess to start a band, and it ultimately stuck, along with a newfound community and friendships.
Their new song, “Time Walk,” is a taste of Bnny’s crackling energy, clocking in at just over a minute and a half. It layers in quick succession with plucky bass, uncomplicated drums, and jumpy guitar lines. Throughout, Viscius’ half-whispered vocals are cool to the touch. It was produced by fellow Chicago musician and Fire Talk artist, Dehd’s Jason Balla. The video, which features Jess, was partly shot on the Lake Michigan coastline. It offers a glimpse of Bnny’s strong visual aesthetics.
“‘Time Walk’ is about the clarity you find when in motion—walking, driving, running,” says Jess. “It’s about a friendship ending, but still feeling connected to the person. It’s about looking back while moving forward in slow motion. Time walk is a wake-up call.”
Bloc Party‘s 2008 album, Intimacy, is perfectly named. Every song on the record is about love – new love, lost love, dying love, old love, hopeful love, desperate love, and probably another five or six variations that I’ve forgotten. The album is loaded with Bloc Party’s signature heavy guitars, stadium rock drumming, prog-rock switches, intricate lyric stories, and passionate vocals.
Opening track “Ares” has the band wanting to declare a war and expressing anger and rage in the only way they know how – through warning alarm guitars and car crash drumming (instead of breaking things with their fists). Lead singer / guitarist Kele Okereke wants to punch something, but would rather use those hands that “could work wonders, with their touch listening to dead singers in your room in ’98” for more intimate matters.
“Mercury” brings in electro-beats as Okereke warns “This is not the time to start a new love, this is not the time to sign a lease.” He wants love, though. He’s tired of “sleeping with people I don’t even like,” but “Mercury’s in retrograde” and everything is fucked up beyond belief.
Gordon Moakes‘ bass licks are on fire throughout “Halo” – a powerful rocker that tells a tale of two lovers desperate for a connection (“I ask you for the time, but I am asking for so much more.”). “Biko” is a tragic tale of a lover’s impending death and how there’s nothing Okereke or anyone else can do to stop it. “Was my love strong enough to bring you back from the dead? If I could eat your cancer I would, but I can’t.” The song is a beautiful gut punch.
“Trojan Horse” has Okereke trying to understand his lover’s depression (“You used to take your watch off before we made love.” / “Just take me back to the start, when your earthquake was just cracks.”). Russel Lissack‘s lead guitar sounds like angry hornets during his solo on it. “Signs” is another sad tale, with a ticking, chiming music box as its backdrop, of another lover who has passed from this world (or perhaps the same from “Biko”) and Okereke not quite being able to make sense of it.
Matt Tong‘s percussion and sizzling cymbals mix well with programmed beats on “One Month Off” – a tale of a cheating lover and Okereke claiming “I can be as cruel as you,” but by the end telling her, “If you need time…” Okereke admits his own faults on the choir-backed “Zephyrus” with lyrics like “Baby, I’m ashamed of the things I put you through. Baby, I’m ashamed of the man I was for you.”
“Talons” is story of impending death, but Okereke isn’t afraid of it (“When it comes, it will feel like a kiss.”). “Better Than Heaven” has Okereke settling down a bit and trying to seduce his lover as she becomes more and more tired of him (“You get sadder the smarter you get, and it’s a bore.”). Tong’s drum work on the track is outstanding. Okereke keeps up the sentiment of growing old in love together on “Ion Square,” with lyrics like “Let’s stay in, let the sofa be our car…All the bright lights do is bore me.” The synth-heavy track send the album out on an uplifting note.
Some versions of the album include extra tracks and remixes. The copy I own has four bonus songs and remixes of “Mercury” (by CSS) and “Talons” (by XXXchange). The bonus songs include a sharp post-punk track (“Letter to My Son”) and three electro dance-rock cuts (“Your Visits Are Getting Shorter,” the rave-ready “Flux,” and the slightly gothic “Idea for a Story”), and the remixes are top-notch.
Clutch has just announced a string of Winter 2021 headline tour dates celebrating 30 years of rock and roll starting on December 27th in Baltimore, MD. Supporting the tour will be STONER, the brand new band featuring Brant Bjork (Kyuss) and Nick Oliveri (Queens Of The Stone Age, Kyuss).
The run will also include Detroit natives and “thrash grass” pioneers, The Native Howl.
“We are incredibly excited to hit the road again” states Clutch. “We’ve missed the shows, the fans, the venues and the opportunity to watch the other bands we share the stage with. It’s going to feel like our first show all over again and we can’t wait! Come out and let’s make some Rock and Roll!.”
Tickets will go on sale to the general public Friday, May 21st at 10:00 am at www.ClutchOnTour.com.
CLUTCH Celebrating 30 Years of Rock N Roll Winter Tour Dates: Dec. 27 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Dec. 28 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom Dec. 29 – Cleveland, OH – Agoura Theatre Dec. 30 – Detroit, MI – Filmore Theatre Dec. 31 – Cincinnati, OH – The Icon
“So, what did you do during the pandemic?” is a question that’s already a popular conversation starter among those lucky enough to have lived through it. Some us studied French, wrote comic books, and decluttered multiple rooms in their house. Others started new fitness regimes, made babies, read books, built a new bathroom, or didn’t do a damn thing.
Boston area MC, producer, and DJ D-Tension taught himself to play guitar and recorded a rock record, Secret Rock & Roll Project. D-Tension emerged from the pandemic 200 pounds lighter, thanks to his sheer will and new diet, and channeled his love of the late Eddie Van Halen by picking up an axe and, again through his Green Lantern-like will, taught himself how to play.
The result is a fun record that covers gentrification, partying, aging, sex, drugs, and, of course, rock and roll. Opener “Kenmore Square” has D-T musing about how his neighborhood has changed to the point where he no longer recognizes it. He can no longer visit Planet Records or score a ticket to a Red Sox game for twenty bucks. He can’t see Gang Green or Pixies there anymore because a damn high-rise fancy hotel was built on top of it. Gentrification and the unforgiving hand of Father Time have changed all of that. He, like all of us, wants to blame it on Amazon and other big corporations, but he also admits that he, like all of us, are to blame, really. His solo is also a blast, letting us know that all that pandemic guitar practice has paid off.
“Know No Know,” with its thick bass and organ stabs, is a fun track about trying to play the subtle long game with a potential lover. “That’s Alright” has a country flavor to it, which is a smile-inducing surprise and a song of love and being happy to be with someone during times of isolation and boredom (pretty much most of 2020, really). “It Ain’t All About You” is a scorching rocker with punk speed and attitude in which D-T calls out a former lover who wasn’t around for him when he was at his lowest.
“The Night We Regret” is a simple, witty ballad with D-T singing about an old flame that might actually be late night drunken ramblings left on a voicemail. “Fast One” has a beat that D-T could’ve used on any hip hop album, but he boosts it with sizzling guitar to turn it into a wicked rock track. “Away” could’ve been a Smithereens track in another life with its lyrics of lost love and cool bass line.
“Joanna Strikes Back” has a bit of a Devo sound to it and tells a great story of a former punk girl turned Average Jane who tears it up for one night in full punk regalia and debauchery. D-T play spaghetti westerns guitars and surf on “Idata del Gaucho,” which is a stunning piece. The closer is a heartfelt ballad, “Cry,” with piano chords that are angry one moment, sad the next.
We should all so be lucky (and strong-willed) to emerge from a health crisis and isolation with art this good, and with a new skill we can grow in forever. We should also be happy that D-Tension chose not to keep this project secret.
Keep your mind open.
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Today, black midi present a new single/video, “Slow,” from their forthcoming album, Cavalcade, out May 28th on Rough Trade. In conjunction, they announce a fall North American tour, plus a new KEXP interview and performance. A full circle moment for black midi, their first KEXP performance (live from Iceland Airwaves in 2019) is how many first experienced the band. Following lead single “John L,” “a zoomed-out optical illusion, making you question what you’re witnessing at every turn,” (Pitchfork, “Best New Track”) “Slow” is one of two Cavalcade songs fronted by bassist Cameron Picton. The music for “Slow” was written just before black midi’s February 2020 UK tour with the lyrics finalised when demos were recorded in June 2020. They tell the story of a young and idealistic revolutionary dreaming of a better world who ends up being shot in the national stadium after a coup d’état.
“The ‘Slow’ video was made to fit the oscillating dynamics of the song. Going from calm to chaos over and over again,” says director and animator Gustaf Holtenäs. “The video tells the story of a character who creates AI-generated worlds. To emphasize this, I let real AI’s generate a lot of the backgrounds in these worlds. So they are partly AI-generated, but It isn’t long before an AI could create the whole deal and create endless iterations of fantasy worlds. It can already create a random beautiful landscape painting in 1 second.”
Cavalcade is a dynamic, hellacious, and inventive follow-up to black midi’s debut, Schlagenheim, one of 2019’s most widely-praised albums. Cavalcade scales beautiful new heights, pulling widely from a plethora of genres and influences, reaching ever upwards from an already lofty base of early achievements. black midi — Geordie Greep (guitar, primary vocals), Cameron Picton (bass, vocals), and Morgan Simpson (drums) — picture Cavalcade as a line of larger than life figures, from a cult leader fallen on hard times and an ancient corpse found in a diamond mine to legendary cabaret singer Marlene Dietrich, strolling seductively past them. Watch New KEXP Session
black midi Tour Dates: Mon. Oct. 4 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall Thu. Oct. 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre Fri. Oct. 8 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah Sat. Oct. 9 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy and Harriet’s Mon. Oct. 11 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe Tue. Oct. 12 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Thu. Oct. 14 – Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s Fri. Oct. 15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Sat. Oct. 15 – Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s Mon. Oct. 18 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair Tue. Oct. 19 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall Thu. Oct. 21 – Baltimore, MD @ Union Brewery Sat. Oct. 23 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle Tavern Tue. Oct. 26 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn Wed. Oct. 27 – New Orleans, LA @ Republic Fri. Oct. 29 – Austin, TX @ ?????????? Sat. Oct. 30 – Houston, TX @ The Secret Group
Keep your mind open.
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Today, Nashville-based songwriter Madi Diaz releases “Nervous,” a new single about recognizing unhealthy coping mechanisms. “Nervous,” her third single for ANTI-, follows the evocative “New Person, Old Place” and “Man In Me,” and further presents Diaz’s ability to write direct and introspective music, a craft she’s spent years refining. The song’s frank lyrics are bellied by infectious guitar and Diaz’s buoyant voice: “I know why I lie to myself // I’m not really looking to get healthy // I have so many perspectives I’m losing perspective I make me nervous.” The accompanying video was shot in Nashville and directed by Jordan Bellamy. It was inspired by and includes an homage to the final scene of Andrei Tarkovsky’s film The Stalker, a film that has always resonated with Diaz through its otherworldly nature, as well as its thoughtful and often anxiety inducing pace.
“You know when you hold a mirror up to a mirror and you get an infinite amount of reflections from every angle? That’s what ‘Nervous’ is about,” says Diaz. “It’s when you’re in a loop of looking at yourself from every vantage point until you’re caught up in your own tangled web of bullshit. It’s about catching yourself acting out your crazy and you’re finally self aware enough to see it, but you’re still out of your body enough and curious enough to watch yourself do it.” Watch Madi Diaz’s “Nervous” Video
Releasing debut EP End Of An Age back in February this year, the arcane Wings Of Desire have held a mirror up to the intensity of modern life, questioned our well-worn paths of existence, and asked the important questions on subjects of conformity and living in the present.
Drawing inspiration from visual arts and 20th century counterculture, Wings Of Desire confront themes of ignorance and identity to create shape-shifting soundscapes that cut deep, flitting between the dazed and euphoric, to the propulsive and emotional, through previous singles ‘001’, ‘Runnin’, ‘Be Here Now’, and ‘Chance Of A Lifetime’.
Today the two-piece share boundless new track ‘Better Late Than Never’ alongside a video. The visual was inspired by the early cinematic technique of Polyvision and the Mike Figgis film Timecode. The idea was to portray a multitude of days lived, and to reflect the various edges of our individual personalities through the mundane. It was shot on 8mm film and is meant to give the viewer a Rear Window insight into the human experience.
In the west, we are ingrained to think getting older is a bad thing.
In the east ageing is championed and seen as an opportunity to gain great insight and wisdom.
The song is about letting go and allowing time to take you on a grand journey of self discovery, and finding empowerment in all the life experience one has gained.
We need to find the transcendent in a world rooted in constant change and destruction. Otherwise we risk being washed ashore.
Watch the video for ‘Better Late Than Never’ HERE.
Coming in hot and heavy and all the way from New Zealand, The D4 are like a Down Under MC5 (who also are probably the inspiration for the band’s name). Their album, 6Twenty, is full of crunchy guitar riffs, thunderous drums, and horny, wailing vocals.
Take opening track, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Motherfucker,” for example. It bursts through the window like John Shaft swinging into the room with a machine gun and proceeds to lay waste to everything around it. Dion Palmer (AKA Dion Lunadon) and Jimmy Christmas unleash killer vocals and guitars throughout it – and every other track for that matter. “Get Loose” has Christmas craving for action while Daniel “Beaver” Pooley hammers out a snappy beat full of Keith Moon-like fills. He also gets the party started on “Party,” and soon Vaughn Williams is joining him with a wild bass line that inspires you to go nuts. The MC5 influence is clear here, especially in Christmas’ vocal styling.
“Come On!” yanks you out of your chair and tosses you into the crowd to either get sweaty or get the hell out of the way. Their cover of Guitar Wolf‘s “Invader Ace” is a lights-out rocker. Williams and Pooley barely give you time to breathe, and then the guitar solo comes in to clothesline you over the top rope. “Exit to the City” is the slowest track on the record, and I lightly use that term. It’s a swaggering bit of cock rock with cool phaser effects and another sizzling guitar solo.
“Heartbreaker” has Christmas yelling about losing a lover while the rest of the band gives him moral support by flattening any walls around him. “Running on Empty” isn’t a Jackson Browne cover (which would’ve been amazing), but rather a fun garage rock track that has a rock-solid rhythm from Williams and Pooley. “Ladies Man” has the confidence of the Tim Meadows‘ Saturday Night Live and film character, and great organ work from guest Cameron Rowe. Their cover of Johnny Thunders‘ “Pirate Love” is a great tribute to him (and The New York Dolls).
“Little Baby” screams right on by you like a runaway armored truck, “Rebekah” has an undeniable rock groove that catches your attention no matter what you’re doing, their cover of Scavengers‘ “Mysterex” is an ode to “nine to fivers” and “soul survivors.” The album closes with “Outta Blues,” in which Christmas sings, “I’m outta blues, but I’m okay,” making us wonder which part of that statement is correct (and all of the instruments are right-on throughout it).
It’s a great debut record of rock sizzlers beginning to end.
Keep your mind open.
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