Kaiser Chiefs are offering their upcoming album, Stay Together, for pre-order on PledgeMusic. They’re also offering some nice merchandise for additional prices. The perks range from a CD and digital download to a big bundle of stuff including a T-shirt, signed lithograph of the album cover, and and a double-LP.
The album is due out October 07, 2016.
Keep your mind open.
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Recorded at Chicago’s Hideout January 30-31, 2014, Live at the Hideout is essential for any fan of Screaming Females, rock, or quality live recordings. Steve Albini did a great job capturing the fury and power of a live Screaming Females show, and the band (“King” Mike Abbate – bass, Jarrett Dougherty – drums, Marissa Paternoster – guitar and vocals) played not only for the lucky Hideout crowd, but also apparently for everyone on the international space station to hear.
“Leave It All Up to Me” gets the album off to a fine start, showcasing Paternoster’s now-trademark shredding. “Foul Mouth” temporarily downshifts the show, with Abbate’s bass groove planting deep roots before he and his band mates take off like a nitro-burning funny car from the starting line. The band takes that nitro and uses it to almost burn the Hideout stage to the ground on “Buried in the Nude” – which is a blistering punk rock screamfest.
“Extinction” keeps the punk pumping, with Paternoster’s vocals evoking Poly Styrene. “A New Kid” has one of her best solos on the record. It moves back and forth between metal, psychedelia, grunge, and even a bit of shoegaze. “Lights Out” is one of the best metal tunes you’ve heard in a long while, and Paternoster’s solo might make you hang up your guitar.
“Sheep,” a gut punch of a song about a cheating lover, hits even harder live. “It All Means Nothing” is one of their biggest hits, and one of their best live tracks. Paternoster sizzles throughout it and Dougherty’s pulsing beat is a great foundation. His wicked beats continue on “Starve the Beat,” which has some of Paternoster’s most masterful guitar work and Dougherty and Abbate’s best clicking rhythms.
“Little Anne” is a strangely hypnotic short song that’s almost an introduction to “Pretty Okay,” which brings out Buzzcocks-like frenetic energy from the whole band. “Baby Jesus” reminds me of a spinning dynamo. It’s fiery energy that seems barely contained and could overwhelm you at any moment. Paternoster’s solo rises into psychedelic realms halfway through it and then tears into something you’d hear in a crazy anime film about starship pilots fighting Cthulu on the edge of a black hole.
The album ends with “Boyfriend,” in which the band not only topples over the edge from metal into punk rock madness, but also pulls the whole Hideout audience and anyone listening to this record with them. Paternoster screams to the rafters, Dougherty thumps on his kit harder than Chuck Norris beating up thugs in Good Guys Wear Black, and Abbate pounds on his bass with a drumstick at one point. I don’t know what will convince you that this band is a force of nature if this song doesn’t.
It’s a great live record, not only for the song selection but also for catching the power of a Screaming Females performance. If you can’t see them live, at least pick up this record. It will only make you want to see them live more or see them live again again, but that’s a good thing.
Keep your mind open.
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Clutch’s (Neil Fallon – Guitar and vocals, Jean-Paul Gaster – drums, Dan Maines – bass, Tim Sult – guitar) 2005 album Robot Hive / Exodus was the rock record you needed in 2005, and is still the rock record you need right now.
“The Incomparable Mr. Flannery” is pretty much a salute to their metalhead fans, as Fallon gives shout-outs to Dokken, Boston, Kansas, REO Speedwagon, and George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers.
“Burning Beard” was the big single for the album. It’s about a man losing his mind as CNN, “the power of the Holy Ghost,” and the “same three dogs looking back” at him conspire to drive him nuts (although he was probably already there). Sult shreds particularly hard on this track, giving us some of his wildest guitar work on any Clutch record.
“Gullah” seems to be about a man coming to terms with his impending doom. “Ain’t no doubt Jesus sees us acting foolishly on American Bandstand,” Fallon sings. “Ain’t no doubt Vishnu missed you, then Kali kissed you. Better get busy. Days get shorter, air get colder…” Heavy stuff with slightly reverbed space-rock guitar and a wicked beat.
The robot hive mentioned in the album’s title is entered in “Mice and Gods.” It mentions “silver women on the OMNI magazine” and calls to “engineer the future now. Damn tomorrow, future now!” The guitar work on runs between the border of stoner rock and prog rock, which is to say it’s quite good.
“Pulaski Skyway” seems particularly relevant in 2016 as it mentions “real estate moguls, Chump Towers.” Maines and Gaster team up for a killer groove on it, as Fallon pleads that we must find salvation in trying times or lose our minds to the robot hive building up around us. “Never Be Moved” is, by its title alone, another exploration of religion. “Woe be the architect in his slumber, for the Watcher never sleeps,” Fallon sings, and almost raps the second verse. The use of organ (by guest Mick Schauer) in the song is also a nice touch, giving it a southern Baptist church call-and-response feel.
“10001110101” reminds us that we are in a robot hive, but we can have an exodus from it if we choose. “The shackles of automata will shatter like their bones,” Fallon sings, and who else but Clutch could pull off a song with a title and chorus in binary? “Circus Maximus” once again reveals the band’s love of monsters and oddities, mentioning manticores, Cthulu, dopplegangers, and even a “seven-legged sow.”
“10,000 Witnesses” is another call to escape the drudgery of the robotic world we’ve created by looking inward and outward for the spiritual. “Land of the Pleasant Living” has clever lyrics about Russian cosmonauts wondering what life is like below them in the U.S.
“Gravel Road” is floor-stomping, sweaty, honkytonk country blues…if that honkytonk was lit on fire by a dropped match and spilled bourbon. I love it when Clutch embraces their love of blues and rockabilly, and the whole band cooks on this track. “Who’s Been Talking?” is another salute to their blues influences, in particular Howlin’ Wolf, and they do him justice.
To make this album even better, they included a DVD of them performing most of the songs from Robot Hive / Exodus in Sayreville, New Jersey on July 13, 2005. You can’t miss.
Keep your mind open.
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Screaming Females are taking a month off from their tour of the U.S. and Canada and are then off for six dates Down Under for the first time. Fans are already excited for their first shows in the land of Oz, so don’t miss them if you’re there. They put on a fantastic show and might not get back to the land that gave us Mad Max and Razorback soon.
Keep your mind open.
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I’ve wanted to see Screaming Females live since 2012 (when I discovered them while working for WSND), and was delighted to see they were playing barely over an hour’s drive from my house last Sunday at the Brass Rail in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They were gracious with their time and kind enough to let me interview them while sitting in their touring van. I’ll have a full transcript of that interview soon, and I’m working on an audio version that I’ll play on a future show on WSND.
The night started with the Ron Gallo 3, a fun punk trio who played a loud set of songs like “Kill the Medicine Man,” “All the Punks Are Domesticated,” and “Why Do You Have Kids?”
Up next were Ft. Wayne’s own Dead Records, who dropped a loud, fast, screaming set on the crowd of friends and new fans.
Screaming Females then got on stage for their first gig in Ft. Wayne. I’m not sure how many people there knew who was about to play, but I saw a few of us singing along within moments. Everyone else stood dumbfounded for the first three songs because Marissa Paternoster, Jarrett Dougherty, and “King” Mike Abbate almost flattened the place.
I’d seen videos of their performances, so I had a slight idea of how powerful they are live (especially in a small venue like the Brass Rail). The videos don’t do them justice. They have a chemistry that can only be created through lots of performances and deep friendships. Paternoster, who is without question one of the best guitarists today, emotes power through her vocals as well as her axe (which she straps around her waist instead of over her shoulder, giving her even more of a gunslinger presence).
As much as Paternoster wields her guitar like Clint Eastwood in A Fistful of Dollars, Dougherty hits his drums like Franco Nero blasts a Gatling gun in Django and Abbate drops his bass riffs like James Coburn drops dynamite in Duck You Sucker. The two guys in the band get into heavy grooves that make Abbate break into grins and Dougherty to go into what appears to be Zen-like meditative trances.
The fans had snapped out of their stunned state by the time the band played “Empty Head” from Rose Mountain. Paternoster thanked everyone for coming to their first Ft. Wayne gig. “Please move here!” A man yelled, echoing the thoughts of everyone in the room.
“Leave It All Up to Me” and “Ripe” were other crowd favorites, and they were cooking with gas by that point.
They closed with the powerful, stunning “Triumph,” which is a fitting end for such a set. It was a triumphant debut for them in a town they hadn’t played in before then.
A friend of former bandmate of mine, Chad, saw the show with me, and he’d only heard one song (“Hopeless”) by the band before seeing them live. He was shaking his head in a bit of disbelief by the end of their set.
“She’s not fucking around, is she?” Chad said.
“No, she’s not,” I told him.
And now I’m telling you. Screaming Females aren’t fucking around.
Keep your mind open.
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[Thanks to Jarrett for getting me a press pass to the show, and to him, Marissa, and Mike for being such groovy cats.]
Radiohead’s newest record, A Moon Shaped Pool, is about the illusions, dreams, and perceptions we create regarding love. The album gets off to a somewhat frightening start with the sharp string instruments and dark lyrics of “Burn the Witch.” The video for it features a stop-motion animation version of The Wicker Man, a film about illusions and deception (and horror) in a remote English village. Thom Yorke sings about “red crosses on doors” and falling prey to myths as the song builds to Psycho shower scene pace and then cuts to “Daydreaming” – with synth and piano instrumentation that causes your mind to drift elsewhere. Yorke’s lyrics are backwards at the very end, leaving you wondering what the hell just happened…much like you would when returning from a daydream.
“Decks Dark” talks of “a spacecraft blocking out the sky, there’s nowhere to hide. You run to the back and cover your ears, but it’s the loudest sound you’ve ever heard in your darkest hour.” It’s bleak until the other lyrics of “It was just a laugh” come into the song. The bass line on this is wicked, and I love the angular, stabbing distorted guitar licks in it.
“Desert Island Disk” is a term coined by British DJ’s to describe records you’d take with you if you knew you were going to be stranded on a desert island. The song mentions waking up from “a thousand years of sleep” and how “different kinds of love are possible.” It’s easy to think that it’s a song about coming out of the closet, but I think it’s more about waking up from the illusions we’ve created around us. The acoustic guitars on the track are excellent as synths build and then disappear behind them.
“Ful Stop” claims, “You really messed up everything,” but also says, “Truth will mess you up all the good times.” Yorke seems to be singing about how the fantasy he’d created in a bad relationship is finally broken. Is it a good or a bad thing? Only Thom Yorke knows the answer, but the shoegaze / goth wave feel of the song leads one to believe he’s angry about it either way.
“Glass Eyes” is about the hollowness of strangers and love that’s not really there anymore. It’s a somber song with near-funeral dirge piano and synths and strings that move around like ghosts in an old church. On “Identikit,” Thom Yorke admits that he doesn’t want the illusion of false love to end (“When I see you messing me around, I don’t want to know.”). The tick-tock percussion stands out among the jangling guitars, spacey synths, and chorus that sounds like it was recorded in a big concrete bunker.
“The Numbers” is a subtle (in its instrumentation, certainly not the lyrics) power to the people song about the 99% shaking off our shackles and reclaiming happiness. “We call upon the people. People have this power. The numbers don’t decide. The system is a lie.” There’s more excellent string work. I can’t remember so many good string arrangements on previous Radiohead records.
“Present Tense” is about a man fighting for love. “In you I’m lost. I won’t turn around when the penny drops. I won’t stop now, I won’t slack off, or all this love will be in vain.” The backing vocals are a bit ethereal, making you think that voices in Thom Yorke’s head are encouraging him the whole time.
In “Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief,” Yorke lets his lover know that “all you have to do is say, ‘Yeah.’” He’s willing to embrace the illusion if that’s what it takes. It’s an excellent track with more of those great piano chords only Radiohead can seem to make work.
The album ends with “True Love Waits.” It’s a sad song Thom Yorke wrote in 1995 about begging a lover to return and being willing to do anything to make a relationship work. “I’ll drown my beliefs to have your babies. I’ll dress like your niece and wash your swollen feet. Just don’t leave.” The band’s been looking for the right album / moment to release it, and this album is perfect for it.
A Moon Shaped Pool is about how love can be a fragile fantasy. It can be a comfortable illusion that, once shattered, either delivers agony or ecstasy. Would you want to be put back into the Matrix if you were pulled out of it? Would you embrace illusion for the feeling of love, even if you knew it was false? Many would, for the risks in finding new love and a true path are frightening.
There is a Zen koan about the nun Chiyono being enlightened while carrying a pail of water:
In this way and that I tried to save the old pail,
since the bamboo strip was weakening and about to break,
until at last the bottom fell out.
No more water in the pail!
No more moon in the water!
Radiohead’s newest album reminds us that love can be like the moon in the water. You think it is there, but it is only there until the bottom drops out and the illusion is shattered. You can find true love past the illusion, or you can cling to it. The choice is yours.
Keep your mind open.
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This five-track EP from TV on the Radio was recorded for the National Public Radio program World Café in Santa Monica, California not long after the release of their excellent album Seeds. It’s a great slice of live, raw power from the prog / funk rockers.
“Caffeinated Consciousness” is big rocker that’s as smooth as silk covering a gravel road. “Will Do” is always welcome. It’s one of TVOTR’s biggest hits and easily one of their greatest love songs. This performance is groovy, hip, and a little dangerous. “Red Dress” never ceases to be a stunner, and this live version is sharp as a tack.
“Province” is sweet, with fine guitar work throughout it, and the vocal interplay is even better. The closer, “Repetition,” is a little trippy as it moves from a repetitive beat with shoegaze guitars over it to a brash beat with rapid-fire vocals.
TVOTR has been high on my must-see list for years, but the dates never work out when they get close. This EP can’t substitute for a live show, of course, but it certainly is a nice appetizer to the gourmet meal a full concert would be.
Keep your mind open.
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The Duke Spirit (Oliver “Olly” Betts – drums, Toby Butler – guitar, Luke Ford – guitar, Rich Fownes – bass, Liela Moss – vocals) is among my favorite bands. I love their blend of rock, soul, and psychedelia. I expected their newest album, Kin, to be much like their previous releases and settled in to listen to a good rock album.
What I got was what could be the best shoegaze album of 2016.
I never expected the Duke Spirit to embrace shoegaze so deeply. There were shoegaze touches on previous records, of course, but the album’s opener, “Blue and Yellow Light,” announces right away that Kin will be a dreamy, fuzzy, reverbed goldmine. The guitars in “Blue and Yellow Light” open like a blooming rose and then Lelia Moss’ layered vocals swirl around you like a pair of honeybees. It’s a stunning opening, and “Sonar” continues the shoegaze trend. It sounds like something you might hear from Atlantis (wavy vocals and rolling drums). “Wounded Wing” is simple and lovely and a fine showcase of Lelia Moss’ vocal work. The band keeps it calm with crisp cymbal work, soothing piano chords, and guitars you’d hear playing in a Windsor McCay comic.
“Hands” brings the rock you’re used to with the Duke Spirit, but it still keeps the shoegaze edge, which is fine by me. The first single, “Here Comes the Vapour,” is psychedelic joy with echoed vocals in the chorus, spaced-out drums, vapor-like bass licks, and guitar that slides into the room like sunlight through Venetian blinds.
I’m fairly certain someone’s playing a saw throughout “Pacific.” If it’s not a saw, it’s a Theremin. Either way, it’s great. It’s a sweet song about finding love in the simplest moments. The groove of “Anola” is in your head within seconds and you find yourself nodding along to it throughout the whole track. Betts’ drums are like a march and Moss’ vocals glide around like a hawk watching a mouse in a field.
“Side by Side” is, for lack of a better term, “classic” Duke Spirit with chugging rock guitar by Butler and Ford while Moss rocks the mic and Betts beats his kit like it owes him money. “100 Horses Run” starts off like a John Carpenter movie score track, and Moss’ haunting vocals keep it on the edge of scary. “Follow” is another beautiful love song – the type that the Duke Spirit does so well. The guys create a gorgeous soundscape while Moss’ vocals hypnotize the listener.
This album is a great return for the Duke Spirit after a five-year hiatus. I hope the next one doesn’t take as long, but it will be worth the wait if it’s as good as Kin.
Keep your mind open.
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Power rock duo Deap Vally‘s new album is due out September 15th and is titled, I kid you not, Femejism. This is perhaps the greatest album title of all time.
Deep Vally’s full-length debut, Sistrionix, was my favorite album of 2013. Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards came out gunning with that record, and I played it for everyone I could find and bought it as a Christmas gift for my goddaughter.
The first single off Femejism, “Royal Jelly,” reminded us that these two ladies are high-level rockers and left us hungry for more. They’ve since released “Smile More,” and it’s a killer power anthem.
You can pre-order Femejism now, and ordering through Deap Vally’s website can get you cool gear like signed Polaroids, shirts, and even a glow-in-dark blue vinyl LP. Get it while you can.
Keep your mind open.
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