Drive-thru metal rockers Mac Sabbath are about to launch a short western U.S. tour with psych-rockers The Darts, starting at the legendary Pappy and Harriets in Pioneertown, California and ending at the wild Area 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Don’t miss them. Tickets are on sale now.
01/17/24 – Pioneertown, CA – MAC SABBATH – Pappy And Harriets
01/19/24 – Flagstaff, AZ – MAC SABBATH – Orpheum Theater
01/20/24 – Tucson, AZ – MAC SABBATH – Rialto Theatre
01/21/24 – Las Vegas, NV – MAC SABBATH – The Portal Inside AREA 15
TOOL make their highly-anticipated return to Europe this Spring, with a month of dates slated for the 2024 trek, including outings at London’s The O2 Arena, Stockholm’s Tele2 Arena and Paris’ Accor Arena, as well as festival outings at Graspop Metal Meeting, Tons of Rock and CopenHell.
News of the band’s European tour follows a particularly busy time for the Los Angeles-based band, with the foursome featuring Danny Carey, Justin Chancellor, Adam Jones and Maynard James Keenan, currently in the midst of a North American tour that extends into February. Over the last five months, TOOL has headlined Aftershock, Welcome to Rockville, Louder Than Life and the Sonic Temple Arts & Music festivals, as well as a once-in-a-lifetime performance at Power Trip, which Metal Hammer described as “a mind-melting, triumphant showcase of just how singular their art is, a transcendental experience that surpasses genre boundaries.”
Tickets for all headlining dates are on-sale now.
TOOL European tour dates:
25 May Hannover, DE ZAG Arena
27 May Amsterdam, NL Ziggo Dome
30 May Birmingham, UK Resorts World Arena
1 June Manchester, UK AO Arena
3 June London, UK The O2 Arena
5 June Paris, FR Accor Arena
8 June Berlin, DE Parkbühne Wuhlheide
10 June Wien, AT Wiener Stadthalle
11 June Kraków, PL Tauron Arena
13 June Budapest, HU BudapestAréna
18 June Köln, DE Lanxess Arena
20 June Dessel, BE Graspop Metal Meeting
22 June Copenhagen, DK CopenHell
25 June Stockholm, SE Tele2 Arena
27 June Oslo, NO Tons of Rock
TOOL North American tour dates:
10 January Baltimore, MD CFG Bank Arena
12 January New York, NY Madison Square Garden
13 January New York, NY Madison Square Garden
18 January Hollywood, FL Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
19 January Hollywood, FL Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
21 January Charlotte, NC Spectrum Center
23 January Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
24 January Atlanta, GA State Farm Arena
26 January Birmingham, AL The Legacy Arena at The BJCC
27 January Biloxi, MS Mississippi Coast Coliseum
30 January Corpus Christi, TX American Bank Center
Ty Segall returns with his most ambitious, elastic set of songs to date, Three Bells, to be released January 26th via Drag City. Following 2022’s acoustic introspection opus, “Hello, Hi,”Three Bells is a deeper, wilder journey to the center of the self, with Ty using his musical vocabulary with ever-increasing sophistication. In conjunction with today’s announcement, Tyunveils the new single/video, “My Room.”
Three Bells is an obsessive quest for expression. With much of the album being played by Ty in conversation with himself, a decision that further elevates the album’s conception, it answers back to the riptide always pulling Ty subconsciously into the depths. Questions we all ask in our own private mirrors are faced down here — and regardless of what the mysterious “Three Bells” mean in the context of the album’s libretto, you can be assured that Ty’s ringing them for himself, and for the rest of us in turn. With all fifteen songs brimming with perspectives, shape-shifting incessantly, Ty pushed them out farther and farther compositionally, challenging the way they’d be played. Each song moves through repetitive, thematic material in its own way, building a claustrophobic/paranoia vibe, cycling bold thrusts forward into ego deaths, the one-step-forward, two-steps-back patterns framing an overriding ask: what can we do to get past the back-and-forth conversation, to arrive at a place of acceptance?
On Three Bells, Ty and Denée Segall collaborated on five of the songs, including the previously released single, “Eggman.” Some of the songs needed the kind of playing Ty couldn’t get alone. Emmett Kelly’s bass parts not only addressed that need, but inspired the way the songs eventually went down. The remaining members of the FreedomBand were called in to play, transforming the material. Co-producer CooperCrain, who deeply contributed to both Harmonizer and “Hello, Hi”, engineered and mixed most of the album.
With todays’ single, “My Room,” Ty rings the bell of the introvert who is empowered by the world inside his own room. The layers of acoustic and electric guitars dance around each other, quickening the already swinging tempo, while fuzz distortion blows the walls farther back as he takes us deeper. The accompanying music video was directed by longtime collaborators MattYoka and Ty, and features Ty steadfastly performing the song on stage as bananas are launched in his direction. He remains resolute in dedication to the craft, only to reveal a surreal dialogue between the dual facets of his own identity.
Three Bells takes Ty Segall’s trips so much deeper and farther than they’ve gone before — a masterpiece of personal expression, expressed through words, music and production, parabolically addressing malaise with compassion in a flowing, unstoppable hour-plus of intoxicating sound. Following the album’s release, Ty will tour throughout North America. Tickets are on sale now.
Three Bells Tracklisting: 1. The Bell 2. Void 3. I Hear 4. Hi Dee Dee 5. My Best Friend 6. Reflections 7. Move 8. Eggman 9. My Room 10. Watcher 11. Repetition 12. To You 13. Wait 14. Denée 15. What Can We Do
Ty Segall 2024 Tour Dates: (new dates in bold)
Tue. Feb. 20 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall Wed. Feb. 21 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall Fri. Feb. 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern * Sat. Feb. 24 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Fri. Apr. 19 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole Sat. Apr. 20 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar Mon. Apr. 22 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk (Outside) Tue. Apr. 23 – Jackson, MS @ Duling Hall Wed. Apr. 24 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl Fri. Apr. 26 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel Sat. Apr. 27 – Washington DC @ Lincoln Theatre Sun. Apr. 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer Mon. Apr. 29 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall Wed. May 1 – Boston, MA @ Royale Thu. May 2 – Montreal, QC @ Club Soda Fri. May 3 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall Sun. May 5 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom Mon. May 6 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Tue. May 7 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room Thu. May 9 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre Sat. May 11 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s Fri. June 28 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
Caroline Rose’s live show “explodes in color. Angry reds, deep blues, vibrant yellows, and every shade in-between flex and melt onstage in a dazzling light show dance that only grows in intensity as the set goes on” (NYLON). Today, Rose announces a 2024 North American tour in support of “their strongest and most resonant record yet” (Under The Radar), The Art of Forgetting, out now on New West Records. The Art of Forgetting was released earlier this year to a wealth of praise from the likes of The New York Times, NPR, and Document Journal, who hailed it as “a confessional, layered with personal anecdotes, Southern storytelling sensibilities, and unreserved exploration of the ever-evolving self.”
Rose’s 2024 tour includes stops in Chicago, Washington, DC, and Boulder, plus two-night stints in Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco. Metropolis Ensemble, founded by Grammy award nominated conductor Andrew Cyr, will join Rose in Brooklyn and Northampton for a special set-up featuring eight auxiliary players. Fans will also have the opportunity to attend VIP screenings of Rose’s The Art of Forgetting short film, taking place in many of the venues following soundcheck. The film has earned many accolades, including the title of Best Music Video at Hollywood Shorts Fest, New York Indie Shorts Awards, and ARFF Amsterdam, in addition to being a semifinalist at Indie Shorts Awards Cannes and an official selection at Hollyshorts Film Festival. A full list of tour dates are below, and tickets are on sale to the general public now.
Caroline Rose 2024 Tour Dates Sun. March 31 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre Tue. April 2 – Northampton, MA@ Bombyx Wed. April 3 – Northampton, MA @ Bombyx Fri. April 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel Sat. April 6 – Fairfield, CT @ The Warehouse Sun. April 7 – Boston, MA @ Royale Tue. April 9 – Montreal, QC @ Studio TD Wed. April 10 – Toronto, ON @ Concert Hall Fri. April 12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer Sat. April 13 – Washington, DC @ 930 Club Sun. April 14 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom Tue. April 16 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Fri. April 19 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon Sat. April 20 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave Tue. April 23 – Iowa City, IA @ Englert Theatre Wed. April 24 – Kansas City, MO @ RecordBar Fri. April 26 – Fort Collins, CO @ Aggie Theatre Sat. April 27 – Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre Sun. April 28 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf Fri. May 3 – Tucson, AZ @ Congress Plaza Sat. May 4 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Mon. May 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Tue. May 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Fri. May 10 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Rio Theatre Sat. May 11 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel Sun. May 12 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel Tue. May 14 – Sonoma, CA @ Gundlach Bundschu Barn Thu. May 16 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom Fri. May 17 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom Sat. May 18 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox Sun. May 19 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
The first lineup announcement for the 2024 Austin Psych Fest is here, and it’s already impressive. The Saturday lineup alone is worth the price of admission.
Friday’s top three, Courtney Barnett, Chicano Batman, and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are top draws at festivals around the country. The Black Angels are must-see whenever they play, and All Them Witches are finally playing a Levitation festival!
Saturday is a “witchy” day all-around with not only All Them Witches, but also WITCH, Frankie and The Witch Fingers, and L.A. Witch all playing that day, and don’t miss Earthless or Minami Deutsch that day.
Alvvays and Kurt Vile and The Violators closing out Sunday is a big score, not to mention indie-rock stars Dehd.
More bands will be announced in the coming months, and tickets are on sale now. See you there?
Earlier this year, Slowdive released everything is alive, their first record since 2017’s self-titled album and first record with Dead Oceans. The record was met with critical and commercial acclaim, garnering praise from the likes of Vulture (“hypnotically gorgeous”), Billboard (“a dreamy yet taut melding of their strengths”), Brooklyn Vegan (“perhaps the best record of their career”), and more. On the heels of their sold-out fall U.S. tour, Slowdive have announced they’ll be returning to the US for a spring North American tour next year. Including the already sold out Sick New World festival in Las Vegas, they’ll play many cities not yet played in support of everything is alive: Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, New Orleans, and more.
As the Chicago Tribune commented, “Experimental and shimmery, [everything is alive] packs a lush and enigmatic punch. Don’t take their latest releases and live shows for granted. Who knows when this influential band will be back in town?” Tickets for all shows will be on sale Friday, December 8th at 10AM local time and more information can be found here.
Slowdive Tour Dates (new dates in bold)
Tue. Jan. 16 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Wed. Jan. 17 – Paris, FR @ La Cigale Thu. Jan. 18 – Cologne, DE @ Live Music Hall Sat. Jan. 20 – Hamburg, DE @ Grosse Freiheit 36 Sun. Jan. 21 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Mon. Jan. 22 – Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene Tue. Jan. 23 – Stockholm, SE @ Munchenbryggeriet Wed. Jan. 24 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Thu. Jan. 25 – Berlin, DE @ Columbiahalle Sat. Jan. 27 – Warsaw, PL @ Progresja Sun. Jan. 28 – Prague, CZ @ Divaldo Archa Mon. Jan. 29 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle Tue. Jan. 30 – Zurich, CH @ Volkshaus Wed. Jan. 31 – Milan, IT @ Alcatraz Club Fri. Feb. 2 – Bologna, IT @ Estragon Club Sun. Feb. 4 – Lyon, FR @ La Transbordeur Mon. Feb. 5 – Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz Tue. Feb. 6 – Madrid, ES @ La Riviera Thu. Feb. 8 – Brussels, BE @ Cirque Royale Fri. Feb. 16 – Brighton, UK @ Brighton Dome Sat. Feb. 17 – London, UK @ Eventim Apollo Sun. Feb. 18 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Institute Birmingham Mon. Feb. 19 – Norwich, UK @ LCR UEA Wed. Feb. 21 – Liverpool, UK @ O2 Academy Liverpool Thu. Feb. 22 – Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK @ NX Fri. Feb. 23 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom Sat. Feb. 24 – Edinburgh, UK @ Liquid Room Mon. Feb. 26 – Cardiff, UK @ Cardiff University Great Hall Tue. Feb. 27 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy Mon. Mar. 11 – Tokyo, JP @ Toyosu Pit Wed. Mar. 13 – Osaka, JP @ Namba Hatch Thu. Apr. 25 – Ventura, CA @ The Majestic Ventura Theater Fri. Apr. 26 – Pomona,CA @ The Fox Theater Pomona Sat. Apr. 27 – Las Vegas, NV @ Sick New World Festival Sun. Apr. 28 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren Tue. Apr. 30 – Albuquerque, NM @ The Historic El Rey Theater Wed. May 1 – Denver, CO @ Levitt Pavilion Denver Fri. May 3 – Kansas City, MO @ The Truman Sat. May 4 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant Sun. May 5 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room at Old National Centre Tue. May 7 – Louisville, KY @ Old Forester’s Paristown Hall Wed. May 8 – Pelham, TN @ The Caverns Fri. May 10 – Dallas, TX @ Longhorn Ballroom Sat. May 11 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Sun. May 12 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theater Tue. May 14 – New Orleans, LA @ The Civic Theatre Thu. May 16 – Birmingham, AL @ Avondale Brewing Company Fri. May 17 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern Sun. May 18 – Asheville, NC @ Rabbit Rabbit
A Place to Bury Strangers are gearing up to crush Europe in April 2024 with shows ranging from the Netherlands to France. Don’t miss them if you’re in any of these cities. Heck, make a trip to see them while you’re are it. You won’t regret it.
Returning after three years since their last album, Belgium’s Cavaran remind us that stoner / desert rock is alive and well in Europe with their new album, Nights at Josan.
I don’t know where Josan is. The cover makes it appear to be some sort of Southwestern U.S. ghost town. As far as I can tell, there are only five places named Josan in the world, and none of them are in the United States. They’re in North and South Korea, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Croatia. Of course, it could just be a cool place Caravan made up, or visited while shredding riffs that became out-of-body experience – because there are plenty of those on this record.
“It Gives” revs up the motor of your dust-covered motorcycle and launches you down a highway that stretches across mountains and seemingly upward into the sky. Patrick Van Der Haegen‘s bass on “Dying Whales” is the sound of giant marine mammal hearts. “Bad Roads and Mountains” is a stand-out with Lieven Tronckoe‘s metal guitar riffs leading the charge.
“Way Down Low” sends your motorcycle ride down a steep hill and into a dark, possibly werewolf-infested valley, and then “Snail Horns” has you swinging a chain at those same monsters as you blast down the main street of their creepy town. It is anything but slow like a snail. “Storm” is a banger. The groove on it is undeniable and hooks you right away. Your desert road heads into a thunderstorm that will either refresh you or pummel you, possibly both.
“Strawberry Butt” might have a silly title, but it might also be the hardest-hitting track on the album. Everything about it slams into you like hot wind coming down from a sacred mountain. “Black Trip” is a great groover that shows off Gert D’hondt‘s dexterity on a drum kit, and “Bullface” is a great way to close the record – as it practically launches you off a cliff like Evel Knievel over Snake River Canyon. The whole band clicks like a well-tuned engine and leaves you with wind-blown hair and sand-blasted skin.
Again, I don’t know where Josan is, but I want to visit there. You will, too, after hearing this.
Recording for the first time with a full band, Art Feynman (Luke Temple) took on new energy after relocating to Los Angeles from northern California and decided to create a record that dives into why he, and so many of us, have a fear of missing out (FOMO) and not a joy of missing out.
“Early Signs of Rhythm” bumps and clicks with Talking Heads-like beats, and they are a fully acknowledged inspiration on the album. Temple sounds like he’s looking for signs of true fun in a world that pushes false narratives of what joy really is as he spots a woman so lovely she can melt the frozen ground. Shane McKillop‘s bass on “In CD” is great, pushing the song into a happy mania. The post-punk paranoia of “Therapy at 3pm” is delightfully catchy.
“All I Can Do” has Temple singing about how he’s barely getting by at the rat race runs all around him. Kosta Galanopoulos‘ drums on it are razor sharp and the secret weapon of the whole track. “He Dances” might as well be called “You Dance,” because McKillop puts down a Barney Miller theme-like bass lick and the next thing you know you’re at least tapping your toes and nodding your head in his rhythm.
“Don’t have light to burn,” Temple sings on “Passed Over” – but he might actually be singing “Don’t have life to burn.” Both lyrics fall into the FOMO theme of the record, and the beats encourage us to dance before the end of the night, or our lives, gets here. “Chasing My Life” has Temple trying to catch up with something he can’t define. He likens it to a precious diamond he’s searching for in the dark. It’s the struggle of the ego, an ultimately fruitless task we all stumble into now and then. You can’t help but think he’ll find it, however, as the song is so peppy you end up cheering for him.
By the time we get to “Desperately Free,” Temple is worried about how he’s going to adapt to leaving his ego behind (“Desperately free, I don’t wanna be.”) or how he’s still trapped in FOMO and choice paralysis. The closer, “I Do,” brings us back to Temple’s love of Talking Heads with its simple beats, chimes, keyboard chords, and lyrics about love, hope, and release from stress that’s ours for the taking if we’ll just reach for it.
Reach for this album as well. It’s worth your time.
Returning after eleven years when we needed them most, The Hives emerged from their Swedish tombs and brought us The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons to remind us that they are one of the fiercest rock bands on the planet.
The album starts off like a pipe bomb exploding with “Bogus Operandi” – a powerful, strutting rocker, and then takes off like the Road Runner on “Trapdoor Solution,” which proves that The Hives have lost none of their punk rock flair since their first album. “Countdown to Shutdown” shows off the heavy bass of newest member The Johan and Only as the band sticks their fingers in the eyes of 1%ers.
“Rigor Mortis Radio” has lead singer Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist letting everyone know he has no time for bullshit (“I got your e-mails say you’re warnin’ me. I got your e-mails. Delete, delete.”). “Stick Up” sounds like it has some New Orleans blues influence to it, which shouldn’t surprise us considering the frequent themes of death throughout the album. “Smoke & Mirrors” skewers illusions, and “Crash into the Weekend” has great handclap percussion that gets you fired up for that party, concert, or roadtrip you’ve been craving all week.
“Two Kinds of Trouble” has that distinctive Hives swagger, as does “The Way the Story Goes.” Nicholaus Arson‘s guitar work on “The Way the Story Goes” is especially fuzzy and gritty, which means it sounds great. “The Bomb” lets us all know that we’re all going out to party with The Hives and none of us are going home until we’re done getting down. Chris Dangerous‘ drums on it are flat-out frantic.
“What Did I Ever Do to You?” brings in programmed drums and spaghetti western guitar to a song in which Almqvist sings about just wanting to chill while some random dude goes off on a rant and blames him for everything. The album ends with “Step Out of the Way,” which could be a gauntlet thrown down to younger bands trying to emulate The Hives. Just get out of the way, young’un. You’re likely to be trampled by The Hives’ spotless dress shoes as they head into the club for the sole purpose of leveling it to the ground.
