“The pounding four-on-the-floor rhythm section on ‘Melt!’ makes for both a club banger and a political comment, a dazzling dance macabre for impending environmental collapse.” — Pitchfork, “Best New Track”
“[Kelly Lee Owens] makes skittish techno that makes the hairs on your neck stand up and demands to be heard in a dripping warehouse.” — The Guardian
“a fathomless, flickering techno banger” — Gorilla vs. Bear Convention-blurring techno producer/musician Kelly Lee Owens releases a new song, “Night.” The track appears on her new album, Inner Song, which has been moved to August 28th on Smalltown Supersound. Following techno banger “Melt!,” “Night” opens with a monopoly synth and Owen’s soft, intimate vocals, before transforming with a danceable, staccato rhythm and jockeying beat.
“This track speaks as to how feelings and insights are more accessible to us at nighttime – how the veils are thinner somehow and therefore how we are more able to connect to our hearts true desires,” says Owens. “I wanted to release this track as a gift to you during this crazy time, to give a part of my heart to you all.” Listen to “Night” by Kelly Lee Owens https://KellyLeeOwens.lnk.to/night
Liam Kazar, a Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, releases his debut single/video, “Shoes Too Tight.” Throughout the last decade, Kazar has been recognized for his adaptability and deftness in the studio and on stage, leading to tours and collaborations with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, Kids These Days, amongst others. His first offering, “Shoes Too Tight,” presents Kazar’s joyful and vulnerable world.
“Shoes Too Tight” is born from the strange and quick combination of the well-worn sound of a clavinet, blended with whatever noise you get when you turn on that weird synth sitting in the corner of the studio. The track features childhood friends Lane Beckstom (bass) and Spencer Tweedy (drums), who have shared stages with Kazar since they were young, plus vocals from Ohmme. It follows a single theme through all its nooks and crannies to a warm, tender end; a collage of lyrics that deal with lost time, lost chance, and the reconciliation of the two. In the accompanying video, directed by Austin Vesely and shot at Chicago’s Constellation, he and his background dancers channel 60s crooners, Lindsay Kemp, and Kazar’s own contemporary groove, daring you not to join them.
Since filming “Shoes Too Tight,” Kazar has spent the last many weeks staying at home in Kansas City, where he sometimes lives. He’s recorded a new song, “Holding Plans,” and created an accompanying lyric video. Additionally, Kazar is raising money via his Bandcamp for Constellation and the Hungry Brain, a treasure and hub for Chicago’s music community.
“[The Beths are] brilliant at bright guitar frenzy, instantly memorable melodies and tune-mad group sing-alongs with the joy of Sixties bubblegum rock; there’s a love of pop formula here… but they never lose the sense of discovery at heart of rock and roll.” — Rolling Stone
The Beths announce their new album, Jump Rope Gazers, out July 10th via Carpark Records, and share its lead single/video, “Dying to Believe.” Jump Rope Gazers is the follow-up to Future Me Hates Me, “one of the most impressive indie-rock debuts of the year” (Pitchfork). The album received glowing praise and appeared on many year-end lists including Rolling Stone, NPR, Stereogum, and more. Jump Rope Gazers tackles themes of anxiety and self-doubt with effervescent power pop choruses and rousing backup vocals, zeroing in on the communality and catharsis that can come from sharing stressful situations with some of your best friends.
After touring non-stop for a year and a half, playing to crowds of devoted fans and opening for acts like Pixies and Death Cab for Cutie, The Beths regrouped to write and record Jump Rope Gazers. The band – composed of Elizabeth Stokes (vocals/guitar), Jonathan Pearce (guitar), Benjamin Sinclair (bass), and Tristan Deck (drums) – settled down at Pearce’s Auckland studio, where he recorded and produced the album.
Stokes’s writing on Jump Rope Gazers grapples with the uneasy proposition of leaving everything and everyone you know behind on another continent, chasing your dreams while struggling to stay close with loved ones back home. Rambunctious lead single “Dying to Believe” reckons with the distance that life necessarily drives between people over time: “I’m sorry for the way that I can’t hold conversations // They’re such a fragile thing to try to support the weight of,” Stokes sings. The accompanying visual is an eccentric four-step “How to be the Beths” instructional video featuring the band.
Touring far from home, The Beths committed to taking care of each other while simultaneously trying to take care of friends living thousands of miles away. That care and attention shines through on Jump Rope Gazers, where the quartet sounds more locked in than ever. Jump Rope Gazers stares down all the hard parts of living in communion with other people, even at a distance, while celebrating the ferocious joy that makes it all worth it.
Acoustic versions of “Dying to Believe” and Future Me Hates Me favorites “Great No One” and “Little Death” as well as a Q&A with The Beths can be viewed from their recent livestream here.
Jump Rope Gazers Tracklist: 1. I’m Not Getting Excited 2. Dying to Believe 3. Jump Rope Gazers 4. Acrid 5. Do You Want Me Now 6. Out of Sight 7. Don’t Go Away 8. Mars, the God of War 9. You Are a Beam of Light 10. Just Shy of Sure
“A virus may scare the punk rock world out of Oakland in July but we’ll scare it right back on Halloween weekend! Trick or treat, we can’t be beat! Burger Boogaloo 2020: a Monster Mash to top them all!” – John Waters
Given the unprecedented circumstances facing our city, state, and country, Burger Boogaloo is officially moving to Halloween weekend: Saturday, October 31st & Sunday, November 1st in Oakland’s Mosswood Park. The festival’s lineup will remain the same and even include additional artists: Shannon Shaw, Hammered Satin, and The Rubinoos. All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new dates.
The safety of our attendees, performing artists, and staff is of the utmost priority. That sentiment extends beyond the Boogaloo’s festival grounds, which is why we want to stress the importance of staying home, refraining from unnecessary socializing, and maintaining thorough cleanliness during these trying times.
Outside of Halloween being the most fitting holiday for Burger Boogaloo to fall on, we chose these new dates because they were the best option for accommodating our performing artists, many of whom have had to cancel or reschedule upcoming tours. For the same reasons, we ask that you continue to support the artists you cherish and the members of your community who have been hit hardest by current events whenever possible. This includes abiding by social distancing practices that can help keep others healthy in the present while ensuring that a safer future comes sooner than later.
We look forward to the day that live music returns and to a Burger Boogaloo Halloween celebration that will be unlike any other. Until then, keep safe and keep listening.
BIKINI KILL (1st Bay Area show in 25 years) CIRCLE JERKS (1st Bay Area show in 10 years) PLASTIC BERTRAND (1st Bay Area show ever) CARBONAS (1st Bay Area show in 10 years) BLEACHED SHANNON SHAW ALICE BAG (of the Bags) FLIPPER THE FEVERS PANSY DIVISION THE YOUNGER LOVERS PANTY RAID MIDNITE SNAXXX HAMMERED SATIN THE RUBINOOS
TICKET PRICES Day 1 – $99 Day 2 – $69 Weekend Pass – $129 VIP day 1 – $149 VIP day 2 – $109 VIP weekend Pass – $199
Keep your mind open.
[Boogie on over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
“Filled with childlike wonder and bright-eyed instrumentation that could just as easily be a symphony as a rock band, ‘656’ sets the stage, suggesting that Schiff’s future as Blue Canopy is as bright as he could hope for.” — PopMatters
“A psychedelic pop sound that blends contemporary indie psychedelia in the vein of Tame Impala with ’60s-era aesthetics similar to those of Zombies or early Pink Floyd. It takes you somewhere distant yet familiar, lush yet accessible.” — Treble
Portland band Blue Canopy share a new single from their forthcoming debut today via Treble. The band is led by former Modern Rivals keyboardist/singer and co-songwriter Alex Schiff (Pitchfork‘s accolades HERE.) Hear & share “Keys To The Garden” HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)
PopMatters previously launched the animated video for lead single “656” HERE. (Direct YouTube.)
Blue Canopy‘s Mild Anxiety is the debut EP from Portland-based multi-instrumentalist, Alex Schiff. Under the Blue Canopy moniker, Alex combines versatile songwriting chops and timeless, exuberant melodies to comprise four distinct pieces that utilize nostalgia as a force to move forward.
Formerly the keyboardist and co-writer for indie band, Modern Rivals, Alex has shared the stage with bands such as Ra Ra Riot, Stars, and The Black Keys. The EP’s lead single, “656” enlists the four other members of Modern Rivals (performing drums, guitar, bass, synth and backup vocals) as an official send-off to a relationship that was a formative part of Alex’s youth and time living in New York City. Mild Anxiety was co-produced by Patrick J Smith (A Beacon School/Modern Rivals). The EP will be released April 17th on Fat Possum label offshoot Grind Select. Pre-orders are available HERE.
“Their journey still occasions wonder and awe. For so many years, it was hardly told. Here it is, in pictures and words. This is the way, step inside.” – Jon Savage
13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History, written and curated by Paul Drummond and published by Anthology Editions, will be released April 21st, and is available for preorder now. Direct orders of the book through the Anthology website will be shipped immediately. 13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History tells the complete and unvarnished story of a band, which, until now, has been thought of as tragically underdocumented. Drummond has spent years amassing an unprecedented archive of primary materials, including scores of previously-unseen band photographs, rare and iconic psychedelic artworks, and more. A full list of visual assets can be found below.
Born out of a union of club bands on the burgeoning Austin bohemian scene and a pronounced taste for hallucinogens, the 13th Floor Elevators formed in late 1965 when lyricist Tommy Hall asked a local singer named Roky Erickson to join up with his new rock outfit. Four years, three official albums, and countless acid trips later, it was over: the Elevators’ pioneering first run ended in a dizzying jumble of professional mismanagement, internal arguments, drug busts, and forced psychiatric imprisonments.
In their short existence, however, the group succeeded in blowing the lid off the budding musical underground, logging early salvos in the countercultural struggle against state authorities, and turning their deeply hallucinatory take on jug-band garage rock into a new American institution called psychedelic music. Before the hippies, before the punks, there were the 13th Floor Elevators: an unlikely crew of outcast weirdo geniuses who changed culture. 13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History places the band finally and undeniably in the pantheon of innovators of American rock music to which they have always belonged.
13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History Visual Assets: ● Rare photos, including many newly-discovered color shots ● Family scrapbook photos and clippings ● Photography and ephemera from the band’s friends, a who’s-who of the 1960s Austin arts scene ● Stills from the band’s television appearances ● Contemporary newspaper and underground press clippings covering the band’s rise (and fall) ● Materials from the books that inspired the band’s unique iconography ● Internal documents from the band’s label International Artists documenting the disastrous business side of the Elevators’ career in detail ● Materials relating to the band’s legal troubles, from handwritten drug deal letters to Austin Police Department surveillance photos to mugshots and draft cards ● The most complete collection of show flyers and handbills ever assembled, including many rare alternate printings of iconic psychedelic posters
About the Author: Paul Drummond is a renowned antiquarian bookseller based in London. He has spent years documenting every aspect of the history of the 13th Floor Elevators, and is the author of Eye Mind (2007), the exhaustive and definitive biography of the band.
Today, the Japanese quartet and champions of NEO-Kawaii CHAI are proud to present their newest single and video, “NO MORE CAKE.” As with many of their other songs, the fun veneer is always a bit of a red herring for a deeper, more self-reflective message. The song is “a sarcastic poke about wearing make-up,” says singer MANA. “We feel like that you should wear make-up that you feel suits you. Wearing make-up shouldn’t be based on the orders of someone else.”
The video representation is explained, in part, by bassist & lyricist YUUKI. “Doing your make-up to look like another person is the same as applying cake to your face.” “We wanted the theme for this music video to be ‘make-up meets art,’” adds guitarist KANA. “That’s why at times we had our faces looking like cake and then expressed as art.” WATCH “NO MORE CAKE” VIDEO https://youtu.be/ZeiOihSnYCw
CHAI’s most recent album, PUNK was met with resounding praise, being named Best New Music by Pitchfork and receiving glowing reviews from NPR Music, Stereogum, Exclaim, and more. Following its release, the band brought their “undeniable pop energy” (NPR Music) stateside to SXSW. There, the band played several showcases to much fanfare, their vivacious sets deemed one to see by Paste, Stereogum, NPR Music, Austin Monthly, Austin American-Statesman, plus others.
PRAISE FOR CHAI AND PUNK
“PUNK leans hard into CHAI’s gift for spiky, wiry aggression, but the group never abandons its sense of playfulness and light” – NPR Music
“terrifically over the top.” – Pitchfork, Best New Music
“Their songs shapeshift, ping-ponging from one idea to the next with dizzying speed, leaving you no choice but to hang on for dear life and go along for the ride.” – Stereogum, Album Of The Week
“they’re determined to redefine your idea of ‘kawaii,’ and, in the process, there’s no way you won’t become addicted.” – Nylon
“Punk is a huge step forward for CHAI, and easily one of the best albums of the year.” – Exclaim!
“Packed with gum-snapping cheerleader attitude and space disco grooves, it’s a potent distillation of serotonin that offers countless surprises across its thirty-minute runtime.” – The FADER
“Bursting with fun, expanded musicianship, and boundless energy, this is one sophomore record that couldn’t exist more in the now.” – The 405
37d03d is pleased to announce new signing, Baltimore-born/Los Angeles-based artist Naeem (full name NaeemJuwan), alongside new single: a gorgeous cover of the SilverApples classic, “You and I”. Restlessly creative in his artistic pursuit, Naeem creates impressionistic, genre-bending music. Having spent much of the last decade stretching his creative legs in a variety of ways, he’s hit the road with artists ranging from The Avalanches and Bon Iver to Big Red Machine and Mouse on Mars, took part in a 37d03dresidencyinBerlin, and was selected as the music resident in 2019 for New York’s Pioneer Works space. Through it all, he’s been building and creating, pulling from creative circles all across the U.S. to craft a truly unique sound of his own.
Reinterpreted for today’s fraught times, Naeem’s cover of “You and I” is deeply textured, emotional, and daring. “It sounds like a James Brown song to me,” says Naeem, “but if he sang it, he’d sing it as a slow song, and then I imagined myself crooning it. It’s an important song for people to hear right now, especially in terms of the ideas of self-care and the attention economy. The song’s about how we don’t have time for the little things, which feels really heavy and makes so much sense right now.”
“Ohmme’s music feels experimental and strange yet still accessible, with an underlying gut-level rumble that keeps its songs from floating into the ether.” – NPR Music
“You might think OHMME is a mantra, but it’s in fact the place to be to hear remarkable music from a Chicago band in rare form” – Chicago Tribune
“Their harmonies teem with nervous energy while riding a sweeping rhythmic undercurrent, building up tension that occasionally explodes into fleeting moments of release.” – Stereogum
Ohmme – the Chicago-based duo of Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart – release a new single/video “Ghost,” from their forthcoming album, Fantasize Your Ghost, out June 5th via Joyful Noise Recordings. Following lead single“3 2 4 3,” “one of their darkest, thickest cuts yet” (Vulture), “Ghost” opens with sparse instrumentation, blooming with layered vocals and heavy, experimental guitar licks. Its colorful accompanying video, directed, shot, and edited by Austin Vesely, features the band and shiny, dancing ghosts.
“We’d been kicking around the idea of doing something like the Pop Musik video by M but darker,” says the band. “There’s a lot of darkness these days but it’s important to keep dancing. Austin said, ‘fancy ghosts’ and ‘can I press order on these California King satin bedsheets’ and we said ‘Yes, and YES!’”
Fantasize Your Ghost is the direct result of the band spending more time on the road than in Chicago. It’s deeply concerned with questions of the self, the future, and what home means when you’re travelling all the time. Early sketches of Fantasize Your Ghost‘s tracklist were demoed at Sam Evian‘s Flying Cloud Studios in upstate New York through intensely collaborative and open sessions. The album was recorded over a six day session in August 2019 at the Post Farm in southern Wisconsin with journeyman producer Chris Cohen.
Though 2018’s Parts showcased their wildly burgeoning influences and talents, Fantasize Your Ghost captures the astounding magnetism and ferocity of their live show. It encapsulates the thrilling and sometimes terrifying joy of moving forward even if you don’t know where you’re going. It’s an album that asks necessary questions: When life demands a crossroads, what version of yourself are you going to pursue? What part of yourself will you feed and let flourish and what do you have to let go of? This is a record of strength, of best friends believing in each other. Unapologetic and brave, Ohmme are ready to figure it all out together.
Additionally, Ohmme share rescheduled North American tour dates. Following their summer headlining tour, they’ll support Waxahatchee. A full list of dates can be found below and tickets are on sale now.
Ohmme Tour Dates Fri. June 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon – Record Release Show * Sat. June 6 – Oakland, CA @ Crystal Cavern * Sun. June 7 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Atrium at The Catalyst * Mon. June 8 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s * Tue. June 9 – Sisters, OR @ The Suttle Lodge * Thu. June 11 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge * Fri. June 12 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza * Sat. June 13 – Spokane, WA @ Lucky You (Upstairs) * Sun. June 14 – Boise, ID @ The Olympic * Mon. June 15 – Reno, NV @ Holland Project Tue. June 16 – Bolinas, CA @ Gospel Flat Farmstand * Sat. Aug. 8 – Ripon, WI @ Avrom Farm Party Sun. Sept. 27 – Austin, TX @ Scholz Garten % Mon. Sept. 28 – Houston, TX @ Satellite % Tue. Sept. 29 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West % Thu. Oct. 1 – Nashville, TN @ Exit In % Fri. Oct. 2 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom % Sun. Oct. 4 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre % Mon. Oct. 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer % Tue. Oct. 6 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere % Thu. Oct. 8 – Winooski, VT @ Monkey House Fri. Oct. 9 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre % Sat. Oct. 10 – Holyoke, MA @ Gateway City Arts % Mon. Oct. 12 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theater % Tue. Oct. 13 – Detroit, M @ MOCAD % Thu. Oct. 15 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center % Fri. Oct. 16 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room % Sat. Oct. 17 – Maquoketa, IA @ Codfish Hollow Barn % Sun. Oct. 18 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre %
* = w/ V. V. Lightbody % = w/ Waxahatchee
Keep your mind open.
[Slide on over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
[Thanks to Pitch Perfect PR for the press release!]
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have announced Chunky Shrapnel; a feature length music documentary film and accompanying Double LP to be released in April 2020.
The album will be released digitally on April 24th with vinyl pre-orders available on April 10th. The film will premiere online April 17th.
“Chunky Shrapnel was made for the cinema but as both concerts and films are currently outlawed, it feels poetic to release a concert-film digitally right now. Get the loudest speakers you’ve got, turn ‘em up and watch Chunky on the biggest telly you can find. Get heaps of snacks and convert your lounge room into a cinema.” Stu Mackenzie
A musical road movie dipped in turpentine, Chunky Shrapnel is a point of view/on stage experience from the perspective of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Once a song begins, just like the band, you’re stuck in the adrenaline fueled quick sand that there is no escape from. The film’s contention is clear from the outset, it’s going to be a “journey” not a “lecture”, an incurved experience rather than a linear one.
The band, nor the film-makers were interested in making a self congratulatory “behind the scenes expose” film. It was a direct decision to keep the inner workings of the band’s personality at arms length, it is the music they were interested in exploring. The approach was taken that the film’s protagonist should be the “on stage” performances, that was the focus. With this, they abandoned multiple cameras and cross cutting during performances, turning the camera into a vehicle for the audience to experience the show through, rather than placing them in a crowd or side of stage. At 96 minutes, Chunky Shrapnel more than earns its length. At times gently holding your hand and at other times smashing a bottle over your head and dumping your body in a heaving crowd. There is an inevitability to the film, a driving, ever accelerating spiral that climaxes in a 15 minute medley that spans four countries.
Chunky Shrapnel is directed by John Angus Stewart and scored by Stu Mackenzie.
Keep your mind open.
[Don’t forget to subscribe before you split.]
[Thanks to Flightless Records for this press release.]
