“…a fervent after-hours sound world, complete with woodwinds, in which euphoria and melancholy collide.” — Pitchfork, on Adjust EP
“Bendik Giske makes dazzling saxophone music.” — Resident Advisor
Norwegian saxophonist, Bendik Giske, will release his debut album, Surrender, on January 25th via Smalltown Supersound. After sharing advance singles “Adjust” and “High”, today Giske is pleased to shared “Up”, a euphoric collage of sound, driven by Giske’s saxophone and rhythmic finger tapping on the instrument’s keys. “Up. A direction. A state of flux. In direction of an elevated state,” says Giske. “I often find my self aware of where I want to be, but uncertain of how to get there. My chosen city of residence offers many remedies, music being just one of them.”
Listen to Bendik Giske’s “Up” — https://soundcloud.com/smalltownsupersound/3-up-1/s-Qh1HM
Surrender takes listeners on a true journey through the wanderlust of nights spent clubbing — using little more than his voice, his instrument of choice, and more than a few well-placed microphones. Recorded in Oslo’s Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum, Giske and producer Amund Ulvestad conceived of the method in which they placed tiny microphones over the saxophonist’s instrument and body, right down to being able to capture his breathing between notes.
An impressively coherent statement that brims with purpose and energy, Surrender heralds Giske’s arrival as an artist unafraid to think outside the confines of his artistry and pursue the furthest-flung ideas with successful aplomb.
Bendik Giske Tour Dates: Sun. Jan. 27 – Berlin, DE @ CTM Festival Thu. Feb 7 – Mexico City, MX @ Material Art Fair Sun. Feb. 10 – Mexico City, MX @ Traición Fri. Feb. 15 – Utrecht, NL @ Uncloud Festival Wed. Feb. 27 – Graz, AT @ Elevate Festival Fri. March 1 + Sat. March 2 – Oslo, NO @ byLarm Festival Sat. April 20 – Rotterdam, NL @ Motel Mozaïque
Pre-order Surrender — smarturl.it/sts334-preorder
Purchase Adjust EP — https://bendikgiske.bandcamp.com/album/adjust-ep
“Burger Boogaloo is the perfect cult gathering of young and old music rebels who hate everybody in the world except each other. Being asked to host this lunatic festival for the fifth year in a row makes me feel all warm and scuzzy inside” – John Waters
“Burger Boogaloo brings underground acts back to life” – The San Francisco Chronicle
But wait, there’s more! The Burger Boogaloo staff has committed themselves to helping those affected by Oakland’s ongoing housing crisis and will host a series of fundraisers both before and during the festival to raise money for those in need. Additionally, staffers will be volunteering with the organization Punks With Lunch, including a Benefit Show at The Uptown on Friday, January 18th with 100% of ticket sales going to the organization.
To that end, Burger Boogaloo is partnering with The Homeless Action Center in 2019; the only legal service program in the Bay Area that focuses exclusively on public benefits advocacy as a critical tool to reduce and end homeless. HAC provides legal advocacy that is no-cost, barrier-free, culturally sensitive, and non-judgmental. Attendees can join the cause by donating while purchasing tickets or in person at the festival.
Snag your tickets and learn more about how to help those in need!
Los Angeles-based punk trio Flat Worms announce their third release, the Into the Iris EP, out on February 8th via Drag City imprint, GOD? Records.
Composed of bassist/vocalist Tim Hellman (Thee Oh Sees), drummer Justin Sullivan (Night Shop), and guitarist/ vocalist Will Ivy (Dream Boys), the band also shares lead single “Shouting At The Wall”, a tightly wound, buzzing hard hitter that “serves as a reminder to avoid temptations of self-indulgent anger and to stay focused.” The six-track EP, recorded by Ty Segall in his home, is a persistent, determined response to an apocalyptic era, one that sees deserted strip malls and surreal headlines. Into the Iris follows their self-titled album, released via Castle Face in 2017. Flat Worms play their record release show in Los Angeles on Fri. Feb. 8th at Zebulon.
Listen to “Shouting At The Wall” – https://youtu.be/6dEDRwJwT7U
Preorder Into the Iris – http://www.dragcity.com/products/into-the-iris
Into the Iris tracklist: 1. Surreal New year 2. Into The Iris 3. Plastic At Home 4. Shouting At The Wall 5. Scattered Palms 6. At The Citadel
Keep your mind open.
[Get updates into your e-mail inbox by subscribing.]
Fat Possum Records is set to release four classic (and remastered) X albums starting next month. First up is Los Angeles (release date February 22nd), then Wild Gift a month later, and Under the Big Black Sun and More Fun in the New World on April 12th.
All four albums will be released in vinyl, CD, and digital formats. Formed in 1977, X quickly established themselves as one of the best bands in the first wave of LA’s flourishing punk scene; becoming legendary leaders of a punk generation. Featuring vocalist Exene Cervenka, vocalist/bassist John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom, and drummer DJ Bonebrake, their debut 45 was released on the seminal Dangerhouse label in 1978, followed by seven studio albums released from 1980-1993. X’s first two studio albums, Los Angeles and Wild Gift are ranked by Rolling Stone among the top 500 greatest albums of all time. Over the years, the band has released several critically acclaimed albums, topped the musical charts with regularity and performed their iconic hits on top television shows such as Letterman and American Bandstand. In 2017, the band celebrated their 40th anniversary in music with a Grammy Museum exhibit opening, a Proclamation from the City of Los Angeles and being honored at a Los Angeles Dodgers game, where Exene threw out the first pitch and John Doe sang the National Anthem. The band continues to tour with the original line-up.
Keep your mind open.
[It would be a wild gift to me if you subscribed.]
It’s a bit shocking to realize Art Brut‘s Bang Bang Rock & Roll came out 13 years ago this year, because it sounds like it was recorded yesterday. The wild post-punk / no wave record is bound to be a classic.
“Formed a Band” has Art Brut singing its praises and encouraging the listener to “stop buying your albums from the supermarket. They only sell records that have charted, and Art Brut, we’ve only just started.” Chugging guitars roar almost nonstop throughout it. The funny “My Little Brother” is a great song about worrying your siblings are turning into hipsters with bad taste in music (“…he made me a tape of tootles and B-sides. And every song, every single song on that tape said exactly the same thing. Why don’t our parents worry about us?”).
“Emily Kane” is one of Art Brut’s greatest hits as lead singer Eddie Argos sings an ode to the girlfriend he had when he was fifteen and still misses. “Rusted Guns of Milan” is a funny story about Argos not being able to have sex with a beautiful woman due to him having drank too much (although he claims otherwise), it being too dark, and his mind being elsewhere – perhaps thinking about Emily Kane.
“Modern art makes me want to rock out,” Argos sings on “Modern Art” – a crunchy, squeaky, loud tune about artwork and its effect on him. “Good Weekend” has Argos bragging about a new girl he’s met…or has he? One can’t help but wonder if he’s made up the whole story in an attempt to impress friends or give an excuse for preferring to be alone. It’s a fun garage rock track with a beat you can’t ignore.
“I can’t stand the sound of the Velvet Underground,” Argos sings on the title track (even though the song does devolve into a VU type of riffing by the end). He just wants songs that don’t retread old cliches (“No more songs about sex and drugs and rock and roll. It’s boring.”), even though he and the rest of the band embrace those cliches throughout the whole album. “Fight!” has Argos drunk and ready to take on a bigger, drunker guy outside the pub while his bandmates cheer him on. It’s a punk track in the middle of a no wave album. It’s great.
“Moving to L.A.” has Argos considering a move far away from dreary English weather and “drinking Hennessy with Morrissey on a beach.” It’s a fun send-up of California pretentiousness and rock. “Popular culture no longer applies to me,” Argos sings on “Bad Weekend.” Boy, I can relate to that. Ian Catskilkin‘s guitars hit hard on it, driving the tune to almost a racing speed. Those guitars flow in and out of distortion on “Stand Down” – a track about admitting when you’re wrong. “18,000 Lira” might be a song about touring in Italy. “These Animal Meanwe@r” is a heavy song about bullying that channels Weezer and Pixies. “Really Bad Weekend” is a tale of Argos nearing cheating on his girlfriend, but being rescued by he and / or his near-lover falling asleep instead. “Maternity Ward” ends the album with Argos telling kids in a maternity ward that “everything’s gonna be all right.” I hope he still means that thirteen years later.
It’s a fun, snarky, witty record that rocks harder than you might expect. It heralded good things for the band, who just released a new record last year. They’re also touring again, which is good news for all of us.
Keep your mind open.
[It would be a good weekend for me if you subscribed.]
WATCH “THE SEDUCTION OF KANSAS” https://youtu.be/coR59SSPWv8 LISTEN TO “THE SEDUCTION OF KANSAS” http://smarturl.it/TheSeductionOfKansas
What is at stake in the seduction of Kansas? Like a gavel or hammer, the question rattles across the second LP from Washington, D.C. rock iconoclasts Priests: The Seduction of Kansas, out April 5th via their own Sister Polygon Records. They announce their new album today alongside a massive world tour and a video for the title track.
Entering their eighth year as a band, Priests—drummer Daniele Daniele, vocalist Katie Alice Greer, and guitarist G.L. Jaguar—remain an inspired anomaly in modern music. A band on its own label—jolting the greater music world with early releases by Downtown Boys, Snail Mail, Sneaks, and Gauche—they are living proof that it is still possible to work on one’s own terms, to collectively cultivate one’s own world.
Priests enlisted two primary collaborators in writing, arranging, and recording The Seduction of Kansas. After playing cello, mellotron, and lap steel on Nothing Feels Natural, multi-instrumentalist Janel Leppin (Mellow Diamond, Marissa Nadler) returned to breathe air into Priests’ demos, serving as primary bassist and a fourth songwriting collaborator on The Seduction of Kansas. The band also found a kindred spirit in producer John Congleton (Angel Olsen, St. Vincent), recording for two weeks at his Elmwood Studio in Dallas. It marked the band’s first time opening up their creative work to collaborate with someone outside of their DC-based community—a decidedly less hermetic approach. Priests found a third collaborator in bassist Alexandra Tyson, who has also joined the touring band. The songwriting process found the group once again analyzing the textures and scopes of albums as aggressive as they are introspective, like Massive Attack’s Mezzanine, Portishead’s Third, and Nine Inch Nails’ Downward Spiral.
The first single, “The Seduction of Kansas,” is Priests’ purest pop song to date. It is dark and glittering—though there is still something fantastically off about it, decadent and uneasy at once. As journalist Thomas Frank explored in 2004’s What’s the Matter With Kansas?, the ideological sway of Kansas has often predicted the direction in which the U.S. will move—whether leaning socialist in the 1800s or going staunchly conservative in the 1980s. Illustrating Kansas’ potent place in our national imagination—as well as “a chorus of whoever is trying to persuade the social consciousness of Kansas”—Greer sings brilliantly of a “bloodthirsty cherub choir” in a cornfield, of “a drawn out charismatic parody of what a country through it used to be,” beckoning that “I’m the one who loves you.” The song does what Priests do best: They make us think, stir us with complexity. As for “seduction,” the word has long evoked pleasure, sex—but it can become propaganda, a tactic of manipulation, a ploy in the politics of persuasion. “There’s something sinister about the idea of seducing a whole state,” says drummer Daniele Daniele. “You’re clearly up to something. Why would you do it?” The title—like Priests—is a moving target, probing questions about the realities and mythologies of America in 2019 without giving in to easy answers.
THE SEDUCTION OF KANSAS TRACKLISTING 1. Jesus’ Son 2. The Seduction of Kansas 3. Youtube Sartre 4. I’m Clean 5. Ice Cream 6. Good Time Charlie 7. 68 Screen 8. Not Perceived 9. Control Freak 10. Carol 11. Interlude 12. Texas Instruments
PRIESTS 2019 TOUR DATES Fri. March 8 – Savannah, GA @ Savannah Stopover Music Festival Sat. March 9 – Birmingham, AL @ The Firehouse Mon. March 11 – Fri. March 15 – Austin, TX @ SXSW Sun. March 17 – Nashville, TN @ Exit / In Mon. March 18 – Knoxville, TN @ The Pilot Light Mon. April 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer Tue. April 16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Thu. April 18 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair Fri. April 19 – Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo Sat. April 20 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison Sun. April 21 – Detroit, MI @ El Club Mon. April 22 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall Thu. April 25 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon Fri. April 26 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry Sat. April 27 – Omaha, NE @ Reverb Sun. April 28 – Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews Tue. April 30 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop Wed. May 1 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups Sat. May 11 – Brighton, UK @ The Great Escape Sun. May 12 – Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Mon. May 13 – Manchester, UK @ YES (Pink Room) Tues. May 14 – Glasgow, UK @ The Hug and Pint Wed. May 15 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club Thu. May 16 – London, UK @ 100 Club Fri. 17 May – Lille, FR @ Aeronef Sat. 18 May – Paris, FR @ Supersonic Mon. 20 May – Brussels, BE @ Botanique (Witloof Bar) Tue. 21 May – Cologne, DE @ Bumann & Sohn Wed. 22 May – Munich, DE @ Import/Export Thu. 23 May – Zurich, CH @ Rote Fabrik Fri. 24 May – Heidelberg, DE @ Queer Festival (Karlstorbahnhof) Sat, 25 May – Amsterdam, NL @ London Calling Mon. 27 May – Aarhus DK @ Tape Tue. 28 May – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen Wed. 29 May – Berlin, DE @ Kantine am Berghain Thu. 30 May – Hamburg, DE @ Hafenklag (Goldener Salon) Fri. 31 May – Hilvarenbeek, NL @ Best Kept Secret Festival Sat. 1 June – Neustrelitz, DE @ Immergut Festival Sat. June 15 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club Sun. June 16 – Durham, NC @ The Pinhook Mon. June 17 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn Tue. June 18 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa Thu. June 20 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Fri. June 21 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda Sat. June 22 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada Mon. June 24 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Tue. June 25 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar Wed. June 26 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar Thu. June 27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom Sat. June 29 – Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club Mon. July 1 – Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall Tue. July 2 – Vancouver, BC @ The Bitmore Wed. July 3 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos Sat. July 6 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court Sun. July 7 – Denver, CO @ Lost Lake Tue. July 9 – Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar Wed. July 10 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
Download hi-res images & album art: http://pitchperfectpr.com/priests/
PRE-ORDER THE SEDUCTION OF KANSAS Sister Polygon pre-order* – http://sisterpolygonrecords.bigcartel.com iTunes Pre-order – https://apple.co/2TvJs3c
*First 350 people who pre-order via Sister Polygon Records directly will receive a 18″x24″ glossy poster and a The Seduction of Kansas enamel pin.
The date swiftly approaches for the new album, their first in almost 6 years, from New York duo Buke and Gase. Scholars, the long-awaited follow-up to 2013’s General Dome, will be released January 18th via Brassland. They’ve previously shared 3 new songs off the album, displaying an uncompromisingly diverse aesthetic and sonic palette. Any previous attempts to pigeon-hole the band as a curio, a duo of experimental mad scientists with DIY instruments, is blown out of the water with these utterly unique, forward-thinking songs. Their new album embraces a form of expression that is more concise, more emotional & less perverse in its uniqueness. They have embraced the same computer- and synthesizer-driven creative tools that make electronic music, pop and trap music function, while existing entirely in their own, fully imagined universe of sound.
Which brings us to today, when the band shares the album’s title track and announces a slew of tour dates in Europe and the United States. Here’s what singer Arone Dyer had to say about Scholars:
“When I sing this, I picture a quintessential trouble child whose parents express a need for the control they know they don’t have. When I sing this, I picture being gaslit by a lover. When I sing this, I imagine myself bigger than I am, and growing, a crown of stars waits for me. When I sing this, my chest billows with a desire to believe that I will overcome my faults, even though the subtle judgment that I won’t by those I love compresses my spine, keeping me Earthbound. I extend this empathy to those whose truths aren’t yet recognized by contradictive social expectations.”
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “SCHOLARS” https://youtu.be/proUg8S6wVg
BUKE AND GASE TOUR DATES Sun. Feb. 3 – Catskill, NY @ Catskill Mill Mon. March 4 – Manchester, UK @ The Castle Tue. March 5 – London, UK @ The Lexington Wed. March 6 – Dublin, IE @ The Grand Social Thu. March 7 – Paris, FR @ Supersonic Fri. March 8 – Cologne, DE @ Stadtgarden Sun. March 10 – Berlin, DE @ Berliner Festspiele Mon. March 11 – Jena, DE @ Trafo Tue. March 12 – Nuremberg, DE @ Kantine Wed. March 13 – Munich, DE @ Rote Sonne Thu. March 14 – Dündingen, SE @ Bad Bonn Fri. March 15 – Turin, IT @ Blah Blah Wed. March 27 – New Haven, CT @ Space Ballroom Thu. March 28 – Boston, MA @ The Middle East Club Fri. March 29 – Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo Sat. March 30 – Toronto, ON @ Monarch Tavern Tue. April 2 – Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong
PRAISE FOR BUKE AND GASE “No other bands sound quite like the duo of Buke & Gase” — NPR Music “It’s got a creepy kind of magic to it” — Stereogum [about “Derby” “thumping, skronking, ever-ascending guitar-pop oddity about the looming environmental crisis our planet is facing…eerily catchy refrain” — Stereogum [about “No Land”] “no real adequate response to what Buke And Gase is beyond ‘listen to them yourself’” — The Sound Board
Buke and Gase Online: https://bukeandgase.com/ https://bukeandgase.bandcamp.com/ https://instagram.com/bukeandgase/ https://facebook.com/bukeandgase/ https://twitter.com/bukeandgase
Keep your mind open.
[Get scholarly on new music by subscribing and keeping up to date on good news about good music.]
A friend sent me this album for Christmas last year and mentioned how Vulfpeck‘s bass player, Joe Dart, was “a monster.” He’s right, and the rest of the band are beasts as well. The Beautiful Game is a wild blend of funk and modern jazz played by expert craftsmen.
The album starts with a haunting clarinet solo on “The Sweet Science” – a brief instrumental intro for the wild tunes to come. The handclaps, bright synths, and bouncing beats and vocals of “Animal Spirits” make you feel like you’re in a hip romantic comedy. That monster bass comes out on “Dean Town.” It sounds like a Giorgio Moroder riff from the 1970’s. “Conscious Club” brings in German disco riffs to the band’s funk grooves.
“El Chepe” is almost blues-funk. “1 for 1, DiMaggio” has groovy Hammond B-3 organ and is a wild funk tune about baseball. How can you not love it? “Margery, My First Car” is not only a loving tribute to a car, but also the most psychedelic song on the record. Jack Stratton’s trombone work on “Aunt Leslie” is so good that it practically wallops you upside the head when you notice it. The album ends with “Cory Wong” – a song named after one of the band members who excels at fingerpicking guitar work. It has great organ work on it, too, and it a wild, funky track that’s a great cap to a wild, funky record.
Toronto, Ontario’s Qarafa is a four-piece outfit that somehow combines jazz with psychedelia, low rock, and even drone rock. It’s hard to describe, but it’s beautiful.
Tape I is just two tracks (sides A and B of a cassette, really). Each is about fifteen minutes long and each is its own hypnotic meditation. Alex Howard‘s tenor saxophone on “Side A” immediately hooks your brain, Anthony Abbatangelo‘s bass and synths blow peyote smoke in your face, Tyler Bontje‘s drone guitar keeps you just on edge, and Jason Chow‘s jazz drumming holds you on the Earth so you don’t drift off to Jupiter or somewhere else.
The low rock elements come out hard on “Side B,” which sounds like a long Morphine cut recorded in a Marrakesh speakeasy in the back of a spiritual bookstore run by a old man who might be a wizard and his wife who might be a succubus.
This is good, groovy, and trippy. I hope they come out with a full-length album soon.
Keep your mind open.
[Get the new year off to a good start by subscribing.]
We’ve reached the top. Here are my five favorite albums of 2018.
#5: CHAI – Pink – These Japanese ladies are not only challenging your concepts of attractiveness and what is or isn’t “cute” by being fiercely DIY, they’re also challenging anyone who dares to try rocking as hard as they.
#4: Miss Red – K.O. – This is a dangerous and sexy dancehall record featuring fast, stunning vocals by Miss Red and powerhouse beats by the Bug. They’re the best tag team since the British Bulldogs.
#3: Here Lies Man – You Will Know Nothing – “What if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat?” is how this band was described by their label. I can’t describe it better than that. It’s full of dark beats, heavy bass, and African rhythms. You can’t miss.
#2: BODEGA – Endless Scroll – Easily my favorite post-punk record of the year and one of the best records reflecting life in 2018. It skewers hipsters, relationships, partying, and technology and is even heartbreaking a couple times.
#1: A Place to Bury Strangers – Pinned – Any record by APTBS is going to be among my top picks of the year, and I knew as soon as I heard the interesting direction they took with the addition of Lia Braswell on drums and vocals that anyone trying to dislodge this record from my #1 spot would have to bring its A-game (as APTBS does at every live show). It’s dark, loud, creepy, and sinks deep into your brain when you hear it.
Thanks for all the views in 2018. A lot of good records are already slated for 2019: The Night Beats, the Chemical Brothers, the KVB, and (let’s hope) the Chromatics just to name a few.
