Detroit psych-rock trio Sisters of Your Sunshine Vaporhave announced the release date of their new album, Lavender BloodBandcamp page – October 27, 2017. You can pre-order the album now and even hear one track, “Milky Water Jesus,” on their Bandcamp page.
The album was at least partially inspired by a trip the band took to Greece during which their plane depressurized during the descent. The plane landed safely once pressure was stabilized, but an experience like that certainly changes your perspective on things. Two of the album’s tracks are “Die Die Die” and “Sky Greece,” so it will be interesting to hear the music inspired by their near-death experience.
SOYSV also plan to tour to support the album, starting with shows in the Midwest and Canada. Keep your eyes peeled for them. They always put on a great set.
An exciting development from under strange Australian lab-lights: ORB have respawned from last year’s Birth with a further mutated slab of paranoid heavy shred, Naturality, out 10/6 on Castle Face (Flightless in Australia). They bring the dread with a kinetic muscularity and a pleasantly evolving synthetic strangeness, as if having eaten of the wrong part of the garden, familiar things start to seem less so. The effects of these spores on your modern brain, already clogged with a steady drip of zips and zooms, are freshly heard and confusing. ORB are young and fleet-fingered, and certainly know their way around a riff, but they bring everything into an almost alien clarity both blunted and futuristic. ORB, you see, have ripened quite radically, one can only think at an accelerated pace upon their travels with King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, and Naturality finds them sprouting new appendages and clawing at their enclosures. This is potent stuff, be careful. Listen to the first single, “You Are Right.”
NATURALITY TRACKLISTING
1. Hazlewart
2. A Man In The Sand
3. You Are Right
4. O.R.B.
5. Immortal Tortoise
6. Motherbrain
7. Flying Sorcerer
8. Rainbow’s End
MARLON WILLIAMS RETURNS WITH NEW SINGLE, “VAMPIRE AGAIN”
WATCH VIDEO HERE NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES & TORONTO FALL SHOWS ANNOUNCED
“Channeling Roy Orbison at moments with a good sense of humor, great songs and one of the best voices at Newport, New Zealand’s Marlon Williams.” – Bob Boilen
“His songwriting is prolific—he paints songs as characters and remains gender-fluid throughout his nine-song masterpiece. Williams is such a gifted storyteller that there is no telling which tracks are autobiographical and which are fictional.” — Paste
Marlon Williams returns with “Vampire Again,” his first new material since releasing his acclaimed debut album early last year via Dead Oceans and touring relentlessly around the world, including performances on CONAN, Later…with Jools Holland, opening for Bruce Springsteen and picking up both an ARIA Award nomination and two New Zealand Music Awards.
In creating “Vampire Again,” Williams returned home to Lyttelton, New Zealand to re-engage in the writing process and work again with producer Ben Edwards. Below he discusses the story behind the song. Watch the accompanying video, directed by Williams in collaboration with UK cinematographer Steve Gullick. It’s a tragicomic vignette of a societal outcast – misshapen, uncomfortable, humorous and a little touching.
Following Williams’ recent performances at the Newport Folk Festival and Pickathon, he’ll hit the road throughout the rest of the month supporting City & Colour, before playing headline shows in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto this fall.
The germination of this song began in LA last year. It was indeed Halloween again, and I was bored, having spent a week locked away in an Airbnb by the airport trying in vain to write a song. Any song. Nothing came. So Halloween comes around and I figure, “Hey, I’m gonna go out tonight. Alone. Comfortably alone. Comfortably alone to see the LA Opera performing a new score to accompany my fave scary flick Nosferatu at the Ace Hotel. I’m gonna dress as the spindly creep himself. What’s more, I’m gonna get super blazed before I go. And be comfortably alone.”
So, off I go, having spent far too much on a last minute outfit, and step out of the Uber and onto the red carpet with a nauseating air of self-confidence. “This is my night. I am strong. I am human and it is my right to express myself how I see fit.” Turns out I was running late, and when I finally enter the theatre everyone was already seated and the overture had begun. What’s more, no one else was dressed up. Well they were, but in tuxedos and lovely dresses. And there was nowhere for stoned ole spindleboots to sit. So, I hunched and crawled my way down the aisle and sat on the floor like it was the most reasonable thing to do at an opera.
I made it through the whole film and then calmly turned tail, satisfied that I’d had a good time and sure that I’d heard whispers of “bad-ass” as I left the building. I’d like to believe that this was, at least in part, the catalyst for a whole new period in my life and my art. But that’s bullsh*t.
Anyway, here it is, my own demented tale of New Age self-affirmation; “Vampire Again.”
Marlon Williams Tour Dates: Fri. Aug. 11 – Boulder, CO @ Triple A Festival Sat. Aug 12 – Sun. Aug. 13 – Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Folk Festival Tue. Aug. 15 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant # Wed. Aug. 16 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown # Fri. Aug. 18 – Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre # Sat. Aug. 19 – Bellevue, CO @ Mishawaka Amphitheatre # Mon. Aug. 21 – Kansas City @ Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland # Tue. Aug. 22 – Springfield, MO @ Gillioz Theatre # Thu. Aug. 24 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom # Fri. Aug. 25 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues # Sat. Aug. 26 – San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre # Mon. Aug. 28 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues # Tue. Aug. 29 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s # Sat. Sep. 2 – Rutbeek, NE @ Tuckerville Festival Tue. Oct. 24 – London, UK @ Omeara Wed. Oct. 25 – Paris, France @ Espace B Thu. Oct. 26 – Berlin, Germany @ FluxBau Sat. Oct. 28 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ London Calling Festival Mon. Oct. 30 – New York, NY @ Rough Trade Wed. Nov. 1 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake Thu. Nov. 2 – Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge Fri. Nov. 10 – Auckland, NZ @ Point Chev RSA Sat. Nov. 11 – Welllington, NZ @ San Fran Sun. Nov. 12 – Christchurch, NZ @ Blue Smoke Wed. Nov. 15 – Sydney, Australia @ Oxford Art Factory Thu. Nov. 16 – Melbourne, Australia @ Howler Fri. Nov. 17 – Mullumbimby, Australia @ Mullumbimby Music Festival
I might not be on air next week, as there’s a chance I’ll be in Kalamazoo, Michigan seeing the New Pornographers in concert. If so, my last show of the summer will be August 24th. If not, see you next week!
THE ORWELLS SHARE NEW VIDEO FOR “VACATION”,
TOUR WITH WEEZER & PIXIES THIS FALL
TERRIBLE HUMAN BEINGS OUT NOW ON CANVASBACK MUSIC
Today, The Orwells share their video for “Vacation,” from their recently released album Terrible Human Beings(Canvasback Music). Coming off some big shows in the US and Europe, including Governor’s Ball, Bonnaroo, and a Barclaycard British Summer Time show with Green Day in London’s Hyde Park, the Chicago five-some continue to bring their electrifying performances to audiences on both sides of the pond. This fall will see the band joining up with Weezer and Pixies (whose frontman they honored on their recent record with the song “Black Francis”). The boys were also the subjects of an in-depth and illuminating multi-media profile by The Washington Post. If you missed it, you can read it here.
ORWELLS TOUR DATES: Sat. Aug. 19 – St. Louis, MO @ Jefferson Barracks State Park Thu. Aug. 24 – Charleville-Mézières, FR @ Cabaret Vert Fri. Aug. 25 – Reading, UK @ Reading Festival Sat. Aug. 26 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival Sun. Aug. 27 – Newcastle upon Tyne, UK @ The Cluny Mon. Aug. 28 – Nottingham, UK @ Bodega Tue. Aug. 29 – Sheffield, UK @ The Leadmill Wed. Aug. 30 – Cardiff, UK @ Clwb ifor Bach Fri. Sept. 1 – Vlieland Island, NL @ Into The Great Wide Open Sat. Sept. 2 – Masstricht, NL @ Muziekgieterij Fri. Sept. 8 – Dana Point, CA @ Ohana Music and Arts Festival Sun. Sept. 17 – Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest Sun. Oct. 15 – Berlin, DL @ Columbiahalle w/ Weezer Mon. Oct. 16 – Cologne, DL @ E-Werk w/ Weezer Wed. Oct. 18 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique w/ Weezer Thu. Oct. 19 – Paris, FR @ Olympia w/ Weezer Sat. Oct. 21 – Tilburg, NL @ 013 w/ Weezer Mon. Oct. 23 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy Leeds w/ Weezer Tue. Oct. 24 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy Glasgow w/ Weezer Wed. Oct. 25 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Academy Manchester w/ Weezer Fri. Oct. 27 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy Birmingham w/ Weezer Sat. Oct. 28 – London, UK @ SSE Arena, Wembley w/ Weezer Thu. Nov. 30 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater w/ Pixies Fri. Dec. 1 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater w/ Pixies Sun. Dec. 3 – Seattle, WA @ The Paramount Theatre w/ Pixies Mon. Dec. 4 – Vancouver, BC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre w/ Pixies
NUMERO GROUP ANNOUNCES JACKIE SHANE REISSUE, ANY OTHER WAY, OUT OCT. 20TH;
2xLP/2xCD + EXTENSIVE LINER NOTES & ARCHIVAL PHOTOS
The first artist-approved collection of Ms. Shane’s work features all six of her 45s and every highlight from the legendary 1967 live sessions at the Sapphire Tavern,
including three previously-unreleased tracks
Recognized by genre aficionados as one of the greatest singers and most riveting stage presences in soul music, JackieShane has remained largely unknown outside of Toronto, where her career briefly flowered in the 1960s. Ms. Shane is a star without parallel — a pioneer of transgender rights born in a male body, living her entire life as a woman at a time when to do so seemed unthinkable. Any Other Way, out October20th via the NumeroGroup, is the first artist-approved collection of Ms. Shane’s work, collecting all six of her 45s and every highlight from the legendary 1967 live sessions at the Sapphire Tavern, including three mind blowing, previously-unreleased tracks.
Ms. Shane’s identity and sexuality were never a secret. She wore makeup, silk shirts and jewelry onstage and off, projecting a sense of refined femininity, and did so in a manner exuding class, self-respect and dignity. Her identity was never an act designed to play with an audience’s sense of exotica.
With her last appearance taking place onstage in Toronto in December of 1971, the city which Ms. Shane considers her second home and where she lived during the peak of her success, this collections marks Ms. Shane’s first communication with the public in nearly half a century. Extensive liner notes tell, for the first time ever, Ms. Shane’s story in her own words, copiously illustrated with never-before-seen pictures from a career and life unlike any other.
Any Other Way Tracklist:
01. Sticks And Stones
02. Any Other Way
03. In My Tenement
04. Comin’ Down
05. Money (That’s What I Want)
06. I’ve Really Got The Blues
07. Send Me Some Lovin’
08. Walking The Dog
09. You Are My Sunshine
10. Stand Up Straight And Tall
11. New Way Of Love
12. Cruel Cruel World
13. Intro [Live]
14. High Heel Sneakers [Live]
15. Barefootin’ [Live]
16. Knock On Wood [Live]
17. Money (That’s What I Want) [Live]
18. Raindrops [Live]
19. You’re The One (That I Need) [Live]
20. Don’t Play That Song (You Lied) [Live]
21. Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag [Live]
22. Any Other Way [Live]
23. You Are My Sunshine [Live]
24. I Don’t Want To Cry [Live]
25. Shotgun [Live]
I don’t remember where I first heard of Thundercat (AKA Stephen Bruner), but I remember being amazed by his bass guitar skills. His fingers seemed to move on his guitar frets as nimbly as a spider racing across a web. I caught him live at Mamby on the Beach earlier this year, keen on hearing him live. He didn’t disappoint. He wowed the crowd with a jazz-fusion set that was unlike anything you heard the whole weekend.
His newest album, Drunk, is also unlike anything you’ve heard in a long while. It blends electronica with jazz, yacht rock, funk, and even a bit of trip hop. “Rabbit Ho” is a quirky intro with Bruner’s falsetto singing about friends coming and going from his life before it slips into “Captain Stupido,” which is a collaboration with one of his best pals – Flying Lotus. “I feel weird,” Bruner sings, perhaps speaking for all of us, as he struggles to get through the odd feelings that surround everyday activities like brushing your teeth. His bass and Lotus’ loops and beats are a killer combo.
“Uh Uh” is an instrumental showcase of Bruner’s stunning bass skills. Seriously, it will leave you dumbfounded. I have no idea how he plays that fast and that well at the same time. “Bus in the Streets” has Bruner watching the world go by and not wanting to get involved in the rat race. “Won’t you leave some things a mystery?” he asks in this age of everyone Tweeting, hash-tagging, and posting everything at every moment.
“A Fan’s Mail (Tron Song Suite II)” is perhaps the greatest love song written to a cat of all time. Bruner sings about his admiration for his cat having nine lives, doing what he wants, and lying in the sun all day. “Everybody wants to be a cat. It’s cool to be a cat.” It has a groove as smooth as a cat’s walk, too.
“Sometimes you have to let it go,” Bruner sings in the opening of “Lava Lamp.” The song moves as languidly as its namesake. “I’m so tired. Where can I lay my head?” Bruner asks. It’s a common theme for a lot of us in these times. We’re so overwhelmed that we’re losing time to decompress. Flying Lotus comes back on “Jethro,” and brings wicked beats with him. “Show You the Way” has powerhouse guests Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald, and both men show they can still slay a microphone (and a keyboard, too, in McDonald’s case). It’s a glorious return of yacht rock that you won’t realize you missed until you hear this track.
The special guests keep on coming as Kendrick Lamar drops some guest vocals on “Walk on By” – another groovy, smooth track. “Blackkk” is the smoothest song about overcoming fear of death I’ve ever heard. “Tokyo” would be great to have in your ears as you cruise through the city. Bruner sings about eating too much fish, blowing all his money on anime, and wanting to stay another night there.
“Jameel’s Space Ride” has Bruner dreaming about driving into space as he’s pulled over by the cops. “Friend Zone” is a sharp dis on someone keeping him at arm’s length instead of embracing him as a lover. “I’m your biggest fan, but I guess that’s just not good enough,” he sings as his bass and Mono/Poly’s synths deliver dance beats. “Don’t call me, don’t text me after two a.m., unless you plan on giving me some, ‘cause I got enough friends,” Bruner sings. Ouch.
In contrast, “Them Changes” (the first single) has Bruner singing about heartbreak. “Nobody move there’s blood on the floor, and I can’t find my heart. Where did it go? Did I leave it in the cold?” His bass groove on it gets into your circulatory system and won’t leave until you dance. Flying Lotus’ beats sure help, too (as they do on the next track, “Where I’m Going”). “Drink Dat” is a slow jam for people starting to wind down after partying in the late hours. “Can’t open my eyes, girl, ‘cause I’m just too wasted,” Bruner sings between raps by Wiz Khalifa.
“Inferno” is the most psychedelic track on the record with Lotus’ trippy beats. “3AM” has Bruner still awake despite being (according to the theme of the album by now) drunk and tired. His bass groove in it is something Christopher Cross hears in his dreams. “Drunk” gets as wobbly as its namesake thanks to Bruner’s reverbed bass and Flying Lotus’ melted cheese synths.
“The Turn Down” is a witty song about the aftermath of too much partying. Bruner laments the mess in his house, the location of Captain Planet (who might be one of Bruner’s cats), and guests who have lingered too long. Pharrell teams up with him on the track, and Bruner has said multiple times that Pharrell’s contribution to the track blew his mind. He does nail it.
The album ends with the great, keyboard-driven “DUI.” Bruner’s night went from drowning his sorrows, to a fun time, to exhaustion, to annoyance, and then either back home, jail, or the grave. “I’m so tired,” he sings again just before the keyboards turn into the sound of screeching tires and then fade into distortion. Did he crash? Did he make it home? Is he in the hoosegow?
Drunk is masterfully crafted, and the best-engineered and mixed album I’ve heard so far in 2017. It’s a stunning, eclectic piece of work. Only good things are ahead for Thundercat. Get Drunk.
Zola Jesus’ music is difficult to classify. It’s not quite electro, not quite shoegaze, not quite diva, and not quite goth. Yet it is somehow all of these things. Zola Jesus, has one of the most haunting voices in music, and her album, Taiga, and is a fine addition to her already impressive catalogue.
The title track opener is a spooky electro song with drum and bass beats that dissolve into frightening horns. “Dangerous Days” could be a dance club hit if she wanted. It could also be your favorite new song about relationships. “Dust” sounds like a long-lost Yaz track with its tick-tock electric beats and her lovely voice creeping through it like fog rolling along a beach. Ms. Jesus, in case you’re reading this, I’ll sign a petition to hear you cover Yaz’s “Situation.”
“Hunger” is a hot song about hot sex that I’m sure tore up dance clubs in various remixes in 2014. “Go (Blank Sea)” is a swirling wave of sound that hits you over and over again (in a good way) with Zola Jesus’ powerful vocals, which are sometimes laced with reverb to make them even bigger, industrial beats, and angelic synths. It’s one of the best cuts on the record. “Ego” and “Lawless” highlight her vocals well, especially “Lawless,” which mixes epic synths with hip-hop beats and a bit of a tough girl attitude behind her vocals.
“Nail” has the gloomy yet beautiful feel that many Zola Jesus fans love in her work. “Long Way Down” has probably the biggest electro beats on the record (and the most reverb), and I’m sure is another excellent remixed dance track. “Hollow” is another solid entry, and the closer is the cheekily named “It’s Not Over.” It’s a big-voiced track about big love with a slow build and a glorious ending.
The main attraction to any Zola Jesus record is her phenomenal voice. The electro beats and goth touches help, but her voice can be soothing and haunting at the same time. She needs to sing the theme to the next Bond film, and the next ten Bond films if you ask me. If you enjoy a lovely female voice, you need to hear her.
Elephant Stone have been on tour for seemingly all of 2017, and now they’ve added more tour dates throughout Europe and North America that go into the winter. They’re playing gigs with the likes of the Black Angels, A Place to Bury Strangers, and the Dream Syndicate. Any of these shows would be well worth your time and money. Here are the dates:
Ty Segall is so prolific that I’m surprised it took him until 2015 to release a live album. He seems to put out a new record every month, so it feels like he should have three live albums by now.
The psych-fuzz whiz kid opens his live set with, oddly enough, “Wave Goodbye.” It starts out with low bass and then kicks into squealing high gear that has the small crowd cheering in joy. It sounds like something Tom Petty wishes he could release on his new record, but fears it would alienate his long-time fans. “Slaughterhouse” (from the album of the same name) is pure freak-out punk rock with a little Nirvana vocals sprinkled on top for good measure. “Death” mixes stoner rock with punk so fast it might give your ears friction burns. It’s one of the best cuts on the record.
“I Bought My Eyes” is one of Segall’s biggest hits, and he lets it rip on this live album. The guitars seem to come at you from all sides while Segall’s vocals are somehow gentle in the din. “Feel” borders on arena rock territory at first, but the sleeveless denim jacket riffs cut it off at the front door (which is a good thing).
“The Hill” follows the band’s friend, Julie, telling a joke, and next up is “Thank God for the Sinners,” which sounds like something Buzzcocks cooked up at their second jam session. Segall claims “Standing at the Station” “is about the cow trade.” I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that it’s a swaggering, wild blues-influenced tidal wave coming out of your speakers.
The album ends with another of Segall’s hits – “What’s Inside Your Heart.” I’m sure the fans at this gig told him how their hearts were full of palpitations from being shaken by so much rock. It’s a strong ending to a strong record.
I know this entire review has essentially been me saying this record is non-stop blaring madness, but that’s the best way I describe it. You’ll understand once you hear it. Ty Segall is making crazy records, and we should all be grateful to him for doing it. The world needs more live records, and live performers, like this.
Keep your mind open.
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