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Brooklyn brain teasers Yeasayer will release their sophomore album, Odd Blood, on February 9th!
The follow-up to 2007's All Night Cymbals features ten new tracks, and will be released on the band's new label, Secretly Canadian.
Free download of the new single "Ambling Alp" available here.
Also, Austin rockers Spoon will grace us with Transference on January 26th. It will be the bands seventh album, and after 2007's masterful Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, expectations will be high! Can't wait...
Happy Devils Night everyone! Wherever you are, whatever your costume, please play safely this weekend! Don't be too excessive. Use the buddy system, and don't drink too much... you don't want to end up like this guy. Cheers!
Rain Machine, the solo project of Kyp Malone from TV on the Radio, is touring in support of their amazing self-titled debut album, released last month on Anti-records.
The album is a sonic buffet; bits of jazz and eastern influence, acoustic simplicity to straight kick to the nuts guitar rock, throwback soul to dance-gospel ("Hold You Holy"). Moments of hope balance moments of darkness, while lyrics of clear angst are often followed by genuine chuckles. In a word, unique.
Malone sings defiantly, showing his emotional hand on every track. The effect is somewhat transformational. It feels like a one on one conversation at times, a confession told in complete confidence. Kudos to Malone for having the Kyps to share such a personal narrative. Catch Rain Machine live
In other TVOTR news, general mastermind Dave Sitek is reportedly working with Madlib and DOOM (formerly MF Doom) on the follow up to their Madvillian collaboration album, the 2004 classic Madvilliany. No time line is set for the release. Mos Def is a rumored guest MC on the project. Oxnard, represent!!
EAST
Pearl Jam at Wachovia Center - Philly
Gov't Mule at Tower Theatre - Philly
Thievery Corporation at Terminal 5 - NYC
WEST
Phish at Festival 8 - Indio, CA (streaming live on Jam_ON 17 on Sirius Radio)
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros at Park Plaza Hotel in LA
Built to Spill at The Fillmore in San Francisco
MOUNTAINS
Ghostface Killah at Fox Theatre in Boulder, CO
DeVotchka at Boulder Theater in Boulder, CO
Swollen Members at The Marquis in Denver, CO
SOUTHPretty Lights at The Music Farm in Charleston, SC
The Roots at The Handlebar in Greenville, SC
Today We Escape at Chicora Alley - Greenville, SC
Heartbeater at The 5 Spot in Nashville, TN (10/30)
Widespread Panic at Austin Music Hall - Austin, TXVooDoo Festival - New Orleans, LA
Hey Yankees fans... check out Cliff's I-don't-give-a-fuck face.6H 1R 0ER 0BB 10KsOh yeah, Complete Game.
It's true. I'll be the first to admit that I expected the soundtrack to the upcoming Twilight: New Moon movie to be terrible. Sure, the films director lined up some big names, but I thought the tracks would sound forced and, you know, vampire-y.
But the indie pop collective actually shines, for the most part. Death Cab for Cutie's "Meet Me at the Equinox" opens, and is less annoying than usual. Radiohead's twitch-genius Thom Yorke gets in on the fun with "Hearing Damage", a fuzz beat laden pendulum of a track not safe for driving late at night. The St. Vincent/Bon Iver collaboration "Roslyn" is a keeper, with both artists sticking to what they know. The haunting Lykke Li ("Possibility") and Sea Wolf ("The Violet Hour") have solid contributions, but the standouts are London's Band of Skulls (above), whose "Friends" is the soundtrack's clear-cut best, and Anya Marina's(below) "Satellite Heart". The former is a simple, riff-heavy straight jab that gets it rebelliousness across w
ithout overdoing it, and gets the cocktail of love and confusion measured out just right. Marina's "Heart" is as gushing as Bella Swan's in those awful yet-bestselling books, but it is also unmistakeably elegant. I'm new to her music, but its immediately evident that her reeling voice could lead to bitemarks in the future.
Its been raining for 48 hours here in Philly, and now the ceiling is leaking in my bathroom...
I could start shooting OR I could dust off this 1994 classic, and celebrate the long awaited reunion of cult darlings Pavement in 2010. The band hasn't played a show together since the fall of 1999.
After "Unfair" and "Range Life", my mood is already starting to dry!
More streaming tracks from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and Pavement reunion dates on Jambase.
Them Crooked Vultures, the supergroup of Josh Homme, John Paul Jones, and Dave Grohl will release their self titled debut album November 17th. A five day, four gig US tour will follow, before the band heads to Europe through January. The lineup is absolutely absurd, and the band has released a few cuts from the upcoming album. Track list below: Them Crooked Vultures01. No One Loves Me And Neither Do I 02. Mind Eraser, No Chaser 03. New Fang 04. Dead End Friends 05. Elephants 06. Scumbag Blues 07. Bandoliers 08. Reptiles 09. Interlude With Ludes 10. Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up 11. Caligulove 12. Gunman 13. Spinning In Daffodils
Hear new single "New Fang" or a watch a live performance of "Scumbag Blues"
I considered being Devendra Banhart for Halloween this year, but they didn't have enough weird shit at the store to pull it off, so I settled for his new album, What Will We Be, which was released today on Warner Bros.
After two full listens, I can say that as with most of Banhart's albums, this one might need to grow on you. It is a very calm album for the most part, miles away from the often chaotic Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon.
What the album lacks conceptually is easily covered up with Dev B's positive charm and the cohesiveness of a steady band; long time collaborator Noah Georgeson on guitar, Greg Rogove on drums, Rodrigo Amarante on guitar, and Luckey Remington on bass. There is a fullness to the music this time around that's been lacking on past efforts. And there are moments of brilliance.
The calm hum and gypsy swagger of "Goin Back" stands out. There is pop that borders on hypnosis ("Rats"), a carny-friendly waltz ("Chin Chin & Muck Muck") and even successful reggae ("Foolin"). Definitely worth the time for fans of American music's weirdest weirdo. It's no Cripple Crow, but good job Devendra. Now keep your dirty hands of my girlfriend, hippie.Devendra Banhart tour dates here.
Greenville area people,
I cannot fathom why hip-hop pioneers The Roots could possibly want to stop in SC between gigs in Atlantic City and New Orleans, but they are indeed. The Legendary Roots Crew is playing at The Handlebar on Halloween!!!
Quality hip hop rarely passes through Greenville, so put down your Bud Light Lime, and go to this show!! Tickets are still available here. Profits from the show will go to charity as well, so do a good deed in the midst of Halloween your debauchery.
Local badass Culture Prophet get things started at 8:00 PM.
AFTER a year of being my favorite band no one had ever heard of, Alberta Cross finally released their first full-length album last month. Broken Side of Time adds seven new tracks into the mix on top of three reworked versions from their EP The Thief and the Heartbreaker that got me so hooked last year.
There are still a few light moments ("Taking Control" "Old Man Chicago") on the album, but this time around the mood seems to be a little darker, a little heavier. Maybe the transplant from London to Brooklyn is working out so well on the psyches of the band, but the music is soaring. There is an obvious touch of escapism when Petter Erickson Stakee sings Come on take me home/Cause I just wanna feel/Cause I just can't relate/. Whether its homesickness or heartbreak is never quite clear to me, but the effect is ominous throughout. The album's middle three tracks are the tastiest, gravitating from downright sinister ("Broken Side of Time") to haunted blues ("Rise from the Shadows") through to gritted-teeth pleading ("City Walls"). The title track roars with such violence I don't know whether to sob or scream along. That's my favorite thing about Alberta Cross, the range of emotions they fit into a four or five minute song is stunning. At times, the vocals are indecipherable due to Stakee's Swedish roots, a lyric often slurring and wrapping itself around the first syllables of the next. It's beautifully confusing, and highlighted in moments of Americana touching the fringes of European folk ("Ghost of City Life"). While "The Thief and The Heartbreaker" might still be the quintessential Alberta Cross tune, the album promises only growth, and I personally love the dark horizons.
Get this album yesterday...
LISTEN: Broken Side of Time
I'm only here to help, I promise. The goal here is simple: spread the good word, spread the good noise, open doors, put books back in hands, further artistic awareness, meet French women, and silently start the Ginger upheaval. Oh yes.
I chose this name because it is just annoying enough for readers to remember. Also, a lot of my focus will be on live music coming to my hometown. Unfortunately, I seem to have 4 or 5 hometowns at any given moment, so every region of the country will get it's proper attention. Colorado to the Southeast, up to Philly (current residence), and all over Southern California.
While music will dominate most of my scribbling, many types of art-related stories will fill in the margins. There is nothing wrong with a Mark Halliday poem in between thoughts on Radiohead and Scandinavian death metal, right? Of course not.
I also find bloody noses and thirty yard soccer goals to be pieces of art, so sports might occasionally rise to the surface. A perfectly executed triangle choke can hang with Picasso in my book.
Hopefully readers will find new music here that they love, or try something they otherwise wouldn't. Like I said, I'm only here to help.
Fuck it, I really just want to use big words.
Brooklyn brain teasers Yeasayer will release their sophomore album, Odd Blood, on February 9th!
