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It’s only 6:oo, you still have time to catch this band tonight at the Sub… and I’m gonna post this song of theirs, Madame Shocking because it’s the only one I can, but….
There’s more to this than meets the eye, my dears. I’ve heard the album and I’m telling you, this quirky group has a few tricks up it’s collective sleeve. Josh Epstein has taken this Detroit based gang and reformed the project of The Silent Years into a new EP, Let Go. Now, go pick up their album and get a listen to “Taking Drugs at The Amusement Park” it’s a really wonderful song.
MySpace buy the album here or here or search on itunes for it.
Shapes are: Axe Wielder Steven Bachelor- Guitar, Clef Mittelalter Richard Buckley- Bass, and Stick Smith Gavin Filmer- Drums. They say they’re “Alternative/Rock/Progressive” but this track is all punk to me, and even makes me like a wee bit of screamo for the first time in a long, long while! The instrumentation is really what will grab you, however, in all it’s controlled chaos.
The Pasture, The Oil is being released on 4th May and here is You Butcher which I’m loving! Shapes are currently touring the fuck outta the UK and Ireland so go see and buy their album so I can have a chance to get my paws on them over here in the States, eh?
Tour Dates:
May 1 2009 8:00P
UK TOUR w/ The JCQ – email for bookings UK
May 4 2009 8:00P
**New EP released through BSM** UK
May 4 2009 8:00P
The Flapper **EP RELEASE PARTY** w/ The JCQ & Blakfish Birmingham, Midlands
May 5 2009 8:00P
Kro Bar w/ The JCQ & Rig Up Explosive Manchester, Northwest
May 6 2009 8:00P
The Old Blue Last – FREE ENTRY London, London and South East
May 7 2009 8:00P
The Chameleon Arts Cafe w/ The JCQ Nottingham, Midlands
May 8 2009 8:00P
The Parish w/ The JCQ Huddersfield, Northeast
May 9 2009 8:00P
NEED A GIG!! w/ The JCQ ANYWHERE UP NORTH!!!!, Northeast
May 10 2009 8:00P
The Harley w/ The JCQ Sheffield, Northeast
May 13 2009 8:00P
House Party w/ The JCQ – Message for details Southampton, South
May 14 2009 8:00P
Edge of the Wedge w/ The JCQ Portsmouth, South
May 15 2009 8:00P
Purple Turtle w/ The JCQ (HOT DAMN night) Camden, London, London and South East
May 16 2009 4:00P
GREAT ESCAPE FESTIVAL @ The Hobgoblin w/ This Town Needs Guns + Mutiny On The Bounty + Blakfish Brighton, South
May 21 2009 8:00P
The Ocean Rooms w/ The JCQ (HOT DAMN night) Brighton, South
May 28 2009 8:00P
IRELAND TOUR – Lower Deck w/ Blakfish Dublin, Dublin
May 29 2009 8:00P
IRELAND TOUR – Cypress Avenue w/ Blakfish & Adebisi Shank Cork, Cork
May 30 2009 8:00P
IRELAND TOUR – w/ Blakfish tbc TBC
May 31 2009 8:00P
IRELAND TOUR – Sandinos w/ Blakfish & Adebisi Shank Derry, Northern Ireland
Jun 1 2009 8:00P
IRELAND TOUR @ Lavery’s w/ Blakfish Belfast, Northern Ireland
Jun 4 2009 8:00P
The Victoria w/ Tupolev Ghost & Wintermute FREE ENTRY Birmingham, Midlands
Jun 13 2009 2:00P
NEDLANDS in a field in Birmingham, Midlands
Aug 13 2009 8:00P
The Cellar w/ Mimas (Denmark) Oxford, Midlands
Sep 19 2009 8:00P
SOUTHSEA FESTIVAL w/Blakfish, Venice Ahoy, This Town Needs Guns & more Portsmouth, South
Sep 20 2009 2:00P
ZXZW Festival Tilburg, Noord-Brabant
I really like mainstream music with great vocals and hard hitting guitar work. I felt I had to say that in order to get you to hear this song and love it the way I do. If you’ve been reading me for more than a couple of months you know I have a certain fascination with American pop/rock music (remember my fawning over Journey?)
So when I received this request to review a new album, I clicked through and heard a familiar but welcome refrain. Adam’s Attic has hit me square between the eyes with the perfect kind of power pop/rock to kick back and fire up the BBQ. Their new album, Skylines and City Lights has a rather long story to it, I’ve included the press release below for you. It’s something that has a huge amount of emotional energy invested into it. And I think that comes out in the tracks, and in a particularly American way. I listen to so much UK music and lately it seems, especially new Scottish stuff, that coming back home to this kind of sound is startling and comfortable all at the same time.
This album is full of really good songs that you know you’re going to sing along to, …no scratch that… sing LOUDLY along to as you drive home from work. Adam’s Attic knows how to write a good chorus. The opening track, “Waiting” is a fantastic song that draws you in, making you want to hear the rest of this group’s effort. It’s full of great guitar work and layers of sound to back up meaningful lyrics. It’s also a great prelude to track two, the best track of the album… listen to There You Go and let the chorus hit you hard… the lyrics will just kill you if you’ve ever had your heart broken. I’m not skipping over any songs on this six track album, “Bright Eyes” is really good, the phrasing is excellent, the there’s another great chorus and yeah, I’m singing again. “My Apology” is simply put an incredibly catchy pop song without being repetitive. With dramatic flair, “The Silence” is full of great drum rolls and a nice, if understated guitar solo. Finally, “A Night Without Armor” is a very pretty ballad that showcases Joe Henry’s beautifully trained voice. This compact package from Adam’s Attic is built to be your summer soundtrack for 2009, I’m telling you now, xoxo
Find the album on iTunes: (the band’s preferred vendor)
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Los Angeles, CA – Adam’s Attic whole-heartedly lays down their armor to present their most vulnerable release, Skylines and City Lights. While the band originally planned to release the album in early 2008, the founding band members’ mother had cancer and treatment all through 2008, which prevented the release. The band officially released this album in 2009.
With each song, Adam’s Attic captures a snapshot in time, and this record is a time capsule of a personal journey through various “skylines and city lights”.
Since the twist of fate that led Adam’s Attic to relocate to Los Angeles from New Orleans, the band has been on three tours across the globe. The album title, Skylines and City Lights, signifies their privilege of touring domestically and internationally.
Adam’s Attic front man, Joe Henry said, “Every band dreams of touring the world and sharing their music. For us, those dreams are materializing. Following the desire of our hearts has led us to perform domestically from Miami to Los Angeles and internationally in countries like Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greenland, Singapore, and British Indian Ocean Territory. We have gone further than we ever thought, yet we know that are so many more ‘skylines and city lights’.”
When Adam’s Attic hit the studio in the fall of 2007, they were ready. Three years had passed since the release of their last album, In the Blink of an Eye. The group had recorded other songs over the past few years, but nothing was right for release. This time, the five original band members decided to self-produce their collection of songs under the supervision of Joe Henry. Adam’s Attic is Joe Henry, Derek Henry, Scott Boaz, and Frank DeSalvo. To capture his vision for this project, Joe Henry was tasked with the duty of assembling the right team. After interviewing Mike Troolines, the owner of Sound Asylum Studio in Santa Ana, Henry knew he had found the right place to track. After the songs were recorded, Misha Kachkachishvili of Axistudio in New Orleans provided expertise mixing the project. With a strong recommendation from Kachkachishvili, Bruce Barielle was enlisted to master the tracks.
As the songs were being mixed and mastered, creative director, Holli Elaine, cast a vision for the style, image, and presentation the album. With Holli’s countless ideas, web designer Drew Geraci translated the look and feel into web design. Photos taken by Christan Parreira caught the new look of Adam’s Attic collectively and as individuals. Journalist Nate Bates drafted the group’s biography. Finally, Roman Ruiz implemented the album’s graphic design in part by utilizing the album cover designed by Geraci and a photo by Parreira for the back cover.
Five Knuckle Shuffle
Throbbing Gristle are not a band. They are a force of interruption to your consciousness. They also happen to be the grandparents of Industrial music, which if you are playing the above track* while reading this review you will understand to be either a lot of noise or the genius merging of the sounds of industry/factories and non-chordal music without traditional boundaries. Now of course today’s industrial music is more melodic than much of this, but it owes a debt of gratitude to Throbbing Gristle. *(The picture on the left is from the single, released in 1979, the tag on the mp3 above is from D.o.A. The Third And Final Report released in 1991, and that is track 14, accredited to be from that 1979 single)
Last night I experienced the reunion of this force, I’m still a little shell-shocked, I’ll admit. so please go over here to this review…. it so accurately sums up the visceral experience, right down to the flutter of loose clothing that the reverberations of noise caused from the tremendous sound emitted by this band. Loud does not begin to describe the thing I felt.
But loud was not all. This is what it was like when Genesis P-Orridge wasn’t singing/chanting/reciting. Only you have to imagine that you’re standing in the large, moving crowd and you can’t really see them doing this (and had been standing for 4+ hours, already through the first part of the show – a viewing of Derek Jarman’s 60min alchemical film ‘In The Shadow of The Sun’ with live soundtrack performed by the band and an hour and a half break.) You feel them doing this and it’s art and it’s an experience and it’s something you don’t understand, but you think you might want to. And this song is 7 minutes long.
Most blog reports bitch and complain about how it wasn’t a “concert,” meaning that you couldn’t dance all the way through, that the security worked the crowd aggressively, that the house lights were blazing bright throughout the show and that killed their buzz. Throbbing Gristle aren’t in the show business business as Genesis declared when a man in the audience yelled loudly “turn the fucking lights down.” This was always about making a statement that said the current music scene, the entertainment industry of music was the enemy.
Lots of people last night got that, knew that, were there for that. It was a memorable experience, I don’t think I will ever be affected by music in that way again. Even with earplugs (very necessary, believe me) the incredible force of sound produced and the intentional barrage of confusion of it all was depleting and twisted. That’s not to say that it was all chaotic, many parts were rhythmic and very melodic, and had the room dancing and sweaty. Cosey Fanni-Tutti, on a very hyped up guitar slid and plucked and yes, made it screech at times throughout.
Towards the end, Genesis approached the microphone, pulled up the sleeve of his right arm and kissed the tattoo on the inside of it. I knew immediately that this would be his new song, “Almost A Kiss,” an homage to his recently departed wife and it had me standing still for the first time that night, tears streaming down my cheeks. I was not alone in this reaction. As with all of the US shows I’ve heard about, Throbbing Gristle ended with an amazing performance of “Discipline” and then grasped hands, took a bow and left the stage. The night was over, and the ending was simply perfect in it’s simplicity.
I leave you with this statement by Industrial Records, the DIY label founded in 1978 by Throbbing Gristle. It’s thought provoking and something I want to return to and dissect, but you can’t hear their “music” without knowing this theory behind it.
I can’t stop listening to sad songs…. catharsis or masochism? It’s difficult to tell sometimes, eh? But Friday nights are times to just kick back and let it flow… whatever it is. For once in a long while, I’ve worked a whole week and I’ve earned this Friday night. That’s a mutherfuckin good feeling, let me tell you! Here, have some tunes… kick it, enjoy the hell outta your weekend, your woman, your man, your kids, your whatever, xoxo
The Bow Song mp3Perhapsy (debut album available June 16) This complex guitar, ambient noise, jazz piece says Friday to me over and over again. It’s also a little like what the inside of my head sounds/feels like by the end of the week so I guess I like listening to it as it unwinds itself upon itself over and over again and at the very last moment revs itself up into a frenzy before sputtering out. Yeah, that’s so like me on a night like this; apply that to any scenario that you might imagine, darlin’s Find news on the album here.
Only Beginnings mp3 Oh Darling from their new album Nice-Nice which they are touring to support (see dates below) and if you go to their website, which is lovely, you can hear it all there. Most of the rest of the album is quite upbeat and with these very sweet soprano voices which aren’t really twee at all and the instrumentalization of it all makes for a really varied and interesting album. I really wish them well on this tour, they have some high hopes and a good chance of reaching them. They’ve licensed their new song “Colorful Day” for a VW commercial and the upcoming feature film Road Trip 2. They’ve relocated from Portland, OR to LA and made a docudrama about it all, and although everyone and their mother calls them “cute” I have to say, when you adjust your ears to the vocals I think you’ll hear quite a bit more than “cute” out of this talented band. This tune is just dreamy and sad and sleepy sounding and I fell in love with it. I hope you do too.
Apr 25 2009 8:00P The Brown Lantern Anacortes, Washington
Apr 26 2009 9:00P Doug Fir Portland, Oregon
Apr 28 2009 12:00P Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, California
Apr 30 2009 9:00P Old Ironsides Sacramento, California
May 1 2009 6:00P KFSR Fresno, California
May 1 2009 8:00P Fresno State University Fresno, California
May 1 2009 9:00P Kuppajoe Fresno, California.
(I bring you tidings from Drunk Country and The Woman of The House)
Blimey,
This week’s come around real fast. Homegame has beaten the hell out of us; our shins, calves & ankles are still feeling the hours & hours of standing up (in inappropriately flat shoes) gig-watching, interviewing, session recording & drinking vast amounts of alcohol. But, hell, it was very much in the postal district of fun. The Homegame special will be aired in a week or tow – just as soon as we edit all the material we managed to record )
To this week’s clustermuckabout, then & the delights what’ll no doubt be The Seal Cub Clubbing Club,Blue Roses, Peggy Sue, My Latest Novel, The Duke & The King (ex of The Felice Brothers), Graham Coxon, The Wave Pictures, Phil & The Osophers, God Help The Girl, The Paper Chase & oh so very many more.
Tune in, then, why don’t you (usual time, usual place, usual blather) & catch us on the twittervine during the show.
Well, some nights you really don’t want lyrics to cloud your already muddled thinking. This tune did the trick for me, it might do the same for you. It’s spacey and cool and representative without being derivative or sounding just like all the other indie electronica that seems to be hitting the airwaves lately. Gizeh Records in Leeds are putting out some really remarkable stuff and hitting the blogs with previews of their new releases. This is from an album Arrivals, by a band called worriedaboutsatan, and it’s hitting the shops May 25th.
Who are worriedaboutsatan: Gavin Miller and Thomas Ragsdale
You’re in My Thoughts mp3 ….. pre-order the limited edition here, ….. or pre-order the regular edition here (nose around over there and you’ll find tickets for sale to their record release parties too, you lucky UK folk!
MySpace Tour Dates
May 12 2009 8:00P
Raynor Lounge, Students Union (with Maybeshewill & more) Sheffield
May 13 2009 8:00P
Buffalo Bar (with Kontakte) London
May 15 2009 8:00P
ARRIVALS ALBUM OFFICIAL LAUNCH GIG @ The Packhorse (with Fuzzy Lights & Lupercal) Leeds
May 15 2009 11:30P
ARRIVALS ALBUM OFFICIAL LAUNCH CLUB GIG @ TBA Leeds
May 16 2009 8:00P
Cluny2 (with Fuzzy Lights) Newcastle
Let me say right off, this is the kind of album that I should not like very much. And I’ve been putting off reviewing it for weeks now. Tonight I just couldn’t deny it any more. Empire of The Sun’sWalking On A Dream is simply put, pop genius. I’m engaged in a discussion on another blog about blogs going professional – becoming tied to the big labels and bloggers becoming indebted to the corporate boys and losing their way. I worried that because I received this album from EMI that I was reviewing it because I felt I should. But I listened to it twice through tonight again and damnit, it’s just fucking good.
Remember Supertramp’s Breakfast In America? No, this doesn’t sound anything like that. It does, however, have that unique pop death-grip on the listener that BIA had. Walking On A Dream has so many tracks that I would pick to be singles, I mean they’re that good. It’s a shame that you can only get one from the label, but please go listen to the rest, they vary so much from one another. This is not a dance album by any stretch of the imagination. It does have some wicked good dance tunes on it though! “Standing On The Shore”, the first track, is so hot, it’s really a great pop song. I’m sitting here shaking my head in amazement. “Delta Bay” is creepy, funky theatrical pop and yet with all those warring adjectives they make it work. Again, I’m registering bemused unbelief. The next track, “Country” features fine guitar work and smooth electronica that serves as a segue from the wonderfully odd to the transcendently esoteric, “The World.” Their titles are artfully chosen, “Swordfish Hot Kiss Nite” is really everything that a title like that could possibly be; dance tune extraordinaire. And “Tiger By My Side,” with it’s echos of Duran Duran (?) is just really cool…. yeah you’d think I could come up with a more professional way to say that by now, I know.
Some of the hype surrounding Empire of The Sun focuses on the incredible videos and videography used to illustrate the music of this project. The project was written with a sort of movie quality in mind. I have to say, that didn’t grab me. Some of the hype is focused on the careers of the two men behind Empire of The Sun; Luke Steele of The Sleepy Jackson and Nick Littlemore of Pnau. Nope, I’m not an aficionado of dance tunes so that didn’t do much for me either. I’m telling you, it’s all about the music! Every track on this album sounds like it’s from a different band and yet also sounds exactly like them. Have I confused you completely yet?
It’s full of echoes, synthesizers, thick bass beats, catchy lyrics, and also incredibly beautiful sound effects that blend more mundane tracks seamlessly into the project. This is the type of album that you really want to lie in bed, in the dark and soak up through the headphones a few times before you turn it up loud and dance to it. Puppet said, when I sent him to the website to give me advice on how to handle this, “Tell me why I like this?” And I knew exactly what he meant. It’s not the kind of thing I’d predict for either of us, yet somehow it totally grabbed us by the dangly bits and it never let go. (Ok, track 10: “Without You”, I would maybe skip a few times, if only for the vocals which are heavy handed and reminiscent of some early 70s TV star-gone-to-be-singer tragedies. Yes, John Travolta I’m talking about you.) But out of 10 tracks, that’s the only one that didn’t suit me.
There are more youtube videos, none of which allow embedding. Go see for yourself please, and then come back here to enjoy these. You’ll see how amazing this project is and how much money they must have spent on all of this. Wow!
It’s nice to get some love from the locals isn’t it? And Chicago has not only a thriving local scene but a really loyal one too. I’m constantly getting emails and conversations from people in bands saying “hey, have you heard my friends, the ….?!? They’re fantastic!” We like to spread the love wide here in this big, wide, windy city. (yeah that was corny, wasn’t it?)
Ok, music… This band, CoachHouse, is what I’d call urban fusion. It’s making hip hop slide down with that spoonful of sugar for me, me being that aging old-school lyrics-loving rock music fan. CoachHouse is smart, thought-provoking, musically diverse and so very obviously talented. They also happen to be in the right place for what they love to do. Whether it’s intentional or not, Chicago is fertile ground for the spoken word/music mix that CoachHouse has fused into some kind of wonderful.
On Sunday night they are one of four bands to play at an awesome club, Subterranean. It’s a 17+ show which is always nice, gets the crowd moving. I’ve given you a taste of CoachHouse here, but please do go check out the MySpace pages of the others as well. Bilithic is releasing their record that night. Some day soon I might feature them as well, they’re probably friends of people in bands I know or will meet soon, that’s how we do it here, xoxox
in anticipation of a week of work (!) I’m laying around today listening to music purely for the pleasure of listening to music, no hidden agendas, no posts in mind, just letting my ears take me where I will…. it’s been a long time.
Some Kind of Death mp3Cardboard Wings Birdlips …..buy it
It’s only 6:oo, you still have time to catch this band tonight at the Sub… and I’m gonna post this song of theirs, Madame Shocking because it’s the only one I can, but….
)
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