June 2011
2 posts
2 tags
The Local Strangers - The Local Strangers EP
The Local Strangers is a Seattle acoustic duo featuring Midwestern transplants Aubrey Zoli and Matt Hart. With soulful vocals and intricate harmonies, their poignant, honest, and relatable songwriting has distinguished them in the Americana/alt-country scene. They thrive on stage in an energetic display of passion for their music and create an unmistakable connection with every audience.
For...
Review: Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones
Frank’s 3rd album Poetry Of The Deed was not perfect. It was too long and a little too samey (rock song, rock song, acoustic song, acoustic rock song, repeat). Nevertheless, it had some brilliant moments proving the ex-Million Dead frontman (and mention of his old band will be returning later in this review) certainly hadn’t lost it, merely just got distracted along the route.England...
May 2011
11 posts
4 tags
Flogging Molly Stream New Album
Rolling Stone have an exclusive stream of the new album, Speed Of Darkness from Celtic-punks Flogging Molly.
Speed of Darkness is due out tomorrow (May 30th)
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Review: And So I Watch You From Afar - Gangs
Tearing back into prominence with their second full-length, And So I Watch You From Afar have gifted the contemporary instrumental music scene with a much-needed breath of fresh air. Never has a group given this much of a voice to voiceless music, achieved simply through their equally shared precedence within the band and truly audacious innovation.
The album roars into life with a colossal...
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Review: Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
Believe me, all is brilliant?
It must have been nerve-wrecking being Manchester Orchestra over the last month or so, waiting for Simple Math to be released and the reactions to come in from both fans and critics. Even more so because they haven’t been exactly downplaying it’s release. Giving fans a free download of the title track ahead of it’s release, a track which ...
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Stream: Maybeshewill - I Was Here For A Moment,...
Check out the new, rather brilliant, album from Maybeshewill.
Maybeshewill - I Was Here For a Moment Then I Was Gone by I LIKE PRESS
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Listen to this: Tall Ships - Hit The Floor
Stop everything you are doing and listen to this. Battles meets early-Foals forms possibly the best single of the year so far in the form of the new single from Tall Ships. It’s a perfect follow up to last years There Is Nothing But Chemistry Here EP, retaining the loopy guitars but it’s considerably more catchy and upbeat than anything they’ve done before.
Hit The Floor by...
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Review: The Lonely Island - Turtleneck & Chain
All bets are off, the best album of the year is here
Comedy albums have always been a bit of an odd ‘un, and most of the time deserve quotation marks around the “comedy” bit. In recent times we’ve entered something of a renaissance for the genre, with Kiwis Flight of the Conchords and Saturday Night Live’s Lonely Island trio.
Picking up where the first album left...
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Video: Tellison - Say Silence (Heaven & Earth)
Say Silence is the first single to be released from the second album by Tellison, ‘The Wages Of Fear, out June13th.
For pre-order details and upcoming tour dates see the bands website.
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Reading And Leeds Lock Up Line Up and Analysis
Last week the line up for the Reading and Leeds lock up tent was revealed. The lock up tent acts as a bastion of punk rock at the festival (which is headlined by My Chemical Romance, The Strokes/Pulp and Muse this year) and this years line up does not disappoint.
Reading Saturday/Leeds Sunday
Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The King Blues, The Bronx, Capdown, Leftover Crack, Comeback Kid, Boysetsfire,...
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Review: Tyler, the Creator - Goblin
Much like the foul-mouthed tirade against uncooperative music blogs that opened his first album Bastard, Odd Future leader Tyler’s follow-up Goblin features several caveats, including: “Hey, don’t do anything I say in this song, okay? It’s fucking fiction”
It’s sort of hard to talk about Tyler and his Wolf Gang without getting into a moral debate about the...
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Stream Manchester Orchestra's "Simple Math"
Manchester Orchestra’s new album “Simple Math” is due out this month and the band have followed in the footsteps of many bands these days and released a stream of the new album online. However this, unlike the others, is only able to be accessed after the completion of a puzzle (drag any of the ten shapes to the correct spot on the row of squares, get 5 in their right position...
April 2011
52 posts
4 tags
Listen to this: Frank Turner - Peggy Sang The...
The first official single from Frank’s upcoming 4th album England Keep My Bones.
Have a listen, I think it’s wonderful.
Frank Turner - Peggy Sang The Blues by Epitaph Records
Also, here’s the “leaked” track I Am Disappeared, just for good measure.
Frank Turner - I Am Disappeared by Epitaph Records
England Keep My Bones is out June 6th Xtra-Mile Records.
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Review: Brontide - Sans Souci
I fear that modern post-rock is in danger of doing what “indie” music did in 2007 and become very stagnant very quickly. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of great bands and exciting music about, there just seems to be a little lack of innovation.
Not that Sans Souci falls into that category. It is innovative and exciting on a level I haven’t heard in years....
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Listen to this: Manchester Orchestra - Virgin
So, it would certainly appear we are in for variety when Manchester Orchestra’s third album Simple Math drops in May. The title track is was grand, orchestral and simply stunning, second track to be released ‘April Fool’ was much closer to the sound of their second album, and now we have been given ‘Virgin’, which is another game entirely. Listen below.
Virgin by...
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Review: Johnny Foreigner - Certain Songs Are...
This EP comes on the back of a frisbee, which is an argument for the continued production of physical music if I’ve ever heard one, but lets not get into that.
It seems reasonable to judge ‘Certain Songs Are Cursed’ as a precursor to JoFo album 3, due later in the year. It appears to cover most of the bases the band have covered throughout their career. Both ‘What...
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News: Hold Your Horse Is live album and tour.
In order to raise cash to record their debut album, hopefully out by the end of the year, Hold Your Horse Is have decided to release a live album, available for download from their Bandcamp for as much as you are willing to donate (£1 or more).
The album, titled ‘Like, Live And Stuff’ was recorded at the Camden Purple Turtle in London on February 15th, whilst the band were on tour...
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Listen to this: Brontide - Matador
The first track to be taken from the bands debut album Sans Souci, out on Holy Roar Records on May 30th.
The album was recorded as one 51 minute piece, so this is just a taster of what it has in store.
Matador by Brontide.
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Review "Wasting Light - Foo Fighters"
‘THESE ARE MY FAMOUS LAST WORDS’ and with that scream, Wasting Light, the Foo Fighters 7th album explodes into life. Wasting Light has been heralded as the return to the days of “The Colour And The Shape” however by looking back to the bands past, they’ve evolved into something different, and just as good. The album contains none of the acoustic ballads that have...
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Video: Penguins Kill Polar Bears - Sapling
Here is the video for the new single from Penguins Kill Polar Bears.
Sapling is out digitally on May 23rd through Mountain Halo Records.
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News: Changes to Spotify's free service.
Spotify is great for checking out a band you’ve been recommended or wanting to give a listen to for a while without having to pay for their music or pirate it.
However, their are changes coming in on May 1st that make affect people’s ability to use Spotify in the future.
The changes are as follows:
New Spotify users will be able to enjoy our unrivalled free service as it is today...
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Stream: Guillemots - Walk The River
You can now stream the entirety of the new album from Guillemots below!
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Tour dates: The Revival Tour.
Dates for the UK/Ireland leg of Chuck Regan’s Revival Tour have (finally) been annouced.
If you don’t know what the Revival Tour is, it’s a collection of musicians, led by Chuck Regan from Hot Water Music, getting together in an attempt to bring the openness and giving that folk music was formed on back to music. For more information, see the official site.
On the...
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Video: Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
Check out the video for Simple Math, the first single to be taken from Manchester Orchestra’s third album of the same name, out May 9th on Favourite Gentlemen Records.
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Listen to this: The Wonder Years - Local Man Ruins...
I think in a list of recent albums that could be considered hard to follow, The Wonder Years second album The Upsides, released last year, is probably near the top. I won’t go into everything that is wonderful about that record, suffice to say it’s easily one of the best pop-punk records of recent years and if you haven’t heard it, check it out.
The bands third album Suburbia...
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On the horizon: Fireworks - Gospel
Tracklist:
Arrows
I Was Born In The Dark
X’s On Trees
We’re Still Pioneers
Teeth
Oh, Why Can’t We Start Old And Get Younger?
Summer
Life Is Killing Me
I Am The Challenger
Paintings Of Paul Revere
I Locked My Time Capsule
The Wild Bunch
Out on May 24th on Triple Crown Records.
Single Summer can be heard (and downloaded for the price of a Tweet) here.
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On the horizon: The Wonder Years - Suburbia I've...
Tracklist:
Came Out Swinging
Woke Up Older
Local Man Ruins Everything
Suburbia
My Life As A Pigeon
Summers In PA
I Won’t Say The Lord’s Prayer
Coffee Eyes
I’ve Given You All
Don’t Let Me Cave In
You Made Me Want To Be A Saint
Hoodie Weather
And Now I’m Nothing
Out on Hassel Records on June 14th.
New single Local Man Ruins Everything will be streaming,...
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Review: TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light
SO! Album five (or four, depending on who you talk to) for TV On the Radio, New York-based Art-rock funksters. What’ve you got for us?
More New York-based Art-rock funk?
Oh.
Okay, so maybe that is a little disingenuous (but you kept reading, eh?) Musically, Nine Types of Light carries on in much the same vein as “break through” album Dear Science, the band’s...
5 tags
On the horizon: Tom Vek - Leisure Seizure
Okay, so this is more of a titbit than anything, but a flippin’ exciting one nonetheless; Tom Vek, whose brilliantly poppy debut We Have Sound bowed in 2005, is set to return from the wilderness (at last) with new album Leisure Seizure, preceded by a new single, “A Chore”, which will receive its worldwide premiere on Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show next week (so be sure to tune...
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Listen to this: Arctic Monkeys - Don't Sit Down...
The first proper single from the Sheffield bands 4th album ‘Suck It And See’, due out June 6th on Domino Records.
Instant impressions? This is so much better than the ‘teaser’ Brick By Brick. Far more exciting musically, although I hope the album contains more than just songs based around varying guitar riffs. Lyrically, it’s certainly one of Alex’s more...
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News: Alcopop! sign LightGuides
Exciting times over at Alcopop! HQ at the moment, with the release of the new Johnny Foreigner EP within the week, and now they have signed Scottish 3-piece LightGuides!
A band with a great back-catalog of self-released EPs already behind them, they have a mini-album planned for the summer with Alcopop! as well as single ‘Old Bucket Seats’ due for release at the end of May.
If you...
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Listen to this: Ben Gibbard - Where Our...
Not much to say about this really. Following the release of When The Sun Goes Down earlier this week, here is another (rather lovely) solo track from Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard.
It’s properly produced and everything, clearly much more than a demo. I wonder what he has in store for us.
I can’t embed it, unfortunately, so click here to hear it.
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On the horizon: The Wave Pictures - Beer In The...
Tracklist
“Blue Harbour”
“Now Your Smile Comes Over In Your Voice”
“Little Surprise”
“Blink Back A Tear”
“Walk The Back Stairs Quiet”
“China Whale Brand (For Hugh John Noble)”
“Pale Thin Lips”
“In Her Kitchen”
“Two Lemons, One Lime”
“Beer In The Breakers”
...
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Listen to this: Rolo Tomassi - Titanomachia
Sheffield 5-piece Rolo Tomassi are set to release their 36 track anthology at the end of the month, titled ‘Eternal Youth’.
The collection will encompass music from their 6 year recording career, and is out through Destination Moon records on April 18th, a record label run by the band. There will also be a limited edition 3LP release for Record Store Day (April 16th) through Holy Roar...
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Listen to this: Death Cab For Cutie - Home Is A...
Exciting!? Maybe, interesting to say the least. This is the second song (following single You Are A Tourist) to surface from Death Cab’s 7th studio album Codes And Keys, due out at the end of May.
It certainly indicates a far bigger change in the bands sound that You Are A Tourist did. Containing little/no guitar, electronic drums and plenty of synths, Home Is A Fire might imply Death Cab...
7 tags
Review: The Weeknd - Balloons
This free-to-download mixtape by Toronto-based musician Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, has garnered comparisons to both recent acclaimed rapper Drake and the not-unjustifiably ubiquitous the xx. Which, as reference points, aren’t as disparate as you may initially think.
The xx have commented on the mid-90s R&B influence on their music, going as far as to cover Aailyah’s...
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Video: Shapes - Cacophony Of Silence
Shape’s have released the video for their new single Cacophony Of Silence.
The track will feature on the bands debut album, titled Monotony Chic and set to be released on May 30th via Big Scary Monsters records.
The band are also on tour to support the release, see their Tumblr for more details.
Check out the video below:
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Tour dates: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
4-piece New York indie-pop band The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart have announced a run of UK dates for the summer.
The dates as follows:
7/6: Junction, Cambrigde 8/6: Electric Ballroom, London 9/6: Metropolis, Bristol 10/6: Sound Control, Manchester 11/6: The Arches, Glasgow 13/6: Queens Social Club, Sheffield 14/6: HMV Institude, Birmingham
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart have recently...
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Video: Death Cab For Cutie - You Are A Tourist
Last night Death Cab For Cutie broadcast the live, one take recording of the video for their new single You Are A Tourist, taken from their 7th studio album Codes And Keys, out May 30th.
Don’t fret if you missed it (it wasn’t the most exciting thing ever), the resulting video is below. It’s been tinkered with a bit since last night.
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On the horizon: Art Brut - Brilliant! Tragic!
Tracklist
“Clever Clever Jazz”
“Lost Weekend”
“Bad Comedian”
“Sexy Sometimes”
“Is Dog Eared”
“Martin Kemp Welch Five A-Side Football Rules!”
“Axl Rose”
“I Am The Psychic”
“Ice Hockey”
“Sealand”
Out on Cooking Vinyl May 23rd
Returning after the triumphant Art Brut...
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Review: Yuck - Yuck
The self-titled debut album by Yuck (featuring former members of noisy indie five-piece Cajun Dance Party) has sparked debates about originality and necessity for innovation in indie rock. So how about we just review the album?
Well, that’s kind of difficult. There’s no doubt the album has touchstones in late eighties/early nineties grunge and slacker rock — there’s a reason...
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Review: You Animals - Crimes, Creeps & Thrills
Maybe it’s just part of me growing out of it and it passing me by, but there does seem to be a lack of good, fun, poppy “indie” guitar music around at the moment. I stress the word “good” because there is clearly plenty of “indie” about, much of it just tends to be ever so slightly dull.
Anywhere, here we have the debut album from Derby based 6-piece...
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On The Horizon: Twin Atlantic - Free
Tracklisting
‘Edit Me’
‘Time For You To Stand Up’
‘Wonder Sleeps Here’
‘8 Days’
‘Serious Underground Dance Vibes’
‘Dreamember’
‘The Ghost Of Eddie’
‘Free’
‘Yes, I Was Drunk’
‘Crash Land’
‘Apocalyptic Renegade’
‘Make A Beast Of Myself’
...
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Listen to this: The Antlers - Parenthese
If you haven’t heard The Antlers 2009 album ‘Hospice’ I suggest that is something you get around to doing as soon as possible. It is a heartbreaking concept album based on an emotionally abusive relationship between a terminally ill patient in a hospice and their carer and is simply stunning.
The band are back this year, set to release ‘Burst Apart’ through...
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The Ghost Of A Thousand Call It A Day
The hardcore punk band The Ghost Of A Thousand have announced that they are splitting via a message on their website
After nearly 7 years of being a band we have decided to call it a day. It’s been increasingly difficult to commit ourselves to a touring band and unfortunately ‘real life’ has finally gotten the better of us. We know there’s been rumours for a while and we’re sorry that we haven’t...
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Listen to this: Taking Back Sunday - El Paso
When I heard that Taking Back Sunday were getting back to the Tell All Your Friends-era line up, I was more than a little excited. I adore that record, it is genuinely brilliant. One could easily draw comparisons with Brand New, but most of the album doesn’t sound too much like them. It’s far more technical than anything on Your Favorite Weapon and far closer to pop-punk than anything...
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Live review: The Sunshine Underground @ Foundry,...
Out of all the albums that soundtracked my life in 2006/07, The Sunshine Underground’s Raise The Alarm is one of the few I’d still regard as being a great album (along with Larrikin Love’s The Freedom Spark, for example). Last time I saw them play it was to a sold out Leeds Academy in March 2009, this time around it’s to a half full students union.
Still, this...
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On the horizon: City & Colour - Little Hell
Tracklist:
We Found Each Other In The Dark
Natural Disaster
The Grand Optimist
Little Hell
Fragile Bird
Northern Wind
O’Sister
Weightless
Sorrowing Man
Silver And Gold
Hope For Now
Out on Vagrant Records on June 6th.
You can here Fragile Bird by clicking here.
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On the horizon: Copy Haho - Copy Haho
Tracklist:
Factory Floor
Earthquake
Wrong Direction
Waiting For Something To Happen
A Winter On The Run
Demons And Gods
Dying Breed
Pestle And Mortar
The Be Good
When It Gets Dark
Accent Changed
Out on Slow Learner Records on June 20th.
It’s been a long time coming, here’s hoping it’s worth the wait.
Listen to Dying Breed below:
Dying Breed by copyhaho