Via Stereogum
With Saturdays=Youth, Anthony Gonzalez melded his shoegazey synths and electronics to John Hughes era, Pretty In Pink-tinted nostalgia to sweeping effect and face time with Brandon Flowers, Kimmel, Conan, and the LA Philharmonic. So that is a lot of disparate reference points. Next on the docket for M83 is an EP release around “We Own The Sky,” which comes with bonus goods in the form of a “Graveyard Girl” remix by ParkerLab and the new track “Je Vous Hais Petites Filles.” Both leave the P. Furs/Thompson Twins aesthetic behind and show where M83 could have gone with this last slate of songs, had he continued visiting dead cities and healing dawns instead of filling up his Netflix queue with Molly Ringwald flicks.
Continue reading New M83 – “Je Vous Hais Petites Filles” & “Graveyard Girl (ParkerLab’s Dusted Remix)” (Stereogum Premiere)…
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Via SP publicist: “Auditions will be held Friday, April 10 in Los Angeles for drummers who are looking to play with THE SMASHING PUMPKINS. They should send their background info, photos and performance web links via email only to: pumpkinsdrummer@gmail.com.” NO EGOS?
“Unleash” might seem like the wrong word for Neko Case’s classy, countrified sounds, but even though a couple of these performances are muted and she’s only joined by one other vocalist and an acoustic guitarist, when she tilts her head back and belts it out, you imagine she could be heard over even the biggest of storms (or, in more musical terms, a Glenn Branca Guitar Army). We’ve seen plenty of live performance’s of material from Case’s sixth album, sure, and there’s a reason why — the woman really can sing. Broken record. See:
Continue reading Neko Case Unleashes Her Middle Cyclone On Interface…
Longstanding Seattle group U.S.E., aka United States Of Electronica, are offering a sample of their forthcoming sophomore LP LOVEWORLD as well as their current “All The World” EP (they like to release EP’s). It’s the first we’ve heard from them since 2005. One thing to note: “All The World” won’t be LOVEWORLD’s lead single. The band just wanted to get some music out and since we’re told the album’s 95% done, they’re close enough — does this mean the lead single’s in that last 5%? Whatever the case, the EP arrives with handmade spray-painted covers along with “All The World” and a DJ Ron Kurti remix of the same track. We have them sans spray-painted covers, but just as much colorful confetti.
Continue reading New U.S.E. – “All The World” & “All The World (Ron Kurti Remix)”…
This year’s August bank holiday weekend (8/28-8/30) will provide two chances to see the acts mentioned in this post title, along with Bloc Party, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, and everyone who appeared on the cover of NME in 2008. Reading line-up here, Leeds line-up here. Priceline here.
So far Annie Clark’s new album’s made waves in a few big bursts: First the extremely facial album art, next the fairy tale-cum-fuzz pedal delirium of the fantastic lead MP3 “The Strangers.” By Annie standards Actor’s pseudo-title track “Actor Out Of Work” is a relatively straight forward stomping rocker, though chords move with music school smarts and the riffs augment and distend in clever ways, and the embellishments come via ghostly backing vocals and twinkling keys, and yeah even when it’s relatively straight-forward St. Vincent’s still deceptively clever rock. Hear it at Hype. Or try this video of Ms. Clark rehearsing the tune with her band for NPR down in Austin:
Continue reading New St. Vincent – “Actor Out Of Work”…
In today’s session SM and his Jicks perform “Vanessa From Queens,” “Elmo Delmo,” and a cover of the James Gang’s “Funk #49.” Download at Daytrotter.
When James Toth, aka Wooden Wand, released Harem of the Sundrum And The Witness Figg in 2005, I coulda sworn (and did) that he was going to continue with this lo-fi scratchiness, providing a noisier and weirder path for folks already finding Devendra Banhart and some of those other freak folks a bit too staid. Since then Toth’s changed his moniker a half dozen times, all the while making increasingly bland classic rock albums: Wooden Wand & The Vanishing Worth. That said, a couple of his ex-backing Vanishing Voice bandmates — Jarvis Taveniere (also Meneguar) and sound-bender G. Lucas Crane — have gotten behind an idiosyncratic project that seems to have some legs. I liked Woods’ 2007 At Rear House (and reviewed it at the time for a site that has since killed its archives, so there goes that), but reversing Toth’s path, the forthcoming Songs of Shame (and the previous Woods Family Creeps) find Woodsist head Jeremy Earl, also of Meneguar, taking his new entourage into stranger, even more satisfying waters. “Rain On”:
Continue reading New Woods – “Rain On”…
At first brush Mississippi’s Dent May doesn’t seem like the sort of dude to be sharing bills with Excepter and Beach House like he did during CMJ, or Animal Collective like he’s doing now in Europe. His record’s called The Good Feeling Music Of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele, and a glance at that title and a press shot wraps up all you need to know about the guy: he’s a self-styled dweeb, crooning tuneful retro pop with a ukulele, and if you have trouble reading between lines, I guess you won’t see the winks. Until you watch the John Rory Fraser-directed video for “Howard.” The tune has Dent chronicle the life of Howard, the Kenny Fucking Powers of music, washed up and burned out and stoned and fatter, going for the one-man-show comeback, while the visuals have a Buddy Holly-ed Dent encounter enough lo-fi wipes, fades, dissolves and overlays to make Tim & Eric blush. I know what you’ll think as you watch this and yes, Dent May did go to NYU film school.
Continue reading New Dent May Video – “Howard”…
Holtzclaw Road, Virginia brothers Pontiak teemed with fellow Thrill Jockeys Arbouretum for Kale, the split 12″ that included originals plus John Cale covers like the latter’s take on “Buffalo Ballet.” Of course, there’s more to each band than Cale covers. We updated Arbouretum’s dossier recently with their raging (but also quietly echoed) stoner anthem “False Spring.” Now that it sorta feels like Spring may stick around a while (maybe), we have a couple newbies from Pontiak, both via their noisier, heavier (and Dead Meadow-esque) third album Maker, recorded in their “rural” VA studio. Opener “Laywayed” buzzes alongside a very opened eyeball, flashlight theater, the band, a trippy spider, and beautiful landscapes. “Honey” arrives image-free, but it’s still — wait, apologies — sweet (leaf).
Continue reading New Pontiak Video – “Laywayed” + “Honey” MP3…
