Wye Oak : The Knot :: Review
May 31, 2009 by greg
Filed under Featured Reviews, Tunes
Occasionally an album comes along that knocks your socks off by asserting its own personality rather than chase whatever trends are popular at the time. Recalling a simpler era, Wye Oak channels a gothic folksy sound akin to Sandy Denny fronting Crazy Horse. This style works remarkably well on “The Knot” with its dense and woozy compositions that reveal more upon each listen. Throughout “The Knot” songwriters Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner explore the possibilities of how our ties to other people define our experiences. Wasner and Stack implore you to glean your meaning from this collection of songs rather than spell everything out for you.
“The Knot” opens with a dramatic attention getting bell chime on the weary “Milk and Honey.” “Milk and Honey” swoons and sways to its staccato percussion and feels like it will collapse any second if it passes its two-minute playtime. In contrast, the cautiously optimistic “For Prayer” opens with a whimper before ending in a noisy feedback driven squall. “Take It In” builds upon the drama and measures out its own striking cadence as the melody survives the guitar onslaught. Of the album’s many highlights, my personal favorite would have to be the droning and organ heavy “Mary is Mary.” For comparison, think of a heavier and bluer Mazzy Star.
While there is nothing on the rest of the album as dark as the epic “Mary is Mary,” Wye Oak change gears and attempt to lighten the proceedings a bit. “Tattoo” is almost poppy in a sense and “I Want For Nothing” offers a melancholy bit of violin before the tempestuous “That I Do” and the closing dirge of “Sight, Flight.” “The Knot” is available on July 21st on Merge Records but would probably more suitable for the autumnal months as well.
Rating: 
This post was submitted by greg.
Future of the Left : The Hope That House Built :: Tour Dates
Future Of The Left JULY US Tour Dates (more to come!)
July 13 Hoboken NJ – Maxwell’s
July 14 Philadelphia PA – Johnny Brenda’s
July 15 Toronto ON – El Mocambo
July 17 Cambridge MA – T.T. The Bears
July 18 Brooklyn NY – Siren Music Festival
July 19 Washington DC – DC9
July 21 Chicago IL – Schubas Tavern
July 22 St Paul MN – Turf Club
July 25 Seattle WA – Capitol Hill Block Party
July 28 San Francisco CA – Bottom of the Hill
July 31 Los Angeles CA – Spaceland
This post was submitted by greg.
Regina Spektor : Laughing With
This post was submitted by greg.
New : Dadalife :: Happy Hands and Happy Feet
May 28, 2009 by greg
Filed under Featured Tunes, Tunes
NEW YORK – On September 8, The Hours will release underground sensation Dada Life’s debut artist CD Just Do The Dada. They don’t care about genres. They don’t care about smartness. They don’t care about the things you care about. Dada Life just wants to make you jump up and down. Then make you crash into a wall with a smile on your face.
Dada Life is the brainchild of Stockholm-based Olle Corneer and Stefan Engblom. In the summer 2006, Dada Life released “Big Time” on Mylo’s Breastfed label and DJs all over got their first taste of the duo. Since then, there has been a steady stream of hit records from “The Great Fashionista Swindle,” “Vote Yes” and “Fun Fun Fun” to this spring’s “Happy Hands And Happy Feet” EP. Dada Life’s music is adored by both an eclectic mix of DJ talent – including David Guetta, Tiësto, Eric Prydz, Altern 8, Crookers and Don Rimini – and some of the most discerning underground tastemakers in the world (check out some of the quotes below).
Conceptually, Dada Life was inspired by the Dada cultural movement that originally began in Zurich during World War 1. “We don’t want to be perceived as arty, but we like the anti-ideas and f*ck-off-attitude of Dada. We have just taken the word Dada and filled it with whatever we like. Like the title track “Just Do The Dada” – it doesn’t really mean anything specific. That’s also the ideas we want to communicate – the basic concept of Dada Life – anti-everything, f*ck-all, but still not pinpointed. Everybody can do the Dada. But no one really knows what it is. All this has been the idea from the start. Hence older titles “This Machine Kills Breakfasts”, “Vote Yes” and “The Great Fashionista Swindle” and new tracks created for the album “Let’s Get Bleeped Tonight” and “Happy Hands & Happy Feet.” There’s a certain attitude to Dada Life, but it’s not specific,” Corneer explains.
When performing as a live act Dada Life is one box of bananas, a couple of bottles of Champagne and a lot of sweat and broken equipment. On the other hand, Dada Life DJ-gigs tend to go the same way with an MPC and some controllers that enable the boys to play around with samples and loops even when they DJ. They also constantly produce their own remixes/edits of good tunes in order to have something unique to play during the sets. North American audiences will experience this firsthand when Dada Life takes to the States for a full tour later this summer / early fall!
“Just Do The Dada” is released September 8, 2009 on The Hours.
This post was submitted by greg.
New Superchunk 7″: Crossed Wires b/w Blinders (Fast Vers.)
May 28, 2009 by greg
Filed under Featured Tunes, Tunes
This new Superchunk single was produced by Scott Solter (John Vanderslice, The Mountain Goats) at Overdub Lane in Durham, NC, and will be available in a limited edition of 1,000 copies on clear vinyl. “Crossed Wires” comes in a beautiful picture sleeve featuring artwork by New York artist Will Yackulic, and comes with a digital download code that gets you both songs plus a demo version of “Crossed Wires.”
Superchunk will play a free show at South Street Seaport in New York on July 17th, and as part of XX Merge in Carrboro July 22-26.
Preorder from the Merge store! Release Date: July 7, 2009.
This post was submitted by greg.
Moby : Pale Horses
This post was submitted by greg.
Andrew Bird Loves You! : Summer Tour News
May 28, 2009 by greg
Filed under Featured Tunes, Tunes
After swooping in to rock Bonnaroo on Jun 14, Andrew Bird will be kicking off his U.S. summer tour with the following dates before taking over a lucky smattering of cities in Northern California, Utah, Oregon, and Washington…
June 15 – Atlanta @ Cobb Energy PAC
June 18 – New York @ Radio City Music Hall
June 19 – Boston @ Bank of America Pavilion
July 10 – Los Angeles @ Greek Theatre
Bird then heads to Lollapalooza in August, and in October, he’ll be in Austin for Austin City Limits. Full tour schedule below.
ANDREW BIRD ON TOUR
Jun 8 – Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia , MD
Jun 14 – Bonnaroo – Manchester, TN
Jun 15 – Cobb Energy PAC – Atlanta, GA
Jun 18 – Radio City Music Hall – New York, NY **
Jun 19 – Bank of America Pavilion – Boston, MA
Jul 10 – Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
Jul 11 – Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA
Jul 13 – Red Butte Garden – Salt Lake City, UT
Jul 14 – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
Jul 16 – Britt Pavilion – Jacksonville, OR
Jul 17 – Marymoor Amphitheatre – Redmond, WA
Jul 18 – McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater – Troutdale, OR
Jul 19 – McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater – Troutdale, OR
Jul 26 – Squaw Velley Ski Resort – Olympic Valley, CA
Aug 7 – Lollapalooza – Grant Park – Chicago, IL
Aug 8 – Lollapalooza – Grant Park – Chicago, IL
Aug 9 – Lollapalooza – Grant Park – Chicago, IL
Oct 2 – Austin City Limits Festival – Austin, TX
Oct 3 – Austin City Limits Festival – Austin, TX
Oct 4 – Austin City Limits Festival – Austin, TX
This post was submitted by greg.
Buffmonster : New Web Exclusive toy and other news
May 28, 2009 by greg
Filed under Featured Geek, Geek
I’m really happy to release my first Japanese-made website exclusive toy. This guy is clear and soft and awesome like only a Japanese factory can do. Run of 50, each header card comes signed, and they’re $75 plus shipping and handling. Available at 10 am PST tomorrow (Friday) at buffmonster.com.
Buffmonster is also on Twitter @ twitter.com/thebuffmonster
This post was submitted by greg.
New : Rockabilly Darling Kim Lenz :: Touch Me
May 28, 2009 by greg
Filed under Featured Tunes, Tunes
This fiery red head begs you to “Touch Me” in a sultry come hither way. The guitar licks are hot and jazzy on the titular track from her new album “It’s All True.” Check out the tease as she vamps on her guitar below!
Kim Lenz has established herself as much more than just the top modern rockabilly songstress with a pair of widely praised albums for Hightone Records and rapturously received performances across the world. She embodies everything that is thrilling, provocative, and rebellious about rock’s origins. In the spirit of the adventure and independence that runs through her music, the Los Angeles based singer-songwriter-guitarist has started her own label to release her third album It’s All True!, which she also produced.
The album is a flaming slab of fuel-injected contemporary rockabilly that shows off Kim’s romp-stomping vocal chops and the wide scope of her playing and songwriting. “Touch Me” starts things off with an instantly memorable hook that sounds as dangerous as it is sexy. “Zombie For Your Love” innovatively marries a hillbilly vocal melody to B-movie imagery. The honeyed and melancholic “I Break A Heart Every Night” slows things down before “Shined Up and Ready to Shout” ends the album with a rumble that invites you to the wildest night out of the year! The album has the spirit of the great female rockabilly pioneers like Wanda Jackson and the late Janis Martin, with whom Lenz has shared many a stage, and adds to it Kim’s inimitable voice that can switch from seductive to heartbroken to gritty within the span of a single song.
The new album also captures the fearsome instrumental firepower of the Jaguars – guitarist Nick Curran, bassist Jake Erwin, and drummer Scotty Tecce – and a guest vocal appearance by Southern California’s soulful rockabilly maestro Big Sandy. The 12 tracks include seven Kim Lenz originals, a track co-written by Kim and Big Sandy, a number crafted expressly for Kim by the Lucky Stars’ Sage Guyton, and two rampaging covers.
This post was submitted by greg.
PJ Harvey : To Bring You My Love (Live)
Live at big day in ’03
This post was submitted by greg.
