Electronic pop band St Tropez tackle the Wild Belle's Keep You. The Oakland band focused on their signature call-and-response vocals and swirling guitar flourishes. No sign of the rather obtrusive drums that ruined the original.
They are working on a new 5-track EP as a long overdue follow-up for their self-titled album.
HCTF review of St Tropez.
Finnish punk rock band Van Dammes have posted a video for Frank Tower, a tribute to the strongman competitors, who were all the rage in the Eighties. It's a track from their Better Than Sex EP.
Live dates:HCTF review of Better Than Sex.
Dutch garage grunge rock Orange Maplewood like to play loud. Really loud. It makes sense for the first two tracks on their new EP Sorry (I Never Believed In A Rock 'N Roll Star) - the title track and Clock which are both short and snarling songs, but the icing on the cake is the lengthy lament Will Melody Be Mine?. This psych stoner rock excursion builds up slowly, before reaching a wash of call-and-response vocals a la early Golden Earring meets Oasis on top of a fuzz heavy twin guitar crescendo.
Kudos to mastering skills of engineer Patrick Haight (Spot On Sound Mastering), who created an in-your-face and well balanced sound. Let's hope that the Amsterdam band can afford his services again when they have finished recording their upcoming full-length.
Tony Conrad and Faust will revisit Outside The Dream Syndicate for a live performance at the Big Ears festival, Knoxville, Tennessee, on 1 April. The Guardian has an interview with drone pioneer Conrad:
An idea I found very interesting was to destroy the whole concept of western composition. Get rid of the composer and let’s make the sound accessible in whatever form to whoever wants to listen.” Cage was the catalyst. “He had said, ‘I just make my notes by random processes. If you don’t like it, then work at it!’ I thought, ‘OK, some of the most interesting experiences I’ve ever had have been when I haven’t liked what I heard or saw, and I worked at it. And then when I changed my mind about something, it was an epiphany.” He rocks back in his seat as if struck by this all over again. “Whoa! An internal explosion of insight and emotion and goodwill to the world.
Band & The Beat, the dream pop synth side-project by Tracy Shedd and James Tritten, have released their second digital 45. Straight and Narrow b/w Jimmy's Jam is a double whammy of sample-free electronics that will appeal to fans Portishead, Dead Can Dance, and ... wait for it ... Pet Shop Boys.
Electronic music is often labeled as soul-less and cold, but Band & The Beat are capable of creating an intimate. cozy vibe. Technology is cool and all that, but music needs a human touch to make an impact. Check the old school lead keyboards part taking off the edge of the harsh drum sound in Straight and Narrow. Adding just a bit of echo the vocals gives the track an extra layer of urgency. Jimmy's Jam is a plea for the need to be left alone and going your own way, while ignoring the pressures of the outside world.
London trio James Edge and the Mindstep are adamant to prove that folk as a genre is still very much alive and not just an art form appreciated by men wearing cardigans and women wearing sensible shoes claiming right of way. Their latest single On A Red Horse, the title track of their forthcoming new EP, is a fine blend of Elbow and OK Computer-era Radiohead.
Singer and guitarist James Edge wrote the arrangements for the string quartet, adding a whimsical and eccentric layer to the free flowing main melody of the song. With nods to jazz and Britpop hardcore folkies might come close to shouting "Judas". Recommended if you like Eric Margan & The Red Lions, Bert Jansch and Nick Drake.
Progressive jam band Umphrey's McGee have announced their itinerary for this year's Summer tour. Expect a night of rock, jazz, funk and an eclectic taste in covers.
Live dates:Watch the new Foxtails Brigade for No Fate. The San Francisco based chamber pop band synced the nervous energy of the music to B&W footage interspersed with drawings and doodles made by lead singer Laura Weinbach. Guitarist Anton Patzner was in the director's seat. They used his mom's old phone, quite opposite of the one-shot adventure set in a mansion for Far Away and Long Ago (with a state-of-the-art camera that was used for Jurassic World).
Austin based singer-songwriter Jeremy Nail survived a potentially lethal attack of sarcoma, a rare form of soft tissue cancer that cost him his left leg. Overcoming his brush with death became the main theme for his new album My Mountain, eleven country rockers dealing with his medical nightmare and regaining his strength.
Produced by Alejandro Escovedo, who took him under his wing when they bumped into each other again in 2015, My Mountain is the story of man who had to find a new way to stand tall. Counting his blessings and fighting the good fight is what kept him going. Americans have a tendency to be overly optimistic, but Nail is a realist. He has escaped death, but the prosthetic he now uses is a daily reminder that cancer won the first round: "Gonna climb my mountain, it’s about time, just sit back and watch me walk this crooked line".
With superb slide guitar and melancholic violin supplied by his friends covering his back, he is not alone.
Franco-German TV network ARTE will tape the John Cale presents: The Velvet Underground & Nico concert at the Philharmonie de Paris on April 3, 2016. They will broadcast the show in early of June.
Update: available for streaming on the Arte Concerts website as of May 21. TV broadcast on June 11 - 0h35.
» John Cale on Facebook
» John Cale tour dates
(Thansk: Bruno Lienard)
Austin band Bloody Knives are into gritty industrial noise-rock with forays into drones, ambient, electronics and shoegaze. This latest album I Will Cut Your Heart Out For This is a sonic assault, a search-and-destroy raid that comes howling from the speakers, telling dark tales of doom and death. They don't pause fro breath between tracks, but keep adding motifs and textures, building a towering wall of sound.
They offer a ride to the back alleys, where bad things are bound to happen. It's a journey that will be too weird and downright scary for most - and they may scratch their heads at tune called ----. For those who wondered what a mix of the Sisters of Mercy and Sonic Youth would sound like, the answer is: the Bloody Knives. Handle with care.
Brooklyn trio Glass Gang found a way to mix industrial post-punk with dance on their latest single Outside Your Love. The lyrics are really simple - singing along is encouraged, but not mandatory. It's a dark song with a joyous back beat for all your dancing on a volcano needs.
Live date:
I think I'm a vocal genius, not a musical genius. I like background vocals. I consider myself a voice, not a singer. A voice is a sound, and singing is what you do with that sound.
Brian Wilson
The "Pet Sounds" 50th anniversary tour kicks off on March 25 in Auckland, New Zealand.
John Cale will perform at the All Tomorrows Parties festivals at the Pontin's Prestatyn Holiday Park in Prestatyn (04/16) and the Victoria Warehouse in Manchester (04/22).
Cancelled ... From John Cale's Facebook:
regrettably, @therealjohncale's ATP shows now canceled. "we did our best to believe in the organizers, in the end, they let us all down" - jc
Watch the new Velveteen video by indie pop act The Mynabirds, the bloody story of a vampire in which singer Laura Burhenn kills her guitarist Reese Richardson. It's a track from their latest album Lovers Know The clip was directed by Ian Roche & Luke Hanlein.
Primus main man and bass player extraordinaire Les Claypool and collaborator/guitarist Sean Lennon have joined forces for an album. Monolith of Phobos will be released under the The Claypool Lennon Delirium banner. After the stream of the sprawling Cricket And The Genie, they share another song from the album. Mr Wright is a little less weird, leaning to the off-kilter funk of Primus.
Iggy Pop has posted a stream of American Valhalla on YouTube, another song from his new album Post Pop Depression. Far Eastern inspired keyboards intro, a nod to the melody to Led Zeppelin's No Quarter and just his voice in the coda ("I am nothing but my name"). He wrote the songs with Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age).
A lengthy tour kicks off in March 28.
San Diego based neo-psych quartet The Verigolds released the exquisite single Crossfire last year. It's was the first taste for their debut album For Margaret, a collection of vintage sounding songs. Touching base with the Jefferson Airplane and and the late Eigthies/early Nineties peak of 4AD acts like Belly, they put the vocals upfront, but take your time to dissect all the goings on in the background. This is a band with a varied musical palette, alternating between gentle tinkling keyboards, old school echo effects, occasional outbursts of guitar and well placed viola.
For Margaret is a debut, but it has the markings of a band who have found their sound. This isn't a diamond in the rough, by a multifaceted jewel.
Americana singer and multi-instrumentalist David Corley will release a new EP in mid April. Lights Out was recorded in the States with his band The Wandering Stars and in Holland with BJ Baartmans' Wild Verband. A two-track preview can be streamed via European label Continental Record Services.
Corley got struck down by a heart attack while on stage at the Take Root Festival in Groningen, The Netherlands last year. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the University Medical Center in Groningen, where he was treated.
He will be on tour in Europe playing shows in The Netherlands, Ireland and the UK. He will be accompanied by The Wandering Stars.
Another night of English avant-garde goes down tonight @ The Nutclough Tavern on Keighley Road in Hebden Bridge. Colin Robinson and Michael Linden West will join forces for the first time ever and there will be sets by Paul Weatherhead and Andy Duncan:
For the first time ever in the history of performance art (apart from the time Mick sneaked a biscuit-tin guitar solo into a Jumble Hole Clough performance), Michael Linden West (Abrasive Pheasants, etc.) and Colin Robinson (Jumble Hole Clough, etc.) will play live together – totally improvised and unrehearsed.
Expect the extemporaneous composition of music unfettered by the prescriptive features of a specific musical text; the creative activity of immediate in-the-moment happenings. Walking a tightrope without a safety net. Listen to our post-nietzschean sensibilities rejecting the bovine gregariousness of a senile oligarchy.
And that’s not all. Paul Weatherhead will perform excerpts from a teenage zombie opera set in Hebden Bridge. With added aliens and donkeys and a kazoo too.
And there's more: Andy Duncan (pianist and experimenter) will be playing the piano and experimenting.
» Michael Linden West on Soundcloud
» Jumble Hole Clough on Facebook
HCTF review of ive at the Nutclough Tavern 23rd January 2016 (Jumble Hole Clough).
Watch the new Eureka California video for Sign My Name With An X, a track from their new album Versus (April 1st on Happy Happy Birthday To Me records). The clip was directed by Jordan St. Martin-Reyes.
The slacker garage rock duo from Athens, GA is on tour to promote the album.
Rock 'n' roll quartet The Bellfuries are back from Autralia and wil playing a string of dates in their hometown Austin, TX. Next stops include shows in California and another trip to Holland. They will focus on the material of their latest album Workingman's Bellfuries.
Live dates:HCTF review of Workingman's Bellfuries.
Dutch orchestral pop ensemble The Leonids have made a video for Nybyen Winter, a track from their debut album Satellite Broadcast Kill:
This clip is a registration of a home-made animation machine called "The Light Box". The slides are moved by hand and take you on a trip through a layered landscape situated in Nybyen (Spitsbergen). Cut outs by Sonja Muda van Hamel. Light Box by Eddo Hartmann. Animation by Robert Muda van Hamel
Satellite Broadcast Kill is on HCTF's best of 2015 list.
HCTF review of Satellite Broadcast Kill.
UK pop artist Prints Jackson's new single Calliope Fuxwar, episode 25 of his "one new song each month till the day I die" project. After last months rather disappointing track Ambisinister he needed to recuperate and this densely produced song is indeed a return to form. The harsh vocals give the loud synths a run for their money. Back to basics, just like the doctor ordered.
Calliope Fuxwar is a self-released single. Buy it (pay-what-you-want) from his website.
HCTF review of Ambisinister.
London power trio Sabatta have posted the radio-edit of Middle Of The Night, the title track from their latest album. They have cut a little over a minute from the original album track, but there's still plenty of the soulful grunge guitar. Recommended if you like Living Colour.
Middle Of The Night is offered as a free download from Soundcloud.
Live date:HCTF review of Middle Of The Night.
ZAPPATiKA and Craig Twister Steward ran through three sets during a dress rehearsal for the European Spring tour @ QBUS in Leiden, The Netherlands. They have worked up 35+ songs. every night. Singer/guitarist Zap Mcinnes explains: "'We've got eight shows in England and the Zappateers are attending multiple shows, and they don't want to hear the same set every night. Depending on if were are having a support act the shows wil run for 2.5 or 3 hours". Changes that you will hear Crew Slut, Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?, City of Tiny Lites, Broken Hearts are for Assholes, I'm the Slime, The Torture Never Stops, Bamboozled By Love, More Trouble Everyday, Black Napkins, Outside Now, Andy, Catholic Girls, Lucille, Apostrophe and much, much more. They may even throw in Hendrix' Are You Experienced?
Frank Zappa alumni Ike Willis, who had missed his flight from the States, and sax player Jeff Hollie, were not a present at the rehearsal, but harmonica (and sometimes) guitar player Craig Twister Steward was there, sharing stories about landing the job with Frank. During their 1972 tour The Mothers walked into a bar called Caesar's Palace in Wichita, KS, where Steward was performing with the blues band Bliss. Frank liked his playing and wanted to sit in. He invited him to audition for the 1973 touring band.
Raduohead have announced a World tour that takes from Europe to North America and Japan. After they play a lone festival date in Germany, they will conclude their trip with a 2-night stand in Mexico City. Their ninth studio album is expected to drop any day now.
After the release of the King of Limbs album in 2011 the English band didn't share any new music, except the rejected James Bond theme song Spectre in 2015.
London based Australian singer-songwriter Amanda Merdzan is blending orchestral dreampop and triphop on her new single Glow. It's a silky song about finding your way, wrapped in luscious synths. DIY mainstream on a shoestring budget.
Glow is a self-released single. Buy it from iTunes.
Live date:HCTF review of Matter.
Dutch-Finnish band folk band Town of Saints have broadened their musical scope on their second full-length No Place Like This. They have added Caribbean rhythms, a bit of funk, soul and rockabilly, which might put off the hardcore folkies but will be embraced by the crowds attending the Summer festival circuit - Short Circuit Breakdown has written encore anthem written all over it.
Lead singer Harmen Ridderbos appears to have been listening to a lot of DeVotchKa, most notably for the high notes and the use of echo. Their secret weapon isn't in the front line: bass player Jukka Kiviniemi is blessed with a rock solid, but fluid command of his instrument. While his band mates are busy broadcasting their joyful, sunny side up music, he is right there supplying subtle patterns that deserve the thumbs up from George Porter Jr and Carole Kaye.
Mancunian singer and multi-instrumentalist Richard Lomax is streaming another song from the forthcoming new album with his band The Tontine. Weapons of Mass Destruction describes the chemical processes that take over the brain when you fell in love:
The lateral orbito frontal cortex shuts down
BANG goes self evaluation, reason, control, fear and anxiety leave, remember to breathe
Next the amygdala and hippocampus relax which induces a trance like state in you
And it makes me less likely to start a war or small conflict at least.
Odds are that Lomax is the first songwriter to use this kind of language in a love song. Note the jittery guitar dialogue and vaudevillian backing vocals. Recommended if you like They Might Be Giants and Pulp.
I have a mantra. I made it up and it stuck. It was one of those things you flip off your wrist and it sticks to the wall. I’m sure it can’t be original – nothing about me is – but it goes “my best work is ahead of me,” and that’s how I am able to get up in the morning.
Van Dyke Parks
Ronan Conroy will perform songs from his three solo albums (Discontent, The Game, and his latest Not a Part of Anything) at the Alphabet Lounge in New York on April 15th. Expect a set of loud, a bit of quiet, and loud again.
HCTF review of Not a Part of Anything.
Once again NYC guitarist Andee Black asked his Facebook friends to call out a key and tempo. He would the write a tune, name it after the first respondent, and put it on Youtube. Ladies and gentlemen: Dane Sonnier in Dm, who also requested a 85bpm tempo. It's a dreamy, prog metal instrumental on electric and acoustic guitar.
Long story short: Alex Winter is a film maker. He has been given full access to the vault of all Frank Zappa recordings and films. He wants to make the definitive documentary about Frank and publish a companion book. And he wants to save all the contents of the vault. Digitizing the contents will be expensive, but it's necessary, because the original tapes are crumbling and eroding:
Frank Zappa was one of the most prolific artists of our time, and rows upon rows of floor-to-ceiling stacks of tape, video clips, film footage, and more, have been locked away under the historic Zappa house in the Hollywood Hills since Frank's death in 1993.
No one has ever heard or seen the vast majority of this material, much less cataloged it, and it is literally crumbling against time in the Zappa's private archive: a massive underground storage chamber known as "The Vault."
By backing this campaign, you'll help us digitize and preserve (!) these archives for use in this documentary — not to mention for limited, gradual release and distribution, and the enjoyment of Zappa fans for generations to come. The more we raise, the more of Frank's unexplored archives we can save.
We're only in it for the money
A Kickstarter campaign is currently underway. They $500,000 to start shooting, a cool million will enable him to shoot the entire movie, and it will take two million to finish it properly. Are you a rich bastard with good taste? Hand over and the Frank Zappa Family Home is yours. And yes, that includes the vault.
The Slideshows have made a video for I Was Here, a track from their Sunrise Reprise EP. The psychedelic electronic indie trio from Amsterdam will make their live debut at the Paradiso on March 17th, using analog slides as their backdrop.
The Slideshows:
Marcel Hulst: vocals, guitars
Floor Stevens: drums
Auke van der Wielen: bass, synths
HCTF review of Sunrise Reprise.
Athens, GA, garage rock outfit Eureka California went through various permutations, with founder member Jake Ward (guitar, vocals) as the sole constant and long serving drummer Marie A. Uhler as his partner in crime to lay down a ferocious backbeat. Being down to a duo hasn't slowed them down and they have been releasing well-received albums on a yearly basis. Their latest is called Versus on which they make their way through eleven track in under half an hour.
Poking fun at nearly anything and being angry at the same time is what gets them through the ennui over everyday life. The acoustic Fear and Loathing in the Classic City sums it up perfectly: "I want to see real emotion/And recede back into the sea/Where The American Dream can finally die with me/And my Liberal Arts diploma/I'm 28 to life/I'm dying on the vine/And I've got no time for Eureka California". Stand-out track Sober Sister is about who a guy who finds himself in the back of a car after his big sister came to collect him after a having one too many, which might a humiliating experience but is turned into an act of defiance. The creepy surfer mayhem of Sign My Name With An X hammers home the fear of a bad guy lurking in the shadows.
After the announcement of three shows in Italy, it has just been confirmed that the G3 guitar extravaganza will hit Germany in July. The usual suspects Joe Satriani and Steve Vai will be joined by The Aristocrats, the first band to be labeled as a "G". Since their guitar player is named Guthrie Govan it makes perfect sense. And the band's rhythm section - Bryan Beller on bass, Marco Minnemann on drums - are part of Joe Satriani's live band.
Live dates:
Hoist comes to vinyl for Record Store Day. The fifth Phish studio album will be released as a 2LP on orange splatter colored vinyl:
On Record Store Day 2016, Phish will release “Hoist”, the band’s fifth full-length studio album, as a limited, individually numbered, 180g 2-LP orange splatter colored vinyl set, available exclusively at participating independently owned record stores across the country. Record Store Day is Saturday, April 16.
Hoist was recorded on 24-track 2″ reels in October-November 1993 at American Recording Co. in Calabasas, California. Three singles were released from Hoist – “Down With Disease”, “Sample In A Jar” and “Julius” and all three remain in common rotation at Phish shows. Live tracks from an April 21, 1993 Columbus, Ohio rendition of “Split Open And Melt” were blended with studio tracks including parts of “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav” and effects to create the experimental D Side, “Demand.”
There is such a thing as mainstream shoegaze dreampop. Portland, OR quartet The High Violets have all the trappings of an alternative favourite plus the pop sensibilites to lure the punters who live outside the circles of music geeks. Some of them might even think they are listening to Madonna - after she took some serious singing lessons and worked up the nerve to be backed by a real band.
Their new album Heroes And Halos is their first since Cinéma (2010). Lead guitarist Clint Sargent once again delivers a wealth of layered licks and flowing chord sequences. Singer Kaitlyn ni Donovan doesn't need to raise her voice. If more volume is needed, double tracking and echo can do the trick.
Watch producer Tony Visoonti explain the recording process of Heroes, using a Hi-res digital copy of the original master tape. The David Bowie classic was recorded at Hansa Studio By the Wal in Berlin and features Robert Fripp on guitar - he laid down three different parts which were all used on top of each other.
Dutch rockers De Staat have unveiled a video for Make The Call, Leave It All, the second single from their latest albyum O. Lead singer and guitarist Torre Florim came up with the cheesy karaoke clip concept and acted as director.
San Francisco based chamber pop band Foxtails Brigade have released another single from their forthcoming self-titled album. Nun But The Lost changes keys quite a few times (15 times to be exact), includes a false ending after a touch of brass, only to be taken for another short vocal trip, and yes, after the second time the brass kicks in the track comes to a close. It's a musical roller coaster ride that you don't want to end, provided you can handle a "look, mom, no hands, no net" sonic adventure.
Laura Weinbach and Anton Patzner, the band's songwriting team, are melodic daredevils, serving up tasty tidbits from a cornucopia of sounds. If Kate Bush had been taken under Brian Wilson's wing in 1966, she would have sounded like this.
Legendary record producer George Martin, the man who helped shape the sound of The Beatles and tons of other records has died, aged 90. From the BBC:
Record producer Sir George Martin, known as the "fifth Beatle", has died, aged 90..
His family thanked "everyone for their thoughts, prayers and messages of support" after his death at home on Tuesday, his manager said.
Beatles drummer Ringo Starr broke the news on Twitter and led tributes, saying Sir George "will be missed".
Watch an interview about the recording of the Please Please Me album.
Howart, a psych art/music project led by Anneke Nieuwdorp will release their self-titled debut album on vinyl via Dutch niche label Tiny Room Records:
We are proud to announce our first vinyl on Tiny Room Records! Howart, the Utrecht-based psych/art formation around Anneke Nieuwdorp, will release their self-titled debut on 180 grams 12″ vinyl (limited edition of 100) on Anneke’s birthday, April 18th. The day after (April 19th), they will support C Duncan in EKKO in Utrecht. The record will be for sale for the first time then.
The footage for the video was shot in Finland during the recording sessions for I am Oak album Nowhere Or Tammensaari.
The music of Jerry Garcia gets the symphonic treatment again this Summer, with Warren Haynes on guitar. Dress code for the shows: black tie-dye. Ticketmaster on-sales begins this Friday, March 11 at 10 a.m. ET.
Live dates:
Manchester indie rock quartet City Reign will release their debut full-length Dasein on March 18. Thye have picked two songs from the album for a new double A-side single that shows their loud and soft side. Say It Anyway is a catchy power pop anthem with a rough-and-ready lead guitar, while There You Are is tailor made for holding hands and more with your significant other.
Say It Anyway b/w There You Are a is released thru Car Boot Records. The full-length Dasein is available for pre-order.
Another archival Phish release is available for streaming and download: 11/7/96 @ Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY. They were still riding high on the Talking Heads funk of the Remain In Light musical costume they performed at Halloween. Set 2 contains the longest ever Bathtub Gin.
Setlist and notes from phish.net:
Set 1: Chalk Dust Torture, Weigh > Rift > Guelah Papyrus, Stash, Waste, Guyute, Free > Tela, Character Zero
Set 2: Suzy Greenberg > Bathtub Gin -> Hold Your Head Up > Bike > Hold Your Head Up, You Enjoy Myself
Encore: Frankenstein
Notes: Trey teased Dave's Energy Guide during Gin. Fish humorously stumbled through Bike, which was played by request.
Ronan Conroy is slowly gravitating towards the musical heroes of his adolescence. His third solo album Not a Part of Anything takes a bow to The Cure and Hüsker Dü, with wall–to–wall bass, guitar and drums, but there is still room for a heartfelt ballad like Memory Afterbirth in which he is wearing his Irishness proudly upon his sleeve.
Conroy can play up a storm on both acoustic and electric guitar and he brushed up on his breathing techniques allowing him to hang on the note without losing volume. Whether he is doing a bold call-to-arms rock songs like Terms and You Little So-and-So or goes for a South-of-the-border tinged putdown song (Driving South), passion is always reigning supreme.
Listen to The Jauntee performing a jammed out take on Beck's Devil's Haircut @ The Spot in Providence - 2016/02/25. The full show is available on the Live Music Archive
The Boston band is in the midst of their Winter tour. Phish fans will like their penchant for Type II jamming.
Band & The Beat, the dream pop synth side-project by Tracy Shedd and James Tritten, have put up the stems for their 21 single:
Attention all DJs, Producers, and people that love to remix:
Band & The Beat is now featuring audio stems on their Bandcamp.com page, along with the actual singles themselves. The audio stems are free to download, or you can donate whatever you like.
Their new digital 45 Straight and Narrow b/w Jimmy’s Jam will be released later this month. Stems for both tracks will be available as well.
HCTF review of 21.
Watch Adrian Belew explain his use of guitar effects in a 1984 instructional video. Geek alert: he uses a A/DA Flanger, an Electro-Harmonix Octave Multiplexer, an Electro-Harmonix 16 Second Digital Delay, an Electro-Harmonix Frequency Analyzer, 2 Foxx Tone Machine Fuzzes, a Boss DM-2 Delay, an Electro-Harmonix Micro Synthesizer, an MXR Dyna Comp, a Pitch-Voltage Synthesizer, 3 Boss Volume Pedals, 2 MXR 10 band graphic equalizers, a Roland GR-300 Guitar Synthesizer, a Boss pedal switcher, an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, an Electro-Harmonix Foot Controller, a tape loop machine and an Electro-Harmonix Stereo Polychorus.
(thanks: Matt Stevens)
Bill Majoros of Hamilton one-man band The Foreign Films has put up Side 4 of his work-in-progress project, the double album The Record Collector, after kicking thins off with Side 2 (2014 )and Side 3 (2015). In fact, it's no longer a double album, but it will be a triple: the third record will be filled with the all new "Fall Of The Summer Heart" suite and unreleased tracks.
Final sides of double albums are used to rethink and summarize the contents of the preceding sides. The tracks are slower and often fully orchestrated, with a melancholic finale looking to the future beyond the last track. Side 4 carefully follows that blueprint. Majoros is very much in love with the lavish pop sounds of the late Sixties and early Seventies, and has come up with his own brand of layered, complex melodies, weaving sonic tapestries containing elements of jazz, West Coast pop and even Caribbean percussion. Dutch musician Wim Oudijk took care of the arrangements, connecting the dots between Brian Wilson, Elton John and Billy Joel.
Canadian psychedelic raga rock trio Elephant Stone have just released their new single Andromeda, a track from their new album Ship Of Fools. No modern day electronics this time, but a throwback to their previous output with tons of echo on the vocals, a fuzzy bass line and a jangling lone guitar riding on top of the wave.
Power fusion rock trio The Aristocrats have just announced four shows in Japan, including another visit to The Big Cat in Osaka, where an enterprising sound guy recorded the show that was later released on the Secret Show: Live In Osaka double album.
Live dates:Watch the David Bowie Is Happening Now documentary, previously screened as a live cinema event as the finale for the David Bowie Is exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The exhibition was also shown in museums in Sao Paulo, Berlin, Chicago, Paris, Melbourne and Groningen. A venue in Japan for early 2017 will be announced soon.
ZAPPATiKA and Ike Willis once again team up with fellow Zappa alumni Jeff Hollie and Craig Twister Steward for an European Spring tour. The London show (03/26) has been moved to Under The Bridge. The gig in Paris (03/18) is cancelled due to "Unresolvable Contractual Circumstance", but they hope to announce another Parisian gig soon.
Live dates:
John Cale has announced the special guests for The Velvet Underground & Nico show @ Philharmonie de Paris in Paris on April 3rd: Étienne Daho, Carl Barât and Pete Doherty (The Libertines), Animal Collective, Lou Dollon, Nick Franglen and Mark Lanegan.
Americana singer and multi-instrumentalist David Corley will be on tour in Europe playing shows in The Netherlands, Ireland and the UK. He will be accompanied by The Wandering Stars.
Live dates:HCTF review of Available Light.
Afrobeat jazz funk big band The Brighton Beat have been added as a last minute replacement act for a show at the Brooklyn Bowl in NYC tonight, opening for The Rad Trads.
They have been working on new material during the Winter for an upcoming release due out this Spring.
Live dates:HCTF review of Off We Go.
Watch the Ian Fisher video for Constant Vacation, a track from his latest album Nero. The clip was filmed @ the Fisher family farm in Ste. Genevieve, MO, USA.
The alt-country singer is on tour in Europe. He will be supported in Holland by Roald van Oosten, whose new album Oh Dark Hundred will be released on on March 4.
When March starts drawing to a close there are two things you can count on: Spring is in the air and the release of a new Wolf Solent EP, the one-man project from UK multi-instrumentalist Danny Trew Barton. For the third year in a row he delivers an intimate set of post-psych lo-fi quirky tunes, wrapped into gentle melodies. He has thrown in a smattering of old school drums beats and electronics (From You), but he relies on his guitar and whispered vocals for the bulk of the tracks.
Barton is like a patient fisherman - once you're hooked you can't stop listening, whether he is sounding almost cheerful (Too Saddle) or weaving an intricate instrumental tapestry (Trucked). Is it March 2017 yet?
Watch the Dead Hormones video for If I Don't Make It Home, a track from the UK grunge rockers second EP Nothing, Nothing... Then Something. The clip was filmed by Shoot J Moore. Recommended if you like Soundgarden.
Dead Hormones:
Jacob Tillison: guitars, vocals
Ollie Gibson: drums
Tom Greaves: guitar, vocals
Ben Morrod: bass, vocals
HCTF review of Nothing, Nothing... Then Something.
