Disq, a powwr pop quintet from Madison, Wisconsin, had planned to throw in a cover of Jeff Tweedy's I Know What It's Like as a treat during their live shows promoting their new album Collector. The tour fell through, but they want ahead and record it anyway. It's a bit more poppy than the original, with a few extras thrown in for good measure.
I Know What It's Like is a self-released single. Buy it from their website/
Randy McStine (Lo-Fi Resistance) and Marco Minnemann (The Aristocrats) recorded their collaborative album in fits and starts over between October 2019 and March 2020. Both are A-list players in the prog scene and McStine & Minnemann lives up to the expectations mostly, but some of the material feels a bit crowded, which is likely op happen when two multi-instrumentalists are egging each other on.
When everything does fall into place, the results are top-shelf: Program celebrating and showing concern about modern day technology, the good-humoured horror in Fly and the dark love song - ELO meets metal - Voyager. On the downside they are tracks like the cheesy Your Offenses and the run of the mill attempt at an anthem Tear The Walls Down (No Memories), a song with a couple sections that sound more am assemblage of loose ends. As a whole McStine & Minnemann is not a bad album, but it lacks consistency.
Portsmouth based indie surf band Dutch Criminal Record mix sarcasm with jangling pop on their new single Feel Good. Songwriter Joe Delaney-Stone is obviously really annoyed with all the advice to keep calm in these times like these. Being young is not a picknick, no matter what people keep telling him.
Chicago indie power trio Sunshine Boys have made a video for Moonrise. a track from their latest album Work and Love. Recommended if you like late Eighties college rock. The clip was directed by Deb Schimmel, who shot the footage of each of the individual band members and stitched it together to tell a coherent story.
Experimental avant-funk metal trio Primus have moved their A Tribute to King to 2021. They will perform the Rush album A Farewell to Kings in its entirety. They wil be supported by Wolfmother, The Sword and Battles.
All three band members are huge fans of the Canadian prog trio. Main man Les Claypool hopes that it will actually happen:
Third time is the charm...we've postponed this Tribute to King's tour twice now. Once because we opted to help send Slayer on their way into retirement and once because mother nature decided to slap us all into isolation with a nasty virus. This time I will get to go out there and get my "Geddy on". I've got my Ricky shined up and have been practicing my Moog licks. 2020 has proven to be one nasty kick to the crotch on many levels. This nation is divided beyond anything I've ever seen; from who's wearing masks or not to who's treating folks with common dignity...or not. Let's hope 2021 will resolve us all into some form of unity. As far as touring, it will be nice to be back in the saddle again, see y'all next summer..."Geddy up!"
Innerviews has an in-depth interview with bass maestro Jah Wobble. On recording the Full Circle album with Can members Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit in 1982:
I remember Holger would say “Play first, talk later.” If Jaki ever said something about the music, it was “Play first, think later.” Jaki was a master musician and an incredible person. He had a certain power and concentration in every beat. Every beat was focused. When I play with drummers now, some of them think they’re better than they really are. They’ll be in time, but there’s a subconscious element to their playing that isn’t good. The whole thing should be an emanation of consciousness—you should be very conscious of what you’re doing. You should be very mindful of every beat. Jaki really had that. He was the engine room. He built things up. He wasn’t afraid to build things up very slowly, like the way an Indian musician would approach an afternoon raga. He had that control. He also had that triplet thing going on in the way African players do. He was a very weird guy and very deep. I used to call him “Rain Man.” He had this perfectionist streak about numbers and beats. He had a theory of beats that held up. It wasn’t some bullshit thing.
All of a sudden, someone threw me in front of this rock and roll band. And I decided then and there that was it. I never wanted to do anything else.
Janis Joplin
Austin based neo-soul quartet Motenko keep it smooth on their fist singles. On Your Level is a throwback to the late sixties Motown sound, with the piano as the lead instrument and upbeat brass section trying to convince the listener that it all will work out fine in the end. Silhouette is a slow song, with a late night vibe. Singer Micah Motenko is feeling down and lonely, but "with my eyes closed, you’re here".
The band is made up from seasoned veterans, who can connect seamlessly. Which is great, but a little bit of rawness would have made more interesting. Less polish and more grain leaves an impression that lasts longer.
Baroque-pop quartet Tugboat Captain sound quintessentially English on their new single No Plans (For This Year). Aided by a brass and strings section they have build a pocket symphony a la The Kinks and The Zombies, with some current indie rock thrown in for good measure. They recorded it at Abbey Road - not during the financially crippling, regular business hours, and the superb acoustics of that facility ensured an open, warm sound. Best enjoyed with some tea and biscuits. Their debut full-length Rut will be released on red vinyl via Double A-Side Records later this year.
Johnny Dowd has posted a video of him playing It's So Good To Be Alive, a protest song and plea to be nice to each other rolled into one.
The members of English band Mint got together - well, sort of, to tackle the Paul Weller song Out Of The Sinking> This track was one of the first songs they played when they started out as band about 20 years ago at Trevelyan College, Durham University, UK. Nostalgia can be a good thing.
HCTF review of Leaving It Late.
Guitarist Warren Haynes performed three songs for Rolling Stone’s In My Room sessions: Soulshine, Blind Willie Johnson’s Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground, and River’s Gonna Rise. The songs were recorded at Carriage House Studios in Stamford, Connecticut. He is raising money for the Equal Justice Initiative Fans can bid on an autographed Gibson Les Paul via charitybuzz.com from June 25th through July 9th.
Live In London 1983. an often bootlegged show by American post-punk band The Gun Club, will be released on LP for Record Store Day. Jeffrey Lee Pierce. Patricia Morrison, Jim Duckworth and Dee Pop were on top of their game during that tour. They have cleaned up the audio a bit. 1700 copies. Release date: September 26th.
1. “Opening Space” 2. “Fire of Love” 3. “Run Through The Jungle” 4. “John Hardy” 5. “The Lie” 6. “Black Train” 7. “Cool Drink of Water” 8. “Fire Spirit” 9. “Death Party” 10. “Sex Beat” 11. “Goodbye Johnny” 12. “House of Highland Avenue” 13. “Texas Serenade” 14. “Heebee Jeebees”
Oakland based musician Daniel McKenzie loves to mess with people's expectations. As per usual the third track on the forthcoming album Language Lessons by his one-man ambient project Identical Homes is odd in a good way. Holding the Night’s Attention starts out as a mellow and dreamy tracks, before the lo-fi beeps and beats of a vintage arcade game find their way in. Time travel isn't real thing, but with music you can come close to conjuring up the past.
Red Moon, the new album by Amsterdam based Russian musician Marynka, is labeled as "instant music for piano". Recorded in just one night during a lunar eclipse on July 27, 2018, she let her fingers and the instrument do the talking. Minimalistic, coming close to the Romantic tradition the notes came slowly, but firmly.
Most pianos are tuned to 440 Hz, but she went with the old school 432 Hz, which in some circles is considered to be more in sync with the universe and have a soothing, calming effect. There is no scientific proof for this - changes are that most people won't even notice it, but with trained ears and a decent audio set-up the difference is clear. Marynka is a bit of mystic, but all claims aside Red Moon is an album where her on the spot creations were captured beautifully by the eight microphones that werd set up by producer and engineer Attie Bauw.
Phish cover band Jazz Is PHSH and brass-funk-rockers Empire Strikes Brass will kick off the Live At The Drive-In Concert Series on July 22 @ Hound’s Drive-In Theater in Kings Mountain, NC:
Live at the Drive-In Concert Series gives the opportunity for music fans to enjoy music in a safe and socially distanced environment,” notes an announcement from the show’s organizers. Tickets are on sale now here. A portion of proceeds will go towards the Cleveland Community Foundation, an organization that is affiliated with Foundation Of The Carolinas, which “inspires philanthrophy and empowers individuals to create a better community.”
Australian indie veterans Even As We Speak have been making melodic post-punk albums since the early Eighties. Their new album is called Adelphi, which will be released on July 24, 2020 via Portland, OR based label Shelflife Records and the single Unknown is good example of their sound: a synth driven farewell that gets under your skin. Recommended if you like The Beautiful South.
Avant-prog improv trio Stick Men have posted a recording of their show @ Colo-Saal, Aschaffenburg, Germany on March 26, 2018 on Bandcamp. Pay-what-you-want for this board mix made by F.O.H. engineer Robert Frazza, so it sounds rather splendid. As per usual there are plenty of King Crimson tunes - check their treatment of Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part II - carefully arranged for this power trio format.
Romanian composer Mihail Doman has shared another part of Rebirth album, an assemblage of tracks inspired by the current turmoil, captured in a mix of electronics and modern classical music. He releases them as separate tracks and sharing them for free to those who sign up for his newsletter.
Dutch folk duo Sam & Julia are back with a poppy new single, One Man Show. It is a change of pace, with a louder borderline indie vibe, while retaining the seamless interaction of their voices. More new material coming soon.
Vancouver based power pop duo The Top Boost go country a la The Flying Burrito Brothers, on Tell Me That You're Mine, the A-side from their new single. Take note of the old school jangle guitar with just the right amount of echo. And like it was done back in the day they put a slower song on the B-side, Early Morning. Days, a happy sad ballad knee-deep in spot on vocal harmonizing and bubbling keyboards. Hunter Gogo and Kirill Yurtsev are fiercely retro, safe in the knowledge that quality will never go out of style.
English instrumental prog experimentalists The Fierce & The Dead have started a podcast. In the 8th episode of Let's Start A Cult (named after a track from their Spooky Action album), Matt Stevens and Kev Feazey look back on the recording of the breakthrough album The Euphoric in 2018.
HCTF review of The Euphoric.
Things were looking great for American singer Crushed Velvet. But then her record deal fell through, when se refused to have sex with a record executive. She moved on as an independent, trying to get the word out about her powerful rock voice, drawing on her love for vintage garage and punk records as the main inspiration for her music. A couple songs can be found Reverbnation, with the chugging rocker Always as the lead candidate for a hit single.
I reached the stage where I was afraid to wiggle my leg, but then I thought 'why shouldn't I?' It's what I do and now I know how to turn an audience on again.
Steve Marriott
Singer Marcos Gonzalez and multi-instrumentalist/producer Gabriel Robles (guitar/bass/keys) became friends at university in London in 2016, sharing a love for old school funk and soul, plus a healthy dose of latin. Their new single High Roller is a sunny side up sounding song about a big spender who isn't actually happy. It will be included on their new EP Godspeed, due for release on July 17th.
Johnny Dowd has posted a video of him playing Rise Up Party People, about having a ball in a time of social distancing. With a gospel sample and snazzy sax snippet.
Another archival Phish release is available for streaming and download: Alpine Valley '98:
On August 1, 1998 Phish returned to Alpine Valley in East Troy, WI for their third show in America’s Dairyland in as many years. Alpine is a favorite venue – one of the largest amphitheaters on the circuit with a capacity of 37,000, sprawling parking lot, a steep-sloped lawn, and wooden roof. This was the thirteenth show of a 23-date U.S. summer tour. Tickets and parking cost $27.75, and the show was sold out. The rowdy Saturday night Alpine crowd was pumped but, even amidst the Summer of Covers, nobody could have predicted this show’s bookends.
Detroit based dark post-punk act Vazum can write songs about an impending apocalypse and make it sound that it's actually a good thing. Humankind is going down in flames on their new single Embers and they are here to provide the soundtrack. Zach Pliska (vocals, drums, guitar) and Emily Sturm (bass) paint a bleak picture with broad strokes.
Dutch dream pop duo ISLE can make their synths sound warm and cozy. Lise Low and Arjan de Wit put the bass and vocals upfront in their new single Indigo Sky, conjuring up the image of a glorious sunny day on which anything might happen. Singer Lowe is reaching for the high notes, with swirling keyboard fills serving as a safety net. She comes close to losing her bearings, but it gives the track an edge ensuring that listeners will have to pay attention.
In 2017 English indie pioneers The Wedding Present released George Best 30, revisiting their debut album in full. They pulled it off with flying colours, so it makes that the follow-up Tommy gets the same treatment. It was considered as a stop-gap release back then, a collection of early singles and radio sessions. Like The Smiths' Hatful of Hollow its reputation grew over the years and it's now considered a classic.
For Tommy 30 band leader and main man David Gedge has discarded the recklessness of his youth and donned the composure of the elder statesman of rambling garage rock. He truly owns these songs now, having lived with them for decades. He still enjoys playing them and the current line-up of his band are not mere sycophants replicating the sound of the late Eighties. This new version sounds rejuvenated and can hold its own sitting next to the original.
Dutch folk singer Geri van Essen takes a look at her younger self on her 23/32 single. She recorded it at home, with Elizabeth Clough (violin) and Stefan Breuer (keyboards, bass) added their parts this year. Van Essen wrote the song as she was walking up the stairs to her London apartment, humming into her phone. People always want to be younger or older and she found a way that capture that discontent.
Watch Randy Newman perform Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man) Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show At Home Edition. Released in 1974 on his Good Old Boys album its message still rings true today.
Californian power pop band The Bye Bye Blackbirds are rocking out on their new album Boxer At Rest. The recording sessions came together amidst quite a bit of turmoil. Guitarist Lenny Gill had to have a heart transplant. His fellow band members have finished tracking their parts, leaving space while they waited nine long months for him to recover. He did so and he laid down all his bits in a single day.
The passing of friends and loved ones are the main theme. alternating between sadness, grief, and fond memories of better days, It gives Boxer At Rest sense of urgency, almost a plea to capture the moment. The glorious harmonies in Watch Them Chime are classic West Coast, but they can pull off a Velvets-alike monolithic riff just as well in the sprawling If It Gets Light. The Bye Bye Blackbirds have been to Hell and back, and Boxer At Rest documents their mixed emotions for all who care to listen.
Watch Ukrainian piano player Viktoriya Yermolyeva tackle the Metallica classic Master of Puppets live @ ZKO-Haus in Zurich, Switzerland - February 19, 2011.
English synth-pop trio AXLS have unveiled First Contact The Game, as a companion for their debut album, "reviving the almost lost art of recording a concept album. First Contact is a haunting collection of Eighties-inspired Sci-Fi songs".
Are you ready to take on aliens and save the Earth? Help Alias defend humanity against the Boneships, only you have what it takes.
First Contact: The Game' is a free to play game which takes inspiration from the classic retro era of video games. It places the player directly in the action of our story as they take on the alien enemies in their ‘Boneships’, all set to tracks from the album. The enemies slowly get more persistent as the game goes on and you will eventually meet the boss – mother Boneship (as seen featured on our album art)!
Play First Contact The Game here. Note: it only works on desktops, not on phones and tablets.
HCTF review of First Contact.
English instrumental prog experimentalists The Fierce & The Dead have started a podcast. In the 7th episode of Let's Start A Cult (named after a track from their Spooky Action album), Matt Stevens and Kev Feazey discuss live albums, playing festivals like RosFest, and adventures on a bus.
You have to keep challenging yourself. I've always tried to do that, and I'm not saying I've always been successful. Maybe I've rewritten the same song; it's inevitable, but I've always been mindful of taking the writing somewhere else. You can't stick in your little comfort zone.
Paul Weller
English garage rock act Nancy have a soft spot for off-kilter rhythms when composing daneable, quirky garage songs about halfway demented funk and vaudeville. Call Me On Your Telephone is a joyous plea to an unnamed party to get in touch in order to party hard like there is no tomorrow, with this mashup of Ian Dury, Talking Heads, and Jona Lewie.
Johnny Dowd has posted a video of him playing Acrobats of Illusion, a quite sad tale about the precariousness of life. He calls it folk rock prog and he has a point.
Finnish punk rock band Van Dammes have posted a video for Tax Free World, a track from their Risky Business EP. The clip was directed by Juho Talja, who used plenty of vintage footage of golf carts, water skiing, motor boats and other parafernalia associated with the well-to-do.
HCTF review of Risky Business.
Dutch indie musician Stefan Breuer made a video for The Life of Gods, a song by his lof-fi folk project The World of Dust project. He drove around in Hoograven, a place that made him and his family extremely uncomfortable, and walked around in the woods in Bilthoven where they found the peace and quiet they had been looking for.
Tape Op sat down with mastering engineer Heba Kadry in Brooklyn, discussing sound in all its facets:
What do Björk, Beach House, Slowdive, Liturgy, !!!, The Mars Volta, Deerhunter, Explosions in the Sky, serpentwithfeet, and Ryuichi Sakamoto all have in common? Mastering Engineer Heba Kadry. Born and raised in Egypt and now residing in Brooklyn, New York, Heba has become a cornerstone of the mastering community. Online publisher Geoff Stanfield caught up with Heba from her home to get her thoughts on mastering, working with Bjork and building a new mastering studio.
Brooklyn retro-pop band Starlight Girls set up shop in New Paltz, NY at Marcata Studios in order to get away from the noisy big city to cut the tracks for their new EP Entitled. They decided to record live as much as possible, which helped them to focus on spontaneity and spur of the moment ideas. The title track is a close as they can get to rocking out, while the meandering Teenage Crime finds them exploring slowing down while swaying gently.
Now that they have grown into a sextet there is more room to stretch out. Get Right is an intricate jigsaw puzzle made up from Indie baroque peppered with vaudeville and a surprise country & western popping up at the end. A bit of Ray Manzarek organ found its way into the funky So Far. Entitled is an optimistic, smart return to form after a four year gap since their last album.
English dream pop synth duo Amethysts try to cope with the incessant hassles of everyday life on their new single Pressure Makes Diamonds - maybe it will work out fine and something good can come out of it after all is said and done. Catchy food for thought by two millenials who are very much in love with the sound of the vintage synthesizers and 21st Century triphop. The video was directed by Jacob Parrott.
Dutch rock quartet Fervid followed the rules for making an album about a nasty end to a relationship: anger, grief, failing to understand why, getting closure, it's all there. Break Up is together with in basic riffs, with a few prog, New Wave, and grunge vignettes. The stand-out track She Knows I'm Right packs the punch they are trying to get on tape, with a slowed down chorus hammering home the message.
This band has been chewing at the bit for a couple of years now, getting closer to recording the sounds they are hearing inside their heads. It's a slow process, but Break Up is an album that is pointing in the right direction. Give them another year or so and they will get it right.
Watch French dark wave band Deleyaman perform The Valley during the soundcheck @ Le Théâtre du Temps in Paris in March. It's a track from their latest album Sentinel. The performance was filmed by Le Cargo TV.
HCTF review of Sentinel.
Randy McStine (Lo-Fi Resistance) and Marco Minnemann (The Aristocrats) have made a video for Your Offenses, the second single from their forthcoming McStine & Minnemann album. Not as adventurous as Program, their first one, but with just enough guitar and drums pyrotechnics to appease - and possibly please - prog fans.
McStine & Minnemann ia available for pre-order from their website (CD, digital), Limited vinyl (100 copies) via Diggers Factory . Release date: July 3rd.
HCTF review of Program.
Dutch jazz trio Kapok have posted a video of them performing Cascading Lines @ Rood|Noot in Utrecht. This track did not make the final cut for their MIRABEL album. As a Fathers's Day special offer the double vinyl version can be picked up for € 17,50.
A few hours before they were supposed to play their farewell show @ Cloud Nine (TivoliVredenburg) on March 12 the Dutch government cancelled all concerts and events due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. New date: May 27, 2021.
HCTF review of MIRABEL.
Newburgh, NY based Arthur Fitch, who goes by the stage name, Eames High is an eclectic artist, producer, engineer and performer who caught the ear of engineer Alan Douches (LCD Soundsystem, My Chemical Romance, Animal Collective). His single $.L.I.M goes through hills and valleys, from mellow dance to coming close to industrial. This mix of light and shade is executed with flair and bravado, a much needed breath of fresh air for the indie electronics niche.
English instrumental prog experimentalists The Fierce & The Dead have started a podcast. In the 6th episode of Let's Start A Cult (named after a track from their Spooky Action album), Matt Stevens and Kev Feazey go back to the recording sessions for the Magnet EP in 2015, their first release on vinyl. and hooking up with comics artist Mark Buckingham to create the screen print.
Just 'cause something's popular, it can still be good. In fact, if more people are buying it, then you must be doing something right. People look down on stuff that sells. What do you call that? Downward snobbery, I guess.
Lemmy
Ewan McKenzie, formerly the driving force behind the psychedelic pop project Emporium, has reinvented himself a bit and goes all-out baroque pop on Alone, the first single of The McKenzie FIX. People can feel really lonely in a crowd and in this story of a girl feeling awkward at a party, not being able to partake in the inane banter and gossip of the other visitors, is quite fetching. McKenzie's masterful arranging skills are in full force and his careful phrasing adds another layer of sadness to the song.
Belgian art-rock quintet Flying Horseman mix funk, jazz, triphop, prog and indie rock on their new album Mothership. Originally a solo project by renowned guitarist Bert Dockx it is now a full-grpwn ensmble, exploring the outer regions of popular music. Pulsating rhythms, dissonants and low-slung bass lines clash with the melancholic lyrics, creating a tension that is quietly demanding.
Whether it is the almost joyous funk in Hotel, the fuzzy post-punk guitars in Set Reset or the lazy vibe of A Song That Lasts, there is always a feeling that things can get sideways, going to the edge and coming close to a nasty ending. They take risks, creating an amalgam of sounds that is really special and very much their own.
Johnny Dowd has posted a video of him playing Ft Worth Texas, a brand murder ballad about a man on death row. Weird sound effects near the end.
Australian melodic rock band Sunflower have made a video for their debut single Better Days: "the Brisbane based band take the Australian basic philosophy of "no worries" to heart, proclaiming it all will work out fine in the end".
HCTF review of Better Days.
Avant-garde film maker Lino Budano made a video for phase 2 of the two-part soundscape composition Superluna by Sothiac & Paul Jolly: "Based on drones, floating wordless vocals and free-jazz they conjure up the dark blue indigo of the night, with a giant moon as the sole source of light".
» Sothiac on Facebook
» pauljolly.com
HCTF review of Superluna.
Watch the new Quarantyne video by Custard Flux, the nearly all acoustic project led by Gregory Curvey. It's a track from his forthcoming new full-length album Oxygen, a sad, neo-psychedelic song about social distancing and feeling lonely. Curvey played acoustic guitar, bowed acoustic guitar, and harmonium. The clip was directed and animated by Shane Swank.
Avant-prog improv trio Stick Men have posted a recording of their show @ Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands on March 27, 2018 on Bandcamp. Pay-what-you-want for this board mix made by F.O.H. engineer Robert Frazza, so it sounds rather splendid. As per usual there are plenty of King Crimson tunes, carefully arranged for this power trio format.
Hoboken's finest eclectic indie rock quartet The Special Pillow have made a video for I Woke Up, the lead single for their new EP, World's Finest out on June 26th via Zofko Records: "They leaned on the groove of Spanish Bombs by The Clash (...) , a tune that can getting out of bed and face the world a little easier". The clip was made by Chris Mahoney.
HCTF review of I Woke Up.
London indie pop Suggested Friends have taken a break from being a band, but before they went on hiatus they released their second album Turtle Taxi, filled with songs about baby swans (Cygnets), impending doom (The Apocalypse (It's Just A Day Away)) and reality checks (Pretty Soon Your Grave Will Be A Landfill). Talking cues from Nineties college rock, English folk, and New Wave they serve up a collection of happy-sad songs that will be championed by the staff of independent record stores.
Turtle Taxi is an album for outsiders and insiders. With its on point observations, lo-fi but effective sound it's destined to be an underground favourite, an epithet that is a guarantee for longevity. Suggest it to your friends who are serious about music.
Dutch folk singer Broeder Dieleman will be on tour in The Netherlands and Belgium to promote his latest release De Liefde is de Eerste Wet: "[he] is putting the song first again. With his banjo and vocals as the lead instruments he is the undisputed lead troubadour of Zeeland. Backed by a great band he makes unfashionable yet heartfelt music that can stand the test of time."
Live datesHCTF review of De Liefde is de Eerste Wet.
The Corner Laughers have made a video for The Calculating Boy, a track from their Temescal Telegraph album: "[it] has West Coast written all over it, with its bright sound and crystal clear production. Accessible yet intricate and thoughtful songs, whose layers become more clear and mesmerizing after each listen - the musical equivalent of a kaleidoscope". The Californian power pop quartet used B&W stock footage from the Prelinger Archives.
» The Corner Laughers on Facebook
HCTF review of Temescal Telegraph
Dutch electronic pop duo Pocket Knife Army have released Four Walls Closing for "one new song each month" challenge. Desirée Coumans and Erwin Tuijl captured the feelign being locked up with the current social distancing in a slow claustrophobic track. The clip was filmed by Jesse Immanuel Bom, with dancer Tijmen Teunissen (1,90m) doing his thing in a 1,50m cage.
» Pocket Knife Army on Facebook
HCTF review of Way Too Early.
English upbeat power pop quartet It's Karma It's Cool went through their family photo albums to create a video for Back In '78, a track from their new Woke Up In Hollywood album.
» It's Karma It's Cool on Facebook
HCTF review of Woke Up In Hollywood
John Ludi was an indie artist before indie was invented as a genre. Fiercely DIY the Detroit based musician has made zeven albums plus an EP with early demo tracks. His latest and probably last - album is called Mistakes Have Been Made. It's all over the place musically, but it is crystal clear that he is not happy with the current state of affairs in the States. Big business is fucking up the environment and cash grab is considered to be perfectly OK. Stupidity is embraced, no matter the consequences.
LA based rock trio PLNT9 are ready for the next step with their first EP, Oribiter. The included tow of their previously released singles, On Your Own and Sunsuit, and added three brand tracks that hit hard.
Howling feedback will scare off the uninitiated before Harvest properly starts, while the heavy-handed psych rocker Wendigo and the pounding Yeti Sky will earn them a thumbs up from Soundgarden fans. The US West Coast has always been a fertile breeding ground for metal in all its guises and these guys are adamant to keep it alive with their own brand of crunchy loudness. Turn it up and make sure to roll down the windows when you blast it from your car stereo.
Outlaw country rockers The Rev have made a video for their funky Mashed Potatoes single, "a song that has good time music written all over it in capital letters. all the bases are covered: sweet pedal steel, a fiddle and luscious background vocals as band leader Eric Meyers leads the way with om point lead vocals".
They filmed it @ Alice Cooper Solid Rock in Phoenix, AZ - a non-profit organization that "provides the music, arts, vocational programs and fellowship that challenge teens to discover their passion through music, dance, video and sound production, self-expression, and creativity".
HCTF review of the El Diablo EP.
