Phish: "New Year's Eve 1995: Live At Madison Square Garden" 6LP box set reissued

New Year's Eve 1995: Live At Madison Square Garden, the massive Phish 6LP box set that was sold as a Record Store Day exclusive in 2015, will be reissued on "countdown confetti color vinyl" on May 8th. It is available for pre-order here.

Phish: "The Clifford Ball" 12-LP box set; "Flatbed Jam" LP

Phish has announced the release of The Clifford Ball as a 12-LP set:

Brand new 12-LP 25th Anniversary vinyl box set of Phish’s acclaimed two-day festival The Clifford Ball featuring every note from Phish’s landmark concert that drew more than 70,000 fans to upstate New York in August of 1996. The box set features just under 8 hours of music, fully mixed and mastered, with six complete sets recorded live August 16 & 17, 1996 and pressed on a whopping 12-LPs with audio recorded by Paul Languedoc and vinyl mastered and lacquers cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering. In addition to the 12 colored vinyl discs (Day 1 on Orange vinyl and Day 3 on sky blue), the deluxe box set includes a 40+ page book with extensive liner notes by Parke Puterbaugh and photographs from the weekend by Danny Clinch.

Phish: Clifford Ball ‘Dinner And A Movie’ Thanksgiving Weekend Broadcasts

During the Thanksgiving Weekend Phish will broadcast all six sets they performed at their first festival, The Clifford Ball, in the upstate town of Plattsburgh, New York August 16 & 17, 1996 as part of their Dinner And A Movie schedule. From JamBase.com:

The three sets from August 16 air this Friday, November 26 starting at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT with Phish’s three sets from August 17 to begin at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT this Saturday, November 27.

Both “Dinner And A Movie” live archival video broadcasts can be viewed via webcast.livephish.com or through the band’s YouTube channel. While the shows will air for free, those tuning in are encouraged to donate to Meals On Wheels of America. Contributions made to The WaterWheel Foundation will benefit an organization, “focused on keeping older Americans safe and nourished in communities across the country.”

A Thousand Hours: Sleep

A Thousand Hours play slow, ethereal dreampop. Their debut-full-length Sleep is a soothing trip. Red Collier and Demi Haynes, the band's songwriters, follow the course that was set Dead Can Dance, Propaganda and the Cocteau Twins. They honour the latter with a respectful cover of Crushed.

Sleep is an album that should be played in one sitting. Whether they sing abut nautical misadventure in Shipwreck or an artist dreaming about the spotlights in The Understudy, A Thousand Hours make it sound like it not so bad after all. Blame the wavering keyboards of Nadi Mack for entering an alternate state, with Albert Gresens' bass a lifeline to reality. Recommended listening after a stressful day.

High on Stress: Greatest Hits

Minneapolis alternative country rockers High on Stress never made it. They called quits in 2014 when they had just released Leaving MPLS. For reasons unknown the general public and failed to recognize the top shelf lyrics of singer Nick Leet, whose words can run rings around acts like the Drive-By Truckers and the Jayhawks.

Three years after their demise the self-deprecatingly titled Greatest Hits sees the light of day. As per usual with this kind of releases they included one previously unreleased track, Klonopin and Alcohol, a snarling and energetic rocker that would have the first pick for a single for countless other bands.

Amanda Palmer w/ Jherek Bischoff & Usman Riaz: Space Oddity

Watch Amanda Palmer, Jherek Bischoff and Usman Riaz perform the David Bowie classic Space Oddity at a TED talk @ Vogue Theatre in Vancouver on February 17th, 2016. Countdown by Al Gore. He comes in a bit late.

Strung Out In Heaven: A Bowie String Quartet Tribute (minus "Helden") will be released on vinyl on Black Friday (November 25th).

» amandapalmer.net
» jherekbischoff.com

HCTF's best of 2015 (10-6)

2015 was a rather good year for music. HCTF lists the 20 albums that will be in regular rotation for many years to come.

Today: countdown from number 10 to 6. Go here for 5-1 | 15-11 | 20-16.

10 Jorma Kaukonen: Ain't In No Hurry

There are fine acoustic pickers, there are damned fine acoustic pickers and there is this guy.

(...) like a great wine: he gets better with age. He celebrated his 74th birthday in December, but retirement isn't part of his vocabulary. His new album (...) sees him once more exploring well known songs from the folk and country canons plus a healthy dose of originals. He is one of the greatest acoustic guitar players this side of Betelgeuse, with a finger picking style that is totally at ease and nearly impossible to replicate.

» Full review

9 Zombie Garden Club: Zombie Garden Club

Johnny Douglas for all your garage band needs and analog equipment fix.

Singing about girls, cars, having the blues and craving for karma may be not very original, but it makes killer jukebox material. He is a gear head using vintage amps and keyboards that are a bitch to maintain, but emanating a warm sound that all the programming geeks in Silicon Valley haven't been able to replicate in a convincing manner.

» Full review

8 Jumble Hole Clough: A List Of Things That Never Happened

One-man project courtesy of Colin Robinson, friendly mad scientist and BBC Radiophonic Workshop fan, churning out a wealth of highly original musical wanderings.

Via a freaky visit to Budapest he goes pastoral for A sundial in the rain, thinking about death ("it's not a teardrop, it's a coffin"). Recurring Bathysiderodromophobia earns the top spot. Driven by a soft Kraftwerk meets Gary Numan rhythm track, Robinson builds a multi-faceted sculpture of repeating, twisted musical themes. If Gaudi had been a composer he would have been writing stuff like this.

» Full review

7 Mr. Fantastical: Born To Boogie Born To Die

Jason Corman is a muso in disguise for all your party and music geeks needs.

His new album (..) has its fair share off stomping good time music, but spin one of the smart instrumentals and be prepared to pick up your jaw from the floor. The acoustic Haunted Potato Shed wouldn't have been out of place on Ry Cooder's Paris, Texas soundtrack and the fast bits during the heavy Jaapan Funk will be dissected by guitar geeks. AARPeggio is another showcase of his chops and then some.

» Full review

6 Janet Feder: T H I S C L O S E

Be prepared for prepared guitar. Accessible avant-garde guitar excursions that dig deep.

Her latest album (...) is a sonic expedition, playing instruments in an unorthodox fashion, focusing on textures and melody as equals. Feder picks her single notes carefully, sprinkling them on top of drone like tapestries (No Apology() or striking up a conversation with a jazzy piano (You As Part Of A Whole). The sparse, mostly acoustic She Sleeps With The Sky is a 101 for a complex composition dressing up as deceptively simple showcase.

» Full review

Zombie Garden Club: Zombie Garden Club

BEST OF 2015
9
HCTF

Canadian multi-instrumentalist Johnny Douglas loves garage rock fuzztones. They are all over his debut album under the moniker of Zombie Garden Club, fourteen rambling originals that could have been released as seven as double A-side singles. Currently based in Nashville, TN, he will be far too loud for the country crowd, but rockers of all ages will welcome him with their arms wide open.

Douglas has a knack for coming up with fresh hooks that sound familiar before the song is over. Singing about girls, cars, having the blues and craving for karma may be not very original, but it makes killer jukebox material. He is a gear head using vintage amps and keyboards that are a bitch to maintain, but emanating a warm sound that all the programming geeks in Silicon Valley haven't been able to replicate in a convincing manner.

Zombie Garden Club will be released on June 15th via Bongo Boy Records.

Tracks:

1. call it love
2. judgement blues
3. one step, two steps, three steps gone
4. fuzzface
5. boom
6. evil baby
7. hey little school girl
8. gloryland
9. ache of love
10. diamond daze
11. burn
12. karma
13. calling andromeda
14. mercy man

Live dates:

• 06/27 Aiken, SC @ The Thoroughbred Music and Arts Festival

» zombiegardenclub.com

Blimp Rock: Sophomore Slump

photo: Nicole Bilyea

Toronto poppy rock band Blimp Rock have a dream: to stage the first airborne festival over Lake Ontario. Or so they say. Truth is that they are a quartet with a knack for upbeat quirky songs with witty lyrics that you can dance too.

They show compassion for the shy dudes (Sensitive Boys), take a stern a look at music critics, PR folks and promoters (Music Industry Blues) and celebrate the perks of house parties (Let's All Stay In Tonight). The title track Sophomore Slump refers to dreaded second album syndrome that haunts bands after they gave it their all on their debut album. Recommended if you like They Might Be Giants and Weezer.

Blimp Rock:
Peter Demakos: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Claire Whitehead: vocals, violin
Andrew Kinoshita: electric guitar, vocals
Heather Kirby: bass guitar

Sophomore Slump is a self-released album. Buy it from their website. Release date: April 7th.

Tracks:

1. Will It Ever?
2. Sophomore Slump
3. Vampires
4. Sensitive Boys
5. My Mind Is A Shark
6. Music Industry Blues
7. Conflict Resolution
8. Blimp Rock Live 2
9. Let's All Stay In Tonight
10. In The Doghouse

» blimprock.com

Eilen Jewell: new album "Sundown Over Ghost Town", tour dates

Alt-country singer Eilen Jewell will release her new studio album Sundown Over Ghost Town on May 26th. One of the album's tracks, Rio Grande, can be streamed via CMT The Edge.

Upright bass player Johnny Sciascia has left the band and Shawn Supra (Wayne Hancock, Kim Lenz, Rosie Flores, Wanda Jackson) will be holding down the bottom end.

USA live dates:

• 04/11 Garden City, ID @ We’ve Got You Covered at Visual Arts Collective
• 04/18 Windsor, CT @ Northwest Park Nature Center
• 04/19 Harrisburg, PA @ The Abbey Bar
• 04/21 Worthington, OH @ Natalie’s
• 04/22 Worthington, OH @ Natalie’s
• 04/23 Marietta, OH @ Adelphia Music Hall
• 04/24 Newport, KY @ The Southgate House Revival
• 04/25 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom and Tavern
• 04/26 Brighton (Rochester), NY @ Downstairs Cabaret at Winston Place
• 04/27 Buffalo, NY @ Sportsmen’s Tavern
• 04/30 LaSalle, IL @ Uptown Grill
• 05/01 Chicago, IL @ City Winery
• 05/02 Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark
• 05/23 Grass Valley, CA @ Strawberry Music Festival
• 05/28 Winters, CA @ The Palms
• 05/29 Berkeley, CA @ Freight and Salvage
• 05/30 Santa Cruz, CA @ Kuumbwa Jazz Center
• 06/11 Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
• 06/12 Palmer, AK @ Palmer Musk Ox Farm
• 06/13 Soldotna, AK @ Kenai River Festival
• 07/03 Berwyn, IL @ Fitzgerald’s American Music Festival
• 07/08 Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
• 07/09 New Haven, CT @ Cafe 9
• 07/11 Hudson, NY @ Club Helsinki
• 07/12 Woodbridge, NJ @ Woodbridge Country Sundays
• 07/14 New York, NY @ City Winery
• 07/16 Washington, DC @ The Hamilton
• 07/17 Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
• 07/18 Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe
• 07/19 Wakeman, OH @ Music at Riverdog
• 08/07 Challis, ID @ Braun Brothers Family Reunion Festival
• 08/22 Liberty, UT @ Ogden Valley Roots & Blues Festival
• 09/03 Collinsville, CT @ Bridge Street
• 09/04 Charlestown, RI @ Rhythm & Roots Festival

European live dates:

The band is putting together a Fall tour. Two confirmed shows in Holland right now. More shows tba (Spain, Scandinavia).

• 10/24 Utrecht, Netherlands @ Ramblin’ Roots Festival
• 10/25 Haarlem, Netherlands @ Patronaat

» eilenjewell.com

HCTF review of Queen of the Minor Key.

Phish: "New Year’s Eve 1995: Live At Madison Square Garden" 6LP box set for Record Store Day

The teaser image posted by Vermont jam band Phish was a dead giveaway, but now it's official. New Year’s Eve 1995: Live At Madison Square Garden comes to vinyl. The 6LP box set will be released on Record Store Day (April 18):

On Record Store Day, Saturday, April 18, Phish will release ‘New Year’s Eve 1995: Live At Madison Square Garden’ as a deluxe 6-LP live vinyl box set. This will be the first time Phish has released a complete live show on vinyl and the special box includes new photographs from the show and an essay by Parke Putterbaugh. It will be available exclusively at participating independently owned record stores across the country.

“The years just keep sliding by.” Trey said it best during Fly Famous Mockingbird. Phish stormed Madison Square Garden on their annual holiday tour for a night of music, myth, theater and celebration. Originally released in 2005 and widely regarded as one of Phish’s finest live performances and named one of the “Greatest Concerts of the ’90s” by Rolling Stone, this box includes the complete three-set show (27 tracks and more than three and a half hours of music on 12 sides of vinyl).

‘New Year’s Eve 1995: Live At Madison Square Garden’ was mixed from the multitracks by Elliot Scheiner and mastered for vinyl from the 24-bit flat masters by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering. Each LP is pressed onto 180g audiophile grade vinyl and includes a free MP3 download of the album transferred from vinyl.

Side G
15. Axilla [Part II]
16. Runaway Jim

Side H
17. Strange Design
18. Hello My Baby
19. Mike’s Song

Side I
20. Gamehendge Time Phactory
21. Auld Lang Syne

Side J
22. Weekapaug Groove
23. Sea And Sand

Side K
24. You Enjoy Myself

Side L
25. Sanity
26. Frankenstein
27. Johnny B. Goode

Side A
1. Punch You In The Eye
2. The Sloth

Side B
3. Reba

Side C
4. The Squirming Coil
5. Maze

Side D
6. Colonel Forbin’s Ascent
7. Fly Famous Mockingbird
8. Shine
9. Fly Famous Mockingbird

Side E
10. Sparkle
11. Chalk Dust Torture

Side F
12. Audience Chess Move
13. Drowned
14. The Lizards

» phish.com

Malka: The Constant State

NYC Anglo-Spanish shoegaze band Malka entered the scene in 2013 with their Mirame b/w Mientras se Respira single. Both tracks ended up on their The Constant State EP, an excursion through dream pop and psychedelic rock. Wolves And Sheep with its extended intro and haunting vocals explodes into a fireball of distorted guitars and loud drums. Diamond Girl channels The Cure.

Singing in both Spanish and English they can change the mood by picking the best language for a particular song. Poetry versus harsh reality is tbe prominent theme throughout this EP. Things might get a little hazy and confusing, but through their music they are able to confront their fears and demons.

Malka:
Darko Saric: vocals, synths, guitar
Mike Dawson: drums
David Ciauro: bass
EJ DeCoske: synths, guitar, vocals

The Constant State is a self-released EP. Buy it from her website.

Tracks:

1. A Flock Of Crows
2. For Now We Live
3. Mientras Se Respira
4. Wolves And Sheep
5. Diamond Girl
6. Corazon Sin Sangre
7. Swoon

» malkanyc.com

HCTF review of Mirame b/w Mientras se Respira.

Jumble Hole Clough: 202 Days

UK multi-instrumentalist Colin Robinson is a prolific man. Besides being a member of the avant-garde ensmebles Big Block 454 and Churn Milk Joan he operates as the one-man band Jumble Hole Clough. 202 Days is his ninth release in a little over two years and he didn't have to look far for inspiration. The landscape around Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, a post industrial part of Britain with many remnants of abandoned factories and discarded artifacts, provided the blueprint for an album filled with captivating rhythms and eerie vocals embedded in eccentric funk, ambient post-rock, freak folk and the occasional outburst of a jazzy saxophone or a Zappa-esque guitar lick.

Allan Moon: Children of the Call

Allan Moon has lived in Toronto, Tel Aviv and New York before settling down - for now - in Galilee. His music as eclectic as his background. On his new album Children of the Call he hops from blues Brainwashed to acoustic singer-songwriter fare (New York City) to mainstream rock (Bury the Ramble) and power chords psychedelic prog (Bodyless).

His wavering vocals keep it altogether. Even when he has some harsh words about the death toll caused by religion in Brainwashed he delivers his message with a smile. It is a ramshackle collection of songs about serious subjects. Children of the Call is the kind of album you hope to find in a garage sale.

Children of the Call is a self-released album. Buy it from his website.

Tracks:

1. Brainwashed
2. Kelly
3. New York City
4. Children of the Call
5. Bury the Ramble
6. Oh, Michael
7. Sister Daphna
8. Karolina
9. June Ray
10. Bodyless
11. Slave to Mind

» allanmoon.com

Deleter: Zweite Komposition

photo: Jared Gudnason

Minneapolis quartet Deleter make heavy-handed melodic post-punk rock. Their new EP Zweite Komposition is about breaking the rules (Beaten With Legalese) and discusses gender roles (Secret Seas). Lead singer Knol Tate has a Teutonic accent, which might explain the German title of the EP.

Dark and captivating stuff that will appeal to world weary indie kids.

Deleter:
Travis Collins: bass, vocals
Josh McKay: drums, percussion
Jordan Morantez: guitar
Knol Tate: vocals, guitar
Faith Boblett: vocals on Secret Seas & Before I Go

Komposition/Zweite Komposition is released as a double EP package on Land Ski Records (digital) and 25 Diamonds Label (77 limited edition cassettes). Release date: December 19th.

Tracks:

1. Stupid And Small
2. Secret Seas
3. Before I Go
4. Beaten With Legalese

Live date:

• 01/24 Minneapolis, MN @ 331 Club

» Deleter on Facebook

Eilen Jewell: new album "Live At The Narrows", tour dates

Alt.country singer Eilen Jewell will be back on the road soon. A short run with gospel side project The Sacred Shakers happens in November and December. It's back to country music in early 2015.

A 2CD entitled Live At The Narrows will be available within a couple of weeks. The songs were recorded in Fall River, MA @ Narrows Center for the Arts on February 14 and 15. A new studio album will be released in the Summer, featuring 12 brand new tracks.

Live dates:

• 11/30 Northampton, MA @ The Academy*
• 12/03 Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair**
• 12/04 New Haven, CT @ Cafe Nine**
• 12/05 Hudson, NY @ Club Helsinki**
• 12/06 Fall River, MA @ Narrows Center for the Arts**
• 02/11 Raleigh, NC @ Southland Ballroom
• 02/12 Vienna, VA @ Jammin Java
• 02/13 Sellersville, PA @ Sellersville Theatre
• 02/14 Wilmington, DE @ World Cafe Live at The Queen
• 02/15 NYC, NY @ City Winery
• 02/18 Piermont, NY @ Turning Point
• 02/19 TBA, MA
• 02/20 Portland, ME @ One Longfellow Square
• 02/21 Fall River, MA @ Narrows Center for the Arts
• 04/21 Worthington, OH @ Natalie’s
• 04/22 Worthington, OH @ Natalie’s
• 04/24 Newport, KY @ Southgate House Revival
• 05/01 Chicago, IL @ City Winery-Chicago
• 05/02 Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark
• 05/29 Berkeley, CA @ Freight and Salvage

* performing as The Sacred Shakers
** performing as The Sacred Shakers....Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers open these shows

» eilenjewell.com

HCTF review of Queen of the Minor Key.

1UPYO: Bye Time

Time travel. Comics. Funk. Jazz. Hiphop. Soul. Disco. Rock. All this and more rolled into one on Bye Time, a sprawling sci-fi concept album by 1UPYO, a band from Richmond, VA plus an assorted array of guest musicians and vocalists. Imagine a huge cauldron and throw in Phish, the Disco Biscuits, Sly and the Family Stone, Dr. Dre, The Flaming Lips, Gong, Can, Steve Miller and The Residents. The result: a spicy, weird and highly enjoyable album about time as the foe and friend of mankind. Plus it is a joy for music geeks to decipher.

Forget all the hoopla about a guitar player who supposedly came from the future, this a candy store sort of album, made by a band who outlined a story with a few inconsistencies in the plot, but with a firm grip on their musical prowess. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

IUPYO:
Messenger am9i: bass
Doc Wildman: guitar, vocals
Tripp Watson: controllerism, electronics, percussion
Brian ‘Piper’ Barbre: drums
Ben Hite: keyboards
Additional contributions:
Keller Williams: acoustic Guitar (8), kaosilator (8)
Schiavone McGee: vocals (2) (6)
Moe Marsh: vocals (1) (9), percussion (2) (3) (9)
Aerika Gabbin: vocals (4)
Brian ‘Piper’ Barbre: vocals (3), backing vocals (1) (9) (10)
Ben Hite: backing vocals (1) (3) (9)
Shore 20: vocals (1) (7)
Pandemic: vocals (1)
Fran Ahern Coleman: vocals (6)
Thomas Coleman: acoustic Guitar (6)

Bye Time is a self-released album. Buy it from their website.

Tracks:

1. Bye Time (feat. Moe Marsh, Shore 20, Pandemic)
2. Enigma (feat. Schiavone McGee)
3. Disaster
4. Connected
5. Apples to Oranges
6. Sign (feat. Schiavone McGee, Fran Ahern Coleman, Thomas Coleman)
7. Machines (feat. Shore 20)
8. Let Me Dance (feat. Keller Williams)
9. Be Fine (feat. Moe Marsh)
10. Tom

Live dates:

• 10/11 Cary Street Cafe, Richmond, VA (free show)
• 11/23 The Camel, Richmond, VA

» 1upyo.com

Jet Plane: Loud To Sleep

With a name like Jet Plane you'd expect high adrenaline, chest beating rock. The Russian post-rockers, based in Bryansk, peddle slow-moving instrumental post-rock with the band's resident multi-instrumentalist Igor Zyuzko filling out the sound with dabs of violin, bagpipes and Glockenspiel.

Building their songs on rhythm and flailing guitar lines they travel to hills and valleys, from towering crescendos to pastoral noodling. Fans of intricate textures and. While a lot of bands in this particular niche go for a dystopian vibe, Jet Plane's outlook on things is not that bleak. Inspired by the power of nature in general and the Russian winter in particular Loud To Sleep is an album that flows as a unity - one hour of exploration using drones, bits of traditional folk music, jazz and all out rock.

Jet Plane:
Sergey Sapunov: guitar
Maxim Berezko: guitar
Dmitriy Bulavintsev: drums
Konstantin Kiselev: bass
Igor Zyuzko: violin, shepherd's bagpipes, Glockenspiel

Loud To Sleep is released thru Ricco. Release date: October 7th.

Tracks:

1. Laurel Trees/21 Guns
2. Loud To Sleep
3. Snow Rock
4. Fog
5. Sundog
6. (You Can Hear Them) Whisper
7. Whale

» Jet Plane on Facebook

Ooberfuse: Different Drum

London electronica duo Ooberfuse are releasing Different Drum, another catchy dance tune with a message. Singer Cherrie Anderson urges the listener to think out-of-the-boxand while keyboard player Hal St John cues up a barrage of vintage synth beats and in your face spoken word segments. Like its predecessor March of the Downtrodden, the track was co-produced by veteran sound guru Kinky Roland.

Different Drum will be released via Peakflow Records. Release date: July 28th. Pre-order it from iTunes.

They offer a free download of the Favela Fever remix.

» ooberfuse.com

Billy Moon: Young Adult

photo: Phil Cafik

After their college days were over Hamilton rock duo Billy Moon have set their sights on a career as musicians. On their third EP Young Adult they translate their boredom and ennui into dirty rock 'n' roll, singing about watching porn in Video Girls and growing up wrong in Bad Kids. Graham Caldwell (vocals, guitar, organ and baritone) and Patrick Ryan (drums) manage to sound like a full garage band: lo-fi and fuzzy, but very much alive.

No awards for being inventive, but Young Adult will find its way to suburbia, a solace for kids who are wondering about why their parents hate them, and why sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll have eluded them.

Young Adult is a self-released EP. Buy it (digital and cassette) from their website.

Tracks:

1. Kalashnikov
2. Bad Kids
3. King of the Sun
4. Video Girls
5. The Days Are Just Packed

Live date:

• 05/23 Magpie Taproom, Toronto, ON

» Billy Moon on Facebook