“Destination Unknown” *Teaser* With: Dirty Sidewalks
Look for Dirty Sidewalks full performance next week. But until then here is a teaser of that killer set they played in downtown Seattle for Seismic-Sound’s “Destination Unknown” series.
NEW TRACK & NEW ARTIST: “To The Boy I Jumped In Hemlock Alley” By Whitefence. Album Out 4/9/13
“I have cyclops vision now. But I’m not a giant. I changed my name and body only, and stabbed my social nous in the right ear. I still read fear but there are no police this year. I can repeat the same dream. I can let birds talk to me. I’m in jail. I have love and a whistle. I lay where the lotus lay and then spring the frozen flowers on any giving day. I apologize to those put in the trees, but I was gathering the Cyclops reap.
In the span of 4 1/2 years. I’ve lived in two different apartments and have used three different rooms during this time. All in Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA, only a couple miles from one another. After the death of my father in 2008 I started writing and recording non-stop in these rooms. I can’t say it was directly because of that trauma, but I think deep down it might have much to do about it. This record was initially going to be a collection of the many songs trapped between the 4 White Fence LP’s. As I was putting that together, there were more coming. A better crop. I couldn’t stop. So, instead of a retrospective I said “Fuck It”. Might as well use the most current songs of the bunch. For the exception of “Make Them Dinner At Our Shoes” which is from 2009.”
– Tim Presley
Pictured from Top L-R (Brighton and Res) Lower L-R (Jude and Bryn)
1. I have a cat named Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
2. Blur are my favorite band of all time…
3. I still haven’t seen them live, and I’m very sad about it.
4. I played Varsity Girls Basketball in high school.
5. I was also home-schooled in high school.
6. I almost went on a Mormon mission before I came to my senses and came out of the closet.
7. Considering Facts 5 and 6, I could’ve turned out a lot more fucked up.
8. I really wanted to play violin growing up.
9. I finally got one at age 16, but quickly pawned it to buy a new guitar.
10. I’m obsessed with BBC Radio.
11. It’s actually my dream to work for the BBC, in any capacity.
12. For 2 years I lived in a queer-vegan-anarcho-punk house.
13. I smuggled in grilled-cheese sandwiches whenever possible.
14. I’m about to graduate from Evergreen State College, just like Macklemore. Represent!
Bands as emotive and enduring as Tunng don’t come around too often. Across their decade together, the group have honed their pastoral pop to perfection, winning over audiences and critics one rustic twang of guitar, icy electronic echo and sumptuous whisper of vocals at a time to become one of Britain’s most championed underground forces – fitting for an act who began literally underground, in the basement of a Soho women’s clothing boutique some ten years ago.
Now their success story is set to continue with the release of fifth studio album Turbines on June 18th on Full Time Hobby in America, their most bewitching and brilliant listen yet. “It’s been a twisted adventure to this point, one that has taken us all over the world, an amazing journey,” grins instrumentalist and founding member Mike Lindsay. As the band has evolved and grown, so too has its members. “There’s a lot happened in this band in the last couple of years” he adds. “Children born, people moving into different places, falling in love, skipping country, broadening horizons… maybe this is a coming-of-age record!”
Recorded mainly in a Dorset studio this is the first Tunng album where all six members were more or less all present at each stage of the recording process. Bar an excursion to album engineer and vintage equipment expert Ben ‘Benge’ Edwards’ “synth museum” to add electronic embellishments. It’s an album rich in colour and emotion, from the geyser-like organ eruptions of By This to the trip-hop grooves and thunderous timpani of Trip Trap and Heavy Rock Warning. “I remember thinking that this album would go full circle and match the first record in its experimentalism. But that didn’t happen.” Instead came Tunng’s most direct and affecting effort to date. “It’s more concise,” says Winter. “It’s just the essentials, delivered straight.”
“It’s our sci-fi folk rock album,” declares Lindsay, who stresses the key to Turbines’ enchanting charm is the sense of family among its creators. “We have been through a lot together, seen some amazing places and some pretty bad places too… and it’s time to see some more!”
Pre-order album here: http://www.tunng.co.uk/shop.html
NEW ALBUM AND NEW TRACK: “Dancing With The Tornado” By The Veils. Album Out 4/23 And Tour
The Veils have announced their return with their highly-anticipated fourth album, Time Stays, We Go. Recorded at Seedy Underbelly Studios in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, the album was produced by lead singer/songwriter Finn Andrews and Adam Greenspan(Divine Fits, Arcade Fire.) The band tempted seminal English producer Bill Price (The Clash, Jesus & Mary Chain) out of retirement to mix the record to tape at Metropolis Studios in London, lending the album a rich, analogue sound rarely heard in popular music today. Marking the beginning of a captivating new era for a band, Time Stays, We Go is due out April 23rd via Pitch Beast Records and is available for pre-order now.
Album track “Dancing With The Tornado” is an upbeat, energetic cut that showcases Finn’s raw, dynamic vocals twisting and turning above driving percussion and dancing guitar lines.
First single “Through The Deep, Dark Wood” opens the album with a driving rhythm and palpable electric energy. “The Pearl” plays up Finn’s lush, expressive drawl with a simple melody and somber undertones. “Turn From The Rain” is full of bright, lively instrumentation that plays up the song’s message of hope and perseverance. Album closer “Out From The Valley & Into The Stars” is a heartbreakingly stunning ballad that builds to an explosive climax, leaving listeners wanting more.
Time Stays, We Go shows The Veils at the very height of their creative powers so far, deftly combining two distinct sides of their personality. The band will kick off a North American tour in April—be sure to catch them live in your city, and stay tuned for more from The Veils coming soon!
The Veils on Tour:
4/20: Vancouver, BC @ Electric Owl
4/21: Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
4/22: Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
4/24: San Francisco, CA @ Independent
4/26: Los Angeles, CA @ Echo – BritWeek Show
4/29: Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
5/1: Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
5/2: Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
5/4: Toronto, ON @ Drake Hotel
5/5: Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
5/6: Boston, MA @ Cafe 939
5/7: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
5/9: Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas
5/10: Washington, DC @ Rock n Roll Hotel
Oberhofer spent most of last year on the road touring extensively and sharing songs from the debut LP, TimeCapsules II, to audiences around the world. When the band had downtime, it was spent in a Brooklyn studio writing and recording new songs for upcoming EP, NOTALGIA, out April 23rd on Glassnote.
Some of the new tracks were written in the wake of Brad Oberhofer losing a friend to drugs, a deeply saddening experience which inspired the feelings and themes explored within the new set of songs.
“When people are addicted to drugs or depressed, they are often sucked into a world that makes it impossible to think beyond sadness or to absorb any emotional support from friends and family,” Oberhofer tells Rolling Stone. “In the past few years, I’ve lost some friends to things like this. In those situations, there was nothing I could have said to help them. They couldn’t have heard me if they’d tried.”
Listen to new single “Earplugs” here.
Photo By: Andrew Swartz
“YOU DON’T KNOW ME BITCH”: 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Mo-Wave Festival Performer, Big Dipper
HERE ARE 15 THINGS YOUR DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT BIG DIPPER, and make sure you see him perform this year at the inaugural ‘Mo-Wave Music and Arts Festival. April 12-14th, 2013. Click here for tix
We also want to thank him for this “selfie”(Pic) he took, and sent. We artsified it …. we like to keep things DIY here. 😉 Now go ahead and get some goodness about this fine specimen.
After almost a decade of struggle, strain, and delay, the debut record from Edmontonian Renny Wilson has now seen the light. His first ever release Sugarglider draws blood from disco keystones such as Bad Girls, and the spirit of Arthur Russell. Common elements of chillwave, krautrock, and a healthy dose of Haunted Graffiti can also be heard in a bold, tempo-matched digital-delay. Sugarglider starts out by taking you on a saxed-out, psychedelic, electric-bass powered dance party, riddled with the sounds of late 1980’s FM Synths, 12 bit horns, and regret. The soul-plane flies high, low, and then back up again before it fizzles away into a motorik-opera. Only to slap back with deep, white-boy funk, cosmic pulsar-pop, and sampled-string schmaltz. The contrast of upbeat music and melancholy lyrical content provide a tasty combination for any groove-oriented listener. Tap this valiant freshman effort into your varicose, and you’ll find yourself crying vaseline tears of self-pity on the dance floor.
NEW TRACK: “Foreign Bodies” By Radiation City
Portland’s Radiation City will release their second full-length album Animals In The Median, May 21, 2013 via Tender Loving Empire. From their use of modern electronic sounds and the restraint of classic bossa records, to the urgency and harmony of northern soul, the band has codified seemingly disparate ideas into a sound and ethos that is at once refreshing and classic
Effortlessly bending genres, Animals In The Median takes you on a journey through time.“So Long” turns Motown inside out with funky bass lines, catchy church organs and vintage vocal arrangements. The suspenseful lush orchestration of “Wash of Noise” soothes the musical palette. “Zombies” dabbles in doo-wop, flawlessly adorned with swinging handclaps and melodies.
“Foreign Bodies” makes you want to snap your fingers to sweet and simple guitar rhythms that dance side by side with cascading flute melodies over a strong even beat.
https://soundcloud.com/tenderlovingempire/radiation-city-foreign-bodies
Radiation City just wrapped up a national tour, sharing stages with Pickwick, Caveman, YACHT, The Walkmen, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and more. Stay tuned for touring plans and more news coming soon!
VIDEO POP: “The Bloom” by Lumerians
In their new thusly titled LP, out August 6th through Partisan, Oakland’s Lumerians thrust forward with Krautrock inspired exploration, Afrobeat’s ritualistic rhythms, post-punk guitar noise and cracked-glacé synth lines culled from perverse 1970’s sci-fi soundtracks.
It’s a cacophony of sound in which Lumerians acknowledge the role noise and rhythm has always played in transcendent and ecstatic rituals the world over. From the repetitious drums of tribal animists to the penetrating electronic pulses of neon dance clubs, The High Frontier sets scope outward, points blindfolded at a star map and sets off full blast without making course corrections.
As the first video to make its way online, “The Bloom” reveals a band who, not content with the intensity of the space rock sounds, also believe that sound & vision are parts of a greater whole. Since forming in 2006, Lumerians have gained notoriety for their intense performances, stunning live visuals and thematic otherworldly releases.
The six tracks and 33 minutes that make up The High Frontier were recorded and produced in Lumerians’ self-built studio/brewery: a room housed in a converted store-front church in a neighborhood affectionately referred to as the “Murder Dubbs”.
Lumerians is Tyler Green, Chris Musgrave, Jason Miller and Marc Melzer. Formed in early 2006 while most of the members were working at an experimental music label in San Francisco, their shared affinity for Krautrock and esoteric occult mythologies resulted in after-work jam sessions and recording.
After self-releasing their debut EP in 2008, they signed to Knitting Factory Records in 2011 for their debut LP release Transmalinnia – a record which, during the two years it took to record, was almost entirely scrapped and re-recorded several times. In 2012 supplementary small-pressing instrumental records Transmissions from Telos Vol. IV and The Weaning and the Dreaming quickly sold out in the hands of collectors.
Check out “The Bloom,” the first material from The High Frontier being shared by the band, along with all of their upcoming US tour dates below.
GIGS4GOOD BENEFIT SHOW WITH: Hot Bodies In Motion, Theoretics and Fly Moon Royalty benefiting One Day’s Wages
May 9th! Mark the date, because you are going to be busy watching and grooving to 3 of Seattle’s best hip-hop and r&b -soul acts in town. Who you ask? Well, let’s see … Hot Bodies In Motion, these fellas will get the blood pumping … Theoretics, who have a sound and a flow that’s smooth yet assaulting all wrapped in a pretty package, and the sexified- sultry “shake your ass” sounds of Fly Moon Royalty. (check them out below)
If you haven’t heard . These incredible artist are teaming up with the equally incredible Team Up for Nonprofits and One Day’s Wages.
What is One Day’s Wages? (ODW) is a new grassroots movement of people, stories, and actions to alleviate extreme global poverty. Their name was inspired by their vision that simply donating one day’s worth of your wages can significantly contribute to a cause. Since 2009, ODW has grown its reach to promote awareness of global poverty issues and support relief efforts through partnerships with smaller organizations in developing regions. Team Up is honored to work with such a successful local nonprofit contributing to positive global change.
Water … a necessary and refreshing resource that we Americans are so lucky to have access to at the turn of a knob. However, the reality is that nearly 900 million people around the world do not have access to clean water. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease, and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
Don’t let this get you down because we can all pitch in and help change these staggering statistics by supporting Seattle-based nonprofit One Day’s Wages and the great work they do.
Again … join us on May 9 at the historic Columbia City Theater for the next Gigs4Good show, an event to support One Day’s Wages’ mission to provide clean water to developing nations.
Tickets for this Gigs4Good go on sale tomorrow Tuesday, March 26 for $20 each. You can get them here by clicking this link. (Tickets)
NEW ARTIST & NEW TRACK: “Teenage Rhythm” BY GRMLN
Lyrically, Empire is a look into 20-year-old Yoodoo’s head as he deals with growing up and how that complicates relationships. “I see the world going by without me/ it’s just the way that I’m moving back to you,” he sings on “Blue Lagoon.” Yoodoo notes that while writing the album he matured out of a phase of naïveté, consequently becoming disillusioned with love.
The album was mostly written the months preceding and during Yoodoo’s sophomore year at the University of California Santa Cruz. When the fall semester began, Yoodoo would either write in between classes or just ditch the day’s lessons all together in pursuit of a song.
NEW TRACK: “Big Talking” By White Woods
White Woods is the alias for Julia Kugel, better known for her work as the guitarist and vocalist for Atlanta’s riotous garage rockers The Coathangers. Under her solo moniker, Kugel delivered a heartfelt blend of golden-oldies and subdued Americana with her debut single on Suicide Squeeze last year. Now Kugel is back with another two-song White Woods offering, exploring the same kind of sultry vintage sounds that made her first 7” sell out so quickly. The A-side, “Big Talking”, takes The Coathangers’ attitude, unplugs it from the amps, and delivers its admonishment with a graceful AM radio vibe. On the flipside, “Corner Town” conjures the sex and strut of David Lynch’s pop-culture nods to the 1950s. The newest White Woods songs are available digitally worldwide or on a 7” limited to 500 copies (100 on glow in the dark, 400 black) with an accompanying download code. Pre-order HERE.
NEW ARTIST & TRACK: “Nothin But Nice” By Free Time
Free Time formed in the summer of 2012 around Melbourne luminary songwriter Dion Nania (Panel of Judges). After moving to New York in 2011, Nania kicked around for a while, played some lead guitar with fellow Melbourne transplants, Scott and Charlene’s Wedding, then helped out the Twerps, playing bass on a national tour.
Shortly thereafter, he began writing new songs with the intent of putting a new band together, eventually enlisting the support of Adrienne Humblet on bass, Jonah Maurer on guitar, and Michael Mimoun on drums. Filling out Nania’s jangly, sometimes heartbreaking pop, the band quickly recorded most of their first LP the day before Dion flew home to mix it. He returned with fragments for new songs and the band finished the record in December 2012.
Nania’s songs tell stories of following love across the world, of being unsure about the future and of his place in it. Like the trans-Pacific ping pong of the last two years of his life, his songs veer between sweet sadness and wild exuberance. Free Time’s eponymous debut is due for release on May 28, 2012.
VIDEO POP: “Little Blimp” The Joy Formidable & Tour Dates
Following their acclaimed shows at SXSW last week, the band are hitting the road in the US starting today, with a show tonight at The Conservatory in Santa Ana, CA. The band will be playing in Los Angeles at the Henry Fonda this week on Mar 21, followed by a show at San Francisco’s Fillmore the following night. They will be heading up the West Coast and then crossing the US throughout April, making their way to the East Coast for a number of dates including April 18 at Webster Hall in New York. For a full list of tour dates, please see below.
The Joy Formidable are touring in support of their latest album, Wolf’s Law, which was released in January via Canvasback Music / Atlantic Records. Wolf’s Lawis the second album from The Joy Formidable and the follow-up to their breakthrough debut The Big Roar which saw the band praised by the likes of The New York Times, SPIN, and NME as one of the most exciting new UK bands to emerge in 2011. Wolf’s Law was mixed by the legendary Andy Wallace (Jeff Buckley, Sonic Youth, Nirvana).
The album has already had heaps of praise foisted upon it. Rolling Stone hailed the songs as “wickedly bracing and Himalaya-huge.” Magnet proclaimed that “[Wolf’s Law] is a sonic step forward, with more emphasis on orchestration (both Bryan and Dafydd have classical backgrounds) and dynamics.” NPR noted that “the power and intensity of The Joy Formidable never ceases to amaze.” Alternative Press praised the album, saying “Thanks to such marked songwriting growth, Wolf’s Law cements the Joy Formidable as a ferocious rock act and as a band with plenty to say.” The Guardian hailed the album for its diversity in their 4 star review noting of the song “Silent Treatment” that “…it’s the velvet glove that softens the blows of the iron fists on either side.”
The Joy Formidable Tour Dates
3/18 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Conservatory
3/19 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
3/21 – Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda
3/22 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
3/23 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
3/25 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
3/26 – Vancouver, BC @ The Venue
3/27 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune
3/29 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
3/30 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theater
4/1 – Sauget, IL @ Pops
4/2 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theater
4/3 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
4/6 – Columbus, OH @ CD102.5 Day
4/7 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
4/8 – Lansing, MI @ The Loft
4/9 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
4/12 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theater
4/13 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theater
4/14 – Clifton Park, NY @ Upstate Concert Hall
4/17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
4/18 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
4/19 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
4/20 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
4/21 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
4/23 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
4/24 Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
4/26 Tulsa, OK @ The Vanguard Hall
4/27 Norman, OK @ Norman Music Festival
4/29 Dallas, TX @ Tree’s
4/30 Austin, TX @ Emo’s East
5/01 Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
5/03 Memphis, TN @ Beale Street Music Fest
5/04 Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival
5/05 Tampa, FL @ State Theater
5/06 Orlando, FL @ The Social
5/07 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
5/09 Charlotte, NC @ Visulite Theatre
5/10 Wilmington, NC @ Brooklyn Art Center
5/11 Richmond, VA @ The National
NEW ARTIST AND NEW MUSIC: PAWS & SXSW SHOWS
PAWS bash out infectious, lo-fi, garage pop-rock that can quickly shift from cute melancholia to an unnerving territorial roar. On top of the pulsating fuzzy noise the three-piece produce, sit dreamy melodies that bare the bones of their author. Lyrical topics slide between sarcastic self-analysis and, onto more so than often, brutal home truths. Phil, the band’s resident lyricist sums the album’s themes;
“All of the lyrics are pretty much a documentation of the past 2 years. A lot of crazy things have happened in our lives – some good, some horrific. I’d like to say that there is a strong feeling of positivity and hope running throughout this record, light piercing through some distinctly dark times. We’re playing in this band to keep going and stay alive.”
VIDEO POP: “Monkey With A Wig” By GravelRoad
album on Knick Knack Records this summer. Following closely on a successful
2012 that saw two record releases: Psychedelta, a critically acclaimed
album, and their 7″ Pedernales, named for Willie Nelson’s studio in Texas.
T-Model Ford’s backing band will release The Bloody Scalp of Burt Merlin in
June 2013. While you wait for that slab of heavy brain melting groove,
please enjoy the video for the first single of the album, filmed by No Brow
For The Tablets‘ self-titled debut LP, she composed and arranged, as well as co-produced the album alongside Brenden Beu (Male Bonding, Pissed Jeans, o’death) She plays live with a plethora of artists–and you can find her playing as a duo or with up to seven musicians from show to show. The Tablets are set to release their S/T LP as a Special Edition along with a new live EP on June 4th, 2013.
Liz studied piano and ballet In Tijuana and Culiacan, Mexico at a very young age, and her dance studies eventually took her to Cuba. Upon returning to Mexico, she retired from the dancing world and decided to pick-up where she left off with music. In early 2010, following the hiatus of her previous band ‘the fearsome sparrow’, Liz began writing a series of songs that are solely hers. The 11 tracks that make up the self-titled The Tablets debut LP showcase Liz’s wide range of influences from ’60s garage and pop, to dark ’80s and new wave and some of her favorite childhood Mexican girl-pop dance tunes perfectly balanced with gritty shoe-gaze guitars and distorted Farfisa.
VIDEO POP: “Run Run Run” By Dragonette
Canadian electro-pop trio Dragonette has racked up a long list of accomplishments in the past year: they won a JUNO Award for their hit single “Hello,” performed live on Good Morning America, and released their third critically-acclaimed studio album, Bodyparts, which earned the band a second JUNO nomination, for Dance Recording of the Year. Fresh off of a US tour with Major Lazer, the band has kept busy delivering their infectious, electric live show to audiences across the country.
Those who are familiar with Bodyparts know that album opener “ Run Run Run” is a slow, synth-heavy cut with booming percussion and sincere lyrics that show a more vulnerable side of the album. Today, the band shares a video for the track, which follows lead singer Martina through crowded, yet lonely, city streets. Juxtaposing glamorous metropolitan lights with dark, gritty cityscapes, the video explores the high and lows we’ve all felt.
Driven by heavy-hitting electro rhythms, pulsing beats, and sing-along choruses, Dragonette’s music packs a mean punch. From emotion-packed ballads to fist-pumping anthems, Bodyparts takes listeners on a wild ride.
Timber! is the new outdoor music festival from Artist Home Presents. Coming July 26-27, 2013 to King County’s Tolt-MacDonald Park in Carnation, Wash., Timber! continues Artist Home’s vision of uniting music, community, and the beautiful natural environment of the Pacific Northwest.
Here are the first artists announced for Timber! Music Festival! This is about one-third of the performers who will be booked for the festival, but it should give a taste of the festival’s vision and the vision of the producers, Artist Home.
FIRST ARTISTS ANNOUNCED:
Helio Sequence – http://www.heliosequence.com
Fruit Bats – http://fruitbatsmusic.com
Lemolo – http://lemolomusic.com
Bryan John Appleby – http://bryanjohnappleby.com
Kithkin – http://www.kithkinband.com
River Giant – http://rivergiant.bandcamp.com
Ten-Speed Music – http://tenspeedmusic.com/album/isaac-pierce-ep
Known as co-organizers of the Doe Bay Festival and producers of the popular Slack Fest and Artist Home Summer Bonfire Series, and heralded as “innovators in art” by City Arts Magazine, the folks at Artist Home have always worked to integrate unique natural settings into the musical experience in innovative ways. To present Timber!, Artist Home is partnering with King County Parks to set the festival in the rural splendor of Carnation, Washington. With the setting of a densely forested 574-acre park situated at the confluence of two rivers, Timber! moves their vision deep into the woods. With Timber!, says Kevin Sur of Artist Home, “We want it to be like a big neighborhood campout.” (Compliments of Heath PR)
Ticket Information:
Tickets go on sale March 19 at 10am. The link for tickets will be provide in advance on timbermusicfest.com.
General Admission is $45 each (children under 12 are free).Festival camping will be available for $20 per tent for 2 nights, and a VERY limited amount of premium camping and RV campsites are available between $200 – $400. These will accommodate small groups and include your own picnic tables, campfire pits, and for some, river access.
Detailed info on festival accommodations will be available on the website.
Seismic-Sound 