Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream and Jehnny Beth from Savages are releasing a new collaborative album together, “Utopian Ashes”. Due out on July 2 via Third ManRecordings. They shared its second single, the string-backed “Chase It Down” Thomas James directed the atmospheric black & white video.
Previously the duo shared the album’s first single, “Remember We Were Lovers” via a video for it. As well as Gillespie and Beth, the album also features Beth’s musical partner Johnny Hostile (bass) alongside three members of PrimalScream—Andrew Innes (guitar), Martin Duffy (piano), and Darrin Mooney (drums).
Utopian Ashesis a concept record of sorts that chronicles the collapse of a marriage. A press release compares the album to country-soul classics such as Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris’ Grievous Angel and George Jones and Tammy Wynette’s We Go Together.
“In the same way you create characters for a novel, we’ve created characters here,” says Beth in the press release. “But you put yourself in it, because you’re trying to understand the human situation. The singing has to be authentic. That’s all that matters.”
“When you write a song you marry the personal with the fictional and make art,” adds Gillespie. “I was thinking about two people living alone, together but apart, existing and suffering in a psychic malaise, who plough on because of responsibilities and commitments. It’s about the impermanence of everything—an existential fact that everyone has to face at some point in their lives.”
It was in 2015 when they were both invited to get up on stage with Suicide at the Barbican in London that the duo first met. In 2016 Beth joined Primal Scream on stage for a duet of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood’s “Some Velvet Morning” (a Primal Scream staple). Sessions for the album happened in Paris in 2017.
Summing up his intentions with Utopian Ashes Gillespie says: “I wanted to put pain back into music. I wasn’t hearing a lot of it in modern rock music.”
Jehnny Beth released her debut solo album, “To Love Is To Live”, last year via Caroline Records.
Primal Scream’s most recent album, “Chaosmosis” was released back in 2016 via the band’s own label, First International.
Nathan Lawr came up during the Toronto indie-rock heyday that spawned bands like Broken Social Scene and Feist, drumming for Royal City and Sea Snakes. In 2000, he started writing his own folk songs, releasing a series of solo albums. In 2010, he started Minotaurs and spent the next 10 years writing, recording, and performing with a psychedelic funk band. Now, almost a decade later, Lawr has come into his own, finding his voice as a pop singer and releasing his most powerful collection of songs to date. Nathan’s upcoming album “Apocalypse Marshmallow” is a meticulously crafted, dynamic powerhouse. The newest single is “Restless” a song about living in the modern dichotomy: We can have anything we want but we’re relentlessly unsatisfied.
Now, after spending almost a decade as a stay-at-home Dad, Lawr has come into his own, finding his voice as a pop singer and releasing his most powerful collection of songs to date.
Recorded over the course of 6 years in various studios in Guelph and Toronto, including Lawr’s own Guelph-based studio housed in the rectory of a former Jesuit Chapel, Apocalypse Marshmallow is a meticulously-crafted, dynamic powerhouse of an album. Veering from Steve Miller/Sloan-esque classic rock (on the title track), to 80’s glam pop (in Terminal Love), to half-time Dire Straits (in Shakey Hands), to triumphant country ballads (in Wandering Eyes). Echoes of Fleet Foxes, The War On Drugs, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen,
Apocalypse Marshmallow marks a real progression for Lawr. The song included here would not be out of place on a list of some of the best Canadian songs of the last 30 years.
Apocalypse Marshmallow is a celebration of the rough edges and chaos of friendship, family, being a part of a fabric. It’s messy and uncertain but it’s beautiful. “The process of becoming a parent was intense,” Lawr says. “No one ever tells you that you basically wake up a completely different person. Your old life is gone, like totally gone, and you need to mourn it. That can be a messy process. It’s an apocalypse, but it’s also cozy and soft and sweet, like a marshmallow.”
“James Clark is a doctor of pop. His prescription is simple: Three-minute blasts of medicinal music. Here’s one: The catchy power pop of “Next Best Thing“, from his new 10-song album The Colour Of Happy. For the disc, James once again called upon the talents of producer/musician Moe Berg (The Pursuit Of Happiness), a man who knows his way around a hook. Moe also added guitar and vocals to the record.
“James takes the power pop traditions of The Beatles, Jellyfish and Split Enz and combines them with the high IQ lyrics of Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson. The result makes him one of Canada’s greatest unsung songwriters”. – Producer Moe Berg “A wealth of song writing talent.” – Michael Williams, Cashbox Canada Magazine
When he wasn’t listening to his parents’ early rock ’n’ roll and country-western records, James, persuaded by his guitar playing brother, settled in behind the drum kit and discovered the songwriters that would influence him: Lennon & McCartney, Ray Davies and Elvis Costello.
The second and latest advance single from the forthcoming album, The Colour Of Happy. Song written by James Clark.
Slathered in classic heavy rock ‘n’ soul, soaked in gritty, hard-baked riffs, and topped off with rich, raunchy vocals Heavy Water’s debut album “Red Brick City” . This is the lockdown 2020 project by Saxon’s Biff Byford and his son Seb Byford . the track brings you on an irrepressible raw blues-backed journey through influences and invention. The foundations for Heavy Water’s sound are set in their incredible father/son chemistry and a lifetime of know-how and experiences. Take the title track (and first single) Red Brick City: All steam and smoulder wrapped around a riff Soundgarden would’ve been proud of.
Red Brick City moves with the class and cadence of a cracking journey, uniting vintage rock sensibilities with the crackle and excitement of a fresh, youthful perspective. According to Seb and Biff,
“We decided to do something together in these dark times and the family came together to help get this album off the ground” explained Seb and Biff. Seb Byford recorded and engineered Red Brick City at the Big Silver Barn in York, UK, while the drums were recorded by Ben Hammond at Reel Recording Studio in York. Seb produced the album with Biff, and Jacky Lehmann mastered. Red Brick City sees Seb take the reins on guitar and vocals, with Biff taking up the bass and vocal mantle. Tom Witts plays the drums, while Dave Kemp rounds out the Heavy Water line-up on keyboards and saxophone. A rich, lustrous ride through profoundly rewarding rock waters. To cap off this family affair, the packaging photos were taken by Steph Byford. “We had great fun doing this album, working together on the songs and recording during lockdown,” concluded Biff and Seb. “It’s all recorded without samples or profiles… just loud and proud!” So remember, on July 23rd 2021, there’s going to be a new Rock ‘n’ Roll sheriff in town, and as their name suggests, Heavy Water aren’t for the light-hearted. Dive in, and soak yourself in the purity of their music.
Manchester duo Meena share It’s Okay To Be Tired.Meena show their moody rock sound within, integrating aspects of post-punk, shoegaze, and garage-rock.It’s Okay To Be Tired comes via the newly released album “Can’t See“. One-half the duo, Will, writes the following: “My vision for the record was a poppy hooky reverb-drenched layered record with big drums and deep bass, with a rich texture (every single bass note is played on the low E). I think the record is quite lyrically abstract but in general is about life, sadness and just trying to get through life.”
self recorded inside over the period of 7 months, a musical evolution from our first EP and an overall abstract record about the confusion of life.
Déjà Vu was the most-anticipated new album in America in 1970. More than 50 years later, it’s one of the most famous albums in rock history.
Crosby, Stills, and Nash’s 1969 eponymous debut was one of the most auspicious and omnipresent records of 1969, a remarkable and harmony-rich affair featuring such era-defining material as “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” “Marrakesh Express,” “Guinnevere,” “Wooden Ships,” “Long Time Gone,” and “Helplessly Hoping.”CSN blended folk, country, jazz, rock, and a dash of pop into an often-imitated but never-duplicated sound. In the U.S. alone, the album reached No. 6 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and the top 20 of the year’s best-selling records. Both “Marrakesh Express” and “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” became FM radio perennials. But rather than follow the LP up in an expected manner, the trio of David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash made their supergroup even more super, and more unpredictable, with the addition of Neil Young. Roughly ten months after the release of CSN came Déjà Vu: the debut of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Now, on May 14th, Rhino and Atlantic Records are delivering fans a long-awaited expanded edition of this seminal rock classic as a 4CD/1LP set featuring 28 previously unreleased tracks.
The March 1970 release built on the success of its predecessor, reaching the zenith of the Top LPs chart and yielding three top 40 singles. But the creative process was arduous and the atmosphere much changed since the first album was recorded. Stills even compared the sessions to “pulling teeth.” Nash had split with Joni Mitchell, the inspiration for “Our House.” Stills and Judy Collins had also broken up, and David Crosby’s girlfriend Christine Hinton was tragically killed in a car accident. New recruit (and Stills’ old Buffalo Springfield sparring partner) Young brought his own baggage. But from all this strife, some of the foursome’s most beautiful and deeply-felt music emerged.
The bandmates, as ever dealing with interpersonal tensions, initially recorded most of the material solo, with the others adding their contributions later. One of the significant exceptions to that rule was their searing rendition of Mitchell’s “Woodstock,” recorded at a full-band session. Drummer Dallas Taylor and bassist Greg Reeves appeared on most of the album (and received billing on its front cover) while Jerry Garcia lent his talents to Nash’s “Teach Your Children.”John Sebastian appeared on the title track. Ultimately, Déjà Vu boasted two songs each from Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, plus one Stills/Young co-write and “Woodstock.”
“Woodstock” was the biggest hit . “Teach Your Children” wasn’t far behind, at No. 16, and “Our House” peaked at No. 30. Déjà Vu was the 11th best-selling LP of 1970 and attained a Gold certification just two weeks after its release. It remained in the Billboard chart for 88 weeks, and paved the way for the success of the four solo albums released by CSNY in its wake (Young’s After the Gold Rush, the self-titled Stephen Stills,Crosby’s If I Could Only Remember My Name, and Nash’s Songs for Beginners). With this Deluxe Edition, the road to Déjà Vucan be explored via demos, outtakes, and alternates.
The remastered original album is featured in the new box on both CD and 180-gram LP. The second CD boasts eighteen demos, eleven of which are previously unissued. It’s bookended by two demos of “Our House,” one from Nash solo and one from Nash and Joni Mitchell. In between, listeners will discover songs that didn’t make the album as well as embryonic versions of those that did.
Many of these songs would be completed for solo or other projects including Crosby’s If I Could Only Remember My Name; Young’s After the Gold Rush; Stills’ Manassas and Stephen Stills 2; and Nash’s Songs for Beginners. The third CD has eleven outtakes (nine previously unissued) including Crosby’s “Laughing;” Stills’ “Everyday We Live,” “Ivory Tower,” “I’ll Be There,” and “Bluebird Revisited;” and more.
Finally, CD Four offers an alternate version of the original album in sequence sans “Country Girl” and “Everybody I Love You” and plus “Know You Got to Run.” Only the “Helpless (Harmonica Version)” has been released before. It all adds up to a deep dive into this period of prolific writing from all four members of the group.
Fresh off his work on the first volume of Joni Mitchell’s first volume of “Archives”, filmmaker-author Cameron Crowe has penned the new liner notes for the Déjà Vu: Deluxe Edition. In addition to the 4CD/1LP set, the box will be released in super-deluxe 5LP format exclusively from the new CSNY50.com and Rhino.com. Additionally, the audio will be released to download and streaming services as well as to high-resolution via Neil Young Archives.
Customers who purchase any version from CSNY50.com or Rhino.com will receive a high-resolution download. Young and Nash’s demo of “Birds” is streaming now and can be viewed at YouTube.
Déjà Vu: Deluxe Editionarrives from Atlantic and Rhino on May 14th.
The kind of music Massage makes sunny, bittersweet, tender is less a proper genre than a minor zip code nested within guitar pop. Take a little “There She Goes” by the La’s, some “If You Need Someone” by the Field Mice; the honey-drizzled guitars from The Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love”, a Jesus & Mary Chain backbeat, and you’re almost all the way there. Indie pop, jangle pop, power pop—whatever you call it, pushing too hard scares the spirit right out of this sweet, diffident music, and Massage have a touch so light the songs seem to form spontaneously, like wry smiles.
Still Life was more deliberate. Romano, Naidus, and Ferrer split their song writing duties, sending each other demos by email, an arrangement that grew permanent when quarantine hit. The songs brought out competition, even if Romano teases Naidus for denying it. “I own it. I love it,” he says. “When Alex sent me ‘Made of Moods,’ I was blown away. I thought it was the best thing he’d ever written. I got jealous, so I immediately wrote ‘In Gray & Blue.’”
The band recorded Still Life with Lewis Pesacov (Fool’s Gold, Foreign Born, Peel’d), testing and teasing out new sounds at his intimate backyard studio in Echo Park. Calling it “warm and tender guitar pop,” some of “the shoegazey sparkle and endearing moody charm of institutional indie pop spirits like Jesus and Mary Chain, Echo & the Bunnymen and early R.E.M.” We hope you like what you hear, too.
Alex Naidus: Vocals, guitar Andrew Romano: Vocals, guitar Gabrielle Ferrer: Vocals, keyboards David Rager: Bass Natalie de Almeida: Drums
This is a co-release between Mt. St. Mtn., Tear Jerk and Bobo Integral Records.
Jim Carroll expressed the Bomb-fear anticipation, the optimistic nihilism and glittering darkness of the 1980s that we who were there felt even if we couldn’t communicate it ourselves. When John Lennon was assassinated in front of the Dakota in December 1980, “People Who Died” was one of the most-requested songs on FM radio, just after Lennon’s own “Imagine.” Steven Spielberg chose “People Who Died” to play during the opening scene of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. “People Who Died” tapped a mainline. It was a hit even before it was released, and, as Newsweek’s Barbara Graustark noted, it “propelled [Carroll] from underground status… to national attention as a contender for the title of rock’s new poet laureate.”
“People Who Died” wasn’t the only thing that sustained Carroll’s reputation. The first full-length article about him appeared in 1969, when Jim was 19, and he was featured in Rolling Stone as early as 1973–the same year, it was rumoured, that he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize at age 22. The 1980 release of “Catholic Boy”, along with the re-publication of his cult- classic book The Basketball Diaries, shot Jim and his band into the international spotlight. “Catholic Boy”, named the second-most-popular album of 1980 by BAM, is now considered one of the last great punk albums. Jim appeared with his band on the variety program Fridays, he was interviewed by Tom Snyder, and he was featured on the MTV series The Roots of Rock, hosted by Lou Reed. Cover stories appeared in Newsweek, New York, Creem, Interview, Melody Maker, Stereo Review, Rolling Stone, Variety, and Penthouse. Playboy even printed a cartoon in which the punchline was, “Ever since the advent of Jim Carroll, ‘I’m a Catholic junkie poet’ seems hipper than ‘What’s your sign.’”
The Jim Carroll Band’s success can be attributed to the powerful combination of pure rock ‘n’ roll with Carroll’s poetic sensibility and ability to write from his own experience, forging a style that articulates the relevance of the individual to the particular, the past to the present. Carroll once said, “There ain’t much time left, you’re born out of this insane abyss and you’re going to fall back into it, so while you’re alive you might as well show your bare ass,” and that’s exactly what he does. Musician, Player and Listener described Carroll as “a transformer, chanting and moaning his litany into something infinitely more palpable than symbols made of sounds.”
When reporters began lining up in droves, wondering, “What’s a Pulitzer Prize nominee doing fronting a rock band?” Carroll was already well-known in underground circles for having lived a life of mythic proportions. One writer observed, “Carroll has his own voice and sound and he earned it the hard way
Lots of news as of late, here’s some more. I’ll be going on a small but mighty tour in June around the UK, so if you’d like to see me you can pre-order my new album ‘Feeding Seahorses By Hand’
With her eagerly-awaited third album ‘Flora Fauna’ being released on 21st May via Fiction Records, singer songwriter Billie Marten is giving us our newest glimpse at what to expect, revealing glistening new track ‘Creature of Mine’.
Speaking about the track, Billie says, “It’s an end of the world, post-apocalyptic scenario – you get to choose one thing, one person to leave it with. It’s a love song to a stranger and a polite request to momentarily leave Earth when it’s all too much.”
Accompanied by a new vid created with Joe Wheatley, Billie adds, “Joe and I wanted this video to represent that needless search for something other than what you have. Something intangible and elusive, something also quite beautiful and abstract to pair with the song – an inconclusively painted picture.”
“CreatureofMine” is the second track from BillieMarten’sBillie describes the song on BBC Radio 1 as a “post apocalyptic” situation where the “earth is dying” and you get to pick one person to leave Earth with.
Conor O’Brien presents Villagers’ fifth studio album “Fever Dreams”. Escapism is a very necessary pursuit right now, and Fever Dreams follows it to mesmerising effect. It works like all the best records – it becomes a mode of transport; it picks you up from where you are and sets you down elsewhere. Written over the course of two years, the main bodies of the songs were recorded in a series of full-band studio sessions in late 2019 and early 2020. Over the course of the long, slow pandemic days, O’Brien refined them in his tiny home studio in Dublin, and the album was then mixed by David Wrench (Frank Ocean, The xx, FKA Twigs). O’Brien says on the gestation of Fever Dreams: “I had an urge to write something that was as generous to the listener as it was to myself. Sometimes the most delirious states can produce the most ecstatic, euphoric and escapist dreams.”
Conor O’Brien has announced that his fifth studio album Fever Dreamswill be released on Domino Recordings on August 20th this year. The first single is inspired by a trip to the brilliant Another Love Story festival in County Meath.
“I had an urge to write something that was as generous to the listener as it was to myself. Sometimes the most delirious states can produce the most ecstatic, euphoric and escapist dreams.” Director Daniel Brereton says of the video “The whole process was pretty collaborative with Conor. I think we both imagined a floatiness to the video, and obviously the title conjures up a lot of imagery and ideas, ‘The first day of the rest of your life’. What does that look like? How does that feel? We were very lucky to shoot on film and have great casting and styling. Shooting during a pandemic is not easy, so I feel fortunate that we got to make it happen.”
Villagers – “The First Day”, from forthcoming album ‘Fever Dreams’ out 20th August 2021 on Domino Record Co.
