Hearing Conor Oberst’s froggy, pain-dappled voice paired up with a frank, wispy lady like Phoebe Bridgers. On their self-titled debut as Better Oblivion Community Center, he’s pushing forty, learned and weary after nearly thirty years in the business, while she’s still in the first bloom of fame at twenty-four—and the intermingling of their fragile dispositions makes good sense. Oberst’s voice is always quivering like the last leaf on an autumn tree, while hers cocoons his like a silver lining, patient as a lullaby.
Better Oblivion Community Center performing live in the KEXP studio. Recorded March 17th, 2019.
Songs: Dylan Thomas Didn’t Know What I Was in For Little Trouble Easy/Lucky/Free
As part of the forthcoming Frightened Rabbit’s covers album Tiny Changes: A Celebration Of The Midnight Organ Fight, Manchester Orchestra, and Sarah Silverman & Katie Harkin have released covers of the Scottish band’s “My Backwards Walk.”
The first cover is from Sleater-Kinney touring member Harkin, with the help of comedian and actress Silverman. Silverman was a good friend of Frightened Rabbit’s frontman Scott Hutchison, who passed away in 2018 after the band went on a 10-year anniversary tour for the album. The duo’s cover is slow, filled with synths. and puts the melancholic and nostalgic lyrics of the song at the forefront. The duo sing, “I’m working on erasing you / Just don’t have the proper tools / I get hammered, forget that you exist / There’s no way I’m forgetting this.”
Similarly, The Atlanta-based indie-rock band Manchester Orchestra focus on the poignant lyrics, but instead give the song a fuller, more cinematic sound. The song opens with frontman Andy Hull softly singing as the backing music builds to the climactic breakdown of the track.
To celebrate the 10 year anniversary/birthday of The Midnight Organ Fight we wanted to avoid the usual approach of just repressing the vinyl or re-releasing the same record with different artwork or putting out demos that were never meant to be heard by anyone other than the band and maybe our parents. We came up with the idea of asking some pals to record their own interpretations of the songs on the album. It felt like a good way to celebrate everyone who had been a part of the last ten years of the band and we didn’t have to do any work ourselves! Every single person on Tiny Changes has been a part of our lives and Frightened Rabbit in a special way over the last ten years. We’ve shared studios, vans, bars, dressing rooms and probably even underwear with some of these people and that’s why this record is so special to us.
Scott was a vital part of bringing this album together and it’s something he was very excited about and worked hard to bring to life. He listened to and approved every track on there with us and he had already started preparing the artwork which you’ll see on there (if you buy it). This is a celebration of a record that connected thousands of people to Scott and connected thousands of people to each other and ten years on it is still managing to do it. Scott would probably have put in some joke here about when the album hits puberty and starts rebelling by smoking weed and getting things pierced. We’re not that funny so instead let’s just raise a glass, blow out the candles and make a wish.
Prior to the release of these “My Backwards Walk” covers, indie singer-songwriter Julien Baker and Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro released covers of “Modern Leper,” The Midnight Organ Fight’s opening track.
The compilation album arrives July 12th via Canvasback Music/Atlantic and will also feature covers by The National’s Aaron Dessner, CHVRCHES’ Lauren Mayberry, Josh Ritter, Death Cab for Cuties’ Benjamin Gibbard, The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn and many more. The album will not only commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Frightened Rabbit’s album, but also serve as a memoriam to Hutchison, who had helped envision the covers album before his death.
Accompanying the release of the album, Rough Trade will hold an event hosted by Talkhouse’s Josh Modell. The event will feature Finn and Grammy Award-winning producer Peter Katis. Katis was the producer for Frightened Rabbit’s original The Midnight Organ Fight.
California band SadGirl is rooted, but not anchored in the past and by mixing surf, soul, 50s doo-wop and Beach Boys pop into a perfect concoction of their own, their debut full-length, ‘Water‘ is 10 tracks of lo-fi beauty. Even though ‘Water‘ is their debut, they’ve been around a while releasing singles and EPs since around 2014. It’s been a long wait for those of us along for the ride, but man is it worth it.
On ‘Water‘ SadGirl has surrendered the hard surf a little but in turn, amped up the Muscle Shoals-inspired soul which makes ‘Water’ a quieter record than expected. Although the rock out of early singles like ‘Motorbreath‘ or the out and out garage rock of ‘Penelope’s Leg‘, are noticeably absent, but after a few listens to ‘Water‘ you realize that it just sounds like a band that has zeroed in on what they want to be.
There are a couple of familiar songs for any longtime fans; ‘Breakfast For 2‘ and the favorite ‘Little Queenie‘ both slow-dancing gems, made the cut and there’s more of that scattered throughout. The southern soul of opener ‘The Ocean’ with its shimmering Hawaiian-style guitar is stunning and the nostalgic sounding stroll of ‘Chlorine’ are standout tracks. ‘Hazelnut Coffee’ is one of three instrumentals along with ‘Muholland‘ and ‘Avalon’, and all three are slower and less rocking that ‘Motorbreath‘ but in the end it all works here. You can almost taste the salty California ocean air and feel the breeze on a song like ‘Avalon‘.
The album ends with the Lennonesque title track complete with its rolling waves on the fade out. “It’s about realizing your own mortality and changing nature,” guitarist and vocalist Misha Lindes says. “It’s meant to be melancholy but still beautiful in its realization.”
Ultimately ‘Water‘ is a perfectly timed slow burn with its dreamy, easy-going vibe. It is sure to be the feel-good hit of the summer and maybe of the whole year. And lord knows we need a little more of that at the moment.
In 1994 Julian Cope released his eleventh solo album ‘Autogeddon’, presented here as a 25th anniversary deluxe edition with rare bonus material and a newly written book, which contextualises this underground masterpiece for the first time. Inspired by Heathcote Williams‘ poem of the same name, ‘Autogeddon’ is largely a diatribe against car culture.
Autogeddon is short – in comparison to Cope`s brilliant other double albums Peggy Suicide and Jehovahkill, which had been released before Autogeddon. Here, we only have 8 songs, some of which are typical Julian Cope guitar songs, like the title track Autogeddon blues, others are a bit more experimental ( I gotta walk ). But there is one song, the final song, to be more precise, that transcends everything else Cope has ever produced. It`s called S.t.a.r.c.a.r. and it is an 11 minute – guitar freakout in imitation of Funkadelic`s Maggot Brain. Buy the record, the first 35 minutes are not bad, but the last 11 minutes are perfect guitar – based space – rock.
The set is due out on Friday, Julian Cope25th anniversary vinyl set is £65 via the official store and is a similar price elsewhere. However, Amazon in the UK are selling this set for just £31.
As a reminder, this offers a remastered Autogeddon album in a gatefold sleeve, remastered Paranormal In The West Country as a 12-inch EP and Conspiracy Blues/Highway Blues seven-inch single.
It does exist ! It is genuine and it is awesome. Stray / Stray on white/ grey vinyl complete with the original die cut cover… Great package limited edition of just 1000. The English hard rock band Stray released their self-titled debut album back in 1970. In their early years they were influenced by the psychedelic and acid rock music. These influences are combined with their progressive and hard rock outfit. The different melodies of their energetic songs marks one of the greatest impressions of early metal.
The different melodies of their energetic songs marks one of the greatest impressions of early metal/Acid rock. The 9-minute “All In Your Mind” fades in with drums and cymbals ticking away on a steady rhythm, before the guitar enters with one of the first of many riffs. “In Reverse/Some Say” has everything from dual guitar lines, minor chord progressions aka Black Sabbath, and galloping pacing to boot. Two of the many highlights on this versatile record which brought this UK band a cult following.
Stray didn’t achieve any commercial success with its record releases, but proved to be a popular draw on the local club scene in the ’70s. In 2003 they supported Iron Maiden on several of their European dates.
Gloriously added as a bonus track on the CD issue of Stray’s first album.
Del Bromham – Guitar, Vocals Steve Gadd – Lead Vocals Gary G Giles – Bass Guitar Richie Cole – Drums
Strayis available as a limited edition of 1.000 individually numbered copies on silver coloured vinyl.
180 gram audiophile vinyl
Die-cut gatefold sleeve
Limited edition of 1.000 individually numbered copies on silver coloured vinyl
Hot on the heels of their stellar debut album, “At Moonset” (also on Jigsaw Records), Flying Fish Cove are back with another batch of songs that are as enchanting and magical as they are catchy and fun. The lead track, “No Ending”, is easily the band’s most rocking tune to date, sounding halfway between Heavenly and a Harriet Records release by the likes of Pest 5000 or Twig. The title track follows, and is a serious hit, replete with an incredibly memorable chorus. The latter half of the EP is made up of a pair of gentler omnichord-driven songs that show off the band’s lighter and afore-mentioned enchanting side. Brief but essential, this is a surefire hit for the summer, just in time for the band’s cross-country tour!
Two Door Cinema Club’s False Alarm is finally here and it’s “MO is colour and sound”. Hello, you lovely people!
We’re very pleased to share with you all our new record False Alarm in its entirety. We hope you like it and take some time in this overly busy world to listen to it from start to finish. We’re so proud of this record and we feel incredibly lucky to do what we do which wouldn’t be possible without having all you incredibly loyal, passionate and lovely fans! So this record is for you! , Alex Trimble, Kev Baird, Sam Halliday,
The album, which is their fourth studio release from the group and has been dubbed a “glitzy slab of retro-futurist pop” comes only two years on from the release of Gameshow, the album that saw the Northern Ireland-raised trio regroup after a tough period.
Speaking recently, frontman Alex Trimble shared that once they released Gameshow they “unashamedly talked about everything that [they] had been through”, including everything that had lead to his collapse at a Seattle Airport in 2014.
One of the most important things that you can discover if you are going through something like that is the simple fact that you’re not alone in it and that so many people are there with you. And that could be the first step: talking about it and eventually getting out of it, you know?”
Ultimately, it’s a conversation that has lead them to keep at it and produce False Alarm, with its buoyant and bright singles Talk and Satellite.
Little Steven Van Zandt has spent three seasons starring in the Netflix show Lilyhammer about a New York gangster starting his life over in Norway. In addition to playing the lead role, the longtime Bruce Springsteen E.Street Band sideman also co-wrote, produced and scored the series.
His music for the program, which concluded in 2014, is now being collected for a pair of albums due for release next month: Lilyhammer The Score – Volume 1:, Jazz and Volume 2: Folk-Rock Rio Bits and Pieces. And there is an exclusive premiere of the second volume’s “Espresso Martini” that you can listen to below.
The two albums are divided by themes, with the first focusing on the jazz music Van Zandt wrote for the series, while the second gathers three dozen tracks – from short incidental cues and African-influenced pieces to surf and classic rock – that play around in various genres. Both volumes will be released on July 12th.
The new “Espresso Martini” is one of the sets’ more bluesy songs, a steamy mood-setter that shows off Van Zandt’s musical versatility. The song “is an old-school King Curtis-style instrumental featuring Stan Harrison, who is my regular tenor sax player in the Disciples of Soul,” Van Zandt says. “I played the green Gretsch Anniversary model guitar that Marc Ribler got from Santa in [the 2018 Netflix movie] The Christmas Chronicles.”
Before Lilyhammer’s premiere in 2012, Van Zandt spent six seasons in the classic gangster series The Sopranos, starring as another gangster, Tony Soprano’s consigliere Silvio Dante. In between and since, Van Zandt of course has toured with Springsteen, performed on the Boss‘ albums with other members of the E Street Band and released a series of solo records, including Summer of Sorcery, with his Disciples of Soul which came out last month.
Volume 2: Folk, Rock, Rio, Bits And Pieces is a wildly eclectic affair that gathers together 36 tracks from the show, ranging from short music cues to full songs spanning across a dizzying array of genres. Opening with the broadcast version of the theme song “Lilyhammer Nocturne,” the song begins as a swinging jazz tune and then deftly segues into Norwegian folk music illustrating the collision of two cultures. Van Zandt fully embraced the Nordic country and integrated traditional Norwegian folk instruments into his musical arsenal to create an authentic sound for the show which was filmed in Lillehammer, Norway and watched by nearly one fifth of its population. Highlights of the folk songs include “Revelation,” “Lillehammer Mourning” and “Baptism.” On “Toboggan Negotiation,” Van Zandt, who played guitar on all but one track on the collection, injects a hard-strummed acoustic guitar into an otherwise traditional sounding folk song, creating a unique hybrid.
The pieces span the globe and musical history, ranging from the Ennio Morricone-esque “African Dawn,” to the Eastern sounds of “Tandoori Epiphany” and “Dance of the Persian Serpent,” to the symphonic rock of “Painted Angels,” to the bluesy “Espresso Martini,” to the surf rock of “Killer Surf” and the Latin jazz and mambo of “Stevie Colada and “Mojito.” On “Out Of The Darkness,” Van Zandt revisits his 1983 song and transforms it from a stadium rock anthem into a bittersweet instrumental with a Norwegian flavor while “Favella” conjures up images of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro. Overall it showcases both the breadth of the extraordinary and ambitious music that Van Zandt created for the show and his immense talent as a songwriter, arranger, musician and musical chameleon
With Springsteen’s new record, Western Stars, just out, but no E Street Band tour planned this year, Van Zandt is on tour with the Disciples of Soul this summer. They’re currently in Europe, with North American dates starting on June 28th.
The Hollywood Vampires return with their explosive second album, “Rise”. Rock and roll royalty Joe Perry, Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp and shock rock icon Alice Cooper join forces once again for the unmissable rock album of 2019. Seconds into the opening track ‘I Want My Now,’ it’s clear this supergroup has created something special – the chemistry between the individuals is unmistakable when they come together on stage or in the recording studio. Forget the star-studded lineup’s individual reputations, Rise is some of the purest, unapologetic and most enjoyable rock and roll of the year, made by masters of the craft and true fans of the form.
when Hollywood Vampires first hit the scene with their 2015 self-titled debut album, expectations were understandably high. Sadly, the majority of what was delivered was a glorified covers album from Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, the godfather of shock rock, Alice Cooper, and Hollywood royalty, Johnny Depp. Don’t get me wrong, the album was great and a tribute to rock legends lost over the years, but there was a desire to hear some original tunes from some of the most talented men to take to the stage.
Rise actually demonstrates the talents on offer. Opening with “I Want My Now,” over seven minutes of extravagant guitar riffs and Cooper’s instantly recognizable rasping vocals, it would be a Guitar Hero player’s wet dream to nail this tune on expert level! You would be forgiven for comparing the opening of “Who’s Laughing Now” to industrial metal bands such as Nine Inch Nails or even Rammstein, but that feeling is short lived as the tune descends into a dark, yet riff-tastic cut with Cooper’s vocals being complimented by his bandmates.
In the spirit of the Vampires’ original mission, three covers of songs originally written and recorded by some fellow rockers who died far too young: an intimate and intense version of David Bowie’s “Heroes”, beautifully performed by Johnny Depp; the late Jim Carroll Band’s “People Who Died,” and Johnny Thunder’s “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory,” sung by Joe Perry. Raucous rock anthems like “The Boogieman Surprise” and “Who’s Laughing Now” (the first single from the new album), capture the natural, raw, celebratory attitude of Hollywood Vampires displayed in their rowdy shows around the world. But the album shows off their range as well with tracks like “We Gotta Rise” – a tongue-in-cheek politics song in the the tradition of Alice’s “Elected” – to the psychedelic gothic epic of “Mr. Spider.” “‘Rise’ is not only a totally different animal than the first Vampires album, it is unique to anything I’ve ever been a part of. I approached it very differently than I usually do when working on an album. Each of us; Joe, Johnny, Tommy and myself have written songs on this album. What is different though is that I didn’t try to change any songs to be more “Alice-like.” Because each of us has different influences, the sound of this album is very cool. I think that with this album, we are establishing what the Vampires’ sound really is, whereas with the first album we were more tipping our hats to our fallen rock n roll brothers.” – Alice Cooper
Where Rise really shines is when the players, especially Cooper, steps out of their comfort zone for the bluegrass-inspired “Welcome to Bushwackers” (featuring Jeff Beck and John Waters). This is such a fun song that is also very unexpected. In order to give an analogy, imagine The Blues Brothers playing to beer-guzzling rednecks but having to adjust their set to avoid an ass-kicking. Now imagine the Blues Brothers are Hollywood Vampires! Now, that would be a show worth seeing. “Mr. Spider” further demonstrates the variety of styles showcased on Rise. It is a psychogenic acid trip through the dark and twisted sub-conscious of Cooper, Perry, and Depp, a terrifying, yet enticing rabbit hole to journey down.
The tone then shifts dramatically to a politically-driven, punk rock sing along with “We Gotta Rise.” Much like “Welcome to Bushwackers” it is an unexpected change of pace to what you would expect from these three musicians. It is this that makes Rise really shine: the unexpected! This album is bold, adventurous, unafraid and unapologetic. It is a credit to Cooper, Perry, and Depp as they are sure to be aware that their fans would be looking to hear a mishmash of Aerosmith and Alice Cooper, which, of course, they have delivered, but alongside that they have produced tunes that essentially gives the middle finger to what you, I and the world expects them to deliver. In conclusion, these vampires do not suck at all!. Also featured on Rise is a cover of the iconic David Bowie song “Heroes.” Check out this live video of Hollywood Vampires performing last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“Rise” 2019 Edel Germany GmbH. earMUSIC is a project of Edel. Released on: 2019-06-21
Jack White’s been so commonly associated with rock ‘n’ roll over the years that it’s been easy to overlook the fact that he often works similar to how dance producers do. For starters, there’s nothing more explicitly tied to how dance music operates than running your own label to put out releases from yourself and others — and more broadly, since emerging at the turn of the century with his and Meg White’s beloved, now defunct White Stripes, White’s dipped in and out of various projects that more or less function as monikers under which he explores certain sounds.
White unearths or returns to these projects when the mood suits him, and they often bear their own distinct sonic identity. Besides the White Stripes’ arty blues-punk, he’s unleashed jet-black scuzziness with the Kills’ Alison Mosshart as the Dead Weather, embraced an anything-goes mentality with the music released under his own name, and tilted towards country-rock windmills with power-pop whiz Brendan Benson and members of defunct Detroit garage-rock act the Greenhornes as the Raconteurs.
White’s choosing to unearth this month a new Raconteurs’ album the bands third, “Help Us Stranger”. It’s the first album from the group in 11 years and barring the fact that it’s been nigh impossible to predict the machinations behind White’s own creative internal clock, the timing for him to return to more straightforward rock territory is impeccable.
White has effectively split the difference between his last solo album Boarding House Reach’s adventurousness and the band’s past trad-classic rock trappings, the results coming across as appealingly low-stakes. After a series of solo albums that, even at their strongest moments, possessed a nervy atmosphere not unlike grinding one’s teeth, Help Us Stranger is comparatively loose and limber, making for the most collection of songs White’s released in years.
Credit is due to Benson, who as with 2006’s Broken Boy Soldiers and the 2008 quick-turnaround Consolers of the Lonely shares writing credits with White on almost every Help Me Stranger track. Just like Consolers, the sole song he doesn’t is a cover; this time around it’s a rollicking take on psych-pop shaman Donovan’s “Hey Gyp(Dig The Slowness).” But That’s pretty much the only element that Help Me Stranger shares with Consolers; while the latter sagged from an overlong run time, the Raconteurs’ latest is a comparatively lean and mean 41 minutes, with brisk arrangements and more than a few grin-inducing breakdowns such as the double-time frenzy that closes out the boys-in-the-band opener “Bored And Razed.”
There’s a distinctly stoned silliness to parts of Help Me Stranger, none more evident than on the “Misty Mountain Hop”-ping “Only Child,” in which White sings about a “prodigal son” who’s “come back home again to get his laundry done.” Otherwise, the playfulness streaked across this album is mostly of the musical variety, like the multi-tracked vocals dotting the verse structure on “Don’t Bother Me” or the Tell-tale Heart-esque pulse that courses through “Now That You’re Gone.” There are guitar solos packed into nearly every empty corner of this thing, and plenty of the aggressively hammered piano lines that were so prevalent on Boarding House Reach, the latter playing much more enjoyably to the ears than on that record.
Suffice to say, if none of these sonic elements or the idea of four guys bashing out melodic rock music that nonetheless treads familiar ground — sound appealing to you, then you’re probably better off listening to nearly anything else. But the lack of formal innovation on Help Me Stranger packs its own odd appeal, especially when the old tricks are so capably performed. “Live A Lie” is straight-ahead Motor City garage rock that, ironically, bears some resemblance to once-White nemesis the Von Bondies’ “C’mon C’mon”; the guitar riff that kicks open on “Somedays (I Don’t Feel Like Trying)” recalls Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Happy Gilmore-closing “Tuesday’s Gone,” its midsection breaking into a gooey Beatles-esque breakdown.
Such callbacks to classic rock’s, er, classics inevitably bring to mind Greta Van Fleet, that shaggy-haired band of industry-beloved youngsters who’ve gained equal parts fame and critical consternation for joylessly regurgitating the entire Led Zeppelin catalog But there’s nothing that White and Benson have cooked up on Help Me Stranger that sounds like genre-reliant clock-punching; instead, they make playing around in the classic-rock sandbox sound like so much fun that you have to wonder why it took them eleven years to get back in the habit together. Hopefully, next time around they’ll make a point of getting together again sooner.
