Archive for the ‘CLASSIC ALBUMS’ Category

APEX MANOR – ” Heartbreak City “

Posted: June 1, 2019 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Earlier this year, Apex Manor, aka vocalist and guitarist Ross Flournoy, made his commanding return with a single titled “Asked & Answered,” the opening track from his first new album in eight years, Heartbreak City. Flournoy says of the record, “Conceptually, the record really explores variations on the theme of rejection and the different ways people react to it, especially the isolation—either by choice or by circumstance—that can sometimes follow.” Flournoy, is joined by drummer Dan Allaire of The Brian Jonestown Massacre and bassist Rob Barbato, spent less than two weeks in the studio before completing the new album through live-in-studio recordings

Happy release day to Apex Manor “Heartbreak City”, the second solo album from Ross Flournoy (of The Broken West) is available on CD and red Peak Vinyl in the Merge store.

Requiring less than two weeks of studio time to complete, it’s accurate to say that Heartbreak City was captured more than it was recorded due to the “everybody in the same room” live sessions featuring songwriter Ross Flournoy on guitar and vocals, Dan Allaire (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) on drums, and Rob Barbato on bass and production duties. The raucous result is a sonic spectacle that cleverly balances aggressive Dinosaur Jr.-esque guitars with dreamy synth work that’s reminiscent of The Cure, all mixed together with spirited instrumental performances, nuanced melodicism, and lyrics that swing wildly between being cryptic and being profound. In short, it’s everything there is to love about early ’90s pre-commercialized alternative rock but with a refreshingly modern absence of pretense or nostalgia.

From the album Heartbreak City, out May 31, 2019 on Merge Records.

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The WARLOCKS – ” Mean Machine Music “

Posted: June 1, 2019 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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The Warlocks started because of the their mutual love of all things Rock and Roll. We love a lot of the 60s, 70s and some 80s inspired music. We are not a retro band though. We all always try new stuff and from time to time hit something great.

Mean Machine Music is the highly experimental new album from L.A.’s spellbinding psych rock masters, The Warlocks! ,  Inspired by everything from Stereolab to Krautrock to Death Rock, this album presents 5 new compositions and then revisits those songs for instrumental reprises that reveal deep layers of melody and atmosphere! .  Engineered by Phillip Haut (Ariel Pink, Centimeters)! .
Follows on the heels 2016’s extremely well-received Songs From The Pale Eclipse as well as the band’s first ever official live album Vevey released in 2017! ,
Released May 31st, 2019

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The Warlocks return with “MEAN MACHINE MUSIC”, Their first studio album in 3 years.
The mighty Warlocks return on May 31st to melt minds with their own unique brand of dark psychedelia, served as only these purveyors of fine fuzz can offer. But let’s hear about what we have here, straight from the source!
The brave beware! This is no ordinary record by The Warlocks. It’s an experiment. We were inspired to do a heavy Stereolab, Neu, Death-Rock, Krautrock thing but struggled to get the drums and everything to sound good. After too much tweaking from start to finish (hence “Mean Machine Music”) we finally managed to finish the recording with our engineer Phillip Haut (Ariel Pink, Centimeters, Fancy Space People). I’ve always been proud the fact that for the most part we can try new things and get something out of it. We got shit for doing Doo-Wop type stuff which ended up on Surgery. We got shit for the discombobulated Heavy Deavy Skull Lover. Looking back that stuff still stands up! You choose and judge for yourself dear listener! There are def some nuggets in here like “Disfigured Figure” – super weird. It’s a curiosity that I had to wrestle with leaving on my computer or put it out. The fine folks at Cleopatra say “it’s good” and to “release it!” an d so it is. Enjoy! – Bobby Hecksher / The Warlocks – Feb 2019.
Mean Machine Music will be available everywhere starting May 31st via Cleopatra Records.

HUSKY LOOPS – ” Everyone’s Having Fun Fun Fun But Me “

Posted: May 31, 2019 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Italian-born, London-based trio Husky Loops recently announced the details of their debut album, I Can’t Even Speak English out on August 16th on Danger Mouse’s 30th Century Records. Featuring contributions from Fred Gibson (Charli XCX, Plan B), their new single “Everyone Is Having Fun Fun Fun But Me” pairs pumping trip-hop beats, icy, electro vocals and lush atmospherics for the perfect grooving, post-night-out downer. It’s for the early hours of the morning when you’re gazing out the window, still awake after a night that was supposed to be life-affirming, but instead felt stale.

Watch our new video for ‘Everyone’s Having Fun Fun Fun But Me’ right now. Shot in Peckham (London) and taken from our debut album I Can’t Even Speak English.

This is a long phrase about our sound full of evocative but meaningless adjectives. This is the sentence that obscurely refers to some suffered songwriting and to some heroic performances we might or might not have actually performed. This is the part in which we name random bands hoping to seem cool just by association. This it the final sentence in which we beg you to listen to us because we crave to be heard to confirm our insecurities, covered with a layer of worn out we-don’t-care attitude. 

Band Members
Pier Danio Forni,
Pietro Garrone,
Tommaso Medica,

The debut album, I Can’t Even Speak English released August 16th:

THE GOTOBEDS – ” Debt Begins at 30 “

Posted: May 31, 2019 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Pittsburgh is the perfect home for a band like the Gotobeds. Too noisy and aggressive for the dripping sop that passes as “indie” today, too idiosyncratic and tuneful for punk orthodoxy, and too damn smart for most anything else, they’re a band with a certain appeal, much like Pittsburgh itself. Their new album, “Debt Begins at 30”, would’ve been a college radio smash back before colleges sold their stations to NPR.

Like their two previous records, it could’ve existed at almost any time since the end of the ‘70s, indebted equally to Wire’s Chairs Missing and the general attitude of the Fall without specifically sounding like either. The Gotobeds have nothing to hide, but again, that doesn’t mean they don’t have any depth to ‘em.

“If you’ve ever toured or spent long stretches of time with the same folks you know nerves can fray,” Gotobeds frontman Eli Kasan says of their new video. “We found a way to release that tension by macing each other for the video. Ever seen The Purge? Me neither, but it’s the same idea.” Don’t try this at home, but do dig Pavement-y vibes of this one which features backing vocals by Tracy Wilson of Positive No, Dahlia Seed and Ringfinger. The Gotobeds new album is out in May.

The Gotobeds return to the fray with their third full lengther, Debt Begins at 30. The esprit de corps and anxiety-free joy that permeates their other LPs and EPs remains intact. The octane is high-test, the engine still has knocks and pings and the battery is overcharged. The Gotobeds are as Pittsburgh as it gets, the folk music of the Steel City – have more tar for us to swallow. Debt Begins at 30 is an old-fashioned blast furnace and the liquid iron flows. The album’s first single, Calquer the Hound, features guest performances by Kim Phuc singer Rob Henry, and Evan Richards of The City Buses. (The album has guests on all eleven tracks. The song has euphony, a sly bridge, plenty of trademark bash, and a spacey outro.

On May 31st, The Gotobeds – Cary, TFP, Eli and Gavin – return to the fray with their third full length album.

ROSE HOTEL – ” I Will Only Come When It’s A Yes “

Posted: May 31, 2019 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Rose Hotel is not a hotel at all. It’s a band. But that doesn’t mean that their tunes won’t make you dream, with their lo-fi, bedroom indie-pop sound.

Rose Hotel, aka Atlanta-based musician Jordan Reynolds, specializes in dream pop that won’t put you to sleep. “Write Home,” an enchanting bedroom piece that quickly evolves into a spacey, twang-tinged jam, was the third and final tune to arrive before the record, and it’s perhaps the most arresting. It’s a miraculous mix of psych-rock, pop and jazz that shouldn’t work, but Reynolds and her band (made up of other ATL aces from groups like Material Girls, Neighbor Lady, Karaoke and Palm Sunday) knit them all tightly together for a full, bold sound. The warped guitars and hurried drums sound like Aussie psych; the relaxed trumpet and pedal steel like a fusion of early blues and jazz.

Rose Hotel’s debut full-length record “I Will Only Come When It’s A Yes” is out May 31st, 2019

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The CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM – ” Live at The Current “

Posted: May 31, 2019 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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The Claypool Lennon Delirium, as the name suggests, has as its nucleus Les Claypool and Sean Lennon. Their latest album, “South of Reality”, was recorded at Rancho Relaxo — the name Claypool has given his home studio in Sonoma County, California. “I don’t bring in producers or engineers because I’m the only one who knows where to kick it when one of the relays sticks,” Claypool says.

In town for a show at the Varsity Theater, the Claypool Lennon Delirium — accompanied by keyboardist João Nogueira and drummer Paulo Baldi — visited The Current for a full studio session hosted by Mary Lucia.

“With Sean and I, we tend to push and pull each other,” Claypool says of the band’s creative process. “I think that’s what’s good about our relationship is we push each other into directions we wouldn’t normally go.”

“I think the thing about Les is that he doesn’t overthink things when it comes to recording because he has a sort of belief in capturing spontaneity,” Lennon adds. “He’s really into capturing the moment like a documentary filmmaker.”

Beyond talking about the latest record, Lucia asks about which instrument, during the learning phase, is probably least forgiving to neighbors. “I know the answer to that one, because I was that neighbor to someone beneath me. I was learning drums,” Lennon says. “I think like a lot of kids, I didn’t really have a sensitivity towards what it’s like to not want to hear the noise. So yeah, I used to actually practice [drums] really loud with the window open and the whole building would complain.”

One of Lennon’s neighbors didn’t complain, however. That neighbor? Roberta Flack.

The Claypool Lennon Delirium perform ‘Blood and Rockets’ from their 2019 album, ‘South of Reality’ (ATO Records) live in The Current studio.

The Band : Les Claypool, bass, vocals Sean Lennon, guitar, vocals João Nogueira, keyboards Paulo Baldi, drums

“Little Fishes”
“Blood and Rockets”
“Easily Charmed By Fools”

All songs from the Claypool Lennon Delirium’s 2019 album, South of Reality, available on ATO Records.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – ” Tuscon Train “

Posted: May 30, 2019 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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The march towards Bruce Springsteen’s 19th studio LP release continues. Bruce has shared another track from the upcoming album “Western Stars” “Tuscon Train,” an expansive ode to escapes that don’t leave everything behind. After outrunning his “darkness,” our narrator now finds himself pausing, waiting for his love to catch up—”I’m wailing down at the station,” he sings, “Just praying to the five-fifteen/I’ll wait all God’s creation Just to show her a man can change”—while our 69-year-old rocker leans, again, into his Western influences.

Springsteen hasn’t released a new collection of original material in seven years but the rocker’s hardly been resting on his laurels. The past several years have seen him celebrate the 35th anniversary of his 1980 LP, The River, with a massive tour with the E Street Band as well release his highly regarded memoir, Born to Run. He then adapted the work for a lengthy stint on Broadway, which kicked off in October 2017 and stretched halfway through the following year.

So far, he has also shared the forlorn “There Goes My Miracle” and the reflective “Hello Sunshine,” named one of the best songs of 2019. Western Stars is due out June 14th, and while thematic details remain sparse, Springsteen seems to be steadying his gaze on the grittier, more difficult corners of his mind and personality—something he’s comes to terms with throughout his life.

“I have come close enough to [mental illness] where I know I am not completely well myself,” the singer and songwriter confessed in 2018 . “I’ve had to deal with a lot of it over the years, and I’m on a variety of medications that keep me on an even keel; otherwise I can swing rather dramatically and . . . just . . . the wheels can come off a little bit. So we have to watch, in our family. I have to watch my kids, and I’ve been lucky there. It ran in my family going way before my dad.”

Western Stars is Springsteen’s first album since 2014’s High Hopes. Expanding on his upcoming album, Springsteen said, “This record is a return to my solo recordings featuring character driven songs and sweeping, cinematic orchestral arrangements. It’s a jewel box of a record.”

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FOXWARREN – ” Lost On You “

Posted: May 30, 2019 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Foxwarren

Subtle and thoughtful, Foxwarren – the four person band comprised of Toronto solo artist Andy Shauf and his hometown friends, who released their self-titled debut album last year – draws parallels to Shauf’s solo work while leaning on collaboration and looseness rather than Shauf’s meticulous arrangements. The new music video for Foxwarren’s “Lost on You” also makes a strong case for following your gut instincts. Canadian filmmakers Mark Klassen and Hope Little were about to depart on a road trip across Nevada’s Death Valley to the Pacific Coast of California and at the last minute decided to bring their lighting design equipment with them, to experiment with along the trip’s route. Along the way they stopped when the conditions were just right to film and from this footage the “Lost on You” video was born.

“Lost on You” by Foxwarren from the self-titled album, available now on Anti- and Arts & Crafts

WAND – ” Thin Air “

Posted: May 30, 2019 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Wand, the continuously evolving Los Angeles psych-rock crew, have returned this spring with the new album “Laughing Matter”. Its Radiohead-esque first single “Scarecrow” demonstrated that the band’s continued growth away from the psychedelic riffage of their salad days.

Does Wand ever take a break? Releasing four full length albums and one extended play in just four short years while touring North America and Europe during any downtime, they’re tireless in laying the groundwork for a vital rock n roll future. Wand are proof you don’t have to be an industry toy to sell records – that, with devotion and time, the seeds you plant with intention and care will grow back into the world. Fresh off announcing their addition to select Stereolab dates this summer and finishing up their second jaunt through Europe in the last year, Wand are quick to say: “But wait, there’s more!” Another leg of European dates are now announced. And to celebrate, the band have released a brand new visual element, a flicker show to feed your endless craving.

The meticulously constructed “Thin Air” takes its time to really get going, its percussive ripples of gamelan-inspired guitar gradually building and erupting in fiery bursts. “Don’t you dare turn your back again,” Cory Hanson cries.

Track from “Laughing Matter,” available on 2xLP/CS/CD from Drag City Records Released April 19th, 2019.

SONTALK – ” The One Who Breaks Your Heart “

Posted: May 30, 2019 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Joseph LeMay found himself in while writing his new single as Sontalk, “The One Who Breaks Your Heart”. The beautiful folk rock number lowers a sturdy head against a bleak situation with steady guitar strums and LeMay’s open, willful voice. Yet the seemingly balanced rhythm is constantly broken by electronic interference, a quick stutter or a wilting strain.

That gorgeously unsure composition mirrors the lyrical drive of “The One Who Breaks Your Heart”, as LeMay sings of refusing to let go of a romance despite his continued emotional bungling of the whole thing. “Maybe you’ll tell me that you’re feeling unloved/ Maybe you’ll tell me that you’re feeling left out,” he agonizes. “Yeah, but I’m the one who loves you, baby/ I’m the one who holds your hand/ I’m the one who talks you off the ledge/ And I will be the one who breaks your heart, baby.”

Get the album Stay Wild

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