Norwegian pop star Aurora Aksnes, or just AURORA, has an unusual fearlessness. The story is that, as a child, Aksnes discovered an electric piano in the attic of her family’s home in Os, near Bergen. She started writing songs with a narrative orientation, Leonard Cohen a hero. After a school performance, Aksnes‘ friends shared Puppet online, leading Aksnes to court management deals. The singer-songwriter developed an individualistic, atmospheric and romantic electro-folk sound, attracting a fandom she calls her “warriors”. Aksnes broke out with Runaway. In 2016, she presented a debut album, All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend. Aksnes captivated critics by inverting Nick Cave with Murder Song (5, 4, 3, 2, 1), like a gothic Robyn cosplaying Arya Stark. Ironically, she enjoyed a UK hit with a cover of Oasis’ Half The World Away, cut for a department store Christmas ad.
Yet Aksnes has remained instinctively independent. She self-produces, demoing at home, or liaises with trusted studio cohorts. “I feel like the more people are involved in my art, the worse it gets,” Aksnes ponders. “I’m quite kooky in the way I write my own music, because I feel like I have everything inside of me already and that I don’t need anyone to get anything out… I scare people away sometimes, from coming with ideas, ’cause I’m so clear in my own vision.”
Last September, Aksnes dropped a surprise album, Infections Of A Different Kind (Step 1) – the first of two parts. The title song, about having faith amid global volatility and existentialist angst, was pivotal. Aksnes had been “feeling quite tired” and “uninspirational” following a hectic 2016. “I remember I didn’t really have any idea of what to do next – which is very strange for me, because I always know what to do next.”
Aksnes, 22, has long admitted to being “shy”, but she loves to talk. “You learn how to interact with people ’cause you have to meet, like, a million people a year.”
it was the lead single, Queendom, which generated buzz. Aksnes described Queendom as a bop inclusive of the “introverts”. But, more a song of fire than ice, Queendom is an empowering anthem, too. “I got a lot of amazing feedback,”.
Queendom is about celebrating all the differences in us. It’s about celebrating the women and the children and animals and the men also. The quiet ones and the introverts, where they can sing and be seen. It’s about the shy people and the lonely people and I hope it can be a place where we can come and be lonely together and then not be lonely anymore.
The 3rd release from The Spiral Electric is a sprawling double-LP veering from jangly psych to growling stoner rock.
The Spiral Electric are a psychedelic rock band from San Francisco, bringing a mixture of roaring guitars and orbiting synthesizer not heard this side of the galaxy since HAL 9000 dropped acid with Brian Jones in the windmills of your mind. Spacey, swirly psych with just the right amount of stoner/hard rock grittiness to balance out its more cosmic interludes.
All songs written & performed by The Spiral Electric: Clay Andrews : Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards/Synthesizers, Percussion, Field Recordings, Assorted Noises Nicolas Percey : Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals, Field Recordings Michael Summers : Bass Guitar Matias Drago : Drums
We began our career exactly 30 years prior by releasing a home-recorded cassette called Failure, which to our complete surprise became an instant favorite around the Northwest, earning us critical accolades, radio airplay, and major label interest all in a very short time. We were lucky to find ourselves living just a few doors down the road in Seattle from Arthur “Rick” Roberts and Mike Musburger, both of whom agreed to join our band on bass and drums, respectively.
Signed to Geffen Records, we recorded 3 releases, 1990’s Dear 23, Frosting On The Beater in 1993, and Amazing Disgrace in 1996.
These three albums remain beloved by our fans; our most popular, most often cited, most requested works. However, over the years, the CDs have been in and out of print, there have been inconsistent presences on streaming, the LPs either long out of print or not issued at all depending on the territory.
Good news: all that’s about to change. Frosting On The Beater is back, re-issued by Omnivore Recordings (who have, among many releases new and old, reissued our first album, Failure, plus releases by Big Star, Game Theory, etc).
The album will be released as a double CD set: one CD containing the original album, remastered from the original analog tapes, plus enough bonus material to fill out the rest of the CD; and another full CD of more bonus material. Don’t expect just a repackaging of material already available on our 2000 boxed set of outtakes—15 of Frosting On The Beater’s 31 bonus tracks on this reissue have never been heard!
Frosting On The Beater will now stretch across two LPs and will be mastered at 45 RPM from the original tapes. We made the decision to stick to just the original albums for the vinyl release, to give it room to breathe across two glorious slabs of wax. So, if bonus tracks are your thing, the 2-CD set will have you covered.
Craig Finn is the front man of The Hold Steady, however he also an incredible singer-songwriter in his own right. His new solo album is called “I Need A New War”. It is Craig’s third solo record on Partisan Records (his fourth overall) and it cements him as one of today’s most vital storytellers, among the ranks of Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits.
I Need A New War feels like another confident step forward from Craig. He tells the stories of people on the margins, focusing on characters who are lost and who have been left behind. There is nothing glamorous about their stories, it is a very “daytime” portrait of these characters. These are also the least American-specific songs that Craig has ever written.
Finn tells us “I Need A New War” is out today. I’m super proud of this record and I owe a ton of gratitude to a bunch of people who got it here. Josh Kaufman is beyond a producer on this music, he’s a co-collaborator and a spiritual guide. He’s become hugely important to me in the past five years. Life changing, actually. Joe Russo brought his spectacular musical sense to another record with me. His percussion playing and input brought so much life to this music. D. James Goodwin engineered, mixed and hosted at The Isokon and made it all sound incredible.
Stuart Bogie added so much emotion with his soulful sax playing and Raymond Mason & Dave Nelson rounded out the amazing horn section. Annie Nero & Cassandra Jenkins sound so fantastic singing together and their backup vocals are a major defining part of this record. Sam Kassirer played the piano that classes up the whole thing. Dave Gardner mastered elegantly. Dan Monick took the rad cover photo again and Vance Wellenstein put the artwork together. Partisan Records allowed all of this to happen.
I love each and every one of these people. Thank you all for being a part of it and thank you to everyone who listens.
Craig Finn & The We All Want The Same Things Band performing “Carmen Isn’t Coming In Today” live at the Murmrr Theatre in Brooklyn, NY. “Carmen Isn’t Coming In Today” A track from Craig Finn’s new album ‘I Need A New War’ out April 26th on Partisan Records
The We All Want The Same Things Band features Stuart Bogie, Cassandra Jenkins, Sam Kassirer, Josh Kaufman, Raymond Mason, Annie Nero, Joe Russo, and Jon Shaw
Aldous Harding release her third album, “Designer”, on 4AD Records. Designer finds the New Zealander hitting her creative stride. After the sleeper success of the internationally lauded Party, Harding came off a 100-date tour last summer and went straight into the studio with a collection of songs written on the road. Reuniting with John Parish, producer of Party, Harding spent 15 days recording and 10 days mixing at Rockfield Studios, Monmouth and Bristol’s J&J Studio and Playpen.
The New Zealand songwriter Aldous Harding with her third studio album “Designer”. At first glance it’s another album of her signature soft-spoken folk sound, but this time around there’s more meat on the bones. It’s her first record with drums on almost every song, and a broader instrumental palate lends the album a newfound sense of gravity. The emotional lows are lower and the highs are even higher than before.
From the bold strokes of opening track “Fixture Picture”, there is an overriding sense of an artist confident in their work, with contributions from Huw Evans (H. Hawkline), Stephen Black(Sweet Baboo), drummer Gwion Llewelyn and violinist Clare Mactaggart broadening and complimenting Harding’s rich and timeless songwriting.
The amazing new album from Aldous Harding is out today on 4AD Records/Flying Nun Records, on limited gold vinyl pressing.
Kelcey Ayer (Local Natives vocalist, pianist, and one of the band’s primary songwriters) has announced his debut solo album under the name “Jaws of Love”,and shared the project’s first single, also titled “Jaws of Love.” The album is titled “Tasha Sits Close to the Piano” released last September via House Arrest. Listen to “Jaws of Love” below .
As Local Natives were getting ready to record Sunlit Youth via Loma Vista and Infectious Music), Ayer laid down the initial tracks over the course of three days in the same Electro-Vox studio in Los Angeles that Local Natives recorded in. Engineer Michael Harris and mixer Cian Riordan were involved. Ayer later finished the album with LocalNatives‘ drummer Matt Frazier. The Tasha Sits Close to the Piano album title was suggested by Ayer’s wife and named after their dog, Tasha. Jaws of Love. made its live debut show in September at Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Ayer had this to say about the album in a press release: “I used to think that in order to write about love, something had to be wrong. I often got my material from pain, or insecurity, or problems – I thought I couldn’t write a good love song because I am in love and it’s going so well. But I’ve grown to realize that even in the most amazing relationships there are turbulent times and misunderstandings that are unavoidable. And that doesn’t mean that anything is doomed, but love is such a complicated thing. The idea of ‘jaws of love’ felt so perfect for this project because it’s all about love’s trials and tribulations.”
Neil Young culled highlights from his February 5th, 1973 concert at the University Of Alabama in Tuscaloosa with The Stray Gators for a new live album entitled “Tuscaloosa”, which is due out on June 7th via Warner Bros Records. The first single from the seven-track LP is a slow and beautiful version of “Don’t Be Denied.”
This is the next installment of Neil Young’s ongoing archival series, a concert he played with the Stray Gators simply titles “Tuscaloosa”, it will come out on a single CD and a three-sided vinyl album with etched artwork on side four.
“It’s from the period right around Harvest and Tonight’s the Night,” said Young, “For me, it’s edgy. It’s like those mellow songs with an edge. It’s really trippy to be down in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and singing those songs from Harvest and the songs that we were doing for Time Fades Away before it came out. I found this thing and it had such a great attitude to it. I just loved the whole night, so I put that together with [engineer] John Hanlon.
Neil Young + Stray Gators “Don’t Be Denied” from the upcoming album ‘Tuscaloosa” Available on June 7th.
4CD digipack set that includes shows from the Palladium New York, 21st Sepetember 1979, the Capitol Theatre, Passaic NJ, 8th March 1980, the Nakano Sun Plaza, 28th January 1982, and the US Festival San Bernadino, 28th May 1983. One of the greatest live bands ever at the peak of their powers. These are live broadcasts from the time so quality is variable.
Disc 1-New York, 1979 Safe European Home I’m So Bored With The U.S.A. Complete Control London Calling (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais Koka Kola I Fought The Law Jail Guitar Doors The Guns Of Brixton English Civil War Clash City Rockers Stay Free Clampdown Police And Thieves Capital Radio Tommy Gun Wrong ‘Em Boyo Janie Jones Garageland Armagideon Time Career Opportunities What’s My Name White Riot
Arguably among the most famous concert in the history of The Clash; the night of the ‘ultimate rock photo’ and cover of London Calling and the source of probably the most widely circulated Clash bootleg from the FM radio broadcast. Critical acclaim following the gig was also significant in pushing further the band’s profile in the US. WNEW FM recorded the complete concert and this high quality stereo broadcast is the source of all the recordings in circulation. This was the second of the two concerts at the seated and sold out Palladium on New York’s 14th Street.
The 3,800 seater Palladium was an old converted theatre, as ornate as London’s Lyceum but sleazier with drug pushers plying their trade outside.
Disc 2-Passaic NJ, 1980 Clash City Rockers Brand New Cadillac Safe European Home Jimmy Jazz London Calling Guns Of Brixton Train In Vain White Man Koka Kola/I Fought The Law Spanish Bombs Police and Thieves Stay Free Julie’s Been Working For The Drug Squad Wrong ‘Em Boyo Janie Jones Complete Control Armagideon Time English Civil War Garageland Bank Robber Tommy Gun
Disc 3-Tokyo, 1982 London Calling Safe European Home (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais Brand New Cadillac Charlie Don’t Surf Clampdown This is Radio Clash Armagideon Time Jimmy Jazz Tommy Gun Fujiyama Mama (w/ Pearl Harbour) Police On My Back White Riot
Disc 4-San Bernadino, 1983 Somebody Got Murdered Rock The Casbah Guns Of Brixton Know Your Rights Koka Kola Hate & War Armagideon Time The Sound Of Sinners Safe European Home Police On My Back Brand New Cadillac I Fought The Law I’m So Bored With The U.S.A. Train In Vain The Magnificent Seven Straight To Hell Should I Stay Or Should I Go Clampdown
Bored With The USA
The final concert the Clash played with Mick Jones, and just after Combat Rock had made them into platinum selling world stars. Recorded on 28th May, 1983 at San Bernadino’s US Festival. Tracks include Rock The Casbah, Magnificent 7, I’m So Bored With The USA (you gotta love them!), and plenty more.
The Clash came to a rather sad ending in May 1983. The group had every reason to be on the top of the world by this point: their previous LP, Combat Rock, was an enormous hit and their singles “Rock the Casbah” and “Should I Stay or Should I Go” were all over radio and MTV. But drummer Topper Headon was kicked out of the group for drug abuse in 1982, and Mick Jones and Joe Strummer were barely speaking.
They took a six-month break after the Combat Rock tour ended in November 1982, but a $500,000 offer from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to headline New Wave Day of the US Festival proved impossible to turn down. To warm up for the huge festival, the group went on a four-date tour of Texas and Arizona. Founding drummer Terry Chimes (who rejoined the band in 1982 after Headon got the boot) was once again out of the group by this point, so they took out an ad in Melody Maker and recruited 23-year-old Pete Howard.
By the time they got to San Bernardino, California for the festival, they were in complete disarray. Things got worse when they learned fans were paying $25 to attend the show. They had been told previously that prices would be set at $17, and shortly before they went onstage, they held a press conference. The band announced they wouldn’t go on unless Apple gave $100,000 to charity. It was chaos. Some later claimed the real cause of their rage was the knowledge that Van Halen were getting a million dollars for their set.
The band eventually went onstage two hours late and played a sloppy, 80-minute set in front of a banner that read “The Clash Not for Sale.” Joe Strummer taunted the audience from the stage and afterward, the band got into a brawl with security. The group still walked away with a half-million dollars; four months later, they announced that Mick Jones was leaving the group. The chaotic US Festival was his final appearance with the band.
Guns From Brixton
Legendary cable broadcast recorded at the Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ on March 8th 1980, and featuring the classic line up of Strummer, Jones, Simonon, Headon. Tracks include London Calling, Guns of Brixton, Police and Thieves, Complete Control etc.
We can be very grateful that this very enjoyable Clash 16 Tons performance is unusually well documented by not only a good audience recording, but an excellent soundboard source too and even complete black and white video recording of the whole show.
This documentary evidence reveals a typically of this tour, super-tight and professional show. Although, inspired in places it does not really catch fire until Clampdown through to the encores. The Clash tired no doubt after their high profile Palladium show the night before (TV crews, New York press and glitterati) needed the feedback of energy from the audience, but that was not going to happen from this all seated venue. The result as can be seen from the video is that The Clash this night are largely on auto-pilot and real inspiration is only there on certain songs.
The Only Band That Matters
Compilation of live broadcast tracks dating from 1977 to 1983. Tracks include all the favourites – White Man, Tommy Gun, Train In Vain, Should I Stay and more.
Radio Clash From Tokyo
Legendary live broadcast from Nakano Sun Plaza, Tokyo recorded on 28th January 1982, and around the time of the release of Sandinista. Tracks include London Calling, White Man, Brand New Cadillac, Armagideon Time, White Riot etc.
The Clash were burning down the Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo as part of their Far East tour in early 1982, playing some pre-release versions of songs that would eventually appear on “Combat Rock” three months later. In terms of quality, this set is hit and miss . . . But even in its muddied glory, you can still hear the power and musicianship of the band shining through. You can even sense some remaining rapport between the band members here – probably the last of it, as the band was touring in the midst of the contentious recording of that album. Mick Jones was unhappy with the rest of the band rejecting his Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg mix, and Glyn Johns was about to be brought in at the end of the tour to remix the album in London. Jones was especially pissed at Joe Strummer; their acrimony would lead to Jones leaving the group less than eighteen months later .
White Riots In New York: Broadcast Live From The Palladium, NYC, 1979
The classic line up of The Clash lasted for five years from 1977 to 1982 and featured lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer, lead guitarist and vocalist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Nicky “Topper” Headon. Give ‘Em Enough Rope, the second studio album, was released on 10th November 1978. The album was a huge success and by 1979 The Clash had begun to make serious inroads into the US market.
White Riots in New York City is the legendary Clash broadcast from The Palladium NYC on 21st September 1979. This powerful recording captures The Clash at the peak of their form performing material from Give ‘Em Enough Rope and The Clash and their soon to be released third album, London Calling.
Featuring cover illustrations by Ray Lowry, the official Clash “War Artist”, who toured with The Clash and sketched them on stage and in rehearsal.
Bruce Springsteen will release “Western Stars”, his first studio album in five years, on June 14th.
Springsteen has said he drew inspiration in part from pop records that emerged from Southern California in the late ’60s and early ’70s. “This record is a return to my solo recordings featuring character driven songs and sweeping, cinematic orchestral arrangements,” he noted in a news release. “It’s a jewel box of a record.”
Sessions were primarily held at Springsteen’s home studio in New Jersey, with additional work in New York and California. Western Stars will be available for pre-order beginning tomorrow. “Hello Sunshine,” is the advance single,
Though presented as a solo project, Western Stars has several intersections with the E Street Band. Patti Scialfa provided vocals and vocal arrangements on four tracks. Other guests included David Sancious (who was with the E Street band in the early ’70s), Charlie Giordano (an adjunct member of the group following the death of original E Street Band keyboardist Danny Federici in 2008) and Soozie Tyrell (a longtime touring collaborator).
Ron Aniello returns as producer. He earlier worked with Springsteen on 2012’s Wrecking Ball and 2014’s High Hopes. He also co-produced the 2014 EP American Beauty, which capped a period of renewed studio activity.
For the uninitiated, Mammoth Penguins are a 3-piece indie pop powerhouse, showcasing the songwriting and vocal talents of Emma Kupa (Standard Fare, The Hayman Kupa Band) backed up by the noisiest rhythm section in indie pop.
Their first album, Hide and Seek, was released with the much-loved and sorely missed Fortuna Pop! in 2015. Stand-out tracks ‘Strength In My Legs’ and ‘When I Was Your Age’ were picked up by BBC 6Music and Radio X, and the band played a live session for Marc Riley the following year.
But Mammoth Penguins didn’t want to stop there. Their follow-up release John Doe in 2017 was an ambitious concept album, exploring the feelings of loss and anger at a man who fakes his own death, only to return years later. It featured contributions from Haiku Salut’s Sophie Barkerwood and Alto 45’s Joe Bear, and expanded well beyond the 3-piece rock‘n’roll template, with washes of strings, synths and samples (field recordings of butter being scraped on toast, photocopiers, and Ramsgate beach helping to fully immerse the listener in the world the band have created) filling out and developing Kupa’s songwriting.
Having had their ‘and now for something completely different’ moment, the band have brought that ambition and expanded palette to the production of this new release. The sound is big, bold and confident—with layers of guitars, backing vocals and keys all adding extra muscle—but maintaining Emma’s candid, heartfelt, confessional style of songwriting, and the jubilant power pop hooks that made the first record so special.
This time around, classic themes of love, loss and conflict are (mostly) given a hopeful and optimistic spin that opposition is neither inevitable nor hopeless. For musical comparisons, think Land of Talk, and Philadelphia bands such as Swearin and Hop Along, but Kupa’s insight into the everyday and her ability to pen such relatable and honest missives means that, often, the best comparison for Mammoth Penguins’ music is with your own past.
“Like a lot of songwriters, my songs are derived from my own personal experiences, thoughts and feelings, long lived or fleeting. The times when people have said my lyrics resonate with them or articulate something specific for them are extremely validating for me and I hope that happens with this album. Arranging the songs with Mark and Tom is a massive buzz and playing them live as a band feels exciting and fantastic. Having Joe and Faith put their mark on the songs was also a massive privilege. When we’re working on a new song it gets to a point where we just want to keep repeatedly playing it over and over. However, making a record can be an extremely slow and drawn out process that requires patience, perseverance and resilience, and because of that we are super excited and proud to be releasing this album.” Emma Kupa, Mammoth Penguins.
Performed by Emma Kupa (vocals and guitar), Mark Boxall (bass and
backing vocals), and Tom Barden (drums and backing vocals).
Additional guitar (including lead on There Is So Much More) by Faith Taylor. Keys and additional sounds by Joe Bear. Cello by Mark Boxall.
