One of the best spots for new, independent music at SXSW in Austin, Texas — is Cheer Up Charlie’s. Katie Von Schleicher and her guitarist Adam Brisbin stepped away from the frenetic energy of the festival, walked into the makeshift Spire Studio Tour Bus (basically a camper trailer, parked on Cheer Up Charlie’s lot, with brilliant recording gear, amps guitars) and performed “Mary.” It’s the quietest song from Katie Von Schleicher’s magnificent 2017 album, S***** Hits.
“On a break from touring this winter I went alone to Maryland, where I am originally from, and made these two songs, taking the gear I’ve very happily accrued since making my album Shitty Hits. I built a fire, I set up my gold drum kit, I saw a ton of stars and felt smushed by silence, and it was lonely, so I made these songs. “Glad to Be Here” is where I find myself right now. “Party Dawn” is tied to Maryland, to my friend and our adolescence. Both are a bridge toward the subject matter of my next record. Back in New York, my collaborator Adam Brisbin (Sam Evian, Jolie Holland, Buck Meek) contributed guitar and bass, and Julian Fader (Ava Luna, Frankie Cosmos, Nadine, Palehound) mixed it.” Katie Von Schleicher, 2018.
Katie Von Schleicher just after this filming to tell me more about “Mary.” “I’ve been teaching a songwriting class and it’s funny now to break these things down into craft and intention,” she says , “but I do feel that writing to a person’s name is a really tender practice, one that can unlock kindness and a conversational tone. If speaking to a part of yourself, personifying it, singing warmly, you can spare your faults and self-criticisms by speaking as if to another person [and] maybe even take your own advice. As much as they’re personal, I’m also trying to get close to some of my favorite things, which also include Randy Newman’s ‘Marie’ and Raymond Carver’s short stories (so full of conversation). For me, ‘Mary’ is a place and time rather than a person, childhood and youth and the strange space I’ve found in going back to the house where I grew up in Maryland to make records now.”
After information about his new album leaked, Father John Misty has formally announced the release of his fourth album, God’s Favorite Customer, along with two new singles.
A press release issued by Sub Pop Records, confirms the leaked album, including the tracklist, the album art (photographed by Pari Dukovic), and the June 1st release via Sub Pop and Bella Union Records. The follow-up to Pure Comedy was written and produced by Misty, and recorded with Jonathan Rado, Dave Cerminara and Trevor Spencer. While the official album news is exciting, the real excitement comes in the full versions of the songs “Just Dumb Enough to Try” and “Disappointing Diamonds are the Rarest of Them All,”.
Each song gives Misty a different angle by expanding his sound while staying true to his indie folk-rock roots. Both songs seem to be a nod to classic, 1970s Elton John, as “Just Dumb” goes for full singer-songwriter glory, with its lush production of jangling guitars and delicate strings leaning towards classic John ballads like “Candle in the Wind” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” “Disappointing Diamonds” is more of a throwback to “Benny and the Jets” and “Crocodile Rock” with its zany production built on huge piano chords and zooming electric guitar riffs.
The title track, which examines the ironic relationship between forgiveness and sin. Together, these are songs that demand to know either real love or what comes after, and as the album progresses, that entreaty leads to discovering the latter’s true stakes.
God’s Favorite Customer is available for preorder now on Father John Misty’s official store along with Sub Pop, Bella Union and select independent retailers in five formats: limited Loser edition on metallic purple vinyl, standard LP on black vinyl, CD, streaming and digital download, and cassette.
In addition to the album release, Misty will go on tour starting in April, in support of the album with Gillian Welch, TV on the Radio and Jenny Lewis serving as special guests at select shows.
Hopefully, the rest of 2018 will be filled with new surprises Misty has a hand in. Listen to “Just Dumb Enough to Try” and “Disappointing Diamonds are the Rarest of Them All” below.
Father John Misty’s new song “Just Dumb Enough to Try” is off of his upcoming album, God’s Favorite Customer, out June 1st on Sub Pop and Bella Union.
Written largely in New York between Summer 2016 and Winter 2017, Josh Tillman’s fourth Father John Misty LP, God’s Favorite Customer, reflects on the experience of being caught between the vertigo of heartbreak and the manic throes of freedom. God’s Favorite Customer reveals a bitter sweetness and directness in Tillman’s songwriting, without sacrificing any of his wit or taste for the absurd. From Mr. Tillman, where he trains his lens on his own misadventure,
“Mr. Tillman” is off of Father John Misty’s upcoming album, God’s Favorite Customer, out June 1st on Sub Pop and Bella Union
God’s Favorite Customer was produced by Tillman and recorded with Jonathan Rado, Dave Cerminara, and Trevor Spencer. The album features contributions from Haxan Cloak, Natalie Merring of Weyes Blood, longtime collaborator Jonathan Wilson, and members of Misty’s touring band.
Father John Misty’s new song “Disappointing Diamonds Are the Rarest of Them All” is off of his upcoming album, God’s Favorite Customer, out June 1st on Sub Pop and Bella Union.
This is the new single which announces the band’s forthcoming two albums to be released this year. Are you ready for not one but two Brian Jonestown Massacre albums this year? Well get in the swing by buying this 10″ which contains a taster track.
The first track is “Hold That Thought” which comes from the album “Something Else” which is to be released on 1st June 2018.
The second track is “Drained” which will come from the self titled album that will be released in September of 2018. Both tracks were recorded in Berlin & the band are announcing tours of the USA, Canada, Australasia & Europe throughout the year.
All tracks were recorded at Cobra Studios , Berlin in 2017 .
Booted with “Story Of Flowers” Directed by : Azuma Makoto Illustration by : Katie Scott Animation by : James Paulley
METZ have a new animated video for the blistering Mr. Plague,taken from their 2017 album, Strange Peace.
As described by director, Shayne Ehman, the video examines: “…the crumbling remnants of civilisation…a broken justice system…a consumer wasteland… Was it all part of the plan?
The Toronto-based trio Metz have incorporated harmony into their heavy sound on their third full-length. They shift away from all-out abrasion, adding color to their eruptions. Metz haven’t turned into a pop band. They’ve actually done the opposite, incorporating harmony without going soft. The fact that so few heavy bands have been able to pull that off attests to how difficult it is. With Strange Peace, Metz make it sound easy.
‘Strange Peace’ (Release date: September 22, 2017)
After years of sweaty DIY shows, career shifts, and jam sessions will all come to fruition for Chicago neo-psycho rockers Post Animal this week. Tomorrow, the band will embark on a massive headlining tour of North America in support of their debut album, “When I Think Of You In A Castle”.
When I Think Of You In A Castle began to coalesce during a 2016 retreat in a haunted Michigan lake house where the band began recording in the midst of what drummer Wesley describes as “an uncertain time for us as a band.” In a press statement, he adds, “Before this album, we weren’t sure what the future of the band was going to look like. I was considering moving to Los Angeles and [guitarist] Joe Keery was off filming Stranger Things. We didn’t know where we were all going but we knew we wanted to make an album with all of us in the same room.”
Those sessions, which the band describe as “magical,” served to solidify Post Animal’s future as a unit. The band toured extensively in 2017 while bassist Dalton Allison perfected the album’s mix and Jared Hirshland, brother of guitarist/keyboardist Jake, handled mastering. What you hear on the final effort is the sound of a band of brothers, including drummer Wesley Toledo and guitarists Matt Williams and Javi Reyes, connecting over a shared passion for psychedelic, poppy rock. Lead vocals are shared by all — even Keery, who despite not joining the band on the road sings on the peppy “Ralphie” and the sludgier “Gelatin Mode” — a testament to the fact that this is the work of a truly collaborative group of musicians.
When I Think Of You In A Castle is due out on this Friday, April 20th via Polyvinyl. The band has broken down the album Track by Track.
“Everything All At Once”: This song didn’t start as an instrumental intro; our early demos had vocal harmonies moving throughout. We recorded it first of the bunch, and set up a few mics on an acoustic guitar and a Casiotone portable keyboard. It started to rain outside, so we opened the window and tracked two takes straight through. In post production, our friend Adam mixed some pads and synth bass in. The instrumental version reminded us of our time at the lake, so we left the vocals off.
“Gelatin Mode”:
The first song we finished for the album. We took segments from the original demo and organized the intro, verses, and choruses. It needed a climax, so we workshopped riffs until we found one dramatic enough. Before we decided on the lyrics, “Javelin Throw” was the main phrase, then “Gelatin Mold”, and finally “Gelatin Mode”. Don’t be shocked if you hear something else live.
“Tire Eyes”: This one’s been in the oven for at least three years. The first version was much less frantic with a melodic, meandering guitar riff playing through the verses, which are now very rhythmic. It probably wouldn’t have made the cut for the record, but just before we left to track, we rehabbed it in a jam and fell back in love. We had our friends Mr. Cadien and Mr. Malcom join us for some harmonious joy at the end; Malcom’s responsible for that angelic yell in the finale.
“Ralphie”:
This was the first song we recorded with a live guitar ensemble. Javi had just arrived to start guitars and Dalton was dehydrated and noise-fatigued after recording drum — lying on the porch in woe. We set up the mics in a circle in the living room and decided to start with something difficult. After about 20 tries we had the take of the Ralphie intro that made the record, and with this take we established the way we’d police ourselves for the next tracks to get live takes we’d be proud of.
“Heart Made of Metal”: Life, in this song, is a person named Lorelei. It’s lyrically about convincing oneself to not fear the change around them, and eventually succumbing to the answerless way we’re all tossed through existence.
“The Castle”:
When I Think Of You In A Castle was originally the title of this song. The short vocal verse is about love, and longing, and using imagination to create a feeling of togetherness. It’s placed at the beginning of Side B as a mostly instrumental breath; some peace before the deep dive that follows.
“Special Moment”:
This song is a response to the pop tunes in the album’s first half, using a quirky half-step progression to create something both off-kilter and digestible. We didn’t have enough headphone inputs or good amps to accommodate all four guitars recording at once, so Jake recorded “Special Moment” headphone-less and through a 10-inch Fender starter amp.
“Victory Lap:Danger Zone”: Our rowdiest track. It’s about playing through a conflict in your head and building it up until you hit rage, aka the “danger zone.” The meditative end acts like a partial resolution to that inner conflict. Falling in line, but not completely satisfied. For when you’re stuck in a metal box.
“One Thing”: This song is the slow cooking burner on the record. In the same suit as the end of Victory Lap, it’s about coping with something that you can never get away from. The song arrived at the lake house as only bass and synth. All of the guitar harmonies were written just before recording.
“Dirtpicker”:
Dirtpicker was the last song we tracked drums for. Immediately after finishing we had to take a break because a cup of coffee spilled all over Dalton’s computer. We had no back up of the two days of work and played a disparaged game of catch in the front yard as the computer dried out. Three hours later, we fired it up and it worked. Everything could’ve ended right there. The computer is fine.
“Susie (Bonus)”:
When you’re done with the record, crack a cold one and take Susie for a spin.
First of a diptych of albums recorded in and influenced by Bert’s time in America. As the title suggests, this album was something of a contrast to Jansch’s usual style – taking in swathes of Nashville-infused pedal steel to sparkling effect. Produced in part by the Monkees’ Mike Nesmith, whose guidance is much in evidence on this perfectly measured slice of British country-rock. Includes 4 additional non-album tracks as a download.
A slice of the 70s is found in this video done while recording L.A. Turnaround in 1974. Produced by MichaelNesmith of the Monkees, it also features pedal steel guitar player Red Rhodes. Filmed in a house and garden in Sussex, the relaxed nature includes long-haired flower children, discussions of Nixon and Watergate and even a meditator on the lawn. Songs include “Fresh as a Sweet Sunday Morning”, “Travelin’ Man” and “One for Jo”.
Limited edition blue vinyl. 1000 copies worldwide.
Arthur Lee was a famously mercurial bandleader. He turned down the Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock and the Ed Sullivan Show, believing his music should have top billing or none at all. His hardline go-it-alone policy ensured Love’s cult status for all time. But he was as chaotic as he was dogmatic: he once sacked a Love guitarist (Jay Donnellan) for suggesting the band should aim to arrive at gigs more promptly – or at least on the day they were scheduled to take place .
This set is a collection of rare live recordings, from a variety of venues, that originated between 1970 and 2004 . Produced by renowned archivist David Skye, with the blessing and participation of Diane Lee, Arthur Lee’s widow. This is the first time a large collection of Arthur Lee & Love career spanning live recordings are being made available to the public. Eight of the 14 songs on the first disc have been released before – either on Studio/Live (1982) or The Blue Thumb Recordings (2007) – but six from Copenhagen and the FillmoreWest, while known to bootleggers, are previously unissued. None would score high on subtlety. Sensitive listeners may quail at a turbo-charged “Bummer In The Summer” (at Waltham Forest Technical College), but that’s got to be better, surely, than Lee’s off-key caterwauling on “Good Times” in Denmark a fortnight later.
We next encounter him at the BBC in 1992, promoting a comeback album (Arthur Lee & Love – Five String Serenade) with an acoustic session for Radio 1’s Richard Skinner. Feted by a new generation, Lee would see his fortunes improve. Disc Two follows him on the promo trail to Amsterdam (for a shaky “Alone Again Or” and a half-remembered “Hey Joe”) and to 1993 and 1996 gigs in Massachusetts and Odense. Close-up microphones intrude on every faltering guitar chord (“Signed D.C.”), but they also bear witness to Lee’s rediscovery of his golden voice. That majestic, heavenly warble! This, we sense, is a vision of the old Arthur. When a young flautist is brought onstage for “She Comes In Colors” – the 48-year-old Lee was happy to revisit Da Capo by 1993, much to the audience’s delight – her songbird trills seem to sing of a musical renaissance. “7 & 7 Is”, tackled at thrilling speed in Odense, is further evidence of a prodigal return. Within months, however, Lee was in a California prison, gaoled for illegally discharging a firearm.
This vinyl package contains a 16 page booklet and cover artwork was designed by illustrator William Stout, internationally renowned as one of the first rock n roll bootleg cover artists. Stout also designed legitimate album covers for The Who, The Beach Boys, The Ramones, and The Smithereens and the original Rocky Rhino mascot.
DISC ONE, SIDE ONE: 1. August, 2. My Little Red Book, 3. Love Is More Than Words or Better Late Than Ever, 4. Doggone, 5. Good Times DISC ONE, SIDE TWO: 1. La Caloca, 2. That’s the Way It Goes, 3. She Comes In Colors, 4. Signed DC, 5. Orange Skies DISC TWO, SIDE ONE: 1. 7 & & Is, 2. Your Mind And We Belong Together, 3. Alone Again Or, 4. Maybe the People Would Be The Times Between Clark and Hilldale, 5. The Red Telephone DISC TWO, SIDE TWO: 1. Andmoreagain, 2. The Daily Planet, 3. Old Man, 4. The Good Humor Man, He Sees Everything Like This, 5. Everybody’s Gotta Live – Instant Karma
Exclusively for RSD 2018, Ride release a limited edition double vinyl LP collection of remixes of tracks from their acclaimed fifth album, ‘Weather Diaries’.
The double LP includes remixes from the likes of renowned Berlin techno duo Barker & Baumecker, Stereolab offshoot Cavern of Anti-Matter, Oren Ambarchi (Touch, Editions Mego, Black Truffle), beautiful ambient mixes from Jefre Cantu-Ledesma (with additional vocals from Maria Linden of I Break Horses), BartozKruczynski (aka Earthtrax) and a 25 minute opus from Babe Terror, amongst others.
Limited to 1000 copies for the UK and Ireland.
Tracklisting:
1. Lannoy Point (Bartosz Kruczynski Mix)
2. Charm Assault (Mogwai Remix)
3. All I Want (Glok Remix)
4. Home Is A Feeling (A Creamy Crambled Suite For A Ride)
5. All I Want (Oren Ambarchi Remix)
6. Weather Diaries (Jefre Cantu-Ledesma Remix)
7. Rocket Silver Symphony (Barker & Baumecker Mix)
8. Lateral Alice (Cavern Of Anti-Matter Remix)
9. Cali (Luke Abbott Remix)
10. White Sands (Lamplighter Remix)
The first ever US vinyl pressing of Ben Kweller’s classic 2002 record Sha Sha, a monumental album for both Kweller and ATO Records. At the time of it’s release, Rolling Stone said classic pop, power pop, alt-pop, indie-pop and anti-folk are all at home on the album… capturing both the loneliness and freedom of early adulthood. Remastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound from the original 1/2 tapes, packaged in a gatefold jacket and pressed on 180 Gram white vinyl. Underscoring the songwriting skill he’s been working at since age eight and over the course of 11 songs, he plays acoustic, folk-rock, alternative, power pop, and straight-ahead rock; his lyrics are consistently heart-sung.
Sha Sha was the debut album by American indie rock singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and former Radish member Ben Kweller. The album was originally composed of outtakes from sessions for Radish’s unreleased album Discount Fireworks. It was self-released by Kweller, via CD-R, in 2000. In 2002, ATORecords released a second version of the album with a radically different track listing featuring many new recordings and songs. What 20-year-old Kweller lacks in crafting his own sound, he makes up for in crafting virulently infectious hooks.,
Coming on Record Store Day!Lumpy Gravy: Primordial contains Frank Zappa’s first orchestral-only edit of the music sessions recorded at Capitol Studios during 1967.
Released in 1967, Frank Zappa’s first solo album Lumpy Gravy was a radical and schizophrenic experience, splicing together modern classical, rock, R&B and spoken word into an soupy, almost overstuffed delight. This Record Store Day release further edits those sessions down to just the work recorded by what its composer had dubbed the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble of session musicians that included drummer Shelly Manne and pianist Paul Smith. Mastered from the original ¼” tape, these two tracks are dizzying and glorious, aided by the decision to press the two pieces onto the brown-ish vinyl at 45 RPM. Some of the more beautiful moments from the original LP have been sadly excised but the sense of humor that drove much of Zappa’s work remains as does the complexity of this self-proclaimed “curiously inconsistent piece.”
This self-described “ballet” was never officially issued until 2008 on the posthumous collection Lumpy Money.
On Record Store Day 2018 it makes it’s debut on limited edition 12” 45rpm mono translucent burgundy colored vinyl, mastered from the original 1967 1/4” mono master tape, with FZ’s original gatefold album design lovingly restored.
Pick up your copy at a record store near you on April 21st!
Arthur Lee was a famously mercurial bandleader. He turned down the Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock and the Ed Sullivan Show, believing his music should have top billing or none at all. His hardline go-it-alone policy ensured Love’s cult status for all time. But he was as chaotic as he was dogmatic: he once sacked a Love guitarist (Jay Donnellan) for suggesting the band should aim to arrive at gigs more promptly – or at least on the day they were scheduled to take place .
