The newly anticipated King Gizzard album “Flying Microtonal Banana” due out February 24th, Listen to two new songs . Peep the behind-the-scenes zine, and get tickets for their forthcoming US headlining tour! The limited edition Flying Microtonal Banana zine, assembled by King Gizzard’s creative guru Jason Galea and featuring photographs from Sub Lation (aka Jamie Wdziekonski), documents the making of Flying Microtonal Banana, from the instruments and recording sessions to early sketches of album art and music videos.
The unstoppable King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are incredibly prolific with their output. It feels like only yesterday they were touting one album now they have another on Heavenly Recordings: Flying Microtonal Banana out on February 24th. And from it they have shared ‘Sleep Drifter’ a tumultuous and spellbinding new single.
The latest album was recorded in the hometown of East Brunswick in Melbourne, Australia and has all the notes you’d expect to hear from a KGatLW track. It is dreamy in parts and nightmarish in others, thumping and caressing with psyche flourishes and a rock and roll backbone. Firmly seen in ‘Sleep Drifter’
Talking about the creation of Flying Microtonal Banana Eric Moore of the band said “Earlier this year we started experimenting with a custom microtonal guitar our friend Zak made for Stu. The guitar was modified to play in 24-TET tuning and could only be played with other microtonal instruments. We ended up giving everyone a budget of $200 to buy instruments and turn them microtonal. The record features the modified electric guitars, basses, keyboards and harmonica as well as a Turkish horn called a Zurna”
‘Love It to Death,’ released eight months earlier, pushed the Alice Cooper band into the big leagues. But their follow-up LP is their most focused. It also contained some of the group’s best songs, including “Under My Wheels” and “Be My Lover.” They were closing in on their first Top 10 album. ‘Killer’ got them there.
The ALICE COOPER group had been working toward the mainstream breakthrough they enjoyed with “I’m Eighteen,” the hit single that drove the success of their third album ‘Love It to Death’, through some pretty lean years. Now they’d finally tasted success, a Top 40 album & single, better gigs, a little more beer money. “A lot of people have hit albums,” Cooper says. The trick is what you do with that momentum on the follow-through. “Can you hit it out of the park with that one?” The answer a resounding yes arrived a little less than 9 months later, on November 27th, 1971. ‘Killer’ more than lived up to the promise of their previous release.
An artful 8-song master class in commanding the spotlight, it offset the full-throttle rock ‘n’ roll swagger of tracks as contagious as “Under My Wheels” with darker, more experimental touches & an epic progressive rock suite designed to prove that they could play their instruments much better than some tin-eared critics had suggested “Under My Wheels” was released in advance on the album. The second single, “Be My Lover” features the iconic line, “She asked why the singer’s name was Alice/ I said, ‘Listen baby, you really wouldn’t understand.'”. If the singles didn’t chart as high as “I’m Eighteen”, that hardly seemed to matter. ‘Killer’ peaked in the USA chart #21 a new career high for the singer & the band that shared his name…
“Halo of Flies” was really a kind of pivotal moment for us. Cooper: A reviewer said, “Well, they’re really good at these three-minute, four-minute singles, but that’s about all they can do.” We kind of looked at that and went, “Oh, you don’t think we can do prog?” So we wrote “Halo of Flies.” Just to prove that we could.
Rolling Stone critic Lester Bangs praised the absurd and outrageous collages of idiomatic borrowings combined with a distinctly teen-age sense of the morbid.” ‘Killer,’ for some reason, was the critics favourite Cooper says. By 1967, when Smith joined, completing the lineup a year before one final name change set the stage for Alice Cooper to release a debut called “Pretties for You” on Frank Zappa’s Straight Records. People listened to “Love it to Death” and they said, “Oh, my gosh, Alice Cooper’s got a sound now.” “Killer” took the sound to the next step. Like it should. Every band should get better and better and better.
We had used all the material, all the stuff that had been in the demos they’d been stockpiling. It was invent fast, finish fast and get it out fast. We were on a roll and we wanted to keep the roll going.
“You Drive Me Nervous” had been kicking around a while. We couldn’t get the right groove. So we would shelve it, producer Bob Erzin finally said, “I was standing outside the rehearsal room listening, and I know what it is. All of a sudden, it took off.
The Regrettes‘ debut album, Feel Your Feelings Fool!, is in no danger of the bad vibes associated with its Friday the 13th release, and if this is the first you’re hearing of the Los Angeles band, just know that it won’t be the last. Frontwoman Lydia Night offers an unfiltered manifesto over the course of 15 unforgettable tracks (plus a secret song ). Night and Genessa Gariano (guitar), Sage Chavis (bass) and Maxx Morando (drums) manage to draw from genres like garage rock, ‘60s pop and punk rock, while delivering a deliciously cohesive and catchy debut. Oh yeah, and they’re still in their teens.
But if you think their age is relevant, Night will quickly disavow you of that notion in the garage rock-tinged, “Seashore.” Backed by Nicole’s slinky bass line, Night addresses sexism, ageism and condescending assholes everywhere: “You’re talking to me like a child/ Hey I got news/ I’m not a little girl, and no I won’t give you a little twirl.” And with a chorus like, “I’m like nobody else, so you can just go fuck yourself,” you’re kidding yourself if you think you won’t be singing along to this anthem on the way home from your next shitty Monday at work.
In the sarcastic, fast-paced punky tune, “LadylikeWHATTA Bitch,” Night mocks the kind of judgmental peers most women are familiar with. Though its chorus is just Night, Gariano and Chavis singing “wa-oooo wa-wa-wa-oooo,” it will be stuck in your head, all freaking day. Fueled by power chords and Morando’s frenetic drumbeat, Night jeers at her haters in first person, “Lydia got asked out by this cute boy at my school gym/ But apparently she said no ’cause she was just not into him/ But clearly that’s not true and she is just a lesbian.”
The Regrettes fit love sickness in alongside calling out the patriarchy with the melodic “Juicebox Baby.” You can almost feel Night’s light headedness when she sings,“My mom tells me I’m lazy/ Well it’s ‘cause you make me hazy/ My head’s spinning like crazy.” Morando’s breakneck drums, Gariano’s fevered guitar melody and Nicole’s frenetic bass line, combined with Night’s rapid-fire lyrics about being smitten to the point of dizziness, make the song feel like a musical footrace—in a good way. As the band mates race to the end of the song, it’s no surprise that Night finally confesses, “I think I’m falling, falling for you darlin’/ It’s really quite alarming.”
If their freshman album is any indication of what’s to come from The Regrettes, then we can all look forward to a bright future for these 21st century Riot Grrrls.
Pop punk outfit The Regrettes may just be teens, but they are completely for real, immersed in and committed to their music. The group first caught our attention while performing at the Burger A-Go-Go pool party, we were enamored and gave these girl rockets a band to watch Alert . With a new lineup, and now their debut album Feel Your Feelings Fool! slated for a January 13th release, this fierce foursome is ready to kick some serious ass in 2017.
It didn’t take long for 2017 to bring a great record, and thinking of what’s happening at the end of this week it couldn’t have come at a better time. The LA-based The Regrettes have culled 15 songs that feel universally relevant. If you’re old like me, or young like the band, the themes of Feel Your Feelings Fool! should be something to which you can relate.
Musically, I think the band is far ahead of where most their age should be. They seem to understand the difference between paying homage and ripping something off, and they do a good job of nodding to their influences without copying. There is a lot of garage rock and 60’s bubble gum pop getting mixed together. That’s nothing new, really, but they also bring a real punk energy to the songs, so it feels like The Ramones and Strawberry Alarm Clock decided to collaborate.
Lyrically, and I think more importantly, they talk about a lot of issues that plague so many. They talk about identity and misogyny in songs that can be a bit tongue-in-cheek, but the point gets across. The band’s voice does seem a bit inconsistent at times, where individual songs are good, but don’t fit in with some of the other tracks on the album. Nothing wrong with that, but I think if it were more consistent the record would be even better than it already is.
The vocal performance by Lydia Night on “Picture Perfect” has a very 90’s kind of flow, so it’s no surprise they count Hole as a reference point. The manic guitar work by Genessa Gariano adds a punch of verve that makes the brilliance of the tune undeniable.
From Meg Duffy’s Hand Habits Debut LP out February 10th, 2017 on Woodsist Records.
Meg Duffy, aka Hand Habits, is a singer, songwriter and guitarist from Upstate New York. She has been putting her time in on the road and in the studio over the past two years with pacific northwest band Mega Bog, and the Kevin Morby Band, making an impression on everyone she comes across with her natural charisma and uncharted talent as a multi-instrumentalist. But let Wildly Idle (Humble Before The Void) be her open invitation to the world to step inside and take a much deeper look into who Duffy actually is. Tracked in an Upstate New York living room, then finished in her current home in Los Angeles
It is appropriate that this album was recorded by Meg herself – for Meg, who has an acute ear for detail, has touched every corner, has seen every vision ’til its end. Because of this, Wildly Idle feels incredibly intimate, like a secret between her and the listener. It hits soft, like warm water, and before you know it it is all around you – a bath, and Meg’s whisper has made its way inside you. Like many bedroom debuts before it (Microphones, Jessica Pratt, Little Wings, Grouper) let this be the first of many to come, for Meg has music in her touch and this is only the beginning. But let us not look to the future now, but instead stand alongside her, our trust in her will, both humble before the void, with her first chorus as the mission statement; ‘hold you like a flower, hold you like an hour glass’.”- Kevin Morby
Throughout 2017, New West Records is proud to be reissuing Vic Chesnutt’s albums from the Texas Hotelyears, along with his New West Records albums, all on exclusive heavyweight 180g colored vinyl. Each of these albums is painstakingly remastered from original source material, and come in colored editions not available anywhere else!
James Victor “Vic” Chesnutt (November 12, 1964 – December 25, 2009) Singer songwriter from Athens Georgia. His first album, Little, was released in 1990, but his breakthrough to commercial success didn’t come until 1996 with the release of Sweet Relief II , which was a charity record of alternative artists covering his songs.
Chesnutt released 17 albums during his career, including two produced by Micheal Stipe Of R.E.M and a 1996 release on “About To Choke” . His musical style has been described as a “skewed, refracted version of Americana that is haunting, funny, poignant, and occasionally mystical, usually all at once”.Injuries from a 1983 car accident left him partially paralyzed; he used a wheelchair and had limited use of his hands. Kristen Hersh wrote a book entitled, Don’t Suck, Don’t Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnutt, which was released on October 1st, 2015
Little, produced by Michael Stipe (January 2017)
Drunk (February 2017)
Is The Actor Happy? (March 2017)
MYSTERY RELEASE (April 2017)
Silver Lake (May 2017)
Ghetto Bells (June 2017)
MYSTERY RELEASE (Late 2017)
We’re so excited to finally put these phenomenal Vic Chesnutt vinyl releases out into the world. Thank you for being a part of it.
Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer are gone. This is completely Bob Marley’s show. And is it ever his show, a triumphant concert July 19th, 1975 at London’s Lyceum Theatre. The new format had been introduced on 1974’s Natty Dread album to great effect. But every note on the live album is as alive as Marley’s flying dreadlocks on the cover photo.
Far more modest in its intentions is this document of Bob Marley & the Wailers’ two night stand (July 17th and 18th, 1975), at London’s The Lyceum. When Live! first arrived on vinyl, the edited version with seven cuts — all from the second evening barely broke 40 minutes. This appropriately subtitled “deluxe edition,” oddly only available on vinyl, leaves that in the dust.
The entire, previously unreleased first night is here, (14 tunes) along with more selections from the second show and full versions of those tunes once edited for time constraints have been restored. The result is a 22 track, beautifully and faithfully packaged triple vinyl package including the tour program, that clocks in at a never boring 2 ¼ hours.
But clearly his music was well known by this rowdy UK crowd who often boisterously sings along, and whose sheer energy helped push the already electrifying Marley to new heights. The band reinvigorates early tunes such as “Slave Driver,” “Trenchtown Rock” and “Stir it Up” in versions that make the already sturdy studio ones sound like cardboard cutouts. The closing “Get Up Stand Up,” here presented in its full 10 minute plus unedited glory, is alone worth the price of admission as Marley channels the positive vibrations that informed his best work, into a performance that feels as spiritual now as it did over four decades ago.
Must-hear tracks “No Woman, No Cry”, doubled in length from the ‘Natty Dread’ studio version, vividly brought the streets of Kingston to the stage of London via Memphis soul worthy of Otis himself.
Bob Marley and the Wailers’ 1975 Natty Dread tour began in America, where some 15,000 fans watched the reggae band perform in Central Park. By the time they crossed the Atlantic, the verdict was in: After two sold-out shows at London’s Lyceum, a Melody Maker cover story pronounced Bob Marley “possibly the greatest superstar to visit these shores since the days when Dylan conquered the concert halls of Britain.” Neither of these gigs were intended to be recorded, but when Island Records founder Chris Blackwell witnessed the madness of the first, he made sure that the Rolling Stones’ mobile studio was parked outside the venue for the second. The result was a song collection of pointed lyrics, political chants and funk grooves enlivened by new guitarist Al Anderson. The seven-minute “No Woman, No Cry” reached the U.K. Top 10 and remains the definitive version of the classic song, eventually appearing as track two of the 15-times-platinum Legend set. Even the mic feedback that echoes over the first verse has become imbued with emotion
The professional recording puts the listener in the audience, making this an essential addition to anyone’s collection and manna from heaven to existing Marley fans who had to suffice with dodgy bootlegged copies … until now.
There is plenty of terrific Marley concert material out there, including 1976’s Live at the Roxy, but this particular stand remains tougher, rawer and edgier. Let’s hope 1978’s phenomenal Babylon by Bus gigs get similar treatment too.
The long-planned deluxe edition with a fuller take on Marley’s two-day Lyceum .
Lloyd Cole In New York: Collected Recordings 1988-1996, the new six-CD Lloyd Cole solo box , has been officially confirmed.
This box set will include all four solo albums Lloyd released on the Polydor and Fontana labels between 1988 and 1996 (Lloyd Cole, Don’t Get Weird On Me Babe, Bad Vibes, Love Story) and an unreleased album fifth album, Smile If You Want To. The sixth and final CD is called Demos ‘89-‘94 and features 20 previously unreleased recordings. Unlike the previous Commotions box set there is no DVD element.
The Smile If You Want Towas completed at the time, but thanks to time-honoured record company politics it was never released. The songs came out on subsequent albums (namely etc or The Negatives) although the version of Man On The Verge included here is the original Mick Glossop mix (it was remixed by Stephen Street for The Negatives). This is the first time they have been released as they were originally intended and the music is fully mastered by Ian Jones at Abbey Road studios. All the albums have been, in Lloyd’s own worlds “very gently” remastered, he says “there was nothing wrong with the originals”!
The presentation here is consistent with the previous box and will feature a hardback book by John O’Connell with new interviews with Lloyd and featured musicians, producers and collaborators and a selection of photos from the period, plus a poster and postcards that feature Lloyd shot in New York by photographer Kevin Cummins.
Lloyd Cole In New York: Collected Recordings 1988-1996 will be released on 17th March 2017. £37
Hailing from Athens, GA., of Montreal have carved their own niche — establishing themselves as a band that thrills fans with compelling live performances, delights critics with their constant innovations, and continually showcases their musical evolution by drawing from a different set of influences for each album.
Primary songwriter Kevin Barnes pours emotion — heartbreak, frustration, elation, whimsy — into lyrics that shift from adopted personas to invented alter egos to unobstructed views directly into his psyche.
Our best selling record ever!!! Tanya Donelly, Britta Phillips, Lori McKenna, Jill Sobule, Elk City, Veruca Salt, KristinHersh, Josie Cotton, The Watson Twins, and Dala are just some of the outstanding artists covering Neil Young’s most popular songs for charity on this wonderful Double-CD. All proceeds from this benefit record are donated to Casting For Recovery.
“A superb collection of Young’s work with a decidedly different perspective.” – Courier and Post
“A long-overdue splash of vibrant life in an ocean of mediocrity… this is the tribute album Neil Young has deserved for most of his long and prolific career.” – Cover Lay Down
“An absolute must-have companion piece for fans of Young’s catalog.” Newhouse News Service
Heart Of Gold – Tanya Donelly
I Am A Child – Britta Phillips (Luna)
Comes A Time – Kate York
The Needle And The Damage Done – Lori McKenna
Down By The River – Jill Sobule with John Doe
Burned – Veruca Salt
Cowgirl In The Sand – Josie Cotton
A Man Needs A Maid – Dala
Ohio – Darcie Miner
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere – Carmen Townsend
Cinnamon Girl – Euro Trash Girl
I Believe In You – Julie Peel
Tell Me Why – Luff
Ohio – Dala
Helpless – Elk City
Only Love Can Break Your Heart – Amilia K. Spicer
Sugar Mountain – Louise Post
Powderfinger – The Watson Twins
Like A Hurricane – Kristin Hersh
Old Man – Cindy Wheeler (Caulfield Sisters)
Walk On – Heidi Gluck (Some Girls)
