Big Thief present new single, “Vampire Empire”, off their forthcoming ‘Vampire Empire’ / ‘Born For Loving You’ 7” vinyl release due out on 20th October. This year, the song took on a life of its own after a performance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert and has become a live fan favourite.
Critically-acclaimed band Big Thief performs a new, unreleased song, “Vampire Empire,” exclusively for The Late Show.
The studio version recorded and produced by Dom Monks at Guissona, Spain’s Teatre de cal Eril Studio during a recent tour, ‘Vampire Empire’ speaks to the beautiful complexity of gender identity and breaking destructive internal cycles.
Of the song, Adrianne Lenker adds, “For me, it’s about getting out of toxic internal patterns – leaving the empire of energy drains that obscure pure essence, learning about what healthy boundaries are, and finding the power to implement them for the possibility of giving and receiving (both inwardly and outwardly) unbroken and infinite Love.”
It has been announced that The Who will be releasing a massive music catalogue consisting of 10 CDs and 1 Blu-ray on September 15th. The catalogue, titled “Who’s Next/Life House Super Deluxe Edition”, will feature 155 tracks. The Who may have released many extensive catalogue’s throughout their career, but never as massive as this. Of the tracks on The Who‘s upcoming set, 89 have never been released before. “Who’s Next/Life House Super Deluxe Edition”will also feature spatial audio and surround mixes.
Out of the 10 CDs, two of them hold the title “Pete Townshend’s Life House Demos 1970-1971”.
One of the discs serves as an album of outtakes from the Record Plant sessions in 1971. Other discs include two full of alternate mixes, as well as CDs containing full live performances from concerts at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco and Young Vic in London.
All of the discs inside of the set will be accompanied by a 100-page hardback book. That hardback will feature an introduction from Townshend and essays written by The Who enthusiasts Neil and Matt Kent. The box set will also contain “Life House – The Graphic Novel,” which is 170 pages and serves as a comic book that tells the origin story of the band. Also included in the set are replicas of gig posters, concert programs, and autographs.
A recent press statement regarding Pete Townshend’s work on “Life House”describes the music as “an extraordinary vision of a world beset by climatic catastrophe and pollution, leading to a curtailing of personal freedom that will be all too familiar to the pandemic generation. Decades ahead of his time, he details how the population is then seduced and sedated by access to an entertainment ‘Grid,’ piped into every home via the use of virtual reality experience suits.”
In his own introduction, Townshend calls “Life House”, “a portentous polemic about the coming of a nation beaten down by climate issues and pollution” that allows “an opportunist and autocratic government (to) enforce a national lock-down in which every person is hooked up to an entertainment grid.”
One of rock’s last great untold stories is finally about to be recounted in full. “Who’s Next | Life House” coming September 15th. Reissued on stunning new formats, “Who’s Next | Life House” is available as a special Super Deluxe Edition, alongside LP and CD formats.
“Bubblegum” and “Stop Waiting” are the latest pair of singles from Cigarettes After Sex, and their first new music of 2023. The double single will be released on Tuesday July 18th. Syrupy, sensual, subterranean dream-pop is set against vocals from bandleader Greg Gonzalez that walk the subtle line between croon and whisper. The songs are a perfect distillation of the starry-eyed atmosphere that the band has claimed as their signature in the six years since the release of their globally successful self-titled debut.
Behind billions of streams and over 17M monthly listeners on Spotify, Cigarettes After Sex continue to defy what it means to be one of the biggest cult bands in the world.
Bat Fangs, the duo of guitarist/vocalist Betsy Wright (Ex Hex) and drummer Laura King (of Speed Stick and Mac McCaughan’s band), have shared another track from their upcoming sophomore album, “Queen of My World”. It’s another big riff monster, “Action” references the Flamin’ Groovies and also contains massive “whoas” right out of Def Leppard’s Hysteria.
Born of a shared love of hair metal, partying, and the reckless spirit of rock and roll, Washington D.C./ Carborro, NC duo Bat Fangs brings a fiery combination of shredderistic guitars and heavily harmonized hooks. Guitarist/vocalist Betsy Wright and drummer Laura King united after playing a show together in their respective projects, with the goal of pushing Wright’s pop focused song writing in a bolder, brasher direction. Taking up the primary song writing role and shifting to guitar, Wright steps outside of the typical Ex Hex sound with Bat Fangs’ rowdy rock.
Their sophomore LP, “Queen of My World” is a reeling, rocking mass of guitar and vocals that serves as both a reclamation and a reevaluation of a sound that was once a breeding ground for a particularly egregious brand of cock rock dude-bro. Paying tribute to the glam rock and metal sounds of their youth while offering a modernized alternative to an era of music that deified toxic masculinity as a core value, Wright and King represent a new model of Rock Stardom that’s less about the Stars and more about the Rock.
On “Talk Tough”, the first song written for this LP, Wright sings of music carrying her into a near supernatural state, describing herself as being “in the cosmic sea”, and inviting others “crawl out the window on to a higher plain”. This otherworldliness permeates throughout the record, applying magical perspectives to real lived experiences.
Using musical nostalgia as it’s crystal ball, “Queen of My World” looks back through life’s little moments and sees the mystical within the ordinary. Though many of the songs are autobiographical, at its core the record is a lens into other worlds, gazing into timelines that could have been and childhood memories so distant they may as well be past lives.
One such reminiscion takes place on the title track, which reflects on a wild adolescence of drugs and destruction, with an aggressive guitar attack to match. Underneath the high octane teenage antics is a genuine tribute to the unique friendships that can only form in the pseudo-invincibility of youth.
As the record examines deeper into these alternate dimensions, it becomes increasingly psychedelic. The culmination of this is closing track “Into the Weave”, an instrumental jam that builds over a repeated tom groove into a full throttle barrage of guitar and drums. As it trails off, one last vocal harmony shines through, a sign that we’ve exited the mythical realm “Queen of My World” occupies, and moved on to the next.
Explosions In The Sky recently announced a new album called “End” on September 15th via Temporary Residence Ltd, and a press release promises that the title does not mean it’s their final album. The band says:
Our starting point was the concept of an ending—death, or the end of a friendship or relationship. Every song comes from a story, or an idea one of us has had that we’ve all expanded on and made its own world. Maybe it’s our nature, but we kept feeling that the album title was ultimately open to a lot more interpretation—the end of a thing or a time can mean a stop, but it can also mean a beginning, and what happens after one thing ends might pale in comparison to what it becomes next.
The first single is “Ten Billion People,” a soaring, climactic song that finds these post-rock legends in unmistakably fine form and still finding new ways to push forward.
Explosions in the Sky – “End”, the new album out September 15th
New York City via Philadelphia quartet Strange Ranger are releasing a new album, “Pure Music”, released through Fire Talk. Now the band have shared the album’s fourth single, “Wide Awake,” via a music video. Lola Dement Myers directed the video.
“I was thinking about these flashes of memory that stick in your head forever,” Eiger says of “Wide Awake” in a press release. “Bursts of senses that return every now and again but don’t lead anywhere beyond themselves like a GIF in your brain. It’s weird to think about what stays with you and if that’s at all related to how important the thing in question was.”
“Pure Music” includes “Rain So Hard,” a new song the band shared in March. Then when the album was announced in May, the band shared its second single, “She’s on Fire,” via a music video. Then the band shared a further track and the bands third single, “Way Out.”
“She’s on Fire” has a bit of an ’80s vibe at the start before it embraces ’90s shoegaze (the previous press release cited My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless).
“Pure Music”is the follow-up to 2019’s “Remembering the Rockets” album and 2021’s “No Light in Heaven” . The album was written while Eiger and Woodman were breaking up and was recorded in a cabin in Upstate New York during a blizzard.
“With a few exceptions, I can’t tell whose production ideas were whose, when I listen back to it,” said Nixon in a previous press release. “We were literally trapped in this cabin, manically working at all hours, and the energy was crazy, in a fun way.”
“Music makes us transcend the feeling of being alienated from or trapped by the world,” Woodman added. “I want the experience of listening to “Pure Music” to be euphoric.”
Strange Ranger is Isaac Eiger, Fiona Woodman, Nathan Tucker, and Fred Nixon.
Christine McVie left a staggering $135 million fortune when she passed away on 30th November 2022, at 79, following a “short illness”.
As news.com.au reported in December, McVie had signed a deal to sell the rights to her entire music catalogue of 115 songs. The fortune reveal arrives days after a previously unheard solo McVie song, “Little Darlin’, was shared by record label Rhino Records. The groovy track was written during the recording sessions of her 2004 solo album, “In The Meantime”.
“Little Darlin’ was unveiled in celebration of what would’ve been McVie’s 80th birthday, which took place on Wednesday, 12th July. In addition to releasing “Little Darlin’, Rhino Records have revealed plans to reissue “In The Meantime” and McVie’s self-titled 1984 debut solo album. Her nephew, Dan Perfect, is overseeing the project.
“When my aunt Christine McVie died unexpectedly last year, plans were already afoot for the re-release of this solo album, which is perhaps her most personal and intimate project,” He added, “I dearly wish that she could have lived to see this re-release as she would have been delighted.”
Christine McVie was known for penning numerous Fleetwood Mac hits, including “Everywhere”, “Songbird”, “You Make Loving Fun” and “Little Lies2.
Newport Folk Festival—58 Years Later, On July 25th, 1965, amidst an atmosphere brimming with anticipation, Bob Dylan stepped onto the Newport Folk Festival stage. The audience, composed of devoted folk music enthusiasts, eagerly awaited the familiar strumming of his acoustic guitar. But as the first notes reverberated through the air, something remarkable unfolded. Dylan plugged in his guitar, surrounded himself with a band, and unleashed a wave of amplified sound that left the crowd in awe.
This bold departure from his traditional acoustic folk roots signaled a turning point in Dylan’s career and a seismic shift in the music industry. The walls that separated genres and expectations came crashing down as he fearlessly embraced the power of electricity. His haunting voice, combined with the raw energy of the band, created a sonic landscape that defied categorization and captivated audiences worldwide.
Dylan’s setlist that night was a carefully curated blend of his folk classics and newly birthed songs that reflected his evolving artistic vision. From the poignant “Mr. Tambourine Man” to the raucous “Like a Rolling Stone,” he painted vivid portraits with his lyrics, challenging the status quo and stirring the collective conscience of a generation.
Bob Dylan with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Al Kooper at the Newport Folk Festival 1965 This was the second of three songs in the famous ‘Dylan goes electric’ controversy at Newport, played right after ‘Maggie’s Farm’, and before ‘Phantom Engineer’. He then left the stage and came back to play two more songs on an acoustic guitar.
The impact of Dylan’s Newport performance rippled far beyond that summer night. It became a symbol of artistic rebellion and a catalyst for change. He shattered the expectations of what a folk musician could be and opened the floodgates for a new wave of songwriters and performers to explore uncharted territories.
Looking back, we celebrate not only the musical brilliance of Bob Dylan but also the enduring spirit of innovation and artistic courage that he embodied. His Newport Folk Festival performance stands as a testament to the transformative power of music and its ability to challenge conventions, provoke thought and inspire generations to come.
As we honour the 58th anniversary of this monumental event, let us remember the timeless melodies and profound lyrics that continue to resonate with audiences today. Bob Dylan’s 1965 Newport Folk Festival performance remains etched in our collective memory as a milestone in music history, forever reminding us of the extraordinary power of an artist unafraid to forge their own path.
Bob Dylan – vocals, guitar, harmonica, Mike Bloomfield – electric guitar Al Kooper – organ Elvin Bishop/Jerome Arnold (Unknown?) – bass guitar Sam Lay – drums electrified one half of his audience, and electrocuted the other
Take a deep dive into “Like a Rolling Stone” in the Columbia Records Gallery.
Born in Akron, Ohio, Rachel Sweet signed to Stiff Records and released her first album, “Fool Around”, in 1978, dropping out of high school to concentrate on her singing career, Stiff signed the young singer and debuted her on “The Akron Compilation“. her first album, “Fool Around”, with backing from the Rumour in 1978. although she was still required to devote time to her studies. Sweet was backed by the power pop band The Records on the Stiff Records packagetour in 1978. The album was a critical success, but sales were poor, although she did have some success with the single “B-A-B-Y” (a cover of the 1966 Carla Thomas song), a top-40 hit in the UK.
The record label generated some controversy by pushing a Lolita-like image for her. Her follow-up album, “Protect the Innocent”, produced by Martin Rushent and Alan Winstanley, was largely ignored by the public and the music press, although it was popular with her fans and launched a well-received North American tour in 1980 with her band The Toys.
1979 single from American singer Rachel Sweet, released on Stiff as a single in the UK, and on the US version of her debut album “Fool Around”, Sweet enjoyed reasonable success with her other releases, but largely retired from music in 1982.
She signed to Columbia Records in 1981, releasing the album “… And Then He Kissed Me” and its hit single “Everlasting Love”, The album also includes “Shadows of the Night,” later a hit for Pat Benatar.
Sweet released only one more album, 1982’s “Blame It on Love”, Sweet retired from the music business to pursue an education, returning sporadically, most notably to sing the title track to John Waters’“Hairspray”, as well as “Cry-Baby”. Her focus later turned to acting.
“the little girl with the big voice” made some terrific music, holding her own on a roster that had no shortage of talent.
