The Fat Angel Sings

Marissa Nadler & Stephen Brodsky, who released a critically acclaimed collaborative album “Droneflower” on Sacred Bones Records earlier this year have shared two cover songs that make up a new single via Sacred Bones – Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight and Extreme’s More Than Words.

Being unfortunately old enough to be of an age where I can remember the original, it must be said that I absolutely loathed In the Air Tonight, and still do, but when Marissa Nadler says “We wanted to make a creepy, sexy version…”, then I’m prepared to give it a listen. This should have been the original is all I can say…

On paper, a collaboration between dream-folk singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler and metal shredder Stephen Brodsky—known for his dizzying work with Cave In and Mutoid Man—might seem a little strange. Beyond the fact that both of them are from Massachusetts, they appear to have little in common. It’s only when you realize that Brodsky has a vastly underappreciated solo discography, which includes soft acoustic material, and that Nadler has previously worked with reclusive former black metal musician Xasthur, that the duo’s “Droneflower” album begins to make sense.

“Steve and I come from different musical wheelhouses,” Nadler acknowledges. “But I’m always attracted to people who can do things I can’t do. I like the riffage, basically. When he sent me some music that didn’t have words, and [I could hear that] it was really different from what he normally does, I got really excited. It doesn’t sound like him in his other bands, and it doesn’t sound like me in my other work.”

By turns eerily melodic and pleasantly surprising—consider their haunting acoustic cover of Guns N’ Roses’ “Estranged”—Droneflower is the result of a collaboration that took place over three years, both in person and through online file exchanges. As it turns out, Droneflower is both the album title and the band name.

“It’s a bit tricky,” Brodsky says with a laugh. “I think we just felt like the record would get a stronger push with our names attached rather than trying to hype a new band. Maybe next time it’ll flip and the artist name will be Droneflower and the album title will be our names.”

Jethro Tull are to release a 50th-Anniversary “enhanced edition” of their 1970 LP, “Benefit”, on November. 5th.

The four-CD, two-DVD set includes the Steven Wilson’s 2013 remix of the original album and associated tracks, along with a variety of previously unreleased recordings. It comes packaged in a deluxe, 100-page book featuring commentary from various contributors (including front man Ian Anderson, guitarist Martin Barre, bassist Glenn Cornick and drummer Clive Bunker) and various studio and live images.

Following the successes of This Was (1968) and Stand Up (1969), Jethro Tull returned in 1970 with their third studio album in as many years. For Benefit, Ian Anderson (flute, guitars, vocals), Martin Barre (guitars), Glenn Cornick (bass), and Clive Bunker (drums) were joined by John Evan on piano and organ, who would go on to play on all of Jethro Tull’s albums throughout the 70s. The album featured more advanced studio techniques, such as a backward-recorded flute on “With You There To Help Me” and a sped-up guitar on “Play in Time.”

Compared to Stand Up, although containing a similar mix of bluesy hard-rockers and melodic acoustic numbers, Benefit had, as Anderson put it, a “harder, slightly darker feel” compared to previous material. Peaking at #4 in the U.K. Singles Chart, “The Witch’s Promise” continued Tull’s success in the charts,

This latest edition expands upon the 2013 reissue: The third disc includes Wilson’s previously unreleased remix of the concert performance Live at Tanglewood 1970, and the second DVD features film footage of that same show; the fourth CD boasts a newly remastered mono version of the previously unissued gig Live at the Aragon Ballroom, Chicago 1970.

Benefit, was their third album, found the band in a transitional phase: Keyboardist John Evan, still an unofficial member at the time, made his first appearance on a Jethro Tull project, while Cornick made his final studio contribution to the group.

Jethro Tull recently confirmed they will release a new studio album, The Zealot Gene, in early 2022 through new label InsideOutMusic/Sony Music. They’ve yet to detail a track listing or firm date for the project, which Anderson previously teased in March. The band’s current line-up features the front man (vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, harmonica) alongside guitarist Joe Parrish-James, keyboardist John O’Hara, bassist David Goodier and drummer Scott Hammond. (Guitarist Florian Opahle is credited in a press release as “album only.”)

John Darnielle has written almost 600 songs now, and some of them are very sad, dealing with hard drugs and tragic ends, hurting yourself and others, sicknesses of both body and brain, off-brand alcohols. They are told in beautiful, unnerving, specific detail because he is a very good writer, and also some of them are just true stories about his own life.

Released November 5th, 2021

John Darnielle – vocals, guitar, piano
Peter Hughes – bass
Matt Douglas – keyboards, guitar, saxophone, piano
Jon Wurster – drums

Recorded live in studio at Manifold Recording in Pittsboro, NC, on August 8 & 9, 2020

Montreal band Ought are no more. Today, the post-punk band announced that they have broken up. “We are no longer active as a band,” they wrote in a statement on their Instagram, continuing: When we started Ought in 2012 we had no greater aspirations than to play and write music together, and the fact that we were able to tour the world to such an extent and share so many rooms with so many of you has meant the world to us. We send lots of gratitude and love to all those we met and worked with along the way.

Ought released three excellent full-length albums — 2014’s “More Than Any Other Day“, 2015’s “Sun Coming Down” and 2018’s “Room Inside The World”. The bands lead vocalist Tim Darcy also released a solo album while the band was still together.

Good news for fans of the late Ought is that Darcy and Ought bassist Ben Stidworthy have a new project called Cola, which they started alongside US Girls drummer Evan Cartwright. And they’re releasing their first-ever single, “Blank Curtain.” Darcy’s deadpan voice is still front-and-centre, as is some architectural guitar work. What started as stripped-down open D song writing with a CR-78 soon became a full album and new band. We wanted to see how far we could stretch our compositions with just drums, one guitar, one bass, and one voice.

Blank Curtain is a quarter note kick drum pushing 240 bpm, a drone-like chord progression, and declarative vocals cutting through the haze. If you could invert the colour of the Blank Curtain, you might have something like a Chicago house track that sounds like a band in a room.

“Blank Curtain” is out now via Fire Talk Records. Cola will play their first live show at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn 

Since the early Rilo Kiley days, Jenny Lewis has held very little back. “Puppy And A Truck” leaves a few details fuzzy; when Lewis sings that she was “infatuated with an older man,” for instance, we just have to gossip amongst ourselves about whether she’s talking about Bill Murray. For the most part, though, Lewis gets almost uncomfortably real on the song, working with country producer Dave Cobb to mine her own life for hard-luck lessons. She finds one, too: “If you feel like giving up, shut up. Get a puppy and a truck.”

On “Puppy And A Truck,” Lewis sings about exes who have disappointed her and roots that she hasn’t put down. She’s got no kids, no roots, no significant other. When it comes to dogs, she’s got a lot of needs: “I need a dog that’s hypoallergenic/ In the poodle milieu and photogenic/ Don’t shed, don’t bark, and can play in the band.” Apparently, though, she’s found one, and that’s the happy ending. The next time Jenny Lewis comes through town, I can’t wait to see what instrument the dog plays.

Jenny Lewis kicks off “Puppy and a Truck” with a realistic view of her life, complete with unconditional love from her dog and a pedal steel guitar. As most of her hardcore or even mediumcore fans know, Lewis got a cockapoo back in February, naming her Bobby Rhubarb, after Bob Dylan. She even has an Instagram account devoted to the pup, with captions quoting Dylan songs as recent as “Black Rider” and as early as “Spanish Is the Loving Tongue.” With Bobby Rhubarb as her muse, she encourages us to embrace the finer things in life on “Puppy and a Truck” — specifically, the finer things that fall into the categories of animal and/or vehicle. “If you feel like giving up, shut up,” she sings. “Get a puppy and a truck.”

Lewis has reflected on her age before — particularly on “Wasted Youth” from her 2019 solo album On the Line — but she’s never sounded this candid and whimsical. And with the dawn of a new presidency and an ongoing global pandemic, she needs some time to process. “So I’m 44 in 2020, and thank god I saved up some money,” she sings. “Time to ruminate, like, what the fuck was that?”

Released on: 2021-11-03

The Black Keys release a special tenth-anniversary edition of their landmark seventh studio.  

“El Camino” (10^th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) will be available in several formats including a Super Deluxe edition of five vinyl LPs or four CDs, featuring a remastered version of the original album, a previously unreleased Live in Portland, ME concert recording, a BBC Radio 1 Zane Lowe session from 2012, a 2011 Electro-Vox session, an extensive photo book, a limited-edition poster and lithograph, and a ‘new car scent’ air freshener.  A three-LP edition, which includes the remastered album and the live recording, will also be available.  The Super Deluxe version will also be available digitally. 

“El Camino” was produced by Danger Mouse and The Black Keys and was recorded in the band’s then-new hometown of Nashville during the spring of 2011.  The Black Keys won three awards at the 55^th annual GRAMMY Awards for El Camino – Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Album – among other worldwide accolades.  In the UK, the band was nominated for a BRIT Award (Best International Group) and an NME Award (Best International Band).  The week of release, the band performed on Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, and the Late Show with David Letterman, and later that year, went on to perform their first Madison Square Garden show.

Rolling Stone, which featured the band on their cover around the release, hailed El Camino for bringing ‘raw, riffed-out power back to pop’s lexicon,’ and called it ‘the Keys’ grandest pop gesture yet, augmenting dark-hearted fuzz blasts with sleekly sexy choruses and Seventies-glam flair.’  The Guardian said, ‘They sound like a band who think they’ve made the year’s best rock’n’roll album, probably because that’s exactly what they’ve done.’

Tracklisting: 01. Lonely Boy – 00:00 02. Dead And Gone – 03:12 03. Gold On The Ceiling – 06:54 04. Little Black Submarines – 10:39 05. Money Maker – 14:52 06. Run Right Back – 17:47 07. Sister – 21:04 08. Hell Of A Season – 24:29 09. Stop Stop – 28:15 10. Nova Baby – 31:45 11. Mind Eraser – 35:12

11 years after their acrimonious split, Pixies returned for an acclaimed sold-out reunion tour. ‘Live In Brixton’ brings together the complete recordings of all four shows from Pixies’ legendary run at the iconic London venue.

Pixies have announced a new box set capturing their June 2004 reunion concerts at London’s Brixton Academy. Live in Brixton arrives January 28th in vinyl and CD editions. The collection includes live versions of songs from Doolittle and Surfer Rosa, as well as covers of Neil Young’s “Winterlong,” Peter Ivers’ “In Heaven,”  the Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Head On,” and more, all newly mastered by Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering.

Pixies’ 2004 reunion shows occurred after the band’s 11-year hiatus. Pixies played four dates in early June at Brixton Academy, all of which sold out. The box set marks the first time recordings from the four shows will be officially available. In addition to the concert recordings, the “Live in Brixton” box set will include a 24-page booklet, which features photographs and new artwork, along with memories and paraphernalia from audience members, and a fold-out poster featuring the box set artwork.

Of the reunion shows, Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago said in press materials: “It was an amazing reception, I guess they had missed us over all those years. I particularly remember getting word that the balcony was swaying, and seeing that the crowd didn’t want to leave long after we had finished the show.”

Drummer Dave Lovering added: Having played there in the past, the Brixton Academy was a familiar venue and the shows were a fantastic experience. When I opened with my Scientific Phenomenalist show, I was a Pixie opening for Pixies. I could do no wrong. But, I did! It was an absolute thrill, though, to present it there. All in all music or magic, the audiences were very kind and receptive and made it a joy to play. Nothing of my experience I would change. Long live the Academy.

CD version: Each show has been newly mastered for this release by Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering at AIR. Includes a 24-page booklet featuring photographs and new artwork, plus memories and paraphernalia from fans who attended the Brixton gigs. Also includes a 68cm x 48cm fold-out poster featuring the new ‘Live In Brixton’ boxset artwork. All housed within a deluxe case bound book with silver foil detailing.

LP version: Each show is pressed on two heavyweight 180g vinyl and housed in a wide spine sleeve with printed inner bags: 2nd June (translucent red vinyl), 3rd June (translucent orange vinyl), 4th June (translucent green vinyl), 5th June (translucent blue vinyl). Each show has been newly mastered for this release by Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering at AIR. Includes a 24-page booklet featuring photographs and new artwork, plus memories and paraphernalia from fans who attended the Brixton gigs. Also includes a 68cm x 48cm fold-out poster featuring the new ‘Live In Brixton’ boxset artwork.

Indie Exclusive LP version: Special edition version is pressed on clear vinyl with coloured splatters and is exclusive to indie retailers. Each show is pressed on two heavyweight 180g vinyl and housed in a wide spine sleeve with printed inner bags: 2nd June (red splatter vinyl), 3rd June (orange splatter vinyl), 4th June (green splatter vinyl), 5th June (blue splatter vinyl). Each show has been newly mastered for this release by Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering at AIR. Includes a 24-page booklet featuring photographs and new artwork, plus memories and paraphernalia from fans who attended the Brixton gigs. Also includes a 68cm x 48cm fold-out poster featuring the new ‘Live In Brixton’ boxset artwork.

All four shows from the O2 Academy Brixton in June 2004. Available for the very first time on Vinyl and CD.

DINKED EDITION 158: The Reds, Pinks and Purples – ‘Summer at Land’s End’

Prolific songwriter Glenn Donaldson returns with his fourth release as The Reds, Pinks and Purples, with the Dinked Edition featuring a second disc made up of ten extra tracks, an alternate sleeve, and a photo fanzine.

Donaldson has been funnelling the sounds of classic indie pop, C86, and jangle pop into one since 2019, releasing a shop-favourite each year since. ‘Summer at Land’s End’ adds shades of 90s 4AD and moodier song writing to his sunny San Fran pop, and he reckons it’s his best album to date.

“Summer at Land’s End” is not an interlude or tangent for The Reds, Pinks & Purples but rather a perfect fourth movement following the albums “Anxiety Art,” “You Might Be Happy Someday,” and “Uncommon Weather.” As with these self-recorded records (the primary work of songwriter Glenn Donaldson), the songs on “Summer at Land’s End” were crafted slowly and then drawn together to make a unified statement. But here, and more than before, “Summer at Land’s End” combines Donaldson’s rueful pop sensibility with a parallel musical universe, one composed of pictures, dreams, and feelings without words. Even if the underlying theme of this collection is one of conflict or unhappiness, the vision of the music presents an escape to a new world, always fading in and out of sight.

For listeners who may not be familiar with Donaldson’s corner of San Francisco––the Richmond district––or the current wave of hazy, melodic DIY pop groups performing in the city, “Summer at Land’s End” pulls in images and scenes that feel like a collision of the mundane and the sublime of this present landscape. But settings such as these are the backdrop for personal narratives, expressed as a struggle with love, with companionship and the conflicts of home. 

If you remember indie pop as it’s supposed to be then you will soon fall in love with The Reds, Pinks and Purples. Bearded leader Glenn Donaldson has a voice so clear that you simply can’t believe he’s singing through a mound of facial hair. He may write the same song over and over again, but it is a good one and is repeated throughout this fourth album of his jangling, spangling beauty. For fans of the sort of people who thought Feverfew were better than Blueboy. 

Taken from the album Summer At Land’s End, out 4th February 2022 via Tough Love/Slumberland.