Archive for the ‘MUSIC’ Category

The CLEAN – ” Unknown Country ” 2021 Reissue

Posted: March 26, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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In 1978, The Clean were the seeds of New Zealand punk. In the years since, they have carved out a big sandbox for everyone to play in, and their influence resonates not only in NZ but around the world. A group that thrives when free of expectations, The Clean’s Robert Scott, Hamish Kilgour, and David Kilgour are, as Tape Op described, “a casually wonderful band.”

This is a double reissue on the Merge label from The Clean’s ‘Unknown Country’ and ‘Mister Pop’ on vinyl. Originally released in 1996 and 2009, respectively. The Clean – one of the most overlooked yet influencial acts of the 1980’s with bands such as Pavement, Guided By Voices and Yo La Tengo acknowledging their debts to the New Zealand group. This track (‘Wipe Me, I’m Lucky’) comes from their 1996 release ‘Unknown Country’ (Flying Nun Records.)

“The Clean have always exuded a casual grace that suggests they’d still be making the same records even if no one was listening, employing the same set of devices ramshackle locomotive rhythms, buoyant basslines, swirling organ lines, and wide-smile melodies irrespective of prevailing fashions, technological developments, or geopolitical unrest. And yet, the Clean’s periodic resurgences serve as a reminder that, in a world of uncertainty, there are still some things you can rely on.”

David Kilgour on Unknown Country: “The Clean always wanna try something different, but on this LP, we were obsessed with the idea. Tracks like “Wipe Me, I’m Lucky” and “Franz Kafka at the Zoo” are fine examples of the approach, I reckon. Quite a long way from “Tally Ho!” and “Beatnik”!

I remember we generally left vocal ideas to last, after the tracks were recorded, so we never really knew where we were headed. Might also explain all the instrumentals! Made during the Balkan War, hence the reference. And for the freaks, I think “Balkans” is the only Clean track ever to not actually feature The Clean playing. It’s all Alan Starrett, as we removed the backing track.”

Robert Scott on Unknown Country: This album is very different from our other albums. We didn’t go into the studio with many “song” ideas—a lot of it was written on the spot. I really enjoyed recording this as it was free of expectation. We weren’t playing much live at the time. It does contain some of my favourite Clean songs such as “Twist Top,” “Wipe Me, I’m Lucky,” and “Valley Cab.” Certainly our most experimental album.

Released on
Merge Records

TOKYO POLICE CLUB – ” Champ ” 10th Anniversary Reissue

Posted: March 26, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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The idea that you never get a second chance to make a first impression—that’s only partly true. But when you’ve made as strong an impression as Tokyo Police Club did with their first record and a half—2007’s Lesson in Crime EP and 2008’s Elephant Shell it can be sneakily difficult to change the narrative, especially if the narrative has been good to you so far. But in deference to and celebration of its tenth birthday—that’s at least 50 in rock years—it is time to re-celebrate and re-examine Champ, the Canadian band’s fantastic-yet- underserved sophomore album.

“Champ” is something of a lost classic of new-millennium indie-pop and deserves to be hoisted to the special place in your collection physically or mentally, that you keep the good stuff. “Boots of Danger,” the single, is every bit as catchy as the Strokes’ “Last Nite,” though it trades New York cool for youthful Ontario exuberance. And it’s not just the hits that drive Champ: Its bench is deep, from the insistent, twitchily bouncer “Big Difference” to the sombre sorta-ballad “Hands Reversed,” which could be a cousin to the best Walkmen songs.

Released Through Memphis Industries + Limited Edition Red Splatter Vinyl & Exclusive Bonus 7”.

BULL – ” Discover Effortless Living “

Posted: March 26, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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“Discover Effortless Living” is the much-hyped debut LP from young ones-to-watch Bull. Heavily influenced by Pavement and YLT without flying too close to them.

Since signing to EMI Records in conjunction with, York based label, Young Thugs the band have been growing apace. At radio the band are already being championed by the likes of Chris Hawkins and Steve Lamacq at 6Music, Huw Stephens at BBC Introducing Clara Amfo, as well as being acclaimed by fellow musicians like Elton John on his Beats 1 show and Declan McKenna during his recent appearance on the Radio 1 Future Artists mix tape.

The album combines the new title track with Bull’s three 2020 singles: the fuzz-rocking Disco Living, the noisy pop of Bonzo Please and the summer high of Green. 

Billed as a “brilliant slice of indie maximalism”, Love Goo hooks sweet pop melodies onto a ramshackle jangle rock template, with spritely xaphoon lines (a kind of pocket saxophone), tin whistle and piano to the fore.

“It’s a song about getting along with people,” explains wry-humoured Bull songwriter and singer Tom Beer. “It looks at my relationship with my family as well as my own feelings of ‘sticky love goo’, when thinking about people in my life and from my childhood.

“It’s about the difference between people, universal truth, gender fluidity, peace and love, understanding and all of that stuff.”

Tom penned Love Goo in 2018. “It’s one of my more recent songs on our upcoming album, in fact it’s the newest one on there. Out of the 13 songs, it’s the freshest,” he says. “It was written before all of what’s gone on this year but that now adds to it.

Formed in 2011 by vocalist and songwriter Tom Beer and guitarist Dan Lucas, Bull’s mission is simply to make the music they wanted to listen to, inspired by their 90’s heroes such Pavement, Yo La Tengo and the Pixies. The rest of the band came together through a mix of friendships and happenstance. Drummer Tom Gabbatiss joined after he and Tom jammed together in bars while they were back-packing around Thailand, and Kai West had previously used to jump up on stage with the band and “Bez” (verb meaning to dance badly while intoxicated) before they eventually let him play bass.

Looking ahead, the album is scheduled for March release and a tour is booked in for April for Beer, Lucas, West and drummer Tom Gabbatiss. “We’ve decided to go ahead, even if the gigs have to be socially distanced. We’ll be headlining at The Crescent [in York] and we’re going to play Leeds Brudenell Social Club, which is a dream come for me. It’s my favourite venue,” says Tom.

A unique group within the city’s already eclectic scene, the band’s sound mixes together their alt-rock influences along with Tom’s down-to-earth song writing and a particularly wry sense of humour that comes naturally to the four Yorkshiremen.

Released 26th March 2021

CHEVAL SOMBRE – ” Days Go By “

Posted: March 26, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Cheval Sombre just released “Time Waits for No One” and he’s not waiting for anyone to release his next album “Days Go By” will be out May 28th via Sonic Cathedral. Like the first, Time Waits for No One was produced by Sonic Boom and features appearances by Dean Wareham of Galaxie 500 and Luna. The two records are very much of a piece but if Time was a rumination on mortality, Days Go By has a more buoyant feel, from the breezy strings to the cover art that is similar to Time but notably lighter.

“It’s strange, this life – isn’t it? You’ve got all these songs around conceptions of time, it’s over eight years since your last album, you decide to release twin records, and their release dates somehow fall perfectly in line with the unfolding present,” says Chris Porpora, Cheval’s secret identity. “When folks say that the stars conspire to make things happen, I tend to believe it.Time Waits for No One is a dark record, already reminiscent of the shadowy days of winter, of the trials of the pandemic. If Days Go By can coincide with the promise of springtime, bringing with it light, lifting spirits – then I know my work has been done.

The first single from Days Go By is “We’ll It’s Hard,” which Cheval describes as “gentle blues” for “the sensitive souls who’ve got to muster all they’ve got to go out into it all, each day. The strings swell in the second half as an homage to folks’ bravery, & also the inevitable beauty of life. Despite all our trials, light does and must break through.” The video for the song was made by Lucas Moreira and Cristiana Figueiredo, which Cheval says “captures all of this thoughtfully and subtly, where despite representations of human weariness and solitude, unexpected glimpses of light flicker — in an unexpected breeze, in the elegant choreography of nature, through visions of our humanity and music itself .

The ANTLERS – ” Green To Gold “

Posted: March 26, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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The Antlers’ “Hospice” is one of the greatest introspective rock records of all time. Peter Silberman’s achingly brittle heartbreak from inaudible whispers to thunderous falsettos is one of the most devastating listens. Falling ill himself and requiring surgery to remove his vocal cords, Silberman had to retrain himself to sing – their first album in seven years is one we never thought we’d be able to hear, but we’ve never needed it more.

Perhaps what distinguishes ‘Green to Gold’ from the rest of The Antlers’ canon is its, well, sunniness. Conceived and written almost entirely in the morning hours, ‘Green to Gold’ is the band’s first new music in nearly seven years, and easily their most luminous to date.

“I think this is the first album I’ve made that has no eeriness in it,” Silberman asserts. “I set out to make Sunday morning music.” Unlike other Antlers albums, Silberman didn’t feel compelled to turn a human experience into a circuitous mythology. He chose a more direct approach: documenting two years in his life, without overthinking or obscuring what the songs were about. “Most of the songs on ‘Green to Gold’ are culled from conversations with my friends and my partner. It’s less ambiguous about who’s speaking and who’s listening,” says Silberman resolutely.

Here’s what they say about it: “Hello again, friends. 
At long last, we’re proud to announce our new album, ‘Green to Gold’ will be released on March 26th via Anti / Transgressive Records! You can pre-order the new album via Bandcamp.

And today, we’ve got a new song to share with you. This one’s called “Solstice”. 
“Solstice” is a flashback to the infinite days of peak childhood summer, innocent barefoot hikes, staying outside all afternoon and late into the evening, well past it being too dark to see. But it’s remembered from the vantage of a present day that feels unbearably long rather than joyously endless. It’s an invocation of those simpler times, an attempt to conjure the lightness of youth, before life got so damn complicated.

Eager to share the rest of ‘Green to Gold’ with you this spring. Thank you for listening.

“I think the shift in tone is the result of getting older,” Silberman added. “It doesn’t make sense for me to try to tap into the same energy that I did ten or fifteen years ago, because I continue to grow as a person, as I’m sure our audience does too. Green to Gold is about this idea of gradual change,” he sums up. “People changing over time, struggling to accept change in those they love, and struggling to change themselves. And yet despite all our difficulty with this, nature somehow makes it look easy.”

Written by Peter Silberman & Michael Lerner Produced and Engineered by Peter Silberman

Vocals, guitar, bass, pedal steel, piano, and organ by Peter Silberman
Drums and percussion by Michael Lerner

Bass clarinet on “Wheels Roll Home” by Jon Natchez
Violin and viola on “Solstice” by Will Harvey
Cello on “Stubborn Man” by Brent Arnold
Banjo on “Just One Sec” and “Volunteer” by David Moore
Slide Guitar on “Just One Sec” by Dave Harrington
Baritone saxophone, flute, clarinet, and french horn on “It Is What It Is” by Kelly Pratt
Guitar on “Green to Gold” by Tim Mislock

“Just One Sec” by The Antlers from the album ‘Green To Gold’, available March 26th

ALL POINTS EAST Victoria Park London 27-30th August 2021

Posted: March 25, 2021 in MUSIC
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JEFFREY SILVERSTEIN – ” Torii Gates “

Posted: March 25, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Jeffrey Silverstein is a songwriter living in Portland, Oregon. He has been making music for over a decade.

“Along with running, teaching, and meditation, music has always been an outlet through which I come to further understand myself and others. Each release helps keep me on the path. This EP is largely a celebration of the unknown, small joys and learning to be comfortable with transition. I am grateful to be joined once again by Barry Walker Jr. (pedal-steel), Alex Chapman (bass) and Ryan Oxford (production). Their generous spirit allowed me to explore, question, and expand upon ideas that floated freely in my mind for quite some time. It felt so nice to ground them through music and collaboration.”

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Releases April 16th, 2021

Jeffrey Silverstein (guitar/vocals)
Barry Walker Jr. (pedal-steel)
Alex Chapman (bass)

“Torii Gates”, a forthcoming EP for Arrowhawk Records 

CHRIS FORSYTH & The SOLAR MOTEL BAND – ” Rare Dreams ” Solar Live ​27th February 2018

Posted: March 25, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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On February 27th, 2018, Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band (comprised, in this iteration, of long-time SMB bassist Peter Kerlin and Kerlin’s Sunwatchers battery mate Jason Robira on drums) were close to wrapping up an 18-date tour of the EU and UK with a two-set, one hour and 45 minute show at Cafe OTO, London’s premier venue for adventurous music. Highlights of that show are included in this live release, “Rare Dreams: Solar Live 2.27.18, recorded before a packed house seated mere feet from the band’s amplifiers. These recordings reveal a band that is clearly in high spirits and high gear, operating with an expansive, improvisatory fleetness that allows them to stretch the material to almost ludicrous extremes and then let it to snap back to some semblance of form while somehow seemingly never wasting a note, a beat, a gesture.

The four tracks included here comprise material culled from (at the time) the two most recent Solar Motel Band records “Dreaming In The Non-Dream” (No Quarter, 2017) and THE RARITY OF EXPERIENCE (No Quarter, 2016) plus covers of two Neil Young songs – the autobiographical plaint “Don’t Be Denied,” lyrically relocated by Forsyth from Young’s Canada and Hollywood to the more personally relevant geography of New Jersey and Philadelphia, and encore “Barstool Blues” (they’d run out of material to play, so another Neil Young tune it was).

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While the covers establish Forsyth’s basis, serving as an homage to Young and the quest for self-realization, the long tracks’ jams showcase the trance-inducing power of the Solar Motel Band as a performing entity. Kerlin’s gymnastically propulsive bass playing locks in with Robira’s relentless thud, each serving as counterpoint to some of the most blistering guitar work of Forsyth’s career. The telepathically dynamic interplay of the trio explodes with whiplash intensity across the 15-plus minute takes of “Dreaming In The Non-Dream” and “The First 10 Minutes of Cocksucker Blues,” each song’s structure serving as a framework for extended lava flows of energy. At one point late in the “Dreaming” jam, Forsyth unplugs the jack from his guitar, dragging it across the strings and lashing the body of his single-pickup “parts” Esquire, producing a desiccated barrage of percussive static. This is music beyond the notes; it is an expression of pure electric ecstasy, a simultaneous negation and celebration of rock music’s (indeed all musics’) essential energy. In contrast to the expansive but meticulously detailed guitar arrangements of his recordings, here Forsyth’s unhinged live guitar sound positively roars with a barely restrained vocal intensity, from liquid melodic lines to gnarled blasts of free jazz scree, to pulsating lead/rhythm vamping. I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing this band up close for a number of years now and I can authoritatively attest that while every show is different, when the SMB is running down a steep hill at full speed (as on these takes), they become a single leaderless vibrating sonic tornado, possibly beyond the control and logic of the players themselves, picking up listeners along the way and taking them along for the ride straight into a solar furnace of sound.

“…one of rock’s most lyrical guitar improvisors,”
-NPR Music

Chris Forsyth and the rhythm section of the almighty Sunwatchers form an unholy power trio to absolutely scorch through a set of extended jams and Neil Young covers.

Chris Forsyth: guitar, vocal
Peter Kerlin: bass guitar
Jason Robira: drums

Recorded Live at Cafe OTO, London on February 27th, 2018

Releases April 23rd, 2021

VICTORIOUS FESTIVAL 27th-29th August 2021

Posted: March 25, 2021 in MUSIC
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KHAN – ” Vale “

Posted: March 25, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Khan from Melbourne, Australia meld hazy psychedelia and heavy stoner riffs with progressive rhythms and song structures. The songs are lyrically evocative, exuding a sense of despondency and vocally shift from gentle crooning to impassioned wailing. Mitchell Kerr’s driving bass mixed with Josh Bill’s chilling vocals and Beau Heffernan’s delicate drumming confirm 70’s prog still lives on fuzzed up and tripped out. The group does a fantastic job building up to impacts that feel as though they bring clarity but only for a moment before slipping back into misty noise. Defiantly a Table worth Turning

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Seriously intoxicating. So Dreamy Blend of Fuzz and Bluesy riffs that causes life-threatening Euphoria.

Released April 2nd, 2018

Josh Bills – Vocals/Guitar/Synth/Keys
Mitchell Kerr – Bass
Beau Heffernan – Drums

Recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Josh Bills at Vagabond Studios

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