Archive for the ‘MUSIC’ Category

JEFF TWEEDY – ” Love Is The King “

Posted: September 16, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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On Tuesday, Jeff Tweedy announced the release of his fourth solo record, Love Is The King, due out on October 23rd via dPm Records. The album serves as the follow up to 2018’s WARM and 2019’s WARMER, and sees the release of two lead singles today, “Guess Again” and the title track.

The release of the album will come on the heels of Tweedy’s second book, How To Write One Song, out October 13th via Penguin Random House. Tweedy will also perform on September 18th in a drive-in concert at the McHenry Outdoor Theater in McHenry, IL. For those who cannot attend the sold-out event, the Wilco frontman will also livestream the concert. Back to the present… Jeff’s announced a new book AND a new album. You might be thinking, “Where does he get all this energy?”. The answer: he’s a self-proclaimed nap enthusiast.

The book’s called How To Write One Song and it will teach you how to do just that. But at its core it’s a how-to guide on creativity and how to stay motivated. How To Write One Song hits bookshelves on October 13th . Preorder US | UK | AUS and you can get a free digital download from Jeff.

A week later (Oct. 23), you’ll hear Jeff’s third solo album, “Love Is The King” – 11 new songs written since touring came to a halt in March. Jeff went to The Loft with his sons, Spencer and Sammy, and came out with a “beautifully honest ode to love and hope” .

Love Is The King was composed by Tweedy, alongside his sons Sammy and Spencer, during the COVID-19 lockdown. Recorded in April 2020, just after Wilco was forced to abandon its North American tour, the song writing process originally began as a challenge where Tweedy tested himself to write a song everyday until he had a whole album.

“At the beginning of the lockdown I started writing country songs to console myself. Folk and country type forms being the shapes that come most easily to me in a comforting way. ‘Guess Again’ is a good example of the success I was having at pushing the world away, counting my blessings — taking stock in my good fortune to have love in my life,” Tweedy said in a press release. “A few weeks later things began to sound like ‘Love Is The King’ — a little more frayed around the edges with a lot more fear creeping in. Still hopeful but definitely discovering the limits of my own ability to self soothe.”

The album’s title track, “Love Is The King”, finds just that mix of melancholy folk song-writing that Tweedy has perfected over several decades. With his dreamy, far-away vocals and simple fingerpicking, “Love Is The King” is relatable to anyone who went through the lockdown process what feels like a lifetime ago. As for “Guess Again”, the song finds a bit more cheerful melody with percussive accompaniment to Tweedy’s acoustic guitar. The lyrics also present a brighter reality that shows, even though things are bleak now, that hope still shines through the love of another.

“Love Is The King” and “Guess Again” from Jeff Tweedy’s forthcoming album, Love Is The King, due out on October 23rd.

KING GIZZARD & The LIZARD WIZARD – ” Straws In The Wind “

Posted: September 16, 2020 in MUSIC
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King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have released a new single and music video, entitled “Straws In The Wind”. The video finds the Australian cross-genre rockers in the midst of a green screen twister.

This latest single follows recently-released tracks “Some Of Us” and “Honey“. “Straws In The Wind” also comes as the first single King Gizzard has put out since drummer/manager Eric Moore announced his departure from the group late last month.

The video for “Straws In The Wind”, a song that features Ambrose Kenny-Smith on lead vocals, finds the band employing a green screen to its fullest potential. With footage of tornadoes ripping through landscapes, and the band getting hit with actual debris whirling around the room, Amby ponders the philosophical query, “Straws in the wind/Is it all ending?” While the title may bring to mind the Kansas classic “Dust In The Wind”, it’s clear that King Gizzard took little inspiration from the classic rockers.

Amby and Stu collab on the tune and Jase is back on the tools for the video. Damn this was fun to make! We shot trash around the room with a leaf blower and pretended that we were in a trash tornado. What has the world come to…

Watch the new music video for “Straws In The Wind” by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.

Filmed, edited and directed by Jason Galea Additional filming, wardrobe and direction by Ambrose Kenny-Smith Amby: Vocals, Harmonica, Keyboards Cavs: Drums, Percussion Cookie: Guitar, Piano, Keyboards, Sitar Stu: Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Percussion, Flute Recorded by Stu Mackenzie and Michael Cavanagh

JOHNNY THUNDERS & WAYNE KRAMER – ” Gang War ” Record Store Day 2020

Posted: September 16, 2020 in MUSIC
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Johnny Thunders & Wayne KramerJohnny Thunders & Wayne KramerJohnny Thunders & Wayne KramerFreudlp076

The New York Dolls & MC5 guitarists collaboration! with Wayne Kramer, It’s the first time on vinyl; in a limited edition in dark red & dark yellow coloured vinyl, on 2xLP with five bonus ‘Live at Max’s’ tracks only previously available on bootleg. Johnny Thunders & Wayne Kramer’s ‘Gang War’ In 1979, Johnny Thunders, renowned band Heartbreakers and New York Dolls guitarist, teamed up with Wayne Kramer, also legendary guitarist of Detroit’s seminal MC5, to form ‘Gang War’, an alliance that lasted the best part of a year. Although Gang War released no records and without a label – at the time they were an underground act; in retrospect the collaboration is looked on as a ‘rock fantasy’ supergroup.

These live recordings bear testimony to this unique partnership between two celebrated rock guitar icons. Gang War came about shortly after Johnny released his ‘So Alone’ album, and Wayne was not long out of jail after serving two years of a sentence of four years for a coke bust. Arriving in Detroit with the Heartbreakers, Johnny met his teenage idol Wayne who jammed with them at the gig. Johnny stayed on, moving his family to Michigan and pledging his future to Gang War. They toured regularly and recorded a couple of demos with a view to getting a deal, but although there was great interest, after eight or nine months they split. On these recordings, both contribute lead vocals and guitars on Thunders and the Dolls tracks such as London Boys, Endless Party and M.I.A.; songs familiar from Kramer and MC5 such as Ramblin’ Rose and Hey Thanks, and fascinating cover versions such as These Boots Are Made For Walking and The Harder They Come.

Together with the between-track repartee they also demonstrate the difference between the two – as Wayne Kramer has said: “Music is important to me and I value the honour, the opportunity, to be an important musician. Johnny, on the other hand didn’t consider himself a musician. He considered himself an entertainer.”

HACHIKU – ” I’ll Probably Be Asleep “

Posted: September 16, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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After 4 years in the making, today we are thrilled to announce the release of Hachiku’s debut album “I’ll Probably Be Asleep” which is out Friday November 13th. Anika started working as an intern at Milk! Records 5 years ago and it’s been a pleasure to watch her musical career grow and go from playing small single releases at the Old Bar to playing packed out performances at Iceland Airwaves.

Her time and dedication to making an amazing album have really paid off – if you ask us. During this quite extraordinary year we are hoping this album will bring some joy to everyone’s lives and we are so excited to witness where the next 5 years will take Hachiku. Ahead of the album, a new Hachiku track & video is out today! ‘I’ll Probably Be Asleep’ was directed by Roxie Halley who says “It draws on the camp, colourful and psychedelic visuals of cult 70’s horror, while dealing with honest emotional themes at its core.

“Hachiku’s globe-trotting has made for more worldly pop, and her songs have a homespun feel that is both intimate and magical, assured and hard to pigeonhole.” – Brooklyn Vegan

“Hachiku’s music sounds like if Wes Anderson recorded Beach House’s second record Devotion.” – The Music

“Her music is brave, bold and extremely well-crafted. Not only the sound and the production, but the writing, while innocent at times, evokes real and raw emotions. Hachiku may well be the Björk of the bedroom pop generation” – SXSW Music Preview

“There is nothing undercooked about this majestic piece of music, a haunting ethereal plod through raw emotion, with Ostendorf’s icy voice rhythmically plucking each syllable.” – The Guardian

‘I’ll Probably Be Asleep’ is out now on Milk! Records and Marathon Artists. From the forthcoming album ‘I’ll Probably Be Asleep’ out November 13th, 2020.

OKKERVIL RIVER – ” A Dream In The Dark: Two Decades of Okkervil River Live “

Posted: September 15, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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The goal was to push my brain to places it didn’t want to go. The idea was to not have any idea – to keep myself confused about what I was doing,” frontman Will Sheff says about Okkervil River’s newest album ‘I Am Very Far’. It’s a startling break from the band’s previous work: terrifying and joyous, violent and serene, grotesque and romantic, it’s a celebration of forces beyond our control. 

This chapter has been a long time coming; we recorded almost every show from the American and European 2018 #intherainbowrain tour so it took a long time to sort through it all. Also, the audio liner notes are…. just shy of 5 hours long? Almost a whole audiobook in themselves. I’m super proud of the music on here and so excited for you all to hear it! Thank you all so much for coming on this journey with us and if anybody’s hesitated till now climb aboard and scope out the whole thing!

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I’ve had some of my most fun onstage experiences of the past few years doing the “Rarities & Requests” touring format, but because of logistics we’ve often had to restrict these shows to larger markets. Under the current quarantine situation, I thought it would be really cool to play a streaming “Rarities & Requests” show where we could open the request pool to anybody all over the world.
This will be the first Okkervil streaming show we’ve done his year, and I’m super excited about it. We’ll have more details soon on when it will air, but we wanted to open requests ASAP. So if you plan to watch start submitting requests via the request form link in the comment section! (But not in comments themselves please). Note that we’ll still be taking requests from the big cities but we’ll be giving extra weight to requests from people in towns we’ve never hit with the #raritiesandrequests format.

Releases September 18th, 2020

MARIKA HACKMAN – ” Covers “

Posted: September 15, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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During the extended stay-at-home order of the last few months, Marika Hackman felt that creating a covers record was a way of exploring new sound ideas and expressing herself without having the pressure of the blank page. She recorded and produced “Covers” between home and her parents’ house, then got the legendary David Wrench (Frank Ocean, The xx, Let’s Eat Grandma) to mix it. David also co-produced her excellent 2019 record Any Human Friend. In contrast to her last two albums (including 2017’s I’m Not Your Man), this collection of songs is more akin in tone and feel to her debut We Slept At Last, with a darker and more introspective sound. On Covers, we hear Marika’s emotive voice set against sparse arrangements of guitars and strings with the occasional synth or scattered drum groove.

Breathing new life into the songs she’s chosen, Marika reimagines work by some of the world’s most beloved artists such as Radiohead, Grimes and Elliott Smith. It’s a suitably varied collection, but Marika’s intimate delivery and soft, nuanced and atmospheric touch to production, thread them all together effortlessly.

Marika explains how she came to choose the material: “When it comes to covers, I like to pick songs which I have been listening to obsessively for a while. It gives me a natural understanding of the music, and lets me be more innovative with how I transform it.”

First single “Realiti” is a stripped back piano and guitar based version of the Grimes classic from her most celebrated album Art Angels. Marika’s take is a total reinvention and yet it feels wholly her own. Muna’s “Pink Light” from their 2019 record Saves The World is a slice of dark pop, reminiscent of The Cure. In Marika’s hands, it’s a remarkably seamless switch-up to convert these into slower, brooding soft jams. Marika’s version of Air’s “Playground Love” is one of the highlights, taken from the soundtrack the group composed for Sofia Coppola’s coming of age The Virgin Suicides, the result being a moodier, disorientating reworking of a classic modern moment.

Final track “All Night” sees Marika tackling one of the standouts from Beyonce’s Grammy-nominated Lemonade. Again, Marika flips the song on its head. Joined by a choir of stacked vocal harmonies, Marika’s voice transcends to conjure a deep emotional resonance.

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Adventurous and versatile, Covers continues Marika’s lineage in turning each body of work into a new take and perspective on her creative vision. She twists and turns, always surprises, and is never afraid to wear her heart on her sleeve. It remains anyone’s guess to imagine where she will head next.

Releases November 13th, 2020

2020 Sub Pop Records

PORRIDGE RADIO – ” 7 Seconds “

Posted: September 14, 2020 in MUSIC
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hello we have a new song for you
it’s called “7 seconds” – listen here https://porridgeradio.ffm.to/7seconds
“7 Seconds” started out sounding really different to this version. I wrote the words a few years ago and made a really slow sad song to go with them, but it never felt fully like a porridge band song. Early last year I was sitting with Sam and I played it to him and asked if he could help me speed it up and make it less miserable. He wrote the keyboard riff almost immediately and we were so into it that we listened to the 7 second loop for an hour.
Late last summer we spent a week in Margate at PRAH studios and showed Maddie and Georgie, and with them the rest of the song came together really fast. We didn’t think we’d get a chance to record it for ages, but some things work out and we’re happy to share it with you now.

Thanks so much Marta Salogni for your work on this song,

“7 Seconds” the new song by Porridge Radio out September 14th on Secretly Canadian.

ANJIMILE – ” Giver Taker “

Posted: September 14, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Image may contain: 1 person, sunglasses and closeup

Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but ordinarily, artists who draw too hard from one source let down their own muse, and short-change the listener too. Not so Boston-based, Texas-raised Anjimile, whose debut album introduces a fully formed, confident voice – one that sounds slightly familiar.

Non-binary, trans and of Malawian heritage, this intense indie singer-songwriter identifies foremost as a Sufjan Stevens fan. Their hypnotic orchestral folk songs “Come Howling After” an unfathomable god. Like Stevens, Anjimile’s vocals can whisper, swoop and trill lines like “It’s a miracle to behold, it’s a miracle to be held in your arms”.

But derivation is not the whole story here. Tracks like “Maker” or “Ndimakukonda” boast compelling African instrumentation and cadences, putting significant stylistic space between Anjimile and Stevens. Throughout, the production – also by relative unknowns – is pin-sharp and generous. On debut album Giver Taker, released earlier this month, Anjimile charts their recovery and rebirth from both a bad relationship and addiction. “In Your Eyes” zooms the focus out a little, with the non-binary artist asking “Was my body denied?” over a soothing bed of acoustic guitars and lilting melodies.

Although the alternative take on masculinity provided by Moses Sumney might be another valid comparison, these nine songs chart Anjimile’s own self-development and recovery, both from a relationship (Baby No More, Not Another Word) and addiction; this is no one’s story but theirs.

Writing a song about a fading romance is never easy. Writing a song about a fading romance where you bear the brunt of the blame is even harder. Writing a song about a fading romance where you bear the brunt of the blame, but the song still simmers with the kind of alluring energy that makes it feel like it’s not a song about a fading romance at all feels practically impossible — but that’s exactly what Anjimile does on “Baby No More.” Anjimile first released an acoustic version of the song on his 2019 Maker Mixtape, but this new take streamlines the nimble pluck of its lead-guitar riff and buoys it with the pure dance-floor groove of shuffling drums, an elastic bass line, and some sublimely tasteful keyboard plunks. Anjimile balances the song’s bubbling energy and the suave tinge in his voice with lyrics that boast a brutally frank edge: “Am I dead? Must be dead/Am I sick in my head?/Am I wrong? Must be wrong/Best get gone/I can’t be your baby no more.”

The new track will appear on the Boston-based singer-songwriter’s upcoming album, Giver Taker, out September 18th via Father/Daughter Records. In a statement, he explained that he wrote the song a few months before getting sober, when the relationship he was in was suffering because he was no longer taking care of himself: “I quite literally felt like I was losing my mind, vis-à-vis alcoholism,” Anjimile said.

“Active alcoholism and committed romantic relationships generally do not mix well, and ‘Baby No More’ is more or less what happens when you’re not a good boyfriend,” Anjimile said. “Although it’s got a very groovy and relatively lighthearted musical vibe, some of the lyrics are quite dark.”

“Baby No More” is the second offering from Giver Taker, following, “Maker,” which was released in July. The album marks Anjimile’s label debut, though it does follow a string of independent releases he’s shared over the past few years.

Giver Taker is released on 18th September

GULFER – ” Heat Wave “

Posted: September 14, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Gulfer

Montreal’s Gulfer have been reviving Midwest, ’90s-style emo for the past decade, and they’re now set to release their third LP, which is self-titled, on October 16th via Topshelf/Royal Mountain. Having spent the past couple years wavering between self-doubt and having it figured out, Montreal’s Gulfer have returned to the fore with their third full-length record. Composed of thirteen tracks of intricate, dexterous, and incredibly fun, punk-inspired emo tunes, Gulfer sees the Montreal quartet settled into their own with a career-defining record.

Set to be co-released through us and the band’s first ever Canadian label in Royal Mountain Records, Gulfer is expansive in a way that sets it apart from the debut What Gives and the Pitchfork-approved Dog Bless. Delving into their collective influences by drawing from elements of grunge, shoegaze, and contemporaries Oso Oso and Prince Daddy and the Hyena, the band never turn their back on their earliest inspirations. Explosive, agile emo serves as the backdrop to guitarist and vocalists Vincent Ford and Joe Therriault’s honest and vulnerable lyricism, with the two sharing the writing process on a record that tackles human nature; exploring self-doubt, resentment, complex relationships, climate change, and the waning of youth. The band never lose the sense of playfulness and fun that is omnipresent in their live show, an undeniable, electric energy that stems from being a group of close friends before all else.

They do a lot of justice to the noodly riffage and longing melodies of the classic Kinsella era, and new song “Heat Wave” is no exception.

Our new track “Heat Wave” is streaming everywhere you listen to music now! It’s the second track we’re sharing from our new self-titled record, out October 16th through Topshelf Records and Royal Mountain Records, and it’s about realizing that past friendships left you feeling out of place, and how special it is to find a new home somewhere else. You can listen and pre-order our record below, but variants are moving quick!

Free of former notions that they needed to write in a certain way to sound like themselves, the band instead went with their gut and wrote what came naturally. The result is their most definitive work to date, a record that focuses less on ultra-technical musicianship and more on structure, space, and feel. With renewed energy in their freshened sound palette and their most collaborative songwriting yet, Gulfer have created an album that sounds fresh and exciting, which is no small feat for a band with two albums, a handful of EPs, and eight long years under their belt. The deft and interweaving interplay of Ford and Therriault’s guitars is grounded by bassist David Mitchell and drummer Julien Daoust, whose dexterities and musicianship animate the album with explosive, emotional kineticism.

“Forget (Friendly)” is taken from Gulfer’s upcoming self-titled record, out on Topshelf Records and Royal Mountain Records on October 16th, 2020.

SHAME – ” Alphabet “

Posted: September 14, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Like most Shame songs, “Alphabet” is armed with full-throttle momentum, and frontman Charlie Steen’s direct yet playful vocal inflection. “Are you waiting / to feel good / Are you praying / like you should?” Steen asks. It’s not so much a sonic departure as it is a distillation of their barreling punk sound. Shame have returned with a new song called ‘Alphabet’ via Dead Oceans Records. Produced by James Ford, it marks the UK post-punk group’s first new music since the release of their 2018 debut Songs of Praise. Check it out below, alongside an accompanying music video directed by Tegen Williams.

“‘Alphabet’ is a direct question, to the audience and the performer, on whether any of this will ever be enough to reach satisfaction,” frontman Charlie Steen said in a statement. “At the time of writing it, I was experiencing a series of surreal dreams where a manic subconscious was bleeding out of me and seeping into the lyrics. All the unsettling and distressing imagery I faced in my sleep have taken on their own form in the video.”

Back in the beginning of 2018, the British post-punk group Shame released their debut album . They soon accrued a fervent following and a whole lot of attention for their intense live shows. They’ve also now been silent for a while, not releasing so much as a standalone single since Songs Of Praise. Shame apparently have a new album on the horizon, and they’ve shared the first hint of this impending new era.

Two years ago, Shame released Songs of Praise, which was not just an outstanding debut but one of the best LPs of the 2010s. It was bold, assertive, and relevant. Heck, it still remains a very pertinent record, as many of the themes covered then still apply today. The timeless quality in Shame’s songwriting and post-punk style positions Eddie Green, Charlie Forbes, Josh Finerty, Sean Coyle-Smith, and Charlie Steen to be one of 2020’s most important bands. To demonstrate why they are worthy of such accolades, the quintet have unleashed a roaring critique of ourselves with “Alphabet”.

The song echoes the driving, raw energy of IDLES and Fontaines D.C. Every element is delivered with the desperation of a person about to perform their very last song. Nothing is held back because there is nothing left for us to lose in these times. Or is there? As the trio of guitars chime and thrust while the rhythms heavily pound, Green harshly and sarcastically asks us if “we feel good”. He’s asking us if we are satisfied with what we have, where we are, and what is happening. He’s directly wondering whether our desires are limitless or whether we all have a point where we say “enough is enough”.

Alphabet’ from Shame, available now on Dead Oceans

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