New Jersey band Pinegrove has announced that their new album “Marigold” will be released on January 17th, 2020, via Rough Trade Records. This announcement comes paired with the release of new song “Phase,” the second song released from the album following the album’s first single “Moment,” .
“Phase” has that now-signature urgent and emotional Pinegrove sound, packing a lot in it’s 2 1/2-minute runtime. Evan Stephens Hall wrote the song about those times you’re desperately trying to sleep but you can’t because your mind is racing with different ideas and anxieties.
The official music video captures this idea in a humorous fashion, which was directed by Colin Read. Find it posted below, along with the Marigold tracklist and some newly announced tour dates.
we’re also real psyched to report that we are working with Rough Trade Records! they’ve been terrific to work with so far & it’s an honor to be on their roster. may we also say! our tour is coming up—beginning, in fact, next week! we’ll be playing this song “moment” & perhaps some other new ones out there on the dusty trail.
28-Mar-20 Dublin, Ireland @ The Grand Social
30-Mar-20 Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 TV Studio
31-Mar-20 Manchester, UK @ Academy 2
01-Apr-20 Bristol, UK @ SWX
02-Apr-20 London, UK @ Electric Ballroom
The UK-based band composed of Billy Easter on bass, Sarah Datblygu on drums and Rivka Gillieron on vocals and guitar excel in creating atmospheric, erratic sounds with a jaunty disregard for anything mundane. Wetdog count a variety of top notch influences on Frauhaus!, citing Micachu, Syd Barrett and Euros Childs, with legendary graphic novel illustrator Robert Crumb and 1979 cult British horror flick “The Wicker Man” also flagged, the latter’s flashing play between gentle pastoral and darker reveals most evident on the twittering bird song and thick, stop-start chords of “Trees Fall.” Though each of the album’s 14 songs has a disjointed style and rhythm of its own, they bob and weave into each other with a connecting sense of joyful weirdness, darkly irreverent rather than pretentious; menacing at times, but in a deliriously fun way.
Fabulously uncompromising, it’s futile to attempt any generic labelling here; Wetdog delight in merging styles, setting keyboard and guitar melodies clashing gloriously against stubborn basslines, beginning songs in one manner only to change all the rules come the chorus. These helter-skelter tactics mean Frauhaus! has a kind of anarchic spontaneity to it, where the ground could shift at any moment. It’s an exciting atmosphere that evokes the tumultuous ethos of The Slits, made even more potent by the darker, Halloween-style motifs of The Need, that cover the corners of their songs with spiderwebs and vampire fangs.
Hiss Golden Messenger has released a new track from their upcoming album “Terms of Surrender”, which comes out September 20th. The hypnotic and moody “Cat’s Eye Blue” finds lead singer/songwriter M.C. Taylor taking emotional inventory and gaining a new perspective focusing on what is fundamentally most important.
Taylor says of the track, “‘Cat’s Eye Blue’ is a song about anxiety. And about fathers. How to express ourselves in real terms. How to cut the poison out to avoid further harm. ‘Is this wicked word too bad to be spoken? You let the heart attack in. One taste and it’s broken.’ I sing about fathers—my own, specifically—because I almost lost mine during the writing of this record. He’s still here—I hear him outside playing with my kids right now—but I’ve been thinking about him a lot this past year.”
“Cat’s Eye Blue” follows the June release of “I Need a Teacher”, the first single off of Terms of Surrender. The inspiring video for the song was filmed during the statewide North Carolina Association of Educators’ Day of Action demonstration. The reaction and support since the release of the song and clip has been exceptional.
“Cat’s Eye Blue” from the new record Terms of Surrender, out September 20th on Merge Records.
Brisbane-based duo Amaringo release their debut album, “I Woke Up This Morning After a Dream”, out via Melbourne label Healthy Tapes (Stella Donnelly, Rainbow Chan, Dianas).
The project of drummer/vocalist Allie Wu Lin and guitarist/bassist Christian Driscoll,Amaringo create expansive and woozy atmospheres with tinges of psych that never stray too far away from their ambitious and beautiful songwriting.
Fragmented between writing and recording half of the album in a recording studio, then a year later completing the rest in a more improvised fashion, the resulting record is a startlingly consistent and accomplished piece of work. From the acoustic strums of the 70’s-inspired I Woke Up, to the major-minor drones of Saguaro, and the 7-and-a-half minute monumental Her Way, the album has no shortage of timeless moments sure to appeal to fans of La Luz and Sharon Van Etten.
Amaringo’s debut LP I Woke Up This Morning After a Dream is out October 30th digitally and on limited cassette via Healthy Tapes and features the singles Sacred and Her Way.
Ask Jack Tatum what ‘Wild Nothing’ means and he’ll answer: ‘a contradiction’. In 2010, 21 year old Tatum released one of thefinest cult pop records of the summer whilst ensconced in his senior year of college in Blacksburg, VA, a small mid-atlantic town better known for producing football fans and engineers than musicians. Tatum lives in contradictions.
A year following the release of Wild Nothing’s fourth studio album, Indigo, Wild Nothing share a look into their sweeping live set ahead of the band’s November 2019 tour dates. Recorded in November 2018, Live from Brooklyn Steel is in-depth survey of the band’s celebrated catalog, showcasing songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jack Tatum’s versatility and strength in composition.
The Shivas are a rock and roll band from Portland, Oregon formed in 2006. In the years since forming they have brought theirraucous dance party to almost all 50 states, and over 25 countries worldwide, meanwhile releasing five full-length albums and three EPs on labels such as Tender Loving Empire, K, and Burger Records.
“Better Off Dead” is The Shivas 5th studio album and was recorded in January of 2015 at Dub Narcotic Studio in Olympia, Washington.
The Band
Jared Molyneux – Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Organ
Eric Shanafelt – Vocals, Bass Guitar
Kristin Leonard – Vocals, Drums
Ian Hartley – Vocals, Percussion
It’s not easy for bands to change direction when you seem to have hit a winning formula but that’s exactly what The Rails have done on their third album ‘Cancel the Sun’.
Kami Thompson is part of the legendary folk-rock dynasty headed by her dad Richard, and her husband James Walbourne has been playing guitar for loads of bands, including Son Volt and The Pogues. So perhaps it’s not that surprising the duo’s previous albums were more than a little folk-tinged, but the new one has a much broader musical palette, and definitely a harder edge to the writing.
“It’s funny our first album was lighter, so it’s tough to make that transition, we’ve done it in steps and degrees in the last three records, and we’ll maybe do some metal for the next one,” laughs James.
“The record we did, the ‘Other People’ album, was a step in that direction, but we wanted something that was a true reflection of ourselves. It is harder-edged and reflects the music we listen to a little more.”
Even though the album does contain the single, Mossy Well, which has a folk feel, and the dreamy Dictator has a deep baroque feel to it, Kami agrees their bigger sound is part of a natural progression for a band still firmly rooted in the English tradition, often citing The Kinks as their benchmark.
“I think it is definitely not as much of a folky record but if anything is just more English just in a modern way, muses Kami. “All the influences were always there with us but when we were making a folk record we obviously narrowed it down to that.
“I think we let ourselves have free rein this time without pigeon-holing anything, so we just felt liberated to do what we wanted to do.” Another big difference on this record is that Kami and James started to write songs together. It is always tricky for any writing partnership – you only have to ask Morrissey and Marr – but when you are married it can add an extra layer of tension.
“Something had to give as it wasn’t really working how we were doing it before, it was a bit competitive, and a bit tit for tat,” says Kami. “You can’t really see the wood for the trees, and you need someone to go that’s a terrible idea. “The main split is probably that I wrote the lion’s share of the lyrics, and James probably wrote more tunes than me. If I’m writing is it is invariably going to be a bit darker, I’m a grumpy cow.”
That darkness has crept into Kami’s lyrics which focus much more on the big issues of our time, including the global climate crisis. On Save The Planet she puts forward the provocative idea that only mankind’s mass suicide can save our planet from inevitable destruction.
“I think that song was just meant as a thought prompter, and you look around as people are labouring away at one tiny point at how this is all going to work out, in reality, everybody would have to take 18 steps back and make huge, huge life changes,” puts forward the defiant lyricist.
“We just wanted to make people think, and it’s obviously a slightly absurdly statement, but it would fucking solve the problem. I’m playing devil’s advocate, I’m obviously saying something absurd, but come on, give me how are you going to make it work?”
The Rails have previously been hands-on in the studio, but this time they recognised they needed to take a step back and get an experienced hand on the faders. They put in a call into legendary Britpop producer Stephen Street, who has worked with Blur and The Smiths, not expecting him to say yes, but he agreed to join them in Damon Albarn’s studio.
“I think the guitar should always be fucking loud in the mix and on a lot of records it is never loud enough,” asserts James as only a guitarist can. “It was great to have Stephen Street producing the record as he is all about guitars, so it worked.
“He’s very hands-on, but we handed the reins over to Stephen as we wanted to someone to produce for a change as we’ve had quite a lot to do with the production in the past. On this particular record, we wanted to get that Stephen Street sound, that thing that he does, and we trusted him every step of the way.”
As well as his day job James remains in demand as a guitarist currently playing with The Pretenders as well as helping write their forthcoming album. He must have picked something along the way sharing the stage with Chrissie Hynde who as well as being a top guitarist in her own right is a master of creating classic pop songs.
“We’ve just signed off on the next Pretenders record, and weirdly we’ve just done it with Stephen Street. It has rubbed off in more ways than just songwriting really as the first gig I ever had with them I realised ‘oh fuck, you’ve got to step up and be a guitar player’, and you can’t hide away as it is ‘oh, fuck here we go.’
“We talk endlessly about songwriting, what’s great in music and bands. It’s become a big part of my life and Kami’s, and it has rubbed off on what makes a great pop song.”
The other big difference is before doing this record James decided to stop drinking, and he has seen the positive impact of that decision on his work both in the studio and on the road.
“You know, it hindered the work for me, and I would say this record, and the writing of The Pretenders album, are down to giving it up as it is the biggest thing I have ever done really. It is a totally different lifestyle as it catches up with you eventually, but now I get things done.”
Featured in back in February with ‘Lunchtime’, London grunge-pop-with-attitude trio Pin Ups
are back with an ace new eight-minute gem, ‘Lazy”.
Here it is people: our new single ‘Lazy’ is out now across all major sites. When we entered the studio with Richard James with the intention of recording this 8 minute long monster, we weren’t entirely sure what the final outcome would be. It’s turned out to be, in our opinion, the most ambitious, exciting and sonically adventurous record we have produced yet.
Produced by Richard James (Foals), bassist Louis Baker takes on lead vocals on the lyrical drug/sleep induced dream world track.
‘Lazy’ opens on a psychedelic, dreamy drift, before veering off into an extended, mind-bending instrumental jam, combining an infectious groove with soaring guitars and synths – the like of which will knock all else into a cocked hat this week!
Pin Ups have really come into their own here, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them featuring on a few ‘ones to watch’ lists for 2020.
Acerbic yet winsome Scottish indiepoppers The Just Joans return with the dazzlingly maudlin “The Private Memoirs and Confessions of the Just Joans”, a deeply personal collection of songs that hazily recall the past and contemplate the futility of the future.
A titular twist on the classic gothic horror novel The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by compatriot James Hogg, the new album is the follow-up to 2017’s You Might Be Smiling Now… and contains the kind of melodies and mockery that led Uncut to class the band as the point at which “Stephin Merritt lies down with The Vaselines.”
At the forefront remain the mischievous lyrics and heartfelt vocals of siblings David and Katie Pope, aided and abetted by Chris Elkin on lead guitar, Fraser Ford on bass guitar and Jason Sweeney on drums. Yet it is the recruitment of multi-instrumentalist Arion Xenos and guest appearance of Butcher Boy’s Alison Eales to arrange strings that have helped elevate the band’s music to new heights.
Their progression is most noticeable on lead single “Dear Diary, I Died Again today”, a painfully beautiful admission of everyday anxiety and “When Nietzsche Calls”, the triumphant cry of a spurned lover revelling in the misery of their ex to a backdrop of trumpets and violins. The juxtaposition of the fragility shown in these tracks with the menace of “Wee Guys (Bobby’s Got A Punctured Lung)” – an observation and understanding of the casual violence that once cast a shadow over the band’s hometown – highlights The Just Joans’ ability to seamlessly flip between sensitivity and danger, and sums up why Highway Queens described them as the “perfect Glasgow kiss.”
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of the Just Joans is a veritable smorgasbord of misery, longing and unrequited love; stories of small town resentments, half-forgotten school friends, failing relationships and awkward workplace conversations. As David explains: “It’s a collection torn from the pages of the diary I haven’t kept over the past 25 years. There are songs about places and people I vaguely remember, feelings I think that I once may have felt and the onset of middle-aged ennui.”
Despite entering new territory with the addition of brass and strings, they have nevertheless maintained the DIY ethos that made them darlings of the underground indie-pop scene, with each song on the album recorded and produced by the band in various gloomy bedrooms around Glasgow.
Releases January 10th, 2020
The Just Joans are David Pope, Katie Pope, Chris Elkin, Fraser Ford, Arion Xenos and Jason Sweeney.
All songs written, recorded and produced by The Just Joans.
Cherry Red will release a much expanded, four-CD edition of Mercury Rev‘s All Is Dream album, in November.
The album was the follow-up to the acclaimed Deserter’s Songs and features the singles ‘Nite And Fog’, ‘The Dark Is Rising’ and ‘Little Rhymes’. The album was issued in 2001, breaching the top 20 in both the UK and the USA.
The new four-CD deluxe edition has been “compiled and coordinated” in conjunction with the band’s Jonathan Donahue and Sean ‘Grasshopper’ Mackowiak. As well as the original ten-track album this set offers a bonus disc of 20 B-sides, outtakes and demos, half of which are previously unreleased. The third CD offers previously unissued concert recordings while the final disc delivers a French radio session which was only previously available as a promo CD.
The All Is Dream four-CD set is packaged as a hardcover book with lyrics and sleeve notes by Keith Cameron.
