Frequently tipped as one of the world’s best live bands, Australian five-piece Parcels will be coming to the UK this November, with must-see shows in Manchester, Bristol and Leeds.
Parcels are a funk-pop group from Byron Bay, Australia conceived in mid 2014. Patrick Hetherington, Louie Swain, Noah Hill, Anatole Serret and Jules Crommelin forged a tight musical bond in the years previous, performing in an array of projects ranging from metal bands to folk ensembles. Thereafter, the broad spectrum of the members’ influences and sensitivities jelled instantly, resulting in a unique blend of contemporary electronica and matured funk disco.
Parcels create wide synth soundscapes through an electronic rhythm section with spirited guitars and five-part vocal harmony. On stage, their live set is consistently energetic but is a different, more organic spin on their recorded tracks, .
“Stock Image” is wholehearted pop song, co-produced by Folick, Yves Rothman, and Justin Raisen (Sky Ferreira’s Night Time, My Time, Angel Olsen’s My Woman). Opening with lilting chimes and vocal coos, it quickly floors the gas to reveal an exuberant 1980s pop heart and a bassline with the same propulsive thrill of Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own.” Briefly, Folick dwells on sticky feelings of malaise—“Bathe myself in the afternoon/Won’t get out until the water’s cold and I am blue”—but she makes the decision to shake them off and “open up the door.” As drums boom, the song ramps into a driving synth chorus, with a swirling constellation of zippy electronic sounds, and Folick’s piercing voice scales giddy heights. In an excellent accompanying video, Folick dances through New York streets, showing familiar locales like Central Park and Brooklyn Bridge with an infectious, bright-eyed wonder, “Stock Image” is an alluring, catchy as hell invitation to join Folick in her heady worldview, and a reminder that everything can look better when seen through fresh eyes. It might even make you want to dance in the streets, too.
Stock Image is the conversation you have with yourself when you’re feeling lost and your color has faded. When you’re too focused on inhabiting a certain image and then suddenly you realize your insides are empty! I wrote it from a place of feeling shallow and gray and wanting to feel Full! Vibrant! I hope it makes you feel lush and colored in
Pen pals are going out of fashion. In the age of social media, WhatsApp and the like, the thought of crafting a long thoughtful message – one that only your closest confidant will read – sounds archaic, really. But not for Forth Wanderers. The making of the New Jersey band’s second album, their first on cult indie label Sub Pop Records, was crafted via meticulous communications between lead singer Ava Trilling and guitarist Ben Guterl – who actually lived in the same zip code at the time. The pair would send melodies and lyrics back and forth, each adding their piece before the song was in decent-enough shape to demo with the rest of the band. Sure, they probably used the internet, but the result is like listening to the secret correspondence between close friends.
This formula is repeated again and again, but never gets boring. In fact, these might be some of the most well-crafted rock songs you’ll hear all year long.
Culture Abuse release their sophomore album Bay Dream. Featuring new single Calm E, Bay Dream is the San Francisco Bay Area-bred band’s first full-length release for Epitaph Records. Produced, engineered, and mixed by Carlos de la Garza (Paramore, Jimmy Eat World, M83), Bay Dream follows Culture Abuse’s 2016 debut Peach. The album elevates their melody-heavy garage punk to a new level, drawing inspiration from artists as eclectic as Sly and the Family Stone, Paul Simon, and reggae legend Billy Boyo.
“Dip” by Culture Abuse from the album ‘Bay Dream,’ available now
A cross between of the Beatles and Foxygen served as muses for Welles’ “Hold Me Like I’m Leaving,” a hard rocking tune from the Nashville band’s new album, Red Trees & White Trashes, .
Singer-guitarist Jesse Wells says the song was somewhat of a made-to-order creation. “I’d been writing some songs and management wanted some more tunes,” Wells says. “I had this Beatles ditty in my head from The White Album, ‘Cry Baby Cry,’ that’s been stuck in my head all these years. So I just wrote (‘Hold Me Like I’m Leaving’) from that, added a melody, chorus and pre-chorus and wrote the song. The lyrics are a little dramatic, I think.”
In fact, “Hold Me Like I’m Leaving’s” hook line, “I ain’t cut out for love,” came from Foxygen’s “Oh No 2,” which Wells acknowledges he “misheard.” “He goes, ‘I’m not one for love.’ That’s always stuck with me, too,” Wells explains.
Wells, originally an Arkansas native, created Red Trees & White Trashes from an estimated 200 songs he’d written, with a straightforward mission. “I was just trying to make an incredibly authentic rock ‘n’ roll record, which is about all I think I can do,” explains Wells, whose tie to music comes from a grandfather who gave him a new Beatles album for each birthday. “What I do is pretty broad but definitely within classic rock radio. That’s what I grew up. That’s what I listen to. I’ll hear the Lovin’ Spoonful’s ‘Daydream’ and I’ll go, ‘I want to write ‘Daydream’ and go downstairs and write my version of it. That’s how I get all the songs. I’m inspired one tune at a time.”
Red Trees & White Trashes, which producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell) contributed to, features 11 of those creations. And while Welles has heavy touring planned for the fall, Wells, who also works at an East Nashville coffee shop, plans to keep adding to his stockpile of material. “I’ve got songs,” he says, “and I’ll write more. I look down the lane and I don’t see a lot of people in there with me. I’m not trying to bring rock n’ roll back or anything like that. This is just how I talk. This is my musical language, and if you want to have a conversation with me you’re gonna have to listen to some rock n’ roll, I reckon.”
On July 13th, Legacy Recordings, will release Back Roads and Abandoned Motels, the new record from The Jayhawks. This is their 10th studio album from the group, and it focuses on songs that bandleader Gary Louris previously wrote with other artists (along with two new Louris compositions). Recorded in two soulful sessions in 2017, Back Roads and Abandoned Motels finds the current incarnation of The Jayhawks–Louris (vocals, acoustic and electric guitars), Marc Perlman (bass), Tim O’Reagan (vocals, drums, percussion), Karen Grotberg (vocals, piano, keyboards), John Jackson (mandolin, violin, acoustic guitar)–expanding the group’s repertoire with 11 new performances of Gary’s songs. Karen and Tim each sing lead on two songs on the album. Tim performs “Gonna Be a Darkness” and “Long Time Ago” while Karen takes lead vocals (for the first time on a Jayhawks album) on the opener, “Come Cryin’ to Me featuring a soulful horn section.
For more than three decades, The Jayhawks’ deeply melodic, harmony-rich blend of rock, folk and country have earned them consistent praise from fans and critics alike. Back Roads and Abandoned Motels expands the group’s repertoire with brand-new recordings of songs that frontman Gary Louris has co-written with other acts.
The tracks include “Come Cryin’ to Me” (originally released on Natalie Maines’ Mother); “Everybody Knows” and “Bitter End” (released on Dixie Chicks’ Taking The Long Way); “Gonna Be a Darkness” (recorded with JakobDylan for True Blood: Music From The HBO Original Series – Volume 3); “Need You Tonight” (originally released on Scott Thomas’ Matson Tweed); “El Dorado” (originally released on Carrie Rodriguez’ She Ain’t Me); “Bird Never Flies” (originally released on Ari Hest’s The Break-In); and “Long Time Ago” (written with Emerson Hart of Tonic).
Have a listen to latest track “Backwards Women,” which was written with The Wild Feathers but never released on one of that group’s albums. Louris says, “I love the swagger to this song. I met The Wild Feathers out in LA and we banged out two songs in an afternoon, one of which was American which ended up on their eponymous debut of 2013. I always loved the other song Backwards Women which ended up on our new record. The verses are a sort of Faces/Stones 70’s thing and it is fun as hell to sing. I hope the boys like it.”
Eyes of Love’s debut full-length, End of the Game, is out on August. 17th via Wharf Cat Records. “Homeowners,” the record’s opening track, is a wobbly masterpiece of taut, post-punk guitars, pulsing rhythms, and earworm melody. Andrea Schiavelli says: “I wrote the song in my head at 4am walking through downtown Brooklyn on the way home from work as a sound engineer. At the time I was reading a lot of JG Ballard shorts. I was obsessed with the inner state of rocking out that can take whatever external form. Like air guitar or something doesn’t actually have to generate sound to be potent.”
“End of The Game” is the anticipated debut full length by Eyes of Love, a band helmed by Brooklyn songwriter Andrea Schiavelli. Assembling a crew of some of the most skilled musicians in New York’s underground; Lily Konigsberg (Palberta, Lily and Horn Horse), Sammy Weissberg (The Cradle, Sweet Baby Jesus), Paco Cathcart (The Cradle, Shimmer), Schiavelli has cultivated a long player that is obedient to feeling and pulsates with urgent, anxious beauty.
These 14 tracks harness the chaos of reckless abandon amid classic structures. Fans of Eyes of Love’s self titled 7” EP will recognize a mastery of breezy pop in tracks like “Homeowners” and “Players of the Field.” We see the band turn toward experimentation on tracks like “New,” which alternates between driving power pop and percussive breakdown. The lush strings, arranged by Weissberg, on tracks like “Elevator” and “End of The Game” starkly frame Shiavelli’s earnest songs while adding a depth and variation to this albums’ song-cycle, as do the solo piano instrumentals “Piano1 Final” and “New Piano.” The full band tracks on End of The Game were recorded live, have no overdubs and are mixed with little or no effects – a rare technique these days and a sign of a band devoted to the details of their arrangements.
Nearly 50 years ago, in July 1968, The Doors released their third studio album on Elektra Records. Waiting for the Sun yielded the chart-topping hit “Hello, I Love You” and became the band’s first album to top the album chart (not to mention a third platinum certification in under two years’ time). On September 14th, Rhino will reissue Waiting for the Sun in a 2-CD/1-LP book-style box set, including previously unreleased material, following the label’s anniversary reissues of The Doors and Strange Days.
The 2-CD/1-LP box features Bruce Botnick’s remastered version of the original stereo mix on both CD and 180-gram vinyl, plus a disc of 14 previously unreleased tracks including nine rough mixes and five live performances from Copenhagen on September 17th, 1968. Botnick is quoted in the press release, “I prefer some of these rough mixes to the finals, as they represent all of the elements and additional background vocals, different sensibilities on balances, and some intangible roughness, all of which are quite attractive and refreshing.” The complete audio will also be available on digital download and streaming services.
The press release also notes that, “When the Doors recorded Waiting for the Sun in 1968, they were among the first bands to use Dolby A301 noise reduction processors, which was cutting-edge recording tech at the time. Similarly, the most advanced sound recording innovations were used to make the anniversary edition of Waiting for the Sun.
Prior to the box set, however, Rhino will also mark the anniversary of “Hello, I Love You.”The Doors’ second No. 1, it topped the singles chart for two weeks beginning on August 3rd, 1968. On August 3rd of this year, Rhino will release a 7-inch single of “Hello I Love You” and its original B-side, “Love Street,” with the exclusive mono promotional mixes sent out to radio stations. This version of “Hello, I Love You” was released last year on CD as part of The Singles, while the mix of “Love Street” is being issued on this single commercially for the first time.
That’s not all. The Doors only produced one official tour program in the band’s original lifespan, and now that 1968 program is being reprinted. The 24-page booklet designed by Paul Ferrara includes photos of each band member, astrology charts, and more. It’s exclusively available now for order at The Doors’ official webstore. The band has reprinted their original 1968 Doors Concert Program for the first time, which is available exclusively in The Doors Online Store. This was the only official tour program ever created by the band.
Waiting for the Sun: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition arrives from Rhino/Elektra on September 14th, while the Hello, I Love You/Love Street single hits stores on August 3rd.
The Doors, Waiting for the Sun: 50th Anniversary Deluxe EditionRhino/Elektra Records,
Paul Rodgers is returning to where it all began, The legendary rocker, known for his work with Free and then later Bad Company, is celebrating the golden anniversary of Free with a new release, Free Spirit: Celebrating The Music of Free, which was recorded at the historic Royal Albert Hall in London.
Being back at a venue that he has played many times was special to Rodgers. “It was wonderful and received so well. There’s a lot of love for the music, and I was very touched by the response.” In addition to CD/DVD and Blu-ray, and album will be released on a medium that was fashionable when he first recorded with Free some five decades ago – vinyl.
“I have a lot of analog. I think a lot of people do. There are a lot of people that are re-discovering it. I still have a lot of my old records from back in the day. It’s a joy to play things like Junior Wells’ ‘Hoodoo Man Blues,’ and John Mayall & The Blues Breakers “Beano” album with Eric Clapton. There’s a warmth that you can still feel. I do think that the ear detects this on some level.”
The song “All Right Now,” which became the band’s signature tune in 1970, Rodgers says it’s a song that has aged well – but one he actually went for years without playing. “When I left Free back in 1972, I didn’t play ‘All Right Now’ until about 1996, when I was touring with Jason Bonham, and we were supporting the tribute record we had done to Muddy Waters. We got calls from the audience to do the song, and I hadn’t done it in so long. Then, the band started calling for it. So, people were calling for it in front of and behind me. I said ‘Okay. Let’s do it.’ It was so refreshing to play, and it has wound up staying in the set. I am amazed at the song and its longevity.”
Between that iconic song, as well as Bad Company hits like “Feel Like Makin’ Love,”, Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Free, captured in front of a sold out crowd during the Free Spirit “Celebrating the Music of Free” Tour at London’s Royal Albert Hall, Paul Rodgers and band perform Free’s greatest hit “All Right Now”.
Rodgers says that playing the songs of Free on the collection was as refreshing as it ever was – with one of the reasons being some of the songs the band never played in concert before. “A lot of the songs we recorded, we’d put the basic track down, then I’d go write the lyrics in the control room, and I’d put the vocal on it, and walk away. That was it. We never performed it live. There were so many tracks like that – ‘Love You So,’ ‘Catch The Train’ – a lot of these songs we were focused on recording, but we didn’t play any of them live. It’s amazing to play them live now and re-discover them now.”
In a career that has seen many highlights, what are some of the moments that stand out for Rodgers? He doesn’t hesitate.
“When I played with Jimmy Page, he would take a solo, and lift the roof off of the building. You would just pinch yourself that you were witnessing it. There were moments with Queen where I would be surrounded by sixty thousand people, and people would be singing along, and you’d think ‘Wow. Am I really here?’ Then, doing the album at Albert Hall, I stood about ten feet back from the mic because the dynamics of the band were so focused. They could play – and you could hear a pin drop. They had the attention of the audience. I was standing back, and singing ‘Be My Friend,’ and it was also a pinch me moment. To promote the release, Rodgers is taking the music to the people. “We’re getting ready to go on tour with Free Spirit, and Jeff Beck is also going to be on the bill.
While his resume includes stints with some of rock’s greatest groups, there was one band that was interested in his services – but couldn’t find him.
“I didn’t know it at the time, but I did a show with a reformed version of The Doors. They came up to me, and said ‘You might not know this, but when Jim Morrison died, we flew over to England, and were looking for you to join us. But, we couldn’t find you.’ I was gobsmacked. I told them that I was in the country hiding away writing with MickRalphs writing songs for Bad Company. That was really amazing.
Featuring former members of Pyschic Ills and Amen Dunes, Honey are mainstays of Brooklyn’s thriving music culture. Over the past 5 years they have shared the stage with the likes of Dead Moon, J. Mascis, Sheer Mag, The Men, Destruction Unit, and more and have become a household name for everyone fiending for the raw authenticity that, thankfully, can still be found in NYC at the intersection of punk and rock and roll.
Its difficult to not fall out of love – Honey make it clear that even with its ferocious riffs and careening rhythms, New Moody Judy’s message is one of empathy. “Through that front door / I’ll find anything but love” Dan Wise sings from the gut – what person hasn’t experienced the futility of trying to escape from a feeling like that. Equally relatable, if slightly more uplifting, is the message of the album’s first single “Dream Come Now”, an anthem to never giving up on your dreams even when they seem out of reach.
Out September 29th on Wharf Cat Records, HONEY’S sophomore long player New Moody Judy builds on their debut’s “hard edged slice of rock noise” to create an album full of the pummel and swing, rave-ups and comedowns, and ferocious riffs and rhythms previously known only to those who have witnessed the power-trio’s live set. Equal parts concision and brute heaviness, this is the sound of perfect rock and roll music – music that’s always on the edge of spinning out of control.
From the first single, “the pugnacious ‘Dream Come Now’ a barnstormer every bit as fiery as the album artwork” to the tight jam giving way to a thrilling cascade of riffs that fuel the rush of ‘Hungry,’ HONEY give everything to the music on this release to deliver their most sonically diverse effort to date. As thematically cerebral as it is musically visceral, New Moody Judy is one of the rare albums that offers as much brain fodder for the lit majors as it does instant gratification for the guitar-heads.
