Wild Pink only released its self-titled debut a year and some months ago; a sensitively-drawn rock record that could get a little jagged in places. Now, the NYC trio is already back with Yolk in the Fur , with a selection of John Ross‘ songs with the lessons from a year’s experience. Turns out that change is on his mind.
“Lake Erie” certainly carries Wild Pink’s awed wonder, with Ross‘ impressionistic detail to the movement of life (“But it seems like there’s a reason for it all / Why some ancient slime crossed a line / Now there’s a war on all life on earth.”)
“This song is about growing up and moving on and about the struggle to not get caught up in anything that doesn’t really matter. It’s also for the Western New Yorkers in my life,” says Ross .
But where the band might have turned up the distortion to drive a point home before, Wild Pink leans into a softer-hard dynamic with spacious pedal steel and crisp, lively percussion. When Ross breathes his last sigh — “I thought I’d never get out” — the song expands with his exhale.
Wild Pink “Yolk In The Fur” out July 2018 on Tiny Engines
Chicago’s Deeper make wonky post-punk that’s elegantly packaged in bursting riffs, swirling rhythms, and introspective lyrics. They’ve fittingly supported bands like Omni and Protomartyr, and are now set to make their mark with their self-titled debut, out May 25th via label Fire Talk Records. The album’s shimmering opening track, “Pink Showers,” is a beacon of hope in a dark world. According to the band, the song “was conceived through the grid lock of Chicago traffic and the ‘pursuit’ to make your monotonous life meaningful.”
London five-piece Post Louis’ new self-produced track “Stress Fracture” is fuzzy lo-fi washed in a neon purple light, and its forceful, jangly groove is perfect for driving fast or stomping down the street. Frontwoman StephanieDavin’s otherwise confident vocals still allow for tiny cracks of messy emotion; for example, each time she wonders the line “will you come and see me?” her usually rich voice becomes more delicate and airy with every drawn-out repetition.
Compared to their old stuff, there’s a darkness to “Stress Fracture,” a broken, painful energy packed into this new iteration of their classic indie sound. Their art rock influences come through during surges of a scattered sax or a short, dissonant guitar solo.
We wanted Andy’s backing vocal and Alex’s saxophone parts to tumble in out of nowhere, like a car falling off a highway. This song tracks the moment when panic sets in, temperature rises and emergency begins – when something fundamental gives way entirely, whether a bone or a belief.
Listen to “Stress Fracture” below, where you can also hear recent single “Little Jack.”
Unlike any of the Beach House previous albums, 7 has no producer in the traditional sense. Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom (aka Peter Kember) was said to be a driving force behind the album, making sure it was protected against studio over-production and over-development. What we get is a more organic sound from the pop duo, highlighted by single “Dive,” which begins with a bright organ leading into Victoria Legrand’s soft vocals, slowly building into a dynamic climax that picks up with propulsive electric guitars.
7 is the 7th full-length record from Beach House. It marks the start of a new chapter for the band, who’ve been together for over 13 years and had most recently released an album of b-sides and rarities which they they described as “…a good step for us. It helped us clean the creative closet, put the past to bed, and start anew.”
The new album, 7, is about rebirth and rejuvenation for the group, allowing them the opportunity to rethink old methods in the writing and recording processes and shed some self-imposed limitations. They’ve delivered a truly remarkable work of art in this new album and we can’t wait for you all to experience it for yourselves.
The dream pop duo Beach House have released a new video for the song “Dark Spring” another track taken off their 7th album7, which is set to be released via Sub Pop Records on May 11th. The video, directed by Zia Anger is shot in stark black and white, with many of its shots and edits recalling classic film noir movies.
Musically speaking the song is a more uptempo affair, riding a bubbling synth line and an urgent drum pattern. As usual, the icy vocals of Victoria Legrand and the winding guitar work of Alex Scally take center stage, giving the song an epic sense of feel.
“Beach House return with one of their finest records to date, loaded with infectious, immersive melodies… Few can create such dreamy, melancholic yet pop–tinged worlds, as this duo.”
Long Live Vinyl – 8/10
“While still unmistakably the work of Beach House, 7 is arguably their freshest sounding and texturally–rich set since 2010’s breakthrough Teen Dream.” London In Stereo
“More a subtle restyling than a full–on reincarnation, the soft–edged weightlessness, sumptuous tones and gauzy vocals still instantly recognisable on songs such as ‘Woo’ and the drop dead gorgeous ‘Dive’.” Uncut – 7/10
“Vast, hypnotic, beautiful… An exciting and essential album of 2018.” Louder Than War – 8/10
“Beach House have become one of indie’s most dependable acts, and on 7 that continues… ‘Lemon Glow’ is a swirling cocktail of warped, wobbly synths while ‘Dive’ is another highlight, an intoxicating barrage of rollocking drums and guitar barging down the door.” DIY
“Beach House are remarkably consistent, their woozy dream pop always finds a way to take up whichever space it inhabits.” Crack – 7/10
“Dive” is taken from 7, the new full length out May 11th, 2018.
Brooklyn’s Parquet Courts are the rock ‘n’ roll band we deserve in 2018, and “Wide Awake” is a major stylistic stride in the band’s growing discography. On the album’s title track, singer Andrew Savage’s decisive vocals guide a danceable beat in the spirit of David Byrne, with globally minded percussion and bells and whistles galore. Gritty bass lines from Sean Yeaton are crisp and prominent, alongside everything from Afro-beat rhythms to stoner-punk anthems. With production by Danger Mouse, this is some of the most intriguing rock we’ve heard thus far this year.
Parquets Courts‘ fifth album Wide Awake! – produced by Danger Mouse – is a groundbreaking work, an album about independence and individuality but also about collectivity and communitarianism. The songs, written by Andrew Savage and Austin Brown but elevated to even greater heights by the dynamic rhythmic propulsion of Max Savage (drums) and Sean Yeaton (bass), are filled with their traditional punk rock passion, as well as a lyrical tenderness. The record reflects a burgeoning confidence in the band’s exploration of new ideas in a hi-fi context.
From Parquet Courts’ album ‘Wide Awake!’, out 18th May on Rough Trade Records.
Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Joseph Arthur recently formed a new band, Arthur Buck, they released a brand-new video for the second track from the forthcoming album “Are You Electrified?”Arthur Buck will release the self-titled debut album on June 15th via New West Records.
Following their latest track, “I Am The Moment,” their “Are You Electrified?” video sees the duo performing outside on the beach and alongside graffiti-painted walls, with colorful visual effects and flourishes adding to the video and song’s overall trippy feel.
All of the album’s 11 tracks were co-written by the pair and mixed by Tchad Blake (U2, Pearl Jam, The Black Keys). Recorded at Type Foundry Studio in Portland, Ore., the album was produced by Arthur at his studio in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The collaboration came about after the pair met up in Mexico near the end of 2017. Arthur recalled, “My first thought was, ‘Hey, I’ll get Peter to play acoustic guitar on some of the stuff I’m working on!’ So I started showing him songs. But he was like, ‘That’s cool. Now check this out.’ And he started playing chords and whatnot. So I put my guitar down and began singing over his changes, and it was magical. It was easy. And these great songs just started popping out.”
“It was all new songs, and it was spontaneous,” Buck said. “And the great thing about working that way was that it didn’t have to be anything in particular. It was liberated from any expectation. It was free.” Talking about his new bandmate and the album’s lyrics, Buck also added, “Joe is going through that searching period we all go through in life. And those experiences he’s having make this a very forward-looking record, lyrically.”
Matt Hollywood and the Bad Feelings | Deadcuts | New Candys
Phobophobes | Meatraffle | Desert Mountain Tribe | Creatures | The Goa Express DJ sets from Le Crowley (Astral Elevator) & Nicki Allen (Portsmouth Psych Fest)
Early Bird tickets £10.00 (stbf) from Skiddle and See. Doors 6pm – 3am
One of the best spots for new, independent music at SXSW and year around in Austin, Texas — is Cheer Up Charlie’s. Katie Von Schleicher and her guitarist Adam Brisbin stepped away from the frenetic energy of the festival, walked into the makeshift Spire Studio Tour Bus (basically a camper trailer, parked on Cheer Up Charlie’s lot, with brilliant recording gear, amps guitars) and performed the song “Mary.” It’s the quietest song from Katie Von Schleicher’s magnificent 2017 album, S***** Hits.
Katie Von Schleicher said about “Mary.” “I’ve been teaching a songwriting class and it’s funny now to break these things down into craft and intention,” she says , “but I do feel that writing to a person’s name is a really tender practice, one that can unlock kindness and a conversational tone. If speaking to a part of yourself, personifying it, singing warmly, you can spare your faults and self-criticisms by speaking as if to another person [and] maybe even take your own advice. As much as they’re personal, I’m also trying to get close to some of my favorite things, which also include Randy Newman’s ‘Marie’ and Raymond Carver’s short stories (so full of conversation). For me, ‘Mary’ is a place and time rather than a person, childhood and youth and the strange space I’ve found in going back to the house where I grew up in Maryland to make records now.”
Katie Von Schleicher and Adam Brisbin conjured up an oasis in a trailer — a small, gentle moment amidst the chaos and fun of SXSW.
Ola’s Kool Kitchen is a show on KCLA 99.3 FM in Los Angeles, 107.5 andhow.FM, Rock Velvet Radio, Maximum Threshold Radio, Rock Radio UK, Sword Radio UK, Jammerstream One, Kor Radio, Firebrand Radio and Bombshell Radio and you can hear more shows here www.mixcloud.com/olaskoolkitchen/ Show 355
1. Superchunk-I Got Cut-What a Time To Be Alive-Merge
2. Beach House- Dive-7-Sup Pop
3. SONS OF ZÖKU – Mauvaise Foi-single-self release
4. Joseph Wayne Miller – Happy To Be Here-Pacey-self release
5. Jennifer-Rabbit-single-Fins Records
6. The Vaselines-Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam-single-53rd&3rd
7. Perry Zoso – GUADALUPE-single-PZ Head Records
8. The Shacks-Follow Me-single- Big Crown Records
9. VedeTT – It Seems To Be Natural-Losing All-Echo Orange
10. Arthur Greenslade-Watermelon Man-single-Columbia
11. The Tangerine Roof-Back In My Arms-single-Roof Productions
12. The Sorrows-Take a Heart-Take a Heart-Piccadilly
13. Pygmy Lush-Yellow Hall-Old Friends-Lovitt Records
14. The Telescopes-Silent Water-Stone Tape-Yard Press
ILL is a genre-defying band which believes in the power of disobedient noise. With a repertoire of precarious pop songs and frequent improvised departures, ILL revel in the right to be weird, exploring the borders between the funny and the sinister, the personal and the political, the mundane and the surreal.
Formed in Manchester in early 2012, the all-female post-punks ILL have released three EPs along with DIY artwork and music videos. Live performance highlights include “A Disobedient Noise” – an improvised piece at Manchester Art Gallery, Supernormal Festival 2015, Sounds from the Other City (Salford), supporting “riot-goths” Jack off Jill in Manchester, Raw Power Festival 2016, the Quietus Festival at WORM, Rotterdam in 2016 and the Great Escape 2017.
“WE ARE ILL” is OUT NOW on Box Records.
“A wickedly funny/deadly serious explosion of Day-Glo cartoon punk energy, fierce feminism, troglodyte garage stomp and mutant surfabilly electronics. It’s hard to pick highlights on an album which is all highlights.”
(NARC. magazine)
Recorded over 18 months in the crumbling mills of Ancoats, Manchester, the album captures ILL’s legendary live energy. Immediate, raw and spontaneous, from art-pop bangers like Stuck On A Loop to improvised departures from structure like Slithering Lizards, it drops you right into the basement of a disreputable house party.
Subversive, surrealistic, humorous and fighting fierce, ILL warmly invite you to join them in kicking some ass!
“Grotty, wild, weird, frenzied music… fiercely political.” – The Guardian
“Mancunian four-piece ILL bring a welcome female, wonky wooze to the mix.” – Wire
“There is an intoxicating energy about ILL. Their riveting post-punk sound pulses with wrath and defiance…a set list buzzing with kinetic force.” – The Quietus
