The BREEDERS – ” 4AD Records Reissue The Albums On Vinyl “

Posted: April 26, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, people on stage

Earlier this year, record label 4AD announced the long awaited release of The Breeders‘ fifth album ‘All Nerve’, out on 2nd March. It’s an album five years in the making, with work beginning after a string of shows to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their second album ‘Last Splash’. Since this is their first album release in 10 years, and marks the reunion of the ‘Last Splash’ lineup of Kim and Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim MacPherson,

The Breeders‘ first four albums will be reissued on vinyl by 4AD next month. All of the Breeders’ previous albums  Pod, Last Splash, Title TK, and Mountain Battles – will be re-issued on vinyl on 18th May.

With their new album All Nerve released last month, The Breeders have now confirmed plans to reissue their first four albums on vinyl . The reissues will arrive via 4AD, with their debut Pod from 1990, 1993’s Last Splash, Title TK from 2002 and their last album before their extended hiatus, 2008’s Mountain Battles all the subject of the reissue plans.

The band will play a handful of shows in the UK and Ireland in late May folllowing the release of the reissues taking in dates in Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Leeds and London, before returning for a further few shows in July.

The Breeders continue to tour their latest album All Nerve with further European dates announced for November.  The group will also play two shows before FYF Festival in July.  Currently on the road in North America,

Pod

Pod,

The 1990 debut featuring the line-up of Pixie’s Kim Deal, Throwing Muses’ Tanya Donelly, the Perfect Disaster’s Josephine Wiggs and Slint’s Britt Walford, was recorded by Steve Albini.  Kurt Cobain listed the record as one of his top three favourite albums saying, “the way they structure [the songs] is totally unique.”  Critically acclaimed when it came out, Pod’s legacy lives on It was “blissful mindfuck of a record,” and ranked it in their Best Albums of the 90s.

Back in 1989, and with tension mounting in the Pixies between Kim Deal and Black Francis, The Breeders‘ first demo’s were recorded between Kim and Throwing Muse‘s Tanya Donnelly after they met while touring together in their respective bands. This would lead to the release of debut album ‘Pod’ in 1990, an album which would receive critical acclaim from the music press. It’s rough, visceral, owing largely down to the simplistic production which allows the attitude with which the band play their instruments to carry through the record. No where is this more apparent than on the incredibly original interpretation of The Beatles‘ ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun’, a track injected with attitude here. The true strength of this album is in listening to it as a collective whole, as each song lends something to the experience. Their best was yet to come however…

Last Splash,

Recorded in 1993 by what is now regarded as the ‘classic’ Breeders line-up of Kim and Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim Macpherson.  Including the twisted pop singles ‘Cannonball’ and ‘Divine Hammer’, it has become one of the defining albums of the 90s.

What else? The Breeders‘ quintessential 1993 album ‘Last Splash’ followed on from the warped and jagged ‘Pod’ by throwing caution to the wind, producing an erratic, distorted, and yet intensely textured masterpiece of 90’s alt-rock. The results of their almost sarcastic jab at the crossover between chart success and the alt-rock/grunge movement landed Kim and the band with unexpected commercial success; ‘Last Splash’ would eventually go platinum in the United States, and lead single ‘Cannonball’ filled dance floor’s up and down the country. While ‘Cannonball’ is still their most recognisable song, ‘Last Splash’ delivers throughout, taking a number of detours along the way; ‘Invisible Man’, with it’s grinding, hazy guitar hooks and string arrangement; ‘Do You Love Me Now?’, with it’s brooding, chugging guitar in ode to feeling lovesick; and ‘Flipside’, a sub 2 minute instrumental blast of sheer joy, with a playful guitar line and copious amounts of cymbal smashing. ‘Last Splash’ presents The Breeders at their best; inventive, eccentric, effortlessly cool, and full of a vigour lost among the grunge crossover bands of the early 90’s.

Title Tk [Explicit]

Title TK

2002’s Title TK saw the band work with Steve Albini once more, with the Guardian saying it was “a welcome return to punky pop that knows how to flex some melodic muscle.”  The album has been out of print on vinyl since its release. Ending a 9 year hiatus, The Breeders came back in 2002 with ‘Title TK’, a tuneful yet melancholy and skeletal album at odds with their previous work. It drifts between different tones seemingly on a track by track basis, a little unsettled and unsure of itself, yet there are moments here of brooding which are reminiscent of early work by PJ Harvey; in the dark punk sounds of ‘Little Fury’ and ‘Son Of Three’, and in the soft ballad ‘Off You’.

On release, critics weren’t as enthralled with ‘Title TK’ as they had been with previous album ‘Last Splash’, lamenting the albums lack of creative flare and citing an unoriginal re-recording of ‘Full On Idle’ (originally recorded by Kim Deal’s other side project The Amps) as evidence of this. Retrospective listeners, however, have noted that ‘Title TK’ works more under the pretext of a concept album; a record about the absence of things, or about losing things and making do in order to move forward.

Mountain Battles

Fourth album Mountain Battles, a perfectly formed album of 13 miniatures in 36 minutes engineered by Steve Albini, was originally released in 2008.  Like Title TK before it, Mountain Battles has been out of print since its release.

Another gap followed the release of ‘Title TK’ before The Breeders were ready to release their most recent album ‘Mountain Battles’. With a more stable lineup this time around, ‘Mountain Battles’ sees progression from ‘Title TK’ in terms of attitude; it’s more optimistic, defiantly so, and finds the band willing to return to throwing in tracks from left field. ‘Istanbul’ is an understated eastern-style chant, while ‘Regalame Este Noche’ provides a hint of Spanish slow-dance to the proceedings. Although it takes a little time to warm up, ‘Mountain Battles’ is a largely successful return to the spiky, inventive sound The Breeder‘s had used so effectively during their earlier years.

All Nerve

All Nerve

The Breeders’ fifth studio album, saw the iconic line-up of Kim and Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim Macpherson reunite for the first time since the release of the platinum-selling album Last Splash. Released earlier this year, critics and fans welcomed them back with open arms and they scored their highest chart positions – including top 10 in the UK – in 25 years.

The Breeders - New European Tour Dates, Back Catalogue Vinyl Reissues

JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD – ” Live On KEXP “

Posted: April 26, 2018 in MUSIC
Tags: , ,
0

Image may contain: 1 person, smiling, stripes

If you are familiar with Jessica Lea Mayfield’s then you should need no incentive to check out her new album – it is quite possibly her best yet, combining all that is great about her previous recordings and even venturing into some lighter poppier territory than she has previously. Don’t let that fool you though, as this album features some of her darkest and most personal music, written as it was in both the aftermath and the full force of an abusive relationship. Mayfield has always been an incredible lyricist, with a twisted and unique world view that I suspect stems from her unorthodox upbringing. Never one to filter, here she hits home on track after track.

Many of the songs still feature “Make My Head Sing’s” grunge-tastic sound (Sonic Youth producer John Agnello and drummer Steve Shelley no doubt helping in that regard). “Wish You Could See Me Know” and “Meadow” rock out as if the 90s had never been away.

Jessica Lee Mayfield performing live in the KEXP studio. Recorded February 2nd, 2018.

Songs: Wish You Could See Me Now,  Offa My Hands,  Meadow, Sorry Is Gone

HATCHIE – ” Sleep “

Posted: April 26, 2018 in MUSIC
Tags: , , , ,
0

Image may contain: 1 person

With her debut UK live shows just days away, Brisbane newcomer Hatchie has shared a fourth track and accompanying video from her debut EP, ‘Sugar & Spice’, which comes out on May 25th via Heavenly Recordings.

The new track, ‘Sleep‘, continues to delve into Harriette Pilbeam’s introspective world where daydreams meet a shimmering soundtrack of bright synths, jangling guitars and deliciously bittersweet vocals, we are big fans: “Sleep is about feeling frustrated with someone who can’t communicate their feelings,” she explains. “In this song I’m trying to coax someone into talking to me by any means necessary, even if it means visiting me in dreams.”

On the accompanying video she comments: “We decided to play on the idea that I’m trying to get someone to communicate with me in their sleep. We made a bunch of dreamy sets to focus on, like I’m talking to them in their dreams. At some points I’m really serious, at other points I’m almost teasing them because I’m so over trying to get them to talk.”

Speaking of the EP, Pilbeam says: “After writing music that never felt cohesive or special enough to warrant its own venture, ‘Try’ marked a shift in my writing style I wasn’t expecting. I wrote it in early 2015, followed quickly by ‘Sleep’ and ‘Sugar & Spice’. They were written more for myself than for a specific project, in an effort to explore feelings of vulnerability and ecstasy I had previously suppressed. I wanted these songs to sound lush, sparkly, and recreate euphoric feelings I experienced falling in love for the first time. I reworked my demos with Joe Agius, whose production and writing additions achieved the perfect sound I was searching for, giving me confidence to start taking the songs more seriously and continue writing.

The songs on ‘Sugar & Spice’ were all written without much thought or pressure from myself or anyone else, allowing me to lay my feelings out like I’ve never done before. Joe & producer John Castle helped shape the sound you can hear in each track, bringing life to each song in its own special way.”

The release comes hot off the back of a remarkable nine months for Hatchie. After signing to Ivy League Records for Australia/New Zealand, Heavenly Recordings for UK/Europe and Double Double Whammy/Polyvinyl for North America, and recent performances at SXSW, the international demand will see Hatchie embark on a huge run of shows. The UK leg in May will take in festivals such as Live at Leeds, Liverpool Sound City and The Great Escape as well as a string of London shows.

‘Sugar & Spice’ EP track list:
1. Sure (official video | Robin Guthrie remix)
2. Sleep (official video)
3. Sugar & Spice (official video)
4. Try (official video)
5. Bad Guy

LEVITATION FRANCE 21st -22nd September 2018

Posted: April 26, 2018 in FESTIVALS, MUSIC
Tags: , ,
0

The 6th edition of LEVITATION FRANCE will take place on 21st & 22nd September 2018 at the Théâtre Le Quai in downtown Angers, France.

Thanks to its location in the city center of Angers, Le Quai allows the festival LEVITATION to settle on the edge of Maine and facing the castle. Angers is located about 300 kilometers southwest of Paris on the banks of the Maine. Its universities, museums and cultural activity make it an important cultural center.

This capital of Anjou has a rich history including many historic buildings such as the castle of the Dukes of Anjou (which houses the wall hanging of the Apocalypse) or the magnificent Saint-Maurice cathedral overlooking the city. Angers is also famous for its gastronomy with many local specialties and of course for its wine, the city being located in the heart of the wine region of Anjou.

You can easily move around the city which is very welcoming. Renowned for its mild climate, the sun is often present in September. The festival starts every day at the end of the afternoon, which gives the festivalgoers time to discover the city.
The festival is part of the twinning exchanges between Angers and Austin.

For the event the Quai will be transformed with a scene installed in the Forum. The projections will dress this large space during the concerts. Next door, outside the building, there will be a first bar and restaurant area. Another outdoor area with bars and foodtrucks is planned closer to the small stage, installed in the T400.

LEVITATION FRANCE  concerts will start in the afternoon and end each evening around 2am. We will announce the schedules day by day before the festival.

BEECHWOOD – ” This Time Around “

Posted: April 26, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
Tags: ,
0

Built around a cold wave of shimmering guitars and wails, “This Time Around” pulls from the sinister aesthetic of first wave goth and the mid-70s nihilism of Bowie and Lou Reed in equal measures. Fittingly, images of war and chaos are layered on top of these nasty vibes, suggesting that the terror of the past may very well be right around the corner.

Beechwood’s Larence said, “There is a certain driving force or intensity in “This Time Around” that (in my mind) is met with images of conquering armies, cities burning, a sort of Wagnerian Götterdämmerung. We even recorded ourselves in combat boots marching in place on a tiled floor to enhance the effect in the song. It’s claustrophobic, paranoid, destructive, but also– in a way it’s therapeutic. There is a certain freedom in the knowledge that any day it can all be over. The use of historical/pop-culture references illustrates this sense of impending doom. I have no doubt that humanity will one day do itself in for good, and what more damning evidence does one need than our own recent history?”

Live footage shot by Nika De Carlo, Lola Young, and Jen Dessinger. Edited by Gordon Lawrence. Taken from the album “Songs From The Land Of Nod” : http://www.alive-records.com

JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE – ” The L.A Forum Concert “

Posted: April 26, 2018 in MUSIC
Tags: , , ,
0

Originally included as part of the 1990 Lifelines box set, an intriguing if ultimately frustrating collection of interviews and previously unreleased live/studio recordings first broadcast on radio in 1989 (many tracks either fade out too quickly or are marred by voice overs), The L.A. Forum Concert remains the most complete, official release yet of The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s performance on 26th April, 1969 to date.

The show was professionally recorded by Wally Heider, and put aside for a potential live album Jimi’s manager Mike Jeffrey was considering. Despite some early mixes prepared by Eddie Kramer, the project was abandoned and the tapes shelved for future posterity.

In the ensuing months, Jimi’s music continued to rapidly evolve, meaning that any possibility of a definitive live document appeared increasingly unlikely. However if some of what was recorded that night had of found its way into the hands of Jimi’s millions of fans, one wonders what they might have thought, considering that Hendrix was no longer interested in replicating his usual stage act, one made famous thanks to his blistering set at The Monterey Pop Festival some two years earlier.

Hendrix was maturing, and his show, as superbly captured here, is testament to his growth as a musician and composer. After a brief introduction, Hendrix, Noel Redding (bass) and Mitch Mitchell (drums), kick things off with a heavily extended (and largely improvised) rendition of Hansson & Carlsson’s “Tax Free,” something which few in the audience would have expected .

Unlike the studio version first heard on 1972’s War Heroes LP, here Hendrix goes on to explore just about every psychedelic nook and cranny he can find, going for bust in the process. Remember, Woodstock was but a mere four months away, and while Hendrix had improvised on stage before, “Tax Free” clearly offered him the opportunity to stretch out with the kind of instrumental freedom he was no doubt already striving for.

“Red House” is another exploratory performance, and one which has oft been described as one of his best. Here he takes what is essentially a 12 bar blues, and transforms it into an exciting, instrumental extravaganza. At this point Hendrix had already been jamming with the likes of John McLaughlin and Dave Holland, two musicians who would play an important role in the proto-jazz-fusion movement that was about to occur later that same year, so it should therefore come as no surprise that Hendrix was keen on pushing a few boundaries of his own.

A powerful, Flamenco-inspired “Spanish Castle Magic” hints at some of the improvised majesty Jimi would later display at the Woodstock Festival in August, while “Star Spangled Banner” and “Purple Haze” manage to whip the audience into a frenzy (based on the response of the crowd as preserved on the original multi-track tapes). In spite of all the tension between himself and Redding (the bassist would quit the group at the end of their American tour in June), the band were still capable of putting on an impressive show.

“I Don’t Live Today” is given a muscular workout, followed by a raucous “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” (Hendrix included a version of Cream’s “Sunshine Of Your Love” in between just for good measure), played while the crowd attempted to storm the front of the stage, forcing police to form a barricade between the musicians and audience members.

Live At The L.A. Forum, like many similar releases, provides the modern day listener with a unique opportunity to at least hear, and hopefully get close to some idea as to the reasons why Hendrix was so important to so many people. In the late ‘60s, a rock concert was more than just about the music; it was an event, and an important one at that.

thanks moonunderwater

GRATEFUL DEAD – ” Anthem of the Sun ” 50th Anniversary Reissue

Posted: April 26, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
Tags: ,
0

As part of the band’s ongoing 50th anniversary series, the Grateful Dead will release a two-CD deluxe edition and a special picture disc vinyl edition of Anthem of the Sun on July 13th.

The album combines studio cuts and live recordings of early Dead favorites like “Alligator” and the two-disc package (mastered by Grammy winner David Glasser) includes two versions of Anthem, one “from the original 1968 mix,” and the other from the “more well-known 1971 mix.” The vinyl version (limited to just 10,000 copies) will just include the 1971 mix.

The Anthem of the Sun 50th anniversary double CD edition also includes a previously unreleased live show recorded on 22nd October 1967 at Winterland in San Francisco. This audio has been newly remastered by Jeffrey Norman, and this is the first known recording of the Grateful Dead with Mickey Hart, who joined the band in September 1967

“This is one the most thrilling albums the Grateful Dead ever produced, mixing portions of live recordings from the first six months of Mickey’s tenure with the band, along with studio experimentations that would hint at where the Dead would go when they started recording to 16-track tape the following year,” Grateful Dead archivist and producer David Lemieux said in a statement.

“This is one the most thrilling albums the Grateful Dead ever produced, mixing portions of live recordings from the first six months of Mickey’s tenure with the band, along with studio experimentations that would hint at where the Dead would go when they started recording to 16-track tape the following year,”

“The 1971 remix, produced in order to make the album more accessible to the newer fans who were brought on board with Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty, has been the most commonly heard version for the past 45+ years. However, having this side-by-side with the original 1968 mix demonstrates countless differences, with the original mix being more primal, psychedelic, and experimental.”

The two CD edition of Anthem of the Sun

The ROLLING STONES _ ” The Studio Albums Vinyl Collection 1971-2006 ” Box Set

Posted: April 26, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

The Rolling Stones / The Studio Albums Vinyl Collection 1971-2016

20 vinyl LPs • half-speed remastered • includes hi-res downloads

Universal Music will issue The Studio Albums Vinyl Collection 1971-2006, a lavish Rolling Stones vinyl box set in June.
This 20LP collection covers 15 studio albums, starting with 1971’s Sticky Fingers and ending with 2016’s Blue & Lonesome.  Every album has been remastered and cut at half-speed at Abbey Road Studios, from “vinyl specific” original tape transfers. The records are pressed on 180g vinyl and each album comes with a download card for “HD digital redemption” of the catalogue. 15 studio albums on 180g heavyweight vinyl. Remastered and cut at half speed in Abbey Road studios. From Sticky Fingers – which includes fan favourites Brown Sugar, Wild Horses and Dead Flowers – to the renowned Exile On Main Street, which is featured on various lists as one of the greatest albums of all time! This release contains every album in between, right up to the very latest Grammy-Award winning Blue & Lonesome.

Housed in a highly bespoke box-set that gives the illusion of a 3D colour changing tongue, the product is individually numbered, with original detailed packaging replications, from the Andy Warhol design with working zip on Sticky Fingers, to the colourful and charismatic Some Girls cut out cover! 

This collector’s item features every studio album release since 1971, all of which are cut at half speed, ensuring these are among the highest quality vinyl pressings that these classic albums will have ever received, creating an incredible sound quality for the listener.  

Described as a ‘limited edition box set’, The Studio Albums Vinyl Collection comes with a numbered certificate of authentication and is presented in a “highly bespoke, lenticular mounted box”. The original packaging has been replicated, so Some Girls includes the 20 cut-outs on the cover, while the sleeve of Sticky Fingers is presented as Andy Warhol’s original design, complete with a working zip with a hidden image underneath and Exile On Main Street comes with a set of 12 original postcard inserts.

The Studio Albums Vinyl Collection 1971-2006 is released on 15th June 2018.

The Rolling Stones Vinyl Box Set

FORTH WANDERERS – ” Forth Wanderers “

Posted: April 25, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
0

Forth Wanderers know how to open an album. The band’s latest album begins with vocalist Ava Trilling boldly declaring, “I am the one you think of when you’re with her”, on their previous album, 2014’s Tough Love, the first words she hums, over solemn guitar harmonics, are “I want to be known as the girl who’s stone cold.”

“I’m still not known as that—it’s still a desire,” she says along with band members Forth Wanderers guitarists Duke Greene and Ben Guterl, the latter of whom is the band’s primary instrumental songwriter. They headlined recently at famous venue Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn there shortly after releasing Slop via Father/Daughter Records, and they’ve opened there for their mutual high school idol, (Sandy) Alex G (later, when Trilling shows me a video of her eight-month-old German Shepherd , “Proud” is playing in the background). It was back in high school that shared musical passions and live music brought Forth Wanderers together; after high school, the band recorded Tough Love just before all its members except Trilling, the youngest, left for college.

One might have expected the physical separation that college can cause—not to mention the emotional maturing it usually brings—to take a toll on the band’s first full-length, written across this distance. Instead, it’s made them tighter. As Trilling tells it, the process of writing Forth Wanderers “was the exact same thing” as with all their previous releases. If anything, the separation only enhanced the band’s charms: Trilling’s featherlight, melancholy singing and radically open-hearted lyrics; Guterl’s gradually unfurling guitar lines, which notably focus more on piercing single notes than on chords; guitarist Duke Greene, bassist Noah Schifrin, and drummer Zach Lorelli’s magical ability to transform Guterl and Trilling’s foundation into mid-tempo rock songs equal parts muscular and downtrodden.

“We never had the relationship where we would sit down and make the song together,” Trilling says. Their songs have always been Internet-born; Forth Wanderers began when Guterl, as Trilling recalls it with a hearty laugh, “kinda slid into my DMs” with a guitar demo. Greene and Guterl laugh, too, suggesting this is a story they recount often. “I shot my shot,” Guterl adds to even more laughter. Trilling then recalls sending a vocal track back to him without his prompting. “I blew his mind,” she jokes, the whole group still cracking up.

It’s clear that, if anything, Forth Wanderers are a strong bunch of friends as bandmates. Trilling, Guterl, and Greene are elated to be, for once, in the same room (“We’re the only friends we have,” Guterl, certainly the most wry and excitable of the three, jokes). These days, their time together is limited: The band had to record Forth Wanderers in just five days, which they did in their close friend Cameron Konner’s Philadelphia home studio.

Not that the band needs much time to perfect its music (in fact, they’d originally reserved two days with Konner). A Forth Wanderers song comes together in many rooms, with no pressures regarding time. On Forth Wanderers, a particularly impressive result of this freeform approach is Trilling’s increasingly confident melodies and lyrics, which she writes at home, alone. “Taste,” her favorite of the new songs, is exceptionally vulnerable. As she describes it, the “narcissistic and petty” viewpoint of “Nevermine” is riveting. And she’s so assertive on “Saunter” that it’s impossible not to root for her.

“After I write [lyrics], it’s therapeutic,” she says, “because I look back and I’m like, ‘Oh shit, that’s how I’m feeling. I had no idea.’” Even across state lines, Forth Wanderers is a space for all its members to relieve their stresses. “Our relationships are all stronger now, because we have this goal that’s really unique,” Guterl says. “We’re like a family in every sense of the word. We fight and work shit out. It’s the good and bad parts of being in a family.”

Band Members:

Ava Trilling (vocals), Ben Guterl (guitar), Zach Lorelli (drums), Duke Greene (guitar), Noah Schifrin (bass)

PLLUSH – ” Ortega / Shannon “

Posted: April 25, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
0

Image may contain: 4 people, people standing and sunglasses

When first arriving on the Bay Area music scene in late 2014, Pllush made a dent with a powerful set of tracks that fit nicely within the rising wave of shoegaze/dream pop revival bands at the time. However, due to an undeniable songwriting prowess that extends far beyond convoluted pedal-board setups or louder amps, Pllush had elevated themselves into a league of sonic mastery, not dissimilar from obvious touchstone influences (i.e. Mazzy Star, Slowdive, Portishead). The quartet’s second batch of songs, Please, furthered their growing following and replaced their initial gravitation towards maxed-out guitars and splashed cymbals with an eerie, groove-filled bent, channeling Drop Nineteens at their most tender, and imbuing Grass Widow-esque layers of harmony into songs already dense with melody.

As the world around the band has changed in the interim between releases, they have followed suit- they added an “L” to the name, and undergone the whirlwinds of personal flux that naturally occur in such extended periods of time. But rest assured: the only dynamic of the band that has changed is by each member doubling down into the personal qualities that made this group so special in the first place. Which brings us to the year 2018, and the release of Pllush’s debut LP, Stranger to the Pain. 

Whereas on earlier releases, singer/guitarist Karli Helm merely teased her abilities as a singer, here she fully embraces her natural pop-tinged mastery of the human voice, on standouts like “Restart”, pushing the boundaries of the Rock and Roll genre while layering dizzying harmonies over an instrumental track that Built to Spill would kick themselves for not thinking of first. Meanwhile, Eva Treadway provides a perfect foil with an effortlessly cool approach to laying her sometimes light-hearted (“Ortega”) and frequently heartbreaking (“Fallout”) lyrics over her more driving style of guitar playing, as indebted to Slanted and Enchanted era Pavement as it is to the best work of The Donnas, seamlessly working clanging guitar abrasion into pop gems. Dylan Lockey and Sinclair Riley fill out the rhythm section on drums and bass, respectively, with Lockey’s snap-tight precision guiding the mood and tempo of the record (i.e. highlights such as “3:45”), and Riley’s complex bass work constructing a rich and deeply melodic backbone for Helm and Treadway to build upon. Stranger to the Pain is the kind of record that reintroduces a band whose previous catalog stands assuredly on its own as a new and fresh face- and like a conversation with an old friend, once it’s over, you will want to restart.

 

San Francisco’s Pllush will release their debut album, Stranger to the Pain, on June 8th, 2018. Listen to the track “Ortega” which the band calls “an honest reflection on growing up.“Stranger to the Pain” will be available on Oxblood + Bone Half & Half (limited to 300) and Bone (limited to 300) vinyl. Both variants come with a full color, double-sided insert, download card, and exclusive postcard illustrated by artist, Faye Orlove.

Stranger to the Pain out June 8th, 2018.

Image may contain: 4 people

Older Entries
Newer Entries