The Fat Angel Sings

Ecstatic Peace Library are thrilled to announce Linger On by Velvets-obsessed music journalist Ignacio Julià.

This sumptuous new volume features interviews with Lou Reed, John Cale, Moe Tucker, Doug Yule, Nico and the most in-depth interviews ever granted by Sterling Morrison, as well as never-before-published photographs by James Hamilton.The book will be launched on the occasion of Sterling Morrison’s 80th birthday, this August 29th inside the historic and legendary Oak Room of The Algonquin Hotel in New York City with an exhibition of James Hamilton’s unseen portraits of The Velvet Underground curated by Willis Loughhead with Ecstatic Peace Library.

The author of Linger On is an internationally respected and trusted Velvet Underground chronicler; he is the Barcelona-based rock n roll editor Ignacio Julià, who also published books in Spanish and English on American post-punk band Sonic Youth. When members of The Velvet Underground toured in Spain Ruta 66 journalist Ignacio Julià was usually among their entourage, front row centre at curtain call, backstage after the gig, in attendance of afterparties and sometimes discovered in the band’s hotel rooms until lobby call.

Since 1985 Ignacio Julià has obsessively followed the band’s career, interviewing and wining and dining the members over the years, and publishing countless articles, intimate profiles and books in Spanish and English on The Velvet Underground. He is known among international Velvets fan clubs as one of the most dedicated chroniclers and archivists of studio bootlegs, live concert recordings, writings and poetry to the extent that even the band’s own members refer to his knowledge for fact-checking purposes.

The War on Drugs have announced a new limited edition deluxe box set of their most recent album, last year’s “I Don’t Live Here Anymore”. It includes the album on 2LP x 180g vinyl and cassette, a 16-page booklet with previously unseen photos, postcards with photos taken during recording, a poster, an exclusive embroidered patch, and a 7″ single with two unreleased songs: “Oceans of Darkness” and “Slow Ghost.” Both songs have been featured in the band’s live set lists over the last few years, but this will be the first release of studio versions.

The box set is limited to 5000 copies worldwide, and due out on September 30th via Atlantic Records. You can watch frontman Adam Granduciel unbox it with his long time guitar tech, stage manager, and co-art director Dominic East , along with live versions of “Oceans of Darkness” and “Slow Ghost.”

Despite spending most of the last decade living, working, and nurturing their craft in the city of Philadelphia, Shannen Moser’s sound remains rooted in their upbringing in rural Pennsylvania. Tributes to the pastoral hillsides of Berks County echo through their music, evoking images of learning to sing along to Townes Van Zandt in the passenger seat of their dad’s pickup or along with the Sacred Harp choirs in Quaker meeting halls. In 2014 Moser packed up their roots, along with influences from freak-folk artists like Joanna Newsom and early Animal Collective and moved to Philadelphia to focus on recording and performing. Those privy to these performances and recordings quickly became captivated by a sound that was both haunting and infectious, showing promises of song writing genius and a powerful voice.  

Over the last half decade they have continued to develop and refine that voice. Now, on the verge of releasing their third full-length record, Shannen Moser is hitting their stride as a musician and a writer. They’ve shared the stage and toured with acts such as John K Samson, Kevin Devine, and Manchester Orchestra, and moved audiences all over North America with their profound ability to conjure emotion.

The latest single from Shannen Moser’s new album “The Sun Still Seems to Move” is the tender, folky “Ben,” which Shannen says is their “favourite on the record and I really love playing it for people live.”

Shannen Moser from the album ‘The Sun Still Seems To Move’, out September 30th on Lame-O Records.

“Drift” is their fifth album, and first in four years, after 2018’s “Wait for Love” from Baltimore post-hardcore quintet Pianos Become the Teeth. A far cry from their explosive screamo origins, the LP is proof of the sonic transformation the band have embraced over the years, as even “Drift’s” occasional flares of aggression are swathed in a darkly dreamy post-rock hum—“We are not who we used to be,” Kyle Durfey chants on the celestial “Mouth,” as if to underscore the point. This continued growth is in spite of Pianos Become the Teeth’s reunion with producer Kyle Bernsten (Pig Destroyer, Integrity), who worked on their first two albums—the album’s production is critical to its effect, with complicated textures further enriching the band’s dynamic performances.

Durfey specifically encourages listeners to spin “Drift” from start to finish, describing the album as “a journey” best experienced as “one piece,” rather than a cobbled-together collection of tracks. It’s easy to see what he means: The record earns its title, with the band’s unusual arrangements keeping the listener off balance, opening them up to the deceptively powerful emotional punch it packs.

Further distancing themselves from their contemporaries, “Drift” is different from previous albums, while being instantly recognizable as Pianos. If you were unsure of “Drift” after hearing Skiv, start again. It makes a whole helluva lot more sense in the context of an album.

“Genevieve” by Pianos Become The Teeth from the album ‘Drift’, available now