The Fat Angel Sings

The sophomore effort from Canadian post-classic-rock pair Partner was characterized by the kind of resilience that’s proven essential in 2020, not to mention more than a little much-needed fun. “Never Give Up”, the follow-up to the duo’s Polaris Music Prize-nominated 2017 debut “In Search of Lost Time”, doubles down on their flair for waggish rock ‘n’ roll theatrics, The band now have a new album for release in October “Time Is A Car” Partner is the “mature” effort of two best friends named Josée Caron and Lucy Niles. Together, with Rock as their trusty guide, they explore a variety of themes in an attempt to understand the meaning of life.

Lucy and Josée formed the band Partner in the spring of 2014. They were looking to experiment with genre, discuss being gay, and share some jokes and ideas. Their objective has remained the same over the past six years, although in that time their sound has shifted considerably.

Their debut album “In Search of Lost Time” (2017) made an impact with its big guitars and polished sound. The record, mixed by Chris Shaw (Ween, Bob Dylan, Cheap Trick), landed a spot on NPR’s All Songs Considered, along with Stereogum, Noisey, Exclaim, CBC Music, Indie 88 and many more best of 2017 lists. The album was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize, and Partner were the recipients of the SOCAN songwriting prize for their song “Play the Field”.

bringing Lucy Niles and Josée Caron’s charming interplay to the forefront, and writing party-starting joy large with each raucous guitar solo. Partner are an easy band to root for, and a testament to just how alive and well rock continues to be.

“Never Give Up” was written in rehearsal spaces, in the band’s bedrooms, in a condo, in friends’ and strangers’ houses, Air BnBs, in a cafe and on Josée’s couch and in the studio, and in the booth. “We talked. We were honest with each other and honest with ourselves. Sometimes it was a lot. And when it got to be almost too much we would repeat to each other, first as a joke and then not as a joke at all, “never give up”.”

“Time Is A Car” is set for release October 7th, 2022

Dummy follows up their debut LP “Mandatory Enjoyment” with two songs for the Sub Pop Singles Club. The A-Side, “Mono Retriever” is a baroque-drone-pop rager that imagines what a punk Free Design song might sound like. The lyrics criticize the corporate greenwashing and dishonesty at the root of ecological devastation. On the B-Side, “Pepsi Vacuum” the band experiments with sampling and digital editing, taking inspiration from 90’s ambient and chill-out music. As a lyrical counterpoint, “Pepsi Vacuum” is about the spirituality of nature; the powerful feeling of universality and connection, down to the molecular level.

The two songs function as mirrors, referencing the other musically, and both sharing oceanic lyrical themes.

released June 10th, 2022

© 2022 Sub Pop Records

We are excited to announce “Dumb” EPs, a vinyl-only compilation of the first two EPs by Los Angeles based band Dummy, which will be released via Sonic Cathedral on September 2nd.

After a tip-off from our friend Matt Wilkinson, we bought the “Dummy” EP from Bandcamp after its release by Maryland punk label Pop Wig back in May 2020 and then the follow-up, “EP2“, which came out in November of the same year via Chicago’s Born Yesterday Records. It was also through one of the band’s regular Bandcamp updates that we first heard Horsegirl and went on to release their first 7” single. Everything is connected.

Compiled together, the 11 tracks from the two EPs manage to show off all of the band’s broad range of influences – from Stereolab-style drone-pop to baroque psych, chamber folk, noisy shoegaze and Japanese ambient and new age – which have made them one of the most exciting new bands to come out of the US for years.

Anyway, since we agreed to give the previously tape and digital-only EPs their first outing on vinyl, the band went on to record their debut album, “Mandatory Enjoyment”, which came out via Trouble In Mind and was one of the finest releases of 2021 and they’ve just put out the excellent single ‘Mono Retriever’ through the Sub Pop Singles Club.

“We remain super proud of these EPs,” says the band’s Joe Trainor. “They were mostly self-recorded, and we were still discovering our sound and each other as a group. “Mandatory Enjoyment” wouldn’t sound the way it sounded if it weren’t for all the time and trial and error we spent on the EPs.”

“Dummy has all the makings of a modern cult band” – Pitchfork

“Purveyors of absolutely blissful drone-pop” Post-Trash

“Like a scrappy, punch-drunk Stereolab or a blissed out, mantra-hypnotized Wire” – Aquarium Drunkard

Dummy are currently making waves touring the US with Horsegirl and Lifeguard and caused an inexplicable Twitter storm thanks to a Bandcamp tour diary by Mariana Timony where they shared their views on the importance of the music community and DIY culture.

After previous cancellations, they are “extremely hyped” to finally be playing the following UK tour dates in September :

September 20 – London, UK – Studio 9294
September 21 – Bristol, UK – The Lanes
September 22 – Brighton, UK – Komedia
September 23 – Leeds, UK – Headrow House
September 24 – Manchester, UK – YES

The 11 tracks have been especially remastered for vinyl by Simon Scott from Slowdive and will be available on translucent green vinyl or a Bandcamp-exclusive toxic yellow version.

Released on September 2nd

Sylvan Esso have announced their upcoming fourth album, “No Rules Sandy”, and released the latest single, “Didn’t Care.”

The studio set will be released August 12th via Loma Vista Recordings, nearly two years after 2020’s “Free Love”. In addition to “Didn’t Care” the album contain lead single, “Your Reality” which the electronic pop duo first unveiled in late June in the wake of minimalist one-off “Sunburn”.

In a statement, Amelia Meath promised the album “feels like who we actually are. It just feels like us. We’re not trying to fit into the mould, just happily being our freak selves.”

To kick off the era, Meath and producer bandmate Nick Sanborn surprised the crowd at the Newport Folk Festival on Sunday by playing the entire album front to back during their set. Next, they’ll offer early previews of the studio effort at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn on July 27th and Gold Diggers in Los Angeles on August 4th.

Meath came together earlier this summer with Brandon Boyd of Incubus and Lucius members Jess Wolfe and Holly Laesig for a virtual round table celebrating the 50th anniversary of David Bowie’s seminal The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars with the acclaimed album’s co-producer Ken Scott as the panel’s very special guest.

The new album “No Rules Sandy”, out everywhere August 12th

As Bruce Springsteen hits the stage once more, the latest MOJO magazine takes an epic road trip through his 50 Greatest Songs. Entrapment and escape, love and betrayal, murder and mayhem, cars and girls: all human life encapsulated by a force of nature and his Swiss Army band. Plus, a 40th anniversary dive into the twisted landscape of “Nebraska”, Springsteen’s bravest, strangest album.

Out Now

Released after an ever growing live following and the string of successful chart hits, the Advert’s debut has cemented its place in punk rock history.

Now this 2xAlbum set release including an extra album with 12 tracks made of up single recordings and live bonus tracks. from the sonic armageddon which ushers in ‘One Chord Wonders’ through to the deliriously protracted fade of ‘Great British Mistake’, ‘Crossing The Red Sea’ never put’s a foot wrong. Created at the height of punk, recorded with all the venom and passion which gave the era such vitality, ‘Crossing The Red Sea’ was at once a statement of intent and a bellow of defiance, a refusal to take anything for granted, even its own brilliance. more than that, though, the album defined and thus became the precious moment in time when the establishment rules of rock fell away, and new ones still had to be carved out. and by those brittle standards,

The Adverts weren’t simply ‘Crossing The Red Sea’, they were parting it. With TV Smith’s intelligent and perceptive lyrics, and Gaye Advert’s thundering bass, the songs still pack a punch. From the screeching first chord of “One Chord Wonders” through to the surprisingly still relevant a blistering final song “The Great British Mistake“, it drives the listener forward.

The Adverts were never speed merchants, and their brand of punk rock was miles away from, say, Sham 69, and are closer in tone to The Ruts or mid period Clash. But these track still have the power to send a shiver down the spine and the hairs on the neck to rise.

What can I say except this has to be one of the greatest punk albums of all time a masterpiece.

Release: 2nd September 2022

I love seeing friends playing comfortably at home, especially when those friends are members of my favourite band. What we see in this Tiny Desk (home) concert is playfulness substituting for the intensity that I normally find in Big Thief on a big stage. This band has made many of my best-loved albums in the past few years, beginning with its 2016 debut “Masterpiece” and including its 2022 double-album “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You”. The first three songs in this set all come from that album and were written by singer Adrianne Lenker, with “Certainty” co-written with guitarist Buck Meek.

Big Thief song’s are often filled with tender tales and poetic and playful words. I can say the same for Adrianne Lenker’s many solo albums and for Buck Meek’s 2021 solo album, “Two Saviors”. Drummer James Krivchenia produced Big Thief’s recent album and also a 2020 ambient album of his own, “A New Found Relaxation”. Max Oleartchik plays upright bass for this intimate acoustic set on the top floor of a house in “windy Connecticut.” There’s a bit of a “hold on to your hat” feel here, with players watching each other for a possible surprise. Maybe it’s James Krivchenia’s banjo percussion, the galloping rhythm on “Certainty” or how the four musicians sing aloud on a chorus; it is so much fun to see it all unfold. The final song was the biggest surprise; it’s an unreleased song Big Thief has been performing, appropriately called “Happiness.”

MUSICIANS Adrianne Lenker: vocals, guitar Buck Meek: guitar, vocals Max Oleartchik: bass, vocals James Krivchenia: percussion, vocals

SET LIST; “Change” “Dried Roses” “Certainty” “Happiness”

Becca Harvey aka Girlpuppy recently announced the release of her debut album, “When I’m Alone”, which will be out on October 28th on Royal Mountain Records. She also shared a video for the album’s lead single “Wish.” On ‘Wish’ I was thinking about when friends leave your life and you’re not entirely sure why,” Harvey explains in a press release.

“It’s a pretty universal feeling, I think. And, the thing is—even if you managed to live in the walls of that person’s apartment and were able to figure it out, their reasons might not make total sense. This song is me living with that feeling, when loss just doesn’t quite add up. This is the first shoegaze rock song I’ve made and I did that intentionally—the emotions in the song go from anger to sadness to nostalgia and all the other emotions that you feel when you go through a ‘friend breakup.’ I imagined it being really cathartic to play it live.”

“When I’m Alone” was produced by Marshall Vore. Girlpuppy’s debut EP, “Swan“, came out last year via Royal Mountain Records. 

“Playful and easygoing, as [girlpuppy] paints a hopeful summertime daydream…if anyone’s pandemic sidehustle sticks I hope it’s [hers].” NPR

“One of indie folk’s most promising newcomers…her knack for lyrical scene-setting and gossamer melodies that seem to hang in the air like the scent of a freshly baked fruit pie.” NYLON

“A breezy ode to less-than-effortless love” FADER

“Destined for stardom. Her debut EP “Swan” features heartfelt serenades and bouncy indie rock jams that make her irresistible, and her delicate voice is simply magical.” Paste
Office Magazine

“girlpuppy has stepped onto the scene with her debut offering, and is immediately proving to be on the path to excellence.” Line of Best Fit

This week, Art Moore a group consisting of Boy Scouts’ Taylor Vick and Ezra Furman collaborators Sam Durkes and Trevor Brooks have shared a new single, “Sixish” It is the latest release from their forthcoming self-titled debut album, which will be out on August 5th via ANTI-Records.

In a press release, Vick states: “When I first heard the instrumental demo version of ‘Sixish,’ the choruses had a heavy and heartbroken feeling to them so I tried to write lyrics to match that. I wrote about the version of heartbreak that involves a situation where you feel like you’ve got an infinite amount of love and energy to give someone but they’re no longer able to reciprocate.”

Upon announcement of the album in May, the band shared the debut single The first song we ever wrote together “Muscle Memory” It’s about the different phases in life. How friendships and relationships change over time and how we come to deal with it. We filmed an amazing, West Coast gothic music video with visionaries Rocco Rivetti and Gilles O’Kane

They later shared a further track “A Different Life”. 

Vocals: Taylor Vick Drums: Sam Durkes Guitar: Trevor Brooks Bass & Synths: Trevor Brooks : Written by: Taylor Vick and Trevor Brooks