ELEPHANTS and DOGS – ” You Won’t Be Seeing Me Around “

Posted: March 5, 2021 in MUSIC
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Elephants and Dogs is a new solo project from Toronto based artist Joe Narducci of the band Jimbo. “You Won’t be Seeing Me Around”, (lead track from an e.p.) gifts us a big chunk of highly catchy, gossamer light dream pop.

It floats high on a total ear-worm of a riff chased along by a hazy synth line. 
Perfect for lying on the grass staring up at the sky as spring finally arrives in the Western Hemisphere.

I’m picking up vague traces of Smashing Pumpkins if Billy Corgan took the unlikely step of taking himself less seriously and let the music drift into our consciousness. In a word: dreamy. Led by Joe Narducci of Toronto, Elephants and Dogs is a syrupy trip of saturated melodies and chill dream pop arrangements.

And don’t worry, no animals were harmed in the making of this e.p. Released March 5th, 2021, by Look Up Records

GIA MARGARET – ” Solid Heart “

Posted: March 5, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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I just felt like sharing a song. I’ve been missing the spontaneity of releasing music on a whim. During these slow winter months and after such a slow (and rough) year for everyone– I thought it would give me (and maybe you) something nice to start 2021 with. It is my offering.  Beautiful and honest, wisely minimal lyrics without trying too hard but also still being confidently vulnerable enough to be honest, definitely uniquely ethereal and with delicate yet quietly powerful and raw vocals. The chorus section is perfectly executed artistic beauty…such delicate and feminine vocals with a really unique twist of sound that more than satisfies the intrigue built up by the rest of the song. Beautiful. Glad to stumble upon this gem.

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Released January 12th, 2021
Produced by Gia Margaret

WAXAHATCHEE – ” Great Thunder ” EP Best Albums Of 2018

Posted: March 5, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Katie Crutchfield’s southern roots are undeniable. The name of her solo musical project Waxahatchee comes from a creek not far from her childhood home in Alabama and seems to represent both where she came from and where she’s going.  These are Katie’s 2018 re-recordings of some of her favourite songs by Great Thunder, a previous band of hers that is now dormant.

Katie Crutchfield knows her way around a rock album. In 2009, three years before the first Waxahatchee record, Crutchfield and her twin sister Allison released their first works as P.S. Eliot, a punk outfit they formed in Birmingham, Ala., their hometown. In 2016, they released a collection of other lost P.S. Eliot tunes, a wild, searing conglomeration of 50 rock songs and coinciding demos that sing of fleeing the South and pay homage to Sleater-Kinney.

On the heels of last year’s critically acclaimed Out in the Storm, Crutchfield found herself looking to take a sharp turn away from the more rock-oriented influences of her recent records towards her more folk and country roots. “I would say that it is a complete 180 from the last record: super stripped-down, quiet, and with me performing solo, it’s a throwback to how I started,” writes Crutchfield. “Overall, the EP is a warm, kind of vibey recording.”

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Katie would take a softer approach on her first Waxahatchee releases before returning again to rock and punk on her 2017 master work, Out in the Storm. But rather than release Storm b-sides or tarry further down a road to rock ‘n’ roll, Crutchfield slips back into her folk roots on “Great Thunder”, an EP so calculated in its quietness you wouldn’t dare utter a word during its slow-burning 17 minutes. Great Thunder is actually a reimagining of songs Crutchfield wrote while recording with an experimental-rock project of the same name, and while working on those early Waxahatchee releases, Cerulean Salt and Ivy Tripp, which certainly have more in common with this EP than Out in the Storm. On Great Thunder, Crutchfield swaps electric guitar and thundering drums for a single piano and the occasional acoustic guitar, turning all attention to her voice and lyrics.

You sense that following the loud success of Storm, this is really the EP Crutchfield wanted to make. It’s intimate and untarnished by production of any kind. It’s uplifting, spiritual and anti-chaotic, just what the doctor ordered in a year defined by mayhem. Crutchfield probably isn’t shelving her electric guitar forever, but, for now, her piano, voice and soul-bearing words are more than enough to keep us content.

JULIANA HATFIELD – ” Blood “

Posted: March 5, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Over the past four years, Juliana Hatfield has kept fans engaged and intrigued as she oscillates between impassioned original releases (Pussycat, Weird) and inspired covers collections (Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John, Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police). This year she returns with her latest album of originals, “Blood”, out May 14th, 2021.

Her 19th solo studio album takes a deep dive into the dark side with a lens on modern human psychology and behaviour. “I think these songs are a reaction to how seriously and negatively a lot of people have been affected by the past four years,” says Juliana. “But it’s fun, musically. There’s a lot of playing around. I didn’t really have a plan when I started this project.”

With the pandemic limiting studio safety and availability, Juliana took the opportunity to learn to record at her Massachusetts home with recent collaborator Jed Davis assisting from Connecticut. “Usually I work in a studio,” explains Juliana. “I did more than half the work in my room—with Jed helping me to troubleshoot the technology, and helping with building and arranging some of the songs–and then I finished up with additional overdubs and mixing with engineer James Bridges at Q Division Studios in Somerville, MA.”

The first single, “Mouthful of Blood”, is gritty and abrasive yet groovy and melodic. That duality is represented throughout “Blood”. It is eminently hummable and thought-provoking. Sophisticated but catchy. Challenging but danceable.

“I always love coming up with melodies and then trying to fit words into them—it’s like doing a puzzle,” says Juliana. “And I always find places to use the Mellotron flutes and strings, on every album, because those sounds are so beautiful to me. They are a nice counterpoint to the damaged lyrical content.” 

Releases May 14th, 2021

ADULT MOM – ” Driver “

Posted: March 5, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Adult Mom will release their third studio album “Driver” on March 5th via Epitaph Records. In celebration of the announcement, they have shared the new single “Sober.” The track examines how people’s perceptions of each other change and deteriorate over time, especially in the wake of a relationship gone sour. Stevie Knipe’s Adult Mom is back, unveiling their first new record since parting ways with now-defunct label Tiny Engines. The details of Driver arrived in January alongside “Sober,” only the indie-pop project’s second new song since their 2017 sophomore album Soft Spots. Knipe co-produced Driver alongside Kyle Pulley (Shamir, Diet Cig, Kississippi), also collaborating with Olivia Battell and Allegra Eidinger on its 10 tracks.

On “Driver”, co-produced by Stevie Knipe and Kyle Pulley (Shamir, Diet Cig, Kississippi), Knipe delves into the emotional space just beyond a coming-of-age, where the bills start to pile up and memories of college dorms are closer than those of high school parking lots. Ultimately seeking the answer to the age-old question posed by every twenty-something; what now?, the song is called “Breathing.” It’s about being in isolation back in 2018, depressed and lonely, which is kind of 2 relevant for right now.

Adult Mom’s 2015 debut Momentary Lapse of Happily, as well as five EPs they released between 2012 and 2014. Driver is their first full-length release on a label other than Tiny Engines, which collapsed after Adult Mom and a slew of other signees accused them of withholding payments and various other acts of mismanagement. It’s a new day for Adult Mom, and they’re in the Driver’s seat.

Over the course of the 10 tracks, Knipe sets out to soundtrack the queer rom-com they’ve been dreaming of since 2015. Driver incorporates an expert weaving of sonic textures ranging from synths and shakers to ‘00s-inspired guitar tones which convey a loving attention to detail. Lyrically, Knipe radiates an unmistakable honesty mixed with a level of wit and a sense of humour producing intimate yet relatable indie pop songs.

“Checking Up” by Adult Mom from the album ‘Driver’, available March 5th Epitaph Records

Epitaph Records is an artist-first indie label founded in Los Angeles by Bad Religion guitarist, Brett Gurewitz. Early releases from a variety of punk heavyweights helped launch the 90s punk explosion. Along the way, Epitaph has grown and evolved creatively while sticking to its mission of helping real artists make great recordings on their own terms.

END OF THE ROAD – Larmer Tree Gardens Dorset 2nd-5th September 2021

Posted: March 5, 2021 in MUSIC
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End of the Road

In case you haven’t heard, End of the Road 2021 has now officially SOLD OUT! Those of you lucky to bag a ticket are in for an unforgettable weekend, those of you that missed on tickets or are looking to shift any spares, fret not … we have once again partnered with face value or less ticket resale platform Twickets which will be open for resales late Spring/Early Summer.

Twickets are our ONLY official reseller, so please do not use other platforms like Viagogo, Eventbrite or Stubhub as your tickets will not be valid. We try to delete and report every scammer operating on our Facebook page but some might escape through the cracks, so please be aware – do not buy directly through social media platforms. Better to be safe than sorry, pals.

If you’ve bought a deposit ticket, whether you got it in 2020 or 2021, make sure you pay the remaining balance before 5 May 2021, otherwise, your deposit will be forfeit and your ticket will be lost. It’s a Wednesday, and you’ll have until midnight. Go on, put it in your diary.

We still have a few Caravan places left, so if you’re keen on bringing everything plus the kitchen sink, make sure you grab a spot before they’re all gone. (Please note, these do not give access to the festival itself)

Now, in case you bagged your ticket back in early 2020 (or late 2019 for all you sweet early birds) and need a bit of a refresher, here’s a quick reminder of what’s in store for 2021:

First up, we’ll be welcoming masters of loud-quiet-loud Pixies; King Krule with his endlessly inventive sounds and also Big Thief who are back, this time to top the bill after having made quite an impact with their transcendental Garden Stage set in 2018.

Bright Eyes will appear at End of the Road for the very first time plus the incomparable New Zealand songwriter Aldous Harding has also confirmed her return. UK rap pioneer Little Simz leads the charge of this year’s talented wordsmiths, drawing from jazz, funk and punk to soundtrack her dexterous flow.

Aussie five-piece Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever are set to rip up the fields of Dorset again with ridiculously catchy guitar pop, and from the other side of the Atlantic, we have Anteloper, a duo of psychedelic sonic compatriots formed by trumpeter Jaimie Branch and drummer Jason Nazary. From the West Coast, tUnE-yArDs bring an enviable array of percussion instruments, strong soulful vocals and endless loops.

Joining Songhoy Blues from Mali, will be the creative force that is Les Amazones d’Afrique plus the groundbreaking Les Filles de Illighadad, whose lead vocalist Fatou Seidi Ghali is one of the only Tuareg female guitarists in Niger. All female seven piece Star Feminine Band hail from Benin and play a lucky dip of cross-African styles, highlife perhaps the most prominent, with pop energy and rock sinew. Oh, and they have three drummers.

Plus Squid, Whitney, Arlo Parks, Julianna Barwick, and many more. You can catch your breath now.

Days are getting longer, Spring is just around the corner and we’re starting the countdown to September. It’s still a little way to go but after 18 months of waiting, we can do 6 more right?

END OF THE ROAD 2021 LINE UP:

Pixies / King Krule / Big Thief / Bright Eyes / Little Simz / Perfume Genius / Aldous Harding / Whitney / Tune-Yards / The Comet Is Coming / Songhoy Blues / Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever / Girl Band / Field Music / Squid / Romare / Richard Dawson / Warmduscher / Andy Shauf / Black Country, New Road / Anna Meredith / Les Amazones D’Afrique / Blanck Mass / Archie Bronson Outfit / Creep Show / Julianna Barwick / Arlo Parks / Les Filles De Illighadad / Girl Ray / Alice Boman / Nadia Reid / Sorry / Vanishing Twin / Dry Cleaning / Big Joanie / The Goon Sax / Current Joys / Marie Davidson & L’Œil Nu / Jerkcurb / Darren Hayman / Shygirl / Mike Polizze / Ahmed Fakroun / Modern Nature / Billy Nomates / Charley Crockett / Penelope Isles / Katy J Pearson / Buck Meek / Margaret Glaspy / Just Mustard
Gwenno & Georgia Ellery perform live score to Bait / Anteloper (Jaimie Branch & Jason Nazary) / Fenne Lily / W. H. Lung / Keeley Forsyth / Monophonics / Frances Quinlan / Itasca / Vagabon / William Doyle / Dana Gavanski / Auntie Flo (DJ)/ All We Are / Studio Electrophonique / Tenesha The Wordsmith / Trash Kit / Sarathy Korwar / Star Feminine Band / Aoife Nessa Frances / Skullcrusher / Jeffrey Martin / PVA / Jake Xerxes Fussell / John / The Goa Express / Pan Amsterdam / Junior Brother / Elijah Wolf / Caroline / Divide and Dissolve / DISQ / Red River Dialect / Lazarus Kane / Drug Store Romeos / Zulu Zulu / Sofia Wolfson / The Golden Dregs / Chubby & The Gang / Modern Woman / Bingo Fury / Ian Noe / Sleep Eaters / David Thomas Broughton / Kate Bollinger / Yard Act / Lee Patterson / Martha Rose / Pat T Smith / oldboy / Will Tea Taylor / Fortitude Valley / Melin Melyn / Marlena Moore / James Leonard Hewitson / Apollo Ghosts / Tom Ravenscroft (DJ)/ Plus more to be announced…

TOM PETTY – ” Finding Wildflowers ” Alternate Versions

Posted: March 5, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Tom Petty fans had to wait years before the official release of the much-discussed expanded version of his solo masterpiece, Wildflowers, saw the light of day. Wildflowers & All the Rest, featuring numerous home recordings and alternate takes from the original 1994 album was released on October. 16th, 2020, in a variety of editions. Now, “Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions)” featuring tracks from the Super Deluxe edition of All the Rest, has been released as its own collection. It arrived April 16th, 2021, via Warner Records; a 2-LP release will follow on May 7th. “You Saw Me Comin’,” a previously unreleased song and recording from 1992 and the final track on the collection, premiered alongside a video directed by Joel Kazuo Knoernschild and Katie Malia. Reflecting upon recording “You Saw Me Comin’” for Wildflowers, the Heartbreakers’ Benmont Tench notes, “There’s this kind of longing in the song, in the way that he wrote the chord structure, the melody and the lyrics. It’s wistful, and it would have been the perfect way to end the disc.” Tom Petty’s ‘Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions)’ Limited Edition gold vinyl available at TomPetty.com. “Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions)” features 16 studio recordings of alternate takes, long cuts and jam versions of Wildflowers songs as Tom, band members and co-producer Rick Rubin worked to finalize the album in 1994. Check TomPetty.com for more info. The latest offering of Tom Petty curated with help from his loving family, bandmates and collaborators. Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions) features 16 studio recordings of alternate takes, long cuts and jam versions of Wildflowers songs as Tom, band members and co-producer Rick Rubin worked to finalize the album in 1994. The release offers fans further deep access into the writing and recording of Wildflowers, as well as realizing the full vision of the project as Tom had always intended. “You Saw Me Comin’,” a previously unreleased song and recording from 1992 and the final track on the collection, is premiering alongside a video directed by Joel Kazuo Knoernschild and Katie Malia. The songs on Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions) first initiated the Petty estate’s discovery and curation process for the larger All the Rest project. Reflecting on the recording of “You Saw Me Comin’,” Benmont Tench notes, “There’s this kind of longing in the song, in the way that he wrote the chord structure, the melody and the lyrics. It’s wistful, and it would have been the perfect way to end the disc.” The collection was produced by Petty’s longtime engineer and co-producer Ryan Ulyate who listened to 245 reels of 24-track tape, revealing Petty and his collaborators’ evolutionary process and finding the group willing to do whatever it took to discover the essence and magic in the material.

The FLESHTONES – ” Face Of The Screaming Werewolf “

Posted: March 4, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Throughout The Fleshtones’ forty-plus years of playing a brand of gritty, exuberant, often caffeinated roots music they affectionately dub “super rock,” the scrappy New York City quartet has experienced more ups and downs, and churned through more record labels, than any of their peers. Not surprisingly, there are none left.

That leaves the mighty Fleshtones as the last men standing from New York City’s CBGB based punk explosion of the late 70s. Even though the band wasn’t specifically alligned to that genre like The Ramones, their music never strayed far from punk’s aggressive, DIY roots. Now on album number 22, The Fleshtones have not only found a stable home at the Yep Roc label (since 2003) but have stayed the course musically. No one is expecting the Peter Zaremba/Keith Streng led outfit to reinvent their dependable musical wheel at this late stage but Face of the Screaming Werewolf is another solid offering from the ageing, faithful rockers doing what they have always done best crank out tight, tough garage rawk infused with sly, even wacky, humour.

Whether pushing psychedelic buttons with the spiralling, swampy, sneering Cramps influenced “Violet Crumble, Cherry Pie” or paying tribute to Jeopardy’s “Alex Trebek” on a slice of cool Farfisa inflected Brit Invasion pop or spinning out a Rolling Stones obscurity with “Child of the Moon” (the disc’s sole cover), The Fleshtones sound typically energized and invigorated playing music they love with no concerns of generating new fans to their existing cult.

Zaremba isn’t a great vocalist, but he’s a magnetic front person. He gets by on sheer chutzpah talk/singing the strutting “Manpower Debut” while adding ragged harmonica to the frantic rockabilly of “The Show is Over” and the slower, bluesy closing instrumental “Somerset Morning.” The stomping “Spilling Blood (At the Rock & Roll Show)” would have fit in on the band’s 1982 debut album and the twangy title track is another crunchy horror show gem with maracas and a stinging stun guitar solo from Streng.

Only one of the eleven tunes breaks the three minute mark which makes this animated half hour traipse into Fleshtones-land a little on the short side. But even if there’s nothing here quite as entertainingly flippant as “Rick Wakeman’s Cape” from the band’s previous 2016 set, it’s another impressive notch on their ever enlarging album belt they can display with pride.

Lert’s hope The Fleshtones make it to a 50th anniversary?

FRUIT BATS – ” The Pet Parade “

Posted: March 4, 2021 in MUSIC
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There’s no more appropriate way for singer/songwriter/auteur Eric D. Johnson to celebrate twenty years (on and off) of his Fruit Bats alias than by releasing a new album. Even though “The Pet Parade” was recorded in the middle of a pandemic, little has changed in Johnson’s tantalizing sonic approach from his previous seven Fruit Bats projects. It has been a long strange trip for the musician who has coasted on the fringes of the music industry as a cult artist. Along with his work as Fruit Bats he has played with The Shins, composed soundtracks for under-the-radar films, released a solo disc as EDJ and recently and perhaps most unexpectedly, received two Grammy nominations for his work as a third of indie folkies Bonnie Light Horseman.

Yet Johnson has kept the musical faith in his Fruit Bats persona. ” The Pet Parade” exhibits all the honeyed, flowing melodies listeners have come to expect. His yearning, high pitched voice, somewhat like that of Australian star Paul Kelly, is an acquired taste. But after a few tracks, most will agree it slots perfectly into his overall gentle style. These dozen aren’t quite as pop oriented as the ones on 2019’s Gold Past Life, which borrowed heavily from the Bee Gees’ pre-disco period, but they find a sweet spot in their delicate beauty and work that groove for 45 charming minutes.

There has always been a dreamy element to Fruit Bats’ music. That is emphasized on gems such as the flowing “On the Avalon Stairs,” the bittersweet “Discovering” and the opening nearly seven minute, two chord title tune. The latter with its subtle fiddle and fragile splendour could be a Go-Betweens obscurity, as could many of these songs. Selections such as the swirling “Eagles Below Us” share the same displaced, often atmospheric strains that seem plucked from the air, as opposed to laboured over, that was the trademark of the Australian band’s finest output.    

The Pet Parade’s instruments were recorded in home studios and bedrooms around the world, then collated by producer Josh Kaufman (another of the three members of Bonnie Light Horseman) into such a seamless whole that most would think the musicians were in the studio simultaneously. This is Johnson’s vision though and when the elements combine as in the floating “All in One Go” with its forlorn harmonica and elusive piano, it’s comparable to the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle fit together perfectly.

While there is an aural sameness that occasionally feels repetitious, the material is so exquisitely composed, effortlessly recorded and emotionally sung, this isn’t a major shortcoming for an album that gets more impressive each time you hear it.   

“The Pet Parade exhibits all the honeyed, flowing melodies listeners have come to expect.” —American Songwriter
“Twenty years into Eric D. Johnson’s journey with the Fruit Bats project, his smooth, dreamy melodies still feel so singular and all-encompassing.” —No Depression

From the album The Pet Parade, out March 5th, 2021 on Merge Records.

ST VINCENT – ” Daddy’s Home “

Posted: March 4, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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St. Vincent has teased her next album with a poster campaign. The new record is reportedly called “Daddy’s Home” and it reportedly drops May 14 via Loma Vista.

Teasers for St. Vincent‘s anticipated follow-up to 2017’s “Masseduction” have begun popping up, and while officially Annie Clark has been mum on the subject, recently tweeting “Nothing to see here,” she’s now discussed the album, which is apparently called Daddy’s Home and features production by Jack Antonoff, more in a new interview on Substack newsletter The New Cue. “I would say it’s the sound of being down and out Downtown in New York, 1973,” she says. “Glamour that hasn’t slept for three days.”

“In hindsight, I realized that the [last album, 2017’s] Masseduction and tour was so incredibly strict,” she continues, “whether it was the outfits I was wearing that literally constricted me, to the show being tight and the music being angular and rigid. When I wrapped that, I was like ‘oh, I just want things that are fluid and wiggly and I want this music to look like a Cassavetes film. I wanted it to be warm tones and not really distorted, to tell these stories of flawed people being flawed and doing the best they can. Which is kind of what my life is.”

Images of the teaser posters have been cropping up across social media platforms. They feature a blond Annie Clark standing in a maroon suit next to what appears to be an album cover. “St. Vincent is back with a record of all-new songs,” a text panel reads. “Warm Wurlitzers and wit, glistening guitars and grit, with sleaze and style for days. Taking you from uptown to downtown with the artist who makes you expect the unexpected.” The poster claims that the record will be available May 14th.

Late last year, Clark said that a new album was “locked and loaded” for 2021. In between producing music for Sleater-Kinney, hosting a podcast from her shower, and putting the finishing touches on Daddy’s Home, St. Vincent may have entered a dirty rabbit hole, exploring more sordid tales.

A song that makes you feel like you need to permission to listen, “Pay Your Way In Pain” oozes the funk of what’s to be expected from Daddy’s Home.

“‘Daddy’s Home’ collects stories of being down and out in downtown NYC,” says Clark. “Last night’s heels on the morning train. Glamour that’s been up for three days straight.”

Asked what she was listening to while making this album, Annie says, “I went back to these records that I probably listened to more in my life than at any other time, music made in New York from 1971-76, typically post-flower child, kick the hippie idealism out of it, America’s in a recession but pre-disco, the sort of gritty, raw, wiggly nihilistic part of that. It’s not a glamorous time, there’s a lot of dirt under the fingernails. It was really about feel and vibe but with song and stories.”

Through a grainier retro screen, Annie Clark (St. Vincent) is summoning her inner 1970s starlet sleaze on Daddy’s Home (Loma Vista), out May 14th, sharing the first single “Pay Your Way in Pain” with a video, directed by Bill Benz—who also worked on Clark and Carrie Brownstein’s upcoming movie The Nowhere Inn—showing St. Vincent entering a vortex of network television variety shows.

“Daddy’s Home” is expected May 14th via Loma Vista, and lead single “Pay Your Way In Pain” is reportedly arriving Friday (March 5th).

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