Archive for the ‘Alternative’ Category
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE
A hearty congratulations to Justin Townes Earle on the release of his new album this week, NOTHING’S GONNA CHANGE THE WAY YOU FEEL ABOUT ME NOW (which is also, excitingly, the name of the track on the official Record Store Day 7″ single he’s releasing this year.) Oh look, here he is now, singing it:
New & Upcoming Releases 3/20/12
Lakeshore’s Alternativemusic.com New & Upcoming Release list 3/20/12 If you see anything you’re interested in or have any questions about anything you see listed please email us at Marta@Alternativemusic.com Looking to hear something new? Take a listen to the Alternativemusic.com podcast with store owner Andrew Chinnici and Music Critic Rob Roberts.. Brand New Release and Restocks – Street Date 3/27/2012 ROBERT POLLARD “Mouseman Cloud” (GBV Inc – GBVI 19) CD (UPC: 655035081922 – CDPOLLAMous) ROBERT POLLARD “Mouseman Cloud” (GBV Inc – GBVI 19) LP (UPC: 655035081915 – LPPOLLAMous) ***ROBERT POLLARD’s new solo album Mouseman Cloud shows the GUIDED BY VOICES frontman in a playful and spontaneous mood. This is a record by a guy who just wants to rock, and not have to worry about how that rock will be received by anyone other than himself. While the songs here are not a world away from anything you’ll find on GBV’s new Let’s Go Eat the Factory album, the emphasis on Mouseman Cloud is on wordplay rather than melody, on unkempt exploration rather than traditional song structure. A lot of the tracks sound as if they started as lyrics-even poetry-and were fit around the sounds, which is not an uncommon way for Pollard to work, but the album’s gleeful verbosity could be interpreted as the work of a man who might have been feeling the pressure of expectations from (for instance) a Guided By Voices reunion and just wants to cut loose. Recorded in collaboration with producer / multi-instrumentalist TODD TOBIAS, Mouseman Cloud is catchy, heavy, lovely, rocky, exuberant, complexly simple and freaking wonderful. Not sweating the small stuff is not the same as taking no pains over the writing and recording-too often the two are conflated when discussing Pollard’s prodigious output. He takes pains. He edits. He cares deeply about each and every part of each and every song he records. That he seems to do so frequently and effortlessly is not his fault. It’s a unique and unparalleled talent. Mouseman Cloud is the work of a consummate craftsman as well as a crazy genius, and proof that these two traits are not incompatible. No exports outside North America. PINS OF LIGHT “II” (Alternative Tentacles – VIRUS 423) LP (UPC: 721616042313 – LPPINS II) PINS OF LIGHT “II” (Alternative Tentacles – VIRUS 423) CD (UPC: 721616042320 – CDPINS II) ***NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!! San Francisco’s PINS OF LIGHT resides in that murky musical shadow-territory of the nearly unclassifiable. They craft a brutal and intricate melange of metal, punk and prog that isn’t quite any of those things. Pins of Light’s most progressive moments are more Motoerhead than Mothers of Invention; their metal is more Pink Floyd than it is Priest; the elements of punk are a driving fistfight that’s entirely the band’s own. Singer and bassist SHANE BAKER, guitarists JAKE PALLADINO and RAVI DURBEEJ, and drummer PHIL BECKER come previously (and currently) from such SF institutions as DEAD AND GONE, NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, HIGHTOWER and TRICLOPS! (among a slew of others. Vinyl includes digital download coupon. GUIDED BY VOICES “Keep It In Motion” (GBV Inc – GBVI 18) 7″ (UPC: 655035081878 – 07GUIDEKeep) *** “Keep It In Motion” is a propulsive, drum-machine driven pop song which features, unusually, acoustic guitars, strings, and ROBERT POLLARD / TOBIN SPROUT singing together in a way not heard since “14 Cheerleader Coldfront” on 1992′s Propeller. Possibly. Bob recorded and sent to Toby at his home studio in Michigan for over-dubbing. The B-Sides consist of “Pink Wings,” a lo-fi snippet on which Pollard speak-sings scary lyrics about wings full of blood over a bed of Beatle-esque harmonies, not entirely unlike Alien Lanes’ “Chicken Blows,” and “White World,” an actual Beatle-esque pop song with horns (or at least horn samples) and a Pixies-like bass intro.
Fun. – Some Nights (2012)
Aways Away – Some Things We’ll Never Know (2011)
For New York’s Aways Away, genre is a mere side-effect, or consequence, of the band’s own creative energy. Melodically tempting and angst-ridden to the core, Aways Away offers up a brand of music that is at once post-New Wave, indie punk, and Brit-rock-tabulous. It is as though David Bowie, The Cure, and The Clash were tossed into a blender, and the resulting frothy Brundle-fly recorded an album.
Remember when U2 was a youthful band full of hunger and cared more about writing good songs than turning Samaritan-isms into media events? SOME THINGS WE’LL NEVER KNOW offers up a similar vibe.
Aways Away’s charm is in its innocent sentimentality, for while the songs border on romantic naivety, the subtext therein churns the yearning section of our memories, making us wish we can turn the clock back to have one more chance with a love that got away.
Simultaneously, Aways Away is a band I could easily find myself rocking out to in a Lower East Side club, performing alongside The Bravery or Your Vegas. The music is energetic yet morose, ambient yet frenzied, and pensive yet rollicking. It is one of those few bands where, at a live show, one has an equal chance of hooking up or getting fit-shaced and enjoying every second of the experience.
(Unsigned 2011)
Reviewed on 2012-02-16 23:34:19 by Mark Morton
Music Emissions Alternative Music Reviews
DOING THE SXSW LIVE BROADCAST
Can’t make it to Austin TX for SXSW this year? Fear not, we’ve got you covered! We have have partnered with our friends and indie record store in Austin TX, Waterloo Records, to web stream their 30+ exclusive live in-store performances this Wed-Sat on our website with a 4 camera hi-def video and stereo audio feed. Please join us. Here is what we have in store for you…
Wednesday 3/14 12pm Tribes 1pm Foxy Shazam 2pm Bass Drum Of Death 3pm Spoek Mathambo 4pm Trivium 4:30pm Ricky Jean Francois (inside) 5pm Fun. 6pm Howler Thursday 3/15 12pm Blitzen Trapper 1pm Little Willies (featuring Norah Jones) 2pm Icky Blossoms 3pm Oberhofer 4pm Honeyhoney 4:30pm Ruthie Foster (inside) 5pm Hospitality 6pm Lucero Friday 3/16 12pm Say Anything 1pm Talib Kweli 2pm Jimmy Cliff 3pm Of Montreal 4pm Howlin’ Rain 4:30pm Father John Misty (inside) 5pm Gary Clark Jr. Saturday 3/17 12pm Youth Lagoon 1pm Nada Surf 2pm Kid Congo 3pm Strange Boys 4pm Blouse 4:30pm Chuck Ragan (inside) 5pm Chuck Prophet 6pm Love Inks
Rush – All The World’s A Stage (1976)
Having said that, there are flaws – they should have put the whole of "2112" on here. They should not have truncated "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" either. Those errors, no doubt done as an attempt to get as many of the band’s catalogue to date on the album were the biggest flaws on the album. I saw Rush around this time at the Colston Hall in Bristol and have some regret for those those omissions. They are what drags the album ratings down.
Also, the band appear to have left out everything from Caress of Steel with the exception of "Bastille Day" and "Lakeside Park". I would definitely have preferred to see "The Necromancer" included in the line-up. I regard that album as being severely under-estimated, though I know I am in a small minority on that opinion. But I guess there are always omissions (according to someone) from every live album.
Doing a "Greatest Hits Live" album (which is essentially what this is) was a pretty smart move for a band at Rush‘s stage of development. They were consolidating their fan base and were on the verge of the success which would catapult them into one of Canada’s most widely sold acts, a status which has persisted to this day. To achieve that status at the time when punk was ripping apart the credibility of many established "rock" acts of the era – bands with a much longer standing than Rush – was some achievement.
After this album, the band’s style would change, somewhat for the worse in the long term in my opinion. This marked, as the band say of the liner notes, the end of the first phase of Rush. Though it was never on a par with some of the great rock live albums of the seventies, such as the incomparable Made in Japan, it was nonetheless an essential live album of the era. It was a valiant attempt to capture the band at a critical moment in their musical development and worth a purchase on the basis of that. Whether this is the best live Rush album or not, I am not in a position to say as this is the only one I have ever heard.
The trouble was with Rush that after this they became too prog rock for my taste. The next album was probably the highlight, then it slipped into ever more prog and I went off the band as they failed to compete with the allure of post punk in the eighties. Still, for the mid seventies, this was as good as it was ever going to get live for one of the more innovative acts of the rock era.
(Anthem/Mercury 1976)
Reviewed on 2012-02-13 03:45:47 by Charles Martel
Music Emissions Alternative Music Reviews
Islands – A Sleep & A Forgetting (2012)
New & Upcoming Releases 3/6/12
Lakeshore’s Alternativemusic.com New & Upcoming Release list 3/6/12 If you see anything you’re interested in or have any questions about anything you see listed please email us at Marta@Alternativemusic.com For up to the minute new music information follow us on Facebook . Looking to hear something new? Take a listen to the Alternativemusic.com podcast with shop owner Andrew Chinnici and noted music critic Rob Roberts.
Brand New – Street Date 3/6/2012
THEE CORMANS “Biker Bitch” (In The Red – ITR 224) 7″ (07CORMABike) ***Southern California’s favorite mongoloid biker-surf-Halloween instrumental combo THEE CORMANS are back with another sizzling 7-inch of fuzzed-out retardation. Pressed in an edition of 400, these babies are gonna go fast, so get with it! “It sounds shit-tastic, the surf numbers absolutely rip and the fuzz tracks summon some unbelievably crackling and staticky sounds. Even the bass throbs with extra menace.” -Terminal Boredom LOST SOUNDS “s/t” (In The Red – ITR 117) LP (lplostsound) LOST SOUNDS “s/t” (In The Red – ITR 117) CD (UPC: 759718511727 – cdlostsound) ***BACK IN PRINT ON VINYL!!! Memphis, Tennessee’s LOST SOUNDS’ (JAY REATARD and ALICJA TROUT) fourth and final album is by far their most infectious and catchy. Their demented, aggressive approach is still intact, but never so perfectly presented and crafted as it is here. The twelve-track full-length was originally released in 2004. Lost Sounds delivers succinct song structure and bottomless-well-style access to fucking unbelievable hooks. SLIM CESSNA’S AUTO CLUB “Cipher” (Alternative Tentacles – VIRUS 383) DBL.LP (UPC: 721616038316 – LPCESSNCiph) ***BACK IN PRINT ON VINYL!!! SLIM CESSNA’S AUTO CLUB’s fourth full-length on Alternative Tentacles. Dubbed by Jello Biafra as the “country band that plays at the bar at the end of the world,” Cessna and co. present traditional American music like country & western and gospel straight up, without contorting it to suit cow punk or alterna/indie country sensibilities. BONNIE PRINCE BILLY & MARIEE SIOUX “Bonnie & Mariee” (Spiritual Pajamas – SPIRITUAL 002) DBL.7″
New & Upcoming Releases 1/17/12
Lakeshore’s Alternativemusic.com New & Upcoming Release list 1/17/12 If you see anything you’re interested in or have any questions about anything you see listed please email us at Marta@Alternativemusic.com For up to the minute new music information follow us on Facebook . Looking to hear something new? Take a listen to the Alternativemusic.com podcast with shop owner Andrew Chinnici and noted music critic Rob Roberts.
Brand New – Street Date 1/17/2012
NEVEREVER “Shake a Baby” (Slumberland – SLR 151) CD (UPC: 749846015129) NEVEREVER “Shake a Baby” (Slumberland – SLR 151) 12″ (UPC: 749846015112) AIDAN BAKER “Spectrum of Distraction” (Robotic Empire – ROBO 098) DBL.CD (UPC: 616892012344) FRANKIE ROSE “Know Me” (Slumberland – SLR 149) 7″ (UPC: 749846014979) MIKAL CRONIN “Tide” (Goner – 81 GONE) 7″ JACASZEK “Glimmer” (Ghostly International – GI 147) CD (UPC: 804297814728) JACASZEK “Glimmer” (Ghostly International – GI 147) LP (UPC: 804297814711) KAREN DALTON “1966″ (Delmore Recordings – DE 23) CD (UPC: 609722629997 – CDDALTO1966) KAREN DALTON “1966″ (Delmore Recordings – DE 23) LP (UPC: 609722629980 – LPDALTO1966) (STREET DATE – 1/24/2012) ***KAREN DALTON was a remote, elusive creature. A hybrid of tough and tender with an unearthly voice that seemed to embody a time long past. As is often the case with such fragile beings, she instinctively understood that the only way to survive the harshness of the world around her, was to keep herself hidden. So it comes as no great surprise that she rarely sang in public or ventured into the unnatural setting of a recording studio. Only twice, for 1969′s It’s So Hard To Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best and then again for 1971′s In My Own Time, was she coaxed from her habitat into the studio. Other times she made music in casual settings, sitting around a kitchen table or wood burning stove with her friends, singing and playing until daybreak. In 1966, Carl Baron brought his reel to reel over to her remote cabin in Summerville, Colorado and recorded one of those exquisite musical evenings. Karen and RICHARD TUCKER were rehearsing for a gig when Carl hit the “Record” button. The result is a 45-year-old tape, carefully exhumed, documenting Karen at her most raw and unfiltered. On it are Fred Neil and Tim Hardin songs we’ve never heard Karen give voice to before, as well as traditional songs she uncannily makes her own, including a devastating version of ‘Katie Cruel’, that is so powerful, it is as if the ghost of Katie Cruel seeped into her blood. This recording is a window to her Summerville cabin opened, allowing us to eavesdrop on Karen Dalton at her most pure and unaffected. CD Booklet containing beautiful, unseen photos (including Karen with Fred Neil and Tim Hardin), and a 3,500 word essay by BEN EDMONDS (MOJO, & currently working on a biography of Tim Hardin). LP housed in tip-on jacket, with 4 page heavy insert, exclusive color portrait, and download card. *KAREN DALTON “Cotton Eyed Joe/Live In Boulder 1962″ (Delmore – 716682) 2xCD+DVD (0666017166827) *KAREN DALTON “It’s So Hard To Tell…” (Light In The Attic – LITA 045) LP (UPC: 826853004510) MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Rainmaker” (Light In The Attic – LITA 079) CD (UPC: 826853007924 – CDCHAPMRain) MICHAEL CHAPMAN “Rainmaker” (Light In The Attic – LITA 079) LP (UPC: 826853007917 – LPCHAPMRain) (STREET DATE – 1/24/2012) ***On the heels of last year’s superb reissue by Light In The Attic of MICHAEL CHAPMAN’s 1970 classic album Fully Qualified Survivor, comes his 1969 debut Rainmaker (originally released on the seminal Harvest label). Like the ‘FQS’ album, Rainmaker is a psychedelic-guitar-folk delight. The album kicks off with one of Chapman’s best known songs “It Didn’t Work Out”-which features a stellar cast of legendary English musicians of the era; Guitarist “CLEM” CLEMPSON was in the prog-band BAKERLOO (soon after playing with Chapman he’d join jazz-rockers COLOSSEUM and then HUMBLE PIE) Drummer AYNSLEY DUNBAR (his resume includes JOHN MAYALL, ERIC BURDON, DAVID BOWIE, FRANK ZAPPA and LOU REED), bassist ALEX DMOCHOWSKI (long time Dunbar comrade) were both in Dunbar’s RETALIATION. Organ player NORMAN HAINES was in LOCOMOTIVE. A true stylist in his own right, Chapman holds a middle line between John Martyn and Bert Jansch with the provocative electric rock of Martyn juxtaposed against the traditional folk so wonderfully espoused by Jansch. Another highlight is Chapman’s lyrical/vocal style, which would appeal to fans of Roy Harper. CD features three previously unreleased tracks, PLUS three rarities. LP pressed on 180-gram vinyl and housed in deluxe tip-on sleeves. Both formats feature new liner notes by BYON COLEY and rare photos, etc. JUNIOR KIMBROUGH “You Better Run – The Essential Junior Kimbrough” (Fat Possum – 80340) DBL.LP (UPC: 045778034017 – LPKIMBRYou) ***NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!! A career-spanning collection of tracks from one of the most influential and original blues musicians in the past fifty years, JUNIOR KIMBROUGH. Hailed by such folks as U2′s Bono and Iggy Pop as a primal force in American music, Junior never reached the mass audience that he deserved while alive, but his music endures and continues to be discovered by music fans from all walks of life. STEVEN R. SMITH “Old Skete” (Worstward Recordings – WST 001) LP (LPSMITHOld) ***Eleven stark performances on hand-made electric guitar by the man also known as ULAAN KHOL, HALA STRANA and ULAAN MARKHOR, and for work with THUJA, MIRZA and Amsterdam-based clarinetist GARETH DAVIS. Absence of overdubs, loops, samples and delay pedals leaves Old Skete open and unadorned, a spare work akin to Smith’s Kohl (Jewelled Antler 2002). Edition of 500. BARDO POND/CARLTON MELTON “Split” (Agitated – AGIT 009) LP (LPBARDOCarl) ***BACK IN STOCK!!! An epic two track 40-minuter from two of the Modern Psychedelic Underground’s greats, the legendary BARDO POND spoon out the molasses with the track “Fallen” on side A, that has an expansive droned psych thrum, helmed by some driving rhythms, the power, the loud.. and then as you are almost pummelled into nothingness, ISOBEL’s flute comes through and then furthur on until she begins to sing… there’s wash upon wash of righteous guitar sound, a sonic attack indeed. On the flip, Agitated’s flagbearers CARLTON MELTON bring the magiick karpet ride much higher with “Slow Growth,” still as dense but almost much freer than their previous recordings, like a MV/EE Saucer Attack. Synths lead in, the name is apt, but it builds and transforms into a drone meets new-age psychedelic haze, be careful where you sit maan! The karpet lands fine… phew. LP only release, limited to 800 copies. UK import. PATTEN “GLAQJO XAACSSO” (No Pain In Pop – NPIP 027) CD (UPC: 5060174953170 – CDPATTEGLAQ) ***Heady, raw and visceral, PATTEN’s debut release-pronounced “glack-geut zack-so”-is a maverick work of genius straight out of the London leftfield. Working out from a space somewhere between early house, Factory Records and post punk, Warp’s mid-90s catalogue, shoegaze, Musique Concrete, and 2000s Funktion One bass pressure, a myriad of forms unite into a rare, emotionally rich and euphoric whole with the precision worthy of a true auteur. This hallucinatory record is a truly unique and all-enveloping experience. The highlights are many and shift with each listen. Opener ‘Ice’ wraps a brooding vocal sample around a delicious guitar hook, ‘& Our Wild Paths Intersect’ sounds like a tech-noir version of a Kevin Shields dreamscape, ‘Plurals’ hangs a tropical mist over a Burial style concrete dub and ‘Blush Mosaic’ sees a hypnotic bassline emerge amongst swirling incantations. A few touchstones: the dancefloor experimentation & emotional resonance of Arthur Russell; the splintering emotive noise of My Bloody Valentine; Autechre’s ghost in the machine warm abstraction; Broadcast’s elegant futurity; the yearning tower block symphony of Goldie’s ‘Inner City Life’; anything Martin Hannett; the paranoid, dense soundspace of Tricky’s ‘Maxinquaye’; J Dilla’s clipped loops and saturated samples; Drexciya’s aquatic liquified sonics; London’s fragmented post-millenial dance music continuum, Steve Reich’s ‘Music For 18 Musicians’, too many to mention, the list should go on… all of these, but none of these. Like it’s title, Patten’s album appears as if from some parallel world; prismatic and mirage-like, soaked in the searing heat of urgency. UK import. EXPENSIVE LOOKS “Dark Matters” (Group Tightener – GT 13) CD (UPC: 881626946626 – CDEXPENDark) EXPENSIVE LOOKS “Dark Matters” (Group Tightener – GT 13) LP (LPEXPENDark) ***ALEC FIELD grew up in New York on a steady diet of Chicago house, disco, old Motown stuff and a smattering of his parents’ psych records, as well as “trashy ’90s dance.” Dark Matters is his debut LP as EXPENSIVE LOOKS. It flows continuously across nine tracks, touching on elements of all the music he grew up on: hypnotic house, textured minimalism, and the gorgeous moment of musical epiphany that happens when a beat drops out and all that’s left is the aural equivalent of taking a deep breath and staring at the stars. It’s a dance record with the sort of scrappy, open heart that can only come from someone like Feld. Expensive Looks is all encompassing, it draws from all genres without border, pulling everything into one warped but pointed mass. LP limited to 500 copies on red vinyl. SERVILE SECT “Realms Of The Queen” (King of the Monsters – KOTM 34) LP (LPSERVIReal) ***”Realms of the Queen is an astonishing furtherance of (SERVILE SECT’s) strange and lonesome rage pealing from the bowels of a god-forsaken earth to the endless scree of the cosmos. An essential document for anyone investigating the forbidden zones of elusive black thought.” Realms was originally released early 2011 on Ecstatic Peace as CD only and KOTM is proud to release a limited vinyl version of this important document of ‘sci-fi centric black metal’. Servile Sect had a busy year with the release of Realms followed by their album Trvth (Handmade Birds) which sold out in the blink of an eye as well as several tape outputs on Land Of Decay and Handmade Birds. Limited to 214 copies on clear vinyl with glow in the dark splatter artwork designed by Viraloptic (Kevin from Sutekh Hexen). WRECK & REFERENCE “Black Cassette” (Flenser – FR 13) LP (UPC: 879198007814 – LPWRECKBlac) ***WRECK & REFERENCE are an experimental project that conjures up a thoroughly unique mode of electronic doom-tinged no wave. The Californian duo eschew guitars entirely, but you wouldn’t know it from their artfully constructive, intricate compositions; it’s difficult to believe that those crashing riffs aren’t borne of magnetic strings and long-forgotten blues licks. Formed by DRUMMER (IGNAT FREGE) and multi-instrumentalist (FELIX DANBOLD), the band’s live performances are a mixture of live drums and samples triggered by an MPC style controller, creating a sound that is as unique as it is rooted in the traditional heavy of guitar-driven doom: Warning meets Killing Joke, Electric Wizard filtered through an alien command center. The band drew attention of many blogs with their self-released tape-only Black Cassette, which was later issued on CD by Music Ruins Lives. Black Cassette is as refreshing as it is confusing-a post-post-post trip laced with Cormac McCarthy, experimental noise, haunting wails, sci-fi menace and an angry, bizarre undertone that rises up and defies explanation. At times ethereal and spacey, at times bombastic and cathartic, and always intriguing, Wreck and Reference challenge orthodoxy and decimate genre conventions; doom has never sounded so apocalyptic. The sky is black, the soil is burning, and the machines have one. ROYAL HEADACHE “s/t” (R.I.P. Society – RIP 021) LP (LPROYALs/t) ***AVAILABLE AGAIN!!! “These dudes have been one of the best things about Sydney’s resurgent DIY punk scene for a while, on the strength of a self-produced 7″ and some pretty amazing live shows, and their album, produced by MIKEY YOUNG of Eddy Current Suppression Ring and Straight Arrows’ OWEN PENGLIS, delivers on their early promise pretty comprehensively. There’s a ’60s pop hue to punk jams like ‘Down The Lane,’ but they don’t come across as revivalists-you can put that down to a combination of a thick romantic streak and a totally prosaic lyrical style which is so terrifically unpretentious that it makes you wonder why so few other songwriters have been able to write like this.”-Rose Quartz. Australian import. WOOLLEN KITS “s/t” (R.I.P. Society – RIP 024) LP (LPWOOLLs/t) ***Debut album for the Melbourne-based garage trio, which features joint vocals by guitarist THOMAS HARDISTY and drummer TOM RIDGEWELL. Follows a clutch of 7″ releases including ‘Teenage Love’ (2009) and this year’s ‘Maths’, which we described as “their best song yet”. Produced by LACHLAN WOODEN at Magnetic West in Brunswick West, making it the only garage rock LP in Melbourne not recorded by Mikey Young or Jack Farley. From the presser: “This isn’t an episode of Happy Days, Woollen Kit’s debut LP is believable in its honesty with an earnest sentiment similar to Television Personalities and The Modern Lovers.” Australian import. NAZI DUST “Wretched Hour” (Vinyl Rites – RITES 29) LP (LPNAZI Wret ) ***Certain cities make for incubators of specific kinds of music and Tampa, like Detroit, makes for ugly music. NAZI DUST is a hardcore punk band pulling from the nastier moments of ’80s Boston hardcore, mostly Siege and SSD. Their recording is raw, their drums are pounding, their guitar and bass are buzzsaws of treble and distortion and the vocals are spit with an unreal amount of venom. Violent music from young men in a violent city.
New & Upcoming Releases 1/31/12
Lakeshore’s Alternativemusic.com New & Upcoming Release list 1/31/12 If you see anything you’re interested in or have any questions about anything you see listed please email us at Marta@Alternativemusic.com For up to the minute new music information follow us on Facebook . Looking to hear something new? Take a listen to the Alternativemusic.com podcast with shop owner Andrew Chinnici and noted music critic Rob Roberts.
Brand New – Street Date 1/31/2012
HOSPITALITY “Hospitality” (Merge – MRG 431) CD (UPC: 673855043128) HOSPITALITY “Hospitality” (Merge – MRG 431) LP (UPC: 673855043111) HUBBLE “Hubble Drums” (Northern Spy – NSCD 015) CD (UPC: 670541194089) HUBBLE “Hubble Drums” (Northern Spy – NSLP 015) LP (UPC: 670541194072) THEE OH SEES/TOTAL CONTROL “2011 Tour Split LP” (Castle Face – CF 010) LP DAMON & NAOMI WITH GHOST “s/t” (Drag City – DC 206) LP+7″ (UPC: 781484020615 – LPDAMONs/t) (STREET DATE – 1/31/2012) ***NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!! Back from the abyss, DAMON & NAOMI with GHOST fills an empty space in the continuously flowering discography of Damon & Naomi. It was back in 1995 that DAMON KRUKOWSKI and NAOMI YANG first met Ghost. They felt an immediate kinship and soon plans were afoot to collaborate in some way-but it wasn’t until the year 2000 that they encountered MASAKI BATOH and MICHIO KURIHARA in the studio. The sonic trip they embarked upon was a revelation for all concerned. Alongside Kurihara’s singular guitar style, Batoh increased the peace in the mix, placing colorful and organic sounds within the dreamy conceptions of Damon & Naomi, mixing an ever-greater sense of deep space into the already massive songs. A shared sympathy for folk music informed the session as well. This in no way prefigured the back-to-folk movement of the coming decade, as the natural qualities of Damon & Naomi with Ghost exist out of time, today as then. It makes this record sound just as new today as it did old a decade or so back. This is part of the magic of Damon & Naomi with Ghost. In the years since then, Kurihara has become a part of Damon & Naomi, touring and playing with them on all their recordings. No Export to Europe. v/a “THE TOTAL GROOVY” (Drag City – DC 507) 4xCD (UPC: 781484050728 – cdtotalgroo) (STREET DATE – 1/31/2012) ***Drag City presents reissues of the avant-garde DIY label Groovy founded by PETE SHELLEY (BUZZCOCKS) and FRANCIS COOKSON. This 4xCD set features four albums-FREE AGENTS’ # 3.33, PETE SHELLEY’s Sky Yen, SALLY SMMIT AND HER MUSICIANS’ Hangahar, and the self-titled album by STRANGE MEN IN SHEDS WITH SPANNERS. The LPs were reissued in December 2011, and now for the first time ever, are collected together for CD release with all original packaging included in miniature (plus an exclusive Shelley interview!)-so what are you waiting for? It’s been over thirty years’ now-you can finally get Groovy on digital! No Export to Europe. OM “Live At Jerusalem” (Southern Lord – SUNN 86.5) LP (LPOMLive) ***AVAILABLE AGAIN – LAST COPIES – NEW LOWER PRICE!!! In December of 2007 the mighty duo that is OM made a pilgrimage to Israel to play for its people. Their pinnacle performance unfolded at 4 Aristobolus Street in Jerusalem the site of Uganda Records. The band played for over 4 hours on this evening! The tracks: “Flight of the Eagle” and “Bhimas’ Theme” were captured and the transmission of these recordings were flown back to the United States where the vinyl lacquers were made by BOB WESTON. Southern Lord in cooperation with OM present you the listener with this 180-gram black vinyl transcendental offering, Limited to 3,000 machine numbered copies. PEAKING LIGHTS “936 Remixed” (100% Silk – SILK 014) 12″ (lppeaki93re) ***Ponies from the SILK stable turn 936 dub-a-dub lullaby groovers into full-on synth-sex, acid-bubble, twinkle-starshine dance ditties on this remix redux. Beat it with the chic vocal pitch n’ bounce and metallic/mechanic swing of Ital’s take on “Marshmellow Yellow.” Bring it on baroque with XANDER HARRIS’ Sly and Dario giallo-reggae revision of “Birds of Paradise.” INNERGAZE hi-five the minimal wave of “All The Sun That Shines,” transforming the original into a syncopated psych-out dark-disco-dose FX fest. And CUTICLE’s got the bleary bleep-bloop best of sweet serenade “Tiger Eyes” with Casio keyed-up flourishes, hi-hat space jams, and damp ramp-up breakdowns. Even beater than the real thing; let the Domino fall for 936-gone-nightlife. CRUISE FAMILY “We’re In Heaven” (Not Not Fun – NNF 247) 12″ (LPCRUISWere) ***The vinyl debut by this Viennese rave abstractionist boils down pulsing LED beats and deep synth strobe FX into a cavernous laser-streaked fog. Packaged in blinding Alex Grey-style acid-body artwork by MR. CRUISE FAMILY himself. CUTICLE “Mother Rhythm Earth Memory” (Not Not Fun – NNF 251) 12″ (LPCUTICMoth) ***The NNF debut (after an EP on 100% SILK) by this Iowa City electronic maximalist. M.R.E.M. is the first purely solo CUTICLE release, after working with a series of part-time collaborators, and it’s freed him to let loose his wildest and weirdest impulses. BOSCO DELREY “Everybody Wah” (Mad Decent – MAD 128) LP (UPC: 891063002724 – LPDELREEver) ***BOSCO DELREY, the stylish purveyor of electronic-tinged rockabilly, is prepared to release his debut full length album Everybody Wah on Mad Decent. Hailing from New Jersey by way of Memphis, Bosco’s sound references the sounds of Sun Studios-era recordings, updating the lo-fi guitar twang with the use of an MPC drum machine and vintage synthesizer emulators to create a wall of distorted dance/grunge, with other apparent influences ranging from southern rap to church hymns and dancehall. He spent the past summer in Memphis, TN recording the 13 tracks with DOUG EASLEY. With the first whistle of “Baby’s Got A Blue Flame” Everybody Wah transports you into Bosco’s classic future rock world where any musical influence is fair game. “Get Outta Dodge” starts off as an acoustic ballad eventually building into swirls of psychedelic fuzz. Bosco let’s his rockabilly influences shine on “Don Haps” with its twangy guitar driven beat building up to lush organ and vocal harmonies. “Lovely Sleepy Dead” is a punk rock anthem taking influences from The Ramones and The Clash. “Expelled Spelled Expelled,” “Down We Go” and “Insta Love” show Bosco’s craftsmanship for a the ballad, taking cues from classic rock and 50′s doowop. “Afterlife” grooves with a mellow dancehall beat followed by “Cool Out’s” hyper speed drum and bass proving there’s no musical territory Bosco’s afraid to touch. “20 Flight Dub” ends the record sending it off on dreamy synth pads and a light reggaeton beat over Bosco’s bedroom soul vocals. Every track on the record brings together new ideas and influences, making Everybody Wah an entirely refreshing entry into the current music scene. MISTREATERS “s/t” (Dusty Medical – DMR 31) DBL.LP (LPMISTRs/t) ***Forming in 1998 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, THE MISTREATERS played their first show that New Year’s Eve. Over the next few years they built a reputation as one of the Midwest’s most celebrated underground rock and roll bands due to an explosive live show and relentless touring. The band released a 7″ in 1999 on Buffalo, NY’s Big Neck Records, and their debut full length for the same label the following year. They released several more singles on labels like Flying Bomb (Michigan), Goodbye Boozy (Italy) and Yakisakana (France). Cross country treks and appearances at the Rust Belt Revolt, Horizontal Action Blackout and South By Southwest solidified the band’s following and in 2003 the legendary Estrus Records released their sophomore album. That year also saw the band make their maiden voyage to Europe. Over the next few years, more singles and another trip to Europe followed, and the band released a live LP on guitarist KEVIN MISTREATER’s label Dusty Medical Records. On December 30, 2011 the band played their final live show, at Milwaukee’s Cactus Club. A few months prior, they got together to record the last 4 songs from their repertoire-songs written when the band was still playing regularly but had not gotten down on tape. These songs form the nucleus of their swan song The Mistreaters-a compilation of hard-to-find 7″ and compilation tracks, as well as a couple other previously unreleased songs. At 26 songs in all, this collection spans the band’s entire career, going back all the way to their first demo tape. Packaged in deluxe gatefold sleeves in an edition of 325 copies. MISTREATERS “Live At The Circle” (Dusty Medical – DMR 04) LP (LPMISTRLive) ***AVAILABLE AGAIN!!! THE MISTREATERS ripping it up live at the Circle Bar in Milwaukee, New Years Eve, 2005. Includes the powerhouse cuts “Richard Dawson’s Creek” and “Personal Space Invader,” along with a gang of others. Limited pressing of 500 copies. CATHOLIC BOYS “Psychic Voodoo Mind Control” (Dusty Medical – DMR 32) LP (LPCATHOPsyc) ***REISSUED!!! Dusty Medical & HS!BF Records are proud to co-present the 2011 remastered reissue of the classic Psychic Voodoo Mind Control-the one and only full-length LP from NE Wisconsin misfits the CATHOLIC BOYS. The foursome spawned from the Ripoff-worshipping TEENAGE REJECTS, of whom JON, PAUL and ERIC were all members. NICK had played in the garage blues trash outfit the STRONG COME ONS-together they created some of the weirdest & spazziest punk rock anyone had ever heard, and set out all over the rust belt in the early ’00s, touring with England’s The Real Losers and Green Bay pals the Mystery Girls, playing festivals like the Horizontal Action Blackout. They recorded with people like Justin Perkins and Alicja Trout and released 7″ after 7″ on labels like No Fuckin’ Chance Records outta the Netherlands, Michigan’s Bancroft Records, and the storied Wisconsin label Kryptonite Records, but just one LP-issued on Australia’s Dropkick label in an edition of 500 copies, along with a domestic CD version on Green Bay’s Trickknee label. The vinyl edition quickly disappeared and has been unavailable since. Now in 2012 the record returns with a new master derived from Justin Perkins’s original tapes, and new artwork made from the original source material used in the first pressing.
You are currently browsing the archives for the Alternative category.