Lewis Watson’s recently shared album cut “Stay” has been treated to a remix. London’s We The Wild brought their unique orchestration to the single, giving it a dark dance-pop edge.
Listen/download: Lewis Watson – “Stay” (We The Wild Remix)
Watch the original song’s video here.
London-based collective Jungle has revealed they will release their debut album in North America on July 15, 2014 (July 14 UK) on XL Recordings. Their eponymous album is set to be one of the summer’s most anticipated debut records, building on the success of their singles “Platoon”, “The Heat” and “Busy Earnin'”. Rolling Stone recently included the group in their “10 New Artists You Need To Know“.
Jungle are based around a core musical duo of lifelong friends known simply as ‘J’ and ‘T’, who expand to a thrilling seven piece live, and make mesmeric, kaleidoscopic modern soul that’s unmistakably born in the UK but has true global appeal (their “Platoon” video has already racked up more than 4 million views). The album was recorded between the band’s own home studio in Shepherds Bush, London and the XL Recordings studio in Ladbroke Grove.
The album track list is:
*pre-order Jungle Jungle here
Meanwhile, Jungle will return to North America for their first headline tour to date in the country. The group will perform in NYC at their third sold-out show, as well as San Francisco for a sold-out show at The Independent on June 7, the day after they kick off their tour on June 6at The El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. The group will come back in August to perform at this year’s Lollapalooza (full list of dates below).
JUNGLE North America Tour Dates
Filed under Awesome, Check 'em Out!, Lists, new albums, Newest Love, Shows, video
” …more akin to American weirdos of various unseemliness from Ariel Pink to Jim James, tapping into a bygone era of retro-futurism and resulting in something so out-of-time that it sounds timeless.” – Pitchfork
In the second half of 2013, following years of near-constant touring as the front-man of the critically acclaimed BC outfit Yukon Blonde, Jeffrey Innes suddenly found himself in possession of an unfamiliar commodity: free time.
With Yukon Blonde on a temporary break between albums, Innes was back at home in Vancouver, but rather than spending his downtime relaxing, he launched the solo project High Ends as an adventurous new songwriting outlet.
“I initially wanted to do something that was really collaborative, so I wrote a bunch of songs with the idea of bringing friends in,” Innes remembers. “But all of my friends were on tour, so I ended up doing it myself.”
This prompted a feverishly creative burst of unfiltered solo experimentation, with most of the material written quickly using an array of analogue synthesizers.
The resulting ten-song album was recorded with producer Colin Stewart (Dan Mangan, the New Pornographers) at his Vancouver Island facility. During the sessions, Gold & Youth drummer Jeff Mitchelmore handled percussion; Louise Burns and New Pornographers’ Kathryn Calder contributed backing vocals; and Ladyhawk’s Darcy Hancock laid down guitar.
“The Weight” is the first song being released from the new project.
Listen: High Ends – “The Wait”
Filed under Awesome, Check 'em Out!, listen
Reggae music has never stopped evolving but for millions of people from around the world it’s still defined by the songs of Bob Marley and the Wailers. It’s been their heartbeat rhythms that have inspired so much of what’s followed since, as evidenced by the enduring popularity of the “one-drop” reggae sound.
The world’s most iconic reggae band The Wailers are currently touring the US, performing the prominent album Legend in its entirety. As they infiltrated reggae music to the world outside of Jamaica, its birth place, The Wailers celebrate their 30th anniversary of the album Legend. Named by Time Magazine as the “Best Album of the 20th Century” and #46 on Rolling Stone Magazine‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Legend is also the best selling reggae album of all time, with over 30 million copies sold worldwide.
The Wailers have consistently toured for the past 40 years, and in doing so, have been keeping the legacy of Bob Marley alive. They are the most successful reggae group in history, having sold over 250 million albums worldwide and played to an estimated 25 million people around the world. They have left an indelible mark on modern music. After touring in South America, Russia, Middle East, and Europe, The Wailers are eager to bring their good vibrations to festivals and venues across the country this summer.
Formed in the late sixties, The Wailers have created an extraordinary body of work and their music can be heard in every corner of the world today. Original members included Bob Marley and his vocal partners Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh, alongside the ground-breaking rhythm section of the Barrett brothers, Carlton on drums and Aston “Family Man” on bass. Today, Aston leads the band as it continues its worldwide campaign to promote peace, love and equality through the message of reggae and Rastafari.
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Thursday, May 8
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Havana
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New Hope, PA
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Friday, May 9
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Harvester Performance Center
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Rocky Mount, VA
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Saturday, May 10
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H Lounge @ Hollywood Casino
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Toledo, OH
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Tuesday, May 13
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Brooklyn Bowl
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Brooklyn, NY
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Wednesday, May 14
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Avalon Theatre
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Easton, MD
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Friday, May 16
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Flying Monkey
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Plymouth, NH
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Saturday, May 17
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Earthfest
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Boston, MA
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Sunday, May 18
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The Ridgefield Playhouse
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Ridgefield, CT
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Thursday, May 21
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Innsbrook Pavilion
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Glen Allen, VA
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Friday, May 22
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Stage AE
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Pittsburgh, PA
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Saturday, May 23
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The Paramount Theater
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Huntington, NY
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Sunday, May 24
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The Social
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Atlantic City, NJ
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Monday, May 25
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Dark Star Jubilee
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Thornville, OH
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Tuesday, May 26
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Sands Bethlehem Event Center
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Bethlehem, PA
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Wednesday, May 28
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Blue Fox Billiards
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Winchester, VA
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Thursday, May 29
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9:30 Club
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Washington, DC
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Friday, May 30
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Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
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Hampton Beach, NH
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Saturday, May 31
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Newport Yachting Center
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Newport, Rhode Island
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Wednesday, June 11
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Neptune’s Park @31st Street
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Virginia Beach, VA
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Thursday, June 12
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Kelly’s Outer Banks Restaurant
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Nags Head, NC
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Friday, June 13
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Ziggy’s By The Sea
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Wilmington, NC
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Saturday, June 14
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Ham’s Downtown
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Greensboro, NC
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Wednesday, July 2
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Milwaukee Summerfest
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Milwaukee, WI
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Thursday, July 3
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Marin County Fair
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San Rafael, CA
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Saturday, July 5
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Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
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Maryland Heights, MO
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Sunday, July 6
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Freedom Hill Amphitheater
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Sterling Heights, MI
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Monday, July 7
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LC Pavilion
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Columbus, OH
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Wednesday, July 9
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Common Ground Music Festival
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Lansing, MI
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Thursday, July 10
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Majestic Theatre
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Madison, WI
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Sunday, July 13
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Taste of Chicago
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Chicago, IL
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Thursday, July 17
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Saban Theatre
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Beverly Hills, CA
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Saturday, July 19
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Junior Seau Pier Amphitheater
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Oceanside, CA
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Sunday, July 20
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The Coach House
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San Juan Cap., CA
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New episodes of the award-winning music television series Guitar Center Sessions presented by JBL began airing yesterday. Now in its landmark 8thseason, Guitar Center Sessions has been tuned into more than 15 million times since December, and is moving to an exciting new Sunday night time slot, airing inspiring performances each week at 8 p.m. exclusively on DIRECTV’s Audience (channel 239). Season 8 will feature Warner Bros. Records recording artists Damon Albarn, The Wild Feathers, and LP. Damon Albarn’s debut solo album, Everyday Robots, is out now on Parlophone / Warner Bros. Records. The Wild Feathers are on tour now in support of their self-titled Warner Bros. Records album debut. LP’s long-awaited debut album will be released on June 3rd, on Warner Bros. Records.
Guitar Center Sessions Season 8 Episode Schedule featuring Warner Bros. Records Artists:
May 11, 2014 Damon Albarn
May 25, 2014 The Wild Feathers
July 20, 2014 LP
For the complete session’s line up, go to: Guitar Center Sessions
“We are incredibly proud to present our viewers with yet another season of Guitar Center Sessions,” says Dustin Hinz, Vice President / Brand Experience + Entertainment Marketing GuitarCenter. “Season 8 brings to life the stories, songs and journeys of a remarkable line-up of iconic and influential artists. Filming live at one of the world’s biggest music festivals was the perfect way to celebrate both Guitar Center’s 50th Anniversary and the success Guitar Center Sessions has seen over the past 60 episodes.”
“DIRECTV’s Audience Network is honored to host another season of Guitar Center Sessions,” said Chris Long, SVP Original Content and Production, DIRECTV. “We’re excited to air an amazing showcase from this year’s SXSW and to bring our customers another incredible line-up of talent in Season 8.”
MTV described the band’s sound as ““A charming mix of lo-fi guitar grunge, The Beach Boys’ good vibes, and Wavves-inspired nonchalance.”
Following their acclaimed demo EP and performances at South By Southwest, Cheerleader is proud to announce the release of “Perfect Vision.”
The first official single from the Philadelphia-based quintet represents a bold step forward for the band in more ways than one. “’Perfect Vision’” is a song we actually started working on two years ago,” explains singer/songwriter Joe Haller. “But we sort of gave up on it at the time because we didn’t think we were going to be able to get it to sound right.”
Fortunately, the song received a new lease on life when Cheerleader got the opportunity to record at the renowned East/West studios in Los Angeles this past February. Haller and the rest of the band finally had their chance to give “Perfect Vision” the treatment they always felt it deserved. “This song was written during a period when we were listening to a lot of Robyn and Icona Pop. Obviously, it doesn’t sound like them, but, in our own way, we were trying to capture a similar feeling, when the night is young and you can’t wait to see where it takes you.” For Cheerleader, the release “Perfect Vision” is both the culmination of a two-year journey and the start of an exciting new chapter for the band: one full of possibilities, finally within reach.
Filed under Awesome, Check 'em Out!, listen, Newest Love
Sydney sweethearts, The Griswolds, just put the finishing touches on their highly anticipated debut album with Tony Hoffer (M83, Phoenix, Beck). Their first single will be “Beware The Dog.” “This is the first song Dan and I ever wrote together. It’s about losing someone we were really close with to heavy drug use. ‘Beware the Dog’ is about that journey – the good and the bad times,” said Christopher Whitehall.
Last year The Griswolds released their infectious four-song Heart of a Lion EP and upon the release of its first single, “Heart of a Lion,” it was immediately added into high rotation in Australia on triple j radio and was one of the station’s most played tracks of the year. The international airwaves were quick to take notice with the song attracting airplay in over 20 countries worldwide and it also reached #3 on the radio airplay charts in The Netherlands via tastemaker station 3FM and was an iTunes single of the week in the region.
Stateside, the release had critics and fans buzzing alike not only with the songs themselves but with their creative videos which all had noteworthy premieres – “Mississippi” was featured on MTV Buzzworthy and I posted about it HERE; the visualizer for the Magic Man remix of the song premiered on Neon Gold, and “The Courtship of Summer Preasley” premiered with Musically Amusing HERE.
The Griswolds just wrapped a tour in Australia with St. Lucia which had one of Australia’s leading music blogs, Tone Deaf boasting that they, “…put on an incredible support set that could have easily been redefined as a co-headline spot. The quintet oozed tropical flamboyance and Aussie ambience, and brought with them a euphoric lasso that hooked audiences from the get-go…‘Beware Of The Dog’, showcased the band’s impressive harmonies and raw heavy percussion, giving the song an infectious live presence that, in hindsight, rivaled many of the headliner’s moments.”
They also came off some great shows at SXSW to packed houses and rave reviews including making many best of lists such as, The Huffington Post naming them as “30 SXSW Acts About to Break,” The Atlantic “18 Bands to Check Out From South by Southwest 2014,”Buzzfeed “50 Acts You Need To Hear,” AU Review naming the band as “Best Australian Artist at SXSW: The Griswolds” and Reverb naming them in their “The best shows at SXSW 2014” list.
The Griswolds will be playing shows throughout the rest of the year including Bonnaroo and Firefly as well as select dates with Gemini Club. More dates will be announced soon.
The Griswolds are also currently running a Pledge Music pre-order campaign which gives fans access to exclusive updates and content from the band, plus options for unique merchandise and experiences bundled with an album pre-order. A portion of the proceeds go to benefit the ASPCA / RSCPA. Get more information here:http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/thegriswolds
The Griswolds are Christopher Whitehall (Vocals), Daniel Duque-Perez (Guitars), Lachlan West (Keyboard / Percussion) and Tim John (Bass).
TOUR DATES (MORE DATES WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON):
6/13/14 to 6/15/14 – Bonnaroo – Manchester, TN
6/17/14 –Great Scott – Allston, MA – w/Gemini Club
6/18/14 – Rough Trade – Brooklyn, NY – w/Gemini Club
6/19/14 to 6/22/14 – Firefly – Dover, DE
6/19/14 – Black Cat Backstage – Washington, DC – w/Gemini Club
6/20/14 – Boot and Saddle – Philadelphia, PA – w/Gemini Club
6/24/14 – Brillobox – Pittsburgh, PA – w/Gemini Club
6/25/14 – Grog Shop – Cleveland Heights, OH – w/Gemini Club
6/27/14 – DO 317 – Indianapolis, IN – w/Gemini Club
Filed under Awesome, Highly Anticipated, new albums, Shows
Strange Talk just released their self-produced Wind-up Records debut album Cast Away on April 29, 2014. All songs on the album were mixed by Tony Hoffer (M83, Phoenix) with the exception of “Climbing Walls,” “Eskimo Boy” and “Is It Real?” which were mixed by Eliot James (Bloc Party, Two Door Cinema Club). The album streamed in its entirety before it hit stores through Billboard’s website.
Stream Album: Strange Talk – Cast Away
Strange Talk’s anthemic electro-tinged debut single “Young Hearts” was produced by Captain Cuts (Grouplove, Smallpools, The Mowgli’s) and mixed by Tony Hoffer. The music video for “Young Hearts,” directed by Mathematics (award winning director of Empire of The Sun’s “Walking on a Dream” video) premiered on VEVO.
Shazam the video to unlock a free download of The Chainsmokers remix of “Young Hearts.” The song immediately shot to #1 on Hype Machine and has garnered over 1,200,000 plays to date.
Listen: Strange Talk – “Young Hearts” (The Chainsmokers remix)
Strange Talk was also #1 Billboard Uncharted for “Climbing Walls.” They played multiple SXSW Shows to rave reviews – press coverage included “30 SXSW Acts About to Break” in Huffington Post, “50 Acts You Need To Hear” on Buzzfeed and “25 Songs From SXSW That Will Stick In Your Head” in Elite Millennial among others. The band has had some noteworthy syncs recently including “Morning Sun,” featured in and on the soundtrack of the Zac Efron film That Awkward Moment and in the April 1st episode of GLEE. “Climbing Walls” was featured in American Eagle Project Live Your Life Campaign and Cheer, “Cast Away” was used in Need for Speed: Most Wanted and 90210 among others. They are currently on tour throughout the United States; their May 14th Los Angeles date with Broods is now sold out.
TOUR DATES:
Mon 05/12/14 – Los Angeles, CA – Bardot
Wed 05/14/14 – Los Angeles, CA – Echo w/BROODS – SOLD OUT!!!
Fri 05/16/14 – San Francisco, CA – Popscene w/ The Hundred Days, Cub Sport
Sun 05/18/14 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios w/CHAD VALLEY
Mon 05/19/14 – Seattle, WA – Barboza
Thu 05/22/14 – Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
Fri 05/23/14 – Toronto, ON – The Drake
Tue 05/27/14 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
Wed 05/28/14 – Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade
Filed under Awesome, Highly Anticipated, new albums, remixes, Shows, video
The Fire Is Gone is the second album by Los Angeles-based duo Midnight Faces, comprised of vocalist Philip Stancil and composer Matthew Doty of Saxon Shore, the pioneering instrumental post-rock band founded by Doty and Josh Tillman aka Father John Misty.
Scheduled for release on May 13th, the album is the follow-up to 2013’s debut Midnight Faces release Fornication, which despite Doty’s astute reminder that “‘Indie’ and ‘80’s’ are not genres,” reminded folks fondly enough of those sounds to draw the attention of MTV Buzzworthy and MTV Hive along with popular and influential music discovery websites such as Under The Radar, My Old Kentucky Blog, Earmilk, and Baeblemusic among others.
To better understand what The Fire Is Gone is, please understand what it isn’t: No fancy producers, no big name special guests, no one wearing robot costumes, no all-analog studio, and no songs recorded live to tape.
“We made this album by ourselves and for ourselves,” Doty says. “We made it in my apartment on a computer one track at a time. If you dig the tunes, cool. If you don’t, that’s cool, too.” Fair enough, but there’s a damn good chance you’ll be landing in the camp of the former.
Still, Doty asserts, “Just what L.A. needs –another fucking 80’s new wave band, right?” Well, no. But when the songs are as good as what Midnight Faces is cranking out, perhaps the listener should be the ultimate judge of that? In fact, The Fire Is Gone is an even more evolved take on the sound that Doty and Stancil already had pretty damn near perfect.
“We laid the drum and bass line fairly quickly, but were unsure where to go next for a while,” Doty explains of “This Time,” the latest track from The Fire Is Gone recently premiered via The Onion A.V. Club. “And when I say a while, I mean like 30 minutes. I think we took a break to go watch ‘Shark Tank’ or something. Uhh, I mean have a beer and a cigarette. When we came back, Phil started whistling with a bunch of reverb on it. It just seemed to hit the spot.”
Midnight Faces Live
05/01 Hollywood, CA @ Spare Room @ Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
05/10 San Francisco, CA @ Milk Bar w/ We Will Be Lions, Owenstone
05/13 San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar w/ New Young Pony Club, We Are Sirens
05/21 Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater Record Release Show
Tracklist:
Filed under Awesome, Check 'em Out!, listen, new albums, Shows
Musically Amusing 