Category Archives: Highly Anticipated

May 22, 2012 · 4:16 pm

Brand New: Atlas Genius – “Back Seat”

Listen to the brand new track “Back Seat” now!

The song “Trojans” by Atlas Genius has taken over our heads and our hearts over the past few months. Now, we’re finally getting more!

Listen: Atlas Genius – “Trojans”

The Adelaide, Australia-based indie band has signed with Warner Bros. Records, and will release its debut EP, Through The Glass, on June 12. The three-song collection will include Atlas Genius’ breakout hit “Trojans,” which had sold more than 45,000 downloads in the U.S. alone before the band was even signed. The band members are currently at work in their home studio on their full-length debut, which is due out this fall.

The band wasn’t in a rush to sign with a record label. In fact, it wasn’t until about a month after the Neon Gold blog post that they even realized that Atlas Genius’ inbox was full of inquiries fromlabels, publishers, lawyers, booking agents and management companies.

“We had begun to think that music was a pipedream and we had all gone back to university to pursue more realistic careers,” recalls vocalist/guitarist Keith. Buoyed by the outpouring of interest, the three brothers – Keith, Steven and Michael Jeffrey – quickly got back to writing and recording more songs.

NYLON praised Atlas Genius’ “double whammy of high-flying pop melodies and instantly catchy lyrics” and Billboard tipped the band as part of “The Next Wave” of up-and-coming alternative bands. The three-track Through The Glass – produced, engineered and mixed by the band in their home studio – captures Atlas Genius’ singular combination of sophisticated musicality and warm, wistful spirit. In addition to “Trojans,” it features the shimmering “Symptoms” and “Back Seat,” which blends its pulsing bass throb with a sweetly infectious beat and tender vocals that alternately soar and sigh.

Listen: Atlas Genius – “Back Seat”

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May 16, 2012 · 4:27 pm

Newest Love (+ download): The Dig

New York City’s rock band The Dig will release their new album Midnight Flowers on May 29th via Buffalo Jump Records. In celebration, they’re hosting three record release shows in DC, NYC, and Chicago. In July they will move to Los Angeles by popular demand and return for a residency at Silverlake Lounge after playing their successful shows with Ben Kweller last month. The band is proud to lend their single to Turn the Tide: Songs for “Last Call at the Oasis” a companion chartity album to the new film Last Call at the Oasis in support of the global water crisis alongside 20 unreleased exclusive tracks from artists including Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Alabama Shakes, My Morning Jacket and more.

Listen/Download: The Dig – “I Already Forgot Everything You Said”

The Dig’s sound has been developing ever since the band’s two singers Emile Mosseri and David Baldwin started making music together when they were eleven years old.  After meeting California native Erick Eiser, the three songwriters have been writing tunes and playing in different bands since they were 16 years old. Anchored by sharp guitars, a woozy synth backdrop and airtight vocal harmonies, the new album Midnight Flowers is produced by Bryce Goggin (Pavement, The Apples In Stereo, Swans, Antony & The Johnsons) and it recalls styles ranging from T. Rex to Brian Eno to The Everly Brothers. Leading up to the release of Midnight Flowers, The Dig have pressed a limited number of cassette tapes containing the album’s first two singles, “Red Rose In The Cold Winter Ground” and “I Already Forgot Everything You Said.” 

“Even though it takes us about 15 minutes to make each individual cassette, which is done using an old boom box in the back of our van between shows, we like the idea of having the songs that we recorded using analog tape machines available on cassette.  For any of our fans that have moved on from 1995, each cassette comes with a digital download.”

Following their acclaimed 2010 debut, Electric Toys, The Dig amassed a passionate national following with magnetic live performances touring with the likes of Portugal. The Man, The Antlers, and The Walkmen. The band began writing new songs on the road and back home in New York between tours. The new songs reflect a rich sense of lyricism in “Red Rose in the Cold Winter Ground” and “Glass Horse” while thrumming with a charged pop sensibility in “All Tied Up” and “Break the Silence.”  When we were writing “I Already Forgot Everything You Said,” guitarist and vocalist David Baldwin recalls, “We had just gotten off the road with The Antlers and we were listening to a lot of Bob Dylan’s Time Out of Mind.  I think those influences found their way into that song particularly. But really the songs on this album are personal.”

The Dig are:

  • David Baldwin (Guitar/Vocals)
  • Emile Mosseri (Bass/Vocals)
  • Erick Eiser (Keyboards/Guitar)
  • Mark Demiglio (Drums)

The Dig – Midnight Flowers track listing:

  1. Red Rose in the Cold Winter Ground
  2. Black Water
  3. I Already Forgot Everything You Said
  4. All Tied Up
  5. Hole In My Heart
  6. Animal Screams
  7. Break The Silence
  8. Police Car
  9. Clouds and The White Noise
  10. Glass Horse

The Dig live:

  • 5/19: Washington, DC @ The Dunes (TICKETS)
  • 5/25: Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands (TICKETS)
  • 5/31: Chicago, IL @ Schubas (TICKETS)
  • 6/16: Philadelphia, PA @ North Star Bar
  • 7/11: Los Angeles, CA @ Silverlake Lounge
  • 7/18: Los Angeles, CA @ Silverlake Lounge
  • 7/25: Los Angeles, CA @ Silverlake Lounge

 

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May 8, 2012 · 1:38 pm

Highly Anticipated: The Wallflowers

The Wallflowers have announced they are back in the studio and putting the finishing touches on a long-awaited new studio album that will be released by Columbia Records this fall. Currently recording in Nashville at Dan Auerbach’s (The Black Keys) Easy Eye Sound studio, the new album finds frontman Jakob Dylan joining original band members Greg Richling (bass) and Rami Jaffee (keyboards), with Wallflowers’ longtime guitarist Stuart Mathis and drummer Jack Irons (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam) rounding out the lineup. The album is being produced by Jay Joyce (Emmylou Harris, Cage the Elephant) and mixed by Rich Costey (Bruce Springsteen, The Shins).

The Wallflowers have taken their deep history and defining sound into new territory with the release of their upcoming album. The new record has the band doing what it does best while continuing to find new ground to cover.  “It’s been a while since we’ve felt this energized and creative. We haven’t changed our stripes so much as we’re continuing to redefine the animal,” said Jakob Dylan.

In addition to their new album, The Wallflowers have announced a series of tour dates that will kick off in select U.S. cities in July. On these dates the band expects to give fans a preview of the new material, which finds them rediscovering their sound while reflecting the varied influences they have accumulated over the years.

I’m a sucker for “One Headlight”!!!

Formed in Los Angeles, The Wallflowers rose to fame with their 4x platinum album Bringing Down The Horse, which featured four top charting singles including “6th Avenue Heartache,” “One Headlight,” “The Difference,” and “Three Marlenas.” The two-time Grammy Award winners went on to sell over 7 million records worldwide with a series of critically acclaimed albums before going on hiatus in 2007. During the group’s break from recording, Jakob Dylan released two solo albums, which also garnered significant praise,  2008’s Seeing Things and 2010’s Women and Country.

The Wallflowers Tour Dates

  • 7/20    Firefly Music Festival, Dover, DE
  • 7/24    Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY (on-sale Friday, May 11th)
  • 7/25    The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ (on-sale Friday, May 11th)
  • 7/27    Schubas, Chicago, IL (on-sale Saturday, May 12th)
  • 9/23    De Luna Fest, Pensacola, FL

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April 25, 2012 · 10:00 am

New Greg Laswell Video + Free Download

Greg Laswell’s “Come Back Down,” the first single from his new release Landline is this week’s Single of the Week on iTunes! The song features Sara Bareilles on backing vocals.

Free download: Greg Laswell ft. Sara Bareilles – “Come Back Down”

Laswell’s new album, Landline, is available today on Vanguard Records! Landline is his first album since 2010’s Take A Bow, and his fourth full-length. Laswell, a talented producer and musician in his own right, self-produced the record. Landline’s 11 new tracks were recorded by Laswell in a church-turned-house in a small lobstering town in down-east Maine. His nomadic tendencies caused him to relocate from Los Angeles to New York City, eventually ending up at the church-turned-house that is owned by his wife’s parents. The album’s title was inspired by the fact that the home-recording-studio had no cell-phone reception, forcing Laswell to use landlines for all of his calls. The album features collaborations with a number of well-known female singers, including Ingrid Michaelson, Sia, Elizabeth Ziman (of Elizabeth and the Catapult) and Sara Bareilles (on the album’s lead single ‘Come Back Down’). Inspired by hip-hop records that he was listening to while writing and recording the album, Laswell decided he wanted to work with and feature female vocals alongside his own. Each singer brings a new element and personality to the songs, whether it’s Bareilles’ energy that caused Laswell to re-record his vocals, or the fact that he co-wrote the album’s title track with Ingrid Michaelson when the power went out one night.

Check out this video Laswell also recently made for album track “Back To You,” which he filmed himself.

Laswell will also begin touring in May and June to support Landline.  The tour begins on May 15 on the East Coast before heading out across North America to the West Coast and circling back around to the East Coast, ending with three shows in New York City, Washington DC, and Philadelphia. Along the way he will play shows in Los Angeles and Chicago, and many more markets. Not only will Laswell play these headlining shows, but he will follow them up with a number of dates supporting Ingrid Michaelson as well.

 

 

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April 23, 2012 · 11:56 am

New Electric Guest Album, Mondo, Out Tomorrow

Asa Taccone and Matthew Compton–collectively known as Electric Guest have confirmed an April 24 release date (that’s tomorrow!) for their Danger Mouse-produced Downtown Records/Fontana North debut album, Mondo.

Stream: Electric Guest – “This Head I Hold”

The thoroughly unsettling video for album cut “American Daydream,” directed by Jorma Taccone (The Lonely Island, Saturday Night Live), premiered across MTV’s various platforms on January 23.

The duo is set to begin the second leg of their national tour on April 25.

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April 10, 2012 · 3:19 pm

Newest Love: Stepdad

Have you ever looked through those funhouse mirrors that show copies of your reflection continuing infinitely? Imagine seeing that, but in a strobe-lit room with mirrors all around you. Then imagine you’re tripping on LSD.” – Consequence of Sound

“Stepdad’s debut EP is an excellent one and enough to hype their upcoming full-length Wildlife Pop. If you love electro-pop music, you will want to add this band to your rotation.” – Earbuddy.net

“About the only way I can think of to describe them is that it’s like laying in the warm sunshine on a lazy summer afternoon. You just have to relax and smile.” – Revival Magazine

“If Passion Pit and The Postal Service got drunk one night and had a kid out of wedlock, the result would be Stepdad.” – Blogcritics

Stepdad have unleashed unto the world a brand new track from their upcoming debut LP Wildlife Pop, due out June 12th on Black Bell Records.

The Grand Rapids foursome are also excited to announce that they will be joining the Warped Tour this summer. The tour includes over 40 dates and the likes of Rise Against, Taking Back Sunday and many more. Get more info here.

Stepdad was forged in an unrelenting bath of summer heat on Chicago’s south side in 2009 by songwriters/producers/college dropouts/solid bros Ryan McCarthy and ultramark on the foundation of their joint worship of Roland Orzabal and Brian Wilson. After a few quick months, the still nameless duo was sitting on a small mountain of songs. The name Stepdad was arrived upon by a random phrase generator and adopted without regard for the impending banality of rehashing that story during interviews.

Swiftly deciding that a low cost of living heavily outweighed the benefits of Chicago, Stepdad relocated to Grand Rapids (because it’s not Detroit) in their home state of Michigan and self-released their debut EP Ordinaire.  Alex Fives and Jeremy Malvin were then added to the lineup on bass and drums respectively.  This incarnation carried them through tours with Fitz and the Tantrums, Passion Pit, and Rubblebucket.

The success of infectious and heavily layered pop behemoths like “My Leather, My Fur, My Nails” and “Jungles” helped Stepdad gain the attention of producer Chris Zane (Passion Pit, Asobi Seksu, The Walkmen, Les Savy Fav) and in the summer of 2011, Stepdad readily shacked up with friends and bedbugs in New York City to record their debut LP Wildlife Pop, out June 12th on Black Bell Records.

Wildlife Pop presents a creative leap forward for Stepdad, expanding their already massive pop sound. “Will I Ever Dance Again” and “Must Land Running” successfully transplant their aptitude for unforgettable choruses into a larger sound bed while the galactic rainforest sensations of “Treasure Hugs”, “Exploring”, and “Starfriends on Earth” create the cathartic urge to sprint barefoot through a gauntlet of scorpions on a municipal trail paved with searing drywall screws (fortunately for listeners everywhere, this compelling inclination would be devilishly hard to act upon).

Listen: Stepdad – “Must Land Running”

Tracklist for Wildlife Pop
  1. Must Land Running
  2. Jungles
  3. Show Me Your Blood
  4. Mystery in the Faking
  5. Will I Ever Dance Again
  6. To Ribbons
  7. My Leather, My Fur, My Nails
  8. Pick & Choose
  9. Starfriends on Earth
  10. Treasure Hugs
  11. Exploring
  12. Warrior (Jungles Part 2)

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April 9, 2012 · 2:51 pm

MP3: Zulu Winter – “Silver Tongue”

Zulu Winter is gearing up to release Language, a debut album that has the immediate appeal of pop while at the same time packed with emotional insight. Inspired by everything from 19th century literature to obscure ‘60s electronica, Language will be released in North America on June 19 via Arts & Crafts. Until then, have a free download!

Download: Zulu Winter – “Silver Tongue”

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April 9, 2012 · 11:05 am

Video: Magic Wands – “Space”

Magic Wands are set to release their full-length debut, Aloha Moon, on April 24th via Bright Antenna/ILG. The album debuted at #1 this week on the Alternative Specialty Radio charts and their single “Black Magic” has hit the #3 spot. “Black Magic” will also be featured on Gossip Girl April 23rd, the night before the record is released. The track also appeared on an episode of The Vampire Diaries that aired March 15th.

Magic Wands have recorded a cover version of the early Madonna song, “Burning Up”. The band is giving away the track as a free download at RCRD LBL: http://bit.ly/Hx8Ubc. The single, “Black Magic”, is now available for purchase at iTunes. CD and vinyl for Aloha Moon is currently available for pre-sale on the band’s website. During the pre-sale, buyers will receive a collector’s edition picture disc.

Magic Wands first garnered attention with the release of a noteworthy EP, Magic Love & Dreams, which quickly drew praise from publications like Nylon, who applauded their “sparkling, psychedelic-pop gems.” The band honed their live chops, solidifying their fanbase touring alongside The Kills, The Horrors, The Raconteurs, The Black Keys, The Virgins, Black Kids and The Teenagers, as well as appearances at SXSW and Lollapalooza. Their debut full-length, Aloha Moon, is a cosmic dance through a universe where voices echo, keyboards shimmer and guitars splash like giant waves on a distant planet’s shores. Some of the tracks on Aloha Moon were mixed by acclaimed producer Dave Sardy (LCD Soundsystem). Early praise comes from SPIN, who declares their first single “Space” “…a sexy and propulsive stunner.”

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April 2, 2012 · 2:40 pm

The Dig – “Red Rose in the Cold Winter Ground”

New York rock band The Dig will release their new album Midnight Flowers on May 29th via Buffalo Jump Records. After releasing their acclaimed debut album Electric Toys in 2010, and having toured with artists such as Portugal. The Man, The Joy Formidable, Thrice, The Editors, The Antlers and The Walkmen, band members David Baldwin (Guitar/Vocals), Emile Mosseri (Bass/Vocals), Erick Eiser (Keyboards/Guitar), and Mark Demiglio (Drums) are ready to share their new music with the world. The band will embark on a national tour supporting the release of Midnight Flowers alongside Ben Kweller and Sleeper Agent this March, April and May.

“Although seemingly somber on the surface, the track’s jarring bassline and random, punctuating drums make for a dynamic, albeit reserved moment of great rock and roll transcendence.” – Consequence of Sound

“Without a doubt, The Dig have released one of the year’s best records” – Last.fm Discover

“This is the catchiest, most intriguing power pop band to emerge outof the no-name pile in some time.  –Pop Matters

Listen: The Dig –  “Red Rose in the Cold Winter Ground”

The Dig Tour Dates:

  • 3/30: St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway *
  • 3/31: Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
  • 4/01: Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge *
  • 4/02: Knoxville, TN @ Preservation Pub
  • 4/05: Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s
  • 4/11: Houston, TX @ The Mink
  • 4/12: San Antonio, TX @ SATX Music
  • 4/13: Dallas, TX @ The Prophet Bar
  • 4/14: Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
  • 4/18: Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
  • 4/19: Bend, OR @ The Horned Hand
  • 4/20: Eugene, OR @ Eugene
  • 4/24: San Juan Capistrano, CA @ The Coach House *
  • 4/25: Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre *
  • 4/26: San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
  • 4/30: Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue *
  • 5/01: Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater *
  • 5/25: Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands (CD RELEASE SHOW)
  • 5/31: Chicago, IL @ Schubas (CD RELEASE SHOW)

* = On Tour with Ben Kweller and Sleeper Agent

The Dig – Midnight Flowers track listing:

  1. Red Rose in the Cold Winter Ground
  2. Black Water
  3. Already Forgot Everything You Said
  4. All Tied Up
  5. Hole In My Heart
  6. Animal Screams
  7. Break The Silence
  8. Police Car
  9. Clouds and The White Noise
  10. Glass Horse

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March 24, 2012 · 7:54 pm

Video: Miike Snow – “The Wave”

Check out this new chill-inducing video for Miike Snow’s “The Wave.”

The video is a continuation of a thread which began in their last video for “Paddling Out.” In that video, a group of unfortunates were abducted to space in an experiment to create a perfect human named Jean Noel. Following some pretty brutal chainsaw surgery, the video ended with Jean crashing to earth in a spaceship seemingly manned by classical-era twins.

Both videos were directed by Swedish Director Andreas Nillson, who’s work includes MGMT and Fever Ray. Rumours the entire plot was cooked up after a real life after hours chain saw massacre are currently unconfirmed.

Click here to see the video for “Paddling Out” (the first video of the series), if you haven’t yet.

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