Category Archives: Shows

Video: Black Lips – “Funny”

Fresh off a US tour with a plethora of sold out shows from coast to coast, Black Lips are once again preparing to hit the road in support of Underneath The Rainbow this fall with The King Khan & BBQ Show. This pairing has a storied history, from KK & BBQ’s chaotic introduction as support on Black Lips’ first European tour to the amalgamated supergroup of both acts as psych-gospel sextet The Almighty Defenders in 2009, and the resulting shows are certain to be legendary.

Underneath the Rainbow further demonstrates Black Lips’ 15 year evolution from underground hellions to international ambassadors of rock-n-roll (via tours that have graced the likes of Iraq, Lebanon, Thailand, India, Mexico, and dozens more). While production credits from Patrick Carney of The Black Keys and Tommy Brenneck (Cee Lo, Dap Kings) help to spotlight the band’s songcrafting, at their heart Black Lips are a vibrant and invigorating live act who thrive on getting a room moving.

UPCOMING TOUR DATES

  • 7/17/14 – Nashville, TN – Exit / In
  • 7/18/14 – Louisville, KY – Forecastle Festival
  • 7/19/14 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
  • 9/06/14 – Lafayette, GA – Cherokee Farms
  • 9/10/14 – New Orleans, LA – Tipitina’s*
  • 9/11/14 – Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s*
  • 9/12/14 – Austin, TX – Ghost Town*
  • 9/13/14 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater*
  • 9/15/14 – St. Louis, MO – Ready Room*
  • 9/16/14 – Iowa City, IA – Blue Moose Tap House*
  • 9/17/14 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue*
  • 9/18/14 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon*
  • 9/19/14 – Chicago, IL – Logan Square Auditorium*
  • 9/21/14 – Columbus, OH – The A&R Music Bar*
  • 9/23/14 – Cincinnati, OH – The Southgate House Revival*
  • 9/24/14 – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick*
  • 9/25/14 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre*
  • 9/26/14 – Montreal, QC – Club Soda*
  • 9/27/14 – Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall*
  • 9/28/14 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club*
  • 9/30/14 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza*
  • 10/01/14 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg*
  • 10/02/14 – Washington, DC – Black Cat*
  • 10/03/14 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle*
  • 10/04/14 – Atlanta, GA – The Goat Farm*
  • 11/08/14 – Austin, TX – FunFunFun Fest

 

* w/ The King Khan & BBQ Show

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Video: La Roux – “Let Me Down Gently”

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See La Roux On Tour This Summer!
**Support for New Order
* New date, tickets on sale Friday May 16th via Ticketmaster
6/1/2014     Toronto, Ontario    Danforth Music Hall
6/2/2014     Montreal, Quebec  Metropolis
6/3/2014     Boston, MA           Paradise Rock Club
6/6/2014     New York, NY        Governors Ball Music Festival
6/7/2014     Philadelphia, PA    Trocadero Theatre
6/8/2014     Washington, DC    9:30 Club
6/11/2014   Brooklyn, NY         Music Hall Of Williamsburg*
7/11/2014   San Francisco, CA Bill Graham Civic Auditorium**
7/12/2014   San Diego, CA      House of Blues
7/13/2014   Los Angeles, CA    Greek Theatre**

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Highly Anticipated: Bleachers Debut Album

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Bleachers will release debut album Strange Desire on July 15th, 2014 on RCA Records. The highly anticipated album was written and produced by Grammy Award winning musician Jack Antonoff with co-producer John Hill (MIA, Jay Z, Empire of the Sun) as well as Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yaz, Erasure) and others.
 
Here’s the Craigslist Ad that Antonoff put out a little over a day ago:

‘strange desire’ is something that came to me a few weeks ago when i was working on the last song i wrote for the bleachers album. the lyric is, “feeling like i never was young i followed a dream and a strange desire”. it was just something that came out in a scratch vocal take off the top of my head and i didn’t realize how important it was in that moment. that line speaks to my entire life over the past 14 years of writing and being on tour. i do feel like I’m constantly mourning a childhood i never had. mostly because i dealt with a lot of loss in the most formative years of my life. that ties into a lot of the lyrics on the album. specifically ‘i wanna get better’ – “while my friends where getting high and chasing girls down parkway lines i was losing my mind…”. i felt completely freaked out at a moment in life that was supposed to be carefree. i let go of a lot right then and started to follow what i now call a strange desire. its the 2 words that perfectly title what this bleachers album is as a documentation of my life as i can remember it at this point. or better put, as i see it from this point. its been a bizarre and wonderful decade (particularly the past 2 years). a lot of great things have happened but its also been strange. this album speaks to all of that. i never kept a diary over the past year of being away and thinking about my life as it has unfolded – instead i wrote this album. 

so now its time to move on from the ‘making the album phase’ and start to make the plans to give it to you. that will be july 15th. now you know that. as much as its weird to admit, sharing this album is as important as making it for me. I’m able to move on with my life from hearing the stories of what people have been through as well as telling them myself. people hearing my stories makes me feel less alone, hearing others stories does the same….. strange desire etc. 

jack
 

Bleachers first single “I Wanna Get Better” has already streamed over 1.5 million times, was deemed “the song of the summer in February” by the Huffington Post and quickly skyrocketed into the top 10 at Alt radio.  Coming off the success of the breakthrough single, Bleachers recently premiered “Shadow” on Pigeons & Planes which is now available on all digital providers.

 

Listen: Bleachers – “Shadow”
 

Since the Bleachers launch in February critics have been nothing but excited and eager to hear more. Rolling Stone exclaimed “We’ll be shocked if it’s not all over the radio by spring”, TIME raved “…it’s exciting to imagine what else Antonoff has up his sleeve” and Hilly Dilly proclaimed “…this is the kind of music that can’t get big enough.”

 Bleachers will kick off their summer festival tour dates in early June at New York’s Governor’s Ball:
 
June 8 – New York, NY @ Governor’s Ball
June 19-22 – Dover, DE @ Firefly Music Festival 
June 25 – Pilton, UK @ Glastonbury Festival
June 27 – Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
July 5-6 – UK @ Wireless Festival
August 1 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival
August 3 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
August 8 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands Music Festival 
September 5 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling Music Festival
September 6 – Boston, MA @ Boston City Hall Plaza 
September 7 – Boston, MA @ City Hall Plaza
October 3 – Austin, TX @ ACL Music Festival 
October 10 – Austin, TX @ ACL Music Festival
 
Hailing from New Jersey, 29 year old Jack Antonoff has been in the music scene for over a decade.  In 2002, with Jack as the lead singer, the success of New Jersey born indie rock band Steel Train was well underway. Steel Train’s cult following lead them to make their national television debut on Late Night With Conan O’Brien and later appeared on Late Show With David Letterman. In 2008, Jack joined Nate Ruess and Andrew Dost to form the Grammy award winning fun.
 
In addition to being a multi-talented musician, Jack is a critically acclaimed songwriter and producer.  His achievements include fun. being honored with the Vanguard Award at the 2014 ASCAP Pop Music Awards and co-writing fun.’s Grammy award winning song “We Are Young” and Grammy nominated album Some Nights. He also received a Golden Globe nomination for his collaboration with Taylor Swift on her song “Sweeter Than Fiction.” Jack has also worked with Sara Bareilles, co-writing her Grammy nominated hit “Brave”, and Canadian Indie icons Tegan and Sara.

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Newest Love: Jungle

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.

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The album track list is:

  1. The Heat
  2. Accelerate
  3. Busy Earnin’
  4. Platoon
  5. Drops
  6. Time
  7. Smoking Pixels
  8. Julia
  9. Crumbler
  10. Son Of A Gun
  11. Lucky I Got What I Want
  12. Lemonade Lake

*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

  • Fri, Jun 6 – El Rey Theater – Los Angeles, CA
  • Sat, Jun 7 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA  *SOLD OUT
  • Mon, Jun 9 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
  • Tue, Jun 10 – Neumos – Seattle, WA
  • Fri, Jun 13 – Fine Line Music Cafe – Minneapolis, MN
  • Sat, Jun 14 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
  • Sun, Jun 15 – Lee’s Palace – Toronto, ON
  • Tue, Jun 17 – The Sinclair – Cambridge, MA
  • Wed, Jun 18 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY  *SOLD OUT
  • Thu, Jun 19 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA
  • Aug. 1-3 -Lollapalooza, Chicago, IL

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Tour Dates for The Wailers

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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.

The Wailers Tour Dates
     
Thursday, May 8
Havana
New Hope, PA
Friday, May 9
Harvester Performance Center
Rocky Mount, VA
Saturday, May 10
H Lounge @ Hollywood Casino
Toledo, OH
Tuesday, May 13
Brooklyn Bowl
Brooklyn, NY
Wednesday, May 14
Avalon Theatre
Easton, MD
Friday, May 16
Flying Monkey
Plymouth, NH
Saturday, May 17
Earthfest
Boston, MA
Sunday, May 18
The Ridgefield Playhouse
Ridgefield, CT
Thursday, May 21
Innsbrook Pavilion
Glen Allen, VA
Friday, May 22
Stage AE
Pittsburgh, PA
Saturday, May 23
The Paramount Theater
Huntington, NY
Sunday, May 24
The Social
Atlantic City, NJ
Monday, May 25
Dark Star Jubilee
Thornville, OH
Tuesday, May 26
Sands Bethlehem Event Center
Bethlehem, PA
Wednesday, May 28
Blue Fox Billiards
Winchester, VA
Thursday, May 29
9:30 Club
Washington, DC
Friday, May 30
Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
Hampton Beach, NH
Saturday, May 31
Newport Yachting Center
Newport, Rhode Island
Wednesday, June 11
Neptune’s Park @31st Street
Virginia Beach, VA
Thursday, June 12
Kelly’s Outer Banks Restaurant
Nags Head, NC
Friday, June 13
Ziggy’s By The Sea
Wilmington, NC
Saturday, June 14
Ham’s Downtown
Greensboro, NC
Wednesday, July 2
Milwaukee Summerfest
Milwaukee, WI
Thursday, July 3
Marin County Fair
San Rafael, CA
Saturday, July 5
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Maryland Heights, MO
Sunday, July 6
Freedom Hill Amphitheater
Sterling Heights, MI
Monday, July 7
LC Pavilion
Columbus, OH
Wednesday, July 9
Common Ground Music Festival
Lansing, MI
Thursday, July 10
Majestic Theatre
Madison, WI
Sunday, July 13
Taste of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Thursday, July 17
Saban Theatre
Beverly Hills, CA
Saturday, July 19
Junior Seau Pier Amphitheater
Oceanside, CA
Sunday, July 20
The Coach House
San Juan Cap., CA

Wailers Lineup:
Aston “Family Man” Barrett – Bass
Audley “Chizzy” Chisholm – Guitar
Keith “Coach” Sterling – Keyboards
Basil “Bennow” Creary – Drums
Melvin “Rasmel” Glover – Rhythm Guitar 
Cegee Victory – Back Vocals 
Dwayne “Danglin” Anglin – Lead Vocals
Aston Barrett Jr. – Organ
Kevin “Yvad” Davy – Lead Vocals 

 

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Video: Unicycle Loves You – “Falling Off”

Brooklyn’s Unicycle Loves You is gearing up to release their fourth album The Dead Age on June 10th (pre-order), and now the band has shared a new dark and psychedelic music video for “Falling Off.” The band filmed and produced every aspect of the video, superimposing some of their favorite cult films onto themselves, making for a unique counter-culture experience. In addition, Unicycle Loves You has rolled out the first phase of their summer tour dates (see below), stretching from the East Coast to the Midwest, with more coming soon.

Over the course of their first three records, Unicycle Loves You have transformed from a jangly power pop quintet (Unicycle Loves You) to a post-new wave quartet (Mirror, Mirror), to a garage-psych trio (Failure), into the fourth chapter in the evolution of the band: The Dead Age. Opening with an exhausted woman’s voice gasping “Oh my god!,” The Dead Age builds off of the heavier sound of Failure. Crafted meticulously, often pushing the tonal limits through a massive wall of sound, melodies explode into chaotic free-falls, where screaming guitars and mammoth-sized bass bend at the will of ULY, simultaneously paying homage to Mascis and Beefheart.

Scheduled for release on June 10th, The Dead Age was produced by Jim Carroll & mastered by Shellac’s Bob Weston. If Failure was their mission statement to add a dirty, unpolished edge to pop music, then The Dead Age is the sound of Unicycle Loves You completely dismantling it. Stand out tracks “Face Tattoo,” “Suicide Pizza,” Endless Bummer” and “Falling Off” are a few examples of a band that has fully forged their very own sonic aesthetic.

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The Dead Age Tracklist:

  1. Falling Off
  2. We Never Worry
  3. Suicide Pizza
  4. Silent Minus
  5. Face Tattoo
  6. JAWS
  7. Bad News Club
  8. Endless Bummer
  9. Any Daydreaming Morning
  10. Grownups
  11. X-ray Glaze
  12. The Dead Age
Upcoming Tour Dates
5/07 – Brooklyn, NY – Nitehawk Cinema (Album Listening Party)
5/20 – Brooklyn, NY – Glasslands (w/ NØMADS)
6/07 – Brooklyn, NY – Radio Bushwick (Album Release Show)
6/12 – Brooklyn, NY – The Gutter (Northside Festival)
6/16 – Asbury Park, NJ – Wonder Bar
6/17 – Boston, MA – T.T. The Bear’s
6/18 – Portland, ME – The Flask Lounge
6/19 – Winooski, VT – Monkey Room
6/21 – Kingston, NY – BSP (w/ Howth)
7/03 – Brooklyn, NY – Bar Matchless (w/ SWF)
7/11 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird
7/12 – Cincinnati, OH – MOTR Pub
7/14 – Chicago, IL – Township
7/17 – Des Moines, IA – Vaudeville Mews
7/19 – St. Louis, MO – FOAM
7/22 – Nashville, TN – The Basement
7/23 – Dayton, OH – Canal Public House

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New Episodes of Guitar Center Sessions

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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 AlbarnThe 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.

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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.”

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News From The Griswolds

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Sydney sweethearts, The Griswoldsjust 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

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New Album: Strange Talk – Cast Away

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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

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Check ‘Em Out: Midnight Faces

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Listen: Midnight Faces – “This Time”

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 RadarMy Old Kentucky BlogEarmilk, 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

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Tracklist:

  1. Wake Me
  2. Over Again (STREAM)
  3. Shadows
  4. Hold Tight
  5. This Time (STREAM)
  6. Give It Up
  7. Animal
  8. The Fire Is Gone

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