Following the recent announcement of Kwes’ debut album ilp, the young singer/songwriter/producer is sharing the video for its lead single “36”.
The video candidly showcases the highs and lows of school-age first crushes, when simply locking eyes or sharing headphones could cause a roller coaster of emotions. The song itself was inspired by the relationship of Kwes’ grandparents, proving that giddy feeling of young love can endure.
His ability to craft unique, heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics is rooted in his production skills, which he has honed over the years working with everyone from the xx to Damon Albarn. With ilp his sound has evolved to an experimental take on pop sensibilities, referred to as Freepop by Kwes.
“…just-gravely-enough vocals, jangly guitars, and a chorus that should really soundtrack the final season of Breaking Bad.” — NYLON
With the release of their debut LP just around the corner, Brooklyn trio Raccoon Fighterhas shared the brand new music video for album track “Santa Tereza.” The video has a dark, eerie vibe, showing the band performing against bizarre backdrops (and sometimes donning giant animal heads.)
Victory’s music is sun-bleached rock ‘n’ roll with a pop edge. Set on a foundation of buzzing guitars, fuzzed-out bass, and archaic drum machines, his howling vocal licks and pop hooks make for songs that are energetic and playful, but still rooted in ’60s-era rock. His latest LP, Victory Is Music, explores a range of styles & influences, featuring everything from doo woo-inspired tunes to dancefloor bangers.
The Fratellis are back with a new album We Need Medicine, slated for release on October 8 through BMG. The new single I posted a couple weeks ago, “Seven Nights Seven Days” exemplifies The Fratellis’ innate ability to write rousing anthems; fast paced, with country guitar hooks and distinctive vocals – topped off with a memorable, to-the-point catchy chorus. The video has just been released and was shot on the streets of North London and directed by Alex Williams. The slapstick dark romance mini-film stars renowned British actor and director, Nick Nevernwho has starred in multiple films and TV shows, most recently he wrote, directed and starred in “The Hooligan Factory”.
The Fratellis US Tour Dates
11/1: New York, NY @ Webster Hall
11/2: Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall
11/3: Boston, MA @ Paradise
11/4: Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live
11/6: Chicago, IL @ Metro
11/7: San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
11/8: Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
11/9: Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
11/12: Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
Recorded over two weeks of eighteen hour days in legendary Welsh studio Rockfield, Turin Brake’s sixth studio album We Were Here (to be released October 8th via Cooking Vinyl/Red River Entertainment) gorgeously chimes and echoes with the pastoral psychedelia of Pink Floyd, the sunset soul of Laurel Canyon, the blues of the Mississippi Delta and the band’s own six-stringed past.
Watch and share now the video for album’s first single “Time and Money”, which features the bloody capture of a pension fund manager.
Formed in Balham, South West London, in 1999 by childhood friends Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, Turin Brakes signed to French label Source in 2000 and released their Mercury Music Prize nominated debut album The Optimist (2001). Their second album Ether Song (2003) entered the UK album charts at number 4 and spawned the Top 5 single “Pain Killer” (Summer Rain). The Top 10 album JackinABoxwas released in 2005 and followed by Dark On Fire (2007). The band signed to Cooking Vinyl in 2009 and released Outbursts (2010).
SWF is the dream of, and moniker for, the artist, musician, and self-described mystic, Stevie Weinstein-Foner. Stevie’s messages of love and longing roll from his debut album, Let It Be Told, like mantras blasted from the radio of a brightly re-painted VW van, cruising down a metaphysical highway of endless summer with the windows down. Let It Be Told (out October 8 via Mecca Lecca) was recorded in Memphis, and the album’s soulful proclamations are backed by a chorus of fuzzy guitars, vocal harmonies, and very singable hooks. Time Out New York describes SWF’s music as “warm, mellow, scruffy rock & roll.” A few days ago marked the release of his first music video for “Black & Golden”, which you can watch below. The video was shot over the course of an entire year, beginning with the Chinese New Year in 2012 and wrapping on New Year’s Day in 2013.
After spending the summer of 2008 in the Grand Canyon rafting down the Colorado River, Stevie moved to Brooklyn, where he began to study yoga and write the songs which would become the material for Let It Be Told. Leaving Brooklyn to live and work on farms in Central America for the winter, he ended his travels in Memphis in May 2011, recording the first half of his debut album. Upon returning to Brooklyn, Stevie began performing as SWF, gathering friends from the yoga and music communities to act as band members.
After a year of determination, detox, and deep self-study, Stevie returned to Memphis in January 2013 to record the rest of the album. On “Warrior”, he sings, “I let my darkness shine, I let the darkness out, I’ve taken the warrior’s vow”, illuminating his path of sincerity and soul discovery. The songs are odes to a deeper connection to our soul and the challenges and beauty of hoping to attain enlightenment in the 21st century.
Revealed in both the spirit of light and darkness, Let It Be Told is a work of truth, love, and a heart that beats for rock & roll.
Upcoming SWF Tour Dates
9/02 – Brooklyn, NY – Glasslands (w/ Vermont Joy Parade)
10/08 – New York, NY – Pianos (Record Release Show)
Cold War Kids announce the release of ‘Tuxedos’, a digital EP available September 17th throughDowntown Records and MapleMusic Recordings. The six-song collection includes two previously unreleased tracks, “Romance Languages #2” and “Pine St.”, as well as covers “Aeon” (Antony and the Johnsons) and “You Don’t Come Through” (The Band). ‘Tuxedos’ also features the self-titled original album track and an alternative version of “Bottled Affection” from their April 2nd release, Dear Miss Lonelyhearts.
“Fits and starts of brilliance on the first three records, Cold War Kids have hit their stride and locked into a very intense groove for the fourth,” saysEsquire Magazine. NME adds, “(Dear Miss Lonelyhearts) has gone back to the sort of idiosyncratic weirdness that made us fall for them in the first place.” Relix states, “There’s a natural flow to the songs on this disc … a complexly drawn collection. And that blues sensibility you always liked best about them is happily still there.”
Tuxedos:
Tuxedos
Aeon
Bottled Affected (Cathedral Version)
Romance Languages #2
Pine St.
You Don’t Come Through
Cold War Kids Tour Dates
August 15 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues *
August 16 – Las Vegas, NV – Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas *
August 17 – Denver, CO – Cultivate Festival
August 18 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre *
August 19 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theatre *
August 21 – Tulsa, Oklahoma – Cain’s Ballroom *
August 22 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Amphitheater *
August 23 – Dallas, TX – South Side Music Hall *
August 24 – Columbus, OH – CD 102.5 Summerfest
August 31 – Edmonton, AB – Sonic Boom
September 1 – Calgary, AB – X-Fest
September 19 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern *
September 21 – Flagstaff, AZ – The Orpheum Theatre *
September 22 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre *
September 26 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue *
September 27 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall *
September 28 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrew’s Hall*
September 29 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue *
October 18 – Boston, MA – House of Blues *
October 19 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer *
October 21 – Providence, RI – Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
October 22 – New York, NY – Terminal 5 *
October 24 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club *
October 26 – Richmond, VA – The National *
October 29 – Charlottesville, VA – The Jefferson Theatre
October 30 – Athens, GA – 40 Watt
October 31 – Asheville, NC – Orange Peel
November 1 – Louisville, KY – Headliners Music Hall
Chicago based duo Wild Belle have announced an extensive fall headlining tour that will kick off September 5 in Madison, WI. The band recently made their Lollapalooza debut before they headed to San Francisco to play Outside Lands. After previously touring the states opening for Passion Pit and Toro y Moi, Wild Belle will travel across North America and back for over 25 headlining tour dates -making this their biggest headline tour to date (full list of dates below). To catch a glimpse of Wild Belle’s life on the road, watch the band’s self-directed video POSTCARDS FROM THE ROAD Nº3.
Wild Belle’s live performances have been recognized for their catchy hooks and infectious sound. The band took their effortlessly sunny set on the festival circuit this summer with performances at Coachella, Sasquatch, Firefly, Full Moon Festival, Lollapalooza and Outside Lands. The musical talents of both siblings shine during the band’s live performances, with Rolling Stone noting how “Natalie (breezes) about the stage with relaxed bravado while Elliot (switches) effortlessly between keyboards and sax…creating an organic wall of sound.”
In June the band stopped by a Los Angeles bike shop to record a performance with KCRW of “Love Like This” for NPR’s Field Recordings. Noted by the Chicago Tribune for their “breezy sounding pop music,” Wild Belle is currently featured in Glamour’s summer music issue and as Time Magazines “Band to Watch”.
Wild Belle is Natalie and Elliot Bergman. The band is joined live by Kellen Harrison (bass) as well as fellow NOMO members Erik Hall (guitar) and Quin Kirchner (drums).
Brooklyn’s Desert Stars have premiered the jewel encrusted, kaleidoscopic video for their song “Farewell Decade”. I’m not the biggest fan of the video, but I’m surely digging the song.
“The song is about a friendship that is over, even though this could be seen as sad, it is a part of growing up. I wanted to express how when we move on and out of toxic relationships we spring into another dimension, we detangle ourselves, we break free,” explains video director Stephanie Dodes. “It’s a surreal exploration in to the ways in which we are all mirrors and spring boards for one another.”
Desert Stars is comprised of lead vocalist Janelle Best, guitarist and backing vocalist Carrie Ashley Hill, guitarist Eric Altesleben and drummer Gregg Giuffré, a quartet whose music has the effect we only wish Phil Spector had produced for The Jesus and Mary Chain. With twelve tracks of languid harmony and reverb, Habit Shackles (available now) is certain to resonate with fans of Nico, Cat Power and their ilk.
Musically Amusing 