Lewis Watson is set to release his long-awaited debut album The Morning in the US on June 17th. Demonstrating Lewis’ powers as a songwriter, The Morning combines fully-realised reworkings of select songs from his early EPs with plethora of new material – including instant grat track “Halo,” “Stay” and much more. These new songs take Lewis’ stripped-back, guitar-and-voice roots to a new level of richer, more textured soundscapes.
In 2012, Lewis Watson self-released his debut EP It’s Got Four Sad Songs On It BTW after establishing a devoted online fan-base. It topped the iTunes singer-songwriter chart on the first day of release, outselling the likes of Adele, Madonna and Ed Sheeran in the process, and landed the then nineteen-year-old singer-songwriter a deal with Warner Bros. Records.
In addition to critical acclaim, all five of his EPs to date have hit the Top 10 at iTunes, each building upon the sales of the previous release. Meanwhile, his online following is phenomenal: 5 million YouTube plays; 100,000 likes at Facebook; 5 million streams at Spotify; and 70,000 Twitter followers.
Fans who purchase The Morning iTunes pre-order, available now, will receive an instant download of new album track “Halo”.
Jun 28 – Red, White & Brews @ Nottingham Park – Avon, CO
Jul 8 – Neptune’s Park @ 31st Street – Virginia Beach, VA
Jul 10 – Brew Thru Summer @ Roanoke Island Festival Park – Manteo, NC
Aug 2 – Kokomo Summer Series @ Foster Park – Kokomo, IN
Aug 3 – Down By The Riverside @ Mayo Park – Rochester, MN
Aug 23 – Silver Cross Field – Joliet, IL
Indie rock stalwarts Camper Van Beethoven are back with El Camino Real, the companion studio album and follow up to their highly lauded La Costa Perdida. Whereas La Costa reflected the northern California “back to the country” side of the band with lush and trippy references to Jack Kerouac, Richard Brautigan, The Beach Boys and “Big Sur,” the songs on El Camino Real are firmly rooted in a grittier earth – one that lies beneath the southern half of the state and stretches all the way down to Baja California. Produced by the band and recorded in various studios and living rooms, El Camino Real’s harder sonic edges capture the sounds of an entirely different road trip from Bakersfield through the Inland Empire and beyond the border to Mexico. The lineup remains Victor Krummenacher, Greg Lisher, David Lowery, Jonathan Segel and Michael Urbano.
Music historians will note that despite the band’s extended residency in Santa Cruz and parts north, Camper Van Beethoven actually formed in Redlands, California—a semi-urban, multi-cultural polyglot landscape populated by a host of characters brought to life by the angular notes and dry observations of El Camino Real. Similarly, the songs “Camp Pendleton,” “Dockweiler Beach,” “I Live in LA” and “Sugartown” evoke a particular view of life in said regions.
Camper Van Beethoven’s El Camino Real will be released on June 3rd via 429 Records.
“Shimmery, ethereal indie/electro-pop in excelsis.” – The Guardian
“We need all the sunshine we can get right now, and DWNTWN has it in spades.”– USA Today’s Pop Candy
“It is absolutely sublime.” – My Old Kentucky Blog
“…catchy melancholy pop with twinkling electronics that could be sung by thousands during a festival twilight in the near future.” – RCRD LBL
“…devastatingly affecting indie-pop.” – Buzzbands LA
“We don’t know much about L.A. electro-pop duo DWNTWN besides the fact that we want to hear a lot more music from them.” – NYLON Magazine
“Easing tension with mellow and drawn-out soundscapes” – Earmilk
DWNTWN brings their sweeping wall of sound, complete with synths, banjos, handclaps, and singer Jamie Leffler’s ethereal voice.
“This is a song for my grandpa who passed away last year. He was the most loving man and I miss him everyday, but writing this song helped me come to terms with losing him. I hope it can relate to anyone who has lost someone special”, says Leffler.
People Magazine just featured the band’s “Til Tomorrow” (which I LOVE — and posted here) as one of ten songs to soundtrack the desert road trip to Coachella, and also Blackbird Blackbird got a goose bump inducing remix from DWNTWN’s Robert Cepeda for his new single “There is Nowhere”, which premiered on Earmilk. Haunting guitar and sparse drum kicks build to a harmonious vocal crescendo of Blackbird Blackbird’s Mikey Maramag and DWNTWN’s Jamie Leffler.
“Missing You” will be released on DWNTWN’s self-titled EP, dropping April 29th on Jullian Records.
DWNTWN Live:
Thursday April 10 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Standard Hotel downtown (Free) Thursday April 24 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Constellation Room (Tickets here) Friday April 25 – San Francisco, CA @ Neck of The Woods (Tickets Here) Monday April 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ School Night/Bardot (Free, EP Release show) Tuesday April 29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Sayers Club (Free, 2nd EP Release show) Thursday May 1 – New York, NY @ Santos Party House (Tickets here) Friday May 2 – Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands Gallery w/ New Young Pony Club (Tickets Here)
“Together they’ve produced some tracks that resonate with the glam that penetrated their ears.” –Prefix Magazine
“Almost as hypnotizing as a full moon, the song’s subtle vocals and vacillating beat take the night.” – MTV Iggy
After success of their stunning video for “After Dark,” Night Drive continues riding high on their musical journey. Night Drive and The Penelopes have been eager to work with one another for quite sometime and decided to do so via a remix swap. The french duo pulls no punches with this dark and sultry, disco reinterpretation. Keep your eyes open for Night Drive’s remix of The Penelopes, due out later this Spring. Fellow Austin and Houston artists, Orthy and Bagheera, produced two excellent remixes of “After Dark”. Since Night Drive, Orthy and Bagheera are all part of the Red Bull Sound Select family, RBSS will be releasing the After Dark EP for free in select record stores. Look for that later this month.
For now, you can listen to the After Dark Remixes over at Prefix Mag — click here to check it out now!
Shot in Denmark by filmmakers Cecile Evert and Simon Lundsgaard, they were inspired by Blue Foundation’s lyric, “… I can describe it all for you, if you got the nerves/guts to look into my eyes.”
The filmmakers enlisted Martin and Louise, a couple in real life, as well as in the video. “We chose them because it was clear to us that they have a very unique relationship. We saw a certain chemistry between them. Their love for each other is very strong and unique, and we expected it to shine through the lens, which we think it did,” says Lundsgaard. He continues, “Sometimes you can be afraid of things that you can’t define or describe. But if you look beyond the surface you will find something you recognize in yourself. That is what this video is about.” Brooklyn-based electronic dream-pop duo Blue Foundation is made up of producer/singer Tobias Wilner and multi-instrumentalist Bo Rande. Best known for their songs “Eyes on Fire,” which appeared in the Twilight saga and was certified double platinum in the US, and “Sweep,” from Michael Mann’s Miami Vice, the band released their album In My Mind, I Am Free on their own Dead People’s Choice Records last year. The release was followed up in January 2013 by remix album In My Mind I Am Reconstructed,which is available via iTunes and other digital retailers.
Over the past several years, Blue Foundation has expanded their audience, embracing both the underground and the alternative mainstream. Along with the Twilight Saga and Miami Vice, the band’s music has been featured in TV series The O.C., So You Think You Can Dance, CSI: Miami, and more.
“…a terrific new band whose 70s-tinged rock, sung with rasping intensity by white soul wonder Nic Snyder,
reminds you of some of the best stuff from the pre-punk era…” – The Guardian
“…hints of that Girls-like ’60s revival, indistinct gestures of surf rock, and touches of grainy, lo-fi acoustics….” –Consequence of Sound
Pittsburgh’s genre-defying band 1,2,3 has returned after a two year hiatus, and will be releasing their sophomore double album Big Weather through their newly-founded label American Hermitage on May 27th. The band rolled out “Porch Swing Song” a few days ago, which is the third song they’ve shared from Big Weather (their first two singles “Big Weather Pt. 1” and “Leave Me In The Sky With The Lawnchair” are both still available to stream, see below). Combining classic rock with the best elements of lo-fi soul, punk, garage and even classical music sampling, this is the first new music 1,2,3 has released since their critically-acclaimed debut album New Heaven (2011).
1,2,3 had a turbulent few years since the release of New Heaven. Lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Nicolas Snyder quit the band at the end of 2012, burnt out after touring on the heels of their debut and writing/recording the follow-up for over a year. Several months later, after a few nights of drunken persuasion, he re-convened with the rest of the band and coaxed them back, wanting to finish what they had started. Snyder had been inspired by 70’s dystopian movies, combined with a pattern of strange weather and its resulting destruction (a tornado ripped through his aunt’s house in Pennsylvania… something that shouldn’t happen in PA), along with the tsunami that devastated Japan two weeks later.
The band began recording storms through a screen door in the house they were renting on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, which often flooded, halting production. While recording, the band listened to nothing but local oldies radio stations. Big Weather was recorded entirely on primitive gear, using nothing but creaky old guitars, a bass, and things to bang on. Eventually some classical vinyl sampling was brought in to conjure certain feelings, and add new textures to the short stories and spoken word interludes. The lyrics had all the usual lovelorn, loneliness and death-questioning the band had previously written about, but this time it was more vivid, usually recorded during or after storms.
In the words of Snyder, “it’s more interesting to be lonely in the eye of the hurricane than it is to be in a bedroom. This album is undoubtedly ridden with flaws, but so are its creators, and the circumstances under which it was created… and in that regard, this album feels very special to me.”
The band will be playing their album release show in Pittsburgh on May 30th at Brillobox!
1. Big Weather Pt. 1
2. Leave Me In The Sky With The Lawnchair
3. Pontoon Song
4. Waiting For The Horsemen
5. Mile High Grass
6. Bus To Babylon
7. Refusal Bop
8. Shapes of Wrath
9. Fear_Pure Elevation
10. Rebuilding
11. Stone Haus
12. Porch Swing Song
13. Big Black Car
14. Big Weather Pt. 2
15. In The House of The Locust
16. When The Levee Broke at The County Fair
17. Strawberry
18. Faith Hill
19. Where We Lived
20. Sick of the End
“…A rising sound that swells like a wave as it blends the spirit of Aretha Franklin into a soulful dance-romp through territories inhabited by Fitz and The Tantrums, Portugal The Man and beyond.” – Crave
This fifteen-piece collective blends blues, jazz and soul for a larger-than-life sound reminiscent of rock greats like The Black Crowes and Joe Cocker.
Dwight & Nicole, an American roots band formed by recording artists Dwight Ritcher and Nicole Nelson, will be self-releasing their new album, Shine On, on April 22, 2014. Shine On puts some impressive talent on display: gorgeous vocals, developed songwriting skills, and masterful playing were all captured live at Boston’s Rear Window Studio. The delivery is often exciting, always multi-dimensional, and never run-of-the-mill. Dwight & Nicole express deep emotion effortlessly on every track of Shine On. This will be their first major release, heavily funded by their devoted fans via music-oriented crowd-sourcing site PledgeMusic.
Their performances have inspired comparisons to some of the greats — Etta James and John Lee Hooker, the Rolling Stones and the Staple Singers — but it is their own fresh blend of spirited blues, rock, and gospel that will land them a spot among the celebrated music makers. Following their critically acclaimed independent release !Signs, the Boston Globe called them, “a tour de force,” and named them among the “25 Most Stylish of the Year.” They have garnered four Boston Phoenix award nominations, six Boston Music Award nominations and Nelson just nabbed a BMA for “Female Vocalist of The Year.”
In September of 2012, Nicole appeared on NBC’s #1 hit show “The Voice,” knocking out all four coaches and winning the hearts of millions with her rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” The song was a hit of its own, rising to #26 on the iTunes Pop chart, and propelling a wave of nationwide appreciation for Nelson’s home grown style. The bright lights of network TV also shed much deserved light on her band—New England’s best kept secret Dwight & Nicole—helping the group to shatter through the glass ceiling that most self-promoting indie artists are up against today.
Their music has already been featured on TV shows such as “Nikita” on CW, “The Forgotten” on ABC, “Missing” on Lifetime, and “The Cleaner” on A&E. Dwight & Nicole starred in the documentary film “Where’s The Music At?” They have performed live at countless world class venues and festivals around the world including Montreal Jazz Festival, Tanglewood, Life Is Good Festival, Symphony Hall, The Somerville Theatre, The Tennessee Theater, The Paradise, The Higher Ground, and The Blue Note in NYC.
Dwight & Nicole have shared the stage with many other great artists including BB King, Buddy Guy, Dave Brubeck, Dr. Maya Angelou, Ray Lamontagne, Los Lobos, Alison Krauss, Martin Sexton, Levon Helm, Norah Jones, Dr. John, Natalie Cole, Winton Marsalis, The Avett Brothers, Raphael Saadiq, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Carly Simon, The Funk Brothers, Maceo Parker, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Buffet, Biz Markie, Little Richard, Angelique Kidjo, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Irma Thomas, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
“…a smoky, uplifting sound that fuses blues, rock, country and pretty much every genre in between.” – USA Today
“…we’re digging her combination of raw, bluesy vocals and glitchy electronics.” – NYLON
“…sultry cyber-soul.” – SPIN
Brooklyn’s captivating modern day siren Arum Rae is gearing up to self-release her Warranted Queen EP next Tuesday, and in advance, she’s rolled out her dynamic new single “Something’s Happening To Me” with Noisey. “Something’s Happening To Me” is symbolic of Arum’s recent transformation from shedding her traditional singer-songwriter roots, to her entrancing new endeavor under her given name.
Her new single follows closely on the heels of her previous stand-out singles “Warranted Queen” and “2001”. Arum’s ability to transcend styles allows the music to resurrect the soul, feel the blues, and then re-invent rock through her deeply rooted foundation as a songwriter. After relocating to Brooklyn from Austin, Arum shed the White Dress moniker and teamed up with producer Sanford Livingston for this new EP (and forthcoming album). Everything Arum has lived through and all of the songs that have been born from it are not meant to impress, they’re meant to lead.
Although being a new endeavor, Arum Rae is no stranger to the stage. She’s toured extensively over the past several years, opening up for and sharing stages with artists like Willie Nelson, Rodriguez, The Kills, Gary Clark Jr., Dan Auerbach, BB King, The Civil Wars, and Peter Bjorn & John, to name a few. With a renewed energy and passion, Arum looks to 2014 to embolden artists and singers like herself to pursue their passions with pause, regret or fear.
Los Angeles electro-pop outfit Tapioca and the Flea (TATF) have premiered the brand-new video for their new single “Take It Slow”, which premiered last week and is available on iTunes. The video shot by ENDS (creative collaboration between director duo Daniel Iglesias Jr. & Zack Sekuler), who is also responsible for The Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather” and “Afraid”, chronicles the highs and the lows of a chaotic relationship. “Take It Slow,” which was produced by Crystal Castles’ Ethan Kath, is TATF’s contribution to Red Bull Sound Select’s forthcoming Limited Edition Split 7″, to be released as free gift with purchase on Record Store Day (April 19) at all participating retailers in the US.
PopMatters had this to say about the track, “Just don’t let the title fool you, since “Take It Slow” is a brisk, catchy synth-driven number, a combination of old-fashioned pop-minded songwriting and a state-of-the-art vibe.” TATF will bring their high energy show to Los Angeles’s Amoeba Music (6400 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028) for an in-store performance this Saturday, April 19th at 6 PM.
Tapioca and the Flea began as a bedroom project of Samuel Jacob-Lopez, Jr. As the son of a Puerto Rican DJ and salsa dancer, the LA-based artist fell in love with rhythm at an early age. Growing up skateboarding to the sounds of artists like Syd Barret, Radiohead and Dr. Dre, Tapioca and the Flea, found its own eclectic blend of psych, indie rock, and electronic music. In 2011, he recruited three of his best friends – drummer Matt McClanahan, guitarist Ronnie Watson and bassist/keyboardist Frank Alva – and the full electro-pop band was fleshed out. Tapioca and the Flea gained momentum in their native L.A. on the strength of their psychedelic dance tracks “Mellotron” and “Home” and have opened for such acts as CSS and Young the Giant. The band has won praise and support from OC Weekly, who nominated them for Best New Artist of 2014 and The Owl Mag, who described their music as “the soundtrack to the world’s coolest underwater dance.”
Musically Amusing 