Ahhhhh a windy, rainy and stormy day, what better way than to admire the irony in reviewing little hurricane’s debut album Homewrecker. In one single year after bursting onto the scene, the duo has been able to turn enough heads to become one of San Diego’s most auspicious acts, even opening for M. Ward and the Shins at SXSW.

Homewrecker kicks off with the swampy foreboding “Trouble Ahead”. Also featured on the track: a stopgap guitar slide and what might be a prominent influence of Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil characteristic riffs chuging along behind Tone’s simmering vocals. CC’s ghostly vocals appear on little hurricane’s first call and response track, the eerie and blazing “Crocodile Tears”. In breaking up the similarities, these two hot barn party songs are more unconventional and more of an Americana spin-off of the White Stripes execution.

The muted “Shortbread” also conjures up comparisons of Meg White’s vocals with a straightforward indie rock feel. The jangle of “Haunted Heart” also fits into that same category. Sometimes, however, they step into unknown waters with the quiet and delicate “Tear Bucket”. It’s with these tunes that you start to feel as though they stray away from their dirty blues, packing their bags for Rock City to start a nameless rock band. However, not to worry, little hurricane employ their own unique methods in producing solid songwriting and calculated execution. Not to mention their knack for damn catchy hooks.

Every song on Homewrecker has got its highlights on every song but those which shine with exceptional vigorous precision and contagious melodies are most notably, “Lies” and “Give Em Hell”. It’s a surprisingly engaging and consistent, tense blues-rock album, especially for as a debut. “It’s more of a party, and less of a disaster”, so don’t let the duo’s name fool you. It may be a little hurricane but its definitely is a big storm.

A perfect example is the first track, ‘Can’t Stand the Sight of Me’, which fades in on a half-time riff. After this, the tempo picks up when the vocalist begins, only to come right back to the opening riff during the chorus.

The second track veers into midtempo territory, sounding almost like a modified version of Cro-Mags at the very beginning, but the clean vocals in the chorus, in which the vocal hook is actually sung, turn it into something else entirely.

The third track is also a fade-in, this one showcasing reverb-enhanced drums, before settling into another mid-tempo bit of riffage that plays with the halftime/four on the floor rhythmic plan; there is a very metalcore transition leading to a grungey break, before the riffage breaks in again; then, motion into and out of halftime feel.

‘The Birth of Desire’, I thought was the next section of the preceding song. The transition between the two tracks is truly inventive and interesting; there is no aural line of separation as is the norm on a recording. As track four unfolds, it plays out as a tune of lament expressed in a very earnest way. This seems intended to serve as a counterbalance to all of the foregoing angst, and to show that the band has a sensitive side, as well.

The last track, ‘Cut Me Out’, winds up the foregoing by fading out on moshy riffage after reveling in halftime angst. While it develops the possibility presented by the demo, the impression is that while there are many interesting moments, this band is still finding its voice.

The Drums, Crocodiles, Hospitality, Bleached, Nick Waterhouse Confirmed To Play
MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED

Festival To Be Held Saturday July 14, 2012 At The South Street Seaport Piers 16 & 17

New York, NY – The Village Voice, the nation’s largest alternative weekly newspaper, is thrilled to announce the initial line-up for the 4Knots Music Festival at the South Street Seaport, Piers 16 & 17 on Saturday, July 14, 2012 from 1:00 – 8:00 PM. The Drums, Crocodiles, Hospitality, Bleached, Nick Waterhouse are scheduled to perform, plus more to be announced.

The Village Voice has also announced that 4Knots Music Festival will expand this year to include Piers 16 and 17 with a second outdoor side stage confirmed. Expanding to Pier 16 will allow the 4Knots Music Festival to include more performers this year.
The second annual 4Knots Music Festival will be free, open to all ages, and held rain or shine. The event will feature renowned and emerging artists from today’s music scene performing live all day in front of what is sure to be yet again an extremely large and enthusiastic audience. Even more details are still to be announced in coming weeks.

Running between every borough of New York City and culminating near the South Street Seaport, the East River runs at a speed of “4 knots”. The neighborhood where the 4Knots Music Festival is held offers attractions, shops and restaurants for every taste. It is easily accessible by subway, car, ferry or bus.

Bud Light returns to the 4Knots Music Festival as the presenting sponsor. Additional 2012 sponsors include Metro PCS, Pisco Porton, PopChips, Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club, Seaport Music Festival and the South Street Seaport Museum.

Twin Cabins is the solo project of Nacho Cano, who was born in Mexico City. At a young age, Cano had already discovered and created his first melodies on his grandmother’s piano. At the age of ten, he moved to California, where he became enamored with its beaches, sun, and people. Cano’s interest in music and experimentation continued through his adolescence, where he learned the guitar and eventually began to record and catalog his compositions in his middle school recording studio. Eventually by the age of 18, Cano began to branch out to new instruments and developed a craft for melody through memories, fantasies, and romances.

It was the memories of real (or made up) romances that encouraged Cano to begin writing his own music under the moniker Twin Cabins. Cano created truly Californian dreamlike and catchy melodies that reflected sentiments of love, frustration, and personal conflict. His recordings are written and produced in his bedroom, the environment of his tracks being symbolic of a sense of dreams, loneliness, and careless youth.

Over the course of several months, he began to experiment with alternative and unfamiliar genres of music, releasing them under the alias Rushmore. These include the ambient EP One Year and the intensely personal work Clementine. Cano later shelved the style in order to reflect his sentiments in a more melodic light. Now as Twin Cabins, Cano plans to release his upcoming debut I’m Sure, which is a love letter to past lovers, new lovers, and the comfort of an unpredictable future.

Six Organs of Admittance as an electric entity is not without precedent. Ben Chasny regularly performs with a full, electric band, often cascades an electric guitar solo in the middle of an acoustic jam, and has recorded entire sides of electric drone. This element goes all the way back to 2002, when a short-lived rock version of Six Organs (with the members of Comets on Fire) toured the West Coast and etched a few demos to tape before moving on. Ten years later, with the idea to record new songs as a full rock band firmly entrenched in his mind, Chasny warped over to Tim Green’s Louder Studios with members of Comets as his backing band. He emerged with Ascent, the rollicking realization of the Six Organs full band experience.

No, these aren’t those dusty old 2002 moments with the dust blown off. We live today, and so does Six Organs of Admittance! To manipulate the past would change the world forever. Instead, the time line for Ascent occurs on our identical Earth, on the other side of the sun, telescoping the strength and power of that moment in 2002 and it’s electri-Six-O after-affects by viewing it through the mind’s opera-glass, in the present. From the opening red storm of “Waswasa” to the sentinel strength of “Even If You Knew” and the sensual lilt of “Visions (From Io),” the sound of this Six Organs is that of full-tilt rock band. The fun and fury of electric Six Organs of Admittance is evidenced in every molten groove.

Ascent will reach this Earth via Drag City Records come August 21st.

DOWNLOAD/LISTEN TO/SHARE SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE’S “WASWASA”

Ascent tracklisting:
1. Waswasa
2. Close To The Sky
3. They Called You Near
4. Solar Ascent
5. A Thousand Birds
6. Your Ghost
7. Even If You Knew
8. Visions (From Io)

Preservation Hall Jazz Band to perform on the historic Belle of Louisville,
with special appearances by members of My Morning Jacket

Official Forecastle kickoff party features performances by Dean & Britta and Purity Ring

TICKETS ON SALE SATURDAY AT FORECASTLEFEST.COM

LOUISVILLE, KY – AC Entertainment and The Forecastle Festival are excited to announce details of a one-of-a-kind after-party for the 10th anniversary of the festival, set to take place during July 13-15, 2012. A special pre-party will serve as the kickoff to Forecastle on June 12.

Following their festival performances on Saturday, July 14, members of My Morning Jacket will make guest appearances as New Orleans¹ Preservation Hall Jazz Band graces the stage at an all-ages event on the historic Belle of Louisville steamboat, presented by Bell¹s Brewery.

To start the weekend off with a bang, Consequence of Sound presents the Official Forecastle kickoff party, featuring indie pop duo Dean & Britta and electronic act Purity Ring. This 21 and over event will take place on Thursday, July 12 at Club 116, located at 116 E. Main Street in Louisville.

Tickets for both events will go on sale Saturday, May 19 at noon at www.forecastlefest.com. Tickets for the official kickoff party at Club 116 will be $22 plus applicable service fees. Tickets to the Saturday after-party aboard the Belle of Louisville will be $50 plus applicable service fees.

From every ticket purchased for the after-party on the Belle of Louisville, a portion will be donated to the Center for Women and Families, a Louisville non-profit dedicated to helping victims of intimate partner abuse or sexual violence.

Details on Friday’s after-party on the Belle, presented by Bell’s Brewery, as well as an additional Saturday after-party to be hosted at Club 116 will be forthcoming.

Forecastle 2012 marks the 10th year of the festival and this year’s line-up features My Morning Jacket, Wilco, Bassnectar, Andrew Bird, Girl Talk, Atmosphere, Neko Case, Sleigh Bells, A-Trak and many others. A full breakdown of artists by day can be found at forecastlefest.com.

Three-day weekend and VIP passes, single day tickets and single day VIP tickets are on sale now. Two-day and three-day travel packages are also available, including accommodations at the acclaimed Galt House – the festival’s official waterfront hotel, located a short walk from the festival site. Those wishing to “dock up” for the weekend may also purchase a very limited number of “Captain’s Club” VIP boat slips, which are located at the festival site.

Tickets for the festival are also available at select retailers throughout the region including: WHY Louisville in Louisville; Shake-It Records in Cincinnati; CD Central in Lexington; Indy CD and Vinyl in Indianapolis; and Grimey’s New & Preloved Music in Nashville. After-party tickets will only be available online.

With each purchase, 50 cents will be donated to the Forecastle Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit, dedicated to local education and international environmental conservation. For more information about the foundation, please visit www.forecastlefest.com/foundation.

About The Forecastle Festival:
The Forecastle Festival is a port-of-call where the world gathers to experience the best in Music, Art and Activism®. A celebration of sights, sounds, and sustainability, Forecastle connects travelers North, South, East, and West. Merging entertainment with education, Forecastle inspires a voyage of personal growth and global change. Since 2002, the Festival has featured over 450 bands, 100 visual artists, and 150 environmental and outdoor recreational organizations. Previous headlining artists including The Black Keys, The Flaming Lips, The Smashing Pumpkins, Widespread Panic, DEVO, Band of Horses, She & Him, Pretty Lights, Bassnectar, Sleater-Kinney, Big Boi, Girl Talk, Z-Trip, Umphrey’s McGee, and many more.

Spin Magazine – “Top 101Things to do in America”
Outside Magazine – “Top 15 Outdoor Festivals in the Country”
The Discovery Channel – “The Cream of the Crop of Summer Festivals”

About AC Entertainment:
AC Entertainment is recognized as one of the foremost independent promoters in the United States. Founded in 1991, the company presents, books and markets over 750 events per year, including internationally renowned festivals such as Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Moogfest and Big Ears. AC Entertainment is based in Knoxville, TN.

Photo Credit: Tod Seelie

“There is a rotating cast of performers for the concerts, and the range is eclectic.”
– The New York Times

“Conducted by Quintron, the performances were mostly haunting electro-acoustic soundscapes that melded elements of Stockhausen and Brian Eno with hints of funk and bounce.”
– Art Papers

The Music Box is an interactive installation comprised of musical architecture. It was created by non-profit organization New Orleans Airlift in collaboration with 25 artists including the international street art star Swoon. The Music Box features a collection of purpose-built shacks and miniature houses, each containing an instrument or having instruments built into its structure. The wooden shacks that make up this “shanty-town” are constructed from salvaged materials reclaimed from a late-18th-century Creole cottage that collapsed on the site several years ago.

Housing a slew of unconventional and inventive instruments, The Music Box offers its visitors a blank canvas to create music in an entirely new way. Between now and the end of June The Music Box will host a series of recordings sessions and pop-up performances in the space by amazing and diverse musicians including Thurston Moore, longtime Swoon collaborators Dark Dark Dark, the beloved Cajun musician Jo-El Sonnier, the sample-based band Javelin, the Brooklyn pop punk duo Japanther, and noise heroes Black Dice.

A final performance by the Shantytown Orchestra will feature an unexpected and eclectic line-up including local musicians like Donald Miller (of the legendary 1980’s noise band Borbetomagus), to Rosalie “Lady Tambourine” Washinton, a familiar New Orleans character who plays with gospel acts as well as the Neville Brothers. They will be joined by out-of town performers including the transgendered harpist Baby Dee, (a collaborator of Will Oldman and Antony and the Johnsons), Magas, the electronic wizard of Chicago, and the Brooklyn-duo Javelin. These June 8th and 9th concerts mark the very last chance to experience a full orchestral performance at The Music Box before the installation is taken down at the end of June 2012.

Photo Credit: Nitasha Kapoor

Caribou will join Radiohead for a series of North American shows starting May 29th in Mansfield, MA and ending June 16 in Toronto. Caribou’s latest release Swim is available now via Merge Records, and new music is expected in 2013. Visit caribou.fm for the most up-to-date world tour information.

Praise for Swim:

“Caribou’s Swim leaps into fresh, uncharted territory for the producer, but nonetheless retains the artist’s unmistakably inviting and lovable style” – XLR8R

“Despite his chameleonic tendencies, Dan Snaith retains his singular identity as an artist–and Swim is a reminder that even at his most challenging, the man’s compositional capabilities can dazzle.” – Pitchfork

“Caribou’s newest set, “Swim,” which contains more electronic elements than its pop-traced predecessor, is a major step forward for Snaith” – Billboard

Caribou is currently available for interviews and we have VERY limited guest list available, so if interested in either, please inquire.

Caribou on tour with Radiohead:
May 29 Mansfield, MA Comcast Center
May 31 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
June 01 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
June 03 Washington, DC Verizon Center Arena
June 05 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
June 06 Cuyahoga Falls, OH Blossom Music Center
June 10 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
June 11 Auburn Hills, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills
June 13 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
June 15 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
June 16 Toronto, ON Downsview Park

Dmitri Coat’s blistering guitar riffs cut through each song like a rusty serrated knife, attacking the spasmodic explosive drums provided by Mario Rubalcaba with sickening syncopation. The sardonic white-noise screeches of Morris contrast the riveting low-end of Steven Shane McDonald. Like most good punk records, the low fidelity production and frantic pace of the album will either make you want to grab a baseball bat and start smashing something or orgasmically stick your fist down the garbage disposal.

“I Got News For You” begins with a guitar riff in the diminished scale, an innovative technique implemented by former band-mate and Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn. Morris’s lyrics replicate the disillusioned wisdom of being a punk pioneer: “You think you’re king of the scene / Did you create it? / I got news for you.” Songs like “Vaporized” bring the ferocity of 70s surf punk, complete with distorted Dick Dale guitar riffs in the bass register and classic references to warfare (think Agent Orange). Songs like “503” contain ambiguous references to drugs and probably Portland, OR.

Atonal dissonance is revisited halfway through “Jet Black Girls” with thick and juicy thick chord clusters that would make Edgar Varèse cream his slacks. “I Need One” contains the classic unison bends on the guitar that influenced decades of grunge and alternative rock, without the consequential polish or proverbial body wash.

The albums maniacal rampage ends with a Morris’s demonic laugh and scream that will leave you aching for another listen. Punk may be dead, but it’s still staggering around, feeding on the bodies of our deaf-disenchanted.

The opening track “You Are Young” is a very pleasing middle-of-the-road piece of a parent making wishes for their children:  Of all the things that you don’t know, You’ve got time to realize, You’re shielded by the hands of love, ‘Cause you are young. You’ve got time you gotta try, To bring some good into this world. ‘Cause you are young, ’cause you are young.

The ballady Watch How You Go has sweet influences reminiscent of Paul Simon or Lennon/McCartney; thoughtful and composed and I would suspect that as the listerner’s mood changes upon each listening session, it would have a different meaning. On The Road is more uptempo and perhaps evokes some of their past efforts but it is at home among the other tracks.

Black Rain uses a nice time signature and winding falsettos to create a spectral atmosphere, quite different from the piano-infused 4/4 melodies for the other songs.  Neon River and Day Will Come could have come directly from a U2 studio session, but both are pleasingly sans the political messages.

There are no dogs on this album and most of the selections could see some radio play. At the very least, someone who has never heard this group might like what they hear enough to look deeper. If that turned out to be the case, they would surely find a diverse discography with some experimentation, but overall, a fan knows what this band is about and gets what they expect. There’s sure nothing wrong with having your expectations met.