Analogies LP Out June 5 on Morr Music

Watch the video for ‘Fishing Buddies’

Download First Single ‘Crooked Dreams’

Berlin-based songwriter Masha Qrella has debuted a new video for “Take Me Out,” the second single off her long-awaited Analogies album, out on June 5th with Morr Music. The song is part of the soundtrack for an intense internationally award-winning documentary “Meine Freiheit, Deine Freiheit” about women in prison and their way back to ‘freedom’, which premieres this week. A founding member of Berlin-based bands Mina and Contriva, Qrella first stepped out as a singer/songwriter in her own right with the release of her first solo album Luck. After two more full-lengths, Unsolved Remained and Speak Low, a collection of beautifully-rendered Kurt Weill and Frederick Loewe cover songs released in 2009, the latest Analogies LP truly marks a high point in her career.

Analogies is essentially Qrella’s take on pop music, somewhere between folk, indie rock, and all the huge radio anthems from previous decades. Starting with her own past in Berlin’s musical avant-garde and the party heydays of the 90s, the album has a certain proximity to Stereolab’s experimental library music, The Cure’s mainstream melancholy, and the all-embracing sonic albatross wings of bands like Fleetwood Mac. At the same time she has kept an eye on that one thing which has always been the very core and heart of pop music: the song itself, and Analogies has become the perfect canvas to bring it to life.

Analogies Tracklisting

1. Take Me Out
2. Hawaii
3. Crooked Dreams
4. Fishing Buddies
5. Last Dance
6. One Step
7. Take Your Time
8. Call My Name
9. Bluebottle
10. Fishing Buddies (Brokeback Version)

“This is exceptionally thought-through music” – Pitchfork

“…a psych pop game that’s as haunting as it is transfixing.” – Rolling Stone

“If chaos could be taken apart, examined piece by piece, and put carefully back together in a more pleasing way, this is what it would sound like.” – NPR

Watch the video for “Only Eyes”

Watch Sin Fang’s performance for La Blogotheque’s Take Away Show by Vincent Moon

Iceland’s Sindri Már Sigfússon or Sin Fang (formerly Sin Fang Bous of Seabear) has directed and debuted a new video for “Only Eyes,” taken from his forthcoming Half Dreams EP. The DIY video features a special guest appearance by Sindri’s own cat, Emilio Estevez, and the colorful backdrop is a mix of hallucinatory drawings and paintings created by Sindri himself.

Sin Fang set himself the task of playing all of the instruments on his 2009 debut, Clangour, but for this album wanted to move closer to the sound of a live band. He recruited a number of his friends from Múm, Amiina and Seabear to record Summer Echoes in his own studio, as well as Sigur Ros’ Sundlaugin Studio. More details about the Half Dreams EP to come!

Serj Tankian Releases Official Music Video for “Figure It Out”

Harakiri, New Studio Album, Out July 10th

Today Serj Tankian released the official video exclusively on AOL for his first Harakiri single, “Figure It Out.” The video was directed by Ara Soudjian. “It’s a comical political song talking about abusive capitalism and the differences created in economic stature and the reaction to it” says Tankian about the video. “CEOs have gotten away with murder, until now…”

Harakiri, the new studio album from singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet and political activist Serj Tankian is set to be released July 10th on Reprise Records/Serjical Strike. Harakiri, a Japanese word meaning ritualistic suicide, is the follow up to 2010′s Imperfect Harmonies and the third solo release from the System Of A Down frontman.

“Harakiri proves that Serj Tankian is not just one of the best vocalists in rock and metal, but one of the most passionate and provocative artists at work today.” – Revolver

Harakiri is presently available for pre-order on the singer’s official website. $2 from the sale of each pre-order will be donated to a non-profit organization to fight global hunger. The single, “Figure It Out,” is available digitally at services including iTunes, Amazon and Spotify. Fans can also check out the lyric video on YouTube.

Serj and the rest of his bandmates in System of a Down will be performing a handful of dates in August.

Confirmed System Of A Down Tour Dates:
08/02 Philadelphia, PA – Susquehanna Bank Center
08/04 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
08/05 Wantagh, NY – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
08/07 Washington, DC – Verizon Center Arena
08/09 Boston, MA – Comcast Center
08/11 Montreal, QC – Heavy Metal Festival Parterre @ Parc Jean Drapeau
08/12 Toronto, ON – Heavy Metal Festival Downsview Park
08/14 Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Amphitheater
08/15 Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena

Stay Submerged Until the 3:00 Mark. Then the Party Really Begins.

Detroit quartet FAWN (members of the Von Bondies, Thunderbirds Are Now!, Child Bite, Javelins and more) have released a brand new video for “No Wave,” the second single off of their debut Coastlines LP, out on June 12th with Quite Scientific Records (Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Chris Bathgate). Directed by band members Christian Doble and Alicia Gbur, “the concept of the video/song is based on the feeling of living your life under water. People are talking all around you but it’s all muffled. Maybe you’re surrounded by a party but you’ve never felt so alone. The end half of the song represents breaking free from this solitude or melancholy. ”

Click Here to Download first single ‘Pixels’

The members of FAWN are not only talented musicians, but design their own record covers, photography, posters, websites, and video treatments. They’ve assembled an excitingly well-versed group to showcase the sound of New Detroit through the prisms of such 90′s touchstones as Jesus and Mary Chain, The Pixies, Sleater-Kinney, The Breeders, and Juliana Hatfield, alongside modern influences like Yuck or The New Pornographers.

Coastlines Tracklisting
1. All the Lights
2. Hurricane Fire
3. It’s Never Over
4. Break It Off
5. No Wave
6. Suicide
7. The Forest
8. Pennies
9. Pixels
10. Cobra on the Beach

FAWN – No Wave video

Reptar unveil the video for their single “Sebastian” today, exclusively on the Noisey YouTube channel.

Directed by Deadhorse, Ben Fries and Jesse Cain (who have also created memorable promos for the likes of Kindness, Holy Ghost, and Theophilus London), the clip combines performance footage of Reptar’s lead singer Graham Ulicny, shot from several angles simultaneously to create a surreal and cubistic effect, with living tableaus. The tableaus depict the story of Saint Sebastian, the Christian saint and martyr and earliest gay icon, who was tied to a tree and shot with arrows before ultimately being clubbed to death for his criticism of the Emperor.

“Sebastian” is the current single off of Reptar’s debut album Body Faucet. Produced by Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley, Washed Out), Body Faucet is the follow up to the group’s heralded debut EP Oblangle Fizz Y’all, which Rolling Stone praised for its, “…blend of upbeat rhythms, reggae-infected vocals and psychedelic textures.” Body Faucet finds the band delving deeper into world-music influences to compliment their unique blend of danceable and electro infused pop.

Reptar began playing music in late 2008. Since then, the quartet has gained a reputation for their frenzied, must-see live show. After a sold out headline tour that had the band on the road non-stop since February, Reptar are currently out with Grouplove, culminating the epic run of dates with a performance at Sasquatch. In June the band will head over seas for UK dates and return to the U.S. for Fall tour dates to be announced soon.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks as the band unveils remixes from the album.

“Kinetic, danceable rock…”
The New York Times

“Keyed-up, Afro-pop-inflected indie rock…”
The New Yorker

“A bouncy, flamboyant album packed with danceable jams.”
Under The Radar

Reptar – “Sebastian” (Official Video)

REPTAR LIVE DATES

5/22 – Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room#
5/23 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory Concert House#
5/25 – Portland, OR – Star Theater#
5/26 – George, WA – Sasquatch Music Festival
6/12 – New York, NY – Webster Hall#
6/13 – Washington, DC – 930 Club#
6/14 – Boston, MA – WFNX Presents: The Seaport Six in Boston
7/22 – Dover, DE – Firefly Music Festival
9/28 – Fairburn, GA – Counterpoint Music Festival

# with Grouplove

The Swedish indie act Ghost Lake released their first EP, “Late Spring Morning Sunlight” on the American label THEM Records in March, and here’s the video to the single of the same name.

“I was inspired by the crazy feelings of unrequited love, and the lyric jazz’ cheesy exaggerated storytelling, I think it goes well with the song”, the video’s dance choreographer Marie Herdensjö explains. She choreographed the six masked dancers roaming a smokey apartment in this surreal video piece. A visual cardboard animal face mask ode, as designed by director Henric Wallmark with his sister Caroline Wallmark.

“A Gondry-esque zombie outbreak, at its early stages, where people are still hopeful, as played out in the dark ages, but in a modern day apartment”, the director muses.

The video was filmed by Patrik Forsberg in Stockholm in the middle of April.

Hear the single on Soundcloud:

EP free download

After releasing their debut EP in March, Australia’s Gold Fields have released an official video for their infectious, song of the summer first single “Treehouse,” now viewable across VEVO, the world’s leading all-premium music video and entertainment platform.

“Treehouse” can be seen across the VEVO platform, including VEVO.com, mobile and tablet apps and connected TV in addition to VEVO syndication partners such as AOL, Facebook, Yahoo! Music and YouTube.

The quintet played to excited crowds at this year’s SXSW festival and shows in New York and Los Angeles. If you missed the chance to see what The Huffington Post declared as “…one of the most impressive bands you will ever experience” then you must check out their live performance for last.fm where the band played all four songs from their self-titled EP.

Gold Fields are currently completing their debut full-length album slated for international release later in 2012 on Astralwerks.

“[“Treehouse”] The track is a tight funky electro-rock jam, abound with catchy hooks, hand claps and a glorious shout-along finale.” – Baeble Music

“Treehouse,” which is a sparkling post-punk number reminiscent of Bloc Party and The Futureheads. Its ability to get you dancing is nothing compared to the group’s live show, which is an impassioned explosion of sound.” – RCRD LBL

“[“Treehouse”] It’s one of those exuberant, happy-go-lucky tunes that brings out the sunshine and fires up the dancefloor with its bouncy bassline, hypnotic, tribal drums and that oh-so very infectious “wooo.” – Arjan Writes

Gold Fields – Treehouse video

MS MR – Hurricane video

“Beating Lana Del Rey’s record for “1990s influenced Tumblr photos per minute” with the video for their debut single “Hurricane”" – Pitchfork

“…feels big, the vibe feels grand – the pop-allure is definitely present.” – Disco Naivete

MS MR tour dates:
* w/ Marina & The Diamonds
6/01 – Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands Gallery
7/10 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre*
7/11 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore*
7/13 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre*
7/14 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market*
7/15 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom*
7/18 – Denver, CO @ The Summit Music Hall*
7/21 – Chicago, IL @ Park West*
8/14 – Washington D.C. @ 9:30 Club*
8/16 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall*
8/17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts*

“Hurricane”:

U.S. TOUR KICKS OFF JUNE 1ST

Australia’s foremost new soul rebels, Royal Headache, are receiving well-deserved praise for their self-titled debut album, out as of May 8 on What’s Your Rupture?. For those who haven’t been turned on to Royal Headache’s irresistible, R&B-inflected punk songs, be sure to check out preview tracks below. In just a couple of weeks, the four-piece — Law (guitar), Joe (bass), Shortty (drums), and Shogun (vocals) — will make their way to the U.S. to tour in support of this new record. Come October, they will join The Black Keys on an arena tour of Australia. Get a glimpse of what life is like on and off the road for these guys via their new video for ‘Girls,” premiered today on Pitchfork. Directed by Law, the “Girls” video is made from footage taken while on tour and at practice from 2009-2011, and it looks super fun! It’s a prime representation of the highly charged and energetic music these guys are becoming known for.

WATCH ROYAL HEADACHE’S “GIRLS” VIDEO:

Royal Headache – Girls

With deepest regrets, Royal Headache has just learned they have to cancel the first several shows of the tour, May 25 – 30, due to visa complications. They will begin their tour at Chaos in Tejas in Austin on June 1st. Royal Headache is completely disappointed and they apologize to fans in California. They hope to be able to play shows there later in the year.

Royal Headache tour dates:
Fri. May 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Blue Star
Sat. May 26 – Oakland, CA @ Vitus
Mon. May 28 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Velvet Jones
Tue. May 29 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room
Fri. June 1 – Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn (Chaos in Tejas)
Sat. June 2 – Austin, TX @ Club Deville (Chaos in Tejas)
Wed. June 6 – Minneapolis, MN @ House Party
Thu. June 7 – Chicago, IL @ The Burlington
Fri. June 8 – Madison, WI @ University of Wisconsin
Sat. June 9 – Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
Wed. June 13 – New York, NY @ Cake Shop
Thu. June 14 – New York, NY @ Warsaw w/ Ceremony (Northside Festival)
Fri. June 15 – Boston, MA @ P.A.’s Lounge
Sun. Oct. 21 – Newcastle NSW, Australia @ Newcastle Entertainment Centre w/ The Black Keys
Mon. Oct. 22 – Sydney NSW, Australia @ Sydney Entertainment Centre w/ The Black Keys
Fri. Oct. 26 – Brisbane QLD, Australia @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre w/ The Black Keys
Tue. Oct. 30 – Adelaide SA, Australia @ Adelaide Entertainment Centre w/ The Black Keys
Wed. Oct. 31 – Melbourne VIC, Australia @ Sidney Myer Music Bowl w/ The Black Keys

Royal Headache’s “Psychotic Episode” stream – http://bit.ly/HA1INd
Royal Headache’s “Down the Lane” mp3 – http://bit.ly/GCO7c1
Royal Headache’s “Girls” mp3 – http://bit.ly/xWjX4p
Royal Headache hi-res jpegs – http://pitchperfectpr.com/a_rh.html

“The band’s self-titled debut is an unabashed throwback to an era full of blue-eyed men copping and caffeinating the moves of Motown and Memphis, when rock stood in awe of soul music’s ecstasy and agony. The album even sounds 40 years old, thanks to the raw production of Eddy Current Suppression Ring’s Mikey Young.” – NPR Music’s “First Listen”

“Amidst a thriving Australian garage-rock scene– including scrappy bands like Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Straight Arrows, Twerps, Kitchen’s Floor, the UV Race, Super Wild Horses, and Beaches– Sydney’s Royal Headache manage to stand out thanks to their powerful formula of soulful vocals mixed with loud, fast, fuzz-addled power chords. It’s something like the Ramones throwing up sparks behind Faces-era Rod Stewart. And that sound dominates and propels their self-titled LP . . . ” – Pitchfork’s “Rising”

“It’s a power-pop throwdown that boasts the torque of hardcore and the dulcet tones of soul, all of which you can writhe and shimmy to from end to end . . .” – SPIN

“There’s so much nihilism built into most punk music that you can forget how great guitar riffs can make you feel if they’re used in the right way. Royal Headache will be our new daily reminder of good things.” – The FADER

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.