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reviews

The Get Togethers – Home As In Houston album review

Great music can help us through some truly trying times. Even in some of our bleakest moments, having such a pure emotional outlet to hold onto can act as a sort of beacon, illuminating a strength in ourselves we never knew existed. This acts inversely as well. As musicians create, they pull from within themselves to overcome immense existential trials.

Such is the case for Nashville, Tennessee-based The Get Togethers’ debut record, Home As In Houston. Released on September 24th, the group marries indie rock and pop with a finely tuned ear. On top of tight musicianship and infectious melodies, Bethany Gray Frazier’s tumult of an adolescence is the basis of the entire LP.

The listener is taken back to the year 2007. Then seventeen, Bethany Gray becomes romantically involved with one of her teachers. The police investigations and court hearings that would follow alienated her from her peers, an almost impossibly real turn of events that led to a devastating high-speed car collision, marking the end of this chapter of her life. Each track on Home As In Houston is named for one month of the year, describing the events that transpired in each month. Acting almost as a diary, the album trudges through heartbreak, loss and desolation, narrated by Gray Frazier herself. The lyrics are dense, with an overwhelming capacity for lovelorn catharsis, but are delivered plainly. It is devastatingly easy to feel exactly what she feels, becoming involved in the story.

Even aside from the loose narrative and obvious thematic elements, Home As In Houston stands strong musically. The standard rock outfit matches the tone of the lyrics almost effortlessly, with practically unforgettable hooks and driving choruses, both complimenting Bethany Gray Frazier’s vocal work and carving out its own path just beneath her dreamy croon.

With the release of the Home As In Houston LP now under their belts, The Get Togethers are planning a full US tour for the fall of 2013. The single, “June,” can be streamed on the band’s SoundCloud page while the record hits digital and select brick-and-mortar stores. The Get Togethers have truly set a high bar for themselves and their brand of indie pop.

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reviews

Leif Vollebekk – The Media Club, Vancouver. October 6th, 2013

Leif Vollebekk has quickly become on of my favourite new musicians. This process occurred immediately upon exposure with great ease.

Vollbekk, is a young man who currently resides in Montreal. He recently released his second album “North Americana” after his 2010 debut “Inland” . North Americana is a heart wrenching, soul stirring and mind modifying storm. It is a marvellous piece of work that does mysterious things to me.

I was eager to sit down with Vollebekk and pick his brain about the process of creating an opus.

He explained the album taking more time than anticipated due to the refusal for mediocrity and a sound he didn’t feel comfortable with. He recorded with his perfectly suited band, traveled throughout the seasons and worked with the incredible Howard Bilerma (Godspeed, Arcade Fire) and Tom Gloady (Sigor Ros, Ryan Adams) and collaborated with Sarah Neufeld (Arcade Fire). Each song was recorded live to tape and no compromises were made.

The musicianship, audacity and emotive responsibility is evident in every moment of North Americana.

It is naked, rare and un-apologetic. Vollebekk shared that it is an autobiographical piece of work with room for interpretation. Vollbebekk is also shockingly approachable, hilarious and warm.

The concert itself was at the cozy Media Club. Michael Feuerstack (Snailhouse) opened and shattered everyone’s hearts; properly seasoning us for the emotional and interplanetary evening.

Vollbekk’s show was an experience unlike any other. His band- Hans Bernhard (bass), Phillippe Melanson(drums), Joe Grass (pedal steel) and Adam kinner (tenor sax) are excellent musicians who work together like one person with several limbs.
There was a absolute sense of presence in everything, the songs performed have never sounded that way before and never will again. This is evident of Vollebekk allowing to play without borders and invite his music as a burrow directly into him self. There was no sense of stress, fatigue or deceit. . The music just happened and it happened stunningly.

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music videos press releases

Violent Soho Premiere ‘Dope Calypso’ video

Violent Soho Premiere 'Dope Calypso' video

Violent Soho Premiere ‘Dope Calypso’ Video On Clash || ‘Hungry Ghost’ LP Out September 6th On I Oh You

‘Dope Calypso’ is the opening track from ‘Hungry Ghost’. The video is directed by Timothy O’Keefe and follows the band around their hometown of Mansfield, Queensland.

The Buddhist concept of the ‘hungry ghost’ neatly sums up the urgency, the want, the search of Violent Soho’s music. Amid the riffs, hooks and wail of front man Luke Boerdam is a stark examination of the way we view the world, and the way consumer culture feeds relentlessly on itself and its urges. A fitting theory for an unapologetic, no-bullshit post-grunge cacophony, as laid bare on the Brisbane, Australia four-piece’s second album, “Hungry Ghost”.

Following 2010’s accomplished self-titled album (released on Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label) which delivered riffage-heavy highlights such as ‘Jesus Stole My Girlfriend’ and ‘Muscle Junkie’, the band found themselves at an impasse. The band, which have toured the US with Dinosaur Jr, Alice In Chains, Built To Spill and The Bronx, found themselves treading water creatively after years of touring.

But what it took to snap Luke and his bandmates — James Tidswell (guitar/vocals), Luke Henery (bass) and Michael Richards (drums) — out of the funk was a realization that all of their touring and experiences had given them a new perspective on music; hard work and that new thematic inspiration would lead to its own reward. “It was a process of figuring out what we did like,” Luke explains, “rather than concentrating on what we used to do. We’ve changed and grown as people, so the music we were writing needed to reflect that. Whatever excited us, those are the songs that we went with.”

What emerged on “Hungry Ghost” was a character study of the personalities and ideas of consumer society that inform their hometown of Brisbane suburb Mansfield, examining “the concept of the outsider, people who are a little bizarre and how they view the world”. And from the opening bars of ‘Dope Calypso’, chock full of fuzzy, tumbling riffs through to the subtle, almost delicate psychedelic swirl of ‘Okay Cathedral’, “Hungry Ghost” is Violent Soho growing up. “It’s stuff like status anxiety,” explains Luke, “and worrying about living up to other people’s standards, and in the process become so distracted, sitting on the couch watching other people live their lives. That mentality is behind it”.

There are, of course, still the ‘holy shit’ musical moments. The throat-tearing “yeahyeahyeahyeah” of ‘Covered In Chrome’, the grungy rock’n’roll power of ‘Gold Coast’ and ‘Lowbrow’s spitting anger. But the tempered slow burn of the album’s title-track demonstrates the maturation of the band’s melodic nous, continuing the work of the last record’s ‘Outsider’ and ‘Paper Planes‘. Adding to that are the shades of full throttle attack and pensive rumination on ‘Eightfold’ and ‘Saramona Said‘.

The band’s ability to relay a compelling character study and their broadened musical palette quickly dispel any notion of Violent Soho being some sort of slacker stoner band only interested in weed and skateboarding. “Hungry Ghost” is the album Violent Soho needed to make. Intelligent, melodic, and dripping with attitude, it’s also a record you need to hear.

‘Hungry Ghost’ Track Listing:

1. Dope Calypso
2. Lowbrow
3. Covered in Chrome
4. Saramona Said
5. In The Aisle
6. Okay Cathedral
7. Fur eyes
8. Gold Coast
9. Liars
10. Eightfold
11. Hungry Ghost

Press Quotes:
“‘In The Aisle’ takes all the best chromosomes from the Smashing Pumpkins’ talented DNA. That means densely layered guitar spazzes and melodic punk drawling but there’s also enough scuzz on show to resemble five days without showering” — Noisey [UK]

“Violent Soho have always been on the cusp of greatness, and if “In The Aisle” is anything to go by, they might finally be reaching their full potential” — Indie Shuffle

“‘Generation’ is an irresistible blast of buzz-pop, while ‘Jesus Stole My Girlfriend’ and ‘Muscle Junkie’ suggest the fury and sensual languor of the Pixies.”– The Guardian [UK]

“Scales the energetic highs that made Mudhoney and Nirvana so exhilarating” — BBC6

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tour dates

Susanna and Ensemble neoN Share “Oh, I Am Stuck,” New Song Off The Forester, out September 17th on SusannaSonata

Susanna and Ensemble neoN Share

Norwegian songwriter, vocal interpreter and producer Susanna has been active for more than a decade releasing eight albums under the names Susanna and the Magical Orchestra, Susanna, and Susanna Wallumrød. Known for her own songwriting and her highly personal interpretations of other people’s songs, including Dolly Parton, Leonard Cohen, Prince, Joy Division, Scott Walker, and KISS, Susanna is an intensely arresting performer, holding audiences captive with her hypnotizing vocal timbre and the powerful, all consuming sound of her band. Her forthcoming album and first full-length release on her own label, SusannaSonata, is The Forester, a co-production with the Norwegian contemporary music group, Ensemble neoN. Featuring new arrangements of new and already released songs by Susanna, The Forester captures her composition, and all the nuances of her distinctive voice in neoN’s deceptively simple chamber-folk tapestry, combining the antique notes of the Baroque theorbo, woodwinds and strings, and Susanna’s sparse piano. The result is in an eerily exquisite canvas that recalls Mark Hollis, Tim Buckley, Kate Bush and Claude Debussy while remaining uniquely Susanna’s soundworld. Today, Susanna shares a glimpse of this soundworld via The Forester’s “Oh, I Am Stuck,” of which she says, “The feeling of being stuck in a situation is such a frustrating state of mind, but also a quite fascinating process to try and break the circle – right at the point where the paralyzation starts vanishing and the will to break loose sets in.”

LISTEN TO/SHARE SUSANNA AND ENSEMBLE NEON’S “OH, I AM STUCK” –

SUSANNA TOUR DATES:
Sun. Sep. 22 — Giovanna Pessi/Susanna Wallumrød ‘If Grief Could Wait’ @ Konvergencie Festival, St. Martin’s Cathedral Bratislava, SK
Tue. Sep. 24 — Giovanna Pessi/Susanna Wallumrød ‘If Grief Could Wait’ @ Düsseldorf Festival Maxhaus, Düsseldorf, DE
Wed. Oct. 2 — Susanna sings Gunvor Hofmo @ Josefine Vertshus, Oslo, NO
Thu. Oct. 3 — Susanna sings Gunvor Hofmo @ Høstscena Festival, Ålesund, NO
Fri. Oct. 4 — Susanna sings Gunvor Hofmo @ Bergen Bibliotek, Bergen, NO
Sat. Oct. 5 — Susanna sings Gunvor Hofmo @ Musikkavdelinga, Trondheim, NO
Sat. Oct. 12 — Susanna @ Jazz & the City, Salzburg, AT
Fri. Oct. 18 — Susanna and Ensemble neoN release concert @ Victoria National Jazzscene, Oslo, NO
Fri. Nov. 15 — Giovanna Pessi/Susanna Wallumrød @ Kulturforum Fürth, Nürnberg, DE
Sun. Nov. 17 — Susanna (matiné concert at 11:00) @ Handelsbeurs Theatre, Gent, BE
Sun. Nov. 17 — Giovanna Pessi/Susanna Wallumrød @ Handelsbeurs Theatre, Gent, BE

****************************

“Who knew starkly profound morbidity could sound so gorgeous?” — Pitchfork

“[Susanna’s] simplicity can be considered studied. In a way, the song isn’t even a showcase for lyrics as much as it is the timbres of the human voice, and the minute sonic space between the harmonies.” – Ad Hoc

“limpid-voiced, open-hearted, musically idiosyncratic and touched with mystery.” – The New York Times

“Beautiful, spare, hypnotic.” – MOJO

“Wallumrød sings with dazzling clarity and exquisite patience, shaping melodies with care and sensitivity and tightly controlling her emotional engagement with the material. . . ” – Chicago Reader

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ARMS unveils “Earthquake Weather” + full EP details

ARMS unveils

Beloved indie rock outfit ARMS unveils “Earthquake Weather” the angular, polyrhythmic second cut from their forthcoming EP2, due out 9/10 via Paper Garden Records. “Earthquake Weather”, just like the lead single “Comfort”, maintains that same caliber of tight, complex songwriting combined with the lyrical finesse we’ve come to expect from ARMS.

EP2 marks the first ARMS release since 2011’s ambitious full-length Summer Skills. This time around, ARMS loosened the reins, opening up their sound and energy to more raucous, exposed spaces. Self-recorded and self-produced, the 5-track EP is a particularly personal labor of love for frontman and songwriter Todd Goldstein, who designed the above album art as well.

ARMS | EP2
Release Date : 9/10
1. Comfort
2. Earthquake Weather
3. Sleepwalker
4. Sympathetic Strings
5. Up & Up

“I was exhausted,” says Todd Goldstein, reflecting on the years since the release of his band ARMS’ lush, ambitious 2011 album, Summer Skills. “I put everything I had into that album—creatively, emotionally—I had nothing left in me.” After spending his mid-20s playing guitar in New York’s much-loved Harlem Shakes and the ensuing years crafting two albums and an EP as ARMS, Todd took a sharp turn away from music. He went back to school to study design; he spent long afternoons throwing down in the kitchen; he looked elsewhere to find his creative kicks. Eventually though, he remembered why he can’t help but write songs. ARMS’ EP2 is the proof.

The product of a long, slow collaboration with drummer Tlacael Esparza, EP2 feels both urgent and relaxed, its five home-recorded pop songs projecting a lived-in looseness without sacrificing an ounce of tension. “Comfort,” the EP’s opening track and leadoff single, seems at first to be about music—or a girl. But, unlike most love songs that pull this double duty, the message of “Comfort” is unexpected: Neither one is a prescription for the ailments of real life.

ARMS’ EP2 is the sound of a kid with a worried mind—a frequent character in Todd’s musical universe—learning to let go at last. It only seems right that his leanest, most immediate record would finally arrive after leaving it all behind.

For those in the New York area ARMS is playing the following date:

9/10 – NEW YORK @ Mercury Lounge (EP release party!) w/ Common Prayer

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tour dates

new Dismemberment Plan song – “Invisible” – out today

new Dismemberment Plan song

The Dismemberment Plan, the groundbreaking and influential indie rock four-piece, have revealed “Invisible,” the second song off of Uncanney Valley (out 10/15), the group’s first album of new music in 12 years. Says Stereogum, “It’s about moving to a city where nobody knows your name, the fear and the ecstasy of the experience, and it’s beautiful.”

Fans both old and new can catch The Dismemberment Plan on tour this fall, playing festival dates including Riot Fest (Chicago and Denver), Laneway Festival (Detroit), and Fun Fun Fun Fest (Austin) as well as clubs in major cities including New York, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The full list of tour dates is below.

In 2003, if you told the members of The Dismemberment Plan that ten years later they would not only be releasing a new album, but their best record to date, there’s no way they would have believed you. Since forming in Washington, D.C. in 1993, the band has released four highly acclaimed full-lengths, toured the world many times over, and become one of the most well respected-and indefinable-acts in indie rock. But the past decade has seen their members exploring other areas both inside and outside of music, and even embracing adulthood. However, along the way something funny happened: They reunited three years ago to play some shows to support the reissue of 1999’s Emergency & I, and realized their most potent magic had yet to be bottled.

Uncanney Valley was recorded by longtime collaborator J. Robbins (Jawbreaker, The Promise Ring) at his Baltimore Studio, Magpie Cage, produced by Jason Caddell and The Dismemberment Plan, and mixed by Paul Q. Kolderie (Pixies, Radiohead), and the result is an album that maintains The Dismemberment Plan’s unique sound while simultaneously allowing them to open up and expand on the foundation of their celebrated back catalog.

This spirit of collaboration paired with the members’ diverse taste and life experiences are what make Uncanney Valley such an enthralling listen-and although the group remains unsure what the future holds for them, the most important thing right now is that they exist here in the moment. Ultimately, whether the members are controlling robots on a space station or performing live with an enthusiasm that transcends age, The Dismemberment Plan are a special band, and Uncanney Valley solidifies that as times change and tides shift, this will always hold true.

Tour Dates:
9/14 – Detroit, MI – Laneway Festival
9/15 – Chicago, IL – Riot Fest
9/21-22 – Denver, CO – Riot Fest
10/18 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
10/19 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
10/20 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
11/2 – Boston, MA – Paradise
11/3 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
11/9 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
11/8-10 – Austin, TX – Fun Fun Fun Fest
12/7 – Seattle, WA – The Neptune Theatre*
12/8 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom*
12/10 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore*
12/12 – Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre*

* denotes w/ Telekinesis

Tracklisting:
1. No One’s Saying Nothing
2. Waiting
3. Invisible
4. White Collar White Trash
5. Living in Song
6. Lookin’
7. Daddy Was a Real Good Dancer
8. Mexico City Christmas
9. Go and Get It
10. Let’s Just Go to the Dogs Tonight

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Noah And The Whale Announce New Album Heart of Nowhere

Noah And The Whale Announce New Album Heart of Nowhere

Noah And The Whale will release their fourth studio album, Heart Of Nowhere, on September 24th via Caroline Records. The album, recorded at West London’s British Grove Studios, is the band’s fourth record in five years, and follows 2011’s platinum-selling Last Night On Earth

The band will be touring this Fall in support of the release. Beginning on September 27th in Seattle, WA the run will takes in major markets on both the west and east coasts, including an October 3rd show at the Avalon of Los Angeles and an October 22nd show at Irving Plaza in New York City. For the band’s full itinerary, please see below.

Noah And The Whale On Tour
Sep 27 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
Sep 28 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
Sep 29 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Oct 01 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
Oct 02 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
Oct 03 – Los Angeles, CA @ Avalon
Oct 06 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival
Oct 08 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre
Oct 09 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Oct 10 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
Oct 12 – Austin, TX @ ACL Official After Show
Oct 13 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival
Oct 15 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Oct 16 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Oct 17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
Oct 19 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Theatre
Oct 21 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
Oct 22 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza

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tour dates

New Temples Single, “Keep In The Dark,” & Catch Them On First North American Tour This Fall

Temples Single Keep In The Dark

“Temples specialize in ’60s-washed psychedelia, blending anemic vocals and shaggy melodies into a wonderfully murky swirl.” – SPIN

“‘Colours To Life’ adeptly balances both their idols’ folk-pop roots and psych-rock branches . . . It’s an unearthing of a time capsule for sure, but ‘Colours To Life’ still can feel like a breath of fresh air.” – Pitchfork

“Their first single and calling card is last year’s ‘Shelter Song’, a jerky earworm of a 12-string guitar riff with a loping rhythm section, elegantly rough-hewn with vocals rendered in ’60s-style tinny sonic relief. . . ‘Colours To Life’ . . . found them foregrounding its spectral keyboards and pushing into increasingly expansive terrain.” – The Quietus

Kettering, England, psychedelic-pop band Temples introduced themselves to North American audiences last month via the “Shelter Song”/”Colours to Life” 7,” out now on Fat Possum. Today, the four-piece share a new 60s inspired, end-of-summer jam, the immediately endearing “Keep In The Dark,” and announce their first North American tour! Recorded and produced by the band in their own Pyramid Studio and mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer, “Keep In The Dark” is now available Fat Possum, featuring the b-side “Jewel Of Mine Eye.” In the meantime, check out the song’s new video, directed by Abbie Stephens and produced by Creature of London. Following the release of “Keep In The Dark,” Temples’ James Baghaw (vocals, guitar), Tom Warmsley (bass, backing vocals), Sam Toms (drums)and Adam Smith (keys) will make their way stateside for a 10-day Midwest and East Coast run in November showing North American audiences firsthand, this young, production-obsessed band can equally deliver on stage as on record.

“one of the brightest new lights of the current psych scene” – NME

“Temples deftly combine the vintage with the modern. ‘Shelter Song’ pulls off the sort of sonic alchemy that makes psych-rock fans’ ears perk up: Crackling drums, kaleidoscopic guitars and keyboards, and syrupy vocals that reference The Twilight Zone.” – MTV Hive [“The 10 Best Indie-Rock Tracks of July”]

TEMPLES TOUR DATES:
Mon. Nov. 18 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Tue. Nov. 19 – Detroit, MI @ The Loving Touch
Wed. Nov. 20 – Toronto, ON @ The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
Thu. Nov. 21 – Montreal, PQ @ Le Petit Campus
Fri. Nov. 22 – Allston, MA @ Great Scott
Sat. Nov. 23 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
Mon. Nov. 25 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Tue. Nov. 26 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
Wed. Nov. 27 – Washington, DC @ DC9

Fri. Aug 23 – Reading, UK @ Reading Festival 2013
Sat. Aug. 24 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival 2013
Sun. Aug. 25 – Paris, FR @ Rock en Seine 2013
Fri. Sep. 13 – Port Meirion, UK @ Festival Number 6 2013
Sat. Sep. 14 – Portsmouth, UK @ Southsea Festival 2013
Wed. Sep. 25 – Frankfurt, DE @ Zoom
Thu. Oct. 3 – Guildford, UK @ Boileroom
Fri. Oct. 4 – Norwich, UK @ Norwich Arts Center
Sat. Oct. 5 – Leicester, UK @ O2 Academy 2 Liverpool
Tue. Oct. 8 – Sheffield, UK @ Queens Social Club
Wed. Oct. 9 – Glasgow, Uk @ King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut
Thu. Oct. 10 – Edinburgh, UK @ Electric Circus
Fri. Oct. 11 – Carlisle, UK @ The Brickyard
Sat. Oct. 12 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK @ Reds Bar
Mon. Oct. 14 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Tue. Oct. 15 – Liverpool, UK @ The Kazimier
Wed. Oct. 16 – Nottingham, UK @ The Bodega Social Club
Thu. Oct. 17 – York, UK @ The Duchess
Thu. Oct. 17 – Sun. Oct. 20 – Cardiff, UK @ Swn Festival 2013
Sat. Oct. 19 – Oxford, UK @ Gathering 2013
Mon. Oct. 21 – Brighton, UK @ Komedia Brighton
Tue. Oct. 22 – Exeter, UK @ Exeter Phoenix
Wed. Oct. 23 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla
Thu. Nov. 14 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Gorilla
Fri. Nov. 15 – London, UK @ Electric Ballroom
Sat. Nov. 30 – Sun. Dec. 1 – Tokyo, JP @ Hostess Club Weekender 2013

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music videos tour dates

Ell V Gore Premieres ‘Her Vicious’ Video and tour dates With Dirty Beaches

If Ell V Gore’s Sex Static sounds to you like it was made by four weirdos you’d meet at a pitch black, late night bizarre sex party beating their instruments half to death…well, that’s because it was. Toronto’s Ell V Gore is the project of 24 year old Ell V who has been playing in weirdo punk and no wave bands for the past decade. He is also a man known around town for throwing some of the freakiest late-night parties in the city (when he isn’t manning the microphone at strip clubs in between for cash). Sex Static, their debut EP on Bad Actors, is an industrial punk rock beat-down. It is a visceral, dark, and loud late night album that sounds like Chairs Missing era Wire and The Birthday Party being filtered through a kaleidoscope of 90 shades of black and grey. Known around the city for their stunningly intense live show, the experience has translated well to record. The rhythm section is tight and malicious, the guitars and synthesizers scrape, scratch, and scream, and Ell V’s controlled Lux Interior-esque howl bounces off walls with the guttural intensity of Michael Gira. Weirdos, freaks, and late night delinquents – your party has begun.

About Bad Actors:

Bad Actors is a Toronto based boutique record label focused on bringing you the best from the next generation of the city’s best songwriters, bands, producers, and beat makers. The label is headed by Ben Cook aka Young Guv, a member of Fucked Up, and the brains behind several of Toronto’s most loved and respected musical acts including: No Warning, Yacht Club, Marvelous Darlings, and The Scuzz. His résumé also includes: starring in some of your favorite childhood TV shows, ghostwriting some of the catchiest songs amongst your most beloved guilty pleasures, and producing some of his city’s most promising musical acts. Needless to say, the Guv can bring the goods, and it was only a matter of time before he started his own label. Bad Actors will serve as a stepping-stone to bigger things for young acts, while offering them an opportunity to work closely with one of Toronto’s most creative and energetic musical forces. Upcoming releases on Bad Actors include records from industrial punk freaks Ell V Gore, guitar pop masterminds Actual Water, weirdo soul-goddess MCs Bizzarh, 17 year old producer extraordinaire Harrison and Cook’s own Yacht Club.

Tour With Dirty Beaches:

9/4 – Montreal, QC – SAT
9/6 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
9/8 – Washington, DC – Rock & Roll Hotel
9/9 – Philedelphia, PA – Johnny Brendas
9/11 – Toronto, ON – The Garrison
9/12 – Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle
9/13 – St. Louis, MO – Firebird
9/14 – Nashville, TN – Exit In
9/15 – Birmingham, AL – Bottletree

Praise For Ell V Gore:

“Surging out of the cave like the Birthday Party trying to cover Joy Division’s “Transmission”, [Lobotomy] strikes a masterful balance of barked psychosis and mechanistic precision, of primitive trash-can clang and synth-shocked futurism.”–Pitchfork

“Noisy, viciously catchy no wave from this wonderful Toronto weirdo” — Noisey

scuzzy, gothy post-punk you might expect given what you’ve read to this point. Fans of The Birthday Party, Wire, The Cramps and all things WIERD take note” — Brooklyn Vegan

“[Lobotomy’s] a vicious single that sniffs the glue that built Ty Segall’s Melted and drills cascading rhythms into the back of your head” –Blare Magazine

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press releases tour dates

Wildcat! Wildcat! in new documentary with Passion Pit + tour with MS MR

Wildcat! Wildcat! in new documentary

WILDCAT! WILDCAT!’S DEBUT EP SET FOR SEPTEMBER 10 RELEASE VIA DOWNTOWN RECORDS

BAND FEATURED IN NEW SAM JONES DIRECTED FEED THE BEAT DOCUMENTARY, “HELLO EVERYWHERE” WITH PASSION PIT

TOUR CONFIRMED PLUS MSMR DATES

“MR. QUICHE” PREMIERES AT NYLON

“MGMT-esque spacey psych pop, and ethereal vocal pitter-patter with ease.”—Pitchfork

“A group on the up-and-up that may end up in your iTunes regular rotation before you know it.”—Huffington Post

The self-titled debut EP from acclaimed LA-based band Wildcat! Wildcat! is set for September 10 release on Downtown Records. The band garnered critical praise for their previously released sold-out limited addition 7” on the taste-making label Neon Gold Records, including early support from BBC Radio 1 in the U.K. TIME raves, “I love the staccato electronic rock, I love the frantic opening measures, I love the fleeting falsetto in the background,” while Metro furthers they’re “the best overall new band.” To celebrate the release, the band will embark on a nationwide tour starting in September including select dates with MSMR. See reverse for details.

On August 25, Taco Bell’s Feed the Beat music program will release a new documentary titled “Hello Everywhere.” Directed by Sam Jones, the film follows Wildcat! Wildcat! and Passion Pit throughout SXSW 2013, documenting their experiences at the festival—one as an emerging, developing band and the other as a more established band. See the film’s trailer at FeedTheBeat.com and a teaser clip here http://bit.ly/13ZBpOV.

The new EP was written and produced by the band in their home studios over the course of the last year and a half. The first single “Mr. Quiche” can be streamed/shared at http://bit.ly/14HOhVr. Of the songs Jesse Carmichael (vocals, drums) notes, “Some came quicker than others but all of them provided us the time to try out different processes of collaboration and understand how and why we make the kind of music that we make together.” See below for full track listing.

Wildcat! Wildcat! is Jesse Taylor (vocals, bass), Michael Wilson (vocals, keys) and Carmichael. The trio played together in various incarnations before officially forming Wildcat! Wildcat! in 2012. The band has toured extensively including SXSW, a sold out west coast headlining run and major U.S. support slots with Alt-J and Portugal. The Man.

WILDCAT! WILDCAT! TRACK LISTING
1. The Chief
2. Garden Grays
3. Mr. Quiche
4. Please & Thank You

Wildcat! Wildcat! Tour Dates

September 18 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock
September 19 Chicago, IL Schuba’s
September 20 Detroit, MI Magic Stick Lounge
September 21 Toronto, ON Wrong Bar
September 22 Rochester, NY Bug Jar
September 24 Washington, DC DC9
September 25 Philadelphia, PA Boot & Saddle
September 26 Brooklyn, NY Glasslands Gallery
September 28 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
September 29 Boston, MA Great Scott
October 3 Nashville, TN High Watt
October 4 Murfreesboro, TN Earmilk Festival
October 15 San Francisco, CA The Independent*
October 17-18 Los Angeles, CA The Troubadour*
October 19 San Diego, CA Soda Bar*
October 23 Vancouver, BC Venue Nightclub*
October 24 Seattle, WA The Crocodile*

*with MSMR