Categories
Uncategorized

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

Categories
Uncategorized

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

Categories
Uncategorized

The Vaccines – No Hope EP

The four Londoners in the post-punk band The Vaccines turned the volume up for their band’s new EP, No Hope. A four track effort, the EP is a straight forward and raw effort that includes two live versions of the title track. “No Hope” is a critique of the self-centered mentality of adolescents growing up, trying to figure out who they are and not giving a damn about anything else besides themselves. If you don’t recognize this phase in your life, you’re still in it! The Vaccines have a hit home on a universally relevant theme, one that goes beyond age and rather focuses on the human condition of pessimism. While the band describes teenage angst (“I don’t really care about anybody else when i don’t have my own life figured out), “No Hope” is backed by sarcasm and satire and carried by catchy guitar and imperfect vocals that make the studio version just as natural and unprocessed as the recording from Brighton and demo that act as track three and four, respectively.

Lead singer Justin Young hands the vocals over to bassist Árni Hjörvar for the b-side titled, “Blow Your Mind.” The track is the first product of a series of singles/EP by The Vaccines that will offer a b-side written and sung by a different member of the band. Ushered in with a snappy riff and a semi-muted scream, the song is fully realized by Hjörvar deep vocals, which toughen up the song’s playful lyrics (“I know your kind but darling I will blow your mind.”) A little over two minutes long, the song is a fun take on the debauchery of romantic endeavors that takes The Vaccines from a post-punk to an edgier punk rock sound.

If this EP is a taste of The Vaccines’ sophomore album, due to be released later this year, we can expect a record that is catchy, concise and somewhat restless in an untroubled way. The Vaccines sounds gutsier on No Hope, and managed to roughen its sound without losing its initial charm.

Categories
Uncategorized

The Hives: A Night in Photos

The Hives - Howlin' Pelle Almqvist

Live performance is a skill I have seen very few bands master. Sure, I come on here a lot and post up some pictures, and often I tell you just how good a band is. I urge you to see a band – not because they’re perfect live, but because they’re darn good. Today, I’m going to preach to you that The Hives are one of the best live bands out there.

The Hives - Nicholaus Arson (Niklas Almqvist)

The Swedes decided to hit some east coast cities in North America before they pack up and play some more festivals in Europe. It’s been four years since they hit up Montreal, and the turn out for their show was superb. Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist and company walked on stage, sporting their formal attire with matching top hats. They wasted very little time and opened up with “Try It Again.” They had me singing along while I snapped my pictures, and they had the kids in the pit moshing and dancing away.

The Hives - Howlin' Pelle Almqvist

They had a very short setlist: only sixteen songs, most of them lasting less than three minutes, and the majority of them off the new album. “Take Back the Toys” and “1000 Answers” proved to be incredibly for fun for everyone, as the crowd didn’t seem to mind the group shelling out new material. However, the very talkative Per Almqvist (Howlin’ Pelle’s real name) did ask them for their input, “Do you want to hear a new song or an old song?” To which the crowd responded with “old!”

The Hives - Nicholaus Arson (Niklas Almqvist)

To which he replied, “Fuck you, you’re old! This is new, unlike all you who just said ‘old.'” He also took a swig of beer at one point in the show, looked at the bottle and asked, “Corona Extra? Is that a Canadian specialty?” He’s absolutely hilarious and knows how to entertain between songs. And while his French isn’t perfect, as he referred to “Tick Tick Boom” as a song from the year 10,000 (dix mille – not deux mille), he had the Montreal crowd cheering at every French sentence. Did I mention that their stagehands are dressed up as ninjas for no good reason? Yeah, don’t ask.

The Hives -Vigilante Carlstroem (Mikael Karlsson)

Did “Tick Tick Boom” and “Hate To Say I Told You So” sound good? Really? What do you think? Awesome. It’s not one single song that makes The Hives so good – it’s the way they move around stage, how Pelle twirls and tosses his mic all over the place, how Nicholaus has this crazy demonic look on his face when he strums his guitar, how Chris is constantly throwing out his drumsticks to the crowd, and how the formal attire slowly becomes a sweaty mess of white dress shirts. You can plainly see that they give it their absolute all every single night. The Hives don’t look at their live shows as something they have to do to make a buck. No, to them, it’s not a job. It’s a passion and love for the stage, and for the crowd that they feed off of.

Setlist: The Hives at Metropolis in Montreal, Qc

Full Set of Photos: jakemullan’s flickr

Categories
Uncategorized

Serj Tankian Premieres Total Paranoia from Batman Arkham City

SERJ TANKIAN PREMIERS NEW TRACK “TOTAL PARANOIA” ON REVOLVER.COM

TRACK TO BE FEATURED ON FORTHCOMING BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY – THE ALBUM DUE OUT OCTOBER 4TH Check out the brand new track “Total Paranoia” from Serj Tankian

Batman: Arkham City – The Album will be released in conjunction with the highly anticipated forthcoming videogame Batman: Arkham City. Featuring 11 new original tracks, Batman: Arkham City – The Album will be released on October 4th, two weeks prior to the game’s North American release on October 18th. The Batman: Arkham City Collector’s Edition of the game will include a download code for the album along with additional bonus content.

The artists featured on Batman: Arkham City – The Album approached their contributions to the album with their own unique interpretations of the stories surrounding Batman. The result is an eclectic mix of dynamic, atmospheric songs for an album that will appeal to fans of both the artists and Batman: Arkham City. Coheed and Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez said, “I write in a very conceptual format with the stories that surround Coheed and Cambria, but Batman has a much larger, defined history and rules that go along with it. My goal was to find universal themes from Batman’s existing history to help give the lyrics legs and dimension so that the song could live within that world.”

Check out the track listing below:

1. Panic! At The Disco – Mercenary
2. Coheed and Cambria – Deranged
3. The Duke Spirit – Creature
4. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Shadow On The Run
5. Blaqk Audio – Afterdark
6. The Raveonettes – Oh, Stranger
7. (Crosses) – The Years
8. The Damned Things – Trophy Widow
9. Daughtry – Drown In You
10. The Boxer Rebellion – Losing You
11. Serj Tankian – Total Paranoia

Categories
Uncategorized

Panic! At The Disco’s ‘Batman’ Song “Mercenary”: Idolator Premiere

PANIC! AT THE DISCO PREMIER NEW TRACK “MERCENARY” ON IDOLATOR

Panic! At The Disco’s ‘Batman’ Song “Mercenary”: Idolator Premiere

TRACK TO BE FEATURED ON FORTHCOMING BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY – THE ALBUM DUE OUT OCTOBER 4TH Check out the brand new track “Mercenary” from Panic! At The Disco, currently premiering on Idolator: HERE

Batman: Arkham City – The Album will be released in conjunction with the highly anticipated forthcoming videogame Batman: Arkham City. Featuring 11 new original tracks, Batman: Arkham City – The Album will be released on October 4th, two weeks prior to the game’s North American release on October 18th. The Batman: Arkham City Collector’s Edition of the game will include a download code for the album along with additional bonus content.

The artists featured on Batman: Arkham City – The Album approached their contributions to the album with their own unique interpretations of the stories surrounding Batman. The result is an eclectic mix of dynamic, atmospheric songs for an album that will appeal to fans of both the artists and Batman: Arkham City. Coheed and Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez said, “I write in a very conceptual format with the stories that surround Coheed and Cambria, but Batman has a much larger, defined history and rules that go along with it. My goal was to find universal themes from Batman’s existing history to help give the lyrics legs and dimension so that the song could live within that world.”

Check out the track listing below:

1. Panic! At The Disco – Mercenary
2. Coheed and Cambria – Deranged
3. The Duke Spirit – Creature
4. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Shadow On The Run
5. Blaqk Audio – Afterdark
6. The Raveonettes – Oh, Stranger
7. (Crosses) – The Years
8. The Damned Things – Trophy Widow
9. Daughtry – Drown In You
10. The Boxer Rebellion – Losing You
11. Serj Tankian – Total Paranoia

Categories
Uncategorized

OLIN & THE MOON MAKE DEBUT TELEVISION APPEARANCE ON THE CW’S ONE TREE HILL SET TO PLAY L.A.’S BOOTLEG THEATER ON APRIL 29TH

OLIN & THE MOON MAKE DEBUT TELEVISION APPEARANCE ON THE CW’S ONE TREE HILL SET TO PLAY L.A.’S BOOTLEG THEATER ON APRIL 29TH

2011 has been an incredible year for Olin and the Moon…and its only April! With the release of their latest album Footsteps in January, the band has already played to sold out crowds across the west coast, tore up Austin for SXSW and now has made their debut television appearance on the CW’s monster hit One Tree Hill. Performing the track Not In Love, the band’s appearance aired last night on the show.

If you missed One Tree Hill last night, here is the clip of the band’s performance:

Olin And The Moon – Not In Love video (One Tree Hill . 819)

Since the band’s appearance, the song Not In Love has been climbing the iTunes rock charts and has officially broken the Top 100!

The band will also be playing a special show on April 29th in Los Angeles at the Bootleg Theater presented by acclaimed local radio station KCRW alongside Sean Rowe and Gaby Moreno. If you’d like to attend the show please let me know and I will gladly accommodate.

Categories
Uncategorized

Girlie Action Launches New Label Services Division Veteran PR & Marketing Agency Also Expands Artist Management Division

Girlie Action Launches New Label Services Division Veteran PR & Marketing Agency Also Expands Artist Management Division

Girlie Action is pleased to announce the hire of music industry veteran Kevin Wortis, who will launch the agency’s new Label Services Division. The new division, which will offer a complete menu of label services, including project management, sales and radio promotions, will enable the venerable PR and marketing agency to become a complete one-stop service company for artists and labels.

Wortis, a 20-year music industry veteran, worked for years as a booking agent, artist manager and label head before co-founding and running pioneering label services company World’s Fair, where hesigned and authored marketing campaigns for such notable clients as Rough Trade, Daptone, Play It Again Sam, Fabric, Dandy Warhols, Lady Sovereign, J Dilla and Secret Machines. More recently he served as President of Rock Steady, where he worked with emerging artists like Best Coast while supporting an array of national and international artists, and labels such as Dim Mak, Nat Geo Music, Nylon and PIAS. He has worked with a wide range of artists, including Flaming Lips, Sharon Jones, Sigur Ros, Devendra Banhart, Aphex Twin, El-P, Queens of the Stone Age, Michael Franti and many others.

Girlie Action is currently providing label services for Agnes Obel, Dinosaur Bones, Goldberg Sisters, Joan As Policewomen, Morcheeba and UNKLE, as well as the forthcoming new Marianne Faithful record, due out this summer.

Girlie Action, which is owned by Felice Ecker and Vickie Starr, is also pleased to announce the expansion of the company’s artist management division. Launched in 2008 with the signing of New Orleans-based Swedish artist Theresa Andersson, the company also manages NY-based artist Rene Lopez, who will release an album with Nat Geo this summer. More recently the artist management division also signed NY bands Midnight Magic, and Jessica 6, whose debut album, See the Light, will be released on May 24 on Peacefrog Records.

Last but not least, Girlie Action is pleased to welcome back Inge Colsen, who worked for the company from 2001 to 2009, and who rejoins the company this month. Girlie Action staff also includes Pam Leto, Aleix Martinez, Sarah Avrin, Kabeer Malhotra, David Marek, Christine Colbert, Spencer Scanlon, Russell Pritchett and Carter McElroy.

About Girlie Action
Founded in 1994, Girlie Action Media and Marketing, Inc., one of the leading boutique media relations and marketing firms in the U.S. specializing in entertainment and pop culture, and has represented some of the most innovative yet popular artists in the United States. Over the years the company has been involved in launching the careers of such iconic artists as My Morning Jacket, Santigold, Antony and The Johnsons, Elliott Smith, No Doubt, The White Stripes, LCD Soundsystem, Ben Folds, Gorillaz, Le Tigre, Cut Copy and Hercules and Love Affair, and has also represented Morrissey, Mogwai, Wu Tang Clan, Echo and the Bunnymen, Superchunk, Yo La Tengo, New Order, Iron Maiden, Blue Man Group, Spiritualized, Belle and Sebastian, Tori Amos, Sebadoh, Amanda Palmer, Sia, They Might Be Giants, The Cramps, and dozens of other artists. Girlie Action has also created numerous PR and marketing campaigns and general lifestyle branding for clients such as Microsoft, Puma, Ray-Ban, Scion, Southern Comfort, Guitar Center, Absolut, Diesel, Technics, Move On, Boost Mobile Rockcorpand theWillie Mae Rock Camp For Girls.

For more information on Girlie Action, visit the GA website.

Categories
Uncategorized

Sargent House & Rodriguez Lopez Productions announce full SXSW schedule

Sargent House & Rodriguez Lopez Productions announce full SXSW schedule

The L.A. based management company and record label Sargent House and its affiliate Productions has announced the full schedule for their bands performing during the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, TX this month. Nine bands from their roster will each be playing a handful of shows during the festival from March 16th – 19th as well as the Sargent House / Rodriguez Lopez Productions official showcase on Saturday, March 19th.

Here is the complete schedule (please note that set times may change):

Adebisi Shank
3/17 Giant Steps Productions’ notSXSW @ Plush (617 Red River Street) – 4:10pm
3/18 The Full Irish Breakfast @ BD Riley’s (204 East 6th St) – 5:00pm
3/19 Sargent House/RLP Showcase @ Emo’s Annex (600 Red River St) – 10:30pm

Cast Spells
3/19 Sargent House/RLP Showcase @ Emo’s Annex (600 Red River St) – 8:00pm

Fang Island
3/18 Thrasher Magazine and Converse Death Match Day Party @ Scoot Inn (1308 East
4th St) – 1:30pm
3/19 The Deli & The Musebox Present @ Lipstick 24 (606 East 7th St) – 5:00pm
3/19 Sargent House/RLP Showcase @ Emo’s Annex (600 Red River St) – 12:00am

Gypsyblood
3/17 Back Alley Block Party (Presented by ExplodingInSound.com + Friends of Sound
Records) @ Friends of Sound Records (1704 South Congress) – 1:00pm
3/18 Your Mom’s Out Of Town Party @ Your Mom’s Burger Bar (1701 East Cesar
Chavez) – 2:00pm
3/18 Redeye SXSW Day Party @ The Dirty Dog (505 East 6th St) – 4:30pm
3/18 AAMP Showcase @ Austin Art & Music Partership (411 W. Monroe St) – 6:00pm
3/19 Subaki Showcase @ The Chicken Farm (2108 Tillery St) – 3:30pm
3/19 Sargent House/RLP Showcase @ Emo’s Annex (600 Red River St) – 8:30pm

Native
3/17 Giant Steps Productions’ notSXSW @ Plush (617 Red River Street) – 3:20pm
3/19 No Sleep and Atticus Presents @ Red 7 (611 East 7th Street) – 3:45pm
3/19 Sargent House/RLP Showcase @ Emo’s Annex (600 Red River St) – 7:25pm

Le Butcherettes
3/17 NACO Showcase @ Flamingo Cantina (515 East 6th St) – 10:00pm
3/18 Redeye Distribution Day Party @ The Dirty Dog (505 East 6th St) – 3:20pm
3/19 Consequence of Sound / Antiquiet Presents Axis of Audio @ The Rumbler Lounge
(402 E 6th St) – 4:30pm
3/19 Sargent House/RLP Showcase @ Emo’s Annex (600 Red River St) – 11:15pm

Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group
3/19 Sargent House/RLP Showcase @ Emo’s Annex (600 Red River St) – 12:50am

Therapies Son
3/16 Fat Possum Records Presents @ Club Deville (900 Red River St) – 12:30pm
3/17 Forest Family x Transparent Showcase @ Double Down Lounge
(515 Pedernales St)
3/19 Sargent House / RLP Showcase @Emo’s Annex (600 Red River St) – 9:15pm

Zechs Marquise
3/19 Sargent House/RLP Showcase @ Emo’s Annex (600 Red River St) – 9:50pm

Categories
Uncategorized

the Books – A Cold Freezin’ Night video

the Books – A Cold Freezin’ Night video

Check the first video from the upcoming Books album, The Way Out (7/20 on Temporary Residence Ltd). They’ve spent years going around to thrift stores, picked up Talkboys (recording device made famous in ‘Home Alone’) and made this song out of random kids’ recordings. It’s one of many amazing videos that you’ll see when they go out on the road this fall.