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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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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

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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

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music videos tour dates

Susanne Sundfør Announces US Tour, Video Contest

Susanne Sundfør Announces US Tour

Norwegian songstress Susanne Sundfør is excited to announce a fall US tour, her first stateside string of dates. She will bring her original breed of dark electronic music and beguiling vocals that has drawn critical acclaim throughout the world, following her success in native Norway where her album The Silicone Veil reached # 1 in 2012 and became the biggest selling album of the year. Full tour dates are below.

Additionally, she is inviting fans to create the official video for ‘Among Us’ off The Silicone Veil by uploading their videos to http://genero.tv/susannesundfor by September 17th. The winner will also win $4,000. The winner and finalists will be chosen by Susanne Sundfør and Genero.

Susanne Sundfør Tour Dates:
9/23 – Bardot – Hollywood, CA
9/25 – Bootleg Theater – Los Angeles, CA
9/26 – The Chapel – San Francisco, CA
9/28 – Glasslands – Brooklyn, NY
9/30 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY

Praise for Susanne Sundfør & The Silicone Veil:

“Thick with mythology and dark as a nighttime thicket.” – Pitchfork “Best New Track”

“The Silicone Veil” is leftfield pop, a thrilling effort. It’s icy, gothic, and strange,
with moments of intentional dissonance.” – Billboard

“A shiny-voiced Norwegian pop star” – Rolling Stone

“A haunting, contradiction-filled work” – MTV

“Single-mindedness and a clear artistic vision coincide,
making Sundfør utterly arresting.” – Mojo ****

“Sundfor has a fantastically powerful, window-bending face-melter of a voice….
it’s quite stunning.”- Q

“If there is a more beautiful and ambitious song this year than ‘White Foxes’…
well, there just isn’t.”. – Uncut ****

“A breathtaking collection of spectral songs… she staked a claim to be the new Bjork. The Silicone Veil’s title track could have taught Florence Welsh a valuable trick…” – The Times UK *****

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music videos tour dates

Mount Kimbie Release Video for “Home Recording”

Cold Spring Fault Less Youth Out Now Via Warp Mount Kimbie Tour North America This Fall

“The duo was incredibly precise . . . in a live setting, there really is no one else out there quite like Mount Kimbie.” Village Voice

“Dancing to Mount Kimbie is like dancing to architecture: it feels like their compositions have hidden passages, back doors, and sky lights, beaming in sneakily beautiful, sun-kissed melodies. They are a modest band making audacious, idiosyncratic music, and I cherished seeing it live.” The Stranger

Having released their acclaimed sophomore record, Cold Spring Fault Less Youth, on Warp earlier this summer, Mount Kimbie have released a vivid, textured video for single, “Home Recording.” Directed by Anthony Dickenson, Rolling Stone hailed the video, “with its elegant blend of jazzy ambiences and dubstep textures, the album conjures vivid imagery by itself . . . Dickenson has created a perfect companion for the music’s evocative drift.”

Building on the success of their debut album, Crooks and Lovers, Mount Kimbie have established themselves as ambitious artists in the experimental arena of electronic music, adding rich textures to layered melodies and on this record, live instrumentation that expands their scope of sound.

The FADER call Cold Spring Fault Less Youth a “subtle epic” while SPIN acknowledge that it “maintains a sense of understated complexity, it’s very different from its predecessor . . . the increased presence of live percussion has created a larger, more organic sound, one now oriented towards the dance floor.” The recently released video for “You Took Your Time (feat. King Krule)” is a bleak, captivating black and white portrait of intertwined characters that results in what Pitchfork calls “something of a grime ballad.”

The duo will be touring North America this Fall, including dates at Seattle’s Decibel Festival with Nicolas Jaar, as well as Mutek Mexico and Asheville’s Mountain Oasis Festival.

Mount Kimbie North American Fall Tour Dates

09.22.13 – Symbiosis Gathering Fest – Oakdale, CA
09.23.13 – Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA
09.24.13 – Porters Pub – San Diego, CA
09.25.13 – DNA Lounge – San Francisco, CA
09.27.13 – Decibel Festival (Showbox Sodo) – Seattle, WA
09.28.13 – Venue – Vancouver, BC
09.29.13 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
09.30.13 – Neurolux – Boise, ID
10.02.13 – Urban Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT
10.03.13 – Larimer Lounge – Denver, CO
10.05.13 – Mutek MX – Mexico City, MX
10.07.13 – The Sinclair – Boston, MA
10.08.13 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY
10.09.13 – Black Cat – Washington, DC
10.11.13 – The Loft – Atlanta, GA
10.12.13 – Jack Rabbits – Jacksonville, FL
10.13.13 – Club Downunder – Tallahassee, FL
10.14.13 – The Social – Orlando, FL
10.15.13 – Bardot – Miami, FL
10.17.13 – Republic – New Orleans, LA
10.18.13 – Walters – Houston, TX
10.19.13 – Red 7 – Austin, TX
10.20.13 – Club Dada – Dallas, TX
10.22.13 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
10.23.13 – The Basement – Columbus, OH
10.26.13 – Carnegie Mellon – Pittsburgh, PA
10.27.13 – Mountain Oasis Festival – Asheville, NC

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tour dates press releases reviews

Charli XCX’s US headline dates moved to Oct/Nov– to join UK arena tour w/ Paramore

21-year-old Charlotte Aitchison aka Charli XCX reveals she will join Paramore on their upcoming UK arena headline tour in September—which unfortunately means the scheduled North American fall headline tour will be postponed until the end of October/November, 2013.

“I’m very happy to have been asked to support Paramore on their UK tour. I’ve never really done shows in the UK outside of London before so it’s going to be something different and kind of scary for me. Of course I am really, truly so so sorry to everyone who got tickets to my US shows, as now I will have to reschedule those dates and I hate the fact that I will have let lots of people down. It’s weird, I always feel strangely at home when I play shows in America and the fans I have out there are literally the best, most killer fans in the world. I’m upset that you guys are going to be disappointed and annoyed at me, as I really did have big things planned for this tour, so it’s very sad. I’m working really hard to reschedule the dates right now and all I can promise you is that the shows will be even bigger and better than anything I’ve ever done before” –Charli XCX

Following what’s been an incredible year, having released her breakthrough debut album “TRUE ROMANCE” (via IAMSOUND) to rave reviews, including a ‘Best New Music’ mark from Pitchfork; having written her first #1 single ‘I Love It’ for Swedish duo Icona Pop, which has gone on to sell over 3 million copies worldwide; and moreover, Charli is currently writing in the studio with some of the biggest names in pop. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for a revised US routing! Replay the single, “You (Ha Ha Ha)” here:

CHARLI XCX on TOUR
*9/20-9/28 supporting Paramore except
8/23 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
8/25 – Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
9/20 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester MEN Arena
9/21 – Cardiff, UK @ Cardiff Arena
9/23 – Birmingham, UK @ Birmingham LG Arena
9/24 – Nottingham, UK @ Nottingham Capital FM Arena
9/27 – London, UK @ TBC
9/28 – London, UK @ TBC
10/5 – Vienna, Austria @ Waves Vienna Festival*
10/27 – Las Vegas, NV @ Vegas Festival
TBD – US HEADLINE DATES TO BE RELEASED SOON*
11/30 – London, UK @ London Islington Academy

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reviews

Gogol Bordello – Pura Vida Conspiracy album review

The difference between disliking a band and respecting a band is an important one. If there is sufficient evidence that a certain group is a bunch of talentless hacks, than there’s nothing wrong with saying so. Being second-rate, by the way, has nothing to do with character and everything to do with artistry. Criticism need not be personal.  Over the last decade or so, Gogol Bordello has built up a reputation as an eccentric group of gypsy punks who are very talented at the stirring the pop cultural pot. Their name comes from the Russian writer Nikolai Gogol, who introduced Ukrainian culture to Russian culture. The band’s goal of bringing popular music from Eastern Europe to the English-speaking world has succeeded fairly well, and this is why, as mentioned earlier, it is easier to respect Gogol Bordello than to like their music.

Pura Vida Conspiracy has all of the pomp, spontaneity and sense of humor that is to be expected from the band at this point. Frontman Eugene Hütz gargles and stammers through the album with furious apathy. His idiosyncratic, yet consistent vocals matched with the accompanying rock band, accordions, and violins creates a homogenous feel to the tracks, and during some moments it feels gimmicky. Yet, Hütz is actually from Ukraine, and as a result, the synthesis sounds authentic. Thus, Vampire Weekend syndrome, whereby rich white males appropriate world music in a quixotic attempt to appear cosmopolitan (put on some yacht rock, dude), is, thankfully, avoided.  The band sounds best when they change paces on tracks like “I Just Realized,” or the sweeping finale “We Shall Sail.”

Blurring pop genres is a very difficult thing to do, and it is often said that the best artists accomplish this mighty task. Though I have not seen Gogol live, I’ve heard that they’re great performers. This may explain my relative disinterest with their recordings. Despite what School of Rock may have wanted us to believe, a great rock n’ roll show does not change the world, but it may prompt you to be more enthused about a band and, in turn, appreciate their recordings more than you would have. Pura Vida Conspiracy sounds consistent with the rest of their discography, and diehard fans will be pleased.

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reviews

Demon Queen – Exorcise Tape album review

The LA electronic beat maker Tobacco has teamed up with Zackey Force Funk to make the tight outlandish sounds of Demon Queen. For anyone not familiar with Tobacco’s previous work, the creative sounds he laces into neo-industrial beat driven tracks seem to pull you in multiple directions at the same time, which can be a mind warping experience. Meanwhile, and unlike really any other rapper, Zackey Force Funk relies on his ability to croon, opting for a falsetto and soft-spoken delivery where other rappers typically boast with bravado. Tobacco is known for his work with Black Moth Super Rainbow, and a sort of obsession with analog electronic insturments, such as the vocoder and the Rhodes keyboard. He has also had a productive career as a solo act, releasing two full length albums and three EP’s in less than four years. With both his solo efforts and Demon Queen, he has notably taken a more experimental and slightly more adventurous approach to his music.

Dropping Demon Queen into your player starts off as a bold move on its own. At the first notion of effected vocals which lead us into the galactically heavy, 80’s style synthesizers of “Lamborghini Meltdown,” the adventure is already well underway. The sound is so fresh and futuristic, and crafted with such precision, it becomes infectious. Tobacco’s backing vocals in “Vodka” sounds like robotic, a theme in his solo work as well. Deep sub-synth bass ripple along the low end and Zackey Force Funk’s high pitched croons echo’s bounce along the track. Chuck Steak’s slow rapping guest spot on this track brings a nice new flavor to the mix.

The demonic party continues with hot and ominous bangers like “El Camino 2” and “Swoll Tongue.” The latter of the two featuring an onslaught of high end electronic madness. The breakdown regresses to vocals, keys and an obviously audible click track. Tobacco’s seems to be toying with the ideas, and the winning ones stick, a boldly creative approach not nearly prevalent enough in today’s music. The composition on “Swoll” proves to be very well rounded, with the melodic chorus likened to a valley between the synthetic mountains.

N8 No Face boasts “ten thousand push up’s before my breakfast-es” on the opening the “Demon Practice.” This two minute blast is in your face with no apologies. Playing the Demon Queen hype man, N8 No Face proves to pump up the distorted demonic beats to their fullest potential. “Love Hour Zero” is an excellent break from the madness. A ballad, really, the tune shows the versatility of the group. Effected acoustic guitar twangs over the pumping “80’s exercise tape” beat. The lead is reminiscent of a classic TV show introduction, in the best way possible.

The album’s first “single” is “Rude Boy,” a dynamic story about a dude shooting his gun off in the middle of a ripping party. Interlacing creative sounds own this beat, with an echoing lead creating waves over multiple effected keyboard riffs. N8 No Face comes in to explain the details with clarity. “Bad Route” has no guest spot which means Zackey Force Funk and Tobacco take turns telling the story; Zackey with light and extremely tasteful crooning, and Tobacco with his robot voice , use of samples, and tight, infectious synth leads. “Despise the Lie” is an awesome blast to wrap up the album, rounding out the cast of characters with an excellent guest spot from Isaiah Toothtaker. The song starts with his aggressive line “get these suckers the fuck up off of me.” This tune proves there are no weak tracks in this collection.

Quite possibly the most interesting album released this year, Demon Queen should certainly raise some brows with Exorcise Tape, in addition to confusion amongst innocent bystanders and, ultimately, the energy of the dance floor at the trendiest of underground clubs in LA, New York and elsewhere. Those bold enough to throw this demonic album in their players will be exposed to something completely new and totally wild. The use of guest spots was wise and absolutely enhances the final product. Mastermind Tobacco and compadre Zackey Force Funk should be commended for seeing this project through and approaching it with such open creativity, for what came out of it is devilishly good.