Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 1732

Some more great records from 2017 that you missed

When I make my best list of the year, often I have not listened to every record. So I present to you some great records that I want to listen to, and many of these are ones that almost made my Top 50 list, and others I just recommend checking out. Many of these groups were bands that I saw live in the past year too!






Adult. "Detroit House Guests"Sam Amidon "Following Mountain"Beck "Colors"Big Thief "Capacity"Bjork "Utopia"The Black Angels "Death Song"Boss Hog "Brood X"Molly Burch "Please Be Mine"The Buttertones "Gravedigging"Chastity Belt "I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone"Destroyer "Ken"Bob Dylan "Triplicate"Mark Eitzel "Hey Mr Ferryman"Elbow "Little Fictions"
Miya Folick "Give IT To Me" EPCarla Dal Forno "The Garden"Diamanda Galas "All The Way"Goldfrapp "Silver Eye"Grandaddy "Last Place"Hanni El Khatib "Savage Times"Kasabian "For Crying Out Loud"Laurel Halo "Dust"The Horrors "V"Nikki Lane "Highway Queen"LA Witch "LA Witch"Liars "TFCF"Luna "A Sentimental Education"Aimee Mann "Mental Illness"Imelda May "Life Love Flesh Blood"Maximo Park "Risk To Exist"Mogwai "Every Country's Sun"The Moonlandingz "Interplanetary Class Classics"Kevin Morby "City Music"The National "Sleep Well Beast"Gary Numan "Savage"Oh Sees "Orc"Hannah Peel "Mary Casio: Journey To Cassiopeia"Ariel Pink "Dedicated to Bobby Jameson"Priests "Nothing Feels Natural"Protomartyr "Relatives In Descent"Lee Ranaldo "Electric Trim"Ride "Weather Diaries"Todd Rundgren "White Knight"She-Devils "She-Devils"Sparks "Hippopotamus"Spoon "Hot Thoughts"This Is The Kit "Moonshine Freeze"Thundercat "Drunk"Tops "Sugar At The Gate"Torres "Three Futures"UUUU "UUUU"Cindy Wilson "Change"Wolf Alice "Vision of Life"

Miya Folick takes you to Woodstock

LA-based artist Miya Folick has shared a video for her cover of the timeless Joni Mitchell song "Woodstock," as heard on her recently released five-song EP Give It To Me. The visually captivating clip acts as a focused showcase of Miya's uniquely expressive performance style, just as the song's sparse arrangement perfectly underscores her virtuosic vocal talents. Check it out below:
http://smarturl.it/WoodstockMiyaFolick

The video lands just ahead of tomorrow's EP release show at The Moroccan on in Los Angeles, which marks the first opportunity to purchase the vinyl edition, a limited pressing combining Miya's debut EPs Give It To Me (2017) and Strange Darling (2015) on one red vinyl 12" (limited to 750 copies). The sleeve features a painting by Maren Karlson and the record is being released in conjunction with Vinyl Me, Please.
The vinyl can be purchased here: http://bit.ly/MiyaFolickRecordMore info: http://bit.ly/MiyaInterview

Heralded by Stereogum as one of the "40 Best New Acts of 2017," Miya and her band have garnered attention from all quarters, including MTV, Noisey, NME, DIY, Refinery 29, LA Weekly, NYLON, Vogue, and more. 

Royal Blood Announce 2018 U.S. Headlining Dates

ROYAL BLOOD ANNOUNCE 2018 U.S. HEADLINING DATES 
BAND TO RETURN TO CONAN FOR A PERFORMANCE OF "I ONLY LIE WHEN I LOVE YOU" ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7TH   LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 4 - Award-winning British rock band Royal Blood have announced a round of U.S. headlining dates to take place this coming spring. The run kicks off on May 28th at Brooklyn Steel in New York and will wind down on June 15th at The National in Richmond, VA. Tickets will be available for purchase beginning at 12:00 PM EST this Friday, December 8th. Royal Blood is touring in support of their most recent release How Did We Get So Dark?, which was released on June 16th on Warner Bros. Records and debuted at No. 1 in the U.K. The album has accumulated over 30 million streams to date across Apple Music and Spotify, sold over 250,000 copies globally, and produced a No. 1 single on the Rock Airplay chart with "Lights Out". This Thursday, December 7th Royal Blood will return to Conan for a performance of their current single "I Only Lie When I Love You". Fans can tune in at 11:00 / 10:00 CST on TBS (check local listings). Praise for How Did We Get So Dark? includes USA Today: "a monstrously good album," Rolling Stone: "a taut, smoldering album from a pair that has distilled rock to its essence," NME: "the sound of modern masters honing their craft," Entertainment Weekly: "darkly thrilling," Forbes: "Royal Blood ready to make leap to rock stardom on second album," and much more. Royal Blood spent the fall supporting Queens of the Stone Age at arenas across North America. They will round out the year with a performance in Los Angeles at KROQ's annual Almost Acoustic Christmas.
Previously Announced Dates
12/5 - House of Blues - Houston, TX12/6 - The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - Las Vegas, NV12/9 - KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas - Inglewood, CA2/17 - The Forum - Inglewood, CA*5/18 - Edmonton, AB - Rogers Place*5/20 - Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre*5/22 - Madison, WI - Breese Stevens Field*5/24 - London, ON - Budweiser Gardens*5/25 - Rochester, NY - Rochester Dome Arena* * Supporting Queens of the Stone Age
2018 U.S. Headlining Dates 5/28 - Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn, NY5/31 - Stage AE - Indoor - Pittsburgh, PA6/3 - Marathon Music Works - Nashville, TN6/5 - Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater - Austin, TX6/6 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX6/8 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA6/9 - The Plaza Live - Orlando, FL6/11 - Revolution - Fort Lauderdale, FL6/12 - Jannus Live - Saint Petersburg, FL6/14 - The Fillmore Charlotte - Charlotte, NC6/15 - The National - Richmond, VA

The Radio Dept. National Tour Kicks Off 1/29 + Running Out Of Love LP Out Now

THE RADIO DEPT.
National Tour Kicks Off January 29th
Running Out Of Love  LP  Out Now

“Moody, shivering”  – SPIN
“Playfully subversive" – Pitchfork
“Hypnotic” – Consequence of Sound
“Swedish dream pop… politically charged” – FADER
“Some of their most winning melodies and biggest hooks to date.” – BrooklynVegan
“May sound calm and peaceful, the lyrics are all about violent revolution.” – Stereogum
 
 On the heels of their critically acclaimed fourth LP,  Running Out Of Love , Swedish pop duo The Radio Dept. have announced a national tour that kicks off on January 29th and hits cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia. See below for a full date listing + tickets are available for purchase here.
Political and especially timely, Running Out Of Love is about the impatience that turns into anger and ultimately withdrawal when our love for the world and our existence begin to falter. The album features lead single “Swedish Guns,” a haunting takedown of the Swedish arms industry, which went #1 HypeM, charted on the Spotify Viral Chart, and gained wide critical praise. Also featured on the LP is acclaimed single “We Got Game,” which was remixed by Henning Fürst, formerly of Sweden’s The Tough Alliance.
Be sure to catch The Radio Dept’s kinetic live energy in a city near you and stay tuned for an upcoming release at the top of 2018.

The Radio Dept. Tour Dates
1/29: Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
1/30: San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
2/1: Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
2/2: Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
2/3: Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
2/4: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Spotify  |  Soundcloud

MISSO announce 2018 headlining tour

FOLLOWING AN EXPLOSIVE YEAR MISSIO  ANNOUNCE 2018 HEADLINING TOUR TICKETS ON SALE THIS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8  SKELETONS PART I  IS AVAILABLE NOW
  
"Loaded with bruising bass, icy synths and dark imagery, Loner is an exploration of Brue's winding road to sobriety." - Rolling Stone Today, RCA recording artists MISSIO are excited to announce The Loner Tour. After spending much of this year on the road supporting Nothing But Thieves and Blue October, the celebration of their new album LONER continues into 2018 with headlining dates across North America. A full list of tour dates can be found below. Tickets go on sale this Friday, December 8 on MISSIO's official website. SKELETONS PART I, released early October, collects remarkable acoustic versions of songs originally featured on MISSIO's acclaimed full-length debut,  LONER , available now at all digital music retailers and streaming services. Highlights include unplugged renditions of "Bottom Of The Deep Blue Sea" and the breakthrough single, "Middle Fingers," alongside an exclusive re-release of "Can I Exist" (originally featured on MISSIO's 2015 debut EP). The latter track is joined by a truly extraordinary companion visual, directed by longtime MISSIO collaborator Jeff Ray. The winner of the "Best Music Video" prize at the 21st Annual Urbanworld Film Festival, presented by REVOLT in partnership with HBO, "Can I Exist" can be viewed now at MISSIO's official YouTube channel. LISTEN TO SKELETONS PART I LONER has proven one of the year's most significant debuts, highlighted of course by MISSIO's breakthrough single, "Middle Fingers," available now at all DSPs and streaming services. Released at the top of 2017, "Middle Fingers" quickly blew up at SiriusXM's Alt Nation where it ascended to #1 in the influential "Alt-18 Countdown" before ultimately reaching the top 10 on Billboard's "Alternative Songs" chart as well as the top 20 across Billboard's "Mainstream Rock Songs," "Hot Rock Songs," and "Rock Airplay" charts. "Middle Fingers" is joined an equally popular companion video, now boasting nearly 5 million individual views via YouTube alone. WATCH "MIDDLE FINGERS" MISSIO will kick off The Loner Tour in Nashville, Tennessee this February making stops in all major cities across North America. Cleveland rock band Welshly Arms and "moody pop" singer-songwriterMorgan Saint will join the duo on select dates. THE LONER TOUR 2018 FEBRUARY20 - Nashville, TN - The Basement East *21 - Cincinnati, OH - 20th Century Theatre *23 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave Bar *24 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge *25 - Detroit, MI - The Shelter *27 - Cambridge, MA - The Shelter *28 - Bethlehem, PA - Musicfest Café at the Artsquest Center * MARCH2 - Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall *3 - New York, NY - The Bowery Ballroom *4 - Philadelphia, PA - The Foundry at the Fillmore *6 - Charlotte, NC - The Underground Charlotte *7 - Atlanta, GA - The Loft *9 - New Orleans, LA - The Parish at House of Blues *10 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall *21 - San Antonio, TX - Alamo City Music Hall **23 - Santa Fe, NM - Meow Wolf **24 - Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom **26 - Las Vegas, NV - The Bunkhouse Saloon **27 - Anaheim, CA - The Parish at House of Blues **29 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues **30 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour **31 - San Francisco - CA - Great American Music Hall ** APRIL2 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre **3 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile5 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge **6 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up Aspen **7 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theatre9 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club **10 - Kansas City, MO - Record Bar **11 - St. Louis, MO - The Ready Room **13 - Dallas, TX - Trees **14 - Austin, TX - The Parish ** * with Welshly Arms** with Morgan Saint missiomusic.comfacebook.com/MissioMusicinstagram.com/missiomusictwitter.com/MissioMusicsoundcloud.com/missiomusic 

Japanese Breakfast expands 2018 tour, 'Soft Sounds From Another Planet' out now

JAPANESE BREAKFAST EXPANDS 2018 TOUR
DATES WITH JAY SOM, SNAIL MAIL AND HAND HABITS
SOFT SOUNDS FROM ANOTHER PLANET OUT NOW VIA DEAD OCEANS
Photo Credit: Ebru Yildiz
Japanese Breakfast has expanded her 2018 tour to include headlining dates in April with Snail Mail, May and June in addition to a February run with Jay Som and Hand Habits.
Japanese Breakfast's critically acclaimed album, Soft Sounds From Another Planet, is out now via Dead Oceans.
TOUR DATES:2/15 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos ^2/16 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore ^2/17 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom (Sabertooth Festival) ^2/19 - Reno, NV @ Holland Project ^2/23 - Fresno, CA @ Strummer's ^2/24 - Pomona, CA @ The Glasshouse ^4/2 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar 4/3 - Durham, NC @ Motorco 4/4 - Athens, GA @ 40 Watt *4/5 - Birmingham, AL @ Saturn *4/6 - Orlando, FL @ Will's Pub *4/7 - Tampa, FL @ Crowbar *4/9 - Houston, TX @ Walter's 4/10 - Austin, TX @ The Scoot Inn *4/11 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger *4/24 - Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf *4/26 - Norman, OK @ Norman Music Festival 4/27 - Little Rock, AR @ Stickyz *4/28 - Nashville, TN @ Exit / In *4/29 - Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups 5/30 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club 5/31 - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw 6/2 - Cambridge, MA @ Sinclair 6/3 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer 
^ w/ Jay Som and Hand Habits* w/ Snail Mail
WATCH "THE BODY IS A BLADE" VIDEO ABOUT JAPANESE BREAKFAST:"The title Soft Sounds From Another Planet alludes to the promise of something that may or may not be there. Like a hope in something more. The songs are about human resilience and the strength it takes to claw out of the darkest of spaces." Michelle Zauner wrote the debut Japanese Breakfast album in the weeks after her mother died of cancer, thinking she would quit music entirely once it was done. That wasn't the case. WhenPsychopomp was released to acclaim in 2016, she was forced to confront her grief. Zauner would find find herself reliving traumatic memories multiple times a day during interviews, trying to remain composed while discussing the most painful experience of her life. Her sophomore album, Soft Sounds From Another Planet, is a transmutation of mourning, a reflection that turns back on the cosmos in search of healing. "I want to be a woman of regimen," Zauner sings over a burbling synth on the album's opening track "Diving Woman." This serves as Zauner's mission statement: stick to the routine lest you get derailed, don't cling to the past, don't descend. In fact, ascend to the stars; Zauner found artistic solace removed from Earth, in outer space and science fiction. "I used the theme as a means to disassociate from trauma," she explains. "Space used as a place of fantasy." And yet, Soft Sounds From Another Planet isn't a concept album. Over the course of 12 tracks, Zauner explores an expansive thematic universe, a cohesive outpouring of unlike parts structured to create a galaxy of her own design. In the instrumental "Planetary Ambience," synths communicate the way extraterrestrials might, and on the shapeshifting single "Machinist,"  which Zauner has been performing live for over a year now, she details the sci-fi narrative of a woman falling in love with a machine. "It's pure fiction," she explains, "But it can map onto real relationships in a relevant way." The track, which begins with spoken-word ambience, moves into autotune '80s pop bliss and ends with a sultry saxophone solo, perfectly marries the experience: there's a perceptible humanity in mechanical, bodily events. Within its astral production, much of Soft Sounds From Another Planet stays grounded. "Road Head" is the last chest compression in attempt to resuscitate a doomed relationship, while the penultimate track "This House" is an acoustic dirge that honors Zauner's chosen family. The baroque pop "Boyish" has a haunting, crystalline clarity that recalls the pathos of a Roy Orbison ballad, while "Body is a Blade" embraces the dark intimacy of Zauner's Pacific Northwest heroes Elliott Smith and Mount Eerie. With help from co-producer Craig Hendrix (who also co-produced Little Big League's debut) and Jorge Elbrecht, (Ariel Pink, Tamaryn) who mixed the album, Zauner recontextualizes her bedroom pop beginnings, expanding and maturing her sound. The sheer massiveness of the big room production onSoft Sounds From Another Planet introduces listeners to a new Japanese Breakfast. Zauner's familiar, capacious voice will serve as their guide. "Your body is a blade that moves while your brain is writhing," she sings. "Knuckled under pain you mourn but your blood is flowing." There's discernible pain in the phrasing, Zauner recognizing limitation, a lack of control, but then subverting the feeling, creating her own musical language for confronting trauma. Where Psychopomp introduced the world to Japanese Breakfast, Soft Soundsdives deeper. It builds space where there is none, and suggests that in the face of tragedy, we find ways to keep on living. 

Sam France @ Saturnalia Festival

I see London, I see Sam France

The Dandy Warhols @ Teragram Ballroom

POW! @ Teragram Ballroom

On Sale Now! THE GROWLERS Snow Ball at The Wiltern - December 23, 2017

Tickets On Sale Now!