Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 2044

Holiday Mountain Shares Love of "Coffee & Weed" w/ Snoop Dogg's Merry Jane

HOLIDAY MOUNTAIN

Shares Love of "Coffee & Weed"
with Snoop Dogg's Merry Jane

 
“Fronted by singer Laura Patiño and drummer Zander Kagle, Holiday Mountain makes funk-styled futuristic grime beats that are contagiously righteous.” – Merry Jane

“It’s a slice of absurdist neon-drenched pop” - Stereogum

Watch + Share “Coffee & Weed” Here

In advance of their debut album release, Holiday Mountain premieres their electro-drone ode to “Coffee & Weed,” along with hazy accompanying visuals, via Snoop Dogg’s new cannabis lifestyle platform,  Merry Jane . In contrast to their previous neon-absurdist-take-no-prisoners approach in “Cómo Te Llamas?” and “Bump That Bass,” “Coffee & Weed” is a step back from the party, showing every queen needs a recovery break. The track can be found on Holiday Mountain’s debut LP  SHIA , out August 12.

Holiday Mountain is an electronic music duo founded by Mexican-American songwriter/keyboardist Laura Patiño and drummer/producer Zander Kagle. The two met in Boston while attending Berklee College of Music and together found a genre-expanding sound, fusing together their affinity for pop, hip-hop, and electronic music. The result is a force so strong that when describing their sound, NPR exclaimed, "resistance is futile."

The Austin-based duo of Patiño and Kagle combine hip-hop, electronic, reggae, dub, and Cumbia to create their own genre of heavy futuristic dance. Patiño cites surprising influences, such as Billie Holiday and Amy Winehouse, that, along with the visuals and Kagle’s production, manifest itself as art in the leagues of Major Lazer, Die Antwoord, and Peaches. SHIA is a balanced mix of freaky club bangers with a touch of vulnerability and sweetness. Says the band, “For us, SHIA signifies the end of compromise and the end of fearing what others will think or do when you become exactly who you want to be. SHIA is realization with a fuck-everything-else attitude.”

Holiday Mountain has also announced a month-long residency at NYC’s Berlin, startingSeptember 28. You can get a feel for the live show experience here, and pre-order SHIAvia iTunes. In the meantime, relax and take a break with “Coffee & Weed.”

Watch “Coffee & Weed” Here
  

Conor Oberst Announces New Album 'Ruminations' - Out October 14

Conor Oberst's Ruminations Available October 14 on Nonesuch Solo Acoustic Album Features 10 New Songs Written and Recorded by Oberst in Omaha, NE
"Fans take for granted that Mr. Oberst will reveal his every thought to them, from romance to personal philosophy to politics. He's the image of sensitivity ... Yet [he] isn't just singing his diary ... He also measures out every musical and verbal effect. The craftsmanship makes him seem even more unguarded." - New York TimesIn the winter of 2016, Conor Oberst found himself hibernating in his hometown of Omaha after living in New York City for more than a decade. He emerged with the unexpectedly raw, unadorned solo album Ruminations , available October 14, 2016, on Nonesuch Records. "I wasn't expecting to write a record. I honestly wasn't expecting to do much of anything. Winter in Omaha can have a paralyzing effect on a person but in this case it worked in my favor. I was just staying up late every night playing piano and watching the snow pile up outside the window. Next thing I knew I had burned through all the firewood in the garage and had more than enough songs for a record. I recorded them quick to get them down but then it just felt right to leave them alone," says Oberst.  Ruminations is available to pre-order now from iTunes and from Nonesuch.com, where a limited number of pre-orders will include a signed print. Oberst will perform songs from the album at a handful of special solo shows this fall at venues including Carnegie Hall and the Ryman Auditorium; complete tour dates are below. Oberst began publicly releasing music in 1994 at the age of 14. Those early recordings, made in Omaha on four-track cassette by Oberst and his friends, were an introduction to the work of a prodigious songwriter whose creative outpouring would soon be widely lauded. Writing and recording prolifically over the next two decades, first with his band Bright Eyes and later under his own name-and at special moments as a member of Desaparecidos and Monsters of Folk-Oberst became known, the Los Angeles Times said, as an artist who "sees the world with fresh and fearless eyes." The Times continued, "He weaves his findings into intimate songs whose melodies are as timeless as a hymnal and whose images are hauntingly poetic....He can command your attention with long narratives that have more words than a pocket dictionary, or stop you cold with a single line."In Nebraska last winter, songs that hark back to that earlier era unexpectedly began to take shape. Oberst went to ARC, the studio he built with his Bright Eyes bandmate and longtime friend Mike Mogis, to record that music. With the help of engineer Ben Brodin, he recorded all the songs in the span of 48 hours. The results are almost sketch-like in their sparseness, and they ultimately became the songs that comprise Ruminations. These tracks do not have the multi-layered instrumentation of the most recent Bright Eyes and solo albums: This is Oberst alone with his guitar, piano, and harmonica; the songs connect with some of the rough magic and anxious poetry that first brought him to the attention of the world, while their lyrical complexity and concerns make it obvious they could only have been written in the present. 
(Photo Credit: Amélie Raoul) Ruminations  Track List:1.Tachycardia                                     6. The Rain Follows the Plow2. Barbary Coast (later)                      7. A Little Uncanny3. Gossamer Thin                               8. Next of Kin4. Counting Sheep                              9.You All Loved Him Once5. Mamah Borthwick (A Sketch)         10. Till St. Dymphna Kicks Us OutConor Oberst has several live dates, including intimate solo performances in November and December. Due to popular demand, a second Los Angeles live date has been added in December. All tour dates below. Conor Oberst Live Dates:August 18 - Grand Island, NE @ 309 N Pine StreetAugust 20 - Lyons, CO @ Rocky Mountain Folks FestivalSeptember 28 - San Luis Obispo, CA @ Fremont TheatreOctober 1 - San Francisco, CA @ The FillmoreOctober 2 - Pomona, CA @ The Glass HouseOctober 3 - Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn BowlOctober 5 - Santa Fe, NM @ The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing CompanyOctober 7 - Dallas, TX @ Granada TheaterOctober 8 - Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits FestivalNovember 6 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium *November 17 - Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall *November 23 - New York, NY @ Carnegie Hall *November 26 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall (SOLD OUT) *November 27 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall (SOLD OUT) *December 9 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Cathedral Sanctuary at Immanuel Presbyterian Church *December 10 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Cathedral Sanctuary at Immanuel Presbyterian Church (SOLD OUT) **Solo showsMiwi La Lupa supporting 9/28 & 10/1                                Anna McClellan supporting 9/28                                                    Jim James supporting 10/1                                     Pearl Charles supporting 10/2-10/7Simon Joyner supporting 11/23

KATY GOODMAN & GRETA MORGAN RELEASE BUZZCOCKS COVER "EVER FALLEN IN LOVE"

KATY GOODMAN & GRETA MORGAN RELEASE BUZZCOCKS COVER "EVER FALLEN IN LOVE"
WATCH THE VIDEO ON AV CLUB NOW
TAKE IT, IT'S YOURS ALBUM OUT AUGUST 26Photo credit: Julia Brokaw
Katy Goodman & Greta Morgan have released their haunting cover of the Buzzcocks' 1978 classic "Ever Fallen In Love." AV Club premiered the track's moonlit video today, saying, "Where the Buzzcocks made a bad romantic pairing a cause worth shouting about, Goodman and Morgan emphasize the song's heartbreak, bringing it to the forefront with a gently plucked guitar and some shimmering vocal harmonies."
WATCH "EVER FALLEN IN LOVE" (CLEARED TO POST & SHARE)  
"Ever Fallen In Love" will appear on Katy & Greta's collaborative covers record Take It, It's Yours , out August 26 on Polyvinyl Records.
"They turn punk and new wave stalwarts... into luminous, spectral pop songs. Their version of Paul Westerberg's 'Bastards of Young,' an ode to youthful angst, is a plaintive millennial anthem laced with heart-swelling harmonies." - Elle
"Goodman and Morgan... focus on the twinkling loveliness of the melody and chin-first ache of Westerberg's lyrics, bathing it all in a drowsy hum of organ and twilight reverb." - MTV
"Splendidly feminine and forlorn... the original ['Sex Beat'] is a jittery punk number, but in the hands of the girls their song takes on a gilded Laurel Canyon earthiness." - Noisey

KATY GOODMAN + GRETA MORGAN | TAKE IT, IT'S YOURSAUGUST 26, 2016 | POLYVINYL RECORDS  PRE-ORDER1. Over The Edge (Wipers)2. Pay to Cum (Bad Brains)3. Bastards of Young (The Replacements)4. Sex Beat (The Gun Club)5. Ever Fallen in Love (Buzzcocks)6. Where Eagles Dare (The Misfits)7. I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges)8. In the City (The Jam)9. Dreaming (Blondie)10. Rebel Yell (Billy Idol)

HANNI EL KHATIB SHARES NEW VIDEO FOR "MONDO AND HIS MAKEUP" VIA INTERVIEW MAGAZINE

HANNI EL KHATIB SHARES NEW VIDEO FOR "MONDO AND HIS MAKEUP" VIA INTERVIEW MAGAZINE
SAVAGE TIMES VOL. 1, 2 & 3 AVAILABLE NOW VIA INNOVATIVE LEISURE
Photo credit: Sam Monkarsh"Hanni El Khatib has been on an unreal creative streak lately" - Noisey
"It's like a maturation of Rae Sremmurd's youthful hedonism wrapped in guitar strings and catchy grooves." - Stereogum
"Sounds somewhat like a happy marriage between The Black Keys and Nirvana" - Interview
On the heels of releasing his third collection of new work in 2016 in the form of Savage Times Volume 3, Hanni El Khatib is back today to share a video for the track "Mondo and His Makeup".
Speaking about the concept behind the video, El Khatib says, "I had it in my head that I wanted the video to be shot in some flashy nightclub or disco. I knew that I wanted it to be colorful and have a certain type of energy that only a nightclub could provide. However, I didn't just want to have it take place in just your typical club. The director, Daniel Pappas, and I were talking about this and he mentioned that he had been to a Mexican restaurant off the 710 that kind of looked like a strip club and had a mariachi performer who would sing and tell jokes dressed as a horse. It sounded perfect."
Watch "Mondo and His Makeup" above now and find more on Hanni El Khatib below.
About Hanni El Khatib:
You could call 2015 a breakthrough year for Hanni El Khatib, but it wasn't just an easy breakthrough all at once. Instead, it was step after unexpected step and chance after random circumstance, part of a zig-zag path that now has El Khatib working on the most unexpected project he's come up with yet-a project that doesn't even have a name or even an ending right now.
His album Moonlight, a Sandinista!-style festival of experimentation that hit in January 2015, was where everything started. A recording studio meet-up led to a GZA verse on "Moonlight," and that led to an El Khatib appearance on one of GZA's songs-the cover of Babe Ruth's "The Mexican"-and he followed that up by contributing the ghostly middle break to rapper Freddie Gibbs' bleaked-out "Satin Black." By summer he'd put out a picture disc single of his desolate take on D'Angelo and Premier's brooding "Devil's Pie" and teamed up with a bunch of elementary school kids from Staten Island's P.S. 22 Chorus for a rework of "Moonlight" and "Melt Me," and yes, it was as adorable as you'd think. He'd finish producing the debut album for Parisian psychedelic trio Wall of Death, and he'd make it all the way to Vladivostok, Russia, for a final set of festival appearances that the local U.S. consulate reported "brought artist and audience closer together." Then he'd play his last show of the year-last show to date, really-in September of 2015. And then everything suddenly changed.            El Khatib was booked to headline a Paris show with a special one-shot supergroup including drummer Alex Sowinski of BadBadNotGood, bassist Jonny Bell of Crystal Antlers and Dam-Funk collaborator and solo synthesizer wizard Computer Jay. But the Bataclan attacks canceled those plans, and so El Khatib was left with unexpected space in his schedule. He took the time to hole up with his guitar and generate hundreds of ideas-an uninterrupted flow that left dozens of voice-memo song snippets on his phone-and booked a session at Bell's Jazzcats studio in December to see what would happen. The very first day pretty much immediately resulted in "Gonna Die Alone" and "Baby's OK"-the first two new songs he's released so far, by the way-and instantly crystallized a simple new idea: write, record, repeat. Instead of a new album, he'd work on a new state of mind.            Although he'd already begun to work behind the mixing board with earlier signees to Innovative Leisure, Moonlight was El Khatib's first full-scale production credit-an experience of deep commitment to every level of making an album, from the first idea to the very last mix. He'd locked himself in an L.A. studio for thirty days, and after a long month of vintage gear, field recordings of funerals, so-crazy-it-might-work sample editing and more than a little whiskey, he walked out on April Fool's Day with his most daring and distinctive album ever. That meant that when he finally finished touring for Moonlight and started at Jazzcats that winter, he truly knew what he could do in a studio.            So El Khatib teamed up with Bell and submerged himself completely into recording, this time decamping to Jazzcats for week after week of lockdown improvisation. (And night after night of recovery-or discovery-at some of Long Beach's oldest and least-revitalized bars.) This was a new project, based on turning limitations-limited time, limited instruments, limited knowledge of how exactly to play strange new instruments-into inspiration, and of working non-stop with Bell to chase every idea until it either took flight or cracked into pieces. Although only two songs have materialized so far, there are more coming. In fact, there are more being made right now.            Moonlight was when Hanni tested every rule there is about making an album, but now he's not making an album at all. Instead, this is process as public performance: an artist releasing music to the world almost in real time, with nothing to interfere with the purity or intimacy. (If you were in L.A. on Record Store Day, you could've even got a special one-of-a-kind 7" of one of the songs, made especially for you by Bell and his record-cutting lathe.) Normally, at this point in a band bio, you'd get to find out what's coming next. But no one really knows what's coming next-not even El Khatib. All anyone can do for now is just listen.

The Regrettes to tour w/ Sleigh Bells | new single on Stereogum

    The Regrettes return with new single; "Hey Now" via  Stereogum + announce Fall tour with Sleigh Bells
+ Nylon's "New Punk Bands You Should Listen To"
+ Top 10 most blogged about band on Hype Machine
+ Additional hype from Noisey, Rookie and more+ ​for fans of Cherry Glazerr, Mitski, Hinds          "an attitudinal, guitar-laced bop with retro sensibilities and catchy melodies." - Stereogum
►   stream and share with your readers now Available on all digital service providers 8/5       Perfectly imperfect - that’s one way to describe LA based punk act, The Regrettes. Writing songs that proudly bear a brazen and unabashed attitude in the vein of acts Courtney Barnett or Karen O - with a pop aesthetic reminiscent of 50’s and 60’s acts a la the Temptations or Buddy Holly - the LA based four piece create infectious, punk driven tracks.
Lead by outspoken frontwoman, Lydia Night, and comprised of Genessa Gariano on guitar, Sage Nicole on bass and drummer Maxx Morando, the group have left the LA rock scene floored, managing to capture the hearts of jaded rock critics while opening for acts like Kate Nash, Jack Off Jill, Bleached, Pins, Deep Vally and more. With nothing but demos available online, the group are already beginning to generate hype, from outlets like NPR, and with NYLON already heralding them them as a “punk act you should be listening to”.
From the opening moments on a track by The Regrettes, we’re greeted with a wall of guitars, infectious melodies and a wistful nostalgia that continues right until the final notes. Taking cues from acts like Hinds and Hole, there’s a wistful sense of youth and vulnerability that lies at the heart of each song.
A song by The Regrettes is, essentially, a diary entry into Lydia’s life. “My music is a spectrum of every emotion that I have felt in the last year, and you can hear that when you hear the songs. Everything that is happening in my life influences me. It’s everything from boys, to friends, to being pissed off at people, to being really sad. Just everything.”
The most intoxicating draw of The Regrettes is their bashful, heart-on-your-sleeve temperament - writing urgent and fast-paced pop songs with a punk rock mentality. “The way that we write, it’s all based on honesty,” muses Lydia on the group’s punk aesthetic. “If I finish a song, I’ll just leave it - I won’t really go back to it. I like things to feel in the moment and I don’t want it to be perfect. If I work on something too much I lose it and get bored and I want to do the next one..”       Find The Regrettes:Facebook Twitter InstagramSoundcloudOfficial      Upcoming Tour Dates:8/5 Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory - w/ Badlands and King Shelter
8/6 – Los Angeles, CA - Save The Smell Fest at The Smell
8/13 – Los Angeles, CA - Smash Club at Junior High
8/18 – Los Angeles, CA - Echo Park Rising at The EchoFri/Nov-11 San Diego, CA North Park Observatory *
Tue/Nov-15 San Francisco, CA The Independent *
Wed/Nov-16 San Francisco, CA The Independent *
Fri/Nov-18 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom *
Sat/Nov-19 Seattle, WA Neumos *
* with Sleigh Bells

Dua Lipa Announces Album Release Following Her U.S. TV Debut

DUA LIPA DEBUT ALBUM SET FOR FEBRUARY 10 RELEASE VIA WARNER BROS. RECORDS PERFORMED U.S. TV DEBUT ON  THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON
Dua Lipa on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Photo Credit Andrew Lipovsky/NBCDownload images here.
Rising UK music artist Dua Lipa will release her highly anticipated debut album on February 10 via Warner Bros. Records. This announcement comes on the heels of Dua's U.S. television debut last night, performing her hit song "Hotter Than Hell" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Check it out here. This past weekend, Dua delivered searing performances at Lollapalooza that had Fuse proclaiming she "mastered her first-ever Lollapalooza performance with a seductive charm" and SPIN observing "she is ready for the main stage."  Dua will headline Mercury Lounge in NYC tonight and is set to tour in the U.S., Europe and U.K. this fall (see below for full list of dates). Earlier this year Dua performed at SXSW, with NYLON proclaiming, "there's no denying the future for Dua Lipa is bright. Prepare to be blinded by it." She then went on to play to her biggest crowds to date at Glastonbury and Wireless Festival, winning over the audience with her alluring songs and energetic live performances. Dua is poised to have the next year be her biggest yet, and Evening Standard  has predicted "pop's newest star is hot right now but her 2017 could be even hotter."
Dua Lipa U.K./Europe Tour DatesAugust 17-20Hasselt, BelgiumPukkelpop 2016August 19-21Biddinghuizen, NetherlandsLowlands Festival 2016August 24-27Zürich, SwitzerlandZürich Openair 2016October 5Dublin, IrelandAcademyOctober 7Manchester, UKManchester GorillaOctober 9Digbeth, UKO2 Institute2 BirminghamOctober 10London, UKKOKOOctober 12Paris, FranceCafé de la DanseOctober 14Brussels, BelgiumAncienne Belgique (AB)October 15Amsterdam, NetherlandsParadiso Grote ZaalOctober 19Berlin, GermanyHeimathafen NeuköllnOctober 20Hamburg, GermanyTBAOctober 22Cologne, GermanyDie KantineOctober 24Frankfurt, GermanyGibsonOctober 25Munich, GermanyBackstageOctober 27Milan, ItalyTunnel


Dua Lipa Troye Sivan Support DatesNovember 3 Cleveland, OHLakewood Civic AuditoriumNovember 4 Pittsburgh, PAStage AENovember 5 Columbus, OHEXPRESS LIVE!November 7 Detroit, MIThe FilmoreNovember 8 Toronto, ONSound AcademyNovember 10 Montreal, QCMetropolisNovember 12 Boston, MAAgganis ArenaNovember 14 New York, NYTerminal 5November 15 New York, NYTerminal 5November 17 Washington, DCEagleBank ArenaNovember 18 Atlanta, GAThe Tabernacle
Follow Dua Lipa: WEBSITE /INSTAGRAM /TWITTER /FACEBOOK

LANY Reveal New Video for "yea, babe, no way"

REVEAL NEW VIDEO FOR "yea, babe, no way"   FROM KINDA EP OUT NOW   THE BIGGEST NEW ARTIST ON SPOTIFY   ON TOUR THIS FALL
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/kindaApple Music: http://smarturl.it/kinda.apSpotify: http://smarturl.it/kinda.sp  PRESS HERE to watch  Following the release of their kinda EP in June, LANY are sharing the video to the effortless alt-pop glide of the EP's lead single "yea, babe, no way". Written and co-directed by the band's Paul Klein the clip sees the trio wander through their LA while reflecting on the loss and nostalgia the song represents. When talking about the filming of the video, Paul Klein says LANY "filmed the video on 3 different mediums: a super high def camera, a 16 millimeter film camera, and an iPhone. I think the magic of the video is found in the layering of the 3. it feels really dreamy to me." LANY are fast emerging as the hottest new act of 2016. The LA electro-pop trio are officially the biggest new artist on Spotify and selling out tours on both sides of the Atlantic, PRESS HERE to read more. They recently concluded their first headline tour which SOLD OUT well before the band played the first show, with the demand to accommodate fans resulting in extra dates being added and rooms extended.  With performances at Bonnaroo, Sasquatch, Firefly and Electric Forest already under their belt, the trio will be performing at Outside Lands and Life is Beautiful later this summer. The trio will hit the road again this fall to support their new EP with Transviolet opening the shows, PRESS HERE for more information. Paul Klein, Les Priest and Jake Goss formed LANY in 2014. The former school friends collaborated on some songs that Klein had written and within days they had created a clutch of anthems that were too good to ignore. The band record and produce everything themselves in their apartment in Malibu. Even at this early stage, their songs have connected on a large scale: the blissful dream-pop of 'ILYSB' made big waves when they put it online and has had over 19 million Spotify plays so far. Their debut single 'Where The Hell Are My Friends' is already nudging 4 million plays in a matter of weeks. LANY create music that makes the intimate feel universal and connects them indelibly with their growing fanbase.  To purchase kinda on iTunes, PRESS HERETo stream kinda on Spotify, PRESS HERE To post "yea, babe, no way," PRESS HERETo post "like you lots," PRESS HERETo post "Where The Hell Are My Friends" track, PRESS HERETo post "Where The Hell Are My Friends" video, PRESS HERE Festival PerformancesAug 5     San Francisco, CA @ Outside LandsSept 25 Las Vegas, NV @ Life is Beautiful North American Tour DatesSept 27 Portland, OR @ Revolution HallSept 28 Seattle, WA @ NeptuneSept 29 Vancouver, British Columbia @ Venue NightclubOct 1      Salt Lake City, UT @ The DepotOct 2      Denver, CO @ BluebirdOct 4      Omaha, NE @ SlowdownOct 7      Memphis, TN @ 1884 LoungeOct 8      Atlanta, GA @ Terminal WestOct 9      Carrboro, NC @ Cat's CradleOct 11   Birmingham, AL @ SaturnOct 13   Orlando, FL @ Back BoothOct 14   Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture RoomOct 15   St. Petersburg, FL @ State TheaterOct 20   Columbus, OH @ A&R Music BarOct 21   Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. SmallsOct 23   Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts Oct 24   Washington, DC @ 9:30 ClubOct 25   New York, NY @ Webster HallOct 28   Boston, MA @ RoyaleOct 29   Montreal, Quebec @ FairmountOct 30   Toronto, Ontario @ Mod ClubNov 1    Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews HallNov 3    Chicago, IL @ The MetroNov 5    Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music CaféNov 7    Fayetteville, AR @ George's Majestic LoungeNov 9    Nashville, TN @ Mercy LoungeNov 11  Houston, TX @ Warehouse LiveNov 12  Dallas, TX @ House of BluesNov 13  Austin, TX @ Antone'sNov 15  Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent BallroomNov 16  San Diego, CA @ House of BluesNov 19  Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda 

MARK STOERMER Premieres New Album Dark Arts on Noisey

MARK STOERMER Premieres New AlbumDark Arts onNoisey
PRESS HERE to Listen!
PRESS HERE to Watch the Video for "Are Your Stars Out?" on Billboard
Dark Arts out August 5th
 Album art
"From the fuzzed up, louche psych of album opener 'Drifting Caterpillar,' to the string-draped, soaring prog-pop of 'Are You Stars Out' to Steely Dan organ grooves of 'Take My Time,' Dark Arts is a record to sink into, track by consecutive track" -  Noisey
"Dark Arts is a musical kaleidoscope. It's the sort of record you get from a multifaceted musician left to hone his craft" - Billboard
Today, Mark Stoermer, bassist of The Killers, premiered a stream of his second solo album Dark Arts exclusively on Noisey - PRESS HERE to listen and PRESS HERE to watch the music video for single "Are Your Stars Out?" which premiered this week on Billboard . Dark Arts will be released this Friday, August 5th via Stoermer's own record label St. August Records. PRESS HERE  to pre-order Dark Arts digitally along with a re-issue of Stoermer's first solo album Another Life.
Dark Arts will also be released on vinyl by Bong Load Records as a limited edition pressing with a limited run of only 516 copies. PRESS HERE to pre-order.  
"Are Your Stars Out?" begins with an echoing, spacey transmission that transitions into Stoermer's entrancing guitar solo and evocative lyrical refrain. "I read this J.D. Salinger work called Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction," Stoermer said of the song's inspiration. "The title came from a correspondence of letters between brothers in the book. I interpreted the letter as basically asking, 'Did you lay it all out there and put everything you've got into it?'"

Dark Arts'  13 songs comprise a mosaic of sixties-induced psychedelia, bluesy desert rock swagger, plaintive lyrical poetry, and lithe and lush cinematic orchestration. The album builds on the foundation of Another Life, while expanding the sound beyond that record's folk-tinged roots. Co-produced by David Hopkins of Bombay Heavy and recorded at The Killers' Las Vegas headquarters Battle Born Studios and Studio at The Palms, Dark Arts weaves together a twisting and turning trip through a myriad of styles. PRESS HERE  to watch the music video for lead single "Spare the Ones That Weep," which premiered on  NME .Since the release of Another Life in 2011, Stoermer has released 2012's Battle Born with The Killers, performed alongside Dhani Harrison on Conan for "George Harrison Week" and joined The Smashing Pumpkins on tour, handling bass for their Monuments to an Elegy Tour.
Dark Arts track list:1. Alchemical Formula2. Drifting Caterpillar3. Spare The Ones That Weep4. 39 Steps5. Avarice/What's Coming6. The Break In7. Take My Time8. Blood and Guts (The Anatomy Lesson)9. Tow The Line10. Are Your Stars Out?11. Fingerspitzengefühl12. What Was In-Between13. Pretend Song

Savoy Motel Announce S/T Album on What's Your Rupture: Share Video + North American Tour

Savoy Motel Announce Debut S/T Album Out October 21 on What's Your Rupture? Records
Share New Video "Souvenir Shop Rock" 
Touring North America with The Dandy Warhols Photo: Semi Song
Nashville's Savoy Motel - an intensely orchestrated and unique hybrid of glam rock, boogie, soul, power-pop, garage, punk, dance music and showmanship all rolled into one. Today they've detailed their eponymous debut full-length that sees its release on What's Your Rupture? Records October 21 alongside their brand new video "Souvenir Shop Rock".  Noisey premiered  SSR doting the track "addictive" and describing "The band's catatonic stares into the camera only highlight the bizarrely catchy guitar and tenor sax riffs that pulse through the somewhat off kilter visuals."
Singer/guitarist Jeffrey Novak explains "SSR" starts the album off with an ode to an old war criminal with an extended trail of atrocities behind him. This unnamed protagonist is living a new life in a less than desirable "second" existence, stuck working at a cheesy gift shop, and hoping to never be found. The video, directed by Dylan Carver, shows a glimpse inside this war criminal's mind trying to escape his crappy postwar occupation, with Savoy Motel along as musical narrators, led behind a line of troops with fists full of gold teeth for souvenirs, and a gang of whip dancers as the only assessors in this warped imaginary world" Savoy's whole package opens up their horizons, and yours, to a sound made by four friends tired of witnessing music eat its own tail; with unclouded judgment, creative refinements, and peerless technique, they grab that tail and stick it into a wall socket, putting the cap back on 15+ years of rock revivalism and strident genre adherence. And they make it seem easy.
"We use rock and roll as a vehicle to reach and promote the feeling of TOTAL FREEDOM," claims Watson. "Savoy Motel is defined more by a feeling than a sound. I hear this feeling in other acts too ... Miles Davis, Little Richard, the Osborne Brothers, Faust, the Stones, all the best ones. And the diversity of records I knew TOTAL FREEDOM from was also encouraging to me early on in regards to the band, because it made me realize what potential and widespread appeal our music could have."
Savoy's sound and live show has quickly made fans from the likes of The Guardian who say they "sound like a compendium of great, garish 70s pop moments" and Pitchfork who described as "a promising, genre-busting introduction" and many more. The four piece hit the road this fall with The Dandy Warhols in support of Savoy Motel - full list of dates below.   Directed By: Dylan Carver
Watch / Share: "Souvenir Shop Rock" on YouTube


Savoy Motel  Savoy Motel  October 21, 2016What's Your Rupture?Pre-Order: Physical | Digital
1 - Souvenir Shop Rock2 - Western Version Boogie3 - Sorry People4 - Doctor Cook5 - Everyone Wants To Win6 - Mindless Blues7 - International Language8 - Hot One

Savoy Motel Live Dates:
Aug 10: Nashville, TN - The Exit/InSept 19: Calgary, AB - Marquee Beer Market & Stage *Sept 20: Edmonton, AB - The Starlite Room*Sept 22: Winnipeg, MB - The Pyramid Cabaret *Sept 23: Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater *
Sept 24: Chicago, IL - Park West *
Sept 25: Columbus, OH - Skully's *
Sept 27: Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live *
Sept 28: Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle *
Sept 29: Charleston, SC - Charleston Music Hall *
Sept 30: Orlando, FL - The Social *
Oct 1: Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room *
Oct 3: St. Petersburg, FL - The State Theatre *
Oct 4: Ponte Vedra, FL - Ponte Vedra Concert Hall *
Oct 6: Atlanta, GA - Terminal West *
Oct 7: Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge *
Oct 8: St. Louis, MO - Delmar Hall *
Oct 10: Birmingham, AL - Saturn *
Oct 11: New Orleans, LA - Tipitina's Uptown *
Oct 12: Dallas, TX - Granada Theater *
Oct 13: Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall *
Oct 14: Austin, TX - The Scoot Inn *
Oct 15: Austin, TX - The Scoot Inn *
* - w/ The Dandy Warhols

SIGUR RÓS TO PERFORM LA PHILHARMONIC REYKJAVIK FESTIVAL

SIGUR RÓS TO PERFORM AT LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC'S 'REYKJAVĺK FESTIVAL' AT WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL APRIL 13-15, 2017    The Los Angeles Philharmonic have announced that programming for their Reykjavík Festival will include three special shows by Sigur Rós performing some of their best loved works with the orchestra. This is the first time the band will have played publicly with an orchestra since shows for their unreleased work Odin's Raven Magic in 2002-3.  Co-curated by Icelandic composer Daníel Bjarnason and LA Phil Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Icelandic band will perform three nights at Walt Disney Concert Hall, playing career-spanning sets including fan-favorites (with orchestral accompaniment) and - "if things go to plan" - new, unreleased music (without orchestra). Each Sigur Rós performance (April 13, 14, 15) will be prefaced by a different symphonic and choral program. On April 13 festival co-curator Salonen will lead the LA Phil in the world premier of a new violin concerto from Daníel Bjarnason, performed by Pekka Kuusisto.  Bjarnarson first worked with Sigur Rós when he conducted the session on the band's song "Ára Báturat" London's Abbey Road for the Með suð í eyrum... album in 2008. The April 13, 14, 15 programs will also include new work from long-term Sigur Rós collaborator and Amiina member Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, as well as pieces from Ann Þorvaldsdóttir and Jón Leifs. In addition the orchestra will present the U.S. premieres of Haukur Tómasson's piano concerto, with Icelandic soloist Vikingur Ólafsson, and Hlynur Aðils Vilmarsson's BD. (see full schedule below) The Reykjavík Festival is designed as an exploration of the eclectic Icelandic music scene, highlighting the creativity thriving in Reykjavík and covering a wide spectrum of music, from chamber, choral and symphonic to pop music.  ###  PROGRAM DETAILS: Thursday, April 13Friday, April 14Saturday, April 15Los Angeles PhilharmonicEsa-Pekka Salonen, conductorSigur RósSchola Cantorum ReykjavíkPekka Kuusisto, violin (April 13)Vikingur Ólafsson, piano (April 14)James McVinnie, organ (April 15) Each program preceded by Nordic Affect chamber music program.  Program 1 (April 13):Schola Cantorum Reykjavík (a capella choral works TBD)Hlynur Aðils VILMARSSON BDDaníel BJARNASON Violin Concerto (LA Phil commission; world premiere) Pekka Kuusisto, violinSigur Rós works Program 2 (April 14):Schola Cantorum Reykjavík (a capella choral works TBD)Anna Þorvaldsdóttir AirialityHaukur TÓMASSON Piano Concerto (LA Phil co-commission; U.S. premiere) Vikingur Ólafsson, pianoSigur Rós works  Program 3 (April 15):Schola Cantorum (a capella choral works TBD)María Huld Markan SIGFÚSDÓTTIR AequoraLEIFS Organ ConcertoJames McVinnie, organSigur Rós works