Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 2447

DEAN WAREHAM -- Show At The Roxy Tomorrow!

DEAN WAREHAM PLAYING AT THE ROXY TOMORROW, JUNE 19    
SELF-TITLED SOLO ALBUM OUT NOW!   
Dean Wareham is going to be playing at the Roxy Theatre tomorrow night (Thursday, June 19) with Drug Cabin supporting.  
The Los Angeles Times recently caught up with Dean -- read about the album and his move to LA here.   

Dean Wareham was released this past Spring via Double Feature.  The 9-track album was produced by Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and recorded at James'house in Louisville, Kentucky. James also contributes keyboards, electric guitars and backing vocals.  The first single from the album, "Holding Pattern" can be heard here.

  http://deanwareham.comDean Wareham, is counted as one of the original voices of American indie rock, his bandGalaxie 500 emerging from Boston in 1988 and making three celebrated albums for Rough Trade (recently reissued on Domino Records). "Galaxie 500 were the ultimate cult group," wrote Bookforum,"a band who set the stage for the indie scene of the 21st Century." His next band Luna recorded seven albums for Elektra and Beggar's Banquet (including Penthouse, on Rolling Stone's list of best albums of the 90s), followed by three albums as Dean & Britta (with Britta Phillips). In 2013 he released a 6-song EP, Emancipated Hearts. His songs have been covered by Beck, Ryan Adams, and Joanna Gruesome.
Wareham is also a writer, he contributes to Salon and the Talkhouse, and his memoirBlack Postcards is now a Penguin paperback. He recently appeared acting in the Noah Baumbach film Frances Ha.

Born in New Zealand, and having spent most of his life in New York City, he currently lives in Los Angeles.

***Praise for Wareham' s 2013 EP, Emancipated Hearts:
Pitchfork: it's stunning how much life (and death) Wareham spreads over these tracks, and makes these tiny whispers of songs feel like the biggest secret anyone's ever told you.
Rolling Stone: 3.5 stars,"one of the great New York guitar sophisticates"
NME: 8 out of 10,"just six tracks, yet more complete than most full albums we've heard this year."

THE STOOGES' JAMES WILLIAMSON TO RELEASE 2ND SINGLE

GUITAR LEGEND JAMES WILLIAMSON TO RELEASE HIS NEW VINYL SINGLE "I GOTTA RIGHT"/"HEAVY LIQUID" WITH THE BELLRAYS' LISA KEKAULA ON JULY 29TH!  CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO USA TODAY'S PREMIERE OF JAMES WILLIAMSON & LISA KEKAULA'S NEW SINGLE "I GOTTA RIGHT"  THIS IS THE SECOND SINGLE FROM JAMES WILLIAMSON'S FORTHCOMING SOLO STUDIO ALBUM "RE-LICKED," WHERE HE'LL BE JOINED BY A NUMBER OF GREAT GUEST VOCALISTS RE-INTERPRETING LESSER-KNOWN STOOGES RARITIES  Following the release of his recent Record Store Day exclusive single "Gimme Some Skin"/"Open Up & Bleed," The Stooges' James Williamson is set to release his second single on July 29th from his forthcoming solo album  Re-Licked . On it, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame guitarist has enlisted The Bellrays' vocalist Lisa Kekaula for the songs "I Gotta Right" (originally penned by Iggy Pop circa 1970) and "Heavy Liquid" (written by Pop & Williamson circa '73). Backed by the driving force of Steve Mackay, Mike Watt & drummer Toby Dammit (all from the live touring version of The Stooges), along with backing vocals from Petra Haden, Williamson's snarling, incendiary guitar riffs spar perfectly with Kekaula's own soul-shaking, hair-raising vocal deliveries on these two early Stooges rarities. Williamson's Re-Licked (to be released in the fall of 2014) will also feature other lesser-known Stooges tracks properly recorded and mixed for the first time. Songs such as "Rubber Legs," "She Creatures of the Hollywood Hills," "Scene of the Crime," "Wild Love" and others will be fronted by a wealth of talented vocalists such as Jello Biafra, Mark Lanegan, Alison Mosshart, The Orwell's Mario Cuomo, Ariel Pink,Carolyn Wonderland and others. CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH THE VIDEO TEASER FOR JAMES WILLIAMSON'S "I GOTTA RIGHT" SINGLE   James Williamson's new single "I Gotta Right"/"Heavy Liquid" with Lisa Kekaula will be available on limited 7" vinyl & digital formats worldwide on July 29th via Leopard Lady Records. Click here to pre-order the 7" vinyl single of "I Gotta Right"/"Heavy Liquid"  JAMES WILLIAMSON (photo: Heather Harris)

SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS ANNOUNCE PLANS TO RELEASE OFFICIAL VIDEO

SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS ANNOUNCE PLANS TO RELEASE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR 'I GOT KNOCKED DOWN (BUT I'LL GET UP)' 

(June 18, 2014)- School of Seven Bells is pleased to announce the official video for the track 'I Got Knocked Down (But I'll Get Up)' originally by Joey Ramone about his battle with Lymphoma. Throughout 2013 producer/guitarist Benjamin Curtis had been courageously combating T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. Recorded in it's entirety to his laptop from his hospital bed at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York City, 'I Got Knocked Down (But I'll Get Up)' is Benjamin's final recording before passing on December 29, 2013 at age 35. The track will be made available for purchase digitally on 6/24. 
"It was a very spontaneous decision to record this track," says Alejandra Deheza. " Benjamin had been talking about the song a lot, and then he just decided he was going to do it. We couldn't record vocals in the hospital, so he actually face-timed with me and his brother while we recorded vocals in the studio. He spearheaded the whole thing on face time, would even tell us which knobs to turn and listen to levels etc. We'd even see nurses in the background from time to time! It was really amazing. But that was Benjamin, and producing was what he did. It was therapeutic and took his mind off being really sick. This song was really important to him and I'm happy we were able to record it."
Directors and long time friends of the group, Toby Halbrooks and Alan Del Rio Ortiz, created a visually stunning piece, revolving around cross-country road trip stops in Indio and Joshua Tree, that celebrates life while displaying its cyclical and inexplicable properties. Viewers are reminded that nothing is quite as it seems while scenes give us the sensation we are traveling through a quick glimpse of our own best-life-memories. "Benjamin always held the desert very close to his heart," Alejandra comments. "It was a really important place to him. I'm glad we were able to shoot this video where we did, for him."
The video will be premiering on 6/25 on CultureCollide.com, the new editorial platform founded by Alan Miller (co-founder of FILTER Magazine), but you can watch a short clip today. To watch click here:http://youtu.be/iR48SIJznHU. Stay tuned for more details and plans from School of Seven Bells. 

Lia Ices Announces New Album! "Ices" Out September 16

LIA ICES ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM ICES OUT SEPTEMBER 16 VIA JAGJAGUWAR
REVEALS FIRST SINGLE, "THOUSAND EYES," TODAY!
Lia Ices is excited to announce the forthcoming release of her new album Ices which will be released September 16 on Jagjaguwar.  The album was produced by Benny Sagittarius ((the newly formed production team of Lia and her brother Eliot) with Clams Casino behind the deck for several of the tracks as well.
Ices is also happy to reveal the first track, "Thousand Eyes," off Ices via a mesmerizing video which was directed by Dougal Henken and features artwork created by Hugo Barros.  Watch "Thousand Eyes" here:
Lia Ices - "Thousand Eyes" (Official Lyric Video)Lia has previously released a trailer for Ices which you can watch here.    The album is the follow up to 2011's Grown Unknown (Jagjaguwar) and her 2008 debut Necima (Rare Book Room Records).  Ices was recorded during a two year music and spiritual retreat with her "psychic twin brother" Eliot, which began in the Hudson Valley, New York and ended in California, while working in multiple studios along the way.  Lia explains the album's creative process:
"Each song (on Ices) became a collage of times, places, and people. Most of them started in the Hudson Valley, where Eliot and I wrote and recorded vocals, guitars, synths, and beat ideas. We'd send those first incarnations to Clams Casino in New Jersey and then we'd meet up in Brooklyn to arrange the new parts together. We worked in the penthouse of the Wythe Hotel - a floating glass box , a blank slate. We'd set up our computer, mixing speakers, midi keyboards, and all our weird gear, plus thai food and red wine. We'd bring up one of our demos and we'd sit behind the midi keyboard and sift through sounds and ideas and beats and find new things together. After the Wythe Sessions (in Brooklyn) we took different tracks to Woodstock and Los Angeles to layer in live drums and percussion, and I went to Atlanta to record final vocals. For the first time, Lia Ices felt like an inclusive project with its own identity, not just a name."

Ices is now available for pre-order:
Jagjaguwar direct: http://smarturl.it/liaices
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/liaices_amazon
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/liaices_itunes
Indie stores: http://smarturl.it/liaices_indies

https://twitter.com/liaices
www.facebook.com/LiaIces
http://www.liaices.com/

MASTODON's NEW ALBUM, ONCE MORE 'ROUND THE SUN

NEW ALBUM FROM MASTODON, ONCE MORE 'ROUND THE SUN, NOW STREAMING ON ITUNES RADIO BAND'S SIXTH STUDIO ALBUM IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER; THOSE WHO PRE-ORDER RECEIVE TWO INSTANT DOWNLOADS
June 18th, 2014 - (Burbank, CA.) - As of today, the new album from Mastodon,  Once More 'Round The Sun , is streaming, in its entirety, as an iTunes Radio First Play. Listen now at iTunesRadio.com/Mastodon. The album, Mastodon's sixth full-length, is available for pre-order on  iTunes  and at Mastodonrocks.com. Those who pre-order will receive an instant download of the album tracks "Chimes at Midnight" and "High Road." The new music video for "High Road,"directed by Roboshobo, premiered on Pitchfork this past Tuesday.  Once More 'Round The Sun  was recorded in Nashville with Grammy Award-winning producer, Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters, Alice In Chains, Deftones). It is the follow-up to Mastodon's critically acclaimed album  The Hunter , which entered the Billboard Top 200 Album chart in the Top 10 and found its way onto several Year End/Best Of critics' lists, including those compiled by Rolling Stone, Spin, Revolver, Decibel and many more. As previously announced, the stunning Deluxe 2-LP Vinyl Edition of  Once More 'Round The Sun  will also go on sale on June 24th. This limited-edition package includes two discs pressed on 180-gram black vinyl housed in a quadruple gatefold vinyl jacket, featuring artwork by the American artist Skinner, plus a CD of the complete album.

Don't miss Mastodon on tour this summer:Fri. Jun 20         Amnesia Rockfest                    Montebello, CanadaThurs. Jun 26     Hedon                                     Zwolle, NetherlandsFri. Jun 27         Melkweg                                  Amsterdam, NetherlandsSat. Jun 28        Graspop                                  Dessel, BelgiumSun. Jun 29       Park Live                                 Moscow, Russian FederationThurs. Jul 3        Main Square Festival                Arras, FranceFri. Jul 4            Le Zenith                                 Paris, FranceSun. Jul 6          Knebworth Park                       London, United KingdomFri. Jul 18          Malakoff Rock Festival              Nordfjordeid, NorwaySat. Jul 19         Bukta Open Air Festival            Tromsø, NorwaySat. Sept 6        Hopscotch Festival                   Raleigh, NCFri. Sept 12       Riot Fest Chicago                     Chicago, IL

She Keeps Bees share teaser for new album

SHE KEEPS BEES SHARE VIDEO TEASER FOR NEW ALBUM EIGHT HOUSES OUT SEPT 16TH ON FUTURE GODS REDCODS 
 Photo Credit: Kathryna Hancock
WATCH THE EIGHT HOUSES VIDEO TEASER HERE(please post and share)  Today She Keeps Bees have shared a video teaser for their new album Eight Houses,out September 16th on Future Gods Records.  With Eight Houses, She Keeps Bees have created a beautifully timeless and haunting album.  Eight Houses revels in the raw power of subtlety, silence and space, coloring Jessica Larrabee's compositions with lean piano lines, hazy horns and warm organ rolls.
Eight Houses finds She Keeps Bees working with an outside producer, Nicolas Vernhes (Deerhunter, The War On Drugs, Dirty Projectors, etc.) for the first time and enlisting guest musicians including Sharon Van Etten and Adam Schatz. 

ABOUT SHE KEEPS BEES:Considering how controlled the chaos is on Eight Houses-a record that's ruptured by riffs and rattled by rhythms without leaping straight off the rails-it's tough to imagine a time when Jessica Larrabee and Andy LaPlant didn't finish each other's sentences, creatively and personally. But that's how She Keeps Bees began: with LaPlant bashing a borrowed kit (including a garbage-picked floor tom) atop a step-ladder and Larrabee directing the dark solo recordings she began soon after moving from Philadelphia to Brooklyn.
"It was trial by fire," says LaPlant of their early rehearsals. "Luckily what she wanted out of me at the time wasn't complicated."
"We grew together slowly," adds Larrabee, "like a tree. It felt powerful with him behind me. Nothing really clicked until I met Andy."
That dynamic became more pronounced with each passing record, peaking with the self-produced songs of Nests and Dig On, the latter of which expanded the pair's minimal sound with bass parts and synths. Now joined by an outside producer (Rare Book Room's Nicolas Vernhes) and guest musicians including Sharon Van Etten and Adam Schatz, She Keeps Bees revels in the raw power of subtlety, silence and space, coloring Larrabee's compositions with lean piano lines, hazy horns and warm organ rolls.
"There was definitely a batch of more aggressive songs that got cut from the record," explains LaPlant. "Having a producer was nice in that respect; if things were starting to sound too similar and we didn't hear it, Nicolas wasn't shy about letting us know. We wanted to step outside our comfort zone stylistically, which really gives Jess' songwriting a chance to shine."
It also pushes her dense lyrics to the fore, exploring a wide range of universal emotions (desire, obsession, change) and looking for answers to questions our teachers never addressed, from the blood-splattered war hero status Custer earned during his "last stand" to the forced assimilation of Native Americans on the open roads She Keeps Bees toured for the first time in 2012.
"The reservations left a heartache in me," she explains, "and swarms of questions. I began reading stories. The more I read the history, the more I realized this was a universal story of 'progress': the Western world surrounding indigenous people, taking their natural resources, destroying their sense of self."
And yet there's still a light at the end of the tumultuous tunnel Eight Houses carves over the course of 10 punchy, confident songs. It kicks in as "Raven" collides with its choruses, meeting the human condition head on.
"Let the toxic mimics roll off us all," says Larrabee. "Let the power of your truest self rest in your heart.  Draw strength from below your navel-a place where there is no fear. Honor the gravity of the emotion but do not be consumed."    
SHE KEEPS BEES EIGHT HOUSES FUTURE GODS RECORDSSEPTEMBER 16, 2014
1. Feather Lighter2. Breezy3. Owl4. Both Sides5. Burning Bowl6. Radiance7. Wasichu8. Greasy Grass9. Raven10. Is What It Is

SHE KEEPS BEESSHE KEEPS BEES ON FACEBOOKSHE KEEPS BEES ON TWITTER

Agnes Obel Announces Video for New Single 'Words Are Dead'

AGNES OBEL ANNOUNCES VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE WORDS ARE DEAD  RELEASED 30TH JUNE ON PLAY IT AGAIN SAM + SOMERSET HOUSE SHOW, 12TH JULYWATCH HEREAgnes Obel’s has announced a video of her new single Words Are Dead, watch here. The single is the fourth to be taken from Obel’s critically acclaimed, hit new album Aventine – following previous singlesThe Curse, Dorian, and Aventine – which is out now on Play It Again Sam.On 12th July, the Berlin-based Dane will headline her biggest London show yet at Somerset House as part of the Summer Series concerts. Last few tickets remaining available fromhttp://www.somersethouse.org.uk/summerseries / http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk.amex.Obel will also be playing festivals across Europe this summer, including her UK Festival debut atLatitude Festival in Suffolk on 19th July.Obel’s four-song session for Deezer (watch here) is their most viewed session of all time, with almost 700k views. In April, Agnes Obel appeared on the opening show of the latest series of BBC2’s Later….With Jools Holland , watch her performance of her previous single Aventine hereAgnes Obel will tour Germany, France, Netherlands, and Belgium this October, appearing at prestigious, historic venues including The Olympia in Paris, Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam, and Munich Philharmonie: JulySat 12th           London, Somerset HouseSat 19th           Suffolk, Latitude FestivalOctoberSun 5th            Paris FR, OlympiaMon 6th            Amiens FR, Le CirqueWeds 8th         Amsterdam NL, Carré      Thurs 9th          Liege BE, Forum Fri 10th             Munich DE, PhilharmonieSun 12th          Berlin DE, AdmiralspalastWeds 15th       Hamburg DE, CCHMon 20th          Tours FR, Le Vinci
www.agnesobel.com / www.playitagainsam.net

SINÉAD O'CONNOR - RELEASES BRAND NEW SINGLE 'TAKE ME TO CHURCH'

SINÉAD O’CONNOR
RELEASES BRAND NEW SINGLE
‘TAKE ME TO CHURCH’


Hear: ‘Take Me To Church’
Sinéad O’Connor will release her brand new single ‘Take Me To Church’ as the first single to be lifted from her new album ‘I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss’. The album will be released via Nettwerk Records on August 11th 2014.
‘Take Me To Church’ is Sinead at her passionate and melodic best, coming complete with a joyous chorus and huge guitars set around her rousing vocals and powerful lyrics.
The artwork for ‘Take Me To Church’ features Sinead looking as amazing as she sounds and follows on from the much talked about album artwork which went viral worldwide immediately upon being announced.
‘I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss’ is the follow up to Sinead’s critically acclaimed album ‘How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?’ which was released in 2011. ‘I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss’ features twelve brand new songs which showcase the very best of Sinéad and what makes her so special, passionate and direct yet with an overarching fragile beauty Sinéad’s voice and lyrics are as powerful as they are tender.
Newly signed to Nettwerk Records, ‘I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss’ is her 10th studio album in a career spanning over twenty five years. Sinéad is a rare thing in popular music, an absolutely unique artist.

The Eagles in First-Ever Free O2 Arena LiveCast TONIGHT @ Brooklyn Bowl

THE EAGLES IN FIRST-EVER FREE O2 ARENA LiveCast AT “WONDERLAND” BROOKLYN BOWL
“One of the coolest venues in the world” (VH1), Brooklyn Bowl London will present its first-ever free concert LiveCast from The O2 Arena, featuring the Eagles, TONIGHT. Making use of its state of the art D&B Sound System, 14k Christie projector, and 6 metre wide HD projection screen, Brooklyn Bowl, which is also located at The O2, will live up to its “epic” (Eater) reputation by delivering the live arena experience to the big screen in real time, alongside the critically praised food and wide selection of beer it’s known for.
Eleven additional projectors and TV screens will immerse bowlers and bar-goers in this unique concert experience. Taking direct audio and video feeds from the Eagles touring production - with just a 76ms delay - every single note is a real-time experience, straight from the Arena stage, fed into Brooklyn Bowl London at the speed of light.
The Eagles perform four shows at the O2 Arena on the 16th, 18th, 20th and 21st June. The legendary group and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee has established itself as one of the most successful bands in history, having sold more than 120 million albums worldwide, earned five U.S. #1 singles, and won six GRAMMY Awards.
With the addition of the Eagles LiveCast to the venue’s summer schedule - which also includes LiveCasts of major World Cup Games and live performances by Umphrey’s McGee, Gov’t Mule, The Dandy Warhols, Galactic, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Big Gigantic, Phil Lesh & The Terrapin Family Band, Reel Big Fish, Grandmaster Flash, the North Mississippi Allstars, Fun Lovin’ Criminals and others - Brooklyn Bowl has proven yet again that it’s “more than just a bowling alley. It’s a nightlife institution” (Club Planet).
www.brooklynbowl.com /london

Black Bananas LP now streaming via Pitchfork Advance

BLACK BANANAS SHARE ALBUM STREAM VIA PITCHFORK
ELECTRIC BRICK WALL OUT 6/24 VIA DRAG CITY  PHOTO BY: JESS HOLZWORTHAfter sharing Liars' remix of their single, "Physical Emotions", Black Bananas is are back today to share a stream of their entire album via Pitchfork Advance. The Advance features exclusive art byFreeman and Lowe as well as art from the band. Check out the stream of the album below and look out for Electric Brick Wall, which is out next week via Drag City.

LISTEN: Black Bananas -  Electric Brick Wall
Previously:
LISTEN: "Physical Emotions (Liars Remix)" - https://soundcloud.com/drag-city/physical-emotions-liars-remix
WATCH: "Physical Emotions" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTuYxZQbqrQ    
Upcoming Shows:
8/8/14 - Seaport Music Festival - New York, NY

More about Black Bananas and Electric Brick Wall:
Up against the Electric Brick Wall, motherfuckers!
Black Bananas is Jennifer Herrema, Nadav Eisenman, Brian McKinley and Kurt Midness. They work with their machines to play rock that's progressive, experimenting and never less than super-exciting, fuckingly awesome amazing. They do it becuz it's fun and it sounds rad.
With eyes and ears out for the phases and strains of rock past and present, Black Bananas are on the lookout for a sound that mainly exists in their mind, an idea of sound to wrap around the tunes, a cattle-prod sneaking around the backside of your aural cortex. To jolt you into magical thinking. And to make you jump, and make your hair stand up. Yeah, Black Bananas' production pays forward the psychotropic effect with ultimate line blur, but Electric Brick Wall is solidly composed of time-tested elements - the beat, the groove, licks, builds and bridges, fused together for projection as a new musical shred-spress to the stars.
The lead single, "Physical Emotions," is a dance-floor blast that our ears and minds deeply needed - an invitation back in da club - and now Electric Brick Wall solves even more problems by introducing more and harder beats, upping the sugar quotient along with the strychnine in a line of insanely hilarious new music hybrids aplenty. It's an age of hybrids - but Black Bananas come on with hot Yankee ingenuity, true cross-breeders with a refreshing lack of values and a corresponding shortage of shame, producing variations like trance-bounce, new jack metal, dub-gum, rhythm-n-bus, nu country-psych-hop and glam-core. The gamut of these andmore is run, and there's so much to hear inside the Electric Brick Wall of sound - played on the guitar simulator, the digital saw and the blues synth, tweaked to wack perfection, with vocals, vocals and more vocals rocketing EVERYWHERE.  
So yeah, a brave new world of sounds that rock you the BEST. Because no matter how elevated their strange sonic pursuit, Black Bananas keep their feet on the ground, their toes in the sand of life as it is down in the street. The ultimate hybrid is the dream of the reality of the dream. On Electric Brick Wall, Black Bananas are in total control. They've stood up next to the mountain and they're electric; they're splayed out in front of the brick wall, an iconic backdrop for rock and rollers of infinite ages - but this time, it's a wall with a switch, a wall that you can turn on and off. Black Bananas are a band with the tools in their hand, hotwiring the concept of what they can be and not needing to be anything else.    

Black Bananas
Electric Brick Wall
(Drag City, 6/24/14)
Pre-Order: Physical / iTunes
1. Powder 82. Dope on an Island3. Hey Rockin4. Physical Emotions5. Highway Down6. Eve's Child7. Ride the Chump8. Give it to Me9. Creeping Out of Line10. Old Gold Chains11. Bullshit and Lies