Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 2523

OFF! Releases Track "Void You Out" From Forthcoming Album

OFF! SHARE TRACK "VOID YOU OUT"

Punk supergroup OFF! share the first track off of their forthcoming album Wasted Years

Listen to "Void You Out" on Noisey: 


NEW YORK, NY (January 23, 2014) - OFF! have shared "Void You Out," the opening track from their forthcoming album Wasted Years, slated for an April 8th release on Vice Records. At just over a minute long, the track rips fast and hard, but the chaos is cleaner than you might expect. But don't worry, OFF!'s upcoming record will have all the vile you want - and probably more. 

Listen to "Void You Out" on Noisey: 

And read more about the band's forthcoming album Wasted Years here: 

Empire Of The Sun Announce U.S. Festival Dates

EMPIRE OF THE SUN"ALIVE" LIVE VIDEO OUT TODAYEmpire Of The Sun - Alive (Live)"CELEBRATE" REMIXES:


VOL. 1 OUT FEBRUARY 18, 2014Featuring "Celebrate" Radio Editplus remixes by Tommy Trash, Steve Aoki
VOL. 2 OUT FEBRUARY 25,2014Featuring remixes by Hook N Sling, The Dissociatives,and Styalz Fuego's Windows 95 Remix



APPEARING AT ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL,COACHELLA, GOVERNOR'S BALL, & MOREDates listed belowFollowing a banner 2013, Empire Of The Sun are kicking 2014 off with a bang.
The past year saw the Australian duo of Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore headline major U.S. festivals including Made In America, HARD, Bonaroo and multiple sold-out dates across the country in support of its sophomore album "Ice On The Dune" (ranked Billboard's #6 Dance Album Of 2013) and perform its #1 Billboard Dance/Club and #1 HypeMachine single "Alive" (voted one of Rolling Stone's Top 100 Tracks of 2013) on both The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Today the band reveals a new live video for "Alive," announces two upcoming remix packages for the track "Celebrate," and new U.S. tour dates including Coachella, Ultra Music Festival, and Governor's Ball.
Featuring footage from the bands most recent world tour including shows in New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, Sydney and the Netherlands, the "Alive" live video captures the Empire Of The Sun's 2013 dream-pop festival anthem and technicolor live show in all its neon-infused glory. 
Next month sees the release of "Celebrate" Remixes Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Vol. 1 (out February 18th) will include the original radio edit of "Celebrate" and remixes from Tommy Trash and Steve Aoki. Vol 2 (out February 25th) features additional remixes from Hook N Sling, The Dissociatives, and Styalz Fuego's "Windows 95 Remix."
In March Empire Of The Sun kick off a series of U.S. tour dates, listed in full below.EMPIRE OF THE SUN TOUR DATES
3/29     Ultra Music Festival                Miami, FL4/9       Chelsea Theater                     Las Vegas, NV4/12     Coachella Weekend 1            Indio, CA4/14     Belly Up Aspen                       Aspen, CO4/15     Belly Up Aspen                       Aspen, CO4/17     Fox Theater                            Oakland, CA4/19     Coachella Weekend 2            Indio, CA6/7       Governor's Ball                       Randall's Island, NY                                

Berlin/NY Quartet Fenster Return with Sophomore Album

Berlin/NY Quartet Fenster Return with Sophomore Album

The Pink Caves Out March 4th on Morr Music  'Fenster nails the male-female vocals and sparse, lo-fi sound.' - NPR
'Their sparse and wistful songs are peppered with the unexpected.' - The New Yorker

"Fenster is the biggest and best indie ...band you haven't yet heard of" - VMAN 'Artist You Need To Know'
Listen to first track 'Mirrors' at ThisIsFakeDIY or YouTube    

Berlin/NY quartet Fenster have announced the release of their second record, The Pink Caves, out March 4th on Morr Music. The album follows their debut, Bones, which received critical acclaim from the likes of KEXP, NPR, The New Yorker, MTV, NYLON, Refinery29, BrooklynVegan, Team Coco, and more, often gaining favorable comparisons to The Velvet Underground, Broadcast orThe xx. The band will return to the states for a US tour and album release show in NYC, as well as performances at this year's SXSW.  
Work began on The Pink Caves in early 2013. A home studio was set up in a cabin in East Germany and the whole house was wired so every room contained different elements, set up in such a way that they were able to record live altogether. As a result The Pink Caves radiates with an intuitive and spontaneous approach to noise experimentation. The band reputedly used the house they recorded in as an instrument in itself, using slamming doors, clanging the metal oven, the ticking of clocks, the animals in the yard, the water in the well, candlesticks, coat hangers and matches...whatever happened to be within reach. All of this was captured by producer Tadklimp, whose idiosyncratic and inimitable production skills unravel the complexities and textures of the album.
With its subtle and surreal lyrics, The Pink Caves often feels like it is conversing with an imaginary spectre, at times longing for the purity of nature, and occasionally lamenting the futility of it all. Themes of dystopian love, attachment, estrangement and alienation permeate, describing invisible things to a backdrop of a subterranean dreamworld where bad dreams are ultimately rendered 'good' in the grand scheme of things. With this record, Fenster ventures into new spaces, exploring different techniques, instrumentation and song structures. The album's title and aesthetic derive from the concept of a make-belief heaven, a place you go when you die that only exists in your mind. Welcome to The Pink Caves!    Fenster is: Jonathan Jarzyna, JJ Weihl, Rémi Letournelle, Lucas Chantre
Production: recorded and mixed by Tadklimp      
Tracklisting
01 Better Days 02 Sunday Owls 03 In the Walls 04 Cat Emperor 05 True Love 06 The Light07 Mirrors 08 Fireflies 09 On Repeat 10 Hit & Run 11 1982 12 Creatures   For more info, please visit: 

http://fensterbones.com
http://facebook.com/fenstermusic
http://morrmusic.com

Joseph Arthur @ McCabes

Joseph Arthur is playing at McCabes tonight, Thursday, January 23rd 2014.

BLUES EXPLOSION FRESH IN '14! COACHELLA!

THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION GETS FRESH FOR 2014! ONE-OFF ONE-STOP SHOPPING SHOW AT BROOKLYN NIGHT BAZAAR FEB 15TH! APPEARING AT COACHELLA & IN SELECT CITIES APR 10TH-19TH!
NEW ROCK'N'ROLL RECORD IN THE WORKS! Photo:©Anthony Batista / www.toniomodio.com 
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion continues to champion the raw, the rhythm, the rock, the rebel without a pause… They will play a rare, one-off show at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar next month, and then, by special request, the Blues Explosion will detonate with their first appearance at Coachella Festival on two consecutive weekends!!! Not content to lounge by the pool, Jon, Judah and Russell will whip it out West between the Coachella dates with a week of West Coast crazy!
 
Are you ready for Record Store Day, April 19th??  The JSBX will be dropping an old-school, bad-ass 12" single of their Beastie Boys-Link Wray mash-up She's On It-Jack The Ripper, which has terrorized and astounded audiences LIVE the world over. And very soon, the Blues Explosion will re-enter the recording studio to continue work on their next Long Player!
Get out and see the World’s Greatest Rock’n’Roll Attraction!
 
The Blues is still #1!  

LIVE SHOWS:
February 15 - Brooklyn Night Bazaar - Brooklyn, NY
April 10 - Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ
April 11 - Coachella Festival - Indio, CA
April 12 - Beauty Bar - Las Vegas, NV
April 14 - Slim's  - San Francisco, CA
April 15 - Blank Club - San Jose, CA
April 17 - Casbah  - San Diego, CA
April 18 - Coachella Festival - Indio, CA
April 19 - Club Congress - Tucson, AZ
  "A masterclass in rock & roll from the first white-hot note to the last, this is a white-knuckle, nerve-tingling and check-yer-pants example of what a live performance should be about." The Quietus
    
"...perfectly chaotic noise and swagger, the trio offers team chemistry throughout. It's the collective energy that truly resonates.' Phoenix New Times 
“..straight-up, no-bullshit rock'n'soul…. They're reapplying for the job of America's most raucous, hardest-working rock'n'roll band, and will let the sweat speak for itself. “ Pitchfork  
  "This is the kind of band that brings their bruising ballet of avalanche-groove and strikes guilt in me for ever employing cliches of: forcefulness, grit, swagger or just pure tilt-o-whirl destructo-dazzle style onto any other band’s works, rock, blues or noise-noodler…  This is the band" Detroit Metro Times
"...visceral and primal: a bare-knuckled bloodletting of rhythms and riffs and grimy vocals that was punishing, arousing and cathartic and bereft of nuance or gloss." Kansas City Star  
  
'MEAT AND BONE' IS AVAILABLE NOW THROUGH MOM + POP/BOOMBOX
'SHE'S ON IT-JACK THE RIPPER' 12" OUT APRIL 19TH/RECORD STORE DAY

"All Downhill From Here" featuring Ian Mackaye, Henry Rollins

All Downhill From Here - Scene Point Blank:  The Collected Music Writing of Ten Years covering Punk, Metal and Hardcore Available on February 1st

Content includes Ian Mackaye, Henry Rollins, Larry Livermore, Evan Dando, Jacob Bannon, and many more.   In 2003, the AFI messageboard spawned a new webzine called Scene Point Blank. AFI were at the top of the charts, The Blood Brothers and The Locust were making waves in hardcore, and a young folk-punk band called Against Me! released As the Eternal Cowboy. The times have changed, but Scene Point Blank is stronger than ever, celebrating 10 years with  , a new book that highlights some of their favorite material and includes insight on the wide-ranging cast of writers behind some of the webzine world's longer reviews.
Curated from 4000+ reviews and 200+ interviews, Scene Point Blank has put together some of their most popular items, some of their favorites, and their most memorable pieces into three formats: Kindle, eBook, and print, retailing from $7-15 depending on platform. Content includes interviews and features with Ian Mackaye, Henry Rollins, Larry Livermore, Evan Dando, Jacob Bannon, and many more. 
Scene Point Blank isn't limited to punk and hardcore... They're proud of their varied content, ranging from blackened death to drone to hip-hop and even prog. They feel that music shouldn't be limited to genre and, in fact, discussing it in those terms is far too limiting. Their focus is on heavy, independent music, both the well-known and those just getting started. 
After 10 years of online coverage, Scene Point Blank now offers All Downhill From Here to the public on a format they can carry with them and share, free of hard-to-remember URLs. Pre-orders are available now at:

 

Bob Dylan in the 80s: Volume 1 Out March 25

BOB DYLAN IN THE 80s: VOLUME ONETO BE RELEASED MARCH 25, 2014
ALBUM FEATURES:BUILT TO SPILL, AARON FREEMAN OF WEEN & SLASH,GLEN HANSARD, REGGIE WATTS, BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY, LUCIUS, LANGHORNE SLIM,CRAIG FINN OF THE HOLD STEADY, DEER TICK,BLITZEN TRAPPER,CARL BROEMEL OF MY MORNING JACKETAND MORE
JONATHAN LETHEM LINER NOTES
PORTIONS OF PROCEEDS GO TOPENCILS OF PROMISE CHARITY
ALBUM AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW
FIRST TRACK, "JOKERMAN" BY BUILT TO SPILL, AVAILABLE NOW
  
ATO Records is excited to announce the release of Bob Dylan In The 80s: Volume One on March 25. The brainchild of producers Jesse Lauter (Elvis Perkins, The Low Anthem) and Sean O'Brien (Dawes, PAPA), the mission of Bob Dylan In The 80s: Volume One is to shed new light on a large cache of Bob Dylan songs that have long gone ignored, covering the period starting with 1980's Saved and ending with 1990's Under The Red Sky (including unreleased material -- the "80s Basement Tapes" -- and The Traveling Wilburys). Album contributors include: Built To Spill, Aaron Freeman of Ween & Slash, Glen Hansard, Reggie Watts, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Lucius, Langhorne Slim, Craig Finn Of The Hold Steady, Deer Tick, Dawn Landes, Blitzen Trapper, Carl Broemel Of My Morning Jacket, Elvis Perkins and more. The album is available for pre-order now. The first track from the record, Jokerman by Built to Spill, is available now.
In the liner notes to this collection, New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Lethem (Motherless Brooklyn, Fortress of Solitude) writes, "In the famously difficult art of going up against Dylan's performance of his own material, a number of these reach the highest threshold. I hope Bob Dylan listens to this record, and plays it for his current touring band."
When you ask someone to name a Bob Dylan song or album from the 1980s, you usually get a blank stare in return. Bob Dylan In The 80s: Volume One helps to answer this question.
"80s Dylan is by no means a celebrated period in his career," says co-producer Lauter. "It was, in fact, the lowest point of his commercial success even though he released eight studio albums." He continues, "Our goal was to showcase one of the greatest artists of our time during an off-rhythm period and bring a stronger sense of harmony to the material at hand. Sean and I did everything we could to make this album flow together sonically as if you were listening to a concept album."
Again, Lethem claims, "Given the benefit of decades more hindsight, our Dylan was a lot better than anyone knew...Were one to begin compiling instances of greatness in the type of songwriting that defines our esteem for the earlier Dylan - complex, suggestive, glinting, cascading constructions - you'd hit a dozen examples even before the "comeback" of Oh Mercy."
Portions of proceeds from album sales will go to the charity, Pencils of Promise. Pencils of Promise is a non-profit organization that builds schools and increases educational opportunities in the developing world. The charity has built more than 150 schools in Asia, Africa and Latin America. For more information on Pencils of Promise, visit www.pencilsofpromise.org.
COMPLETE TRACK LISTING:
1)     Langhorne Slim & The Law - "Got My Mind Made Up"(from Knocked Out Loaded, 1986)2)     Built To Spill - "Jokerman" (from Infidels, 1983)3)     Reggie Watts - "Brownsville Girl (Reprise)" (from Knocked Out Loaded, 1986)4)     Craig Finn (The Hold Steady) - "Sweetheart Like You" (from Infidels, 1983)5)      Ivan & Alyosha - "You Changed My Life" (from Shot Of Love outtakes, 1981)6)     Deer Tick - "Night After Night" (from Hearts of Fire Soundtrack, 1987)7)     Dawn Landes & Bonnie "Prince" Billy - "Dark Eyes" (from Empire Burlesque, 1985)8)     Tea Leaf Green - "Waiting To Get Beat" (from Empire Burlesque outtakes, 1985)9)     Aaron Freeman of Ween & Slash - "Wiggle Wiggle (from Under The Red Sky, 1990)10)  Elvis Perkins - "Congratulations" (from Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, 1988)11)  Hannah Cohen - "Covenant Woman" (from Saved, 1980)12)  Marco Benevento - "Every Grain Of Sand" (from Shot Of Love, 1981)13)  Yellowbirds - "Series Of Dreams" (from Oh Mercy outtakes, 1989)14)  Blitzen Trapper - "Unbelievable" (from Under The Red Sky, 1990)15)  Lucius - "When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky" (from Empire Burlesque, 1985)16)  Glen Hansard - "Pressing On" (from Saved, 1980)17)  Carl Broemel (My Morning Jacket) - "Death Is Not The End" (from Down In The Groove, 1988)
In addition, there will be seven bonus tracks available exclusively via iTunes as a Deluxe Edition and will also be included on the digital download card that accompanies the vinyl. The seven bonus tracks are listen below:
1)     Spirit Family Reunion - "Man Of Peace" (from Infidels, 1983)2)     Widespread Panic - "Solid Rock" (from Saved, 1980)3)     Grayson Capps - "Silvio" (from Down In The Groove, 1988)4)     Neal Casal - "Property Of Jesus" (from Shot Of Love, 1981)5)     The Low Anthem - "Lenny Bruce" (from Shot Of Love, 1981)6)     Jesse Elliott (These United States) - "Handy Dandy" (from Under The Red Sky, 1990)7)     Chastity Brown - "Saving Grace" (from Saved, 1980)

FAKE CLUB ANNOUNCE DEBUT ALBUM 'FUCKABLE'

FAKE CLUB  ANNOUNCE DEBUT ALBUM, ‘FUCKABLE’ RELEASE DATE: 24th MARCH  “Fake Club aren’t the shy retiring types…” – Clash“Fake Club write their own strains of rock anthems” – The Hunger“The Fake Club girls are aren’t afraid of making music – spirited, politically charged protest songs undercut by speedy, brash reverb – that truly counts for something.” - Roller Coaster“You need in your life right now” – Punktastic“There’s definite attitude here, in fact, there’s heaps of it” - TMRW
FAKE CLUB. The raucous and brash London guitar band whose do-it-yourself-because-we-do-it-better-anyway attitude has finally brought them to the release of their debut album, ‘FUCKABLE’, set to release on March 24th.
This balls to the wall, diamond in the rough is a must-listen record for 2014. Anagrammatically self-titled, written and released by the band themselves, it’s an impressive 10 track onslaught of honest rock & roll music that flashes between pounding drums, screaming guitars and killer-chorus’ perfectly entwined with unforgettable riffs. The record is produced by FAKE CLUB and Oliver Son, mixed by Kevin Killen (Tori Amos, Elvis Costella, Kate Bush) and mastered by the legendary Bob Ludwig (Led Zepplin, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Nirvana, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Daft Punk).
FAKE CLUB boast a genre-defying ethos, sound and line-up that transcends them into a realm of their very own; their musicianship, writing prowess, mind blowing live force and admirable spirit set them apart from all of their counterparts. Opener and live favourite, ‘Do What You Got To Do’ sets the tone emphatically with a heavy groove and a riff that just gets you. ‘Do It Like Me’ and ‘Generation’ are songs to walk the streets & grow up to while ‘Midnight At Koko’ shows off the band’s delicate attention to melody that can sometimes get overlooked. (As seen in the Universal Pictures release ‘Powder Room’ late 2013).
Continuously wowing crowds with their stellar live shows, the band have garnered an army of dedicated fans in the UK and Europe following an Italian tour and sell-out headline show in Berlin in 2013 along with an electric support show for Kate Nash. Following this the band made their silver screen debut in December appearing in the Vertigo Films release, Powder Room, starring Sheridan Smith, Jaime Winstone, Oona Chaplin and Kate Nash. FAKE CLUB, who play the in-house band throughout the film, curated the entire soundtrack alongside the film’s director MJ Delaney and producer Damien Jones (The Iron Lady, Kidulthood).
Last year the band hosted a string of FAKE CLUB-NIGHTS in their Holloway Road club-house, the nights paying homage to some of London’s most creative artistic and musical talent. With the launch of FAKE TV, the bands online TV channel (think Wayne’s World meets TGI Friday) and their very own zine, FKR, the band have proven that their endless creativity and DIY approach is a force to be reckoned with. 
‘FUCKABLE’ sets the tone of a new rock inspired musical landscape, representing the imminent wave of accomplished girl bands that ditch the ‘girl’ tag and make honest, fun music for a new generation.
Fake Club will be supporting The Answer on their UK tour this February and ‘FUCKABLE’ will be available on iTunes from March 24th.
UPCOMING SUPPORT TOUR DATES:
FEBRUARY w/ THE ANSWERWED 19ABERDEENTHE LEMON TREETHU 20EDINBURGHLIQUID ROOMSFRI 21MIDDLESBROUGHEMPIRESAT 22YORKDUCHESSSUN 23HULLWELLYTUE 25LEICESTERO2 ACADEMY 2WED 26NORWICHWATERFRONTTHU 27TUNBRIDGE WELLSTHE FORUMFRI 28SOUTHEND-ON-SEACHINNERYS

Vivian Girls RIP 2007-2014

VIVIAN GIRLS RIP 2007-2014

One last LA show on February 14th 2014.

Photo: Angel Ceballos

Mac DeMarco @ The Echo

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