Alexander Laurence's Blog, page 2586

ARMY NAVY RELEASE THE CRUSHED EP

ARMY NAVY RELEASE THE CRUSHED EP THIS WEEK VIA
THE FEVER ZONE RECORDS
SPIN.COM NOW PREMIERING MUSIC VIDEO FOR "CRUSHED LIKE THE CAR"
BAND TO SUPPORT SOMEONE STILL LOVES YOU BORIS YELTSIN ON NOVEMBER TOUR
"'Crushed Like the Car' might be Justin Kennedy's most honeyed, melancholy midtempo sigh yet, buoying his sweet-sad voice gently aloft." - Pitchfork
"Sophisticated power-pop" - The Independent
WATCH: "CRUSHED LIKE THE CAR" MUSIC VIDEO (via SPIN.com)
Los Angeles-based indie-pop trio Army Navy are excited to announce the release of their new six-song EP titled The Crushed EP . Recorded with longtime producer Adam Lasus (Yo La Tengo, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) at Fireproof Recording in Los Angeles, CA, The Crushed EPemerges from frontman Justin Kennedy's recent personal feelings of uncertainty and is the precursor to the band's soon-to-be released follow up to their critically acclaimed 2011 album, The Last Place . Check out the exclusive premiere of the music video for "Crushed Like The Car" from The Crushed EP on SPIN.com HERE .
Photo: Megan MackArmy Navy released its highly acclaimed self-titled debut album on its own label, The Fever Zone, in late 2008, an album Pitchfork declared a "bubbly effervescent valentine to obscure power pop bands of the late-1970s and early-'80s" in their 7.8 review, and a record NPR described as "a Posies-and-Teenage Fanclub-style tsunami of melody and distortion that underscores the youthful essence of power-pop in all its bittersweet glory."

In June 2011, the band launched its sophomore album titled The Last Place via the eMusic "Selects" program, a coveted spotlight that offered The Last Place to eMusic.com's subscribers exclusively for an entire month. eMusic went on to describe The Last Place as "a poisoned Valentine dripping with equal parts beauty and scorn; imagine a Vulcan mind-meld between Teenage Fanclub's Bandwagonesque and Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear and you're there."

Army Navy will be supporting Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin in November. Tour dates below.

NOVEMBER
13 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar *
15 - Pomona, CA - Glass House *
16 - San Francisco, CA - Brick and Mortar *
19 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
20 - Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern
21 - Boise, ID - Neurolux *
22 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court *
23 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive

* = supporting Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Susanne Sundfør Announces US Tour

SUSANNE SUNDFØR ANNOUNCES US TOUR
INVITES FANS TO CREATE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR 'AMONG US' VIA GENERO.TV WITH $4,000 PRIZE
 
Norwegian songstress Susanne Sundfør is excited to announce a fall US tour, her first stateside string of dates. She will bring her original breed of dark electronic music and beguiling vocals that has drawn critical acclaim throughout the world, following her success in native Norway where her album The Silicone Veil reached # 1 in 2012 and became the biggest selling album of the year. Full tour dates are below.
Additionally, she is inviting fans to create the official video for 'Among Us' off The Silicone Veil by uploading their videos to http://genero.tv/susannesundfor by September 17th. The winner will also win $4,000. The winner and finalists will be chosen by Susanne Sundfør and Genero.
Susanne Sundfør Tour Dates:9/23 - Bardot - Hollywood, CA9/25 - Bootleg Theater - Los Angeles, CA9/26 - The Chapel - San Francisco, CA9/28 - Glasslands - Brooklyn, NY9/30 - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
Praise for Susanne Sundfør & The Silicone Veil:
"Thick with mythology and dark as a nighttime thicket." - Pitchfork "Best New Track"
" The Silicone Veil" is leftfield pop, a thrilling effort. It's icy, gothic, and strange, with moments of intentional dissonance." - Billboard
" A shiny-voiced Norwegian pop star " - Rolling Stone
"A haunting, contradiction-filled work" - MTV
"Single-mindedness and a clear artistic vision coincide, making Sundfør utterly arresting." - Mojo ****
"Sundfor has a fantastically powerful, window-bending face-melter of a voice.... it's quite stunning."- Q
"If there is a more beautiful and ambitious song this year than 'White Foxes'...well, there just isn't.". - Uncut ****
"A breathtaking collection of spectral songs... she staked a claim to be the new Bjork. The Silicone Veil's title track could have taught Florence Welsh a valuable trick..." -  The Times UK *****
susannesundfor.com
facebook.com/susannesundfor
twitter.com/susannesundfor
youtube.com/user/susannesundfor

Blouse Announce Second New York Show & West Coast Tour

Next week Blouse arrive on the East Coast and will celebrate the forthcoming release of Imperium with a listening party at Other Music at South Street Seaport. The event takes place Thursday (8/29) from 6:30 to 8 PM. 

That Friday night (8/30) they'll play Glasslands and the following day take to the stage at our CT5 Festival, joining DIIV, Mac DeMarco, Minks, Chris Cohen and Heavenly Beat. 
The trio will then return to the Portland and upon release of Imperium (Sept. 17th), take to the road for a string of West Coast dates.

Full set of dates and ticket links to the right.

8/30 Brooklyn, NY - Glasslands
8/31 Brooklyn, NY - CT5 Festival - The Well
9/17 Seattle, WA - The Vera Project
9/18 Vancouver, BC - The Media Club
9/20 Portland, OR - Star Theater
9/21 San Francisco, CA - Bottom Of The Hill
9/22 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
9/25 San Diego, CA - The Void
9/26 Costa Mesa, CA - The Detroit Bar   Imperium Tracklisting 1. Imperium 2. Eyesite 3. 1000 Years 4. In a Glass 5. Capote 6. A Feeling Like This 7. No Shelter 8. Happy Days 9. Arrested 10. Trust Me Evolution is a tricky word when discussing current trends in music, especially when it comes to sophomore albums. The critically lauded BLOUSE, the 2011 debut from the Portland band of the same name was a lush, melodic and dreamy affair spiked with whoozy synths and delicate vocals. For  Imperium , their 2nd LP for Captured Tracks, Blouse have shed the synths, done away with drum machines and wrote and recorded with "instruments that don't plug into the wall," as enforced by band member/producer Jacob Portrait.

Sonically speaking, that comes through on the LP immediately. Perhaps bolstered by the ongoing construction occurring next to the studio while the record was being made, the sense of force and urgency propelling the record is evident. Patrick Adams' driving bass and plodding drums in the title track usher in this new guitar-friendlier Blouse; more direct and clearer of vision, but still mysterious and beautiful.

Jacob and Patrick's Pacific Northwest alt-rock roots (filtered through post-punk and V/U) are a great counterpoint to ex-pat Southern CA transplant Charlie Hilton's Cohen/Patti/Nico singer/songwriter nature. The dichotomy of those two forces on tracks like "No Shelter" and "1000 Years" are at the core of Imperium. These are delicate songs from the perspective of a valley girl who grew up with gurus and ashrams played by indie lifers on a steady diet of NEU! It makes it all the more understandable to have showers of acoustic guitars and (real, not synthesized) cellos interrupted by fuzz guitar.

But these interruptions aren't a bad thing, they're what makes Imperium the great record it is. "In a Feeling Like This" describes it perfectly; it's a strange place that you're weirdly familiar with. Warm but also kind of spooky and imposing, you want to stay there for longer than you're invited. Thankfully, it's ok to flip it over and listen to it again.

Imperium is out Septmeber 17th, 2013

Stream Holy Ghost!'s "Okay" on RollingStone.com

Holy Ghost! Single "Okay" Debuts On RollingStone.com
 
Holy Ghost! debuted their latest single, "Okay," on RollingStone.com today. The song is the lead track off their upcoming sophomore album Dynamics, to be released September 10on DFA Records. Check out "Okay" here:
Holy Ghost! - "Okay"
Dynamics is the follow-up to the group's 2011 self-titled debut, hailed by The Los Angeles Times as a "classic pop album." The band recently unveiled the track listing and cover art for Dynamics, which is slated for a September 10th release on DFA Records.
Throughout the last month, Holy Ghost! has released several short video teasers featuring songs from Dynamics. Check out the three videos below:
"Bridge and Tunnel": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9LRJkfRLvk  "It Must Be the Weather": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKNjqojxCVU  "I Wanna Be Your Hand": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKNjqojxCVU  
The band will be hitting the road soon for a number of dates this fall to support the release of Dynamics. Holy Ghost! have been mainstays at the spring and summer festival circuit, with an apperance at Bonnaroo and an upcoming show at this Sunday's FYF Fest in Los Angeles. Celebrated for their energetic live performances, the band also embarked on their own tour this summer, visiting the Austin Music Hall in July and ending the run at San Francisco's Treasure Island Music Festival in October. Check out the band's itinerary below.
Holy Ghost! On TourAug 25- Los Angeles, CA @ Los Angeles State Historic ParkOct 11 - Aspen, CO @ Belly UpOct 12 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird TheaterOct 13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban LoungeOct 15 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos Oct 18 - Sacramento, CA @ Ace of SpadesOct 18 - San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Brewing CompanyOct 19 - San Francisco, CA @ Treasure IslandOct 20 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda TheatreOct 21 - San Diego, CA @ Porter's PubOct 24 - Austin, TX @ Emo's EastOct 25 - Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald'sOct 25 - Dallas, TX @ Club DadaOct 28 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal WestOct 30 - Boston, MA @ SinclairOct 31 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5Nov 1 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 ClubNov 2 - Philadelphia, PA @ TLANov 4 - Burlington, VT @ Higher GroundNov 5 - Montreal, QC @ BelmontNov 6 - Toronto, ON @ The HoxtonNov 7 - Pontiac, MI @ The CrofootNov 8 - Columbus, OH @ The BasementNov 9 - Chicago, IL @ Metro

Musicfest NW 2013

DON’T “STAY AWAY FROM DOWNTOWN”. REDD KROSS HAS BEEN ADDED TO MUSICFESTNW! Redd Kross will once again grace the Dante’s stage as part of MFNW 2013! Catch the band in all their rocking glory on Tuesday, September 3rd. This will be a hot one. Do not miss it!

Dum Dum Girls + Bleached @ Urban Outfitters

Agnes Obel Reveals Mysterious Video, LP Out 10/1

Agnes Obel

“The Curse” Released Digitally + Video Drops Today!


Click Image Above To Watch “The Curse” Video

Sophomore LP Aventine Out 10/1 via Play It Again Sam

“She’ll rivet you with her flow”
– SPIN

“ …offers a stark minimalist palette reminiscent of Cat Power and Joanna Newsom.”
– Details

On October 1st, internationally acclaimed singer songwriter Agnes Obel will release her sophomore album Aventine in the US on Play It Again Sam. Fans can enjoy an early taste as lead single, “The Curse” is released digitally today! An emotive orchestral selection with striking keys and bouncing strings, check out the mysterious, artistic “The Curse” video HERE. We encourage you to post and share.



In addition to an extensive European tour this October, Agnes will perform at iTunes Festival in the UK which features artists as diverse as Sigur Rós, Pixies, and avant-garde pianist, composer & film collaborator Ludovico Einaudi with whom she will share the stage on September 17th.

Listening to Aventine, it’s easy to see why fans and critics alike have been anticipating the new record. With a debut album compared by critics to the likes of PJ Harvey, Joanna Newsom, and Roy Orbison, Agnes’ sparse chamber folk has been lauded worldwide. Aventine a striking collection of lush arrangements held together by Agnes’ stunning voice.

Originally from Copenhagen, Agnes has lived in Berlin since 2006, where Aventinewas recorded at her Chalk Wood Studios between January and May this year. The album was written, arranged, and produced by Agnes, who provides piano and vocals. Aventine will be available in the following formats: CD, Heavyweight vinyl LP, Download and Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set (including the LP, CD and exclusive bonus content). Pre-order now from www.agnesobel.com

The Dwarves and The Queers - On Tour Together NOW

The Dwarves and The QueersOn Tour Together NOW  8/21 - INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Birdy's  8/22 - MADISON, WI - High Noon Saloon 8/23 - CHICAGO, IL - Reggie's      8/24 - DETROIT, MI*** TESCO FEST @ Magic Stick ***    8/25 - COLUMBUS, OH - Ace of Cups      8/26 - PITTSBURGH, PA - 31st St. Pub      8/28 - TORONTO, ON - Horseshoe     8/29 - MONTREAL, QC - Underworld      8/30 - BOSTON, MA - The Church      8/31 - NEW YORK, NY - Le Poisson Rouge         *** EARLY SHOW - 6PM doors *** 9/1 - PHILADELPHIA, PA - BarbaryTwo legends of punk rock hit the road together this week as The Dwarves and The Queers join forces to pummel ear drums of the midwest and east coast. These bands truly need no introduction, but for the newbies out there, we have the following... Born in Illinois in the mid 80's as a paisley garage band, by 1989 they had morphed into fire breathing California grunge icons, putting Sub/Pop on the map with their seminal "Blood, Guts and Pussy" album. Performing with many top acts and spanning the globe the Dwarves gained a reputation for live madness and mayhem that follows them to this day. "The Dwarves are Young and Good Looking" and "The Dwarves Come Clean" released by Epitaph during the 1990s cemented the Dwarves reputation as hardcore heroes while introducing a pop sensibility that both titillated and confounded their fans. Appearances on television and radio, soundtracks for films and dvds and tours throughout Europe, Japan and the world have warped a whole new generation of Dwarves fans, proving once again that the scum also rises.
The Queers are a pop punk band from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, formed in 1982. Singer/Guitarist/Songwriter Joe King has been the principal member of the group, with a vast number of musicians cycling in and out of the band over the years. Supposedly, the band name 'Queers' was used simply to poke fun at what he called the "Art Fag" community in NH. That same brand of humor and inanity has become a staple of The Queers music, who have produced songs such as "Can't Stop Farting", "Born to Do Dishes", and "I Didn't Get Invited To The Prom" in their own Ramones-esque style. While some punk rock bands attempt to use their music to impart a social or political message, King has made it clear that The Queers exist simply to play punk rock for the fun of it. The Queers play a Ramones style of pop punk with songs about girls and beer.

Out today - Danish band Kissaway Trail release Breach

Denmark's Kissaway Trail Album Breach Released Today via Yep Roc Records 
(iTunes HERE and Amazon HERE + album download available on request)

"The Springsteen Implosion" video HERE



"It's strange that a band with a core of only three members would evoke the sounds of sprawling acts like the Polyphonic Spree and Arcade Fire, but that's exactly the kind of magic that Danish trio Kissaway Trail pull off on Breach." - All Music

""The Springsteen Implosion" is a hazy song with great acoustics and echoing vocals that remind us why we fell in love with The Kissaway Trail to start out with." - FILTER Magazine


Today, Denmark's Kissaway Trail release their album Breach via Yep Roc Records.  FILTER Magazine revealed their epic track "The Springsteen Implosion" earlier, which you can hear/share HERE. USA tour dates to be announced shortly.
To mangle a phrase, that which does not kill a band makes it stronger. Internal strife and artistic tumult force a group to define their sound, refocus their objectives, and calibrate their dreams. Out of this, one of two things happen: the band breaks up, or they come storming out of the gate, full of a new energy reflected in their work. Happily, the latter is exactly what happened to Danish trio Kissaway Trail, and on their third record, Breach , we hear the remarkable results.

Formed in Denmark in 2005, Kissaway Trail initially consisted of five members. Led by the dual singing and songwriting of guitar players Søren Corneliussen and Thomas Fagerlund, the band fused the fiery atonal rock of acts such as the Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana with the ethereal thump of the Flaming Lips and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The result was two well-received records – 2007’s self-titled debut and 2010’s Sleep Mountain – that consolidated their reputation as a band to watch. Extensive touring established their live rep, and the group seemed poised to make their third, crucial album. Then, everything exploded, as tensions within the band’s direction hastened the departure of two of the five members. By 2012, the remaining three – Corneliussen, Fagerlund, and Hasse Mydtskov on drums – had spent time getting to know each other and their music again, and headed into the studio fresh, excited, and rejuvenated. “With this new unity,” says Mydtskov, “we were able to be more open with each other, more vulnerable, and really find out what we wanted to do. And what we wanted to do was much more straight ahead than the first two records, more aggressive, more in-your-face.”

And how. Breach is a statement of sharp-angled, dreamy pop-rock purpose. Whereas the tracks off their first two records had as much whisper as weight, on Breach the group gets right up in your ears to tell the tale of change and transformation. Right from the first lines of the opening track, “Telly the Truth,”you can hear a more confessional, stripped-down sound that reflects the trio’s through-the-tempest experiences of the past three years. Or take, for example, a track like “The Springsteen Implosion,” which combines the chugging atonality of Daydream Nation-era Sonic Youth with the vocal heroics and sonic scope of U2. At the same time, tracks like the haunted “Beauty Still Rebels” show Breach’s spirit of experimentation, with a sensibility as much Bowie as Jesus and Mary Chain. Taken together, the collection shows a band that’s worked through the kinks to find a sound that’s lean yet expansive, massive yet intimate, smart yet visceral.

The record’s release will find the band heading out on the road for an extensive reintroduction to points far and wide of their Danish homeland, to go once more into the Breach and show off their innovative, catchy, and fierce sound.
 
(photo credit: Thomas Fagerlund)

FREE TO SHARE:
"The Springsteen Implosion" HERE
“Nørrebro” VIDEO HERE
“Nørrebro” HERE
iTunes:  http://bit.ly/12fzCH3 Amazon:  http://amzn.to/18qCLVG
https://www.facebook.com/kissawaytrail
https://twitter.com/KissawayTrail
https://soundcloud.com/kissaway-trail
http://www.youtube.com/artist/the-kissaway-trail
Yep Roc Records

Forest Fire's "Alone With The Wires" Streaming At Stereogum

Forest Fire's "Alone With The Wires" Streaming At StereogumNew Album Screens Out September 10 On FatCat  Brooklyn Record Release Show October 5 At Glasslands    "Forest Fire recall the coterie of bands who either worked with Dave Fridmann or took cues from his production tactics in the late 1990s and early '00s-- groups that created studio-intensive, computerized folk that interacted with electronics while still being wary of their effect on human nature." - Pitchfork "The upcoming LP Screenshas been recorded with an outside engineer in a studio for the first time, making their washed-out sound more focused than ever before." - The Line Of Best Fit  Listen: "Alone With The Wires" via Stereogum or SoundCloud   
Stereogum has premiered a stream of Forest Fire's new track "Alone With The Wires" from the band's forthcoming album Screens out September 10 on FatCat. The track is also available to post and share via SoundCloud. Screens is available for pre-order now at Insound and Forest Fire has just announced a Brooklyn record release show which will take place on October 5 at Glasslands.    New York City's Forest Fire, led by vocalist/songwriter Mark Thresher, return this fall with Screens. With their third full-length, Forest Fire - now the quartet of Thresher, Natalie Stormann, Galen Bremer, and Robert Pounding - have found it.
"It" has been hinted at in previous releases - e.g. the howling languor of "Slow Motion", from the band's debut Survival (named one of Rough Trade Shops' top album of the year for 2010), or vitreous mid-tempo dejection ballad "The News" from 2011's FatCat issued Staring at the X ("You won't get far," Thresher sang, "with that look in your eyes") - but Screens is pure lightning.
After some lineup adjustments that left the band leaner and more centered, Forest Fire partnered with engineer Jonathan Schenke (Parquet Courts, Dirty Beaches) possibilities they'd before only touched on, and to enable their new songs to breathe and stretch out.
That stretching out is quite literal in the case of album centerpiece "Annie," an eleven- minute track that is wide but not sprawling, buoyed by motorik lope and ornate synths, that the band acknowledges owes a debt to the late '70s output of not only Kraftwerk but Yoko Ono, Joy Division, Laurie Anderson, and their ilk; Sandy Skoglund's iconic 1977 photograph Pink Sink is the cover.
From its darker, sparser, sonic landscapes, obsession with analog instrumentation, and movement-focused, heavily metaphorical lyrics, Screensfinds Forest Fire hewing to this mood. But for all the record's gratitude to the past, its aesthetic is just as much forward-looking, able to embrace the sunrise hooks of anthemic album opener "Waiting in the Night" and the Suicide-spooky synth-drone of "Cold Kind" as easily as "Alone with the Wires"'s jangly stride and Leonard Cohen-frosted vocal delivery. 
Screens Track List  1. Waiting in the Night 2. Yellow Roses3. Passengers4. Monorail          5. Cold Kind          6. Fixation7. Annie8. The Great Wall          9. Alone with the Wires10. Never Far        
For more info, please visit:
http://www.fatcat-usa.com/ http://forestfirenyc.com http://www.facebook.com/forestfirenyc