Zorch's "simplified" SXSW schedule a mere 9 shows, support HEALTH in April

Photo by Ben Aqua

"A sonic tornado of joyous electro-madness." -- Austin Chronicle Picks 2 Click (1 of 8 recommended SXSW performers.)

Austin, TX hyper-kinetic duo Zorch are well known for playing shows numbering in the double digits every year during SXSW -- in 2011 they played 19 times, in 2012 they played 20 times during the event. So, it may be surprising that they've scaled back this year to a comparatively sane 9 sets during this year's festival. 

Zorch will also play direct support to HEALTH in Austin in April. Please see all dates below. 

The band's full length debut Zzoorrcchh was released everywhere on CD, LP and download via

Sargent House on July 23rd, 2013. 

ZORCH LIVE:

03/08  Austin, TX @ Delta at Co-lab Project Space

03/10  Austin, TX @ YXSB at Chain Drive 

03/11  Austin, TX @ No Play Music at Cheer Up Charlie's (4:30pm)

03/11  Austin, TX @ Official Showcase at The North Door (11pm)

03/12  Austin, TX @ Local Gold at Spider House (5pm)

03/13  Austin, TX @ SXSWendys at Chain Drive 

03/14  Austin, TX @ Snax by Snax Wonderland at Wonderland (4pm)

03/14  Austin, TX @ Volcom Party at OK Mountain 

03/15  Austin, TX @ Breakthru Radio Day Show at The Liberty Bar (4:15pm)

04/16  Austin, TX @ Red 7 w/ HEALTH

Artist: Zorch Album: Zzoorrcchh Label: Sargent House Release Date: July 23, 2013 01. My Joy is Explosion 02. We All Die Young (STREAM) 03. It's Kind of a Deal Where... 04. This is the Way it Goes (STREAM) 05. Mutwa 06. Zut Alors 07. Inopportune Sailing 08. Cosmic Gloss 09. Oceans Dawn Follow Zorch on Twitter: @Zzoorrcchh On the Web: zzoorrcchh.com sargenthouse.com/zorch zorch.bandcamp.com facebook/pages/zorch

Austin quintet Equals share first track from forthcoming album, announce SXSW and regional shows

“The densely layered songs all have their distinctive storyboard of moods and textures, each one a lovely surprise yet all somehow melding together to form a cohesive, cinematic whole.” — My Old Kentucky Blog

“Equals might sound improvised here and there, but this is controlled, carefully arranged stuff.” — Austin American Statesman

Austin art rock quintet Equals share the first song from their forthcoming album today. The track, "Conveyor" is culled from the band's forthcoming debut album Tracts and is available to listen/share HERE.

Equals' music is dramatic, yet joyous and playful. The songs may sound simple at first, but complexity shines through after careful listening. Every song is meticulously arranged by bassist Alex Guzman, drummer Matt Toman, keyboardist Logan Wexler and guitarists Dylan Storey and Simon McDonald. Each part of every song -- from the angular pulsing rhythms to the crisp, eclectic samples -- has a purpose. The organic elements interweave with the synthetic elements, providing texture and layers that are extremely difficult to pull off live. Click tracks be damned, they fearlessly recreate multi-layered loops and samples, gracefully operating on the bleak notion that one wrong move can end a song in failure. Equals executes flawlessly, with character behind every note.

For Equals' debut full-length album Tracts, they joined producer Alex Bhore (This Will Destroy You) in the studio, recording nine songs, an expansion to their 2011 debut self-titled EP. The songs flow together, providing the soundtrack to a journey that feels forthcoming, unrealized until the final track. Unlike the band's previous EP, the album was recorded in one place at Cacophony Recorders in Austin and mixed at Elmwood Studios in Dallas, giving it a more cohesive sound. Working with Bhore again, their new offering is larger, more energetic, with a unique sonic palette of strings, glockenspiel, piano, analog synthesizers, various percussion instruments, field recordings and even vocals. 

Tracts has a bounty of subtle music treats that the members painstakingly buried beneath solid foundations. All these elements, and various other influences, from R&B to folk music, make up the band's sound, but trying to define Equals' music is like trying to define the five band members as one personality.

Tracts will be available on LP, CD and download on May 6th, 2014. Pre-sale orders can be made via the band's webstore.

EQUALS LIVE:

03/14  Austin, TX @ SXSW - Wonderland (Day Party) 

03/15  Austin, TX @ SXSW Official Showcase - Karma Lounge (1am)

04/10  San Antonio, TX @ 502 Bar

04/11  Austin, TX @ Empire Control Room

04/14  Corpus Christi, TX @ The NASA

Artist: Equals

Album: Tracts

Label: self-released

Release Date: May 6th, 2014

01. Conveyor (STREAM)

02. Slab Avalanche

03. Glistener

04. Telefoto

05. Autotelic

06. Rattle the Husks

07. Grand Paw

08. Sweat House

09. Reality Always Disappoints

On The Web:

facebook.com/equalstexas

equals.bandcamp.com

twitter.com/equalstexas

Australia's Sleepmakewaves' acclaimed debut mini-album to see worldwide release, first time on vinyl

Australian melodic instrumental rock quartet sleepmakeswaves announce plans today for the first time worldwide release of their acclaimed debut mini-album via England's Monotreme Records. The recording, in today already walks tomorrow will be issued for the first time ever on vinyl in a deluxe 180 gm package, as well as on CD and download.

The lead track "one day you will teach me to let go of my fears" is available to listen/share HERE.

sleepmakeswaves tour the UK and Europe in April-May. Please see complete dates below. 
The band's 2008 debut in today already walks tomorrow was the first glimpse of the Australian quartet on the global stage. Indeed, the viral success of lead track made such an impact that it catapulted the band to the top end of The Silent Ballet’s 2008 end-of-year list, clocked over 50,000 downloads and earned them a loyal following around the world. Such a reaction for a band only newly minted in their homeland suggested something special about their approach - with music so immediately evocative that it speaks to people on a universal level.

sleepmakeswaves’ dramatic and sumptuous approach to their craft is brilliantly showcased on this diverse record, which blends powerful, dynamic guitars and strings with impeccably constructed electronics. At times heavy and climactic; at times understated and quiet, but always with a keen sense of melody and songcraft at the heart,  in today already walks tomorrow truly merits the descriptions "lush" and "cinematic."

Previously only available digitally and as a limited import CD outside of Australia, the album will be re-issued worldwide excluding Australia and New Zealand on Monotreme Records, including a CD edition and a deluxe 180 gm black vinyl edition of 500 copies that includes a free poster and album CD in a printed card wallet inside - the first ever vinyl pressing. All orders from the label’s web shop will also include free sleepmakeswaves pins and stickers whilst supplies last.

Last year, the band's 2011 ARIA Award-nominated (Australia's equivalent of the Grammys) full-length debut album And So We Destroyed Everything was also re-issued by Monotreme Records in deluxe 2-CD and 2LP editions, bringing more of sleepmakeswaves’ fantastic music to a wider audience.

The band’s current lineup of guitarist Jonathan Khor, guitarist Otto Wicks-Green, drummer Tim Adderley and bassist Alex Wilson have spent the better part of the past 3 years touring the world, including performances at SXSW, Dunk! Festival and touring alongside bands such as Karnivool, Boris, 65daysofstatic, Tortoise and more. They have earned a devoted following around the world, for their innovative and expansive music, coupled with an electrifying live show that has seen them sell out venues across their homeland. Recently, Kat Morris, the director of Europe’s leading festival for new music, The Great Escape, included sleepmakeswaves in her "top 5 Australian bands" list.

SLEEPMAKESWAVES LIVE:

04/17 Belgium Hasselt - Muziek O Droom
04/18 Switzerland Bulle - Ebulition
04/19 Belgium Zottegem - Dunk! Festival
04/20 Switzerland Geneva - Graviere
04/22 Spain Barcelona - Razzmatazz
04/23 Spain Madrid - Moby Dick
04/24 France Clermont-Ferrand - La Coopérative de mai
04/26 France Dunkerque - 4 Ecluses
04/27 Germany Karlsruhe - Jubez
04/30 Sweden Gothenburg - Fangelsets
05/01 Sweden Orebro - Slöjdgatan
05/05 Poland Wroclaw - Klub Hydrozagadka
05/06 Hungary Budapest - Durer Kert
05/07 Czech Republic Praha - NoD Theater
05/08 Germany Stuttgart - Juha West
05/09 Germany Hannover - Cafe Glocksee
05/10 UK London - Beyond the Redshift Festival

Artist: sleepmakeswaves
Album: in today already walks tomorrow
Label: Monotreme Records
Release Date: April 08, 2014

01. I will write peace on your wings and you will fly over the world
02. exits to nowhere
03. one day you will teach me to let go of my fears (MP3)
04. so that the children will always shout her name
05. it's dark it's cold it's winter
06. what we cannot speak of, must be passed over in silence

Artist: sleepmakeswaves

Album: ...and so we destroyed everything

Label: Monotreme Records

Release Date: September 24, 2013

01. to you they are birds, to me they are voices in the forest

02. in limbs and joints (STREAM)

03. our time is short but your watch is slow

04. a gaze blank and pitiless as the sun

05. (hello) cloud mountain

06. now we rise and we are everywhere

07. we like you when you're awkward

08.  ...and so we destroyed everything

On The Web:

www.sleepmakeswaves.com

monotremerecords.com

Tim Larson premieres video from new album via Brooklyn Vegan

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"His dark pronouncements make even Nick Cave sound positively giddy by comparison." -- Blurt

Chicago songwriter Tim Larson premieres the first video from his sophomore album Vargar via Brooklyn Vegan today. The stark clip for the equally stark track "Don't Look Down" is available to watch/share HERE. Brooklyn vegan also recently premiered the tune "Chasing It", available to listen/share HERE. And previously, Larson shared the first track, "6" to kick off Midwestern tour dates. That song is available to stream/download HERE. The history of song, put simply, is at its heart our collective attempts at confronting entropy. As all things move toward their end; as relationships grow and break down, we use music either as an escape or as catharsis to soften the impact. Vargar, the sophomore album by Chicago songwriter Tim Larson explores a range of themes relating to "the end." Larson's stark, often blunt lyrics and weathered baritone shares similarities to Michael Gira (Swans, Angels of Light) and Mark Lanegan, while the music often takes a more direct, anthemic approach reminiscent of The National. And, there are also generous shades of hazy shoegaze guitar and moody gothic overtones wedded to song structures that are pure American folk/blues at heart. It's no surprise that Larson's varied influences connect the dots between Son House and Bauhaus. Larson has a college degree in music composition, being skilled at guitar, bass, mandolin, violin and piano. Born and raised in south side Chicago, he spent much of his college years touring as a member of the acclaimed Irish band The Drovers. In 2002, he retired from the band and has since been earning what we'd call an "honest living" in the asphalt business and pursuing his own music, releasing a solo debut No Weapons, No Allies in 2007, then with backing band The Owner/Operators for A New Deal and A Done Deal EP in 2011. Now, Larson returns as an eponymous solo artist. He's joined on Vargar by drummer Ryan Durdin, formerly of The Winter Sounds. Vargar (a Swedish word for wolves) was released on CD and download on February 4th, 2014.

Artist: Tim Larson Album: Vargar Label: Follow Death Release Date: February 4th, 2014 01) Chasing It (MP3) 02) 6 (MP3)  03) Dust 04) Don't Look Down (VIDEO) 05) Shadow 06) I Follow Death 07) Dark Outside 08) Vargar On The Web: followdeath.com timlarsonchicago.bandcamp.com twitter.com/ownroprtr

Qui stream entire new album, tour with Moistboyz starts this Friday

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"Qui are back at it, dosing their shreddy punk tantrums with arty aplomb and surprising harmony." -- SPIN

L.A. duo Qui are streaming their new album in its entirety starting today, with the LP and CD available in stores everywhere. Life, Water, Living... is available to stream/share HERE.

Hot on the heels of the album's release, Qui take to the road with fabled hard rock band Moistboyz (ex-Ween, Mondo Generator) on the west coast. Please see all dates below.

SPIN recently debuted two of the album's videos: The clip for "Mucho Sex in America" directed by Laban Pheidias (Justin Timberlake, Billie Joe & Norah Jones, et al.), available to watch/share HERE (direct Vimeo link). And, the exploration of inter-band bromance of "Whateryadoin?" available to watch/share HERE.

If the third full length by L.A. duo Qui sounds like a radical departure, you probably were never really listening properly in the first place. Sure, perfectly taut vocal harmonies and precise, sparse instrumentation supplants much of the band's early fume-huffing punk-noise here, but their penchant for challenging, button-pushing ideas is stronger than ever. Qui also employed harmonies and experimental structures on their previous album Love's Miracle (2007) with former vocalist David Yow (The Jesus Lizard). But, Life, Water, Living... is clearly the band's most meticulously refined effort at using melody and harmony as subversive weapons.

After a 5-year absence, Qui is once again back to the original duo formed in 2000 by drummer/vocalist Paul Christensen and guitarist/vocalist Matt Cronk. Life, Water, Living... features inventive song structures and warped pop sensibilities reminiscent of early Sparks and Frank Zappa with Queen-style harmonies... or something like if Badfinger were the Melvins. Throughout, it's an album that subtly commands attention as it shifts from a soft whisper to a chuckle to a scream.

Life, Water, Living... was produced by renowned engineer Toshi Kasai and Melvins drummer Dale Crover at Entourage Studios in Los Angeles. The album will be available February 25th, 2014 on LP, CD and download in partnership with Cobraside Distribution.

QUI LIVE:

02/28  Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite *
03/01  San Francisco, CA @ Slim's *
03/03  Mill Valley, CA @ Sweetwater Music Hall *
03/04  Arcata, CA @ Humboldt Brews *
03/06  Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge *
03/07  Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern *
03/08  Portland, OR @ Porch Couch
03/09  Spokane, WA @ Mootsy's
03/12  Oakland, CA @ Eli's Mile High Club
03/13  Long Beach, CA @ Alex's Bar
03/14  San Deigo, CA @ Tower Bar
03/15  Las Vegas, NV @ Double Down

* w/ Moistboyz

Artist: Qui Album:  Life, Water, Living... Label: Cobraside Distribution Release Date: February 25th, 2014 01. Kicked Out of Mime College 02. Life, Water, Living 03. Mucho Sex in America (VIDEO) 04. Awkward Human Interest (VIDEO) 05. Boogie Down Disappointment 06. The Kind of Jazz This Is 07. Proof of Bass 08. Songbirds 09. You're a Girl 10. Whateryadoin? (VIDEO) 11. Ham Spray On The Web: www.facebook.com/quiband quiband.bandcamp.com twitter.com/quiband

Barrows premiere multi-track live performance video via Exclaim from forthcoming album

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Los Angeles instrumental rock quartet Barrows announce the forthcoming release of their sophomore album Red Giant today with the premiere of a live multi-track audio, multi-camera performance video via Exclaim! The clip for this version of the album track "Beyond" is available to watch/share HERE. (Alternate YouTube link.) 

Red Giant is fittingly massive in thematic scope as it is in sonic heft. A concept album about the life of a star and what happens after it dies, the band depicts the stages of celestial death throughout the album’s five epic tracks. Akin to similarly expansive musical works like Pink Floyd’s Meddle, Tangerine Dream’s Stratosfear, King Crimson's Red and a light dose of sci-fi soundtracks, Barrows build upon entrancing, circling riffs and rhythms intercut with explosive peaks and brilliant subtlty.

To capture this sweeping endeavor, the band teamed up with revered engineer Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Tool), hunkering down for several months at Kasai’s newly built North Hollywood studio. The resulting 5-track, 40-minute album was mastered by Chris Common (Palms, Pelican) and will be available on LP and download on May 6th. 

Opening track “Nebula” sets up the album’s cinematic feel, starting with a hushed, distant layer of white noise as we slowly draw closer to the song’s gurgling notes. Softly plucked guitar lines materialize, rising and fading in the mix as drummer Richy Epolito’s driving beat veers into a wash of guitarist Jim Leonard’s tremolo-soaked strings cascading from the speakers. The album’s title track takes the proceedings up several notches to depict the final stages of the star, with a forcefully pulsating tom drum beat, chiming and wailing guitar notes circling around heavily distorted, rumbling bass notes. The drop followed by a huge delay swell at the end of the song is the sound of the star exploding and becoming a supernova. Transitioning into “Black Hole,” the energy remains strong as the instruments astonishingly create a dizzying feeling that we’re being pulled into an endless abyss. “Wormhole” follows from there, turning more upbeat and psychedelic, reminiscent of The Mars Volta’s early prog-explorations with Epolito’s masterful, endlessly rolling and rollicking beat and the ever-shifting wah-pedal warped guitar lines pushing and pulling in many directions. Finally, “Beyond” is the sound of us exiting the wormhole into a strange and unknown dimension. Beginning with clean tones and an interwoven bass and drum pattern, the tune progressively becomes darker and heavier while remaining rhythmic and mysterious. 

Throughout Red Giant the tracks segue smoothly from one to another, creating an album that’s best experienced as a whole, but equally filled with powerful standalone moments.

BARROWS LIVE:

03/22  Los Angeles, CA @ Bonnerhaus

Artist: Barrows Album:  Red Giant Label: Barrows Recordings Release Date: May 6th, 2014 01. Nebula 02. Red Giant 03. Black Hole 04. Wormhole 05. Beyond (VIDEO) On The Web: www.facebook.com/BarrowsTheBand www.youtube.com/user/BarrowsTheBand barrowstheband.bandcamp.com

Modern Rivals premiere new track via Pitchfork from forthcoming album

Brooklyn indie pop quartet Modern Rivals premiere a new song from their forthcoming album today via Pitchfork. The track, "Pins and Stitches" is culled from the band's lush and charming 10-song full length Cemetery Dares out this spring and is available to listen/share HERE.  The band previously shared the album track "The Dead Leaves" via PopMatters and it's available to listen/share HERE.  Modern Rivals seem somewhat fittingly named for their transcendent psychedelic pop that both evokes antique 60s mod optimism, while also sounding defiantly current with their experimental edge.  Modern Rivals' ethereal and dextrous songs share the buttoned-up charm of 60s psych-pop bands like The Zombies, mixed with more technically crafty contemporary artists like Minus The Bear and TTNG. Then, all of the elements are given the Nigel Godrich dreamscape approach in which no single sound is exactly what it seems. There is a delicate warmth to Modern Rivals' songs emanating from every meticulously placed note.  Album opener "Angel Bones" opens with a simple melody of synth pipe organ notes as vocalist/guitarist Erick Lee softly sings a nearly falsetto harmony over the top as keyboardist/vocalist Alex Schiff, guitarist Mickey Novak, drummer Alex Raderman and bassist Patrick Smith carefully settle into the groove until a brief pause explodes into a frenzy of wailing guitars, cascading keyboard notes and pounding drums. "The Dead Leaves" kicks off with harmonized vocals interwoven with effected guitar notes akin to latter day Flaming Lips that quickly flit into warm, yet threadbare vocals/drums verse reminiscent of the breathy, emotional dynamics of The Beach Boys. Elsewhere, tracks like "Pins and Stitches" and "Yvaine" veer into Beach House dreampop territory, but the band's stellar musicianship is never lost in the reverb-soaked haze. And, songs like "Dig Up The Sunset" and "In Tuxedo" remind us of the slippery and elusive melodies The Shins once had.  Modern Rivals first formed because there was a plague of skinny-necked young men in collared shirts strumming acoustic guitars everywhere they looked and listened in their hometown of St Louis, MO. So they began plotting and playing together in a spacious apartment, trying to think of better ways to use electricity and strings and sticks and skin to make sounds that could beat back this plague. Sometimes they drank outrageously and did their best impressions of Spencer Krug, sometimes they fought vigorously and bare-fisted in a concrete basement, sometimes they split their fingers open on instruments - but eventually they won. To celebrate, Modern Rivals moved to New York. They made enough noise and moved enough hearts that some nice things were written about them. More and more people came to watch them sing and dance, and some of these people could even sing and dance along. To increase the ease of singing and dancing along, Modern Rivals spent a dozen days in a freezing recording studio filled with rare books and a sonic wizard named Slick. Immediately afterwards, they survived tuberculosis, bed bugs, and Derrick Rose exploding his second knee. But now, their mental and physical fortitude reformed, Modern Rivals will begin sharing their music with anyone who wants to listen and performing it for anyone who wants to watch. Cemetery Dares is Modern Rivals' first album, and the culmination of the aforementioned triumphs and tribulations. Cemetery Dares will be available on LP, CD and download on April 22nd, 2014.  MODERN RIVALS LIVE: 02/26  Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory 04/22  Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands (album release show)

Artist: Modern Rivals Album:  Cemetery Dares Label: Muy Guapo Release Date: April 22nd, 2014 01. Angel Bones 02. Dead Leaves (Danse Macabre Midnight) (MP3) 03. Dig Up The Sunset 04. Yvaine 05. The Ice 06. Somnipath 07. Moon Dust 08. A Shade Hesitating 09. In Tuxedo 10. Pins and Stitches (STREAM) On The Web: www.facebook.com/ModernRivals modernrivals.bandcamp.com