Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Russian Circles premiere first MP3 from forthcoming new album via Rolling Stone

Photo credit: Chris Strong


Chicago trio Russian Circles premiere the first MP3 from their forthcoming new album today via RollingStone.com. The song, "Mladek" is culled from the band's fourth full length, Empros which will be available worldwide via Sargent House on October 25th. Listen/download "Mladek" HERE

The hard working band remains on the road this Fall with North American headlining shows in October & November -- including a performance on the Black Stage at the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX on November 4th. The tour concludes with a hometown Chicago show on December 3rd at Lincoln Hall. More tour dates will be announced soon.

Russian Circles return with not only their fourth and heaviest album to date -- but also with Empros they're poised to take the crown as innovators reinvigorating the staid trappings of genre. Empros picks up where the anthemic riffs and melodies of 2009's Geneva left off and injects evermore slithering rhythms amid skull-crushing heft with all the visceral intensity of Godflesh, Swans and Neurosis. Put simply, Empros is Russian Circles' Master of Reality: a radical revision of both heavy and melody that is monolithic in its clarity and perfection. Or, like a lone surviving wooly beast emerging from a brutal winter's frost, Empros is the sound of a band shaking the ages from its shoulders with all the brutal force of a behemoth awakened. 

Taking to Chicago's Phantom Manor studio once again with producer Brandon Curtis of The Secret Machines & Interpol -- who also helmed the band's previous album Geneva -- Russian Circles set out to experiment with their sound in new ways that would still reflect their live sound. In so doing, the band reached a new creative apex in which each of the musicians, guitarist Mike Sullivan, drummer Dave Turncrantz and bassist Brian Cook impart a streamlined and intensified attack to their songs that pummels even as it shifts throughout a range of moods and tempos.

The album opens with an imposing mechanical drone leading into funereal guitar notes that are abruptly interrupted by a propulsive drum beat as the proceedings of "309" erupt into something akin to a neo-industrial revision of Celtic Frost. The song lunges through nearly 9 minutes of masterful rhythmic shifts and brutal guitar warfare with such assertive grace it sounds as though the band is throwing down a gauntlet defying all challengers. "Mladek" kicks off with the soaring notes of Sullivan's signature hammer-on guitar arpeggios as Cook's volume-swelling bass notes surge like bubbling molten lava. Turncrantz's innovative rephrasing of the drum pattern elevates the song as it slinks from part to part, guided by the syncopated chatter traded between chiming guitar notes and churning bass. Elsewhere, there are beautiful moments of melodic respite, helping to underscore the album's majestic strength. And, there may even be a few surprises awaiting within the album's six tracks. There are riffs, yes -- many of them. But, with Empros the entire band seems to be the embodiment of the riff itself.

Empros is Russian Circles' first full-length to be released worldwide exclusively via Sargent House, the band's longtime management company and record label that had previously released only the vinyl editions of its three prior albums. It will be available everywhere on LP, CD and Download on October 25th, 2011. 


RUSSIAN CIRCLES LIVE: 

11/04  Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest - Auditorium Shores 

12/03  Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall


Artist: Russian Circles
Album: Empros
Label: Sargent House
Release date: October 25th, 2011

Track list:
01. 309
02. Mladek (MP3)
03. Schipol
04. Atackla
05. Batu
06. Praise Be Man












On the Web:

Album stream:  Geneva
Album stream: Station 

Hi-res photos, album art, bio and more:


Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Zechs Marquise new album Getting Paid available today, premiere new MP3 and promo video



Click image above to watch album teaser video


The Mars Volta sibling band Zechs Marquise release their new album, Getting Paid today. The El Paso quintet, currently on a short headlining tour of the Southwest, also premiere a new MP3, "Mega Slap" today via RCRD LBL. Check out the MP3 HERE. Stream full album HERE.


Zechs Marquise play an album release party in Los Angeles on Wednesday, September 28th at The Airliner. Tour dates supporting Thursday will be announced soon. Please see complete dates below. 



The band also recently posted a series of video teasers comprised of snippets from several album tracks. Watch the primary clip HERE and the final, semi-NSFW entry HERE



Zechs Marquise, the El Paso, TX quintet are back with their sophomore album Getting Paid, bringing an intensified swagger to the band's multifaceted psych-prog haze for their most aggressive and versatile effort to date. "We liked that hip-hop attitude," explains drummer Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez of the album title. "Getting your piece, taking yours." And, Getting Paid certainly finds the band fully taking charge of their musical destiny. 

In the years since their auspicious 2009 debut Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare, Zechs Marquise toured extensively throughout the U.S., proving to be a formidable live act supporting Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group and RX Bandits as well as leading their own headlining tours. Zechs Marquise have also grown considerably in other ways. Recent addition Rikardo Rodriguez-Lopez on keyboards and trumpet joins his brothers, drummer Marcel and bassist Marfred alongside guitarists Matthew Wilkson and Marcos Smith contributing to the band's expanded sound. Not only have they reached new plateaus of entrancing riffs and rhythms, but Getting Paid also integrates vocals on select songs, including guest performances by vocalist/guitarist Matthew Embree and El Paso singer Sonny Baker.

Getting Paid is available everywhere on LP/CD/Download on September 27th on Rodriguez Lopez Productions via Sargent House.

ZECHS MARQUISE LIVE:
09/27  San Diego, CA @ The Casbah *
09/28  Los Angeles, CA @ The Airliner - Album Release Party
10/07  El Paso, TX @ San Carlos Building (La Parada) 

* w/ ME & LP



Artist: Zechs Marquise
Title: Getting Paid
Label: Rodriguez Lopez Productions

Release Date: September 27th, 2011



01. Getting Paid

02. Lock Jaw Night Vision

03. Static Lovers (MP3)

04. The Heat, The Drought, The Thirst, and The Insanity
05. Time Masters
06. Guajira
07. Everlasting Beacon of Light (MP3)
08. Crushin' It!
09. Mega Slap (MP3)






Hi-res cover art, photos and bio:

On The Web:

Members of Zechs Marquise are available for interviews. For more information, please contact Dave Clifford at dave@usthemgroup.com


Thursday, September 22, 2011

Fang Island remix the Joy Formidable, both bands touring East Coast together now



"Honest and life-affirming and infectious, and it's that rare concentration of directness and simplicity that makes Fang Island so uniquely and wonderfully inclusive." Best New Music -- Pitchfork 

"Fang Island are simply killer fun, a proper gang who sing collectively and pummel their guitars without recourse to errant soloing." Four Stars -- MOJO



Perpetually positive guitar heroes Fang Island have remixed a song by Welsh shoegaze band The Joy Formidable. Pitchfork posts the wacky remix to the song "Cradle (Fang Island Remix)" today HERE. Both bands play a series of East Coast shows together beginning this weekend. Please see complete dates below.  

Fang Island is currently at work on the followup to their 2010 debut album, planned for release in early 2012. Their self-titled debut landed amid a wealth of praise from press, with many writers declaring it one of the Best of 2010, just two months into the new year. Since the album's release, the band has spent most of the past year on the road, including tours with The Flaming Lips, Stone Temple Pilots, Matt & Kim, et al. Check out MP3s for two tracks from the band's first album, "Daisy" (MP3 HERE) and "Life Coach" (MP3 HERE). Or, stream the entire album HERE.

.  
FANG ISLAND LIVE  
09/10 - Pawtucket, RI @ Machines With Magnets 
09/21 - Washington DC @ Red Palace
09/23 - Durham, NC @ Tremont Music Hall
09/24 - Atlanta, GA @ The Drunken Unicorn
09/25 - Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum #
09/26 - West Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern #
09/28 - Carborro, NC @ Cat's Cradle #
09/29 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall #
09/30 - Rochester, NY @ Club at Water Street Music Hall #
10/05 - Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands  

# w/ The Joy Formidable    

Artist: Fang Island
Album: Limited Edition 7"
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: November 1st, 2010

01. Sideswiper
02. Dreamboys Club (DJ Phil Screwcuru remix)
03. Patterns On The Wall (feat. Andrew W.K.) (MP3)
04. Sidepiper (DJ Phil Screwcuru remix)







Artist: Fang Island
Album: Fang Island
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: February 23, 2010

01. Dreams of Dreams
02. Careful Crossers (VIDEO)
03. Daisy (MP3) (VIDEO)
04. Life Coach (MP3) (VIDEO)
05. Sideswiper
06. The Illinois
07. Treeton
08. Davey Crockett
09. Welcome Wagon
10. Dorian

Hi-Res photos, cover art and bio:

On the Web: 

Members of Fang Island are available for interviews. For more information, please contact Dave Clifford at dave@usthemgroup.com

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Zechs Marquise premiere second song from forthcoming album, announce Southwest headlining tour dates


Click image above to watch album teaser video

The Mars Volta sibling band Zechs Marquise premiere another track from their forthcoming new album, Getting Paid today via ALARM Press. The song, "Static Lovers" is available HERE. The quintet also launches a short headlining tour of the Southwest next week, culminating in an album release party in Los Angeles on Wednesday, September 28th at The Airliner. Please see complete dates below. 

The band also recently posted a series of video teasers comprised of snippets from several album tracks. Watch the primary clip HERE and the latest entry HERE

Another song, "Everlasting Beacon of Light" -- featuring guest vocals by Matthew Embree  -- was released in August and is available for download/streaming HERE.

Zechs Marquise, the El Paso, TX quintet are back with their sophomore album Getting Paid, bringing an intensified swagger to the band's multifaceted psych-prog haze for their most aggressive and versatile effort to date. "We liked that hip-hop attitude," explains drummer Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez of the album title. "Getting your piece, taking yours." And, Getting Paid certainly finds the band fully taking charge of their musical destiny. 

In the years since their auspicious 2009 debut Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare, Zechs Marquise toured extensively throughout the U.S., proving to be a formidable live act supporting Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group and RX Bandits as well as leading their own headlining tours. Zechs Marquise have also grown considerably in other ways. Recent addition Rikardo Rodriguez-Lopez on keyboards and trumpet joins his brothers, drummer Marcel and bassist Marfred alongside guitarists Matthew Wilkson and Marcos Smith contributing to the band's expanded sound. Not only have they reached new plateaus of entrancing riffs and rhythms, but Getting Paid also integrates vocals on select songs, including guest performances by vocalist/guitarist Matthew Embree and El Paso singer Sonny Baker.

The album was entirely produced and engineered by Marcel. "We started off recording percussion to sequencers and loops," he explains. "I chopped those sounds up and arranged them. From there, were wrote the album with each of us coming in and playing on top of it. Kind of like a hip-hop song." Considering the hectic tour schedules of both Zechs Marquise and The Mars Volta (in which Marcel plays keyboards and percussion), the band was forced to work on the album over an extended period of time in between both band's tours. "It gave us a lot of time to get perspective on the songs," Marfred says. "We're really happy with and proud of this record."

Once all parts were composed using the studio as a tool, the band re-recorded the album live. "We wanted something to represent our live energy," says Marfred. 

"The album cover is a play on Blacksploitation soundtrack art and stuff like (Miles Davis') Bitches Brew cover," Marfred explains. "We wanted our own weird take on it." Likewise, Getting Paid is throughout a wickedly wild take on elder forms of free jazz, skronk excursions, proto-funk and psychedelia with assertive tones and rhythms. 

Getting Paid will be available everywhere on LP/CD/digital on September 27th on Rodriguez Lopez Productions via Sargent House

ZECHS MARQUISE LIVE:
09/24  El Paso, TX @ Low Brow Palace 
09/25  Mesa, AZ @ The Underground *
09/26  Los Angeles, CA @ Cheetahs
09/27  San Diego, CA @ The Casbah *
09/28  Los Angeles, CA @ The Airliner - Album Release Party
10/07  El Paso, TX @ San Carlos Building (La Parada) 

* w/ ME & LP


Artist: Zechs Marquise
Title: Getting Paid
Label: Rodriguez Lopez Productions
Release Date: September 27th, 2011

01. Getting Paid
02. Lock Jaw Night Vision
03. Static Lovers (MP3)
04. The Heat, The Drought, The Thirst, and The Insanity
05. Time Masters
06. Guajira
07. Everlasting Beacon of Light (MP3)
08. Crushin' It!
09. Mega Slap






Hi-res cover art, photos and bio:

On The Web:

Members of Zechs Marquise are available for interviews. For more information, please contact Dave Clifford at dave@usthemgroup.com


Monday, September 19, 2011

Fops premiere video from new mini-album, plus, fan video contest and free MP3

Click image above to watch video 





"A fully immersed listening experience, filled with motorik rhythms and glistening electronic melodies, which couple neatly with a songcraft reminiscent of Echo and The Bunnymen or The Smiths." -- The Skinny UK

"They've crafted highly contagious, radioactive content, influenced by syncopated electronic music and the music they loved from the '80s. Fops does it right." -- Ink19



Fops, the Bay Area superduo featuring Thee More Shallows singer Dee Kesler and Ral Partha Vogalbacher lyricist Chadwick Donald Bidwell premiere the first video from their new mini-album, For Centuries today via Consequence of Sound. The clip for the song "Cheater Carolina" is available HERE

The band's 7-song, 43-minute EP is now available as a limited edition cassette (with letterpress insert by Bidwell) and digital download via Monotreme Records (65Daysofstatic, Nedry, Barzin) and Fops' Facebook page.

An MP3 for the track "Cheater Carolina" is available HERE. Fops are also giving their fans the opportunity to choose the song and storyline of a video made by the band for any of the songs from For Centuries, aside from "Cheater Carolina." Just email proof of purchase (of a single track or the whole EP) to fopsvideocontest AT gmail DOT com. Include your idea, however awesome or terrible, by October 1st 2011, and if it's chosen they will turn your idea into a video. 

Fops' debut CD/LP, Yeth, Yeth, Yeth was released worldwide in Fall 2010 via UK label Monotreme Records. Many of the songs on For Centuries were culled from their first album's sessions. These tracks are mostly bedroom pop, sounding like Conny Plank producing Darklands era Jesus & Mary Chain or a closeted Ultravox. The mini-album's themes include artifact obsession, villains contemplating their lives as they fall from the sky, the killing of defenseless creatures, and the yearning for ancestral homes.  



Artist: Fops
Album: For Centuries 
Label: Monotreme Records
Release Date: September 5th, 2011

01. Countless Songs
02. Cheater Carolina (MP3) (VIDEO)
03. I Shot A Parakeet
04. Fops On Tour
05. Dolive Dreams
06. I Shot A Parakeet Too
07. Ronald Wilson Reagan

Artist: Fops
Album: Yeth, Yeth, Yeth
Label: Monotreme Records
Release Date: September 27th, 2010

01. Yellow Jacket Corpse (VIDEO)
02. Black Boar
03. Scandinavian Preppy
04. Ghost Town Hall
05. Loch Haven
06. Solid Copper Huntress (MP3)
07. Glass Blower
08. Amazing Corpse
09. Maple Mountain (MP3)
10. Dragomirov On The Dancefloor
11. Black Boar, Pt. II

Hi-Res photos, cover art and bio:

On the Web:


Fops are available for interviews. For more information, please contact Dave Clifford at dave@usthemgroup.com

Friday, September 16, 2011

Good Old War announce Fall headlining dates, new album in early 2012




Philadelphia’s Good Old War will embark on their first headlining dates in over a year, having spent the past twelve months building an eclectic and passionate following by opening for artists like Alison Krauss, Guster, Joshua Radin, Brandi Carlile, Xavier Rudd and Dr. Dog.  

The Wall Street Journal has described the band’s past year as a “dream season.” It further lauds, “to catch Good Old War in concert is to witness a joyous thing.”  Further acclaim has been building for the band, with NPR best summarizing, “As the band alternately brings to mind images of 1960s doo-wop, whimsical folk and indie rock, Good Old War deserves credit for making simply appealing music full of great hooks.”  Good Old War has quietly sold over 40,000 albums since their debut release in the fall of 2008.

Good Old War has finished recording their third album, which is currently scheduled for a February 2012 release via Sargent House.  It was recorded in Omaha with producer Jason Cupp. 

The trio will embark on a full tour of the USA this winter.

November 16              Anthology                    San Diego, CA*
November 17              Downtown Brew         San Luis Obispo, CA*
November 18              Bottom of the Hill        San Francisco, CA*
November 19              Troubadour                  Los Angeles, CA*
November 21              Soiled Dove                 Denver, CO 
December 09              Higher Ground            Burlington, VT+
December 10              Brighton Music Hall   Boston, MA+
December 11              Port City Music Hall   Portland, ME+
December 13              Ottobar                         Baltimore, MD+
December 14              Maxwell’s                     Hoboken, NJ+
December 16              Bell House                   Brooklyn, NY+
December 17              Mowhawk Place         Buffalo, NY+
December 18              House of Blues           Cleveland, OH+
December 20              Altar Bar                       Pittsburgh, PA+

* with ME & LP 
+ with Levi Lowery

Artist: Good Old War  
Album: Good Old War 
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: June 1st, 2010  

01. GOOD
02. Here Are The Problems
03. My Own Sinking Ship
04. Making My Life
05. OLD
06. That's Some Dream (VIDEO)
07. Sneaky Louise
08. Get Some
09. While I'm Away
10. Woody's Hood Boogie Woogie
11. My Name's Sorrow
12. World Watching
13. I Should Go
14. Thinking of You
15. WAR





On the Web:



Members of Good Old War are available for interviews. For more information, please contact Dave Clifford at dave@usthemgroup.com

Friday, September 9, 2011

Le Butcherettes to support Iggy & The Stooges, Flaming Lips, plus North American headlining dates and Fun Fun Fun Fest


Click image above to watch video


"Sin Sin Sin is absolutely necessary and essential." 4/4 stars -- WBEZ, Jim DeRogatis

"They've created an album that both lives up to the legend of the live performance and also informs it. Imagine the innovation of the Locust infused into pop songs that clock in past one minute with a frontwoman who doesn't give a shit if you like her politics." -- Bust Magazine

"Down, dirty and dingy, Le Butcherettes are the kind of band that you'd find carousing at the dirty end of a dive bar at four a.m. on a Monday." -- Rolling Stone 
  
"Her voice is a dexterous thing, as she knows how to shade a yell with hints of scorn, sarcasm, slyness or whatever the moment calls for. Her rhythm section does plenty of heavy lifting as well, opening up the floor to let Suaréz bounce, run and level all sorts of abuse on her guitar. Before all is said and done, she punctuates the set to a close with a monstrous howl and topples onto a photographer.." -- LA Times


The rampantly raved-about garage-punk trio Le Butcherettes announce a slew of shows for the Fall, including support dates with Iggy & The Stooges and the Flaming Lips, as well as the band's first headlining shows on the East Coast and Chicago. The band will also perform at this year's  Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX on November 6th. Please see complete dates below. 

Le Butcherettes' critically-praised debut album Sin Sin Sin is available to STREAM HERE. Check out MP3s for other album tracks, "Henry Don't Got Love" HERE and "New York" HERE.

Teri Gender Bender -- a recent transplant to L.A. from Guadalajara, Mexico -- gives Le Butcherettes a brazen intensity and playful, hook-laden simplicity that hacks to pieces all forms of pretension and excess. Upon relocating to Los Angeles in late 2010, Teri recruited renowned drummer Gabe Serbian (The Locust) and bassist Jonathan Hischke (Hella, Broken Bells) to round out the lineup.

The band's songs and wildly cathartic live shows often draw comparisons to Karen O, Patti Smith Bikini Kill and other female-fronted rock groups. But, there's a theatricality to Le Butcherettes that brings a further reaching sense of mystery and imagery to the band. For more on the band's impressive back story, see the complete bio HERE

Le Butcherettes' full length debut, Sin Sin Sin was produced by Omar Rodriguez Lopez, who also plays bass on all of the album's tracks, and issued the album May 10th, 2011 on Rodriguez Lopez Productions via Sargent House


LE BUTCHERETTES - SEPTEMBER 2011
09/14  Sacramento, CA @ Harlow's
09/15  Reno, NV @ St. James Infirmary (FREE 21+)
09/17  Magna, UT @ The Great Saltair **
09/19  Eagle, ID @ Eagle River Pavillion **
09/20  Portland, OR @ Keller Auditorium **
09/21  Puyallup, WA @ Puyallup State Fair **
09/23  Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown
09/24  Nahcotta, WA @ Clam Shack (FREE)

** w/ The Flaming Lips

LE BUTCHERETTES - NOVEMBER 2011
11/01  New York, NY @ Santos Party Haus
11/02  Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy
11/03  Baltimore, MD @ TBA
11/04  Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
11/06  Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Festival

LE BUTCHERETTES - DECEMBER 2011
12/01  Los Angeles, CA @ The Palladium #
12/04  San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield #
12/06  San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield #

# w/ Iggy & The Stooges
Artist: Le Butcherettes
Album: Sin Sin Sin
Label: Rodriguez Lopez Productions
Release Date: May 10th, 2011

01. Tonight
02. New York(MP3) (VIDEO)
03. Henry Don't Got Love (MP3)
04. Leibniz Language
05. Bang!
06. All You See in Me is Death
07. I'm Getting Sick Of You(MP3)
08. Riko's Smooth Talking Mother
09. The Actress That Ate Rousseau
10. Tainted in Sin
11. Dress Off
12. Empty Dimes
13. Mr. Tolstoi

Artist: Le Butcherettes
Album: iTunes Live: SXSW 
Label: Rodriguez Lopez Productions
Release Date: March 18th, 2011

01. The Devil Lived (STREAM)
02. New York
03. The Leibniz Language
04. Dress Off
05. Breathe You In
06. Gold Notebook (STREAM)














Hi-Res photos, cover art and bio:

On the Web: