Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Zechs Marquise announce co-headlining dates with And So I Watch You From Afar



"Forget the Van Halens, if you want to know about a true musical dynasty, look no further than the Rodriguez-Lopez's! In between Omar, Marcel, and Marfred, these talented hermanos are changing the face of free-form jamming." -- MTV Tres
"Thrusting listeners into chase scenes through psychedelic dreamscapes is nothing new for El Paso prog rock instrumentalists Zechs Marquise. However, the major difference on Getting Paid isn't the fear of being chased, but of what's running up behind you." -- Los Angeles Times

The Mars Volta sibling band Zechs Marquise announce summer co-headlining North American dates with Northern Ireland's And So I Watch You From Afar. Following the band's recent
stint as main support for At The Drive-In's reunion tour, Zechs Marquise joins ASIWYFA on June 30th to kick off the extensive tour in Anaheim, CA. Please see complete dates below. 

Consequence of Sound recently premiered the video for "Everlasting Beacon of Light" -- a standout track from the band's latest album, Getting Paid -- featuring surprise cameos, some very intense and very real gangster dudes, animal-headed people in the desert and much more awesome weirdness. Directed by The 90s. Watch the VIDEO HERE.

Zechs Marquise also recently posted a live in-studio video session for Terroreyes.tv performing the title track to the album. Watch it on Vimeo or YouTube

RCRD LBL recently premiered an MP3 for album track "Mega Slap". Check out the MP3 HERE. Stream full album 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 At The Drive-In 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 was released on LP/CD/Download on September 27th on Rodriguez Lopez Productions via Sargent House.  

ZECHS MARQUISE & AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR - 2012
Jun 30 - Anaheim, CA  @ Chain Reaction
Jul 01 - San Diego, CA  @ The Casbah 
Jul 02 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room 
Jul 04 - San Antonio, TX  @ The White Rabbit 
Jul 05 - Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald's 
Jul 06 - Austin, TX @ Red 7 
Jul 07 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada 
Jul 08 - Norman, OK @ The Opolis
Jul 10 - St Louis, MO @ The Firebird 
Jul 11 - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen 
Jul 12 - Lansing, MI @ Mac's Bar 
Jul 13 - Toledo, OH  @ Mickey Finns 
Jul 14 - Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern 
Jul 16 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose 
Jul 17 - Louisville, KY @ Headliner's Music Hall 
Jul 18 - Nashville, TN @ 12th & Porter 
Jul 19 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade 
Jul 21 - St Petersburg, FL @ local 662 
Jul 22 - Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box 
Jul 24 - Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 
Jul 25 - Baltimore, MD @ Sonar 
Jul 26 - Cambridge, MA @ T.T. the Bears 
Jul 27 - New York City, NY @ The Studio at Webster Hall 
Jul 28 - Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie


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

01. Getting Paid (VIDEO - Vimeo) (VIDEO - YouTube)
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) (VIDEO)
08. Crushin' It!
09. Mega Slap (MP3)








Hi-res cover art, photos and bio:

On The Web:

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

And So I Watch You From Afar announce North American tour dates with Russian Circles, Zechs Marquise




Belfast, Northern Ireland's celebrated instrumental band And So I Watch You From Afar announce extensive North American tour dates this summer paired up with several other Sargent House family bands. ASIWYFA kicks off the tour in Canada with Russian Circles and Indian Handcrafts (including Sled Island festival), then later joined by Deafheaven on the west coast, ending in Los Angeles at the El Rey at the big Sargent House/1656 Music show with Chelsea Wolfe also playing. In July, ASIWYFA pair up with Zechs Marquise for co-headlining dates throughout North America. Please see complete dates below. 

ASIWYFA released their sophomore album, Gangs last November via Sargent House. The complete album is available for streaming via Bandcamp HERE.

A pair of MP3s from Gangs are also available: opener, "BEAUTIFULUNIVERSEMASTERCHAMPION" for download HERE and the brilliantly titled "Search:Party:Animal" can be intercepted HERE. Both tracks are cleared for posting. 

Known for their unrelenting tours that has seen them play over 300 shows since the start of 2009, And So I Watch You From Afar don't know how to take a break. From appearances at SXSW, Eurosonic, Electric Picnic, Novarock, Canadian Music Fest, Popkomm, Pukkelpop, Sonisphere, to tour dates in Europe, North America, Russia and a support slot for rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, the band has been on the road playing music non-stop since the release of their fan-stirring debut self-titled album. 

In between, the band was nominated for Ireland's coveted Choice Music Prize for Album Of The Year and XFM's New Music Album Of The Year, released The Letters EP in February 2010 and a stop-gap tour single "Straight Through The Sun" in November 2010. 

It's a small wonder then, that the band actually managed to record their highly-charged second album Gangs at all with that punishing schedule. It was recorded on weekdays between festival appearances over the summer of 2010 during July and August at Start Together Studios in Belfast with producer Rocky O'Reilly and the help of a young technician by the name of Lee McMahon.

The heart of Gangs is a section entitled Homes: "Ghost Parlor KA-6 to Samara to Belfast" which spans tracks six and seven. It's a near 10-minute epic which taps into the emotions of returning to familiar places and visiting new ones for the very first time. "It's a cheesy thought but we wanted to capture our journey through touring: seeing so many different things, unexpected happenings, sudden changes and then a homecoming," Rory explains. "The end of that tune sums up the relief and elation of coming back into Belfast and getting to see our friends and family again."

It's a sentiment echoed by the title of the record - Gangs. "In the same vein, everything we've done, places we've played all, people we've met, all circulate around these pockets of people, pockets of scenes and pockets of culture. These gangs of people who emanate from everywhere. It's that DIY / The Clash / Black Flag sort of thing that our band is like a gang sometimes."

Gangs is available in North America on LP, CD and Download via Sargent House as of November 8th, 2011. 

AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR & RUSSIAN CIRCLES - 2012
Jun 18 - Winnipeg, MB @ The Park Theatre  w/ Indian Handcrafts
Jun 19 - Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos Cantina w/ Indian Handcrafts
Jun 20 - Calgary, AB @ Dicken's Pub - Sled Island Fest w/ Indian Handcrafts
Jun 22 - Vancouver, BC  @ Biltmore Cabaret 
Jun 24 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos 
Jun 25 - Portland, OR  @ Doug Fir Lounge 
Jun 27 - Sacramento, CA @ Harlow's w/ Deafheaven 
Jun 28 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall w/ Deafheaven
Jun 29 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre w/ Chelsea Wolfe & Deafheaven


AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR & ZECHS MARQUISE - 2012
Jun 30 - Anaheim, CA  @ Chain Reaction
Jul 01 - San Diego, CA  @ The Casbah 
Jul 02 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room 
Jul 04 - San Antonio, TX  @ The White Rabbit 
Jul 05 - Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s 
Jul 06 - Austin, TX @ Red 7 
Jul 07 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada 
Jul 08 - Norman, OK @ The Opolis
Jul 10 - St Louis, MO @ The Firebird 
Jul 11 - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen 
Jul 12 - Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar 
Jul 13 - Toledo, OH  @ Mickey Finns 
Jul 14 - Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern 
Jul 16 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose 
Jul 17 - Louisville, KY @ Headliner’s Music Hall 
Jul 18 - Nashville, TN @ 12th & Porter 
Jul 19 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade 
Jul 21 - St Petersburg, FL @ local 662 
Jul 22 - Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box 
Jul 24 - Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 
Jul 25 - Baltimore, MD @ Sonar 
Jul 26 - Cambridge, MA @ T.T. the Bears 
Jul 27 - New York City, NY @ The Studio at Webster Hall 
Jul 28 - Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie



Artist: And So I Watch You From Afar 
Album: Gangs
Label: Sargent House 
Release date: November 8th, 2011

Track list:
01. BEAUTIFULUNIVERSEMASTERCHAMPION (MP3) 
02. Gang (starting never stopping)
03. Search:Party:Animal (MP3) 
04. 7 Billion People all Alive at Once
05. Think:Breathe:Destroy
Homes
06. Ghost Parlor KA -6 to...
07. ...Samara to Belfast
08. Lifeproof

( 'Homes' couples together tracks 6 and 7)

On the Web:

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

Friday, May 18, 2012

Zorch multi-instrumentalist Shmu posts new track and video from solo debut via Exclaim!

Click image above to watch video



"Compared to the manic sensibilities of Zorch, Shmu brings a more chilled-out vibe with elements of pop and shoegaze, opting for some serious grooves rather than spacey synths." -- ALARM Press


Sam Chown, drummer/singer/multi-instrumentalist in Austin's hyper-kinetic duo Zorch premieres a new song and video from his forthcoming solo debut under the moniker Shmu today. The track, "&hearts" is posted by Canadian mega music tabloid Exclaim! and available to stream/download HERE.

Shmu recently released the first album track "House of Stares" at Consequence of Sound. The sultry tune is available to stream/download HERE

"House of Stares" showcases a much more subdued and dare we say "pop" side of the musician's talents seldom heard in Zorch. Throughout, Shmu's album Discipline/Communication is a melodic exploration into combinations of pop, shoegaze, glitch, psych and experimental rock into a cohesive and original whole spread across the disc's 16-tracks. 

Chown wrote, produced, recorded and performed all instruments on the album. Discipline/Communication will be available June 5th on CD and download via Grand Theft Zamboni Records.


Artist: Shmu
Album: Discipline/Communication
Label: Grand Theft Zamboni Records
Release Date: June 5, 2012

01. Impressions
02. House of Stares (MP3) (VIDEO)
03. Backwoods
04. Directions
05. Crazy #107
06. Shadowgames
07. Happiness
08. Peaceful Swan
09. Vanitos
10. &hearts (MP3) (VIDEO)
11. Heads Will Fall
12. Floatin' Oculus
13. Turpentine
14. Fester
15. Dangerous Passion
16. Pool Party (Place 4 Us)




On the Web:

Thursday, May 17, 2012

San Francisco psych-pop quartet Adios Amigo premiere song from upcoming EP via Prefix Mag




"Pure California dreaming: nostalgic, jangly music that makes you feel sun-soaked and happy." -- The Deli SF Magazine 

"Happy, hopeful, celebratory music." -- NPR

"The pure indie-pop bliss of Adios Amigo occasionally dipped towards mellow Belle & Sebastian sentimentality, at other points rocking more Shins-like." -- SF Bay Guardian

"This indie pop group bolsters itself with warm, murky harmonies and lovely, listless vocals. All four instrumentalists sing on every song, and the resulting music is more akin to British Invasion-style rock than contemporary pop - three-part harmonies rather than a lead over backing vocals. Most tracks start with a tantalizingly drawn-out major seventh chord. Sometimes the musicians hover on one tonal center for an entire song, the same way a painter might obsess over a single color. They're forgiven." -- East Bay Express




San Francisco psych-pop quartet Adios Amigo today premiere the first song from their forthcoming sophomore release via Prefix Mag. The shuffling, upbeat sweet love song "Chicken" is culled from the 5-song Dos EP and available to download/stream HERE.

Adios Amigo also recently premiered the simultaneously happy and forlorn sounding track "Debut" (listen/download HERE) from its recently released self-titled debut via RCRD LBL.

 Adios Amigo began in the South American capital city of Santiago, Chile. It was here that singer/songwriter/guitarist Johnny Major, during his college year abroad, began writing love songs on an old, beat-up guitar for a Chilean girl whom he would go on to marry. It would be 8 years and tens of thousands of miles traveled before John would record his music and assemble a band. Adios Amigo is the culmination, and also the beginning of his musical aspirations coming to light. 

Adios Amigo, the band, was put together after completion of recordings in the Sacramento studio of engineer David Pullin (Sholi, The Soft White Sixties). All instruments were performed by Major, and the recordings would go on to become Adios Amigo's self-titled debut EP. With only songs written on acoustic guitar, and having never been played with a full band, the sound was invented through layering of guitar and vocal tracks, and the end result was a harmonious wall of sound, reminiscent of Broken Social Scene's grandiose indie rock symphony. Major's singing and writing style can be likened to Elliott Smith, his vocals delivered softly with strategic harmonies, in traditional pop song structure.
The band's two EPs are an eclectic batch of songs tied together by a pop sensibility and a calm, upbeat sentimentality. The songs are about various elements of life: love, past, present, future, and falling asleep on the couch with somebody special. There is not an unhappy note among them. 

In the spring of 2011, Major recruited musician friends to bring his music to life in a live setting. The current lineup includes Jason Forrest (guitar, vocals), Shawn McNamara (bass guitar, vocals), and Steve Wills (drums, vocals). Johnny Major also plays drums in San Francisco based indie-folk band, Il Gato. All members of Adios Amigo reside in San Francisco, CA.  

ADIOS AMIGO LIVE:
06/01  San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord (EP release show)
06/27  San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop


Artist: Adios Amigo
Album: Dos
Label: Adios Amigo Music
Release Date: June 1st, 2012

01. Colony's Dead
02. Chicken  (MP3)
03. Never Forget
04. Take Me to Heaven
05. Pretty Pretty Princess


Artist: Adios Amigo
Album: Adios Amigo
Label: Adios Amigo Music
Release Date: March 5th, 2012

01. Intro
02. Play You (VIDEO)
03. Debut (MP3)
04. Easy To Hide (VIDEO)
05. The Couch








On the Web:











For more information, contact Dave at US/THEM group: dave@usthemgroup.com

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Fang Island premiere first song from forthcoming new album at Pitchfork

Click image to watch teaser video


"Honest, 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



Brooklyn's beloved guitar-anthem optimists Fang Island premiere the first track from their forthcoming sophomore album today at Pitchfork. The song, "Asunder" is available to stream HERE.

Fang Island announce their return with an album befitting its title: Major. In anticipation of the album's summer release, the band has posted teaser videos #1 HERE and #2 HERE

Like the painstakingly chiseled marble of the album artwork, Major is hefty, solid, monolithic and regal. Whereas Fang Island described their celebrated 2010 self-titled Sargent House debut as, "everyone high-fiving everyone," Major is evermore confident, triumphant and brimming with infectious enthusiasm. Its warm harmonies are given proper berth with more expansive dynamics and focused pop song craft. 

"One of our core ideas has always been that our songs would be all of your favorite parts of the song that other bands make you wait 8 minutes to get to," explains guitarist/vocalist Jason Bartell. "We wanted to be the band that's nothing but your favorite hooks back to back." Major shows Fang Island deftly achieving that aim. 

Kicking off with the overlapping neoclassical piano pirouette and chiming harmonized guitars of album opener "Kindergarten", Fang Island makes it clear from the outset that this is an album of musical and sonic growth, while at the same time a chorus of voices repeat the mantra, "all I know/ I learned in / kindergarten." It's that same unabashed embracing of childlike wonder filtered through visionary artistic sophistication that gives Fang Island its unique charm and sets the tone for this (ahem) major step forward for Bartell, guitarist/vocalist Chris Georges and drummer Marc St. Sauveur. Without a moment's rest, the definitive summer pop jam "Sisterly" launches the album skyward, led by the thick hook of a wah-wah pedal "chunka-chunka-chunka" riff that's guaranteed to have listeners busting out their air guitar moves. "Never Understand" revisits the classic Fang Island guitar harmony dog pile while what sounds like a cheery mob repeatedly intones, "I hope I never understand." Elsewhere, the rollicking anthem "Asunder" quickly builds momentum like a rolling snowball that eventually careens into a summertime BBQ -- the explosive payoff as the elements collide is pure pop bliss. 

Throughout, Major highlights the band's endeavor to elevate positivity as an art form. "It's kind of similar to writing songs about being sad," Bartell says. "It can come across as simplistic, or easy. Positive songs often run the risk of sounding shallow, but we feel there are a lot of shades and depths to positivity that can be explored." That exploration becomes clear from the first notes of Major

However, Georges sums up the album's bold steps best in this short sampling of the band's nearly 1,000 bullet point explanation of the album title:

"Some reasons we called the album Major
- Major key (the first song is minor though!)
- Valley girl colloquialism 
- Because we are on an independent label
- Because the rank under Sargent (House) is major
- It sounds like a constellation
- Steely Dan's "Any Major Dude" was in rotation a lot during the sessions
- The record is packaged to look like stone because it's ROCK. I really wanted people to hold a piece of rock when they picked up the record."

Major will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download via Sargent House on July 24th, 2012. 


Artist: Fang Island 
Album: Major
Label: Sargent House
Release date: July 24th, 2012

Track list:
01. Kindergarten
02. Sisterly
03. Seek it Out
04. Make Me
05. Never Understand
06. Asunder (MP3)
07. Dooney Rock
08. Regalia
09. Chompers
10. Chime Out
11. Victorinian









On the Web:

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

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

ESMB post new video at SPIN.com, headlining dates coming in July

Click image above to watch video


"Ed Schrader has built a wildman reputation for mixing shirtless, Mark Stewart-style post-punk free-association with completely unhinged tom-tom bashing - and, starkly, pretty much nothing else. In a too-quick 20-minutes, Jazz Mind recalls Neurosis, Swans, Big Black, the Death Set and pretty much the unfiltered, primordial joy of pounding on shit." -- SPIN

"Schrader's voice alternates between a low, Ian Curtis-esque bellow and a frenetic bark that recalls Andy Falkous of McClusky and Future of the Left. In other words, this is aggressive music, even in its quieter moments." -- Pop Matters



Baltimore duo Ed Schrader's Music Beat premiere the first video from their debut album today via SPIN.com. The clip, "When I'm In a Car" (featuring guest guitarist Randy Randall of No Age) is available to stream HERE. It's an urgent blast of vitriol clocking in at a blazing one-minute and 14-seconds. Pitchfork also recently posted an MP3 of the song to download/stream HERE . 

Having just completed a string of shows supporting their hometown synth-pop pals Future Islands, ESMB again take to the road in July for extensive North American headlining tour dates. Those shows will be announced soon.
  
The duo recently premiered a second track from their new full length via SPIN Magazine. The hushed-yet-propulsive and eminently hummable song "My Mind Is Broken" is available to download/stream HERE.  

Previously better known as a partner in Dan Deacon's Wham City collective and performing solo with just voice and a floor tom, Ed Schrader has recently made inroads with ESMB by teaming up with bassist Devlin Rice and touring with Future Islands and Dan Deacon in the last year. 

Watch a powerful 10-minute live video HERE. Check out videos of individual songs below. 

Jazz Mind opens with the snarling fury of "Sermon", driven by Schrader's high-pitched wail over early-Swans style primal drumming and blurting bass. Turning on a dime, "Gem Asylum" is a sparse and compelling lullaby of delicately chanted vocals and hypnotic bass notes reminiscent of Chairs Missing era Wire. Elsewhere, when ESMB strips down the noise on "My Mind is Broken", "Air Show" and "Can't Stop Eating Sugar", there remains an icy intensity hearkening to Joy Division. Meanwhile, "Rats" and "Gas Station Attendant" explode with a rage and raw simplicity that's rare in an era of unlimited access to audio gloss. Jazz Mind is perhaps the closest one can come to inventive, unbridled emotion. 

Jazz Mind is available on LP, CD and Download via Load Records, released March 20th, 2012.  


Artist: Ed Schrader's Music Beat
Album: Jazz Mind
Label: Load Records
Release Date: March 20, 2012

01. Sermon
02. Gem Asylum
03. Traveling
04. Right
05. Do The Maneuver 
06. Rats (VIDEO)
07. My Mind Is Broken (MP3) (VIDEO)
08. When I'm In A Car (MP3) (VIDEO)
09. Air Show
10. Can't Stop Eating Sugar (VIDEO)
11. Gas Station Attendant


On the Web:

Monday, May 14, 2012

British trio Nedry issue remix album with reworkings by M+A, Polinski, Paper Tiger, et al.




"With their dreamy electronic loops and darker industrial undertones, London dub-rockers Nedry fall somewhere in between Beach House and The Knife. Their 2010 LP, Condors, was a masterful expression of what dubstep can sound like when in the right hands." -- Consequence of Sound 

"A futuristic sonic collage of dreamy glitch-folk, shimmering electronica and weapons-grade Dubstep percussion... Feels like a futuristic step forward from Radiohead's In Rainbows or Portishead's Third." Four stars -- Uncut

"When a band is as good, as versatile and as daring as Nedry, you hope the wider world will stand up and take notice." -- Huw Stephens - BBC Radio One 



London UK's dark electronic trio Nedry release a special remix version of their sophomore album In A Dim Light today via Monotreme Records. The 12-song collection features reworkings by Rosko John, Paper Tiger, Worship, Ghosting Season, Capac, Polinski and many others. It is available at the Monotreme Webstore with a bonus free MP3 of Italian duo M+A's "Yeloww" remix.

The entire album is now streaming at the band's web site, nedrymakesmusic.com.

A video clip for In A Dim Light single "Violaceae"(album version) is available to stream HERE courtesy of Consequence of Sound. Also, two tracks, the eerily sinister "Float" and surrealistically soaring "Post Six" are available to stream/download HERE

British bass music clings to few modern regulations. As grey areas become inviting, zones of conflict are transformed into fertile new ground. Nedry are dictating a path that recognizes no genre, no structures, no rules. Ripping progressive dance culture out of the bedroom producers' smoke stained confines and planting it resolutely on the live stage, Matt Parker and Chris Amblin utilize MPC, laptops, guitars and synths to create a deep, thoughtful musical space.

Nedry are a trio who are dissolving the distance between this cutting edge and hungry audience. Splicing a band aesthetic with the 'heads down and thumbs up' bass craft of the UK, they gift the faceless revolution of dark music an inviting visage within which we can all dwell.

The dazzling fusion of electronica, instrumental rock, dubstep rhythms and hauntingly beautiful vocals of their 2010 debut album Condors saw them tipped for greatness by BBC Radio One,
The Guardian, Uncut and Q Magazine. In the past two years, Nedry has performed at the Roskilde, Sonar and SXSW festivals, XFM and BBC sessions and tours with 65daysofstatic,
Maps & Atlases and These New Puritans

Nedry started performing, producing and recording in summer 2008. In a short amount of time they've made waves on the UK electronic music scene, sharing stages with the likes of Pivot (Warp), Maps (MUTE), The Gaslamp Killer (Brainfeeder) and Daedelus (Ninja Tune). Nedry have steadily gathered critical acclaim since the self-released SZ EP and Condors album in 2010, and
In A Dim Light sees the band poised for the bright lights. 

In A Dim Light is available worldwide as of March 12, 2012 (North America on March 13th) on Monotreme Records. Available on CD and digital formats and as a 180 gm vinyl edition of 500 on black (200 copies) or white (300 copies) vinyl with a free CD of the album and a free 12" x 24" poster. The digital-only remix release is available May 14th, 2012 worldwide via the label's web store.



Artist: Nedry
Album: In A Dim Light Remixed
Label: Monotreme Records
Release Date: May 14, 2012

01. here.now.here (M+A remix)
02. TMA (Paper Tiger remix)
03. Float (Jack Allett remix)
04. Violaceae (Rosko John remix)
05. here.now.here (Worship remix)
06. Dusk Till Dawn (Capac remix)
07. Float (Useless Interface remix)
08. Violaceae (Gazelle Twin remix)
09. Havana Nights (Ghosting Season remix)
10. Violaceae (Polinski remix)
11. Float (Midas Fall remix)
12. here.now.here (Familiar Spirits remix)



Artist: Nedry
Album: In A Dim Light 
Label: Monotreme Records
Release Date: March 13, 2012

01. I Would Rather Explode
02. Post Six (MP3)
03. Violaceae (VIDEO)
04. Havana Nights
05. Dusk Till Dawn
06. Float (MP3)
07. Land Leviathan
08. TMA
09. here.now.here
10. Home






On the Web:



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


Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Fang Island announce new album with teaser video, track listing and cover art

Click image to watch teaser video


"Honest, 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


Brooklyn's beloved guitar-anthem optimists Fang Island announce their return with an album befitting its title: Major. In anticipation of the album's summer release, the band has posted a teaser video HERE. Please see cover art and full track listing below. 

Like the painstakingly chiseled marble of the album artwork, Major is hefty, solid, monolithic and regal. Whereas Fang Island described their celebrated 2010 self-titled Sargent House debut as, "everyone high-fiving everyone," Major is evermore confident, triumphant and brimming with infectious enthusiasm. Its warm harmonies are given proper berth with more expansive dynamics and focused pop song craft. 

"One of our core ideas has always been that our songs would be all of your favorite parts of the song that other bands make you wait 8 minutes to get to," explains guitarist/vocalist Jason Bartell. "We wanted to be the band that's nothing but your favorite hooks back to back." Major shows Fang Island deftly achieving that aim. 

Kicking off with the overlapping neoclassical piano pirouette and chiming harmonized guitars of album opener "Kindergarten", Fang Island makes it clear from the outset that this is an album of musical and sonic growth, while at the same time a chorus of voices repeat the mantra, "all I know/ I learned in / kindergarten." It's that same unabashed embracing of childlike wonder filtered through visionary artistic sophistication that gives Fang Island its unique charm and sets the tone for this (ahem) major step forward for Bartell, guitarist/vocalist Chris Georges and drummer Marc St. Sauveur. Without a moment's rest, the definitive summer pop jam "Sisterly" launches the album skyward, led by the thick hook of a wah-wah pedal "chunka-chunka-chunka" riff that's guaranteed to have listeners busting out their air guitar moves. "Never Understand" revisits the classic Fang Island guitar harmony dog pile while what sounds like a cheery mob repeatedly intones, "I hope I never understand." Elsewhere, the rollicking anthem "Asunder" quickly builds momentum like a rolling snowball that eventually careens into a summertime BBQ -- the explosive payoff as the elements collide is pure pop bliss. 

Throughout, Major highlights the band's endeavor to elevate positivity as an art form. "It's kind of similar to writing songs about being sad," Bartell says. "It can come across as simplistic, or easy. Positive songs often run the risk of sounding shallow, but we feel there are a lot of shades and depths to positivity that can be explored." That exploration becomes clear from the first notes of Major

However, Georges sums up the album's bold steps best in this short sampling of the band's nearly 1,000 bullet point explanation of the album title:

"Some reasons we called the album Major
- Major key (the first song is minor though!)
- Valley girl colloquialism 
- Because we are on an independent label
- Because the rank under Sargent (House) is major
- It sounds like a constellation
- Steely Dan's "Any Major Dude" was in rotation a lot during the sessions
- The record is packaged to look like stone because it's ROCK. I really wanted people to hold a piece of rock when they picked up the record."

Major will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download via Sargent House on July 24th, 2012. 


Artist: Fang Island 
Album: Major
Label: Sargent House
Release date: July 24th, 2012

Track list:
01. Kindergarten
02. Sisterly
03. Seek it Out
04. Make Me
05. Never Understand
06. Asunder
07. Dooney Rock
08. Regalia
09. Chompers
10. Chime Out
11. Victorinian









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