Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Johnny O'Donnell issues double EP, announces L.A. release party & West Coast tour dates





Click image above to watch video




"O'Donnell's compositions have a woozy barroom sagacity, and surprising arrangements to boot." -- Buzzbands LA

"Johnny O'Donnell is, perhaps, one of the few musicians around today who can say he understands what Brian Wilson was doing on Pet Sounds, and what he was trying to do on Smile, without having you snicker behind his back." -- Neotomic

Wildly inventive songwriter Johnny O'Donnell issues his double-EP debut, Masquerade / Korean Debutante today on L.A.'s White Noise Records. Accompanied by backing band Sacramento (who also play on Masquerade), O'Donnell headlines a record release party on June 30th at the Echo in Los Angeles. West Coast tour dates follow in September.  

O'Donnell writes songs as cleverly restless as himself. Having leapt in recent years from rural Louisiana to Seattle to South Korea to currently settling in Los Angeles, O'Donnell pens brilliantly skewed classic pop songs that likewise shift and morph from one style and sound to the next. His talents as a composer and storyteller echo those of legends like Paul McCartney, Harry Nilsson and Elliott Smith

Check out MP3s for "The Gothic Singer" HERE and "Supermarket Nightmare" HERE. Stream/download the full disc HERE.

The video for "The Gothic Singer" -- shot entirely on 16mm film and directed by Kyle Safieh -- is a compelling fairytale told in the style of antique silent film, depicting the adventures of a swashbuckling troubadour. Watch the video HERE.

O'Donnell is the former guitarist in avant pop band Holy Ghost Revival. After that band's breakup, he moved to Seoul, South Korea, where he penned songs for his first EP, Korean Debutante. Later moving to the City of Angels, he mentored with Van Dyke Parks prior to assembling his band, Sacramento and completing a second EP, Masquerade. The double-EP assembles all nine songs into a single LP/digital format.

On Masquerade, the Golden Era of Hollywood gets the full cinematic treatment on a tripping journey amongst the relics of glamour, adventure and globetrotting that once made entertainment immortal. "The Gothic Singer" introduces a swashbuckling songwriter who honors Fairbanks and Errol Flynn by way of rhythmic hi-jinks and a few melodic leaps of faith. Korean Debutante is a compact collection of pop diamonds written by an incorrigible rake living in a spiritual hellhole, a singing postcard to America, sung through the blurred lips of a drunken ex-pat.

Where there's syrupy romance, a haunting mystery, a haughty swagger and an amusement park's worth of harmonic twists and turns, you're probably in the company of Johnny O'Donnell & Sacramento.

JOHNNY O'DONNELL & SACRAMENTO LIVE:
06/30  Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo (Record release show)
07/08  Los Angeles, CA @ The Redwood
07/17  Los Angeles, CA @ La Cita
09/05  Long Beach, CA @ The Rocketboat
09/07  San Francisco, CA @ TBA
09/08  Portland, OR @ TBA
09/09  Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern 





Artist: Johnny O'Donnell & Sacramento
Album: Masquerade / Korean Debutante (STREAM)
Label: White Noise 
Release Date: June 28th, 2011

01. The Gothic Singer (MP3) (VIDEO)
02. Loose Cannons
03. The Griffin Arrives Again
04. The Inch Worm
05. Roaming Thing
06. Last Lonely Won
07. Retreat To America
08. Supermarket Nightmare (MP3)
09. Crackin' Up 









On the Web:

Monday, June 27, 2011

Boris premiere new video via Pitchfork, continue European tour dates with Russian Circles


Click image above to watch video




"Boris' latest efforts are nothing short of stunning" -- Rock Sound

"Heavy Rocks is a monolithic take on everything from trippy Funkadelic acid sludge to galloping Blue Öyster pöp to lightning-riding '80s thrash; yet it all billows fluffily from the same dreamy doom factory they constructed on 2005's Pink. Farther into the cosmos is sister record Attention Please, the least "metal" thing the band have released to date, which focuses on icy rhythms and smoky moods, as if they're slinking up alongside The Xx." -- SPIN Magazine

"Despite Boris' wide sonic interests, everything comes together coherently on Attention Please, the band's best record since Pink." -- NPR

"These could easily be pegged as Boris' Zen Arcade -- the point where guitar music goes into the great beyond, pop hooks become heavier than hell and noise experiments become acutely accessible. These albums are a masterwork of feedback and fuzz, an epic symphony of sludge and speed, a blueprint for the future of heavy music." -- Cowbell Magazine


Iconoclast Japanese trio Boris premiere a new video today via Pitchfork. The clip combines two songs -- "Hope" (from Attention Please) and "Riot Sugar" (from Heavy Rocks) -- taken from each of their recently released albums cleverly mashed up into one video. Watch it HERE.  

Boris is currently co-headlining a European/UK tour with new label mates Russian Circles (see complete dates below) and will announce North American headlining dates soon.  

Boris' vastly different albums, Attention Please and all-new Heavy Rocks have already received a wealth of critical praise and fan anticipation. NPR Music's First Listen has posted exclusive full album streams -- follow the links to check out Attention Please and Heavy Rocks

Boris - Attention Please - LP/CD/digital 
Boris are widely known for their ability to breach styles and stretch sonic boundaries of all that is heavy, psychedelic, droning and downright cathartic. But, Attention Please is more like a complete redefining of their potential in several ways. First and foremost, it is the first album on which all vocals are sung by lead guitarist, Wata. While she has previously sung on a couple of songs for singles and her solo outings, the entire 10-song album features her intimate, multifaceted vocal style. Secondly, the songs on Attention Please have a sultry, intoxicating catchiness to them. It's melodic without sounding pop. It's psychedelic without sounding dated. It's heavy without relying on barre chord riffs.

Boris - Heavy Rocks - LP/CD/digital
Boris has earned its rabid cult following for their ability to expertly harness music as power. Be it psychedelic metal, colossal drone, blistering punk or distortion-ravaged shoegaze, a Boris song is an exploration of sound as physical mass. The Japanese trio's classic 2002 album, Heavy Rocks is a landmark of their mastery. So, it's fitting that the group's new album sharing the same title and very similar artwork to that disc, Heavy Rocks (2011) seeks to redefine "heavy" music in a culmination of the band's tireless efforts over the past two decades. This year's Heavy Rocks is beyond heavy, it firmly establishes Boris as a pillar of innovation and integrity in guitar-based music.

BORIS & RUSSIAN CIRCLES / SAADE : EUROPEAN SUMMER TOUR 2011
June 28 - Barcelona, Spain @ Apolo 2
June 29 - Lyon, France @ Grrrrnd Zero
June 30 - Zurich, Switzerland @ Rote Fabrik
July  01 - Karlsruhe, Germany @ Jubez
July  02 - Munich, Germany @ Feierwerk
July  04 - Rome, Italy @ Traffic Live
July  05 - Milan, Italy @ Miodi Festival /Magnolia (Outdoor Fest)
July  07 - Vienna, Austria @ Arena Vienna
July  08 - Leipzig, Germany @ UT Connewitz
July  09 - Prague, Czech @ Matrix Klub
July  10 - Berlin, Germany @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
July  11 - Hamburg, Germany @ HafenKlang
July  12 - Gothenberg, Sweden @ Truckstop Alaska
July  13 - Oslo, Norway @ John Dee
July  14 - Stockholm, Sweden @ The Strand
July  15 - Copenhagen, Denmark @Vega
July  16 - Dortmund, Germany @ FZW
July  17 - Dour, Belgium @Dour Festival 

BORIS
July 19 - Nuremberg, Germany @ Zentral Cafe K4
July 20 - Innsbruck, Austria @ PMK
July 21 - Zagreb, Croatia @ Mocvara
July 22 - Budapest, Hungary @ Durer Kert
July 24 - Wroclaw, Poland @ Events New Horizon Festival 




Artist: Boris
Album: Attention Please
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: May 24th, 2011

01. Attention Please
02. Hope   (MP3) (VIDEO)
03. Party Boy
04. See You Next Week 
05. Tokyo Wonder Land 
06. You
07. Aileron
08. Les Paul Custom '86 
09. Spoon 
10. Hand in Hand 


Artist: Boris
Album: Heavy Rocks  
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: May 24th, 2011

01. Riot Sugar (MP3) (VIDEO)
02. Leak -Truth, yesnoyesnoyes-
03. GALAXIANS
04. Jackson Head 
05. Missing Pieces
06. Key
07. Window Shopping
08. Tu, la la
09. Aileron
10. Czechoslovakia
On the Web:


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



Thursday, June 23, 2011

Zorch: Austin hyper-kinetic duo premiere new track via Altered Zones, announce summer tour dates


"5 bands to catch up to in 2010" -- The Onion AV Club

"Zorch's synth-driven experimentalism is an avant-garde swirl of mind-bending atmospherics..." -- The Austinist 

Austin, TX hyper-kinetic keyboard/drum duo Zorch premiere a new song today via Pitchfork's esoteric offshoot Altered Zones. The MP3 for "Cosmic Gloss" is culled from the band's new cassette/digital EP (read more about it here). Stream/download full EP HERE. Zorch also launch extensive North American summer tour dates this month. Please see complete dates below.  

Zorch has also posted an incredible, potentially seizure inducing video for one of their most frenetic and hooky songs, "Zut Alore!" Watch it HERE. Stems of all Zorch tracks are available for remixes through the music section of the band's website

Zorch's exceptionally precise and inventive songs often invite comparisons to a wildly different composite of energetic artists such as Lightning Bolt, Dan Deacon, HEALTH, Adebisi Shank and Battles all the way to more psychedelic/pop acts like Flaming Lips, Animal Collective and F*ck Buttons. However, it seems that everyone hears something uniquely new and exciting in their songs. Stream and/or download their full debut EP for free HERE

Zorch is an experimental/noise rock duo from Austin, TX. Composed of Zac Traeger (keyboards, omnichord, vocals) and Shmu (drums, omnichord, vocals), the two hail from Wisconsin and Canada respectively. The duo met in Boston and began recording dozens of improvisational mixtapes, which, after moving to Austin in 2009, would help lay the foundation for Zorch. Since that pivotal move, they've quickly made a home for themselves in the city's illustrious avant-garde DIY scene, building a reputation on their deafening live shows and fan interaction.

In July of 2009, Zorch recorded their self-titled 4-track EP at Cacophony Studios in Austin, TX. It's the duo's first attempt to capture their sound and demonstrate their wide palette of musical colors, ranging from tribal to pop. Choosing to self-release the EP and offering it up as a free download through their website, Zorch also gives fans the opportunity to design and create their own CD cases at live shows. Disregarding notions of intellectual property, they post the stems to all their songs online as well, ready to be mixed and morphed to each listener's content.

ZORCH LIVE:
06/30 Phoenix, AZ @ The Rogue Bar
07/01 San Diego, CA @ Tin Can Ale House
07/02 Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell
07/03 Oakland, CA @ Gamma Gallery *
07/04 Sacramento, CA @ The Townhouse *
07/05 San Francisco, CA @ The Hemlock *
07/06 Eugene, OR @ TBA
07/07 Portland, OR @ Holocene ^
07/08 Seattle, WA @ Ground Zero
07/09 Seattle, WA @ The Inn (daytime/house party)
07/09 Seattle, WA @ Healthy Times Fun Club
08/10 Austin, TX @ TBA %
08/11 Houston, TX @ TBA %
08/12 Lafayette, LA @ TBA %
08/13 Baton Rouge, LA @ The Spanish Moon %
08/14 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks %
08/15 Birmingham, AL @ Magic City Wholesale
08/16 Murfreesboro, TN @ Trash Mountain (pool party)
08/17 Atlanta, GA @ 529
08/18 Greensboro, NC @ The Blind Tiger
08/19 Baltimore, MD @ The Annex
08/20 Philadelphia, PA @ Danger Danger Gallery (anniversary party) $
08/21 Brooklyn, NY @ Silent Barn #
08/22 New York, NY @ Pianos
08/23 Providence, RI @ Local 121
08/24 Boston, MA @ TBA
08/25 Montreal, QC @ Torn Curtain #
08/26 Kingston, ON @ The Grad Club #
08/27 Waterloo, ON @ TBA (day show)
08/27 Toronto, ON @ The Silver Dollar
08/28 Sudbury, ON @ Myths and Mirrors Festival +
08/29 Ithaca, NY @ The Space at Greenstar
08/30 Dayton, OH @ South Park Tavern
08/31 Bloomington, IN @ House Party
09/01 Chicago, IL @ Ball Hall
09/02 Milwaukee, WI @ The Cactus Club
09/03 Madison, WI @ TBA

* with Religious Girls
^ with White Hinterland, Wampire
% with Twin Killers, Caddywhompus
$ with Grandchildren
# with Doldrums
+ with DD/MM/YYYY

Artist: Zorch
Album: "Cosmic Gloss" / "E.M.F." EP - DOWNLOAD FULL EP HERE
Label: (iN)sect Records
Release Date: July 5th, 2011

01. Cosmic Gloss (MP3)
02. E.M.F. 




Artist: Zorch
Album: Demo EP - DOWNLOAD FULL EP HERE
Label: Zorch Records
Release Date: March 8th, 2011

01. Zut Alore! (MP3) (VIDEO)
02. Crying During Circumcision is a Shame to the Whole Village (MP3)
03. Moris The Loris (MP3
04. Gimme The Axe (MP3)  









On the Web:


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


Thursday, June 16, 2011

Empty Space Orchestra launch dates supporting Minus The Bear, Midwest headlining tour in July




"They rock in an In the Court of the Crimson King-era King Crimson kind of way but with a sound all their own. These guys (and gal) have a kind of talent rarely seen outside of jam-band/festival circles." -- SSG Music

"Part jazz, part The Mars Volta bizarro world, part stoner/spacey rock, part post-rock, Empty Space Orchestra is a band that don't want to pigeonhole themselves into anything, so instead they encompass everything -- and they do that on display in quite a loud fashion." -- Redefine Magazine

"This band could be considered The Mars Volta of their ilk. They mesh and meld everything so well that it ends up sounding like something special in and of itself." -- Delusions of Adequacy  


Empty Space Orchestra hits the road once again today, this time supporting Minus The Bear in the Pacific NW. Shortly thereafter, the Bend, OR quintet of impeccable musicians bring their symphonic, melodic sound throughout the Midwest in July. Please see complete dates below.

Empty Space Orchestra unleashed the impressive instrumental heft of its new Robert Cheek (RX Bandits, Deftones) engineered, Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Pearl Jam, ISIS) mixed self-titled album back in May.  

ALARM Press premiered a new MP3 from the album, "Exit Strategy" which is available HERE. Check out additional album tracks, "Intergalactic Battle Cruiser" HERE and "El Viento" HERE. The band's musicianship must be seen live -- watch videos for "Exit Strategy" HERE, "Brainjar" HERE and "El Viento" HERE.  

Their 9-song, 50-minute self-titled album is a hook-laden marriage of heft and harmony that veers far away from the navel-gazing jamming often associated with music of such explorative origins. Elements of The Mars Volta's most frenetic moments merge with soaring post-rock of Russian Circles, as well as hints of King Crimson, Deftones, Dub Trio and lilting chamber pop all colliding in brilliant synergy from one song to the next.

The group of classically-trained musicians is anchored by the stunning power and precision of drummer Lindsey Elias -- clearly a musician soon to hold rank amongst her most celebrated male counterparts. Guitarist Shane Thomas and bassist Patrick Pearsall provide a balance of head-bobbing riffs interspersed with tasteful and inventive lines that weave like musical narrative throughout. Meanwhile, multi-instrumentalists Keith O'Dell (keyboards, piano, lap steel) and Graham Jacobs (saxophone, flute, synths) add myriad melodic layers and cinematic moods that often deftly counterbalance heavy riffs with glissando piano melodies and swaggering horns.


EMPTY SPACE ORCHESTRA LIVE:
06/17    Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom *
06/18    Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory *
07/07    Denver, CO @ Cervantes' Other Side
07/09    Des Moines, IA @ Bombay Bicycle Club
07/12    Minneapolis, MN @ TBA
07/13    Madison, WI @ The Frequency
07/15    Chicago, IL @ Martyrs'
07/16    Ft. Wayne, IN @ TBA
07/31    Bend, OR @ Century Center
08/19    Tidewater, OR @ Prindell Creek Farms (Mountain Stomp festival)

* w/ Minus The Bear


Artist: Empty Space Orchestra
Album: Empty Space Orchestra
Label: Empty Space Unlimited
Release Date: May 10th, 2011

01. Brainjar (VIDEO)
02. Exit Strategy (MP3) (VIDEO)
03. Intergalactic Battle Cruiser (MP3) (STREAM)
04. El Viento MP3) (STREAM) (VIDEO)
05. Get Some
06. Tiger Puss
07. Tennessee Red
08. The Hangar
09. Clouds



On the Web:

Hi-res photos, cover art and bio:



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




Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Le Butcherettes added to QOTSA dates & Lollapalooza, post new video and announce more US & EU shows

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

"The best act I saw:  Le Butcherettes singer Teri Gender Bender is something of a stunner. She can howl, she can yell, she can growl the letter "R" into multi-syllables, and she needs little more than one ferocious drum beat to have her way with a song. And just in case you're not paying attention when Teri sings that she's sick of you, she'll do a backward stage dive."-- LA Times


The rampantly raved-about garage-punk trio Le Butcherettes have been added to the Lollapalooza lineup on August 5th in Chicago as well as support spots with Queens of the Stone Age on the West Coast the week prior. Additionally, the band will headline the L.A. date of this month's Sargent House Presents triple bill of Le Butcherettes, Tera Melos and Adebisi Shank that also hits San Francisco (see promo video). European festival shows follow in August. Please see complete dates below. 

A live/in-studio video, "New York" culled from Le Butcherettes debut full length Sin Sin Sin posts today via Terroreyes.tv. Watch it HERE

NPR's All Songs Considered recently served up an exclusive premiere of "I'm Getting Sick of You" HERE. And, 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 LIVE:
06/15  Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater *
06/27  Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour #
06/29  San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall #
07/23  Las Vegas, NV @ Cosmopolitan Hotel +
07/25  Pomona, CA @ The Fox Theater +
07/26  Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst +
07/28  Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater +
08/05  Chicago, IL @ Grant Park, Lollapalooza
08/19  Parades de Coura, Portugal @ Parades de Coura Festival
08/21  Biddinghuizen, Netherlands @ Lowlands Festival

* w/ Deftones and The Dillinger Escape Plan
# w/ Tera Melos and Adebisi Shank
+ w/ Queens of the Stone Age





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:
lebutcherettes.bandcamp.com

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Good Old War to tour with Alison Krauss and Gomez; currently recording new album


Philadelphia's Good Old War will play ten shows with Alison Krauss in June, beginning with a stop at Los Angeles' Greek Theatre on June 23rd. The band will then join Gomez for four east coast dates.

Good Old War has built a considerable following over the past year as support for Joshua Radin, Brandi Carlile, Dr. Dog, Xavier Rudd and Guster. The band, already popular veterans of SXSW and CMJ, became a fan favorite on this year's second stage at Coachella.

The trio's self-titled album debuted at #2 on Billboard's Heatseekers Chart, reaching #1 on iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart and #1 overall at Amazon. They've now sold over 40,000 albums on their independent label, Sargent House

The Wall Street Journal recently profiled the band as part of what they call the "Harmonic Convergence", alongside Mumford & Sons and Fleet Foxes. The piece compared them to Crosby, Stills & Nash, saying "this Philadelphia trio delivers not just its choruses but also many verses in lock-step harmony." 

Good Old War is currently recording their third album, expected to be released in late 2011.

GOOD OLD WAR with ALISON KRAUSS:
06/23  Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theater
06/24  Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
06/28  Jacksonville, OR @ Britt Pavilion
06/29  Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield
07/01  Boise, ID @ Idaho Botanical Gardens
07/04  Calgary, AB @ Jack Singer Concert Hall
07/05  Edmonton, AB @ Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
07/07  Vancouver, BC @ Vancouver Island Music
07/08  Redmond, WA @ Marymoor Amphitheater
07/09  Bend, OR @ Les Schwab Amphitheater
07/10  Stateline, NV @ Lake Tahoe's Harvey's Outdoor Arena

GOOD OLD WAR with GOMEZ:
07/12  Boston, MA @ The Paradise
07/14  New York, NY @ Terminal 5
07/15  Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of Living Arts
07/18  Washington D.C. @ 9:30 Club

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