Dublin, Ireland synth-punk trio No Spill Blood release EP debut on Sargent House

Click image above to watch video

Dublin, Ireland synth-punk trio No Spill Blood release their Street Meat debut EP digitally today (LP and CD on Sept 4th) via Sargent House. Stream the entire 6-song release HERE. Check out the high quality multi-camera live video of the band playing "No Retreat" HERE.

Ireland's vitalic rock scene has once again created musical alchemy in the form of No Spill Blood, a band formed from the much-loved, respected and established bands Adebisi Shank, Hands Up Who Wants To Die?, Elk and Magic Pockets.

Matt Hedigan (Hands Up Who Wants To Die?, Elk), Ruadhan O'Meara (Magic Pockets) and Lar Kaye (Adebisi Shank) took time out of their other bands to jam in Dublin in early 2011 after Matt had moved to the city from Cork. The trio's shared musical influences, the agile post-rock electronic punch of Trans Am, the playful noise of Devo and the low-down post-punk of the Melvins can be heard melded into No Spill Blood's spirited hurtling rhythms.

While their other musical projects contribute to the tempos, the tones and the textures of the music, No Spill Blood's sound is unequivocally their own. Repetitive Kraut-esque rhythms are goaded by O'Meara's buzzsaw vintage synthesizers, Kaye swaps his robotic guitar work in Adebisi Shank for incisively-charged drums and Hedigan provides the fuzzed-out low-end and beastly vocals. Or in their own words - “Heft, Heft, Synth, Heft, Heft”.

The lyrical subject matter on Street Meat is concerned with dark, recondite and toilsome subject matter -- coal mining. “The lyrics are loosely based on a story I wrote in school about a guy who reluctantly starts working in his local mine,” says Hedigan. “I'll leave the rest up to your imagination! It's fairly apocalyptic.”

Street Meat's six tracks were primarily recorded with Dek Hynes in a derelict office block running on a gasoline-powered generator. Mixing was done by Vinny McCreith (Adebisi Shank/The Vinny Club) and James Eager from The Hive mastered the EP. The EP's trippy artwork was done by Sonny Kay from post-hardcore group The VSS. “We just sent him a few images we liked, and he took elements from them, and came back with that awesome cover art. It's so striking, we are all crazy about it.”

And as for the name No Spill Blood? “It's an Oingo Boingo tune,” says O'Meara. “They got it from the [ H. G. Wells book] 'The Island of Dr. Moreau', the same place where Devo got 'Are We Not Men?' It seemed fitting...”

Street Meat will be released on LP and CD via Sargent House on September 4th, 2012. 

NO SPILL BLOOD LIVE:

09/08  Dublin, IRE @ Button Factory

Artist: No Spill Blood

Album: Street Meat (FULL STREAM)

Label: Sargent House

Release Date: July 31st, 2012 (download) / September 4th, 2012 (LP, CD)

Track list: 

01. Tunnel

02. No Retreat (VIDEO)

03. Good Company

04. Junior

05. Stang Gang

06. New Tricks

On the Web:

sargenthouse.com/No_Spill_Blood

facebook.com/pages/No-Spill-Blood

twitter.com/no_spill_blood

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

sargenthouse.com/nospillblood_assets.html

Indian Handcrafts premiere first song via SPIN.com from forthcoming Sargent House debut album

Click image above to watch teaser video

Canadian power-duo Indian Handcrafts premiere the lead track from their forthcoming sophomore album today courtesy of SPIN.com. The song, "Bruce Lee" is available HERE (alternate Soundcloud link HERE). 

The band recently released a behind-the-scenes video studio from recording the album -- featuring cameos from some heavy friends -- announcing their forthcoming Sargent House album debut. The Toronto band's sophomore release, Civil Disobedience For Losers was recorded in Los Angeles back in March with engineer Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Big Business, Red Sparowes). The clip features the album track "Terminal Horse". Watch teaser video HERE.

Everything about Canadian power-duo Indian Handcrafts seems to defy possibilities: a two piece that's louder than a hundred bands, kicking out one of the year's most riff-rollicking albums that was recorded while the guitarist had a broken hand! They're two friendly, soft-spoken Canadian guys sounding like the Funkadelic Mothership crash landing on top of the Planet Caravan in Interstellar Overdrive.

Indian Handcrafts' well honed, massive melodic heft seems to belie the simplicity of instrumentation between drummer/vocalist Brandyn James Aikins and guitarist/vocalist Daniel Brandon Allen. While their songs feature hints of heavy, technically skilled bands like Big Business, Hella and Tweakbird, there are also strong melodies and a vocal intensity inviting comparisons to artists ranging from Death From Above 1979 to Jack White. Top that all off with a rhythmic groove reminiscent of a hybrid of ZZ Top's Tres Hombres and Funkadelic's Standing On The Verge of Getting It On and it's clear that Indian Handcrafts are much, much more than the sum of their parts. 

Bursting out of Barrie, Ontario this pair of charming gentlemen immediately impacted the world with a self-released 8-song debut album in 2011. Cathy Pellow of Sargent House quickly took notice and signed the band on to management and the label. Shortly thereafter, Civil Disobedience For Losers was recorded in Los Angeles in March 2012 with engineer Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Big Business, Red Sparowes) and featuring special guest appearances by Melvins drummers Dale Crover and Coady Willis. Even with such superfriends assisting the proceedings, Indian Handcrafts prove their own exceptional strengths throughout the album. 

"The doctor said if you go and record that's your problem if it gets worse," Allen explains of recording with a broken hand. "It was a little painful some days, but because of being there in the surroundings it was easy to get around that. It healed fine." Overall, the duo says the recording came together very quickly under Kasai's guidance, but it's the bond between Aikins and Allen that gives Indian Handcrafts its lean, ferocious personality. "We first started this band when playing in another band that was pissing us off," Aikins says. "We were the two who always got along. I can't ever see us having anyone else in the band. Unless Toshi played tambourine."

Album opener "Bruce Lee" kicks off (as it were) with a storming drop tuned guitar riff for which Soundgarden would've killed decades ago and surreptitiously eases into a breakdown worthy of Funkadelic's Cosmic Slop before leaping headlong into a blazing double-time group chant crescendo led by triple marching snare drums courtesy of Aikins and special guests Crover and Willis of the Melvins. "Red Action" pulls Grand Funk boogie into a violent confrontation with HEALTH level effect pummeling as Aikins and Allen trade vocal-chord shredding harmonized screams. "Terminal Horse" blazes along on a harmonized riff while the dual vocalists spit out lyrics as if their lives depended on it. Elsewhere, Indian Handcrafts go in for the kill on the explosive "Centauri Teenage Riot" pitting the fury of teen angst against a wall of guitars and the dual drum attack of Aikins and Crover. On "The Jerk" chiming, delay-soaked post-punk guitar counters a propulsive 60s R&B beat as the vocalists spin a tale of seemingly depraved sex: "said you wanted a lovah, so we went down south and tried to find you a lovah/ You wanted a lovah/ You got with the other." Throughout, infectious guitar riffs, intense vocal harmonies and pounding drums spin wildly out of control as they churn out headbanging rock so catchy it seems like it's been a forgotten art for countless decades. 

Civil Disobedience For Losers will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on October 30th, 2012 via Sargent House. 

INDIAN HANDCRAFTS LIVE:

08/05  Barrie, ON @ Kempenfest 

09/13-09/16 Victoria, BC @ Rifflandia Festival 2012

Artist: Indian Handcrafts

Album: Civil Disobedience For Losers

Label: Sargent House

Release Date: October 30, 2012

01. Bruce Lee (MP3)

02. Red Action

03. Starcraft

04. Zombies

05. Worm In My Stomach

06. Terminal Horse

07. Coming Home

08. Centauri Teenage Riot

09. Truck Mouth

10. The Jerk

11. Lion at the Door

On the Web:

indianhandcrafts.net

indianhandcrafts.bandcamp.com

Hi-res photos, cover art, bio and more:
http://sargenthouse.com/indianhandcrafts_assets.html

Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group (featuring guest vocalist Teri of Le Butcherettes) announces EU and US tour dates

Photo credit: Hillel Zavala

Immensely prolific Grammy Award winning recording artist Omar Rodriguez Lopez (The Mars Volta, At The Drive-In) announces European and U.S. tour dates with Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group beginning in late August. Teresa Suarez aka Teri Gender Bender of Le Butcherettes will be lead vocalalist for all of these shows. The U.S. leg concludes with a performance at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX in November. More shows will soon be announced in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Russia and on the East Coast in the USA. Please see all current dates below. 

Omar also graces the cover of the new issue of the relaunched ALARM Magazine in a revealing feature titled, "The Death of a Dictator" in which he ushers in a new era relinquishing the control he's held over The Mars Volta. The entire issue is available for a limited time as a free download for iPad users. 

Omar Rodriguez Lopez's genre-defying sixteen-year career has resulted in more than 40 albums, a Grammy Award and being deemed among Rolling Stone's "Greatest Guitarists of All Time." His seminal and critically acclaimed band, At the Drive-In, redefined popular rock music at the end of the last decade. Since that time, in addition to being both a solo artist and leader/composer/producer of the The Mars Volta, Rodriguez Lopez has collaborated with John Frusciante, Hans Zimmer, Erykah Badu, RZA, Lydia Lunch and many others.

Along with Teri taking center stage and Mars Volta drummer Deantoni Parks once again in their ranks on this tour, this incarnation of the ORLG will henceforth function as a democracy -- a dynamic, shape-shifting band in the truest sense. What they intend to achieve this autumn will be nothing short of a total reinvention of themselves.

Check out Omar's most recent solo album, Octopus Kool Aid featuring lyrics and vocals by Teri Gender Bender available to stream HERE. 

For more information on Omar Rodriguez Lopez's multitude of endeavors, please CLICK HERE.

ORLG TOUR 2012:

08/30  Antwerp, BE @ Trix

08/31  Paris, FR @ Le Nouveau Casino

09/01  Zurich, CH @ Rote Fabrik

09/02  Lucerne, CH @ Schuur

09/03  Vienna, AT @ Szene Wien

09/04  Munich, DE@ 59:1

09/05  Wiesbaden, DE @ Schlachthof

09/06  Cologne, DE @ Luxor

09/07  Schorndorf, DE @ Club Manufaktur

09/09  Dortmund, DE @ FZW

09/10  Berlin, DE @ Magnet

09/12  Helsinki, FI @ Tavastia

09/14  Stockholm, SE @ Strand 

09/15  Oslo, NO @ Bla

09/16  Malmo, SE @ KB

09/17  Aarhus, DK @ Voxhall

09/18  Copenhagen, DK@ Loppen

09/20  Hannover, DE @ Musikzentrum 

09/21  Hamburg, DE @ Reeperbahn Festival 

09/22  Heidelberg, DE @ Karlstorbahnhof

09/23  Groningen, NL @ Vera

09/24  Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg Oude Zaal

09/26  Brighton, UK @ The Haunt

09/27  Manchester, UK @ The Deaf Institute

09/28  Nottingham, UK @ Rock City

09/29  Leeds, UK @ The Cockpit

09/30  Glasgow, UK @ Stereo

10/01  Galway, IE @ Roisin Dubh

10/02  Dublin, IE @ Button Factory

10/03  London, UK @ The Garage

USA

10/19  Seattle, WA @ City Arts Fest - The Triple Door

10/20  Portland, OR @ Star Theater 

10/23  Sacramento, CA  @ Harlow's

10/24  Oakland, CA @ The New Parish

10/25  Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour

10/26  Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory

10/27  Santa Barbara, CA @ Velvet Jones

10/28  San Diego, CA @ The Casbah

11/01 - 03  Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest

Artist: Omar Rodriguez Lopez

Album: Octopus Kool Aid (full album stream)

Label: Rodriguez Lopez Productions

Release Date: July 24th, 2012

01. Buenos Aires

02. Where Are The Angels?

03. Pink Heart

04. Células Hermosas 

05. People Feeding 

06. Un Café Atonal 

07. 18

08. Waves

09. Avión Apestoso

10. Worlds Get In The Way

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

sargenthouse.com/omar_assets.html

On the Web:

rodriguezlopezproductions.com

omarrodriguezlopez.bandcamp.com

Crypts premiere new song from Sargent House album debut via Consequence of Sound

Click image above to watch video (YouTube) (Vimeo)

Seattle dark electronic trio Crypts premiere a new track from their forthcoming self-titled Sargent House debut album today courtesy of Consequence of Sound. The song, "Territories" is available to stream/download HERE or at this Soundcloud link.

Crypts also recently posted an eerie mind-warping video for album track "Fancy" to watch HERE (check out MP3 HERE). The clip was directed and edited by Crypts member and visual artist Nick Bartoletti. 

Additionally, Crypts upcoming shows include a west coast run in September with Chelsea Wolfe in support of the album's release. Please see complete dates below. 

The long, slow demise of rock music has endured endless death throes, but the self-titled debut album by Crypts seems to clearly seal its fate while heralding the arrival of something far more vibrant and downright dangerous. The trio blends thick, hazy drone and synth noise with chopped-up hip hop rhythms, forsaking guitars in favor of more unique and sinister sounds. 

Vocalist Steve Snere, former frontman of chaotic punk revisionists These Arms Are Snakes, brings a snarling urgency to the songs, while programmer Bryce Brown blasts out an aural assault of horror show noise, subsonic bass and skittering rhythms. Meanwhile, visual artist Nick Bartoletti creates a total environment of light and video projections for the band's live experience as well as its decidedly nihilistic aesthetic. It's an all-out attack on the senses that comes across as fresh and invigorating as the early days of punk. 

"I needed a change of pace, to take myself out of the guitar-based rock world," says vocalist Steve Snere. "And the three of us wanted to experiment to find a sound that we wanted to hear." The result is the intense, occasionally bleak, yet endlessly enthralling debut album. Comparisons range from Wolf Eyes meets Christian Death to Skinny Puppy playing Dizzee Rascal. But these touch points seem to only scratch the surface of the snarling beast within Crypts. 

The album was engineered with Erik Blood (Shabazz Palaces), building upon basics recorded by Brown on Pro-Tools to which the band added live instruments. Most of the sounds were generated on home-built and modified equipment. Live, the band uses a homemade sound-reactive video device for its startling visuals. "We play everything live, there's no loops," Brown explains. "It's not a lot of button-pushing. Nick runs visuals live, while also playing synths. It's more like a rock band in a live setting." 

Crypts opens with the fittingly titled "Completely Fucked", awash with slithering John Carpenter soundtrack synths oozing over galloping drum machine beats and synthetic handclaps. Nearly buried beneath the din, Snere moans and wails, building to a screaming crescendo like a maniac. And, with a choked growl, the song ends just barely over 2-minutes, launching into the hip-hop beat and almost bubbly-sounding keyboards of "Daft." Elsewhere, the trio lean into The Cure's Pornography-era gloom-pop ("Territories") and dark, anthemic hooks ("Bloods"). Throughout, it's a vastly energetic, albeit downright depraved sounding album thanks to Snere's effectively dramatic and versatile vocals and the band's innovative collision of musical aesthetics. 

Crypts will be released on LP, CD and download via Sargent House on September 4th, 2012. 

CRYPTS with CHELSEA WOLFE:

09/08  Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore 

09/09  Seattle, WA @ Barboza 

09/12  San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop 

09/14  Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo (also w/ Gothic Tropic)

Artist: Crypts

Album: Crypts

Label: Sargent House

Release Date: September 4th, 2012

Track list: 

01. Completely Fucked 

02. Daft

03. Territories (MP3)

04. Breathe

05. Fancy (MP3) (VIDEO: YouTube / Vimeo)

06. Smut

07. Bloods

08. Sleazy 

On the Web:

cryptsmusic.tumblr.com

www.facebook.com/Cryptsss

www.twitter.com/crypts

www.sargenthouse.com

www.crypts.bandcamp.com

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

www.sargenthouse.com/crypts_assets.html

Fang Island release new album Major today, full stream on Spinner, U.S. headlining tour dates underway

Click image to watch teaser video

"It’s impossible to come away from Major without a big grin plastered from ear to ear." -- BBC Music

"As an album, if I had to give Major a rank, I would promote it to General." -- Vice

Brooklyn's beloved guitar-anthem optimists Fang Island release their sophomore album, Major today. In honor of the occasion, full album streams are available all this week courtesy of NPR and AOL Spinner. Listen HERE and/or HERE. 

This past weekend Fang Island kicked off their summer headlining tour, with support on partially overlapping stretches from Irish genre-benders Adebisi Shank and The Mars Volta sibling heavy groove outfit Zechs Marquise. Fang Island will also play Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX in November (exact date TBA). Please see complete dates below. 

SPIN.com recently premiered a new track from the album. The song, "Seek It Out" is available to stream HERE. (Alternate Soundcloud link HERE.) Pitchfork recently premiered MP3s for the tracks "Asunder" (HERE) and "Sisterly" (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. 

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

FANG ISLAND Summer 2012 Tour:

07/25 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop 

07/26 Pontiac, MI @ The Crofoot - Pike Room 

07/27 Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen

07/28 Chicago, IL @ Wicker Park Music Festival

07/29 St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway 

07/30 Kansas City, MO @ Czar Bar *

08/01 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge *

08/02 Salt Lake City, UT @ Vertigo *

08/03 Boise, ID @ Neurolux *

08/04 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre *

08/05 Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile *

08/07 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *

08/10 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour *!

08/11 San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar !

08/12 Phoenix, AZ @ The Rhythm Room *!

08/13 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress *!

08/14 Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad *!

08/16 Dallas, TX @ Club Dada !

08/17 Austin, TX @ Mohawk !

08/18 Volente, TX @ Beachfront Boat Studios 

08/19 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live - Studio !

08/20 New Orleans, LA @ Parish at House of Blues !

08/21 Birmingham, AL @ Bottle Tree !

08/22 Gainesville, FL @ Double Down Live !

08/23 St. Petersburg, FL @ The Local 662 !

08/24 Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits !

08/25 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade !

08/26 Asheville, NC @ Asheville Music Hall !

08/28 Raleigh, NC @ Kings !

08/29 Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter !

08/30 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg !
11/01 - 11/03 Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest (exact date TBA)

* w/ Zechs Marquise

! w/ Adebisi Shank

Artist: Fang Island 

Album: Sisterly (digital single) 

Label: Sargent House

Release date: June 19th, 2012

01. Sisterly 

02. Sisterly (Anamanaguchi remix) (STREAM)

Artist: Fang Island 

Album: Major

Label: Sargent House

Release date: July 24th, 2012

Track list:

01. Kindergarten

02. Sisterly (MP3)

03. Seek it Out (STREAM)

04. Make Me

05. Never Understand

06. Asunder (MP3)

07. Dooney Rock

08. Regalia

09. Chompers

10. Chime Out

11. Victorinian

On the Web:

fangisland.com

sargenthouse.com

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

sargenthouse.com/fangisland_assets.html 

Zorch multi-instrumentalist Shmu premieres new "Pool Party" video via Consequence of Sound

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 video today via Consequence of Sound. The clip, for "Pool Party (Place 4 Us)" is culled from his solo debut under the moniker Shmu. Watch video HERE. The entire album, Discipline/Communication is available for streaming HERE.

The track and video for "&hearts" was recently posted by Canadian mega music tabloid Exclaim! and available to stream/download HERE. And, Shmu previously 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. Meanwhile, "&hearts" takes some of Zorch's spastic glitch and infuses a pop sensibility. 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 was released 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) (VIDEO)

On the Web:

www.shmusix.com

shmu.bandcamp.com

www.facebook.com/shmusix

NYC heavy-psych band Sleep Maps premiere new single, release remix EP

Click image above to watch video

"Much of the best art comes from visionary individuals following their instincts into strange and dark places, and that's certainly the case with Sleep Maps, whose Fiction Makes The Future debut is an unexpected treat. These are definitely ones to watch." -- Rock A Rolla  

New York City heavy-psych band Sleep Maps premiere a new single today via RCRD LBL. The epic, pummeling song "Horror In The Telescope" is available HERE. In addition to the new track, an EP of remix versions of "Men Against The Stars" from the band's debut, Fiction Makes The Future is now available via Bandcamp. 

East Coast tour dates beginning in late October will be announced soon. 

Consequence of Sound recently premiered the video for album closer "Last Future" which makes a powerful statement on the impact of organized revolt. Watch video HERE. 

The Onion AV Club profiled the band in their June Loud column with the album track "Men Against The Stars" which originally premiered via Prefix Mag: stream/download HERE. Stream/download the full album HERE.

Sleep Maps is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Ben Kaplan, who performed all of the instruments on Fiction Makes The Future. The band has since expanded to a full 4-piece lineup, playing its aggressive yet atmospheric songs live with poignant visual projections. The band first formed in Los Angeles, before Kaplan picked up a moved to NYC, recording the album on his own prior to finding musicians suited to the task. 

A reaction to the present world and a vision of a lost future, Fiction Makes the Future brings the listener back in time to imagine a reality that might have been. Set against a backdrop of ambient synthscapes, crushing guitar builds and explosive drumming, the album tries to make sense of man's deep seated desire to know his future. Disembodied voices from luminaries of many ages intermingle with echoing guitar leads, soaked in the reverb of outer space, and distorted bass lines that rumble in the low end like the jets of an Apollo spacecraft, blurring the line between traditional post-rock and a new kind of sci-fi instrumental rock.

Fiction Makes The Future was recorded in the woods of Delaware over 3 weeks in October 2011. The 5-song, 40-plus minute album was produced, performed and mixed by Ben Kaplan. It is available on limited edition CD and download via Lost Future Music as of May 1st, 2012.

Artist: Sleep Maps

Album: "Horror In The Telescope" single

Label: Lost Future Music

Release Date: July 18th, 2012

01. Horror In The Telescope (MP3)

Artist: Sleep Maps

Album: Fiction Makes The Future

Label: Lost Future Music

Release Date: May 1st, 2012

01. Men Against The Stars (MP3)

02. The Eternal Wanderer

03. Forbidden Light

04. A Greater Fire

05. Last Future (VIDEO)

On the Web:

www.sleepmaps.com

facebook.com/sleepmapsmusic

Fang Island streaming entire new album on NPR, kick off U.S. headlining tour dates this month

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 are streaming their entire forthcoming sophomore album, Major all this week courtesy of the NPR website. Listen HERE. Major will be released July 24th on Sargent House. Pre-orders are available now on iTunes, HelloMerch and Amazon. 

SPIN.com recently premiered a new song from the album. The song, "Seek It Out" is available to stream HERE. (Alternate Soundcloud link HERE.)

Fang Island has also added new dates to their upcoming summer headlining tour, with support on partially overlapping stretches from Irish genre-benders Adebisi Shank and The Mars Volta sibling heavy groove outfit Zechs Marquise. Please see complete dates below. 

Pitchfork recently premiered MP3s for the tracks "Asunder" (HERE) and "Sisterly" (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. 

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.

FANG ISLAND Summer 2012 Tour:

07/19 Hartford, CT @ Arch Street Tavern (w/ The Hold Steady)

07/20 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom

07/21 Philadelphia, PA @ Morgan's Pier 

07/22 Washington DC @ U Street Music Hall 

07/23 Columbus, OH @ The Basement 

07/25 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop 

07/26 Pontiac, MI @ The Crofoot - Pike Room 

07/27 Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen

07/28 Chicago, IL @ Wicker Park Music Festival

07/29 St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway 

07/30 Kansas City, MO @ Czar Bar *

08/01 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge *

08/02 Salt Lake City, UT @ Vertigo *

08/03 Boise, ID @ Neurolux *

08/04 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre *

08/05 Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile *

08/07 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *

08/10 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour *!

08/11 San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar !

08/12 Phoenix, AZ @ The Rhythm Room *!

08/13 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress *!

08/14 Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad *!

08/16 Dallas, TX @ Club Dada !

08/17 Austin, TX @ Mohawk !

08/18 Volente, TX @ Beachfront Boat Studios 

08/19 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live - Studio !

08/20 New Orleans, LA @ Parish at House of Blues !

08/21 Birmingham, AL @ Bottle Tree !

08/22 Gainesville, FL @ Double Down Live !

08/23 St. Petersburg, FL @ The Local 662 !

08/24 Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits !

08/25 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade !

08/26 Asheville, NC @ Asheville Music Hall !

08/28 Raleigh, NC @ Kings !

08/29 Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter !

08/30 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg !

* w/ Zechs Marquise

! w/ Adebisi Shank

Artist: Fang Island 

Album: Sisterly (digital single) 

Label: Sargent House

Release date: June 19th, 2012

01. Sisterly 

02. Sisterly (Anamanaguchi remix) (STREAM)

Artist: Fang Island 

Album: Major

Label: Sargent House

Release date: July 24th, 2012

Track list:

01. Kindergarten

02. Sisterly (MP3)

03. Seek it Out (STREAM)

04. Make Me

05. Never Understand

06. Asunder (MP3)

07. Dooney Rock

08. Regalia

09. Chompers

10. Chime Out

11. Victorinian

On the Web:

fangisland.com

sargenthouse.com

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

sargenthouse.com/fangisland_assets.html