Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Boris announce residency US tour performing Flood album & all-time classics

Click image to watch tour teaser video

Legendary Japanese trio Boris announce a series of US headlining residency shows in several major markets following their performance at Austin Psych Fest in late April. The residency tour, billed as "from the past, the present and through to the future" features Boris playing 2 consecutive nights in each city. For the first night, the band will perform its all-time classics along with many new songs never before played in the US. The second night's set features most of Boris' cult classic album Flood along with a noise/drone/experimental set. Please see all current dates below.

Boris will also sell a limited edition tour-only release available only at the merch table. Watch/share tour video teaser HERE.

Iconoclast trio Boris are widely known for their ability to breach styles and stretch sonic boundaries of all that is heavy, psychedelic, droning and downright cathartic. Their last three albums -- Attention Please, Heavy Rocks and New Album, all released in 2011 via Sargent House -- are perfect testament to the band's vast abilities. Over the span of two decades, the trio, bassist/vocalist Takeshi, guitarist/vocalist Wata and drummer/vocalist Atsuo has issued nearly 20 studio albums, as well as numerous collaborative albums -- including projects with Merzbow, Sunn0))), Ian Astbury and Michio Kurihara of Ghost (who also currently tours with the band as second guitarist) -- EPs and singles on various labels throughout the world.


BORIS US TOUR 2013
04/27  Austin, TX @ Carson Creek - Austin Psych Fest
05/01  Washington DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel 
05/02  Washington DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel 
05/04  Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
05/05  Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
05/06  New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge 
05/07  New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge  
05/10  Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
05/11  Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall 
05/18  Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
05/19  Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile 
05/21  San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
05/22  San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop 
05/23  Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex
05/24  Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex 




Artist: Boris
Album: New Album 
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: December 6th, 2011

01. Flare (MP3)
02. Hope
03. Party Boy
04. Luna
05. Spoon (MP3) 
06. Pardon?
07. Jackson Head
08. Les Paul Custom '86
09. Tu, La La
10. Looprider   



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
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Friday, January 25, 2013

Native announce tour dates with Caspian, new album on Sargent House in Summer 2013



Northwest Indiana's Native announce a slew of North American live dates beginning in February, most of which will be with post-rock instrumentalists Caspian. Please see complete dates below. 

Native recently finished recording their second full length album with Greg Norman (Russian Circles, Pelican) in Chicago. Sargent House will release the album in Summer 2013.  

Check out a video of the band playing a new song, "Kissing Bridge" live in Paris, from their recent European headlining tour. Watch video HERE.

NATIVE 2013
Feb 25 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory 
Feb 26 - Albuquerque, NM @ The Gas Works
Feb 27 - Tempe, AZ @ Tempe Women's Club 
CASPIAN & NATIVE 2013
Mar 01 - Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex also w/ Junius 
Mar 02 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar And Lounge 
Mar 03 - San Francisco, CA @ The Bottom of the Hill 
Mar 05 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza
Mar 06 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge 
Mar 07 - Boise, ID @ The Red Room
Mar 08 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court 
Mar 09 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
Mar 10 - Omaha, NE @ The West Wing (no Caspian)
Mar 11 - Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Music Hall 
Mar 12 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue 7th Street Entry 
Mar 13 - Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
Mar 14 - Chicago, IL @ Subterranean 
Mar 15 - St Louis, MO @ The Firebird 
Mar 16 - Nashville, TN @ Exit/In 
Mar 18 - Toronto, ON  @ The Garrison 
Mar 19 - Lansing, MI  @ Mac's Bar 
Mar 20 - Newport, KY @ Southgate House 
Mar 21 - Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop 
Mar 22 - Pittsburgh, PA  @ Smiling Moose 
Mar 23 - Buffalo, NY  @ Big Orbit Soundlab 
Mar 24 - Burlington, VT @ Signal Kitchen
NATIVE ONLY 
Mar 25 - Montreal, QC @ L'escogriffe Cafe Bar 
Mar 26 - Kitchener, ON @ Jesse's Rehearsal 
Mar 27 - Toledo, OH @ Mickey Finn's


STREAM ALL PREVIOUS RELEASES


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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Italian duo Niagara premiere video via Consequence of Sound from forthcoming debut album


Click image above to watch video

Italian singer/producer duo Niagara premiere the first video from their forthcoming debut today via Consequence of Sound. The charming, cleverly executed clip is for "Seal" the lead single from the album OTTO, slated for release March 26th, 2013 on Monotreme Records. Watch/share video HERE

The digital single, "Seal" b/w "Kiss" (a cover of the song sung by Marilyn Monroe in the film "Niagara") is available today care of the Monotreme label's Soundcloud page. Download/stream the song HERE

Niagara is the collaborative project of Turin-based singers/producers Davide Tomat (TOMAT / N.A.M.B.) and Gabriele Ottino (N.A.M.B. / Milena Lovesick), who like to take a less conventional approach to composition. Much of their music is developed by continuous experimentation with sounds during improvised sessions, in which vocals are often used as just another instrumental layer. However, they also have a great ear for a killer pop tune and the vocal chops to deliver it.
On OTTO, Niagara blend together a heady mixture of experimental pop, electronica and psychedelia to create their own brand of 'avant-psych-tronica'.

The album title -- the Italian word for "eight" -- represents a number of things, from the Law of Octaves to the symbol of infinity when rotated 90 degrees. OTTO will be available in North America on CD and download on March 26th, 2013 via Monotreme Records

Artist: Niagara
Album: OTTO
Label: Monotreme Records
Release Date: March 26, 2013

01. Eight
02. Superbe
03. Seal (VIDEO)
04. Watershipdown
05. Etacarinae
06. E.V.A.
07. Galaxy Glacier
08. Love Me Love Me



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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

This Town Needs Guns officially alter band name in light of gun controversy, new album out today


"This Town Needs Guns sound stylish, sussed and like reformed mathcore men Minus The Bear covering seminal Mancunian miserablists The Smiths. Good, in other words." -- Kerrang
"The fingerprint of This Town Needs Guns is a one-of-a-kind distinction from any other band within the confines of contemporary indie rock. Their technical, methodic performing allows their music to shine, unparalleled on 13.0.0.0.0In a word: Profound." -- The Aquarian 



In an unusual but thoughtful move, England's This Town Needs Guns today announce they will officially transition the band's name to simply TTNG. This news comes on the same day as the release of the trio's sophomore album, 13.0.0.0.0. Listen to/share the complete album HERE.

The band has released the following statement:

"With a new year, a new album and a new line up comes a new name for This Town Needs Guns. 2013 is a year of change for the band and we are taking what we feel is a positive step forward. From this point on we will simply be known as TTNG.

"Over the years, many of you have asked where the band name comes from. As a band originating in Oxford, UK, 'This Town Needs Guns' was simply a name chosen by a group of friends wanting to make music together. At the time, this name was not considerd particularly offensive and indeed was an ironic statement given the setting of such a historic and cultural city as Oxford.

"Context plays a big part in the way a band name such as 'This Town Needs Guns' may be perceived. In the UK, guns are not present. Ordinarily, our police force do not even carry guns. Within this context, an idea such as a town needing guns seems too absurd to be taken seriously.

"However, eight years on, things have changed. With our music now finding new cultures, the irony of the name is no longer implicit. Also, in light of the controversy over gun ownership in the US as well as tragic shootings there and elsewhere in the world, we want to distance ourselves from a band name which we are now uncomfortable with.

"We hope this change of name doesn't disappoint anyone. It is the music that is important, not the name. As Shakespeare's Juliet said 'What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.'"


While most things related to the album will retain the band's original name, the upcoming Japanese edition will have new art and list the band only as TTNG. See that cover below alongside the original artwork.

13.0.0.0.0 is their first album featuring their new vocalist Henry Tremain following the amicable departure of former lead singer Stuart Smith in 2011. This lineup shows considerable growth and cohesion with Tim Collis' signature bluegrass style finger-picking electric guitar lines weaving around brother and drummer Chris Collis' stop 'n' go syncopated rhythms as Tremain's rich vocals glide across the proceedings. But it's the band's earnest songwriting that really shines herein. 

13.0.0.0.0 is available worldwide on LP, CD and download via Sargent House on January 22, 2013.


Artist: This Town Needs Guns
Album: 13.0.0.0.0
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: January 22, 2013

01. Cat Fantastic (MP3)
02. Havoc In The Forum
03. Left Aligned (MP3)
04. In The Branches of Yggdrasil
05. I'll Take The Minute Snake (MP3)
06. 2 Birds, 1 Stone and an Empty Stomach
07. Nice Riff, Clichard
08. Triptych
09. Pygmy Polygamy
10. A Different Kind of Tall (small)
11. +3 Awesomeness Repels Water
12. 13.0.0.0.0








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Thursday, January 17, 2013

My Education premiere video via Consequence of Sound from new album 'A Drink For All My Friends'

Click image above to watch video

"There must be something on the air, or in it, to explain the space rock blooming in central Texas. This Austin sextet expands on the arc-riff grandeur of local travelers Explosions in the Sky with John Cale-like viola and simple, rising melodies that take you way up and out. My surprise find at SXSW this year, My Education are advanced ecstasy." -- David Fricke, Rolling Stone 



Austin, TX sonic explorers My Education premiere a new video today via Consequence of Sound. The clip, for the album track "Mister 1986" is available to watch HERE. Embed/share video HERE.

Austin Chronicle recently profiled the album's "respect to everyone we've lost" tribute to friends and former band members, both living and dead. See complete article HERE.

Paste Magazine recently premiered the intense clip for the song "Black Box" featuring the Noble Motion Dance Company's performance for the tune which is centered around the recovered black box recordings from a doomed flight. Watch video HERE.

Consequence of Sound also recently premiered the mind-warping visuals and brute force of the track "Homunculus", which is available to watch/share HERE. The long-running 7 piece band's sixth album, A Drink For All My Friends was released November 27th, 2012 in North America on Headbump Records/Haute Magie and in Europe on Golden Antenna.

A Drink For All My Friends is the band's most streamlined and aggressive effort yet, while remaining an entrancing cinematic journey throughout, exploring everything from the final communiques from doomed airline pilots to a frenetic and violent outburst from a laboratory golem.

Since forming in 1999, the band's membership has expanded and contracted while the sonic landscapes have grown with each release. My Education has released 5 full-length albums, several singles, compilation appearances, and a 12" vinyl collaboration with avant-hip hop duo Dalek. Recordings have been remixed by members of bands Kinski, Pelican, Red Sparowes and Dalek.

In June 2010 the band completed a series of improvisational recordings with Salt Lake City ensemble Theta Naught that were released April 2011 on Differential Records. "SoundMass" performances at SXSW and Austin Psych Fest were greeted with wild acclaim, and a Daytrotter SoundMass session was released in July 2011. Vinyl of this release is brand new and out now. Additional SoundMass performances are currently being scheduled to promote the vinyl and new recordings are also in the works. My Education's collaboration with the Noble Motion dance company premiered with three sold out shows in June 2011 at the Austin Ballet. A new limited edition CD of Sunrise remixes is out now on Reverb Worship as well as a limited edition live "bootleg" CD entitled Bamboozled from the band's 2010 tour. On the horizon: My Education's first European tour now booking for spring 2013.  

A Drink For All My Friends is available on LP, CD, cassette and download as of November 27th, 2012 via Headbump Records in the US and Golden Antenna in Europe.

MY EDUCATION LIVE:
02/01 Holy Mountain - Austin,TX
03/22 Doom Over Leipzig - Leipzig, GER
03/23 Tiefgrund - Berlin, GER
03/24 Rhiz - Vienna, AU
03/25 Boro - Brno, CZ
03/29 Ambasada - Beltinci, SLO
03/31 Dunk! Festival - Zottegem, BEL
04/01 Espace B - Paris, France
04/09 Nexus - Braunschweig, GER


Artist: My Education
Album: A Drink For All My Friends
Label: Headbump Records (US) / Golden Antenna (EU)
Release Date: November 27, 2012

01. A Drink For...
02. ...All My Friends
03. Mister 1986 (VIDEO)
04. Black Box (VIDEO)
05. ROBOTER-HOHLENBEWOHNER
06. Happy Village
07. Homunculus (VIDEO)




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Tera Melos premiere first song from upcoming new album via Rolling Stone


"Once in a rare while an album comes along that's so fresh and ingenious it redefines what's possible in a field of music. It's been some time since a trio armed with guitar, drums, bass and vocals have shattered the boundaries of convention and pushed the limits of their instruments and compositions like a graceful tsunami of invention." -- Exclaim!  

"Akin to the type of freak-pop perversion dished out by daring pioneers like Devo and The Flaming Lips." -- Wired


Sacramento's genre-benders Tera Melos announce the forthcoming release of their latest album today with the exclusive premiere of a new song via Rolling Stone. The track, "Tropic Lame" is culled from the new album, X'ed Out and available to download/stream HERE. Cover art and full track listing below. 

Truly great art is that which can't be easily understood and dissected, but immediately resonates nonetheless. Tera Melos' new full length, X'ed Out is just that kind of adventure. The songs transcend in a way that makes you want to sit friends down to hear it, not only to share the experience, but perhaps in hopes that together you can create the world in which songs like this can be defined. It hits mental buttons and flicks internal switches that you never knew existed, while cleverly obscuring the technical precision for which the band has been known. It's remarkably multifaceted, incredibly catchy and perplexing to unravel exactly how it all works. 

"It's like visiting a friend who lives on the 14th floor of a building with no elevator, yet he has a grand piano in his apartment," explains bassist Nathan Latona. "How did he get it there? Was it carried up 14 flights of stairs, assembled on site or what? This record is the piano in the apartment with no elevator. We wanted to do all of the tricky stuff in a way that doesn't seem noticeable." 

X'ed Out is the culmination of an arc begun on Tera Melos' first proper full-length, Patagonian Rats (Sargent House, 2010) -- a supercollider of 60s pop hooks, Minutemen garage-prog, post-punk evisceration, wiry psychedelia and nearly everything else in-between. Here, the Sacramento based trio burns and simmers simultaneously while situated somewhere without benefit of location services. It's a nowhere land, X'ed Out of the grid, both inviting and daring. Join us. 

From the very first fluttering notes of album opener "Weird Circles" it's clear that we're encountering an entirely new Tera Melos. Guitarist/vocalist Nick Reinhart's steady, rhythmic palm-muted strumming and Latona's nimble counter-melody glide the song through the ether like Tangerine Dream with stringed instruments. Reinhart's soft falsetto vocals hover at the forefront until drummer John Clardy's propulsive beat kicks in short, sharp jolts with wailing noise leading up to a triumphant crescendo. Elsewhere, "Bite" soars with a chiming harmonized guitar drone smeared over repetitive, mechanical sounding rhythms. Haunting Beach Boys style "do do do" vocals lead in to the bubbly, rapid-fire notes of "Sunburn" before erupting into the unabashed pop hooks of the chorus. Mellower moments, like the swooning guitar drone and vocal harmonies of "No Phase" and threadbare-yet-bludgeoning "Melody Nine" show just how richly developed the band's musical palette has become. "Tropic Lame" sounds almost reminiscent of Goo-era Sonic Youth's maligned guitar melodies -- skronking, ringing, bending -- while the whole band lean into their instruments to create a massive haze of joyful noise. 

"I'd initially wanted to make a really simple and minimal record," Reinhart says. "But our minds wander way too much, so when the songs came to life, they raged a little more than expected. In the process, it became clear that to move forward we needed to think less." Clardy agrees, "we're not trying to bludgeon people over their heads with technicality. It's more deceptively simple." 

X'ed Out will be available everywhere April 16th, 2013 on LP, CD and download via Sargent House

Artist: Tera Melos
Album: X'ed Out
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: April 16, 2013

01. Weird Circles
02. New Chlorine
03. Bite
04. Snake Lake
05. Sunburn
06. Melody Nine
07. No Phase
08. Tropic Lame (MP3)
09. Slimed
10. Until Lufthansa
11. Surf Nazis
12. X'ed Out and Tired






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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

This Town Needs Guns stream entire new album a week ahead of release


"This Town Needs Guns sound stylish, sussed and like reformed mathcore men Minus The Bear covering seminal Mancunian miserablists The Smiths. Good, in other words." -- Kerrang
"The fingerprint of This Town Needs Guns is a one-of-a-kind distinction from any other band within the confines of contemporary indie rock. Their technical, methodic performing allows their music to shine, unparalleled on 13.0.0.0.0In a word: Profound." -- The Aquarian 


Oxford, England's This Town Needs Guns today launch a stream of their entire forthcoming sophomore album, 13.0.0.0.0 one week ahead of its release. Listen/share the complete album HERE

TTNG has always been known for walking a tightrope line between pop melody and technical precision. But, 13.0.0.0.0 finds the band blurring the lines so masterfully that their intricate, spindling guitar lines and soaring pop hooks reach unforeseen apexes. And, so it's fitting that the band titled their new album after esoteric means of counting: 13.0.0.0.0 referring to the Mayan calendar's Long Count indicating the beginning (August 11, 3114 BCE) and ending (December 21, 2012) of the current civilization. 

13.0.0.0.0 is their first album featuring their new vocalist Henry Tremain following the amicable departure of former lead singer Stuart Smith in 2011. This lineup shows considerable growth and cohesion with Tim Collis' signature bluegrass style finger-picking electric guitar lines weaving around brother and drummer Chris Collis' stop 'n' go syncopated rhythms as Tremain's rich vocals glide across the proceedings. But it's the band's earnest songwriting that really shines herein. 

This Town Needs Guns have stayed true to their sound rather than chasing pop payoff like many of their contemporaries. The result is a leaner, stronger version of themselves similar to the way kindred spirits Pinback and Grizzly Bear have honed unique identities over many years. Album opener "Cat Fantastic" kicks things off at a spritely pace with an incredibly nimble clawhammer plucking guitar melody that sounds like a hybrid of Flatt & Scruggs crossed with Robert Fripp. But, it's the warmth to Tremain's voice and the song's hooky chord progression that makes it easy to forget the depth of musicianship on display throughout. Elsewhere, ethereal vocal melodies weave together with rapid-fire guitar and bass interplay on "Havoc In The Forum" and a sliced-up sounding drum pattern on "I'll Take The Minute Snake." Tremain's vocal acrobatics in "Left Aligned" reach stunning highs while slithering bass chords, fugue-like guitar notes and rollicking drums form a sturdy base. "13.0.0.0.1" perfectly closes the album with a chiming lullaby of interwoven piano and lightly plucked guitar notes. 

13.0.0.0.0 will be released worldwide on LP, CD and download via Sargent House on January 22, 2013.


Artist: This Town Needs Guns
Album: 13.0.0.0.0
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: January 22, 2013

01. Cat Fantastic (MP3)
02. Havoc In The Forum
03. Left Aligned (MP3)
04. In The Branches of Yggdrasil
05. I'll Take The Minute Snake (MP3)
06. 2 Birds, 1 Stone and an Empty Stomach
07. Nice Riff, Clichard
08. Triptych
09. Pygmy Polygamy
10. A Different Kind of Tall (small)
11. +3 Awesomeness Repels Water
12. 13.0.0.0.0








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