Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Hot Victory stream full album, tour with Floor now


Portland, Oregon duo Hot Victory -- one woman, one man; both playing drums, synths and samples -- share their entire self-titled new album today. Listen to and share Hot Victory HERE.

The duo previously shared the first track via Brooklyn Vegan. The song "Labyrinthos", culled from their self-titled debut on alt-heavy label Eolian Empire is available to listen to/share HERE.

The band is currently on tour, including extensive dates with newly reunited doom purveyors Floor (featuring Steve Brooks of Torche). Please see complete dates below. 

Hot Victory have charted a course for who knows where. A man and woman, joined at the drums, do the work of an entire crew as they launch themselves into galaxies far far away where alien sounds weave through the colliding polyrhythms of a cyborg drumline. Electronic, industrial, experimental, progressive rock, krautrock, and New Age intersect to manifest heretofore unknown sonic forms. With their self-titled fourth LP (first on vinyl) Hot Victory has created an all-enveloping cybernetic structure of electroacoustic music powered by a relentless human pulse, opening portals deep into the hybrid mind and exposing the warped mathematics to their own theory of everything.

Hot Victory comprises Ben Stoller on drums, pads, and programming and Caitlin Love on drums, pads, tapes, and samples. Originally formed circa 2008 as an "anti-band" improvisation unit with a revolving cast of characters adding other instruments to the mix, over time the core drum duo assembled a command center of trigger pads, synths, and samplers-built about their intertwined drums-to take over all sound generation and craft tightly structured pieces. On their self-titled first release for Portland D.I.Y. label Eolian Empire, recorded live in the studio to tape on just sixteen tracks, Hot Victory builds upon years of improvisation and invention to show just how much a man and woman can do while sitting down, launching a multi-dimensional electroacoustic creation that pulses, drives, sweeps, stutters, and rocks, fusing the avant electronic music of Tangerine Dream, Eberhard Schoener, and Add N to X to the rhythmic machinations of Billy Cobham, Crash Worship and Hitting Birth, wound through with soundtracks from eerie John Carpenter and Goblin to the tricksy fusion of The Equalizer and Miami Vice, and a samples selection worthy of Steel Pole Bath Tub. Winning.

Hot Victory is available on 180gm gatefold vinyl and download on April 29th, 2014 via Eolian Empire. 

HOT VICTORY LIVE:
04/29 Nashville, TN @ The Other Basement / Sweetwater
04/30 Atlanta, GA @ 529
05/02 Gainesville, FL @ The Wooley *
05/03 Charlotte, NC @ Tremont Music Hall *
05/04 Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel *
05/05 Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus *
05/06 Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary *
05/07 Boston, MA @ Great Scott *
05/08 Buffalo, NY @ The Tralf *
05/09 Pittsburgh, PA @ The Smiling Moose *
05/10 Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme *
05/11 Chicago, IL @ Double Door *
05/13 Denver, CO @ The Moon Room *
05/14 Salt Lake City, UT @ Bar Deluxe *
05/16 Portland, OR @ Branx *
05/17 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey *

* with Floor
Artist: Hot Victory
Album: Hot Victory
Label: Eolian Empire
Release Date: April 29, 2014

01. Tenebrae
02. IslandRealm
03. Anasazi
04. Tetraktys
05. Harmony of Spheres (digital only) 
06. Labyrinthos (STREAM)











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Monday, April 28, 2014

Equals premiere intense paint-adelic video via Brooklyn Vegan from forthcoming album

Click image to watch video

“The densely layered songs all have their distinctive storyboard of moods and textures, each one a lovely surprise yet all somehow melding together to form a cohesive, cinematic whole.” — My Old Kentucky Blog

“Equals might sound improvised here and there, but this is controlled, carefully arranged stuff.” — Austin American Statesman
Austin art rock quintet Equals share the first video from their forthcoming album Tracts today via Brooklyn Vegan. The spectacularly artful and colorful clip for "Autotelic" is available to watch and share HERE.

Previously, CMJ premiered the track "Glistener", which is available to listen/share HERE. (Direct Soundcloud link HERE.) The band previously shared the first track, "Conveyor" in March. That is available to listen/share HERE.

Equals' music is dramatic, yet joyous and playful. The songs may sound simple at first, but complexity shines through after careful listening. Every song is meticulously arranged by bassist Alex Guzman, drummer Matt Toman, keyboardist Logan Wexler and guitarists Dylan Storey and Simon McDonald. Each part of every song -- from the angular pulsing rhythms to the crisp, eclectic samples -- has a purpose. The organic elements interweave with the synthetic elements, providing texture and layers that are extremely difficult to pull off live. Click tracks be damned, they fearlessly recreate multi-layered loops and samples, gracefully operating on the bleak notion that one wrong move can end a song in failure. Equals executes flawlessly, with character behind every note.

For Equals' debut full-length album Tracts, they joined producer Alex Bhore (This Will Destroy You) in the studio, recording nine songs, an expansion to their 2011 debut self-titled EP. The songs flow together, providing the soundtrack to a journey that feels forthcoming, unrealized until the final track. Unlike the band's previous EP, the album was recorded in one place at Cacophony Recorders in Austin and mixed at Elmwood Studios in Dallas, giving it a more cohesive sound. Working with Bhore again, their new offering is larger, more energetic, with a unique sonic palette of strings, glockenspiel, piano, analog synthesizers, various percussion instruments, field recordings and even vocals. 

Tracts has a bounty of subtle music treats that the members painstakingly buried beneath solid foundations. All these elements, and various other influences, from R&B to folk music, make up the band's sound, but trying to define Equals' music is like trying to define the five band members as one personality.

Tracts will be available on LP, CD and download on May 6th, 2014. Pre-sale orders can be made via the band's webstore.

EQUALS LIVE:
07/15  Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon *
07/16  New Orleans, LA @ Publiq House *
07/17  Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald's *
07/18  Austin, TX @ Holy Mountain *
07/19  Dallas, TX @ The Foundry *
07/25  Denver, CO @ Denver Post's The Underground Music Showcase
07/26  Denver, CO @ Denver Post's The Underground Music Showcase %
07/27  Denver, CO @ Denver Post's The Underground Music Showcase

* w/ New Madrid
% w/ Roadkill Ghost Choir

Artist: Equals
Album: Tracts
Label: self-released
Release Date: May 6th, 2014

01. Conveyor (STREAM)
02. Slab Avalanche
03. Glistener (STREAM)
04. Telefoto
05. Autotelic (VIDEO)
06. Rattle the Husks
07. Grand Paw
08. Sweat House
09. Reality Always Disappoints


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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Australia's sleepmakeswaves release acclaimed debut mini-album worldwide, first time on vinyl



Australian melodic instrumental rock quartet sleepmakeswaves today see the first time worldwide release of their acclaimed debut mini-album via England's Monotreme Records. The recording, in today already walks tomorrow is issued for the first time ever on vinyl in a deluxe 180 gm package, as well as on CD and download.

The lead track "one day you will teach me to let go of my fears" is available to listen/share HERE.

sleepmakeswaves tour the UK and Europe in April-May. Please see complete dates below.

The band's 2008 debut in today already walks tomorrow was the first glimpse of the Australian quartet on the global stage. Indeed, the viral success of lead track made such an impact that it catapulted the band to the top end of The Silent Ballet’s 2008 end-of-year list, clocked over 50,000 downloads and earned them a loyal following around the world. Such a reaction for a band only newly minted in their homeland suggested something special about their approach - with music so immediately evocative that it speaks to people on a universal level.

sleepmakeswaves’ dramatic and sumptuous approach to their craft is brilliantly showcased on this diverse record, which blends powerful, dynamic guitars and strings with impeccably constructed electronics. At times heavy and climactic; at times understated and quiet, but always with a keen sense of melody and songcraft at the heart,  in today already walks tomorrow truly merits the descriptions "lush" and "cinematic."

Previously only available digitally and as a limited import CD outside of Australia, the album is re-issued worldwide excluding Australia and New Zealand on Monotreme Records, including a CD edition and a deluxe 180 gm black vinyl edition of 500 copies that includes a free poster and album CD in a printed card wallet inside - the first ever vinyl pressing. All orders from the label’s web shop also include free sleepmakeswaves pins and stickers whilst supplies last.

Last year, the band's 2011 ARIA Award-nominated (Australia's equivalent of the Grammys) full-length debut album And So We Destroyed Everything was also re-issued by Monotreme Records in deluxe 2-CD and 2LP editions, bringing more of sleepmakeswaves’ fantastic music to a wider audience.

The band’s current lineup of guitarist Jonathan Khor, guitarist Otto Wicks-Green, drummer Tim Adderley and bassist Alex Wilson have spent the better part of the past 3 years touring the world, including performances at SXSW, Dunk! Festival and touring alongside bands such as Karnivool, Boris, 65daysofstatic, Tortoise and more. They have earned a devoted following around the world, for their innovative and expansive music, coupled with an electrifying live show that has seen them sell out venues across their homeland. Recently, Kat Morris, the director of Europe’s leading festival for new music, The Great Escape, included sleepmakeswaves in her "top 5 Australian bands" list.


SLEEPMAKESWAVES LIVE:
04/22 Spain Barcelona - Razzmatazz
04/23 Spain Madrid - Moby Dick
04/24 France Clermont-Ferrand - La Coopérative de mai
04/26 France Dunkerque - 4 Ecluses
04/27 Germany Karlsruhe - Jubez
04/30 Sweden Gothenburg - Fangelsets
05/01 Sweden Orebro - Slöjdgatan
05/05 Poland Wroclaw - Klub Hydrozagadka
05/06 Hungary Budapest - Durer Kert
05/07 Czech Republic Praha - NoD Theater
05/08 Germany Stuttgart - Juha West
05/09 Germany Hannover - Cafe Glocksee
05/10 UK London - Beyond the Redshift Festival

Artist: sleepmakeswaves
Album: in today already walks tomorrow
Label: Monotreme Records
Release Date: April 22, 2014

01. I will write peace on your wings and you will fly over the world
02. exits to nowhere
03. one day you will teach me to let go of my fears (MP3)
04. so that the children will always shout her name
05. it's dark it's cold it's winter
06. what we cannot speak of, must be passed over in silence



Artist: sleepmakeswaves
Album: ...and so we destroyed everything
Label: Monotreme Records
Release Date: September 24, 2013

01. to you they are birds, to me they are voices in the forest
02. in limbs and joints (STREAM)
03. our time is short but your watch is slow
04. a gaze blank and pitiless as the sun
05. (hello) cloud mountain
06. now we rise and we are everywhere
07. we like you when you're awkward
08.  ...and so we destroyed everything



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Monday, April 21, 2014

Modern Rivals stream full album via Hypetrak ahead of release


Brooklyn indie pop quartet Modern Rivals share their entire album early starting today via Hypetrak. The 10-track recording, Cemetery Dares is available to stream and share HERE. Modern Rivals play an album release show April 22nd at Glasslands in Brooklyn.

The band recently premiered a song from the album via Pitchfork. The track, "Pins and Stitches" is available to listen/share HERE. The band previously shared the album track "The Dead Leaves" via PopMatters and it's available to listen/share HERE. 

Modern Rivals seem somewhat fittingly named for their transcendent psychedelic pop that both evokes antique 60s mod optimism, while also sounding defiantly current with their experimental edge. 

Modern Rivals' ethereal and dextrous songs share the buttoned-up charm of 60s psych-pop bands like The Zombies, mixed with more technically crafty contemporary artists like Minus The Bear and TTNG. Then, all of the elements are given the Nigel Godrich dreamscape approach in which no single sound is exactly what it seems. There is a delicate warmth to Modern Rivals' songs emanating from every meticulously placed note. 

Album opener "Angel Bones" opens with a simple melody of synth pipe organ notes as vocalist/guitarist Erick Lee softly sings a nearly falsetto harmony over the top as keyboardist/vocalist Alex Schiff, guitarist Mickey Novak, drummer Alex Raderman and bassist Patrick Smith carefully settle into the groove until a brief pause explodes into a frenzy of wailing guitars, cascading keyboard notes and pounding drums. "The Dead Leaves" kicks off with harmonized vocals interwoven with effected guitar notes akin to latter day Flaming Lips that quickly flit into warm, yet threadbare vocals/drums verse reminiscent of the breathy, emotional dynamics of The Beach Boys. Elsewhere, tracks like "Pins and Stitches" and "Yvaine" veer into Beach House dreampop territory, but the band's stellar musicianship is never lost in the reverb-soaked haze. And, songs like "Dig Up The Sunset" and "In Tuxedo" remind us of the slippery and elusive melodies The Shins once had. 

Modern Rivals first formed because there was a plague of skinny-necked young men in collared shirts strumming acoustic guitars everywhere they looked and listened in their hometown of St Louis, MO. So they began plotting and playing together in a spacious apartment, trying to think of better ways to use electricity and strings and sticks and skin to make sounds that could beat back this plague. Sometimes they drank outrageously and did their best impressions of Spencer Krug, sometimes they fought vigorously and bare-fisted in a concrete basement, sometimes they split their fingers open on instruments - but eventually they won.

To celebrate, Modern Rivals moved to New York. They made enough noise and moved enough hearts that some nice things were written about them. More and more people came to watch them sing and dance, and some of these people could even sing and dance along. To increase the ease of singing and dancing along, Modern Rivals spent a dozen days in a freezing recording studio filled with rare books and a sonic wizard named Slick. Immediately afterwards, they survived tuberculosis, bed bugs, and Derrick Rose exploding his second knee. But now, their mental and physical fortitude reformed, Modern Rivals will begin sharing their music with anyone who wants to listen and performing it for anyone who wants to watch. Cemetery Dares is Modern Rivals' first album, and the culmination of the aforementioned triumphs and tribulations.

Cemetery Dares will be available on LP, CD and download on April 22nd, 2014. 

MODERN RIVALS LIVE:
04/22  Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands (album release show)

Artist: Modern Rivals
Album:  Cemetery Dares
Label: Muy Guapo
Release Date: April 22nd, 2014

01. Angel Bones
02. Dead Leaves (Danse Macabre Midnight) (MP3)
03. Dig Up The Sunset
04. Yvaine
05. The Ice
06. Somnipath
07. Moon Dust
08. A Shade Hesitating
09. In Tuxedo
10. Pins and Stitches (STREAM)








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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Tera Melos premiere video via Brooklyn Vegan, tour with The Dillinger Escape Plan as main support


Tera Melos premiere the video for "Slimed" today via Brooklyn Vegan. The clip was directed by Tera Melos vocalist/guitarist Nick Reinhart and culled from the band's recent album X'ed Out. Watch video HERE.

Tera Melos hit the road this month as main support to The Dillinger Escape Plan, followed by a handful of headlining dates. In June, the trio returns to Japan for 3 shows with former tourmates LITE. Please see complete dates below and specific details (tickets, times, etc) HERE.

X'ed Out was released April 16th, 2013 on LP, CD and download via Sargent House.

TERA MELOS Tour:
04/27  Scottsdale, AZ @ Pub Eock Live *
04/28  Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad *
04/29  Denver, CO @ THe Marquis Theater *
05/01  Dallas, TX @ Trees *
05/02  Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald's *
05/03  Austin, TX @ The Mohawk *
05/04  Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory *
05/05  Little Rock, AR @ Juanita's Cafe *
05/06  New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks *
05/07  Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade *
05/09  Amityville, NY @ Revolution Bar & Music *
05/10  Hartford, CT @ The Webster Theatre/Webster Underground *
05/11  Pittsburgh, PA @ The Mr. Roboto Project
05/12  Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme
05/13  Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
05/17  Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
05/23  Sacramento, CA @ Witch Room
05/24  Fresno, CA @ Golden Parking Lot
06/13  Osaka, Japan @ Shangri-La #
06/14  Nagoya, Japan @ Tokuzo #
06/20  Tokyo, Japan @ Liquidroom #

* w/ The Dillinger Escape Plan
# w/ LITE
Artist: Tera Melos
Album: X'ed Out
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: April 16, 2013

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






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Thursday, April 10, 2014

Megafauna stream full album via Brooklyn Vegan, North American tour starts this month

Photo by Anna Webber

“Austin’s Megafauna have stolen all the gnarly riffs in the world and slammed them together with singer/guitarist Dani Neff’s off-kilter vocals, delivered together with a raw punk energy to create three minutes of taut, muscular, yet zingily melodic rock.” — Noisey

Austin trio Megafauna stream their entire forthcoming album starting today via Brooklyn Vegan. The album, Maximalist is available to listen/share HERE.

Megafauna take to the road this month for extensive tour dates throughout North America in support of the album. Please see complete dates below.

The driving anthem "Time To Go" recently premiered at Consequence of Sound, available to
stream/share HERE. And, the band previously shared the first song from the album via Noisey.com. The track "Haunted Factory" is available to listen/share HERE.

As the title to Austin trio Megafauna's sophomore album Maximalist might suggest, it's optimistic, expansive and unabashedly over-the-top; an endeavor to take music to its utmost potential. The band's supercharged mixture of sounds ranging from prog-rock flash to alt-rock iconoclasm to pithy power-pop and garage rock energy is as infectious as it is inclusive. Megafauna paves their own hook-laden path -- much like the Pixies and Queen, who taught the world that even the most unusual pairings of styles can result in unforgettable and eternal classics.

Megafauna singer/guitarist Dani Neff was named Austin's Best Electric Guitarist by the Austin Chronicle. Although she's frequently referred to as a "shredder," one should never mistake her tasteful and clever virtuosity for flagrant flashiness. She's a woman of many talents: a dancer, musician, painter, feminist, lawyer, reiki practitioner, psychonaut -- clearly someone who embodies the maximalist philosophy.

Maximalist was mixed by legendary engineer Tim Palmer (U2, Pearl Jam, David Bowie; recently featured in Tape Op Magazine) and recorded with Dwight Baker (Blue October, Bob Schneider) in Austin. Maximalist will be available on LP, CD and download on April 15th, 2014 via Danimal Kingdom.

MEGAFAUNA LIVE:
04/24  Atlanta, GA @ Mammal Gallery
04/25  Athens, GA @ Go Bar
04/26  Raleigh, NC @ Slim's
04/27  Durham, NC @ Motorco
04/30  Philadelphia, PA @ North Star Bar
05/01  New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
05/02  Boston, MA @ Bill’s Bar
05/03  Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre
05/04  Malta, NY @ Nanola
05/07  Toronto, ON, Canada Music Week @ Hard Luck Bar
05/08  Toronto, ON, Canada Music Week @ Bovine Sex Club
05/11  Ferndale, MI @ The New Way 
05/13  Chicago, IL @ The Burlington
05/14  Indianapolis, IN @ Melody Inn 
05/15  St. Louis, MO @ The Demo
05/16  Hot Springs, AR @ Maxine's Live
05/17  Denton, TX @ Dan's Silverleaf
05/28  El Paso, TX @ Low Brow
05/29  Tuscon, AZ  @ Flycatcher
05/30  Los Angeles, CA @ Casey's Irish Pub 
06/04  Riverside, CA  @ Mission Tobacco Lounge 
06/06  Los Angeles, CA  @ Los Globos 
06/08  Long Beach, CA  @ Alex's Bar
06/11  San Francisco, CA @ Brick and Mortar 
06/13  Portland, OR @ PALS CLubhouse
06/14  Seattle, WA  @ The Sunset
06/18  Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
06/19  Denver, CO @ Lost Lake
06/20  Boulder, CO @ Illegal Pete's 
06/21  Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar 


Artist: Megafauna
Album: Maximalist
Label: Danimal Kingdom
Release Date: April 15th, 2014

01) Eggs
02) Hug from a Robot
03) Touch The Lion
04) Time To Go (STREAM)
05) Two Headed Girl
06) Precious Blood
07) Haunted Factory (MP3)
08) This Town
09) Monsters Sleeping
10) Carnie Girl
11) Chromatic Fantasy




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Tuesday, April 8, 2014

BORIS premiere song via Pitchfork from forthcoming album, announce U.S. tour dates



Japanese trio BORIS announce the forthcoming release of their first official album in three years, titled Noise. The band shares the first track "Quicksilver" today via Pitchfork, which is available HERE. (Direct Soundcloud link HERE.) See cover art and track listing below. 

Additionally, BORIS announce the first of North American tour dates beginning in July. Please see all current shows below. 

BORIS has always demolished expectations of what a band can do musically and aesthetically. In keeping with that tradition, they again flip the script by serving up their most all-encompassing effort to date. Noise is an amplification of BORIS’ endless pursuit of musical extremes while moving aggressive, intense rock into new territories.

In writing Noise, BORIS was intent upon condensing all that the band had explored over the years, in order to create something more bold, streamlined and powerful. And, upon completion, the band considers Noise its most defining effort, stating, “If we had to suggest just one album for those unfamiliar with BORIS’ music, we will pick this for sure.” That’s a bold statement from a band having released over 20 albums covering a vast array of sounds. Yet somehow throughout the album’s 8 song, 58 minute duration, the band masterfully intermingles sludge-rock, blistering crust punk, shimmering shoegaze, epic thunderous doom, psychedelic melodies and just about everything else they’ve ever done. 

Over the course of BORIS’ three previous Sargent House albums (Heavy Rocks, Attention Please and New Album) the band sought to expand its musical vision ever further. And, the results helped redefine the band’s already iconoclastic sound. However, in early 2013 they decided to return to their classic trio lineup moving forward: drummer/vocalist Atsuo, guitarist/vocalist Wata and bassist/guitarist/vocalist Takeshi. Having been able to explore many new ideas as a quartet in recent years, the band was concerned about logistics, until their very successful residency shows and tour in the U.S. convinced them that BORIS could return to the simpler, solid trio without sacrificing artistic growth. Now, having rebuilt the classic trio’s “equilateral triangle” they’re heavier, louder, more confident and incisive than ever before.

Noise is also lyrically the band’s darkest album to date. Bleak lines like, “throbbing pain this world repeats upon us/ Throb, throb / Throbbing pain, this world makes us suffer,” guide the record’s most musically upbeat track, “Taiyo No Baka.” Everywhere else, dark imagery permeates the songs, adding further weight to the proceedings. Kicking off with the fittingly titled “Melody”, the album begins with the uniquely BORIS sound that combines multiple elements into one ferocious metallic-punk-melodic whole. Things take a jagged turn with second track “Vanilla” exhibiting a more experimental edge, while still driven by vocal melody and arpeggiated guitar notes until the song juts into frenzied psychedelic metal riffing. Elsewhere, with Wata on lead vocals, “Heavy Rain” merges the band’s early colossal doom with the latter day shoegaze of Attention Please for a song that’s both brutally heavy and ethereal. “Quicksilver” is a wailing speedcore track reminiscent of classic Japanese hardcore, with screaming voices, screaming guitars and screaming drums that refuses to relent over the song’s first 7 minutes. “Angel” is the album’s nearly 19-minute epic centerpiece that builds from entrancing chiming guitar notes and softly pulsing toms, ultimately breaking into a massive wall of drop-tuned sludge and a howling guitar lead reminiscent of BORIS tracks “Feedbacker” and “Flood.” The song continues to shift gears several times as it builds in tension and emotion toward a very satisfying resolution, taking the entire track full circle to where it began. Throughout, Noise is an exploration of the free-spirited experimentation that made the band an International cult legend. 

Noise will be heard everywhere (excluding Japan) on LP, CD and download via Sargent House on June 17th, 2014. 


BORIS LIVE:
04/27  London, UK @ Desertfest (headlining day #3)
06/14  Tokyo, Japan @ Fever (2014-2015 World Tour kick-off, playing Noise in its entirety)
07/24  San Diego, CA @ Casbah
07/25  Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
07/26  Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
07/28  Dallas, TX @ Trees
07/29  Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
07/31  Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
08/01  Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
08/02  Washington, DC @ 930 Club
08/03  New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
08/05  Boston, MA @ Paradise
08/07  Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
08/08  Buffalo, NY @ Tralf
08/09  Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
08/10  Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
08/11  Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
08/12  Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
08/16  Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
08/17  Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
08/18  Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
08/20  San Francisco, CA @ The Independent

Artist: BORIS
Album: Noise
Label: Sargent House
Release date: June 17th, 2014

01. Melody
02. Vanilla
03. Ghost of Romance
04. Heavy Rain
05. Taiyo no Baka
06. Angel
07. Quicksilver (STREAM)
08. Siesta










On the Web:
www.borisheavyrocks.com (Official site: Japan)
borisheavyrocks.tumblr.com (BORIS news U.S.)

Follow BORIS on Twitter: @Borisheavyrocks

Hi-res photos, cover art and bio available here:
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Monday, April 7, 2014

Megafauna premiere song via Consequence of Sound, announce North American tour dates


“Austin’s Megafauna have stolen all the gnarly riffs in the world and slammed them together with singer/guitarist Dani Neff’s off-kilter vocals, delivered together with a raw punk energy to create three minutes of taut, muscular, yet zingily melodic rock.” — Noisey

Austin trio Megafauna premiere a new song from their forthcoming album Maximalist today via
Consequence of Sound. The driving anthem "Time To Go" is available to stream/share HERE.

Megafauna take to the road this month for extensive tour dates throughout North America in support of the album. Please see complete dates below.

The band previously shared the first song from the album via Noisey.com. The track "Haunted Factory" is available to listen/share HERE.

As the title to Austin trio Megafauna's sophomore album Maximalist might suggest, it's optimistic, expansive and unabashedly over-the-top; an endeavor to take music to its utmost potential. The band's supercharged mixture of sounds ranging from prog-rock flash to alt-rock iconoclasm to pithy power-pop and garage rock energy is as infectious as it is inclusive. Megafauna paves their own hook-laden path -- much like the Pixies and Queen, who taught the world that even the most unusual pairings of styles can result in unforgettable and eternal classics.

Megafauna singer/guitarist Dani Neff was named Austin's Best Electric Guitarist by the Austin Chronicle. Although she's frequently referred to as a "shredder," one should never mistake her tasteful and clever virtuosity for flagrant flashiness. She's a woman of many talents: a dancer, musician, painter, feminist, lawyer, reiki practitioner, psychonaut -- clearly someone who embodies the maximalist philosophy.

The album kicks off with the driving, time-signature leaping rocker, "Eggs" in which drummer Zack Humphrey, bassist Greg Yancey and Neff shift rhythms on a dime while showcasing exactly what makes Megafauna a band to covet: their expertise at fusing seemingly disparate musical styles. Likewise, "Hug From a Robot" somehow perfectly pairs gliding melodies with hard rock bite, something akin to The Breeders meets Red-era King Crimson. Elsewhere, the perfectly radio-ready track "Time To Go" blasts off with chiming guitar as Neff coos, "When it's time to go/ It's time/ Won't you sail me down to the fields." Death never sounded so uplifting in a 3-minute rock song. "Haunted Factory" gallops along Humphrey's syncopated hi-hat/snare interplay as Yancey's rumbling, distortion-ravaged bass lines cut like fangs across Neff's swiftly-picked guitar work as her powerful voice soars above the proceedings. Throughout, Maximalist is a truly inspired effort poised to become a touchstone of rock innovation.

Maximalist was mixed by legendary engineer Tim Palmer (U2, Pearl Jam, David Bowie; recently featured in Tape Op Magazine) and recorded with Dwight Baker (Blue October, Bob Schneider) in Austin. Maximalist will be available on LP, CD and download on April 15th, 2014 via Danimal Kingdom.

MEGAFAUNA LIVE:
04/19  Austin, TX @ Mohawk Outside - Album release party/SXSWcares Fundraiser
04/23  New Orleans, LA @ Hi Ho
04/24  Atlanta, GA @ Mammal Gallery
04/25  Athens, GA @ Go Bar
04/26  Raleigh, NC @ Slim's
04/27  Durham, NC @ Motorco
04/30  Philadelphia, PA @ North Star Bar
05/01  New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
05/02  Boston, MA @ Allston Rock City Hall
05/03  Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre
05/07 Toronto, ON, Canada Music Week @ Hard Luck Bar
05/08 Toronto, ON, Canada Music Week @ Bovine Sex Club
05/11  Ferndale, MI @ The New Way
05/13  Chicago, IL @ The Burlington
05/14  Indianapolis, IN @ Melody Inn
05/15  St. Louis, MO @ The Demo
05/16  Hot Springs, AR @ Maxine's Live
05/17  Denton, TX @ Dan's Silverleaf
05/28  El Paso, TX @ Low Brow
05/29  Tuscon, AZ  @ Sky Bar
05/30  Los Angeles, CA @ Casey's Irish Pub
06/04  Costa Mesa, CA  @ Casa
06/06  Los Angeles, CA  @ Los Globos
06/08  Long Beach, CA  @ Alex's Bar
06/11  San Francisco, CA @ Brick and Mortar
06/14  Seattle, WA  @ The Sunset
06/18  Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
06/20  Boulder, CO @ Illegal Pete's
06/21  Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar




Artist: Megafauna
Album: Maximalist
Label: Danimal Kingdom
Release Date: April 15th, 2014

01) Eggs
02) Hug from a Robot
03) Touch The Lion
04) Time To Go (STREAM)
05) Two Headed Girl
06) Precious Blood
07) Haunted Factory (MP3)
08) This Town
09) Monsters Sleeping
10) Carnie Girl
11) Chromatic Fantasy




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Helms Alee & Young Widows announce split 12" and tour, share track via Pitchfork

Seattle trio Helms Alee share a new song via Pitchfork today culled from their forthcoming split 12" with Young Widows. The raucous tune "Punchy Stabby" is available HERE. (Direct Soundcloud link HERE.)

The Helms Alee/Young Widows split release on Sargent House features 3 songs from each band, pressed on blue and white sea colored vinyl. It will be available exclusively at shows in May when the two bands set sail on tour together, and in stores June 3rd. Please see complete tour dates below.

Helms Alee released their latest album Sleepwalking Sailors on Sargent House on February 11th. Listen to the full album HERE. Young Widows will also be supporting their upcoming full length, Easy Pain out May 15th on Temporary Residence.


YOUNG WIDOWS & HELMS ALEE TOUR 2014
05/14 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
05/16 Ferndale, MI @ Loving Touch
05/17 Toronto, ON @ Hard Luck
05/18 Brooklyn, NY @ St. Vitus
05/19 Boston, MA @ Great Scott
05/20 Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
05/21 Washington DC @ DC9
05/22 Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
05/23 Raleigh, NC @ Kings
05/24 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
05/25 Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree

Artist: Helms Alee / Young Widows
Album: Helms Alee / Young Widows
Label: Sargent House
Release date: June 3rd, 2014

01. Punchy Stabby (Helms Alee) (STREAM)
02. PAN (Helms Alee)
03. Gas Giant (Helms Alee)
04. Field of Zzzz (Young Widows)
05. The Wanderer (Young Widows)

06. The Waves Came In (Young Widows)
Artist: Helms Alee
Album: Sleepwalking Sailors
Label: Sargent House
Release date: February 11th, 2014

Track list:
01. Pleasure Center (STREAM)
02. Tumescence (STREAM)
03. Pinniped
04. Dangling Modifiers
05. Heavy Worm Burden
06. Crystal Gale
07. New West
08. Fetus. Carcass.
09. Slow Beef 
10. Animatronic Bionic
11. Dodge The Lightning





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Friday, April 4, 2014

Equals premiere song via CMJ from forthcoming album

“The densely layered songs all have their distinctive storyboard of moods and textures, each one a lovely surprise yet all somehow melding together to form a cohesive, cinematic whole.” — My Old Kentucky Blog

“Equals might sound improvised here and there, but this is controlled, carefully arranged stuff.” — Austin American Statesman
Austin art rock quintet Equals share a new song from their forthcoming album today via CMJ. The track, "Glistener" is culled from the band's forthcoming debut album Tracts and is available to listen/share HERE. (Direct Soundcloud link HERE.)

The band previously shared the first track, "Conveyor" leading up to SXSW shows. That is available to listen/share HERE.

Equals' music is dramatic, yet joyous and playful. The songs may sound simple at first, but complexity shines through after careful listening. Every song is meticulously arranged by bassist Alex Guzman, drummer Matt Toman, keyboardist Logan Wexler and guitarists Dylan Storey and Simon McDonald. Each part of every song -- from the angular pulsing rhythms to the crisp, eclectic samples -- has a purpose. The organic elements interweave with the synthetic elements, providing texture and layers that are extremely difficult to pull off live. Click tracks be damned, they fearlessly recreate multi-layered loops and samples, gracefully operating on the bleak notion that one wrong move can end a song in failure. Equals executes flawlessly, with character behind every note.

For Equals' debut full-length album Tracts, they joined producer Alex Bhore (This Will Destroy You) in the studio, recording nine songs, an expansion to their 2011 debut self-titled EP. The songs flow together, providing the soundtrack to a journey that feels forthcoming, unrealized until the final track. Unlike the band's previous EP, the album was recorded in one place at Cacophony Recorders in Austin and mixed at Elmwood Studios in Dallas, giving it a more cohesive sound. Working with Bhore again, their new offering is larger, more energetic, with a unique sonic palette of strings, glockenspiel, piano, analog synthesizers, various percussion instruments, field recordings and even vocals. 

Tracts has a bounty of subtle music treats that the members painstakingly buried beneath solid foundations. All these elements, and various other influences, from R&B to folk music, make up the band's sound, but trying to define Equals' music is like trying to define the five band members as one personality.

Tracts will be available on LP, CD and download on May 6th, 2014. Pre-sale orders can be made via the band's webstore.

EQUALS LIVE:
04/10  San Antonio, TX @ 502 Bar
04/11  Austin, TX @ Empire Control Room (album release show)
04/12  Corpus Christi, TX @ The NASA

Artist: Equals
Album: Tracts
Label: self-released
Release Date: May 6th, 2014

01. Conveyor (STREAM)
02. Slab Avalanche
03. Glistener (STREAM)
04. Telefoto
05. Autotelic
06. Rattle the Husks
07. Grand Paw
08. Sweat House
09. Reality Always Disappoints


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Hot Victory premiere track via Brooklyn Vegan from forthcoming album, tour with Floor in May


Portland, Oregon duo Hot Victory -- one woman, one man; both playing drums, synths and samples -- premiere the first track from their forthcoming album today via Brooklyn Vegan. The song "Labyrinthos" is culled from their self-titled debut on alt-heavy label Eolian Empire and is available to listen to/share HERE.

The band takes to the road later this month, leading up to extensive dates with newly reunited doom purveyors Floor (featuring Steve Brooks of Torche). Please see complete dates below. 

Hot Victory have charted a course for who knows where. A man and woman, joined at the drums, do the work of an entire crew as they launch themselves into galaxies far far away where alien sounds weave through the colliding polyrhythms of a cyborg drumline. Electronic, industrial, experimental, progressive rock, krautrock, and New Age intersect to manifest heretofore unknown sonic forms. With their self-titled fourth LP (first on vinyl) Hot Victory has created an all-enveloping cybernetic structure of electroacoustic music powered by a relentless human pulse, opening portals deep into the hybrid mind and exposing the warped mathematics to their own theory of everything.

Hot Victory comprises Ben Stoller on drums, pads, and programming and Caitlin Love on drums, pads, tapes, and samples. Originally formed circa 2008 as an "anti-band" improvisation unit with a revolving cast of characters adding other instruments to the mix, over time the core drum duo assembled a command center of trigger pads, synths, and samplers-built about their intertwined drums-to take over all sound generation and craft tightly structured pieces. On their self-titled first release for Portland D.I.Y. label Eolian Empire, recorded live in the studio to tape on just sixteen tracks, Hot Victory builds upon years of improvisation and invention to show just how much a man and woman can do while sitting down, launching a multi-dimensional electroacoustic creation that pulses, drives, sweeps, stutters, and rocks, fusing the avant electronic music of Tangerine Dream, Eberhard Schoener, and Add N to X to the rhythmic machinations of Billy Cobham, Crash Worship and Hitting Birth, wound through with soundtracks from eerie John Carpenter and Goblin to the tricksy fusion of The Equalizer and Miami Vice, and a samples selection worthy of Steel Pole Bath Tub. Winning.

Hot Victory will be available on 180gm gatefold vinyl and download on April 22nd, 2014 via Eolian Empire. 

HOT VICTORY LIVE:
04/24 Portland, OR @ STUMPFEST @ Mississippi Studios w/ Trans Am
04/26 Laramie, WY @ Gryphon Theater
04/27 Linclon, NE @ Vega
04/28 Kansas City, MO @ TBA
04/29 Nashville, TN @ The Other Basement / Sweetwater
04/30 Atlanta, GA @ 529 
05/02 Gainesville, FL *
05/03 Charlotte, NC @ Tremont Music Hall *
05/04 Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel *
05/05 Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus *
05/06 Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary *
05/07 Boston, MA @ Great Scott *
05/08 Buffalo, NY @ The Tralf *
05/09 Pittsburgh, PA @ The Smiling Moose *
05/10 Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme *
05/11 Chicago, IL @ Double Door *
05/13 Denver, CO @ The Moon Room *
05/14 Salt Lake City, UT @ Bar Deluxe *
05/16 Portland, OR @ Branx *
05/17 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey *

* with Floor
Artist: Hot Victory
Album: Hot Victory
Label: Eolian Empire
Release Date: April 22, 2014

01. Tenebrae
02. IslandRealm
03. Anasazi
04. Tetraktys
05. Harmony of Spheres (digital only) 
06. Labyrinthos (STREAM)











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