Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Helms Alee & Young Widows split mini-album streaming early via Noisey

Seattle trio Helms Alee wrapped up their tour with Young Widows this past weekend, and the split 12" exclusively available at shows will soon be available in stores and for download on June 3rd. To preview the release, Noisey is sharing a full stream to hear/share HERE. Direct Soundcloud link HERE.

Helms Alee make their way back home with a few more shows along the route, including the Crucial Festival in Salt Lake City. Please see all dates below.

The Helms Alee/Young Widows split release on Sargent House features 3 songs from each band, pressed on blue and white sea colored vinyl. The raucous Helms Alee tune "Punchy Stabby" premiered earlier via Pitchfork and is available HERE. (Direct Soundcloud link HERE.)

Helms Alee released their latest album Sleepwalking Sailors on Sargent House on February 11th. Listen to the full album HERE.


HELMS ALEE TOUR 2014
06/04 Portland, OR @ East End
06/06 Salt Lake City, UT @ Bar Delux -- Crucial Festival
06/08 Boise, ID @ Neurolux (w/ Red Fang, Big Business)
06/10 Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown

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





On the Web:


Follow Helms Alee on Twitter: @HelmsAleeMusic

Friday, May 23, 2014

Jail Weddings premiere "Summer Fades" video via LA Weekly, announce U.S. tour dates starting in June

Click image above to watch video

L.A. psych-punk noir group Jail Weddings herald the coming fabled warm season with the premiere of the video for "Summer Fades" today via LA Weekly -- whose Music Editor Ben Westhoff declared the band's recent recording the #1 Album of the Year for 2013. The video is available to watch and share HERE. Direct YouTube link HERE

Jail Weddings today also announce U.S. tour dates beginning in June. Please see complete dates below. 

The band's sophomore album Meltdown -- A Declaration of Unpopular Emotion was released on LP and CD via Neurotic Yell, cassette via Burger Records and download from their own Bandcamp page HERE


JAIL WEDDINGS LIVE:
06/04 - Los Angeles, CA @ Los Globos
06/05 - Long Beach, CA @ Alex’s Bar
06/13 - Las Vegas, NV @ Downtown Container Park
06/14 - Albuquerque, NM @ Burt’s Tiki Lounge
06/15 - Denver, CO @ The Hi-Dive 
06/16 - Kansas City, MO recordBar
06/17 - Chicago, IL @ Martyrs
06/18 - Detroit, MI @ PJ's Lager House
06/19 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
06/20 - NYC @ CAKE SHOP NYC
06/21 - NYC @ Baby's All Right
06/22 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
06/24 - Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
06/25 - Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
06/26 - Nashville, TN @ The High Watt 
06/27 - Fayetteville, AR @ Lightbulb Club
06/28 - Ft. Worth, TX @ Live Oak
06/29 - Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
06/30 - Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas 
07/02 - Phoenix, AZ @ Chopper John's


Artist: Jail Weddings
Album:  Meltdown - A Declaration of Unpopular Emotion
Label: Neurotic Yell / Burger Records
Release Date: August 27th, 2013

01. There is a Distance
02. May Today Be Merciful
03. Angel of Sleep
04. Why Is It So Hard To Be Good?
05. Summer Fades (VIDEO)
06. A Promise
07. It's Not Fair (VIDEO)
08. (Do You Ever Get Tired of) Keeping The Faith?
09. You Are Never Going To Find Me (VIDEO)
10. Father's Eyes
11. Obsession
12. Party Girl
13. Dead Celebrity Party
14. Don't Invite Me To Your Party

On The Web:

Follow Jail Weddings on Twitter: @JailWeddings

Monday, May 19, 2014

BORIS premiere first video from forthcoming album 'Noise', announce additional U.S. tour dates & FYF Fest

Click image above to watch video

Japanese trio BORIS premiere the first video from their forthcoming first official album in three years, titled Noise. The band shares the clip via Stereogum, which is available to watch/share HERE.

BORIS has also added new North American tour dates, including FYF Fest in Los Angeles in late August. Please see complete dates below.

The trio debuted the first album track "Quicksilver" recently via Pitchfork, which is available HERE. (Direct Soundcloud link HERE.) 

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:
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 ** &
08/14  Missoula, MT @  Stage 112 &
08/15  Spokane, WA @  Big Dipper ^
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 #
08/21  Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium #
08/22  San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Brew #
08/23  Los Angeles, CA @ FYF Fest



!! w/ Mustard Gas & Roses
++ w/ Ceremony & special guests
** w/ The Atlas Moth
& w/ SubRosa
^ w/ Master Musicians of Bukkake
# w/ Marriages

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

01. Melody
02. Vanilla (VIDEO)
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:

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Modern Rivals premiere video via SPIN, announce NYC residency shows in June

Click image to watch video

Brooklyn indie pop quartet Modern Rivals premiere the first video from their new album Cemetery Dares today via SPIN. The eerie, occult-leaning clip adds extra intrigue to the forlorn pop of the song "The Dead Leaves (Danse Macabre Midnight)" and is available to watch/share HERE.

Modern Rivals also announce residency shows in NYC throughout June at the popular venue Pianos. Please see complete dates below.

The band recently began streaming the entire album via Hypetrak. The 10-track recording is available to stream and share HERE. The band also recently premiered a song from the album via Pitchfork. The track, "Pins and Stitches" is 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 Flaming Lips and Beach House. 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.

Cemetery Dares is available on LP, CD and download as of April 22nd, 2014.

MODERN RIVALS LIVE:
06/05  New York, NY @ Pianos
06/12  New York, NY @ Pianos
06/19  New York, NY @ Pianos
06/24  New York, NY @ Pianos

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)








On The Web:

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Barrows stream full 'Red Giant' album, announce West Coast dates

Click image to watch video

Los Angeles heavy instrumental rock quartet Barrows are streaming their entire long-awaited sophomore album Red Giant starting today. Listen and share the album HERE. The band also announce West Coast dates for this summer. Please see current shows below. 

Barrows recently shared the pummeling title track via MetalSucks, which is available to stream/share HERE. The band previously shared a live multi-track audio, multi-camera performance video via Exclaim! The clip for this version of the album track "Beyond" is available to watch/share HERE. (Alternate YouTube link.) 

Red Giant is fittingly massive in thematic scope as it is in sonic heft. A concept album about the life of a star and what happens after it dies, the band depicts the stages of celestial death throughout the album's five epic tracks. Akin to similarly expansive musical works like Pink Floyd's Meddle, Tangerine Dream's Stratosfear, King Crimson's Red and a light dose of sci-fi soundtracks, Barrows build upon entrancing, circling riffs and rhythms intercut with explosive peaks and brilliant subtlty.

To capture this sweeping endeavor, the band teamed up with revered engineer Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Tool), hunkering down for several months at Kasai's newly built North Hollywood studio. The resulting 5-track, 40-minute album was mastered by Chris Common (Palms, Pelican) and is available on LP and download starting May 6th. 

BARROWS LIVE:
05/18  Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite (album release show)
06/15  Oakland, CA @ The Stork Club
06/16  Portland, OR @ The Know
06/17  Seattle, WA @ Blue Moon Tavern
06/19  San Francisco, CA @ TBA

Artist: Barrows
Album:  Red Giant
Label: Barrows Recordings
Release Date: May 6th, 2014

01. Nebula
02. Red Giant (STREAM)
03. Black Hole
04. Wormhole
05. Beyond (VIDEO)













On The Web:

Monday, May 5, 2014

Equals stream full album early, see Austin quintet's brilliant paint-splattered video via Brooklyn Vegan

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 stream their entire full length album Tracts today ahead of its May 6th release date. Stream/share the full album HERE.

Equals recently shared the first video from the album via Brooklyn Vegan. The spectacularly artful and colorful clip for "Autotelic" is available to watch and share HERE.

The band hits the road for a series of shows in July, with the first batch of confirmed dates listed below. 

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


On The Web:

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Barrows premiere title track to upcoming album via MetalSucks

Click image to watch video

Los Angeles instrumental rock quartet Barrows premiere the title track from their sophomore album Red Giant today via MetalSucks. The pummeling tune is available to hear/share HERE. (Direct Soundcloud link HERE.)

The band previously shared a live multi-track audio, multi-camera performance video via Exclaim! The clip for this version of the album track "Beyond" is available to watch/share HERE. (Alternate YouTube link.)

Barrows play a hometown album release show on May 18th at The Satellite in Los Angeles. A tour of the West Coast in June will be announced soon.

Red Giant is fittingly massive in thematic scope as it is in sonic heft. A concept album about the life of a star and what happens after it dies, the band depicts the stages of celestial death throughout the album's five epic tracks. Akin to similarly expansive musical works like Pink Floyd's Meddle, Tangerine Dream's Stratosfear, King Crimson's Red and a light dose of sci-fi soundtracks, Barrows build upon entrancing, circling riffs and rhythms intercut with explosive peaks and brilliant subtlty.

To capture this sweeping endeavor, the band teamed up with revered engineer Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Tool), hunkering down for several months at Kasai's newly built North Hollywood studio. The resulting 5-track, 40-minute album was mastered by Chris Common (Palms, Pelican) and will be available on LP and download on May 6th.

Opening track "Nebula" sets up the album's cinematic feel, starting with a hushed, distant layer of white noise as we slowly draw closer to the song's gurgling notes. Softly plucked guitar lines materialize, rising and fading in the mix as drummer Richy Epolito's driving beat veers into a wash of guitarist Jim Leonard's tremolo-soaked strings cascading from the speakers. The album's title track takes the proceedings up several notches to depict the final stages of the star, with a forcefully pulsating tom drum beat, chiming and wailing guitar notes circling around heavily distorted, rumbling bass notes. The drop followed by a huge delay swell at the end of the song is the sound of the star exploding and becoming a supernova. Transitioning into "Black Hole," the energy remains strong as the instruments astonishingly create a dizzying feeling that we're being pulled into an endless abyss. "Wormhole" follows from there, turning more upbeat and psychedelic, reminiscent of The Mars Volta's early prog-explorations with Epolito's masterful, endlessly rolling and rollicking beat and the ever-shifting wah-pedal warped guitar lines pushing and pulling in many directions. Finally, "Beyond" is the sound of us exiting the wormhole into a strange and unknown dimension. Beginning with clean tones and an interwoven bass and drum pattern, the tune progressively becomes darker and heavier while remaining rhythmic and mysterious.

Throughout Red Giant the tracks segue smoothly from one to another, creating an album that's best experienced as a whole, but equally filled with powerful standalone moments.


BARROWS LIVE:
05/18  Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite (album release show)

Artist: Barrows
Album:  Red Giant
Label: Barrows Recordings
Release Date: May 6th, 2014

01. Nebula
02. Red Giant (STREAM)
03. Black Hole
04. Wormhole
05. Beyond (VIDEO)













On The Web: