Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Zorch multi-instrumentalist Shmu shares first track from new EP, announces tour dates


"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, A.K.A. Shmu shares the first track from the forthcoming Chroma Key EP today. The song, "She's Leaving" showcases the band's glitchy dream pop/shoegaze meets blue-eyed soul sound, listen/share HERE. 

Shmu -- a solo recording endeavor expanded to a three piece band in a live setting -- takes to the road throughout the Southwestern U.S. next month. Please see dates below. Watch the band in action performing "I've Got Nothing To Show" VIDEO HERE . 

The 5-song Chroma Key EP is the followup to Shmu's full length debut Discipline/Communication released in 2012. Like that album's melodic exploration into dream pop, shoegaze, glitch, psych and experimental rock, Chroma Key further expands the pop hooks with hazy layers of guitar and soulful vocals. Chown wrote, performed, arranged and produced all of the tracks which will be released January 14th as a download-only, the first in a series of EPs leading up to a double LP release in late 2014. It will also be available locally for Austin Free Week on download cards, beginning January 1st.  

SHMU LIVE:
01/03  Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn (Austin Free Week EP sampler release party)
01/08  Austin, TX @ Empire
01/11  Austin, TX @ Spiderhouse Ballroom (w/ Feuding Fathers, Boyfrndz)
01/15  Denton, TX @ Mac Island 
01/16  Ft Worth, TX @ Grotto's
01/17  Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
01/18  Oklahoma City, OK @ Blue Note
01/19  Shreveport, LA @ Fatty's
01/20  Texarkana, AR @ Silver Dollar
01/21  Hattiesburg, MS @ Thirsty Hippo *
01/22  Baton Rouge, LA @ Mud + Water * #
01/23  New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa #
01/24  Lafayette, LA @ Artmosphere * #
01/25  Houston, TX @ House of Creeps *
01/26  San Antonio, TX @ VHS 1138

* w/ Caddywhompus
# w/ Imaginelam

Artist: Shmu
Album: Chroma Key
Label: Grand Theft Zamboni Records
Release Date: January 14th, 2014

01. She's Leaving (MP3)
02. Mollasacre
03. Hornet's Nest
04. Made of Stone

05. Do You See What I See?

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)




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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Pink Frost premiere new video via Noisey.com

Click image to watch video

"An increasingly commanding quartet that embraces the power of guitar drone, tribal drum and the deep, shoegaze-era swoon." -- Chicago Tribune 

"Off-kilter, yearning rock music that strives for a populism that's considered a bit declassé by most of their peers and, as such, badly missed." -- Pitchfork


Chicago quartet Pink Frost premiere a new video from their recent album Sundowning today via Noisey.com. The clip for the song "Ruins" is available to watch/share here. (Direct YouTube link HERE.)

SPIN recently shared the album in full, which is available to stream HERE. Pitchfork debuted the first track from the album, "Ruins" available for streaming/download HERE.

Pink Frost is the new moniker of the critically-praised band formerly known as APTEKA. The album, Sundowning was recorded at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio and is released in partnership between BLVD Records and Notes and Bolts Records & Tapes as of September 3rd.

Their debut LP (as APTEKA) Gargoyle Days, made Best of 2011 lists at outlets from Time Out Chicago to the Dumbing of America and this past February saw the release of their first 7" single with the band's new name. Awash in captivating reverb, swirling melodies and soaring, anthemic refrains, Pink Frost has already generated considerable praise from local press namedropping everything from Ride to Smashing Pumpkins to Dinosaur Jr. to The Men and beyond.


PINK FROST LIVE:
01/19  Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall (w/ Yuck, Diarrhea Planet)


Artist: Pink Frost
Album: Sundowning 
Label: BLVD Records / Notes + Bolts Records + Tapes
Release Date: Sept 3rd, 2013

01) Western Child
02) Ruins (MP3) (STREAM) (VIDEO)
03) Orange Sky Suicide
04) The Difference (VIDEO)
05) Dead Cities
06) Who I Belong To
07) Maybe It's You
08) Occupy Within
09) Blue Light








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Russian Circles announce U.S. headlining tour dates


"Their strongest offering yet, an evolutionary leap for the entirety of post-metal.10/10" -- Crave Online

"Unquestioningly one of 2013's true artistic masterpieces. 10/10" -- PopMatters

"More polished and fluid, bigger and yet somehow more intimate." -- Pitchfork

"Vital and nourishing food for the imagination." -- The Guardian (UK)


Chicago trio Russian Circles announce extensive U.S. headlining tour dates today beginning in February 2014 in support of their recently released fifth album Memorial. Ken Mode support on all shows with Inter Arma on the first portion and recent Sargent House signing Helms Alee on the latter leg of tour. Please see complete dates below. 

Stream/share Memorial in full HERE. Memorial is available on LP, CD and download via Sargent House, released on October 29th, 2013. 

RUSSIAN CIRCLES TOUR 2014
02/04  Iowa City, IA @ Gabe's Oasis #
02/05  St. Louis, MO @ The Firebird #
02/07  Austin, TX @ Red 7 #
02/08  Dallas, TX @ Club Dada #
02/09  Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald's Upstairs #
02/10  New Orleans, LA @ The Parish @ House of Blues #
02/11  Tallahassee, FL @ Rehab #
02/12  Orlando, FL @ Will's Pub #
02/13  Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum #
02/14  Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Theatre #
02/15  Atlanta, GA @ The Earl #
02/17  Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle #
02/18  Washington DC @ The Rock and Roll Hotel #
02/19  Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts #
02/20  New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom #
02/21  Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East Downstairs #
02/22  Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus #
02/23  Pittsburgh, PA @ Altar Bar #
02/24  Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop #
02/25  Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig #
02/27  Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club #
02/28  Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room #
03/01  Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre #
03/02  Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge #
03/03  Boise, ID @ Neurolux #
03/04  Seattle, WA @ Neumo's *
03/05  Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom *
03/07  San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *
03/09  San Diego, CA @ The Casbah *
03/10  Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre *
03/12  Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom *
03/13  Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad *
03/14  Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory *
03/15  Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar *
03/16  Chicago, IL @ Metro *

# w/ Ken Mode, Inter Arma
* w/ Helms Alee, Ken Mode


Artist: Russian Circles
Album: Memorial (STREAM)
Label: Sargent House
Release date: October 29th, 2013

Track list:
01. Memoriam
02. Deficit (STREAM)
03. 1777 (STREAM)
04. Cheyenne
05. Burial
06. Ethel
07. Lebaron
08. Memorial (STREAM)











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Thursday, December 12, 2013

UK riff merchants Cut Yourself In Half premiere new video via Brooklyn Vegan

Britain's young new heavy riff merchants Cut Yourself In Half premiere the first video from their debut album today via Brooklyn Vegan. The clip for the track "Say Goodbye To The World" from the band's recently released Mekkanizm album is available to watch / share HERE. (Direct YouTube link HERE.)

The equally formidable track "The End" premiered recently via Invisible Oranges and is available to stream/share HERE. (Direct Soundcloud link.)

Hailing from Bradford in the north of England, they’ve been honing their chops for the last year, since releasing their download-only debut for New Heavy Sounds, Say Goodbye ToThe World. Said single managed to get some heavy U.K. airplay and glowing reviews from the cognoscenti. Since then, the band have ventured from the dark satanic mills for the odd live sortie and recording session, now they’ve fully emerged from the studio with one hell of an album.

Cut Yourself In Half’s sound is a hellish amalgam of the hook laden grooves of QOTSA and Red Fang, mashed with a mighty thump of Mastodon-esque heaviness and hard rock, all put through a psychedelic mangle. The music is huge, with thunderous riffs followed by thunderous rhythm changes and grooves that take in hardcore, doom and acid-rock, all executed with top class playing. This band effortlessly combine the rich heritage of British rock and the American mutations of that sound, to create something that’s totally their own, uniquely British, remarkably refreshing and indisputably heavy.

With sonic necromancer and producer Dave Sanderson (the engineer behind Black Moth’s killer Killing Jar debut) at the helm, the 10 tracks that make up Mekkanizm are a pounding, take no prisoners, heavy stoner metal machine music ride through hell and back, and as thrillingly intense a listen as Pulled Apart By Horses' Tough Love.

Opening with the fat psychotic riffing of "Little Misadventure" through the classic rock re-invention of "The Song Remains Unnamed" to the unholy trinity of "The End" a revamped "Say Goodbye To The World" and "Comatosed", you know this is a monster. By the time you’ve got through the madness of "Viracocha" and its tale of Aztec demons, the twisted Hammer Horror of "Spider Legs" and the psych tinged cyclical madness of album closer "LGRD" you’ll be damn near exhausted. The album is an exhilarating witches brew of mayhem and melody, CYIH together with Mr Sanderson, have nailed a sound that’s tightly controlled yet simultaneously hovering on the edge of chaos.

Also, as with all NHS albums, the vinyl release will be a special thing indeed: 180g heavyweight white and red splatter vinyl, housed in a gatefold jacket, with detailed, doomy and downright sinister sleeve art by hot new illustrator Adrian Baxter. Complete with a lyric sheet and full download of the whole album. There will be only 300 of these, alongside the CD and download versions of course. 

Cut Yourself In Half are George Quinn guitar and vocals, Mikey Feather guitar, Jonny Newell on drums and Stefan Wilton on bass.

Mekkanizm will be available in North America on CD, download and limited edition vinyl on October 29th via New Heavy Sounds. 

Artist: Cut Yourself In Half
Album:  Mekkanizm
Label: New Heavy Sounds
Release Date: October 29th, 2013

01. Little Misadventure
02. The Song Remains Unnamed
03. The End (STREAM)
04. Say Goodbye To The World (VIDEO)
05. Comatosed
06. Viracocha
07. You Carry The Curse
08. Do It Or Die
09. Spider Legs
10. LGRD





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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Helms Alee premiere new track via Pitchfork, announce Sargent House album debut

Seattle trio Helms Alee premiere a new track today via Pitchfork. The tune, "Tumescence" is culled from the band's forthcoming Sargent House debut album, out in February 2014. Listen/share the song on Pitchfork or Soundcloud. 

Helms Alee's music is exactly the sort of mutant, fantastic hybrid that used to only occasionally erupt out of small, isolated scenes, uninformed by trends of the day - instead inspired by the band's own collective contributions. The Seattle trio's unique amalgam of metal, art rock, pop and punk is charmingly reminiscent of the fertile creativity that groups once had before the Internet seemed to instruct bands to only copy one another. Helms Alee's third album, Sleepwalking Sailors sounds like many styles combined into one, and none of it concerned with any notion other than creating vital, urgent and uniquely characteristic music. 

Bassist/vocalist Dana James, drummer/vocalist Hozoji Matheson-Margullis and guitarist/vocalist Ben Verellen combine a vast array of ideas within a single song, while still sounding entirely cohesive. Their songs are undeniably heavy, but also freely roaming through icy post-punk and warm melodic haze at any given moment. Any given song can be pummeling one moment and then subtly shift into triply harmonies without the listener even realizing what has happened. 

"The weird thing about it," Verellen muses, "is that we've got three different people contributing lyrics, parts and melodies to each song. So, they end up being disjointed by our individual input. We spent 3-1/2 years writing the songs for this album, so it's thematically all over the place."

Sleepwalking Sailors was recorded with engineer Chris Common (These Arms Are Snakes, Pelican, Chelsea Wolfe) in Seattle, with intentionally built-in limitations. "We recorded the album to tape in order to confine ourselves from ProTools refining every detail. We ended up with something that sounds really big, but also a bit more aggressive." Helms Alee's previous album Weatherhead was released in 2011 to much acclaim by their longtime label HydraHead just before it went under. Undaunted, and as a testament to the band's strong fan base, Helms Alee originally crowdfunded Sleepwalking Sailors, eventually raising an impressive recording budget. Upon hearing Common's early mixes, Sargent House quickly offered to bring the band onto their management roster and release the new album. Throughout the course of the album's creation, the band's independent aesthetic becomes clear: a dedication to truly representing themselves, regardless of trends and outside influence. 

Album opener "Pleasure Center" kicks off with churning riffs and staccato drums that repeat and morph in a constant build that's equal parts Gang Of Four as it is early Soundgarden. The slithering and perfectly meshed distorted rattle of James' bass with Verellen's climbing, chiming single notes on "Tumescence" lead off with Neurosis style heft, but soon give way to compelling minor-key vocal harmonies laid over the proceedings. Elsewhere, James' and Matheson-Margullis' even more pop-hook leaning vocal harmonies lend a transcendence to the proceedings. "Pinniped" pits near chamber-pop group vocal harmonies against screaming, wailing guitar blasts and thumping tom drum beats. Throughout the album, Helms Alee prove that their unique creative spark is its greatest asset in creating incisive and insightful music.

Sleepwalking Sailors will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on February 11th, 2014 via Sargent House. 

HELMS ALEE LIVE:
02/01  Seattle, WA @ Neumos w/ Sandrider, Survival Knife
03/04  Seattle, WA @ Neumos *
03/05  Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom *
03/07  San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *
03/09  San Diego, CA @ The Casbah *
03/10  Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre *
03/12  Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom *
03/13  Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad *
03/14  Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory *
03/15  Kansas City, MO @ The Record Bar *
03/16  Chicago, IL @ Metro *

* w/ Russian Circles, KEN Mode
Artist: Helms Alee
Album: Sleepwalking Sailors
Label: Sargent House
Release date: February 11th, 2014

Track list:
01. Pleasure Center
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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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

VEVO hosts worldwide exclusive premiere of M+A video from sophomore album

Click image above to watch video

"No matter the tempo, atmosphere, or style, the duo has the musical abilities, bright ideas, and ear for a lovely melody to make everything sound good." -- All Music Guide

"Nimble and inventive, the pair’s naivety makes for a refreshing take on pop." -- RCRD LBL



Italian artpop duo M+A premiere the stunning new video from their sophomore album These Days today with a worldwide exclusive on VEVO. The clip for "Down The West Side" is directed by Francesco Calabrese and is available to watch/share HERE.

M+A recently shared the second album single, "B Song" which is available as a free download/stream via Soundcloud HERE. The album's lead track, "When" is available to stream/download HERE. M+A launch European tour and festival dates in early December. Please see dates below.

The playful, sophisticated dance pop of M+A's second album These Days is so seamlessly hooky and compelling that upon listening it's hard to imagine a world without it. It's a perfect distillation of a yearning for endless summer.

M+A's 2011 debut Things.Yes was an inventive and spirited exploration of an organic, heartfelt variety of genre-hopping electro-acoustic pop that promised many good things to come from the young artists. But, perhaps nothing could've prepared us for These Days.

M+A is Michele Ducci, 22, (vocals, instruments) and Alessandro Degli Angioli, 25, (instruments) of Forli, Italy. Much like their French neighbors to the northwest, M+A explore dance music as a medium for emotional expression much more than a conduit for cold, cut 'n' pasted samples and beats. M+A's euphoric electronic pop is clever, but not for cleverness' sake. Ducci's earnest and delicate vocals, which hearken to the warmth of Phoenix's Thomas Mars, pair the bittersweet edge found in the best classic pop songs with the buttoned-up retro dance grooves of Beck and Daft Punk's Random Access Memories.

These Days is the result of meticulous collaboration begun in spring 2012, often from great distances with both members frequently on the go. "In this album we tried to experiment mainly with the song form, freeing ourselves of any bias towards any genre," the pair explain. "We haven't tried to remain faithful to anything." Rather than relying on samples, M+A played all of the instruments, apart from the impressive acoustic drumming of Marco Frattini.

From the very first seconds of These Days, the album is off and running with lush hooks driven by the propulsive beats, pizzicato strings and syncopated electric piano of dancefloor-filler "When." The hooks never stop throughout the 11-song, 42-minute album. "B Song" evokes the blue-eyed retro-funk of late 90's era Beck. "Down The West Side" is a masterful slice of sun-drenched pop perfection sure to soundtrack many a summer BBQ or banish those rainy day blues, while songs like "New York There", "Game", "Practical Friday" and "Midnight Radio" easily pair up alongside recent 80s-reminiscent efforts by artists like Daft Punk, The Strokes and Phoenix. With These Days, M+A effectively prove themselves worthy of a place among their more celebrated contemporaries.

The album is available on CD, download and deluxe 180-gram vinyl (300 copies on white vinyl with color printed inner sleeve and a free album CD included inside) via Monotreme Records. Orders of all physical albums from the Monotreme web shop will include free M+A pins and stickers while supplies last, plus one free previously unreleased bonus track download. Digital-only orders will also receive the bonus track.

M+A LIVE:
12/08  Ravenna, IT @ Bronson (w/ Mount Kimbie)
12/09  Milan, IT @ Circolo Magnolia
12/11  Forli, IT @ Diagonal Loft Club
12/13  Ghent, BE @ Glimps Festival
12/19  Torino, IT @ Astoria
12/20  Brescia, IT @ Lio Bar
12/21  Ravenna, IT @ Bronson @ Passatelli in Bronson Festival
12/25  Salerno, IT @ "Amen" Inattività Musicale @ Teatrino Comunale di Via Ripa
12/26  Lecce, IT @ Contronatura Winter Fall
12/28  Ascoli Piceno, IT @ ElectroChristmas Festival
01/03  Modena, IT @ Vibra
01/04  Firenze, IT @ Glue
01/05  Trieste, IT @ Tetris
01/08  Pesaro, IT @ Dalla Cira
01/10  Rome, IT @ Circolo degli Artisti
01/11  Padova, IT @ Mame
01/16  Groningen, NL @ Eurosonic Festival @ News Cafe 


Artist: M+A
Album: These Days
Label: Monotreme Records
Release Date: September 30, 2013

01. When (MP3)
02. B-Song (MP3)
03. Down The West Side (VIDEO)
04. Freetown Solo
05. Game
06. New York There
07. L.E.M.O.N.
08. Practical Friday
09. De-Light
10. Slow
11. Midnight Radio






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Monday, November 18, 2013

Qui premiere video via SPIN, announce forthcoming third album

L.A. duo Qui premiere the first video from their forthcoming third album today via SPIN.com. The clip for "Mucho Sex in America" is directed by Laban Pheidias (Justin Timberlake, Billie Joe & Norah Jones, et al.) and available to watch/share HERE (direct Vimeo link). Qui's album Life, Water, Living... will be available in early 2014. Please see track listing and current tour dates below. 

If the third full length by L.A. duo Qui sounds like a radical departure, you probably were never really listening properly in the first place. Sure, perfectly taut vocal harmonies and precise, sparse instrumentation supplants much of the band's early fume-huffing punk-noise here, but their penchant for challenging, button-pushing ideas is stronger than ever. Qui also employed harmonies and experimental structures on their previous album Love's Miracle (2007) with former vocalist David Yow (The Jesus Lizard). But, Life, Water, Living... is clearly the band's most meticulously refined effort at using melody and harmony as subversive weapons. 

After a 5-year absence involving considerable near-death experiences (more on that later), Qui is once again back to the original duo formed in 2000 by drummer/vocalist Paul Christensen and guitarist/vocalist Matt Cronk. Life, Water, Living... features inventive song structures and warped pop sensibilities reminiscent of early Sparks and Frank Zappa with Queen-style harmonies... or something like if Badfinger were the Melvins. Throughout, it's an album that subtly commands attention as it shifts from a soft whisper to a chuckle to a scream. 

Album opener "Kicked Out of Mime College" dares to keep it (deceptively) simple, based primarily around a churning bass riff and soft, but elastic vocal harmonies of Christensen and Cronk, slowly building to rumba percussion breakdowns and a soaring Theremin-like keyboard line. The title track follows with stop and go rhythms as Cronk switches back-and-forth between crunchy power chords and lightly strummed, clean minor chords. Meanwhile, the singers harmonize beautifully, with particularly impressive vocal acrobatics from Christensen (all the more impressive seen live as he pounds on the drums simultaneously). "Mucho Sex in America" takes a revved up ZZ Top boogie riff and stomping drums driven by frantic, paranoid vocals. Elsewhere, tracks like "The Kind of Jazz This Is" and "Awkward Human Interest" employ bossa nova rhythms, cheeky jazz riffs, a cappella passages, light keyboard flourishes and an overall enthusiasm for the unexpected. Life, Water, Living... was produced by renowned engineer Toshi Kasai and Melvins drummer Dale Crover at Entourage Studios in Los Angeles.

Since their first performance in L.A. in early 2001 and the release of their first full-length, Baby Kisses in 2003, Qui (pronounced, "Qui,") maintained a prodigious pace of both local performances and national tours. In late 2006, Qui had the serendipitous good fortune to collaborate with vocalist David Yow of The Jesus Lizard/Scratch Acid fame, first as a guest and eventually as a full-time member. The band soon partnered up with Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings, for their second full-length entitled, Love's Miracle, which was released on September 11, 2007. With it came a full tour of the US and Canada, followed by a trip to the UK and Europe.

After returning home from Europe in Dec of 2007, both Yow and Cronk were hospitalized with life-threatening medical conditions and were forced to cancel a planned Spring tour. The band spent the first half of 2008 licking its collective wounds and were back in action by August with a make-up tour of Europe. In October of 2008 Qui played what would be their last two shows in the US for the next four years. During the next six months they began recording the follow-up to Love's Miracle. The sessions resulted in The Little Golden Blanket, a limited edition seven-inch released in May 2009 on Infrasonic Sound Recordings.

In 2009 Qui was invited to play at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Minehead, England, along with Devo, Sleep, HEALTH, Harvey Milk, and for the first time in ten years, The Jesus Lizard. The rest of the year had Yow's calendar full with The Jesus Lizard's highly anticipated reunion tour, during which time Christensen focused on two new musical projects; the rock band, Help, and his staggering country/jazz/bossa nova duo, Paulene. Cronk, following a generations-old family tradition, enlisted in the US Army and was deployed to Iraq where he would serve in an elite Special Forces unit the end of his tour of duty in 2011.

After a roadside car bomb nearly claimed his life, Cronk received a Purple Heart and an honorable discharge from the Army in the Spring of 2011. He returned home and began once again to play music with Christensen. With no real agenda, the duo spent the better part of a year writing new music. Yow was by then fully engrossed in his new careers as an actor and artist, unable to commit to playing full-time. So, Qui elected to proceed as their original line-up, with future Yow collaborations an imminent possibility, schedules permitting. In July, 2013, Qui released, "Awkward Human Interest," a limited edition spit 7" single with Mike Watt + The Secondmen on ORG Music. 

Life, Water, Living... will be available February 25th, 2014 on LP, CD and download in partnership with Cobraside Distribution.

QUI LIVE:
11/20 San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern 
11/22 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey w/ Helms Alee
11/23 Portland, OR @ the Porch House w/ Helms Alee


Artist: Qui
Album:  Life, Water, Living...
Label: Cobraside Distribution
Release Date: February 25th, 2014

01. Kicked Out of Mime College
02. Life, Water, Living
03. Mucho Sex in America (VIDEO)
04. Awkward Human Interest
05. Boogie Down Disappointment
06. The Kind of Jazz This Is
07. Proof of Bass
08. Songbirds
09. You're a Girl
10. Whatareeyadoin
11. Ham Spray



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Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Russian Circles new album 'Memorial' out today


"Their strongest offering yet, an evolutionary leap for the entirety of post-metal.10/10" -- Crave Online

"Unquestioningly one of 2013's true artistic masterpieces. 10/10" -- PopMatters

"Vital and nourishing food for the imagination." -- The Guardian (UK)


Chicago trio Russian Circles release their acclaimed fifth album, Memorial today. The full album is available for physical order HERE and digital HERE. Stream/share Memorial in full HERE.

Pitchfork recently premiered the epic tune "1777" is available to listen/share on Pitchfork or Soundcloud. Rolling Stone also recently debuted the album's title track, featuring guest vocals by label (and tour) mate Chelsea Wolfe. Listen to "Memorial" HERE. Russian Circles previously shared the first track from the album via Pitchfork. Listen to the song "Deficit" HERE. (Soundcloud link HERE.) Check out cover art and track listing below.

Russian Circles are currently on the road in the EU and UK with Chelsea Wolfe. Both bands are playing full headlining sets, with Wolfe joining Russian Circles to sing the album title track every night. Russian Circles will also tour the US in early 2014. Please see complete dates below.

Perhaps the most immediately apparent characteristic of the fifth Russian Circles album, Memorial is its wide range of emotion. Vacillating from somber-yet-soaring melodies on one track to pummeling metal heft on the next, Memorial sounds like an album with split personalities.

Where one song showcases guitarist Mike Sullivan, drummer Dave Turncrantz and bassist/keyboardist Brian Cook's mastery of lush melancholic melody, the next exhibits their most abrasive underground metal leaning sound, with washed-out 16th-note riffs and crushing rhythms. The band's penchant for endless hooks remains a constant, but Memorial embodies their most dramatic ranges in tone.

"We've always tried to balance our metal-influenced sounds with more nuanced, pretty, orchestral elements," Cook says. "But this time, it's far more polarized in that the heavy parts are much more blown out and exaggerated while the pretty moments are far more restrained, delicate, and atmospheric." In the two years since Russian Circles released their landmark fourth album Empros, the Chicago trio toured worldwide nearly incessantly, encountering many heavy acts whose music seemed needlessly complicated. "We set out to make a straightforward, intense, heavy record," Cook explains. "We subconsciously gravitated toward darker and more somber sounds. We wanted to get away from the overtly flashy."

In search of such a streamlined sound, the trio focused on each individual song having its own emotional and musical characteristics. As such, Memorial almost feels like stages of grief. That notion might be aided by 1) the album's clever structuring, in which it ends in the same place as it starts, and 2) special guest vocalist Chelsea Wolfe lending her hauntingly somber vocals to the album closing title track.

Memorial was recorded at the Electrical Audio studio in Chicago with the band's longtime producer Brandon Curtis of The Secret Machines and Interpol who also helmed the band's two previous albums, Empros and Geneva.

Memorial is available on LP, CD and download via Sargent House on October 29th, 2013.

RUSSIAN CIRCLES + CHELSEA WOLFE // EUROPE 2013 
Oct 29, 2013 - London, UK @ Electric Ballroom
Oct 30, 2013 - Gent, BE @ Vooruit
Oct 31, 2013 - Karlsruhe, DE @ Jubez
Nov 1, 2013 - Utrecht, NI @ Tivoli de Helling
Nov 2, 2013 - Koln, DE @ Stollwerck
Nov 3, 2013 - Hamburg, DE @ Club Logo
Nov 6, 2013 - Helsinki, FIN @ Tavastia
Nov 7, 2013 - Oslo, NO @ Bla
Nov 8, 2013 - Gothenburg, SE @ Truckstop Alaska
Nov 9, 2013 - Copenhagen, DK @ KB18
Nov 10, 2013 - Berlin, DE @ C- Club

RUSSIAN CIRCLES // EUROPE 2013
Nov 11, 2013 - Dresden, DE @ Beatpol
Nov 13, 2013 - Vienna, AT @ Szene
Nov 14, 2013 - Budapest, HU @ Durer Kert
Nov 15, 2013 - Belgrade, SR @ Bozidarac
Nov 16, 2013 - Zagreb, HR @ Mochvara Club
Nov 17, 2013 - Munich, DE @ Feierwerk
Nov 19, 2013 - Moscow, RU @ B2
Nov 20, 2013 - St. Petersburg, RU @ Club Zal


Artist: Russian Circles
Album: Memorial (STREAM)
Label: Sargent House
Release date: October 29th, 2013

Track list:
01. Memoriam
02. Deficit (STREAM)
03. 1777 (STREAM)
04. Cheyenne
05. Burial
06. Ethel
07. Lebaron
08. Memorial (STREAM)











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Monday, October 28, 2013

Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos releases Halloween themed album, streaming via Noisey


Nick Reinhart, guitarist and vocalist in Tera Melos releases a special Halloween-themed album, Scary Sounds today while streaming all 14 spine-tingling tracks via Noisey. The painstakingly composed album was created entirely on guitar, making other-worldly noises befitting the holiday tradition. Listen to Scary Sounds HERE. Full album Bandcamp link HERE. 

About Scary Sounds, Reinhart explains:

"I've wanted to do a Halloween themed, guitar-based ambient record for a long time now. Halloween is really special for me. I worked the seasonal shift at Party City for years -- into my late twenties --surrounded by clueless 16-year-old first-jobbers, just to be inundated with the spirit of the holiday. I'd heard lots of 'Halloween sounds' recordings over the years, and it was important to make this recording a conscious and focused effort. In other words, it's not just me hitting record and then farting around on my pedals. there was a lot of thought put into every sound created.

"Every single sound on the recording came from a guitar -- albeit a very processed guitar, but 100% guitar. My dream would be for people to play this on their porch to scare the shit out of trick or treaters, or at haunted houses or parties. Anything Halloween related. Not everyone is into noisy, ambient records, but ALMOST everyone is into Halloween!"

Tera Melos is currently headlining the Sargent House tour with label mates Zorch, joined by Fang Island for East Coast dates now underway. Please see remaining dates below.


TERA MELOS // ZORCH Tour:
Oct 28  - Hamden, CT @ The Space *
Oct 29 - Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street *
Oct 30 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
Oct 31 - Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall *
Nov 01 - Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church *
Nov 02 - Washington DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel *
Nov 03 - Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
Nov 04 - Greenville, NC @ Tipsy Teapot
Nov 05 - Charlotte, NC @ Visulite Theatre
Nov 06 - Asheville, NC @ Isis Music Hall
Nov 07 - Athens, GA @ New Earth Music Hall
Nov 08 - Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree
Nov 09 - Broussard, LA @ The Station
Nov 12 - Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
Nov 13 - Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
Nov 14 - La Jolla, CA @ Che Cafe Collective ^^
Nov 15 - Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour ^^
Nov 16 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop ^^
Nov 17 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place ^
Nov 20 - Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown
Nov 21 - Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett
Nov 22 - Eugene, OR @ Cozmic Pizza
Nov 23 - Reno, NV @ Holland Project Space

* w/ Fang Island
^^ w/ Sister Crayon, Creepers
^ w/ Sister Crayon


Artist: Nick Reinhart
Album: Scary Sounds
Label: Nick Reinhart
Release Date: October 28th, 2013

01. Descent (STREAM)
02. Your Abyss
03. Psychological Warfare
04. Demon's Dream
05. You're Fucked
06. Graveyard (STREAM)
07. Pre-Slaughter
08. You're Fucked II
09. Alone In Space
10. They All Must Die (STREAM)
11. Looking Through Your Window
12. Keep It Dark
13. Didn't Survive
14. Hell

Artist: Tera Melos
Album: X'ed Out Remixes EP
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: October 8th, 2013

01. Weird Circles (Nick Reinhart remix)
02. No Phase (Zorch/Shmu remix)
03. Snake Lake (Busdriver feat. Milo remix) (STREAM)
04. Weird Circles (Fang Island/Jason Bartell remix) (STREAM)
05. Turn Every Color Dangerous (Zorch/Zac Traeger remix)
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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Monday, October 21, 2013

Russian Circles stream entire forthcoming album via Pitchfork Advance


Chicago trio Russian Circles are streaming their forthcoming fifth album, Memorial in its entirety today via Pitchfork Advance. The full album stream comes a week ahead of the album's October 29th release date, and is available for physical pre-order HERE and digital HERE. The Pitchfork Advance package features several breathtaking landscape images taken by photographer Ryan Russell, who also snapped all of the album packaging's frozen scenery. Stream Memorial HERE.

Pitchfork recently premiered the epic tune "1777" is available to listen/share on Pitchfork or Soundcloud. Rolling Stone also recently debuted the album's title track, featuring guest vocals by label (and tour) mate Chelsea Wolfe. Listen to "Memorial" HERE. Russian Circles previously shared the first track from the album via Pitchfork. Listen to the song "Deficit" HERE. (Soundcloud link HERE.) Check out cover art and track listing below.

Russian Circles are currently on the road in the EU and UK with Chelsea Wolfe. Both bands are playing full headlining sets, with Wolfe joining Russian Circles to sing the album title track every night. Russian Circles will also tour the US in early 2014. Please see complete dates below.

Perhaps the most immediately apparent characteristic of the fifth Russian Circles album, Memorial is its wide range of emotion. Vacillating from somber-yet-soaring melodies on one track to pummeling metal heft on the next, Memorial sounds like an album with split personalities.

Where one song showcases guitarist Mike Sullivan, drummer Dave Turncrantz and bassist/keyboardist Brian Cook's mastery of lush melancholic melody, the next exhibits their most abrasive underground metal leaning sound, with washed-out 16th-note riffs and crushing rhythms. The band's penchant for endless hooks remains a constant, but Memorial embodies their most dramatic ranges in tone.

"We've always tried to balance our metal-influenced sounds with more nuanced, pretty, orchestral elements," Cook says. "But this time, it's far more polarized in that the heavy parts are much more blown out and exaggerated while the pretty moments are far more restrained, delicate, and atmospheric." In the two years since Russian Circles released their landmark fourth album Empros, the Chicago trio toured worldwide nearly incessantly, encountering many heavy acts whose music seemed needlessly complicated. "We set out to make a straightforward, intense, heavy record," Cook explains. "We subconsciously gravitated toward darker and more somber sounds. We wanted to get away from the overtly flashy."

In search of such a streamlined sound, the trio focused on each individual song having its own emotional and musical characteristics. As such, Memorial almost feels like stages of grief. That notion might be aided by 1) the album's clever structuring, in which it ends in the same place as it starts, and 2) special guest vocalist Chelsea Wolfe lending her hauntingly somber vocals to the album closing title track.

Memorial was recorded at the Electrical Audio studio in Chicago with the band's longtime producer Brandon Curtis of The Secret Machines & Interpol who also helmed the band's two previous albums, Empros and Geneva.

Memorial will be available on LP, CD and download via Sargent House on October 29th, 2013.

RUSSIAN CIRCLES & CHELSEA WOLFE // EUROPE 2013 
Oct 21, 2013 - Bilbao, ES @ Kafe Antzokia
Oct 23, 2013 - Paris, FR @ Divan Du Monde (SOLD OUT)
Oct 24, 2013 - Brighton, UK @ The Haunt
Oct 25, 2013 - Manchester, UK @ Gorilla
Oct 26, 2013 - Glasgow, UK @ SWG3
Oct 27, 2013 - Dublin, IRE @ Button Factory
Oct 29, 2013 - London, UK @ Electric Ballroom
Oct 30, 2013 - Gent, BE @ Vooruit
Oct 31, 2013 - Karlsruhe, DE @ Jubez
Nov 1, 2013 - Utrecht, NI @ Tivoli de Helling
Nov 2, 2013 - Koln, DE @ Stollwerck
Nov 3, 2013 - Hamburg, DE @ Club Logo
Nov 6, 2013 - Helsinki, FIN @ Tavastia
Nov 7, 2013 - Oslo, NO @ Bla
Nov 8, 2013 - Gothenburg, SE @ Truckstop Alaska
Nov 9, 2013 - Copenhagen, DK @ KB18
Nov 10, 2013 - Berlin, DE @ C- Club

RUSSIAN CIRCLES // EUROPE 2013
Nov 11, 2013 - Dresden, DE @ Beatpol
Nov 13, 2013 - Vienna, AT @ Szene
Nov 14, 2013 - Budapest, HU @ Durer Kert
Nov 15, 2013 - Belgrade, SR @ Bozidarac
Nov 16, 2013 - Zagreb, HR @ Mochvara Club
Nov 17, 2013 - Munich, DE @ Feierwerk
Nov 19, 2013 - Moscow, RU @ B2
Nov 20, 2013 - St. Petersburg, RU @ Club Zal


Artist: Russian Circles
Album: Memorial (STREAM)
Label: Sargent House
Release date: October 29th, 2013

Track list:
01. Memoriam
02. Deficit (STREAM)
03. 1777 (STREAM)
04. Cheyenne
05. Burial
06. Ethel
07. Lebaron
08. Memorial (STREAM)











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