Queen - "Hot Space" Deluxe Edition (2011) CD Review

This is the first of the 2CD Queen reissues that I've heard and Hot Space was probably a bad entry point to the series as this release looks like a "cash grab".

Starting with the bonus EP, the 5-track disc runs 23 minutes so these tracks could have easily been appended to the main disc (like the bonus tracks for Thin Lizzy's Bad Reputation).

The bonus EP contains:
1. "Staying Power (Live in Milton Keynes, June 1982)"
2. "Soul Brother (B-Side)"
3. "Back Chat (Single Remix)"
4. "Action This Day (Live in Tokyo, November 1982)"
5. "Calling All Girls (Live in Tokyo, November 1982)"

Taking this disc apart track-by-track:

- This live version of "Staying Power" is from Queen's Live at the Bowl CD which documents the band's Hot Space tour. As only four songs from Hot Space were played during this concert, you would have thought all four songs would have been included on the bonus disc.

- "Soul Brother" was the b-side to "Under Pressure" and I believe this is the first time this track has made it to CD. This is a full-on "Aretha Franklin-style" soul ballad with Freddie Mercury singing predominately in a high falsetto.

- "Back Chat (Single Remix)" - A complete throw-away as this is a single edit that runs twenty second shorter than the LP version.

- "Action This Day" and "Calling All Girls" come from the band's concert at Seibu Lions Stadium in Tokyo, Japan on November 3, 1982. Eight tracks from this show were previously released as bonus tracks on Live at the Bowl DVD so it is anyone's guess why the band is seemingly being very stingy with the remaining thirteen tracks.



I generally don’t write reviews of the original album when reviewing one of the many 2CD “deluxe editions” that the industry seems to be banging out by the truckload but I don’t think I’ve every heard all of Hot Space before.

While most everyone knows the song “Under Pressure”, that song is NOT indicative of the music on this disc. For a band that once prided themselves on using no synthesizers, most of the tracks sound like warmed-over Nile Rodgers leftovers or throw-away dance floor tracks. The predominate use of synthesizers and electronic drum machine tracks make this disc sound very “80s” and dated. There are a few moments of “classic” Queen ("Las Palabras del Amor", “Under Pressure”. “Life is Real (Song for Lennon)”) along with some enjoyable segues into Bronski Beat style pop but the dross significantly outweighs these tracks and this makes for a very uneven listening experience.

For the Hot Space tour, Queen played these songs much harder than the studio versions and the use of real instruments (as opposed to electronic beats) breathed some new life into these tracks. As such, an unreleased live show from this tour (or the remainder of the Tokyo show) would have made this set more interesting. At minimum, the original (and heavily bootlegged) version of “Cool Cats” with David Bowie’s backing vocals would have made a nice addition to the bonus disc.

This 2CD set hasn’t yet been released in the US but is available as an import on Amazon for $14.99 (new) through third-party sellers. (No one in their right mind should pay the $30 list price for this set.)



Links:
Queen

Neil Young - "Live on Air / The Lost Tapes" CD Review (XXL Media)

Neil Young's Live on Air / The Lost Tapes CD is listed on Amazon as containing six songs, recorded live in 1991 in the UK for a local radio station. Not to take issue with the disc’s liner notes but this 40+ minute set features Neil playing solo acoustic which implies that this recording is either from his 1992 or 1999 solo tours. With tracks like “Ambulance Blues” only played during Neil’s 1999 tour, I strongly suspect that this recording is from Neil’s June 2, 1999 show in Houston, TX as this is the only night of his 1999 tour where all six tracks on this disc were played.

Track List:
Last Trip To Tulsa
Long May You Run (on pump organ)
Harvest Moon
After the Goldrush (starts on upright piano and finishes on pump organ)
Ambulance Blues
Heart of Gold

This recording sounds like it was captured from the audience but it is a solid “you were there” recording. Neil’s vocals and instrumentation are clear and he sounds in great form. As to be expected with an audience tape, there is audience chatter after the songs and some clapping during the opening and closing bars of each song. As this recording is a compilation of tracks from different portions of the show (assuming my hypothesis is correct), there are fade-outs between each of the tracks.

This is a great companion piece to Neil’s 1992 live disc Dreamin' Man Live '92 which documented Neil's 1992 solo tour.

Links:
Neil Young

The Living Fields: Interview with Guitarist / Founder Jason Muxlow

DOWNLOAD: The Living Fields - "Interview with Jason Muxlow", July '11





Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of talking with Jason Muxlow, guitarist and founder of Chicago's The Living Fields.

The Living Fields just released their second full-length disc, Running out of Daylight, which marks their debut for Candlelight Records. Running out of Daylight is an eight-track 60+ minute tour-de-force that is near impossible to categorize as the band extends its doom metal "core" to include earthen pagan, symphonic and progressive elements. MusikReviews.de called the disc "terrible, dangerous, fascinating and wondrously beautiful all at the same time" and this quote does a nice job of summing up the amalgamation of elements found within this new disc.

BrooklynRocks talked with Jason about the band's new disc, the history of the band, Jason's side projects (Earthen Graves), the realities of The Living Fields touring and more.

Links:
The Living Fields

Natur Release New Single "Spider Baby" As Free Download / Show at Union Pool on August 26th.

DOWNLOAD: Natur - "Spider Baby" (hosted on VillageVoice.com)

Brooklyn traditional metal outfit Natur announced signing a worldwide deal with Earache Records last month and now the Village Voice has done a nice writeup on the band. The Voice has posted a fairly detailed interview with singer Ryan "Weibs" Wiebust and drummer Tooth along with a link (above) where you can download the band's debut single "Spider Baby" (The Year Is One Records) for free.

Here is a snippet from the full interview:

Village Voice: What is "Spider Baby" about?

Weibust, guitarist/vocalist: "Spider Baby" is 100% inspired by the 1968 black-comedy horror film my friend Erin McCord let me borrow—thanks, Erin! There are some strange themes in the film that I felt would be a great premise for a song. It's perverted, grotesque and sinister with a pretty amazing back-story. Originally the movie was called Cannibal Orgy; can't go wrong with a title like that, if you ask me. The three orphans in the movie all suffer from a disease called the "Merrye Syndrome." Once they reach the age of 18 they begin to slowly regress into cannibals as they get older/younger. So the lyrics are pretty much based around this idea, but also giving them the personification of a spider, which one of the daughters already has throughout the film.

Natur's next local show is August 26th at Union Pool w/ Aggressor and Mutant Supremacy -- cover is $8.

Links:
Natur

Canon Logic: Download "Howl in the Night" from Forthcoming "Rapid Engine" EP (out August 30th)

DOWNLOAD: Canon Logic - "Howl In The Night" (from "Rapid Empire" EP)

CanonLogicRapidEmpire by lightscamerawolfgang

Canon Logic will release "Rapid Empire" on August 30, 2011 via Engine Room Recordings. "Rapid Empire" is a five song EP driven by striking rhythms and an unrelenting energy. Themes of fear, solitude, risk, and perseverance are set against each other as a fractured narrative unfolds over dynamic soundscapes.

In the Spring of 2010, Canon Logic released their first full-length effort, FM Arcade, an eclectic album of powerfully catchy pop songs. Converse’s Talk Blog said "FM Arcade is rife with slick musical structures and beautiful, clear vocals.” Achieving a growing popularity in their native NYC, supporting acts like Oh Land and the Lemonheads, and headlining Bowery Ballroom, they broadened their reach up and down the East Coast on tour, and the songs stretched even further, landing placements on CSI:NY, internet ad campaigns, and on Hollister Co. and affiliated stores’ playlists, nationwide.

The band teamed up with NYC label Engine Room Recordings after recording a cover of “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)” for their popular Guilt By Association covers compilation series, which has featured artists in the past such as Devendra Banhart, Frightened Rabbit and Will Oldham; the band will be featured on GBA-Volume 3 due out in late 2011.

Canon Logic is comprised of guitarists Mark Alu and Josh Greenfield, bassist Sean Enright, drummer Zach Jordan, and frontman and principal songwriter Tim Kiely.

Canon Logic's next local show is September 8th at Music Hall of Williamsburg and they are playing with Pants Velour, Shoot the Freak and The Wicked Tomorrow. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 DOS.

Links:
Canon Logic

Maria Taylor - "Overlook" CD Review (Saddle Creek)

Next Tuesday (August 16th), Maria Taylor is releasing Overlook, which is her fourth solo album. This new disc is rawer, both in sound and emotion, than Taylor’s work with Azure Ray and Now It’s Overhead, and Taylor produced this disc herself after coming off a year-long writing dry spell.

Maria Taylor recorded this new disc in her hometown of Birmingham, AL having moved from Los Angeles early last year and her goal was to capture the sound of Alabama and its music scene. Collaborators on Overlook include neighbor Lester Nubry III, who engineered the disc and played drums on two tracks; guitarist Browan Lollar, who is part of Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit with who Taylor toured with earlier this spring; and siblings Macey Taylor (who adds bass, keys and backing vocals to a number of tracks) and Kate Taylor (backing vocals and marimba on “Matador”) along with Maria’s father Macey Taylor Sr., who played mandolin and added backing vocals to the song “Bad Idea”.

The core lyrical theme of the disc is a coming of (middle) age self-analysis (though Taylor is only 35) and the music ranges from wispy dream-pop to Michelle Shocked-style ragtime Americana to alt-country/folk to pulsing, jagged, alt-rock. While there are a lot of stylistic jumps on this new disc, most of it works.

The disc starts out strong with two of the more upbeat tracks “Masterplan” and “Matador”. “Masterplan” starts with minimalist vocals and a low pulsing beat and the song breaks open midway through with horns and keys and a vital sense of urgency. “Matador” also has pulsing percussion but the song has a bigger sound -- it is layered and lush and mixes squalling guitars and jagged alt-rock with dreamy harmonies. From here, Taylor heads down an alt-country/Americana path. “Happenstance” occupies similar territory to Mary Chapin Carpenter’s works and “Idle Mind” perfectly captures lonely, late-night melancholia.

Note: Ignore the YouTube song title - this is a live performance of "Happenstance"


The strong material that starts and ends this disc more than outweighs the few "soft points" in the middle and all of the songs start to grow on you after a few listens.

Links:
Maria Taylor

Middle Class Rut Release New Videos for "Busy Bein' Born" and "Hurricane" (Bob Dylan cover)

Sacramento alt-rock duo Middle Class Rut recently released new videos for "Busy Bein' Born" (from their 2010 debut CD) and "Hurricane" (Bob Dylan cover). The later video is a teaser for the band's new limited edition vinyl EP which has "Hurricane" on the A-Side and "New Low" (live at Maida Vale studios, 2010) and "Dead Set" (live at XFM studios, 2009) on the B-Side.





Middle Class Rut Tour Dates:
Aug 12 -- Idaho Center Amphitheatre Lot, Nampa, ID
Aug 13 -- The Gorge Amphitheatre, George, WA
Aug 14 -- Washington County Fairgrounds, Hillsboro, OR
Aug 19 -- LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, Kansas City, KS
Sep 04 -- Edmonton Northlands Park, Edmonton, Canada
Sep 09 -- EndFest - Marymoore Park, Redmond, WA

Links:
Middle Class Rut

Waters (ex-Port O'Brien) Posts "O Holy Break of Day" as Free Download from Forthcoming CD

DOWNLOAD: Waters - "O Holy Break of Day" (Waters - Out In The Light is out 9/20)

Photo credit: Ashlie and Amber Chavez
Waters is the new project from ex-Port O'Brien front man Van Pierszalowski.

Following the demise of that band last year, he took a break from making music and ended up living in Oslo, Norway. After some time off, he began writing again, then traveled most of the next year to Alaska, California, and Brooklyn, NY, before returning to Oslo to record the album with a band he put together. These new songs he wrote veered away from the frequently loose, punchy anthems of Port O’Brien, and as he intensively pieced each one together, he sought a bigger sound – something louder than he could play on his own. So Van returned to Oslo, where his new journey had begun. He put together a band of fine Norwegian gentlemen and spent every day of the next two months rehearsing in a small practice space outside of the city.

This band went with Van to Dallas, Texas, to record with producer John Congleton. Over a brief 10-day recording session in April, Congleton – who has worked on some of Van’s favorite albums (by artists including St. Vincent, Bill Callahan, and yes, R. Kelly) – kept the production stark, maintaining the songs’ intimacy and emotional intensity. Out In The Light has a louder, fuller, more aggressive and raw sound than any of Van’s earlier works. It’s a mix of fuzzy, pealing guitars and crashing drums, and easy, alternately soaring and languid, indelible melodies.

According to Van, “The record is about waking up. It is about getting out of a situation that seems endless, and realizing you’re not too old to make dramatic and sudden changes in your life. It is about starting over.”

WATERS TOUR DATES
AUG 11 -- DAVIS, CA, SOPHIA’S THAI KITCHEN*
AUG 18 -- PORTLAND, OR, BRANX#
AUG 19 -- VANCOUVER, BC, BILLMORE CABARET#
AUG 20 -- SEATTLE, WA, CHOP SUEY#
AUG 22 SAN FRANCISCO, CA, THE INDEPENDENT#
AUG 24 -- SALT LAKE CITY, UT, KILBY COURT#
AUG 25 -- DENVER, CO, HI DIVE#
AUG 27 -- LAWRENCE, KS, THE BOTTLENECK#
AUG 28 -- NORMAN, OK, OPOLIS#
AUG 29 -- DENTON, TX, HAILEY’S#
AUG 30 -- AUSTIN, TX, THE MOHAWK#
SEPT 1 -- PHOENIX, AZ, RHYTHM ROOM#
SEPT 2 -- SAN DIEGO, CA, BAR PINK#
* supporting Vetiver
# supporting Mister Heavenly

Links:
Waters

"Triple Threat of Terror: Others, Creepersin, DieMonsterDie" CD Review (MVD)

Triple Threat of Terror (MVD Audio) is a fifteen track compilation from three long-running bands from the horror-punk scene. Each band takes five tracks and their music showcases some of the different styles within the genre.

The disc kicks off with Creepersin, which was formed in 2004 and hail from Orange Country, CA. The band has put out a string of singles, EPs and albums with a revolving door lineup where the only constant has been singer/songwriter Creep Creepersin. Creepersin has a 60’s / rockabilly sound that sounds like a cross between Michale Graves and X and horror movie lyrics that are similar to Graves’ Web of Dharma project.



Creepersin is also a successful film director with credits on a large number of indie films (“Blood Lust Romance”, “Meet Me Out in the Sticks” and “OC Babes and the Slasher of Zombietown”) and the web show “MKC: Monster Killers Club” and he bridged these worlds by joining forces with film collaborator Gary Griffith (“Before the Rain”, “Dustflow”) on Creepersin’s most recent disc, 2010’s Creepersin Reanimated. Creepersin and Griffith have continued recording together for another full-length and some upcoming split releases. The split album Creepersin vs. 13 Tombs: Split Psychosis is due out by the end of 2011.

Next up is DieMonsterDie from Salt Lake City, Utah and they have a ‘Type O Negative meets The Dwarves’ sound. DieMonsterDie have been plugging along since an early incarnation of the band formed in 1995 (as Casa Diablo) and they have released six albums to date. Singer Zero Delorean sings tales of blood letting, b-movie horror films and blasphemy in a deep “Pete Steele” style baritone while the band lays down some melodic hooks that combine the power-punk melodies of bands like The Dwarves and Groovie Ghoulies with the 60’s-a-go-go sound of bands like The Cramps.

DieMonsterDie proclaims that they are on a mission to “destroy rock n’ roll” and song titles like “All Covered in Blood and Dressed Like a Whore” and “A Priest and a Zombie Rent a Fishing Boat as Friends” say a lot about where the band’s head is.



The last band up is Binghamptom, NY’s Others. Of the three bands on this compilation, Others have been around the shortest time (2002) but already have put out fifteen independent releases. Others have more of a harder edge than the previously mentioned bands and their music sounds like a cross between early punk and Los Angeles-style death rock (early Christian Death and 45 Grave) so this is some pretty dark and menacing stuff.

Others’ mainman Mark Dickinson is also a film director and the band has won awards for two of their short films, "Under the Sunset" (winner of the 2009 International Haunted Horror Film Fest for best Horror Musical) & "Broken Vessels" (winner of the 2009 International Haunted Horror Film Fest for best music video ). The later is a fairly creepy film about "4 unfortunate souls who decide to check out rumours of strange happenings at a retired military base and the tragic fate that awaits them."





Links:
Others
DieMonsterDie
Creepersin

Harley's War - "Hardcore All-Stars" CD/DVD Review (MVD Audio)

After the 2001 ‘break-up’ of the Cro-Mags, bassist/vocalist Harley Flanagan wasted no time going out with his solo project Harley’s War. Harley’s War’s first disc, entitled Cro-Mag, came out in 2002 and featured seven new tracks (which included a ‘who’s who’ of NYHC), four demos 1982-1983 (which include early versions of “Do Onto Others” and “Don’t Tread on Me”) and a live track from 1981 from the Stimulators.

In 2009, MVD reissued Cro-Mag as a CD/DVD set entitled Hardcore All-Stars. This reissue adds five additional studio tracks and a complete sixteen-track live show from the final hardcore matinee at CBGB (Oct. '06) but drops the Stimulators live track (which sounded a bit dodgy so no great loss).

Genre labels can be a dangerous thing…A number of reviews have called the Cro-Mags the “first cross-over band” but I always considered them strictly hardcore (and later metal). My definition of “cross-over” is the hip-hop/metal hybrid of bands like Biohazard and Anthrax. Getting back on point, the twelve new studio tracks on Harley’s Hardcore All-Stars CD capture the raw intensity of this hip-hop/metal crossover sound and Harley throws a bit of old-school punk and oi into the mix.

These new tracks features Harley on vocals and bass; ‘Crazy’ Jay Vento and Rocky George are the primary guitarists but Vinnie Stigma and Gabby Abularach (x-Cro Mags) guest on a couple of tracks; Ryan Krieger (x-Cro Mags) is on drums and Harley shares the mic with Micky Fitz (of The Business) on “Spirit of ‘77”. This later track also includes Vinnie Stigma and the band pays tribute to the Ramones with a chorus from “Blitzkrieg Bop”. This portion of the disc ends with the gang vocal sing-along on “NYHC X-mas”, which also features Vinnie Stigma along with Mike Gallo, Jimmy G. and Phil Calvano.



The next four tracks are demos from 1982-3 that feature Harley on all instruments and vocals and these tracks give an early look into the rage and power of the Cro-Mags. One can also hear the common theme of coming from “the streets” in Harley’s music from the early version of “Don’t Tread on Me” and the previously unreleased demo “Dead End Kids” to the newer tracks “Criminal” and “Who Survived”. The disc closes with a 16-track live performance from Oct. 2006 from the “final hardcore matinee” at CBGB (the video portion can be found as a bonus feature on the Cro-Mags “The Final Quarrel” DVD).

Harley’s War (new tracks):
• "Hardcore LAMF"
• "Nightmare"
• "You Don't Know"
• "Hardcore NYHC-OG"
• "Last Days"
• "Criminal for Life"
• "Parasite"
• "Spirit of '77"
• "Urban Screams (C-Squat)"
• "Scarred for Life"
• "Who Survived"
• "NYHC X-Mas"

1982 Demos:
• "Don't Tread on Me"
• "Wake Up (Do Unto Others)"
• "Dead End Kids"
• "Why Don't You"

CBGB, NYC Oct. ‘06:
• "Intro"
• "Signs of the Times"
• "World Peace"
• "Show You No Mercy"
• "Malfunction"
• "Days of Confusion"
• "Street Justice"
• "Survival of the Streets"
• "Don't Tread on Me"
• "Do Unto Others"
• "Last Days"
• "Crush the Demoniac"
• "It's the Limit"
• "Life of My Own"
• "Hard Times"
• "We Gotta Know

The real bonus is the DVD which includes high-quality live footage from CBGB along with an in-depth interview with Harley. The NYC live footage is classic – while Harley’s War featured a rotating line-up, most of the footage is split between a 2002 show where the lineup was Rocky George and "Crazy' Jazy Vento on guitar and Gary Sullivan on drums and the "Last Hardcore Matinee" show which took place in October 2006. Various special guests on some of the other footage include Vinnie Sitgma, Sean Kilkenny, John Joseph, Daryl Jennifer and Jorge Merauder.



The DVD also includes live footage from Germany and Japan, music videos for the songs “Hardcore” and “Who Survived” along with Harley reminiscing in CBGB post-closure (also found on The Final Quarrel DVD).

Live footage from various CBGB shows:
• "Death Camps"
• "Criminal"
• "Who Survived?"
• "Spirit of '77"
• "Urban Screams"
• "Down But Not Out"
• "Sign of the Times"
• "Regulator" (Bad Brains cover)
• "Life of My Own"
• "Can You Feel"
• "World Peace"
• "Malfunction"
• "Steal My Crown"

Remaining tracks Are From the "Last Hardcore Matinee" show:
• "Street Justice"
• "Survival of the Streets"
• "Don't Tread on Me"
• "It's the Limit"
• "Crush the Demoniac"
• "Life of My Own"
• "Hard Times"
• "We Gotta Know"
w/ Will 'Cavman' Dahl, Joe Affe, Walter Ryan and Craig Ahead (on two tracks)

Links:
Harley Flanagan

All Pigs Must Die - "God Is War" CD Review (Southern Lord)

Latest tracks by apmd

There is something to be said for the sheer b*lls to name your band “All Pigs Must Die” and these guys have the brutal hardcore chops to back up the name. About ten years ago, I tried to pull together a hardcore band and had people interested in playing with me but they backed away after I told them I was planning on naming the band “Satanic Death Piggy” and wanted to work a Bobby BeauSoleil song into the set.

Following in the same vein as some of the crusty, brutal thrash-metal that Southern Lord has been putting out as of late, the label is issuing All Pigs Must Die’s debut full-length, God Is War, on August 16th. This disc is the follow-up to the band’s self-titled 2010 EP (Deathwish). All Pigs Must Die features vocalist Kevin Baker (Hope Conspiracy), former Bloodhorse members Adam Wentworth (guitars, x-The Red Chord) and Matt Woods (bass), and Ben Kollar from Converge on drums. Given that this is a MA-based band that shares a member with Converge, it was probably a given that this disc was recorded with Kurt Ballou at his Godcity Studio.

This new eight-track disc (33 minutes) finds the band spitting enough hate and venom to sound like one of the bands from the early Florida metal scene (Obituary, Deicide) crossed with a Swedish death metal band. At the core though, God is War is primal d-beat style hardcore album. Vocalist Kevin Baker delivers his lyrics which touch on the realities of life in a harsh bark backed by Ben Kollar’s pounding blast beats coupled with buzz-saw guitar tones and crushing grooves from Wentworth and Woods. The band doesn’t stray too much from their core sound but most songs get up in the three – four minute range so the songs have a chance to build their own identities without racing by in a blur of brutality. The band even slows down (slightly) on the eight minute brooding closer “Sadistic Vindicator”.

All Pigs Must Die (Full Set) from hate5six on Vimeo.

All Pigs Must Die’s God Is War is coming out in limited edition mail order version on both CD and vinyl (with Florian Bertmer art) through Southern Lord’s webstore. The mail order version of the CD is a 2xCD set which contains the band’s first EP as a bonus disc and the vinyl pressing is on 180 gram clear vinyl and is limited to 500 copies.

All Pigs Must Die have dropped out of the lineup for the Converge show at House of Vans and posted the following to the band's Facebook page: "Brooklyn, due to scheduling errors we will no longer be playing the House of Vans show that was originally announced for Thurs August 25th and is now changed to a day earlier on Weds August 24th. We promise to make it up in the near future. See you soon."

Links:
All Pigs Must Die
Southern Lord

It Prevails - "Stroma" CD Review (Mediaskare) // Show at Party Expo on Aug. 18th

Portland metalcore band It Prevails just released their third full-length, Stroma (Mediaskare Records), which is their strongest to-date. Continuing with the ‘tradition’ of having lineup shakeups with each new release, this disc marks the return of original drummer Aaron Marsh and early-on rhythm guitarist Nic Toten. The band is currently off on “The Beautiful & Spineless Tour” coast-to-coast tour. which stops at Party Expo in Brooklyn on August 18th. The lineup for the tour includes No Bragging Rights (tour headliners), We Are Defiance, Onward To Olympas and Boys No Good (8/8 – 8/14) & Burning Twilight (9/3 – 9/6).

This new disc, Stroma, is the followup to 2009’s Capture & Embrace and, musically, it continues in the same melodic hardcore vein. The disc starts out with the barreling, high-energy track “Holes” and doesn’t let off the throttle until the disc’s twelve tracks (40 minutes) have run their course. While the band retains the melodic hooks of past releases, this time around, the guitar leads have been de-emphasized in favor of more percussion-heavy, melodic “full band” sound.

Lyrically, the band continues to write about the “struggles, life lessons, negative situations, and mistakes” and principal songwriter / vocalist Ian Fike delivers these predominately uplifting lyrics seamlessly switching between his clean and heavy vocals (the later delivered in a higher pitch than on previous releases). The track “Break Away” showcases the depth and versatility of Fike’s vocals and the track includes guest vocals from Brendan Foley of Betrayal. Adam Jackson from Twelve Tribes also makes a guest appearance on this disc and joins Ficke on the track “Artisan”.



It Prevails obviously sees this disc as a turning point for the band as, in a recent interview with Rock Edition, Ian Fike talked about the album’s title and how Stroma means “the framework, the building base of something. When me and Aaron were putting the skeletons of the songs together — Aaron kept saying this is the framework of our new ideas, this is what we’ve grown into….writing ‘Stroma,’ it was so much fun. We had all these riffs, and it was very natural how it all came together.”

“The Beautiful & Spineless" Tour Dates
08/05 Lewisville, TX – Dad’s Venue
08/06 San Antonio, TX – The White Rabbit
08/07 Austin, TX – TBA
08/08 Baton Rouge, LA – Here Today Gone Tomorrow
08/09 Mobile, AL – American Legion Post 88
08/10 Daytona Beach, FL – Stingrays
08/11 Tampa, FL – Transitions Art Gallery
08/12 Jacksonville, FL – The Pit
08/13 Douglasville, GA – The 7 Venue
08/14 Raleigh, NC – The Brewery
08/15 Fredericksburg, VA – The Refuge
08/16 Linthicum, MD – LHUMC
08/17 Lemoyne, PA – The Champ
08/18 Brooklyn, NY – Party Expo
08/19 Albany, NY – Bogie’s
08/20 Manchester, NH – Rocko’s
08/21 Buffalo, NY – Broadway Joe’s
08/22 Pittsburgh, PA – 42nd Street Rock House
08/23 Columbus, OH – TBA
08/24 Mt. Clemens, MI – The Hayloft
08/25 Toledo, OH – Frankies
08/26 Steger, IL – Another Hall In The Wall
08/27 St. Louis, MO – Fubar
08/28 Omaha, NE – The Commons
08/29 Wichita, KS – The Eagles Lodge
08/30 Tulsa, OK – Reverb
08/31 Denver, CO – TBA
09/01 Ogden, UT – Mojo’s
09/02 Boise, ID – The Grange Hall
09/03 Spokane, WA – The A Club
09/04 Pullman, WA – The Bell Tower
09/05 Portland, OR – TBA
09/06 Klamath Falls, OR – Yesterday’s Plaza
09/07 Rocklin, CA – Studio 21
09/08 Stockton, CA – Plea For Peace
09/09 Bakersfield, CA – The Dome
09/10 Anaheim, CA – Chain Reaction
09/11 Tempe, AZ – The Fixx

Links:
It Prevails

Totimoshi: Desert Death Rock Band Plays St. Vitus on August 20th // Ltd. Edition Split 7" with The Melvins Available at Show

California trio, Totimoshi, will kick off their long-awaited North American tour tomorrow in Scottsdale, Arizona. The band will spread its unique brand of heavy desert death rock across nearly 30 cities, before winding down on September 3, 2011 in Tucson, Arizona.

The band will be touring in support of their soon-to-be-unleashed Avenger full-length, set to drop on August 16, 2011 via At A Loss Recordings. Avenger was produced by Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Shrinebuilder, Tool), mastered by John Golden (Melvins, Mike Watt, OM) and includes appearances by Dale Crover (Altamont, The Melvins, Shrinebuilder), Brent Hinds (Mastodon) and Scott Kelly (Neurosis, Shrinebuilder).

Additionally, Totimoshi will be selling copies of their new, very limited split 7" with the Melvins (released through Volcom) throughout the tour. Commented guitarist/vocalist Antonio Aguilar: "Totimoshi is honored to be sharing a 7" with one of our favorite bands in the world, the Melvins. There will only be 1000 pressed and 200 available through us, so you better get out to the venues!"



Totimoshi U.S. Tour 2011:
8/04/2011 Chaser's - Scottsdale, AZ w/ Greenhaven
8/05/2011 The Due Return - Santa Fe, NM
8/06/2011 3 Kings Tavern - Denver, CO w/ Ume, Self Service
8/07/2011 Duffy’s - Lincoln, NE
8/08/2011 Off Minor - Dubuque, IA
8/09/2011 Garibalid’s - Milwaukee, WI w/ Sleestak, Like Like The Death Deaths
8/10/2011 The Frequency - Madison, WI
8/11/2011 Ultra Lounge - Chicago, IL
8/12/2011 Mac’s Bar - Lansing, MI
8/13/2011 Stone Tavern - Kent, OH w/ Rebreather, The Unclean
8/14/2011 Hard Luck - Toronto, ON
8/15/2011 TBA - Montreal, QC
8/17/2011 O’Brien’s - Cambridge, MA
8/19/2011 TBA - Providence, RI
8/20/2011 Saint Vitus - Brooklyn, NY (Advance tickets are $10)
8/21/2011 Golden West - Baltimore, MD
8/22/2011 Strange Matter - Richmond, VA
8/23/2011 The Casbah - Durham, NC
8/26/2011 Milestone - Charlotte, NC w / Music Hates You
8/27/2011 The Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, GA w/ Zoroaster
8/28/2011 Hi Tone Café - Memphis, TN
8/29/2011 Siberia - New Orleans, LA
8/30/2011 The Mink - Houston, TX
8/31/2011 Scoot Inn - Austin, TX w/ Vaz, Pygmie Shrews
9/01/2011 Korova Basement - San Antonio, TX
9/03/2011 Vaudeville - Tucson, AZ

Links:
Totimoshi

A.A. Bondy Premiers "The Heart Is Willing" from Forthcoming Disc "Believers" // Headlining Show at Bowery Ballroom on Nov. 22nd

AA Bondy - The Heart Is Willing by fatpossum

(photo: Ted Newsome)
A.A. Bondy premiered the first song, "The Heart Is Willing," off his upcoming third album Believers earlier this week on NPR Music's All Songs Considered blog. Believers will be released September 13th, 2011 via Fat Possum and a pre-order is now live on the label's website (click on the photo above to go to the pre-order site).

Bondy has also announced an extensive month-long US headlining tour in November, launching on the 1st at the Urban Lounge in Salt Lake City, UT, and wrapping up at the Bowery Ballroom in New York, NY, on the 22nd. He's already confirmed to play a handful of West Coast shows in late September and early October. A full itinerary is below and more dates will be announced soon.

Believers offers ten new songs by Bondy, "conjured during and between dreams, in bare rooms, and on the late night streets of America." The album was recorded in spring 2011 by Rob Schnapf at Mant/Kingsize Studios in Glassell Park, California, with help from musicians including Ben Lester (drums, piano, pedal steel) and Macey Taylor (bass). Believers is the follow-up to Bondy's 2009 album When The Devil's Loose, which was praised by American Songwriter, Filter, NPR, Nylon, Relix, SPIN, Time Out New York, and V Magazine, among many others. American Hearts, his debut, was released in 2008.

A.A. Bondy Tour Dates:
SEPT. 28 -- SAN DIEGO, CA -- THE CASBAH
SEPT. 30 -- LOS ANGELES, CA -- EAGLE ROCK CENTER FOR THE ARTS
OCT. 4 -- PORTLAND, OR -- MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS
OCT. 6 -- SEATTLE, WA -- TRACTOR TAVERN
OCT. 7 -- VANCOUVER, BC -- MEDIA CLUB
NOV. 1 -- SALT LAKE CITY, UT -- URBAN LOUNGE
NOV. 2 -- DENVER, CO -- HI DIVE
NOV. 4 -- OMAHA, NE -- THE WAITING ROOM
NOV. 5 -- MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- 7TH STREET ENTRY
NOV. 7 -- MADISON, WI -- HIGH NOON
NOV. 8 -- CHICAGO, IL -- LINCOLN HALL
NOV. 10 -- NASHVILLE, TN -- MERCY LOUNGE
NOV. 11 -- LITTLE ROCK, AR -- STICKYZ CHICKEN SHACK
NOV. 12 -- DALLAS, TX -- PROPHET BAR
NOV. 13 -- AUSTIN, TX -- THE PARISH
NOV. 15 -- OXFORD, MS -- PROUD LARRY'S
NOV. 16 -- ATLANTA, GA -- THE EARL
NOV. 17 -- KNOXVILLE, TN -- PILOT LIGHT
NOV. 18 -- CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA -- THE SOUTHERN
NOV. 19 -- WASHINGTON, DC -- ROCK 'N ROLL HOTEL
NOV. 21 -- PHILADELPHIA, PA -- FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH
NOV. 22 -- NEW YORK, NY -- BOWERY BALLROOM

There is no opening act (currently) listed for A.A. Bondy's show at Bowery Ballroom. Tickets are $15 the Bowery Ballroom's site lists doors at 8PM and the show at 9PM.

Links:
A.A. Bondy

The Residents - "Dolor Generar" CD Review (Ralph)

Before shuttering Ralph Records last year, The Residents’ final limited-edition release was Dollar General, which contained the music the played over the PA before and after shows on the Talking Light tour. This sixteen track / 48 minute disc follows in the same vein as Ten Little Piggies and The Ughs! and is a collection of experimental instrumental tracks. The first half of the disc predominately focuses around some creative percussion work and the various Eskimo-style clangings and bangings are coupled with jazz-flavored, polyrhythmic instrumentation which makes some of these tracks sound like King Crimson gone industrial. Intermixed across the disc, The Residents pull out some dark-hued atmospheric/cinematic numbers but never completely step away from the disc’s percussive core.

This latest release from the band, Dolor Generar - Una Noche Lost en Van Horn Texas, is a reissue of Dollar General, but this release includes two additional songs which brings the total running time up to 57 minutes. This new disc is available as a CD-R through Amazon/Ralph Records and is described as “[a]n abstract instrumental album of strange beauty, Dolor Generar is the soundtrack for an unusual night in Texas. Used as pre-show music for the Residents' TALKING LIGHT touring show, this album set the mood for the bizarre stories of ghosts and the missing Carlos.”

It is hard to write an in-depth review of an ambient album (Eno's Ambient series kept coming to mind when listening to this disc) as the overall album is about tones, textures and moods rather than individual songs. Like the aforementioned Eno series, this disc is pleasant listening experience, and there are a couple tracks that are somewhat distinctive but there isn't enough substance to keep most of the individual tracks memorable once the disc is done. Fans of the band probably have both versions of this disc already but other discs (like Meet the Residents or Eskimo) are probably more interesting places to start for novices.

Dolor Generar Track List:
1. Black Scars
2. Burning Madrone
3. Mary Achi
4. Memory of Transgression
5. Rats Fight for Water
6. Restrained in the Ward
7. Carlos Buys a Round
8. Dollhouse
9. Last Rites for Bilibago
10. Blow Row
11. The Red Powder
12. Shoeless Thorn Game
13. Temple of the Dragan
14. War Zone
15. Hassled by Mamasan
16. Drunk Again in Van Horn Texas
17. Oil Jobber
18. Una Noche Lost

Links:
The Residents

Marissa Nadler & Faces on Film - Photos & Review from Littlefield, Brooklyn, NY 7-31-11

Faces on Film - Manitoba (Acoustic) by mikefiore333

Faces on Film (which is the musical alias of multi-instrumentalist Mike Fiore) opened the show for Marissa Nadler at Littlefield. I wasn't that familiar with Faces on Film's music prior to listening to Mike's acoustic set but his rich, emotive voice reminded me of Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters) or Ours' Jimmy Gnecco. One of the standout tracks from his set was "Manitoba" and a full-band version of this tracks has been added to the iTunes reissue of Faces on Film's second disc, Some Weather.





Marissa Nadler started her set by reaching into her back catalogue for the songs "Hyacinth" and "Salutations in the Dark" before coming coming back to the present with "Little King" (from the new self-titled disc). Marissa switched between a 6- and 12-string acoustic but it was her beautiful, haunting voice that was the focal point of each song.





Mike Fiore returned to the stage midway through Marissa's set to play guitar and add backing vocals which gave Marissa a chance to free herself from her guitar. Some of the standout tracks from the second-half of the set were "The Sun Always Reminds Me of You" and "In Your Lair, Bear" (both from the new self-titled disc) and a solo cover of Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat".







Links:
Marissa Nadler

Win Tickets for Rooftop Films' "Dangerous Docs & Whisker Wars" (Short Films) on August 4th

Win a Pair of Tickets to Rooftop Films' showing on August 4th - "Dangerous Docs and Whisker Wars" (Short Films). The showing is at Crown Vic, 60 South 2nd St. in Brooklyn so you obviously have to be local to win. To enter, send an email to mike.brooklynrocks at gmail.com with the subject "Rooftop Films" and I'll draw winners at random on Wednesday night (August 3rd).

THE FILMS
SASQUATCH BIRTH JOURNAL 2 (Zellner Bros. | Austin, TX | 4 min.)
An unprecedented peek at the mysteries of nature.

IRMA (Charles Fairbanks | Lexington, NE | 12 min.)
Irma is an intimate musical portrait of Irma Gonzalez, the former world champion of women’s professional wrestling. Filmed in Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl – a notorious district of Mexico City – Irma contradicts everything we have come to expect from stories reported from Mexico. Featuring original music written and performed by Ms. Gonzalez, Irma’s story surges with love and deceit, masculine strength, feminine charms, and an extraordinary sense of humor.

WHISKER WARS (Thom Beers)
"Whisker Wars" profiles a group of men as they travel the country in search of top honors in a host of competitions, from the National Beard and Mustache Championship in Bend, OR to the World Competition in Norway. With Germany the reigning champion, over 80 local U.S. chapters attempt to come together to form Beard Team USA. - IFC

NEGATIVIPEG (Matthew Rankin | Canada | 15 min.)
Rory Lepine gives a personal account of his fateful and infamous encounter with The Guess Who's legendary lead singer, Burton Cummings, in a Winnipeg 7-Eleven in 1985. [Sundance]

SATAN SINCE 2003 (Calos Puga | New York | 19 min.)
For Emmy Award-winning documentarian Carlos Puga (True Life, MTV), three months' access to The Hell's Satans (Richmond, Virginia's premier moped gang) produced enough material for not only an eye-popping peek into this otherwise reclusive society, but also a satirical jab at the process of documentary film-making. [SXSW]

DECLARATION OF IMMORTALITY (Marcin Koszalka | Poland | 29 min.)
Polish documentary veteran Marcin Koszałka returns to a forgotten genre: the mountain film. The protagonist of his story is Piotr “Mad” Korczak, a legendary mountain climber who revolutionized the art of mountain and rock climbing and figured out how to scale some of the most impossibly steep natural rock structures in the world. Featuring gorgeous and vertigo inducing cinematography and Koszalka’s magnificently stoic observations, Declaration of Immortality is a thrilling trip to the edge of the abyss and a poignant portrait of a man driven by an insatiable desire to live as large and as long as humanly possible.

The schedule for the night is:
8:00PM - Doors Open
8:30PM - Live Music
9:00PM - Films Begin
11:30PM - After Party at the Crown Vic

Links:
Rooftop Films

Soul Power: "Lost" '74 Concert Film with James Brown, B.B. King, The Spinners Screens at the IFC Center on Aug. 2nd

This footage sat in the vaults for over thirty years due to legal disputes and was assembled as a labor of love by When We Were Kings editor Jeffrey Levy-Hinte. The film Soul Power chronicles the Zaire '74 concert with James Brown, Miriam Makeba, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz, and others that took place alongside the Ali / Foreman fight documented in When We Were Kings.

Zaire ‘74 was the brainchild of South African musician Hugh Masekela and American record producer Stewart Levine, a three-day music festival that took place in Kinshasa in 1974. The event assembled America’s biggest rhythm and blues talents – including James Brown and the Mighty JBs, Bill Withers, B.B. King, and the Spinners – along with top African acts such as Miriam Makeba and Afrisa. The festival was held in conjunction with the boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman known as the “Rumble in the Jungle.” The promoters hired a team of esteemed documentary cameramen to film everything, including street life in Kinshasa and behind-the-scenes footage of the show being assembled. And then the footage sat unedited for over thirty years.

The festival and film were financed by a Liberian investment group that became mired in legal disputes. Eventually, the rights were settled to facilitate the completion of the 1996 film When We Were Kings, which focused on the Ali-Foreman fight, and it won an Academy Award®. Jeffrey Levy-Hinte was an editor on that project, and recognized that another film about the twelve-hour concert was waiting to be made. With Soul Power, he finally brings this work to fruition. None of the footage has ever been seen, including new sections with Ali. The film plays like a time capsule, with no contemporary interviews to interrupt its cinéma-verité sensibility.



This one-time showing on August 2nd features a Q&A with director Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte. Tickets are $16 and the show starts at 8PM. The IFC Center is located at 323 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10014

Links:
Soul Power

Jim Ward - "Quiet in the Valley, On the Shores the End Begins" CD Review (Tembloroso Creative Lab)

Sparta / Sleepcar mainman Jim Ward’s latest release, Quiet in the Valley, On the Shores the End Begins, combines his three solo acoustic EPs (which originally came out as a limited edition pressings on Ward’s Civil Defense League label) with a new 6-song EP that contains electric versions of selected tracks from the EPs.

The disc starts with the five tracks from “Quiet” (2007) which finds Ward occupying a similar space to A.A. Bondy / James Apollo and telling road-weary tales of relationships and breakups, accompanied predominately by his acoustic guitar. Maura Davis (Denali / Ambulette) adds some sparse backing vocals on “Take It Back” but this portion of the disc doesn’t really start to open up until the gospel-tinged “Coastline”.

While both “In the Valley, On the Shore” and “The End Begins” both have dark edges, there is a bit more energy behind these songs which, coupled with additional instrumentation and backing vocals, adds some rays of hope behind the darkness. Tegan Quin (of Tegan and Sara) sings harmony with Ward on “Broken Songs” and this song also brings in the use of a cello. “My Town” (also on “In the Valley, On the Shore”) is another stand-out track that bustles with almost the same energy that is found on the electric version of this track (which is on the bonus disc). Both the instrumentation and energy ramps up for “The End Begins” and one of the standout tracks is the liltingly bouncy “Waves in Spanish”.

In a MySpace blog post, Teagan Quin talked about hanging out with Jim “when his band Sparta [was] opening for Velvet Revolver”. While the electric disc doesn’t have the same intensity as Sparta did, one can feel the fires still burning. These six tracks sound like a great “lost” roots-rock album from the mid-80’s and captures everything that was right with college rock/radio after the new-wave bubble burst. The electric version of “Take It Back” shines with harmony vocals and ringing guitars and “Mystery Talks” is the sort of song that U2 forgot how to write after The Unforgettable Fire.

Quiet in the Valley, On the Shores the End Begins comes out August 2nd through Tembloroso Creative Lab.

Track List:

“Quiet” EP
1. On My Way Back Home Again
2. Take It Back
3. Mystery Talks
4. Coastlines
5. Easier Said Than Done

“In the Valley, On the Shores” EP
6. All That We Lost
7. Broken Songs
8. My Town
9. The Newest One
10. This Love Has Gone Away

“The End Begins” EP
11. Lake Travis
12. Waves In Spanish
13. Decades
14. The Beginning Of The End

“The Electric Six” EP (Disc 2)
1. Take It Back (Electric Version)
2. Mystery Talks (Electric Version)
3. Coastlines (Electric Version)
4. Broken Songs (Electric Version)
5. My Town (Electric Version)
6. Decades (Electric Version)

Links:
Jim Ward

Huff This! (Alison Clancy) Posts New Song "Lovin You" As Free Download

DOWNLOAD: Huff This - "Lovin You" (from tuff love, out Fall 2011)

Alison Clancy and her dream-thrash band Huff This! have just released a video for the new song "Lovin You", which will be on the band's forthcoming album tuff love which is set for release this fall. The video was directed by Nick Atkins and captures band-leader Alison Clancy dancing on a trashed Coney Island shore as a lightning storm rolls in.

Huff This! is vox/piano-Alison Clancy, cello -Chris Lancaster and drums -Molly Allis.



Alison’s wild physical and vocal abandon ricochets through our hearts. Conventions are shattered. She makes people nervous and breathless. Alison has even has even been banned from a few NYC venues due to her habit of jumping off pianos and knocking shit over. She recently opened for The Kills and TV On The Radio at the SXSW SPIN Magazine Party and BackstageAxxess.com wrote that she "[s]tole the show, with a second stage performance that had sugar, spice, sunglasses and shiny gold spandex....combining music with visual imagery and dance for an eye catching, mesmerizing experience."

When not wreaking musical havoc, Alison works as a classical and contemporary dancer with The Metropolitan Opera and tours internationally with the critically acclaimed Israeli choreographer Zvi Gotheiner. Alison has also performed at the Guggennheim Museum, Robert Wilson's Watermill Center, Lincoln Center Theater, Baryshnikov Arts Center and Alice Tully Hall. All this "uptown" pressure is furiously unleashed in her HUFF THIS! performances. Her primary band-mate, cellist Chris Lancaster, is a renowned composer for dance and film who's music is performed in the top theaters and opera houses around the world and who's collaborators include Bill T. Jones, Jiri Kylian, and Larry Keigwin.

Links:
Alison Clancy
Huff This!
Electric Child