Watson Twins
Fire Songs
Vanguard Records
You probably know Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) and the Watson Twins’ album Rabbit Fur Coat. Critically acclaimed by many, the 2005 album found itself on the reputable top ten list of NPR’s All Things Considered. Continuing to ride a wave to success in 2006, the Twins’ self released EP Southern Manners propelled them further, the song “Time of My Life” being featured on ABC’s popular show Grey’s Anatomy. After extensive touring, the identical twins signed and recorded with the historic Vanguard Records, famous for holding such folk, country blues, and jazz acts as Joan Baez, Big Mama Thornton, as well as Buddy Guy and Louis Armstrong. Containing beautifully soothing qualities, Fire Songs, the Twins’ upcoming full-length album, holds more than enough softness to remedy anyone’s aggression problem. Though many are bittersweet love songs, they display mature simple chord progression filled with haunting and affective harmony. Each airy layer of clean acoustic guitar sounds like an experienced studio musician’s sad strumming. My favorite song “Old Ways”, a painful sleepy ballad immediately paints a picture of unrequited love with its poetic, juxtaposed first lines, “ You’ve got angel eyes/ but you’ve got devil’s blood”. It’s certain to be a classic. – Jonathan Mendick, Mannerist Zine
Mixel Pixel
Let’s Be Friends
Mental Monkey
Mixel Pixel has enjoyed success since ten years ago when they formed in Delaware. After four albums, the band has come across a proven formula for greatness. Blending hollow distant vocals from both Rob Corradetti and Kaia Wong, Atari-inspired sound effects and samples, electronic beats, bluesy organ, and hollow echoing guitar, Let’s Be Friends casts a soft vibe into your ears. Like a sun emitting its morning glow, the album immediately initiates your friendship. Rob, visual artist and founding member of the band, drew the artwork on the cover depicting subjects as diverse as the album’s lyrics and sonic utterances. Sure. It deals with cats, sweaters, death, drugs, fashion, lightning, loneliness, New York City, rebirth, and sex. But the success of the album lies in the lover/friend dilemma. Released on Mental Monkey records, Let’s Be Friends will either be an album to fall in love with instantly, or merely one to comfort you in times of loneliness. On “Distant Station”, the last track and also my favorite, lyrics about heartbreak, warm guitar and mellow keyboard exude warmness. Kaia explains “my love for you is like a secret potion”, proving the album would like to love you. Please do the same. – Jonathan Mendick, Mannerist Zine
I’ve always said that independent record labels can still thrive and make a lot of money by selling music, t-shirts, and other things. I also am a firm believer in bands using their notoriety to help smaller, up and coming bands, progress and become bigger bands. Clutch is doing a combination of that, with their latest announcement that they are going to start their own record label. The record label is going to be called Weathermaker Music, and will focus on releasing quality music to the masses. Clutch will continue to make music and hopefully release future releases through their own imprint. No word about distribution was mentioned yet, but I’m sure anyone that has followed Clutch for some time, will agree that that’s the least of their worries; especially when the major labels are losing money hand over fist.
src - Lambgoat
i’m not a big fan of justice per se, but this video definitely has some balls…
Monotonix
Body Language
Drag City
In spite of a grueling tour schedule last year, which on average included more than a show every other day, Monotonix persisted and recently recorded an incendiary EP Body Language. The title track, also my favorite, proclaims the band’s manifesto, “my body language says I’m not afraid”. More pure muscle than careful masterpiece, these six songs capture Yonatan Gat’s amateurish guitar sound, Ami Shalev’s spirited vocals, and a knack for primal minimalist drumming that would make punk purists proud. Before now, the only way to hear Monotonix was if you were lucky (or crazy) enough to attend one of their gritty live shows. Amassing a reputation for making Iggy Pop-esque interactions with the crowd, they’ve moved beyond merely smearing peanut butter on themselves. Instead they spew entire beer bottles into your face. Sometimes at shows, while on fire (literally) lead singer Ami chases after you. You become a greater part of the show when the trio, now signed to the Chicago based Drag City label, performs another infamous move: the drummer, kit included, crowd surfs while continuing to pound the beat. Originally hailing from Tel Aviv, Israel, Monotonix are currently on a massive tour in the U.S. – Jonathan Mendick, Mannerist Zine
Bridge 9 Records has been overshadowed today, thanks to Nine Inch Nails announcing another free record. So when you’re done listening to more NIN, check out Bridge 9’s comp full of hardcore anthems, and New Found Glory.
You can download the free comp, including artwork, at the official Bridge 9 Records website, and all it takes is your name and email address…just like NIN. Everyone loves free music, so hurry up and get your Bridge 9 Records comp now!
Rancid, the punk rock legends, have announced a full scale U.S tour for this summer. No festivals, no gimmicks, just raw Punk Rock. They are playing dates with all sorts of punk rockers from the diehard’s to the pop-punk stylings, they cover the whole punk scene from today and yesterday on their way to potentially releasing a new disc of music. Check out the dates below, sadly…no Seattle date has been announced.
June 10, 2008 Rialto Theatre Tucson, Arizona T.S.O.L, The Dead Tones
June 11, 2008 Club 101 El Paso, Texas T.S.O.L, Fixed Idea
June 13, 2008 La Zona Rosa Austin, Texas Lower Class Brats, Ill Spent Youth
June 14, 2008 Granada Theater Dallas, Texas Lower Class Brats, Damage Case
June 15, 2008 Warehouse Live Houston, Texas Complete Control, Deathbed Repentance
June 18, 2008 Jannus Landing St Petersburg, Florida Whole Wheat Bread, The Scurvy
June 19, 2008 The Revolution Ft Lauderdale, Florida Guajiro, The Clockouts
June 20, 2008 House Of Blues Lake Buena Vista, Florida Voo Doo Glowskulls & Whole Wheat Bread
June 21, 2008 Plush Jacksonville, Florida Against All Authority, Far From Finished
June 22, 2008 The Masquerade Atlanta, Georgia Th’ Legendary Shack, The Dead Towners
June 24, 2008 House Of Blues North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Th’ Legendary Shack, The Independents
June 25, 2008 Hooligan’s Music Hall Jacksonville, North Carolina Murphy’s Law, Far From Finished
June 26, 2008 Jester’s Fayettefille, North Carolina Murphys Law
June 27, 2008 Rocketown Nashville, Tennessee Th’ Lengendary Shack, Hillbilly Casino
June 28, 2008 Pop’s Sauget, Illinois Exene Cervenka, Coliseum
June 29, 2008 Cain’s Ballroom Tulsa, Oklahoma Riverboat Gamblers, Dirty Mugz
July 1, 2008 Sunshine Theatre Albuquerque, New Mexico Riverboat Gamblers, 12 Step Rebels
July 2, 2008 Marquee Theatre Tempe, Arizona Riverboat Gamblers, The Dames
July 3, 2008 House Of Blues Las Vegas, Nevada The Aquabats, Urchin
July 26, 2008 The Fillmore Auditorium Denver, Colorado Murphy’s Law, I Am Ghost, MXPX
July 27, 2008 The Beaumont Club Kansas City, Missouri Murphy’s Law, Architects
July 28, 2008 The Myth Maplewood, Minnesota MXPX, The Cretins
July 30, 2008 House Of Blues Chicago, Illinois MXPX, Rule 22
July 31, 2008 House Of Blues Chicago, Illinois H2O, The House the Gloria Vanderbilt
August 1, 2008 Clutch Cargo’s Pontiac, Michigan H2O, The Red Shift
August 2, 2008 Kool Haus Toronto, Ontario H2O, The Flatliners
August 3, 2008 Kool Haus Toronto, Ontario Sick Of It All, The Creepshow
August 5, 2008 Metropolis Montreal, Quebec Sick Of It All, The Brains
August 6, 2008 Metropolis Montreal, Quebec H2O, The Alley Dukes
August 8, 2008 Palladium Worcester, Massachusetts Sick Of It All, Capital Radio
August 9, 2008 Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel Providence, Rhode Island Murphy’s Law, Bloodshot Hooligans
August 10, 2008 Electric Factory Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Big D and the Kids Table, Percocettes
August 11, 2008 9:30 Club Washington, Washington DC Big D and the Kids Table, Bloodclot
August 13, 2008 The Fillmore at Irving Plaza New York, New York Sick Of It All, Bloodclot
August 14, 2008 The Fillmore at Irving Plaza New York, New York Theo and the Skyscrapers, Westbound Train
August 15, 2008 The Fillmore at Irving Plaza New York, New York Big D and the Kids Table, Capital Radio
August 16, 2008 The Fillmore at Irving Plaza New York, New York Murphy’s Law, Shiragirl
August 17, 2008 The Fillmore at Irving Plaza New York, New York Madball, Bomb the Music Industry
Rock the Bells returns this year with a major line up shift, and the names are not small no name acts!
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, NAS, MOS DEF, MURS, SPANK ROCK, THE COOL KIDS, JAY ELECTRONICA, WALE, AMANDA BLANK,THE PHARCYDE,HOSTED BY: B-REAL, SUPERNATURAL & SCRATCH
How can you miss this event? I for one am going to be so stoked to see MURS! Murs rules the world! Just check out this video:
Sat 7/19 - Chicago, IL
Sun 7/20 - Toronto, ON
Sat 7/26 - Boston, MA
Sun 7/27 - New York, NY
Sat 8/2 - Miami, FL
Sun 8/3 - Philadelphia, PA
Sat 8/9 - Los Angeles, CA
Sat 8/16 - San Francisco, CA
Sat 8/23 - Denver, CO
Sat 8/30 - Vancouver, BC
Beck hasn’t felt like a loser in a long time, and with the announcement of his latest venture into live performances, he’s setting up a good pace to return to full time tours. This latest summer announcement, isn’t a full blown tour, but it has enough dates to please the majority of Beck fans for now.
Check out Beck in a city near you, or just wait for him to announce a really lengthy tour.
06-25 Arendal, Norway - Hove Festival
06-27 Berlin, Germany - Columbiahalle
06-28 St. Gallen, Switzerland - St. Gallen Festival
06-30 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
07-04 London, England - Hyde Park (O2 Wireless Festival)
07-06 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter Festival
07-07 Paris, France - Olympia
07-09 Madrid, Spain - La Riviera
08-22 San Francisco, CA - Golden Gate Park (Outside Lands Festival)
08-30 Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
09-20 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl ^
09-27 Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
When I was younger, I used to call Portishead “porpoise head”. I never saw the appeal.
Now that I’ve lived another 10 years, I see the talent and hear the amazing musical stylings of Portishead for more than just a random musical endeavor. The lyrics to any Portishead song can be somewhat haunting, and the tone in which the delivery breaks through the vapid music scene, is just top notch.
With their latest album, you can tell that they are up to their old antics, and aspiring for a little more.
You can stream the whole Portishead album now, and see if you like it…or if you’ll stick to your metal.
P.s Metal rules!
