The new Serena Maneesh album will be released next week Monday (Tuesday for North American fans), called Abyss In B-Minor (4AD). You can listen to it un full right now, courtesy of The Fader:
It is an incredible album and definitely worth purchasing. It will be released on both vinyl and compact disc. Both are available to order right now from Insound, so if you want it on vinyl, click here. Compact disc enthusiasts can go there.
Big Light are a Bay area pop/rock band who sound like some of the best pop bands you’ve heard in the last 30 to 40 years. Imagine pop music that sounds like Tom Petty if he morphed himself into Lenny Kravitz, Marc Bolan, Graham Parker, Soul Asylum, and The Hooters, maybe even with a hint of Cheap Trick thrown in. If you’re on the sizzurp, you may even hear Lil’ Wayne if he was serious about his love of crossing over to white audiences.
Animals In Bloom (reapandsow) play with a sensibility that shows a love of playing and an understanding of the craft of writing and executing quality pop-flavored rock’n'roll, all done with attitude, humor, and a smirk which may convey the message “yes, we know what we’re doing”. “Superfuzz Fine” could be the song that may bring the band over to audiences who love their pop a bit more abrasive, while “Rainbow Eyes” will move people into realizing that yes, quality songs are still being written in the 21st century, the future is good with Big Light.
I also like the fact these guys are willing to perform a few of these songs at lengths over 5 minutes, so while they have a nice stash of songs that are radio friendly, Big Light seem to want to be able to find each other and themselves with a bit of jamming too, without having to sound like they’re simply paying ode to The Allman Brothers Band, which they’re not. I easily see them appealing to a wide range of audiences, and they seem to be the kind of group who want to bring out all of their interests and influences into their collective sound.
You may have heard the buzz about Sweet Apple, a new band featuring Dave Sweetapple, Tin Parnin, John Patkovic, and J. Mascis. They’ve put together a debut album called Love & Desperation (Tee Pee) and it will be released on April 20th on both vinyl and CD (click appropriate icons below) and I’m sure the trendy MP3 format.
What’s also cool about this project is that the album cover pays homage to Roxy Music’s 1974 album Country Life. Younger audiences will want to shock their parents or grandparents by placing this in their collection. As for you, you are now able to find the wonders of “old school interactivity” with the album cover (nudge nudge).
It wasn’t that long ago that fans of underground/alternative/post-modern/college rock were praising the sounds of Jawbreaker. They were one of many bands no one thought would ever go major. A year after the release of the band’s debut album Unfun, the world of music changed. They remained indie until the end, but as far as many were concenred, it was Unfun that was near and dear.
20 years later, Unfun is being reissued, with the vinyl version retaining the format’s 12 tracks while the CD holds true with its 16 tracks. The vinyl version will be packaged with a bonus 7″, featuring the Whack & Blite EP and the uncredited “Busy”. All of it was remastered from the original analog master tapes by John Golden, so even if you still have your original LP, you’ll want to hear what Golden did with this. Vinyl version also comes with download code so you can have the album in MP3 form.
It will be released on March 30th, you can pre-order your copy through Insound (click the box below.)
Somewhere in this photo is my dream and my nightmare. When you combine both, you sometimes get some interesting results in music. This dream/nightmare are an all-girl Japanese garage/punk band called The Suzan, who are now signed to Fool’s Gold Records. Their new album is produced by Bjorn of Peter, Bjorn & John.
If you’re heading to this year’s SXSW, make time in your schedule to see them.
The Queens, NY-based band Freelance Whales are about to release their new album, Weathervanes, on April 13th. According to the band’s Twitter, the shipment of records are in and if you see them now while they’re on tour, you’re able to pick up a copy or two. Everyone else can pre-order it from Insound.
You can also take a look through the band’s tour journal here.
Braid were not a band that gained the accolades similar to Nirvana or R.E.M., but they were a midwest band that had taken a firm grip on their fans with the music they released. Now for the first time in years, you’ll be able to pick up those albums on new vinyl pressings, each remastered by the legendary John Golden.
The records involved are: Frankie Welfare Boy Age 5 The Age Of Octeen Movie Music Vol. 1 Movie Music Vol. 2 I’m Afraid of Everything
Movie Music Vol. 1 & 2 are compilations gathering together various single-only songs and comp appearances. I’m Afraid of Everything is a 7″ single that received as much attention as Braid’s own albums.
As with Frankie Welfare Boy Age 5, this will be the first time the album is being pressed with a proper cover. Original pressings were done with using old, random albums from Goodwill, and they simply silk-screened a new cover over it. You can look at the differences between original and reissued versions here. You’ll be able to purchase each record individually or as a bundle from Polyvinyl Records.
They proudly call themselves Fuck Buttons, and their fans eat up everything they dish out, and rightfully so. They’re about to release a new single called “Olympians”, which will be pressed in a limited edition of 5 x 100. In other words, five different pressings of 100 records, each one being pressed in a color of the Olympic rings. The single will feature remixes from J. Spaceman of Spiritualized and Alan Vega of Suicide.
The record cover also has a hidden image, so if you know how to stare at it, you’ll see what they’ve created.
The record, which will also be available in the less-interesting digital format, will be released on April 12th by All Tomorrow’s Parties. Buy one or all five. The group are also going on tour in Europe, check out tour dates on the pre-order page.
A 16 member band? Yes, it is a reality in the form of Flowers From Hell, and they’re about to release their second album on June 15th called Come Hell Or High Water (Unfamiliar).
The project was started by Canadian musician Greg Jarvis, who grew up with musical diversity and asked the question “why not combine these elements?” Not only did he find a way to combine and built, but he has done so by including a group of musicians who have been able to help him on this task, and also bring in special guests to make these sound concepts move from mind to reality.
There was a time when being “ethereal” meant being a band who were usually found at some obscure record store in town, on the left of the dial, or on the unknown blogs that you prefer not to tell anyone. Italy’s N.A.M.B. are very much ethereal in the sense that they can sound like they’re performing from down the hall but sound as if they are still in your face. BMAN (Monotreme) is an album that will carry you through 18 songs of varying textures and scenes. The cover illustration is that of a robot finding itself in dark and moody situations, as if the robots we played with kids now has to exist in the real world and uncertainty is ever present. The music is very much like that, where the ethereal vibe is the one thing we can be certain about, the gloomy sound that keeps us occupied. “Supernaturalooser (Parte 1)”, “Serrato”, and “Bye Bye Eyes” sounds like it could have easily been recorded in the early 70’s as elements sound as bold as Soft Machine or pre-Dark Side Of The MoonPink Floyd. Then you play “Work It Out” and they end up sounding like a band who would sound good opening for Bush, nine inch nails or Queens Of The Stone Age, they have a nice pop sensibility that seems to be common among Italian bands since the days of Osanna.
I love bands like this who are fully capable of becoming idols in their own countries, but will filter it with what mainstream listeners would call “weirdness” but what I would call “just creating”. After BMAN is complete, you will find yourself wanting to hear it again, knowing you may have missed something or you’ll want to hear it from a different point of view.
