Blog: The Ruckus

Fresh off the release of the Harbour EP , Fort Frances brings us this video. As you may have guessed from the title, there's a bit more than just an acoustic set here. Fort Frances traversed through ruins, waded through flood water, and climbed a rickety ladder for this performance. The scene is framed with graffiti and decaying debris. It is an incredibly moving sequence. Huge shout out to the amazing camera work of Robert Stockwell and Joe Flood for capturing the unique acoustics. Related articles [...]

Listen New York, you have one last chance to attend a spring Cabinet of Wonders show at the City Winery. Tickets are still available for the May 24th date, but they very likely will not be for long. The Cabinet of Wonders is one of my favorite things about living in NYC. Curated by Wesley Stace, each show brings together an amazing group of musicians, writers, and comedians. April's show was no exception, featuring Glen Hansard, Lucy Wainwright Roche and Suzzy Roche, Rhett Miller, and many others. Go buy your ticket to the May [...]

Joseph Arthur’s music has been described as “a dynamic swirl of noise that somehow appears magically around him,” and that description rings especially true when applied to the first single from his upcoming album The Ballad of Boogie Christ (out on June 11 via Lonely Astronaut). "All the Old Heroes" spins a gorgeous narrative and promises great things to come from Boogie Christ. The video features 250 of Arthur’s favorite heroes: This long-crafted album was put to tape in upstate New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis [...]

Here's a new track from Beans on Toast which turns out to be quite a lovely tune. The accordion and trumpet make "Beer and a Burger" irresistible. I'm very happy to say that I'll be seeing Beans on Toast for the first time in June as he is coming to America to support Frank Turner for a run of shows . You can also catch him around the UK, of course. And be on the lookout for an American release of Fishing for a Thank [...]

Fort Frances is a band that continually puts out music that impresses and moves me. They have this full, bright sound that just overflows from the Harbour EP . I fell for "City By the Sea" early on , hard and fast. It became a part of my infamous Spring 2013 mixtape and therefore a part of shaking off the clouds of winter for me. It's still full of warmth and hope for me. "How To Turn Back Again" first surfaced for me on Fort Frances' Daytrotter Session [...]

Dear friend and punk celebrity Ben Morse , who moonlights as a wickedly talented photographer and videographer, was kind enough to document an amazing concert moment from The Front Bottoms . "Maps" closed out their show at the Camden Barfly and hosted an epic stage invasion. The Front Bottoms are set to come out with a contender for album of the year May 21st. Preorder Talon of the Hawk here . They are also headed on tour all. over. America. Check out the dates and get your tickets [...]

Who doesn't love bowling? (Well me, because I need the kiddy barriers) but here's Two Door with a famous person bowling their heads down a bowling alley (is this All Star Bowling Lanes by any chance?). It's apparently been banned by many tv channels but hey it's Two Door and I'm a big fan already. Handshake is out June 3rd.   

As fans of both cats and Austin music, we couldn't be more excited to premier the newest video from The Couch , a showcase of feline jealousy shot for their track "Kaiser," from their self-titled album, released in December. Sara Houser's smoky, gorgeous vocals shine over stark lyrics and gritty guitars on this track, but I think we can all agree that the true stars here are the cats. Watch out for The Couch - this stellar four-piece is rocketing toward household-name status. Snag their new [...]

Last month, I finally made my way to the Pacific Northwest. Brian and I flew into Seattle and then drove (down a treacherous and terrifying road) to Portland. I felt a lot of feelings as I stood on the muddy banks of the Wishkah . I was probably the happiest I have ever been when I pet kangaroos. I felt a sense of gluttonous accomplishment as we filled up a Waffle Window punch card in just four days. And somewhere in between all of these amazing adventures, we saw two Josh Ritter shows. I realized that [...]

This is one of those pop songs that I fell in love with in high school and never quite fell out. So when the amazing Allison Weiss covered it for Glamour Kills I was all over it. And have listened ...more than once. Check it out here and relive 1997 with me.

Wheel was absolutely one of my most anticipated albums of 2013, which has been quite the year for music. I felt an immediate connection with Laura Stevenson from the first song I heard on A Record and have only grown more hopelessly attached over the last couple years. Her achingly beautiful voice and sad, strange lyrics shoot straight for my heart. Through the first couple listens of Wheel , I didn't quite "get" it. I think I was trying to piece together a concept album of sorts, for a running [...]

• Laura Stevenson - Every Tense

As is the case with every festival, the opening spot on a stage is hard for any act and this year Groez goers are pretty spoilt for choice when it comes to the early birds. Getting in the arena early on can prove to be a great idea as yours truly found out after wandering in on, omnipresent punk hero, Mikey Erg's set early on last year. So, without further ado, here's who you should be seeing if you're an early riser at Groezock 2013. [...]

On his way up from Lexapalooza, Mark McBabe McCabe undertook a mini-tour of sorts. Having stopped in Manchester I coaxed the singer/songwriter into playing a couple of new tunes for Loitering With Intent; including one song so new that it doesn't even have a name. Both 'That Time I Almost Killed Martin' and 'Untitled' are set to appear on Mark's forthcoming second album but, if you like what you hear, you should head over to his Bandcamp page where he has a couple of things for you to drop some cash on. [...]

  Rarely has an album had me thinking about someone’s well being by the end of it but, as the final chords of the final song ring out, “is he alright?” are the first words that enter my head. ‘Tape Deck Heart’, his fifth studio album, sees Frank Turner taking an incredibly personal approach, laying it all out there on what is undoubtedly a breakup album and a bitter one at that. Upbeat instrumentals help to camouflage tales of heavy drinking and feelings of discontent at [...]

© 2012 Wings Ablaze A couple of weeks back, Great Cynics hit up Manchester on their tour with Gnarwolves and Broadway Calls so I caught up with them for a bit of a chat. They were pretty excited about the impending release of their second album (out now via Bomber Music!) and talked about everything from their recording and writing process to making friends with Japanese tourists at the Collesieum.

You know how much we love our singer/songwriters here at The Ruckus, so when we were told Dropout Dan wanted to cover one of our favourites exclusively for us, we couldn't really turn that down could we? Dan covered 'Smiling At Strangers On Trains' by Million Dead. Of course, as some of you may know, Frank Turner was at the helm of the, long since dead, post-hardcore band (which also featured Julia from Future Of The Left) and likes to play this song at live shows every so often as well. Dan's cover is great [...]

The first night I met Frank Turner , just over four years ago, we bonded over a mutual obsession with Frightened Rabbit 's Midnight Organ Fight . I have a recording of him singing me the first couple lines of this song but never dreamed I'd hear the rest. Then, my dear friend and punk celebrity Ben Morse posted this video from yesterday's Record Store Day celebration. Related articles The Way I Tend To Be [...]

A few weeks ago, I finally caught The Revival Tour in Brooklyn. Unlike Tiffiny, who so diligently posted her photos immediately after the Colorado show , I am tardy. After she photoshamed me on the internet, I figured it was time. The Revival Tour combines my love of shouty singalongs and friends playing music together quite nicely. It also lent itself to GIFs .  [...]

You should probably be all over grabbing this in the first place, I mean, who doesn't want 75 rad songs for $5? As an added bonus, for the next week your $5 will go to the Boston Red Cross . The BIG Comp features Ruckus friends and favorites You Blew It! , Fake Problems , Allison Weiss , Mixtapes , Into It. Over It. , and more. Many, many more. Did I mention there are 75 tracks? Get The BIG Comp here . If [...]

So you may have heard that Ruckus friend and favorite Laura Stevenson has a new album out next week. It's called Wheel , and it's really, completely, absolutely splendid - seriously, it's all I've been listening to for days. If you're inclined to listen yourself, you can stream it on Spotify ( right now ) for free. But you should also buy it next Tuesday. For your viewing pleasure today, here's Laura performing "The Move," one of the songs on the new record, for Dickies' Americana Acoustic Session, live from SXSW: [...]