Ah northern Ireland, it's brilliant isn't it? Home of May McFetteridge, crap ads for shopping centres, the Hole in the wall gang, Julian who introduces Coronation Street, and, er, lots of rally cars. I jest, I jest. Norn Ireland is great, and it has a brilliant music magazine called AU , which I've written for a few times. AU are currently having a tilt at compiling a list of the top Irish albums of the decade. To do this, they want as much input from Irish music fans as they can get. Anyone can vote, and moreover, you can [...]
WE COME IN PIECE, d3NdRON Happy-Fi, Mexico Rating: 74 By Carlos Reyes Hailing out of the Happy-Fi wing comes this relatively known band, d3NdRON's electronic rock is making a lot of noise lately. Some of our friends have listed We Come in Piece as one of the year's albums, too many and too abroad [...]
All Smiles — the nom de tune of songwriter-guitarist Jim Fairchild — this week released a new EP, "Fall Never Fell," the follow-up to his sophomore album "Oh For the Getting and Not Letting Go" (which is also finally seeing physical release). Fairchild, the former Grandaddy guitarist who is now touring axeman in Modest Mouse, again collaborated with Solon Bixler ( Great Northern ), Nik Freitas (Mystic Valley Band) and Joe Plummer ( Modest Mouse ) on the new songs. In addition to the new EP, he's releasing a free download of "The Comparison Blouse," [...]
![Shark Attack, Shooting Judas Album [Review]](http://cache.elbo.ws/posts/2138708_lg.jpg)
Shooting Judas by Shark Attack Shooting Judas was released in June of 2009 and nearly five months later tracks are still being remixed and making headway on the scene. The first track, 'Creation ex Nihilo' is the perfect opening track. 'Northern City Riot' is a perfect reflection of helplessness and fear with it's high pitched and violent screech..but so much maturity with the breaks placed in between. One moment its rough and mean and then we are catching our breaths again! I slowly feel the waters turning and by the time, 'This Way, I know a [...]
The Times have raised something of a stink recently by announcing that they are going to start charging for the online content of their newspaper. This isn't new, exactly, because a lot of newspapers started out that way on the web, but quickly dropped all these clumsy logins and memberships and payment schemes because in the face of free and unlimited services like the Guardian and the BBC they quickly realised that they were losing out massively in the scramble for eyeballs, which is the one criterion everyone on the internet seems to agree is the key to influence, importance [...]
As you know by now, we at NPR Music sent out a series of questions to people in the music, arts and entertainment communities. We wanted to get a sense of people's thoughts and feelings pertaining to the last decade in music, and what their thoughts were about the future. One question we asked was: What is the one song, movement or artist that sums up the decade for you, and why? Our respondents had a variety of answers, from Kanye West to M.I.A. to Beirut. Please add your [...]
As you know by now, we at NPR Music sent out a series of questions to people in the music, arts and entertainment communities. We wanted to get a sense of people's thoughts and feelings pertaining to the last decade in music, and what their thoughts were about the future. One question we asked was: What is the one song, movement or artist that sums up the decade for you, and why? Our respondents had a variety of answers, from Kanye West to M.I.A. to Beirut. Please add your [...]
Wilco are fucking pirates The flurry of November tour announcements continues... Dinosaur Jr have just revealed the details of their sideshows for when they are here in March for Golden Plains . Thursday, March 4: Corner Hotel, Melbourne Wednesday, March 10: Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay Thursday, March 11: Metro Theatre, Sydney Friday, March 12: Perth - Rosemount Hotel, Perth Saturday, March 13: Fowlers Live, Adelaide Sunday, March 14: Moorilla, Hobart No word yet on when tickets will be going on sale. [...]
Some DVD and CD reviews coming your way soon, but today it's a pre-holiday cleanup of things that have been cluttering up my desk, my email, and my mind. Another NYC show that sounds amazing: Fire + Fire / Black + Gypsy: The Sounds and Stories of Two Cultures Bound by Rhythm and Race at Symphony Space Nov. 19 and Nov. 21. Day of Show: $35 / Advance: $30 / Symphony Space Members: $25 As part of the yearlong Extremely Hungary festival, [...]
Wikipedia knows next to nothing of the Stockton-on-Tees noisenik quartet undulating the underground enough to crack Geordie pavements. Lead barker Kingsley Hall may well be the most articulate cult figurehead to shred the pages of NME with unequalled bravado and outspoken chivalry since Morrissey. Taking on the mainstream, one sycophant-smashing step at a time, The Chapman Family may well be the dark horses to back over the dingy, hurdled tracks of a recession-obsessed England. Brace yourselves- it's lenghty. But comedic genius shouldn't be abbreviated... Dots: The majority of those aware of the cataclysmic [...]
Jim Fairchild has had an incredibly busy and amazing year this year, what with the release of both his full-length and two EPs--he's also been on the road a good chunk of the year playing guitar in Modest Mouse, and he's relocated to San Francisco, CA. All Smiles' brand new five-song "Fall Never Fell" EP is available tomorrow through www.allsmilesmusic.com , all digital retailers, and at shows! Also--get this--between now and Dec. 25th, the digital version of All Smiles' mind-blowing full-length, "Oh For The Getting and Not Letting Go", will be available for only $5 if and [...]
Jim Fairchild has had an incredibly busy and amazing year this year, what with the release of both his full-length and two EPs--he's also been on the road a good chunk of the year playing guitar in Modest Mouse, and he's relocated to San Francisco, CA. All Smiles' brand new five-song "Fall Never Fell" EP is available tomorrow through www.allsmilesmusic.com , all digital retailers, and at shows! Also--get this--between now and Dec. 25th, the digital version of All Smiles' mind-blowing full-length, "Oh For The Getting and Not Letting Go", will be available for only $5 if and [...]
The band formerly known as Rachel Unthank and The Winterset have not only changed the lineup to some extent and their name but also claimed a change of mood or at least a "warmer, calmer shade of sad" on this, their third album. The last one, 2007's The Bairns , delivered us unto a world weaved of northern British folk, all expressed delicately in a language more akin to Robbie Burns than Pete Burns. For many reasons it is an album to be taken carefully – and thankfully so. It asks you to step out of the day-to-day, to [...]
The beers were flavorful, and the indie-rock was tasty — all that was missing from the first Hollywood Brew Fest on Saturday at the Fonda Theatre was a good crowd. The event went flat under a sparse turnout, despite a formidable beer menu and a reasonable-for-an-event-of-its -kind ticket price of $45 (which got you unlimited tastings in nifty 5-ounce glasses all night). The music certainly wasn't lacking in hops. Great Northern [that's Rachel Stolte, pictured at top], Nico Stai and Castledoor turned in typically energetic sets, and Samuel Stewart and [...]
Slow Bongo Floyd is a silly name. But they were a wonderful, criminally under-rated, UK psychadelic dance group of the early 1990s. Their biog says: Formed somewhere between Oxford Road and Haight-Ashbury, Slow Bongo Floyd was a spiritual journey into the undiscovered depths of experimental soundscapes - where acid house morphed with hippie-folk, rock, punk, psychedelica and the blues. Early recordings were chaotic and beautiful, anyone who came to the studio appeared on the music in progress in some way, either playing an instrument of some kind, singing, clapping [...]
I'm a bit stuck with the reloading process... hope I can pick up the pace again soon! Still soooo much work left... Well, here's some music: Bristol-based dark-electro-wavers Dragons have released two outtakes of their 2007 album Here Are The Roses . Download Heart Of Stone and Once In The Fever from their latest MySpace-Blog [...]
Once again, the people behind the Spoon Train Audio -label have made a compilation of independent pop from Oslo. The album is called "Oslo23 and features 16 songs from 16 bands, - most of them are bands we already know, but some are completely new to us. This is the follow up to last years "Oslo!" , and this time they have managed to refine the pop-focus they have on these compilations. Less fuzz, more melody. Before I start commenting on the music, I must give two thumbs up for [...]
Calexico are returning to Australia. The band from the Southwest United States never fail to intrigue, entertain and massage the soul when they perform live. So this is a tour not to miss out on. They are here for Perth Festival , Womadelaide and Golden Plains , but now we have some sideshows that the band have announced. Calexico Shows 28 February Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay 2 March The Hi-Fi, Brisbane 3 March Metro Theatre, Sydney 8 March Prince Bandroom, Melbourne 9 March Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne Tickets [...]
Being the young age I am (under 30) this last decade was really the one where I can intensely focus on new releases, critically analyze and find real magic in modern music. As much as I wish I was cool enough to say I bought "Slanted and Enchanted" on vinyl the day it came out or smoke a joint and sit around with my friends about to listen to "The Bends follow-up album" with everyone saying "this better not suck!" But since I never saw Nirvana in a basement and didn't hear "Loveless" until Billy Corgan recommended it I'll just stick to [...]
Hefner & Murry the Hump, The Point, Oxford, 15 April 2000 Beulah, Butterflies of Love & Pluto Monkey, The Point, Oxford, 21 April 2000 Encouraging thought the launch of ATP was, 2000 was the year of the schmindie credit crunch. Later in the year I was sent not one but two books giving retrospective accounts of Alan McGee's Creation Records. The Creation model--that one Oasis would fund investment in dozens of long-shot indie weirdos, one or two of which might become another [...]
new music from vampire weekend – cousins + music video
Friday Five: Surf Songs
No Curve Allowed (Grading This Week's New Tracks)
HOT CHIP TAKE another crack at IT and I’m IN
