Category: Alt rock

Dinosaur Jr. announce 2017 tour dates.

Alt / grunge rock legends Dinosaur Jr. have announced tour dates for 2017 in support of their new album Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not.  Catch ’em if you can!

DINOSAUR JR. TOUR DATES (new dates in bold)
Sat. Dec 10 – North Adams, MA @ MASS MoCA
Thu. Jan. 12 – Sydney, Australia @ The Metro w/ Luluc
Fri. Jan. 13 – Newstead, Australia @ The Triffid
Sat. Jan. 14 – Miami, Australia @ Miami Tavern
Sun. Jan. 15 – Byron Bay Nsw, Australia @ The Northern
Wed. Jan. 18 – Perth, Australia @ The Capitol
Thu. Jan. 19 – Adelaide, Australia @ The Gov
Fri. Jan. 20 – Thornbury, Australia @ The Croxton
Sat. Jan. 21 – Thornbury, Australia @ The Croxton
Mon. Jan. 23 – Auckland, NZ @ The Studio
Thu. Jan. 26 – Nagoya-Shi, Japan @ Club Quattro Nagoya
Fri. Jan. 27 – Tokyo, Japan @ EX Theater Rappongi
Mon. Jan. 30 – Osaka-Shi, Japan @ Club Quattro Osaka
Thu. Mar. 9 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre
Fri. Mar. 10 – Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall
Sat. Mar. 11 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
Sun. Mar. 12 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Mon. Mar. 13 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
Thu. Mar. 16 – Bloomington, IN @ Bluebird
Fri. Mar. 17 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
Sat. Mar. 18 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
Sun. Mar. 19 – St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall
Wed. Mar. 22 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall
Thu. Mar 23 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom
Fri. Mar. 24 – Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre
Sat. Mar. 25 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Tue. Mar. 28 – St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre
Wed. Mar. 29 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
Thu. Mar. 30 – Orlando, FL @ The Beacham Theatre
Fri. Mar. 31 – Jacksonville, FL @ Mavericks
Sat. Apr. 1 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
Keep your mind open.
[Get a glimpse of us all the time by subscribing to us.]

Tim Darcy of Ought to release solo album in February 2017.
“If ‘Tall Glass Of Water’ is meant to be a song of himself, as it were, Darcy visualizes it in terms that would be familiar to Walt Whitman, and that are consistent with the concept of Saturday Night: As an artist, he contains multitudes.” — NPR Music‘s “Songs We Love”
There’s a line in “Tall Glass of Water,” the lead single off Tim Darcy’s debut solo album, Saturday Night, where Darcy asks himself a rhetorical question: “if at the end of the river, there is more river, would you dare to swim again?” He barely pauses before the answer: “Yes, surely I will stay, and I am not afraid. I went under once, I’ll go under once again.” That river shows up again and again in the lyrics of Saturday Night. It’s about how wonderful it can be to feel in touch with that inner current. It’s about how good it feels to make art, and how terrifying; how you don’t always get to choose whether you’re swimming or drowning as we grow and move through life, just that you’re going to keep diving in. That’s the impulse that links all the songs on Saturday Night.

Each track on Saturday Night is woven to the next in a winding, complex journey through a charged, continuous present. Darcy’s unmistakable, commanding voice and lyrical phrasing are, as they are in Ought, vital to the entire affair. He over-enunciates. He whoops and croons. He makes damn sure you know there are no tossed-off lines here. At the same time there is an evident softness in these songs and an accompanying musicality. While there are moments that take their strength in sparseness, Darcy is unafraid to paint in economic technicolor as his wry lyricism floats nimbly upon chorused guitars and the occasional synthetic artifact.

The album title comes in part from the nights and weekends when it was recorded: a six month period that overlapped with the recording of Ought’s second album where Darcy gathered with friends to record in the storage room of a commercial studio in Toronto. The result sounds like a person exploring his voice in a room full of people he trusts: joyful, shot through with struggle, unfakeably honest. Intimate and rollicking as a house show, delicate as a late-night phone call.

Born in Arizona, Tim Darcy made his way to both Colorado and New Hampshire before ending up in Montreal where he found university, the city’s rich DIY scene, and the other members of Ought. He began writing poetry as early as the third grade and performed often, and his first attempts at songwriting were him feeling around in the dark to set some of them to music. In Montreal, he played in various projects, his and others, before settling into a groove as the singer and guitarist of Ought.

Tim Darcy’s Saturday Night is out February 17th via Jagjaguwar. All iTunes preorders come with an instant grat download of debut single, “Tall Glass of Water,” presented today with the video directed by Jonny Look. Darcy and band will tour North America throughout February and March (all dates are below).

Watch Tim Darcy’s “Tall Glass of Water” Video — 
https://youtu.be/MbgPiAGspB8

Saturday Night Tracklisting:
1. Tall Glass of Water
2. Joan Pt 1, 2
3. You Felt Comfort
4. Still Waking Up
5. First Final Days
6. Saturday Night
7. Found My Limit
8. Saint Germain
9. What’d You Release?
10. Beyond Me
11. Joan Pt 3 [HIDDEN TRACK]

Tim Darcy Tour Dates:
Mon. Feb. 13 – Hudson, NY @ Half Moon
Wed. Feb. 15 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
Fri. Feb. 17 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake
Mon. Feb. 20 – London, UK @ Lexington
Tue. Feb. 21  – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Wed. Feb. 22 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique
Thu. Feb. 23 – Rennes, FR @ La Route Du Rock D’hiver
Fri. Feb. 24 – Paris, FR @ Olympic
Sat. Mar. 4 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz
Mon. Mar. 6 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott
Tue. Mar. 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
Wed. Mar. 8 – Washington, DC @ The Black Cat
Thu. Mar. 9 – Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
Fri. Mar. 10 – Raleigh, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
Sat. Mar. 11 – Savannah, GA @ Savannah Stopover
Sun. Mar. 12 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Sat. Mar. 18 – Dallas, TX @ Not So Fun Wknd
Mon. Mar. 20 – Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room
Wed. Mar. 22 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop
Thu. Mar. 23 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
Sat. Mar. 25 – Detroit, MI @ Marble Bar

Pre-order Tim Darcy’s Saturday Night –
timdarcy.lnk.to/saturdaynight

Failure offer “Fantastic Planet Live” through PledgeMusic campaign.

failure

1990’s shoegaze / alt-rock maestros Failure have begun a PledgeMusic campaign to offer a live album from their October 2016 tour (which, sadly, I missed).  They played their outstanding album Fantastic Planet in its entirety and chose the best versions of each song from the tour for this live record.

In case you don’t know, Fantastic Planet is one of the best records of the 1990’s and a masterpiece of engineering.  You deserve to hear it, so jump on this campaign before all the signed stuff is gone.

Keep your mind open.

[You can be stuck on us by subscribing.]

Rewind Review: Public Broadcasting Service – The Race for Space (2015)

pbs

Widely heralded as one of the most innovative albums of 2015, Public Service Broadcasting’s (J. Willgoose, Esquire – banjo, guitar, sampling, Wrigglesworth – drums, piano, electronics) The Race for Space is an amazing concept album about / tribute to the space race of the 1960’s.

Beginning with the title track of an angelic chorus behind JFK’s speech calling for the exploration of space, the album moves into “Sputnik.” The electro beats and bleeps are perfect for a song about the first satellite to round the Earth. The first sample you hear is a man saying, “This is the beginning of a new era for mankind.” It was. We weren’t the same after it. The song builds in synth grandeur, not unlike something from a John Carpenter film score.

“Gagarin” is a funky electro-lounge jam and salute to Yuri Gagarin. The funky guitar and drums make him seem more like a super spy than a cosmonaut. “The whole planet knew him and loved him,” says one man in a sample before a brass section puts down a great groove. “Fire in the Cockpit” is lonely and cold, despite the title. The soft bleeps seem miles away, and the synths sound like a car engine trying to start on a cold winter morning as a man reads aloud a news release about the cockpit fire on a test flight of the Apollo 1.

“E.V.A.” brings us back to a sense of wonder with building guitar work, snappy drums, groovy keyboards, and samples about weightlessness and walking in space. “The Other Side” samples real transmissions from the Apollo 8 mission control about the inevitable loss of signal when the satellite rounds the moon. The synths build as you imagine Apollo 8 getting closer and closer to somewhere no one has ever gone. What’s great is that all music stops during the loss of signal. It’s silence until the synths return at the moment a signal is received from the Apollo 8, and burst loud when the Apollo 8 crew calls back all the way to Houston.

“Valentina” is a beautiful song you could put on a St. Valentine’s Day mixtape and a wonderful tribute to Valentina Tereshkova – the first woman to fly in space. “Go!” is a fun ride that builds from soft synths to rock drums to transmissions from the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. The calls of “Go!” from all the mission control members become a stadium chant, and you can’t help but tap your toes and cheer on the mission that you know was a success.

The album ends with “Tomorrow,” an uplifting song about the Apollo 17 mission and the future of our exploration of space and of mankind. The xylophone gives it a cool “space-lounge” feel, and the fade-in is heavenly. I hope someone has sent it to the international space station for the astronauts’ wake-up music.

I hope this whole album has been sent there. It’s wonderful. The Race for Space would easily have been in my top ten albums of 2015 if I’d started this blog last year.

Keep your mind open.

[Get cosmic with us by subscribing.]

American Wrestlers to begin North American tour next month.

AMERICAN WRESTLERS ANNOUNCE NEW TOUR DATES, SHARE TWO DEMO SONG VERSIONS

GOODBYE TERRIBLE YOUTH OUT NOW ON FAT POSSUM

American Wrestlers released their excellent sophomore album Goodbye Terrible Youth (Fat Possum) just over a week ago, and it’s been receiving praise from the likes of Pitchfork to Noisey to Wired and more. Today, the band announces a batch of new tour dates and shares two demo versions of songs that appear on Goodbye Terrible Youth, “Amazing Grace” and “So Long” (both of which appear on the deluxe Japanese edition of the album).
LISTEN TO “AMAZING GRACE” & “SO LONG” DEMOS
https://soundcloud.com/fatpossum/sets/aw-bonus-demo-tracks/s-GGpQY
The album is now streaming and available for purchase on all services. If you haven’t listened to Goodbye Terrible Youth yet, there’s no better time than the present.
LISTEN TO GOODBYE TERRIBLE YOUTH
http://smarturl.it/aw.gtyAMERICAN WRESTLERS TOUR DATES (new dates in bold)
Thu. Dec. 1 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown Jr.
Fri. Dec. 2 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
Sun. Dec. 4 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Mon. Dec. 5 – Montreal, QC @ Le Divan Orange
Tue. Dec. 6 – Allston, MA @ Great Scott
Wed. Dec. 7 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
Thu. Dec. 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
Fri. Dec. 9 – Washington, DC @ DC9
Sat. Dec. 10 – Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s
Sun. Dec. 11 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Thu. Dec. 15 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
Tue. Jan. 10 – Nashville, TN @ The High Wattw/ NE-HI
Wed. Jan. 11 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn w/ NE-HI
Thu. Jan. 12 – New Orleans, LA @ Hi Ho Lounge w/ NE-HI
Fri. Jan. 13 – Houston, TX @ The Raven Tower w/ NE-HI
Sat. Jan. 14 – Austin, TX @ Sidewinder w/ NE-HI
Sun. Jan. 15 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links w/ NE-HI
Wed. Jan 18 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
Thu. Jan. 19 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
Fri. Jan. 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater
Sat. Jan. 21 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
Tue. Jan. 24 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Wed. Jan. 25 – Portland, OR @ Bunk Bar
Thu. Jan. 26 – Boise, ID @ The Olympic
Fri. Jan. 27 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
Sat. Jan. 28 – Denver, CO @ Lost Lake Lounge

PRAISE FOR AMERICAN WRESTLERS

“These are unabashedly personal and reflective songs, often filled with regret and loss, ugliness and shame.” – Pitchfork

“You can hear the bona fides of a skilled singer-songwriter. McClure’s cool charm makes these homespun songs feel like long-lost guitar-pop gems, newly discovered and barely dusted off.” – Rolling Stone

“For Goodbye Terrible Youth, the group’s amped-up follow-up, frontman and songwriter Gary McClure has doubled down on spectral keyboards and fuzz-muscled riffs—pretty much always a good idea… Equal parts diffuse and direct, Youth ages nicely with each listen.” – Wired

“This is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard in 2016.” – USA Today, on “Amazing Grace”

“Even though he’s Scottish, Gary McClure’s new LP Goodbye Terrible Youth is the jangly guitar record this country needs right now.” – Noisey

“Scottish expat Gary McClure sings with a fragile-but-hopeful tenor like a beam of light from a discount flashlight, and as American Wrestlers, he’s stumbled upon a scrappy underdog lo-fi sound that lets his songs shine properly.” – Stereogum (Band to Watch; 50 Best New Bands of 2015)

“American Wrestlers have the potential to win over legions of fans based on their broad musical range. Goodbye Terrible Youth is music for tiny, sweaty clubs, with amps turned up loud and a knack for sophisticated tunes at the ready.” – PopMatters

Ty Segall’s new album due January 27th.

TY SEGALL SET TO RELEASE NEW, SELF-TITLED ALBUM ON JANUARY 27TH
VIA DRAG CITY;  NORTH AMERICAN TOUR TO FOLLOWLISTEN TO DEBUT SINGLE, “ORANGE COLOR QUEEN”
https://soundcloud.com/drag-city/ty-segall-orange-color-queen

[above image by Kyle Thomas]

Ty Segall has made whole records that wrestle with realities – fighting against some, pulling mightily to bring others into being. His new self-titled record – the next record after Emotional Mugger, Manipulator, Sleeper, Twins, Goodbye Bread, Melted, Lemons and the first self-titled album that started it up in the now-distant year of 2008 – is a clean flow, a wash of transparency falling into a world that needs to see a few things through clearly, to their logical end. It’s got some of the most lobe-blasting neckwork since the Ty Segall Band’s Slaughterhouse (from way back in the long, hot summer of 2012), but it also features a steep flight of fluent acoustic settings.

The construction and destruction of his chosen realities has, until now, been a luxury Ty has rightfully reserved for himself, striping overdubs together to form the sound – but for this new album, he entered a studio backed by a full band – Emmett Kelly, Mikal Cronin, Charles Moothart and Ben Boye – to get a read on this so-called clarity. This leads to a new departure in group sound, as well as some of the most visceral and penetrating vocal passages yet heard from Ty Segall. Take debut single, “Orange Color Queen,” for example — a supreme moment of tenderness.

Ty Segall keeps you guessing, bracing your skin with a welcome astringency, seeking to stem the bleeding with chunks and splashes of guitar, tight beats, audio-verite toilet smashes, a Wurlitzer electric piano in a jam, blazing harmonies, and LOTS of songs to sing. There’s no concept beyond that; finding the right places to be is a momentary thing. Ty Segall is the sum of his songs – and about getting the free. The free to be!

Ty Segall is out January 27th on Drag City Records, and available for pre-order now. All iTunes pre-orders come with an instant grat download of “Orange Color Queen,” which is also available to stream and download via dragcity.com. Ty Segall and his magick band will tour throughout 2017. All dates are listed below, with more to be added!

Listen To Ty Segall’s “Orange Color Queen”
https://soundcloud.com/drag-city/ty-segall-orange-color-queenTy Segall Tracklisting:
1. Break A Guitar
2. Freedom
3. Warm Hands (Freedom Returned)
4. Talkin’
5. The Only One
6. Thank You Mr. K
7. Orange Color Queen
8. Papers
9. Take Care (To Comb Your Hair)
10. Untitled

Ty Segall Tour Dates:
Fri. Jan. 27 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
Thu. Feb. 2 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Fri. Feb. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Mon. Feb. 27 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
Wed. March 1 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
Thu. March 2 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
Wed. May 10 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
Thu. May 11 – Indianapolis, IN @ Irving Theater
Sun. May 14 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Wed. May 17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
Sat. May 20 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero Theater
Sun. May 21 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small’s Theater
Mon. May 22 – Louisville, KY @ Headliner’s Music Hall
Thu. May 25 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
Sat. May 27 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre

Ty Segall Pre-order:
Via iTunes – http://geni.us/iTunesTySegall
Via Drag City – http://www.dragcity.com/products/ty-segall

[Ty Segall Cover Art]

The Kills – Ash & Ice

kills

I’m not sure if there’s a current band that does songs about sex and the dangerous side of love better than The Kills (Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart). Ash & Ice is certainly about both, and it’s also a hip journey into electro-rock that I didn’t expect.

The album begins with electro beeps on “Doing It to Death,” but Hince’s squawking guitar is close behind. The mix of Hince’s as-always fine guitar work with the electro touches is interesting, as is the reverb on Mosshart’s vocals during the bridge. Synth-percussion then mixes with a traditional drum kit on “Heart of a Dog,” which is a sexy showcase for Mosshart’s bad ass-ness as she sings about coming back yet again to a lover she knows is bad for her. It also has a sultry bass groove throughout it that gets into your bones.

“Hard Habit to Break” isn’t a cover of the sappy Chicago song, but instead a near drum and bass track with Mosshart dressing down her lover as he tries to control her. Ash & Ice is firmly into electro-rock territory by the time we get to “Bitter Fruit” and its programmed beats and synth bass. It’s a wicked groove, and Hince and Mosshart’s co-vocals are outstanding. “Days of Why and How” is minimalist guitar, a drum machine, some bass, and Mosshart singing into what sounds like an old microphone. Don’t worry, it all sounds good.

The opening of “Let It Drop” is so quirky that it almost sounds like the track wandered in from another record until Hince’s guitar walks into the room. “You give me the shakes. You give me the cold sweats,” Mosshart sings, making us swoon. The song could be a pop-dance track with a bit of remixing. “Hum for Your Buzz” has an interesting title and an even more interesting sound. Mosshart’s vocals are clear as Hince’s guitar sounds like he’s playing in the back of a forgotten highway bar. It reminds you that the Kills could (and I wish they would) make a great blues record.

“Siberian Nights” has Mosshart singing, “I could make you come in threes. I’m halfway to my knees. Am I too close for comfort?” No, Ms. Mosshart. The answer to that is a definite “No.” Beware the Psycho shower scene soundtrack-like synths on this, however, for I feel they reveal wickedness behind Ms. Mosshart’s seductive lyrics. She’s just as good on “That Love,” which is a pure torch song.

“Impossible Tracks” sounds like “classic Kills.” The programmed beats are minimized in favor of Hince’s panther-prowl guitar work. “You get what you give. I don’t regret what I did,” Mosshart sings. I don’t know if she’s singing about leaving someone or shagging him (and not feeling guilty about either). “Black Tar” keeps up the guitar-driven sultry rock the Kills do so well. Hince’s guitar on “Echo Home” sounds like it’s from a warped record of a spaghetti western soundtrack, and his vocals mesh well with Mosshart’s. The electro-rock comes back to finish the record with “Whirling Eye,” and it’s a sharp track that sounds like they teamed up with Metric or listened to a lot of krautrock before they recorded it (and how about that psychedelic guitar solo from Hince?).

As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I didn’t expect so many electro touches from the Kills, but it all works. I suppose the “ash” in the album’s title could refer to the gritty guitar work and tough lyrics, while the “ice” could refer to the cool synth touches and loops featured throughout the record. It could also refer to Mosshart’s love of cigarettes and how both she and Hince like to kick back a few cocktails now and then. Kick this album back with them. It’s smoky and cool.

Keep your mind open.

[It’s not impossible to subscribe.  Just drop your e-mail address in the box to your left.]

Psych-pop outfit Ne-Hi release catchy single from upcoming album due out in February.

NE-HI ANNOUNCE SOPHOMORE RECORD, SHARE TOUR DATES

WATCH VIDEO FOR “STAY YOUNG“; OFFERS OUT 2/24 ON GRAND JURY
“‘Stay Young,’ the lead single from Offers, is as hopeful as its title suggests. With lush, dreamy vocals and tinny instrumentation, the song is bright; the video, likewise, is washed in muted pastels and midday sun.” – NPR Music
Emerging from underground venues in Chicago’s Northwest side, NE-HI made its name on both its live energy and cleverly wrought guitar anthems. Today, they announce their second album Offers (out 2/24 on Grand Jury), and share the video for their first single, “Stay Young,” directed by Weird Life Films. On Offers, the band takes those basement-forged instincts and refines them; lets its guitars explore new angles, and focuses its songwriting. The result is, we daresay, a stunner if not a statement that there is a wide range of post-punk possibilities yet to be explored.

Born in Chicago’s vibrant DIY scene during the summer of 2013 – specifically within the walls of now-defunct basement venue Animal Kingdom – three friends from college, Jason Balla (guitar/vocals), Mikey Wells (guitar/vocals) and James Weir (bass) linked up with drummer Alex Otake with the purpose of scoring a friend’s film, which resulted in the formation of NE-HI. They tapped into what Balla calls the scene’s “wild, young energy,” playing go-for-broke at its home base. But quickly the band’s disparate influences — Wire’s post-punk, Springsteen’s everyman anthems, along with echoes of dreamy atmospheres of Dave Roback’s Rain Parade and the jangly buzz of Kiwi pop legends The Clean began burning through. Their self-titled debut was released in April of 2014 on Manic Static to critical acclaim, both locally (Chicago Tribune & Sound Opinion’s Greg Kot listed it as his #4 local album of the year) and nationally (Paste, Noisey, Stereogum, and Consequence of Sound have all pointed to NE-HI as a band to keep on your radar).

Offers drones, it captivates with soaring pop, it shimmers with atmosphere, always changing, looking. It finds the distant influence of forebears in cerebral guitar pop presented with a familiarity that typifies great FM rock hits. The Midwestern boys (two from Chicago, one from Wisconsin, and one from Minnesota) in NE-HI have a knack for knitting something comfortable and warm from those art school cast-offs and cult favorites. NE-HI’s music demands to be lived in.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “STAY YOUNG”
https://youtu.be/ukGoMog-RYk

OFFERS TRACKLISTING
1. Palm Of Hand
2. Sisters
3. Don’t Wanna Know You
4. Offers
5. Prove
6. Out of Reach
7. Everybody Warned You
8. Drag
9. Every Dent
10. Buried On The Moon
11. Stay Young

NE-HI TOUR DATES
Tue. Jan. 10 – Nashville, TN @ High Watt w/ American Wrestlers
Wed. Jan. 11 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn w/ American Wrestlers
Thu. Jan. 12 – New Orleans, LA @ Hi Ho Lounge w/ American Wrestlers
Fri. Jan 13 – Houston, TX @ Raven Tower w/ American Wrestlers
Sat. Jan. 14 – Austin, TX @ Sidewinder w/ American Wrestlers
Sun. Jan. 15 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links w/ American Wrestlers
Wed. Feb. 22 – Ft. Wayne, IN @  Brass Rail
Thu. Feb. 23 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Shakespeare’s Pub
Fri. Feb. 24 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Sat. Feb. 25 – Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub
Wed. Mar. 1 – Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room
Thu. Mar. 2 – Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge
Sat. Mar. 4 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
Sun. Mar. 5 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverwest Public House
Fri. Mar. 10 – Lexington, KY @ Cosmic Charlie’s
Tue. Mar. 21 – Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone backroom
Wed. Mar. 22 – Birmingham, AL @ The Syndicate
Thu. Mar. 23 – Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight
Fri. Mar. 24 – Durham, NC @ Duke Coffeehouse
Sat. Mar. 25 – Richmond, VA @ Hardywood
Mon. Mar. 27 – Washington, DC @ DC9
Tue. Mar. 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
Thu. Mar. 30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
Fri. Mar. 31 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Upstairs
Mon. Apr. 3 – Kingston, NY @ BSP Kingston
Tue. Apr. 4 – Albany, NY @ The Hollow
Wed. Apr. 5 – Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar
Thu. Apr. 6 – Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s
Fri. Apr. 7 – Columbus, OH @ Spacebar
Sat. Apr. 8 – Detroit, MI @ Marble Bar
Tue. Apr. 19 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
Wed. Apr. 19 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
Thu. Apr. 20 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
Fri. Apr. 21 – Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett
Sat. Apr. 22 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza
Tue. Apr. 25 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
Wed. Apr. 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Bar
Sat. Apr. 29 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress

PRAISE FOR NE-HI

“This quartet builds its songs on clean guitar lines, the kind of interwoven single-note patterns that suggest an exacting attention to melody and arrangement. The songs bob along without ever feeling rushed or unfinished, abetted by harmonies and choruses that stick around for the long haul.” – Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune/Sound Opinions

“NE-HI are Chicago’s latest breakout band, as they capture the city’s attention with their warm fuzzy tones and laid-back reverb.” – Stereogum
                              
“Drawing on influences as varied as R.E.M. and The Clean, NE-HI know how to lace their basement rock with a danceable twist.” – Noisey
                              
Best of What’s Next, March 2016 – Paste Magazine

“An 18-month turnaround from non-existence to the level of local establishment Ne-Hi has reached today is quick for any group, but that’s about the only thing that’s surprising about this band’s ascent.” – Consequence of Sound (CoSign Feature)

“NE-HI is one of Chicago’s most thrilling live bands” – Red Eye Chicago

“Expertly executed indie rock that features rotating vocal duties and an overall grandeur tied to gently whirling reverb and undeniably catchy guitar riffs.” – Chicago Reader
Bio, hi-res images – http://pitchperfectpr.com/ne-hi/

Ne-Hi Online:
http://nehiband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/nehichicago
http://pitchperfectpr.com/ne-hi/

Rewind Review: Bleached – Ride Your Heart (2013)

bleached-ryh

Ride Your Heart from Bleached (Jennifer Clavin – vocals, guitar, piano, percussion, Jennifer Clavin – guitar, bass, vocals, percussion, lap steel, Dan Allaire – drums) is a great, California sun-soaked pop-punk record about looking for love. The lead track, “Looking for a Fight,” has Jennifer Clavin warning a potential suitor to back off, but the following track, “Next Stop,” is about tearful goodbyes at the train station. Both have excellent guitar work by Jennifer and her sister, Jessica.

“Outta My Mind” has lovely vocals from both Clavins and instrumentation taking the album briefly into psychedelic territory. Jennifer Clavin goes back to wishing love would stay away from her and stop complicating everything, but it’s too good to avoid. However, when we get to “Dead in Your Head,” she roasts her ex for screwing up the great thing they had. She apologizes for her own bad behavior on “Dreaming without You,” in which she sings, “…I won’t hold you back. I know I’m a heart attack. You’ll be fine without me.”

“Waiting by the Telephone” could be their tribute to Blondie’s “Hanging on the Telephone,” because both songs have the same theme – anxiously awaiting the call of a lover. Bleached’s version rocks as much as Blondie’s, by the way. “Love Spells” has Jennifer Clavin first spurning love (“I don’t wanna see you no more. You keep on running back to my door. Told you once, yeah I told you before. Your love spells don’t work anymore.”), then hoping it returns (“Will I see you tonight when I open up my heart?”). It’s a clever song about the confusing nature of love.

“Searching through the Past” is a fine power pop song about missing a lover and hoping for a return to good times. It has great guitar solos by the Clavin sisters as well. The title track is not unlike a Pixies song with quiet verses backed with rock riffs that crank up during the chrous. “Dead Boy” is good, solid fuzz rock that builds to a sweet guitar fade-out. “Guy Like You” is about a guy who keeps breaking Jennifer Clavin’s heart, but she “can’t get enough” of him. It’s a sweet, sad song with lap steel guitar by Jessica Clavin that takes the song to a great, lonely place. The closer, “When I Was Yours,” builds to a wall of psych-fuzz bliss and leaves you hoping the track would go on for another five minutes or more.

The Clavin sisters thank, among others, “ex boyfriends,” in the liner notes to the album. The entire record is about them and the mindboggling nature of love, and it’s a fine salute to both.

Keep your mind open.

[We’ll be live in your head, and e-mail inbox, if you subscribe to us.]

 

Priests release single, “Pink White House,” from upcoming new album.

PRIESTS SHARE VIDEO FOR “PINK WHITE HOUSE” AND ANNOUNCE TOUR DATES

NOTHING FEELS NATURAL OUT 1/27 ON SISTER POLYGON

Today, Priests share the video for their new song, the presciently titled “Pink White House,” and announce an extensive tour in 2017. The song comes off their forthcoming debut full-length, Nothing Feels Natural, out 1/27 on Sister Polygon Records. Singer Katie Alice Greer had this to say of the song and video:

Lyrically, this is a Priests song I am maybe most proud of to date. I am very inspired by the filmmaker Adam Curtis, the first time I saw “It Felt Like A Kiss” I thought, man, I want to start a band where I can write lyrics the way this guy makes films, like these politically pointed surreal avant-garde narratives, and then I met Daniele and we started Priests. So for me, “Pink White House” is a step towards achieving this style of lyricism. I’m excited about that. Musically we wrote the first half and then were like, “where do we go from here?” We wanted the second half of the song to feel like you’re in a new scene of the story, where “come on palm trees” starts. It was very fun and adventurous for us, writing this way! For the video, I wanted to do something playing on the notion that pop culture repackages your identity and sells it back to you for “entertainment.”

WATCH “PINK WHITE HOUSE”
https://youtu.be/EXVIjFODaqQ

WATCH “JJ”
https://youtu.be/VbWfKVBpvZY

Priests have also announced and extensive tour in 2017 in support of the new record. Don’t miss a chance to see one of the most dynamic and exhilarating bands in the country.
PRIESTS TOUR DATES:
Thu. Nov. 10 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Broad w/ Rhys Chatham
Sat. Jan. 28 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Night Bazaar
Fri. Feb. 3 – Philadelphia, PA @ Everybody Hits
Sat. Feb. 4 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott
Mon. Feb. 6 – Montreal, QC @ Casa del Popolo
Tue. Feb. 7 – Toronto ON @ Silver Dollar Room
Wed. Feb. 8 – Detroit, MI @ UFO Factory
Thu. Feb. 9 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
Fri. Feb. 10 – Madison, WI @ Rathskeller
Sat. Feb. 11 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
Wed. Feb. 15 – Vancouver, BC @ 333
Thu. Feb. 16 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project
Fri. Feb. 17 – Portland, OR @ Disjecta
Sat. Feb. 18 – Eugene, OR @ The Boreal
Sun. Feb. 19 – Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club
Mon. Feb. 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex
Wed. Feb. 22 – San Diego, CA @ Che Cafe
Thu. Feb. 23 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
Fri. Feb. 24 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
Sat. Feb. 25 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
Mon. Feb. 27 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda
Tue. Feb. 28 – McAllen, TX @ Yerberia Cultura
Wed. Mar. 1 – Houston TX @ Walter’s
Thu. Mar. 2 – New Orleans LA @ Siberia
Fri. Mar. 3 – Tallahasee, FL @ Wolf’s Den
Sat. Mar. 4 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
Sun. Mar. 5 – Durham, NC @ Pinhook
Sat. Mar. 11 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
PRAISE FOR “JJ”

“‘JJ,’ the new song from the excellent Washington punk band Priests…begins with flickers of surf rock, the sort that inspired and also began to suffocate indie-punk circa 2009. But in the hands of this band, the sound gets harsher and less lithe. When the frontwoman Katie Alice Greer begins to sing, it eradicates any ease that style connotes: “I thought I was a cowboy/because I/Smoked Reds! Smoked Reds! Smoked Reds!” And in the video, the band members are filmed up close as their faces are aggressively poked and prodded. It is a siege — surf’s down.” – The New York Times

“Over surfy, shimmying guitars and a twinkling piano, Greer and her elastic growl reflect on bygone self-assurance, days when cigarette brands could work like masks.” Pitchfork [BEST NEW TRACK]

“If 2014’s Bodies And Control And Money And Power EP explored how politics informed the band’s personal lives, then “JJ” dives into the weirdness of the interpersonal — not offering solutions, just asking more questions, which has long been Priests’ M.O. In the melodic mayhem, a “rich kid, low life in a very big jacket” becomes a stream-of-consciousness portrait of human relationships, particularly from a woman’s point of view. Greer doesn’t so much howl and scream but rather growls and coos like Eartha Kitt wound up and snapped into a surrealist punk rage.” – NPR Music [Songs We Love]

“Priests veer hard here into groovy ’50s sock-hop sounds without losing the immediacy that marks them as one of the greatest young DIY bands of this moment.” – Stereogum [5 Best Songs of the Week]