Month: February 2017

Alex Lahey releases new digital EP.

ALEX LAHEY SIGNS TO DEAD OCEANS, “B-GRADE UNIVERSITY” EP OUT DIGITALLY TODAY

WATCH NEW VIDEO FOR “WES ANDERSON”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAQNnd7QIkk

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR ANNOUNCED; PLAYING SXSW, LA, SAN FRANCISCO, CHICAGO, PHILADELPHIA, NYC, AND BOSTON;
SUPPORTING TEGAN AND SARA IN THE UK NEXT MONTH
(photo credit: Kane Gibbered)

“The sentiment is simple and familiar—and yet so is the wind that whips through your hair while racing down a highway in the summer with friends, and who ever gets sick of that?” — Pitchfork, on “You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me” [BEST NEW TRACK]

“Earlier this year, Melbourne’s Alex Lahey released her debut EP, ‘B-Grade University,’ which is the kind of startlingly impressive debut that you just know is going to catch on…” — Brooklyn Vegan

“The fact she’s made something so vibrant and altogether fun out of a concept as straightforward as ‘being in your early 20s and just figuring shit out’ speaks volumes about her ability to put her own thoroughly entertaining spin on the ups and downs of the everyman.” — DIY Magazine
Relationship problems. Post-graduation life choices. The troubles of early-20s life. They’re millenials’ problems, sure, but weren’t they everyone’s at one point? Few people can detail these worries quite like Alex Lahey, a 24 year-old Melburnian (that’s Melbourne, Australia) who’s EP “B-Grade University” is out now on Dead Oceans. Having already garnered a Best New Track from Pitchfork for her debut single, “You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me,” Lahey’s fuzzed-out, catchy-as-hell indie rock is stacked with emotion, weighing the sound of youthful anxiety against cutting, sophisticated wordplay. Watch the EP’s first video for “Wes Anderson,” premiered earlier today via Noisey.

Alex Lahey originally released “B-Grade University” on her own label in summer 2016, shortly before playing iconic Australian festival Splendour in the Grass. Lead track, “Ivy League,” pretty much wrote itself: “I went and studied sax at uni for a few years and just fucking hated it” she told DIY Magazine last November. Lahey dropped out to concentrate all her efforts on the songwriting that she cared most about. That cliffjump proved a great decision: “B-Grade University” immediately went onto heavy rotation on Triple J, with the single “You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me.” Lahey closed 2016 being the most played artist on Triple J Unearthed, as well as being voted Best Female Artist at the Age Music Awards.

Even if your woes are not the same, Lahey’s themes demand you to sing along, close your eyes and punch your fist in the air. Underneath the millennial angst, there’s an aura of positivity, universality, good times and looking towards the future that we all need right now.
WATCH “WES ANDERSON” VIDEO — 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAQNnd7QIkk

ALEX LAHEY TOUR DATES:
Mon. Feb. 13 — London, UK @ Roundhouse w/ Tegan & Sara
Tue. Feb. 14 — Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall w/ Tegan & Sara
Wed. Feb. 15 — Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy w/ Tegan & Sara
Fri. Feb. 17 — Glasgow, UK @ O2 ABC w/ Tegan & Sara
Sat. Feb. 18 — Birmingham, UK @ O2 Institution w/ Tegan & Sara
Sun. Feb. 19 — Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street w/ Tegan & Sara
Mon. Feb. 20 — London, UK @ Old Blue Last
Sat. March 11 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
Sun. March 12 — San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
Tue. March 14 – Sat. March 18 — Austin, TX @ SXSW
Mon. March 20 — Chicago, IL @ Schubas
Wed. March 22 — Washington, DC @ DC9
Thu. March 23 — Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
Fri. March 24 — Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade NYC
Sat. March 25 — New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
Sun. March 26 — Boston, MA @ Great Scott

“B-GRADE UNIVERSITY” TRACKLIST:
01. Ivy League
02. Let’s Go Out
03. Wes Anderson
04. You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me
05. L L L Leave Me Alone

WATCH/SHARE:
“You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me” video — https://youtu.be/Z32tgLHEEBc
“Let’s Go Out” video — https://youtu.be/sTrajo-tHMc

PURCHASE/STREAM “B-GRADE UNIVERSITY” EP —
https://alexlahey.lnk.to/B-GradeUniversity

(“B-Grade University” EP art)
Download hi-res images & album art — http://pitchperfectpr.com/alex-lahey/

 

Alex Lahey online:
alexlahey.com.au
facebook.com/alexlaheymusic/
twitter.com/alexlahey
instagram.com/alex_lahey/

Bleached announce new EP and spring U.S. tour.

BLEACHED ANNOUNCE NEW EP, “CAN YOU DEAL?,” OUT MARCH 3RD ON DEAD OCEANS;
AND “CAN YOU DEAL?” ZINELISTEN TO THE TITLE TRACK
https://soundcloud.com/deadoceans/can-you-deal/s-fgwEt

SPRING TOUR ANNOUNCED INCLUDING WEST COAST DATES WITH THE DAMNED

[photo credit: Nicole Anne Robbins]

“Bleached’s furious and fun sound, mixed with a slacker vibe, invites you to enjoy your youthful worries while they last.” — NPR Music

“Driving, insistent pop-punk from the pastel-haired LA trio with a flare for re-routing punk brio into catchy, mainstream pop.” —MOJO

Los Angeles band Bleached – the punk band lead by sisters Jennifer and Jessica Clavin — are set to release their new EP, “Can You Deal?,” on March 3rd via Dead Oceans. The EP follows the release of their most recent album, Welcome The Worms, for which the band played Late Night With Seth Meyers. In conjunction with the EP, Bleached are touring this spring, including an upcoming tour supporting The Damned. Additionally, Jennifer Clavin has compiled and will be publishing a limited edition zine also titled “Can You Deal?” with contributions from Hayley Williams (Paramore), Tegan Quin (Tegan and Sara), Jane Wiedlin (The Go Go’s), Liz Phair, EMA, Alice Glass and more. All net proceeds from the zine will go to Planned Parenthood and it is also available March 3. Pre-order link is below. Listen to the EP’s title track and read Jennifer’s statement about the project below.

I create music and art because I need to. To express, to bond, to reconcile, and to connect. And to use my voice. To have it received with such a generic labeling as “girl band” and consistently referenced as “female fronted” is insulting and reductive.  The title track to this EP, “Can You Deal?” is about this experience. Last year we released a deeply personal full length album titled Welcome The Worms. It was a record about being in an emotionally abusive relationship. It was a record about getting spun out on drugs and alcohol. It was a record about totally losing myself in order to find myself.  It was also our most ambitious body of work yet, with guitar work and guitar sounds and production we had only dreamed of until then.  And yet to this day I am still fielding interview questions that have more to do with my gender than with the art I am creating. Somehow the conversation usually derails into some variation of the following question: “What is it like to be a girl in a rock band?”. And the ensuing story will define us based on our sex. Why is gender pointed out in nearly all coverage of our band? Labeling me as a woman in a band just puts me in a box, and doesn’t allow everything else I am to be seen and heard. It’s 2017, Can You Deal with women playing rock and roll yet?
–Jennifer Clavin

Can You Deal? Zine is a collection of shared experiences on this subject through essay, visual art, poetry, lyrics and more from artists.

Can You Deal? Zine Contributors in Alphabetical Order:
Mecca Vazie Andrews (Sex Stains)
Julien Baker
Alicia Bognanno (Bully)
Jennifer Clavin (Bleached)
Jessica Clavin (Bleached)
Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Ortiz)
EMA
Alice Glass
Micayla Grace (Bleached)
Allie Hanlon (Peach Kelli Pop)
Hinds
Maryn Jones (All Dogs)
Ali Koehler (Upset, Vivian Girls)
Sara Landeau (the Julie Ruin)
Lizzo
Dani Miller (Surfbort)
Kate Nash
Liz Phair
Jane Weidlin (The Go Go’s)
Allison Wolfe (Sex Stains, Bratmobile)
Tegan Quin (Tegan and Sara)
Patty Schemel (Upset, Hole)
Kim Schifino (Matt and Kim)
Mish Way (White Lung)
Hayley Williams (Paramore)
And more TBA!

Listen to Bleached’s “Can You Deal?” –
https://soundcloud.com/deadoceans/can-you-deal/s-fgwEt

Bleached Tour Dates:
Tue. Feb. 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom^
Thu. Apr. 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
Fri. Apr. 7 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues*
Sat. Apr. 8 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues*
Sun. Apr. 9 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues*
Tue. Apr. 11 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore*
Wed. Apr. 12 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades*
Fri. Apr. 14 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom*
Sat. Apr. 15 – Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore*
Sun. Apr. 16 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox*
Tue. Apr. 18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot*
Wed. Apr. 19 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall*
Fri. Apr. 21 – St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall*
Sat. Apr. 22 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line*
Sun. Apr. 23 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues*
Mon. Apr. 24 – Louisville, KY @ Mercury Lounge*
Wed. Apr. 26 – Indianapolis, IN @ Deluxe (Old National Center)*
Thu. Apr. 27 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s*
Fri. Apr. 28 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues*
Sat. Jul. 29 – New York, NY @ Panorama Music Festival

^Jennifer & Jessie duo w/ Ty Segall, King Tuff, Kevin Morby, Mikal Cronin
*w/ The Damned

“Can You Deal?” tracklist:

1.Can You Deal?
2.Flipside
3.Turn to Rage
4.Dear Trouble

Pre-order “Can You Deal?” EP –
https://bleached.lnk.to/canyoudeal

Pre-order “Can You Deal?” Zine —
http://www.canyoudealzine.com/

[“Can You Deal?” Album art]

[“Can You Deal?” Zine cover art]

Desert Daze Caravan tour announces dates for spring 2017.

The Desert Daze Caravan tour, featuring Night Beats, Temples, Deap Vally, Froth, and Jjuujjuu has announced its full U.S. schedule.  Beginning in San Francisco February 22nd, the tour winds through the west and southwest until March 17th in San Antonio.  Don’t miss your chance to see this tour.  It’s sure to be outstanding.  I’m catching it at the Phoenix stop.  See you there!

Keep your mind open.

All Them Witches – Live in Brussels

Live in Brussels by psychedelic blues rockers All Them Witches (Ben McLeod – guitars, Charlie Michael Parks, Jr. – vocals, bass, and guitar, Robby Staebler – drums, Allan Van Cleve – keyboards and violin) is one of those rare live records that pulls off a double feat. It makes you want to see them live and it makes you want to hear their new record as soon as possible.

I mean, the album opens with “The Death of Coyote Woman,” (in which Charlie Parks apologizes for the band “not being the best at being on time”), over ten minutes of stunning, fuzzy psych-rock that would make the MC5 and Pink Floyd proud. “Funeral for a Great Drunken Bird” keeps the guitar distortion on thick, which is all right with me. It flows into the stunning “When God Comes Back” that has both blues and metal fans nodding in time.

“Dirt Preachers” (from their excellent album Dying Surfer Meets His Maker) takes on a cool new tone with the excellent keyboard work by Van Cleve on it. “The Marriage of Coyote Woman” is a slick blues jam. The keyboards on “Elk.Blood.Heart” are like something from an early Peter Frampton record. The guitars on “Open Passageways” are a bit Middle Eastern, which is a nice touch. “Talisman” is a gritty folk ballad and a favorite among the crowd, especially when it transforms into an early Pink Floyd-like jam.

Speaking of epic jams, wait until you hear “Blood and Sand – Milk and Endless Waters,” which clocks in at 14:40. It’s a stunner with a lot of great keyboard work from Van Cleve. “Mountain” is a great blend of Americana and pysch-rock. “Heavy – Like a Witch” is another trippy rocker, and “Charles William” is a solid close to the set…until the encore when they play their version of a blues classic – “My Last Name Is the Blues.” It’s over eleven minutes of psych-blues freak-out and was worth the price of admission for the Brussels crowd.

You can get this whole album for free, by the way. I suggest you leave a tip to be nice. They suggest six bucks on their Noisetrade page, and that’s a steal for something this good.

Keep your mind open.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAUqIbyiEyg

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Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever schedule Sub Pop EP release for early March 2017.

ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER ANNOUNCE DEBUT EP FOR SUB POP, SHARE TITLE TRACK

“THE FRENCH PRESS” EP OUT 3/10; LOS ANGELES SHOW ADDED TO FIRST US TOUR
Today, Melbourne’s Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever are proud to announce ‘The French Press,” their debut EP for their new US label, Sub Pop, which will see release on March 10th. Alongside the announcement, the band has shared the title track.

“The French Press” EP levels up on everything that made their debut EP, “Talk Tight,” such an immediate draw. Multi-tracked melodies which curl around one another, charging drums and addictive bass lines converge to give each track its driving momentum. Honed through their live shows, this relentless energy carries the record through new chapters in the band’s Australian storybook.

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever’s songs have always had all the page-turning qualities of a good yarn and “The French Press” EP is no different. Somewhere between impressionists and fabulists, lyricists Fran Keaney, Tom Russo and Joe White often start with something rooted in real life – the melancholy of travel on ‘French Press’, having a hopeless crush on ‘Julie’s Place’ – before building them into clever, quick vignettes. The result is lines blurred between fiction and reality – vibrant stories which get closer at a particular truth than either could alone.

Blending critical insight and literate love songs, “The French Press” EP cements Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever as one of Australia’s smartest working bands.
LISTEN TO “THE FRENCH PRESS”
https://youtu.be/YEZm7BGvryg

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “JULIE’S PLACE”
https://youtu.be/BMxrvIqqmlk

ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER TOUR DATES
Fri. Jan. 27 – Melbourne, AUS @ Howler w/ Whitney
Thu. Feb.  2 – Sydney, AUS @ OAF w/ Whitney
Mon. Mar. 3 – Fri. Mar. 17 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
Sat. Mar. 18 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts w/ Tennis
Sun. Mar. 19 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club w/ Tennis
Tue. Mar. 21 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom w/ Tennis
Wed. Mar. 22 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom w/ Tennis
Thu. Mar. 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Shea Stadium
Sun. Ma. 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
Fri. Apr. 21 – Cats @ Adelaide, AUS @ Rocket Bar
Sat. Apr. 22 – Sydney, AUS @ Newtown Social Club
Fri. Apr. 28 – Brisbane, AUS @ Black Bear Lodge
Sat. Apr.  29 – Byron Bay, AUS @ The Great Northern
Sun. Apr. 30 – Gold Coast, AUS @ Shark Bar
Fri. May 12 – Melbourne, AUS @ The Tote
Pre-order “The French Press” EP – http://bit.ly/2k9mdKy

Hi-res photos and album art here: http://bit.ly/2hRhJ9N

Rolling Blackouts C.F. Online:
https://twitter.com/rollingbcf
https://instagram.com/rollingblackoutscoastalfever/
https://www.facebook.com/rollingblackoutscoastalfever/
https://www.subpop.com/artists/rolling_blackouts_coastal_fever 

New Pornographers “Whiteout Conditions” due out April 07, 2017.

Canadian supergroup New Pornographers‘ newest album, Whiteout Conditions, will drop on April 07, 2017, and they’ve announced an extensive spring tour to promote the new record.  They’ve yet to release a band record, and I’m sure this album won’t end their streak.  Check out their latest single if you don’t believe me.

Keep your mind open.

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