Australian psych-rockers the Dunes are back with the first single from an upcoming album. The song “(Just Because You’re Not Being Followed Doesn’t Mean You’re Not) Paranoid” is a stinging rebuke about the culture of fear that has swarmed over the United States since the 1950’s and only become worse in the last decade.
Watch for the full album later this year.
Keep your mind open.
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I’m Bad Now Out March 9th via Paradise of Bachelors, You’ve Changed, & Jagjaguwar
Accompanying “I’m Bad” is a video directed by Halifax-based filmmaker Seth Smith, which The FADERpremiered today. “It’s a pretty relaxed, contemplative track. It made me think of someone posing for a portrait,” says Seth. “I was thinking of self-image and the idea of seeing yourself through another person’s eyes. It was a fun set up, and a great group of not-bad people.” Nigel adds, “We’re very happy we got to collaborate with Seth to make this video. He’s an old friend, and an artist and songwriter we’ve all looked up to for many years. Keep an eye out for his feature films The Crescent (2017) and Lowlife (2012), and please listen to the music of Dog Day, if you have the opportunity!”
While Nigel composes Nap Eyes songs in their inchoate form at home in Halifax, Brad Loughead (lead guitar), Josh Salter (bass), and Seamus Dalton (drums), who live a twelve-hour drive away in Montreal, augment and arrange them, transubstantiating his skeletal, ruminative wafers into discourses that aim to transcend what Nigel self-laceratingly deems “bored and lazy disappointment art.” The band provides ballast and bowsprit to Nigel’s cosmical mind. The nautical metaphor is not just whimsy: Nap Eyes are all Nova Scotians by raising and temperament, acclimated to life on an Atlantic peninsula linked narrowly to the rest of North America. Brad is a physical guitarist whose lyrical grace is matched only by the dark ferocity of his feedback-laced solos, while Josh and Seamus exercise an unassuming mind-meld melodicism and vigor with their gentle thrumming.
Nap Eyes will tour North America and Europe this spring in support of I’m Bad Now, starting with a record release show in their adopted hometown of Montreal on March 8th. A full list of dates is below.
I’m Bad Now comes out March 9th via Paradise of Bachelors (U.S.), You’ve Changed (Canada) andJagjaguwar (rest of world).
Listen:
“Every Time The Feeling” – https://youtu.be/liXRe7t7v2M
“Dull Me Line” – https://youtu.be/MBcZbvcYGPM
“This Nova Scotia quartet perfected the art of the chilled-out guitar jam on its previous two albums, triangulating the sweet spot between the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Marquee Moon. If that sounds like your thing, I promise that Nap Eyes will be very your thing.” – Uproxx
“In just four short years, Nap Eyes have made much ado about meaninglessness with rock ‘n’ roll songs that shake just offbeat and smart lyrics wrapped in bemused ennui.” – NPR Music
“‘Every Time The Feeling” is possibly the catchiest, most immediate thing they’ve ever done, a deceptively thoughtful rocker that ambles along with a little extra verve.” – Stereogum
“Their relaxed, scholarly indie-rock imagines the Velvet Underground if they ditched the leathers for wool sweaters. But this languor contrasts with frontman Nigel Chapman’s hyperactive mind, yielding songs that are lucid with laser-like focus and freeze-framed detail.” – Pitchfork
“I’m Bad Now is undoubtedly the four piece’s most confident release so far. Finding a happy medium between the propulsive, twangy jangle of their 2015 debut Whine of the Mystic and the widescreen, subdued ramblings of Thought Rock Fish Scale, the songs on I’m Bad Now are driving doses of pastoral indie rock.” – Noisey
Nap Eyes online:
https://www.napeyes.com/
https://twitter.com/napeyes
https://www.facebook.com/
https://www.instagram.com/
https://napeyes.bandcamp.com/
http://www.
http://pitchperfectpr.com/nap-
It’s been a little while since we’ve had a full album from power trio Screaming Females, and now they’re back with a double album no less – All at Once. I’m intrigued by the title, as it seems to imply the world at large – especially in First World nations. Everything is available to us any time we want it, yet most of us are dissatisfied with what we have. Thanks to the internet, we can be everywhere all at once, yet many of us are lonely or limit human contact as much as possible.
Screaming Females explore this dichotomy right away on the opening track, “Glass House.” Lead singer and guitarist Marissa Paternoster sings about her desire to break out of a controlling relationship that she willingly entered, but knowing that doing so will shatter both parties (“I’m locked in is this glass house, impossible to get out.”).
Bassist Mike Abbate and drummer Jarrett Dougherty put down a hard groove for Paternoster as she unloads Helmet-like guitar fuzz on “Black Moon.” Another possible meaning to the album’s title is the raw energy of Screaming Females that comes at you all at once during their live shows. The album adeptly catches their turn-on-a-dime precision and angry wolverine power.
“I’ll Make You Sorry” is not only scorching, but also catchy as Paternoster tries to warn a new lover. “I was once in love before you,” she sings. She’s been down a path that didn’t end well, and wants to give it another shot, but perhaps cutting loses now is easier for everyone. Paternoster’s solo on it flies around like a frisky blue jay.
“Dirt” has a bit of a post-punk sound to it that I love, and I’m happy to say that they add this flavor to a couple other tracks, like the excellent, sharp-angled “Fantasy Lens” and the funky bass-laden “Drop by Drop.” “Agnes Martin” could easily be a metal song if they doubled the speed, but they smartly keep it between garage rock and stoner metal as Paternoster sings about seeking companionship, but only away from others (“Take me under your wing, the sun destroys me.”). Dougherty’s chops are slick as axel grease on this, and Paternoster unleashes some of her trademark shredding. Her vocals get distorted (and backed by what sounds like a church organ) on “Deeply” as she sings about how hard she tends to fall in love when the opportunity arises.
I think Abbate and Paternoster might’ve rushed Dougherty to a Ready-Med clinic after they recorded “Soft Domination” because his groove on it is wickedly sick. “Tell me you’ll lift me up, tell me you’ll take me out of this place,” Paternoster pleads, desperate to get away from…what? A specific place? Life in general? “End of My Bloodline” has a bit of a dub feel to it with Abbate’s creeping bass, Dougherty’s nice high-hat work, and Paternoster’s slightly distorted vocals.
“Chamber of Sleep I” and “Chamber of Sleep II” walk into psychedelia, and the world is better for it. In both parts, Paternoster unloads her guitar like a flame thrower on a stack of articles that still refer to her as a “female guitarist.” “Bird in Space” is downright lovely, with Paternoster singing once more of taking flight from the moment / reality and putting on a guitar clinic.
“My Body” has Paternoster singing about disconnection from a lover and the world (“I’m sleeping in this chair, while you sleep in the hallway…When they come to find me, then please burn my body.”). All at Once ends with the fuzzed-out, massive (and abrupt) “Step Outside.” Screaming Females encourage us to get away from the internet, our comfort zones, or even prepare for a fight. The whole band cooks with gas and definitely unleashes in the spirit of the album’s title. All you can do it sit back and let it hit you.
All at Once is a great addition to Screaming Females‘ catalogue. Paternoster writes biting lyrics about love, heartbreak, and the weird complexities of relationships like few others in the rock business. She is like one of those plasma nebula balls, glowing and swirling with a hypnotizing calm until you get too close, and then she arcs lightning at you. She’s the lightning, Abbate is the thunder, and Dougherty is the driving wind and rain. All three come at you all at once, and you can’t stop them.
Keep your mind open.
[I promise not to make you sorry if you subscribe.]
In case you weren’t aware, Afrofuturist / electro-funk artist / cyborg Janelle Monae is set to unleash her first album in five years, Dirty Computer, later this year. She’s calling this project an “emotion picture” and, judging from the trailer she release, it looks like it deals with many of her favorite themes – the future, the blurred line between technology and humanity, love, sex, and female empowerment.
She’s already given us “Django Jane” from the upcoming album, and she just delivered the Prince-inspired (with whom Monae was working before his death) bisexual anthem “Make Me Feel,” which is easily the hottest and sexiest track of 2018 so far. Anything that hopes to top this in terms of getting your groove on will have to bring serious chops.
Monae is an innovator and free spirit, and we need her and many more like her not only in the world of music, but also in the world at large. This is probably going to be one of the best albums of the year.
Keep your mind open.
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Boston-based MC and hip hop producer D-Tension is back with another album of killer beats, wicked lyrics, and righteous indignation.
The album starts with “Fresh,” which itself starts with a sample of someone saying, “Beats are the worst. Nobody likes beats.” D-Tension then proceeds to slice and dice through jaw-dropping beats provided by DJ Emoh Betta. D-Tension is “Fresh like Febreeze” when he enters a room, and immediately gets your attention with his skills. “Godly” brings rhymes from indie rappers Diamond D and A.G. Diamond talks of being godly on the mic and D-Tension warns other MC’s of faking it (“This hip hop shit’s much more than a hobby.”). A.G. proclaims he was “resurrected between Third and Cypress,” name checking other hip hop gods out of respect.
“What Happen to That” (featuring Akrobatik on guest vocals) is a groovy track with D-Tension reminiscing about “when bad meant good” and when you could still hook up to free electricity at the basketball court and throw your own party there. He admits it wasn’t all great times, however, and how things are much different now. “Landlord Song” is a great example of D-Tension’s humor as he blasts his landlord for renting him a place with broken air conditioning, plumbing leaks, and gouging him on rent.
“Do You Comprehend” is a sizzler with guest vocalists Pace Won and M Dot. The looped baritone sax is great, as are the rhymes – such as Pace Won thinking his life is so screwed up he should just chuck hip hop and go play for the Lions or Rams. “Deal with the Devil” isn’t another song about D-Tension’s lease with his landlord, but rather about how D-Tension takes down inferior MC’s.
“Young Love” is a song about “the ones who got away” and D-Tension’s crushes as far back as fourth grade and being the only Puerto Rican in the small Indiana town where he attended middle school. It’s all true. Full disclosure: I was there. D-Tension and I were pals in middle school. He was the funniest guy I knew then, and he’s still among the funniest people I know now.
“Scandalize” has D-Tension name checking Bruno Sammartino and Devo in the same verse, so that alone makes the track outstanding. “Roaches,” with its jazz lounge groove, is, believe it or not, a song about the gentrification of his old neighborhood and D-Tension being baffled at how the hipsters, artists, and new landlords eliminated the pests that plagued him and his friends all their lives. “Talk White” slams racism, economic inequality, and educational disparity with D-Tension’s slick mic work.
The Rolling Stones loop on “Piss You Off” alone is worth the purchase price of this record as D-Tension admits being “king of the prank” and how much he enjoys ribbing others. The album ends with “Rosebud,” an ode to D-Tension’s first love – a blue Schwinn bike.
Zen is a path of simplicity. “Every day life is the path,” as Zen master Nan-Sen once said. Yet we shouldn’t forget that some Zen masters carried a big stick to crack us across the back to shatter our illusions and bring us back into the moment. D-Tension acknowledges his past, but doesn’t stay mired there. He’s too busy making rent money and embracing the now. The Violence of Zen is his stick waking us from our open-eyed slumber.
Keep your mind open.
[I’ll crack you with a stick if it will remind you to subscribe here and now.]
I first heard Caroline Rose when I got sent a press release about her first single off her album Loner. The song was “Money,” and it ended up being one of my favorite singles of 2017.
Loner, it turns out, is already one of the best releases of the winter. Her deft use of organs, synths, and keyboards turns the record into a blend of psychedelia, power pop, and electro. Plus, she’s one of the wittiest songwriters I’ve heard in a while.
“More of the Same” is a great opener about ennui and people wanting to be individuals just like everyone else. She unleashes impressive vocal chops as she sings about all of her friends having “alternative haircuts,” school being a colossal bore and a haven for crushed dreams, and wanting to get away from the ruts the world at large has created for her. “Cry!” reveals Rose’s love of Devo in the opening synth chords.
“Money” adds spaghetti western guitar and is one of the wildest cuts you’ve heard in a long while. Rose flat-out admits, and calls us out on, how much of her / our day-to-day activity is for the pursuit of cash. The roller rink keyboards of “Jeannie Becomes a Mom” perfectly sum up the fear, joy, and uncertainty of the song’s subject. Plus, the electric beats are wicked.
“Getting to Me” includes what sounds like a plucked violin as Rose sings about the life of a waitress who craves more out of life but yet is a master at her craft. Rose gets a David Lynch-vibe going on “To Die Today” with its echoing guitar, subtle percussion, and her haunting vocals about the feeling and release of death. It’s fitting that the follower is “Soul No. 5,” a song about embracing life (“I ain’t got a job, but I got a lot of time.). The synths during the chorus are exuberant, and they’re laced with surf rock on “Bikini” (a song about the benefits of sex appeal and the objectification of women).
The stabbing synths of “Talk” push the desperate narrative of the lyrics, in which Rose sings of blissful, sexy silence with her lover. The closer, “Animal,” with its synthesized handclaps and trippy keys, is a sexy song about two lovers in the throes of passion.
The whole album is a mix of sex, death, mishaps, and comedy. In other words, it’s about real life. Rose might consider herself a loner, but she’s really all of us.
Keep your mind open.
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Just in time to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of their debut album, Pablo Honey, Radiohead have announced a 2018 U.S. tour beginning in July and running through August. The dates are as follows:
Sat-Jul-07 – Chicago – United Center
Tue-Jul-10 – New York – Madison Square Garden
Wed-Jul-11 – New York – Madison Square Garden
Fri-Jul-13 – New York – Madison Square Garden
Mon-Jul-16 – Montreal – Bell Centre
Tue-Jul-17 – Montreal – Bell Centre
Thu-Jul-19 – Toronto – Air Canada Centre
Fri-Jul-20 – Toronto – Air Canada Centre
Sun-Jul-22 – Detroit – Little Caesars Arena
Mon-Jul-23 – Columbus – Schottenstein Center
Wed-Jul-25 – Cincinnati – US Bank Arena
Thu-Jul-26 – Pittsburgh- PPG Paints Arena
Sat-Jul-28 – Boston – TD Garden
Sun-Jul-29 – Boston – TD Garden
Tue-Jul-31 – Philadelphia- Wells Fargo Center
Wed-Aug-01 – Philadelphia – Wells Fargo Center
Tickets go on sale tomorrow. Don’t wait to get them. They will sell out, and resale prices will be high enough to enrage you and them (Radiohead have railed against ticket scalpers for years.).
Keep your mind open.
[Don’t wait to subscribe either.]
Funk mistress Betty Davis classic 1976 album Nasty Gal has recently been remastered and re-released. If you’re looking for a funk record, a make-out record, or a diva record – look no further. Nasty Gal is a trifecta of all that.
The title track opens the album, and Davis comes out swinging with her proclamation to an ex-lover that she is a nasty gal, and her ex will now miss her freaky self after she leaves him for spreading lies about her. It’s a fierce vocal performance that instantly lets you know that she wasn’t screwing around in 1976.
As if the opener wasn’t freak enough, the next track is “Talkin’ Trash,” which is all about dirty talk during freaky sex. “Do whatever you want to do to me. Be a freak, I don’t care. Tell me what gets you off,” she sings while an antsy guitar churns behind her.
“Dedicated to the Press” has great slap bass propelling Davis’ takedown on 1976 media. She feels bad that they can’t understand where she’s coming from or that they won’t join her on the ride. “You and I” is a lovely jazz ballad about deciding to leave a lover. “Feelins” has a fast groove that should’ve been the theme to a third Cleopatra Jones film with its “Hey! Hey! Hey!” chants and car chase beats.
“F.U.N.K.” has Davis giving shout-outs to Steve Wonder, Tina Turner, Al Green, Jimi Hendrix, Aretha Franklin, Funkadelic, and others. “Gettin’ Kicked Off, Havin’ Fun” has Davis purring about having a good time and encouraging a lover to not be afraid to get down with her. The organ and bass work on “Shut Off the Light” is outstanding, and Davis’ vocals are downright intimidating as she pretty much demands a sweaty romp before bed.
The groove on “This Is It” makes you feel like a bad ass, but just know that you will never be half the bad ass Betty Davis and her crew were on this record (or any other time, really). The album ends with one of her sexiest tunes ever – “The Lone Ranger.” There’s not much I can write about this song that would do it justice. I can’t guarantee that this song will get you laid, but I’d say playing it will probably improve your chances by at least fifty percent. Davis’ voice moves around you like the hands of a masseuse and her band mixes funk and psychedelia to produce an intoxicating brew. “Is it true that you want to hi ho my silver?” Davis asks. Yes. The answer to that is always “Yes.”
This is the album you wish was the soundtrack to your sex life, even if you won’t admit it.
Keep your mind open.
[Don’t forget to subscribe before you shut off the light.]
Smashing Pumpkins have had a countdown clock on their website for days now, and it finally ended to reveal a 34-city not-quite-a-reunion tour for 2018. It’s not a full reunion because front man Billy Corgan and original bassist D’arcy Wretzky have been involved in a public feud via social media regarding Wretzky not being asked to join the tour.
Regardless, Corgan and guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin are soon criss-crossing the U.S. on the “Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour.” Tickets go on sale February 23rd, and I suggest not waiting too long to get them. I’m sure many venues will sell out fast.
July 12 — Glendale, AZ @ Gila River Arena
July 14 — Oklahoma City, OK @ Chesapeake Energy Arena
July 16 — Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Arena
July 17 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
July 18 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
July 20 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
July 21 — Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
July 22 — Atlanta, GA @ Infinite Energy Arena
July 24 — Miami, FL @ AmericanAirlines Arena
July 25 — Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
July 27 — Baltimore, MD @ Royal Farms Arena
July 28 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
July 29 — Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
July 31 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
August 1 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
August 4 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
August 5 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
August 7 — Montreal, QC @ Centre Bell
August 8 — Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
August 11 — Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
August 13 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
August 16 — Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
August 17 – Indianapolis, IN @ Bankers Life Fieldhouse
August 19 — St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
August 20 — Omaha, NE @ CenturyLink Center
August 21 — Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford Premier Center
August 24 — Seattle, WA @ KeyArena
August 25 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
August 27 — Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena
August 28 — Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
August 30 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
September 1 — San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
September 2 — Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
September 4 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Smart Home Arena
September 5 — Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
September 7 — Boise, ID @ Ford Idaho Center
Keep your mind open.
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Watch The Video For New Single “Stepping Out Of Sync”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
North American & European Tours With Unknown Mortal Orchestra This Spring
Loud Patterns is noticeably indebted to house and techno; there are 4/4 rhythms, and a no-nonsense directness that harks back to the Detroit pioneers. Channeling avant-garde experimentalism and an outsider’s interest in pop, Kyle embraces the distance between those two poles.
Loud Patterns arrives after a series of releases that have established his particular, in-between approach to dance-minded music. He put out two EPs on Manchester-based imprint Handsome Dad, a one-off single with Adult Jazz and self-released Temple Works EP; Whities also released a limited-edition white label of a Minor Science dub of one of his tracks.
Along with today’s announcement, Makeness is sharing a video for his new single, “Stepping Out Of Sync.” “‘Stepping Out Of Sync’ for me is about losing a little bit of a grip on reality,” says Kyle. “There’s a big nod to the world of pop music in the track and I wanted to reflect that in the video too. Josha and Felix, who directed the video, came up with this great time splicing technique using a custom 3-camera rig. The idea was to use the technique as a character in the video to add a sense of detachment from reality and subtly invert the upbeat aspect of the music. I had also been talking to my friend Maddie who is a brilliant dancer about working on some choreography for the video. These aspects seemed to come together perfectly when Josha and Felix started sending ideas across. I think the video really captures the range of emotions that exist in the track, it’s upbeat and positive aspect alongside a layer of dissonance and confusion that lies under the surface.”
Following the release of Loud Patterns, Makeness will tour with label kin Unknown Mortal Orchestra across North America and parts of Europe. Makeness will play his largest venues to date since his last North American trip with Jungle in December 2017. A full list of dates is below.
Photo by Dexter Lander