Mk.gee Shares New Single “Come On (You Know That I’m A Fool)” Watch The Video Here
Announces Fool EP Out November 16th
Catch SF & LA Shows Next Month
[Photo by Erica Hernandez]
Originally from New Jersey, Michael Gordon, who creates under the name Mk.gee, has spent the last few years living in Los Angeles. The multi-instrumentalist took some time this summer between tours with Omar Apollo and select dates with Dr. Dog, to complete his new Fool EP. In line with his debut release from May, Pronounced McGee, the project sees Gordon handling all of the writing, recording and mixing duties himself.
Today, Mk.gee shares his new single, “Come On (You Know That I’m A Fool),” taken from his new Fool EP to be self-released on November 16th. The track is accompanied by a video premiering via Paste. Mk.gee says, “I wanted the video to be a bit of an ironic juxtaposition to the song. The music is pretty somber and deals with change and loneliness, but ironically the video is pretty light hearted and it’s just me and my friends doing dumb shit.” Furthermore, director Erica Hernandez comments, “The song itself is very introspective so when Mike and I talked about the visual approach, we decided it would be interesting to try something more counter-intuitive and make the visuals fun and ironic. Also, Mike has the coolest friends of all time so it was a win-win situation for all of us.”
Mk.gee will play shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles next month in support of his new Fool EP.
Luaka Bop’s Forthcoming Reissue, Universal Philosophy: Preacherman Plays T.J. Hustler’s Greatest Hits, Out This Friday
(photo credit: Eric Welles-Nystrom)
This Friday sees the release of Luaka Bop’s forthcoming reissue of Preacherman’s (aka TimJones) music, Universal Philosophy: Preacherman plays T.J. Hustler’s Greatest Hits. After sharing “Feel It,” Luaka Bop is pleased to share another cut from the release, titled “Out Of This World.” Stream Preacherman’s “Out Of This World” — https://soundcloud.com/luakabop/preacherman-out-of-this-world/
In 1979, under the name T.J. Hustler, Jones self-released one extremely rare LP, Age Of Individualism. In the years since, he’s released two even rarer CD’s as Preacherman, of which the tracks on this forthcoming reissue are taken.
Throughout the 1980’s, Jones was a technician for IBM in both Las Vegas and San Jose. At night he world perform in the Las Vegas lounges. Thoroughly fascinated by technology and also an engineer in his own right, Jones adapted a Hammond B3 organ to play a Moog synth with some of the organ’s keys (some still played the organ) and also adapted the organ’s foot controlled bass levers to play two Moog synth bass pedals (a failed item Moog made for a few years). Thinking he wasn’t much of a live performer, he had a custom wooden puppet made named T.J. Hustler. Together, Tim Jones/Preacherman and T.J. Hustler would perform long philosophical soliloquies.
These days, Jones is CEO and founder of UpProductions and lives with his 103 year-old mother in Oakland, CA. With his Casio CTK-7200 keyboard, equipped with five wireless mics, a P.A., Jones performs karaoke, easily matching whatever song request you might have.
Perhaps even more so than his first album, UniversalPhilosophy grants listeners access, virtually for the very first time, to Jones’ outlook, his purpose, and the way he lives and experiences life on this planet. The music presented here is otherworldly, homespun, folk art funk; concise and stream-of-consciousness simultaneously. Watch/Listen/Share:
“Feel It” stream – https://youtu.be/35waZLUTbU0 UniversalPhilosophy Teaser Video – https://youtu.be/S4xHRkwlWUY
Singer-songwriter Neko Case has been through a lot in the last five years. The biggest calamity was that her home in Vermont burned to the ground while she was recording in Sweden. The loss and enlightenment that fire brought to her were the inspiration for much of her new record, Hell-On. Even the album’s cover has her wearing a crown of cigarettes while a blazing tar fire burns on her shoulder.
The title track opens the record and has Case boldly stating, “God is not a contract or a guy….God is a lusty tire fire.” Nature, much like Case, cannot be controlled. You shouldn’t even try. “Nothing quite so poison as a promise,” she warns. Just sit back and listen. You’ll come through this song (and the whole record) with respect and an altered perspective for her, nature, detachment, and femininity.
“Last Lion of Albion” is one of Case’s many songs about nature, animals, and the importance of protecting both. The beats and acoustic guitar riffs are wonderful throughout it, but they (like most everything else) can barely keep up with Case’s expert vocals and assuredness. “Halls of Sarah” encourages women to stand strong in the times of #MeToo (and check out that saxophone solo!).
“Bad Luck” is the song Case wrote after her house and barn turned into ashes. It’s surprisingly upbeat and is an anthem for standing up when you’re knocked to the ground. The song ends with Case stating, “I died and went to work.” You take the loss, and you move on. The past is gone so take the moment now and run with it. “Curse of the I-5 Corridor” is a stunning showcase for Case’s voice as she sings, “I miss the smell of mystery.” and tells the story of a woman who left home with a fake I.D. and wandered in and out of relationships, one night stands, and life in general until she meets up with a former lover in old age when they both might be mad and facing death. It’s one of her best.
“Gumball Blue” has Case singing about the trappings of fame, “Dirty Diamond” seems to be an ode to the (currently) necessary evil of petroleum, and “Oracle of the Maritimes” is a lovely story of fishermen, lost love, and the dangers of the sea. I love how “Winnie” (a song about love among women) starts off with a quick four-count drumstick tap and then switches to a sultry bass groove that moves like a bathrobe being slowly dropped to the bedroom floor.
Case includes her cover of Eric Bachmann‘s “Sleep All Summer” (a song that, as the story goes, made her pull over her car and weep the first time she heard it) with Bachmann performing a duet with her is another stunner about lost love. Guests artists are all over this record. K.D. Lang, Beth Ditto, Mark Lanegan, Carl Newman, Katherine Calder, and John Collins are just a few (the last three are bandmates with Ms. Case in the NewPornographers) who provide guest vocals, production, and instrumentation to various tracks.
“Black is blue if I say it is,” Case sings on “My Uncle’s Navy” – a story about a relative she admired for his strength and resolve. The album closes with “Pitch or Honey,” in which she admits, “I use major chords to make this a sadder song…An effective manipulation.” She’s right. It works. “I wrote this song for me, and now I let it go. From the island of the Texaco, I release it into the custody of my huckleberry friend. Am I making pitch or honey?” I love the idea of Case embracing detachment yet still wondering if her work is any good. It’s the curse of any artist. Being satisfied with our work is a rarity, but we know we have to release it to someone sooner or later.
Case detached from many things while making this record, some literal (her house and many possessions) and some metaphorical (things from her past that she hadn’t yet fully sent down the river). Hell-On is another beautiful work from a master of her craft and one of the strongest voices in music today.
Keep your mind open.
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Located at 26 Rue du Chateau d’Eau, Paris’ Smallville Records is indeed a small place, but it’s a good stop for lovers of vinyl records if you’re visiting the city. Vinyl is far more popular than CD’s in Paris, it seems, and Smallville has plenty of records to spare.
It’s mostly modern artists, but you can find some good electronica, hip hop, and European rock there. The record at the top left of the second photo is Zombie Zombie‘s Livity, which I highly recommend.
You can listen before you buy, and their turntable covers clearly show how much they love vinyl.
Originally released in Japan last October, but first released in the U.S. earlier this year, the four-piece pop-punk band CHAImight have released the most fun record of the last 12 months – Pink.
Twin sisters Mana (vocals and keys) and Kana (guitar) joined up with high school classmate Yuna (drums) and college pal Yuuki (bass) to create music that is cute, catchy, and crunchy all at the same time. It’s the aural equivalent of Pocky, and I mean that in the best possible sense.
Beginning with “Hi Hi Baby,” a song about babies being goofy, CHAI puts down infectious cowbell-heavy beats, post-punk bass, and even steel drums to produce something so fun that you’re almost not sure how to process it.
“You are so cute. Nice face, oh yeah! We are so cute. Nice face, oh yeah!” starts off “N.E.O.”, which is nearly three minutes of pop-punk laced with psychedelia and has maybe the sickest drum and bass groove of the last year. This is the kind of track that makes you think, “Where the hell have these women been all my life?” when you hear it. The bass gets fat and the guitars and synths get fuzzy on “Boyz Seco Men” while the dual vocals between Mana and Kana bring to mid early 1990’s glam-pop love songs.
“Horechatta” adds reverb and downright sexy vocals that remind me of late 1970’s yacht rock. I’m fairly certain “Fried” is about how great fried fish is, but I could be wrong. I doubt it, because a lot of songs on Pink are about food. Tempura fish, when done well, is great, as are Mana’s bright synths on the track. “She Is Kitty” bounces like a kitten looped on catnip and chasing a butterfly, and the psychedelic touches make you think the kitten has knocked over a lava lamp in the process.
Not weird enough for you? Then try “Gyaranboo,” which I won’t even attempt to describe. “Kawaii Hito,” a song about double standards of beauty, is almost as strange. “Walking Star” is lovely pop-punk with some of the toughest guitar riffs on the record. “Sayonara Complex” is a bass-driven song that seems to produce sunlight from your speakers. The closer, “Flat Girl,” strolls along like a happy tourist on a Japanese beach. By the way, it’s about women with small breasts.
This is one of the catchiest and surprisingly trippy records released in the U.S. this year. It’s the perfect antidote for these modern, angry times.
“Channels high-speed, denim and leather ’70s rock but gives it a slightly modern touch. You could imagine hearing it on the Dazed and Confused soundtrack just as easily as you could imagine hearing it on the radio next to Queens of the Stone Age.” — Brooklyn Vegan
“Rooted in a glammy early Seventies rock sound, ‘She Beast’ is the sort of head-nodding cut that you’d expect to hear blaring out of a muscle car, with a beautiful feathered-hair couple taking the front seats.” — Revolver
Richmond, VA quartet Satan’s Satyrs premiere the title track from their forthcoming album The Lucky Ones today via CvltNation. Hear and share “The Lucky Ones” HERE. (Direct YouTube.)
Satan’s Satyrs hit the road in support of the album with doom faves Windhand in October. See all dates below.
Revolver Magazine recently shared album track “She Beast” HERE. Brooklyn Vegan previously launched album opener “Thrill of the City”HERE.
Upon recovering from being steamrolled over by the onslaught of Satan’s Satyrs‘ new album The Lucky Ones, you’ll likely wonder just what exactly it was that hit you. A punky, sleaze rock groove (perhaps even a whiff of 70s glam) meets NWOBHM melodic fury, Blue Cheer mass and volume, and Ozzy‘s dramatic charisma condensed into a sound all its own, perhaps. At its core is an unstoppable, unpretentious exorcism of rock’n’roll exuberance.
“It doesn’t sound like anything else happening right now,” says bassist/vocalist Clayton Burgess, who has spent the last few years splitting his time in British doom heroes Electric Wizard. “The band has its own unique idiosyncratic sound.”
A significant difference on this album is the addition of second guitarist Nate Towle, which expands the band’s steamrolling capacity tenfold. Burgess, Towle, guitarist Jarrett Nettnin and drummer Stephen Fairfield convened at the Richmond, VA studio of Windhand guitarist Garrett Morris, working in fits and starts over several months, first quickly capturing the raw energy of a band firing on all cylinders, then fine tuning the sounds and experimenting to get everything as massive as you hear it now. Likewise, Burgess’ lyrics show new levels of achievement.
“I pushed myself to get more of my own life in the songs, but open enough that anyone can interpret them in their own way,” he says. “I just wanted to capture weirdness. It reflects my unusual tastes, but also takes a personal perspective.”
The twin guitar assault begins from the very first beat of The Lucky Ones and never relents until the last second of the 9-track, 35-minute album. Opener “Thrill of the City” wastes no time launching into soaring harmonized riffs and swaggering rhythms setting the scene for a debauched good time. The title track, perhaps the most personal song on the album, is also the most unabashedly melodic. “Too Early To Fold” captures the frustrations and challenges of life as a touring musician, expressed through a belligerent 2-guitar attack and pounding snare on all 4 downbeats driving it all home. “Trampled By Angels” pits a swinging T Rex vibe against dizzy, noisy guitars and lyrics about a pioneer of fetish photography using his medium to express forbidden desires to the world. Likewise, The Lucky Ones itself is a vibrant, brash and loud expression of defiance against convention that refuses to be ignored.
The Lucky Ones will be available on LP, CD and download on October 19th, 2018 on Bad Omen Records, manufactured and distributed in North America by RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.
SATAN’S SATYRS LIVE:
10/08: Atlanta, GA – The Earl #
10/09: New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa #
10/10: Houston TX – White Oak Music Hall #
10/11: Dallas, TX – Club Dada #
10/12: Austin, TX – Barracuda #
10/14: Albuquerque, NM – Sister #
10/15: Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar #
10/16: Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre #
10/17: Oakland, CA – Starline Social Club #
10/19: Portland, OR – Aladdin Theatre #
10/20: Vancouver, BC – Venue #
10/21: Seattle, WA – Neumos #
10/23: Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge #
10/24: Kansas City, MO – The Riot Room #
11/01: Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts #
11/02: Brooklyn, NY – Elsewhere #
11/03: Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall #
11/04: Montreal, QC – Le Belmont #
11/05: Toronto, ON – The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern #
11/07: Chicago, IL – Subterranean #
11/08: Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line Music Cafe #
11/09: Milwaukee, WI – Cactus Club #
11/10: Indianapolis, IN – The Hi-Fi #
11/11: Nashville, TN – The Basement East #
11/12: Louisville, KY – Zanzabar #
11/13: Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups #
My wife and I were delighted to learn that Garbage would be playing in Paris while we were on vacation there. I was surprised we managed to score tickets at face value, and even more surprised by the intimacy of the venue – the Bataclan. I expected a much bigger place, but the small size made the show louder, closer, and better.
Openers Dream Wifeput down a raucous set of garage punk about subjects like female empowerment and ending gender bias. The people tending their merch table were having a great time all night.
Garbage came out to a lively crowd and were soon tearing through hits from their second album, Garbage 2.0. It was the 20th anniversary tour of the record, so you had to expect it. They played other hits, of course, and lead singer Shirley Manson had the crowd in her hands within moments of the first notes she sang.
They tore through tracks like “Deadwood,” “Wicked Ways” (which included parts of Depeche Mode‘s “Personal Jesus”), and “The World Is Not Enough” – the Bond theme they did from the movie of the same name back in 1999. Other highlights included “Medication,” with Manson telling the story of how she had to deal with health care in the U.S. after nearing dying of flu while on tour, “I Think I’m Paranoid,” “Sleep Together,” “Dumb,” and “Push It.”
They closed with “The Trick Is to Keep Breathing,” a new song called “No Horses” (which Manson said is about an environmental apocalypse), and “Cherry Lips” (which Manson said has become the Garbage concert anthem).
It was a fun show with an appreciative crowd. You can’t ask for much more than that.
UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA
ANNOUNCES SURPRISE INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM
IC-01 HANOI, OUT 10/26 ON JAGJAGUWAR; LISTEN TO “HANOI 6”
While recording Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s latest release, Sex & Food, Ruban Nielson, his longtime collaborator Jacob Portrait and his brother Kody Nielson, found themselves in the Vietnamese city of Hanoi at Phu Sa Studios. During the recording process for Sex & Food the band recorded live sessions with local musician Minh Nguyen on Sáo Trúc, Đàn Môi, and Vietnamese Percussion and Nielson’s father, Chris, on Flugelhorn, Saxophone and keyboards. These sessions became IC-01 Hanoi: a sonic distillation of the band’s influences in Jazz, Krautrock, and the avant-garde. At its core Hanoi is a record of exploration, finding its closest antecedent in Miles Davis’ experimental On The Corner – itself a record full of nods toward avant-garde composers and jazz outsiders alike. Hanoi finds Ruban amplifying and stretching out on lead guitar, with a blown-out and wandering fuzz tone that slinks throughout the sessions. The rest of the group match Ruban’s melodic diversions with aplomb, mining their talents and finding as easy a role in the fusion of funk as they do in the more ambient and abstract tangents on Hanoi. IC-01 Hanoi will see release on October 26th via Jagjaguwar.
IC-01 HANOI TRACKLISTING
1. Hanoi 1
2. Hanoi 2
3. Hanoi 3
4. Hanoi 4
5. Hanoi 5
6. Hanoi 6
7. Hanoi 7
UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA TOUR DATES
September 25 – Kuala Lumpur, MY @ The Bee
September 26 – Jakarta, ID @ Empirica
October 4 – Guadalajara, Mexico @ C3 Stage
October 6 – Lomas Atlas, Mexico @ Festival Hipnosis @ Deportivo Lomas Atlas
October 26 – Madrid, ES @ Sala Mon
October 27 – Bilbao, ES @ BIME Live
October 29 – Porto, PT @ Hard Club
October 30 – Lisbon, PT @ Aula Magna
November 1 – Clermont-Ferrand, FR @ La Cooperative de Mai
November 2 – Antwerp, BE @ Filter Festival
November 3 – Paris, FR @ Pitchfork Music Festival Paris
November 4 – Frankfurt, DE @ Zoom Frankfurt
November 6 – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
November 7 – Stockholm, SE @ Kagelbanan
November 8 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret – SOLD OUT
November 9 – Bergen, NO @ Landmark – SOLD OUT
November 11 – Groningen, NL @ Oosterpoort
November 13 – Vienna, AT @ Flex
November 14 – Zurich, CH @ Rote Fabrik
November 15 – Vevey, CH @ Rocking Chair
November 16 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
November 17 – Leipzig, DE @ Trascentury Update No. 3 Festival
November 19 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Institute
November 21 – London, UK @ Royal Albert Hall
November 22 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2 – SOLD OUT
November 23 – Sheffield, UK @ The Leadmill
November 25 – Dublin, Ireland @ The Academy
November 26 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3
January 12 – Christchurch, NZ @ Hagley Park
January 14 – Queenstown, NZ @ John Davies Oval
January 19 – Auckland, NZ @ Western Springs – SOLD OUT
Public Practice Shares New Single “Foundation” Listen Here
Distance Is A Mirror, Debut EP Out October 26th Via Wharf Cat Records
[“Foundation” artwork]
Last month, Public Practice announced their debut EP, Distance Is A Mirror, to be released October 26th via Wharf Cat Records and shared lead single “Fate/Glory.” Today, they’re back with another new single, “Foundation.” The song deep fries Beach Boys guitars in ice-cold-but-somehow-funky Scritti Politti grooves. Add a dead pan David Byrney vocal, and Public Practice remind us again how integral it is to use honesty and self-reflection to bring some of life’s double standards to light.
The four members of Public Practice—singer Sam York, guitarist Vince McClelland, synth/bassist and vocalist Drew Citron, and drummer/programmer and producer Scott Rosenthal—are no strangers to songwriting. A Brooklyn DIY super group of sorts, Public Practice combines members of freshly-dead punk project WALL and local pop band Beverly. Public Practice backs their ambitious songwriting with serious chops, their live shows already pulling them into the sharp foreground of a scene growing all too warm and fuzzy.
Distance is a Mirror is a confident, juried testimony of love steeped in dark optimism. By the end of the short and bittersweet 4-song EP, Public Practice anchors themselves as a new band with wisdom like their influences, bringing songs distinctly fresh as they are familiar. Public Practice will privately change your mind about where guitar music is going.
Public Practice Live:
Fri. Oct. 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (w/ Shame, BODEGA)
Fri. Oct. 26 – Brooklyn, NY @ Alphaville (Record Release Party)
Fri. Nov. 30 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat (w/ Flasher, Gong Gong Gong)
Mon. Dec. 3 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern (w/ Flasher, Gong Gong Gong)
Tue. Dec. 4 – Chicago, IL @ Hideout (w/ Flasher, Gong Gong Gong)
Wed. Dec. 5 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups (w/ Flasher, Gong Gong Gong)
Thu. Dec. 6 – Paterson, NJ @ A Red Wheelbarrow (w/ Flasher, Gong Gong Gong)
International experimental musicians Exploded View (Annika Henderson hailing from Berlin and Hugo Quezada and Martin Thulin from Mexico City) explore themes of punishment and isolation (physical, mental, social) on their new album Obey.
They open with the instrumental “Lullaby,” which could be the opening theme to a Mario Bava movie, and then slide into the sultry “Open Road,” which could be the opening theme to David Lynch’s next movie. Henderson’s voice hypnotizes you within moments and Quezada and Thulin’s instrumentation ranges from weird lounge jazz to dreamwave. “Dark Stains” brings in krautrock bass and synths while Henderson sings about lost time and a lover’s deceptions.
“What would you do if your love was gone tomorrow and you never found the words to say?” Henderson asks on the haunting synthwave track “Gone Tomorrow,” in which Exploded View implores us to not wait and not to be afraid to find love. The unsettling title track is about obeying not only laws but also the unwritten rules of society (both in the flesh and online) which can get you ostracized if you don’t tow the line. Henderson’s voice seems to be on the outside of the song, like she’s being punished for not conforming. I can’t help but think of another filmmaker when hearing this track – John Carpenter. It seems to flow out of his film They Live.
“Sleepers” is one of the best synthwave tracks of the year, with buzzsaw guitars, sunlight-bright synths, dark bass, and Henderson’s vocals calling out to you through your dreams. “Letting Go of Childhood Dreams” is about the sometimes cold nature of reality. Again, Henderson’s vocals seem distant, almost like she’s fading away as the synths drift into every corner of the room.
The catchy “Raven Raven” is probably being blasted in goth dance clubs across Europe by now. If not, it should be. It’s perfect for dark rooms, make-out sessions, late night Metro rides, and catching the eyes of a raven-haired maiden as she looks at you over a cup of jet black espresso at 2am. “Come On Honey” brings in chaotic guitars and frenetic percussion while Henderson’s vocals keep us and her bandmates grounded (but just barely). The closing track, “Rant,” is appropriately urgent. Henderson implores us one last time to embrace life, love, and beauty. “Life could be so damn simple, if you let it,” she sings.
We’re too busy obeying, however. We’re obeying advertising, 24-hour news cycles, social media, and the expectations and opinions of others and not trusting our own minds, eyes, and hearts.
Stop obeying. Start living. That’s the message of Exploded View’s Obey.
