February 2019 – Page 2 – 7th Level Music

Review: Mavis Staples – Live in London

Soul / gospel superstar Mavis Staples once said that she thought London’s Union Chapel was the best place in the world to sing. I’m willing to believe her from the sound of this great, powerful album she recorded there over the course of two nights not long ago. Live in London is a strong statement about the political state of the U.S., a funky soul record, and a high contender for best live album of 2019.

Starting with the soulful “Love and Trust,” Staples rightly declares, “The simplest things can be the hardest to do.” as her killer band breaks in with a killer groove (The album is full of them, really.). The song is about how everyone, sinners and saints alike, are looking for the same thing – love. “Who Told You That” is a smoky, subtle, sexy jam. Her cover of Talking Heads‘ “Slippery People” is a standout that she’s been singing since at least the 1980’s. It’s such a downright jam that you can’t help but shake and shimmy when hearing it.

“What You Gonna Do” is a classic blues track about preparing for death. “Take Us Back” has Staples proclaiming, “I’ve got friends, and I’ve got family. I’ve got help from all the people who love me.” She’s been in the business for decades and admits that she wouldn’t be where she is without those who supported her all those years.

Staples starts getting political on “You Are Not Alone” as she sings to those isolated and afraid in places of hostility, war, and poverty. “Every tear on every face tastes the same,” she sings. That’s truth. “No Time for Cryin'” has Staples calling us to action (“I’m going to march right up to that big [White] house. We got work to do.”) and railing against gun violence and “taking babies away from their mothers” while her guitarist plays a sizzling solo.

“Can You Get to That” has a solid groove that will keep Jack White awake at night wishing he’d come up with it. Her cover of Curtis Mayfield‘s “Let’s Do It Again” is one of the best make-out songs you’ve heard in a while. “Dedicated” starts with a lovely guitar solo and drifts into a lovely song about perseverance and those who sacrificed in the civil rights struggle. “We’re Gonna Make It” is an uplifting song about overcoming financial struggles, but Staples adds an urgency to it that reflects keeping your hopes up for better times in America.

“There just ain’t no stopping me, is it?” Staples says before launching into the album’s closer, “Touch a Hand,” a song about reaching out to strangers and neighbors alike in these times of narcissism and anger.

Live in London makes you want to catch Staples live as soon as possible (like any good live album should). Do it if you can.

Keep your mind open.

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CHAI unleash another killer single – “Choose Go!” – from album due March 15th.

WATCH “CHOOSE GO!” https://youtu.be/YoCOh2r6ML0

LISTEN TO “FASHIONISTA” https://bit.ly/2sPcNKG

WATCH “GREAT JOB!” https://youtu.be/5Odk94mxeHU

Japanese four-piece CHAI shares a new single, “CHOOSE GO!,” off of their sophomore album, PUNK, due March 15th via Burger Records, and an accompanying video. Following rebellious single, “Fashionista,” and previously released “GREAT JOB,” “CHOOSE GO!” is an upbeat anthem to be free to choose whatever it is you want to do, however you want to do it. Directed by previous collaborators – Japan-based creative collective Team Mikansei (“Boyz Seco Man”) – the video features vibrant set designs, coordinated costumes, synchronized dance moves, and an eccentric twist on sports.

“Cheerleaders, who are usually known for cheering for athletes on the sideline, now become the actual athletes and are shown as baseball players! It’s the evolution of what is already in existence like sports or cheerleaders to then what would be considered non-existent or fantasy like cheerleaders turned into baseball players and barbies tossed instead of footballs by football players, which makes this music video so cool! CHOOSE GO! CHOOSE FREEDOM!”

PUNK follows their debut album, PINK. If PINK was a plastic, hyper-bright introduction, then PUNK is a deeper, more impactful graduation. It’s the movement from vivid orange to radiating red.

CHAI will bring their energetic live shows to North America in support of PUNK. All tour dates are below.

CHAI TOUR DATES Wed. Mar. 13 – Sat.. Mar. 16 – Austin, TX @ SXSW Mon. Mar. 18 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage Tue. Mar. 19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel Wed. Mar. 20 – Toronto, ON @ The Velvet Underground Fri. Mar. 22 – Sat. Mar. 23 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Festival Mon. Mar. 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Moroccan Lounge Wed. Mar. 27 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop Fri. Mar. 29 – Seattle, WA @ The Vera Project Sat. Mar. 30 – Portland, OR @ Holocene PRAISE FOR CHAI

“‘Fashionista,’ similarly, is still dressed in a patina of femininity, even as resentment bubbles beneath the surface. Pitted against the capitalist behemoth of the beauty industry, CHAI know the best way to fight their enemy is from within.” – Pitchfork

“By the end of the song, dissonant guitar chords have surfaced, the beat is crashing and ricocheting around, and that cloud of voices has turned into a typhoon: a party out of bounds, or a consumer revolt?” – The New York Times, on “Fashionista”

“”CHAI bursts with an energy that is carefree, effervescent, and unmistakably feminine” – She Shreds

“Giddy, frenzied pop” – Bust Magazine, 5/5

Physical Pre-order: https://burgerrecords.11spot.com/chai-punk.html

CHAI Online:

http://chai-band.com/ https://twitter.com/CHAIofficialJPN https://www.instagram.com/chaiofficialjpn/ https://www.facebook.com/CHAIofficialJPN/

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Cass McCombs – Tip of the Sphere

In the liner notes to Cass McCombs’ new album, Tip of the Sphere, he mentions how it was recorded in Brooklyn, New York and that he only remembers “emotional things dictated by the city” from the experience. In another section, however (written from the perspective of a mental health professional evaluating McCombs after he was found on the streets), possible themes of the album are postulated to be “identity, reincarnation, criminality, Armageddon, and suicide.”

This is tongue-in-cheek, of course, but only to a point. Tip of the Sphere is a record full of tall tales of criminals, drifters, barflies, soul-seekers, and tricksters. McCombs could’ve met any and all of these types of folks while hanging out in Brooklyn and been intrigued by their stories.

The title of the opening track, “I Followed the River South to What,” implies a letdown experienced by McCombs or someone he knows, but it’s actually an uplifting tale about the dignity of the homeless. Each verse opens with a typical question asked of a homeless person (i.e., “You live out on the street, in the open air?”, “Where will you goes, when the winter comes?”) and witty, Zen-like replies from the person being questioned who merely asked for a dollar. McCombs’ guitar work is like a simple music box tune and Otto Hauser’s drums put down a beat that is more complex than you first realize. Frank LoCrastro’s mellotron work helps the tune float along on a carefree breeze.

“The Great Pixley Train Robbery” was inspired by an old newspaper article McCombs read about a real-life Old West event. It’s a tune that would make Waylon Jennings proud as McCombs sings from the perspective of one of three bandits who made away with $7,000.00 in gold and is now ready to tell the details of the crime that left two dead. Dan Horne’s bass and Jason Quever’s drums on the track provide a great groove that will be hard to match this year (and McCombs’ fuzzed-out guitar solo is great). Horne’s fine bass work continues on “Estrella,” a beautiful love song to a Latina whom McCombs lost and has found again after a literal or metaphorical reincarnation. Only he knows which.

“Absentee,” which is already on my list for Best Singles of 2019, is a song about giving so much of one’s self that you end up feeling like a ghost adrift in the physical world. It’s a torch song mixed with a blues track with psychedelia sprinkled on top for extra spice. Dan Iead’s pedal steel adds the bluesy touch, LoCrastro’s organ work brings in almost a gospel flavor, and Sam Griffith Owens’ saxophone work reminds me of Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s trippy, subtle jams. John Nellen’s tabla beats on “Real Life” add to the introspective nature of the song about what it means to be human.

“Sleeping Volcanoes” is McCombs proclaiming he and everyone else he knows is sick of the world in general and he prays Armageddon will take us to a better place in the next life. It’s not as nihilistic as you’d expect. It’s even a bit calming. The guitars on “Sidewalk Bop After Suicide” take on an outlaw country edge, which continues with Iead’s pedal steel on “Prayer for Another Day” – a lovely song about wanting to step out of this reality and into one that’s similar but without all the trappings we’ve created in it.

“American Canyon Sutra” has McCombs singing / speaking about economic inequality (“In American Canyon, where Walmart employees and customers are one and same. They’ve even built apartments here to add a residential coffin to the bargain. Guess I’ll stay forever and work for the company store.”) over processed beats and guitar notes that sound like distant war horns. “Tying Loose Ends” is about McCombs preparing for death (whenever that may be) by trying to learn his family history before he becomes a footnote in it. The weirdly worded “Rounder” closes the album with another solid beat by Hauser and more outlaw country flair from McCombs’ guitar and Iead’s pedal steel before it floats away into a nice, slow jam with a great organ solo from LoCrastro.

This is a lovely record that you could put into multiple genres. McCombs isn’t afraid to embrace and expand on those genres in order to tell his stories. Like any good storyteller, he tells a tale but leaves a lot of mysteries unsolved.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Flat Worms – Into the Iris

Recorded in Ty Segall‘s house, Into the Iris, the new EP by Flat Worms (Tim Hellman – bass and vocals, Will Ivy – guitar and vocals, Justin Sullivan – drums) is six tracks of fuzzy riffs that could jumpstart a car during the recent polar vortex.

“Surreal New Year” is an opening salvo of post-punk guitars mixed with drums that are more precise than you realize at first. I can’t help but wonder if the title track is a reference to Suspiria. The song is certainly chaotic enough in the last half to reflect a harrowing battle with an invisible witch. It’s all screaming, fuzzy guitars and breakneck beats.

Ivy’s opening guitars on “Plastic at Home” sound like a broken xylophone being thrown down a flight of stairs – and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s a song about how the glossy perfection of suburbia often disguises kinky vices and boiling resentment. Hellman and Sullivan are in especially fine sync throughout this whole track.

“Shouting at the Wall” was the first single. It opens with guitars that sound like alarms and then Sullivan goes wild to kick to the song into fifth gear. “Scattered Palms…” is post-punk psychedelia with Hellman’s bass doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the short instrumental. “At the Citadel” is like a lost Stooges track with its heavy bass, roaring drums, squeaking guitars, and snotty, bratty vocals.

Into the Iris packs more fuzz and power into six tracks than most full-length LPs will all year. Don’t miss it.

Keep your mind open.

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Cass McComb’s “Tip of the Sphere” is out tomorrow, but you can stream it on NPR right now.

“Here McCombs reaches fully toward the idea of songwriting as myth-making. Pulling from a deeper heredity of mavericks (Guy Clark) and marginals (Bill Callahan); jesters (Warren Zevon), sweet-natured acerbics (Randy Newman) and loners (Elliott Smith), McCombs is an analogous anomaly — a statesman with a penchant for the long, spooling yarn. He revels in the album as cinema, as cosmos, as something that should be written and left for rumination.” — NPR Music’s “First Listen”

“McCombs is no cheap nostalgia merchant, and is rooted far more in earthy post-punk than jam-bandwagoning. But dude’s quite a guitarist, and here’s hoping he stretches things on tour behind his forthcoming LP – it’s a doozy.” — Rolling Stone

“Tip of the Sphere represents McCombs’ practised skills as a shaper of his own world, with pride in his craft, a deep respect for tradition and the drive to refresh it via his own idiosyncratic iteration. It’s a combination likely to seal those ‘finest songwriter of his generation’ nominations.”
— Uncut, 9/10 Album of the Month
Cass McCombs will release Tip of the Sphere, his ninth full-length album, on February 8th via ANTI-. Ahead of its release, the album is now available to stream via NPR Music’s “First Listen.” Additionally, McCombs shares “Absentee,” a track infused with waltzing organ and subtle saxophone. In “Absentee,” McCombs ruminates on ancestral memories of British, colonialist absentee landlords during the Irish Potato Famine, on longing, hunger and untended places in the heart. Cass plays multiple characters in a play created with cast shadows, masks, puppets and analog visual effects created by Lydia Greer and Caryl Kientz of Facing West Shadow Theatre.
Stream Tip of the Sphere via NPR Music –
https://n.pr/2RWfYPD

Watch “Absentee” Video –
https://youtu.be/4ujcP9S1Gmc
Tip of the Sphere presents an artist trying to make sense of it all through a relentless, ever searching creative process. Throughout, he floats through a suite of songs driven by a journeying mysticism and dark grace. While most of his albums have been pieced together in different studios over an extended period of time, Tip of the Sphere was recorded quickly and with a strong sense of purpose at Figure 8 Studios in Brooklyn. This new approach for McCombs brought his songs a raw immediacy and a special balance of compassion and experimentation with the intent of making a more consistent statement. On “Absentee,” he’s joined by Otto Hauser (drums), Dan Horne (bass), Dan Lead (pedal steel), Frank LoCrasto (hammond organ), and Sam Griffin Owens (saxophone).

As previously announced, the ‘Castillo de la Esfera,’ created by fellow Northern California artist and contemporary Tahiti Pehrson as an homage to Brion Gysin’s dream machine, is featured inside the vinyl edition of Tip of the Sphere. Watch the Tip of the Sphere Instructional Video & Castillo de la Esfera Assembly, narrated by Robyn Hitchock,here.
Watch/Listen/Share:
“Sleeping Volcanoes” Stream – https://youtu.be/aJd_bd9vBFc
“Estrella” Stream – https://youtu.be/sJTR-d8X2jk
“The Great Pixley Train Robbery” Video – https://youtu.be/tJweioHk6t0

Pre-order Tip of the Sphere –
https://ffm.to/cm_tipofthesphere

Cass McCombs Tour Dates:
Thu. Feb. 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ Amoeba Records
Mon. March 4 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage *
Tue. March 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live *
Thu. March 7 – Brooklyn, NY @ Murmrr
Fri. March 8 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
Sat. March 9 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair *
Mon. March 11 – Toronto, ON @ Horsehoe Tavern *
Tue. March 12 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom*
Thu. March 14 – Nashville, TN @ EXIT/IN *
Fri. March 15 – Indianapolis, IN @ HiFi *
Sat. March 16 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
Sun. March 17 – Milwaukee, WI @ The BackRoom at Collectivo *
Mon. March 18 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club *
Wed. March 20 – Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre *
Sat. March 23 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room *
Mon. March 25 – Vancouver, BC @ St. James *
Tue. March 26 – Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey *
Wed. March 27 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater *
Fri. March 29 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s *
Sat. March 30 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre *
Sun. March 31 – Las Vegas, NV@ The Beauty Bar*
Tue. April 2 – Santa Barbara, CA @ SOHo *
Thu. April 4 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Moe’s Alley *
Fri. April 5 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
Thu. April 25 – Marfa, TX@ Marfa Myths
Sat. May 25 – Madrid, SP @ Tomavistas Festival
Tue. May 28 – Prague, CZ @ MeetFactory
Wed. May 29 – Berlin, DE @ Frannz-Club
Thur. May 30 – Copenhagen, DK @ Alice
Fri. May 31 – Hamburg, DE @ Nochtspeicher
Sat. June 1 – Gent, BE @ DOK Box
Mon. June 3 – Amsterdam, NE @ Paradiso Nord
Tue. June 4 – Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie
Thur. June 6 – London, UK @ EartH
Fri. June 7 – Helsinki, FI @ Sideways Festival
Fri. Aug. 30 – Mon. Sep. 2 – Larmer Tree Gardens, UK @ End of the Road Festival

* = with Sam Evian

Keep your mind open.

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Partner release first single, “Long and McQuade” from new album, “Saturday the 14th,” due this April.

Partner, the Canadian duo of Josée Caron and Lucy Niles, have announced their new release out April 5, 2019. Entitled Saturday the 14th, it follows their 2017 debut, In Search of Lost Time which landed on NPR, Stereogum, Noisey, Exclaim, and CBC Music year end lists. Pre-order Saturday the 14th HERE.

Today, Partner is sharing the video for “Long and McQuade,” an ode to the Canadian music store chain. Watch the video HERE. The “Long and McQuade” single is also available on streaming services.

“We wanted to make a song for the musicians, and what experience is more relatable to a Canadian musician than going to Long and McQuade? The song just came out one day while we were talking about Long and McQuade and we liked singing it like Pearl Jam, so it stuck.” – Partner

Partner kicks off a US West Coast tour next month including a show at Noise Pop Fest in San Francisco.

USA & Canadian Tour Dates
February 20 – Fox Cabaret, Vancouver BC*
February 21 – The Queens, Nanaimo BC
February 23 – Lucky Bar, Victoria BC
February 24 – The Vera Project, Seattle WA*
February 25 – Holocene, Portland OR*
February 28 – The Hi Hat, Los Angeles CA*
March 02 – The Crepe Place, Santa Cruz CA*
March 03 – Noise Pop Fest, San Francisco CA*
*co-headlining with Dude York

For any interview requests or phoners contact – mar@maronmusic.com

————————

RIYL – AC/DC, The Breeders, Ween, Melissa Etheridge, Aerosmith

Partner is funny, but not a joke. Gay, but not for each other.

Partner is the “mature” effort of two best friends named Josée Caron and Lucy Niles. Borne of their fortuitous friendship, Partner confidently harnesses the infinite power of Rock to explore a variety of niche yet strangely universal themes.

The two met while attending Mount Allison University in small town Sackville, New Brunswick, on Canada’s East Coast.

The duo played in numerous Sackville bands together over their University years. Around mid 2014 the idea of Partner came to fruition.

Influenced by acts as varied as Tegan and Sara, Melissa Etheridge, Ween, kd lang, and Aerosmith, Partner delivers a refreshing and vital twist on a classic, prompting you to re-think what you thought was possible in Rock.

They released their debut album In Search of Lost Time in September 2017. The album made NPR’s All Songs Considered, Stereogum, Noisey, Exclaim, CBC Music, Indie 88 and many more Best of 2017 lists. The album was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize, and Partner were the recipients of the SOCANsongwriting prize for their song “Play the Field.”

Despite the success of In Search of Lost Time, Partner is committed to exploring and breaking down the limits of their minds in the name of Rock. Saturday the 14th represents the first steps towards a bold new future: the listener will find the band questioning the rules and questioning themselves, and, if they listen closely, a few tantalizing hints for what lies in store next.

Saturday the 14th will be released April 5, 2019 via You’ve Changed Records (CAN) and Father/Daughter Records (US).

Track Listing
Partner – Saturday the 14th (April 5, 2019)
Father/Daughter Records (US), You’ve Changed Records (CA)
PRE-ORDER

1. Fun For Everyone (Minions)
2. Stoned Thought
3. Tell You Off
4. Long and McQuade
5. Les ailes d’un ange

Partner in the press:

“Listening to Partner is like hanging out with your best friends, assuming your best friends are queer Canadian stoners with hooks for days.”
– Stereogum

“The best Canadian rock record of the year wasn’t made by Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene or Mac Demarco, but by two self-deprecating, 1990s-loving stoner best friends known as Partner. ”
– Playboy

“…two young women from Canada, Joseé Caron and Lucy Niles, who write and record as Partner, put out the year’s best guitar rock album.”
– NPR’s All Songs Considered

TOUR DATESFebruary 20 – Fox Cabaret, Vancouver BC*
February 21 – The Queens, Nanaimo BC
February 23 – Lucky Bar, Victoria BC
February 24 – The Vera Project, Seattle WA*^
February 25 – Holocene, Portland OR*^
February 28 – The Hi Hat, Los Angeles CA*^
March 02 – The Crepe Place, Santa Cruz CA*
March 03 – Noise Pop Fest, San Francisco CA*^
*w/ Dude York
^w/ Blushh

April 13 – The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto ON+
April 18 – The Capitol Music Club, Saskatoon SK+
April 19 – The Starlite Room, Edmonton AB+
April 20 – The Palace Theatre, Calgary AB+
April 22 – Spiritbar, Nelson BC+
April 23 – Sapphire Nightclub, Kelowna BC+
April 25 – Cactus Jacks, Kamloops BC+
April 30 – Bo’s Bar & Grill, Red Deer AB+
May 02 – The Exchange, Regina SK+
May 03 – The Garrick, Winnipeg MB+
+ supporting Wintersleep
Partner Links
Website: http://www.partnerband.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/partner.music.band/
Bandcamp: https://partnerband.bandcamp.com/
Record Label: http://youvechangedrecords.com/portfolio/partner/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/partner_band
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/partnerband

Keep your mind open.

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CHAI’s upcoming album, “Punk,” is going to be amazing if the single, “Fashionista,” is any indication.

LISTEN TO “FASHIONISTA”
https://bit.ly/2sPcNKG

WATCH “GREAT JOB!”
https://youtu.be/5Odk94mxeHU
Japanese four-piece CHAI may worship at the altar of kawaii – their homeland’s culture of cute– but they’re not about to be pushed around by the idle bosses and the ignorant patriarchy. The ultra-concise pop of their debut LP PINK is about to be overhauled on their new album. CHAI are ready to light the fuse; CHAI are PUNK (out March 15th via Burger Records).

“’PUNK’ for us, of course, is not the genre of music,” say the band. “‘PUNK’ to us is to overturn the worn-out values associated with ‘kawaii’ or ‘cute’ created up to this point. ‘PUNK’ is a word that expresses a strong sense of self. To be yourself more, to become the person you truly want to be, to believe in yourself in every instance!”

First single “Fashionista” is a rebellious demand for self-acceptance in the face of society’s pressures: “Even if you don’t dress or do your makeup like how society expects you too, you’re still a “Fashionista” by expressing yourself how you want to. You decide what you want to wear, how you want to look, what you don’t want to wear, and that is what makes you a Fashionista!”

At the core of their music is the concept of “Neo-Kawaii.” They outlined to concept in several interviews in 2018. In Pitchfork’s Rising interview, it’s described as “a move towards the embrace and celebration of human imperfection. ‘Neo-Kawaii’ is properly summarized on the single ‘N.E.O.’ from Pink, which directly comments on oppressive beauty standards, offering a list of supposed imperfections that translate to ‘Small eyes/Flat nose/No shape/Fat legs!’ CHAI seek to reclaim them as perfect.”

Late last year, the band also shared the delightfully insane video for“GREAT JOB,” another song off the forthcoming album, where CHAI compare house work to ridding yourself from all negativity. “Some people look at house work as a negative duty but it’s actually a positive duty that represents a refreshed, new you.” Yuuki picks up on this: “Of course we want to continue show our style of positivity-meets-pop but in life there’s definitely times of sadness, times of frustration and even irritating moments that with PUNK, we want everyone to know can be used as energy to fuel the positivity from the negativity”.

Their inner strength comes out in the music. If PINK was a plastic, hyper-bright introduction, then PUNK is a deeper, more impactful graduation. It’s the movement from vivid orange to radiating red. Drummer Yuna adds: “Compared with our first album, PUNK represents a more concentrated version of our individualities.”

Yuuki crafted the irrepressible album sleeve, with a laughing girl bursting through a shell. The message, they say, is clear: “Hello, New Me!”

PUNK TRACKLISTING
1. CHOOSE GO!
2. GREAT JOB
3. I’m me
4. Wintime
5. THIS IS CHAI
6. Fashionista
7. FAMILY MEMBER
8. Curly adventure
9. Feel the BEAT
10. Future

CHAI TOUR DATES
Mon. Mar. 11 – Sun. Mar. 17 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
Mon. Mar. 18 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage
Tue. Mar. 19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel
Wed. Mar. 20 – Toronto, ON @ The Velvet Underground
Fri. Mar. 22 – Sat. Mar. 23 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Festival
Mon. Mar. 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Moroccan Lounge
Wed. Mar. 27 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
Fri. Mar. 29 – Seattle, WA @ The Vera Project
Sat. Mar. 30 – Portland, OR @ Holocene

PRAISE FOR CHAI

“Moments of pure joy are in short supply these days; a Chai show is a reprieve.”
– Pitchfork [RISING FEATURE]

“Drawing inspiration from the likes of Basement Jaxx, Tom Tom Club, and Devo—groups that have also crafted their own signature, unconventional sounds that defy the pop landscape—the band plays preconceived definitions of cute against each other to create their own new one.”
– FLOOD Magazine

“CHAI bursts with an energy that is carefree, effervescent, and unmistakably feminine”
– She Shreds

“Giddy, frenzied pop” – Bust Magazine, 5/5

CHAI Online:
http://chai-band.com/
https://twitter.com/CHAIofficialJPN
https://www.instagram.com/chaiofficialjpn/
https://www.facebook.com/CHAIofficialJPN/

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: The Black Keys – Turn Blue (2014)

According to the Black Keys’ website, the title of their 2014 album Turn Blue could refer to “A. Suffocation. B. Sadness. C. Numbness from extreme cold. D. A Cleveland late night TV host from the 1960s named Ghoulardi. E. All of the above.”

As I listen to the album now during the 2019 Polar Vortex hitting the Midwest USA, I’m inclined to go with the third definition, but the psychedelic artwork of the album cover and the general southern California psychedelic sound of the record makes me want to lean toward the fourth one.

Produced by none other than Danger Mouse, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney recorded the album during the summer of 2013 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California. The bright sunshine, warm weather, and California vibe infuse the entire record. The opener, “Weight of Love,” has Auerbach working his guitar like Carlos Santana and Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton adding bright keyboards behind Carney’s as-always rock solid drumming.

Speaking of rock solid drumming, how about Carney’s work on the appropriately titled “In Time?” Auerbach’s vocals go into a higher register to counter the thumping bass groove. The title track has Auerbach singing about the blues almost overwhelming him every night and warning us, “I really do hope you know there could be Hell below.” as we wander with him on and off paths of sin and vice.

“Fever” was the first single off Turn Blue, which is no surprise with its happy programmed beats ready for remixing, almost post-punk guitar chords, and catchy chorus. “You’ve been down this road before,” Auerbach preaches on “Year in Review” before ripping into a soaring solo that sounds like he wrote while hang gliding off a mountain in Utah.

The band’s love of Pink Floyd is evident on “Bullet in the Brain” from the opening guitar chords through the psychedelic, sludgy beats mixing with crystal clear electric keys. They turn up the fuzz on “It’s Up to You Now,” with Auerbach’s solo reaching meditative status. The soulful, sad love song “Waiting on Words” slows things down a bit, but it keeps some of the psychedelic touches with reverb and muted drums that build to head-bobbing beats. The bass lick on “10 Lovers” is positively groovy and almost steals the tune.

“In Our Prime” is a bluesy lament to lost youth that blends snappy beats from Carney with music box-like keyboards from Burton. The album ends with “Gotta Get Away,” a garage rock track with pop flair and ELO-like grooves.

I’ll admit that it took me a while to warm up to this record. I wasn’t sure what to make of it when I first heard it, but I knew I should give it another chance. The second listen revealed some things I hadn’t heard before, and by the third I knew it was a slick record indeed. I can’t help but think that the psychedelic touches on Turn Blue continued with Auerbach’s psychedelic side project The Arcs, and now I’m intrigued as to where the Black Keys will go next.

Keep your mind open.

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Pink Mexico gets “Dirty & Stupid” with new single from upcoming album.

“Landing somewhere between My Bloody Valentine’s poppiest moments and Wavves least bratty missives, the result is something like if Nirvana had had a surf rock phase.” — Noisey

“The kind of fuzzy, driving garage punk that you can always trust Burger to put out.” — BrooklynVegan

Brooklyn, NY trio Pink Mexico share a new single from their forthcoming third album Dump via Big Takeover Magazine. Hear and share what Big Takeover calls a “grimy, gritty, chugging lump of treasure,” HERE.

Surf/skate culture outlet What Youth? recently premiered the garage-grunge surf-pop track “High Dive” HERE.

Dump will be released March 1st, 2019 on cassette and digital via Burger Records and vinyl via Little Dickman Records.

After playing drums for countless other bands, including Shilpa Ray, WALTZ and Lola Pistola, Robert Preston Collum went for a change and began his solo project, Pink Mexico. After moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, Preston self-released the first Pink Mexico LP, pnik mxeico in June of 2013, attracting the attention of Austin-based record label Fleeting Youth Records, who then re-released pnik mxeico the following December.

Preston relocated to Brooklyn in the fall of 2014 to begin recording his next album while continuing other releases: a split 7″ with Los Angeles-based band, SunLikeDrugs as well as a 12″ vinyl pressing of pnik mxeico by Bordeaux, France based label Big Tomato Records. The underground buzz surrounding the first LP led Preston into the Burger Records family. Following countless Brooklyn shows and making the rounds at this year’s SXSW, Pink Mexico has grown as a band comprised of Grady Walker & Ian Everall.

After the release of Fool via Burger Records Summer 2016, Pink Mexico toured as direct support for Honus Honus (aka Man Man) for his “Use Your Delusion” Tour in November 2016. Spending most of 2017 and 2018 dedicated to recording Dump, the 3rd studio album with Jeremy Scott (Vivian Girls, These Are Powers) at Civil Defense in Brooklyn, NY. The band relentlessly toured North America to support Fool, while Collum also played drums on the new Lola Pistola record Curfew and went out on tour in support of the album in early 2018.

Unlike previous records, where Collum manned all instruments, this release includes both Everall and Walker on bass and drums, respectively.

Keep your mind open.

[No dirt here, just good ole, squeaky clean music news and reviews when you subscribe.]

Haelos’ new album, “Any Random Kindness,” is due May 10th, but the first haunting single from the record, “Kyoto,” is out now.

HÆLOS will release their sophomore effort, Any Random Kindness, on May 10th via Infectious. Any Random Kindness examines the search for connection in an increasingly fractured world. It’s the follow up to 2016’s intricately-layered, trip hop-influenced Full Circle, a debut album “that both cements them in a genre and leaves them room to grow” (Pitchfork). In conjunction with today’s album announcement, HÆLOS share a new song, “Kyoto,” and an accompanying video.

The first full album cycle for HÆLOS was a baptism of fire, and the year-long creation of Any Random Kindness pushed HÆLOS to the edge and back again. On winding up the Full Circle tour in January 2017, the trio — Lotti Benardout, Arthur Delaney, and Dom Goldsmith — returned to London and immediately installed touring guitarist Daniel Vildósola as a full-time member of the band. His classical background and technical prowess brought a new level of musicality and equilibrium to the band.

For Any Random Kindness, HÆLOS reassessed their creative approach, conducting songwriting experiments – writing a song an hour or finishing a track and then stripping it down and completely re-doing it. Delaney returned to writing on acoustic guitar, while Goldsmith retreated into his love of dance music and the minimal techno of Ricardo Villalobos. The band recorded the album with producer Orlando Leopard at Baltic Studios in East London and at their home studio, and it was mixed by Matt Wiggins (Glass Animals) and Marta Salongi (The xx, Bjork). The latter part of the recording was especially tense, with many near breakups. However, this process led to a new, optimistic perception of each other, and music that explored the push and pull of relationships. A new, increasingly dance-floor oriented direction to their sound emerged.

Throughout Any Random Kindess, HÆLOS refer to different facets that affect the modern world – the isolating nature of technology and social media, the looming climate change, their relationships with each other, and corrupt politics, as heard on “Kyoto,” a glitchy, yet catchy slice of electronica that critiques politicians who prioritize economics above the environment.

Any Random Kindness shows a newly developed HÆLOS, one that’s eager to push forward. Catch them live throughout North America this spring.

Watch “Kyoto” Video – https://Haelos.lnk.to/KyotoVideoPR

Stream “Kyoto” – https://Haelos.lnk.to/KyotoPR

Pre-order Any Random Kindness – https://Haelos.lnk.to/AnyRandomPR

Watch HÆLOS’ “Buried In The Sand” Video – https://Haelos.lnk.to/BITSVidPR

Any Random Kindness Tracklist: 1. Another Universe 2. Buried in the Sand 3. End of World Party 4. Kyoto 5. ARK 6. Boy Girl 7. Deep State 8. Empty Skies 9. Happy Sad 10. So Long, Goodbye 11. Last One Out (Turn the Lights Off)

HÆLOS Tour Dates: Thurs. Feb. 21 – Berlin, DE @ Badehaus Fri. Feb. 22 – Brussels, BE @ The Rotonde at Botanique Sat. Feb. 23 – Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet Tue. March 12 – Sat. March 16 – Austin, TX @ SXSW Sat. March 16 – Sun. March 17 – Mexico City, MX @ Vive Latino Tue. March 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom Wed. March 20 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent Fri. March 22 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge Sat. March 23 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile Sun. March 24 – Vancouver, BC @ Wise Hall Wed. March 27 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Thurs. March 28 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall Fri. March 29 – Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar Sat. March 30 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison Mon. April 1 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB Tue. April 2 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall Fri. April 5 – New York, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg Sat. April 6 – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall Thu. May 16 – London, UK @ EartH (Hackney Arts Centre) Fri. June 7 – Sat. June 8 – London, UK @ Field Day

Keep your mind open.

[Subscribing would be a random kindness to me.]