The dates are in support of the bands’ recently released and forthcoming material on No Sleep Records, including La Dispute’s recent split EP with Koji and sophomore full-length album due out later this Fall, as well as Balance and Composure’s debut full-length album, Separation.
La Dispute w/ Balance and Composure and Make Do And Mend
July 05, 2011 LondonMusic Hall London, ON
July 06, 2011 Mavericks Ottawa, ON
July 07, 2011 Underworld Montréal, QC
July 08, 2011 L’App-Art Trois-Rivières, QC
July 09, 2011 Café L’ Agitée Quebec City, QC
July 10, 2011 Bar Le Magog Sherbrooke, QC
July 12, 2011 Millard’s Garage Sudbury, ON
July 13, 2011 Mansion Nightclub Barrie, ON
July 14, 2011 The Mansion House St Catherines, ON
July 15, 2011 Time To Laugh Kingston, ON
July 16, 2011 Mod Club Toronto, ON
This five song EP by matt pond PA is, to put it simply, really catchy. I can’t stop tapping my foot and bobbing my head, and after just one spin the songs are becoming familiar, a sure sign of their ability to stick with you. It’s the perfect summer soundtrack with poppy, infectious hooks and light, upbeatmelodies. Spring Fools is somewhat of a break between the band’s last album, 2010’s The Dark Leaves, and what will most likely become Pond’s ninth record sometime in the future whether it be this year or next. By whittling things down to just five songs, singer-songwriter and namesake Matt Pond has created a really strong EP with what are some of his best songs.
Opening track “Love To Get Used” and the piano-laden “Lovers Always Win” see vocal accompaniment from Ariel Abshire, her voice adding extra layers of depth and warmth. The stripped down acoustic song “Spring Fawn” is a calm and thoughtful tune, while “Sugar Bush” finds emotion in both the lyrical narrative and the melodies themselves. It’s short and sweet and a staple for your next backyard barbecue. Set it on repeat and I’m betting it won’t get old.
Track listing:
1 Love To Get Used
2 Human Beings
3 Lovers Always Win
4 Spring Fawn
5 Sugar Bush
Their first live appearance will take place at Kings College, London on Thursday June 2nd. Limited tickets available here.
Here’s what Nick McCabe has to say about the new project/EP:
“You just know when things are right. The four of us met in various circumstances and each meeting was accompanied by this feeling of “we’ve absolutely got to do more together”. And here we are. The joy of music: what does that really mean? Living and breathing it. Obsessing about detail whilst discovering the beauty in chance, and then doing what is necessary to give it life. All the peripheral activity, traditionally taken out of your hands in service of the big organisations of yore becomes a joy in service of the music. It is undoubtedly the hardest work we have collectively put into any band, but the satisfaction is already huge.”
Deas Vail plans to release fourth studio album on September 6th with the help of first time producer, Reliant K guitarist and Mono Vs Stereo A&R Matthew Hoopes. The twelve song album sizes up the emotion of love with beautifully poetic and eloquent metaphors; “I don’t know what love is…” admits the opening lines of the album, but it seems to know just the opposite.
See the lyric video for the first single ‘Sixteen’ here: www.deasvail.com
Deas Vail also joins forces with labelmates Fairwell Flight to release a split EP available for digital download on June 7 from Mono Vs Stereo. the band is also set to play 10th annual BonarooMusic and Arts Festival on June 10 in Manchester, TN alongside The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and Arcade Fire.
So normally I enjoy records where the content is random and has a good sound. Take for instance, bands like Radiohead which experiment with different sounds and lyrics in everyone of their albums to make their sound fresh. Colourmusic is just that… random! This one came as a surprise to me being this band has been out since 2005.
Yet they have only two full length albums and a couple EPs out. Another thing that struck a chord with me was they way they described their music as “hardcore and a little OklahomaSex Rock.” What exactly is Oklahoma Sex Rock? (Insert Oklahoma joke here.) Sorry I’m fresh out of jokes for the state of Oklahoma, especially after they stole the Seattle Supersonics.
This album can be described as mondo-bizzaro meets indie. I can’t really say there is a stand out track on this album as each one goes from decent to really random, to just flat out bizzare. Take for instance the second track off the album “Whitbey Island” is nothing but three minutes of ocean sounds. Another track “The Beast with Two Backs” sounds like stock music you would hear in a campy horror film.
However the rest the album is a breath of fresh air with a grungy sound that you would only hear with a garage rock band. Some of this album would be complimentary to an indie-film soundtrack. I’m not talking about one of those cheesy poorly produced straight to DVD films you see flooded on the new release section at Blockbuster, i’m talking like IFC produced films that make an impact.
The title of this album shows how random this little record is. Colourmusic knows how to keep their fans happy and they did just that with My ____ is Pink. I don’t know if I could put this as one of my favorites of the year, but it could be with time. This is something I would need to let grow one me for a few weeks.
Track Listing:
1. Beard Listen
2. Jill & Jack (A Duet)
3. Feels Good to Wear
4. We Shall Wish (Use Your Adult Voice)
5. You For Leaving Me
6. Tog
7. Dolphins & Unicorns
8. Pororoca
9. The Beast with Two Backs
10. The Little Death (In Five Parts)
11. Fold/Unfold
12. Mono
13. Whitby Harbour
14. Yes!
Austin, Texas based singer-songwriterBrandon Kinder has made quite a name for himself. Not only is he the front man for the indie folk rock band The Rocketboys, but he’s ventured out into the solo world as well, under the moniker The Wealthy West. He used SXSW to his advantage to debut some new tunes of his own and though I wasn’t even in attendance, I can tell you they were well-received.
I was lucky enough to experience The Rocketboys firsthand in a live setting, and let me tell you, it was fantastic. I have always held the belief that when a band is better live than they are on the album, that’s when you’ve found a true gem. When a recording can’t express everything that a band is, that’s how you know. That’s the real music; those are the passionate ones. And though I only briefly met them on a college town stop in the middle of Missouri over a year ago, I bought two albums on the spot and don’t regret a dime of it.
Brandon Kinder’s solo material released under the name The Wealthy West definitely sounds like the material I’m so familiar with, but it has a more intimate and acoustic feel to it. Kinder’s songs are accessible and he has a knack for heartfelt storytelling. His music has a touch of an Americana feel that I’m sure is thanks to his Austin roots. It’s simple and that’s why I think I’m so drawn to it. The first song “Love Is Not Enough” is simply an acoustic guitar, a keyboard and Kinder’s soulful voice singing earnestly and honestly. “Another Bad Idea” features touches of banjo and tinkling percussion; the steady tempo and bright percussion balances nicely with the melancholy lyrics. “Give Me Resurrection” is quiet and intimate with whispered vocals. “You cannot take my love away” is repeated over and over throughout the song with subtle backing vocals to create a truly beautiful piece. “Home” picks up in tempo slightly and features a more hopeful sound with plucked guitars, harmonica, accordion, and banjo as well as female vocals which really add character and warmth. The short and sweet EP wraps up nicely with the now-familiar melancholy musical and lyrical sounds in “Not A Pretty Pair”. It’s a small sample of what’s to come in future volumes, clocking in at a mere fifteen minutes. But I assure you it’s a fifteen minutes well spent.
Be sure and give Brandon Kinder’s music a listen. It’s passionate and simple, and you can’t go wrong with a sweet voice and an acoustic guitar.
It’s unfortunate, but electronic music doesn’t really get a fair (mainstream) shake in America. You can see this by the cities most electronic acts and DJs choose to play: New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, and maybe some lucky others in between. My hope, specifically, is for English electronic bands, who traditionally do extremely well in European and Asian markets, to do equally as well here in the U.S. In 2009, I was pulling for Dan Black. Last year I was stumping for Delphic. This year it’s Fenech-Soler, four guys from a little town called Kings Cliffe, who get my vote. When I say little town, I mean that the band (comprised of brothers Ben and Ross Duffy, Daniel Soler, and Andrew Lindsay) is the only thing from there I’ve ever heard about. I had to look the place up in Wikipedia to find out exactly where this was.
This is not a dig. Not at all. Actually, the fact that they wrote their self-titled debutalbum, released in the UK last fall, in what Fenech-Soler singer Ben Duffy describes as “a little corner of Northamptonshire“ and their “hideaway” makes it all the more unlikely. Their name came up often in conversations I had with friends, but it wasn’t until I heard that the band were chosen as support for Delphic (at an important Manchester Warehouse Project gig in Delphic‘s hometown) that I really took notice.
Listening to their track “Lies,” there’s no surprise why the Manchester trio chose them for a famed rave event like Warehouse Project. The great thing about dance music is (and more than any other genre I think), it doesn’t matter who wrote it or where the band is from. If a song is well-written and has a good beat, you can bet your bottom dollar that it will get people on the dance floor and bodies moving. This is the feeling I get from Fenech-Soler‘s debut release in America, the Demons EP.
The title track of the EP first grabbed me because the chorus reminded me a lot of Dan Black‘s “Alone.” But lyrically, it’s more dense, in a good way. While I give that the words “I’m the one / you’re the drug to ease my pain / I was wondering / if you ever / see me again” isn’t Shakespeare, they work because this is dance music. When you’re on a dance floor, you want a song that has amorous, yearning lyrics and a monster backbeat paired with clean, bouncy synths, so you can sway your arms in the air and move your hips. At least that’s what I look for. Sexy spoken words on a breakdown are always a plus too. “Demons” ticks off all those boxes admirably.
“Stone Bridge” with solid piano chords and equally solid vocals from Duffy shows that the band knows their way outside the stereotypical dance track. The song has a darker, sultry edge that would appeal to people who usually run from dance albums. If I had to compare this song to another band, I’d probably name Keane, who have turned to dance and synth beats for their last two releases (2008′s Perfect Symmetry and 2010′s Night Train). Except for the fact that two-thirds into “Stone Bridge,” Fenech-Soler‘s electronic soul is fully realized. Also included on this EP is the “White Version” of “Demons,” where the band strips down the original track to a slower pace, with Duffy’s gorgeous voice showcased as the beauty that it is. (The band are so nice that they’re offering this song, along with other stripped-down versions of other album tracks “Stop and Stare,” “Battlefields,” and “Contender” for free downloadon their official website.)
Besides Delphic, Fenech-Soler have recently toured with the likes of White Lies and Kelis, so they’ve got friends in high places. And if you still aren’t convinced about this band, I suggest having a listen to the Groove Armada track “Paper Romance,” featuring Duffy on vocals. All I can say is there must be something in the water in England that somehow makes practically every English electronic band sound fantastic. I’m so glad the Demons EP is finally coming out on this side of the pond. America, get ready. Fenech-Soler is ready to rock your world. Let’s go dancing. And put St. George’s crosses on your cheeks while you’re at it.
Fenech-Soler‘s Demons will be released in America on March 29.
Amongst that release will be a digital copy to follow on April 19, and a 7” color vinyl release that features “Merrymake It With Me” and an exclusive b-side, “Whale Fight.” The album was self-produced and recorded in Kansas City, MO and features a remix of “The Nerve” off their 2008 Keep Color release.
The quintet will be making appearances at SxSW in Austin, TX, on March 18 and 19. They have also announced their second full length album for release later this year and are hard at work in Kansas City on their next installment of experimental indie pop.
No Land’s Man (EP) drops at indie record stores on April 19, 2011.
Track Listing for No Land’s Man:
1. Merrymake It With Me
2. The Infidel
3. Lonely As I Was
4. The Nerve (Nervous Dancing)
Cobra Skulls is well known for their textbook “punk” albums, and their newest EP, Bringing the War Home is no exception. Clocking in at twelve minutes and ten seconds, the five tracks are basically loud, obnoxious and incredibly well written- both lyrically and musically.
The opening track, “Doomsday Parade,” is thrashy and full of catchy hooks, begging for loud speakers and lots of bass in your equalizer. “Ice in the Night” is obscenely obnoxious and tends to grate on your ears over time, but does have some lyrically redeeming qualities. I absolutely adore the groovy guitar riffs in the intro to “Hot Sand” and I can definitely sense some of the influences from my own punk rock upbringing, with their own signature rockabilly twist. David Peralta’s insatiable voice tends to add to the mix of precision drumming, heady bass, and articulate guitar, making this track my personal favorite.
“Give You Nothing” is reminiscent of old Anti-Flag and has more superb shreddy guitar, thrown in with some okay lyrics. I really think this song could have been expanded upon, although I tend to like the bridge quite a bit as it is almost worthy of a good headbang before (something ala older Offspring perhaps). To wrap up the album, “Life in Vein” has a very, very small hint of old Helmet and a touch of Against Me! thrown in for some incredibly interesting sounds and an interesting finish to this album.
I enjoyed the album for what it is- an EP, but frankly they could have done a heck of a lot more with it. The current selling price for the iTunes/CD version is at $8 and is not really worth it for an album 12:10 in length. However, Fat Wreck Chords is selling it for the same price on vinyl- which could be very, very worth it. I would wait for the price to drop or pick it up on vinyl (which is going to be better ANYWAYS, as vinyl tends to be). Recommended for diehard punk fans or vinyl connoisseurs.
Track Listing: 01. Doomsday Parade
02. Ice In The Night
03. Hot Sand
04. Give You Nothing
05. Life In Vain
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Concert Calendar
Nov 23, 2011
HaHa Tonka @ Recordbar, Kansas City MO
Nov 25, 2011
Thee Oh Sees @ The Granada, Lawrence KS
It’s unfortunate, but electronic 
