The Walkmen, “Heaven”
The Walkmen have released the title track from Heaven, due for release on June 5 via Fat Possum:
And in case you missed it, last month the band released a trailer for the album, featuring some very pretty stuff that is hopefully a song from the album:
Video: Moonlight Bride, “Young Guns”
I've been spending so much time talking up Moonlight Bride's new EP, Twin Lakes (reviewed here), that it's been easy to forget that the band released a full length album, Myths, back in 2009. Myths got a bunch of positive press back then, including from Paste Magazine, but for some reason it completely slipped under my radar. After some time spent poking around the band's website, I stumbled upon the fantastic single "Young Guns." These guys may be from Chattanooga, but they've got the swagger of the New York post-punk revival. When Justin Giles sings "We're young guns and we're never gonna die," it's with such confidence that you almost want to believe him.
The song's got that catchy vibe that captured the attention of major labels, but as the band described in an extremely worthwhile feature in the Chattanooga Pulse, they didn't want to record an entire album of "Young Guns." (This, friends, is why I will not shed a tear on the day the majors all go belly-up.) Instead, Moonlight Bride trusted in its own artistic vision in order to build a long-lasting career, true to the music they want to make. "Young Guns" was a starting point, and it will be exciting to see where the band goes from here.
With each new discovery, I am more and more impressed by this band. Lead singer Giles is quickly emerging as one of my favorite rock vocalists, and the band has proved to be a wellspring of energetic, brooding rock tunes. Check out the video for "Young Guns," featuring time lapse lettering by illustrator Bobby Roman:
Support This Artist:
Stream: Ramona Falls, Prophet
Ramona Falls is the former side project of Brent Knopf, one of the founding members of the indie rock group Menomena. As Given and Taken in Ink reported over a year ago, Knopf left Menomena to focus on the follow-up to Ramona Falls' excellent debut, Intuit [2009]. The result is Prophet, due for release on May 1 via Barsuk Records. But thanks to the miracle of Internet streaming, you can preview the entire album a week early! Each of the songs is available individually on Barsuk's Soundcloud page, or grouped together in proper sequential order on Stereogum.
Check out a stream of "Sqworm":
8tracks: April 2012 Mix
April has been a surprisingly good month for music. Moonlight Bride was featured in GTI's March 2012 mix, but "Diego" has been in heavy rotation since then, so I couldn't pass it up here. Likewise, this month also saw Holy Esque release a new single, "Ladybird Love." I'm so glad to feature new music from the always-excellent Yuck and Joe Pug. There's the heartbreaking "Small Hands," by Keaton Henson, and Natureboy's intoxicating "Blow to the Head." Finally, I still need (and fully intend, I swear!) to write about a few exciting new bands on this list, Mummy Short Arms and Kick to Kill. I hope you enjoy the mix.
Here's the entire playlist:
1. Moonlight Bride - Diego
2. Yuck - Chew
3. Keaton Henson - Small Hands
4. Mummy Short Arms - Silicone Dream [single version]
5. Kick to Kill - Avalanche
6. Holy Esque - Ladybird Love
7. Joe Pug - Hymn #76
8. Natureboy - Blow to the Head
Video: Keaton Henson, “Small Hands”
If Keaton Henson's "Small Hands" wasn't tragic enough on its own, the recently released music video catapults the mood into utter devastation. Using puppets crafted by Jonny Sabbagh, director Joseph Mann weaves an emotional tale of nature's cruelty that imbues a harsh reality to the song's refrain, "I hope for your life you can forget about mine." But unlike the video for Zaac Pick's "Whitewater," which also used non-humans to tug at our heartstrings, there is no uplifting message or happy ending here. Take a look, and make sure to have tissues nearby:
Support This Artist:
Natureboy, “Blow to the Head”
I will always fondly remember the moments I heard a song for the first time and everything around me just seemed to...stop. These are the songs that almost defy explanation, and we who write about music can only struggle to place descriptive words where none belong. So it was with Natureboy's "Blow to the Head," the first song released from the band's upcoming second album, The Sweep. Something ineffable about "Blow to the Head" grips the imagination and just makes the rest of the world go quiet.
Natureboy is the project of Sara Kermanshahi, a first generation Iranian American based in Brooklyn. Accompanying her on The Sweep is Cedar Apffel, who also produced Natureboy's 2009 debut (available here or at the links below). While the band is currently searching for a label to release The Sweep, "Blow to the Head" was made available courtesy of Paper Garden Records.
Support This Artist:
Yuck, “Chew”
Yuck was one of my favorite bands of 2011, as made obvious by a couple of gushy posts (here and here) and an eventual #4 spot on GTI's Best Albums of 2011 list. And now the band is back with a new single, "Chew." It's not currently available for purchase, but allegedly a physical release is in the works. Keep your fingers crossed, because this is a good one:
Preorder: Joe Pug, The Great Despiser
Joe Pug's upcoming new album, The Great Despiser, is now available for preorder here. Preordering through that link will net you an immediate download of "Hymn #76." The Great Despiser is the follow-up to Pug's debut LP, Messenger, which earned him bucketloads of accolades, including the #5 spot on GTI's Best Albums of 2010 list.
Here's Pug grilling up some premium meat while talking about the new album:
And by all means, do yourself a favor and check out his live show. I did last year, and will be returning to Johnny Brenda's in Philly for Round Two. Here are the remaining dates on his current tour:
April 20 Dallas, TX--Club Dada (Supporting Jason Isbell)
April 21 Austin, TX--The Parish
April 22 Oklahoma City--Blue Door
April 24 Albuquerque, NM--Low Spirits
April 25 Phoenix, AZ--Crescent Ballroom
April 26 San Diego, CA--The Casbah
April 27 Los Angeles, CA--The Satellite
April 28 Santa Barbara, CA--Soho
April 29 Pioneertown, CA--Pappy and Harriet'sApril 30 Santa Cruz, CA--Crepe Place
May 1 San Francisco, CA--Bottom of the Hill
May 3 Vancouver, BC--The Media Club
May 4 Portland, OR--The Doug Fir
May 5 Seattle, WA--The Crocodile
May 6 Pullman, WA--Bell Tower
May 9 Boise, ID--Neurolux
May 10 Salt Lake City, UT--Kilby Court
May 12 Denver, CO--The Bluebird
May 13 Kansas City, MO--Record Bar
May 14 St. Louis, MO--Off Broadway
May 15 Iowa City, IA--The Mill
May 16 Madison, WI--Frequency
May 17 Minneapolis, MN--7th Street Entry
May 18 Chicago, IL--Lincoln Hall *
May 19 Chicago, IL--Lincoln Hall *
May 20 Bloomington, IN--The Bishop *
May 22 Columbus, OH--Rumba Cafe *
May 23 Cleveland, OH--The Beachland Tavern *
May 24 Pittsburgh, PA--Club Cafe *
May 26 Toronto, ON--The Horseshoe Tavern *
May 27 Ottawa, ON--Mavericks *
May 29 Boston, MA--Brighton Music Hall #
May 30 Philadelphia, PA--Johnny Brenda's
May 31 New York, NY--Bowery Ballroom *
June 2 Washington DC--9:30 Club #
June 3 Charlottesville, VA--The Southern *
June 4 Chapel Hill, NC--Local 506 *
June 5 Charlotte, NC--Evening Muse *
June 6 Atlanta, GA--The Earl *
* David Wax Museum supports
# co-headline with David Wax Museum
Review: Moonlight Bride, Twin Lakes EP
Chattanooga-based Moonlight Bride recently released its new EP, Twin Lakes, the follow-up to 2009's Myths. You may recognize the EP's first single, "Lemonade," from GTI's March 2012 8tracks mix. The song serves as a perfect soundtrack to a lazy summer afternoon, which apparently is exactly the sentiment the band was going for. "I wanted it to embody the feeling of being bored in the summer," Justin Giles (vocals/guitar) told Spinner, which debuted the video.
While "Lemonade" is a worthy first single, my favorite from the EP is actually the opening track, "Diego." The haunting indie rocker charges full steam ahead, as Giles adds vaguely ominous vocals while eerie ooh-ooh-oohs swirl in the background. Definitely one of my most-repeated songs of early 2012.
Elsewhere, "Versinthe" reinforces why Moonlight Bride often gets described as a noise-pop band, serving as the transition between "Lemonade" and the EP's other summer anthem, "Drug Crimes." The latter song makes an interesting shift about halfway through, as Giles sings "I'd rather die than let you go." And as if to underscore the sincerity of that statement, the mood immediately morphs from dreamy indie pop into something that sounds distinctively sinister.
Twin Lakes is an impressive combination of strong songwriting, noisy guitars, and propulsive melodies. And band isn't done: Giles, Matthew Livingston (drums), Justin Grasham (guitar), and Dave Maki (bass) will begin writing the band's next full-length album this month. "2012 is going to be a big year for us," said Giles. "We’ve got a lot of music on the way so really this is only the beginning."
Check out the video for "Lemonade," directed by Thomas Ramsay:
Support This Artist:
8tracks: March 2012 Mix
Playlist:
1. Robbers on High Street - Didn't Wanna Know
2. Justin Townes Earle - Look the Other Way
3. Moonlight Bride - Lemonade
4. Elias - Glass
5. Holy Esque - Rose
6. The Shins - 40 Mark Strasse
7. Ramesh Srivastava - The King
8. Joshua Hyslop - What Have I Done? (feat. Anna Scouten)
Let me know if you like the tracks. The big heart button next to the word "Like" is an excellent way to do that...
Disclaimer
Recent Comments
GTI Picks
Archives
Categories
