// Category Archive for: New Single

Death Metal Legends Obituary Return With Tenth Studio Album

By Tim Murr

Photo © Ester Segerra

One of the original, biggest, and most significant death metal bands—Tampa, FL’s Obituary—will release their latest album on March 17. The album is a follow-up to their 2013 release, Inked In Blood, their second release with Relapse Records. The band dropped the first single for the album, “Ten Thousand Ways To Die,” back in October. It’s a solid track, sure, but it almost pales in comparison to the rest of the album.
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Exclusive: New B-Side From Close Lobsters “Wander Epic Part II”

By Less Lee Moore

Back in the days of MTV’s 120 Minutes, C86 darlings Close Lobsters were a fave. “Let’s Make Some Plans” reminded me of the heady days of when I first got into college radio. Granted, those days were just a few years earlier, but when you’re a teenager, that stuff matters. I listened to their ’88 releases Headache Rhetoric and What Is There To Smile About? fairly obsessively well into the early ‘90s.

After a hiatus of almost 20 years, the Scottish band returned briefly in 2009 with a retrospective singles collection, but reformed for real in 2012 for a few live shows, releasing the EP Kunstwerk In Spacetime in 2014. On June 3, the band’s newest EP, Desire and Signs, was released by Shelflife Records.

“Wander Epic Part II” is the B-side to the latest single “Under London Skies” and here’s what the band has to say about it:

“’Wander Epic’ is a yarn/yearn of disorientation in the spirit of Close Lobsters. Saudade for the vast and endless sea. Who are we and what do we need to do to be part of the world? If you listen to all three parts as a continuous (w)hole the streams that run down to the sea are revealed.”

Exclusive: Third Single From Popincourt, “Happy Town”

By Less Lee Moore

The third single from Popincourt, “Happy Town,” provides an answer to what might have happened if Paul Weller had been French instead of English.

Check out our exclusive stream of Popincourt’s latest single from their upcoming album A New Dimension To Modern Love, released on June 17 from Jigsaw Records.

Popincourt says of the track:

On this one, I really wanted to have an up tempo beat, mixing Soul and Pop. I had “Dancing In the Streets” by Martha and the Vandellas in mind, but as well “The Gift” by the Jam. Then came the first terrorist attack in Paris early 2015: I was at this Unity March in Paris on January 11. Something you cannot forget: great sadness but at the same time this massive feeling of fraternity. People were even kissing cops!

I finalized the lyrics having this in mind, in a very naïve and optimistic way: the power of the street, the music that could change the world, the fact to live any minute “now”! Sadly enough, I received the master of the album two days after the second terrorist attack where 130 people were shot dead, some of them at this rock venue, le Bataclan, in November 2015.

Video Premiere: Dirty Sidewalks, “Hey Girl (I Wanna Be Your Man)”

By Less Lee Moore

Last Christmas I discovered a song that quickly became part of my annual holiday playlist: “It’s Xmas (And Everyone Is Miserable)” by Dirty Sidewalks, a Seattle-based band who traffics in the kind of poppy shoegaze that put bands like the Jesus and Mary Chain and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club on the musical map. The undeniable hooks and straightforward attitude of the track won me over immediately.

Now Dirty Sidewalks have a new video: “Hey Girl (I Wanna Be Your Man)” is the B-side to the band’s recently released vinyl single, “It’s Getting Better.”

Filmed with a low-budget glitter aesthetic, the video suits the song’s sweet yet snarly charms perfectly and features subtle nods to both the Reid brothers and My Bloody Valentine. Singer Erik Foster sounds enough like his shoegazing forebears to reel you in, but Dirty Sidewalks have an appeal that’s all their own, and one that will keep you coming back for more.

If you like what you see (and hear), be sure to pick up the “It’s Getting Better” single, available on both black vinyl and white vinyl from No-Count Records.
Dirty Sidewalks have a full-length album planned for the summer, so follow them on Facebook to keep up with the latest news.

Cauldron Releases New Single: “No Return/In Ruin”

By Tim Murr

Photo Credit: Brittany Deck / BKHphoto

Cauldron’s fourth album, In Ruin, will unload on January 8 of next year from The End Records, but to tide you over, the band has released the album’s first single “No Return/In Ruin,” an infectious head banger that demands heavy rotation.

Cauldron was formed by front man Jason Decay after his previous band, Goat Horn, broke up in 2005. After an indie EP, the band signed with Earache, where they released three albums and another EP.

If you’re unfamiliar with Cauldron and a fan of old school metal, then you’re in for a treat; their music is melodic, whiplash-inducing, and hard to ignore. Cauldron harkens back to straight up solid 1980s metal, but they still maintain a very contemporary feel (they’re not merely a throwback act!). Want proof, check the YouTube clip above!

For more on Cauldron, visit the band’s website or Facebook page.

Tour Dates (subject to change):
Jan 05 Gramercy Theatre New York, NY
Jan 06 The Backstage at Championship Bar Trenton, NJ
Jan 07 Trickshots Clifton Park, NY
Jan 08 The Webster Underground Hartford, CT
Jan 09 Palladium Upstairs Worcester, MA
Jan 10 Foufounes Montreal, QC
Jan 11 Salle Multi Quebec City, QC
Jan 12 RITUAL Ottawa, Canada
Jan 13 Hard Luck Toronto, Canada
Jan 14 The APK London, Canada
Jan 15 Montage Music Hall Rochester, NY
Jan 16 The Agora Ballroom Cleveland, OH
Jan 17 The Altar Bar Pittsburgh, PA
Jan 18 Ace Of Cups Columbus, OH
Jan 20 The Token Lounge Westland, MI
Jan 21 Fubar St Louis, MO
Jan 22 The Tree Joliet, IL
Jan 23 The Metal Grill Cudahy, WI
Jan 24 Triple Rock Social Club Minneapolis, MN
Jan 25 Zoo Cabaret Winnipeg, MB
Jan 27 Nite Owl Calgary, AB
Jan 28 The Starlite Room Edmonton, Canada
Jan 30 Rickshaw Theatre Vancouver, Canada
Jan 31 Studio Seven Seattle, WA
Feb 01 Hawthorne Theatre Portland, OR
Feb 02 Thee Parkside San Francisco, CA
Feb 03 Whisky A Go Go West Hollywood, CA
Feb 04 Brick By Brick San Diego, CA
Feb 05 Club Red Theaters Mesa, AZ
Feb 06 LVCS Las Vegas, NV
Feb 08 In The Venue Salt Lake City, UT
Feb 09 Bluebird Theater Denver, CO
Feb 10 Aftershock Kansas City, KS
Feb 11 Red 7 Austin, TX
Feb 12 210 Kapone’s Live San Antonio, TX
Feb 13 Scout Bar Houston, TX
Feb 14 Trees Dallas, TX
Feb 15 Siberia Nola New Orleans, LA
Feb 16 The Orpheum Tampa, FL
Feb 17 The Haven Orlando, FL
Feb 18 Masquerade Atlanta, GA
Feb 19 Expo Five Louisville, KY
Feb 20 Canal Club Richmond, VA

Can Iron Maiden Save Rock and Roll? New Single “Speed Of Light”

By Jeffery X Martin

The venerable British heavy metal band Iron Maiden is returning with a new double album, The Book of Souls, and the first single, “Speed of Light,” is a five-minute-long, arena-sized rollercoaster ride through a thunderstorm, with a hot riff so slinky, the Lord of Darkness could floss with it. It’s a swift kick in the ass for a rock and roll scene grown stale and over-inflated with buttrock and pseudo-Satania. There’s more energy in this one single than there has been in the last three Foo Fighters albums. Leave it to a bunch of 50-year-old Brits to rear back up and bring a whole genre back to life, like a collective of Victor Frankensteins.

That’s pretty heavy praise for just one song, and I know that, but listen, you guys.

No, I mean, listen to the song.

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Dark Palms Release Heavy, Amazing Single “Ghost Horse”

By Tim Murr

Oh, Dark Palms, where have you been all my life? Their new single, “Ghost Horse, is a post-punk, fuzzed-out trip into pure American noir. I’m officially very excited for Dark Palms’ forthcoming debut album, Hoxbar Ghost Town on Rock Therapy Records.

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The Sword Release New Single For Upcoming High Country Album

By Tim Murr

I was late discovering The Sword. I came across their album Warp Riders at the library last year and checked it out based solely on the fact that there were tracks called “The Chronomancer I” and “The Chronomancer II.” Since I like a little sci-fi with my metal, I gave them a chance and just fell in love with the band’s brand of classic stoner metal.

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New Song/Video From Purling Hiss: “Mercury Retrograde”

By Less Lee Moore

Check out this meta-retro video from Purling Hiss, from their upcoming album Water On Mars (out on March 19 from Drag City). It manages to reference the ’90s referencing MTV Classic referencing actual videos from the 1970s.

For more of Purling Hiss (without the green-screened background) check them out on their upcoming tour.

Tour Dates:
4/4/13 – 285 Kent; Brooklyn, NY w/ Spacin’, AXIS:SOVA
4/5/13 – Johnny Brenda’s Philadelphia, PA w/ Spacin’, AXIS:SOVA
4/6/13 – Metro Gallery; Baltimore, MD w/ Spacin’, AXIS:SOVA
4/7/13 – Maxwell’s; Hoboken, NJ w/ AXIS:SOVA
4/9/13 – O’Briens Pub; Allston, MA w/ AXIS:SOVA
4/10/13 – BAR Nightclub; New Haven, CT
4/12/13 – Brillobox; Pittsburgh, PA w/ AXIS:SOVA
4/14/13 – The Garden Bowl; Detroit, MI w/ AXIS:SOVA
4/15/13 – Empty Bottle; Chicago, IL w/ Tee Pee, AXIS:SOVA
4/16/13 – 7th Street Entry; Minneapolis, MN
4/18/13 – Linnemans Riverwest Inn; Milwaukee, WI
4/19/13 – University of Wisconsin Madison; Madison, WI
4/20/13 – Mike N’ Molly’s; Champaign, IL
5/5/13 – Fluc; Vienna, Austria
5/6/13 – Culture Factory Club; Zagreb, Croatia
5/9/13 – Nuits Sonores Festival, Le Sonic; Lyon, France
5/11/13 – El Perro Club; Madrid, Spain
5/12/13 – Taina Fest; Porto, Portugal
5/13/13 – Bukowski; Donostia, Spain
5/15/13 – Nouveau Casino; Paris, France w/ Mikal Cronin
5/16/13 – Tufnell Park Dome; London, United Kingdom w/ White Fence, Mikal Cronin
5/20/13 – Undertone; Cardiff, United Kingdom
5/21/13 – The Green Door Store; Brighton, United Kingdom
5/22/13 – Madame Moustache Brussels, Belgium
5/23/13 – De Effenar; Eindhoven, Netherlands
5/24/13 – Muk; Giessen, Germany
5/25/13 – Die Friese; Bremen, Germany
5/26/13 – KB18; Copenhagen, Denmark
5/27/13 – Kuudes Linja; Helsinki, Finland
5/28/13 – Debaser Slussen; Stockholm, Sweden
5/30/13 – Marie-Antoinette; Berlin, Germany

New David Bowie Single/Video: “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)”

By Less Lee Moore

As if working on a new album for two years in secret wasn’t enough of a coup, now David Bowie has a new video for the song “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” featuring Tilda Swinton and models Andrej Pejic and Saskia de Brauw.

For fans of both Bowie and Swinton, this is fairly amazing, as their remarkably similar, androgynous looks have been the subject of endless Internet memes as well as the Tumblr blog Tilda Stardust, which seeks to prove that the two are the same person.

For those who follow fashion, the appearance of both Pejic and de Brauw is nearly as fascinating as the two are perhaps the biggest Bowie androgynes after Swinton herself.

Although Bowie has been declining various public appearances over the years (The Victoria & Albert Museum retrospective, the London Olympics Closing Ceremony), he’s clearly not been ignoring pop culture in his “increasingly reclusive” life. Not only does he include Swinton, Pejic, and de Brauw in the video, it’s directed by Floria Sigismondi, who is responsible for the decidedly Bowie- and Velvet Goldmine-influenced film The Runaways. (It’s all so meta!)

Intriguingly, Swinton doesn’t play Bowie in the video (that would be too easy), but Bowie’s wife. As they go grocery shopping together, she praises their “nice life” after he remarks that the people on the cover of a tabloid are “more exciting than anything we’ve got around here.” (For more self-referential material, check out the photo in the upper right corner of the fake tabloid.) The song’s commentary on celebrity, stars, and transformation is made manifest visually through some brilliant editing and costumes.

One can even imagine Bowie laughing at that Daily Mail article from last fall and that this video is his response. Clearly he’s pulled off the biggest transformation of his career and bested us all, yet again.

The Next Day comes out on March 12.