An Open Letter To The Scene is Walter Schreifels solo debut and as of today a clear front runner for our favorite release of 2010. As a founding member of the seminal NYC hardcore band Gorilla Biscuits, and as the frontman of post-hardcore outfits Quicksand, and Rival Schools we thought we knew what to expect from Walter Schreifels, that is until we heard An Open Letter To The Scene. The LP is an acoustic pop master stroke that channels Walter's recent solo performances and finds influences in some unlikely places, at least for this hardcore luminary. During the recording of the album in New York and Berlin, Walter found inspiration in the music of The Byrds and The Beatles. The results are nothing short of stunning, An Open Letter To The Scene is record that requires your immediate attention.
Walter Schreifels plays upstairs at The Middle East tonight and tickets can be had here. Walter will be supported by Allston's The Cold Beat & Greg Lyon (Pending Disapointment).
In celebration of tonight's show, we're giving away a copy of the new album, An Open Letter To The Scene courtesy of Walter's U.S. label, Academy Fight Song. To enter just send an e-mail with Walter Schreifels in the subject line to ashgrayproclamation@yahoo.com.
Cleveland, OH's Cloud Nothings were in town this week to support Wavves at Great Scott and if you follow us on twitter you probably already know that my ADD was in overdrive this week when I missed this show after grabbing tickets and somehow forgetting about it. Hopefully we'll get another chance to catch Dylan Baldi in the near future. Baldi's Cloud Nothings just released the new 7" Didn't You b/w Even If it Worked Out via Old Flame Records. Noise pop with an emphasis on the pop and another slab of lo-fi perfection from the young Mr. Baldi.
One of Boston's best and in my opinion criminally under appreciated bands, Black Helicopter will play P.A.'s Lounge on Saturday. The band quietly released there 3rd LP , Don't Fuck With Apocalypse back in May, once again via Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace label. Armed with tracks off the superb new record as well as some older gems too, Black Helicopter bring their covert operations to Somerville with support from Velvet Elvis, The IOA, and Lord Jeff.
Let's Wrestle have announced a U.S. Tour with Man Man on the left coast that will kick off on September 5th in Santa Barbara, CA. Doesn't our favorite English 3-piece pop ensemble know we need a show in Boston too? We have no one to blame but ourselves. Ever since missing them open for Quasi back in April we've been kicking ourselves. The band has just released a video for I'm So Lazy, a song they recorded for a limited edition split single with The Love Language, originally released on Record Store Day.
As Hallelujah The Hills prepare to head out on the road with Titus Andronicus for a short eight date tour the band has posted two new tracks for free download with assistance from Brooklyn Blogger, Pop Headwound. Ever since first hearing the band shortly after the release of the bands debut Collective Psychosis Begone we've been singing the praises of HTH and these two tracks prove once again that Hallelujah Hills are crafting some of the finest and intelligent pop songs in Boston and beyond.
[MP3/Stream] Hallelujah The Hills - That Ticking Sound You Hear
[MP3/Stream] Hallelujah The Hills - Introductory Saints
Super Furry Animals king pin Gruff Rhys is looking at a busy summer with the release of his long awaited documentary Seperado! and the release of The Terror of Cosmic Loneliness, a collaboration with Barazilian muscian/tv repairman Tony Da Gatorro.
Seperado!, a documentary 5 years in the making will be premiered in the U.S. at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 24th. As of today there are no plans for a Boston area screening, however we expect more U.S. screenings to follow the L.A. premiere. The film chronicles Rhys' search for his long lost, guitar playing Patagonian uncle. Co-directer Dylan Goch follows Gruff Rhys as he tours nightclubs and tea houses from Wales to the Argentine Andes. The film also captures the recording process of the forthcoming The Terror of Cosmic Loneliness album.
Pre-order the album at Amazon
Elf Power will return on September 14th with their tenth LP. The self titled release will be issued by Orange Twin and features guest appearances from Olivia Tremor Control/Circulatroy System alumni Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, John Fernandes, and Heather McIntosh. The Elves have offered up Strangers In The Window in advance of the fall release of Elf Power.
In 2004 I was completely bowled over by the debut record from Sunderland, England's The Futureheads. That sparkling debut, a record I still listen to on a regular basis, is filled with a near perfect batch of new wave post-punk anthems. The bands subsequent albums have been met with an unfair reception from fans and critics alike that seem to be waiting for the band to duplicate or repeat what they accomplished on their self titled debut or maybe their waiting for another Kate Bush cover, it's not gonna happen. As far as I can tell the band has yet to release a sub par record. Instead of going back to familiar ground the band chose to widen their sonic palate and push their sound forward on album number two, News and Tributes and again on 2008's This Is Not The World. With their just released fourth album, The Chaos on Dovecote Records in the U.S. and on the bands own Nul imprint in their native UK, The Futureheads have delivered their most sonically adventurous recording as well as their finest since releasing the much lauded debut.
Unlike the bands previous work, The Chaos took a little bit longer to reveal it's many charms. However after my 3rd listen I was completely sold and ready for another go. The album perfectly marries the bands four part harmonies, swarming guitars, and their odd and immediate pop hooks. From the opening chords of the title track, to the should be smash hit Heartbeat Song, to the a Capella heavy Jupiter The Chaos is relentless and unwavering.The album's filled with menacing pop songs and it's never more obvious than on Sun Goes Down, an infectious romp that serves as the albums most accessible and addictive tracks.
The Futureheads have released a stunning and exhilarating rock record comprised of charging and concise pop thrills. Just don't call it a return to form, The Chaos is the LP TheFutureheads have been hinting at over the past two records. While the masses waited for them revisit the sounds of their debut the band has upped the anti and ripped us all a new one with The Chaos.
[MP3/Stream] The Futureheads - Struck Dumb
The Futureheads will play The Paradise on Monday June 7th withThe Like and Static Jacks.
Buy tickets for the show here
One of our live highlights of the last year was when we witnessed Seattle,WA's Boat bring the rock at a criminally under attended show at PA's Lounge. The band were out for a short tour in support of the bands then just released third album Setting The Paces, which landed at #6 on our #25 favorite records of 2009. So I was understandably excited to hear that the band were headed back to the east coast, unfortunately the shows were limited to 3 dates all of which took place in New York. Well D. Crane and Co. have given us non-New Yorkers the next best thing to attending last weekends shows with a free download of the bands set at WNYU.
At weeks end we thought we would highlight and share MP3's from some highly anticipated releases. Based on the past several days this late spring and summer should prove to be more than a little aurally pleasing.
Any week you get to hear a new song from Versus is well, in a word awesome. On August 3rd Versus will break their 10 year silence when the band releases On The Ones and Threes on Merge. The album will also mark the return of founding member Edward Baluyut. The Band have signed on to play shows in Brooklyn and Washington D.C. as part of Teen Beat's 26th Anniversary Tour on July 9th alongside the tour headliners, Unrest. The tour stops at TT The Bears on July 8th. Grab tickets while they last at Ticketweb.
[MP3/Stream] Junip - Rope and Summit EP
The Henry Clay People are set to release Somewhere on The Golden Coast via their new label TBD Records, on June 8th. Somewhere On The Golden Coast is comprised of 11 cracking and varied tracks over a not nearly long enough 34 minutes. Recorded by Earlimart head honcho Aaron Espinoza at Ship Studios in Eagle Rock ,CA, Espinoza urged the band to lose the headphones, drink more beer, and record the albums tracks live to tape. It might be the newness of the record, or it really is as good as I think it is. Let me listen to it ten more times before I commit my review to these pages.
This Monday night seminal British punk band The Buzzcocks will play The Paradise as part of the bands Another...Bites Tour. The DIY pioneers will be playing their first two albums in their entirety, 1978's Another Music In A Different Kitchen and Love Bites, and 1979's A Different Kind of Tension respectively. As luck should have it, we have a pair of tickets to give away.
After a handful albums credited to a few different aliases, most notably King Biscuit Time, one time Beta Band kingpin Steve Mason is set to return with his first release credited to his own name, Boys Outside on June 22nd via Double Six/Domino. On Boys Outside the Scottish born Mason addresses his personal demons, including a life long bought with depression, suicide, and the implosion of one Britain's most critically acclaimed bands.
On June 15th the Pernice Brothers will release Goodbye, Killer the first album Joe Pernice has released under the Pernice Brothers name since 1996's Live A Little. Team Pernice kicked promotions for the forthcoming opus off last week by offering the rockin' Jacquelin Susann for free download. As if that wasn't enough, just yesterday they added three more of the albums tracks, available for your streaming pleasure to the Pernice Brothers site.
If you pre-order the album by June 1st you'll receive an autographed copy of Pernice to Me the new book by Joe Pernice and Joyce Linehan which chronicles the twitterings between the two over the past two years.
[Stream] Goodbye, Killer Preview
Bechamel
Something For You
Newport News
[MP3] Pernice Brothers - Jacqueline Susann
Pre-order Goodbye, Killer
We've been totally sucked in and bowled over by Cracked Love & Other Drugs, the second full length from Seattle's Unnatural Helpers. Font man and lone consistent member Dean Whitmore leads UH through 15 songs in just over 25 minutes with not a second of the album wasted. Looking for a no frills noisy pop record filled with one great moment after another? Mr. you just found it.Later this month Tobin Sprout will return after a nearly 7 year absence with his first release from his new Moonflower imprint. I'd be lying if I didn't tell you I was jumping up in down in my cubicle when I read this news and ignored my day job for a good for at least an hour as I played the sublime pop that is found on the album first shared song. The 10 tracks on The Bluebirds of Happiness Tried To Land On My Shoulder were recorded by By Tobin in his home studio in Leland, MI with assistance from the brother Vermillion, Gary and Steve respectively. The album was slated for a may 2nd release but due to a manufacturing issue the release has been pushed back to the middle of month.
The first track being made available is a demo of the album track Pretty, exclusively at Magnet.
[MP3] Tobin Sprout - Pretty (Demo)
[Video] Tobin Sprout - Pretty
Order the album at tobinsprout.net
As we're still trying to collect our selves after last weekends stunning performance at The Paradise. We thought we would share a session Los Campesinos! recorded just last week for The Tripwire.
From 1996 to 2004 Beulah released some of the finest pop albums of that period, including the staggering opus When Your Heartstrings Break. When the band packed in and performed their final show in August of 2004 I was understandably distraught. So when it was announced last year that the bands chief architect, Miles Kurosky was set to return after a six year absence I was as giddy as a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert.
The Desert of Shallow Effects was issued by Majordomo last month and finds Miles Kurosky picking up where his former band left off. However, the record is hardly a solo affair, the album was recorded in San Francisco with over 30 contributors including many of Kurosky's former band mates.
With the quiet guitar strums of Notes From The Polish Underground Kurosky hits the ground running, unveiling a classic pop record that only gets better with each subsequent listen. It's fairly obvious that Miles labored over every single note on the record, however the album never feels calculated or over produced, quite the opposite actually. The everything but the kitchen sinks instrumentation is executed with great effect on almost every track. The only misstep is the sleepy, Housewives and Their Knives a track that feels like it could have been a b-side for Beulah's swan song Yoko. If that's the only issue I have with this close flawless collection, I think Kurosky has shown he hasn't lost a step in crafting some of the most undeniably catchy impressive songs of his career. With songs like I Can't Swim and the epic closer West Memphis Skyline, The Desert of Shallow Effects succeeds as grandiose pop statement and a welcome return for a genuine popsmith.
Buy The Desert of Shallow Effects here.
[MP3/Stream] Miles Kurosky- I can't Swim
On April 27th the fine folks at Slumberland Records will release Flashback, the third long player from the UK pureveyors of intelligent pop,The Lodger. The album was recorded in Leeds with analog enthusiast Richard Formbly (Spacemen 3/Wild Beasts)and features some familiar reference points, The Jam, Aztec Camera, and Orange Juice and covers some new ground as well. With the track The Back Of My Mind the band took a new approach by layering the track over guitar drones and feedback while still maintaining their pristine pop and propelling their sound forward.
[MP3] The Lodger - The Back Of My Mind
Local favorites The Figgs are back in town supporting Graham Parker this weekend. The Figgs will serve as Parkers backing band as well as his opener. The band is set to release their 10th record with,The Man Who Fights Himself on May 11th. The 10 track album will be available at the bands site and the vinyl version will be available later this year at Gern Blandsten.
Graham Parker and The Figgs play Johnny D's on Saturday April 24th. Buy tickets here.
The Underground Summit II line up:
It's my hope on this, the third annual Record Store Day that you'll go out and support your favorite local record store. God knows there's plenty of reasons and excuses to drop your hard earned money.
