California Wives Release New Single For Download


New wave indie-pop quartet California Wives have premiered a new single off their EP “Affair” for download. The track has an upbeat pop rock sound somewhere in between Phoenix, Against Me and a John Hughes movie.

Formed in 2009, California Wives is Jayson Kramer (vocals, keys, guitar), Dan Zima (vocals, bass, guitar), Joe O’Connor (drums) and Hans Michel (guitar, keys), have spent the past year working on their 5-song EP Affair. Since then, the Wives have kept busy, they just cut a Daytrotter session last week, and continue to add dates to their upcoming Winter tour.

Tour Dates

Dec 22 – Schubas – Chicago, IL

Jan 28 – Subterranean Chicago, IL

Jan 29 – Mike and Mollys – Champaign, IL

Jan 30 – Firebird – St. Louis, IL

Arboretum Reveals Track Listing & Cover Art For Upcoming Album

 

Inspired by Carl Jung’s The Red Book, Arboretum’s upcoming fourth album The Gathering has woven together a mixture of songs based on the concept of “losing one’s way and finding it again.”

Dave Heumann, singer, guitarist and primary man behind the lyrics, has always been an admirer of Jung’s work and says that he’s been a longtime fan of experiences that surpass comprehension. Using imagery based on Jung’s psychological archetypes and themes from Gnostic mythology, The Gathering is a perfect display of the perfect melding together of Heumann’s lyrics and guitars with Corey Allender’s driven bass lines that make it easy for listeners to get lost in the imaginary world the band has created.

For The Gathering, Arboretum enlisted Matt Boynton who recorded the band’s 2007 release Rites of Uncovering. Boynton was able to capture the sound Arboretum was trying to create and the result is somewhat of a masterpiece with both the album version and live performances blowing the audience away with such vivid detail.

Arboretum plays Cameo in New York City on Friday, December 3rd. The Gathering will be released February 22nd on Thrill Jockey Records with a tour to follow in the U.S. and Europe.

Tracklist:

01 The White Bird
02 When Delivery Comes
03 Destroying to Save
04 Highwayman
05 Waxing Crescents
06 The Empty Shell
07 Song of the Nile

Grinderman Personally Invited Shilpa Ray to Join North American Tour Dates


Grinderman, currently in the midst of their North American Tour, were in need of an opener for their show one night in Washington, DC, and they were personally requesting Shilpa Ray be there to play the date. Without hesitation she jumped out the door, harmonium in hand, and was on her way south to the 9:30 club.

Once praised by Nick Cave as a “Band of The Day” in the canadian National Post, Shilpa Ray was honored to help warm up the audience that night. She then joined Grinderman on their next few dates in Atlanta, Memphis, and Nashville as well.

Following the release of their album “Teenage and Torture” January 18th 2011, and a CD Release party at Brooklyn Bowl January 21st with Hooray For Earth and Soft Black, Shilpa Ray And Her Happy Hookers will embark upon a National Tour with Japanese psychedelic group Acid Mothers Temple.

Check out this track from the new album, Heaven in Stereo, a punky garage rock with a great female voice in the lead.

http://soundcloud.com/justgentile/shilpa-ray-heaven-in-stereo

Upcoming Tour Dates:
* = w/ Acid Mothers Temple
JANUARY
21 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl (Record Release w/ Hooray For Earth, Soft Black)
22 – Buffalo, NY – Mohawk Place
MARCH
23 – Los Angeles, CA – Spaceland*
24 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill*
26 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge*
27 – Bellingham, WA – The Wild Buffalo*
28 – Seattle, WA – Chop Suey*
29 – Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret*
31 – Calgary, AB – Broken City*
APRIL
01 – Missoula, MT – The Badlander*
02 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge*
03 – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge*
04 – Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theatre*
05 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry*
06 – Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle*
07 – Kalamazoo, MI – The Strutt*
08 – Toronto, ON – El Mocambo*
09 – Montreal, QC – Il Motore*
10 – Allston, MA – Great Scott*
11 – Milford, CT – Daniel Street*
13 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brendas*
14 – Washington, DC – Red Palace*
15 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar*
16 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506*
17 – Knoxville, TN – Pilot Light*
18 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl*
19 – New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks*
20 – Houston, TX – Fitzgeralds*
21 – Dallas, TX – The Loft*
22 – Austin, TX – Red 7*

Cage The Elephant Dish Out First Single from New LP

Thank You, Happy Birthday, the sophomore album from Kentucky’s finest rock band is coming out next year, but being that it’s November, that’s pretty soon.  The record will drop January 11th, and if you were looking for a streamable preview, Cage The Elephant have just doled out the album’s first single, “2024.”  The track winds up initially, like a cosmic needle dropping as the gears engage and the turntable picks up speed.  Just as the song begins to morph into some sort of ill-advised, lost Audioslave track, the band thankfully brings out a pop riff and tones things down just the right amount.  All that’s left is three minutes of raucous jamming where it’s slightly difficult to differentiate chorus from verse.. wait, no. They bring the Audioslave riff back for a little bit at the tail end of the bridge to switch things up.  Try not to let that throw you, because overall, “2024” is indication that Thank You, Happy Birthday is going to hit heavily and provide some questionable curveballs that may or may not serve to make things interesting in a music scene where rock is cashing in it’s last social security checks.

Listen in below:

Christmas Song of the Day: Death Cab for Cutie – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”


Every day from now until Christmas we are presenting you with Christmas Song of the Day! You’re favorite indie bands plus Christmas songs new and old to brighten up your holiday!

Death Cab for Cutie – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by ModernMystery4

The Duke Spirit Announce New Album Details


London’s The Duke Spirit, return this coming Spring with a new album, entitled Bruiser. Bursting on the scene back in 2003 with the release of a single (“Darling You’re Mean”) and mini album (“Roll, Spirit, Roll”), The Duke Spirit have showcased their scuffed, soulful guitar aesthetic across a handful of albums, relentless touring and TV appearances on all the late night talk shows. With two LP’s and a handful of EP’s under their belt, The Duke Spirit have harnessed their sound as “completely enveloped in a shroud of huge emotion – a mix of warm swirling dissonance, minor chords and a pounding minimal ‘60’s rock rhythm section.” FILTER Magazine. With Bruiser, The Duke Spirit make a conscious effort to strip down the fuzz and create space in which the drums, guitar and bass have their own sonic place.

Tracklist:

1. Cherry Tree
2. Everybody’s Under Your Spell
3. Villain
4. Don’t Wait
5. Surrender
6. Running Fire
7. De Lux
8. Procession
9. Northbound
10. Glorious
11. Victory
12. Homecoming