Delta Spirit: Helping You Cope With Loss Since 2010

Their sound may be rock, soul and a little bit of Americana, but all the five piece San Diego outfit Delta Spirit is making listeners hear in their latest EP, The Waits Room, is melancholy sadness.

How could we not feel this way, when on the album the “short list” of the things we lose include “our youth, our safety, our comfort, our innocence…” and this goes on and on. But Delta Spirit’s music thrives on this tone, as critics and fans have agreed.

The band’s new tour begins next week to promote the release of the EP, dropping  TODAY, and their last LP, History From Below, which is out now on Rounder Records.

Tour Dates

11/16/10 Mojo’s Columbia, Missouri
11/18/10 High Noon Saloon Madison, Wisconsin
11/19/10 Turner Hall Milwaukee, Wisconsin
11/20/10 Legends of Notre Dame South Bend, Indiana
11/21/10 Mountain Stage Radio Show Charleston, West Virginia
11/22/10 Tralf Music Hall Buffalo, New York
11/23/10 Webster Hall New York, New York
11/26/10 Paradise Rock Club Boston, Massachusetts
11/27/10 The Met Cafe Pawtucket, Rhode Island
11/29/10 OttoBar Baltimore, Maryland
11/30/10 Brillobox Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
12/01/10 The Mad Hatter Covington, Kentucky
12/02/10 Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall Asheville, North Carolina
12/03/10 Mercy Lounge Nashville, Tennessee
12/04/10 Metro Chicago, Illinois
12/07/10  Fillmore  San Francisco, California
12/08/10 The Music Box Hollywood, California
12/09/10 SOHO Music Club Santa Barbara, California
12/10/10 House of Blues San Diego, California

Portland Singer-Songwriter Anya Marina Releases EP

Anya Marina has been quite busy the last couple years. With the release of her second record Slow & Steady Seduction: Phase II (2009), Marina gained mainstream attention, along with a song on the New Moon Soundtrack. While working on a new full length album, Marina gives fans something to chew on with a new EP titled The Spirit School.

A slight departure from previous work, School Spirit features five tracks, including a remix of her New Moon song “Satellite Heart” by Sam Fogarino of Interpol. A more stripped down and “less fussed over” approach to recording and songwriting than previous efforts, Spirit School features Marina “having fun with songwriting again.”

Spirit School also touts Dandy Warhols frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor on the song “Whatsit.” “Busrider” and “You Are Invisible” are home demos made pretty by producer Ken Andrews (Pete Yorn, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, etc).

Look for Spirit School  out TODAY on Chop Shop Records/Atlantic Records.

“Whatsit” featuring Courtney Taylor-Taylor of The Dandy Warhols.

Generationals – “Trust” EP

Generationals is a spunky little trio out of New Orleans that this past summer went out to Austin, Texas to lay down the four tracks I’ve come to own as the Trust EP. Generationals has been Grant Widmer and Ted Joyner, joined now by drummer and back up vocalist Tess Brunet. Recorded this past August, the EP starts out with “Carrying the Torch”, a poppy bass riff that spins off into an almost indie take on the classic new wave hit “Melt With You.” A tightly loose danceable affair with some light strings in the back round to really make all the tracks blend seamlessly.

“Say For Certain” grooves along organically from the start, pulsing and clicking. A sparse yet melodically decorated tune with some lyrics that definitely got into my head. The syncopation is viral and feels over too soon. “Trust” is another thumping groover with a surfer bend. The song is a mellow poppy jingle that chugs with a beachy sunny sound. I can see the song taking over radiowaves soon, and it is the EP’s title track with good reason, it’s highly infectious. “Victim of Trap” is an excellent closer for many reasons. One being it is a hypnotic, textured, and challenging track that is very welcome after three almost upfront post-pop tunes. The band really builds on each track and it makes me very excited for anything they’re planning on putting down in the studio soon.

The Trust EP is available on the iTunes store now for only $1.99.

Shilpa Ray Announce New Album and Spring Tour

 

Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers are back and will be starting off a busy early 2011 with a new full length record, Teenage and Torture, out January 18th on Knitting Factory Records. Ray, an Indian-American who grew up in a working class family in Princeton Junction, New Jersey, has made something of a name for herself turning her much-talked about alienation in to startling, bluesy rock n’ roll; even Nick Cave has stated he’s a fan. The band’s fall tour was cancelled and they must be eager to get back on the road: they’ve planned a pretty staggering 28 show run in just 31 days with Acid Mothers Temple starting on the West Coast in March and running through Canada and the Northeast before stopping in Austin in late April.

You can find the full list of dates below, as well as stream the second MP3 to be shared from the new record, “Heaven in Stereo”.

Stream the “Heaven in Stereo” Mp3 HERE
 
Upcoming Tour Dates:

*= w/ Acid Mothers Temple

NOVEMBER
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*

The Dears At Work On New Album

Montreal rockers, The Dears, have made a name for themselves as a band that can move from electrifying pop, to full-on primal screams; grinding guitar solos, to a soulful baroque. With a musical hiatus since their 2008  album Missiles, The Dears look to announce a forthcoming album  Degeneration Street. The release date is set for February 15th, 2011 on Dangerbird Records.

Produced by Tony Hoffer (Phoenix, Belle and Sebastian),  Degeneration Street is said to be a “return to form” for frontman Murray Lightburn and company. The new material traces back to the band’s previous albums such as No Cities Left (2003) and Gang of Losers (2007).

Check out new song “Omega Dog” live in Mexico City: