The Duke Spirit are giving us a taste of their upcoming album Bruiser, due out on Shangri-La Music out in Spring 2011, with a free download of their new track, “Villain,” premiered on SPIN.com.
On this fiery track, we find the band’s leading lady, Liela Moss, on the piano, and singing as seductively as ever over hauntingly carnal guitar riffs. The British rockers are sure to leave you yearning for more new sounds with this one.
Listen to the “Villain” below, and download it for free HERE:
As part of a unique way to gain exposure for their upcoming album Deerhoof vs. Evil, Deerhoof has been releasing tracks as part of a “Global Album Leak” giving audiences a chance to hear one track at a time each week until the album is officially released on January 25th.
Their track-dropping world tour embarked in October with the track “The Merry Barracks” in Chicago and they have since released them in places like Spain, England and as far as Australia. This week, Deerhoof leaked their next single “Hey I Can” in Japan which was a perfect setting for a song with hints of Asian flair mixed into the positive lyrics of vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki.
Satomi mentions that she wanted to write a positive song and say “I Can” as many times as she could and that is exactly what she did. Accompanying her light and energetic voice, the song ranges from an Asian tribal feel with clanging chimes to a modern rock song with deep lying bass lines and thrashing drumbeats and ever changing tempos. And with Matsuzaki’s mixture of English and Japanese lyrics everything on this song blends together to form a fun and funky treat for your ears.
Listen to Deerhoof’s latest track here.
You can take your own journey and treat your ears to more delightful sounds of Deerhoof’s latest album here.
It has been a long time since a band could combine elements of early ‘80s alternative with the velvety guitar melodies of ‘90s college rock to the poetic lyrics of many indie bands of today, but New Zealand’s Surf City has managed to do all of that and still sound original and on the edge of something truly spectacular.
Surf City was formed by guitar mavens Davin Stoddard and Josh Kennedy. They quickly added Josh’s brother Jamie on bass and Logan Collins on drums and from there the group was complete. Driven with a passion to create some of the best psychedelic pop music around, they sought out Steve Keene who had previously worked with bands Pavement and Silver Jews to produce their self titled EP. Upon the release of their first EP, Surf City immediately gained momentum which did not go unnoticed as they impressed music Web sites Stereogum and All Music.
Surf City released their long awaited debut album Kudos on Fire Records on November 30th to a lot of buzz with the band being hailed as New Zealand’s most hyped and possibly best indie band to emerge in a very long time. The first two singles, “Crazy Rulers of The World” and “Kudos” have already whet the palettes of music lovers everywhere leaving them all wanting more.
On November 30th, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros released a new iTunes Session- available exclusively through the iTunes store. A six-song collection recorded at EastWest Studio in Los Angeles, the session features reworked, unique versions of some of the band’s most memorable songs found on their debut album, “Up From Below.” The release also includes a previously unrecorded live show favorite, “Fire & Water.”
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros will wrap up 2010 by playing a handful of US shows, including KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas in Los Angeles on December 12th. The band will kick off 2011 with a trip to Australia and New Zealand for Big Day Out.
iTunes Session tracklist and future tour dates for the band below:
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – iTunes Session
1. Up From Below
2. Janglin’
3. 40 Day Dream
4. Fire & Water
5. Brother
6. Desert Song
Upcoming Tour Dates
Dec 12 Gibson Amphitheater Universal City, CA
Jan 21 Big Day Out: Auckland Auckland, NZ
Jan 23 Big Day Out at Gold Coast Parklands Gold Coast, AUS
Jan 26 Big Day Out: Sydney Sydney, AUS
Jan 27 Big Day Out: Sydney Sydney, AUS
Jan 28 The Forum Sydney Moore Park, AUS
Jan 30 Big Day Out: Melbourne Melbourne, AUS
Feb 1 The Forum Melbourne Melbourne, AUS
Feb 4 Big Day Out: Adelaide Adelaide, AUS
Feb 6 Big Day Out: Perth Perth, AUS
We all know religion (the oldest of all establishments) is the least punk thing you can think of, but for some reason it’s been cool for a while now to perform in a church. Broken Records are doing it. Their newest video for the 6-piece Edinburgh, Scotland group’s newest single, “A Darkness Rises Up” not only has them strumming along amidst a backwash of stained-glass light, but their mom let them wear their Converse inside too. Redefining punk aside — really — “Darkness” simply chugs and pops and does all those anthemic things while having a string section provide the extra bravado you can’t get from guitar and bass. In the video, the lead singer seems tortured enough, and if you’re not convinced, there’s plenty of dilapidated scenery to further commiserate the misery. You can watch the whole thing below and should you like, remember to pick up Let Me Come Home out on 1/11/11 on 4AD.
In preparation for his third album entitled Into the Dark Unknown and set to release February 22, 2011, singer, songwriter, composer and video artist Holcombe Waller is offering his single “Risk of Change” as a free download.
The San Francisco native, began his musical career while attending Yale University studying art. During that time, he produced and mixed two albums for Bryce and Aaron Dessner and Bryan Devendor of The National fame. Returning the favor, the three played on Waller’s debut album Advertising Space released in 1999 on Holcombe’s very own label, Napoleon Records. In 2001, he released his second album, Extravagant Gesture.
In 2005, Waller moved to Portland, Oregon. Over the years, he has stepped outside his box of recorded music and ventured into theater, performance art and video installation. In 2008, he embarked on a new experience performing in “In the Dark Unknown: The Hope of Chest” which toured the U.S. as well as Canada and Croatia. During this time, Waller wrote the songs for his new album which is sure to be a melodic combination of songs and lyrics that will show off his talent as a musician and songwriter.
For more information about Holcombe including album information and tour dates, visit his Web site here.
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