Premiere: Alt Pop Artist Tara Novak Premieres Her New Album ‘Layers of Identity’

Tara Novak is a trained classical violinist turned alternative pop artist who dropped out of music school to explore who she was without the violin. She spent the next two years bartending and discovered yoga, music festivals, and fine dining. She read many books – from beat poets to business manuals and opened the floodgates to the rock, pop, folk, and dance music she had deliberately shut out in the past.

Tara’s music is deliberate and specifically crafted to create empathy. She uses music as a healing tool for herself and listeners. “I write songs because it allows me to process the world I observe,” shares Tara. “Music opens our hearts and minds.”

She just released her new album Layers of Identity. The 10 song alternative and orchestral pop album bleeds of human nature, who we are as individuals and as a society, and encapsulates the blended way we see the world. Her style is ballad-like with each song giving off a “Candle in the Wind” vibe. She is backed by violins, the piano, and an electronic beat found in contemporary pop songs. 

Every song brings their own story to the table. “Just Me & You” was inspired by a homeless girl  she saw begging for change and she thought “what determines our paths in life?” It’s a reminder that we are not all that different. “My Heart Was Jumping” is a playful song that blends the sounds of Eastern and Western styles of music. This is what emerges when a long-time touring violinist pens a song about the ups and downs of a relationship. In “A Place Called Purpose,” the most orchestral song on the album, is actually an epic written by Tara about a young girl’s attempt at finding a place called purpose. 

Connect with Tara Novak

Website / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Spotify / Soundcloud

Real Estate Announces New Album

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People don’t always think very much of New Jersey, especially when its standout celebrities right now are the cast of Jersey Shore. Real Estate proved that not all that comes out of the Garden State is terrible with their first self-titled album released in 2009. Can they keep it up? We’ll find out on on Tuesday October 18th, 2011 when they release the follow-up, Days, which was recorded in Upstate New York through the late winter/spring of 2011 with Kevin McMahon.

For now, we know the album is made up of nine new recordings and a revisit of last year’s standalone single “Out of Tune.” You can listen to the first single off the record, “It’s Real,” HERE. It’s due out on September 27th in the US and October 10th in the UK. In the meantime, the band is touring around the US and Canada for the rest of July so check below to see if they’re headed near you!

Neon Indian’s New Album Gets A Release Date

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After earning practically universal critical adoration for his first album, Psychic Chasms, Neon Indian mastermind Alan Palomo is finally ready his second offering.

Neon Indian’s sophomore album, Era Extrana, will be released September 13th. Here’s a video for the song “Heart: Decay” off of the upcoming LP.

NEON INDIAN – HEART : DECAY from gorillavsbear.net on Vimeo.

While understandably pressed for time due to performing at massive festivals like South by Southwest and Bonnaroo and touring with the Flaming Lips, Phoenix, and Massive Attack, fans can’t help but be antsy for new material.

To create the newa lbum, Palomo holed up in an efficiency apartment in Finland and cobbled it together from journal entries he made during the time. The album has Neon Indian treading darker waters and exploring a little more somber territory.

Following the album release is a full tour, which has Neon Indian traversing the nation. You can see the new material live here:

 

9/15 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church

9/16 Washington DC – Rock n Roll Hotel

9/17 Carrboro, NC – Moog Festival

9/19 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade

9/20 Birmingham, AL – Bottletree *

9/21 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks *

9/22 Houston, TX – Fitzgeralds *

9/23 Austin, TX – The Mohawk

9/24 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater

9/26 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress

9/27 San Diego, CA – Belly Up Tavern *

9/30 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour *

10/1 San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop * ^

10/3 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge *

10/4 Vancouver, BC – Venue *

10/5 Seattle, WA – Crocodile Cafe *

10/7 Boise, ID – Reef * ^

10/8 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge * ^

10/10 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater *

10/12 Kansas City, MO – The Record Bar * ^

10/13 Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry * ^

10/14 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall * ^

10/15 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop * ^

10/16 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick * ^

10/18 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace * ^

10/19 Montreal, QC – La Sala Rossa

10/20 Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall ^

10/21 New York, NY – Webster Hall ^

 

* w/ Com Truise

^ w/ Purity Ring

Pepper Rabbit Release Free EP

In order to get people really psyched about their upcoming full length Red Velvet Snow Ball, Pepper Rabbit has released a free EP into the wild.

The EP, Rose Mary Stretch, features the album’s lead single (sharing the same name as the EP) as well as a Miniature Tigers cover with the song “Gold Skull”.

You can grab the EP right here, or see the real thing as Pepper Rabbit continues their extensive U.S. tour. Dates include:

08/31 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge \

09/07 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church ^

09/08 – Washington, DC @ DC9 ^ !

09/09 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Music Festival

09/10 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn ^ !

09/11 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree ^ !

09/12 – Nashville, TN @ The End ^ !

09/13 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle ^ !

09/15 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry ^ !

09/16 – Winnipeg, MB @ The Royal Albert Arms Hotel ^ !

09/19 – Edmonton, AB @ Pawn Shop ^ !

09/20 – Calgary, AB @ Republik ^

09/22 – Victoria, BC @ Rifflandia Festival

09/24 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern ^ !

09/25 – Portland, OR @ Holocene ^ !

09/27 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill ^ !

09/28 – Costa Mesa, CA @ Detroit Bar ^ !

09/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echo ^ !

09/30 – Tempe, AZ @ Sail Inn ^ !

10/01 – Santa Fe, NM @ Corazon ^ !

10/02 – El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace ^ !

10/04 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk ^ !

10/05 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada ^ !

10/06 – St. Louis, MO @ Firebird ^

10/07 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop ^ !

10/08 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern ^ !

10/09 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick Lounge ^ !

10/10 – London, ON @ Call The Office ^ !

10/14 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern ^

10/15 – Ottawa, ON @ Babylon ^

10/16 – Quebec, QC @ Le Cercle ^ !

10/18 – Halifax, NS @ Paragon Theatre ^

10/19 – Portland, ME @ SPACE ^ !

10/20 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott ^ !

* = w/ Givers

# = w/ 1, 2, 3

$ = w/ Ballyho!

% = w/ Charlie Blacksmoke, Cheyenne Marrs & Sudden Organs, & Royal T

\ = w/ We Barbarians, & ANR

^ = w/ Braids

! = w/ O Danagemen

CSS Reveal Cover, Tracklist, and Title for Upcoming Third LP

Now that CSS have finished making the rounds on their co-headlining tour with Sleigh Bells, it’s back to the business that got them there.  The Brazilian dance rock outfit will release La Liberación (cover art above) on August 22nd, at the peak of the Summer season — as if they weren;t the cause for enough perspiration already.  The album will feature cuts like “I Love You” and “Fuck Everything,” so don’t think you know what to expect.  La Liberación also features collaborations from Ratatat, Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, and Mike Garson (the guy who played piano on David Bowie’s “Aladdin Sane”).  Check back for the eventual preview track.

La Liberación Tracklisting:

I Love You
Hits me like A Rock
City Grrrl
Echo of love
You Could Have It All
La Liberación
Partners In Crime
Ruby Eyes
Rhythm To The Rebels
Red Alert
Fuck Everything

Listen to Sun Araw’s New Song

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Sun Araw is preparing to launch their fifth studio album this August, when Ancient Romans drops on Sun Ark Records.

Specifically out August 23rd, the album will be heralded by a brief East Coast tour and a special preview of one of the songs off of the band’s new album, called “Crete.”

You can listen to Sun Araw’s newest song right here.