Rock Rebels » Indie

Manics release National Treasures

Rock Rebels — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 07:49:42 +0000

Manic Street Preachers have announced details of their forthcoming album, National Treasures – The complete Singles.’

Celebrating the 21st anniversary of their first single release, Manic Street Preachers are releasing the ultimate singles collection in October.

’National Treasures – The complete Singles’ gathers 38 songs from the band’s rich history, starting with initial Heavenly Records release ‘Motown Junk’ (1990) to tracks taken from last year’s ‘Postcards From A Young Man’ album – the bands tenth which was greeted with universal critical acclaim.

The album also features a brand new single ‘This is the Day.’

Tracks

1. Motown Junk
2. Stay Beautiful
3. Love’s Sweet Exile
4. You Love Us
5. Slash ‘N’ Burn
6. Motorcycle Emptiness
7. Theme From M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless)
8. Little Baby Nothing
9. From Despair To Where
10. La Tristesse Durera (Scream To A Sigh)
11. Roses In The Hospital
12. Life Becoming A Landslide
13. Faster
14. Revol
15. She Is Suffering
16. A Design For Life
17. Everything Must Go
18. Kevin Carter
19. Australia
1. If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
2. The Everlasting
3. You Stole The Sun From My Heart
4. Tsunami
5. The Masses Against The Classes
6. So Why So Sad
7. Found That Soul
8. Ocean Spray
9. Let Robeson Sing
10. There By The Grace Of God
11. The Love Of Richard Nixon.Empty Souls.Your Love Alone Is Not Enough.Autumnsong.Indian Summer.(It’s Not War) Just The End Of Love
12. Some Kind Of Nothingness
13. Postcards From A Young Man
14. This Is The Day

Iron & Wine do a 4AD Session + tour details

Rock Rebels — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 11:58:23 +0000

Iron & Wine, the work of Austin-based Sam Beam, released their fourth album, Kiss Each Other Clean through 4AD in January 2011. Somewhat of a departure from earlier recordings and representing an expansion of the ideas explored on last album The Shepherd’s Dog, the record saw Beam’s often stripped-back compositions development into ornate arrangements/ Live performances also saw Beam joined by a cast of musicians, helping flesh out his sound.

For this beautifully rendered 4AD Session, Beam made the conscious decision to return to his roots. Taking those album tracks back to their nascent form, Beam delivered five acoustic performances that immediately make clear the craft and care that constitutes each Iron & Wine track. Pushed to the fore is Beam’s languorous vocals, showcasing the seemingly effortless ease with which he is able to imbibe his music with a nuanced poetry.

Filmed at Miloco Recording Studios in Bermondsey in March 2011, the location proved truly fitting of the performance. Beam found himself surrounded by an array of vintage analogue equipment, a perfect complement to the down-home wood-and twine classic songwriting that has continued to characterize the work of Iron & Wine over the course of four albums. Playing four songs from the new album, long time fans will also note the inclusion of the ‘Upwards Over The Mountain’, a track drawn from the band’s much-loved back catalogue.

The session provides a neat precursor to when Iron & Wine return to the UK in October, playing an acoustic show at Hackney Empire on 9th. Before then, there will be a full band performance on the main stage at Latitude on 17th July and headline Green Man on 21st August, serving to highlight the broad talents of Iron & Wine.

European Tour

July
8th – Festival Cruilla, Barcelona
9th – Tivoli, Utrecht
10th – Cactus Festival, Brugge
11th – ZMF, Freiburg
12th – Zeltival, Karlsruhe
13th – St Katharina Open Air, Nurnberg
14th – Beatpol, Dresden
15th – Melt!, Ferropolis
17th – Latitude, Southwold

August
13th – Flow Festival
16th – Centralisation, Darmstadt
17th – Winterhurer Musikfestwochen, Winterhur
18th – Astra, Berlin
20th – Zakk, Dusseldorf
21st – Greenman Festival

October
9th – Hackney Empire, London (acoustic show)
10th – Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London

VSAD009 Tracklisting:
Tree By The River
Biting Your Tail
Big Burned Hand
Half moon
Upwards over The Mountain

Bon Iver emerges from the studio with a gem

Rock Rebels — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:45:10 +0000

Today sees the release of Bon Iver’s second album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver. Featuring ten new songs penned by Justin Vernon, the album expands the group’s sonic palette beyond the rustic acoustics of the debut. A lush landscape of silky electric guitars, intricate keys, and subtle horn and string sections, Bon Iver, Bon Iver retains the ghost choirs and densely layered vocals intact that Bon Iver is widely celebrated for.

Painstakingly crafted over three years, the album was recorded and mixed at April Base Studios, a former veterinarian’s clinic in Fall Creek, WI, converted into a recording studio by Vernon and his brother. Bon Iver regulars Sean Carey, Mike Noyce and Matt McCaughan contributed vocals, drums and production; Rob Moose (Antony and the Johnsons, The National) helped with arranging and strings; and Jim Schoenecker and Tom Wincek provided processing. The album also features the pedal steel of Greg Leisz (Lucinda Williams, Bill Frisell) and a horn section including Colin Stetson (Tom Waits, Arcade Fire), Mike Lewis (Andrew Bird, Happy Apple), and C.J. Camerieri (Rufus Wainwright, Sufjan Stevens).

Free download: Already Yours from Bahamas new album Pink Strat

Rock Rebels — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:58:17 +0000

Brushfire Records recording artist, Bahamas, is giving away his song "Already Yours" from his new album ‘Pink Strat’. Click here to download the single.

Pink Strat, the critically acclaimed Canadian debut album from Bahamas, is set for a stateside release through Brushfire Records on May 17^th. Pink Strat is a lo-fi, sparse effort that defies genre classification. In 2010, Pink Strat received a Juno nomination (Canadian Grammy equivalent) for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Solo and was nominated for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize (Canadian Mercury Prize equivalent) for Best Canadian Album of the Year. Pink Strat will be release on CD and vinyl, with the first 500 produced on pink vinyl.

Bahamas is a moniker for Afie Jurvanen (pronounced AY-fee), a much sought-after sideman who spent three years as a guitarist/pianist for Feist, as well as many others. Jurvanen’s songwriting is filled with thoughtful storytelling, peculiar romance and quirky observations. The depth to Jurvanen’s songs and richness of his minimalist arrangements continue to unfold upon each listen to Pink Strat. The album title was inspired by the guitar Jurvanen began playing during his childhood, traveled the world with as a hired gun and eventually wrote the songs on that would become Pink Strat.

Pink Strat slowly developed a strong reputation in the music community leading to a Canadian tour supporting Wilco, as well as opening dates with Elvis Costello, The Weakerthans and the Sam Roberts Band.

Bahamas will embark on its first major U.S. tour as support for Noah and The Whale on 18+ dates. The cross-country tour will include shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans and New York City. See confirmed tour dates below.

Daytrotter.com featured Bahamas during one of their coveted Daytrotter Sessions, which posted on April 2. To hear Bahamas perform “Already Yours”, “Hockey Teeth” and “Sunshine Blues”, click the link below:http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/bahamas-concert/20032211-37382258.html

Bon Iver new single – tour dates

Rock Rebels — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:37:32 +0000

Bon Iver has confirmed the release of new album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver, on June 20th. Featuring ten new songs penned by Justin Vernon, the album expands the group’s sonic palette beyond the rustic acoustics of the debut. Bon Iver, Bon Iver is a lush landscape of silky electric guitars, intricate keys, and subtle horn and string sections, which retains the ghost choirs and densely layered vocals intact that Bon Iver is widely celebrated for.

The first single to be lifted from the aforementioned album will be ‘Calgary’, which can be downloaded for free from here. The physical format ‘Calgary’ will be released on July 4th on 12". Exclusive to this release will be a cover of Bonnie Raitt’s ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’.

Tour Dates
Oct

19th – 02 Apollo, Manchester

20th – The Canal Theatre, Dublin

22nd – Usher Hall, Edinburgh

24th – Hammersmith HMV Apollo, London

26th – MCV, Utrecht

27th – AB, Brussels

29th – La Trianon, Paris

30th – E-Werk, Koln

Nov

1st – Columiahalle, Berlin

3rd – Sentrum Scene, Oslo

4th – Munchen Bryggeriet, Stockholm

5th – Falkoner, Copenhagen

6th – Docks, Hamburg

9th – O2 Academy, Birmingham

10th – O2 Academy, Leeds

11th – Colston Hall, Bristol

Black Country Blues: Joanne Shaw Taylor interview

Rock Rebels — Tue, 24 May 2011 14:22:53 +0000

Joanne Shaw Taylor is THE rising star on the British blues scene and her gigs are being widely regarded as the hottest ticket in town. A consummate guitarist, with a vocal style reminiscent of the great Janis Joplin, this is one show you do not want to miss.

She’s currently undertaking an extensive tour of Europe and the USA showcasing her latest album “Diamonds in the dirt”, and right now she is gigging up and down Britain, bringing her brand of rock-blues to her home country.

Sunday finds her in Bristol, where she will play at the Tunnels (Arches 31 and 32, Lower Station Approach Road, Bristol BS1 6QF – www.thetunnelsbristol.co.uk ). If you can get a ticket, it will be the best twelve and a half quid you’ve laid out in a long time. If you can’t, sell your body to someone in the queue – this is a must-not-miss event.

At twenty-five, she has the world at her feet and this time next year, the tickets won’t be easy to come by. Trust me.

This week, JST took time out from her tour to talk to us about where she came from, what she’s doing and where’s she’s going.

RockRebels: Did you always know you’d be a blues artist?

Joanne Shaw Taylor: I didn’t always know, no. However, I did when I got into blues – when I was about 13. I was playing electric guitar quite heavily and it was something that from the very beginning I took very seriously.

RR: Influences in the early days?

JST: In the early days I was listening to a lot of rock. Coming from the Black Country area, as you can imagine, my father’s record collection was very sort of Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Slade, Purple etcetera. In terms of the blues it was really Stevie Ray Vaughan who was the predominant influence.

RR: Why a Fender Telecaster?

JST: That influence was actually from Albert Collins one of my other influences – a combination of that and I found an older Telecaster with a slightly smaller neck that I still use as my main guitar to this day. Being female, I don’t have particularly large hands. To be honest it’s more comfort than anything.

RR: Amps?

JST: Fender Bassmans – a sixty-four head and a two by twelve cab. On this tour I’ve been using the Blackstar Artisan 30 which I really, really love, but I’m predominantly a Fender girl.

RR: The tour is massive undertaking. Do you find it heavy going?

JST: Yeah. We’re close to the end of it now. We started in America at the end of January and we left the States on April 3^rd. We’ve done a fair bit of Europe on this run. We started in Germany and Switzerland and we went on to Norway, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Sweden and now the UK. It’s gone by very quickly, but looking back it’s certainly been a lot of shows and a lot of travel.

RR: What’s been your favourite venue so far?

JST: Oooo, well obviously I love playing the UK, obviously it’s home and it’s nice to be back for a little while. I think some of the festivals we did out in Norway were really great fun. We did some festivals with Imelda May and Joe Bonamassa out there… We’ve just completed a couple of gigs with Glenn (Hughes) which was fun. Being such a long tour it was nice to break up the monotony by seeing other artists.

RR: Your gigs are a lot more high energy, louder, brasher than your albums – is that a conscious choice?

JST: Yeah, I think quite a few people have noticed that. I think for me, being a blues artist, the live aspect is always going to be the main example of what you do, and it’s difficult to get that on record really. The records are a snapshot in time – one week when you record them. They’re two different formats.

RR: A live album in the pipeline?

JST: Yeah, I think so. We’re contracted to one more studio album, so we’re going to complete that next year. Then next year, I’d certainly be interested in doing a live album, possibly even a DVD as well.

RR: Do you have any favourites off the album, Diamonds?

JST: You know actually, live, “Dead and gone” – that’s coming into its own a little bit more. I think my favourites off it… they were “Diamonds in the dirt” and “Lord have mercy”, but that’s changed a little bit with playing them live. Now it’s probably “Dead and gone” and “Can’t keep living like this”. They’re a bit more a challenge to do them justice and do them live… that’s why I like them.

RR: What was it like working with Jim Gaines?

JST: Yeah, yeah – I love Jim. He’s and incredible person and he’s become close friend – him and his wife. On a professional level, he’s so humble given his CV. He’s so easy to work with.

RR: Were you taught to play, or did you teach yourself?

JST: I taught myself. I played classical guitar from the age of eight. When I picked up and electric, I figured that if BB King could teach himself, so could I. Not that I think I play like BB King. My record collection is very vast. I often listen to a lot of stuff, whether it be some of the country guys like Danny Gatton or Vince Gill, or some of the classic rock guys. It’s funny now seeing what you actually soak up. I don’t mean actually learn anything, but just sitting down and something sticks in your head.

RR: There’s a progression from White Sugar – a sense of moving forward. Are you exploring new areas of song writing?

JST: Yeah. There’s a couple of reasons for that. White Sugar it’s that case of, you know, it’s the first album. I had ten years to prepare it. That said, I only started writing about a year before White Sugar. So when we came to do the second album, we’d been drawing so much from the first album, we literally had a ten day gap to get the songs together. So, I’m not the most proficient song writer I guess. I don’t write that much, I just do it when I have to, but to break up the monotony I did try to push myself a bit. That’s the best way to become a better song writer, I guess. I’m glad we did that and I do think lyrically it’s a stronger album than White Sugar.

RR: I get the impression there’s a lot of life lived in your lyrics.

JST: Yes, I think the challenge for me was I wrote all the music first, as I tend to do. It’s obviously a heavier album, which I was excited about… That came from the band I’ve been paying with in the States regularly for the past two years. Being from Detroit, they come from a bit more of a rock background. So, I was quite excited that it was going in more of a rock direction and that was testing my guitar playing and vocals I guess. Then I was presented with a lot of music that was quite heavy, and the challenge was to steer away from bluesy cliché lyrics, which I think I’ve managed to do. So it was great fun to imagine situations where the lyrics went along with the darkness of the material, i.e “Can’t keep living like this”, or “Dead and gone” which is actually about being born again, so not a biographical song.

RR: What next for Joanne Shaw Taylor?

JST: We’re going to wind up this UK tour, then I fly back to the states the day after it ends and then it’s time to start writing. We’re pencilled in for the studios in September, so there should be another album coming out later this year and basically just touring a lot hopefully. That’s the plan.

Rock Rebels will be at the Bristol gig on Sunday and we reckon you ought to be there too. Joanne Shaw Taylor is too good to miss.

Drink Up Buttercup Hit The Road Running

Rock Rebels — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:22:44 +0000

Tour Dates Announced

10/31 – PA’s Lounge – Somerville, MA
11/10 – The Zodiac – Baltimore, MD (w/ Blood Warrior)
11/11 – Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA (w/ Blood Warrior)
11/12 – Union Hall – Brooklyn, NY – (w/ Blood Warrior)
11/16 – The Social – Orlando, FL (w/ Stellastarr*)
11/17 – Whirlyball – Atlanta, GA (w/ Stellastarr*)
11/18 – Local 506 – Chapel Hill, NC (w/ Stellastarr*)
11/19 – Rock n roll hotel – Washington, DC (w/ Stellastarr*)

Drink Up Buttercup

After a spectacular series of shows at this years CMJ, Drink Up Buttercup are not resting on their laurels. They’re heading out on tour playing shows with Blood Warrior and Stellarstarr*.

To celebrate, Stereogum are giving away a free download of the Andrew WK remix of Drink Up Buttercup’s new single Even Think.

DOWNLOAD IT HERE

“they turn into the bastard sons of Shane MacGowan and Tom Waits, pounding on garbage cans and deftly mixing theatrical swagger with plenty of punk-rock ‘tude. Not many bands can mix homemade percussion, three-part harmonies, a melodica, and some opera training (no lie—lead singer James Harvey can bust out the vibrato when called upon), and make it all sound like this much beer-soaked, unpretentious fun” –Andy Hermann, Metromix New York

Drink Up Buttercup signed with Yep Roc Records and their first offering is the single ‘Even Think’, a fast-paced fist-pumper, driven by frenzied organ arpeggios and swelling vocal harmonies reminiscent of the sound of Brian Wilson re-imagining The Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat – all recorded and mixed in less than 24 hours as a lo-fi gift for their fans sonically unique from their other recorded material. If this is the kind of studio magic that is conjured in less than one day you won’t believe your ears when you get to hear the full length coming in early 2010 recorded by Philly’s veritable go-to guy, Bill Moriarty (Dr. Dog, Man Man) and mixed by Rusty Santos, the man responsible for the sound that graced Panda Bear’s Person Pitch.

The single is backed by an all new alternate version of the live performance fan favorite “Heavy Hand,” and this digital 45 can be downloaded for FREE at Yep Roc’s site. And for all the vinyl junkies out there the 7” only version will feature a cover of the Buzzcocks classic “Why Can’t I Touch It.” Expect two amazing reworks of the single courtesy of electro-pop meastro Cale Parks and renowned party-starter Andrew WK.

Drink Up Buttercup is truly the story of hard work and dedication. There was no stumbling upon an album deal, they earned it the good old-fashioned way by working their backsides off for it. This year alone they released a 7” (Sosey&Dosey/Farewell Captain) on Kanine Records (Grizzly Bear, Chairlift), recorded an entire full-length album, all while playing 60+ self-booked shows. They’ve shared the stage with the likes of Bishop Allen, The Fiery Furnaces, Tune-Yards, Clues, Marnie Stern and Free Energy and if you were lucky enough to catch them live at SXSW, New York’s After The Jump or the countless other shows, consider yourself a member of a privileged club because it won’t be as exclusive for too much longer.

Always planning the next trip, Drink Up Buttercup will be hitting the road again introducing more people to the onstage fracas of fretboards, drumsticks, elbows, metal lockers, mannequin heads, and trashcan lids thrashing through the air. Yet somehow avoiding serious injury to themselves, and always leaving the audience exhausted but eager for more in fashion that The New York Times declares “mesmerizes and clobbers live.”

The Prairie Cartel’s video “No Light Escapes Here.”

Rock Rebels — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:41:12 +0000

AWARD WINNING CULT DIRECTOR TAKES RISKS ON DIRECTION OF The Prairie Cartel’s video “No Light Escapes Here.”

Prairie Cartel

Award-winning Chinese director Peng Lei (an accomplished filmmaker/animator whose clay animation film “Beihai Monster” from 2006 was a hit in the Chinese indie-film world and has won numerous awards) discovered The Prairie Cartel’s music online and reached out to them about wanting to direct their video for “No Light Escapes Here” from their forthcoming debut release “Where Did All My People Go” . This is such a surreal, psychedelic urban-yeti dance trip.

As Peng explained to the lads, “The reason I wanted to direct this video was that I’m impressed with the lyrics and understand that they’re about trying to express yourself artistically in an oppressive communist regime.” Musically he also felt connected, Peng Lei is a member of New Pants, one of the most revered bands in China’s contemporary music history who formed in 1996 – their early sound was influenced heavily by new wave and early punk rock, particularly the Ramones. And in a true punk rock fashion, Peng takes a huge risk by using Mao all over the video.

View the video here: No Light Escapes Here

The Prairie Cartel unleash their debut full length

“Where Did All My People Go”

Double Wax package Released November 17th on Long Nights, Impossible Odds
Distribution by Burnside & Ioda
Digital release date: October 27th, 2009
In stores: November 17th, 2009
Record Release Party Thursday November 5th in Chicago

Please Join The Prairie Cartel at their record release launch including a special live performance by The Prairie Cartel, unleashing new material from their debut album

Disappear Here @
Angels & Kings New York, NY
Plus Resident DJs Members Only AV and Heaven Malone

Download a free MP3 Where Did All My People Go?

For 10.5 months of the year there is little else to do in Chicago besides drink heavily. The Prairie Cartel started as an excuse for Scott Lucas (Local H), Blake Smith and Mike Willison (both ex-Caviar) to do this in Mike’s basement while playing their favorite records. Albums on DFA, Matador, Wax Trax, Modular and Creation were all in heavy rotation during those dark months except when the whisky came out and it went all Ummagumma on them. The obligatory, possibly illegal, and definitely messy DJ gigs followed. Warehouses and lofts trembled before their can’t-mix, won’t-even-try-to-mix majesty. They developed a reputation for sets that were somehow gloriously disheveled but still extremely satisfying. After a particularly delirious night behind, on top of, and in front of the decks in London where some teeth got chipped, a little blood got spilled, and the local authorities threatened to pull their passports, they decided the timing was perfect to pick their instruments back up and go home to cut a record.

They bought a couple of used microphones, a bi-polar Mac, and locked themselves back in Mike’s basement. For a long time. maybe longer than what is considered healthy by normal people. Empty bottles and pizza boxes piled up. Beards grew, got cut, and grew again. Creatures with tails scurried in shadowy corners. Friends and family became worried. But then 2 EPs suddenly emerged in quick succession to unanimously positive reviews and doors began to open for them. They got asked to put a song in the Grand Theft Auto video game. Then they got asked to create an entire channel for the hand-held version, achieving every artist’s dream of cornering the market in sound tracking virtual third-person deals of digital drugs.

So, with all things taking its course, rather than emerging to tour and possibly killing this creative streak, they decided to ride it out in their tiny room until somebody cracked. The exhilarating result of this is Where Did all my People Go.

From the warped raw warehouse party-provoking opener “Keep Everybody Warm” The Prairie Cartel start off their debut by giving everybody a shout out, “And what you gotta do, is keep yourself together. Keep everybody warm.” Emerging from the Chicago Urban underground TPC blur the line with their delectably industrial yet funky directions. Taking it further is their cover of “Homicide” recorded by British punks 999 in 1978.

Sequenced in a continuous mix, the second tune in, “Suitcase Pimp” keeps the dirty rock alive with it’s seedy sleazy guitar line and gutter-nonsense lyrics: “Can I kick it can I lick, if I lick it if I lick will you like it?” While “Jump Like Chemicals” rhythm guitar hooks are gritty, sexy, and contagious.

From the Giorgio Moroder meets Modern Lovers groove of “Cracktown” to the WTF Ian Curtis frenetic freak out of “Fuck Yeah That Wide”, Where Have All My People Gone captures the anarchy and spirit of a mid-western band giddy to warp their electronics with the necks of their guitars. And they’ll wet your sonic palate even further with their hypnotically catchy chorus in “Lost All Track of Time”. You’ll even find a bit of Ambient layered with texture and chaos on “Magnetic South”. So Enjoy what the Prairie Cartel sound like now, the band just discovered Pink Floyd and that’s just the icing.

Where Did All My People Go is a slurry blast through Disco, Indie, Punk Rock and Electro, (depending on what they were ingesting at the time) and plays like an unruly house party that is more about sloppy kissing and jumping up and down and less about that one dude nobody invited getting into fights.

Where Did All My People Go is set for release on November 17th on Long Nights, Impossible Odds

TRACK LISTING:

KEEP EVERYBODY WARM
SUITCASE PIMP
LOST ALL TRACK OF TIME
CRACKTOWN
BEAUTIFUL SHADOW
HOMICIDE
NARCOTIC INSIDIOUS
TEN FEET OF SNOW
JUST LIKE CHEMICALS
NO LIGHT ESCAPES HERE
COBRASKIN BRIEFCASE
BURNING DOWN THE OTHER SIDE
MAGNETIC SOUTH
FUCK YEAH THAT WIDE
THE GLOW IS GONE

Spiral Stairs: The Real Feel

Rock Rebels — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:09:57 +0000

I guess Spiral Stairs is my name now…

Formerly the front-man of Preston School Of Industry, and guitarist, singer and founding member with Pavement, Scott Kannberg returns to our turntables with his first solo album, The Real Feel, credited to his long-running nom-du-rock, Spiral Stairs.

“I guess Spiral Stairs is my name now,” he laughs. “It had been so long since the last Preston School Of Industry album, it made sense to call this a Spiral Stairs record. Everybody knows me as Spiral, it’s weird when someone calls me ‘Scott’. I’m not sure anyone knows who Scott Kannberg is.”

Despite the pseudonym, however, The Real Feel is, lyrically, Spiral’s most personal and honest recording yet, the songs’ loose, late-night vibe, soulful ache and charmingly vulnerable optimism very much shaped by his experiences in the years between the last Preston School Of Industry album, 2004’s Monsoon, and today.

an album heavy with haunted blues and bruised soul

It’s an album heavy with haunted blues and bruised soul, with a soused late-night ambience that perfectly fits both its scuffed and sad-eyed ballads, and its more strident rockers. ‘Wharf-Hand Blues’, closing the first side, is a standout, with stricken slide guitar and ghostly backing vocals, and Spiral’s smouldering, sad refrain of “What was wrong for you / might’ve been right for me”; the lyrical, pedal steel-gilded country of ‘A Mighty Mighty Fall’ is a sunnier glide, and easily charms. Foot-stomping opener ‘True Love’ and the brooding, blistering ‘Subiaco Shuffle’ rock out with the ragged glory of Neil Young and his Crazy Horse, unkempt and heartfelt, while the sunshine jangle of ‘Cold Change’ offers more of the lilting, beguilingly-unkempt pop Spiral’s spent a career perfecting.

“People who’ve heard the album told me they weren’t expecting it to sound the way it does,” says Spiral. “It’s been a few years since the last album, and I’ve heard a lot more music in that time, and been influenced by it. I was listening to Richard Thompson’s Shoot Out The Lights a lot, and mid-period Fleetwood Mac, and Bob Dylan records from when he was in his mid- to late-thirties. I was listening to those records at home, with my guitar in my hands, and thinking, I want to write songs with that same weird vibe.”

While the album sounds like the work of a group playing in simpatico, camped out in the studio together some way past midnight, the recording sessions actually spanned months and oceans. Spiral first recorded the bare tracks with some of his former bandmates in PSOI, including bassist Matt Harris and drummer Darius Minwalla, before hooking up with friend and fellow Seattle-ite Jon Auer (The Posies, Big Star), who helped Spiral record further overdubs and background vocals, and added touches of organ and mellotron to the proceedings. Next, Spiral took the tapes with him to Australia – where, of late, he’s been spending his winters – and recorded further instrumentation and backing vocals with friends out there. (He has become so enamoured with Down Under that he will soon be emigrating there, and marrying his Australian fiancé).

Spiral ascribes the five year delay between Monsoon and The Real Deal to the personal upheavals he experienced after touring the last Preston School Of Industry album, experiences which fed the mood and lyrics of these new songs. “I split up with my wife,” he says, “and went through some dark times here in Seattle. I had some songs written, but I just never really got out of my doldrums enough to get it together. It’s weird how five years can go by so quick: a lot of shit went on.”

Spiral wrote the songs for The Real Feel during this period, in Seattle and in Australia. “I was just playing music with these guys, making up these songs. It’s a more personal record than I’ve made before; they’ve all been personal, but this one’s pretty dark. The song material was very emotionally-tinged, very personal, all about what’s been going on with me. I knew that I wanted to deal with what was going on, what with my break-up, and the lost years after that. I wanted to deal with that in the songs.”

The result is an album that’s dark and potent, vulnerable and unflinchingly honest, an album unafraid to rock and to roll. Spiral describes it as having an “Australian” sound, and says it reminds him of the Bad Seeds and the Go-Betweens. Cathartic and powerful and uplifting, it’s the sound of Spiral making sense with that which makes no sense, making peace with his demons, and celebrating the life that follows. Certainly, despite the emotions that fuelled the record, making The Real Feel was an experience that proved entirely positive for Spiral.

“This is the best record I’ve ever made,” he says. “I spent so long on it that, once I finally listened back to the completed record, it was exactly how I wanted it all to be; that was a good feeling. There were moments in the last five years when I thought I didn’t want anything to do with music anymore… But you hear a good record, and it pumps you back into it again. It takes a lot to make a record, but it feels so great, and makes me want to make another, real quick.”

Drink Up Buttercup sign with Yep Roc Records

Rock Rebels — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:32:08 +0000

Drink Up Buttercup have signed with Yep Roc Records and to celebrate are giving away the single ‘Even Think’, a fast-paced fist-pumper, driven by frenzied organ arpeggios and swelling vocal harmonies reminiscent of the sound of Brian Wilson re-imagining The Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat – all recorded and mixed in less than 24 hours as a lo-fi gift for their fans sonically unique from their other recorded material.

If this is the kind of studio magic that is conjured in less than one day you won’t believe your ears when you get to hear the full length coming in early 2010 recorded by Philly’s veritable go-to guy, Bill Moriarty (Dr. Dog, Man Man) and mixed by Rusty Santos, the man responsible for the sound that graced Panda Bear’s Person Pitch.

“Lumbering drums, jangling shakers, electronic squiggles, and lots of…ragged shouts accompany the strutting bass line and stomping guitar….it’s all just loose and playful enough to avoid coming across as overly nostalgic.” -Pitchfork

10/20 – CMJ Showcase @ The Delancey – New York, NY
10/21 – Kanine / Insound CMJ Showcase @ Cake Shop – New York, NY
10/23 – CMJ Happy Hour @ Brooklyn Brewry – Brooklyn, NY
10/23 – Popgun Unofficial CMJ Party @ Glasslands – New York, NY
10/24 – Young and Hungry Party @ The Delancey – New York, NY
10/24 – Vice X Colt X Etnies party @ Etnies Showroom, New York, NY (RSVP at viceland.com/coltrsvpny)

www.myspace.com/drinkupbuttercupband

Rock Rebels

Rock Rebels — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:55:31 +0000

Rock Rebels is Now City News Ltd web presence.

This is the new Rock Rebels site. We will be launching on 1st Nov 2009