Posts tagged ‘announcement’
Mercury Music Prize shortlist is in
Hmm, that title sounds vaguely sexual. Anyway, the list:
Bat for Lashes – Two Suns
Florence & The Machine – Lungs
Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires
Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
La Roux – La Roux
The Horrors – Primary Colours
Glasvegas – Glasvegas
Led Bib- Sensible Shoes
Lisa Hannigan- Sea Sew
Speech Debelle- Speech Therapy
Sweet Billy Pilgrim – Twice Born Men
The Invisible – The Invisible
Glasvegas? Seriously?? Ha! Well, since the music world seems to collectively pee their pants at the mention of Bat For Lashes, I’m guess she’s got more than a good chance of taking the prize home. Though Florence did win Critic’s Choice at the Brit Awards back in February and her album is pretty damn great, that must count for something right? The winner will be announced on September 8th. Winners in recent years have included Franz Ferdinand (!!!!), Arctic Mokeys (bleh), and Klaxons (meh).
Another solo Stroke
Although they claim a fourth Strokes record is underway, Julian is set to release his debut solo album this fall. The record, Phrazes for the Young (“phrazes”? really??), will be released on his own label Cult Records & RCA in the U.S. and Cult Records/Rough Trade in the UK. Watch an album preview below. Yes, I said “watch”.
You can sign up for his mailing list at http://juliancasablancas.com. Who knows, he may even tour.
Albert = Albert Hammond Jr. Fab = Little Joy. Nikolai = Nickel Eye. And now Julian. Should we all be expecting Nick to put out some solo work before the next Strokes record too?
GoodBooks are no more
It’s been almost two weeks since the band announced their end, but it’s only now clicked in my mind that GoodBooks really are over. It’s always sad to see the end of a band you love, especially when you don’t see it coming. After all, they were recording a new album. But alas, what can you do?
I have to admit that it’s been a long time since I last listened to GoodBooks, but that’s not to say that I have grown to love their music any less. I can still remember the first time I heard those opening notes to “Passchendaele” and knew it was love. (I’ve always been a sucker for synths.) Luckily, the end of a band doesn’t mean the end of the music or the memories.
One of my favorite b-sides: Like Humphrey Bogart (mediafire)
On a personal note, GoodBooks will always remind me of someone who I haven’t been lucky enough to meet, but who I consider quite a wonderful friend nonetheless.
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Official tracklisting:
1. The Calculation
2. Eet
3. Blue Lips
4. Folding Chair
5. Machine
6. Laughing With
7. Human Of The Year
8. Two Birds
9. Dance Anthem Of The 80′s
10. Genius Next Door
11. Wallet
12. One More Time With Feeling
13. Man Of A Thousand Faces
Let us take a collective moment of silence and just admire this brilliance, yeah? Alright…go.
An incorrect version of the album cover was released earlier this week, but Regina and her team were quick to correct the mishap before many took notice. The cover above is the official artwork. After obsessively checking Amazon for an album tracklisting, I finally hit the jackpot over on Play.com. An hour later, Regina herself revealed all the album details and promised a taste of new single ‘Laughing With’ by the end of the week. Yet, we didn’t have to wait very long. Today, you can find the full version of the song on her official myspace player. GO LISTEN RIGHT NOW.
‘Laughing With’ is released on May 18th, with an official video in the coming week.
Now that all the legit album news is out of the way, let us proceed to a proper, fangirly freak-out: DANCE ANTHEM OF THE 80s! As if news of ‘Genius Next Door’, ‘ Blue Lips’, ‘Folding Chair’, and ‘The Wallet’ hadn’t been exciting enough, we are also getting ‘Dance Anthem of the 80s’ on this album! Sweet baby jesus, YES! And of course, it’s also quite wonderful to see some of the past years’ newer songs (‘One More Time With Feeling’ and ‘Man of a Thousand Faces’) make the cut, as well as ‘Human of the Year’ (which didn’t quite make it onto Begin To Hope?). ‘The Calculation’, ‘Eet’, ‘Machine’, and ‘Laughing With’ are all new ones to me. As if my excitement for this record couldn’t grow any more, I am going out on a limb and guessing ‘Two Birds’ may very well be a re-titled ‘A Lesson in How Fleeting Preservation Is’. Oh. My. Goodness.
Thoughts?
Far is released June 23rd. Pre-order the album here (or you can be like me and pre-order the Deluxe Edition even though you technically can’t afford it!). DO IT.
Wall of Arms cover art!
Yep, The Maccabees have finally unveiled the cover for their second album “Wall of Arms” (released May 4th on Fiction Records). The painting and photograph are the work of British artist Boo Ritson, who is known for literally coating her subjects in paint, photographing them, and creating surreal portraits that the eye mistakes for paintings or sculptures at first glance.
Orlando Weeks (vocals/guitar/wicked dance moves) has written a piece for The Guardian describing what the band wanted for their album art work and their experience working with Ritson:
Both the band and Boo are over the moon with the results. We put everything we had into making the new album and we’re really proud of it. To have the artwork that we set our hearts on is the icing on the cake. None of us Maccabees are comfortable in front of the camera but this was fine, it was an exercise in camouflage. If we had thought at the start of writing the album that not only would a photograph of us be our cover, but that we would be wearing sunglasses and what looks like lipstick, we would have run a mile. But we love it because it’s not really us, even though it is.
You can read the rest of the article here, where he describes what it was like to be coated in paint from head to toe. Personally, I like the artwork. I think it’s different in the sense that you don’t see your generic run-of-the-mill bands doing something like this, but it’s also different for The Maccabees themselves. In the past, their artwork has been the product of Weeks or close friends and it’s been good and become representative of the band, but now they’re taking a step outside of themselves. This seems to be the recurring theme of the new album and with the artwork, “No Kind Words”, and “Love You Better,” The Maccabees are showing the world that they’ve grown and matured as artists, musicians, and as people. And you know what? They’re doing a damn good job of showing it.
The band has put up “Love You Better” on their myspace page again this week. While it’s only a one minute preview for now, the band have promised to upload the full-lenght version of the song in the coming days. So keep an ear out for that!
I remember having seen Ritson’s work in the past and being blown away when I discovered that what I had believed to be paintings were actually photographs of models made to look like paintings. It sounds crazy, but it really is an interesting style that renders very cool and unexpected results. Definitely check out more of her work here!
Whale support!
With only four shows left, Noah and the Whale’s Club Silencio tour is wrapping up! Catch them before it’s over because by the look of things the tour is quite the surreal spectacle. Just look at how they kicked off the night at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire:
They promised a good time. It looks to me like they delivered.
For fans on the other side of the pond, the Whale boys may not be bringing Club Silencio Part Deux to the States in April, but they are bringing some pretty cool folks along for support on the entire tour:
Based in Chicago, 23-year-old Anni Rossi is a self-proclaimed “multi-instrumentalist” (viola , drums, and cello to name a few) solo artist who just released her debut album Rockwell on March 9th. She’s been playing for while and has already opened for the likes of Camera Obscura and The Ting Tings.
Check out Anni Rossi’s official myspace for some music (“Machine” is particularly addicting, if I do say so myself). If you like what you hear, buy her new album! Personally, I find there’s something slightly Spektor-esque about her sound and it’s caught my ear. How is it that some music can seem simple, yet intricate all at the same time?
Ferraby Lionheart is a singer-songwriter (I use the term in a non-insulting way) who seems to hail from many places –Los Angeles, Nashville, Chicago? Catch the Brass Ring, his debut album, was released in September 2007. Ferraby offers up some music for free listening on his myspace. Even more free music can be found on his official website (“A Bell and a Tumble” and “The Ballad of Gus and Sam” are catchy little numbers).
Rossi and Lionheart are definitely artists worth checking out further. Both have showcases at SXSW in Austin, TX next week.
Most importantly, don’t forget to catch them opening for Noah and the Whale in April! Check out the dates here.
