With titles of tracks like “Thug Appeal” and “California Split”, I had no clue that what Left is West was going to assault me with during the beginning of “Ride” would be so tender and mild. While there are some guitars that bring this song into Goo Goo Dolls territory, there is still the sense that what Left is West is doing with these early tracks is making a run…
Margot & the nuclear so and so’s will release their third album, Buzzard, on September 21st, 2010 via Mariel Recordings, their own label with distribution through Redeye. Buzzard is infused with a newly raw, forceful energy. The album is a distinct evolution in sound from Margot’s more orchestral previous releases, the inventive Animal! (and its fraternal, slightly buttoned-down twin, Not Animal, both released by Epic in 2008), which hinted at…
Left Alone plays a brand of ska-punk that even Tim would be proud of. On “Every Night”, one almost expects Tim’s vocals to come slurring out of the gate. However, hearing something completely different, a bit of punk mixed in with the grit of a Replacements or a Husker Du, makes Left Alone shine amongst all the punk acts of the last few years. This is a catchy track, but…
Rooney’s new album, Eureka, is out now on their own California Dreamin’ records through Warner Music Group’s Independent Label Group. Rooney recently dropped by the VH1 offices to play songs off their new album Eureka. Check them out as they power through a stripped down versions of “I Don’t Wanna Lose You,” their latest single “I Can’t Get Enough” and other songs off the new record as well as a…
Ladies and gentlemen… ROIR is proud to unleash the snarling beast of Bad Cop to the music world. This shiny beast hails from the home of the country music industry, Nashville, but their sound comes from deep within their twisted souls. They’ve been building a steady following of fans and freaks who dig their tales of self-destruction and their punk-psych assault. Their first single “Daylight” showcased their garage groove and…
The interesting thing about dance singers is that most of them, wherever they end up calling home, have an impeccable English accent. This is not the case with Leana. If anything, this different accent makes the tracks on “Faith in Myself” that much more special. However, this does not change the fact that a track like “Faith” is perhaps one of the worst to lead a dance album off with.…
Samwell – Vocals Possessed of a 666 decibel voice, Samwell is heavy metal’s champion superhero. He had a pacemaker implanted—just so he could set it to 11. “Purveyors of feckless twee-rock be warned: I will totally smite you with my two horned anvil, strip you of your fathers’ cardigans, and burn Dio’s name into the lenses of your oversized nerd glasses.” Zigabot – Bass The only escaped clone of Dr.…
Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of SQUARE ENIX® interactive entertainment products in North America, announced today the upcoming release of TACTICS OGRE(TM): Let Us Cling Together(TM), a PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) system reinvention of the strategy RPG. The timing of the release will be announced at a future date. TACTICS OGRE is one of the most beloved strategy RPG titles of all time, with the game being the only one to…
Michael Franti & Spearhead will spread some sunshine this fall when they embark on “The Sound of Sunshine Tour” across North America in support of Franti’s upcoming album, THE SOUND OF SUNSHINE, to be released September 21st through Capitol Records/Boo Boo Wax. The album’s title track and first single, “The Sound of Sunshine”, just hit #1 on the AAA chart. The tour will kick off September 19th in Laytonville, CA…
While I have heard of companies purchasing the rights to a song so they can play it on their commercials (car companies and Apple come to mind as groups that do that fairly often), I cannot recall many instances where a company (like Nike) has paid an individual (James Murphy, who is LCD Soundsystem) to create an entire composition for the sheer purpose of promoting said company. The way I…
D. Ramirez returns with an eagerly-anticipated album of original singles and remixes of all of his favourite tracks released on Slave Recordings. “D. Ramirez Remixed” brings together, for the first time in a single collection, the groundbreaking club mixes that catapulted him to the forefront of the world´s dance music scene. Some of the tracks include Pleasure Me, La Discotek, Wired, Satur8 and Nitr8. Over the course of his career,…
The slightly-snotty vocals of The Lawrence Arms work well in the restrained-punk of “Cocktails & Dreams”. What really exists as a Social Distortion-lite is a radio-friendly type of emo-influenced punk that comes through during tracks like “Quincentuple Your Money”. Each of the tracks on “Cocktails & Dreams” has that same wall of sound that really allows the smoothness of the vocals to shine; the disjointed compilation of the tracks on…
First Aid Kit has announced the dates of their second North American headlining tour. The tour begins September 30th and will take the Swedish sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg from the Vera Project in Seattle, WA, all the way across the country to DC9 in Washington, DC, on October 20th. Following the May 25th stateside release of their debut full-length The Big Black & The Blue (Wichita), First Aid Kit…
As one of Alternative Press Magazines “100 Bands You Need To Know” 2010, Deas Vail is working hard to make sure their presence is known, just wrapping up a successful club trek with O’Brother the band kicks off dates with Lydia on July 20 and then it’s onto an August run on Vans Warped Tour 2010. “With a successful co-headlining run up the Midwest and East Coast and great crowds…
The singer-songwriter tradition ha a tremendous amount of individuals that really do not contribute anything to the genre or those that tend to cheapen it by just relying on the contributions of others to make it big (Jack Johnson and John Maher from the tradition of Dave Matthews, for example). However, from the opening strains of “God Is My Girlfriend”, a track that has hints of Sean Lennon and Soul…
“When You Rock & Roll,”Cookbook, Uno Mas’s breakthrough indie single featuring Evidence of Dialated Peoples spawned a great clip directed by up-and-comer Carey Williams. The track, is the group’s testament to staying true to yourself, a theme that seems to have resonated with fans and the industry alike. It was recently announced the clip was chosen to feature on MTVu’s popular program The Freshmen. Each week, MTVu’s The Freshmen picks…
Besides Desert City Soundtrack, Latterman might be Deep Elm’s best band ever. While they are not related in any way to Desert City Soundtrack beyond being on the same label, both bands share an intensity and impressive nature that cannot be removed from them. It only takes about a minute, and Latterman even bests acts like None More Black and Rise Against with a scratchy set of vocals that recalls…
The 2008 Tony and Grammy Award-winning Best Musical In The Heights welcomes 19 Recordings/Jive Records platinum recording artist and 2007 “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks as Broadway’s new Nina Rosario. Making her Broadway debut in In The Heights Thursday, August 19, 2010, 20 year old Jordin Sparks will play a limited 12 week engagement through Sunday, November 14, 2010. Jordin Sparks has been performing from a young age and stands…
Tribeca Enterprises and New Video, a leading independent film and TV distributor, announced today that New Video is the exclusive DVD distributor for titles from Tribeca Film, a national distribution platform acquiring and releasing films year-round supported by Founding Partner American Express. The films range from award-winning dramas and revealing documentaries to uproarious comedies and stunning animated features; many of which premiered at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival prior to…
When the Deep Elm press release said that this album was “classic”, I was a little bit skeptical. Sure, their last album “No Matter Where We Go” was one of the top ten albums released this year, but I assumed that it was created after a great deal of maturation by the band. No insult intended, but the music on “Turn Up The Punk” may just be a bit stronger…