The Fader blog have been crushing hardcore on Ladyhawk for a while, and are premiering a new song from the band’s upcoming album, Shots. It’s called “I Don’t Always Know What You’re Saying” and keeps in context with the band’s Neil Young vibe. The chorus really reminds us of T. Rex (only a little darker) and for some reason, parts of “Light My Fire” by The Doors (maybe it’s that one guitar line? Think about it!). Shots is out March 4th on Jagjaguwar.
As always, our friends at Dim Mak are bringing the party this weekend at the Vanguard in LA, where the Mak’s main man Steve Aoki is headlining Giant’s 8th anniversary party. They’re co-presenting with BPM Magazine, so expect it to be nothing but hard dance grooves until the piercing light of dawn drives everyone running home. RSVP to partyline@dimmak.com with "GIANT DIM MAK" in the subject for free entry before 11.
Kings and Queens are back with a new RCRD LBL single, the psych rock mini opus “Like A Warning”, the third track off of their self-titled EP. Like their previous songs, “Like A Warning” has a deep psych rock feel to it, with all the organs and drums and swirling boy/girl harmonies. Clocking in at 6:22, it’s the longest song they’ve released for us so far, and obviously the length just contributes to its pysch tone, as the band build up the melodies until they reach one big, final crescendo. It’s reminiscent of Syd Barret-era Pink Floyd and the Stone Roses all at once.
Brooklyn-based experimental pop band MGMT are hotly tipped to be the big crossover band of 2008, and having very recently signed to Columbia Records, it looks like that might become a reality sooner rather than later. The band’s best song to date, “Time To Pretend”, is available as a free download as Single of the Week on iTunes. The song's strength lies in its summery, hazy tone and super catchy snyth lines.
Earlier this week, MGMT made their television debut on The Late Show With David Letterman and performed a really cool version of “Time To Pretend”, complete with capes and tons of hairspray. Behold:
(Side note: M.I.A. can’t use samples of gunshots on Letterman but MGMT can sing about heroin and cocaine? Hm…)
Blood On The Wall are dropping their third full-length, the fuzzy and riff-laden Liferz, on February 22nd, and are packing up the gear and touring the US in support. It’s weird to say this, but the world really needs more DIY punk rock bands at the moment. Taking all your favorite ‘90s bands (from Nirvana to Superdrag) and giving them mad homage, Blood On The Wall are visceral, angry rock ‘n’ roll. Check out the tour dates and download a few songs below.
1/30 at Record Bar in Kansas City, KS
1/31 at Slow Down in Omaha, NE 2/1 at Lorimer Lounge in Denver, CO
2/2 at Kilby Court in Salt Lake City, UT
2/3 at Palace in Missoula, MT
2/4 at Sunset Tavern in Seattle, WA
2/7 at Spaceland in Los Angeles, CA
2/8 at Club Congress in Tucson, AZ *
2/10 at Emo's in Austin, TX *
2/12 at Spanish Moon in Baton Rouge, LA *
2/13 at Bottle Tree Cafe in Birmingham, AL *
2/15 at Earl in Atlanta, GA *
2/16 at Grey Eagle Tavern in Asheville, NC *
2/17 at Local 506 in Chapel Hill, NC *
2/22 at Music Hall Of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY
In addition to being a member of ultra-cool RCRD LBL band Professor Murder, Michael Bell-Smith is also a stunning visual artist, creating all these meticulous and beautiful animations of light, texture, pixels and geometry seemingly out of thin air. Today, his second solo exhibition, Bouncing Lights Forever, opens at Foxy Productions is Manhattan. We urge you to go check it out, there’s more info and the Fader blog and the Foxy Production Website.
Stay tuned to RCRD LBL later this month, as we will be debuting a brand new track from the Professor Murder on a Desert Island EP and an instrumental of "Flex-it Formula" in the weeks to come...
Music blog So Much Silence have an interesting little feature series called I Used to Love H.E.R., where the editors get hip hop artists to write a short love letter about a rap album of their choice. Past artists include A-Trak, Cassettes Won’t Listen and, um, Palomar, but it’s the newest installment by Erik solo of Meanest Man Contest that’s really piqued our interest. He chose Redman’s debut record Whut? Thee Album, and it makes for an interesting read to say the least. Check it out below:
The guys over at the SEEN RCRD LBL blog are all over Honeycut, a San Francisco band who’s single “Exodus Honey” is currently soundtracking the newest batch of iMac ads. The three-piece (Bart Davenport on vocals, Tony Sevener on the MPC and RV Salters on the keyboards) have quite the eclectic sound for such a small band, relaying heavily on their knack for weaving loads of samples around Davenport’s soft vocals and witty lyrics. Honeycut are part of the famed Quannum Projects, the Bay Area label home to DJ Shadow, Apsci, Blackalicous and Lyrics Born, to name but a few. Head over to the SEEN blog for more info…
The second RCRD LBL exclusive we’re offering you today is “Blood is Clean” by Speck Mountain, a laid back psych folk band from Chicago who are making us rethink our stance on saxophones. Originally a song by Portland, OR ambient group Valet, “Blood is Clean” is a chilling tale of possession and loneliness, sung by frontwoman Marie-Claire Balabanian in a haunting, piercing tone not unlike Cat Power or Neko Case on some serious downers. Speck Mountain’s debut record, Summer Above, was picked up by popular Mancunian record store Piccadilly Records, which lead to the band getting signed to Peacefrog (the same label that discovered José González and Findlay Brown) in the U.K. and abroad. This is Speck Mountain’s first release with RCRD LBL, but expect more in the very near future: we’re posting another track next week. Stay tuned…
A year ago, Blair from Music for Robots and Dave from Slap You in Public, easily the two biggest dance music bloggers in NYC, inaugurated People Don’t Dance No More, a weekly electro party that has swiftly become everybody’s favorite hangout. Last weekend was their one year anniversary party and, obviously, it was off the chain. For those who weren’t able to make it, Blair posted a live mix from the party. Dim the lights and have a drink—it’s like you’re there…
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