Video & Song of the Week 8/18: Dead Confederate-"The Rat"

The past year has seen a quick rise for Athens Georgia's Dead Confederate. The band has seen themselves touring with heavyweights such as Dinosaur Jr., Drive By Truckers, and Deerhunter, as well as sharing the stage with fellow Athens boys R.E.M. at SXSW. The group is now ready to release the follow up to their self titled Ep, their new debut full length, Wrecking Ball which comes out September 16th on TAO Records. The album features their standout track "The Rat", which you can catch below from a live performance in Atlanta, Georgia in the Digital Arts Entertainment Lab.

"The Rat":



Upcoming Dead Confederate tour dates:

09.11.08 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN
09.12.08 – Sky City – Augusta, GA
09.18.08 – The Hummingbird – Macon, GA
09.19.08 – 40 Watt – Athens, GA
09.20.08 – The Earl – Atlanta, GA
09.23.08 – JJ’s Bohemia – Chattanooga, TN
09.24.08 – The Bottletree – Birmingham, AL
09.25.08 – Sticky Fingerz – Little Rock, AR
09.26.08 – Emo's – Austin, TX
09.27.08 – The Cavern – Dallas, TX
09.29.08 – The Bluebird – St. Louis, MO
09.30.08 - Jackpot Music Hall - Lawrence, KS
10.01.08 – The Waiting Room – Omaha, NE
10.02.08 – The Annex – Madison, WI
10.03.08 – Mo's Irish Pub – Milwaukee, WI
10.04.08 – Schubas – Chicago, IL
10.07.08 – TT the Bears – Cambridge, MA
10.09.09 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY
10.10.08 – Union Hall – Brooklyn, NY
10.14.08 – Cat's Cradle – Carrboro, NC
10.16.08 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN
10.17.08 – Proud Larry's – Oxford, MS
10.25.08 – Voodoo Experience – New Orleans, LA

Listen to Dead Confederate.

Dead Confederate- Wrecking Ball

The Athens, Georgia band Dead Confederate gained notoriety back in 2007 for their self titled EP, which featured their psych-rock stunner "The Rat", which is already high in our minds for a year end top songs list. On their new album Wrecking Ball, the group mixes sounds of early 90's grunge with southern and indie rock to create their own compelling brand of angst.
Right from the opener "Heavy Petting", frontman Hardy Morris sets the tone with his raspy beer soaked growl over non-stop relentless cymbal crashes. "The Rat", which is actually a protest song about the religious right in America makes an appearance on the full length as well, with it's swelling wall of distortion. The album is both loud and aggressive, "Start Me Laughing" is a frenetic display of guitar and drums that rumble under Morris' hurried screams. Tracks like "Goner" with it's soft to loud and back again swing and "Flesh Colored Canvas" with all it's peaks and valleys show the bands diversity, with the latter checking in at 12 plus minutes of raw intensity.
While the band has drawn lot's of comparisons to Nirvana for it's partial early 90's sound, on 'Wrecking Ball' they show they can not only hold their own, but they can carve out their own sound while making a lasting impression as well.

Listen to Dead Confederate.

new video: Dead Confederate- "The Rat"

A few weeks back we told you about Dead Confederate's new album coming out, and even chose their song "The Rat" as our 'video & song of the week'. At the time there was no official video out for the track, but with the release of Wrecking Ball hitting stores next week (Sept 16th), the band has put out an official video for "The Rat". You can preview tracks off the new album and check the bands upcoming tour dates on their myspace.

Dead Confederate- "The Rat":

new video: Dead Confederate-"Start Me Laughing"

Earlier this year, we brought you a review of Dead Confedrate's debut album, Wrecking Ball, (click here for the review). The group received some heavy indie-radio play due to the albums eerily haunting and infectious track, "The Rat". If I had the ability to make up my mind long enough for a best songs of the year list, "The Rat" would definitely be making an appearance somewhere in there. Another one of the albums better tracks, the intense "Start Me Laughing" has just received the video treatment, directed by Jason Miller & Ethan Payne.
The band will be wrapping up their '08 with several shows down South, stopping in Florida before hitting up their home state of Georgia.

Dead Confederate-"Start Me Laughing":


Upcoming tour schedule:

Dec 17 The Social Orlando, Florida
Dec 18 Orpheum Ybor City, Florida
Dec 19 Jack Rabbits Jacksonville, Florida
Dec 20 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, Georgia
Dec 23 Sky City Gift Horse Augusta, Georgia

This weeks new releases

Here's what we dug up for this weeks short list of new releases. This week features a strong debut from Jessica Lea Mayfield, as well as releases from Portugal, The Man, Dead Confederate and Land Of Talk.

Here's this weeks releases, 9/16:

Passion Pit- Chunk Of Change
Jessica Lea Mayfield- With Blasphemy, So Heartfelt
Dead Confederate- Wrecking Ball
Land Of Talk- Some Are Lakes (digital release)
Mother Mother- O My Heart
Noah And The Whale- Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down
Dressy Bessy- Hollerandstomp
Brandi Carlile- Live in Boston (iTunes only)
Portugal, The Man- Censored Colors
The Break And Repair Method- Milk The Bee
James- Hey Ma
Marc Broussard- Keep Coming Back
The Cure- Hypnagogic States EP
War Tapes- self titled EP
School Of Seven Bells- Half Asleep (single)
Dark Captain Light Captain- Jealous Enemies (single)

get to know Alberta Cross

Usually when someone recommends a band to me by stating that they have a heavy blues influence, I just know it's not gonna be my bag. Nothing against the genre at all, just usually isn't where I gravitate. But I decided to the give Alberta Cross a go, and I was more than pleasantly surprised, as blues are just one of the many descriptions that could be pinned on the band. The group which was founded by guitarist/vocalist Petter Ericson Stakee and bassist Terry Wolfers, released a critically acclaimed EP, The Thief & the Heartbreaker, back in '07 which nabbed the band opening slots with Oasis, The Shins, and Bat For Lashes. They are now ready with a new release titled, Broken Side of Time, which will be available on September 22nd on ATO Records.

Originally from London, the pair now reside in Brooklyn, NY, with the new album serving as their official introduction to the U.S. audience. 'Broken Side of Time' was recorded in Austin, TX and produced by Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Dead Confederate, Heartless Bastards), with John O’Mahony (Depeche Mode, Coldplay, Kasabian) mixing.

You can hear the heavier, darker new track "ATX" streaming now over on their myspace page

Ive Known For So Long - Alberta Cross

Alberta Cross on myspace