Bloc Party- unveil new single

Bloc Party have a brand new single coming out next month, and the band previewed the new track "Mercury", exclusively on the UK Radio 1 show last night. To listen to the new song "Mercury" click here.
The band is also said to be working on their third studio album, with producer Jacknife Lee. When asked about the state of the upcoming release, lead singer Kele Okereke said: "I think we're making the record I always wanted us to make. We're kind of just in the middle of it, we're still writing songs and mixing stuff."

He later added that the album could be released as soon as the end of 2008.

Rock Werchter Festival- Day 3 recap

Day three at Werchter featured a non stop line-up of big names that we were anxious to check out, from Kings of Leon and Band of Horses, to Sigur Ros, MGMT and Radiohead. Here's the rundown of what we saw: ( to see all the photo's click here.)
-With the daunting task of being first up on the main stage at 12:15p on Sat., Athens Georgia's The Whigs brought their straight ahead southern filled rock. Shaking the cobwebs off of the hung over crowd, the three piece band cranked up the volume and raced through rockers "Right Hand on My Heart", "Already Young", "Production City" and the highlight of the set the rousing "Like a Vibration".

- Next up on the smaller Marquee stage was indie-electo-synth outfit MGMT. There hasn't been too many bands out there within the past year who have garnered more hype than these guys, so i was looking forward to seeing what they brought to the table live. The group had the crowd on it's feet early, dancing along to the hits "Time to Pretend" and "Electric Feel" which came across stronger than on album. Other standouts of the set were the pyschedelic "Weekend Wars" and the closer, the 80's dance infused "Kids".

- Band Of Horses on the Marquee Stage, kicking off the set with the beautiful crescendo steady rocker "Is There A Ghost". Lead singer Ben Bridwell and the band seemed to genuinely be having fun inter-playing with the crowd after every song with yells of "whooo" back and forth., with Bridwell introing songs with ..."this one's called ..whoooo". Mixing in new and older material the band featured tight harmonies on "Ode to LRC" and the countrified "The General Specific" from Cease To Begin with "Islands on The Coast" sounding especially strong. Classics from Everything All The Time like "Great Salt Lake", "Weed Party" and "Wicked Gil" had the crowd shaking, while the anthemic "The Funeral" was the absolute show stopper with it's mass sing along.

-Joy Division and Interpol comparisons aside, The Editors who played during a steady rain on the Main Stage brought urgency to songs such as "Smokers Outside Hospital Doors" and "An End Has A Start". But their older track "Munich" off of 2005's The Back Room had the most bite of them all.

-Next up on the Main Stage was Kings Of Leon. With three solid albums under their belt now, the southern band bring a swagger to their set of raw energy and guitar power. Starting their set heavy with material off of the recent Because Of The Times, the band scorched through "Black Thumbnail", "My Party", "Fans" and "On Call". The band is tight live, and were particularly on point on the 7 plus minute "Knocked Up". Older material that was exceptionally intense were "King Of The Rodeo", "Molly's Chambers" and "The Bucket", but highlighting the set was the brilliant "Charmer" with Caleb's howls, then leading into "Slow Night Slow Long" to close the set. Some Day soon you'll see these guys closing a Festival themselves.

- Iceland's Sigur Ros brought their airy dream pop, opening with an older track, the ambient "Svefn-G-Englar". During their set the hippy dancing began, as the crowd soaked in the atmospheric sounds. Highlights of the groups set were the richly layered "Saeglopur", along with "Vid Spilum Endalaust" which could be the most shoegazy or pop sounding song the band has tackled, which is off of the new album and also the hectic paced single "Gobbledigook" complete with confetti cannons exploding at the finish.

-Closing things out on night three, and probably the most anticipated act at Werchter this year was Radiohead. With a huge and far ranging back catalogue to choose from now at this point in their career, the band can really show off it's diversity. Wether it's opening the show with the sweeping "Weird Fishes" straight into "National Anthem" or "All I Need" into "There There", the band can switch gears on a dime. One minute unleashing spacey electronics, the next driving beats or just flat bringing full blown guitars. Just take for example the group closing out the set before the encores by dusting off the old screamer "Just" into "Reckoner", "Idioteque" and then "Bodysnatchers". No other band can match that kind of diversity and that is exactly why the band gets labled the most influential group around nowadays. Other particularly great moments from the set were "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" which sounded particularly electrified thanks to Jonny Greenwood's guitar work, "Climbing Up The Walls" and "Paranoid Android" with thanks on the latter again going to Greenwood's solo as the highlight, before closing out the set with a phenomenal version of "Everything In It's Right Place".

Rock Werchter Festival- Day 1 recap

One of the best times of the year is here again... Festival Season in Europe!! We had the chance to attend the Rock Werchter Festival in Belgium over the weekend. To see the photo's click here.
Here's a quick recap of Day 1 highlights:

-Kicking things off on the main stage at Werchter this year were the UK newcomers Air Traffic . With a handfull of hit singles in Europe, Air Traffic is known for their piano driven rock and Coldplay comparisons. They got the crowd going opening with the frantic single "Gloria", then later on got the masses singing along on the anthemic "No More Running Away", before closing with their biggest hit "Shooting Star".

- Counting Crows mixing in new material off of Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings , the highlight of which was the melancholy "Washington Square". Frontman Adam Duritz was all energy, tightrope walking the monitors and running across the stage, while mixing in old favorites "Mr Jones", "Have You Seen Me Lately" and "Long December". The topper of the set was the usual live extended version of "Round Here".

-The National manning the smaller Marquee stage, practically blowing the roof off the joint during a driving rain storm. The Brooklyn band set the intensity level early kicking off their set with a ramped up version of "Start A War". Other highlights were "Secret Meeting", "Slow Show" and a killer version of the rocker "Abel", with lead singer Matt Berninger's voice sounding especially strong. The band closed out the dynamic set with the one two punch of "Fake Emire" leading into the closer "Mr November" which left the crowd in a frenzy. Next time around don't be surpised to see The National playing on the Main stage.

- Shameboy and Soulwax getting the techno scene kicked off in the evening

- R.E.M. reminding people that they used to be one of the biggest bands in the world not that long ago. Playing mostly their heavier rock material, as if to prove the point, the band got the set started with "Orange Crush" complete with Michael Stipe yelling into the megaphone. The group then launched through a mix of harder numbers "What's The Frequency Kenneth" and "Ignoreland" with Peter Buck sounding as aggressive as he's ever sounded on guitar. The band also broke out classics such as "Driver 8", and "Begin the Begin", but the highlight of the set had to be the audience sing along on the "The One I Love".

We also attended day three of the festival, so more highlights to come from the Day 3 line-up that included, MGMT, Sigur Ros, Kings Of Leon and Radiohead.

Notwist -new video for "Boneless"

Boneless


German indie-electro rockers, The Notwist have just released a brand new video for their second single "Boneless" off of the stellar album The Devil, You + Me.

The band can currently be seen on tour across Europe ...

Jul 5 Roskilde Festival Roskilde
Jul 15 Poolbar Feldkirch
Jul 16 Spaziale Turin
Jul 17 Jazzhaus Freiburg
Jul 18 Dour Festival Dour
Jul 19 Melt Festival Gräfenhainichen
Jul 22 Sotto le Stelle @ Piazza Castello Ferrara
Aug 3 Expo 2008 Zaragoza
Aug 8 Rockefeller / Øya Night Oslo
Aug 9 Field Day Festival London
Aug 15 La Route Du Rock Saint

Damien Jurado- New album news

Damien Jurado over the last few years has been best known for his quiet folk tales, a sort of urban storyteller. On his forthcoming new album, Caught In The Trees,which drops on Sept 9th on Secretly Canadian, the singer is said to be returning to more rock influenced roots and delving deeper within himself with more intropective lyrics. The change in direction might remind longtime fans of Jurado's early days playing in the Christian-tinged Coolidge, which featured future Pedro the Lion's David Bazan, whose music was more personal, a style that Jurado departed from to pursue the soft, darker folk songs.
Speaking to CMJ of the new direction Jurado says ...."It is the first time that I have ever written from a personal standpoint, unlike in the past, where all of my songs were short stories. There is a line in one of my songs where I say, 'How does it feel to be what you sing about?..."I'm talking to me".

Starting in August Jurado will be heading out on tour to support the new album. You can listen to the new track "Gillian Was A Horse", which is up on his Myspace now.

Cold War Kids - album preview

The buzz on the new Cold War Kids album coming out this fall has been pretty heavy. The new material has been much anticipated, since we last received a full length from the band back in 'O6 with 'Robbers and Cowards', which featured one of the years best singles in "Hang Me Up to Dry".
With the debate raging on over what the new sound of the band will be, and wether or not it will be a dissapointment to fans, the Cold War Kids have released a video teaser of the upcoming work, which for now has a September release date.

If the teaser is any indication, fans need not worry, as the album sounds like it will be pure killer!!

Brooke Waggoner- New album coming

Rising Nashville singer-songwriter Brooke Waggoner has been on our short list of artists to look out for since we heard her EP back in '07. On the verge of something bigger, Waggoner has announced the release details of her debut full-length LP, the piano driven Heal For The Honey , which will be available for all to hear on Sept. 9th. Preceding the release will be a brief tour in the southern US, which culminates with a cd release show on Aug. 13th at The Belcourt theatre in Nashville.

If you can't wait for the new album to hear the new material, Brooke is currently previewing two of the new tracks "Young Friend" and "Heal for The Honey" on her Myspace.

Lykke Li- adds US tour dates

Readying for the August 19th release date of her full length Youth Novels hitting the US shores, Lykke Li will be storming back to the States with a new set of tour dates. Already a smash across Europe, Li will be taking 'Youth Novels' to the US for the second time, after a brief but successful tour with El Perro Del Mar earlier in the spring. The new round of dates will begin at the end of August with a fuller schedule in October & November.

New Lykke Li tour dates:

AUGUST
25 Aug LOS ANGELES, CA - Hotel Café
28 Aug NEW YORK, NY - Le Poisson Rouge

OCTOBER
19 Oct WASHINGTON, DC - Black Cat
23 Oct BOSTON, MA - Paradise
24 Oct TORONTO, ON - Mod Club
25 Oct CHICAGO, IL - Empty Bottle
28 Oct VANCOUVER, BC - Richards on Richards
29 Oct SEATTLE, WA - Neumo's / Tickets 30 Oct PORTLAND, OR - Doug Fir

NOVEMBER
1 Nov SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Independent

Frightened Rabbit- new video for "Set You Free"

When you think of the group Frightened Rabbit, you may not instantly think 90's dance numbers. But the boys from Glasgow have recently tackled a cover version of N Trance's "Set You Free" circa 1994, complete with a new video for the track.

Needless to say, the Frightened Rabbit interpretation sounds nothing like the original.... thank god!!

This weeks New Releases

The first week of July is usually a light week as far as new releases are concerned with summer getting in full tilt, but here's a few that deserve mentioning that you might want to look into.

Earlimart- Hymn & Her
Reliant k- The Bird and The Bee sides
Holly Conlan- You Are Goodbye (single)
The Long Blondes- Guilt EP
Travis- J Smith EP
Brooke Fraser- Albertine
Flying Lotus- LA EP 1 x 3 EP
Friendly Fires- On Board (single)
Los Lonely Boys- Forgiven

Johnny Flynn news

Having recently been signed with Lost Highway Records(Ryan Adams, Elvis Costello, Fionn Regan), young UK indie-folk singer Johnny Flynn is ready to hit American shores. Lost Highway has just released his Hong Kong Cemetry EP in the US, which is a quick prelude for his debut full length album, A Larum, which will be coming out this July 29th.

Flynn, who has tackled some Shakespearian acting in his past, has an old school folk storytelling charm about his music, of which Flynn says ... he "tries to retain a sense of history and knowledge and bring it up to date". Stay tuned for Flynn to hit American shores live, as a tour is in the works.

In the meantime, Flynn and his band, The Sussex Wit have recently re-done the video for the folk stomping single "Tickle Me Pink", which features Flynn's alter-ego as a marionette.

Johnny Flynn- "Tickle Me Pink":



Listen to Johnny Flynn on Myspace.

Wk 6/30 Video and Song of the week: City and Colour "Love Don't Live Here Anymore"

This weeks choice for Video and song of the week comes from talented singer Dallas Green's solo project City And Colour. The song is "Love Don't Live Here Anymore", which is a cover of a 1970's tune done by Rose Royce, that was later on actually covered by Madonna. The video is part of the new Myspace Transmissions series featuring performances and interviews with indie artists.
Green who hails from Canada doesn't have your typical singer songwriter background, in fact he comes out of the post hardcore group Alexisonfire which had it's own success, even going platinum. In between tours with Alexisonfire Green decided to put together some quieter tunes he had been working on and take them out on the road. Luckily for us the feedback was more than positive and Green decided to release the material, the latest of which is his sophomore release, the beautiful Bring Me Your Love.

To see the complete Myspace Transmisions series with City and Colour or other artists click here.

Stream Sigur Ros & Bjork Live in concert

Who knew National Geographic had a music division?? Not us, but apparently the music division of National Geographic Entertainment will be doing a Webcast of an open-air (Náttúra) concert featuring Sigur Ros and Bjork live from Iceland on Saturday, June 28th. To watch the show you just have to go to worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET in NYC, with a start time of 8 p.m. BST/London or 7 p.m. GMT/Reykjavik.

The Náttúra concert is being held in a large park near the centre of Reykjavik, and looks to raise awareness of the impact of aluminum smelting activity on Iceland's natural landscape. Said Sigur Rós vocalist Jón Thor Birgisson "We are not a political band and don't think musicians should set themselves as spokespeople on anything at all, but sometimes you see things going on in your own back yard and find that just as a human being you cannot stand by and do nothing".

Kings of Leon- New album gets release date

Earlier in the month we told you about Kings Of Leon were finishing up work on their next album. Well the band officially unveiled a release date for the new LP, called Only By The Night, which will be hitting stores on Sept. 23. In the meantime if your itching to preview the new material, you'll have to catch the band fine tuning the new songs live, as they hit the road over the summer on the festival circuit in Europe and in the States.

Kings Of Leon tour schedule:

June
27 - Somerset, U.K. @ Glastonbury Festival
29 - Switzerland @ Open Air St Gallen Festival

July
4 - Denmark @ Roskilde Festival
5 - Belgium @ Werchter Festival
8 - Paris, France @ Le Zenith
11 - Ireland @ Oxygen Festival
13 - Scotland @ T In The Park Festival
18 - Madrid, Spain @ Summercase Festival
19 - Barcelona, Spain @ Summercase Festival

August
9 - Liberty State Park, Jersey City, N.J. @ All Points West Festival
16 - Weston Park, Staffordshire, U.K. @ V Festival
17 - Hylands Park, Chelmsford, U.K. @ V Festival

The Duke Spirit- New video and tour dates

UK psychedelic rockers, The Duke Spirit are gearing up for another round of US tour dates this summer. The band which made a brief stops in the states earlier in the year, announced the dates which will see them jaunting from coast to coast in July and August, with festival appearances scattered in between.

In other Duke Spirit news, the band just released a brand new video for the track "Lassoo", off of their fantastic sophomore album Neptune. To check out the video click here.

Upcoming tour dates:

7/15 Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern W/KBZT
7/17 Los Angeles, CA @ The Hammer Museum (Indie 103 show) – FREE
7/19 Mountain View, CA @ Download Festival @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
7/20 Los Angeles, CA @ Download Festival @ GIBSON Amphitheatre
7/22 Los Angeles, CA The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
7/23 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
7/24 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
7/26 Seattle, WA @ Nectar Lounge
7/28 Hollywood, CA @ Amoeba (instore)
7/30 New York, NY @ Webster Hall w/ Supergrass
8/1 Philadelphia, PA @ WXPN/World Café – FREE
8/1 Asbury Park, NJ @ The Saint (
8/2 Camden, NJ @ Download Festival @ Tweeter Center
8/4 Baltimore,MD @ Ottobar
8/5 Boston, MA @ T.T. The Bear's
8/8 Jersey City, NJ @ All Points West Festival
8/9 Pittsburgh, PA @ New American Music Union Festival
8/10 Nashville, TN @ 3rd & Lindsley
8/12 Columbus, OH @ The Basement
8/13 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
8/14 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle

Oasis- Prep new album

Oasis is readying their next studio album, Dig Out Your Soul, which is scheduled to come out on October 6 on their Big Brother label.
The LP will be the band's seventh studio album and was produced by Dave Sardy, who also worked on the last album from the group, 2005's 'Don't Believe The Truth'. The first single off the album will be the "'The Shock Of The Lightning which should be available at the end of September. The single was written by Noel Gallagher and features his brother, Liam on lead vocals.

Noel said this of the upcoming work ... "I wanted to write music that had a groove; not songs that followed that traditional pattern of verse, chorus and middle eight." ...."I wanted a sound that was more hypnotic; more driving. Songs that would draw you in, in a different way. Songs that you would maybe have to connect to – to feel."

Cave Singers meet Black Cab

One of the cooler websites of late that has been catching on and has also been snagging some cool artists is the UK based Black Cab Sessions. The sessions feature indie artists stuck in the back of a Black Cab performing as they ride through the streets of London. The latest group to take part was the Seattle band The Cave Singers.
Some recent sessions in the cab have included, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Sunset Rubdown and even Death Cab For Cutie. To watch the Cave Singers just check out below or to view some of the other recent acts on Black Cab Sessions go here.

This Weeks New Releases

This weeks new releases in this the last week of June round out a pretty strong month overall for new music, which saw lot's of eagerly awaited new discs arriving.

Here's some of what we found noteworthy this week to give a listen to:

Sigur Ros- Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust(With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly)
Sam Sparro- (self titled)
Hercules and Love Affair- (self titled)
Ulrich Schnauss- Stars Ep
City and Colour- (I-tunes exclusive) Ep
Watson Twins- Fire Songs
My Milky Way Arms- (self titled)
Amos Lee- Last Days At The Lodge
Kate York- (self titled) Ep

The Shins- Splitting from Sub Pop?

The Shins could be severing ties with the iconic indie label Sub Pop, and are looking into putting out their fourth LP on their own. The group is said to be looking to sign a deal with a label that will enable them to keep ownership of their masters and utilise the label's marketing and radio promotion abilities. Speculation remains however that it is still possible that the group will remain connected to the label through distribution purposes.

The Shins manager Ian Montone said this of the deal ..."The deal will be more of a [pressing and distribution] deal than a traditional record deal," ... "That partner could very well remain Sub Pop, who have done a remarkable job with the band and have a great staff of people .... It could be a digital partner with respect to other rights..... The first goal is to make the record and see where that takes us."

The Shins last album on Sub Pop, ‘Wincing The Night Away’ debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard chart and the group has sold over 1.5 million albums in the US alone.

Wk 6/23 Video & Song of the week: Cathy Davey- Sing For Your Supper

The new single "Sing For Your Supper" from Dublin singer Cathy Davey is our choice for video and song of the week this week. The track is the latest pop-rock single off Davey's second album Tales Of Silversleeve that came out in 2007, which led to Davey nominated for a Choice Music Prize for Irsih Album of the year.

Cathy Davey- "Sing For Your Supper":



Listen to Cathy Davey on Myspace.

Priscilla Ahn- CD Release at Joe's Pub

This week in NYC we attended the CD release party for Priscilla Ahn and her new CD A Good Day at Joe's Pub (for photo's click here). The new disc is Ahn's much buzzed about major label debut and judging by the sold out crowd is well worth the pre-release hype. Backed by a classically old school four piece band complete with baby grand piano, cello, dog house bass, and drums, Ahn and the band set the mood for an intimate evening of her tender folk sounds.
Ahn who is a gifted guitar player with jaw dropping finger picking breezed through her songs off the new disc, which she explained were inspired by her growing up in a "sleepy rural town in Pennsylvania" as she put it. Small town songs such as "Lullaby" and "Leave The Light On For Me" led the way, the latter of which Ahn said was about her parents actually leaving the light on for her when she would come home after a night out.
Throughout the set the crowd was so intensely glued to Ahn that you could almost hear a pin drop, even as the subway rumbled under Joe's almost as if accompanying the music and adding to the already cozy atmosphere. But Ahn especially had the audience on the edge of their seats on the stunning rendition of "Dreams", which even made the waitresses stop dead in their tracks to listen. Other highlights of the evening were the Willie Nelson cover "Opportunity to Cry" which Ahn said Nelson actually heard and liked, and "Masters In China" with Ahn on ukulele.
The warm vibe of the show continued afterwards as Ahn stayed off stage signing and taking pictures with fans, not leaving until the long line of fans emptied and everyone was left satisfied.


Story contributed by: Robert Proffe
Photo's: Robert Proffe