Super Mega New Release Tuesday!
Phew boy! This week’s new release calendar is overflowing with goodies. I’ll have to admit to not having heard all of these in their entirety. And honestly, when you’re hit with this many releases at the same time, it’s impossible to really absorb them all, even if you do make the time to listen through each one. But this week is definitely chock full of albums I’ve been eagerly anticipating.
The Raveonettes latest, In and Out of Control, has finally arrived. What can I offer you by way of a concise summarization? It’s the catchiest, most upbeat collection of songs about rape, suicide and drug abuse that I’ve ever heard. The band have always had a consistent sound aesthetic, but I’d say they sound their most polished and accessible here.
What can I add to The XX conversation that hasn’t already been said? Everyone seems to have fallen head over heels in love with the band, and I’ll confess I’m right there with them. It’s difficult to resist the marriage of that quiet, minimalist Cowboy Junkies/Mazzy Star sound with more traditional indie rock staples. The boy-girl dynamic is used to great effect, and all ends up having an incredibly sexual vibe. Sexual like ‘I’ll die without you’, not ‘Let’s have sex in this bathroom stall’. Ya know, classy.
The Gossip have finally followed up on 2006’s Standing In The Way Of Control, with Music For Men. After listening, I must say that my only complaint here is that MFM essentially sounds like SITWOC pt II. It’s not so much the sound of a band taking a step back as the sound of a band standing still. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing bad on here, no major missteps, but I’m simply not hearing anything new. I guess after 3 years I was looking for something that might surprise me a bit more. We’ll see if this one ends up a grower.
TOUR DATES:
October 7 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
October 8 Philadelphia, PA TLA
October 9 New York, NY Terminal 5
October 11 Boston, MA Paradise
October 15 Detroit, MI Majestic Theater
October 16 Chicago, IL Metro
October 17 Madison, WO Orpheum
October 19 Denver, CO Bluebird
October 20 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
October 23 Seattle, WA Showbox
October 24 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
October 25 San Francisco, CA Regency Ballroom
October 26 Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theater
October 29 Austin, TX Emo’s
October 30 Little Rock, AR Vino’s
This is one I haven’t had much time to get acquainted with, admittedly. But based on what I have hard, it won’t take me long to warm up to it. Besides, when have Air ever let me down?
Eldest daughter of Johnny and his first wife, Vivian, Roseanne Cash has decided to release an album full of covers picked from a list of 100 Essential Country Songs curated by her father. The album also features guest vocals from Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainright, Bruce Springsteen and Jeff Tweedy. It could all be a horrible mess if it weren’t for the fact that Roseanne inherited a great deal of talent from her famous father. She has that classic country sound down to a science.
I wondered what route former Be Your Own Pet-er Jemina Pearl was going to take on her solo debut, and roughly 3 songs in I had it figured out. She’s decided to go for the sweetest, most saccharine-infused brand of power pop available. It’s like Material Issue after a bender of brownies, pixie sticks and orange candy. Measure your doses carefully.
TOUR DATES:
10/7 The Brillobox, Pittsburgh PA
10/9 The Summit, Columbus OH
10/10 Exit/In, Nashville TN
10/12 Southgate House, Newport KY
10/13 Beachland Tavern, Cleveland OH
10/14 Majestic Café, Detroit MI
Islands & Jemina Pearl:
10/15 Subterranean, Chicago IL
10/18 The Palace Lounge, Missoula MT
10/19 Chop Suey, Seattle WA
10/20 Rickshaw Theatre, Vancouver BC
10/21 Hawthorne Theatre, Portland OR
10/22 The Odd Fellows Lodge, Davis CA
10/23 Bottom Of The Hill, San Francisco CA
10/25 Rhythm Room, Phoenix AZ
10/27 Mohawk, Austin TX
10/28 Rubber Gloves, Denton TX
10/29 Hi Tone Café, Menphis TN
10/30 Bottletree Café, Birmingham AL
10/31 Lenny’s Bar, Atlanta GA
11/1 Duke Coffee House, Durham NC
11/2 G-Spot, Baltimore MD
11/3 First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia PA
11/4 Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge MA
11/5 Bowery Ballroom, Manhattan NY
I’d heard a lot about Kurt Vile (and I definitely dug the name), but until recently hadn’t taken the time to listen to his music. Oversight corrected! Though I’ve found it really difficult to move passed ‘Overnite Religion’. I just keep it on repeat and let it take me where I need to go. Wonderful, wonderful stuff.
A few weeks ago, I admitted to not having previously given Orenda Fink much of a chance. I hadn’t deliberately avoided her work, but I hadn’t made any effort to know it, either. After hearing the gorgeous ‘High Ground’ I was determined to change that. Her latest album is full of beautiful, intoxicating twilight music. It’s hard to escape its simple charms.
The Cinematics are back at it again with their tight dance rhythms. I thought they might be going in an darker direction when I heard lead single ‘Love and Terror’, but after hearing the rest of the album it seems they’ve stayed closer to their original sound than I previously thought. But their Franz-meets-Bunnymen sound still works for me. I’d recommend ‘Lips Taste Like Tears’ and ‘Hospital Tears’ as the standouts.
TOUR DATES:
11-19 Bremen, Germany – Tower
11-20 Halle, Germany – Klub Drushba
11-21 Stuttgart, Germany – Universum
11-23 Cologne, Germany – Gebäude9
11-26 Freiburg, Germany – Waldsee
11-27 Augsburg, Germany – Kantine
11-28 Hannover, Germany – Café Glocksee
This is another one I haven’t heard much from, but the reliable Mr Toad recently recommended it (and that was after he made it clear he didn’t think much of them) and that’s good enough for me.
Concert dates:
Oct. 20 Los Angeles, CA The Roxy
Oct. 21 San Diego, CA Casbah
Oct. 22 San Francisco, CA Swedish American Hall
Oct. 24 Seattle, WA Crocodile Café
Oct. 25 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge (early show and BBQ)
Oct. 28 Madison, WI Majestic Live
Oct. 29 Chicago, IL Lake Shore Theatre
Oct. 30 Pontiac, MI The Pike Room
Oct. 31 Toronto, ONT Horseshoe Tavern
Nov. 2 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
Nov. 3 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
Nov. 4 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
Film Screenings:
Oct. 6 Los Angeles, CA Cinespace
Dallas, TX Good Records
Oct. 8 Minneapolis, MN Bryant Lake Bow
San Francisco, CA Popscene
Oct. 9 Seattle, WA Comet Tavern
Oct. 19 Los Angeles, CA Space 15 Twenty (Q&A w/Charlie)
Oct. 20 New York, NY Angels & Kings
Nov. 1 New York, NY Pianos (Q&A with Charlie)
I’ve really been addicted to this one since I was given a copy a month or more ago. Of course, I’m a sucker for shoegaze. Any time I hear something like this I’m taken back to the heady days of Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Ride. APTBS colors outside the lines though, such as the machine gun delivery on ‘In Your Heart’.
TOUR DATES:
10/6/09 Chapel Hill, NC @20Local 506^
10/7/09 Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn^
10/8/09 Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder^
10/9/09 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks^
10/10/09 Dallas, TX @ Club Dada^
10/11/09 Austin, TX @ The Mohawk^
10/13/09 Tucson, AZ @ Plush^
10/15/09 San Diego, CA @ Casbah^
10/16/09 Los Angeles, CA @ Echo^
10/17/09 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent*
10/18/09 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge*
10/19/09 Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Café*
10/20/09 Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret*
10/22/09 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge*
10/23/09 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge*
10/25/09 St. Louis, MO @ Firebird*
10/26/09 Chicago, IL @ Double Door&
10/27/09 Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club&
10/28/09 Montreal, QC @ Il Motore&
10/29/09 New York, NYC @ Bowery Ballroom&
10/30/09 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Upstairs&
^with Darker My Love & All the Saints
&with Dead Confederate & All the Saints
*with All the Saints & These Are Powers
I always thought it was strange that The Clientele were more popular in the United States than in their native Britain. Come on Brits, what’s not to like? I haven’t heard the new material, but this is another band I’ve grown to trust over the years. I’m sure we’ll hear more standout 60s-inspired melodies.
Tags: a place to bury strangers, air, jemina pearl, kurt vile, noah and the whale, orenda fink, roseanne cash, the cinematics, the clientele, the gossip, the raveonettes, the xx
