Pittsburgh’s Old Head returns March 19 at The Brillobox! Get there early for Terry & The Cops and Outsideinside.
Featuring Modey Lemon’s Phil Boyd and Jason Kirker, along with bassist Bill Wehman and Mike Layton, the band’s brand new self-titled release via Omentum Records is officially available at the show.
Austin-based darkwave metal trio Troller is proud to announce their second LP, Graphic (out 4.8.16 on HOLODECK). The music video for “Not Here,” the first single off of the new LP, premiered on FACT Magazine recently. Despite the underground success of the critically acclaimed 2012 self-titled debut, Graphic manages to eclipse the broad appeal of the first record’s addictively ominous pop anthems. Troller’s focus on layered composition and biting sound design has resulted in a highly developed work that embodies the band’s unique raw form while raising the benchmark on fidelity and experimentation. Graphic arrives perfectly unhinged and hideously sophisticated, reinterpreting familiar elements from their debut LP, and propelling the trio’s provocative sensibilities explicitly further.
Holodeck is excited to announce its official 2016 SXSW showcase, which will take place at Lucky Lounge in Austin on Friday, March 18th. The lineup features heavy-hitting Holodeck artists, including Troller, SSLEEPERHOLD, Dylan Cameron, Samantha Glass, and Bill Converse, as well as New Orleans synth duo ((PRESSURES)). The night will be headlined by Inhalt, a Bay Area-based darkwave band.
The rare 1983 Minas (Orlando and Patricia) record – Num Dia Azul takes Brazilian and American roots to create a sound that is fresh and innovative, from ballads tinged with melancholic traits of Blues and Choro, to Folk coasting on the subtle coolness of a Bossa Nova pulse, to upbeat Sambas elaborated with instrumental jazz improvisation, scat singing and whimsical whistling.
A rare look into the discotheque era of Waikiki, Al Nobriga’s “My Last Disco Song” tells of a time when nightclubs lined Kalakaua Avenue and practically every hotel hosted live entertainment. Seven days a week, locals rubbed elbows with visitors in discos like The Point After, Cock’s Roost, Garden Bar, Infinity, Duke Kahanamoku’s, Foxy Lady Too, Valentino’s, Hawaiian Hut—the list goes on.
In the years following the release of Al Nobriga with Island Company’s LP, They’re Playing My Music, a massive shift in Waikiki’s tourism industry began. More and more nightclubs closed their doors or hired duos and disc jockeys to entertain guests. The venues that once lined Kalakaua Avenue eventually gave way to newly constructed luxury shopping centers, a trend that continues into the 21st century.
Nobriga offers a poignant escape from what would soon become decades of ongoing development in Waikiki. Not just another yacht rock tune, “Break Away” carries the listener to a place where one finds enlightenment in the tropical winds and cool ocean blue, far from the concrete jungle of Honolulu.
Psychic upheaval through art! Break Open the Head is the follow-up to Suit of Lights‘ critically-acclaimed Shine On Forever, which was included in “Top Albums of the Year” lists from Brooklyn’s The Big Takeover to the UK’s Instrumental. Pre-order is up!
Lilting melodies, including a shimmering cover of Eduardo Mateo’s ‘Mejor me voy,’ infused with an undercurrent of bossa nova and the drowsy, faded memory of sun-drenched islands. All of this melodic loveliness is made ever-so-groovy in an Afro-Cuban sort of way thanks to a mighty contribution from world famous percussionist Jorge Trasante, Totem drummer Roberto Galletti, and Limonada drummer José Luis Sosa. Pippo Spera had come into the orbit of Uruguayan master Eduardo Mateo back during the days of El Kinto (one of that band’s finest songs is about a visit by Mateo to Pippo’s house). From 1967 to 1970, Pippo concentrated on studying classical guitar at the Conservatorio Nacional of Uruguay, until the military dictatorship closed the school.
So, Pippo started his songwriter career, which culminated in 1975/1976 with the recording of “A Buen Puerto.” As Pippo says, “It was a beautiful experience to me. I had the help of the best musicians in town, they were like brothers. At that time in Uruguay, nobody used to get money to perform in a recording studio; for the musicians it was a pleasure, it was just love of art…” After the release of this LP, Pippo decided to leave a Uruguay oppressed by a brutal dictatorship. He sailed to Brazil in a ship much like the one hovering behind him on the “A Buen Puerto” album. Brazil was indeed “a good port” for Pippo—he became friends with many of the best Brazilian musicians of those years: Milton Nascimento, Geraldo Azevedo, Renato Rocha, and Alceu Valença, and ended up writing for and playing on Nascimento’s “Clube da Esquina 2” album.
Word is Beech Creeps formed in Brooklyn, New York in 2013. Despite being devoted to drinking rum and lazing on hammocks, they quickly became a favorite at venues like Death By Audio and Shea Stadium for their balls out live shows. And after releasing in rapid succession the digital/cassettes Meet the Creeps and The Crashing Booms, Beech Creeps has emerged from the studio (the studio in this case being the immense gallery at Bushwick’s Secret Project Robot) with Beech Creeps, available from Monofonus Records.
Recorded by Jonathan Schenke who has worked with Parquet Courts and PC Worship, this self-titled album captures the glory of the Creepsound– at times sublime, crusty, swirling and headbanging. This is a record of solid rock, liquid water, floating detritus and violent storms. Lightning and thunder and the beautiful calm that follows. It growls, it screams, it thumps, it drives. Yes, you are caught in the ocean whirlpool of rock n’ roll, straight down to the garbage disposal at the bottom and you can’t escape until it lets you go, right about the 39 minute mark.
A side project from her work as front woman of Philadelphia indie punk band Little Big League, Michelle Zauner released a tape in June 2013 under the solo moniker Japanese Breakfast. The tape was titled June and boasted thirty tracks written and recorded every day of the month. A stark deviation from Little Big League’s guitar-based indie rock, it showcased Zauner’s dark lyrics, unique vocals and inherent knack for pop melody.
Two bedroom pop cassettes later, Japanese Breakfast returns with its first full-fledged LP and vinyl release, Psychopomp. The album explores Zauner’s experimental interests and hosts a wide range of sound: jarring anime samples, minimalist ballads, rhythms and synths reminiscent of Tango in the Night-era Fleetwood Mac paired with the moody intimacy of Mount Eerie. Psychopomp revisits and revamps lo-fi tracks and adds chilling new songs to fall in love with.
Jeremy Gara, drummer of Arcade Fire, announces his first solo album – Limn. Recorded over the last many months and assembled this last fall, Limn is a melodic, dense, and noisy ambient record… a collection of organized improvisations, of solo creative moments in response to familiar collaborative efforts. Divinity, the first song on the album, is streaming here and here. Mastered by Helge Sten (Deathprod, Supersilent), Limn will be released March 11 by NRCSS Industry on vinyl, on cassette, and digitally.
Ernest Ernie & The Sincerities’ LP Sincerely Yours…Greatest Hits Vol. 1 is the real deal, a bona fide classic vintage of which we are unlikely to experience again in this lifetime. It captures everything the discerning listener loves about big bands, gospel, soul and rhythm & blues. It represents the new sound from the old school, and harkens to a time when musical expression truly mattered. Thanks to Ernest Ernie, it matters once again.
