Archives: February 2016

“It’s not every day that an indie rock singer becomes a figure of geopolitics, but that’s what happened when Ashkan Kooshanejad and his band Take It Easy Hospital were featured in the Cannes Special Jury Prize-winning documentary No One Knows About Persian Cats. While playing underground rock concerts had already attracted a police presence in Kooshanejad’s hometown of Tehran (and landed him in prison for three weeks), after the film was smuggled out of the country to international acclaim, Kooshanejad and bandmate Negar Shaghaghi became “persons of interest” and sought asylum while on tour in the U.K. Now he’s focused on his uncompromising, dizzying and dense electronic album, I AKA I, which will be released by Ninja Tune in April.” — via Rolling Stone

Read the rest of the Rolling Stone feature HERE, and listen to “Mudafossil” below!

After recently offering up a taste of their forthcoming sophomore album in the form of new song “Lemontrees,” Leeds’ Eagulls are back today to share a second track and detail their new album Ullages, which will be released on May 13th via Partisan Records. Instead of picking up where their critically acclaimed self-titled debut left off, Ullages shows the band flexing more refined songwriting muscle and carving out a new sound for themselves.

Where “Lemontrees” illustrated this transition, new track “My Life In Rewind” perfectly illustrates the transformation the band has made on Ullages. In it they challenge the most melodic elements showcased on the self-titled album and explore them more thoughtfully — the result falling somewhere between the opulence of Cocteau Twins and the ominous gloom of Pornography-era The Cure.

Listen to “My Life In Rewind” below and be sure to pre-order the album!

PRE-ORDER NOW
Physical: http://smarturl.it/UllagesLPCD
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/UllagesiT
Apple Music: http://smarturl.it/UllagesApple
GooglePlay: http://smarturl.it/UllagesGoogle
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/UllagesAM

Night Moves have shared the second single from their forthcoming album Pennied Days (out March 25 on Domino) – the album opener ‘Carl Sagan’. Additionally, the band is pleased to announce an extensive US tour in support of Pennied Days. The tour kicks off with an album release show in their hometown of Minneapolis, on April 14, and will see them take in Canada and the East Coast in April, and the West Coast in May. All tickets will be on sale this coming Friday, February 26. Night Moves will be at SXSW 2016.

Check out “Carl Sagan” and tour dates below!

TOUR DATES
Thurs April 14 || Minneapolis, MN || First Ave
Sat April 16 || Chicago, IL || Schubas Tavern
Mon April 18 ||Toronto, ON || Drake Hotel
Tues April 19 || Montreal, QC || Le Divan Orange
Thurs April 21 || Philadelphia, PA || Boot & Saddle
Fri April 22 || Brooklyn, NY || Rough Trade
Sat April 23 || Boston, NY || Great Scott
Sun April 24 || Washington, DC || DC9
Mon April 25 || Columbus, OH || Rumba Cafe
Tues April 26 || Indianapolis, IN || The Hi-Fi
Wed April 27 || Madison, WI || The Frequency
Fri May 6 || Seattle, WA || Sunset Tavern
Sat May 7 || Portland, OR || Doug Fir Lounge
Tues May 10 || San Francisco, CA || Rickshaw Stop
Wed May 11 || Santa Barbara, CA || Velvet Lounge
Thurs May 12 || Los Angeles, CA || The Echo
Fri May 13 || San Diego, CA || Casbah
Sat May 14 || Phoenix, AZ || Rebel Lounge
Wed May 18 || Austin, TX || Sidewinder
Thurs May 19 || Houston, TX || Rudyards British Pub
Fri May 20 || Dallas, TX || Double Wide
Sat May 21 || Kansas City, MO || Tank Room

Imarhan‘s music plays on the tension between their nomadic spiritual homeland of the Sahara desert and their urban physical home of Tamanrasset in southern Algeria. It’s based in Tuareg traditional music and assouf, the trancelike ‘desert blues’ that deals with homesickness and separation, but incorporates a range of modern and traditional African music, funk, blues, jazz, psychedelia, jagged riffs that recall post-punk, and even mainstream pop and rock.

Check out “Assossamagh” and tour dates below!

TOUR DATES
4/16 – Seattle, WA – Vera Project – KEXP grand re-opening
4/18 – Arcata, CA – Richard’s Goat
4/20 – Novato, CA – Hop Monk
4/21 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
4/22 – Claremont, CA – Edmunds Ballroom, Pomona College 
4/24 – Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex 
4/29 – Austin, TX – Levitation 
5/2 – Louisville, KY – Zanzabar 
5/3 – Chicago, IL – Schubas
5/4 – Madison, WI – Frequency
5/5 – Cincinnati, OH – MOTR Pub
5/6 – Akron, OH – Musica presented by Earthquaker Devices + Moon Block
5/7 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge

“Underground rap veteran Aesop Rock is back in full effect, gearing up to drop his new album, The Impossible Kid, later this spring. The new album will be his first solo effort since 2012’s Skelethon, which was excellent. Our first foray into the new album is “Rings,” a song that is more revealing and introspective than Aes has been in the past. The roots of The Impossible Kid stem from a tumultuous period in the MC’s life when he left his adopted home of San Francisco to live in a barn in the deep woods after a close friend passed away. Aes harnessed that grave, somber mood on “Rings” with menacing low-end bass, knocking boom-bap drums, and colliding synth patterns that bolster his piercing lyrics. He has always been a gifted lyricist, but to hear those skills combined with honest vulnerability and contemplation hits you in your head and gut at the same time. Aes is seemingly returning to a fonder self while moving forward as an artist. If this song is even the slightest indication, The Impossible Kid will be magnificent. The matching clip is as dark as the MC’s inspiration. Aes is struck by a car in the street for starters. Then some nifty CGI of his face split open on an operating table while he spits, and alluring animation cut fluidly for a series of memorable images and moments.” — via Stereogum

Watch the video for “Rings” below!

“Following the departure of band member Milo Cordell in 2014, London shoegaze futurists the Big Pink are back with a new EP of studio-recorded synth epics. No word yet on the full-length follow-up to 2011’s enormous Future This — though the band is in Los Angeles working on new material — but the four-track Empire Underground (due March 4 via B3SCI Records) will keep fans tided over until then. On “Beautiful Criminal,” a digital arpeggio pinwheels beneath the intimate harmonies of lead vocalist/guitarist Robbie Furze and singer/keyboardist Mary Charteris, who channel upcoming tour mates the Kills in their edgy flair for the dramatic.” — via Spin

Check out “Beautiful Criminal” and North American tour dates below!

TOUR DATES
02/24 – Rock & Roll Hotel – Washington DC**
02/25 – Baby’s All Right – Brooklyn, NY**
02/27 – Le Poisson Rouge – New York, NY**
02/29 – Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA**
03/01 – Bar Le Ritz – Montreal, ON**
03/02 – Horseshoe – Toronto, ON**
03/04 – Marble Bar – Detroit, MI**
03/05 – Rumba Cafe – Columbus, OH**
03/06 – Duck Room – St. Louis, MO**
03/07 – Subterranean – Chicago, IL**
03/09 – Frequency – Madison, WI**
03/10 – Rave Bar – Milwaukee, WI
03/11 – Turf Club – Minneapolis, MN**
03/12 – Vega – Lincoln, NE**
03/13 – Bottleneck – Kansas City**
03/15 – 20th – SXSW – Austin, TX
04/18 – Mayan – Los Angeles, CA*
04/19 – Observatory – Santa Ana, CA*
*Supporting The Kills
**w/ guests The Heirs