A “guerrilla art” movement spawned by the Billbored campaign features artists the likes of M.I.A. and The Futureheads providing billboards to be projected on London locales like St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tate Modern. The campaign falls in line with the UK general election and you can view all the submitted pieces at Billbored.
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“Bred in the North-East, and on the Tyneside tradition of sea songs, border songs and clog dancing”, a testimony of musical legacy is gracefully passed down to the next generation with sisters Rachel & Becky guiding the band of troubadours known as The Unthanks (formerly Rachel Unthank & The Winterset). And once again, like all virtuous musical minstrels, the luggage is bountiful. Apart from the conventional core of instruments and percussion, their ethereal voices are accompanied at times by dulcitone, marimba, autoharp, mandolin, double bass and ukulele. Quite at home with the English folk circuit, The Unthanks weave an effortless rapture with their latest album Here’s The Tender Coming (RabbleRouser Music/EMI Records). Heavily touring Europe this month and their very own UK backyard the next, this side of the pond might get a visit at the end of June or early July. Details are yet to be ironed out, but be on the lookout to be hauntingly enchanted.
Genre: Folk
Latest Album: Here’s The Tender Coming
For Fans Of: Nick Drake, Regina Spektor, Fleet Foxes
Listen To: The Unthanks
Mastermind comic book engineer Alan Moore sets aside his Watchmen and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen fame to focus on some projects leaning toward the more audio side of things. Aside from collaborating with the Gorillaz on a piece outlining the life and times of English alchemist John Dee, Moore is to reportedly release an audio box set dubbed Unearthing. The collection of music is set against a backdrop of the comic creator himself reading a story while the stylings of Fog’s Andrew Broder and Doseone’s latest duo titled Crook&Flail helm the score. The box set comes complete with the 120 minute piece on CD and vinyl, a copy of the script, an EP of special instrumentals, images courtesy the photographer/director Mitch Jenkins and a featuring cast of artists the likes of Mike Patton, Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai, and Jesu/Godflesh’s Justin Broadrick. Look for Unearthing to drop on July 5th in the UK and July 6th in the US.
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Tonight, singer/songwriter Yoav will show off his eclectic style of music at Le National, blending rhythmic guitar with electro beats, and incorporating the influences of the myriad locations he has lived in – South Africa, the UK and New York City.
With special guest: Colin Moore
Originally due out last year, the Danger Mouse, Mark Linkous and David Lynch team-up, Dark Night of the Soul, will finally see an official EMI release. The collaboration was initially on target for launch in 2009, however a disagreement between label suits and Danger Mouse rendered the album mute, canceling the release without a foreseeable re-scheduling. However the public still received their just deserves, as the album was intentionally leaked shortly thereafter. We’ve now learned that bad blood no longer floats in the waters as EMI and Danger Mouse announced their reconciliation and subsequently the upcoming release of Dark Night of the Soul. Having fallen to suicide in March, Sparklehorse frontman Mark Linkous unfortunately won’t get to enjoy the fruits of his labor, with a statement by his family reading, “Mark felt that it was an honor to be able to collaborate with so many of the artists on this record. His time and dedication to this project was immense and his hopes for its release are finally being realized. We are glad that people will now be able to hear these songs and know the beautiful gift that Mark shared with all of us through his music.” The album, accompanied by original David Lynch photos and packed with appearances by Iggy Pop, Wayne Coyne, James Mercer, Julian Casablancas, Vic Chesnutt and more, will float on through to the other side July 12th for the UK and July 13th for the US.
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As you recall, we reported Britpop heavy hands Blur were releasing their first track together after seven years of recording silence. The outfit printed a thousand copies of the single for a special UK only Record Store Day 7″, and seeing as many of you couldn’t get their hands on the much sought out release, the boys have made Fool’s Day available as a free download! Surf over to Blur’s official website, enter your email address, and voila… Instant free track!
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A cloud of ash making it’s way across the Atlantic ocean and into Europe as a result of a volcanic eruption in Iceland, has grounded Coachella performers The Cribs, Bad Lieutenant, and Frightened Rabbit. Reports indicate that all UK departures and arrivals have been canceled, leading The Cribs to drop off Coachella’s bill. It seems The Cribs are hopeful that the festival suits will award them another time on another day, as the band is rumored to be hopping the ferry to Amsterdam to board a flight from there. Bassist/singer Gary Jarman spoke to the BBC saying “I know there are a lot of British bands playing. I kind of hope a few other bands are having problems so we can steal their set time — I know that sounds selfish.” Selfish? Sure. Honest? Damn right!
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Bloc Party fans get to bloggin’ as frontman Kele Okereke has announced his debut solo album, The Boxer. Helmed by Spank Rock producer XXXChange and said to be an installment in electronic pop, June 21st in the UK and June 22nd in the U.S. will mark the launch of Kele’s debut effort. And with Okereke’s usual audio haunt on hiatus, he’s had plenty of time to set himself up, as his latest project is already outfitted with a website, blog, Twitter account, MySpace, and Facebook page. In a recent press release for The Boxer, Kele was quoted saying “The key for the sound of the record was to take things as harsh and as physical as I could make it. The reason for going there was that these are the sounds that make me the happiest in the world.” Look for Kele hitting the European tour circuit in May and his album’s first single Tenderoni dropping June 14th.
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by Canyon
The latest in what seems like a tsunami of side projects is Fratellis’ singer Jon Lawler’s Codeine Velvet Club. His partner in crime in this new venture is Lou Hickey, a burlesque dancer he met through his wife, another performer at Glasgow’s Club Noir. The duo have created the type of music that feels like it shouldn’t be listened to unless dressed in an evening gown paired with satin gloves and perfectly coiffed hair (or a tux for the gents) and a glass of champagne. Oh, and a gold cigarette holder too. The tracks evoke that old 60s era Hollywood glamor; just by listening to the single Hollywood, you can “hear” the heavy red velvet curtain, the ostentatious crystal chandeliers, the diamonds and the pearls. Check out Codeine Velvet Club’s debut record, which has been out in the UK since December 2009, and will be released in the U.S. on April 6th, 2010.
Genre: Rock
Latest Album: Codeine Velvet Club
For Fans Of: Pulp, Duffy, The Ettes
Listen To: Codeine Velvet Club
For a large amount of people (myself included), The Cure’s epic 1989 masterpiece Disintegration is the record you reach for when you really want to disappear into the band’s all enveloping mid-period Gothicism. So, pretty great news is the prospect that the band are set to release a 3CD deluxe edition of the classic album. Says the press release on the band’s website, the edition will come out May 24th in the UK, via Polydor/Universal and on May 25th in the US, via Rhino. This new and expanded edition will feature a remastered version of the original album as well as a disc of outtakes and demos, with the the third disc containing an expanded version of the live album Entreat, which boasts live versions of every song on Disintegration recorded during three nights at Wembley Arena in 1989. But that’s not it. Fans will also lay their hands on a 20-page booklet with previously unreleased photos and art, and a period overview from The Cure frontman Robert Smith. Sweet. (more…)
What’s not perfect about Exile on Main Street, the Rolling Stones’ epic 1972 opus, from the amazing Robert Frank sleeve to the quintessentially rock ‘n roll backdrop of sex, drugs and the south of France? How about ten new and unheard cuts to feast your ears on, arriving May 17th in the UK and May 18th in the US via Universal? Sounds pretty exciting, right? Now, a modern re-issue wouldn’t be a reissue without a super-deluxe version with a 64-page book, the album on double-vinyl, four postcards (well, you can’t download a postcard… or can you?) and a DVD with excerpts from various Stones films.
A decade into their illustrious and seemingly inexhaustible career, Goldfrapp is out with their sixth album, Head First. Albeit a work that could be easily labeled as electronic, the material feels fresh, not only for Goldfrapp but for all the synthesizer inclined duos coming out of UK as of late. (more…)
Those of you who saw Rihanna behind a drum kit in her music video for Rude Boy, from her latest album Rated R may have been curious as to whether she was doing it just to look cool, or whether she was serious. Turns out she’s deadly serious and wants to “play like a pro and take her skills onstage during her upcoming European and UK tour” which kicks off April 16th in Belgium. So who better to enlist as a drum tutor than her pal, Blink-182 sticksman Travis Barker, as he testified via Twitter on Tuesday, “Teaching Rihanna some things on drums,” “She JAMS!!!!! Watch out for her!!” Hopefully there are some award ceremonies coming up for her to test out her skills in a funkified classic rock cover?? Look forward to that!
France’s favourite pop star of the moment, the UK-based Charlie Winston, will have Montrealers talking tonight after exposing them to his offbeat lyrics and folksy tunes at L’Astral.
With special guest: Robertson
Fans of Zooey Deschanel will swoon over the video from She & Him for the new single In The Sun, from her collaborative group with singer M. Ward. The piece, directed by filmmaker Peyton Reed is a veritable showreel of Deschanel’s talents, which include acting, singing, dancing and hula-hooping too apparently. The second joint effort between Deschanel and M. Ward, Volume Two is out March 23rd, via Merge in the US and on April 5th on Domino in the UK.
Remember when musicians just made music, and didn’t team up with Vitamin Water, or just drank booze instead of being paid to advertise it? Nah, nor do I really. But Blondie probably do, not that this has stopped them from getting together with Converse to develop a new line of shoes that will feature ‘Blondie design’ album graphics, animal prints, and neon — and retail from $55 to $85 for both men and women. Check the designs out here. Then go to the mall this spring and buy them (just kidding). You may also be interested to know that the veteran New Yorkers have also been recording some songs for a new album, slated for a spring release. Talking about the new material, singer Debbie Harry states, “It sounds like a mature Blondie album,” “We really wanted to have a combination of different elements — that’s sort of been a tradition with us…” The band’s guitarist Chris Stein added on the band’s blog, “I think that this record will help people understand that one can write rock lyrics that go further into the realm of poetry and literature, that just don’t make simple statements”. This summer, Blondie will tour in support of their new record, as well as playing the UK’s Isle of Wight Festival with The Strokes on June 11th-13th.
With a retro-electro vibe that wraps 80s synth sounds in an intergalactic space package, Little Boots takes on the challenge of doing something remarkable with the 3.5 minute dance-pop formula. While this blond Brit’s debut album, Hands, is new this week in North America, it has been topping the charts in the UK since its June release. (more…)
Here’s some classic rock cryptology for you. Ever since Carly Simon penned 70s rock classic You’re So Vain, the singer claimed the song’s subject to be a “composite” of men she had met early in the decade, rather than a single person. Later, she dropped a further clue, saying that the true subject of the song had the letters A, E and R in their name. Looking at a selection of names from the 1970s era, WARrEn Beatty and Mick JAggER would both fit. But, to coincide with the re-release of the song, Simon has revealed that if you play the new of the song version backwards, the name of the character in question would be revealed. This is where UK tabloid The Sun steps in. The paper got a hold of the new song, played it backwards, and concluded that the name that could be heard was ‘David’. David Bowie and David Crosby were other possible from the era, but were eliminated due to the first lacking the necessary “E” and Bowie having never been linked to Simon in any way. The British paper is suggesting that the David in question is David Geffen, the head of Elektra Records – the label that released You’re So Vain – due to a disagreement the two had at the time of its release. There remains one problem. Where’s the “R” in “David Geffen”? Well, Geffen’s full name is “DAvid LawRence GEffen.” Mystery solved? Maybe…
We brought you news last month of a developing legal spat between members of Aerosmith over whether the band would tour with frontman Steven Tyler or not, due to him being waylaid in rehab for the foreseeable future treating an addiction to painkillers. It would seem that the veteran rockers have buried the hatchet, as they’ve booked a month long summer tour of Europe. The band announced the Cocked, Locked, Ready to Rock Tour – that begins June 10th at the Sweden Rock Festival and will end July 3rd in Venice, Italy – via a humorous online video with Tyler quipping “I just auditioned and I got the gig. We’re coming your way and rocking your world. Look out baby, ’cause here we go again!” Check it here. (more…)
“Ain’t a band, it’s a company.” Such was always the premise of John Lydon’s Public Image Ltd. which was what made the punk pioneer’s post-Pistols group all the more awesome, as they had the clever lyrics and uncompromising post-punk grittiness to back it up. Whether that’s still the case is unclear, but they’re being resurrected as a company at least. Following a tour of the UK last year (on which Lydon himself was the only original member of the PiL lineup), the same touring band will reconvene to play a string of US and European dates later on in 2010. It may seem like a lame move on Lydon’s part to take an old band out on the road without any original members, but then again, he’s always been a pretty contrary sort of bloke. You never quite know what’s going on in that scheming head of his. Hey, if you go to the show and close your eyes it might even be good! Just Careering? You decide. (more…)
Los Angeles rap-rockers Rage Against the Machine have announced the first details of the free concert they are planning in the UK to thank UK fans for sending them to the much coveted ‘Christmas Number One’ spot in the charts. As previously reported, British couple Jon and Tracy Morter started a Facebook group urging the public to buy copies of the 1992 Rage song Killing in the Name instead of the manufactured pop of Simon Cowell’s winning X Factor single. In the end, Killing in the Name beat the Cowell sponsored single by about 50,000 sales, with the band promising to repay the British public’s support with a free show. This show is now set to happen at London’s Finsbury Park on Sunday June 6th, 2010 with tickets to be issued by lottery. In a poke at Simon Cowell, the show is to be dubbed The Rage Factor, and fans can enter the lottery for tickets at theragefactor.co.uk. (more…)
One (more) reason to not get sent to prison in the UK. According to a document leaked to British newspaper The Guardian, the playing of music in communal areas of British jails is to be banned, due to the high cost of the licenses required to play music subject to the terms of the 1988 Copyright Act. Ian Poree of the UK’s National Offender Management Service was quoted as writing in the leaked internal document, “In view of the high cost, the financial constraints on the service and the likely perception of spending large amounts of money on music for prisoners, the decision has been taken not to purchase a licence.” All communal areas of UK prisons are deemed as public areas for the purposes of the 1988 Act, and therefore a licence fee must be paid. What seems like a slightly draconian measure is perhaps tempered by the fact that prison staff will still have permission to show DVD’s in those communal areas, as the licences for those have been obtained, although presumably inmates will be able to play music in private.
English folk singer and seasoned political activist Billy Bragg has written a letter to British chancellor Alistair Darling, published in The Guardian, stating his intention to withhold his tax for the year should Darling not take steps to curb the bonuses set to be paid by the Royal Bank of Scotland to its staff. Bonuses are estimated to be in the realm of £1.5 Billion, after the bank last year posted what amounted to the worst losses in British financial history. The Bard of Barking, a veteran of the 1980s Red Wedge campaign, expressed that he was “no longer prepared to fund the excessive bonuses of RBS investment bankers,” informing Darling in no uncertain terms that “Unless he acts to limit them to £25,000, I shall be withholding my tax payment on January 31.” He is hoping that many of his fellow countrymen may also feel the same way, and a Facebook group, NoBonus4RBS has been established so that anyone wishing to express their support for his campaign can do so. Bragg will be aiming to emulate the exploits of British couple Jon and Tracy Mortimer, who in a feat of Facebook people-power, managed to persuade the British record buying public to snub Simon Cowell’s The X-Factor single and send L.A. rap-rockers Rage Against the Machine’s Killing in the Name to the UK’s venerated Christmas number one spot.
