Ever fancied the life of a Chili Pepper? If you have a spare $6.8m knocking around in the bank then the oportunity is yours for the taking! The funkiest monk in town is listing his LA mansion for sale. The estate features all mod cons you’ve seen on MTV Cribs – a spa, salt water swimming pool, library, guest house, speakeasy – the list goes on.
If you’re curious, head to Estately.com and scroll through the photos of one monks’ luxurious surroundings.
UK Death Metal band Unfathomable Ruination have been causing a fuss in the news recently with an art project they’re getting into, quite literally. The project, ‘Boxed Sized Die’, currated by Portuguese artist João Onofre, see’s the band loading themselves and their drums, amps, guitars and PA system into an air-tight box to play vein-bursting Death Metal until their oxygen supply runs out.
The London based band will be climbing inside the box, located outside the Gherkin, at 6pm every Wednesday to Friday until August 1st. Is this genius or plain sick? Whatever your stance, the suits of the city are in for a shock.
The box is completely soundproofed, air-tight and opaque meaning spectators (can we really use the term ‘fans’ here?) can neither see nor hear the band play, just witness the box vibrate in time with the blast beats and pig squeals.
Fortunately, the box does open from the inside too.
Following their triumphant third album, Deep Fantasy, White Lung have shared a new music video to accompany their upcoming single ‘In Your Home’.
In frontwoman Mish Way’s own words, “‘In Your Home’ is funny, demented and uncomfortable, it’s perfect.” We couldn’t agree more. Hit play below for a cameo cast of White Lungs dear friends. Mish adds, “This video is filled with people way more talented than the four of us.”
‘In Your Home’ is due for release from August 25th via Domino.
Wolf Alice
Creature Songs
Dirty Hit Records
Having cut their teeth on a number of releases during 2013 – singles ‘Bros’ and ‘Fluffy’ during the early part of the year, followed by the Blush EP in the second half – Wolf Alice are beginning to flash their sharp canines on Creature Songs. If their early material shows a band going through a stage of adolescence, then this is a huge step into adulthood, showing maturity and commitment far beyond anything we’ve already seen from the London quartet.
First track ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’ is a decoy opener for the EP – a few seconds of humble strumming suddenly jumps feet-first into guitar-upon-guitar scuzz. Relying on the quiet/loud dynamic practised by former grunge champions, it’s an unrelenting, three-chord grind. Follower ‘Storms’ is a similar beast, but with more bite – bottled-up verses ramp into wide-open choruses when the tension boils over. The hypnotic refrains of both cuts are vicious rallying-cries, with singer Ellie Roswell’s demure vocals gaining just enough grit to encourage an audience to yell alongside her (at least if their recent Glastonbury show is anything to go by).
Although the second half reins things in somewhat, it retains a quiet intensity that stops it from falling into the shadow of part one. In ‘Heavenly Creatures’, the almost-whispered “time to die / time to kill … all for love / all for you” hides a dark, ritualistic edge, with the sickly “was it never enough that we should simply want to be together?” excusing the acts of evil that may (or may not be) hinted at within the lyrics. ‘We’re Not the Same’ seems almost reactionary at this point – a sarcasm-laced riposte to the rejection faced in ‘Heavenly Creatures’, drenched with reverb and brought to a punishing climax.
There is a great divide that runs through the centre of Creature Songs. The full-moon tilt of side one is feral and harrowing, while the second half remains delicate and serene; a dawn-breaker of a comedown. That’s no bad thing – neither half seems detached from the other, they’re just two ends of the same scale. With Wolf Alice’s highly anticipated debut LP tipped for a 2015 release, it will be interesting to see just how far the scale slides.
Chris Bunt
Wax Children
Angst
LA five piece Wax Children are primed, ready and willing to take you on a sonic journey with their latest album, Angst. A sonic sculpture carved from the finest psychedelic noise, it lures you in and winds deep down into the alcoves of your subconscious capacity. This record will leave you both addicted and vulnerable to the Wax Children’s shamanic sounds.
‘Aeons pt. 1’ provides a wailing introduction and sets the bar high for this eight-track album. Easing into ‘Wild Gloom’, you’re greeted by a dark ambience that shrouds the loosely strummed chords, sedating you to a dazed and confused state, with Mr Wall’s vocal melody entwining spectacularly with the swelling instrumental fuss, before cascading into acoustic reveries.
Third track ‘Binding The Bends’ harbours a heavily hypnotic hook; upbeat and topped by the creamiest guitar tone you’ve ever heard. The swirling coda builds edge of your seat tension before roping you back into the groove for one final burst of the infectious lead line. This track is arguably the highlight of the entire album and is sure to have you reaching for the replay button as soon as it reaches its dreamy climax.
Mid-way point ‘Rene’s House’ sounds like guitarist Cal Jones’ rifftastic ode to his own playing, with ‘Eyes Of Chongo’ providing part two of this mesmerising episode, Jones’ tones fuse magnificently against the reverb soaked howls spewing from Mr Wall’s mouth.
‘Skin’ slows the pace down a gear to reflect on the past 5 onslaughts of psychedelia before ‘Awkward Strumming’ comes good with its quirky time signatures, creating a palpable tension, mixing melody with madness.
‘Aeons pt. 2’ brings the Wax Children’s epic musical quest to an end, and it really is the cherry on the rich, moist, sumptuous musical cake that this album has turned out to be. Luckily for you, Angst is available to download in its entirety for free, from their bandcamp.
Dave Palmer
Following a phenomenal set at Sonisphere last weekend, metal giants Mastodon have announced UK tour dates for November and December. That’s not all the good news though, their sixth album Once More Round The Sun placed at #10 in the official UK album chart last weekend marking their highest ranking to date and cementing Mastodon as even more of a force to be reckoned with. Check the tour dates below and grab yourself a ticket from July 11th.
UK Tour
November
19th – Dublin Academy
20th – Belfast Limelight
22nd – Southampton Guildhall
24th – Manchester Academy
25th – Newcastle Academy
26th – Glasgow Academy
28th – London Brixton Academy
29th – Birmingham Academy
December
1st – Nottingham Rock City
2nd – Bristol Academy
Lower
Seek warmer Climes
Matador Records
Lower are a post punk band from Copenhagen. That one sentence is enough for people to liken them to Iceage immediately (admittedly also a post punk band from Copenhagen). That’s not to say being compared to Iceage is a bad thing, their past two records have been impressive enough, however one must wonder what its like to constantly be compared to the same band in every press release, in every gig poster and of course, in an album review. With that said, they have released a split record (and even a split t-shirt?!) with Iceage, so perhaps this comparison has helped.
When I first heard about Lower, they were playing a show at the Old Blue Last, stuck in between the glorious Chain of Flowers and the risible Cerebral Ballzy. This was a worry for me as I wasn’t sure if Lower would deliver the same sort of punk as the headliners, “Vice Punk” if you will, or whether they would make a genuine attempt to create something new or of interest. Luckily it was the latter, their Walk on Heads debut and ‘Someone’s Got it in For Me’ single were two excellent post punk records that took as much influence from hardcore as they did new wave.
Onto Seek Warmer Climes, this is their first LP, released on Matador Records, home to innovative hardcore bands Ceremony and Fucked Up, as well as alternative music legends such as Pavement and Thurston Moore. Their label mates offer good comparison to Iceage, Lower could easily bill on shows with any of these bands (I know they supported Fucked Up just one month before the writing of this review).
Opener ‘Another Life’ kicks off with a drumbeat that continues throughout and sets the pace of the entire record. Its fast. Vocally, Adrian Toubro has an interesting approach, those used to the shouting style of the first two records may be surprised. He is far more restrained this time around, sometimes croony, sometimes drony, its something that isn’t heard too often and is a credit to the record.
Not only is Toubro’s vocal delivery stronger, lyrically this is the best Lower have been. ‘Lost Weight, Perfect Skin’ covers dealing with anorexia and depression making for a jarring listen. The seven minute long, ‘Expanding Horizons (Dar es Salaam)’ covers the time in his life spent traveling across Africa and experiencing his views challenged by religion, not the typical lyrical content of a post punk record. ‘Expanding Horizons (Dar es Salaam)’ also sees the band stepping out of their comfort zone, with a cello accompanying the buzzing guitars, this is something that works very well and I’d love to see them continue to experiment in future releases.
To sum the record up, I really like it. When a band with a punk influence announce they’re doing a full length, one can get a little apprehensive, so often a six track EP is the optimum way to listen to this kind of music, but Lower manage to go against this stereotype with songs such as ‘Bastard Tactics’, and personal favourite, ‘Daft Persuasion’ going far beyond what they’ve previously created. I truly recommend you to listen to Seek Warmer Climes, it may even be better than the last Iceage record.
Tim Lewis
Details of a new Pink Floyd album have emerged.
Marking 20 years since 1994’s The Division Bell, Floyds final album, news of a new album featuring as yet unheard material has emerged via David Gilmours partner Polly Samson’s twitter account.
The tweet revealed that the anniversary album, The Endless River, is set to be released in October, and that the album is primarily comprised of recording sessions that took place shortly after The Division Bell in 1994, featuring the late Richard Wright.
In the lead up to Floyd’s anniversary, Nick Mason and David Gilmour dived back into the studio to finish the album, which was originally intended for a side project titled ‘The Big Spliff’, that sadly never materialised.
Jonathan Boulet @ The Scotch and St James
3rd July 2014
Tonight, we are gathered in what’s probably the best basement in London. Steeped in rock ‘n’ roll history, The Scotch and St James set up shop in 1965, and from the get go it became the place to be if you were a musician in the 60’s and 70’s.
Playing host to Henrix’s first London gig, and as a playground to The Who, The Beatles and The Stones back in the day, it feels a littel surreal to find ourselves within the walls of a venue steeped in such cultural importance, rather than the sticky-floored pubs of east London. But a certain Jonathan Boulet has flown in from down under to play his debut London show, ahead of the release of Gubba, his forthcoming third album.
Joined on stage by his backing band of guitar and drums, the Aussie trio embark upon 40 minutes of heavy, guitar-led rock that packs a punch to the gut. Boulet churns out some sincerely rocking riffs tonight, and his band stay true to Gubba‘s neat and tight production.
Despite blowing ‘Hold It Down’, the arguably strongest track on the album, early on in the set, songs like ‘Creeper’ and ‘I’m A Man’ are bang on the money, channeling in heavy stoner rock grooves, and lean, mean riffs.
Jonathan Boulet is definitely a guitar players wet dream, packing in the bottom end of a band like Pond, despite the lack of a bass-player on stage tonight, with Gilmour-esque lead lines trickling over the top, Boulet certainly won his crowd tonight and got everyone’s head moving, despite the candle-lit booth’s and comfy seating arrangements.
Gubba is due for release from August 25th via Popfrenzy/Caroline.
Weezer have shared the cover art to their forthcoming album Everything Will Be Alright In The End.
Considerably more of an effort made than with their previous Hurley cover, the artwork, illustrated by Chris McMahon features one of his trademark mythical monsters, creeping through Weezers vally. See more of his work here and check out Weezers video reveal below.