Cat Power is set to release a second covers album.
The signer posted the details on her myspace, confirming she will be following up her 2000 cover album The Covers Record. She said that the new record is due to come out in January 2008 and will be called Covers Record 2. Let’s hope she chooses Informer by Snow as one of them.
Evan Dando will join up with The Jesus And Mary Chain for a one off gig next month.
The band will be playing Brixton Academy on September 7th and have confirmed that the Lemonheads singer will be the support for the evening where he will play an acoustic set. Dando said of the show:
“I can’t wait – it’s a real thrill for me to play with one of my favourite bands, its going to be a ‘kin great night.”
The new Modest Mouse video has been posted online.
The video was made by a fan, who won a contest set up by the band which recieved a huge number of entries:
Marilyn Manson’s former keyboardist is suing the singer, claiming that the gothic darklord owes him more than £9million.
Stephen Bier, who went under the stage name Madonna Wayne Gacy, says he was not properly paid for nearly two decades. The ongoing dispute has revealed that Manson may have spent a lot of the bands profits on luxury, drug treatment and Nazi paraphernalia, claims which Manson has said were “ridiculous”.
And if Manson still seems a bit of an odball buying Adolf Hitler’s coat hangers, then legal documents have also shown that he bought African masks made of human skin, the full skeleton of a four-year-old Chinese girl and the full skeleton of a 17th Century male in a wheelchair.
Gnarly, but still not as gnarly as Emperor.
06.07.07
The meteoric rise of Chicago rockers Madina Lake in the UK has been nothing if not spectacular.
Since their debut tour in support of fellow upstarts Paramore at the end of last year, the band has since gained so much ground that they now find themselves not only headlining the same venues that they were previously opening, but selling them out.
In some cases the quartet are even being forced to upgrade to larger capacity premises, such is the overwhelming demand from fans.
Drummer Dan Torelli talks to Ryan Bird about their fairytale start to life on this side of the pond.
How are you doing?
Fantastic! We got in this past Sunday morning, got ourselves to the hotel and settled in for a little bit, and ever since then it’s been crazy doing press stuff.
What’s it like being in Madina Lake right now?
It’s awesome – it’s so, so exciting. It’s like nothing that any of us could ever have been prepared for. Some of us were just talking earlier about how strange it is. We’re doing the same things now that we’ve always done as far as travelling around different places and playing our songs go, but everything around us is changing and really kicking into motion. It’s pretty weird watching the shows grow and the press activity getting more and more intense, but it’s really amazing. We’re having so much fun right now.
Are you looking forward to playing the [Camden] Barfly tonight?
We’re really excited to be doing that. Last time we were over in the UK was about two months ago for Give It A Name, which were huge. They were such big shows, but we love doing smaller shows like tonight. We’ve been waiting to come back to the UK and do something like this ever since.
What made you want to do a free show?
I think the idea originally started between Kerrang! and a couple of the guys from our label. I think it was something they’d been toying with for a little while, and we’d done a really small show for radio in the UK a few months back.
We had such a blast doing it that when the idea came up we were just like ‘absolutely!’ The really cool thing about it is that everyone there is going to be either friends of the band or real hardcore fans. It should be a really cool and intimate time.
It seems like the UK has really embraced you guys…
Absolutely! We came here for the very first time last October supporting Paramore when we were virtually unheard of over here. We hadn’t done much press, we hadn’t released anything, and we really had nothing to our name, so we just came here and gave it all we had. We were really surprised with the response. Right from the very first show we felt like we were really being embraced and that just encouraged us to give even more for every show. It’s just been fantastic.
Why do you think it’s going so well for you over here?
Honestly, I’m not really sure. We do what we do every single night, and that never changes whether we’re here or over in the States. I don’t know if people in the UK are just more receptive to an attitude like that or whether they just really dig the type of music that we make. Either way we greatly appreciate it and we’re always super excited to come back.
Your debut headline tour in September is almost sold out, and most of the venues that aren’t have needed to be upgraded. Is that difficult for you to believe?
I cannot believe that! When we were here with Paramore and then again a month or two later supporting Gym Class Heroes, some of the venues those bands were playing are ones that we’ve had to upgrade from. We were supporting other bands at these venues and now we’re not only headlining them but having to skip some of them out as well. At the time we’d always sit there and talk about how awesome it’d be to be able to come back and headline those types of clubs ourselves, so it’s really blowing our minds right now.
How are things back home in the US?
It’s going really well right now. The US always takes so much longer to break through in because it’s just so big. We can do a 2-week tour in the UK and hit more or less all of the key cities and towns, but in the States you have to get out for 2-months to cover the same type of territories. It’s growing really steadily at the moment and everything is beginning to start rolling for us.
You’re touring on Projekt Revolution this summer. How are you looking forward to that?
It’s going to be tremendous. I can’t even begin to imagine how awesome that tour should be. There’s so many other festivals and tours going on in the States right now, but we feel like this is just the perfect one for us to be on. We always wanted to do Warped Tour but at shows like that there’s like five or six stages that are always overlapping, so sometimes kids are faced with three of four different bands that they wanna see that are all playing at the same time. Projekt Revolution is only two stages and about ten or eleven bands, so fans won’t be faced with too many dilemmas.
It’s a very varied bill, with Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, HIM, Placebo and a few others all being so different. How do you fit in?
I would say that we’re just a rock band. If you listen to our record there are parts that are kind of heavy, there are parts that are a bit more poppy and high-energy, and there’s also a lot of darker elements to it as well. We don’t really want to get bogged down by being branded pop-rock, pop-punk, emo or any of those categories. One of the great things about this tour is that it’s not catering to a specific scene. It’s a great tour full of rock bands.
Are you looking forward to seeing and playing with any bands in particular?
I can’t wait to see Placebo every single night. I like pretty much all of the bands from the tour but Placebo is a band that I’ve been aware of and listened to for a while. I’ve never actually seen them live, so now I get to see them live every day for about six weeks. Like I said though it’s a really great tour and I think all of the bands involved are super talented at what they do. It should be a fantastic summer for everyone.
So what does the next chapter hold for Madina Lake?
Well, after we do our headline tour in the UK in September we’re heading over to Europe for the very first time, which is really exciting. I’m not sure that it’s all fully confirmed yet but I think the rough outline for it is to do a few shows in Germany, France and Holland. Then of course we get to go over to Japan for a couple of days to do the Supersonic Festival. We’re pretty much going to be seeing the rest of the year out in the States after that I think, but we still have so much word to do in 2008. We still want to hit places like Australia and obviously we look forward to coming back to the UK again as soon as possible. It’s going to be an interesting time for us. I can’t wait.
Madina Lake’s debut album ‘From Them, Through Us, To You‘ is out now on Roadrunner.
The Pit delivers more guitar fodder this month courtesy of Alex Gosman and Dee Massey.
Record Of The Month
SCOUTING FOR GIRLS – She’s So Lovely
(Epic)
www.scoutingforgirls.co.uk
With ‘Its Not About You‘ still ringing in our ears UK indie popsters Scouting For Girls are following up their debut with the undeniably charming and wonderfully witty ‘She’s So Lovely‘. Let me cut to the chase – I think this track is great. It actually makes me smile – no mean feat at this time in the morning, let me tell you. It’s a light hearted, funny, tongue-in-cheek, sparking effort from this self effacing 3 piece.
With lines like ‘She’s pretty, she’s witty, she’s got a boyfriend though and that’s a pity’ and my personal favourite ‘She 30, turned 30 and that the age girls get really dirty’, it glitters throughout, with a incandescent piano driven chorus of ‘She’s so lovely oh she’s so lovely’ – this is the perfect antidote to this miserable summer. Scouting for Girls are crossing into the mainstream with their up-tempo and intelligent indie pop, and this track is infectious and bright. And who’s the inspiration behind this track you ask? Well…bizarrely enough it’s the very lovely host of the ‘Really Wild Show‘… Michaela Strachan..
RYAN ADAMS – Easy Tiger
(Lost Highway)
www.ryan-adams.com
It’s been almost 18 months since Ryan Adam‘s last album, 29, and for most artists that’s not really a long time, but we’re dealing with an artist who’s released 7 solo albums, 2 EPs, one double album, a last CD with his old band mates Whiskeytown along with endless unreleased material – so for him this 18 months has been quite the hiatus (although never one to slack, he has produced Willy Nelson’s album in that break too…)
Harking back to his Heartbreaker days, this album is far less rock n roll, and far more alt country than its predecessor ‘29‘. Wonderfully bluesy, downtrodden somewhat maudlin tracks like ‘Two’ and ‘The Sun Also Sets‘ sit alongside comic touches like ‘Halloween Head’. ‘String of Pearls‘ is almost bluegrass, whilst ‘Oh My God, Whatever, etc‘ is wonderfully drawn out and folksy. This album is almost a step back in sound for Adams, with ‘These Girls‘ which has been taken and reworked from Adam’s unreleased 2000 album ‘Destroyer’ – and has some moments of genius, in an album which is consistently solid, but ultimately fails to ignite the emotions – in fact he sounds almost bored in some tracks.
Having spent longer working on this album than any before it, it almost lacks the fluidity and ramshackle loops that makes Heartbreaker, Demolition and Gold and Co so addictive ( the difference maybe being that he is now reportedly sober). With this album he shows he can be a serious, and now sober, artist…but to honest, I hope the ‘old’ Ryan Adams hasn’t left us forever. The NY Post reported that he’d drawn a self deprecating cartoon of himself singing piss take of his lyrics'”Blah, blah, blah, whine, whine, whine, it takes two when it used to take one..” so it good to see he’s not taking himself too seriously as an ‘artiste’.
INME – I Won’t Let Go
(Graphite Records)
www.myspace.com/inmeofficial
Take all your preconceived notions about British 3 piece InMe and cast them to one side, and if you can’t do that, listen to their new single and let it do it for you. Having been on the scene for over ten years, they’ve now amicably parted company with the hot one, bass player Joe Morgan and bought on board vocalist Dave McPherson’s younger brother Greg, and turned to Opeth’s producer Jens Bogren to produce their new album. So far….so metal.
‘I Won’t Let Go‘ is an abrasive and raw slice of their new album, with an new dynamic sound, complete with searing riffs and aggressive vocals. Building on the foundations laid in previous album, Dave McPherson takes the opportunity to vent all his frustration in lyrics saturated in spite and vitriol – and what a difference it makes to them. InMe prove they’re more than just pretty faces with this exciting preview of what promises to be a kick ass album.
KINGS OF LEON – Fans
(Columbia)
www.kingsofleon.com
Taken from their No 1 album ‘Because of the Times‘ Kings of Leon‘s new release is going to draw in whole host of new fans for the Tennessee sets of brothers. Radio friendly and somewhat pandering to their London fans (two name checks in one song…we’re flattered!), this is arguably the best thing this band have done, with Caleb’s sultry vocals and explosive drums combine in this semi-acoustic anthemic heart stopper of a track.
Throbbing bass lines wind their way through the track, but it’s the vocals which stick in your mind, intense and dark. Kings of Leon have managed to produce a single that’s both user friendly and unchallenging to the listener, but is still absolutely beautiful and bewitching, and would be well deserving of a No 1 slot.
MUMM-RA- These Things Move In Threes
(Columbia)
www.mumm-ra.com
Following on from their exciting debut single ‘Its Out of The Question‘, Mumm-ra finally release their first album ‘These Things Move in Threes‘. Having shone through over The Horrors and The Automatic on the NME tour, Mumm-ra have taken elements of pop, indie and dance and put in a hefty dose of rock to reveal a whimsical album that you can sing, shout and throw yourself around the dance floor to.
Opener ‘Now or Never‘ starts off acoustically before descending into rough guitars and sparkly vocals, reminiscent of Hope of The States. ‘Its Out of The Question‘ obviously stands out, as does ‘She’s Got You High‘, which was NME’s song of the week on release (but don’t hold that against the band). This unpretentious and upbeat album is one for the summer; it’s uplifting on the most miserable of days with their infectious brand of up-tempo indie pop. Even the epic seven minute ‘Down Down Down‘ can’t break the spell that this exciting debut casts. Listen to it and smile…
THE AGGROLITES – Reggae Hit L.A.
(Hellcat)
www.aggroreggae.com
Got Aggrolites? Got soul. This Los Angeles quintet’s self-titled debut was an unexpected highlight of last year; the work of a band that infused new life into the sounds of classic 60’s ska, soul and reggae. Barely a year later, the follow-up has arrived, and it’s an absolute treat. A record intended as a tribute to their hometown’s thriving reggae scene, there are no weak links on show here; with the pulsing groove of the title track, the smooth lilt of ‘Let’s Pack Our Bags‘ and the organ-laden party vibe of ‘Lucky Streak‘ almost guaranteed to both soothe you and move you. Make no mistake: these guys are the real deal.
BRAIN FAILURE/BIG D AND THE KIDS TABLE – Beijing To Boston
(Household Name)
www.brainfailure.com/www.bigdandthekidstable.com
Household Name have released some pretty nifty split CDs over the years, and this one is no exception; bringing together bands from China and the USA. Brain Failure have a strong Rancid aura to them, offering up an enjoyable if derivative feast of sloppy guitars and anthemic terrace-chant choruses on songs like ‘Coming Down To Beijing‘ and ‘You’re Gonna Die‘. Meanwhile, Boston ska/punk veterans Big D And The Kids Table bring their trademark blazing brass and smart, sarcastic lyrics with no little panache on the likes of ‘Taking Back The Rhythm‘. Ska-punk may no longer be fashionable, but it’s certainly not dead.
DARKEST HOUR – Deliver Us
(Victory)
www.darkesthour.cc
Arguably one of the finest non-Scandinavian purveyors of melodic death metal, Darkest Hour created one of 2005’s essential releases with previous album ‘Undoing Ruin’. ‘Deliver Us’, like its predecessor, is a deeply personal record that will only reveal its true depth if given the time; with the band’s brutal bludgeon and John Henry’s sandpaper-raw vocals offset – as ever – by some brilliantly technical guitar work. Check the title track and ‘A Paradox With Flies‘ for a couple of potential future live favourites, and be sure to catch the band when they return to the UK in September.
MUNICIPAL WASTE – The Art Of Partying
(Earache)
www.facethewaste.com
The cover art and song titles (including ‘The Inebriator’, ‘Beer Pressure’ and ‘Septic Detonation‘) of Municipal Waste‘s second album suggest that it isn’t going to be a radical departure from their ‘Hazardous Mutation‘ debut. But who gives a shit? There are few bands who play thrash-core as fast, tight and funny as these guys do, and ‘The Art Of Partying‘ is more of the same, but better – lyrically, musically, and in terms of circle-pit fuel, too. Best enjoyed with a breakfast of Rice Krispies soaked in beer.
AGAINST ME! – New Wave
(Sire/Warners)
www.againstme.net
“All the punks still singing the same song!” howls Against Me singer Tom Gabel on ‘Up The Cuts‘. A commentary on the state of punk rock in 2007, perhaps, or maybe a condemnation of those that criticised his band’s decision to sign to a major label for this new album? If it’s the latter, then said criticism certainly hasn’t shaken AM’s confidence – ‘White People For Peace‘ and ‘Americans Abroad‘ are shot through with the ragged vocals and punk rock vigour of old, whilst elsewhere, the disco-stomp of ‘Stop’ and jerking rhythms of ‘Piss And Vinegar’ are as compelling as they are surprising. It’s not the Against Me that we used to know, Jim, but it’ll be interesting to see where they go from here.
TURBONEGRO – Retox
(Cooking Vinyl)
www.turbonegro.com
How, you might ask, does ‘Retox’ differ from Turbonegro‘s previous releases? The answer is: not much, but complaining that they still sound the same as ever is rather like complaining that premium-quality Black Forest gateau still tastes the same as ever. ‘Retox‘ may not scale the heights of the band’s 1998 ‘Apocalypse Dudes‘ classic, but the likes of ‘Do You Dig Destruction’, ‘Stroke The Shaft’ and ‘Hell Toupée‘ see Hank and co firing on all cylinders. Well over a decade since their inception, there’s no other band that sounds quite like Turbonegro – and they deserve kudos for that alone.
TURISAS – The Varangian Way
(Century Media)
www.turisas.com
‘Epic‘ is most definitely the word here. But then, you wouldn’t expect anything less from self-proclaimed ‘battle metal’ pioneers Turisas, who perform in full war paint and Norse warrior’s regalia, and boast a violinist and accordion player among their ranks. ‘The Varangian Way‘ sounds utterly huge in almost every way; a mesh of crunching old-school riffs, folk rhythms and orchestral soundscapes that wouldn’t sound out of place on the soundtrack of ‘Braveheart‘. Bizarre as it may sound, it’s hard not to get caught up in the Wagnerian drama of tracks like ‘A Portage To The Unknown’; so kindly hand me my sword and flask of mead.
In support of their re-issue series and to get people excited for the upcoming new studio album Dead Meadow will be playing a number of UK dates in August:
8th – Brighton Audio
9th – London Cargo
10th – Norwich Norwich Arts Centre
11th – Newcastle The Cluny
12th – Leeds The Faversham
13th – Nottingham The Maze
14th – Nice ‘n’ Sleazy Glasgow
15th – Thekla Bristol
16th – The Point Cardiff
17th – Powys Greenman festival
18th – Oxford The Cellar
The first video off the new Bad Brains “Build A Nation” album has just been unleashed. Shavo (from System Of A Down) directed the effort, which is a video combination of two songs, “Give Thanks And Praises” and “Jah Love.” Get in there and feel the love!
The King Blues video for ‘Come Fi Di Youth‘ has just arrived for you to view below. The single is released Monday 6th August as a limited 7″ only, get one before they all go and look out for them on the road in September and go to their Myspace for a sneak preview of new tracks.
Up until now the most successful musicians from Wolverhampton have been limited to Noddy Holder and sparkly toothed Goldie, but with fresh new talent The Lines that could be about to change.
Formed by friends Alex Ohm and Dean Bate, this indie four piece have been described as psychedelic indie and have held their own opening for Babyshambles, Editors, The Holloways and The Maccabees to name but a few. With London beckoning and label interest growing, The Lines are one to watch. Singer and guitarist Alex Lanes took some time out on a Friday afternoon to have a chat with Dee Massey.
Right Alex, let’s start right at the beginning. How did you guys all get together to form The Lines?
Well I’ve known the guitarist Dean basically all my life…we just ended up having a jam and stuff, and some covers and …ended up staring a band! [laughs] Chris, the bass player – we’d known him since secondary school and working in pubs and stuff, and our drummer at the moment, Ryan – we know him through other bands from the last few years, he left his last band and joined us straightaway basically..
So you guys are from Wolverhampton, fill us in -what’s the music scene like up there?
It’s not a great music scene – it’s ok, it has picked up recently with other local bands doing well. It’s only got a couple of venues that are any good really, you’ve got the Varsity and the Little Civic, and it’s got bigger venues such as the main Civic. It’s ok – there’s going to be some good bands coming out of it now.
And what bands are you into yourself? Are you guys inspired by anyone in particular?
It varies from each member really, I know Ryan’s really like the more rock based bands like Blink and stuff, but the other three of us really bands like The Beatles, more brit pop bands, but then there’s other bands who do influence us who aren’t in that genre, like Jurassic 5.
So how would you explain your sound?
I find it hard to say really because it is sort of indie…and it’s not really brit pop – I know some bands listen to themselves and put themselves into a category…but I don’t know if I could do that…I guess we’re just indie…alternative..[laughs] I should make up a new genre..
You guys have supported some really popular bands like Babyshambles, Editors, Maccabees and The Holloways – how did those slots come about?
It’s just through supporting them at the Little Civic, whilst they’ve been touring, and it’s through just hard work , pushing for gigs and stuff. We supported Babyshambles at the Dublin Castle [in Camden], and it can be harder for us sometimes, being an unsigned band but we’ve got the London show with The Crimea and stuff, so we’re getting there!
And how do you know The Crimea, Owen’s [Hopkins – drummer of The Crimea] looking after you guys now right?
Yeah, he’s helping us out, it’s great. We got to know The Crimea through Owen, we played the Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham and he was being tour manger for a band, and he saw us, came to talk to us and we’ve just kept in touch.
And you’re supporting them at Borderline?
Yeah on the Tuesday!
And I understand you’re looking to release a single in September?
Yeah we’re talking about that. It’s the first time we’ve done anything like that so I’m a bit scared..
Excited?
Yeah it is great, but we’ve just booked the Civic Bar which is like a 400 person venue, and that’s a really big step up, it’s quite scary as an unsigned band!
Nah! Enter Shikari sold out the Astoria unsigned, you’ll be fine!
[laughs] I hope so! Could look a bit funny with just my mum and dad and my auntie!
And what would be your dream venue – if you could play anywhere in the world?
Little Civic in Wolverhampton of course! [laughs] But I would like to play the main Civic here, because it’s one of the first venues I ever went to, and I’d quite to play Koko because it’s so beautiful.
It’s really stunning in there isn’t it? It still looks like a theatre..
I think that’s what I like about it really, just the different levels – it’s great in there. As or other venues..Wembley?!
What band would you most like to go on tour with?
Ooh that’s a tricky one! …The Beatles! Just to see what it’d be like. Wouldn’t mind going on tour with The Maccabees, they seemed really cool, or the Stones!
And why should people come and see you live? What do your shows have that others don’t?
Lots of mistakes![laughs] A different sound, an all around fun experience! [laughs] We try to make it a bit more interesting, a bit different.
What’re your hopes for the next 12 months or so?
Hopefully sort some kind of signing out, and a release and it’d be nice to do a full month tour..
Right – it’s time for the quickfire round..are you ready?
I think so!
What 3 things should you always take on tour.
Phone charger…clean socks and pants!
Every band I talk to says clean socks..
[laughs] Definitely the clean socks! And a phone…oh and the band!
What is the most shameful CD that you own?
Noooo…why did you have to interview me? I’m going to have to say…Cisco and Thong Song.
Oh my god! You should be ashamed!
I was a kid!
Yeah yeah…What was the first gig you ever went to?
Um…probably Space at the Civic Hall…no..actually Shed Seven!
Who is the most annoying person in the band!
[laughs] I can’t answer that!
Yes you can!
[laughs]I’ll say Ryan..[laughs] I’m sure he’s got ADD or something..you can’t leave him along for more than 2 seconds!
What’s the best and worst thing about being in a band?
Best thing is the places you go, the gigs and meeting new people. The worst is the pressure it can put you under, and you start to get on each others nerves.
If there was a fight between the …easter bunny, Tooth fairy and Santa who’s win?
Tooth Fairy.
Why? I think Santa would kick their arse!
Nah [laughs] ..he’s a big cuddly thing..he won’t even get involved, he’d say ‘have a present’ and walk off.
And lastly…your words of wisdom for the Crossfire readers…
You know if you asked anybody if I had any words of wisdom they’d say no! Be safe..take it easy..and don’t swallow too many biscuits!
Check out the fresh new talent this is The Lines at www.myspace.com/wearethelines