Gwen Stefani is back with the band, away from the solo spotlight.
According to TV reports in America, Gwen Stefani recently claimed she and her bandmates are preparing a new record. She was talking about being excited regarding her solo tour but finished by saying:
“If you want to come see them, come see them, because I’m sniffing around with No Doubt. We’re going to record another record next.”
Patrick Wolf has been confirmed as the main support for the UK dates on the Arcade Fire tour.
Kicking off in Ireland, Arcade Fire and Patrick will travel to Scotland and England. If you want to see this great line up, head on over to one of these shows:
March:
5th – Dublin, Ireland Olympia
6th – Dublin, Ireland Olympia
8th – Manchester, England Apollo
9th – Manchester, England Apollo
11th – Glasgow, Scotland Barrowlands
12th – Glasgow, Scotland Barrowlands
14th – London, England Brixton Academy
15th – London, England Brixton Academy
Nu-Rave/Indie/Whatever high flyers Klaxons have admitted they’d love to work within rap.
Jamie Reynolds from the group has apparently said that Klaxons would love to work with Dr Dre or Snoop at some point. His bandmate James Righton is quoted as having said:
“I think it’s exciting that white boys can work with big R&B producers. It’s weird that it’s a new phenomenon. I couldn’t work out why it has never happened before, what with the melodies of (indie) blending so well with beats – now it’s like the thing to do. We would very much like to make an R&B record. If we could afford it”.
Now put yo glo-sticks in the air and wave ’em around like you just don’t care bitches!
A collaboration between hip hop and ska has recently happened.
UK hotshot Sway has teamed up with Baby Blue and Madness on the new single Sorry. The single will be out on March 5th and is currently on Madness’ myspace page.
Sway has said that he had always wanted to work with Madness and hopes there are more team-ups with them in the future.
The Twang announce a host of live dates.
The Twang, who were only recently commended by the Kaiser Chiefs as being the only decent new band in the indie scene at the moment, have announced loads of tour dates for you to check them out at.
The band will be releasing their debut single, Wide Awake, on March 19th. So, if you want to see what the Kaiser’s fussing was about, head over to one of these:
February:
16th – Barnsley Lucorum
17th – Stoke Sugarmill
18th – Derby, Victoria Inn
21st – Hull The Lamp
22nd – Preston 53 Degrees
23rd – Newcastle Academy 2
25th – Aberdeen Cafe Drummond
26th – Stirling University
27th – Glasgow ABC2
28th – York Fibbers
March:
3rd – Sheffield The Plug
4th – Leeds Faversham
5th – Wolverhampton Little Civic
7th – London ICA
8th – Nottingham Social
9th – Tunbridge Wells Forum
10th – Guildford Surrey University
11th – Brighton Engine Rooms
20th – Liverpool Barfly
21st – Manchester Night & Day
22nd – Birmingham Academy 2
23rd – Norwich Arts Centre
24th – Leicester Sumo
26th – Cardiff Barfly
27th – Bristol Louisiana
28th – Southampton Joiners
29th – Oxford Zodiac
Brixton Academy
29.01.07
Two weeks after it was originally scheduled, Killswitch Engage‘s UK tour rolls into London, albeit without now-hospitalized lead guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. It’s not the first time the Massachusetts quintet have had to cope without him, and despite having had to postpone this show at the 11th hour, the massive queue stretching around the Academy shows that the crowd’s enthusiasm hasn’t waned any.
If only Bring Me The Horizon’s ability matched their enthusiasm. Baiting the crowd and constantly demanding circle pits is all very well when you’re an established, respected act, but tonight BMTH frontman Oli Sykes is nothing short of annoying; prancing around the stage whilst his band insist on shoehorning the same predictable breakdowns into almost every song they play. Ultimately, it is their departure which gets the loudest cheers from a largely disinterested crowd.
However, when The Haunted vocalist Peter Dolving tells us to “shut the fuck up!”, we obey. The Swedish thrashers may have diversified their sound on recent release ‘The Dead Eye’, but there’s no shortage of razor-sharp riffs in their arsenal to contrast their more progressive moments. Dolving himself seems rejuvenated; his powerful roars and energetic stage presence infused with enough conviction to get even the most jaded of punters pumping their fists in approval.
Killswitch Engage go straight for the jugular tonight; the metallic blitzkrieg of opener ‘A Bid Farewell’ whipping the pit into a frenzy. It’s immediately apparent that, although Dutkiewicz’s court-jester-with-a-guitar persona is noticeably absent, his replacement in former Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers ensures that nothing is lacking in the sound department. “We do not deserve you guys!” declares an ever-humble Howard Jones to a crowd who greet new efforts like ‘My Curse’ and ‘As Daylight Dies’ with the same fervour afforded to Killswitch classics like ‘Rose Of Sharyn‘ and ‘My Last Serenade’.
In the absence of Dutkiewicz, Jones has become the on-stage focus of the band, and their closing cover of Dio’s ‘Holy Diver’ is a fine chance for him to demonstrate why he is regarded as one of the finest vocalists in modern metal. Tonight may not be Killswitch at the height of their powers, but their ‘show must go on’ ethos has done them proud.
Def Jex rapper has teamed up with Nike on their new series.
Aesop Rock, who has a new album out this year entitled None Shall Pass, has been set alongside LCD Soundsystem and The Crystal Method after joining forces with Nike. He will release original compositions for the 3rd Nike + Original Run series.
All Day: Nike + Original Run will be a 45 minute mix, which was created with runners in mind and the rapper/producer said of the record:
“I wanted to create something that evolved enough that the sound was constantly fresh and attractive, as if the runner were moving through a set of differing cities or landscapes.”
You can check out a snippet of the mix on his myspace.
Lady Sovereign will return to play a show in April.
The diminutive star, who played the London Scala this week, has expanded her world tour and will play dates in America, Australia, Japan and Europe. She is about to set out on 41 North American dates with Gwen Stefani as her profile in America continues to grow. The UK dates on her return are:
April
10th – Glasgow King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut
11th – Birmingham Academy 2
13th – London KOKO
14th – Bristol Anson Rooms
16th – Norwich Waterfront
17th – Manchester Academy 3
The American release for the American Hardcore DVD has been set.
The film, which is based on Steven Blush’s 2001 book American Hardcore, features among others, Ian MacKaye, Steve Soto, Vic Bondi and Mike Watt. The film is directed by Paul Rachman, who had previously directed videos for Bad Brains and Gang Green.
The DVD will also feature deleted scenes, live performances and a commentary from both the director and the author and will be released on February 20th.
Make sure you check out our review of the DVD by clicking here.
Smashing Pumpins have officially set a date and titles for their album.
The album will be called Zeitgeist and will be released on July 7th. This means the release date is 07.07.07 and strangely enough, the release date falls on a Saturday.
This will be the band’s first album since 2000 but so far only Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin have been confirmed for the album. Watch this space.