Ska stars No Doubt have started to work on their new album but without the presence of frontwoman as Gwen Stefani is in the latter stages of her pregnancy.
Bass player Tony Kanal has said that the writing has begun slowly and that they’re going to be influenced by the same rock and reggae they grew up on. It’ll be the bands first release since Rock Steady in 2001.
Its a sad day for Punk, as after a decade of playing together, Hot Water Music have broken up. Their extended break has been made permanent and a statement was made which stated:
“It’s definitely not easy to end something that was such a large part of our lives for so long, but it is most definitely time to put the beast to bed. We always said that we would go out when things were still good and true,and hopefully we did. There’s nothing worse than watching a band you love go through the motions, aside from being in that band.
To wrap this up, I ask one thing of you all than it is. People make difficult decisions everyday. It’s not easy to leave something behind or to start something over. That is all that happened here. There is no bullshit drama between, so please don’t create any.
We sincerely hope that you all find time to follow our new projects, Chuck with his solo work and Chris, George, and myself with The Draft.
Thanks again, it was a blast.
Peace,
Black.”
Sufjan Stevens is to release an album of tracks that didn’t make the cut on his Illinois album, and the outtakes and extras record will be called The Avalanche.
The Illinois album was due to be a double album but ended up being a regular single album and so many tracks were culled from it. The Avalanche is scheduled for release on July 26th and will feature 3 versions of Pittsfield, Casimir Pulaski Day and Chicago.
Yep, another rapper has been a naughty little boy at Heathrow Airport. This time it’s DMX who verbally abused the cabin crew on a flight to England.
Police have said that the rapper refused to buckle up during the final descent and after it had landed he continued to verbally attack the crew and was promptly arrested when he got off the plane.
DMX was released with a caution which he can add to his history of arrests. Seems like Heathrow is the place to be if you’re a rapper that wants a ruck!
Radiohead’s frontman Thom Yorke has announced he’ll be releasing a solo album called The Eraser in July of this year, and describes it as having “elements [that] have been kicking round now for a few years.”
The album will be produced by Nigel Godrich and reports say Yorke wrote all the tracks and played all instruments.
The album will be put out on XL and Yorke insists there is no chance Radiohead are splitting up.
A Japanese Music Showcase tour is being brought over by It Came From Japan, with support from British Underground, Pixelsurgeon and Manga Entertainment UK. A special free sushi brunch will be laid on in Brighton too. The three bands involved are “grrrl-punk” Bo-Peep, ska punks Puppypet and J-pop Shinonome. Check them out at:
May 16th
On The Rocks, London.
8pm, £4 entry.
25-27 Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, London E2 8AA
May 18th
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth.
5-8pm, invite only [ email daniel@itcamefromjapan.co.uk for free invites ]
Manga book launch! ‘The Japanese Drawing Room – Victorian Travellers In Japan’
East Cliff, Bournemouth BH1 3AA
May 20th
Departure Loungue @ The Prince Albert, Brighton.
1-4pm, free entry!
The Prince Albert, Trafalgar Street, Brighton BN1 4ED
Plus individual shows:
Bo-Peep only
May 21st, Dublin Castle, London
8pm (on stage 10.40pm), £4.50 with flyer/£5 without
94 Parkway, Camden, London NW1 7AN
Puppypet only
May 21st, Barfly, London
12noon (on stage 3.30pm), £3 with flyer/£4 without
49 Chalk Farm Road, Camden, London NW1 8AN
Flogging Molly are back! July sees the return of the group along with the release of Whiskey On A Sunday, a new CD with 5 live tracks, 4 acoustic songs, a new studio track and a feature length documentary DVD with bonus footage. Make sure you grab yourself a Guinness and check them out at:
July
10th – Birmingham Academy 2
11th – Manchester Academy 2
12th – Bristol Academy
13th – Brighton Concorde 2
25th – London Mean Fiddler
26th – Reading Festival
27th – Leeds Festival
Neo-gothic Punks American Eyes are hitting these shores for the first time as they support Thursday and Taking Back Sunday. The quintent from LA will also play their own headline show at Camden’s Barfly, where the first 50 people through the doors will get a free copy of their EP and the Warped Tour’s 2006 compilation that features one of their tracks.
Check out an unedited version of their new video on their site here.
Their dates are:
May
26th – Oxford Zodiac w/ Thursday
27th – Liverpool Uni w/ Taking Back Sunday
28th – Manchester Academy w/ Thursday
29th – Glasgow Garage w/ Thursday
30th – Birmingham Academy w/ Thursday
31st – Portsmouth Wedgwood Rooms w/ Thursday
June
1st – London Electric Ballroom w/ Thursday
6th – London Barfly
The Briggs are coming to play some UK dates as part of their European tour, and are currently finishing the recording of their new album. Check them out at any of these shows:
July
7th – Swindon Furnace
8th – Camberley Camberley Town Football
9th – Ashton Under Lyne The Witchwood
10th – Hull The Ring Side
Humanzi are back in the UK playing alongside Battle before they continue touring through June with the White Rose Movement in preparation for their upcoming debut album Tremors, due out in July. A single, Diet Pills And Magazines, will come out on July 3rd.
The dates are:
May
20th – Northampton Soundhaus
21st – Manchester Club Academy
22nd – Leicester Charlotte
24th – Hampshire West End Centre
25th – Preston 53 Degrees
26th – Ipswich Drum & Monke
27th – Middlesbrough Empire
29th – Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire
30th – York Fibbers
31st – Newcastle Academy
June
1st – London Kings College
3rd – Stoke Sugarmill