+44’s drummer Travis Barker won’t be playing any more European dates.
The former Blink 182 drummer fractured his arm during a video shoot in September last year but had carried on touring despite the injury.
However, doctors have told him to stop performing so as to make sure the fracture heals totally. There’s been no word on the replacement for the remaining dates.
Bonobo will be leading a live band to play his biggest show ever next month.
Simon Green aka Bonobo, will be going on tour with a live band to promote his Days To Come album at the start of February. The album recently won the album of the year award by listeners of Giles Peterson’s show and if that’s not proof enough that it’s worth checking out, I don’t know what is!
February:
5th – Newcastle University
6th – Sheffield Foundry
7th – Leeds Faversham
9th – Bristol Fiddlers
10th – Penzance 2K
11th – Plymouth The Hub
15th – Brighton Concorde 2
16th – London Forum
The UK’s very own Jehst is back with a 12″ ready to blow every other rapper out of the water once again, as he always does in his inimitable style.
Dynamite Sound [which is coupled with Psychedelic Phlegm] begins with the famous sample of the Saturday Night Live sketch featuring Christopher Walken proclaiming they [the band he’s with] have a dynamite sound. From that sampled loop, comes a widly thumping bassline and Jehst takes up the vocals.
When it comes to an all-round package, Jehst is it – brilliantly clever and funny lyrics, amazing delivery, flawless cadence, he has it all in spades and this track is just another example of his prowess. From calling himself the “rap lobster” to chatting about putting his Puma through the TV in disgust and digging out the breakbeats, its a non-stop headnod fest. This track does exactly what it says on the tin, and delivers one hell of an explosive dynamite sound.
You know what though? Could do with a little more cowbell…
Reports are that the new full length Bad Brains album is on schedule to be released in Spring 2007.
The album will be called Build A Nation and is set to have 14 tracks with the band’s “most significant” line up. It is believed that Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys will be producing the record and whilst a full tour isn’t expected, some one off dates are thought to be likely.
Rumours are surfacing that Rage Against The Machine will be joining up again.
Tom Morello, now with Audioslave, spoke to Billboard magazine about the likelihood of a reunion of the band which split in 2000. It is said that Zach De La Rocha and his former bandmates are on good terms and if the reunion was to happen, Coachella would be the venue for it.
Coachella’s spokespeople have said nothing about it, but fingers crossed!
British based metallers Chokehold have issued the following update regarding their sophomore effort ‘Sweet Sense of Genocide’:
“Just a quick update to let you know that we’re approaching the end of the writing process for our new album, which we have decided to title ‘Sweet Sense of Genocide’. The sessions have gone incredibly well, and with Dave ‘Love Hammer’ Andrews joining us on guitar we really feel we’ve begun to unlock a whole new dimension of the Chokehold sound. The band is a tighter, more determined unit than ever before, and we’re chomping at the bit to get this thing out there.
We hit Warehouse Studios in February for the recording and can’t wait lay down what is sure to be a monster of a record. Steve ‘Geezer’ Watkins will be in the hot seat and we’re delighted to have him on board. If anybody can maximise the full potential of this beast, it’s undoubtedly him. Rest assured that it shall represent a huge step forward both musically and personally as we push into the new year and beyond.”
Chokehold’s debut full-length ‘The Killing Has Begun’ was released in April 2006 via Casket Records. Produced by Nick Hemingway (Cancer, Fony, Desecration) the album received a string of sterling reviews both at home and abroad, with the song ‘Faith of Fear’ and its subsequent video receiving airplay on Total Rock Radio and Scuzz TV alike. Kerrang! Magazine also awarded the band a favourable 4K review for their role as headline act on 2006’s Casket Lullabies Tour alongside labelmates Sinocence and Sandstone.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are continuing to release unreleased material.
The band, who have been on hiatus since 2003, have been putting out rare and unreleased tracks online and the latest offering is a different recording of Another Drinking Song. The track, which comes from their well known album Let’s Face It, is now up on their myspace page.
Beck is to release an extended version of The Information, which was put out last year.
The new version of the record will feature three additional songs, a lyric book and six remixes.
In addition to the tracks, there will be two videos added – the Patrick Daughters directed Nausea and Michel Gondry’s Cellphone’s Dead. This new version is out on February 27th.
Maximo Park have announced that their second album will be called Our Earthly Pleasures.
The follow up to A Certain Trigger will be out on April 2nd and the band will release the single Our Velocity on March 19th. The band are to headline the Shockwaves NME Awards show on February 21st. The tracklisting for the album is:
‘Girls Who Play Guitars’
‘Our Velocity’
‘Books From Boxes’
‘Russian Literature’
‘Karaoke Plays’
‘Your Urge’
‘The Unshockable’
‘By The Monument’
‘Nosebleed’
‘A Fortnight’s Time’
‘Sandblasted And Set Free’
‘Parisian Skies’
In 2006, Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina toured their debut self titled album and graced us with a show in London that will never be forgotten.
In 2007, they have ‘Get Evens’ that carries on where the last tune on their debut finished. A baritone guitar, 2 voices and drums can go a long way and this superb duo have blended their skills once again in bringing us wonderfully mixed acoustic tracks with messages and observations that can only be described as politically influenced but without the obvious anarchic wrangling of your average 70’s punk band.
MacKaye’s Fugazi influence though is something you will never be able to take away from him and why would you as it’s so uniquely beautiful that most would want him to go back and crack out another album but I guess when you have records as good as this on offer there’s no point.
Stand out songs include ‘Everybody Knows’ (which I’m sure is about Bush), ‘Dinner with the President’, ‘All You Find You Keep’, ‘No Money’, ‘You Fell Down’ – in fact the whole album has a constant stream of good energy from start to finish showing off songwriting skills and shining vocals to serve up another fantastic album from The Evens that you should own. Roll on number 3!
Zac