Ph: Grant Brittain, 1987.
I always get a shiver when I see Neil Blender push and carve on a rig, whether he is in full slappy mode or smashing vert. There’s only one Blender and he’s back on a cruise tip this week.
We tried to interview him last year after finding some letters he wrote an old mate of ours from college days, we succeeded, but the other half of the interview was never completed so we had J Mascis share some words on the past instead.
If you follow Dane Vaughn‘s social networks you will know he’s always on the push. Mighty Healthy welcomes his name to their team today and rightly so.
Jart have unleashed the joint section of both Cian Eades and Jorge Simões overnight. Click play for the sweets.
Ty Segall
‘Candy Sam’
Drag City
Throw away your paisley preconceptions of psych and take a gander at these big bawlers and squealers instead. Revered sonic avenger Ty Segall has dropped a sinister new music video for ‘Candy Sam’, and as his muggers’ glorious volley of fuzz riffs proceed to blow the roof clean-off the filthy garage in which they were undoubtedly conceived, there’s an overwhelming sense of foreboding as this collage of suckling tots floods your retinal lobes.
You might well be left wondering, “just who exactly is Candy Sam?” But take into account the macabre artwork that matches Segall’s most recent LP, Emotional Mugger, and track titles like ‘Squealer’ and ‘Baby Big Man (I Want A Mommy)’. He’s playing with infantile memories with gusto, and though these grinning cherubs initially evoke an innate sense of joy, stare too long and you might get spooked.
Ty Segall and The Muggers will land in Europe this month for dates stretching through to July. We are more than excited for their London show at The Forum on June 24. Get your copy of Emotional Mugger here.
Tour Dates
May 31 – Paris, FR @ Villette Sonique
June 1 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique Orangerie
June 2 – Dudingen, CH @ Kilby Bad Bonn
June 3 – Nimes, FR @ This Is Not A Love Song Festival
June 4 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound Festival
June 5 – Barcelona, ES @ Sala Apolo (Primavera Closing Party)
June 6 – Lyon, FR @ L’Epicerie Moderne
June 7 – Marina di Ravenna, IT @ Beaches Brew Festival
June 9 – Bordeaux, FR @ Krakatoa
June 11 – Porto, PT @ NOS Primavera Sound
June 13 – Nantes, FR @ Le Stereolux Club
June 15 – Hamburg, DE @ Knust
June 17 – Helsinki, FI @ Sideways Festival
June 18 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser Medis
June 19 – Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller
June 21 – Leeds, UK @ Stylus
June 22 – Glasgow, UK @ The Art School
June 23 – Manchester, UK @ The Ritz
June 24 – London, UK @ The Forum
June 25 – Beuningen, NL @Down In The Rabbit Hole Festival
June 26 – Lille, FR @ Le Grand Mix
June 27 – Koln, DE @ Gebaeude 9
June 28 – Berlin, DE @ Astra Kulturhaus
June 30 – Cluzes, FR @ Musiques En Stock Festival
July 1 – Belfort, FR @ Eurockeennes Festival
July 3 – Keflavík, IS @ ATP Festival
Primitive and The Notorious B.I.G estate have hooked up for a collab deck this month. Press play for his dulcet tones and shredding from Diego Najera, Trent McClung, Devine Calloway, Carlos Ribeiro, Shane O’Neill and Nick Tucker.
Two very good skateboarders have just been announced as pro’s at DC. Carlos Iqui and Tiago Lemos both killed it in their recent De La Calle/Da Rua parts, we deserved.
Ed Hubert’s latest edit showcases the charm of the one and only Jake Snelling.
Someone send him to Street League…
You should know by now that Chris Pfanner‘s pop is no joke and yet again he has power moves in this new footage for the Where We Come From video.
Eight skateboarders from five different countries have been working on this long awaited independent skateboard film for over four years. Skating and traveling together, exploring new grounds: From Europe to the US, from the Canary Islands to Israel, from Morocco to South Africa.
Get hyped on Chris’ part and look out for the rest.
Sondre Mortensen‘s latest footage was shot between may 4th and 8th in Malmö, get stuck into to his trick bag.
Yes, it’s nearly that time of the year again; when, for three days, Donington Park gets very, VERY loud! Crossfire will be there, and assuming that we once again survive a weekend of consuming half our body weight in beer and crisps, we’ll post a review afterwards. You’re probably already salivating at the thought of seeing big guns like Rammstein and Iron Maiden, not to mention what looks to be the final UK performance from metal gods Black Sabbath, but how about the lesser-known bands on the bill? Here’s our guide to some of the best.
1. ROYAL REPUBLIC (Lemmy Stage, Friday)
Now that Motorhead are – for sadly obvious reasons – no longer on the bill, who’s gonna bring the rock n’ roll swagger to Download 2016? Swedish quartet Royal Republic are armed with jagged, insistent garage rock riffs, earworm choruses and a delightfully deranged frontman in Adam Grahn. You’d be well advised to surrender, and let them shake you out of your warm lager-induced hangover.
2. FRANK CARTER AND THE RATTLESNAKES (3rd Stage, Sunday)
Last year’s ‘Blossom’ debut saw Frank Carter back to his furious best; imagine a British Queens Of The Stone Age with a hardcore edge and plenty of sarcastic wit. Given his (and his Rattlesnakes’) reputation for inciting crowd chaos with feral performances, this one should be unmissable.
3. HECK (3rd Stage, Friday)
Listening to these guys is the musical equivalent of having a nervous breakdown in the middle of a 20-man Shaolin Kung Fu battle royale – but much more fun, and only slightly less dangerous. They’re not afraid to get involved in their own moshpits, and their twisted hardcore attack should have fans of Converge, Gallows and Pulled Apart By Horses salivating with glee.
4. MUNCIE GIRLS (4th Stage, Sunday)
If Sunday morning sees you feeling rather the worse for wear, and not ready for yet another barrage of sledgehammer riffs, then go and check out Muncie Girls. In fact, go and check them out whatever your mental/physical state, because their gloriously melodic yet rough-edged punk rock tunes really deserve as many ears as possible.
5. TURBOWOLF (3rd Stage, Saturday)
This Bristol quartet is arguably one of the UK’s most inventive bands, mixing up hard rock, psychedelia, punk, and electronica in an unpredictable and brilliantly explosive way. Excellent second album ‘Two Hands’ was released last year; give it a spin, and be equally thrilled and revitalised.
6. THE MEN THAT WILL NOT BE BLAMED FOR NOTHING (Zippo Encore Stage, Saturday)
Every good festival needs a wild card of sorts, and it’s safe to say that Download hasn’t seen many bands like The Men That… before. Self-described as “putting the punk into steampunk”, if the likes of ‘The Gin Song’ don’t get you singing along with a stupid grin plastered across your face, then you are a po-faced bastard and we here at Crossfire are laughing at YOU.
7. HAVOK (4th Stage, Friday)
Sad that Slayer aren’t playing this year? Cheer up, because Colorado’s Havok are flying the flag for heads-down, no-nonsense thrash – and are doing a fine job of it. You know the deal, razor-sharp riffing, breakneck speed, circle pits… these guys deliver the goods.
8. MILK TEETH (4th Stage, Saturday)
More quality West Country punk rock, this time with an awesome melodic grunge twist that recalls Sonic Youth at their most direct. Are the guitarists trying to play their instruments or destroy them? Sometimes it’s hard to tell, but the band hold it all together brilliantly. Grow your hair out and get ready to fucking bounce.
9. PUPPY (3rd Stage, Friday)
Worst band name of the festival? Quite possibly, but it’s harder to argue with Puppy’s knack for languid, Weezer-esque pop-rock tunes. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself humming the likes of ‘Forever’ on your journey home.
10. BLACK FOXXES (4th Stage, Sunday)
Damn, is this the year of the South-West Takeover? Devon’s Black Foxxes play “ragged noise”, apparently, and there’s certainly no end of tortured screams and squalling guitars on the likes of ‘River’ and ‘Husk’. They also have a calmer, melancholic side, though, and it’s a combination which should endear them to fans of bands like Deftones and Brand New to no end.
Download 2016 runs from June 10th-12th at Donnington Park, Leicestershire. Check www.downloadfestival.co.uk for more info and tickets.
Alex Gosman