Two Hearts is the second single from Songs, the second record by Deptford Goth (Daniel Woolhouse), due out in November. It’s a mellow tune, ostensibly about love being enough to survive and keep the world at bay, but the video is . . . oddly mournful? There’s a lot of blue light and moving water, is all I can say. Maybe it’s a metaphor for the way the world can grind lovers down, like water over standing rocks can carve a canyon. In any case, it’s pretty.
Mumblr, of Philadelphia, have recently released their first full-length effort. It is called Full of Snakes. The accuracy of that title will depend entirely on your personal feelings about snakes. (I have a certain wary appreciation, providing no venemous fangs are in evidence.) I have a good deal warmer feelings about the record; it’s brash and messy and weird and contains a love letter to Philadelphia which gets stuck in my head every time I listen to it:
But there are also tunes like Sober, which is distorted, fuzzy, primal shriek of anxiety:
And Greyhound Station which seething, roaring meditation on the strange combination of sweaty exhaustion, low-level terror, and rage that eventually settles on anyone required to spend any time in the titular location:
It can be a challenging listen, at times, but it is absolutely worth it. In conclusion: here is the video for I Think About You All The Time – also their first video ever – which contains a dude in green paint for no apparent reason and some nudity towards the end. Adjust your viewing plans accordingly.
You can listen to the rest of the record here on Soundcloud, at least for now. Alternatively you can visit their bandcamp.
They will be taking their show on the road starting in October; New York you have a couple shows, but probably should attend the one on Oct. 4 at Shea Stadium, for the complete Grotty Punk Rock Clubhouse Experience; Ohio, they’ll be stopping in Athens on October 10. Everyone else, check their listings and plan your road trips if you need to.
Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance) has started (yet another!) band, which he is calling frnkiero and the cellabrations. Their first record, Stomachaches, just emerged Monday; this is the video for Weighted, the first single, which emerged somewhat earlier but has taken me a while to absorb.
The parallels to certain pieces of My Chem iconography are inescapable; it’s impossible to watch the first minute and not think of the video for Helena, from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. And as Helena was a farewell, so, in a way, is this; it’s also a hello, and a warning: don’t try to raise the dead, lest you bring on a zombie apocalypse and the lead singer of your favorite band decides to eat your heart and play jump rope with your intestines.
For all that it is gross, and disturbing, and I didn’t even make it through twice – I had to hide the tab and listen to him sing – I have to agree with the sentiment. I miss My Chemical Romance; I like Conventional Weapons and feel vaguely bad about it because they don’t; I’m sad I’ll never hear a pit howl along to Boy Division; but the band is dead, they put it down clean, all things considered, and raising the dead is never, ever a good idea.
And for the record: I like this tune, as a tune, and I’m keen to dig into the rest of the record.
Saint Agnes, led by Jon Tufnell (Lost Souls Club) and Kitty Arabella Austen (Lola Colt), have a new single, Old Bone Rattle, wherein they bring the big drums and dirty bass lines, which as all y’all know, are my favorite.
http://youtu.be/yEy3RoE0_CI
Attention all fans of high quality rock and roll: JAIL WEDDINGS IS TOURING OFF THE WEST COAST.
You can see them at the following times and places:
They are going out on this jaunt in support of their second record, Meltdown: A Declaration of Unpopular Emotion, which has just been turned loose upon the world.
Some excerpts, to whet your appetite:
And in conclusion, the video for Summer Fades:
It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.
In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.
Wild Smiles are from Southampton, England; this is the video for Fool For You, which is a perfect song for a summer crush and/or driving around in a convertible with the top down, and will probably get stuck in your head like it got stuck in mine.
And now, I’ll turn the floor over to Ben Cook (drums; on the right, in the picture below) of Wild Smiles, who joins us today to share a favorite book, record and drink.
Photo by Steve Gullick
As I’ve tried to avoid reading as much as possible since Literature A level, the book I’ve most enjoyed is Life, by Keith Richards. Seemingly an honest and surprisingly well remembered account of Richards’ and the bands’ road to success through to present day, close and not-so close shaves with the law, writing and recording and telling John Lennon the bathroom tiles are in fact not spinning. A recommended read for anyone interested in music not just Stones fans.
A Good Listen
Ty Segall – Melted (2010) – Skull-fucking San Francisco garage rock with catchy choruses, one of the first albums collectively loved by the band and a regular soundtrack in the van. Opening track Finger is a firm favourite.
A Good Drink
Wild Smiles are fuelled by Diet Coke.
Late Night Listening: a home for things that might be fleeting, might be soothing, might be weird, might be soothing and weird. The blogging equivalent of sitting in the garage twiddling radio knobs just to see what might be out there.
Or, okay, late night viewing, because the song – Hymnal, by In The Valley Below – is a dreamy masterpiece, but it’s the video that both captures and expresses the exact qualities of soothing weirdness that appeal to insomniacs everywhere.
Heads up, West Coast of America (and also Las Vegas), The March Violets are coming to visit you this June:
Yes, it’s really them! They’re back! They’ve got a new record, too! It’s called Made Glorious, and you can check it out at their bandcamp page. Here are some excerpts to whet your appetite:
And here is the video for Dandelion King, which features, among other things, a tremendously awesome headdress:
This is the video for Papaoutai, from by Stromae. It’s from his latest record, √ (Racine Carrée, or “square root”), and it’s about growing up without his father, who was killed in the Rwandan genocide in 1994 – Stromae, born in Brussels, is of mixed Belgian and Rwandan heritage – and I really don’t think I’ve seen more expressive and evocative dancing in a video this year or possibly ever. The song is awesome too.
He’s playing two shows in New York this year, one in June and one in September, and they are both already sold out. Everyone else: see if he’s coming near you, and get out and see him.
Okay, now for some actual new music that I think is super great: The Wheels of Love, by Terminal Gods, from the Machine Beat Messiah EP:
And if you’d like to experience their awesomeness live and in person, here are their upcoming dates:
May 2nd, Le Klub, Paris
May 3rd, Le Bar’hic, Rennes
