lundi, novembre 28, 2005

Cocteau Twins

COCTEAU TWINS – Lullabies To Violaine singles and extended plays 1982 – 1996

http://www.4ad.com/news/cocteau-twins---/?first=

For the first time all the non-album tracks from across the Cocteau Twins' entire career have been compiled together and offer a unique view of their musical journey from the perspective of all their single / EP releases which incorporate most of their best known tracks.

CTBOX 2

This is an unusual de-luxe package containing all 4 CD's that will be available 21 November (Europe) and 6 December (USA) in a worldwide limited edition of 15,000. The discs are contained in a fold-out package made of a material that itself sounds like a Cocteau Twins title – 'Curious Soft Touch Milk'. It's all very tactile, minimal and V23.

DAD 2513CD and DAD 2514CD

These are the regular versions of the set which will be available spring 2006. Each package is a digipak with 2 CD's. Volume One covers the 4AD era (1982 – 1990) and Volume Two the Mercury / Capitol years (1993 – 1996).

The 4AD material was previously available in a 10 x CD box set which had a CD for each single, though this set features alternative mixes of 'Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops' and 'Aikea-Guinea'. Volume Two has never been anthologised and has tracks that were limited as singles as well as the Christmas tracks 'Frosty The Snowman' and 'Winter Wonderland'.

CD1
LULLABIES (1982)
Feathers-Oar-Blades
Alas Dies Laughing
It's All But An Ark Lark

PEPPERMINT PIG (1983)
Peppermint Pig (7-inch version)
Laughlines
Hazel

SUNBURST AND SNOWBLIND (1983)
Sugar Hiccup (12" version)
From the Flagstones
Hitherto
Because of Whirl-Jack

THE SPANGLE MAKER (1984)
The Spangle Maker
Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops (alternate version)
Pepper-Tree

AIKEA-GUINEA (1985)
Aikea-Guinea (alternate version)
Kookaburra
Quisquose
Rococo

CD 2
TINY DYNAMINE (1985)
Pink Orange Red
Ribbed and Veined
Plain Tiger
Sultitan Itan

ECHOES IN A SHALLOW BAY (1985)
Great Spangled Fritillary
Melonella
Pale Clouded White
Eggs and Their Shells

LOVE'S EASY TEARS (1986)
Love's Easy Tears
Those Eyes, That Mouth
Sigh's Smell of Farewell
Orange Appled

ICEBLINK LUCK (1990)
Iceblink Luck
Mizake the Mizan
Watchlar

CD 3
EVANGELINE (1993)
Evangeline
Mud and Dark
Summer-blink

SNOW (1993)
Winter Wonderland
Frosty the Snowman

BLUEBEARD (1993)
Bluebeard
Three-Swept
Ice-Pulse
Bluebeard (acoustic version)

TWINLIGHTS (1994)
Rilkean Heart (acoustic version)
Golden-Vein (acoustic version)
Pink Orange Red (acoustic version)
Half-Gifts (acoustic version)

CD 4
OTHERNESS (1995) Mark Clifford remixes
Feet-Like Fins
Seekers Who Are Lovers
Violaine
Cherry-Coloured Funk

TISHBITE (1995)
Tishbite
Primitive Heart
Flock of Soul
Round
An Elan

VIOLAINE (1996)
Violaine
Smile
Tranquil Eye
Circling Girl
Alice

jeudi, novembre 24, 2005

Chris Whitley R.I.P.

Chris Whitley Dead at 45

by Paul Cashmere @ Undercover Interviews

November 242005


Singer Chris Whitley, best known for the 1991 hit album Living With The Law, has died of lung cancer at his home in Houston, Texas. He was 45.

Whitley only discovered he had lung cancer five weeks ago.

In a statement at his website, his daughter Trixie says "My father took his last breath last night the 20th of November. I would like to make it clear that the people he needed and loved the most were with him while and when he left in peace. Those were Dan, Susann, my beloved mother Helene and me".

Dan is Whitley's brother who played on several of his albums. "I hope you all will mourn my brother's death but more important celebrate his life as Chris was all about life and living... I started the celebration by cranking up Dirt floor in his honor...crying still" he says at the Chris Whitley website.

Susann Buerger was engaged to Whitley. Daniel says that he died in her arms. "The reason I mentioned this is I always felt being held by someone you love while you passed over was a truly special thing" he said.

In his obituary, writer Bradley Bambarger states "Like most bluesmen of any era, Chris had his share of hellhounds on his trail. He chased a lot of them down in song and on stage; other times, demons got the best of him. But whether up or down in his career, Chris's sweet, generous nature and pure sensibility earned him lifelong friends and, as he put it, "guardian angels."

Whitley's last album 'Soft Dangerous Shores' was released in July. It was recorded in Germany. But related to anywhere in the world. "The blues sound different in different places," Chris said about the album. "But on a lonely, rainy night -- whether you're in New Orleans or New York or Dresden -- they feel the same."

A new album 'Reiter In' is currently scheduled for December.

dimanche, novembre 20, 2005

Sing-Sing

Album Review: Sing-Sing and I
Artist: Sing-Sing


Reviewer: Jen of Stratosphere Fanzine
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Stratosphere_Fanzine/

These are my impressions and thoughts about the album as a music
appreciator (unfortunately, not a music creator!) - Jen

1. Lover - The perfect intro song to the Sing-Sing and I album. Smooth and seductive, with Lisa singing in a rich, delectable voice, and Emma on background vocals, over flowingly-strummed guitar. My only complaint is that the song is too short; I usually play it twice before listening to the rest of the album!

2. Come, Sing Me a Song - This alternately strutting and swaying song has a David Bowie-like guitar strum and 70s feel (from Ziggy Stardust era?) and every once in a while a guitar line that is similar to Everything Will Flow by Suede. Lisa sings in a breathy voice reminiscent of Sarah Cracknell of Saint Etienne. The horns in the chorus are a tad too brash and overpower the vocal chorus, but the "oh, yeah" part of the chorus is brill!

3. Mister Kadali - Starts with the turning of the dial on a radio, going through different stations, then stopping on "Mr. Kadali - African spiritual healer and advisor" and his spiel to help with any problem...then the song steps in with a jaunty rhythm and upbeat, clear, ringing guitars and Lisa singing, with haunting background vocals, and Lisa sounding like Kate Bush on the high notes. There are old piano and flute/cello sounds that create a melancholy backdrop to the song, and a breakbeat mid-way through it all, hinting at a dance-type vibe; a very interesting story-telling-type song in the tradition of a great Saint Etienne song.

4. A Modern Girl - A flowing, 80s-synth and drums backdrop of sound (like Depeche Mode, with speeding-along-highway sounds); a driving beat, insistent rhythm and electro/industrial undercurrent, with high, hard, chiming guitars, echoey vocal bridges, and Lisa singing in a darker, bittersweet voice tinged with melancholy. Moody and catchy.

5. Ruby - Wow, this track is so sonically ornate that it's difficult to know where to begin to explain it! A dazzling amalgam of different musical genres (sinuous, exotic Middle Eastern strings motif, squalling 90s rock guitars, electro-blips) with Lisa singing in pure, clear tones, once again sounding like Kate Bush on the high notes, and layered background vocals. I adore the lines "In chapter four, it's full of thunder, but by chapter five, it feel like summer." - a knowing wink to an earlier song of theirs, Feels Like Summer.

6. I Do - A piano-based, story-telling song with strummed guitar, possibly harpsicord (?), a brief spot of harmonica courtesy of Lisa, with vocals to rival Kate Bush and importance on the lyrics and delivery. This mid-tempo song is sweet and straightforward, until you hit the mid-song "do do do do..." break, which is just lovely.

7. Going Out Tonight - This is my favorite song on the album, and it reminds me of a Lush song. It's a 3-part "chorus" of a song with ever-shifting vocal layers and melodic lines and it washes over you in waves of melancholy beauty. It sounds like there are 2 drumbeats and Lush-like hard, bright guitar patterns.

One part has Lisa sing "I'm going out tonight" in a cool, muted, detached way; the 2nd part isLisa talk-singing lyrical phrases; the 3rd part is distant, echoey, layered background vocals that create a moodiness and expansiveness in the song that evolves into a slowly high-soaring chorus that eventually takes over.

I liken the song to being in an artificially-lighted underground tunnel (like on Hooverphonic's album cover for Blue Wonder Powder Milk), all "underwatery" and muffled, and then getting to the end of tunnel, and getting out to the night sky - dotted with stars and endless, and breathing in the clean, hard air...

8. Unseen - A slow-tempo song based on piano and guitar, a bit Depeche Mode-sounding with synths and breathy vocals by Lisa, Emma harmonizing beautifully with Lisa on the main parts of the song, and an instrumental ending with "added" sounds that recalls a Doves song (sorry, forget the name of song!). Pretty downbeat, but nice.

9. The Time has Come - This mid-tempo song has a carnival background sound and features a multitude of diseparate voices as the chorus. It's a song like raise your glass to and sway along with. I like the song-structure, but thought the varied vocal chorus came off too strident and flat. Very interesting lyrics though... "Looking down through all the years, mapped out in days then just in tears, and with dissenters all around, it's time to move and make a sound."

10. When I was Made - Another highlight of the album, this is an uplifting, grin-inducing, heart-gladdening, joy of a song - all blue skies, bells chiming brightly, birds chirping, and flowers blooming - the song makes you glad to be alive, which is a really amazing thing for a song to do!! It's ABBA-esque/60s girl group in the best meaning possible, with church bell and burnished guitar sounds and a great, positive vocal delivery by Lisa.

11. A Kind of Love - The best ending to a captivating album. An evocative, mid-tempo, piano and guitar-based story-telling song with amazing lyrics ("We spoke too soon, if we could try it again, begin at the end, take it so slowly, and I will let you get to know me") and Lisa sounding like Kate Bush and hitting the high notes with ease. Listen carefully (or check out the lyrics) to the 'kind' of love Lisa is singing about as the song progresses...

To wrap it all up, Sing-Sing and I is a jewel of an album - make that a box of jewels!!

Song structure and sounds are well-crafted and multi-faceted, with careful attention to detail - complex, melodic, and extremely catchy. Lyrics are stunning - intelligent, witty, and deep - like the pages of a book you can't put down.

Lisa's voice is rich, velvety, and quintessentially British - strong, sweet(but not too coy), and clearly enunciated, with turns of a phrase or even word that change the meaning of a sentiment of a song.

samedi, novembre 19, 2005

Rachel Goswell

Disclaimer: This is just my opinion of Rachel's ep, which a pal of mine in the UK sent me. I would love to hear the opinions of anyone else who has listened to the ep and/or her full-length solo album. In my review of this ep I tend to extrapolate my view to her album, although I have not heard it. I am hoping that the material on her album surpasses what was included on the ep. Ok, on to my review -

Review of Sleep Shelter ep by Rachel Goswell

Or as I prefer to call it, Sleep-Due-To-Boredom Shelter. I know, not as catchy, but definitely more accurate. I didn't want to have to write a negative review, and maybe this 5-song ep is not indicative of the song quality on Rachel's solo album (I haven't heard it yet), but I was very disappointed by the lazy lyrics, poor musical execution, half-finished songs, and worst of all, uninspired vocals on this ep.

As part of Slowdive, Rachel's vocals were gorgeously melancholy and buoyant on the ascending waves and crests of the signature Slowdive wall-of-guitar sound. In Mojave 3, all of Slowdive's sonic splendor was stripped away to reveal lyrics once buried in feedback and a more simple alt-country sound – with Rachel singing and harmonizing beautifully on too few tracks.

Whether Mojave 3 was your cup of tea after the sonic heights and density of Slowdive depended on your willingness to follow the band members into new terrain (I do want to mention that Mojave 3 is not the only branch growing out of Slowdive; a couple other band members formed another band called Monster Movie that sound nothing like their moniker and are quite good, from the songs I've heard).

Then Rachel struck out on her own, and it was with great excitement that fans of Slowdive, Mojave 3, and Rachel Goswell awaited the release of her solo album. The major looming question was – what would the album sound like, Slowdive or Mojave 3?

Based on the ep, it sounds like a more lackluster Mojave 3 without the musical chops, insightful lyrics, and emotional depth. Two out of the 5 songs on the ep are also on the album, Plucked and Sleeping `n' Tooting. Plucked is an intimate, slow-paced song with a wandering melody line and simplistic lyrics and sound, redeemed by Rachel's pretty vocals and elegiac tone (strings come in near the close; cellos, I think). It's also way too short and left me wanting more, always a good sign, and a nice start to the ep.

Next up is Sleeping `n' Tooting, a slicker, country-type song that reminds me of old Fleetwood Mac out-takes where Christine McVie had lead vocals – 70's-sounding in the instrumental backing and some slight harmonizing vocals (nothing against the Mac, as they have produced some great songs). There's something wrong with the mix because Rachel's voice sounds thin and nasal and limited in its range. The sound overpowers her and while she always had a laid-back, sad inflection to her voice, here it contrasts too much with the upbeat nature of the song.

The rest of the songs are not on her album, and in the case of one of the songs, that's quite a shame. Before we get to that one, however, we must tackle Flying with Gene. Once again the sound mix is bad, with the instruments coming off too loudly. Rachel doesn't have enough gravity to her voice and it sounds like she's hurriedly singing through the chorus, not even sounding totally on-key. The overemphasis on shallow lyrics, pushed home by repetition, and strident instruments weigh the song down, instead of carrying it away.

The next song, Sticking with Grace, is a welcome reprieve and return to form (and, unfortunately, is not on the album). Rachel sings in a higher register and sounds more self-assured. It's a sweet, more emotive song along the lines of Mojave 3, with upbeat guitars, a more pleasant and memorable melody, and more lyrically complex. The song is light on its feet and almost, but not quite achieves grace. Come Rescue Me ends the ep on a slow, regretful note, with the emphasis on plaintive vocals, lyrics, and guitar. Rachel's voice returns to being pallid and not emotive enough. The lyrics "come rescue me" are repeated too many times for comfort – the listener ends up hoping someone (or some other album) will come rescue them from the half-formed songs on the ep.

Sleep Shelter needs a wake up call to give it more zest and life. It also needs to be mixed properly. Most of the songs sound like demos and, without the sonic beauty and veil of mystery of Slowdive's songs or the solid structure and catchy melodies of Mojave 3's songs, the Sleep Shelter ep's faults are laid bare. This could have been an autumnal solo masterpiece in the vein of Out of Season by Beth Gibbons (of Portishead, with Rustin' Man). Instead the sound is one-note and no boundaries are stretched – lyrically, musically, and most sadly of all, vocally.

Rachel has so much potential and maybe her full album, Waves are Universal, is better than the material chosen for this ep. Here's hoping!

Copyright by Jen

lundi, novembre 14, 2005

Motorhead...

Motorhead Reissued

by Tim Cashmere @ Undercover

November 14 2005

Motorhead may be one of the loudest and most rockin’ bands in the world, but they just sounded a little better as Sanctuary Records prepare to re-release five classic Motorhead albums to mark the 30th anniversary of the band.

The albums ‘Ace Of Spades’, ‘Overkill’, ‘Bomber’, ‘Iron Fist’ and ‘No Remorse’ are going to be re-released, re-mastered and repackaged with bonus vintage archive recordings from the BBC and beyond throughout the 70s and 80s.

‘No Remorse’ is the band’s best of and even that is getting a working over. It will now feature ‘Under The Knife’, ‘Masterplan’ and two tracks ‘No Class’ and ‘Stand By Your Man’ with guest vocals by rock icon Wendy O’Williams.

______________________________________________________________________________

Warner Music eLabel Kicks Off

by Tim Cashmere @ Undercover

November 14 2005

The Warner Music Group has officially started its first eLabel. Cordless Recording is an all-digital label with an all-digital strategy and no physical releases going into bricks and mortar stores.

Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr announced the label in August 2005 and hired Elektra Records veteran Jac Holzman to head it up. Holzman goes back to the 60s with the label and was the Executive Producer of The Doors albums.

The model for the label allows artists to release music regularly as they record new music and not have to wait for the album to be finished. In a way, it mirrors the Music Industry model of the 60s and 70s when artists released a new single every 6-8 weeks and 1-2 albums a year.

AC/DC released their first five albums in just two and a half years. The Beatles entire catalogue through EMI was recorded between 1962 and 1969. These days, even a first release artist may have to wait up to three years before the second album comes out because of marketing, touring and elongated and expensive recording sessions.

The unfortunate part of the music business today is that it near impossible for acts to maintain and build their fanbase. Three years down the track when a second album is ready, the fanbase, especially in the younger demographic has moved on.

The beauty of Cordless Records is that it skews back to the “music” part of the term “music business”.

Sales for artists on the label will come from downloads and ring-tones.

Initial artists on the label are Break-up Breakdown, Dangerous Muse, Human Wine, Nozzle, Koishii & HushJihad Jerry & The Evildoers. Downloads can be purchased for $0.99 from the Cordless Records website.

samedi, novembre 12, 2005

Music News, the return

Primal Scream:

Primal Scream... are currently putting the finishing touches to their new album...

http://www.music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nItemID=8359

Richard Ashcroft album details:

Richard Ashcroft has confirmed the details of his third solo album, to be released early next year.

'Keys To The Word' is released on January 23...

Talking exclusively to NME.COM, Ashcroft explained: 'I've been working on it on and off all year, but the main recording of the songs took just a couple of nights.'

The new album's tracklisting is:

'Why Not Nothing?'
'Music Is Power'
'Break the Night With Colour'
'Words Just Get in the Way'
'Keys to the World'
'Sweet Brother Malcolm'
'Cry Til the Morning'
'Why Do Lovers?'
'Simple Song'
'World Keeps Turning'

http://www.music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nItemID=8364

and

Gwen Stefani planning No Doubt return:

Gwen Stefani is planning to make another album with No Doubt - despite her success as a solo artist.

The singer, who is currently touring her album 'Love Angel Music Baby' in the US, says she intends to go back into the studio with her band but she doesn't know when at this stage.

She said: "That's the plan. I really didn't know that it would take so long to make 'Love Angel Music Baby'. Then we ended up putting a greatest hits record out and that took up time. We went on tour. It was amazing.

"I never intended for this record to take so long, but I want to ride this wave while it's out there."

The last album the band brought out was 'Rock Steady' three years ago.

http://www.music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nItemID=8367

and

Rufus Wainwright album:

Rufus Wainwright will release a new album on 28 November 'Want'

The special edition LP will combine his previous 2 albums 'Want 1'and 'Want 2' plus 2 brand new tracks, a cover of Leonard Cohen's Chelsea Hotel #2 and 'In with The Ladies' co-written with Alex Gifford of the Propellerheads.

http://www.music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nItemID=8369

and

Green Day reveal new album plans:

Green Day have revealed that they will be 'taking their time' writing the follow-up to the hugely successful 'American Idiot'.

The band are also still looking at a full length movie version of their seventh LP, and have said that they will not be rushing into making the follow-up.

"We're gonna take our time," singer Billie Joe Armstrong said. "We'll probably start writing after the first of the year and then just regroup. We've gotta take our time - this year was such a big year for us. I think it's a good time to regroup and have good substance to write about instead of hopping into something really fast."

Despite talks of an 'American Idiot' film, the band say that they are unlikely to be appearing in the flick themselves.

"We're gonna make a movie going along the story of 'American Idiot'," drummer Tre Cool told Xfm. "A rock opera. We need to go home, put some thought into it, talk to directors and writers and get the script together, stuff like that. I don't think that I'm going to have to (be in the film), because we're making the movie and I
wouldn't do that to myself."

Armstrong added: "I'm not an actor at all. I'd rather be behind the writing and the production, and leave the acting to the actors."
Bassist Mike Dirnt has also explained how Green Day dealt with the initial criticism after breaking out of the Californian underground scene to a worldwide fanbase.

He said: "We were so busy concentrating on living our lives and touring and working and growing into who we are as a band. You've gotta put the blinders on sometimes and go forward and say 'To hell with what anyone says'. You've just got to move forward and I think, at the end of the day, I'm glad we're here."

http://www.nme.com/news/green-day/21480

and

All star line up for Peaches album:

The electro-clash star reveals all about her new record -

Peaches has roped in a host of stars to feature on her forthcoming third studio album, due out next April.

Queens Of The Stone Age singer Josh Homme, ex-Hole drummer Sam Maloney and '80s songstress Joan Jett all put in an appearance on the follow up to 2003's 'Fatherfucker' along with Canadian singer-songwriter Feist and Electrocute frontwoman Nicole Morier.

Peaches told Rolling Stone: "The track 'Giver' features Josh (Homme) on guitar. There's a solo that I could play but I couldn't play it like Josh. He learned it in a second, and was playing all over it. It's exciting that I'm branching out. I just want to make things harder. I want to go more hardcore. I just want to make things
harder. I want to go more hardcore."

The singer has been working with Beck producer Mickey Petralia in Los Angeles on the as-yet-untitled album.

Earlier sessions of the LP were recorded in her own Berlin studio with Eagles Of Death metal singer Jesse 'The Devil' Hughes.

Other songs set to feature on the record include 'Hankie Code', 'Stick It to the Pimp' and 'Two Guys for Every Girl'.

Of the latter track, she said: "The lyrics are all real dirty about guys getting down with each other, and then I join in. Everybody fantasises about the two-girl thing - to hell! Guys gotta get sexy with each other!"

http://www.nme.com/news/peaches/21459

and

Hives say that's it for 2005:

But they're already getting ready for next year. The Hives have played their last shows for 2005 and will begin recording the follow up to last years 'Tyrannosaurus Hives' at the start of next year.

Speaking during their recent show in Sydney (October 21), frontman Howlin' Pelle Almqvist told the crowd...that the band were now heading home to spend Christmas in Sweden before beginning work on their next album in January.

http://www.nme.com/news/hives/21430

and

The Vines 'back on track':

'Edgier and wilder' third album in the bag. The Vines have overcome the traumas of recent years and completed their third album.

The band have just completed a four-week stint in Sydney's BJB Studios with producer Wayne Connerly, and made an album he says is "edgier and wilder".

The sessions mark a return to action for the band, who looked on the verge of collapse when frontman Craig Nicholls was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome.

"There's a bunch of different styles on this record," Connerly told NME. "He's kind of got a little bit of that space rock stuff but he's also got some really intense wild punk rock, there something very primal about it."

He added: "Then he's got a couple of great Beatles kind of punk rock songs, a bit of sixties beat garage stuff, a couple of really good indie slacker tracks and a bit of soaring pop stuff like that. A few strings. He's always been a really big fan of that lush production, whether it's been obvious in the past."

Working track titles include 'Nothing's Coming', 'Any Sound' and 'Take Me Back'.

And relations within the band are good, says Connerly. "The morale's been really good because they do enjoy recording. It kind of makes it easier for everybody. Craig doesn't really devote himself to the serious issues of the day, he pretty much devotes most of his energy to hiding behind doors and scaring people. It's great to see his eccentric playful side."

However, bass player Patrick Matthews has played a minimal role in the new album, since his side project Youth Group took off.

The album is expected to be released next year, though management have previously gone on record saying that the band will "never" go on a traditional tour again.

http://www.nme.com/news/vines/21426

and

Edith Frost to Release First Album in Four Years

David Maher reports:
2005 has been good to Drag City Records, or maybe it's the other way around. Either way, the label has been putting the "sweet" in "Sweet Home Chicago" all year by releasing albums by highly acclaimed and variously bearded folk-rockers like Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Smog, Six Organs of Admittance, and the Silver Jews.

But there's something missing from this picture. "What is it?" you may ask. Well, aside from David Berman's wife Cassie, there are no women on that list. But have no fear! Edith Frost is returning from a four-year hiatus to play Joanna this year by releasing her fourth album, It's a Game.

The album was recorded with long-time Frost producer Rian Murphy and includes performances by musicians from groups as disparate as Prefuse 73 and The Mekons. Edith becomes eclectic, anyone?. It arrives in stores on November 15, just as Frost's cousin Jack begins to set in on the rest of us. The tracklist is as follows:

01 Emergency
02 It's a Game
03 What's the Use
04 A Mirage
05 Playmate
06 My Lover Won't Call
07 Lucky Charm
08 Larger Than Life
09 Just a Friend
10 If It Weren't for the Words
11 Stars Fading
12 Good to Know
13 Lovin' You Goodbye

* Edith Frost: http://www.edithfrost.com/
* Drag City: http://www.dragcity.com/

http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-11/11.shtml#edithfrost

and

Rose Melberg (ex-Softies/Tiger Trap):

Matthew Solarski reports:
Twee as Fuck! That tasty shibboleth greeted you for five consecutive days last week, thanks to Nitsuh Abebe's exhaustive indie pop history, and now you're struck with the urge to scour eBay for early Sarah seven inches, dust off that old cassette recorder, and cry un-ironically. Why not take a moment to brush up on the present exploits of one of the twee subculture's most crushworthy icons?

Enter Miss Rose Melberg, who played with not one but two of indie pop's seminal acts: Tiger Trap and the Softies. Now solo, Rose... Melberg aims to record her second solo album, the follow-up to 1998's Portola. The as-of-yet untitled full-length will see release sometime in 2006 on NYC's Double Agent, also home to the woefully defunct new-wave revivalists My Favorite.

Those pining for a whiff of Rose's recent musical dabblings can promenade on over to Double Agent's website, where Melberg has offered up a free mp3. The song, which she says was "just something I recorded at home on a whim," is a cover of "The Time Has Come" by elusive British folk singer Anne Briggs. Twee as folk?

* Pitchfork Weekly Feature: Twee As Fuck
* Pitchfork Review: The Softies: Holiday in Rhode Island
* Double Agent: http://www.doubleagentrecords.com

http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-11/04.shtml#rosemelberg

and

Legendary Punk Band X Hit the Road and Exene Exhibit:

Zach Vowell and Amy Phillips report:
After successfully exorcising their well-honed honky-tonk demons by resurrecting their alt-country alter-ego the Knitters for a reunion album and tour, legendary L.A. band X is grabbing guitarist Billy Zoom and painting the town punk... Juliana Hatfield will serve as the jaunt's opening act.

If November 5 is a bad day for some of you out in Cali, there is a slightly less energetic, and definitely less noisy, alternative. The Santa Monica Museum of Art is displaying a selection of X singer Exene Cervenka's approximately 100 journals, plus some "mixed media collages", in an exhibit called "America the Beautiful", which will
be up until November 26. According to the museum's website, the journals contain "rough drafts of songs and personal reflections rendered in a baroque calligraphic script." We hope that means there's dirt about Cervenka's ex-husbands, X bandmate John Doe and actor Viggio Mortensen, hidden somewhere in the exhibit.

There, we've namedropped every band member but the drummer. D.J. Bonebrake:

Doe himself is heading out on a European trek next week, supporting his latest solo album, Forever Hasn't Happened Yet, which came out on Yep Roc in March. Joining him on most dates are fellow singer/songwriters Peter Case (of the Plimsouls) and Michael Weston King (of the Good Sons).

* X: http://www.xtheband.com

http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-11/04.shtml#x

and

Comet Gain Return with New Album on Kill Rock Stars:

David Nadelle reports:
Having evolved from early rumblings of Heavenly-esque workouts, taut British guitar pop, and the odd Northern Soul tribute, Comet Gain has more recently been recording schizophrenic albums reflecting the band's far-flung musical tastes. The group's last two albums, Tigertown Pictures and Realistes took those early tendencies and added sneering toytown political shout-alongs, latent riot grrrl chutzpah, and spoken word poem-songs taken from the misshapen musings of pop addict David Feck. After years of small-time tours with the cream of the British and American indie scenes, the band has finally reached a point where it seems comfortable and confident enough to squirm into any available rabbit hole if it senses too much complacency.

In short, Comet Gain has become an exemplary Kill Rock Stars act. Like those two albums mentioned above, the latest Comet Gain album, City Fallen Leaves, will be released on that label tomorrow, November 8. Here's the tracklist:

01 The Fists in the Pocket
02 Days I Forget to Write Down
03 Daydream Scars
04 Bored Roar
05 Seven Sisters to Silverlake
06 This English Melancholy
07 The Punk Got Fucked
08 The Story of the Vivian Girls
09 Just One More Summer Before I Go
10 Draw a Smile Upon an Egg
11 Fingernailed For You
12 Your Robert!
13 Gone Before We Open Our Eyes
14 Right Now? No
15 The Ballad of a Mix Tape

This is the first of many promised Comet Gain releases to come in the near future. Feck details a number of projects on his rambling press sheet for the new album, including a lost album called Far Out Isn't Far Enough, and a track on a Northern Soul tribute EP tribute out now on Fortuna Pop. Up-and-coming NYC label What's Your Rupture? will release a Comet Gain 12" featuring the songs "Beautiful Despair", "Never Die", and "The White Radiance of Eternity" in December, and Comet Gain/Morrissey/Holly Golightly drummer Woodie Taylor produced the debut album by white-hot Swedish band Love Is All, which will be out on What's Your Rupture? December 12.

* Kill Rock Stars: http://www.killrockstars.com/

http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-11/07.shtml#cometgain

and

Slowdive to Receive Reissue Treatment:

Matthew Solarski reports:
Once upon a time in England, that magical island which birthed the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Stephen Patrick Morrissey and, yes, Ali G, four lads and a lass got together and decided to make guitars glimmer and soar like none had before. They were Slowdive, and over the course of a six-year career, the quintet (in various
incarnations) graced us with three glorious full-lengths and a few EPs, and left a patina which continues to imbue the songcraft of countless contemporary acts.

Though often lumped into the same early-90s shoegaze set that included My Bloody Valentine, Curve, Ride, Chapterhouse, Revolver, and the Boo Radleys, Slowdive was treated as revelation by fans.

People cried at their shows, overcome by the compelling pulchritude of Slowdive's music (and, quite possibly, drugs). Folks still clamor for their rarer releases on eBay, while discussion lists and several fansites remain to tout Slowdive long after they dissolved into Mojave 3 and Monster Movie.

Now, hardly a year after the release of Slowdive's 9.5-rated anthology Catch The Breeze, Sanctuary Records plans to treat `gazers young and old with lavish reissues of each of the band's three celebrated full-lengths. Both Just for a Day and Souvlaki will feature bonus discs compiling sought-after EPs. According to Sanctuary, Just for a Day and the bonus discs have been "re-done", but former Slowdive singer/guitarist Neil Halstead saw no need to tinker with Souvlaki or its follow-up, Pygmalion.

Pygmalion, Slowdive's criminally underrated third and final long-player, is the real reissue treat here, as it has been fetching upwards of $50 on a certain e-auction house. The disc's sparse, ambient soundscapes alienated many, including several members of Slowdive, and precipitated the act's demise. Though dismissed in its day, the haunting ultimate opus has since garnered considerable acclaim, with Pitchfork'a Nitsuh Abebe extolling it as a post-rock cornerstone. So, in a small way, this is Big.

Just for a Day is set for a November 14 release, with the other two following shortly. Until that hallowed date arrives, why not turn your gaze to these delectable tracklistings?:

Just For A Day:

Disc 1:
01 Spanish Air
02 Celia's Dream
03 Catch the Breeze
04 Ballad of Sister Sue
05 Erik's Song
06 Waves
07 Brighter
08 The Sadman
09 Primal

Disc 2:
01 Slowdive
02 Avalyn 1
03 Avalyn 2
04 Morningrise
05 She Calls
06 Losing Today
07 Golden Hair
08 Shine
09 Albatross
10 Catch the Breeze (Peel Session)
11 Song 1 (Peel Session)
12 Golden Hair (Peel Session)

Souvlaki:

Disc 1:
01 Alison
02 Machine Gun
03 40 Days
04 Sing
05 Here She Comes
06 Souvlaki Space Station
07 When the Sun Hits
08 Altogether
09 Melon Yellow
10 Dagger

Disc 2:
01 Some Velvet Morning
02 So Tired
03 Moussaka Chaos
04 In Mind
05 Good Day Sunshine
06 Missing You
07 Country Rain
08 In Mind (Bandulu Mix)
09 In Mind (Reload Mix)

Pygmalion:

01 Rutti
02 Crazy gor You
03 Miranda
04 Trellisaze
05 Cello 07 Visions of La
08 Blue Skied An' Clear
09 All of Us

According to Sanctuary, the reissues were overseen by the members of Slowdive and will feature liner notes penned by Melody Maker and NME scribe Ian Watson. According to me, the reissues will also be fecking brilliant. Believe it.

* Slowdive: www.slowdive.co.uk

http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-11/07.shtml#slowdive

and

Clearlake Prep Third Album:

Jason Toon reports:
When it comes to album titles, Clearlake is a band of few words. The British quartet debuted with 2000's Lido, added a couple of letters for the 2003 follow-up Cedars, and they've recently announced that their third record, Amber, is on its way, thanks to Domino.

Amber's first single, "Good Clean Fun", will get a proper British release on December 5, with a remix by Caribou as the b-side. Because Clearlake is a rock band, a physical, slap-it-in-the-disc-tray U.S. single is not planned.

Subjects of the Queen will wrap their ears `round the full-length on January 16, while us Yankee Doodle dandies have to wait until January 24 to hear these top choons:

01 No Kind of Life
02 Neon
03 Good Clean Fun
04 Finally Free
05 You Can't Have Me
06 Amber
07 I Hate It That I Got What I Wanted
08 Here to Learn
09 Far Away
10 Dreamt That You Died
11 Widescreen
12 It's Getting Light Outside

So what's this new record all about, then? Guitar-slinging, keyboard-plinging frontbloke Jason Pegg says, "The music we were listening to this time was definitely more rock: Queens of the Stone Age, Neil Young, Low, My Bloody Valentine." We're not sure that really qualifies as news-- Clearlake covered Young's "Cinnamon Girl" on a
2001 single, and MBV and Low aren't exactly in another galaxy from Clearlake's sound thus far.

More headline-worthy, perhaps, is the album's production team of Pegg, the well-traveled Steve Osborne (New Order, Happy Mondays), and hot younger knobtweaker Jim Abbiss (Kasabian, Arctic Monkeys), augmented by the nigh-unto-legendary engineer Phil Brown (who's worked with Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix, as well as various other
still-living icons). The stories those guys could tell, if only they could talk...oh, wait, they probably can.

Although founding guitarist and longtime friend of Pegg's Sam Hewitt does play on Amber, he has left the band, according to an otherwise tight-lipped official announcement. We can only hope Hewitt doesn't do anything goofy like break into his former bandmate's apartment and steal stuff to pawn for drug money, but then that might get Clearlake in the tabloids. Recent dates have been played as a trio, and the
band plans to find a replacement by the beginning of their planned February tour. We recommend either Mick Jones from the Clash or Mick Jones from Foreigner.

* Clearlake: http://www.clearlake.uk.com
* Domino: http://www.dominorecordco.us

http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-11/10.shtml#clearlake

and

Elf Power Touring in Support of Forthcoming Album:

Chris Rediske reports:
Neutral Milk Hotel is (presumably) no more, the Apples in Stereo haven't released an album in nearly four years, and though Olivia Tremor Control did play All Tomorrow's Parties (at the behest of the ever-so-convincing Vincent Gallo) and a few subsequent reunion shows, odds on a new OTC album are pretty damn low.

However, years after the demise of the Elephant 6 collective, Elf Power continue to pump out quality records, tour their asses off, and, in the case of Elf Power leader Andrew Rieger, run Orange Twin, a record label and "pedestrian-based eco-village." It's a busy life.

Pitchfork spoke to Rieger via email about Elf Power's current U.S. tour and upcoming full-length, which you probably didn't even know existed. Well, surprise! Rieger says they've just completed recording their as-yet-untitled eighth album, with a lineup that includes multi-instrumentalists Laura Carter and Derek Almstead, bassist Bryan
Poole, guitarist Jimmy Hughes, drummer Josh Lott, John Fernandes of Olivia Tremor Control on violin, Heather McIntosh of Japancakes on cello, and Deanna Varagonna of Lambchop on saxophone. As far as the sound of the new record, Rieger quotes fan comments like "evil gypsy music" and "R.E.M.'s Chronic Town meets Bob Dylan's Desire."

"It's definitely folkier and more orchestrated than the last few Elf Power records," Rieger continues, "though this album still rocks pretty hard at times, in... a face-melting psychedelic manner. There's lots of 12-string acoustic guitar, accordion, cello, and violin arrangements, which gives the tunes somewhat of a rockin' gypsy music flavor." According to Reiger, they're still figuring out which label to release it on, though it should be out in Spring 2006, after which they'll spend the better part of the year touring.

Rieger also set us up with the tracklist for the upcoming record, and since we like you...:

01 Come Lie Down With Me (and Sing My Song)
02 An Old Familiar Scene
03 Rolling Black Water
04 King of Earth
05 Peel Back the Moon, Beware
06 23RD Dream
07 Somewhere Down the River
08 The Spider and the Fly
09 Forming
10 All the World Is Waiting
11 Under the Northern Sky
12 Come Back to the Web

* Elf Power: http://www.elfpower.com
* Orange Twin: http://www.orangetwin.com

http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-11/10.shtml#elfpower

and from band Profiles at MySpace.com:

Clair Voyant are working on a new album titled Lustre.

Classic US-shoegazers Alison's Halo duo Adam and Catherine have reformed under the band name Lochheed.

Bethany Curve are working on their 6th album

Great thanks go to Jen, she knows who she is...

dimanche, novembre 06, 2005

Some more music news

Music News about Belle & Sebastian, The Strokes, Melissa Auf der Mar, Beth Orton, Morrissey, Kate Bush, Mojave 3, Th' Faith Healers, Queens of the Stone Age, The Rentals, and Neko Case:

Belle & Sebastian new album

Belle & Sebastian have named their new album 'The Life Pursuit'.

The follow-up to 2003's Mercury-nominated 'Dear Catastrophe Waitress' is out on February 6.

The spent the summer in Los Angeles' Sunset Sound studios with Beck producer Tony Hoffer working on the record.

Singer Stuart Murdoch told NME the seven-piece group threw out their regular instruments as part of the writing process for the new album.

He revealed: "The process of making the record has been amazing. The last record had quite a few older songs on it because we were working with Trevor (Horn) and we wanted to give them a proper go with big arrangements. This record is all new songs - 18 of them - so it's all very current. It's us pretty much writing in a circle and writing within the group."

Working titles include 'Song For Sunshine', 'Funny Little Frog', 'Sukie In The Graveyard', 'Another Sunny Day', 'Act Of The Apostle Part I' and 'A White Collared Boy'.

http://www.music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nItemID=8218

The Strokes confirm album tracks

The Strokes have confirmed the tracks set for inclusion on their eagerly awaited third album, 'First Impressions Of Earth'.

The LP is set to feature 14 songs and is currently scheduled for a January 9 UK release.

The track list for the album is currently unsequenced but The Strokes' 'First Impressions Of Earth' will feature:

'You Only Live Once'
'Juicebox'
'Heart In a Cage'
'Razorblade'
'On the Other Side'
'Vision of Division'
'Ask Me Anything'
'Electricityscape'
'Killing Lies'
'Fear of Sleep'
'Evening Sun'
'Ize of the World'
'15 Minutes'
'Red Light'

http://www.music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nItemID=8260

Auf der Maur new album

After releasing her first solo album last year and touring non-stop all year, Melissa Auf der Maur is getting to work on her sophomore effort and bringing in an old friend to lend a hand.

Billy Corgan will write with the Canadian bassist in Chicago. "It's really symbolic for me to have this opportunity with Billy, who is one of my main musical mentors," Auf der Maur tells Rolling Stone.

http://www.music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nItemID=8271

Beth Orton calls on Sonic Youth

Beth Orton is due to release her fourth studio album 'Comfort Of Strangers' next February.

The 14 track LP was recorded at New York's Sear Sound studio and produced by Sonic Youth guitarist and bassist Jim O'Rourke.

The album features Orton on guitar, piano and harmonica along with O'Rourke on bass, piano and marimba and the esteemed American percussionist Tim Barnes on drums.

'Comfort Of Strangers' is out on general release on February 13th 2006.

http://www.music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nItemID=8278

Morrissey album release

...further details about his forthcoming album "Ringleader Of The Tormentors".

The singer...is currently mixing the follow up to 'You Are The Quarry' in Rome with producer Tony Visconti...

...speaking about the sessions on his own website, Visconti wrote: "I am two thirds of the way through one of the best albums I've ever worked on, with not only Morrissey at his best, but the plot has twists and turns which somehow involve film composer Ennio Morricone and an Italian children's choir.

"Not only is this a departure in his writing (my opinion) but he has extended his vocal range and has written extended melodies."

'You Are The Quarry' marked Morrissey's first album since 1997's 'Maladjusted' and received a rapturous worldwide reception.

http://www.music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nItemID=8282

Kate Bush talks at last

Kate Bush will speak in her first broadcast interview for more than 12 years this Friday (November 4).

The singer, who has been absent from the music scene in recent years, will break her silence in a special interview on BBC Radio 4's Front Row at 7.15pm.

She talks openly about avoiding the media, her frustration at completing her first album - Aerial - in more than 10 years and motherhood.

Bush tells John Wilson: "I'm very opinionated. I'm horrible to work with; I'm so fussy and picky. What's good is that I know what I want. It's when you don't know what you want that you're in trouble.

"There were so many times I thought I wasn't going to have the energy to see it (the album) through. I knew I couldn't go on any longer or it would have killed me. I was so fed up making it."

The reclusive artist reveals that she was only able to make a new album, her first since 'The Red Shoes' in 1993, because she has a studio at home and it was still a struggle to juggle the demands of music and motherhood.

She added: "I wanted to give as much time as I could to my son. I love being with him, he's a lovely little boy and he won't be little for very long. I felt my work could wait whereas his growing up couldn't."

On being a recluse she went on: "I am a private person, but I don't think I'm obsessively so. It's more that I choose to try and have a normal a life as possible. I don't like to live in a glare of publicity.

"My creative process was very time consuming and comes from a very quiet place... people seem to find that weird and strange, but its common sense really."

http://www.music-news.com/ShowNews.asp?nItemID=8280

Mojave 3 news

There's been a dearth of Mojave 3 news to report this year, but thankfully that drought appears to be ending. Neil Halstead has provided Mojave3online.com with a sneak preview MP3 from what will be the new M3 album, due out hopefully around March of next year. Says Neil:

"Trk is called "Big star baby" and will be on the new record. The version I'm sending is a rough version of the tune and is really a moniter mix, but we hope you like it

The record is coming on good now. We have got Victor Van Vugt to mix the record for us. He's worked with Beth Orton, Nick Cave and a few others. The mixes he's done so far sound awesome ( he hasn't mixed big star yet)...way better than the mixes we were doing..were having a few problems in the studio in cornwall. There was a mouse invasion over the summer and we never quite recovered".

Seeing as how it's still an early mix, it's probably premature to review the track in too great depth, but it's a compact, jaunty number that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Out Of Tune - it's certainly poppier than your typical Mojave 3 track.

http://www.chromewaves.net/

Th' Faith Healers Peel Sessions Due

Jessica Suarez reports:

Forget the burning out vs. fading away argument for a second. Some bands just quit the game because they have other things they want to do. British dreamcore four-piece Th' Faith Healers were the first band signed to Too Pure Records, but they split up in 1994 after releasing just two albums and a few singles and EPs.

Calling it quits might have seemed a good idea at the time, as their Krautrock-influenced sound was out of place back in those Britpop-saturated days. Plus, members went on to form Quickspace, photograph the cover of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, and perform tree surgery, among other things. (You know your parents are always prouder to have a surgeon in the family than a musician.)

On November 15, Ba Da Bing! Records will release Th' Faith Healers' Peel Sessions, collecting four previously unreleased sessions recorded between 1992 and 1994 on the legendary DJ's radio show. It features a couple of unlikely cover choices: Abba's "S.O.S." and Badfinger's "Without You".

Th' tracklist:
01 Hippy Hole
02 This Time
03 Reptile Smile
04 S.O.S.
05 My Loser
06 Moona Inna Joona
07 I'm Ready
08 Get the F**k Out Of My Face
09 See Saw
10 Bulkhead
11 Sparklingly Chime
12 Serge
13 Ooh La La
14 Curly Lips
15 New Number Two
16 Without You

* Th' Faith Healers (fan site):
http://homepage.univie.ac.at/horst.prillinger/healers/
* Ba Da Bing!: http://www.badabingrecords.com/

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-11/01.shtml#thfaithhealers

span style="font-weight:bold;">Queens of the Stone Age Prep Live DVD/CD

Caroline Bermudez reports:

Lots of bands have recorded live sets in London: The Carpenters, Billy Ocean, and Kelly Osbourne to name an illustrious few. On November 22, Queens of the Stone Age will join the club with a DVD/CD package entitled Over the Years and Through the Woods.

Filmed during two night of performances at London's Brixton Academy back in August, the two-disc set includes rarities (like early track "The Bronze" and "The Fun Machine Took a Shit and Died", which was cut from Lullabies to Paralyze), songs from bandleader Josh Homme's side project the Desert Sessions ("I Wanna Make It Wit Chu"
and "Covered in Punk's Blood"), behind the scenes footage, and interviews with the band.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Homme said of "Fun Machine": "It sounds like a circus -- like you won stuff at a carnival. The tapes got lost. Actually, they were just at another studio, but we falsely accused everyone in the world of theft." If you were a member of Sonic Youth or the Brian Jonestown Massacre, you'd accuse everyone of theft, too.

Tracklist:
01 This Lullaby
02 Go With the Flow
03 Feel Good Hit of the Summer
04 The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
05 Regular John
06 Song for the Deaf
07 Avon
08 Little Sister
09 You Can't Quit Me, Baby
10 I Wanna Make It Wit Chu
11 Monsters in the Parasol
12 The Fun Machine Took a Shit and Died
13 Mexicola
14 Burn the Witch
15 Covered in Punk's Blood
16 I Think I Lost My Headache
17 Song for the Dead
18 I Never Came
19 No One Knows
20 Long Slow Goodbye
21 The Bronze
22 Better Living Through Chemistry
23 Auto Pilot
24 Precious and Grace
25 First It Giveth
26 You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire
27 How to Handle a Rope
28 Quick and to the Pointless
29 God is in the Radio
30 Hanging Tree

* Queens of the Stone Age: http://www.qotsa.com/

The Rentals Return (Again)

Rob Kleckner reports:

Remember the Rentals? No? You know, that mid-90s one-hit-wonder "Friends of P"? "If you're friends with P / Then you're friends with me"? Still doesn't ring a bell? In that case, you probably won't care about any of this. Unless, of course, you like WEEZER.

Ah, we knew that would grab your attention. See, the Rentals were the side project of former Weezer bassist Matt Sharp, who left after the 1996 =W= album Pinkerton. The band included a revolving cast of characters including actress Maya Rudolph (you know, from "Saturday Night Live") and Petra Haden (formerly of That Dog, currently of the Decemberists). The Rentals put out two LPs, Return of the Rentals in 1995 and Seven More Minutes in 1999. And now they're returning again.

Last week, the band announced their comeback with the launch of their new website, which commemorates the ten-year anniversary of the release of their debut album. (Aren't we all about tenth anniversaries here at Pitchfork today?) The site intends to offer everything you always wanted to know about the Rentals but were afraid to ask. Or something like that.

According to said site, "THE BAND IS CURRENTLY IN LOS ANGELES WRITING, REHEARSING, AND PREPARING TO RECORD THEIR 3rd STUDIO ALBUM." While no definite plans are set for that album, the band hopes to have one on shelves by the end of 2006.

We realize the band hails from 1995, but does the website really have to look that way?!

* The Rentals: http://www.therentals.com/

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-10/31.shtml#rentals

Neko Case Brings the Flood on New Album

Caroline Bermudez reports:

Sitting in a bar at three AM with other lonely souls. Taking an unfamiliar detour and winding up frighteningly lost. Nursing heartbreak under moonlight-- Neko Case's voice was made for these scenarios. The flame-haired songstress is alt-country's dark heart, the wild woman who has seen too much and will never completely reveal herself to you.

We'll get another crack at her mysteries come March 7, 2006, when Anti- will release Case's fifth solo album, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood. Produced by Case and longtime associate Darryl Neudorf, the album features a number of her previous partners in noir-drenched crime, including fellow chanteuse Kelly Hogan, country-garage rockers the Sadies, Giant Sand's Howe Gelb, and Calexico's Joey Burns and John Convertino. Rachel Flotard of Seattle pop-punks Visqueen, former Flat Duo Jet Dexter Romweber, and the legendary Garth Hudson of The Band also appear. Maybe they should have just gone ahead and called this album We Are the Alt-Country World.

The album apparently blends 60s pop sheen with Case's trademark lugubrious country sound. Says Case about Fox: "I recorded the album intermittently over the past couple years. With each record, you think you've figured it out, but once you get into the studio, you realize there's always more to learn. But I feel like we managed to get all my ideas to tape." She added, "I feel really good about this album." But really, who is going to admit that they feel bad about their upcoming album?

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-10/27.shtml#nekocase

samedi, novembre 05, 2005

Type O news...

TYPE O NEGATIVE To Release New Album In Early 2006

TYPE O NEGATIVE drummer Johnny Kelly has posted the following message on the band's official web site:

"Here's what's going on. Peter [Steele] and Josh [Silver] are currently completing their tracks for the 'Roadrunner All Stars' CD. Hopefully they will be done this week. After that, we go back into rehearsals to work on new songs for the next CD. We're shooting to have the new cd released in early 2006. There will be no tours or shows of any kind until the CD is completed and close to the release date.

Other than that, I went to the movies the other night. I've been waiting for my car to get out of the shop for over a month. I washed my truck the other day. I still need to take a shower today. My 26" kick drum finally arrived for my Pearl Masterworks green sparkle kit last week but the color was wrong so I had to send it back and they're making me a new one. My LED ZEPPELIN cover band is playing in Brooklyn this weekend. Peter being dead was a hoax and there is no Easter Bunny. Blah Blah Blah, you get the picture..."

As previously reported, TYPE O NEGATIVE frontman Peter Steele will be joining the cast of the new vampire movie, "Tao of M", this month. Steele will be taking on the role of Viktor Baine, the vampire who sires Midael, another vampire who terrorizes New Orleans, played by Steve Blaze (LILLIAN AXE, NEAR LIFE EXPERIENCE). Eric Morris also stars, and members of TWISTED SISTER are slated to portray a group of "false priests" who get on Midael's bad side, according to Fangoria. James L. Bills is directing the hi-def production, produced by Milena Rimassa-Merrill and featuring makeup FX by Matt Green, director of "Vicious".

"Tao of M" is reportedly being shot by Velvet Life Productions (the production company formed by Blaze, Morris and Bills) in a joint venture with Isis Films. Shooting for "Tao of M", which is based on the half-hour indie film "Slayer Zed and the City of the Dead", began in early July, and the moviemakers are aiming for a world premiere this Halloween.

Rimassa-Merrill, President/CEO of Isis Films, took the pre-production trailer for the film, as well as some promotional material, to the Cannes Film Festival 2005, where it was reportedly well received.