counting all different ideas drifting away

Head over to Dazed Digital for an exclusive interview with Christian Mazzalai and Deck D’Arcy of Phoenix + watch the awesome video for "1901"!

the horrors: primary colours

The Stooges/garage-punk sound of Strange House is gone from The Horrors’ follow-up; in fact, their style changed so dramatically that I thought I was listening to a different band the first time I heard Primary Colours. Leaving the early 70s, The Horrors traveled to the late 70s/mid-80s and learned from bands like Suicide, Joy Division and The Jesus and Mary Chain. The result is truly astonishing; they have once again successfully taken the best elements from a popular classic genre and reinvented it to create an absolutely brilliant record! I would go as far as to say that Primary Colours is the best record of 2009 so far! I can go on and on about this album and do a track-by-track thing like I did for The Thermals’ Now We Can See; but you probably don’t want to read an essay on Primary Colours and frankly, I am too lazy to write a long review! Nevertheless, I will tell you that my favourite tracks are "Who Can Say", "I Can’t Control Myself", Primary Colours and of course, the 8-minute epic Sea Within A Sea! Oh, and did I mention, Primary Colours is the best record of 2009!

Who Can Say [wicked-cool song]
Primary Colours [super-wicked-cool song]
Sea Within A Sea [super-wicked-cool song]

visit The Horror's MySpace here
buy Primary Colours here

his synthesizer sails galactic landscapes

Looks like Patrick Wolf will be in Toronto on June 17th at the Mod Club with Jaguar Love! Kind of weird that Jaguar Love is opening... but that's fine with me since I am a fan of them/The Blood Brothers (R.I.P.). Oh, and I think this event is part of NXNE.

Here are the rest of Patrick's North American tour dates (via NME):
Seattle, WA El Corazon (June 5)
Vancouver, BC Richard’s on Richards (6)
San Francisco, CA Slim’s (8)
West Hollywood, CA The Roxy (9)
Denver, CO Oriental Theater (12)
Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Café (14)
Chicago, IL The Bottom Lounge (15)
Toronto, ON Mod Club (17)
Buffalo, NY Tralf Music Hall (19)
Philadelphia, PA North Star Bar (20)
Boston, MA Middle East Downstairs (21)
New York, NY Highline Ballroom (23)
Washington, DC Rock & Roll Hotel (24)
Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle (26)
Atlanta, GA The Loft at Center Stage Atlanta (27)
Dallas, TX Granada Theatre (30)
Austin, TX Antone’s Nightclub (July 1)

old abram brown: alive in winter

I am not sure how I came across Old Abram Brown, but after hearing their debut, Alive in Winter for the first time, I knew that the band’s pretty special. Old Abram Brown borrows plenty of elements from Cold War Kids. Alive in Winter features that similar country-blues/folk sound as well as the wonderful soulful rhythms and melodies... the crashing piano and recurring horn throughout the record is absolutely fantastic! On the other hand, they tend to experiment more with the rhythms and the structures in their music; the last track, "Muddy Bricks" reminds me of "Popplagið" by Sigur Rós. Old Abram Brown's debut is a really fascinating record; and it is quite gorgeous sounding as well. Although the title is Alive in Winter, it feels more like a summer album to me; it is such a 'sit in your front porch and read a book' chill out album!

Will Our Garden Grow [wicked-cool song]
Ten Pounds [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

visit Old Abram Brown's MySpace here
buy Alive in Winter here

there ain't no cowboy in my hair

The Tallest Man on Earth on The Take-Away Shows... watch the videos here!

it all seemed perfect

The Sounds—April 28, 2009 @ The Mod Club

So I went into The Sounds concert last night without really knowing their music. I listened to their music once or twice, but I wouldn’t consider myself a fan at all. Well, that has changed completely now that I have seen them live! The Sounds are incredible live! It was by far the best show I have been since seeing No Age last November! Make sure you make it out to one of the remaining North American dates!

4/29 Montreal QUE @ Club Soda
5/01 Portland ME @ Port City
5/02 West Chester PA @ The Note
5/03 Giants Stadium NJ - Bamboozle
5/05 Cleveland OH @ The Grog Shop
5/06 Detroit MI @ St. Andrew's Hall
5/07 Chicago IL @ Double Door
5/08 Minneapolis MN @ Varsity Theatre
5/09 Milwaukee WI @ The Rave
5/11 Des Moines IA @ Peoples Court
5/12 Lawrence KS @ Bottleneck
5/13 Columbia MO @ The Blue Note
5/14 Tulsa OK @ Marquee
5/26 Colorado Springs CO @ The Black Sheep
5/29 El Paso TX @ Take IIII
6/04 Orlando FL @ Firestone








see more photos at my flickr page

anni rossi is amazing live!

they say for every heart high there must be a low, low, low, low

Bat For Lashes—April 25, 2009 @ The Mod Club








see more photos at my flickr page

lawrence english: a colour for autumn

Lawrence English is back with another beautiful collection of dreamy ambient songs in A Colour For Autumn. The seven tracks are carefully stringed together to create a cohesive sound while each track stills maintain its own personality. The opener, "Droplet" feels like a transformation/transitional track... maybe it is a follow-up to English’s last seasonal-themed album, For Varying Degrees of Winter. A feeling of anticipation hangs in tracks like "Watching It Unfold" and "The Prelude To". My favourite song on the album belongs to "The Surface Of Everything". I absolutely love the recurring sound in the background—either the wave or wind blowing through trees, I am not quite sure what it is—regardless, I love the added effect! Lawrence English is a genius at creating atmospheric music and A Colour For Autumn is just exceptional… it is also one of the most calming and relaxing albums I have ever heard.

Watching It Unfold
The Surface Of Everything [wicked-cool song]

visit Lawrence English's site here
buy A Colour For Autumn here

this battle will be won!

Patrick Wolf once again made an appearance on John Kennedy’s XFM show last night, download the interview + mp3s below!

Live on XFM with John Kennedy (April 20, 2009)

The Tinderbox (Live on XFM) [wicked-cool song]
Hard Times (Live on XFM) [wicked-cool song]
***all files expire in 7 days or until bandwidth reaches its limit

Thank you allanah for the rips!