Download: The John Steel Singers – “You’re a Animal (Johnathan Boulet cover)”

Most well known for their ‘60s-flavored pop, falsettos, and sky-high harmonies, it’s no wonder that The John Steel Singers are a favorite among many crowds. Behind the scenes, they are almost stubbornly creative and strive for longevity. They indulge in experimentation yet it’s that pop ethos that is firmly at the centre of the indie-rock group. After spending the last few years writing, recording, and touring the UK, The John Steel Singers have progressed as a band. Whilst sustaining the contagious pizzazz that their fans used to, their music has matured to a new level. The result? Their debut album, Tangalooma.

Produced by Robert Forster (The Go-Betweens) and mixed by New York record engineer Nicholas Vernhes (Animal Collective, Deerhunter), Tangalooma shows a depth of songwriting and is as lasting and infectious as ever. It’s the sort of album that would be best appreciated/enjoyed when listened to in full as a vinyl on a record player. This is what the band has always wanted to create, and looking back it’s been a busy journey to get there.

The six-piece had modest beginnings with the joining together of two work mates, Tim Morrissey and Scott Bromiley. Scott, a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, trumpet, keyboard and God knows what else). Tim, a music enthusiast, raised on ‘60s and ‘70s pop records with parents that liked to party. Scott taught Tim how to play guitar and from there the songwriting backbone was built. The duo teamed up with experienced drummer, Ross Chandler (who had previously played with such acts as Teenager and Stature::Statue), and talented musician/trombonist, Pete Bernoth and his marvelous glowing ginger hair. A while later, guitarist Luke McDonald was added to the lineup, whose inventiveness as a musician and composer helped to shape the JSS sound. The band has gone through a few bass player changes, namely Pat McDermott and Damien Hammond, but it is Sydney musician Dion Ford who currently joins them on bass.

The John Steel Singers are constantly bringing new musical elements to their songs in a live setting that defines their captivating musicianship. From switching between instruments to being resourceful with percussion utensils, they keep the show spontaneous, yet tight. One point that’s hard to miss is their charismatic, hilarious personalities that shine through with every performance: often sporting flamboyant costumes or props, they’re frequently inviting people up on stage for a dance, drum and sing – when they get you involved, you never forget it.

www.thejohnsteelsingers.com

www.facebook.com/thejohnsteelsingers

Download: Go Back To The Zoo – “Beam Me Up”

Go Back to the Zoo hail from Amsterdam. At a tender age, brothers Teun (Guitar) and Cas (Vocals) were given a Guns ‘n’ Roses record by their grandmother, and they have been making music ever since. They met Bram (Drums) at high school and completed their line-up by discovering Lars in a 4 a.m. queue for Strokes tickets and convincing him to take up the bass. With a shared passion for the Stones, Velvets, Kings of Leon, pop-culture and art, Go Back To The Zoo was formed.

A 2008 self-released EP led to synchs including a global Nike ad and attention from tastemaker radio and press. Two 2009 singles, a deal with Universal Holland and national awards including ‘best new artist’ and ‘best rock band’ followed. Their 2010 debut album Benny Blisto peaked at #3 in Holland, selling over 25,000 copies. It is still on the charts a year after its release, having spawned 6 singles. 2011 awards have included 3FM’s Best Band and Best Rock.

The band have a great live reputation with performances at over 60 festivals (including Sziget Hungary, SXSW, Pinkpop, Lowlands–where they sold more CD’s than any artist appearing–Exit Serbia and Eurosonic/Noorderslag) and sold out 17,000 tickets in advance for their recent club tour. At the moment, Go Back To The Zoo is preparing for their second album and expanding their territory.

Check out their latest song “Beam Me Up” above, and download the track for free.

www.gobacktothezoo.nl

facebook.com/gobacktothe.zoo

Last week, Tooth & Nails’ newest signing Nine Lashes debuted their album, World We View, to stellar reviews and fan response.  This buzz band also debuted on the iTunes Rock chart last week peaking at No. 7 in addition to No. 5 on the Bilboard Heat Seekers chart and No. 3 on the Rock/Alternative charts (Christian).

Taking their rock energy show on the road, Nine Lashes is currently on the REDvolution tour featuring RED, Thousand Foot Krutch and Manafest.

facebook.com/ninelashes

twitter.com/ninelashes

 Hair it is – to stuff the cracks in your mental chrome dome. Hair for you to stare for awhile. Hair grows like grass beneath your feet, opens up your mind and reflects you in the fun house mirror – spreading past your borderlines, bouncing like rubber, growing and grooving towards the sky (with diamonds). Was it yesterday or yesteryear or is it happening now, on five-second synaptic delay? You were tall, you were high…you went farther than you’ve ever been.

 Chanting to and from the dome is your living soundtrack and providing theHairdressing for your psychic salad are Ty Segall and White Fence sitter Tim Presley with Sean Presley and Mikael Cronin along on the carpet ride. It unrolls from within them and in between them, and electricity takes many forms, from poppy lunges to acoustic strolls to freak-downs at end of the side. Hair gets tangled deep in clouds of guitars and drums and counter-riffs and percussion, then pressed flat with harmony vocals and compression. Whatever got them through the night, it launches the ship into the stratosphere. And Hair you are again.

Coming April 24th, 2012 from Ty Segall and White Fence: Hair.

Track List:

1 Time

2 I Am Not a Game

3 Easy Ryder

4 The Black Glove/Rag

5 Crybaby

6 (I Can’t) Get Around You

7 Scissor People

8 Tongues

TY SEGALL & WHITE FENCE

3-2 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall #
3-3 Los Angeles, CA – The Troubadour #
5-3 Portland, OR – Star Theater
5-4 Vancouver, BC – Waldorf Hotel
5-5 Seattle, WA – Chop Suey
5-6 Missoula, MT – The Palace
5-8 Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
5-9 Madison, WI – High Horse Saloon
5-10 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall !
5-11 Detroit, MI – Lager House !
5-12 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern !
5-13 Montreal, QC – Il Motore !
5-14 Portland, ME – Space Gallery !
5-16 New York, NY – Webster Hall $
5-18 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
5-19 Raleigh, NC – King’s Barcade
5-20 Atlanta, GA – Earl
5-21 Nashville, TN – The End
5-22 Memphis, TN – Hi Tone
5-23 Little Rock, AR – Whitewater Tavern
5-24 Houston, TX – Walter’s
5-25 Austin, TX – Mohawk (outside)

# = w/ Mikal Cronin, Feeling of Love
! = w/ The Strange Boys
$ = w/ The Men

WHITE FENCE ONLY

2-25 Los Angeles, CA USC
3-8 Pioneertown, CA- Pappy and Harriets *
3-9 Las Vegas, NV – Beauty Bar *
3-10 Albuquerque, NM – Launch Pad *
3-11 Denton TX – 35 Denton Festival *
3-13 – 3-16 Austin, TX – SXSW
04-22 Santa Cruz, CA – Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium +

* = w/ Thee Oh Sees
+ = w/ The Shins

TY SEGALL ONLY

4-13 Gambier, OH- Kenyon College [solo set]
4-27 Berkeley, CA – UC Berkeley

facebook.com/Ty-Segall

ty-segall.com

facebook.com/White-Fence

Emanating an optimism that originates as much from Justin Vallesteros’ catharsis as it does from his youthful infatuation with uncertainty, Gallery confidently meanders an evolution in Craft Spell’s sound. Gallery fully embodies the contentedness that comes with being home once assured of the worlds infinite possibilities. Speckles of 80′s synth pop and drum loops remain the nostalgic centerpiece, representing familiarity, while Vallesteros illuminates himself as more comfortable venturing outward into the abyss of song-writing. Upon shedding the shackles of insecurity, Gallery unearths a resonating versatility amidst the further crafting of Vallesteros’ musical conceptions.

facebook.com/craftspells

03/14 Austin, TX Urban Outfitters Back Lot – 6pm

03/14 Austin, TX Spill Bar – Midnight

03/15 Austin, TX Austin Convention Center – 1pm

03/16 Austin, TX SXSeattle Party @ The Palm

03/17 Austin, TX Whiskey Room

03/17 Austin, TX Captured Tracks Showcase @ The Parish – Midnight

05/26 George, WA Sasquatch

Rise and Fall had this to say about their new music video for “Hidden Hands.”

“On a sunny sunday morning in October last year we invited close to 30 of our friends to our practice space in Ghent for the shoot of the first ever Rise And Fall music video. We didn’t invite them to act like they were the crowd or anything, no, we invited them to be Rise And Fall.”

“From 8 in the morning ’till sunset, footage was shot of our friends pretending they were Rise And Fall. It resulted in 8 hours of footage which was later distilled into a 112 seconds long video by director Mathieu Vandekerckhove who also filmed the whole project. All this hard work, and sweat (we kept the heat at full blast in our practice space), resulted in a visual and auditive whirlwind that will commence after you hit play. Turn it up loud, watch it full screen and in HD if possible! We wanna thank everyone in the video and especially Mr. Vandekerckhove who spent hours on end editing this bastard.”

“Look for members of Oathbreaker, Congress, Hessian, Reproach, Kindred, Amenra, Kingdom, Blind To Faith, Insult, Inhume, The Rott Childs, Kabul Golf Club, Kapitan Korsakov, Drums Are for parades, Minor Thieves, Vermin Twins, Officer Jones, Morrocan, Control Records, Rhythm To The Madness, Justice, Filler, Joshua’s Song,… all bands we advise you to check out and find out what’s going on in Belgium in 2012. Thank you.”

RISE AND FALL “Faith” CD/LP/Digital available everywhere March 20th.

facebook.com/riseandfall13

twitter.com/riseandfall13

www.riseandfall.org

 03/17: Kortrijk, Belgium @ De Kreun “Faith” (Record Release) w/ Iron Age, Dead Swans, Hessian, and Sex Drive
03/30: Koln, Germany @ Werkstatt w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
03/31: Mannheim, Germany @ Juz w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/01: Dessau, Germany @ Beat Club w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/02: TBA @ TBA w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/03: Stockholm, Sweden @ Kulturhuset w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/04: TBA @ TBA w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/04: TBA @ TBA w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/05: Berlin, Germany @ Cassiopeia w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/06: Warsaw, Poland @ Punkt & Radio Luxembourg w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/07: Bischofswerda, Germany @ East Club w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/08: Bratislava, Slovakia @ U OCKA w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/09: Zagreb, Croatia @ AKC Attack w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/10: Wien, Austria @ Arena w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/11: Wurzburg, Germany @ Cairo w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/12: Winterthur, Switzerland @ Gaswerk w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/13: Bordeux, France @ BT 52 w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/14: TBA @ TBA w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/15: TBA @ TBA w/ Oathbreaker, and The Secret
04/27: Faro, Portugal @ RSMA w/ For The Glory
04/28: Porto, Portugal @ Hard Club w/ For The Glory
04/29: Lisbon, Portugal @ Revolver Bar w/ For The Glory
08/03: Knokke-Heist, Belgium @ Leviathan Fest w/ Oathbreaker, Verse, Soul Control, Ritual

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. will be releasing a special Detroit-themed 12″ for Record Store Day. The EP will feature “We Almost Lost Detroit,” a Gil Scott-Heron cover that also appears on their full length debut It’s A Corporate World, as well as two covers of songs by fellow Detroit artists Madonna and Sixto Rodriguez and three remixes by Detroit-based artists. The 12″ is a limited pressing of 2k standard black vinyl units and will be available for $16.98 exclusively on Record Store Day on 4/21.

Side A

We Almost Lost Detroit (album version)

Like A Prayer (Madonna cover)

I Think Of You (Sixto Rodriguez cover)

 Side B

We Almost Lost Detroit (Stepdad remix)

Morning Thought (Phantasmagoria remix)

Simple Girl (Chuck Daniels remix)

But Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. is done there, they will also play a special hometown show in Detroit at the Majestic Theatre on Record Store Day on 4/21. They also added a pair of headlining shows in NYC at Brooklyn Bowl on 3/31 and Bowery Ballroom on 4/1, and will play a few shows at SXSW in Austin as well as at Bonnaroo this summer.

www.daleearnhardtjrjr.com

facebook.com/daleearnhardtjrjr

twitter.com/dalejrjrmusic

3/3 Snowball Music Festival, Vail, CO

3/6 Opolis, Norman, OK

3/7 Juanitas, Little Rock, AR

3/8 Rio Room, Dallas, TX – DJ set

3/9 SXSW, Do512 Party @ The Belmont

3/10 SXSW, private party

3/11 SXSW, private party

3/12 SXSW, Syndicate/Hype Machine Kickoff Party @ Hype Hotel

3/13 SXSW, Warner Music Group showcase

3/30 Nowadays Music Festival, Bethlehem, PA

3/31 Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY

4/1 Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY

6/7-10 Bonnaroo, Manchester, TN

UK group Metronomy are coming stateside this spring and just added more shows in direct support of Coldplay. You can see all the tour dates below. Also, the group got the remix treatment by Two Inch Punch for their song “The Look.” the remix will be featured on   The English Riviera Unreleased Remixes which drops 3/6 on Big Beat/Because.

www.metronomy.co.uk

twitter.com/wearebigbeat

3/24 – ULTRA Music Festival

3/25 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade

3/27 – Washington, DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel

3/28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of Living Arts

3/30 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza

3/31 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall

4/1 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis Theatre

4/2 – Toronto, ON @ The Hoxton

4/4 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall

4/5 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry

4/12 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s

4/15 – Coachella, CA @ Coachella

4/17 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place ***

4/18 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome ***

4/20 - Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena ***

4/22 – Coachella, CA @ Coachella

4/24 – Portland, OR @ Rose Garden Arena ***

4/25 – Seattle, WA @ KeyArena ***

4/27 - San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion ***

4/28 – San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion ***

5/1 – Los Angeles @ Hollywood Bowl ***

5/2 – Los Angeles @ Hollywood Bowl ***

5/4 – Los Angeles @ Hollywood Bowl ***

***w/ Coldplay

New York’s favorite dance-pop duo HANK & CUPCAKES have released a mini documentary of their recording sessions at the famed Hansa Studios (David Bowie, R.E.M., Nick Cave, KT Tunstall, Depeche Mode, Iggy Pop, U2) in Berlin, Germany. The documentary, created by Fly’s Eye Films, shows the pair in the midst of their creative process over the span of 10 days in August of 2011 and gives the viewer a sneak peek into their upcoming full-length debut album, set to be released in June 2012 and produced byLudwig Boss (Band of Horses).

After kicking off 2012 in the most incredible way – by opening a sold-out show for Deadmau5 at NYC’s Terminal 5, the dynamic twosome is tearing full-speed ahead with the release of its first single “Liquid Mercury” from the upcoming as-yet-untitled album and burning up radio charts across the country. The single has climbed to the #57 position on the Mediabase Activator Chart since first appearing at #90 just two weeks ago, making Hank & Cupcakes currently the highest unsigned band on the chart! The band has also played select dates across Europe and the Middle East so far this year, including playing to a crowds of over 2,000 in Barcelona and 700 in Stockholm.

Incessant action and whirlwind touring are nothing new to Hank & Cupcakes, who formed in Tel Aviv just prior to moving to Cuba where they spent six months of musical exploration. The duo ended up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn almost two years ago, drawn by what Cupcakes describes as “the music, the streets, the energy, the electricity and the nonstop movement of NYC… We feel we can’t just sit still here and have the urge to be in constant musical motion.” But if these two feel drawn to NYC, it’s clear that the city strongly reciprocates that very sentiment.

www.hankandcupcakes.com

Apart from the fact that “MV & EE” is slang for zero gravity and that they’ve been doing it consistently “better” with good vibes/jams they still WANT to give you more of the best of them. This is their “space homestead” and for good reason this wall of sound applied thru DIY sensibilities was recorded over the course of a year in 9 different studios, presenting as clearly as circumstances can permit, a living idea right here in the now of what it is all about. These are sonics in motion, the satiate plural perfect supply of the hunger unusual, the picturesque in sound. Grab a shuttle for your spectrasound furniture any time in any aeon and dig the volume of their trip.

mv-ee.com

heart like barbara steele

workingman’s smile

sweet sure gone

shit’s creek

common ground

moment

too far to see

wasteland

porchlight > leaves

Show Dates:

03/09 Easthampton, MA Flywheel

03/10 Brattleboro, VT Headroom Stages