(via press-release)

“Fool’s Gold just announced the NYC location for their free, all-ages DAY OFF event on Labor Day. End summer 2010 with a bang! Guest raps from Yelawolf, Pill and Donnis, DJ sets from The Brothers Macklovitch (A-Trak & Dave1), Just Blaze, Craze, Klever, Kill The Noise and Nick Catchdubs, and a live performance by The Suzan, all going down from 2-8pm on Monday, September 6th at City Winery (155 Varick St, entrance on Spring between Hudson & Varick). More info at www.foolsgoldrecs.com“

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We get a lot of emails and press releases these days.  The variety of stuff we have sent to us ranges from requests to cover projects by Slayer to Dakota Fanning and everything in between.  Even through trying to be selective, there often seems to be more to cover than we have time for.  It’s hard not to jump on those Pavement tickets (they’re still so good), but there’s nothing like discovering something new we’ve never seen before.  Sure, we’ve gotten plenty of contacts from acts who have no idea what our interests are or what we care about.  Sometimes they’re “wacky” pop-punk acts or maybe they just care more about acting and dressing like rock stars then actually creating something of substance.  I don’t feel too bad ignoring those type of contacts because, if you don’t know who the fuck we are, then why should I give a fuck about researching and writing about who you are trying to be?  Other times, however, I get that email that reminds me that the original goal was really to help bring attention to quality artists that often get overlooked.  That’s how we discovered some surprising talent that we’ve covered in the past, like Untied States and Edison; through receiving random emails.  Sometimes we get a really nice personalized direct contact that introduces us to someone like stencil artist Paper Monster.  Sometimes it takes quite a few emails before we wise up and realize that we’ve been ignorantly overlooking something amazing, as was the case with one of my favorite newer acts, NURSES.  All too often, I know that timing gets in the way and/or there are just things being lost in the chaos.  A new Brooklyn quintet calling themselves Quiet Lights, has fallen into a mix of a few of these circumstances with us. (more…)

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Musician Michael Morley is from Port Chalmers, New Zealand.  In the mid 80s he was part of the duo Wreck Small Speakers on Expensive Stereos.  Later that decade he formed the band that he’s most known for, The Dead C, with Bruce Russell and Robbie Yeats.  They came to the attention of savvy U.S. record buyers through a number of good-to-amazing records on the Siltbreeze label.  Morley has also kept busy with solo records, under the name of GATE, and collaborations such as Tanaka-Nixon Meeting (feat. Danny Butt) and Two Foot Flame (w/Peter Jefferies and Jean Smith of Mecca Normal).

The last few years have been good to fans of Michael Morley’s work.  The Dead C released a new lp, Secret Earth, toured the U.S. and have had their early releases reissued in handsome dbl gatefold editions by Ba Da Bing.  And now Morley has released his first Gate album in several years.  The vinyl-only, A Republic of Sadness finds the artist using a laptop and electronic dance beats. This may sound like a dubious proposition, but once Morley’s voice comes in, any worries of YACHT 12” remixes are set to rest.

I recently had the privilege to correspond with Michael Morley to discuss the new Gate lp, his work with The Dead C, and whether or not what he creates is even “rock music”.

–Alex Parrish

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Thank you and hello again, everybody.  This week our pop-spotlight song of the week comes from a young Los Angeles, California trio calling themselves WAVVES.  Essentially a project of San Deigo native, Nathan Williams, the first two releases from the lo-fi punk outfit were recorded behind the home of Williams‘ parents, launching the young man into the forefront of America‘s burgeoning Garage Rock resurrection.  For the current incarnation, Williams has recruited the late-Jay Reatard‘s former rhythm section, Stephen Pope (bass) and Billy Hayes (drums).  Together they have released the high-energy 12-track gem, King of the Beach, that all the kids are bopping their heads and tapping their toes along to.  Today our spotlight shines on one particular song from this release and it’s corresponding video, which focuses on extra-terrestrials and skateboarding.  Ladies and gentleman, please enjoy “Post Acid“. (more…)

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Last year, Antony and The Johnsons released their first full-length album since the Mercury Prize-winning, I Am A Bird Now, 4 years earlier.  The Crying Light proved to be another minor-masterpiece, cementing Antony Hegarty‘ group as an important musical force, deserving of our continued attention into the new decade.  It even yielded some surprising success on a commercial level, reaching the number one spot on the Billboard European Top 100.  The album release was definitely worth the wait and, as someone who caught him during the supporting tour, Hegarty‘s abilities as a live performer only continue to increase.  Hopes are reasonably high for their next album, but, this time around, the anticipation isn’t taking nearly as long to quell.  In the following months, an EP, LP, and even an art book are slated to be released by the group.  There’s a lot on the horizon, but, for now, we have our first sample of what’s to come, in the form of a new video.

Prior to The Crying Light hitting the metaphorical shelves, it was preceded by the 5-song EP, Another World.  Along with the lead off single/title track, the EP also featured 4 additional songs that didn’t appear on The Crying Light.  For the upcoming release, Swanlights, Hegarty and crew have opted to adopt that concept yet again.  Today marks the UK and European release date for the 5-song, Thank You For Your Love EP [Rough Trade] with the official North American release coming tomorrow (Aug. 24th) through Secretly Canadian.  As could be expected, the song “Thank You For Your Love“, which appears on this EP, is also the lead off single for Swanlights.  Those familiar with Antony‘s early years, know that he moved to Manhattan in 1990 to study experimental theatre at NYU.  This move resulted in Hegarty‘s formation and involvement with his Blacklips theatre collective, which ultimately spawned a good deal of his early musical material with the Johnsons.  The following video for “Thank You For Your Love” is comprised of super 8 footage from that period of Antony‘s life when he first arrived to the city. (more…)

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There used to be a guy who fancied himself as a “street musician” who would set up across the street from my apartment every night and blare obnoxious guitar riffs through a pocket amp.  He had, what seemed like, no more than a rotating 3-song setlist.  He mostly just played Jimi Hendrix covers, using the muddled distortion and the fact that he was a black man with a guitar in Seattle to his favor.  The drunken frat boys and under-dressed skanks, clopping around like clydesdales ate that shit up.  Then again, they only caught about 12 seconds of it as they wandered by in a drunken stupor.  Try putting that 12 seconds on repeat for hours.  It was a smooth move for the “guitarist” and he marketed himself wisely.  Who’s gonna talk shit to this guy around here?  Nevermind the fact that the one thing that he produced was obnoxious and that he wasn’t actually Hendrix.  This Seattle; that would be sacrilege.

Today I witnessed a video of a man who I actually would have appreciated having perform in my neighborhood.  This footage isn’t devoid of gimmicks [he's a one-man-band playing a Wu-Tang song, for chrissakes] but something about it still holds genuine.  It’s actually pretty awesome and, although this particular footage is of the musician performing a cover, he is much more than a one-note.  In fact, through my research, I’ve discovered that he’s much more than a street performer, or even a musician, but that’s not important for now.  We’ll get back to that more after the video. (more…)

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