Something happened between the last time I saw Joy Formidable in 2010 and now -- they became a big success. I take no credit for this ... really. Seriously, selling out the big venues, touring with Foo Fighters, legions on new fans, they've got it covered.
Not to rest on their laurels, Ritzy and the boys have been working up on the follow-up to 2011's The Big Roar. The new album, Wolf's Law, should be out sometime in early 2013, or never according to the Mayan calendar. In the meantime, the band as release the title track off that album, to give fan's taste of their operatic, bold sound. It's different, in a good way. After the first listen, I'm ready to conquer a small nation. Not a bad for a band, I saw in a small tent in Kent in 2009.
It's about damn time. She played a few showcases last month to industry people, but this one you can come and fall head over high-heeled shows over her. It's the start of the Paloma Faith take over of U.S. pop music. It's the 9:30 set at Joe's Pub on September 11. Tickets on sale now.
A pleasant update on a band I mentioned in June. UK buzz band Citizens! squared away their U.S. plans for their Alex Kapranos-produced debut album, Here We Are. Kitsuné / Cooperative Music will release the album here on Oct. 11. I've listen to it and it is smashing. It has a little bit of everything. Obviously, with Kapranos steering the ship, it's going to be garishly poppy and full of amazing hooks. I am fond of the heart they display on True Romance and I Wouldn't Want To. Then you have a dance floor anthem in "I'm in Love With Your Girlfriend". You'll love it. Trust me.
Baring any visa/financial issues, the five-piece will make their U.S. debut in Los Angeles and making their way here for CMJ.
Rocktober 11: El Rey -- Los Angeles
Rocktober 12: Rickshaw Stop -- San Francisco
Rocktober 16: Evenko -- Montreal
Rocktober 17: Highline Ballroom -- New York
Rocktober 18-20: TBA CMJ gigs
For their promo for the track, True Romance, they cobbled together some retro Bollywood scenes to sound track the song.
When I'm not educating the world on the best music you're not listening to, I dabble into the world of video games. It passes the time and makes me forget about the cruel world we live in with corporate produced music.
One of new titles out now is called Sleeping Dogs -- it's an open world game using the Grand Theft Auto model. The story unfolds in Hong Kong and takes cues from all the great action films like Infernal Affairs, Election and all the John Woo films you can think of.
Like the GTA series, a radio soundtrack is needed when you're cruising around and ramming your car into things. A few stations in the game are from some of your favorite labels like Daptone, Roadrunner, Warp and Kerrang! It's a good mix along with the hip hop, K-pop, classical, 80s pop and dub step mixes. I won't bother you with the whole line-up, but here is the good stuff:
Kerrang! The Big Pink – 13 Brakes – Hey Hey Breton – Edward The Confessor Eugene McGuinness – Lion Gem and the Deadheads – Automatic Response New Navy – Oceans The Kooks – Mr. Nice Guy White Rabbits – Temporary Blood Red Shoes – Cold Maps & Atlases – Israeli Caves Animal Kingdom – Golden Pyramids Kasabian – Re-Wired Strange Talk – Climbing Walls Miles Kane – Kaka Boom Phenomenal Handclap Band – The Unknown Faces at Father James Park Mount Washington – Silver Screen Bombay Bicycle Club – Shuffle The Maccabees – Unknow The Drums – Book Of Revelation Ladyhawke – Black White & Blue
Daptone: The Budos Band – Ride Or Die The Budos Band – Mas O Menos The Budos Band – Scorpion Charles Bradley – This Love Ain’t Big Enough for the Two of Us Charles Bradley – The World (Is Going Up In Flames) Lee Fields and Sugarman & Co. – Stand Up Menahan Street Band – The Contender Menahan Street Band – Make the Road by Walking The Mighty Imperials – Thunder Chicken Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings – The Reason Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – Keep On Looking Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – Money Sugarman Three – Promised Land (feat. Naomi Davis) Sugarman Three & Co. – Take It As It Comes (feat. Charles Bradley) Sugarman Three & Co. – Shot Down (feat. Lee Fields)
Sagittarius (80s): Duran Duran – Girls On Film (Night Version) Martha and The Muffins – Echo Beach (2002 Digital Remaster) XTC – Senses Working Overtime (2001 Digital Remaster) Pilot – Magic Deep Purple – Fireball Thin Lizzy – Bad Reputation Robert Palmer – Work To Make It Work Tears For Fears – Pale Shelter The Allman Brothers Band – Don’t Want You No More The Jam – In The City Queen – Dragon Attack The Who – Eminence Front Siouxsie & the Banshees – Hong Kong Garden Climax Blues Band – Couldn’t Get it Right
Warp: Autechre – Second Scepe Rustie – After Light Rustie – Surph Clark – Alice (Unreleased) !!! – The Hammer Plaid – Sömnl Plaid – Thank Bibio – Anything New Bibio – Dwrcan (Eskmo Remix) Squarepusher – Beep St Africa Hitech – Lash Out Harmonic 313 – Dirtbox LFO – Pysychodelik Hudson Mohawke – FUSE Battles – Future Gonjasufi – Ancestors The Hundred In The Hands – Dressed In Dresden (Various Remix) Flying Lotus – GNG BNG Flying Lotus – Parisian Goldfish
Cool things are happening in the world of Lucy Rose. The debut album is in the can, to borrow a movie term. Like I Used To is twelve strong songs from the lovely singer-songwriter from England. Get ready for soaring melodies, heartbreaking lyrics and maybe a little whimsy from my buddy. She came though in March with Bombay Bicycle Club and she was great to watch -- easy to like.
1. Red Face 2. Middle Of The Bed 3. Lines 4. Shiver 5. Night Bus 6. Watch Over 7. Bikes 8. Place 9. Dont You Worry 10. First 11. Be Alright
The album gets the major-label trealment from Columbia in the UK on Sept. 24. A U.S. release is pending.
She has her first music video from the album, that was shot in Los Angeles. It's a comedic, cheeky promo for the song "Bikes":
Even though I try to cram as much music into my brain as I can, I am kicking myself that I didn't catch onto Adriene Younge earlier. Even though, I've heard his music before but never realized it. The producer/DJ might be best known for composing the soundtrack to the blacksploitation comedy, Black Dynamite, as well as, the subsequent Adult Swim cartoon. The movie has become sort of a cult hit since it was quietly released as an art house/grind house feature. It's silly fun with a lot instagram like visual gags.
Younge is connoisseur of all things 60s soul, but his unique twist is infusing modern influences like Wu-Tang beats, Portishead trickery and even a little Morricone sheen. The musician even sites Air and King Crimson as a guideline for his work. The end result is the nastiest, dirtiest, darkest, funkiest shit you've heard this year. He focused all his energy on a concept album about an inter-racial couple in the 1960s called Something About April, released on Wax Poetic back in January. Rough Trade is re-releasing the album with an earlier from EP from Young called Venice Dawn. This album will land on my Ten Best of 2012.
To get you into the mood, here's a video for one of the tracks, "Lovely Lady". It's very much in the Black Dynamite, tounge-in-cheek spirit:
Free schwag! Free schwag! I'm pretty sure if you are properly connected, you can build your life around gifting suites, open bars and gift bags. You're life would be branded and have no sense of indenty, but who cares when you have free crap.
Anyway, CMJ had a little get together to announce their initial line-up for 2012. As you already know, the havoc takes place Rocktober 16-20. It's a fine week of scruffy looking people wearing badges around their neck and checking their phones. Somewhere along the line, they might see a show or two. I skipped last year for the first time in 17 years, but I shall return this year for a bit of it. Not doing a showcase, I'm done with them. Fun to throw, but a pain in the ass to organize and a drain on time and money.
As for the bands playing that week, you can check out the full list over at CMJ.com, but here are the standouts:
The Presets
The Walkmen
The Mountain Goats
Kimbra
GZA
Com Truise
DIIV
MS MR
Icona Pop
Young Magic
Lily and the Parlour Tricks
Bonde De Role
The English Beat
Exitmusic
The Good Natured
High Highs
Housse de Racket
Love Language
The Luyas
My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult
Pissed Jeans
The Postelles
Reigning Sound
Sea Wolf
Talib Kweli
Finally, we saw some of the locals do their thing. Tanlines have been around the scene since 2008, but finally released their debut album, Mixed Emotions, last March on True Panther. The duo of Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm have a bouncy, lo-fi dance sound that's infectious. Although, some of the tunes leans towards that Vampire Weekend, global pop influence, the majority are little electronic pop tunes that work better for the two of them. Then again, I'm adverise to anything that is described as Vampire Weekend-sounding. I think it's those high-tones guitar riffs. It was nice that drummer/keyboardist had a good sense of humor about the event, joking about their lack of a manager or that he's played CMJ 8 times.
Their next New York show will be opening up for Yeasayer at Central Park SummerStage on Sept. 12.
Speaking of Yeasayer, Sinkane is the project from Ahmed Gallab of Yeasayer. You hear that tropicalia sound in his work. I was impressed. It reminded me a lot of Os Mutantes with the mellow 60s psychedelia undertones. Also, you can't go wrong with a talk box for vocals.
The West Coast-based husband-wife duo of Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis (and their baby boy) want to make your a day a little trippier. Don't watch the video under the influence of Nyquil, like I am, or you might see things you can't unsee. "Beautiful Son" comes from their latest album, Lucifer, release last June on the Mexican Summer label.
Craziness went down on Friday as Big Black Delta took a little detour away from opening for M83 and Jane's Addiction to put a fury of sound and light at Pianos. With a laptop and two live drummers, BBD mastermind Jonathan Bates can whip a room into a frenzy. If he can do that in a small room, imagine what he can do on larger stages. It was one of those times where I was thankful for wearing earplugs.
While Bates dances around to his big beats and epic electronic ovetures, the two drummers pound away to give the set an added sonic grandeur. Meanwhile, a little dinky lightbox provides the lone illumination for the stage.
Big Black Delta had an EP for you to dig, which includes the powerful closer to the set, IFUCKINGLOVEYOU.
Betamax
IFUCKINGLOVEYOU
LeonardMcGeonardvsDrunkenCalculator
Put The Gun On The Floor
Time to pimp out one of my friends and his new band. My brilliant boy Caleb leads the local crew of Late Guest at the Party. They are a dance rock outfit that will make a fine compliment for your appreciation of LCD Soundsystem. You gotta dig those grimy riffs and bouncy beats in Electric Bongos. Dig it below, peops.
You've heard a lot about that fantubulous Fleetwood Mac tribute album. What is probably not on your radar is an upcoming tribute album for the provential 80s band, Talk Talk. Can we have a little sing-a-long now?
IT'S MY LIFE ... DON'T YOU FORGET ... IT'S MY LIFE ... IT NEVER ENDS
This tribute album is pretty impressive, so much so that it's spread out over two CDs. I can't name you two albums worth of Talk Talk songs, but I guess they are a major influence of today's musicians.
The one act that jumped out at me is Zero 7. It's their first released recording in three years. Then you got rock powerhouse White Lies, Sarah Worden of My Brightest Diamond, Fyfe Dangerfield of Guillemots, Richard Reed Barry of Arcade Fire, Jason Lytle of Granddaddy, Do Make Say Think, Joan As Police Woman and local gal Lia Ices.
As for their best known hit, Brit Band The TenFive Sixty put a cosmic, trance spin on "It's My Life". They are on the Fierce Panda label, who are releasing this compilation, that comes with oodles of extras. The deluxe edition comes with a book celebrating the 30 years of Talk Talk. All this fun stuff will be out on September 3.
CD 1
01. WEALTH – Lone Wolf 02. THE COLOUR OF SPRING – Zero 7 03. I BELIEVE IN YOU – S.Carey 04. DUM DUM GIRL – Recoil ( feat. Shara Worden) 05. LIFE’S WHAT YOU MAKE IT – Duncan Sheik 06. THE RAINBOW – Thomas Feiner, Fyfe Dangerfield, Robbie Wilson 07. AFTER THE FLOOD – Halloween, Alaska 08. IT’S GETTING LATE IN THE EVENING – Peter Broderick, Nils Frahm, Davide Rossi 09. GIVE IT UP – King Creosote 10. LIVING IN ANOTHER WORLD – Lights ( feat. Darkstars ) 11. THE RAINBOW – Zelienople 12. MYRRHMAN – Joan As Police Woman 13. RUNEII – The Last Dinosaur 14. ? – Jack Northover
CD 2
01. IT’S MY LIFE – The TenFiveSixty 02. INHERITANCE – Recoil ( feat. Linton Kwesi Johnson & Paul Marshall ) 03. ASCENSION DAY – Turin Brakes 04. TODAY – White Belt Yellow Tag 05. I DON’T BELIEVE IN YOU – Ian Curnow ( feat. Human ) 06. CHAMELEON DAY – Goldheart Assembly 07. APRIL 5TH – Matthias Vogt Trio 08. NEW GRASS – Do Make Say Think 09. TOMORROW STARTED – Jason Lytle 10. GIVE IT UP – White Lies 11. TIME IT’S TIME – Lia Ices 12. THE PARTY’S OVER – The Lovetones 13. CANDY – Thomas White 14. RENÉE – The Black Ships ( feat. Amelia Tucker) 15. TAPHEAD – The Acorn 16. I BELIEVE IN YOU – Richard Reed Parry
Additional bonus tracks available to download at digital stores :
01. ASCENSION DAY – Minerva Lions 02. IT’S MY LIFE – Mike Gill ( feat. Robert Owens ) 03. EDEN – Kurran & The Wolfnotes
Here's the Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry's contribution, "I Believe In You"
