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THE BLACK ANGELS
Indigo Meadow

Indigo Meadow marks The Black Angels’ 4th full-length release, following 2010′s acclaimed Phosphene Dream. Once again the Austin-based band proves themselves the undisputed avatars of contemporary psychedelic rock, simultaneously exalting the genre’s kaleidoscopic past as they thrust it further into the future. Now a four-piece ably supported behind the board by producer/mixer John Congleton (David Byrne, St. Vincent, Explosions in the Sky, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) the band have brought new focus to their wide-ranging song craft, the righteous riffs and dogmatic drones gaining increased power as they fuel a more expansive emotional terrain. A 21st century trip as transcendent as any in the canon, Indigo Meadow masterfully affirms The Black Angels full-throttle commitment to the psychedelic ethos of creativity, community and boundless experimentation.

ARTIST: The Black Angels
TITLE: Indigo Meadow
LABEL: Blue Horizon Ventures
RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2013
TIME: 45:49 min.
WEB: http://theblackangels.com/
PURCHASE: special offer – ONLY 8.99$

01. Indigo Meadow [02:49]
02. Evil Things [03:44]
03. Don’t Play with Guns [03:43]
04. Holland [04:02]
05. The Day [02:37]
06. Love Me Forever [03:10]
07. Always Maybe [04:08]
08. War On Holiday [02:35]
09. Broken Soldier [03:36]
10. I Hear Colors (chromaesthesia) [04:03]
11. Twisted Light [03:21]
12. You’re Mine [03:40]
13. Black Isn’t Black [04:21]

PREVIEW: The Black Angels – The Day

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SAVAGES
Silence Yourself

Inspiration, not innovation, is what you should look for in Savages. You should take this four-girls London-based band, with their furious, high-velocity update of Joy Division, Simple Minds, British Sea Power, The Smashing Pumpkins, Einsturzende Neubauten, Bauhaus, The Birthday Party, Suede and so on over a thousand pallid boys who’ve managed, somehow, to divine an original sound at the end of post-modernism. Why? Because Silence Yourself is the manifestation of a formidable spirit, a sense that everything they do is done with great purity of intent, and a brilliant sex, life and death album of a kind rarely seen these days.

ARTIST: Savages
TITLE: Silence Yourself
LABEL: Matador
RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2013
TIME: 38:39 min.
WEB: http://savagesband.com/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. Shut Up [04:48]
02. I Am Here [03:20]
03. City’s Full [03:27]
04. Strife [03:57]
05. Waiting For A Sign [05:25]
06. Dead Nature [02:06]
07. She Will [03:27]
08. No Face [03:35]
09. Hit Me [01:41]
10. Husbands [02:50]
11. Marshal Dear [04:03]

PREVIEW: Savages – Husbands

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MUDHONEY
Vanishing Point

Mudhoney are still very much alive. The notion they’re not (or won’t be soon) is being bandied about by the band’s diehards who think the mere title of their new album, Vanishing Point (Mudhoney‘s 9th album, the first in five years) portends their end: no more grunge carnage and beer-guzzling hijinks? No worries about it: Mark Arm and his long-time friends’ groove-led-Stooges-acid-pop (with added screaming, of course) is still here. And it rocks hard as usual. Vanishing Point is filled once again with dread, psychoanalysis and Nuggets-on-fire riffs: the sort of uninhibited rock music that is harder and harder to locate these days.
Well, Mudhoney makes it easy.

ARTIST: Mudhoney
TITLE: Vanishing Poin
LABEL: Stickman
RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2013
TIME: 34:03 min.
WEB: http://mudhoneyonline.com/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. Slipping Away [04:45]
02. I Like It Small [03:40]
03. What to Do with the Neutral [03:29]
04. Chardronnay [01:36]
05. The Final Course [04:19]
06. In This Rubber Tomb [03:33]
07. I Don’t Remember You [02:34]
08. The Only Son of the Widow Nain [02:44]
09. Sing This Song of Joy [03:32]
10. Douchebags On Parade [04:19]

PREVIEW: Mudhoney – I Like It Small

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MOTORPSYCHO
Still Life with Eggplant

Roughly one year after the ambitious, orchestra-assisted collaboration with Ståle Storløkken entitled The Death Defying Unicorn, Norway’s most renowned psychedelic/hard rock act, Motorpsycho, delivers their 18th studio effort, Still Life with Eggplant. The music is almost as random as the title sounds, as the band is known for constantly shifting styles from one album to another. However, Still Life with Eggplant is one of their most accessible works, consisting of ideas Motorpsycho wrote in the past 3 years, but couldn’t find their place on their last year endeavor. As a result, there are various jazz traces, but most of material here has its’ roots in the hard rock sphere. The songs all aim for slightly different directions, none of them classifying as filler, while the melodic, sing-along vocals are usually catchy and memorable. This time, Reine Friske (Elephant9) was added as the second guitar player to the line-up to add some boost. Still Life with Eggplant is an enjoyable 45 minute ride that doesn’t consume the listener, it only wants him to sit back, bang his head to it and have a good time.

ARTIST: Motorpsycho
TITLE: Still Life with Eggplants
LABEL: Stickman
RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2013
TIME: 45:04 min.
WEB: http://motorpsycho.fix.no/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. Hell (part 1-3) [09:47]
02. August [04:53]
03. Barelycorn (let it come, let it be) [07:19]
04. Ratcatcher [17:10]
05. The Afterglow [05:57]

PREVIEW: Motorpsycho – The Afterglow

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COLD WAR KIDS
Dear Miss Lonelyhearts

Here’s the 4th album from the Long Beach-based indie rockers Cold War Kids. Marking the band’s first new material since the release of 2011′s Mine Is Yours, the album was recorded in their California studio with producer Lars Stalfors (The Mars Volta, Matt & Kim) and it’s the first release to feature former Modest Mouse member Dann Gallucci, who replaced on guitars Jonathan Russell earlier this year. Dear Miss Lonelyhearts maybe doesn’t reach back far enough to the band’s less polished, indie blues-fueled Robbers & Cowards days, but it manages to integrate that sound with hints of the striving-for-stadiums pop-rock Mine Is Yours offered up. In the end it’s a good combination of styles both old and new with synths meeting guitars, semi-dance tracks and undeniably catchy piano-drum combinations. Dear Miss Lonelyhearts marks a more self-aware band: Cold War Kids seem to know where they’ve been and are steadily figuring out where they’re going.

ARTIST: Cold War Kids
TITLE: Dear Miss Lonelyheart
LABEL: Downtown
RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2013
TIME: 36:44 min.
WEB: http://www.coldwarkids.com/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

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THE NATIONAL
Trouble Will Find Me

Trouble Will Find Me is The National‘s highly anticipated 6th album. Formed in 1999, the Ohio-raised, Brooklyn-based band consists of vocalist Matt Berninger fronting two pairs of brothers: Aaron (guitar, bass, piano) and Bryce Dessner (guitar), and Scott (bass, guitar) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). Trouble Will Find Me is the most self-assured collection of songs produced by The National in its 14-year career: it is a tribute to fully evolved artistic vision and (somewhat less mystically), to sleep deprivation. Trouble Will Find Me is both dark and melancholic, uplifting and quietly euphoric: another masterpiece from The National.

ARTIST: The National
TITLE: Trouble Will Find Me
LABEL: 4AD
RELEASE DATE: May 21, 2013
TIME: 55:27 min.
WEB: http://www.americanmary.com/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. I Should Live in Salt [04:09]
02. Demons [03:33]
03. Don’t Swallow the Cap [04:47]
04. Fireproof [03:00]
05. Sea of Love [03:43]
06. Heavenfaced [04:25]
07. This Is the Last Time [04:45]
08. Graceless [04:37]
09. Slipped [04:26]
10. I Need My Girl [04:07]
11. Humilation [05:02]
12. Pink Rabbits [04:38]
13. Hard to Find [04:15]

PREVIEW: The National – Graceless

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RS VIDEO OF THE WEEK – #155
YEAH YEAH YEAHS – Sacrilege

ARTIST: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
TITLE: Sacrilege
ALBUM: Mosquito
WEB: YouTube

directed by Megaforce

!!! (CHK CHK CHK)
THR!!!ER

Famous for their high-energy live shows and relentless touring schedule, !!! (pronounced Chk Chk Chk) have really focused their efforts on crafting an album with tighter song structures, and the results are stunning. The album, is titled THR!!!ER and was produced by Jim Eno, the drummer from Spoon. Like many people, Jim was a fan of !!!‘s live show, but he felt that they too often tried to capture these performances in the studio. Instead of trying to chase this feeling, Jim encouraged them to create a different type of excitement by using weirder sounds, inventing new dynamics within each song and introducing unexpected changes.
Something more honest, more interesting, more fun than ever before.

ARTIST: !!! (Chk Chk Chk)
TITLE: THR!!!ER
LABEL: Warp
RELEASE DATE: April 30, 2013
TIME: 34:53 min.
WEB: http://www.chkchkchk.net/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. Even When the Water’s Cold [03:48]
02. Get That Rhythm Right [05:06]
03. One Girl / One Boy [04:04]
04. Fine Fine Fine [03:54]
05. Slyd [04:15]
06. Californyeah [04:34]
07. Except Death [04:37]
08. Careful [05:37]
09. Station (meet me at) [03:55]

PREVIEW: !!! (chk chk chk) – Fine Fine Fine

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WE ARE WOLVES
La Mort Pop Club

The electro-rock trio We Are Wolves presents a still honest and uncatchable sound: a bit like celestial lightning hitting a sacred mountaintop. Their new album La Mort Pop Club channels indescribable electric fields of postpunk adrenaline. La Mort Pop Club confirms the tight relationship the band has formed with minimalism. It flirts with fuzzy garage-punk riffs, without putting aside their usual analog experimentation and melodic constructions. Emerging from an endless trance, the wolves are back on the prowl. Video games, sports people and others in need of heavy but catchy rock: these guys are here for you.

ARTIST: We Are Wolves
TITLE: La Mort Pop Club
LABEL: Dare to Care
RELEASE DATE: February 26, 2013
TIME: 34:53 min.
WEB: http://www.wearewolves.net/
PURCHASE: price – 10.98$

01. As the Moon Sets [03:17]
02. We Are Made of Fire (sisyphus) [02:50]
03. Night [03:04]
04. Sun [04:43]
05. Angel [02:55]
06. Moving Fast [03:39]
07. Snake in the Sand [03:24]
08. Mirror [02:40]
09. Voices [04:41]
10. Sudden Little Death [03:40]

PREVIEW: We Are Wolves – Mirror

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THE FLAMING LIPS
The Terror

The Terror was produced by The Flaming Lips‘ long-time collaborator Dave Fridmann and the band itself at Tarbox Road Studios. It is comprised of a bunch of original compositions that reflect a darker-hued spectrum than previous works, along with a more inward-looking lyrical perspective than one might expect but then again, maybe not. It s up to you, the listener, to decide what it means to you. In our few words: bad vibes. The Flaming Lips have flirted with with them for a lengthy career. The Terror may be Wayne Coyne’s most concise statement to date. But it’s not clear whether The Flaming Lips are at the deep end of an oscillation or whether this is the logical end of all their work. There are few moments when love triumphs in the absurd back catalog, and when it appeared, Coyne always met it with questions and doubt. The Terror feels like certainty. It offers no hope but in terror: terror as joy beyond all reckoning, a junction of both fear and love, a purity that pours onto us after transgression. Wonderful, in a certain way.

ARTIST: The Flaming Lips
TITLE: The Terror
LABEL: Warner Bros. / Bella Union
RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2013
TIME: 1:03:16 min.
WEB: http://www.flaminglips.com/
PURCHASE: price – 10.00$

01. Look… the Sun is Rising [05:12]
02. Be Free, Away [05:13]
03. Try to Explain [05:00]
04. You Lust [13:03]
05. The Terror [06:22]
06. You Are Alone [03:47]
07. Butterfly, How Long It Takes to Die? [07:31]
08. Turning Violent [04:16]
09. Always There in Our Hearts [04:35]

01. Sun Blows Up Today [03:11]
02. All You Need Is Love [05:06]

PREVIEW: The Flaming Lips – Turning Violent

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PVT
Homosapien

PVT (formerly Pivot) have this crazy futuristic sound that brings to mind bands of the past. Wait. That makes no sense, someone could say. Well, regardless that’s the case: there’s a sense of future visions, all wrapped in a warm analog blanket. Elements of Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, and Depeche Mode float along in the DNA and chromosomal make up of Homosapien. But there’s also hints of PVT‘s peers. The Australian band continues the evolution of its sound. They create soundscapes that are dark, sensual, and mysterious. They create a world of purple skies and worm holes to the past and future. They create pop music for people that think they don’t like pop music. Homosapien is an indulgence of the senses.

ARTIST: PVT
TITLE: Homosapien
LABEL: Felte
RELEASE DATE: February 11, 2013
TIME: 43:14 min.
WEB: http://pvtpvt.net/
PURCHASE: price – 11.99$

01. Shiver [03:34]
02. Evolution [03:57]
03. Electric [03:33]
04. Cold Romance [05:15]
05. Love & Defeat [03:59]
06. Homosapien [04:22]
07. Vertigo [04:02]
08. Nightfall [03:25]
09. New Morning [04:01]
10. Casual Sucess [04:33]
11. Ziggurat [02:33]

PREVIEW: PVT – Electric

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THE SHAKING SENSATIONS
Start Stop Worrying

Start Stop Worrying is the second full-length album by the Danish post-rockers The Shaking Sensations. The band has expanded the classic rock constellation by the addition of a second drummer to develop a unique approach to the rhythm section and a fresh unconvetional take on instrumental music. Start Stop Worrying follow the steps of some monstre-names such as Mono, And So I Watch You From Afar or God is an Astronaut, but, without any doubt, showcases the courage of a young band to explore new approaches to music and sound, which clearly sets them apart from many of their peers whithin an over-saturated genre of music.

ARTIST: The Shaking Sensations
TITLE: Start Stop Worrying
LABEL: Pelagic
RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2013
TIME: 46:16 min.
WEB: http://theshakingsensations.tumblr.com/
PURCHASE: special offer – ONLY 5.94$

01. Rocket Summer [10:56]
02. We Ourselves Alone [07:36]
03. Anchors [05:08]
04. Gild the Lily [07:04]
05. Ravelin [05:07]
05. Heavy Entity [10:25]

PREVIEW: The Shaking Sensations – Anchors

removed by request

THEE OH SEES
Floating Coffin

Say what you will about Thee Oh Sees, but you can’t knock the band’s work ethic. Having released 11 full-length studio efforts since 2004, it would be more than understandable if the San Francisco garage heathens wanted to take a break to breathe. Instead, 2013 brings Floating Coffin, another slab of sleazy, surf and psychedelic-infused punk and garage rock nuggets. Say what you will about Thee Oh Sees, but once again, Floating Coffin proves there’s something to be said for a band that sticks to what it knows.

ARTIST: Thee Oh Sees
TITLE: Floating Coffin
LABEL: Castle Face
RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2013
TIME: 39:45 min.
WEB: http://www.theeohsees.com/
PURCHASE: special offer – ONLY 8.99$

01. I Come from the Mountain [04:28]
02. Toe Cutter / Thumb Buster [03:33]
03. The Floating Coffin [02:22]
04. No Spell [04:26]
05. Strawberries One & Two [05:46]
06. Maze Fancier [03:17]
07. Night Crawler [04:12]
08. Sweets Helicopter [02:45]
09. Tunnel Time [04:10]
10. Minotaur [04:50]

PREVIEW: Thee Oh Sees – Minotaur

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YEAH YEAH YEAHS
Mosquito

Yeah Yeah Yeahs are on a mission to save rock from its wimpier tendencies. So says front woman Karen O as she laments the passing of alternative music’s awkward squad. And if this has something to do with punk, we must say that round here the most punk act has been doing nothing punk. In fact, Mosquito is surprisingly slick, a pop record rather than rock document. Indeed, the most punk thing about the project is probably the frankly disgusting cover shot of a squealing infant being attacked by a nightmarish mosquito: it really is rather awful. Otherwise, O, guitarist Nick Zimmer and drummer Brian Chase slip into a groove early on and stay there. How much of that is owed to producers Dave Sitek (of TV On The Radio) and LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy is difficult to say. The New York trio may not have lived up to their ambition to save rock and roll, but they have almost surely saved a career which seemed bound for the “where are they now?” zone.

ARTIST: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
TITLE: Mosquito
LABEL: Interscope
RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2013
TIME: 47:27 min.
WEB: http://www.yeahyeahyeahs.com/
PURCHASE: price – 10.00$

01. Sacrilege [03:50]
02. Subway [05:17]
03. Mosquito [02:59]
04. Under the Earth [04:18]
05. Slave [04:06]
06. These Paths [05:03]
07. Area 52 [02:53]
08. Buried Alive [05:16]
09. Always [04:04]
10. Despair [04:47]
11. Wedding Song [04:54]

PREVIEW: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Sacrilege

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WAVVES
Afraid of Heights

Straight from the dungeons of L.A., Wavves are release Afraid of Heights, their fourth album and first on the Mom + Pop and Warner Bros. labels. Now a duo consisting of guitarist Nathan Williams and bassist Stephen Pope, they sound bigger, brasher, and shockingly more professional than ever on this work, which positions the band to take their rightful place amongst the pop-punk gods. The product of more than a year of writing and recording, Afraid of Heights expands the Wavves sound while remaining true to the band’s original vision.

ARTIST: Wavves
TITLE: Afraid of Heights
LABEL: Mom + Pop / Warner Bros.
RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2013
TIME: 42:07 min.
WEB: http://wavves.net/
PURCHASE: price – 9.99$

01. Sail to the Sun [03:15]
02. Demon to Lean On [04:12]
03. Mystic [02:24]
04. Lunge Forward [02:50]
05. Dog [03:12]
06. Afraid of Heights [05:06]
07. Paranoid [02:22]
08. Cop [01:58]
09. Beat Me Up [02:21]
10. Everything Is My Fault [02:38]
11. That’s On Me [03:40]
12. Gimme a Knife [02:55]
13. I Can’t Dream [05:14]

PREVIEW: Wavves – Beat Me Up

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THE VEILS
Time Stays, We Go

The fourth studio-album by The Veils offers ten new great songs by the alternative rock band. Time Stays, We Go follows on from the band’s third album release Sun Gangs, released back in 2009, which seemed to offer a new slant to the band. It seems that the coming and going of band members hasn’t drastically affected the sound of The Veils’ music, with the tracks on the album sounding pretty much as good as anything else the band have produced thus far. Time Stays, We Go is a strong album, and can easily be called one of the best albums The Veils’ have produced up to now, if not at least on par with their previous work.

ARTIST: The Veils
TITLE: Time Stays, We Go
LABEL: Rough Trade
RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2013
TIME: 40:30 min.
WEB: http://www.myspace.com/cocorosie
PURCHASE: price – 22.00£

01. Through the Deep, Dark Wood [03:07]
02. Train with No Name [04:39]
03. Candy Apple Red [04:09]
04. Dancing with the Tornado [03:44]
05. The Pearl [03:57]
06. Sign of Your Love [04:29]
07. Turn from the Rain [03:33]
08. Birds [04:30]
09. Another Night On Earth [03:55]
10. Out from the Valley & Into the Stars [04:27]

PREVIEW: The Veils – The Pearl

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