NEW CRYSTAL CASTLES VIDEO/NEWS Our dearest friends Crystal Castles have just released a video for their single “Crimewave”, featuring a mesh-masked Alice Glass and a lonely zombie. Check it out below.
Crystal Castles – Crimewave (Crystal Castles VS. Health) In other CC news, according to NME (and confirmed by our friend Myke) the band has canceled several dates in the UK because of ‘recording committments’. Can we expect new Crystal Castles material soon? Here’s hoping so!
Crystal Castles – “Death (White Lies Remix)” ******************************************************************** FINAL BE YOUR OWN PET SHOW VIDEOS Sad as we were that one of our favorite acts of the day Be Your Own Pet broke up, we’re happy to report they left behind a trail of death and misadventure to rival the best punk acts of the day, and these videos from their final show ever prove it. Check them out below and godspeed you black-hearted punksters, we hope to see you again soon! “Super Soaked”
“Heart Throb”
Be Your Own Pet – “Hillmont Avenue” ******************************************************************** STARS ANNOUNCE NEW EP According to Pitchfork and confirmed by visiting the Sad Robots website, our favorite Canadian indie-poppers Stars are releasing a new EP entitled Sad Robots. Tracklist below, featuring five new songs and a live version of “Going Going Gone” off of Nightsongs.
01 Maintenance Hall, 4am 02 A Thread Cut With a Carving Knife 03 Undertow 04 Going, Going, Gone (live) 05 14 Forever 06 Sad Robot
Stars will be playing this year’s ACL festival (last time they came they played against Wolf Parade so I had to miss them, not this time!) so don’t miss them when they swing through Austin!
Stars – “Why I Want To Save You” ******************************************************************** CANNIBAL CHEERLEADER VS. RNC We didn’t post on Thursday for two reasons – one, very slow news day, not much to talk about. But second, we were busy planning our Cannibal Cheerleader protest trip to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Those familiar with us know that we’re first and foremost filmmakers (liberal ones at that) so we’re going to document the events of the RNC protests and bring them back to Texas (see, we’re not all rednecks down here!). We will be out of pocket until next Friday, but tomorrow I plan on writing mini-updates for the rest of next week. Because these will be very bare and pretty unsubstantial updates, next week is being declared ‘Vegetarian Week’ here at Cannibal Cheerleader. Fear not, I shall return with cool videos in tow and what’s more, if I find myself with an internet connection up there I’ll be sure and do a few quick updates. Any comments on this situation? Would anyone prefer I not go? Speak now or hold your peace! See you all in St. Paul!
EXCLUSIVE BE YOUR OWN PET PICS We still haven’t stopped crying about the untimely demise of one of our favorite bands Be Your Own Pet, the Nashville punk foursome that decided to call it quits only after two barn-burning, madness-inducing albums. Luckily we got to see them the final time they swung through Austin (unbeknownst to us) but sadly we’re not able to fly to the UK to see their last string of performances. However, friend and reader Myke was kind enough to take some pictures of the band at the Leeds Festival and while he apologizes for the poor quality, we’ve always been one to enjoy pictures with a lot of heart and heat over professional photography (we’re all film students here, go figure). Myke’s review of the show was not particularly glowing, and he says “I mean, you know its never going to be 100% when a lead singer’s first words on stage are “I threw up three times on the way here, I feel like shit, It was Gross”. They sounded good, her voice was fine and they were pretty tight, but they just gave off the impression they didn’t want to be there at all.” Seems as if our BYOP heroes are down for the count and more than ready to throw in the towel. The end of the world comes with a whimper right? Godspeed BYOPsters, hope to see you all soon! Be Your Own Pet – “Girls On TV” ******************************************************************** JENNY LEWIS STREAMS NEW SONG Oh NPR, how we love you. Not only do your plaintively-voiced emcees deliver indie-rock news in the most monotone of fatherly voices, but you always seem to get the best tracks by the best artists first, and today’s stream of “Acid Tongue”, the first song off the album of the same name by the one and only Jenny Lewis is no exception. Seems like Miss Lewis is up to her same ol’ tricks, spinning yarns of soulful endeavors and existential malaise under the guise of a traditional country-ballad. We wouldn’t have it any other way. You can listen to the song here (scroll down). Can’t wait for Acid Tongue, and by the way, here’s the artwork below. Artwork made to look like a sheet of LSD? Jenny Lewis is clearly taking a page from the Under the Blacklight line of thinking (not that we mind of course!).
Jenny Lewis – “The Big Guns” ******************************************************************** TV ON THE RADIO’S “DANCING CHOOSE” A good day for streaming songs as New York art-rockers TV on the Radio have also posted a new track from their forthcoming album, entitled Dear Science. Seems this one is called “Dancing Choose” and can be found over here. This ditty is quite a bit more frantic than “Golden Age” but delivers on the promise that Dear Science would focus more on Tunde Adebimpe’s soulful croon and increased classical instrumentation, i.e., more horns baby. Can’t wait for this album!
TV on the Radio – “Blues From Down Here” ******************************************************************** SOUTHERN DRAMA PLAY THIS SATURDAY Our favorite local burlesque-cum-Transylvania rockers Southern Drama are playing this Saturday at an art opening on the Eastside at 8:30pm sharp! It promises to be a good time because the ladies have assured us it will be Dia De Los Muertos themed show like the picture up above – spooky (and awesome) stuff! Check the band’s Myspace for more details and check out this little YouTube video they posted below. Southern Drama – “Sour is the Day”
INTERVIEW WITH VIVIAN GIRLS Recently here at Cannibal Cheerleader we had the opportunity to conduct an interview with one of our favorite new bands of the year Vivian Girls. Having not only created a firestorm of press with their sold-out debut and girl-group meets shoegaze sound, the Girls’ star seems to be shining brighter and shooting farther with each passing day as they plan on opening for Sonic Youth this weekend in New York. We caught up with the trio via email and here’s what they had to say:
CC: Describe to us the Vivian Girls story. How did you come together as a group and what spurred you on to create this type of music?
Cassie: Vivian Girls began when me and Frankie (our old drummer) were eating brunch at a Mexican restaurant and decided to start a band. We had a few practices and still needed a bass player, so I asked Katy (one of my best friends from high school) if she wanted to join. Our original goal was to be a fast yet melodic punk band. At one of our early shows someone said we sounded like Black Tambourine – so we checked ‘em out and thought they were sweet. That’s when we added the reverb.
More of the interview printed at the end of this post. Give a listen to a song off the Vivian Girls’ self-titled debut below.
Vivian Girls – “Where Do You Run To” ******************************************************************** VIVIAN GIRLS VIDEOS We’ve only recently come up the Vivian Girls’ blog but it’s the number one source for VG news and videos. Speaking of which, here are two fantastic videos from the blog, reposted here for your viewing pleasure. Check it!
Rad stuff girls! ******************************************************************** RINGO DEATHSTARR REVEAL NEW TUNES One of our favorite local acts Ringo Deathstarr have recently stuck two new tunes (”In Love” and “Summer Time”) up on their Myspace and if they’re any indication of the upcoming material that the shoegazing quartet has in store for us, than this might just be the Austin band of the millennium. Seriously, the riffs on “In Love” are phenomenal and the dream-like quality of “Summer Time” reminds of a fuzz-filled musical heyday. Definitely go over and check them out. They play this Saturday at Emo’s, so don’t miss it!
Ringo Deathstarr – “Down On You” ******************************************************************** VIVIAN GIRLS INTERVIEW CONT’D Here’s the rest of our interview with NYC’s Vivian Girls. Enjoy!
CC: How would you describe your sound? Lots of terms are thrown around, from ‘ramshackle punk’ to ’shoegaze’, from ‘lo-fi’ to ‘girl-group’ and everything in-between. Do people have a hard time pinning you down? How would you categorize your music?
Cassie: I think of our music as a big mashup of everything we’re into – which includes every genre you mentioned above. It seems like people can apply our music to whatever kinda stuff they’re into, cause we’ve been called everything from “street rock” to “singalong twee” (barf) to “short songs that tread into psych and drone.” We’ve also been compared to every band with a female singer ever. On our Myspace we list ourselves as Punk / Shoegaze / Surf and that’s how I’d like to describe our sound.
CC: What’s your artistic process? How do the songs come about and how do you collaborate with each other?
Cassie: Our songs are usually written in one of two ways. Either I’ll write a song by myself and then the rest of a band will fill it out, or someone else writes a bassline and then we all work together on making it a song.
CC: Your sound seems equal parts carefully-crafted and wild and free. How much thought goes into this dynamic? Does this come through live or is it a product of studio-recording? Describe to us a little bit about your live show.
Cassie: It’s definitely a little bit of both. We try to pay a lot of attention to the levels of our reverb and amps and stuff, but none of us are pro musicians. Our live show is sometimes really chaotic because reverb and PA’s don’t get along, but whatever, we always have fun! Katy: We are still working on our live sound. Due to the reverb, sometimes the vocals are too soft.
CC: Your rise to indie-rock fame (whatever that might be) has been pretty meteoric. Your self-titled LP is notorious for selling out its first printing and being sold for hundreds on ebay. At the end of the month you’re opening for Sonic Youth. How do you respond to all the press you’re receiving? What do you attribute the increased attention to?
Katy: I think our success was pretty random. I can’t attribute it to any one thing that we did. We are just really into what we’re doing, and I think other people can pick up on that. Cassie: I think it’s mostly just being at the right place at the right time kinda thing. We never really wanted all this attention but we’re stoked. I don’t think my life has ever been any better. Whenever we read a positive review of ourselves we high five and then go sit in the park and watch dogs. It rules.
CC: What are some of your favorite bands of the moment? What are your influences? What are some of your favorite songs (both songs you listen to and songs you’ve made)?
Cassie: Our favorite current bands are Yellow Fever, Cause Co-Motion, Titus Andronicus, Woods, and Abe Vigoda, to name a few. Our biggest influences are definitely Burt Bacharach and the Wipers and Nirvana and like every good pop song from the 60’s and 70’s. ELO’s “Turn to Stone” and Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour” are two songs I’ve been listening to a lot lately. “Tell The World” and “Never See Me Again” are probably my favorite Vivian Girls songs. Katy: I also love all of those bands. My current favorite songs are “Saturday Night” by the Bay City Rollers and “Make it easy on yourself” by Burt Bacharach. My favorite VG songs are “Surfin’ Away” and “Going Insane”. We only wrote “Surfin’ Away” a month ago.
CC: Is it harder for an all-girl band to make it in today’s indie-rock community? Have you had any difficulties or come into any problems because your group is all female? How do you identify with other all girl groups, like riot grrrls?
Cassie: Riot grrrl, I think was a really important movement at the time and something that needed to happen. At the time the scene was a lot more aggro and male dominated. But from my personal experience of being in an all-female band today, we’ve actually found it surprisingly easy. Even though most of the bands we play with are mostly guys, we’ve encountered little to no sexism at our shows and dealing with people. The only instances in which people like to hate on the fact that we’re women is on certain blogs and message boards, but whatever, we don’t care. That’s why we have an appreciation for the original riot grrrl movement but new riot grrrl bands starting today just seem kinda dated.
CC: Have you as a band ‘made it’? What is it to ‘make it’ as a band? How can one aspire to achieve the sort of fame your band has?
Cassie: I have no idea if we’ve made it or not. I guess by now I’ve achieved a lot of my dreams, which were pretty small to begin with: just stuff like going on tour and putting out a record and having people be into a band I’m in. Things like having our record go on eBay for $100 and openning for Sonic Youth are just cool bonuses. So yeah, I guess I feel like we’ve “made it” but there are a lot of people who view “making it” as having a million dollars and a tour bus and the best gear. I also think that the “fame” we have is a really crazy combination of hard work and luck. Like me and Katy both almost failed our last semester of college cause we were so busy doing Vivian Girls stuff all the time. And we’re really lucky to have so many awesome friends who wanted to put out our records and book sweet shows for us. Katy: “Making it” is definitely a relative term. In my eyes, “making it” as a band is having the ability to do things you want to do. For example, we are starting up a project of recording and releasing our own 7″. This is something that I’ve always wanted to do, and I feel like because there are a number of people out there who are interested in our music, we can finally go ahead and do it without losing tons of money.
CC: The Vivian Girls tour seems near endless – what’s your favorite part about playing on the road? Your least favorite part?
Cassie: Best part about touring, is obviously getting to go everywhere – but not only do you get to travel, you also have automatic friends in every city who know where all the cool stuff is, and you’re at a fun show every night. We are like touring machines. We love it. My least favorite part is sometimes you end up staying at houses with less than desirable sleeping situations, like houses with fleas or houses with only one couch and everyone else has to sleep on a hardwood floor. Katy: I really like that point on tour when you don’t know what day of the week it is anymore, because every night is saturday night.
CC: What’s your fanbase like? How have the crowds at your shows changed as you’ve garnered more press and notoreity? Do you have any plans about what you’re going to play/do when you open for Sonic Youth?
Cassie: Our fanbase is made up primarily of record collectors and hot dudes. Seriously, it rules. It’s hard to say about the crowds at shows because we play so many different kinds of shows. Generally, the shows are the same as always, our friends are always there and it’s awesome. When we open for Sonic Youth we’re just gonna try to slay on our axes as hard as possible. Ya know? Katy: We just played a show this past week, and I noticed that the crowd there was more diverse than usual. It wasn’t just the one group of friends that we are used to, it was a lot of people who didn’t seem to know each other very well. I like bringing people together who might have never met otherwise. Also, I refuse to sleep until I know of at least one couple who met at one of our shows.
MY MORNING JACKET LEAVES US BREATHLESS Last night My Morning Jacket continued their massive Evil Urges tour and brought it all back home to Austin, “Where civilization first began,” according to Jim James. The performance recalled the last time the legendary James Brown swung through Austin before he died and played this same stage at Stubb’s BBQ, though he certainly would have been surprised to know that his heir apparent was a head-banging, wild-hair growing Southern rocker like the boys in MMJ. However, to see Jim James strut across the stage during “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1″ with a cape draped over his shoulders, crooning and shrieking with all the showmanship of the hardest working man in show-business, one can see how he might be mistaken for the soul music legend. The Jacket’s set leaned heavily on the fantastic new Evil Urges LP but included crowd favorites all the way back to the Tennessee Fire. It was truly a night for the old-schoolers and new fans alike, as barn-burners like “War Begun” and “Evelyn Is Not Real” gave way to new standouts like “I’m Amazed” and “Sec Walkin”. The band’s penchant for bringing down the house is storied in the world of live music, but to silence a notoriously restless Austin crowd at the sold-out Stubb’s venue is truly a feat. Even during the drone-worthy exit music of “Dondante” the people surrounding me were rapt with attention, letting the music flow over them in waves while the light show danced spectacularly on Stubb’s giant overhang (pictured below). Some of the best tracks played included the “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2″ which segued into its “Good Intentions” scream then right into a furious guitar-breakdown, an absolutely transcendent version of “Lay Low” that found James’ guitar in hypnotic form, a killer rendition of “Wordless Chorus” where James slid across the stage on his knees in the middle of an elated cry, and the finale of “One Big Holiday”. Ultimately the Jacket’s set was a testament to the power of live rock and roll and an experience not soon forgotten by the likes of Austin’s Southern rock fans. If you have a chance to see the band on their Evil Urges tour, by all means buy tickets well in advance and find yourself directly in front of this amazing act while you still can. Definitely deserving of the moniker ‘the best live band in the world’. My Morning Jacket – “Lay Low” (Live) ******************************************************************** MMJ IN DALLAS VIDEO While the My Morning Jacket performance in Austin certainly wasn’t lacking in brilliance, it did miss out on something the Dallas folks had – Erykah Badu! That’s right, the soul-songstress joined the band on stage for her song “Tyrone” which the band famously covered at their much lauded 2008 Bonnaroo performance. Here’s the video below! Still doesn’t beat out Austin’s version of “Lay Low” though, haha.
******************************************************************** MOUNTAIN GOATS REVEAL NEW EP Straight off the success of their latest LP Heretic Pride, John Darnielle and the rest of his satanic band the Mountain Goats are releasing a tour exclusive EP limited to 666 copies. The double 7″ can be picked up at their shows (the band swings through Austin Nov. 1st) and features four brand new songs. Digital release will be announced later but for now, be prepared for Lovecraft in Austin this fall!
NEW RA RA RIOT VIDEOS Slow news day here at Cannibal Cheerleader, so we leave you for the weekend with videos from one of our favorite bands of the year Ra Ra Riot, whose debut full-length The Rhumb Line dropped this week in stores. We’ve had the LP for a while now and it’s a delicate balance of rambunctious chamber-pop and classic indie-rock with a youthful energy that engages and astounds. Thanks to Stereogum for providing the videos, take a look!
INTERVIEW WITH PONYTAIL Recently, Cannibal Cheerleader had the opportunity to conduct an interview with Ken Seeno of Baltimore’s own Ponytail, a fantastic band whose new album Ice Cream Spiritual is fast becoming one of our favorites of the year. The band’s penchant for wildly inventive riffs, 7-minute strong structures, and legendary live performances has garnered them international acclaim, and now Ken answers a few questions about what ties the Ponytail together.
CC: Describe to us the story of Ponytail, what makes you tick and how you came to be. How did you meet and how did you come up with your band dynamic?
Ken: Well it should be noted that we were put together randomly without having known each other. We all by chance took a class 4 years ago entitled “Parapainting” at the Maryland Institute College of Art. The professor, Jeremy Sigler, is a poet from New York City. It was his concept that everyone in the class should be formed into bands in order to create art groups that would practice alongside the art world. By the second class we had been put together based on first impressions. At the end of the semester we played 1 show and when it was over, we kept going!
Our candid and interesting interview continues at the end of this post. Be sure to check out Ponytail at their Myspace in the meantime!
We are proud to announce that our new album, “Swim”, will be released on Acony records on the 21st of October!!!!
The greatest.
One new song, “Pushing Oars”, has been posted for your listening enjoyment. Unless, of course, you don’t enjoy it, in which case it’s been posted to bum you out.
We have a few upcoming dates posted with Jenny Lewis, and also a Nashville date, the home of our new label! Come visit us, and we’ll post more dates soon..
How are you?
What are you doing?
with love, your friend, morgan xo”
“Pushing Oars” sounds like a lovely, stripped down indie-rock crooner with a country tinge and rainy Northwestern sadness. Definitely a great track and makes our mouths water for Swim in full. Can’t wait until Oct. 21st! Here’s a Whispertown oldie to keep you occupied in the meantime!
Whispertown 2000 – “Intentions” ******************************************************************** TRYOUTS: BLOC PARTY’S INTIMACY Vocoders, electronics, synthesizers, vocal effects. Not necessarily musical terms associated with U.K. powerhouse Bloc Party but definitive additions to their newest LP Intimacy, which dropped last night after only a three-day lead time. It would seem we hardly had time to brace ourselves, to wrap ourselves around the band’s newest incarnation, a Chemical Brothers-referencing byproduct of the Manchester scene. And yet, upon initial examination, Bloc Party have managed to construct an organic world of genuineness and heartfelt emotion from the clicks and whistles of their new electronic front. Beginning track “Ares” is initially off-putting and we’ve all heard “Mercury” a few hundred times up until now, so the album really seems to begin with incredible standout “Halo”, which sounds like the older, wiser cousin of “Helicopter”. The album stays high from there, dipping into a softer territory with “Biko”, reminiscing on a Weekend in the City with “Zepherus”, and forging into new, beautiful territory with “Better Than Heaven”. Overall, Intimacy is an excellent record, though one that requires multiple listens to truly understand its theme of alienation, loss, and loneliness. Definitely makes the team and will probably be that one kid that surprises during competition with a rocking routine despite sitting out all the practices to write in her diary.
Bloc Party – “Halo” Bloc Party – “Better Than Heaven” ******************************************************************** INTERVIEW WITH PONYTAIL (CONT’D) Here’s the rest of our interview with Ken of one of our favorite bands of the year Ponytail. Enjoy!
CC: How would you describe the Ponytail sound? What inspired you to take this really adventurous route with your music? How did you come up with this style?
Ken: It came very organically and naturally stemming back to everyone expressing themselves individually while working together to create “songs” and this is sort of how things just are for us!
CC: What are some of your influences? What bands are you listening to right now? What are some of your favorite songs (both songs you’ve written and songs by other artists)?
Ken: I think our influences come from many genres, like classic rock, punk, electronic music and ambient music. This list of bands could stretch for a very long scroll, so I will spare getting too specific, but I must say that between the 4 of us we have many different influences. Right now I’m listening to a lot of Bill Frisell, Skinhead Ska (mainly this awesome band called Symarip), and Green Day.
CC: What inspired the use of vocals like Molly Siegel’s as an additional instrument rather than a traditional vocal delivery? Why do you sing this way and how in the world did this style come about?
Ken: I of course can’t answer for Molly, but I think it started as a noise that was clustered together with our ex-keyboard players style. Later, when he quit, the guitars and the drums emerged as a platform for experimentation and this is where we are today!
CC: Describe to us your artistic process. How do songs get written in the band, is it the music first, a theme, a riff, vocals?
Ken: I think we take pride in starting with a clean slate. Song writing, for us, can start in many different ways, whether an idea, or just picking a riff out of the air! Ideally, all 4 of us have input and we tailor our parts to specific to our personalities and very fun and challenging to each of us musically. It’s very frustrating and time consuming to write music, but so rewarding!
CC: For the uninitiated, what is your live show like? We’ve all heard unending praise for your performances, how would you describe them to someone who has never had a chance to see you? What goes through your mind when you’re performing?
Ken: We try to always give 100%. It’s very loud, and bouncy, and usually just hope we don’t make too many mistakes! It can be hard to keep it all together, but I really honestly feel that if the world is just right for that half hour we can channel some serious shit!!
CC: What’s it like receiving all this new attention from blogs like Pitchfork? Have you seen your fanbase increase and how do you deal with all the press and notoriety?
Ken: It’s exciting and it creates a lot of work for us! We have so much for to deal with now that we have never experienced. We are learning as we go. I don’t want to complain, so I will say that we are pursuing a dream and it’s hard to believe!
CC: Have you as a band ‘made it’ yet? What is it to ‘make it’ as a band and how can bands achieve the level of success that your band has?
Ken: This is only the second time I’ve been asked this question so I don’t know if I can really answer it adequately. My theory is, if we are in this same place in a year, we’re not progressing. That definition of “same place” is constantly shifting. I don’t want to plateau and I think we have so many goals and opportunities coming up, maybe we have “made it.” But its very subjective and I worry that corruption can occur when things become overblown. I really can’t answer this one! We just do our best and that’s all we can do!
CC: How much improvisation goes into your songs? Does the music flow out naturally or do the tunes take multiple takes and are carefully crafted? Describe to us the recording of Ice Cream Spiritual.
Ken: I never thought about improvisation with this band until people starting asking about it after the record came out. I used to be in a “Jam Band” and we didn’t even practice for shows, haha! So I think, with Ponytail, we do actually do a lot of editing and practicing, but we love to keep elements of uncertainty and ambiguity. I think we are a live band, the sounds you hear are being created live on stage, and that’s how music for is exists and it’s how we record. It seems very basic and traditional to me, haha!
CC: How would you classify yourselves genre-wise? Are you punk? Prog rock? Plain old indie? What genre do you identify with the most?
Ken: I think we used elements of so many genres in a way that can only be called “Pop,” to be honest.
Bonus question: Does it get annoying when people ask if Baltimore really is as tough as it seems on the Wire when you tell people you’re from there?
Ken: Haha, only because I haven’t watched the Wire enough to tell if they are serious orscrewing with us!
Comments? I’m especially eager to hear what people think of the new Bloc Party album! Also a big thanks to Ponytail – come to Austin guys!
EXCLUSIVE CRYSTAL CASTLES REMIX Given that Crystal Castles seems to be partaking in a never-ending tour around the world, one might think it hard to bang out new material in the meantime. Not so according to Andy of Lies Records who just shot us over this exclusive remix by Crystal Castles’ Ethan Kath, the first of its kind from the CC spinster in over 15 months. The song is a reworking of the White Lies‘ single “Death” and it captures all that song’s intensity with a heaping helping of the old Crystal Castles ultraviolence to boot. Word to the wise, White Lies is a UK band that opened for Crystal Castles when they headlined the NME tour. Listen to the remix below.
In other CC news, the band’s next single will be a Crimewave 12” featuring Sinden and the L.A. Riots as well. Lastly, the band will be taking two weeks off of their never-ending tour in September to record demos for the followup to their self-titled debut. This next album will include current live favorite “Yes NO” which we have a video of here.
All of this comes straight from Andy of Lies Records himself, so we know it’s all legit. Serious Crystal Castles developments here, what does everyone think? ******************************************************************** TV ON THE RADIO REVEAL “GOLDEN AGE” It may not be a Sea Change for TV on the Radio, but “Golden Age”, the first single from the band’s upcoming third LP Dear Science, exemplifies what the Brooklyn natives do best – weird, experimental jam sessions that challenge and intrigue with reckless abandon. Here the quintet channel funk and blues with more than a nod to some classic soul. You can hear it over at their official site (takes a moment to load, just wait a second impatient blogsters!). We absolutely cannot wait for this album to drop! ******************************************************************** FUN FUN FUN FEST LINEUP ANNOUNCED Our friends over at the Austinist have been so kind today as to release this year’s lineup for Austin’s own Fun Fun Fun Fest, the little central Texas festival that could. Seriously, F3 always manages to garner huge acts (like last year’s Cat Power and the Murder City Devils, and the year before with the Circle Jerks and Spoon) and this year is no different. Hip hop fans will jam to the likes of Atmosphere and Clipse, hardcore fans will mosh to the sounds of Flipper and the Adolescents, and indie-rock hipsters will nod coolly to the songs of the National and Annuals. No word on a specific time schedule but you can bet just like the last two years we’ll be at this fest.
BLOC PARTY GET INTIMATE In an announcement that dropped jaws and got hips shaking worldwide, London’s own Bloc Party has revealed that their third LP, entitled Intimacy, will drop digitally this very Thursday and be available physically as soon as October. This move, reminiscent of the rush-to-the-streets strategies of the likes of Gnarls Barkley, Radiohead, and the Raconteurs, comes as a supposed result of the ridiculously early leak of the band’s last LP A Weekend in the City (which we hear at Cannibal Cheerleader had at least six months in advance). Here’s the tracklist:
01.Ares 02.Mercury 03.Halo 04.Biko 05.Trojan Horse 06.Signs 07.One Month Off 08.Zephyrus 09.Better Than Heaven 10.Ion Square
Of course we’ve all heard the inimitable “Mercury” and it’s Manchester-scene, vocoder heavy riffing, but in a separate announcement the band placed the as-of-yet unheard “Trojan Horse” on their Myspace today. Care to give a listen? We think it sounds like a more experimental “Prayer”, what do you think?
Bloc Party – “Trojan Horse” ******************************************************************** NEW MY MORNING JACKET VIDEO We here at Cannibal Cheerleader are waiting with bated breath for the August 24th My Morning Jacket here in Austin at Stubb’s, but until then, we’ll be satisfied with a new MMJ video for Evil Urges standout “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream, Pt. 2″. Check it below and stay tuned for pictures and a show review for what promises to be one of the top shows of the year next Sunday! My Morning Jacket – “White Rabbit” ******************************************************************** ANNUALS DROP NEW SINGLE Unsure about all this Sunfold side-project business? Just wish Annuals would get back to the bombast and rapture that characterized their wild, folk-tinged earlier work? Look no further young ones, as the band has revealed their new album Such Fun and it comes out Oct. 7th. Take a listen to first single “Confessor” and tell us the band isn’t back in fine, whimsical, volcanic form. Check it.
INTERVIEW WITH FIGHT BITE Having just tried out Fight Bite’s excellent debut LP Emerald Eyes, we here at Cannibal Cheerleader wondered what the duo of Jeff and Leanne, the wunderkinds behind the band, thought of their creation. So we recently conducted an interview with the group, part of which is printed below:
CC: What is Fight Bite all about? Why this type of music? How did FightBite come to be and what other bands have you each been in?
Fight Bite came to be when I (Leanne) had some songs together that were a bit soft and that didn’t fit in my more raw projects (Snowflakes, C!TR, Rival Gang). I saw Jeff’s band Teenage Symphony and asked him to collaborate. Jeff: Once we started talking about influences, it made perfect sense to work together and I was already a fan of her music in Christian! Teenage Runaway. CC: Describe your artistic process. How do you go about layering allthe sounds on your songs? Where do the lyrics come from? What feelingsare you trying to convey?
Generally either Jeff has chords and a song structure and i add lyrics and melodic pieces or i have a “finished” song that he embellishes and arranges. Unfortunately Jeff sticks me with all of the lyric writing duties. The content is usually based in reality but dramatized for fun.
This is of course, just a sample of the entire interview, more of which can be read at the bottom of this post and the entirety of which can be viewed in our September edition of the Cannibal Cheerleader punk zine. Stay tuned!
Fight Bite – “Strings” ******************************************************************** CRUISERWEIGHT ALBUM OUT OCT. 7th Our favorite Austin pop-punkers Cruiserweight have announced the release-date for their much anticipated followup to the seminal Sweet Weaponry. Big Bold Letters comes out Oct. 7th and the special CD release party will be performed at Emo’s on Oct. 31st, so prepare for a ghoulish celebration that will no doubt feature at least one member of CW8 dressing up as Rocky Balboa. Check out this Cannibal Cheerleader-produced video below and see what I mean!
Cruiserweight – “Vermont” ******************************************************************** PREY FOR SLEEP RETURN TO AUSTIN According to the newest post in the Prey For Sleep Myspace blog, frontman Hunter Townsend and crew have returned from Ohio with brutality accomplished. Check it:
“I’m taking a break from tracking vocals right now to let my voice rest a little before we get back in and double everything and add some tones… this is our last day in the studio, and our last day in Cleveland… I’ll be sad to leave here, that’s for god damn sure. We’ve had an awesome experience hanging out at the HM office and we’ve gotten some solid advice and been pushed a little harder than anyone’s pushed us in the past. I can already see us growing as a band because of this. They probably didn’t know what to make of us for the most part… there’s a vending machine here that they sell Natty Lights from for a dollar a can, and we fucking bought the thing out on the second night of recording. At least we didn’t have to tip! They don’t know how us Texas boys get down. I can’t even begin to describe how happy we are with the recording… everything sounds so fucking solid, so fucking brutal, it’s beyond words. We start driving back at 5 AM tomorrow… Monday night we’re back in Austin! Everybody make sure and check us out on September 4th at Red 7 with The Destro and Bleed The Sky… it’s going to be a fucking great night and we can’t wait to see everybody again and jam in our hometown. We’re playing early, no excuses. Just come out and have some fun with us! Everybody be safe, stay metal, and take care of each other. We’ll see you soon!“
The band’s playing Sept. 7th at Red 7 here in Austin so do not by any means forget to attend this show, or you’ll look like the background for the Cannibal Cheerleader website. You’ve been warned.
******************************************************************** INTERVIEW WITH FIGHT BITE (CONT’D) Here’s more of that Fight Bite interview for you interested blog-readers. Enjoy!
CC: You seem to be getting a lot of press lately from influential blogs like Gorilla vs. Bear and Stereogum. How do you feel about all the new attention? Has it affected the size of your fanbase? When can a band say “they’ve made it”?
It has been unexpected and strange. we never thought the recordings would go farther than our friend’s stereos. we certainly haven’t “made it.” We’re still spending time and money that will never pay off but that’s what musician’s do. Jeff: The attention is definitely nice and has given us more confidence about what we do. It’s been cool to see new faces at our shows and meet new fans.
CC: To expand on the idea of ‘making it’, what’s it like for an independent band in America today? What are you days jobs? How do you reconcile your day-to-day with the need for artistic expression? Is it worth it even when the money’s not rolling in? I (Leanne) work as a freelance photographer. We’re pretty boring people. Music is pretty much what we do outside of work. I wouldn’t be a photographer or a musician if i was looking for a good payday. Jeff: Right now the only job I have is grading SAT essays every now and then. Having a creative oulet like Fight Bite will always be more important to me than finding a a good day job or steady income. When I’ve had full-time jobs, I found that my creative projects suffer because of lack of time or motivation. CC: What bands do you enjoy? What bands influence your music? Do you have any other interests like film or literature?
We have some mutual influences like ABBA, the Carpenters, Wire, and New Order. I (Leanne) am into pretty much everything good from Ruth Etting to Madonna. I (Leanne) am interested in photography, film and stop motion animation. I’m making a music video for Swissex Lover. Jeff: Besides the bands Leanne mentioned, i think we are both influenced by film and music in films.
CC: Describe what making your debut LP was like. Does it include the majority of your song catalogue or do you have other tracks floating around? Describe the time, energy, and expenses that went into it.
We have some stray ones lurking about. The process was pretty slow and painstaking. Some songs have more than 30 layers. we recorded in Jeff’s room onto his 8 track tape recorder. He did all of the mixing. The only expenses were the mastering and printing and the 75 cents it cost Jeff to buy the cassettes we recorded on. Jeff: We spent almost six months recording everything for the album, including several songs we thought didn’t fit Emerald Eyes. Even though it was a lot of intense work, it still ended being up the most fun I’ve had recording.
CC: What message are you trying to convey? Is there a mythos or theme to your music? Your music has been describe as the ‘theme to an unmade Sofia Coppola film’ – how accurate do you feel this description is?
I (Leanne) am into the implicit. Sure, these are all songs describing specific events in my life or feelings that I’ve had, but I’d rather employ some cliches to create a classic universal than speak in tongues and bore everyone with my internal mythology. As for Coppola I take it as a compliment. I’ve never had to buy any of her sound tracks because I already had 90%of the music Jeff: Yes, I think that’s a nice compliment too. I’m drawn to directors like her, david lynch, noah baumbach, and terrence malick because the sound of their films is often just as important as what’s on screen.
CC: What musical genres do you most identify with? Pop’s enthusiasm? Punk’s fierce independence? Shoegaze’s dreamlike quality? Or does your music really have no genre?
I think we identify with pop from the 60’s and 80’s as a model and general influence. Our approach is more or less informed by anything from punk to dance music but those aren’t obvious in this project. Shoegaze is the sort of genre that i can’t quite pin down. I guess that might describe the sissy, emotional, dreamlike qualities in our music. We enjoy a postgenre identity. Anything goes.
Remember, bonus questions will be in the September issue of the CC zine! Order yours by emailing me today! Comments?
RINGO DEATHSTARR UPDATE It’s a weekend update of epic, lovelorn, shoe-gazing proportions, starting off with this post from Austin’s favorite swirly guitar masters Ringo Deathstarr. Here’s there most recent Myspace post:
“this just in…we have been working on new material lately….we are going to start playing it at shows starting now. we also just finished tracking a couple of new tunes that are now in the process of being mixed. thanks to the band JET, mixing has been delayed as computer boy has been kidnapped by them and is being held at the bubble(the recording studio) but i hear they are treating him well. we are trying to get these 2 songs that we have done to be released on 7” vinyl for your pleasure…but in the mean time, we will release them on cassette and CD-R and make them available at shows only until something is worked out. SVC records of course will make these tracks available digitally when the time is right. we have been getting lots of e-mails from our faithful fans that want us to play in their city,, and trust me we want to as well,but due to gas prices and not being on a record label that has lots of money to pay for a tour, we are doing our best to get the hell out of texas. thanks to a deal that southwest airlines had going, we are flying to the east coast for a few days and taking the china town bus to our shows. we are awaiting confirmation on a couple of shows but hopefully we will see yo there! we also finally just filmed a video for sweet girl which will be released sometime next week. we are soon going to film a video for one of the new songs “summertime” (featuring alex on lead vocals).we will egin recording a full length or something very soon as well.“
The band’s next show is August 30th at Emo’s, so you know we’ll be there with bells on. Check out this rad video for the band’s upcoming EP, sounds stellar! Summer Mini Tour
Ringo Deathstarr – “Down On You” ******************************************************************** TRYOUTS: FIGHT BITE’S EMERALD EYES Considering that there are only two members present in the Denton, Texas based fuzz-filled experimental band Fight Bite, it’s astounding just how much depth and layers the songs seem to incorporate. From the waves of passion and synthesizers in instant classic “Swissex Lover” to the melodic keyboard, starry-eyed drum twinkles, and soaring vocals of “Strings”, Emerald Eyes begins and ends as a masterpiece of headphone-heavy, lilting pop music, bringing a delicate touch to a genre recently mired in loud-quiet-loud dynamics. The subtleties of Fight Bite are wistful and unique, as the band refuses to play to either shoegaze tenants or chamber-pop standards, instead electing to combine elements of both into an intimate mix of lonely teenager background tunes and the epic sweep of a hot wind over a cloud-covered field. Reminiscent of the the latest work of M83 in parts, Fight Bite dives deep into the realm of the dreamiest of pop standards and comes across on the other side of the universe with one of the best releases of the year. Definitely makes the team, though it’ll probably just sit in a corner and write in its diary during practice.
Fight Bite – “Spring Rain” Fight Bite – “Strings” ******************************************************************** TRYOUTS: HIGH PLACES’ HIGH PLACES Of all the bands one reads about online, there remains only a select few that eschew standard melodies and pop rhythms so completely as Brooklyn’s High Places, who with their self-titled debut have crafted an intimate realm of whirls, clicks, sounds, and noises that magically combine into, what else, but awe-inspiring music. Beginning with the bang of “The Storm” it becomes clear that High Places is lifting us far away from Kansas and having left our comfort zone the band refuses to let us settle in comfortably. Truly, the ingenuity of the instrumentality of this record is nothing short of astounding, with waterdrops taking the place of drumbeats, rainmakers dipping in and out of the dynamic mix, and light keyboard tapping remaining the only familiar instrument in the bunch. The vocals drift in and out of each verse with the carefree abandon of a flitting hummingbird, though it compliments the drumwork so completely that it seems the perfect marriage of voice and form. The strength of the band’s earlier work 03/07-09/07 lied partly in its penchant for constructing tiny vignettes with song ideas and never overstaying its welcome, and High Places manages to capture the same essence, each track dancing in and swimming out like a bee shooting between sunflowers. Overall, the record stands as a testament to the ingenuity of modern indie-rock, which could stand a facelift every once in a while, and what better way to shake things up than throw out everything we’ve ever known. Definitely makes the team and probably will come up with some wild new cheers that are probably illegal in competition.
Our dearest friends Crystal Castles have just released a video for their single “Crimewave”, featuring a mesh-masked Alice Glass and a lonely zombie. Check it out below.
Sad as we were that one of our favorite acts of the day Be Your Own Pet broke up, we’re happy to report they left behind a trail of death and misadventure to rival the best punk acts of the day, and these videos from their final show ever prove it. Check them out below and godspeed you black-hearted punksters, we hope to see you again soon!
According to Pitchfork and confirmed by visiting the Sad Robots website, our favorite Canadian indie-poppers Stars are releasing a new EP entitled Sad Robots. Tracklist below, featuring five new songs and a live version of “Going Going Gone” off of Nightsongs.
We didn’t post on Thursday for two reasons – one, very slow news day, not much to talk about. But second, we were busy planning our Cannibal Cheerleader protest trip to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Those familiar with us know that we’re first and foremost filmmakers (liberal ones at that) so we’re going to document the events of the RNC protests and bring them back to Texas (see, we’re not all rednecks down here!). We will be out of pocket until next Friday, but tomorrow I plan on writing mini-updates for the rest of next week. Because these will be very bare and pretty unsubstantial updates, next week is being declared ‘Vegetarian Week’ here at Cannibal Cheerleader. Fear not, I shall return with cool videos in tow and what’s more, if I find myself with an internet connection up there I’ll be sure and do a few quick updates. Any comments on this situation? Would anyone prefer I not go? Speak now or hold your peace! See you all in St. Paul!
