ZACH DE LA ROCHA SIDE PROJECT DEBUTS Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine fame is finally debuting a song from his side project One Day As A Lion with former Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore. Named after the infamous graffiti which read “It’s better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand years as a lamb,” the band clearly has retained the radical politics of Rage while providing for a more stripped down drum-and-bass aesthetic. The song “Wild International” is available for listen as the band’s Myspace, check it out.
BODIES OF WATER SAY ‘SORRY FOR SKIPPING TX’ Here’s the latest Myspace bulletin from our friends in Bodies of Water:
“hi guys, there is a lot going on these days. i feel the burn.
we put up a new song on our player called ‘water here’. its from our record that comes out on tuesday.
it’s real fun to put up these songs and have them out into the world and that you guys want to hear them.
thanks.
ALSO, los angeles friends…. we are playing a show tomorrow night at the echo to celebrate the release of this record.
and for our non-la friends, we’ll be touring around the country soon. all the dates are up on our page. im really sorry to texas. i so wish we could be going there this time around. its complicated… you’re right in the middle of the country, gas is so freaking expensive (we’re flying, not driving to the east-coast to do the loop), blah blah blah.
SPEAKING of texas, when we’re there in march for sxsw, we recorded these songs at DAYTROTTER”
507 E. 6TH MYSTERY DEEPENS Reader ‘modern mel‘ posted a comment yesterday about the mysterious 507 E. 6th St. location that Of Montreal will be playing in August. She writes:
“
yeah the club is the place formerly known as ‘bourbon rocks’. i wonder if emos got smart enough and bought that place out. that place is HUGE and has a lot of potential for sure. i know this show will definitely sell out.“
Sounds reasonable, but the Bourbon Rocks website is still running and says their address is 508 E. 6th. Also their online calendar says nothing about an Of Montreal show. Did Bourbon Rocks close without shutting down their website? Has Emo’s bought out this space? Some real investigation will have to take place this weekend, so stay tuned! ********************************************************************
M.I.A. REALLY CALLING IT QUITS? Say it ain’t so M.I.A.! However, if her revamped website is any indication, perhaps the UK via Sri Lanka rapper will be devoting her time to an upcoming clothing line instead of making more tunes. Check it out here and tell us your take on the situation!
******************************************************************** TILLY/BELAIRE/RINGO ALL PLAY THURSDAY An old Austin favorite (Belaire), a new Austin heavyweight (Ringo Deathstarr), and a traveling tapdancing troupe (who else but Tilly and the Wall), all on one stage tonight at Emo’s. Be there or be square!
MARNIE STERN REVEALS NEW ALBUM DETAILS Just when it seems that’s the world’s indie-rock guitarists, content with swirly rhythms and rudimentary string-plucking, Marnie Stern is back to teach these kids how to shred. That’s right, the greatest guitarist of modern indie rock is back with her second album called (bear with me now) This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That and it’s out Oct. 7th on Kill Rock Stars. If this album’s anything like her last effort, In Advance of the Broken Arm, listeners are in for a real tour-de-force of intricate guitarwork, but according to this Pitchfork article Stern’s prodigious instrumental mastery will be worked more fluidly into her song structures, creating perhaps a more pop-oriented album. Fine with us, can’t wait to hear some tracks! Here’s the tracklist:
01 Prime 02 Transformer 03 Shea Stadium 04 Ruler 05 The Crippled Jazzer 06 Steely 07 The Package Is Wrapped 08 Simon Says 09 Vault 10 Clone Cycle 11 Roads? Where We’re Going We Don’t Need Roads 12 The Devil’s in the Details
Marnie Stern – “Precious Metal” ******************************************************************** NEW MODEST MOUSE SONG – “SATELLITE SKIN” Apparently the Modest Mouse crew have been shopping this song called “Satellite Skin” around for a while. Heck, supposedly it’s even going to be on their upcoming as of yet untitled EP. Still, sounds like a real crowd-pleaser and rocks with the same inspired poetry MM is famous for. Check it below.
******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER: VIVIAN GIRLS We’ve been hearing about these girls for a while, from Brooklyn Vegan to Gorilla Vs. Bear and back again, but at Cannibal Cheerleader we usually reserve judgment until we’ve heard a full-length from a band and give them the opportunity to expand a unique sound into a whole album. Well color us impressed because the Vivian Girls more than deliver on their self-titled debut, ripping through ten lo-fi classics that scream equal parts indie rock sing-a-long, wall-of-sound guitarwork, and spacey, surfy atmospherics all around. Clocking in at just over 20 minutes the Girls have a knack for succinctness and directness, never overstaying their welcome but bringing the goods to each and every track. We’ll be watching these ladies closely and hope to have them swing back through the ATX soon!
Vivian Girls – “All The Time” ******************************************************************** WHY? TOUR SWINGS THROUGH AUSTIN An act that’s receiving as much acclaim in my close circle of friends as it is on the blogosphere, WHY? will be swinging back down through Austin on their latest tour. Watch for them on Sept. 8th at Mohawk playing in support of their excellent new LP Alopecia. This is one band that’s definitely going places.
WHY? – “The Hollows” ******************************************************************** BODIES OF WATER HAPPENINGS Bodies of Water just posted a massive Myspace bulletin that explains all the current goings-on of the band. I’ll post the full text below but to summarize: original drummer Jessie Conklin is quitting and will be replaced by two Texans, the band is selling their new LP A Certain Feeling on CD and vinyl, they’re about to begin a continent-covering tour, they’re making a music video, and hey look, free posters! Yikes! That’s a lot to digest, so read the following at your leisure. Let the good times roll you BoW workaholics!
“Hey guys – We recently sent this update out to our email list, but many of you may not be on it. If you’d like to be, send an email to mail@bodiesofwater.net and say that you’d like to be and then you will be.
This is what has been happening to us, and what is about to happen.
There are six things:
1. We have made a record called ‘A Certain Feeling’ that will be available to the public on July 22nd. The Secretly Canadian company is putting it out, and they are offering to sell it to you in advance of the release. They have CDs and vinyl records, and if you buy the vinyl you get a download code so that you can put it on your computer or some other little music playing machine. ALSO, they send you a poster if you buy something. Here is where you go to do it: http://www. scdistribution. com/cat/scd_catalog. php?usersearch=Bodies%20Of%20Water&pagerequest=
2. We are celebrating the release of this record by playing a show at the Echo on Thursday July 17th. Seasons and the Henry Clay People will be joining us that night. It costs 8 dollars, but if you want to only pay 5 dollars, tell us in an email and you will be added to a cheap list.
3. This show on the 17th will, sadly, be the last one that our beloved Jessie will play with us. Why? Because she decided a little while ago that the rock and roll lifestyle was not the kind she wanted to devote herself to. It can be an arduous one, and is certainly not for everyone! We’re, naturally, very sad about this. Her singing, drumming, and personal charms will be sorely missed. Her too-large shoes will be filled for now by two pairs of our friends’ feet; Jamie Pitts will drum to our songs, and Julie Carpenter will sing and play the guitar and violin. They are both from Texas.
4. In a month we are leaving to travel around the nation (and Canada) playing music in certain cities. There is a little map attached to this that shows you where and when we’ll be in those certain cities. We will try to put on a good show in all of them – it is important to us that people feel that they get their money’s worth. I am serious about this.
5. If you live in Los Angeles, it will be fun for you to look at the current issue of the L.A. Record magazine. There is a large poster in it depicting us pretending to be the Talking Heads. Have you seen the record ‘More Songs About Building & Food?’ We imitated it. I attached a picture of the poster to this bulletin so that you can look at how it is. The real poster is more monumental – it is 2 ft x 3 ft. The guy from L.A. Record took photos of us, and David collaged them together. There is an interview and some other pictures of us in there, too. It is free, so you WILL get your money’s worth if you seek this thing out.
6. We are in the midst of making a music video. I don’t know why I’m even telling you about this. It won’t be done for a while – You’ll see it when you see it. Anyhow, we will be cramming it through that tiny “pipeline” into your home or place of business via youtube and stuff. The themes of this video are: violence, dogs, nature, supernature, architecture, and lye. I know you are thinking “Great, another lye-themed video. Why do they even bother?” And I know what you mean; sometimes I ask myself the same thing.
EXTRA – We’re probably going to play in England, Germany, and France in October. We will pass along more details as we learn them.
We’re introducing a new feature here at Cannibal Cheerleader called ‘Tryouts’ where we get an album before its released and pre-evaluate it to see if the LP ‘makes the team’. Today we’ve got a trio of new entries so let’s start with LA’s Bodies of Water, a much-blogged about four-piece of much-lauded instrumentation and modernist leanings. Let me just say, if you buy one album of nature poetry and bizarre string parts let it be A Certain Feeling, because everything that might have annoyed you about the band’s earlier works have been thankfully wiped aside on this new release. The vocals are crisper, the music is more rock-oriented, and the band overall has finally come into their Arcade Fire-y own, complete with sing-a-long choruses and distorted guitars enough to give even the most jaded of record reviewers the urge to nod their heads to the beat. For all the pseudo-religious, hippie-collective vibes you get from Bodies of Water, there’s still no criticism you can mount against an excellent crunchy guitar solo. This one definitely makes the team! Check out the first track from the album below.
******************************************************************** TRYOUTS – SUNFOLD’s TOY TUGBOATS
So, when other bands change lead singers on different songs they still retain the same name, even when the whole musical style of the band seems to change (Doherty’s introspective croon to Barat’s rockstar rage anyone?). Regardless, when North Carolina’s Annuals change lead singer the band they feel the need to rename the band for the time being to Sunfold. A strange move maybe but the music on the band’s debut LP Toy Tugboats doesn’t seem to suffer any for it – the music may be a little more rocky a little less folky, and Kenny Florence sings a lot like Circa Survive’s Anthony Green, but the band still seems to bounce along like some indie-rock dream come true. Sunfold is yet another one of those bands where you can imagine some lucky kid in Nowhere, Texas downloading a track and having his life changed forever (for me that band was Death Cab, go figure). What Sunfold lacks in the bombast of Annuals’ big sweeping choruses it makes up for in intricate string parts and country-tinged authenticity. Basically if you liked Annuals you’ll like this, and if you like indie-rock you’ve of course already fallen in love with Annuals. Enough said, makes the team. Here’s the first track from Sunfold’s Toy Tugboats.
******************************************************************** TRYOUTS – TILLY AND THE WALL’s O Damn you Tilly and the Wall. Damn you for crafting such poised and perfect indie-rock, familiar but different every time with that same lost romantic tinge that appeals to us lonely rocker boys so freaking much. Yes, Tilly and co’s new LP O (named after the blank circle that will decorate the album’s cover and is meant to be filled with the buyer’s own artwork) brings back the none-too outworn cute-rock formula, combining lilting female vocals, tap-dancer’s shoes instead of proper percussion, and this go around an extra helping of distorted guitarwork and some definite angst-ridden attitude. The youthful naivete CC has so lauded in favorites like Be Your Own Pet is definitely present on Tilly and the Wall’s O and the sound is better and braver for it, matching youthful rage with the bizarre combination of foot-stomps, guitar warbles, piano keys, and the odd horn section here and there. If you’re interested in being happy at some point in your indie-rock appreciation, I invite you to get into Tilly and the Wall. Makes the team and is sure to win the popularity contest. Check out the first track from O below.
Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine fame is finally debuting a song from his side project One Day As A Lion with former Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore. Named after the infamous graffiti which read “It’s better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand years as a lamb,” the band clearly has retained the radical politics of Rage while providing for a more stripped down drum-and-bass aesthetic. The song “Wild International” is available for listen as the band’s Myspace, check it out.
Here’s the latest Myspace bulletin from our friends in Bodies of Water:
Reader ‘modern mel‘ posted a comment yesterday about the mysterious 507 E. 6th St. location that Of Montreal will be playing in August. She writes:
Say it ain’t so M.I.A.! However, if her revamped website is any indication, perhaps the UK via Sri Lanka rapper will be devoting her time to an upcoming clothing line instead of making more tunes. Check it out here and tell us your take on the situation!
An old Austin favorite (Belaire), a new Austin heavyweight (Ringo Deathstarr), and a traveling tapdancing troupe (who else but Tilly and the Wall), all on one stage tonight at Emo’s. Be there or be square!
