NEW CRYSTAL CASTLES REMIX VIDEO Here’s a new video from Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Crystal Castles for their remix of White Lies‘ “Death” off the latter’s To Lose My Life… LP which leaked on this site way back in the day over here. A bizarre and psychedelic dark journey through a suburban teenager’s adolescence, the video churns and lumbers forward on the back of E. Kath’s driving basslines – definitely a video worth watching, check it below!
Crystal Castles – “Death (White Lies Remix)” ******************************************************************** WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM LIVE IN AUSTIN A night of black metal mayhem and mind-blowing muscianship (check for Norwegian in-jokes there) last night at Emo’s here in Austin with Wolves in the Throne Room leading a killer lineup that also included Neurosis’ heir apparent A Storm of Light and Atx’s own the Roller. The Roller kicked off the night with a banshee-screaming bang, pummeling through several barn-burning odes to blackened death metal with a Southern edge, screaming of equal parts Eyehategod and Venom, with drone-infusions bleeding into inflections of guitar-shredding classicism. Featuring a brand new bassist, the Roller seem poised to explode outside the Austin scene and onto the black metal market. A Storm of Light followed, featuring a sound-mix loud enough to seep between one’s ribs and rip the air out of the lungs within. As visuals of a giant sea-creatures and wrecked vessels sinking into the black ocean projected behind the three-piece, the massive boom of the band, coupled with their extreme stage presence and fierce instrumentation, recalled images of noise-era Swans or early Neurosis, unrelenting in its massive, morose spectacle. Indeed, the band featured female vocal stylings (care of a laptop) from none other than Jarboe of Swans fame, and when the lead guitarist of Wolves in the Throne Room hopped onstage for a song, the collaborative nature of the band became even more apparent. Overall, an incredibly tough act to follow. Wolves in the Throne Room took to the stage next very slowly, lighting candles around the drum kit and tinkering with their tuning all in full view of a near-capacity crowd. Not known for their low-register bass work, WITTR sounded unbelievably shrill and fierce in their mid-range pitch after the heavy doom inflections of ASOF. Nonetheless, after a few songs the band truly stepped into their own, allowing subtle melodies and shocking changeups to carry the churning swell of their music to their darkest heights. Halfway through their set the band, absolutely soaked with sweat, found a transcendant chord in their guitar-work, combining a shoegaze atmosphere with a deep and dreadful sense of horror, the acidic lead vocals slicing a bloody path through the middle of the cloud of thunderous sound. Collapsing in a literal heap as their set wound to a close, the band did not play an encore, their reign already cemented over the room full of adoring fans. These guys will be playing again in Austin in July – you can count on Cannibal Cheerleader being there with bells on. Wolves in the Throne Room – “Vastness and Sorrow” ******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER: THE AXONS Lots of great finds this week at Cannibal Cheerleader, beginning with the Axons, a Zombies-infused bedroom pop trio right here out of Austin, Texas who boast a signature sound that’s equal parts fresh cuts of psychedelia and classic-rock British invasion. Discovering this group at a recent art-gallery after party at a sleezy downtown bar, the band seemed poised to blow every other act out of the water with their simple template and pitch-perfect execution. What the Strokes did to the Velvet Underground and Vampire Weekend did to Graceland, the Axons, led by the inimitable Merritt Fields does to the Kinks. Check out the mp3 and a few videos from the show below!
The Axons – “A Falconer’s Lament” ******************************************************************** UME KICK OFF MASSIVE TOUR Cannibal Cheerleader local-faves Ume are beginning a trek across the the Northeast, winding back down to the Southern states all this June. Check out the rad poster above for this completely rad and underappreicated fuzz-rock trio. Definitely pick up their Sunshowers EP if you haven’t already, it’s one of our favorites of the year so far!
Ume – “Sunshower” ******************************************************************** NEW JEMINA PEARL TRACKS Seems as if all that posting on Puke Til You Punk wasn’t just blowing (puking) steam – Jemina Pearl of the inimitable and sadly departed Be Your Own Pet has been busy and she’s got a trio of new tracks that’re just begging to be eaten alive. Featuring the same tried and true vocal stylings that propelled BYOP through today’s punk rock muck and mire, the new solo material seems cleaner and more headphone-oriented, with sing-songy lyrics and a summery, care-free vibe. A different approach to the solo career than we expected Pearl to take (less blood and guts, more dance parties and bedroom casettes) but we can’t help but be excited for a Jemina pop album. Anyone got the mp3s? We ask because for now the tracks are only streaming over at the JP Myspace. Check it out!
Jemina Pearl – “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker (feat. Thurston Moore)” ******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER: DIAL Another awesome find, this time care of the cats of Brooklyn Vegan – DIAL, a trio from New Zealand, pack a wallop of a grindcore-influenced, experimentally edged, female vocalizing hardcore with a nod towards the more math-rock side of the metal music scene. With the recent announcement of personal favorite Robotic Empire rereleasing the band’s self-titled EP, interest has skyrocketed in a band whose main hook include a woman screaming ‘THE MASS GRAVE!’ at the top of her lungs. More power to this completely wicked, shrill, and venomous rock act. Makes us want to revisit our grindcore days in force.
DIAL – “Always at the Border” ******************************************************************** MARS VOLTA REVEAL OCTAHEDRON When Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, lead guitarist of prog-rock powerhouse and wildly imaginative musical extravaganza the Mars Volta, stated that the band’s new album Octahedron would be their “acoustic” album, one must’ve realized the news had to be taken with a grain of salt. Sure the album contains some slower, more ‘Pink Floyd/Yes’-influenced sweeps of grandeur, though from the band who crafted “Televators” and “The Widow” this shouldn’t come as a surprise. The novelty instead exists in the undercurrent of serenity to the album, a psychedelic dip into a sensory-deprivation chamber rather than a furiously frightening acid trip gone wonderfully wrong like in the Bedlam in Goliath. Which isn’t to say the album doesn’t have its rockers – tracks like “Cotopaxi” would give even the likes of “Drunkship of Lanterns” a run for their money as a soon-to-be fan favorite and even “Luciforms” has a level of monstrous energy that propels its melody along. On the whole however, the flow of the songs from one into the next create an air of purpose and message, not the disparateness of past works by the Volta, and in doing so the band has created without a doubt their most accessible, and in some ways one of their most enjoyable works yet. Awesome stuff, check it below.
The Mars Volta – “Desperate Graves” The Mars Volta – “Teflon” ******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER: IWRESTLEDABEARONCE Our grindcore itch has been getting out of hand recently, and seeing as this group was recently reviewed in our favorite magazine ever – we’re of course talking about Fangoria – we had to check Iwrestledabearonce out (if only for their completely awesome name). With a blazingly original sound that combines electronic-experimentation, guitar-shredding breakdowns, and equal-part shriek/sing female vocals, IWABO meets all the prerequisites for being one of Cannibal Cheerleader’s favorite new bands. To hear it is to understand it so we recommend you click the video below and download some of the following tracks with great haste – warning, may melt face. PS. Avoid the hipster accusations; nobody likes a scenester and frankly, if you’re a grindcore scenester I think that means we can legally kill you.
Iwrestledabearonce – “Danger in the Manger” Iwrestledabearonce – “See You In Shell” ******************************************************************** NEW AGENT RIBBONS INTERVIEW VIDEO Here’s a wonderful little interview video from the ladies in Agent Ribbons that we had to plug if only for their adorable red hair color. The ladies are reveal their upcoming work on their second album and what the future holds for the band. Oh ladies, steal me away…
Agent Ribbons – “Obituary” ******************************************************************** (OLD) BAND CHEER: AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED Sometimes we here at Cannibal Cheerleader get to the party late, and that’s certainly the case when it comes to one of our favorite new (i.e. new to us) acts, the monolithic, infamous grindcore band Agoraphobic Nosebleed. This fearsome foursome has been around for quite some time apparently in different forms though the band’s newest release Agorapocalypse includes Kat from personal favorite Salome, which is how we stumbled across this band to begin with. If you haven’t heard of this absolutely pummeling grindcore act you owe it to yourself to check it out – and if you’re a longtime fan, the new LP deserves a re-listen immediately. This band kills indiscriminately, employing three different vocalists and a blazing cavalcade of guitars and drum machines behind the haunting wails and spitfire vocal assault. Seriously, get on this n-o-w.
Agoraphobic Nosebleed – “First National Stem Cell and Clone” Agoraphobic Nosebleed – “Trauma Queen” ******************************************************************** BUSDRIVER REVEALS JHELLI BEAM We here at Cannibal Cheerleader fondly remember our halcyon days of underground rap obsession, backpacker allegiance and Cannibal Ox worship, and one of our top acts of yesteryear Busdriver has just burst back onto the scene with his latest opus, Jhelli Beam, a return to form for an artist whose Roadkill Overcoat, while containing superior wordplay sacrificed his more abstract tendencies for pop listenability. The fourteen tracks that make up the motor-mouth rapper’s newest LP not only delight in experimentation but embrace it with force, with bizarre feed-back loops darting behind the fever-dream lyricism Busdriver has become known for. One of our favorite releases of the year so far, bar none. Definitely check out a few of the mp3s below and let us know what you think!
Busdriver – “Handfuls of Sky” Busdriver – “Least Favorite Rapper (feat. Nocando)” ******************************************************************** STREAM NOUVELLE VAGUE’S NV3 To wrap up this massive update head on over to Nouvelle Vague’s Myspace page and give a listen to their excellent third collection of French-noir-film inspired covers. This time the list of covered artists seems even more far-reaching, including Depeche Mode, the Sex Pistols, and even the Violent Femmes. Definitely shoot on over.
PONYTAIL LIVE IN AUSTIN Wonderful week of live shows here at Cannibal Cheerleader with one of our personal favorites Ponytail from Baltimore absolutely wrecking shop at Red 7 last night. A completely amped up crowd mobbed the front of the stage from song one and given that the quartet never let the energy-level drop below ‘blazingly electric’ the enthusiasm ripped the night in half. Much is written about the vocal stylings of Molly, Ponytail’s lead vocalist, but it was her backing band that stole the show, with churning guitar lines seamlessly converging into dueling spidery solos, all backed by the furious assault of the drummer who left his seat on more than one occasion with reckless abandon, wailing on his drums like he was beating back hellfire. Playing through classics old and new, including personal CC favorite “Late For School” (yay!) the band cemented their reputation as not just another instrumental band but a indie-rock powerhouse with enough energy to power a small city into the new millennium and beyond. Fantastic set. . Ponytail – “Celebrate the Body Electric (It Came From An Angel)” ******************************************************************** NEW AGENT RIBBONS 7″ Our friends in Agent Ribbons have been busy bees lately, what with opening up for Camera Obscura and picking up Naomi Cherie from the sorely departed Southern Drama all in the last few months. And now the California trio, on top of eberything, have sneaked in time to record a fantastic new 7″ entitled Your Love is the Smallest Doll, and it combines the lyrical whimsy and vaudevillian stylings of earlier recordings with a more fleshed-out sound care of Cherie’s string section. Featuring some of the group’s most infectious tunes, this EP comes highly recommended, if only for the title track’s vocal harmonies and liberal usage of toy piano. Agent Ribbons – “Your Love is the Smallest Doll” ******************************************************************** PULL IN EMERGENCY TO RECORD FULL-LENGTH Here’s the word from Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Pull In Emergency via the band’s Myspace:
” we’ve been a bit quite recently mainly because of the ol GCSEs/ A Levels so this is just an update.during the summer we’re going to be recording our debut album… and hopefully doing lots of gigs and stuff, underage is going to be sickkkkwe think the albums going to be out in February/ March of 2010, we’re going to New York in December for some gigs in Manhattan and Brookyln all in all, sorry for being quiet recently, but this summer is going to be intense…PIE.xxxxx“
New Pull In Emergency album? Sign us up immediately. If we hear anything we’ll be sure and alert the CC faithful first!
Pull In Emergency – “Planes” ******************************************************************** NEW ACTION DESIGN VIDEO Lots of news in the Action Design department, as the band is currently flying about the country on a new tour and will be touching down in Austin on May 25th. Not only that but the band has a new video forthcoming for standout single “Landmines” and we have the ‘pre-video video’ here to prove it. Check it out below!
The Action Design – “Move On” ******************************************************************** NEW HEARTSREVOLUTION VIDEO Been a while since we sat down with the Heartsrevolution crew but the duo of Lo and Ben have been getting a lot of press recently, what with their inclusion on Gossip Girl (quite a soundtrack that show) and being given the Kitsune Maison nod. Now the group has a new video for a song entitled “The Rose and Her Prince”. A much for downbeat tune for the group but a welcome experimentation for such an interesting band. Can’t for the life of me figure how to embed this but check it out here.
Heartsrevolution – “Ultraviolence” ******************************************************************** HAPPY BIRTHDAY May 22nd is JB’s birthday! If you see him celebrating with cheap beer and expensive cigars tomorrow night at his favorite Austin hangout (Crown & Anchor Bar) holler at him and he’ll give you a sticker or a zine!
Don’t mean to post two Lissy Trullie updates in a row, but the NYC starlets have a new video up on their Myspace. It’s an EPK for their “Boy Boy” single and it features some pretty sweet live footage and behind the scenes looks so it’s definitely worth checking out. The Self-Taught Learner EP is shaping up to be one of our favorite releases of the year so far!
Well, is it better? Is Grey Britain worse? Does it boast the same vitriolic level of carnage and bloodshed as Orchestra of Wolves. Cleaner production and a major label may have made the riffs sharper and Frank Carter’s lyrics a little less muddled, but UK hardcore act Gallows still retain their passionate and heartfelt desire to shred faces on both sides of the pond. Listen to a few tracks below and offer your verdict!
Things are looking up for Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Agent Ribbons who will be playing a string of dates opening for Camera Obscura, who recently named the band one of their favorite new bands! Exciting times for AR, check out the dates on their Myspace and watch a video from their performance at this year’s Cannibal Cheerleader SXSW Blood Bath below!
News leaks as a snail’s pace out of the Converge camp when it comes to any new material from the band, but this time around it looks as if the Boston-based hardcore quartet will be keeping fans up to date with every step of the recording of the new album via their Twitter page. Seems like everyone is on Twitter these days. Here’s hoping for a repeat of the majesty that was No Heroes.
Dance-rock megastars the Sounds have posted the first single “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake” from their upcoming album Crossing the Rubicon (out June 2nd) as well as a tracklist which you can check out below. Sounds like Sounds to us, classic stuff people. Check it out at their Myspace.
1. No One Sleeps When I’m Awake 2. 4 Songs & A Fight 3. My Lover 4. Dorchester Hotel 5. Beatbox 6. Underground 7. Crossing The Rubicon 8. Midnight Sun 9. Lost In Love 10. The Only Ones 11. Home Is Where Your Heart Is 12. Goodnight Freddy
Pounding out the riffs with a stampede of fury, Austin’s own Prey For Sleep definitely woke up fans midway through the Cannibal Cheerleader Blood Bath SXSW day party last week. Featuring songs from their debut LP as well as their extremely limited Forever Dies Today EP, PFS shook the walls and almost collapsed the chandeliers of the tiny Peacock bar.
A long-time Cannibal Cheerleader favorite, Prey For Sleep has a new guitarist who seems to be injecting a new life into the band who are steadfast in their Southern metal conquest. With a lengthy May and June Texas tour planned, one can be assured that this quintet is about to blast off to new heights (or sink to new fiery depths, whatever your pleasure). Check it:
In the wake of the much missed Southern Drama comes Naomi Cherie’s new band, joining forces with California act Agent Ribbons to continue her Vaudevillian-punk leanings with wildly imaginative song structure mixed bare-bones style blues instrumentation (one guitar, one drumkit, and now one violin!). Slicing and dicing their way through economical tracks of rock via way of performance art, the group astounded the Peacock audience at the Cannibal Cheerleader Blood Bath.
The band also played to promote their new Lucy the Poodle Magazine, an enthralling look at Austin’s booming music scene. And who could that be writing the cover story about Cannibal Cheerleader favorites Death is Not a Joyride? Why it’s none other than CC contributor JB! So check it out here and grab a copy after watching these sweet Agent Ribbons videos below.
Rounding out the SXSW week with a day at Auditorium Shores has become a tradition of ours here at Cannibal Cheerleader, and what better way to end it than with a performance by one of Texas most treasured artists, Erykah Badu. Only, the show clearly didn’t go as planned.
Badu and her backing band/producing group the Cannabinoids were supposed to go on around 7pm and at around 7:10 the DJs hop on stage and start spinning intro music, introducing each other at length and trying (rather unsuccessfully) to warm up a crowd who were set to hear the Dallas songstress. And thus we waited and waited, and after about thirty minutes of tape loops the band casually wanders offstage, yelling “We’ll be back Austin!” as if that was the entirety of the performance, no Badu in sight. Suddenly an announcer booms over the PA, stating that ‘Erykah Badu has travel issues’, which makes the crowd erupt into a resounding ‘boo’.
With her perfomance clearly shelved we prepared ourselves for Explosions in the Sky. However, much to our surprise 15 minutes later who wanders onstage but the immitable Miss Badu, signature hair braided long all the way down her back. She quickly introduces herself and hops into a killer rendition of “The Healer” which then bounces into a rocking take on “Danger”, after which the singer quickly skirts off the stage, her set cut short by time constrictions caused by her travel issues obviously. While the set was short it was nonetheless sweet and extremely passionate – here’s hoping Erykah Badu swings back through Austin ASAP.
Explosions in the Sky suffered a different set of problems, though nothing to do with lateness. It seems as if the local post-rock quartet was suffering from serious sound issues, a point made clear across the audience all night (and the blogosphere afterwards). Guitars would cut out randomly and the sound barely carried off the stage, leaving those at a distance to wonder why there wasn’t better sound provided for the Auditorium Shores stage. Still, the band, focusing heavily on newer tracks, managed to absolutely destroy their set, reeling and wheeling around chords and guitar lines in an awe-inspiring display. Definitely a site to behold, only next time in a different locale!
We here at Cannibal Cheerleader are well-known for our doom-metal obsession, thus it has been with extreme excitement that we’ve awaited the release of the new Isis album Wavering Radiant, and it does not dissapoint. Returing to the churning formula of Panopticon while keeping the indie-inflection of The Absence of Truth, Isis have crafted yet another masterful rendition of sonorous, stretching, and seething metal music, with plenty to like for all fans. Definitely worthy of a listen, check it below:
Rounding out the week with a little bit more Treasure Mammal news, the Phoenix artist just released a new split 7″ with the Numerators featuring his absolute jammer “Spring Break” as well as “Amethyst”. Definitely worth the buy if only for the Cholos in the bathtub artwork up there. “Spring Break” is one of our favorite party-starters of all time, featuring all the charm and wit of T. Mammal crammed into one pop extravaganza (and to what other track do you get to scream the lyric “Johnny Cochran… you’re dead!”). So head on over to the Mammal’s Myspace and grab that sucker ASAP y’all!
That about finishes our content for the Cannibal Cheerleader Blood Bath. It was an incredible party and everything we hoped it would be. Thanks so much to the bands, to everyone who helped out (the Peacock, Ramon Ramirez for the killer sound, Allison Bright for the wonderful pictures), and most of all thanks to anyone who came and had a good time. Kudos to you people, you make writing this site worth it, so keep reading and tell all your friends to join the cult of Cannibal Cheerleader!
CANNIBAL CHEERLEADER BLOOD BATH SET TIMES That’s right folks, the Cannibal Cheerleader Blood Bath, SXSW Day Party is approaching quickly and if you’re not going to be at the Peacock, 515 Pedernales in Austin, Texas this Wednesday March 18th, 12-6pm, you can rest assured you will be torn apart mercilessly. Above you’ll see our sign for the day show and below you’ll find the set times and the top ten reasons to attend the Blood Bath.
PS. It has come to our attention that the Peacock is now allowing everyone 18+ to attend the event, so if you’re over 18 but under 21 you can attend but not drink. Spread the word!
Top ten reasons to go to the Cannibal Cheerleader Blood Bath:
10. Vermillion Lies leaves to go support Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls after SXSW – Don’t you want to tell your friends you got in before they were big??
9. Treasure Mammal is a hip-hop/experimental artist and motivational speaker and in a live setting that’s every bit as cool as it sounds.
8. Agent Ribbons play Victorian punk – they didn’t even have punk back then but it would’ve been as badass as this, no doubt.
7. Prey For Sleep are following an indie punk band, so we hope a few clueless hipsters will get their faces literally ripped off for cool effect.
6. Action Design = former members of Tsunami Bomb, need we say more?
5. Whispertown 2000, the only folk-rock band with enough cajones to play the same stage as metal acts – seriously bloody indie rock.
4. First ever Rolo Tomassi performance in the United States! FIRST EVER!!
3. Issue #3 of the Cannibal Cheerleader zine available at our merch table, along with CC stickers and possible a Marnie-Stern-style kissing booth!
2. Meet your friendly Cannibal Cheerleader staff, who are way cooler than your average Austinites and can show you a better time in the ATX than 90% of these outside blogs/parties.
1. BLOOD, GUTS, AND GORE. LOTS OF IT. SERIOUSLY, FOUNTAINS.
Be there people, or be torn apart mercilessly. Rolo Tomassi – “Fofteen” ******************************************************************** NEW MF DOOM ALBUM All past transgressions are hereby forgiven, all the rumors, the poorly received live performances, it’s all in the past now that Atlanta emcee MF Doom (now apparently called DOOM, all caps son) has released BORN LIKE THIS. Seriously folks, this may just be the most consistently enjoyable Doom record since Madvillainy, and it features many of the same attributes, that is, short songs with atypical song structures and incredibly clever (not to mention extremely ill) wordplay and rhyming skills. MF Doom is back in fine form, rapping about the state of the hip-hop community, politics, and comic book characters, all in his trademark mush-mouthed, stream-of-conciousness flow. This, plus the sickest J-Dilla and MetalFingers beats this side of the Mississippi, combining bizarre instrumentation with fierce bass beats. Seriously, best hip-hop release of the year so far, no doubt at all. Definitely worth picking up and enough to put all the ’sucka emcees’ in their place, as Doom would say. Sometimes, the king of the world is also the biggest villain, check out some tracks below:
(deleted by request) ******************************************************************** BLOC PARTY ANNOUNCE REMIX ALBUM According to this Stereogum post, Bloc Party will be releasing an Intimacy remix album (Intimacy Remixed) in May, mirroring their lauded Silent Alarm Remixed from back in the day. They’ve got some seriously heavy-weight remix artists contributing such as Mogwai and Phones so we’ll be looking forward to this one with great anticipation. Here is the (terrifyingly awesome and fittingly Cannibal Cheerleader) video for first single, the remix of standout track “Signs”. Definitely worth checking out, though to correct the Stereogum album that said there were no ancillary releases to A Weekend in the City – did you never get the b-side compilation album Another Weekend in the City? You’re missing out if you’ve never heard “Once and Future King”! Check it y’all:
The party takes place Wed. March 18th at the Peacock (515 Pedernales) from 12 to 5pm. We’re still working on beer sponsors and drinks, but free beverages will probably be available for some of the first attendees (and hey, $2 Lone Stars all day anyway so can’t go wrong there). More details as they come but get ready folks!
We’re introducing a new feature here at Cannibal Cheerleader called Piece By Piece where we review an upcoming album track by track. This’ll be reserved for the records we’re absolutely floored by and what better album to start off with than the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs LP It’s Blitz!
1. “Zero”
Album opener “Zero” sets the tone for It’s Blitz! early on, featuring the same sexy, bloody, ferocious Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ lyrics we’re familiar with but with the added effects of layered electronics care of Nick Zinner’s vintage synth-work. Karen O’s voice is featured prominently in the mix, simaltaneously sweaty and sultry when she belts out the high notes in the bridge while still hushed and passionate when she dives into the meat of the song. The whole tune builds to a fiery finish, equal parts dancey and rock and roll, a definitively YYY experience but wholly different from anything else the band has done before.
2. “Heads Will Roll”
Beginning with soft, dreamy electronic warbles, “Heads Will Roll” quickly gains steam when Karen O’s vocals begin (”Off with you’re head!”) and Brian Chase’s drumline crackles behind the textured synths. Sounding like a combination of an Italians Do It Better alumni and a new-rave disco act, YYY have managed to take their fiery carnage to an entirely different level, combining churning dance rhythms, 80s electronics, and their signature rip-roaring guitars to massive art-rock effect. When KO shrieks “Dance ’til you’re dead!” under a mountain of swirling synths one can’t help but feel the band is back in rare form with this song. Plus c’mon “glitter on the wet streets” – pure awesomeness.
3. “Soft Shock”
The first of many left-turns on this album, the song begins with the soft-tinging of a toy xylophone and KOs soft, wordless croon. As more drums and a snakey-guitar line are added, the song stays in a low register, a fiery intensity burning underneath the surface, a sound the title of the song encapsulates perfectly. Karen O sounds wounded and pained when she begs “leave me out” and her voice never rises above a murmer, spiking only as she begs the song to soar “louder, lips speak louder”. The track builds to a passionate close of chunky guitar lines cascading over warm synths and Chase’s steady beat. A fantastic and unique track that pulls its listener further into the album’s haunting little world.
4. “Skeletons”
Perhaps one of the most adventurous and inventive tracks the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have ever produced, “Skeletons” features hushed vintage synthesizers dashing back and forth over a sparse piano line and KO’s wounded voice poetically begging “love don’t cry/skeleton me”. The track slowly adds drum-clicks and a distant keyboard line, but never rises to rage and riot, instead containing its feriocity in the lyrics and KO’s pained lyrics. The track truly is a triumph for YYY, breaking them completely out of their comfort zone of up-against-the-wall punk to a dreamy art-rock slow burner, sounding at times almost shoegazey with thin layers wafting and drifting over each other with each passing second. The song stretches past the five-minute mark, but when it ends you’re not ready for it to be over.
5. “Dull Life”
One of our most anticipated tracks from the album (due in no small part to the YouTube video below) “Dull Life” does more than simply meet expectations: it soars, astounding with its bombastic rhythms and wailing vocals. Starting with a patented Zinner guitar-pluck, KO softly murmers the intro for bursting into her own, followed closely by her cohorts who churn up the music accordingly. Shrieking and raging about personal ennui and situationist philosophy (layers upon layers of “oh my sooooooul!”) the YYYs burn down the house with this one, ripping and roaring through line after line of this brilliant tune. Even when the song dips its volume down into the low registers near its final breakdown, the intensity still grabs the listener by the throat, throttling with ferocious undercurrents. A standout track and one of the best YYY tunes ever.
6. “Shame and Fortune”
A return to a dancier format with this track as Karen O’s voice echoes over maracas and a distorted guitar line that powers the song alone with reckless abandon. Featuring a killer guitar riff care of Zinner, save for electronic layerings this song most resembles a classic YYY rocker, with KO wailing about “all fortune on the floor” and interspersing her cavalier growls and cries throughout the last minute of the song, which slowly lilts down to nothingness as the album wraps up.
7. “Runaway”
Another hard-left turn as “Runaway” begins with a strikingly stark and simplistic piano line which expands only slightly as Karen O begins panting lovelorn lyrics of loss and escape over the tender notes. A smooth electronic whoosh slowly rises from the background in the second verse, and chimes dance in the background as faraway synths swirl and explode behind KO. The track builds slowly in intensity, feeling like a night-drive on a dusty road carrying one into the distance and the sun is slowly beginning to rise as the song comes to a close. As the longest song on the album “Runaway” nonetheless doesn’t overstay its welcome, remaining haunting and passionate until the end.
8. “Dragon Queen”
Without a doubt the danciest song on the album, featuring a synth-line seemingly snatched straight from late-70s NY loft, “Dragon Queen” boasts a Glass Candy feel but with the same YYY sexuality we’ve come to expect from the band. With lyrics like “my mouth/is touching/your mouth/is running”, the song bleeds heat and drips with passion, a miniature disco hidden discreetly near the end of the album. Karen O sings in tandem with Tunde Adebimpe from TV on the Radio on this track, their vocal interplay reflecting the Yeah Yeah Yeahs flirtations with experimentation on this record. This album is working wonders.
9. “Hysteric”
Speaking of flirtations, Zinner briefly tries on his dub-shoes on “Hysteric”, as his light but echo-laden guitar effects bathe Karen O in a downpour of fuzzy riffs and shoegaze pedals. Featuring a killer drum line care of Chase and whispered vocals with a hopeful push and pull about love and madness. KO simply soars on this song which features her singing range prominently, darting between her carefree shouts and her murmured croons. A wonderful song that seems to summarize a lot of the themes of the whole album.
10. “Little Shadow”
With Imaad Wasif manning the acoustic guitar duties on this incredible closing track, Karen O whispers over his tender plucking a sad but somehow hopeful track about uncertainty and bravery, following her shadow into the night (”will you follow me”). With a drum blast the electronics sweep under KO and slowly envelope her, washing over her like a wave of the blood, sweat, and tears this album is made out of. A perfect closer.
Reflecting on the whole album, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have truly been building up to this one album since their beginnings. A brutally honest and fiercely independent vision, It’s Blitz! is an art-rock triumph, showcasing a band’s willingness to step outside of their own comfort zone and go from a riotous punk act to a dream-pop band in the span of a single album. And truly, It’s Blitz is a dreamscape worth experiencing and well worth the wait. Five out of five.
Lastly, check out this YouTube the band posted to their Myspace called “The Scientist”. I think the thing that Nick Zinner has in his briefcase is a badass synth myself. Check it:
MF Doom (now apparently called just DOOM in all caps) has leaked a Promo sampler featuring several new tracks from his upcoming LP BORN LIKE THIS (also in all caps apparently). Barring confusing capitalization preferences, Doom is bringing his illest rhymes back in force, with the same mush-mouthed delivery and fiercely creative lyrics we’ve come to expect from the masked menace. These tracks also feature some killer J Dilla tracks from his Donuts LP, so check them out below!
Comments? Anyone a fan of the new ‘Piece by Piece’ feature? This may be my only update of the week until Friday, as I am in New York interviewing for grad school (wish me luck!). Have a great week everyone!
Brody Dalle’s newest incarnation Spinnerette have quietly released a new EP containing a remix of a track called “Sex Bomb”, the real version of which will undoubtedly show up on their upcoming debut full-length. Chock full of the patented Brody-snarl and swimming in early-90s electro beats, the Adam Freeland remix swirls around growled lyrics that reek of raw sexuality. As usual with the ex-Distillers frontwoman, a dancey electro song quickly becomes an entirely different creature with her at the helm – can’t wait to hear the real version! Also, buy the damn thing people, Spinnerette’s hella-independent and it’d be nice if you could throw a few bucks their way!
Sad news here at Cannibal Cheerleader, as we’ve recently heard that one of our favorite local acts Southern Drama will be going on an indefinite hiatus. However, from the ashes of a great group comes a new act which violinist Naomi Cherie has recently joined called Agent Ribbons, a stunning duo (now trio!) out of Sacramento. The group combines the Victorian punk leanings of Southern Drama with an additional flair for theatrics and a churning guitar and drum musical combo that reminds of a lilting female version of Death From Above 1979, but replacing slamdancing antics with bizarre vaudevillian ballroom manners. Check out these videos below and see for yourself. Can’t wait to catch this act at SXSW 09!
******************************************************************** THAO AND THERMALS RELEASE SPLIT 7”
According to this story, one of our favorite artists Thao Nguyen of Thao with the Get Down Stay Down will be releasing a split 7” for Record Store Day (hit up your local record shop folks, vinyl’s where it’s at!) with none than another of our favorites the Thermals. Tracklist below, sign us up for a Cannibal Cheerleader copy stat people.
A1 The Thermals: “When I Died” (demo) A2 The Thermals: “You Dissolve” (demo) B1 Thao with the Get Down Stay Down: “Cool Yourself You Are Flush Red” (previously unreleased) B2 Thao with the Get Down Stay Down: “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind” (Lovin’ Spoonful cover)
Here’s a new video from Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Crystal Castles for their remix of White Lies‘ “Death” off the latter’s To Lose My Life… LP which leaked on this site way back in the day over here. A bizarre and psychedelic dark journey through a suburban teenager’s adolescence, the video churns and lumbers forward on the back of E. Kath’s driving basslines – definitely a video worth watching, check it below!
A night of black metal mayhem and mind-blowing muscianship (check for Norwegian in-jokes there) last night at Emo’s here in Austin with Wolves in the Throne Room leading a killer lineup that also included Neurosis’ heir apparent A Storm of Light and Atx’s own the Roller.
The Roller kicked off the night with a banshee-screaming bang, pummeling through several barn-burning odes to blackened death metal with a Southern edge, screaming of equal parts Eyehategod and Venom, with drone-infusions bleeding into inflections of guitar-shredding classicism. Featuring a brand new bassist, the Roller seem poised to explode outside the Austin scene and onto the black metal market.
A Storm of Light followed, featuring a sound-mix loud enough to seep between one’s ribs and rip the air out of the lungs within. As visuals of a giant sea-creatures and wrecked vessels sinking into the black ocean projected behind the three-piece, the massive boom of the band, coupled with their extreme stage presence and fierce instrumentation, recalled images of noise-era Swans or early Neurosis, unrelenting in its massive, morose spectacle. Indeed, the band featured female vocal stylings (care of a laptop) from none other than Jarboe of Swans fame, and when the lead guitarist of Wolves in the Throne Room hopped onstage for a song, the collaborative nature of the band became even more apparent. Overall, an incredibly tough act to follow.
Wolves in the Throne Room took to the stage next very slowly, lighting candles around the drum kit and tinkering with their tuning all in full view of a near-capacity crowd. Not known for their low-register bass work, WITTR sounded unbelievably shrill and fierce in their mid-range pitch after the heavy doom inflections of ASOF. Nonetheless, after a few songs the band truly stepped into their own, allowing subtle melodies and shocking changeups to carry the churning swell of their music to their darkest heights. Halfway through their set the band, absolutely soaked with sweat, found a transcendant chord in their guitar-work, combining a shoegaze atmosphere with a deep and dreadful sense of horror, the acidic lead vocals slicing a bloody path through the middle of the cloud of thunderous sound. Collapsing in a literal heap as their set wound to a close, the band did not play an encore, their reign already cemented over the room full of adoring fans. These guys will be playing again in Austin in July – you can count on Cannibal Cheerleader being there with bells on.
Wolves in the Throne Room – “Vastness and Sorrow”
Lots of great finds this week at Cannibal Cheerleader, beginning with the Axons, a Zombies-infused bedroom pop trio right here out of Austin, Texas who boast a signature sound that’s equal parts fresh cuts of psychedelia and classic-rock British invasion. Discovering this group at a recent art-gallery after party at a sleezy downtown bar, the band seemed poised to blow every other act out of the water with their simple template and pitch-perfect execution. What the Strokes did to the Velvet Underground and Vampire Weekend did to Graceland, the Axons, led by the inimitable Merritt Fields does to the Kinks. Check out the mp3 and a few videos from the show below!
Cannibal Cheerleader local-faves Ume are beginning a trek across the the Northeast, winding back down to the Southern states all this June. Check out the rad poster above for this completely rad and underappreicated fuzz-rock trio. Definitely pick up their Sunshowers EP if you haven’t already, it’s one of our favorites of the year so far!
Seems as if all that posting on Puke Til You Punk wasn’t just blowing (puking) steam – Jemina Pearl of the inimitable and sadly departed Be Your Own Pet has been busy and she’s got a trio of new tracks that’re just begging to be eaten alive. Featuring the same tried and true vocal stylings that propelled BYOP through today’s punk rock muck and mire, the new solo material seems cleaner and more headphone-oriented, with sing-songy lyrics and a summery, care-free vibe. A different approach to the solo career than we expected Pearl to take (less blood and guts, more dance parties and bedroom casettes) but we can’t help but be excited for a Jemina pop album. Anyone got the mp3s? We ask because for now the tracks are only streaming over at the JP Myspace. Check it out!
Another awesome find, this time care of the cats of Brooklyn Vegan – DIAL, a trio from New Zealand, pack a wallop of a grindcore-influenced, experimentally edged, female vocalizing hardcore with a nod towards the more math-rock side of the metal music scene. With the recent announcement of personal favorite Robotic Empire rereleasing the band’s self-titled EP, interest has skyrocketed in a band whose main hook include a woman screaming ‘THE MASS GRAVE!’ at the top of her lungs. More power to this completely wicked, shrill, and venomous rock act. Makes us want to revisit our grindcore days in force.
When Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, lead guitarist of prog-rock powerhouse and wildly imaginative musical extravaganza the Mars Volta, stated that the band’s new album Octahedron would be their “acoustic” album, one must’ve realized the news had to be taken with a grain of salt. Sure the album contains some slower, more ‘Pink Floyd/Yes’-influenced sweeps of grandeur, though from the band who crafted “Televators” and “The Widow” this shouldn’t come as a surprise. The novelty instead exists in the undercurrent of serenity to the album, a psychedelic dip into a sensory-deprivation chamber rather than a furiously frightening acid trip gone wonderfully wrong like in the Bedlam in Goliath. Which isn’t to say the album doesn’t have its rockers – tracks like “Cotopaxi” would give even the likes of “Drunkship of Lanterns” a run for their money as a soon-to-be fan favorite and even “Luciforms” has a level of monstrous energy that propels its melody along. On the whole however, the flow of the songs from one into the next create an air of purpose and message, not the disparateness of past works by the Volta, and in doing so the band has created without a doubt their most accessible, and in some ways one of their most enjoyable works yet. Awesome stuff, check it below.
Our grindcore itch has been getting out of hand recently, and seeing as this group was recently reviewed in our favorite magazine ever – we’re of course talking about Fangoria – we had to check Iwrestledabearonce out (if only for their completely awesome name). With a blazingly original sound that combines electronic-experimentation, guitar-shredding breakdowns, and equal-part shriek/sing female vocals, IWABO meets all the prerequisites for being one of Cannibal Cheerleader’s favorite new bands. To hear it is to understand it so we recommend you click the video below and download some of the following tracks with great haste – warning, may melt face. PS. Avoid the hipster accusations; nobody likes a scenester and frankly, if you’re a grindcore scenester I think that means we can legally kill you.
Here’s a wonderful little interview video from the ladies in Agent Ribbons that we had to plug if only for their adorable red hair color. The ladies are reveal their upcoming work on their second album and what the future holds for the band. Oh ladies, steal me away…
Sometimes we here at Cannibal Cheerleader get to the party late, and that’s certainly the case when it comes to one of our favorite new (i.e. new to us) acts, the monolithic, infamous grindcore band Agoraphobic Nosebleed. This fearsome foursome has been around for quite some time apparently in different forms though the band’s newest release Agorapocalypse includes Kat from personal favorite Salome, which is how we stumbled across this band to begin with. If you haven’t heard of this absolutely pummeling grindcore act you owe it to yourself to check it out – and if you’re a longtime fan, the new LP deserves a re-listen immediately. This band kills indiscriminately, employing three different vocalists and a blazing cavalcade of guitars and drum machines behind the haunting wails and spitfire vocal assault. Seriously, get on this n-o-w.
We here at Cannibal Cheerleader fondly remember our halcyon days of underground rap obsession, backpacker allegiance and Cannibal Ox worship, and one of our top acts of yesteryear Busdriver has just burst back onto the scene with his latest opus, Jhelli Beam, a return to form for an artist whose Roadkill Overcoat, while containing superior wordplay sacrificed his more abstract tendencies for pop listenability. The fourteen tracks that make up the motor-mouth rapper’s newest LP not only delight in experimentation but embrace it with force, with bizarre feed-back loops darting behind the fever-dream lyricism Busdriver has become known for. One of our favorite releases of the year so far, bar none. Definitely check out a few of the mp3s below and let us know what you think!
To wrap up this massive update head on over to Nouvelle Vague’s Myspace page and give a listen to their excellent third collection of French-noir-film inspired covers. This time the list of covered artists seems even more far-reaching, including Depeche Mode, the Sex Pistols, and even the Violent Femmes. Definitely shoot on over.
