When we first heard aboutJemina Pearl’ssolo debut our fevered sniveling over the traumatic breakup ofBe Your Own Petwas quelled – at least for a moment. Would the ferocious frontwoman bring the goods without her shredding sidekicks – would the songs maintain their high-flying heroics with the loss of the loose ends? By all means, by all standards, indubitably faithful friends. But this isn’t the Jemina Pearl we’re all familiar with – instead of the stabbing, shrieking siren of olde, this horrifying hellion has herself transformed into a songwriting starlet, with pop hooks, loud-quiet-loud choruses, and Shangri-La’s inspired harmonies replacing all the punk pulverization. While this might be a big change, and one might understand how it could turn off the purists (fuck ‘em), the song remains the same – cocaine, easy girls, heartbreak, cheeseburgers, confusion, tears, youth in general – these are the subjects of Pearl’s tunes, no less childishly awesome than anything BYOP did before, only instead of being dumped in the same pile as a wonderful mish-mash of guitar rock, here comes a perfected pop-punk squall, wiry guitars mixing with Pearl’s ever-engaging voice. Here’s an album that’s not only sure to grow on its listeners but undoubtedly announces an artist with a long road ahead of her full of excellent albums. Definitely check it out.
Jemina Pearl, our favorite rioting, rambunctious, rancorous ex-Be Your Own Pet frontwoman shotgunned our faces off last week with the announcement that her debut LP sits ready and raring to rend our ears straight from our smiling mugs. We’ve already listened to the excellent ‘Get Awkward-era’ tracks posted on JP’s Myspace page (the summery, subversive edge of “Ecstatic Appeal”, the bouncey, shredding brain-addled boogie of “Heartbeats”, and the croony, garage-rock mashup of “Nashville Shores”) and with the release of new single “I Hate People” featuring Iggy Pop(!!!) on backup vocals, which combines girl-group hooks with the menacing titular lyrics, Pearl seems poised to usurp her status as punk-rock frontwoman to solo rocker superstar.The new album will be called Break It Up and will be out October 6th, featuring 13 songs of Shangri-Las inspired rock and roll. Check out the tracklist below:
01 Heartbeats 02 After Hours 03 Ecstatic Appeal 04 Band On The Run 05 I Hate People (with Iggy Pop) 06 Looking For Trouble 07 Retrograde 08 Nashville Shores 09 No Good 10 D Is For Danger 11 Selfish Heart 12 Undesireable 13 So Sick
All this with the bonus news – turns out Jemina Pearl will soon be on tour and will be swinging through Austin on October 27th at Mohawk! Good snap, we’re already snatching up our tickets and you people really should too. Here’s to JP and company, may they have a show to remember.
******************************************************************** NOW, NOW EVERY CHILDREN KILL IT IN AUSTIN Welcome back Cannibal Cheerleader faithful, here’s a searing series of psychotic indie rock stabbing you right in the ears, beginning with the instantly enjoyable new stumbleupon Now, Now Every Children blasting out of Minneapolis. Here’s a group that we here at Cannibal Cheerleader regrettably wouldn’t have given a second look to had we not been invited to check the group out live – and what we were treated to was a tour-de-force bedroom-pop meets Stars-inspired jam session with unfettered emotion and inspired musicianship powering the songs forward like a cascade of dreamscapes. NNEC might initially suffer from a variety of short-sighted and ignorant criticisms focusing perhaps on the age of the group (all under 21, looking much younger) or their acceptance into the cult of personality surrounding groups like the Alternative Press Magazine crowd or Paramore (whose Hayley Williams has been known to don a Now, Now Every Children shirt during her band’s stadium-packing concerts). Such ancillary discussions somehow might inhibit a listener’s initial foray into the group’s music – we here at Cannibal Cheerleader would like to throw open that closet door. Beginning with two excellent EPs (the Not One, But Two EP and the In the City EP) the group, consisting only of Cacie Dalager on vocals, keyboards, and guitars and Bradley Hale on drums (though the live band is bolstered by friends of the group) has only just released their incredible debut LP Cars in December of 2008 and have been riding its wave ever since. With indie-sensibilities well beyond their years the duo crafts a brand of soft-spoken and sensitive bedroom-recorded, 8-track-loving pop music with a delicate eye for heartfelt lyricism which doesn’t dive into melodrama or pitying pathos but swoons with metaphor and darkness. Songs like “Everyone You Know” and “Friends With My Sister” denote a level of maturity and understanding that indie-rockers have been clumsily striving for for decades. Here’s a band that knows how to take the Stars formula, whip in a little shoegaze drone, punch it up with some guitar riffs, and inject a little personability to make a fantastic brand of rock music. Definitely check out this group immediately – we did and we’re thankful for it.
Now, Now Every Children – “Everyone You Know” Now, Now Every Children – “Friends With My Sister” ******************************************************************** NEW LISSY TRULLIE VIDEOS Lots of people have been leaping onto the Lissy Trullie bandwagon as of late and we don’t blame them – with an infectious sound and an enticing band personality to boot, LT and crew have garnered the attention of hip magazines trying to claim street cred and lame magazines trying to reclaim coolness. According to all reports the group is taking it in stride and now that they’re stuck in the studio hopefully churning out new and even more electric tunes we thought it prudent to give the fans a whirlwind tour of the group’s recent video lineup, starting of course with their new single “Ready for the Floor”.
As it turns out the original Hot Chip version of this track will be featured in the upcoming horror flick Jennifer’s Body (you know, the one about the hot cheerleader who eats her fellow classmates, more on this later…) and will hopefully throw some listeners Lissy’s way. We really feel that LT’s power and genuineness shine brightest during live performances and this one is no exception. It’s an interview video care of ABC News (???) featuring Lissy Trullie and the band performing tracks for a hard-hitting, 40+ year old reporter and still managing to win him over. Good or bad thing that parents might like LT? We’ll leave that up to listeners. Turns out this video is not embeddable (strange I know) but here’s the link because it’s actually a pretty interesting watch and comes recommended by the CC crew. Lastly if you haven’t checked out the Lissy Trulie “Boy Boy Remix” yet you’ve got to get your ass in gear and download it below. It’s a stellar mix and definitely showcases LT’s Scarlett Johansson voice – worth a listen every time!
Lissy Trullie – “Boy Boy (Blunt Laser Remix)” ******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER: LANTERNS Smashing their way out of San Diego with an equal parts bombastic and wiry guitar sound, Lanterns features a brand of Sonic Youth-meets-Bloc Party sound that’s sure to please fans of either group. With a self-proclaimed fluid band structure that features members of the group constantly moonlighting in other groups, Lanterns has still managed released a myriad of EPs, all apparently coalescing into one giant sonic assault in the form of their upcoming debut LP Young Wizards. Seeing as the group combines our favorite elements of new-wave British dance-rock a-la the Futureheads and the best feedback of the true American fuzz-masters like the Raveonettes, we’re gearing up for an audio maelstrom the likes of which we’ve never heard. Definitely can’t recommend this group more, check them out or miss the boat after it leaves the harbor people.
Lanterns – “Creation Myth” ******************************************************************** NEW YOB RECORD REVEALED Road-weary travelers of the stoner-rock landscape will be familiar with the name Yob, the inimitable and downright fearsome trio hailing from Eugene, Oregon whose breakup and reformation were the topic of much of the Northwestern metal landscape for several years. And now, finally in 2009 we have the result of the reformation in the form of the five track searing LP The Great Cessation, a collection of smoldering, crackling, choking doom metal that marks a new high point for the band and sounds not unlike a legless zombie slowly clawing its way out of some dark pit to tear your breath from your chest. Featuring greater use of lead guitarist and vocalist Mike Sheidt’s voice than ever heard in previous Yob records, The Great Cessation stands as one of the group’s most terrifying works, delving into the realm of blackend metal with grinding guitar parts and hellish yelps and shrill cries splattering across every track. Here’s the new Yob record – definitely and defiantly worth the wait.
Yob – “Burning the Altar” ******************************************************************** THE DANDY WARHOLS REVEAL THEY ARE SOUND We here at Cannibal Cheerleader count ourselves as Dandy Warhols apologists. Sure they might be hipper than thou and of course they’re more electronic leanings and dancier rhythms are no match for their early, drone-rock recordings (The Dandy Warhols Come Down is still one of our favorite records) but with a bevy of fantastic singles and a live show that strips you of all pretensions (and sometimes your clothes) the group still stands a testament to the power of indie-rock and roll in today’s musical landscape. And what better way to recapture that early DW love than to invest in a remix album that takes the band’s first step into the true mainstream with Welcome to the Monkey House and twists it into a lo-fi version featuring the producer of the Roots. The Dandy Warhols Are Sound is a reimagining of Welcome to the Monkey House that features alternative mixes of the album’s tracks, mainly resulting in a more organic, live performance style sound that captures the Dandys in rare form, combining their penchant for live fuzz-rock with their newfound interest in electronic noodling. The album is in many ways a step up from the original album, which, while solid, definitely suffers from overproduction and a sparkling clean finish that marked the jump to a bigger label for the band. Definitely check this one our as soon as you get a chance, and hey, go listen to the Dandy Warhols when they fly through town on Sept. 9th at Emo’s here in Austin!
The Dandy Warhols – “We Used to Be Friends” The Dandy Warhols – “Burned” ******************************************************************** CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES SOLO SHOWS Speaking of apologies, we have very few to say when it comes to our unabashed love of New York-based singer-songwriter Charlotte Sometimes whose debut LP Waves and the Both of Us still spins at the Cannibal Cheerleader house every once in a while. Turns out that CS is performing at a variety of NY locales over the rest of the summer, including tomorrow July 29th at Piano’s! Check her out people, this gal is most certainly going places!
Charlotte Sometimes – “Losing Sleep” ******************************************************************** VIDEO FROM THE DANKS If there’s one record we’ve been spinning madly down here at Cannibal Cheerleader headquarters over the past few weeks it’s got to be the Danks’ debut LP Are You Afraid of the Danks?, an album many are describing as the Canadian answer to the Strokes, a highly positive critique that we can’t help but agree with. The Danks combine a bouncey, garage-rock based rhythm with sing-song vocals and scratchy-voiced lead singer philosophizing on the merits of youthful rebellion while his band frolicks on their guitars in the background. Speaking of the background here’s the group’s newest video for single “In Alright” which features the band acting as party music for a college kegger. Watch the luckless foursome get shoved aside by blonde bombshells and wonder why they aren’t getting all the girls yet. Oh that’s right, they play indie-rock and roll. Oh what a world, check it out below:
The Danks – “Who Knows” ******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER: heat-ray Here’s another in a long line of Cannibal Cheerleader shoegazey favorites – introducing heat-ray from Alberta, Canada, a five-piece pop group that combines a two-fold male and female vocal assult with the punishing power of ‘Creep-era’ Radiohead’s three-guitar punchout to create an overall aura of bombastic, glowing guitar-rock that billows and flares like a four-alarm fire. With the recent release of their debut LP LoveAllOver the group has managed to capture a stormy but sophisticated sound that garners instant comparisons to the likes of Catherine Wheel or Ride without sounding like petulant knock-offs or boring retreaders – instead the group sounds equal parts fresh and exciting while still retaining a level of pop pride that echos through ever pedal and amplifier on stage. Check out the group below and prepare to be amazed (also, yes, we’re aware the name’s not capitalized, that’s how it’s supposed to be geez).
heat-ray – “Come Closer” heat-ray – “If Love is The Drug” ******************************************************************** PETE DOHERTY BOOTLEG: LIVE FROM BARROWLANDS If you’re visiting this site for the first time or are a long-time reader we can safely say you’ve not lost your faith and love in music – lucky for us neither has Pete Doherty, former Libertiner and current Babyshambler whose current solo tour has been causing waves across the British press for its heartbreaking renditions of well-worn Arcadian tunes old and new. Featuring many new tracks from his latest LP Grace/Wastelands Doherty has been relentlessly perfecting his live show, bringing the Babyshambles backing band and Graham Coxon as support. Fortunately for all of us across the pond who can’t see Doherty live there’s a fervent recording community for all the former Libertines located at Albion Arks and French Dog Blues, the latter of which forwarded us this bootleg entitled Pete Doherty at Barrowlands and features the singer-songwriter performing gut-wrenching renditions of classics old (”Fuck Foverer”, “Music When the Lights Go Out”) and new (”The Lost Art of Murder”, “Sheepskin Tearaway”). Definitely live show worth reliving again and again, give a listen below.
Pete Doherty – “I Am the Rain (Live at Barrowlands)” Pete Doherty – “What Katy Did (Live at Barrowlands)” ******************************************************************** FUN FUN FUN FEST SLOWLY REVEAL LINEUP All roads point to Austin this November as the 4th Fun Fun Fun Fest gears up for a slamming lineup of punk, indie, and hip-hop for what we Texans have gotten used to calling the best festival that nobody knows about. According to all sources this site features the latest leaks for F3 and we’re stoked at the people it’s listing so far – Jesus Lizard? GZA? MELT BANANA? We here at Cannibal Cheerleader have a Melt Banana fetish that stretches back to our days in high school and to see them live on a stage as big as the F3 ones, well that’s just a recipe for success in our book. Keep tabs on the site and look for more updates soon! ******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER: BAD VEINS The band’s name is Bad Veins and they will change the way you think about lo-fi rock and roll. Frothing forth from the depths of Cincinatti, Ohio the duo of Benjamin Davis and Sebastien Schultz craft a brand of woozy, stadium-sized crashing rock, complete with Brandon Flowers-style vocals sung through a Strokes-esque megaphone. The duo features guitar riffs that mesh in soupy mash of electronic warblings and keyboard cuts to create an air of shoegazey-meets-organic roots rock, all recorded on what sounds like the most beat up 8-track dragged from the depths of your mother’s basement. In all sincerity, the band requires a listen to fully understand, so here’s a sample of Bad Veins, a band with a lot of room to rise in a landscape that needs their type of creativity.
Bad Veins – “Found” Bad Veins – “Gold and Warm” ******************************************************************** RA RA RIOT TOUR THROUGH AUSTIN Still stretching their legs to the tune of their debut LP the Rhumb LineRa Ra Riot will once again be blasting through Austin on Sept. 24th and you know we’ll be first in line for such antics. This sextet still remains one of our favorite acts of the day, combining all our love for tender folk, loud-quiet-loud rock and roll, and singalong harmonies in seemingly every song. Here’s to the Ra Ra Riot gang – may you continue to forge ahead!
Ra Ra Riot – “Dying is Fine” ******************************************************************** JENNIFER’S BODY REPORT So here’s the story so far – seems as if love-her-or-hate-her screenwriter Diablo Cody of Juno fame has penned a horror film entitled Jennifer’s Body starring Meghan Fox. The plot revolves around a bombshell cheerleader (the titular character played by Fox) who becomes wrapped up in a Satanic sacrifice ritual by what else, a rock band hoping that the Devil will assist them in snagging a record contract. The spell goes wrong and Jennifer turns into a possessed demon, luring boys into her clutches and, here’s the catcher, consuming them. In many ways this plot obviously sounds incredibly badass. As it evident from the title of the blog we’re huge horror fans here at Cannibal Cheerleader and when it comes to high schoolers getting torn apart you can put money on us being first in line. On the other hand, we’re a little apprehensive about Diablo Cody stalking us, taking our name and applying it to a film. Either way, we’re going to be seeing this one in theaters, if only because Fangoria seems to be giving it the go-ahead (and Lord knows we love and trust those guys). So here’s hoping the film does well and, just so it’s written in stone and recorded on the ever-trustworthy internet – we were here first people. Thanks!
Scary stuff, mwahaha! ******************************************************************** CANNIBAL CHEERLEADER AND YOU Thanks for reading Cannibal Cheerleader faithful. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods – we here at CC headquarters in Austin, Texas have been super busy over the past few weeks (as if our lack of weekly updates wasn’t evidence enough). We’ve stretched ourselves pretty thin with ancillary jobs outside Cannibal Cheerleader but fear not (or fear rather, mwahaha) we’ll be back up to speed in no time – things just need to cool down and smidge and we’ll be back in fighting form.
Also a quick plug for our friend over at Decaying Youth Buttons. Check out the buttons they did for us recently: Really rad stuff if we do say so ourselves. Head on over to their website and take advantage of their July deal where you can get 100 buttons for fifteen bucks – quite a deal. And if you’re in the Austin area, let us know if you’d like some Cannibal Cheerleader swag. We’ve got buttons, stickers, zines – just let us know and we’ll get it to you! Even you people from around the world, hit us up and we’ll get you something cool. Stay hungry everyone, see you next time!
LISSY TRULLIE ‘BOY BOY’ VIDEO. More news trickling out from the Lissy Trullie camp with today’s release of the official video for their single “Boy Boy”. Check it out below – we’ll be sure and cover these NYC garage-rockers up until their May 26th show at Emo’s! Lissy Trullie – Boy Boy (Official Music Video)
Lissy Trullie – “You Bleed You” ******************************************************************** FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE UPDATE. Seems like one of our favorite acts from across the pond Florence and the Machine has been making quite the name for herself in the UK, what with recently winning the Critic’s Choice Awards at the Brit Awards. Seems now the band is prepping for the release of their debut LP Lungs in July and you know us at Cannibal Cheerleader will be covering it!
Florence and the Machine – “Dog Days Are Over” ******************************************************************** GLASS CANDY AT MOHAWK’S. Our favorite haunted-dance maestros Glass Candy are careening through their brand of blood-soaked electro-disco this Saturday at Mohawk’s here in Austin. Cannibal Cheerleader is in need of some correspondents to take some photos or hey, even a video of the event! Anyone interested? Either way, make sure and hit up this fantastic act, it’s sure to be an incredible time.
Glass Candy – “Nite Nurses” ******************************************************************** JEMINA PEARL IS A SEX ZOMBIE? Still been reading Puke Til You Punk on a daily basis, covering the antics and activities of Be Your Own Pet’s former frontwoman and now solo artist Jemina Pearl, and seems as if the punker has come up with a name for her and John Eatherly’s new group: Sex Zombie. This new band will feature the two trading off on guitar and drum duties according to this post. Is Pearl playing a joke on her fans? We sure hope not – Sex Zombie is probably the greatest name for a band we’ve ever heard.
Comments? Soon Cannibal Cheerleader will be changing format, focusing more on hardcore, metal, and generally horror-related music materials. This doesn’t mean we’ll stop covering the likes of Lissy Trulie or Action Design (we’ve always thought of M and Lissy as slasher film heroines, definitely worthy of covering). Still, that might mean less Belle & Sebastian, less twee in general, and more blood-soaked rampaging Wolves in the Throne Room videos. Change is good, bear with us folks, and hail to the horror.
CRYSTAL CASTLES IN AUSTIN Bloodshed and mayhem in Austin, Texas as Cannibal Cheerleader faves Crystal Castles ripped and snarled their way through a brief but electric set at La Zona Rosa. Thrashing through new tracks such as “Baptism” and “Yes/No” with reckless abandon while adding a new level of live carnage to their classics such as “Crimewave” and “Black Panther”. For all the grinding, dancing, and pulsating of the mostly underage Austin (hipster?) crowd, the music raged like a punk slaughterhouse, flaming with intense rhythms that leaped to the ceiling with the rays of an amazing lightshow, coupled with Alice Glass’ ‘blood-filling-my-mouth’ shrieked vocals. With E. Kath manning the boards in his signature hunched-style and Glass pulling no punches with a bottle of vodka in one hand and the mic against her teeth in the other, Crystal Castles proved a brain-bashing performance that shows why they are years ahead of their electro contemporaries.La Zona Rosa didn’t allow Cannibal Cheerleader to bring in our cameras but we nonetheless managed to snag a few photos from Twitter and videos from YouTube that you can check out below. We can only hope they give you a sense of the sold-out mayhem of a 1500+ show, which featured Glass crowd-surfing and being dragged in by security in what has become a familiar sight at the Crystal Castles camp. It’s clear at this point that Glass and Kath are bonafiderockstars, entering the venue after dashing from a taxi straight to the stage door and exiting in similar fashion, flanked by a large posse. While the venue wasn’t exactly friendly to concert-goers, Crystal Castles put on an absolutely fantastic performance that shook the dancefloor to its core.
For all the talk of a shortened set, the band played for over an hour of intense and powerful punk-electro, well over your average punk show length. With their live show the band refuses to conform, employing ferocious hardcore shrieks over a maelstrom of electronic-thrash, transforming a slow-burner like “Black Panther” into a snarling behemoth. Cutting off songs in a show of punk ferocity, blowing speakers, and bounding offstage are all reflections of a band leaning towards an intense experience. That said, I had a great time at the show and I know the four winners of our ticket-giveaway had one as well! Congrats to the winners and thanks to everyone who reads the blog!
Crystal Castles – “Trash Hologram” ******************************************************************** NEW TV ON THE RADIO EP Following close on the heels of last year’s amazing Dear Science LP, TV on the Radio are releasing a three-song remix EP called Read Silence, featuring fantastic reinventions of the some of the deepest cuts of their latest album from the likes of Gang Gang Dance and other NYC art-rockers. Check out some tracks below and let us know what you think – personally we can’t get over the “Stork & Owl” track – like a magical explosion in our musical brains!
TV on the Radio – “Stork & Owl (Gang Gang Dance Remix)” ******************************************************************** UPDATE FROM JEMINA PEARL CAMP It’s been a while since we’ve heard any new songs from Jemina Pearl and the whole ex-Be Your Own Pet camp, but if you’ve been keeping up with her personal blog Puke Till You Punk you’d be more than up to date with the recording of her new solo LP, already in full swing and featuring guitar parts from none other than the likes of Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore. If you haven’t been keeping up, now’s the time to start some backreading – this album is going to slaughter the innocent.
We here at Cannibal Cheerleader make a point of not talking about things we dislike – what’s the point really? However, we can’t hold our tongue when we say that Austin club La Zona Rosa left a supremely bad taste in our mouth last night at the Crystal Castles show, so much so we had to say something. From the inept and rude security, to the slow as snails bar staff, to their policy of rifling through every bag, we haven’t had such a bad Austin club experience in quite some time. We’re thinking a lot of the negative connotation of the Crystal Castles show stems from the La Zona Rosa crew. Still, maybe it’s just a personal problem and didn’t affect anyone else. Either way, don’t think we’ll be scheduling any Cannibal Cheerleader shows there soon!
Details are somewhat sketchy at the moment, but if all sources are true metal masters and sludge signors Isis will be delivering their fifth offering of pure drone-metal goodness this very May 5th. Entitled Wavering Radiant, several songs are purported to feature guitarwork from Tool shredder Adam Jones. Stay tuned for more info from this metal juggernaut.
We here at Cannibal Cheerleader are a little overwhelmed ourselves with the myriad developments going on in the life of Jemina Pearl this week. After Be Your Own Pet broke up we didn’t hear from the fiery frontwoman for months, and now there’s a news update everyday about her! Today on her Myspace Jemina announced that she is beginning her own blog entitled ‘puke till you punk‘, which will feature updates from her recording process in Northampton along with other goings-on. Definitely worth checking out. We assure you the next JP update will include some new content, promise! But hey, check out that sweet picture of JP and Thurston Moore – wouldn’t you like to go record-diving with him too?
okay. i’m kicking it in the ecstatic peace headquarters right now! northampton is covered in snow. gross! i really need some some boots….we’re living like vampires only recording at night and sleeping during the day. when we’re not recording we’re busy watching television practice tapes. when richard hell was still in the band! it’s so good!!!! and trying to go to as many thrift stores as possible. you can never give up on the hunt. we’ve got about ten songs recorded right now. john is a machine. i’ve been really sick the last two weeks, so hopefully my voice will hold up and we can get everything done. pizza party tonight at kesin’s house. i’m crossing my fingers lulu will perform some more righteous dance moves like she did last time i came over. punk till you puke. puke till you punk. later!
Ten songs already recorded for Jemina Pearl and the Somethings? That is fast work from this foursome.
In other JP news, check out Rare Form, a new band straight outta’ Brooklyn featuring Jemina Pearl on guitar and claiming a sound reminiscient of Austin heroines Finally Punk. Definitely worth checking out, if only for the fact that the band might be swinging through Austin for SXSW – one can only hope!
Stay tuned for further updates and send us any demoes if you got any Miss Pearl!
Glitter guns, heart-shaped vinyl, unicorn buttons, and pink balaclavas – that’s what you can expect from the wildly imaginative (not to mention intensely bizarre) webstore of the one and only Heartsrevolution. They’ve recently revamped the whole site so grab some goodies while you can. Personally, we’re thinking of nabbing that rare Switchblade EP 12”. Tasty stuff.
According to allthereports, the return of ex-Be Your Own Pet lead singer Jemina Pearl to the world of music was nothing but a triumph, albeit perhaps an awkward one for the pint-sized crooner. You can check out a video below that sounds every bit as ramshackle as a BYOP b-side with perhaps a little more Jemina-focused flair. Also, apparently John Eatherly, drummer of the duo’s former act, is now the guitarist, in what Pearl is calling an act akin to ‘Iggy Pop and the Stooges’, ie, ‘Jemina Pearl and the Somethings’. Check out the rest of the interview with Pearl here and watch out for more recordings from this group soon. They’re supposed to start committing songs to tape in March and have moved to NY to be near Mr. Thurston Moore, so we’ll be seeing a lot more of them in the weeks to come.
Jemina Pearl Setlist:
Band On The Run No Good I Hate People After Hours Nashville Shores So Sick! Heart Beats
Comments? The interview features Pearl stating, “Actually, me and John were the two main songwriters on “Becky”. Maybe that’s closer to what some of the newer stuff is going to be like.” Oh we could only be so lucky! Also, SXSW update tomorrow – get awkward/excited!
While we were lamenting over the loss of one of our favorite bands ever, Be Your Own Pet, after their breakup last August, lead singer Jemina Pearl was hard at work writing and recording her solo debut, according to this article. Her label Ecstatic Peace! confirms these developments and as an even more exciting development Pearl is scheduled to play her first ever non-BYOP show this Saturday, Jan. 17th in Brooklyn. That’s a new press photo up there (brown hair now? you chameleon you) so stay tuned for even more new photos/videos/songs after this weekend. Can’t wait!
In other developments, we’ve somehow managed to stumble across a trailer for an as-of-yet unmade horror film starring none other than Miss Jemina Pearl as the protagonist’s main squeeze. Jemina Pearl, a horror fan? Well if her tattoo of the girl with the axe through her forehead from Friday the 13th (pictured above), the verse in “Ouch” about how “when there’s no more room in hell/The dead will walk the Earth”, “Zombie Graveyard Party”, and animal homicide in “Bog” don’t convince you, the following trailer for The South Will Rise Again will convince you. Check out Pearl near the 1:19 mark.
Squeaking in at the last second care of the newest incarnation of ex-Distiller Brody Dalle, Spinnerette, “Ghetto Love” combines spidery guitar riffs and wailing female vocals to make a part-industrial, part-punk masterpiece that rivals the tunes from such seminal works as Coral Fang. Highly recommended for fans of old school LA punk with a 2008 twist.
Tender as a broken heart and bloody as a gaping wound, “The Twist” by Frightened Rabbit combines a lovelorn tale of self-loathing with a minimalist piano line that nonetheless sounds more true to life than the majority of romantic ballads on the radio today. Combining real-world experience with careful, quiet riffs makes this tune one of the finest love songs of the year.
Morgan Nagler’s voice remains fragile as a icy lake but on “Atlantis” from the Whispertown 2000’s latest effort Swim her lyrics are focused on under the water, escaping into the hidden city deep below, away from sin. A testament to the quiet, serene songwriting of the Whispertown quartet, this tune is one of the most haunting of the year.
The tale of a suicidal goth girl might not be construed as one of the most whimsical and heartwarming songs of the year, but under the sweeping electronic orchestra of M83, “Graveyard Girl” is an equal parts kitschy ode to John Hughes narratives and a shoe-gazing spin through layers of haunting vocals. Slightly out-edges “Kim and Jessie” just due to our morbid fascination here at Cannibal Cheerleader.
With the year’s release of her sophomore album Jenny Lewis went from sultry songstress to road-weary troubadour, winding tales of a life hard-lived, and none harder than the lovelorn ballad as told in “Acid Tongue”. With a sense of the weight-of-the-world on your shoulders held up only by one’s own hope, Jenny Lewis spins a tale of drug abuse and loneliness that’s a road song for the 2008 generation.
2008 has been a good year for My Morning Jacket, cementing them in their rightful place as one of America’s premiere rock bands. Perhaps no better testament to this exists than in the wild experimentalism displayed on their newest album and on the song “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2″, which features bizarre instrumentation combined with the signature Jim James vocal stylings to create a haunting a captivating song that remains one of MMJ’s best ever.
Slinking in on a tide of electronic clicks and swishes “Courtship Dating” is easily the most radio-ready and immediately catching track off the Crystal Castles’ debut LP. With a fiery chorus and a dance-worthy groove “Courtship Dancing” is easily the top electronic track of the year.
This year saw the release of the Hold Steady’s Stay Positive, yet another release of bar-ready rock jams that weaved tales of lost Americana in a country that’s lost in innocence but still clings to undying dreams and hopes. Nothing better captures this attitude that “Constructive Summer”, the first song off the album and one of the best straight up rock tracks the Hold Steady have ever composed.
As the final track off Bloc Party’s newest LP Intimacy, “Ion Square” needed to encapsulate the message of the entire piece, an instantly politcal and romantic tune, all awash in electronics and guitar pedals. The song succeeds with ease, capturing the zeitgeist of the band’s current incarnation and pummeling the listener with equal parts poetry and passion, forming one of the best tracks of the year.
This was the year of Be Your Own Pet, and just in time as the band imploded near the end anyway in a decidedly rock and roll move. Still, the group left us with a string of punk rock revivalist tunes that screamed of Buzzcocks and hellfire, with all the fury and passion that first made the world fall in love with youthful rage. Perhaps none of these tracks is better or more definitive of the band’s delightfully sordid career than “Becky”, a tune banned in the US and full of high-school politics, figurative and literal backstabbings, and all the blazing guitarwork and shrieked Jemina Pearl vocals that have made the group so endearing. While their entire discography deserves a thorough examination by indie rock lovers everywhere, this is a good song to start with and the best song of 2008.
TOP TEN ALBUMS OF ‘08
10. My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
Every few years America needs a reminder that they’re musical legacy is carried on the back of a quintet from Kentucky, hefting the burden of Southern-rock and fuzing it with massive degrees of guitar heroics and rampant experimentalism to rival the likes of Radiohead. This year’s reminder is Evil Urges by that same quintet, My Morning Jacket, and it’s packed full of such a wide range of incredible tracks to be considered one of their most far-reaching and fantastic releases to date.
9. The Action Design – Never Say
Resisting the urge to rework tracks from their Tsunami Bomb repertoire, Agent M and her new band the Action Design have constructed an entirely new sound, combining heartfelt punk ethos with elements of dance-rock and electronic. The formula works fantastically, displayed best on their album Never Say, an album of surprising depth and meaning during a time when Warped Tour bands are becoming more and more vapid. One of the best punk releases of the year.
8. Ponytail – Ice Cream Spiritual
With wild experimentalism and frenetic energy rivaling any indie rock band this year, Ponytail have a chokehold on the mad-crazy progressive meets jazz fusion rock and roll market. Their newest release Ice Cream Spiritual describes their sound perfectly in the name alone – a combination of childish delight and wild religious fanaticism. Capture that image in your mind, turn it into a move, and Ponytail is the perfect soundtrack.
7. Scarlett Johansson – Anywhere I Lay My Head
With a subversive edge totally unexpected in a covers album, Scarlett Johansson’sAnywhere I Lay My Head, a collection of Tom Waits’ songs, surprises and delights with its inventive renditions, creating a new set of standards for actresses turned singers. With David Sitek of TV on the Radio behind the boards, and a patented ‘Tinkerbell on cough syrup’ sound, tracks like “Falling Down” and “Green Grass” take on a new and incredible life of their own. Deservedly one of the best of the year, both for its music and for the gutsiness of its creation.
6. Bloc Party – Intimacy
On Bloc Party’s last album A Weekend in the City, the politics of everyday London living became very personal, hitting home with every subsequent sweeping song. On their newest album Intimacy, the quartet have managed to switch gears, making the most personal of moments become full of political meaning. On tracks like “Trojan Horse” a lover’s betrayal is akin to the fall of Troy and on “Talons” the group details the terrible (and deadly) consequences of romantic dishonesty. An emotional album fighting against an ‘emo’ world, Intimacy finds a band in rare form, taking the lessons of the past and moving their sound forward with rewarding results.
5. Marnie Stern – This is It…
On the lengthily titled 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, supreme shredder and songwriter Marnie Stern has managed to deliver on the promises of her early albums by taking her prestigiousness behind a six-string and combining it with excellent songcraft and a Karen O. wail to make one of the best albums of the year. Singles “Shea Stadium” and “Transformer” confirm the album’s pop sensibilities and deep cuts like “The Crippled Jazzer” delight with their destructive riffs and dizzying imagination. The best release from one of the best indie rock guitarists ever.
4. M83 – Saturdays=Youth
Capturing the spirit of youthfulness couldn’t be a harder task for a young songwriter. How to describe all the nervous fumblings, the magnificent discoveries, the awesome highs and terrible lows of approaching adulthood? If you’re M83, the solution is to let the music do the talking, sweeping maximalist riffs over John Hughes-style cinematics, creating an aura of energetic passion with all the ignorant bliss of a lonely teenage dreamer. Saturdays=Youth is perfect soundtrack to your years in high school, that is, if you were a nervous indie rock kid like myself. The best release from the already formidable M83 so far.
3. TV on the Radio – Dear Science
Following up on an album like TV on the Radio’s Return to Cookie Mountain might be seen as some to be an impossible task. To surpass its rip-roaring fury one would have to turn inward and redefine what made the band so remarkable to begin with, and that is just what TVoTR have accomplished on Dear Science, a remarkably careful and sensitive record with no less of the force of the former but more secure in its songcraft and enriching in its tunes than ever before. Sounding more like a soul-session band with a rock edge than an indie band hiding behind laptops, the group careens through dizzying tunes of power and depth with equal parts dark sorrow and unimaginable hope, crafting one of the best records of the year.
2. Be Your Own Pet – Get Awkward
The kids will never be alright if Be Your Own Pet has their way. From violent zombie fights to rampant drug usage, Get Awkward is a violent adolescent wet-dream come nightmarishly true, an over-exaggerated version of High School the Musical with a horrific injection of bloody reality. Though it turned out to be the band’s swan song, what a collection to go out on, combining a matured punk rock sound with endearingly clumsy lyrics and the trademark Jemina Pearl snarl carrying the whole crew along. This album should be the definitive soundtrack to every awkward youth, every wanna-be punk rocker, every indie-kid ready to cast off scene politics and relearn the magic of rock in pure, unfettered form.
1. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
What is punk rock? A daunting question to be sure, but demanding of an answer in an era of strict genre definitions and blogosphere gossip dominating true music journalism. Is it fast and loud music? Politically charged songs? Here at Cannibal Cheerleader we’ve come to believe that punk rock is a passion for change, a forward-thinking musicality that underlies a band’s music, an adventurous spirit and a talent for creating new and different sounds. With this in mind, we can say with no reservation that Crystal Castles perfectly epitomizes punk rock in 2008 to us. Braving criticism and legal woes all year, the band nonetheless released a fiersome collection of sixteen magnificent tracks that race back and forth from soothing electronic noodling as in “Air War” to blood-splattered rockers like “xxzxcuzx me”. In a year that saw the world change wildly it seems only fitting to have a band that did the same in between every song on their album top the list of our bloody best of 2008. Crystal Castles, a true Cannibal Cheerleader original.
Surely someone has some opinions on this one – comments?
Seems our friends Balmorhea have been busy over the last few months, recording, mastering, and ultimately finishing their upcoming third LP All Is Wild, All Is Silent (cover up above). From the recent show we covered (video coming soon!) the gang’s new tunes are going to blow the lid off of everything they’ve done before now. Check the tracklist below, CD due out March 9th!
TRACK LISTING: SETTLER MARCH 4, 1831 HARM AND BOON ELEGY REMEMBRANCE COAHUILA NIGHT IN THE DRAW TRUTH NOVEMBER 1, 1832
With a setlist to die for and sounding tighter than Jenny Lewis’ thigh-highs, Rilo Kiley blazed through classics old and new at their triumphant turn at Austin’s Stubb’s BBQ.
4. MY MORNING JACKET AT THE PARISH
We managed to catch My Morning Jacket three times this year but none better than in the intimate setting of the Parish, where their magnificently raucous live antics threatened to collapse the second-story floor and show off their technical skill rather than their arean-rock readiness.
3. BE YOUR OWN PET AT STUBB’S
Ripping and shredding up the stage like a pack of wolves, Be Your Own Pet managed to sound both fresh with their brand new Get Awkward tracks and wizened with their undeniably punk ethos during their brief set at Austin’s Stubb’s BBQ.
2. CONVERGE AT RED 7
With a fiery set reminiscent of end-of-days prophecies, Converge annihilated all expectations with a set that was both brutal and enthralling, recalling the days when punk meant something more than just fast guitars.
1. CAT POWER AT STUBB’S
Easily topping the list of this year’s most enthralling live sets, Cat Power at Stubb’s recalled classic soul songstresses of yesteryear, soaring through classics from You Are Free, the Greatest, and this year’s Jukebox, all the while maintaining the composure and confidence of a road-weary but hardened troubadour. Chan Marshall has walked through the fire and come out the other side a little older, a little dustier, but all the better for her trials.
TOP FIVE HORROR MOVIES OF THE YEAR
5. THE RUINS
Simple setting, not-so-simple enemy, the Ruins managed to combine pleasingly-gory special effects with an overbearing sense of dread as the protagonists find themselves trapped on an ancient pyramid being eaten by, what else, rabid plants. Bloody pom-poms awarded all around.
4. THE STRANGERS
Perhaps the most outright terrifying flick on our list, the Strangers captures the nihilism of modern horror with stark and brutal imagery and enough impending dread to make you queasy throughout. Plus, check out the awesome old-timey poster, great stuff.
3. TEETH
A coming of age tale for the morally reprehensible amongst us (myself definitely included) Teeth tells the story of a young girl blossoming into full-fledged womanhood and all the blood, guts, and terror that it inevitably involves. Recommended for every frat-boy considering date-rape (warning: castration abounds).
2. FUNNY GAMES
A horrifically stark and undeniably enjoyable trek into the darkest reaches of the horror-film psyche, Funny Games forces the viewer themselves into sadism for continuing to watch the terrible torture of an affluent family by a deranged duo of golf-club wielding maniacs. Are we the real monsters for enjoying the film? It’s hard not to be when Naomi Watts starts gunning people down. A must see.
1. THE SIGNAL
Of all the horror movies this year to question the brutal and sadistic nature of the genre, none dared to go so far as to question the medium of delivery itself, to identify the maddening pervasiveness of media in our society and our cult-like devotion to it. In the Signal, the three directors attempt just that, fusing elements of horror, drama, zombie-flick, dark comedy, gore, and psyche-freak-out all into a visionary masterpiece that undeniably captures what is at times both the best and the sickest elements of horror cinema – the unending search for meaning in a cruel world attacking from all sides. So highly recommended I’m wondering why you’re still reading this and not buying it. You must have the crazy.
Any other readers have horror movie faves? Comments?
