Cannibal Cheerleader

NEW LISSY TRULLIE REMIX
Our favorite NYC garage-rocker extraordinaire Lissy Trullie has been busy traversing these United States over the past summer, burning rubber and breaking hearts up and down our interstates, and it would seem that now that she’s cozied back up in her big city apartment she can finally begin cranking out new material as she said she would in our exclusive interview. No sooner said than done as LT and crew have recently had their hit single “Boy Boy” remixed by Blunt Laser into a dreamy, pop wonderland with Trullie’s sonorous growl echoing in like from a dub megaphone, soaring over handclaps and glitchy-notes that crackle into trumpet solos. Overall a fantastic and dancey remix, way above and beyond your average ‘add a dance line and boom-tsk’ reworking, and we here at Cannibal Cheerleader are able to bring it to you exclusively for download. Check it below.

Lissy Trullie – “Boy Boy (Blunt Laser Remix)”

In other news, Lissy has also been up to quite a bit on their latest European tour, according to their latest press release, which you can read below:

Lissy Trullie has had an eventful year so far, and the last few months and those to come are no exception. The New York group have recently signed to Downtown Records in North America, and Wichita Recordings for the UK and other territories, and are currently in the studio writing songs and preparing to record their debut full-length which they plan to release in early 2010. The band is excited to build upon the success of their debut EP Self-Taught Learner, which since its release in February ‘09, has garnered praise from many corners including SPIN, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Blurt, and VICE among others. This spring they also made their late night debut on Last Call With Carson Daly and played for and chatted with ABC Amplified’s Dan Harris at their practice space. Following a summer full of writing and recording, Lissy Trullie will hit the road in the UK with The Cribs and Adam Greene this September. Plans to tour the states following those dates are in the works.

All has not been without hiccups however. Having completed a tour of the US with The Virgins and Anya Marina this May, Lissy Trullie kept on and crossed the Atlantic for what was looking to be a very fun and successful jaunt through Europe and the UK. Yet after a couple of shows prospects headed south in Hamburg as Ian Fenger (Bass) was diagnosed with the dreaded H1N1 virus (aka Swine Flu) on June 7th and was committed to hospital. Seriously ill and hooked up to an IV, Ian and the band as well as their friends and family discovered that the infamous Flu was in fact no joke. They also found out the German government was not going to treat it as such either. Despite not showing signs of illness, precautionary measures were enforced, and the rest of the band and tour manager were quarantined in their hotel and prevented from leaving. There they were administered medicine and monitored for symptoms. “We had to take tamiflu so we couldn’t catch anything…” said Lissy of the experience, “not even a break!” The band were greatly concerned for Ian’s health, and devastated at having to cancel many of their planned tour dates because of uncertainty surrounding their detention.
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Three days later the outlook finally began to brighten. With Ian’s condition improved and everyone else seemingly healthy, the rest of the band were allowed to leave for London (home of their label Wichita Recordings) providing they remain quarantined upon arriving. Six days after being admitted to hospital, Ian was finally discharged, and returned to the United States to be with family. The rest of the band were also eventually deemed safe for the public, and were able to salvage the final two shows of their tour in Paris and Amsterdam.

Finally home and in good shape after a harrowing and frustrating experience, Lissy Trullie are looking forward to eventually making up the dates they missed due to an unfortunate attack of the H1N1 virus. Their tour this September with Adam Green and The Cribs will help them on their way to accomplishing that, as they play a few of the cities they had to miss on this latest run. In the mean time this summer they’ll continue work on their full-length debut.

All of our favorite indie-rockers are catching swine flu, ah! Glad to see everybody’s back safe and sound – let’s keep it that way, shall we?

Lissy Trullie – “You Bleed You”
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ARCTIC MONKEYS PRESENT “CRYING LIGHTNING”
Continuing to live up to every bit of hype that every couch-surfing critic seems to sling their direction, the Arctic Monkeys present “Crying Lightning”, a boot-stomping churner of a track featuring a threatening, stealthy bassline complimented by Alex Turner’s cleverest of quips on the subject of a deranged relationship and a sinewy, spidery guitarline. Content to play to its subtelties as opposed to exploding at first chance as the track threatens to do at every change and turn, this first single of the Monkeys upcoming LP Humbug delivers on the promises of a sludgier, more virulent sound, making even a saxophone solo a haunting presence. Give it a listen below and be sure and comment with your feelings on the Sheffield foursome’s new direction.

Arctic Monkeys – “Crying Lightning”
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NEW ACTION DESIGN NEWS
Lots of news from Cannibal Cheerleader favorites the Action Design who are currently resting from a Warped Tour jaunt while simultaneously gearing up for a whirlwind August tour across the Southwest. The group has just finished filming the music video for “Landmines” and will be releasing this undoubtedly action-packed affair on the general internet populace before long.

The band has also been hard at work on a bevy of new tunes, including “Chamber of Hellos” and “I’ll Do You”, both covers of songs by the band Wire Train and available on the new soundtrack to The Endless Bummer, a National Lampoon movie with an inexplicably kicking soundtrack due in part to its association with Warped Tour ‘09. “I’ll Do You” is streaming over at the band’s PureVolume page whereas “Chamber of Hellos” is at the band’s MySpace. Check them both out for some new Action Design goodness.

In other news the band has recently stated they will be releasing new tunes soon so definitely stay tuned for more Action Design news and check out their Video Diary of the past few months below (and while you’re at it, subscribe to the band’s YouTube account).
at Les Eurockeennes de Belfort ‘09. Watch out for obligatory Jack Daniels preparation and some serious Spence-sibling vocal tradeoffs. One of the best live vids of the band we’ve seen in a while (short of our own of course, haha).

The band has a lot in store for the rest of the year and while we’re not allowed to say much yet, be prepared to hear a lot more from this progressive hardcore act before year’s end. Keep checking their blog for updates. More forthcoming…
The Descolada Virus, featuring a pummeling assault of hardcore vocals mixed with intricate metal instrumentation, all recorded live on tape here in the Lone Star State. Check out an excerpt below for the video of “Insurrection Song” and be prepared for an audial reckoning as the foursome gears up for a tour in support of their newest release. The song itself stands tall as a 6+ minute-long rancorous political diatribe with spit-sung vocals that continues to whirl about with unchecked ferocity. One of our favorite metal tracks of the year. Check it:

Beyond Gods & Empires – “Insurrection Song”NEW FEVER RAY VIDEO
One of our favorite releases of the year so far, Fever Ray’s self-titled debut, has also been providing us with a cornucopia of bizarrely horrifying and absolutely electric music video selections, including this newest induction for the “Triangle Walks” single. Featuring a laser light show in the spirit of the darkly tribal atmospherics that plague the former Knife member’s solo effort, the video stands tall as another fierce addition to the singer’s catalogue. Check it out below.

Fever Ray – “Dry and Dusty”
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NEW BAND CHEER: SHE KEEPS BEES
An unlikely offspring from the NYC Cake Shop scene, She Keeps Bees consists of a boy-on-drums, growling, riot-grrrl on guitar and crafts the most hypnotic indie blues-soul this side of Detroit. With an appetite for pop hooks and dual-vocal delivery, She Keeps Bees grinds out lo-fi sonic gems with all the fiery abandon of a preacher speaking in tongues, with the Southern-stylings to match. Here’s an open invitation to get your city-slicker asses down to Austin you two, because in the capital city you’ll be welcomed as royalty. Until then, be sure and check these two out below.

She Keeps Bees – “Focus”
She Keeps Bees – “Gimmie”
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NEW RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS VIDEO
The Riverboat Gamblers have been touting their new excellent LP Underneath the Owl up and down this great nation of ours over the past few months and just recently the band released the video for second single and standout track “Victory Lap” featuring some pretty stellar live footage that needs to be seen to be believed. This video really packs in so much of the band’s true heart and soul that we not only had to post it but apologize for not keeping up with these guys recently – all hurt feelings aside, we love the Riverboat Gamblers, we love Underneath the Owl, and we love Rookie Sensation Mike Wiebe and unhealthy amount. Check it out below.

The Riverboat Gamblers – “A Choppy, Yet Sincere Apology”
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NEW BAND CHEER: THOU
On a more serious, far more metallic note, enter Thou, New Orleans answer to every sludge-metal act that dared to say they were ‘Southern-influenced’. With thunderous riffs that feel as if they could literally collapse lungs in man’s chest, and shrieked vocals that sound like a discordant marriage between Jacob Bannon and a manical, church-burning black metal miscreant, Thou creates a wall of sound that while chugging along at the rate of a lumbering giant nonetheless captivates with its brutal anti-establishment message and teeth-in-your-neck delivery. From the experimentally edged brutal musicality to the forcefully apocalyptic and yet wholly imaginiative lyricism, this foursome is a true beast, a sight to behold and one of our favorite finds of the year.

Plus, as announced by the band on their website, the group will be releasing a split with none other than Cannibal Cheerleader’s other favorite purveyor of doom and gloom Salome. Look for it at the end of the summer or right here, where we’ll be sure and get it to you first.

Thou – “Tyrant”
Thou – “Monstrance”
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FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE PRESENT LUNGS
Back on a lighter note, the long awaited debut album Lungs from long-time Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Florence and the Machine has finally dropped and it delivers in spades, featuring the same sparkling and unique instrumentation and the absolutely blasting and beautiful tones of the lead singer. With big, booming pop dreamworlds dancing through each of Florence’s cathartic and creative character studies, the dance-hall musicianship compliments fantastically with the overall hip-shaking eroticism that seethes from every track. Florence has everything going for her on her path to become a vital and exciting breakout American act like she’s already being touted as in the UK. Here’s hoping for some justice and a showing of Lungs on the US charts. Check it out below.

Florence and the Machine – “Cosmic Love”
Florence and the Machine – “My Boy Builds Coffins”
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NEW BAND CHEER: THE DANKS
Crossing the lo-fi pop-rock aesthetics of the Strokes with the high-minded baroque leanings of Tokyo Police Club, Canada’s the Danks tout a brand of fuzz-filled, soft-spoken nerd-rock that slowly burrows its way into your conciousness while never allowing you to let it spin idly in the background. Just intent to be engaging while still lazy enough to seem as if this quartet might just be too cool to care if you like them or not, the Danks combine warbly synths with basic three-chord structures and sleepy vocal delivery to heart-warming effect. Stick this in your stereo and drive to the beach immediately – pick up a surfboard and sell your worldly possessions on the way.

The Danks – “What We’re Doing”
The Danks – “Who Knows”
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PIPETTES SINGER GOES SOLO
When the Pipettes announced way back when that the inimitable trio of chanteuses would be uncerimoniously dropping two of its key members Riot Becki and Rosay from its lineup the indie community was nothing if not perplexed. Still, not one to be left out in the cold, Rosay, or in true life Rose Elinor Dougall, decided to regroup and rebrand herself as a Siouxsie Sioux-esque solo artist with jangly pop numbers with etheral sensibilities and homespun charm. Lofty goals sure but it might seem as if the starlet has done just that with the release of her latest 7″, featuring the hypnotic single “Start/Stop/Synchro” which sounds like a Howling Bells take on Beach House tune, all glockenspiel and tinkerbell-on-cough-syrup instrumentation with Dougall flinty voice guiding the song gently forward. A real bedroom-pop gem from this rising star – here’s hoping she can come back even stronger than the group who felt they didn’t need her anymore.

Rose Elinor Dougall – “Start/Stop/Synchro”
Rose Elinor Dougall – “Static Saturday”
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(OLD) BAND CHEER: THE TWILIGHT SAD
While the Twilight Sad have certainly seemed to have traced their route around the blogosphere once or twice already, the Scottish foursome definitely have enough heartfelt indie hooks and shoegazey guitarwork to garner mention here. As the world waits with baited breath for the premiere of Forget The Night Ahead, the group’s second album, its worth mentioning the brilliance of the group’s debut LP Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters and how it has captured the imagination of post-punk and ex-emo enthusiasts worldwide. With life-affirming lyricism that borders on melodramatic for all its depth and heaviness were it not for the vast and haunting musicality to match, the group manages to make lonely feel terrifyingly immediate and real, the stark Scottish accents a pleasingly incongruous foil to the band’s booming shoegaze freakouts. This debut album remains such a wholly worthwhile listen, filled with such rich textures and purposefulness of intent, all red-faced and unabashedly hysterical with its heart-on-its-sleeve emoting, that one cannot imagine Forget the Night Ahead coming close to the group’s first flirt with the independent music community.

However, upon hearing the first few tracks from the band’s sophomore effort, namely “Reflection of the Television” and “I Became A Prostitute”, it has become apparent the group has managed to bottle the inimitable energy and naked ambition of their debut and release it once again on rock fans worldwide. In many ways, the album finds the group sinking deeper into darker territory, and just as lead singer James Graham’s vocals drift further and further down below the guitar-wailing hysterics of his bandmates so too does the subject matter of the group’s songs, dipping ever deeper below the surface into pale-blue suburban nothingness.

The Twilight Sad have recently announced through their Twitter page that they will be having an upcoming US tour with another Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Frightened Rabbit, giving Austin an opportunity on September 24th at Mohawk to be delivered a one-two sock to the face of Scottish sadness. Here’s to hard knocks. Below you’ll see the beautiful video for “I Became A Prostitute” – highly recommended.

The Twilight Sad – “Reflection of the Television”
The Twilight Sad – “Twenty-Four Hours (Joy Division Cover)”
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TOKYO POLICE CLUB BLOGGING NEW ALBUM
Our favorite indie-rockers from yesteryear Tokyo Police Club are riding high from a highly regarded debut LP, a fantastically enigmatic debut LP, and a world tour opening for Weezer of all bands, and now that the band has to continue being a fantastic bunch of music-makers, they’re finding the need to share the whole experience with us care of this blog. Seems as though the boys are doing well for themselves – watch out for extended cooking tips and a good deal of studio trickery in the coming days. Definitely worth following.

Tokyo Police Club – “In A Cave”
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NEW BAND CHEER: BLACKHOLE
Quality, creative hardcore music remains decidedly difficult to come by. Whether it dwells in the mediocrity of scene politics or remains uninspired in its delivery, sameness is the death-knell of American punk – that’s why the good stuff not only seems to be springing from the UK but also from the Carter family. You’ll remember Frank Carter, little-known frontman for London-based hardcore juggernaut Gallows? Well turns out his brother Richard Carter fronts a hardcore band as well known as Blackhole and if anything the group is a crustier, more energetic and less-produced beast of a band than his brother’s. Don’t get us wrong, Gallows’ remains one of our favorite bands of the moment but Blackhole is sitting pretty as, well, the new black and with tours with The Ghost of A Thousand and Cancer Bats upcoming the band seems poised to take over. Not much available yet in terms of mp3s, but do check out this video from the band featuring some killer and cathartic vocals care of Carter and some churning punk riffs. Crusty, metal-infused, dirty, underground, mangy punk rock just like the good old days.

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YEAH YEAH YEAHS TSHIRT CONTEST

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been busy recently, bouncing across the States on a helter-skelter tour in support of one of our favorite releases of the year It’s Blitz!. They’ve been so busy in fact that it seems as if they hardly have time to devise their own tshirt ideas, which gives rise to the plan to allow fans to submit their own creations. Yes, the NYC trio have announced via their MySpace that the group will be holding a tshirt making competition – simply head here for all the details and good luck!

In other news the band has crafted a new video for standout track “Heads Will Roll” (we personally think that every tracks from IB! sounds like a standout, but hey, that’s us) and it features, unsurprisingly, a good deal of glitter and rediculous Karen O costuming as well as, inexplicably this time, a break-dancing werewolf that equal parts bizarre as it is awesome. Confetti doubling as blood normally wouldn’t fly in the Cannibal Cheerleader world, but we’ll let the Yeah Yeah Yeahs slide – this time.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Dull Life”
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CANNIBAL CHEERLEADER AND YOU
And so wraps up another jam-packed installment of Cannibal Cheerleader. Take a few days to digest it all because it certainly took quite a few days to write people. We here at Cannibal Cheerleader want you to know we value your readership and while we refuse to buy into the repetitive blogosphere hype and concern ourselves with page views and the next big thing, we’d like to be able to connect with readers. That’s why we’ve set up a variety of ancillary sites that you can view Cannibal Cheerleader materials on. We’ve placed them all over to the right in a little section we like to call ‘The Blight’, seeing as 99% of Web 2.0 remains mindless tripe (except for you and us of course).

We’ve got a YouTube page where we post all of our concert videos, a Vimeo page where we post higher quality reels, a MySpace where we maintain connections with different artists from around the world, and a Last.fm where anyone can view our listening habits. We’re also on Hype Machine, which is a great aggegator of different blogs (just be sure to actually read the content, don’t just download the song!). We invite you to check these ancillary additions out and subscribe/friend/whatever us so we can be closer to you, the reader.

And yes, to all concerned, we have a Twitter, though adding us will only grant you the occassional disgusting tweet about dismemberment or punk situationist theory or hey, maybe a new Lissy Trullie track. Silly maybe, but we’d love to have you follow us regardless.

As a final note we’d like to regurgitate our purpose again, which is not to mindlessly deliver some new mp3 from the newest in-vogue artist or claim to have the most exclusive content – we don’t have the money or the staff for that. Those blogs have lost sight of what it is to write about music, the fiercely independent and underground artistry that is music journalism. The drive and passion that is cutting a pasting a zine together on your living room floor. The love of music that is working nights as a waiter just for the opportunity to write more often and hear more bands. We strive to be the answer to those hipster blogs, to deliver thoughtful, imaginative prose and prime music journalism with an eye for the outsider art that attracted us to indie rock in the first place. Thanks for reading, and as always, until next time, stay hungry.

Comments?

BACK IN ACTION
Rising from the grave, it’s Cannibal Cheerleader, here to award the faithful and punish the nonbelievers! But seriously folks I’m back and ready to report. Grad school apps still stretch to the horizon but I miss my little corner of the internet to stay away any longer.

A few changes:
1. No more quick bites! If I only have one thing to post in a day (or just not enough time to flesh out a post) that’s just all you get people! Having too much of a workload drove me away in the first place, so try and keep me around this time – it’s supposed to be fun!
2. More original content! More videos, more new band cheers, more interviews, and less linking to Stereogum and Pitchfork.
3. Stop emailing me record labels! I appreciate your concern, but I usually just report on things I like, not the next big indie thing you’re trying to sell me. Take me off your list if I’m on there, I don’t want to read it! And no, the (insert indie band here) do not sound like the new Beatles.

ON WITH THE HORROWSHOW!!!
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CAT POWER IN AUSTIN
Over the break the much-awaited do-over show by Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Cat Power finally landed in Austin and to those who missed it, you definitely skipped out on what may go down as the best live music performance in the capital city all year! No exaggerations here, Chan Marshall and her Dirty Delta Blues Band tore up the stage with soulful ballads of wounded hearts and dusty roads, a perfect mixture of rhythm and blues, country, and good old fashioned indie rock and roll.
The setlist concentrated chiefly on tracks from this year’s criminally underrated Jukebox and the seminal The Greatest, though the brilliant opener, which really set the tone for the whole night, was a woeful and charismatic take on “I Don’t Blame You” from You Are Free. Marshall flitted across the stage with a sexy confidence that kept the crowd screaming even during slow, quiet renditions of tracks like “The Moon” and “Silver Stallion”. Her performance, once notoriously unsure and nervous now exudes a quiet confidence not unlike the downtrodden characters of her cover songs; they’ve both managed to see it all, reach the bottom, and come back out on the other side, tired and hurt and all the better for it.
The backing band was excellent as well, with guitarist Teenie Hodges, who performed the intricate guitarwork on the Greatest, joining the group mid-set. Their playing was not-unlike a smokey-bar jam band, twisting in out and out of each song, mixing and changing things up as they went along. By the end of the night Marshall and crew had captured the hearts of every man and woman in attendance at Stubb’s that night. During “Angelitos Negros” she threw a bouqet of flowers in the crowd, as if spreading her new found happiness over everyone. Truly an unforgettable show and deserving of all its praise. Dust off those old Cat Power LPs if you’ve got them, it’s time to rediscover one of the best artists of our time. More pictures below:
Cat Power – “Metal Heart”
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ACL REVIEW
Due to extenuating circumstances I was only able to attend one day of this year’s ACL Festival, but it was a doozy! As usual, ACL was overcrowded, too dusty, miserable at times, and fantastic at others. I’m always iffy at the end of each fest if I’ll be back next year, and then inevitably, I’m there again.

This year’s highlights begin with Vampire Weekend, who have of course been getting a lot of blog backlash since they hit the big time with their self-titled debut. However, the Oxford crew seriously tore up the stage during their early afternoon set on Friday, debuting a few new songs and keeping the crowd dancing with the classics. Overall, I think even I underestimated the enjoyability of these tracks live, as I found myself twisting to “A-Punk” alongside hundreds of others. Definitely a treat.
Next was Jenny Lewis (whose new album Acid Tongue is brilliant by the way) whom we were able to capture only from far away. While the pictures aren’t so good and the stage not really suitable for her new, big band sound, it’s probably impossible for this fiery frontwoman to flop, as she belted out classics like “Rise Up With Fists” and ripped through new barn-burners like “The Next Messiah” and “Jack Killed Mom”. Whether she was striking the keys behind her piano or strumming riffs on the guitar, Lewis was in fine form in front of a loving crowd. Definitely worth the price of admission.
Lastly, there was the Mars Volta, who my friend insisted was the greatest band of all time. Perhaps loudest or most confusing might have been a better title, as the band blasted through most of the tracks from their newest LP the Bedlam in Goliath, with such abandon that it might have seemed like they didn’t care about the crowd at all. I’m not totally convince they did ever give a shit at any point but when the Volta are on they’re great, and when they fall into weird, prog, static territory they’re basically unlistenable. Overall, the show fell comfortably in the middle, leaving the crowd not satisfied or unsatisfied and instead mostly confused. Oh well.

See you next year ACL, if I’m still dumb enough to buy a ticket next year!

Jenny Lewis – “Acid Tongue”
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NEW BAND CHEER: BEYOND GODS & EMPIRES
The Austin metal scene, like most hard rock scenes in the South, is criminally underrated, and the fact that locals Beyond Gods & Empires aren’t opening for Pig Destroyer yet is a testament to that fact. This crushing four-piece combines a dual-vocal attack a-la the Red Chord with a doom-metal instrumental approach that’s equal parts High on Fire and Converge. Songs stretch to the dark horizon but the brutal assault continues throughout. Definitely a band to keep on your radar. Don’t believe me? Check out this Cannibal Cheerleader video below and see for yourself! Check the band out at their Myspace.

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NEW BAND CHEER: LUCKY SOUL
Sifting through the CMJ overload that occurred in the past few weeks, I came upon this real gem of a band whose first string of US shows garnered them a lot of much deserved praise. Lucky Soul hail from Londontown but their sound is all New York-girl-group, with bouncy melodies crackling behind moody tales of heartbreak as sung by the smoky-voiced Ali Howard. Equal parts delicately poppy and brashly rock and roll, the music plays without a wink of irony, no great nod to the past, and sounds all the more genuine because of it. The group’s debut The Great Unwanted was well-received in their home country and the group is now working on teh followup. You can bet we’ll be first on the list to hear any new tracks!

Lucky Soul – “The Great Unwanted”

Comments? Anyone glad we’re back?