Cannibal Cheerleader

THE ACTION DESIGN – BLOOD BATH
Regular readers of Cannibal Cheerleader will be familiar with one of our favorite acts the Action Design who played our inaugural Blood Bath SXSW day party a week ago. The band rocketed through a seven song set of classics, even throwing in a Misfits cover for good measure! Seriously, this group bleeds cool in classic style and got the whole of the Peacock dancing in fine form. This group has come a long way since Tsunami Bomb and because of that we feel they’ll all the better for it, having improved their sound immeasurably to the tune of a dance-rock powerhouse.
A funny story must be included about the group whose guitarist Jaycen woke up last Wednesday morning with a terrible stomach pain and had to be rushed to the hospital. We were called in the midst of the performance of opener Vermillion Lies with the news that the band’s attendance might have to be an acoustic set, if anything at all. That said, once Jaycen was freed from his IV tethers, the group raced up to Austin from San Antonio at breakneck speed and despite some delays managed to play a scorching last set of the day. Definitely worth the wait, and let it never be said that this band isn’t a troupe of troopers. Check out some videos and more pictures below!

The Action Design – “Half A World”

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SXSW LIVE REVIEW – THE HOLD STEADY/LUCERO

Our Thursday at SXSW involved a wonderful stint at Red 7 where we were witness to an astounding double-bill of Lucero and the Hold Steady. Seems that this was the first time these two great and very similar acts were on the same bill and the set did not dissappoint, with classic tunes played by both bands. Still, it was the Hold Steady that took the cake, rampaging through songs old and new with a heavy concentration of rockers from Stay Positive including personal favorite “Slapped Actress” and barn-burning opener “Constructive Summer”. The crowd responded in kind to the band’s inclusive nature, featuring crowd-surfing, a surprising amount of moshing, and plenty of sing-along choruses. Definitely a sight to behold and worthy of the trip downtown during the busiest weekend in Austin.

The Hold Steady – “Constructive Summer”

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NEW CRYSTAL CASTLES TRACK

Long time fan-favorite and live-show standard “Baptism” from Crystal Castles has managed to weasel its way onto music sites over the past 24 hours. No one’s quite sure if this track is a result of any new recordings or if the wordless track (live the track is accompanied by Alice Glass’ trademark shouts) is off of a mysterious release. What we do know is the noodling synths and breakbeat riffs make this track a monster jam and we’re happy to finally have a real version swimming through our shuffler. Check it out below:

(turns out this mp3 was a fan-made cover – thanks Andy from Lies Records for clearing that up!)

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BLOOD BATH RECAP

In a move that has all of us audiophiles salivating like wild dogs, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have announced a special pre-order deal for their upcoming third LP It’s Blitz! that includes a special 7″ with their first single “Zero” on the A-side and a remix by none other than blog-buzzers Animal Collective on the other. Swing by InSound and pre-order this right now – we know we did! Until then, check out some more b-sides from the special-edition release below.

SXSW BLEEDS AUSTIN DRY

TOMORROW: CANNIBAL CHEERLEADER BLOOD BATH

INTERVIEW WITH KYLESA’S LAURA PLEASANTS

Speaking of rock behemoths, Kylesa swings through Austin this week for SXSW hot on the heels of their new record, the unbelievable Static Tensions, and we scored an interview with co-guitarist and co-vocalist Laura Pleasants for an exclusive Cannibal Cheerleader interview. Check it:

CC: What is Kylesa all about? Describe your sound to the uninitiated. What are some of the themes of your music?

LP: We play heavy music rooted in punk, metal and psychedelic rock. Generally we write about personal life experiences.

CC: What went into the making of Static Tensions? Did the songs come quick or slow? What was the recording process like?

LP: Phillip and I wrote everything with Carl behind the drum kit. The three of us got together after our brief European tour last year (Feb. 2008) and buckled down to write the songs. “Said and Done” was written before we went to Europe but everything else was done afterwords. Eric, our other drummer, came up periodically to jam and work on some ideas. We did a tour in May and played some of the songs live to get comfortable with them and work out some of the kinks. We started recording in July 2008. Some songs came rather quickly and others took time to materialize and grow.
Recording this time was probably one of the best experiences I’ve had in the studio. Everyone was prepared and more relaxed. The line up was stronger than what we’ve worked with in the past and everyone, for the most part, was on point. Phillip’s producing skills have immensely improved and we had some nicer equipment in the studio to work with. Before going in there, Phillip, Carl, Jay and Steve (of the Jam Room) got together to brainstorm the recording of the drums. The drums were a big concern for us because you couldn’t really hear the two drums that well on the last record. They came up with a good plan and with a little bit a trial and error, i think they nailed the sound. I also had more time in the studio to work on my guitar parts. I’ve never had much time in the past to experiment much so I was extremely pleased to have some time to dedicate to guitar overdubs and solos / atmospheric stuff.

CC: Where do you draw inspiration from? Who are some of your favorite artists both past and present?

LP: Inspiration comes from living life, really. Soaking in the ups and downs. Some of the core favorites among Phillip and mine are: Sabbath, Fugazi, Pink Floyd, Kyuss, Flaming Lips, Neurosis, Black Flag.

CC: Great metal music seems to be in resurgence, especially in the South in the areas around Savannah and Atlanta. What is it about this area that makes bands create such thought-provoking and inventive metal music?

LP: It’s an interesting question, but a hard one to answer. Heavy music has been relevant in the South for a long time but it’s just now getting more attention. There’s something that’s very oppressive and smothering about Savannah. It’s beautiful and great yet depressing in many ways. Additionally, I think the general lower cost of living allows for people / bands to get together and spend more time on music and less time at work. It’s a big reason why Kylesa has been able to do what we do for so long.

CC: What’s it like being a woman in a hardcore metal band? No doubt you rock just as hard if not harder than everyone else, but have you encountered any difficulty on the road? Any episodes of scene misogyny?

LP: There are sometimes episodes and comments like “You play really well for a girl” and that type of thing. The best part about those comments is that they think they’re paying you a compliment! A lot of the more mainstream metal acts with women members are marketed with an overtly sexual image. I guess there’s a lot of media pressure to be that because sex sells and these labels and magazines are selling mainly to young men / teenage boys. I think that’s a horrible way to portray women in music. It’s like you have to be some big titted heavily made up, scantily clad chick, or you can be “one of the guys”. There’s not much middle ground. I feel like I don’t fit in either category. I think the metal scene still has a ways to go in that sense. I don’t think about gender when I play and I want to be considered a guitar player and a song writer. And I can hang with the guys but it’s nice to be able to be a girl, too. But overall, I am treated with respect among the scenes we play.

CC: Where do you think the music industry is going and how is the business model changing? Kylesa have been releasing vinyl and 7″ for years, do you think that wax is making a comeback and that it will soon be the new standard? How does the business side of Kylesa run?

LP: I’m not really gonna go into the business side of things but if we were strickly business minded, we’d have a lot more money and popularity than we do now! We have always been a vinyl band because vinyl means a lot to us as music fans. I love records. I think there are fans of vinyl and that keeps vinyl alive but the whole model is changing. Soon everything will be exchanged digitally but it’s hard to say how the $ will exchange hands. The thing about the digital age is that there is very little soul or tangibility to it all.

CC: What is it for a band to ‘make it’ in today’s music world? Have Kylesa made it?

LP: Haha. Not really sure…we just try to stay a float. A lot of “making it” it is being in the right place at the right time with a lot of luck.

CC: What are your feelings on Static Tensions? From what we’ve heard so far it’s shaping up to be some of your best work, do you think this album will increase your profile? What are your goals for this release?

LP: I do feel that it’s our best record and we want to tour fairly heavily on it.

CC: How do you feel about SXSW? What do you like about Austin and the Texas metal scene? And speaking of festivals, what’s it like to be on the earth-shattering bill for Scion Fest?

LP: SXSW is great. We played it a couple of yeas ago and then last year i flew out to Austin just to attend the shows and hang out with friends. Austin rules. Such a great city and there are some good bands there for sure, Iron Age being one of my current favorites. Scion fest was pretty amazing. There were tons of people there, tons of great bands and the vibe and energy of the whole show was incredible. I just wish I could’ve seen all of the bands!

Check out the rest of the interview available in Issue #3 of the Cannibal Cheerleader zine! You can pick it up at our SXSW Day Party, tomorrow, March 18th 12-6pm, at the Peacock (515 Pedernales) here in Austin. Come out or be torn apart mercilessly!

Kylesa – “Running Red”

Comments?

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!

12:45pm – Vermillion Lies
1:30pm – Treasure Mammal
2:15pm – Agent Ribbons
3:00pm – Prey For Sleep
3:45pm – The Action Design
4:30pm – The Whispertown 2000
5:15pm – Rolo Tomassi

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”
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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)
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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:

Bloc Party – “Signs (Armand Van Helden Remix)”
Bloc Party – “The Once and Future King”

Comments? Whose coming out for the SXSW Blood Bath?

WHISPERTOWN 2000 ADDED TO BLOOD BATH!

CANNIBAL CHEERLEADER BLOOD BATH – SXSW PARTY

PIECE BY PIECE: IT’S BLITZ!

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:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Dull Life”

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Skeletons”

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NEW MF DOOM TRACKS SURFACE

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!

MF Doom – “LIGHTWORKS”

MF Doom – “CELLZ”

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!