Cannibal Cheerleader

Greetings Cannibal Cheerleader faithful and welcome to new site and new beginings, marked by our annual top ten list for 2009, a year that featured a lot of absences from the CC team but in the end only strengthened our resolve in our beloved Austin-based music blog. Take a look around the site, check out some of our video work, and be prepared to check out Cannibal Cheerleader in the new decade! To wrap up 2009 though, check out our Bloody Best of ‘09 below!

Best Tracks of ‘09

10. Pete Doherty – “Salome”

In a tumultuous year that saw one of our favorite singer-songwriters, Pete Doherty, grabbing headlines for every misstep, the ex-Libertine still managed to fly a record under the radar with his excellent Grace/Wastelands, a poignant odds-n-sods collection of tracks he’d been pasting together since his days with Carl Barat and co. The winner amongst the bunch, “Salome” features Doherty’s trademark woozy imagery, painting a picture of loneliness and despair that shoots straight out of his battered heart. Sad but oh so true.

9. The Mars Volta – “Cotopaxi”

Don’t ever accuse the Mars Volta of following the trends or treading the straight and narrow path – their newest LP the acoustically-bent Octahedron featured a plethora of bizarre twists and turns, recalling the progressive nature of their later records and mixing it effective with the crooners of their debut. However the standout track could only be “Cotopaxi”, a striking pop to the jugular with machine-gun-fire guitar lines and lyrics that beg to be sung at high volume to the confusion of every frat boy ever (”Don’t quit dragging the lake!”). Leave it to the Volta to make prog-rock radio friendly again. 

8. Franz Ferdinand – “Ulysses” 

Not a record that’s gotten much attention on the Cannibal Cheerleader site this year but this cut from Franz Ferdinand has had our hips shaking all during this Christmas break. With a subversive electronic bent and a whip-crack fervor that marks the first time these Scottish sexperts have seemed genuinely pissed off, “Ulysses” marks a turning point in the career of the fearsome foursome towards a more expansive sound. Keep on dancing though fellas, don’t lose your head over one rock album.

7. Tiny Vipers – “Life On Earth”

To sing on the subject of expansiveness, darkness, and all-encompassing ethereal experience, one would think  a full orchestra might be necessary, or certainly more instrumentation than the incredibly sparse arrangements that are produced by solo artist Tiny Vipers in all her hauting glory. In a career defined by her ability to craft frighteningly lonely tales of despair, to hear Jesy Fortino wax poetic on philosophical quandaries such as in “Life On Earth” becomes immediately an arresting experience, gluing the listener to their seats keeping them at rapt attention throughout the ten-minute track. A triumph for the tiny indeed.

6. God Help the Girl – “Come Monday Night” 

2009 saw the return of Stuart Murdoch, albeit not in the terms some may have hoped, opting to create an insular musical world in the form of his brainchild God Help the Girl rather than return to the glory of the Belle & Sebastian collective. Still, given the carefully woven world that Murdoch has conjured and the collaborative spirit with which this project was made, it’s no wonder that tracks like “Come Monday Night” seem to spring forth  just as naturally as could be expected with the twee wunderkind’s former outfit. Feeling every bit like the soundtrack to a 50s French New-Wave film, this track reignites our passion in all things Murdoch.

5. Pull In Emergency – “Planes”

With an attention to detail well beyond their years, Pull In Emergency have secured some serious press on the backs of a few 7-inches alone, due in no small part to the garage-rock sound and securely pop sensibilities that power their youthful anthems upwards to the indie heavens. Featuring a hip-shaking singalong chorus and rapturous lyrics that spring forth from one of the most powerful female vocalists singing today, all layered over a wiry, pulsating guitar-line, it’s no surprise that we can’t wait to hear a Pull In Emergency’s full-length followup to “Planes” immediately. 

4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Dull Life”

While the Yeah Yeah Yeahs certainly could be said to have crafted some of the greatest tracks of the year throughout their newest LP It’s Blitz! it’s the classic cuts that slice the deepest. “Dull Life” recalls the blood-letting carnage of the band’s earlier efforts but packs in the lessons learned, building from an accidental barn-burner to a city-wide inferno, exploding and bursting at the seems. While still celebrating breaking free from boundaries, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs still have their punk roots firmly in hand.

3. Gallows – “Black Eyes”

With all the energy and anger of broken stools and barroom stabbings, Gallows released quite possible one of the best punk records of the year, all encapsulated in the magnificent standout track “Black Eyes”, equal parts Oi and spirit of 77 all at once. With a shout-a-long chorus sure to shutter the neighbors inside for years (”I know where you live!!”) and a deliciously demonic guitar riff that’s certain to serve as the circle-pit anthem for years to come, this track is everything that Gallows has come to represent – from knowing that you’re good and not being afraid to say it to taking a licking and keeping on kicking, this is the fight that needs to be injected back into all modern rock. 

2. Lissy Trullie – “Boy Boy”

When a one woman garage-rock army comes busting down your door you’d better believe it’d be in the form of one of Lissy Trullie’s tightly wrapped expertly written pop-rock gems, the likes of which the Strokes only wish they could still write. Yes it’s 2001 again and Trullie is taking it by storm, with an ear for rhythm and a rancor for rock this husky-voiced, distractingly coifed starlet seems bound for blazes of glory, with “Boy Boy” as a launchpad. With equal parts stunning simplicity and complex coolness, Trullie manages to find that middle ground between the irritating lack of care in modern lo-fi and the overproduced pompousness of today’s pop rockers to craft a track that speaks to the leather-jacket wearing rocker in all of us. Lissy Trullie, bringing back the rock in ‘09. 

1. The Joy Formidable – “Whirring”

In a year of uplifting synth-rock anthems and renewed lo-fi promise there remains something to be said about losing a few teeth at the business end of a careening effects pedal, whipping across the crowded rock club on a wave of love and loss every now and again, as seems to be the general feeling gathered when listening to the Joy Formidable’s “Whirring”. The third single from their excellent debut LP A Balloon Called Moaning, track, with its painful admission that “Love can’t stay here” marks a decidedly angry tone to a record that while swooning and etheral with its shoegaze effects remains nonetheless steadfastly passionate and, in many ways, harsh and violent. In the same way that Joy Division lived up to its moniker by thrusting a wedge deep between the mountain of happiness and a pit of sorrow, the Joy Formidable strive to let everyone know their willing to let whirring fists fly for their pursuit, blood and guts and all. 

Best Albums of ‘09

10. Dead Man’s Bones – Dead Man’s Bones

With a haunting glockenspiel line that could only be followed by a accompanied by warbly, sinister croon, Dead Man’s Bones can only be described as everything one might expect from a haunted house inspired indie-rock nightmare. Helmed by actor Ryan Nelson, DMB contains all the appropriate trappings of a movie star’s rock project – overwrought, experimental, focusing mostly on unique vocal intonations – and it all adds up to an absolutely mystical combination. One listen to “In The Room Where You Sleep” might be enough to haunt your dreams forever. 

9. The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love

It stands to reason that a band as rooted in folk narratives and imaginative prose as the Decemberists might find success in creating a full-length rock opera, and while Colin Meloy and his merry troupe of troubadours have found previous accolades in their poetic vignettes, the group has achieved their highest level of artistic achievement in The Hazards of Love. From its incredible usage of a bloody and magical story of love, revenge, loss, and murder to the rock hooks which seem to flow effortlessly from each line, the group has seared a new path through the wilderness of indie music and have entered to a realm all their own. 

8. Bat For Lashes – Two Suns

From the initial careening drum pounds of album opener “Glass”, Bat For Lashes‘ Two Suns sound delivers on all the promise of every one of the singer-songwriter’s previous efforts with gusto. And when the track explodes into a hot passionate fireball, dancing across the eardrums with bombast and wrecklessness, the listener has been thusly been strapped in for the album’s duration, an entirely captivating and all-encompassing experience, with delicate arrangements exploding with Natasha Khan’s inimitably smoky voice to create a firework of mesmerizing musical effect. 

7. Kylesa – Static Tensions

A lot of praise has been heaped on a wide swath of the metal community this year, ranging from Mastodon’s embrace of progressive rock to Converge’s Slayer-esque guitar solos – and yet, it’s with this Savannah, Georgia quintet with which the greatest amount of praise should rest with Kylesa and their magnum opus Static Tensions as their assaulting dual-guitar, dual-drumkit formula has only increased in brutality and ferocity since their previous efforts. Couple this with their embrace of Sabbath-era riffs, psychedelic vocal trade-offs, and manic punk inspiration and the listener is privy to the underground rock record of the decade. A record that will come to redefine metal in the new year.

6. The Horrors – Primary Colours 

Living down a reputation as the most raucous, violent live-act that ever donned an entire bottle of hairspray might be a hard task to undertake, but Faris Badwin and company have managed to not only expand upon their work as London’s the Horrors but completely morph the structure of their group as a whole with Primary Colours, a record that stands as a far cry to their punk nuggets of yesteryear with shoegaze-via-Joy Division instrumentation and icy, stormy arrangements that mix moods of longing and violence into one Jesus and Mary Chain package. While the group may bleed punk and consume darkness, their slow-burning sophomore effort leads one to believe there remains a lot to be seen below their ice and mascara surface. 

5. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone

 Following up a solid-gold classic like Fox Confessor Brings the Flood might seem to some to be beyond an impossible task, and that’s why Washington-based singer Neko Case returned to the confines of an abandoned barn deep in the wilderness with only her recording team and a bevy of broken down pianos to record her fantastically whimsical followup Middle Cyclone. With a theme of wildness and wilderness as it relates to the human condition, Case searches for herself in the fallen trees of the forest and the gaping maws of fearsome beasts, only to find herself less human at the end, embracing her animal self and passing silently into nature’s warm embrace to the tune of crickets chirping, all the while strumming her acoustic guitar in time. 

4. Fever Ray – Fever Ray

As an all-around aural presentation, the debut performance from the Knife’s Karin Dreijer Andersson in the form of Fever Ray serves as a magnificent testament to the power of simplicity and the effectiveness of experimentalism. With sparse but unique instrumentation, a few pedals worth of vocal modifications, and enough space to breathe in the terrifying world Andersson weaves Fever Ray can only be described as the new gold standard for electronic music, embracing new world sounds and off-kilter rhythms and making beats and handclaps once again a musical tool not specifically designed for dancing – unless that dancing is naked around a tribal fire. An altogether mesmerizing experiment in the power of electronic music. 

3. The Joy Formidable – A Balloon Called Moaning

Shoegaze music can’t help but be a reminder of the awe-inspiring instrumental force behind rock music, blasting waves of jaw-dropping riffs through the skulls of its unsuspecting listeners, and 2009 brought us a new trio of pedal-stomping champions in the form of the members of the Joy Formidable, a Welsh group that are injecting the anger back into indie with their debut A Balloon Called Moaning. On a record where every track feels as passionate as the last, the group seems bound for greatness, expanding on the trappings of their woozy instrumentation and infusing everything with urgency and ferociousness, the Joy Formidable prove they’re here to stay. 

2. Lissy trullie – Self-Taught Learner

A return to the leather-jacket wearing, Chuck-Taylor sporting garage-rock coolness that sparked the creativity of a nation of high schoolers at the beginning of the decade seems only fitting now at the end of the decade in the form of a New York fashionista turned rock star Lissy Trullie, whose Monroe-esque singing style and Strokes-era riffs echo a garage-apartment feel and a return to basics aesthetics when one person and one electric guitar meant a world of possibilities. With only a limited number of tracks with which to stretch her wings, Trullie has managed to soar, flying high on the backs of bouyant garage nuggets that mesh soul, punk, and classic rock all into 3-minute vignettes on life, love, and loss as a small fry in a big city. One of the best, most enjoyable records of the year by far. 

1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!

What distinguishes rock and roll from all other art forms isn’t necessarily its incorporation of disparate forms of songwriting and instrumentation and showmanship, but how it manages to meld all those singularly cold and at times impersonal attributes into a hot and passionate union of fury and fire, and that is exactly what the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have managed to achieve in perfection on their third LP It’s Blitz! The record, a blazingly original departure from the obscenely punk leanings of their earlier works, has nonetheless retained every bit of the bloody art-rock rampage that gave motion and heat to tunes like “Pin” as well as sincerity and heartbreak to tracks like “Maps”. This record is the punks grown up and challenging themselves, their clothes ripped and tattered, their guitars smashed to bits and find they like the naked feel behind a creepy synth line and can set a crowd ablaze with a kiss as well as a punch. It’s Blitz! is equal parts an artistic achievement as a gigantic middle finger to everyone who didn’t give the punks a chance, didn’t think they were smart enough, or clever enough, or danced enough, or loved enough to make tracks like “Zero” or mused on philosophy enough to make “Dull Life”. Karen O, Nick Zinner, and Brian Chase, rock stars though they may be, still feel as punk as the next kid in Converse shoes with badges on his tight jeans. Punk rock lives. 

Stay tuned for another exciting year of Cannibal Cheerleader my faithful followers! Stay hungry!

Stop the presses, throw your phone into the lake, unplug your internet right this very instance because with their sophomore LP Forget the Night Ahead Scotland’s the Twilight Sad have accomplished the impossible and crafted a swirling, haunting, incredible followup to their already seminal debut Fourteen Autumns, Fifteen Winters. Why are you reading this and not listening to this album? Delivering on the promise of the fantastic early singles “I Became a Prostitute” and “Reflection of the Television”, Forget the Night Ahead feels in many ways a tighter, more furiously focused record in contrast to the meandering codas that defined their earlier works, though instrumental tracks like “Scissors” illuminate the fact that the group still has a lot to say in the context of fuzz and feedback. Tracks like “That Room” and “Seven Years of Letters” present a band that has become comfortable with its strengths, relying primarily on a flurry of guitar wails, loud-quiet-loud explosions, and James Graham’s inimitable voice. Truly a work of art and one of the absolute best releases of the year, bar-none.

The Twilight Sad – “That Room”
The Twilight Sad – “Seven Years of Letters”

Comments?

ARCTIC MONKEYS REVEAL HUMBUG
Since we last left you Cannibal Cheerleader faithful the word on the street was still pretty sketchy on the details of the newest Arctic Monkeys LP. My how the times have changed. Seems as if the boys from Sheffield have been busy, releasing everything from the album cover (the hazy, retro image you see up there), to the title (the aforementioned, classically understated, and undeniably British Humbug), to the tracklist (the terse ten-song list you see below).

1. “My Propeller”
2. “Crying Lightning”
3. “Dangerous Animals”
4. “Secret Door”
5. “Potion Approaching”
6. “Fire and the Thud”
7. “Cornerstone”
8. “Dance Little Liar”
9. “Pretty Visitors”
10. “The Jeweller’s Hands”

We here at Cannibal Cheerleader have been Arctic Monkeys fans since the beginning, ever since they let loose with their punkish snarls and street-wise rhymes on their debut LP. When Favourite Worst Nightmare dropped we were stunned at the art-rock direction the band had chosen for their sophomore release, which featured the fearsome foursome flowering into rock monstrosities, artful tunesters whose lyrical chops and wicked instrumentation were forces to be reckoned with. And now, all signs point to an even more ‘Cannibal Cheerleader’ approach to their third album – stoner jams, Black Sabbath influences, hell even Josh Homme is aboard. Sludge city.
Check out this recent press photo featuring all the boys with classic slacker hair. Note the ‘molest-aches’ and Sabbath shirt. Now squirm on over to the news that Josh Homme of stoner-metal gods Queens of the Stone Age helped co-produce Humbug. Even track titles like “Fire and Thud” absolutely seethe with sludge-jam mentality. And frankly, that’s quite alright with us. Not only are we big stoner-jam fans to begin with, and Arctic Monkeys aficionados to boot, but we have an affinity for bands trying new things, broadening their horizons, and venturing outside their comfort zone. Here’s to Humbug coming through in spades.

Arctic Monkeys – “Take It Or Leave It (Strokes Cover)”
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JENNY LEWIS LIVE REVIEW
Sweltering heat accompanies any Austin, Texas summer night, and June 22nd was no different just because the cooling breeze that is the voice of Miss Jenny Lewis was in town. Still, as the sun set on the Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre here in downtown Austin, any audience member there could have told you there was no other place worth being than bathed in the glow of the sonorous tunes by the fiery redhead.
The evening started with Ohio-to-Austin transplants the Heartless Bastards churning away at their soulful rock-renditions, leaning heavily on the formidable strength of lead crooner Erika Wennerstrom’s inimitable voice.
Burning through tracks from their newest LP The Mountain as well as old crowd favorites, the band felt tight and pulverizing, Wennerstrom’s rhythm section choreographing their movements in tune with the songs like consummate rock professionals. The sound was mixed at a very bass-high level, allowing for a bombastic volume level that rumbled out over the enthusiastic crowd. After an all-too-short set the band wrapped up to make way for the main course.
Then, just as the sun set off in the distance Jenny Lewis trailed by boyfriend and co-writer of Acid Tongue Jonathan Rice and the rest of her ragtag traveling troupe took to the stage with force, leaping immediately into crowd favorite “See Fernando” before assaulting a bevy of old classics from her already formidable solo library. Whipping their way through track after track of instantaneously infectious indie-rock nuggets with equal parts country and rock twang, Jenny Lewis and company sounded wholly loose and carefree. While a Rilo Kiley performance, as awe-inspiring as they might be, come with at times an overabundance of gravitas, it became clear to the audience at Stubb’s that a Lewis solo performance was the exact opposite – an opportunity for the singer to delight in rock classicism and groove effortlessly without self-referencing.
Still, perhaps the most achingly gorgeous performance of the night was the solo-acoustic rendition of Rilo Kiley classic “Silver Lining” that saw Lewis alone on the stage, strumming away through the basic chords of the love-lorn tune, made all the more powerful by the absence of Blake Sennett. The band wrapped up the night with a cavalier and ramshackle take on “The Next Messiah” followed by an encore that featured a brand new song (”Big Wave”, one of two new songs of the night, the other being “Just Like Zeus”, both being infectious and sounding more Rilo Kiley-esque than most of Lewis’ current repertoire), “Acid Tongue”, and the hot-and-sweaty closer “Born Secular”. Overall a fantastic display of confident musicianship that once again reasserts Miss Lewis reign as the queen of indie-rock. Check out this wonderful video below found on YouTube – recorded maybe with a digital camera but the vertical lines make me think I’m watching an old home movie and the sound quality is pretty spot-on. Enjoy!

Jenny Lewis – “Acid Tongue”
Heartless Bastards – “Out At Sea”
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CRYSTAL CASTLES TUSSLE WITH SECURITY
Word on the street is Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Crystal Castles are some troublesome youngsters. Always gallivanting about, canceling shows (to great dismay), and generally acting like good ol’ fashioned rockstars. Now it seems they’ve gotten into yet another scrape, this time with security at the Sonar Festival in Barcelona. Sources say that after an entire set of battling with agonizing sound issues, Alice Glass decided to trash the band’s drum kit after the set was finished. Apparently, festival security didn’t enjoy her rowdy behavior and in the video below one can see a security guard scooping her up and away from the drums. However, in the last few seconds of the vid one can see E. Kath dashing to his singer’s aid and just as it looks like he’s about to throw a haymaker the video cuts out. Reports are a small tussle took place but the only punches thrown were by the tiny fists of Glass to undoubtedly little damage. Check it out below.

We here at Cannibal Cheerleader, Crystal Castles historians we are, have long since known about Glass’ penchant for causing a ruckus. Check out some of the videos our friends from the Lymbyc Systym sent us (their drummer pulls double duties in both bands) showcasing some onstage destruction. Obviously skip to the last part of both the videos for the real action.


Yep, seems as if Glass and Kath are quite the rapscallions. We’re not one to pass judgment on such things really – we’re just huge fans of the music. Still, all the ruckus and holier-than-thou arguments about how dastardly the Crystal Castles duo behave remind us of how the Brits hemmed and hawed over the Sex Pistols’ Bill Grundy interview – and how twenty years later they all realized how silly they all were for caring so much. And hell, we appreciate it when rock stars act as such. Here’s to a few destroyed hotel rooms at the Crystal Castles suite.

Crystal Castles – “Death (White Lies Remix)”
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SPINNERETTE RELEASE SELF-TITLED DEBUT
Coming off the heated anticipation following their Ghetto Love EP, Brody Dalle’s self-titled Spinnerette LP emerges, rising like some Garbage-influenced phoenix from the ashes of the Distillers. Never one to people please and not follow her own ambitions, Dalle here experiments with churning electronic loops and danceable rhythms recalling a solo-era Courtney Love with bigger chops and a greater sense of genuineness. And while the songs may at times seem cookie-cutter and over-produced, Dalle is nothing if not self-referential, taking an inherently shallow music medium and infusing it with hot sweat and malice, her trademark drawl and impassioned wails adding an air of desperation to the forlorn tracks and creating an undertone of experimentalism and depth that begs for multiple spins. The album has been receiving some flack from all sides, but the ultimate criticism that anyone can come up with is that Dalle is not delivering on the promise of Coral Fang Pt. 2. I’m sure she would say the album is her big middle finger to an industry that wishes to pigeonhole female artists into easily definable roles. This is Dalle’s Eagles of Death Metal and it kills.

Spinnerette – “All Babes Are Wolves”
Spinnerette – “The Walking Dead”
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JIM JAMES IS EVERYWHERE
The fact that My Morning Jacket has no release planned for this year hasn’t stopped lead crooner Jim James from remaining as prolific as ever. On top of releasing the excellent Celebración de la Ciudad Natal Record Store Day release featuring the Jacket performing live, James has also revealed that he will be releasing an EP of George Harrison covers under the pseudonym ‘Yim Yames‘ in tribute to the late Beatles guitarist. The release features recordings from Harrison’s days with the Beatles and his storied solo career.

In other Jim James related news, the Monsters of Folk album has been officially confirmed, and it combines the MMJ frontman with none other than M. Ward and Conor Oberst. The self-titled debut album is due out on Sept. 22nd and will feature fifteen barn-burning country-rockers. Tracklist below:

1. “Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.)”
2. “Say Please”
3. “Whole Lotta Losin’”
4. “Temazcal”
5. “The Right Place”
6. “Baby Boomer”
7. “Man Named Truth”
8. “Goodway”
9. “Ahead of the Curve”
10. “Slow Down Jo”
11. “Losin Yo Head”
12. “Magic Marker”
13. “Map of the World”
14. “The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me”
15. “His Master’s Voice”

Yim Yames – “Behind That Locked Door”
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NEW BAND CHEER: COMPLETE COLLAPSE
Sometimes record store crawling can pay off in spades, as was the case when the Cannibal Cheerleader crew wandered into Trailer Space Records in East Austin to find female-fronted Atx hardcore group Complete Collapse spreading ruiniation between the indie and classic rock aisles. Despite having only been around since January the band is already gaining steam locally, and will be playing club shows and recording demos as the summer drags on. For our money however, the band, with their rip-snarl guitar attack and the guttural howl of lead singer Carrie, is one of the best hardcore punk groups representing Austin right now. Be sure and check their July 14th show at Red 7 and head over to their Myspace. Hail to the hardcore.
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JOIN JOY FORMIDABLE MAILING LIST
Seems as if our pals in The Joy Formidable have been busy – crafting a stunning debut LP, releasing three singles and three respective videos already from said 9-song album, and all the while keeping up with their fans on a very intimate level. It seems the band would like everyone to know they should sign up for their email list at their new official website so we here at Cannibal Cheerleader are definitely obliging. Won’t you? Be sure and keep track of this trio over at their Myspace – word on the street is they’ll soon be huge.

Joy Formidable – “The Greatest Light Is the Greatest Shade”
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NEW BAND CHEER: LA ROUX
Riding an electric storm across the Atlantic, fueled by infectious synth-beats and danceable harmonies, UK act La Roux are poised to storm the US and turn the Little Boots hysteria into ‘LaRoux-lite’. Sounding decidedly icy and unconcerned while maintaining enough crystalline tenderness and depth to really illuminate the fact that a great dance record when made well is also a great indie-rock record, the duo’s (producer Ben Langmaid and singer Emmy Jackson) self-titled debut swaggers with the confidence of a record deep into an artist’s career. With a tidal wave of British press behind the band and a Flock of Seagulls haircut that’s sure to be the focus of a million other articles on the highly coifed singer, La Roux are nonetheless the kind of understated dance act that’s sure to make a huge splash.

La Roux – “In For the Kill”
La Roux – “Colourless Colour”
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VOTE ROLO TOMASSI
One of our favorite acts of all time Rolo Tomassi is apparently in the running for the Kerrang! Magazine award for Best British Newcomer. To help the group claim this hefty title and wrestle it from those other poser bands you have to go to this website and vote immediately! Just put ‘ROLO TOMASSI’ in the text box and you’re all set. Let’s get Rolo Tomassi to the top where they belong!

As a quick aside it seems in all our Rolo Tomassi excitement we’ve somehow forgotten to introduce their excellent video for rawkus album opener “Oh, Hello Ghost”. Allow us to remedy that immediately and treat you to a string of hardcore infused Xmas lights and tiny wooden mannequin in a disturbing love triangle:

In other news it seems that Rolo Tomassi and one of our other favorite Holy Roar groups Throats will be releasing a special split 7″, with each band covering the other’s respective songs. Throats will be giving their own rendition of “I Love Turbulence” while the Spence’s and company will be delivering the goods on “Headclouds” and “Reign of Low”. Limited edition here folks, pre-order while you can. Here’s to these two awesome UK imports!

Rolo Tomassi – “Scabs”
Throats – “Deathnaps”
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NEW TINY VIPERS ALBUM
If any young artist this year were to deliver on the promise of their past work in the same way that Jesy Fortino of Tiny Vipers has done with her new incredible outing Life On Earth, a stunning achievement in minimalist acoustic-folk and a mind-altering journey that begs to explore deep, philosophical facets of one’s mind, then they can be said to have pull off the impossible. Tiny Vipers, perhaps best known for her silence-inducing, eye-opening live performances has crafted a stormy, flickering dark wave of an album, with a sound like a dark journey down the river Styx, casting away at a slow pitch towards a dark underworld of introspective thought where return is not guaranteed. Casting aside all traditional singer-songwriter structures and Cat Power-aping, Fortino here sounds completely unique and natural, alone in a cave with only her questions on life to comfort her. A truly masterful effort, Life On Earth may well have claimed the crown of the best acoustic record of the year only halfway through.

Tiny Vipers – “Life On Earth”
Tiny Vipers – “Tiger Mountain”
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NEW BLOC PARTY SINGLE
Never ones to rest on their laurels, Bloc Party are racing off again, this time with a new one-off single called “One More Chance”, released on BBC Radio last week. Featuring Kele Okereke’s trademark pained-croons about lost love and strained relationships, the single introduces a dancier rhythm and a disco-inflections that were only briefly explored on Intimacy. The song careens through several minutes of guitar-pedals and electronic washes before barreling to hushed close, altogether leaving us wanting more. Is this the new direction for another Bloc Party LP? Retro synths and lost love? Here’s hoping so! Enjoy at the Bloc Party site here!

Bloc Party – “Ion Square (Banjo Or Freakout Remix)”
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HALFWAY THERE: MID-YEAR BEST OF LIST
We here at Cannibal Cheerleader don’t count ourselves as big fans of ‘rock lists’, the male-oriented activity of putting quantitative values to qualitative artistic endeavors. We’ve always made a point to try and not even review bands we dislike – art is subjective and to create is inherently a valued activity. That said, while we like a lot of things, we, like most, tend to like some things more than others, and that’s what our mid-year best of list is all about. We figured since this is a halfway-point in the year list we wouldn’t go into too much detail; instead we numbered our favorite singles and albums thus far, creating a comprehensive list of what has impressed us thus far. Check it:

BEST SONGS OF ‘09 THUS FAR

10. “Oblivion” – Mastodon
9. “Come Monday Night” – God Help the Girl
8. “The Mountain” – Heartless Bastards
7. “All Babes Are Wolves” – Spinnerette
6. “Boy Boy” – Lissy Trullie
5. “Cotopaxi” – The Mars Volta
4. “Dull Life” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3. “Planes” – Pull In Emergency
2. “Whirring” – The Joy Formidable

1. “Black Eyes” – Gallows
One listen to the terrifying wail that is Gallows‘ Frank Carter screaming “I know where you live!” instantly rockets this searing single up the list, and kudos to the crunching instrumentation and experimental aesthetic that pulls it out of the hardcore sameness muck and into first place. Perhaps the best thing Gallows have ever done – looking forward to checking them out on July 4th here in Austin!

BEST ALBUMS OF ‘09 THUS FAR

10. The Horrors – Primary Colours
9. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
8. Peter Doherty – Grace/Wastelands
7. Tiny Vipers – Life On Earth
6. The Joy Formidable – A Balloon Called Moaning
5. Bat For Lashes – Two Suns
4. Fever Ray – Fever Ray
3. Kylesa – Static Tensions
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!

1. Lissy Trullie – Self-Taught Learner
What can we say that we haven’t already about this blistering release? Lissy Trullie wraps up everything that’s cool about rock and roll into one six-song EP then dares us to find flaw. We here at Cannibal Cheerleader really can’t. Looking forward to some recording news in the near future and maybe another LT release by the end of the year.
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CANNIBAL CHEERLEADER LIVES
So where have we been for the past few weeks? Whatever happened to ‘never gonna let you down now’? Well Cannibal Cheerleader faithful, we’ve been saving up the good stuff for one big release of course. As opposed to aping the other blogs who release every worthless tidbit they can scrape together or copy/pasting from PitchGum, we plan on releasing a massive weekly post that really showcases what music we find really worthwhile. The blog has been repeated ad infinitum. We didn’t devise Cannibal Cheerleader to get the most hits, to join the blogosphere proper. From now on CC is an online zine, appearing once a week featuring all the outsider writing you’ve come to know and love.

So what do we have in store for you? Well as the year progresses the site layout will be updated, showing off a little bit more of our videowork. Check out the video below to see a reel of our Cannibal Cheerleader work over the years – seems like we’ve been around the block more than once! That said we encourage anyone who wants the CC crew to make a video for their band to please contact us at cannibalcheerleader@gmail.com. We’d be happy to do it and frankly we’re not bad at what we do. Check it:

Lastly stay tuned for the fall edition of the Cannibal Cheerleader zine – that’s right volume 4 people! What’s that? You don’t have issues 1-3? Well they’re going fast so email us quick and we’ll shoot you a copy in exchange for something cool (be creative and music related!). And just to plant the demon seed in all you faithful’s brains, this Halloween be prepared for the Cannibal Cheerleader Horrowshow, a showcase of metal acts from around the world right here in Austin, Texas on Oct. 31st. You’ve been warned. Hail to the horror.

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STARS RECORDING NEW ALBUM.
Exciting new update from the Stars camp, our favorite Canadian indie-pop collective who have been leaking material at a satisfying drip, including last year’s delectable treat the Sad Robots EP. Looks as if the group has a new album in the works, tentatively titled The Black House, The Blue Sky, and it’s being recorded in the same studio where the likes of Godspeed! You Black Emperor committed their hits to tape. This album also marks the return of Set Yourself on Fire producer Tom McFall whose work propelled the group to true indie-stardom. The band also has a new, completely dreamy song streaming on their Myspace called “Dedication” from the In Our Bedroom After the War sessions and you can follow Torquil Campbell, the opinionated male singer of the group on Twitter here. Check out more info from the official press release below:

hello beloved listeners…
Stars have returned to the studio to start work on our 5th (!) album, tentatively titled The Black House, The Blue Sky. We’re working in Hotel2Tango, the magical mile end house of music put together by the legendary Godspeed/Mount Zion/Constellation records crew. It’s pretty fucking inspiring in there as you can imagine; so much great music has been made there, and Ephraim and Thierry and Howard and all the people involved in the space are such true musicians, such lovers of music, that you cant help but feel focused and inspired when you walk in the building. We feel lucky to have checked into the hotel…. Plus there are more great dogs roaming around that place than we have seen possibly ever, and you know, when there are great dogs around, you can be sure there are some great people around to tell them to stop chasing squirrels and sneak them pieces of baguette.. We are also truly blessed to have Tom McFall back with us as co-producer. Tom worked on Set Yourself On Fire with us, and since then has been enormously in demand, working with such bands as R.E.M., Bloc Party and Snow Patrol. So we are truly honoured he’s slumming it with us; Tom is a true artist, a true friend, and….well, he’s cookies and cold milk. We fucking love him.There’s a lot of synthesizers in the room, and a lot of love in the air. We think this combination of emotions running high and machines running hot is going to be pretty amazing.…fingers crossed..until then, we have a newish tune up on myspace, entitled division, culled from the original six and a half hour version of In Our Bedroom After The War, and we’ll be sending more songs you haven’t heard out into the ether in the coming months, so keep your ears open. Meanwhile, Amy and Torq continue to chug toward the finish line with their respective solo joints, with Amy in the lead by…oh, about three miles…..and, god help us, we have been told to twitter. So twitter we will…go to the twitter thingy and search “youarestars” and then sit back and wait for Torq to say something stupid….We are also extremely excited to be working with Danny Goldberg as our new manager. google the dude. He’s a fucking legend. His only weakness: he’s a Yankees fan. But at this point, you gotta feel more sorry for them than anything….We feel lucky these days. And even if everything goes wrong, i think we’re gonna keep feeling that way. Cause after all this time, and all these tears, we’re still drinking together and playing together and making fun of each other and everyone else….and that’s something to be thankful for….check you soon loves,
xostars

Stars – “Undertow”
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WATCH FULL CONVERGE CONCERT
Check out this incredible recording of our favorite hardcore act Converge at Burning Fight from Hate5Six Productions. Great stuff, lean back and soak it up over the weekend. Still can’t wait for the new full-length, details forthcoming…

Converge (Burning Fight, Phase 1) from hate5six productions on Vimeo.

Converge – “Locust Reign (live)”
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HEARTLESS BASTARDS LIVE TRACKS
Lastly here are some sweet live renditions by the Heartless Bastards of some tracks from their excellent new LP The Mountain via Luxury Wafers. Check out the video below.

Heartless Bastards – The Mountain – Luxury Wafers Sessions from Luxury Wafers on Vimeo.

The Heartless Bastards – “Out At Sea (live)”

Comments? We’ve been getting a lot of good feedback recently so here’s another question for the CC faithful – we’ve been doing three hefty updates a week as opposed to five little ones on each weekday but which method would you actually prefer? Smaller daily updates or substantial thrice-weeklies? The danger of everday updates is that sometimes we find ourselves repeating the blogosphere at large (f*ck that) but we want to give you the reader what you want. Suggestions? Hail to the horror people, seeya Monday!

GLASS CANDY RARITIES FOR FREE.
Long-standing Cannibal Cheerleader favorites Glass Candy have been ripping their brand of haunted disco for over a decade now, and as one might imagine the duo of Ida No and Johnny Jewel have racked up quite the collection of recordings to show for it, given the group’s penchant for Tour CDRs available only at live shows. Dozens of tracks remain hidden except to the select few who were lucky enough to be at some of the group’s earliest shows when the group was still Glass Candy & The Shattered Theater – that is, hidden until now! The good people at Pukekos have assembled a massive collection of long-forgotten Glass Candy Tour CDRs for your free download. Definitely check out the live (hard-rocking!) version of “Nite Nurses” or the early renditions of “Metal Gods”. Very worthwhile collection if you’re interested in seeing the evolution of an underground indie rock act. Killer stuff.

Glass Candy & The Shattered Theater – “Nite Nurses”
Glass Candy & The Shattered Theater – “Back in NYC”
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NEW BAND CHEER: PULL IN EMERGENCY.
Perusing the music forums over the weekend as we here at Cannibal Cheerleader are apt to do between watching schlock horror flicks, we came across an act that we were instantly excited about: London’s Pull In Emergency, a quintet of high-schoolers from the UK who combine indie-pop sensibilities with a lo-fi garage rock edge, sounding a bit like the Strokes fronted by a bored Corin Tucker. With these guys and Lissy Trullie making black leather cool again one can only hope we’ll start seeing a trend soon. Get in on these guys now before “Planes” becomes this year’s summer jam (sorry for the low quality radio rip!). Also check out the video for fantastic single “Silence” below.

Pull In Emergency – “Follow”
Pull In Emergency – “Planes”
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SPINNERETTE ON TWITTER.

Everybody else is doing it, so why doesn’t Spinnerette’s inimtiable frontwoman Brody Dalle do the same? Turns out the ex-Distiller has her own Twitter account now and will be tweeting about the progress on her group’s upcoming self-titled debut throughout the summer. Here’s hoping we get an mp3 of new single “Baptized By Fire” soon!

PS. That’s the cover for the new album. Sexy but dangerous.

Spinnerette – “Ghetto Love”

Comments?

NEW LISSY TRULLIE VIDEO

Lissy Trullie – “You Bleed You”

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NEW GALLOWS ALBUM

Well, is it better? Is Grey Britain worse? Does it boast the same vitriolic level of carnage and bloodshed as Orchestra of Wolves. Cleaner production and a major label may have made the riffs sharper and Frank Carter’s lyrics a little less muddled, but UK hardcore act Gallows still retain their passionate and heartfelt desire to shred faces on both sides of the pond. Listen to a few tracks below and offer your verdict!

Gallows – “London Is The Reason”

Gallows – “I Dread The Night”

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AGENT RIBBONS TO OPEN FOR CAMERA OBSCURA

Things are looking up for Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Agent Ribbons who will be playing a string of dates opening for Camera Obscura, who recently named the band one of their favorite new bands! Exciting times for AR, check out the dates on their Myspace and watch a video from their performance at this year’s Cannibal Cheerleader SXSW Blood Bath below!

Agent Ribbons – “Obituary” 

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CONVERGE ON TWITTER

News leaks as a snail’s pace out of the Converge camp when it comes to any new material from the band, but this time around it looks as if the Boston-based hardcore quartet will be keeping fans up to date with every step of the recording of the new album via their Twitter page. Seems like everyone is on Twitter these days. Here’s hoping for a repeat of the majesty that was No Heroes.

Converge – “Locust Reign (live)”

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THE SOUNDS POST NEW TRACK

Dance-rock megastars the Sounds have posted the first single “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake” from their upcoming album Crossing the Rubicon (out June 2nd) as well as a tracklist which you can check out below. Sounds like Sounds to us, classic stuff people. Check it out at their Myspace.

1. No One Sleeps When I’m Awake
2. 4 Songs & A Fight
3. My Lover
4. Dorchester Hotel
5. Beatbox
6. Underground
7. Crossing The Rubicon
8. Midnight Sun
9. Lost In Love
10. The Only Ones
11. Home Is Where Your Heart Is
12. Goodnight Freddy

The Sounds – “Song With A Mission”

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