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” ******************************************************************** 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 – “Locust Reign (live)” ******************************************************************** 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.
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!
Our favorite band of dance-rock stalwarts the Action Design blazed through a searing set last night in Austin at Emo’s downtown. While the band’s last Austin performance left us winded, M and the gang had us gasping for air this night, with a rampaging set that reminded old schoolers of the group’s hardcore roots and excited new fans with whip-crack post-punk instrumentation. Serving up entrancing performances of deep-cuts like “Lounge in Formation” and “City Committee”, complete with the group’s signature tight sound and M’s passionate croon, the band brought a level of bombast and pure-energy on rockers like “Landmines” and “Scissor Game”. The group even noodled wistfully through the Justin Timberlake (!?) interlude “Think That She Knows”, proving their ability to bring a punk edge to even the danciest of tracks. Surely the Action Design are the bastard child of Bloc Party and Blondie, a sight to behold live and a passionate group that’s in love with their music and in touch with their fans. A five-star performance from a great group, more pics below and a rare track entitled “Move On” from the group’s first, self-titled EP, limited to 1000 copies. Check it out!
Speaking of bastards, Dayton, Ohio’s favorite sons, garage-rockers the Heartless Bastards are back with the Mountain, a hearty dosage of blues and carnage that relies more heavily on the soaring vocals of lead Erika Wennerstrom than ever before. Not satisfied to rest on the laurels of their breakthrough sophomore LP All This Time, Wennerstrom and company rip and tear through 11 tracks of blues-rock blood and guts, sounding equal parts classic with a degree of modernity that makes the tunes immediately relatable and captivating. This group makes it look easy, and Wennerstrom is at her best here, steering the Heartless ship towards a woozy, dusty-road sound that evokes hard-living and harder landscapes. This is the Bastards Attack & Release, a startling achievement that calls into question the validity of their earlier work. We didn’t know you had it in you kids! Definitely makes the team but will probably get kicked off for cussing and spitting – our kind of girl!
Our favorite arena-packing synth-rockers the Killers have put together a mind-blowing new video for Day & Age standout “Spaceman”, complete with psychedelic staircases and red tights. Check it out below – do you think Brandon Flowers will play some backyard football with us in that costume?
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:
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…
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.
