Cannibal Cheerleader

ISIS/PELICAN/TOMBS LIVE IN AUSTIN
A terrifying display of raw metal power last night here in Austin as post-metal juggernauts Isis joined forces with the psychadelic-power-punch of Pelican and the much-blogged about Brooklynites Tombs to create an unholy trifecta of malevolent mayhem.
Opener Tombs began with a bang, churning through a brand of black-metal infused post-rock, speeding through intensely fast-paced riffs with shrill shrieks echoing over the onslaught. The crowd was definitely digging this doom, letting the wailing riffs waft overhead as they headbanged in unison. Definitely a great opener with a lot of power and potential behind them.

Tombs – “Gossamer”
Next was Pelican, who if they’ve ever suffered from meandering live presentations or sleepy shows, that was certainly not the case this night as the Chicago quartet was as tight and taught as we’ve ever seen them. Careening through barn-burners from City of Echoes and ripping through tracks from their completely excellent new Ephemeral EP, Pelican practically stole the show with a wicked set of their finest work. Punctuating the set with a one-two punch that included the group’s cover of Earth’s “Geometry of Murder”, the band left the stage to raucous applause in what truly was the performance of the night. Consider us at Cannibal Cheerleader converted Pelican fans.

Pelican – “Embedding the Moss”
Last was the headliner Isis, whose own Aaron Turner performed the soundcheck, standing every inch a metal god, decked all in black with a long beard, greasy hair, and intense eyes (all that was really missing was the corpse-paint). As the band ripped and tore through the majority of their absolutely phenomenal new LP Wavering Radiant, the seemingly subdued and altogether sedate audience began to mosh, raging and furiously spinning in time with the monstrous riffs. Save for a few painfully obvious Tool fans trying to force a metal epiphany and feeling the sound with their hands to the heavens all night (groan) the band absolutely crushed with Turner belting out the bellowing howls with a tinge of psychedelia the night through. For the encore the group pulled from their Celestial back catalogue and a sleepier number that sank the night into oblivion. All in all a genre defining night and one best spent nowhere else in Austin. Shame to the locals who missed out, but if you’re on the parade route for this tour, definitely check in, if only to grab the new Pelican EP (on vinyl starting in Alabama for those audiophiles amongst us).

Isis – “Ghost Key”
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NEW PELICAN EP
Seeing as we enjoyed the new Pelican EP so much live we figured we’d share a little big more about the new release from the Chicago-based quartet in its own post. Featuring three new songs that signify a more “riff-oriented” that is purported to be reflected on the band’s forthcoming fourth LP due by year’s end, Ephemeral features a title track, the blistering opener “Embedding the Moss” and the incredible Earth cover “Geometry of Murder”. To say that Pelican have never been heavier would be an understatement, as the band have officially blown out their bass with this bone-crushing new style. Performed live the tracks inspire such a display of feet-stomping revelry as anything Isis did, so be prepared for some incredible listening experiences. Highly recommended.

Pelican – “Ephemeral”
Pelican – “Geometry of Murder (Earth Cover)”
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NEW CRYSTAL STILTS VIDEO
It has come to our attention that while in our personal lives we think of Crystal Stilts as not only one of our favorite new bands but easily the best act riding the new ‘lo-fi’ wave with their dark and dreamy delivery, we have never covered the band on Cannibal Cheerleader before. Let’s take this opportunity to not only share the band’s new video for “Love is a Wave” but to tell everyone that this band is truly one of the best around. Go ahead, give a liten – you’re worth it.

Crystal Stilts – “The Dazzled”

Comments? Anyone else going to see Ponytail tonight? Video from this and that show to come hopefully next week!

THE JOY FORMIDABLE RELEASE “WHIRRING” SINGLE

In a move that’s sure to attract a whole new legion of fans, London’s the Joy Formidable have chosen album standout “Whirring” from their debut LP A Balloon Called Moaning as their next single, releasing a brand-spanking new video along with a 7″ single. “Whirring” is quite possibly our favorite song of the year so far, so we’re ecstatic to see it get the single treatment. Check out the video below and grab the band’s LP for free on their Myspace right now! Also check out the band’s main site for a banned video of “Austere”. Loving these guys right now.


The Joy Formidable – “Whirring”

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NEW BAND CHEER: RINGFINGER
While surfing the blogosphere may bring up the same results day after day, once in a blue moon one stumbles across something wholly unique and brilliant, as was the case with today’s discovery of the inimitable Ringfinger, a blazingly original solo effort from Tracy Wilson, formerly of Dahlia Seed (just pretend you’re cool enough to remember those guys). With a sound best described as ‘dream-doom’, Ringfinger combines haunting, sometimes droney, sometimes electronic textures with Wilson’s enigmatic whispers, creating a shoegaze-meets-fuzztronica sounds that defies definition except for one: mesmerizing. This is definitely the soundtrack to the most apocalyptic, philosophical horror movie of your most bizarre nightmares, equal parts thoughtful and mystifying while simultaneously blood-soaked and raging, a current of fright and wonder bubbling just below the surface. Featuring guest musicians from Cave In, Isis, Film School, and even Sunn 0))), Ringfinger’s debut Decimal is an album of mind-benders ten years in the making, a monumental undertaking and a powerful album the likes of which indie-rock lovers the world over wish they could stumble upon all the time. Feels like the death of the whole world and the birth of a new one at the same time. Highly recommended, be prepared to catch this act as they head on tour in May for the first time. Wear earplugs.

Ringfinger – “Waving Goodbye”
Ringfinger – “Landing Strip”

Yes (yes yes!), according to all the sources, our favorite NYC art-rockers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs will be featured as the musical guest on this weekend’s edition of Saturday Night Live. Not that the band needs any further assurance that It’s Blitz! is one of the best releases of the year (other than our Cannibal Cheerleader bloody seal of approval that is), but being on SNL is still a big deal, even years after the show stopped being funny. We’re waiting with bated breath to see the videos this weekend of “Zero” and another single (possibly “Heads Will Roll”? maybe “Hysteric”?) so keep your Firefox window opened to Cannibal Cheerleader for all the latest. In the meantime check out the final edition of the Snakesweat Trilogy as featured on the YYY’s YouTube page below:

PREY FOR SLEEP – BLOOD BATH

Prey For Sleep – “Forever Dies Today”

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AGENT RIBBONS – BLOOD BATH

In the wake of the much missed Southern Drama comes Naomi Cherie’s new band, joining forces with California act Agent Ribbons to continue her Vaudevillian-punk leanings with wildly imaginative song structure mixed bare-bones style blues instrumentation (one guitar, one drumkit, and now one violin!). Slicing and dicing their way through economical tracks of rock via way of performance art, the group astounded the Peacock audience at the Cannibal Cheerleader Blood Bath.

The band also played to promote their new Lucy the Poodle Magazine, an enthralling look at Austin’s booming music scene. And who could that be writing the cover story about Cannibal Cheerleader favorites Death is Not a Joyride? Why it’s none other than CC contributor JB! So check it out here and grab a copy after watching these sweet Agent Ribbons videos below.

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SXSW LIVE REVIEW – ERYKAH BADU/EITK

Rounding out the SXSW week with a day at Auditorium Shores has become a tradition of ours here at Cannibal Cheerleader, and what better way to end it than with a performance by one of Texas most treasured artists, Erykah Badu. Only, the show clearly didn’t go as planned.

Badu and her backing band/producing group the Cannabinoids were supposed to go on around 7pm and at around 7:10 the DJs hop on stage and start spinning intro music, introducing each other at length and trying (rather unsuccessfully) to warm up a crowd who were set to hear the Dallas songstress. And thus we waited and waited, and after about thirty minutes of tape loops the band casually wanders offstage, yelling “We’ll be back Austin!” as if that was the entirety of the performance, no Badu in sight. Suddenly an announcer booms over the PA, stating that ‘Erykah Badu has travel issues’, which makes the crowd erupt into a resounding ‘boo’. 

With her perfomance clearly shelved we prepared ourselves for Explosions in the Sky. However, much to our surprise 15 minutes later who wanders onstage but the immitable Miss Badu, signature hair braided long all the way down her back. She quickly introduces herself and hops into a killer rendition of “The Healer” which then bounces into a rocking take on “Danger”, after which the singer quickly skirts off the stage, her set cut short by time constrictions caused by her travel issues obviously. While the set was short it was nonetheless sweet and extremely passionate – here’s hoping Erykah Badu swings back through Austin ASAP.

Explosions in the Sky suffered a different set of problems, though nothing to do with lateness. It seems as if the local post-rock quartet was suffering from serious sound issues, a point made clear across the audience all night (and the blogosphere afterwards). Guitars would cut out randomly and the sound barely carried off the stage, leaving those at a distance to wonder why there wasn’t better sound provided for the Auditorium Shores stage. Still, the band, focusing heavily on newer tracks, managed to absolutely destroy their set, reeling and wheeling around chords and guitar lines in an awe-inspiring display. Definitely a site to behold, only next time in a different locale!

Erykah Badu – “The Healer”

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NEW ISIS ALBUM

We here at Cannibal Cheerleader are well-known for our doom-metal obsession, thus it has been with extreme excitement that we’ve awaited the release of the new Isis album Wavering Radiant, and it does not dissapoint. Returing to the churning formula of Panopticon while keeping the indie-inflection of The Absence of Truth, Isis have crafted yet another masterful rendition of sonorous, stretching, and seething metal music, with plenty to like for all fans. Definitely worthy of a listen, check it below:

Isis – “Hall of the Dead”

Isis – “Ghost Key”

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NEW TREASURE MAMMAL 7”

Rounding out the week with a little bit more Treasure Mammal news, the Phoenix artist just released a new split 7″ with the Numerators featuring his absolute jammer “Spring Break” as well as “Amethyst”. Definitely worth the buy if only for the Cholos in the bathtub artwork up there. “Spring Break” is one of our favorite party-starters of all time, featuring all the charm and wit of T. Mammal crammed into one pop extravaganza (and to what other track do you get to scream the lyric “Johnny Cochran… you’re dead!”). So head on over to the Mammal’s Myspace and grab that sucker ASAP y’all!

Treasure Mammal – “Can You Dig It?”

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BLOOD BATH ROUNDUP

That about finishes our content for the Cannibal Cheerleader Blood Bath. It was an incredible party and everything we hoped it would be. Thanks so much to the bands, to everyone who helped out (the Peacock, Ramon Ramirez for the killer sound, Allison Bright for the wonderful pictures), and most of all thanks to anyone who came and had a good time. Kudos to you people, you make writing this site worth it, so keep reading and tell all your friends to join the cult of Cannibal Cheerleader!

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ISIS ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM

Isis – “The Beginning and the End”

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JEMINA PEARL STARTS BLOG

We here at Cannibal Cheerleader are a little overwhelmed ourselves with the myriad developments going on in the life of Jemina Pearl this week. After Be Your Own Pet broke up we didn’t hear from the fiery frontwoman for months, and now there’s a news update everyday about her! Today on her Myspace Jemina announced that she is beginning her own blog entitled ‘puke till you punk‘, which will feature updates from her recording process in Northampton along with other goings-on. Definitely worth checking out. We assure you the next JP update will include some new content, promise! But hey, check out that sweet picture of JP and Thurston Moore – wouldn’t you like to go record-diving with him too? 

Be Your Own Pet – “Girls on TV”

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