While a little antithetical to the group’s prevailing sound, Lumina is the side-project of Horrors frontman Faris Badwin and former Ipso Facto songstress Cherish Kaye and stands as staunch proof that 2009 may indeed be the year for goth-rock to return. More gothic and understated than the waves of unholy shoegaze that was Primary Colours, “I’ll Be With You”, a cover of a Black Lips song, might just be Badwin’s best track of the year. Check it out below.
Lumina – “I’ll Be With You” ******************************************************************** Elsewhere, speaking of unholy shoegaze, here’s the video for the new Horrors‘ single “Mirror’s Image” – crazy butterfly affects does not usually produce this sense of unease…
NEW PONYTAIL VIDEO. Here’s a new video from Baltimore pop-rockers Ponytail whose latest release Ice Cream Spiritual was one of our favorite releases of last year. Featuring the standout track “Celebrate the Body Electric”, this psychadelic trip-worthy mind explosion features the kind of balloon-busting antics we’ve come to expect from the spazz-tastic quartet.
In other news the band will be rolling through Austin on May 20th at Red 7 and you know the Cannibal Cheerleader crew will be there with electric bells on. Here’s hoping they play our favorite, “Late for School”!
Ponytail – “Celebrate the Body Electric” ******************************************************************** NEW HORRORS VIDEO. The Horrors have reinvented themselves so dramatically on their newest LP Primary Colours that listeners are rediscovering the group all over again. With their newest video for second single “Who Can Say” the band continues the transformation, featuring more live performance footage this time directed by Douglas Hart of the Jesus & Mary Chain, a group Faris Badwin and company are certainly emulating at this point. Check out the vid below!
The Horrors – “New Ice Age” ******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER: THE VANDELLES. Riding on the crest of the lo-fi shoegazey wave with a brand of surf-rock that’s straight from Palm Beach, Brooklyn’s the Vandelles serve up an experimental brand of syrupy guitar-rock that haunts as much as it delights. Having garnered a fair amount of attention at this year’s SXSW music festival here in Austin, the Vandelles newest LP Del Black Aloha stands poised to break this band into the realm of the lords of lo-fi, so listen below and prepare to be amazed. Cowabunga Cannibal Cheerleader faithful! The Vandelles | Bad Volcano
Hey Cannibal Cheerleader faithful, if you’ve been following us for any length of time you know we’re absolutely obsessed with thrash-electro artists Crystal Castles. Turns out Crystal Castles are fans of Cannibal Cheerleader as well!
That’s why they’re giving us FOUR FREE TICKETS to tomorrow’s (Monday April 13th) show at La Zona Rosa here in Austin, Texas! If you want one leave a comment on this post with your name, email address, and favorite horror movie. I will choose four winners at random. Stay tuned for some awesome Crystal Castles coverage this week!
Seems as if the Horrors‘ new album Primary Colours is getting the band some serious play across the pond, as they have recently adorned the cover of NME, not to mention garnishing wild acclaim for this their sophomore LP. After spinning the record a few times, we here at Cannibal Cheerleader can only admit that all the attention is definitely warranted, as the Horrors have crafted a woozy, shoegazing, goth-rock album that captures the immediacy of Strange House and moves it more in the direction of the Jesus & Mary Chain without sacrificing any of their overall blood-soaked menace. In truth the album packs more fire and fury into its swirling rhythms all awash with feedback than in all of their previous material. It’s the direct result of a band maturing and growing into their sound, and while there’s no “Sheena Is A Parasite” on the record we’re more than happy with singles like “New Ice Age” and “Three Decades” (anyone else noticing a Joy Division connection here?). Definitely worth a listen, check it out below, along with the video for bold first single, “Sea Within A Sea”.
Having conquered the radio-waves with their first album Carnavas, it would seem that the Silversun Pickups might not have anywhere to go with their indie-rock by way of shoegaze sound. However, with Swoon the group has expanded upwards and outwards, employing harder riffs and more intricate song structures without sacrificing the Swervedriver-meets-Smashing Pumpkins sound (or Brian Aubert’s androgynous vocals!). With songs like “Panic Switch” and “There’s No Secrets This Year”, the band has crafted an album that is every bit as good as the finest moments on their debut LP if not massively greater. Let the Silversun Pickups serve as ample proof that the LA indie-rock scene is still alive and well, even if its drowned in distortion. Check it:
If you’re familiar with the Cannibal Cheerleader cult at all you’ll know we count ourselves among the biggest devotees of Phoenix’s favorite son Treasure Mammal aka Abe Gil. With experimental tendencies wrapped in electronic warbles coated in inspirational by-way-off ridiculous lyrics packaged in a hip-hop candy coating, T. Mammal defies easy definition, as his performance at our Cannibal Cheerleader Blood Bath clearly demonstrated. Blasting through some unbelievably awesome new tracks, Abe left the audience at the Peacock literally speechless.
Despite having initial difficulty getting sets for SXSW, the Treasure Mammal eventually found him self playing a half-dozen parties across Austin. We’re not sure if he survived the events of the craziest weekend in Austin, but we’ll undoubtedly be seeing more of this awesome artist soon. Check it:
Another one of our favorite acts of the Blood Bath was undoubtedly Vermillion Lies, a wonderful duo out Oakland who opened the show to a small but devoted crowd and absolutely rocked the Peacock to its foundations. Playing a brand of Victorian-era inspired punk rock with a heavy dosage of bizarre instrumentation to boot (toy drums and accordions anyone?) these ladies knew how to start a party off right.
Playing to a tiny bar as if they were opening for a stadium tour, Vermillion Lies left Austin to prepare for their upcoming tour with Amanda Palmer. However, they couldn’t leave the Lone Star State without getting themselves involved in the massive pillow-fight that occurred on Sixth Street that afternoon. Definitely a crazy group, check it:
Had the opportunity to check out a ton of bands at Mess With Texas on SXSW’s final day of Saturday and it turned out to be one of the best days of the whole fest. Starting with Cursive who blazed through their seminal Ugly Organ album almost start to finish and crashing through a wonderful set by CC fave Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, we knew we were in for a wonderful afternoon. After a set by the Vivian Girls (maybe a little too blog-buzzworthy for our taste at the moment) we were privvy to a set by the absolutely incredible Thermals who blazed through tracks old and new to the joy of a crowd-surfing audience below. One of the best (and hottest!) days of South by Southwest ever!
With a blog called Cannibal Cheerleader you can imagine how enthused we are about any band that calls themselves the Horrors. Truth be told we were among the first in our small group of indie-centric friends who jumped on the group’s self-titled EP and proclaimed them as the heir-apparent of goth-rock as we know it. We still love that album and Strange House and we can say unequivocally that the video for “Sheena Is A Parasite” ranks among our top 5 of all time.
And now, we’re getting news that the Horrors are resurrected, plucked from the grave of UK obscurity with their new album Primary Colours and it’s first single “Sea Within A Sea”. Definitely a slow-burner, clocking in at over 7 minutes, it seems the London quintet has shifted gears from the hellfire immediacy of their debut to a creepy-crawly, Zombies-by-way-of-the-Cure spookfest that sounds like a titilating ghost story rather than a slasher horror. Check it out below and count us among the group who can’t wait to hear the whole album.
While a little antithetical to the group’s prevailing sound, Lumina is the side-project of Horrors frontman Faris Badwin and former Ipso Facto songstress Cherish Kaye and stands as staunch proof that 2009 may indeed be the year for goth-rock to return. More gothic and understated than the waves of unholy shoegaze that was Primary Colours, “I’ll Be With You”, a cover of a Black Lips song, might just be Badwin’s best track of the year. Check it out below.
Elsewhere, speaking of unholy shoegaze, here’s the video for the new Horrors‘ single “Mirror’s Image” – crazy butterfly affects does not usually produce this sense of unease…
