We’ve been waiting with bated breathe to see if our favorite London-based garage-poppers of yesteryear Pull In Emergency could followup on the aplomb of their excellent double single “Silence” and “Planes” and with the recent release of their first single “Everything Is The Same” from their self-titled debut due out Sept. 6th we’re highly convinced we’ve got one of the finest albums of the year on our hands. Featuring the same lo-fi production and girly growl with an extra ounce of bounce that’ll keep your feet moving PIE seemed poised to breakout – here’s hoping we can hear the album soon! That’s the cover up above and the tracklist is below.
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).
“My Propeller”
“Crying Lightning”
“Dangerous Animals”
“Secret Door”
“Potion Approaching”
“Fire and the Thud”
“Cornerstone”
“Dance Little Liar”
“Pretty Visitors”
“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)” ******************************************************************** 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” ******************************************************************** 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)” ******************************************************************** SPINNERETTE RELEASE SELF-TITLED DEBUT Coming off the heated anticipation following their Ghetto Love EP, Brody Dalle’s self-titled SpinneretteLP 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” ******************************************************************** 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:
“Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.)”
“Say Please”
“Whole Lotta Losin’”
“Temazcal”
“The Right Place”
“Baby Boomer”
“Man Named Truth”
“Goodway”
“Ahead of the Curve”
“Slow Down Jo”
“Losin Yo Head”
“Magic Marker”
“Map of the World”
“The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me”
“His Master’s Voice”
Yim Yames – “Behind That Locked Door” ******************************************************************** 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. ******************************************************************** 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” ******************************************************************** 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” ******************************************************************** 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” ******************************************************************** 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” ******************************************************************** 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)” ******************************************************************** 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:
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. ******************************************************************** 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.
PONYTAIL LIVE IN AUSTIN Wonderful week of live shows here at Cannibal Cheerleader with one of our personal favorites Ponytail from Baltimore absolutely wrecking shop at Red 7 last night. A completely amped up crowd mobbed the front of the stage from song one and given that the quartet never let the energy-level drop below ‘blazingly electric’ the enthusiasm ripped the night in half. Much is written about the vocal stylings of Molly, Ponytail’s lead vocalist, but it was her backing band that stole the show, with churning guitar lines seamlessly converging into dueling spidery solos, all backed by the furious assault of the drummer who left his seat on more than one occasion with reckless abandon, wailing on his drums like he was beating back hellfire. Playing through classics old and new, including personal CC favorite “Late For School” (yay!) the band cemented their reputation as not just another instrumental band but a indie-rock powerhouse with enough energy to power a small city into the new millennium and beyond. Fantastic set. . Ponytail – “Celebrate the Body Electric (It Came From An Angel)” ******************************************************************** NEW AGENT RIBBONS 7″ Our friends in Agent Ribbons have been busy bees lately, what with opening up for Camera Obscura and picking up Naomi Cherie from the sorely departed Southern Drama all in the last few months. And now the California trio, on top of eberything, have sneaked in time to record a fantastic new 7″ entitled Your Love is the Smallest Doll, and it combines the lyrical whimsy and vaudevillian stylings of earlier recordings with a more fleshed-out sound care of Cherie’s string section. Featuring some of the group’s most infectious tunes, this EP comes highly recommended, if only for the title track’s vocal harmonies and liberal usage of toy piano. Agent Ribbons – “Your Love is the Smallest Doll” ******************************************************************** PULL IN EMERGENCY TO RECORD FULL-LENGTH Here’s the word from Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Pull In Emergency via the band’s Myspace:
” we’ve been a bit quite recently mainly because of the ol GCSEs/ A Levels so this is just an update.during the summer we’re going to be recording our debut album… and hopefully doing lots of gigs and stuff, underage is going to be sickkkkwe think the albums going to be out in February/ March of 2010, we’re going to New York in December for some gigs in Manhattan and Brookyln all in all, sorry for being quiet recently, but this summer is going to be intense…PIE.xxxxx“
New Pull In Emergency album? Sign us up immediately. If we hear anything we’ll be sure and alert the CC faithful first!
Pull In Emergency – “Planes” ******************************************************************** NEW ACTION DESIGN VIDEO Lots of news in the Action Design department, as the band is currently flying about the country on a new tour and will be touching down in Austin on May 25th. Not only that but the band has a new video forthcoming for standout single “Landmines” and we have the ‘pre-video video’ here to prove it. Check it out below!
The Action Design – “Move On” ******************************************************************** NEW HEARTSREVOLUTION VIDEO Been a while since we sat down with the Heartsrevolution crew but the duo of Lo and Ben have been getting a lot of press recently, what with their inclusion on Gossip Girl (quite a soundtrack that show) and being given the Kitsune Maison nod. Now the group has a new video for a song entitled “The Rose and Her Prince”. A much for downbeat tune for the group but a welcome experimentation for such an interesting band. Can’t for the life of me figure how to embed this but check it out here.
Heartsrevolution – “Ultraviolence” ******************************************************************** HAPPY BIRTHDAY May 22nd is JB’s birthday! If you see him celebrating with cheap beer and expensive cigars tomorrow night at his favorite Austin hangout (Crown & Anchor Bar) holler at him and he’ll give you a sticker or a zine!
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” ******************************************************************** 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” ******************************************************************** 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.
