This a welcome surprise! Our favorite group of all time the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have released a new concert film, out today on iTunes. Entitled Yeah Yeah Yeahs Live from 02 Academy Brixton the film promises over an hour of in your face action, featuring barn-burners and smooth-sailers from the band’s already impressive catalog of mind-bending art-punk. Check out the trailer below!
Watching the rabid gyrations of Karen O perform at theAustin City Limits Festivalearlier this month with theYeah Yeah Yeahsstunned us at Cannibal Cheerleader so completely, so devastatingly as to inspire a month-long self-imposed exile from the blogging community. The blazingly electric setlist, featuring carnal classics like “Gold Lion” and “Maps”, new-wave crooners like “Skeletons” and “Runaway”, and neurotically ferocious takes on barn-burners such as “Date With the Night” and “Dull Life”, may go down as so utterly picture-perfect as to inspire every other band to call it a day.
Flawless delivery from an utterly flawless band. Oh to be the microphone knawed between the jaws of Karen O as she wails like a possessed banshee. Oh to be the strings of pulsating power, whipping and cracking under Nick Zinner’s spidery fingertips. Oh to be the drumsticks, withered to the raw, blasting asunder as Brian Chase throws us to the pad below like a weightless guillotine. Contender for show of the year bar-none and a renewal of our faith in modern music.
Actually Cannibal Cultists a lot has been in the works as of late. Applying to law school. Heading off with Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures on a nationwide tour. Preparing to maim and destroy everything and everyone. But now we’re here. Cannibal Cheerleader – back and on the attack.
2009 may just be the year of the Yeah Yeah Yeah, considering their blazingly original third LP It’s Blitz! and the band’s monumentally successful North American tour thus far. Now, not only have we received news that Karen O and company are replacing the Beastie Boys at Austin’s own Austin City Limits Festival, but KO is helming the entirety of the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack. Check out the video for “All Is Love” below and be prepared to get your yeah yeahs out Austin.
NEW WHISPERTOWN VIDEO. Haven’t been keeping up with our friends in the Whispertown 2000 lately, but rest assured Cannibal Cheerleader faithful, the LA-based quartet is alive and kicking. In fact, the band are just about to begin their first UK tour ever – hopefully they blog it in their overly addicting Tour Tumblr. The band’s sophomore LP Swim was one of our favorites of last year and “From the Start” was a real standout track – check out the video for it below, directed by none other than Morgan Nagler’s brother! Check it folks (we may be late on this one, but haven’t really seen it ’round the blogosphere yet!).
The Whispertown 2000 – “Atlantis” ******************************************************************** ROLO TOMASSI TOURING WITH GALLOWS. Just a quick update for those Cannibal Cheerleader fans not living in the UK (though apparently we have a lot of fans from across the pond, hmmm), two of our favorite acts right now London’s Gallows (whose Grey Britain is bloody ferocious) and Sheffield’s Rolo Tomassi (long time CC faves, headliners of our SXSW party, and punk rock masters of tomorrow) are tearing up the British Isles with a one-two rip-and-snarl of punk rock mastery. If there was ever a reason to make a trip from Austin to Portsmouth, now’s the time.
Gallows – “I Dread The Night” Rolo Tomassi – “Beatrotter” ******************************************************************** SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS TOUR DIARY. One of our favorite psych-rocking Brooklyn-based trios (and we know there’s probably a bunch of ‘em) School of Seven Bells have a really cool Tour Diary that you can access via their homepage. Definitely worth checking out if only for the cool tour pictures and trippy site design. Here’s hoping this group releases more material soon! They’ll be playing here in Austin on June 2nd at Mohawk and you know we’ll be first in line for that one.
School of Seven Bells – “Chain” ******************************************************************** GRAND OLE PARTY TO TOUR WITH YYYS. It’s official today – all of our favorite bands are hooking up! This time it’s the inimitable Yeah Yeah Yeahs with the fantastic San Diego trio and old-school Cannibal Cheerleader fave Grand Ole Party. Check out the dates on the GOP myspace (the only GOP this Austinite could ever get behind!).
Grand Ole Party – “Look Out Young Son” Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Hysteric (Acoustic Version)” ******************************************************************** NEW KILLERS VIDEO. We leave you fiends today with the Killers’ excellent rendition of their newest single “Dustland Fairytale” from their Day & Age LP – guitar-rock gods this quartet, gods we say! And Letterman appears to think so too.
We here at Cannibal Cheerleader love live music and we really love NYC art-rockers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. So when we heard that the terrific trio were playing not only last Saturday’s SNL but an entire week of TV appearances, we decided to hold off on posting the live stuff until we could put together a comprehensive guide to all the vids. Below you’ll find all the goods as the band promotes their new, already seminal LP It’s Blitz!
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.
******************************************************************** 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.
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:
Hey Cannibal Cheerleader faithful, sorry for the delay but we’ve got videos and pictures from last week’s killer Blood Bath SXSW day party, starting with this bloody awesome collage video of the whole event, featuringRolo Tomassi, the Action Design, the Whispertown 2000, Treasure Mammal, Prey For Sleep, Agent Ribbons, andVermillion Lies. If you weren’t there you’re probably already torn apart mercilessly, but if you were and want to recap, here you go!
Playing their first ever US show at the Cannibal Cheerleader Blood Bath here in Austin for SXSW, headlinerRolo Tomassibrought the pain in a big way with their blazingly original sound. Ripping through crowd-pleasers like “I Love Turbulence” and “Fofteen” while mixing up the setlist with excellent takes on the likes of “Beatrotter” and “Film Noir”, the brother-sister duo of Eva and James Spence ripped and snarled their way through every song, bringing attendees of the Peacock Lounge to their knees in awe. While the band has garnered enough attention in the UK to open for the likes of the Bronx and Fucked Up in huge clubs, the intimacy of the small east-side bar the group played at here in the US couldn’t have been a better venue for the immediate and vitriolic intensity of the group’s blend of prog-punk and brutal hardcore.
The band took a 24-hour total plane ride to Austin, had to purchase all new electrical converters once they got here (UK to US, who knew??), suffer through stringent 21+ alcohol rules (the members are all sadly underage, we’ll buy you drinks next time guys!), and put up with the sweltering Texas heat, and yet the quintet still managed to put on the most blistering set of the entire festival in our honest opinion. This time next year this band will probably be too big to play Blood Bath II, but we can always dream. On a side note, while they manage to play some of the fieriest hardcore on either side of the Atlantic, all five members of Rolo Tomassi (Eva, James, Bean, Joe, and Edward, not to mention their wonderful management) are among the nicest and most humble people in any band we’ve ever worked with. Kudos to them for being so professional and at the same time so fucking rock and roll. See you guys back in the States soon! Until then, here are some videos from the day’s proceedings and some more photos – enjoy!
We of course didn’t just have our own SXSW Day Show – we attended quite a few as well! And among the top acts we absolutely had to check out during the week was Brooklyn’s Lissy Trullie, the terrific female clone of Julian Casablancas, complete with lazy-vocal stylings and a blues-rock meets NYC garage guitar sound. Playing every single track from the unequivocally awesome Self-Taught Learner EP, as well as a few unheard tracks such as smooth rocker “Billy”, Lissy Trullie bled cool from every orifice, performing in trademark black-leather jacket, torn up tank-top, and 4-inch heels, appearing every-bit as confident in front of a packed Red 7 audience as she might in her favorite NYC dive-bar. If there was ever a buzz-band deserving of the hype, let it be this one, putting all the other big-city acts to shame with a simple sound done so solidly as to make you forget why you ever strayed from it in the first place. Confidently soaring through a set of sublime rockers, Lissy and company parted ways after an all too short set, packing up their equipment but leaving a lasting impression on the whole crowd. Definitely one of the best acts of SXSW 2009.
In a move that has all of us audiophiles salivating like wild dogs, theYeah Yeah Yeahshave announced a special pre-order deal for their upcoming third LP It’s Blitz! that includes a special 7″ with their first single “Zero” on the A-side and a remix by none other than blog-buzzers Animal Collective on the other. Swing byInSoundand pre-order this right now – we know we did! Until then, check out some more b-sides from the special-edition release below.
NEW DECEMBERISTS’ ALBUM – THE HAZARDS OF LOVE Tons to talk about this week, as the weekend featured some heavy-hitting leaks that provided all of us dedicated indie-nerds with a plethora of new tracks to download, starting with best of all, the Decemberists‘ new record the Hazards of Love. Coming across as equal parts focused (on the sharp and enticing story) as well as sprawling (massive instrumentation giving the album a feeling of grandeur), HOL might just be the album Colin Meloy and company were brought together to make. Who would have thought that a band so meticulous at the construction of whimsical tales of arcane tragedy and ecstasy could pull off the rock opera? Actually, no one is surprised really, as overblown and fantastical is just what the Decemberists do best, especially on this, their most hard-rocking, anthemic album to date. Check out some tracks below and try to disagree.
The Decemberists – “The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid” The Decemberists – “Margaret in Captivity” ******************************************************************** NEW YEAH YEAH YEAHS VIDEO Lots of Yeah Yeah Yeahs updates these days, but small wonder really, as It’s Blitz!, the band’s third LP, is quickly being hailed as the New York group’s greatest triumph and a classic of the age. We here at Cannibal Cheerleader agree with such sentiments in no uncertain terms, as the album has delivered on all the promises of this fantastic trio, as does this playfully rocking music video for first single “Zero”, directed by Karen O’s boyfriend Barney Clay. Check it out below, it features KO seeming assured and happy as she trots down city-streets, but still with that same vulnerability we’ve come to expect from the “Maps” songstress. Check it:
Bonus! Did you know that there were iTunes-only bonus tracks for It’s Blitz!? Now you do:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Hysteric (Acoustic Version)” Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Faces” ******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER: DUCHESS SAYS In the vein of the Karen O crew comes Montreal’s Duchess Says, a face-shredder of a punk/new-wave act with a French-Canadian songwriting repertoire and the self-proclaimed moniker of ‘moog rock’ to back it all up. Seriously, this group surprises and amazes with its blazing sound, that sounds altogether as amazing and alien as it does familiar to us dance-punk aficionados. Check it out below and let us know what you think.
Hearkening back to the days when metal was for AD&D fans and Slayer played over Magic the Gathering games, Mastodon have released a completely awesome, wholly rediculous video for their lead single “Divinations” from the forthcoming Crack the Skye LP. Seriously folks, we have to take this with some tongue-and-cheek as this video, while cool, definitely doesn’t make me think ’serious artist’. So far all you bloggers out there taking this stuff too literally, realize there’s a freakin’ yeti in the movie. Check it below.
Check out the teaser for the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs video below – looks like we’re in for a jaunt through NYC, dashing up and down brightly-lit streets all helter-skelter. Check it:
In the wake of the leak of their latest masterpiece It’s Blitz, NY art-rockers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have decided to release the digital version of the LP next week on March 10th. Here’s the word from the source:
“The cat’s out of the bag after IT’S BLITZ! escaped from our clutches into the big bad world last week. Why should some have and some have-not?
IT’S BLITZ! OFFICIAL NEW RELEASE DATES:
DIGITAL WORLDWIDE MARCH 9TH , US MARCH 10TH.
IN STORES US MARCH 31ST, WORLDWIDE APRIL 6TH.
YYYs have been brimming with nervous excitement in anticipation of releasing this record to the world! Leaks are NO FUN but it’s out of our hands. Can’t help but ask ourselves, “What would the PHILOSOPHER do in times such as these?” We now present PART II of the SNAKESWEAT TRILOGY, Mr. Brian Chase soothing our troubled souls in THE PHILOSOPHER. LUV YYYs
”
So there you have it folks! Personally, we’re waiting to get our hands on the vinyl, mwaha! Here’s a few more tracks to listen to and Pt. deux of the Snakesweat Trilogy below.
First heard about this band in the latest issue of Spin, but leave it to us you Cannibal Cheerleader faithful to reveal the sheer New York circa 2001 awesomeness that is Lissy Trullie, a band snaking outta Brooklyn with a Strokes-ish sound that simply sublime. Seriously, we can’t speak highly enough about this band so I’ll offer an anecdote about Lissy Trullie (lead singer and namesake of the four-piece), whose Casablancas-bored meets Brody Dalle-deep voice causes swoons in mid-20s Southern males.
Growing up in East Texas sucks, especially if you’re an indie rock fan who was never much for Staind. Cue 2001, the Strokes drops Is This It? and you introduce all your friends and everyone you meet to what you think is like the greatest band you’ve ever heard (remember, this is before we were super into Napster, etc, so cut our ignorant little asses some slack and appreciate the kitsch). Suddenly your rolled-up jeans are the fashion-statement of the school, you grow your hair nasty and long and everyone starts to get it, that this barely-held-together brand of garage rock is as killer as anything else on the radio.
That is Lissy Trullie in 2009. Hopefully someone in Nowhere, West Louisiana reads this blog and benefits from us. You’re welcome. Check it below.
