The Callas' new album Trouble and Desire is out October 26 via Dirty Water Records – pre-order it right here.
Here's the scoop...
Sez Lee Ranaldo: "It’s been a pleasure for me to know and collaborate with The Callas on their new album Trouble and Desire. We met a few years ago and I’ve been drawn into their artistic world in Athens. I’m a fan of their visual art tapestries and their art studio/venue and I’ve been having a great time making music with these like-minded travelers. Our collaboration took off quickly and was such a natural fit – we speak the same language and the performances we’ve done together have been a total blast! I love the community of artists that they have gathered around them, and I hope we will do more collaborations in the future." Watch the clip for the album's title track below.
Catl. will be performing songs from their hot new platter Bide My Time Until I Die on Saturday – doors open at 6 pm!
Toronto, ON - catl. are a rock n’ roll duo hailing from Toronto with a reputation for getting folks off their asses for some serious drinkin’ and dancin’. They have released four full-length records to critical acclaim and toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Canada since 2010.
Yes, they'll have colour vinyl LPs available for purchase.
The band is celebrating the release its fifth full-length record “Bide My Time Until I Die” on Beast Records (and Romanus Records in North America) with a two-night extravaganza featuring special guests The Maness Brothers from St. Louis at The Dakota Tavern on Friday (September 21) playing the hits at 10 pm and Saturday (September 22) performing the new album from top to bottom. See the set times for each show in the flyer below. Also – just between us chickens – there will be 10 uniquely splattered colour vinyl copies of the new album available for purchase at the Dakota Tavern.
Of course, there will also be shirts & hats!
catl. features guitarist Jamie Fleming bashing away on his 40’s Gretsch, while singer/percussionist Sarah Kirkpatrick holds down a steady, dirty groove on the 2-piece drum kit. This super-charged couple have been lauded for their intense performances and engaging stage presence. See for yourself in the live clip following the entertaining video for "Baby, You All Wrong" below.
catl. has shared the stage with Alabama Shakes, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Sadies, Andre Williams, The Sonics and The Reigning Sound. They have played The Montreal International Jazz Festival, NXNE, SXSW, Pop Montreal, Sled Island Music Festival, TURF, Deep Blues Festival in Bayport, MN, and Clarksdale, MS, as well as The Raut Oak Fest in Germany.
Catl on tour:
9.21 & 22 - TORONTO, ON - Dakota Tavern
9.29 - LONDON, ON - Call the Office
10.5 - HAMILTON, ON - This Ain't Hollywood
10.6 - KITCHENER, ON - Boathouse
10.11 - SANDUSKY, OH - HALO Live
10.12 - CHICAGO, IL - Montrose Saloon
10.13 - DETROIT, MI - Theatre Bizarre at the Detroit Masonic Temple
10.14 - CINCINATTI, OH - Urban Artifact
10.16 - NASHVILLE, TN - the 5 Spot - $2 Tuesdays w. Derek Hoke
10.17 - CLARKSDALE, MS - Shack Up Inn
10.19 - MEMPHIS, TN - Bar DKDC
10.20 - PADUCAH , KY - Maiden Alley Cinema Oktoberfest
Check out "Downhearted Town" off The Textones' Old Stone Gang album out now on Blue Élan Records.
Released on Friday (September 21), Carla Olson's way overdue new Textones album Old Stone Gang features George Callins, Rick Hemmert, Tom Jr. Morgan, and Joe Read with appearances by original Textones members Markus Cuff, David Provost, Phil Seymour, Kathy Valentine, Barry Goldberg, and a special appearance by Rusty Young adding mandolin and his world famous pedal steel guitar! You can pre-order a copy of The Textones new album right here. Listen to "Downhearted Town"
Those Maness boys from Missouri (right) will be rockin' the Dakota ragged on both nights of Catl's record release party. caption
Here’s the schedule for Friday night's festivities: 9-10pm DJ Ms MoveOnUp 10-10:45pm Maness Brothers 10:45-11:15pm DJ Ms MoveOnUp 11:15-12:00am CATL set 1 12:01-12:45am DJ Ms MoveOnUp 12:45-1:30am CATL set 2 — with Jake Maness!
Erin Costelo's much anticipated Sweet Marie album is out October 19. Check out "All In Your Head" below.
Here's the scoop...
Award-winning Canadian soul singer Erin Costelo will release her new album, Sweet Marie, via Compass Records on October 19th.
Recorded in 10 days in a timber-frame home on the ocean in Little Harbour, Nova Scotia, Costelo is backed by an ace group of players on this album, including Glenn Milchem on drums (Blue Rodeo), Anna Ruddick on bass (Randy Bachman, Ben Caplan), Leith Fleming-Smith on organ (Matt Mays) and her long-time partner, Clive MacNutt, on guitar.
Taking inspiration from sources as varied as Ryan Adams and Randy Newman, Sweet Marie is a genre-defying album that sounds at once timeless, timely and completely fresh. The album finds Costelo looking at a world and an industry that pushed her to the edge of ending her musical career – and pushing back. Pulsing with a confident and cathartic energy, her incredible voice, drawing comparisons to such icons as Nina Simone and Carole King, soars even as her songs dive deep.
This project is complete with a “making of” documentary directed by Juno-winning songwriter-turned-filmmaker, Amelia Curran. Her 2016 release, Down Below The Status Quo, was nominated for 12 awards in her home on the East Coast of Canada including a win for Solo Recording of the Year and Producer of the Year, making her the first woman to receive the prestigious award.
You can pre-order Erin's forthcoming Sweet Marie album from Compass right here. Watch Amelia Curran's nicely shot clip for "All In Your Head" below.
Toast Of London and The IT Crowd actor and musician Matt Berry salutes his favourite TV tunes.
Here's the scoop...
"It's a covers album, just an appreciation of a time when the signature tune and title sequence were both important elements within the overall theme, atmosphere and tone of a television show. I've always loved these now lost, rare and in some cases forgotten themes so, as with everything I do artistically, I set out to please myself and capture these gems as best as I could and make them available on vinyl, some possibly for the first time?"
BAFTA award winning actor Matt Berry returns with a new album, cleverly titled Television Themes released on October 5th. Inspired by his youth, it’s a collection of TV theme tunes that have not only influenced Berry but undergone a fascinating and unique metamorphosis under his musical stewardship.
Television Themes was recorded on his own and with his regular band The Maypoles in his newly built studio. It includes favourites from the 60s, 70s, and 80s such as Are You Being Served? and Rainbow alongside lesser known themes from Picture Box and Wildtrak amidst those that transcend the decades, Doctor Who and Top Of The Pops…
Combining his love of music production and his passion for the 'signature tune', Television Themes sees Berry enhance his musical reputation following the success of his previous releases encapsulating Berry’s formative years as a viewer and paired with his boundless appetite for music - be it psych-folk, electronica, jazz or Prog. Genre-defying, mixed with a love of nostalgia, Matt Berry once again finds a home at the small but perfectly formed London-based independent label Acid Jazz Records. Pre-order a signed copy of the vinyl version right here. Check out Matt's versions of Sorry! and Are You Being Served? following the track listing.
Track-listing for Television Themes:
Are You Being Served? (1972-1985)
The Good Life (1975-1978)
LWT (1968 – 1972)
Blankety Blank (1979 – 1990)
Top Of The Pops (1963 - 20050
Picture Box (1966-1990)
The Liver Birds (1969 – 1979)
Thames Television (1968 – 1992)
Rainbow (1972-1997)
Doctor Who (1963- present)
Wildtrak (1979-1984)
World In Action (1963-1998)
Sorry! (1981 – 1988)
Open University
Glass Records label honcho Dave Barker shows off the turquoise vinyl version of the Velvet Crush's 1991 classic.
On October 19, Glass Records' Glass Modern subsidiary is reissuing the debut Velvet Crush album In The Presence Of Greatness, originally released on Creation Records in 1991. In The Presence Of Greatness was recorded on eight tracks by Rick Menck, Paul Chastain and Jeffrey Borchardt with their pal Matthew Sweet in his basement in Princeton, New Jersey 1990-91. Repackaged in a new sleeve with photographs from the original session by Michael Lavine. Initial copies of the 180 gram pressing will be on turquoise vinyl. You can pre-order the Velvet Crush's 90s indie rock gem from Forced Exposure right hereafter listening to a few magical tracks below.
Here's the scoop...
On Tuesday, October 2, The Royal Cinema (608 College) hosts the Toronto premiere of the critically acclaimed Philip Cox documentary BETTY: THEY SAY I’M DIFFERENT. The film tells how the pioneering Betty Davis, singularly rose to become one of the most influential and fearless artists of the funk era, a cult figure due to her unapologetic sexual lyrics and controversial performances that led to her being banned and boycotted. Then in one of funks unexplained mysteries, Betty disappeared. Now, 35 years later, the enigmatic and still mysterious Betty reveals her story.
BETTY: THEY SAY I’M DIFFERENT reveals the extraordinary unknown story of the elusive Betty Davis: from the young girl growing up on a farm in North Carolina, to the legendary funk pioneer, to the startling mystery of Betty’s 30 year disappearance. An aspiring songwriter, Betty Mabry arrived on the scene to break boundaries for women with her daring personality, iconic fashion style and outrageous funk. She befriended Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone, wrote songs for the Chambers Brothers and The Commodores. She married Miles Davis – introducing him to funk and psychedelic rock, turning his traditional jazz to a fusion of sounds. She then went on to ignite stages in the 70s with her sassy sexed up mix of hard rock and bluesy funk, inspiring artists from Prince to Erykah Badu. Her band members, FUNK HOUSE, went on to have amazing careers all their own playing for the likes of Herbie Hancock, Chuck Rainey, and Alphonse Mouzon.
Betty changed the landscape for female artists in America and American music as a whole, revolutionizing jazz, funk, R&B, rock and punk. At the height of her fame in the early 1980s, she mysteriously disappeared from public life. In late 2012, after intensive research, the makers of this film connected with Betty who was living quietly alone in Pittsburgh, PA. After several months of conversation, Betty decided to collaborate.
Betty Davis’ original band FUNK HOUSE will reunite for a special post-screening performance with support from local vocalists SATE, Ammoye, and Amalia tearing up the Royal Cinema covering some classic Betty Davis tunes.
The premiere will also feature a special pop-up funk/soul record shop presented by Sonic Boom Records in the lobby, along with local DJ’s playing music before and after the movie. Get advance tickets for this event right here.
Check out the oddly low-key new trailer followed by the much more exciting Nasty Gal teaser clip and the original Betty Davis recording of "They Say I'm Different"
The new Harmony Rockets album Lachesis/Clotho/Atropos is enhanced by the picking of Peter Walker & Nels Cline.
Longtime Woodstock resident, guitarist Peter Walker recorded two albums for the Vanguard label in the late Sixties in a style best described as American folk-raga. He studied with Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, and was Dr. Timothy Leary’s musical director, organizing music for the LSD advocate’s “celebrations.” He was also a close friend of fellow Woodstock resident, the late folksinger Karen Dalton, and helped produce Remembering Mountains : Unheard Songs by Karen Dalton (Tompkins Square), which features unrecorded Dalton compositions brought to life by Sharon Van Etten, Patty Griffin, Lucinda Williams and others.
Rediscovered by Tompkins Square in 2006 after decades out of sight, Walker has remained active into his 8th decade, recording for Jack White’s Third Man label, and now, collaborating anew with fellow Upstaters, Harmony Rockets. Joined in a mighty super-session with Harmony Rockets (Mercury Rev), Martin Keith, Nels Cline (Wilco), and Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Lachesis/Clotho/Atropos is a mind-melting inter-generational collaboration that could only have coalesced around the wool sweaters, warm teacups and moldering bookstores of “Old Old Woodstock”, both the real and mythologized versions. Watch a clip of Peter Walker playing solo below.
Don't miss Melbourne's Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever triumphant return to Toronto on Tuesday.
Here's the scoop from Sub Pop...
It’s rare that a band’s debut album sounds as confident and self-assured as Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever’s Hope Downs. To say that the first full-length from the Melbourne quintet improves on their buzz-building EPs from the last few years would be an understatement: the promise those early releases hinted at has become fully realized here, with ten songs of urgent and passionate guitar pop that elicit warm memories of bands past, from the Go-Betweens’ jangle to the charmingly lo-fi trappings of New Zealand’s Flying Nun label. But don’t mistake Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever for nostalgists: Hope Downs is the sound of a band finding its own collective voice.
The hard-hitting debut is a testament to Rolling Blackouts C.F.’s tight-knit and hard-working bonafides: prior to forming the band in 2013, singers/guitarists Fran Keaney, Tom Russo, and Joe White had played together in various garage bands, dating back to high school. “Over the years, we built up our own sound and style, guitar pop songs with bits of punk and country” says Keaney. “Then when we started this band, with Joe Russo [Tom’s brother] on bass, Marcel [Tussie, Joe White’s then-housemate] on drums, we had this immediate chemistry. We started to let the songs go where they wanted to go”.
The band’s first gigs included friends’ bars and old shopfronts. After a split EP with You Yangs (another Russo brother’s band), released in the form of a frisbee, they self-released the Talk Tight EP in 2015, with Sydney-based record label Ivy League giving it a wider release the following year. Talk Tight garnered plaudits from critics, including legendary rock scribe Robert Christgau. In 2017, Sub Pop would join the effort, helping to release The French Press EP, bringing the band’s chugging and tuneful non-linear indie rock to the rest of the world as they settled into their sound with remarkable ease.
Hope Downs was largely written over the past year in the band’s Melbourne rehearsal room where their previous releases were also written and recorded. The band’s core trio of songwriters— Fran Keaney, Joe White, and Tom Russo—hunkered down and wrote as the chaos of the world outside unavoidably seeped into the songwriting process. “We were feeling like we were in a moment where the sands were shifting and the world was getting a lot weirder. There was a general sense that things were coming apart at the seams and people around us were too”. Russo explains. “The songs on this album are like a collection of postcards about wider things that were going on through the lens of these small characters.”
The album title, taken from the name of a vast open cut mine in the middle of Australia, refers to the feeling of “standing at the edge of the void of the big unknown, and finding something to hold on to.”
With recording sessions largely taking place in the Australian winter of 2017, the band escaped the Melbourne frost and headed to drummer Marcel Tussie’s hometown in Northern New South Wales. “We were right at the foot of this beautiful mountain next to a creek,” says White. “We could play out into the bush through the night”.
“We didn’t really want to record in a studio,” says Keaney. “We thought we’d get away up North, somewhere where it was warm, and record the songs live in the same room. We wanted to make sure it sounded like us,” White explains. With the help of engineer/producer Liam Judson and his portable setup, the band recorded and co-produced these ten guitar pop gems over the course of two weeks.
Hope Downs possesses a robust full-band sound that’s all the more impressive considering the band’s studio avoidance tendencies. If you loved Talk Tight and The French Press, you certainly won’t be disappointed here—but you might also be surprised at how the band’s sound has grown. There’s a richness and weight to these songs that was previously only hinted at, from the skyscraping chorus of ‘Sister’s Jeans’ to the thrilling climax of album closer ‘The Hammer’.
The first single ‘Mainland’ follows Tom Russo’s pilgrimage to the island of his grandparent’s birth, reflecting on his own love and privilege while a refugee crisis unfolds not far away, while second cut ‘Talking Straight’ wonders “where the silence comes from, where the space originates”, and suggests loneliness be faced together.
And then there’s the sprawling overture ‘An Air Conditioned Man’, which portrays the slow burning panic of a salaryman and features some beautifully tricky guitar work weaving in and out of frame as well as a surprisingly effective spoken-word section from Tom Russo during its closing moments. “As the world around him gets faker and faker, he realises he’s getting further away from the idealism of his youth.”
Indeed, Hope Downs is as much about the people that populate the world around us—their stories, perspectives, and hopes in the face of disillusionment—as it is about the state of things at large. It’s a record that focuses on finding the bright spots at a time when cynicism all too often feels like the natural state. Rolling Blackouts C.F. are here to remind us to keep our feet on the ground—and Hope Downs is as delicious a taste of terra firma as you’re going to get from a rock band right now. Checkout their performance on KEXP from back in April.
Legendary UK space-psych rock anarchists The Pink Fairies return with this fantastic new album led by founding Fairy Vancouver-born Paul Rudolph. Rudolph – who now makes his home in Victoria, BC – is joined by former Hawkwind bassist Alan Davey and original Motörhead drummer Lucas Fox, who not only created a killer rhythm section for the album but also co-wrote the songs. Another Pink Fairies/Motörhead member, Larry Wallis, contributed creative ideas to this project as well as writing the track "Old Enuff To Know Better" which you can hear below.
Telephone Explosion has just issued a 10-track album of unheard recordings from electronic music pioneer Bruce Haack.
Here's the scoop from the Telephone Explosion label...
In 2016, after reissuing two Bruce Haack albums, Haackula and Electric Lucifer Book II, Telephone Explosion began speaking with Ted Pandel (Bruce’s lifelong friend and business partner) about working on the 1970 masterpiece The Electric Lucifer. It turned out there was another matter that he wanted to discuss: finding a final resting place for the Bruce Haack archive.
We were shown test-pressings of The Electric Lucifer board mixes from his Columbia studio sessions, countless pieces of written music, a large number of personal photos, an invitation from Raymond Scott inviting Bruce to play his newly created Electronium instrument (now owned by Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh), poems, press clippings, and, most importantly, a heavy-duty shelf containing 213 reel-to-reel tapes.
All of the chosen material on The Preservation Tapes is unreleased – including the original version of the dancefloor filler "Party Machine" – and has only been heard by a handful of people. You can order a copy right here or grab the album on vinyl at Toronto's own Grasshopper Records (1167 Dundas St. West). Listen to "When Mothers Of Salem" below.
