Dana Gillespie announces new album First Love co-produced by Marc Almond

Dana Gillespie's new album First Love – recorded with her good friend Marc Almond – is out on May 31 via Fretsore Records. 

Here's the scoop...

Legendary singer/songwriter Dana Gillespie, with over 70 albums to her credit in a career spanning six decades, adds a new chapter with the release of her new album First Love slated for release by Fretsore Records on May 31. While First Love is a deeply personal album, it marks a shift for Dana who teams up with close friends Marc Almond and Tris Penna who together produced the album. 

Born in 1949 and raised in London in an era of unrivalled experimentation and artistic rebellion, Dana began her recording career at 15 with Pye Records. Her journey in entertainment is marked by significant milestones, including collaborations with icons such as David Bowie, Bob Dylan and Elton John.  A project of refined integrity, First Love – including the first single, the Morrissey-penned “Spent The Day In Bed”  – showcases a diversity of influences that only those who have lived the experience could so masterfully convey.

You can pre-order a copy of Dana Gillespie's First Love album via Rough Trade right here or try Fretsore Records right here. Watch an episode of Globetrotting with Dana Gillespie featuring Marc Almond followed by a clip of Dana's performance of "The Last Polar Bear"

Portland's No. 2 previews third album with "Too Much Is Not Enough"

No.2's Neil Gust (formerly of Heatmiser) is releasing the long overdue First Love album on September 9th via Jealous Butcher.  

Here's the scoop...

No. 2 was formed in 1997 in Portland, OR by singer/guitarist Neil Gust (Heatmiser), singer/bassist Gilly Ann Hanner (Calamity Jane, Desir) and drummer Paul Pulvirenti (Eyelids). Their music chased the fuzzy hooks of T-Rex, the heart-cracking harmonies of X, and the pole vaulting riffs and queer subtext of The B-52’s. Neil developed his songwriting style along side Elliott Smith who he met in college. The pair moved to Portland, OR together in 1991 to launch their indie rock band Heatmiser.

 

After three albums, including 1995’s major label beautiful disaster Mic City Sons, Heatmiser broke up and Neil took a handful of new songs to Gilly and Paul to start a new band. Gilly had founded the legendary proto riot grrrl band Calamity Jane, and her natural punk-sweet charisma paired beautifully with Paul’s propulsive beats and Neil’s guitar-chop tunes. In 1999, the band released their first single "Allistair Chestnut" b/w "Little Face" for Wicked Witch Records (available here) and their debut album No Memory on Donna Dresch’s influential Chainsaw Records. 

After tours and supporting spots for Pacific Northwest luminaries Quasi, Elliott Smith, Sleater-Kinney, and Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, and a follow up album What Does Good Luck Bring? (In Music We Trust 2002 available here), the band dispersed to pursue other interests. But after selling out vinyl reissues of both albums, the band reformed in 2019, recorded a new 7” single for Jealous Butcher Records (2020's "You Might Be Right" b/w "French Exit" available here), and began developing a new album with producer Joanna Bolme (The Minders, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks) with keyboard input from Rebecca Cole (The Minders, Wild Flag).

No.2's First Love album is being released by Jealous Butcher on September 9th which you can pre-order right here: https://www.jealousbutcher.com/products/first-love. Check out Hal Wolverton's video for "Too Much Is Not Enough" below. 

No. 2 – First Love

I'm On A Mission

Ravers In The Sky

Model of the Universe

A.O.R.

Time's Up

Get In Line

Night After Night

You Might Be Right

Too Much Is Not Enough

First Love

No One Needs To Know