Happy Birthday T Bone Burnett

Celebrating T Bone's birthday with a Robert Plant chat, a session with Andrew Bird and Ethan Coen's Jerry Lee video mixtape. 

Purling Hiss, Writhing Squares, Shade @ The Monarch Tavern, July 16

Philly's Purling Hiss offer some "Useful Information" from their Interstellar Blue EP out Tuesday on Drag City. 

Philly's Writhing Squares unleash Out Of The Ether

If you want a red vinyl version of the new Writhing Squares pounder, you'd better act fa... oops, sorry, it's sold out. 

Here's the scoop...
Writhing Squares have been conjuring up cosmic slop from the Philadelphia underground for a few years now, mixing growling bass, motorik synthesis, and skronking sax into a heady brew of punk-laced progressive R’n’R. The duo of Daniel Provenzano (Purling Hiss, Spacin, Rosali & the Middlemen) and Kevin Nickles (Ecstatic Vision, Taiwan Housing Project) emerged in 2015 with their self-released “Gemini Blues” 7-inch, following it up the next year with their debut album In The Void Above for the venerable Siltbreeze label. Their sophomore album, Out of The Ether, is their first for Trouble In Mind and should be in stores by the time you read this.

Out of the Ether opens with the metronomic throb of “Dirt In My Mind’s Eye”, setting the stage for the album’s five tracks of minimal, droning ambience, overtaken at times by Nickles’ wailing, saxophone skronk; a mixture of the soulful runs of The Stooges’ Steve McKay & the no-wave stabs of James Chance. “Steely Eyed Missile Man” picks up the pace, with a four-on-the-floor drive underneath Provenzano’s guttural basslines. “Bloodborne Hate and Black Book Mass” and side one closer “I Turned To The Mirror” add the industrial menace of Cabaret Voltaire to a locked-in groove and lysergicly introspective lyrics. Album closer “A Whole New Jupiter” (listen below) takes up all of the LP version’s side two, slingshotting the listener over the event horizon and thru the center of a sonically sculpted black hole, it’s relentless motorik dirge evolving over the course of the track’s 19-minute runtime into an abstract pulse before lurching back into the groove, riding it into the sun. Check out a the Withering Squares' performance at the Philadelphia Record Exchange after "A Whole New Jupiter"

Whaddya mean you don't know Klaus Johann Grobe

"Out Of Reach" and "Discogedanken" are off the Swiss duo's new Du Bist So Symmetrisch out now. 

Introducing: Ethers

Chicago's Ethers wouldn't sound out of place on a Flying Nun comp from the 80s and yes, that's a good thing. 

Calling Chicago's Ethers a “supergroup” might sound like hype to many outside the Chicago music scene, but for those who have been keeping score in the past few years, a pedigree of bands like Heavy Times, Outer Minds, Radar Eyes and The Runnies is more like a dream team. After the dissolution of his band Heavy Times, guitarist & songwriter Bo Hansen joined forces with husband and wife team Russell Calderwood & Mary McKane along with drummer Matt Rolin to concoct what would become Ethers’ eponymous debut album, out now on Trouble In Mind.

Recorded in the raw by Chicago engineer Dave Vettraino & mastered by Melbourne legend Mikey Young (Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring), Ethers’ debut consists of twelve songs of ragged, soulful rock and roll; heavy on hooks, with stark arrangements and sticky melodies that hang with an unexpected resonance. Watch Ethers perform "Past My Prime" at the Empty Bottle followed by the album version of "Rip Off." No plans yet for a Toronto date but check the poster below for an Ethers show near you.

Ultimate Painting w/ EZTV, Century Palm @ The Horseshoe, Sunday

When not rockin' clubs, Hackney's outdoorsy Jack Cooper & James Hoare like to frolic in the woods.

Dusk is the third studio album from London-based duo Ultimate Painting, a ten song set that expands the group’s sound from their self-titled debut and their critically lauded sophomore effort Green Lanes. Dusk heads along the same path, albeit in a slightly different direction.

Most groups would kill to have one talented songwriter in their ranks, but Ultimate Painting benefit from having two singular voices in Jack Cooper and James Hoare. The pair’s distinctive songwriting styles began to blur a bit with Green Lanes, but on Dusk it’s hard to tell where Cooper ends & Hoare begins. Their tunes weave in & out of each other like the duo’s respective six-strings, spiraling around each other in a laconic dance. Album opener ‘Bills’ (listen below) dives head-first into a crystalline pool of jangle, furthering the duo’s rep as purveyors of the Verlaine/Lloyd legacy, but despite the evident influence of American guitar pop both past & present, the group’s recorded an album that feels decidedly English. Cooper’s abstract poeticism balanced perfectly alongside Hoare’s alluring & universal pop leanings. The group’s discovered a simple lushness in Dusk’s arrangements, sometimes only with subtle additions like Hoare’s recently acquired Wurlitzer piano that drives tunes like ‘Lead The Way’ or washes underneath others like ‘Monday Morning, Somewhere Central’.

Dusk was once again recorded to tape by guitarist James Hoare in his Hackney flat. The casual setting allowed the sessions & songs to unfold naturally, with the two of them accompanied by recent live drummer Melissa Rigby, who drums on the entirety of Dusk. Her skills lend a rhythmic elasticity to songs like ‘A Portrait of Jason’ and ‘I Can’t Run Anymore’, with jazzy undertones that break from the band’s 4/4 regimen. Dusk feels different and cements the group’s presence in the modern world of guitar pop. Listen to Ultimate Painting's recent KEXP session following a clip from their Live At Third Man Records LP (issued back in May) and ‘Bills’ from Dusk.

RIYL: Luna, Yo La Tengo, Real Estate, The Verlaines, Velvet Underground, Television

Whaddya mean you don't know Krakatau

Watch Dylan Lieberman, James Tom and Charles Sexton play the epic "Riddells Creek" off Water Near A Bridge.

Dick Diver @ The Silver Dollar, CANCELLED

Here's an in-store with Dick Diver who've canned their T.O. show. Refunds available at point of purchase.

One For The Weekend: The Limiñanas

(I've Got) Trouble In Mind is the title track off the Limiñanas great new singles compilation out now.

Video Of The Week: Limiñanas & Pascal Comelade

Preview the new Limiñanas single

La Fille de la Ligne 15 by The Limiñanas

LINK
label http://troubleinmindrecs.com/bands/liminanas.html

One For The Weekend: Limiñanas

The new Limiñanas album Crystal Anis (HoZac) is now available at finer record shops.

LINKS
site http://theliminanas.bandcamp.com/
label http://hozacrecords.com/2010/08/the-liminanas/

Hear The Hollows' new single V Is For Vulture

   Hollows - "V Is For Vulture"

The Hollows' new album Vulture is out April 10 on Trouble In Mind

Trouble In Mind announces SXSW day show, new sevens!

If you're heading to Austin for SXSW 2012, you might wanna drop by Trailer Space Records (1401 Rosewood Ave. at Angelina in East Austin) on Saturday afternoon for the annual Trouble In Mind showcase which is stacked as usual. Hex Dispensers launch the festivities at 12 noon... check out the killer line-up:

12-12:30 : Hex Dispensers
12:45-1:15: Wheels On Fire
1:30-2:00 : The Mean Jeans
2:15-2:45 : The Wrong Words
3:00-3:30 : The Resonars
3:45-4:15 : Mikal Cronin
4:45-5:15 : Apache Dropout
5:30-6:00 : Night Beats

In other Trouble In Mind news, the label has something special planned for Record Store Day on April 21. Yes, once again it's another limited edition split seven-inch with four TIM artists covering songs they love but this year's model promises more to get excited about.

Orange County heartthrob Mikal Cronin starts things off with a bang with his woozy, infectious cover of "I Enjoy Being A Boy", written by bubblegum songsmith Joey Levine for the soundtrack of 60s Saturday morning kids show The Banana Splits. Not to be outdone, Bloomington, IN’s Apache Dropout crack open a can o' bees with their sinister version of Harry Nilsson’s "Cuddly Toy". Flip this bad-boy over & you’ll be greeted by the warm embrace of The Paperhead’s take on "Stacey Grove", a Tyrannosaurus Rex cut from their debut album. We say "adieu" with a heady translation of The Troggs tune "Come Now" (literally translated into French as "Tu es à moi") fuzzed out to the max by Perpignan, France's The Limiñanas! Each copy comes pressed on white vinyl, is housed in a beautiful METALLIC SEAFOAM edition of the Trouble In Mind factory sleeve, & is hand-numbered & strictly limited to 1000 copies.

In keeping with the spirit of Record Store Day, the new Trouble In Mind 4-song EP will only be available via indie record retailers – no mailorder! So if your local shop didn't order it last year, you might suggest they get in touch with Carrot Top Distribution (email: adam@ctdltd.com) to reserve copies now.

The next three TIM singles are pressed and ready to go:

TIM033 - The Resonars - Long Long Thoughts 4-Song EP
Is it possible that the energy and genius created by the entire membership of The Hollies, The Move and The Who could be embodied in one guy living in Arizona? You just might start to believe it after giving this 7-inch a spin. Matt Rendon is the one man hit machine behind the Resonars, writing & recording every instrument & singing every note all by his lonesome. This 4-song EP represents his first collection of new material in almost three years, after releases on Get Hip, Star Time & Burger Records, focusing his paisley-tinted vision with one ear in the past & his eyes on the future. These tracks hit the sweet-spot between the bittersweet harmonies you love about “Evolution” era Allan Clarke and Graham Nash with the triumphant guitar and off-the-chain drum fills of a “Who Sell Out”-era Pete Townshend and Keith Moon. You’ll be hooked from the first La’s of “Long Long Thoughts” till the last faded notes of “Stumbling On Stones.” HOO BOY, you’re going to need a new needle after you get through with this one - sorry ‘bout that. The first edition of 500 copies is housed in the Trouble In Mind factory sleeve, comes pressed on randomly mixed vinyl & includes a download code!

TIM034 The Paperhead - Pictures of Her Demise b/w She Is Above Me
Not quite all grown up yet, Nashville wunderkinds The Paperhead return with a single that shows that these boys are maturing musically by the hour. Not only have Ryan, Peter and Walker absolutely mastered their 8-track recording skills, with the A-Side, “Pictures Of Her Demise” they’ve honed in on a thrilling synthesis of their influences. From Pink Floyd to The (Dutch) Outsiders, or Q65 and The Golden Dawn, they’ve added a dash more dandy flair a’la Rainbow Ffolly or Jason Crest. “She Is Above Me” taps into some prime “moustache-era” Beatles, resting comfortably in a Strawberry Field while a lysergic carousel whirls around & drops tab after tab of ‘Blue Sunshine’ on your tongue. All hyperbole aside, the arrangements are more intricate and these lads are continuing to be at the head of the class when it comes to the idea that psychedelic music isn’t always about indulgence - there is a simplicity and beauty in the careful construction of a song. The first edition of 500 copies is pressed on randomly mixed vinyl, includes a download code, & comes housed in a glossy, U.K.-style picture sleeve!


TIM036 - Wrong Words - I Will Change Your Mind b/w How To Keep A Straight Face
One of our absolute favorite bands is back with a killer new single! This two-songer is the perfect follow-up to their TIM debut LP from last March. All the elements are here that made their full-length so great; the guitar work, thumping bass and drums, great lyrics, and the same one-two, eff-you pop-punch. “I Will Change Your Mind” has singer / guitarist Josh Miller hitting some new highs not only in guitar riff-ery but hitting those vocal high notes like he is some kind of power-pop Rob Halford ~ it’s a real rollercoaster of a tune, that takes the listener on a journey through the melodic vocabulary of folks like Roy Wood, Nick Lowe & Paul Collins without losing their own personal voice. The flip, ‘How To Keep A Straight Face’ kicks open the door & stomps in with a killer riff & some down and dirty wah-wah action, before smartly swaying into a great laid back northern California-cool melodic feel not-unlike Boz Scaggs jamming with the Barracudas. A terrific teaser for what’s on the horizon from this trio! The first edition of 500 copies is housed in the Trouble In Mind factory sleeve, comes pressed on randomly mixed vinyl & includes a download code!