out today : Water From Your Eyes - 'Everyone's Crushed'
photo by Ariel Fisher
stream/purchase 'Everyone's Crushed'
Water From Your Eyes have released their new album and Matador debut ‘Everyone’s Crushed’. Across the record's 9 tracks, Rachel Brown (they/them) and Nate Amos (he/him) find silliness and fatalism dancing in a frantic lockstep, using heart palpitating rhythms and absurdist, deadpan lyrics to convey stories of personal and societal unease. Described by Brown as Water From Your Eyes’ most collaborative record ever, it’s a swollen contusion of an album: experimental pop music that’s pretty and violent, raw and indelible.
They are currently supporting Interpol throughout their UK dates. In June, they’ll embark on a run of east coast headline shows, followed in the fall by a west coast run with Melody’s Echo Chamber. The band are also confirmed for Summerstage in Central Park this July, Way Out West, Lowlands, and Greenman Festivals across Europe in August, and Pitchfork Festival in London, Paris and Berlin this November. A complete list of upcoming dates can be found below.
Water From Your Eyes on Tour
tickets
Sunday, May 28 Brighton Dome, Brighton UK ^
Monday, May 29 O2 Academy Leeds, Leeds UK ^
Wednesday, May 31 The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh UK ^
Thursday, June 1 O2 Academy Bristol, Bristol UK ^
Thursday, June 15 Bonk’s Bar, Philadelphia PA
Friday, June 16 Comet Ping Pong, Washington DC
Saturday, June 17 Static Age Records, Asheville NC
Monday, June 19 CINE, Athens GA #
Tuesday, June 20 DRKMTTR, Nashville TN #
Wednesday, June 21 Whirling Tiger, Louisville KY #
Thursday, June 22 Sleeping Village Chicago IL
Saturday, June 24 Sled Island, Calgary AB
Tuesday, June 27 The Baby G, Toronto ON
Thursday, July 20 Central Park Summerstage, New York NY !
Friday, July 28 Real Love Summer Fest, Teulon MB
Saturday, August 12 Way Out West Festival, Gothenberg SE
Friday, August 18 Lowlands Festival, Biddinghuisen NL
Saturday, August 19 Green Man Festival, Brecon Beacons UK
Sunday, August 20 MS Dockville Festival, Hamburg DE
Saturday, September 30 L’Escogriffe Bar Spectacle, Montreal QC
Saturday, October 7 The Crocodile, Seattle WA +
Monday, October 9 Rev Hall, Portland OR +
Wednesday, October 11 The Independent, San Francisco CA +
Friday, November 3 Pitchfork Festival, Berlin DE
Friday, November 10 Pitchfork Festival, Paris FR
Saturday, November 11 Pitchfork Festival, London UK
^ w/ Interpol
# w/ Sword II
! w/ Horsegirl, Lifeguard, Iceage
Water From Your Eyes Online
TikTok
Bandcamp
Butthole Surfers - Classic Catalog TItles Now On Matador
photo by Pat Blashill, 1984
We are pleased to announce that Matador is reissuing a number of key catalog titles by legendary the Butthole Surfers, including the classic albums Psychic…Powerless…Another Man’s Sac, Rembrandt Pussyhorse, Locust Abortion Technician, Hairway to Steven, and piouhgd plus EPs and other material recorded during the band’s strange, grotesque, and ultimately unparalleled first decade. Details about our diabolical physical reissue campaign will be unveiled at a later date (perhaps with great fanfare, perhaps not -- dependeds on whether or how the fan is functioning that week)
stream / download The Butthole Surfers first five albums
'Butthole Surfers 1984-1991 - A Primer' (Playlist)
The Butthole Surfers were formed in 1981 by vocalist Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary. Drummer King Coffey joined in 1983. Together, they have remained the band’s three constant members across various recording sessions and touring incarnations.
The Butthole Surfers were, unquestionably one of the most beloved, influential, and lights-out insane bands to emerge from the U.S. ’80’s underground and their career is long overdue for critical reassessment and rediscovery (and with that in mind, a feature length documentary about the band is scheduled to premiere in 2024).
‘Psychic… Powerless… Another Man’s Sac’
1. “Concubine" 2:27
2. "Eye of the Chicken" 1:36
3. "Dum Dum" 3:47
4. "Woly Boly" 2:45
5. "Butthole Surfer" 3:02
6. "Lady Sniff" 3:45
7. "Cherub" 6:22
8. "Mexican Caravan" 2:46
9. "Cowboy Bob" 2:55
10. "Gary Floyd" 1:56
‘Rembrandt Pussyhorse’
1. "Creep in the Cellar" 2:05
2. "Sea Ferring" 4:00
3. "American Woman" 5:33
4. "Waiting for Jimmy to Kick" 2:21
5. "Strangers Die Everyday" 3:08
6. "Perry" 3:32
7. "Whirling Hall of Knives" 4:44
8. "Mark Says Alright" 4:08
9. "In the Cellar" 3:18
‘Locust Abortion Technician’
1. "Sweat Loaf" 6:09
2. "Graveyard" 2:27
3. "Pittsburgh to Lebanon" 2:29
4. "Weber" 0:35
5. "HAY" 1:50
6. "Human Cannonball" 3:51
7. "U.S.S.A." 2:14
8. "The O-Men" 3:27
9. "Kuntz" 2:24
10. "Graveyard" 2:45
11. "22 Going on 23" 4:23
‘Hairway To Stephen’
1. "Jimi" 12:38
2. "Ricky" 2:36
3. "I Saw an X-Ray of a Girl Passing Gas" 4:56
4. "John E. Smoke" 6:40
5. "Rocky" 3:45
6. "Julio Iglesias" 3:05
7. "Backass" 6:07
8. "Fast" 1:35
‘piouhgd’
1. "Revolution Part 1" 2:18
2. "Revolution Part 2" 7:28
3. "Lonesome Bulldog" 4:42
4. "Lonesome Bulldog II" 0:39
5. "The Hurdy Gurdy Man" (lyrics and music by Donovan) 3:59
6. "Golden Showers" 3:17
7. "Lonesome Bulldog III" 0:37
8. "Blindman" 3:40
9. "No, I'm Iron Man" 2:25
10. "Something" 2:06
11. "P.S.Y." 12:12
12. "Lonesome Bulldog IV" 0:41
Butthole Surfers online
Bandcamp
Out Today : bar italia - 'Tracey Denim'
photo by Simon Mercer
'Tracey Denim', the hotly anticipated new album from London trio bar italia is now streaming everywhere and available on CD at finer record shops or via online retailers (link below). The LP edition of 'Tracey Denim' will be available in September and can be preordered now (see below).
stream / purchase 'Tracey Denim'
‘Tracey Denim’ Tracklist
1. guard
2. Nurse!
3. punkt
4. my kiss era
5. F.O.B
6. Missus Morality
7. yes i have eaten so many lemons yes i am so bitte
8. changer
9. Horsey Girl Rider
10. NOCD
11. best in show
12. Clark
13. harpee
14. Friends
15. maddington
bar italia on Tour
Tickets: https://baritaliaa.com/home/
Saturday, May 20 Cinetol, Amsterdam NE *SOLD OUT*
Monday, May 22 Boule Noire, Paris FR *SOLD OUT*
Tuesday, May 23 Aeronef Club, Lille FR
Wednesday, May 24 Green Door Store, Brighton UK
Thursday, May 25 ICA, London UK *SOLD OUT*
Saturday, June 3 Primavera, Barcelona ES
Sunday, June 4 ZDB, Lisbon PT
Monday, June 5 Primavera, Madrid ES
Tuesday, June 13 TV Eye, Queens NY *SOLD OUT*
Wednesday, June 14 Union Pool, Brooklyn NY *SOLD OUT*
Thursday, June 15 Mercury Lounge, New York NY *SOLD OUT*
Saturday, June 17 Public Records, Brooklyn NY *SOLD OUT*
Monday, June 19 El Cid, Los Angeles CA *SOLD OUT*
Wednesday, June 21 Zebulon, Los Angeles CA *SOLD OUT*
Thursday, June 22 Genghis Tron, Los Angeles CA
Saturday, June 24 Gold Diggers, Los Angeles CA
Tuesday, July 11 London UK, Village Underground
Saturday, September 23 Seanie Buttons, Cork IE
Sunday, September 24 Workman’s Club, Dublin IE
Tuesday, October 31 YES, Manchester UK
Wednesday, November 1 The Fleece, Bristol UK
Friday, November 3 Brudenell Social Club, Leeds UK
Saturday, November 4 Room 2, Glasgow UK
Tuesday, November 7 Village Underground, London UK
Thursday, November 9 Antipode, Rennes FR
Saturday, November 11 Pitchfork Festival, Paris FR
Monday, November 13 Palace, St. Gallen CH
Thursday, November 16 Manufaktur, Schorndorf DE
Saturday, November 18 Molotow Skybar, Hamburg DE
Sunday, November 19 Lido, Berlin DE
Monday, November 20 VEGA, Copenhagen DK
Wednesday, November 22 Tanzhaus West, Frankfurt DE
Thursday, November 23 Rotown, Rotterdam NL
Friday, November 24 Bitterzoet, Amsterdam NL
Saturday, November 25 Trix, Antwerp BE
Sunday, November 26 Botanique, Brussels BE
Friday, December 1 Songbyrd, Washington DC
Saturday, December 2 First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia PA
Monday, December 4 Bowery Ballroom, New York NY
Tuesday, December 5 Brighton Music Hall, Boston MA
Wednesday, December 6 Sala Rossa, Montreal QC
Friday, December 8 Velvet Underground, Toronto ON
Sunday, December 10 Empty Bottle, Chicago IL
Tuesday, December 12 Turf Club, St. Paul MN
Wednesday, December 13 High Noon Saloon, Madison WI
Friday, December 15 Ace of Cups, Columbus OH
Saturday, December 16 Mahall's, Cleveland, OH
Sunday, December 17 Club Café, Pittsburgh PA
bar italia Online
band website
Bandcamp
Interpol - "Passenger" (Jeff Parker Interpolation)
photo by Ebru Yildiz
photo by David Haskell
Last month, Interpol launched ‘Interpolations,’ a series of collaborations that finds songs from ‘The Other Side Of Make-Believe’, reworked by artistsDaniel Avery, Makaya McCraven, Jeff Parker, Jesu, and Water From Your Eyes.
Today, you can hear the second installment, an interpolation of “Passenger” created by guitarist and composer Jeff Parker. “When asked to make a remix for Interpol, I was intrigued and initially excited to make something from the drum breaks on the original version of “Passenger,”” explains. Parker. “However, the muse had other plans for me, and it went in a different direction.”
stream / download 'Interpolations'
stream / purchase 'The Other Side Of Make-Believe'
Interpol On Tour (new dates in bold)
Tickets available at https://www.interpolnyc.com/tour-dates
Thursday, May 18 Pabellon Monterrey MX
Saturday, May 20 Tecate Supremo Festival Juarez MX
Sunday, May 21 Corona Capital, Guadalajara MX
Saturday, May 27 Bearded Theory, Walton Upon Trent UK
Sunday, May 28 Brighton Dome, Brighton UK
Monday, May 29 O2 Leeds Academy, Leeds UK
Tuesday, May 30 O2 Academy Edinburgh, Edinburgh UK
Thursday, June 1 O2 Academy Bristol, Bristol UK
Sunday, June 4 Usina Festival, Luxembourg
Tuesday, June 6 Studio, Krakow PL
Wednesday, June 7 Klub Stodo?a, Warsaw PL
8-10 June Sideways Festival, Helsinki FI
Saturday, June 10 Best Kept Secret, Hilvarenbeek NE
Thursday, June 15 Neue Theaterfabrik, Munich DE
Friday, 16 June Lido Sounds, Linz AT
16-18 June Traumzeit Festival, Duisburg DE
16-18 June Maifeld Derby, Mannheim DE
Tuesday, June 20 Arenele Romane, Bucharest RO
Wednesday, June 21 Park Centre Junak, Sofia BG
Friday, June 23 2023 Release Athens, Athens GR
Saturday, June 24 I Days Coca-Cola, Milan IT
Monday, June 26 Officine Grandi Riparazioni, Turin IT
Wednesday, June 28 Rome Summer Fest, Cavea, Rome IT
Friday June 30 Summer Series at Trinity College Dublin, Dublin IE
Saturday, June 1 Rock Werchter, Rotselaar, Flanders BE
Wednesday, July 5 Days Off, Paris FR
Friday, July 7 Beauregard Festival, Normandy FR
Sunday, July 9 Liverpool Uni Mountford Hall, Liverpool UK
Monday, July 10 Somerset House, London UK SOLD OUT
Tuesday, July 18 Paleo Festival Nyon, Nyon CH
Thursday, July 20 MoM Sport, Budapest HU
Saturday, July 22 Colours of Ostrava, Czech Republic
Monday, July 24 Maximum Uniq, Istanbul, TR
Friday, July 28 2023 Low Festival, Benidorm ES
Friday, August 11 Outside Lands, San Francisco CA
Sunday, August 13 Isleta Amphitheater, Albuquerque NM *
Tuesday, August 15 Dos Equis Pavilion, Dallas TX *
Wednesday, August 16 Walmart AMP, Rogers AR *
Thursday, August 17 The Orion Amphitheater, Huntsville AL *
Saturday, August 19 iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach FL *
Sunday, August 20 MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa FL *
Tuesday, August 22 PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC, USA *
Thursday, August 24 PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, USA *
Friday, August 25 Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, Gilford NH *
Saturday August 26 College Street Music Hall, New Haven CT
Wednesday, August 30 Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh NY *
Thursday, August 31 Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow VA *
Saturday, September 2 Budweiser Stage, Toronto ON *
Monday, September 3 Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa ON *
Tuestday September 4 MTelus, Montreal QC
Wednesday, September 6 Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston MI *
Friday, September 8 FirstBank Amphitheater, Franklin TN *
Saturday, September 9 Ruoff Music Center, Noblesville IN *
* with The Smashing Pumpkins
Interpol Online
Official Site
YouTube Channel
Jeff Parker
Coming June 16 : Queens of the Stone Age - 'In Times New Roman...'
(Production by Worldfare, Directed by Tony Wolski)
(photo by Andreas Neumann)
(presave / preorder 'In Times New Roman...')
(stream / download "Emotion Sickness")
Queens of the Stone Age have announced their long-awaited 8th studio album, 'In Times New Roman…' out June 16th on Matador.
'In Times New Roman..'. is raw, at times brutal and not recommended for the faint of heart. And yet, it’s perhaps the most beautiful and definitely the most rewarding album in their epic discography. Founder Joshua Homme's most acerbic lyrics to date are buoyed by the instantly identifiable QOTSA sonic signature, expanded and embellished with new and unprecedented twists in virtually every song. With 'In Times New Roman…' we see that sometimes one needs to look beneath scars and scabs to see beauty, and sometimes the scabs and scars are the beauty.
Feeling a bit out of place, and having difficulty finding music they could relate to, the members of QOTSA did as they are wont to do: In Times New Roman… is the sound of a band creating the music its own members
want to hear, while giving the rest of us a sonic forum in which to congregate. “The world’s gonna end in a month or two," sings Homme, begging the question: What do you want to do with the time you’ve got left?
Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen, Dean Fertita, Michael Shuman and Jon Theodore may not be able to save us, but they’re giving us a place to ride it out.
The first offering from 'In Times New Roman…' is “Emotion Sickness,” which wraps listeners in a warm blanket of patented QOTSA hypnotic choruses and off kilter grooves—punctuated by tinges of psychic
turbulence. The past few years have been tough on everyone, and it’s no secret the members of QOTSA have endured their share of heartbreak and loss. But who amongst us hasn’t dealt with a recent bout (or two) of
emotion sickness? A Liam Lynch video for "Emotion Sickness” premieres tomorrow on QOTSA’s YouTube channel.
'In Times New Roman…' was recorded and mixed at Homme’s own Pink Duck (RIP), with additional recording at Shangri-La. The album was produced by Queens of the Stone Age and mixed by Mark Rankin. The album
will be available across all digital platforms and on vinyl and CD on June 16th. Artwork and double LP gatefold packaging designed by long time collaborator Boneface. LP vinyl will be available globally in black, green, red, silver and blue. All formats are available for pre-order here. The track list is as follows:
Obscenery
Paper Machete
Negative Space
Time & Place
Made to Parade
Carnavoyeur
What the Peephole Say
Sicily
Emotion Sickness
Straight Jacket Fitting
Colored vinyl available at the QOTSA / Matador Webstores and at record shops everywhere.
QOTSA ONLINE
WEBSITE
TIKTOK
Matador Revisionist History Continued : The New Pornographers - 'Electric Version' 20th Anniversary Edition
(photo by Erica Henderson)
"All For Swinging You Around" (directed by Blaine Thurier)
"The Laws Have Changed" (directed by Blaine Thurier)
This week, Matador Records will celebrate the 20th anniversary of The New
Pornographers’ second full-length, 'Electric Version' – first released May 6, 2003 – with a limited-edition opaque blue vinyl reissue out September 22. Today, the band’s era-appropriate rarity “Turn” – originally a Japan-only bonus track – will make its debut on streaming services. Newly pristine remasters of the “All For Swinging You Around” and “The Laws Have Changed” music videos will also be made available on YouTube.
(preorder 'Electric Version' on LP / stream 'Electric Version' and "Turn")
As for the music: no sophomore slumping to be found here. Back then we wrote, “Withmimpossibly huge hooks and an innate understanding of every pop trick in the book, this follow-up to 2000’s breakthrough Mass Romantic is the most exciting pop record we’ve heard in a long while.” For once, tastemakers of the day shared our enthusiasm. “The
New Pornographers mix the pop purism of the Beach Boys, the power charge of Cheap Trick and the gentle psychedelia of Syd Barrett,” wrote the New York Times, who labeled 'Electric Version', “some of the best pop of the year.”
The New Pornographers have dates planned throughout the spring and fall, touring songs from their just-released ninth album, 'Continue as a Guest' (Merge). Regarding the new record, Rolling Stone called it, "an LP that delivers its vivid emotional payoff in subtle gestures...the results can be magisterial." Find a complete itinerary below.
‘Electric Version’ Tracklist
01. The Electric Version
02. From Blown Speakers
03. The Laws Have Changed
04. The End of Medicine
05. Loose Translation
06. Chump Change
07. All For Swinging You Around
08. The New Face of Zero and One
09. Testament to Youth in Verse
10. It’s Only Divine Right
11. Ballad of a Comeback Kid
12. July Jones
13. Miss Teen Wordpower
The New Pornographers on Tour
Tickets:
Thursday, May 4 Turner Hall, Milwaukee WI +
Friday, May 5 Thalia Hall, Chicago IL *SOLD OUT* +
Saturday, May 6 Thalia Hall, Chicago IL *SOLD OUT* +
Monday, May 8 Memorial Hall, Cincinnati OH +
Tuesday, May 9 Newport Music Hall, Columbus OH +
Thursday, May 11 El Club, Detroit MI *SOLD OUT* +
Friday, May 12 Danforth Music Hall, Toronto ON +
Saturday, May 13 Higher Ground Ballroom, Burlington VT +
Sunday, May 14 Wall Street Theater, Norwalk CT +
Monday, May 15 Royale, Boston MA +
Wednesday, May 17 Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn NY +
Thursday, May 18 Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA +
Friday, May 19 9:30 Club, Washington DC *SOLD OUT* +
Saturday, May 20 9:30 Club, Washington DC *SOLD OUT* +
Sunday, May 21 Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw NC *SOLD OUT*
Tuesday, November 7 Music Box, San Diego CA &
Wednesday, November 8 The Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles CA &
Friday, November 10 Bimbo’s 365 Club, San Francisco CA &
Saturday, November 11 Ace of Spaces, Sacramento CA &
Sunday, November 12 McDonald Theatre, Eugene OR &
Tuesday, November 14 The Commodore, Vancouver BC &
Wednesday, November 15 Revolution Hall, Portland OR &
Thursday, November 16 The Showbox, Seattle WA &
Friday, November 17 Knitting Factory, Boise ID &
Saturday, November 18 The Commonwealth, Salt Lake City UT &
+ w/ Wild Pink
& w/ Finom
Coming July 7 : Lifeguard - 'Crowd Can Talk / 'Dressed In Trenches'
photo by Mariana Belaval
"17-18 Lovesong"
stream / download "17-18 Lovesong"
presave / preorder 'Crowd Can Talk' / 'Dressed In Trenches'
Formed in 2019, Lifeguard are Asher Case (bass, vocals), Isaac Lowenstein (drums, percussion), and Kai Slater (guitar, vocals). At its core, Lifeguard is a punk band. Their music is loud and energetic. It’s also, at its core, visceral and hypnotic. For the Chicago-based trio that can include repetition and blasts of speaker cone-shredding feedback. Their songs adeptly balance melody and chaos, rhythm and drone. Hooks and noise are held to the same standard. Both have to stick.
They’re a young band, but they’ve already found a place at the forefront of an important emerging music community in their hometown. They are quite prolific. In just three years, Lifeguard has put out a full-length, two EPs, and two 7” singles.
On July 7, Matador will release ‘Crowd Can Talk / Dressed in Trenches’, a
composite of two EPs by Lifeguard. ‘Crowd Can Talk’ was originally released in the summer of 2022 by Chicago label Born Yesterday, while ‘Dressed in Trenches’ features five brand new and unreleased songs. ‘Crowd Can Talk / Dressed in Trenches’ will be made available on vinyl for the first time (A and B-sides of a 12”) and also on CD.
'Crowd Can Talk' and 'Dressed in Trenches' are closely related. They were recorded in separate sessions, but at the same studio (Electrical Audio) and with the same engineer (Mike Lust) and within the space of 12 months. Each finds the band refining its voice –honing songs that are succinct, hooky, and propulsive. There's a newly disciplined attention to detail. Lifeguard write together through collaboration and improvisation, but they’ve learned to streamline their sound, to make each hook, beat, and gesture purposeful.
On each record, there are echoes of underground guitar bands from decades past. This is not record-collector music, though. It’s the product of a present-day community. Lifeguard are, first and foremost, a performing band and the songs are written to stand up in that moment.
“More than old records – before that, before anything – we’re influenced by live shows and people around us,” explains Slater. “The inspiration comes from playing shows with people and having that mind-blown moment of seeing some friend play at Schubas or Book Club,” adds Lowenstein. “It’s happening on these tiny little scales of seeing kids play live and [knowing] this is something new and interesting.”
LP Tracklist :
‘Crowd Can Talk’
1. New Age (I’ve Got A)
2. I Know I Know
3. Fifty Seven
4. Typecast
‘Dressed in Trenches’
1. 17-18 Lovesong
2. Alarm
3. Ten Canisters (OFB)
4. Shutter Shutter
5. Tell Me When
Lifeguard on Tour
Friday, June 9 Genghis Cohen, Los Angeles CA
Thursday, July 6 Summerfest, Milwaukee WI
Thursday, July 20 Central Park Summerstage, New York NY (Free Show) !
Friday, July 21 Ukie Club, Philadelphia PA ^
Saturday, July 22 House of Independents, Asbury Park NJ ^
Sunday, July 23 Ottobar, Baltimore MD ^
Tuesday, July 25 DC9, Washington DC ^
Thursday, July 27 The Pinhook, Durham NC ^
Friday, July 28 The Grey Eagle, Asheville NC ^
Saturday, July 29 Third Man Records, Nashville TN ^
Sunday, July 30 Masquerade, Atlanta GA ^
Tuesday, August 1 Saturn, Birmingham AL
Wednesday, August 2 Toulouse Theatre, New Orleans LA ^
Thursday, August 3 White Oak Music Hall, Houston TX ^
Friday, August 4 The Gremlin, McAllen TX
Saturday, August 5 Paper Tiger, San Antonio TX ^
Monday, August 7 Parish, Austin TX ^
Tuesday, August 8 Sons of Hermann Hall , Dallas TX ^
Wednesday, August 9 George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville AR ^
Friday, August 11 The Bottleneck, Lawrence KS ^
Sunday, August 13 Thalia Hall, Chicago IL ^
! w/ Horsegirl, Water From Your Eyes, Iceage
^ w/ Horsegirl
Lifeguard online :
Bandcamp
Coming May 19 : bar italia - 'Tracey Denim'
"Punkt" (camera : Mario Suardiaz)
photo by Simon Mercer
stream / download "Punkt"
presave / preorder 'Tracey Denim'
bar italia, the London trio of Nina Cristante, Jezmi Tarik Fehmi and Sam Fenton, have announced details of their new album ‘Tracey Denim’, which will be released digitally and on CD May 19th. The album will be available on vinyl September 8.
‘Tracey Denim’ was recorded and produced by bar italia with mixing from Marta Salogni.
bar italia will play a headline UK and European tour in May, including a sold out album release show at London’s ICA on May 25th. The band will also make its US debut in June with dates scheduled in New York and Los Angeles.
‘Tracey Denim’ Tracklist
1. guard
2. Nurse!
3. punkt
4. my kiss era
5. F.O.B
6. Missus Morality
7. yes i have eaten so many lemons yes i am so bitte
8. changer
9. Horsey Girl Rider
10. NOCD
11. best in show
12. Clark
13. harpee
14. Friends
15. maddington
bar italia on Tour (new dates in bold)
Wednesday, May 10 Kazimier Stockroom, Liverpool UK
Thursday, May 11 Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh UK
Friday, May 12 Hare and Hounds, Birmingham UK
Saturday, May 13 Sidney & Matilda, Sheffield UK
Sunday, May 14 Jericho Tavern, Oxford UK
Tuesday, May 16 Jaki, Cologne DE
Wednesday, May 17 Meetfactory, Prague CZ
Thursday, May 18 Urban Spree, Berlin DE
Saturday, May 20 Cinetol, Amsterdam NE
Monday, May 22 Boule Noire, Paris FR
Tuesday, May 23 Aeronef Club, Lille FR
Wednesday, May 24 Green Door Store, Brighton UK
Thursday, May 25 ICA, London UK
Saturday, June 3 Primavera, Barcelona ES
Sunday, June 4 ZDB, Lisbon PT
Monday, June 5 Primavera, Madrid ES
Tuesday, June 13 TV Eye, Queens NY
Thursday, June 15 Mercury Lounge, New York NY
Monday, June 19 El Cid, Los Angeles CA
Wednesday, June 21 Zebulon, Los Angeles CA
Tuesday, July 11 Village Underground, London UK
bar italia Online
band website
Bandcamp
Coming June 9 : King Krule - 'Space Heavy'
"Seaforth".
Video directed by Jocelyn Anquetil
photo by Frank Lebon
stream / download "Seaforth"
presave / preorder 'Space Heavy'
Following a run of sold-out intimate shows as part of his recent SHHH Tour, Archy Marshall announces 'Space Heavy', the fourth studio album under his King Krule alias, due June 9th . Coming 10 years on from his debut album, 'Space Heavy' presents King Krule at his most articulate; using his years of experience to create a dynamic body of work that reveals something new with every listen.
The album’s first single, “Seaforth,” arrives today with an endearing music video directed by visual artist and previous collaborator Jocelyn Anquetil and starring King Krule. The dreamlike, stripped-back melody of “Seaforth” soundtracks a visual that transports us into the sleeping mind of King Krule to be immersed in the adventures of two golden retrievers; a father and his puppy.
Written from 2020 to 2022, between London and Liverpool, 'Space Heavy' took shape over the course of commutes between the two cities where Archy Marshall was splitting his time. Befitting an album quite literally written on the commute between the two places he called home, Archy found himself fascinated by the notion of “the space between” - the space haunted by dreams of love, touching a narrative of lost connection, losing people and situations to the guillotine of the universe. Once written by Archy, the music was developed by frequent collaborator and producer Dilip Harris and long-time band mates Ignacio Salvadores (saxophonist), George Bass (drummer), James Wilson (bass guitarist) and Jack Towell (guitarist).
The result is a 15-track full-length by the musical polymath that inhabits the deepest reaches of the subterranean sonic world that Archy has constructed over the course of his career as King Krule. In it you hear a generational artist stepping into the height of their artistic powers – the auteurism apparent on his debut '6 Feet Beneath The Moon', the shapeshifting sonic palette of 'The OOZ', the primality of 'Man Alive!' and the raw vulnerability expressed on 'You Heat Me Up, You Cool Me Down' all coalesce into a wizened, dynamic body of work that reveals new elements with each listen. In line with Archy’s interest in the space between, it is an album wherein the negative space demands the same attention as the positive space. If one is willing to wade into the mire the reward is rich.
‘Space Heavy’ Tracklist
1. Flimsier
2. Pink Shell
3. Seaforth
4. That Is My Life, That Is Yours
5. Tortoise Of Independency
6. Empty Stomach Space Cadet
7. Flimsy
8. Hamburgerphobia
9. From The Swamp
10. Seagirl
11. Our Vacuum
12. Space Heavy
13. When Vanishing
14. If Only It Was Warmth
15. Wednesday Overcast
Clear vinyl, available at the King Krule / Matador Webstores and at independent record stores
Standard black vinyl, available everywhere
T-shirt, available separately and as a bundle on the King Krule / Matador Webstores
King Krule Online
Website
Water From Your Eyes - "True Life"
"True Life", video by Sabrina Nichols
photo by Eleanor Petry
Out May 26, ‘Everyone’s Crushed’ is the Matador Records debut from Brooklyn duo Water From Your Eyes. Today, watch the animated video for the album’s second single, "True Life," which teams ping-ponging guitar riffs with drop-tuned bass and an unexpected shoutout to Neil Young.
“‘True Life’ is our Neil Young-inspired quasi-nu metal stomp,” explains the band. “It is also intended to be our ‘Short Skirt / Long Jacket.’ The bridge was initially meant to contain lyrics from ‘Cinnamon Girl,’ but Neil Young’s lawyers wouldn’t let us use them. Now they are about how Neil Young wouldn’t let us use his words. The rest of the song deals with life and assorted complications of the material world.”
stream/download "True Life"
presave / preorder 'Everyone's Crushed'
Poster art by Nicole Keiser
Water From Your Eyes on Tour
tickets
Wednesday, April 12 Soundwell, Salt Lake City UT #
Thursday, April 13 AREA15, Las Vegas NV #
Saturday, April 15 Coachella, Indio CA
Sunday, April 16 Fremont Theatre, San Luis Obispo CA #
Tuesday, April 18 Cargo Concert Hall, Reno NV #
Wednesday, April 19 Goldfield Trading Post, Roseville CA %
Thursday, April 20 Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz CA %
Saturday, April 22 Coachella, Indio CA
Sunday, April 23 Yucca North, Flagstaff AZ #
Monday, April 24 The Lowbrow Palace, El Paso TX #
Tuesday, April 25 Sister, Albuquerque NM #
Thursday, April 27 The Jones Assembly, Oklahoma City OK #
Friday, April 28 George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville AR #
Saturday, April 29 Black Lodge, Memphis TN #
Monday, May 1 The Vogue, Indianapolis IN #
Tuesday, May 2 Woodward Theater, Cincinnati OH #
Thursday, May 4 123 Pleasant Street, Morgantown WV #
Saturday, May 6 The Ramkat, Winston-Salem NC #
Sunday, May 7 Shaky Knees Festival , Atlanta GA
Sunday, May 28 Brighton Dome, Brighton UK ^
Monday, May 29 O2 Academy Leeds, Leeds UK ^
Wednesday, May 31 The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh UK ^
Thursday, June 1 O2 Academy Bristol, Bristol UK ^
Thursday, June 15 Bonk’s Bar, Philadelphia PA
Friday, June 16 Comet Ping Pong, Washington DC
Saturday, June 17 Static Age Records, Asheville NC
Tuesday, June 20 DRKMTTR, Nashville TN
Wednesday, June 21 Whirling Tiger, Louisville KY
Thursday, June 22 Sleeping Village Chicago IL
Saturday, June 24 Sled Island, Calgary AB
Tuesday, June 27 The Baby G, Toronto ON
Saturday, August 12 Way Out West Festival, Gothenberg SE
Friday, August 18 Lowlands Festival, Biddinghuisen NL
Saturday, August 19 Green Man Festival, Brecon Beacons UK
# w/ Snail Mail + Dazy
* w/ Dazy
% w/ Snail Mail
^ w/ Interpol
Water From Your Eyes Online
TikTok
Bandcamp
bar italia - "Nurse!"
video by Simon Mercer
photo by Simon Mercer
bar italia, the London trio of Nina Cristante, Jezmi Tarik Fehmi and Sam Fenton, have joined the Matador Records roster.
Stream / download "Nurse!"
The band play a run of UK and European headline shows in May, including the ICA in London on May 25th, and will appear at festivals this summer including Primavera Sound Barcelona & Madrid, Latitude, Midi Festival and End Of The Road. A list of upcoming live dates can be found below.
Over the last couple of years, bar italia have released two albums and an EP on the World Music label, as well as several singles.
bar italia on Tour
Wednesday, May 10 Kazimier Stockroom, Liverpool UK
Thursday, May 11 Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh UK
Friday, May 12 Hare and Hounds, Birmingham UK
Saturday, May 13 Sidney & Matilda, Sheffield UK
Sunday, May 14 Jericho Tavern, Oxford UK
Tuesday, May 16 Jaki, Cologne DE
Wednesday, May 17 Meetfactory, Prague CZ
Thursday, May 18 Urban Spree, Berlin DE
Saturday, May 20 Cinetol, Amsterdam NE
Monday, May 22 Boule Noire, Paris FR
Tuesday, May 23 Aeronef Club, Lille FR
Wednesday, May 24 Green Door Store, Brighton UK
Thursday, May 25 ICA, London UK
Saturday, June 3 Primavera, Barcelona ES
Sunday, June 4 ZDB, Lisbon PT
Monday, June 5 Primavera, Madrid ES
bar italia Online
Bandcamp
Lifeguard - Newly Signed To Matador, On Tour With Horsegirl This Summer
(photo by Mariana Beleval)
It is with great pride that we announce that Chicago trio Lifeguard have joined the Matador Records roster.
Formed in 2019, Lifeguard is Asher Case (bass, vocals), Isaac Lowenstein (drums, percussion), and Kai Slater (guitar, vocals). The trio is young – they met in junior high – but have already found a place at the forefront of an important emerging music community in their hometown.
They are also prolific. In just three years, the trio have put out a full-length, two EPs, and two 7” singles – on their own and also through the labels Chunklet Industries and Born Yesterday. Each release has been sharper than the last, with the band honing a distinct balance of melody and noise, rhythm and drone. You can listen to their most recent EP, 'Crowd Can Talk' (2022) here.
In July, Lifeguard will embark on a US tour with labelmates and fellow Chicagoans, Horsegirl. New music is expected in the spring.
Lifeguard on Tour
Saturday, March 4 Beat Kitchen, Chicago IL %
Saturday, April 29 The Metro, Chicago IL #
Friday, July 21 Ukie Club, Philadelphia PA ^
Saturday, July 22 House of Independents, Asbury Park NJ ^
Sunday, July 23 Ottobar, Baltimore MD ^
Tuesday, July 25 DC9, Washington DC ^
Thursday, July 27 The Pinhook, Durham NC ^
Friday, July 28 The Grey Eagle, Asheville NC ^
Saturday, July 29 Third Man Records, Nashville TN ^
Sunday, July 30 Masquerade, Atlanta GA ^
Tuesday, August 1 Saturn, Birmingham AL
Wednesday, August 2 Toulouse Theatre, New Orleans LA ^
Thursday, August 3 White Oak Music Hall, Houston TX ^
Friday, August 4 The Gremlin, McAllen TX
Saturday, August 5 Paper Tiger, San Antonio TX ^
Monday, August 7 Parish, Austin TX
Tuesday, August 8 Sons of Hermann Hall , Dallas TX ^
Wednesday, August 9 George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville AR ^
Friday, August 11 The Bottleneck, Lawrence KS ^
Sunday, August 13 Thalia Hall, Chicago IL ^
% w/ June of 44
# w/ Eleventh Dream Day
^ w/ Horsegirl
Lifeguard online :
Bandcamp
Horsegirl On Tour
Friday, March 10 Irving Plaza, New York NY +
Thursday, March 23 Riviera Theatre, Chicago IL *
Saturday, March 25 Riviera Theatre, Chicago IL *
Sunday, March 26 Riviera Theatre, Chicago IL *
Thursday, March 30 The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester NY *
Friday, March 31 The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester NY *
Saturday, April 1 The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester NY *
Saturday, April 15 Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Indio CA
Saturday, April 22 Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Indio CA
Friday, July 21 Ukie Club, Philadelphia PA ^
Saturday, July 22 House of Independents, Asbury Park NJ ^
Sunday, July 23 Ottobar, Baltimore MD ^
Tuesday, July 25 DC9, Washington DC ^
Thursday, July 27 The Pinhook, Durham NC ^
Friday, July 28 The Grey Eagle, Asheville NC ^
Saturday, July 29 Third Man Records, Nashville TN ^
Sunday, July 30 Masquerade, Atlanta GA ^
Tuesday, August 1 Saturn, Birmingham AL
Wednesday, August 2 Toulouse Theatre, New Orleans LA ^
Thursday, August 3 White Oak Music Hall, Houston TX ^
Friday, August 4 The Gremlin, McAllen TX
Saturday, August 5 Paper Tiger, San Antonio TX ^
Monday, August 7 Parish, Austin TX
Tuesday, August 8 Sons of Hermann Hall , Dallas TX ^
Wednesday, August 9 George’s Majestic Lounge, Fayetteville AR ^
Friday, August 11 The Bottleneck, Lawrence KS ^
Sunday, August 13 Thalia Hall, Chicago IL ^
+ w/ Unwound
* w/ Wilco
^ w/ Lifeguard
stream / purchase 'Versions Of Modern Performance'
Horsegirl Online
Website
Bandcamp
Water From Your Eyes / Matador
(photo : Christy Bush)
Matador Records is excited to welcome Brooklyn, NYC duo Water From Your Eyes to the label, with a new album due in the first half of 2023.
To mark the occasion, Water From Your Eyes will host a weekly live residency in New York throughout March. Tickets are free and available here. The band has also launched a newsletter, which you can sign up for here.
Water From Your Eyes will also headline shows in London, Brighton, Paris and Brussels before supporting Interpol in Spain and Portugal throughout February.
On the matter of joining the label, the band provided the following words
“This is all very crazy and we aren’t exactly sure what to say besides that it’s incredibly exciting and we are so fortunate to be working with such an amazing group of people. Neither one of us has fully processed the situation but I’m sure that this announcement will bring us closer to grasping reality—as much as the two of us are capable of such a task. We are so grateful to have this opportunity and there are not enough words in the English language to encapsulate our feelings of gratitude at this time. Nevertheless, thanks a bunch. This rocks.”
The ever-evolving project of Rachel Brown (they/them) and Nate Amos (he/him), Water From Your Eyes have released a stream of confoundingly anarchic, dizzyingly inventive, and increasingly recognised experimental pop music. The duo formed in Chicago in 2016 and are now based in Brooklyn.
The band’s 2021 breakout Structure, led by singles “When You’re Around” and "“Quotations”” (not be confused with the similarly titled ”Quotations”’ on the same album), was described by Pitchfork in their Rising feature as "... organized chaos built from the remnants of distorted post-punk, glitchy dance music, inquisitive orchestrals, and snatches of Exquisite Corpse-like word collages". “It holds your gaze long after the mystery fades, “ the album review stated, “channeling a powerful sense of empathy to mesmerizing effect."
Also released in 2021, 'Somebody Else’s Songs' (a reference to the band’s own 2019 album 'Somebody Else’s Song' that won them early attention) was a collection of transmogrified covers encompassing Eminem, Tears For Fears, OMC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Joe Jackson and Nico. The band member’s individual solo projects, Thanks For Coming (Brown), and This Is Lorelei (Amos), highlight further shades of the duo’s respective fascinations and personalized output.
Water From Your Eyes On Tour, New Dates in Bold
Friday, January 20 Genghis Cohen, Los Angeles CA *
Friday, February 3 The Lexington, London UK +
Monday, February 6 The Prince Albert, Brighton UK &
Friday, February 10 PopUp!, Paris FR
Saturday, February 11 Witloof Bar, Brussels BE
Wednesday, February 15 Sala Capitol, Santiago de Compostela ES @
Thursday, February 16 Lav, Lisboa PT @
Saturday, February 18 São Mamede, Guimarães PT @
Sunday, February 19 Escenario Santander, Santander ES @
Monday, February 20 La Riviera, Madrid ES @
Tuesday, February 21 La Riviera, Madrid ES @
Thursday, February 23 Sala Razzmatazz, Barcelona ES @
Friday, February 24 Mamba!, Murcia ES @
Saturday, February 25 Sala Paris 15, Málaga ES @
Thu, Mar 16 - NYC Residency Night 1 at Secret Location
Fri, Mar 24 - NYC Residency Night 2 @ P.I.T
Fri, Mar 31 - NYC Residency Bowling Night at Melody Lanes
Friday, April 7 Mission Creek Festival, Iowa City IA
Sunday, May 7 Shaky Knees Festival, Atlanta GA
* w/ PENDANT and 24HR Joe
+ w/ Ciel
& w/ Plantoid
@ w/ Interpol
Water From Your Eyes Online
Bandcamp
Out Today : Belle and Sebastian - 'Late Developers'
(photo : Anna Isola Crolla)
stream / purchase 'Late Developers'
Four days following its announcement, Belle and Sebastian today release new album Late Developers. Listen/purchase HERE. Single “I Don’t Know What You See In Me” (“a chorus so smilingly catchy it sounds like they could be thinking of following John Lydon to the Eurovision song contest” – Evening Standard) had its radio debut on Zoe Ball’s Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, and the track “When We Were Very Young” is currently on the BBC 6 Music A-List.
The band will be hosting an album listening party on YouTube at 1pm GMT today, with members taking part in the live chat
Watch the video for “I Don’t Know What You See In Me” HERE.
'Late Developers' has already been described as, “full of unexpected moments that bring out their best" (Uncut).
Arriving almost back-to-back to 2022’s Top Ten album ‘A Bit of Previous’, ‘Late Developers’ comes on like its predecessor’s sun-kissed cousin. It is a full-hearted embrace of the band's brightest tendencies that is not only fresh and immediate but possessing of that Belle and Sebastian je ne sais quoi of a group that will always be there for you with the perfect word or melody for the moment, while admitting tunefully that “Every girl and boy / each one is a misery” (“When The Cynics Stare Back From The Wall”).
orange vinyl edition available at the Matador webstore, Belle and Sebastian webstore, Bandcamp and Independent record stores.
Belle and Sebastian on Tour :
Tuesday, April 25 Metropolitan Theatre, Mexico City MX
Friday, April 28 Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee WI
Saturday, April 29 Majestic Theatre, Detroit MI
Sunday, April 30 The Athenaeum Theatre, Columbus OH
Tuesday, May 2 History, Toronto ON
Wednesday, May 3 Bronson Centre, Ottawa ON
Thursday, May 4 Higher Ground, Burlington VT
Friday, May 5 The State Theatre, Ithaca NY
Saturday, May 6 College Street Music Hall, New Haven CT
Monday, May 8 Basilica Hudson, Hudson NY
Tuesday, May 9 White Eagle Hall, Jersey City NJ
Wednesday, May 10 The National, Richmond VA
Friday, May 12 The Eastern, Atlanta GA
Saturday, May 13 St. Augustine Amphitheatre, St. Augustine FL
Sunday, May 14 Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale FL
Monday, May 15 Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg FL
Wednesday, May 17 Saturn, Birmingham AL
Thursday, May 18 The Pageant, St. Louis MO
Friday, May 19 Bell’s Brewery, Kalamazoo MI
Sunday 2 July: 3Olympia, Dublin
Monday 3 July: Limelight1, Belfast
Wednesday 5 July: Newcastle, O2 City Hall
Thursday 6 July: Hull, University Union Asylum
Saturday 8 July: Liverpool, Olympia
Sunday 9 July: Edinburgh, Usher Hall
Monday 10 July: Aberdeen, Beach Ballroom
Wednesday 12 July: Sheffield, O2 Academy
Thursday 13 July: Oxford, O2 Academy
Friday 14 July: Birmingham, O2 Institute
Saturday 15 July: Cardiff, Great Hall
Monday 17 July: London, Roundhouse
Tuesday 18 July: London, Roundhouse
Wednesday 19 July: Brighton Dome
Friday 21 July: Manchester Academy
Saturday 22 July: Cambridge, Corn Exchange
Belle and Sebastian online:
Official site
Coming January 13 - Belle and Sebastian - 'Late Developers'
Belle and Sebastian hit the ground running in 2023 with the new album 'Late Developers',released this Friday, January 13th . The first single "I Don’t Know What You See In Me" can be heard now. One of the band’s most unabashedly infectious pop offerings to date, it is also their first co-write, featuring young pop composer Wuh Oh (Peter Ferguson).
Says frontman Stuart Murdoch: "I was bicycling across Scotland last summer, listening to a mix of this song. It was written and produced for us by our friend Pete ‘Wuh Oh’ Ferguson. As I listened to it, I felt lucky to be the first person to get to sing this song. I let my voice swoop and soar in ways that it maybe hasn’t before. And as I continued through fields of gold and green I allowed myself to forget it was Belle And Sebastian,
and pretend it was the latest hit on some random radio station. All music is escape, and perhaps we managed to escape a little further than usual with this unexpected tune.Thanks Pete!"
Arriving almost back-to-back to 2022’s Top Ten album ‘A Bit of Previous’, ‘Late Developers’ comes on like its predecessor’s sun-kissed cousin. It is a full-hearted embrace of the band's brightest tendencies that is not only fresh and immediate but possessing of that Belle and Sebastian je ne sais quoi of a group that will always be there for you with the perfect word or melody for the moment, while admitting tunefully that “Every girl and boy / each one is a misery” (“When The Cynics Stare Back From
The Wall”). “Juliet Naked” channels frantic Billy Bragg-energy with rugged electric guitar and a football stadium worthy chant from Stuart Murdoch. The aforementioned “When The Cynics Stare Back From The Wall” is an unearthed 1994-era pre-Belle and Sebastian gem, with help from Camera Obscura’s Tracyanne Campbell. " So In The Moment” is
breathless psychedelic pop that is arguably one of Stevie Jackson’s best ever songs. “When We Were Very Young” is Smiths-esque jangle rock that is bittersweet, devotional and yearning: “I wish I could be content / With the football scores / I wish I could be content with my daily chores / With my daily worship of the sublime”.
(photograph : Anna Isola Crolla)
presave / preorder 'Late Developers'
stream / download "I Don't Know What You See In Me"
"I Don't Know What You See In Me" - video
‘Late Developers’ Track List
- Juliet Naked
- Give A Little Time
- When We Were Very Young
- Will I Tell You A Secret
- So In The Moment
- The Evening Star
- When You’re Not With Me
- I Don’t Know What You See In Me
- Do You Follow
- When The Cynics Stare Back From The Wall
- Late Developers
Do you love Belle and Sebastian?
When you look at the cover of one of their records do you instantly get transported to a much-improved state of mind?
Have you found yourself in a dimly lit bar screaming at the top of your lungs over the DJ that YES, “STARS OF TRACK AND FIELD” IS AN ALL-TIME ALBUM OPENER BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT “I DIDN’T SEE IT COMING” MIGHT BE EVEN BETTER???? to your friends who don’t know why the fuck you’re getting so worked up about Belle and Sebastian right now, man?
Do you get a little spring in your step every time you picture them playing the title track from The Boy With The Arab Strap to a room packed like a sardine tin with smiling faces and dancing bodies?
Did you also first fall in love with Belle and Sebastian in 2015 wandering around Belfast in the freezing rain listening to If You’re Feeling Sinister on repeat, only removing your hand from the warmth of your pocket to bring the second track back because the lyric “If I remain passive and you just want to cuddle then we should be okay and we won’t get in a muddle” is killing you and you can’t understand how you haven’t been listening to this band your entire life? No, but something like that maybe?
If you love Belle and Sebastian, 2022’s A Bit of Previous was a surprise gift that felt earned in the midst of some tough-ass times. Belle and Sebastian have already given us a bounty of classic records, so with the previous half-decade’s output – scattered EP’s, soundtracks, and a live record that doubles as a greatest hits collection – you would be forgiven for assuming there was nothing left in the tank and it was time to fire up the tour bus for some album anniversary shows. But you’d be wrong. Turns out the band spent the bleakest parts of peak pandemic times with each other, harnessing the magnitude of an unthinkable situation and the solitude of rides on an empty train car to distant areas of a beautiful snow-covered city. They transmogrified that energy into beams of joy, heartbreak, truth, hope, spirituality, loss and love shining through every moment. It was as if we had been wandering through a cold, dark, seemingly infinite forest until out of nowhere Belle and Sebastian appeared, waiting in the doorway of a warm and familiar space. A space that was previously designated for rehearsal and mail-order, but is currently wallpapered with A4 paper bearing potential song titles. As bass and kick drum patterns pump through the wall, the band invites you in from the cold – not to lie and tell you everything is going to be okay, but to let you know that you are not alone.
SO HOW LUCKY ARE WE THAT THEY WERE MAKING TWO RECORDS ALL ALONG?!
Recorded in the same sessions as A Bit of Previous, Late Developers doesn’t feel like a collection of lesser-than songs that weren’t good enough to go on the “real” record (I’m looking at you, System of a Down’s Hypnotize!). Rather, it’s an embrace of the freedom that comes with a jumbo-sized canvas, skilled students left unsupervised to paint whatever picture they feel like.
While I shudder to do the thing in a bio where I try to describe music to you with words, Late Developers takes you on a journey as the band floats through genres with ease – from the frantic Billy Bragg-with-hella-flute-energy of the opening track, “Juliet Naked,” and what I think might be Stevie Jackson’s best song (“So in the Moment”), into a legit all-out radio-ready dance party in the third quarter of the record (“When You’re Not With Me,” “Do You Follow”) which includes a Belle & Sebastian first, a co-write with young pop composer Pete Ferguson (“I Don’t Know What You See in Me”). They then unearth a 1994-era pre-Belle and Sebastian tune, “When the Cynics Stare Back From the Wall” with the help of Camera Obscura’s Tracyanne Campbell right before they bring you home at the end with a true fuckin' bop (“Late Developers”).
This sunny musical disposition is regularly confronted by the reality that sometimes life and love do not feel good. Major chords on a harpsichord and plucked guitar breeze by as Stuart Murdoch and Sarah Martin lament in harmony, “the world is killing me / I’m out to sea” (“Will I Tell You a Secret”). Belle and Sebastian have always had a knack for juxtaposing the music and lyrics to express the chaotic washing machine of emotion that accompanies being alive. And there’s an effortlessness to Late Developers that reminds you that you are listening to the experts on this. Shit, on “Evening Star” Stuart casually shows off his two-plus-octave vocal range within the first stanza as if it’s nothing. Keep in mind though, no one is flexing and there’s no pretentiousness here. It always feels like friends in a room together communicating through music and enthusiastically encouraging each other to explore every possible path with fervor and love.
It is beyond remarkable and inspiring that a band 600 years or so into their career can make music that not only feels immediate and effective, but two back-to-back albums that feel like Belle and Sebastian are at the top of their game and will always be there for you, while admitting tunefully that yes, “Every girl and boy, each one is a misery.” But it’s not like their goal is to drag you down into the doldrums of despair. They schemed away in the darkness to create something to be brought into the light. Late Developers makes a convincing argument that Belle and Sebastian will eternally be coaxing you towards inner peace with the perfect word for the moment or a melody that lifts you out of the murk of all that terrifying truth and into a world where you can allow yourself to look at the sun, take a deep breath and exist within that truth, living happy in the best way you can.
- Jeff Rosenstock
orange vinyl edition available at the Matador webstore, Belle and Sebastian webstore, Bandcamp and Independent record stores.
Belle and Sebastian on Tour :
Tuesday, April 25 Metropolitan Theatre, Mexico City MX
Friday, April 28 Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee WI
Saturday, April 29 Majestic Theatre, Detroit MI
Sunday, April 30 The Athenaeum Theatre, Columbus OH
Tuesday, May 2 History, Toronto ON
Wednesday, May 3 Bronson Centre, Ottawa ON
Thursday, May 4 Higher Ground, Burlington VT
Friday, May 5 The State Theatre, Ithaca NY
Saturday, May 6 College Street Music Hall, New Haven CT
Monday, May 8 Basilica Hudson, Hudson NY
Tuesday, May 9 White Eagle Hall, Jersey City NJ
Wednesday, May 10 The National, Richmond VA
Friday, May 12 The Eastern, Atlanta GA
Saturday, May 13 St. Augustine Amphitheatre, St. Augustine FL
Sunday, May 14 Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale FL
Monday, May 15 Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg FL
Wednesday, May 17 Saturn, Birmingham AL
Thursday, May 18 The Pageant, St. Louis MO
Friday, May 19 Bell’s Brewery, Kalamazoo MI
Sunday 2 July: 3Olympia, Dublin
Monday 3 July: Limelight1, Belfast
Wednesday 5 July: Newcastle, O2 City Hall
Thursday 6 July: Hull, University Union Asylum
Saturday 8 July: Liverpool, Olympia
Sunday 9 July: Edinburgh, Usher Hall
Monday 10 July: Aberdeen, Beach Ballroom
Wednesday 12 July: Sheffield, O2 Academy
Thursday 13 July: Oxford, O2 Academy
Friday 14 July: Birmingham, O2 Institute
Saturday 15 July: Cardiff, Great Hall
Monday 17 July: London, Roundhouse
Tuesday 18 July: London, Roundhouse
Wednesday 19 July: Brighton Dome
Friday 21 July: Manchester Academy
Saturday 22 July: Cambridge, Corn Exchange
Belle and Sebastian online:
Official site
Matador 2022 Year-End Sale : 25% Off (Almost) Everything
We realize there's likely to be some sore feelings about Matador's decision to fully automate our mail order operations, but when we factored in the amount of time label ownership spent dealing with email complaints about bent corners, warped records or USPS going AWOL, it was time to make some bold moves. And what move could be bolder than opting for the suave services of ACCUTRON 3000 and his not-nearly-as-polished sibling BROBOT 3000? This dynamic duo are absolutely KILLING IT on the warehouse floor (and by "killing it", I mean Brobot 3000 might've actually killed someone --- we're still investigating) and we're very confident that as this holiday season approaches, your orders will be fulfilled quickly and competently and there's almost no chance whatsoever Brobot 3000 will threaten me with a box cutter ever again. Think of Accutron 3000 as Gallant to Brobot 3000's Goofus. Or the Noam to his Liam. Or maybe the other way around. I can't tell, this has been very stressful with all the threats.
To celebrate these 2 new additions to our team, we're offering 25% off nearly everything at the Matador Store (preorders and Queens Of The Stone Age reissues excepted) when you use the code "AUTOMATON" at check out.
The sale ends November 22 (or whenever the SWAT team is called to deal with Brobot 3000, whichever comes first).
matador.ffm.to/matador25
Accutron 3000 and Brobot 3000 illustrations by Jeff Mahannah
Coming February 10 2023 : Yo La Tengo - 'This Stupid World'
(photo by Cheryl Dunn)
presave/purchase 'This Stupid World'
stream / download 'Fallout'
Today we bring you the indisputably excellent news that on February 10 Matador will release 'This Stupid World', the sixteenth album by Yo La Tengo.
In December, the band will return to Bowery Ballroom for their annual eight-night Hanukkah concert series. Early 2023, Yo La Tengo will hit the road on a wide-ranging tour of the US, UK, and Europe.
Time keeps moving and things keep changing, but that doesn’t mean we can't fight back. Yo La Tengo have raced time for nearly four decades and, to my ears, they just keep winning. The trio’s latest victory is called 'This Stupid World', a spellbinding set of reflective songs that resist the ticking clock. This music is not so much timeless as time- defiant. “I want to fall out of time,” Ira Kaplan sings in “Fallout.” “Reach back, unwind.”
Part of how Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew escape time is by watching it pass, even accepting it when they must. “I see clearly how it ends / I see the moon rise as the sun descends,” they sing during opener “Sinatra Drive Breakdown.” In the séance-like "Until it Happens,” Kaplan plainly intones, “Prepare to die / Prepare yourself while there’s still time.” But 'This Stupid World' is also filled with calls to reject time – bide
it, ignore it, waste it. "Stay alive," he adds later in the same song. "Look away from the hands of time.”
Of course, times have changed for Yo La Tengo as much as they have for everyone else. In the past, the band has often worked with outside producers and mixers. They made 'This Stupid World' all by themselves. And their time-tested judgment is both sturdy enough to keep things to the band’s high standards, and nimble enough to make things new.
Another new thing about 'This Stupid World' : it’s the most live-sounding Yo La Tengo album in years. At the base of nearly every track is the trio playing all at once, giving everything a right-now feel. Take the signature combination of hypnotic rhythm and spontaneous guitar on “Sinatra Drive Breakdown,” or the steady chug of “Tonight’s Episode,” a blinkered tunnel of forward-moving sound. There’s an immediacy to the music, as if the distance between the first pass and the final product has become more
direct.
The songs on 'This Stupid World 'are still journeys, though. An example is the absorbing, three-dimensional “Brain Capers.” To construct this swirl, the band blends guitar chords, bass loops, drum punches, and various iterations of Hubley and Kaplan's voices intoshifting layers. Simpler but just as dense is closer “Miles Away"; A dubby rhythm lurks
below Hubley’s vocal, which brushes across the song like paint leaving bright blurs.
Throughout the album, these touches, accents, and surprises intensify each piece. It’s ararity – a raw-sounding record that gives you plenty of headphone-worthy detail to chew on.
'This Stupid World' also gives your brain a lot to digest. All these battles with time drive toward heavy conclusions. In the gripping “Aselestine,” Hubley sings about what sounds like a friend on death's door : “The clock won’t tick / I can’t predict / I can’t sell your books, though you asked me to.” In “Apology Letter,” time turns simple communication into something fraught and confusing: "The words / Derail on the way from me to you.”
Not everything is so serious, though. The absurdist “Tonight’s Episode" helps McNew learn to milk cows, steal faces, and treat guacamole as a verb. And somehow Alice Cooper, Ray Davies, and Rick Moranis show up in “Brain Capers” — all telling us that time isn’t finished yet.
So I guess everyone on This Stupid World grapples with how time keeps steamrolling and how we keep trying to do something about it. It is there in the title, a defiant but clear-eyed declaration that suggests a will to fight, against the odds. It’s there in the title track too: “This stupid world – it’s killing me / This stupid world – is all we have.” Such realism leads to the resolute optimism of 'This Stupid World's parting shot, “Miles Away,”
which sees time’s passage and life'ss impermanence as things to deal with rather than reasons to despair. “You feel alone / Friends are all gone", Hubley sings softly. "Keep wiping the dust from your eyes.” -
Marc Masters
Yo La Tengo on Tour, New Dates In Bold On Sale Friday
Sunday, December 18 Bowery Ballroom, New York NY
Monday, December 19 Bowery Ballroom, New York NY
Tuesday, December 20 Bowery Ballroom, New York NY
Wednesday, December 21 Bowery Ballroom, New York NY
Thursday, December 22 Bowery Ballroom, New York NY
Friday, December 23 Bowery Ballroom, New York NY
Saturday, December 24 Bowery Ballroom, New York NY
Sunday, December 25 Bowery Ballroom, New York NY
Wednesday, February 15 Neptune Theatre, Seattle WA
Thursday, February 16 Neptune Theatre, Seattle WA
Friday, February 17 Wild Buffalo, Bellingham WA
Sunday, February 19 Wonder Ballroom, Portland OR
Monday, February 20 Wonder Ballroom, Portland OR
Wednesday, February 22 The Fillmore, San Francisco CA
Friday, February 24 The Fillmore, San Francisco CA
Saturday, February 25 Teragram Ballroom, Los Angeles CA
Sunday, February 26 Teragram Ballroom, Los Angeles CA
Monday, February 27 Teragram Ballroom, Los Angeles CA|
Thursday, March 9 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro NC
Friday, March 10 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro NC
Saturday, March 11 Orange Peel, Asheville NC
Monday, March 13 The Basement East, Nashville TN
Tuesday, March 14 The Basement East, Nashville TN
Thursday, March 16 Jefferson Theater, Charlottesville VA
Friday, March 17 Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA
Saturday, March 18 Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn NY
Sunday, March 19 9:30 Club, Washington DC
Tuesday, March 21 Mr. Smalls, Pittsburgh PA
Wednesday, March 22 Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland OH
Friday, March 24 Metro, Chicago IL
Saturday, March 25 Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee WI
Sunday, March 26 First Avenue, Minneapolis MN
Monday, April 10 3Olympia, Dublin IE
Wednesday, April 12 New Century Hall, Manchester UK
Thursday, April 13 SWX, Bristol UK
Friday, April 14 The London Palladium, London UK
Sunday, April 16 Ancienne Belgique, Brussels BE
Tuesday, April 18 Paradiso, Amsterdam NE
Wednesday, April 19 LantarenVenster, Rotterdam NE
Thursday, April 20 Uebel & Gefaehrlich, Hamburg DE
Friday, April 21 Bremen Teater, Copenhagen DK
Sunday, April 23 Gloria Theatre, Cologne DE
Monday, April 24 Meetfactory, Prague CZ
Tuesday, April 25 Festaal Kreuzberg, Berlin DE
Thursday, April 27 La Cigale, Paris FR
Saturday, April 29 Sala Apolo, Barcelona ES
Sunday, April 30 Warm Up Festival, Murcia ES
Tuesday, May 2 Warner Music The Music Station Pricipe Pio, Madrid ES
Wednesday, May 3 Santana 27 Bilbao ES
Yo La Tengo online
Coming October 20 : Circuit des Yeux & Claire Rousay - 'Sunset Poem'
"Sculpting The Exodus" (reimagined by Claire Rousay)
Circuit des Yeux (photo by Evan Jenkins)
Claire Rousay (photo by Em Scott)
On 'Sunset Poem,' Claire Rousay reworks three songs from Circuit des Yeux’s otherworldly 2021 album, '-io'. Today, you can listen to her take on “Sculpting the Exodus” and watch a video of the two artists in conversation. The full EP will be released October 20.
In its first year on Earth, -'io' has continued to evolve. Though the record was written for a 25-piece orchestra, Haley Fohr’s songs have been refreshed and rearranged to suit each round of touring. This has included performances with string ensembles, a trio with bass and drums, and an expansive duo with multi-instrumentalist Whitney Johnson (Matchess).
'Sunset Poem' extends this process to the studio. Rousay’s work often utilizes environmental recordings to cultivate rich and evocative ambience. Here, the composer unspools three '-io' compositions ; “Vanishing,” “Sculpting the Exodus,” and “Argument – stripping back layers of instrumentation and sheltering Fohr’s voice amid a weave of hushed electronic textures. The results reveal a newly tender, meditative, and boundless space within the songs.
I found Claire Rousay’s music when we were all stuck inside for 2 years.
Her music kind of gave me the atmosphere of company in a solitary reality. It reminded me of the way I used to interact with music when I was a teenager. A room can become a whole ecosystem once the music is playing. Her deft ability to work with sound in a microscopic way is what makes this collaboration so successful.
It was an honor to give Claire the stems of -io. The results are beguiling and immense, like watching lead pipes slowly melt into a metallic river. - Haley Fohr
(presave / preorder 'Sunset Poem')
stream / purchase '-io'
'Sunset Poem' Tracklist
1. Vanishing
2. Sculpting the Exodus
3. Argument
Circuit des Yeux on tour :
Wednesday, October 5 FOLK, Göthenborg SE
Thursday, October 6 ALICE at Ideal Bar, Copenhagen DK
Saturday, October 8 Meetfactory, Prague CZ
Tuesday, October 11 Volkstheater, Vienna AT
Wednesday, October 12 Linhart Hall Ljubljana SI
Thursday, October 13 Freakout, Bologna IT
Friday, October 14 Le Ciel, Grenoble FR
Tuesday, October 18 Café Berlin, Madrid ES
Wednesday, October 19 Culturgest, Lisbon PT
Thursday, October 20 Gnration, Braga PT
Friday, October 21 Auditorio de Espinho, Espinho PT
Wednesday, November 3 Empty Bottle, Chicago IL
Friday, November 11 Pioneer Works, Brooklyn NY
Circuit des Yeux Online
website
Circuit des Yeux - "Double Dare"
Circuit des Yeux's cover of Bauhaus' "Double Dare", previously issued as a Qobuz exclusive, is now available for streaming or download on all streaming services.
stream / download "Double Dare"
stream/purchase '-io'
(photo by Evan Jenkins)
“‘Double Dare’ is a song filled with immense power. Listening to it helps decimate my fear. My favorite part about the CdY interpretation of ‘Double Dare’ is the way Whitney (Johnson) represents the screeching guitar part with a viola and overdrive pedal. The way the harmonics and feedback bounces and resonates around in THX Spatial Audio feels like being in the eye of a tornado. If ‘Double Dare’ is an anecdote to fear, this cover of ‘Double Dare’ in THX Spatial Audio ups the dosage.” -Haley Fohr
Circuit des Yeux on Tour
Thursday, September 22 Chicago Theater, Chicago IL *
Friday, September 23 Chicago Theater, Chicago IL *
Saturday, September 24 Masonic Temple, Detroit MI *
Monday, September 26 Massey Hall, Toronto ON *
Monday, October 3 Slaktkyrkan, Stockholm SE
Tuesday, October 4 Blå, Oslo NO
Wednesday, October 5 FOLK, Göthenborg SE
Thursday, October 6 ALICE at Ideal Bar, Copenhagen DK
Saturday, October 8 Meetfactory, Prague CZ
Tuesday, October 11 Volkstheater, Vienna AT
Wednesday, October 12 Linhart Hall Ljubljana SI
Thursday, October 13 Freakout, Bologna IT
Friday, October 14 Le Ciel, Grenoble FR
Tuesday, October 18 Café Berlin, Madrid ES
Wednesday, October 19 Culturgest, Lisbon PT
Thursday, October 20 Gnration, Braga PT
Friday, October 21 Auditorio de Espinho, Espinho PT
* w/ Pavement
Circuit des Yeux Online
website
Coming November 4 : Spoon vs. On-U Sound - 'Lucifer On The Moon'
Spoon - photo by Olivia Wolfe
Adrian Sherwood - photo by Harry Borden
"On The Radio" (Adrian Sherwood Reconstruction
directed by Britt Daniel
'Lucifer on the Moon' is the anti-gravity companion to Spoon’s 'Lucifer on the Sofa'. A top-to-bottom rework of the Austin band's tenth album, it was created by On-U Sound founder and UK dub icon, Adrian Sherwood.
The album will be released November 4th on LP and digital.
'Moon' first took shape as a few heady remixes for the singles from 'Lucifer on the Sofa'. Frontman Britt Daniel offered Sherwood two suggestions: “Avoid things that would not be possible on tape” and “Add whatever you want to add, the less modern the better.” The collaboration shouldn't come as a surprise: dub-inspired production is wound through Spoon’s classic tracks, from "Finer Feelings" to "Inside Out." The initial results pleased both parties and Sherwood was invited to work on additional songs. And then a few more. “I got into the melody and the thoughts it evoked in me,” the producer explains. “It just evolved and we eventually found ourselves with a whole album.”
'Moon' flips 'Lucifer on the Sofa'’s rhythm tracks inside-out, and often rebuilds them wholesale. Sherwood supplied extensive additional instrumentation via On-U’s extended family of session players, including bassist Doug Wimbish and drummer Keith LeBlanc (both of whom performed in Sugarhill Records’ early ’80s in-house rhythm section). He dug deep into the album’s multi-tracks, surfacing forgotten details and elements not present in the final album mixes.
The result airlifts Spoon’s trademark melodies into lush alien terrain, replete with vibrant echo and rumbling low-end. “It wasn’t just a thing where you pick apart this and that and you stay on the grid and you add a delay,” explains Daniel. “He added so much more instrumentation to the tracks that they became completely different versions of the songs. Not just remixes, but companion pieces. A ‘Part II.’”
presave / preorder 'Lucifer On The Moon'
stream / download "On The Radio" (Adrian Sherwood Reconstruction)
'Lucifer On The Moon' Tracklist
01 My Babe
02 On The Radio
03 Held
04 The Devil & Mister Jones
05 Lucifer On The Sofa
06 Astral Jacket
07 Feels Alright
08 Wild
09 The Hardest Cut
10 Satellite
Spoon on tour :
Thursday, October 6 Tolouse Theatre, New Orleans LA
Friday, October 7 Tolouse Theatre, New Orleans LA
Sunday October 9 Austin City Limits Festival, Austin TX
Tuesday, October 11 Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa OK
Wednesday, October 12 Party For The Parks, Zilker Park, Austin TX
Saturday,October 15 Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall, Fort Worth TX
Sunday October 16 Austin City Limits Festival, Austin TX
Saturday, November 19 Corona Capital Festival, Mexico City MX
Spoon Online
Official Site
Bandcamp