Pyramids and Nadja Collaborate on New LP, Because Sometimes the World Just Makes Sense
Pyramids are a metal band whose sound is based on droning guitars and shoegaze textures. They are from Denton, Texas. Last year, they put out an acclaimed self-titled record (TMT Review) on Hydra Head. That particular album also possessed last year’s best album art, according to us.
Nadja are a metal duo (Aiden Baker and Leah Buckareff) whose sound is based on droning guitars and shoegaze textures. They are from Toronto, Canada. They have put out a number of albums on respected labels like Alien8 and Robotic Empire. None of their album covers are quite as good as that Pyramids one, but this one is pretty neat.
And so, in a move that makes an incredible amount of sense, Pyramids and Nadja have collaborated on a new LP, which is coming out October 27 on Hydra Head. The collective six members of the two groups play on all four of the record’s tracks, though with help from a pretty extensive guest list. Like most things involved with this project, all these guests make a certain amount of sense: Simon Raymonde of '80s legends Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil, Albin Julius of Austrian psych-rock project Der Blutharsch, Chris Simpson of '90s emo group Mineral, Colin Marston of tech-metal giants Dysrhythmia, and James Plotkin of black metal band Khanate, who produced the record. Assuming the world continues making sense at this rate, the album will likely contain lots of pretty drones, ambient textures, and long, dirge-like songs. Then again, maybe it’ll wind up sounding like a synth-pop record.
Pyramids With Nadja tracklisting:
1. Into the Silent Waves
2. Another War
3. The Sound of Ice and Grass
4. An Angel Was Heard to Cry Over the City of Rome
Elvira Called... She Wants Her House Band Back: The Horrors Hit the Long, Winding, Spoooo-key Road
Some say it was the constant presence of Wheaties next to the cases of Tru Blood on their backstage rider. Others claim bringing in author Craig Silvey, Portishead's Geoff Barrow, and video maverick Chris Cunningham to help produce their second album, Primary Colours, in turn produced an inspired, unexpectedly brilliant recording. Still more state that it is all just a natural part of the group puberty process, creating the perfect storm of nut fuzz and songwriting chops. Whatever the impetus, The Horrors have transformed themselves from an interesting but novel, neo-goth, Cramps-influenced act to something altogether different and better. True, the caretaker chic is still donned with all-too-knowing nonchalance and they still use nicknames stolen from "Munsters" stagehands (Spider Webb? Coffin Joe? Relatively Dour Pete?) but the quality of Primary Colours cannot be refuted.
The dark-hearted quintet get a big chance to convince the great unwashed and made-up of North America of their new-found powers starting September 15 in Boston during a live stretch which will see them travel from coast to coast to coast. Also included below are three NYC dates supporting Nine Inch Nails (at the behest of super-fan Trent Reznor) and a mausolean U.K. and European tour that Maiden would have trouble pulling off. You will notice that The Horrors are playing a gig on Halloween night but there are no shows on Elm Street or at a House on Haunted Hill or on a Friday the 13th or at The Last House on the Left or with Rosemary's Baby as support or Bride of Chucky as caterer? Bah, they have changed!
I wear black on the outside because black is how I feel on the inside of these cities and venues:
08.22.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom #
08.23.09 - New York, NY - Webster Hall #
08.25.09 - New York, NY - Terminal 5 #
08.28.09 - Reading, England - Reading Festival
08.29.09 - Paris, France - Rock en Seine Festival
08.30.09 - Leeds, England - Leeds Festival
09.05.09 - London, England - Offset Festival
09.11.09 - Isle of Wight, England - Bestival
09.12.09 - Dorset, England - End of the Road Festival
09.15.09 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
09.06.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s
09.07.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
09.18.09 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar, Club Stage
09.19.09 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
09.21.09 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
09.22.09 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks
09.24.09 - Houston, TX - Walter’s on Washington
09.25.09 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
09.26.09 - Austin, TX - Emo’s (outside)
09.28.09 - Tempe, AZ - The Clubhouse
09.29.09 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah
09.30.09 - Costa Mesa, CA - The Detroit Bar
10.01.09 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theater
10.02.09 - Pomona, CA - The Glass House
10.03.09 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
10.05.09 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
10.06.09 - Seattle, WA - Neumo’s
10.07.09 - Vancouver, BC - Venue
10.10.09 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
10.11.09 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
10.12.09 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
10.14.09 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Place
10.15.09 - Montreal, QC - Petit Campus
10.16.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
10.17.09 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell’s
10.31.09 - Brussels, Belgium - Botanique
11.01.09 - Ghent, Belgium - Minnemeers
11.02.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg, old room
11.03.09 - Nijmegen, Netherlands - Doornroosje
11.04.09 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli
11.06.09 - Cologne, Germany - Underground
11.07.09 - Hamburg, Germany - Uevel & Gefaehrlich
11.08.09 - Aarhus, Denmark - Voxhall
11.09.09 - Copehagen, Denmark - Vega
11.10.09 - Berlin, Germany - Lido
11.12.09 - Munich, Germany - 59 to 1
11.13.09 - Vienna, Austria - Szene
11.15.09 - Lausanne, Switzerland - Le Romandie
11.16.09 - Zurich, Switzerland - Abart
11.18.09 - Rome, Italy - Circolo Degli Artisti
11.19.09 - Florence, Italy - Flog
11.20.09 - Ravenna, Italy - Bronson
11.21.09 - Turin, Italy - Spazio 211
11.23.09 - Toulouse, France - Le Phare
11.24.09 - Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz
11.25.09 - Madrid, Spain - Joy Eslava
11.27.09 - Bordeaux, France - Theatre Barbey
11.28.09 - Nantes, France - Olympic
11.30.09 - Paris, France - Trabendo
12.05.09 - Minehead, England - All Tomorrow's Parties, Butlin's Holiday Camp
12.08.09 - Birmingham, England - LG Arena
12.09.09 - London, England - O2 Arena
12.11.09 - Bridlington, England - Bridlington Spa
12.12.09 - Manchester, England - Manchester Central
12.14.09 - Glasgow, Scotland - SECC
# Nine Inch Nails
Thrill Jockey Announces 12-Inch Record Subscription Club
Remember back in 1988 when Sub Pop started their successful Record Singles Club? Neither do I! But I do know that Thrill Jockey are starting a 12-inch record subscription club, which includes seven limited-edition records guaranteed exclusively to mail-order customers.
So what Thrill Jockey bands are included in this whole deal? According to the label, package #1 ships later this month and includes Pit Er Pat’s High Time Remixes [The Fiery Furnaces' The End Is Near 12-inch] (now replacing Pat since the first wave of subscriptions sold out immediately) and Tortoise’s Beacons of Ancestorship Remixes. Package #2 ships in October and includes Thank You’s Pathetic Magic EP, Pontiak’s Sea Voids EP, and White Hills’ Dead EP. Package #3 will ship in November and includes as-of-yet unnamed EPs from Javelin and Mi Ami. The best part? Every subscriber gets a free Thrill Jockey record tote bag! Sweet, dude!
For more information, check out the Thrill Jockey page and find out how to join. The subscription is $84 in the U.S., $98 in Canada, or $122 for Europe or Japan.
On Land Fest, the Counter to Outside Lands, to Feature Grouper, Ducktails, Keith Fullerton Whitman
Anti-Festivals seem to be all the rage these days. Pitchfork Fest had its mostly word-of-mouth Bitchpork Fest with Times New Viking, Cave, Wet Hair, Bird Names, and others running a samurai sword through the well-oiled machine in the park. Now it turns out San Francisco is planning something similar in anticipation of the unholy Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, featuring Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Tenacious D, Modest Mouse, Incubus, M.I.A., and so on.
More specifically, Aquarius Records and the Root Strata label are putting on the On Land Festival from September 19-20 in good ol' San Fran. The fest will feature Grouper, Christina Carter, Ducktails, Ilyas Ahmed, Pete Swanson (of Defunct Yellow Swans), Keith Fullerton Whitman, Starving Weirdos, and plenty more. The festival will consist of an early show at the Swedish American Hall and an afternoon show at Cafe Dunord on Saturday (each show $10), followed by a Sunday night back at the Swedish American Hall (this time $20). So, if you can stand to miss Incubus, go check out On Land. Damn, let's keep these anti-fests coming!
- 09.19.09 - Swedish American Hall (Early Show)
Starving Weirdos
William Fowler Collins
Metal Rouge
Darwinsbitch
Jim Haynes
John Davis
Danny Paul Grody
- 09.19.09 - Cafe Dunord
Tarental
Keith Fullerton Whitman
The Alps
Ducktails
Pete Swanson
Joe Grimm
Operative / Scott Goodwin
- 09.20.09 - Swedish American Hall
Grouper
Christina Carter
Ilyas Ahmed
Barn Owl
Sun Circle
Common Eider, King Eider
Brendan Murray
Classic ’76 Harmonia & Brian Eno Collab Reissued with New Tunes and Revamped Track Sequence
Despite his unfortunate association with Phil Collins, Brian “The Bald Egon” Eno has spent a sizeable chunk of his career wading his abilities in the same creative waters as some of pop music’s grandest talents. From Robert “Granite Frets” Fripp to David “I Fucking Dare You to Call Me Dave” Bowie, Eno’s chops behind the boards and incisive musical brain have made him the perfect collaborator for many significant musicians, especially during his (arguably) mid-1970s creative peak. But for all the Byrnes and Bonos and Windows 95s that managed to keep Brain One well remunerated for his efforts, a host of other projects inevitably slipped through the cracks, doomed to be fed as scraps of art-rock arcana to music critics and unemployable prog-heads across the globe.
Tracks and Traces, Eno’s collaboration with krautrock übergrupp Harmonia, is one of those projects. In 1976 the two parties convened while Eno was en route to record Low with Bowie, but the tracks didn’t appear on wax until 1997 when Harmonia/Cluster co-founder Hans-Joachim Roedelius remixed nine tunes and released them as a single album. Though his autonomous actions angered the other members of Harmonia, Neu!’s Michael Rother and fellow Clustertacean Dieter Moebius, the pair certainly couldn’t fuss about the quality of the material. But Roedelius wasn’t the only one with a copy of the sessions gathering dust in his attic. Rother eventually digitized his copy into 27 fragments, and while apparently the unreleased material could fill a whole album, the band decided instead to reissue the 1997 album with three new tunes integrated into the existing track sequence. Out October 6 on Gronland Records, this shizz is not to be missed, folks, especially since Harmonia has made it clear that they have no intentions of reforming for a new album or tour.
Tracks & Traces tracklist:
1. Welcome #
2. Atmosphere #
3. Vamos Companeros
4. By the Riverside
5. Luneberg Heath
6. Sometimes in Autumn
7. Weird Dream
8. Autumn
9. Les Demoiselles
10. When Shade Was Born
11. Trace
12. Aubade #
# - Previously unreleased.
Isis and Khanate Members Form Jodis
The press releases for bands/albums/shows can be funny sometimes. In the case for Jodis, a new group featuring Aaron Turner from Isis, and James Plotkin and Tim Wyskida from Khanate, the press announcement claims that, on listening to the group’s new album, one will feel “a slow nihilistic descent into absolute blankness,” “deviating distress,” and “disorientation,” and the record will “kick the living shit out of your aptitude for co-habituation with other humans.” Great, so now I can finally get to know what it’s like to be an inmate at Guantanamo Bay!
The LP is called Secret House and is out October 27 on Hydra Head. Tracklisting is as follows:
1. Ascent
2. Continents
3. Secret House
4. Follow the Dogs
5. Little Beast
6. Waning
7. Slivers
Kurt Says, "Don't Use Heroin to Cure Your Stomach Ailments. Use Bleach"; Sub Pop to Reissue Nirvana's Debut Album
What were you doing in 1989? Bumping and grinding away on the playground to "My Prerogative?" Chugging roofie-laced MGDs at a frat party whilst pissing away your parents' money attending Useless U to the summer smash "Love Shack?" Trying to grab some ass at the high school dance to "Wind Beneath My Wings?" Soft-shoeing your way to the Sunglass Hut with Phil Collins' "Two Hearts" on your Walkman WM-EX170? Lip-syncing "Girl You Know It's True" while sliding in the latest episode of Quantum Leap into your Betamax?
Well, since you're reading this clued-up site, there is a good chance that, wherever you were and whatever and whomever you were doing it to, it probably involved listening to the first Nirvana album, Bleach, which was released in June of that topsy-turvy, decade-killing year by the then-home of grunge, Sub Pop. Although not the smash album that would propel Kurdt Kobain, Krist Novoseladinejad7, and Chad Channing to Tiger Beat cover star status (that would come two years later, with Dave Grohl replacing the canned Channing on the ubiquitous Nevermind), Bleach shows the band in its raw, kinetic infancy, but still miles ahead of the pack they inadvertently influenced after the record's release.
On November 3, Sub Pop will celebrate Bleach's platinum (modern) or china (traditional) anniversary by reissuing Nirvana's debut in expanded CD and double LP packages. Each format includes the original album proper plus a complete live recording from a February 9, 1990 show in Portland, OR at the Pine Street Theatre. The live show has the trio playing a set of road-tested Bleach material plus fan favorites like "Spank Thru" (Nirvana's first song), "Been a Son" (from the Blew EP), "Dive" (B-side to the "Sliver" single), the oft-worked-over "Sappy," and their much-loved version of The Vaseline's "Molly's Lips." Bleach: Deluxe Edition has been remastered from original tapes by original producer Jack Endino and comes with a 48-page booklet in the CD and 16-page booklet in the LP. Limited initial copies of the double album will be released on snow white vinyl, just as was a limited run of the original platter release.
You may not remember the Menendez brothers, Exxon Valdez, or the country formerly known as "Burma," but I'll be damned if you don't remember these:
Bleach:
1. Blew
2. Floyd the Barber
3. About a Girl
4. School
5. Love Buzz
6. Paper Cuts
7. Negative Creep
8. Scoff
9. Swap Meet
10. Mr. Moustache
11. Sifting
12. Big Cheese
13. Downer
Live at Pine Street Theatre:
1. Intro
2. School
3. Floyd the Barber
4. Dive
5. Love Buzz
6. Spank Thru
7. Molly's Lips
8. Sappy
9. Scoff
10. About a Girl
11. Been a Son
12. Blew
Bring On the Big Guitars: Future of the Left Announces Tour with Trail of Dead
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead and Future of the Left are both having good years. Trail of Dead released The Century of Self (TMT Review) this past February, their best album in quite a number of years. As for Future of the Left, they dropped Travels With Myself and Another (TMT Review) back in June, their best album since their last one, 2007’s awesome Curses (TMT Review).
By all evidence, both bands should be feeling pretty good about themselves right now. A victory lap together seems warranted, so that’s just what they’re going to do. The two groups will hit up the North American West Coast for a string of dates this October. One can only assume that the big guitars will, in fact, be brought on.
Future of the Left + Trail of Dead:
10.08.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda
10.09.09 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
10.10.09 - Visalia, CA - Cellar Door
10.11.09 - San Francisco, CA - Independent
10.12.09 - Portland, OR - Dante’s
10.13.09 - Seattle, WA - Neumo’s
10.14.09 - Vancouver, BC - Venue
10.16.09 - Edmonton, ALB - Warehouse
10.17.09 - Calgary, ALB - Warehouse
10.19.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
10.20.09 - Denver, CO - Bluebird
10.23.09 - Oklahoma City, OK - Conservatory
AIDS Wolf Proclaim The Positive Effects of Modern Medicine, Change Name to HIV Wolf, Tour Europe
Pleasantly named noise rockers AIDS Wolf have announced that, due to a well-regimented healthy lifestyle full of exercise and nutritious eating habits, they have now been told by doctors that they can revert to their previous name of HIV Wolf. The band was quick to point out that it would not have recovered as quickly as it did if it weren’t for the help of modern pharmaceuticals used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. A band spokesman made this statement: “Although a healthy lifestyle surely aided in the band’s recovery, a full turn in a healthy direction was only made after the timely and well-prescribed use of multiple medicines.”
The official statement goes on to urge all fans of the band to learn more about modern health insurance policies, the effects of medicine on HIV/AIDS, and the plight of the many people in the world who are currently infected but cannot afford treatment. The band also urged fans to donate what they can to agencies that aim to secure medicine for those less fortunate.
Finally, the statement ends with a list of newly announced European dates and a tongue-in-cheek promise from the band to “use protection during intercourse and to always inform their sex partners of their condition while on tour.” The band hopes that the pledge will also do well in informing their fanbase about the necessity of safe sex in the modern world
11.13.09 - Diksmuide, Belgium - 4AD w/ Oxbow
11.14.09 - Bremen, Germany - Friese
11.15.09 - Koeln, Germany - Kulturbunker
11.17.09 - Poitiers, France - Confort Moderne
11.18.09 - Bordeaux, France - Le Saint Ex
11.19.09 - Lyon, France - Grrrnd Zero w/ Foot Village
11.20.09 - Milano, Italy - La Casa 139
11.21.09 - Neuchatel, Switzerland - Queen Kong Club w/ Dreams
11.23.09 - Nuernberg, Germany - K4
11.24.09 - Vienna, Austria - Fluc
11.25.09 - Prague, Czech - Klub 007
11.27.09 - Amsterdam, Holland - OCCII
11.28.09 - Utrecht, Holland - Le Guess Who Festival
Kranky Means Kwality! Nudge (JMOF/Strategy) to Release New Joint!
Those looking for some funky post-rock jammage, listen up! Los Angeles-based Nudge (not to be confused with The Nuge), featuring members of
Jackie-O Motherfucker and Strategy, are slated to drop a doozy via Kranky on September 7. As Good As Gone is a slow-burning, gorgeous follow-up to 2005's Cached (TMT Review). While the subterranean groove and minor-key construction on As Good As Gone evoke a more haunting, nighttime-appropriate flavor, there’s also a visceral optimism that
runs underneath the record’s seven songs like groundwater. Perhaps
it’s the playfulness between genres and moods, or the freewheeling
construction of the songs... or perhaps not all noise/post-rock/freak-psych kids like to make nihilistic records. Yes, I've heard it, and it's good.
You will like it, too:
1. Harmo
2. Two Hands
3. Verdantique
4. Aurolac
5. Tito
6. Burns Blue
7. Dawn Comes Light
A European tour (possibly with labelmate White Rainbow) supporting the
record will follow. In the meantime, get a glimpse of the new album
via the group's MyYourOurSpace.
Ghostface, Method Man, and Raekwon Form Like Voltron for Joint LP; Also Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II Finally Dropping Next Month, New Ghostface LP Later This Year, Method Man Allegedly Shot Fan with a Pellet Gun
When The Wu-Tang Clan's fifth record 8 Diagrams (TMT Review dropped in December of 2007, the Killa Beez found its greatest critic lodged within its own chambers. Apparently Raekwon felt RZA had ignored the input of the rest of the Clan in favor of his own overarching vision, a sentiment that is certainly not new among the Wu. As a counter to the Abbot, Rae announced plans for a new album called Shaolin Vs. The Wu-Tang, essentially a brand new Wu-Tang joint without the RZA’s involvement.
While the beef between Chef and the Razor eventually waned, talk about Shaolin vs. The Wu-Tang did not, though the fundamental concept went through the ringer a couple times. The idea shifted from Wu-minus-RZA to Wu-minus-RZA-behind-the-boards-but-not-on-the-mic, only to shift again when Method Man showed interest in throwing RZA a couple production bones but still relying primarily on outside input beat-wise. Just like beefing with the RZA, tossing half-baked ideas about side projects to the media is a regular Clan occurrence, but it looks like things have finally been fleshed out for good thanks to indiedom’s favorite Killa Bee, Ghostface Killah. What began as Shaolin vs. The Wu-Tang is now an as-yet untitled collaboration between Ghostface, Raekwon, and Method Man. Ghostface says that each MC will contribute four “phat and tight” tunes with an expected release around the end of this year or the beginning of next.
But there is much Wu to enjoy before then. Ghost’s next LP, The Wizard of Poetry, is expected to drop sometime later this year, and after years of waiting, Raekwon’s hugely anticipated Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II is finally slated for release on September 8. Sure, the sequel to Rae’s classic 1995 record has been delayed time and time again, but let’s do our best to believe in him this time around. And hey, at least he isn’t shooting fans at random with a pellet gun like certain M-E-T-H-O-D man. While no further details of the incident, which occurred last fall, are available at this time, it’s still a weird enough story to at least mention. I guess with ODB gone, Wu-Tang has to split all the crazy bullshit between the eight of them.
