SINGER Plan Lengthy Spring Jaunt; Robert Lowe Releases Gyromancy
By Paulb on 04-15-2008
Drag City quartet SINGER has mapped out an unusually busy spring tour to promote the release of last month's gloriously mouthy Unhistories. The LP, a clear mishmash of four able-bodied young musical minds, relies heavily on the vocal ranges of its members rather than their unique powers of instrumentation. The group is also ably backed by the ferociously talented Todd Rittman (U.S. Maple), so the instrumentation aspect of the LP does anything but whimper in the corner. It's not entirely clear how long SINGER plan on staying around, but you'll have plenty of opportunities to see if the new relationship is fruitful.
SINGER's founding member Robert AA Lowe (Lichens, 90 Day Men) has also recently released a new LP entitled Gyromancy (Thrill Jockey) with Rose Lazar, a book/3-inch CD bundle in the tradition of Daniel AIU Higgs' Atomic Yggdrasil Tarot. Thrill Jockey gushes: "Gyromancy looks at future past, neo antiquity, ritual magic, and patterning. The book represents a dream walk through nature and all of its influences. Repetition of imagery keeps you aware of the cyclical patterns that nature presents us with. We get caught up in these patterns without noticing them, to the point that you have to stop and take a harder look. Gyromancy is an attempt at taking a harder look."
You can purchase Gyromancy here, or spend $2 more to get a hand-crafted, limited-to-100 edition here.
Tour Galore:
* Enon
& Cloudland Canyon
Sunset Rubdown To Last Until Sunrise
By Mango Starr on 04-15-2008
I stood at the window, looking out across the beach and the ocean, watching as the sun approached the horizon. On this small Mediterranean island, no one but my loving husband was around to see my full nudity, unless one counted the birds that occasionally flew past my view of the sunset. There was a lone boat passing slowly by in the distance, its single sail raised high into the sky, but even if anyone on the boat thought to look toward the small abode, I doubted that even binoculars would allow me to be seen behind the window in the dim room.
I was physically and mentally exhausted. Our sunset-to-sunrise sexathon was nearing its end, yet despite the rawness I felt between my legs, my body still craved more, still yearned for that one final climax. And, given how my husband's manhood was lengthening against my back as his arms enveloped me with love and security, I knew that he felt the same.
Sunset Rubdown tourdates:
Indian Jewelry Want to Give You a $500 Macy’s Gift Certificate!
By David Nadelle on 04-15-2008
Okay, they don't want to give you a $500 Macy's gift certificate. No one does. Ever. But Indian Jewelry do want to give you the gift of music when they hit the road in April and May, starting at The Mink in Houston, TX on April 18 and ending on my birthday at Bottle Tree in Birmingham, AL!
All terrible segues aside, Indian Jewelry are indeed playing live all over the place, and while I haven't seen them yet, I'm simply dying to. I can just imagine the hypnotic carnage that will be on display. It will surely be the sensory equivalent of getting a shocker from Hellboy. No doubt about it. For those that need titillation in their news stories, it looks like I.J. will only be playing one BALLroom on this upcoming tour
04.18.08 - Houston, TX - The Mink #
04.19.08 - Austin, TX - Emo’s Lounge $
04.21.08 - Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture
04.22.08 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
04.23.08 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Crepe Place
04.24.08 - San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern %
04.25.08 - Eureka, CA - The Little Red
04.26.08 - Portland, OR - Someday Lounge
04.27.08 - Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern
04.29.08 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
04.30.08 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive
05.01.08 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown Jr
05.02.08 - Saint Paul, MN - Turf Club
05.03.08 - Chicago, IL - The Hideout ^
05.04.08 - Pontiac, MI - The Pike Room
05.05.08 - Akron, OH - Thursday’s
05.06.08 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
05.07.08 - Pittsburgh, PA - Belvedere’s
05.08.08 - New York, NY - Cake Shop
05.09.08 - Hanover, NH - Fuel Rocket Club @ Dartmouth College
05.10.08 - Providence, RI - AS 220
05.11.08 - New Haven, CT - Sundazed @ Bar
05.12.08 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brendas
05.14.08 - Washington, DC - The Red and The Black
05.15.08 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
05.16.08 - Knoxville, TN - Pilot Light
05.17.08 - Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree
# A Thousand Cranes, Balaclavas, Wicked Poseur
$ The Carnys, ST37
% Magick Daggers, Excepter
^ Warhammer 48K
The fractious sect, who is beloved by both in-tune yogis and hip gem lovers everywhere, claim to have been holed up recording their latest, greatest in Humboldt Park, Chicago and a private residence in Houston, TX (but not in a Yearning for Zion polygamist community compound in West Texax -- I repeat, NOT in a Yearning for Zion polygamist community compound in West Texas). Now We Are Free will release the resulting skewered set, called Free Gold! (aka 120 Kilogramms of Gold & 10 KG of Diamond), on May 20. Don't let anybody fool you into thinking that it won't be a small miracle mix of musical art.
Free Gold! (aka 120 Kilogramms of Gold & 10 KG of Diamond) tracklist:
1. Swans
2. Temporary Famine Ship
3. Seasonal Economy
4. Pompeii
5. Walking on the Water
6. Too Much Honkytonking
7. Nonetheless
8. Bird Is Broke (Won't Sing)
9. Syllabic Viaagra
10. Everyday
11. Hello Africa
12. Werner's Subtle Bodies
13. Overdrive
14. Seventh Heaven
Indian Jewelry Want to Give You a $500 Macy’s Gift Certificate!
By Monocular Cognition on 04-15-2008
Okay, they don't want to give you a $500 Macy's gift certificate. No one does. Ever. But Indian Jewelry do want to give you the gift of music when they hit the road in April and May, starting at The Mink in Houston, TX on April 18 and ending on my birthday at Bottle Tree in Birmingham, AL!
All terrible segues aside, Indian Jewelry are indeed playing live all over the place, and while I haven't seen them yet, I'm simply dying to. I can just imagine the hypnotic carnage that will be on display. It will surely be the sensory equivalent of getting a shocker from Hellboy. No doubt about it. For those that need titillation in their news stories, it looks like I.J. will only be playing one BALLroom on this upcoming tour
04.18.08 - Houston, TX - The Mink #
04.19.08 - Austin, TX - Emo’s Lounge $
04.21.08 - Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture
04.22.08 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
04.23.08 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Crepe Place
04.24.08 - San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern %
04.25.08 - Eureka, CA - The Little Red
04.26.08 - Portland, OR - Someday Lounge
04.27.08 - Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern
04.29.08 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
04.30.08 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive
05.01.08 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown Jr
05.02.08 - Saint Paul, MN - Turf Club
05.03.08 - Chicago, IL - The Hideout ^
05.04.08 - Pontiac, MI - The Pike Room
05.05.08 - Akron, OH - Thursday’s
05.06.08 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
05.07.08 - Pittsburgh, PA - Belvedere’s
05.08.08 - New York, NY - Cake Shop
05.09.08 - Hanover, NH - Fuel Rocket Club @ Dartmouth College
05.10.08 - Providence, RI - AS 220
05.11.08 - New Haven, CT - Sundazed @ Bar
05.12.08 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brendas
05.14.08 - Washington, DC - The Red and The Black
05.15.08 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
05.16.08 - Knoxville, TN - Pilot Light
05.17.08 - Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree
# A Thousand Cranes, Balaclavas, Wicked Poseur
$ The Carnys, ST37
% Magick Daggers, Excepter
^ Warhammer 48K
The fractious sect, who is beloved by both in-tune yogis and hip gem lovers everywhere, claim to have been holed up recording their latest, greatest in Humboldt Park, Chicago and a private residence in Houston, TX (but not in a Yearning for Zion polygamist community compound in West Texax -- I repeat, NOT in a Yearning for Zion polygamist community compound in West Texas). Now We Are Free will release the resulting skewered set, called Free Gold! (aka 120 Kilogramms of Gold & 10 KG of Diamond), on May 20. Don't let anybody fool you into thinking that it won't be a small miracle mix of musical art.
Free Gold! (aka 120 Kilogramms of Gold & 10 KG of Diamond) tracklist:
1. Swans
2. Temporary Famine Ship
3. Seasonal Economy
4. Pompeii
5. Walking on the Water
6. Too Much Honkytonking
7. Nonetheless
8. Bird Is Broke (Won't Sing)
9. Syllabic Viaagra
10. Everyday
11. Hello Africa
12. Werner's Subtle Bodies
13. Overdrive
14. Seventh Heaven
Thee Oh Sees: How To Become A Fan
By Mango Starr on 04-15-2008
1. Listen to some songs at Thee Oh Sees' MySpace.
2. Read Gumshoe's review:
Thee Oh Sees
The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending the Night In
[Castle Face/Tomlab; 2008]
When bands progress at a dizzying rate, there's no assurance their loyalists will stick with them. Sudden shifts in dynamic can be frustrating if they don't feel organic, as can follow-ups that have little to do with what preceded them.
John Dwyer, nee the man behind Coachwhips, Pink & Brown, and close to a dozen other lesser known entities, is one of those artists who makes drastic changes from album-to-album and somehow keeps the returns high, if not higher, with each subsequent release. Thee Oh Sees alone have already cycled through a few monikers -- including OCS -- and seven, count ’em, seven records since 2004 (including an m-f'n double-album and a 6-inch lathe-cut run of exactly 51 copies).
The quality control has remained high; while I fell in love with the echo-folk of 2 and 3 & 4, Dwyer has held my attention as his Oh Sees slowly wade into rock ‘n’ roll waters, beginning with slight traces on Cool Death of Island Raiders, bluesy belting on Thee Oh Sees Sucks Blood, and, now, all-out 1950s greaser rock with The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending the Night In, a superior specimen to Sucks Blood and another reason to join Dwyer's cult.
Sung almost entirely duet-style -- Brigid Dawson being the second layer -- The Master's Bedroom corrals 14 versions of the same song. Luckily it's a fucking sweet song, well worth revisiting over and over for nuance. A noise flutter here, an ascension there, a clickity-clack of some sort to break up the monotony; we're talking about an A-and-B conversation between musician and listener -- any distractions can oh-C their way out of it.
3. Go see them perform Gumshoe's review at one of these dates:
4. Put a Thee Oh Sees button on your jacket: you're a fan now.
