The Wake 7-inches to be reissued by Captured Tracks, deemed too derivative of Franz Ferdinand

By Harold Shueberg on

The Wake 7-inches to be reissued by Captured Tracks, deemed too derivative of Franz Ferdinand

Hey now, Captured Tracks! It’s about damn time you hopped on that early-to-mid-80s UK post-punk gravy train. In fact, you might be a little late riding this particular reissue phenomenon to the bank. Come on, Teenage Codex Premonition got the reissue treatment, what, five years ago? I really thought that Orange Juice box was going to seal the lid on this stuff, but lo and behold, the big wigs over at CT had to squeeze their bit in. Yeah, well, whateva… hats off to ‘em anyway, cause word around town is that The Wake were one hell of a killer band in their time, being on Factory Records and such.

On April 16, in collaboration with this year’s Record Store Day, Captured Tracks will be re-releasing two super-scarce 7-inches from the Glasgow folks — the first being pre-Factory days On Our Honeymoon, which the band originally produced through Scan Records way back when (1982). The second is Crush the Flowers — the band’s first release for the now-defunct Sarah Records. Hold your britches, now, because not only is the label releasing these two oft-forgotten classics but they’re also throwing out a third 7-inch with two Captured Tracks artists doing their own fancy renditions of The Wake songs. Beach Fossils will take on “Plastic Flowers,” and Wild Nothing will do an updated “Gruesome Castle.” Captured Tracks has also let us know that if you purchase the 3x7-inch bundle from their web store, you get an über-trendy The Wake button. Hell, Walmart can’t even compete with the deals they’re throwing out!

Oh, and check out this fan video for The Wake track “On Our Honeymoon.” It’s cute.

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On Our Honeymoon tracklist:

A. On Our Honeymoon
B. Give Up

Crush the Flowers tracklist:

A. Crush the Flowers
B. Carbrain

Gruesome Flowers: A Tribute to The Wake tracklist:

A. Beach Fossils: “Plastic Flowers”
B. Wild Nothing: “Gruesome Castle”

• The Wake: http://home.wxs.nl/~frankbri/wakedis.html
• Captured Tracks: http://www.capturedtracks.com

Broken Bells release new EP Meyrin Fields, bumping up the total number of Broken Bells releases in the world

By E. Nagurney on Mar 22 2011

Step one on the road to indie pop success: put out a popular debut. Step two: follow up that popular debut with a quickie EP of extra material. Broken Bells, the collaboration between Shins frontman James Mercer and ubiquitous producer Danger Mouse, can scratch that first step off. Last year’s self-titled debut ended up very popular, selling over 300,000 copies and landing near the top of NPR’s year-end readers’ poll.

As for step two, they’ve got that on the way. On March 29, the band will put out a classic example of the unreleased/B-side/bonus material stopgap EP in the form of Meyrin Fields. Half of the release’s tracks are unreleased, along with one previously released B-side and one album bonus track. Maybe it’s not a lot of new material, but if you need the sweet, delicious nectar that is new Broken Bells, you will survive for another day.

Meyrin Fields tracklist:

01. Meyrin Fields
02. Win­dows
03. An Easy Life
04. Heart­less Empire

• Broken Bells: http://www.brokenbells.com
• Columbia: http://www.columbiarecords.com

What’s black and white and goes on national tours? The Thermals!

By Kid Midnight on Mar 22 2011

The Thermals have been very busy bees, buzzing back and forth across the world to promote their newest album on Kill Rock Stars, Personal Life (TMT Review), and they don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

The Portland natives have now announced an upcoming US tour with Matt and Kim where they will visit almost every state (sorry Montana, Idaho, and all the others) and continue bearing their personal lives to all of their devoted, bespectacled fans. This newest tour is in addition to the already announced dates in Europe with The Coathangers and the handful of gigs in May, including a set at Washington’s Sasquatch! Festival.

Besides the massive amount of touring, the band recently shot a video for their song “Not Like Any Other Feeling.” The video, which includes stop-motion chalk animation, rotoscoping, Super-8 film, 50 volunteers, and a recreation of the moon landing, was shot in Washington and was a joint project between The Thermals, Kill Rock Stars, Seattle Sound Transit, and the Seattle Experimental Animation Team. Go ahead and view that sucker here.

Thermals dates:

03.30.11 - Manchester, UK - Roadhouse *
03.31.11 - Bristol, UK - The Fleece *
04.01.11 - London, UK - XOYO *
04.02.11 - Brussels, Belgium - BeursKafee *
04.03.11 - Cologne, Germany - Gebaeude 9 *
04.05.11 - Evreux, France - L’Abordage *
04.06.11 - Paris, France - La Maroquinerie *
04.07.11 - Lyon-Oullins, France - Le Clacson *
04.08.11 - Barcelona, Spain - Sala Be Cool *
04.09.11 - Marmande, France - Garorock Festival
04.11.11 - Aarau, Switzerland - Kiff *
04.12.11 - Munich, Germany - Hansa 39 *
04.13.11 - Wien, Austria - Flex *
04.14.11 - Nuernberg, Germany - K4 Festival *
04.15.11 - Frankfurt, Germany - Sinkkasten *
04.16.11 - Dresden, Germany - Beatpol *
04.17.11 - Berlin, Germany - Lido *
04.19.11 - Hamburg, Germany - Knust *
04.20.11 - Groningen, The Netherlands - Vera *
04.21.11 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Trouw *
04.22.11 - Eindhoven, The Netherlands - Effenaar *
04.30.11 - Philadelphia, PA - Philadelphia Int Festival of the Arts
05.20.11 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
05.28.11 - George, WA - Sasquatch Fest
05.31.11 - Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room
06.01.11 - Columbia, MO - Mojo’s
06.02.11 - Nashville, TN - The End
06.03.11 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade #
06.04.11 - Orlando, FL - Firestone #
06.05.11 - Ft Lauderdale, FL - The Culture Room #
06.07.11 - Tampa, FL - Czar Imperial Ballroom #
06.08.11 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues #
06.10.11 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
06.11.11 - Austin, TX - Stubb’s #
06.12.11 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues #
06.14.11 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theater #
06.15.11 - Hollywood, CA - The Music Box #
06.16.11 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues #
06.17.11 - Hollywood, CA - The Music Box #
06.18.11 - Oakland, CA - The Fox #
06.20.11 - Salt Lake City, UT - In the Venue #
06.21.11 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theater #
06.22.11 - Kansas City, MO - Beaumont #
06.23.11 - St Louis, MO - Pageant #
06.24.11 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theater #
06.25.11 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theater #
06.28.11 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club #
06.29 .11- New York, NY - Terminal 5 #
06.30.11 - Boston, MA - House of Blues #

* The Coathangers
# Matt and Kim

• The Thermals: http://www.thethermals.com
• Kill Rock Stars: http://killrockstars.com

RIP: Pinetop Perkins, Delta blues musician, boogie-woogie master

By Shane Mack on Mar 22 2011

From The New York Times:

Pinetop Perkins, the boogie-woogie piano player who worked in Muddy Waters’s last great band and was among the last surviving members of the first generation of Delta bluesmen, died on Monday at his home in Austin, Tex. He was 97.

His death was confirmed by Hugh Southard, his agent for the last 15 years.

From his days in the groups of Waters and the slide guitarist Robert Nighthawk to the vigorous solo career he fashioned over the last 20 years, Mr. Perkins’s accomplishments were numerous and considerable. His longevity as a performer was remarkable — all the more so considering his fondness for cigarettes and alcohol; by his own account he began smoking at age 9 and didn’t quit drinking until he was 82. Few people working in any popular art form have been as prolific in the ninth and tenth decades of their lives.

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• Pinetop Perkins: http://www.pinetopperkins.com

[Photo: Carl Lender]

Zs tour Europe this spring as a retreat from the fan-swarming aftermath of New Slaves’ album-of-the-year status

By Harold Shueberg on Mar 21 2011

When you bestow upon a band the honor of having album of the year, you put yourself in a position that, well, requires you to keep them in a sort of limelight. That is, until TMT decides to piggyback the next experimental up-and-comer out of Brooklyn!! Which will likely be in a matter of days. Until that time, we here at TMT keep our allegiances and proudly report on the goings on of any and all music that hasn’t fallen out of obscure popularity. That’s why we’re proud to announce that Zs will be riding the crest of their TMT stardom through a spring European tour, hot on the heels of their new remix LP that just dropped.

New Slaves II: Essence Implosion! (TMT Review) features remixes of the original document from the star-studded likes of Genesis P-Orridge, Jim Thirlwell, Gabe Andruzzi of The Rapture, Cex, Zebrablood of Excepter, and others. In stores now, limited-edition, don’t wait, etc.

Datezzz:

04.16.11 - Katowice, Poland - OFF Festival Club (Kino Capitol)
04.17.11 - Zilina, Slovakia - Stanica
04.18.11 - Vienna, Austria - Rhiz
04.19.11 - Graz, Austria - Forum Stadtpark
04.20.11 - Nuernberg, Germany - K4
04.21.11 - Berlin, Germany - Westgermany
04.22.11 - Aarhus, Denmark - Sunship (V58)
04.23.11 - Muenster, Germany - Black Box (Cuba)
04.24.11 - Rotterdam, the Netherlands - Worm (Grounds) *
04.25.11 - Koeln, Germany - Stadtgarten %
04.26.11 - Paris, France - Espace B
04.27.11 - Brussels, Belgium - Weirdofest #5 (Belle Vue Cafe)
04.28.11 - Geneva, Switzerland - Le Kab de l’Usine
04.29.11 - Delemont, Switzerland - SAS
04.30.11 - Karlsruhe, Germany - Czirp Czirp (Café DOM)

* Hype Williams
% Tannhäuser Sterben & Das Tod

• Zs: http://www.zzzsss.com
• The Social Registry: http://www.thesocialregistry.com

RIP: Aashid Himons of reggae group Afrikan Dreamland

By Shane Mack on Mar 21 2011

From Nashville Scene:

Aashid Himons, the iconic dreadlocked giant of a man who earned a place as one of the most colorful figures in the history of Nashville’s club scene, died today after a long illness. He was 68.

Himons was perhaps best known for his reggae group Afrikan Dreamland, a fixture on the Rock Block during the 1980s boom years of college radio. But his music career dated back at least to the late 1950s, when he made his way to New York and then Washington, D.C., as a teenage R&B and doo-wop singer.

• Aashid Himons: http://www.goarchie.com
• Afrikan Dreamland: http://spaceformusic.com/afrikan.html

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