NEW VIDEO FRIDAY

My Robot Friend - Robot High School


DOWNLOAD - My Robot Friend - Robot High School from the forthcoming album "Robot High School", due early 2008.

The Raveonettes - Dead Sound


"Lust Lust Lust", the new album from The Raveonettes is very, very good. The disc will be released early 2008 on Vice Records.

We Are Wolves - Magique


"Total Magique" is available now on Dare To Care Records.

The White Stripes - Conquest

LOVE IS ALL - "...Mixed Up"

My favorite new band of 2006, Love Is All, are on the verge of releasing their sophomore LP, due spring 2008. In the meantime we get a special remix album, perfectly titled "Love Is All...Mixed-Up". A collection comprised of remixes from their phenomenal debut "Nine Times That Same Song", the disc will include reworkings from an amazing group of artists, including Hot Chip, Optimo, Maps, Metronomy, The Bees, and Studio. The set will be released in the UK both physically and digitally, but the U.S. release is still up in the air.

GORILLAZ - "D-Sides" 63%

Reviewing a b-sides compilation album is not an easy task. First you have to take into consideration that the material was not recorded with the intention of being formed into a cohesive album. Secondly, you have to consider the recording as a companion piece to the album of which it was spawned from, in this case the 2005 blockbuster release “Demon Days”. And thirdly, you have to decipher whether the collection is at all necessary.

Damon Albarn is without a doubt one of the most prolific figures in modern music today. With word of a new Blur album on the way and the possibility of new material from The Good The Bad and The Queen in the near future, Albarn somehow still finds the time to release “D-Sides”, a splattering of Gorillaz outtakes, demos, sketches and b-sides (with an extra disc of remixes by DFA, Hot Chip and Soulwax, among others). And that is exactly what you have here. A few gems surrounded by some strange and experimental dabblings that don’t always add up.

Among the highlights are the opening track ‘68 State’, an atmospheric piece of ambient electronica that plays out like the score to a science fiction road trip through outer space. ‘People’, an early demo of ‘Dare’, succeeds by ultimately sounding very little like the huge hit that it evolved into. Another diamond in the rough here is the gorgeous ‘Hong Kong’, where Albarn croons woefully:

“The radio station disappeared
Music turned into thin air
The DJ was the last to leave
She had well-conditioned hair
Was beautiful but nothing really was there”

Not faring as well are the ill-fated ‘We Are Happy Landfill’, an agonizing track plagued by an overwrought vocal, and ‘Murdoc is God’, a left field noise-rock experiment gone awry. A few tracks are nice, but easily forgettable. ‘Hongkongaton’ and ‘Spitting Out Demons’ come off like unfinished sketches, resulting in something not unlike filler.

Despite the low points, the collection is not at all bad. These cartoon alter egos have fun at times, like on the silly new single ‘Rock It’, where Albarn sings “Stick it in your nose, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…” Things stay playful on the relatively bizarre and reggae-tinged ‘Bill Murray’ and on ‘The Swagga’, an experimental disco-rock stomp complete with jubilant Whoo!’s.

But certainly the most solid effort here is the gorgeous closing track ‘Stop the Dam’. Originally included on the ‘El Manana/Kids With Guns’ single, the song features the kooky stylings of Einar Örn (of The Sugarcubes). On the bittersweet outro, Albarn repeats, “The sun will shine again, the sun will shine again”, which hopefully refers to another glorious incarnation of Gorillaz in the future.

-by Scot Bowman
Originally published on Kevchino.com.

In Pop Diva News - Sally Shapiro, Robyn, Roisin Murphy

A new remix of Sally Shapiro's adorable 'Anorak Christmas' has arrived just in time for the holiday season. The 'Piano Mix' of 'Christmas' is starker than the sugar-sweet original, finding a stripped-down romanticism that almost makes the track a bit more personal and real. The original is still better, but this new take on a great song is still worth checking out. The album "Disco Romance" is available now.

DOWNLOAD - Sally Shapiro - Anorak Christmas (piano mix)

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Robyn has a new video for 'Be Mine', the fourth British single from the re-release of her self-titled album. The song had an earlier video for the Swedish release of the album back in 2005. It's actually far better and you can check it out here. The album will finally see its US release early next year.

Robyn - Be Mine (music video)


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Roisin Murphy is releasing the third single from her excellent new album "Overpowered". The Andy Cato (Groove Armada) remix of 'You Know Me Better' is available in limited edition format here. Roisin also recently performed on 'Later with Jools Holland'. The pre/post-accident??? appearance featured performances of 'Primitive' and 'You Know Me Better'. Check out the performance of the new single on Jools Holland below.

Roisin Murphy - You Know Me Better (live on Later with Jools Holland)

Save The Silent Barn!

-Bradford Cox & Karen O at Silent Barn

It was reported by Brooklyn Vegan today that The Silent Barn could be on the verge of shutting down as a result of a Con Edison bill. The Silent Barn is a house that serves as a DIY venue in Ridgewood, Queens, closely bordering my neighborhood of Bushwick, Brooklyn. Many great shows have occured there in the past year or so, including Black Lips, Deerhunter (the one where Karen O got onstage), Dan Deacon, and Casiotone for the Painfully Alone.

If you live in Brooklyn (or Queens) it is crucial that you read the article over at Brooklyn Vegan.

In Shoegazer News - JESUS & MARY CHAIN, MY BLOODY VALENTINE

According to Billboard.com, Jesus & Mary Chain "...are now whittling down dozens of new songs to 12 or so for the new album." That 'new album', their first since 1998's "Munki", is tentatively set for a late spring 2008 release. Some tracks that could make the cut are 'All Things Must Pass', which they performed earlier this year on 'Late Night with David Letterman', and 'Dead End Kids', a track that was played live on their 2007 reunion tour. A label has yet to be selected to release the new album.

A new Jesus & Mary Chain 4-disc box set is expected to be released though Rhino Records in March. Kevin Oberlin, the manager of JAMC says of the collection, "There are some great finds -- demos of a couple songs, alternate takes and rare acoustic versions."


As previously reported, My Bloody Valentine are readying their first album in 16 years. It has just been announced that the set will be released digitally (ala Radiohead-style, though a price will be set) in 2008. A vinyl release is also being discussed.

**UPDATE** - The MBV album will not be released digitally and will be completely unlike the Radiohead approach with its release. Read more about this here.

SHOCKING PINKS - "self-titled" 76%

Nick Harte is no stranger to isolation. He grew up in New Zealand, a nation where it is said that the human population is outnumbered by sheep. But being the child of artists who went to school with post-punk band The Gordons, Harte was exposed to a wide variety of eclectic musical genres. And when his mother bought him the “Loveless” cassette by My Bloody Valentine, a whole new world had been opened up.

Shocking Pinks is the culmination of Harte’s deep love of post-punk and eighties teen nostalgia. In fact the name is apparently an ode to the film ‘Pretty in Pink’. After drumming for The Brunettes, Harte began recording on his own, turning out three modest albums. With the new self-titled album, he has essentially combined songs from his previous two records - “Mathematical Warfare” and “Infinity Land” (both released in 2005) - to create this impressive DFA Records debut. Written, performed and produced by Harte himself, this is an introspective post-modern record, full of raw angst and gentle vulnerability. And whereas the first Shocking Pinks album “Dance the Dance Electric” embodied more of a dance-punk sensibility, the latest has a decidedly intimate, fuzzed-out dream-pop tone about it.

The strength of the album lies heavily upon the stripped-down production style. On the tinny rocker ‘Blonde Haired Girl’, Harte croons in a distorted and ultra close-up monotone vox that sounds like he recorded it onto a cassette recorder, but somehow it’s as if he’s inside your head. On the instrumental track ‘Cutout’ a Peter Hook bass line dances around a driving beat and a gentle guitar refrain to create a gorgeous road song. The upfront single ‘End of the World’, without question one of the standout tracks here, relies on a simple new wave synth-pad that dangerously recalls heights previously reached by The Cure.

But more important than Harte’s eighties persuasion is the dark romanticism in his voice, which does a fine job of keeping a relatively sporadic album cohesive and real.

by Scot Bowman
Originally published on kevchino.com.

THE KILLS - 'URA Fever'

Alison Mosshart and James Hince, aka The Kills, are prepping their third album for release in March. The first track to emerge is the slow burner 'URA Fever'. The new album, which as far as I can tell doesn't have a title yet, will be released through Domino Records.

If The Kills have anything to say about it, 2008 is gonna be dirty, hot and sexy...

STREAM - The Kills - URA Fever

THE PRESETS - 'My People'

The Presets are back with a brand new single!! 'My People' will be released as a digital single and on vinyl December 18th via Modular. No word as to whether this is the precursor to a new album yet or not, but a video for the track is expected to be released soon. The Presets will be touring Australia with Daft Punk throughout December, though most dates are already sold out.

STREAM - The Presets - My People

Coachella Rumors...

As tipped by ProductShopNYC, you can now add Radiohead, The Verve and Spiritualized to the growing list of bands being heavily rumored to appear at Coachella 2008 April 25-27. Check out the post at PSNYC, which also includes their list of the 50 best albums of 1997.

Here are the strongest of the rumored acts so far:

Radiohead
My Bloody Valentine
The Verve
Portishead
Spiritualized