I gave you the acoustic version and now the “official” album version.  Cloak and Cipher is quietly working it’s way into my psyche as it’s a departure from the band’s earlier work…in a really good way.

The band is here in Austin on Oct 15th @ the Parish. They don’t come around often, so you should check it..

I was trying to avoid any more Dead Confederate posting for awhile, but they keep putting stuff out there, like this video for “Run From The Gun”.

via Huffington Post

Hardy Morris: “The song was inspired while thinking about our (The United States) mistreatment of Native Americans and it then kind of morphed into a song about other wars and volatile times throughout history. It occurred to me that it would have been beneficial to those people to go back in time and tell them to “run from the gun.” I really didn’t want the band to be in the video. I just wanted it to be real footage from real conflicts. History gets glamorized and even though the song sounds kind of light and upbeat, I wanted the imagery to be rather dark and, more importantly, real. Our friend Scott Carney of the Louisville, KY band Wax Fang did a great job of finding and editing the footage”

Blonde Redhead fans anticipating the release of the forthcoming Penny Sparkle out Sept 14th might be in for something a bit unexpected. The follow-up to the popular 23 is a wonderful lush, dreamy escape from it’s predecessor, but might challenge some lesser devoted fans.

Here’s a peak as to what to expect, in the form of a live 4AD Session on VEVO. “Here Sometimes” from Penny Sparkle

Aside from the fact that there are legions of MGMT fans out there who might want to see this, myself not included in that group, there are two reasons I’m posting this video:

1. The band is one of the headliners for this year’s Fun Fun Fun Fest, and I’m always willing to do my part to promote what is one of the coolest music festivals in Austin, if not the entire universe.

2. I found the video on the Death + Taxes magazine’s website, and this is what I found to be awesome:

Now this is just weird, and kind of depressing. Those Brooklyn buzzers MGMT have released a video for “Congratulations” off of their mediocre album of the same name. In the video, we find the duo taking a stroll across the desert outside of Las Vegas with a weird creature that’s somewhere between Jim Henson, a duck and an acid trip.

They just called the album mediocre. Awesome. If you don’t subscribe to this Death + Taxes magazine or read their site, you, my friend, are missing out some goodness.

now the freak show called MGMT

Bear In Heaven make music that I wouldn’t typically spend too much time with, but there’s something about this band that is stirring up quite the buzz pot lately that keeps spinning my attention. At first listen, you could write them off as a band being thrust into the fallout stream of hipster hype created by bands like Animal Collective and Yeasayer, but there’s something a bit more unique about these guys that I appreciate a bit more. Bear In Heaven seem to posses this idea of futuristic exploration in their music that feels much like some of the music that some of the music pioneers, more specifically electronic music pioneers of the 80′s. Band’s like Gary Numan, Kraftwerk, New Order, Skinny Puppy,  just to name a few, that were making music that was experimental, a bit strange, but curiously good.  Bear In Heaven doesn’t sound like these bands, they just seem to embody the spirit of those bands around that time while still maintaining a progressive sound in today’s saturated venue. Read more

Quite the personality, that Ted Leo, and not a bad musician at that. Ted’s sense of humor shines in this second video for the track “Bottled In Cork” from the latest release The Brutalist Bricks.

You know I love em, and this is a really cool live shot video for what appears to be the latest single from A Place To Bury Strangers record Exploding Head. “I Lived My Life In The Shadow Of Your Heart” video was shot in Heaven in London, and directed by Sian Alice Group guitarist Ben Crook.

You need to turn it up really, really loud…

While I’ll give the folks over at Austin Town Hall credit for the tip on this, they really did miss out on the real thing a few weeks ago @ Emos. But, there is Aug 28th @ Mohawk with Dead Confederate and a slew of great local bands when you can catch the Futurebirds in action once again here in ATX.

Nice to see other folks squawking about this awesome band from Athens, GA.

Hear*Ya is a cool video blog site where you can check out the full session with Futurebirds along with some other great bands.

One of my favorite songs on the band’s latest release Hampton’s Lullaby “ATO”

Dead Confederate’s Sugar arrived at the office just a few days ago, and it has been spinning non-stop, while I try to digest this monster of rock album. There’s some seriously heavy shit on this record, along with songs like this, which show a different side to the band that previously revealed on their debut LP Wrecking Ball.

Push play, turn it up, and sing along while J. Mascis adds his shred to the track.

Don’t forget, that the band will be giving it away on the Mohawk stage Aug 28th. GET TICKETS

Taking the man who masks himself behind a wall of sonic dissonance, feedback, smoke, and a disorienting light show when playing live and exposing him almost naked with an acoustic guitar seems risky. But the folks over at They Shoot Music Don’t They, do just that.  Behind the sonic annihilation that A Place To Bury Strangers fronts, is a really cool down to earth guy named Oliver Ackerman. So when asked to shed the image for a few acoustic songs on the street, Ackerman obliges and turns out some interesting acoustic versions of APTBS tunes.

Austin’s Black Angels are looking to drop another bounty of their self-styled psych-rock, in the name of Phosphene Dream on 9.14.10. Changes are involved with a new label, the recently resurrected Blue Horizon, a new producer, Dave Sardy, and possibly a new direction with their sound.

Patiently we await, and until the drop, a sneak peak…

The Black Angels : Phosphene Dream from LaundroMatinee on Vimeo.

While I would like everyone to believe that I take the time to listen to every band that sends me music whether it be a physical copy or via the digital, I really don’t. I try to give each one a fair opportunity to grab a moment of my short attention span, but most fall short of doing so, and quite frankly, I’m sure I miss out on some good music at times.

Why this band managed a feat that most cannot, I cannot answer.

Grand Lake’s music has been haunting me since I received the package in the mail just days ago.  I continually find myself revisiting the band’s work, seeking some sort of grasp of what it is they are to trying to convey with their music, and while doing so, all I can really manage is a sense of enjoying something that feels honest and fresh.

Grand Lake is the current result of a long ongoing relationship between Caleb Nichols and Jameson Swanagon, who have continually crossed paths since they met as young boys in California. The two brought on John Pomeroy for drums  and even more recently Danae Swanagon for the keyboards.  The upcoming release from the band Blood Sea reflects the duo’s musical kinship shared over the past 10 years covering plenty of ground musically without straining to be something that it isn’t. A delicate, subtle darkness weaves it’s way through the album while the music forges ahead on with the journey being the priority. The album finds itself turn after turn alternating between fuzzed out art-rock, gentle string accompanied slow dance moments, and slow rolling mood rockers.

Blood Sea is currently available on iTunes and will see “official” release on 8.10.10.

Now we just wait for the tour bus to find it’s way to us.

MP3> Grand Lake ‘Carpoforo’

Grand Lake – Spark from Ryan Pierce on Vimeo.

Montreal’s Land of Talk have always been one of those bands quietly bubbling under the surface, just threatening to become recognized for the talent that it posses.  Or maybe I should say for the talent that Elizabeth Powell posses? The crafty songstress and gifted guitarist for the band has been the foundation for the band since it’s incarnation and continues to grow as a writer and performer.

August 24th will see the band’s sophomore full length come legal, on the Saddle Creek label mysteriously titled Cloak and Cipher. Soon after, the band embarks on a headlining tour that will bring them to Austin for a performance @ The Parish. If I’m not mistaken, this would be their first performance in town in more than 2 years. I’m not mistaken that I’m completely giddy about seeing this band once again.

Cloak and Cipher was produced by Jace Lasek ( Besnard Lakes, Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown) and features a slew of Canada’s finest in the modern rock scene. Patrick Watson, Jeremy Gara of Arcade Fire, and members of Stars, Wintersleep, Besnard Lakes, and Esmerine.

A sneak peak with the band performing Cloak and Cipher’s “Quarry Hymn” on La Blogotheque’s Take Away Show

Tour dates follow the jump Read more

Dead Confederate have their sophomore full-length titled Sugar hitting the streets legal on Aug 24th. Check out this short little video shot during the making of the album, and then jump over to the band’s website for a free download of the first released track from the album titled “Giving It All Away” featuring some dude named J. Mascis.

Or……….you could listen here

MP3> Dead Confederate ‘Giving It All Away’

I haven’t been a huge fan of the Animal Collective, while I appreciate what they do to a certain extent, I just cannot spend a lot of time with their recordings. I loose interest quickly. They’ll probably be that band that, a year from now, I”ll think is the greatest thing since the internet. Nah.

I like the summer theme of the video, and it works well with the song…