In possession of one of the coolest band names around, Cymbals Eat Guitars, hailing from Staten Island, New York, greet tonight’s Hoxton crowd in understated fashion, before entertaining with a tight set drawing heavily from their 2009 album ‘Why There Are Mountains’.
The part shoegaze, part surf rock four piece innovatively weave jangly indie guitar melodies. Front man Joseph D’Agostino howls out his vocals in mesmerizing fashion, backed by subtle keys and taught bass and drum rhythms. It is at the peak of their melodic builds, however, that Cymbals… wield their power as a band equipped with many a intense, distorted guitar solo. Such freakouts inject a raw passion in to tracks like ‘…And the Hazy Sea’ or ‘Indiana’, staying just the right side of overly noise heavy breakdowns.
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Jon Davies Gigs/ Events, News Cymbals Eat Guitars
After combining the legendary voice of soul legend Bobby Womack with the slick Hip-Hop flow of Mos Def on their last single ‘Stylo’, Gorillaz continue to showcase some intriguing collaborations with great results. The next cut from their forthcoming album, ‘Plastic Beach’, will be ‘Superfast Jellyfish’; an odd ball rap track featuring De La Soul and Super Furry Animals frontman, Gruff Rhys. Debuted yesterday on the UK’s Radio 1, the record centers around an old school break beat and De La Soul’s slightly psychedelic lyrics about crunchy carrots and King Neptune. Ramping up the trippy vibe are some neat touches including an off kilter sitar and some very underwater sounding vocoder effects.
The band have wasted no time getting this latest track up on line – head to YouTube to check it out.
In other Gorillaz related news the band have also announced they will be lining up a series of gigs later in the year. Speaking at the NME Shockwaves award ceremony this week, the cartoon band’s real life imaginer Damon Albarn had this to say:
“At the moment I wouldn’t want to play Glastonbury or something because I’d be setting myself a very high benchmark but we’re definitely going to play some big gigs in the UK or in England or in London this year. The band is sounding really good, I’m really excited.”
‘Plastic Beach’ is released 8th March. For more info head to Gorillaz MySpace.
Stephen Titmus News gorillaz
London’s Lovebox festival has now confirmed several acts for this year’s event, including some stellar headline performers. The announcement will no doubt cause gig goers problems in deciding which festival to pick this summer. The weekend, curated by Groove Armada’s Andy Cato and Tom Findlay, has pulled a real coup in securing Roxy Music’s services on the Saturday. Lead singer Brian Ferry commented “There is a song on my album that I have co-written with my friends Groove Armada. They asked me if Roxy would like to perform at Lovebox. We of course thought it would be cool”. The influential 80’s band join Dizzee Rascal and the irrepressible Grace Jones as the events headliners, with the festival now expanding to three days.
Taking place in Victoria Park on the 16th-18th July, the weekend will also see performances from the likes of Hot Chip, Mark Ronson & The Business and Empire Of The Sun – making their first UK appearance. Other notable acts playing are Canadian synth demons Chromeo, Cut Copy, Wild Beasts and Hercules & Love Affair. However anyone whos been to Lovebox will know it’s not just about the bands, the weekend also boasts a fine array of DJ talent including Crookers, Booka Shade and Joy Orbison. For tickets and full line up info, head to the Lovebox site.
Jon Davies Gigs/ Events Dizzee Rascal, Grace Jones, Groove Amarda, Lovebox, Roxy Music
This week Canadian noise punk duo Japandroids continued their mammoth hoping tour in support of 2009’s excellent LP ‘Post Nothing’ with a sold out gig at London’s ICA.
Japandroids took to the stage amid huge measures of sonic distortion and crowd anticipation then tore through their album ‘Post Nothing’ at break neck speed. They thrashed out the life affirming ‘Wet Hair’, ‘The Boys are Leaving Town’, and ‘Rockers East Vancouver’ with the same level of sweaty enthusiasm they receive from the crowd. New material was also aired, notably ‘Body Bag’, a song we are told may be new to us – but is old for the band.
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Jon Davies Gigs/ Events, News Japandroids
Tim Simenon AKA Bomb The Bass was among the most innovative mavericks of the UK’s early dance scene. Back in 1988, his sample based music blended hip-hop and electronics to create a sound that became almost inescapable at the time. Along with acts like M/A/A/R/S and S’Express, Bomb The Bass took the hip-hop aesthetic of sampling to the mainstream and helped revolutionise the way people thought about using other artists’ records. They were also notably the first ever act to create a record for a computer game scoring the music for the 1989 Amiga title, ‘Xenon 2 Megablast’.
After a ten year hiatus Bomb The Bass returned in 2008 with the album ‘Future Chaos’. Now, hardly a year later, Tim Simenon is back with another long player entitled ‘Back To Light’.
Produced by the Brazilian epic-house star Gui Borrato, ‘Back To Light’ is a far cry from his early work, favouring a melodic techno and pop influenced lilt over the visceral hip hop sounds of their first album. With vocal performances from avant-garde disco maven Kelly Polar and a keyboard session from none other than Depeche Mode’s Martin L. Gore, Bomb The Bass’ new album features some noteworthy guests.
Those interested in checking out the album should head here to download ‘Burn Less Brighter’ – a swirling, psychedelic electro pop track that features the vocals of long time collaborator, Paul Conboy.
‘Back To The Light’ is released 1st March on !K7 records
Tracklisting:
01. Boy Girl featuring Paul Conboy
02. X Rays Eyes featuring Kelley Polar
03. The Infinites featuring Paul Conboy
04. Price On Your Head featuring Richard Davis
05. Blindspot featuring Paul Conboy
06. Start featuring Kelley Polar
07. Burn Less Brighter featuring Paul Conboy
08. Happy To Be Cold featuring Richard Davis
09. Up the Mountain featuring The Battle Of Land And Sea
10. Milakia featuring Martin Gore
Stephen Titmus New Music, News Bomb The Bass, Gui Borrato
British R&B heartthrob Taio Cruz tops the Shazam US New Release Chart USA for a second week in a row with ‘Break Your Heart’.
To check the full chart click read more (You may have to turn ‘Mobile Theme’ off to view this chart correctly in Shazam’s apps).
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Stephen Titmus Shazam New Release Chart (USA) Taio Cruz
Tine Tempah remains at the number one spot with ‘Pass Out’ – that’s an amazing 6 weeks at number one!
To check the full chart click read more (You may have to turn ‘Mobile Theme’ off to view this chart correctly in Shazam’s apps).
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Stephen Titmus Shazam Pre Release Chart UK Tinie Tempah
The New Pornographers, our favorite Canadian-American supergroup, returns. The band who brought the vocal harmonies of power-pop back in trend will release their fifth album ‘Together’ with its usual ensemble of singers and songwriters in full (Neko Case; A.C. Newman; Dan Bejar; Kathryn Calder; etc..).
‘Together’ is scheduled for release via Matador/4AD on May The 4th and will see the Pornographers collaborating with recent indie luminaries such as St. Vincent; Beirut’s Zach Condon and Okkervil River’s Will Sheff.
‘Your Hands (Together)’, described by the band as “a magical trifecta of Black Sabbath’s War Pigs with Abba’s Waterloo and Siouxsie and the Banshees’ Christine” is a promising taste of things to come and can be listened here.
The first dates of their international tour have also been confirmed:
19 May London, UK – Electric Ballroom
21 May Berlin Germany – Magnet ‘Club NME’
22 May Hamburg, Germany – Molotow
23 May Amsterdam, Holland – Melkweg
25 May Brussels, Belgium – Orangerie
26 May Paris, France – La Maroquinerie
27 May Toulouse, France – Cafe Rex
28 May Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Sound
31 May Quincy, WA – Sasquatch Music Festival
Further details are available at their website.
Roberto Gonzalez News the new pornographers
This weekend saw the final performance in the annual NME tour. As always, the weekly music mag pulled out all the stops to ensure they delivered a wealth of sonic delights. The headline slot this year was filled by South London indie outfit The Maccabees, still enjoying the rapturous response given to their second album ‘Wall Of Arms’. Also on the bill were Bombay Bicycle Club, The Big Pink and The Drums.
Despite having the opening slot, The Drums attracted a respectable audience for their set. The much hyped New Yorkers tore through their set, with lead singer Jonathan Pierce proving himself to be the epitome of hip shaking frontman. While the biggest cheers came for the singles ‘Let’s Go Surfing’ and ‘I Felt Stupid’, the band also showcased several promising new tracks. After appearing in our ‘Shazam Sound Of 2010’ poll, it appears things are going according to plan for this lot.
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Jon Davies News Bombay Bicycle Club, The Big Pink, the drums, The Maccabees
