Label: self-released Released: 2008 William Blake divided his poems into Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience to reflect his view of the world before and after that crucial point at which the ugliness of the world becomes apparent. However, Blake left out that gray area in between as experience opens doors (the doors of perception perhaps?), but hasn’t yet… Read more »
Label: Kill Normal Records Released: July 1, 2008 There are angry bands and then there are really angry bands. They and the Children are the latter. Their latest offering, Home, cuts right to the chase, brimming over with outright rage from the very start. The intensity level is so high in fact that it’s quite a shock that the whole… Read more »
Static Radio NJ – Summer Tours (July 02 – 10 / Aug 09 – 19) ——————————————————- * In support of debut full-length An Evening Of Bad Decisions* July tour with Shot Baker begins today* August tour with Let Me Run * Pre-order the album now Static Radio NJ (New Brunswick, N.J.) is hitting the road today for an East Coast… Read more »
Label: Miriam Collection Released: June 17, 2008 This documentary was clearly released in tandem with Control and, while that was surely a good move commercially, it makes it difficult to get as involved in this versus Anton Corbijn’s brilliant dramatization. Of course, the two aren’t quite the same, Control being the story of Ian Curtis and Joy Division the story… Read more »
Controlled Bleeding, one of the earliest American acts to pioneer industrial music, is celebrating its 30 year anniversary with a free download of “Wall of China Love Letters,” the second track on Before the Quiet, just released by MVD Audio. Oddly, although the song was recorded in 1978, the abrasive, bouncing, instrumental could be a musical blueprint for the bands… Read more »
This is a great one from the oft-forgotten Minutemen. Rock n roll wouldn’t be the same without them.
Label: Exigent Records (available through CDBaby.com) Released: July 15, 2008 Microtia clearly loves the Mars Volta, but the Mars Volta they are not. Of course, that’s not the worst knock in the world. Trying to play TMV’s game and not fully succeeding is kind of like being a guitarist that isn’t as good as Hendrix or a sax player that… Read more »
Song: Movement of FearArtist: TweakerAlbum: 2 a.m. Wakeup Call Chris Vrenna’s cover of Tones on Tails’ “Movement of Fear” starts off like fairly typical darker-than-thou swill, but cooks into a densely orchestrated stew of sound by the end of the song. This one’s a fine treat.
Label: eMusic Released: June 17, 2008 DIY is a term often associated with punk rock, not soul, but soul artist Mingering Mike embodies that ethic as well if not better than the most serious punk purist. Super Gold Greatest Hits is a homemade album of Mike’s soul songs recorded with only vocals and percussion (which amounts to whatever was around… Read more »
Label: Astralwerks Released: August 19, 2008 From the opening seconds of Strawberry Weed, Caesars make it clear that they’re not afraid to make noise. Committed to the mod tradition of the Who, they are loud, abrasive and willing to run wild, yet they never lose their raw pop sense. They tap into that point in rock history when bands realized… Read more »