News

Sean O'Hagan is just about out! The longtime High Llamas front man is going solo with the album Radum Calls, Radum Calls on October 25th. Sean's alchemist ability to wed sonic sounds from diverse genres into deceptively simply sing-along constructions feels fresh and new in the context of a solo record - and these new songs have an absurdist quality and elasticity while simultaneously delivering thought-provoking social panoramas. If your initial listens to tracks like "On a Lonely Day (Ding Dong)" and "Candy... (read more)

Russ Waterhouse's forward thinking, radical conceptions of sound, space and composition have uniquely marked his work, as one half of the shape-shifting duo Blues Control and, more recently, as a solo artist. With the imminent release of 1 Minute 2 Midnight, Russ will be taking his primary instrument, the mixer, to select east coast cities. Russ's performances modulate and extend his 1M2M material, drawing field records, synthesizer, guitar and effects into new proportions. As powerful of a recital of experimental practices as the album is, it's a... (read more)

"In good faith" is a term of candor, abstract but comprehensive. It means 'we trust you', but what does it mean today, when our current events are sung to us by actors who insist we can't trust nothing? The second single heralding the first new Bonnie 'Prince' Billy album in years is called just that "In Good Faith." Here, the foundational principles of abiding belief and pursuit of righteousness are considered as part of the eternal miracle of our life on earth. Joan Shelley sings... (read more)

Fripp and Eno. Simon and Garfunkel. Belle and Sebastian. All imprecisely perfect duos pitting creative force against steadfast chemistry, with cohesion radiating from every sound. Bill MacKay and Katinka Kleijn operate in this rarefied air, with a goal in mind - taking the music, elevating the changes through levels of controlled chaos, letting it spread out and breathe through them with a clear, path beyond: to symmetry, and the peak! 

One of the most stunning examples of this process can be found on Bill... (read more)

It's been three weeks since Alasdair Roberts released The Fiery Margin - if you haven't taken the time to listen to this "profoundly moving" album (The Guardian's words, not ours!), what's with you? Locate your inner moth and and succumb to the flame, matey! Ali's music is soulful and deep, steeped in tradition, literature and scripture, even - with words immemorial dating back from this world all the way to the olde one. How better to help us understand the new-world weirdness in which we're... (read more)

Face it, the last ten years or so have been a BLUR - so much shit going down, good and bad - and a lot of music too. It doesn't look like its gonna get any easier for ANYBODY to get their bearing, so Ty Segall and Sea Note have gotten together a special box to help you reorient your head, no matter where you are!
 
This one's for the freak, the fan, the head. Pig Man Lives is a stack of... (read more)

The king of rock, pop, teenage dreams, psych, the new wave and and future genres yet to be defined, Tim Presley is gearing up for sum shows in the East Coast, Chicago and then keeping Austin weird in November! Hot on the heels of I Have To Feed Larry's Hawk, this succinct jaunt will be the first opportunity to see/hear Tim Presley's White Fence in the U.S. following the release of IHTFLH, which is a big fucking deal. Playing cuts old and new and... (read more)

Circuit des Yeux is an expandable and contractible organism. Haley Fohr's grip on her own musical reality is steadfast and true, thus a round of solo CdY dates in Europe is upon us! Things have the potential for getting weirdest for any performer when they travel to Eastern Europe, so what better way for this to start than at the mouth of the River Daugava, in Riga, Latvia, where its wild combination of medieval-meets-art nouveau architecture will surely be an exciting backrop for CdY... (read more)

Xylouris White is a collaboration of both epic and intimate proportions. Greek lute player Giorgos Xylouris and Dirty Three drummer Jim White reach across musical languages, sonic cultures and geographic boundaries to create a sound that goes beyond conventional songwriting, all while exploring the minutia of musical collaboration between their two febrile minds. On The Sisypheans, Giorgos and Jim display their natural chemistry and sensual dynamics on the second single, "Black Sea."

Georgos relates the Greek traditional tale of exile to a... (read more)

Wake up and smell the rose-scented pop revolution! With one foot firmly tapping in the future, Sean O'Hagan's Radum Calls, Radum Calls obviously features his inimitable songwriting sensibilities, but also incorporates influence from a new generation of talent Sean's been working with as producer and arranger the last few years while overseeing The High Llamas. All this energy - and songs derived from world history, ambition, and humour - makes for irresistible ear candy that moves from delicious flavour to delicious flavour as... (read more)