Broken Social Scene Announce One-Off London Show

Broken Social Scene today announced that they will play a post ATP Festival headlining show at London’s Heaven on the 17th May, 2010.

Tickets for the show go on sale this Friday at 9am via the usual outlets, OR you can click HERE to buy yourself a couple from SeeTickets’ presale.

Pavement’s Brixton Academy Residency Support Acts Announced

As Pavement’s four night stand at the O2 Brixton Academy in London comes ever closer to selling out ATP today announced who’ll be opening the show each evening, and its comes as no surprise that the list is made up of acts due to appear at the bands curated ATP Festival taking place the following weekend.

Full details of who is playing and when can be seen below, courtesy of ATP.com

ARTIST: Pavement
SUPPORT ACTS: The Clean (10th), Wooden Shjips (11th), Sic Alps (12th), Broken Social Scene (13th)
VENUE: Brixton Academy
DATES: Monday 10th May 2010 and Tuesday 11th May 2010 SOLD OUT and Wednesday 12th May 2010 SOLD OUT and Thursday 13th May 2010
TICKET PRICE : £25.00 +bf
VENUE ADDRESS: 211 Stockwell Rd, London, SW9 9SL
VENUE TELEPHONE: 020 7771 3000
DOORS: 7.00pm
AGE RESTRICTIONS: Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult and seated in the Circle.

Pearl Jam To Rock Hyde Park, Hard

It seems that 2009 release ‘Backspacer’ really did re-ignite their love for touring as today Pearl Jam were announced as the opening night headliner for London’s Hard Rock Calling festival, due to take place from the 25th June 2010.

No other headliners have been announced, but if Glastonbury is any indicator then maybe, just maybe, one or two of Eavis’ ‘exclusives’ will also be taking to the stage in Hyde Park, just as Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen did this year.

The band have also been confirmed to play Belgium Rock Werchter festival, full details on that festival can be found HERE

Tickets for Hard Rock Calling on sale this Friday from 9am from all the usual outlets, though a pre-sale via LiveNation.co.uk is due to run from Wednesday at 9am.

Spoon Debut ‘Written In Reverse’ Over At NPR

So another mouthful of the forthcoming Spoon album has been served, this time it comes in the shape of second single single ‘Written In Reverse’, currently being hosted over at NPR.org.

If you fancy a listen of the bands latest, piano-led, echo-heavy, obviously-awsome track click HERE and you’ll be taken directly to the wonderful song due for digital download tomorrow.

If these tasty morsels are anything to go by Transference, which is due for release in Europe on the 18th of January and the following day in the US, will be one of the strongest releases from this band yet.

 

The Strokes and Jay Z for 2010 Isle Of Wight Festival

Gigwise.com is this morning reporting that current NME “album of the decade” holders The Strokes, and ‘go to Hip Hop headliner’ Jay-Z are to team up and take the reigns at next years the Isle Of Wight Festival.

Other artists also announced to perform at the festival are Oribital, Squeeze, Blondie and power-pop star Pink.  A rather odd mix of artists thus far, but as this is the first headling show from The Strokes since 2006 it’s sure to be a popular one nonetheless.

The festival takes place, as per usual, at Seaclose Park, from 11th – 13th June with tickets going on sale this Friday at 9am from the usual outlets.

21 Bands Added To Pavement ATP Festival

So, you missed out on tickets for the Pavement curated ATP festival and you’ve cried about this non-stop ever since right?  Yeah me too.  Well, I’d recommend you look away now as the following list of bands added to the festival will only make you feel worse.

Taking place the weekend of the May 14th at the Butlins holiday-camp in Minehead, the festival will take place over three days and has now totally sold out.

Taken from ATP’s official website, the full list of bands added is as follows… and it’s just a bit good;

Broken Social Scene, Mission To Burma, Calexico, The Raincoats, The Fiery Furnaces, The Walkmen, Omar Soulyman + Sublime Frequencies, Atlas Sound, Grails, The Drones, Saccharine Trust, The Clean, Wodden Ships, Sic Alps, Pierced Arrows, Spiral Stairs, Blitzen Trapper, The 3D’s, Marble Valley, The Authorities and Wildbirds and Peacedrums.

Mastodon Announce 2010 UK Tour

Metallers, Hipsters, Musical Aficionados rejoice, for your favourite metal band of the past 5 years has announced a UK tour for 2010.  That’s right, Atlanta’s Mastodon will be tearing through their way through country, with a single step into Scotland, next February playing some of their biggest headlining shows this side of the pond to date.

If you haven’t yet been lucky enough to see Mastodon live yet then I urge you to do so next year and I promise you won’t leave disappointed and if you do, I’ll refund your ticket costs.*

The full tour schedule is as follows;

MASTODON UK TOUR; FEBRUARY 2010
16 – WOLVERHAMPTON Wulfrun Hall
17 – BRISTOL O2 Academy
19 – GLASGOW Barrowland
20 – MANCHESTER O2 Academy
21 – NEWCASTLE O2 Academy
23 – NOTTINGHAM Rock City
24 – LONDON Roundhouse

* – I won’t really.

Norah Jones – The Fall [Review]

Norah Jones – The Fall [Blue Note]

I have a confession to make, and when I make it I ask that you please don’t judge me.  Okay, here goes… I Love Norah Jones, that’s right with a capital L.  I know, I know, how can you take a music blog seriously when the main contributor to said site is a fan of such Mum-Jazz-Lite shite?  Well, we all have our guilty pleasures, and Norah Jones is one of mine.  Wow, that’s such a relief to get off my chest.

So anyway, The Fall.  Well it seems that Norah Jones may have just recorded an album that could sway the opinion of those who’d scoff at my admission of love for her, if only they’d give it a chance.

Roping in producer/engineer Jacquire King [Kings Of Leon, Modest Mouse, Tom Waits] as well as a smattering of collaborators as Ryan Adams and Okkervil River’s’ Will Shelf won’t harm her new found indie-lite credentials.  And neither will the music itself.  As you’d expect it’s laid back, but this is the kind of laid back you feel Norah Jones has strived to make ever since being crowed the queen of Jazz.
Jones’ warm and husky voice lends itself perfectly to this hushed, organ-led ‘Chasing Pirates’, a song so charming it feels like a hug from a missed loved one, a tone that couldn’t be further from the Blondie-esque ‘It’s Gonna Be’, a moment that see’s Jones saunter throughout with a swagger Mick Jagger would be proud of.

And though her collaboration with Ryan Adams isn’t as strong as the their previously released duet, ‘Dear John’ from Adams’ ’ Jacksonville City Nights, ‘Light As A Feather’ has just enough beauty within its country exploration to put some wishful thoughts into my head that these two will one day record a full length album together.

Overall The Fall is a great little album and a total joy to listen too.  It may not win-over those who’ll never get past Jones’ initial musical output, and it may not make Norah Jones “cool”, but who cares.  It’s good music and that’s all that matters.

The Fall – Released on 16th November, 2009 via Blue Note

Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures [Review]

Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures [Sony]

The term “super group” is sure to raise an eyebrow, a wry smile and a certain level of trepidation from anyone who considers themselves to be a passionate music fan.  And rightly so as the much-hyped “super groups” usually turn out to be not all that super, despite the sum of their parts being so.

And for a moment, the panic, the smile, the eyebrow were all in full effect when worst got out about the Them Crooked Vultures project, a heady mix containing a Zeppelin, a Foo, and a Queen of The Stone Age.  Could it really be as good as it should be?

Well after 3 minutes of opening track ‘No One Loves Me & Neither Do I’, I realise something… It really can be as good as it should be as the year’s biggest riff rips its way through my head kicking every single doubt clean out of my ears and swiftly replaces the vacant space with the grooviest guitar music I’ve heard in years.  Finally a release to come out of 2009 that’s unashamedly rock and roll, and it’s a total joy.

Granted the album’s influence seems to be leaning heaviest towards guitarist/vocalist Josh Homme, throughout the album there are enough flashes of greatness that reveal the level of influence both John Paul Jones’ [Bass] and Dave Grohl’s [Drums] had on the project and those are really the moments to savour.  Lead single ‘Mind Eraser, No Chaser’, is two-parts Foo Fightersy big-chorus-driving riff , swallowed down with a Queens Of The Stone Age like swagger.  The blues-laden ‘Elephants’, a healthy dose of stomping Zeppelin mixed in with a bit of QOTSA chaos.  And though that sounds a touch formulaic, this is what you want when these super elements collide.  The culmination of the best parts of their respective outfits, blended together make something strangely familiar yet wholly new to the ear.

Them Crooked Vultures is never going to be regarded as an album steeped in originality, but it will be remembered for bringing three of rock music’s most prominent figures [all masters of their respective weapons of choice] together and in doing so they’ve created a great rock record that will stand up proud, chest puffed out, head held high in a year that seems to be strangely absent of loud, unapologetic rock music.

Alberta Cross; Bush Hall, London; 17th November, 2009

It seems that despite being the support band of choice for more than a handful of million-sellers touring the lengths and depths of the UK, New York’s Alberta Cross have absolutely no ego what so ever.  They amble up on stage to set up and tune their own instruments before a packed Bush Hall, waving to those they know in the crowd and having idle chit-chat with others stood close enough to be heard.  Though as soon as they launch into debut album opener ‘Song 3 Blues’, you feel that that the “Rockstar Ego” can’t be far off, and after tonight’s display rightfully so.

The crowd sing along at the top of their lungs throughout the entire evening and the smiles stretched across the collective faces of Alberta Cross can be seen all the way over in Hammersmith.  A pretty impressive feat for any band, let alone one which hasn’t had much in the way of hype or attention from many sectors of the music media since their debut EP release.

Running through a rather large chunk of their debut album Broken Side Of Time, ‘Taking Control’ and ‘Leave Us And Forgive Us’ are given an added punch in the live arena that shows just how loudly this band have grown apart from their humble Americana beginnings.  Though they haven’t abandoned it completely, ‘Low Man’ gets an airing, as does fan favourite ‘Lucy Rider’, receiving the biggest cheer of the night by quite some distance.

Yet it’s when the band seamlessly blend their spectrum of styles that the music really shines.

‘Rise From The Shadows’ is a song so expansive and textured that you can’t help but be taken in, losing yourself within every single second of its blissful seven-minute existence.  It’s about as perfect a song I’ve hear all year, and the band do it a great service live too.  There aren’t many bands who have songs as good as these and are forced to play them on stages this small, and as set closer ‘City Walls’ comes crumbling down to a deafening cheer and applause, I can’t help but think Alberta Cross won’t be playing to rooms as cosy as this for much longer either.