APRIL 15
The Afghan Whigs – Do to the Beast (first new album in 16 years; Sub Pop)
The Both (Aimee Mann and Ted Leo) – s/t (SuperEgo)
• stream: “Milwaukee”
Crookes – Soapbox (Modern Outsider)
• stream: “Play Dumb”
• video: “Play Dumb”
Deleted Scenes – Lithium Burn (Park the Van/ Nevado)
• video: “Stutter”
• stream: “Stutter”
Ex-Cult – Midnight Passenger (Goner)
• stream: “Mister Fantasy” Continue reading
1. Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory (Carpark)
2. Woods of Ypres – Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light (Earache)
• “Woods Of Ypres’ David Gold And Crash Test Dummies’ Brad Roberts: Doppelgängers”
Continue reading
Since David Gold is no longer alive, we’ll never get to hear him sing Crash Test Dummies’ “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm.”
But that shouldn’t stop Brad Roberts of fellow Canadians CTD from tackling Woods of Ypres at some point.
Long live the bass-baritone.
For musicians whose chief mission was to promote good vibes, it’s always seemed a bit odd that the guys behind The Grateful Dead went with that band name. But equally strange—and less widely discussed—is the group’s stylistic approach to its logo. Check out the above version and try to make the argument that it couldn’t be confused with a black-metal band’s titular style. Take Enslaved, for instance:
Dear In Flames,
Why have you allegedly titled your new album Sounds of a Playground Fading?
Sincerely,
A (concerned?) fan
Byrds of Paradise – TBA (Don Giovanni)
• Bad Penny download: “Barefoot Generation”
Cut Copy – TBA (TBA)
Dave Hause (Loved Ones guitarist/vocalist) – TBA (Paper + Plastick)
Iron and Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean (Warner Bros.)
Haroula Rose – These Open Roads (TBA)
Spectrals – Spectrals Extended Play EP (physical version; previously available digitally; Moshi Moshi)
• Bad Penny download: “Chip a Tooth (Spoil a Smile)” Continue reading
MGMT are still young. They’ve only put out two LPs. That said, the Brooklyn group led by Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser has toured a helluva lot, behind the platinum Oracular Spectacular and the more recent (and more commercially unfriendly) Congratulations. So why on earth haven’t MGMT, now four years old, played Florida till now? Continue reading
You say your band has a big following on Facebook? Well, San Francisco’s Exray’s can do you one better: One of their songs is featured in David Fincher’s related movie “The Social Network,” which appears well on its way to a Best Picture nomination. The experimental lo-fi group just released its debut EP; here’s a downloadable song from it – along with one of the bandmembers’ contribution to “My City Rules,” a new Bad Penny series. Continue reading
Over the years, James Jackson Toth has quietly proven himself to be one of the more undervalued American songwriters out there. Calling to mind a broad array of characters from the canon of great music – Captain Beefheart, Willie Nelson, Sun Ra and more – the man better known as Wooden Wand has been making a case that, perhaps, eventually, he should stack right up there with those legends. For the most poetic edition yet in the Bad Penny’s “Revising History” series, Toth touched on the Rolling Stones’ “Coming Down Again,” Guided by Voices’ “Chicken Blows,” Black Flag’s “Three Nights” and other songs he wishes he had made. Continue reading
