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The Lovely Feathers : Hind Hind Legs
By Greg Swan, on March 31st, 2006%
The Lovely Feathers
Hind Hind Legs
Label: Equator
In Stores: April 18
Note to self: The Lovely Feathers are from Canada, and their forthcoming LP is incredible.
There’s something oddly appealing about rock groups from Canada that us Americans can’t quite figure out. Maybe it’s all the killer schwag so readily available in areas like Montreal, which just happens to be home to the Feathers. Maybe it’s the soft accents or the unspoken, yet underlying embittered hatred of America. Regardless, we tend to like them, and the same goes for The Lovely Feathers.
Their first LP, Hind Hind Legs is 13 tracks (5 re-recorded tracks from their . . . → Read More: The Lovely Feathers : Hind Hind Legs
Border Crossing : Ominous
By Greg Swan, on March 31st, 2006%
Border Crossing
Ominous
Label: Recall/Sound Recordings
Border Crossing is a collective of West London musicians and producers who have an unusually varied musical style — Alex Angol, Seorais Graham and Paul Mulvey. By combining Hip Hop, R&B, Dancehall, Reggae and Chill Out, their albums are literally a party in themselves. While I’m not particularly a big fan of newer rap artists, I do like Massive Attack and Portishead, and I think this album fits right in the middle.
“Ominous” features various vocalists and MCs who each bring their unique flavor to the tracks — rapper Usmaan (“In Your Area”), Roots Manuva’s MC Ricky Rankin (“Dance . . . → Read More: Border Crossing : Ominous
MySpace Announces Band Competition Winner
By Greg Swan, on March 30th, 2006%
And the winner of the MySpace Calling All Bands unsigned band competition is… The Parlour Boys from Lexington, KY. The group beat out 4,000 entrants thanks to their single, “Lovers”.
The band will have their song turned into a full-song music download, music video, ring tone and ringback tone that will be released on Verizon Wireless’ V CAST service. They’re also the first group to release a single on a mobile-only platform — a strategy that may cost more than the group earns back for Verizon.
The group’s EP costs $5, so who wants to spend $1.99 for a snippet of a more-or-less . . . → Read More: MySpace Announces Band Competition Winner
Apple Releases Volume Limiting Firmware for iPods
By Greg Swan, on March 30th, 2006%
From Digital Music News today:
Apple has turned down the volume on its iPods, or at least released firmware to do the trick. The update will allow customers to create a maximum volume limit on their players. The biggest beneficiary of the update will probably be parents, who can now skip a headache-producing battle with their children.
For Apple, the move follows a rash of reports pointing to possible hearing damage, especially among those that listen to their iPods at high volumes over prolonged periods of time.
Now I’m still really amazed by this. It’s essentially the McDonald’s “gee-the-coffee-is-hot” situation. I can’t believe Apple . . . → Read More: Apple Releases Volume Limiting Firmware for iPods
The Vacation : Self-Titled
By Greg Swan, on March 29th, 2006%
The Vacation
Self-titled
Label: Warner Bros / Wea
In Stores: April 25, 2006
The Vacation’s self-titled debut hits stores in April — a Rick Rubin re-mastered and re-sequenced version of the group’s previously released album, Band From World War Zero (Echo/World’s Fair).
Like Mick Jagger with your mom back in 1971, Rubin turned this album on its head and screwed it sideways. And now with wide release of their self-titled debut, it will soon be obvious to many that The Vacation read every page of the rock ‘n roll playbook and are aiming to write a chapter of their own.
Like The Vines, the Rolling Stones and . . . → Read More: The Vacation : Self-Titled
Queen + Paul Rodgers
By Greg Swan, on March 29th, 2006%
David Krejci, inventor of the Cleophone, wrote a stirring review/essay about the Queen + Paul Rodgers show through the eyes of his daughter (whom he named Mercury), and it’s posted here on Jim Walsh’s Citypages blog.
My dad was a HUGE Queen fan, and definitely instilled a love of Queen in the classic rock archive that is my brain. You can see a big difference between Dave’s review and Ross Raihala’s negative one at the PiPress. Me? I didn’t have the cash to go either way.
photo stolen from . . . → Read More: Queen + Paul Rodgers
Nine Black Alps Speaks!
By Greg Swan, on March 27th, 2006%
Nine Black Alps
Everything Is
Label: Interscope Records
Nine Black Alps have met deserved success with Everything Is, their 12 track disc which was just introduced to the states on Feb. 28. Filled with heavy garage and grunge influence with some Nirvana, Interpol and even Franz Ferdinand mixed in.
In an exclusive interview thanks to our friends at Filter Magazine, Perfect Porridge interviewed Nine Black Alps guitarist David Jones to talk about the new album, f-ing music critics and smoking Marlboro Lights with white tips. Read on…
Continue reading Nine Black Alps Speaks!
New Music Monday – free MP3 downloads
By Greg Swan, on March 27th, 2006%
Why?
Elephant Eyelash
Label: anticon
Buy at iTunes Music Store
FREE MP3 Download “Sanddollars” (MP3, 192kbps)
Tullycraft
Disenchanted Hearts Unite
Label: Magic Marker Records
Buy at iTunes Music Store
FREE MP3 Download “Stowaway” (MP3, 192kbps)
Thee More Shallows
More Deep Cuts
Label: Turn Records
Buy at iTunes Music Store
FREE MP3 Download “2 AM” . . . → Read More: New Music Monday – free MP3 downloads
The Living Blue : Fire, Blood, Water
By Greg Swan, on March 27th, 2006%
Fire, Blood, Water
Label: Minty Fresh
It’s garage rock meets college radio…it’s The Living Blue. And as Alternative Press’s “Band To Watch In 2005,” they are definitely living up to the hype in 2006.
After putting out two albums under the moniker “The Blackoutsâ€, The Living Blue have a new name and label (Chicago’s Minty Fresh), and with their debut album, the Champaign, IL foursome are ready to prove the critics correct.
Rich in guitar-driven rock, Fire, Blood, Water is as tight as The Strokes’ Is This It? with the rockstar emotion parallel to any of those garage bands from Detroit. Read on…
Continue reading The Living Blue : Fire, Blood, Water
Klee : Jelängerjelieber
By Greg Swan, on March 26th, 2006%
Klee
Jelängerjelieber
Label: Minty Fresh (USA)
Klee, named after Swiss painter Paul Klee, means “Clover” and is a German-language pop group from Cologne, Germany. I’ve never been to Cologne, don’t know anything about the new wave music scene in West Germany and don’t speak more than 7th grade German.
But I do understand synth pop, of which this album is filled. While there are some bright spots, like the guitar/synth riff on “Mein Geheimnis” due mostly to expert production, tracks are all about the same — except for “Gold,” which borrows the bass line of “Blue Monday” but doesn’t do it justice. Regardless, fans of . . . → Read More: Klee : Jelängerjelieber
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