Father John Misty has delivered the official video for “Please Don’t Die” [watch here], a standout from God’s Favorite Customer, out this Friday on Sub Pop and Bella Union. The new visual, which was helmed by returning director Chris Hopewell (“Things It Would Have Been Helpful Before The Revolution”), was constructed and filmed at Jacknife Studios in Bristol, UK.Continue reading →
Car Seat Headrest has unveiled another preview from forthcoming new album Twin Fantasy – a re-recorded, re-imagined new version of the 2011 self-released Bandcamp masterpiece of the same name – which will be released February 16th on Matador Records. The track was featured as Zane Lowe’s World Record on Beats 1.
Album opener ‘My Boy (Twin Fantasy)’ commences with the sparse declaration of “my boy, we don’t see each other much,” and blossoms into a towering climax, with the life-affirming mantra of “It’ll take some time, but somewhere down the line / We won’t be alone” standing as the statement-of-intent for the record’s exhilarating, adventurous sonic and emotional world.Continue reading →
In a society that values material possessions as a measurement of success, how do we rebuild the meaning of ‘ownership’ to give true power?
Singer-songwriter, producer and social anthropologist, Estère encourages us to think about the preceding question in her hyper-percussive new track ‘Rent’,out today.
This new track is accompanied by a stunning, dance-heavy video, which sees Estère twist her way around various physical obstacles, including an army of pink pastel doors. The dance was choreographed by Estère with Wellingtonian dancer Emma Martin, creating a dance sequence that is both powerful and playful.
“My movement [in the video] sometimes comes across a bit unpolished, gawky – which I think rings true to this idea of ownership and just doing what you would naturally do in your own body. It’s not about being the best,” Estère reflects.
The entrancing visual was filmed in the lush surroundings of the Waitakere Ranges, directed by Alexander Gandar (Humans) and produced by Billie Ruck. Photo credit – Shamima Lone.
‘Rent’ is the first taste of whats to come from Part Two of Estere’s forthcoming double album, My Design, On Others’ Lives. The two-part work is due for release on Friday 27th April. It will be available on CD and vinyl (via RPM), cassette (via Prison Tapes) and all digital platforms (via DRM NZ). Continue reading →
Wolf Parade are sharing a new, official video for “You’re Dreaming,” one of the standout singles from Cry Cry Cry, their acclaimed October 2017 album. Directed by Raymond Knight, the new visual was recorded live and filmed in studio, and is reminiscent of a late night TV performance, one that captures the unbridled energy of Wolf Parade’s stage show [watch here].
Cry Cry Cry is one of 2017’s best reviewed albums of the year, with praise from the likes of NPR Music, The Guardian, Mojo, Q, Uncut, Vulture, Drowned in Sound, SPIN, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, and year end notices from Uproxx, Under the Radar, Inc. and more.
Wolf Parade’s Cry Cry Cry, is available now on CD / 2xLP / DL / CS worldwide from Sub Pop, except Canada from Universal Music. The album was produced by John Goodmanson at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle and mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound in New York.
Cry Cry Cry is now available for purchase worldwide from Sub Pop, in Canada from Universal Records and Wolf Parade’s webstore [link here].
What people are saying about Wolf Parade’s Cry Cry Cry:
“Befitting the creative ambition of the group’s previous LPs, it serves as a full-throated burst of musical and thematic ideas…Cry Cry Cry is a big swing, artistically speaking, but it also dodges many of the pitfalls that face artists who try to chronicle an age of uncertainty and resistance without sounding ham-handed. Wolf Parade taps into the sound of modern disconcertment on Cry Cry Cry, but the album’s grandiosity is mostly restricted to the music itself — rousing, urgent, and always seeking out slivers of hope.” [“First Listen”] – NPR Music
“Cry Cry Cry is 21st century rock at its most delectably omnivorous [8/10].” – Uncut
Wolf Parade’s most vibrant, energetic record to date. [A-] – AV Club
“Cry Cry Cry is fully and completely a Wolf Parade record. The band not only sounds like itself, it sounds as good as ever.” [8.5/10] – Under the Radar
“Though energetic, their danceable chassis and sprawling melodies nevertheless feel weary, as if constantly grinding against some looming, countervailing force. It’s true that wearied, furtive anthems have always been Wolf Parade’s thing, but they feel especially right for these enervating times.” – SPIN
“…tightly-crafted tracks that contrast ebullient melodies…” – Uproxx
“Wolf Parade have always stood apart from their peers: always weirder, more complex and artier than the others with their dissonant punchy pop and gnarled edges…” – London in Stereo.
“Packed to the brim with stray melodies locked between the foreground and background that brighten the surroundings without stealing attention from the main action. Every note is meticulously functional, but displayed with a style of craft that rings miraculous rather than mechanical….The band plays it sharper and straighter than when we last left them, emphasizing economy in their experimentation and a professionalism in their power. It’s a cleaner, clearer direction after those previous albums. Importantly, it feels like a sustainable start to something new, hopefully something that’s here to stay — something this band can hold onto now that they seem ready to charge against everything that at one time had them on the run.” – Stereogum
“A colourful and melodic musical expansiveness… it finds them in rejuvenated form [4/5].” – Q Magazine
“Wolf Parade’s latest effort re-emphasizes the contrast between Boeckner’s raspy, emphatic vocal and Krug’s forlorn warble. Nearly every track on Cry Cry Cry starts simply with guitar, piano, or organ and layers in additional textures—horn blasts here, a flurry of electronic effects there—until the songs swell to kinetic, instrumentally dense climaxes [4/5].” – Slant
“This quartet’s first material in six years is a shimmering, bombastic blast.[4/5].” – MOJO
“Cry Cry Cry really has just about every kind of song you’d want from a great Wolf Parade album. “You’re Dreaming” is one of Dan Boeckner’s finest driving, Springsteenian rockers, with a two-word chorus that reminds you how much Dan can excel when he takes a less-is-more approach. “Valley Boy” is Spencer Krug’s most singalong-ready song on the album..” – Brooklyn Vegan
Yo La Tengo’s new album There’s a Riot Going On will be released on March 16th on Matador Records and can be pre-ordered HERE. This is a warm, ambitious record, a striking self-produced creation from one of the most celebrated and adventurous bands in rock history, whose dynamic range touches on pure noise and serene beauty and everything in between.
Featuring vocal appearances from Sampha, Giggs, Ibeyi, Obongjayar, Infinite, Wiki & Syd and instrumental contributions from Kamasi Washington, Damon Albarn, Rachel Zeffira, Peter Gabriel, Owen Pallett and more.
New song and video ‘Bloodshot Red Eyes (feat. Infinite and Green Gartside)’ released today.
From Twin Fantasy – out February 16
on Matador Records
* Playing at Auckland City Limits – March 3rd 2018 *
Car Seat Headrest today releases ‘Cute Thing’, the latest track to be previewed from forthcoming new album Twin Fantasy – a re-recorded, re-imagined new version of the 2011 self-released Bandcamp masterpiece of the same name – which will be out February 16th on Matador Records.
Following the release of singles ‘Beach Life In Death’ and ‘Nervous Young Inhumans’ (and its accompanying video that marked Toledo’s directorial debut), ‘Cute Thing’ is an ecstatic multi-part epic of unbridled yearning, flirtation, and abandon – pairing masterfully layered production with a combustible house-party reverie. Close listening will reveal an interpolation of They Might Be Giants’ ‘Ana Ng’, nods to James Brown and Frank Ocean (replacing the Bandcamp original’s nods to Dan Bejar and John Entwistle, respectively), and the unforgettable line “he died in an explosion / of mixed media / and poorly written reviews / and some stammering drunk who tried to tell him how good his shit was.”
With a seven-piece band in tow (including members of Naked Giants), Car Seat Headrest will bring its explosive and revelatory live show to New Zealand in early 2018 for Auckland City Limits on March 3rd, 2018 at Western Springs. Toledo and his band of troubadours first stepped foot in New Zealand for last year’s Laneway Festival in Auckland, proving to the southern hemisphere they are not ones to be missed! ACL festival details can be found here.