“The triumphant return of Wolfmother has arrived – in the shape of a rollicking behemoth of timeless rock n roll, Back Round.Available for all and sundry for download now from wolfmother.com, Back Round is the first tangible snapshot into the cosmos of Wolfmother’s second album.
A liberating avalanche of skull-crushing drums and primal riffing, Back Round represents a joyous evolution for the Australian band following on from their 2006 self-titled debut.
In lieu of cash payment for the new track, Wolfmother are encouraging fans to put their money in a righteous place and donate to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal at redcross.org.au.”
This couldn’t wait. Wire and the vocalist Example have refashioned indie-risers Rogues (pictured above) into a woffling-bass, electro and dubstep crossover that is so hot it should eventually hit mainstream. Palms Out Sounds have the exclusive track.
NIN, Janes Addiction, and Street Sweeper have cooked up a free EP of brand new songs available on the NINJA tour website (here). Just in case you weren’t aware Street Sweeper is the new project of Tom Morello and Boots Riley, so things might get a little funky and political. The new songs by NIN + JA sound great on first listen and actually make me want to get tickets. And Street Sweeper’s two songs on the EP might take the cake from the old-timers, I mean arena melters.
Pendulum needs some American love. They’e big in the UK and Australia, with a Gold album and massively sold-out shows/tours. But on these shores… Check out this video of ‘Showdown’, which would sound great in the new Crank movie. Don’t miss the section @ the 2:00 minute mark.
Finally someone has made a tasteful way for a DJ to rock this influential track at a party. Check out Gigamesh’s remix of Animal Collective’s My Girls.
This is one wild track that starts off downtempo, goes into 4/4 house, slides into breaks, and finally unwraps into full-blown drum n’ bass. It’s an apt title, as this is the song I imagine the family chanting as they navigate the cosmos.
Seven Pounds – Despite being pretentious, cheesy, very slow (I read three chapters during parts), and having a predictable, coming-from-a-mile-away “surprise!” ending; the execution of the final exquisite 30 minutes is lights-out and heartwrenching. Will Smith is great as usual, and Rosario Dawson shows what she’s made of towards the end of the film. I went from hating this struggling film to somehow getting knocked out in the final round. This is certainly a movie that will generate a wide spectrum of opinion, praise, and criticism. Rating: 6/10
Ironweed (released Feb. 24 on DVD) – Jack Nicholson in his prime as a drunk bum talking to dead people ala The Shining? Meryl Streep in a tour-de-force supporting role? Does it matter this film drones, mumbles, and stumbles along in places? Unfeasibly, this release comes only in full-screen, but it still looks very good considering. Nicholson’s performance seems heavily inspired by German actor Gunter Lamprecht’s turn as Franz Biberkopf in Fassbinder’s Berlin Alexanderplatz. The director Hector Babenco (Kiss of the Spider Woman) was a strange choice for this project, but Nicholson and Streep are the must-see show here. Rating: 8/10
The Midnight Meat Train - This is a frustrating example where you have a great story by Clive Barker and you have a screenwriter/studio who have completely missed the point by straying from the story. Why add an hour of fluff and diminish certain elements that made Barker’s story work? This studio needs to watch [REC] and realize a shorter movie without a formulaic Hollywood script can work. HP Lovecraft fans hoping to see ‘a glimpse’ will be sorely disappointed by the ending. That being said, director Kitamura does add some nice visual flourishes, and the hammer is a very effective addition. The slo-mo ‘eyes-popping’ scene (Warning: unrated and disturbing) is already classic. But all the missed opportunities I wonder at. Clive Barker talked about a trilogy for this, and maybe it will eventually get there. Rating: 5/10
I don’t think I can listen to the original version again after this, even if the video was especially clever. Thin White Duke is otherwise known as Jacques Le Cont, Paper Faces, producer of Zoot Woman, and Madonna re-inventor. Enjjjoy, and I’ll update as soon as a clean version is available.
This is one ghost film you don’t want to miss, and I’ll be very surprised if it isn’t the best of its kind (including the much advertised A Haunting in Conneticut) to be released this year. After floating around in limbo for some time it will have a Sci-Fi channel premiere on April 26th, but wait for the DVD to see the too scary for TV scenes. And make no mistake, you need to see this movie uncut, because it is unrelenting.
Famke Janssen stars and has been making nice career moves lately (Taken, The Wackness), and it’s not just her looks; this babe has some acting chops. The fact this movie all takes place in essentially one location gives even further credit to director Eric Red. In what seems like a tired genre lately, he turns into a how-to manual. This shouldn’t be a surprise really when you consider he wrote Near Dark and directed a pretty good werewolf movie in Bad Moon. If the movie resembles anything it is The Entity, and that is a compliment. And watch this movie at night; the tension really simmers and builds into a genuine explosive pay-off. Critics have honed in on the last five minutes, but that is really being picky if you ask me. Rating: 8.5/10
This is a fine disco-punk/dance-origins record, certainly rivaling LCD Soundsystem’s self-titled debut. Nancy Whang really establishes herself as a unique vocalist, and his male vocals are very reminiscent of early Human League. Expect this on many end-of-the-year lists. DL some tracks here. And buy.
2. Sei A – Editing Shadows
Best techno record of the year so far. Outrageous sound design and unique architecture. In what you’ll recognize is a pattern with the albums here, Glasgow producer Andrew Graham layers superb vocals as the icing on the cake. Listen over at Beatport.
3. Christian Fischer – Bryzant Games
This was actually a very close call to the above album, and it is somewhat connected by existing in roughly the same genre of techno/house. Another example of some great vocals taking the music over the top. You keep expecting a dropoff, but 16 songs into the album and your still dancing in place. Listen over at Beatport here.
4. Mistabishi – Drop
After a few years of stunning singles, the Bishi of drum n’ bass drops a worthy longplayer. Whether its printer machine mayhem (“Printer Jam”—DL), rockers with twisted lyrics (“Damage”), or uplifting anthems (“From Memory”), there’s enough here to entertain you for some time. Beatport listen.
5. Miss Kittin & The Hacker - Two
Miss Kittin just hasn’t been the same without her main music man The Hacker. Their first album was an electroclash classic, and this is certainly the best work they’ve done since. Neonized has standout “Party in My Head” for listen and DL.
6. Beirut – March of the Zapotec/ Realpeople Holland EPs
March of the Zapotec was recorded with The Jimenez band, a 17 piece outfit from a small town in Mexico, and is organic bliss. Couple this with the synth-bedroom-pop of Realpeople Holland and you realize Zach Condon not only can croon with the best of them, but is just damn brilliant. Amazon listen.
for some time it will have a Sci-Fi channel premiere on April 26th, but wait for the DVD to see the too scary for TV scenes. And make no mistake, you need to see this movie uncut, because it is unrelenting.
