Today's Hotness: The Red Cords, Shunkan, Pope

>> Art Is Hard turns out quality indie rock on the regular, but the caliber of its slate of 2015 spring releases appears without equal in the UK so far this year. While the Exeter, UK-based label only recently announced its 2015 singles series, the offering is a very fine successor to its previous efforts. Art Is Hard in prior years delivered to subscribers limited editions of fine rock tunes via postcard and pizza box, but this year its singles series offers new music via micro editions of square vinyl (you read that right) hand-cut in America and hand-stamped and hand-numbered by the label (as in years prior, the music will also be offered as a digital download to non-subscribers). The series is unsurprisingly called The Hand Cut Record Club, and its first offering is the garagey rave-up "Scratch It Off" from scrappy Falmouth, England trio The Red Cords. There's a faint echo of Misson Of Burma's rager "Peking Spring" in The Red Cords' undeniable number (perhaps it is because fronter Charlie's voice sounds a bit like Clint Conley's, perhaps it is just that first chord in the chorus), but the hip-shaking tune is probably more evocative of the blunt-force, early aughts sound proferred by White Stripes and The Hives, and is truly more straightforward and pop-leaning. The Red Cords have a couple older EPs on Bandcamp that are probably worth investigating. "Scratch It Off" (is there a b-side? we don't know! the record is square, damn it!) was released March 14. New singles in the series will be on offer every three weeks, which we believe means the next one comes 'round in a mere days, and there will be 15 in total.

All of that might fully occupy a lesser label, but Art Is Hard appears to be going full bore. On April 13 the label will release a new single from Shunkan, a New Zealand-based indie rock quintet centered around recent émigré Marina Sakimoto, who is originally from Los Angeles. Google tells us that band name can roughly translate from Japanese as "an instant" or "a moment." While that suggests a certain degree of ephemerality (and dovetails nicely with our undergraduate study of ukiyo-e), Shunkan's "Our Names" is immediate and vital, and recalls the gutsy sound of Leeds standouts Sky Larkin. Distorted guitars and a firm mid-tempo snare/kick cadence propels the tune as Ms. Sakimoto describes losing control at a house party. "Our Names" is already available for free download via the embed below, but it is also being released in a limited edition of 100 A6-sized comic books, which will run you £3.75. But wait! There's more! Art Is Hard is also prepping the release of a 12" vinyl comp called Family Portrait Pt. II, the follow-on to its sold-out 2012 Family Portrait comp which featured hitmakers of the day including Playlounge and Joanna Gruesome. Family Portrait Pt. II contains a brace of tunes from each of these up-and-comers: Living Hour, Abbatoir Blues, Fruit Bomb and Bruising. Based on the terrific preview track "Steady Glazed Eyes" from Living Hour, one can assume that the Art Is Hard sound is about to get a lot more reverby. The set will be released May 4 on the aforementioned vinyl and as a digital download; pre-order the vinyl right here. Finally, we encourage you to avail yourself of all of the embedded music below. It's first rate.







>> Word of mouth still matters, and in our over-shared era of overwhelming, quasi-social noise, it is perhaps more important than ever. Exhibit A is New Orleans power-trio Pope, who were brought to our attention by a noted Boston musician and fellow music fan a couple weeks back. Pope's ferocious debut album Fiction was released March 10 by Community Records. Blazing with '80s- and '90s-indebted noise-pop tunes that nearly all hover around the pop-crucial three-and-a-half minute mark, the collection pairs understated male vocals with pounding rhythms and hardcore-derived Marshall overdrive, which suggests all of the following: that Pope knows its way around the first third of the Dinosaur Jr. catalog (there's a tune on Fiction called "Bug," after all); that just maybe Pope is the southern U.S. answer to Canada's lauded Weed; or that Pope is some heretofore unknown cousin to the now late and lamented Ovlov (who announced they would definitely be disbanding -- they mean it this time -- Saturday). While most tunes in the New Orleans act's twelve-song set hew to the same structure –- little introductory fanfare, straight into a towering verse, short-and-sweet, etc. -– it's still easy to pick "Fast Eddy" as the highlight of the bunch (and not only because that was a childhood nickname of this reviewer in his early days of owning a BMX bike). The cut presents with tasteful and unusual chordings during the opening, and later, amid cymbal heavy drum blasts and churning distortion, dry vocals impress due to being both deep and seemingly strained, which creates a cool, mournful effect. Fiction is remarkably consistent and is definitely one of the best new indie-punk records we've heard to date in 2015. All of which makes us here at Clicky Clicky hope for more tips as good as the one that turned us on to Pope -- keep 'em coming! Order Fiction on vinyl from Community right here; the LP's first pressing is 500 pieces in purple and clear mixed vinyl. Houston-based Funeral Sounds issued Fiction on cassette in an edition of 100 clear cassettes with lilac print, in case moderately anachronistic media is your thing, and you can buy one of those right here. Or you can download it for free at Bandcamp here, whatever. Stream the whole coconut via the Soundcloud embed below. -- Edward Charlton

That Was The Show That Was: The Dirty Nil with Greys, Sneeze, Blessed State | O'Brien's Pub | 20 Aug.

[PHOTO: The Dirty Nil by Dillon Riley] Nothing like a good redemption story, yeah? Wednesday night's Canadian-guitar-slinger-heavy lineup at O'Brien's in Allston Rock City featured Ontario garage rockers The Dirty Nil, who were in town with tourmates/province-mates Greys. Not that either act in particular need redemption, but after a burger-flavored disaster in February, The Dirty Nil surely must have been grateful to finally bring the rock to Boston. We can report that the rock in question was brought, and most steadfastly. The good guys win!

Just this week The Dirty Nil unleashed a two-sided, 7" piece of media via Fat Wreck Chords, and the platter offers a tidy summation of the trio's quick-hit sound. Layers of thick, fuzzy chords and chunky bass lines surround frenetic, short-burst drum fills, while fronter Luke Bentham's unpolished vocals erratically swell into full-throated screams. The Nil deployed both new tunes Wednesday, with A-side "Cinnamon" even eliciting a bit of a sing-a-long among the crowd during its infectious chorus. Elsewhere, the band blasted through some hardcore-influenced and newer (at least to these ears) tunes, as well as few numbers from its scattered short-form oeuvre. The song that struck hardest was "Wrestle You To Hüsker Dü," whose in-the-pocket groove afforded Mr. Bentham the opportunity to let loose with some rock-star stage heroics. Bonus points go to bass player Dave Nardi and his impassioned anti-Tasty Burger rant and related "Fuck Tasty Burger" chant. Not that we wish the burger vendor any ill will, but we do like to see rabble being roused now and then. We've embedded both "Cinnamon" and its flip "Guided By Vices" below, and fans can purchase the 7" or MP3s of same from Fat Wreck Chords right here.

Carpark Records signees Greys closed out the show with its own brand of hyperkinetic post-hardcore fury. Playing tunes mostly from its recently released and blistering debut LP If Anything, the quartet did an immaculate job of replicating the tumescent, near-claustrophobic sound of the record on O'Brien's relatively small stage. Greys wasted no time getting to the should-be-hits, jumping from the buzz-sawing "Use Your Delusion" straight into its fireball LP-opener "Guy Picciotto" and then "Pretty Grim" without missing a beat. Other tunes from the record meshed nicely led up to a well-timed and well-received cover of Mission Of Burma's colossal rocker "That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate," making for a thrilling end to an excellent night of music. Carpark issued If Anything in June, and would be quite pleased to sell you a copy in one or more of a variety of formats that can be considered right here.

Local superfuzz maestros Sneeze batted second slinging tunes off its powerful sophomore LP Wilt as well as a handful of yet-to-be recorded tunes slated for a forthcoming release which the trio claimed would be in the public sphere in "a year or two." The more we listen, the better Wilt sounds, and the same can be said for each live show we catch from the trio; buy Wilt from Glory Kid right here. Rising Western Mass. punx Blessed State -- which features at least one former member of erstwhile progressive beard-core foursome They And Their Children -- opened the night with tunes taken from its well-received debut full-length Head Space, which can be purchased here. -- Dillon Riley

Rock Over Boston: Mission of Burma | 01.19.2013

[Mission of Burma with Reports at the Sinclair, Cambridge, MA 1/19/2013. Photos by Michael Piantigini.]

Mission of Burma: Intertubes | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Reports: bandcamp
The Lyres/DMZ: Intertubes | Facebook

Rock Over Boston: Mission of Burma | 1.20-1.21.2012

[Mission of Burma (and Shepherdess) at the Brighton Music Hall, Allston, MA 1/20 and 1/21/2012. Photos by Michael Piantigini.]

Mission of Burma are a national goddamn treasure. When I'm President, I'm going to come up with some medal to give them like the one they gave McCartney where they have to do a Command Performance at the White House.

Ten years, thirteen days, and three albums or so into their reunion, Burma have been back at it for more than twice as long as their original run and, judging by recent interviews are still doing it for all the right reasons. It's true that they were just unpopular enough to make any long-term cash-in a largely fruitless endeavor - I suppose that's what the Pixies are for - but they've always been the kind of band that keeps doin' it 'cause they're feelin' it. Hell, Burma sets where they don't play ANY of their oldies are not terribly uncommon, and people don't even get mad about it or nuthin'. They continue to come up with songs that stand up well to their iron-clad legacy.

Neither of these two sold out Brighton Music Hall shows were one of those shows, though most of their main sets were given over to brand new material filled-in with some of the better stuff from their modern era - I was as happy to hear "The Setup," "The Enthusiast," "Spider's Web," "Man In Decline," "1,2,3 Partyy!," and "Good Cheer" as anything else. That said, when, near the end of each night's set, Clint Conley mumbled the intro to "That's When I Escaped My Certain Fate," the club - and the band - exploded. It was classics from there on out and we were reminded yet again of the band's flexibility and musicianship - for every ponderous "Trem Two" or "Einstein's Day," there's a pure punk blast like "Ballad of Johnny Burma" or the Dils' "Class War." And, sure, let's throw in that obscure Alice Cooper cover ("Reflected" from 1969's Pretties For You) while we're at it.

Everyone was in top form - Roger Miller slashed at his guitar, moving effortlessly between power chords and mind-bending leads, Clint Conley cut a lanky figure, his muscular basslines driving the bus, and Peter Prescott practices understated devastation on drums. Next time you see them, grab a spot with a good view of him - it's amazing to see, and his feral yells show him to be the heart of the operation. Let's not forget Bob Weston's loops here either. If the complexity of the songs wasn't enough, Weston adds another layer of texture that helps set Burma above the rest.

There's still no announced label for the album their finishing up. Will someone please open up their checkbook and get this thing done?

- Michael Piantigini

Mission of Burma: Intertubes

Rock Over Boston Over Hoboken: Yo La Tengo Hanukkah Residency

[Peter Prescott sings the Volcano Suns' "Cover" at the night 5 of Yo La Tengo's 2010 Hannukah residency at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ 12/5/2010. Photo by Michael Piantigini. More here.]

It's sort of like when Boston sold out nine nights at the Centrum in the 80's, except Yo La Tengo does it every year (when they're not on tour, at least).

Every 25th of Kislev (I looked that up), they bogart the schedule of Maxwell's - their legendary Hoboken hometown home base club - to celebrate Hanukkah with an 8 night stand. The only Hanukkah actually visible is the old-school electric menorah sitting on bassist James McNew's formidable amplifier, but these shows are their own sort of revival. Over the years, they've developed their own tradition: the openers are always a surprise - never announced in advance (at least until the first person with a Twitter account arrives at the club), there's a comedian, a mix CD by one of the band or someone close, and the money goes to charity. Sounds good to me.

Watching the coverage of the shows leading up to our night (5) was excruciating - M Ward? Parting Gifts? Jeff Tweedy? SYL JOHNSON? How could they possibly top those?

Mission of Burma has been laying low of late, and they've apparently been writing songs. After opening with "Nu Disco," they tore through a half-dozen or so great new ones before settling into fun cover times: Cream's "NSU," Brian Eno's "7 Deadly Finns," Buzzcocks' "I Don't Mind," an amazing Wipers' "Youth of America," closing it out with a raging run through the Dils' "Class War." The dark, low-ceilinged Maxwell's recalled the smaller clubs that Burma haven't really had to play in their second life. Man does it work for them: Peter Prescott's now-mandatory sound baffle barely contained him, and the now leonine Roger Miller was animated and nearly wild, slashing through impossible chords.

There's not really any info on when we might hear that new Burma album, but I am now officially anticipating it eagerly.

How very clever of Yo La Tengo to provide a comedic palate cleanser, because Burma was hard to follow. It was even tougher for comedian Wyatt Cenac, I'd imagine. How do you get a crowd energized by punk rock and anticipating the headliner to pay attention to your talking? Luckily, the crowd was friendly and jubilant and Cenac mostly connected for his brief set.

I'll try not to gush too much about our hosts, but it ain't easy. Yo La Tengo have proven to be so versatile and reliable over the years and though it would be natural to worry how a band can maintain momentum through an 8 night stand, one needn't.

Yo La Tengo makes a point of keeping things interesting for themselves, as well as their fans; sometimes they're on the road telling stories and playing acoustic, sometimes they're live-soundtracking old undersea nature films, and sometimes they're just making noise (and, in the new year, they're apparently doing all that, plus acting and more). Sunday night's opening set demonstrated that versatility: after easing into things with landmark album I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One's gentle instrumental "Green Arrow," they wound up the buzz with "Evanescent Psychic Pez Drop" from a 1996 split single with Stereolab, leading to guitarist Ira Kaplan working up his first guitar freak-out of the night in "Flying Lesson (Hot Chicken #1)." Turning on a dime, the band instantly hushed the-now frenzied crowd with And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out's confessional "The Crying of Lot G." The mood swing was breathtaking.

The rest of the set was just as varied, with the old and the new; the quiet ("Pablo and Andrea"), the poppy ("Sugarcube"), and the frenzied ("Mushroom Cloud of Hiss"). The band showed no signs of flagging energy, playing with as much intensity as I've ever seen them.

The night's Boston-based undercurrent continued at the top of the encore when the high bidder of an auction benefiting WFMU turned in a more than credible take on Jonathan Richman's "Astral Plane" with a Roger Miller-abetted Yo La Tengo's backing. How cool must that have been?

Swapping out one Burma for a pair, Bob Weston (who had been sitting in with Yo La Tengo all night doing the live sound collage-ing he does with Burma) strapped on a bass while Peter Prescott led his partial Volcano Suns lineup/Yo La Tengo mash-up through a version of the Suns' "Cover" that left me itching to see another full Suns reunion or maybe a reunion of the Prescott-fronted Kustomized.

The rest of Burma joined in for the last trio of covers capped off by Burma-associates Dredd Foole and the Din's "So Tough."

Yes, yet even more Boston. It was super nice of those Mets fans to be so welcoming of us Sox fans.

-Michael Piantigini

Don't miss Ira Kaplan's Hanukkah Diary.

Yo La Tengo: Internets | MySpace | Facebook | Twitter
Mission of Burma: Internets | MySpace
Wyatt Cenac: Internets | IMDB

That Was The Show That Was: Mission of Burma | The Paradise | 16 Jan.

[File Photo: Jay Breitling] You’ve gotta give the guys in Mission Of Burma credit. They haven’t been content to just get the old band back together and play somewhat lucrative gigs at festivals and in college towns (I’m looking at you, Pixies).

Since reuniting in 2002, the storied Boston-based trio has already surpassed its 1979-1983 output: Mission Of Burma has released three excellent studio albums and managed to maintain the blistering live sound it developed the first time around. Over the weekend Burma played two shows at the Paradise to showcase material from its latest album, The Sound The Speed The Light (Matador).

On Saturday, the band played to a near-full house and, as with the several shows I’ve seen them do over the last eight years, they showed no signs of slowing down. Maybe they don't play as many gigs as they used to, but the ones they do play pack a punch. Unlike previous Burma shows, the crowd at the Paradise Saturday seemed a lot younger. Guitarist-singer Roger Miller and bassist-singer Clint Conley kept up a breakneck pace while drummer-singer Peter Prescott kept things light with plenty of his patented hollering and between-song wisecracks. Bob Weston provided tape loops from his perch at the mixing board.

Miller, whose problems with tinnitus led to the band’s 1983 breakup, no longer wears the industrial headphones onstage, opting for in-ear plugs. As with fellow ’80s indie rock guitar gods J. Mascis and Bob Mould, Miller continues to play at ear-splitting volume. Conley pounded out frenetic bass runs and seemed to have fun responding to Prescott’s remarks and pointing out familiar faces in the crowd.

The 75-minute set was packed with songs from the three newer albums -- "1, 2, 3 Partyy!!!" and "SSL83" from the latest release and "Spider's Web" and "2wice" from The Obliterati were standouts -- as well as choice cuts from the band's first incarnation. These included "The Ballad of Johnny Burma," "This is Not a Photograph," "Dumbbells," and the post-punk classics "Academy Fight Song" and "That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate." Conspicuously absent was the band’s signature song, "That’s When I Reach for My Revolver."

Burma also broke out a few brand new songs, including "Hi Fi," which Prescott announced was "fresh off the production line." If the new stuff is any indication, it looks like we can expect more great things from the band in the future. -- Jay Kumar

Mission Of Burma -- "1, 2, 3 Partyy!!!" -- The Sound The Speed The Light
[right click and save as]
[buy Mission Of Burma releases from the band here]

Mission Of Burma: Internets | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Previous Mission Of Burma Coverage:
That Was The Show That Was: Mission Of Burma | 6/14/2008
Today's Hotness: The Notwist, Mission Of Burma, Yah Mos Def
Today's Hotness: Hockey Night, The Cure, Mission Of Burma
Review: Not A Photograph | The Mission Of Burma Story [DVD]

Agenda: Varsity Drag "Night Owls" Release Show, Et Cetera

Perhaps there is a subset of rock 'n' roll fans who either like being told what to do or recognize that they benefit from such firm direction. If this sounds like you, listen up: the editorial team at Clicky Clicky has quietly conferred and has set the agenda for the coming weekend in Boston, a weekend as chock-a-block with high-grade indie rock as we have seen for some time. Our approved itinerary goes like this: you will see Joe Pernice at Lizard Lounge Thursday at 8PM _sharp_ (this is an early show and we've read that tickets are moving); on Friday night you will go to Church and see Varsity Drag's record release show for the late '09 pop punk gem Night Owls; and on Saturday you will go see Mission of Burma. Sure, there are some alternate plans. We know certain among you would rather sever a minor appendage than miss the Wrens show at Middle East. That's fine. After some soul searching the team has agreed that at this point you can probably skip a Burma show without fearing that they will take another 18-year hiatus. Maybe.

Varsity Drag, as you may have read in these digital pages, released a sophomore set (if you don't count live albums, perhaps you do, so be it) in the UK late last year called Night Owls (is the graphic starting to make sense now?). It was even named one of 2009's best by our own Michael Piantigini [full review here]. The Cambridge, Mass.-based trio is giving the collection a proper "how do you do" for the Americans Friday night. We think as far as physical media goes, the U.K. release is it, sadly, but Varsity Drag has made Night Owls available for download via its Bandcamp page here, so you still have an opportunity to express your appreciation for a job well done. For some time the band was also offering for free download a crackerjack live radio set via Bandcamp, too, but we think the offer has expired on that. Which is all the more reason for you to grab the MP3 below from same. See you Friday, at Church.

Varsity Drag -- "Night Owls (Live)" -- Live Owls: Varsity Drag Live On WMFO
[right click and save as]
[buy all manner of Varsity Drag records here]

Review: The Beatings | Late Season Kids [MP3]

The title to Boston-slash-New York rockers The Beatings' sixth full-length evokes the surging success of a pro sports franchise making all the right moves perhaps when least expected. Nearly a decade into the band's career (and well into certain members' thirties, marriages and parenthood) is an unlikely time to have created its best, most confident record -- and yet here it is. Late Season Kids is a triumph crafted by a quintet whose tenure is longer than many -- if not most -- big-leaguers and rock acts alike.

Although The Beatings continue to calculate the musical mean of noisy indie rock a la Superchunk and Mission of Burma, the band hasn't been coasting. It recently added the latest in a series of fifth members: Greg Lyon, who fronts and plays guitar for Beatings label mates Pending Disappointment, has been officially dubbed (drubbed?) a Beating. As far as the music is concerned, the band purports to have embraced a more pop direction on this latest collection. This we can confirm, but don't expect Barry Manilow here. Instead, The Beatings furnish a ready supply of its familiar fist-pumping anthems, such as the four-on-the-floor "Youth Crimes," with the fivesome's typical noise quotient dialed back somewhat in certain places. The subdued and downright spooky "Ways And Means," sung by bassist Erin Dalbec, is a taut, but calming deep breath later in the album. The Tony Skalicky-sung closer "Dreams Of The Waking" both recalls Versus'/The Godrays' "Crazy" and sounds like the cover closing on a book.

But not everything is toned down. The redemptive caterwaul of co-fronter E.R. drives the album highlight "All The Things You've Been Missing" repeatedly into a chorus built on a scalding baptism of blaring, reverbed guitars. At the break-down he spits lines that recall Lloyd Dobbler dialogue, before spinning the song on its side like a bottle cap into a jabbing, acerbic coda. The following track, the thriller "Parts-Per Notation," leads with the almost comically understated line "I think I'm going to explode" (reinforcing the earlier sentiment "it takes all of my patience not to lose control" from "Youth Crimes").

On Late Season Kids the band swings for the fences and connects like batters in their prime. The propulsive energy captured within the set -- but to a lesser extent in the respective side projects fronted by E.R. and Mr. Skalicky -- suggests that The Beatings' secret weapon is the all-business but unflagging rhythm section comprised of Dennis Grabowski and Ms. Dalbec. The Beatings released its prior set Holding On To Hand Grenades on Midriff in 2006. The band celebrates the release of Late Season Kids with a record release show at Boston's Great Scott Sept. 12 (with support from label mates Hands And Knees and rising indie pop superlatives The Hush Now). The official release date is Sept. 15.

The Beatings -- "Bury You" -- Late Season Kids
[right click and save as]
[buy Beatings records from Midriff right here]

The Beatings: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Previous Beatings Coverage:

That Was The Show That Was: The Beatings | TT The Bear's
Year-End Wrap Party: Eight Records You Should Have Heard In 2006
The Beatings' Holding On To Hand Grenades review

That Was The Show That Was: Mission Of Burma | Paradise Rock Club

It is consistently tempting to lead a piece about a Mission Of Burma show with some acknowledgment of the band's age. This, of course, is due to the fact that few -- if any -- bands have been able to write strong material and offer electrifying performances into middle age (of course, the band did have a nineteen-year break). Today's elder statesmen of commercial rock (Mick, Keef, Pete, Paul, Bob etc.) are largely expected to underperform, and endeavor in excercises that only occasionally redeem themselves. But Mission Of Burma's remarkable resuscitation in 2002 has proved so artistically successful that it calls into question not how is it that one of the best bands going be comprised of middle-aged guys, but why is it that so few performers of the vintage of Messrs. Conley, Miller and Prescott produce -- and recreate live -- compelling, intelligent and powerful music? Put more simply: why does everybody else who sticks with rock music for the long haul suck, when Burma made it look so easy last night?

Thursday night was the first of a handful of dates this summer during which Mission Burma performs one of its two landmark pre-caesura commercial releases in its entirety. Our friend KoomDogg attended Thursday night's re-enactment of Signals, Calls & Marches and dubbed it a "kicking of the ass" in an email to us the next morning [read his review here]. At 11:30 last night the storied Boston trio hit a spine-tingling crescendo as it powered through "That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate" and closed its performance of its 1982 full-length Vs. The deservedly hyped performance of the album front-to-back was the centerpiece of about 90 minutes of music that included two encores. The performers were loose, Prescott was typically loquacious and irreverent, old scenesters were in the house (and on-stage between sets) and Burma did not disappoint anywhere along the sonic strand from "Secrets" to "Fate;" "Weatherbox" got a particularly bracing workout. The encores included "Devotion" from Signals, Calls & Marches and highpoints from the band's 2004 set The Obliterati "2wice," "Spider's Web" and "Let Yourself Go." All the while the band hopped, howled, swore, stomped and grew sweat circles across their shirts.

Mission Of Burma continues its sporadic schedule of promotional dates for the reissues tonight in New York; we've listed all the dates we're aware of below. We shot some pictures of last night's show and you can check them out here. We're no great shakes with a camera, but this should give you an idea of what it was like pressed against the front of Conley's side of the stage with the house-sound woofers pushing the air so hard at pants level that our pants were jarred with each kick drum thud.

Mission Of Burma -- "This Is Not A Photograph" -- Signals, Calls & Marches
[right click and save as]
[buy the reissues of Signals, Calls & Marches, Vs., and The Horrible Truth About Burma from Matador right here]

Mission Of Burma: Internets | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

06/14 -- Bowery Ballroom -- New York, NY (Signals, Calls & Marches)
06/15 -- Bowery Ballroom -- New York, NY (Vs.)
06/27 -- First Unitarian Church -- Philadelphia, PA (Signals, Calls & Marches)
06/28 -- Black Cat -- Washington, D.C. (Vs.)
07/18 -- Pitchfork Festival -- Chicago, IL (Vs.)
07/19 -- Bohemian National Home -- Detroit, MI (Signals, Calls & Marches)

Today's Hotness: The Notwist, Mission Of Burma, Yah Mos Def

>> We knew the day would finally come when definitive news about German electropop geniuses The Notwist's new and seventh record would break. But we're never quite prepared for that tingle when you've first received the news and you hear the awesome and you're all "yeah!" So anyway, today is that day. The news is that The Notwist's long, long awaited follow-up to 2002's masterwork Neon Golden is titled The Devil, You + Me, and the set will be issued in North America by Domino in early June. Which according to our calendar means either June 3 or June 10. The Devil, You + Me took almost two years to record (there is a new clip posted at Notwist.com today that shows more of the recording sessions); the sessions also included contributions from a small orchestra called the Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra, which we surmise is the name of the group of players we noted when we wrote about the recent bubbling-up of Notwist goings-on here. The new set touts eleven new tracks, and the lead-off cut "Good Lies" is already available for free download. "Good Lies" is very similar to the material on Neon Golden, although perhaps it is slightly more guitar-oriented and dense. The electronic flourishes and clicks remain, although they are muted on this track. In fact, there are places where the song almost rocks, in the Bavarian trio's (you'll recall that we reported here that founding drummer Martin Messerschmidt has left the band) typically understated manner. European and UK-based fans will have a number of chances to see the act when it tours in the last week of April and subsequently in small clutches of dates through the end of June. No U.S. tour dates have been disclosed yet.

The Notwist -- "Good Lies" -- The Devil, You + Me
[right click and save as]
[watch the Slang Store here for pre-order info on the import]

>> Have you been watching the Matablog YouTube clips about the mastering of the reissues of the Mission of Burma catalogue? Shizz is fascinating. We guess if you don't believe that the conversion of sound waves to grooves of varying widths in vinyl using archaic analog machines is magic, then perhaps these clips aren't for you. But this is the sort of gearhead stuff we know too little about yet have an insatiable curiosity about. Clip one concerns vinyl mastering; clip two concerns physically cutting the master. If gearhead stuff is not up your alley, why not check out this newly posted video clip of Mission Of Burma performing "Eyes Of Men" in 1979 or 1980 over at KinoDV? Incidentally, it's really amazing how similar young Clint Conley and young, short-haired Robert Smith look. Anyway, the reissues of Signals, Calls & Marches, Vs. and The Horrible Truth About Burma will be released by Matador March 18; you can pre-order the whole lot for $33 from the label right here. We just did, and it felt good.

>> The Swimmers' release isn't the only news out of Philadelphia these days. Post-hardcore rhymers The Yah Mos Def have finally issued their full-length debut Excuse Me, This Is The Yah Mos Def. New Jersey's own My Pal God Records issued the platter Feb. 12, and you can get it from the label here or you can get the radio-ready clean version from EMusic here. We're listening to the seven-song set right now, and it is entirely bananas. It seems like the band has taken to calling itself The YMD, likely for the same reasons that its MySpace page used to keep getting deleted. So folks searching for Excuse Me at EMusic need to search for "The YMD." Exuse Me contains a new version of the simply amazing song "The Beat That Makes The Native Nod;" we've posted a demo version of the track before, and it is so stirring we are posting it again. The version on the album is a little slicker and one of the rappers' delivery has gone pretty heavily in an Adrock direction, which is not entirely unwelcome.

Yah Mos Def -- "The Beat That Makes The Natives Nod" -- 2005 Demo
[right click and save as]
[buy Excuse Me, This Is The Yah Mos Def from My Pal God here]

>> Speaking of EMusic, did you know you could download Welsh twee terrorists Los Campesinos!'s Hold On Now, Youngster... over there already, despite the fact the record doesn't street until April 1? Speaking of, Insound.com totally has the hook-up on this record, which is why we just pre-ordered it from them. The online music store is selling for $17 an exclusive double-CD version of Hold On Now, Youngster... that includes on the second disc the The International Tweexcore Underound! EP. And as icing on the cake you'll get an 11x17 poster and some stickers. There are limited quantities of the double-disc version, but Insound isn't saying how limited, so take that for what it is worth. If you hit this link and enter the coupon code "loscampblog10" you'll get the set for 10% off. That 10% doesn't cover more than about half of the shipping charge, but hey, you love Los Campesinos!, right? Fortunately for you the band plays Boston's Paradise Rock Club May 21; tickets go on sale this Saturday at noon.

That Was The Show That Was: The Beatings | TT The Bear's

With not a small amount of oddly felt civic pride, we finally saw -- after 18 months of digging the band -- Boston indie rockers The Beatings ply their craft at TT The Bear's Thursday night. The quartet roared through a 10-song set that for us fondly recalled seeing the mighty Superchunk touring On The Mouth in 1993. We're sure that The Beatings long ago tired of Superchunk comparisons, as the groups invite overly simplistic comparison because they share the sort-of classic '90s indie composition of twin guitarists and a woman on bass.

We don't use the 'Chunk comparison to dumb down what we saw Thursday, however, but rather as a shorthand to convey the pogoing intensity, slashing feedback and joy of performing we saw. We suppose if the band wasn't a quartet we could make similar comparisons to Husker Du or the recently re-awesome-ified Mission Of Burma. The larger point to be made is The Beatings trade in rough-hewn and powerfully delivered rock tunes. The odd sense of civic pride? We don't know... The Beatings were so good, we felt glad that they are from Boston. We suppose we should have actually been feeling stupid, since it took us so long to turn on to the band, considering they've been releasing records for almost as long we we've lived in The Hub. But we digress...

The foursome blasted through a career-spanning set (set list below, transcribed from a not-quite-legible sheet guitarist Tony Skalicky worked from, so we're not certain of all the titles). One highlight among many was a new, dare-we-say poppier number that the band had only practiced twice called "Cam New" (as in, Cameron's new song). It's upbeat, has a melodic bass line and is fairly straightforward, and we're hopeful that it will appear on the next Beatings record. Another brighter bright spot was the concise scorcher "CoIntelPro," from 2006's excellent long player Holding On To Hand Grenades. That record, incidentally, was humorously plugged by bassist Erin Dalbec in a lull during the set, who then teased herself for sounding like Kasey Kasem. We're linking to a pair of songs below that The Beatings played Thursday. And here is a Flickr set of photos we shot during the show. Keep your eyes out for a new full-length from the band by the end of the year, as well as a new EP from Beatings guitarist ER's side project of the same name we first mentioned here last month.

The Beatings -- "CoIntelPro" -- Live On WBCN Boston
The Beatings -- "Twins" -- Italiano
[right click and save as]
[buy Beatings recordings from Midriff Records here]

Summer (?)
Scorched Earth Policy
Twins
Shark Attacks Are On The Rise
Instrumental
Cam New
Burn Down The Jungle
Nothing
CoIntelPro
A Responsible Person

The Beatings: InterWeb | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Today's Hotness: Hockey Night, The Cure, Mission Of Burma

>> Late word here this afternoon from More Cowbell is that Minneapolis-based indie rockers Hockey Night have broken up. Citing a post at Daytrotter, the blog reports that two members, guitar players Paul Sprangers and Scott Wells will continue working together on a new project that has already been signed to an imprint operated by those DFA Records/LCD Sound System fellows. There's more information at the link above. Hopefully, you've already heard Hockey Night's irresistable rocker "For Guys Eyes Only;" if not you can stream it over at the erstwhile band's MySpace hut here. The band also recorded a Daytrotter session including the song that you can check out right here.

>> We find it inconceivable that some may not read Boing Boing daily, nay, hourly, but in case you don't, or in case you didn't read today, the venerable web outlet posted here links to vintage videos of punk legends, including Boston-based luminaries, performing live. The quality of the clips we viewed is excellent. Definitely check out this clip of The Cure performing "Secrets" (as a quartet) at The Underground in 1980; Mission Of Burma performs "Peking Spring" at The Space in 1979 here. The Burma clip was included at least in part in the recent Burma documentary "Not A Photograph" (which we reviewed here in December). Anyway, click around, there's also a bunch of other videos not filmed in Boston by bands including Buzzcocks, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Clash and The Specials. [UPDATE: we heard from KinoDV.net proprietor JC and it turns out that Buzzcocks clip was filmed in Boston, at the Bradford Hotel in 1980. La Peste opened the show and JC directed the shoot himself.]

>> Why don't we just turn this into a TV party tonight? Freakscene here today pointed to two vintage Dinosaur Jr. clips recorded in 1988 at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ, "back before the 'jr' was tacked on," as the poster quips. Here's a link to "Kracked," and here's a link to "Does It Float?" The sound quality is great and Murph has tons of hair. So wild.

>> Some programming notes: we'll be at the Fields/Blonde Redhead show tomorrow, and then Thursday we see the documentary "Zidane," which is soundtracked by Scottish post-rock dynamos Mogwai. We'll be back early in the weekend with a review of the Fields/Blonde Redhead joint -- since we pleaded with them to come to Boston in our review of their 7 From The Village EP, we feel a bit duty bound to show up. And you can stream all of Fields' forthcoming record Everything Last Winter here -- we're hoping hearing its track performed live will get us more excited about the record than we are since streaming it yesterday ourselves. Incidentally, we did see Ted Leo And The Pharmacists last Friday, but we took the show off from a journalism perspective. We hit the show with KoomDogg, however, and he briefly runs down the wildly entertaining proceedings in this blog post.