Today's Hotness: Seb Roberts, Primitive Painters, War On Drugs

>> Welsh twee-core wunderkinds Los Campesinos! are not the only act to issue two records in 2008. The increasingly curious Seb Roberts has returned with a second release on SVC Records for the year, the EP Yeah, Well, Coué's Dead. Mr. Roberts, a Canadian-born and one-time Baltimore-based ex-pat who has spent many of his recent years in Germany and Japan, released his SVC debut Exit Strategy in March (he had previously previously issued another nine records elsewhere under various names). While the full-lengthed Exit Strategy seemed to draw from mid-period Ministry and Stewart Copeland's Klark Kent project, the new collection is a more composed amalgamation of hypnotic, Fripp-esque guitar textures and the bending chimpgaze swirl of the finer Swirlies recordings. Some of the mechanistic tone of Exit Strategy persists in the new collection (which features a remixed version of Exit Strategy's "US Out Of NY"), as the repeated guitar figure that draws "Roll Deep" to a close is somewhat robotic (in contrast to Robert Fripp's more flowing loops). "Roll Deep" is more intricately constructed than a first listen will reveal: lazery synths streak low in the mix, as do spectral vocal tracks. And where's the chorus? Roberts has cobbled together this fairly gripping video for the track that provocatively pairs footage of baggy scene legends, fireworks and riot police. More overt in its Fripp referencing is Roberts' gorgeous odd-metered instrumental "False Positive." Yeah, Well, Coué's Dead was issued digitally Dec. 2, and you can purchase it directly from SVC Records here. The EP will also be available through the usual digital storefronts imminently, if it is not already.

Seb Roberts -- "Roll Deep" -- Yeah, Well, Coué's Dead
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[buy the EP from SVC Records right here]

>> Attentive readers will recall we noted last month the release of reconstituted California quintet Primitive Painters' new full-length Say It 'Til You Mean It. In doing so we reported that the album references the more guitar-centric work of alt. luminaries New Order. No song more pointedly refers to the legacy of the now apparently defunct-for-good Mancunians than Primitive Painters' album closer "Throw Your Heart To The Wind," which quotes the chorus of New Order's chillingly good "All The Way," the second track from the surprise 1989 triumph Technique (here's a live clip of New Order performing the track at Reading in '89). On the heels of the band's well-received record release show in California over the weekend the band has given us the OK to post "Throw Your Heart To The Wind" below. There's a lot to like: great drumming, crystalline layers of guitar and Dennis Crupi's lyrical exhortations to greater things.

Primitive Painters -- "Throw Your Heart To The Wind" -- Say It 'Til You Mean It
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[buy the record from the band right here]

>> It is worth mentioning for the record that, although the septet will not be coming to New England, The War On Drugs neverthless launch a tour this evening in Pontiac, MI. Only yesterday we named the Philly-based act's gloriously droning "Show Me The Coast" one of the ten best songs of the year. We expect our bestowing such an honor will result in mob scenes at these upcoming dates, but even so you should brave the crowds to see The War On Drugs, whose Wagonwheel Blues is one of the more under-appreciated gems of 2008 (it will appear on our top albums list next week).

12/09 -- Pontiac, MI -- The Pike Room at The Crofoot
12/10 -- Rock Island, IL -- Huckleberry's Pizza Parlor
12/11 -- Chicago, IL -- Schuba's
12/12 -- Bloomington, IN -- Bear's Place
12/13 -- Pittsburgh, PA -- Brillobox
12/14 -- Brooklyn, NY -- Union Hall
12/15 -- New York, NY -- Mercury Lounge
12/18 -- Philadelphia, PA -- Johnny Brenda's

Today's Hotness: Seb Roberts, The Anwering Machine, Spinto Band

>> Heretofore you probably had little idea what you would be doing April 14. Frankly neither did we, until we received an email this evening from Spoilt Victorian Child Records. You may recall the label issued the stunning debut EP from Texas-shoegaze behemoth Ringo Deathstarr last year. Well on the aforementioned date the rising label will issue Seb Roberts' Exit Strategy. Mr. Roberts was born in Canada, has apparently lived and rocked in Baltimore, and now splits time between Hamburg, Germany and Japan. Along the way he's released nine records under almost as many different monikers, which we suppose makes Exit Strategy his 10th? The two songs we've heard from the set (posted below) are sinewy, spare and fragmented rock numbers that slap together spoken word, feedback, forthright grooves and profanity into a strangely arresting product that would have played very well at the goth/industrial all-ages dance night we frequented in our youth. We hear similarities to Wall Of Voodoo, Police drummer Stewart Copeland's Klark Kent side project, and "Jesus Built My Hotrod"-era Ministry. There's a palpable Fall thing going on as well. Seriously. Seb Roberts' Exit Strategy will be issued digitally and on CD in the UK and Europe, and North Americans should be able to find the record via ITunes and Amazon. As an added inducement, both the digital and tangible releases come with full artwork and a link to download an additional album of improvised instrumentals called NO Sense, NO Feeling performed by Roberts and Tokyo-based psych unit NO.

Seb Roberts -- "U.S. Out Of N.Y." -- Exit Strategy
Seb Roberts -- "Man-Whore, Fashion Hag, and Former Neighbor" -- Exit Strategy
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[watch this page for your chance to buy this record]

>> Streaming radio outfit WOXY has finally posted here the March 13 live session recorded with indie pop upstarts The Answering Machine. Perhaps because the band has yet to release a full-length, the Manchester-based quartet still seems very much like a little secret. But The Answering Machine sounds huge in this WOXY session. They tear through a version of the superlative single "Silent Hotels" and the guitars sound bigger than on the recording, and the drums doubly so. The second track, "Your Father's Books" is new to us and very promising, particularly in the breakdown section. Suddenly this band is outgrowing it's lockstep dance rhythms a bit, and it is exciting to hear. Download the whole session at the link below.

The Answering Machine -- WOXY Lounge Act Session 3/13/2008
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>> We remember reading about the making of Spinto Band's new video "Summer Grof" [link] at some point, perhaps when we were researching the goings-on of the band in the fall around the time we saw them play Bowery Ballroom with Los Campesinos! and Johnny Foreigner. Anyway, on paper the concept seemed a little flat, but the clip is actually really fun, appealing as it does to the universal joys of the water balloon fight and food fight. And the clip's black and white rendering dovetails nicely with the nostalgic vibe that permeates Spinto Band's music like smoke in an old carpet. The Delaware-based septet play T.T. The Bear's in Cambridge, Mass. Friday, April 4, and if we can fit it in after an earlier commitment (meaning if we can keep awake) we hope to see the set. As we reported here about six weeks ago, Spinto Band is poised to release its eighth full-length, Moonwink, later this year.