Tyler Ramsey (Band of Horses) Releases "The Valley Wind" in Advance of His Third Solo CD

The Valley Wind by tylerramsey After steadily writing while both on and off the road over the course of last year, Tyler Ramsey headed to Nashville, TN, to record his third album The Valley Wind at Alex The Great studio in early January. Friend and bandmate Bill Reynolds (who’s worked with The Avett Brothers and Lissie) produced and aided on bass, while friend Seth Kauffman (Floating Action) sat in on drums and guitar, also singing background...

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The Residents - "Ten Little Piggies" CD Review (Ralph Records)

After reviewing The Residents’ Randy’s Ghost Stories DVD and Lonely Teenager CD, I wanted to go back to where the music from the band’s Talking Light project first surfaced. In 2009, The Residents released a “futurist compilation” entitled Ten Little Piggies which consisted of fourteen tracks from ten projects that may or may not be released in the future. “The Unseen Sister” and “Talking Light” (both from the Talking Light tour) first surfaced...

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The Residents - "Lonely Teenager" CD Review (MVD Audio)

The Residents have been so prolific these days that it is hard to refer to any disc as “their latest”…so, the band’s latest “factory pressed / commercially available” CD, Lonely Teenager, is the latest in the series of discs that have been released around the current Talking Light project. A limited edition version of Lonely Teenager was sold on the Talking Light tour and the disc was commercially released in June on MVD Audio.This disc breaks from...

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Samantha Ronson Plays Bowery Electric on September 9th

This show is sure to draw an eclectic crowd...Uber-DJ Samantha Ronson (who is the one-time girlfriend of Lindsay Lohan, step-daughter of Foreigner's Mick Jones, sister of producer Mark Ronson, etc.) has started to play some live dates with her new band Samantha Ronson and the Undertakers. According to Huffington Post, the band played their first "real show" in July at the Blue Note Jazz Club and the "audience responded well to Ronson's songs and...

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D Generation Announce New Disc in 2012 / Show at Irving Plaza on Sept. 17th

I guess you can go home again -- twelve years after D Generation's last CD Through the Darkness and their "final" show at Coney Island High, D Generation are playing a eight city tour and have announced a new disc for 2012. The band will be playing material from their three full-length albums D Generation (EMI, 1994), No Lunch (Columbia 1996) and Through The Darkness (Sony 1999) and plan to write new material post shows for a release in 2012. Breaking...

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Thinning The Herd - "Oceans Rise" CD Review (St Mark's Records)

Oceans Rise by Thinning the HerdI missed Oceans Rise (St. Mark’s Records) when it came out (April 5th) and probably would have never gotten around to listening to this disc if I hadn’t received an email that it was going to expire from my promo pool. I’m glad that I grabbed this disc when I did as I would have been missing out a good thing. Oceans Rise is groove-based stoner metal crossed with a healthy dose of grunge and the disc sounds like what...

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Xoe Wise: Chicago Dream Pop Artist Plays Sept. Shows at The Living Room and The National Underground

DOWNLOAD: Xoe Wise - "Echo" (from Xoe's 2010 CD Echo)Chicago Innerview described dream-pop artist Xoe Wise as "the singer/songwriter and pop counterpart to Columbia native Chaz Bundick’s (a.k.a. Toro Y Moi) laconic chill-wave synth ballads. Both share an evanescent “dreaminess,” as if washing in the aquamarine surf of their native environs."Xoe will be playing two NYC shows next month: 9/7 @ The Living Room (9:30PM set time) and 9/9 @ The National...

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The Jesus Lizard - "Club" DVD Review (MVD Visual)

When thinking about audience-baiting lead signers, David Yow ranks up there with likes of Tesco Vee and Lee Ving. The Jesus Lizard’s new DVD, Club, captures the first night of the band’s 2009 reunion tour and Yow started off the set with the ‘joke’: "What's the difference between Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson? About 5 hours" before the band launched into an explosive version of “Puss”. Age hasn’t slowed The Jesus Lizard and you wouldn’t know...

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EULA Posts "Maurice Narcisse" as Free Download / Multiple Area Shows in September

DOWNLOAD: EULA - "Maurice Narcisse"Punk rock trio EULA is coming coming back through town next month and the band is playing five shows in Brooklyn over the course of the next few weeks.EULA is continuing to tour behind their new 10-track disc Maurice Narcisse which, in parts, sounds like the bastard child of Big Black. Check out QRO Magazine's in-depth review of the new disc. EULA Sept/Oct Tour Dates9/03-- The Lamp Post (Jersey City NJ) 9/10--...

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East Bay Ray & The Killer Smiles CD Review (MVD Audio)

Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray’s latest project, The Killer Smiles (out Sept. 13 on MVD Audio), may be the closest thing to a new DKs album since 1986’s Bedtime for Democracy. This new disc features Ray along with current DKs vocalist Skip McSkipster and Greg Reeves (who was the touring bassist for the DKs last year) along with drummer Steve Wilson. In a recent interview, Ray said that this new disc was originally conceived as a DKs disc...

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The Jam - "Trans Global Unity Express" DVD Review

There are a number of concert/music videos that I remember from the early days of VHS and Beta that never made it to DVD so the DVD release of The Jam’s "Transglobal Unity Express" concert film comes as a welcome surprise. This disc captures nine tracks from The Jam’s show at Bingley Hall in Birmingham on March 21, 1982 where the band was touring behind their final release, The Gift, which was released earlier that month.While this disc only captures...

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Thin Lizzy - "Bad Reputation" Deluxe Edition CD Review

Thin Lizzy’s Bad Reputation is the latest in an on-going series of deluxe reissues from the band. Breaking from the last set of reissues, this disc doesn’t include a second bonus disc but rather appends six bonus tracks to the original disc’s nine tracks to take the total running time up to 58 minutes. (Strangely, this reissue was originally announced as coming with a nine-track bonus CD).Bad Reputation was originally released in 1977 and the band...

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Queen - "Hot Space" Deluxe Edition (2011) CD Review

This is the first of the 2CD Queen reissues that I've heard and Hot Space was probably a bad entry point to the series as this release looks like a "cash grab".Starting with the bonus EP, the 5-track disc runs 23 minutes so these tracks could have easily been appended to the main disc (like the bonus tracks for Thin Lizzy's Bad Reputation). The bonus EP contains:1. "Staying Power (Live in Milton Keynes, June 1982)" 2. "Soul Brother (B-Side)" 3....

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Neil Young - "Live on Air / The Lost Tapes" CD Review (XXL Media)

Neil Young's Live on Air / The Lost Tapes CD is listed on Amazon as containing six songs, recorded live in 1991 in the UK for a local radio station. Not to take issue with the disc’s liner notes but this 40+ minute set features Neil playing solo acoustic which implies that this recording is either from his 1992 or 1999 solo tours. With tracks like “Ambulance Blues” only played during Neil’s 1999 tour, I strongly suspect that this recording is from...

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The Living Fields: Interview with Guitarist / Founder Jason Muxlow

DOWNLOAD: The Living Fields - "Interview with Jason Muxlow", July '11Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of talking with Jason Muxlow, guitarist and founder of Chicago's The Living Fields. The Living Fields just released their second full-length disc, Running out of Daylight, which marks their debut for Candlelight Records. Running out of Daylight is an eight-track 60+ minute tour-de-force that is near impossible to categorize as the band extends...

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Natur Release New Single "Spider Baby" As Free Download / Show at Union Pool on August 26th.

DOWNLOAD: Natur - "Spider Baby" (hosted on VillageVoice.com)Brooklyn traditional metal outfit Natur announced signing a worldwide deal with Earache Records last month and now the Village Voice has done a nice writeup on the band. The Voice has posted a fairly detailed interview with singer Ryan "Weibs" Wiebust and drummer Tooth along with a link (above) where you can download the band's debut single "Spider Baby" (The Year Is One Records) for free.Here...

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Canon Logic: Download "Howl in the Night" from Forthcoming "Rapid Engine" EP (out August 30th)

DOWNLOAD: Canon Logic - "Howl In The Night" (from "Rapid Empire" EP) CanonLogicRapidEmpire by lightscamerawolfgang Canon Logic will release "Rapid Empire" on August 30, 2011 via Engine Room Recordings. "Rapid Empire" is a five song EP driven by striking rhythms and an unrelenting energy. Themes of fear, solitude, risk, and perseverance are set against each other as a fractured narrative unfolds over dynamic soundscapes. In the Spring of...

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Maria Taylor - "Overlook" CD Review (Saddle Creek)

Next Tuesday (August 16th), Maria Taylor is releasing Overlook, which is her fourth solo album. This new disc is rawer, both in sound and emotion, than Taylor’s work with Azure Ray and Now It’s Overhead, and Taylor produced this disc herself after coming off a year-long writing dry spell. Maria Taylor recorded this new disc in her hometown of Birmingham, AL having moved from Los Angeles early last year and her goal was to capture the sound of...

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Middle Class Rut Release New Videos for "Busy Bein' Born" and "Hurricane" (Bob Dylan cover)

Sacramento alt-rock duo Middle Class Rut recently released new videos for "Busy Bein' Born" (from their 2010 debut CD) and "Hurricane" (Bob Dylan cover). The later video is a teaser for the band's new limited edition vinyl EP which has "Hurricane" on the A-Side and "New Low" (live at Maida Vale studios, 2010) and "Dead Set" (live at XFM studios, 2009) on the B-Side.Middle Class Rut Tour Dates:Aug 12 -- Idaho Center Amphitheatre Lot, Nampa, ID Aug 13 -- The Gorge Amphitheatre, George, WA Aug 14 -- Washington County Fairgrounds, Hillsboro,...

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Waters (ex-Port O'Brien) Posts "O Holy Break of Day" as Free Download from Forthcoming CD

DOWNLOAD: Waters - "O Holy Break of Day" (Waters - Out In The Light is out 9/20)Photo credit: Ashlie and Amber ChavezWaters is the new project from ex-Port O'Brien front man Van Pierszalowski. Following the demise of that band last year, he took a break from making music and ended up living in Oslo, Norway. After some time off, he began writing again, then traveled most of the next year to Alaska, California, and Brooklyn, NY, before returning...

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"Triple Threat of Terror: Others, Creepersin, DieMonsterDie" CD Review (MVD)

Triple Threat of Terror (MVD Audio) is a fifteen track compilation from three long-running bands from the horror-punk scene. Each band takes five tracks and their music showcases some of the different styles within the genre.The disc kicks off with Creepersin, which was formed in 2004 and hail from Orange Country, CA. The band has put out a string of singles, EPs and albums with a revolving door lineup where the only constant has been singer/songwriter...

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Harley's War - "Hardcore All-Stars" CD/DVD Review (MVD Audio)

After the 2001 ‘break-up’ of the Cro-Mags, bassist/vocalist Harley Flanagan wasted no time going out with his solo project Harley’s War. Harley’s War’s first disc, entitled Cro-Mag, came out in 2002 and featured seven new tracks (which included a ‘who’s who’ of NYHC), four demos 1982-1983 (which include early versions of “Do Onto Others” and “Don’t Tread on Me”) and a live track from 1981 from the Stimulators. In 2009, MVD reissued Cro-Mag as a...

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All Pigs Must Die - "God Is War" CD Review (Southern Lord)

Latest tracks by apmdThere is something to be said for the sheer b*lls to name your band “All Pigs Must Die” and these guys have the brutal hardcore chops to back up the name. About ten years ago, I tried to pull together a hardcore band and had people interested in playing with me but they backed away after I told them I was planning on naming the band “Satanic Death Piggy” and wanted to work a Bobby BeauSoleil song into the set.Following in the...

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It Prevails - "Stroma" CD Review (Mediaskare) // Show at Party Expo on Aug. 18th

Portland metalcore band It Prevails just released their third full-length, Stroma (Mediaskare Records), which is their strongest to-date. Continuing with the ‘tradition’ of having lineup shakeups with each new release, this disc marks the return of original drummer Aaron Marsh and early-on rhythm guitarist Nic Toten. The band is currently off on “The Beautiful & Spineless Tour” coast-to-coast tour. which stops at Party Expo in Brooklyn on August...

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Totimoshi: Desert Death Rock Band Plays St. Vitus on August 20th // Ltd. Edition Split 7" with The Melvins Available at Show

California trio, Totimoshi, will kick off their long-awaited North American tour tomorrow in Scottsdale, Arizona. The band will spread its unique brand of heavy desert death rock across nearly 30 cities, before winding down on September 3, 2011 in Tucson, Arizona. The band will be touring in support of their soon-to-be-unleashed Avenger full-length, set to drop on August 16, 2011 via At A Loss Recordings. Avenger was produced by Toshi Kasai (Melvins,...

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