Anvil - Live Photos from 'Hope in Hell' Release Party @ Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY 5-30-13

"Anvil have more integrity than your favorite five bands combined...Hope in Hell could have been released at any time between 1978 and the present day. It's a very simple, and time-tested formula: in-your-face riffs, screaming leads, great lyrics — pure, uncompromised metal". - Mickey Melchiondo (aka Dean Ween)


It seems somewhat hard to believe that some of the bands that are just now getting commercial recognition have been playing the circuit for over 30 (Anvil) to 40 (Pentagram) years.

Anvil released their 15th disc, Hope in Hell (The End Records), on May 28th and held their record release party two nights later at the Knitting Factory. The new disc is a scorcher and - for all the hardcore Anvil fans out there - there is a limited edition digipak pressing with two bonus tracks ("Hard Wired" and "Fire at Will") and a limited-edition 2LP 180-gram orange vinyl pressing which also includes the same two bonus tracks. For Hope in Hell,  the band once again tapped producer Bob Marlette (Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper) who continues to do an excellent job of capturing the band's live sound in the studio.  The band has also had a lineup change as Sal Italiano (who used to be in A.J. Pero's 1980's side-project Cities) is now on bass and he is a great fit.

One of the things I've always loved about Anvil is that, in addition to having great musical chops, the band always looks like they are having fun and doing something they love (...which is a great counterpoint to those lead guitarists who look painfully constipated every time they take a solo).  Energy like this is contagious though I didn't expect the mini-pit to break out when it did.

 Anvil is off on a European tour next month and, in talking with Robb after the show, the band plans on coming back through the States in the fall.

Anvil 2013 Summer Hope in Hell Tour
7/27/13  - U.K Ebbw Vale - Steelhouse Festival
7/28/13  - U.K Glasgow - Cathouse
7/29/13  - U.K Manchester - Academy 3
7/30/13  - U.K London - Garage
8/01/13  - Germany Cologne - Underground
8/02/13  - Germany Wacken - Wacken Festival
8/03/13  - Holland Haarlem - Patronaat
8/04/13  - Belgium Lokeren - Lokerse Feesten Festival
8/06/13  - Switzerland Zurich - Plaza
8/07/13  - Germany Lichtenfels - Paunchy Cats
8/08/13  - Germany Saarbruecken - Garage
8/10/13  - Sweden Gävle - Getaway Festival

Links:
Anvil

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Repulsion - Live Photos and Video from Maryland Deathfest 5/24/13 (Relapse Records)

There were a lot of familiar faces at Maryland Deathfest (MDF) 2013, both on the stage and off. I wasn't able to take off work to make it to the first night of Deathfest so I started the weekend festivities on Friday afternoon with Repulsion. Repulsion didn't sound much different from when they were in town last September for The Power of the Riff East festival but, this time out, the band played as a three-piece as guitarist Marissa Martinez was notably absent.

The set list included twelve of the eighteen tracks from Horrified, along with a cover of Venom's "Schizo".

Repulsion - Maryland Deathfest, Baltimore, MD 5/24/13
The Stench of Burning Death
Bodily Dismemberment
Decomposed
Splattered Cadavers
Slaughter of the Innocent
Festering Boils
Schizo(Venom cover)
Driven to Insanity
Radiation Sickness
Black Breath
Acid Bath
Maggots in Your Coffin
Horrified



I broke down and bought one of the "limited edition MDF Gray version of 'Horrified' - limited to 100 copies and available only at the fest!" but imagine that this is going to sit unopened on the shelf as Relapse's 2CD edition of Horrified has long been on my iPhone. I respect the band wanting to preserve their legacy but I keep wishing they would put out something new. In an interview last year with BrooklynVegan, Scott Carlson said "If the material and motivation ever come together I think we could do something that would not tarnish our name. So yes, we have weakened our stance on the subject a little bit. However, we have nothing planned. One never knows....".



I love the diversity at MDF as there was a fresh-faced lad beside me during Repulsion's set, right outside of the pit who seemed to alternate between pumping his fist in the air and making out with his girlfriend. I don't think I've ever seen anyone make out to Repulsion (...and most of the women that I've known would probably have hit me if I tried using grindcore as 'mood music'.) Ah well - different strokes....

Links:
Repulsion

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Morningbell Release Video for 'We Have Eyes As Well As Ears' / Show at Union Hall on June 7th

Eric Atria (bassist) summed up the new disc by saying "People are going to think this is brilliant or they're going to think we're insane. Maybe both! It's going to be hard not coming off as pretentious when the final tracks are out (some have 60 tracks of classical instruments ON TOP of 50 tracks of traditional rock instruments). But fuck it!"

Morningbell is one of the more prolific, inventive, and fiercely independent bands in the country. With six albums and four EPs over nine years (including an album released only on custom-made USB cards, a choose-your-own-adventure album, and 2009’s universally lauded Sincerely, Severely), Morningbell has gone more places with their music than most bands do in an entire career. They are constantly stretching themselves musically and creatively in a way that very few bands do.

The band hails from Gainesville, Florida—a hotbed of musical creativity (see Hundred Waters, Levek, Hot Water Music, etc)—and consists of brothers Travis and Eric Atria, Stacie Atria (married to Eric), and drummer Chris Hillman.

Boa Noite is the band’s 6th studio album. It was written, recorded, mixed, and produced by the band in their home studio. It draws influences from romantic classical music, African field recordings, Hungarian folk music, the poems of Jorge Luis Borges, “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam,” “Finnegan’s Wake,” “Ulysses,” Chopin’s polonaises, classic hip-hop, Charles Mingus, Paul Simon, Curtis Mayfield, Kurt Vonnegut, and the compositions of Claude Debussy, Frederick Delius, John Cage and Arvo Part. With Boa Noite, the band wanted orchestral backing. Without access to an orchestra, however, they pieced one together during half a dozen sessions with multiple classical musicians. The result is a grand, sweeping, ambitious album with songs that often contain upwards of 150 tracks of instruments.



Morningbell are playing a show at Union Hall on Friday, June 7th alongside Olivia Mancini (track) and Oh No! and the Tiger Pit. Tickets are $10 and doors are at 8PM.

Links:
Morningbell

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Paul McCartney and Wings - 'Wings Over America' CD Review (Hear Music / Concord Music Group)

On May 28th, the deluxe edition of Paul McCartney and Wings’ 1976 3x LP concert album, Wings Over America, was released as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection reissue series. In addition to this disc being one of the greatest live albums of all time (in my humble opinion), Wings Over America showcases McCartney at his creative best. The last comment isn’t to disparage Macca’s more recent output but rather to point out that Wings Over America could easily serve as a greatest hits collection.

Wings Over America was the last of five consecutive Wings’ albums to reach #1 in America and the addition of drummer Joe English and lead guitarist Jimmy McCulloch (both of whom joined with 1975’s Venus and Mars) seemed to add a spark to the band. Listening to the band perform live, Wings sounds like a tightly integrated unit (as opposed to Macca’s current backing band of faceless hired guns) with each of the members establishing their own identity by making distinct contributions to the live show. Multi-instrumentalist Denny Laine (x-Moody Blues) is a veteran performer, Jimmy McCulloch is probably the best of McCartney’s guitarists and Joe English, in addition to being a great drummer, looks like he is having the time of his life in the accompanying DVD.

Wings Over America’s 28 tracks reflect the band’s setlist from their 1976 North American tour but the individual tracks were compiled from a number of different stops on the tour. The set list pulls from all of the Wings’ albums, with an emphasis on Venus and Mars (9 of the 13 tracks are performed live) along with five Beatles song, which was a big deal for the fans as Macca had refused to play Beatles numbers on his earlier UK tours. The set list also includes a cover of the Moody Blues’ chestnut “Go Now”, Simon and Garfunkel’s “Richard Corey” (both sung by Laine) and the (then) unreleased Wings’ track “Soily”, which first surfaced during the Band on the Run sessions.



With the standard edition of this reissue, the original three albums are now spread across 2 CDs, with Sides 1 -3 on the first CD and Sides 4 – 6 on the second CD.

Wings Over America Track List
1. "Venus and Mars/Rock Show/Jet" – Recorded 5/27/76
2. "Let Me Roll It" – Recorded 5/27/76
3. "Spirits of Ancient Egypt" – Recorded 6/10/76
4. "Medicine Jar” – Recorded 5/27/76
5. "Maybe I'm Amazed" - Recorded 5/29/76
6. "Call Me Back Again" – Recorded 5/27/76
7. "Lady Madonna” - Recorded 5/7/76
8. "The Long and Winding Road" – Recorded 5/29/76
9. "Live and Let Die" – Recorded 5/22/76
10. "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)" – Recorded 5/22/76
11. "Richard Cory" - Recorded 6/23/76
12. "Bluebird" – Recorded 5/27/76
13. "I've Just Seen a Face" - Recorded 6/23/76
14. "Blackbird" - Recorded 5/22/76
15. "Yesterday" - ??
16. "You Gave Me the Answer" – Recorded 6/23/76
17. "Magneto and Titanium Man" – Recorded 5/22/76
18. "Go Now" – Recorded 6/23/76
19. "My Love" – Recorded 5/21/76
20. "Listen to What the Man Said" – Recorded 5/29/76
21. "Let 'Em In" – Recorded 6/23/76
22. "Time to Hide" - Recorded 5/25/76
23. "Silly Love Songs" – Recorded 5/25/76
24. "Beware My Love" – Recorded 6/7/76
25. "Letting Go" – Recorded 5/29/76
26. "Band on the Run" – Recorded 6/7/76
27. "Hi, Hi, Hi" – Recorded 6/7/76
28. "Soily" – Recorded 6/7/76

Here is where keeping up with the bonus discs get a bit tricky – the “Deluxe Edition Box Set” includes “the original 28-track album, a bonus tracks disc, DVD of the TV documentary Wings Over the World, 112-page book, assorted memorabilia, 60-page photograph book, 80-page sketch book and download link to all of the material”. The bonus CD contains eight live tracks recorded at The Cow Palace in San Francisco. Wings played two shows there on 6/13-14/76 but, as I don’t have this bonus disc, I have no clue as to which show these tracks came from.

Wings Over San Francisco Track List
• "Let Me Roll It"
• “Maybe I'm Amazed"
• "Lady Madonna"
• "Live and Let Die"
• "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)"
• "Bluebird"
• "Blackbird"
• "Yesterday"

Adding to the different options – the Best Buy edition of Wings Over America contains the Wings Over San Francisco disc ($16.99). If you are interested though – grab this one quick as this edition is sold out in stores and is only available on the shelf in whichever stores still have copies.

The bonus DVD, Wings Over the World, runs just over 75 minutes and contains some great footage from Wings’ American tour. While this documentary traces the evolution of Wings and starts with early rehearsal footage of the McCartneys with Denny Laine along with footage of the McCartneys on their farm in Scotland, the focus is on the ‘75/’76 world tour. This disc contains 15 complete performances from the Wings Over the World tour. Between each of the songs is ‘behind the scenes’ footage that ranges from press interviews to backstage footage and relevant snippets from the band’s travels. What is particularly amusing is an Australian interviewer commenting that Macca may be a bit old for rock and roll now that he is 33. Other footage includes Ringo joining the band backstage, Elton sitting next to Cher at the show at the Forum in Los Angeles, Macca carefully working with the venue sound engineer on the sound check and more.

The size of the crowds lined up outside these venues is also amazing – the big general admission shows (which I assume this is) were before my time so I can’t really imagine being a part of the body-to-body lines. My experience with arena rocks shows is at the Madison Square Gardens, which is less than 1/3 the capacity of the Seattle Kingdom, which was where “Soile” was filmed. The disc ends with Wings leaving the stage and Macca’s final comment was “See you next time”. This is a great documentary as this was Macca’s one-and-only trip to the States with Wings and it would be thirteen years before he returned to the US.

Links:
Paul McCartney

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Graveyard Lovers Play Bowery Electric on Friday, May 31st (Brooklyn Swamp Rock)

Local cow-punk / swamp-rock trio Graveyard Lovers are playing Bowery Electric this Friday night alongside Brooklyn garage punk The Mad Doctors (who are releasing their debut EP "Fuzz Tonic" on Friday), Blue Coin and Tracy Island. Cover is $8 and doors are at 6:30PM (...and happy hour runs til 8PM).

Graveyard Lovers have been earning strong reviews with frequent shows around town and have been compared from acts that range from The White Stripes (prior to Graveyard Lovers adding a bassist) and "Sonic Youth… if Sonic Youth grew from Tennessee’s swamps and traded their soul to the devil while on the same road as Blind Willie Johnson" (The Deli Magazine). To my ears though, I think the closest point of comparison is Los Angeles' Tex and the Horseheads (...or a non-doped up version of the Gun Club).

"Graveyard Lovers are a blues-based indie rock trio comprised of guitarist/singer Zach Reynolds, drummer Tricia Purvis and bassist Orion Wainer. Zach is a native of Louisiana whose background is rooted in Deep South folk and blues. Tricia, a New Yorker, came up influenced by the innumerable waves of rock that have sculpted the NYC music scene into what it is today. " (from the band's bio)

Following up on the band's 2011's debut 5-track EP (check out "Ripe to Misbehave"), Graveyard Lovers has their full-length, Dreamers, ready to drop in September.  The first release, "Manifesto", from the new disc is streaming above and the band played "Blessed Are the Ties That Bind" (also from the new disc) on The Artie Lange Show back in the Spring.



Graveyard Lovers Upcoming Shows
Thursday June 6th, Leftfield Bar
w/ St James and the Apostles, Midwestern Exposure and The Enthusiasts

Friday July 26th, Arlene's Grocery
w XNY

Kahbang Music Fest, Bangor ME
August 9/10 details TBA

Links:
Graveyard Lovers

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Alessi's Ark - 'The Still Life' CD Review / Show at Mercury Lounge on June 14th (Bella Union)

(photo: Rebecca Miller)

I listen to a lot of CDs and it is generally fairly easy to find an immediate reference point but Alessi's Ark's third disc, The Still Life, takes a lot of pleasantly surprising twists and turns which showcases the maturity of 22 year-old singer Alessi Laurent-Marke's songs. The thirteen-track / 32 minute disc incorporates a wide range of styles, which combine "Suzanne Vega-style" semi-confessional, personal lyrics with with a range of music styles that includes 'electonica' dance beats, dream-pop and 90's alt-rock and the instrumentation and percussion is surprisingly complex and diverse.

Only a few short years into her career, the London-based Laurent-Marke – who began playing music and launched a fanzine, Brain Bulletin, during her secondary school years in West London – is already prolific: her first, self-released EP, 2007’s Bedroom Bound, garnered the then-teenage artist a major label deal and attention around the globe.  While The Still Life still has strong ties to Laurent-Marke's acoustic/folky roots, this new disc is much more experimental and varied than previous outings. 

“I wanted to create a musical landscape that varied in sound,” Laurent-Marke says, “but an overriding feeling of ‘stillness’ remained throughout the album. I also wanted to step back from playing acoustic guitar and immerse the songs in very different sound settings from previous recordings.”

While the music on The Still Life takes a number of twists and turns, the centerpiece of all of the songs is Laurent-Marke's clear and upfront (and frequently waife-like) vocals.  The disc opens with "Tin Smithing" which grabs the listener's ear right away with  innovative, syncopated percussion and big backing vocals on the chorus.  Immediately shifting gears on the next number, "Veins are Blue" has a shuffling 60's beat, a call-and-response sing-along chorus and hints of shoe-gazer echo in some of the the guitar work.  Seemingly never content to stand still, "The Rain" fully makes the plunge into shoegazer territory but adds an electronica/trip-hop backbeat.  Coming full circle back to her earlier work, this track is followed by "The Good Song", a wistful folky number.  While there are a lot of strong tracks on this disc, my favorite is a cover of The National's "Afraid of Everyone", which is recast with a slow-burning, dance club beat and dark vocals harmonies that bring bring back fond memories of the best elements of Luscious Jackson.

The diverse range of styles on this disc shouldn't scare anyone off as Laurent-Marke's vocals provide an anchor and common ground between all of the tracks and this is complemented by producer Andy LeMaster's warm and shimmery productions.  “I hope that this album is good company for the listener,” says Laurent-Marke, “I tried to create something that would leave them happy, leave them with a feeling of peace. To me, the best thing an album can be is a friend you can rely on.”



Alessi's Ark 2013 Tour Dates 
MAY 17 -- BARCELONA, ES, BARTS (Barcelona Arts on Stage)
MAY 24 -- HAY ON WYE, UK, HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN FESTIVAL
MAY 25 -- CARDIFF, UK, BUFFALO
JUNE 3  -- SEATTLE, WA, SUNSET TAVERN*

JUNE 4  -- PORTLAND, OR, HOLOCENE*

JUNE 6  -- SAN FRANCISCO, CA, THE CHAPEL*

JUNE 7  -- LOS ANGELES, CA, BOOTLEG THEATER*

JUNE 11 -- EVANSTON, IL, SPACE**

JUNE 14 -- MERCURY LOUNGE, NYC 
(Early show supporting The Ludlow Thieves;  Show starts at 7:30PM and advance tickets are $12)


JUNE 16  -- PHILADELPHIA, PA, JOHNNY BRENDA'S*

JUNE 19 -- BOSTON, MA, TT THE BEAR'S*

JUNE 20 --  PORTLAND, ME, ONE LONGFELLOW*

JULY 20 -- HILL FARM, OXFORDSHIRE, UK, TRUCK FESTIVAL

AUG. 31 -- BIRMINGHAM, UK, MOSELEY FOLK FESTIVAL

* supporting Sam Amidon

** supporting Patterson Hood

Links:
Alessi's Ark

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The Sons and Heirs (Smiths Tribute Band) Play A Morrissey Birthday Celebration at The Bell House on May 22nd

This looks like fun...

"The music of Morrissey, Johnny Marr and co. lives on with The Sons and Heirs, a NYC-based tribute band that brings the experience of seeing The Smiths live to the stage. Singer Ronnissey, guitarist Ravi Marr. bassist Christian Rourke and drummer Jonathan Joyce recreate the songs and stage performance of The Smiths with stunning authenticity and attention to detail, right down to the last gladioli left on stage when the band is through."

Raven and Crow Design Studio is hosting a Morrissey birthday celebration at The Bell House on Wednesday, May 22nd. The show includes a live set by The Sons and Heirs (NYC's Tribute to The Smiths and Morrissey), DJ Matt Heart Spade and a reading by Tony Fletcher, author of "A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of The Smiths". No clue on what to think about the "Smiths-inspired congregation of food, fashion and culture" that is also listed as part of the evening's activities. Earlier this year, Fuse.tv had but forward some suggestions for vegetarian menu options inspired by the Morrissey/Smiths catalog.

*This Charming Yam
*The Lettuce Head Master Ritual
*The Boy with the Corn as His Side
*Panic in the Leafs of London
*Figmouth Strikes Again
*Vicar in a Tofu

Tickets for the show at The Bell House are $12 in advance and $15 DOS - doors are at 8PM. For those who pre-order tickets, the fine folks at Raven + Crow Studio are doing weekly giveaways (link).

The Sons and Heirs at The Bell House with special guest Andy Rourke


Links:
The Sons and Heirs

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