Saturday, February 28, 2004
There has been a flush of new articles over the past couple of days. New reviews include Daryll-Ann's latest Don't Stop, last year's EP from Voicst, Eat the Evidence, and the latest experimental release from Berlin's The Kat Cosm.
The latest additions to Recommends are Scotland's Lapsus Linguae, Amsterdam's Frostparade, and finally The One AM Radio who are playing in Utrecht on Friday, March 5 at the ACU in Utrecht with Audiotransparent.
Tomorrow (Sunday 29th) is the Patronaat's latest Club Funday. As always it's a free event between 5pm and 10pm and includes performances from Voicst and Seedling. Additionally there will be a selection of short films.
On Sunday, March 7, Fountains of Wayne return to the Netherlands to play the Melkweg. This is quite surreal for me having spent a lot of time many years ago with their debut self-titled album. Utopia Parkway never really did anything for me, but that original album remains a classic, so it's strange they've made such a big comeback and they are being played on both radio and TV. Sadly I can't make it to their Dutch gig, but I do recommend them, so check them out if you have a moment.
Finally, some (not all) of the latest gigs added to the gig guide are:
Blonde Redhead
Timesbold / Sin Ropas
Roni Size
Chainsaw
Dianogah
Experimental Dental School
Gertrude
Soda P / Boy ler / We VS Death
Chinese Stars
Logh
Basement Jaxx
Jonathon Richman feat. Tommy Larkins
Fifty Foot Combo
The Black Lips
The American Analog Set
Mono
Grey De Lisle
NoMeansNo
Laibach
Tech note: The server has been a little fragile this past week. Sorry if it has caused any inconvenience.
:: Posted at 4:20 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Thursday, February 26, 2004
March sees The Gathering undertake their unplugged tour of mainly seated venues in the Netherlands, and most of this is now sold out. However, it's been announced that their show at the Paradiso on March 2 is to be webcast live as well as archived by FabChannel.
Kristin Hersh's new band 50 Foot Wave begin its first tour of the US this week. The release of their debut 6-track EP is scheduled for release in North America around March 23, although, in Europe the CD is being licensed to 4AD and a release probably won't happen until mid-April. However, it's already possible to hear at least four of the songs via high quality radio streams. Seattle radio station KEXP has a great audio archive online and this week they're playing a song from the EP everyday at 4pm PST, so if you type in the time you want, the archive will provide it. On Friday there will also be a live session broadcast and archived at 3pm PST. The music played all day long seems to be of a similar quality so it's worth checking out the station further.
In Scout Niblett news, those who saw her live in November may remember her playing Althea and Donna's 'Up Town Top Ranking', which she hoped to be releasing as her next single. There is no official release date for this yet, but it is likely to arrive around May, with a new European tour being lined up for that time.
In Stayfun world, a review of Tuesday's Clem Snide / Andrew Bird show at Rotown is now online. You can also sign up for the new Stayfun mailing list right here. Finally, with a new blog system installed, some of the older news entries have been stripped of their links during the import. Hopefully this will not prove too inconvenient, and it does mean news will be properly archived from now on.
:: Posted at 3:01 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Finally some concert action happening with dates being announced for spring. Here are some of the artists added to the gig guide so far this week -
Rufus Wainwright
Loudon Wainwright III
Shellac / Uzeda
Auf Der Maur
At the Close of Every Day / Meindert Talma
Brant Bjork and the Bros. / Nick Oliveri
Scram C Baby / Seedling
Eliza Gilkyson
Beth Hart
Teitur
Dayna Kurtz
Von Bondies
Black Eyed Snakes
Sadly Aqualung in Rotown at the end of March has been cancelled. Also, the Franz Ferdinand tour for the beginning of March has apparently sold out. Weird!
:: Posted at 2:30 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Monday, February 23, 2004
News of a few updates over the weekend. Envy the West have a new album just released on Black Death, titled Folding Fangs. As a taster, they've been added to the recommends section featuring a previously unreleased track titled 'Destroy Me'. Other recommendations added include the American band Invisible who come from Portland. They produce an organic combination of post-rock and electronic music, as well as including some lovely violin segments. Finally, there is Cass McCombs who has a new album released in Europe on March 1 by 4AD, as well as touring in support of The Mountain Goats. Also there is an album review of The Silja Symphony from At The Close of Every Day.
Some negative tour news for the day. Apparently The New Pornographers have no further plans to reschedule last autumn's cancelled tour. It's a shame, but hopefully they can sort something out later in the year.
Finally, though, Blonde Redhead prempt their album Misery is a Butterfly with a single released today. 'Elephant Woman' can be purchased online at the 4AD shop if you're looking for a CD, and the digital version is also available from Playlouder.
:: Posted at 2:29 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Two new reviews added today. Firstly there is My First Machete from Fuck-off Machete. A great album coming out of Scotland, which is released on February 23 by Glasgow's Lost Dog Recordings. Distribution in the Benelux is provided by Konkurrent, but if you'd like to buy an advance copy then it's available online right here. If you want to hear some samples of the band first, check the Recommends section here.
Second is the latest release from Transformed Dreams - Duotone by Persil. It's a chaotic collection of fun electro-pop that is likely to linger on the Dutch music scene all year long. Officially released last week, it's in stores now.
Finally, after the influence of these David Hasselhoff reviews, the writing style of Stayfun may be taking an even more surreal twist in the future.
:: Posted at 2:28 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Sunday, February 15, 2004
Today I am pleased to announce the inclusion of a lovely interview with Andrew Bird, which took place earlier in the week at a show in Scotland. Andrew is of course on tour currently in support of Clem Snide, and the tour rolls into Rotown on February 24. Unfortunately due to tour scheduling, this is now the only date taking place in the Benelux. However, for those who can make it to Rotterdam, you can expect a one-man band with a guitar over his shoulder, a xylophone in front of him, a delay pedal at his foot, and a violin in hand. Then of course there will be the Clem Snide brand of alt-country to round off the evening.
Other additions to the site are some more MP3 recommendations including - Preston School of Industry (countrified indie-rock with their album out on Matador this week), G-Plan (post-rock), and Amit Erez (solo singer/songwriter based in Rotterdam).
Holland is still not vibrating rapidly with news of new concerts. Instead there are just a couple more additions to Motel Mozaique in the form of Tom Barman's Magnus and the Scissor Sisters. Other interesting gigs happening within the coming week include Erin Mckeown at the Paradiso, and Pretty Girls Make Graves playing in Utrecht and Rotterdam.
Finally, it has been sad to hear that guitarist Jan Willem Wools has departed from Groningen's Audiotransparent. It is said to be on good terms, though, so hopefully both parties will be happy in the long term.
:: Posted at 2:26 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Wednesday, February 11, 2004
After eight reviews last week, this week has mainly been about regrouping and listening to new music again. Harking back to the reviews added which never got mentioned here, there was This Beautiful Mess, Ludovico, and The Gems.
Today I started on the Recommends section once more after enjoying some MP3s from both Seachange and the new In the Fishtank release featuring Black Heart Procession & Solbakken.
There hasn't been too many new concerts announced in the past week. However, the Dutch Oceansize dates are completed by three dates in Rotterdam, Groningen, and Amsterdam on March 26/27/28 respectively. They will also feature in the Beggars Banquet "festival" happening in Paris earlier that week with loads of other Beggars artists.
This week also sees the release of Duotone from Persil, out on Transformed Dreams. Very good it is too, so expect a review to go with the new Persil banner added to the adserver today.
:: Posted at 2:25 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Friday, February 06, 2004
Just some updated gig and festival news for now:
The list for Motel Mozaique continues to grow and now includes Explosions in the Sky, Phoenix, Tali, Dozer, Automato, Hooman Sharifi, and Maxon Blewitt.
Bands scheduled for London Calling at the Paradiso so far are: The Veils, The Keys, Dogs Die in Hot Cars, The Blueskins, Oceansize, and The Boxer Rebellion.
I openly confess to being horrified at the number of bands with 'The' in front of their name.
:: Posted at 2:24 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Wednesday, February 04, 2004
Just a quick note to announce some new reviews. Yesterday saw the arrival of a Sun Kil Moon review, which is the new band from Mark Kozelek. Today brings reviews from Franz Ferdinand who (almost) everyone currently loves, and also the glorious Sons and Daughters. Coming from Scotland, they're currently more famous for their parts in the history of Arab Strap, but Love the Cup is a fantastic album, and by the time Sons and Daughters are finished with SWSX this spring, they'll be heading for much bigger things.
:: Posted at 2:23 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Tuesday, February 03, 2004
And now, it's official about the Pixies (from FrankBlack.net)...
"The group is indeed reforming, and they'll be doing a 'warm-up' tour beginning in April that will lead up to the much-anticipated Coachella festival. Touring will continue afterwards, through the US and Canada. It is a safe bet Europe will follow. Of course, you can expect to see the dates and locations as soon as we know."
:: Posted at 2:23 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Monday, February 02, 2004
Despite a steady stream of unofficial rumours since last year which detail a reformation of the Pixies during 2004, it never really seemed too likely that it would happen. The band members ducked down and the labels denounced the news, leaving it to booking agents and men in shadows to keep feeding the tide.
Well it continues to get out of hand to the extent that not only is a US tour booked, but tickets are literally on sale right now. Add to this a supposed Coachella appearance with Radiohead and proposed festival appearances in Europe, it seems the rumour is transforming into something official almost as I type. For better or for worse, expect an opportunity to see the Pixies live within 400km of your home sometime this summer. Of course, something closer would be nice.
In other news, the two latest reviews added are Unkle Bob and Rhythm Fantasy. The two latest bands in the Recommends section are Thee Moths and Exit Clov.
:: Posted at 2:22 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Friday, January 30, 2004
European tour dates for The Mountain Goats for March have been released:
25 FR PARIS - CAFÉ DE LA DANSE
26 NL AMSTERDAM - PARADISO
27 NL ROTTERDAM - ROTOWN
29 FR PARIS (ST OUEN) - MAINS D'OEUVRES
30 BE BRUXELLES - AB
The tour then moves onto the UK. We Shall All Be Healed is released by 4AD on February 2.
Yesterday it was reported to me that the Blonde Redhead artist page at 4AD vanished, thus creating broken links from this site. Well they are back now.
:: Posted at 2:20 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Thursday, January 29, 2004
It seems that due to a logistical error, the Clem Snide / Andrew Bird tour is no longer stopping by Utrecht or Heythuysen. The news from the Clem Snide mailing list is that the Rotterdam show will continue as planned.
Of the numerous tour dates added today, one which stands out is that of Fear, who will be playing Haarlem on July 16 (yes, quite some time away). For those who saw the Breeders on their last tour, you will be familiar with some of the members who also make up Fear, and at least one or two of their songs, which were being covered each night.
Also, new additions to Motel Mozaique include The Shins, Zero 7, and I Am Kloot.
:: Posted at 2:18 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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Monday, January 26, 2004
The latest review to be added is Hot Hands - A Tribute to Throwing Muses & Kristin Hersh, featuring various artists doing allsorts of weird things to great songs. Two recommendations added were Saw and Hurka's Hero.
:: Posted at 2:10 pm by Steven McCarron ::
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