News

2016 was full of shit, but also full of great musical releases! Few were better than the High Llamas' Here Come The Rattling Trees, an excursion into combining their exceptional musical arrangements with a stage production. Here Come The Rattling Trees is Sean O'Hagan's play about his local London neighborhood, Peckham, and the changes it's experiencing - something both personal yet easily identifiable for anyone who's lived in one neighborhood for a reasonable amount of time. This weekend, lucky Londoners have the... (read more)

Oh my stars! And pink hearts and yellow moons....if you haven't read your tea leaves lately, then look to the skies. There's a full moon coming on January 27th, and a quarter moon one week later, on February 3rd. But the moon west coasters should be looking for these next couple of weeks is Cory Hanson's "Flu Moon", delivered live at clubs and on the radio in select locations from Seattle, Vancouver and Portland to San Francisco! In case you've forgotten, Cory stepped out... (read more)

Hmmm....to Ty or not to Ty? As we ship the new record to shops worldwide this week, is that still really the question? You've heard the polar sonics of "Orange Color Queen" and "Break a Guitar" - but before you, the fan, are ready to commit, you gotta know - what lies in between? No matter which direction Ty Segall takes us in, transparency is the name of the game, so brace yourself! Thanks to NPR, here's your chance to test drive the... (read more)

Friends! Isn't it the greatest when two different creative fields come together to celebrate each other in the same environment? Such is the case when thee Magik Markers and Six Organs of Admittance both head to France for a couple of unique and tantalizing gigs next week - the type that requires advance RSVP, no less! And so we're here to hip you to them. First off, Six O and Markers play a special event curated by an architect at a construction zone in the... (read more)

Ty Segall's swiftly oncoming (Jan 27th, baby!) self-titled album is his ninth solo release since 2008, a span of records that have embodied an arcing swath of up-and-upper rock and roll music for the people. What people? They know who they are. They're finding out all the time. They like candy-striped and scorched-earth sounds alike, and Ty keeps throwing down both and more in spades! "Break a Guitar" is the second drop from his new album, a 180-degree spin from the acoustic pastoral of... (read more)

If you're feeling funny, you are not alone! The recent reintroduction of Papa M to our bloodstream has left us dizzy. While the world decides how to feel about the almost entirely instrumental scathe-and-dreamscapes (plus one searing exception) of November's new release Highway Songs, we've delved back into the catalog to recall the second Papa M album, "Whatever, Mortal" which finds David Pajo transitioning from the post-rock/world-blues abstraction of the Papa M debut to a folk-doomier trip, with a lot more vocals guiding we... (read more)

What's this country coming to?!? Nobody should liven in fear in our land of the free, and noone should be discriminated against, no matter what they believe. Fortunately, in 2017, a true champion will arrive to lead ALL of us - honky tonkers, truckers, and piss pig freaks alike! Finally, a president that understands the true, tormented soul of men - and has more respect for the women than anyone else! On January 20th , it won't be simply a presidential inauguration - it'll be... (read more)

2017 might be the end of the world as we know it, but as long as we keep getting fine performances out of our legendary steamroom, hey - we feel fine! All things being ultimately equal, we can die with Cory Hanson's encapsulations of the dilemma of hope and it's yang of despair ringing quietly and classically in our ears. His debut solo album, The Unborn Capitalist From Limbo, shines brightly from a deeply political perspective, one that is just as personal as... (read more)

Another New Year, and new shapes are forming - if only we are fortunate enough to notice them! As we spin through this world, we are witness to all manner of combinations unfolding before us - familiar arcs and breaking waves alike, upon all of which it is our choice, our chance and our challenge, to possibly ride. Find Me Finding You, the new album from the new organization called the Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble, manages to strike new chords while touching familiar... (read more)

"Bins on fire, what's the occasion?", Cate Le Bon breathlessly intones upon the ether.  Well, what occasion do you need? Any day is a great one for a resounding stomp to rebound us back from a deeply lousy calendar year. One of the few good things that happened in 2*** was the release of Cate's Crab Day back in April - and now,  some nine months later, the four-song EP "Rock Pool"is a succinct and terse second coming, with Cate's gold songs... (read more)