i think i better follow you around

Alva Noto has released an EP, “Subterraneans”, via Noton. It is a cover of the closing track on David Bowie’s album “Low” and it features Martin L. Gore on vocals and William Basinski on saxophone.

TRACKLIST:

A) Subterraneans
B) Subterraneans (Instrumental)

Carsten Nicolai (ALVA NOTO) shared this about the song via a press release: “This song has a personal meaning to me. It was partly recorded in West Berlin at the Hansa Studio. According to Bowie, “Subterraneans” refers to the people who remained in East Berlin and loved in East Germany after the wall was built. In 1977 i was 12 years old and among the ‘subterraneans” the song evoke. It still resonates within me, 45 years after it’s original release”.

Negative Blast have shared a new single, “Egghead”, off their upcoming album “Echo Planet” out February 10th via Quiet Panic.

TRACKLIST:
1. Boy Blues
2. Trauma Bond
3. Carbon Copy
4. Bad Trip
5. Echo Planet
6. No Trust
7. The King in Vancouver
8. Egghead

The video for the album’s closer was directed by UK artist Displaced/Replaced.

Rainier Pesebre (vocalist) said this about the song: “Egghead is a grooving heavy hitter of a song that pays a nod to ’60s garage like the Kinks as well as ’70s punk staples, and a general ‘fuck off’ to the haters, the critics, and figures in life who seem to know us better than we know ourselves. I imagined I was a rat wearing a leather jacket wading through slummed out alleyways and sneering at grandmas while writing the lyrics to this one. When we get flak back from people we don’t want to hear it from, the walls go up and we just don’t give a fuck anymore. Sometimes the feeling of walking on an asshole’s head is much more satisfying than walking on eggshells around them all day.”

Pat Callaway (bassist) said this about it: “Everyone dies”.

The band will have a show at the Casbah in San Diego, CA alongside Deaf Club and Unsane on February 9th, a day before their album is released.

FACS have announced the release of their new album, “Still Life In Decay”, out April 7th via Trouble In Mind Records.

TRACKLIST:

1. Constellation
2. When You Say
3. Slogan
4. Class Spectre
5. Still Life
6. New Flag

The first single off the album is “When You Say” and the video was directed by Joshua Ford.

Brian Case shared this about the album: “Still Life in Decay is about that kind of change, realizing that relationships exist in different ways for individuals in shared situations, and how you navigate that as a unit. We knew when we were making this record that Alianna was going to be stepping away from the band, which of course heavily informed the sessions. Filled with deep understanding and love, but still those insecurities and feelings of loss, or an end of something. Despite that, Still Life in Decay feels more like a beginning, it’s tense and vulnerable in a way we haven’t presented ourselves before. I’m so proud of what the three of us did with this album.”

The band will go on tour to support the album, however no west coast (nor Tijuana) dates have been announced yet.

Spotlights have announced the release of their 4th album, “Alchemy For The Dead”, out April 28th via Ipecac.

TRACKLIST:

1. Beyond The Broken Sky
2. The Alchemist
3. Sunset Burial
4. Algorithmic
5. False Gods
6. Repeat The Silence
7. Ballad In The Mirror
8. Crawling Toward The Light
9. Alchemy For The Dead

The first single off the album is for “Algorithmic”. The video was created by Oleg Rooz.

Mario Quintero said this: “For me, the song has a religious theme to it. It touches on the story of resurrection and afterlife in this one narrative, while wondering, does any of it really matter?”

The band will embark on a lengthy tour starting April 26th and it includes dates with Mr. Bungle and Melvins for the Ipecac Geek Show.

Petite Noir has shared a new single, “Blurry”, off his upcoming album “MotherFather” out April 14th via Roya Records and Warp.

TRACKLIST:

01. 777
02. Blurry (feat. Sampa The Great)
03. Numbers
04. Concrete Jungle
05. Skit
06. Finding Paradise
07. Simple Things (feat. Theo Croker)
08. Best One
09. Love Is War
10. Play

The video for “Blurry” was directed by Hector Aponysus.

Petite Noir shared this about the song: “‘Blurry’ is a song about growth in love. Being ready to take that next step whether it means being together or apart. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just move forward with your life solo. Choosing you above all.”

Sampa added this: “I felt so honored to be able to work with Petite Noir. I’ve looked up to him and his music for a while and I’m truly inspired by his courage in paving the way for alternative musicians in Africa who feel like they don’t fit into one genre or one style.”

A tour has been announced starting in April, but for right now it will only go thru UK and Europe. No dates for the USofA (nor Tijuana) have been announced yet.

The Album Leaf has announced the release of his new album, “Future Falling”, out May 5th via Nettwerk.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Prologue”
02 “Dust Collects”
03 “Afterglow” Feat. Kimbra
04 “Breathe”
05 “Future Falling”
06 “Cycles”
07 “Give In”
08 “Stride”
09 “Near” Feat. Bat For Lashes
10 “Epilogue”

The first single off the album is for the song “Near” featuring Bat For Lashes. Jimmy LaValle shared this about the song and collaboration with Natasha Banks: “We spent an afternoon in my studio while she sang a handful of ideas over the piece. I took those ideas and created something new inspired by her vocal. I really wanted to create something to support the dreamlike narrative she was painting. It was all very natural.”. Natasha Khan shared this about the collaboration: “We worked organically, I was building vocals over Jimmy’s music; playing with melodies and words… he then took it away and sculpted it into what became ‘Near.’ The imagery was of going deep into a dark forest with a small glimmer of safety, something precious and secret. Sort of an ambient fairytale. It was very spontaneous and fun to improvise.”

Jimmy LaValle shared this about the album: “During the pandemic, I created new music almost daily. I had amassed a daunting amount of new material that I felt connected with, that it almost acted more like a road block. I experimented with a lot of audio manipulating, learning new tricks and staying true to my love of analogue synthesizers. I finally settled on a collection of songs, and after second-guessing all of them, I reached out to multiple friends and collaborators to contribute. With those contributions, I was able to craft a record that represents both the time I spend alone discovering and creating while keeping the collaborative spirit that I have always been inspired by.

No tour dates have been announced yet for the USofA (nor Tijuana).

Crocodiles have announced the release of their new album, “Upside Down In Heaven”, out April 7th via Lolipop Records.

TRACKLIST:

01. Love Beyond The Grave
02. Dead Beat
03. I’ve Become What I Fear Most
04. Degeneration
05. Upside Down In Heaven
06. Magic Trash
07. Lovers Of Nothing
08. Forever Walk Alone
09. Surfing With Death
10. Rock ‘N’ Roll Graveyard

The first single off the album is for the song “Degeneration”. The video for the song was co-directed by Kate Clover and Brandon Welchez.

Brandon Welchez shared this about the song: “The heaviness of life on a violent, dying planet can often push us towards our worst impulses. “Degeneration” was written in the boiling, diseased summer of 2020 where I found myself overworked, underpaid and choking on wildfire smoke. The free time I had was spent doom-scrolling the latest covid death toll or inundating myself with news of literal fascists marching the streets. I found myself floating on a cloud of anger, fear and frustration. Rather than allow myself to fall into bad old habits or succumb to my negative emotion.”

The only live date announced so far is for the Manchester Psych Fest in September, other than that no USofA (nor Tijuana) shows have been announced yet.

Venamoris has shared a new single/video for “Drowning Emotion” off their album “Drown In Emotion” out February 10th via Three One G.

TRACKLIST:
Let Me Be
We Fall
This Is Me
Crimson Tears
Misguided
Drowning Emotion
I Love It
In My Silence
It’s Gone
Tell Me How You Know
Oceans
So Good

The video for “Drowning Emotion” was directed by Displaced Replaced.

Venamoris is the collaboration of Paula and Dave Lombardo. Dave Lombardo shared this about the group: “Several months after meeting Paula in 2010, she hesitantly shared with me her past decade-long career as the lead back up singer for Wayne Newton. She later played me some of the demos she recorded throughout the years and I was floored by her sonically soothing, rich tone and natural, instinctive ability to harmonize. I was determined to persuade her to return to her creative self. It’s been a deeply gratifying journey witnessing this music come to life.”

Paula Lombardo, who performs vocals and piano for this project, bursts with vulnerability and intimacy, addressing a broad scope of emotion: anger, healing, pain, hope. It’s evident that Venamoris was founded out of love, passion, communication, respect, and trust.

Esben And The Witch have announced the release of their new album, “Hold Sacred”, out May 12th via Nostromo Records.

TRACKLIST:

The Well
In Ecstasy
Fear Not
Silence, 1801
True Mirror
A Kaleidoscope
Heathen
The Depths
Petals of Ash

The first single is the album opener “The Well”. The video was directed by vocalist Rachel Davies.

Via a press release the band shared this about the album: “This record was born in a hot mosquito summer in a terracotta villa an hour outside of Rome. It bloomed in winter on an abandoned beach in a fishing village close to Porto, overlooking the Atlantic. It found form in a gîte in the middle of the French countryside and grew in a ramshackle old house, full of old cloaks and books in rural Germany.

Protect what is precious. Hold Sacred.”

Rachel Davies shared this about the song: “A voice echoing from the bottom of a well. A call from a chamber, from within oneself, to summon the strength to climb out of the darkness, when it seems impossible. To call upon things often deemed frightening and to change your perception of said demons in order to survive. To build a ladder of light to aid your own escape.”

The band will be on tour starting in the month of May. No dates for the USofA (nor Tijuana) have been announced yet.