Saturday, September 23, 2017

Killer Tracks: The 2017 Playlist Vol.3

It's been some time since our previous 2017 Playlist, time to add a few more killer tracks to the mix:

Japanese Breakfast - Road Head


 LCD Soundsystem - Tonite


Fujiya & Miyagi - Impossible Objects of Desire


Liars - Cred Woes


 The National - Day I Die


Grizzly Bear - Mourning Sound



Alvvays - Dreams Tonite



Nadine Shah - Holiday Destination


EMA - Down and Out


Broken Social Scene - Skyline



Friday, September 15, 2017

Live: Slowdive @ Fuzz Club (Athens, September 9th, 2017)


Slowdive's triumphant comeback continues! Last year we had the opportunity to enjoy their first ever gig in Athens at Release Festival and reconnect with their '90s material, this time though we also got the chance to experience live songs from their new album, an excellent work which proves that nostalgia is not the main driving force behind the band's reunion.


The seamless way in which new songs like "Slomo" or "Star Roving" mix with those written more than twenty years ago, renders the big time-gap between their latest album and their '90s body of work irrelevant, making it clear that good music cannot be tied down to any particular era or decade. Slowdive's melodic guitar symphonies may always be associated in our minds with the early '90s shoegaze sound, but what this powerful live experience proves beyond any doubt is that their sound is a living and breathing entity that transcends time stamps and can still blow minds today, in these post-everything times of the 21st century!



This is Slowdive's set list for their show at Fuzz Club:


Slowdive, live @ Fuzz Club (Sept. 9th, 2017)

The gig opened with the atmospheric post-rock sounds of Afformance who are about to release two new albums in October, "Pop Nihilism" and "Music for Imaginary Film # 1". A good effort and certainly a good fit with the night's main act.

Afformance, live @ Fuzz Club (Sept. 9th, 2017)
Check out below Slowdive performing "Star Roving" and "Sugar for the Pill" live in Athens:

Star Roving, live @ Fuzz Club (Athens, Sept. 9th, 2017)

Sugar for the Pill, live @ Fuzz Club (Athens, Sept. 9th, 2017)

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Live: The Black Angels @ Piraeus 117 Academy (Athens, September 7th, 2017)


"Death Song", The Black Angels' fifth album, brought the Austin, Texas, psych-rock quintet back to Athens for a fourth time. After playing in summer festivals on their two previous visits, this time the band was here to do its own gig and present its latest release, one of the year's finest, almost in its entirety.


Interestingly enough, the only track off "Death Song" which we didn't get to hear live this time, was "Hunt Me Down", the new song they had chosen to preview in last summer's Release Festival set, so their loyal Greek fans have now listened live every note on the new album.


From the "death" songs that we did get to hear live on this occasion, my favorites included the opening "Currency", "I Dreamt" and "Medicine", while from their back catalogue "Black Grease" and "Bad Vibrations" are always sure fire hits, as is "Young Men Dead", one of the oldest songs in their set, which they saved for the climactic ending of their three-song encore.


Here's the entire set that The Black Angels presented in their fourth visit to Athens:

Currency, Bad Vibrations, The Prodigal Son, I Dreamt, Medicine, I Hear Colors (Chromaesthesia), Black Grease, Grab As Much (as you can), Half Believing, The Sniper at the Gates of Heaven, Entrance Song, I'd Kill for Her, You on the Run, Comanche Moon, Life Song. Encore: Estimate, Death March, Young Men Dead



The Black Angels, live @ Piraeus 117 Academy

The local band that was fittingly chosen to open for the Texans was Holy Monitor who, despite problems with their live sound, played a spirited half-hour set of speedy psych-garage tracks selected from their promising self-titled debut album.

Holy Monitor, live @ Piraeus 117 Academy
Check out below The Black Angels performing "Death March" during the encore of their gig on Thursday:


The Black Angels - Death March, live @ Piraeus 117 Academy (Athens, September 7th, 2017)
 

Monday, September 04, 2017

New Releases: July - August 2017

The summer vacations are over, time to get back into it! Let's start by rounding up some of the most interesting albums and singles released in the last couple of months:

Albums

New Facts Emerge
THE FALL - New Facts Emerge
LIARS - TFCF 
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE - Hug Of Thunder
WAXAHATCHEE - Out in the Storm
NADINE SHAH - Holiday Destination 
EMA - Exile In The Outer Ring
JAPANESE BREAKFAST - Soft Sounds From Another Planet
FRANKIE ROSE - Cage Tropical
GRIZZLY BEAR - Painted Ruins
THE WAR ON DRUGS - A Deeper Understanding
ARCADE FIRE - Everything Now
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE - Villains
DOWNTOWN BOYS - Cost of Living
RAINER MARIA - S/T
FILTHY FRIENDS - Invitation
GUIDED BY VOICES - How Do You Spell Heaven
OH SEES - Orc
KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD with MILD HIGH CLUB - Sketches Of Brunswick East
IRON AND WINE - Beast Epic
THIS IS THE KIT - Moonshine Freeze
PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING - Every Valley
SHABAZZ PALACES - Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star
SHABAZZ PALACES - Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines
GHOSTPOET - Dark Days and Canapes
UNKLE - The Road - Part 1
THE DUKE SPIRIT - Sky is Mine
THE CRIBS - 24-7 Rock Star Shit
THE DEARS - Times Infinity Volume Two
WIDOWSPEAK - Expect the Best
JEN CLOHER - Jen Cloher
KELLEY STOLTZ - Que Aura
SHEER MAG - Need To Feel Your Love
MELVINS - A Walk With Love & Death
THE FRESH AND ONLYS - Wolf Lie Down
PSYCHIC TEMPLE - IV
CHRIS FORSYTH AND THE SOLAR MOTEL BAND - Dreaming In The Non-Dream
AVEY TARE - Eucalyptus
EVERYTHING EVERYTHING - A Fever Dream
MADONNATRON - Madonnatron
A GIANT DOG - Toy
SOCCER MOMMY - Collection
TRAILER TRASH TRACYS - Althaea
LANA DEL REY - Lust For Life
HAIM - Something to Tell You
MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA - A Black Mile To The Surface
TYLER, THE CREATOR - Flower Boy
DIZZEE RASCAL - Raskit
PUBLIC ENEMY - Nothing Is Quick in the Desert

Singles & EPs

Crow Cries
GOAT GIRL - Crow Cries
SAMANTHA URBANI - Policies of Power EP
THE KILLS - Echo Home Non-Electric EP
TY SEGALL - Fried Shallots EP
HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER - Standing in the Doorway
GUIDED BY VOICES - Just To Show You / Knife City
ARIEL PINK - Another Weekend / Ode To The Goat (Thank You)
PURITY RING - Asido
THE OSCILLATION - Evil In The Tree
LAMBCHOP - The Hustle Unlimited / When You Were Mine
BONNIE PRINCE BILLY - Leonard
MOGWAI - Party In The Dark / Eternal Panther
ALICE GLASS - Alice Glass EP
NINE INCH NAILS - Add Violence EP
DJ SHADOW - The Mountain Has Fallen EP
LITTLE BARRIE - Produkt
POLICA AND STARGAZE - Bruise Blood: Reimagining Steve Reich’s Music for Pieces of Wood
SQÜRL - EP #260
THE SEXUAL OBJECTS - Sometimes EP
ALDOUS RH - Feelin’ Blue
CONFIDENCE MAN - Bubblegum Remixes 
SHIT AND SHINE - Hamburger EP 
MADONNATRON / NOFRIENDZ - Headless Children / Bloody Love
THE GOA EXPRESS - Goa / Kiss Me
SLOTFACE - Empire Records / Sponge State
JERKCURB - Voodoo Saloon
STONE FOUNDATION - Simplify the Situation
PAUL WELLER - Woo Sé Mama
THE CHARLATANS - Different Days
LIAM GALLAGHER - Wall of Glass
SUNDARA KARMA - Explore EP 
ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK - Isotype

Goat Girl - Crow Cries