The Bats Free All the Monsters [Flying Nun; 2011] by J Arthur Bloom Rating: A new Bats album is like Christmas. Which is to say it’s infrequent, and like the conversations with family members you catch up with for the first time in 12 months, it plays out in a certain familiar, ritualized way, though not without genuine affection. Like family, The Bats are reliable, emerging from the Batcave every few years with a workmanlike long-player for fans of New Zealand’s late-1980s rock scene and Pavement obsessives who heard Stephen Malkmus was pretty hot on the band. This ...

We join Canadian 7 piece folk band Slow Down, Molasses on their first UK tour, 'Tour into the Sea'. Their short 5-leg UK tour, documented in this tour diary, included performances at the revered festival End of The Road, The Northampton Labour Club, The Brixton Windmill, The Oxford Port Mahon and Ten Feet Tale in Cardiff. Tuesday, August 30th After red eye flights from Saskatoon, Calgary, and Toronto; Patrick, Chris and I meet up at the designated spot in Oxford, UK at the Port Mahon, the site of our show tonight. Being that we are stuck without cell phone coverage ...

Belle Adair, out of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, deliver some finely crafted acoustic folk pop. With simple, luscious harmonies and tones reminiscent of Mojave 3, Belle Adair is ready to be your band for the colder Autumn evenings that are fast approaching.  Their new, self-titled EP, which will be released October [...]

Widowspeak Widowspeak Captured Tracks Records [2011] Fire Note Says: Brooklyn trio combine the grace of Mazzy Star with the edge of The Geraldine Fibbers for an infectious debut! Album Review: Some things that you need to know about the new Widowspeak debut. 1) It is a grower - don't just give it one spin because its intimate intricacies will slowly take over your musical brain and won't leave, as it is also a killer headphone record. 2) Yes - lead vocalist Molly Hamilton sounds like Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. This is a quality that is unmissable but hard to ...

New York’s Dead Leaf Echo’s most recent release was an EP called “Versimilitude” at the end of May (Custom Made Music). It includes remixes and collaborations from Mark Van Hoen (Seefeel, Mojave 3), John Fryer (This Mortal Coil, Depeche Mode), Elika, RxGibbs (Auburn Lull) and Remarkably Spry! (The Vandelles). Only 100 copies of the CD [...]

The Loose Salute‘s Getting Over Being Under mashes She and Him-esque vintage pop and modern alt-country sounds together. The resulting 11 tunes are incredibly pleasant, as you may expect a combination of those earnest genres would create. (Ian McCutcheon, drummer for alt-country greats Mojave 3, is the songwriter here.) The album is only problematic if [...]

Widowspeak Gun Shy 7" Captured Tracks Records [2011] Fire Note Says: Time to get on board with the excellent Widowspeak! Album Review: The Gun Shy 7" is an excellent preview of the stylistic Widowspeak and their soon to be discovered lush arrangements when their debut LP hits August 9th. Front woman Molly Hamilton has a sultry and addictive vocal, much like Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, that breezes along in the single as the song builds. Not only is "Gun Shy" a great song but the b-side here is a cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game", which is a ...

Dead Leaf Echo released a new EP “Verisimilitude” on May 31st on Custom Made Music featuring remixes and collaborations from Mark Van Hoen (Seefeel, Mojave 3), John Fryer (This Mortal Coil, Depeche Mode), Elika, RxGibbs (Auburn Lull) and Remarkably Spry! (The Vandelles). “Verisimilitude” is produced in limited-edition CD release. Only 100 copies were made with [...]

Four years on from the critically acclaimed Tuned To Love, The Loose Salute (Mojave 3, Slowdive) are back with an album of splendid, rueful charm – a triumph of heart and soul. The music is still wearing it’s bubblegum heart on its sleeve but it’s bruised, tougher, wiser. – PMA Happy I Don’t Count by The Loose Salute by PMA

Last week's SXSW festival was full of terrible band names – about 173 of which used the words 'crystal', 'wolf' or 'kids'. Why? And how can bands make their names better? How come so many bands at this year's SXSW festival had such awful names? Jessamyn Cuneo, via email Well, firstly I'd like to state that one person's awful name is often another person's awesome name. That's why suggesting an example of a "bad" band name can be the easiest way to start an argument. Still, most music fans and professionals do seem to agree ...

Cast members of Emmerdale and Hollyoaks rub shoulders with bearded ATP veterans and latecomers schooled by Kings Of Leon's earliest exertions but left floundering by the execrable Only By The Night and Come Around Sundown. It's a mix and match crowd but one that exemplifies Band Of Horses obvious... Read the full story on DrownedinSound.com

South Carolinas true current rock heroes Band of Horses are currently embarking on a vast European tour, bringing their own unique country style rock, providing fans, critics and music lovers a show that will without a doubt please absolutely everyone. Following a few line-up changes since the band...

South Carolina's true current rock heroes, Band of Horses, are currently embarking on a vast European tour, bringing their own unique country style rock, providing fans, critics and music lovers a show that will, without a doubt, please absolutely everyone. Following a few line-up changes since the...

Band of Horses have announced that their next single will be ‘Dilly’. The track is taken from Infinite Arms and will be released on Monday 14th February. The single will come backed with a cover of Cee-Lo Green’s ‘Georgia’. The video for 'Dilly' can be found here! Tour Dates 26th January / Newcastle Academy 27th January / Glasgow Academy 28th January / Birmingham Academy 1 30th January / Bristol Academy (sold out) 31st January / Leeds Academy 1 1st February / Manchester Academy 1 3rd February / London Brixton Academy 4th February / Bexhill De La Warr Pavilion Click here to buy tickets The Goldheart Assembly will ...

Band Of Horses are preparing to launch their latest UK tour with a fresh single. In love with the deep South, Band Of Horses recently returned to their home of Carolina in order to complete their new album. The results were enormously successful, with 'Infinite Arms' pushing the band into the mainstream. Since then, Band Of Horses have embarked on a massive tour. Taking in venues across the globe, the American group have reached larger audiences than ever before with 'Infinite Arms' matching sales to critical acclaim. Kick-starting 2011 with a new single, 'Dilly' is due to be released on ...