CD Preview

Meat Puppets Expand with Rat Farm

By Glenn BurnSilver Wed., Feb. 27 2013 at 4:00 AM
Categories: CD Preview

The cover of Rat Farm, the forthcoming record from Meat Puppets.
Though the band now resides in Austin, Meat Puppets and the brothers Kirkwood (Curt and Cris) will be forever tied to the Valley of the Sun whence they sprung.

That connection has gotten stronger to with the addition of Curt's son Elmo--a Tempe resident and guitarist in local bands Flamingo and Kirkwood Dellinger --now an official member of the touring band. It's a new era for the band, which is releasing Rat Farm April 16 on Megaforce.

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Cris, Curt, Elmo, Kirkwood, Meat Puppets, Rat Farm, Shandon Sahm
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Weird

Local Wizards Enlists Santa Claus to Promote New Album

By Chase Kamp Mon., Aug. 27 2012 at 4:00 AM
Categories: CD Preview, Weird

See also: Local Wizards: Songwriter Makes "Based Garagebandcore;" We Interview Via Twitter

The pre-release fanfare for highly anticipated albums has gotten particularly elaborate recently. Avant-industrial legends Swans have the entirety of their latest two-hour, triple-LP epic available to stream on NPR Music, including a track that runs more than 30 minutes. For the past month, Animal Collective has been engaged in a multi-media barnstorm for their latest long-player, Centipede Hz, that involves guest DJs on weekly podcasts and lots of shroom-tracer visuals.

However, those acts too meek and lowly to organize a cross-platform PR blitz have to be a little more resourceful. Kendall Humbert, the 19-year-old prolific tweeter and budding warlock behind eclectic Tempe project Local Wizards, revealed the drop date of his forthcoming new album, The Signal, earlier this week in a practical yet memorably peculiar YouTube video.

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Local Wizards
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Q&A

Jared "J.Paul" Jackson on HavocNdeeD's New EP Distoria, New Direction, and New Member

By Benjamin Leatherman Fri., Jul. 20 2012 at 5:00 AM
Categories: CD Preview, Q&A

havocndeed press photo.jpg
Secret Service Publicity
HavocNdeeD: (from left) Skaught Parry, Jared "J. Paul" Jackson, & Ben "OB-One" Garcia
See also: HavocNdeeD Remix of Linkin Park's "Wretches and Kings" Gets Love From NME
See also: HavocNdeeD's DJ J-Paul Talks Dubstep, Mormonism, Industrial Music, and More

Jared Jackson is one busy cat these days. Besides being a new father, which would likely swamp anyone's schedule, the 32-year-old DJ and producer pulls regular gigs spinning Top 40 around the Valley (including one this Sunday at El Santo Cantina in Scottsdale) and serves as one-third of HavocNdeeD.

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DJ OB-One, HavocNdeeD, Jared "J. Paul" Jackson, Skaught Parry, UK Thursdays
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Thee Gentlemen Ether Release Debut EP

By Benjamin Leatherman Thu., Jul. 12 2012 at 5:00 AM
Categories: CD Preview

thee gentlemen ether mc puma walker lynx kinetic.jpg
Thee Gentlemen Ether: Lynx Kinetic (left) and Benjamin "Mr. Puma MC" Walker.

When Benjamin Walker was enduring months of chemotherapy and other treatments last year to eradicate the softball-sized tumor growing on his aorta, a few things helped keep the renowned local emcee going: The desire to perform at least one more show with his new hip-hop act Thee Gentlemen Ether and maybe even record some tracks.

Walker, who's also known by his stage name Mr. Puma MC, got everything he wished for and more.

He's nearly recovered from cancer; Gentlemen Ether has performed a half-dozen local shows in the last seven months; and they've recently finished their debut EP Huff. And tomorrow night at Tempe's Yucca Tap Room, the group will headline its first gig ever.


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Benjamin Walker, Bombshelter DJs, Lynx Kinetic, Mr. Puma MC, Thee Gentlemen Ether
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CD Preview

Your New Favorite Band: Twin Sister

By Ade Kassim Mon., Aug. 22 2011 at 2:30 PM
Categories: CD Preview

Thumbnail image for Twin Sister - In Heaven (Album Cover
Twin Sister - In Heaven
​Twin Sister is a Long Island-bred indie-pop quintet that creates lush, dreamy music. The songs are an outburst of melody enriched with a deep sense of emotion and atmosphere, personified by lead singer, Andrea Estella's warm, whispered vocals resulting in a remarkable set of songs that can only be described as a feeling of calm euphoria.

Twin Sister burst onto the scene with 2004's Vampires With Dreaming Kids EP - a collection of demos that displayed subtle hints of what was to come. The band's five members became friends when they crossed paths at various local shows in Long Island, eventually trading ideas and demos back and forth, culminating in the aforementioned EP.


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Domino Records, In Heaven, Twin Sister
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Band-tastic: Summer Camp

By Michael Lopez Fri., Aug. 5 2011 at 9:00 AM
Categories: CD Preview

Summer+Camp.jpg
Elizabeth Sankey and Jeremy Warmsley
​Initially filled with mystery and intrigue, indie pop/lo-fi duo Summer Camp bust onto the scene in 2010 with their dreamy, bedroom pop -- much to the delight of the blogoshpere. No one quite knew exactly who the duo was or where they hailed from --  Chicago was mentioned as a hometown, as well as possibly Sweden. Those ruminations were all put to rest, however, when Summer Camp was revealed as London duo Jeremy Warmsley, an accomplished singer/songwriter with two albums to his name, and Elizabeth Sankey, a journalist who had worked with NME and Platform. It seems the mystery was due to both Warmsley and Sankey, who admitted they didn't think their project was going to go public.

Thank god they decided to share their music with the masses. Their take on indie pop vacillates between nostalgia-filled and just plain dark and creepy -- in plenty a good way.

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Better Off Without You, Elizabeth Sankey, I Want You, Jeremy Warmsley, Round The Moon, Summer Camp
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Neon Indian Reveals Era Extraña Details, Including "Polish Girl" Download

By Michael Lopez Thu., Aug. 4 2011 at 8:00 AM
Categories: CD Preview

NeonIndianEraExtrana.jpg
Era Extraña, the highly anticipated sophomore album from Neon Indian
​September 13 may just come to define new music for all of 2011 -- St. Vincent, Blitzen Trapper, Wooden Shjips and Neon Indian all have new albums due out. No one album, however, is as anticipated as the sophomore effort from Neon Indian, Era Extraña. Alan Palomo, the man behind Neon Indian, spent this past winter in Helsinki writing and recording what would eventually become Extraña, adding all the more intrigue to an already fascinating musician in Palomo.

In anticipation of the album, Palomo has made the track "Polish Girl" available via iTunes, joining the already available track "Fallout" as early tastes of what's to come for Era Extraña.

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Alan Palomo, Era Extraña, Fallout, Helsinki, Mom + Pop, Neon Indian, Polish Girl
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Your New Favorite Band: Fair Ohs

By Michael Lopez Thu., Jul. 21 2011 at 1:00 PM
Categories: CD Preview

Everything-Is-Dancing-Cover.jpeg
Fair Ohs - Everything Is Dancing
​Imagine, if you will, that there exists somewhere out there a less shitty, English version of Vampire Weekend -- a band that employs Afropop stylings yet with more of an edge to their sound. East London trio Fairs Ohs are just that. The band does not don loafers and sweaters, nor do they sing about Mexican rice beverages or Cape Cod -- yet, like Ezra Koenig and co., they do have a distinctly tropical punk, Afropop sound. 

Fair Ohs manages to take things a step further in the funkier direction on their debut record Everything Is Dancing. Influences abound from West Africa funk to '60s psychedelic rock, coalescing into 35 minutes of funky, post-punk indie rock.

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Baldessari, Eden Rock, Everything Is Dancing, Fair Ohs, Yah
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Your New Favorite Band: Thundercat

By Michael Lopez Mon., Jul. 18 2011 at 8:00 AM
Categories: CD Preview
thundercat-artist-2011.jpeg
Stephen Bruner, better known as Thundercat
​Stephen Bruner, it's safe to say, is one interesting dude. When he's not doing session work for Snoop Dogg, Eric Benet and Flying Lotus -- he was featured on FlyLo's latest album, Cosmogramma, on the track "Mmmhmm" -- Bruner plays bass for Suicidal Tendencies. Yeah, that Suicidal Tendencies. 

When Bruner isn't helping out others in the studio and on the road, he records his own bass-driven, jazz fusion music under the name Thundercat. Bruner's debut Thundercat album, The Golden Age of Apocalypse, is due out August 30. It's an overwhelming mixture of his bass funk, experimental jazz, and electronic-minded rhythms. It easily stands as one of the most unique records to be released this year.

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Daylight, Flying Lotus, For Love I Come, Stephen Bruner, The Golden Age of Apocalypse, Thundercat
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Your New Favorite Band: Blood Orange

By Michael Lopez Thu., Jul. 7 2011 at 2:00 PM
Categories: CD Preview
bloodorange.jpeg
Blood Orange - Coastal Grooves
​Oddly enough, my introduction to up-and-coming indie rock outfit Blood Orange was very similar to my introduction to British singer/songwriter Lightspeed Champion -- the stage name of Devonté Hynes -- back in late 2007. I had initially listened to albums from both bands, not immediately comprehending just what was going on. With Lightspeed Champion, I didn't initially realize that what I was hearing, but their debut album Falling Off The Lavender Bridge was soon to become one my favorite albums of the past three years. With regards to Blood Orange, I honestly did not know what I was listening to was, in fact, a side project of the aforementioned Hynes -- yet another moniker for the immensely talented musician.

I suppose it's a testament to Devonté Hynes -- that he can pull the wool over one of his biggest fans' eyes, effectively tricking me into thinking I had stumbled upon yet another brilliant British indie rock band.

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Blood Orange, Devonté Hynes, Domino Records, Falling Off The Lavender Bridge, Forget It, I'm Sorry We Lied, Lightspeed Champion, S'cooled, Sutphin Boulevard
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