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“If I’ve learned one thing about myself, it’s that I’m 100% incapable of knowing when things will happen,” he told Mojo magazine. “I listened to the stacks of CDs [from the band's mooted third album] and thought: ‘Shit, this is better than the unreleased tracks on the [EPs] compilation. I decided it would be insane not to finish it.”
Shields is now working to finish that third LP, comprising nine songs, for release in 2012. Once he’s done with that, Mojo reports, he wants to make an original My Bloody Valentine EP, “recorded and released in as short a time as possible”.
“The myth is that I’m someone who really overworks things but I’m not like that at all,” he said. “It’s just about recording when you feel good and capturing something as quickly as possible.”
Apparently Sony has inadvertently swapped the disc and/or misprinted the labels. Disc 1 should be the 1/2″ analogue master and disc 2 is the original master. They’ve missed a couple of audio glitches as well. Read this post at The Power of Independent Trucking for more info.
More details about the Loveless remaster on Pitchfork.
“Sleight of hand for the down and out – rarities, alt versions, & unreleased material 1999-2009″
“This is a limited run (100), 12 song disc chronicling hard-to-find and unreleased Highspire material from our first 10 years, including our long out of print debut ep. The first 50 copies were sold during our other band, the Morning After Girls, US summer tour.
Due to demand we’ve made a second run! All copies are hand made and spray painted by EJ, hand numbered (this batch is #’s 51-100), on vinyl-looking CD, and includes info about each track.
These are the remastered versions of the best versions of these tracks we personally have. Most the original recordings have been lost, misplaced, or trashed over the years.”
Track Listing:
1. believe
2. flight
3. shattered (ep version)
4. to tomorrow’s highways
5. believe (acoustic)
6. skies you climb (live)
7. chipping campden (vox remix)
8. close my eyes (ride cover)
9. dagger (slowdive cover)
10. arthur dent
11. left in shadows
12. the world is waiting
Field Mouse is a four-piece dream pop band from Brooklyn, NY. Seamlessly interweaving influences from shoegaze, indie, and power pop, Field Mouse offers lush sonic textures and expansive soundscapes to complement the airy, wistful vocals of singer/guitarist Rachel Browne. Through complex and delicate harmonies, the songwriting of Browne and guitarist Andrew Futral breathes new life into common themes of lost love and renewal.
The band has been honing its sound since its formation in 2010, and has solidified its lineup with the recent addition of bassist Danielle DePalma and drummer Geoff Lewit. Their first release on Small Plates Records finds the group realizing its musical vision, incorporating rich synthesizers and feedback to give an edge to its soaring arrangements and pop sensibilities.
“From Houston, TX comes Pink Playground, a new band that makes videos instead of playing live, and runs in the tradition of shoegaze and ethereal sounds right back to the earliest Jesus and Mary Chain demos. Guitars, synths, otherworldly vocals and drum machines collude to the proto-noise pop moment of the mid ’80s, and charges forth as if the band’s members were born to play in that vein. Ear-splitting volume and spun sugar melodies fill the space with pink pollen blizard dynamics so thick and hazy you might need a dust mask to power through them, songs so sweet that they sting, manners inverted into a new form of aggression.”
While I do hear bits of shoegaze soundscapes and dreamy atmospherics I also am reminded of 60s Euro and lounge.
Here are links to 2 videos from Swervedriver’s performance last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. They played “Son of Mustang Ford”, from 1991′s debut Raise, and a new track “Deep Wound”.
My Bloody Valentine have confirmed their long-awaited reissue series. On May 7, Sony will reissue their albums (1991′s Loveless and 1988′s Isn’t Anything) as well as EP’s 1988-1991, featuring previously unreleased material, rare tracks, and four EPs: Feed Me With Your Kiss, You Made Me Realise, Glider, and Tremolo.
Kevin Shields personally remastered both Loveless and Isn’t Anything at London’s Metropolis Studios. Loveless will be released as a 2-disc set that also features a previously unreleased version of the record, mastered from original analog tapes.
This should be a must-buy seeing how they should be properly remastered and not some hack job that many reissues seem to be.
Isn’t Anything:
01 Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside)
02 Lose My Breath
03 Cupid Come
04 (When You Wake) You’re Still in a Dream
05 No More Sorry
06 All I Need
07 Feed Me With Your Kiss
08 Sueisfine
09 Several Girls Galore
10 You Never Should
11 Nothing Much to Lose
12 I Can See It (But I Can’t Feel It)
Loveless:
Disc 1 [Remastered from original tape]:
01 Only Shallow
02 Loomer
03 Touched
04 To Here Knows When
05 When You Sleep
06 I Only Said
07 Come in Alone
08 Sometimes
09 Blown a Wish
10 What You Know
11 Soon
Disc 2 [Mastered from original ½ inch analogue tapes]:
01 Only Shallow
02 Loomer
03 Touched
04 To Here Knows When
05 When You Sleep
06 I Only Said
07 Come in Alone
08 Sometimes
09 Blown a Wish
10 What You Know
11 Soon
EPs 1988-1991:
Disc 1:
01 You Made Me Realise #
02 Slow #
03 Thorn #
04 Cigarette in Your Bed #
05 Drive It All Over Me #
06 Feed Me With Your Kiss $
07 I Believe $
08 Emptiness Inside $
09 I Need No Trust $
10 Soon %
11 Don’t Ask Why %
12 Off Your Face %
# From the You Made Me Realise EP
$ From the Feed Me With Your Kiss EP
% From the Glider EP
Disc 2:
01 To Here Knows When ^
02 Swallow ^
03 Honey Power ^
04 Moon Song ^
05 Instrumental no. 2 !
06 Instrumental no. 1 !
07 Glider [full-length version] &
08 Sugar +
09 Angel *
10 Good for You *
11 How Do You Do It *
^ From the Tremolo EP
! Distributed on a free 7″ with first 5000 Isn’t Anything LPs
& B-side on the “Soon (The Andrew Weatherall Mix)” 12”
+ Promo-only B-Side on “Only Shallow”, France only
* Previously unreleased
Swervedriver are revving up for a brief run of US shows in March and April kicking off with an appearance on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show on March 26th and have been working on new material for probable release later in the year.
One song called Deep Wound has three different versions, the original being described as a Raw Power/Revolver hybrid which, with the tape turned backwards, turns into a Neu/krautrock-sounding tune and which has also been worked into a half-time, slower-sounding psychedelic version.
Another new song Good Times Are So Hard To Follow is a band re-working of a tune that singer Adam Franklin has written as the title song for a new movie called California Solo starring Robert Carlyle and which is sung in the film by the actor.
Opening on the tour is New York’s Heaven, featuring Mikey Jones, drummer in Adam Franklin’s ‘solo’ band Bolts of Melody. Jones will however be sitting in on drums for the Swervies as he did last year – regular Swerve drummer Graham Bonnar was not available last time and therefore was not registered on the work visas for this time.
A live Swervedriver DVD of a show shot in Sydney last year will be available exclusively at all shows as well as two Adam Franklin vinyl singles (one featuring Wolf Parade and Clientele cover versions and available here: and the other an Adam Franklin & Bolts of Melody/Heaven split seven inch from Goodnight Records featuring a new recording of I Want You Right Now (Kosmische Version). A video is in production for this tune starring actress Jessica Paré from TV show Mad Men).
Swervedriver Tour Dates:
Mar 28 Philadelphia Union Transfer
Mar 29 Boston, Brighton Music Hall
Mar 30 Washington DC, Rock and Roll Hotel
Mar 31 New York City, Bowery Ballroom
Apr 2 Cleveland, Grog Shop
Apr 3 Chicago, Bottom Lounge
Apr 4 Seattle, Neumo’s
Apr 5 Portland, Doug Fir Lounge
Apr 6 San Francisco, Slim’s
Apr 7 Los Angeles, Key Club
The record is titled ‘Bloom’ and will be out from Sub Pop on May 15 in the US and Canada. It’s out May 14 in Europe from Bella Union, May 15 in Mexico from Arts & Crafts, and May 18 in Australia from Mistletone.
Bloom track listing:
01 Myth
02 Wild
03 Lazuli
04 Other People
05 The Hours
06 Troublemaker
07 New Year
08 Wishes
09 On the Sea
10 Irene
Beach House:
05-04 Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theatre
05-05 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
05-06 Charleston, SC – Music Farm
05-08 Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore Miami Beach
05-09 Orlando, FL – Beacham Theater
05-10 Jacksonville, FL – Freebird Live
05-11 Birmingham, AL – The Bottletree
05-12 Athens, GA – The Georgia Theatre
05-13 Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
05-23 Brighton, England – The Haunt
05-24 London, England – Village Underground
05-25 Kortrijk, Belgium – De Kreun
05-26 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg
05-27 Berlin, Germany – Volksbuhne
05-29 Paris, France – Maronguinerie
05-31 Düdingen, Switzerland – Bad Bonn Kilbi Festival
06-02 Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Festival
06-03 Montpellier, France – Le Rockstore
06-04 Bordeaux, France – Theatre Barbey
06-05 Nantes, France – Stereolux
06-06 Lyon, France – Epicrerie Moderne
06-07 Blarritz, France – L’Atabal
06-08-09 Porto, Portugal – Primavera Festival
07-23 New York, NY – Central Park SummerStage
Every now and then, a band comes along with the sounds of something fresh and promising. Sydney band Battleships fits right into this category. Formed in early 2011, they spent most of the year writing, rehearsing and recording new material. Although only having played a handful of shows together as Battleships, they are already garnering admiration for their new single ‘In Retrospect’. Jimmy2sox of Flight Facilities says of the song, “I haven’t heard a song like ‘In Retrospect’ for a long time. It’s a perfect mix of genius musicality and subtle hooks that leave a memorable aftertaste, which ensures a second listen.”
The band sets out to record as many of their rehearsals as possible, and ‘In Retrospect’ was birthed out of one of these many sessions. Battleships recorded, mixed and produced ‘In Retrospect’ themselves in a 100-year-old hall, adding a touch of vintage flavour. They then had it mastered in Sydney’s Level 7 Studios by the renowned Don Bartley (The Vines, Metallica, Silverchair, The Living End).
Battleships’ music tips it hat to the differing influences of the band’s individual members, blending indie rock sensibilities with the aesthetics of Post-Britpop, to create a sound entirely their own. They set out to create music that they enjoy playing, something that they themselves would listen to…and hopefully, something that you would listen to too.
“From Houston, TX comes Pink Playground, a new band that makes videos instead of playing live, and runs in the tradition of shoegaze and ethereal sounds right back to the earliest Jesus and Mary Chain demos. Guitars, synths, otherworldly vocals and drum machines collude to the proto-noise pop moment of the mid ’80s, and charges forth as if the band’s members were born to play in that vein. Ear-splitting volume and spun sugar melodies fill the space with pink pollen blizard dynamics so thick and hazy you might need a dust mask to power through them, songs so sweet that they sting, manners inverted into a new form of aggression.”