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In the summer of 1998 ? brought together by a slew of disparate-yet-alluring musical reference points ? high school friends Eddie Baranek (vocals/guitar), Mike Trombley (drums), and Mark Leahey (bass/vocals) formed The Sights. The trio began playing around their hometown of Detroit shortly thereafter, around which time Trombley, founding drummer, headed to California for what would come to be a three-year respite from the band and also the impetus for a revolving door of drummers, bassist and keyboard players. Undaunted , The Sights took to the studio and began recording their debut album, Are You Green?, at Jim Diamond?s Ghetto Recorders in Detroit . Originally released in June of 1999, Are You Green? was picked up by L.A.-based Fall of Rome Records and re-released the following year. Never big on rest, The Sights went to work on their sophomore album, Got What We Want (released in 2002). With this, the band?s freakishly precocious ability to blend frenetic garage rock, Motown and 60?s pop into something equal parts classic and catchy got them noticed. Got What We Want was released in the U.K. a year later, garnering them some very nice words from both the British press ("Got What We Want is a revelation - a treasure trove of sparky and wildly immediate songwriting." --NME) and the not-so British press ("At last - a new Detroit-garage band that comes in colors." --Rolling Stone). The Sights hit the road for a year of touring both countries, including a 10-week stint sleeping inside the group?s 1991 Ford Econoline van and stealing bagels for sustenance. In the spring of 2004, The Sights - now including relative newbie Bobby Emmett as organist/bassist and Keith Fox as drummer- caught the ear of ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, who signed them to his own Scratchie Records ( an imprint of New Line Records). And with that, the band headed back to Ghetto Recorders to record their self-titled third LP, The Sights, due out in April 2005. No small feat, the album combines the unobtrusive honesty of The Band with slivers of influence from The Sights? own personal record collections: Ike & Tina, Solomon Burke, Everly Brothers , Bob Seger, Tim Hardin and all manner of raucous songwriting. The end result is an album that?s classic, not derivative?filled with swagger and deference?and ridiculously catchy. Really.
Hanne Hukkelberg: "Cheater's Armoury"
Following mainstream praise for her debut release Little Things, Norwegian singer Hanne Hukkelberg is set to release her sophomore album "Rykestrasse 68" in early March. Rykestrasse 68 is a collaboration of songs inspired by Hukkelberg's 6-month stint in Berlin where she wrote and recorded an eclectic masterpiece of ambitious lyrics and soulful sounds. With an early release to iTunes, Rykestrasse 68 has been received exceptionally well from the indie scene and is of The Wire's top 50 records of 2007. Hanne Hukkelberg has earned comparison to the great Billie Holiday and is sure to become a household name in itself with the release of Rykestrasse 68.
Vampire Weekend: "Mansard Roof"
The name of this band is Vampire Weekend. They are specialists in the following styles: "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", "Upper West Side Soweto", "Campus", and "Oxford Comma Riddim." Vampire Weekend are Ezra Koenig (vocals / guitar), Rostam Batmanglij (keyboards / vocals), Chris Baio (bass) and Christopher Tomson (drums). They live in New York and met while studying at Columbia University, forming the band in the spring of 2006. In June 2007 the New York Times wrote that "Even without an album, Vampire Weekend have made one of the most impressive debuts of the year." In January 2008 XL Recordings will release Vampire Weekend's first full-length. Their first single "Mansard Roof" will be in shops on October 22, 2007. (October 23 in the US)
Time to test the mettle of Leeds-based Britpopsters Kaiser Chiefs, who'll aim later this month to clear the biggest hurtle of any young band's career - the dreaded sophomore album.
Jennifer Gentle: "I Do Dream You"
Hailing from Padova, Italy, Jennifer Gentle is not a girl. Jennifer Gentle is, in fact, a band made up of singer/guitarist Marco Fasolo and drummer Alessio Gastaldello (joined by various accomplices when they play live). Valende is their third full-length, and first for Sub Pop (their first two albums, I Am You Are and Funny Creatures Lane were released individually on Italy's Sillyboy Entertainment, and together as a double CD under the name Ectoplasmic Garden Party by Australia's Lexicon Devil label). The record was, like its predecessors, home-recorded by Marco and Alessio and it's a psych pop charmer, drawing on the band's own brand of musical dementia: an almost impossible-to-describe melting pot of whacked experimentation, deep fried eccentricity and acoustic beauty, drawing judiciously on the band's long-term fascination with Syd Barrett, 13th Floor Elevators, and Joe Meek production techniques. Jennifer Gentle is also the first Italian band Sub Pop has ever signed (such is our deep affection for the band). But, again, Jennifer Gentle is not a girl.
With this video it seems like the core solution involves lots of heavy metal head banging. There is no doubt that the second full-length album from Norway's ZYKLON is a platter highly anticipated. Fans and critics alike have followed the album's progress as various news and music gossip pages have meticulously tracked the band's trips and sightings during the making of this all-important recording. And now, with worldwide release set for early September, "Aeon" - as it is titled - will come to represent more than just a stronger and more potent ZYKLON; it will righteously disclose for all a band in possession of steadfast determination, focus and poised to wave their personal banner of musical independence for years to come. Escalating the extremity factor, Aeon gives witness to equal measure death and black metal. But as those who know ZYKLON's sound can attest - so much more can and will be found within. Guitarist Samoth and drummer Trym together with guitarist Destructhor and new vocalist/bassist Secthdamon bestow an incredulously cold and calculated metal, a sound that is light years apart from the duo's later Emperial days. And as monumental as 2001's "World ov Worms" was ("a mighty, snarling beast," said Malcome Dome/Metal-Is), Aeon's musical palette needs but a solitary sitting in which to bare its raging power. Recorded at Akkerhaugen Lydstudioin in Norway and mixed at famed Studio Fredman in Sweden under the watchful eye of Fredrik Nordstr?m, "Aeon" sees B?rd "Faust" Eithun returning to handle lyrical duties while Secthdamon takes his first steps on record behind the mike and on bass. Earning his vocal stripes while touring (the band supporting Morbid Angel and Deicide for their maiden US adventure), the drummer turned bassist/vocalist settles perfectly into the position left vacant in late 2001 by Daemon. Destructhor will continue to impress the guitar aficionados with his lightning-fast solos and technique. Add to it the long-respected play of Samoth and the inspiring skins of Trym, "Aeon" is a record that builds upon an already revered sonic recipe. Founded in 1998, it was evident from the start that ZYKLON was to be more than just a "side project" for the then-Emperor guitarist and drummer. Teaming with Destructhor (also of Myrkskog), the trio's rehearsals ignited a spark that would put them on the fast track. Enter England's Candlelight Records. Already home to Emperor, Candlelight was the best and obvious first choice for the band and their recording future. Enlisting Daemon from Limbonic Art for vocals and featuring a guest appearance from Kristoffer Rygg (Ulver, Arcturus), "World ov Worms" was recorded and released February 2001 in Europe and followed in April for the United States. The band would tour worldwide with Morbid Angel and by year's end the album would find itself upon many magazine and critic "Best of Year" lists. Work began on Aeon in early 2002 with the band's writing and rehearsing seeing out the end of the year. Recording commenced in February 2003 with final work completed in May. The album's cover art was created by long-time friend and accomplished designer Stephen O'Malley. Whereas previous work catered around the studio, ZYKLON is equally dedicated to the live arena. With festival appearances already confirmed and tours looming on a horizon that will see the band living for the stage till the early months of 2004, "Aeon" will ultimately earn its merit where it ought to - in front of the band's dedicated and growing fan base.
Capitol Music Group will release Teenager, the third album from acclaimed Irish rock band The Thrills, on October 23rd. The five-piece Dublin band had recorded its two previous albums – 2003’s So Much For The City and 2004’s Let’s Bottle Bohemia – in sunny Southern California, but this time round they opted for The Warehouse (which was a makeshift morgue in a previous incarnation and is rumored to be haunted) in Vancouver, BC’s seedy Gastown district.
"Take This Life" is the roll-out single and video from In Flames' wildly anticipated new album, "Come Clarity." The "Take This Life" video was produced and directed by long time In Flames collaborator Patric Ullaeus (for Revolver Film Company) and features the band (Bjorn Gelotte - Guitars, Daniel Svensson - Drums, Peter Iwers - Bass, Jesper Stromblad - Guitars and Anders Friden - Vocals) performing against the backdrop of New York City's Times Square as an evolving storyline unfolds. In addition to his video work with In Flames, Ullaeus is known for directing the Lacuna Coil hit videos "Heaven's a Lie" and "Swamped". In Flames has been one of the leaders of the underground metal movement for over 10 years. With over 1,000,000 records sold worldwide and coming off a successful tour as part of OZZFEST 2005, where they shared the festival's main stage with Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and others, the time is ripe for this Swedish quintet to continue their ascent. The band's recent success, as well as that of their counterparts -- including Killswitch Engage (whom they co-headlined with in 2004), Shadows Fall and Lamb of God -- has paved the wave for metal bands to break through to the mainstream.
Hot Swedish electro artists The Knife?s third studio album Silent Shout will be in stores on July 25th. Based in Stockholm, Sweden The Knife create subversive, shape-shifting soundscapes that defy categorization. Moving between realms, from highly danceable to tightly intimate spaces, theirs is music left of center and on the avant tip. Silent Shout, The Knife's third album, debuted at #1 on the Swedish charts. Mute will release Silent Shout, The Knife's first domestic release on July 25, 2006. "Silent Shout," the first single and title track, will be released on 12" and CD June 27, 2006 and features remixes from Shinedoe, Troy Pierce and more. Brother and sister, Olof Dreijer and Karin Dreijer Andersson, began making music together as The Knife in 1999, releasing records under their label Rabid Records. Deftly utilizing technology to strip, break down, defile, rebuild, and renew, their self-titled debut album The Knife, released in 2001, was followed by a soundtrack for the independent film Hannah med H, and their second artist album, Deep Cuts, both in 2003. The Knife is also famously responsible for penning ?Heartbeats?, a soul-tugging track made popular by Mute label-mate (and fellow Swede) Jose Gonzalez.
Stateless are one of Leeds' most exciting bands, currently on course to explode all over the music world. The band fuses a conventional band set-up of vocals (Chris James), bass (Justin Percival) and drums (David Levin) with the electronic mesh of turntables (Kidkanevil) and live programming (Rod). Stateless recently finished recording their self-titled debut album with producer Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian), who passed on some tracks to the mighty DJ Shadow. Immediately a fan, Shadow enlisted Chris to co write and sing on two songs on his new album The Outsider. Check out Stateless on http://music.download.com/stateless
