Alternative Rock
Foals on the Ecstatic, Unified Energy of New Album Life Is Yours
Back in November, days before the release of Life Is Yours‘ lead single “Wake Me Up,” Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis assured listeners that this album would be a return to a “sweaty, late-night dance floor.” He wasn’t kidding: Life Is Yours is undoubtedly the most groove-oriented, shimmering Foals album yet, destined for the peak of a wild night and smartly positioned as an antithesis to a long period of lockdown. If you are a Foals fan, the streamlined style of Life Is Yours is a bit of a left turn, albeit one that’s closer to the frenetic dance punk of their debut Antidotes and the introspective glow of Total Life Forever. Though a restless energy populates the dance-centric Life Is Yours, there’s very little agitation in the mix — where previous Foals jams like “I...
Flight of the Conchords’ Bret McKenzie Invites You to “Dave’s Place” on New Single: Stream
Bret McKenzie is taking a pause from his comedy group Flight of the Conchords and swooping towards his first-ever solo album Songs Without Jokes this summer. Before the LP is released on August 26th via Sub Pop, the New Zealand musician has shared another sample of it today with the new single “Dave’s Place.” Like most of his songs, McKenzie originally wrote “Dave’s Place” on his guitar at home. What began as a simple country tune eventually grew into a “Dire Straits-esque” blues-rock jam after bringing it to the studio with producer Mickey Petralia in Los Angeles. Despite the song’s peppy, sunshiney flair, the meaning of its lyrics is much more bittersweet. “The song is called ‘Dave’s Place’ after the late Dave Bianco,” McKenzie explains in a press release. “Dave was an amazing audio...
How to Get Tickets to The Smile’s 2022 Tour
The Smile are only just beginning to shine as the Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner project heads out on their first full tour together behind their debut LP, and one of Consequence‘s Top 30 Albums of 2022 (So Far), A Light for Attracting Attention. Now they’ve expanded their initial outing with a full North American leg starting in November. Get tickets here, and read on for more details including pre-sale dates. What Is The Smile’s Next Tour? The Smile kicked off their first tour in May with an ongoing UK/European leg that stretches to the end of July and includes appearances at Denmark’s Roskilde Festival, Switzerland’s Montreux Jazz Festival, and the final stop at London’s All Points East on August 28th. Advertisement Related Video The additional North American leg is no “Th...
The Get Up Kids Announce Four Minute Mile Anniversary Tour with Sparta
It’s been 25 years since The Get Up Kids released their debut album Four Minute Mile, so naturally, they’re gearing up to celebrate it with an anniversary tour. The emo veterans have announced a run of shows where they’ll play the LP (plus the 1997 EP Woodson) in its entirety. Fellow genre trailblazers Sparta will serve as the special guest. The “Four Minute Mile 25th Anniversary Tour” begins in August in Texas, where Matt Pryor and company will hit Dallas, Houston, and Austin before moving over to the West Coast. From there, the band heads east before wrapping up in Philadelphia on September 29th. See the full list of dates below, and grab tickets via Ticketmaster starting Thursday, June 16th at 12:00 p.m. ET. The Get Up Kids’ last album was 2019’s Problems. See where we ra...
Nick Cave and Thastrom to Anchor Animated Series as Beer-Drinking 14-Year-Olds
Australian rock legend Nick Cave and Swedish punk icon Thåström are getting animated in Before They Were Gods, a TV series which follows the two artists as beer-drinking 14-year-olds. If this sounds like a fever dream, well, you’re not far off. Before They Were Gods comes from the cracked imagination of Swedish auteur Måns Mårlind (Shelter, Midnight Sun). “This is a dream project that literally came to me in a dream,” Mårlind said in a statement to THR. “While asleep, I watched two of my musical heroes as young teenagers, drinking cheap beer while discussing love and the meaning of life. I woke up writing and have been trying to catch up with them ever since.” Before They Were Gods is billed as a philosophical discourse between the “harsh existentialist” Thåström a...
Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood’s The Smile Announce North American Tour
The Smile, the new band from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, and Sons of Kemet dummer Tom Skinner, have announced their inaugural North American tour. The 19-date outing comes in support of the trio’s debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention. The tour kicks off in Providence, Rhode Island on November 14th, with further stops scheduled in Boston, New York, Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans, and beyond, before wrapping up out west with gigs in San Francisco and Los Angeles at the end of December. Check out the full schedule below. A Live Nation pre-sale goes down Thursday, June 16th (use code DAZZLE) ahead of the public on-sale on Friday, June 17th via Ticketmaster. Advertisement Related Video The Smile 2022 Tour Dates:11/14 – Providence, RI @ V...
Rise Against Surprise Release New EP Nowhere Generation II, Share “Last Man Standing” Video: Stream
Rise Against have surprise released a new EP titled Nowhere Generation II, along with the video for the track “Last Man Standing.” The EP is a companion release to last year’s Nowhere Generation full-length album and contains new material, including the aforementioned single “Last Man Standing.” The song features passionately sung vocals and narrative lyrical content, with an underbelly of surging guitars. The video is also quite entertaining, as the band and others attempt to escape the pinpoint accuracy of a long-range female archer. Advertisement “‘Last Man Standing’ was a way of expressing some frustration with our world in regards to exploitation, public alienation and human inequality,” explains director Ryan Valdez. “As you see in the video, we are fed through this race of survival....
Big Thief Cancel Concerts in Israel, Venue Calls Band “Cowards”
Amid public outcry from many of their fans, Big Thief have canceled a pair of upcoming shows scheduled in Tel Aviv, Israel. In a statement issued on Thursday, the band said, “To be clear, we oppose the illegal occupation and the systematic oppression of the Palestinian people. We believe in total freedom and self-determination for all Palestinians.” Big Thief announced the July concerts at Tel Aviv venue Barby last last week, explaining in a statement that they wanted to explore bassist Max Oleartchik’s Israeli hometown and meet his family and friends in the same way that he had done for them as they toured the United States. “It is important for us to go where we have family to share space and play for them,” the band said. “It is foundational. It is in that spirit that we made our d...
Laurie Anderson Called Off Plan to House Lou Reed Archive in Texas over Gun Law
The new exhibition “Lou Reed: Caught Between the Twisted Stars” opens at Lincoln Center’s Library for Performing Arts on Thursday, but it nearly ended up in Texas. As Reed’s widow Laurie Anderson explained in conversation with The New York Times, she cut off conversations with UT Austin after Texas legislators passed a law allowing handguns to be carried on college campuses. Reed died in 2013, and Anderson had initially wanted his archive to be housed at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, which already boasted papers from James Joyce, Norman Mailer, and Don DeLillo. But after Governor Abbott signed the campus-carry bill in 2015, “I called them up,” she said. “‘This thing we’ve been talking about for a couple years? It’s off. Because of guns.’” A few months later, she read about a...
Laurie Anderson Called Off Plan to House Lou Reed Archive in Texas over Gun Law
The new exhibition “Lou Reed: Caught Between the Twisted Stars” opens at Lincoln Center’s Library for Performing Arts on Thursday, but it nearly ended up in Texas. As Reed’s widow Laurie Anderson explained in conversation with The New York Times, she cut off conversations with UT Austin after Texas legislators passed a law allowing handguns to be carried on college campuses. Reed died in 2013, and Anderson had initially wanted his archive to be housed at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, which already boasted papers from James Joyce, Norman Mailer, and Don DeLillo. But after Governor Abbott signed the campus-carry bill in 2015, “I called them up,” she said. “‘This thing we’ve been talking about for a couple years? It’s off. Because of guns.’” A few months later, she read about a...
KennyHoopla Announces 2022 US Tour Dates
KennyHoopla staked his claim in the music world last summer with his Survivors Guilt mixtape, and now, he’s finally hitting the road. Today, the rising pop-punk star has been announced as the headliner of the 2022 Monster Energy Outbreak Tour. KennyHoopla’s 28-date trek across the US begins September 10th in Denver. He’ll hit cities including Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York City, Atlanta, and more before wrapping things up in Austin on October 29th. Supporting Kenny on the 2022 Monster Energy Outbreak Tour are alt-pop band Groupthink and emo rapper nothing,nowhere. Kenny adds in a press release: “I’m excited to headline the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour with my brothers nothing,nowhere and Groupthink. So many cities that I haven’t played in yet and I can’t wait to meet you all!...
Lou Reed Archive Series Launches with Words & Music, May 1965
An archive series of Lou Reed’s music has been announced by Light in the Attic Records, with many of the late artist’s early demo recordings surfacing for the first time. The initial release, Words & Music, May 1965, is set to arrive on August 26th. Compiled with cooperation from Reed’s longtime partner and electronic music pioneer Laurie Anderson (who also produced Words & Music, May 1965 with Don Fleming, Jason Stern, Hal Willner, and Matt Sullivan), the newly-remastered material pulls from tapes recorded by the fledgling New York singer-songwriter prior to the official formation of The Velvet Underground. In archival notes that accompany the release, Fleming and Stern recount their discovery while browsing Reed’s offices, where they found two tapes that featured a 1958 rehearsal...
