Mogwai : "Remurdered" (via Sub Pop) Vaadat Charigim : "Odisea" (via Force Field PR/ Pitchfork ) Tara Jane O'Neil : "Wordless in Woods" (via Rarely Unable) Philip Perkins : "The Onion" (via Body Double Ltd.) Vex Ruffin : "Prime of My Life" (via Force Field PR/ KCRW ) Be Forest : "Captured Heart" (via Force Field PR/ Impose Magazine ) Girls Names : "The New Life (David Holmes remix)" (via Force Field PR/ Self-Titled ) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Melt-Banana "fetch" A-Zap Records Released: 10.1.13 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Post-post-post-punk band, Disappears , contributed a cover of Kraftwerk 's universally loved "Trans Europa Express" for a split 7" being put out by the label, Sonic Cathedral.  I'm posting it because I really dig the cover.  Give it a listen here: Info on the split release and links to some songs off the latest album from Disappears, Era , (released by Kranky in August), can be found below and were generously provided by Rarely Unable. DISAPPEARS UPCOMING TOUR IN SUPPORT OF NEW ALBUM ERA ; PLUS KRAFTWERK COVER ON NEW SPLIT 7" Disappears could well be one of the most prolific bands on the planet, certainly their frequent output of albums, 12" records and 7" singles would back up this theory. Following the release of their fourth annual report, Era (released on Kranky in August), Disappears are setting their sights for the UK with three shows confirmed amidst a broader European run.  Era sees the band further refining their love of d...

This past Record Store Day , I saw a beautiful (still sealed, sharp corners, nary a fingerprint) copy of SunnO))) 's Black One on the shelves at Double Decker Records .  It was not so modestly priced at $50.  If I've never made it very clear as to the level of individual I am from a financial standpoint, it's a modest one to say the least.  That being said, $50 is a lot of money to spend on any singular item, even if I have in the past given in to impulse buys that were met with both immediate elation and remorse. But, as SunnO))) has now opened up an online store and reissued Black One , I can have the album for a better price (which will happen soon).  This store will apparently serve separately from Southern Lord, meant to provide SunnO))) specific albums, merchandise and reissues.  Information is provided by Earsplit PR. SUNN O))) Initiates Online Store; Black One 2xLP Reissue Set For Release European Shows Confirmed Today, SUNN O))) has...

Girls Names : "The New Life" (via Force Field PR) Cut Yourself in Half : "The End" (via US/Them Group/ Invisible Oranges ) The Besnard Lakes : "Colour Yr Lights In" (via Jagjaguwar) *NSFW!!!* Cop Problem : "Bear Witness" (via Earsplit PR/ CVLT Nation ) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Figured I'd go ambient today.  Happened upon Trouble Books and Moon Wheel , both projects dealing in atmosphere and the experimental interpretation of such. Trouble Books takes more of a traditional instrumental approach with their piece, "Chiaroscuro," from their upcoming new album, Love at Dusk , which releases on November 18th via MIE .  A minimal piano/guitar coupling, (the band comprised of husband and wife, Keith Freund and Linda Lejsovka ), while mild static interference attempts to emulate the varying degrees of sound imperfection found in field recordings.  The video compliments the sounds pretty well as its focus involves abandoned (or vacant) urban structures.  Everything is more or less at rest, the film quality at points offering the only real visual movement.   Moon Wheel is Olle Holmberg , formerly of Pissypaw .  Wool Recordings is issuing a two-song Moon Wheel 7" featuring the songs "Surinam" and "Prosopagnosia," the la...

"In my opinion, Bruce Conner's the most important artist of the 20th century." — Dennis Hopper MOCAtv recently debuted a four-part mini-documentary series on Bruce Conner , the visual artist hailed as the "Father of the Music Video."  Conner's piece, "Cosmic Ray," here featured in the documentary as a motion picture triptych retitled, "Three Screen Ray," is the first ever short film set to popular music ( "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles ), an innovation that obviously had serious impact on the latter half of the 20th century, most notably with the genesis of MTV and the continued dominance of video marketing in the music industry. You can view the documentary series below.  Other videos featured include Toni Basil 's "Breakaway," Devo 's "Mongoloid," and "Mea Culpa" from the Brian Eno and David Byrne collaboration/masterpiece, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts . This is posted with pe...

jesu Everyday I Get Closer to the Light From Which I Came Avalanche Released: 9.23.13 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Granted the arena rock blues jam and Jethro Tull vocal that courses through the six-something minutes of Wolf People 's "When the Fire is Dead in the Grate," the title track from the band's upcoming four-song single release, seems an unquestionably authentic throwback to decades ago.  Still, somehow to me it sounds modern, and I think this is owed to the guitar sounds, which sound splintered next to the tracks rather clean rhythm section.  Check out the info on the release, which was provided by Sure Shot PR.  Wolf People announce New 12" When the Fire is Dead in the Grate on Jagjaguwar Start Debut US Tour and Announce End of Year UK and European dates Wolf People have announced their brand new limited vinyl 12", When the Fire is Dead in the Grate for 2nd December. The release includes two brand new tracks – ‘Become the Ground’ and ‘All Returns Part II’ alongside, ‘When The Fire Is Dead in the Grate’ and ‘All Returns’ which have become huge fan...

Drugs of Faith : "Insanity" (via Invisible Oranges /Earsplit PR) Melvins : "City Dump" (via The Quietus /Rarely Unable) Kurt Vile & Sore Eros : "Serum" (via Pitchfork /Force Field PR) Russian Circles : "1777" (via Pitchfork /Sargent House) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Poison Idea 's 1986 release, Kings Of Punk , is getting the reissue treatment via Southern Lord, who had a hand in reissuing the Darby Crash Rides Again: The Early Years and The Fatal Erection Years 1983-1986 compilations.  It's neither "deluxe" nor "expanded:"  This version of the album is deemed the "Bloated Edition," which sounds appropriate.   Details of the release were provided by Earsplit PR. POISON IDEA: Southern Lord To Reissue Bloated Edition Of Band's Classic Kings Of Punk Album Following last year's resurrection of Darby Crash Rides Again and The Fatal Erection Years , Southern Lord is preparing to deliver the latest release in a series of reissues from POISON IDEA's potent catalog, with an expanded edition of the band's 1986 LP, Kings of Punk . An unmistakable rager of an album by the Portland hardcore berzerkers, on their second full-length POISON IDEA had begun tightening their blazing nailbomb eruptions...

Jungle : "The Heat" (via Noisey /Force Field PR) Widowspeak : "Calico" (via Captured Tracks) White Lung : "Blow it South" (via Enabler PR) Huerco S. : "Ragtime U.S.A. (Warning)" (via Enabler PR) Sahg : "Slipping Off the Edge of the Universe" (via Indie Recordings/ Metal Hammer ) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Agarttha A Water Which Does Not Wet Hands King of the Monsters Records Released: 6.25.13 A meditation based in the premonitions of death detailed in a text from a Polish alchemist, A Water Which Does Not Wet Hands , the exploratory endeavor of which belongs to Agarttha ( Architeuthis Rex ’s Francesca Marongiu with the assistance of bandmate Antonio Gallucci and Reto Mäder of Ural Umbo and Sum of R ), is supplemented by vastness and slow swells of droning instrumentation while ritualistic thuds confirm the music’s depth of space. From the opening “Lambsprinck,” distortion acts as a sonic tapestry from which to adorn each track vocal melodies that drape and flow as endless streams of sound. This characteristic is carried out for the duration of the album, Marongiu angelic against its otherwise ominous persuasion. Tonal droplets color the steady field of wavering fuzz that remarks as dread throughout “Visions of Alina,” a gentle skip of percussion establishing its path. Tho...

For those of us who remember Soundgarden as this unstoppable alt-metal force whose rep had yet to be sullied by Timbaland and ex-members of Rage Against the Machine , the power of their sound still finds resonance.  Granted, we're twenty and more years from Soundgarden's true point of relevance, so Sub Pop's reissue of their Screaming Life/Fopp EP will be most exciting to anyone whose teenage lives coincided with the release of either Badmotorfinger or Superunknown (as mine did).  Still, hearing the band at full-strength in the late 80s before MTV pulled them out of obscurity confirms how truly good this band was.  Inasmuch as Soundgarden's glory had yet to be realized from a commercial perspective, their SST/Sub Pop years document a span of time when they'd committed to mattering musically.  And, they did not disappoint. All info comes courtesy of Sub Pop. Sub Pop Reissues Soundgarden’s Screaming Life / Fopp EP on November 26th Listen to “Nothing To ...

Dylan Carlson , mastermind behind drone progenitors, Earth , will be touring solo and releasing "Holly's Jeans," a new single to be featured on a split 7" he'll be sharing with touring mate, Rogier Smal .  Those familiar with Earth and Carlson's penchant for meditative and lengthy instrumentals won't find anything really new here, but "Holly's Jeans" is still engaging enough a listen.  Carlson has an ability to sort of hone in on what will musically inspire an individual to sit and drift along, repetition and resistance to variation resulting in no true consequence to his vision. You can listen to the track below.  All info is courtesy of Rarely Unable. Apparently, there's also news of an upcoming Earth album.  If interested, you can find reviews on the following Earth albums below: A Bureaucratic Desire for Extra Capsular Extraction (via Stereokiller) Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I (via No Ripcord) Angels of Darkne...