The Common Cold : "Stop The Traffic" (via mutante-inc./ Action Records /Soundcloud) "Stop The Traffic" is the lead single from The Common Cold 's upcoming new album, Shut Up! Yo Liberals .  The album is scheduled to release May 4th and is available for pre-order at Action Records . Via mutante-inc.: Only 300 copies of the vinyl will be released and the first 100 copies include a hand painted inner sleeve, a free badge, and other goodies __________________________________________________________ Once and Future Band : "Destroy Me" (via Tell All Your Friends PR/ Castle Face Records /Soundcloud) Via Castle Face: We're happy to be able to speak of this now that the cat's out of the bag — Once and Future Band have graced us with another tasty morsel of everything they do best. Vault-dust begone; this EP deserves your attention. Rarely do the words "vitruosic" and "tasteful" collide so often in my mind as tryi...

Saccharine Trust : "A Good Night's Bleeding" Smart Went Crazy : "Song of the Dodo" Charles Mingus : "Hearts' Beat and Shades in Physical Embraces" Sun Ra and His Arkestra (featuring Pharaoh Sanders and Black Harold ) Glenn Branca : "Lesson No. 1 for Electric Guitar" Joseph Loduca : "Ash's Dream / Dancing Game / Dance of the Dead" Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

A selection of Italian artists' electro-centric ditties have been amassed into a four-sided new compilation from Stroboscopic Artefacts entitled, Flowers From The Ashes: Contemporary Italian Electronic Music.   While I'm not familiar with the label's roster, it was based on the strength of this Caterina Barbieri composition, "Virgo Rebellion," that I entered this collection onto my wishlist.    You can listen to this track here: All of the info on this compilation was provided by Modern Matters.  You can preorder the album here .  Flowers From The Ashes: Contemporary Italian Electronic Music Flowers From The Ashes is the latest multi-artist project to bear the acclaimed Stroboscopic Artefacts imprimatur. There is a sensibility of decadence and corroded grandeur etched within its four album sides, reminding us that historically “decadent” times have nonetheless resulted in some of the boldest acts of individual and collective creativity. Lik...

For my first proper review of 2018, I focused on In A Poem Unlimited , the latest album by U.S. Girls .  You can check it out at No Ripcord .  The album is currently available at 4AD .  I can't recommend this one enough.  U.S. Girls In A Poem Unlimited 4AD Released: 2.16.18 Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

It's President's Day. Have a great, but very reflective, President’s Day! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2018 I've spent enough time reflecting on this vomit bath of an administration, so I'll happily compile some of my favorite President-related songs instead.  If you have any additions you'd like to add, hit me up in the comments or Tweet at  @letterstapehead . Killer Mike : "Reagan" The Evens : "Dinner with the President" Dead Kennedys : "We've Got A Bigger Problem Now" D.O.A. : "Fucked Up, Ronnie" James Brown : "Funky President (People It's Bad)" Marvin Gaye : "Abraham, Martin, and John" Public Enemy : "Son of a Bush" Frank Zappa : "Reagan at Bitburg" Arlo Guthrie : "Presidential Rag" Death : "Politicians in My Eyes" Minutemen : "If Reagan Played Disco" Fran...

Along with METZ , Pissed Jeans , and KEN mode , I recommend Marriage + Cancer for your Subterranean/Reptile/Dischord/Touch & Homestead rock needs. And, no, that's not a diss. "Honour, On Our Knees," a new single from the band's upcoming self-titled LP, is certainly evocative of an era.  For those of us who enjoyed our adolescence glued to a Walkman, the volume too high as the spool wound through a primal, undulating mire composed of guitar-aggravated stress and angst, Marriage + Cancer will revisit and tug relentlessly at those sensibilities.  And, you'll like it, goddammit.  Guitarist Robert Comitz  apparently has some legacy with K Records as a member of the band Nucular Aminals . This track premiered at New Noise .  Marriage + Cancer will be out February 9th via Self Sabotage Records .  All info was delivered courtesy of the excellent people at Us/Them Group.   Marriage + Cancer premiere new track from forthcomi...

This is International Clash Day 2018, and all day long, all across the globe, we're celebrating music as a tool for social consciousness, and a band that made it sound so damn good. (Poster courtesy of  KEXP ) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Young Fathers : "In My View" (via YouTube) "In My View" is featured in Cocoa Sugar , the upcoming new album from Young Fathers .  The album is scheduled to release 3.9.18 via Ninja Tune . __________________________________________________________ Blackwater Holylight : "Sunrise" (via Us-Them Group/ RidingEasy Records /YouTube) From Us-Them Group: Portland, OR quartet BlackWater HolyLight announce their forthcoming self-titled debut album today with an advance listen to lead single "Sunrise", available to hear and share via YouTube HERE . The notion of "heavy music" is continuing to expand of late, with many intrepid artists finding new ways to incorporate the power of traditional metal into new music, but without all of its trappings. Enter Portland, OR quartet BlackWater HolyLight to further swirl musical elements into a captivating hybrid of emotional intensity. Heavy psych riffs, gothic drama, folk-rock vibes, garage...