Some recent vinyl purchases. Amazon Purchase: Queens Of The Stone Age s/t Domino/Rekords Rekords Originally released: 9.22.98 Reissued: 5.17.11 The long overdue reissuing of Queens Of The Stone Age' s self-titled debut album, which spent way too much time out of print and hard to find, was something I'd been waiting on for some time.  Plans for the reissue spanned months and labels, (both Ipecac Recordings and Dangerbird were partnering with Josh Homme 's Rekords Rekords label before Domino wound up the big winner), and I, being the salivating fan, was tired of false promises. Nudity everywhere! But, the album finally came out:  A sweet double-LP featuring three bonus tracks, which were incorporated within the album's original sequencing.  It must be said that "The Bronze" fits in pretty well with the original flow and feel of the album, but "These Aren't The Droids You're Looking For" and "Spiders And Vinegaroons...

Earth Ô Paon Cloud Minder Johnny Brenda’s Philadelphia, PA 6.13.11 The entire evening was in slow motion. I pulled into my driveway at about 2AM Monday night/Tuesday morning, obviously lethargic thanks to the long drive home from Philly and the late hour, but also sort of affected by Earth ’s performance at Johnny Brenda’s that night. You don’t realize until you see the band play that Dylan Carlson and Co. work very hard at keeping it slow and patient. Watching drummer, Adrienne Davies , visibly hold herself back as she kept pace, I almost wanted Carlson to go against type and speed it up a bit just to lessen the stress you could read across her face and her arms. You could say that it was a meditative evening, a three-pronged bill pulling both weight and wonder, Earth’s determination preceded by the minimalist Ô Paon and the post-rocking ambience of Philly locals, Cloud Minder . Mind you, traces of second hand herb found its way to my nostrils at points, (some speed ...

Pitchfork has posted a hybridized video for "Hope/Riot Sugar" from Boris ' duel releases, Heavy Rocks and Attention Please.  I was hoping that my review of the albums would make the press release, but alas, I've been ignored.  I'll leave you with tour dates, album info and the opinions of OTHER reviewers while I go cower in some anonymous corner, left to age, sour and wallow in my failure to reach the masses.  Info is courtesy of Us/Them Group. You can read my overlooked review of Heavy Rocks and Attention Please here .   Boris premiere new video via Pitchfork, continue European tour dates with Russian Circles Click image above to watch video "Boris' latest efforts are nothing short of stunning" -- Rock Sound " Heavy Rocks is a monolithic take on everything from trippy Funkadelic acid sludge to galloping Blue Öyster pöp to lightning-riding '80s thrash; yet it all billows fluffily from the same dreamy doom factory the...

Maybe it’s become annoying how I tend to glom onto certain bands, certain songs and certain albums. Beauty Pill has become one of those bands that seem to pull an excess of praise out of my jaded being, my fingers automatically set to typing out glowing words of approval and insisting that more people lend their ears and bring this band up to a level where they can achieve more visibility and appreciation. If what I was hearing sounded bad, trust me: I’d be the first to express disappointment. But, having listened to “Ann The Word” maybe three times now, I’m all the more drawn to Beauty Pill and how they pull it all together. It’s been about seven years since The Unsustainable Lifestyle released and a new album is on the horizon. But, with the new album, is an interesting project Beauty Pill will be participating in while recording. All info below is courtesy of Terrorbird Media along with links to other articles regarding this project.  Links to "Ann The Word" an...

So, “Duality of Deathening” is about three years old, but news of post-rock duo Talkdemonic , a post-rock duo from Portland, and their transition to the Glacial Pace Recordings , (the home of Modest Mouse , don’tcha know?), led me to find this video, which I very much enjoyed. The news comes via PMA PR. Enjoy. TALKDEMONIC JOINS MODEST MOUSE, MORNING TELEPORTATION AND THE MIMICKING BIRDS AT GLACIAL PACE RECORDINGS Portland's post-rock duo Talkdemonic has signed with Modest Mouse singer Isaac Brock 's label, Glacial Pace Recordings. The band joins Morning Teleportation , Marcellus Hall , Mimicking Birds and Modest Mouse at the label. The twosome is coming off a tour with Modest Mouse and a coveted spot at the 2011 Sasquatch Festival in Washington State with the likes of Foo Fighters , Wilco , and Death Cab for Cutie . The band began in 2003 as a side project for Kevin O'Connor , who, at the time, was experimenting with eclectic electric percussion and no-vox melo...

We're both commentators, (sort of), so I've decided... Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Synthesizer couplets and hectic, free jazz percussion pretty much sums up Zorch ’s “Zut Alore,” a synth duo from Austin. The video for the song reflects the height of video effects and editing circa 1987, lots of flashing geometry and video snippets. Underneath the video on the band’s YouTube page is a warning that reads: “Video contains lots of flashing images: Seizure people beware.” Yes, the people of Seizure should beware. Links and images come courtesy of Us/Them Group. Zorch: Austin hyper-kinetic duo premiere new track via Altered Zones, announce summer tour dates    "5 bands to catch up to in 2010" — The Onion AV Club " Zorch's synth-driven experimentalism is an avant-garde swirl of mind-bending atmospherics..." -- The Austinist Austin, TX hyper-kinetic keyboard/drum duo Zorch premiere a new song today via Pitchfork's esoteric offshoot Altered Zones . The MP3 for " Cosmic Gloss " is a shortened version of the track...

Shoegaze-y psych rock band, WHIRR , has signed with Tee Pee Records and will recording their full-length debut for the label in August. Their EP, Distressor , is everything you love about My Bloody Valentine : heavy melody, soft vocals, glorious distortion. I hate to point so readily to MBV, but I feel WHIRR suggests a much-needed return to the sort of constructs that Kevin Shields brought to the table in the first place. Yes, amplification and reverb are paramount to WHIRR’s output, but the notes peek through enough to confirm that the band does more than just generate some pleasant cacophony. All information below is courtesy of Tee Pee Records . You can here the Distressor EP via their Bandcamp page. It’s worth a listen. Bay Area post-shoegaze sextet WHIRR has signed with NYC rock label Tee Pee Records. The band will enter a Northern California recording studio this August to lay down tracks for its full length debut and follow up to its recently released Distressor...

It was both the thrill of owning something rare and the nausea-inducing prospect of missing out that caused me to instinctively lay down $12 for a limited-edition cassette reissue of Dinosaur Jr. ’s Bug .  It arrived today, wrapped up in cellophane and is now laying on my desk, begging me to stick SIDE A into my tape deck, press PLAY and magically transport myself back to the negative energy of my teenage bedroom where I was both enlightened and depressed. Joyful Noise Recordings made modest headlines throughout the indiesphere a few weeks ago with news of this reissue . Why? Well, there’s a purist factor. Bug was originally released on cassette via SST Records making this edition somewhat of an artifact. The copies are even hand-numbered, (mine’s #31), and since there were only 250 produced, (half of which will be on sale during Dinosaur Jr.’s Bug tour ), they’re now all gone. If you check the catalogue at JNR’s website, underneath Bug you will find “OUT OF PRINT.” S...

“Doom folk:” This is how Chelsea Wolfe is categorized, her morbidity cautiously accessible but beautiful nonetheless. It’s difficult at times to endorse death-tinged performers like Wolfe, the whole theatricality associated with devils and darkness a rather easy racket to break into when your audience hasn’t been initiated to others of the same ilk. Diamanda Galás fans, for instance, would probably take Wolfe with a grain of granulated salt. You may as well try selling Twilight to Nosferatu fans. However, Wolfe has an angelic voice, a haunting presense and the music bears enough esoteric and outlandish thought to warrant attention. Plus, she’s touring with Liturgy , whose new album earned my praise recently , (for whatever that’s worth). Tracks from Wolfe’s upcoming release, Ἀποκάλυψις (Apokalypsis) , are via Stereogum and from the links below which were provided by Force Field PR. “Mer” is especially awesome.  Go here for that track. Chelsea Wolfe premieres new...

Yuck do seem more than happy to keep their videos unsafe for the working environment. Their video for "Shook Down," takes multiple shots of multiple models and crudely combines the elements into animated collage people — NAKED animated collage people. "Shook Down," though, is very melodic and pleasant, a juxtaposition to the otherwise odd mutations conceived for the video. "Shook Down" is being released as a single with the B-side "Milkshake," a song that doesn't appear on their debut album.  You can read a review for Yuck's self-titled LP here .  All information and links are courtesy of Force Field PR. Can't say this enough: UNSUITABLE FOR THE CUBICLE! Yuck - Shook Down from Yuck on Vimeo . Yuck premieres NSFW "Shook Down" video, plus updated U.S. Summer tour dates VIDEO: "Shook Down" - http://vimeo.com/yuckband/shookdown STREAM: "Milkshake" - http://soundcloud.com/yuck/milkshake...

Judging from the live videos I've seen and their new self-titled album, I'm going to bet Empty Space Orchestra is worth checking out.  It's actually very cool to see some down-to-earth progressive music.  ESO seems to play with little or no arrogance or academically cold ingenuity.  Here's a live clip of the band playing "Exit Strategy." The band is touring with Minus The Bear . All info provided by Us/Them Group. Empty Space Orchestra launch dates supporting Minus The Bear, Midwest headlining tour "They rock in an In the Court of the Crimson King -era King Crimson kind of way but with a sound all their own. These guys (and gal) have a kind of talent rarely seen outside of jam-band/festival circles." -- SSG Music "Part jazz, part The Mars Volta bizarro world, part stoner/spacey rock, part post-rock, Empty Space Orchestra is a band that don't want to pigeonhole themselves into anything, so instead they encompass everyt...

Tiny Mix Tapes posted a video for “Four Horsemen” by Gypsy Treasures , a side-project of Aria Jalali , (whom you might know from Railcars ). It’s a good and trippy instrumental to begin your Monday morning.  There are bees in the video, so it kind of freaks me out. gypsy treasures // four horsemen from Sam Gurry on Vimeo . Info provided by Terrorbird Media. Gypsy Treasures Premiere New Video For "Four Horsemen"   "Buried Goods" out now on Not Not Fun WATCH: Four Horsemen (via Tiny Mix Tapes) LISTEN: Stray Dogs Of Wroclaw (via Altered Zones) The LA/SF based Gypsy Treasures premieres a dizzying new video. Directed by Samantha Gurry , Tiny Mix Tapes says "It's a good example of Gypsy Treasure's psychedelic stupor. Think Sun City Bishops with Gocher presiding over stereotypes of Middle Eastern/Eastern European origin." Gypsy Treasures is the sole document of artist Aria Jalali's mid-2000s basement raga project in which bl...

A few days ago, Consequence Of Sound posted a new video from Tera Melos for the song, “Kelly,” which is off their Patagonian Rats release. With a nice little nod to David Cronenberg and 80s cinema, there are warmhearted reactions from the likes of Christopher Reeve and Rick Moranis to animated billboards displaying some grotesque scenes from Scanners , Videodrome and a few others. In the meantime, the song is kind of a nerdy power pop track. I still need to pick this album up. Tera Melos - "Kelley" from Consequence of Sound on Vimeo . Information on the band’s 51 minute opus, “Echoes on the Hills of Knebworth” and their tour documentary can be found here . EDIT: Don't know why it eluded me that the video for Bobby Brown 's "On Our Own," the theme song he came up with for the super inferior Ghost Busters 2 , was appropriated for "Kelly."  Just not on the ball. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

I managed to find a live clip of “Chemmie,” the new single from Joan As Police Woman ’s recent album, The Deep Field .  "Chemmie" is being released this August as a single.  You can find information on the album and the upcoming single, along with tour information, below. And check out the live clip.  It's a good performance. All info is from Sure Shot PR: ‘Chemmie’ New Single released August 1st 2011 From her latest album, The Deep Field - out now UK Gigs and Festivals Aug/Sept 2011 on sale Wednesday June 15th at noon Currently wowing audiences across Australia, Joan As Police Woman hasn’t had time to catch her breath since the release of her latest album, The Deep Field . In demand across Europe and the US, days off at home in Brooklyn have become a rarity. Joan follows her Australian trip with a month long European tour, more US shows, then back to the UK for a run of headline shows and festivals including a return to Shepherds Bush Empire on September 9th ...

So, without gathering any information about “Out And In” before I listened to it, I figured Sonic Youth was just treating us to another spacey, dissonant rock jam that’s evocative of most of their past output. “Out And In” was actually recorded in 2000 with their Jim O’Rourke line-up while the band was contributing soundtrack music for the film Demonlover , (which was pretty awful). This track is part of a new four-LP box set by Three Lobed Recordings , which documents the label’s last ten years. You can find the track at NPR and information on the box set, Not the Spaces You Know, But Between Them can be found here .   Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

“Mickey Bloody Mouse” is a remix of Grinderman ’s “Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man” by Queens of the Stone Age frontman, Josh Homme . The video displays a series of drawings of the band in montage form, sort of like viewing a comic book from left to right. The remix itself isn’t great. In fact, it’s pretty disappointing. Overlaying Nick Cave ’s vocals over and over again over a ticking clock provides too long an intro for a fairly anemic mix of an otherwise energetic and tense song. Think I’m wrong? Check out the song. For a review of Grinderman’s Grinderman 2 , click here . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

So, Father’s Day is this Sunday. Being the less important parent, Father’s Day sometimes feels like a smokescreen to make us feel like we matter. Let’s face it: Forgetting Mother’s Day, forgetting the day where we celebrate the woman who brought you into this world, is tantamount to lying under oath, failing a piss test or listening to Dave Matthews Band on purpose. Father’s Day doesn’t come with as high a reputation for consequence, nor does it seem to warrant the 45 minute wait at a restaurant. But, it’s a day nonetheless and, as Dads, we could always use another tie or free day to watch a ballgame with an opened beer in one hand and the remote in the other. Or, a day alone in the record room. Here are some Father’s Day-related songs: Aphex Twin — ”Come To Daddy” The Cramps — “The Mad Daddy” Jane’s Addiction — “Had A Dad” Descendents — “My Dad Sucks” Brian Wilson — “Child is the Father of the Man” Johnny Cash — ”Daddy Sang Bass” Articles...

“It’s weak to speak and blame somebody else/When you destroy yourself...” Words to live by. A classic in every sense of the word, Public Enemy ’s “Welcome To The Terrordome” has for the last twenty years stood paramount among hip-hop’s most seminal works, many of which were brought to life in those peak years between the late 80s and the early 90s. This remix by Meat Beat Manifesto 's Jack Dangers isn’t an improvement to the song, but it’s an interesting reconsideration. Chuck D , whose broken through his fiftieth year, still carries himself like he’s in his 20s, showing anyone skipping on down the roads he’s paved what it means to be a frontman. His shoes have yet to be worn by anyone else. For those that will point to Flavor Flav ’s career-crippling turn as a reality television joke, he’s deemed sample-worthy as far as this video’s concerned. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead