2010’s full-length, Fowl , by doom-tinged avant band HEIRS didn’t quite hold up for me, the title track from their upcoming EP, Hunter , is wonderfully melodic, entrancing and beautifully dark. The three song EP is slated to release on December 6th via Denovali Records, which is HEIRS’ own imprint. All info comes courtesy of Earsplit PR.  Give the video a look/listen. Heirs - Hunter from Heirs on Vimeo . Melbourne, Australia's avant-garde post-doom quartet HEIRS will unleash their newest release stateside next week, in the form of the Hunter EP. Picking up where their 2010-released Fowl full-length left off, the new three-song mini-release takes it's time permeating your psyche with nearly 25 minutes of even more mellow and somber passages, leading off with two original tracks and closing out the release with an extensive Sisters of Mercy cover track. Hunter will be officially released on CD, 10" wax and digital download in North America on Tuesday, December ...

Boris ' upcoming new album, coincidentally titled New Album , will be out December 6th via Sargent House. In the meantime, the album is new streaming over at SPIN (belch... fart...) if you can't wait to pick it up. All links and info is courtesy of Sargent House. Boris stream entire forthcoming album via SPIN.com , New Album in stores December 6th "More complex than you'll notice on a first or even second listen, 'Spoon' goes places your standard pop doesn't. It's an intriguing look at a band trying their hand at a second genre-- and succeeding." Best New Track -- Pitchfork Legendary Japanese trio Boris are now streaming their entire forthcoming release New Album courtesy of SPIN.com . Listen to the full album HERE . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Sunn O))) ØØ Void (Reissue) Southern Lord Recordings Originally released: 2000 (via Daymare Recordings) Reissued: 12.6.11 Stereokiller review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

The Beach Boys The SMiLE Sessions Capital Released: 11.1.11 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

John Timmons, owner of ear X-tacy, called it quits recently.  This weekend, the store is open for its last two days of business ever. NPR interviewed Timmons for their "Hard Times" series , which focuses on our economically challenged America, interviewing people who've been hurt the most.  He blames ear X-tacy's closure more on the economy than on downloading and acknowledges the resurgence of consumer interest in vinyl, which is oddly reassuring since his earlier issues in keeping the store afloat had more to do with file sharing and loss of patronage thanks to the box stores .  But, the store's closing is a huge loss for the indies and I can only offer Louisville my condolences. A documentary called Brick and Mortar and Love covers ear X-tacy's struggles and also looks into the future of the independent record store.  I'm not sure when it's out, or what the status is regarding the film's progress, but a trailer is available. ...

Not that I should need an excuse to post anything by my favorite of Wu-Tang 's MCs, GZA/The Genius , but an interesting press release came my way this week detailing a lecture he'll be holding at Harvard next month.  Also, there will be a new GZA album out in 2012.  All info is courtesy of Life of Death PR and Management.  GZA TO LECTURE AT HARVARD IN DECEMBER NEW LP DUE IN 2012 VIA BABYGRANDE RECORDS   Gary Grice aka GZA/The Genius , a founding member of rap supergroup the Wu-Tang Clan , will lecture about his Clan, his craft, and his creativity on Thursday, December 1 at 4 p.m. The lecture, hosted by the Harvard's Black Men's Forum, will be followed by Q&A and is open to the public. Grice's collaborators dubbed him The Genius because of his talent as a rap lyricist. His solo effort, Liquid Swords is considered one of the best albums to come out of the Wu-Tang camp. The album was selected as one of The Source Magazine's 100 Best Rap Albums of all...

This is a quick interview with composer John Zorn , highlighting his four-piece show at Columbia University’s Miller Theater on December 9th. John Zorn Composer Portrait Preview from Miller Theatre on Vimeo . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Interesting year for Dinosaur Jr. and the campaign of nostalgia that's been following them.  Yes, Dino singer/guitarist J Mascis released his solo album, Several Shades Of Why , (which was one of the best albums of 2011 as far as I'm concerned), and toured for the release .  But, Mascis has also been touring with Dino, performing the entirety of the band's milestone release, Bug , which found itself back on cassette via Joyful Noise Recordings on top of being reissued alongside 1985's Dinosaur and 1987's You're Living All Over Me on vinyl by the Jagjaguwar label .  All in all, a veritable buffet of formats for Dino fans who will now also be treated to a three-cassette box set from Joyful Noise Recordings.  The initial Bug cassette release, which was limited to 250, sold out very quickly, so this Dinosaur Jr. Cassette Trilogy set is limited to 500, 150 of which will only be available to those attending Dino's upcoming tour of the west coast. Got all ...

The inimitable and super-prolific Boris are releasing their third album this year, the appropriately and humorously titled New Album . Probably the most fascinating and risky creative transition heard this year can be found in the grooves of Attention Please , Boris’ foray into post-punk/new wave/pop influenced rock brilliance that, while deviating from their usual experiments with drone and sonic mire, basically allows the band to demonstrate their versatility and grow musically with little or no boundaries. New Album revisits and reworks tracks from both Attention Please and their more hard rock-oriented other release, Heavy Rocks (2011). Rolling Stone, (Seriously, why let Rolling Stone handle this one?), is streaming their latest single off of New Album , “Flare.” “Spoon,” was recently posted by Pitchfork. A limited edition version of the New Album will be out late November for Record Store Day (Back to Black Friday) through Sargent House. Otherwise, release is set for...

J Mascis is releasing a 7" album via Sub Pop with his cover of Edie Brickell 's "Circle" and the B-side, "I've Been Thinking," which is available to sample.  It's a good listen, full of Mascis' blend of folk hero melody.     J Mascis - I've Been Thinking by subpop Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

My inbox has become this overwhelming, virtual, time-sucking swamp of unanswered emails and updates. It’s become the place I go to feel bad about being one person with too much to do and too much to write about. In an effort to spotlight many of the unsigned or hopeful bands that I’ve heard and really liked, I’m going to try and target a couple groups a week. Today, I’d like to discuss Pink City and Neur , each of whom owe much of their output to the post-punk/independent underground of the mid-80s and early 90s math/post-hardcore. Pink City is especially Big Black -centric, industrially propulsive and similarly abrasive and aggressive. Their album, Designing Women , is available to stream and I really couldn’t recommend it more if you’re into Steve Albini -ian anti-melodies and chugging noise rock. Pink City is a two-man group that’s completely built online. The email I received from the band’s initials-only MM counterpart wrote that the two members live on different con...

Talkdemonic ’s “City Sleep” is pseudo-ethereal and jam-like, a resilient backdrop of snare tap and bass taking on the occasional string flurry and inciting drift-like absorption. The video, which depicts a woman sleepwalking amongst made-up weirdos in togas, walking closed-eyed in a desert, appropriately visualizes the song’s mood and intent. Talkdemonic’s album, Ruins , recently saw release. All info, links and tour dates come courtesy of PMA PR. Talkdemonic "City Sleep" from Alicia J. Rose on Vimeo . NEW TALKDEMONIC VIDEO PREMIERE FOR "CITY SLEEP" AT MTV HIVE TOUR DATES WITH MODEST MOUSE AND MORE HIGHLIGHTS FROM TALKDEMONIC'S TOUR WITH THE FLAMING LIPS The first video from Talkdemonic's spellbinding new album Ruins premieres today on MTV Hive ! Check it out there or head to Vimeo ( http://vimeo.com/aliciajrose/citysleep ) to grab the embed link. Here's the scoop on the video: "City Sleep," a five-minute instrumental opus by Tal...

Since putting out Deerhoof Vs. Evil earlier this year, Deerhoof have been releasing split 7" collaborations steadily since.  Their newest split with David Bazan spawned a cover contest , so I took the opportunity to pick up my sketch book (which I hadn't done in months) and some watercolor paints (which I hadn't done in years) and come up with a couple options.  I'll know if they're selected by the end of the week, but figured they might be cool to post in the meantime.  I don't do too many art-releated music posts. Some sketches: Finished submissions: Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

St. Vincent , whose new album Strange Mercy is out and available, performed The Pop Group 's "She Is Beyond Good and Evil" on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon .  It sounds great.  I have to say, between this and her cover of Big Black 's "Kerosene," she picks some esoteric material to emulate. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

I know I've been promoting Shining 's upcoming live DVD, Live Blackjazz , something fierce lately, but videos for the release keep surfacing.  This one, a performance of "In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster," the lead-off track from Shining's fantastic Grindstone LP, should be reason enough for fans to pick this up.  Information comes courtesy of Indie Recordings. SHINING RELEASES NEW MUSIC VIDEO On II.II.II Shining is releasing their first ever live album and dvd from a concert in Rockefeller, Oslo. Today we are premiering the music video for the song "In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will be a Monster". Watch it here: CLICK HERE Shining is also touring Europe. Tour dates: 05-NOV - Damnation Festival, Leeds (UK) 06-NOV - Fleece, Bristol (UK) 08-NOV - Patronaat, Haarlem (NL) 09-NOV - Doornroosje, Nijmegen (NL) 10-NOV - Point FMR (Musiques Volantes Festival), Paris (FR) 11-NOV - STUK, Leuven (B) 12-NOV - ULU, London (UK) W/ Devin Towns...

Locrian The Clearing Fan Death Records Released: 11.1.11 I’ve been writing about Chicago’s noise-shapers Locrian pretty consistently since 2009’s Drenched Lands . Having said that, every album that the trio has built (members André Foisy , Terence Hannum and Steven Hess ) has worked to define the band’s creative and compositional development, their prolificacy allowing for creative and instrumental growth. Whether this clear and well-chaptered transition was intentional or not, from album to album their mastery of noise has been taking less prominence in their work, a significant breakthrough being made earlier this year with their last two-song 7,” “Dort Ist Der Weg” ( Popol Vuh cover)/”Frozen In Ash.” The Clearing , their fourth LP in three years, transitions from this point, making it their most developed foray into what could be taken as “traditional composition,” though “tradition” isn’t a word I would normally apply to Locrian. Simply put, Locrian is continu...

Eindhoven psych rock band, The Devil's Blood , will be putting out a new album, The Thousandfold Epicentre , in early 2012.  An 11-something minute documentary about guitarist/founder, Selim Lemouchi , was recently released.  Discussions include his bouts with being rock bottom, his temporary hiatus from playing music, his art, his songwriting and his decor.  The man bleeds on the wall of his homemade altar as a way to show his appreciation for creative accomplishments (like writing a good song) and he remains very reserved while explaining this stuff. Info, links and video come courtesy of Earsplit PR. Holland's music video portal, FaceCulture.com , recently launched a mini-documentary centered around THE DEVIL'S BLOOD mastermind, SL. The subtitled video takes place in SL's home in Eindhoven and at Speedfest, and focuses on writing music, live, death, vice struggles and more. Check it out HERE . Metal Blade Records recently announced its union with the eclecti...

The comic book geek in me was more than appeased with Pterodactyl's latest video, "School Glue."  They reenact the opening scene of the first Superman movie.  The song's pretty good, too. Pterodactyl - "School Glue" from stereogum on Vimeo . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

My good friend Dan Goldin of Exploding In Sound recently made a significant leap, building EIS into a record label from its beginnings as a well-maintained and very informative music blog. Goldin’s maiden acquisition, the Boston trio PILE , will be recording the label’s first release. Being a fan of Exploding In Sound, I’m very happy and excited for Goldin and his partners, Ty Griffin of Escaping The Ordinary and Dave Spak of Stereo Typing .  In the meantime, here’s some info about PILE courtesy of the newly minted Exploding In Sound Records. PILE sign with new label Exploding In Sound Records Entering the studio in the spring to record their highly anticipated follow up to last year’s Magic Isn’t Real .  Exploding In Sound Records is beyond thrilled to announce that the first band signed to the freshly launched label is none other than Boston favorites PILE . The label will release the band’s next album on vinyl, CD, and digital formats in the summer of 2012. ...

Yes, the name of this band sucks. The music, though? Pretty severe. Jazzy, prog signatures and chunky sludge metal riffs, Loincloth has just signed with the bulletproof Southern Lord label. Some tracks are available to check out over at Brooklyn Vegan , two of which are from their upcoming new album, Iron Balls Of Steel . All info below comes courtesy of the wonderful people at Earsplit PR. LOINCLOTH Sign With Southern Lord  Two Tracks From Forthcoming Full-Length Posted Riff-mangling instrumental/progressive act LOINCLOTH have inked a deal with Southern Lord Recordings for the release of their debut full-length, aptly dubbed Iron Balls of Steel on January 17th, 2012. Brooklyn Vegan are helping us spread the word like the plague this week by streaming two tracks from Iron Balls of Steel. Tune in and crank "Underwear Bomb" and "Sactopus" up, RIGHT HERE . Formed following the demise of Raleigh, North Carolina-based death/doom act Confessor at the tu...

Lou Reed & Metallica Lulu Vertigo Released: 11.1.11 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Dub Trio's "Control Issues Controlling Your Mind" is featured on their new album, IV , which is now something I need in my life.  Definitely one of the best rhythm sections in any sort of rock/metal-oriented music being made currently. Check out my review of Dub Trio's last album, Another Sound is Dying . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead