Push the Sky Away is the new upcoming release from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds .  It's out in February of 2013 and already up for pre-order at nickcave.com .  Anticipation is high to say the least. I just reviewed the last three Bad Seeds reissues for No Ripcord .  Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

METZ makes me very happy.  Their energy is refreshing and I'm hoping that it catches on, resulting in more bands sounding like they give a shit about making music.  The self-important indie thang is played; bring on the excitement, please. The band is releasing a digital single, "Dirty Shirt/Leave Me Out."  You can listen to "Dirty Shirt" on the Soundcloud link below and check out the trailer for the single.  All info and links are courtesy of Sub Pop.    METZ - Dirty Shirt by SubPop METZ release "Dirty Shirt"/ "Leave Me Out" digital single on December 4! Pitchfork TV live stream w/ King Tuff on December 19! New live sessions from Noisevoxx, Slacker Radio & Daytrotter! Updated tour dates for 2012-13! Listen to "Dirty Shirt" here . Watch "Dirty Shirt" trailer here . On December 4, Sub Pop will release the digital single for "Dirty Shirt" + "Leave Me Out" by Toronto’s ...

The Evens The Odds Dischord Records Released: 11.20.12 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Sean Lennon and Greg Saunier ( Deerhoof ) are collaborating as Mystical Weapons , an instrumental psych band that will release their self-titled debut in 2013.  All info and links are courtesy of Terrorbird Media. Mystical Weapons debut the Martha Colburn directed video for "Mechanical Mammoth" on Spin The debut collaborative project from Deerhoof's Greg Saunier & Sean Lennon out January 15 on Chimera WATCH: "Mechanical Mammoth" via Spin / via YouTube LISTEN: "Mechanical Mammoth" via Rolling Stone / via Soundcloud / via MP3 Welcome to the debut album by Mystical Weapons, a wild improvisational duo ride through terra incognita, helmed by multi-instrumentalists Sean Lennon ( Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger ) and Greg Saunier (Deerfhoof). Mystical Weapons is one of those projects that evolved almost of its own accord. A couple of years ago the Plastic Ono Band was playing a show in San Francisco with Deerhoof. Ghost of a Saber Tooth T...

New Pissed Jeans track!  Their upcoming new album, Honeys, is slated for early 2013.  In the meantime, appreciate the gnarl.  Reviews: • Hope For Men (2007) • King Of Jeans (2009) All info was provided by Sub Pop. Pissed Jeans share Honeys album details! Pissed Jeans will release their stellar fourth album, Honeys , on CD, LP, and digitally through Sub Pop Records on February 12, 2013. The album, which features the single “Bathroom Laughter,” along with stand-outs “Health Plan,” “Loubs,” “Vain in Costume,” and “Teenage Adult,” was recorded by Grammy-nominated producer Alex Newport at Milkboy Studios in Philadelphia.  SPIN, who spoke with Pissed Jeans’ singer Matt Korvette about the recording of Honeys , raved: “Listeners will have the opportunity to take in yet another electrifying helping of Korvette’s very distinct, some might say sobering, dispatches from beyond the cubicle to address both ‘crippling pet allergies’ (‘Cathouse’), a ‘bliste...

Aperiodic  Future Feedback Phratry Records Released: 10.23.12 An absence of instruction; an onslaught of something primordial and gooey, I often wish that pop musicians would make albums like Future Feedback , the latest release from the experimental free form punk band Aperiodic , whose members include guitarist Kevin Parrett , drummer Matt Shulz (formerly of Enon and currently with Holy Fuck ) and multi-instrumentalist Ben Perkins ( The Exponential ).  It stands to reason that a creative height is ultimately followed by its necessary destruction and that the complete removal of musical syntax, the perversion of phrasing or riffing and that the complete absence of discipline with regard to percussion or rhythm is required to carry it all out. Impulse! jazz understood this .  Lou Reed understood this . Arguing the merit of Aperiodic, since punk rock's inception, the booooosshhhwaaaah concepts of traditional music and attention to form had to be challenged....

"Pliable Foe" from the new Isis rarities compilation, Temporal . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Swarm of Arrows The Great Seekers of Lesser Life Dullest Records Released: 11.12 “We’re alive like death!” A macabre oxymoron sung overtop a slowly climbing line of fretwork, I can easily accept its logic as the words are driven through Wino -sized guttural modes of conveyance and a coupled attack of riff and stomp. Here is when “rock” meets “metal” and both embrace, content to enhance their respective gifts (as corny as that sounds) and generate a healthy dose of head-knock and hip swagger. You certainly hear that in the following track, “Chasing The Deathstar,” placed second in The Great Seekers of Lesser Life , the new album from Philadelphia metal band, Swarm of Arrows . They swing, they bend and they break when necessary, tapping into some of the more progressive elements of Mastodon , the rugged aggression of St. Vitus , some of the jazz-oriented guitar/drum combos of Helmet , (most notable in “Damage Generator,” though they inject the device with a heavy dose of speed...

"Dream Odyssey" is streaming via One Inch Badge and is a new single from MONO 's latest album, For My Parents... Link provided by Rarely Unable. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

90s synth punkers, The VSS , are reissuing their discography, Nervous Circuits + 25:37 , via Sargent House on November 27th.  Below is a clip of the band performing the song, "Lunar Weight," in 1997 at Philadelphia's First Unitarian Church.  All info and links were provided by Us/Them Group. Influential synth-punk band The VSS announce deluxe 2xLP discography reissue Click image above to watch live video "The VSS invented a fierce, highly unconventional sound unlike that of any other contemporary band. Theirs was a maelstrom of hard punk energy comprised of dissonant guitar, bass, drums, as well as keyboards. The result was something organic and angry and intensely human, but it was laced with a sharp, robotic edge. On all of their releases The VSS effortlessly overstep the boundaries of all traditional rock formats (and that includes punk rock), producing one explosive sonic exorcism after another." -- Epitonic.com   Fabled San Francisco art-punks Th...

The Soft Moon Zeros Captured Tracks Released: 10.30.12 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

"Magnolia" is a single from Philadelphia area rapper/multi-instrumentalist, Lushlife .  His very excellent album, Plateau Vision , was released 4.17.12. LUSHLIFE "MAGNOLIA" [DIR. LAMAR+NIK] from LAMAR+NIK on Vimeo . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

"Divided Parallel" is from The Diver , Led Er Est 's June release. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

"Amnesia" by Hilly Eye , a single from their upcoming album Reasons To Live . 2013 is on the horizon. All info comes courtesy of Enabler Agency. HILLY EYE ANNOUNCE REASONS TO LIVE OUT 1/22 STREAM "AMNESIA" NYC DATES ANNOUNCED On January 22nd, New Jersey label, Don Giovanni will release the debut album from Hilly Eye, Reasons To Live . Hilly Eye is a collaboration between guitarist/vocalist Amy Klein and drummer/vocalist Catherine Tung . The duo formed in 2009 as a way to experiment with noise and melody. Their favorite band at the time was the Osaka noise band Afrirampo and they wanted to start something like that — a two girl band that was super primal and agressive, but also psychedelic and dreamy. Something really stripped down and raw that could also be beautiful. Alternating between quiet and loud, delicate melodies and big swathes of noise, contrasting elements. You can stream their 1st single, "Amnesia" here . "The album is ...

I've been getting some furious and rather viscous metal albums from Devouter Records, who clued me into Cultura Tres and Galvano .  I have permission to share their albums online, though I'll insist once you've listened to and agreed to what both bands have produced, you'll please spend your money and own these albums proper. All info, links and music is provided by Devouter Records.  CULTURA TRES: El Mal Del Bien Album Released Today Through Devouter Records. UK dates   El Mal Del Bien , the mind-bending sophomore album of the Venezuela's Cultura Tres, originally issued by the band in 2011, is being re-released today on CD by the UK based label Devouter Records. Devouter has recently released on vinyl debut albums by Make and Galvano and has some more intriguing offerings in the pipeline. El Mal Del Bien is a highly versatile trip filled with oppressive passages ...

A new video from Lee Ranaldo 's recent release, Between the Times and the Tides .  Lee Ranaldo STRANDED Official Video from Lee Ranaldo on Vimeo . Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Some industrialized pharmaceutically charged sloganeering paranoia for you from Diamond Version .  "Science for a Better Life" is the first single from their upcoming release, EP2 , which is the second of five 12" EPs the band will release before putting out their first LP in 2013. All info below is courtesy of Mute Records.   DIAMOND VERSION WATCH VIDEO FOR “SCIENCE FOR A BETTER LIFE” EP2 – OUT NOVEMBER 26th via 12” December 4th via Digital Download “a shining example of borderless digital creativity” – Juno “unashamedly dancefloor-friendly” – The 405 Diamond Version will release EP2 on 12” on November 26th and via Digital Download on December 4th. Featuring the tracks “ Science For A Better Life ”, “Shift The Future” and “Forever New Frontiers”, this is the next installment in a sequence of five 12" / download EPs to be released throughout 2012 and 2013, culminating in a debut full length record in 2013. With playful humor, Diamond Version...

A few belated reviews from Kicking Against The Pricks.   Dinosaur Jr. I Bet On Sky Jagjaguwar Released: 9.18.12 Kicking Against The Pricks review Menomena Moms Barsuk Released: 9.18.12 Kicking Against The Pricks review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me , the upcoming new documentary about the very seminal (and obvious, thanks to the title) Big Star , will premiere in New York on November 10th.  Check out the trailer below. Info comes courtesy of Force Field PR. Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me documentary makes NYC premiere Nov. 10 Official Trailer: http://youtu.be/r1jfYCmGMec   BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME will premiere in NYC on Saturday, November 10th at 9:45pm at the SVA Theater (333 West 23rd St) as part of the DOC NYC Film Festival. Jody Stephens (last remaining member of Big Star) and John Fry (Ardent Studios founder and Big Star engineer) will both be in attendance at the screening and will participate in a Q&A following the screening along with the filmmakers. BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME recently had its world premiere at BFI London Film Festival, Indie Memphis and showed a work-in-progress version at SXSW in March. The film will also screen at IDFA in Amsterdam this Novemb...

Into The Woods released a video of Liars performing "Brats" from their latest album, WIXIW , as part of its "Far From Home" series. WIXIW was reviewed at No Ripcord. All info is courtesy of Mute. Far From Home Episode #25 - Liars "Brats" from INTOTHEWOODS.TV on Vimeo . LIARS WATCH LIARS PERFORMING “BRATS” Live This is the story of Liars crawling into an attack to perform “Brats”, the latest single off of their sixth studio release WIXIW . If you had to have anyone crawling around in your attic shaking out the cobwebs, might as well be these boys. Exploding with sound it is Aaron, Angus and Julian doing what they do best—cultivating the bizarre and embracing their music with abandon. Special special love for everyone at Into The Woods . PERFORMING AT PITCHFORK PARIS SATURDAY Stream it LIVE “Fascinating turns of change have always been Liars' sole consistency, and in that respect, I hope they stay the same forever." —...

Here's a trippy video from post-rock band, My Education , who will be releasing their album, A Drink For All My Friends , at the end of November.  The track is called, "Homunculus" and I think it's worth a look/listen.  And, hey — Rolling Stone's David Fricke likes them, so they must be better than everything you're listening to right this second. All info comes courtesy of Us/Them Group.  The video is courtesy of Consequence of Sound . My Education premiere mind-bending video via Consequence of Sound, announce forthcoming album 'A Drink For All My Friends'  Click image above to watch video "There must be something on the air, or in it, to explain the space rock blooming in central Texas. This Austin sextet expands on the arc-riff grandeur of local travelers Explosions in the Sky with John Cale -like viola and simple, rising melodies that take you way up and out. My surprise find at SXSW this year, My Education are advanced ecstasy....

Om 's "State Of Non-Return" is a single off of their latest album, Advaitic Songs .  I posted about this song a few months ago , but a video for the track debuted today via Stereogum .    Advaitic Songs was reviewed at No Ripcord. Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Jah Wobble and Keith Levene , the Public Image Ltd. twosome that brought to life the pinnacle release, Metal Box , have partnered on a new album called, Yin & Yang .  You can check out the profanity-enriched new title track here . And, if you need to reminded how well these two worked together on Metal Box , or if you just want an excuse to treat your ears to post-punk excellence, the full album is available below. All info comes courtesy of MVD Entertainment. Jah Wobble and Keith Levene Yin & Yang Available on December 11 The first collaboration by Public Image Limited founding members since the landmark 1980 album Metal Box FREE DOWNLOAD of "Yin & Yang" HERE (Explicit) Due for release on Cherry Red Records (via MVD in North America) on December 11, Yin and Yang is the first full-length collaboration by PIL founding members Jah Wobble and Keith Levene since the landmark 1980 album Metal Box . Below, Jah Wobble spills the beans on the mak...