Drew Daniel of Matmos has had a side project known as The Soft Pink Truth for a number of years now, making electronic and house albums and reinterpreting outsider genres like punk and hardcore through the flamboyant, electronic gaze of synth pop.  For his latest endeavor, Why Do The Heathen Rage? , Daniel has seen fit to create electronic covers of Black Metal songs.  His album will be out mid-June and boasts assistance from performers like Antony Hegarty ( Antony and the Johnsons ), Jenn Wasner ( Wye Oak ) and Terrance Hannum ( Locrian ).  While I'm not completely sure I'm board with this idea, mostly because the notion of an album full of synth pop black metal covers seems more of a novelty than any lasting statement, more kitsch than comment, what versions of Daniel's output I've heard have at least been interesting as opposed to amusing.  You get the sense the guy is a fan and that through his medium, while it will likely be taken as schtick by some, he's ...

Half Japanese "Refreshing" b/w "Do It Now" 7" Joyful Noise Recordings Released: 4.24.14 *My sincerest apologies to Half Japanese .  The "Refreshing/Do It Now" single is very, very good and, (unfortunately), very, very sold out, so I count myself grateful that I jumped on nabbing a copy when I had the chance.  As far as my daughter's refusal to review the release, I wouldn't take it personally.  I mean... C'mon, she thinks Juicy J can rap.  Puh-leeease.   Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

On June 3rd, the wonderful people at Sargent House will be doing us all a solid and a half by releasing an excellent new split 12" from Helms Alee and Young Widows .  I accessed the stream earlier today and mentally added yet another "MUST OWN" to the wishlist, along with Helms Alee's full-length, Sleepwalking Sailors , which came out in February.   You can listen to the release at Noisey or, since you're already here, I've embedded the Soundcloud link below.  All info and links were provided by Us/Them Group.  Helms Alee & Young Widows split 12" streaming in full via Noisey Listen to Helms Alee / Young Widows HERE . Seattle trio Helms Alee wrapped up their tour with Young Widows this past weekend, and the split 12" exclusively available at shows will soon be available in stores and by download on June 3rd. To preview the release, Noisey is sharing a full stream to hear/share HERE . Helms Alee make their way back home with a ...

Tobacco Ultima II Massage Ghostly Released: 5.13.14 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

News of an upcoming J Mascis album found its way into my inbox yesterday.  J will be releasing Tied to a Star this Summer following his last solo release, 2011's Several Shades of Why .  That was one of my favorite albums to come out that year and I was lucky enough to see his Philly stop during his Several Shades tour.   No singles just yet, but here's the cover: And, here's some PR from Sub Pop. J Mascis performs with Fred Armisen’s 8G Band on Late Night with Seth Meyers Announces Tied to a Star , his forthcoming album, due later this summer on Sub Pop Legendary guitarist & Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis is currently sitting in with Fred Armisen’s 8G Band on Late Night with Seth Meyers through Thursday, May 22nd. And on last night’s show, S eth spilled the beans about J’s forthcoming solo album , Tied to a Star , which will be released worldwide later this summer on Sub Pop (see May 20th episode ). J Mascis has scheduled a few headlining and festi...

The reunited industrial colossus known as Godflesh premiered a new track today called "Ringer," which was pulled from an EP the band will release this June that's titled Decline and Fall .  The EP is apparently just a taste, though, as an LP is scheduled to release later this Fall called A World Lit Only By Fire .  As far as "Ringer," the guitars crunch and the drum machine sounds like it was detonated under miles of water.  For being out of commission for the last 13 years, ( Justin Broadrick himself being involved in many other projects that could be considered somewhat removed from this type of aggression), Godflesh still sounds capable of picking up where it left off, administering brutal, relentless assault to the ears, head and chest of anyone who'll listen.  You can check out the track below.  All info, links and sounds were provided by Rarely Unable. GODFLESH TO RELEASE NEW EP DECLINE AND FALL THIS JUNE LISTEN TO FIRST NEW MUSIC FROM IND...

Chameleon-esque sludge rockers Boris are putting out a new album later this June called Noise .  Lots of hope in that title and some evident delivery.  The band just issued a new video called "Vanilla" that is anything but: a pop-conducive hook flanked by post-hardcore nuance and a gratifying solo-laden stride as its second act. The video was pulled from Stereogum and all the info was provided by Us/Them Group.  The band's 2011 releases, Heavy Rocks and Attention Please , were reviewed at No Ripcord . BORIS premiere first video from forthcoming album Noise , announce more U.S. tour dates Watch "Vanilla" video HERE . Japanese trio BORIS premiere the first video from their forthcoming first official album in three years, titled Noise . The band shares the clip via Stereogum, which is available to watch/share HERE . BORIS has also added new North American tour dates, including FYF Fest in Los Angeles in late August. Please see complete dates b...

Naomi Punk : "Television Man" (via Captured Tracks/Soundcloud) Signor Benedick The Moor : "h8 everybody [Enter the Black Prince]" (via Charlemagne Kinsman/YouTube) Mogwai : "Simon Ferocious" (via Sub Pop/YouTube) Nader Sadek : "Re:Mechanic" (via Earsplit PR/ Decibel /YouTube) clipping. :"Work Work (feat. Cocc Pistol Cree )" (via Sub Pop/ Complex /YouTube) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

The recently reactivated Failure have released a new track called "Come Crashing."  This is the first song the band has released since 1996.  Listen below.  Come Crashing by Failure You can read up on the band's tour-only EP, Tree of Stars , and review tour dates below.  All info was provided by Speakeasy PR. FAILURE UNVEIL "COME CRASHING," FIRST NEW MUSIC SINCE 1996'S FANTASTIC PLANET NORTH AMERICAN TREE OF STARS TOUR UNDERWAY May 15, 2014, Los Angeles - Failure quietly unveiled the song "Come Crashing" overnight via Bandcamp ( failureband.bandcamp.com ). The song marks the band's first new music since the 1996 release of the landmark album, Fantastic Plane t, and arrives as the Los Angeles trio embarks on their first North American tour in seventeen years. "Come Crashing" is also included on a tour only EP, Tree of Stars , which includes live recordings of "Let It Drip," "Frogs," Sergeant Polite...

At the request of the BBC, Sunn O))) mastermind, Stephen O'Malley , assembled a 37-track sampler of artists who've released music through his label, Ideologic Organ.  It's free to download and can be accessed through the link below along with information on the actual releases.  All info and links were provided by Rarely Unable.  (pic via Estelle Hanania great tumblr) LISTEN TO FREE 37 TRACK IDEOLOGIC ORGAN LABEL SAMPLER   IDEOLOGIC ORGAN, the music label curated and art directed by Stephen O'Malley - manufactured and distributed in partnership with the non-funded, independent label EDITIONS MEGO - have put together a label sampler to celebrate the distinguished musicians who they have collaborated with to date. About the origins of the sampler, Stephen O'Malley comments "in February, the BBC asked us for some tracks from my EDITIONS MEGO imprint IDEOLOGIC ORGAN to play on the air, I’ve now extended this sampler mix to include tracks from all of ...

The inimitable visual genius H.R. Giger has passed away at the age of 74 .  Being one of many who'd found his work remarkable in its complexity, abstract and often-futurist vision and, at times, terrifying realism, the loss is felt.  The man could bring truth to nightmares. While he's best-known for designing the iconic Alien creature and for creating more than a few well-known album covers , Giger became an engaging figure for me once I'd discovered Dead Kennedys and begun to question terms like "morality" and "decency."  His piece, Penis Landscape , (or Work 219: Landscape XX ), had eventually led the Kennedys into a legal battle that would ultimately destroy the band, victims of then-Senator's wife Tipper Gore 's reign of First Amendment assault with her Parents Music Resource Center, a group of "concerned" wives compelled to stigmatize artists for being less then sensitive when it came to their lyrical content. The albu...

I should never, ever feature singles on a Monday.  Naturally, some great tracks have premiered since. Wo Fat : "The Conjuring" (via Earsplit PR/ Bandcamp )   The Conjuring by Wo Fat Deru : "1979" (via Friends Of Friends/Soundcloud)   Shabazz Palaces : "They Come In Gold" (via Sub Pop /Soundcloud) Chvad SB : "It Haunts Her" (via Silber Records /YouTube) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

As of today, I've been writing amateurish musings and making badly drawn conclusions about the world of music, past and current, for 8 years.  To those of you who've stuck it out and given me reason to throw on my headphones and babble incessantly via keyboard for all this time, I thank you.  I've gained some good experiences since beginning this online corner of my obsessive little world, having met people I'd never have met, discovering bands I'd otherwise not have found and growing more appreciative of a culture I feel I'm much closer to now than before.  I've always loved music, but it would've been very easy for me to remain relegated to my time and place, never motivated to expand into the now and figure out that good music will always exist so long as new bands are born, classic records are dusted off and consumed and "inspiration" and "work" remain the primary means of creation.  So long as there's value to be found in w...

Yoshimi P-We 's improv outfit, OOIOO , is releasing their latest album, Gamel , June 30th through Thrill Jockey Records.  The first single surfaced today and it does not disappoint.  With a rhythmic draw and a referential debt to Japanese antiquity, "Atatawa" is a fascinatingly off-kilter and sugar sweet listen.  Check out the track here: All info was provided by Thrill Jockey Records. OOIOO ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM 'GAMEL' OUT ON 30TH JUNE LISTEN TO NEW TRACK 'ATATAWA' NOW   "Layering jagged guitars and vibrant vocals atop skittering rhythms and breathy shouts, it's [Atatawa] a shape-shifting and hypnotic work that ultimately delivers a sense of beatific joy" - Spin OOIOO has always created a musical language all its own. Under the leadership of Yoshimi P-We (also a founding member of Boredoms ), the group has recorded six albums that have subverted expectations and warped perceptions of what constitutes pop and experimental m...

If you've been reading Letters From A Tapehead for a while, you know that I've contributed reviews to a few other online music entities over the years, MusicFilmWeb being one of them.  MusicFilmWeb is my favorite (and very likely, the best) source for information and reviews of music documentaries and I've enjoyed the privilege of reviewing films for the site.  Today, I found out that MFW has officially expanded into MusicFilmWeb.tv , where you can find and watch documentaries. Please check out the information below, which was provided by MVD Entertainment Group. MusicFilmWeb.tv Launches With More Than Forty Music Films, Concerts, and Documentaries For the "Music Obsessed" Fans Can Choose To Download or Rent From Curated Selection MusicFilmWeb, the online curator for music documentaries and concert films, has launched MusicFilmWeb.tv, a new home where the most passionate music fans can find and view music documentaries and concert films. MusicFilmWe...

Equals : "Autotelic" (via Us-Them Group/ Brooklyn Vegan /YouTube Mr. Flash : "Number 1 (feat. Cities Aviv , Action Bronson & Oh No )" (via Julian Schoen/ Complex /Soundcloud) Beta Frontiers : "So Cold (feat. Carmen Elle )" (via Force Field PR/ Gorilla Vs. Bear /Soundcloud Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Bohren & Der Club Of Gore Piano Nights Ipecac Recordings Released: 2.10.14 When thinking of the term "strict," the mind normally directs itself to moments when you felt stifled, the desired freedom, a wish for unbridled allowance of personal exploration and unlimited inconsequential hell raising, limited in time or intensity by an authoritarian presence hellbent on denying, denying, denying, but for the purposes of "YOUR OWN GOOD." "Strict" has that negative connotation, its first usage in a human's memory applied to upbringing and discipline. Strictness, though, isn't always the boundary-addled pain in the ass it appears to be, at times a frame of mind that either enables one to succeed through hard work or defines numerous parameters within which one can create. Crafting a relatively solid and impenetrable framework, for instance, the dark jazz quartet known as Bohren & Der Club Of Gore , take a traditionally improvisational artform a...