Known as the former guitarist for L.A.-based indie rockers Rooney, Taylor Locke released a solo LP earlier this year. Titled Time Stands Still, Locke showcases a songwriting prowess that fans of his former band may not have realized. Today, we’re excited to premiere the latest video off that album. “Call Me Kuchu” is styled as an old fashioned movie, but don’t let the fun vibes fool you. The song’s serious tenor is played down by the imagery, which is something that Locke intended.
“The challenge was to respect the serious nature of the song, but without illustrating the lyrical content too literally,” Locke says of the video. “I wanted to walk the line between having fun, but also acknowledging the matter at hand. I hope people will be entertained and drawn in by the look of the video, but also take a close listen to whats going on under the surface.”
For its eighth album, All Across This Land, Blitzen Trapper made a record that’s decidedly American. Coming October 2 via Vagrant Records, the album sees the band return to the classic-rock strut of its Sub Pop years, with riffs that go full-on Southern rock. The A.V. Club is premiering the video for the album’s title track, in which the band dons a few different get-ups that reference various eras of rock history. In the video, directed by Alicia J. Rose, the band rides around in the back of a well-painted van, it takes in the sights and sounds of the country, then let them spill out in All Across This Land.
Out on Lojinx in Europe, you can pre-order LP, CD & digital HERE.
Brooklyn’s very own perpetual-motion machine, They Might Be Giants are releasing their second album of 2015. The eagerly awaited follow up to their Grammy-winning “Here Come the 123s” and the Grammy-nominated “Here Comes Science”, the legendary originals return to the world of kids stuff with a fantastic set of new songs. Why? will be released 27th November via Lojinx and features a collection of new songs on their 2015 Dial-A-Song re-launch.
Coming out of the gate with the odd brilliance of “Oh You Did” through the pop charm of “Out of A Tree,” “Elephants” and “Omnicorn,” to the rocking optimism of “Then The Kids Took Over,” Why? has everything to delight both kids and parents alike. The album also celebrates marriage equality with the song “And Mom and Kid,” a track the band contributed to an HBO special on family diversity called “A Family is A Family is A Family.” Love wins! TMBG’s projects for kids always deliver memorable songs with irresistible melodies and original production values — all in a family-friendly package with none of that pandering aftertaste.
They Might Be Giants are in the middle of an epic year. They are releasing a new song (and video) every week through their Dial-A-Song project and touring non-stop. They will be returning to the UK in January 2016.
WSJ: The song is a wistful blend of downcast synthesizers, steel guitar and bright washes of reverberating electric guitar, along with Earley’s worn-in voice as he beseeches, “Honey, don’t you let your love grow cold.” The singer says he took inspiration from Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” and the Replacements’ “Rock and Roll Ghost.”
“I wanted it to be moody and tragic,” Earley says by email. “The lyrics are an attempt to call someone back from the edge where they might be wanting to give up on love.”
2015 may well prove to be the busiest on record in They Might Be Giants, and the intensity shows no sign of abating as tickets are now on sale for a string of UK dates in January and February 2016.
They Might Be Giants‘ last full-band show in the UK was a sold-out Shepherd’s Bush Empire in late 2013, however, the band, performing as a trio, thrilled a packed Rough Trade East for a one-off in-store show in July this year following a string of radio appearances on BBC Radio 2, 6 Music, Absolute Radio, BBC London and more.
Their new album Glean is out now and Dial-A-Song continues it’s run of exceptionally quality in delivering a brand new song & video every week in 2015.
sweetly as I fall backwards in slow motion and sink into bliss
my unconscious face smiles for I am totally oblivious to all of the
trouble awful devil evil
trouble awful devil evil
bat wings flapping just over my bed
swooping whirling around overhead
the weight of my insensate body draws all the bedclothes down with it
unknowing ecstatically lowering into a bottomless pit surrounded by
trouble awful devil evil
trouble awful devil evil
bat wings flapping just over my bed
swooping whirling around overhead
shadows lengthen
darkness spreads across a cold benighted land
ten thousand years have passed and still I continue to descend
arms folded ‘cross my chest, I dream of happiness without end, unaware of the
trouble awful devil evil
trouble awful devil evil
bat wings flapping just over my bed
swooping whirling around overhead
2015 may well prove to be the busiest on record in They Might Be Giants, and the intensity shows no sign of abating as the band announce their return to the UK for a string of dates in January and February 2016.
They Might Be Giants‘ last full-band show in the UK was a sold-out Shepherd’s Bush Empire in late 2013, however, the band, performing as a trio, thrilled a packed Rough Trade East for a one-off in-store show in July this year following a string of radio appearances on BBC Radio 2, 6 Music, Absolute Radio, BBC London and more.
From breakthrough low-budget videos to the world’s first downloadable album to audio and video podcasts to smart phone apps, They Might Be Giants‘ career has always been one of unlikely innovation. Now their most notorious innovation, Dial-A-Song, has been revitalised for 2015. Originally launched in 1983 from John Flansburgh’s Brooklyn kitchen via a consumer answering machine, Dial-A-Song let listeners in on the latest and greatest from the band years before their career took off on an international level.
With a new song posted every week, the 2015 return of Dial-A-Song in online form would be an extraordinary challenge by any standards. Not only have this year’s songs maintained an exceptionally high level of quality, every week has brought a new accompanying video. Following the release of Glean earlier this year the band are expected to announce details of the follow-up full-length very soon.
27 Jan: Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
28 Jan: Newcastle – Riverside
30 Jan: Belfast – Limelight 1
31 Jan: Glasgow – Celtic Connections Festival (2 shows)
