New Selections — Emma Ruth Rundle, Tropical Fuck Storm, Primitive Man, Private Life, Uniform, Erika Wennerstrom, Djrum, Windhand

Starting August off with some new singles.

Emma Ruth Rundle: "Darkhorse"

(via Rarely Unable / Sargent House / YouTube)

Via Rarely Unable:

“In the wake of weak beginnings, we can still stand high,” Emma Ruth Rundle sings over banks of electrified minor chords and ghostly guitar leads on "Darkhorse". It’s a statement of purpose and a recurring motif throughout the album. “The record is about overcoming—understanding and embracing the crippling situation and then growing beyond it,” Rundle says. “Horses keep working their way into the lyrics and visual dimension of this record. They’re powerful and beautiful yet not free really. So the dark horse works for me in a visual way, as a representation of a contained force that will win the race or exceed the expectation of society and self.”

The songs that comprise On Dark Horses vibrate with restlessness and forward motion. Prodding and preening the wounds unmasked in Marked For Death, Rundle’s third LP for Sargent House brings cinematic instrumentals to her sprawling narratives. These eight new tracks capture the evolution of Rundle as an artist—vestigial traces of 2011's Electric Guitar: One’s savvy guitar work, the heart-on-sleeve intensity of Some Heavy Ocean (2014), and the high-stakes torch songs of Marked For Death can all be heard in equal and harmonious accord.

On Dark Horses is due out on September 14 via Sargent House. Pre-orders are available here, and Emma Ruth Rundle will tour in support of the album this Autumn - check out all tour dates listed below.

Emma Ruth Rundle, On Tour:
September 8 Chicago, IL @ Ars Memoria **art show & listening party**
September 15 Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar +
September 16 Detroit, MI @ El Club +
September 17 Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dee’s +
September 19 Portsmouth, NH @ The Press Room +
September 20 Allston, MA @ Great Scott +
September 21 Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus +
September 22 Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA +
September 23 Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery +
September 24 Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe +
September 25 Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle +
September 27 Davenport, IA @ Figge Art Museum / All Senses Festival
September 28 Rock Island, IL @ Rock Island Brewing Co.
October 6 Lille, FR @ Aeronef +
October 7 Colmar, FR @ Grillen +
October 9 Bermeo, ES @ Beleza Malandra Ateneo Kulturala +
October 10 Oviedo, ES @ Lata de Zinc +
October 11 Porto, PT @ Passos Emanuel +
October 12 Lisbon, PT @ Music Box +
October 13 Madrid, ES @ Changó +
October 14 Barcelona, ES @ AMFest 2018
October 16 Marseille, FR @ Le Molotov +
October 17 Zurich, CH @ Rote Fabrik +
October 18 Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz +
October 19 Prague, CZ @ Klub 007 +
October 20 Köln, DE @ Gebaude 9 +
October 21 München, DE @ Milla +
October 23 Berlin, DE @ Bi Nuu +
October 24 Hamburg, DE @ Hafenklang +
October 25 Malmo, SE @ Plan B +
October 26 Oslo, NO @ BLÄ +
October 27 Stockholm, SE @ Strindbergs Intima +
October 28 Gothenborg, SE @ Skjul Fyra Sex/Skjulet +
October 29 Copenhagen, DK @ Hotel Cecil +
October 31 Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown +
November 1 Groningen, NL @ Vera +
November 2 Paris, FR @ Petit Bain +
November 3 Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen +
November 4 Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade +
November 6 Glasgow, UK @ Stereo +
November 7 Newcastle, UK @ The Cluny +
November 8 London, UK @ Oslo +
November 9 Kortijk, BEL @ Sonic City Festival
November 10 Antwerp, BEL @ Trix +
November 30 Nashville, TN @ The High Watt +
December 1 Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn +
December 3 Dallas, TX @ Double Wide +
December 4 Austin, TX @ Barracuda +
December 6 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister +
December 7 Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar +
December 9 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo +
December 10 San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop +
December 12 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios +
December 13 Seattle, WA @ Barboza +
December 15 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court +
December 16 Denver, CO @ Lost Lake +
December 17 Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room +

+ w/ Jaye Jayle
** ERR solo gallery show with new large oil paintings and 'On Dark Horses' album listening party**

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Tropical Fuck Storm: "You Let My Tyres Down"

(via Speakeasy PR / Joyful Noise Recordings / YouTube)

Via Speakeasy PR:

Tropical Fuck Storm, featuring ex-The Drones’ Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin with fellow Australian indie noisemakers Lauren Hammel (High Tension) and Erica Dunn (Harmony/Mod Con), release their debut album, A Laughing Death in Meatspace, in North America on Oct. 26 via Joyful Noise Recordings.

The album, which is available for pre-orders via Joyful Noise’s website (http://joyfulnoi.se/ALDIMS), is already being hailed as a potential best of for 2018 with both The Quietus and Australia’s Double J including the album in their best of 2018 (so far) coverage. Double J said, “Filled with the sort of acerbic wit only Gareth Liddiard can muster, this is the most essential, moody, pulverising, funny, off-key, venomous Antipodean post-punk album of the year.” Noisey Australia, in an extensive interview with Liddiard and Dunn point to the band’s “anarchic energy” and claim we’re witnessing “the birth of a new rock powerhouse,” while Liddiard’s laid bare in a discussion with The Guardian, touching on the societal influences that imbue the album’s lyrics, from the societal fallout from recent technological advances to the hopes for a new generation of rebellion, leaving the revered British paper to declare Meatspace “a glorious detour into deconstructed rock music, reflective of social malaise and unafraid to tell it like it is.”

“The band and myself are quietly confident that the US release of ALDIMS will bridge America’s political divide and usher in a millennia-long age of peace and prosperity,” said Liddiard.

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Primitive Man: "Naked"

(via Earsplit PR / Relapse Records / CVLT Nation / YouTube)

Via Earsplit PR:

One year after each releasing two of 2017's heaviest albums, Denver's PRIMITIVE MAN and New York City's UNEARTHLY TRANCE unite for an exercise in complete and total suffering, coming August 17th via Relapse Records. Across seven apocalyptic tracks, both bands tap into some of the most uncomfortable, vile realms of blackened doom and dissonant, harsh noise put to tape in the new millennium.

PRIMITIVE MAN & UNEARTHLY TRANCE's split LP will be available on CD, LP and digital formats through Relapse Records. Physical packages, digital downloads, and streaming services are available at Relapse.com HERE.

PRIMITIVE MAN will return to Europe next month on a headlining tour with labelmates -(16)-. The tour begins August 29th in Dortmund, Germany and concludes September 15th at Bloodshed Festival in Eindhoven, Netherlands. PRIMITIVE MAN will also make various summer festival appearances such as Psycho Las Vegas and Temple Of Ascension Vol. 1. All confirmed tour dates are available below.

PRIMITIVE MAN:
8/17/2018 Temple Of Ascension Vol. 1 - Edmonton, AB
8/18/2018 Psycho Las Vegas @ Hard Rock Hotel And Casino - Las Vegas, NV
w/ -(16)- :
8/29/2018 Junkyard - Dortmund, DE
8/30/2018 IFZ- Leipzig, DE
8/31/2018 KB18 - Copenhagen, DK
9/01/2018 1000fryd - Aalborg, DK
9/02/2018 Hafenklang - Hamburg, DE
9/03/2018 Magasin4Brussels, BE
9/04/2018 Tiefgrund - Berlin, DE
9/05/2018 Poglos - Warsaw, PL
9/06/2018 Fuga - Bratislava, SK
9/07/2018 Desszert Feszt Budapest Opening Party - Budapest, HU
9/08/2018 Reflektor Venue - Timisoara, RO
9/09/2018 Something For The Core VII - Bucharest, RO
9/10/2018 Mocvara - Zagreb, HR
9/11/2018 Circolo Magnolia - Milano, IT
9/12/2018 Sunset Bar - Martigny, CH
9/13/2018 Gaswerk - Winterthur, CH
9/14/2018 Jubez - Karlsruhe, DE
9/15/2018 Bloodshed Fest 2018 - Eindhoven, NL

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Private Life: "Hesitation"

(via Earsplit PR / Dark Operative Digital / Pop Matters / YouTube)

Via Earsplit PR:

Pop Matters is hosting a premiere of "Hesitation," the trippy new video from Texas/California-based psychedelic cyber-synth rock duo PRIVATE LIFE - the collaborative project between Christopher Royal King (This Will Destroy You) and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Sam Chown (Shmu) - as their Silent Partner debut album nears August release through Dark Operative Digital.

PRIVATE LIFE's Silent Partner is a fascinating blend of cyberpunk, dream pop, psych, prog, and kraut vibes from the '70s, bits of thrash, and modern modular electronic synths. Think of it as the latest operating system update for a computer with plenty of Talking Heads, Gang Of Four, and Bloc Party on the hard drive. The album is completed with psychedelic cover art by Keith Rankin.

The new video for "Hesitation" was directed by Anthony Ferrara aka Bokeh Monster. Offers Chown, "The video features Natalie Wetzel, also known as G'NAT. Weirdly enough, I met her through Wayne Coyne, in Miley Cyrus' Winnebago in Oklahoma City, of all places. Fast forward a couple of years later and a friend of mine had recommended I reach out to Anthony to do a music video. I was supposed to fly out to Los Angeles to be in the video with Chris but for whatever reason, those plans got thwarted. Anthony suggested that he hire actors to be in the video instead. He ended up just using footage of Natalie. When I saw the video for the first time, I was like, how do you know Natalie? Apparently, she was his roommate and longtime good friend."

Ferrara adds, "Somewhere out there is a feedback loop with your name on it — I sincerely hope all of you get to experience the same immersive, chrono-sensory breakdown I had trying to deconstruct PRIVATE LIFE's 'Hesitation.' It defies the nesting boxes I put it in, and this struggle became the appeal. Endless love and gratitude for Gnat's exquisite character work as the Scarlet Cardinal running through those hallways, forever and ever. The only way out is to stop and change."

Pop Matters posts in part, "The absence of the band in the clip adds to PRIVATE LIFE's overall enigmatic presence, the tune imagining the Lemmy-led Hawkwind covering Pink Floyd in a chill backstage lounge somewhere in Middle America. PRIVATE LIFE sounds like the American landscape today: Odd noises, thunderous layers and time that passes with almost hallucinatory rapidity. How do you take a journey to the center of the mind when the mind is rapidly eroding? PRIVATE LIFE seeks to answer that question and, maybe, in its own way, remind us that the best we can do is enjoy the ride."

Dark Operative Digital will release Silent Partner digitally on August 17th; find digital preorders HERE where the track "Bloody Blister" is streaming and watch for a physical version to follow.

The impetus for PRIVATE LIFE stemmed from King's desire to start a high BPM, futuristic cyber-synth group comprised of him on modular synths with the accompaniment of drums. After a series of conceptual meetings and rehearsals, the duo hatched out schematics and installed configurations wherein Chown's drums would trigger additional modular synths beyond King's main melodies. Demos were cut, and the duo saw tremendous sonic potential in their unique approach. A few months later, the duo holed up in Austin's 5th Street Studios to capture the seven songs that would become their debut album, with overdubs recorded in both Austin and Los Angeles.

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Uniform: "Alone in the Dark"
(via Rarely Unable / Sacred Bones Records / YouTube)

Via Rarely Unable:

Today, Uniform unveil the second single off their highly anticipated album, The Long Walk - coming August 17th on Sacred Bones. "Alone in the Dark" is an homage to Jack Sholder's slasher flick of the same name. Vocalist Michael Berdan explains that "in the film, Jack Palance, Martin Landau and Donald Pleasance star as a gaggle of mental patients who escape an asylum during a power outage and proceed to hunt down their psychiatrist. In our song, I'm referencing my personal feelings of isolation that come in the middle of the night, when I'm left with only the sensation of college level existential terror and prayers to a God who may or may not be listening, if even there at all."

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Erika Wennerstrom: "Staring Out the Window"
(via Big Hassle Media / Relix / YouTube)

Via Big Hassel Media:

Erika Wennerstrom shares her new video, "Staring Out The Window," today on Relix. A contemplative, self-loving and relatable song -- the lyrics say it all: "Want to be among good people that make you feel good / That don't make you feel so misunderstood / And sometimes it's so much easier said than done." The new video release comes with new tour date announcements, as well, starting on the east coast, and heading down to North Carolina.

Aug 1 - Washington, DC - Gypsy Sally's
Aug 2 - Baltimore, MD - WTMD First Thursdays
Aug 3 - Philadelphia, PA - WXPN Free At Noon
Aug 4 - Philadelphia, PA - Boot & Saddle
Aug 6 - Manchester Center, VT - Billsville
Aug 7 - Woodstock, NY - Colony
Aug 8 - York, PA - Sign of the Wagon
Aug 11 - Harveysburg, OH - Bellwether Festival
Aug 12 - Nashville, TN - Basement East
Aug 14 - Pisgah Forest, NC - Bent River Farm

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Djrum: "Waters Rising"
(via Julian T. Schoen - Artist, Event & Project Management / Bandcamp)

Via Julian T. Schoen:

R&S is locked in on Djrum, the London based producer readying his latest full-length, Portrait With Firewood, coming August 17. Slithering electronics weave through ghostly vocal samples on "Waters Rising", the second cut shared from the LP. 

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Windhand: "Grey Garden"

(via Relapse Records / NPR / YouTube)

Via Relapse Records:

Richmond, Virginia's psychedelic heavyweights WINDHAND unveil "Grey Garden," the video and lead single off their forthcoming album Eternal Return. Today NPR debuted the Jordan Vance directed piece describing the song, "is led by Morris' towering riff and a guitar tone so deep, so thick that it's like sipping on a frothy pint of the void...there's a serious undercurrent of grunge. Windhand spends a good section of the track to drop out of distortion and meditate on flannel-powered flange and EBow as Cottrell's voice drifts in and out of space." Read all about it here and check out NPR's 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women which recently featured WINDHAND's classic, "Orchard".

Eternal Return is a complete life-to-death journey. As unplanned things go, it's an observation of as well as a reflection on life's ups and downs, joys and sorrows, beginnings and ends. Between the band's 2015, highly acclaimed Grief's Infernal Flower, and 2018's Eternal Return, WINDHAND welcomed new life, survived lineup changes, and mourned unexpected death. The songs and song ordering are the direct result of those experiences. Where "Halcyon" is assured in its opening, the closing track "Feather" is its funeral march.

WINDHAND wrote Eternal Return all throughout the winter. Out of the sessions, "Halcyon," "Grey Garden," "Red Cloud," and the monstrous "Eyeshine" emerged as the heaviest tracks, while "Pilgrim's Rest," "Diablerie," and "Feather" embodied the more reflective side of WINDHAND. The juxtaposition of heavy, psychedelic and pensive is less like Black Sabbath or Sleep and more like Soundgarden or Veruca Salt. But the name-drops aren't absolute so much as signals of WINDHAND's ability to stretch beyond genre confines.

Eternal Return represents a new era for the group, a chrysalis moment that takes them to new and unforeseen heights. Boosted by Garrett Morris' consistently cool riffs-forged at the crossroads of Iommi's otherworldly import and Kurt Cobain's spontaneous precocity-powered by Ryan Wolfe and Parker Chandler's groove-laden rhythms, and propelled by Dorthia Cottrell's smoky yet wistful vocals, WINDHAND's new album is a two-step jump for Richmond's finest purveyors of the psycho-actively heavy. Adorned by Arik Roper's (Sleep, High on Fire) impressive cover art, Eternal Return not only looks the part of WINDHAND's artistic growth but sounds the part.

WINDHAND brought Jack Endino back into the fold. Together, they spent two weeks recording at Soundhouse Recording in Seattle. Described as "smooth" and "intense," the sessions with the famed producer were just what WINDHAND wanted. Endino also understood the group's artistic progression, chiefly the admiration of and blending in late '80s/early '90s grunge. Out of it all, WINDHAND continued to refactor and refine their vision of heavy. A new era of psychedelic heaviness is upon us with WINDHAND's genre-blurring Eternal Return. Sweet, fuzzed-out oblivion has never been closer...

Eternal Return sees its release October 5th on Relapse Records. WINDHAND venture on a full North American tour this fall with Satan's Satyrs. Check below for a full list of dates and go to Relapse.com to pre-order your copy.

10/08: Atlanta, GA - The Earl #
10/09: New Orleans, LA - Gasa Gasa #
10/10: Houston TX - White Oak Music Hall #
10/11: Dallas, TX - Club Dada #
10/12: Austin, TX - Barracuda #
10/14: Albuquerque, NM - Sister #
10/15: Phoenix, AZ - Valley Bar #
10/16: Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre #
10/17: Oakland, CA - Starline Social Club #
10/19: Portland, OR - Aladdin Theatre #
10/20: Vancouver, BC - Venue #
10/21: Seattle, WA - Neumos #
10/23: Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge #
10/24: Kansas City, MO - The Riot Room #
11/01: Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts #
11/02: Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere #
11/03: Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall #
11/04: Montreal, QC - Le Belmont #
11/05: Toronto, ON - The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern #
11/07: Chicago, IL - Subterranean #
11/08: Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Cafe #
11/09: Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club #
11/10: Indianapolis, IN - The Hi-Fi #
11/11: Nashville, TN - The Basement East #
11/12: Louisville, KY - Zanzabar #
11/13: Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups #
11/15: Richmond, VA - The Broadberry #

# - w/ Satan's Satyrs

Sincerely,

Letters From A Tapehead