What I Heard This Morning/Week Pt. 1: Crystal Stilts, Exray's, Screaming Females, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead...

The inbox was swelling this week with new release information, new singles/videos from past releases and news in general. Below are some of the standouts.

Via Force Field PR:

Crystal Stilts announce sophomore album, In Love With Oblivion, due in April on Slumberland

Crystal Stilts "Magnetic Moon" by Slumberland Records

Crystal Stilts "Shake the Shackles" by Slumberland Records

Crystal Stilts' new album In Love with Oblivion will be released in the US on April 12 on Slumberland (and a day earlier in the UK on Fortuna Pop!). This follow-up to their much loved and critically acclaimed debut Alight Of Night continues their foray into spooky 60s psych and 80s dream pop but this time with more flourishes of melody and a bigger, more expansive sound.

Based in Brooklyn (via Florida), Crystal Stilts emerged alongside the very active local post-punk indie scene in 2008 whilst forging their own unique path. They built up a heady following stateside and by the time Alight of Night was released, a flood of accolades followed. In Love With Oblivion sets the bar even higher as they reach dizzying, fuzzy heights as first class purveyors of haunting, atmospheric post-punk pop.

CRYSTAL STILTS

04/29 Austin, TX East Side Drive-In (Austin Psych Fest)



Crystal Stilts
In Love With Oblivion
(Slumberland)
Street date: April 12, 2011



Crystal Stilts
Shake the Shackles
(Slumberland)
Street date: Oct. 26, 2011

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Via Terrorbird Media:

Exray's premiere new video on Altered Zones directed by Pixar's Jeanne Applegate; New release date for S/T album 2/1/11 on Howells Transmitter

*San Francisco duo's debut full length includes contributions from Nate Query (Decemberists), Tim Cohen (The Fresh & Onlys), Warren Huegel (Citay, Jonas Reinhardt), & more *

WATCH: "Ways To Stop Time" (video)

(via Altered Zones)
+
DOWNLOAD: "You Forgot" (mp3)
(via IMPOSE)
+
DOWNLOAD: "Hesitation" (mp3)
(via Pitchfork, from 'The Social Network')

San Francisco based, fuzzed-out slacker popsters Exray's are comprised of Jon Bernson and Michael Falsetto-Mapp at the core, who recently put the finishing touches on their debut full length Exray's, which has an updated release date of 2/1/11, on Howells Transmitter. While they made some notable in-roads for having heir music was tapped for the soundtrack to David Fincher's blockbuster, The Social Network, (with the head-turning song "Hesitation,") they haven't stopped there. Pixar editor Jeanne Applegate recently completed the video for "Ways To Stop Time," which Altered Zones premiered. Impose Magazine premiered the lead-off, Turkish-psych influenced album track "You Forgot," and Pitchfork premiered the accompanying, beyond-creepy video for the track as well.

Addictive songcraft and cinematic arrangements have already led to public outbreaks of adrenaline. Gene-spliced pop and grimy beats have been spawning catchy melodic viruses. Guest performances by Nate Query (Decemberists), Tim Cohen (The Fresh & Onlys) and Warren Huegel (Citay, Jonas Reinhardt) have compounded these effects.

Exray's Guest List:
Nate Query (Decemberists)
Tim Cohen (The Fresh and Onlys)
Warren Huegel (Citay)
Dominic Cramp (Evangelista)
Colin Held (Ray's Vast Basement)
Jason Kick (Maus Haus)
Amanda Hallquist
Marissa Meier
Olivia Parriot




WATCH: "Ways To Stop Time" (video)
( via Altered Zones)
Directed by Jeanne Applegate

WATCH: Exray's 'You Forgot' (video)
(via Pitchfork)
Directed by Colin Held


EXRAY'S LIVE:
Friday, February 4, 2011 - Record release show
@ Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco CA
(w/ Tim Cohen's Magick Trick, Fiveng)

Friday February 25, 2011 - Noise Pop

@ Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco CA
(w/ Nobunny, Battlehooch, Downer Party)

Out January 25, 2011 via Howells Transmitter

 

EXRAY'S
Exray's
(Howells Transmitter)

Exray's Vision
Howells Transmitter
Exray's on Myspace
www.terrorbird.com

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Via Force Field PR:

Screaming Females premiere new video, extend tour

MP3: "Wild" -
http://soundcloud.com/forcefieldpr/screaming-females-wild

VIDEO: "Wild" -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE0BWA5LZYc

Last year, Screaming Females toured relentlessly in support of their critically acclaimed third album Power Move. Their hard work landed them spots opening for Dinosaur Jr., Throwing Muses, and Jay Reatard, plus dates touring with Arctic Monkeys and The Dead Weather. The year brought them to a wider mainstream consciousness, gaining attention for their punk rock sensibilities and their raucous live shows driven by front woman Marissa Paternoster's famed guitar heroics.

But Screaming Females' success did not come overnight: it came after four years of playing over 300 self-booked shows at nontraditional show spaces, sleeping on floors around the country, self-releasing their first two albums, and breathing new life into the New Brunswick, New Jersey DIY basement show circuit. And on their September 2010 LP, Castle Talk, the trio proves their abilities as more than just a pint-sized guitar shredder. Castle Talk showcases their growth together as a unit, as a band, with some of their most complex and confident songwriting to date.
 
"Power Move was the first record that a lot of people had heard by us, and after that came out a lot of people had the same reaction, that Marissa is a woman who can play guitar solos," says drummer Jarrett Dougherty. "But we are more than just that simplistic observation and I think this record shows that."
 
The Screaming Females story starts in New Brunswick in 2005, with Marissa on guitar and vocals, Jarrett on drums, and King Mike on bass. With no all-ages venues in town, the band met their biggest obstacle at the start: finding places to play. But the solution (if there is no venue to play, create your own show space in your basement) was the driving force behind the DIY work ethic that would eventually propel the band forward; the grassroots approach born out of necessity in New Brunswick ultimately Screaming Females developed into a mindset that the band now prides itself on. In 2006, the band self-released Baby Teeth, followed by a second self-release in 2007, What If Someone Is Watching Their TV? Simultaneously, learning from trial and error, plus inspiration from reading Our Band Could Be Your Life, the band booked hundreds of shows in DIY spaces, houses, cafes, and side-of-road co-ops. Power Move was Screaming Females' first full-length with any label (or any outside help, really), released by New Brunswick label Don Giovanni Records. The label mirrors the band's values, champions their hometown, and most importantly, is run by their friends.

In 2010, the band has continued their non-stop touring, including a February tour with Jeff the Brotherhood, two tours with fellow Jersey punk Ted Leo and his band the Pharmacists, a national headlining tour, and a spot on the Village Voice's annual Siren Fest. The band says that thus far the highlight of 2010 was the sold out Don Giovanni Records showcase in February at Bowery Ballroom, which filled one of New York City's biggest venues with the energy of a New Brunswick basement show. Like Power Move, Castle Talk was recorded at the Hunt Studio in New Jersey with engineer, Eric Bennet, but with a new approach to writing and recording. The record was released September 14th via Don Giovanni.



SCREAMING FEMALES

01/14 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall !
01/17 Los Angeles, CA - The Echoplex $
02/10 Waltham, MA - Chum's
02/12 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Don Giovanni Label Showcase
02/24 Ithaca, NY - Ithaca College
03/05 Washington, DC - St. Stephen's Church *
03/06 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church *
03/16 - 03/19 Austin TX - SXSW
04/01 Harrisonburg, VA - MACRoCk @ Clementine Cafe

$ = w/ La Sera, Audacity, Love Bad Things, DJ Keith Morris

! = w/ Mister Heavenly & The Dig

* = w/ Paint It Black




Screaming Females Castle Talk
(Don Giovanni)
Street Date: Sept. 14, 2010

SCREAMING FEMALES LINKS:
Label Page - http://www.dongiovannirecords.com/

MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/screamingfemales

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Via Stunt Company:

RCRD LBL Premiere's Trail of Dead's New Song "Weight of the Sun"
 

 

Photo: Boris Draschoff

Before the internet had proven its worth, bands like …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead were the only glimpse post-rock kids had into the promise lands of Washington and Texas (where life was way cooler and more relevant than in say, Massachusetts, which was the 7th circle of hell). Fifteen years, seven albums, and dozens of imitators later, we’re happy to report that if the prog-rock vets have changed, they’re not showing it here. Preview track “Weight Of The Sun” is poppy, scream-filled, and fully subscribes to the power-murk-power formula Trail Of Dead made famous back in 1994. Fingers crossed for the rest of the album, Tao Of The Dead, which the band will promote via dates with Surfer Blood.

Click here for full article and to check out “Weight of the Sun” http://rcrdlbl.com/2011/01/10/premiere_and_you_will_know_us_by_the_trail_of_dead_weight_of_the_sun

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead release their new album Tao of the Dead on February 8th.  

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Via Friends Of Friends:

Brooklyn's Beans Teams With Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio) and In Flangranti for "Mellow You Out"; Pitchfork Premiere

Anti-Pop Consortium vet is set to release first non self-produced record w/ help from Fourtet, Tobacco, Tunde of TV on the Radio, In Flangranti, members of Interpol, Clark and others; End it All due 2/15/11

Photo credit: Beowolf Sheehan

New MP3: Beans -
Mellow You Out ft. Tunde Adebimpe
(Produced by In Flagranti)
(from End It All on Anticon due 2/15; via Pitchfork)

GET TO KNOW BEANS:

Village Voice interview + "Deathsweater" Mp3:
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2011/01/download_beans.php

Interview w/ Vernon Reid (on Brooklyn Independent TV)
http://briccommunitymedia.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/vernon-reid-v-s-beans-caught-in-the-act/

Beans LIVE DATES:

1/26/11 The Barn, Los Angeles
2/16/11 Santo's, New York
2/18/11 Subterranean, Chicago
2/22/11 Doug Fir, Portland
2/23/11 Chop Suey, Seattle
3/11/11 35 Conferette Festival, Denton, TX
3/11 SXSW, Austin, Texas

The Get Down Monthly at Happy Ending





10pm-4am
332 Broome St.
(Between Forsythe and Eldridge)

When it came time to craft his fourth album, Brooklyn-based rap rebel Beans needed to get out of his head. His old group, the legendary left-fielders Anti-Pop Consortium, had reunited and he'd been devoting his energy to their long-awaited fifth LP, Flourescent Black. His last solo record, Thorns, was bittersweet-one of his greatest works to date, but an exercise in raw, exhausting emotion. For a minute, he even considered calling it quits.

Thankfully, Beans went a different route. He titled his new record End It All-a make it or break it promise-and looked outside his window for inspiration. What he saw is now the meat of his Anticon Records debut: lush, darkly tinted soundscapes from some of the most inspired names in contemporary production-Four Tet, Clark, TOBACCO, Son Lux, Interpol's Sam Fog-united by the inimitable flow and reborn swagger of Beans.
End It All is the first Beans album to feature all guest production, and it finds the emcee pushing his distinct staccato rhyme style to new heights across a varied but fluid buildup of beats. The biggest challenge, and perhaps the best results, comes from "Blue Movie," a Son Lux original that trades in lush orchestral bursts and fuzzy drum pileups. The maximal style is a good look for Beans, who rides the unmistakable wobbly bass and live clatter of Sam Fog's "Electric Bitch" with effortless aplomb.

Lyrically speaking, Beans is at his fiercest, spitting highly stylized braggadocio (see the Nobody-produced "Deathsweater" or Clark's "Hunter") and noirish narratives in turn. A ravenous consumer of mystery novels, his favorite pastime comes to life in the character study found on Four Tet's rapid-fire banger, "Anvil Falling," and in the black imagery that fittingly accompanies TOBACCO's "Glass Coffins." Meanwhile, Beans is at his polyrhythmic best delivering a single track-length verse over "Electric Eliminator," produced by Bumps (Tortoise's drum section).
 
Aggressive until the end, End It All burns through 13 tracks in 33 minutes, with Beans barely stopping to breathe. There is one exception though, the appropriately titled "Mellow You Out." Here, Beans slows his roll as his own words move in and out of the eerie vocals of TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe. The late-album track is an obvious highlight, but more importantly, proof that Beans is as versatile as he is a true original-making him more dangerous than ever.

Beans
End It All
(Anticon)
Out 2/15




Sincerely,
Letters From A Tapehead