Before Brooklyn was to the early Millennium what Seattle was to the Nineties, before the machine pumped out tonnes of boring synth-pop bands and before the broad concept of “hipsterism” was a going concern, there was a small group of bands doing great things and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were among them (as were LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture and TV on the Radio). Clap You Hands Say Yeah's songwriting style – a mixture of synth hooks and both acoustic...
Now with their Bastards Of Reality tour as Bat Sabbath beginning to wind to a close, the Cancer Bats are finally ready to announce the first details for the follow-up to 2010's Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones LP: their fourth album will be called Dead Set On Living, and will be released in April, 2012. Check out the teaser trailer for the album here: www.teamdistort.com/dsol/Ground Control will report more details as they become available.Further Reading:Ground Control – "Bat Sabbath Takes...
The more unlikely an event is, the more fantastic it is when it comes to pass. One such moment came yesterday, when The Beach Boys announced that they will reunite for a global Fiftieth Anniversary celebration in 2012. The Beach Boys – Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and David Marks – will come together for a new studio album and commemorative catalog releases with Capitol/EMI and a fifty-date international tour to begin in April with a headlining...
It’s been quite a while since The National played a reasonably intimate venue in Chicago. The past few years have included multiple summer stops at Lollapalooza, Pitchfork Festival and even an opening spot for R.E.M. at the United Center. All of those settings don’t really provide the atmosphere most fans truly desire, but, of course, beggars can’t be choosers. It was a pleasant surprise to see a headlining tour pop up with a stop in Chicago at one of the more...
Izza mos' wondaful time o' da year Junky!How're ya keepin' ova dere, ya reprobates? Thing're goin' great 'ere, 'at's fo' sure. Nothin's slowed down'is week – in spite o' da fac'dat the man wit' da red suit's onn'is way pretty soon – ann'I gotta'notha great big bag a SWAG fo' ya. Dis week, I nabbed a new tune called "Tennessee" by dis band called High Dive annit's friggin' awesome! It sounds a little like what used ta get called...
Cage The Elephant may have been the band who struck gold saying that there ain't no rest for the wicked but, in the two years since releasing their third album, Billy Talent has proven it to be true, having set an iron man's tour itinerary which has seen them perform in virtually every quadrant of four continents. They've embarked on incredibly successful tours and played some of the largest, most venerable festivals in the world (including Leeds, Reading, Festival D'Ete,...
What’s a god to a non-believer? It’s really about, “Why is there hype if there is no music that we haven't come to expect,” but maybe I’m coming at this wrong. Watch the Throne by Kanye "Ye" West and Jay-Z had the greatest hype build-up of all time, with iTunes seeing some of the greatest sales in history in the first week of release. Mind you, this is the same album that put out limited edition physical editions which included...
You need to meet The Weeknd before the third album in his current series is released, scheduled to come out late this year. The first two albums, House of Balloons and Thursday, are on the highest throne possible when it comes to artistic ability and engrossing situational/emotional outpourings. The lyrical delivery of Abel Tesfaye cannot be left outside of your music collection. Even if you were to argue with me about this, every possible argument is trumped by the fact...
Childish Gambino, born Donald Glover, has a soft, shaky, and uniquely “Hollywood” ground that will make it slightly difficult for him to be a major player in the hip hop game. I only say “slightly” because his music, concerts and first album are a must for your record collection. The music, performance on stage is nothing short of a superstar. Granted, the man won't be the next Tupac, but he does deliver on the same level as Andre 3000. Whether...
I'm always impressed and have a warm heart for a DJ who starts working on electronic music at a young age. Toddla T, Thomas Mackenzie Bell, started spinning at the age of fourteen. I can remember when I was fourteen and can't help but admire the dedication Bell had to pursue such a hard and expensive hobby. Toddla T was the artist I came out to a Dim Mak night to see. A man that flew over from Europe to...