Having just experienced Mastodon live last night at the Wiltern in L.A., this news is quite welcome to my everlastingly ringing ears. According to a MySpace bulletin witnessed by Press McGee himself, it looks like Stoner-rockers High On Fire have confirmed that they will be entering the studio this month to record the follow-up to their critically acclaimed Blessed Black Wings (Relapse). The new album will be called Death is This Communion. Enlisting the chops of legendary producer Jack Endino...

The Echo is a place for atmosphere. While the enclave often finds itself housing playful local bands adopting a more lighthearted approach, there are some of those nights that remind Angelenos why they go to shows in the first place. The ethos of the night was set by the lovely, sexually alloyed actress-turned-indie-princess Jena Malone and her band. Malone took the stage with a black bob wig over the top of her mouse brown head, supported by an almost caricatured...

The third installment of Lunarcast features David Wingo, the lead-vocalist and songwriter for the Brooklyn-based band, Ola Podrida. Wingo has been back and forth from Austin to Brooklyn—as well as a few months in San Francisco—before settling down to write the self-titled album out now on Plug Research. The music’s cinematic, storytelling feel stems from a long history of scoring films with childhood friend David Gordon Green (George Washington, All the Real Girls). But for Ola Podrida, this is an...

The Polyphonic Spree are launching a new album, THE FRAGILE ARMY, coming out on June 19, 2007. In order to give a preview of their current sound an eight-minute mashup was produced using parts of all 11 tracks. Frontman Tim DeLaughter commented, "You are about to experience a sample of our latest recording achievement. Please raise your ears and hold on to your heart as we prepare you for The Fragile Army." As for their tour schedule in May…  ...

If any band is full of enough bombast to not be outshined or ill-utilize the talents of some of America’s finest symphonic orchestras, it is probably the Decemberists. Remember, this is a band who has pageantry coming out the yin-yang, and hell, they put out an 18-minute-long song cycle based on Celtic mythology. So yeah, when it gets announced that the band will be playing five dates across the country this summer backed by symphony orchestras in Los Angeles, Atlanta,...

In the course of their seven year career, the Animal Collective have released some records that are absolutely stunning in their beauty and complexity, and others that are absolutely stunning in their "what the hell was that?" factor – the kind of “what the hell?” that makes you wonder if you are just a few steps away from missing something transcendant, or just two steps away from an audio car wreck. It’s crazy variance that makes for a can’t miss...

Having just finished up a tour of UK, France and Belgium (where their noise-rock leanings undoubtedly make them gods), Thee More Shallows will embark on an extensive US jaunt in support of their new album Book of Bad Breaks. GC recently sat down with bandleader David "Dee" Kessler to talk about the album and said European tour, and you can read about it here . THEE MORE SHALLOWS – BOOK OF BAD BREAKS TOUR 2007 Friday May 4th, San Francisco,...

The other day I was walking to the local market when I passed a tattered homeless man selling incense out front. He was talking to another guy and I caught the words "The Beatles? They're still making music. The Asian son of John Lennon was at the Roxy…" It's always a surprise when I discover which likeminded people share the same musical tastes as me. Just as the incense peddler said, on Tuesday night fans gathered in the cozy blue-lit...

Hot flying balls of absolute awesome!!! One of Ground Control's favorite bands, Pela, is finally—FINALLY!—hitting the road for a full U.S. tour, where they'll be opening for Electric Soft Parade, who are far from shabby themselves. Both bands will be supporting their recently released albums—ESP’s No Need to be Downhearted (read the review here ) and Pela’s Anytown Graffiti (read the Pela interview here ). They’ll be joined on tour by BrakesBrakesBrakes, and EVERYONE. SHOULD. GO. Listen to Electric...

Classic, mature, and seasoned are not the first words that come to mind when describing Blonde Redhead's new full length record, 23, a recording that bulges at the seams with fresh ideas and new directions. However, there were some people in the crowd on April 23, including this reporter, at Bimbo's 365 club in San Francisco who have literally grown up with the band since they came on the scene more than 13 years ago. Flash back to the mindset...