Riff-raff and Swamis. Mutants and Automatons. Catchers and Cowboys. Oceans and Bridges. Pikes and Powers. Next week’s new releases are a real ragtag bunch. See for yourself:
Catcher
The Fat Of A Broken Heart
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Catcher are a Brooklyn-based post-punk band with a reputation for visceral and powerful live performances. Drawing comparisons to The Birthday Party, Sonic Youth and The Fall, Catcher delivers music with a driving and inundating low-end, provided by childhood friends Cameron McRae and Wilson Chestney, on bass and drums respectively. Guitarists Jack Young and Christian Reech interweave melodies and noise to create an environment that manages to be at once both bleak and moving, desolate but hopeful, violent but tender. Classically trained violinist Zach Mezzo brings, through his background in experimental composition, a combination of moody swells, driving staccatos, and vicious noise that enrich and accentuate the dynamics and dramatics inherent to the band’s songwriting. Vocalist Austin Eichler commands listeners with a domineering and chaotic presence. From drawling croons to powerful screams, Austin’s narrative lyrics invoke a wide spectrum of emotion while creating a world of their own. Through endless hours of practice and work the band has crafted a gripping and tight live performance and a growing international fanbase.”
Hurray For The Riff Raff
Life On Earth
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Life On Earth is a departure for Hurray For The Riff Raff (aka Bronx-born, New Orleans-based singer-songwriter Alynda Segarra). Its 11 new “nature punk” tracks on the theme of survival are music for a world in flux — songs about thriving, not just surviving, while disaster is happening. For her eighth full-length album, Segarra drew inspiration from The Clash, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Bad Bunny and the author of Emergent Strategy, adrienne maree brown. Recorded during the pandemic, Life On Earth was produced by Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Bon Iver, Kevin Morby).”
Khruangbin & Leon Bridges
Texas Moon
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Two of the acts boldly leading Texas music into the future have now delivered a second chapter of their groundbreaking collaboration, further extending the region’s sonic possibilities. Singer-songwriter Leon Bridges, from Ft. Worth, and trailblazing Houston trio Khruangbin have joined forces for the Texas Moon EP, a follow-up to 2020’s acclaimed Texas Sun project. While the five new songs are clearly a continuation of the first EP, they also have an identity all their own — Bridges calls it “more introspective,” while Khruangbin bassist Laura Lee says it “feels more night time.”
Mickey Leigh’s Mutated Music
Variants Of Vibe
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Though Mickey Leigh has been making music for over five decades, 2022 sees his first solo full-length release under the name Mickey Leigh’s Mutated Music. Growing up the brother of Joey Ramone, Leigh started his first band in 1964 at the age of 10, and by the age of 14, he was in a band with Johnny and Tommy Ramone. He has been an instrumental figure in the New York punk scene ever since, founding Birdland (with rock critic Lester Bangs), The Rattlers, Sibling Rivalry (with Joey), STOP and plenty more. Of the upcoming album, he adds, “Like every organic entity, music is perpetually re-adapting itself in order to survive = mutating. As we know, things we create also variate as they mutate. Mutated Music is what we are. Our new album presents a variant of vibe. This may sound complicated, but, it’s only rock ’n’ roll. and we love it and don’t want to see it become extinct! Mutated Music = Rescuing Rock ‘n Roll, One Song At A Time.”
The William Loveday Intention
Cowboys Are SQ
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The group’s name comes from my grandmother Ivy Loveday. When registering my birth it was mistakenly recorded as William Ivy Loveday, William being my great-grandfather’s name. The beginning of The William Loveday Intention Group was ‘the intention’ to revisit some songs from the past that I had imagined could be orchestrated. (I’ve wanted to do something like this since Thee Headcoats with pieces like This Wondrous Day’) About 20 years ago I was approached with the idea of touring these songs with a small orchestra, an idea I was up for but never happened. In lockdown however it just came to my mind as something to follow through on. As is quite normal for me I booked the studio and under that pressure wrote two or three songs the night before — and on a few occasions, at eight in the morning just before I left for the studio. As usual there where no rehearsals and, due to the lockdown conditions, a few of the tracks are just me and Jim Riley (engineer) doing everything: drums, guitar, bass, organ etc — because no one else would brave the plague and come into the studio. Those tracks sit hidden within the actual group recordings, and sound the same as if recorded by the group.”
Pike vs. The Automaton
Pike vs. The Automaton
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Automaton, in Greek mythology, is the big robot that’s the guardian of the Gods, basically. It’s a soulless, big machine named Talos. The big machine that’s working against mankind at this moment. In Jason and the Argonauts, Jason and the Argonauts have to battle this big machine guy that protects the island. Basically, what the album title is saying, metaphorically, is ‘Pike against the World.’ I made a psychedelic rock record that Sleep and High on Fire fans would like,” Matt Pike (High on Fire) says when asked for a CliffsNotes description of Pike vs. the Automaton. “And maybe if you’re not a Sleep or High on Fire fan, you might like it too. I definitely think it’s interesting; it has D-Beat punk, two-step. It’s got everything and it still works together, it doesn’t sound odd. It’s just an off-the-wall psychedelic rock record.”
Swami John Reis
Ride The Wild Night
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ride The Wild Night is punk veteran Swami John Reis’ long-awaited debut solo album. Ride The Wild Night is neither completely similar nor dissimilar to his previous bands (Hot Snakes, Night Marchers, The Sultans, Rocket From The Crypt, Drive Like Jehu), yet the sound is immediately familiar and assuring — like an old friend you lost touch with that comes back into your life only to ask to borrow money. The music is an amalgam of ’60s folk-punk, ’70s punk-punk and pre-Vietnam War rock ’n’ roll, filtered through Reis’ unregistered, trademark sensibilities. “I wanted to celebrate some of my favorite rock ’n’ roll in its transitional periods,” Reis said. “Flaming Groovies, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Kinks, The Saints and others created some of the most exciting recordings while also connecting the musical past to its future. That really appeals to me.”
Rot TV
Tales of Torment
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Rot TV are lovers of all things freakish and gritty — be it a demented old Lovecraft tale, or a BÖC tune on full blast. Their debut vinyl release FDA / Transylvanian Nights was a hard ’n’ heavy double feature of howling, riff-crazy horror rock, and their brand new debut LP Tales of Torment delivers all this and more. Rot TV have described their forthcoming album as a delightful journey to hell and back dedicated to ALL maniacs — and that means YOU. Rot TV have two speeds; fast and full-tilt boogie. Either way, you’re coming along for the ride.”
Sea Power
Everything Was Forever
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The music of Sea Power (formerly British) has won them some remarkable admirers — Lou Reed, David Bowie and London’s National Maritime Museum. Indeed, the BSP fanbase now includes Doctor Who, Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes. Peter Capaldi is a confirmed fan. “A band of stark originality,” he wrote in his foreword for the reissue of the band’s 2003 debut album, The Decline Of British Sea Power. “BSP’s songs bring you the bite of the wind, the fury of the sea, and music that is simply exhilarating.” Daniel Radcliffe has talked in detail about his plan to get a BSP tattoo (featuring the 2002 T-shirt slogan Bravery Already Exists). Benedict Cumberbatch is also an admirer of the band. Some 15 years on from their first concert British Sea Power continue to make bold, galvanising, idiosyncratic marks on the world.”
Various Artists
Ocean Child: Songs Of Yoko Ono
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Imagined and curated by Benjamin Gibbard (lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of Death Cab for Cutie), Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono is comprised of 14 all-new versions of Ono’s tracks performed by a diverse range of rising artists and legendary stars including David Byrne and Yo La Tengo, Deerhoof, The Flaming Lips, Sharon Van Etten, Death Cab for Cutie, US Girls, Japanese Breakfast, Jay Som, Stephin Merritt (of Magnetic Fields), Thao, Sudan Archives, We Are KING, and Amber Coffman, all of which serve to accentuate Ono’s powerful artistic impact, lasting cultural relevance, and utterly unique approach to songcraft.”
