Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Lee Ranaldo, live @ Parnassos (Athens, October 27, 2014)


Lee Ranaldo's work with Sonic Youth has played a major role in shaping noise rock as we know it. In the years following Sonic Youth's hiatus, we have come to know a much different side to Ranaldo's song writing talent, as his last two solo records, "Between The Times & The Tides" and "Last Night On Earth" found inspiration from the classic rock and folk of his teenage years.


With his latest release, the album "Acoustic Dust" featuring acoustic recordings captured in an apartment in Barcelona, Ranaldo has stripped his songs down to the bare essentials and for the shows he currently plays in support of this record, he has gone as minimal as it gets: just an acoustic guitar and his voice.


Despite this simple acoustic setting, Ranaldo's performance is still electrifying and his songs retain their weight and resonance, making the transition from their loud, electric incarnations to this evening's quiet folk renditions seem natural. The stories that Ranaldo tells about them as he introduces each song, make the intimate show seem more like a gathering of friends where childhood memories are shared and thoughts are expressed through simple but moving music.


The end of the 90-minute set that included highlights from both his solo records and a cover of Neil Young's "Revolution Blues" left his audience satisfied and happy to have witnessed this very different side to Lee Ranaldo's work: from Loud, he has now gone to Quiet. Does this mean that Loud is going to follow again soon? Let's wait and see...


 Lee Ranaldo - Tomorrow Never Comes (live @ Parnassos Literary Club - video by lemonostiftis)

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Found Sound Vol.14

Found Sound brings you the best new music we discover by going through our mail. The series makes its long overdue comeback with fresh sounds from Mechanimal, Children Of Leir, Bongley Dead, Mumblr, Gosh Pith and tohska. There's something for everybody, have a listen:

Mechanimal - We Come Alive


Mechanimal describe their sound as "drone 'n' roll", an inspired mixture of electronic, industrial, post-punk and krautrock music. The Athens, Greece, based group has just released its second album "Secret Science" and "We Come Alive" is the first single.

Children Of Leir - Black Annis


Black Annis, as legend has it, was a hideous blue skinned, hag-like creature that haunted The Dane Hills area of Leicester. This fearsome, human flesh-eating, monster is also the inspiration behind a fine psych rock track which will be released as a double A-side single by Children Of Leir on October 27th on 7'' vinyl. Look for it on their Bandcamp site here.

Bongley Dead - A Better Daybreak


I don't know much to tell you about Bongley Dead except that they are a quartet from Ponte Buggianese, Italy who left us a link to their third demo on the comments of our review of Ty Segall's recent gig. "A Better Daybreak" is the first track on this very promising demo that brings to mind the guitar-heavy sound of the American underground rock of the '80s.

Mumblr - Got It


"Got It" is the catchy opening track of the album "Full of Snakes", the debut of Philadelphia foursome Mumblr. The record tackles the struggles, fears, and confused emotions of transitioning from youth to adulthood, a subject matter that has given us some fine angst rock over the years. You can stream the whole album here.

Gosh Pith - Waves


A wide and varied spectrum of influences, from Detroit hip-hop and techno to The Smiths, Bauhaus, and the Strokes, have inspired the sound of Gosh Pith. The unsigned group recently released its first single "Waves" which is available as a free download on their Soundcloud page.

tohska - Lacuna Bloom 


Some relaxing, ambient drum & bass sounds for the ending of the 14th edition of Found Sound. "Lacuna Bloom" is the most recent single by New York-based artist tohska, a track about exploring the human mind, and a fine soundtrack as we roll the end credits.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Marissa Nadler, live @ Six D.O.G.S (Athens, October 8, 2014)

Marissa Nadler's latest album is called "July" but its melancholic disposition certainly makes it a much better fit to an autumn night. In that respect, the timing of her visit to Athens for the live presentation of this fine work couldn't have been better.

The angelic-voiced Nadler presented her songs with just an acoustic guitar and the help of Janel Leppin's cello or keyboards. This minimal setting proved more than adequate to do justice to her music, as her astonishing vocal performance is enough to carry the full emotional impact of her delicate songs.

For little more than an hour we enjoyed moving renditions of the majority of the material from "July", with "Dead City Emily" and "Was It a Dream", two of the finest songs of this year, being among the highlights of this intimate performance.


After a brief encore, with one of her few visits to her past material, Nadler and Leppin waved us goodbye, closing a truly enchanting night drenched in autumnal red colors, as you can see in our gig photos.


Enjoy below the live acoustic version of "Dead City Emily" from Marissa Nadler's Athens show:

Marissa Nadler - Dead City Emily (live @ Six D.O.G.S, Athens)


Sunday, October 05, 2014

New Releases: September 2014

Round-up of the most interesting albums and singles released in September 2014:

Albums

Dude Incredible
SHELLAC - Dude Incredible
INTERPOL - El Pintor
BLONDE REDHEAD - Barragán
ALLAH-LAS - Worship The Sun
AVI BUFFALO - At Best Cuckold
GOAT - Commune
DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 - The Physical World
FLOWERS - Do What You Want To, It's What You Should Do
MAZES - Wooden Aquarium
ESBEN AND THE WITCH - A New Nature
THE HISTORY OF APPLE PIE - Feel Something
THE VASELINES - V is For Vaselines
LAETITIA SADIER - Something Shines
CASSIE RAMONE - The Time Has Come
THE DRUMS - Encyclopedia
STARS - No One is Lost
HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER - Lateness of Dancers
PURLING HISS - Weirdon
APHEX TWIN - Syro
THOM YORKE - Tomorrow's Modern Boxes
KAREN O - Crush Songs
HALF JAPANESE - Overjoyed
PERE UBU - Carnival of Souls
BUZZCOCKS - The Way
INSPIRAL CARPETS - Inspiral Carpets
TEENAGE GUITAR - More Lies From The Gooseberry Bus
TWEEDY - Sukierae
RYAN ADAMS - Ryan Adams
BONNIE PRINCE BILLY - Singers Grave - A Sea of Tongues
SHE KEEPS BEES - Eight Houses
MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND - This is My Hand
PERFUME GENIUS - Too Bright
BALLET SCHOOL - The Dew Lasts an Hour
MECCA NORMAL - Empathy for the Evil
DIE! DIE! DIE! - Swim
KING TUFF - Black Moon Spell
THE UKIAH DRAG - In the Reaper's Quarters
PC WORSHIP - Social Rust
SO COW - The Long Con
THE JUAN MACLEAN - In A Dream
LYDIA AINSWORTH - Right from Real
LITTLE TORNADOS - We Are Divine

Singles & EPs

Joanna
FLOWERS - Joanna
INTERPOL - All the Rage Back Home
NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS - Give Us A Kiss
THE VASELINES - High Tide Low Tide
WOODS / MV AND EE - Green is the Colour
CARIBOU - Our Love
MOONFACE - City Wrecker EP
JOANNE GRUESOME / TRUST FUND - Split EP
TERRY MALTS - Insides EP
RYAN ADAMS - 1984 EP
THE DRUMS - I Can't Pretend 
HUDSON MOHAWKE - Chimes EP
SALT CATHEDRAL - Oom Velt EP
YOUTH CODE - A Place to Stand EP
SPRAY PAINT - Cussin'
POST WAR GLAMOUR GIRLS - Gustave
MENACE BEACH - Tennis Court / Lowtalkin'
THE MAGIC NUMBERS - E.N.D.
THE JUNE BRIDES - She Seems Quite Free
THE PRIMITIVES - Spin-O-Rama
HELEN LOVE - Pogo Pogo
PEACE - Lost on Me
SPRING KING - Demons EP
JOHN MCCULLAGH AND THE ESCORTS - Box of Tricks
PARQUET COURTS / FUTURE PUNX - LAMC #13

Interpol - All the Rage Back Home


Flowers - Joanna