Monday, June 26, 2017

Live: Ejekt Festival with The Killers, The Kills, Circa Waves (Athens, June 24, 2017)

The Killers, live @ Ejekt Festival 2017
The summer festival season is upon us and as the first heatwave of June made its presence felt this Saturday, we paid our first visit this year to Plateia Nerou by the seaside to checkout the first ever performances in Athens by The Killers, The Kills and Circa Waves.


Actually this was not the first time that The Killers visited Athens, but a sudden hailstorm on the day they were supposed to headline the Rockwave Festival of 2009 pulled the plug of that gig. Eight years later, the road finally led the band back to Athens and although personally I have stopped following them for sometime now, I have to admit that they still put on a great, crowd-pleasing show and it is no surprise that they are still in high demand as headliners for big festivals.


In the 90 minutes of their set, The Killers revisited all their previous albums, from the big hits of their ace debut "Hot Fuss" ("Mr. Brightside", "Somebody Told Me", "Smile Like You Mean It", "All These Things That I've Done") up to their latest release, "The Man", the funky first single off their forthcoming album "Wonderful Wonderful". They even included a couple of songs from their b-sides compilation "Sawdust", Joy Division's "Shadowplay" and "Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll", the track that perhaps best describes their musical aspirations. All in all, a well-executed, professional hit by The Killers that pleased their fans who have been waiting a long time to see them in action.


Our favorite performance of the day however came by The Kills, the dizzying indie rock roller-coaster created by the supremely talented guitarist Jamie Hince and the amazing Alison Mosshart, whose singing and explosive stage presence is always captivating.

The Kills, live @ Ejekt Festival 2017
The chemistry between the two of them remains strong after all those years together and the sparks fly as soon as they hit the stage. Their 70-minute set pulled mainly from their latest album "Ash & Ice" ("Heart of a Dog", the ESG sampling "Siberian Nights", "Doing It to Death", "Whirling Eye") but did not neglect their rich past, including a few older favorites like "U.R.A. Fever", "Tape Song", "Sour Cherry", "No Wow", "Kissy Kiss".



Admittedly there is a lot of material in their back catalog that I would love to listen to live, but the force of their performance is unrelenting no matter what they choose to perform, so a great show is guaranteed every time you get the chance to see The Kills on a stage (check out here our impressions from the first time we got to see them up close, 5 years ago in Lisbon).


 
The Kills, live @ Ejekt Festival 2017
Early in the afternoon we also sampled the melodic pop-punk of Liverpool's Circa Waves. The young quartet presented their new album "Different Creatures", giving a confident performance in front of a rather small crowd, as the intense heat made most people wait for the sunset before making their way to the festival. Their anthemic sound, however, had enough energy to earn the good will of those present who seemed to enjoy the performance despite not being familiar with the material.



Circa Waves, live @ Ejekt Festival 2017
A good start this year for Ejekt Festival, finally deciding to bring over some bands who had never played in Athens before. The second day of this year's event is scheduled for mid-July and we are planning to be there, mainly to see the return to Athens after around 20 years of The Jesus And Mary Chain. We are hoping it's going to be a blast! Meanwhile, here are a few of the highlights of the first day of the festival:

The Kills - Whirling Eye (live @ Ejekt Festival, Athens, June 24, 2017)

The Kills - Sour Cherry (live @ Ejekt Festival, Athens, June 24, 2017)


The Killers - Read My Mind (live @ Ejekt Festival, Athens, June 24, 2017)

Circa Waves - T-Shirt Weather (live @ Ejekt Festival, Athens, June 24, 2017)

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Killer Tracks: The 2017 Playlist Vol.2

A few weeks ago we presented a selection of ten tracks taken from some of our favorite releases of the year so far. As we are getting closer to the actual mid-point of the year, the list of excellent new albums increases and it looks that 2017 is going to be one to remember! Soon we'll have a more thorough presentation of all the albums that stood out for us in the last six months, but 'till that time comes, here are seven more great tracks you should lend an ear to, among them "Cleveland", the latest track to surface off Algiers new album "The Underside of Power", out next week, and Waxahatchee's "Silver" from the album "Out in the Storm", out on July 14th. If the strength of these two songs is any indication of what to expect from the respective LPs, them it seems we have already found two of the Albums of the Year for 2017!

Algiers - Cleveland (from the album The Underside of Power)

Waxahatchee - Silver (from the album Out in the Storm)

Priests - Pink White House (from the album Nothing Feels Natural)

Jay Som - Baybee (from the album Everybody Works)

Girlpool - It Gets More Blue (from the album Powerplant)

Cherry Glazerr - Nuclear Bomb (from the album Apocalipstick)

Amber Arcades - It Changes (from the EP Cannonball)

Thursday, June 08, 2017

Live: The Besnard Lakes & Tango With Lions @ Six D.O.G.S (Athens, June 1st, 2017)


Last week we had the opportunity to check out the first ever show in Athens by Montreal's atmospheric rockers The Besnard Lakes along with local indie-pop hopefuls Tango With Lions and today we have for you sights and sounds from the front row of this epic performance!


The Canadian five-piece led by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas (who had the chance to practice her Greek at this gig!) played a powerful two-hour set, presenting in the first part some of the best tracks from their last 3 albums as well as recent EP "The Besnard Lakes Are the Divine Wind", while for "part deux" they presented in whole their second album "The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse" in celebration of its tenth anniversary.


A few technical glitches at the beginning of the set could not stop the momentum of the group who played with enthusiasm and abundant pathos, raising the levels of the decibels and adding plenty of punk rock energy to their usually melodic, shoegaze influenced compositions.


The breathless, marathon set of The Besnard Lakes was both a crash course in the band's rich history as well as a showcase of their latest musical achievements and as such left their fans thoroughly satisfied. Here's what they played on the stage of Six D.O.G.S last Thursday:

Pressure of Our Plans, And This Is What We Call Progress, Golden Lion, The Specter, Laura Lee, Necronomicon, The Divine Wind, Albatross, Nightingale, Tungsten 4: The Refugee, Disaster, For Agent 13, And You Lied to Me, Devastation, Because Tonight, Rides the Rails, On Bedford And Grand, Cedric’s War, Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent Pt. 1: The Ocean.


The Besnard Lakes - Tungsten 4: The Refugee (live @ Six D.O.G.S, Athens)

Tango With Lions, live @ Six D.O.G.S

The opening set by Tango With Lions reminded us that their last album, 2013's "A Long Walk", was one of the best productions of the local scene in recent years and also served as a sneak preview of their new songs. On the basis of this low-key but thoroughly satisfying performance, it looks hopeful that they will be able to continue exactly where they left off three years ago. Let's wait and see.


Monday, June 05, 2017

New Releases: May 2017

Round-up of the most interesting new releases of the month, featuring new albums by The Afghan Whigs, Slowdive, Moon Duo, Girlpool and Forest Swords:

Albums

In Spades
THE AFGHAN WHIGS - In Spades
SLOWDIVE - Slowdive
GIRLPOOL - Powerplant
MOON DUO - Occult Architecture Vol. 2
FOREST SWORDS - Compassion
LAND OF TALK - Life After Youth
BLACK LIPS - Satan’s Graffiti or God’s Art?
(SANDY) ALEX G - Rocket
!!! - Shake The Shudder
JLIN - Black Origami
JANE WEAVER - Modern Kosmology
ALDOUS HARDING - Party
PUMAROSA - The Witch
GOTHIC TROPIC - Fast or Feast
SUN KIL MOON / JESU - 30 Seconds To The Decline Of Planet Earth
DO MAKE SAY THINK - Stubborn Persistent Illusions
AT THE DRIVE-IN - in•ter a•li•a
POND - The Weather
KASABIAN - For Crying Out Loud
THE CHARLATANS - Different Days
PAUL WELLER - A Kind Revolution
BLONDIE - Pollinator
BMX BANDITS - Bmx Bandits Forever
WAVVES - You're Welcome
PERFUME GENIUS - No Shape
MAC DEMARCO - This Old Dog
THE MOUNTAIN GOATS - Goths
BONNIE PRINCE BILLY - Best Troubador
AMANDA PALMER AND EDWARD KA-SPEL - I Can Spin A Rainbow
JUANA MOLINA - Halo
COLDCUT X ON-U SOUND - Outside The Echo Chamber
ELLEN ALLIEN - Nost
ELAN VITAL - Shadow Self
NITE JEWEL - Real High
LA TAKEDOWN - II
HO99O9 - United States of Ho99o9
HUGO RACE AND MICHELANGELO RUSSO - John Lee Hooker's World Today
ILLEGAL OPERATION - Down
MELT MOUNTAIN - Superfetish
PENGUIN CAFÉ - The Imperfect Sea
BROTHER ALI - All The Beauty In This Whole Life
DELIA GONZALEZ - Horse Follows Darkness
PRIESTS - Early Recordings
LOOK BLUE GO PURPLE - Still Bewitched
HELIUM - Ends With And

Singles & EPs

NADINE SHAH - Out The Way
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE - Hug Of Thunder
LCD SOUNDSYSTEM - Call The Police / American Dream
THE COMET IS COMING - Death To The Planet
THE WEDDING PRESENT - The Home Internationals EP
THE PRIMITIVES - New Thrills EP
BRIX AND THE EXTRICATED - Damned For Eternity
PETER DOHERTY - Kolly Kibber
GALANTS - Galants
DRAHLA - Fictional Decision
DEWEY - Loch Linnhe
BLOXX - You / Your Boyfriend
PEANESS - Are You Sure?
STARCRAWLER - Ants
CHINA GATE - Good Grief EP
2 BY BUKOWSKI - Hot Summer / Beast’s Breath
W H LUNG - Inspiration! / Nothing Is
VATICAN SHADOW - Rubbish of the Floodwaters EP
EVERYTHING IS RECORDED - Close but Not Quite EP
SWET SHOP BOYS - Sufi La EP
SHAKING CHAINS - Midnight Oil / Drunk No More
THE SPITFIRES - Move On

Nadine Shah - Out The Way