New Releases: September 2013

A selection of some of the most interesting albums and singles released in September:

Albums

Factory Floor

FACTORY FLOOR - Factory Floor
ARCTIC MONKEYS - AM
BILL CALLAHAN - Dream River
MAZZY STAR - Seasons of Your Day 
SEBADOH - Defend Yourself
THE JULIE RUIN - Run Fast
FRANKIE ROSE - Herein Wild
MGMT - MGMT
CRYSTAL STILTS - Nature Noir
NEKO CASE - The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You
MARK LANEGAN - Imitations
FUZZ - Fuzz
YUCK - Glow & Behold
OBITS - Bed & Bugs
BODY/HEAD - Coming Apart
BIG SEXY NOISE - Collision Course / Trust the Witch
QUASI - Mole City
BAILTERSPACE - Tinine
OKKERVIL RIVER - The Silver Gymnasium
JOANNA GRUESOME - Weird Sister
CHVRCHES - The Bones Of What You Believe
KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS - At Home
THE NAKED & FAMOUS - In Rolling Waves
HAIM - Days Are Gone
ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ROOTS - Wise Up Ghost
KINGS OF LEON - Mechanical Bull
JONATHAN RADO - Law and Order
FILTHY BOY - Smile That Won't Go Down
CHELSEA WOLFE - Pain Is Beauty
DELTRON 3030 - Event 2

Singles & EPs

Reflektor

ARCADE FIRE - Reflektor
SEBADOH - I Will
GIRLS AGAINST BOYS - The Ghost List EP
PIXIES - EP-1
YO LA TENGO - Ohm
MAGIK MARKERS - Ice Skater / Machines
FUZZ - Sunderberry Dream / 21st Century Schizoid Man
CAMERA OBSCURA - Break it to You Gently
JAGWAR MA - Come Save Me
DRENGE - Face Like a Skull
KINGS OF LEON - Supersoaker
DEAP VALLY - Bad For My Body
NADINE SHAH - Runaway
TRICKY - Valentine
GOLDFRAPP - Drew
EXCLAMATION PONY - Pseudo Individual
THE FLATMATES - You Held My Heart
DIANA - Perpetual Surrender

Listen to our September 2013 playlist using Spotify:

Arcade Fire - Reflektor

Esben And The Witch, live @ Six D.O.G.S (Athens, September 27, 2013)

If you're familiar with the two albums released so far by the Brighton, UK, trio Esben And The Witch you might expect an ethereal, gothic atmosphere to their live shows. Surprisingly, as we found out at their first ever Athens gig on Friday, the band favors an all-out sonic attack on stage, bringing their live sound closer to the guitar wall-of-noise of shoegaze.

The dark, chilling melodies of "Wash the Sins Not Only the Face" and "Violet Cries" are still the center of the band's sonic universe, of course, but the guitar takes a much more prominent role on stage, giving tracks like "Marching Song" or "Deathwaltz" a heavier, more rocking live presence.

The harder live sound, however, cannot upstage the band's greatest strength, Rachel Davies' magnificent voice. Alternating between guitar and bass, Davies adds to the sonic mayhem created by guitarist Thomas Fisher and drummer Daniel Copeman, while maintaining a  crystal clear voice, a siren's call that enchants in the midst of Esben And The Witch's sonic tempest.

So, after a shaky start on Wednesday with Iceage who left us wanting for more, the week's unofficial Matador fest came to an end on Friday on a high note. Esben And The Witch's hour-long set also finished without an encore, but as the impressive "Smashed to Pieces in the Still of the Night" was coming to an end, it was obvious that it would be very hard to top it with something else. Check it out below, along with another of the evening's highlights, the band's Matador debut "Marching Song":

Esben and the Witch - Marching Song (live @ Six D.O.G.S)


Esben and the Witch - Smashed To Pieces In The Still Of The Night  (live @ Six D.O.G.S)