Deftones - Rocket Skates

Legendary Sacramento rockers Deftones are back this year with their 6th studio album, Diamond Eyes. The band had already written a follow-up to 2006’s Saturday Night Wrist, entitled Eros, but in late 2008 bassist Chi Cheng was involved in a serious car accident and has not fully recovered from the coma the accident left him in. Therefore Eros was indefinitely postponed as a mark of respect to Chi, instead the band elected to record brand new material with one-time Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega.

As a preview the band have released today (and for a limited time) one track from the new album as a free download, Rocket Skates. First impressions are good, with a sound reminiscent of their excellent 1997 album Around The Fur without the tinge of over-production that was all too present on Saturday Night Wrist, although vocalist Chino Moreno hinted that the album as a whole will be closer in style to 2000’s White Pony. This is good news, as White Pony was the first album where Deftones started to really experiment with their sound, to an extent that was not quite matched by the two albums that followed (2003’s self-titled album and the aforementioned Saturday Night Wrist).

Diamond Eyes is out on May 18th.

Marko





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Daughters - The First Supper

Those magnificent bastards from Rhode Island, Daughters have released the first single from their upcoming self-titled album as a download from Amazon and iTunes, but only if you live in the US, booooo. The upcoming album will be their 3rd, and possibly their last studio release after all but two members left following the album’s completion, leaving only vocalist Alexis Marshall and drummer Jon Syverson.

Hopefully this won’t be the end of Daughters, as from the sound of the new single, The First Supper, the band have perfectly honed the sound they developed on 2003’s Canada Songs and 2006’s Hell Songs. Musically brutal and uncompromising with the familiar unsettling vocal style of Alexis Marshall, The First Supper has most definitely gotten my attention. Roll on March 9th…

Marko









RIP Blakfish: 2000-2010

Earlier this week I heard the sad news that during their European tour with Biffy Clyro, Blakfish co-vocalist/guitarist Sam ‘Mule’ Manville decided to call it a day. It’s a shame to see such a great band come to a premature end, especially so soon after their stunning debut album had started to take them places, but the toils of touring can take their toll.

The news came as a big shock, as it did when Colour announced their split last summer (although Alan and Trood play on as Tangled Hair) and Reuben in 2008. And Million Dead before them. And Beecher before them. So many great British bands have split so early in their careers.

Anyway, the remaining members of Blakfish have stated they will continue to make music, in what form I do not know, but I can’t wait to find out. Until then there are several EP’s and an album (which I cannot recommend enough) to enjoy. And if you like them buy some merch while you still can…

Marko









Animal Collective & Danny Perez - ODDSAC

I’ll just leave this here…

Marko









RX Bandits - Hope Is A Butterfly...

RX Bandits today premiered (finally) their first promo video for a Mandala track, namely Hope Is A Butterfly, No Net It’s Captor, one of the best tracks from my top album of 2009. This is the first promo vid the band have released that isn’t simply them performing a song somewhere, but despite the slick production it still has that home-made feel that encapsulates Bandits (large parts of the last 2 albums were recorded in vocalist Matt Embree’s garage, aka The Elizabethan, which also doubles as the head office of his record label Mash Down Babylon).

The video features the band dressed as Tarantino-esque henchmen, but with cardboard weapons and paper-bag masks, rolling around a neighbourhood and stealing coloured shapes. Yeah, it makes no sense but then most music videos don’t, and it looks nice so fuck it.

Marko









Walter Schreifels Solo Album

Legendary post-hardcore pioneer Walter Schreifels (Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand, Rival Schools, Walking Concert) is set to release his first solo album through Big Scary Monsters this spring.

Entitled An Open Letter To The Scene, the 10 track album will feature covers of Agnostic Front’s Society Sucker and Don’t Gotta Prove It by CIV (a track Schreifels himself wrote in 1995). The opening track, Arthur Lee’s Lullaby is available now as part of BSM’s ‘10 Collection and it is definitely worth checking out.

If Walter Schreifels’ work has so far eluded you I urge you to check out what you can get hold of, especially Rival Schools’ fantastic 2001 album United By Faith. Here is the video for one of my favourite songs from that album, Good Things

Marko









New Ratatat Album

New York guitar-led electronic wizards Ratatat are set to follow up 2008’s fantastic LP3 with the imaginatively titled LP4 on February 15th. Although mostly recorded during the same sessions that yielded its predecessor, the new album will apparently most definitely not be LP3 part 2.

The album will feature a horde of unusual instruments including Japanese Biwa and Pipa (leading to rumours of tours with a string quartet in tow), as well as the usual mix of hip hop beats, electronic wiggery and 60’s psychedelia.

LP3 was one of the genuine surprises of ‘08, a huge jump forward from their self-titled debut and Classics, infectiously catchy and incredibly innovative. Let’s hope LP4 is even more of a progression.

For those of you unfamiliar with the duo, here is the video for the single Mirando from LP3

Marko









The Sentimental Engine Slayer

Omar Rodríguez-López - not content with being the musical force in The Mars Volta, forging a formidable solo career and working with everyone from John Frusciante to Erykah Badu - is set to release his first film.

Entitled The Sentimental Engine Slayer, Omar wrote, directed, produced and stars (alongside his brother) in this film due to make its premiere at the Rotterdam Film Festival in February.

The plot revolves around brother and sister Barlam (played by Omar) and Natalia (played by debut actress Tatiana Velazquez) living in a sprawling suburb of El Paso, focusing on their uncomfortable relationship with each other and Barlam’s dwindling grip on reality.

Boasting an apparently labyrinthine plot and music by the curly-haired one himself, this could be a very interesting experience, if quite possibly a disturbing one.

Marko









2010 - An Alternative Preview

For those of you with an ear for the slightly less accessible, more experimental or just plain noisier, here is a wee preview of some of the releases 2010 has in store for you. If any of them are half as good as I’m expecting, this is going to be a good year for music…

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My Top 5 Albums Of 2009

I haven’t posted anything for a while because I’ve been busy (read lazy) so as it’s the end of the year I thought I’d share my favourite albums of 2009 with you. Picking 5 releases was practically impossible so I have limited myself to full lengths only, and trying to put them in any sort of order has given me a headache I plan to drink my way through as soon as possible. 2009 has been an incredible year for music with fresh offerings from old favourites, new arrivals and more than a few surprises along the way. After careful deliberation, here are my top 5 albums of the year…

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