Posts written by Marko
Conquistadors - Black Swans
Sorry to overload you with Conquistadors news, but no sooner did I get my hands on copy of their forthcoming ep On Tape then the boys release their first ever music video. Not a bad effort either.
Marko
Conquistadors - On Tape
My favourite Birmingham based, Spanish Imperialism themed, rabble-rousing 4-piece, Conquistadors, are back with a new EP. It’s been a while since we’ve heard a release from them, but in that time they’ve progressed and matured more than any band of their stature has a right to. It’s a chunky release this time, a full 7 tracks of intricately woven angular post-punk, entitled On Tape. So what have the boys produced for us this time?
Battles - Ice Cream
NY experimental rockers Battles are back this year with a new album entitled Gloss Drop. Zane Lowe played a track off it on the radio last week. It’s pretty damn good.
That is all.
Marko
Adebisi Shank - Genki Shank
Wexford mind-benders Adebisi Shank are back with their sophomore album on September 6th, and in keeping with everything else associated with the band it is simply entitled This Is The Second Album Of A Band Called Adebisi Shank, and to whet your appetite they have released one of the tracks in exchange for nothing more than a tweet.
New Wolf Parade Songs
Montreal art rockers Wolf Parade are set to release their 3rd album this summer, entitled Expo 86, and being the nice Canadians they are the band have released a couple of tracks for free download.
Interpol - Lights
Seminal NYC quartet Interpol are back with a new album (as far as I am aware no release date or title yet), and to whet our appetites they have lavished upon us a new song. Forlorn, droning guitars, pounding drums and Paul Banks’ familiar haunting voice, all the old Interpol elements are there but this feels more like a natural progression from Our Love To Admire rather than a hark back to Turn On The Bright Lights as had previously been suggested by drummer Sam Fogarino. I shall reserve judgement until I hear the full album but on the basis of this song it should be cracking.
Maps & Atlases - Solid Ground
I’ve had just over 24 hours with the new Maps & Atlases track, Solid Ground, from their upcoming debut album Perch Patchwork, and I cannot stop listening to it. This is now the 3rd track I’ve heard from the imminent full-length and they keep getting better, 2 minutes and 48 seconds of precise, pseudo-sampled math-pop genius to put a smile on your face and a bounce in your step. Enjoy…
Marko
Refused Return?
Seminal Swedish hardcore outfit Refused are rumoured to be reforming 12 years after their split. “Refused are back” has been circulating around the internet, prominent music journalists have been tweeting about it, and the band’s official site simply states Refused - coming soon…
If this is true it would be simply phenomenal. In their 7 or so years in music they managed to completely reshape an entire genre, culminating in the arrogantly titled but ultimately prophetic and groundbreaking album The Shape Of Punk To Come. Criminally underrated when they were around, the band collapsed under a brutal touring schedule and disagreements between members (as documented with painful honesty in the film Refused Are Fucking Dead), playing their final show in a fan’s basement (a gig cut short by local police). Refused have since enjoyed cult status with many pioneering bands stating the Swedish quartet as a major influence on them.
Since the split various members went on to new musical pastures, most notably vocalist Dennis Lyxzén with his band The (International) Noise Conspiracy, but none reached the musical heights of Refused. Hands down the one band I have always wanted to reform, if these rumours are true I will be a very, very happy man.
Marko
Blakfish Farewell Show
All good things must come to an end, and so it was when Blakfish played their final ever show in front of a packed-out Flapper in Birmingham last Friday. I had never been to a band’s final gig before (at least not knowing so it would be the final one at the time), but every Blakfish gig I have ever attended has had such an incredible party atmosphere, and this show was no exception. A room full of friends and fans with one clear connection - a love for this band and the music they have given us over the past decade
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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