The world’s best band* The Gaslight Anthem, premiered their new single 45 on Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 on BBC1 last night… and it’s a freaking miracle.
The first single to be taken from their fourth studio album Handwritten, which will hit shelves July24th, 45 combined the melodic styling of American Slang with the heart wrenching tales of youth present on Sink Or Swim.
In short, this track is totes amazeballs. Seriously though. It’s incredible.
*Based on a focus group of one.
The saxophonist for The Killers died earlier this week from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. He was only 33.
Thomas “Tommy” Marth, who was found dead in his Las Vegas home on Monday, played on tour with The Killers between 2008 and 2010 and played on their second and third albums “Sam’s Town” and “Day & Age”
His death has been ruled a suicide by officials in Clark County, Nevada
The Killers posted on their official Twitter account on Tuesday:
“Last night we lost our friend Thomas Marth. Our prayers are with his family. There’s a light missing in Las Vegas tonight. Travel well, Tommy.”
The Shins will be bringing their very lovely selves back to Australia this July as part of Splendour In The Grass, and have just announced headline shows at Festival Hall in Melbourne and the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney.
It’s been a busy start to the year for the Portland based five piece, with the band currently in the midst of an extensive US tour to celebrate the release of Port Of Morrow. The album has been five years in the making, following on from their 2007 LP Wincing The Night Away, and was recorded throughout 2011.
This tour will mark The Shins’ fifth visit to our shores since 2003. Very special guests for both the Melbourne and Sydney shows will be the warm, harmony soaked sounds of Melbourne quartet Husky.
The Shins
w/ special guests Husky
Tickets on sale 11.00am AEST Monday the 30th of April.
Monday 23 July – Festival Hall – Melbourne
Tickets: Ticketmaster 136 100 and www.ticketmaster.com.au or Festival Hall Box Office, 288 Rosslyn St, West Melbourne
Wednesday 25 July – Hordern Pavilion – Sydney
Tickets: Ticketek 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au
Arena shows have been announced for Flight of The Conchords in Sydney & Melbourne following over whelming demand.
The new shows, which hare scheduled for Friday 6th July in Sydney and Sun 15 July in Melbourne will allow those crazy Conchord fans the chance to pull up their business socks and get down to some serious rhymenosaurusing.
They will go on sale Thursday 26 April at 9am.
Full tour dates:
FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS
Thu 5 July Sydney Opera House NSW SOLD OUT!
sydneyoperahouse.com | Ph: (02) 9250 7777
Fri 6 July Sydney Entertainment Centre NSW NEW SHOW!
ticketmaster.com.au | Ph: 136 100
Sat 7 July Brisbane Entertainment Centre QLD All Ages
ticketek.com.au │ 132 849
Tue 10 July Newcastle Entertainment Centre NSW All Ages
ticketek.com.au │132 849
Wed 11 July WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong NSW All Ages
ticketek.com.au │ 132 849
Fri 13 July Adelaide Entertainment Centre SA All Ages
ticketek.com.au │ 132 849
Sat 14 July The Plenary, Melbourne VIC SOLD OUT!
ticketmaster.com.au │ 136 100
Sun 15 July Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne VIC NEW SHOW!
ticketek.com.au │ 132 849
Wed 18 July Challenge Stadium, Perth WA SOLD OUT!
ticketmaster.com.au │ 136 100
Thu 19 July Challenge Stadium, Perth WA SOLD OUT!
ticketmaster.com.au │ 136 100
Splendour In The Grass returns to Byron Bay this year, and they have called a few of their friends to come party with them!
Leading the charge is everyone favourite pale skinned gentleman – Jack White. Splendour regulars Bloc Party will join while Smashing Pumpkins & At The Drive-In will bring a bit of rad nostalgia to the July 27th to 29th festival.
What are we really hanging for? DZ Deathrays of course – oh and watching Lana Del Rey get booed off stage.
Check out the full 2012 line up here:
Jack White
Bloc Party
Smashing Pumpkins
At The Drive-In
The Shins
Hilltop Hoods
The Kooks
Gossip
Miike Snow
Dirty Three
Lana Del Rey
360
Azealia Banks
Tame Impala
Explosions In The Sky
Ladyhawke
The Afghan Whigs
Missy Higgins
Wolfmother
Metric
Kimbra
Mudhoney
Band Of Skulls
Spiderbait
Django Django
Gypsy & The Cat
San Cisco
Last Dinosaurs
Electric Guest
Muscles
Angus Stone
DZ Deathrays
Howler
Lanie Lane
Fun.
Big Scary
Michael Kiwanuka
Seekae
Friends
Yacht Club Dj’s
Bertie Blackman
Jinja Safari
Blue King Brown
Youth Lagoon
Pond
The Beautiful Girls
Tijuana Cartel
Ball Park Music
The Rubens
Ben Howard
Bleeding Knees Club
Zulu Winter
The Medics
Shihad
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Husky
Kate Miller-Heidke
Father John Misty
Emma Louise
Chet Faker
Here We Go Magic
Parachute Youth
Mosman Alder
The Cast Of Cheers
Wolf & Cub
Gossling
Beni
Sampology (AV/DJ show)
Canyons (DJ Set)
Nina Las Vegas
Danny T
Alison Wonderland
Nice and Ego (AV/DJ show)
Flume
Gloves
Luke Million
Harris Robotis
Alley Oop
So, what do we think of this year’s line up?
3 Day Tickets – $350* + booking fees
Gains entry to the event site on Thursday night as well as Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Single Day Tickets – $135* + booking fees
For day by day band listing check the website!
North Beach Campground Tickets
Camping Ticket – $99 + booking fees
*you have the option to offset your carbon emissions for $3 per ticket
Ticks on sale 9am sharp AEST on Friday 27 April through moshtix.com.au or phone 1300 GET TIX (438 849)
New Zealand’s much loved folk comedy duo Flight Of The Conchords are finally coming to Australia! Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement will bring the funny to our shores this July.
Jemaine said of the announcement; ”We are finally returning to Australia. Mostly to apologise.”
It’s hard to pinpoint what has kept the duo from touring our shores all this time, was it band manager Murray’s inability to get the guys a gig outside of an aquarium, Bret’s commitments to his sign holding job or Jemaine’s fear that his Aussie ex-girlfriend Keitha would be waiting eagerly for his arrival? Regardless, one thing’s for sure – it’s going to be one heck of a good time.
General public on sale from 9am local time, Tuesday 17 April
Thu 5 July Sydney Opera House NSW
Sat 7 July Brisbane Entertainment Centre QLD
Tue 10 July Newcastle Entertainment Centre NSW
Wed 11 July WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong NSW
Fri 13 July Adelaide Entertainment Centre SA
Sat 14 July The Plenary, Melbourne VIC
Wed 18 July Challenge Stadium, Perth WA
Damon Albarn dropped a couple of bombs in his recent interview with The Guardian. The front man of brit-pop icons Blur and cartoon band Gorillaz has alluded to the termination of both projects.
On Blur, who disbanded in 2003 and famously reunited in 2009:
So no more Blur records?
“No, I don’t think so.”
And will you play live again after Hyde Park?
“No, not really.”
This is even bigger news. So that’s it?
“I think so, yeah,” he says. A little later, he goes on: “And I hope that’s the truth: that that’s how we end it. I don’t know: you can write scripts, and they always end up going… [pause]… well, one thing I’ve learned, and I’m sure you’re exactly the same, is that everything I think I’ve got totally sorted out, and I know exactly what’s going to happen – it never works out that way…”
So how should I put it? That in all likelihood, this is the end of Blur?
“In all likelihood, I would say. [pause] Oh, God…”
On Gorillaz, a musical/cartoon collaboration with Jamie Hewlett:
“Gorillaz was a really wonderful, spontaneous thing,” he says. “It started with two people sitting on a sofa, going, ‘Let’s make a band.’
‘All right, I’ll go into my studio and draw some characters.’
‘I’ll go in mine and make a tune, and we’ll put them together.’”
Which brings us to another of today’s revelations. Will there be more Gorillaz music?
“Er… unlikely.”
Really?
“Yeah.”
That’s a shame. Do you feel you’re done?
“Jamie does, which is fair enough. I think we were at cross purposes somewhat on that last record, which is a shame. So until a time comes when that knot has been untied…”
So what do we think? Will Albarn really lay both these musical maestros to rest?
M83 will release the ‘Reunion’ EP on 7th May 2012 through Pod, the second single to be taken from the hugely acclaimed fourth album ‘Hurry Up We’re Dreaming’.
As well as entering the top 40 in the UK charts for the first time, the double album hit number 15 in the US Billboard charts and topped the electronic and alternative charts. Named Pitchfork’s #1 single of 2011, “Midnight City” is nowcertified Gold in Australia, has had over 8 million hits on YouTube to date, was voted #5 in the 2011 triple j hottest 100and remains one of the biggest club tracks of the moment across the world thanks to the Eric Prydz rework.
M83 will also take part in Record Store Day on April 21st this year, with a limited edition vinyl 7” featuring the hidden album track “Mirror”. The release will be available as part of a very limited run in Australia.
With the release of ‘Reunion’, the rise and rise of Anthony Gonzalez’s M83 is set to continue. ‘Reunion’ continues to display M83’s aptitude at writing catchy cosmic-pop soundtracks filled with fantasy and imagination. The single will be released with a stunning and diverse remix package of 6 exclusive re-works of the track. Remixes come from Mylo, Sei A, The Naked And Famous, Polly Scattergood, We Have Band and White Sea. A video for “Reunion”, which is a sequel to the “Midnight City” video, will be released in coming months.
Mylo leads the ‘Reunion’ remix charge with his trademark funky synth bass lines and beats cleverly weaved into the spaced out original vocal track to create a contradiction of sounds and another potential hit for M83.
Sei A, the up and coming Glasgow based producer, is hailed as one of the most exciting producers in the techno-house scene, and has given ‘Reunion’ a glimpse of Glaswegian industrialism through his loop filled minimalistic mix. The White Sea remix is a spaced out dubstep nugget, whilst The Naked And Famous take an altogether different route with their rework by building the track into an electronic cacophony of synths, guitars and drums, much the way M83 do performing live.
Tracklisting is as follows:
The promoters who brought you Soundwave and Soundwave Revolution are at it again with new alternative festival Harvest.
Taking place in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in mid November 2011, Harvest will see the phenomenal Portishead return to Australia after a 14 year absence. Sharing the stage with them will be The National, The Flaming Lips, Bright Eyes and a plethora of other amazing talent.
Promoters said the following about Harvest:
Harvest follows a simple design:
Take the line-up of your typical European multi day event, cut out the filler and the acts that everyone has seen once too many times and pack all the greatness into one incredible day for discerning music lovers.
Next you limit the capacity and exclude rugrats to ensure comfort while substantially increasing the quality and quantity of amenities, services, food outlets and the variety of food & beverage options provided.
Last but definitely not least, create a mesmerising atmosphere by setting the events in magnificent, natural, green environments; show off all that natural beauty with ambient lighting and visual effects; and place within it art installations, holistic markets, cocktail bars and a plethora of performers — from visual and live arts mavericks to neo-cabaret stars.
First line up announcement:
Portishead
The National
The Flaming Lips
Bright Eyes
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Holy Fuck
The Family Stone
Mercury Rev
Death In Vegas
The Walkmen
Dappled Cities
PVT
This Town Needs Guns
The Holidays
Phosphorescent
Foxy Shazam
Kormac’s Big Band
Harvest Dates and Tickets
Saturday November 12 - Harvest Presents “The Gathering”, Melbourne, Werribee Park
Sunday November 13 - Harvest, Sydney, Parramatta Park
Saturday November 19 - Harvest, Brisbane, Botanical Gardens
General Public tickets go on sale via http://www.harvestfestival.com.au,
Oztix www.oztix.com.au & Ticketek www.ticketek.com.au
Thursday August 4 at 9:00am $150 incl GST + Booking Fees
Pulp is more than bits of crap you wish weren’t in your juice. They are the high light of Splendour In The Grass 2011.
Opening with a laser conversation with the crowd. Flashing pink PULP letters illuminate the stage and the best parts of the nineties walk on stage.
Employing his trademark sarcasm and fact of the day (does he own shares on wiki) and drinking his red wine, Cocker led the band and crown through a pulp greatest hits set. From Disco 2000 to Underwear to This Is Hardcore and of course Common People (sans William Shartner) Pulp killed it. Literally, it’s dead.
We danced, we got sexy, we thought about the people we wish we hadn’t slept with, and we sung. Yes. We all sing like mother fuckers.
Jarvis baby, you still got got it.
Top that Coldplay.
