Gainsesville, Florida-based hip-hop collective CYNE dropped its third album via Hometapes last month, proving their lyrics are still as sharp as they were when the band emerged some years ago. And since it took seven years to complete Pretty Dark Things, we can expect much fanfare and promotion of the album to happen over the next couple of months, along with some remixes, the first of which comes courtesy of Holopaw member Michael Johnson. This is one for dubstep fans and deep basslines.
Australia-based Modular Records is a decade old, and the label has a few celebrations up its sleeve planned for the month of December. Four, to be exact. Mid-month, Cut Copy, Klaxons, Hercules and Love Affair, The Presets, the Whitest Boy Alive, Muscles, Bumblebeez, Ladyhawke, Bang Gang DJs, and, well, pretty much every act on the roster, will make a four-stop jaunt through their homeland for the Nevereverland tour.
Given the infectious party vibes that tend to radiate from these artists to crowds during a normal show, these dates should be memorable, to say the least. Stay up to speed on the lineup and other info at the tour’s site.
Dates:
12/13 Sydney, Australia – Hordern Pavillion
12/14 Melbourne, Australia – Myer Music Bowl
12/20 Brisbane, Australia – Brisbane Riverstage
12/21 Perth, Australia – Members Equity Stadium
Photo of Klaxons by Jason Frank Rothenberg.
Rusty Santos, lauded producer of Animal Collective, Panda Bear‘s solo shot, and other underground gems, now delivers his own album, with aid from gifted musicians named Mina and Jesse. World I See consists of stardust textures, angel-wing breezes, hippo heartbeats, a finger-snapping concerto, and condemned-soul chants–among other unlikely elements. The disc’s haphazard psychedelic lavishness recalls Mercury Rev offshoot Harmony Rockets and bits of Goblin’s soundtracks for Italian horror-film maestro Dario Argento. Santos bathes World in a phantasmagorical, acidic sheen, favoring surprise over structure: quirkiness collides with creepiness, whimsy entwines with woozy. The Present spikes the air with a weird gas they call “music,” and intoxication results in those open to the joys of beneficent delirium.
Âme‘s biggest accomplishment on this compilation isn‘t the super-smooth mixing, or the smart, open-minded programming. Instead, it‘s the warmth they give to minimal- and tech-house. The duo, Germans Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann, wring a huge range of emotion out of relatively spare beats and electronics. The female vocalist on Armando’s “Don‘t Take It,” for example, sounds all the more believable for the slight scaffolding under her cautionary monologue. Their own contribution, “D.P.O.M.B.,” has a fuller sound but builds on a buzzing synth that gives the track a certain nervousness. A minimal aesthetic, but far from a minimal impact.
When Guitar Hero was unleashed upon the world in 2005, it created quite a stir among the gaming public–it was a novel way to hear some of your favorite classic rock jams while pretending you could actually play an instrument. Sure, there had been other music games but they were mostly cutesy and gimmicky. And they didn’t feature Ozzy tunes.
By the time Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was released last year, the series had become a bona fide cultural phenomenon. It not only blurred generational lines by presenting old and new music, it reinvigorated people’s interest in rock ’n’ roll and became a legitimate avenue for record companies to regain some financial ground lost over the past 10 years.
The stakes were raised considerably when Rock Band, created by the original Guitar Hero developers Harmonix, debuted last year with a full-band set-up and entire albums’ worth of songs available for download.
Now, with the release of Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour, XLR8R takes a look at what to expect this time around, and speaks with the games’ respective developers on how they plan to explode our consciousness with faux-rock awesomeness.
Guitar Hero: World Tour (Activision; Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, PS2)
Number of tracks at time of release: 86
Highlights: Nirvana’s “About a Girl (Unplugged),” Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” Modest Mouse’s “Float On,” Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”
Frontman: Alan Flores, Lead Designer
No Drummer Jokes
Similar to Rock Band, World Tour features an entire band set-up with guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. The redesigned guitar has a touch-sensitive slide bar that allows for tapping and bass slapping while the new drums are covered in silicone–they won’t make a racket yet have a velocity-sensitive bounce to them. Dedicated cymbals also ensure a more realistic experience.
Flores: “Once they get used to the size and spacing of the kit, real drummers can close their eyes and just play the song.”
Make It Real
World Tour’s Music Creator is perhaps the biggest addition to either game. It essentially gives you a console version of Cubase, allowing you to edit and upload your creations for others to check out online. Create-a-Rocker takes it a step further, offering deep character customization with everything from outrageous clothes to facial features.
Flores: “We let you change everything. If you want to make a ninja or a superhero, you can do it. [Plus], four people can plug in their instruments in any combo, switch samples, and jam together live in real time. We’re really trying to get people to create their own music in a fun way, and can’t wait to see what kind of music people come up with.”
Reviving the Dead
The likenesses of several rock stars are set to make appearances, including Jimi Hendrix, Billy Corgan, and Zakk Wylde. In addition, several bands are looking to make their new records available for download in their entirety.
Flores: “We have a lot of artists talking to us about releasing their new albums [with us] like we did with Metallica. A lot of new things will be coming out [including] an R.E.M. pack and a Jimi Hendrix multi-pack shortly after launch.”
Rock Band 2 (EA; Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, PS2)
Number of tracks at time of release: 75 (plus every song from Rock Band can be transferred to Rock Band 2)
Highlights: Guns N Roses’ “Shackler’s Revenge,” Mastodon’s “Colony of Birchmen,” Lush’s “De-Luxe,” Alice in Chains’ “Man in the Box,” Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf”
Frontman: Dan Teasdale, Lead Designer
Rock Shop
Rock Band 2 allows for all of your content from the first game, both from the actual disc and downloaded, to be imported into the new game.
Teasdale: “There’s no such thing as Rock Band 2 downloadable content or Rock Band 1 downloadable content; we simply have a Rock Band Music Store. [Soon], we’ll have over 500 songs available, ranging from massive classic acts like Boston and David Bowie all the way to new independent acts like The Mother Hips and Count Zero.”
Take ‘Em On
Battle of the Bands mode allows you to take the band you have created online against other bands around the country to play in competitions set up by Harmonix.
Teasdale: “The key for the Battle of the Bands mode is that it’s not just four players versus another four players. This is a real band competition of both your friends’ bands and the entire world.”
Train in Vain
A new Drum Trainer mode actually teaches the basics on how to play the drums.
Teasdale: “The new Rock Band Drum Kit has dramatically quieter pads and a steel-reinforced kick pedal, as well as expansion ports for three cymbals and a second pedal. If you want to be a real drummer, you can purchase the Ion Drum Rocker, a professional-grade electronic kit that also works with Rock Band.”
Merch Table
Once you have created your band, upload it to the Rock Band website where you can create “official” band merch.
Teasdale: “RockBand.com’s Merch-O-Matic lets you take your band’s logo and your characters and pose them for images, as well as for real-world t-shirts and posters. You can even make a real figurine that looks identical to your characters.”
Land of Talk has pushed through a steady stream of tour dates alongside Broken Social Scene these last three weeks, but Liz Powell and Co aren’t heading home just yet. With Some are Lakes just released last month via Saddle Creek, the band will continue rocking out around the U.S., then head to Europe for shows with Montreal-based three-piece Think About Life
Dates
11/06 Winnipeg, MB – Lo Pub#
11/07 Saskatoon, SK – Univ. of Saskatchewan#
11/08 Edmonton, AB – Pawn Shop#
11/09 Calgary, AB – Broken City#
11/12 Vancouver, BC – Media Club#
11/15 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
11/18 Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom*
11/19 Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse*
11/20 Tallahassee, FL – The Moon*
11/21 St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Landing*
11/22 Pompano, FL – Club Cinema*
11/27 Toronto, ON – Sound Academy*
11/29 Utrecht, NL – Le Guess Who^
12/01 Berlin, DE – Festaal Kreuzberg^
12/02 Copenhagen, DK – Vega^
12/04 Heidelburg, DE – Zum Teufel^
12/05 Offenbach, DE – Hafen 2 Club^
12/06 Ghent, BE – Etolie Poliviers Festival
12/08 Brussels, BE – Botanique^
12/09 Paris, FR – Main D’Oeuvres^
12/10 London, UK – Water Rats
* w/ Broken Social Scene
# w/ Josh Reichmann
^ w/ Think About Life
MP3: “Corner Phone”
Photo by Joseph Yarmush.
After playing a few shows Stateside, the lovable boys in Late of the Pier have headed back to Europe to finish out the month with a round of dates in Spain, France, their native U.K., and other places around Europe. The performances should tide us over until the January 13 release date of the band’s debut full-length, Fantasy Black Channel, which will drop via Astralwerks.
Dates
11/07 Florence, Italy – Kaserne
11/08 Rome, Italy – Circolo Degli Artisti
11/11 Mardid, Spain – Moby Dick
11/12 Barcelona, Spain – Lolita
11/13 Lille, France – Inrocks
11/14 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
11/15 Nantes, France – Les Inrocks
11/16 Paris, France – Cigalle Les Inrocks
11/17 Toulouse, France – Les Inrocks
11/18 Brussels, Belgium – AB
11/20 Berlin, Germany – Postbahnhof
11/21 Luxor Koln
11/27 London, England – Heaven
11/28 Liverpool, England – Carling Academy
11/30 Nottingham, England – Chameleon
Electro-acoustic outfit Plushgun! is leaving its hometown of Brooklyn, NY to tour the wild west for a change of pace. Having released a self-titled, four-track EP at the end of this summer, the band will put out a full-length in the coming new year. Can’t wait? Catch them at one of the select tour dates below.
Dates
11/15 Los Angeles, CA – Viper Room, 8 pm
11/19 Portland, OR – Rotture
11/20 Seattle, WA – The High Dive
11/21 Bellingham, WA – Underground Coffee
11/23 Seattle, WA – The Cha Cha Lounge
Now hear this! New York buzz DJ Drop the Lime (Luca Venezia) has created an energetic 4/4 Chicago-house number in his latest single “Hear Me,” off the namesake EP. Almost-cheesy male vocals break into a pop moment that briefly trips into stripped dubstep before swinging back into full gear. The song finishes with whomping bass synths fluctuating on top of tinny, polyrhythmic hits of percussion and fake rock guitar. The EP also features remixes by ghetto-breakbeast Buraka Som Sistema and fellow New Yorker AC Slater. Lulu McAllister
Formed in Brooklyn–one part former !!! member and one part “fashionista”–this co-ed punk-funk duo’s collected tracks ride rough like reverse cowgirl: ass-slapping and semi-impersonal. The first six selections are pure Williamsburg mutant “disco,” an “orgy of bliss” reflecting the urban hustle in the streaking skronk and sharp decay. Some might say the song “Grumpy” is the meat in this sandwich, but I say it’s the Heinz ketchup. It’s salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami–that sense of full, satisfying body. It’s like a hypothetical Timberlake/Timbaland/Arthur Russell collaboration dissociative enough to have been fueled by PCP and chased by PBR. Also included are five dub-ble-stuffed sandwich cookies of remix.
