November 4, 2009
We've seen Secretly Canadian ABBA enthusiasts Music Go Music do "Warm In The Shadows" on an invented '70s talk show. This previously unreleased remix by German producer Fred Falke readies the Expressions standout for a different sort of club. MGM's Kamer Maza told us the track's "more emotionally ambiguous than the others on the record [...] so it is more reliant on the tone of the music to push it one way or the other." You can find out more about the song while you take a listen.
This week, we also offered the chance to win a ZT Lunchbox Amplifier, aka "The Loudest Little Amp In The World."
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop CXIII: Hear New Music Go Music, Win A ZT Amplifier...
Posted at 11:01 AM in ,
Tags: Fred Falke | Music Go Music
October 28, 2009
In a very special Halloween edition of the 'Gum Drop, David "Moose" Adamson, aka Jookabox, told us "Evil Nite" -- "a song about the infection taking hold of a pure soul in limbo" -- is an early version of "Zombie Tear Drops" from his Indianapolis crew's zombie-inspired Dead Zone Boys (Asthmatic Kitty, 11/3). We kept digging. In fact, we dug so deep we didn't have room for the entire discussion in the newsletter. No worries, you can read his thoughts on Varg Vikernes, George Romero, Star Wars, "The Monster Mash," and, of course, zombies here.
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop CXII: Hear New Jookabox, Win A Guitar Signed By Monsters Of Folk...
Posted at 10:30 AM in ,
Tags: Bright Eyes | Conor Oberst | Jim James | Jookabox | M. Ward | Mike Mogis | Monsters Of Folk | My Morning Jacket
latest by sylvia kriksic
October 21, 2009
Ex-Ash guitarist and recent Bat For Lashes touring guitarist Charlotte Hatherley recorded her third solo album (and Minty Fresh US debut) New Worlds in a week in London without demos or overdubs. Fittingly, standout "Full Circle" looks emphatically at stripping away the extraneous. After speaking with Charlotte, we also learned it has something to do with Kandinsky's color theory. As she put it: "I loved his quest for finding the truth hidden in nature, and his experiments with our instinctive and emotional response to shapes and colors." Read the rest of her thoughts and try to remember what you learned in Art History while you take a listen.
In this week's 'Gum Drop we also offered the chance to win the last available copy of Tegan & Sara's ON/IN/AT deluxe edition.
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop CXI: Hear New Charlotte Hatherley, Win Tegan & Sara's ON/IN/AT...
Posted at 12:43 PM in ,
Tags: Charlotte Hatherley | Tegan And Sara
latest by Apexa
October 14, 2009
Laura Veirs' seventh album July Flame is out January on her Raven Marching Band imprint. The collection includes appearances by Karl Blau, Jim James, and Eyvind Kang, among others. It also includes 13 gorgeous songs. Like standout "Wide-Eyed, Legless." When we asked Veirs about July Flame's autumnal sounds she unpacked the title beautifully:
"July Flame" is: A destructive force, lamplight on a cold night, Oregon peach variety, intense summer love, fireworks, war, sunlight trapped in wood, renewal, spooky will-o-the-wisps, desire, pain, ephemera.
You can read her thoughts on the poetry of "Wide-Eyed, Legless" specifically while you give it a listen. (And if you like what you hear, she's posted the first two July Frame songs for free over at Raven Marching Band. Jim James howls on the opener.)
In this week's Drop we also offered you the chance win a pair of LaCie Sound2 Speakers.
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop CX: Hear New Laura Veirs, Win LaCie Sound2 Speakers...
Posted at 10:29 AM in ,
Tags: Laura Veirs
latest by KARO
October 7, 2009
Former Ghosts is the reverb-soaked, emotionally raw synthpop project of Freddy Ruppert, Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart, and Nika Roza of Zola Jesus. Their fantastic debut Fleurs is out 10/20 via Upset The Rhythm. We premiered standout "Unfolding" in this week's Drop and spoke with Ruppert about the track. He gave us the specific background of the love song and part of the story behind Fleurs. We couldn't fit it all in the 'Gum Drop, but you can read all of it here after you take a listen.
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop CIX: Hear New Former Ghosts, Win A Kindle...
Posted at 11:33 AM in ,
Tags: Former Ghosts | Xiu Xiu
latest by CAROLYN NAVARRO
September 30, 2009
Lightning Bolt's fifth album Garden Of Earthly Delights (Load, 10/13) opens like a riot with "Sound Guardians." It's the perfect place to get acquainted with the collection, so we asked drummer Brian Chippendale about it. You've heard "Colossus," now hear Chippendale talk about how he and Brian Gibson arrive at song titles (hint: Soundgarden and the Boredoms are involved), why they put "Sound Guardians" first, and whether or not their new Garden was inspired by the 15th/16th-century Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. We didn't have enough room for his ruminations in the 'Gum Drop, but you can read it all here, while you give your eardrums a workout.
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop CVIII: Hear New Lightning Bolt, Win An Eels Box Set & Poster...
Posted at 11:50 AM in ,
Tags: Eels | Lightning Bolt
latest by Brian C
September 23, 2009
Brooklyn quartet Bear In Heaven's second full-length Beast Rest Forth Mouth is out 10/13 on Hometapes. Before that, the collection's first single "Wholehearted Mess" shows up on a 12" EP with three remixes. In this week's Drop, we asked Bear founder Jon Philpot about the song and our favorite re-visioning, courtesy of Philadelphia's Pink Skull. We couldn't fit the entire response in the Drop, but you can read the whole thing here, after you take a listen.
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop CVII: Hear New Bear In Heaven, Win A Pearl Jam Guitar...
Posted at 11:53 AM in ,
Tags: Bear In Heaven | Pearl Jam
latest by x
September 16, 2009
Brooklyn noise-pop trio Grooms releases Rejoicer via Death By Audio in October. We thought energetic lead track "Dreamsucker" evoked Sonic Youth. This previously unreleased cover of "Wicked Game" offers a nod to a less likely artist. We asked guitarist/vocalist Travis Johnson about playing Chris Isaak when we debuted the song in this week's 'Gum Drop. (We also asked him if he'd ever caught The Chris Isaak Show, just because.) You can read his responses while you take a listen.
This week we also offered the chance to win 10 limited-edition rock tees featuring Galaxie 500, Beat Happening, Sleater-Kinney, Magnetic Fields, Sunny Day Real Estate, Olivia Tremor Control, and others.
Continue reading The 'Gum Drop CVI: Hear New Grooms, Win 10 Limited-Edition Rock Tees...
Posted at 10:06 AM in ,
Tags: Grooms
latest by Andrew
