Virginia-based power trio opts for new approach on February 21st album, due on Thrill Jockey.

By Blurt Staff

Pontiak has been one of the more prolific indie artists in recent years, cranking out a new record each year since 2006. But for their upcoming record they completely re-envisioned their approach to song writing.  Eschewing the "plug and play" approach of their previous records (recording hours of jams and then just putting together the best pieces), they set out to record a proper album, one with a shared mood and direction.  They rebuilt their entire farmhouse studio in the process. 

The result is Echo Ono and probably one of their most straightforward and concise records to date.  Their influences are still present (little bit of Sabbath, little bit of Doors, little bit of southern rock) but they sound more like themselves then ever before.  If you like guitar rock - not that limp guitar indie-pop that we can't seem to get away from nowadays - that hits hard but isn't completely lost in a haze of punk noise or metal posturing, then this note's for you, pal.

Check out the new "Lions Of Least" MP3

You may be out of luck if you live in the US, however...

By Fred Mills

Back in the summer of 2010 the Cocteau Twins reissued their first three, seminal albums Garlands, Head Over Heels and Treasure (1982, '83 and '84 respectively) as a limited edition 5LP vinyl box. Now comes word (via Slicing Up Eyeballs) that Beggars Archive is prepping a white vinyl, 2LP reissue of 2000's Stars And Topsoil: A Collection (1982-1990) , which cherry picked 18 key tracks from the band's 4AD label era.

It's due Feb. 6. Bizarrely, however, only the UK edition will be on white wax; the corresponding US release will be on garden variety black. Bummer. Well, that's what they made Amazon.co.uk for, eh fans? And the exchange rate is pretty good at the moment...

Tracklisting:

LP 1
1. "Blind Dumb Deaf"
2. "Sugar Hiccup"
3. "My Love Paramour"
4. "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops"
5. "Lorelei"
6. "Pandora"
7. "Aikea-Guinea"
8. "Pink Orange Red"
9. "Pale Clouded White"

LP 2
1. "Lazy Calm"
2. "The Thinner The Air"
3. "Orange Appled"
4. "Cico Buff"
5. "Carolyn's Fingers"
6. "Fifty-Fifty Clown"
7. "Iceblink Luck"
8. "Heaven or Las Vegas"
9. "Watchlar"

Eagerly awaited teen movie due March 23 via Lionsgate.


By Blurt Staff


Okay, we gotta admit it - while The Hunger Games trilogy has its flaws, that hasn't stopped us from enjoying the books (we're about halfway through the third one). And the previews for the film adaptation look pretty swell too, so count us among the fans.


The soundtrack appears to be promising as well: T Bone Burnett and Danny Elfman will be producing it, for which Taylor Swift and the Civil Wars are teaming up for at least one track ("Safe and Sound"), which has already hit iTunes as a best selling single. More recently we learned that the Decemberists and Arcade Fire have both signed on. "We are thrilled to have such a hauntingly beautiful companion album taking shape," Joe Drake, co-COO of Lionsgate, told Reuters.


More details tba.

Sax giant was a leading light among the jazz avant-garde.

By Fred Mills

Samuel "Sam" Carthorne Rivers, a hugely influential jazz sax, flute, clarinet and piano musician and composer, passed away on Monday, Dec. 26, in Orlando, Fla., at the age of 88. According to his obituary published today at the New York Times the cause of death was pneumonia.

Rivers cut his teeth in the late ‘50s and ‘60s, working with the likes of Miles Davis, Tony Williams, Jaki Byard, Herbie Hancock and Freddie Hubbard, eventually becoming a prominent player within the free jazz movement. His best known albums were cut circa 1964-1976 for the Blue Note and Impulse labels, although he recorded on and off during the ‘80s and ‘90s, while earlier this year he released the album Sam Rivers and the Rivbea Orchestra - Trilogy (Mosaic Records), comprising 2008-09 recordings.

Wrote the Times, "His sound on the tenor saxophone, his primary instrument, was distinctive: taut and throaty, slightly burred, dark-hued. He also had a recognizable voice on the soprano saxophone, flute and piano, and as a composer and arranger."

[Photo via Wikimedia Commons, by Robert Auclair]

Charity-minded MP3 available at Chan's website.

By Fred Mills

Cat Power fans got an unexpected Christmas gift Saturday when the singer released a newly recorded version of her tune "King Rides By," from '96 LP What Would the Community Think? You can download the MP3 from Cat Power's website, and do so ‘cos it's for a good cause - to benefit The Festival of Children Foundation and The Ali Forney Center.

Meanwhile, the tune also accompanies a "new" Cat Power video - or, more accurately, a short film by Giovanni Ribisi depicting Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao. Check it out, below.

The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye opens in March.

By Fred Mills

Back in July we published an in-depth review of the Marie Losier-directed documentary The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye (which our commentator called "one of the best love stories of all time"). Since then it's notched numerous awards including being officially selected by Berlin and San Francisco International Film Festivals as well as the SXSW and Tribeca Film Festivals, and it's scheduled for a proper national release on March 8 in NYC.

The filmmakers have now made the trailer available for free download, additionally posting it for viewing at Apple. Check it out.

Meanwhile, we also published an interview with the Throbbing Gristle/Psychic TV legend in 2009 which can be viewed right here.

Inspired by the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique, eh? Check out the video for new single below.

By Blurt Staff

It's hard to guage just yet whether or not the sophomore album from Britain's Ting Tings (Jules De Martino and Katie White), titled Sounds From Nowheresville (Columbia) and due out in the US in March (exact date tba), will rank among the proverbial "highly anticipated" releases of 2012. Since their much-buzzed, heavily-hyped, Grammy-nominated 2008 debut We Started Nothing, featuring hit singles "That's Not My Name," "Shut Up And Let Me Go" and  "Great DJ," a lot of the buzz and hype has definitely subsided. And 4 years in the modern era is an eternity; everyone's moved on to, like Deadmau5 or something.

At any rate, here's what we are being told about the band and the album:

"The Ting Tings have fought a hard battle to find themselves back at square one: emotionally, earnestly and even for a moment, geographically. Despite their mainstream success, they aimed to stay true to the punk ethos that had always defined and inspired the music they created together.  A year and half after making a record (in East Berlin) and scrapping it,  and making another one (in Southern Spain) and loving it, they are ready to share what they've been fashioning with their fans. The move from the thawing ice of Berlin that homed the writing to their first global onslaught to the dustbowl of late Spring in Murcia, Southern Spain, proved a success and the band were instantly enthused and cranked into fourth gear.

"At the start of 2011, The Ting Tings were pointed in the direction of the unequivocal classic Beastie Boys album, Paul's Boutique. Having played the record many times before, they were overawed when they delved back into the album and discovered its many nuances. If they needed a bounce-off point to set their muse free, this was it. What they had learned most implicitly was a freedom to move around musically. Hence the title: Sounds From Nowheresville.  Musically, the album has really let The Ting Tings rip."

The current press release goes on to namecheck, in addition to the Beasties, the likes of OMD, the Tom Tom Club, the Rezillos and, uh, TLC. Well, 4 out of 5 ain't bad! First single "Hang It Up" is billed as displaying "their new, expansive palette, set against a firing two chord guitar riff," so check it out, below (it actually does sound like Beastie Boys in place), along with a Bag Raiders remix for the track "Silence."

A tour is being planned for next spring as well.

Demo of "Open Eyes" unveiled just in time for the holiday.


By Fred Mills


With buzzband The xx currently working on the followup to 2009's The xx debut, it remains to be seen whether or not the young Londoners can avoid the dreaded sophomore slump, particularly considering that when the record does get finished and released it will probably have been a 3-year gap. Everyone's moved on since then, listening to, say, Florence & the Machine.

At any rate, just to make sure they get their name back into the press and onto the blogs, they've offered up a demo of new song "Open Eyes" and yo can check it out below.

Band performed Dec. 21 in L.A.

By Fred Mills

Why yes, yes - that IS Axl Rose above, looking like a somewhat portly cross between Jim Morrison, Kid Rock and the homeless guy who hangs around near the entrance of Walgreens, asking for spare change so he can get his "prescription filled." No matter - it's also proof that the Guns N' Roses mainman is alive and well and still willing to kick out the jams.

The Gunners performed Dec. 21 at the Forum in L.A., and needless to say the video cameras were out in force, including one wielded by a YouTuber going by the handle "Mraxlfuckinrose1985," appropriately enough (he's obviously a big GNR fan, given that name, and he's also got a slew of Slash videos posted to his YouTube channel).

The entire show has been uploaded, if you can believe that. There are plenty of rough spots here and there, but the video also appears to be the result of multiple cameras and some quick but serviceable post-event editing. The sound, for its part, is above-average bootleg quality and quite listenable. Take a look quick, before it gets taken down... Oh, in case you were wondering: "Sweet Child O' Mine" kicks in at about the 1 hour and 25 minute mark...

At the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Ore., December 16, a pair of postpunk icons delivers the goods a quarter century after the fact.

By Tim Hinely

This was the show of the year a far I was concerned. Also on the bill was Portland legends Pierced Arrows, featuring Fred and Toody Cole from Dead Moon, but unfortunately I was not able to get there in time to catch them. Years ago I caught Scratch Acid at a club in Philly called Revival, on April 29, 1987. On that evening vocalist David Yow was sick as a dog and asked if anyone in the crowd had any antibiotics (no one did) and with that launched into an incredible version of "Mary Had a Little Drug Problem." Now, on this night, nearly 25 years later, they launched head first into the same song to open with the set but not without Yow first addressing the crowd with "This had better be good." 

And it was. Very, very good. They're all excellent player and Yow's prowess as a vocalist (with both S.A. and later the Jesus Lizard) doesn't need to be mentioned here, but when my pal turned to me midset and said, "Man, (Rey) Washam, and (David Wm.) Sims are the greatest rhythm section in rock history. And I don't mean indie rock, I mean rock history,"  he was dead serious (and just may be right).  Also torn to bits that night were stellar versions of "Cannibal," "Owner's Lament," "Crazy Dan," "Amicus," "Damned for All Time," "For Crying Out Loud" and plenty  more.  For those who missed it, pray they do one more tour. [Ed. Note: no immediate plans for that, based on comments from both Yow and Sims in the recent BLURT interview.]

Prior to Dinosaur Jr going on the band was interviewed by Henry Rollins for about 15 minutes. Rollins said it was Dinosaur Jr's idea to do it and that he jumped at the chance. He asked some interesting questions about what the transition was like for the band from their 1^st to their 2^nd record but the best part was when he stated that music was the most difficult art form to which Lou Barlow laughed and said, ""What??!! Oh man...I think it's the easiest!" 

About 15  minutes later the reformed Dino Jr came back out and performed their entire 3rd record,  Bug, from start to finish, after opening up with non-album tracks  "Keep the Glove" and "In  Jar." I'm still not sure why they didn't tour for their amazing You're Living All Over Me, easily their best, but still, Bug is a worthy record to revisit, especially that amazing first half - and yes "Freak Scene," "No Bones," "They Always Come" and "Let It Ride" all sounded awesome. For the set-ending "Don't" (the one that Barlow sings, where he screams "Why don't you like me?!" over and over again) he asked if anyone from the crowd wanted to come up and sing...and asked ...and kept asking. He then said it had to be someone who looked like him and finally a thin, bespectacled kid came up and shredded his vocals for about 15 minutes which was our cue to head home.

The night was as a good as advertised though, two bands in their prime 25 years both came back and showed the kids they can still deliver. And they did. And hopefully will again.