Elvis Costello and The Roots Wise Up Ghost and Other Songs Blue Note Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Teaming up with The Roots is an obvious next step on Costello’s life-long creative quest! Album Review: Over the decades, the one time punk rocker Elvis Costello has proved surprisingly versatile in a variety of musically diverse … Read more
Camera Obscura will be releasing a double 7-inch on October 7th / 8th. The album tracks ‘Do It Again’ and ‘Break It To You Gently’ are joined by two brand new songs, ‘Making Money’ and ‘Swallows’. You can order it now from the 4AD store HERE in the US, and Rough Trade HERE in the … Read more
It should not surprise you but guess who is back with a solo record? That is right – Bob Pollard! The new solo record, Blazing Gentlemen, is due out 12/9/13 and you can check out the first single from the record, “Tonight’s The Rodeo,” below. Start your “Oh Oh Oh” singalong now! You can still … Read more
More than 170 local, regional, national and international musical acts will come together in Cincinnati to perform at the 2013 MidPoint Music Festival (MPMF). The 12th annual festival will present three days of live music on 16 stages in on Thursday, Sept. 26, Friday Sept. 27 and Saturday Sept. 28, 2013. With The Breeders, Kurt … Read more
Raccoon Fighter ZIL Papercup Music [2013] Fire Note Says: Raccoon Fighter keeps the T-Rex flame burning bright on debut album. Album Review: Brooklyn has been home base for so many bands and so many different genres that it is a little surprising that gritty, hipster blues-rock hasn’t really been heard emanating from the Borough of … Read more
The Darcys Warring Arts & Crafts Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Warring is an impressive sounding record, though falls just a bit short of their grandiose goal. Album Review: Toronto art rockers, The Darcys are back with their biggest sounding record yet, Warring, out now on Arts & Crafts. Warring is the bands attempt at … Read more
Kings Of Leon Mechanical Bull RCA Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Kings of Leon surprise with a rock album brimming with passion. Album Review: Me, one minute before starting Mechanical Bull for the first time: “Ho hum, another Kings of Leon album. These guys are from Tennessee. I’m from Tennessee. I used to like them … Read more
Golden Suits Golden Suits Yep Roc Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Take a nice psych/folk pop trip with Fred Nicolaus and his new project Golden Suits. Album Review: There is a lot to like about Fred Nicolaus and his new project Golden Suits. For those who don’t know, Nicolaus is half of the driving force … Read more
The Civil Wars The Civil Wars Sensibility/Columbia Records [2013] Fire Note Says: The Civil Wars build on their debut and point toward a viable musical future, should they decide to accept it. Album Review: While we’ve gotten used to the kind of sensational personal drama that makes careers at the expense of the actual music, … Read more
Kishi Bashi “Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!” b/w “Song For The Sold” Joyful Noise Recordings [2013] Kishi Bashi’s full length, 151a (TFN Review), was number 5 in our Top 50 last year so we always get excited when he releases new material. This 7-inch sees two brand new tracks on wax that give a … Read more
Missouri-based indie-pop trio Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin pays tribute to Branson, MO’s glory days in a new for single, “Nightwater Girlfriend,” taken from their fourth album, Fly By Wire, (TFN Review) available now on Polyvinyl. Directed by Brook Linder, the band rented a helicopter, filmed at a water park, visited some roadside attractions, … Read more
The Dirtbombs Ooey Gooey Chewy Ka-Blooey! In The Red Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Next stop for The Dirtbombs – Bubblegum rock. Album Review: If you have been following The Dirtbombs since their excellent grooving 2001 soul album, Ultraglide In Black, then you know the band has never been content just staying in one genre … Read more
Obits Bed & Bugs Sub Pop Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Bed & Bugs is the sound of Rock and Roll lifers kicking out garage rock jams. Album Review: It’s hard to talk about the new Obits album, Bed & Bugs, without first mentioning that Rick Froberg (vocs/gtr) was a member of two all-time great … Read more
The Weeknd Kiss Land Universal Republic [2013] Fire Note Says: The Weeknd’s major label debut continues the emo trend in hip hop with mixed results. Album Review: The Weeknd is Canadian Abel Tesfaye. He of the three mixtapes, condensed last year and released as Trilogy, is making his true major label debut with Kiss Land. … Read more
Balance and Composure has released a new video today for their song “Reflection”. The track is featured on the band’s recently released record, The Things We Think We’re Missing, which is available now at iTunes, Amazon, No Sleep Records and local indie retailers. Directed by Dan Centrone and set in the serene nature of the … Read more
If you are looking for some new fueled up punk rock then make sure to check out the Sweatshop Boys. Their record, The Great Depression, is now on sale from Dirt Cult Records. It is a split label release between a bunch of international labels and Dirt Cult. That means that Dirt Cult only has … Read more
Bill Callahan Dream River Drag City Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Bill Callahan slows life down on the entrancing Dream River. Album Review: Bill Callahan is still best known from his work with Smog but since his first solo record, Woke on a Whaleheart, was released under his own name back in 2007, he has … Read more
MGMT MGMT Columbia Records [2013] Fire Note Says: MGMT fails to electrify with their self-titled third album. Album Review: MGMT has released their third album, which is quite simply titled MGMT. The band’s debut had such singles as “Electric Feel,” “Kids,” and “Time to Pretend.” It is safe to say that there is no such … Read more
The Rides Can’t Get Enough 429 Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Stills, Shepherd and Goldberg debut their blues. Album Review: If you’ve ever found yourself thinking that the world already has too many blues and boogie bands, then The Rides – the collaboration of Steven Stills, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Barry Goldberg – is not … Read more
Here is the brand single from a new Robert Pollard solo album titled Blazing Gentlemen due December 10th! The “Tonight’s The Rodeo” 7-inch is limited to 1000 copies worldwide. Rockathon has only 350 so for now you can grab one Here.
In a recent interview with Magnet, Robert Pollard indicated that there might not be any new Guided By Voices material coming anytime soon. The GBV nation sighed all at once. Surprise – fans will rejoice everywhere as a new record, Motivational Jumpsuit, has been announced for release late February 2014. You can check out the … Read more
Crystal Stilts Nature Noir Sacred Bones Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Crystal Stilts show off some new sounds to go along with their own signature psychedelic haze. Album Review: Do you guys remember when eMusic used to rule? I sure do, I discovered a ton of great music there from 2004-2010. Sometime in 2007, they … Read more
The Big Sweet Bicycle Nights Self-Released [2013] Fire Note Says: The Big Sweet grow up on their engaging third record Bicycle Nights. Album Review: I encourage any young lads out there thinking of starting a band to check out the third LP, Bicycle Nights, from The Big Sweet. The Northeast Ohio band’s members are the … Read more
Subways on the Sun recently released their fantastic debut album, The Honeymoon Stagecoach, which we reviewed earlier in August (TFN Review). The Seattle-based band plays catchy alternative rock and is influenced by a wide range of artists from The Beatles and Blur to Sonic Youth and Catherine Wheel. We recently caught up with the band … Read more
Here is the new video from Aheym, the upcoming collaboration between The National’s guitarist and composer Bryce Dessner and Grammy Award-winning Kronos Quartet. The video is directed by visual artist and longtime Dessner collaborator Matthew Ritchie. The album is due November 5 on Anti- Records as Aheym features four original compositions by Dessner performed by … Read more