Dr. Dog: Critical Equation [Album Review]

Dr. Dog Critical Equation We Buy Gold/Thirty Tigers [2018] Fire Note Says: On its tenth band outing, Dr. Dog continues its legacy of indie rock that mixes 60’s style songwriting and harmonies with just enough instrumental psychedelia to keep things interesting. Album Review: Philadelphia’s quintessential indie rock outfit, Dr. Dog has never stretched too far … Read more

La Luz – “Mean Dream” [Video]

La Luz’s new album, Floating Features, just released and here is a new video for “Mean Dream,” from director Ryan D. La Luz are playing a massive 35-date North American tour. See below for a full list of dates.

TOUR DATES:
05.17.18 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile $ *
05.18.18 – Seattle, WA – The Vera Project $ * &
05.19.18 – Portland, OR – The Aladdin Theater *
05.20.18 – Bellingham, WA -The Shakedown *
05.22.18 – Boise, ID – The Olympic *
05.23.18 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court *
05.24.18 – Ft. Collin’s, CO – Hodi’s Half Note *
05.25.18 – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge *
05.28.18 – Omaha, NE – O’Leavers !
05.29.18 – Kansas City, MO – The Record Bar !
05.30.18 – St. Louis, MO – The Ready Room !
05.31.18 – Chicago, IL – Subterranean ^
06.01.18 – Chicago, IL – Do Division Festival
06.02.18 – Grand Rapids, MI – Pyramid Scheme ^
06.03.18 – Toronto, ON – Horseshoe Tavern ^
06.04.18 – Montreal, QC – L’Esco ^
06.05.18 – Portland, ME – SPACE Gallery ^
06.06.18 – Boston, MA – Once Ballroom ^
06.08.18 – New York, NY – Public Arts ^
06.09.18 – Brooklyn, NY – Northside Festival at Baby’s All Right &
06.10.18 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts Black Box %
06.11.18 – Washington, D.C. – Songbyrd %
06.12.18 – Raleigh, NC – The Pinhook %
06.13.18 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl %
06.14.18 – Jacksonville, FL – Root %
06.15.18 – New Orleans, LA – Santos %
06.16.18 – Austin, TX – Hotel Vegas #
06.19.18 – San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger #
06.20.18 – El Paso, TX – Monarch #
06.21.18 – Tucson, AZ – Club Congress # &
06.22.10 – Los Angeles, CA – Teregram Ballroom #
09.01.18 – Gdansk, PL – Soundrive Festival
09.04.18 – Malmö, SE – Plan B
09.05.18 – Oslo, NO – Revolver
09.06.18 – Stockholm, SE – Melodybox
09.07.18 – Göteborg, SE – Pustervil
09.08.18 – Copenhagen, DK – Loppen
09.10.18 – Karlsruhe, DE – Kohi
09.11.18 – Zürich, CH – Rote Fabrik
09.12.18 – Montpellier, FR – Le Rockstore
09.13.18 – Barcelona, ES – Gambeat Festival
09.14.18 – Madrid, ES – GetMAD
09.15.18 – San Sebastian, ES – Donastia Festibala
09.18.18 – Lausanne, CH – Le Romandie
09.19.18 – Bern, CH – ISC Club
09.20.18 – Paris, FR – Point Ephemere
09.22.18 – Brussels, BE – Botanique @ Witloof Bar
09.24.18 – Manchester, UK – Soup Kitchen
09.25.18 – Glasgow, UK – Mono
09.26.18 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
09.27.18 – London, UK – The Dome
09.28.18 – Bristol, UK – The Louisiana
09.29.18 – Brighton, UK – The Hope and Ruin
10.01.18 – Köln, DE – Bumann & Sohn
10.02.18 – Derlin, DE – Music & Frieden
10.03.18 – Dresden, DE – Beatpol
10.04.18 – Hamburg, DE – Hafenklang (Goldener Salon)
10.05.18 – Groningen, NL – Vera
10.06.18 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso upstairs

& – All-Ages
$ – w/ Ancient Forest
* – w/ Savila
! – w/ The Whiffs
^ – w/ Gymshorts
% – w/ Timothy Eerie
# – w/ Summer Twins

Mitski – “Geyser” [Video]

Mitski returns with Be The Cowboy, out August 17th, and presents the album’s lead single “Geyser,” with an accompanying video directed by Zia Anger.

“For this new record, I experimented in narrative and fiction,” comments Mitski. Though she hesitates to go so far as to say she created full-on characters, she reveals she had in mind “a very controlled icy repressed woman who is starting to unravel. Because women have so little power and showing emotion is seen as weakness, this ‘character’ clings to any amount of control she can get. Still, there is something very primordial in her that is trying to find a way to get out.”

In Be The Cowboy, Mitski delves into the loneliness of being a symbol and the loneliness of being someone, how it can feel so much like being no one. Lead single “Geyser” introduces us to a woman who can’t hold it all in any more. She’s about to burst and unleash a torrent of desire and passion that has been building up inside. While recording the album with her long-time producer Patrick Hyland, the pair kept returning to “the image of someone alone on a stage, singing solo with a single spotlight trained on them in an otherwise dark room. For most of the tracks, we didn’t layer the vocals with doubles or harmonies, to achieve that campy ‘person singing alone on stage’ atmosphere.”

Be the Cowboy Tracklist:
1. Geyser
2. Why Didn’t You Stop Me
3. Old Friend
4. A Pearl
5. Lonesome Love
6. Remember My Name
7. Me And My Husband
8. Come Into the Water
9. Nobody
10. Pink in the Night
11. A Horse Named Cold Air
12. Washing Machine Heart
13. Blue Light
14. Two Slow Dancers

Wye Oak: The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs [Album Review]

Wye Oak The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs Merge Records [2018] Fire Note Says: Wye Oak puts out an album that’s worth going back to again and again. Album Review: The Baltimore duo Wye Oak (Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack) continue to hone and evolve their sound on their sixth studio album, The … Read more

Connections: Foreign Affairs [Album Review]

Connections Foreign Affairs Trouble In Mind Records [2018] Who: Foreign Affairs is the fifth album, and first for Trouble In Mind, from the Columbus Ohio band Connections that features former members of 84 Nash (Rockathon Records). Sound: Lo-fi indie pop that mixes the sound of early Guided By Voices with the raw rock of The … Read more

Sleep: The Sciences [Album Review]

Sleep The Sciences Third Man Records [2018] Fire Note Says: Follow the smoke once more to the riff filled lands. Sleep now presents you with the riff tree Album Review: Over dunes, you’ve walked many miles, your entire body is heavy from the punishing journey. You’ve done as Jerusalem’s sacred texts have said, you followed … Read more

Franz Ferdinand: Always Ascending [Album Review]

Franz Ferdinand Always Ascending Domino Records [2018] Fire Note Says: On their fifth album, Franz Ferdinand embrace a polished pop sensibility. Album Review: If you’ve been paying attention to creative movement in the rock music scene for long enough you begin to notice how sounds and styles tend to recycle even as new artists are … Read more

Andre Costello And The Cool Minors – “Kinda (Makes You Feel Good)” [Video]

André Costello and the Cool Minors album, Resident Frequencies, is out tomorrow on Misra records. On the border of folk and rock, many of Andre Costello’s songs dance between the upbeat and the melancholy, often landing on both at once.

The Pittsburgh artist isn’t so much a storyteller as picture-painter in his songwriting, calling to mind Wilco and My Morning Jacket in his chords and lyrics, and Leslie Feist and Neil Young in his vocal textures. The “Kinda (Makes You Feel Good)” video was directed by Justin Nixon.

Laura Veirs: The Lookout [Album Review]

Laura Veirs The Lookout Raven Marching Band Records [2018] Fire Note Says: Laura Veirs is indie folk’s best-kept secret, and she delivers one of her most rewarding records with The Lookout Album Review: Laura Veirs music effortlessly evokes the cool, misty forests of her Pacific Northwest home-base of Portland, Oregon. Her music has always been … Read more

Say Sue Me: Where We Were Together [Album Review]

Say Sue Me Where We Were Together Damnably/Electric Muse Records [2018] Who: Say Sue Me is a surf-inspired indie rock quartet from Busan, South Korea. Where We Were Together is the bands sophomore album. Sound: Say Sue Me has a surf sway behind their indie jangles and fits right in with artists like La Luz, … Read more

Motel Beds: Dumb Gold (Black Vinyl | 300 Copies) [Benefit for Ian Kaplan]

Drummer Ian Kaplan is a staple to the Dayton, Ohio music scene and he has a resume that includes Motel Beds, Lab Partners, Goodbye/Crusher, Lioness, Company Man, Feathered Serpent, Human Reunion, Jayne Sachs Band and many more! Anyone who meets him will instantly think “great guy!” Ian recently had the misfortune of needing a liver … Read more

Astral Swans: Strange Prison [Album Review]

Astral Swans Strange Prison Tiny Room Records [2018] Who: Calgary’s Astral Swans sophomore LP, Strange Prison is a haunting and stark look into the imaginative psyche of songwriter Matthew Swann . Sound: Matthew Swann’s quirky blend of lo-fi melancholic folk rock stays with you long after the album finishes playing. TFN Final Take: 2015’s My … Read more

Frank Turner – “Blackout” [Video]

“Blackout” is the first single from Frank Turner’s new album Be More Kind. The album released last Friday via Xtra Mile Recordings/Polydor UK /Interscope Records in the US.

Be More Kind represents a thematic and sonic line in the sand for the 36-year-old. “I wanted to try and get out of my comfort zone and do something different,” says Turner. As always, Frank Turner is consistently on the road. Check out his dates below.

BE MORE KIND TOUR North American Dates:
Thu/May-31 Detroit, MI The Fillmore
Fri/Jun-01 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
Sat/Jun-02 Columbus, OH Express Live^
Sun/Jun-03 Baltimore, MD Pier Six Pavilion
Tue/Jun-05 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore
Wed/Jun-06 New York, NY Playstation Theater^
Fri/Jun-08 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore
Sat/Jun-09 Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle
Sun/Jun-10 Orlando, FL House of Blues
Tue/Jun-12 Dallas, TX House of Blues
Wed/Jun-13 Austin, TX Stubb’s
Fri/Jun-15 Phoenix, AZ Van Buren
Sat/Jun-16 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium
Sun/Jun-17 San Francisco, CA Warfield Theatre
Tue/Jun-19 Salt Lake City, UT The Complex
Thu/Jun-21 Kansas City, MO The Truman**
Fri/Jun-22 Minneapolis, MN Myth
Sat/Jun-23 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
Sun/Jun-24 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
Tue/Jun-26 Boston, MA Royale
Wed/Jun-27 Boston, MA Royale
Fri/Jun-29 Boston, MA Royale
Sat/Jun-30 Boston, MA Royale
Sun/Jul-1 Boston, MA Royale
Mon/Jul-2 Boston, MA Royale
Mon/Jul-30 Big Indian, NY Campfire Punk Rock
Tue/Jul-31 Big Indian, NY Campfire Punk Rock
Wed/Aug-01 Big Indian, NY Campfire Punk Rock
Thu/Aug-02 Big Indian, NY Campfire Punk Rock
Fri/Aug-03 Denver, CO Red Rocks*
Thu/Sep-06 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom
Fri/Sep-07 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre
Sat/Sep-08 Vancouver, BC The Vogue Theater
Sun/Sep-09 Victoria, BC Alix Goolden Performance Hall
Tue/Sep-11 Edmonton, AB Winspear Centre
Wed/Sep-12 Calgary, AB MacEwan Hall
Fri/Sep-14 Saskatoon, SK O’Brians
Sat/Sep-15 Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings Theatre
Tue/Sep-18 London, ON London Music Hall
Wed/Sep-19 Toronto, ON The Phoenix Concert Theater
Sat/Sep-22 Montreal, QC Corona Theater
Mon/Sep-24 Ottawa, ON Bronson Centre
Wed/Sep-26 Burlington, VT Higher Ground
Sat/Sep-29 Asbury Park, NJ Hear Me Sea Festival
Sun/Sep-30 Ithaca, NY State Theatre
Mon/Oct-01 Charlottesville, VA Jefferson Theater
Wed/Oct-03 Asheville, NC The Orange Peel
Thu/Oct-04 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom
Fri/Oct-05 Cincinnati, OH Bogart’s
Sat/Oct-06 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater

Premiere Friday Fire Track: No Name Hotel – “Parable”

Tristan marks the second EP release by No Name Hotel, the moniker of singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Farahd Abdullah Wallizada. A first-generation American born of Afghani parents, Wallizada spent his early life in Jacksonville, Florida, having little access to pop culture. That changed in his early teens, when he began pirating songs off of library … Read more

Mexican Knives – “Western” [Video]

This new video is on the second full-length album from Detroit’s Mexican Knives. No-Wave Punk done in a way that’s stylistic, subversive, airy, angular, jangly and conceptual. For fans of: The Breeders, Dum Dum Girls, My Bloody Valentine, Mazzy Star, Pretenders & Tsunami.

You can pick up a copy of the album at Jett Plastic Recordings HERE.

Protomartyr – “Wheel Of Fortune (feat. Kelley Deal)” [Video]

Protomartyr have a new release called Consolation E.P., which they recorded in part with friend Kelley Deal (The Breeders, R. Ring) and will be released June 15th via Domino Recording Co. Two of the four songs feature Deal on vocals alongside singer Joe Casey, including “Wheel of Fortune,” which is the video today directed by Yoonha Park (who directed the band’s video for “Don’t Go To Anacita”). The EP was recorded by Deal’s R.Ring bandmate Mike Montgomery. The tracklist is below.

The band has a consistent string of tour dates supporting this ep as well as their excellent release from last year Relatives In Descent. You can find the tour dates listed below. The Consolation E.P. is available to pre-order now on limited pressing yellow/white starburst vinyl via Domino HERE, and limited pressing gold vinyl via your local independent record store when released.

“CONSOLATION E.P.” TRACKLISTING
1. Wait
2. Same Face In A Different Mirror
3. Wheel Of Fortune (feat. Kelley Deal)
4. You Win Again (feat. Kelley Deal)

PROTOMARTYR TOUR DATES
Thu. May 3 – Kortrijik, BE @ De Kreun
Fri. May 4 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla
Sat. May 5 – Leicester, UK @ Handmade Festival
Sun. May 6 – Glasgow, UK @ Stag & Dagger Festival
Tue. May 8 – Hull, UK @ Fruit
Wed. May 9 – Birmingham, UK @ Mama Roux
Thu. May 10 – London, UK @ Rough Trade East – In Conversation with the Raincoats
Thu. May 10 – London, UK @ Scala
Sun. June 3 – Seattle, WA @ Upstream Music Festival
Sat. June 9 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere (Brooklyn Vegan Northside Party)
Wed. June 13 – Hong Kong, HK @ MOM Livehouse
Fri. June 15 – Beijing, CN @ Yue Space
Sat. June 16 – Shanghai, CN @ YYT
Sun. June 17 – Seoul, KR @ V-Hall
Wed. June 20 – Kuala Lumpur, MY @ Live Fact
Thu. June 21 – Jakarta, ID @ Rossi Musik
Sat. June 23 – Athens, GR @ Ejekt Festival
Fri. July 6 – Modena, IT @ Arti Vive
Sat. July 7 – Chiusi, IT @ Lars Rock Fest
Sat. July 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ FYF Fest
Sat. Aug. 11 – Haldern, DE @ Haldern Pop Festival
Sun. Aug. 12 – Luxembourg, LU @ Rotondes
Mon. Aug. 13 – Dusseldorf, DE @ Zakk
Tue. Aug. 14 – Bremen, DE @ Tower Musikclub
Thu. Aug. 16 – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
Fri. Aug. 17 – Biddinghuizen, NL @ Lowlands Festival
Sat. Aug 18 – Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop Festival
Sun. Aug. 19 – St. Malo, FR @ La Route Du Rock
Tue. Aug. 21 – Dudingen, CH @ Bad Bonn
Wed. Aug. 22 – Zurich, CH @ Mascotte
Fri. Aug. 24 – Schorndorf, DE @ Club Manufaktur
Sat. Aug 25 – Charleville Mezieres, FR @ Cabaret Vert Festival
Sun. Aug. 26 – Ramsgate, UK @ Ramsgate Hall
Tue. Aug. 28 – Sheffield, UK @ Picture House Social
Wed. Aug. 29 – Hebden Bridge, UK @ Trades Club
Thu. Aug. 30 – Liverpool, UK @ O2 Academy 2
Fri. Aug. 31 – Salisbury, UK @ End of the Road Festival
Thu. Aug. 30 – Sun. Sep. 2 – Vlieland, NL @ Into the Great Wide Open

Speedy Ortiz: Twerp Verse [Album Review]

Speedy Ortiz Twerp Verse Carpark Records [2018] Who: Twerp Verse, is Speedy Ortiz’s third album and first full-length in three years. The band has always been politically mindful but after the more recent political climate the band scrapped their early material after Foil Deer and created what they feel is a more relevant and important … Read more

Kevin Krauter – “Keep Falling In Love” [Video]

This is the new Kevin Krauter (of Hoops) video for “Keep Falling In Love.” It’s the second song released off his forthcoming debut LP, Toss Up, out 6/15 via Bayonet Records. You can pre-order the record HERE.

Krauter definitely has the influence of ’60s flower pop and 70s easy listening on this track. If you know who Paul Davis is then you will be excited!

Krauter will be touring throughout the spring into summer, including a number of headline dates and a show supporting Waxahatchee. Several show dates are listed below.

5/12 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop**
6/19 – Columbus, OH @ Ace Of Cups
6/20 – Washington, DC @ Songbyrd
6/21 – Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
6/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
6/28 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas
7/14 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Tube Factory
* with Malcolm London & DJ Jill Hopkins
** solo show with Waxahatchee and Amy O

The Bonnevilles: Dirty Photographs [Album Review]

The Bonnevilles Dirty Photographs Alive Records [2018] Fire Note Says: Northern Irish guitar/drum duo, The Bonnesvilles stay true to their “garage punk blues” ethos on Dirty Photographs, with modest accents as a sign of growth. Album Review: The Bonnevilles, the guitar/drum duo of Andre McGibbon, Jr., and Chris McMullan of Northern Ireland, have made a … Read more