sean has written the following articles:
If Crystal Castles' iii was a pizza it would be disgusting to look at, it would never really cool down and it would probably give you indigestion, but it would taste absolutely delicious.»
Oh dear it is Friday, and oh woe is me do I need a day off, but before I disappear into a bucket of ale, here is the best of what hit my (the editor of DiS') inbox this week...»
Roll up! Roll up! We have an extra special competition for a DiS reader and a friend, to sneak in to one of the biggest events of the music calendar to see some of this year's most talked about artists whilst suppin' some complimentary drinks.»
The best of DiS' inbox this week... »
"...I find that in pop culture that the best records are the most disposable…not trash but…like the first Justice album is not disposable. It’s not a great record all the way through but the strong moments are incredibly strong and the less strong moments are still really good." - Johnny Jewel»
Following a run of shows which seem to have left those who post in DiS' social media feeds somewhat breathless, and a teaser track about the Syrian civil war (they commented "We believe that tyranny and despotism suffered by any people, anywhere, is intolerable and should not be treated as an internal matter, but completely justifies intervention by the international community.") that was also dedicated to Pussy Riot, we're very proud to present you with a stream of the new album from those texan punk-rock&death&death&death&FUCKYOU&rollers ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead:»
DiS has an exclusive album stream of the new solo album from Interpol's Paul Banks.»
There is a lot of music in this round-up, partly because I haven't done one for a while, but mostly because there is a lot of great music around at the minute (IMHO, etc). This column is basically a round-up of the best of my inbox and social media feeds... »
An extended chat about, The Man, The Music, The Label, The Drive soundtrack, and one of the albums of 2012_ Kill for Love.»
Last week, AIM (The Association of Independent Music) announced the nominees for this year's Independent Music Awards, and DiS thought it might be an idea to make a playlist to help guide you through nearly all of this year's nominees.»
The 2nd Law is seriously fun. Seriously!»
DiS is compiling a playlist of 101 songs to act as an introduction to Electronic music. We're doing this, partly because we can, but mostly to celebrate the launch of a new magazine named Electronic. They've given us a big sack of Electronic records for one of you to win, just by taking part in our playlist folly and sharing your knowledge...»
DiS is very proud to present a brand new video for Scot disco-mathians Errors from their new mini-album. This is for the track 'Pegasus' and the video was done by Douglas Morland. It's one of 8 new videos which have appeared online today.»
Currently, when you record music, you’re essentially setting it in stone. Sure, there are re-recordings, re-masters and remixes (some even done on-the-hoof by DJs), but that’s sort of it. For all the sophistication of song-writing and sharing emotions and getting people to dance, we’re still just playing with silence and then locking it in box, and copying it onto other formats. Essentially, re-recording and re-mastering is sort of like taking another photo and a remix is more like photoshopping, it all seems quite stationary when you compare a photo to say, a computer game. When you compare recorded music to a game, it seems similarly rigid: more like Pong than Monkey Island, which in itself seems kind of quaint compared to MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) like World of Warcraft. Like a letter compared to a Skype video call. Or perhaps it didn’t seem this trapped until the first time I experienced The Bronze Format.»
We know September's not over, not over, not over yet! However, we have so many things that we're loving at the moment that we thought, instead of putting them all on single pages for you to flick through, we'd do what we have been trialling for the past few months and dump them altogether in one page that you can bookmark and come back to.»
Two Gallants have a new album out, and to promote it the petrol-soaked duo have a video for the first single from the album 'My Love Won't Wait' and HERE IT IS AS A SPECIAL DIS PREMIERE!»
Of the remix album and this Liars re-jiggery, Andy MacFarlane, The Twilight Sad said: "We like to put out something that bridges the gap between releases, that will continue the theme and artwork. After the new minimal, synth led approach we did with 'No One Can Ever Know', it seemed fitting to follow up with a remix album, to continue in that direction. We've been big fans of Liars since 'They Were Wrong, So We Drowned', so we were really happy when they agreed to do a remix for the record, it puts a whole new perspective on the song."»
If you wander into 'the monster pit' and pick almost any moment of tonight's over two hour feast of bombast in a castle (yes, I’ll say it again, a fucking C-A-S-T-L-E!) and you are - if you're me - soaring upon a sea of glee. »
DiS is very proud to present a stream of The Sea and Cake's 10th - by our reckoning - studio album, plus a track-by-track guide to the record by Sam Prekop.»
If you thought the A Winged Victory for the Sullen album was as wonderfully intense as most of DiS' staff did (well, we agreed it was our 16th favourite album of 2011), then hold tight, as we premiere their new video ahead of their dates on the Erased Tapes 5th Anniversary tour...»
Being a successful money making DJ spinning anything other than dance music is nearly impossible. Being a successful money making metal/hard rock DJ is an exercise in sheer will and determination. I thought I'd share my sometimes harrowing DJ experiences as a possible blueprint for how not to build a successful DJ career.»
A little latter than planned, DiS is streaming the new album from Echo Lake, and has a track by track guide to the album by the band.»
As per previous columns, this is a collection of the best bits that have tumbled into DiS' inbox this week, plus a few things that I spotted spurting out of the waterfall that is my social media streams. For the sake of laziness, some press releases will be copy-pasted, and for the sake of saving your time (YOLO, etc) the commentary will have a brevity pithiness that I hope screams "we let the music do the talking"»
The title track to the Brighton based duos third album gets the sort of video that you forgot you used to see on Mtv(2). Visually, it inhabits the same dark alleys as the track. Meanwhile, the videos core couldn't be closer to this band's heart. The riot-grrrl influences might be burrowed a little deeper as BRS continue to define their own sound (a sort of modern mutant of grunge, splashed with Brit-rock anthemics and giddy skate-punk-meets-hardcore rhythms, which at times drift away to a land where Is This Desire? was bigger than Nevermind), but as an inspirational beacon of yes-you-can-rock empowerment for modern women (in music or otherwise), few come close to Laura-Mary. Look beyond the teeny-bit tongue in cheek Foo Fighters on crack video, and you'll find the message is one of a different kind of girl power; ingenuity and passion, rather than alpha-male protein shake strength. 'In Time to Voices' is a refreshing reminder of how great music videos used to be.»
A Frightened Rabbit exclusive session to start your week... it's Scott doing an acoustic performance of the track ‘State Hospital’ from The State Hospital EP... »
We've teamed up with Pulse Films to offer one DiS reader, and a friend, a very special night out in London, to see the premiere of Shut Up and Play the Hits, the incredible documentary about James Murphy's final show at Madison Square Garden. »
A rare album exclusive on DiS, from a rare talent... Nathan Fake makes the kind of electronic music that soundtracks those parties in your dreams. He deals in a gentle throb, which ectoplasmically seeps from speakers, rather than thrusts itself at you. Sure, bandspotters amongst you may hear the influence of Aphex's ambient textures drifting in and out, as much as you may feel a kinship with the likes of Luke Abbott, Fuck Buttons, Gold Panda, etc. Having said all that, Nathan is a special talent, who's as much an inspiration to his contemporaries, as he is a peer. This new record - 'Iceni Strings' especially - follows on from where Hard Islands left off, but a few tracks wouldn't sound out of place with Drowning in a Sea of Love's eeriness either.»
We have a put together an exclusive playlist for the new PIAS Spotify app and a competition to win a bag stuffed full of PIAS records and goodies, but first a few thoughts..»
We asked the folks preparing to head off to this year's Reading & Leeds festival who they were most looking forward to seeing. If you are undecided between clashing acts or unaware of any of these, or even if you just want a reminder who to underline in your programme, then this is for you... plus there's a Spotify playlist thrown in for good measure.»
That exquisite entertainer and maniacal musical genius Chilly Gonzales has a second of his piano albums out and you can stream it here, but first... »
