Archive for June, 2011
Review: City and Colour – Little Hell
City and Colour – Little Hell
Released: June 7, 2011
Label: Dine Alone Records
Purchase: iTunes | Insound | Amazon
Recorded to tape in a church sans-computers and fancy recording booths is Dallas Green’s third studio album “Little Hell”, a beautiful record that changes up Green’s pure man-and-guitar sound, yet still maintains the unique City and Colour feel that listeners have grown to love.
Since his debut, the singer-songwriter has grown both musically and creatively. Little Hell is a true indicator of said growth; mixing up the track list with full band rock songs, trademark acoustic songs, and introducing synths and strings to diversify the instrumentals. It’s difficult to describe Little Hell accurately, as it doesn’t fit into one specific genre like Bring Me Your Love may have; however, each song is sung sincerely, and crafted with the utmost care.
The signature minimalist acoustic sound is not all lost in Little Hell, as “Silver and Gold” and “Northern Wind” primarily consist of just the man and his guitar, with the latter being a heart-on-sleeve song taking roots fromBring Me Your Love’s “The Girl”.
“Whether a natural disaster ripped it from it’s foundation
Or an economic tragedy tore apart it’s family
They’re all empty.”
“Natural Disaster” is a full band song that tackles the problems in our world, created by “natural disaster(s)” and “economic traged(ies)”. Given the subject, it’s surprising this song does not drip with melancholy. Regardless, this imagery-ridden track is one of Little Hell’s standouts.
Title track “Little Hell” begins with a riff bearing slight resemblance to those of Death Cab for Cutie. “Will we get out of this little hell?” is a stunning end to the song with Green’s smooth, effortless vocals and slow tempo band instrumental.
“Weightless” is a departure from Green’s more acoustic tracks, introducing an indie rock feel driven by the drumbeat rather than guitar. Interestingly, it works. Green’s distinct voice does not lose its clarity when singing loudly and contrasts unusually well with the dirty, flange-y guitar riffs.
Little Hell is by all means an emotional ride. “Hope For Now” concludes the record, beginning with a soft acoustic sound before the lyrics crescendo the song into a full band, deep guitar blasting second half with Green replying to “If I could sing one song and it could save someone’s life”, chanting “Then I would sing, all that I could sing”. This is a song that you truly feel.
Little Hell is not quite a complete transformation of one-man band City and Colour, but it is a work that reflects the change Dallas Green has gone through in his life since Sometimes. The fact Little Hell did not inherit an acoustic sound may disappoint some; however, Green is at a new stage in his career, in his life, and it is no surprise that his music changes accordingly. What hasn’t changed though, is Green’s second-to-none voice and musical talent that merits him to being one of the best singer-songwriters alive.
8.8
Standout Tracks: “Hope For Now”, “Little Hell”, “Natural Disaster”, and “The Grand Optimist”
Beirut Announce ‘The Rip Tide’
Beirut have just announced the release of their new album The Rip Tide, which will be released on August 30 via Condon’s Pompeii Records and distributed in the USA via Revolver. First single from the album “East Harlem” can be streamed below. The full tracklisting for The Rip Tide and updated tour dates are also included below.
The Rip Tide Tracklisting:
01 A Candle’s Fire
02 Santa Fe
03 East Harlem
04 Goshen
05 Payne’s Bay
06 The Rip Tide
07 Vagabond
08 The Peacock
09 Port of Call
Beirut:
06-08 Austin, TX – ACL Live ^
06-10 New Orleans, LA – Republic ^
06-12 Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo
06-14 Washington, DC – Black Cat ^
06-17 Brooklyn, NY – Northside Fest at McCarren Park !
06-30 London, England – Hyde Park &
07-03 St. Gallen, Switzerland – St. Gallen Fest
07-05 Ferrara, Italy – Costello Piazza #
07-07 Novi Sad, Serbia – EXIT Festival
07-09 Trencin, Slovakia – Pohoda Festival
07-12 Arles, France – Les Suds a Arles
07-14 Meco, Portugal – Super Bock Super Rock
07-16 Valencia, Spain – Benicassim
07-18 Lyon, France – Les Nuits De Fourviere
07-20 Nyon, Switzerland – Paleo Festival
07-29 Portland, ME – State Theater
07-31 Montreal, Quebec – Osheaga
08-02 Toronto, Ontario – The Phoenix @
08-04 Toronto, Ontario – The Phoenix @
08-05 Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
08-10 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore
08-12 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
08-14 San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands
09-02 Dorset, England – End of the Road
09-04 Stradbally, Ireland – Electric Picnic
09-06 Manchester, England – Manchester Academy
09-08 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
09-12 Paris, France – Olympia
09-14 Brussels, Belgium – AB
09-16 London, England – Brixton Academy
* with Lady Lamb the Beekeeper
^ with Twin Sister
& with Arcade Fire
# with the National
! with Sharon Van Etten
@ with Owen Pallett et les Mouches
Mansions Release Music Video for “City Don’t Care”
The latest single from Mansions (the stage name of Christopher Browder) has received the music video treatment. You can watch the music video for “City Don’t Care”, the newest single from Dig Up The Dead, on Vimeo here.
Dig Up The Dead was released this past April via Burning House Records/King Bones Recordings. Check out Mansions’ current tour dates with Daybreaker, Aficionado, and Hellogoodbye below.
Mansions 2011 Tour Dates:
06/08 – Louisville, KY @ Derby City Espresso
06/10 – Albany, NY @ Hudson River Coffee House *
06/11 – Portland, ME @ Deering Grange Hall *
06/12 – Danbury, CT @ Heirloom Arts Theatre *
06/14 – Brooklyn, NY @ Acheron *
06/15 – Rockville Centre, NY @ Vibe Lounge *
06/16 – Vineland, NJ @ Hangar 84 *
06/19 – San Diego, CA @ SOMA **
06/20 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress **
06/21 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad **
* = w/ Daybreaker and Aficionado
** = w/ Hellogoodbye
Recommended: Maybeshewill
Maybeshewill
For Fans Of: 65daysofstatic
Their newest album, I Was Here For A Moment, Then I was Gone, released May 30th of this year, continues the sonic progression of their last few releases, leaving the listener to bask in the somber heaviness and more subdued, melancholic moments that prevail throughout the ten tracks. Good for those chill-out moments at home when surfing the web on sites like PartyPoker España or social networking.
Listen to “Red Paper Lanterns” here:
The Dangerous Summer Announce ‘War Paint’
War Paint Tracklisting:
1. War Paint
2. Work In Progress
3. No One’s Gonna Need You More
4. Good Things
5. Siren
6. Everyone Left
7. Miscommunication
8. I Should Leave Right Now
9. Parachute
10. In My Room
11. Waves
Below, you can watch AJ Perdomo and Cody Payne perform “No One’s Gonna Need You More” acoustically for Ourzone Magazine. The band has reportedly been playing this song live at their recent shows and will be releasing videos for both “No One’s Gonna Need You More” and “Work In Progress”.
Watch: Tyler, the Creator – “She (feat. Frank Ocean)”
Tyler, the Creator‘s Goblin receives its second set of visuals in the form of the Frank Ocean featuring track “She”. In his first video (for the song “Yonkers”), Tyler ate a cockroach, puked, and then hung himself, but today, he and his Odd Future friends return by creeping on the new girl on the block. You can watch the music video below.
Adele Cancels US Dates to Rest Voice
Just after Lady Gaga‘s Born This Way took the top place on the charts over her 21, Adele was diagnosed with laryngitis and her Otolaryngology specialist “determined it was imperative that she take the next few weeks to recover with absolute voice rest.” Following her doctor’s orders, Adele has now canceled the rest of her US tour dates, which will hopefully be rescheduled in the future.
You can see her 2011 tour dates after the break.
Adele 2011 Tour Dates:
06/03 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
06/04 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield Theatre
06/06 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
06/08 – San Diego, CA @ Humphreys Concerts by the Bay
06/09 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
06/12 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs Waller Creek
06/15 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
06/17 – Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
06/18 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
06/20 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
06/22 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
07/07 – London, UK @ iTunes Festival
09/04 – Plymouth, UK @ Plymouth Pavilions
09/05 – Bournemouth, UK @ Bournemouth International Centre
09/07 – Cardiff, UK @ Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
09/08 – Blackpool, UK @ Empress Ballroom
09/10 – Wolverhampton, UK @ The Civic Hall
09/11 – Wolverhampton, UK @ The Civic Hall
09/13 – Leicester, UK @ De Montfort Hall
09/14 – Newcastle, UK @ O2 Academy
09/16 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Apollo
09/17 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Apollo
09/19 – London, UK @ HMV Hammersmith Apollo
09/20 – London, UK @ HMV Hammersmith Apollo
09/22 – London, UK @ Royal Albert Hall
09/24 – Ediburgh, UK @ Usher Hall
09/25 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy
10/20 – Amsterdam, NL @ Heinken Music Hall
New: Kid Cudi & Dot Da Genius – “Perfect Is The Word”
Fans of Cudi’s traditional rapping need not worry, however. Back in January, he announced to fans via Twitter that a new rap mixtape A Man Named Scott will be released sometime this summer, as soon as he is “all rocked out” with Wizard.
Listen or download the track below.
Interview: All Time Low
Pop punk rockers All Time Low have been at the forefront of their scene since signing with Hopeless Records while still in high school, releasing three albums with the label. The band is currently gearing up for the release of their fourth studio album Dirty Work, which will also be the band’s debut with Interscope Records, set to be released on June 7th in the US and on June 6th in the UK. Lead vocalist Alex Gaskarth took some time out of his busy schedule to talk with me about their new album and touring experiences. You can read the full interview below.
Alex Gaskarth and I sing and play guitar.
LitS: You guys are currently headlining a tour with Yellowcard, The Summer Set and Hey Monday as openers. How has this tour been?
We just finished up the tour and it was probably the best touring experience I’ve ever had. Our band grew up listening to Yellowcard so to get the chance to do a full tour with them was awesome. Hey Monday are good friends of ours and we’ve wanted to tour with The Summer Set for a while so we’re glad we could take them out. Crowds were amazing on the tour each and every night.
LitS: Your new album, Dirty Work, will be released in June of this year. Could you describe the new album for us?
I think it represents a real growth for us and it’s something we’re all extremely proud of. We didn’t do a 180 and make a completely different CD. It still sounds like All Time Low and I think our fans will really be into it. Hopefully it’s just a better All Time Low than you’ve ever heard before. (more…)
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