SOUND BITES

Buffalo-based metalcore outfit Every Time I Die are about to release their Joe Barresi helmed sixth album Ex Lives , and have offered up a full stream of it as well as a new video for obvious single Revival Mode . After listening to Ex Lives in full, I have to wonder why I haven't paid more attention to this band.  Their sublime racket is a bastard son of the Bronx, Cancer Bats and Dillinger Escape Plan.  That they skidded by ignored by a guy who loves all three of those bands is unfathomable, actually.  Needless to say, by throwing up a sweet video as the hook and an awesome album stream as the line, they've landed at least one new customer on their shores. And here's the Revival Mode video: Ex Lives is out March 6 on Epitaph.

By now, it's inevitable that you've heard of Gotye and his viral-turned-global megasmash Somebody That I Used To Know .  That song's video is closing in on a staggering hundered million views on YouTube, where all this hoopla began.  Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your outlook), his latest album Making Mirrors isn't a one-trick pony.  That is, unless you're looking for an album chock full of heartbroken anthems. What Making Mirrors does have in spades is rhythm.  A student of 80's Peter Gabriel and Midnight Oil, Gotye never shies away from a beat, organic or otherwise.  In fact, rhythm is just about the only constant on this album; it veers from straight-up rock ( Easy Way Out ) to propulsive politico rock ( Eyes Wide Open ) to 60's Motown ( I Feel Better ) to Kid A -style electronic clusterfuckery ( State of the Art ) to painfully gorgeous Wintersleepian soundscapes ( Bronte ). If any song on Making Mirrors has a shot at slaying the on...

What do you do when you're faced with the challenge of following up the most ambitious album of your career?  If you're Joel Plaskett, who released the mammoth 27-song triple album Three in 2009, you strip it down to the bare bones.  Scrappy Happiness , his first album with backing band the Emergency since 2007's excellent Ashtray Rock , boasts a mere ten songs, one of which he's revealing every week leading up to the album's release on March 27. Filled to the brim with old footage from Plaskett's personal collection, the video for (presumably first single) Somewhere Else hit the YouTube on Monday.  The song is a blunt 2 1/2 minutes in length, but its scope is huge, incorporating mandolin and a hypnotic, reverb-soaked Plaskett vocal, like an Out of Time -era R.E.M. vacationing in Amsterdam. Check out the clip below, and join me at the record store on March 27 (which is filling up fast with awesome releases).

Miami-based bringers of sunny doom rock Torche have gone about their business rather slowly since releasing Meanderthal , one of my favourite albums of 2008.  Aside from EP Songs for Singles in 2010 and last year's split with Part Chimp, it's been slim pickings for those of us patiently awaiting a proper follow-up to Meanderthal . Well, no more; their third album has officially been named ( Harmonicraft ), given a release date (April 24), and adorned some incredibly badass artwork. To tide us over for the long ten week wait, Torche has offered up Kicking , the lumbering beast of a first single, as a free stream/download.  The mp3 is yours for the low, low price of an email address.  It may or may not be indicative of the rest of the album, but its muddy Foo Fightersesque riff orgy is a welcome carryover from Meanderthal . Check out the track here (via Pitchfork), and start counting the days; Harmonicraft comes out April 24 on Volcom.

It's sort of ironic that the world was introduced to the Mars Volta's new single The Malkin Jewel in the wee hours this morning via a broadcast from Australian radio giant Triple J.  That's because the lead single from Noctourniquet , the band's sixth studio album, is decidedly not so radio friendly.  Sure, it's got some groove and a meaty hook, but it's also got a Floydian acid-trip breakdown, a creepy Cedric Bixler-Zalava vocal delivery, and enough reverb and ghostly noises to give Die Antwoord the heebie jeebies.  So yeah, slide it in right between Lana del Rey and LMFAO on the ol' top 40. Of course, us Volta fans wouldn't have it any other way.  And, honestly, it's nice to hear an uncompromised vision come out as the album's harbinger.  The group's last album was introduced via Since We've Been Wrong , a straight up ballad.  Not that there's anything wrong with that. Since its big shot radio debut, The Malkin Jewel (which I...

I'm not a huge fan of a lot of the "modern" indie rock scene; I find a lot of it much too flighty and timid, lacking hooks and punch.  So, there's a lot of acts that I've pretty much ignored over the years based on first impressions.  I don't recall what I culled my first impression of St. Vincent from, but am I ever glad I gave it another chance: Cheerleader is the new single from St. Vincent's third album Strange Mercy , out now on 4AD.

From nearly all accounts, the newly released Van Halen album A Different Kind of Truth is good.  And not just "it's cool I guess" good.  We're talking "holy shit they're BACK" good.  And it's not just David Lee Roth fanboys who are blown away; according to metacritic.com, which issues scores out of 100 to albums based on average critical review scores, the album is currently sitting at 75 (an average of, say, 3 out of 4 stars).  A score of 60 or higher generally reflects positive reviews.  So, yeah, it looks like Van Halen have returned to form; and not just barely, but in spectacular fashion. But you wouldn't know that from the album's first single.

I could do a fancy lead-in to this video, but I think it's better if you just hit play instead. Really, though, I have to hand it to OK Go; since a spat over company YouTube embedding policy with Capitol Records nearly two years ago freed them from their contract and turned them indie, they've ridden a constant wave of ingenuity and creative promotion, releasing a staggering eight music videos in conjunction with Blue Colour of the Sky .  This newest is perhaps the most insane, not to mention the highest-profile; this one got props during the Super Bowl .  It's already cleared two million views on YouTube; in fact, their YouTube channel has (as of this writing) garnered a total over 140 million hits.  Since the first video from the current album was released, they've been able to promote that album in endlessly innovative ways for what amounts to eight singles and 27 months (and counting).  When's the last time you saw an album promoted so successfully for such...

It's been a long time since we've heard new stuff from the Darkness.  As you may recall, the UK hair metal revivalists scored an improbable hit back in 2003 with I Believe in a Thing Called Love , a song that to this day remains one of the most fun singalongs you can have if you dare to do so.  After releasing a subpar sophomore album in 2005, they disbanded a year later so that singer Justin Hawkins could get over his coke-and-booze controlled lifestyle.  Reuniting for a handful of shows last year, the Darkness are now nearing completion of their third album and have offered up a free download of Nothing's Gonna Stop Us to whet our cock-rock appetites.  While not boasting the major league hooks of some of Permission to Land 's best moments, the single does a smashing job of lifting spirits.  The video makes for a hell of a watch; as the band embarks on batshit crazy adventures spawned from the mind of a young fan, you can't help but submit to its awesomeness....