SOUND BITES

(Sorry for the tiny album art, it's all I could find.) With the release date for their sophomore album Death & Taxes looming, Nova Scotian rock juggernaut The Stanfields have eased any trepidation about them losing their edge with lead single Invisible Hands . While the subject matter takes a more serious turn than much of their debut, Invisible Hands retains the ragged melodies that make The Stanfields such a joy to listen to.  So it makes for a mature, natural progression for the band. Death & Taxes is out September 18.  Peruse all of the enticing pre-order options here .

I mentioned this earlier on, when The Company Band announced the release of their second EP Pros And Cons , but lamented the fact that we had yet to hear any kind of sample. Today I rejoiced, as the good folks over at Antiquiet got their paws on an exclusive premiere of Pros And Cons ' lead track, House Of Capricorn .  For those who've yet to hear, The Company Band is comprised of Clutch's Neil Fallon and a gaggle of veritable stoner rock all-stars from the likes of Fu Manchu and CKY. But, why am I wasting your time and mine by babbling?  The track is kick ass, and deserves to be played loud: Pros And Cons is out July 31 via Weathermaker Music.

Daniel Britt (of Spoon) and Dan Boeckner (of Wolf Parade & Handsome Furs) have spent their entire careers perfecting their respective brands of off-kilter pop/rock, so when it was announced that they'd be joining forces you can imagine this writer's excitement. As we gear up for the August 28 release of full-length A Thing Called The Divine Fits , they've started rolling out tracks.  Start with the Boeckner-led, synth-infused My Love Is Real :

My anticipation for Baroness' new album is well documented at this point.  I've already marveled at the pounding Take My Bones Away, and stood in slack-jawed amazement at the accessibility of March To The Sea. The third taste of Yellow & Green (or, more specifically, the third taste of Yellow ; no previews from Green have been released yet) arrived today in the form of closer Eula .  And it is an absolute masterpiece.  Of course.  I'm starting to think that every other band who's releasing an album this year should seriously consider throwing in the towel. According to reports, Yellow (from which all three genre-defying tracks we've heard so far are from) is the heavy half, while Green is more artistic.  It's too late to pander to me, guys; I'm already 100% invested.  See you July 17 (unless there's an album stream beforehand, in which case God bless your awesome souls).

For fans of Matt Mays, it's been a long four years since the release of his fourth album (and last with his former band El Torpedo) Terminal Romance .  That album delivered on Mays' early promise, a slick and streamlined channeling of Neil Young filtered through the brokenhearted dark pop of the 90s.  It was a huge momentum builder, but the disbanding of El Torpedo combined with the scant output of the last four years pretty much... well, torpedoed that momentum. Mercifully, the wait for a new Matt Mays studio album is nearing its end.  The album has a title ( Coyote ), and a first single that picks up where Terminal Romance left off.  Have a listen to Take It On Faith: A release date for Coyote has yet to be announced, but one can assume we'll have our hands on it somewhere in the neighbourhood of September/October.  In the meantime, you can also assume he'll be road testing some of those new songs as he plays a handful of dates this summer (includin...

A week ahead of its official release, Linkin Park is streaming their fifth album Living Things via iTunes .  Upon first listen, the one thing that becomes immediately clear is the album's streamlined approach; its 12 tracks clock in at a paltry 37 minutes.  Lead single Burn It Down , at a shade under four minutes, is the closest you're going to get to a magnum opus on this platter. As the album plays on, it also becomes apparent that the blatant pop leanings of that single doesn't exactly make it the harbinger of Linkin Park gone full-blown pop that some thought it could be (myself included).  However, it isn't quite the "return to the roots" that's it's being marketed as either.

Last weekend, we celebrated the birthday of a certain under-appreciated rock masterpiece and looked back fondly of the days of artistic risks and non-compliance. Perhaps even more so than Faith No More, Radiohead built their career on bold moves and refusal to pander to closed-minded fans.  And, just as Faith No More kickstarted an era of difficulty with Angel Dust , Radiohead fired the salvo that defined the rest of their risky career with OK Computer .

A little while back, we heard the first taste of Baroness' upcoming third (and fourth?) album Yellow & Green in the form of lead single Take My Bones Away .  Upon hearing it I surmised (correctly) that fans of their early, more metallic material, would be spitting venom at Baroness' decision to record a straightforward rock song.  The audacity! If Take My Bones Away was the sound of a band defying closed-minded naysayers, then March To The Sea is the sound of a band planting a cold, muddy boot on the throats of closed-minded naysayers, pointing a pistol to their heads, and demanding that if they don't like change they should stay the fuck away, because what Baroness is doing cannot be confined by genre restrictions and unreasonable expectations. And with that, cue the re-aggravated throng of dum-dums screaming "not metal", "I only like their first two EPs", "they sold out", "I never really liked these guys", and "t...

Okay, fair enough; we've all had our gripes with Billy Corgan over the years.  His solo album was garbage, so he resurrected the Smashing Pumpkins name; this seems to be the main point of contention for most.  And, now that Corgan's the only remaining original member, it's all too easy to write Oceania off as a cash grab, a desperate last ditch effort to rake in some dough on the legacy of past successes.

This is a real thing: The sad part is this: even if The Offspring position this song as a blatant mockery of the current pop music scene, they're making a much bigger mockery of themselves. If you're a 12 year old girl, Days Go By is out June 26.

When it comes to albums' anniversaries, it seems these days that there's always a big brouhaha.  Deluxe reissues, super-deluxe reissues, remastered, revisited, ridiculousness all around.   So it's refreshing when we can commemorate an anniversary without all of the hype, and just listen to the damn thing again because it's the right thing to do. Faith No More's fourth album Angel Dust came out twenty years ago today.  Following up the unlikely platinum smash The Real Thing , Angel Dust was received poorly upon initial release, with many Epic fans recoiling in disgust at the decidedly noncommercial material that littered the album.  In fact, I was one of them; it wasn't until a couple of years later that I gave the album a second chance.  I'm thankful that I did; not only do I now consider it one of the greatest albums of all time, but it also instilled in me the love of diversity that's been key to my enjoyment of music ever since. I'll have...

After being talked about and teased for months, Clutch have finally released their new single.  Pigtown Blues is backed with an excellent acoustic version of Motherless Child .  It was just released digitally and on 7" picture disc with the artwork you see on the left. Pigtown Blues is pretty much what you expect from Clutch at this point in their career; dirty, bluesy and funky goodness.  It may not have the same explosive effect an undisputed champ like Electric Worry has, but it definitely whets the appetite while waiting for Maryland's finest to finally get out a new album.  Three years and counting is a long time since Strange Cousins From The West , and some of us are getting a little impatient. Anyway, the good folks at Soda Shop Records took the new record for a spin and gave us a stream:

1. Muse have a new album coming out. 2. That album is called The 2nd Law . 3. It's being released in September. 4. Muse are about eight years late on the propaganda front. 5. Gas costs over $64 a gallon where Muse lives. 6. The ground is pissed, and is coming to get you. 7. Your television is an evil wub-wub robot just waiting to happen. I assume Muse isn't pulling a Korn on us, but if they are I hope they at least bring that robot on tour.

I'm feeling a distinct sense of nostalgia today.  You see, a few years back, I was posting news and videos (and, apparently, practicing for this blog) as creator of a Facebook group.  Every Friday, I'd post a particularly bizarre music video under the heading "WTFriday".  Whatever ungodly mockery of the art form floated into my head was presented for view amongst my friends as a way to say, "This thing is so twisted.  Is it awful or awesome?  Either way, let's all at least try to get a laugh out of it." Now, The Black Keys have given us a new video for Gold On The Ceiling .  And WTFriday is reborn: