Showing posts with label Lee Ranaldo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lee Ranaldo. Show all posts

Abby Zotz - Warbly Jets - The Callas with Lee Ranaldo

Abby Zotz - Good Bones / Stability.

Background - Abby Zotz contemplates the stories an old house could tell in her second video release from her solo recording, Local Honey. Good Bones, another co-write with long-time collaborator and former Two Roads Home partner Bryan Williston has a warm folk-country feel and features her live band and videography and direction by Ryan Osman.  

Ryan's careful attention to detail and the presence of the band create the deep fondness and humour found in real human connection and add depth to the message of the song: “that we stand alone, but within a larger community, and that our bones, like a home's, must be lived in and loved if we're to make any sense of this life.”  

Sharing her personal journey with an enchanting voice, soul-touching lyrics and a range of musical styles, Abby Zotz weaves tendrils of hope together with strands of humour, resilience and, ultimately, joy.

A gifted musician and vocal artist, Abby’s message is an uplifting and often poignant expression of the human experience. She explores tiny fragments of life, both the lighter side and the struggle of finding hope in a troubled world. Her songs are at once intimate and relatable.

From classical and world music to country and traditional folk, Abby’s exposure to a medley of styles in her childhood set the tone for a life-long thirst to explore new musical avenues and expand her range. Her multi-faceted career has taken her from the Royal Conservatory of Music Concert Hall to tavern stages to trios and (almost) everywhere in between. WEBSITE.


'Good Bones' and 'Stability' are taken from Abby Zotz's debut solo album 'Local Honey' which has just been released. The music video for 'Good Bones' captures the mood of the song with all it's melodic charm and classic Americana sophistication. I have also included 'Stability' from the album as it helps to demonstrate the musical diversity found within this tasteful collection of tunes, that and it also happens to be my favourite.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Warbly Jets - Shapeshifter.

Background - It's been a busy year for Warbly Jets: the band released their debut S/T LP last fall, followed it with multiple worldwide tours (including dates opening for Liam Gallagher), and most recently, had their single "Alive" featured as the intro song to the new PS4 game Spider-Man (Marvel / Sony / Insomniac Games.) On the heels of the game's release, they're sharing a new video for their track "Shapeshifter" and announcing preliminary tour dates for 2019.

Warbly Jets are heading back into the studio this month to record the follow-up to their debut LP, due out later this year. With the goal of keeping fans on their toes, they promise that it will be something you're not expecting to hear from the band: "On this new collection of songs, we made an effort to set no particular stylistic boundaries," frontman Samuel Shea explains. "As an artist I believe it's extremely important to make drastic differences as you transition through phases. That was something that Julien [O'Neill] and I talked about from the conception of this band. I hope you always hear what you're not expecting when you listen to a new release from us." WEBSITE.

Warbly Jets on Tour:
1/11 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
1/12 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
1/25 - Las Vegas, NV @ Bunkhouse
1/26 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room


We featured Warbly Jets a couple of times last year and on both occasions were impressed with their somewhat genre defying music. 'Shapeshifter' finds the band in a full on rock and roll mode, with a splashing of psychedelic vibes, as once again they take another musical twist, doing so with this sub two and a half minute musical blaster. 


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Callas with Lee Ranaldo - Trouble And Desire.

Background - Greek art rock band The Callas don’t just make music, but also films, art shows, and more, and after collaborating with Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo on the soundtrack of their film The Great Eastern, they’ve now also made a collaborative album with him. It’s called Trouble and Desire, and it’s due out on October 26 via Inner Ear and Dirty Water Records.

Lee Ranaldo said: It’s been a pleasure for me to know and collaborate with The Callas on their new album Trouble and Desire – we met a few years ago and I’ve been drawn into their artistic world in Athens. I’m a fan of their visual art tapestries and their art studio/venue and I’ve been having a great time making music with these like-minded travelers. Our collaboration took off quickly and was such a natural fit – we speak the same language and the performances we’ve done together have been a total blast! I love the community of artists that they have gathered around them, and I hope we will do more collaborations in the future.

We’re premiering the title track along with its video, which is mostly made up of performance footage of Lee and the band. This song is a perfect example of how Lee Ranaldo and The Callas “speak the same language” (as Lee put it). It’s got elements of ’60s psych, droning but driving jams, and a speak-sung vocal delivery — all elements that you can also hear in Sonic Youth and Lee’s solo material. WEBSITE.


With a dark and moody opening and the chanting of 'Trouble And Desire' the band launch into some gorgeous and potent rock where the vocals are gritty and determined. The harmonies sweeten things as they add even more hooks, to what is a splendid teaser ahead of next months album release.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Callas With Lee Ranaldo - NewTown - Mother Mink

The Callas With Lee Ranaldo - Acid Books.

Background - The Callas' latest single with Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo, "Acid Books" is out this week with its taut, post-punk grooves and hypnotic, scuzzed-up guitar lines, The Callas will find favor with fans of The Velvet Underground, The Horrors, and Neu!.

Meet The Callas…Led by brothers Lakis and Aris Ionas, the pair helm a Greek-based art, film and music collective, as well as hosting art and music events at their studio/performance space in Athens–the Velvet Room. As a band, The Callas feature Aris on guitar/vocals, Lakis on bass/vocals, as well as Chrysanthi Tsoukala on drums/vocals and Marilena Petridou on percussion. In 2016, the group collaborated with Lee Renaldo (Sonic Youth) on a soundtrack for their film The Great Eastern, and they have teamed up once again on The Callas upcoming LP Trouble and Desire due out October 26th via Inner Ear Records/Dirty Water Records. Discussing their work together, Ranaldo explains:

"Our collaboration took off quickly and was such a natural fit - we speak the same language and the performances we’ve done together have been a total blast! I love the community of artists that they have gathered around them, and I hope we will do more collaborations in the future”.

Acid Books” is our first listen in on The Callas upcoming album and it’s a post-punk burner brimming with frenzied energy. Opening with a swirl of droning ambiance and the rhetorical question, “Do you sleep at night?”, the track quickly launches headlong into a fever of activity. With the anxious pulse of a hard-driving bassline to lead the way, and punctuated by terse outbursts of guitar, The Callas pack a tightly wound sonic punch. Narrated by a vocal interplay between the group’s male and female members, and featuring the tumult of a shout-along chorus, the band’s dense gravity of sound will have you pumping your fist in triumph even as it drags you in a downward spiral with its dark undertow. WEBSITE.


A low key introduction with spoken words is the calm before the storm on 'Acid Books' which erupts into punk infused rock and roll with a battery of hooks to dig in deep, as the band deliver their lively brand of post art punk.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Newtown - Heart of Stone.

Background - NewTown continues to journey into their own progressive acoustic music with this stylistic Tyler Childers song, “Heart of Stone.”

Following the release of “Naomi Wise,” “Heart of Stone” is about a woman who does what she has to do to survive when hard times strike. The choppy, image-filled poetic lines sung by NewTown’s Kati Penn Williams paint a picture that leaves a mystery as to whether the “Heart of Stone” is one of cruelty, strength or both. Her delivery is both wayward and delicate and fitting to the restlessness of the lyrics from Childers, who is quickly becoming an acclaimed Roots Country songwriter.

This song continues the release of singles off the band’s upcoming release, NewTown, Old World, a selection of material that expresses the group’s talent for adding modern elements to traditional music. “Heart of Stone” is an example of how NewTown and their contemporaries are transforming and rejuvenating traditional southern music for the modern age. It’s a skilled blending of the conventional and the current.

“After I heard the song the first time, I couldn’t get the melody out of my head the rest of the day, so that put this one at the top of the list for me,” says Kati Penn Williams. “We hope you enjoy our groovy arrangement of this one.” WEBSITE.


Following on from 'Naomi Wise' a song we featured at the end of May we now have 'Heart Of Stone' another gorgeous slice of traditionally based Americana. Expect superb vocals and a fabulous musical backdrop, something NewTown do with seeming ease.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mother Mink - Coconut.

Background - The new single Coconut is a Pina colada oozing psych indie explosion from theatric electro popband Mother Mink. "Experiment and hit making is not two separate issues for us", says Mother Mink.

As usual, when Mother Mink releases new material there are dozens of fresh influences baked into the mix. This time, the inspiration comes from the tropical paradises but the band's sound is still distinct with rough drum loops, bit crushed synthesizers and Johan Axelsson’s sub baritone saxophone. And like that wasn’t enough, on top of this Mother Mink also spices things up with the charismatic singer Fanny Wistrands’s soulful voice.

Coconut is all about the exotic dream of the tropics. The tune is a comment on the blown up expectations of the perfect vacation that prevails in today’s western society. The tune is about how tourism really can destroy a country.

In the end, it’s a heads up to seizing the day and be happy with what you have! Happiness is all around you, not only on a tropical beach at the other side of the world. WEBSITE.


In Beehive Candy land we have been enduring something of a very sunny heatwave for the past few weeks, and a song such as 'Coconut' seems quite appropriate, with it's compelling summer charm. It might not be the tropics here, but I will settle for the sentiments of the bands song, a stay at home vacation is hot enough anyway this year. 


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bumper Catch Up featuring: Rubblebucket - Mollie Elizabeth - Lilly Hiatt - The Kearns Family - WILDES and St Francis Hotel - Lucette - Caroline Strickland - Mon Rayon - Lala Salama

Keeping the comments a little shorter so we can cram a few more songs in than usual, this is our first bumper catch up of some really fine r...