Vol. 6 Episode 5

Family Force 5 have released a new single called Hold Your Hand. It is a free track that you can get from their web page.

Joanna Gruesome have a new album out soon. Slumberland will have preorders up soon. The album is called Peanut Butter and will be pressed on purple and green swirl vinyl. The first single from the album is called Last Year. The album will be in record stores in June.

Hot Chip will also have a new album out on May 19^th. This album is called Why Make Sense?

The new band Runaway Brother will have a new album out called Mother. It will be released on Tiny Engines records.  It will be released sometime in early 2015.

Jason Graveface has started a second record label/video rental store called Terror-Vision. There will be record subscriptions as with Graveface Records. It is a bit higher to opt into this record club as they really need the funds to get going. I am interested in some of the soundtracks that are going to be pressed though and I will be keeping my eye on what they are doing.

The new single from the new Death Cab For Cutie album is out and is called Black Sun. There is a lyric video and a regular video out there for your viewing.

Record Store Day 2015 is about two months away. The ambassador for this year has been announced as Dave Grohl. He is quoted as saying, “These places became my churches, my libraries, my schools. They felt like home.”

Kip Berman, who makes up basically all of The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, wished me a happy Birthday last week. I was so struck but then I saw that my wife asked him to do so. It still means a lot that he actually did. Thanks again Kip!

 Here we go...

Runaway Brother – Bedhead

This is the groups first release from back in 2012. It is a seven track mini-album. It was originally self-released on CD but was later released as a split 12” vinyl record with Secret Grief. They have a sound that reminds me of emo/screamo music from the early 00s. I guess you could call it a revival but Saves The Day, one of my favorite emo groups, just put out an album two years ago. I guess that means it is not really a revival as much as another band that can call itself emo? Any way, they are still selling the CD on their bandcamp page. Go pick one up if you’re into that type of music. I am excited to get the new album, Mother, which is coming out soon.

There was only one single released from the album that I am aware of. That is the first song from the album called Blueberries. It is a catchy track with stunning breaks and great guitar solos. The vocals are amazing and the bass has a fun line that strikes when you least expect it to.

The second track on the album and the one that I most like is called We Don't Have to Go Home Anymore. It is a song that shows independence and some of the responsibilities that go with it. It is a fun song that features acoustic guitar on the rhythm guitar part. I personally like that a lot. Electric guitar is all over everything these days and to showcase the acoustic over the electric gives a new dimension on music. There aren’t many bands that are doing this. With acoustic guitars now having the ability to be electrified or the old school way of micing the guitar it should be a no brainer to use this fantastic instrument in a rock n’ roll way.

It is a great album that deserves a listen especially with a new full length soon to hit.

Whirr – Pipe Dreams Redux

This is a complete remake of the album. The album was remixed and the tracks were reordered from what the original album is. It is all ten tracks but in a different order. The album art is completely different as well. This new version was pressed on blue vinyl. The limited edition vinyl was hand poured and, in some cases didn’t have a label on the record. Because the limited version was hand poured this means that every record is completely different from any other. My record doesn’t have the label and is colored maroon with white and black. I did write about the original album way back. If you’re interested in what I had to say you can check it out, from Vol. 3 Episode 12.

The group say that this is the way that they wanted the record to sound. They don’t really give a reason why the original sounds the way that it does but this is the way that they wanted it to be. Personally the re-arranging of the songs doesn’t really mean much in a world where people can arrange the songs the way that they want any way. I get the remixing of the songs. I can only guess that they were pressured in to keeping the songs smooth and clean to sell the record. The remixed version has a lick of distortion over all, where as the original had a smooth clean sound over all. It is actually hard for me to listen to the new version simply because I am use to the order of the songs on the album. I expect to hear Junebouvier after Reverse because that it the way that I have heard the album so many times. I am tempted to make a playlist of the Redux version with a song order like the original version. I think that I like the sound of both versions as they do have their merits but, like I said, that playlist is really tempting.

The Hold Steady/The Suicide Commandos – The Current Makes A Record

So, a while back for the tenth anniversary of 89.3 The Current, the radio station put together their first record. This is not to say that they haven’t put out a compilation record every year for the past eleven years plus. This is really a record with only to bands on it; it is a split record after all. I think what they are trying to get at is that when a group puts out a record it is just that one group. This is just that, although it is a split record which does happen frequently too. Although I don’t really like either group it is something that The Current has put out so I can’t say no. It is a 10” record with the cover being hand stamped by members of the radio station. All tracks were recorded in The Current studios or from a concert that The Current put on. It is cool that they put out a 10” record for their ten year anniversary though. The Hold Steady have four tracks on the A side of the album and The Suicide Commandos have three on the B side. It should be still available from your local record shops in Minnesota. You can buy it on line through their web pages. I got my copy on line at the Electric Fetus web shop. Here is a list of the shops that got the record to resell.

Agharta Records
Cheapo Records
Down in the Valley (3 locations)
Electric Fetus
Eclipse Records
Know Name Records
Orange Records (Fargo)
Treehouse Records

That is all for now...