Rarely does a band’s demo sound so fully formed, but Deafheaven’s 2010 demo was. Essentially, Deafheaven emerged out of the proverbial womb as a seven foot, 300 pound behemoth. With their demo, they were already able to demonstrate a mastery of mixing many diverse genres and approaches. Their music expertly mixed black metal, post rock and hardcore in a masterful way. Less than a year later, they have released their first full length for Deathwish Inc and it is no lightweight either.
Category Archives: News
PG.99 Announces 2nd Reunion + New Release
The immensely influential Virginia band PG.99 have announced a second reunion show, now set to perform on Saturday August 27th at The Black Cat in Washington, DC.They will be performing alongside longtime friends and New Orleans doom masters THOU. PG.99’s first reunion show will be in Richmond, VA at Best Friends Day, August 19th with Converge, Capsule and The Catalyst.
To coincide with the reunion shows, the band’s collection-album, “Singles”, will be issued on vinyl for the first time via Robotic Empire (originally released on CD by Reptilian Records in 2003). This 18-track collection was newly mastered by James Plotkin and three preview tracks are streaming on bandcamp orsoundcloud. The vinyl is available in three different colors and the preorder can be found here.
For the “Singles” Collection cover + tracklisting….
Chuck Ragan Announces “Covering Ground”
Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music) has announced that he will release his third solo album entitledCovering Ground on September 13th on SideOneDummy Records. Covering Ground was recorded by Ragan and his band, Jon Gaunt (fiddle) and Joe Ginsberg (upright bass), between three different tours at Fireside Sound Studios in Silverlake, CA with Blind Melon’s Christopher Thorn in the Spring. The album is being described as “a blue collar, Americana record filled with honest road songs” and will feature numerous guest appearances such as Frank Turner andGaslight Anthem‘s Brian Fallon. Ragan has plans to tour the world continuously this year in support of the album, and will unveil tour dates shortly.
For the album’s artwork and track listing…
Direct Hit!- Domesplitter
Direct Hit!’s debut album Domesplitter is a collection of what the fans voted on as the group’s most noteworthy tracks off of their first five split 7”s, rerecorded and reimagined with a new, consistent lineup and a concrete goal in sight. The band’s signature blend of anthemic pop-punk is fairly reminiscent of genre staples The Copyrights andScreeching Weasel, and when tied in succinctly with fellow pumper-upper Andrew WK creates an unpredictable slew of party punk with enough heart to keep you coming back for more. Domesplitter hits the nail on the head like none of the band’s previous short run efforts have been able to. In true Direct Hit! fashion, the listener is slapped in the face with the first “fuck you, get pumped!” before even the opening track has a chance to make an appearance, and again a mere five minutes later.
Bands You Need To Know- Caves
Caves are a great energetic pop punk band from Bristol, UK. Last year, they posted mp3s from their first seven inch on the Fest MessageBoard and those songs really grabbed my attention. The band is fun, passionate and really remind me a lot of the defunct Discount. When I saw them at the Fest 9, they did not disappoint and were amongst the best sets that I saw that weekend.
Razorcake 10 Year Anniversary Show
The not for profit magazine Razorcake is celebrating their 10th Anniversary on August 12th at the American Legion Hall in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. This is promised to be a grand old time that will feature the Arrivals, Toys that Kill, Hex Dispensers and the Young Offenders.
Admission for the show is $10, but you’ll also receive a complimentary 6-issue subscription/renewal of Razorcake which is a heck of a deal.
Polar Bear Club Announce “Clash Battle Guilt Pride”, Full US Tour to Follow
Polar Bear Club have announced their third full length album, Clash Battle Guilt Pride, and set a street date for September 13th. The album was recorded this past Spring in Baltimore with producer Brian McTernan (Texas Is The Reason, Strike Anywhere, Set Your Goals). Vocalist Jimmy Stadt said of the record:
“[There are songs about] drive and ambition, and what it does to yourself and what it does to your relationships… Musically, we’re really, really playing up our choruses, moreso than we ever have before. We have three-chorus songs. We’ve never really done that. It’s great. It just makes sense for us to be doing that now, and it feels good, and we all love it.”
Additionally, Polar Bear Club are revealing the cover art bit-by-bit on their new website every day until this coming Friday. They will be touring the UK and Europe along with Man Overboardbeginning July 13th.
Update: The band will be embarking on a seven-week US tour in support of Clash Battle Guilt Pride beginning September 1st in Rhode Island. Fireworksand Balance and Composure will provide support on the entire stretch, while the opening slot will feature Make Do And Mend and Such Gold on separate legs.
View the dates below:
New Seaweed Seven Inch
What better way to celebrate America’s independence than with new music from the state of Washington? On the 4th of July, Seaweed will be releasing a new seven inch through No Idea Records. This will be the band’s first release since 1998’s Actions and Indications
Magnet Magazine is hosting a stream of the new two tracks, “Service Deck” and “The Weight”. So before you get all wasted on beers and hot dogs, head over to No Idea or your local record shop and grab the new jams.
Hot Water Music Announce New Label + New Releases
As earlier announced, Hot Water Music have been spending their summer months working on new material and gearing up for their European tour with Make Do and Mend. To coincide with that European tour, Hot Water Music have declared that they will be self-releasing a two song seven inch in August. Also, the band has made the announcement that their next full length will be released by Rise Records with a target release date of spring 2012.
Rise Records Announcement + European Tour Dates below…
City of Ships To Release Sophomore Album
Avant-rock trio City of Ships have announced their much anticipated sophomore album, Minor World, which will be co-released by Translation Loss Records and Sound Study Recordings on July 19. The band is streaming a song, “Low Countries”, from the upcoming album on Brooklyn Vegan.
If you like what you hear, Sound Study Recordings is offering fans the chance to pre-orderMinor World on limited edition (500) 210 gram vinyl here and Translation Loss is doing a CD preorder here.
For Minor World track listing + City of Ships tour dates….
National Underground 