New Music: Cate Le Bon “Puts Me To Work”

With a Nico-esque voice captivating melodies strangely dark and sweet all at once, songstress Cate Le Bon holds her own as more than just the opening act for St. Vincent. However, she is the opening act for St. Vincent so don’t be late!

St. Vincent / Cate Le Bon Tour Dates
10/06 – St. Louis, MO @ Old Rock House
10/07 – Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall
10/08 – Boulder, CO Boulder Theater
10/10 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
10/12 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
10/13 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
10/14 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
10/18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Music Box
10/20 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
10/22 – Dallas, TX @ Kessler Theater
10/23 – Dallas, TX @ Kessler Theater
10/24 – Austin, TX @ Moody Theater at ACL Live
10/25 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s
10/26 – New Orleans, LA @ Tiptina’s
10/28 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
10/30 – Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theater
11/01 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
11/02 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
11/03 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
11/04 – Boston, MA @ Royale

Bio:
A new force in song craft, Cate Le Bon currently resides in Cardiff’s infamous French quarter and befitting a songwriter who only writes in the dark, her music is a heady and highly personal Gallic stew of equal parts Nico, Malkmus and the chronicler’s own emotional observations on the impossibility of existence.

Disheartened by the constant stream of dead animals she found herself burying in her parents farm in Penboyr, West Wales, and inspired by her fathers impeccable record collection (The Velvets, Neil Young, Pavement et. al) Cate packed her things and begrudgingly set sail for the neon lights and ample rehearsal space available in her country’s capital.

Following a string of club night shows in the city, Cate caught the attention of Super Furry Animals front man Gruff Rhys who over a cigar and a glass of brandy offered her some support slots with his band. Cate continued to gig extensively in the UK releasing singles and a Welsh language EP (Edrych Yn Llygaid Ceffyl Benthyg) on the Indie Record label Peski.

Knowing that there’s never too much of a good thing, Rhys roped Cate into his hip hop exchange program Neon Neon. What began as a guest vocal appearance on their debut single, “I Lust You,” resulted in a year of touring the world as part of their band.

During a month’s break from the road, with her confidence and enthusiasm doubled, Cate retired to Y Gerlan in the mountains of North Wales for a prophetic 10 day recording session which resulted in the release of her debut full length album Me Oh My to rapturous critical acclaim. On the back of the album’s US release in April 2010, Cate completed a two month tour stretching from SXSW in Texas to Café Hotel in Los Angeles, sending postcards from Boston, Buffalo, San Francisco and New York along the way.

Like a dutiful daughter Cate returned for the British festival season, seeing out the summer at Glastonbury, The Great Escape and Field Day to name a few, and snatching free time between performances to write new material in her North Walian bolthole.

At the dawn of 2011, Cate re-entered the studio to start work on a new record of her own. Drawing on her experiences of the last year, Cate has created collection of pop nuggets that sound like they’ve fallen off the back of a broken carousel, imbued with the playfulness of Faust and Syd Barrett and the tropical melodies of Os Mutantes. Existential word play abounds and fuzz fused guitar lines tear through like an angry bee in a CAN on CYRK, which is due in the US via The Control Group label in early 2012. “Puts Me To Work” is the first single from that record.

Cate Le Bon “Puts Me To Work” by Controlgroupco

Music Archive: The Smiths – Live in Madrid (1985)

The video below is a bootleg copy of The Smiths May 18,1985 performance at Paseo De Camoens in Madrid, Spain. This concert was originally recorded and broadcast on the Spanish television program Edad de Oro. Supposedly 300,000 people attended the concert which was held during the celebration of Madrid’s patron saint San Isidro.

Skip to the 1:45 mark to get to the music.

Set List:
01. William It Was Really Nothing
02. Nowhere Fast
03. I Want The One I Can’t Have
04. What She Said
05. How Soon Is Now?
06. Handsome Devil
07. That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore
08. Shakespeare’s Sister
09. Rusholme Ruffians
10. The Headmaster Ritual
11. Hand In Glove
12. Still Ill
13. Meat Is Murder

Encore 1:
14. Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
15. Miserable Lie

Encore 2:
16. Barbarism Begins At Home

Encore 3:
17. This Charming Man
18. You’ve Got Everything Now

New Music Review: Widowspeak “Widowspeak”

With a Cat Power alto and Mazzy Star whisper, Widowspeak‘s self-titled debut LP embodies the essence of the 90′s. But with band members born just at the cusp of the decade,  singer/songwriter Molly Hamilton, drummer Michael Stasiak and guitarist Robert Earl Thomas offer not a retelling of the 90′s but a new generation’s interpretation of the past, as seen through vintage MTV and self-indulgent coming-of-age movies. This is no longer a Reality Bites existence where we can slurp down Big Gulps and dream of Quarter Pounders without recourse, these kids of the internet age know too much and use their reference points wisely enough to create a sound that is both nostalgic and very much today.

A Brooklyn-based outfit, Hamilton and Stasiak hail from the Pacific Northwest, bringing with them the dark and gritty feel of the birthplace of grunge. Words like harsh and fade and remember pull you into Hamilton’s dreamy trance while you imagine dancing alone in the sparseness of a Lynchian nightmare. “I did what he said / went under water instead / everything looks the same / everything looks the same” (“Limbs”).

Despite its grungy base, Widowspeak’s debut becomes its own as it incorporates fits of 60′s pop (album opener “Puritan”), Velvet Underground-esque psychedelia (“Nightcrawlers”), and the dark twang of an old Western soundtrack (standout track “Gun Shy”). These turns keep Widowspeak from getting lost in the monotony of stereotype.

Hauntingly nostalgic, Widowspeak offers the perfect soundtrack as the weather turns. Perhaps the ghostly promise of a bright future for these newcomers.

Widowspeak s/t debut is out August 9, 2011 via Captured Tracks

“Gun Shy” by Widowspeak by forcefieldpr

“Harsh Realm” by Widowspeak by forcefieldpr

Widowspeak – “Nightcrawlers” by forcefieldpr

09/06 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s #
09/07 Baltimore, MD Ottobar #
09/11 New Orleans, LA TBD #
09/12 Jackson, MS Sneaky Beans #
09/13 Memphis, TN Hi-Tone #
09/14 St Louis, MO Billiken Club #
09/15 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle #
09/16 Toronto, ON Parts and Labor #
09/17 Syracuse, NY The 219 Takeover! #
09/19 Boston, MA Great Scott #
09/20 New York, NY Knitting Factory #

* = w/ Hoop Dreams
# = w/ Vivian Girls

Live Music: The Kills – Lollapalooza 2011

Part 1

Part 2

Watch: Reggae – The Story of Jamaican Music (documentary)

Bunny Wailer, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh (pre-dreadlocks)

All three episodes from the 2002 BBC documentary Reggae: The Story Of Jamaican Music have been kindly uploaded to Youtube, and you can watch them here now. The series, comprised of three hour long episodes, details the beginnings of the genre, from the invention of ska at the end of British rule in Jamaica, right up to the turn of the century.