Author: Max Hammer

Discovering and sharing the best DIY/alt/indie/underground music you've never heard. I've been writing about music and other topics since the mid-1990s. We are also music industry professionals - PR; promotion; management; branding; etc.

NEWS: Members of Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam form supergroup 3rd Secret

Posted on by Max Hammer

Hark! A new supergroup hath risen, featuring members of grunge-era innovators Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam.

Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron (who’s also been drumming for Pearl Jam since 1998), D.C. hardcore outfit Void guitarist Bubba Dupree, as well as Giants in the Trees vocalists Jennifer Johnson and Jillian Raye, have joined forces as 3rd Secret.

The band surprise-released its debut self-titled album yesterday. The album was recorded in collaboration with fellow grunge musician and Sub Pop associate Jack Endino. True to form, 3rd Secret recently made its live debut with a secret show at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture.

In February, Novoselic shared that he was working on a “secret” album? It wasn’t his first secret — it was 3rd.

We might be staring down the barrel of a grunge renaissance, given how a Nirvana classic recently made its Hot 100 debut thanks to The Batman, and Kurt Cobain‘s final days are set to be dramatized in a new opera.

Meanwhile, Cameron comes to Canada this fall with some newly rescheduled Pearl Jam tour dates; Billy Corgan would not want you to forget how much Smashing Pumpkins influenced both bands, which is admitted pretty audible on the 3rd Secret record.

Stream the supergroup’s 11-track debut below, though a news bulletin posted to their website says the album is still in the process of being uploaded to all streaming platforms.

Post by Megan LaPierre for Exclaim Mag
Photo by Mike Hipple

VIDEO: Interpol shares new single video, ‘Something Changed’

Posted on by Max Hammer

NEW YORK CITY – Post-punk revival masters Interpol are not letting the newest post-punk revival pass them by.

In fact, the band has just released the second new song, “Something Changed.” The semi-creepy track – that later breaks into a driving chorus – and video follow as the second-part of and follow-up to Part One, which features the song “Toni” as well as musi-drama video scenes.

Both singles are, of course, from Interpol’s new upcoming album, The Other Side Of Make-Believe, the band’s seventh album.

Directed by Van Alpert, the film tells a story of star-crossed lovers; now we’ll all have to wait for the ending, which Paul Banks teases will be the next episode of the trilogy.

“The lives of the three are intertwined in a nebula of fear, retribution, desire, and defiance,” Banks said. “Who will receive their just deserts? Stay tuned and find out”.

In “Something Changed,” reality and reverie converge as the two lead characters fall into a dream state while being pursued by a mysterious figure – played by Banks.

ALBUM: Wet Leg drops self-titled debut

Posted on by Max Hammer

Wet Leg feels like a band that would have absolutely dominated that teen blog/ tumblr period of 2007-2012.

Maybe it’s because I was at the peak of my awkward teen powers in that period, but having listened through the self-titled debut album from The Isle of Wight act a couple of times now, their sound has thrown me back more than a decade to a time where trying to being cool and unique in an online space was a lot more time consuming than it should have been (please keep in mind I wasn’t allowed social media or anything of the like while at school, so this is all purely anecdotal from friends who did).

With a sound wedged in that mysterious and chaotic vibe somewhere between Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Le Tigre, Gossip and Metric, there’s been an incredible buzz surrounding the English group for the past 12 months that could (and honestly probably will) transcend and connect to generations past, present and future.

After bursting out with the inescapable “Chaise Longue” in the middle of 2021, Wet Leg has continued to release a flurry of catchy, hook laden and slightly sardonic hits over the past six months or so, all of which have managed to make it onto their debut.

While it makes sense to lead into your debut album having released a couple of songs, Wet Leg has gone one step further and by the time of release, they have already released half of the songs on the album.

Some may interpret this as showing their cards too early. I’m here to say, yes they have shown their cards, but luckily for the band, it’s just about a royal flush.

Continue reading review by Dylan Marshall on The AU Review

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Andrew LaVogue

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PORTLAND, Maine – DIY musician and singer/songwriter Andrew LaVogue, originally from Northeast Ohio, now lives along the rocky New England coast where he focuses on instrumental music inspired by a range of influences.

Take as an example his latest track, “Sweet and Simple.” The song title does good justice to the feel and vibe of the instrumental track.

Song Description of “Sweet and Simple” from LaVogue: This song is supposed to be as honest as the title suggests, this is simply a sweet and simple tune. In addition to that, I have been writing songs that are representative of where I’m from in rural Ohio. This tune is meant to represent the simplicity of growing up among the farmlands of the Midwest.

We’ve been fans of LaVogue since featuring some of his desert rock sounds in 2020 with the track, “Oh, Sunny Day?”

LaVogue’s music combines lo-fi, art rock, experimental and psychedelia with what he tags “American primitive guitar playing”.

Last year, LaVogue released his debut EP Surrounded by the Northern Lights, and has since written music for the documentary “Rick Parker, I’m Afraid” and has had music placed in some commercials.

His overall goal, he says, “is to carry on the tradition of creative solo guitar” DIY music.

Other notable tunes include “Remember When” and “Sun At Sand Beach” and the graceful “Footfalls Echo”, a bit reminiscent of the late, great experimental guitarist Michael Hedges. Very rhytmic, semi-minialistic, string-slapping instrumental acoustic guitar playing that is nothing less than heart-warming, epic and happy.

UK National Album Day 2022 will focus on debut albums

Posted on by Max Hammer

Sync your diaries everybody, this is no April fools joke, the UK’s National Album Day really is returning on Saturday 15 Oct with ‘debut albums’ the theme for the proceedings.

It’s the fifth year that record industry trade group BPI and the Entertainment Retailers Association have staged the annual event to celebrate the album format, with support from sponsor Bowers & Wilkins and media partner BBC Sounds.

BPI boss Geoff Taylor and ERA chief Kim Bayley say in a joint statement: “Artists love telling their stories through the artform of the album and fans love to listen, but in a world where there is more streaming of individual songs, we take the appeal of the album format for granted.

National Album Day is about celebrating the continuing vitality and cultural relevance of the long player, in particular with the next generation of fans, and we invite everyone who loves the format to join in and enjoy this year’s National Album Day”.

Meanwhile, focusing on this year’s specific theme, Giles Pocock, VP Brand Marketing at Bowers & Wilkins, adds: “The debut album is an important milestone for any artist and remains such a pure form of storytelling.

Everything from the track order and artwork, through to the arrangements and choice of recording studio can feel like a big decision. We are pleased to continue our support for National Album Day, helping to celebrate those truly great debut albums that made their own rules and brought something truly unique into the world”.

Original report from CMU

Radar Love: Vermont 20-Year-Old Musician Hans Williams

Posted on by Max Hammer

Hans Williams is a twenty-year-old songwriter from Vermont who is an artist to watch thanks to a number of heartfelt tracks and a promising future in music.

This is shown specifically in Williams’ 2020 mini-hit DIY single, “Body On My Shoulders”. This song was written about a tragic experience Williams had.

His latest track, “All Is Well,” is, in a sense, a follow-up to “Body on My Shoulders.”

Williams wrote the latter as a way to process the suicide of his roommate who Williams was the first to discover.

The newer track, he says, is about “the period of time before I felt ready to have those conversations – before I realized what real catharsis lay behind the barrier of opening up.”

“This song is about the fear and guilt I dealt with after the fact”, Williams explains in an Instagram post.

“The completion of this song in a way feels like I’ve let some of that guilt and fear go. I hope it can do the same for anyone dealing with tragedy”.

As a result, he is receiving many messages from individuals who connect with the song through a similar experience.

In response to these conversations, Williams notes that he feels validated upon hearing that others face similar tragedies and respond in the same way that he has.

Kurt Vile drops pensive new video for ‘Mount Airy Hill (Way Gone)’

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PHILADELPHIA, Penn. – Indie rock artist Kurt Vile has been teasing his upcoming new album – (watch my moves) – with a couple of single drops lately.

His latest is the pensive, flashback track, “Mount Air Hill (Way Gone),” where we see Vile deliver a reminising vocal croon together with light guitars mixed to a laid-back groove.

The just-dropped revealing new video depicts a wandering Vile coming to terms with himself and his past as he skateboards through Mount Airy Hill‘s streets and experiences hallucinations in the woods. His childhood hometown is a suburb of Philadelphia.

The video and single follow the release of “Like A Child” earlier this month and “Like Exploding Stones” in February, coinciding with the announcement of the album.

It’s hard to believe that the otherwise prolific multi-instrumentalist, singer and producer last released new material in 2018 with the album Bottle In.
The new album, his ninth, is set for release on April 15 via Verve Records – his first release with the label.

In a statement regarding the DIY-produced album – recorded in Vile’s home studio known as OKV Central – Vile writes: “When Waylon Jennings became an outlaw country artist, he liked to record at Hillbilly Central, which was Tompall Glaser’s studio. OKV Central is my version of that in Mount Airy.

“I’ve come into my own here, and at the same time I’m getting back to my home-recording roots.”

Vile and his band will kick-off a multiple-city tour across the U.K. and Ireland beginning August 26 at London’s All Points East festival.

Belle & Sebastian drop single and video to raise funds for Red Cross Ukrainian relief

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Scottish indie band Belle & Sebastian have shared new audio and video for the single “If They’re Shooting At You”  to raise money for Ukraine‘s victims of war.

The band hired photographers in Ukraine covering the conflict in order to create a “visual collage” set to the music of the single.

“We got in touch with various photographers and creatives in Ukraine and they generously said that we could put their pictures to music. In creating this we aspire to show a hopeful, defiant side, as well as bringing an awareness to the plight of the people there.”

According to frontman Stuart Murdoch, all revenues generated from the song and video, including streaming, digital sales, and publishing royalties will be sent to the Red Cross‘ disaster relief efforts in Ukraine and for Ukrainian refugees in countries around the world. One of those services is called Restoring Family Links, where Red Cross will attempt to reconnect family members who’ve lost communication due to the war.

Murdoch asks people who want to help to send a donation to the UK Red Cross or any trusted organization working with Ukrainian war victims. Never give money to an organization you’ve never heard of, especially if they contact you directly out of the blue.

“The band had just started rolling out tracks for our new album, and it all felt a bit silly to be honest. We had one track called ‘If They’re Shooting At You’, it’s a song about being lost, broken and under threat of violence. The key line is: ‘If they’re shooting at you kid you must be doing something right’.”

bellesebastian-abit0fprevious

Other musicians and bands involved in Ukrainian aid relief efforts include Elton John, Nick Cave, Arcade Fire, Iggy Pop, Green Day, Franz Ferdinand along with a growing list of others.

Belle & Sebastian’s 10th studio album, A Bit Of Previous, is set to be released on May 10th.

 

Arcade Fire drops new single, ‘The Lightning I, II,’ ahead of new album

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arcade-fire-ukraineIndie rock trailblazers Arcade Fire have dropped their first new track in five years, “The Lightning I,II,” from the upcoming new album, We, set to drop on May 6th.

The song was first debuted Monday night at a Ukraine benefit concert in New Orleans.

For their first official single in almost five years (“Generation A” was played for a special Stephen Colbert Election Night 2020), fans received a postcard containing the sheet notes to the song’s effervescent riff.

Interesting, the release follows a M.O. from the band over the years where new single releases come in pairs, like “Sprawl I, II” from The Suburbs (2010), or in sequences like “Neighbourhood #1, #2, #3, #4” from AR’s break-through debut album, Funeral (2004).
arcade-lightning-sheet-music
The new double-single release is likely to please long-time AR fans – it’s ambitious, sprawling, and true-to-form. About the new tracks, NME wrote:  “[Like] the band’s second album, 2007’s  Neon Bible , there are quick dashes of the uncertain spirituality that has long lurked in frontman Win Butler’s lyrics.

He sings that “Jesus Christ was an only son” and that the “voices in the sky” – as well as a bolt of light – could lead them to some kind of salvation. The message, as ever, is somewhat murky, but you sense that they definitely want you along for the ride.

Parallels to  Neon Bible’s noirish thrill are apt – ‘(Antichrist Television Blues)’, anyone? – but the song’s success is built on the band’s consistently concise and inventive melodies. The twinkling piano motif that guides the tracks, even though the punkish ‘The Lightning II’, is a continuation of their elite songwriting'”

Then there’s ‘Rabbit Hole’ 

Earlier this week, fan footage of a new Arcade Fire song, “Rabbit Hole,” emerged online after the band performed at a Ukraine benefit concert in New Orleans.

The new track was performed along with other new tracks like “Age of Anxiety” and “The Lightning I, II.” The concert was also live-streamed on Instagram and Tik-Tok.

The band performed ‘Rabbit Hole’ alongside other new cuts “The Lightning I, II” and “Age of Anxiety” at a Ukraine benefit concert in New Orleans earlier this week.

However, “Rabbit Hole” was not – the stream went down before the track was performed – so this is sort of a rare treat from a fan shot of the track as it played live.

The song borrows elements from “Memories Of The Age of Anxiety,” a 45-minute instrumental ambient track AR released for a meditation app last year. The version the band performed live features vocals from frontman Win Butler.

 

Beach House tops Billboard charts with ‘Once Twice Melody’

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Baltimore dream pop duo Beach House’s new album, Once Twice Melody , continues to chart, a week after scoring their first No.1 and the biggest-selling album in the country, according to Billboard.

We don’t usually mention Billboard on this blog, but this is one case where an exception is not only appropriate, but warranted thanks to the big, dreamy, soft hugs on the 18-song, double album (just wish it had a better album cover) that is Once Twice Melody .

The rockstar-duo of keyboardist/vocalist Victoria Legrand and guitarist, keyboardist, and backup vocalist Alex Scally, have nailed a dream-pop/shoegaze sound and style that is the music of angels, blue skiies and soft rolling green hills.

Yeah, maybe corny, but who gives a fuck? They craft gorgeous, beautiful, dreamy, melodic, soaring, etc. music on one track after another for more than a decade now.

During that same time, BH has gradually gained the ear and respect of many top musicians in various genres.In fact, Kayne West is reportedly in the studio with BH right now. (West actually gave Indie Rock Cafe a huge boost back in 2009 when he gave some love, and a link, to IRC on his blog.)

It was four years ago when Baltimore indie duo Beach House dropped their last album – the epic, blockbuster simply titled 7, marking BH’s seventh studio album.

A number of critics have called 7 BH’s best album to date, which is a remarkable statement when you consider the quality of albums like Bloom, Depresson Cherry and Devotion. They may need to update such declarations based on the band’s latest release.

From all indicators, Once Twice Melody, is on its way to matching or out-doing critics’ and fans’ existing or previously-favorite BH album – as scandalous as it is to say around Beach House super fans who came of age in the past decade-plus.

Top 10 Songs Playlist, December 2021

Posted on by Max Hammer

A blockbuster year for album releases, 2021 is quickly coming to a close as we head in to 2022 – lots of 2’s.

From those releases have spawned a series of popular singles that make-up the last Top 10 Indie Songs playlist of the year. They include singles (and the albums) from Psychedelic Porn Crumpets; Snail Mail; Elbow; The KVB; Blake Rose; Richard Dawson/Circle; IDLES; Tonstartssbandht; Bakar and Clairo.

The sequence of the tracks is not a hard (but close) placement because we might feel like No. 4 is No. 2 in a week from now; or, again, for example, if No. 8 went up to No. 5, etc. It’s more like – these are our favorite ten tracks of the month – mostly from albums dropped during December.

That’s another reason that sequencing the tracks in a one to ten order would be skewed anyways because many of the top tracks on an album are dropped months earlier.

NOTE: We’ll be posting the Top 10 DIY Songs, December 2021 playlist in the next couple of days.

If you want to submit your own music, we’d be glad to give it a listen (as long as it falls within our genre-scope). Enjoy and please share/like/follow if you wish.

IRC’s 2022 New Years Indie Songs Playlist

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It’s that time again – the countdown of the year 2021 to the year 2022.

Below is a playlist of indie rock/pop/folk/etc. for your New Years Eve party needs.

This playlist features songs from Camera Obscura; The Walkmen; DCFC; The Decemberists; Beach House; FLeet Foxes; Low; First Aid Kit and many others.