I want to start things out this morning by reminding everyone about the Southeast Engine show coming up next week on Thursday night at Beachland Tavern. Don’t forget that we are accepting entries through Tuesday night for two free tickets to the show courtesy of Misra Records. All you need to do in order to enter is CLICK RIGHT HERE and send us a message with the words ‘Southeast Engine’ included in the message. I mentioned in my post the other day how excited we all are, and we are sure it is going to be a wonderful evening of music and drinks. One of Ohio’s best up and coming bands playing a set in their home state at one of Cleveland’s finest venues. And it could be your chance to meet all three Dicks in the flesh, an experience that would be worth the price of admission all by itself because we like to drink (a lot) and you never know what might happen. So even if you don’t win a pair of tickets, you would be well served to purchase one HERE and come see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into. I promise it will be the best $7 you have ever spent.
Speaking of awesome live shows, I had the privilege of catching Mazes last night here in Chicago at The Hideout. You may recall me professing my love for Mazes in an earlier post, in which I referred to their debut self-titled album as by far the best new release I have heard so far this year. Needless to say I was very excited to see their live set, and leaving The Hideout last night I was certainly not disappointed. For having played only a few shows together, the sound was incredibly tight and the band seemed to breathe a bit more fire into some of the tracks from their album. For instance, “Cat State Comity” (my personal favorite track) was augmented with a feedback-infused space age guitar solo while “I Have Laid in the Darkness of Doubt,” one of the more somber songs on the album, was an all-out jam at times, boasting a thunderous bass line. All in all, the show was everything I hoped it would be and then some. Singer Edward Anderson’s voice was brilliant throughout, as was his guitar work, an aspect that was somewhat less evident in listening to the recorded versions. The band also broke out a brand new, yet to be titled song for us that sounded amazing and certainly has me looking forward to more new material. Unfortunately there aren’t any upcoming live dates published at this time, but if we hear anything on that front we will be sure to pass it along, because this is a band you will definitely want to catch.
Unfortunately the lighting at The Hideout is less than spectacular, as is my camera, so I wasn’t able to salvage many usable photos from the evening. Below you will find a handful of the least awful from the bunch, as well as another mp3 from their self-titled debut. If you don’t own this album yet you are doing yourself a great injustice, and I urge you to pick up a copy ASAP.
Buy Mazes at Insound! – use code ‘foolsgold10‘ at checkout for 10% off your order!
In other musical news, we recently got our hands on the new single from the Glasgow quartet We Were Promised Jetpacks, titled “Quiet Little Voices,” courtesy of our favorite UK label, FatCat Records. WWPJ are joining fellow Scots The Twilight Sad and Frightened Rabbit in the FatCat stable, and much like their label mates and countrymen they are poised to take the United States by storm this summer. With a full-length debut album set to hit stores this June, the “Quiet Little Voices” single should serve as a sign of things to come from the band. Their sound has drawn comparisons to heavyweights such as Interpol and The Killers, though I personally think that sells them a bit short. While the new wave influence is evident, WWPJ relies on driving guitars rather than synthesizers to get their point across, giving them a more aggressive and harder feel. And as we all know, everything sounds just a little cooler with a Scottish accent anyway. Take a listen for yourself and remember their name, I think these guys are going to be big…
We Were promised Jetpacks – “Quiet Little Voices”
Today’s track from the vault is a song that helps me reconnect with my inner-child that was raised on heavy metal and guitar solos. Long before Jessie Keeler teamed with Al-P to become MSTRKRFT, he played alongside Sebastien Grainger as one half of Death from Above 1979. With Keeler on bass and Grainger on drums and vocals, the band released their first and only proper studio album, You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine, in October of 2004. Quite possibly the most awesome rock band to ever create music without the use of an actual six-string guitar, DFA 1979’s run was tragically short, ending when the duo parted ways in 2006. Part Black Sabbath, part LCD Soundsytem, the band’s work was undeniably heavy but at the same time so very danceable, like The Rapture on some kind of super steroids. Even now, almost five years later, it’s almost impossible to fathom that this is the work of only two men armed with nothing more than a bass guitar and a drum kit. While we will likely never hear anything new from them again, the band’s legacy will live through one and only album, which is masterpiece from start to finish. I will leave you with one of my favorite tracks from You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine, “Romantic Rights,” which is sure to help you kickstart your weekend a little early.
Death From Above 1979 – “Romantic Rights”
Buy Death from Above 1979 at Insound! – use code ‘foolsgold10‘ at checkout for 10% off your order!
