Portland, Oregon experimental pop rockers Rare Monk, comprising Dorian Aites, Isaac Thelin, Jacob Martin, Forest Gallien and Rick Buhr, are set to release a limited edition double a-side single, ‘Splice’ / ‘Sleep Attack’. Due out on 18th Feb via B3SCI Records, the effort was recorded in Los Angeles with producer Wally Gagel (Best Coast, Muse). Teasing the upcoming release, Rare Monk have shared ‘Splice’, a spacey and intoxicating track. Listen to it below.
Photo by Jeremy Scott
As we had previously mentioned, Les Claypool invited guitarist Bryan Kehoe to form a new project called Duo de Twang and the pair are releasing a full-length album in less than two weeks. Due out on February 4th via ATO Records, Four Foot Shack features ‘twang-ified’ covers of tracks from Les own solo material and Primus, Bee Gees, Jerry Reed, Stompin’ Tom Connors, Johnny Horton and The Chantaysand.
Their first single, a cover of Primus’s ‘Jerry Was a Race Car Driver’, got us all salivating and they are following it with another excellent single, this time a cover of Alice in Chains’ ‘Man In The Box’. Listen to it now.
Nearly two years ago, experimental singer/ songwriter Sufjan Stevens, rapper Serengeti and producer/ composer Son Lux teamed up for a new collaborative project under the moniker s / s / s. Following the release of their Beak & Claw EP last year, the trio renamed themselves as Sisyphus and are set to release their eponymous debut full-length album. Stevens explained the name change:
“s/s/s started to sound like the Nazi Schutzstaffel with a lisp so we had to change it. We wanted a word with three S’s and Sisyphus felt like a capable anti-hero—endless struggle, the human plague, the existential condition.”
The forthcoming album, which was initially meant to be and EP, is partly inspired by the art of visual artist Jim Hodges, and was commissioned by the Walker Art Center and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music series in Minneapolis/Saint Paul. Sisyphus will see the light of day on March 18th via Asthmatic Kitty and Joyful Noise Recordings.
‘Calm It Down’ is the first single taken from the album and it comes with a lyric video if you feel like rapping along. Enjoy.
Nate Salman, Drew Brown, Scott Brown, Brijean Murphy and Walker Johnson make up Oakland based outfit Waterstrider. Our first taste of their music comes in the shape of an incredible cover of ‘Twice’, the very excellent and sensual track by Little Dragon. Waterstrider used two field recordings from a farm in Ithaca, New York to mark an astounding change halfway through the song, as if the night turned into day. “As the sun comes up, and with it the diurnal fauna, we chant a mantra that affirms our individuality on this planet”, explained the band. “We are in control of our own fate, defined only by our own dreams and intentions.”.
Allured by this cover, I directed my ears to Waterstrider’s bandcamp. Their two EP’s released to date, Wind-Fed Fire and Constellation, amalgamate an array of genres and influences from all over the place into a distinctly original and infectious sound. Waterstrider are gearing up to release their debut full-length album later this year and we’ll keep our ears peeled for more updates.
Now listen to their cover of ‘Twice’ and straight after listen to a couple of cuts we’ve picked from both EP’s, ‘Edge of the Light (Live)’ and ‘Constellation’.
Last Autumn, 18-year old London native Shivum Sharma unleashed his first demo song entitled ‘Flicker’. Originally a beautifully bedroom crafted piano and vocal affair, ‘Flicker’ has now been given the polishing treatment by Warp Records’ artist/producer extraordinaire Kwes. The track is getting its own EP, Flicker EP, slated for a March 3rd release via National Anthem. Now listen to ‘Flicker’ below.
Derbyshire based trio Haiku Salut have just unveiled a video for their beautiful and enchanting track ‘Train Tracks for Wheezy’, lifted from their debut album Tricolore. This homemade video, shot in 1926, features a steam train ride through the Canadian Rockies. Here it is.
Tricolore is out now via How Does It Feel To Be Loved.
