Spinner

Cut Off Your Hands Meet 'Expectations'

Jonah Flicker — 2009-05-08T15:00:00 00:00

Disregard the petty antagonism Flight of the Conchords has been perpetrating; the beef between New Zealand and Australia is exaggerated ... sorta. Kiwi band Cut Off Your Hands set the record straight at their recent Interface taping, wherein they performed songs off 'You and I.' "I guess it's a bit of fun really," singer Nick Johnston tells Spinner. "[New Zealand is] the younger brother. [Australia is] just a lot more arrogant and cocky."

Cut Off Your Hands have been rather busy over the past few years, dealing with a forced name change, releasing albums on several different labels, recording with famed producer Bernard Butler and, of course, touring. Still, Johnston's singular focus remains steadfast. "My goal is to write music which can still be relevant in a few years time, but also has something more to it that's a little raw or loud or really fast," he says. "[Even] if nothing goes well, you still have the songs you love playing each night, because you're playing them 150 times a year."

Watch Cut Off Your Hands on the Interface

M. Ward Captures 'Time' on New Album

Jonah Flicker — 2009-02-19T16:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Exclusive

M. Ward released his new album, 'Hold Time,' this week, and it's not a bad way to start off the a new year, given his prolific activity in 2008. Ward's collaboration with actress/singer Zooey Deschanel, She and Him, was a staple on many critics' top-ten lists, as well as a fan favorite. Ward isn't giving up many details on the status of She and Him's sophomore release, though. He tells Spinner that the loose target date is sometime in 2010, as they're only in the demo stage, "but it's gonna be very, very good." We'll take his word for it.

Meanwhile, Ward is focusing on his own efforts. "['Hold Time'] comes from the belief that music is a better way to capture time for me than any of the other millions of ways," he tells Spinner of the album's inspiration. The effort features a variety of guest vocalists, including Ms. Deschanel, ex-Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle and Lucinda Williams. "During the production of [the song] 'Oh Lonesome Me,' I started hearing [Lucinda's] voice ... so we decided to ask her," he says. He also explains that he and Lytle have been friends for many years. "His music has also been a great inspiration growing up."

Mars Volta Revel in Records, Grammy Nomination

Jonah Flicker — 2009-02-02T16:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Exclusive

Mars Volta guitar player and musical mastermind Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's tells Spinner that the next two Mars Volta records are already recorded and waiting for a release date -- this on the heels of a Grammy nomination for 'Wax Simulcra,' off last year's 'The Bedlam in Goliath.' Of course, the first of these won't see the light of day until at least this spring, as vocals need to be recorded and additional tweaking may be necessary. And Rodriguez-Lopez isn't giving any possible titles away.

"I gave the band a six-month break," he says. "I'm not trying to force my pace. I'll just be here doing what I'm doing, recording more albums. When the time comes, the time comes."

Flight of the Conchords Turn to Prostitution

Jonah Flicker — 2009-01-15T15:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Television

HBO offered up a sneak peak of the new season of Flight of the Conchords at LA's Natural History Museum on Wednesday night, and one thing's certain, the Kiwi duo of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement won't be nose-diving into a sophomore slump.

The first episode has been available for viewing at Funnyordie.com for a few weeks now, so let's jump into the second one. After Bret bankrupts the band by buying a cup for $2.49, the guys are forced to turn to prostitution to make ends meet. This venture, as usual, is less than successful. Along the way, their manager, Murray, falls victim to a Nigerian email scam, further depleting their funds and forcing them to perform shows armed only with air guitars.

The episode contains two seriously composed but entirely ludicrous songs. The first is a Timbaland-style production about how sexy Bret and Jemaine's dangling "sugar lumps" are, and the second is a reggae riff on 'Roxanne' with reaffirming lyrics like, "You don't have to be a prostitute/You can say no to being a man ho."

Liars Recover From Radiohead, 'Freak Out' on New EP

Jonah Flicker — 2008-07-21T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Exclusive

Radiohead openers and indie L.A. faves the Liars recently released a digital EP, 'Freak Out,' a compilation featuring tracks from last year's self-titled album and several videos from their last few records. While it may not be much-anticipated new music, singer Angus Andrew says there's a reason for this.

"What we wanted to do was get that song out a bit more -- the 'Freak Out' song," Andrew explains to Spinner. "We were certainly finding that when we were playing live across America and Europe, that somehow was the audience favorite. It really is more of a record company decision. In the middle of the whole thing, we're like, 'Awesome. Do it. Whatever.'"

The EP actually only has two songs, the title track and a live version of 'Clear Island.' The rest are videos, including an eerie and effective rendering 'Plaster Casts of Everything' that recalls David Lynch's 'Lost Highway.' "What was interesting about doing that video, particularly, was we had never really handed over the reigns of creativity to anyone before," Andrew says. "Even remixes were difficult for us. We met up with Patrick Daughters, an old friend of ours, and basically just gave him free run. In the end, we were just directed as actors. It wasn't until it was finished that we saw it."

Jay Reatard Cleans Up His 'Blood' With Singles Collection

Jonah Flicker — 2008-06-30T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Album, Exclusive

If you're thinking of messing with Jay Reatard's equipment or grabbing his guitar at one of his shows, think again. He's got a temper and he's not afraid to use it. "There's always people that think it's fun to go after the guy with the short fuse, to try to push his buttons," he tells Spinner. "Most of the time I chalk it up to people being drunk. When you get drunk, [you're] thinking... 'Let me do something stupid to be involved in the show.'" Got it? Good.

Reatard's 2006 solo debut, 'Blood Visions,' finally began to pick up accolades and gain attention almost a year after its initial release. He wasn't surprised, as his goals for the record weren't very lofty to begin with. "It's just some songs I wrote in two or three days," he says. "It was a transitional thing. After a while, I got bored and decided to tour for it. Once I did that, it started growing. People started finding out about it and reviews started coming out for it six months after its release."

Glowing reviews and fan appreciation ultimately lead to a deal with Matador Records, with Reatard releasing a series of limited-edition 7-inch singles that will eventually be compiled into a CD release for those not keen on vinyl. Though his first proper album for the label isn't due until next year, In the Red recently released a collection of singles he recorded from 2006-2007 called, appropriately, 'Singles 2006-2007.' The album is chock-full of Reatard's catchy quirk-punk, like the zombie-themed 'All Wasted.' "Memphis has our version of zombies, these massively dehydrated crackheads," Reatard explains. "If you drive down Cleveland Ave. at night, you feel like you're in a Romero flick or something."

War on Drugs Fall Off the 'Wagon' on New Album

Jonah Flicker — 2008-06-30T12:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Album, Exclusive

The war on drugs may be something of a failed policy as far as government initiatives are concerned, but, musically, the concept has been injected with a newfound vigor. Philadelphia's the War on Drugs may not exactly be what Ronald Reagan envisioned in his campaign against substance abuse, but their new album, 'Wagonwheel Blues,' is as addictive as crack.

The band's unique take on traditional rock music realizes the potential of combining experimental ambience and looped samples with bluesy storytelling and rollicking chord progressions. The nine songs that comprise the record are the work of singer Adam Granduciel, a California transplant who, along with friend and bandmate Kurt Vile, has been formulating a dreamy Bob Dylan-meets-Sonic Youth haze for several years. "['Wagonwheel Blues'] took the last six years of my life," Granduciel tells Spinner. "[It] was recorded in so many different places, at so many stages of my own personal recording experience. I love the way the record sounds."

Granduciel says he never had grand aspirations for the songs he was recording in his home studio, and only hooked up with indie label Secretly Canadian through the good intentions of a friend in the band Windsor for the Derby. "He ended up sending [the label] rough mixes I had given to him to listen to on his computer," he recalls. "He's like, 'Hope you don't mind, I sent these to Secretly Canadian.' I was like, 'That was stupid. Why'd you do that?'"

RZA Considers Dropping Science for U.S. Government Research Labs

Jonah Flicker — 2008-06-11T14:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Album, Holy Hell

When pressed, many musicians will admit that what they really want to do is act, and many actors will admit that what they really want to do is direct. But what Wu-Tang Clan mastermind, established solo artist, actor, soundtrack composer and author RZA really wants to do is become a one-man U.S. government think tank. "They'd have to pay me millions of dollars for it 'cause I got a millionaire life, know what I mean? Maybe that's the reason it don't happen," he says, laughing. But he seems to be pretty serious about the concept. "All these f---ing ideas I got in the scientific world, they just not being heard because I'm a musician. That's kind of weird. I was talking to my wife about this recently. I was like, 'Yo, don't you think [the government] should just hire me and put me in a research lab for ten years so I can just research something?'"

Until that day when he puts on his government-issued lab coat, RZA has got a new release from his alter ego Bobby Digital set for release this month. 'Digi Snacks' is the third concept album dealing with the exploits of his character, this time augmented by the contributions of members of System of a Down, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' John Frusciante and rapper David Banner. RZA has found inspiration in some of cinema's greatest for his Bobby Digital persona. "When I made the first Bobby Digital album, I was inspired by Robert De Niro. I was high, of course," he admits. "I have many voices in my head, many styles of rhyming. I said, 'I'm gonna become a character when I do my styles.' For me, it's all part of expressing artistic creativity, whether I'm doing it musically, acting on the silver screen or whether I'm sitting there playing chess."

Tilly and the Wall Get a Little Help From Their Fans

Jonah Flicker — 2008-05-22T15:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Exclusive

Omaha's Tilly and the Wall have taken a cue from artists like Justice and Prince by choosing a symbol instead of a proper name for their new album, 'O,' due June 17. But it was the spirit of artistic collaboration, not pretension or mystery, which informed this decision. The album's cover consists of an oval-shaped frame and will be released in limited-edition pressings with artwork contributed by friends and fans. "[It's] almost a communion with our friends," keyboardist Nick White tells Spinner. "It's always been a really big goal of ours to make the audience feel more involved in the process -- to have them connect with the band."

'O,' the band's third album, was recorded at the Bemis Center for the Contemporary Arts in downtown Omaha, their hometown. "They have a residency program, so people come from around the country, around the world, and stay and make art," White says. Anyone familiar with the Saddle Creek label already knows that Omaha is a Midwestern hotbed for arts and music, an environment in which Tilly and the Wall seem to thrive. "It's really cool in Omaha," White says. "There's no set way to go about anything. Everyone here is very accepting of new projects."

The new album also continues Tilly and the Wall's tradition of using tap dancing and percussion, provided by Jamie Pressnall, in place of a drum kit. Though this can offer challenges in terms of microphone setups, depending on the venue, White says they've got it down to a fairly exact science. "The system's pretty set now, but it can get very difficult," he says. "If anyone has too small a surface to stand on, it can be hard to balance." The band heads out on tour on July 4, and White is excited about playing their new material. "It feels like the most collaborative, cohesive album we've done. You can feel everyone's personalities."

Islands' Nick Thorburn Runs a Benevolent Dictatorship in the Studio

Jonah Flicker — 2008-05-19T06:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Exclusive

"I see myself as the benevolent dictator," says Islands' Nick Thorburn, laughing, in describing his role as the band's principal songwriter. "I rule with a sweet thumb, a soft fist." Spinner caught up with the frontman a few days before the release of the Canadian group's second album and first for Anti- Records, 'Arm's Way.' But while he may be the dominant voice in the band, Thorburn takes pride in Islands' collaborative working method. "I don't tell people what they should be playing ... If I have an idea, I'll strongly suggest it, but everyone has a voice in this band. I think that's what makes it so special."

The recording of 'Arm's Way' differed from Islands' debut in that it benefited from more time, a little more money and a crew of professionals working to "make everything sound as good as it should," according to Thorburn. "We labored over [arrangements] for months and months and made sure every note was in the right place." The result is a lilting pop record lined with influences ranging from Caribbean, African, electro and cinematic. Thorburn also says that he's taking his role in music more seriously these days, while retaining the sense of humor he honed with his previous band the Unicorns. "I've owned up to my role as a musician," he says. "I'm a taskmaster, and everyone in the band has a certain amount of discipline, but I also realize that this is the greatest job we could possibly have."

Girl Talk 'Feed the Animals' With New Album

Jonah Flicker — 2008-04-24T12:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Album, Exclusive

This past Tuesday, as the Pennsylvania primary vote was underway, Greg Gillis -- better known as electronic producer and mash-up DJ Girl Talk -- was feeling the vibe. "I'm never out in the streets during daylight," he tells Spinner on the phone from his Pittsburgh home. "It seems more festive today than normal."

Gillis doesn't get out much during the day anymore, with a busy schedule of performing at venues around the country while simultaneously working on a follow-up to his 2006 breakout album, 'Night Ripper.' If all goes as planned, the new record, tentatively titled 'Feed the Animals,' should be completed by June. "I'm building it in specific chunks," he says. "Tying those pieces together is gonna be a big effort." While his style of frenzied sampling and genre jumping will remain intact, some changes can be expected. "It's an evolution of ['Night Ripper''s] sound. It's more accessible and more extreme on the detail end of things. I'm not as focused as jumping around from song to song. It's still very fast-paced."

M83 Revisit 'Youth' With John Hughes

Jonah Flicker — 2008-04-07T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Album, Exclusive

What would adolescence be without awkwardness, angst, unexpected hair growth and fumbled sexual advances? Enjoyable, perhaps. But for M83's Anthony Gonzalez, reflection on this time period is more sentimental than embarrassing. "I don't know why I'm fascinated with this period of my life," he tells Spinner. "I discovered so many things like new music, new movies, my best friends. Also, [I had] my first encounters with drugs and my first experience with sex. For everybody, being a teenager is one of the most important periods of life."

Gonzalez has attempted to capture a snapshot of this era on his new M83 album, 'Saturdays = Youth,' due April 15. From its shimmering teen photo layout to its '80s-infused music to lyrics referencing Molly Ringwald, the record is firmly entrenched in the teen-nostalgia world of director John Hughes. In fact, Gonzalez cites Hughes' classics 'Pretty in Pink' and 'The Breakfast Club,' and bands like Cocteau Twins, Tears for Fears and the Blue Nile, as having a great influence upon this endeavor. "The main priority for me with this album was to create something different from the previous ones," he says. "I'd become fed up with rock music. I wanted to make something new -- more vocals, more songs."

Neil Hamburger Takes a Bite Out of Nickelback

Jonah Flicker — 2008-04-04T12:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Humor, Exclusive

Folks who can't seem to properly separate their garbage from recycling and alt-rockers who make garbage music are just some of the banes of comedian Neil Hamburger's existence. "It causes stress to think about the folks who have to pick chicken bones out of what is supposed to be clean office paper," he tells Spinner. "They are unsung heroes, much more so than these garbage entertainers, such as Nickelback, who get all the glory. Yet the folks who work behind the scenes processing trash so that it may be made into something useful are paid only a fraction of what Nickelback receives for polluting our earth with their rubbish music."

This is just one of the many topics covered on Hamburger's new country album, 'Neil Hamburger Sings Country Winners,' out this month on Drag City. Hamburger uses his nasal singing voice and sharply self-deprecating wit to infuse the record's ten songs with both bathos and pathos. Backed by an incredibly talented band, his lyrics may be funny but the music is dead-on serious country. "We're looking at this as more of a 'personality' record than a country record, in the vein of the great albums in the past by Leonard Nimoy, Telly Savalas or William Shatner," Hamburger says. "Country was the right choice for the music. I am not into the click-tracks and techno type of sound."

Peter Bjorn and John's Peter Moren Goes It Alone

Jonah Flicker — 2008-04-01T15:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Album, Exclusive

Peter Bjorn and John had folks whistling along to their acscension from obscurity with their infectious single 'Young Folks,' off their 2006 album, 'Writer's Block.' But singer/guitarist Peter Morén is whistling another tune -- a solo one.

"Because of the success with [PB&J], I had the time to do this album," Morén tells Spinner of his solo album, 'The Last Tycoon,' due April 8. "Before, I used to study and work full-time. When you're able to live off of music, you have a lot of free time."

While he's certainly enjoying more time, Morén's been working on 'The Last Tycoon' since he and his fellow Swedish rockers began writing 'Writers' Block.' It was at that time that Morén realized one of the songs he had written for the record didn't quite fit. "I started thinking of more songs to go with it and started to do some recording at a friend's apartment," he says. "I had a clear idea that I wanted to do something different. This time I wanted to keep it acoustic -- the way I write the songs to begin with. It was all recorded live with guitar and vocal, and we put on some touches afterwards. We wanted to keep it very low-key and homey.

Clinic Get Tropical on New Album

Jonah Flicker — 2008-03-25T17:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Album, Exclusive

Liverpool's Clinic isn't exactly the most easily identifiable band, given its members' penchant for hiding behind surgical masks and scrubs. That won't change but singer Ade Blackburn tells Spinner that the band is making some tweaks as they get ready to tour in support of their April 8-due album, 'Do It!.' "We've got a tropical theme for the gigs coming up," he says. "A bit of sunshine."

That's not the only thing Clinic is doing differently this year. The band is asking fans to help choose the set list for their U.S. May tour. "People often pick obscure songs they want to hear, which stops it from being predictable," Blackburn says. "This time, we'll play all of 'Do It!' in one set, then the older ones in a second set. It just breaks things up live." Fans can email the band at contact@clinicvoot.org to make their requests.

With Cloud Cult's New Eco-Friendly Album, Green Means Go

Jonah Flicker — 2008-03-21T19:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, Album

For Cloud Cult's Craig Minowa, saving the environment is just as important as the quirky indie rock he writes and records in the basement studio of the northern Minnesota organic farm he lives on with his wife, Connie. He runs his own eco-friendly label, Earthology Records, there and manufactures Cloud Cult's CDs in as an environmentally friendly way as possible. But he has even bigger plans for the future: replacing the traditional merch table at shows with a digital download center. "We'd be able to sell the album for a greatly reduced price," he tells Spinner. "People could have it right on their iPod, and there's no ecological footprint."

Cloud Cult's new record, 'Feel-Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes),' continues Minowa's use of music as catharsis while staying faithful to his environmental conscience, which dates back as long as he can remember. "Even my first job at Pizza Hut," he says, "I got into trouble trying to get the store to stop using aerosol and start using hand-pump sprays." The record's multi-tiered textures and eclectic arrangements display that playful spirit, although the lyrics often offer moments of introspection. "Music is that element that helps me heal and grow," he says. "If I'm finished writing a song and I don't feel like a better person for it, then I didn't write a good song."

Z-Trip Puts Politics Aside for the Troops

Jonah Flicker — 2008-03-10T15:00:00 00:00

Filed under: Concerts and Tours, News, Exclusive

Mash-up kingpin and turntablist DJ Z-Trip headed to a military base in Kuwait this past Friday to perform in a special concert for American troops called Operation MySpace on March 10, sponsored by the ubiquitous social networking site. Other artists participating include Jessica Simpson, Disturbed, Filter and comedian Carlos Mencia, but Z-Trip has the honor of being the first DJ to ever perform for the troops overseas. "For me and my peers, it's like stepping in snow for the first time," he tells Spinner on the phone while waiting for his flight at LAX.

This wasn't an easy decision for Z-Trip, considering his anti-war stance and disdain for the Bush administration. But after consulting with icons like Chuck D, Shepard Fairey and Henry Rollins, he felt it was the right thing to do. "I grew up with protest and punk rock music -- music that was a voice of youth and a backlash to government," he says. "I never thought in a million years that I'd be in a situation like this. It took a lot of sorting through feelings and [hoping] that people didn't equate my doing this with my supporting the war."

Del Tha Funky Homosapien Enters the '11th Hour'

Jonah Flicker — 2008-03-05T11:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Album, Exclusive

It's been eight years since Del Tha Funky Homosapien's last solo album, but the video game-obsessed member of Oakland's Hieroglyphics crew has kept himself pretty busy in the interim. Besides running the Hiero Imperium label with artists like Pep Love and Souls of Mischief and appearing on Gorillaz' hit single, 'Clint Eastwood,' Del has spent the few years preparing his Def Jux debut, 'The 11th Hour.'

The album, produced almost entirely by Del, features guests including Opio, KU and Ladybug Mecca, as wellas more of the futuristic funk beats and battle raps he's known for, with some new twists. "I decided to leave some of the Encyclopedia Brown rapping alone," Del tells Spinner on his way to a show in Palm Springs. "I wanted the average person to be able to enjoy hip-hop again, instead of it being so inclusive ... like you gotta be part of a secret club."

Constantines Keep Canada on Their Mind

Jonah Flicker — 2008-02-29T14:00:00 00:00

Filed under: News, Album, Exclusive

Canadian indie rockoers the Constantines may have suffered a bit of a setback when guitar player Steve Lambke recently broke his hand after slipping on some ice near his home in Montreal, but lead singer/guitarist Bryan Webb seems fairly positive the promotion of the new album, 'Kensington Heights,' won't suffer too much. "We've had a couple of shows we've had to cancel," he tells Spinner, "but we're hoping we can play SXSW and continue on tour after that."

While the band will be trekking across the globe, 'Kensington Heights' finds the band paying homage to Webb's home city of Toronto, and his appreciation of its Kensington Market area. "It's kind of our freak scene," he explains. "We practice in a basement underneath a music shop. It's a good environment, good community to be a part of -- kind of bohemian, although I try to avoid using that word."

The album also reflects a bit of a change in the band's sound since their last record, 'Tournament of Hearts,' regrouping their classic and punk rock influences. "We had a couple of months in the studio, which was a luxury to us," Webb says. "We realized that we're a live band and the closer to that we can get, recording-wise, the better." Though Webb still handles lead vocal duty on most songs, Lambke continues his occasional contribution, which Webb welcomes. "I remember reading about when Paul Simonen sang [the Clash's] 'Guns of Brixton,' and Joe Strummer just stood in the studio, big beaming smile on his face. There's a lot more depth when there are different voices."