Cougar Microbes

Melvins had already achieved cult status before some of their fans were even born. Still, the ‘Godfathers of Grunge‘ continue releasing albums and touring prolifically putting many of today’s artist to shame.

The band are currently winding down their European date and are due to play the final show of this tour at Bristol‘s sweet Thekla venue on the 4th of November for what should be an explosive night

Personally, I have a good bond with the venue having played a couple of shows there in my “rockstar” days. Back then I remember crashing on these cute little leather corner sofas whilst the rest of the band where loading the gear. To date some of the best sleep I’ve ever had before the rest of the band dumped a bucket full of water on me!

Presumably the lovable sofas are now gone and there will be no dumping of water this time. Still, it will certainly be great to see Buzz Osborne and co gracing this intimate venue and tearing it’s roof off.

Make sure you get yourself to the front row.

TRACKS:

Melvins – Black Betty (split 7″)

Melvins – June Bug

Cougar favourites WHY? Are returning to England with some special dates planned for October. The multi-talented trio have announced a set of unplugged and personal shows and have handpicked some intimate and warm venues this time round.

Expect to hear all the classics from “Oaklandazulasylum” and “Elephant Eyelash“, “Alopecia” and “Eskimo Snow” as well as a first taste of the yet to be titled fifth album In what will be the band’s only UK performances this year.

Here are the dates for the shows presented by One Inch Badge and Tidal Shift Concerts:

- 23 Oct – Colston Hall 2, Bristol (Grade II listed building and fully functioning gig venue)

- 24 Oct – Union Chapel, London (Grade II listed building, a working church and sublime sounding venue for live music)

- 25 Oct – Duke Of Yorks Picturehouse, Brighton (the oldest functioning cinema in the country)

Anyone who has seen Yoni Wolf and co. live will tell you this is going to be a special one!!

TRACKS:

WHY? – These Hands

WHY? – January Twenty Something

The behemoth that is Florence + The Machine‘s ‘Lungs‘ album shows no sign of halting down with miss Welch and co taking their hypnotic sounds to more and more audiences.

The band are currently taking on a huge summer tour which has seen them hit the major US cities including a 3 night stand at LA‘s Greek Theatre culminating tonight. If reports from the previous shows are to be believed we are in for a treat.

To celebrate the latest US stint of the tour Cougar Microbes has a vinyl copy of ‘Lungs‘ to give away to to one lucky reader. All you have to do to enter is become a fan of our FB page and like THIS post.

The winner will be picked on June 22nd and the album will be mailed to you right away. (unfortunately we can only mail to US addresses for this one so keep that in mind when entering).

GOOD LUCK!

TRACKS:

Having debuted ‘East Harlem‘ on the live circuit Beirut finally gives the track an official outing. Released on Zack Condon‘s very own Pompeii Records, the single is out officially digitally and on vinyl this week.

Exciting news as this represents the first new songs we hear since 2009′s ‘March of the Zapotec EP‘. That rare Beirut mystique is still present in the bucketloads but this track is unmistakably upbeat and, dare I say, poppy.

Inevitably this has wet my appetite for more which is good news because new album ‘The Rip Tide’ is expected this August.

Eyes peeled for a bunch of east coast dates followed by a full European tour this summer.

TRACKS:

A couple of months ago we featured an in depth interview with Alana Stewart as she passed through the UK. Now she has gone and released a video for her track ‘Momma Says‘ which is without a doubt one of the highlights of her live show. Filmed on a shoe string budget in South Africa the track seems to capture the mischievous lyrics of the track.

Alana plays three London shows at The Borderline on May 26th and the Old Queen’s Head on June 10th and June 30th in anticipation of her of her “The Misuse of Chemistry” EP out on Chess Club Records.

One hot summer, a while ago, I almost exclusively listened to an album called ‘Something to Write Home About’ by an awesome band called The Get Up Kids. I was a whiney teenager and they wrote music I could relate to, man.

Ten years on, and a breakup and reunion later, the band it seems have done more growing up than I have. Any hints of their melodic punk roots appear to have been eradicated. All that remain are great hooks, good ideas and slick production. This ‘Shatter Your Lungs’ video from latest album ‘There Are Rules’ illustrates the point.

The band have also confirmed a 10-date co-headlining tour with the legendarySaves The Day. The run begins June 2 in Palatine, Illinois, and continues through June 12 in Allentown, Pennsylvania

‘There Are Rules’ was released earlier this year through Quality Hill Records.

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Post by Kenny
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TRACKS:

Acoustic singer/songwriters are a dime a dozen these days. But how many can also claim to have headed one of the foremost bands of the American grunge movement?  The king of guitar noise, J Mascis, has traded in his fuzz pedal for finger picking on a new solo album, “Several Shades of Why,” released in March.

Where I grew up, in woodsy Western Massachusetts, J Mascis is something of a local legend. His iconic alternative rock band, Dinosaur Jr. formed at the area’s university, and played its first gigs on the Amherst Common (allegedly, a shout of “Fuck the cops!” got the plug pulled pretty fast). When I was too young to understand genre, I assumed he was a rock star, like Ringo. When I was old enough to appreciate excessive noise and distortion, I listened to some Dinosaur Jr., and tagged along to a reunion concert in Boston. Now the thing that impresses me most about J Mascis, apart from his virtuoso status as a guitarist, is his serious prowess as a songwriter. He was the primary songwriter for Dinosaur Jr. until the band’s separation, and for the many bands he has formed since then.

‘Several Shades of Why‘ showcases Mascis’s talents not just as a lyricist, but also as a crafter of simple, beautiful melodies. Simplicity is the trademark of the album; when recording the tracks in his home studio, Mascis made a deliberate decision to forego all percussion (aside from the occasional tambourine) in an effort to “push everything in a new direction.” It is certainly a far cry from the heavy, distorted ‘wall of sound’ that put Dinosaur Jr. on the map. Most of the songs require little more than an acoustic guitar and some backing vocalists (Band of Horses’ Ben Bridwell, among others), although a small string section swells the title track.

The stand out tracks on ‘Several Shades of Why‘ are this title track, and the first single, ‘Not Enough’. Together they illustrate perfectly the range of the album as a whole—’Not Enough‘ is a folksy, fun, and upbeat jaunt, while ‘Several Shades of Why‘ is slow and thoughtful, with a single guitar line so heart-tuggingly sweet and simple, you can almost see tough and tattooed Dino fans the world around reaching for the tissues.  And although the album is not their usual fare, those who fell in love with Mascis during the Dinosaur Jr. days of wailing 10 minute long guitar solos can catch a glimpse in ‘Is It Done‘ a slow and melancholy track which develops into a howling solo, almost as if Mascis couldn’t resist sneaking in just one.

Mascis is currently touring the US and Europe in support of the album, and when he played solo at The Garage on April 14th, I wasn’t sure how many of his old fans would embrace this ‘new direction‘. But with a crowd of 550, just shy of capacity, it would seem that I had underestimated their loyalty. Mascis sat at the very front of the stage with one black and tan electro-acoustic and two pedals, mumbled inaudibly between songs, and played through a mix of new solo material, old Dinosaur Jr. tunes, and a few songs from the in-between period. While he played some songs entirely acoustic, Mascis frequently switched to a distorted, heavier sound for the choruses. When he did, it became clear that this was the guitarist the crowd knew and revered—they howled and cheered whenever he plugged in.

After seeing him twice with a full band, it was strange and exciting to watch this one quiet man, with his trademark long white hair and thick coke-bottle glasses, captivate a massive audience with almost no effort at all. Though I’d always thought of J Mascis as our local rock royalty, it was strikingly clear atThe Garage that being local has little to do with it, and his renown as the instrumental and creative talent of a generation will continue to pack venues.

In just a few short months, Mascis will hang up the acoustic in favour of his trusty Marshall rig, for a set of decidedly noisier, full band shows with the again reunited Dinosaur Jr. They’ll be playing their 1988 album ‘Bug‘ in its entirety for each show, and the tour culminates at Alexandra Palace on July 1st.

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Post by Emily
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TRACKS:

The recent trend has seen seemingly every relic from the 70s and 80s with half a hit committing to a comeback tour and coming out looking worse off for it. Fortunately this consideration needn’t apply to The Cars.

I was naturally excited when I found out Ric Ocasek would be reuniting with Greg Hawkes, Elliot Easton and David Robinson to record after 24 years. Already sounding progressive in their heyday; the band have kept busy over they years and none more than leader Ocasek who has produced some of my favourite albums over the years.

‘Sad Song‘ is the first single from new album ‘Move Like This‘ and manages in the trick of feeling like a classic Cars track whilst sounding as good if not better as many of their newer contemporaries. The band set out on a big North American Spring Tour in May so keep an eye out for those dates.

TRACKS: