Legendary label Touch and Go has launched its own digital music retail site. The site will feature material from Touch and Go/Quarterstick acts including (deep breath) The Ex, Slint, TV On The Radio, !!!, Effigies, The Jesus Lizard, Big Black, Negative Approach, The Black Heart Procession, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Naked Raygun and many, many more.

The web store will offer both individual tracks and full albums available as DRM-free 256k MP3’s. It will be the exclusive retailer for digital versions of Slint’s “Spiderland” and untitled EP, as well as all the Shellac and Rapeman albums. Speaking of Shellac, the Touch and Go digital store will also offer both CD quality 16 bit and above CD quality 24 bit WAV files of Shellac’s latest long player, Excellent Italian Greyhound. Finally, touchandgorecords.com will be the first place to present the digital-only reissue of two scarce Bedhead EP’s originally released on Trance Syndicate–“4song19:10CDEP” (1994) and “The Dark Ages” (1996).

You can check out the store here.
Source Continue reading Touch and Go launches digital web store →

Florida’s Fake Problems have announced a week of dates in Canada to close out the month. The brief trek, oddly titled “Cheesefest Tour 07”, will carry the band through the cities of Montreal, Toronto, Samia, Bayfield, Guelph and London. Coming along for the ride to support with be fellow sunshine state band Look Mexico.

Fake Problems continues on the road in support of their latest release, How Far Our Bodies Go, and speaking of which, the band has released the record in limited clear vinyl, available via the Sabot Productions website. You can find it here.
Source Continue reading Fake Problems brief Canadian tour, “How Far Our Bodies Go” vinyl →

According to blogsite tmz, Atlanta-based pop-rockers Cartel suffered a scare recently when the giant transparent bubble they’re currently living and recording their new album in busted open.

As a publicity stunt/means to recording, the band set up living quarters and a studio inside the giant bubble, located on New York’s Pier 54. The entire thing is being webcast via a series of tubes, which is likely where TMZ obtained video footage of a plate glass window shattering inside the bubble. Video is available directly from the sponsors, but requires registration and proof of purchase.

Tropical Storm Barri is to blame for the incident, which gave the band and their mothers (who were inside the bubble cooking dinner for the boys) quite a scare.

The stunt is sponsored by Dr. Pepper and the recording is being broadcast on MTV in a four-part special. As reported earlier, some people aren’t fans of the idea and find the whole thing pretty reprenhensible. Music industry guru Bob Lefsetz said:

Ever heard of Cartel? Not me. But I’m sure they can’t be making music I’m interested in. Music comes from inspiration, not marketing plans. Whoever convinced the act to be involved in this stunt.. should be exiled from the business immediately.

Source Continue reading Cartel’s Bubble Bursts →

Two beloved punk outfits, Lifetime and Bouncing Souls, have announced a series of weekend “mini” tours which will see the bands performing together for three days in August. The bands have enlisted the Ergs! and Static Radio NJ to provide support for the shows.

Lifetime has also booked some solo dates scattered through the summer.
Source Continue reading Tours: Lifetime / Bouncing Souls / The Ergs! / Static Radio NJ →

Starting on June 25th and for 20 days, The Format will be giving away their entire 2006 full length, Dog Problems to all comers. The disc will be made available on the band’s official website without restrictions. The band adds:

Owning our own publishing and master has allowed us the freedom to experiment,. We’d be doomed if we sat around and waited for things like radio play to come around. We’re just not that band.

We understand the reality; kids aren’t buying music. We’re going to see if we can’t pick up 20,000 new sets of ears by offering the album for free. We’re betting that the money lost on those record sales will come back when people come see us live this summer.

This will be a chance to share the album with your friends who haven’t bought it or fileshared it

Source Continue reading The Format to give away 2006 album →

In August of 2006, music legend Bob Dylan made some controversial statements decrying the state of modern recorded music, particularly as relates to the overcompression frequently used by studios to make records sound louder on the radio.

A number of music producers have begun rallying to the same cause, noting that:

Record companies are competing in an arms race to make their album the loudest. The quieter parts are becoming louder and the loudest parts are just becoming a buzz. This could be the reason CD sales are in a slump.

Whole layers of sound are missing. It’s because record companies don’t trust listeners to decide themselves if they want to turn the volume up.

Britain’s leading studio engineers have launched the campaign to make records range in levels. To explain, dynamic range is the difference between the softest and loudest sounds on a CD. Using compression, producers can minimize this difference and the result is that albums sound louder, even at lower volumes.

Interestingly, due to technical limitations of vinyl, this kind of “loudness-based” mastering is not possible, and the records tend to sound better than their CD counterparts.

For more information on this, you can check out this article.
Source Continue reading Producers launch campaign save dynamic range, or, if it’s too loud, you’re overcompressed →

The Receiving End Of Sirens has set an August 7 release date for their forthcoming album The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi, which they completed in April. The band had this to say about the release:

The title, The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi stems from a book written by a late 16th century astronomical theorist by the name of Johannes Kepler and the publication just fascinated the band. Kepler’s theory suggested that each of the 9 planets in our solar system produced tones as they orbited the sun. Throughout the orbit, Venus would stay a consistent note that was considered the 6th in relation to the rest of the planets. As Earth would shift its tonality, it would create the effect of the notes moving from the major 6th to the minor 6th and back and forth. This is where the “Mi Fa Mi” comes into action, symbolizing the corresponding syllables when singing a scale in relation to the notes of the earth {Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do}. Kepler further concurred that the Earth “singing” Mi Fa Mi could truly stand for Misery, Famine, Misery and ultimately, that is the song the Earth and Venus continued to sing. Misery, referring to an empty place and Famine, referring to the appetite or thirst for things.

The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi is the follow-up to 2005’s Between The Heart And The Synapse.
Source Continue reading The Receiving End of Sirens detail new album →

Saosin have posted a new video from their 2006 album, Saosin.

You can check out “You’re Not Alone” in Quicktime, Windows Media or Real Player format.

Later this month, the band will be hitting the road for a tour with Poison The Well, The Receiving End of Sirens and more.
Source Continue reading Saosin: “You’re Not Alone” →

Darkest Hour have posted the first new track from their upcoming full length for Victory Records. The record is titled Deliver Us and is due out July 10, 2007. It is the follow up to 2005’s Undoing Ruin as well as their rarities compilation, Archives which was released in 2006.

The track is available on their myspace page.

The album’s artwork was designed by John Baizley who also produced art for the upcoming record from Pig Destroyer.
Source Continue reading Darkest Hour: “Demon(s)” →

Queens of the Stone Age has announced the first block of US dates in support of their upcoming new record. The record is titled Era Vulgaris and is due out June 12, 2007.

The tour will take the band through what Billboard is calling “small markets” and begins July 22 in Costa Mesa, California. The 13-date trek will run through August 11 in Oklahoma City. According to the band:

We want to play to people who hardly ever get shows and just burn the house down, I think we’re too stoked to not go deeper than we have before. It feels like the right time to go, ‘Hey, man, sorry I’m late, but here we are.'”

The “big markets” tour will follow in September. On a related note, the band is now promising a bonus EP packaged with Best Buy’s copy of the record featuring the Billy Idol classic “White Wedding” and the popular rarity “The Fun Machine Took a Shit and Died.”

Source Continue reading Tours: Queens of the Stone Age (USA) →

Social Distortion have flushed out their summer US tour dates with support and venues. The routing was announced in May.

The tour kicks off just a few days after the release of their greatest hits album. The record is conveniently titled Greatest Hits and is due out June 26, 2007. It is the follow-up to Sex, Love and Rock ‘n’ Roll which was released in 2004.

Social Distortion is also currently working on new material for an as-yet-untitled upcoming album, which is due for release in late 2007/early 2008. Stay tuned for more information.

Source Continue reading Tours: Social Distortion / The Hangmen / The Heart Attacks →

Dillinger Escape Plan have posted a studio video as they begin work on their upcoming album. They entered the studio on June 1st. The band will be recording their next full length with producer Steve Evetts (Lifetime, He Is Legend).

The band is planning to spend six weeks working on the record. It remains untitled. It is due out this Fall via Relapse Records.

Source Continue reading Dillinger Escape Plan post recording video →

The Only Children are headed out on tour in support of their new album Keeper of Youth on SideCho Records. The album was recorded at Black Lodge in Kansas City. The band signed to the label last October and features Josh Berwanger, formerly of The Anniversary.
Source Continue reading Tours: The Only Children →