Ultimate Painting - "(I've Got the) Sanctioned Blues"

By -
The latest single from the UK's Ultimate Painting presents this bizarre dichotomy. It's pure indie pop with sunny, jangly guitars, but all it makes me think of is folk and Pavement at the same time. To make it even more fun, the song is uptempo and light sounding  while in reality it's about the government taking away the unemployed's jobseeker allowance for minor infractions. The entire song is a great bridge between 90s Brit-pop and the current neo-folk movement going on right now.

 Ultimate Painting's upcoming album, Green Lanes, is due out on August 7 on Trouble in Mind. You can pre-order the album here, and check out Ultimate Painting on Tumblr. Listen to "(I've Got the) Sanctioned Blues" below, and below that are the band's current tour dates.
Sat. July 25 - Sheffield, UK @ Tramlines Festival
Wed. Aug. 5 - Southsea, UK @ Pie & Vinyl (In-store)
Fri. Aug. 7 - Oxford, UK @ Truck Records (In-store)
Fri. Aug. 14 - London, UK @ Power Lunches
Sat. Aug. 15 - London, UK @ Power Lunches
Sun. Aug. 23 - Brecon, UK @ Green Man Festival
Fri. Sept. 5 - Lancaster, UK @ The Library
Sat. Sept. 6 - Wiltshire, UK @ End Of The Road Festival
Tue. Sept. 15 - Toronto, ON @ Adelaide Hall
Fri. Sept. 18 - Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
Sat. Sept. 19 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East (Upstairs)
Sun. Sept. 20 - Bearsville, NY @ Bearsville Theatre (w/ Mikal Cronin)
Sat. Sept. 26 - Memphis, TN @ Gonerfest
Sun. Sept. 27 - Dallas, TX @ Double Wide
Sat. Oct. 3 - San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern
Sat. Oct. 10 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records
Sat. Oct. 24 - Oviedo, ES @ Lata de Zinc
Tue. Oct. 27 - Madrid, ES @ Sala Sol
Fri. Oct. 30 - St. Gallen, CH @ Kilbi dankt Allen
Wed. Nov. 4 - Sheffield, UK @ Bungalow & Bears
Thu. Nov. 5 - Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen
Fri. Nov. 6 - Glasgow, UK @ Old Hairdressers
Sat. Nov. 7 - Leeds, UK @ Beacons Metro Festival
Sun. Nov. 8 - Cardiff, UK @ SWN Festival
Thu. Nov. 12 - Bristol, UK @ Start The Bus
Sat. Nov. 14 - Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie
Tue. Nov. 17 - Leipzig, DE @ Ilses Erika
Wed. Nov. 18 - Berlin, DE @ Acud
Thu. Nov. 19 - Hamburg, DE @ Wildmax
Sun. Nov. 22 - Eindhoven, NL @ Alstadt
Mon. Nov. 23 - Rotterdam, NL @ V11

On Repeat...

Liam Kazar - "Shoes Too Tight"

By -
Image
Photo by Alexa Viscius This may be Liam Kazar's debut single, but the Chicago based musician already has an impressive resume, having worked with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and others. "Shoes Too Tight" features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, and Ohmme on vocals. It's an absurdly fun and groovy little song that is a party waiting to happen. What he gives us here is a timeless song that could truly have been released any time since the 1960's (ok... maybe not the 80's...) There are elements of classic rock, 60's crooners and R&B, indie rock, modern Americana... it's really just packed with everything in a cohesive song that maintains the vibe the entire way through. You can watch the video for "Shoes Too Tight" below. For more on Liam Kazar, check him out on Instagram and Twitter . He's also raising money on his Bandcamp for Constellation and The Hungry Brain. ...
Read more

The Freqs - "Witch"

By -
Image
Photo via Facebook When you're a rock band from Salem, MA, you have to have at least one song about witchcraft. The Freqs have fulfilled their obligation with a banger of a song. "Witch" is this giant monster of a song, filled with fuzz and strained, screaming vocals. This is the type of song that doesn't usually exist in this century. It's giving me some serious 90's flashbacks, like if Hum got aggressive or Alice in Chains decided to do some damage on the college charts. As great as the vocals are in "Witch," what's really drawing me in is the instrumental break down that takes over about halfway through. This is the kind of song to make the hipsters and the headbangers equally excited. You can listen to "Witch" below. For more on The Freqs, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram . The Freqs · Witch
Read more

Dutch ReBelle - "GOONIEZ"

By -
Image
How is Dutch ReBelle not a national superstar at this point? The Boston MC just released "GOONIEZ," and I know I'm a bit out of touch with current mainstream hip hop, but this song is absolutely killer. It's a stripped down hip hop song that has this futuristic space age sound to it. Plus, ReBelle's flow is unsurpassed. You can't listen to her and not be completely sucked in. The song has a feel reminiscent of classic Missy Elliott. As much as I love that we can still see Dutch ReBelle in smaller Boston venues, "GOONIEZ" proves she should be playing much larger venues nationwide very, very soon. You can watch the video for "GOONIEZ" below. For more on Dutch ReBelle, check out the artist's website . 
Read more