The latest from Laura Veirs continues her move away from a traditional singer-songwriter or folk structure and more towards her punk roots. "Seaside Haiku" is definitely not a punk song, but it's even less of a folk song. Veirs has constructed a dark alt-rocker on this one, complete with fuzzed out guitars. The guitar on this one is reminding me a lot of Throwing Muses mixed with Courtney Barnett. It's oddly hypnotic and is somehow uplifting despite its darkness. This one just feels cathartic.
"Seaside Haiku" comes from a series of haikus Laura Veirs wrote on a solo winter vacation in Seaside, OR. She says of the new song:
“This song captures the feeling I had of my emerging independence as a solo woman in the world during that wintry time. It’s been a learning curve for me to figure out how not to give too much of myself in relationships at the expense of my own needs. This is a song to remind myself of that, and also to remind all women who are socialized to give so much to others. It’s a call to hold onto our strength and power and to share it reciprocally instead of blithely giving it away.”
You can watch the video for "Seaside Haiku" below. Found Light is due out July 8 on Raven Marching Band Records. The album can be pre-ordered here. For more on Laura Veirs, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
6/09 - Norwich, UK @ Norwich Arts Centre
6/10 - Nottingham, UK @ Bodega
6/11 - Cambridge, UK @ Storey’s Field Centre
6/12 - Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds
6/14 - Gosforth, UK @ Civic Theatre
6/15 - Edinburgh, UK @ Artiscience Library
6/16 - Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
6/18 - Leeds, UK @ Belgrave Music Hall
6/19 - Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
6/21 - Cardiff, UK @ Pentyrch
6/22 - Bristol, UK @ Thekla
6/23 - Exeter, UK @ Exeter Phoenix
6/25 - Glastonbury, UK - Glastonbury Festival
6/27 - Southsea, UK @ Wedgewood Rooms
6/28 - Guildford, UK @ Boileroom
6/29 - Brighton, UK @ Komedia
6/30 - London, UK @ Union Chapel
7/16 - Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Music / Szold Hall
Somehow Peter Prescott of Mission of Burma and Volcano Suns has another band that I never knew about. Minibeast already released an album that I completely missed back in 2012, and they are currently at work on the follow up, Free Will. Based on a track from the upcoming album, "High Sea," Minibeast shares some common sonic ground with Mission of Burma, but with an added emphasis on the groovy side of things. It's basically the noise and dissonance of Burma but heard through a 60s surf groove, as if Frankie and Annette were punks. You can listen to "High Sea" below. Minibeast currently have a Kickstarter to help fund the final production of Free Will. You can get more information on that here . It should be out sometime in June.
Photo by Annabel Kean For their latest single, New Zealand's The Beths have released "Mother, Pray for Me." This is a heartbreaking ballad consisting of Elizabeth Stokes' vocals and guitar with just the slightest hint of organ. It's a deeply personal song for Stokes, made obvious with how intimately the song comes across. It truly feels almost confessional, and it's quite simply beautiful. The Beths are most known for huge little indie rock gems perfect for bopping along to, but "Mother, Pray for Me" is quite the opposite. Stokes' vocals and lyrics are right up front on this one, and I can't imagine it any other way. Elizabeth Stokes says of her latest single: “I cried the whole time writing it. It's not really about my mother, it's about me — what I hope our relationship is, what I think it is, what it maybe actually is, and what I can or can't expect out of it. “My mother is a first gen Indonesian immigrant, and very Catholic....
Earlier this week I was expressing sympathy for Limp Bizkit. Limp Bizkit just don't seem to be riding that surge of 90s nostalgia that all sorts of other terrible bands from that era are. Sure, they're terrible. But are they really that much worse than Filter, Alien Ant Farm, and other bands on those 90s nostalgia packages. And then this video is released. The first lyrics to the song are literally "Go fuck yourself." It then features Fred Durst sitting on a toilet, bikini clad chicks pretending to fellate garden hoses and leaf blowers, and Fred Durst talking about fucking bitches, all while wearing a hoodie and a backwards red baseball hat. Then Lil Wayne comes out. Please keep in mind Fred Durst is a 42 year old man.
