Laura Jane Grace's solo work tends to be a little more rootsy than her work with Against Me!, but with "Hole in My Head" Grace leans into her punk roots. Sure, the new solo song would be the poppiest song on virtually any Against Me! album, and it's much more fun sounding than she normally gets, but this is still a punk song. It's a less than two minute burst of a song that is sure to get you pogoing like mad. On Twitter, Grace called "Hole in My Head" one of the best songs she'll ever write, and she's certainly not wrong. This has that perfect mixture of a catchy pop song with punk attitude that the Ramones built an entire career on.
You can watch the video for "Hole in My Head" below. Hole in My Head, the album, is due out February 16, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Laura Jane Grace, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
DECEMBER 16 — Memphis, TN — Minglewood Hall ~ 28 — St. Louis, MO — Off Broadway * 29 — Lawrence, KS — Granada Theatre * 31 — Denver, CO — The Marquis *
JANUARY 2024 02 — Omaha, NE — Slowdown * 03 — Minneapolis, MN — Cloudland * [SOLD OUT] 06 — Madison, WI — Joey’s Song Benefit 13 — Athens, Greece — Onassis Stegi Exhibition Hall -1 15 — Thessaloniki, Greece — Mylos
MARCH 2024 02 — Indianapolis, IN — The Vogue ^ 03 — Columbus, OH — A&R Music Bar ^ 05 — Pittsburgh, PA — Spirit Hall ^ 06 — Philadelphia, PA — Underground Arts ^ 08 — Hamden, CT — Space Ballroom ^ 09 — New York, NY — Racket ^ 10 — Somerville, MA — Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre ^ 12 — Washington, DC — Howard Theatre ^ 13 — Virginia Beach, VA — Elevation 27 ^ 15 — Durham, NC — Motorco Music Hall ^ 16 — Knoxville, TN — Bijou Theatre ^ 17 — Nashville, TN — City Winery ^ 19 — New Orleans, LA — Tipitina’s ^ 20 — Birmingham, AL — Saturn ^ 22 — San Antonio, TX — Paper Tiger ^ 23 — Houston, TX — RISE Rooftop ^ 24 — Fort Worth, TX — Tulips +
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.
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.
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....