Blushing are an Austin, TX based band consisting of two married couples. The band's latest single, "Tamagotchi," is probably closest to being dream pop, but it's quite a bit more than that. Sure, the song has that dreamy sound that washes over you with reverb, but there's also a much stronger bite to the guitars than you normally get in dream pop. It's not quite grunge, but fairly close. It's more of that early-mid-90's post grunge sound as mainstream alt-rock was edging into more of a power pop or bubblegrunge sound. Blushing's latest is an incredibly infectious song that fans of 90's alt-rock are going to adore.
You can watch the video for "Tamagotchi" below. Sugarcoat is out May 3 on Kanine Records, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Blushing, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Fri. March 15 - Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas (SXSW official showcase) Thu. May 2 - Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas (album release show) Wed. May 15 - San Antonio, TX @ Vibes Underground * Thu. May 16 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada * Sat. May 18 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall * Sun. May 19 - McAllen, TX @ The Gremlin * Fri. June 14 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Resonant Head Sat. June 15 - Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge Sun. June 16 - Nashville, TN @ 5 spot Tue. June 18 - Washington, DC @ Pie Shop % Wed. June 19 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s % Thu. June 20 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right % Fri. June 21 - Boston, MA @ Deep Cuts % Sat. June 22 - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground % Sun. June 23 - Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz % Mon. June 24 - Toronto, ON @ The Garrison % Wed. June 26 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr Smalls Funhouse % Thu. June 27 - Detroit, MI @ Small’s % Fri. June 28 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Sat. June 29 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas Mon. July 1 - Denver, CO @ Skylark Lounge Wed. July 3 - Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey Thu. July 4 - Portland, OR @ The Six Fri. July 5 - San Francisco, CA @ Kilowatt Sat. July 6 - Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge Sun. July 7 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge Mon. July 8 - El Paso, TX @ Rosewood * = w/ Slater %= w/ Airiel
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....
