It's hard to find new things to write about Jake Xerxes Fussell because his songs are just so consistently great. All of the previously released singles for his upcoming album have all had that traditional folk but done in a unique way while sounding completely familiar sound, and his latest also nails that. "Rolling Mills Are Burning Down" is a great folk song. Like... it's really great. It's such a simple song, but it's a rare thing to find an artist this earnest who releases music without any pretentiousness or preciousness. "Rolling Mills Are Burning Down" makes Fussell sound like a modern day John Prine in its simple beauty.
You can listen to "Rolling Mills Are Burning Down" below. Good and Green Again is due out January 21 on Paradise of Bachelors. The album can be pre-ordered/pre-saved here. For more on Jake Xerxes Fussell, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the song.
Fri. Jan. 21 - Chapel Hill, NC @ The Nightlight ^ Sat. Jan. 22 - Richmond, VA @ The Camel Sun. Jan. 23 - Washington, DC @ Pie Shop Tue. Jan. 25 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA # Wed. Jan. 26 - Brooklyn, NY @ The Knitting Factory Thu. Jan. 27 - Boston, MA @ Club Passim Fri. Jan 28 - Keene, NH @ Nova Arts Sat. Jan. 29 - Saratoga Springs, NY @ Caffe Lena Thu. Feb. 17 - Los Angeles, CA @ Gold Diggers * Sat. Feb 19 - Santa Monica, CA @ McCabe’s Guitar Shop * Tue. Feb 22 - Portland, OR @ The Old Church * Wed. Feb 23 - Seattle, WA @ Fremont Abbey * Sun. May 1 - Kilkenny, IE @ Kilkenny Roots Mon. May 2 - Kilkenny, IE @ Kilkenny Roots Tue. May 3 - Dublin, IE @ Bello Bar Wed. May 4 - Belfast, UK @ Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival Fri. May 6 - Manchester, UK @ Gulliver’s Sat. May 7 - London, UK @ Oslo Sun. May 8 - Glasgow, UK @ Glad Cafe Mon. May 9 - York, UK @ Fulford Arms Wed. May 11 - Ultrecht, NL @ Tivoli (Club Nine) Fri. May 13 - Nijmegen, NL @ Merleyn Sat. May 14 - Cologne, DE @ King Georg Mon. May 16 - Hamburg, DE @ Aalhaus Tue. May 17 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso ^ w/ special guest Rosali # w/ special guest Mike Polizze * w/ special guest Tom Brosseau
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.
