A double dose of brand new Röyksopp material this bright and breezy Monday morning. On Friday the band premiered their amazing short-film ‘Adventures In Barbieland’ (featuring music from new album ‘Senior’) over at the Guardian’s website. It’s a great watch over your mid-afternoon cuppa. Check it out here……

Secondly, the band have also just made a brand new free download available from their official site as part of their Track of The Month promotion. Fans can download their “farewell to summer” track ‘This Space’

This Space by Röyksopp

With their debut album crashing straight into the charts at # 16,  The Drums look set to make the summer their own with the release of new single and live favourite ‘Let’s Go Surfing’ on August 16^th..

Having played two wildly received sold out headline shows @ Heaven, London last week, the band’s gearing up for all the main UK summer festivals including Glastonbury, Reading/Leeds, T in the Park, Oxegen and their support slot with Kings of Leon at Hyde Park, London on June 30^th. Additionally, The Drums are delighted to announce their first full headline UK tour starting in November.

If you haven’t already checked out The Drums, ‘Let’s Go Surfing’ video then here is your chance. The band are set to release their catchy Summer single on August 16^th. Released via Moshi Moshi Records / Island Records

Check the video here……

Hot on the heels of the release of her critically acclaimed debut album ‘Catching A Tiger’, Lissie has announced details of her first full headline tour this autumn. This is something we’ve been looking forward to for a while now, and it looks like she’s finally found time in her hectic schedule to viit our little island.

It’s been a crazy summer for the Californian songtress, who has stormed into the public conciousness with a series of high profile appearances: Later with Jools Holland & GMTV,  onstage duet with Ellie Goulding, blitzing SXSW with an incredible (impossible?) 10 shows in 4 days, playlisted across UK radio  and massive media coverage.   Having taken the slightly crazy decision to relocate from California to the UK, Lissie will be spending the next few months playing live across the UK. Lissie now has a full program of tour dates throughout the summer,  including a sell out show at London’s ICA on July 28^th and a free gig The Flowerpot in Kentish Town, London this Monday (12^th July). The Flowerpot’s not the biggest venue in the world, so arrive early to avoid disappointment.  

Fresh from the great reception she got for her four (yes, four) Glastonbury appearances and her recent slot at Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park Lissie is off on the festival circuit, taking in Bestival, Latitude, Camp Bestival,  Summer Sundae,  Secret Garden Party, T in The Park,  Oxegen,  Cambridge Folk Festival & V, followed by a series of dates in the US as part of the influential Lilith Fair Tour and at Austin City Limits festival.  After that, it’s back to the UK for this musical workaholic.

Mewbox has taken a keen interest in Lissie’s career to date, and while she’s in the UK we strongly recommend taking a look for youself. If you’re not at one of the aforementioned festivals, and can’t make the Flowerpot, she’ll be bringing her unique take on the world to venues across the country this autumn, and it’s probably a good idea to get your bookings in before the rush.

Lissie’s October headline dates are:  

Oct 26th: Glasgow Oran Mor

Oct 27th: Manchester Academy 3

Oct 28th: Bristol Thekla

Oct 30th: Norwich Waterfront

Oct 31st: Birmingham Academy 2

Nov 1st: London Heaven  

‘Catching A Tiger’ is out now. Lissie’s next single ‘Cuckoo’ is released on August 30th on Columbia Records.

Get there and enjoy. We will.

A Singer Named Shotgun Throat is a real diversion for Moris Tepper.  A decade of free flung avant-garde rock, side by side with the most intimate song writing, is what we’ve come to expect from this true American songwriter.  Having played with such luminaries as Tom Waites, Frank Black, Robyn Hitchcock, and seven years with Captain Beefheart, Tepper is now recognized as a solo artist in his own right.

Following on from his highly acclaimed album, Stingray in the Heart released at the end of 2008, Shotgun Throat is Tepper’s sixth solo album and deviates from his past work in that it is focused in ‘traditional’ song writing.  The entire record was written in one day (just after recalling the title that Don Van Vliet had offered a few years earlier for another album, Moth to Mouth).

The title gave rise in Tepper’s mind to a legend of “The Dirt and Paper” type of songwriter – it attached all the stories of an old, small, mid-west town.  Like all true artists and

musicians, Shotgun Throat, an imagined character, was a loner who was misunderstood and alienated from the rest of this community.  His songs are pure reflections of his time, without specific references to people around him or his daily life.

The album was recorded live and that ‘fleeting moment in time’ approach has served this album’s writing perfectly.  The instrumentation being limited to bass, drums, acoustic guitar and organ, provide a constant backing for Moris Tepper’s song writing style.

A Singer Named Shotgun Throat is released on 21st June on Candlebone Records.

MUSIC ADDITIONS

OBELISK ARENA

~John Grant ~

THE WORD ARENA

~ Angus & Julia Stone ~ Frightened Rabbit ~ Villagers ~

~ School of Seven Bells ~ Rox ~

SUNRISE ARENA

~ Lissie ~ These New Puritans ~

Latitude Festival returns for an incredible 5^th Edition on 15-18^th July 2010 set in the beautiful countryside of Henham Park Estate on Suffolk’s Sunrise Coast.

The eclectic Latitude Festival continues to hold its position as a strident and unique summer event with a bill that defies the traditional. Upon the backdrop of the incomparable Suffolk countryside, Latitude incorporates the very best of music, theatre, comedy, literature, film, poetry, dance, art, fashion and cabaret for a memorable weekend of bliss and adventure as well as inspiration and education. Four music arenas are to host a tantalising blend of musical talent from new bands, rising stars and a global outlook, whilst the arts programme spills over into  thirteen arenas and areas providing something for everyone – no matter what you’re looking for, you’re bound to find it;  once again making Latitude the finest destination for your summer.

~ OBELISK ARENA ~

The Obelisk Arena is the focal point for many of Latitude’s most memorable performances and with a line up that boasts some superb acts, this year will be no different. Heading the bill are Florence + the Machine, Belle and Sebastian and Vampire Weekend while the likes of Empire of the Sun, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Laura Marling, The Temper Trap, Hockey, Frank Turner and The Strange Boys provide an impressive array of talent. Joining this incredible line-up is:

As the frontman of mid-nineties US alt rock band The Czars, who were one of Bella Union’s first signings, John Grant made a name for himself. As a result, after their disbandment, John Grant has played in bands such as Midlake and The Flaming Lips. He recently released his debut album ‘Queen of Denmark’, recorded with his sometime bandmates Midlake, who were happy to return the musical favour. The album contains a lush landscape of acoustic instruments which boasts John’s striking voice blended with haunting falsetto, another tantalising prospect for Latitude.

~ THE WORD ARENA ~

Under the large canopy that comprises The Word Arena will be an amazing set of alternative artists crossing genre boundaries seamlessly where you’ll discover a host of fresh and exciting acts from across the spectrum. With The National, The xx and Grizzly Bear adorning the top of the bill and Richard Hawley, The Feeling, The Coral, Kristin Hersh and Black Mountain spread across the weekend, it’ll be hard to tear yourself away. Just added:

Australian siblings Angus & Julia Stone are returning to our shores clutching their second full-length album ‘Down The Way’. Their whimsical, folk-addled strains and elegant harmonising have spurred them to number one in their native homeland, while their support of Martha Wainwright in Europe has honed their live performance making them a definite highlight in Latitude’s bill.

Nowhere near as timid as their name suggests, Scottish heroes Frightened Rabbit are currently ensnaring a growing global audience. The critical acclaim garnered by the brutal truthfulness of second album ‘The Midnight Organ Fight’ spurred the band into Biffy Clyro support slots and end of year lists. New album ‘The Winter of Mixed Drinks’ shares a lyrical snap with a rousing anthemic musical direction, meaning they’ve hit the upper half of the US Billboard 200 and continue to grow in stature in the UK, especially in a live capacity. Their deafening singalongs at Latitude will echo resoundingly across the lake and greenery of the festival’s surrounds.

One of Domino’s latest slew of excellent signings, Villagers are a Dublin quartet whose gentile, yet robust strummed musings bring to mind Devendra Banhart and the hugely successful Mumford & Sons. They were placed sixth in The Irish Times ‘50 Best Irish Acts Right Now’ last April, toured with the Tindersticks in March and recently appeared on Later…With Jools Holland. They’re sure to top all of that with their summery set for Latitude.

New York three piece School of Seven Bells will be heading to Latitude festival  bringing with them their gentle guitars and jagged beats; with silky vocals hiding behind grumpy, alien synthesizers they’ll bring insidiously catchy music to The Word Arena on Saturday. Dipping into tracks from their debut album ‘Alpinisms’, they’ll surely take everyone in to the fantasy world of dream-pop and abstract beauty.

Soundtracking Rimmel adverts and signing to the UK’s premier independent label Rough Trade certainly hasn’t done South London singer Rox any harm. Having already toured with Daniel Merriweather and Mark Ronson and highlighted in the BBC Sound of 2010 poll, Roxanne Tatei is in good stead for the release of her debut album before her Latitude performance. With her slinky soul pop capturing the attention of a wide range of music fans, we’d expect a healthy, eager audience for this rising star.

~ SUNRISE ARENA ~

A deliciously unexpected treat awaits within the fragrant woods on the other side of the lake. The Sunrise Arena is host to a splendid foray of new acts and is the place to discover tomorrow’s stars today. Girls, Archie Bronson Outfit and Darwin Deez headline this woodland retreat and joining them are the diverse sounds of First Aid Kit, Jesca Hoop andEgyptian Hip Hop. Adding to this exciting bill is:

All the way from the banks of the Mississippi River, Lissie will be sharing her smokey vocals (which have drawn comparisons to Stevie Nicks and Chrissie Hynde) and her finely etched songs with us.  Fuelled by tequila, tomato juice and a broken heart, her eagerly anticipated debut album ‘Catching A Tiger’ is soon to hit the streets and includes the single ‘In Sleep’ which has stunned critics.

These New Puritans were never going to make things easy for us or them. Second album ‘Hidden’ was written partly on bassoon, with six foot Japanese taiko drums and Foley recording techniques jammed into the recording sessions. Their dark, warped merging of urban music’s samples, beats and rasped vocals, guitar trickery and hitherto unimagined clashes of classical and electronica is a vicious, exceptional force. Returning to Latitude after a year’s absence, TNP will be looking to mesmerise more, bringing them into their unforgiving yet infinitely rewarding vortex.

Elsewhere throughout the weekend, festival goers can enjoy, among many other things: the comedy stylings of Emo Philips, Phill Jupitus & Friends Improv Show and Richard Herring; literary musings  from the ever-popular Robin Ince’s Book Club with Kevin Eldon, Jo Neary, Robyn Hitchcock, Josie Long & Gavin Osborn as well as a playwriting session with Polly Stenham; leftfield poetry from Wendy Cope, John Cooper Clarke and  Eddie Argos; dramatic performances courtesy of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Opera House, Bush Theatre and Sadler’s Wells to name but a few, cabaret performances from Rich Fulcher, Laura Solon and Idiots Of Ants; BAFTA return to the Film & Music Arena with Q&As and discussions, with award-winning director Paul Greengrass already confirmed.

It really is a place like no other; an intimate world away from reality that encourages you to be all that you’ve ever wanted to be whilst indulging in the spirit of exploration and discovery.

~ TICKET INFORMATION ~

Weekend tickets £155 including VAT, subject to booking fee

Day tickets Fri, Sat, Sun £65 including VAT, subject to booking fee

Weekend ticket prices include car parking and camping

Day tickets include car parking only

Credit Card line: 0871 2310846

Online: www.festivalrepublic.com • www.seetickets.com • www.latitudefestival.co.uk

For a full list of national and regional outlets please visit www.latitudefestival.co.uk

Jesca Hoop continues her meteoric rise to stardom with the release of the ‘Whispering Light’ single lifted from the highly acclaimed Hunting My Dress album. This will coincide with a full headline UK tour in May to follow her sold out February jaunt, abounding radio support and a 4Play TV showing. Not bad for a fledgling starlet indeed.

Hoop was born in Northern California to Mormon parents. She grew up singing traditional folk tunes in four part harmony. She broke away from her background, becoming a homesteader in the wilderness areas of Northern California and Wyoming.

With ‘Whispering Light’, we find Jesca teasing and goading her own lyrics, playing push me-pull you against the stark backdrop. It seems perfectly economical as was intended. This is backed by the swooping ‘The Kingdom’ where Hoop embodies a “banshee-esque battle goddess who’s call it is to deliver a spell bound death to those dying, yet still attached to this earth”. Have a ganders of the accompanying video below.

This story is carried on the back of monstrous percussion, through the wail of sirens and Hoop’s fireside narration. I know what you must be thinking – spring is upon us, but don’t let seasonal bias effect you with this record, warm weather only heightens warm music, Tom Waits reckons her music is ‘like swimming in a lake late at night. To me that in itself is a reason to buy this here record or make it to one of her UK shows in May, dates below.

Or in the mean time sample it up at her Myspace here.

Sat 1 May Leeds Live At Leeds festival, £15 www.lunatickets.co.uk
Sun 2 May Manchester St Phillips Church, £15 www.quaytickets.com
Wed 5 May Cambridge Portland Arms, £7 www.seetickets.com
Thu 6 May London Bush Hall, £12 www.livenation.co.uk/event/12061/jesca-hoop-tickets
Sat 8 May Kirbymoorside The Band Room, £12.50 www.thebandroom.co.uk
Sun 9 May Birmingham Glee Club, £6.50 www.glee.co.uk 0871 472 0400
Mon 10 May Norwich Arts Centre, £8 www.norwichartscentre.co.uk 01603 660352
Wed 12 May Bristol Cooler, £7 www.seetickets.com
Thu 13 May Liverpool Kazimier, £6 www.ticketweb.co.uk
Sat 22 May Glasgow Stereo, Stag & Dagger, £16.50 www.ticketweb.co.uk
Sun 23 May Hebden Bridge Trades Club, £8 www.seetickets.com
Mon 24 May Manchester Band on the Wall, £9 www.seetickets.com

Toronto based, Octoberman will be touring Europe and the UK in May to promote their latest album Fortresses, released on White Whale Records on 3rd May.

Fortresses is Marc Morrissette and his band’s most cohesive and adventurous album to date and marks Morrissette’s most thematically unified work as a wordsmith.  
Examining a variety of relationships, the melancholic record ultimately emerges as an unabashed break-up album in every conceivable sense.

After earning critical praise from the likes of Pitchfork, Uncut and Americana UK (album of 2007), Marc Morrissette will be heading to a venue near you!

UK Tour Dates:

Saturday 1st May – London, Camden Crawl

Sunday 2nd May – London, Camden Crawl

Tuesday 4th May – London, Slaughtered Lamb

Thursday 6th May – Halifax, The Puzzle Hall @ Sowerby Bridge

Friday 7th May – Cheltenham, Conservatory Cafe Bar

Wednesday 26th May – London, Camden Head (Club Fandango)

Thursday 27th May – Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s

Friday 28th May – Glasgow, Brel

Saturday 29th May – Northampton, The Lamplighter

Sunday 30th May - Bath, Moles

Wednesday 2nd June – Barnstaple, North Devon College

Thursday 3rd June – Cardiff, Buffalo Bar

Friday 4th June – Bedminster, Southbank

Saturday 5th June – Glossop, The Oakwood

Sunday 6th June – Maidstone, Bar Chocolate

Monday 7th June – Norwich, The Bicycle Shop

It’s strange to think that only four years ago Trivium didn’t knock on the door of metal as much as kick it in with their acclaimed debut, Ascendency.

Two albums and four years later and they are on the UK leg of their Into the Mouth of Hell We Tour at the Portsmouth Pyramid Centre, an odd venue for a bill with some of metals biggest heavy weights.

Rise to Remains and Whitechapel give it their all as the crowd rolls in. However instead of being merely seen by folded arm fans hear only here for the main headliner, they are greeted by flocks of fans that have no problem starting up mosh pits and throwing themselves around. By the end of Whitechapel set the Pyramids are full and waiting for who should be the nights joint headliner.

Doused in fog and red light, Chimaira, stride out onto the stage to the acoustic intro of The Venom Inside. Front man Matt Hunter knows how to work his crowd. The band work favourites such as Power Trip, Nothing Remains and Worthless and in return they ask for only one thing, for the crowd to go ballistic. And they do.
The Ohio boys watch with smiles as the crowd moshes and scream along. Finishing on Pure Hatred, it’s strange to wonder how these guys are not the headliners on this tour. With massive stage presence and an electrifyingly tight performance for a number of metal fans in the audience they could leave pretty satisfied after such a set.

Andrew WK’s Its Time To Party is an odd choice as the warm up track before Trivium take to the stage. Heads turn, confused smiles are on the faces of even some of the burliest fan but people are pumped.

The End of Everything is the first song of the evening. The instrumental piece sets the mood of the evenings set list, confirmed when Matt Heafy bounding on stage, Les Paul instead of Dean in tow and blasting into the Ascendency’s second track, Rain.

The only difference to this line up is new replacement drummer Nick Augusto who takes the duties of previous drummer Travis Smith. With a considerably smaller kit than his predecessor he manages to make enough noise and speed to give Trivium their driving power.

The show however is plagued by technical faults such as microphones dying, guitar straps breaking and an overly enthusiastic sound man who seems to think people want to hear the drumming of Nick over the crazy, shredding riffs from the guitarists. The unfortunate target for all this bad karma is Matt who seems to keep on a brave face and playing all the way to the end instead of having a rock star strop and run off in a huff.

Trivium seems to be pulling most of tonight’s set list from their back catalogue, heavily drawing on Ascendancy and The Crusade with songs such as Anthem, Dying In Your Arms and Like Light To Flies. This is probably down to Nick being so new to the band and having a considerably more compact drum kit than what Travis used to.

A few songs from Shogun make it into the list alongside new song Shattering the Skies Above from the God of War 3 soundtrack and Sepultura cover, Slave New World.

Nothing stops Trivium from giving it them all. They are a very audience driven band. They want to give the audience something they can enjoy and remember. Their performance is electrifying. Each member of the bands isn’t static for more than 30 seconds at a time, playing to the crowd, changing sides and engaging with the crowd. These guys have only been doing this rock and roll malarkey for a few years but come across as veterans. With prospects of a new album by the end of this year, Trivium have the potential to gain the most sought after crown, that of the Kings of Metal.

Those lovely ladies over at Young and Lost Club have announced their latest release, recent addition to their roster, three-piece Sunderbans will be releasing ‘We Can Only Because We Care’ and there will be party too, in one week on the 18^th. The format for the release, their follow up to ‘Road Kill’ available below, is in true de rigueur fashion the track is only available on a limited number of 7”. It comes with a lovely bit Gauguinesqe artwork on the cover too.

Sunderbans – Road Kill by Mewbox

The name Sundarban can be literally translated as “beautiful jungle” or “beautiful forest” in Bengali, where a mangrove wetland, fames in Bengali folk-lore of the same name is. This light romanticism and slight mystery is something conveyed in their music. These three are purveyors of some very fine alt-rock; light and layered the at times abstract lyrics sit well with the warm, classic guitar. As mentioned there will be a celebratory shindig, free to all, to mark the occasion, here are the necessaries.

Thursday // 18^th // March

Live – Sunderbans, French Kissing, Grass House and Jack Day live!

Djs – Hatcham Social, Young & Lost Club, Nothing Bad Magazine, Loverman and Anya

At The Stags Head – Dalston // FREE ENTRY ALL NIGHT

Justin Ringle of Horse Feathers has turned out to be a songwriter strongly influenced by the seasons.  His Portland, Oregon-based band’s last record, the critically acclaimed House With No Home, was a Winter album par excellence, from it’s chilly cover art to his frostbitten songs of loneliness and loss.

From the first piano notes of the title track, plinking like Spring rain on a windowpane, Thistled Spring shows itself to be an album of rebirth, renewal, and fragile hope.  The sun is out in the world evoked by this music, and in the first couple of songs it feels like the sun of early Spring, how very appropriate.

‘Thistled Spring’ and ‘Starving Robins’ both continue Ringle’s trademark use of space in song-writing , but in this case, the space is full of potential, like the spaces between drops of melting snow.  The sun gets stronger and warmer as the album moves along, shining most brilliantly in the jaunty, joyous, ‘Belly of June’, where Ringle’s characteristically spare vocals become fattened up with delicious harmonies as the music swells with strings and banjo.

Lyrically, Ringle continues to explore broken relationships, longing and pain, but this album has an undercurrent of heat that translates to a thawing of frozen hearts, and music which rushes like spring torrents, all of which points to a resurgence of life after a hard Winter.

Thank God spring is here!