Monday, April 27, 2015

Tree Machines debut EP out now! Hear “Late Snow” via BlackBook, check out Lawrence, Kansas duo’s debut Daytrotter session.

 “I knew we had finally made the music we had been working towards,” says duo’s Patrick Aubry of first time hearing latest single.

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Tree Machines (L-R): Douglas Wooldridge & Patrick Aubry. Photo by Phil Peterson.

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Tree Machines – In The Press

“Emotionally staggering.” – Chuck Armstrong, Diffuser

“Best new rock song of the year so far.” – Luke O’ Neil, BULLETT

“This is the best thing I’ve heard all week. So amazing.” – Sean Moeller, Daytrotter

“I’ve been unable to stop listening.” – Tom Johnson, Gold Flake Paint (UK)

“Grips you in such a beautifully brutal way.” Innocent Words

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“Late Snow” is the latest single from Tree Machines. Hear it now via BlackBook or at the links below!




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Hear the debut Daytrotter session by Tree Machines now!

“‘Late Snow’ is a song about the fading love for a town that once felt like home,” says Doug Wooldridge of Lawrence, Kansas-based duo, Tree Machines. “Where all the once familiar faces seem like strangers. To us, it’s more like a movement than a pop song,” he continues about the track which appears on the just-released debut Tree Machines EP and was recently premiered by BlackBook. “It really was the magic track that came together once we got into the studio.”

Wooldridge’s musical partner Patrick Aubry elaborates about the concept saying, “Anyone who’s lived in the Midwest knows the feeling of a late snow while waiting for the warm weather to break through the winter. There’s always one more snowfall to prolong the salvation, but the wait always seems to make those first days of spring that much more enjoyable.”

Aubry goes on to say that the track is his favorite on the band’s new record.  “When I heard it finished for the first time, I had a hard time keeping the tears back. I knew we had finally made the music we had been working towards for years.”

The previous single from Tree Machines, the provocatively titled single “F***ing Off Today” (only censored to avoid your spam filter!), may have been a risky choice for a new bands very first single. The tune is an ode to apathy of epic proportions, lyrically capturing the idea of not caring in a way no artist has before, and frankly couldn’t exist with any other name.  Scroll down to check out the video for the song via The Wild.

“With open mouths to feed, we’re f***ing off today,” Wooldridge sings with ultimate conviction, adding an ironic touch that gives the song even more potency.  The anthemic aspects of this message were borne of Wooldridge and Aubry’s observations of the on-off, blissed-out-but-strung-out club kids they’d see during their gigs as lighting designers.

The ability to grasp the confusing feelings of youth, and longing for something so much bigger than what they refer to as “the Midwest lifestyle,” is in Tree Machines’ DNA.  It explains why we haven’t heard a song about apathy delivered in such blunt terms until now. 

The self-titled debut EP by Tree Machines is out now.  Patrick Aubry and Douglas Wooldridge of Tree Machines are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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 “F***ing Off Today” is the first video from Tree Machines. See it via The Wild or at the links below! NSFW and CLEAN versions available.



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Tree Machines
S/T EP
(Self-Released)
Out Now


Track Listing:

01. F***ing Off Today (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3 | VIDEO)
02. Late Snow (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)
03. Misunderstood
04. At the Wheel
05. The Fire
06. Black and Blue
07. Man at the Door

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Tree Machines Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Tidelands flies drone through California Redwoods for “Old Mill Park” video. Song is title track from SF-based duo’s latest.

Called “multilayered confection of smart pop” by NPR-affiliate KQED, new EP features contributions from John Vanderslice.

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Tidelands (L-R): Gabriel Leis, Mie Araki. Photo credit: Elliot Jaramillo.

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Tidelands – In The Press

“A multilayered confection of smart pop.” – KQED (NPR)

“Refreshing, stimulating, and likely to induce daydreaming.” – My Old Kentucky Blog

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 See the video for the title track from the latest Tidelands EP “Old Mill Park” now via Groundsounds or at the link below!


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“I had an idea for a drone to fly the route from Cascade Falls to the Old Mill,” says Gabriel Leis of San Francisco-based duo Tidelands of the concept for “Old Mill Park,” the title track and first music video from the new Tidelands EP, out now.  “The director, Elliot Jaramillo, had just gotten into drone photography,” Leis says.  Ultimately, Jaramillo perfectly captured the feeling Leis had in mind. 

“It’s an homage to a special place where I have childhood memories,” Leis says. “The majesty of the redwood forests of Northern California, and the feeling of nostalgia for a time that is lost to youth. It’s an actual place in Mill Valley where I spent part of my childhood, a magical place with a creek that runs down a small canyon to a classic three-tiered swimming hole, and then under the skeleton of the original old mill that the town was named for.”

Comprised of guitarist and vocalist Leis and drummer Mie Araki, Tidelands is a duo by circumstance instead of design. Teaming up amid the ashes of a previous band, the pair started using loops to fill out its sound.

“That created a sound of its own, and directed my songwriting for the first couple years of the band,” says Leis. “This time, I wanted to write and record songs that would stand on their own with just an acoustic guitar and my voice.”  On the new EP, basic guitars, upright bass, drum, and vocal tracks were all recorded live in the studio as full takes. Only later did the band “get all Tidelands” with the songs, building them up with strings (once again collaborating with the Magik*Magik Orchestra), keys, horns and harmonies.

The release of “Old Mill Park” was preceded by the single “Dog Named Bart,” which includes vocal contributions from John Vanderslice and frequent Tidelands collaborator Debbie Neigher.

“I gotta give a shout out to JV for altering the phrasing and delivery of the vocals that we all sung together,” acknowledges Leis of Vanderslice’s essential contributions.  “Old Mill Park,” the new EP by Tidelands, is out now.  Gabriel Leis of Tidelands is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Hear “Dog Named Bart” from the new Tidelands EP “Old Mill Park” via The Bay Bridged or the links below!





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Tidelands
“Old Mill Park” EP
(Redgummy Records – Out Now)
  

Track Listing:

01. Old Mill Park (VIDEO)
02. Dog Named Bart (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)
03. Four Strings and a Wooden Box
04. Hole in the Ceiling
05. Brown Eyes
06. Low Roller

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Tidelands Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion



Monday, April 20, 2015

San Francisco-based foursome In Letter Form references its new wave and post punk heroes on latest single, music video.

Fans of The Cure, Joy Division, Bauhaus can check out “Reflecting The Rain” via The Wild, “Wait Now” via PureVolume.

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In Letter Form (L-R): Peter Dosanjh, Andres Lopez, Eric Miranda, James Levis. Photo Credit: Rachel Escoto.

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“Reflecting The Rain” is the latest single from In Letter Form.  Hear it via The Wild Magazine or at the links below!





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“Smooth melodies and sincere lyrics, can’t go wrong.” – The Wild Magazine

“I sent my girlfriend a mix tape early in our relationship with the Velvet Underground song ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’ on it,” recalls Eric Miranda of San Francisco foursome, In Letter Form. “It was basically a message from me encouraging her to become self-realized, confident, and aware of her beauty. In ‘Reflecting The Rain,’ when I sing ‘you were reflecting the rain,’ I mean that she was reflecting her sadness.”

“Reflecting The Rain,” which Miranda goes on to say was musically influenced by the Modern English classic “I Melt With You” (the “ah, ah, ah’s” in the tune’s breakdown are an obvious nod), is the band's latest single, and is scheduled to appear on a full-length In Letter Form album currently in production.

The influential work of The Cure, Joy Division, Bauhaus, and New Order are all touchstones when it comes to In Letter Form’s tunes.  Based on the early reaction to the band's previous single “Wait Now,” the group is hardly being perceived as derivative, however.  Instead, it seems In Letter Form is making that rare sound which not only prompts listeners to revisit those classic artists, but also makes them want to discover more about the intriguing new band inspired by them.

“We are sentimental about the way we go about writing songs and performing them,” says Miranda. “We want listeners to hear a close approximation of our truth.”

Lyrically, the songs of In Letter Form deal with some of the harder of those truths: loss of control, loss of love, loss of innocence, loss of relationships, family members, and so on.  Personal loss colors the band’s music, not only since inception, but even to the point of this writing, as Miranda’s best friend passed shortly after working on the band’s just-premiered music video for “Wait Now”.

“There’s something intrinsically contradictory in the word combination ‘wait now’ and this duality was very much present in my friend,” Miranda explains.  “Wait Now” and “Reflecting The Rain” by In Letter Form are out now.  Members of the band are currently available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Hear the “Wait Now” single by In Letter Form via Groundsounds and see the music video via PureVolume!


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In Letter Form Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Thursday, April 16, 2015

17-year-old producer Brooks Brown to release four-song “Sidetracked” EP May 12th. Hear title track streaming now.

“His age has no impact on his delicate, evolving sound,” says Earmilk in its title track premiere feat. vocalist Madi Walsh.

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Brooks Brown as photographed by Skylar Rain

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“Sidetracked” is the title track from the upcoming EP by Brooks Brown.  Hear it via Earmilk or at the link below!



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“We’re still on the hunt for the future, and 16-year-old producer Brooks Brown is as close to it as we’re getting.” – Complex

Brooks Brown is a (now) 17-year-old producer, multi-instrumentalist, and self-described “seemingly normal teenager” originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma and now based in Leawood, Kansas. 

“My love for music defines my life,” he says. “It has grown into an infatuation and fuel for my dreams.”

Brown will release a four-song EP “Sidetracked” on May 12th, 2015.  The EP includes two new instrumentals along with two new vocal tracks, one featuring Brown himself on the mic for the first time.  The other, the EP’s title track and first single, features the beautiful voice of singer Madi Walsh, who Brown met when both were attending GRAMMY® Camp in Los Angeles in 2014.  The track was premiered this week exclusively via music discovery website Earmilk.

“I was working on music with Madi in mind when ‘Sidetracked’ first creeped onto my computer,” Brown recalls. “I sent her the tune, and within a few days, she sent me back a gorgeous vocal.”  As the pair started to think about how they wanted to release the track, it eventually became the core of what is now the “Sidetracked” EP, four cuts that hold together as a dreamy, hopeful, and optimistic set of songs.  Not bad for “seemingly normal” teenager.

The “Sidetracked” EP by Brooks Brown will be released May 12th, 2015.  Brooks Brown is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Brooks Brown
“Sidetracked” EP
May 12th, 2015


Track Listing:

01. Sidetracked (ft. Madi Walsh) (STREAM)
02. Countdown
03. Lights Out
04. Awake

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Brooks Brown Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Songwriter Jeremy Bass emerges from an icy isolation in Brooklyn with Haggard, Waits-influenced “Winter Bare” album, out today.

Album is first in two-LP cycle, with Bossa nova-inspired “New York In Spring” arriving June 9th. Bass performs live in NYC tonight.

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Jeremy Bass as photographed by Robyn Hasty

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Jeremy Bass – In The Press

“Hope can be heard shining through.” – Exclaim!

“Daring and simple all at the same time.” – Guitar World

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“Winter Bare” is the title track from the new album by Jeremy Bass.  Hear it via Exclaim! or at the links below!





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See Jeremy Bass performing songs from Winter Bare tonight at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC at 10PM!

Winter Bare is an album of love songs,” explains Brooklyn’s Jeremy Bass of his new album out today, the first of a pair of records to be released in the first half of 2015. “But, its lyrical center tends to hover around love’s fragility and the potential for loss, rather than committing wholly to the joy of falling in love or the devastation of losing it.”

The title track (recently premiered via Canada’s essential music discovery website Exclaim!) was the first one that Bass wrote after falling in love again following a devastating divorce that left him physically isolated from the world.  “I thought that feeling was dead in me for a long time,” he says, “But then suddenly, without looking for it, it reappeared when I least expected it.”

Just prior, Bass was splitting up with his wife, and selling the house they shared together. Returning to single living in Brooklyn during the intense New York winter of 2013, he found himself secluded in an empty house, sifting through his memories.

“I was drinking, I had run out of money, I was nearly unemployed, and certainly unemployable,” he confesses. “But, I had a fireplace and my guitars.”  By the end of the winter, he had a set of songs that wove their way through loneliness, despair and near-insanity, to love and longing, and ultimately hope.

Musically, Winter Bare shows the influence of musical outlaws such as Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, and Tom Waits, artists Bass was listening to as he taught himself to play mandolin and banjo, his “divorce gifts” to himself.

When not recording his solo material, Jeremy Bass is the Musical Director of The Secret City, the OBIE Award-winning ongoing performance gathering based in New York City.  Bass was already a widely published poet and classical guitarist trained in the academies of Italy and the flamenco bars of Spain when he joined the collective.  At the time, its membership numbered in the single digits, and has since, under Bass’ musical direction, seen its membership grow to the thousands.

Winter Bare is out now and will be followed-up by New York in Spring, an album of Bossa nova-inspired tunes on June 9th. Jeremy Bass is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Jeremy Bass
Winter Bare
(Self-Released)
Out Now


Track Listing:

01. Introduction (Shoreline)
02. Lift Me Up (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)
03. Winter Bare (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)
04. One More Cigarette
05. Coming Back Home
06. Red Tailed Hawk
07. Winterlude (Banjo for Annie)
08. Counting
9. (Lookin’ For) The Heart of Saturday Night (Vinyl-Only Bonus Track)

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Jeremy Bass Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Named one of Houston’s best pop acts, The Wheel Workers mixes social consciousness into its damn catchy songs.

 “It’s rare when the music is as impressive as the message,” says Powerpopaholic. “CITIZENS” album arrives May 26th.

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The Wheel Workers (L-R): Jason Williams, Craig Wilkins, Tyson Sheth, Allison Wilkins McPhail, Steven Higginbotham. Photo Credit: Patrick Bertolino.

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“Yodel” is the first single from the upcoming “CITIZENS” by The Wheel Workers.  Hear it via BLURT or at the links below!





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“Houston's brightest hope. Damn. Seriously righteous.” – BLURT on The Wheel Workers

The Wheel Workers is a Houston-based five-piece recently nominated as Houston’s “Best Pop Act” in 2014’s Houston Press Music Awards. The band also received a nomination for Steven Higginbotham, the group’s lyricist, as “Best Songwriter” – an especially noteworthy accomplishment for a pop band.

“I love artists who’ve had something substantial to say beyond the standard lyrical fare in pop songs,” Higginbotham says.  The Houston Chronicle called The Wheel Workers’ previous release “one of the best albums made in Houston last year,” and now the band will follow it up with a new record CITIZENS, scheduled for release on May 26th , 2015.

When Higginbotham talks about substance in pop songs, he’s talking about the pairing of sociopolitical consciousness with a memorable hook. After all, there’s a reason that listeners are still moved by the catchiest folk and punk protest songs of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, The Clash, and Bad Religion.

This approach to music-making by The Wheel Workers is the reason why the Houston Chronicle went on in that same piece to call the album a “thoughtful recording that offers new rewards during repeated playings.”  On CITIZENS, the band’s way of doing things has become masterful, with the album’s opener “Yodel” providing a vibrant example of the pairing of hook and substance.

Along with Higginbotham, The Wheel Workers is comprised of Allison Wilkins McPhail (a fellow Houston Press Music Awards nominee as “Best Keyboardist”), Craig Wilkins, Tyson Sheth, and Dan Workman

Members of The Wheel Workers are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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The Wheel Workers – Live

04/23 Houston, TX @ Rudyard’s
05/01 Houston, TX @ Summit
05/02 Austin, TX @ Pecan Street Festival
05/10 Houston, TX @ Pop Shop
05/22 Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s CITIZENS Record Release Show
05/25 Austin, TX @ House Show w/ Czars
05/29 Beaumont, TX @ Texas Rose Saloon
06/13 Houston, TX @ Numbers
06/14 Houston, TX @ Beerfest
07/18 Bryan, TX @ Revolution
07/25 Houston, TX @ Rudyard’s
08/07 San Antonio, TX @ Josabi’s
08/14 Beaumont, TX @ Texas Rose Saloon

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The Wheel Workers
CITIZENS
(S/R – May 26th, 2015)
  

Track Listing:

01. Yodel (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)
02. Burglar
03. Whole Other World
04. Smokescreen
05. Wage Slaves
06. Run Away
07. Dream
08. Citizen Incorporated

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The Wheel Workers Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Wednesday, April 1, 2015

San Francisco-based foursome In Letter Form references best of English post-punk sounds on poignant, personal new single.

“We still write and mail letters,” says vocalist Eric Miranda of band’s philosophy. RIYL: The Cure, Joy Division, Bauhaus.

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In Letter Form (L-R): Andres Lopez, James Levis, Peter Dosanjh, Eric Miranda. Photo Credit: Rachel Escoto.

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“Wait Now” is the new single from In Letter Form.  Hear it via Groundsounds or at the links below!





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“Our name refers to what we consider an antiquated method of communication,” says Eric Miranda, band leader and vocalist for the San Francisco-based foursome, In Letter Form. “Yes, we still write and mail letters.”  The band’s point of view is made clear on its new single “Wait Now,” which will appear on an upcoming In Letter Form album, currently in production.

“We are sentimental about the way we go about writing songs and performing them,” says Miranda. “We want listeners to hear a close approximation of our truth.”  Lyrically, the songs of In Letter Form deal with some of the harder of those truths: loss of control, loss of love, loss of innocence, loss of relationships, family members, and so on.  Personal loss colors the band’s music, not only since inception, but even to the point of this writing, as Miranda’s best friend passed away shortly after working on the band’s upcoming “Wait Now” music video.

“There’s something intrinsically contradictory in the word combination ‘wait now’,” Miranda says. “And this duality was very much present in my friend. The video will be dedicated to him.”

Musically, In Letter Form’s touchstones are clear, as well.  The Cure, Joy Division, Bauhaus, along with New Order, Depeche Mode, and The Jesus and Mary Chain – they can all be heard on “Wait Now.”  But where many artists influenced by this important English musical moment fall short, In Letter Form excels.  Theirs is that rare, reverential sound that not only makes you want to revisit classic artists, but pushes you to want to know more of the story behind the intriguing new band inspired by them.

“Wait Now” by In Letter Form is out now.  Another In Letter Form single and video “Reflecting The Rain” on the way. Members of In Letter Form are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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In Letter Form Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion