Helping to pioneer DIY recording in 1990 with “Snailbait,” today Azalia Snail releases her 15th album; All-instrumental POWERLOVER out now.

“She is a singular creative influence on us, our scene, and our generation.” — Robert Schneider of The Apples In Stereo, Elephant 6 Recording Co.

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Azalia Snail as photographed by Dan West

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Azalia Snail

POWERLOVER

Out Now

(Cloud Recordings)

Streaming Link:

STREAM FULL LP

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Track Listing:

01. Take Away His Power

02. Zap You of That Hate (WATCH)

03. Don’t Get Too Close To Me (WATCH)

04. Destroy It For No Reason

05. Trek Lite

06. Expert Outlier

07. Still Hanging On

08. Lovers Rising

09. Can’t Wait Til This is Through

10. Save Your Savior

11. Higher Hopes

12. It Becomes Clear To Them

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Azalia Snail | “Don't Get Too Close To Me”

[WATCH]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeW2EcQMPKc

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See the video for “Don’t Get Too Close To Me” starring Azalia Snail and musical and life partner Dan West of LoveyDove via V13 here or at the link above.

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 “‘Don’t Get Too Close To Me’ is an instrumental that conveys the feeling of the ‘impending doom’ of living in a world gone topsy-turvy, initially by a worldwide pandemic, and which continues on as humans must deal with the threat of potentially alienating factors such as AI, the increasingly competitive nature of modern society, and useless and violent man made wars, not to mention the looming climate war.

“In the video, the isolated couple are forced to acknowledge that the world is becoming increasingly cold, both in climate and human relationships. The disco ball represents the joy and the live entertainment associations from a not too distant past, as it is passed from one person to the other and scrutinized. The couple considers the possibility of connecting, but in the end, decide to stay in their isolation, as it is too risky to do so. ‘Don’t Get Too Close To Me’ is the conclusion of the experiment.” — Azalia Snail

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Azalia Snail | Live

Azalia Snail | POWERLOVER Record Release Show

Sun., April 14: Pasadena, CA @ Healing Force (1200 E Walnut St.)

RSVP: https://bit.ly/AZALIA-SNAIL-RECORD-RELEASE-041424

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Azalia Snail | “Zap You of That Hate”

[WATCH]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mn4q1vxPWM

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See the video for “Zap You of That Hate,” featuring longtime Azalia Snail friend Alan Sparhawk of Low on guitar, and musical and life partner Dan West of LoveyDove on bass via Brooklyn Vegan here or listen via the “Weirder Together” podcast hosted by Ben Lee and Ione Skye here.

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“If I had only one wish, it would be to zap away the hate with some kind of magic wand,” Azalia Snail says of her current single “Zap You of That Hate,” taken from her 15^th album POWERLOVER, out now via Cloud Recordings.

“Confronted and confounded by feelings of deep distress about the uneasy state of the world and the impending doom that comes with that, ‘Zap You of That Hate’ evokes an urgent plea for humanity to be kinder. The piece begins with a simple yet determined riff and builds tension as it turns into a layered, transcendent hymn.

“The video is a collage of uplifting, pleasing images spun through a kaleidoscopic psychedelic dreamscape lens. A kind of utopia we can only imagine if not for the negative, occasional hateful aspects of humanity.”

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Azalia Snail | About

Azalia Snail has toured with notable artists such as Sebadoh, Low, and The Grifters. She has also played supporting sets with Marianne Faithful, Beck, Stereolab, Tindersticks, Olivia Tremor Control, The Apples in Stereo, Pavement, Sonic Youth, The Butthole Surfers, and many more.

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POWERLOVER is the 15^th solo album by American avant-garde musician, Azalia Snail. The all-instrumental album is described by Snail as “an ode to Brian Eno’s ambient soundscapes.”

Snail continues, “I wanted to make an album that would reflect my feelings about the state of the world at this time. Although I’m a huge lover of poetry and usually use lyrics to accentuate those feelings, I felt that these instrumentals represent a feeling that I wanted to convey; uneasiness, anxiety, intensity, reservation. As the album progresses, I wanted to enforce a more positive feeling; hope, beauty, resonance, reflection.”

The album features Snail on Omnichord, Drums, Synths, and Effects. Alan Sparhawk of Low plays ethereal guitar and Dan West plays bass.

“I was also lucky enough to connect with Adam Lasus from Studio Red who has a great history of recording so many wonderful bands from the 90s until now, including Gigolo Aunts, Helium, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Yo La Tengo. He is such a delight to work with! Not only very encouraging, but technically proficient.”

POWERLOVER is out now via Cloud Recordings (Circulatory System, Tall Dwarfs, New Sound of Numbers). The lead single “Zap You of That Hate” is streaming now.

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Azalia Snail | Links

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : TWITTER : TIKTOK : SPOTIFY : APPLE : BANDCAMP

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : TIKTOK : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Friends for 30 years, new album Chinwag marks first duo recording from Grammy®-nominated pianist Larry Goldings and trumpeter John Sneider.

Chinwag explores classic American repertoire (Eubie Blake, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Thelonious Monk) via free improvisation, spontaneous composition.

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(L-R): Larry Goldings and John Sneider as photographed by David Poe

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Larry Goldings & John Sneider | “Laugh Clown Laugh”

[STREAM]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6RMclLeGdE
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About | Larry Goldings & John Sneider | “Laugh Clown Laugh”

A 30 year long friendship between musicians is not necessary to make intimate, creative music together, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Chinwag, the first duo record by Grammy®-nominated pianist Larry Goldings and trumpeter John Sneider, is just such a project; a debut three decades in the making. It might seem like a simple undertaking — a small format album of piano and trumpet — but under the hood there is a lot more going on than meets the eyes (or ears).

The project was still taking shape even up to the final moments of recording, “We already had all this material amassed and then we decided to do the old tune ‘Laugh Clown Laugh,’” says Sneider. “We did it in one take. A lot of the stuff on the record is one take. We decided to just play some tunes for fun.

“Laugh Clown Laugh,” featuring Goldings on pocket piano, Wing upright and organ, became the opening track on Chinwag and sets the tone for the project. “It's got all the elements of the record, and it instantly tells you that it's gonna be different. I wanted to make that point in the beginning,” says Goldings.

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Chinwag, which literally means “a conversation between friends,” is the most recent expression of the long and ongoing friendship between Goldings and Sneider. Massachusetts natives of the same generation, both grew up with a love of bebop and electronic music. By the time they began playing together on the early 90s New York music scene — working regularly at clubs like Augie’s and the Village Gate — each had become a devotee of hard bop and had developed a common musical language.

“We go way back,” says Goldings. “John was certainly the first great trumpet player I ever played with regularly.” Today Goldings, who eventually moved to Los Angeles, has become one of the most iconic keyboard players of his generation, due in large part to his diversity and flexibility both on stage and in the studio. Sneider has also spent his fair share of time in recording studios and on stages and in recent years has been releasing regular hard bop statements, including 2021’s The Scrapper which also featured Goldings on organ.

Goldings and Sneider flirted with the idea of making a duet record for years. On Goldings’ 2009 Quartet record, for example, they played a haunting duo version of “We Shall Overcome”, and before that, on Curtis Stigers’ 2005 album I Think It’s Going To Rain Today, they recorded a duo version of the title track. In fact, it was during the Stigers recording sessions that the idea of doing a full fledged duet project first appeared. As Goldings explains, “The impetus of us playing duo came out of that experience.”

Chinwag by friends of 30 years, Larry Goldings & John Sneider, is out now. Goldings and Sneider are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Larry Goldings & John Sneider

Chinwag

Out Now

(Sticky Mack Records)

Streaming Link:

STREAM FULL LP

Track Listing:

01. Laugh Clown Laugh (Fiorito, Lewis, Young) (STREAM)

02. The Great Zamboni (L. Goldings)

03. The Veldt (L. Goldings, J. Sneider) (STREAM)

04. Love Will Find A Way (E. Blake)

05. Sweet and Lovely (G. Arnheim) (VIDEO)

06. Hesitation Blues (W.C Handy)

07. Diary Of A Lost Girl (L. Goldings, J. Sneider)

08. In Walked Bud (B. Powell)

09. Beautiful Dreamer (S. Foster)

10. Sepia (J. Sneider)

11. Salad Days (L. Goldings)

12. Berkshire Dawn (L. Goldings)

13. Chinwag (L. Goldings, J. Sneider)

14. Briar Rose (J. Sneider)

15. Napoleon Contest (L. Goldings, J. Sneider)

16. If I Loved You (Rodgers & Hammerstein)

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Larry Goldings & John Sneider | Links

FACEBOOK (Larry Goldings) : INSTAGRAM (Larry Goldings) : INSTAGRAM (John Sneider) : SPOTIFY : APPLE

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : TIKTOK : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

“Meant to get you stirred up the way a good rock tune ought to” says Glide about “So Cool” from “Give Or Take” by Alberta & The Dead Eyes.

“Stomping piano and moody harmonies” lead off latest album by Seattle-based carpenter, social media ignorer, multi-instrumentalist, Dave Boone.

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Dave Boone of Alberta & The Dead Eyes as photographed by The Dead Eyes

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Alberta & The Dead Eyes | In The Press

“A brief moment of transcendence.” — Treble

“Glam sensibility with an indie rock cool.” — Glide

"Simplicity and spaciousness that is rare." — Big Takeover

“As interested in the past as the future.” — Various Small Flames

“Sweeping... Incredibly rich and vibrant.” — Mystic Sons

“A journey to the heart of human vulnerability.” — IGGY

“It’s a joyful, playful sound built on the blues.” — Alt77

“It’s a winner from the first.” — NeuFutur

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Alberta & The Dead Eyes

Give Or Take

Out Now

(Dead Eyes Collective)

Streaming Link:

STREAM FULL LP

01. So Cool (STREAM)

02. Slow Fool (STREAM)

03. Spiff (STREAM)

04. Wild Creature

05. Wannabe

06. Stop Gap Blues

07. Wicks

08. Bogachita Blues

09. Walk Walk

10. Welcome

11. Get There Faster

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Alberta & The Dead Eyes | “So Cool”

[STREAM]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MKI2HuprM4

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About | “So Cool”

Listen to “So Cool,” the lead track from Give Or Take by Alberta & The Dead Eyes via Glide Magazine here or at the link above.

“The stomping piano and moody harmonies put Boone’s gritty yet smooth vocals on fine display. This is the kind of barroom viber that makes you want to soak up the night and see what’s out there… this is an impressive little romp meant to get you stirred up the way a good rock tune ought to do.” — Glide Magazine

“I wrote ‘So Cool’ on the piano and it is completely based on that groove. I really wanted the piano groove to be 99 percent of the song. Had the middle section not come to me, I would have been completely fine with this one being 45-seconds long. Hah. I’d think the words speak for themselves. ‘Such a joke. What a sham – from such a tiny boy comes such a little man.’ I hesitate to be too pointed here. There’s a handful of ways one could view this scene, and I tried to make it intentionally vague.” — Dave Boone, Alberta & The Dead Eyes

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Alberta & The Dead Eyes | “Slow Fool”

“Vocal styling similar to legends such as Amy Winehouse.” — Lost In The Manor

[STREAM]: https://Fanatic.lnk.to/AlbertaAndTheDeadEyes-SlowFool

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About | “Slow Fool”

Listen to “Slow Fool,” the latest single from Give Or Take by Alberta & The Dead Eyes via The Big Takeover here or at the link above.

“Kicks off without any fuss or fanfare and then builds slowly, gathering almost imperceptible musical weight as it adds layers of tones and texture around it along its journey. There is a simplicity and spaciousness that is rare in music making circles today. But, when done correctly, as it is here, that’s all you need.” — The Big Takeover

“I was living in the recording studio that whole year,” Dave Boone of Alberta & The Dead Eyes explains, “and it was wearing on me. I locked myself in the control room for an entire day just for a change of pace and I was listening to the radio. Sure enough I got bored and wrote this little junker. This is one of those songs that just spilled out. ‘A little too low to be that high.’ Pretty self explanatory to me.”

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Alberta & The Dead Eyes | “Spiff”

[STREAM]: https://Fanatic.lnk.to/AlbertaAndTheDeadEyes-Spiff
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About | “Spiff”

Listen to “Spiff,” the first single from Give Or Take by Alberta & The Dead Eyes via Treble here or at the link above.

“The song carries a swampy groove with a bit of a mid-1970s tint to it a la peak Fleetwood Mac, but with a rich backing of organ and layers of vocal harmonies that rise into a brief moment of transcendence that fades nearly as soon as it arrives. But vocalist Dave Boone’s hollers and yelps make the path to and from that climactic chorus just as fun. — Treble

“False hope or pure will sums up this song quite a bit. The narrator never lets on too much here one way or the other. An edge of confidence makes one believe both characters (the narrator and whomever they are talking to) will get out of whatever they are in.

“The last line, ‘We know what we’re in for this time.’” Yeah. I have some confidence there; I still don’t know if I believe it. I know I want to by the end of this tune. I think that’s the whole point of this song. Even the bass part mimics that sentiment, swimming back and forth from root note hard rhythm to kind of solo counter melody.” — Dave Boone, Alberta & The Dead Eyes

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Alberta & The Dead Eyes

“Ghost Kitty” EP

Out Now

(Dead Eyes Collective)

Streaming Link:

STREAM FULL EP

Track Listing:

01. Bundled Up Blues (STREAM)

02. Roofbeam Riser

03. Boyfriends (STREAM)

04. Excavation Blues

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Alberta & The Dead Eyes | About

Alberta & The Dead Eyes is the giant-sounding band that in reality is the majority work of one real-life carpenter, David Boone (or D. Boone as he often signs off, evoking another literal and figurative giant of musical history, D. Boon of The Minutemen.)

In fact, Boone’s songs contain that same ramshackle joy and conversational, inclusive tone that Boon’s do. It’s the sound of a natural talent letting it fly.

“I’m a carpenter by day and sometimes even by night,” Boone says. “A fine carpenter at that, but a better musician.”

You may want to leave the page now to find out more about Boone, but don’t bother. He made the right choice. The choice that none of us made and many wish we had. Boone is nowhere to be found on social media.

He lets the songs do the sharing.

Alberta & The Dead Eyes released its new 11-song album Give or Take on March 15, 2024. The album is preceded by “Ghost Kitty,” a four-song EP of additional songs, out now.

The songs on Give or Take represent a man in withdrawal from a two-packs-a-day cigarette habit that went on for 15 years.

“Mama, did it fuck me up more than I expected,” Boone confesses. “I wrote the entire record pretty much curled up in a ball.”

Grieving his relationship with nicotine while composing, Boone kept company with his influences, numerous and varied. So numerous and varied that mentioning a handful isn’t going to help you any more than looking for Boone online will.

“I love Billie Holiday. And The Stooges. And The Band. And Outkast. And Duke Ellington. And Cole Porter. And David Sedaris. And Bill Watterson. And the Detroit Pistons. And John fucking Prine.”

Boone doesn’t mention The Minutemen, but likely would, if prompted.

“I mean Jesus, should I keep going?”

Get it?

The thing about Boone as musician that isn’t likely is how much Boone as carpenter makes it into his music. He doesn’t mention the Grateful Dead either, but the steadfast focus that underpins Boone’s freestyle nature is kinda Alberta & The Workingman’s Dead Eyes.

“I’m a complete ‘no one is coming to save you’ type of person,” he explains. “Keep your head down and do your job. Musician schmoosician. Do what your supposed to fucking do. Write good songs. Play good shows. Show up on time. Be humble and be fucking nice.”

A real-life carpenter keeping it real-life real. Refreshing.

It should be even less surprising now that musician Boone rejected Instagram squares for T-squares just like he painfully swore off smokes cold turkey for the clean lungs that arrived with the songs, or as Boone sees it, he arrived to them.

“The songs are just there, hanging out, waiting for someone,” he says.

Now that someone is you.

Alberta & The Dead Eyes released its new 11-song album Give or Take on March 15, 2024, preceded by “Ghost Kitty,” a four-song EP of additional songs, out now.

Dave Boone of Alberta & The Dead Eyes is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Alberta & The Dead Eyes | Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : TIKTOK : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL