Monday, February 9, 2009

Brian Jonestown Massacre man Matthew Tow to release fourth album of radiant, ethereal psychedelia as The Lovetones.

Grab the album’s lead single “Journeyman” right HERE.

“...glorious psychedelic-pop wave… A trip from start to finish” – Rolling Stone

The Lovetones released their debut album, Be What You Want in 2002 through Bomp! Records, creating a palpable buzz amongst critics from the likes of Creem and Rolling Stone magazine. The latter hailed mainman Matthew J Tow’s songwriting worthy of Ray Davies, Bowie, Lennon and McCartney: a bold statement, yet in his case, completely justified.

After enjoying the critical success of Be What You Want, touring Australia extensively and even supporting Morrissey during his first ever solo Australian tour, Tow joined The Brian Jonestown Massacre in 2003 and contributed two brilliant tracks to their sonic mastery, ...And This Is Our Music. Tow’s opening track “Starcleaner” later also appeared on the The Brian Jonestown Massacre retrospective Tepid Peppermint Wonderland. In the same year, UK based Fire Records invited The Lovetones to contribute to the James Joyce Chamber Music project alongside Mercury Rev, Sonic Youth and REM’s Peter Buck. 2004 saw the release of the Stars EP, coinciding with The Lovetones supporting The Brian Jonestown Massacre on their infamous and now legendary tour of Australia.

The second album Meditations was released through New York’s Tee Pee Records in late 2005, revealing a stunning development in Tow’s songwriting and providing a soundscape of radiant pop, ethereal psychedelia and truly remarkable vocal melodies that arched for the stars. Soulful and sincere, Meditations nodded gently and respectfully to the pop masters of the sixties whilst never lacking in original vision.

Returning from triumphant shows in the US in late 2005 and also at SXSW 2006, The Lovetones toured to support Meditations’ Australian release in May 2006. June 2006 saw The Lovetones complete a crazed European tour across 12 countries with The Brian Jonestown Massacre in support of Meditations’ release there through Tee Pee/Cargo Records, culminating in a rave album review in respected UK magazine Uncut.

The Lovetones also managed to record their third album Axiom during 2006 with fervent sessions split between Figment Studios in Hollywood and the Sydney Opera House Recording Studio. More extensive touring in the US and Australia followed.

Released in Australia in November 2008 and now set for a stateside release in February 2009, Dimensions is The Lovetones’ fourth studio album and the latest chapter in the indie psychedelic pop legacy of frontman Matthew Tow, who remains one of Australia’s most underrated songwriters. The album was recorded in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, mixed in Los Angeles by Rob Campanella (Brian Jonestown Massacre, Quarter After, Black Angels) and mastered by William Bowden (one of Australia’s finest mastering engineers).

Artist: The Lovetones
Title: Dimensions
Label: Planting Seeds Records
Release Date: February 24th, 2009

01. Moonlit Suite (Her Room)
02. Journeyman (MP3)
03. Two of A Kind
04. Look At The Waves
05. Memory Lane
06. A New Low In Getting High
07. Love and Redemption
08. There Is No Sound
09. Song To Humanity
10. When It Comes
11. Journeyman (Anton Newcombe Remix)

Tools and Hi-Res Photos:
www.fanaticpromotion.com/rosterdetails.php?indexkey=1458

On The Web:
www.thelovetones.com
www.myspace.com/thelovetones
www.plantingseedsrecords.com
www.myspace.com/plantingseedsmusic

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The Lovetones In The Press

“...heart-tugging piece of pop bliss...a grandiose crescendo of Bowie-esque proportions.... ‘60s psychedelia...” – Harp

“...a pleasant listening experience... electric and acoustic guitar and keyboard textures recall early Pink Floyd on ‘Genius’...” – All Music Guide

“...pastoral moments of The Pretty Things’ SF Sorrow...recalls The Soundtrack Of Our Lives.” – Uncut

“...a glorious psychedelic-pop wave...every bit as wondrous as not just their contemporaries but their shoe-gazing heroes. A trip from start to finish” – Rolling Stone

“...beautiful songs with infectious hooks, gorgeous melodies... an album of classics Beatles and Bowie fans will adore.” – Daily Telegraph (UK)

“...one of the best pop albums I’ve ever heard...a smooth rocking groove and some heartfelt lyrics... cross-culturally groovy...strongly crafted pop songs...” – Creem (UK)

“...the perfect pop synthesis of Beatles-influenced psychedelic melodies and modern grooves... a penchant for soulful lyrics and romantic tunes... a full prism of colors and moods enroute. Recommended.” – Sentimentalist

“...filled with the kind of textural, psychedelic-tinged sounds... recall Squeeze with its octave-separated vocal harmonies...as catchy as pop music gets...Good stuff, this!” – Shindig

“...catchy Britpop tunes, many steeped in 1960’s psychedelica, it tastes good.” – The Weekend Australian

“...a sensational pop record, a beautiful collection of concise, powerful songs.” – Impress

“...a rich collage of dynamic rock, heady harmonies and snarling sixties soul, and another interesting piece in the evolving jig-saw that is Matthew J Tow.” – Filmink
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Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Texas music hall-of-famer Gretchen Phillips launches new album aided by impressive cast of contributors including members of Shearwater & Team Dresch.

Plans to bring the humor and polemic nationwide in ‘09 are at hand, while lead single “Red State/Blue State” awaits you behind this LINK.

“Gretchen Phillips is a living lesbian legend.” – The Advocate

“It’s a rare human who can talk about heteronormativity and Badfinger in one interview. But Gretchen Phillips is no run-of-the-mill lesbian folk singer.” – Girlfriends Magazine

“One of the most warped, wonderful songwriting talents in our age.” – The Austin Chronicle

“The emotional resonance of Phillips’ music is universal, which - in a way - makes it even more radical in its implications.” - Craig Lee, Los Angeles Times

The influential and adventurous musician Gretchen Phillips, announces her first new album in five years, I Was Just Comforting Her. In completing this expansive new work, the Texas Music Hall of Fame inductee was aided by an impressive cast of contributors, including drummer Melissa York (Butchies, VitaPup, Team Dresch), percussionist Thor Harris (Shearwater, Bill Callahan, Angels of Light and The Gretchen Phillips Experience), former bandmate Andy Loomis (Gretchen Phillips Experience) and longtime collaborator Dave Driver. Phillips has engaged in multiple musical genres, from 80s punk band Meat Joy to 90s country/disco/rock/folk/pop band Two Nice Girls and onward into myriad other territories as a solo artist. I Was Just Comforting Her draws upon her vast array of creative genre-bending to make what ironically might be her most pop-oriented album to date.

However, the album still retains the thematic elements that distinguish her work: a call for empathy and connection amid cultural and social alienation. Produced by Rob Halverson and Phillips, it is, as its maker describes, “a big, thick slab of humanism.” This may be the theme of Gretchen’s pioneering career. Though out and proud as a lesbian since her teens, as an artist Gretchen Phillips has always reached beyond her natural constituency to make music for everyone. Her seminal early 90s group Two Nice Girls was as notable for its unabashed joy in lesbianism as for its legions of non-lesbian fans. Phillips’ other bands have been similarly joyful and inclusive. Spanning folk, rock, country, gospel, punk and her own idiosyncratic take on the singer-songwriter form, Gretchen Phillips has blazed a twenty year trail of uncompromising personal artistry and openhearted musical communion.

Phillips’ first release since Togetherness, her 2003 collaboration with Dave Driver, I Was Just Comforting Her stresses that longing for communion in stronger terms than ever. Opening with “Red State/Blue State” (MP3), a roiling electro-pop plea for hope and understanding, the album traverses broad sonic territory but stays rooted in a personal vision that insists on love and kindness in a divided society. The soaring country of “Honey, I Feel So Good,” the coiled rock of “Burning Inside,” and the effervescent pop of “Peola” and “In Case of Rapture” stand along side harder to categorize pieces like “Swimming” and “YOY?” to reveal the complex interior life of a musician at the peak of her artistry.

…continued below…

Artist: Gretchen Phillips
Title: I Was Just Comforting Her
Label: Seasick Sailor Records
Release Date: February 5th, 2009

01. Red State/Blue State (MP3)
02. Burning Inside
03. Honey, I Feel So Good
04. Peola
05. Your Drinking
06. LYLAS
07. Swimming
08. YOY?
09. In Case of Rapture
10. To the Lady C

Gretchen Phillips Live:
02/18 Los Angeles, CA @ Genghis Cohen
02/19 Felton, CA @ Don Quixote's
02/23 San Francisco, CA @ Cafe du Nord
02/25 Eugene, OR @ Sam Bond's
02/26 Seattle, WA @ SPACE: A Design Build Collective
02/27 Olympia, WA @ ABC House
02/28 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Pizza

…continued…

“For the last number of years I’ve been making albums more modestly than I did back with Two Nice Girls,” Phillips says. “And then I got hungry for really big production. Not big production for big production’s sake, but to make an album that utilized every instrument and sound that I felt would serve the songs. I decided not to scrimp on my recording budget and not to give myself any time constraints. I wanted to work on it until I was totally satisfied.”

“Rob and I had a lot of fun meticulously going thru every song and basically putting down everything we wanted to hear and then we just mixed and mixed for maximum emotional impact,” she elaborates. “Since I gave myself free reign in terms of time, we did just joyfully work on this thing until it was done. And then when it was done we could tell.” Phillips’ artistry has taken on a new dimension in the last two years. In addition to playing concerts, she has written and performed two acclaimed one-woman shows combining stories and songs into musical memoir. The first of these, Don’t Stop Believing, premiered in 2007 at The Off Center as part of the Rude Mechanicals’ prestigious Throws Like a Girl performance series. The latest, Manlove, the saga of Phillips’ struggles and triumphs loving the men in her life, premiered with a sold-out run at The Vortex Theater.

In addition to expanding her performing frontiers, Phillips has applied her artistry to the packaging of the new album. Each and every copy comes in a package hand assembled by the artist herself. Phillips considers I Was Just Comforting Her an epic saga full of individual songs, but meant to be heard in its whole sweeping scope. “It’s my grand concept album, like Spirit’s Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus” she says. “I love a bold statement, so I made one.”

Taking her inclusive message on the road, Phillips intends to tour behind I Was Just Comforting Her for the better part of 2009. Beginning with a west coast swing in February (see dates below), plans also include trips to Canada, the Midwest and the Northeastern United States.

Tools and Hi-Res Photos:
www.fanaticpromotion.com/rosterdetails.php?indexkey=1460

On The Web:
www.gretchen-phillips.com
www.myspace.com/gretchenphillips
www.youtube.com/user/GretchenPhill

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Thursday, January 29, 2009

Sado-vaudevillian punks Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat debut declares, Take That!; Marlene Deitrich, Dresden Dolls, Cramps fans take heed.

Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat is the naughty brainchild of Stephanie Stephens and Adam Sultan, two musicians and actors and from Austin, TX.

Initially a cabaret act influenced by Weimar Republic Berlin, Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat soon expanded into what one critic calls “Sado-vaudevillian punk.” Their diverse sound combines everything from classical music to classic rock, performed with outrageous style and irreverent humor that touches on half a century’s worth of history.

Their debut CD, Take That! (Pressing Records) ranges along the German countryside from Marlene Deitrich to Kraftwerk, then crosses the border into Eurotrash dance, punk rock theater, and even Texas swing. The CD’s dozen songs attack everything from synth pop to polka, without fraying the strands from Mistress Stephanie’s proud whip. The CD’s sound is brought to life in the band’s always memorable stage shows—in which the brazen Mistress humors and challenges the audience, while her “Kitty” contrasts with sneering insouciance and manic guitar slinging.

Adam Sultan began his musical career as a guitarist for Sony Recording artists Poi Dog Pondering, the eclectic folk dance group that currently resides in Chicago. Since then he has performed solo and with his own bands, while also working as an actor and composer in the Austin theater scene. He has ventured into several improvisational and jazz-tinged ensembles including Golden Arm Trio and Spank Dance Company.

Stephanie Stephens is a singer and an actress who has performed in numerous Austin plays, musicals and operas. She has produced avant-garde recitals and shows, and performed with various artists including Golden Arm Trio and The Walter Thompson Orchestra. Ultimately though, she is the Mistress – a sultry chanteuse with a punk rock heart and a guitar-slinging pussy. Meow.

Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat In The Press:
02/07 Austin, TX @ End of An Ear Record Release Show
02/11 Austin, TX @ Beauty Bar
02/21 Austin, TX @ Red 7

Artist: Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat
Title: Take That!
Label: Pressing Records
Release Date: February 10th, 2009

01. Weimar
02. Get Off My Chest
03. Shake Your Dance Stick
04. Too Hard
05. Heaven
06. I Hate Cabaret
07. Awfully Confusing
08. Grey
09. Little Death (MP3)
10. Down Boy
11. Johnny Gewürztraminer
12. You Say You Love Me

Tools and Hi-Res Photos:
www.fanaticpromotion.com/rosterdetails.php?indexkey=1440

On The Web:
www.mistressandkitty.com
www.mistressstephanieandhermelodiccat.com
www.myspace.com/mistressandcat

Subscribe To Fanatic:
www.fanaticpromotion.com
www.youtube.com/fanaticpromotion
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Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat In The Press:

“Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat navigate the waters between cabaret and sadomasochistic pop candy.” – Greg Beets, Austin Chronicle

“When I saw Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat for the first time last summer at the Chain Drive, it was one of those right place, right time moments. The Mistress, with her jet-black bob and bustier, was Louise Brooks with Norma Desmond’s sense of dark comedy. She ignored, berated, and sung in perfect harmony with Her Melodic Cat, stage left with a guitar, baring ass cheek and wearing a half-interested sneer as their cabaret punk was thrown out with Weimar vitriol. I desperately wanted them to play a cover of The Doors’ “Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar),” which is actually a cover of a Kurt Weill song, which is appropriate, as some of the set was in German. And this was at a gay leather bar.” – Audra Schroeder, Austin Chronicle

“Mistress Stephanie succeeds in spicing everything-vaudeville, hard rock, holly-jolly-pop-with a dose of S&M.” – Dante, Austin.com

“They dress up in costume (Mistress Stephanie in lingerie, the guitarist/cat in cat ears) and play German Cabaret music. This, gentle readers, was spectacle… Definitely enjoyable in a very weird sort of way.” – Evil Sponge

“The local duo known as Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat takes Weimar-era cabaret and throws it down the velvet goldmine. The Cramps would be proud. There will be leather. There may be guns. You will submit.” – Audra Schroeder, Austin Chronicle

“The find of the night was Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat. They're a cross between Kraftwerk and Cabaret, which sounds weird, but works really well, especially in a live setting.” – Tim Trentham, Austin Metroblogs
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