23 April 2012

Album of the Week... The debut album from NZCA/LINES has been getting devoted airplay from the likes of 6Music's Lauren Laverne and the self-titled debut from former bass player Michael Lovett has impressed reviewers far and wide. Contactmusic's own James Hopkin describes it as a collection of "lush melodies, hypnotic layers of instrumentation and soothing vocals. a range of atmospheric pieces and catchy tunes in a satisfying debut."

For fans of Hot Chip, Metronomy and LCD Soundsytem


This Week's Videos... You Broke My Cool is taken from Pond's album Beard, Wives, Denim, from these Aussie psych rockers from Perth. They were one of the highlights of this year's SXSW festival and it's not hard to see why; there's something pretty infectious about this blissed out, super-8 style video.
The intriguing video for Mira from Melody Gardot really caught our attention here at Contactmusic. Gardot hails from Philadelphia USA but you'd be forgiven is she's been discovered in some dusty back street in Latin America. A slice of rustic summer, 'Mira' encapsulates Gardot's worldly influence and playful romanticism.
A powerful slice of post-break-up vitriol in the form of Devin's track 'I Don't Think I', this black and white video shows exactly why he's becoming one of the most talked-about artists to come out of the USA right now. Gravel voiced and with a brimful of rage, he snarls his way through the track, with enough charm to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention.


Touring News... Following his impressive sell-out show at Wembley Arena, Frank Turner has announced a string of UK dates in November and December 2012 to promote his latest studio album 'England Keep My Bones' and his collection of live tracks and rarities, 'Second Three Years.'
Londoners Bloc Party are finally making a comeback after a two year hiatus. Singer Kele recently made an announcement online and now, the tickets for their tour are on sale via the band's website. They've recently signed to Frenchkiss Records and a new record is planned for release shortly.


Music in the News... The big news in music last week, of course, was the appearance of Tupac's hologram at Coachella. No sooner had the sci-fi apparition appeared onstage in the Coachella Valley, than the internet was ablaze with commentary on his unexpected guest slot from beyond the grave. Now, there's already talk of a Tupac Hologram tour, not to mention all the bet-taking on who might be next up for the pricey hologram treatment.
The Twittersphere rushed to Tom Petty's aid last week when it was discovered that his collection of precious - not to mention expensive - guitars had been stolen from his rehearsal space. Luckily for the veteran rocker, police managed to recover the instruments and catch the culprit. It turned out that a security guard from the rehearsal space was allegedly responsible for pilfering the guitars and has been apprehended by police.
Sadly, the world of music said goodbye to two heroes last week. Levon Helm, drummer for The Band, passed away after suffering from cancer for some time.
And Bert Weedon, the guitarist responsible for inspiring and teaching some of the world's most legendary musicians, passed away at his home, aged 91.
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