MP3: “Good Feelings”

Midwesterners often feel obligated to apologize for/complain about their landscape. Chicago’s Light Pollution does not. The contrasting feelings of wonderment and isolation evoked by the frozen Midwestern plains deeply pervade their sound.

23-year-old songwriter James Michael Cicero grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, the son of Italian and Spanish Catholics. His grandfather was a first-generation Spanish immigrant trumpet player who moved to Chicago to lead a Big Band; aspirations that did not ensure financial stability. As a result, when Cicero bought his first guitar at the age of seventeen, his father took to locking it in the attic.

Cicero left for college in Dekalb, IL, met drummer Matt Evert, obsessively wrote songs in class, and soon dropped out. Over the following years, the two honed their skills and sensibilities, eventually acquiring Nick Sherman and Jed Robertson; evolving into what is now Light Pollution.

Swirling analog synths, shimmering arpeggios, and washed out tape noise are embedded into combinations of 90’s shoegaze, chillwave, and vocal psych-pop. Thanks to a unique blend of hi-fi and lo-fi tracking and their Midwestern demeanor, they are able to create hazy, psychedelic, layered sounds that set them apart from recent waves of lo-fi pop bands.

Light Pollution is finishing up their full length debut, due out on Carpark this summer. Cicero wrote the album over the course of a long, stoned, agoraphobic winter spent isolated in a heatless warehouse west of Chicago.

LIGHT POLLUTION

03/09 - Iowa City, IA The Mill
03/10 - Des Moines, IA Vaudeville Mews (early)
03/10 - Ames, IA Ames Progressive (late)
03/11 - Lawrence, KS Replay Lounge
03/12 - Lincoln, NE Knickerbocker’s
03/13 - Kansas City, MO The Brick
03/14 - Tulsa, OK Sound Pony
03/15 - Houston, TX Super Happy Fun Land
03/16 - Denton, TX JnJ’s
03/17 - SXSW No Words / Day Bow Bow @ Ghost Room
03/18 - SXSW Hype Machine’s Lose Control @ Vice
03/18 - SXSW Two Syllable Acoustic Show @ Hideout Cafe
03/18 - SXSW Carpark / Paw Tracks @ Wave
03/19 - SXSW @ Justine’s
03/19 - SXSW Consequence of Sound @ Republic Live
03/20 - SXSW In-store @ End of an Ear Records
03/20 - SXSW Fast Folks @ The Gas Pipe Smoke Shop
03/21 - Wichita, KS Rock Island Live
03/22 - Springfield, MO The Outland Ballroom
03/23 - Columbia, MO Mojo’s
03/24 - St. Louis, MO Off Broadway
03/25 - Indianapolis, IN Local’s Only (MOKB & Scion event, free show!)
03/26 - Chicago, IL Mopery Loft
03/31 - Columbus, Ohio Wexner Center &
04/01 - Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge *
04/08 - Minneapolis, MN Hexagon Bar
04/09 - Northfield, MN The Cave @ Carlton College
04/17 - Bloomington, IN WIUX Culture Shock #
04/26 - Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s
04/28 - Washington, DC Black Cat Backstage !
04/30 - Brooklyn, NY Glasslands $

# = w/ Best Coast
% = w/ Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
& = w/ Deerhunter
* = w/ Woodhands
! = w/ Willowz
$ = w/ Memoryhouse

Light Pollution
Apparitions
(Carpark)
Street Date: June 15, 2010

1. Good Feelings
2. Oh, Ivory!
3. Drunk Kids
4. Fever Dreams
5. Deyci, Right On
6. Bad Vibes
7. All Night Outside
8. Witchcraft
9. Ssslowdreamsss

LIGHT POLLUTION LINKS:
MySpace: myspace.com/lightpollution

Press Materials: carparkrecords.com/pollutionpresspage

MP3: “Arm Over Arm”

New Jersey’s Screaming Females have just entered The Hunt Studio in Millstone, NJ to begin work on the band’s fourth full-length, due this Fall via Don Giovanni Records. The band is also hitting the road with Ted Leo soon for a string of shows in late March / early April that will most likely be completely sold out moments after you read this.

Bio:
2009 will go down as the year that everyone-EVERYONE-started to take notice of Screaming Females in the wake of the release of their third LP (and their first on a label of any kind), Power Move (Don Giovanni, April, 2009). From their first TV appearances (dancing with puppets on Chicago’s cult public access TV show, “Chic-a-Go-Go”, then making their national TV debut as a musical guest on MTV’s “It’s On! With Alexa Chung”), first multi-page national print media press and having lead Female Marissa Paternoster be named “Best Shredder in New York City 2009″ by the Village Voice to being the band that everyone from Dinosaur Jr., Throwing Muses, Dead Weather and Arctic Monkeys personally asked to tour with, 2009’s been quite the weird and exciting year for Screaming Females. After all, they’re doing exactly what they’ve done, the way they’ve always done it…organically, with friends. It’s just that now all of these people are noticing how amazing they are. And they can, y’know, quit their day jobs in lieu of touring all the time and recording new material with both their own band and their side projects because of it. Amen to that, right?

PRESS QUOTES:

“Screaming Females is a rock trio from my home state of New Jersey. And like many NJ notables, these two guys and gal know how to rock.”-Teen Vogue

SCREAMING FEMALES

Mar 27 Taylor Down Under @ James Madison Univ. Harrisonburg, VA
Mar 28 JJ’s Bohemia Chattanooga, TN
Mar 29 Vino’s Little Rock, AR
Mar 30 House of Blues Dallas, TX *
Mar 31 The Parish Austin, TX *
Apr 2 One Eyed Jack’s New Orleans, LA *
Apr 3 Club Downunder Tallahassee, FL *
Apr 4 Masquerade Atlanta, GA *
Apr 5 Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, NC *
Apr 7 Gallery Five Richmond, VA
Apr 8 9:30 Club Washington, DC *
Apr 9 The Fillmore @ Irving Plaza New York, NY *
Apr 10 Paradise Rock Club Boston, MA *

* = w/ Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

SCREAMING FEMALES LINKS:

Label Page - dongiovannirecords.com

MySpace - myspace.com/screamingfemales

MP3: “Diamond In The Dark”

VIDEO: “Vanishing Cream”

With their first release on Captured Tracks (and seventh official offering in less than two years of existence as a band) San Francisco’s The Fresh & Onlys have completely shed the shackles of the “garage rock” pigeonhole (a set of handcuffs which never fit them particularly well).

From the eruption of feedback that introduces “Diamond In The Dark”, the Onlys announce that something new is afoot. Anthemic rock’n'roll that only mid 90’s Guided By Voices or maybe the early Who were capable of. Big statements without studio trickery.

These new songs from the ever prolific Onlys are particularly remarkable since many were composed while singer/guitarist /co-songwriter Tim Cohen was unable to play guitar due to a broken hand. While on a brief tour backing obscure psych-folk troubadour Rodriguez, Tim managed to write on keyboards (mostly one handed) and the results opened yet another doorway into sounds the Onlys hadn’t explored. The title track “August In My Mind” is a prime example. There is a dark, swampy atmosphere complete with spaghetti western guitar leads from Wymond Miles that perfectly complement the late night at the bar feel that fuels much of the band’s work.

The new Fresh & Onlys EP, August in My Mind, contains the components that made their earlier recordings compelling (co-songwriter Shayde Sartin’s propulsive bass lines & melodic influence & drummer Kyle Gibson’s incredible time keeping and power) while also exploring new wave flourishes in great tracks like “Dreaming Is Easy” & “Garbage Collector.”

Touring extensively in 2010 with King Khan & The Shrines & in Europe surrounding the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival the always busy Fresh & Onlys will also be promoting a 3rd full length LP produced by Tim Green on In The Red later this year. Get caught in their maelstrom.

THE FRESH & ONLYS

03/12 - Goleta, CA The Hard To Find Showspace #
03/13 - Los Angeles, CA Spaceland #$
03/14 - Tucson, AZ Plush
03/15 - El Paso, TX Black Market #
03/17 - Austin, TX Force Field / Terrorbird Party @ Red 7 (SXSW)
03/17 - Austin, TX HoZac Records Party @ Trailer Space (SXSW)
03/18 - Austin, TX Cafe Du Nord and Sapurros Party @ Cheers (SXSW)
03/18 - Austin, TX Impose Magazine Party @ Longbranch Inn (SXSW)
03/18 - Austin, TX Sacred Bones Record Party @ Spiderhouse Cafe (SXSW)
03/20 - Austin, TX Woodsist Records Showcase @ Red 7 (SXSW)
03/20 - Austin, TX Weekly Tape Deck Party @ Karibu Ethiopian Restaurant (SXSW)
03/21 - New Orleans, LA The Saturn Bar ^
03/22 - Mobile, AL Alabama Music Box %
03/23 - Tallahassee, FL The Engine Room %
03/24 - Orlando, FL Backbooth %
03/25 - Miami, FL Churchill’s Pub %
03/26 - Tampa, FL Crowbar %
03/27 - Atlanta, GA The Earl &
03/29 - Carborro, NC Cat’s Cradle &
03/30 - Asheville, NC Orange Peel &
03/31 - Chattanooga, TN JJ’s Bohemia &
04/01 - Nashville, TN Exit In &
04/02 - Memphis, TN Hi-Tone Cafe &
04/03 - Birmingham, AL Bottletree &
04/04 - New Orleans, LA Spellcaster Lodge &
04/05 - Austin, TX Emo’s Alternative Lounge Outside &
04/06 - Dallas, TX Sons of Hermann Hall &
04/08 - Denver, CO Bluebird &
04/09 - Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge &
04/10 - Boise, ID Neurolux &
04/11 - Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom &
04/12 - Vancouver, BC Venue &
04/13 - Seattle, WA Neumos &
04/15 - San Francisco, CA Bimbo’s 365 Club &

# = w/ Wounded Lion
$ = w/ Surf City
% = w/ Woven Bones
& = w/ King Khan & The Shrines
+ = w/ Citay
^ = w/ Nodzzz, Home Blitz

The Fresh & Onlys
August In My Mind
(Captured Tracks)
Street Date: March 2, 2010

1. Diamond in the Dark
2. Dreamin’ Is Easy
3. Knowin’ To Wander
4. August In My Mind
5. Garbage Collector
6. Save Your Soul

THE FRESH & ONLYS LINKS:
Label Page - capturedtracks.com

MySpace - myspace.com/thefreshonlys

MP3: “If It Feels Alright”

The raw exuberance that Woven Bones seethes from its tightly-wound inner coil of turmoil isn’t exactly the stuff daydreams are made of, but as their menacing presence has been culminating over the past couple of years, it’s now clear as daylight that their finest efforts would come together on this, their debut LP. As they’ve effectively dragged the shards of their tattered souls with building ferocity on each of their previous singles and EPs, the evolutional process has honed itself to a fine edge, poised to level any contention and break into the blinding realness of now. They’ve finally harnessed the elusive throb and crash of their intended sonic perfection on their own terms, and this debut album will no doubt convert the middling masses into drooling slaves to their hypnotic heartbeat rhythm. What was only hinted at before is now as pure, raw, and ugly as a newborn jackal, squirming out of the wretched womb and ready to face the world, all the while, sending an evil chill down the spine and reminding you that yes, new music really can be this good.

Since the beginning, Woven Bones have primarily been the brainchild of singer/guitarist Andrew Burr from the point where their primordial ooze first seeped into our sphere of peripheral vision. After uprooting from Orlando in 2008 and settling in Austin, Texas last year, followed by touring the darkest corners of the underground stratosphere, their seedy and insidiously slithered drawl has fully come to a head, summoning the the pulse-pounding power to stand all hairs on-end. As bassist Matty and recently recruited drummer Carolyn have completed the fold, Woven Bones need no announcement to herald their arrival, but as their irresistibly iridescent hazy pop grime drills itself deeper into your soft skull, it’s best to just stand back and experience them exploding out of your speakers.

Like the eardrum-shattering noise pop icons that came before them, Woven Bones blaze their own trail of lascivious loudness and controlled snarl that’s just what the world needs right now, and the perfect soundtrack to your screwed-up summer. The debut album, In and Out and Back Again delivers nine heart-stabbing hits that just keep hitting back, so without further hesitation, we give you the debut album that explodes heads on contact, by your new favorite band, Woven Bones.

Todd Killings - HoZac Records

WOVEN BONES

03/12 - Denton, TX Hailey’s (NX35 Fest)
03/14 - Austin, TX Mohawk $
03/17-03/20 - Austin, TX SXSW
03/21 - Dallas, TX Double Wide %
03/22 - Mobile, AL Alabama Music Box ^
03/23 - Tallahassee, FL The Engine Room ^
03/24 - Orlando, FL Back Booth ^
03/25 - Miami, FL Churchills ^&
03/26 - Tampa, FL The Crow Bar ^&
03/27 - Gainesville, FL The Atlantic &
03/29 - Atlanta, GA 529
03/30 - Huntsville, AL Vertical House Records
03/31 - Memphis, TN The Buccaneer
04/01 - Fayetteville, AK The Sang House
04/02 - Hot Springs, AK Maxine’s
04/08 - Austin, TX Mohawk
04/23 - Nashville, TN Glenn Danzig’s House
04/24 - Atlanta, GA Mess Around @ The Earl *
05/28 - Austin, TX Mohawk !

% = Brofest 2010 w/ Dum Dum Girls, Frankie Rose, The Soft Pack
$ = w/ Man, or Astro-man?
^ = w/ The Fresh and Onlys
& = w/ Jacuzzi Boys
* = w/ Reigning Sound
! = Chaos in Tejas w/ The Ponys, A Frames, Jeff The Brotherhood

Woven Bones
In and Out and Back Again
(HoZac)
Street Date: May 18, 2010

1.I’ll Be Runnin
2.Guess You Allready Knew
3.7 Year Mirror
4.If It Feels Alright
5.Your Way With My Life
6.Creepy Bone
7.Half Sunk Into the Seats
8.Couldn’t Help But Stare
9.Blind Conscience

WOVEN BONES LINKS:
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/wovenbones

Label: http://www.hozacrecords.com