Peter Hook decides to Freebass

On the heels of Damon Albarn’s ‘The Good The Bad & The Queen‘, New Order bassist Peter Hook has decided to create his own supergroup called Freebass. Yes, Freebass. Subtlety, thy name is Hook.

Said supergroup will include former Smith’s bassist & ocassional DJ Andy Rourke, current Primal Scream bassist Mani (formerly of The Stone Roses) and Hook. Vocals will come from contributors such as The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess, Oasis ne’er-do-well Liam Gallagher, Stone Roses frontman and current solo artist Ian Brown & Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie. The band has yet to be signed to a label, but Hook is optimistic.

From Billboard.com: “It’s great to write again. I’m really excited about it.” And how about new material for pet project New Order? “Its possible,” he says, “But I’m not too sure the climate is great for [a New Order album] at the moment.”

Billboard Article
XFM interview with Peter Hook

 

Winter Kids offer a sugar coat

Drawing comparisons to Pulp, The Wedding Present & Blink 182 – all of which I find rather baffling, mind you – The Winterkids seem poised to be the next buzz band of the moment. A 5-piece of teen/twenty-somethings hailing from the countryside village of Peaslake, the Kids are releasing their first full-length, Memoirs, on April 9th through Rough Trade & Banquet Records.

Preceeding the release, the Winterkids are making a few stops in New York before playing an impossible number of shows at SXSW.

The Winterkids – Tape It
The Winterkids – All The Money

Also available is the video for the first single, ‘Tape It’ in which you can see lead singer James Snider looks roughly 12 years old. I guess the Kids part of their name is quite literal.

US Tourdates:
03-11 New York, NY Smash It Up Sundays @ Niagara
03-13 New York, NY Live From London @ Mercury Lounge
03-14 Austin, TX – SXSW Levis / Fader Party @ The Fort
03-15 Austin, TX – SXSW The Blind Pig
03-16 Austin, TX – SXSW Austin Convention Center
03-16 Austin, TX – SXSW Pangea Party @ Barcelona
03-16 Ausitn, TX – SXSW Official SXSW Showcase @ Whisky Bar
03-17 Austin, TX – SXSW The Musebox party @ Habana Annex

www.winterkidsmusic.com
www.myspace.com/thewinterkids

 

The Tacticians Sign To Setanta Records

I’ve been a fan of The Tacticians for a while now, so I was excited to see that they signed a record deal and will soon be releasing a full length.

If you want to learn more about the band, check out the interview and video I’ve posted.

From an e-mail I received this morning from the band: We’re happy to announce that we have signed a deal with Setanta Records, home of formidable artists such as Edwyn Collins, The Divine Comedy, Evan Dando, Richard Hawley, The Chalets, Noonday Underground and many others. We’ve been busy recording our debut album which is scheduled for release in late spring. Needless to say we are very excited. Thanks to everyone for your support so far. Keep checking for news.

Band
MySpace

Download: “London’s Alright“, “Hardcore Porn“

 

Fields’ Debut ‘Everything Last Winter’ Leaks

I’ve liked everything I’ve heard from Fields to date, so you can imagine my excitement when I found their debut leaked. I haven’t fully digested it yet, but what I’ve heard is really good. If you’re not familiar with the band (and you should be, cos this song was in the player months ago), check out their video for “If You Fail We All Fail”

The critically acclaimed band’s debut album Everything Last Winter, will be released April 2nd. The first single, “Charming The Flames” releases one week earlier on March 26th.

Tracklist:
Song For The Fields
Charming The Flames
You Don’t Need This Song (To Fix Your Broken Heart)
Feathers
Schoolbooks
The Death
You Brought This On Yourself
Skulls And Flesh And More
If You Fail, We All Fail
Parasite

 

Drop the phone, it’s Shy Child again

The first time I ever heard mention of Shy Child someone said they were the Next Big Thing™. Of course, this was the summer of 2002 a.k.a ‘House of Jealous Lovers’ dancefloor madness extravaganza, so it seemed pretty plausible. It never seemed to happen, but since then, I’ve heard the Next Big Thing™ rumors every time the band has a new release. The latest resurgence of the NBT moniker came up when several singles from their 2004 release ‘One With The Sun’ were re-released on Paul Epworth’s Good And Evil label in the UK (with additional tinkering from both Epworth & partner-in-crime Ewan Pearson). Excellent singles they were, they still didn’t seem to deliver on the NBT promise.

Well, I’m going to throw my hat in the ring and say Shy Child are finally going to achieve that ever-elusive title in 2007. The New York duo are dropping a new album this year with production from Paul Epworth – fresh off adding his glossy sheen to the new Rapture album – and with a brand new record label in Wall of Sound. The first single, ‘Drop the Phone’, is a full-on dancefloor freakout that’s likely to ignite the fire under more than one pair of Converse.

So here I am, crossing my fingers they finally get the attention they deserve. You can decide for yourself below.

Drop the Phone

From the One With The Sun LP (courtesy of Say Hey Records)
Summer
Break Yr Neck