It seems like every week there is a new “must-hear” band in Seattle and up-and-coming locals The Head and The Heart are no exception. Their self-titled debut, full of sweet harmonies over catchy piano melodies, hand claps and foot stomps fits right in with the recent folk revival and they have quickly become my new favorite band in the last few weeks.
The Head and the Heart are a six-piece composed largely of transplants to the Seattle area. The album is so tight and confident that it is surprising this is their first release and their sound has already garnered comparisons to pop masters such as The Beatles, Rufus Wainwright and The Avett Brothers. These are claims that are not undeserved. Even upon first listen the songs carry such a familiarity that it feels as though this has been my favorite album for years. Upon the second listen, I was already singing along to their original, heartfelt lyrics and drumming my fingers to their charming beats and melodies.
Right from track one (“Cats and Dogs”) we get a quick and simple introduction to their sound with lovely three-part harmonies, minimalist percussion, rousing piano and grooving bass. The songs tell a story of moving forward, fresh starts and the ghosts that are left behind and as the album unfolded. I couldn’t help but fall in love. By the time I reached “Sounds Like Hallelujah” I wanted to listen to the whole thing over and over again. Tonight you can catch The Head and the Heart playing with local psychedelic pop ensemble Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground at Columbia City Theater.
The inaugural Heineken City Arts Festival was announced earlier today and it packs a lineup featuring a mix of top-tier national and local headliners.
The festival, which will take place Oct. 20-23 at 18 venues throughout the city, will include headliners Big Boi, Belle & Sebastian, Gogol Bordello, She & Him and a night of local hip hop at the Paramount Theater. The latter will mark the first time a local hip hop bill headlines the historic Paramount and it is the event Ear Candy is most looking forward to checking out.
The local hip-hop showcase will feature Blue Scholars, Macklemore, Fresh Espresso, Mash Hall, Tilson and Brother Ali. Interestingly Brother Ali has no connection to Seattle that I know of which is a bit puzzling. It makes me wonder whether the organizers thought local hip hop needs a national anchor to fill seats. While that is a possibility, my guess is that since the Paramount show is the only hip-hop representation at the festival Brother Ali didn't fit anywhere else in the event's lineup.
Booked by Steve Severin of Neumos and Michael Heeb of One Pot (who are both stern supporters of local hip hop), the festival was put together by City Arts Magazine and is a part of the city's City of Music initiative. The rest of the lineup includes national acts such as Blitzen Trapper, Foals, Roky Erickson and others. The locals on the bill include the Maldives, Head Like A Kite, Brent Amaker and the Rodeo, Head and the Heart, Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs, the Pica Beats and more. Tickets to the event, which are actually wristbands, are available at either a $60 or $125 price point and go on sale Friday. Full details including venues and performers are below.
Information on the new Soundgarden album was released earlier this morning.
As previously reported the band will have a "new," unreleased song "Black Rain," featured in the upcoming Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock video game, which hits store shelves Sept. 28. New is in quotes because the song is an unreleased b-side from the band's Badmotorfinger recording sessions.
Today it was announced that 1 million copies of the game will also come bundled with Soundgarden's highly anticipated career retrospective album "Telephantasm." This will be the first time a game in the Guitar Hero series will be released with a music album. The track list for the 12-song album reads like a greatest hits album with 11 songs previously released and "Black Rain" acting as the lone unreleased song. Songs for the album are taken from the Deep Six EP, Screaming Life EP, Fopp EP, Ultramega OK, Louder Than Love, Badmotorfinger, Superunknown and Down on the Upside (Full track list below the jump).
Ear Candy's music blogger in arms Shawn Skager wrote the below preview of Squeeze's show at the Showbox tonight for his blog Electric Phrase which is where this post originally appeared on July 29.
Sometimes good bands get lost in the shuffle.
This is the case with Squeeze, a UK band often filed away in the one-hit wonder from the 1980s file. This is a tragedy, because of two reasons.
First, the band actually charted six singles in the Billboard U.S. Mainstream Rock top 40 in the 1980s: “Tempted” (No. 8, 1981); “Black Coffee in Bed” (No. 26, 1982); “Annie Get Your Gun” (No. 40, 1982); “Hits of the Year” (No. 39, 1985); “Hourglass (No. 22, 1987); and “853-5937″ (No. 37, 1988). Additionally the band charted four more singles after Billboard instituted the U.S. Modern Rock charts in 1988: “If It’s Love” (No. 7, 1989); “Satisfied” (No. 3, 1991), “Crying In My Sleep” (No. 14, 1991; and “Everything In The World: (No. 9, 1993).
In my book that constitutes a career, rather than a 15 minute shot in the spotlight.
Bumbershoot officially begins one day early this year with Ear Candy's FunOfficial Bumbershoot Kickoff Party at the High Dive on Sept. 3.
Ear Candy is thrilled to host this event and to celebrate Bumbershoot's 40th I've put together a diverse lineup of local talent that not only reflects the depth of Seattle's music scene, but also keeps with Bumbershoot's tradition of shining the spotlight on some amazing local musicians.
The Blue Scholars' setlist was ideal for the outdoor summer evening setting. during the final day of the Capitol Hill Block Party.
Tracks like "Cruz," and "HI-808" sounded better than they ever have before in the evening sunshine and "Sagaba," an old favorite of mine, was perfect amid the picturesque background, nothing short of amazing. The duo of Geologic and Sabzi unveiled a few new tracks and beats, all of which sounded great, and announced that their next album - entitled "Cinemetropolis" - will be dropping early next year.
Just when you thought they had left the scene to the young-guns and Third-Wavers, the Blue School is back in session. Only this time, it may be more like graduate school given the experience both Geo and Sabzi have under their belts now. These guys are still the frontrunners of local hip-hop, and I have a feeling the new album will make us feel stupid for ever thinking otherwise.
*** Blue Scholars at Capitol Hill Block Party 2010 photo by Jason Tang
Out here tonight in Grays Harbor we have a small rock festival going on, headlined by Wishbone Ash and Eric Burdon.
A few days back, I noticed that one of the founders of legendary hard rock band Metal Church would be participating in a cover band of all things at this festival. Metal Church has its roots in the Aberdeen, Wash. area and bassist Duke Erickson actually graduated from high school out here.
I took the opportunity to interview Duke about his experiences with Metal Church and where he is today. The irony was not lost on him that the arrival of Nirvana, another band from Aberdeen, Wash., spelled the doom for Metal Church back in 1994. Erickson is on the right in the picture to the left; next to guitarist Tommy Rosamond.
Tonight a few of Ear Candy's favorite loud and local bands are taking the stage at one of Ear Candy's favorite venues, The High Dive. The Lights, Whalebones and the Young Evils are throwing down in Fremont and you can see all of this rock 'n' roll action for a mere $7. The show will be the kickoff of a brief westcoast tour for The Lights, whose excellent new album Failed Graves is one of Ear Candy's favorite local records of the year. So head on over to Fremont and send The Lights off in high and mighty Seattle rock fashion by toasting a few PBRs in their honor. I can't think of a better way to spend a Friday night. The fun begins at 9:30.
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Out here tonight in Grays Harbor we have a small rock festival going on, headlined by Wishbone Ash and Eric Burdon.
