This week! The Cybertronic Spree meets Steven Kostanski, Death From Above, American Lips, Peacers, Zola Jesus, Ohmme, The Luxembourg Signal, Trouble, Uniform, and Electric Six.
It’s hard to believe it’s been a month since the last installment of Pump Up The Jam. Hopefully, all the goodies I’m sharing will have been worth the wait.
First up: robots in disguise The Cybertronic Spree have teamed up with Steven Kostanski (Manborg, The Void) for a new video. It will premiere on June 22 so be sure to follow The Cybertronic Spree on Facebook so you don’t miss out.
More exciting music news: Not only has Death From Above 1979 dropped the “1979” part of their name (honestly, did any of us really add on the “1979” at the end?), they’ve got a new single. “Freeze Me” premiered today. Although an album release date has not yet been announced the band promises there won’t be ten years between this new album and their last, 2014’s excellent The Physical World.
In the meantime, fans of Sebastian Grainger should be able to satisfy their urges with a new single from his other band, American Lips. The trio consists of Grainger, Adrian Popovich (Tricky Woo), and singer/bassist Jessica Bruzzese. Here’s “Beyond The 7-11.”
The full album, Kiss The Void, comes out June 16 on Ancient Fashion Records.
Also coming out on June 16 is, Introducing The Crimsmen, the second album from The Peacers, who I blogged about last month. The press release says, “Whether gentle psych, basement throb, keening “Time of the Season” nocturne or ground-glass soundscape, it’s all bubblegum boiled in a pot, scripted up with stinging street smart, zoloftnagenic reverie and a wink and a chill grin.”
Have a listen to “Jurgen’s Layout.”
Whatever happened to Zola Jesus? Her last album, Taiga, came out in 2014, and she spent a long time touring to support it. She recently announced that a new album, Okovi, will be out on September 8, along with a slate of tour dates.
You can pre-order Okovi on iTunes and get a download of the first single, “Exhumed.”
There’s no shortage of woman power in the duo Ohmme, the project of Chicago’s Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart. It’s hard to describe which makes it all the more tantalizing. Check it out via Soundcloud.
Ohmme’s debut self-titled EP will be out June 30 from the band’s own label, Fox Hall Records.
It seems like nearly everyone is talking about the new season of Twin Peaks, and that includes The Luxembourg Signal, who have a new song dedicated to the series’ original heroine/victim, Laura Palmer. It’s so pitch-perfect it’s a wonder that David Lynch didn’t snap up the band for a performance in the Bang Bang Bar.
The Luxembourg Signal’s second album will be out this fall via coming out this fall on Shelflife and Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten.
Speaking of the Bang Bang Bar, what about that neo-post-punk band Trouble from episode five? Seems like fans of Morphine will be all over this one. The band is on one of my personal fave labels, Sacred Bones Records, who have shared the “Snake Eyes” via YouTube. The single will be out June 30.
Considerably more aggressive is the band Uniform, also featured on Twin Peaks and also on Sacred Bones. Here’s “Tabloid” from their album Wake In Fright, which dropped in January.
Last, but certainly never least, is a new video from Electric Six. It’s for “I’ll Be In Touch” and it’s a typically so-funny-it-hurts video from the band, a reimagining of the video for Billy Joel’s 1980 single “Sometimes A Fantasy.” (You’re free to make your own analysis of the used toilet paper next to Dick Valentine’s bed.)
And now, readers, you can decide: WHO WORE IT BETTER? This week’s #FlashbackFriday is Billy Joel’s “Sometimes A Fantasy.”
