LEVITATION 2019 Announces Phase One Lineup: John Cale, Dinosaur Jr., Angel Olsen, High On Fire, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Chelsea Wolfe + more.

LEVITATION UNVEILS PHASE ONE OF 2019 LINEUP

JOHN CALE, DINOSAUR JR., ANGEL OLSEN, KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS, HIGH ON FIRE, CHELSEA WOLFE, DEAFHEAVEN, THE BLACK ANGELS, RED FANG, BLACK MOUNTAIN, POWER TRIP,

DEVENDRA BANHART, BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW 

PLUS MANY MORE

TAKING PLACE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS NOVEMBER 7-10

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

LISTEN & SHARE THE OFFICIAL LEVITATION 2019 SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

AUSTIN, TX (April 24, 2019): LEVITATION returns November 7 - 10 for its 11th edition to downtown Austin, TX. Today, they're thrilled to announce the first round of confirmed shows and  phase one of the 2019 lineup:

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7

ANGEL OLSEN * DEVENDRA BANHART * HIGH ON FIRE * POWER TRIP * KIKAGAKU MOYO * HOLY WAVE * MINAMI DEUTSCH * HOOVER iii

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8

DEAFHEAVEN * BLACK MOUNTAIN * KIKAGAKU MOYO * RUSSIAN CIRCLES * BRONCHO * BRUTUS * EMMA RUTH RUNDLE * DEATH VALLEY GIRLS * STONEFIELD * FRANKIE & THE WITCH FINGERS * JAYE JAYLE * LINGUA IGNOTA

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9

JOHN CALE * THE BLACK ANGELS * CHELSEA WOLFE * ALLAH LAS * RED FANG * WHITE FENCE * TORCHE * ACID KING * MONOLORD * HERE LIES MAN * IOANNA GIKA * ZIG ZAGS * WARISH * BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10

KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS * DINOSAUR JR  * BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW * A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS * THE KVB * DALLAS ACID * NUMB.ER

LEVITATION 2019 will be held in multiple venues across downtown's Red River Cultural District and in East Austin, TX. This year, LEVITATION will expand 2018's format which previously included more than 30 shows and brought over 60 acts and ten thousand fans from across the globe to Austin's renowned music venues. LEVITATION presents another long weekend of special performances, collaborations and lineups with programming that spans continents and decades. LEVITATION is honored to work with an array of independent labels such as Sargent House who is presenting two special events with 8 of their artists, including Chelsea Wolfe and Deafheaven. Other c0-presenters include Relapse Records, Death By Audio, RidingEasy Records, Margin Walker Presents and more to be announced.

LEVITATION is also proud to work with SIMS Foundation who provide mental health and substance use recovery services for musicians, music industry professionals, and their families to support the well-being of the Austin music community. SIMS' Executive Director Heather Alden adds, "It's remarkable to have a festival elevate the need for affordable access to mental health and help reduce the stigma for seeking help. Building a community of acceptance and understanding is crucial to prevent people from suffering in silence and isolation. SIMS Foundation gives thanks to LEVITATION for making mental health a priority." For more information on SIMS please visit their website here.

Tickets for all shows announced are available now, along with weekend passes. For further ticketing information or to purchase go here. Stay tuned as full details for LEVITATION 2019 unfold and visit levitation-austin.com for news and updates.

LEVITATION 2019 Announces Phase One Lineup: John Cale, Dinosaur Jr., Angel Olsen, High On Fire, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Chelsea Wolfe + more.

Read more / Permalink

Better Oblivion Community Center Share Tour Only 7" + NPR's Tiny Desk

BETTER OBLIVION COMMUNITY CENTER Share "Little Trouble" b/w "Sleepwalkin' (Daydreamin' Version)" Watch Tiny Desk Concert Now

Photo Credit: Nik Freitas

Back in January, Better Oblivion Community Center, surprise-released their self-titled debut album. The record is available digitally and physically via Dead Oceans. Today, the new band from Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst follow the release with two new songs, as well as a live set for  NPR's Tiny Desk  featuring stripped-down performances of "My City," "Exception to the Rule," and the album's lead single "Dylan Thomas."  Intended as a treat for fans, Better Oblivion Community Center's tour only 7" is now available digitally, and includes a new original track, "Little Trouble," and a re-work of album track "Sleepwalkin'," which was recently performed on  The Late Late Show with James Corden. Both songs were recorded during Christmastime with producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, First Aid Kit). They also shared the video for "Dylan Thomas," directed by Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner, which was performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert andCBS' This Morning, where they also performed "Didn't Know What I Was In For" and "My City." LISTEN TO "LITTLE TROUBLE" HERE LISTEN TO "SLEEPWALKIN' (DAYDREAMIN' VERSION)" HERE WATCH NPR'S TINY DESK HERE TOUR DATES 5/01 - Oslo, Norway @ Rockerfeller 5/02 - Stockholm, Sweden @ Berns 5/03 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega 5/05 - Berlin, Germany @ Columbia Theater 5/06 - Cologne, Germany @ Kantine 5/07 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso 5/08 - Antwerp, Belgium @ De Roma 5/10 - Bristol, UK @ 02 Academy Bristol 5/11 - London, UK @ Shepherd's Bush Empire 5/12 - Manchester, UK @ Ritz 7/09 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern 8/09 - 08/11 - San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands Co-produced by Bridgers, Oberst and long time Oberst/Bright Eyes collaborator Andy LeMaster, Better Oblivion Community Center features the work of several talented friends: Yeah Yeah Yeahs' guitarist Nick Zinner appears on two tracks (first single "Dylan Thomas" and "Dominoes") while Carla Azar (Autolux, Jack White) plays drums on half of the album. Dawes' rhythm section Wylie Gelber and Griffin Goldsmith appear on the other half. Songwriter Christian Lee Hutson contributes guitar and Anna Butterss provides bass. For their upcoming touring, Emily Retsas, Elizabeth Goodfellow and Christian Lee Hutson join Phoebe and Conor. Engineered by Andy LeMaster at Fivestar Studio in Los Angeles. Mixed by John Congleton. All songs written by Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst except  "Chesapeake" and "Forest Lawn" by Phoebe Bridgers, Conor Oberst and Christian Lee Hutson.  And "Dominos" by Taylor Hollingsworth. TRACKLISTING 1.) Didn't Know What I Was In For 2.) Sleepwalkin' 3.) Dylan Thomas 4.) Service Road 5.) Exception To The Rule 6.) Chesapeake 7.) My City 8.) Forest Law 9.) Big Black Heart 10.) Dominoes

FOLLOW BETTER OBLIVION COMMUNITY CENTER   Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify | YouTube

Better Oblivion Community Center Share Tour Only 7" + NPR's Tiny Desk

Read more / Permalink

VR SEX (mem. Drab Majesty) shares new single 'Sacred Limousine', new LP out 5/10 on Dais Records

VR SEX (MEMBERS OF DRAB MAJESTY) SHARE MUSIC VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE 'SACRED LIMOUSINE' WATCH IT HERE (DIR. ANDREW CLINCO) HUMAN TRAFFIC JAM LP OUT MAY 10 ON DAIS RECORDS

photo courtesy of Nedda Afsari Today, ahead of VR SEX's anticipated debut LP Human Traffic Jam, the band are sharing the music video for the brooding single 'Sacred Limousine', the video was shot and directed by band member Andrew Clinco (also ofDrab Majesty). Watch it here Clinco had this to say of the video: "This video is an observation of two cyber archetypes in the voyeuristic arena of social media: Those that are driven by a subconscious desire to hunt and those that subconsciously desire to be hunted. The “Sacred Limousine” is essentially my metaphor for how social media has given us the tools to simulate a charmed life, a special brand of feigned grandeur, without really showing what truly lies inside. Conversely, it’s also a vehicle that grants us the space to observe anonymously and act with impunity from behind our screens. Both of these roles are demonstrated and symbolized as the pedestalized faceless lady and the Peeping Tom behind the brush. The entire microcosm of this video takes place in a world within a world within a world - a series of facades and spaces beginning and ending with the mansion, another, like the limousine, visible display of luxury. The recurring character(s)/performer(s) in VR SEX are my own artistic interpretation of this voyeuristic archetype featured in the video aka Noel Skum. The character set in the scene behind the drapes is my interior soliloquy, inviting my own vulnerability and susceptibility to be measured in the piece; both as part of this collective epidemic of internet voyeurism, but also a cautioner to be aware of my engagement with social media and it’s illusory simulacra. Because the tools for silently monitoring strangers are made readily available and sold to us, we all can be very easily become part of this voyeuristic and objectifying culture." -Andrew Clinco About Human Traffic Jam: Technology was meant to be humanity’s tool to combat famine, disease, confusion, and to facilitate life, culture, and innovation. Instead, we’re mired in a digital labyrinth that few care to navigate or even solve. Perhaps it’s not a ruse and the matrices coded by keyboard maestros are a path to liberation, but without querying the constructs we cannot ruminate on their affectations on humanity.    VR SEX are audio/visual provocateurs who transpose the identifiers of death rock, synth punk, post-punk, ambient, and ethereal soundscapes into an audit on technology and its imprint on our collective psyche. Comprised of visionary mercenaries Noel Skum (Andrew Clinco of Drab Majesty), Z. Oro (Aaron Montaigne of Antioch Arrow/Heroin/DBC) on vocals and drums, and Mico Frost (Brian Tarney) on synths and electric bass.   Their debut tome, Human Traffic Jam, focuses on lyrical themes that probe the possibilities of loss of autonomy through social media, the decline of human interaction, and celebrity favoritism. Skum believes in the stabilization of society and preservation of our planet by reducing its amount of procreators.     Through PSRS or Procreation Simulation Reproduction Stimulation, humans can act on their hedonistic desires and not face the responsibilities and consequences that come with being an ill-prepared guardian. The future of our offspring will exist in virtual realms and population growth in turn will be stabilized. VR SEX is the cure to most societal ills.   Thematically condensed into an eight song album, Human Traffic Jam was written and demoed by Skum in a flat in Athens, Greece during the winter of 2017. During a rigorous week long session at Figure 8 studios with experimental and dimensional production extraordinaire Ben Greenberg (Uniform/The Men), Skum solely committed all the instrumentation present on Human Traffic Jam.    Rather than being emblematic of influences, each song on the LP infuses a dire tension that cuts shimmer with fetid frequencies, never establishing an aural hierarchy or urgency. Instead, we’re lead into punchy capsules of “dour pop”; the balance of saccharine and sour so emblematic of the VR SEX hive mind.   DAIS Records releases VR SEX’s debut album “Human Traffic Jam” on April 26, 2019 on digital, vinyl LP (packaged in a thick matte stock jacket with a printed inner eurosleeve with lyrics and download card in various colored vinyl variants), as well as compact disc, housed in a matte digipack with lyric insert and features the bonus track “Corridor (Epilogue)”. Cover art by Brooklyn based artist Adam Helms. Listen & Watch: VR SEX - 'Sacred Limousine' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRWib3UPrp4&feature=youtu.be Pre-Order: VR SEX - Human Traffic Jam https://www.daisrecords.com/products/vr-sex-human-traffic-jam Tour Dates March 17 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex (debut live performance) VR SEX Human Traffic Jam Dais Records May 10, 2019 1. Surrender 2. Downgrade 3. Epiphany Gridlock 4. Sacred Limousine 5. Maiden China 6. Psycho Cybernetiks 7. Cheek Detritus 8. Facts Without Faces 9. Corridor (Epilogue)

VR SEX (mem. Drab Majesty) shares new single 'Sacred Limousine', new LP out 5/10 on Dais Records

Read more / Permalink

THE DRUMS Share "Body Chemistry" Video

THE DRUMS

SHARE MUSIC VIDEO FOR "BODY CHEMISTRY"

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR STARTS TODAY

Brutalism out now on ANTI-

(VIDEO STILL)

Early praise for The Drums + Brutalism:

"With Brutalism, The Drums' sound feels bigger than it's ever been." - NPR Music

"...deceptively chipper, yet instantly infectious new song, 'Body Chemistry,' finds a rumbling rush of drums anchored by a thick bass groove, over which Drums mastermind Jonny Pierce laces silky guitars and his inviting croon." - Rolling Stone

"The latest album from the Drums-now just frontman Jonny Pierce-is his most honest" - Pitchfork

"'Body Chemistry' modifies their usual indie surf-rock with a funky bassline and electronic flourishes. The vocal melodies lean into a moody cadence a la of Montreal..." - Stereogum

"'Body Chemistry' applies Pierce's bright, prickly pop style to darker nights of the soul, asking whether lingering sadness is inevitable or if it just feels that way." - SPIN

"Featuring a healthy mix of The Drums' much-loved indie-pop spunk and bright new textures, The Drums sound as musically confident and lyrically woeful as ever." - Paste

"It sounds something like a beautiful panic, a pop song about realizing that you may not be able to resolve your flaws - and that's okay." - Consequence of Sound

"It's a hefty thematic struggle from a band known for sunny, beachside celebration-and it works beautifully" - Cool Hunting

"Brutalism is an album composed of warm, sunny pop songs, but peeling back the individual layers reveals something much more raw and vulnerable. It's about feeling like an outsider, coming to terms with depression, and crazy intense love." - i-D

The Drums released its fifth album Brutalism earlier this month via ANTI-, and tonight the band's tour in support of the record kicks off with a sold-out show in Santa Ana. To celebrate the start of tour, The Drums share a music video for "Body Chemistry."  Frontman Jonny Pierce explains the video concept: "On Brutalism there are a lot of songs about isolation, feeling cut off from others and seeing the world through a blurry lenses. We recorded my performance in front of a green screen in LA, and sent it to Russia where a visual artist processed the performance in a way that visual reflects of how I feel in my head sometimes." Watch the video now HERE.

Purchase, stream or download Brutalism right now HERE.

See below to find a Brutalism show near you, and get your tickets HERE.

The follow-up to 2017's "Abysmal Thoughts," which marked the band's first release as a solo project from frontman Jonny Pierce, Brutalism is quite possibly the best collection of songs in the band's ten-year career. Like Jonny Pierce, who co-produced the album, Brutalism is a bicoastal record - written and recorded between Upstate New York and a studio in Stinson Beach. Following a painful divorce and an incredibly difficult stint living solely in Los Angeles, Pierce decided it was time to face his demons, and the making of this record is a part of that process. "I was exhausted, depleted and sabotaging myself, partying so much but in reality running away from pain. It was a downward spiral." Pierce knew it was time to go to therapy, and begin to reckon with his depression. "It was do or die," he says. While he focused on his mental health, the making of Brutalism became an extension of self-care for Pierce, and makes for some of his most honest and relatable music to date.

On Brutalism, a lot is different. The album is defined by growth, transformation and questions, but it doesn't provide all the answers. It's rooted in an emotional rawness, but its layers are soft, intricate and warm, full of exquisitely crafted pop songs that blast sunlight and high energy in the face of anxiety, solitude and crippling self-doubt.  Pierce was more open than ever, keeping his control freakery at bay while working with others to produce and record the album. He brought in Chris Coady (Beach House, Future Islands, Amen Dunes) to mix it.  If there was a guitar part he wanted to write but couldn't play, he brought in a guitarist. It's also the first Drums record with a live drummer. Delegating freed up Pierce's time to produce a more specific vision.

The past year has been transformative for Pierce, who may a permanent rain cloud above his head but is working towards a better, healthier headspace. "I don't think I'll ever really find myself," he says. "I don't think people do. I don't think there's a day that you wake up and you go, Now I know who I am. The best way for me to be an artist is by taking a goddamn minute, being still and listening to what it is that I want and need." It was a real year of growth for him, but growth towards what? "I don't really know, and that's OK."

Tour dates

4/24/19 - Santa Ana, CA @ La Santa **SOLD OUT**

4/26/19 - El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace

4/27/19 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger

4/29/19 - Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room

4/30/19 - St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club

5/01/19 - Chicago, IL @ Metro

5/02/19 - Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theater

5/03/19 - Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt

5/04/19 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club

5/07/19 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge **SOLD OUT**

5/08/19 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes

5/09/19 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry at The Fillmore

5/10/19 - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw

5/11/19 - Washington, D.C. @ The Black Cat

5/13/19 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle

5/14/19 - Nashville, TN @ Exit/In

5/15/19 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West

5/16/19 - Orlando, FL @ The Beacham Theater

5/17/19 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution Live

5/18/19 - Tampa Bay, FL @ The Orpheum

5/20/19 - Pensacola, FL @  Vinyl Music Hall

5/21/19 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Downstairs)

5/22/19 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater

5/23/19 - Austin, TX @ Emo's

7/25/19 - San Francisco, CA @ August Hall

7/26/19 - San Francisco, CA @ August Hall

7/27/19 - Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium

7/30/19 - San Diego, CA @ North Park

7/31/19 - Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl

8/01/19 - Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren

8/02/19 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater

8/03/19 - Denver, CO @ Bluebird

8/06/19 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom

8/07/19 - Vancouver, BC @ Imperial

8/08/19 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox

THE DRUMS Share "Body Chemistry" Video

Read more / Permalink