Daughter of Swords (Mountain Man's Alexandra Sauser-Monnig) shares "Dawnbreaker," announces debut LP

DAUGHTER OF SWORDS

AKA

 MOUNTAIN MAN'S ALEXANDRA SAUSER-MONNIG

ANNOUNCES DEBUT ALBUM, DAWNBREAKER

OUT JUNE 28 ON NONESUCH

VIDEO FOR THE ALBUM'S TITLE TRACK PREMIERES TODAY

Album Art Credit: Kendall Bailey Atwater)

Daughter of Swords, aka Mountain Man's Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, releases her debut album on June 28th via Nonesuch Records. A D.L. Anderson-directed video for the title track premiered today on NPR, which said it's "a soft swoon of a song that goes down like a cup of hot cocoa laced with CBD oil."

Sauser- Monnig  says of the title track "'Dawnbreaker' is about waking to the day beautifully breaking around you, and waking also to the realization that the life you've been leading is breaking with it.

The version of 'Dawnbreaker' that is on the record was one of the first takes recorded of the whole record. It wasn't really intended to be the final version of the song, but as the rest of the record came together, we realized that the rawness of that first take embodied the emotional quality that the record wanted to end on."

Last month, Daughter of Swords released "Gem," which was hailed by NPR as "a slice of poppy folk music so sweetly radiant, it's essentially a summer sunbeam in song form." The Wild Honey Pie called it "a precious summer-soaked keepsake, a treasure found amongst sweet green grasses."

Additionally, Daughter of Swords has announced two New York shows in November with Sylvan Esso at the Beacon Theater, with more tour dates to come. All dates below.

WATCH THE "DAWNBREAKER" VIDEO

TOUR DATES:

6/18 - Saxapahaw, NC - Haw River Ballroom ^

11/17 - New York, NY - Beacon Theater *

11/18 - New York, NY - Beacon Theater *

^ w/ Iron & Wine and Calexico

* w/ Sylvan Esso

FATAI @ The Roxy Theatre - LA Sunday, April 28, 2019

                                        All photos taken in West Hollywood by Martin Worster

Foxygen’s ‘Seeing Other People’ Is Out Now

Foxygen’s ‘Seeing Other People’ Is Out Now

THE MOST RECENT LAST-EVER LP 

Seeing Other People is curiously positioned as Foxygen’s most recent last-ever album. With every album the band dies; with every album the band is reborn. But unlike the last-ever Foxygen albums before it, this one seems to have a self-effacing bittersweetness to it that signifies some sort of passing; some sort of white flag. But it SOUNDS in no way like a band giving up. Just listen to first single “Livin’ A Lie,” with would-be Meatloaf rock-ballad building and Don Henley kiss-off sentiment to hangers on. It has experiments in tone and genre the likes of which we’ve not heard on a Foxygen record since …Starpower?; since 21st Century?; since Take the Kids??? You don’t need our hot take on this thing. Foxygen’s Sam France wrote a personal note for fans on the meaning and intention of Seeing Other People. The record is out now.


Stream and/or Purchase Seeing Other People



A personal message from Sam France regarding the new Foxygen album, Seeing Other People:


As my partner Rado and I recorded the latest Foxygen album, I was putting the finishing touches on a memoir following my time in the band and music industry at large. While the following statement about the new record is not an excerpt from this memoir, it was written freshly upon completing it. It sealed a lot of things in my my mind/life/this new Foxygen album thematically. The memoir is a tell-all called Sam Francisco: Confessions of an Indie Rock Star and will be out very soon. But the new Foxygen record is called: Seeing Other People

In a relationship, saying “Maybe we should see other people” is the Adult way of saying, “Let’s end shit.” So, here is our Adult Contemporary album.

Is this the break-up album? Is the band breaking up?

Why does everybody keep asking that? We would like to compassionately ask our management, our fans and everyone else not to worry themselves. No. We’re never breaking up. We’re not a band and never were.

For me “Seeing Other People” just means goodbye: Goodbye to the drugs, to the partying. Goodbye to my twenties now, Goodbye to my Saint Laurent-model-body. Goodbye to the touring circus — that’s right, no more shows or tours for a while. Goodbye, hopefully, to the anxiety attacks. Goodbye to beating myself up because I didn’t fit into those leather pants anymore. Fuck it. Goodbye to the facilities. And goodbye the leeches in my life. I know a lot of gritty stories about a lot of players in this business but you’ll have to read between the lines.

I remember a quote from Rado sticking with the press a few years ago about how we’d lived every rock n roll cliche in, about, one year. Well, here’s the album about it. Another movie. I don’t know what’s next. But here’s a snapshot of it all. And for some reason it’s some sort of polished Yuppie-Pop masterpiece. It sounds like your dad’s favorite recording artist circa 1985 sneaking off to the studio bathroom for a hit of blow. Or maybe, sometimes it sounds like Kanye West producing John Mellencamp. Please don’t quote this paragraph (They’re gonna put this one in all the headlines).

But damn if this isn’t this some funky Music. RT&B music. Rado and me, walking into the morning sunshine after it all goes down, just doing what we do best — chopping up pop culture and spinning it into a sticky, wicked web. As for the production and all that, you’d have to ask Rado about the technojargon. What can I say? Rado does some good disc-scratching on “Work”. Rado is — and should be and will be — acknowledged as one of the great revolutionary artists for all of his production work. But yes, also for his pop-sound modern art experiments with me, such as this album. The album is engineered and mixed by the brilliant superstar Shawn Everett. And only the legendary Jim Keltner on drums.

So, don’t be blue. We’ve always been a recording project. I mean, to put it simply, we were sitting on a great record so we’re putting it out. Thank you, I’m Sorry and You’re Welcome. Here’s the new Foxygen record. And don’t worry, Jagjaguwar. It’s an album of singles.

Lydia Ainsworth - Phantom Forest Out May 10th

Lydia Ainsworth - Phantom Forest

Out May 10

 

WATCH / SHARE: "CAN YOU FIND HER PLACE"

Lydia Ainsworth's third album, Phantom Forest, introduces a lush, complex dream world that the singer, composer, and producer created and inhabited largely on her own. She produced all the songs, and wrote and performed everything on the self-released collection outside of a re-imagined cover of Pink Floyd's "Green is the Color" and two other tracks ("The Time," "Give It Back To You"), which started as instrumentals written by Survive's Kyle Dixon (who composed the Stranger Things soundtrack with his bandmate Michael Stein), to which Ainsworth wrote melodies and added lyrics.

Ainsworth, who's relocated to Los Angeles from Toronto since 2017's Darling of the Afterglow, explains that the collection revealed itself to her "as a play taking place in Mother Nature's vanishing home," aka Phantom Forest, and that she's singing from three perspectives: herself, Mother Nature, and Greek Chorus. For instance, of the album's opener, "Diamonds Cutting Diamonds," she explains: "The Greek Chorus sets the scene, narrating and offering direction on how to enter Phantom Forest. It's my hope that the listener will imagine the narration to be directed to them as well, as they begin the journey of the album."

You'll get a sense of this from the collection's edenic cover art and the playful, pastoral video for the album's first single, "Can You Find Her Place." Its inspiration came from Ainsworth's love for Italian Renaissance painter Botticelli's 15-century masterpiece "Primavera," an allegorical representation of the burgeoning fertility of the earth in spring. She notes: "The video features the Greek gods of the painting in a choreographed Baroque style dance." Keeping with the personal feel of the collection, her sister Abby Ainsworth directed the clip.

In line with the classical and historical depths of Phantom Forest, Ainsworth, who holds a Masters Degree in film scoring composition from NYU and studied composition as an undergrad at McGill, notes that although the album might be considered pop, she approached it as an orchestrator. "Even if I'm dealing purely with synths," she says, "The songs are like a score, each one an evolving journey. I love to use strings so I've included my string arrangements on 'Tell Me I Exist' and 'Can You Find Her Place.' I recorded live musicians on drums, bass, and guitar on 'Edge of the Throne,' 'The Time,' and 'Floating Dream,' and wove those live elements into my programmed elements."

Phantom Forest is a beautiful, vast collection that mixes the historical and the hands on, with hooks about the apocalypse and people obsessively using face-recognition software to see what paintings their face match with, in search of some kind of connection.  It's a journey that holds up to close listening (and lyric reading) and to dance floors, but that can also exist on a purely emotional plane. In all cases, it asks that you listen, and take some kind of action.

lydiaainsworth.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

ZOLA @ The Roxy Theatre - LA Sunday, April 28, 2019

                                        All photos taken in West Hollywood by Martin Worster

“GIMME,” THE NEW SINGLE FROM BANKS, IS OUT TODAY

“GIMME,” THE NEW SINGLE FROM BANKS, IS OUT TODAY Zane Lowe Debuts “Gimme” As World Record On Apple Music’s Beats 1 Cumulative Streams Of BANKS’ Songs Exceed 1.2 Billion

Download / Stream “Gimme” HERE View Visualizer HERE

BANKS returns with the darkly hypnotic single “Gimme,” which debuted earlier today as Zane Lowe’s World Record on Apple Music’s Beats 1. “‘Gimme’ is a song about getting what you want. It’s about knowing what you deserve, saying it out loud, and demanding it with no apologies. I’m ready to release this into the world and begin a new chapter,” says BANKS. BANKS wrote the song with Buddy Ross (Frank Ocean, HAIM), and joined forces with producers Hudson Mohawke (Kanye West, Drake) and BJ Burton (Bon Iver, Francis and the Lights) to realize her vision. Released by Harvest Records, “Gimme” is the first new music from BANKS since her late 2017 single, “Underdog.” Stream / download “Gimme” HERE. Watch the visualizer HERE. BANKS has amassed 1.2 billion global streams to date across all of her songs, including over 600 million cumulative streams in the U.S. alone. After the release of her breakout debut album,Goddess, she became the world’s most blogged about artist. The 2014 album included the RIAA-certified Platinum hit “Beggin For Thread” and the Gold single “Waiting Game.” The Altar, released in 2016, debuted in the Top 10 in over 30 countries on iTunes. Coup De Mainobserved, “‘The Altar’ is an album that rewards with each listen, initially packing a powerful punch with its independence and self-determination.” BANKS’ television performances include “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and “Late Show with David Letterman.” Her songs have been heard in films (Divergent, The Longest Ride) and licensed by such television shows as “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Power.”

BANKS Photo Credit: Steph Wilson ###

Silversun Pickups Confirm New Tour Dates

SILVERSUN PICKUPS CONFIRM NEW TOUR DATES WIDOW’S WEEDS, 5TH STUDIO ALBUM, OUT ON JUNE 7th WATCH VIDEO FOR FIRST SINGLE “IT DOESN’T MATTER WHY” Album art by Lawrence Azerrad. Silversun Pickups portrait by Claire Marie Vogel. Download high res images here.

Silversun Pickups, on the heels of announcing their long awaited return with new album Widow’s Weeds (June 7th, New Machine Recordings), confirm new tour dates in June and July. The band will perform in cities including Santa Barbara, Dana Point, CA (at KROQ’s Weenie Roast), Buffalo, Burlington and Portland, ME (full dates below). Tickets for all dates will go on sale here at Friday, May 3 at 10am local time, with the exception of Burlington’s Higher Ground show which will go on sale that day at 11am local time. Silversun Pickups have previously confirmed performances at X107.5’s OBC show in Las Vegas on June 6th and at Del Mar’s KAABOO festival in September. Widow’s Weeds, Silversun Pickups’ 5th studio album will be released on June 7th via their own New Machine Recordings label. The band enlisted Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth) to produce their latest, an extroverted and open album about rebirth and renewal. Said lead singer Brian Aubert about Widow’s Weeds: “This was the first album where we were open. We were exposed. I see how that can be scary to people, but for us we really thrived on that.” Widow’s Weeds is now available to pre-order here, with lead single, “It Doesn’t Matter Why,” provided as an instant download. The band also shared the music video for “It Doesn’t Matter Why” which was directed by Suzie Vlcek. Watch it here. Watch behind the scenes footage of the band in the studio during the making of Widow’s Weedshere.   Bursting out of the Silverlake, CA music scene in the early 2000s, Silversun Pickups– lead singer Brian Aubert, bassist Nikki Monninger, drummer Christopher Guanlao and keyboardist Joe Lester– have maintained their independence throughout their storied career. They released their first three albums on the local label, Dangerbird Records, before founding their own label, New Machine Recordings, for the release of their most recent album, Better Nature. Now almost two decades into their career, they remain a vital and important rock band and have racked up ten Top 20 hits on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart, as well as over a million records sold in the US. Silversun Pickups have always considered their sonic density a source of pride, their four studio albums revealing additional sonic gifts with each subsequent spin, and their fifth album, Widow's Weeds, is no exception. The band members were in agreement with the album's starting point (the urgent synth-rocker "Neon Wound") and closer (the aggressive, throttling "We Are Chameleons"). The band admitted that everything in between, including how the rest of Widow's Weeds was sequenced and how the album unfolded, often surprised them To make sense of these ideas, Silversun Pickups enlisted producer Butch Vig. Vig and mixer Billy Bush helped Silversun Pickups craft a confident, unrestrained album in which every instrument is clearly audible in the mix. Cure-like keyboards hold their own against riffs on "Neon Wound" and the spring-loaded "It Doesn't Matter Why." In the end, recording with Vig surpassed the band members' already-high expectations. "He really listens to each band member, and he puts a great value on each individual, and what they can add to the music," Monninger says. "It was very collaborative with him. He's such an easygoing person, and he put everybody at ease." During this time, the band members were wrestling with challenges in their personal lives. Lester's father passed away. Aubert, meanwhile, found himself in an extremely dark place, for reasons he couldn't immediately explain. "I didn't know how to get out of it," Aubert says. "Finally, I was just like, something big has to happen." His solution was getting treatment and getting sober during the gap between recording sessions—a decision that immediately improved his mental health and creative outlook." The record does have a mourning vibe, but it's not sad," he says. "It's change. It's growing up and moving on and letting go of things. And it's okay to be sad about those things and mourn them. It's actually healthy to do so and take the time to do it. At the end of the day, it's going to be much better and much more fulfilling when you get through it." Widow's Weeds ends up being about rebirth and renewal. For Aubert, moving forward involves staying connected to his own self (and remembering to prioritize self-care) and being attuned to creative impulses when they arise. If that means going outside of his comfort zone, so be it,” Aubert says. "This album feels the most naked out of all of them." Silversun Pickups Tour June 2 /// Santa Barbara, CA /// Velvet Jones June 3 /// Fresno, CA /// Strummer’s June 4 /// Bakersfield, CA /// 1933 Club June 6 /// Las Vegas, NV /// The Cosmopolitan “X107.5’s OBC” June 8 /// Dana Point, CA /// Doheny State Beach “KROQ Weenie Roast” July 12 /// Baldwinsville, NY /// Papermill Island “95X Big-X-Cuse”* July 13 /// Clifton Park, NY /// Upstate Concert Hall* July 14 /// Buffalo, NY /// Buffalo Riverworks “103.3 The Edge CRNVL”* July 16 /// Burlington, VT /// Higher Ground* July 17 /// Portland, ME /// State Theatre* July 19 /// Stroudsburg, PA /// Sherman Theater* July 20 /// Sayreville, NJ /// Starland Ballroom* Sept 13-15 /// Del Mar, CA /// Kaaboo Festival 2019 * w/ support from I Dont Know How But They Found Me Widow’s Weeds tracklisting: 1. Neon Wound 2. It Doesn't Matter Why 3. Freakazoid 4. Don't Know Yet 5. Straw Man 6. Bag Of Bones 7. Widow's Weeds 8. Songbirds 9. Simpatico 10. We Are Chameleons Official site Spotify Facebook Instagram YouTube Twitter