Soundgarden Release New Track

The recently reunited Soundgarden have released the first single from their new LP King Animal, out November 11th. The track is titled "Been Away Too Long," and has all the elements you'd really want in a Soundgarden track, plus some new and interesting sonic touches.

Lost Rivers and Ditch Lillies

Murder By Death - Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon
Some bands make their fans a little nervous when they release an album. Will it be as good as the last one? Is this going to be the album where they lose the magic? I doubt many fans of Murder By Death have such apprehensions. MBD have made a reputation on releasing consistently strong albums throughout their more than ten years as a band. Each effort has a different flavor, but it's always the Murder By Death that their fans know and love. Their newest LP Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon is no exception to this unbroken string of success, and in fact shows the band making a larger stride forward musically than they have on any of their older works.

Part of this big step forward has to be credited to the addition of multi-instrumentalist Scott Brackett, who provided a plethora of sounds that have rarely if ever been heard on a Murder By Death album before. Brackett is ostensibly manning the piano position that Vincent Edwards vacated a few albums back, but it sounds like he's also provided organ, mandolin, accordion, trumpet, and even theremin (and probably more that I'm missing) this time out, and it's to the band's credit that they find a place in the mix for all of it. The sound is by turns grand and dramatic, or spare and intimate, but always evocative.

As much as Brackett has added to the sound with his many talents, it's obvious that the veterans of the band have all stepped up their game on this album. Adam Turla's vocals are still in their deep Cash-esque register, but he's also gained impressive control of his higher register that is reminiscent of the modulated Ralph Stanley style. Matt Armstrong's bass has always had an audible presence on their records, but here it takes on a throatier growl and really lets you know it's there, just listen to when it kicks in in the song "Ditch Lilly." Sarah's cello work has a fascinating versatility, from the expected melodic elegance, to the stuttering accents in "Lost River," to the distorted solo in "Straight at the Sun." And Dagan Thogerson continues to be one of the hardest working drummers in music, providing just the right emphasis in any situation. Drummers tend to escape people's notice at the back of the stage, but if you get the opportunity to see this band live, be sure to watch Dagan. He's doing twice as much behind the kit than you'd think by how effortless he makes it sound.

In a recent interview with Invisible Vanguard, Armstrong talked about how important it is to improve by "never missing a chance to shut up" when playing in a band, and that's really the key to the success of Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon. With this much going on it would be easy to fatigue the listener with all the excess, but if Murder By Death know anything, it's how to arrange a song for maximum effect. Why this band hasn't gotten more cinematic score and soundtrack work is a mystery, but it's apparently a future goal for the band, so keep an eye out.

Murder By Death have crafted an album here that is both beautiful and unsettling. According to the band, they were aiming to add some David Lynch-style creepiness to their already dark Americana, and they definitely nailed it. This one will be a perfect autumn soundtrack, so definitely pick it up. Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon, is an impressive musical achievement, and easily one of the best records of the year.

Deftones Release New Track

The Deftones have released the first track from their upcoming seventh album entitled Koi No Yokan, which will be out on November 13th. In a recent Noisecreep interview, Chino said of the album:

"We were coming out of a tough time, obviously, and our goal was to kind of rebuild what we created over all the years. I felt like we had to prove ourselves. We'd taken so much time between records, had some inner turmoil and our records were starting to get pieced together versus really being created together, so for us it was a chance to get back to basics. We didn't have an idea of what sort of style we wanted. We just came in fired up and motivated to do something great. It was all very positive. We had more songs than ever, tons of ideas."

Murder By Death Streams New Album

Murder By Death has begun streaming their upcoming album Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon, which officially comes out on September 25th. It's a definite step forward for the band, who have really pushed themselves musically on this release. Expect a full review of the album here soon, and be sure to check out my interview with MBD here.

Stream Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon HERE.

Pig Destroyer Release New Track

Pig Destroyer have released the first full track from their forthcoming album Book Burner. It's everything we've come to expect from a band whose grindcore assaults can only be spoken of in superlatives. Book Burner is due out October 22nd on Relapse Records. You can preorder it here.

Empires to Ashes

Propagandhi - Failed States
Prog rock and punk rock seem on the surface to be poor bedfellows, especially considering that punk rock formed, in part, as a direct response to the bloated musical excess of the Seventies, when prog rock filled the stadiums. But as Propagandhi have shown with their two previous albums and now on their newest release Failed States, the two can indeed be successfully combined. The bands themselves stated about the new album: “Our goal is always to create a no-holds-barred, forward-thinking, tip-of-the-hat to the giants -- Voivod, Rush, NoMean..." Those influences are certainly present on Failed States, and most audibly in the guitar work, which weaves twisted scale runs through the middle of their straight-ahead punk momentum.

The surprising thing is that even though the prog riffing, which began on 2005's Potemkin City Limits and continued on the 2009 follow-up Supporting Caste, keeps getting more complex and ingrained in Propagandhi's sound, the hardcore intensity has not been toned down a bit. In fact, on Failed States the punk rock fury has been ratcheted way up from previous releases; the songs are on average shorter and more direct, with a distinct 80's hardcore vibe. For a band combining two seemingly disparate styles, Propagandhi don't seem to have any multiple personality issues. The songs don't break from straightforward punk rock to a "prog section." The intent is fully realized and it all comes across as one solid, engaging sound. The guitars are bold and loud on the tracks, the bass is nasty and full, and the drums are up front and crisp, and everything comes together well, especially in the lockstep palm-muting used to great effect on several songs. The band has found a strange versatility in their ability to be punk rock messy and prog rock precise at the same time. They've really reached further with their vocal work, too, with everything from melodic singing to serious screams as heard in the track "Rattan Cane." An obvious highlight though is the song "Cognitive Suicide," which tells you everything you need to know about Propagandhi's intentions on this album all compressed into four great minutes.

Lyrically, Propagandhi are, as usual, hacking away at the shallow ideals that the contemporary world is built upon. They've been pegged as a political band, but that seems to miss the point somewhat. Their songs aren't about concrete political matters as much as they are sociocultural critiques. Democratic politics are only as much of a problem as the people allow it to be, and Propagandhi ultimately seem to be lobbying for a more aware, more educated populace to earn for themselves a better political atmosphere. Whatever their specific goals or messages, Propagandhi can't go wrong by releasing strong, smart albums like Failed States. For extra goodness, listen to their last three albums as a trilogy; it's an excellent crash course on what's gone wrong politically and what's gone right musically in this new century.