Death is all around

EVANS THE DEATH facebook.com/evansthedeath Evans the Death's debut album came out on Slumberland Records in early May 2012. According to their press release, Evans the Death's music "touches on the best bits of Brit-Pop (Echobelly, Sleeper), Pulp, Kenickie, The Long Blondes and The Pixies." No idea what the Pixies are doing on that list, as they are American. Anyway, longtime readers will note that we love our Britpop, so I decided to check them out. Evans the Death does have qualities of Britpop, in particular the very English-sounding vocals of Katherine Whitaker with those catchy indiepop guitars (complete with guitar feedback, indication a desire to be more experimental). You can hear all that in their single, "Telling Lies", which is their finest hour. Guitarist, an apparently part-time detective, Dan Moss had this to say about the song: 'Telling Lies' is about having such an inflated sense of self-importance that you relish deceiving others about things that make no difference whatsoever to their lives. I wrote it after a friend told me that he had eaten cereal for breakfast that morning, but later found the remnants of toast and scrambled eggs in his room and brought him up on it which lead to the admission that he was lying all along. I found this bizarre but then realised that I did it all the time too. I think if Evans the Death existed in the early 90s, they would've done really well Melody Maker and Select… but sadly, those days are long gone. If you were a child of Britpop, you definitely should check out Evans the Death. Evans the Death's self-titled debut album is out now on Slumberland Records.

BASS DRUM OF DEATH
bassdrumofdeath.tumblr.com

The guitar/drum duo Bass Drum of Death is from Mississippi. They are described as "blown-out, blazing"... which Dan witnessed this himself commenting on the band's use of "power chords and thrashing".

Their debut LP was released last spring on Fat Possum Records, and they are going to be releasing a 7" ("White Fright" with b-side "I Dunno") plus a split 7" with DZ Deathrays through 3|4 ("I Wanna Be Forgotten" by Bass Drum of Death and "No Sleep" by DZ Deathrays). You can check out what their music sounds like via Soundcloud.com with their song, "I Wanna Be Forgotten".

The split-action brings together Bass Drum of Death and DZ Deathrays as they hit the road on tour. If things go as planned, Amy will be covering their appearance at 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis.

6/12 Brooklyn, NY - Glasslands 6/13 Boston, MA - Great Scott 6/14 Montreal, QC - Quai Des Brumes 6/15 Toronto, ON - Wrongbar 6/16 Pittsburgh, PA - Shadow Lounge 6/18 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick Lounge 6/19 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern 6/21 Bloomington, IN - The Bishop 6/22 Chicago, IL - Schubas 6/23 St. Louis, MO - Old Rock House 6/24 Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club 6/25 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry

6/28 Seattle, WA - Sunset 6/29 Vancouver, BC - Biltmore 6/30 Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios 7/2 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill 7/6 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo 7/7 San Diego, CA - Soda Bar 7/8 Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room 7/10 Austin, TX - Mohawk 7/11 Dallas, TX - Club Dada 7/12 Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's Downstairs 7/13 New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks 7/14 Oxford, MS - Proud Larry's

GRUFF RHYS
gruffrhys.com

Just look around, you know we like Super Furry Animals. Singer (and now solo artist) Gruff Rhys announced that he's doing a second "Investigative Concert" tour this August. Did you wonder about the first "Investigative Concert"? Yes, that was in 2010 … and it was in South America.

This new 2012 "Investigative Concert" will be about Gruff's following the footstep of Don Juan Evans and trying to find out the true circumstances of his death and the secret location of his burial.

It sounds pretty interesting, too bad Evans never made it far north in Minneapolis :/

Aug-02 New Haven, CT Yale University Beineke Library
Aug-04 Baltimore, MD Golden West Café
Aug-05 Philadelphia, PA Phila MOCA
Aug-07 Pittsburgh, PA Club Cafe
Aug-09 Cincinnati, OH CAC Black Box Theatre at Contemporary Arts Center
Aug-12 St. Louis, MO Contemporary Art Museum
Aug-14 Omaha, NE Slowdown Jr.
Aug-16 Columbia, MO Les Bourgeois Vineyards
Aug-18 Memphis, TN Hi-Tone
Aug-22 New Orleans, LA One-Eyed Jacks

BRIEFLY:

DEATH GRIPS thirdworlds.net You know, I got an announcement a few months ago that Death Grips were going on tour and then I found out recently that they've canceled their tour. No one ever sends me cancellation press releases, so I had no idea. If you were wondering when Death Grips are coming to your town, I just wanted to let you know that their Spring 2012 tour is CANCELED.

PS I LOVE YOU psiloveyouband.com PS I Love You released their official music video for "Princess Towers" via noisey.vice.com. The song comes from their album, Death Dreams, which is out now on Paper Bag Records. The Canadian band just wrapped up their US tour with Army Girls.

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