After Foals scrapped the mix of their debut, Antidotes, by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek, it was clear that they were a band that was interested in creating their own sound. That sentiment may be why their follow-up, Total Life Forever, sounds more like a reaction to their first record than a continuation of it. Many of the elements that drove Foals into the spotlight in the first place are definitely still in place. There’s plenty of cascading, Minus the Bear-style guitar work and funky Talking Heads influence in their math-pop-meets-the-dancefloor rhythms. What’s missing is the edge. Total Life Forever is considerably more subdued than its predecessor, lacking much of the uptempo thump found on Antidotes. In its place is a mellower, more spacious sound. While this new sound is still danceable, it’s far more refined than the angular post-punk riffing that fans might be expecting. Right from the beginning, the album-opening, “Blue Blood” makes it clear that Foals are taking a different, more patient approach to songwriting, letting the song build and build on itself as it methodically works itself into a frenzy before leaving the way it came in. Because of the changes here, fans of the early, pre-Antidotes singles may find Total Life Forever to be too restrained, lacking the youthful vigor of their debut. Where some see restraint, others may very well see refinement, and those who appreciated Antidotes’ more spacy passages will find that Foals’ reinvention of their sound is a calculated risk that definitely pays off. ~ Gregory Heaney

Trans-Continental Hustle combines the band’s radical invocations of positive primal energy and planetary consciousness with music infused with Ska, Metal, Punk, Rap, Dub and intimations of indigenous Brazilian sounds to produce a party maelstrom of electrifying proportions. Led by revolutionary change agent and provocateur Eugene Hutz, Gogol Bordello, a nine-piece juggernaut of gypsy rebel soul, has become an international force to be reckoned with.
The politically charged Eastern European folk-punk rock outfit’s fifth full-length offering was produced by fellow facial hair connoisseur Rick Rubin. Influenced by frontman Eugene Hutz’s recent relocation to Brazil, Trans-Continental Hustle adds the colors of Carnival to the Gypsy caravan.

The Hold Steady is a Brooklyn-based rock band & Heaven Is Whenever is their 5th album together. Their first album without recently departed keyboardist Franz Nicolay is produced by the man who worked on their breakthrough album Separation Sunday, marking an album with more focus on guitar, open space & complexity.
Heaven Is Whenever still embraces the band’s trademark riff-heavy mixture of classic rock & lyrically dense storytelling, with frontman & lyricist Craig Finn one of the most highly regarded songwriters treading the boards.
With each consecutive album, The Hold Steady have received increased attention from international audiences & the media, earning almost universal praise by the press for their performances & records.

Since the moment they appeared on the scene in the early 90’s, Stone Temple Pilots dominated the decade from start to finish, racking up 15 singles on the US Top Ten, winning a ‘Best Hard Rock Performance’ Grammy in 1994 for ‘Plush’, and having their five albums sell more than 35 million copies worldwide. Of all their peers, STP alone had sustained commercial success, earning greater critical acclaim with each release, building a body of work that remains popular and its enduring acclaim has only highlighted the absence of the band, who quietly went their separate ways after the turn-of the millennium release of ‘Shangri-La Dee Da’. Despite the presence of the greatest hits album ‘Thank You’ in 2003, there was a generation that has never witnessed the live power of the vocalist Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz live in concert.

The ‘Stone Temple Pilots’ album is set to become another Stone Temple Pilots classic. From the groove of first single ‘Between The Lines’ to the riffing of ‘Take A Load Off’, from the infectious melodies of ‘Cinnamon’ to the acoustic leanings of album closer ‘Maver’, the album is the perfect showcase for The Stone temple Pilots sound – driving rhythms overlaid with the unique vocals of Scott Weiland.

Hailing from New York, Drums are a 4 man band who came together from the short lived band disturbingly named Goat Explosion. Now well distanced from their bovine blasting past, this Brooklyn based band has released a self titled album which comes hot off the heels of their recent tour of the UK.

Their unique flavour of West Coast surf riffs and infectious lyrics has struck a chord with audiences and critics alike. Drums were shortlisted as one of the 15 music acts for the BBC Sound of 2010 and were named as one of Clash Magazine’s top tips for 2010. Drums are signed under the Moshi Moshi record label, joining such acts as Hot Chip, Florence and the Machine, Friendly Fires, Kate Nash and Late of the Pier.

The future looks bright for this young quartet as 2010 will see them support the ever popular Kings of Leon in their upcoming Hyde Park concerts.

And so, now is the time. More than three decades after the release of its visionary debut, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo, and a full 20 years since its last studio album, Devo is back with the aptly titled Something for Everybody.
Album is completely designed by Devo fans DEVO Inc. conducted a series of studies through www.clubdevo.com site to help the band with its creative decisions, from color selection to song mixes.
“We decided to actively seek comment and criticism from outside people and use that as a tool, rather than shunning or ignoring it,” says Gerald Casale. “Our experiences participating in secondary creativity things like corporate consensus building, focus groupsmake you appreciate the connection that an artist has to society.”

Renowned for her work as part of legendary alt-pop duo Everything But The Girl (1982-2000), Tracey Thorn returns with her starkly beautiful new solo album, ‘Love and Its Opposite on partner Ben Watt’s Strange Feeling label through Inertia.

Produced by Berlin’s Ewan Pearson (Delphic, Goldfrapp, The Rapture, M83) and featuring guest appearances from Al Doyle (Hot Chip), Leo Taylor (The Invisible), Jens Lekman, Cortney Tidwell and Jono Ma (Lost Valentinos); the album confronts the full unvarnished weight of complex relationships in flux.

Covers of Lee Hazlewood’s “Come On Home To Me” (a duet with Jens Lekman) and “You Are A Lover” by Budapest’s The Unbending Trees (with whom Tracey collaborated in 2008) are added to eight originals that tackle head-on the realities of life in its middle years.

Backtracking, it is hard to find a decade recently where Tracey Thorn’s songwriting has not been influential. Often overlooked by those who choose to focus on her uniquely sensual yet confessional voice, her direct, unadorned stories have cut through to find many revered supporters, along the way collaborating on classics with Massive Attack and Deep Dish.

TRACEY THORN ON HER NEW ALBUM ” It’s a very direct, stark record, with lyrics that were mostly inspired by my growing belief that middle age is not so much a comfort zone, as a war zone. It’s not a dancefloor record at all – for want of a better word, it’s a more “acoustic” record than I’ve made in a long time. There’s piano, and guitar and real live drums, and only little smatterings of electronica here and there. That said, there will in due course be some remixes, because, well because I LOVE remixes. And they love me.”

With their hearts on their sleeves and their feet planted firmly in the garden state, the Gaslight Anthem’s third album, American Slang, plays out like an offering to Springsteen, the patron saint of heartland rock. The feeling on this album is considerably more relaxed. All of the punk rock tension and urgency have been replaced by a more patient and heartfelt mood. This change of pace really gives the listener the ability to sit back and take in the scenery on their musical Rust Belt road trip, making for a more moody, understated experience. There are still a few uptempo rockers on the album, with “Stay Lucky” and “The Spirit of Jazz” bringing back some of the speed that old fans might be used to. The rest of the album works in more of a midtempo space, giving singer Brian Fallon’s weathered voice room to work, allowing him to really dig in and make the best use of the laid-back melody on “Bring It On” and the spaciousness of “We Did It When We Were Young.” The prevailing feeling throughout this album is that American Slang represents a more mature sound from the Gaslight Anthem, showing us a band that has grown up enough to start attempting to fill the shoes of their influences.

After wooing teenage girls across America with its infectious debut record, Weezer appears to be getting more serious with this follow-up. PINKERTON still features immensely catchy tunes and the band’s trademark crunchy guitars, but Weezer is now exuding more mature emotions within its songs. The lads have eschewed their preppy bowl cuts for a more lanky style, and they’ve written songs about being jaded and depressed (”Tired Of Sex” and “Why Bother”). Their full guitar sound is no longer an innocent roar; there is a new, burning quality to it. But Weezer hasn’t completely deserted its sugary tendencies–”Falling For You” and “Across The Sea” (about a teenage fan in Japan) are songs to melt hearts with. After wooing teenage girls across America with its infectious debut record, Weezer appears to be getting more serious with this follow-up. PINKERTON still features immensely catchy tunes and the band’s trademark crunchy guitars, but Weezer is now exuding more mature emotions within its songs. The lads have eschewed their preppy bowl cuts for a more lanky style, and they’ve written songs about being jaded and depressed (”Tired Of Sex” and “Why Bother”). Their full guitar sound is no longer an innocent roar; there is a new, burning quality to it. But Weezer hasn’t completely deserted its sugary tendencies–”Falling For You” and “Across The Sea” (about a teenage fan in Japan) are songs to melt hearts with.

THE ELEPHANT RIDERS by Maryland natives Clutch is a mighty behemoth of sound, maintaining a perfectly frightening level of pure testosterone throughout. The sheer machismo is given a disarming level of agility by acrobatic drummer Jean-Paul Gaster, who employs funky accents and daring meter switches to smarten up Clutch’s Neanderthal assault. With guitars as sinewy as they are mighty, the beefy sound of Clutch recalls the thick lead work of early Kiss. However, any nostalgia is quickly dismissed by such modern touches as the wildly manipulated multi-track vocals “Ship Of Gold,” the offbeat story telling and tempo shifts of “The Soapmakers,” and the Chili Peppper-esque rap of “The Yeti,” which catapult Clutch ahead of the retro-peddling masses and into the future of hard rock.