Altered Zones Premiere New Music from Lil Daggers * Debut Album Out April 12th on Livid Records

Lil Daggers: "Slave Exchange"



Here come Lil Daggers, groping every passerby and staring at dogs until they pee. Well, maybe they aren't the swaggering soldiers I imagined at first listen, but the Miami-based outfit's psychedlic nuggets do give off that brashness originally patented by The Doors. "Slave Exchange," a cut from the band's forthcoming LP, moves like spilled honey, building a languid landscape of sludgy bass, slack vocals, and creeping organ. -- Ryan Ellis, Weekly Tape Deck

(((Read more and download "Slave Exchange" here!)))

TS & The Past Haunts Announce Debut Album for No Sleep Records

Formed out of the demise of Boston indie/punk rock royalty, TS & The Past Haunts came to be through mutual friends sharing common interests. Travis Shettel (TS/Totally Travis), guitarist, singer and ring-leader of the band Piebald, met The Duke Spirit (Shangri-La Records) when he was invited to take on tour manager duties for the band during one of their first US tours. Acting as a US Ambassador-of-sorts for the band, a friendship was formed and The Duke Spirit soon learned of Travis’ musical past. After asking TS to join them both on the road and in the studio playing keys and percussion, it would only be a matter of time before they would return the favor. Travis and The Duke Spirit knuckled down in between their tours of Australia and the UK and recorded a handful of his songs; learning, writing and recording along the way.

Since the Dukes have their own schedules full with... well, The Duke Spirit, Travis wanted an outlet to perform the songs live. The recordings with The Dukes were a catalyst for the formation of a true band. He found his rhythm section in Ben (drums) and Heather (bass) Heywood, a married duo who front bands of their own (Summer Darling and Kissing Cousins, respectively). The power trio version of TS & THE PAST HAUNTS has been busy; playing shows and writing songs. In the very near future, they will be heading north to Sacramento to record a full length album with Robert Cheek at the tape-op darling studio, The Hangar. They plan to record live to capture the energy and rawness of their live performances. The new batch of songs are energized blasts of dark rock that still maintain pop sensibilities. It's all here...Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...TS & THE PAST HAUNTS!

TS & The Past Haunts begin production of their debut album Monday, February 28th at The Hangar in Sacramento, CA with Robert Cheek (RX Bandits, Deftones), set for release this Summer on No Sleep Records. A remixed and remastered version of the band's "Caveman Rock" EP will be released through all major digital retail outlets for the first time on March 29th, also through No Sleep Records.

"Caveman Rock" EP Track List
1. Caveman Rock
2. Good Times
3. Know What I Know
4. It's So Hot

TS & The Past Haunts Live
March 29th @ La Cita in Downtown Los Angeles, CA
(last night of HELP Residency)



For more information, visit:
www.tsandthepasthaunts.com
www.facebook.com/tsandthepasthaunts
www.nosleeprecs.com

Lifeguards and The Forms Stream New Albums at AOL's Spinner.com

Spinner.com: Full CD Listening Party




* Stream Lifeguards' "Waving at the Astronauts" here!




* Stream The Forms' "Derealization" here!

Extra Life Announce New "Ripped Heart" EP Out April 12th on Last Things Records

Listen to new song and title track "Ripped Heart" exclusively @ Consequence of Sound!

The title track, off the forthcoming Ripped Heart EP due out April 5th, clings to its poppy hooks and transitions down a winding path of postprog ideas, all while wearing its heart on its sleeve. - Consequence of Sound

Existential terror is a rather difficult feeling for a piece of art to inspire. For it to work, the artpiece has to be able to pull the audience out of their selves and place them in the point of view of a foreign mind... One might ask though why we need art like this, art that produces dread and foreboding, art that violently pulls the audience out of themselves. In that very formulation though is the answer. Without this tension, without artworks that inspire it, we never leave ourselves - Dusted

Scarily focused and ruthlessly complex in a postprog sort of way, but also flirts with a dark, sumptuous art-pop vibe. The end product is relentless, enveloping and frequently gorgeous. - Time Out NY

These are master works... this stuff feels somehow religious in its fervor. - Stereogum

On April 5 2011, Brooklyn art rock audience-dividers Extra Life will release their new EP Ripped Heart on the newly launched Last Things Records (digital and limited edition 12” vinyl) in the US, through LOAF Records (digital only) in Europe. Their third proper studio release, it includes four new exclusive tracks.

Since 2007 Extra Life have challenged and uplifted the underground music scene with their dark, epic, unclassifiable blend of goth, pop, prog, metal, classical and ancient folk aesthetics. The group was founded by singer Charlie Looker after his departure from influential New York noise-chamber group Zs and his brief stint with the Dirty Projectors. For Extra Life, Looker brought together a quintet of diverse talents from the Northeast avant rock scene: drummer Nick Podgurski, formerly of Yukon; violinist/guitarist/producer Caley Monahon-Ward of Snowblink; saxophonist/keyboardist Travis Laplante of Little Women; and bassist Tony Gedrich of Stats.

Extra Life’s 2008 debut Secular Works (Planaria/LOAF) was met with wide critical acclaim both at home and abroad. The band toured twice in the U.S. and then in Europe, performing at festivals including Primavera Sound (Barcelona), Villette Sonique (France), Moers (Germany) and Kilbi (Switzerland) alongside Sonic Youth, Sunn 0))) and Deerhunter. In 2010 Extra Life released their second full-length Made Flesh (LOAF), a concept album about weightlifting, spirituality and death. Earning many new devout fans and a few impassioned detractors, Extra Life toured both the U.S. and Europe again. This was immediately followed by the release of Splayed Flesh (Sockets), an EP of remixes including Justin Broadrick and Tyondai Braxton.

On Ripped Heart, Extra Life continue in their spirit of dramatic intensity and experimentalism, while also exploring their more accessible side. Amidst the gothic harmonies, lurching rhythms and noise there are infectious melodies, hypnotic repetition, and lush synth textures, making the compositions closer to pop songs than anything Extra Life has made yet. One can still feel the influence of classic crushing New York bands such as Swans and Unsane and composers such as Phillip Glass and Glenn Branca. The new EP however, touches more than ever on the synthetic pop beauty of later Cocteau Twins and Depeche Mode.

While Looker’s lyrics still address the eternal themes of love, sex, death and power, on Ripped Heart they leave behind the macroscopic heights of philosophy and occult spirituality and focus more on emotive personal storytelling. The songs are rooted firmly on the plane of human desire. Still with a touch of humor, here Extra Life more than ever speak directly to the heart.

Ripped Heart’s vast sound was captured by modern metal luminary and longtime Extra Life producer Colin Marston (Krallice, Gorguts). In contrast to indie music’s current trend of sonic murkiness and vagary, the EP’s shimmering orchestration cuts through with a decidedly hi-fi aesthetic.

The limited edition 12” of Ripped Heart will be the premier release by Last Things Records, a new vinyl-only label founded by Charlie Looker. Along with purchase of the vinyl, Last Things will offer a free download of four remixes including up-and-coming techno shaman Laurel Halo, as well as kindred spirits Xiu Xiu, Liturgy, and Former Ghosts (featuring Sam Mickens).

With the release of Ripped Heart, Extra Life will begin performing in a new trio incarnation, having parted ways with bassist Gedrich and saxophonist Laplante. In the spirit of refined focus, and in accord with the EP’s more electronic sound, Charlie Looker’s cold analog synth will provide the band’s trademark pummeling low-end. Caley Monahon-Ward, while still wielding his classic piercing violin, will also realize the new material with his own swirling, effects-drenched guitar work. Nick Podgurski’s brutally precise drum assaults continue to propel the band. In this new trio incarnation, Extra Life will embark on a two-week tour of Europe in April 2011, sharing bills with Deerhoof. In July, the band will do a month-long U.S. tour alongside Portland’s Parenthetical Girls.



Ripped Heart track listing:
1. Strong Brother, Weak Brother
2. Run Cold
3. Ripped Heart
4. Elegy (cartoon piano)

Extra Life Live
Feb 10th Extra Life @ Glasslands Brooklyn, NY w/ Liturgy
March 11th Seaven Teares (feat. Charlie Looker) @ Roulette New York, NY
March 18th Extra Life @ Death By Audio Brooklyn, NY w/ Zs Black Crown Ceremony, and Noveller
April 1st Extra Life @ Bruar Falls *Ripped Heart EP release party* w/ Starring, Hume and tba

Charlie Looker playing in Tyondai Braxton's orchestral pieces:

March 3rd @ Alice Tully Hall / Lincoln Center New York, NY
March 4th @ Walker Arts Minneapolis, MN

US and European Dates w/ Deerhoof, Parenthetical Girls Coming Soon!




For more information, visit:
www.myspace.com/extralifetheband
www.extralifeblood.com
extralifetheband.blogspot.com
www.lastthingsrecords.com
www.l-o-a-f.com

Capsule Announce New Album, "No Ghost," Out April 12th on Rorschach Records * Premiere New Song "Neuralize So Numb"

Listen to the debut track "Neuralize So Numb" here!

With only a couple of releases under their belt, the Miami trio has developed a great formula. Maniacally playing with and against each other, they demand your attention to detail. A fluid combination of cross-eyed songwriting and
methodical execution, the band’s precision is all that keeps the tangle of riffs
and time changes from giving you vertigo. - Decibel Magazine

A band that has always impressed with over-the-top technicality piles hooks into their math-y post-hardcore to great effect. Dig on exhibit A from No Ghost, "Neuralize So Numb" - BrooklynVegan

Capsule was born June 2005 in Miami, Florida, when Eric Hernandez and Colin Smith decided to procreate and spawn a hellion forged of speed, ferocity, and limitless expectation, yet delicate and graceful and seemingly impervious to
categorization and formula subjection. Eric and Colin had previously cut their
teeth on punk / power violence and post-hardcore with groups like Tunes For Bears
To Dance To and Tyanny of Shaw – both featuring drummer Rick Smith from Torche/Shitstorm - as well as other groups in the Miami area (Colin played drums in Dead Lions, Devices, We’re Scissors,etc., while Eric played in various
recording projects as well as Contrabass in the Florida International University symphony).

After their first release on Robotic Empire (a seven song EP on tape recorded
by Eric – drums/bass/vocals, and Colin –guitars/vocals) the duo recruited Ryan Haft (bass/vocals) and Capsule’s road dog approach to touring ensued with
tours from 2005-2008 with bands like Torche, Brainworms, Graf ‘Orlock , Comadre,
Furnace, Birthday Boyz, Thank God, and others as well as a slew of splits and
7inches.

In 2008 Capsule released their debut LP Blue on Robotic Empire, a record that culminates the fruits of their previous releases in ten tracks at just past the half hour mark; Capsule’s signature riff-to-face guitars and start/blast/stop drumming are prevalent, as well as the searing mid-shred pick slides and towering feedback swells, yet there are progressive –and often epic- elements that upsurge through the tidal wave of layered vocal choruses, unsettling blast beat shifts, and seemingly other- worldly melodies wielded through a current of undeniable hooks and dissonance. Along with hyper speed tracks ‘Cobalt Connection’ and ‘Symptom of Spectacle’, Blue broadens the scope with slower tempo-tantrums like ‘Title Track’ and the sludge crawl climax of ‘Determinal’, proving that Capsule’s brand of fast-paced, no-boundaries thrash was only the tip of the iceberg.

As far as what to expect from this uncompromising steamroller of high volume
and vast devastation, Capsule's new album, "No Ghost" is set for release on April 12th via Rorschach Records (Amateur Party, Ultra Dolphins, Brainworms) and was recorded between October 2009 and July 2010 by Ryan Haft (guitars). The album is packed with the kind of punches you'd expect from the band including standouts "Neuralize So Numb" (short, fast, and pissed), "Small Caps" (still fast and pissed, but it’s all about the hooks on this track), and "Outline" (shows it doesn’t have to be fast to be short and sweet).

Drummer Eric Hernandez says of the new album "It was great since we could really take our time on it; we did some touring in between making the record and the songs would sink in and begin to take shape as we’d play them live, then we’d get back to the studio and re-record a guitar or vocal track and it would take the song in a different direction that we didn’t think of a month before. In a way we got to see/hear the record from multiple perspectives and take the time to re-visit what we’d already done so we can take it a step further. The process was similar with Blue (recording, touring, recording), but this time we could literally wake up, fix up some lucky charms, and hit the record button; the music starts to feel like a family member that you’ve watched grow since birth, and that closeness with the music was something we didn’t have with Blue.

We’re psyched it worked out with Rorschach records, who are also based out of
Richmond, VA. We really feel at home in Richmond thanks to Robotic Empire, so
it's just a natural step for us."

Capsule are out to put their own stamp on extreme music, and the ink is starting to soak.



"No Ghost" Track List
Neuralize So Numb
Small Caps / Outline
Ton Work
World Citizen
Graft
Rylan
Isn't Us
Kayso
Gown of Frost
Miscology

Capsule Live!
Mar 15- Orlando, FL @ Wills Pub
Mar 16- Gainsville, FL @ Wayward Council
Mar 17- Athens, GA
Mar 18- Louisvile, KY
Mar 19- Indianapolis, IN @ The Dojo
Mar 20- Chicago, IL @ Kostner House
Mar 21- Grand Rapids, MI @ DAAC
Mar 22- Cleveland,OH @ Now That's Class
Mar 23- Pittsburgh, PA
Mar 24- Bethlehem, PA @ St. Bernards
Mar 25 - NY,NY @ The Acheron
Mar 26- Boston, MA @ O'Brien's
Mar 27 - NY,NY
Mar 28- Philadelphia, PA @ The Brothel
Mar 29 Baltimore, MD
Mar 30 Washington, DC @ Hole in the Sky
Mar 31 Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
April 1 Greensboro, NC @ Legitimate Business
April 2 Blacksburg, VA @ Macrock
April 3 Chapel hill, NC @ Nightlight
April 4 Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern



For more information, visit:
www.myspace.com/capsulefl
www.rorschachrecords.net

Former Thieves Announce Debut Album On No Sleep Records * Play Krazy Fest 2011 in Louisville!

Former Thieves have been a band characterized by their hard work and grueling tour regimens in their seemingly short life span. But, that's about to change with their debut full length on No Sleep Records.

Coming from the barren and simple fields of Iowa, Former Thieves have created a pummeling new record that personifies the feelings and emotions of coming from nothing and fighting the entire way to what they have created. "The Language That We Speak" takes the listener through a thorough commentary on the frustration of Midwestern life. Articulate, sharp, and sincerely pissed.

Recorded December 1st through 10th 2010 at The Red Room in Seattle, WA with Chris Common (Mastodon, The Sword) at the helm, No Sleep Records looks to release "The Language That We Speak" on Tuesday April 19th 2011. The record will be released on CD, vinyl, and digital formats.

* Watch the first short video feat. studio footage of the band here!



"The Language That We Speak" Track List
01. Dead Horses are Turned into Glue
02. I Can’t Get There From Here
03. Brilliant Exceptions
04. Trust Fund Kids
05. First World Blues
06. Everything has a Price, Everything is Stolen
07. Pacemaker Trendsetter
08. What’s Real and What’s Not
09. Bad Friends
10. The Language That We Speak

Former Thieves Live!
03/16/11 - Kansas City, MO @ Salt Walter Taffy House
03/18/11 - Austin, TX @ The Mellow Mushroom
03/19/11 - Austin, TX (SXSW)
03/20/11 - Austin, TX (SXSW)
03/23/11 - Hattiesburg, MS @ 1126 House
03/26/11 - Columbia, SC @ House of Hardcore
03/28/11 - Greensboro, NC @ Legitimate Business
03/29/11 - Richmond, VA @ The Barn
03/30/11 - State College, PA @ La Casa Blanca
04/01/11 - Louisville, KY @ Ear X-Tacy
04/02/11 - St. Louis, MO @ Lemp Arts
05/20-22 - Louisville, HY @ Krazy Fest!



For more information, visit:
www.formerthieves.com
facebook.com/FormerThieves
twitter.com/formerthieves
www.nosleeprecs.com

The New York Daily News Interviews Wires Under Tension Frontman Christopher Tignor

The sound of 'Science': Wires Under Tension's stunning instrumental album rises from the South Bronx



"Meeting people who are just like you is not why you come to New York."

Tignor, who grew up in northern New Jersey, arrived in the city after getting a degree at the prestigious Bard College. (He's finishing up a doctorate in composition at Princeton.) His goal was to find a space where he could both live and record. "If I have an idea in the middle of the night, I want to be able to just go and work on it," he says. "Also, I'm cheap."

The anxiety of needing to find both a new home and studio after the eviction would up informing the music Tignor would make in Mott Haven.

"It was a really tense time," he says.

Ergo the name, Wires Under Tension. The album "Light Science" sets a shadowy and anxious pace right with its opening piece, "Electricity Turns Them On." A gorgeously throbbing sprawl of synths coil around an evocative violin line, reminiscent of the one in King Crimson's "Larks' Tongues in Aspic." A steady beat from Metz keeps the music as sharp as it is beautiful. As the disk progresses, guest players weave in, providing everything from horns to clavinet.

Tignor's ban on singers for this album isn't iron-clad. "It's just that once you have a vocalist, that defines the narrative," he says. "I wanted the instruments to create the narrative."

(((Read the full interview here!)))