Ant Cellar show featuring :The Network, The Binary Code, Gloominus Doom, Hivesmasher, and Drive-By Bukkake. Woah. Thursday May 6, 2010 at 8:30 p.m.

Former Lowellian shoppe Birke's will be explored through the film Browsing Through Birke's on Tuesday May 18th at 6 p.m. The film, being shown at the Lowell Historical Park Visitor Center, spun off a 1994 exhibit which explores the vintage store, which not only sold garments but served as a social gathering spot for many locals. Free admission.

Fallout Announcement from Punky T-South:
Live from the Fallout Shelter will be having In The Audience play a set on the show tonight! In The Audience is an indie pop band from Portland Maine, which is cool because we never have people from Maine play the show! The band sounds a lot like Anthony Green and Say Anything...except folkier. In other words, really good stuff!

So tune in Monday night from 8 to 11PM, In The Audience will be on at 930PM. You can check the band out at http://www.myspace.com/intheaudience
LALA is shutting down, which is lalame. The web service has been a valuble way of finding music, by supporting tons of artsists. One of it's best features enables a user to listen to an entire song once and then keeping to it a 30-second sample. Below is a copy of the email sent to all users.

Dear [username],

The Lala service will be shut down on May 31st.

In appreciation of your support over the last five years, you will receive a credit in the amount of your Lala web song purchases for use on Apple's iTunes Store. If you purchased and downloaded mp3 songs from Lala, those songs will continue to play as part of your local music library.

Remaining wallet balances and unredeemed gift cards will be converted to iTunes Store credit (or can be refunded upon request). Gift cards can be redeemed on Lala until May 31st.

Click here or visit Lala.com/support for more information, or to view Lala's Terms of Service.

Thank you.

Lala

©2005-2010 la la media, inc. All rights reserved.

Radio is still a bulwark of discovery for new music. Currently a bill in Congress called H.B. 848, but more affectionately known as the performance tax, is being looked at to charge radio stations for airplay of artists...record companies cashing in on the otherwise free airtime they have been giving radios. In turn for that free airtime, comes free promotion, but not anymore. The fees are graduated, and the more money a station makes the more they will be required to pay for music. Thus, stations that can't pay the fees will essentially be done away with or resort to something alike talk radio. The act could mark the second major sea change in radio telecommunication in the last two decades. In February of 1996, increased competition in the radio industry paved the way for media conglomerates acquiring large numbers of stations.

And perhaps that's all fine, but what has happened was alignment of many stations under uniform programming. People are fine with this because many of us prefer to hear familiar sounds when they tune in. However, those who challenge such alignment and promote, play, and celebrate what the power of radio are who may not survive passage of a performance tax. Classic rock and popular bands promoted otherwise soak up airtime and use radio as a tool for extension of reissues and hit records. Don't kill tools of discovery and beneficial promotion.


After listening to Cut from 1979 , it's no wonder the Slits first tour was with the Clash. However for these girls, dub-reggae was injected into them from the start. Along with co-conspirators The Raincoats, LiLLIPUT (who also got reissue treatment as of late), and Siouxie Sioux they expanded the framework for Riot Grrl and to-die-for indie sweethearts of today, but Cut proves to be a very important step forward for punk rock music.

M.I.A. isn't exactly ripping off Ari Up (lead vox), Palmolive (Teresa Pollitt [bass]), and Viv Albertine (guitar), but with a backing band instead of a backing track she might sound a little bit like them. Right from the onset, opener 'Instant Hit' begins with picky guitar and tip-toeing high hat, with all three girls swirling about. At:48, the album kicks off the dubbed-out sound with a cliche, taut-snared bdddDADA *crash!*. Copy and pasted from Alton Ellis and Desmond Dekker, from there, the rest is just relentless reggae. The Slits' particular brand of it is angular and broken up. The drums, here provided by the only male member Budgie (Peter Clarke) are colorful, but tie-dyed as he climbs over walls of change with relative ease on So Tough. Shoplifting anticipates a straight feel, and then chokes you for a second and leaves you to groove, but between the trios gang-vox chorus and Ari Up's screeching, the mere 1:40 of the song is a lower class living English viewfinder, which sums it up perfectly: "Do a runner!" so you can eat tonight. Cut is quite thin, and sounds as if it's RIGHT in front of your face, little sounds to create a big idea. Spend, Spend, Spend's just as Ari sings "I want to buy..." at the 1:20 mark, a coin drop cuts through everything sizing down their sound yes, but more so giving perspective.

The 2010 deluxe edition gives this morsel justice, by expanding it to a double disc with 29 other tracks including alternate takes, 8-track demos, and John Peel sessions. Highlights include the spacey 'brink style dub' version of Typical Girls, the straight post-punk of Vindictive, and several instrumental out takes on disc 2. Feminism? Would Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott pose loinclothed and muddy? Welcome to a broader revolution.
Join local artists, Sheep and Other Anomalies, TRAGWAG, Texas Battle, Found You, Everyone Except Me, Caitlin Ford, Chris O'Grady, Victoria Valente, and Inspector 34, on Saturday 4/24, for a lovely afternoon of FOLK THE PARK.

Featuring special guests, Kevin and the Wasps!

Utilize your public space, get fresh air, and enjoy local sounds.


This is all happening at the Wakefield Commons tomorrow (April 24th) at 3:00 PM. See you there!

In light of the third annual Lowell Film Festival, which brought many people out to relevant Depression-era movies a couple weeks back... I got an idea for writing about music in movies while watching the excellent Capra film It Happened One Night.

Howard Jackson's score was uncredited...but it presents an interesting look at film soundtracks: it is an elitist genre. Obviously a film with a good soundtrack is greatly enhanced. But what about a soundtrack alone? Does Carl Stalling's cartoon music stand alone because we've been watching cartoons for years or is it because its some of the most technical, fast orchestral music we've heard? I think they can stand alone, and here are some that do. I watch a lot of movies, so maybe I am biased by the images on-screen, but nonetheless, they certainly can translate.


  • Naked Lunch, Ornette Coleman & Howard Shore - (1990, dir. David Cronenberg) - This meeting of the minds, in my opinion, is unparalleled. Coleman's previous orchestra work on Skies of America had the orchestra molded with him, playing sporadic, free compositions. Naked Lunch bends Ornette around the mood setting orchestra of Howard Shore.
  • Brazil, Michael Kamen - (1985, dir. Terry Gilliam) - Just like Terry Gilliam in his film, Kamen's music puts a technocratic spin on sambas, film nior, dramatic fantasy, and everything in between,. To be amazed: add the track "Waiting for Daddy" with Johnathan Pryce, soggy toast, and ducts.
  • Vergogna Schifosi, Ennio Morricone - (1969, dir. Mauro Severino) - This is a great example, because I have not seen the film and thus have no images to connect to. Dirty Angels may be one of the lesser known of Morricone's but it is the most in touch with the popular music sound he injects into all of his works. The center piece of the whole album is a 1-2and bassline which lies beneath haunting vocal lines, summery guitar solos, and piercing organ attacks. It's best track is the spiraled rising of all parts on Una Spiaggia a Messogiorno.
  • The Conversation, David Shire (197 dir. Francis Ford Copolla) - 70s funk-nior from movies like Three Days of the Condor and the Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 seemingly responds to Blaxploitation be saying 'we can be hip too!' In FFC's The Conversation, not only was the film made between Godfather parts I and II, but the main character, portrayed by Gene Hackman, plays saxophone, and the ending this movie has one of the greatest endings.
  • The Shining, various - (1980, dir. Stanley Kubrick) - Not to many arguments here, but this soundtrack includes a lot of source music and pop tunes which blend together very well. The Gleneagles band's old time, big band recordings are very washed out and sound eerie, plus Henry Hall's vocals are regal, yet sadistic in context. Electro-charged Wendy Carlos makes a breathtaking acoustic-electro appearance having worked with Kubrick 8 years before on A Clockwork Orange. However, the true terror, infused with mystery behind the film, comes from Krzysztof Pendereck (pictured above). This Polish compose's incredibly dark, unexpected contributions are marked with unexpected blasts of auxilary percussion, far-off, daunting brasswork, and truely scary sounds: open-ended terror of not knowing.
  • Blue Velvet, various - (1989, dir. David Lynch) - Picking out one of these with Angelo Badalamenti wasn't easy to do, so I just went with my favorite movie. He also scores the City of Lost Children, Holy Smoke, Wicker Man, and everything else Lynch has done. Aside from working with Lynch, he has collaborated with Shirley Bassey, and that just kicks ass. Atmospheric, ethereal, dreamy, terrifying. Also, this soundtrack has the best old school rock and roll from Bill Doggett, Roy Orbison, and others to complement Angelo's eerie sound and Lynch's surreal images.
  • Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Popol Vuh - (1972, dir Werner Herzog) - Before Grizzly Man and the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Krautrock was spilling out everywhere. Apart from being an airy, highly experimental band, this film soundtrack is frequently cited as one of their best works.
Honorable Mentions:
  • Punch Drunk Love, Jon Brion
  • Alien, Jerry Goldsmith
  • Amarcord, Nino Rota
  • Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud, Miles Davis
Lightning Bolt's upcoming tour is kicking off at 'noise day' at Clark University in Worcester MA. Saturday, April 24th the SOUND//ART//SOUND//ART action will kick off at 1:00PM. The event's schedule is as follows:



2:30-3:00 Dark and Stormy
3:15 - 3:45 Britney's Spear
4:00 - 4:30 The Awesome Something
4:45 - 5:30 Gila Monster
5:45- 6:15 Kyle Clyde
6:30 - 7:00 – ISA Christ
7:15 - 8:00 - Tinsel Teeth
8:15 - LIGHTNING BOLT

Also, check out our review of Earthly Delights.


Thursday April 22, 2010 at 6:00 pm.

Join the City of Lowell as they march to end sexual assault and domestic violence.


Speakers include:
Attorney General Martha Coakley,
Assistant District Attorney Suzanne Kontz,
Lowell Police Chief Kenneth LaVallee,
Lowell City Manager Bernie Lynch
and more including an open mic!
Visual artist Rachel Carey-Harper will be displaying an installation in McGauvran today from 1 - 5 p.m. Carey-Harper, a founding member of The Clothesline Project will be hanging up shirts made by victims and color-coded to identify various types of domestic abuse. The event will be followed by a candlelight vigil at 7:30 p.m.



If you're interested in a haul out west, Hadoken is playing a show Phi Sigma Kappa in Amherst on Saturday, April 24th. Show begins at 8 p.m. cover is 5$ and Phi Sig promises the event will "get gnarly." Also, The Right to Arm Bears, Ghost Ocean, Young Victorians, and Ask the Ice.

On Thursday, April 22 at 4 p.m. a talk entitled "Raising Awareness in Human Trafficking" will be held in O'Leary 222. The talk will discuss reasons and motives behind human trafficking and many of the groups working to stop it.

News in brief:
Click Here and watch this awesome documentary on Pitchfork.tv

This past Thursday, Providence, RI's Soul Control made their way up to the Fox Common in Lowell MA in support of their latest album "Cycles", which was released off of local punk/hardcore label Bridge Nine Records this past August. I had the pleasure to meet up with vocalist Rory Van Grol before the show and talk to him about a few things including what it's been like touring for "Cycles", New England hardcore scenes and other delicacies that sit on the plate that is Soul Control.

Tom: Let’s start by having you introduce yourself.

Rory
: I’m Rory and I sing for Soul Control.

Tom
: How have you enjoyed your time in Lowell so far?

Rory
: Well, I just got here so I mean despite the nice aroma of whatever dining hall type hangout spot this is and the dead bird outside, our van made it here and we’re here so it’s been alright I guess.

Tom: So you guys released your latest record “Cycles” back in August off of local record label Bridge Nine Records. What are you guys currently working on and are there any new releases in the near future?

Rory: I mean we’re just writing. There’s no releases named or whatever, we’re just writing songs. If we write 12 songs then we write 12 songs. There’s no record we’re writing for…if we end up writing a record then that’s cool, if not then whatever. We’re a band and we produce songs and we like writing so that’s what we’re doing. It’s kind of redundant in a way, but oh well.

Tom: Are you guys playing any of those songs or are you still just supporting “Cycles” right now?

Rory: Well, we played one new song out live but we are still working on them so we’re not really pushing those songs yet. We’re pretty much just playing “Cycles.”

Tom: Your music definitely adds a lot of different aspects to the term hardcore. You guys are pretty heavy but you definitely have a lot of different things going on at the same time. How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard you before?

Rory: Well we got pulled over in Philly and the guy was like ‘so you’re in a band?’ And I said yeah and he asked ‘what kind of band we were in’ and so I said well its kind of like a heavier Rage Against The Machine, so I guess that is what I would go for. Something that people can easily grasp if they have no knowledge of really heavy music or really loud music. I think Rage Against The Machine is a pretty good median for that, you know like people will say ‘oh its heavier than that? Cool!’ So I think that is a good starting point. I mean I could go from there, obviously we have more influences than that but not everyone is going to know who Dinosaur Jr or The Pixies or Sonic Youth are or bands like that. They’re not going to be like ‘Oh that’s a Byrne riff’, you know what I mean? Rage Against The Machine is a good starting point I think.

Tom: Yeah, I never thought of it like that. That is a good description for you guys. I like that. So you guys are from Providence. It’s a different state, but its not too far from Boston, so I am sure you guys get plenty of both scenes and areas in your experience. How would you say the scene changes as you cross the state line?

Rory
: Well a lot of Rhode Islanders don’t like to leave their houses, let alone their state. So I would say Rhode Island is an older community of people and I would say that Rhode Island, as far as music and independent music, is a lot more wild as far as I‘m concerned. Like you have bands like Lightning Bolt and Dropdead and bands that are just like independent punk music whereas hardcore is not so much. There was like Verse…and I guess more recently there are a lot more younger hardcore kids, which is awesome, but as far as like defining a hardcore scene there really isn’t a huge one in Rhode Island its just like a few bands and a few kids, you know like a normal show would probably have like 30 kids who are from Rhode Island. If a show is big it’s probably because kids from mass came down. I would say Rhode Island as far as music goes has a lot more older people and a lot more people who are into like metal and punk than hardcore. As far as Mass, it definitely has a more like youth oriented hardcore vibe. But you can also get your crustier and punk-er hardcore style too. You have bands like Mind Eraser who don’t necessarily fit on shows with other “hardcore” bands, you know what I mean. But in my experience I’m a lot more psyched on the dirtier hardcore aspects of hardcore punk than I am on the sterile hardcore thing, but that’s me personally. I guess I grew up in Upstate New York so it’s a smaller close knit scene with more variety. I think they are both good and I think I wish there was more youth involved in Rhode Island hardcore and punk but its kind of cool seeing a bunch of thirty year old dudes still raging and people into their forties still doing like the DIY punk attitude. Like you have Armageddon records and the dudes in Dropdead. They’re there…they’re staples, which Is awesome. I guess I don’t get that so much from Boston like you have people who come out every once in a while but you don’t have staples. Whenever I go to a show in Boston I don’t see that person at every show, you know what I mean. But as you get older you have more responsibilities and that happens so maybe that’s life. And I don’t go to as many shows in Boston anymore, I don’t have all that knowledge. But Mass is definitely a lot more youth, and that’s the main difference that I see in my experience.

Tom: What is your favorite thing about “Cycles”?

Rory: My favorite thing about “Cycles”?

Tom: Yeah, the record.

Rory: Yeah, well I mean riding bikes is cool. But “Cycles” the record…I think the whole process of talking about the idea of the record was awesome. It was a really cool process, especially as far as artwork and everything like that. I mean, we were all really motivated and had a really good idea of what we wanted the band to like not necessarily sound like, but our idea. I think that came across well and it was pretty cool. So like the painting of the record is an actual painting of the record that our friend Alice did for us, which is awesome. So having friends involved and having us be there and affected and just the songwriting says a lot about us I think in a very personal way. It’s just like this cycle is a continuation and a new breath of this band, new singer full length, new drummer full length like these are our songs as far as Soul Control, this is Soul Control right now. You know, this is the band. The last album was a totally different band, different songs, different song writing and way of going about it. So “Cycles” is us as a band now. From that point there’s a new breath of fresh air, a new cycle of life. And there’s so many different ideas that can stem from that and that’s the most exciting thing for me about the record. This is something fresh and new and exciting for us and I think going from there is the biggest part of this band. Not looking back to say who is the new member or whatever. This is it, starting point, we’re taking off and we’re going with it.

Tom: Yeah that’s really cool because it gives you so much freedom to do whatever you want if you think that way.

Rory: Exactly. We don’t want to be held down by any kind of barriers or limits of being a hardcore punk band. I think it’s your attitude that definitely makes you a hardcore band not necessarily your sound anymore. I think a lot of people put themselves in boxes and are afraid to get out of them and I don’t think that we are a band who is limiting themselves and the record “Cycles” is our extension of that and I think it is just going to continue our extension, which is pretty exciting.

Tom: So you guys have been touring pretty heavily for the album. What has been your favorite place to tour too?

Rory
: Um, we’ve done two US tours and then a European tour and I mean, Europe is always awesome, it’s fun. You always experience something crazy to do. I got pretty sunburned in Portugal which was shitty but kind of hilarious in a way. Favorite places? I guess since the US is like, you’re so used to it you don’t really think about it, it becomes like who are your friends, you get to see your friends and go to restaurants. So in that aspect, Chicago is always fun because I can eat Pick Me Up café and that place is always awesome. Seattle has always been awesome, we have tons of friends and it is just great being in that city. Other than that, in Europe we had an awesome time in Belgium. Good friends there and we stayed in this red light district which was weird because there were just like prostitutes selling themselves and we were on this balcony watching it and it was just wild because it’s legal and the government subsidizes it and it just throws you back and your just like wow that’s crazy. So those things are kind of crazy and wild and you’re just like this is insane, this pocket exists in this country, in this city and it’s totally acceptable. It’s interesting and it makes you think of the US and how we treat it, it’s really interesting to think like that.

Tom: For my last question, this is something I ask most bands…it’s kind of a silly question.

Rory: Go for it.

Tom: Who do you think would win in a fight, all of the ants in the world or all of the humans in the world?

Rory: I would say ants. I mean I hope ants.

Tom: You hope ants?

Rory: Yeah, I think humans are just pieces of shit who could care less. I think ants have this drive to thrive. I mean, humans do too in a very cockroach kind of way, but we’re more fallible. I think ants just have that drive and they don’t have that mentality to make a decision, they’re just doing their job where as we have a decision. Overall, I think ants would win out because they would burrow and we would just kind of destroy ourselves. Ultimately, I think ants will win by default because we would kill ourselves.

Tom: Would you try and side with the ants?

Rory: No, there’s no point. I mean, I’m not an ant. It’s going to happen, like, fuck it.

Tom: Haha, awesome. Well thank you for the interview and have a great show tonight!

Rory: Thanks!

Soul Control's "Cycles" is available now from Bridge Nine Records. You can find out more about the band at http://www.soulcontrolhc.com .

The above cover for Thomas Fehlmann's new album on powerlabel Kompakt records resembles those of Eno's Ambient recordings. Therefore it comes as no surprise the contents are not only a commissioned work, but include ambience. Berlin 24hr, which you can view for free here, is the longest television program ever made. Gute Luft ("Good Air") is the soundtrack for it. The album is only 70 minutes of kraut-dub minimalism, but it is seemingly made up of infinite pieces, and thus works out for such a large project. Fehlmann's soundscape moves a listener, as it does the progress of the film. By dropping out enitre layers and match even the smallest glitches to a new one, Fehlmann tends to jump about. Some, such as the playful Wasser Im Fluss, begin in a mood and progress to another, Wasser moves to a sudden seriousness with a regimented back beat. Punchy synth creates anticipation on Permanent Touch, Von Oben is a club hit for the non-participant, and Darkspark gears you up for the unknown.

The 6 minute opener Alles, Immer's only inherent characteristic is one swell of static occurring every four bars or so, the remainder is restless, improvised noise which pops, pangs, and pans. Like the cover, Fehlmann has created a sound map for the daily life of Berlin, or any modern city for that matter. Gute Luft is certainly contemplative, the 15 tracks are less songs than they are complete ideas packaged in their own unique ways.

Michael Gira isn't exactly turning over in his grave, but NY's Child Abuse sound as if they are using Filth as a touchstone. Although the genre could be, at times, identified as listener abuse it's really not the same effect as it would've been when Swans played in 1983. On Cut and Run, this bass-keyboard/voc-drums power trio's debut, screechy layering and distant, helpless vocals, along with proggy drum beats combine to create "no-grind". Opener Hold This is free, distorted and seems to soundtrack an arena of troglodytes, all the while inviting whiring synth tuned like Sonic Youth . Child Abuse doesn't let up, especially on Froze Toes which clocks in 5 minutes of changes. Bebe trudges along, shuttling back and forth from lightning quick blasts to murky sludge parts. Cut and Run from pop music, here's your synth-core motor cycle accident you can't help but watch.



Cut and Run is available on Lovepump United. Check out their myspace for a taste and an Eric Dolphy cover.


I'm going to pre-face all of this by letting you know: if you do not purchase the Sinbusters' first full length, "Prime Blowout", you are shooting yourself in the junk.

Once Lowell's underdogs, the Sinbusters have seen a huge rise in hype over the past year- simply because they are going to melt your fucking face off every time you see them perform. This feeling of utter chaos translates perfectly onto "Blowout". Live favorites "Fuck You, Aristotle" and "Back From Hell" make raucous debuts, while old jams "Generation Locust", "Mystic City", and "Do You like To Party?" get a filthy make over, showcasing one of Mill City's hidden jems.

My only qualm with this album is it's length- clocking in at approximately 23 minutes, I'm left wanting more and more. If you doubt all the praise this site gives 'em, please do yourself the favor of listening to album opener "I Don't Wanna Be A Slave", and have fun melting into a puddle. Mixing punk, 60's garage, and sheer insanity makes for an exciting and unpredictable listen. Keep your eyes on le Sinbusters. They're doing big things.
Phase-\phase\ (?), n.- Any one point or portion in a recurring series of changes, as in the changes of motion of one of the particles constituting a wave or vibration; one portion of a series of such changes, in distinction from a contrasted portion, as the portion on one side of a position of equilibrium, in contrast with that on the opposite side.

Read- Our review of Owen Pallet's, Heartland

Listen- to Dan Deacon's (phasy) remix of 'Lewis Takes His Shirt Off"

Born on the seminal C-86 cassette, The Wedding Present seemed pressed into the fabric of twee pop with their contribution This Boy Can Wait (A Bit Longer). C-86 proved to be many indie blips on the radar produced by two authorities on the subject: New Musical Express and Rough Trade records. Several of the comp's groups fizzled out between 1988 and 1993 after making EPs now are considered holy grails of iTunes libraries and corners of the blogosphere. Others saw indie not as a genre but a stepping point and an idea to evolve; Primal Scream dove into acid house and Half Man, Half Biscuit became a satirical rock parodying everything between Brit Lit 101 and Thatcherism.

Others aside, The Wedding Present began popping up all over the map and with them they brought an edge of brute force to this established indie-pop. Singer David Gedge's distinct, nasally authoritative voice matched lightning quick guitar riffs and straight, harrowing drumming. '87's George Best (below, left) was truly indie, recorded and put out by the band's own label, and Bizzaro from '88 was a more mature version supported by RCA. Albini got a crack at them on the harsh Seamonsters (center) and the 1994 Island Records album Watusi (right) could be their most critically acclaimed. In short, they proved to be as adaptive as they were good at writing songs.




Live 1988 sits smack dab in the middle of a band which is a blueprint for what indie has become: an over-arching, experimental idea in which kids apply their influences with a DIY mindset. Half recorded in Rotterdam, half in Valencia, the album is a look at the band during the George Best era, but with a sheer exuberance and edge which would bud on Bizarro. Their C-86 song This Boy Can Wait, along with What Did Your Last Servant Die Off? both seem to be stretched to their breaking points. Other tracks like the shiny pop of No, the methodical, driving A Million Miles, and the dreamy Not from Where I'm Standing all strengthen the point of the Wedding Present sound, versus the sound they had on low recording budgets during the first half of their career. The Wedding Present thrives in a big, live sound, with all pieces on level 10, and Gedge's voice on 11.


Despite the above history lesson, I have even managed to exclude The Wedding Present's early single's collection, their John Peel sessions (of Ukrainian folk songs) affectionately titled Українські Виступи в Івана Піла, and their 2 Hit Parade albums which were collections of 12 singles released month to month during 1992-93. And also three other albums which charted in the UK during 1995, 1996, and 2005. In the ashes of more visible indie throbs like the Smiths, The Wedding Present proved longevity couldn't...and doesn't hurt all that bad.

Check them out at the Middle East Downstairs on Monday 4/12 with Girl In A Coma, and the Motion Sick!



This is good news for Sundowner fans, AND Lawrence Arm's fans if you haven't heard of Sundowner (you should listen here)

Chris posted a bulletin on his myspace earlier:

"Well, it’s been three years since the first Sundowner record and man has a lot happened in the world since then. We had the summer and winter Olympics, the Cubs got embarrassed in the playoffs a few times, Obama became president, I won my first fantasy football championship and we all got a bit older. Ahhh, the dizzying highs. I also wrote a bunch of songs. Over the last several months me and Neil (Hennessy if you’re nasty) having been working on the new Sundowner record in Logan Square in Chicago and I’m excited to say it’s just about done and that we’re putting the finishing touches on it. I’m stoked to be teaming up with Mike Park and releasing it on Asian Man Records this time around. We’re shooting for a mid-summer release and we’ll have more details for y’all in the near future. I’m also really excited because Toby Jeg at Red Scare is gonna press Four One Five Two on vinyl this summer and we’re gonna throw a big party. Rap at ya soon!"
-Chris




Infinite Body is a satellite addition to the dawning nano-fad chill-wave. However, his debut album Carve My Face Out of God sounds newly discovered slacker movement infused with DIY technology. The album has all the ingredients: layered, drawn out feedback in lo-fi AND the appearance: an ominous photograph slightly grainy for the album cover, but the music is much more cerebral than beachy, childhood memories.

Within these contexts, it seems Infinite Body has adopted this stripped down sound to an arena more fit for chamber music, Out To Where I Am's opening discharge comes again and again, swirling and shimmering. At the 2:30 mark, a dissonant ringing organ enters bringing in order. The darker, Constellation-style On Our Own to Fall Off hearkens more post rock than anything else.

This is less an album than a collection of ideas which can bring up images for individual listeners. Where many of our chill-wavers want to romanticize Spaghetti Ohs and losing Nerf ammo, Infinite Body is attempting to create more timeless.

Our friends the Lowell Film Collaborative will be kicking off their annual film festival on 4/8. Hollywood and the Great Depression: 10 cent Entertainment During Difficult Times is free and open to the public and will include depression-era films and more, click here for more details.



Schedule:
Jezebel - Thursday, April 8 at 7PM
Lowell National Historic Park Visitor Center, 246 Market Street

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - Friday, April 9 at 7PM
Lowell National Historic Park Visitor Center, 246 Market Street

Frankenstein - Friday, April 9 at 10PM
119 Gallery, 119 Chelmsford Street

The Grapes of Wrath - Saturday, April 10 at 1PM
Boott Cotton Mills Museum Events Center, 115 John Street

Snow White - Saturday, April 10 at 1:30PM
Pollard Memorial Library, 401 Merrimack Street

Modern Times - Saturday, April 10 at 3PM
Pollard Memorial Library, 401 Merrimack Street

It Happened One Night - Saturday, April 10 at 7PM
UMass Lowell O'Leary Library (Room 222), 61 Wilder Street

Bride of Frankenstein - Saturday, April 10 at 10PM
119 Gallery, 119 Chelmsford Street


In brief:

  • The Big Sway on Live from the Fallout Shelter- TONIGHT!
  • The Sinbusters, Ladderlegs, The Kominas, and Deadly- April 8th at PA's Lounge in Somerville
  • Tartufi (CA), Ununi, and Daniel Harris- April 6th at the 119 Gallery in Lowell
  • TRAGWAG with Matt Wixon, Young Mountain, Inspector 34 and Sheep and other anomalies- Picnic at the Prism AFTERNOON SHOW at the ICC in Lowell April 10th
  • Br’er (PA, NC), Mr. Lee’s Defense Squad- April 10th at the Sockhop in Lowell
  • Goospimp at The Chalet April 9th - St. Joseph’s College- Standish, Maine
  • The Bella Birds and Kristen Ford April 9th- The Tavern at the End of the World- Charlestown MA
  • Mass Recovery Fest April 9th and 10th
  • Baylock With The Wailers and Roots Down Below- April 7th at Lupos Heartbreak Hotel
  • Local dance-punk band, Bearstronaut, nominated for Best-New Act by the Boston Phoenix! David Boffa said of their 2009 release, Broken Handclaps, "It's kind of amazing — it could put bears on the moon." Check them out!










Tonight on Live from the Fallout Shelter there will be a performance from the Big Sway (not Los Bungalitos. Unfortunately they had to cancel their appearance). They are an awesome dancy-funk-punk band from Western Massachusetts, so you wont want to miss it!

We will be on air from 8-11 spinning awesome tunes. The band will go on at 9:30. Tune in to 91.5 FM if you are in the greater Lowell area, or www.wuml.org if you are anywhere else on this planet.








This past Friday night was the 25th Anniversary celebration of Live from the Fallout Shelter, one of WUML 91.5FM's leading live music programs. The show was started back in 1985 by Chris Porter and Bob Weston (Mission of Burma/Shellac) and has hosted a live band every week since. It has been host to over 500 bands, a countless amount of student DJ's and engineers and remains one of Lowell's leading music spots. Needless to say the people involved in Friday's show, staff and crowd, were all very excited to be celebrating the radio show's birthday.

Starting off the show was local Lawrence hip hop duo Rebels of Art featuring Lowell's own pop rock band Beneath The Sheets. Following them were Allston basement celebrities L'antietam who brought the heavy and proved why we keep asking them to be involved in Fallout shows (they also played the 20th anniversary back in 2005). After them, Bridge Nine Record's Energy took the stage with their fast melodic punk and even managed to please the crowd with a cover of Astro Zombies by The Misfits. Smoke Or Fire then took the stage to what may have been one of the most energetic crowds I have ever been a part of. This was definitely the highlight band of the night as people surrounded the singer and screamed at the top of their lungs every word that he sang. Finally, to close out the evening, local favorites A Wilhelm Scream displayed once again one of the most energetic and powerful performances I have ever seen come from a band. There wasn't a fist in the room that wasn't raised in the air.

WUML and Live from the Fallout Shelter would like to send a big thanks out to UTEC for hosting the show, Red Bull Energy Drink for providing free cases of drinks, Dan Gonyea of Future Bree Photography for taking excellent photos, all the bands that we have enjoyed working with over the years and most importantly the 250 people who showed up to celebrate the anniversary with us.

You can see photos of the show at www.future-breed.com

top