Bad Religion
Bad Religion released their debut LP way back in 1982. Twenty five years on sees the release of New Maps of Hell, their 14th studio album. I think it’s fair to say that after a quarter of a century most bands tend to sound a little tired. But Bad Religion are definitely not showing any signs of fatigue, sustaining their intense energy levels and continuing to evolve their sound whilst maintaining credibility within the scene. Their sound has helped to define a genre and has been a major influence on many Southern Californian punk bands (no names necessary). So if you want a lesson in hardcore heritage and a taste of punk future at the same time, New Maps of Hell is certainly worth checking out.
Also by DAN MORGAN
I caught Iron & Wine play live last year and it was a typically soothing and mesmerizing set, until I was introduced to a different side of Sam Beam towards the end when he was joined on stage by co-headliners Calexico and struggled to contain his excitement as Joey Burns and Paul Niehaus worked with him to re-create songs featured on the In the Reins album. Beam has since taken his newfound passion for layered rhythm into the studio. His latest release, The Shepherd’s Dog, is denser, more textured and diverse, and as a result, more listenable than much of his earlier material. He has surrounded himself with a vast array of musicians and instruments that add new textures to his sound without distorting its fundamentals. It really is a classic album, well worth hocking the house for.
Listen to Iron & Wine’s Boy with a Coin.
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I’ve never heard anything like them — so accessible yet not quite pop, devilishly dark yet not quite math rock, and precisely rhythmic yet not quite electro. Seattle band Minus The Bear’s latest release — Planet of Ice — isn’t a massive deviation from their 2005 release, Menos El Oso, though it does have a more confident urgency to it, with tracks like Knights and When We Escape in particular.
Listen to Minus The Bear’s Knights and watch the clip to their song, Pachuca Sunrise.
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James Lavelle and Richard File have collaborated once again for the third full length UNKLE release, War Stories. Unsurprisingly, they have recruited an eclectic array of musicians to work with including Ian Astbury (The Cult), 3D (Massive Attack), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stoneage), Autolux, and the Duke Spirit. Fans that have hung onto Lavelle since the days of MoWax and Shadow’s cut and paste revolution are going to like this. It’s an evolution, more hardware and less software, and though it’s not exactly unchartered territory for Lavelle and File, it’s more refined and brave.
Listen to Uncle’s Burn My Shadow.
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We posted once about designer Maximo Riera’s octopus chair. Now he added a rhino and a walrus to his series of jet-black animal chairs. Read more
Since I heard about Carl Krull, I’ve followed him closely and have always been fascinated by his drawings and paintings. On his website he has several videos where you can watch him work. Read more
In my next life, I want to sing like Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison. Oh, and grow a lush beard, so I can play in their band. Better start cracking.
Greek firm A31 just completed this sturdy-looking art warehouse for Alexandros Liapis in Dilesi, Boeotia. From some angles, the concrete structure looks like a fallout-proof bunker, but from the front it looks like an open and airy barn, the exterior looking very much like wood. Read more
Going about day-to-day life can be a chore, which is why the guys at Anxiety Culture are delivering highly valid excuses for why people should feel free to do exactly as they please, which, in most cases, is absolutely nothing. Read more
Black Eyed Dog is the project of Fabio Parrinello, a singer-songwriter from Varese, in northern Italy. His second album, Rhaianuledada (Songs To Sissy), brims with a brooding intensity, referencing the best British folk ballads of the past. Rhaianuledada (Songs To Sissy) was recorded at Vicolo Recording Studio in Sicily by Fabio Genco and was mastered by Luca Martegani in Varese. Listen to the track Honeysuckle Gal.
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WeMe Creative has an awesome new female tee available called All About Me, featuring ‘pattern wrap over’ printing. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Mathematics? Leave me out. Fashematics? Now you’re talking! This gem of a site is a runway equation that adds up to a whole lot of wonderful.
Pitched as ‘Ulterior Motives in Contemporary Art’, Disorder Disorder is running until November 14 at Penrith Regional Gallery. It’ll be well worth the trip out west of Sydney: the Australian, Japanese, American and European cast reads like a warriors of street art roundup and includes Mike Giant, Ed Templeton, Anthony Lister [artwork above], Ozzie Wright, and Jonathan Zawada. Read more
Benjamin Edminston’s psychedelic heads seem to have some fearful wisdom behind their blissed-out eyes. Read more
Baltimore Mural by Josh Van Horne
My friend Josh Van Horne, a local Baltimore artist, did this amazing mural in our neighborhood that depicts the history of this warehouse-laden area.
Michelle Blade’s psychedelic artwork
Michelle Blade’s washed out paintings are deceptively simple, her washy acrylics creating psychedelic textures and conjuring ghostly figures from the past. Read more
The Illuminated Sea Cookie Pin by Stephanie Simek mixes underwater wonders and light to add a little sparkle to your wardrobe. The sea cookie, a member of the sand dollar family, is back lit by a white LED. When turned on, the light illuminates all of the creature’s natural patterns and intricacies. Read more
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