The Features Prep New LP, 7-inch

Nashville's The Features return on July 26 with their third studio effort The Wilderness. It'll be released through Kings of Leon's Serpents and Snakes label and, strangely, it seems those Followill's have an ear for radio-ready alt. rock. The lead single "Rambo" blends in just enough spaghetti western riffology to keep their middle of the road guitars and vocals interesting. That track will be featured on a 7-inch along with B-side "That Much I Know" available through the band's website or at selected indie record shops.

Rambo 7 inch by The Features

US tour dates after the jump . . .

Insert Campfire Cliche Here

[mp3] Campfires: "Chasing Planets"

Campfires aren't rewriting the book on short little lo-fi garage rock tunes, but damn this song is one of the catchier little (non-elctro) nuggets you'll hear this side of The Black Lips. Speaking of The Black Lips - here's to hoping they can recover from that disastrous little record they put out a few years ago, 200 million whatever. Remember that one? Man. Campfires channel, OLD Black Lips, and seem reminiscent of a scuzzy version of early Strokes or OLD Kings of Leon. We love new stuff, round here, clearly.

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New Kings of Leon Single / Video - "Radioactive"

[mp3] Kings of Leon: "Radioactive"

Kings of Leon's new album, Come Around Sundown, drops on Oct. 19 via RCA Records. Dig the video for the first single, "Radioactive" above. Pre-order the record here.

Koolaid!

Album cover art after the jump!

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The Bristol Scene

[mp3] Malachai: "Fading World"

We're not British, but we know a lot of British people. We've dated them, played music with them, lived with them, and well, have done pretty much everything with them at one point. We're privy to the North v. South battles, the polite disdain they harbour towards Australia and Ireland, and how much they all fucking love Kings of Leon for some reason.

Yet, we can't claim to be experts on the sound that Malachai channel on their new LP Ugly Side of Love (out now on Domino). We do know though, that we love it. Even without trolling the club scene of Bristol, it's clear Malachai embody a distinctly British sound. We're not talking about Laura Marling here either. This is a dark, gritty, soulful affair, that draws from a background in dubstep and a passion for vintage hip hop and funk rhythms. Malachai are a behind the scenes DJ duo, with the moral support and guidance of a very important player, Portishead mastermind Geoff Barrow. From the soul-pop gem "Another Sun" to the Kinks sampled "How Long" to the underground club expanses of "Blackbird" Ugly Side of Love is a disparate and satisfying winner of a party record, held together by its single unifying factor - a distinct and undeniable passion for the long linage of uniquely British music.
Photo credit: Marc Bessant

M83 Scores Opening Slot on Killer's Tour

In what amounts to great news for a great band, M83 has secured the opening slot on the upcoming monster Killer's tour. M83's record, Saturdays = Youth released in August on Mute, will certainly make an appearance on at least one of Stark's year end lists (mine) if not more. The Killer's tour follows another great slot in December when M83 opens for the Kings of Leon on their UK tour. All in all, this makes quite a year for the band. Dates after the jump.

Tour dates in support of The Killers are below:

January
17 Denver, CO Magness Arena - Ritchie Center
19 Minneapolis, MN Northrop Auditorium
20 Chicago, IL UIC Pavilion
22 Detroit, MI EMU Convocation Center
23 Toronto, ONT Air Canada Centre
25 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
26 Boston, MA Agganis Arena
28 Washington, DC George Mason University Patriot Center
29 Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues
30 Atlanta, GA Atlanta Civic Center
31 Nashville, TN Grand Ole Opry House
February
2 Houston, TX Verizon Wireless Theater
3 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center
4 Dallas, TX Nokia Theatre

Kings of Leon Graduate to Full Blown Rock Stardom

Kings of Leon - "Sex on Fire" - mp3
Admittedly, I sort of stopped listening after, well, their first record. I thought Youth and Young Manhood was amazing, and honestly still sounds great. Yeah, they had that whole "Southern Strokes" thing going that's been talked about to death - but it worked. Then they proceeded to put out, what I thought was a pretty weak follow-up record. Perhaps I had just grown out of that sound, but I kind of stopped paying attention after that, despite the mountains of press they got. Yet, during my period of ignorance, KOL have become legit and unadulterated rock stars in the mainstream Aerosmith sense of the word. They have established a huge US and UK fanbase and are poised to be one of the biggest rock acts of the next 5-10 years. Some would argue, they already are. So, it's time for me to once again turn my ear towards them, despite the nay saying that I come across.

Just to give you a little run down of what's going on with the Kings of Leon right now, in case you have been in a cave for the past few weeks.
- Their new record Only By the Night comes out Tuesday 9/23 (RCA).
- They are the musical guest on SNL this Saturday.
- "Sex on Fire" is the #1 single in the UK.
- They will be on Letterman and Leno during release week.
- They are on the cover of Spin magazine.
- They are on every blog, good or bad reviews.
- They are playing a sold out Webster Hall on release day.
- They then launch an extensive US and UK tour.

I imagine this will be the last time you will see them in a place like Webster. Yeah, like I said - Aerosmith baby. For those who say you can't break bands in today's market, my advice to you is to find better bands. Just ask the KOL and My Morning Jacket about it.

Thursday's Slew Of Videos

Featured:

DR. DOG "The Ark"
THE WALKMEN "In The New Year"
KINGS OF LEON "Sex On Fire"

On The Blog Reel is a new feature on Stark. We bring you the day's best music videos all at once, with witty commentary to boot.

This afternoon, a number of high profile videos are making their rounds in the blog world. Stark has compiled the top three attention-grabbers for your viewing pleasure. (Isn't it nice to have everything in the same place?) Today we've got a fantastic tripper in Dr. Dog's "The Ark", a bloodsucking noir in The Walkmen's "In The New Year", and a gritty (but pretty much sex-free) "Sex On Fire", from Kings Of Leon. Videos and and more goodness after the jump.

The Walkmen
"In The New Year"
directed by: Norman Coady
from You And Me
2008, Gigantic Music
via Pitchfork TV

Love It. Ham in face paint, juxtaposed with clips from the classic Nosferatu. Creepy as hell, but incredibly poignant.


Dr. Dog
"The Ark"
directed by: Adam Kurland and Gary Breslin
from Fate
2008, Park The Van Records
via Subterranean

Great to see the band actually IN a video, as opposed to starring as cartoons ("My Old Ways") or as monkeys ("Fool's Life.") It's a bit dull in the beginning, but picks up as the song does. Good single choice. May we suggest a video for "The Breeze", please?


Kings Of Leon
"Sex On Fire"
from the upcoming Only By The Night
2008, RCA Records
via Myspace

If this song/video doesn't catapult the Followills to success in the States, then I'll be damned. This is the catchiest single they've had in years.

Saturday at All Points West

ALL POINTS WEST

LIBERTY STATE PARK

Jersey City, NEW JERSEY

8.9.08

WORDS AND PHOTOS by ANDREW DANIELS

This past weekend marked the inaugural All Points West festival at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ. Originally intended to be the "Coachella of the East" when the event was first rumored earlier this year, Goldenvoice/AEG instead delivered a less-than-stellar lineup when the performers were announced. The bill read like two Radiohead shows and one Jack Johnson show, with a bunch of indie acts ranging from notable to "who?" in the support slots. However, that didn't stop thousands upon thousands from entering the park via the Light Rail (more on transportation later) over three days; after all, it's Radiohead. It was the band's first festival appearance in the Tri-State area in what seemed like years. I was on hand for Saturday's edition, and needless to say, they didn't disappoint. But how did the other bands fare? And what about the festival as a whole?

You'll find more amateur photo and show reviews after the jump.

Much has already been made of the fact that there was no parking allowed on premises; if you wanted to get into the festival, you had to arrive to the grounds either by ferry from Manhattan ($30) or by the Light Rail system in Jersey City ($3.80 round trip.) We chose the latter.



When all was said and done, it took us approximately one hour to take the train through three stops to the Liberty Science Center and walk a mile to the festival. That's okay. It prepared us for the day ahead of being on my feet for 12 hours straight, and it provided for some gorgeous scenery:



We finally made it into the park by a little after 1 p.m., fresh in time to catch Your Vegas on the smallest stage, Queen Of The Valley. The Leeds five-piece was energized to be playing one of their first American festivals, even if an audience almost non-existent, as most of the day's crowd had yet to shuffle in or was checking out the rest of the festival's digs. The band was pleasant enough, if not a bit too conscious of adhering to the rock star handbook. Lead singer Coyle Girelli sounded like a mix between Dave Gahan and Stephen Christian of Anberlin, and the rest of the band employed U2 theatrics to get the set moving.

We proceeded to move to the Bullet stage to check out Sweden-by-way-of-New York blues band Alberta Cross. Really, really dug them. Slow moving country rock that's vintage Neil Young. Nearly every song prominently featured the Hammond, and that's never a bad thing. I believe they've either already completed an upcoming full length on Ark Recordings, or are very close to it. Look for that one.

Chromeo, Chromeo, wherefore art thou Chromeo? We ventured to the main stage, Blue Comet, to check out the party boys from NYC deliver the day's most entertaining set. Playing tracks culled mostly from last year's Fancy Footwork, the duo charmed the audience (many of which had begun to stake their place in the crowd for Radiohead, who wouldn't go on for another six hours.) Lead singer Dave 1 -- professor of French at Columbia -- charmed with his goofy white boy/Jew shtick, while sidekick P-Thugg absolutely slayed on the vocoder. The crowd was eating up everything Chromeo had to serve, myself included. The highlight had to be their take on "Momma's Boy", a standout from Fancy with a killer synth line right out of Elton John's "Crocodile Rock." Check out the track's brand new video here.

Emily Haines and Metric took the main stage after Chromeo, and we caught a few songs, but The Felice Brothers were playing the Bullet stage at the same time, and I had been dying to see them. It was the definitely the right choice; this band will slowly but surely take the country by storm. Their rustic brand of Americana is infectious, and their performance felt like being in an old barn drunk on moonshine. The three brothers from Upstate NY - Ian, Simone, and James Felice - all traded off on lead vocals. Ian's gruffy voice is a dead ringer for Dylan's, while Simone and James have slightly more polish. They were joined by a bass player who only goes by the name of "Christmas", and a washboard player/fiddler named Farley. They played songs from their excellent self-titled Team Love record from earlier this year, and very nearly stole the day from Radiohead. But that, as Liberty State Park would find later that night... was an impossible task.

There was an hour to kill in between The Felice Brothers and Animal Collective, so we spent it walking the grounds to take in the full experience. Since APW was billed as a festival for music and the arts, there were various exhibits and tents on site highlighting work from both well-known and novice artists. My favorite structure?

Around 5:00, we mosied back over to Blue Comet to check out Animal Collective. Awe-inspiring? Hardly. I may be in the small minority of those who find the noise-rock outfit more noise than rock, largely devoid of melody. I can roll with these guys for about ten minutes until it becomes tedious. I'm not calling them over-rated, but I just don't see the appeal. However, there were definitely parts of the set that moved me, particularly the closing "Brother Sport", which I connected to immediately. Or maybe it was because I knew the end was approaching. Don't kill me, Panda Bear!

Our party split up after Animal Collective was finished and The Roots were prepping to take the Bullet stage. Although it pained me to miss the Philly hip hop pioneers, they were playing at the same time as Kings Of Leon on the main stage. My brother and I stayed back to catch the Followill brothers' set and hold down a spot for Radiohead, while the others ventured off for The Roots. From what I heard, they delivered a furious, largely improvisational set, complete with tuba solos. However, I did catch a glimpse of drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson while signing autographs in the Virgin tent. Check it:

Anyway, onto the Kings. They ripped. What a great festival band in this atmosphere: perfect for delivering crowd pleasing rockers, expert musicianship, great Southern hospitality. At this point, the audience at the Blue Comet stage was rapidly increasing by the thousands, and songs from Aha Shake Heartbreak and Because of the Times served as the catalysts to mass sing-a-longs. One of my favorite moments of the day occurred when lead singer Caleb Followill, master of the creaky and wavering voice, let the audience emulate him during "Fans." The band also debuted a new song from their upcoming Only by the Night called "Sex On Fire" -- streaming now on Myspace -- and that's what their set felt like. Sex on fire. Props to MVP drummer Nathan, who never let up for the set's hour-plus duration.


And so the anticipation began. It's been more than a decade of fully appreciating Radiohead's music that I've waited to see the band, and the 45 minutes we spent packed like sardines in a tin can (sorry, I couldn't resist) amidst a hot, sweaty and tall crowd was the equivalent of an eternity. Plus, the overwhelming smell of marijuana from every direction certainly didn't help. It grew darker, and the band's stage set up was unveiled: a 3D curtain of long vertical glass strips. An amazing sight to be seen when unlit, and even more jaw-dropping when in use. Finally, as everyone in the audience collectively looked at their watches when the time reached 8:30, and subsequently back at the stage, everything went black: The moment had arrived. Drummer Phil Selway began playing the groove to "Reckoner", and guitarist Ed O'Brien complemented him on tambourine, steadily crescendoing until the rest of the band came in. They were spot-on, effortlessly locked in with each other while Thom Yorke's ethereal falsetto on the song's chorus took center stage. It was an unbelievable way to open, and they retained that energy for the rest of the night. The song selection felt perfect; In Rainbows was scattered in its entirety, and every album with the exception of Pablo Honey was represented within the confines of two hours. It's hard to pick a highlight when every song sent shivers down my spine, but their pulsating take on "The National Anthem" and the so-quiet-you-could-hear-a-pin-drop subtlety of "Exit Music (For A Film)" were standouts. Seriously, there's something magical when an entire park of 30,000 people goes completely silent. Stunning. Complete set list, courtesy of Stereogum:

01 "Reckoner"
02 "15 Step"
03 "The National Anthem"
04 "Kid A"
05 "All I Need"
06 "Nude"
07 "Weird Fishes"/"Arpeggi"
08 "Where I End And You Begin"
09 "The Gloaming"
10 "Faust Arp"
11 "No Surprises"
12 "Jigsaw Falling Into Place"
13 "The Bends"
14 "Bangers & Mash"
15 "Everything In Its Right Place"
16 "Exit Music (For A Film)"
17 "Bodysnatchers"
----
18 "Pyramid Song"
19 "Videotape"
20 "Airbag"
21 "Fake Plastic Trees"
22 "There There"
----
23 "House Of Cards"
24 "Planet Telex"
25 "Idioteque"

By all blog accounts, the band's performance on Saturday overwhelmingly topped a still-incredible Friday show, and I'm glad I got to witness it. Simply seeing Radiohead made up for everything: lackluster line-up (spring for bigger bands next year, Goldenvoice), transportation frustrations (getting out of the festival via Light Rail was an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE) and claustrophobic conditions. However, because of five guys from Oxford -- is it really a stretch to call them the greatest band in the world? -- the debut of All Points West was a success. Thanks for making my life, Radiohead.