"A Bus Called Further" - Heroes of Popular Wars Churny, semi-psychedelic, and borderline funky in an undanceable sort of way, "A Bus Called Further" is both groovily electronic and baroquely corporeal at the same time. Now I am the furthest thing imaginable from a gearhead so I only know what the PR material says, but apparently Stephe Sykes, the brains behind HOPW, uses all sorts of "new vintage" (i.e. '80s) equipment (guitar synths, 20-year-old samplers, and the like), which is no doubt what lends "A Bus Called Further" its chuggy, homemade vibe. Applying 21st-century mixing and collaging know-how to equipment made before people did this sort of thing is its own sort of mad genius. And speaking of mad genius, the fact that the song title brings to (my) mind the song "Bus Called Happiness," from the great mad-genius band Pere Ubu, gives the whole thing bonus points. Previously Brooklyn-based, Sykes moved Heroes of Popular Wars to L.A. this summer and is still getting settled there--a process which includes his having to find people to turn HOPW into a band that can play onstage. "A Bus Called Further" is a song from HOPW's debut full-length album, Church & McDonald, which was self-released late last month, and was named, you may as well know, for an intersection in the Kensington section of Brooklyn.
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Heroes Of Popular WarsGenre: Ambient / Electroacoustic From: Los Angeles/Brooklyn, New York, United States Those of you who have been following the Devil's blog with interest over the past few years may recall a post back in the dark days of October 2007 on US band Heroes of Popular Wars (Heroes of Popular Wars). Well they're back with a new LP the ambitious 'Church and McDonald'. Where once the HOPW sound had it's feet firmly placed in Brian Eno's ambient flowerbeds it's expanded to embrace pop, dance, found sound and anxiety.It's difficult to pick out just a couple of tracks on an album that is best heard in full from start to finish but special mention should be made of the dance inflected 'A Bus Called Further' a Steely Dan homage, 'She's A Microscope' which starts out as a slow, candy-coated pop song that builds and builds before exploding like a bomb in a synth factory and 'American Loser', a two-part pop song/dirge that sounds like Kevin Shields playing tug of war with 80's Peter Gabriel. We can be heroes, just for one day. Go TryMP3 - Heroes Of Popular Wars - She's A MicroscopeMP3 - Heroes of Popular Wars - American LoserIf anyone from the IFPI is reading these tracks are linked direct from the Heroes of Popular Wars website and are therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.MP3 - Heroes of Popular Wars - A Bus Called FurtherMP3 - Heroes of Popular Wars - It's A DoozyIf anyone from the IFPI is reading these tracks are published with the permission of the Fanatic Promotion so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.Go VisitHeroes of Popular Wars - Myspace // Website // Last.FM // FacebookGo ViewHeroes of Popular WarsThere's The Bell<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lE4AQifwEBE&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lE4AQifwEBE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>
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L.A. indie rockers The Happy Hollows will have their debut full-length out in October, Spells, and if what we've heard of it is any indication it's going to be one hell of a release. Sarah Negahdari sounds ominous-yet-mischievous and Charles Mahoney(bass/vocals) and Chris Hernandez(drums/vocals) pump out impressive precise rhythms. The BBC picked them as a band to watch for 2009 and if Spells is any indication of what the band will produce, they'll be spot on. More about the band from their 2008 EP Imaginary is here. Faces • Monster RoomThe Happy Hollows: Website • MySpace • Available October 6th• • • •After a decade as the artist now formerly known as Pedro the Lion, Seattle-based songwriter David Bazan is finally set to release a full-length under his proper name. Titled Curse Your Branches, the album is an insight into unyielding optimism starting to fray around the edges. Bazan new album is deeply personal, serving almost as much a release as a musical compilation and is already earning him praise as the best music of his career.Bless This MessDavid Bazan: Website • MySpace • Pre-order Curse Your Branches• • • •The first hint of what's coming from The Raveonettes’ fourth LP, In & Out Of Control, was unveiled yesterday. Suicide is a sugar-coated, 60s-meets-shoegaze anthem that resonates with one of the sweetest hooks in the Raveonettes ever-expanding catalog. Highly anticipated, the track release comes on the heels of the announcement of the band’s expansive Fall tour, set to kick off in New York at Webster Hall a week after the album’s release on October 6th.SuicideThe Raveonettes: MySpace • Watch the Vice Records store for pre-ordering• • • •Stephe Sykes and his Heroes of Popular Wars plays a gauzy but hooky brand of electro-ambient rock. Incorporating vintage 80’s synths and drum machines alongside a bevy of acoustic guitars, you’ll find a two-minute pop song surrounded by ambient or grating jams on both the intro and the outro. In 2008, Heroes of Popular Wars self-released a four-song EP, Revolution of The Hips, which received enough notice to encourage Stephe to get even more serious about their new release, Church and McDonald. This time, the hooks are catchier and the jams are deeper. Just listen; you'll get it. Excellent.A Bus Called Further • It's A DoozyHeroes of Popular Wars: Website • MySpace • Pay what you like here• • • •Hey, it's Farmer Dave! The first solo album from Farmer Dave Scher of Beachwoods Sparks and All Night Radio fame, Flash Forward To The Good Times. Scher is known for his strong appearances, production, and performances that include the likes of Jenny Lewis, Interpol, Elvis Costello, Jonathan Rice, and Vetiver. With gems like big band opener Bab'lone Nights and the head sway vibes of the album's title track. Scher keeps country minded and blends it properly with psych, soul and surf. Special guests on the album include members of Entrance, VietNam, Jonathan Wilson, and Devendra Banhart producer Thom Monahan. Relased ate is August 18th.Farmer Dave Scher: MySpace • Bab'lone Nights• • • •One of our favorite bands, Thunder Power, has a new EP out. And Everything After includes five tracks that reveal a more delicate side to the band and singer Kacynna Tompsett, who still sings like no one I've ever heard(that's a good thing). The energic quality of 2008's debut Love Yourself is counterbalanced by a more introspective tone, which only serves to reveal just how gifted this group of musicians are. A band that one you hear them, you'll like them.Sleep, Not ViolenceThunder Power: MySpace • Buy And Everything After• • • •At a time when music descended from punk and new wave seems to have been reduced to it's most rudimentary and lo-fi elements, Mystery of Two continues to pursue the original artistic aspirations of the genre-believing that art and music can be unfamiliar and challenging, without sacrificing accessibility. Their self-titled follow up to 2006's Arrows Are All You Know finds Mystery of Two further traversing the boundaries of experimental pop, and no where is this more evident than in the masterful guitar playing ofsinger/guitarist Ryan Weitzel.Mornings Call • Strange TownMystery of Two: MySpace • Available via Exit Stencil
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stephe sykes contributed to the scatter o' light super-awesome book list series. (see: a list, part 7: from the blue eyed devil). stephe is way cooler than me. his band is called heroes of popular wars. the new album is called church and mcdonald. these are some of the new songs...[mp3] a bus called further - heroes of popular wars[mp3] it's a doozy - heroes of popular warsmore info on myspace
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