Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks are a rock band consisting of Stephen Malkmus (vocals, guitar), Joanna Bolme (bass, vocals), Mike Clark (keyboards) and Jake Morris (drums). The band has released five albums: "Stephen Malkmus" (2001), "Pig Lib" (2003), "Face the Truth" (2005), "Real Emotional Trash" (2008) and "Mirror Traffic" (2011). Malkmus was the lead singer and primary songwriter for Pavement.
Tumbleweed is firstly a highly influential Australian rock band from the 90's, a country rock band from Norway and a bonecrushing instro/surf band from Sweden. Tumbleweed (Australia) filled the stoner-rock void in Australia during the heavy grunge years of the 1990s. As the opening band for Nirvana on their 1992 tour of Australia, Tumbleweed was able to reach out into the mainstream with their crunchy-psychedelica and the subtle vocal stylings of singer Richie Lewis.
The National is a Brooklyn-based indie rock band formed in 1999, by friends from Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. The band's lyrics are written and sung by Matt Berninger in a distinctive, deep baritone. The rest of the band is composed of two pairs of brothers: Aaron Dessner (guitar, bass, keyboards), Bryce Dessner (guitar), Scott Devendorf (bass, guitar) and Bryan Devendorf (drums).
Their self-titled debut album"The National" (Brassland 2001) was recorded and released before they had played even a single show. They cut the album with engineer Nick Lloyd and formed a label with writer Alec Bemis, so those recordings could be released. Kerrang! magazine gave it four Ks, calling it "the stuff underground legends are made of."
The National made a second album, "Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers" (Brassland/Talitres 2003). The staff was the same, though Peter Katis, who produced "Turn on The Bright Lights" and "Antics" by Interpol, helped produce and mix, and Australian composer Padma Newsome from Clogs collaborated on arrangements and strings.
Following the first session of several for Bernard Lenoir on France's Radio Inter, an in-between EP was released, Cherry Tree, containing what would become the blueprint for the sound on their next record and the session of Sad Song's standout Murder Me Rachael. After these accolades and being impressed by their live show, Roger Trust signed them to Beggars Banquet.
A show at their favorite bar became a van ride to neighboring cities, became a plane ride to Europe, became two summers overseas. Their ties to those good jobs slackened. And they continue on their own path, moving out even further out in Brooklyn to Ditmas Park, where there is space and familiar suburban streets and even Geese on Beverly Road. Their album, "Alligator", much of which was recorded at their homes in Ditmas Park, was engineered by Paul Mahajan, who has worked with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and TV on the Radio. Padma Newsome camped out for a month with the band, and Peter Katis added more production and mixed the record at his house in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Berninger's potent baritone still intones about matters fraught and funny and sad; about record collections, missing persons and medium-sized American hearts. But the record's not simply gothic or miserablist -- more like the plays of Tennessee Williams, it's full of peculiar intimacies and awkward grace. Alligator's heroes are reckless and possessed seducers, but they are apologetic ones. In The National's imaginings, in songs alternately lush and spare, there is something twighlit and dreamy worked out in the basement of our brains.
"Abel," "Secret Meeting," and "Lit Up" were released as singles.
On May 22, 2007, The National released their follow-up to Alligator, Boxer, on Beggars Banquet. Taking advantage of the fact that nobody had heard their first album and earliest demos, Matt proceeded to steal lyrics and melodies from them and give them the attention they deserved while keeping the intimacy that made them special. They even managed to convince new friend Sufjan Stevens to lay down some piano tracks for them, and recorded the album in a scant 6 months after coming off the long post-Alligator road.
"Mistaken for Strangers", "Fake Empire" and "Apartment Story" have been released as singles. The band have just finished touring North America and are on a large European autumn/winter tour after playing high slots at several large festivals. In their Dec. 07/Jan. 08 issue, Paste magazine named Boxer best record of 2007.
The band's fifth album, High Violet, was released on May 10, 2010 by 4AD Records. "Bloodbuzz Ohio", "Anyone's Ghost" and "Terrible Love" were released as singles.
In 2013 their sixth studio record Trouble Will Find Me was released and named "Best New Music" by Pitchfork. The album contained the single "I Need My Girl". In 2015, the album outtake "Sunshine On My Back" was released.
Four years after Trouble Will Find Me, marking the longest timespan between albums in their career so far, they released their seventh album Sleep Well Beast on September 8th, 2017 and were yet again met with great critical success.
The National homepage: http://www.americanmary.com/
The National blog http://tntl.tumblr.com
The National on Twitter http://twitter.com/The_National
Brassland homepage: http://brassland.org/
Beggars Banquet homepage: http://www.beggars.com/ Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Created in 1998 in Los Angeles, California, United States by actor Jared Leto and his brother, Shannon, 30 Seconds to Mars initially began as a small family project. Matt Wachter later joined the band as bassist and keyboard player. After working with a number of guitarists (including Kevin Drake and Solon Bixler), the three auditioned Tomo Miličević to round out the band's official roster. After Wachter's departure from the band in 2006, the Leto brothers and Miličević continue on as a trio with additional touring members, including Tim Kelleher on bass.
Billy Talent is a Juno Award-winning Canadian rock band formed in 1993. They performed and recorded together for about a decade before finding a wide mainstream following. Originally called Pezz, the group originates from Streetsville, in Mississauga, Ontario, but now hail from Toronto, Ontario. The band is currently on tour, promoting a new album released in July 2009, named "Billy Talent III".
After forming in the later part of 2008, it hasn't taken Built On Secrets long to solidify their status as one of the most promising young bands in Australia. With only a self-released demo to their name, the Melbourne-based group was able to score support slots with everyone from All Time Low and Set Your Goals to The Amity Affliction, Haste The Day and 3OH!3, all of which has demonstrated that Built On Secrets' dynamic sound is capable of appealing to a slew of different audiences.
Hytest - finest stoner punk from Wollongong, Australia (Michael Curley - guitar, Luke Armstrong - bass, Adam Rogan/Neil Matthews - drums) In 2004 they recorded and independently released their first self titled EP and after placing highly in Triple Js Unearthed competition, received light airplay for “The Party song” and “Dirty old men(need lovin' too)” on local and international radio. A second EP was soon to follow.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an <a href="http://www.last.fm/tag/indie%20rock" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">indie rock</a> band formed in New York City, New York, USA in the late summer of 2000 by <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Karen+O" class="bbcode_artist">Karen O</a>, born Karen Lee Orzolek (vocals), <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Nick+Zinner" class="bbcode_artist">Nick Zinner</a> (guitar, keyboards) and <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Brian+Chase" class="bbcode_artist">Brian Chase</a> (drums). The group's music melds genres ranging from <a href="http://www.last.fm/tag/art%20punk" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">art punk</a> and <a href="http://www.last.fm/tag/garage%20rock" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">garage rock</a> to <a href="http://www.last.fm/tag/electronic" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">electronic</a> and <a href="http://www.last.fm/tag/new%20wave" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">new wave</a>. Karen O is known for her screaming, bluesy vocals and energetic stage presence, complemented by her outrageously colorful costumes.
Major Chord was born in the winter of 2006 on a living room table. It came into existence somewhere between the Minor Key and the Umbilical Cord. Major Chord is sometimes lonely - singing and strumming guitar, but usually wistful harmonies and whimsical violin appear, then occassionally caressed keys, bopping bass and beating drums you hear. Blending folk sugar with hints of tasty pop and a pinch of alt-rock spice, Major Chord creates a warm and vibrant delight.
”Dark”, “melodic”, “spiky” and “atmospheric” are all overused words in the noble pursuit of describing sound. Still, they all seem oddly appropriate when trying to get a handle on what Sydney's Cabins are. With a sound that is uniquely theirs, they sift through rubble in the musical junkyard pulling out shards of glass and little treasures, and making them into songs.
Pounding basslines and drums intersect with woozy pianos and spiky guitars to carry tales of foreboding and unease up a strangely melodic path.