"The Story of Sonny Bill Slim" - Gary Clarke JR's New Album - A Sick Tale of Blues, Soul & Rock

Hey guys do you need more sick 'Rock Music' in your playlist? if you do check out Gary Clark Jr and this studio performance of his new single "The Feeling" filmed in Texas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHKTAyaWVqU

His new second album "The Story of Sonny Bill Slim" dropped a couple months ago and it was recorded in the very same room at Arlyn studios that he preforms in the video above that has hosted acts like Arctic Monkeys, Stevie Ray Vaughn and even NZ's own Lorde.

Clarke's music style is very similar to The Black Keys and maybe even Alabama Shakes but he has more obvious influences of rap, soul and gospel music. He's also a total master of the blues and a virtuoso guitar slinger to boot.

My 2 other favourite tracks on the new album are 'Grinder" which has an insane guitar solo!! haha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUfEcbVfVng

But my hands down favourite song on the album is "Cold Blooded" a bluesy soul record with a rock solid drum beat and a dope as hell horns section; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFajvN0IFyo

On a side note I was lucky enough to see Gary Clarke play at the Powerstation early in the year were he brought the house down. Daniel Michael Photography captured the epic photo of Clarke above at that very show early in the year which my good friend Leighton recommend I go, I'm glad I did his final encore of the night "Bright Lights" was insane the whole crowd went nuts!! no wonder he won a grammy for his first album "Black and Blu" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFjMeOnqAPI

Link to the Album: 

https://itunes.apple.com/nz/album/the-story-of-sonny-boy-slim/id1022109426

You can read Marty Duda's in-depth review of Gary Clarke's show at the power station 

here; http://13thfloor.co.nz/2015/04/01/gary-clark-jr-powerstation-concert-review/

David Kilgour and The Heavy Eights - "End Times Undone" - The Jangly Happy RockNRoll Dunedin Sound

I found myself recently flicking through the latest Phantom Billstickers Cafe Reader "Have as Much as You Want" Volume 6 the super ice cold Winter edition and found myself studying the new David Kilgour and The Heavy 8's awesome trippy album cover for "End Times Done". Wow who does that hand belong to God, is the fire symbolic of a happy camp fire or mans ultimate destruction, does that phallic object belong to someone haha.

Jokes aside I read the article on Cleaner brother in arms Hamish Kilgours new music making and cutting old school vinyls for an American and low and behold I decided to check out some of the oldschool flying nun stuff on Youtube, the filthy old 16mm clips are great, they are so pre-youtube youtube class great tunes Kiwi history totally!

Anyway I was surfing around in the Google owned music quagmire and rolled across all the great classic songs from the Clean and the Verlaines, gush Dunedin sound those good old Dunedin sound days so innocent just enjoying being alive in the post war baby booming times (bad math give or take some decades. Well I got listening to the new album by Kilgour and Eights and give it a thumbs up nice one kick ass punch in the balls. It's got chills, its got spills, RockNRoll with such a lack of ego in the music you just end up floating round in the cold Blue Auckland Winter night sky.

 

THE BLACK KEYS "Turn Blue" Album Cover Leaks Online

The Black Keys "Turn Blue" cover art designed by in-house Grammy award winning designer Michael Carney has apparently been leaked online. Insiders suspect a rabid groupie called Linda close to the rockstars committed such a venomous act. The well known drunk nick-named "Linda-Loo" as she is well known for spewing in toilets apparently got enraged when her mustard double cheese hamburger did not arrive on time while recording at the Black Keys Nashville based studio. It is still unverified whether this is in fact the cover art for the bands eminent release across North America. However, what has been discovered by a loose lipped recording engineer out of music city is that Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have been bickering over the album cover for months. The bone of contention has been the hue of the blue elephant that the band commissioned to sit on top of a life size elephant toilet. The photo was rumored to have been shot in Africa on Twitter and by all accounts the toilet looks fully functional. Amongst other controversies the Black Keys have been taking to social media to market their new album through Mike Tyson's twitter account. The Bilboard Hot 100 said it was a brilliant move for the band to attack the boxing fan demographic. This often overlooked section of the record buying public has not yet realized that you can download music for free on the internet. Their record company None Such records part of the juggernaut Warner Sisters says they hope to see sales triple in the Keys first week.  

Rock On Moss Rock

The Black Keys endorse their personal friends The Neo-Kalashnikovs new single "Treat Me Right"

The New Warpaint Record Sounds like a Minimal, Cult-Status, Rocker

My thoughts on the new record by Warpaint; very minimal, good drum sounds, unique tones on each track. The whole record is super-produced. I also think the album would have had a lot more impact if had come out prior to Lorde who has in effect taken the style of the new Warpaint record and delivered to the bulk of North America, before them. Having said this it may be good for the band as they may be more easily embraced by the music buying population. The bands new record is top notch indie release and super solid, you can tell a lot of people spent a ton of time and money on this record and its been worth it. I hope the sonic reverberations inside listeners heads are all positive because this is a nice record.

I mot not to sure how to assess it lyrically but hopefully there are more hooks that I heard on the first listen. Having said this critics have been ranting on about how the album fits together and slides into the next track really well. A brilliant release from the L.A woman maybe not a hit record but a timeless cult status record for sure and that aint bad !!! :)

Stream Warpaint's new album here: 

http://www.npr.org/2014/01/12/261054457/first-listen-warpaint-warpaint

The Menacing new single from Black Sabbath - God is Dead? off new album "13"

Menacing tones are sick, snare is perfect, vocals are great love that distortion, lyrics are cool

all up a wonderful song!!!

coming to a Church near you ;)

This song poses a good question!!!

Lost in the darkness
I fade from the light
Faith of my father, my brother, my Maker and Savior
Help me make it through the night
Blood on my conscious
And murder in mind
Out of the gloom I rise up from my tomb into impending doom
Now my body is my shrine

The blood runs free
The rain turns red
Give me the wine
You keep the bread
The voices echo in my head
Is God alive or is God dead?
Is God dead?

Rivers of evil
Run through dying land
Swimming in sorrow, they kill, steal, and borrow. There is no tomorrow
For the sinners will be damned
Ashes to ashes
You cannot exhume a soul
Who do you trust when corruption and lust, creed of all the unjust,
Leaves you empty and unwhole?

When will this nightmare be over? Tell me!
When can I empty my head?
Will somebody tell me the answer?
Is God really dead?
Is God really dead?

To safeguard my philosophy
Until my dying breath
I transfer from reality
Into a mental death
I empathize with enemy
Until the timing’s right
With God and Satan at my side
From darkness will come light

I watch the rain
And it turns red
Give me more wine
I don’t need bread
These riddles that live in my head
I don’t believe that God is dead
God is dead

Nowhere to run
Nowhere to hide
Wondering if we will me again
On the other side
Do you believe a word
what the Good Book said?
Or is it just a holy fairytale
And God is dead?
God is Dead x4

Right!

But still the voices in my head
Are telling me that god is dead
The blood pours down
The rain turns red
I don’t believe that God is dead
God is Dead x4