In Other News . . . FIDLAR collaborate with Funny or Die on new video

Los Angeles garage-punk group FIDLAR have released what is possibly the most controversial and very NSFW video of the year for their single “Cocaine” if you thought Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" was bad brace yourself. The video is a collaboration with Will Ferrell's “Funny or Die” website which features a variety of content from many famous faces (James Franco, Ryan Gosling, Mila Kunis etc.). The video opens with “Parks and Recreation” actor Nick Offerman, who plays Ronald Ulysses “Ron” Swanson head of the Pawnee Parks department, in a wood workshop, typical of Offerman's character. Offerman then receives word that he is fired, goes out for beers and spends the rest of the video exploring different locations of Hollywood whilst constantly urinating powerfully over all that stands in his way managing at one point to pot a golf ball with his bodily fluids.

The band, who are currently on tour in Australia, are not ones to shy away from controversy with their name being an acronym for F**k it dog, life's a risk and their name prior to FIDLAR being F**k The Clock. Singers Zac Carper and Elvis Kuehn also admitted in an interview with Pitchfork that the “We were really hungover, and we just said, “Let's just try to jam”. It seems that depicting and living debauchery filled lifestyles is the key to success as they continue to gain a global following.

After touring Australia FIDLAR will play Reading and Leeds festival before returning to tour America. Their self-titled début was released in January via Wichita in the UK and Mom+Pop Music in America.

Watch the video for "Cocaine" below via Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKotlAWXsyw

In Other News . . . Kings of Leon unveil new single

Kings of Leon have returned with the lead single from their new album “Mechanical Bull”. The single, entitled “Supersoaker”, was aired last night on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show where the band also revealed their interesting process for selecting singles. Drummer Nathan Followill explained “Every song Caleb hates is a guaranteed smash hit, a grammy or a BRIT award”. This selection process may have arrived from singer Caleb wanting to exclude “Sex on Fire” from 2008's “Only By The Night” the single that provided them with their first number 1 in many countries, the UK included.

“Supersoaker” shows the band looking back over to their shoulders to earlier albums with the song evoking a similar feel to “Aha Shake Heartbreak” hits “The Bucket” and King of the Rodeo”. This reflective sound is something the band were conscious of with bass player Jared speaking in a Q&A session with fans on twitter describing the “vibe” of the new album being more similar to their first two efforts 2003's Youth and Young Manhood and 2004's Aha Shake Heartbreak.

Mechanical Bull, Kings of Leon's sixth album, was produced by long term collaborator Angelo Petraglia and will be released via RCA Records on September 23^rd in the UK.

Listen to Supersoaker via Youtube below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64a15jJqFDk

In Other News . . . Phoenix unveil video in collaboration with The Creators Project

The French group Phoenix have released a video for their track “Trying To Be Cool” taken from their 2013 self-produced effort “Bankrupt!” The video was released as part of “The Creators Project”, established by Vice and Intel, acts as a platform to showcase “visionary artists across multiple disciplines who are using technology in innovative ways to push the boundaries of creative expression”. The directors on showcase in the video are the Spanish film collective CANADA who have also worked with JUSTICE in the past on the video for “New Lands”. The video shows the band passing through a series of different shots inside an Andy Warhol's factory style setting, with a countdown starting and progressing within each frame. The idea behind the piece was to show two film crews each taking turns for each shot with the countdown, reminiscent of the start of a cinema reel, indicating when the changeover will take place. When the countdown hits zero the film switches to the other crew whether they are ready or not, in the latter case the film goes to black.

Phoenix are currently undergoing a world tour that will finish on November 23^rd in Lille, France.
Watch the video via Youtube below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OePvsCfKHJg

In Other News . . . Franz Ferdinand release double A-side Right Action/Love Illumination

New music from Franz Ferdinand arrived today in the form of double A-side singles of “Love Illumination” and “Right Action”. Both tracks are taken from the soon to be released “Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action” the bands fourth album and their follow up to 2009's “Tonight: Franz Ferdinand” with production credits going to the groups label mates, Hot Chip members Joe Goddard and Alexis Taylor.

The singles show the band moving away from the synth dabbling sounds of Tonight and more so a return to the jolty angular guitars of the first two records. Speaking to NME frontman Alex Kapranos explains how the group “wanted to get back to the essence of being creative people” whilst they also “wanted to keep it pretty raw”. 

This raw sound is evident in the tracks, notably so in “Love Illumination”, where the band's enthusiasm for Edwyn Collins is heard in infectious fuzzy guitar lines. “Right Action”, containing the lyrics giving the album its name, displays a sound more characteristic of Franz Ferdinand not to dissimilar to the catchy riffing of hit single “Take Me Out”.

The singles, released via Domino, are available now for pre-order with an official release on 7^th July. Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action is set to be released 27^th August.

Listen Via Youtube below:

Right Action-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qZa-FHRmoGg

Love Illumination-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gWjN1GctWog#at=29

In Other News . . . Glatonbury Rumor Cycle Spins Again

With the festival period coming once again and after a year off Michael Eavis, alongside daughter Emily, host Glastonbury at Worthy Farm. After announcing head-liners Arctic Monkeys, The Rolling Stones and Mumford and Sons, discussion drifted instead to blank spots on the line-up and the implication of these.

The much disputed “secret shows” have become a focal point of this years festival and as lacunas were left in the shapes of some very big acts spurring rumour after rumour of surprise appearances. The elephants in the room, or outside on this occasion, came in the shape of David Bowie, Daft Punk and Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye.

After Liam Gallagher posted a cryptic tweet 26^th June stating “11am Friday – BE there or BE square . . LG” it seems that Gallagher and co. are certain to be playing one of the festivals stages. Beady Eye who were 5/1 odds now seem definite to be airing their second album BE at Glastonbury. This may come as somewhat of a shock to Gallagher fans after Liam has famously said of the festival after appearing with Oasis, “I f***ing hate Glastonbury mate. I'm only here for the money”. Hopefully his performance with Beady Eye, their first at the festival, will inspire positive feedback.

In regards to Bowie and Daft Punk, many were expecting to see either topping the bill. This year saw both acts releasing new materials with Bowie releasing The Next Day and Daft Punk releasing Random Access Memories with both albums debuting at No.1 in the UK album charts. Bowie, having played the festival twice before in 1971 and later in 2000, has odds of 6/1 to appear whilst Daft Punk, commenting earlier in the year that they have no plans to tour their release, have odds of 6/4. It may also be that Bowie and Daft Punk may appear as guests in another acts slots with Bowie previously recording with Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones and Daft Punk previously appearing with Phoenix as they did at Phoenix's Madison Square Garden show in 2010.

Another hotly contested guest spot is to who will appear with The Rolling Stones with Jeff Beck, Bruce Springsteen and Adele being tipped.

In Other News . . . Bloc Party unveil new video for Ratchet

After announcing the release of a new E.P. entitled The Nextwave Sessions, Bloc Party unveil a video for lead single Ratchet. Although being played live on a number of dates up to five month ago the song received its first radio play by Zane Lowe as his Hottest Record in the World on 25^th June where singer and guitarist Kele Okereke confirmed reports of an indefinite hiatus, unfortunately for fans he adds that the band has “no plans as of yet” to follow their announced festival dates.

The video depicts a journey through the bands videos in reverse chronological order beginning with Octopus an ending with Little Thoughts with a slight detour through Helicopter. It also features moments where the band morph into monsters with augmented and replicated limbs with Kele's eyes being replaced by his eruptive mouth. This sort of camera trickery is familiar in director Cyriak Harris' other works who has made a name in the manipulation of creatures.

The song itself is an infectious dancey number and has more in common with Tenderoni, from Kele Okereke's solo effort, 2010's The Boxer, than the more electro influenced tracks of Mercury, Flux and One More Chance. The notable difference is the inclusion of Russell Lissack's guitar which features his often occurring pitch-shifting, this, combined with Gordan Moakes' bounciest bass-line to date, makes for a strong lead single.

The Nextwave Sessions were recorded with producer Dan Carey and will be released via Frenchkiss on August 12^th. Watch Ratchet via Youtube below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3EEaPj-5qs

In Other News . . . Laura Marling teams up with Secret Cinema for a new experience

Laura Marling continues to generate interest with her latest move. Rather than fall into generic promotion rituals on album number four, Once I Was An Eagle, Marling has instead spurred intrigue by collaborating with a collective of Cinema enthusiasts who operate under the moniker Secret Cinema. This group truly know how to create a unique experience for the viewer shying away from stereotypical means of simple cinema projection they attempt to air cinema in a new light instead projecting onto office blocks and presenting cinema in different ways. It is evident that they attempt to bring a new experience to every project they engage in. Which brings us back to Marling, in this collaboration they present to us The Grand Eagle Hotel, a fictitious creation affording the collaborators the perfect setting for their performance. They intend to recreate the environment of 1927 presenting The Grand Eagle Ball, and in attempting to do so request the audience attempt to immerse themselves in the era asking that they wear “vintage black tie”. But this is by no means the full extent that Marling and co. have gone to ensure a unique experience, they have also requested fans bring with them: a photograph of an old lover, flowers for the mistress of the house Lady Undine, a secret gift for a stranger, and a choice of either an old record, a bag of unwanted books or a case of unwanted clothes. Marling is by no means a stranger to new ventures opting to play a series of theatres whilst promoting 2010's I Speak Because I Can, she is used to playing grander settings but with this project she pushes the boundaries even further as to what a Laura Marling show consists of. It seems that in departing England and setting up camp in Los Angeles she has truly embraced life as an English eccentric. Although we can't be sure entirely what to expect from the shows, it seems that through this collaboration she has found a way to make the album cycle a special thing allowing people to once again be excited, truly a stride in the right direction.
The shows take place in London from June 13th - June 30th