Niki N. Phaser

I Blame Coco Release Debut Single “Caesar”

Niki N. Phaser — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:52:22 +0000

A new Coco is born… Coco Sumner (Sting’s daughter) is taking her first steps in the industry with her band I Blame Coco. Maybe it’s not really important news, but in her defence, she did get some help from one ‘insider’ and no, I don’t mean her daddy. Caesar, the debut single in question, is a collaboration with Swedish pop-honey, Robyn.

It sure is an interesting way to begin a career with the lyrics “I want to annoy, And i’m going to enjoy it”. It might also be a promise of what to expect of I Blame Coco: stylized retro-pretty punk. And for what it’s worth, the video for Caesar does have Berlin late 70’s feel to it and I’m pretty sure that this is not an accident. If you want to see this new band in action you should know they are touring the UK with La Roux this spring. See if this charmingly underproduced track does it for you:

BLAME COCO Here

Mazzy Star – Fade Into You : The Moment When It Happens…

Niki N. Phaser — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:39:27 +0000

Mazzy Star’s best known song, Fade Into You, is not a very complicated track, it hardly ever crosses the acoustic border. Hope Sandoval’s vocals are also pretty steady all over. The structure is simple, the production minimal. Yet maybe it’s just these things that make Fade Into You the perfect soundtrack for that moment we all take once in a while, those few minutes when we just stop. It provides the distance we all need sometimes when looking at our lives. It might be mistaken for a love ballad, but Fade Into You just seems more like an ode to closeness. Lyrics like “I look to you and I see nothing, I look to you to see the truth” are as truthful and cynical as any relationship, no matter what are the circumstances. The demystifying of love is exactly what gives it strength and before happiness there is the warmth of a comforted heart. But then again, I’m really just guessing here, hear for yourself:

FADE INTO HERE

Expatriate Release Debut Album In UK

Niki N. Phaser — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:53:02 +0000

Australian indie-rockers Expatriate are releasing their debut album, In the Midst of This, in the UK, this very day. The album was initially released in their homeland back in 2007 and it certainly did not go unnoticed. It received enough indie attention to keep the band’s gig schedule quite busy and for Rolling Stone to name them “one of the most important new bands of 2007”. In 2009 they toured with fellow Riverman band, Placebo, thus being exposed to an even broader audience, which payed off, as shown by this UK breaktrough, as well as by a string of headlining gigs around Europe. As for the album, if you are into rock mythology, you should know it was recorded in Seattle, in the studio where Nirvana did their last sessions. Even though Ben King sings “A dream’s a dream, Leave it at that” on Times Like These (maybe the best track on the album), Expatriate keep on working on the architecture of their own dream and, with a second album in the demo phase, they might just become one of those bands who inspire others to dream.

Download Info HERE

Amy Lee Promises New Evanescence Album

Niki N. Phaser — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:29:52 +0000

In a recent video message, Amy Lee gave the good news to fans all over the world: a new Evanescence album, the third, is in the works. They’ll start recording this month. And that’s not all. The band are also showcasing a new song, which is in fact an unreleased track from The Open Door, their 2006 LP. It is titled Together Again and it sounds like a perfect soundtrack for a Tim Burton horror animation (and I think you know what I mean). It was also available as a download, with the proceeds going to a Haiti benefit.

Being a B-side from their previous album, this might not be relevant in guessing what their current project will sound like. They have been writing throughout the summer “some pretty interesting stuff” and the new thing is expected to hit the stores sometime in the fall.

TOGETHER AGAIN here

Alan Wilder Is Still ‘Somebody’ For Depeche Mode

Niki N. Phaser — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:59:41 +0000

Depeche Mode history was made recently, on February 17, when the band performed a special show at the Royal Albert Hall, for Teenage Cancer Trust. Before performing Somebody, Martin Gore invited a special guest on stage, none other than Alan Wilder, who accompanied Gore on piano. Wilder left Depeche Mode in 1995, after the strenuous tour for Songs of Faith and Devotion, which nearly broke the whole band, claiming that relationships within the band “have become seriously strained, increasingly frustrating and, ultimately, in certain situations, intolerable”. After his departure, he devoted himself full-time to side-project Recoil, which is still touring and releasing albums. As expected, the brief reunion caused a lot of joy among Depeche Mode fans, but this was a one-off. No rumors of a full-on Wilder return should come of this.

SOMEBODY is here Recoil – Allelujah

The Prodigy Choose Video For “Run With The Wolves”

Niki N. Phaser — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:29:39 +0000

The Prodigy have decided on a winner for their Run With the Wolves video contest. It hasn’t been easy on the boys, since there were more than 300 videos submitted: “there is a lot of twisted minds out there… we ignored number of views, ratings and chose what we liked and have all agreed that the winner is Rob Wicksteed”. Our congratulations to Mr. Wicksteed (and Pew36) for his visually challenging video and the twist ending. After Warrior’s Dance this is the second animated video used by The Prodigy for Invaders Must Die promotion. They’ll be touring Australia starting February 27, till then:

RUN WITH THE WOLVES here

The Killers Put Disbanding Rumours To Rest

Niki N. Phaser — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:15:59 +0000

In an official statement posted on their website, The Killers have declared that rumours about their ‘demise’ are unfounded, stating that ”They are all looking forward to some time off at the end of this tour as they have been on the road for a long time, but there are no plans for an indefinite hiatus”.

However, there are some bad news especially for the Australian fans. The gigs at Sydney Enmore, Good Vibrations Festival Sydney and Good Vibrations Festival Perth have been cancelled. The reason is the same that forced them out of their mini Asian tour last month: the serious illness of a close family member. Other details have not been disclosed on the matter. The Las Vegas outfit still hope to make it to the Good Vibrations Festival’s Gold Coast and the Melbourne gigs next weekend. After the previous cancellation, rumours about an indefinite hiatus started to emerged on several websites. Read the full statement here:

READ THEIR MIND

Alizée To Grace Us With New Album This Spring

Niki N. Phaser — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:58:57 +0000

French pop-princess Alizée is about to take another step in her career, meaning a new album is on the way. It is entitled Une Enfant Du Siècle and it will be her fourth, marking also a decade since her spectacular debut with Gourmandises. On this one she is working with producers/remixers Chateau Marmont, as well as David Rubato or Jérôme Echenoz (maybe some of you noticed Mylene Farmer’s absence). She’ll most likely further the more mature sound initiated by her previous release, Psychédélices, which was more club-oriented, as opposed to the disco-oriented sound of her first two records (you figure out the difference). Not that it would be a bad thing — Jamais Plus is quite a delight.

Une Enfant Du Siècle will be out this march, but you can pre-order a special edition, containing vinyls, a poster, photos signed by the singer herself, here:

OFFICIAL SITE

Album Review: HIM – Screamworks : Love in Theory and Practice

Niki N. Phaser — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:14:42 +0000

With their seventh album, HIM are continuing their zig-zag journey through the sonic worlds of love and doom, this time hitting more on the first side (it’s catchy and singalong as the beginning of a new fling). It was expected since their previous album, Venus Doom, was as dark and heavy as could be (maybe except Bleed Well, which would have suited their new album better). To declare yourself totally disappointed with their latest offering would mean that you are a half-fan, since there has always been a pop/metal bilocation in their music. There are some changes in their sound, which bring HIM closer to an American brand of their love metal. Considering that they hired Matt Squire to produce, this new dimension is by no means an accident, but it’s still unclear if Screamworks is the price they had to pay for Venus Doom, or if it is the other way around.

But, then again, this is all context and that’s not what you hear when you’re listening to an album. Maybe the most obvious change you detect in Screamworks is that Ville’s vocals are not as “by-numbers” as before. There’s really an impression that he improvized a lot while recording his parts. It does get a bit overcrowded at times, like with Heartkiller or Ode to Solitude. On the other hand, this new method of more complex choruses hits home, Dying Song being the first to come to mind. And while we are on the subject of vocals, it’s hard not to notice this new energy that fills the album, which is probably the one with the most vocals (and no, I’m not counting screams).

This energy goes along with the music, the upbeat, fast tones making Screamworks perfect material for live shows. Hopefully, they’ll open their future gigs with In Venere Veritas, because this is one perfect opener. Like St. Valentine and Shatter Me with Hope could also join that group. Add Love, the Hardest Way and you’ll have the HIM-est songs on the record. And then, there are the gems: In the Arms of Rain combines a lot of elements and influences, being the very definition of upbeat melancholy. Plus, its ending, with all the synth strings and “It’s the end of the road” line, is by far the best moment on Screamworks. The last track, The Foreboding Sense of Impending Happiness, the strangest HIM track to date, might or might not be the promise of radical changes in the future, but it is one wonderful experiment and an inspired way to end a record so that you’ll need to listen again right away. And it’s quite a surprise to have a HIM song reminding me of Vangelis. Katherine Weel is the catchiest tune and it would be a pity not to be released as a single, though references to a gun felatio might get the boys in trouble with some parents.

Speaking of lyrics, Screamworks might just be Ville Valo’s best work yet. Each song contains haunting imagery and fresh takes on his favourite subjects of love and death. And life, this time. Acoustic Funeral’s ”We’re dancing with tags on our toes” is just a brilliant way to claim one’s mortality, while still celebrating life. The metaphors used in Katherine Wheel offer yet another way to stress the bittersweet of l’amour, just like In Venere Veritas (extra kudos for having a chorus in Latin, not many go there). Still, I think Scared to Death remains the ultimate highlight of the record, maybe musically too, not just lyrically. “I’ll kiss that smile off your face” is just one those lines, that would have made movie history… if they were in a movie. It reminds us of 80’s hair metal, not as an emulation, but more as a tribute to a time when rock bands were ‘allowed’ to sing about love. “I’m not afraid to say ‘I Love You’” might as well be HIM’s ars poetica, since they had the guts to play romantic metal in a time when nobody else did it, influencing more bands than rock critics want to attribute to an act that’s still alive and going strong.

Hot Chip Release New Album “One Life Stand”

Niki N. Phaser — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:04:58 +0000

Your favourite British pop-nerds, Hot Chip, are releasing their fourth studio effort, One Life Stand. Even before we hear the album, we have to give them a thumbs up for finding such a tongue-in-cheek title. It’s coming out this week and by judging the already released material, Chip fans have nothing to worry about. The oddball electro outfit, who are celebrating a decade of existence, have plenty of pop hooks and over-plugged beats in store for us. Ready for the Floor’s title as the most recognizable Chip track might be in danger.

First official single, the title track, is a valid proof of this. It does sound like the little brother of a Depeche Mode track and Alexis Taylor like a Dave Gahan who hasn’t yet grown into his reverb, but One Life Stand has the merit of combining mystery with fun. It doesn’t happen too often. Still, I must declare that my first contact with this song was through the video, so maybe that’s why I’m seeing more green than black.

ONE CLICK STAND