Niki N. Phaser

Love Amongst Ruin Is Taking Off

Niki N. Phaser — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:49:59 +0000

Steve Hewitt’s new band, Love Amongst Ruin, has definitely hatched, proving to be more than an ex-drummer’s intimate project. Their debut album is finished and coming out this fall (September 13th to be more precise), preceded by the first single So Sad (Fade), which already received the video treatment. Info about pre-ordering the album can be found at the band’s official site.

The same location offers you the numerous dates of Love Amongst Ruin’s first European tour, which will have them pleasing fresh fans from Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Netherlands. The baptism of live fire has already occurred at EuroSonic this winter, plus a string of sold-out UK shows, culminating with an imminent slot at this year’s Sonisphere. They have plenty of rocking stuff to keep the crowds moving, no doubt about it, but there’s more to the sound of Love Amongst Ruin than straightforward riffage. The free downloads on their site include a mid-tempo ballad, called Truth, a solid proof of the band’s multiple sonic dimensions. It’s the kind of song that gets you so hooked on the instrumental side, that you forget about the lyrics. Then you listen to the lyrics and totally immerse into them, with the music sounding even better. Yeah, it’s one of those. Till ‘the truth’s gonna find you’ check out some video offerings:

Making of So Sad (Fade)

No Vacation For Brandon Flowers

Niki N. Phaser — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:25:44 +0000

First of all, fans of The Killers should not get their mourning clothes out of the closet: the band is just taking a break. All, but one. Frontman Brandon Flowers is using this vacation to release his first solo album, Flamingo, due to enchant us this fall, in September. We can’t help but being curious about what it is that he could not express through The Killers. The first single, Crossfire, is not a big departure from the joyful extravagant Vegas sound of Flowers’ band. It does, however, set him as some kind of a cross between 1980′s David Bowie and Kenny Rogers, which was the singer’s dream all along. The explosive Nash Edgerton directed video is fun to watch and must have been fun to make. Sure, Charlize Theron’s presence is definitely a bonus, especially when she is sporting some ‘kill bill’ moves. Get a taste:

HERE

Robyn ‘Dances On Her Own’

Niki N. Phaser — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 12:35:09 +0000

After Fembots, which was a taste of her new album, Body Talk Pt.1 (coming out this week), Robyn is releasing her first official single from this new electropop collection. The song is called Dancing on My Own and once again we hear that this Swedish jewel is a dance force to reckon with.

We totally get what she means when she says the inspiration for this single was electro ballads of the 80′s. It has the electrifying all-synth energy, but also a warm vocal melody and lyrics about moving on after your heart got broken, a genuine field of expertise for Robyn (Be Mine is still a favourite). Her lyrics always kinda deemed her as a female Morrissey. Robyn dances on her own:

Här

Manic Street Preachers Announce New Album

Niki N. Phaser — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:57:50 +0000

So, the rumours were wrong… Manic Street Preachers‘ next album will not be titled It’s Not War – Just the End of Love, but Postcards From A Young Man. It will be their 10th, due to be released this September, and even though they call it “one last shot at mass communication” let’s hope they are not getting crazy ideas like retiring. They might also mean just that this new album will be more radio-friendly than Journal for Plague Lovers, last year’s ultimate alternative masterpiece. At least, that’s what James Dean Bradfield told NME. Their last pop-oriented release was Lifeblood (which is, btw, the album that made me fall in love with this band), so things are looking good. And if you are in the UK, your luck is double, because that is where they start the tour promoting this new one. September through November will see them taking new material to the major joints on the island. Till then, keep your eyes on the Manics’ site:

INFO MANIC

Type O Negative – Everything Dies : Uncle Lou Into Eternity

Niki N. Phaser — Sat, 01 May 2010 11:45:54 +0000

Yeah, this time it was for real, Peter Steele, iconic frontman of metal band Type O Negative has really died. It happened two weeks ago, but we all know that with Lord Steele we have to wait a little bit and be sure that we are not supposed to laugh at yet another dark joke of his. It is only appropriate that we should remember Type O’s Everything Dies, from 1999′s World Coming Down, a perfect song to qualify them as more than a metal band, but an alternative (and loud) way to deal with universal themes of death and love and fear of all that these two can bring. Still, this is not what you would call a mainstream track, but you can definitely spot a genuine ballad behind all the grunting from the intro, combined with something which sounds like a Hitlerjunge convention. It was just like Type O Negative to go for weird mixing choices, but this is one of those songs that you have to listen with one hand on the volume. That haunting piano from the verse is so addictive that you just have to hear it better and then the chorus kicks in, loud and celebratory, as if hailing death as the one thing in life that is certain — the grounds on which you can build your existence. RIP P.S.

Everything Dies here

Biffy Clyro Shower Us With ‘Bubbles’

Niki N. Phaser — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:19:38 +0000

Scottish grunge revelation, Biffy Clyro, are about to release a new single from last year’s successful Only Revolutions . After the well-received singles That Golden Rule, The Captain and Many of Horror, it’s time for Bubbles (no connection to The Powerpuff Girls, I was told) to persuade another wave of listeners to check out this band. With some ‘backing’ guitars by Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme and a feelgood-in-a-small-town Thin Lizzy vibe, we are sure that Bubbles will do its duty. With honors (or horrors ?).

If indeed, you jump on board of the Biffy craze, you’ll get plenty of chances to see them rock out their heavy complex arrangements at this summer’s festivals. And from what I gathered, they do it quite nicely. But first, get a taste:

Chase and Pop BUBBLES here

Nirvana – On A Plain : (Re)Discover

Niki N. Phaser — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 15:22:18 +0000

I’ll get in the holiday season and give a thought to something Christians all over the world commemorate in the holy month of April: the death of Kurt Cobain and the ever-growing resurrection of Nirvana. It’s difficult to find even a non-single of theirs that is not known by almost everybody, especially off of Nevermind.

On a Plain is the song that always comes to mind when I hear that Kurt Cobain considered The Beatles a major influence. There is a lot of melodicity in Nirvana’s work and by burying it in punk whirpools, they achieved the sound that bears their name. That’s what this song is all about, sonically speaking. Lyrically, I don’t think we should look too much into it, because the subject is pretty clear: “It is now time to make it unclear, To write off lines that don’t make sense”, to which we can add “And one more special message to go, And then I’m done, and I can go home”. The thing we should remember about Nirvana is not how great they are and what legends they’ve become, because we are already reminded of that all the time (being their generation’s time to boast their idols). Because of that, emerges the danger to close our ears to Nirvana, as a reaction to overexposure. Before you do that, listen (again) to the albums, find your own favorites, discover or rediscover.

ON A PLAIN here ON An unplugged PLAIN here

Robyn Speaks Out For ‘Fembots’

Niki N. Phaser — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:27:10 +0000

After giving I Blame Coco her blessing, Swedish pop-deluxe revivalist, Robyn, is back again on our radar. She is streaming a first taste of her new album, that will be out this June. Her last album, the eponymous release of 2005, marked a definite international breakthrough, after a few previous scattered hits. The new song is called Fembot and, as you might have guessed from the title, is about robots of the female gender. There is plenty of Auto-Tune and robotics effects in this one, but it’s catchy as hell and makes us wonder if Robyn’s next album shares the same traits: one foot in the present, the other in the future. Of pop. Being for some time exposed to the international club culture and listening to Technotronic and early The Prodigy (Experience days), Robyn is bound to get us bust a robot move this summer.

FEMBOTS have feelings HERE

“Scared to Death” Brings Sunshine for HIM

Niki N. Phaser — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:03:44 +0000

HIM have premiered the video for Scared to Death, their second single off of February’s release, Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice. After the dark and animal-filled video for Heartkiller, fans might be surprised by the overdose of daylight and sunshine in this new one. In all fairness, the song is a power ballad and a genuine trademark for the upbeat sound of the new album, so a change in lighting and setting was required. Probably, that’s one of the reasons they decided to shoot in Melbourne, Australia. If you are HIM-savvy, think of the video for Scared to Death as a combination between Gone With the Sin and Pretending. It’s frontman Ville Valo walking around with a guitar in his hand (not flowers) in an urban landscape, this time, filled with modern architecture. No fields or graves. Take a look:

SCARED TO DEATH to look here ?

Placebo’s Nice Gesture

Niki N. Phaser — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:14:16 +0000

Placebo’s Brian Molko announced in an interview with the Chilean radio station Sonar FM that all the profits from their imminent show in Santiago, on April 8, will go to the relief funds for the victims of the recent earthquake. It is a very good idea, because it avoids the chaos of a free show, but still, it will be the Chilean people who will benefit from the gig, both money-wise and show-wise. “All of the money that will be generated from the Placebo concert will be going back to the Chilean people. It’s the only right thing to do”, promised the frontman.

It is also a more personal way for Placebo to say thank you to a public that has always supported them, Chile being one of the countries that considerably enhanced their popularity in South America. The gig also marks the beginning of their South American tour for promoting last year’s Battle for the Sun, which will have them visit Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Peru.

Brian Molko’s Promise HERE