Niki N. Phaser

            Your favorite virtual, animated band of anti-heroes is making an official return. Gorillaz are to release their third album, Plastic Beach, this March. This will be the follow-up to the groudbreaking Demon Days, that had the world shakin’ it to the hit Feel Good, Inc. and pretty much everything else that was on that album. The new 16-tracker will feature an eclectic congregation of guest singers, like Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, of course De La Soul and plenty of other guests (more than ever). Lead single, Stylo, will be available for download in a few days. It’s quite a retro-jem, filled with catchy rollerskate-disconess and a synth bassline which will have 80′s veteran breakdancers, “the Fred Astaires of the street”, dust their tank tops. Listen at Gorillaz’s:

OFFICIAL SITE

                  Smashing Pumpkins have premiered a new single, Widow Wake My Mind, through MySpace. The song is the second installment in Billy Corgan & co.’s 44 tracks project, entitled Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. It’s quite a different kind of tune than first single, A Song For a Son, which was made available as a free download last month. Maybe it’s just the infectious hopeful sound of this new track, but this diversity promises an interesting project. It is not set yet, but if this will be a one-by-month kind of venture, Smashing Pumpkins might become a favorited show, though waiting 30 days for a new episode is a bit frustrating. Anyway, it’s nice to always have a little pleasure to look forward to. Like the rest of the tracks which Teargarden by Kaleidyscope is comprised of, Widow Wake My Mind is a free download.

LISTEN TO THE WIDOW

              Scottish singer-songwriter Amy Macdonald has given us a first taste of her future album, still untitled, coming out on the 8th of March. First single, Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over, will be released on 1st March, but it has already made its presence known on Europe’s radios, to a very positive reaction. Though a bit more bigger-sounding (as in energetic) than her debut material, the new single retains the emotional verve that made her one of the most successful debutants of recent music history. Fans will not be disappointed by the new offering, only more eager to hear the new album.

              There is more good news for those who really can’t handle the waiting. Macdonald will performe some showcase gigs, revealing the new material in the best way she knows: live. The first will be in Glasgow on January 28th (Barrowland Ballroom), after which she is heading to the UK for a similar show in London. If in doubt, though actually having the chance to attend one of these events, listen to the new single:

Don’t Tell Me That It’s Over