Niki N. Phaser » uk

Muse Choose New Single

Niki N. Phaser — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:41:47 +0000

Muse selected their third single from The Resistance — it’s the title track. Resistance will be released in the UK on Monday February 22, with more info on the formats to come soon. After Undisclosed Desires, which was a bit of dividing point for Muse fans because of its mainstream sound, Resistance will patch things up, as it is an instant Muse-like classic, with catchy piano tunes, irregular structure, romantically anthemic choruses and plenty of tomwork on Dominic Howard’s part.

This video will not feature any army of evil teddy bears, but no out-of-place crump dancer either. It’s just a video of the band playing live, but, if you are familiar with a Muse show, you’ll know that’s more spectacular than any CGI legion of toys. The band posted a preview of the video, with the full thing going to premiere in a few days, on 14th January. Till then, you can feast your eyes on a recent performance of Resistance, in all its greatness. Literally.

RESIST HERE

Steve Hewitt Unveils New Band

Niki N. Phaser — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:22:08 +0000

Since his departure from Placebo, in September 2007, drum virtuoso Steve Hewitt hasn’t been slacking off. Helped by friends and family, Hewitt has started a new musical project. The band is called Love Amongst Ruin. This will also be the name of their debut album. Yes, that is correct, an album is already on the way. It was recorded at the Moles Studio (Bath, UK) in the spring-summer period of 2008. Paul Corkett, who produced The Cure’s Bloodflowers, among other noteworthy stuff, was invited to work on some of the tracks. It’s not the first time Hewitt collaborated with this producer. Paul Corkett also produced and engineered Placebo’s Black Market Music. The mixing was done overseas, at the prestigious Bernie Grundman studios in Los Angeles by Brian Gardner, whose discography is as eclectic as can be: from 2Pac to Red Hot Chili Peppers to Barbra Streisand.

Currently, Steve Hewitt is putting the ‘finishing touches’ on the band’s line-up, as most of the musicians involved in the recording sessions are members of other bands and unable to commit long term to Love Amongst Ruin. Rehearsals are on the way, but before the band premieres any new music, there is still the issue of finding the right management and a label. Knowing that, studio-wise, Steve Hewitt wasn’t restricted to playing only drums for Placebo, one cannot help wondering what this new project of his will sound like, especially since he’s also doing vocals for his new band. For more info, check his:

MySpace Page

The Pixies – “Happy Birthday, Doolitle” Tour

Niki N. Phaser — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:30:43 +0000

The Pixies have some good news for European fans: they will celebrate Doolitle‘s twentieth birthday with several shows, in UK, Holland, Germany, France and Belgium. The tour starts in octomber. In The Cure-Trilogy tradition, they will play their 1989 album in its entirety. Most dates will be in the UK, since this is the place where they were first embraced, Doolitle charting at number eight here, at the time of its release.

In case you are not that familiar with the tracklisting of said album, don’t worry, you will hear a whole bunch of your favourites, even though Where Is My Mind? might miss, since it was recorded on their first full-length venture. Still, you’ll get to hear Frank Black scream both Tame and Hey, while your more melodic needs will be met by crowd-pleaser Here Comes Your Man or love-song parody La La Love You. For those craving for some raw Kim Deal bass, Debaser and Gouge Away will have your stomach vibrate, be at peace.

One thing is sure: this is a great chance to see a band that becomes more and more comfortable with their legend status and those of you who do attend, be sure to make a lot of noise, cheer like crazy, maybe one of these day they might just decide to drop some new material on us.

THE PIXIES PERFORM Here Comes Your Man LIVE

The King is dead – Long live the King

Niki N. Phaser — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:31:16 +0000

NME has provided some staggering information about the state of the UK charts. La Roux scored her first number 1 with pop-power track Bulletproof, but that hardly seems important (unfortunately for her) in the light of another artist’s impressive evolution, both in the album and the singles charts. It seems Michael Jackson’s demise has reminded people of the great music he is responsible for. So much that the number one album in UK is his best of collection, entitled Number Ones. Seven of his albums are in the top 75, with five of them reigning in the top 20. On the singles front, the situation is just as legend-in-the-making. His 1988 hit Man in the Mirror is at 11 right now, with other 19 MJ songs in the Top 75, five of them being in the Top 30. This is just one more detail contributing to the legend of Michael Jackson and when they’ll make that biopic that everyone is waiting for, no doubt we’ll see these facts and figures written on the screen, before the end titles. One thing is sure, we should no longer feel inferior to those who were alive when Elvis or John Lennon died. This is pop history and we are right in the middle of it.