Wolf People: Out for Blood

Wolf People

London's Wolf People make jagged, brittle garage rock circa 1975, and in contrast to the many American bands who have started a career with a similar sound (think The Strokes), this quartet makes it sound tight and easy. The songs on Wolf People's debut, Tidings, are culled from recordings made by frontman Jack Sharp between 2005 and 2007. Joined by Dan Davies, Tom Watt and Joe Hollick, Wolf People is now a project in 4-D.

Learn:
Wolf People on MySpace

Listen:
1 – October Fires

Buy:
B-Music

Midnight Masses: Rapture Ready

Midnight Masses is cloaked in a Gothic name and layers of sound, but the players - cornerstone Autry Fulbright and founding member Jason Reece (Trail of Dead), along with a slew of guests, including Conrad Keely, TV on the Radio’s Gerard Smith and Jaleel Bunton, and Peter Hale of Here We Go Magic - are in familiar territory on stage and in the studio. Rapture Ready, I Gazed at the Body, Midnight Masses' debut EP, is foreboding, yet beats away the gloom through multi-dimensional vocals and an evocative musical touch.

Learn:
Midnight Masses on MySpace

Listen:
1 – Walk on Water

Buy:
Big Cartel

Toro Y Moi: Beyond Cassettes

While the rest of the world was moving from CDs to digital downloads, Columbia, SC's Toro Y Moi (Chaz Bundick) was releasing his bedroom music - and the music of friends - on cassette tapes. Be it plastic and antiquated, this has been a key to Bundick's gradual success, which will soon culminate in the release of his debut long-player, Causers of This, on Car Park Records. Melding R&B, lounge and electronica into an aesthetically adventurous amalgam, Toro Y Moi is stepping from cassettes into the future, without missing a beat.

Learn:
Toro Y Moi on MySpace

Listen:
1 – Blessa

Buy:
Toro Y Moi at Insound

Yeasayer Deliver an "Ambling Alp"

Photo by Guy Aroch

Yeasayer released one of the critical successes of 2007, All Hour Cymbals, which is quite possibly one of the best releases of that year. Brimming with electronic textures retro-fitted with Middle Eastern melodies and thick-fingered bass, the release catapulted the trio into the spotlight, casting them onto stages around the world.

And it was well-deserved. From the opening bass-roll of "Sunrise," Yeasayer launched the listener into a percussive, rhythmic atmosphere where old and new met and melted together.

Two years since its debut, Yeasayer is back with the lead single from its yet-to-be-titled sophomore release, which was recorded over three months earlier this year in upstate New York. "Ambling Alp" has been released both as a free download and as part of a bundle featuring remixes by Memory Tapes and DJ /rupture. Good stuff ... get some.

Learn:
Yeasayer Online

Listen:
1 – Ambling Alp

Buy:
Yeasayer Store

Baroness : The New Face of Metal

Blue Record cover by John Baizley

Burgeoning heavy metal scenes rarely remain in the same location for long, shifting around the globe as new sounds coalesce in new locations. England served as the breeding ground for the genre's forefathers in the late '60s and '70s, California birthed thrash and speed metal in the '80s, and Norway conjured Black Metal in the early '90s.

With Mastodon leading the way, the metal crown has been returned to the United States, and to the great state of Georgia, more specifically. Barroness, Kylesa and Black Tusk - all who claim the Peach State as home - are following suit, melding old school metal, thrash and punk into a ferocious yet intricate amalgam of sounds that are quickly emerging on the international scene. Baroness has just released its sophomore release, Blue Record.

The follow up to Red Album, Baroness - led by guitarist John Baizley (who serves as in-house artist for his band, as well as a handful of his colleagues) - continues to add depth and weight to elaborate guitar work and a penchant for tension. The quartet - Baisley, Brian Blickle, Summer Welch and Allen Blickle - will hit the road with a vengeance in support of Blue Record, touring the U.S. through the remainder of the year before heading over seas.

11/18/09 - Rock n Roll Hotel - Washington, DC*
11/19/09 - First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA *
11/20/09 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY*
11/21/09 - Middle East - Boston, MA*
11/22/09 - The Traiff - Buffalo, NY*
11/24/09 - Magic Stick - Detroit, MI*
11/25/09 - Reggies - Chicago, IL*
11/27/09 - Triple Rock - Minneapolis, MN*
11/28/09 - Riot Room - Kansas City, MO*
11/29/09 - Bluebird - Denver, CO**
11/30/09 - Club Vegas - Salt Lake City, UT**
12/02/09 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA ***
12/03/09 - Troubadour - Los Angeles, CA***
12/04/09 - Casbah - San Diego, CA***
12/05/09 - The Clubhouse - Tempe, AZ***
12/07/09 - Emo's - Austin, TX****
12/08/09 - Warehouse Live - Houston, TX****
12/09/09 - One Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, LA****
12/10/09 - The Social - Orlando, FL#
12/11/09 - Masquerade - Atlanta, GA##

* w/ Earthless, US Christmas
**w/ Earthless, Gaza
***w/ Earthless, Iron Age
****w/ Iron Age, Dark Castle
#w/ Torche, Iron Age, Dark Castle
##w/ Pig Destroyer, Torche, Iron Age

Learn:
Baroness on Myspace

Listen:
1 – Swollen and Halo

Buy:
Relapse Records