1991:The Year Punk Broke to get DVD release

You dream of this day, and then it finally arrives. Via Slicing Up Eyeballs:


"The fabled rock documentary “1991: The Year Punk Broke” — chronicling Sonic Youth’s tour of Europe that year with opening act Nirvana — finally will be released on DVD this fall in a special 20th anniversary edition featuring 42 minutes of bonus performances and other off-stage material.
The film’s director, Dave Markey, is releasing the DVD — which also features footage of Dinosaur Jr, Ramones, Babes in Toyland and Gumball — through his We Got Power Films sometime this fall. It will feature commentary by Markey and Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, as well as rough edits of performance material and a slideshow.

Of most interest to fans, though, is a new 42-minute “bonus movie” called “(This is Known As) The Blues Scale,” featuring previously unreleased Sonic Youth and Nirvana performances of the songs “Inhuman,” “White Kross,” “Orange Rolls/Angel’s Spit,” “Eric’s Trip,” “Chapel Hill” and “In Bloom,” plus “plenty of revelatory and rockin’ (and hilarious) never-before-seen off-stage and on-stage material.”"

This is probably the one and only time I'll be excited over a DVD release. Hurry up fall!

Hipster Youth - Where (n) Meets Infinity

Chose this for State's office playlist, it's insanely good:

Hipster Youth - Where (n) Meets Infinity by LongLost

"Throwing something of a curveball after last year’s chiptune-tinged album Teenage Elders, this new track is still electronically-based but has a completely different vibe. The first minute or so sounds like it’s being transmitted from some unholy vortex or echo chamber, infused with squall and fuzz – this gives way to a trippy, lo-fi electronic groove with muffled, displaced-sounding vocals. Delirious, inventive and infectious."

The track should 'end up on an EP or a split or an Album or something', according to the Soundcloud blurb.

elaine mai

Galway-based songwriter Elaine Mai is currently giving away 'Softly' as a free download on her Bandcamp - it's an amazing tune: acoustic guitar and chiming glockenspiel backed up by soothing, hypnotic harmonies, with her impressive vocals front and centre.




There's another song to check out on her Breaking Tunes, while she does some pretty neat covers too - here's one:

Elaine Mai - Telephone by scottdb

There's also a collaboration with poet and fellow Galwegian Laurie Leech available for free download from here




Mai plays support to Steve Mason in the Roisin Dubh this Sunday night (17th) so pop along early if you're going. She'll also be playing with The Kanyu Tree on the 30th and Wallis Bird on May 8th in the same venue.

Windings - Embury Greenway

Via State, the video for a new Windings tune, 'Embury Greenway', which wil be released by Out On A Limb Records on April 29th. It's pretty ace too (video and tune), an upbeat alt-rock number as opposed to the more wistful sounds of last year's It's Never Night album. Maybe it's the influence of J Mascis.



windings - Embury Greenway by OOAL

Also streaming on the OOAL Soundcloud is a taster from the forthcoming collaborative album between Vertigo Smyth and Carol Anne McGowan. It's a pretty elegant affair, with the two vocalists dovetailing very nicely indeed.

Vertigo Smyth & Carol Anne McGowan - Fox Eyes On Georgia by OOAL

Both Windings and Smyth/Murray have tour dates coming up, which you can check out here - on 1st May, both acts will combine with Owensie for a gig at the Workman's Club.

Seefeel, Visionair - Button Factory

http://www.state.ie/live-reviews/26939-seefeel-visionair-button-factory-dublin-2

"It’s probably been said before, but considering all the bands who’ve reformed lately and basically performed guided tours of their back catalogue, it’s refreshing to see an act like Seefeel who all-but ignore the sound that they made their name with in favour of exploring a completely different avenue. The vibe among The Button Factory crowd seems to be one of curiosity rather than anticipation, but if anyone came expecting Seefeel to dip into influential records like Quique they would have been surprised at how the show pans out tonight.

VisionAir are on supporting duties, and just as with the recent State VS Roisin Dubh night in Galway, their set pulses and swells with absorbing, sci-fi-tinged synth-tones. Tracks from their two EPs take on an extra muscular, propulsive quality in the live setting, with the subtle tempo changes and shifts ensuring attention never wavers. Their finest creation, ‘HYPNOM’, seems to get better every time you hear it, an atmospheric, perfectly layered track that gives way to a hypnotic climax with shades of New Order circa Power, Corruption & Lies (specifically ‘Blue Monday’ prototype ‘586’).

Seefeel were once memorably described as ‘wombadelic’ by then-Melody Maker writer Simon Reynolds, reflecting their distinctive sound, which transposed MBV-esque guitar lines and effects onto ambient techno/IDM-influenced rhythms. Wombadelic is not an adjective that comes to mind tonight, though: bolstered by new band members Shigeru Ishihara (aka DJ Scotch Egg) and Iida Kazuhisa (E-Da) – the former a renowned noise artist and the latter a former Boredums drummer- their live sound is harsh and often grating. Ishihara’s bass-lines dominate the mix, as the band pursue repetitive, scuzzy, enveloping grooves. Sarah Peacock’s vocals seem more like a superfluous addition to the mix, as opposed to the textural underpinning they once provided. It could be called indulgent (at times the band seem to be enjoying themselves more than the audience) but for long stretches we’re taken by it, even if the crowd reaction in general is a divided one. There’s almost an underground-warehouse vibe about the show; with The Button Factory being far from capacity tonight, this arguably would have came across a lot better in a smaller venue or tighter space. It’s perhaps no surprise that there’s no encore: Seefeel aren’t making concessions to expectations or to their own past, choosing instead to pursue their current vision. For that you have to admire them."