- Six song release out today via Sargent House. Not usually a sound a listen to, but I was grabbed by the description “Irish synth punk band”. I am sad to report that no bagpipes were involved in the recording…

It’s January 2008. It’s been snowing since October 2007 and ain’t stopping any time soon. There’s noise about this record called The Senor And The Queen, but mostly about track 2, “Wherefore Art Thou, Elvis?” I think I found “…Elvis?” on a Canadian music compilation. (MuchMusic? I could be completely wrong.) It was the only [...]

- Hard to believe this song is already ten years old. One of the more obscure Equal Vision bands, signed in the wake of the GLASSJAW, THRICE, FINCH, mania, these guys played speedy melodic post-hardcore with a flair for sneakily great vocal hooks. This has long been my favorite song from “A Newer More Shattered You”.

• VERSUS THE WORLD – Drink. Sing. Live. Love.
• ANCHOR & BRAILLE – The Quiet Life
• REEL BIG FISH – Candy Coated Fury
• RUSS RANKIN – Farewell Catalonia

- The debut Russ Rankin solo effort is a highly recommended listen. Much like where my brain lies with Joey Cape and Tim Barry, Rankin’s ‘unlouded’ effort hits me twofold. I appreciate hearing his voice again and most of the songs on Farewell Catalonia evoke an emotional stirring that doesn’t fall from where GOOD RIDDANCE make its biggest personal impact. But at the same time, the icy strain in Rankin’s voice lacks the visceral punch of when he was screaming into the sky. If it was an either/or question, I’m glad Rankin has continued to create instead of fade away.

- Lovitt Records has been building its Bandcamp page and some of its more recently titles are there. I hope they eventually get their entire discography posted, but that’s quite a chore. In revisiting their last year activity, I rediscovered that REGENTS EP, which is a four song blast of screamy punk, hardcore and noise. The group features Jason Hamacher of FRODUS.

From the inbox:

Century Media Records and its associated labels “InsideOut Music,” “Superball Music” and “People Like You Records” are pleased to announce that their entire repertoire is now available on Spotify.

“Spotify offers great tools to discover new artists. We feel that this is essential for our promising newcomers. In that respect, Spotify gives those artists a very good forum,” states Antje Lange, general manager Europe.

After the initial decision to pull the Century Media catalog from Spotify, label execs were impressed by the resulting debate, especially the messages and comments by the thousands of fans who weighed in on the issue. Fan sentiment and continued discussions with Spotify have resulted in the label reversing its initial decision.

“We respect that music fans wanted to have instant access to our catalog via Spotify,” states President of North America Don Robertson. “But we also have to consider the rights of our artists. After practicing some due diligence, we’re moving ahead confident that both the artist and the fan are being fairly served by this developing platform.”

Steve Savoca, Head of Content at Spotify, adds: “Spotify’s global growth provides a powerful platform for artists to connect directly with our hugely passionate audience. The return of Century Media’s fantastic catalog is cranking metal music to our ears.”

Century Media will continue to evaluate Spotify as a music discovery tool and welcome the fan’s opportunity to preview a release in its entirety before deciding to buy a copy.

Thomas Waber, President of Superball and InsideOut Music sums it up: “We are looking forward to our fans being able to access our music again through the premium streaming service in the world. Hopefully they will discover great new music as a result!”

- (1) Huzzah for Century Media rethinking their position; (2) It did seem a little silly to me that while they very publicly removed their titles from Spotify, everything was still available through competitor Rdio; (3) Matt Skiba solo tunes for everyone!!

- A new song from the DC crust/doom band’s upcoming 12″ Intoxicantations, out in October on A389 Records. The will be playing several shows with GEHENNA in August.

- Fun and smart Lookout! style pop-punk from this Austin, Texas group. Out now on Toxic Pop Records.