Magnet Magazine
Need a healthy dose of flair to go with your music? Then check out this video for Deluka’s glam-dance tune “Cascade,” in which sleek leather jackets and flashing lights complement the song’s glittery synth and Ellie Innocenti’s dynamic vocals. The video’s stylish look can be credited to its director, renowned fashion photographer Antoine Verglas. “Cascade” is the first single from the British quartet’s debut self-titled EP, which is available now via Vel Records.
Ever wonder what will happen during the last five minutes of late-night TV talk shows? Here are tonight’s notable performers:
Last Call With Carson Daly (NBC): The Airborne Toxic Event
The Airborne Toxic Event is promoting its series of four free shows, which the band will play to work on songs for its new record.
Dengue Fever is anything but your average indie-rock combo. Based in Los Angeles, the exotic six-piece outfit is fronted by Chhom Nimol, who sings in her native Cambodian dialect, backed by guitarist Zac Holtzman, his brother Ethan (keyboards), Senon Williams (bass), David Ralicke (horns) and Paul Smith (drums). Some photos of the boys in the band from their three previous albums look like they’ve come from Homeland Security’s no-fly list. In reality, Dengue Fever may be the best U.S. cultural ambassadors to Southeast Asia since the glory days of jazz stars Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and John Coltrane 50 years ago. The band’s “new” album, Dengue Fever Presents Electric Cambodia (Minky), spotlights vintage performances by its favorite Cambodian artists from the late ’60s/early ’70s. Dengue Fever will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with them.
Zac Holtzman: Some day I’d like to build a blimp, either bicycle- or electric-powered. There’s a film by Werner Herzog called The White Diamond that’s about a small blimp designed to survey the animals that live in the trees of the rain forest. Some day, our band wants to tour by blimp. We’ve looked into it, and there’s a company that goes from L.A. to S.F. This could be the beginning of our lives in an airship.
Video after the jump.
No stranger to painting metaphorical and literal vignettes of America’s most forgotten spaces (start with “Ohio,” “Abilene,” “Omaha” and “Yuma, AZ”), Damien Jurado introduces us to his ninth LP, Saint Bartlett (Secretly Canadian), by way of “Arkansas.” With few exceptions, Jurado’s poignant work is marked by its stripped, spartan delicacy, and “Arkansas” reminds us that Jurado can form an astounding amount of beauty with minimal device. Inviting friend and collaborator Richard Swift to the helm, the songwriter continues to subtly evolve, bringing Spector-esque reverb, percussion and strings to the fore, quelling his typically prominent acoustic guitar to a low, though effective, hum in the mix. Definitively Jurado, “Arkansas” is as rich as the Natural State it depicts, an American treasure that—like Jurado—remains unaffected despite its under-appreciation. Saint Bartlett arrives May 25.
“Arkansas” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/Arkansas.mp3
Merge Records just released Let’s Wrestle’s debut studio album, In The Court Of The Wrestling Let’s, which boasts peculiar songs about subjects like “getting a job so you can buy girls drinks at clubs, a really famous crack addict, and how bass player Mike Lightning’s hair looks like Princess Diana’s from the point of view of a homosexual man who is in love with the dead princess.” (We couldn’t make this stuff up if we tried.) While the album is primarily based in punk rock, the London trio claims to pull from a variety of influences, many of which show up on this mix tape Let’s Wrestle frontman Wesley Patrick Gonzalez made for MAGNET.
“We Are The Men You’ll Grow To Love Soon” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/WeAreTheMenYoullGrowToLoveSoon.mp3
“I Won’t Lie To You” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/IWontLie.mp3
Paul McCartney “Temporary Secretary”
This has become an unofficial Let’s Wrestle theme song, constantly played and loved. It’s even my ringtone, and everyone who hears this is blown away by the mystical powers of Macca. Video
Harry Nilsson “Me And My Arrow”
From one of the best albums ever. We got introduced to The Point! whilst traveling through Baltimore last year. Video
Black Flag “TV Party”
Best song ever. We used to try and organize TV parties, but they were never as good as the video for this looked. We’ve got nothing better to do than watch TV and have a couple of brews!!!! Video
Denim “Middle Of The Road”
Lawrence backed up by the Glitter Band—is there anything cooler? This song is about hating every type of music apart from the Lighthouse Family. Video
Race Horses “Last Boat To Dover”
The most Welsh thing I’ve ever heard. It starts like Emerson Lake And Palmer, sings about gay love, then hits you with a wonderful chorus. Audio
Flower Travellin’ Band “Satori Part 2”
The Japanese Sabbath going nuts. Video
Swell Maps “HS Art”
Punk From Birmingham (U.K., not Alabama). Video
Girls “Lust For Life”
Everyone likes this song. Girls forever. Video
Yo La Tengo “Stockholm Syndrome”
Lovely vibes from the Tengo. I really like James McNew’s high vocals. (They don’t get put to full use in my opinion.) Video
Patience And Prudence “Tonight You Belong To Me”
Mike and I used to sing this to each other constantly. It’s from one of the best films ever, too: The Jerk. Video
Bikini Kill “Suck My Left One”
I just really like this song. Video
The Pixies “Velouria”
No other song will ever come close to how good this song is. Video