The members of Kentucky band Sleeper Agent are about to be exposed once again! The story begins in Bowling Green, sometime in 2008, when Justin Wilson (drums) collaborated with Tony Smith (guitar/vocals) to plant rock n’ roll bugs around the local college music scene. The duo began to recruit other area operatives and within a few years Alex Kandel (vocals), Lee Williams (bass), Josh Martin (guitar), and Scott Gardner (keys/synth) had joined the cell. With some help from friends (and fellow Bowling Green musicians), Matt & Brad Shultz of Cage the Elephant, the band released their debut album, Celebrasion, in 2011.

Sometime early next year the band will release their anticipated sophomore album and we have the pleasure of sharing with you the first single, “Waves,” which will help you better cope with the coming winter doldrums. The song kicks into motion with the opening line “California washed away/left us all their bills to pay/without a friend/without a doubt/we walked it off until we drowned.” Doomed and disheartened sure, but this apocalyptic scenario is served up on a bed of jangly, sunshine-speckled guitar riffs,  clap-along drums, and a catchy call and response chorus. All of which will have you bouncing around the room in spastic glory.

The band hit the road in January and have a stop at The Sinclair in Cambridge on February 1st. Tickets and information can be found here.

Sleeper Agent 2014 Live Dates

1/14 – Warehouse – Houston, TX
1/15 – Antone’s – Austin, TX
1/16 – House of Blues Parish Room – New Orleans, LA
1/17 – Rock Bottom – Montgomery, AL
1/18 – The Social – Orlando, FL
1/19 – Culture Room – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
1/21 – Terminal West – Atlanta, GA
1/22 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN
1/23 – Amos’ Southend – Charlotte, NC
1/24 – Ziggy’s By The Sea – Wilmington, NC
1/26 – Rock and Roll Hotel – Washington, DC
1/28 – Opera House – Toronto, ON
1/29 – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT
1/30 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
1/31 – The Met – Providence, RI
2/01 – Sinclair – Cambridge, MA
2/04 – Shelter – Detroit, MI
2/05 – Newport Music Hall – Columbus, OH
2/06 – Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL
2/07 – Firebird – St. Louis, MO
2/08 – The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
2/09 – Triple Rock – Minneapolis, MN
2/11 – Club Sound – Salt Lake City, UT
2/12 – Vinyl – Las Vegas, NV
2/15 – Soho – Santa Barbara, CA
2/16 – Independent – San Francisco, CA
2/17 – House of Blues – San Diego, CA
2/18 – Constellation Room – Santa Ana, CA
2/19 – Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA

*All dates with New Politics and Magic Man

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Affectionately being called Natty Child, dusty 70s era rockers Natural Child just released this perfect jam titled “Saturday Night Blues,” a tune I’m quickly falling in love with. It’s the perfect jam to sit with a six-pack of cheap beer and drink your lonely Saturday night away. You can definitely hear the influences from Rock N Roll yesteryears,The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, JJ Cale and Waylon Jennings with its use of southern inspired riffs, pedal steel, and wurlitzer piano.

Look for Saturday Night Blues on their upcoming record, Dancin’ With Wolves February 25th on Burger Records.

NATURAL CHILD TOUR DATES: Read On »

Designed as a nebulous sonic canvas, Mutual Benefit, the brain child of Ohio, Austin, Boston, Brooklyn journeyman Jordan Lee, creates pop tunes that showcase a fragility, translucency, a sort of blurring that is ever ornamented with lush sounds of keys, guitar, violin, and homemade percussions. It’s warm, hopeful and kind of a joy to listen to. Check out the tune “Golden Wake,” above, one of those heartbeat songs that has the power to slow down time, and ever so slightly force you to replay.

Grab the record, which dropped today Love’s Crushing Diamond.

Look for a tour later this year into next with a stop here in Boston 1/13. Read On »

Australia’s King Colour have been sharpening their 60′s inspired, indie-pop style around the many rock clubs in their hometown of Sydney in 2013 and are looking to expand beyond New South Wales next year. Coming together in 2012, Liam Staples (Vocals/Guitars), Matt Digges (Guitars/Bass), Adrian Jaucian (Bass/Guitars), and Josh Pearson (Drums/Vocals), quickly became popular throughout the city for their killer live shows. The single, “Break The Ice,” is the band’s debut track and it’s perfectly poppy, charmingly cheesy, and instantly likeable. The fantastic accompanying video is a whole lot of fun to watch as well so press play above and enjoy.

“Break The Ice” will be released on December 23rd through The A&R Department.

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Photos by Boston Concert Photography

Brooklyn band The Lone Bellow took to the stage last Wednesday night to a roar from the sold-out crowd that had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the newest heavy-hitters on the Americana rock n’ roll map. 2013 has been kind to the trio and their commitment to the road, combined with multiple visits to each state over the course of the year, have helped in spreading the word far and wide

Zach Williams (guitar, vocals), Kanene Pipkin, (mandolin, vocals) and  Brian Elmquist (guitar, vocals) have introduced deeper layers of sound to the Lone Bellow live shows by adding Ben Mars (bass), Brian Murphy (keyboards), Matt Knapp (lap steel, electric guitar), Jason Pipkin (banjo, mandolin), and Brian Griffin (drums) to the touring group. Adding new musicians has also created a playful stage dynamic, allowing Williams more opportunity to hop around and engage each member of the band like a guitar-wielding, Georgian marsh rabbit.

Kicking off the the set with the new song “I Let You Go,” the rambunctious crowd quieted down and listened in almost complete silence, which is a rarity at most shows in our fair city. People wanted to jump around and sing-a-long but kept still while the voices from the stage hypnotized. All bets were off however when the band jumped into “You Can Be All Kind’s of Emotional.” Everyone in Paradise knew every word and the band beamed with joy, taking the song into hyper-drive singing the chorus of “Wish I was gone/Wish I was gone” at the top of their lungs.

With their debut self-titled album released at the beginning of the year the Bellow gang tackled pretty much every song on the record and then some. Live staples like “You Never Need Nobody” and “Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold” were played with such enthusiasm it was as if the band were discovering the music for the very first time. The boogie-woogie of “Georgia Will” had the roof shaking and the beautiful cover of John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery” had the charismatic front-man leading the audience participation of the song’s chorus. The band ended the evening with a rousing rendition of “Teach Me to Know,” with the trio jumping into the crowd to finish the song in spectacular fashion.

Local musician Aofie O’Donovan (Crooked Still/Sometymes Why) owned that opening spot with her stellar voice and guitar-picking prowess. Playing a set built around her recent release, Fossils, O’Donovan set the course for the night with her impressive blend of contemporary, indie-fused folk that she has crafted throughout her impressive career. This was her first time on the Paradise stage with her own band and she took advantage of the moment, conversing with fans in between songs like she knew each and everyone of them personally. Funny, talented, and charming, a winning combination.

Check out the video and fantastic shots of the good times taken by our partner in crime Boston Concert Photography.

British chanteuse Marika Hackman is readying the release of her new EP, Sugar Blind, (out December 9th on Dirty Hit Records) and we are happy to share with you the newest single titled, “Wolf.” Hackman has been building on the success of her debut EP, That Iron Taste, which came out last February to many accolades, and will undoubtedly capture many a new listener’s heart with her beautifully haunting voice. At just 21 years old, we can safely say that Marika Hackman will continue to fashion her eerily unique take on the folk rock doctrine for may years to come.

Enjoy the beautiful track,”Wolf,” above and be sure to pre-order Sugar Blind.

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Last week a warm Southern breeze worked it’s way up through the Midwest and blew out the doors of the Royale here in Boston. On November 14th those lucky enough to know a stellar line-up when they see it were treated to a wild rumpus of a good time when the Wheeler Brothers and Houndmouth tour pulled into town. The two bands hit the road together two weeks ago and called upon local favorites The Ballroom Thieves to join in on the fun. The packed crowd expected to stomp their Boston boots and raise their beers in glory…and they did!

Austin, TX quintet Wheeler Brothers consist of three siblings Nolan Wheeler (vocals, guitar), Patrick Wheeler (drums), and Tyler Wheeler (bass), along with A.J. Molyneaux (guitar, killer lap steel, vocals), and Nathan Rigney (guitar, vocals). I moved to Boston from Austin back in 2007 and these boys brought back memories of warm southern nights, listening to bands playing lively sets on outdoor stages as the sun set over the hill country. The guys in Wheeler Brothers were having so much fun on the Royale stage it was infectious, and their charm and personality clearly helped win them a whole lot of new fans. They are currently touring in support of their second full-length album, Gold Boots Glitter, which was released this past April, and their opening set was based largely on the newer tunes. Starting things off with the fantastic track, “Heather,” the band got the crowd in motion quickly, and when they segued into the Jackson 5′s, “I Want You Back,” during their song, “Portraits,” they had every last straggler roped in. The Brothers ended their too short-a-set with, “I’ve Been Around,” one of the catchiest tracks this side of the Mississippi.

Boston’s soon to be bigger than sliced bread band, The Ballroom Thieves, were next to take the stage and were warmly welcomed by a crowd clearly on the up and up about the trio. Martin Early (guitar, vocals) and Devin Mauch (percussion, vocals) introduced their new cellist Calin Peters and set out to keep the momentum of the evening going strong. Given the strength of the Thieves stage presence, and the hip-shaking numbers, it is amazing that the band really just began in 2012 with the release of their debut, 5-song EP titled, The Devil & The Deep. They released a self-titled EP this past October and the set-list was comprised of songs from each fantastic album. From the foot stomping goodness of, “Down by the River,” to the glorious sing-along chorus of “Oh Oh Oh Oh/Let’s get out of here” on “The Callow & The Hale,” the Ballroom Thieves are making a solid case for best live band in Boston.

Headlining the night’s festivities belonged to Indiana four-piece Houndmouth who have been enjoying quite an upward momentum since the release of their debut full-length album, From The Hills Below The City, released in June of this year. After 2 rambunctious sets the final band of the evening would need to come out swinging to deliver the knock out, and the Houndmouth gang did not disappoint.  Songs were mostly off of their great new release and, despite the album only being a few months old, the crowd seemed to know every word. Favorites included “Krampus” and “Long As You’re At Home,” which were played back to back much to everyone’s delight. A cover of the Beatles, “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight,” was stupendous and the encore saw the Wheeler Brothers join in on another great cover, this time it was The Band’s, “I Shall be Released.” They sent us off into the night with a rousing version of “Coming Around Again” from the new album. A great time was had by all.

Check out the great photos our newest member of the Music Savage family, Mr. James Reiley, took for your viewing pleasure and click play on the Wheeler Brothers track “Straight and Steady” above for your listening pleasure.

Way back in early January we began to sing the praises of a new band out of Brooklyn known as The Lone Bellow. They released a video for their first single “Two Sides of Lonely” and soon thereafter came the debut, self-titled album. Since that time let’s just say that things have picked up quite a bit for the New York trio. They have gone from openers to headliners in less than a year, with a hugely successful stop at the star making Newport Folk Festival in July playing a tremendous part in their sudden and much deserved popularity. The Lone Bellow play music from the heart’s heart and have a combined vocal power of an angelic Mack truck bearing down the Americana highway.

Boston songstress Aoife (pronounced “ee-fuh”) O’Donovan opens the show tonight. Our hometown heroine is widely known throughout the music world as the lead-singer of the bluegrass/roots band Crooked Still. She is currently promoting her fantastic new solo album, Fossils, which was released June 11, 2013 on Yep Rock Records. Be sure to get there on-time this evening to catch her set and welcome her to the Paradise stage for the first time in her musical career.

The show is sold-out but that should not stop you from trying to find tickets as this will be a spectacularly good time! Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm. Further information can be found here.

I was lucky enough to be exposed to Shovels & Rope’s original record years ago, when Michael and Cary Ann had first recorded it, a record I quickly fell in love with, and just couldn’t grasp why a million people weren’t listening to it. I’m so happy to hear the band and Dualtone Records are going to reissue the record, and they included this spicy version of “Mother’s Scorn,” which is quite a bit more like how they play it live. It’s rollicking music, that deserves to be played loud.

If anyone is looking to buy me a gift for Christmas, this might be the one. Pre-order Shovels & Rope, from the Dualtone Store.

Hot damn people! We have a new single from Chambersburg, PA’s very own The Shackeltons off their forthcoming album Records, out early 2014 on Think Loud. The latest track, “Kindest Words,” follows the protopunk path laid down in the 60′s and 70′s by artists who were clearly an influence on the Pennsylvanian band’s sound. This is not, however, a band just spinning its tires on the sonic streets of the past. The Shackeltons have been creating their own snarling blend of avant-garage rock since their debut album back in 2008, and they are ready to shatter eardrums and expectations next year with Records. Until then enjoy the piercing guitar goodness that is “Kindest Words,” and be sure to tell your friends that need some help figuring out good music (hey we all know a few) that these guys are the real deal.

Buy “Kindest Words”

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A beautiful cover of one of the best Flaming Lips songs from one of the hardest working bands in Leeds. As I have written many a post on the talented duo I feel like all I need to say right now is, ladies and gentlemen I present to you once again for your listening pleasure…Fossil Collective. Enjoy!

Photos by Boston Concert Photography

Monday night, we were lucky enough to have Baltimore’s finest purveyor’s of rock and fucking roll into one of the tiniest of venues in all of Boston, Great Scott. The sold out show on what would normally be a quiet Monday night was rightfully busy, abuzz with folks who seemed to all be huge J Rod fans. The great part about J Roddy Walston & The Business is that the band has a really rare ability to rock the hell out while getting the crowd involved, and throw one hell of a party / show. The band killed the stage with many of crowd favorites from their eponymous record, like “Don’t Break the Needle,” “Full Growing Man,” and “I Don’t Wanna Hear It,” all tunes that are guaranteed to get the blood pumping, the fists in the air, and everyone’s howl on. The band also debuted a lot of new material from the recent release, Essential Tremors, one of my favorite records to drop this year, and had the crowd with every note of jams “Heavy Bells,” to what seems like the perfect night closer in “Midnight Cry,” that has just about everyone in the room in full harmony. Check out our photos and video from the night.

Welsh musician Siôn Russell Jones creates songs for the soundtrack to your day, or the soundtrack to escape the day. With his extraordinary guitar playing and unique voice he seems to always have a track to best sum up a particular emotion, and that my friends is what makes a fantastic singer-songwriter. Jones will release a brand new single titled, “Best of Me,” on December 16th and he was kind enough to share the new video with us here at Music Savage, so we would like to share it with you wonderful people. It looks like it was a fun (and messy) video shoot. Enjoy!

We here at Music Savage want to wish you a Happy Halloween the best way we know how…. with music! It doesn’t get much creepier than Robert Smith dressed up as a sinister spiderman hanging out in the corner of the room. Enjoy all you ghouls and goblins. Now give me some candy!

Photos by Boston Concert Photography

On a cold evening in fall in Boston, as the lights from the Fenway Park lit up for the World Series, the real show was going on on the other side of the city as an evening with Fiona Apple & Blake Mills warmed the crowd’s spirits. This being my first time seeing Fiona Apple, I wasn’t all that familiar with the deeper side of her catalog, but I knew exactly what I’d be getting with Blake Mills.

As with what had happened a few weeks back with Fiona & the crowd in Portland, there was this overarching sense of love pouring out from the crowd in Boston, overcompensating, but just reaffirming where Apple sits in our culture. When you watch her on stage, there is a sense of fragility that comes from her, but also a sense of pure power. That duality makes for an interesting show, her slight trembled vocals into her booming power, push and pull, again and again.

What truly makes the show special (insert “you’re a superfan!”) but it’s Blake Mills and his keen ability to insert himself into nearly any situation, play along with the song, and elevate it into the stratosphere. He could be his own one man show, but you get the sense that’s not really who he is. He plays with maddening machine precision, but extreme human fluidity and creativity. Even on an “off night” as he might have thought it was, he thrills the audience with every note that pours out of his amps.

It was obvious the two have been on the road together, sharing jokes, smiles, and playing the hell out of Fiona’s tunes, and a few of the very special Blake tunes that we have come to love. If you’ve got the greenbacks to get to the show, I absolutely recommend this duo. And we can hope one or the other records more together, to see just what they can do with the boundless amounts of talent that sat on stage Wednesday night.

Check out our photos from the show.