A punch of adrenaline straight to the heart Pulp Fiction style! That is how I would describe the head rattling sound that is Mike Kerr (vocals, bass) and Ben Thathcher (drums), otherwise known as Royal Blood. The UK duo released their debut EP, Out Of The Black, earlier in the year, and the four tracks made quite an impact. The guys have opened for the Arctic Monkeys and Interpol across the pond, and have recently begun a headline tour of the US. All of this attention without a full-length album! 

Speaking of which, their self-titled debut album will be released on August 25th via Warner Bros. Records and we have the first single, “Figure It Out”, to fill that head banging void in your soul. Kerr rips into his bass as though it were a six-string on fire and Thathcher hits the drums like a man possessed. Do yourself a favor and check out their website to catch some live footage and you’ll see and hear Royal Blood in their element…on a stage in front of people going bonkers. And speaking of bonkers … check out the video for “Figure It Out.”

If you prefer to experience your music live rather than on a screen Royal Blood will be here in our fair city Tuesday, July 22nd, at Brighton Music Hall for what is sure to be a kick ass show (Tickets and info). Make the beginning of your week more bearable with some all out rock n’ roll. For those of you not in Boston check out the tour dates below and if they are in your town you’ll want to go!

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Washington, DC power-trio Ex Hex will release their eagerly awaited debut album, Rips, on October 7th via Merge Records and we have been sent the fantastic first single, “Don’t Wanna Lose,” to help spread the word. It’s an out-and-out rocker which kicks you in the pants with set-to-stun guitar hooks and pulse-pounding drums.

Ex Hex is Mary Timony (guitars/vocals), Laura Harris (drums), and Betsy Wright (guitars). The combined talent of the musicians makes for a gigantic sound! Timony is the hardest working rocker in the biz (with Helium, Autoclave, and Wild Flag notched into her belt), Harris honed her drumming chops in Aquarium, and Wright is an accomplished performer/piano player who mastered the six-string as the third member of the band.

We’ll have more from Ex Hex as the release date draws near. Until then enjoy the one-two punch that is “Don’t Wanna Lose” and make sure the volume is turned way up for this one.

Ex Hex Tour Dates:
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Chuck Prophet’s background is vast, and lengthy, and he’s recently announced a 13th studio album to add to his own lore. His most recent release, Temple Beautiful, was a critical success, and it seems as though he’s looking to build off of that. Upcoming record, Night Surfer, and first single, “Wish Me Luck,” a sort of tongue-in-cheek jangly rock-affair that’s a bit Petty and a bit Velvet Underground, or a million other influences that are so hard to decipher in his music, all I know is that I never want to end. Check out “Wish Me Luck,” and look for Night Surfer, September 23 and a NA tour coming soon.

Back in 2012 there was a lot of hubbub over Wisocnsin’s Field Report, I saw them at SXSW and they totally amazed me. Chris Porterfield’s background, vocals and songwriting gave the band instant gravitas, they toured relentlessly and blew us all away with their tunes. Having written one of my favorite records that year, I have been eagerly awaiting what brings them to the fold and we are finally here. Their forthcoming record, Marigolden, drops October 9 but we’re getting our first taste today of single “Wings,” and entirely stripped down, bare, digital-folk tune that feels as though you are floating within Porterfield’s personal ruminations on touring, drinking, and the toll it all takes mentally and physically. The result is a sparsely beautiful tune that you will get lost in.

Photos by Colin McLaughlin

Out-of-towners love to say Portland crowds don’t dance. We don’t. We do love karaoke though, which makes Portland Cello Project’s annual Extreme Dance Party mighty appealing to us homegrown folk.

For the uninitiated, the Extreme Dance Party is PCP’s yearly excuse to fuse mega hits with cellos. Vocalists from as close as Portland, and as far as Chicago, get to play Top 40 icon as PCP and a crew of musicians (horn section, percussionist, drummer, and keyboardist) provide the launching pad.

I’ve been the last 4 years and it’s always an amazing experience. Crowds are pumped, people are dancing (!) and everyone gets to be in love with pop music. Guilty pleasures and all. I’d like to tell you what they’d played, but I don’t want to ruin it for everyone going tonight. You go to be surprised, and every year you are.

If this interests you, and you’re in Portland, get to the Doug Fir by 8pm (have to scalp a ticket) or go next year. It’s always worth your time.

For everyone that can’t make it, I took pictures of night 1 for you. Have a look.

New York duo The Sea The Sea released their palindrome-titled debut, Love We Are We Love, to critical acclaim here in the states earlier this year and are hoping for the same across the pond when the album gets its UK release on September 1st.  Chuck e. Costa and Mira Stanley formed the band in 2011, after having met at a songwriting contest a few years earlier, and have been making waves in the folk rock waters ever since. 

We received the latest single in our Music Savage mailbox this week and I was smitten from the moment I pressed play. The title-track is the most pleasing blend of harmonious male/female voices I’ve heard in quite some time. Mix that together with some hip-shaking guitar hooks and a head-bopping drum beat and you have yourself a perfect summertime sonnet.

The Sea The Sea have been on a touring tear as of late with no signs of slowing. The two have been in our neck of the woods quite a few times these past months and will be back in town September 3rd with a date at Club Passim in Cambridge. That’s still a few months off and it is too beautiful outside to think of autumn, so for now enjoy the song “Love We Are We Love” and soak in the sunshine emanating from your speakers.

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Yet another tune has surfaced from Los Angeles band Harriet’s new upcoming record “It’s Totally Cool, I Wouldn’t Even Worry About It.” Everything we’ve heard from this record to date has this interesting tone, it’s nearly cinematic, with multi-layered sonic moments that seemingly come from every angle, it all works so well with the video above which plays like a weird dance instructor met Stanley Kubrick.

I’m totally in love with what they’ve got going on here.

Really loving the latest video from Welsh singer-songwriter Siôn Russell Jones for the beautiful song “Guillotine,” which is on his latest album, Lost No More. The track features the exceptional voice of Oxford musician Lillian Todd-Jones, who also showcases her other amazing talent in the video – fire dancing.

I am a fan of both the Jones’ and this collaboration in song and film is too good not to share. Enjoy!

They may not yet have attained their professed mode of aerial transportation but ever since We Were Promised Jetpacks released their debut album, These Four Walls, back in 2009, their trajectory has been continuously skyward. The now five-piece Scottish rockers – with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Stuart McGachan – are readying their third album, Unravelling, for release this Fall, and we are happy to share with you the first single “Safety In Numbers.”

If this new song is any indication of what the rest of the forthcoming album sounds like we are in for a helluva good time! “Safety In Numbers” is made for blasting off arena walls with its pounding drums and soaring guitars, and as these guys are touring machines it’s a safe bet that will indeed happen one of these days. Speaking of touring they hit the road again this October to promote Unravelling and they have a stop here in Boston on November 20th. I have seen them live numerous times and can say with all honesty this will be a show you won’t want to miss.

Until then enjoy “Safety In Numbers” and then spend the rest of the day listening to their previous two albums. We’ll have more on WWPJ as the release date draws near.
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This is the first month I’ve tried this, so it’s kind of test, but I’m looking for the best way to bring back monthly mixtapes, and maybe I’ve found it. Seeing as giving away mp3′s are a thing of the past, we’ve got a delightful stream of music we dug from the last month. If you are looking for something to turn on, and fall in love with, jump on in, and press play, I hope you enjoy my June of 2014.