Luckily, Escape The Fate don’t seem too phased by the scaly reptiles, or the heat blasting out. Which is surprising seeing as they’re definitely not dressed for it. Anyway, it doesn’t stop them rocking out like the best of them!

Check out the new single ‘You’re Insane’ below. It’s out now..

For those of you who don’t know, Escape The Fate are a five piece metal band hailing from the sands of Las Vegas. Their new album ‘Ungrateful’ is out May 14 and they’ll be touring the USA from mid-April. Uk folks,  you can catch them at Download!

RC xx

Hell yeah…it’s New Music Monday! This week, it’s my version of Morrissey’s “Interesting Drug”:

If you can’t play the song or are on an iPhone or Android phone, click here.

Interesting Drug

There are some bad people on the rise
There are some bad people on the rise
They’re saving their own skins by
Ruining other people’s lives
Bad, bad people on the rise
Young married couple in debt
-Ever felt had?
Young married couple in debt
-Ever felt had?

On a government scheme
Designed to kill your dream
Oh mum, oh dad
Once poor, always poor
La la la la la
Interesting drug
The one that you took
Tell the truth – it really helped you
An interesting drug
The one that you took
God, it really really helped you
You wonder why we’re only half-ashamed?

“Because enough is too much!
And look around…
Can you blame us? Can you blame us? “

On a government scheme
Designed to kill your dream
Oh mum, oh dad
Once poor, always poor
La la la la la
Interesting drug
The one that you took
Tell the truth – it really helped you
An interesting drug
The one that you took
God, it really really helped you
You wonder why we’re only half-ashamed?

“Because enough is too much!
And look around…
Can you blame us? Can you blame us? “

Written by Morrissey and Stephen Street

(Image: Click the pic for credits)

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I’ve been slacking lately so I guess I have to make up for it. Let me start by giving you a great new track fresh out of Paris. This week’s New Music Monday is called This Is My Goodbye from Antoine Clamaran. I heard it on this weeks version of Tiesto’s Clublife and immediately fell in love with it. I hope you like it as much as I do. Enjoy.

This is my Goodbye: Antoine Clamaran

Lead singer Lauri Ylonen‘s first attempt at a solo career seemed pretty good. His first album ‘New World’ was a bit more tech-influenced, carrying an theme of escapism and fantasy through the tracks and videos. It was different, but it was listenable, just as catchy as The Rasmus’ music and fell under the genre of ‘dark electro pop’.

Unfortunately, ‘She’s A Bomb’ isn’t quite the same. It’s still catchy, in a Tiga-esque way (repetitive words instead of the lyrical stories that I would’ve expected). The video though, which I’ve decided not to include just to keep this blog PG13 is downright weird. It feels like a joke that I’m not a part of. Maybe a take on society, but its not poignant enough to make any kind of statement.

I’m quite disappointed by this. I’ve stuck by this band through the bottling at Reading, the several-years-long absence from the UK, even finding out about the slightly bizarre fashion choices of their youth. This though, will be one piece of music that I don’t think I’ll be buying.

Make your own mind up below:

RC xx

Hell yeah…it’s New Music Monday! All this month is 80s month. This week, it’s my version of Duran Duran’s “Save A Prayer”:

If you can’t play the song or are on an iPhone or Android phone, click here.

(Image: Click the pic for credits)

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Carlos Whittaker, Singer/Songwriter, Worship Leader, Creative Consulting Coach, and Author of the blog Raggamuffinsoul has a new project release on the horizon. I had the pleasure of sitting in tonight on his live stream discussion as he presented the vision for the project and interacted with a few hundred fans and fellow strugglers.

For a limited time, with the purchase of his upcoming album Fight, (set to release 4/30/13) you get a free copy of The Fight Club Sessions, including remixes and collaborations with such artists as KJ-52.

Carlos will be hosting live stream discussions and giving away free resources every Tuesday night 8pm EST leading up to the album release. You can reserve a spot to get in on the discussion here.

Check out this lyric video to the early release cut “New Song” and let us know what you think.  Also, go check out Carlos’ blog Raggamuffinsoul for tons of inspiration and great discussion.

What I have today isn’t necessarily new, but I came across some interviews with Alexander Ebert. I for some reason find him completely fascinating. I think it’s because he is so strange sometimes and then so normal other times, I’m just trying to figure out what he’s all about. It was interesting to hear little bits about his past so I found myself watching interview after interview with him one night. This of course resulted in listening to numerous Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros songs and also becoming acquainted with some of his solo works. I like this first song titled “Truth.” In one of his interviews he talks about his love for rap music as a young boy and how for a long time it was all that he would listen to because he really loved the rhymes and the wordplay.  He was later introduced to some Bob Marley and the list goes on from there. You can absolutely see the influence of both rap and Marley in his song and I think that’s cool. I like when you can point out influences in someone’s music without it necessarily being a copycat. Have a listen.

Let’s talk about Jade Castrinos for just a minute shall we? That voice! I think it’s one of my absolute favorite female voices hands down. I’m also convinced she is the reason Edward Sharpe is so successful. Not that I don’t love the whole band, but without Jade?? I don’t know. I love this song, she is perfect. Can we listen to her all day please?

It could be Alexander’s haphazard hair or his easy sense of style that makes me so obsessed? I’m gonna bet it’s this song though.

There was this one time that I made a trip to Austin Tx to catch these guys on stage. It seems like ages ago, but someday I’ll get the privilege again I hope.

Listening to Inherit The Stars, I read the tags as ‘alternative metal pop rock sci-fi screamo UK’. Can’t say I’ve heard pop yet, but I’d like to throw electro into that mix. Not quite in an Enter Shikari, dub-step kind of way. More of a scream-heavy chords-quick disco-back to screaming kind of way. It sounds like the soundtrack to a shooting game, set on a spaceship in the distant future. Its quite refreshingly different.

The Sheffield 3-piece are planning their debut album release (untitled as far as I can tell) this May. For now, listen to the below and go check them out on facebook.com/inheritthestarsofficial

RC xx

Ryan Keen is one of those guys who catches your attention. First off, he’s English, so he immediately caught my attention. (I mean, let’s be honest here people.) And when I heard his music the first time, knowing Sam was opening for him, all I could think was THIS IS PERFECT! It’s a great compliment and I am excited to see all the new fans hear Sam just in time for the new album.

And I mean, how can you NOT love a guy who makes a video staring him in claymation?

Also, am I the only one looking for Goliath in this video? It’s like he’s a hot Davy in a plaid shirt playing guitar. Don’t try and tell me I am wrong. (If you have no idea what I am talking about, then clearly you never watched PBS in the ’80s on a Sunday morning, so I’ll educate you with this link: http://www.daveyandgoliath.org/.

And in this next video, you can see that day where someone said, “Hey Ryan, the drums guy is sick” and Ryan was like “Pfft… I do my OWN drums bitches!”

How could you not want to go and see this guy? If you don’t have your tickets yet, get on it. Go to the show early, see Sam and then be sure and stay for Ryan cause he’s clearly going to be well worth it!

Find Ryan online in all the typical places: WEBSITE // TWITTER // FACEBOOK // YOUTUBE And of course, go and get his newest ep Back to the Ocean.

Going to the show? Let us know which ones so we can sit over here stateside and be INSANELY jealous of you.

Hell yeah…it’s New Music Monday! All this month is 80s month. This week, it’s my Epic 80s Indie Mash-Up of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, U2′s “I Will Follow” and The Smiths’ “Bigmouth Strikes Again”:

If you can’t play the song or are on an iPhone or Android phone, click here.

(Image: Click the pics for credits)

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‘New Music Monday’ is a new feature here on Kate’s Tales of Books and Bands. This feature was thought up partly because of the awesome people at I Am Mighty Records. They keep me updated on new artists that they have signed and I figured they needed a whole feature dedicated to these up and coming artists! This isn’t going to be a weekly feature, it’s more of a post as the music comes along type of thing but I hope you enjoy it regardless!

For today’s artist, I have:

Alexander

“Hailing from Newcastle, Indie Rock 4 piece ‘Alexander’ are releasing their debut album ‘Say Hello’ in early 2013 on I Am Mighty Records.

The band has been creating a buzz across the UK already. The first single ‘You Lost Youself’ taken from the record is out now, with a beautiful acoustic version of the song as a B-side.

Taking influence from the likes of Jimmy Eat World, Futures and Two Door Cinema Club, ‘Alexander’ are bringing a punchy and appealing sound to the indie UK music scene.”

Today I will be sharing with you guys, the music video for their single, ‘You Lost Yourself’! I only have this song to go off of but I am already a fan of Alexander! Their sound is so much fun! I’ve listened to the song only a handful of times now but I already catch myself humming along to it. I think what I like most about them is how different they seem to be. They are not entirely pop-ish nor are they completely rock-ish (I suppose that’s what they mean by “Alternative” but still…). They have a sweet and simple sound to them but don’t let that fool you, I can also see myself dancing around like a goon to their music. Do yourself a favor and take a moment to watch their music video below (Beware: They are all completely adorable. I may have grinned like a fool while watching it…). If you are on Spotify, also be sure to check out the Acoustic version of ‘You Lost Yourself‘! It is slowed down quite a bit giving it a sadder (but still awesome) tone!

If you guys liked what you saw, be sure to check out their links below and of course keep your eyes peeled for the release of their new album!

“ALEXANDER” LINKS:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/followalexander

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wearealexander or @wearealexander

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/followalexander

BigCartel: http://alexanderstore.bigcartel.com/

Purchase ‘You Lost Yourself’: iTunes

I AM MIGHTY RECORDS LINKS:

Contact

Dave Snocken

I Am Mighty Records

www.iammightyrecords.co.uk

If you are one of the lucky ducks that happens to live in the UK (sidenote: I am forever jealous of you!), be sure to check out where Alexander is touring for the remainder of this month!

Yesterday I was away from the computer and out in the Cascade Mountains on a nice hike. It might be a day late but I’ve still got some new music for you with a very fitting title for the holiday this weekend known as St. Patrick’s Day. The new track for this week is called Leprechauns and Unicorns by the up and coming Dutch DJ Dyro. This track hasn’t officially been released yet but it will be in April on Hardwell’s label Revealed. I got a chance a couple weeks ago to see Dyro play alongside Dannic in Vacouver B.C. and the two of them were great. Here is the after movie of that tour which features the track as well as the track itself (with a direct download). Enjoy.

Leprechauns and Unicorns: Dyro

“There’s a time to say who God is and communicate as worshippers. There’s also a time to let our words be few… let them be none and just to allow the heart to be silent before the Lord and allow the music to speak and us to respond in worship.” – Garrett Viggers

This past week, Bethel Music (the worship Ministry from Redding California who brought us Jesus Culture) released a new album titled Without Words. This album is a whole new type of project for Bethel. It is an instrumental album that uses everyday items as part of the song. They creatively found ways to use typewriters, shortwave radios, and other household objects to integrate into their mix. If you enjoy listening to your favorite worship songs while writing or reading (as I am doing now) but have been distracted by lyrics, this album is definitely for you! The two main producers of the album were Garrett Viggers and Gabriel Wilson who told us a bit more in a video about the theme of the album.

“Our primary intent and goal was first and foremost to move the Lord’s heart and to facilitate this exchange between God and man in worship and ministry… to His heart first. We would just pray and say, ‘Lord what does it take to move your heart right now. What do you want to hear? God inspire us, please give us that next thing’… and then there would be a typewriter.” – Gabriel Wilson

Along with the album, they also released a music video of “God I Look To You” which showcases the recording process and their main Imagery, the typewriter. Since the album was mostly conceptual, Art Director, Nathan Grubbs, thought that using a typewriter was ironic; because it usually produces words, but is being used in a wordless project. This project is a true expression of worship that reminds us that we don’t always need words to praise God.

The video is shot in the snow again, raising the question: did they shoot them all on one snowy day? Anyway, its pretty eerie and features the standard ghostly looking girl wandering about while the band perform to disinterested locals in a community centre-esque bar. Oh, and there’s some random shots of barbie dolls.

Track is awesome though.

You can pre-order Sempiternal from the band’s store here.

RC xx

Ashley is a member of The Pistol Annie’s, and her voice contributes wonderfully to the group’s sound, but her solo music has a fantastic sound as well. I am SO in love with her sound. It’s old-timey, but not outdated. She uses a perfect amount of musical elements to add some old-fashioned flair.

Here’s the video for the title track:

If you enjoy this song, you can find Ashley’s new album Like a Rose on iTunes here.

Keep talkin’ twangy!

-Allie

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