Johnny Marr has announced two in conversation events in support of his upcoming book Marr’s Guitars. The first event will take place at Warsaw in Brooklyn on October 23rd with a Los Angeles counterpart being held on October 25th at The Regent Theater. Find more details and tickets on sale below.
Sad news as celebrated singer Denise Johnson, who contributed vocals for Primal Scream, New Order, Johnny Marr, and others, died Monday at her home in Manchester, England at the age of 56. Her family released a statement revealing that Johnson “had been ill in the week prior to her death, but told friends she was ‘much better’ on Friday.” The cause of death was not known, but it was reported by her family that she was discovered holding her inhaler.We send our condolences out to her family, fans, and friends at this time.Continue reading
Riot Fest 2018 approaches next weekend and the bill looks stacked! The lineup features Weezer, Blink-182, Beck, Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Run The Jewels, Incubus, Young The Giant, Interpol, Blondie, Alkaline Trio, Father John Misty, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Tickets are on sale now at the link below. Now. Riot Fest takes place September 14th-16th at Douglas Park in Chicago, IL.Continue reading
Riot Fest had their big reveal last night, announcing the first and main wave of bands for this coming September in Chicago. Held September 14th-16th at Douglas Park in Chicago, IL the headliners include Blink-182, Beck, Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Incubus, Young The Giant, Interpol, Blondie, Alkaline Trio, Father John Misty, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Tickets are on sale now at the link below. Continue reading
Matt Skiba is very busy these days. He’s fronted Alkaline Trio for close to two decades and also dabbled in side projects like Heavens and The Hell. In case you didn’t know, he’s also currently filling in for Tom Delonge in Blink 182.
And because apparently the devil makes good use of idle hands Skiba just released KUTS (Superball Music) with The Sekrets. The Sekrets almost being a supergroup for the Alternative Press crowd as it also features AFI bassist Huntar Burgan and My Chemical Romance’s Jarrod Alexander on drums.
Are you still with me? Good, because if you are a fan of any of those aforementioned groups then you are in for a pleasant surprise with KUTS.
The formula here hasn’t drastically changed. It’s simple, yet effective songwriting mated to a bright, but not overbearing mix. And that’s not to say that 2012s Babylon or Haven’t You EP weren’t good, but The Sekrets are starting to stretch their sound a little more as opposed to sticking with traditional pop-punk compositions. While there still are bits pf punk fire from time to time like on opener ‘Lonely and Kold’ and ‘She Said’ it seems that Skiba and his cohorts have been revisiting their The Smiths, The Cure, and Echo & The Bunnymen LPs.
This more post-punk approach really sets in on the second half of KUTS. Songs like ‘Way Bakk When’ and ‘Hemophiliak’ shift The Sekrets’ emphasis to melancholy as opposed to two minutes of aggression. ‘Never Believe’ and ‘Vienna’ close out the album and finds Skiba further channeling Johnny Marr with simple but haunting music to compliment his almost world-weary vocals.
Skiba finds a way to honor some of his musical heroes without it coming across as just a love letter to the late 70s and early 80s. But then again the man has time for what seems like 400 other musical projects. Not sure how he does it, but hopefully he won’t stop soon.
8.0/10
HANSEL LOPEZ