Year: 2008

With a sound dubbed “Casio-grindcore” by the press, U.K. concept-metal trio Trencher mix the brevity of hardcore with grindcore’s ferocious incomprehensibility and Cookie Monster vocals, sprinkle a little prog on top, and wrap it up in a cartoonish, psychedelic, synth-driven package. Midway through Lips, their newest full-length, a curious track called “In Reverence” even finds the band exploring several minutes of uncharacteristic drone.

ALARM Magazine is proud to present Don Caballero, Pony Tail, and Mt. St. Helens Saturday, August 30 at Chicago’s  Subterranean. Tickets are available for $12, doors open at at 9PM, show begins at 9:30PM.

Brooklyn minimalist math rockers Takka Takka have debuted their video for “Silence” off of their latest album, Migration (Ernest Jenning Recording Co.), in which the band is conquered by tiny soldiers, Gulliver’s Travels-style. Director Amy Finkel uses a stop-action techniques as the soldiers make their way over the actual bodies of the band’s members.  

Political punk rock quartet Anti-Flag have announced they will be playing three “protest shows” including their August 30 appearance Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival, a free concert on the lawn of St. Paul Minnesota’s capital building, and a third show opening for fellow protest-rockers Rage Against the Machine at the Target Center in Minneapolis, which will take place simultaneously with the 2008 Republican National Convention in the same city.

The annual Printer’s Ball will celebrate its 4th year at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. The Printer’s Ball is a celebration of print literature in Chicago that brings together hundreds of wonderful independent publishers for a night of recognition and exhibition. Come join the celebration with a diverse selection of magazines, journals, posters, and more all available for free, as well as a night of live entertainment.

Witch has confirmed seven west coast tour dates along with Earthless and Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound. J Mascis will be replaced on the drums by Mario Rubalcaba of Earthless. Rubalcaba (who has played with Pinback, Hot Snakes, Metroschifter, and Rocket from the Crypt) is not only a bad-ass drummer, he’s also an ex-pro skater (see photo above). Dates below.

Written and recorded over 18 months, Portland-based Grails returns with their new album to be released on October 7 on Temporary Residence. Entitled Doomsdayer’s Holiday, the album is an even heavier and darker work of psychedelics and riffs.

Oakland psych-punk band Triclops have announced a string of tour dates for the remainder of August, in support of their debut effort, Out of Africa (Alternative Tentacles), an album which ALARM recently described as, “visceral and disconcerting— definitely not for dinner.”

Boise Indie-rock outfit Built to Spill has confirmed that they will lend their distortion-dripping garage rock to Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker’s fourth annual Campout Festival , which takes place September 11-13 in Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, in Pioneertown, California. Located just a few miles from Joshua Tree National Park, Pioneertown is an Old West motion picture set where a number of movies and television shows were filmed, including The Cisco Kid.

Over a decade ago, Philadelphia-based The Asteroid # 4 came onto the music scene, playing the kind of drug-hazed psychedelia that was a dime-a-dozen back in the 1960s. After gaining some recognition after appearing on a Spaceman 3 tribute album, they quickly released their debut, Introducing… . However, the six-piece went more or less under the radar for many years, releasing five albums without managing to pinpoint a distinct sound. Instead they floated aimlessly between music scenes, never really finding a niche.

Eternally upbeat Swedish indie rockers I’m From Barcelona have released a video for “Paper Planes,” off of their upcoming second album Who Killed Harry Houdini?, out October 14 on Mute Records, inspired from frontman Emanual Lundgren’s erstwhile attempt at a career as a magician. A free download of a second song from the record “Music Killed Me,” can be found on the band’s website.