Music

Liars: Channeling Overlooked Urbanism on Sisterworld

In the past decade, there have been few bands more surprising or compelling than Liars. Ruthlessly innovative and committed to constant evolution, its defiant attitude toward the expectations of its audience and the prevailing trends in independent rock has set it apart in a big way.

The Black Heart Procession works with Lee “Scratch” Perry and Eluvium on new EP

Brooding indie rockers The Black Heart Procession have announced a limited-edition mini-album entitled Blood Bunny / Black Rabbit, to be released on October 12 (Temporary Residence Limited). The EP will include three new songs, a collaboration with reggae/dub pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry, and a 10-minute orchestral reconstruction of the song “Drugs” by ambient artist Eluvium.  Listen to the EP’s opening track below.

The Black Heart Procession: “Blank Page”

black-heart-procession-blank-page

Additionally, in celebration of the album release, The Black Heart Procession will tour this fall alongside label-mate The Books (coming off its recent, stellar performance in Chicago’s Millennium Park).

Richard Colman

Richard Colman: From Graffiti to Fine Art

When looking at the paintings and illustrations of California-based artist Richard Colman, it’s clear that his electric-hued, intricately detailed images are influenced by everything from Byzantine-era iconography to geometric abstractions. Less obvious, however, is that the Washington, DC native started out as a graffiti artist.

Mexicans with Guns’ five favorite luchadores

Ernest Gonzales is best known for his solo works of electro pop and hip-hop-infused indie rock.  When he began toying with a harder, bass-heavy dance sound, he established an alter ego known as Mexicans with Guns, whose look and short-lived anonymity were inspired by lucha libre.

Gonzales appears in Invisible: Overlooked Albums and Unseen Artists, the 38th issue of ALARM, to discuss his use of masks as well as their importance to Mexican culture.  Here, without further ado, are his five favorite luchadores.

1. El Santo

“Without a doubt, the top luchador of all time is El Santo. He wrestled for more than 50 years, starred in hundreds of movies, and is considered to be a folk hero to many Mexican people. Donning a silver luchador mask, El Santo vowed to fight crime and injustice. If you mixed Hulk Hogan and Batman, you would have El Santo. Here’s a four-part documentary about El Santo from Incredibly Strange Film via YouTube.”

Gallery Spotlight: Okay Mountain

Nowadays, Austin, Texas may be considered a venerable indie music and art Mecca, but only a few years ago, the city’s contemporary art scene was much more transient. The formation of art collectives like Okay Mountain has given artists more incentive to set down roots.

“There wasn’t always a lot going on in terms of spaces, so people just took it upon themselves to kind of just start doing things DIY style and open their own spaces,” co-founder Carlos Rosales-Silva says. “Now, there’s always young people coming through, and it seems like there’s people starting to stick around now, whereas before it was like people would make work for a while and often move to some bigger place.”

Helms Alee touring with Young Widows, to record with Matt Bayles

Ex-members of Harkonen and These Arms Are Snakes compose the rock trio Helms Alee. Since its 2008 Hydra Head album Night Terror, front man Ben Verellen has reunited Harkonen while launching his own Verellen Amplifiers.

Helms Alee will take its seamless male-female vocal blends and thrashing rock melodies to the stage with the impressive likes of Boris, Red Sparowes, and Young Widows for a fall tour.

The band will wrap up the tour with a live performance that it’s calling Verellen Amplifiers Night in its hometown of Seattle. Helms Alee will then be back in the studio preparing a currently untitled and new album for Hydra Head, expected in 2011 and produced by Matt Bayles.