Mute

Soulsavers

Interview: English production duo Soulsavers captures an intimate, evolving Dave Gahan

Soulsavers: The Light the Dead SeeSoulsavers: The Light the Dead See (Mute, 5/22/12)

“Take Me Back Home”

Soulsavers: “Take Me Back Home”

For more than two decades, Depeche Mode front-man Dave Gahan was content being the impassioned voice behind the songs of bandmate Martin Gore, whose edgy, genre-stretching synth pop dominated the ’80s club scene and landed unapologetically on ’90s alternative-rock radio. But since 2003, the singer’s distinctive baritone also has served a more personal purpose, fueling the release of his first two solo albums and, in May, his first collaboration with English production duo Soulsavers.

For Gahan, the evolution may have been inevitable.

Soulsavers

Video: Soulsavers’ “Take Me Back Home”

Soulsavers: Take Me Back HomeSoulsavers: The Light the Dead See (Mute, 5/22/12)

In May, Depeche Mode front-man Dave Gahan delivered powerful vocals on Soulsavers’ The Light the Dead See, a collaboration that bred soulful melodies with feel-it-in-your-bones lyrics. On its latest production, the British duo — comprised of Rich Machin and Ian Glover — painted a moving portrait achieved with a variety instruments, from strings to organs and choir-like backing vocals. Even Gahan’s harmonica can be heard on several occasions.

Liars

Review: Liars’ WIXIW

Liars: WIXIW (Mute, 6/5/12)

“No. 1 Against the Rush”

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Once you pair an image to a sound, it’s difficult to scrub away. Like having an actor’s face thrust onto a character from a beloved book, a music video can forever alter a song, and so anyone who saw the Todd Cole-directed video for Liars’ “No. 1 Against the Rush” will always associate its sparse beats and drugged-up synths with the midnight vistas of a derelict city, sprawlscapes illuminated only by the headlights of an unmarked van.

Liars

Video: Liars’ “No. 1 Against the Rush”

Liars: WIXIWLiars: WIXIW (Mute, 6/5/12)

Experimental rock trio Liars is releasing its fifth studio effort, WIXIW, this June, following its acclaimed album Sisterworld from 2010.

To give you a glimpse of what’s to come, the band has recruited director/photographer Todd Cole, who provides an eerie visual interpretation of “No. 1 Against the Rush.” Watch as the video chronicles each band member’s abduction by a mysterious man whose dry-cleaning day job isn’t quite what it seems once darkness falls over Los Angeles.

M83

Pop Addict: M83’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

Every Thursday, Pop Addict presents infectious tunes from contemporary musicians across indie rock, pop, folk, electronica, and more.

M83: Hurry Up, We're DreamingM83: Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Mute, 10/18/11)

M83: “Midnight City”

[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/02-Midnight-City.mp3|titles=M83: “Midnight City”]

We live in an increasingly digital age. In this new era, certain elements associated with music have taken a hit: packaging, album artwork, tracks strategically placed on side A or B of a record, the creative complexities that go into double albums — basically, anything that made putting out a record as much of an artistic statement as a musical one. M83, however, is bent on keeping that aesthetic alive.

Of course, in order to do this, Anthony Gonzalez, the front-man for the French electro-pop outfit, had to create an album that actually mattered. He had to make an album that would transcend genre and time period, one that would eclipse the mass amounts of other records released this year. He had to put something out that was over the top, epic, anthemic — and so M83 did just that.

100 Unheralded Albums from 2010

Among the thousands of under-appreciated or under-publicized albums that were released in 2010, hundreds became our favorites and were presented in ALARM and on AlarmPress.com. Of those, we pared down to 100 outstanding releases, leaving no genre unexplored in our list of this year’s overlooked gems.

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.

Grinderman posts teaser trailer

Grinderman, the raunchy alter-ego of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, will release its second album, Grinderman 2, on September 13/14 via Mute (England) and Anti- (USA).  To get fans excited (or confused), the band has posted a weird 20-second trailer.