“Cower in total surrender / Give in and yield to his name / Abandon to wicked seduction / Agony, torment and strain…”
Roswell Recordings is proud — and honestly a little bit scared — to blur the lines between reality and darkest fantasy with the release of the self-titled debut EP from DREAM WIDOW, out today https://dreamwidow.lnk.to/Album.
The eponymous (using that word because it sounds like the name of a black metal singer) EP is actually the malevolent creation of Dave Grohl (handling vocals, guitar, bass and drums) and lead guitarist Jim Rota of Fireball Ministry renown. Assisted on a few tracks by keyboardists Rami Jaffee and Oliver Roman, Grohl and Rota make good on the sinister promise of the recently released “March of the Insane.” Full track listing below: Encino Cold March of the Insane The Sweet Abyss Angel With Severed Wings Come All Ye Unfaithful Becoming Lacrimus dei Ebrius The name and mythos of Dream Widow will be familiar to those who’ve laughed and screamed watching Foo Fighters’ horror-comedy feature film Studio 666 — now available on demand for home viewing in the US. In the film, Foo Fighters attempt to record their newest album in the same house where the legendary — and fictional — Dream Widow met its tragic and untimely end — with hilariously horrifying consequences. Dreams never die… or do they? Thanks to Grohl and friends, DREAM WIDOW lives. And don’t forget to check out Dave at his day job, as Foo Fighters continue to rock North America throughout the year — for further info, tickets, etc, go to https://www.foofighters.com/tour-dates/ and/or check out the following itinerary: 4/29/22 — Memphis, TN — Beale Street Music Festival5/01/22 — New Orleans, LA — New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 5/14/22 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake 5/16/22 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion (SOLD OUT) 5/18/22 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion (SOLD OUT) 5/20/22 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park (SOLD OUT)5/22/22 — Daytona Beach, FL — Welcome To Rockville5/24/22 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion (SOLD OUT) 5/27/22 – Boston, MA – Boston Calling 7/17/22 – New York, NY – Citi Field 7/19/22 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center 7/22/22 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre 7/24/22 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field 7/27/22 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater (SOLD OUT) 7/29/22 – Montreal, QC – Osheaga Festival 8/01/22 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center (SOLD OUT)8/03/22 — Minneapolis, MN — US Bank Stadium 8/06/22 – Denver, CO – Empower Field at Mile High 8/08/22 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheater 8/10/22 – Big Sky, MT – Big Sky Events Arena (SOLD OUT) 8/13/22 – Seattle, WA – T-Mobile Park 8/18/22 – Los Angeles, CA – Banc of California Stadium 8/20/22 – Los Angeles, CA — Banc of California Stadium (SOLD OUT) 9/18/22 – Sioux Falls, SD – Denny Sanford Premier Center 9/21/22 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Arena (SOLD OUT) 9/23/22 — Saskatoon, SK – SaskTel Centre 9/25/22 – Regina, SK – Brandt Centre (SOLD OUT) 9/27/22 — Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place 9/29/22 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome 10/1/22 – Penticton, BC – South Okanagan Events Centre (SOLD OUT) 10/3/22 – Victoria, BC – Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre (SOLD OUT) 10/5/22 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena 10/7/22 – Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater (SOLD OUT) 10/9/22 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock Festival
METALLICA AND THE CODA COLLECTION ANNOUNCE EXPANSIVE SLATE OF UPCOMING LIVE PERFORMANCE & DOCUMENTARY FILMS
REMIXED & RE-EDITED CUTS OF THE BAND’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY SHOWS TO ARRIVE EXCLUSIVELY ON THE CHANNEL THIS MONTH, FOLLOWED BY THE STREAMING DEBUTS OF A YEAR AND A HALF IN THE LIFE OF METALLICA, QUEBEC MAGNETIC, AND FRANÇAIS POUR UNE NUIT THIS SPRING
Metallica and The Coda Collection have unveiled an extensive upcoming slate of live performance & documentary films set to arrive exclusively on the platform this spring. The partnership will bring seven titles to streaming for the first time ever, establishing a career-spanning catalog of content that sheds a light on Metallica’s four-decade history together and allows fans to relive some of their most iconic performances to-date.
Kicking off today with the release of “Cunning Stunts” and “Orgullo, Pasión, y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México,” The Coda Collection will soon release the much-anticipated anniversary concerts, “Metallica 40th Anniversary LIVE,” two separate concert films delivered with all-new edits and fully remixed audio on March 31st and April 7th respectively. The special two-night event celebrating 40 years of Metallica at San Francisco’s Chase Center sees the group in peak performance, with two unique setlists featuring live firsts and deep cuts that chronologically explore the earliest era of the band through present day during night one and then in reverse order in night two. Watch a brand new trailer for “Metallica 40th Anniversary LIVE” now HERE.
The momentous hometown shows, originally presented globally by The Coda Collection and powered by streaming partners Amazon Music and Prime Video Channels last year, will then be followed by the streaming debuts of “A Year and a Half In The Life of Metallica,” the 1992 documentary chronicling the creation of the band’s GRAMMY-award winning self-titled fifth studio album, “Quebec Magnetic,” the concert film documenting back-to-back shows at Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City, Canada on their 2009 World Magnetic Tour, and “Français Pour Une Nuit,” the live performance film showcasing the band’s historic set at Arena of Nîmes in Nîmes, France in 2009.
To stream “Cunning Stunts” and “Orgullo, Pasión, y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México,” and discover additional information & context on all of Metallica’s upcoming titles, visit The Coda Collection now HERE. For a complete release schedule, please see below.
March 24th – “Cunning Stunts” and “Orgullo, Pasión, y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México” March 31st – Metallica 40th Anniversary LIVE (Night One) April 7th – Metallica 40th Anniversary LIVE (Night Two) April 21st – A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica May 19th – Quebec Magnetic June 9th – Français Pour Une Nuit
Launched in early 2021, The Coda Collection is a unique subscription streaming service that features an exclusive, curated selection of the most iconic music documentaries, concert films, and episodic series spanning generations and genres. Paired with a complementary website exploring new perspectives on music, The Coda Collection gives fans a destination to experience the untold stories behind the songs we love and share a deeper connection with our favorite artists.
The Coda Collection offers hundreds of hours of exclusive concert and documentary content from artists ranging from such legendary icons as Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, and Pearl Jam to contemporary premieres of new material by such diverse artists as Idles, The Cure, Evanescence, Coldplay, Jane’s Addiction, The Black Crowes, Marcus King, the critically acclaimed Dave Grohl-directed documentary ‘What Drives Us’, and Nigel Godrich’s seminal “From The Basement” performance series featuring such artists as the White Stripes, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead and others.
The Coda Collection is available to Amazon Prime members in the U.S. now for $4.99 per month, with a free 7-day trial, and will roll out globally throughout the rest of the year. To see the complete library of titles available to stream exclusively on The Coda Collection, click HERE. To explore The Coda Collection and to sign up for a free 7-day trial, visit www.codacollection.co.
Tickets now on sale for Wednesday 11 May global cinema event
“an emotional, powerful experience that I can’t wait to see again” Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
“Its cinematic prowess is not only a reflection of the director’s technical expertise and his insight into capturing their soulful, elegiac music, but also a testament to the depth of the relationship built between subject and framer.” Rafaela Sales Ross, The Playlist
“undeniably powerful in its lean, stripped back elegance” Wendy Ide, Screen Daily
“superlative” David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
“a pleasure from beginning to end” Ben Croll, Indiewire
The trailer for Andrew Dominik’s THIS MUCH I KNOW TO BE TRUE has been released today. Trafalgar Releasing will bring the film to cinemas worldwide on Wednesday 11 May, following its critically acclaimed world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.
Shot on location in London & Brighton, THIS MUCH I KNOW TO BE TRUE captures Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ exceptional creative relationship as they bring to life the songs from their last two studio albums, Ghosteen (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds) and Carnage (Nick Cave & Warren Ellis).
In this document of their first ever performances of these albums, filmed in spring 2021 ahead of their UK tour, we see the two, accompanied by singers and string quartet, as they nurture each song into existence. The film features a special appearance by close friend and long-term collaborator, Marianne Faithfull.
Interstitial pieces between the songs illuminate the cosmology and themes of the music. We hear about the process of Nick writing The Red Hand Files—the letters he chooses to answer and the replies themselves – giving us an insight into his current concerns in life and music, and into the method by which he is able to bring his own thoughts and feelings into order. We also visit the workshop where he is creating a series of sculptures depicting the life of the Devil—a portrait of the lives of all of us as we move from innocence to experience, attune to the world and its attendant loss, and eventually confront our own mortality.
THIS MUCH I KNOW TO BE TRUE reaches into the deep friendship and personal relationship between Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, something glimpsed in the 2014 Cave pseudo-documentary, 20,000 Days on Earth. The film will prove to be another significant moment in the journeys of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, capturing the mood and spirit of the pair as they move through a new, optimistic phase.
Shot in color by Andrew Dominik (Chopper, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Blonde) and with cinematography by Robbie Ryan (The Favourite, Marriage Story) THIS MUCH I KNOW TO BE TRUE is a companion piece to Dominik’s 2016 film One More Time with Feeling which premiered at the Venice Film festival followed by screenings in 850 cinemas across 30 countries, also distributed by Trafalgar Releasing.
A Bad Seed Ltd Film produced by Uncommon Creative Studio Directed by Andrew Dominik Starring Nick Cave & Warren Ellis Featuring Marianne Faithfull Executive Producers Charlie Gatsky Sinclair Brian Message Beth Clayton Producers Amy James Isaac Hoff Director Of Photography Robbie Ryan Editor Matthew C. Hart Lighting Design Chris Scott Andrew Dominik Music Written and Performed by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
Trafalgar Releasing is the global leader in event cinema distribution. A subsidiary of Trafalgar Entertainment, Trafalgar Releasing’s global operations include production, acquisition, marketing and distribution of specialised content to over 8,000 cinemas in more than 120 countries worldwide.
A full spectrum of releases includes world-class opera and ballet (The Metropolitan Opera, Bolshoi Ballet, Royal Opera House), award-winning theater (including The King and I: from the London Palladium, Kenneth Branagh Theater Company’s The Winter’s Tale, and 42nd Street), iconic moments (Monty Python’s Life of Brian 40th Anniversary, David Bowie is happening now, They Shall Not Grow Old), heritage music acts (Metallica & San Francisco Symphony: S&M2, Depeche Mode: SPIRITS in the Forest, Oasis Knebworth 1996) and contemporary music sensations (BLACKPINK THE MOVIE, Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams), including four global events with K-pop superstars BTS (Burn The Stage: The Movie, Bring The Soul: The Movie, Break The Silence: The Movie and the upcoming live concert broadcast Permission To Dance On Stage – Seoul: Live Viewing).
#1 ROCK, HARD ROCK, INDEPENDENT, VINYL, TASTEMAKER ALBUM CHARTS
#2 BILLBOARD 200
OUT NOW ON LOMA VISTA RECORDINGS
As reported in THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, “‘an occult, pop, satanic sort of rock ’n’ roll band’ — conquered metal and the charts” today as GHOST’s brand new fifth album IMPERA debuted at #1 in a sweep of the U.S. album charts, entering the overall Billboard 200 at a career high #2.
“The largest sales week of any album in 2022” per BILLBOARD, IMPERA sold nearly 70,000 in the week since its March 11, 2022 release via Loma Vista Recordings, also landing at #1 on the Current Rock Album, Current Hard Music Album, Vinyl Album and Digital Albums charts. Internationally, IMPERA bowed at #1 in the GRAMMY-winning theatrical rock outfit’s native Sweden as well as Germany and Finland, while cracking the top 5 in the UK (#2), Netherlands (#2), Belgium (#2), Canada (#3), Australia (#3), France (#5), Ireland (#5), and more.
The “euphoric spectacle” (ROLLING STONE) of the Ghost live experience was transported from America’s arena stages to its living rooms on March 16, when the band made its rapturously received first ever appearance on JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!—Check out that unforgettable performance HERE.
Produced by Klas Åhlund and mixed by Andy Wallace — and featuring the apocalyptically prophetic banger “Twenties,” the #7 YouTube trending “Call Me Little Sunshine,” and Active Rock #1 radio single “Hunter’s Moon” — IMPERA finds Ghost transported literally centuries forward from the Black Plague era of its previous album, 2018 Best Rock Album GRAMMY nominee Prequelle. The result is the most ambitious and lyrically incisive entry in the Ghost canon: Over the course of IMPERA’s 12-song cycle, empires rise and fall, would-be messiahs ply their hype (financial and spiritual alike), prophecies are foretold as the skies fill with celestial bodies divine and man-made… All in all, the most current and topical Ghost subject matter to date is set against a hypnotic and darkly colorful melodic backdrop making IMPERA a listen like no other — yet unmistakably, quintessentially Ghost.
NEW ALBUM OUT MAY 6“The Lightning I, II” Single & Video Out Now
WE, the eagerly anticipated sixth studio album by Arcade Fire, has been confirmed for a May 6, 2022 release via Columbia Records.
WE’s arrival is preceded by first single “The Lightning I, II,” available now across digital platforms – and as a video directed by Emily Kai Bock, which can be seen HERE.
Produced by Nigel Godrich, Win & Régine, and recorded in multiple locales including New Orleans, El Paso and Mount Desert Island, WE paradoxically distills “the longest we’ve ever spent writing, uninterrupted, probably ever” (per the band’s Win Butler) into a concise 40 minute epic – one as much about the forces that threaten to pull us away from the people we love, as it is inspired by the urgent need to overcome them. WE’s cathartic journey follows a definable arc from darkness into light over the course of seven songs divided into two distinct sides — Side “I” channeling the fear and loneliness of isolation, and Side “WE” expressing the joy and power of reconnection:
“I”
Age of Anxiety I Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole) End of the Empire I-IV
“WE”
The Lightning I, II Unconditional I (Lookout Kid) Unconditional II (Race and Religion) WE
On the album’s cover, a photograph of a human eye by the artist JR evokes Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. This stunning image — embellished by the distinctive airbrush color tinting of Terry Pastor (utilizing the same physical technique he employed on David Bowie’s iconic Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust covers) – is the visual expression of WE.
Arcade Fire is: Régine Chassagne, Win Butler, Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, Jeremy Gara, & Will Butler.
For further information, see the note from Win below or visit www.arcadefire.com
“Skrting On The Surface,” a new single and video is released today via XL Recordings.
The video was shot in 16mm black and white by BAFTA-winning writer / director Mark Jenkin in the depths of the disused Rosevale Tin Mine in Cornwall UK, and hand developed in water from the mine.
“Skrting On The Surface” is the third single from The Smile, the new group comprising Thom Yorke, his Radiohead bandmate Jonny Greenwood and Sons Of Kemet’s Tom Skinner.
Previously, The Smile released “The Smoke” and an accompanying remix by Dennis Bovell, as well as “You Will Never Work In Television Again”—the debut single that moved The New York Times to rave: “Over a bruising 5/4 beat and flailing guitars climbing through three chords, Yorke snarl-sings his avenging fury at ‘some gangster troll promising the moon’ who’d devour ‘all those beautiful young hopes and dreams,’ and you can almost feel the spittle flying.”
“We Signal To Another Dimension… That We Stand Here Ready For Reply…”
IMPERA, the fifth album from GRAMMY-winning Swedish theatrical rock outfit GHOST, is out TODAY, March 11 2022, via Loma Vista Recordings.
IMPERA’s arrival coincides with the conclusion of Ghost’s recent 26-date U.S. arena tour — a resounding triumph of the Ghost live experience that recently moved ROLLING STONE to rave “Their concerts are euphoric spectacles of fire, smoke, and confetti, with Forge changing costumes regularly — out of Papa’s pope get-up and into sequined sportcoats. Onstage he shimmies like an old-time vaudeville star. It can be mesmerizing.”
Ghost will soon take that “euphoric spectacle” from America’s arena stages to its living rooms: On March 16, the band will make its long awaited first appearance as musical guest on JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!. Check local listings for further information, or visit https://abc.com/shows/jimmy-kimmel-live
Produced by Klas Åhlund and mixed by Andy Wallace — and featuring the apocalyptically prophetic banger “Twenties,” the #7 YouTube trending “Call Me Little Sunshine,” and Active Rock #1 radio single “Hunter’s Moon” — IMPERA finds Ghost transported literally centuries forward from the Black Plague era of its previous album, 2018 Best Rock Album GRAMMY nominee Prequelle. The result is the most ambitious and lyrically incisive entry in the Ghost canon: Over the course of IMPERA’s 12-song cycle, empires rise and fall, would-be messiahs ply their hype (financial and spiritual alike), prophecies are foretold as the skies fill with celestial bodies divine and man-made… All in all, the most current and topical Ghost subject matter to date is set against a hypnotic and darkly colorful melodic backdrop making IMPERA a listen like no other — yet unmistakably, quintessentially Ghost.
Rammstein’s new album Zeit will be released on April 29, 2022. Exactly three years after their untitled multi-platinum album, one of the most globally successful German bands of all time is releasing a follow-up!
The first single to be released by Rammstein today, March 10, 2022, is the title track “Zeit”, a powerful ballad that builds to a towering epic.
The video will have its world premiere at the same time on the band’s official YouTube channel.
Rumors have been buzzing around, now it’s official: Rammstein’s new album Zeit will be released on April 29, 2022. The eighth album from the Berlin musicians follows the untitled number one album that shot the band straight to the top of 14 international charts in 2019, after the longest break between albums of their career to date.
Till Lindemann (vocals), Paul Landers (guitar), Richard Z. Kruspe (guitar), Flake (keyboards), Oliver Riedel (bass) and Christoph Schneider (drums) spent two years working on the eleven songs on the new album. They were once again assisted by Berlin producer Olsen Involtini. Zeit was recorded at La Fabrique Studios in St. Rémy de Provence, France.
Bryan Adams managed to get a special scoop for the cover of the new album – the Canadian musician and photographer took the shot of Rammstein on the steps of the Trudelturm in Berlin Adlershof, an imposing monument to aerial research in the city’s Aerodynamic Park.
Today the eponymous first single is released as a 10” gatefold black vinyl, on CD digipack and in digital format. The video will have its world premiere on the band’s official YouTube channel. The spectacular video was directed by actor and musician Robert Gwisdek, collaborating here with the band for the first time.
Till Lindemann’s commanding baritone resonates over solemn piano chords and an angelic chorus of sirens. The song deals with transience, our mortality and the precious, fleeting happiness of the perfect moment. “Time, please stand still, stand still,” Lindemann laments and implores. “Time, this should always go on so/Time, it’s so beautiful, so beautiful/Anyone knows the perfect moment.”
After an epic like this, you need a moment’s rest, and Rammstein give it to us. Fans can look forward to a total of three versions of “Zeit.”
For the B-sides, the band is releasing a meditative, atmospheric neoclassical arrangement by Grammy-nominated Icelandic multi-instrumentalist Ólafur Arnalds, as well as a remix by electro producer Robot Koch.
Over the course of a career spanning almost 30 years, Rammstein have sold more than 20 million albums around the world and played countless spectacular, groundbreaking tours. When the band’s sold-out stadium tour had to be postponed due to the pandemic, Rammstein used the time to work on their new album.
Rammstein fans can look forward to multiple Zeit formats on 29 April – the new album will be released as a standard CD in a digipack with a 20-page booklet, a special edition CD in a 6-panel digipack with a 56-page booklet including slipcase, and as a double 180g vinyl LP with a 20-page large-format booklet, as well as in the usual digital formats.
With the new album Zeit and a major European and North American tour in spring and summer 2022, one thing is already certain: It’s going to be a big Rammstein year!
GHOST proudly announces its new partnership with NASCAR Xfinity Series team JD Motorsports and driver Bayley Currey.
The GRAMMY-winning Swedish rock outfit will be the primary sponsor for Currey’s No. 4 Chevrolet — a/k/a the “Papa 4 car” — to be unveiled at the United Rentals 200 at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, March 12—exactly one day after the release of the band’s hotly anticipated new album, IMPERA (Loma Vista Recordings).
This unique partnership marks the band’s first foray into American motorsports.
“I’m a musician myself,” says JD Motorsports VP of Sales & Marketing Tony Priscaro, “So it’s rocked working with Ghost and Loma Vista Recordings on this car. We can’t wait to put the pedal to the metal.’”
The design of the No. 4 Chevrolet tells the story of how this unprecedented partnership came together. The paint scheme features the band’s logo, along with their partners Loma Vista Recordings, Global Merchandising Services, Revolver Magazine and Rick Sales Entertainment (RSE).
The partnership is managed by marketing and content creation agency A.E. Engine with promotional support provided by Out of the Groove, and its host Eric Estepp. The Out of the Groove logo will also be featured on the No. 4 Chevrolet.
“Me and Craig (Baroncelli) at A.E. Engine are both huge fans of Ghost,” says Eric Estepp. “Fans know I love the band and wear Ghost shirts on my show regularly. I’m constantly getting comments on my channel or people coming up to me at the races talking about how much they love the band, too. So we knew this would be really exciting for the fans.”
“At A.E. Engine, we’re focused on bringing new partners and audiences to the sport,” says Craig Baroncelli, CEO and Publisher. “Eric actually introduced me to Ghost. We were texting back and forth about the new Ghost song and video – ‘Call Me Little Sunshine’ – when it was released in January and we quickly realized the new album – IMPERA – will be released one day prior to the Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway. At that point it was a no-brainer – we had to pursue this opportunity. I am just thankful Ghost and Loma Vista Recordings were so inspired by the idea. They are the ones that brought this car to life”.
The 25-year-old driver Currey is in his first full-time year with JD Motorsports, but he’s no stranger to Phoenix Raceway, including having made a Cup Series start there in 2019, as well as in the Xfinity series in more recent years. Currey finished seventh in last March’s LS Track 250 Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway.
“I’m ready to rock,” says Currey. “I’m excited about this one, and I know the boys at the shop are excited about this one too, we have a lot of metal fans on our team. Once we heard a deal was imminent, we started working on the cars to Ghost songs. With Ghost on my car, I am ready to take on the world.”
The United Rentals 200 is live on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) on Saturday, March 12 at 4:30pm EST.
Ghost’s latest album IMPERA is released on March 11, 2022.
* * *
JD Motorsports
Team Owner Johnny Davis first began fielding the No. 4 car in what is now the Xfinity Series in 1983 with Joe Henry Thurman as the driver. From 1983-1985, Davis and Thurman competed in 41 races and put the JD Motorsports name on the map. Although JDM has seen a sharp rise in on-track performance in the past few years, success is nothing new to this team. Years of good drivers and excellent runs have paved the way for what JDM is today. www.teamjdmotorsports.com
A.E. Engine
Founded in 2005 by sports publishing and marketing executives, A.E. Engine has earned a reputation for creating quality, impact publications, digital media, websites and events. A.E. engine specializes in delivering premium content to the most core, passionate fans. www.ae-engine.com
Out of the Groove
Out of the Groove is the No. 1 NASCAR News and Talk Show on YouTube. With fresh episodes produced five times weekly, host Eric Estepp’s audience — the Groovy Gang — tunes in daily not only to stay up to speed with the sport, but also to be a part of the spirited and fun online conversation.www.groovymotorsports.com
With their new LP Everything Was Beautiful due out April 22 via Fat Possum, today Spiritualized share a video for the third single to be taken from their already critically-acclaimed forthcoming album. The propulsive rush of “The Mainline Song” was at least partly inspired by the protests in the US happening towards the end of the first Lockdown in 2020. The equally dynamic video, directed by J Spaceman, can be viewed HERE.
Early acclaim for Everything Was Beautiful:
“A record that manages to be both direct and concise yet also wildly experimental, tender, nihilistic and joyous… It’s everything that you could want in a Spiritualized album.” Uncut – 9/10
“Much of Everything Was Beautiful has a vital, thundering pulse… Some fantastic songs aboard, too, including ‘Always Together With You’s Daniel Johnston-style naked expression of fatherly/romantic commitment, and a country-soul ballad, ‘Crazy’, complete with pedal steel. So, yes, utterly beautiful, as advertised.” MOJO – 4 stars ****
“An album chock-full of the soaring musical extravaganzas that make a Spiritualized record such an event.” Shindig – 5 stars *****
“A record that fills the void with ecstatic noise… Between Mainlines propulsive euphoria and the crashing grandeur of The A Song (Laid In Your Arms), a declaration of belief in the restorative powers of consuming sound takes potent, peak-Spaceman form.” Record Collector – 4 stars ****
“An immaculate orb of grandiose space-rock. Pierce’s rare communications are generally breathtaking events, and Everything Was Beautiful is no different.” Classic Rock – 9/10
“A life-affirming masterpiece, as euphoric as music can be.” Classic Pop – 9/10
“Some of the most adventurous and mind-bending music that Spiritualized have ever released… This is one of the most potent expressions of Pierce’s vision to date.” PROG Spiritualized have previously shared videos for ‘Always Together With You’ and ‘Crazy’ from the album.
(Photo Credit: Sarah Piantadosi)
While some people imploded in the lockdowns and isolation of the epidemic, others were thriving. “I felt like I’d been in training for this my whole life” says J Spaceman. He was referring to his fondness for isolation and when you reframe loneliness as “beautiful solitude” then it isn’t so bad. He would walk through an empty “Roman London” where “even the sirens had stopped singing” and where the world was “full of birdsong and strangeness and no contrails.” He used the birdsong walks to listen and try and make sense of all the music playing in his head. The mixes of his new record, a ninth studio album, weren’t working out yet.
Spaceman plays 16 different instruments on Everything Was Beautiful which was put down at 11 different studios, as well as at his home. He also employed more than 30 musicians and singers including his daughter Poppy, long-time collaborator and friend John Coxon, string and brass sections, choirs and finger bells and chimes from the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. So there’s a lot going on.
“There was so much information on it that the slightest move would unbalance it, but going around in circles is important to me. Not like you’re spiraling out of control but you’re going around and around and on each revolution you hold onto the good each time. Sure, you get mistakes as well, but you hold on to some of those too and that’s how you kind of… achieve. Well, you get there.”
Eventually the mixes got there and Everything Was Beautiful was achieved. The result is some of the most “live” sounding recordings that Spiritualized have released since the Live At The Albert Hall record of 1998, around the time of Ladies & Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space.
The opening track “Always Together With You” is a reworking / supercharging of a track originally released in demo quality in 2014. This new version is a perfect Spiritualized song; a breathtaking, hard-edged, psychedelic pop tune where themes of high romance and space travel collide.
The artwork is designed once again with Mark Farrow. If you buy the vinyl you can pop a pill box out of the sleeve, revealing gold foil underneath, and assemble the Braille-embossed little thing and put it somewhere in the house. The box set has 8 of them. Literally a boxset. It looks more beautiful in the flesh. “Farrow and I were talking about what we should do and we just said, ‘It’s called Everything Is Beautiful, how could you not have a pill?’”
All these layers, all these details, the year-long mixes, the making sense of it all and the lives lived within these lyrics; for somebody so famously unconfident of his own abilities, isn’t this a punishing thing to keep doing? “Yeah, but I like what I do. There’s a line from Jonathan Meades that’s about having all the attributes to being an artist. ‘Paranoia, vanity, selfishness, egotism, sycophancy, resentment, moral nullity and more idiot than idiot savant.’ “And that’s what it feels like, this kind of thing. You’re your own worst enemy and biggest supporter. “There’s a ‘Of course this is worth it. It’s me’ and then this kind of deep doubt of ‘What the fuck is this all about?’ “And then ‘Why is it important?’ and then knowing there’s no easy answer. But it’s there. I know it’s there.”
Spiritualized North American Tour:
03/31/22 – Dallas, TX, – Granada Theater tickets 04/01/22 – Austin, TX – Scoot Inn tickets 04/03/22 – Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf tickets 04/04/22 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre tickets 04/05/22 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Commonwealth Room tickets 04/07/22 – Seattle, WA – Neptune tickets 04/08/22 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall tickets 04/09/22 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom tickets 04/11/22 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore tickets 04/12/22 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore tickets 04/14/22 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern tickets 04/17/22 – Tucson, AZ – Club Congress tickets 04/18/22 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom tickets 04/20/22 – Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theatre tickets 04/21/22 – Big Sur, CA – Henry Miller Memorial Library tickets 04/22/22 – Indio, CA – Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 09/08/22 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club tickets 09/09/22 – Chapel Hill, NC – Cat’s Cradle tickets 09/10/22 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse tickets 09/11/22 – Pelham, TN – The Caverns tickets 09/13/22 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom tickets 09/14/22 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line tickets 09/16/22 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall tickets 09/18/22 – Toronto, ON – The Danforth Music Hall tickets 09/19/22 – Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre tickets 09/20/22 – Boston, MA – Royale tickets 09/22/22 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer tickets 09/23/22 – Jersey City, NJ – White Eagle Music Hall tickets 09/24/22 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre tickets
