Tag: Republic Records

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Seattle-based grunge legends Pearl Jam — Eddie Vedder (vocals), Jeff Ament (bass), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar) and Matt Cameron drums) — will be releasing their twelfth studio album, the Andrew Watt-produced Dark Matter through Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records on April 19, 2024. Dark Matter is the band’s first batch of material since 2020’s critically acclaimed Gigaton.

Last year, the grunge legends retreated to Malibu‘s Shangri-La Studios, where they simply plugged their instruments in and played with producer Andrew Watt at the helm. Writing and recording in a frenzied and passionate burst of inspiration, with the musicians facing one another in the same space, communicating sonically and musically at the highest level, with the album being completed in three weeks.

The album channels the shared spirit of a group of lifelong collaborators and creative brothers in one room, playing as if their lives depended on it. For the band, all of the blood, sweet, tears and energy of a storied and legendary career felt renewed and poured into the album’s material.

“I’m getting chills, because I have good memories. We’re still looking for ways to communicate,” Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder says. “We’re at this time in our lives when you could do it or you could not do it, but we still care about putting something out there that is meaningful and we hopefully think is our best work. No hyperbole, I think this is our best work.”

“What Ed said about getting us in a room at this point, we felt like we were about to make a really important record. A lot of that had to do with the atmosphere Andrew set up,” the band’s Jeff Ament says. “He has encyclopedic knowledge of our history, not only as a band and how we wrote songs, but as players. He could pinpoint things we did on old songs to the point where I was like, ‘What the fuck is he talking about?’ His excitement was contagious. He’s a force. I just want to say thanks for keeping us on track. I couldn’t be prouder of us as a band. I feel so grateful for the fans, but mostly for my brothers and these people I’ve made music with.”

Dark Matter‘s first single, the swaggering album title track “Dark Matter” is built around a bombastic and forceful power chord riff, thunderous boom bap-inspired drumming, enormous arena rock friendly hooks and choruses paired with Vedder’s imitable, impassioned delivery. “Dark Matter” seems to pay tribute to the band’s legacy with the song at points bringing back memories of their legendary first three albums — 1991’s Ten, 1993’s Vs. and 1994’s Vitalogy — but with a modern take that reveals a band constantly and willing to push their sound in bold new directions while continuing to be impassioned and unflaggingly earnest in everything they do. Simply put, they may be older — hell all of us are getting older — but this song rips as much as their beloved, classic period.

Dark Matter features cover art by light painting artist Alexandr Gnezdilov. Light painting is an artistic form of photography, where images are created by adjusting a camera’s exposure for an extended period and using a light source, such as a flashlight to “paint” in the dark. The album cover art was crafted using a large, self-made kaleidoscope. Each letter visible on the cover was individually captured and handwritten midair with a specially designed flashlight to create the pearlescent effect.

The band will celebrate indie record stores with the release of a special edition of Dark Matter on Record Store Day, April 20, 2024. You can find that special edition only at participating stores. To get more information and find participating store, check out Record Store Day’s website: https://www.recordstoreday.com.

Last but definitely not least, Pearl Jam will be supporting Dark Matter with an extensive world tour — the first time, the band has announced a new album and tour, with full tour dates simultaneously.

The world tour will see the band playing 25 cities in nine countries and will see them playing much of North America, including a two night run at Madison Square Garden, September 3, 2024 and September 4, 2024, as well as stops at Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and their first hometown shows in six years at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. The North American tour will feature support from Deep Sea Diver (leg 1) and Glen Hansard (leg 2).

The UK and European run includes their first show at London‘s brand new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. For that run of the tour, The Murder Capital will be support for much of the UK and EU dates; however, the great Richard Ashcroft will be support for Dublin and London.

The tour also sees the band’s first New Zealand and Australian dates in over a decade. Pixies will serve as support for those dates.


Tickets will be available two ways:

1. A Ten Club members-only presale will be held through Ticketmaster Request for eligible members. Only paid Ten Club members active as of Monday, February 12 are eligible to participate in this presale. More info at pearljam.com

2. Fans can register for a chance to participate in the Dark Matter World Tour 2024 registration sale at shops.ticketmasterpartners.com/pearl-jam by Sunday, February 18 at 11:59 PM local time for Europe, UK, Australia and New Zealand shows and by Sunday, February 18 at 11:59 pm PT for North America shows. This will be the only way for fans to participate in the onsale. Registration does not guarantee access to the sale.

The tour will use all-in pricing across all North America, Europe and UK shows to ensure the ticket price listed is the full out-of-pocket price inclusive of fees.

For fans in North America who can’t use their tickets, Pearl Jam and Ticketmaster will offer a Fan-to-Fan Face Value Ticket Exchange beginning at a later date to give fans the best chance to buy tickets at face value. To help protect the Exchange, Pearl Jam has also chosen to make tickets for this tour mobile only and restricted from transfer. This applies to all shows except those in Illinois and New York where non-transferability is prohibited by law. You must have a valid bank account or debit card within the country of the event(s) in order to sell through the Fan-to-Fan Face Value Ticket Exchange.

All tour dates are below.

Dark Matter World Tour Dates:
Date                City                                         Venue
May 04            Vancouver, BC                       Rogers Arena
May 06            Vancouver, BC                       Rogers Arena
May 10            Portland, OR                           Moda Center
May 13            Sacramento, CA                     Golden 1 Center
May 16            Las Vegas, NV                        MGM Grand Garden Arena
May 18            Las Vegas, NV                        MGM Grand Garden Arena
May 21            Los Angeles, CA                     Kia Forum
May 22            Los Angeles, CA                     Kia Forum
May 25**         Napa Valley, CA                     BottleRock Festival
May 28            Seattle, WA                             Climate Pledge Arena
May 30            Seattle, WA                             Climate Pledge Arena
Jun 22             Dublin, IE                                Marlay Park
Jun 25             Manchester, UK                      Manchester Co-Op Live
Jun 29             London, UK                             Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Jul 02              Berlin, DE                               Waldbühne
Jul 03              Berlin, DE                               Waldbühne
Jul 06              Barcelona, ES                         Palau Sant Jordi
Jul 08              Barcelona, ES                         Palau Sant Jordi
Jul 11**           Madrid, SE                              Mad Cool Festival
Jul 13**           Lisbon, PT                              NOS Alive Festival
Aug 22            Missoula, MT                          Washington-Grizzly Stadium
Aug 26*           Indianapolis, IN                       Ruoff Music Center
Aug 29            Chicago, IL                             Wrigley Field
Aug 31            Chicago, IL                             Wrigley Field
Sep 03            New York, NY                         Madison Square Garden
Sep 04            New York, NY                         Madison Square Garden
Sep 07            Philadelphia, PA                     Wells Fargo Center
Sep 09            Philadelphia, PA                     Wells Fargo Center
Sep 12            Baltimore, MD                         CFG Bank Arena
Sep 15            Boston, MA                             Fenway Park
Sep 17            Boston, MA                             Fenway Park
Nov 08            Auckland, NZ                          Go Media Stadium Mt Smart
Nov 13            Gold Coast, AU                       Heritage Bank Stadium
Nov 16            Melbourne, AU                        Marvel Stadium
Nov 21            Sydney, AU                             Giants Stadium

* Rescheduled date from 2022
** Festival dates are already on sale

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

I’ve written quite a bit about the Seattle, WA-based heavy metal quartet Thunderpussy over the past handful of years, and as you may recall the act quickly exploded into the national scene as a result of a string of critically applauded live shows and co-signs from Rolling Stone and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready. Building upon a rapidly growing profile, the band released their Mike McCready-produced self-titled debut through Stardog Records/Republic Records, and the album which featured the Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath meets Joan Jett-like anthem “Speed Queen” and the bluesy “Velvet Noose,” further cemented the band’s reputation for crafting self-assured, arena friendly rock.

The strutting, AC/DC-like “Never Know” is the first bit of new material from the band since the release of their self-titled debut, and while centered around enormous hooks, a booze-fueled 12 bar blues and Molly Sides’ sultry vocals — and while continuing a run of arena friendly rock, the song which features a new drummer, also manages to possess a different energy and air; that of an ambitious band that wants to take over the entire world.

“‘Never Know’ was a labor of lust!” The band says in press notes. “We dove deep, got stuck and let it go. Turns out it came back to us with a new energy and a new drummer! This was our first experience recording in LA with a group of producers that blew us away. We feel like the sound is something we’d been searching for a while and ended up being there all along. You truly never know what will happen when you let something go. If it’s mean tot be, it always finds a way back!”

The band is currently touring this summer with Black Pistol Fire, Hollis Brown and Ramonda Hammer and the tour includes a stop at Brooklyn Bowl tonight. Check out the tour dates below.

 

Tour Dates 
8/9: Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl #
8/10: Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy #
8/11: Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery #
8/13: Nashville, TN @ High Watt #
8/15: Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-Fi Indy #
8/16: Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s Rock Club #
8/17: Saint Paul, MN @ Turf Club #
8/19: Bozeman, MT @ The Eagles Ballroom #
8/20: Boise, ID @ Humpin’ Hannah’s #
9/30: Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction *
10/1: San Diego, CA @ House of Blues – Voodoo Room *
10/3: Las Vegas, NV @ The Bunkhouse Saloon *
10/4: Los Angeles, CA @ House of Machines *
10/5: San Francisco, CA @ The Midway San Francisco

# w/ Hollis Brown
*w/ Ramonda Hammer

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Initially begun as the solo recording of the Michigan-born, Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter and multimedia artist Ben Schneider, Lord Huron expanded into a full-fledged band with the addition of Mark Barry (percussion), Miguel Briseño (bass) and Tom Renaud (guitar) — and with the appearance of “The Night We Met“off  2015’s Strange Trails EP on the hit Netflix show, 13 Reasons Why, Schneider and company quickly saw a growing profile that included a period of extensive touring, with appearances at some of the biggest national and internationally renowned festivals. Adding to a growing profile, “The Night We Met” was recently certified platinum earlier this month.

The Los Angeles, CA-based indie rock band’s third full-length album Vide Noir is slated fro an April 20, 2018 release through Whispering Pines/Republic Records, and the album is the anticipated follow-up to their critically applauded and commercially successful Strange Trails EP.  Written and recorded over a two year period at the band’s Los Angeles-based studio and clubhouse Whispering Pines, the album’s material is largely inspired by Scheider’s restless nighttime wandering across LA. “My nighttime drives ranged all over the city—across the twinkling grid of the valley, into the creeping shadows of the foothills, through downtown’s neon canyons and way out to the darksome ocean. I started imagining Vide Noir as an epic odyssey through the city, across dimensions, and out into the cosmos. A journey along the spectrum of human experience. A search for meaning amidst the cold indifference of The Universe,” Schneider explains in press notes. Building upon Schneider’s work as a multimedia artist, the album will be accompanied by imagery, videos and immersive experiences crafted to expand upon the album’s narratives and themes as a way of deepening and enriching the listening experience.
The band has released two singles, “Ancient Names (Part 1)” and “Ancient Names (Part 2)” as a preview of what listeners, fans and critics should expect from the album. The expansive and mind-bending “Ancient Names (Part 1)” finds the band drawing from retro-futuristic psych pop, jangling and anthemic indie rock and atmospheric, synth-based dream pop while the song details the narrator’s story of coming across a fortune teller, who tells him how certain aspects of his life are predetermined; that destiny can’t be avoided. But instead of succumbing with a sense of defeat, the narrator feels a desperate urge to question what he’s heard and then to flee, even if he doesn’t know where or how. “Ancient Names (Part 2)” continues its immediate predecessor’s theme but possesses a frenetic, almost anxious vibe as it draws from New Wave, post-punk and even bhangra to close out the song. And of course, while revealing a band that can draw from incredibly diverse array of influences, often simultaneously, the album’s first two singles also finds the band asking the “big questions” but in accessible and rousingly populist fashion.

 

The members of Lord Huron will be embarking on a US headlining tour that begins on April 20, 2018 in Grand Rapids, MI and will have the band playing at some of the largest venues they’ve played to date including a hometown set at the Greek Theatre and a May 3, 2018 at the Beacon Theatre. Check out the tour dates below.

 

TOUR DATES
March 24—Tempe, AZ—Innings Festival
April 20— Grand Rapids, MI—20 Monroe Live
April 21—Chicago, IL— Riviera Theatre
April 22—St. Paul, MN—The Palace Theatre
April 23— Milwaukee, WI—Riverside Theatre
April 25—Kansas City, MO—The Truman
April 26—Indianapolis, IN—The Vogue
April 27— Royal Oak, MI—Royal Oak Music Theater
April 28-29—Cincinnati, OH—Homecoming Festival
April 30—Boston, MA— House of Blues
May 1—Philadelphia, PA—Electric Factory
May 3—New York, NY—Beacon Theatre
May 4—Washington, DC—The Anthem
May 4-6—Atlanta, GA—Shaky Knees Festival
June 1—San Diego, CA—House of Blues
June 2—Los Angeles, CA—Greek Theatre
June 3—Oakland, CA—Fox Theater
June 5—Portland, OR—Crystal Ballroom
June 7—Seattle, WA—Moore Theatre
June 15-June 17—Dover, DE—Firefly Festival