Lana Del Rey: Shades Of Cool

Lana Del Rey published a video yesterday to go with the gorgeous track "Shades of Cool" from her new album 'Ultraviolence.' The dreamy-creepy David Lynch like clip shot in Los Angeles features the mysterious Mark M. - plus Lana herself of course - and is said to be about the regrets of an older man thinking of earlier happier times and 'the one that got away.'

After touring all spring in North America, Europe, and the Middle East, Ms. Del Rey is now taking a well-deserved short break before wrapping up with four summer festival gigs: first up is a show in Norrkoping, Sweden on June 26.


https://www.facebook.com/lanadelrey/events?key=events&ref=5

Rival Sons: Open My Eyes + Jordan

My fellow Long Beach, California residents Rival Sons have a new bass player, new shorter hairdos and new spiffy outfits, but most importantly, they have a new album out this week; 'Great Western Valkyrie' is their fourth full-length since 2009.  Here's hoping the combined powerful forces of (from left to right) bassist Dave Beste, vocalist Jay Buchanan,  guitarist Scott Holiday, and drummer Michael Miley will put the band on the radar of not just hard rock fans, but a wider audience with a taste for great music, period.

Currently wrapping up a string of gigs in the UK  (Saturday @ the Isle of Wight Festival), Rival Sons kick off the North American leg of their busy summer tour schedule in Nashville June 19. Starting July 31, they play the first of four Scandinavian festivals and will also be performing at the Oppikoppi Festival in Limpopo, South Africa August 9. Finally, there are two late fall dates in France: Paris (November 11) and Lyon (December 6).

The video for the excellent teaser single "Open Your Eyes" was published in April.  The sublime live version of "Jordan" - from the 2012 'Head Down' album - was recorded in London in May of last year.


https://www.facebook.com/rivalsons/app_123966167614127

Tomas Barfod: Happy + Pulsing

In between producing and drumming with Copenhagen based trio WhoMadeWho which he co-founded a decade ago, Tomas Barfod stays busy with solo projects: Monday he drops his second album 'Love Me'; the debut full-length 'Salton Sea' was released in 2012.

Barfod has four summer shows lined up in continental Europe. September 13 he will be performing at Primary Nightclub in Chicago; November 7 at the five-day Iceland Airwaves festival in Reykjavik.

Swedish-Hungarian Jakob Merky shot the "Happy" clip; British Cherise Payne directed "Pulsing". The first song is graced by the vocals of acclaimed American singer-songwriter Eddie Chacon, now also an L.A. based pro photographer; the second features Barfod's frequent collaborator, Swedish singer Nina Kinert aka Nina K.

NOTE: The track "Happy" is taken from the EP 'Pulsing', released in February.



https://www.facebook.com/tomas.barfod/app_123966167614127

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/tomas-barfod/id27056260

http://www.7artistmgmt.com/portfolio/artist/eddie-chacon

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nina-Kinert-Official-Fan-Page/294780062776




http://www.baconcph.com/directors/directors/Jakob-Marky (director of "Happy")

http://vimeo.com/cherisecherise (director of "Pulsing")

Alice Boman: What

Swedish singer-songwriter Alice Boman decided to give her second EP the straightforward title 'EP II".  Released today and recorded in a cabin in Sweden, it follows last year's debut EP 'Skisser'; the title translates to 'sketches'.  NOTE: The 11-track EP II contains six new tracks as well as the five tracks found on 'Skisser'.

Touring for great parts of 2013, including opening for Anna Calvi, Boman continues to stay busy on the concert front this year: tonight, June 10 and June 12 she performs at various London venues. Next weekend there are two shows in Sweden (June 13 & 14) and in July/August she has three festival gigs scheduled.

The beautiful video accompanying the stunning track "Wait" looks to have been shot on the coast of Skåne, in the vicinity of Boman's home base of Malmo. It was produced by Studio Pop, a graphic design studio based in Malmo and Copenhagen, run by designers Kalle Magnusson & Henric Claesson.


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alice-Boman/522856994416142?sk=app_308540029359

https://soundcloud.com/aliceboman

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ep-ii-+-skisser/id843666307

http://www.studiopop.se/works/  (video directors)

Magic Mouth: Mother Lode + Live: Mississippi Studios

The word is slowly but surely getting out on powerhouse Portland, Oregon quartet Magic Mouth and it's not a minute too soon. Brendan Scott (bass), Peter Condra (guitar), Ana Briseno (drums) and human dynamo Chanticleer Tru [aka Stephon Bartee] (vocals) formed the band in 2011, quickly gaining a local/regional reputation as an outstanding live act, and getting a big break when asked to open for Gossip during the trio's fall 2012 tour.

A stellar debut five-track EP 'Believer' dropped in April 2012; it was followed up last September with the equally impressive four-track EP 'Devil May Care', released on Fast Weapons, the small Portland label started by Gossip guitarist Nathan Howdeshell aka Brace Paine. Additionally, a three-track live EP 'Live at Mississippi Studios' was released in May of last year.

Blessed with first rate musicianship + one of the most dynamic, gifted singers around + very strong, eclectic material, Magic Mouth has precisely what it takes for a band to make it big, and will hopefully gain many new fans this year; everyone will all no doubt be eagerly awaiting a debut full-length, perhaps after these fab four get signed to a major label.

"Mother Lode" was co-directed by Michael Palmieri and frequent film maker partner Donal Mosher; the live session was shot at Portland's Mississippi Studios by Michael Palmieri.

There are two gigs coming up in the immediate future:
- June 19 at the What the Festival at Wolf Run Ranch, The Dalles, Oregon
- June 28 at Seattle's Pride Festival


https://www.facebook.com/MagicMouthMusic/app_308540029359

http://www.songkick.com/artists/4516618-magic-mouth

http://magicmouth.bandcamp.com/


http://vimeo.com/user4556971  (Director Michael Palmieri)

Sharon Van Etten: Taking Chances + Every Time The Sun Comes Up

Brooklyn based New Jersey native Sharon Van Etten releases her fourth album 'Are We There' today. Currently doing a mini tour in continental Europe/the UK until June 5, the 33-year-old singer-songwriter kicks off her very busy summer concert schedule on June 11 in Boston and doesn't come up to breathe until August 16, the date of her final festival gig  in Wales.

Two videos have been published: "Taking Chances" in April and "Every Time The Sun Comes Up" this month. Both are excellent; however, in my opinion the superior of the two tracks is the outstanding "Taking Chances", a truly mesmerizing song with a delicious bass line plus just the right amount of reverb that gives Van Etten's vocals a haunting Neko Case style sound.



https://www.facebook.com/SharonVanEttenMusic/app_123966167614127


http://vimeo.com/user4556971  (director of "Taking Chances" clip)

http://vimeo.com/davidskessler  (director of "Every Time The Sun Comes Up" clip)

SZA: Babylon + Warm Winds (Featuring Isaiah Rashad)

After self-releasing two EPs in 2011 and 2012, 23-year-old singer-songwriter Solana Rowe aka SZA signed with Carson, CA label Top Dawg Entertainment in the summer of 2013 and recorded her debut full-length 'Z' the same year. The stellar album dropped last month and two videos are out: "Babylon" and "Warm Winds", the latter featuring label mate Isaiah Rashad.

NOTE: The video track for "Babylon" does not feature SZA's other famous TDE label mate Kendrick Lamar - for that you'll have to listen to the album or single version.

Last year's touring included doing several opening gigs for Little Dragon. So far this year SZA has three festival shows lined up.


http://www.songkick.com/artists/3352181-sza

https://www.facebook.com/justsza