Posted in Press Releases

UK fans have had to wait four years to see Counting Crows on stage again, but they’ll hardly be complaining in 2013: to coincide with the much awaited tour, the San Francisco rockers are about to release their newest collection of live songs Echoes of the Outlaw Roadshow on 8th April through Cooking Vinyl which will compliment other official live recordings the band has released.

Counting Crows followers are in for a real treat with this collection of audio footage which was recorded on several dates of their North American tour in 2012. The band’s performances have been renown since the early 90s for their energy and uniqueness: no two shows are the same, with Adam Duritz constantly rewriting songs and mixing them up live for an evening always full of surprises.

”After having one of ...

Posted in Press Releases

Christopher Cross returns with his first live release “A Night In Paris” on 2CD+DVD to be released on April 8th, 2013 via earMUSIC

After the release of the studio album “Doctor Faith“, Christopher Cross started one of his biggest tours in Europe in the last 15 years. “A Night In Paris” is the first live 2CD/DVD by Christopher Cross, which was filmed at the notorious Theatre Le Trianon in Paris, France in April 2012. It will be released on April 8th, 2013 via earMUSIC.
While the previous tours showed a more acoustic (at times even jazzy) approach, Cross decided that for the ‘Doctor Faith’ tour he would go back to his musical roots and expanded his band to include a more classical “rock line-up“: Andy Suzuki (keyboards, sax), Dave Beyer (drums), Chazz Frichtel (bass, vocals), Ki...

Posted in Press Releases

Power-Pop 5 piece The Popdogs have announced a free stream of their track Honest Guy. Taken from the forthcoming debut album, Cool Cats For Pop Dogs (May 13th) the track showcases their signature sound; all chugging guitars and bittersweet vocal melodies.

Vocalist James String comments;

“Honest Guy was the first song written for what was to become our debut album. The song came together very quickly, almost writing itself, Tim (McKeating – lead guitar) nailing the guitar solo first take. A rolling hook, simple but effective lyrics and a big chorus, it became the blue-print for the rest of the album and for The Popdogs’ sound. It’s classic Power Pop with a nod to bands like, The Undertones and Buzzcocks.”

The Popdogs play The Cavern Club, Liverpool on Friday 17th May as part...

Posted in Press Releases

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein and singer-songwriter Tift Merritt join forces for the first time on NIGHT, a unique collaboration uniting folk, rock and classical worlds, exploring common terrain and uncovering new musical landscapes. Available on March 18th 2013, NIGHT was recorded at the Academy of Arts and Letters in New York by Grammy-winning producers Adam Abeshouse and Ryan Freeland. Dinnerstein and Merritt will launch the new recording by performing NIGHT live in cities including Munich, New York, Durham, Tampa, and Saratoga in Spring 2013.

Though Simone Dinnerstein (a Juilliard-trained classical pianist from Brooklyn) and Tift Merritt (a singer-songwriter from North Carolina whose father taught her to play by ear) could not come from more different musical backgrounds, when the two me...

Posted in Press Releases

After debuting with Tic Toc Tic in 2009, The Zolas scaled the precipice of cult status across their native Canada, thanks to a loyal fanbase carried over from Zach Gray (vocals, guitar) and Tom Dobrzanski’s (piano) earlier years as acclaimed indie rock quartet, Lotus Child. On their sophomore release, Ancient Mars, The Zolas are set to continue their legacy of postmodern pop, trading in the cabaret glitz of Tic Toc Tic for reverbed pianos and tough, minimalist percussion.

In Strange Girl a sunny guitar riff blasts into the perfect mid-‘90s summer jam, while title track “Ancient Mars” is bouncy and nostalgic, heaping spoonfuls of Montreal and Brooklyn avant-pop. Forthcoming single Knot In My Heart, is textured yet minimalist, allowing ghostly synths to trade blows with buzzing guitars...

Posted in Press Releases

When Syd Arthur emerged in 2012 with their debut, self-recorded, self produced, self released album On An On, it didn’t take long for them to rocket to critical acclaim. Hailed as natural successors to Canterbury’s famous folk-prog sound, they not only connected with fans of Caravan, Soft Machine and Gong, but with fans of contemporary artists like Tame Impala, Devendra Banhart and Wolf People. Rave reviews across Q, Mojo, Uncut and The Guardian followed. With the release of the single Dorothy in late 2012, the band had their first taste of UK radio support, scoring plays across Radio 2, 6 Music, XFM, Amazing Radio, NME Radio, Q Radio and more...

Posted in Press Releases

After forming Wampire, Rocky Tinder and Eric Phipps steadily began to make a name for themselves in the same Portland, OR, scene that has produced labelmates STRFKR as well as Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

It makes sense, then, that Wampire came to Polyvinyl’s attention when the duo opened for STRFKR at a hometown Portland show and that UMO’s bassist Jacob Portrait produced Wampire’s debut full-length, Curiosity.

The choice of Portrait was a natural one, with both Tinder and Phipps believing he’d be able to contribute almost as much to the record as they would.

And so, in mid-August Tinder and Phipps each brought fragments of song ideas into the studio, before deconstructing, re-arranging, and fitting them back together piece by piece — at times lyrics and melodies were thrown out, b...

Posted in Press Releases

Since releasing their debut full-length Con Law in 2009, Generationals have consistently delivered pop hooks shone through a melancholic prism. 2013’s Heza brings the band to Polyvinyl and along with the label change, comes a subtle but significant sonic shift.

Recorded in phases at Jim Eno’s Public Hifi in Austin, producer Daniel Black’s Bent Black studio in D.C., and the band’s hometown of New Orleans, Heza finds Generationals more satisfied in writing songs that breathe and grow over time. These songs show restraint, with hooks developing in the spaces between sounds. The attention to rhythms and textures reveals a more patient band — one willing to dig for deeper gems than in their previous work...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Sukh is a Manchester based singer songwriter. He plays guitar and piano as well as singing, and has long had an interest in music. In his day job he’s a Doctor, and yet has managed to find time to write and record his album – Kings.

The music is nice and simple – generally it’s just vocals and guitar that stand out, with drums and bass being more restrained, but at the same time Sukh isn’t afraid to add more instruments to give a richer sound where it is needed, so we get Cello, Viola, French Horn and Piano as well as female vocals to enhance the sound, and this does lift the album up above many of the releases from solo singer songwriters. The songs are also quite upbeat, avoiding the common tendancy on albums of this type to have more of a gloomy feel.

It’s a really enjoyable album t...

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Moussu T e lei Jovents, made up of the founder and singer of Massilia Sound System, Tatou (alias Moussu T, Mister T), and his guitarist, Blu, are now a major presence on the French music scene: an uncontested figurehead of Occitan music, the group is now making a name for itself beyond the frontiers of their homeland.
Over the thirty years of their encounter-rich career (Massilia was founded in 1984), they have connected with many people, notably those in the Nordeste region of Brazil and singers like Lénine, Silverio Pessoa and Jamilson Da Silva. From this, the group has drawn their inspiration and fundamental principles. The influence of Marseilles music from the thirties and the popularity of its light operas have also made a major contribution to building the group’s repertoire...