Posts Tagged ‘band of skulls’

Our Essential Listening 2012 series concludes today with The Albums.

From the ‘cohesion through experimentation’ of Tame Impala’s ‘Lonerism, through the ‘muscular power ballads, stirring, keyboard-led harmonies and call-and-response choruses’ that inform The Killers’ return with ‘Battle Born’, to the ‘sheer magnetism and unwavering belief’ which made ‘Blunderbuss’ such a successful solo debut for Jack White, we feel this rundown highlights some of the year’s truly outstanding releases that everyone should make an effort to check out.

And don’t forget, there’s only room for one place each on our Essential Listening Series, so if your favourite artist of the year isn’t included in this particular rundown, make sure you check through our previous lists to see if they’ve made an appearance elsewhere. And after that, if they’re still nowhere to be seen, maybe you should leave a comment below to let us know about it.

Spiritualized and Band Of Skulls will perform at the Union Chapel in London next month as part of the Save The Children charity’s ‘Christmas Tree Sessions’.

Band Of Skulls have unveiled the video for their new single ‘You’re Not Pretty But You Got It Goin’ On‘, which can be viewed via YouTube below.

Band Of Skulls have followed up the announcement of two December UK shows earlier this month with a full tour itinerary which has been unveiled today.

Band Of Skulls will re-issue their ‘Devil Takes Care Of His Own‘ single later this month, and have also announced two December UK shows, with more set to follow.

Summer 2012. We’ve just had the wettest June on record, the festival season has been fractured by a series of cancellations, and album sales have fallen in their millions.

And yet, for every music fan, there’ still reasons to be cheerful.

The Stone Roses have just completed – with no major hiccups – the fastest selling weekend of live music in UK history, Blur have deemed us worthy to sample the fruits of their studio labours, some faith in humanity was restored when The Voice had its live tour pulled and, most importantly, for seven months now artists both new and established have been releasing a steady stream of truly impressive albums, proving once again that, if you’re prepared to look hard enough, quality is still out there in abundance.

So, take a look through just some of those releases we’ve pulled together for our latest Essential Listening rundown, and maybe you’ll spot something which will soon occupy a prominent place in your own record collection for the remainder of the year. And when you’ve been through the list, why not do the same for us by leaving a comment below highlighting your own favourites of 2012…so far.

In today’s Soundbites - our look back at the past week’s news, reviews, and tabloid gossip – Rod Stewart allows Mick Hucknall to infiltrate the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (to devastating results), deceased musicians create White Albums and go out on tour, John Lydon sides with the monarchy this time around, the latest Tellison track is reviewed and our pick of the week’s new videos is selected.

The decision to add a second weekend to this year’s Coachella Music Festival has turned Los Angeles into a virtual hotbed of artistic activity, as a good number of groups performing at the Goldenvoice juggernaut are killing time between desert sessions by setting up one-off shows in nightclubs throughout the city and its surrounding areas.

The end result is a weeklong mini-festival of its own kind, one more suited for those with shorter attention spans and longer fears of being trampled to death on a dirt-caked campground.

Southampton’s Band Of Skulls kicked off the week’s festivities Monday night with a headlining slot at the El Rey Theatre, displaying their usual mixed bag of blues rock bluster and pop-smart balladry. After playing their initial Coachella set just a day earlier, the trio still seemed alert enough to deliver an extended and more introspective version of what was unveiled Sunday evening.

Band of Skulls performs You’re Not Pretty, Live from Coachella, April 15, 2012.

Check out photos of our night with Band of Skulls at Music Hall of Williamsburg, NYC. Local Brooklyn indie rockers We Are Augustines are supporting the Southhampton trio on their current tour. Photos © Live4ever Media.