Lions of the Interstate will release Strange Empires, the group’s first full-length, on Braxeling Records this Friday. The LP, available on vinyl and CD, was produced and engineered by Michael Deresh (Risley, Tea for Julie) at his Lamplight Studio in Portland.
Described by Kevin Rutmanis as ‘tasty, tasteful, and undeniably sexy,’ Gaswar’s self-titled debut album is set to ignite the music scene. Comprising the formidable talents of Apollo Liftoff and Jeff Mooridian, both members of the notorious Minneapolis band, Hammerhead, Gaswar kicks off an exciting inception in their musical venture.
“Lyrically, there’s significance to the title. It is sort of a crazy quilt nostalgia letter to his radio show on one level, but on a deeper level it is a love letter to a specific time period, that late ‘90s window – before 9/11, before the Patriot Act, before so many of us in America seemingly lost the ability to interact with and conceive of each other as humans instead of members of one of two particular thought tribes.” – Justin Keane
‘Sympathy For Your God’ is my take on the dangers of letting outside stimuli define who we see ourselves as. Our inner voices are not who we are, it is just a self protection mechanism meant to keep us safe in an increasingly confusing world and I have a lot of sympathy for those who can’t see past their own opinions. – Jasno Swarez
Hoboken-based rock/Americana singer-songwriter-guitarist James Mastro (The Bongos, Health & Happiness Show) has just shared a brilliant video for “Right Words, Wrong Song”, the rocking lead track on his forthcoming debut solo album, Dawn of a New Error (due Feb. 21,2024) via MPress Records. The song and video feature guest vocals/appearances by the inimitable Ian Hunter.
Bad Veins Return with a Bang: Exclusive Premiere of Imposter on The Big Takeover
“One Glove” listens like a reverse strip-tease: totally bare with just a single vocal track and syncopated drum beat. Slowly, layers are added on, culminating in a three-part round.
Today, We Owe (Chris Pravdica) shares a final single off his forthcoming LP, a sprawling post-rock odyssey entitled “Slight Inconvenience” that comes alongside a music video directed by Jim Larson.
“This song was inspired by people I care about having a difficult time during lockdown. Their self-worth was so tightly bound to social interactivity that without constant contact with others, they began to doubt themselves and question their own self-worth. They would fall into a really dark place and grab on to anything, anyone, or any circumstance that promised escape, regardless whether or not it was a good idea.” – Valerie Forgione of Lovina Falls
The International Treasures has a new album titled: Together, We Are The International Treasures which is out now and Big Takeover is excited to present the new music video for their hit single “Nice to Know Ya”.
Rebel Kicks Unveil “The Girl In Barcelona,” A Vivid Musical Journey in New Single and Video. An exclusive first look at the New York duo’s enchanting single, capturing the thrill of serendipitous adventure and ethereal connections. “The Girl In Barcelona” is a sonic embodiment of freedom and joy, wrapped in the allure of the mysterious.
Pioneering Boston rockers Nervous Eaters — contemporaries of bands like The Ramones, The Police, Iggy Pop, and The Pretenders— have released a new single “Talkk” which comes on the heels of the band’s critically-lauded 2022 return full-length, Monsters + Angels, on Stevie Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records.
Over hazy instrumentals lie a dark storyline, waiting to mystify listeners; Spunsugar’s unique fusion of electronic, post-punk, and pop components provide a modern touch to their shoegaze/new wave concoction.
“Shady Little Lady is my own compulsion personified. I imagine she crawled through my ear one day, when I was just twelve years old. I believe neurodivergence to be sorely underrepresented in pop music, so, I tried to craft the song I wish I’d had when I was a kid, and first met Shady.”
Spaghetti Eastern Music Pivots to Singer-Songwriter Mode with New Single, “Sweet Home Anywhere”.
Good news! Big Takeover Issue #93 Fall 2023 with Slowdive on the cover has nearly been completed and will be out shortly! But hurry to order—pre-orders and subscriptions are best/crucial! And they are much cheaper than ordering after we have to turn in our mailing list to the printer.
And it’s just in time for the perfect Christmas, Chanukah, other holidays, birthday, or other gift, even to yourself: Big Takeover Magazine subscriptions and back issues (like the big enchilada, complete set 1980-2023)! Plus Children’s sizes for our T-Shirts (to go with several Men’s and Women’s sizes) in three colors, as well as our Big Takeover Beer Cozies and (signed if you like) Color 30th Anniversary Festival Posters, or our CDs!
Big Takeover is excited to host the premiere of “Mr. Moon” by the Cucumbers.
The The Blips struck lightning when Little Steven’s Underground Garage declared “Inside Out” The Coolest Song In The World in the spring of 2021. Now they are back with a new song and upcoming album, and Big Takeover is pleased to host the premiere of “Good Lookin’ Liars”!
“I’ve worked with video director Brian Powers for years on a range of arts projects. He hosts the podcast American Esoterica and he’s also a talented animator and editor. We decided to take a little smashed car (from the painting “Smashed Afternoon” by Lori Larusso) on an adventure, using all kinds of images and backgrounds, as a way to try and highlight the song’s lyrics.” – Scott Whiddon
New mini-documentary goes behind the scenes for the making of the new album from Oklahoma City indie rockers The Lunar Laugh.
“Many people have told us that they hear something reminiscent of the ‘80s and ‘90s in our music, but that it’s done in a fresh, new way,” says drummer Tony Porter. “I’m psyched to play a part in offering a set of songs that appeal to different generations of rock fans.”
Palm Ghosts deliver the sound of an ’80s prom in a war zone. As far from the honky-tonks and pedal taverns of their adopted city as one can get, this is a trio who are clearly more at home in rainy Manchester or blustery Berlin, as they produce their amalgam of cinematic dream pop and new wave with brooding post punk.
“RE-ANIMATOR is about seeing the past with clearer eyes and maybe finding a new use for it, to reassemble it in some way. The four of us all have histories with mental health, grief, addiction and heartache; this song is about discovering something new in the rubble of the past and trying to repurpose that pain, to use it to explore our connection with the world and who we are within it” – nolo.
“A beautiful meditation on the fragile fleeting quality of time enhanced by Allen’s melancholic delivery of the title as a mantra”
Big Takeover is proud to share “Crashin”, the new video from Vancouver, BC Mod-influenced rock & roll band Star Collector!
“Gone Too Far” is a video for one of the featured songs on Partly Cloudy, the full-length debut from Los Angeles-based Dream-pop auteur Catbells. The album was produced by Billy Mohler (Pom Poms, Coastal Clouds, Airborne Toxic Event, Bel Rays, AWOLNation, Sia, Drowning Men, War Tapes), recorded at his studio in Long Beach CA.
“It’s a story as old as time; life and death, heaven and hell. Where they meet and where they part. In this mini epic, we watch Charles traverse the netherworld and play scrabble with Death. He exits the lush divinity of family life and plays God with the John Gotti of the afterlife.”
The darkly beautiful new full-length from Portland, Oregon’s Twin Bridges unites clever songwriting and unique cello techniques to create a true folk masterpiece.
Melvins drummer Dale Crover and ex- Coliseum bassist Tony Ash join prolific frontman Conan Neutron to bash out noisy, infectious power-pop that rocks like old Cheap Trick put through an Amphetamine Reptile filter. The band’s new album “Adult Prom” is a split with cello-core duo Lung, out now on Learning Curve Records (Hammerhead, Vaz, Bummer).
Tetsuians channel their inner demons in the video for their new single “Poison Particles”.
Endless Forms’ unconventional take on love songs in new album The House of Love.
“‘Unnatural’ is about a few things, but mainly about how so many aspects of being alive — even including death — are so weird. Just being human is weird! This song is about reckoning with mortality… a poppy reckoning with mortality.” — Claire Tucker of Loose Wing.
Big Takeover is stoked to host the premiere of the soulful “Nothing Compares to You”, an epic love song that lands somewhere between the sincerity of Alabama Shakes and the raw emotional intensity of Otis Redding.
“Twenty-Third” is the first video from Ours & Others, the second full length album from The Small Square. The duo of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Paul Chastain and drummer, percussionist, and vocalist John Louis Richardson recorded Ours & Others at Richardson’s Drum Farm Studio, returning to the same studio space in a modified 18th century granary located on 80 acres in which they created their first offering.
“’Dirty Like an Angel’ is one of the spookier, darker-themed songs on the new album and is perfect for an October premiere. In reference to some of the vintage A-bomb footage in the video, that aspect was conceived back in March 2023, before I was aware of the then-upcoming Oppenheimer release.” – Chris D. Divine Horsemen
London-based artist and producer SANDS drops his debut album The World’s So Cruel.
The new Hot Garbage track “Snooze You Lose” packs an explosive punch, flying through two minutes of maniacal laughter, savvy punk riffage and a heavy dose of Graham Walsh’s signature off-the-wall production.
Ten Million Lights, a four-piece from Portland, Oregon that play noisy, dreamy shoegaze, have just released the new LP Into Nothing
In a world that can seem increasingly hopeless, Be’s remarkable new album Here is a ray of light and a pure shot of love.
Canadian punk icon Art Bergmann releases his latest album ShadowWalk on Sept. 29. In part a tribute to his late wife, the songs also share hard-earned wisdom and hope.
Rose Gerber is an intrepid American roots explorer, incorporating country, folk, rock, alt-rock, and alt-country into a seamless signature aesthetic. As a writer she’s both sensitive and sassy, equally gifted penning Heartland rock n’ roll and heartbreaking balladry. Big Takeover is pleased to host the premiere of “Back To Living”.
Big Takeover is excited to host the premiere of “Hawk’s Nest” by Abilene.
Big Takeover is excited to host the premiere of “Modern Living” by Four Star Riot.
“All the richest people kept getting richer and capitalizing on the plague that was going on. I personally believe there should be no billionaires, and that money makes us all do awful things. I wanted to speak about standing up to it and being strong, badass, and hot enough to do what I want. And that we collectively are powerful enough to change our future.” Big Takeover is pleased to host the premiere of Couch Slime IV by Flesh Produce.
Big Takeover is excited to host the premiere of “Mexico” by Blue Vervain.
“We’re proud of this album,” declare Paper Tigers. “With each release, we pushed ourselves both in terms of songwriting and production and this was the culmination of everything we learned about both.”
Big Takeover is excited to host the premiere of The Winds by Arms & Armour.
Portland duo Phosphene’s new record Transmute is a decisively excellent collection of fuzzy, dreamy indie pop songs.
“Zephyr is the most similar to my previous releases, dreamy and folky. It’s about when life takes a pause for you, and you realize that not only you need the rest, but it’s perhaps time to stop and reflect on all the changes, good and bad, that maybe you hadn’t noticed.” – Big Takeover is excited to host the premiere of “Zephyr” by JJ Slater.
Big Takeover is stoked to host the premiere of Lines by Soft Science. Ross Levine and Katie Haley took some time to offer a few lyrical, musical, or interesting insights about each of the songs.
