popwreckoning updates

Phenomenal Handclap Band Announce North American Tour Dates
Remix Monday: DatA “Rapture”
Arctic Monkeys – Humbug

Phenomenal Handclap Band Announce North American Tour Dates

Posted: 08 Sep 2009 10:55 AM PDT

Brooklyn-based psychedelic dance funksters the Phenomenal Handclap Band have announced East Coast and Canadian tour dates for this fall. This tour follows a string of club dates in September across the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

If you haven’t seen them yet, do yourself a favor and catch them on the road now, because if their buzz around their debut album is any indication, their star is just about to rocket to the stratosphere.

For some of these tour dates, the band will be touring with Bajofondo, a South American electrotango group, and as previously reported by PopWreckoning, with Simian Mobile Disco. The Phenomenal Handclap Band also will play two gigs in New York: one with Brazilian Girls and Man Man at Governor’s Island on October 2, and another at Irving Plaza with Montreal electrofunk duo Chromeo on October 16.

Tour dates
Sept 30 – National / Montreal*
Oct 01 – Paradise / Boston*
Oct 02 – The Beach at Governor’s Island / New York City^
Oct 04 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC*
Oct 16 – Irving Plaza / New York City%
Nov 01 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC#
Nov 04 – Metro / Chicago#
Nov 06 – Mod Club / Toronto#
Nov 07 – SAT / Montreal#

* with Bajofondo
^ with Brazilian Girls and Man Man
% with Chromeo
# with Simian Mobile Disco

Photo: Mary Chang

September 2, 2009 — Simian Mobile Disco Announce Fall North American Tour (0)
September 8, 2009 — Arctic Monkeys – Humbug (0)
September 4, 2009 — MP3 Minute: Elizabeth & the Catapult “Taller Children” (0)
September 1, 2009 — MP3 Minute: Andrew Belle “First Day of My Life” (Bright Eyes) (0)
August 31, 2009 — Phosphorescent live at KEXP, Fall 2009 Tour (0)
August 31, 2009 — Paolo Nutini behind the scenes, Fall 2009 tour (0)
August 31, 2009 — The Hold Steady with Iran @ 9:30 Club, Washington DC (3)
August 27, 2009 — MP3 Minute: Sara Lov & Alex Church (Sea Wolf) “Animals” (0)
August 27, 2009 — Anni Rossi Plans Fall American Tour (0)
August 26, 2009 — Friendly Fires perform “Kiss of Life” on Jimmy Kimmel Live (0)

Remix Monday: DatA “Rapture”

Posted: 08 Sep 2009 10:04 AM PDT

DatA is an electronic artist from Paris, France, on the Ekleroshock label. He's put out his first album, Skywriter, to positive reviews accompanied with great artwork and music videos, done in the 70s/80s sci-fi neon style. "Rapture" is a track that got him known before the album and features vocals from Sebastien Grainger of the now defunct dance punk band, Death From Above 1979.

.DatA – “Rapture”
“Rapture” is a sleek electro track with light synthesizers, airy lifts and a great jazzy rock guitar that solos and flies through portions of the track. Grainger croons with a spit in his mouth about a lying, cheating, no good woman. The song features solid hits on percussion for some body moving.

.Edwin Van Cleef Remix
Mr. Van Cleef starts with ominous tones here; deep presses on a piano, slow drum hits, but then moves his mix on the sunny side of life. The track's slowed down, the vocals preciously kept the same. The mix changes DatA's song to something for the younger generation, a melody you might have heard at a concert in the mall. Besides the breaks on the tempo and the starry tunes for some glitter, Cleef's remix isn't a far cry from the original.

.Marc Ustari Remix
The track starts off in a pure rock aesthetic. Just hits on a drum eventually followed by some scratching distortion, then Grainger's vocals "I've been walking in the rain again," before blowing into a heavy, grinding techno track. Ustari's mix is made to hit hard and it does incredibly well by the ebbs and waves the song takes, trying on different styles. This is a dance track made for those dance floors with a lot of green lights churning on and off, driving everyone a little wild.

.Bestrack Remix
A track I love because it has a bunch of disco thrown in. Think early days of Daft Punk. Actually it sounds like Bestrack could've sampled "Around Da World." A calm, mid tempo version of the track, filled with heavy pours of thick disco and funk, the music slightly hides Grainger's pissed off vocals.

.Julien Milan Remix
Diverse from the others as it works itself away from the original, save for the vocals. It's fast, with buzzing tones and dials going in all sorts of directions, cut up vocals, an abundance of drum machines and pull backs on the turntable.

DatA: myspace

Photo: C. Yoann Lemoine

June 1, 2009 — Remix Monday: Phoenix “Lisztomania” (0)
April 20, 2009 — Remix Monday: Friendly Fires “Skeleton Boy” (5)
December 29, 2008 — Remix Monday: Feist (3)
October 16, 2008 — Sebastien Grainger – Sebastien Grainger & the Mountains (0)
September 1, 2009 — Remix Monday: Digitalism – “Taken Away” (2)
August 26, 2009 — Remix Mon…Wednesday: Calvin Harris “Ready for the Weekend” (0)
August 22, 2009 — Weekend Remix: O’Spada “Time” (0)
August 17, 2009 — Remix Monday: La Roux “Bulletproof” (0)
August 11, 2009 — Remix Monday: Gorillaz “Dare” (0)
July 20, 2009 — Remix Monday: Santigold “Lights Out” (0)

Arctic Monkeys – Humbug

Posted: 08 Sep 2009 08:17 AM PDT

Suffice to say, few releases had me more excited than Arctic Monkeys‘ Humbug. I recall my first encounter with the band fondly, way back on an early morning in 2006 when I came across seeing a music video on MTV (shocking, I know) for “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” which offered a glimpse into the promise this band showcases on their most recent release, Humbug. Humbug

They take a huge leap of faith in an entirely different direction with Josh Homme (Them Crooked Vultures, Queens of the Stone Age) on board as producer to fully explore their influences in 60s and 70s garage rock. Not being afraid to slow things down gives Alex Turner time to spin a haunting web of vocals while the rest of the band create and showcase their instrumental chops by providing an equally haunting wall of sound full of fuzzy riffs and organs to a chilling result on “Pretty Visitors.” Other standout tracks include the wonderfully aggressive “Crying Lightning,” the acoustic/channeling-Morrissey “Cornerstone” and “Dance Little Liar” calls to mind the “Is this It?” era of The Strokes.

This album will undoubtedly remain in constant rotation for weeks to come until I have the pleasure of seeing them (finally) at Austin City Limits.

Humbug is in stores now through Domino Records.

Tracklisting:
01. My Propeller
02. Crying Lightning
03. Dangerous Animals
04. Secret Door
05. Potion Approaching
06. Fire and the Thud
07. Cornerstone
08. Dance Little Liar
09. Pretty Visitors
10. The Jeweler’s Hands

Tour Dates:
Sep 14 – Soma / San Diego
Sep 15 – Hollywood Palladium / Los Angeles
Sep 16 – Fox Theater / Oakland
Sep 18 – Wonder Ballroom / Portland
Sep 19 – Showbox at The Market / Seattle
Sep 20 – Malkin Bowl / Vancouver
Sep 22 - In The Venue / Salt Lake City
Sep 23 – Ogden Theatre / Denver
Sep 25 – First Avenue / Minneapolis
Sep 26 – The Rave / Milwaukee
Sep 28 – Newport Music Hall / Columbus
Sep 29 – Kool Haus / Toronto
Sep 30 – Electric Factory / Philadelphia
Oct 02 – House of Blues / New Orleans
Oct 03 – House of Blues / Houston
Oct 04 – Austin City Limits / Austin
Oct 05 - The Palladium Ballroom / Dallas