Sights and Sounds: Coachella Valley Weekly column, Nushu, Garbage

I'm a few days late on this, but I have started writing for a new publication. Just launched last week, Coachella Valley Weekly is a new weekly publication based in the Coachella Valley (a desert area of California perhaps best known by music fans as the place where the Coachella and Stagecoach music fests are held every April).

My weekly column titled Consider This will feature several under-the-radar album releases. My first column can be found here. If you are a fan of groundbreaking or new music - regardless of the style - check it out.


This weekend I got my hands (and ears) on Nushu's just-released five-song EP Joystick.

Available as a physical CD or as a download (WAV or MP3 files), Joystick finds Lisa Mychols and Hillary Burton offering up power pop-styled takes on some great classics originally released in the 1970s and '80s. A fleet-footed version of The Knack's "Good Girls Don't" leads things off in infectious fashion, and the track listing includes additional gems including "Happy Hour," "They Don't Know" and "My Best Friend's Girl" all enhanced by their fantastic harmony-styled vocals and rollicking musical arrangements. My own favorite track on the EP is the duo's tender version of "Precious to Me," a great song originally written by Phil Seymour. You can get Joystick here.


How exciting is it that Garbage is back? The band has announced the premiere of its "Blood for Poppies" music video and more breaking news. Here is a release from the quartet...



The group's new single "Blood For Poppies" will premiere tomorrow, April 3 on AOL Music. "Blood For Poppies" is the first single from the band's highly anticipated album Not Your Kind Of People, which is due out on May 15th on the band's own STUNVOLUME record label.

On Tuesday, April 3, 2012 at 1 p.m. PST, Garbage will participate in a live Ustream chat where the band will answer questions from fans about the video and forthcoming new album, followed by the world premiere of the video live from Los Angeles.

The "Blood For Poppies" music video was shot in Los Angeles and directed by renowned fashion photographer and filmmaker Matt Irwin and inspired by visual artists like Magritte, Maya Deren, Luis Brunel and Francesca Woodman. "We piled into a transit van with the ridiculously talented team of Matt Irwin and Aaron Brown and hopped around little pockets of Los Angeles creating a gorgeous surrealist dream. We ate ice cream sandwiches in the sunshine and laughed a lot. I didn't want the shoot to end," said the band's Shirley Manson.

Not Your Kind Of People will be released in both a standard and a deluxe configuration. Fans can preorder either version here: Standard Edition Preorder and Deluxe Edition Preorder (featuring four additional tracks). On April 21, 2012 for Record Store Day, Garbage will release "Blood For Poppies" on a limited edition, white vinyl 7-inch that will feature the track and an exclusive remix by drummer Butch Vig.


Garbage will hit the road this spring in support of the album by performing several headlining shows in the United States as well as various festivals throughout Europe with more dates to be announced over the coming weeks. In addition, the group will perform at the recently announced KROQ Weenie Roast on May 5th in Los Angeles. Full list of dates can be found below.


Garbage 2012 Tour Dates


APRIL

9th Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre - SOLD OUT

10th Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre - SOLD OUT

14th Las Vegas, NV Pearl at the Palms Hotel

16th Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre

17th Tempe, AZ The Marquee

20th Houston, TX House of Blues - SOLD OUT

21st Austin, TX La Zona Rosa - SOLD OUT

22nd Dallas, TX KDGE Edge Fest - FC Dallas Stadium

24th Aspen, CO Belly Up

25th Denver, CO Ogden Theater

27th Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue


MAY

5th Los Angeles, CA KROQ Weenie Roast

9th London, England Troxy - SOLD OUT

11th St. Petersburg, Russia Jubilenyi Hall

12th Moscow, Russia Crocus City Hall

16th Paris, France Olympia - SOLD OUT

22nd New York, NY Webster Hall - SOLD OUT

23rd Washington, DC 930 Club - SOLD OUT

25th Atlantic City, NJ House of Blues

26th Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club - SOLD OUT

28th Toronto, ONT Phoenix Concert Theatre - SOLD OUT


JUNE

1st Santa Barbara, CA KJEE Radio Show - Santa Barbara Bowl

16th Hultsfred, Sweden Hultsfred Festival

17th Aarhus, Denmark Northside Festival

19th Amsterdamn, Holland Melkweg Max

22nd Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany Southside Festival

23rd Scheessel, Germany Hurricane Festival, Red Stage

24th Paris, France Solidays Festival

27th Luxemburg Rockhal

28th Werchter, Belgium Rock Werchter, Pyramid Marquee

29th Arras, France Main Square Festival


JULY

1st London, UK Brixton Academy

2nd Wolverhampton, UK Civic Hall

3rd Manchester, UK Academy

4th Glasgow, UK Barrowlands

6th Bucharest, Romania B'Estfest

8th Herouville St Clair, France Festival Beauregard

11th Vigevano, Italy 10 Giorni Suoanti Festival

12th Rome, Italy Fiesta Capannelle Roma Rock

14th Bilbao, Spain BBK Live Festival

15th Aix-les-Bains, France Musilac Festival

19th Oporto, Portugal Mares Vivas Festival