Album Reviews: 'Everyday Robots' by Damon Albarn & 'All I Ever Wanted' from Kirsty McColl

Get Everyday Robots Here




Get All I Ever Wanted - The Anthology Here

Sights and Sounds: Bob Mould, Arcade Fire, Dave Grohl, JOHNNYSWIM, 'Best albums of early 2014' and more

Bob Mould's new music video "I Don't Know You Anymore" is up at Funny or Die.

Check out Arcade Fire's recent performance on Jools Holland courtesy of Spin here.

Preview Dave Grohl's new HBO series "Sonic Highways", which coincides with a new Foo Fighters album. AltPress has all the news.

The video for “Home,” the lead single off Diamonds, the debut LP from husband and wife team JOHNNYSWIM,premiered on VH1’s “Top 20 Countdown” as well as CMT and CMT “Pure Country.” Watch the video here: http://youtu.be/APoRFLtD8z4. The music, which debuted at #1 on iTunes Singer-Songwriter Chart, #10 overall, and top 30 on the Billboard 200 Chart, continues to receive widespread critical acclaim. 

Courtney Barnett's "The Double EP - A Sea of Split Peas"

Spin names the best albums of the year so far. I like many of the titles, including the Courtney Barnett collection and Damon Albarn's Everyday Robots.

Inbox Update: Damon Albarn, Paul Weller, Lana Del Rey, Phish

Happy Wednesday everybody. With temps set to get into the triple digits here in Southern California it's a great day to catch up on what's happening.

Damon Albarn's latest album Everyday Robots features the single "Mr. Tembo," that was inspired when the Blur singer was in Tanzania and met an orphaned baby elephant. The newly-released and fantastic music video features the real Mr. Tembo and can be viewed below: 

Paul Weller will be returning to North America for a brief tour in September 2014. Weller will perform at both Riot Fest in Toronto and Chicago along with other stops in Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis and Cincinnati. Tickets for all shows go on sale later this week.

Weller will be the focus of a new greatest hits package titled More Modern Classics set for release in the U.S. on Harvest Records on June 3. That collection will feature tracks from each of Weller's albums of the last 15 years covering his celebrated solo career. For more information, visit his Web site: www.paulweller.com/

Lana Del Rey has just announced the June 17, 2014 release of her forthcoming new album Ultraviolence on Interscope/Polydor U (you can view the album cover on the left). It will be available in standard and deluxe editions on download, CD and vinyl. A Collectors Box edition is also due for release.

Del Rey is in the midst of a sold out North American tour, with dates in LA, Chicago, and more still to come. The San Jose Mercury News said her live show "dazzled," the Fort Worth Star Telegram called it "remarkable," and the Boston Herald noted "one could feel the energy level soar" when she played new single "West Coast". She will also perform at summer festivals around the world, including Rock En Seine, Vida, Bravella, Bergenfest, and Glastonbury. 

For more information, visit her Web site at http://www.lanadelrey.com

'ULTRAVIOLENCE' TRACKLIST:
1. CRUEL WORLD
2. ULTRAVIOLENCE
3. SHADES OF COOL
4. BROOKLYN BABY
5. WEST COAST
6. SAD GIRL
7. PRETTY WHEN YOU CRY
8. MONEY POWER GLORY
9. FUCKED MY WAY UP TO THE TOP
10. OLD MONEY
11. THE OTHER WOMAN

BONUS TRACKS:
12. BLACK BEAUTY
13. GUNS AND ROSES
14. FLORIDA KILOS

Finally, Phish will release Fuego, the band's new studio album, on June 24. The title, to be issued via Jemp Records, is being produced by Bob Ezrin and features 10 new songs from the Vermont-spawned troupe. See the album cover and official media release below:

FUEGO, PHISH'S NEW STUDIO ALBUM, SET FOR RELEASE ON JUNE 24 BY JEMP RECORDS

Phish Performs On "Late Show With David Letterman" On June 24 NPR Music's "All Songs Considered" Premieres "Waiting All Night"HERE  Fuego Pre-Order Launches Today At Phish.com Summer Tour Kicks Off On July 1 At XFINITY Center In Mansfield, MA

Fuego, Phish's first studio album in nearly five years, will be released by JEMP Records on June 24 - and the band will celebrate with a performance that evening on "Late Show with David Letterman." Phish recorded the album with legendary producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel) last fall, as the band's 30th anniversary approached. Today NPR Music's "All Songs Considered" premieres "Waiting All Night," one of the album's 10 original tracks, athttp://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2014/05/14/312209498/hear-a-song-from-fuego-the-first-new-phish-album-in-five-years. Fuego is available for pre-order now in digital, CD and vinyl formats at http://phish.com. The iTunes album pre-order will launch tomorrow, May 15. Fans who pre-orderFuego at phish.com or on the iTunes Store will instantly receive a download of "Waiting All Night." The songs for Fuego took shape during a series of visits to Phish's longtime creative hub, The Barn, a rustic, reconstructed barn-turned-rehearsal/recording studio located outside Burlington, Vermont. There they explored dozens of ideas, which led to a notable shift in the band's songwriting approach. While Fuego includes tracks that individual members brought to the table in usual Phish fashion, the bulk of the material was written by all four, working together at The Barn. Before heading into the recording studio with producer Bob Ezrin,Phish took the new music to its fans on October 31, 2013. Breaking with the band's Halloween tradition of donning a "musical costume" and covering another artist's album in its entirety, Phish instead played their brand new album (as it then stood). In a live review of the show, which was the first of three sold-out nights at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, Rolling Stonepraised the set of brand new songs, observing that it was "packed with all the punches you would expect from Phish - cow funk, prog rock, arena rock, roots rock - and elements that span the history of [rock] & roll at large..." "For years, there's been a distinct difference between how we did things live and how we did them in studio," notes Jon Fishman. "But the way we go about things live, the way the musical ball is passed around, is now happening much more in the studio-not because we're trying to duplicate how we play on stage, just because this is how we operate as a band, period." Fuego was recorded at Ronnie's Place and Anarchy Studios in Nashville, TN, Fame Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL and at The Barn in Vermont. A variety of background vocalists and horn players contributed to the album. The title track was recorded at Boardwalk Hall on October 30, as Phish prepared for the Halloween show. Phish - named by Rolling Stone as one of the "50 Greatest Live Acts Right Now" - will kick off its 2014 summer tour on July 1 at XFINITY Center in Mansfield, MA and celebrate the Fourth of July with a three-night stand atSaratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY (July 3-5). There will be numerous waterside dates - including the band's first shows on New York City's Randall's Island (July 11-13) and at The Amphitheater at the Wharf in Orange Beach, AL (August 1) - and a return to Chicago's Northerly Island (July 18-20). For the fourth consecutive year, Phish will wrap up its summer outing with a trio of Labor Day weekend shows at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO (8/29 - 8/31). Ticket prices for each specific date on the tour will include a free MP3 download of the evening's entire show (a fully mixed soundboard recording) that can be redeemed atwww.LivePhish.com shortly after the band steps off stage. See below for a complete itinerary and visit http://phish.com for additional details. Fuego - Track Listing Fuego The Line Devotion To A Dream Halfway To The Moon Winterqueen Sing Monica 555 Waiting All Night Wombat Wingsuit Phish - Upcoming Tour Dates Date    City/State                  Venue                                                             7/1       Mansfield, MA             XFINITY Center                                            7/3       Saratoga Springs, NY    Saratoga Performing Arts Center                     7/4       Saratoga Springs, NY    Saratoga Performing Arts Center 7/5       Saratoga Springs, NY    Saratoga Performing Arts Center 7/8       Philadelphia, PA          The Mann 7/9       Philadelphia, PA          The Mann 7/11     New York, NY             Randall's Island 7/12     New York, NY             Randall's Island 7/13     New York, NY             Randall's Island 7/15     Canandaigua, NY          CMAC 7/16     Clarkston, MI              DTE Energy Music Theatre 7/18     Chicago, IL                  FirstMerit Bank Pavilion on Northerly Island 7/19     Chicago, IL                  FirstMerit Bank Pavilion on Northerly Island 7/20     Chicago, IL                  FirstMerit Bank Pavilion on Northerly Island 7/25     Charlotte, NC              PNC Music Pavilion 7/26     Columbia, MD              Merriweather Post Pavilion 7/27     Columbia, MD              Merriweather Post Pavilion 7/29     Portsmouth, VA           nTelos Wireless Pavilion 7/30     Portsmouth, VA           nTelos Wireless Pavilion 8/1       Orange Beach, AL        The Amphitheater at the Wharf 8/2       Birmingham, AL          Oak Mountain Amphitheatre 8/3       Alpharetta, GA                        Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park 8/29     Commerce City, CO     Dick's Sporting Goods Park 8/30     Commerce City, CO     Dick's Sporting Goods Park 8/31     Commerce City, CO     Dick's Sporting Goods Park

Damon Albarn's first solo record titled 'Everyday Robots' in April

Exciting news for fans of Blur and Gorillaz; singer-songwriter Damon Albarn is set to release his first-ever solo album on April 29!

DAMON ALBARN   

NEW ALBUM: EVERYDAY ROBOTS   Title Track Video World Broadcast Premiere Tonight on Sundance Channel 

A new studio album by Damon Albarn - his first solo record - titled Everyday Robots will be released by Warner Bros. Records on April 29, 2014.

Recorded last year at Albarn's West London studio 13, Everyday Robots is produced by Richard Russell of XL, with whom Damon produced Bobby Womack's The Bravest Man In The Universe - and features guest appearances from Brian Eno and Natasha Khan (Bat For Lashes).

Led by title track "Everyday Robots", the 12 songs here invite the listener into Albarn's world for a genuine 'one-to-one' and are the most soul-searching and autobiographical since his musical journey began: a career that started with Blur and spans Gorillaz, The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Mali Music, Monkey: Journey To The West, Dr Dee and Africa Express.

The songs' subject matter is more directly personal than before and is inspired by Albarn's experiences from early childhood to now, including the trappings of our modern existence, computer games, mobile phones and nature versus technology.

The lead, title track "Everyday Robots" is accompanied by a video directed by artist and designer Aitor Throup that receives its world broadcast premiere tonight on the Sundance Channel (10:45PM ET on dual feed cable; 7:45PM PT on DIRECTV and DISH). The film is a digital portrait of Albarn by Throup and uses CGI software and actual cranial scans and facial reconstruction techniques to explore and reveal the process of building a uniquely personal portrait of an artist and individual.

Throup also creatively directed the visual concepts for the single and album artwork, as well as shooting Albarn for the album cover image.

Damon Albarn is confirmed to appear at The Governors Ball Music Festival taking place June 6-8 on Randall's Island in New York City with a band including guitarist Seye, drummer Pauli The PSM, bassist Jeff Wootton and Mike Smith on keyboards.

Everyday Robots will be available as a digital download, CD and 12" vinyl.

The full tracklisting is:

1) Everyday Robots 

2) Hostiles 

3) Lonely Press Play 

4) Mr Tembo 

5) Parakeet 

6) The Selfish Giant 

7) You And Me 

8) Hollow Ponds 

9) Seven High 

10) Photographs (You Are Taking Now) 

11) The History Of A Cheating Heart 

12) Heavy Seas Of Love

Link to "Everyday Robots" video here: http://smarturl.it/everydayrobotsvideo