Two Door Cinema Club Share Technicolor Video for "Wonderful Life"

Check out the exciting new video for Two Door Cinema Club's advance single "Wonderful Life." You can read my review of the band's last album, 2019's 'False Alarm,' HERE . Also, the band blew me away at Coachella in 2017; read my review of their set HERE.. Robert Kinsler

TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB 

SHARE OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE 

“WONDERFUL LIFE”

 

RECENTLY ANNOUNCED NEW ALBUM KEEP ON SMILING 

OUT SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

Today Two Door Cinema Club have released the official music video for their new single “Wonderful Life,” directed by collage artist and animator, Alice Isaacs. “Wonderful Life” was released last week alongside the news of the band’s forthcoming new album Keep On Smiling due to be released on September 2nd via Glassnote Records.

 

WATCH THE ‘WONDERFUL LIFE’ MUSIC VIDEO

 

Fluttering with glittery and infectious guitar hooks that nods back to the band’s early outputs, the “Wonderful Life” music video echoes that familiar animated energy. Flourishing with pop culture influences that mimics the likes of Andy Warhol and Alan Fears who created the album artwork, the video is a transfixing slice of fun that is effortlessly Two Door Cinema Club.

 

Afforded the time and space to fully immerse themselves in the writing and recording process, the band adopted a freer, more collaborative approach to the creative process with Keep On Smiling. The new album was written and produced by the band both during and coming out of lockdown, with additional production from Jacknife Lee (Bloc Party, The Killers, Taylor Swift) and  Dan Grech Marguerat (Halsey, Lana Del Rey, George Ezra). The LP’s artwork was created by acclaimed British artist, Alan Fears, known for his vibrant, 80s-inspired style and pop culture references, his signature colourful, theatrical, often humorous and elementally positive paintings lend themselves perfectly to visually encapsulate the themes of Keep On Smiling. 

 

PRE-ORDER/SAVE NEW ALBUM KEEP ON SMILING

DOWNLOAD/STREAM ‘WONDERFUL LIFE’

 

To usher in this new era, another frantic summer of live awaits one Two Door Cinema Club as they command huge mainstage billings across the likes of Down The Rabbit Hole, Mad Cool, Nos Alive and Benicassim, before headlining London’s Community Festival 16th July. Last week, the band announced EU and North American tours For a full list of live dates please see below.

 

Photo Credit: Katy Cummings

 

Keep On Smiling - Tracklisting

1. Messenger AD

2. Blue Light

3. Everybody's Cool

4. Lucky

5. Little Piggy

6. Millionaire

7. High

8. Wonderful Life

9. Feeling Strange

10. Won't Do Nothing

11. Messenger HD

12. Disappearer

 

Festivals:

10-12 June - Tempelhof Sounds, Berlin

14-18 June - Bergenfest, Norway

July 01 - Down The Rabbit Hole, Netherlands

July 09 - Nos Alive, Portugal

July 10 - Mad Cool, Spain

July 14 - 17 - Benicassim, Spain

July 16 - Community (HEADLINE), London

 

EU tour dates

September 28 - Paris 

September 30 - Brussels

October 01 - Amsterdam

October 04 - Hamburg 

October 05 - Berlin 

October 07 - Munich 

October 08 - Cologne 

 

North American tour dates

On sale June 24 @ 10AM (local times)

October 28 - Richmond 

October 29 - Philadelphia 

October 30 - Pittsburgh 

November 01 - New York 

November 02 - Boston 

November 03 - Washington DC

November 05 - Toronto 

November 06 - Detroit 

November 07 - Chicago 

November 08 - Minneapolis

November 10 - Kansas City 

November 11 - Denver 

November 12 - Salt Lake City 

November 14 - Oakland 

November 15 - Hollywood 

November 17 - San Diego 

 

 

 

 

Follow Two Door Cinema Club on social media:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok 

'The News' episode: Paul McCartney celebrates 80, Simple Minds, Dr. John, Two Door Cinema Club, Drive-By Truckers, more!

Simple Minds

Check out the latest episode of "The News" as TJR and Robert Kinsler discuss Paul McCartney's turning 80, as well as details on forthcoming releases from Simple Minds, Dr. John, Blondie and Two Door Cinema Club. TJR also celebrates Drive-By Truckers' latest album release Welcome 2 Club XIII.

Watch the episode HERE.

Two Door Cinema Club back with new single; forthcoming album coming Sept. 2, 2022

Two Door Cinema Club are back with a super infectious and glorious single "Wonderful Life." Check out the song and get details on the band's forthcoming album  set for release later this summer...Robert Kinsler

TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB 

ARE BACK!

EU + NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED

COMING TO THE HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM

NOVEMBER 15, 2022

NEW ALBUM KEEP ON SMILING OUT SEPTEMBER 2 

NEW SINGLE ‘WONDERFUL LIFE’ OUT NOW 

‘The lunatics have taken over the asylum, what are we going to do? KEEP ON SMILING. Cos what else are we going to do?’ Today Two Door Cinema Club are back - announcing their forthcoming fifth studio album, Keep On Smiling, due via LOWER THIRD [PIAS] September 2. The album is available to pre-order/save now. Alongside the album announcement, Two Door Cinema Club have released the first single taken from the new album, ‘Wonderful Life.’ ‘Wonderful Life’ is a nod back to the pure rush of Two Door Cinema Club’s early output, an unwavering indie pop signal and the sound of a band that are more ambitious than they have ever been before in their 15 year, multi-platinum selling, festival headlining career. Afforded the time and space to fully immerse themselves in the writing and recording process, the band adopted a freer, more collaborative approach to the creative process with Keep On Smiling. The album was written and produced by the band both during and coming out of lockdown, with additional production from Jacknife Lee (Bloc Party, The Killers, Taylor Swift) and  Dan Grech Marguerat (Halsey, Lana Del Rey, George Ezra). The LP’s artwork was created by acclaimed British artist, Alan Fears, known for his vibrant, 80s-inspired style and pop culture references, his signature colorful, theatrical, often humorous and elementally positive paintings lend themselves perfectly to visually encapsulate the themes of Keep On Smiling.  PRE-ORDER/SAVE NEW ALBUM KEEP ON SMILING DOWNLOAD/STREAM ‘WONDERFUL LIFE’ Not of this world, hair-raising opener ‘Messenger AD’ prepares you for the stratospheric and kaleidoscopic journey TDCC take listeners on with Keep On Smiling. With irresistible electro funk and nu disco tinged ear worms ‘Everybody’s Cool’, ‘Feeling Strange’ and ‘Won’t Do Nothing,’ to space age synth pop bops ‘Lucky,’ the sky really is the limit for the boys from Bangor, who are lamenting a divided and fractured society; declaring that happiness is within our control through tremendous optimistic and upbeat indie dance floor anthems. The results are spectacular, and recapture what originally propelled the band into the mainstream consciousness, and a legacy as one of the UK’s most enduring and beloved bands. To usher in this new era, another frantic summer of live awaits one Two Door Cinema Club as they command huge mainstage billings across the likes of Down The Rabbit Hole, Mad Cool, Nos Alive and Benicassim, before headlining London’s Community Festival 16th July.  Today, the band have also announced EU and North American tours later this year. The tour will make a Los Angeles stop at the Hollywood Palladium on Nov. 15, 2022. For a full list of live dates and on-sale details, please see below.

Credit: Katy Cummings Keep On Smiling - Tracklisting 1. Messenger AD 2. Blue Light 3. Everybody's Cool 4. Lucky 5. Little Piggy 6. Millionaire 7. High 8. Wonderful Life 9. Feeling Strange 10. Won't Do Nothing 11. Messenger HD 12. Disappearer   Festivals: 10-12 June - Tempelhof Sounds, Berlin 14-18 June - Bergenfest, Norway July 01 - Down The Rabbit Hole, Netherlands July 07 - Atlas Festival, Ukraine July 09 - Nos Alive, Portugal July 10 - Mad Cool, Spain July 14 - 17 - Benicassim, Spain July 16 - Community (HEADLINE), London EU tour dates, announced today On sale June 17 @ 10AM BST September 28 - Paris  September 30 - Brussels October 01 - Amsterdam October 04 - Hamburg  October 05 - Berlin  October 07 - Munich  October 08 - Cologne    North American tour dates, announced today On sale June 24 @ 10AM (local times) October 28 - Richmond  October 29 - Philadelphia  October 30 - Pittsburgh  November 01 - New York  November 02 - Boston  November 03 - Washington DC November 05 - Toronto  November 06 - Detroit  November 07 - Chicago  November 08 - Minneapolis November 10 - Kansas City  November 11 - Denver  November 12 - Salt Lake City  November 14 - Oakland  November 15 - Hollywood  November 17 - San Diego

Follow Two Door Cinema Club on social media: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

Legendary artists, newcomers profiled on new releases

A career-celebrating multi-format title from British hard rock troupe Def Leppard, an EP of rediscovered early tracks from Northern Ireland's Two Door Cinema Club and the adventuresome debut from New York trio VickiKristinaBarcelona are available now. 

Artist: Def Leppard
Title: London to Vegas (Eagle Rock Entertainment)
You might like if you enjoy: Def Leppard, Queen
Tell me more: Those who pick up Def Leppard's latest release will see the band in not one but two full-length performances. The first performance, "Hysteria At The O2," finds the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers celebrating their 1987 album Hysteria with a concert set revisiting that multi-platinum album from start to finish before a hometown crowd in London in December 2018. To be sure this is an important outing for the quintet, and the members of Def Leppard (singer Joe Elliott, guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, bassist Rick "Sav" Savage and drummer Rick Allen) offer up powerful arena rock-ready takes of classics including "Love Bites," "Pour Some Sugar On Me," "Animal," "Gods of War" and the rest of Hysteria before delving into other moments in their history for choice cuts including the set-ending "Let's Get Rocked," "Rock of Ages" and "Photograph." 

Def Leppard performs a mini-acoustic set during the 'Hits Vegas'
performance. Photo credit: Kevin Nixon

The second performance "Hits Vegas" — filmed at Zappos Theater in Planet Hollywood a few months after the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019 — features a far-flung set offering some choice deep cuts from the band. The hard-rocking "Die Hard The Hunter," harmonies-drenched "Too Late for Love," ambitious "Billy's Got a Gun" (bolstered by the tandem lead guitar work of Collen and Campbell) and "Paper Sun" as well as the acoustic-styled "Let Me Be The One" and "We Belong" are delivered with power and perfection. The hits are here as well, including terrific runs through "Foolin'," "Bringin' On The Heartbreak," "Rocket," "Action" and "Armageddon It." Bonus features include interviews with all five members of the band discussing the legacy of Hysteria and preparing for the concert events in London and Las Vegas. "London to Vegas" is available as a deluxe 2Blu-ray+4CD, 2DVD+4CD, and via digital formats. Information: eagle-rock.com.

Artist: Two Door Cinema Club
Title: Lost Songs (Found) / (Glassnote Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Two Door Cinema Club
Tell me more: Followers of Two Door Cinema Club are in luck. The acclaimed Northern Ireland-based outfit has released Lost Songs (Found), a seven-track EP of rarities and B-sides pulled from the band's early days. The gem here is "Tiptoes," a lost demo originally intended to be featured on the band's groundbreaking debut LP Tourist History released in early 2010. That mesmerizing cut features a hypnotic guitar line that soon offers the perfect counterpoint with Alex Trimble's soaring lead vocals capped by an explosive chorus. Other alluring tracks include the explosive opener "Not In This Town," luxuriant "19," anthemic "Impatience is a Virtue" and the dance-minded original demo of "Something Good Can Work." Information: TwoDoorCinemaClub.com.

Artist: VickiKristinaBarcelona
Title: Pawn Shop Radio (Storysound Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Tom Waits, Emmylou Harris, world music
Tell me more: An eclectic parade of sounds is displayed across Pawn Shop Radio, the debut release from New York-spawned VickiKristinaBarcelona featuring Rachelle Garniez, Amanda Homi and Terry Radigan. The talented singer-songwriters/multi-instrumentalists join forces here as they cover a full selection of Tom Waits songs on a musical mission sure to please discerning listeners. Armed with their stellar and sharp vocal harmonies, enthralling arrangements and the use of a diverse cadre of instruments (including banjo, accordion, harmonium, coconuts, and bottles), the results here are glorious. Defying convention at every turn works in favor of VickiKristinaBarcelona. The '60s girl group stylings of "Cold Cold Ground," Memphis soul-tinged "Way Down in the Hole," rousing Cajun celebration "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" and Delta blues-meets-bluegrass "Gun Street Girl" are among the standouts on the rich collection. The trio earns all kinds of kudos for Pawn Shop Radio and their ability to blend the wide range of styles together into an inviting mix. Information: vkbband.com.



Robert Kinsler

Originality mined on new releases

A highly-anticipated return by Two Door Cinema Club, as well as a number of stellar independent albums and EPs make for a strong field of new releases.

Artist: Two Door Cinema Club
Title: False Alarm (Glassnote Records)
You might like if you enjoy: A R I Z O N A, Duran Duran, Neon Trees
Tell me more: On their newly-issued fourth studio album False Alarm, Northern Irish trio Two Door Cinema Club has once again unleashed an irresistible batch of great originals blending pop, indie rock, electronica and neo-disco dance music. A casual listener is likely lured in by the catchy beats and glorious choruses, but there is plenty of textured and luxurious creativity enhancing the 10 tracks on the set. Singer-guitarist Alex Trimble, lead guitarist Sam Halliday and bassist-synths player Kevin Baird have joined forces with producer Jacknife Lee (U2, R.E.M., The Killers) to push the boundaries of Two Door Cinema Club's sound to new frontiers. "Talk" is a dance floor-meets-electronica gem; "So Many People" offers up a nuanced R&B soundscape. The driving electronica cut "Dirty Air" is undeniable; the robotic "Satellite" harkens back to '80s New Wave but exudes a bright sheen that defies its retro roots. The disco-flavored "Nice To See You" is bolstered by hip hop artist Open Mike Eagle; the explosive "Already Gone" closes out the terrific LP. Information: twodoorcinemaclub.com.

Artist: Farrington
Title: Pictures of Pretty Things (Magic Stone Records)
You might like if you enjoy: Jeff Lynne's ELO, Queen, David Bowie
Tell me more: Farrington's debut album Pictures of Pretty Things is both ambitious and melodic, drawing positive comparisons with notable recordings from Badfinger, Electric Light Orchestra, Queen and Cheap Trick. Farrington — the moniker for tunesmith/singer/multi-instrumentalist James Patrick — and a super-talented group of surrounding players (including guitarist-bassist Anthony King, vocalist Nikki Paige, drummer Marcos de la Cruz and backing vocalist Kai Danzberg) have crafted a memorable disc that is rooted in the past while also striking a claim in the here and now via inventive songcraft and bona fide power. Standouts abound on the 14-track masterwork; the shimmer of "Blue," pulsating piano-anchored "Stupid Plastic War" and the Bowiesque "Maybe If You Leave Her" impress with a single listen. The glam punk-styled "Long Way to Nowhere," tuneful "Long Way to Nowhere" and "When I Was You, and the tender ballad "The Love Show" showcase an artist able to create musical magic at every turn. When Farrington sings "Music Is The Drug" who would dare argue? Information: https://farington.hearnow.com.

Artist: R. Scott
Title: Flashpoint (R. Scott)
You might like if you enjoy: John Carrillo, Paul Williams, R. Stevie Moore
Tell me more: Over the years some of my favorite albums have been released by independent artists, notably Michael Ubaldini, Bright Blue Gorilla and Psychic Rain. Southern California-based singer-songwriter/pianist R. Scott has impressed me over the years with a unique voice and original approach at capturing the world around him and bringing it into song. On his newly-issued EP Flashpoint he once again proves there is plenty to celebrate. The fast-moving five songs that comprise Flashpoint include the opening gem, "Time Of Our Lives," which could have been penned by Burt Bacharach. The disc's additional delights include the confessional "Wishful Thinking," Celtic-tinged "I Can't Recall" and emotive "Come Alive." As R. Scott notes on his website: "This EP is about getting through our modern day madness, the moments that shape our lives and holding on to the things we hold dear." Information: www.rspianoman.com.

Artist: Yes Gabriel
Title: Yes Gabriel (Yes Gabriel)
You might like if you enjoy: Guster, the Finn Brothers, Pugwash
Tell me more: An introspective and intimate release, veteran musical theater composer Gaby Alter's Yes Gabriel is an impressive debut much larger than the five tracks that comprise the eponymous effort. Fans of a wide range of artists (notably Ron Sexsmith, Guster, Nick Drake and the Morning Phase version of Beck) will all find something to love on this striking collection, which is marked by top-tier lyrics and rich musical layers that enhance each of the songs. Recorded over five years, Yes Gabriel is a perfect blend of indie folk and chamber pop as evidenced by the probing "Dear To Me," wistful "Fall Asleep" and lovely "You Got Through." Information: YesGabriel.com.


Robert Kinsler

Sights and Sounds: Vintage Trouble, Two Door Cinema Club, Randy Bachman

Wow! So many cool music releases coming over the next few months! As if I wasn't excited enough to see that Vintage Trouble is performing in Dana Point on May 19, now comes word that the band has a new release coming out on May 10...


Vintage Trouble announce the release of 'Chapter II – EP II' on Friday, May 10, 2019

Vintage Trouble has announced the release of Chapter II – EP via Ingrooves on May 10, 2019.

With Chapter II Vintage Trouble distill swaggering rock, soulful rhythm & blues grooves and pop into a bold new sound. This body of work introduces a combination of influences from the gip-gyrational soul dance songs of the band's adolescent years to the revolutionary poetic and powerful protest music of the 1960s and '70s, to today's hard-thumping radio jams, to the intoxicating swing and sway of the Grand Cayman Islands where they recorded it. The songs make your body bounce and your heart swell, with tales of lasting love, lust, lessons and loosening the reigns on life.

Chapter II – EP 1, released late 2018, is a dance record. Featuring five new tracks including acoustic versions of each song, it has the vibes of late-night after hours parties, family barbecues and cruising down Pacific Coast Highway.

Chapter II – EP 2, pays honor to the band's soul roots, and rings of Marvin, Al, Sam, Otis and Percy, but with the fullest modern scoundscaping. It also includes live renditions of five famories captured everywhere from New Orleans to Edinburgh.

Known for their electrifying live shows, Vintage Trouble has logged 3,000 shows across 30 countries on tour with legends such as The Rolling Stones, The Who, AC/DC, Bon Jovi and Lenny Kravitz.

Information: VintageTrouble.com.




Two Door Cinema Club releases "Satellite" - band announces upcoming release of new album "False Alarm" via Glassnote Records on June 14, 2019

Two Door Cinema Club have today announced details of their fourth studio album False Alarm, out June 14, 2019 via Glassnote. Also unveiled today via Zane Lowe’s World Record on Apple Music’s Beats 1 is new single ‘Satellite”, an infectious Krautpop-influenced slice of future pop that accepts as a species we’re “in it together” – be it Brexit, climate change or any other man-made modern day terror. Details of the release were unveiled in a typically irreverent live stream which saw the trio launching the new album cover into space, whilst simultaneously commentating on the event and answering questions from fans. View the launch event here.

Listen/share "Satellite" here.

 False Alarm finds the three piece gloriously unshackled and creatively at the peak of their game. Across its ten tracks False Alarm wryly scans and satirises the social and environmental woes of 2019 through the prism of wonderfully off-kilter pop, simultaneously borrowing from and warping elements of future pop, disco, rock, funk and soul.

“I love the pop thing,” frontman Alex Trimble explains. “I love experimenting and going to different places, I love doing things that are a little bit wonky and I love the idea of doing something we haven’t done before, why can’t we do all of those things at once? That’s what it was, doing whatever felt right… It sounds like Two Door Cinema Club – not a Two Door Cinema Club there’d ever been before but that’s what I love. We can always do something new but it always feels like something we’ve done.”

Elsewhere on Two Door Cinema Club’s eagerly anticipated fourth album ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed’, ‘Nice To See You’ and ‘Once’ address our relationships with the dopamine dispenser that is social media through cheery New Romantic style funk, moody Bowie-esque art-pop and grandiose synth-pop respectively. Punk funk channeling anthem ‘Dirty Air’ has Alex prowling a ruined city’s dancefloors, posing through the ecological collapse.

Recorded in sessions between London and LA with producer Jacknife Lee (U2, REM, The Killers), it’s an LP that takes the familiar and twists it, to startling and stimulating effect. Take the distorted boudoir soul of ‘Think’, or ‘So Many People’, which electronically skews classic Chic-style disco guitar, and the multidimensional lounge pop of ‘Break’ which sounds like an AI trying to write a Beatles song. It all makes for a wide-eyed, culture-encompassing leap forward for the band, a record liable to break, ruin and remould pop in 2019.

False Alarm tracklist:

1. Once
2. Talk
3. Satisfaction Guaranteed
4. So Many people
5. Think
6. Nice To See You
7. Break
8. Dirty Air
9. Satellite
10. Already Gone
     

Two Door Cinema Club
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
 

'Bachman: Special Edition' coming to Blu-ray and DVD on May 10, 2019

The story of Randy Bachman from his early days in The Guess Who 

to Bachman-Turner Overdrive to present day

As a member of The Guess Who, Bachman was part of the first ever No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 by a Canadian band with "American Woman / No Sugar Tonight," and then topped the Hot 100 again in 1974 with another band, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, with "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet."

"That's a pretty rare thing for a recording artist who gets two No. 1s with two different bands," notes John Einarson," biographer and music historian, at the start of the new documentary, Bachman, chronicling the life of this 74 year old who is still regularly making music and performing. The film follows Bachman as he looks to the past for inspiration from rarely seen footage, pictures and documents that have been stored at the National Archives in Ottawa for decades.

Among the other hits Bachman has written or co-written are "These Eyes," "No Time," "New Mother Nature," "Takin' Care of Business," "Let It Ride," and "Roll On Down The Highway."

"He was like my biggest influence when I was a kid," says Neil Young in the film. "Watching him play guitar, he had an amazing sense about the way he played. And the feeling that you got when you listened to him. It was more than just chops."

Young, who has known Bachman for about 55 years, added, "I hear Randy - when I see him, I hear him, and I feel him."

The documentary made its world premiere in Toronto at Hot Docs 2018 before a festival run, and eventual airing in Canada on CBC's Documentary Channel. Incorporating numerous present-day interviews with family, management, and fellow musicians, director John Barnard (2012's The Sheepdogs Have At It) touches on everything from Bachman's childhood to his various rock bands -- The Guess Who, Brave Belt, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Bachman-Turner -- and solo work.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/Fv4v5EZA_ns 

Pre-order: https://mvdshop.com/search?q=bachman

Bonus Materials

• Neil Young on Winnipeg
• Randy's Crazy Horse
• Building a Reprise 'Here Comes the Sun'
• On Chords
• Songwriting 'When No One Knows'
• Theatrical Trailer
• 5.1 Surround, Stereo
• English subtitles for the deaf and hearing-impaired 

Posted by Robert Kinsler