New one from Friendly Fires, Bala, is generating most of the buzz this week…New Kids do what they’ve been wanting to do for ages now and team up with the Backstreet Boys, who are also still here, dammit. And so is some band named Dot Dot Curve and their album of the same name, but really, who cares. Life goes on, and is really too short for such a weak week of releases (see above for proof that the rapture is here).

Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells – Everythings Getting Older

David Bazan – Strange Negotiations

New Kids On The Block & Backstreet Boys – NKOTBSB

French Horn Rebellion – The Infinite Music of French Horn Rebellion

Darwin Deez – Darwin Deez

Thurston Moore - Demolished Rocks

Fireworks – Gospel

Foster The People - Torches

Friendly Fires -  Pala

Dot Dot Curve – I’m Still Here

Boris – Attention Please

Boris – Heavy Rocks

Johanna & The Dusty Floor - Northern Lights

PlanningtoRock – W

White Denim – D

She Wants Revenge – Valleyheart

Scarlet Season - The Taxidermist

Apologies to all you gorgeous party people, I’m afraid this week’s post is going to be a bit on the short side; was one of those highly infuriating weeks where there just wasn’t that much to write about and very few new tracks that I actually enjoyed. Although Sade (who doesn’t love a little Sade action?) announced the release of a second greatest hits album (no released date yet) and she finally agreed to collaborate with my future BFF Jay Z on a track for it. So that’s rather magical.

Cris Cab is a young guy from Miami who’s currently working with Pharrell on his debut album and garnered some attention last Fall with his cover of Wiz Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow”; this time around he’s covered Kanye’s “All Of The Lights” and I’m really digging it; it’s completely different from the original. Check out the video below.

Stream “Live Those Days Tonight”, the new track from Friendly Fires’ much anticipated, Pala (out May 16th). I really enjoyed their previous album and while this new song took me a few listens before I got into it, am rather liking it as well. Looking forward to giving the rest of the album a listen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N9yLr2VmAY

Architecture in Helsinki (great name) covered Cut Copy’s “Need You Now” and I’m kind of, sort of, okay really in love with it.

The Morning Benders have put together an EP to support relief efforts in Japan entitled Japana Echo Ep. This EP was put together to support Japan in light of the horrific disaster that has taken place in there. Please give what you can, and know that 100% of these proceeds will go to the Japan’s Society’s Earthquake Relief Fund. On the front page of their website, Chris wrote “Last week we were scheduled to go to Tokyo to play our first show ever in Japan. It was going to be a very special trip for us, and for me in particular. I had always dreamt of going back to Japan to play music Not many people know this, but I was actually born in Japan, and although I only lived there for a couple years, I’ve always had a deep love for the country and its people. I cannot express how sad and helpless I’ve felt reading about everything that is happening there right now, and even though we couldn’t be there, we wanted to do everything we could to help.” Head on over here to donate and grab your download of the EP.

The Smashing Pumpkins pulled a robbery with their latest single “Lightning Strikes” (it was initially intended for The Electric Prunes; sadly their bassist, Mark Tulin, recently passed away). Corgan said “I found an element in it that suggests a bigger picture, and unfortunately I stole it back from them. The lyric in my mind combines the isolation of modern life with the need for a never ending romantic story.” “Lightning Strikes” (dedicated to Tulin) is part of The Smashing Pumpkins 44 track Teargarden By Kaleidyscope.

And lastly, head on over to the fine folks at NPR to stream Peter, Bjorn and John’s latest album Gimme Some until it’s March 29th release.

That’s it for this week kids!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Peace, love and Red Bull

Mandy

A little bit of The Killers, a little bit of old British New Wave, a lot of electronica and Jungle music (dance music of all types for that matter) all thrown into the mix — and what you’ve got is perhaps the next big thing to come out of dance punk since The Moving Units, perhaps even including the aforementioned Vegas-based genre-benders. You might be surprised to learn that Friendly Fires have risen from the ashes of an old hardcore band, growing into something quite different, what the boys themselves label as “lush shoegaze melodies” and what we may only assume is something infinitely more listenable. Their latest, Kiss of Life, is out now–here’s a sampling of it on Red Bull Music Academy Radio.

From a photographic standpoint, shooting dance rock act Friendly Fires is an ideal way to kick off a long day at a music festival. Yeah, it was blazingly hot and humid by the time this trio of drummer Jack Savidge, guitarist Edd Gibson, and vocalist/keyboardist Ed Macfarlane bounced onto the Budweiser stage on day-three of Lollapalooza. And sure the crowd was thin and slow to show up for this opening act. But none of that could stop the super charged energy of Macfarlane and company, which is exactly what concert photographers hope for.

From my plain old music fan’s perspective, though, Friendly Fires are no less enjoyable to watch. Being that the Budweiser stage is a behemoth of a performance space, I was most impressed by how well Macfarlane and Gibson made use of it—especially Macfarlane. He’s got the showman quality of Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan, but with a much quicker step. One minute he’s getting down on the keys and the next he’s evoking a clap along. Macfarlane is only human, hence why he half-jokingly announced that he might pass out in this set. “I’m just warning you,” he added. Thankfully, nobody fainted despite the abundance of flushed and sunburned faces.

With tracks as playful and up-tempo as “Photobooth,” it’s hard to deny the mass appeal of Friendly Fires and those who showed up early were treated to a top-notch show. Why this group was slated to play first on this stage isn’t entirely clear. Yet Friendly Fires don’t come across as the type of artists who are going to complain about their spot and subsequently small audience. From the moment they stepped up to their closing song, this trio kept the briskness alive.

Words and Photos by Max Herman