Merry Christmas, Love Mayer xx

 

Download Mayer Hawthorne 'Christmas Time Is Here' for free!

Maybe So? Definitely!

Wellingtonians! Mayer Hawthorne and the County with special guests, have been confirmed to play at the San Francisco Bathhouse on Valentines Day, 14 February. 

♥

Today our thoughts are with the Pike River miners, their families, friends and the people of the West Coast.

Blog Love

We take a peep at this blog quite regularly.  It's called The Label.  There's a bunch of stuff going on over there today:

A stream of The Morning Benders 'Excuses' (Golden Filter Remix), the latest Adele clip - what a fantastic song - plus news (and video) of the new Iron & Wine album (so exciting!).  Oh, and there's also a Warpaint MP3.

So what are you waiting for?  Much as we'd like you to hang around here, get over there and have a look.

See ya!

(Disclaimer:  Rhythmethod releases lots of stuff The Label promotes.  And we love it!).

Got ya tickets?

Dukes tour kicking off in two days time.

We'll be there!

Ladi 6 #1 on Indie Chart

Ladi 6's The Liberation Of... has landed at #1 on the Independent Music NZ Chart.  And for that matter, stormed in at #6 on the other chart, ahead of Stan, Rod & Leonard.  Big congratulations from your Rhythmethod friends!

Records We Like - Part One

A strictly limited blue vinyl 12", Last Week is about shit Hombrew did last week.  It's out now.  Investigate purchasing at vinyl-friendly retailers nationwide.  

http://www.youtube.com/user/homebrewcrew

Crackers

Today, Timeout in the NZ Herald is our friend: 

They rather like Swans My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To the Sky and Ladi 6 The Liberation of... AND Devil's Elbow Sand on Chrome.

STAT!

We're more than a bit pleased to be releasing Perfect Flaws by Black River Drive.

The kids in the warehouse inform us they've used quite a lot of cardboard packaging this one (it being a popular item and everything), readying box-loads for the land of retail in advance of Monday's (4 October) release.

Crunching rock & roll?  You bet:

The chicks in the office like this

RMHQ Weekly Staff Pick

This week's pick is from Pete, our mighty leader and most inventive sandwich maker to walk the earth...

The xx- xx
"Released late last year, The xx's debut album was a welcome highlight in 2009.  Housed in a Saville-esque sleeve, loaded with '80s references and a large chunk of '00s Londontown, this album won me over pretty quickly.  It's warm, haunting, sparse and very beautiful.  They've been nominated for this year's Mercury Prize and they'd surely get my vote!"

Means

We've been waiting sooooo long, and now it's here.  Street Chant's Means album is out today. In case you didn't know, the band is Emily Littler, Billie Rogers and Alex Brown.  They formed in 2007 with Mikey Sperring (now of the Drab Doo Riffs) on drums; and came to the attention of the underground with the pop-grunge nugget Scream Walk, which was on the Real Groove's Awesome Feeling II comp.

Sperring was replaced by Alex, the band changed their name from Mean Street and things really kicked off...

Means (recorded by Bob Frisbee) is released on Arch Hill via us.  Today.

A Swamp Pop Journey to Aotearoa!

Lousiana Legends

LIL' BAND O' GOLD

Bring Swamp-Pop to New Zealand!

Sept. 23 Dunedin - Re-Fuel
Sept. 24 Christchurch - Al’s Bar
Sept. 25 Wellington - San Francisco Bath House
Sept. 26  Auckland - Kings Arms

TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM TICKETMASTER, REAL GROOVY (CHRISTCHURCH, WELLINGTON, AUCKLAND), and MARBECKS (DUNEDIN)

Bayou rhythms, rockin’ accordions, heartbreaking voices and great southern storytelling: New Zealand will get a taste of Louisiana’s best musical recipe when swamp-pop supergroup Lil’ Band O’ Gold tours this September. 

Meantime, have this free sample:

Can't wait!

O is for....

OPSHOP!

Congratulations on your #1 album Until the End of Time

  

From your friends at Rhythmethod. 

Pie Sandwiches Anyone?

When there's a hangover to be dealt to, come see the RM crew for sure-fire winning cures like this:

This delectable Pie Sandwich belongs to the chief and was captured yesterday (the day after a few brews the night before at Band Of Horses).

Mayer Hawthorne + Girls In Bikinis + A Super Soaker = Good Times!

What? You want more information here? Doesn't the title sum it up perfectly?!!

OK, OK, so this is the new video from Mayer Hawthorne's awesome album A Strange Arrangement, out on Stones Throw. There you go. Now watch the video!

Holy Howl it's a Roofdog Record

"Who would've thought these bums could actually get their shit together and release a record...and a record that even sounds good!  Roofdog are THE band to have at your party and now you can bring the party home, without 4 smelly booze-soaked dudes (and a lovely lady) in tow.  Onya Roofdog.  It's as comforting and familiar as slipping on ya fave old breakup pants." - Katie, Puppy Killer Records / Chicks That Scream

Roofdog is the self-titled, self-released, full-length debut studio album from this AK-based ska rock reggae five piece.  Their sound is guitar driven ska, backed by a relentlessly danceable beat.  From  the politically conscious lyrics of Drop the Bomb to the dancefloor fave Dance to the Moon, this album delivers 12 tracks of infectious ska.

Go fetch from 26 July.

Wild Bill Ricketts - Mangi Mangi

All Tied Up

We're quite casual here at Rhythmethod HQ.  No need for suits, it's okay to show your knees, wear jandals or ride your imaginary pony around the warehouse.  However, our man who worries the calculator, Gerry the Acccountant we call him, has the best range of ties you've ever seen.  These are stylish ties.  Enviable ties. Some of them are quite bright and clash with his shirt.  In a good way.  Just wanted to say thanks for the ties, Gezza.

Intrepid Journeys

Our fearless Koozer says "HELLO!" from the sunny South of NZ. We miss your mildly annoying ass here in the office, Macrae! Come home soon...

Aloe Blacc v Michael Jackson

One of the best cover versions of a Michael Jackson song that we've ever heard. Check out Aloe Blacc getting seriously soulful & bluesy on this stripped back version of Billie Jean. His new album, Good Things, also featuring the outstanding single I Need A Dollar, is due to drop in August on Stones Throw.

Hot Chip Friday!

And - Rhythmethod being an equal opportunity employer - let's not forget it's also Cold Chickpea Salad Friday!

Secondhand Sureshots Film Screening

Just like it says on the tin: Wed June 23rd at Khuja Lounge, just $5 on the door, from 8.30pm...

Screening the awesome Secondhand Sureshots film & DJ support from Scratch 22... wrap your listening gears around it! Big thanks to J & Morgan for setting up the THIS CULTURE film series.

Propers!

Forthcoming Seu Jorge album

OK, so we're pretty excited about this one! The Brazilian actor Seu Jorge has an album forthcoming on Now Again Records, due for release in July. There's a fantastic cover of Roy Ayers' Everybody Loves The Sunshine, alongside some incredible music - take a click over here to find out a little more & take a listen to some soundclips.

If you don't know who Seu Jorge is, ask your Brazilian friends! This is music to make you smile on these wintry days...

Label Love

Just a quick recommendation for you to point your mouse at this to check out/download for FREE a 14-track compilation featuring artists from Tru Thoughts, Ubiquity, Now Again, plus Fania, Bastard Jazz, ESL & Plug Research! Tu meke!

New Belleruche video

Clockwatching is the first single to be lifted from the new Belleruche album, forthcoming on Tru Thoughts. This talented 3-piece have been lifting eyebrows & feet in the RM office since their debut Turntable Soul Music - so we're definitely looking forward to checking the album when it drops!

In the meantime, enjoy this clip & another wicked groove from Belleruche.

RMHQ Weekly Staff Pick

TALK NORMAL - Sugarland
Label:  Rare Book Room

Sandra says:  "Months on from release this record is still making a big racket in my world".
We all say: you should watch this clip for In A Strangeland cos it's pretty darn great.

Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar - Video

Great track. Firm downstairs favourite here at RMHQ. Have you heard it yet? Should've. Great video too. Impressive. Have you seen it yet? You're in luck... Aloe Blacc is a LA-native who's about to release his 2nd album for Stones Throw, entitled Good Things, sometime in August or September. For now we have to make do with the video from the lead single, I Need A Dollar, & the promise of more, er good things to come...

RMHQ Weekly Staff Pick

Our "Man on the Street", Lio, selects one of his favourite albums of the moment...this week it is:

THE LIL' BAND O' GOLD - The Promised Land

"Some good friends of mine gave me the heads up on this 9-piece Cajun Swamp pop group before we released this album and I'm mighty glad they did!  The Promised Land is the soundtrack to the documentary (that hopefully gets a DVD release here) The Promised Land:  A Swamp Pop Journey.  It's heartfelt music from down Louisiana way, and is best enjoyed with some cold beers and good company.  A quote from the doco sums the sound up for me nicely - "White guys, playing Black music, damn good"."

Muddy Water

And we thought flood was yet another pallet of classical CDs for Ode Records. 

This was the view from our front door a couple of hours ago.
Owner of car swore impressively.

Not Arse

Record of the week:  CX Kidtronik Black Girl, White Girl.  Kidtronik had the Big Girl, Skinny Girl anthem on the Stones Throw 2K8 soundtrack. This piece is limited to 1000 copies worldwide, and comes with a CD.  Best show the other (A) side too:

Album forthcoming.

....................

We're liking the latest from Hardly Art:  the Unnatural Helpers album Cracked Love and Other Drugs.  15 songs, 25 minutes. Rockin.  

....................

Here at Rhythmethod we enjoy a good reissue.  

So we decided to release some:

Spacemen 3 - Sound of Confusion 

Originally issued in 1986, this is the debut

Jawbreaker - Unfun 

The 20th anniversary edition of their 1990 debut

Claude Von Stroke - Beware of the Bird 

Collects the original 2006 album and remixes which followed

Michael Hurley - Armchair Boogie

Back in print!  Reissue of the 1971 album with new back cover

.....................

And Friday just wouldn't be Friday unless we were eating.  Not just any old takeaway slop day either.  This was Fair Trade Friday.  We started changing the world one cup at a time. 

Fair Trade coffee and chocolate, fruit and...carrot sticks?  Hang on, what about these bad boys:

That Mr P Baker, he's a great cook.

The Death of Hot Chip Friday

Just when we thought we had one of those traditions going someone went and bought a bloody pizza.  We still had sauce with it though.

We've been well-fed this week.  The upstairs salad and potato chip binge continued.  Broke out the cheese and bread midweek.  Didn't lack for wine either.  The Ode contingent served themselves homemade leek & potato soup.  The mocking continued for days.  (They know you're just jealous sales guy. Parp! Sick of those baked beans yet?).  And we discovered there was a giant mouse in the house.  Best keep an eye on that cheese...

Records? One or two good ones kicking about:

The National - High Violet
Yes, indeed worthy of another mention. Rog reckons it sounds like The Boss, and that's more than ok.

Holy Fuck - Latin
Psyched out and loop-heavy, and shit, look at that die-cut cover on the vinyl, and the CD, but the vinyl is just that much bigger and cooler.

The New Pornographers - Together
AC Newman and co joined by Zach Condon of Beirut, Annie St Vincent Clark and Will Sheff of Okkervil River?  Yes please.

The Hold Steady - Heaven is Whenever
Well, it's that The Boss thing again, alright.

Unkle - Where Did the Night Fall
And you thought there were heaps of guests on the New Pornographers album?

Humphreys & Keen - The Overflow
NOW ON VINYL!

Nightchoir - 24 Hours of Night
Their debut on famed local label 1157, this is one beautiful record.

Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
Debut for this LA bunch, out on Sub Pop, hype a-plenty, we believe it.

Madlib - Medicine Show #4 The 420 Chalice All Stars aka Son of Super Ape
79 minutes of all Jamaican sounds, special artworks, this is Madlib's fourth album in the one-a-month compilation/original release schedule for 2010.  Getting excited about #5 already...

Various Artists - Auteur Labels:  Robs Records
Plucked from the catalogue of outstanding UK label LTM Recordings, this is Mr P. Baker's album of the week. It's Rob's label.  Rob Gretton.  You know, Factory, the Hacienda, Manchester, the 80s....

Would You Like Tomato Sauce With That?

Thanks Alligators for the crispiest chips and the giant bits of fish.

Too far to walk to for even for the fittest and speediest amongst us, so on ya sales guy for hooning down the road and rescuing us from a barely-warm-chip Friday.

Thanks also to Rog for the leftover booze, some tasty drops indeed. No thanks to the soggy donuts for pudding though. Maybe some lamingtons next time? But you made up for it with the homemade tomato sauce. Beats NZ's favourite by about seven million miles.

Our Friday wasn't all greasy wrappings, crumbs of batter and empties though. Got a shipment in, and round here it's always a race to be first to open the boxes. Inside we found...records. Lots and lots of vinyl. Of the reissue variety. These will be appearing on a release sheet soon:

The Dead C - Clyma Est Mort / Tentative Power

Reissued by Jagjaguwar/Ba Da Bing, the sticker says Clyma "was recorded live in the band's practice room in 1992 to an audience of one - and released as a "fake bootleg" - it is the real-est album of the Dead C's long career". This double gatefold comes with Tentative Power, a bonus 12" with seven extra tracks from contemporary singles and out-takes. And since that stuff's never been on CD, they put one of those in too.

The Dead C - The Dead Sea Perform M Harris

Stealing from the sticker again: "First ever recordings by the Dead C from 1987, made in their first month of existence. Two epic versions of Max Harris that will screw your head to the floor. Released as a cassette in an edition of 21 and subsequently never available together as originally intended, this is the first vinyl release of these historic tracks". Has one of those digital download thingys too.

We also found some items from decent reissue label Drastic Plastic:

The Meatmen - War of the Superbikes: "One of the great summer albums of all time" say our friends at Revolver USA.

Agent Orange - Living In Darkness: "The greatest skate-punk record of all time" say the Drastic people.

Crispy Ambulance - Plateau Phase: "Their best record" says their biggest fan P. Baker.

Exploited - Punk's Not Dead: "The album earnestly delivers one of the great, sincere and authentic performances in its genre, projected the Oi! movement forward with fangs and aplomb." (thanks, again, Revolver).

These Drastic Plastic releases are all 180 gram limited editions.

And an album from office favourite Michael Hurley turned up. Armchair Boogie was originally released in 1971, and this re-mastered version is via Mississippi Records.

That was just the first box friends.

Good listening times ahead...

Hot Chip Friday!

Today's hot chips came from our closest fish and chippery. We like this one. Walkable, quick, not too greasy, generous portions.

The soundtrack to this Hot Chip Friday:

Katie, screaming for the lost Gooch while High on Fire.

Lu not eating hot chips but liking Surfer Blood.

Jo wrestling with cardboard packaging all day to bFM.

Pete & Sandra fighting over the ideal box to ship that order in with the new National album "High Violet" blaring.

For Rog it's been all about Mr Corelli in London. Maurice Steger plays mean recorder.

Gerry's day included The Hilliard Ensemble.

And Dave's been stuck in his room with a pile of unsolicited demos.

(Lio was on the road so we imagined his lunch was a lonely panini at the mall food court with piped background muzak...)

Don't Call It Yob Music

Scott Kara likes Megasus.
And we do too.

Soon Come Wooden Shjips

Well it's been quite some time. No excuses really.

Right now we are particularly excited about the Wooden Shjips playing Auckland on 13 March at Whammy, and Wellington on 14 March at Bodega.

And there's a new record coming. Released here on 1 March via Sick Thirst, Vol. 2 digs deep to collect the band's Sup Pop and Mexican Summer singles, a track from Yeti Magazine, plus some live tracks. 44 minutes of fuzzed-out psych jams.

Meantime, check the clip for Motorbike from previous album Dos.

Cosmic bliss.

See you at the show.