Month: June 2014

On 30^th June, The Blue Angel Lounge release their third album, A Sea of Trees on Anton Newcombe’s  (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) ‘A’ Recordings label (Dirty Beaches, Dead Skeletons, KVB).  Anton joined The Blue Angel Lounge on stage in support of their last record, and most recently invited them to support them on The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s 2012 American tour.
 
Since the release of their previous album Narcotica, the band have been garnering international acclaim, touring the US, UK and France with the Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and also making appearances at the Austin Psych Fest and Roskilde.
 
A Sea Of Trees sees the band blossom into its own, incorporating the experimentation of their most recent EP and single releases (“Ewig” 2012, “Walls” 2013).  From the very first moment of A Sea Of Trees, the epic opening track ‘Winter’ wastes no time sonically detailing where the band has been. The band’s weapons of choice; guitars coupled with harmonium, and singer, Nils Ottensmeyer’s powerful Nico’esque vocals culminate in genre-bending territory belonging to them alone.

The Blue Angel Lounge formed in 2006, after meeting at school in their German village Hohenlimburg near the Rhine River.  Led by singer, Nils “O.” Ottensmeyer and Dennis Melster, the band took their name from the club in New York City that offered Nico her first live performances in America.  Nico and The Velvet Underground remain an underlying influence on the band. 

Secret Cities announce the release of their new album, Walk Me Home, out this summer on Western Vinyl (Ava Luna, Dirty Projectors, Nat Baldwin).  Walk Me Home is the 3rd LP from Secret Cities and follows their acclaimed 2011 release Strange Heartsand 2010’s Pink Graffiti.   Recorded in 10 days at SF’s Tiny Telephone with Jay Pellicci(The Dodos, Deerhoof, Erase Errata) manning the controls, Walk Me Home is the result of the most spontaneous, democratic, and visceral recording of the band’s life.

Started by Marie Parker and Charlie Gokey at the tender age of 15, the members of Secret Cities have never lived in the same city in their 9 years of making music and touring together.  After they released Strange Hearts, the three members set off in different directions.  Marie became a teacher in the band’s spiritual home of Fargo, ND. Charlie became a civil liberties attorney in D.C. Alex Abnos became a journalist in NYC. Time passed and the band decided it was time to come together again and enter a real studio where they could play and record together in real time.  

Walk Me Home is a supreme reflection of their live chemistry and diverging lives and musical tastes.  Bringing in band member influences ranging from soul masters like King Floyd & Dr. John to Roy Orbison and using the band’s unique dual vocalists Marie and Charlie to their utmost advantage, Secret Cities created a record with great originality and range.   As it is, it took years of traveling in different directions for Secret Cities to make an album that brought them closer together than ever.