News - Page 311

The new duo PUUL, comprised of British bassist Tim Harries (Brian Eno, Bill Bruford) and Norwegian soundscape artist Terje Evensen (John Paul Jones) has release its debut album, Puul. The band name came from Harries, who says he always wanted to be in band with a double “u” in its name. The two musicians share a unique sensibility, according to...

Jason “Jay” James has exited Welsh metal outfit Bullet Form My Valentine, the band announced in a statement. James, who also handled backup vocal duties, had been in the band since 2003. “It is with regret that Bullet for My Valentine has to announce that Jay James is no longer a member of the band,” the group wrote. “Jay has...

The Vijay Iyer Trio’s new album, Break Stuff, contemplates musical breakdowns and breaks. The trio includes not only bandleader Iyer on piano, but also double bassist Stephan Crump (Jen Chapin Trio, Ches Smith Trio, Secret Keeper, and Rosetta Trio) and drummer Marcus Gilmore. Iyer called upon both of them to be completely themselves as the recorded Break Stuff, Crump said....

Adrenaline Mob’s latest EP, Dearly Departed, combines covers and originals in a nine-song set. It includes outtakes from the group’s last full studio album, Men of Honor (which featured past bassist John Moyer) as well as covers and acoustic versions of the group’s past work. The group’s current bassist, Erik Leonhardt (ex-Tantric) appears on the new recordings. One of the...

Producer Mark Ronson knows his bass. Just listen to the name check on these lines from “Heavy and Rolling” a track of his chart-scaling fourth studio album, Uptown Special: “Smooth as glass/Smooth as Marcus Miller.” While Miller doesn’t appear on the album, bassists are everywhere on the album. Jamareo Artis keeps the groove going on the hit “Uptown Funk,” featuring...

The Church has released its 25th studio album, Further/Deeper. Led by bassist/singer/songwriter Steve Kilbey, the Australian rock outfit may be most well known for its 1980s alternative hit, “Under the Milky Way.” Further/Deeper came together easily, Kilby said. “The magic started on day one. Someone strummed a chord or struck a drum or plucked a note and we were off....

English jazz/rock fusion pioneers Soft Machine played the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 1974, and now the audio and video recordings of that performance are available in a CD/DVD set called Switzerland 1974. The group at the time featured Roy Babbington on bass, as well as Allan Holdsworth on guitar. Holdsworth only remained with the group for 15 months,...

Bob Dylan has taken on some American pop standards, and according to a Los Angeles Times review of Shadows in the Night, the bass leads the way. “Guided by bassist Tony Garnier‘s liquid lines, ‘Shadows’ is an exercise in precision, each syllable essential, each measure evenly weighted,” reviewer Randall Roberts writes. Garnier is Dylan’s longtime bassist and has also worked...

Johnny “Spazz” Hatton, double bassist for the Brian Setzer Orchestra, lays down the basics in Rockabilly Bass: Slap Technique, Creating Bass Lines & the Rudiments of Rockin’ String Bass. Hatton, who has also played a host of styles with a wide variety of artists (including a 1967 concert with Elvis Presley) covers a multitude of bases in the title from...

If you love live records, vinyl albums, and heavy drone/psychedelic band Om, you need to take a look at Live. The band includes Al Cisneros (also known for his work in Sleep) on vocals and bass. The four-track record is intended to capture the sound of the group’s 2013 European tour. Around 1,000 copies of the album were pressed and...

Longtime grindcore purveyors Napalm Death are back — this time with the band’s 15th studio album, Apex Predator — Easy Meat. The record includes “How the Years Condemn,” written by bassist Shane Embury, who has been with the band since 1987. “Musically I wanted this track to encompass lots of different rhythms and nuances in the short space of time...

Kim Gordon, best known as Sonic Youth’s bassist, is heading out on a tour of a different kind in February — a book tour. The noise rock queen now recording in Body/Head has penned a memoir, called Girl in a Band, which she’ll discuss in an 11-stop book tour featuring Q&A sessions with literary, music, and art professionals, according to...