THE END MEN – Play With Your Toys

In the role of carnival barker, The End Men’s mouthpiece Matthew Hendershot beckons us into his tent of musical curiosity at the beginning of the New York duo’s second release. His voice is curiously like that of Tom Waits with its gravelly tone, a comparison heightened by the sideshow setting, while the minimalist music recalls spiritual chants of the deep south.  The setting isn’t original, but no other backdrop best highlights the journey on which the listener is about to embark… “If you join us, I promise you this: an adventure you won’t wanna miss.”

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SNOWFALL – Cold Silence

SnowfallIn the noughties, Norwegian hard rock band Winter Parade released two albums for two different independent hard rock labels: while ‘Midnight Paradise’ [MTM Records, 2002] and ‘Two’ [Perris Records, 2008] were a huge commercial success, both found a cult audience. Following the band’s demise, bassist PB Riise teamed up with guitarist Tore Meli and Coldspell drummer Perra Johnson to form the core of Snowfall, a band whom – given their heritage and past links – may, on the surface, be dismissed as just another Scandinavian hard rock band.

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Neutral Milk Hotel confirm tour dates for the end of 2013

Neutral Milk Hotel are set to play a run of live dates between October and December 2013.  The run of dates will see Jeff Mangum and company trekking across the US, before heading off to Australia, Taiwan and Japan.

At the time of writing, there are no scheduled plans to play in the UK or any European territories.  All confirmed shows are listed below.

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MY DYING BRIDE – The Manuscript EP

My Dying BrideTwenty years into a career of cult stardom, this four track release from Yorkshire’s My Dying Bride continues their ongoing voyage into sludge rock and doom rock territories. Clocking in at over twenty seven minutes for just four songs, some of you will own supposedly full length albums which are barely any longer (Van Halen back catalogue, we’re pointing the finger at you), but despite the extended nature of the tunes, none ever outstay their welcome.

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