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Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Geez... four giveaways in a row. Five if you count le Twitter. I'm either wicked generous, or a mere promotional tool, depending on your point of view. But I wouldn't be handing out this stuff if it wasn't from bands I'm genuinely into, so there's that. I will, in fact, have actual non-contest content soon. I hope.   Today brings the release date of "The Chaos", the fourth album from Sunderland, England quartet The Futureheads, which means their 'new album every two years' trend is right on schedule. Finely-tuned clockwork, they've got. Hard to believe their super-sharp self-titled debut came out way back in '04... that album pretty much knocked me on my ass (sorry, 'arse'), hitting me during a brief 'sick of music' phase, and was a much-needed dose of ultra-catchy, harmony-laden goodness. Tight, snappy, back-to-basics English pop-punk, with that killer Kate Bush cover thrown in for great measure. Loved it, still do.The two albums since, while having their respective individual high points, haven't done as much for me as a whole... they seemed a bit more studied, not quite as brash, and perhaps suffered from my own high expectations. There's nothing like that first surprise, you know? But my initial 2004 crush, the good songs they've been stacking up, and their generally excellent live shows will keep me coming back. After a few listens, I can safely say that album number four feels like a frenetic, energy-crammed return to form. It kicks quickly into high gear and pretty much stays there, the harmonies sound fresh again, and many of the tracks get you thinking "Man, I bet this would be even better live..." straight away. A quick 10-date North American tour starts tonight in Brooklyn, and hits the Paradise in Boston this coming Monday, June 7th. A pair of guest list spots goes to one lucky sod who emails me by Noon this Friday, so send off a quick one to giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com before then, title it "F'HEADS @ PARADISE", and include your city of residence. The singular condition: You'd better damn well be able to make it to the show. No wasties allowed. I'll email the winner on Friday. I'll leave you with the first promo track from the album, which also happens to be one of my faves, courtesy of Dovecote Records, the band's excellent U.S. label... [MP3] The Futureheads - "Struck Dumb"For tickets of your very own to see the lads next week (with LA-based openers The Like), head here, or to the 'Dise box office to skip the extra charges. Labels: giveaways  |
 neil halstead live in cambridge, ma on november 14th, 2008 previously: joy formidable - boston 2011 recent posts on the 'nac...
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