Rock fusion, indie rock and cowpunk in this week's round-up
Mandoki Soulmates - 'The Big Quit'
Mandoki Soulmates release new single and video “The Big Quit” from upcoming album “A Memory Of Our Future”; announce Dolby Atmos album mix and exclusive live open air concert in Munich on August 15th, the only German Mandoki Soulmates show this year
Mandoki Soulmates – the international supergroup consisting of rock and fusion legends as well as founder and mastermind Leslie Mandoki – release the 2nd single The Big Quit from the upcoming album, A Memory Of Our Future.
Pre-Order A Memory Of Our Future here:
The Big Quit is a prog rock tour-de-force with a hooky melody that will have you singing along long after the needle has been lifted from the vinyl. As Leslie Mandoki comments:
“Well we were sitting on a wonderful summer night in Tuscany, with friends and also fellow Soulmate Till Brönner. We were talking about the future, and as we spoke I came up with the main lyrics: Hard times creating hard people, hard people making easy times, easy times creating easy people, and easy people bring us hard times again. And on that night I created this song ‘The Big Quit’. Have a listen to the wonderful playing.”
Watch the video for The Big Quit here:
Stream The Big Quit on your favorite DSP or buy here:
In addition to the new single, Mandoki Soulmates announce the availability of a Dolby Atmos album mix, which will be available to stream and buy on May 10th. The mix was done by Bruce Soord, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and frontman for internationally renowned experimental rock outfit “The Pineapple Thief”. Dolby Atmos is an immersive surround sound format that offers a spatial sound experience that has so far mainly been used in cinemas. When done well, Dolby Atmos allows music to be reproduced with unparalleled clarity and depth.
The entire album was recorded and produced purely in the analog domain, from microphone to mixing and mastering. Recorded and mixed in Leslie Mandoki’s Red Rock Studios near Munich, mastered in the infamous Sterling Sound Studios in New York, and cut in the Emil Berliner Studios in Berlin. The analog format is also an expression of their special appreciation and bond with the band’s audience, “like a love letter handwritten with a fountain pen”.
Mandoki Soulmates are:
Leslie Mandoki
Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull)
Mike Stern
Al di Meola
Randy Brecker
Till Brönner
Bill Evans
John Helliwell (Supertramp)
Cory Henry
Richard Bona
Steve Bailey
Simon Phillips (Toto)
Tony Carey (Rainbow)
Nick van Eede (Cutting Crew)
Jesse Siebenberg (Supertramp)
Mark Hart (Supertramp)
Vampire Weekend - 'Mary Boone'
Vampire Weekend have released “Mary Boone” — the fourth and final advance offering from Only God Was Above Us out April 5th via Columbia Records. Written by Ezra Koenig and featuring a sample of the iconic drum loop from “Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" by Soul II Soul. Produced by Ariel Rechtshaid and Koenig, with lush orchestral arrangements by Will Canzoneri, Koenig and Rechtshaid, the song — named for one of the most influential figures of the NYC art world of the 1980s—features a soaring, operatic choir alongside Koenig’s understated but honeyed vocals, and lyrics referencing Tadao Ando churches, Natarajas, hex signs, and whirling Dervishes. As its eclectic sonic and lyrical tapestries unfold, the song finds a narrator looking to get their foot in the door of the New York art world (or perhaps something bigger):
“Mary Boone” is accompanied by an official visualizer which features a rapper who’s never released an album, Despot, driving from New Jersey to Manhattan via the Lincoln Tunnel. Watch it here.
To date, Ezra Koenig, Chris Tomson and Chris Baio have released four songs from Only God Was Above Us: “Gen-X Cops,” “Capricorn,” “Classical” and now “Mary Boone”—evincing a diverse array of sounds and narratives, yet only revealing less than half of the album’s staggering range and depth. Only God Was Above Us will be available across digital platforms as well as on vinyl and CD. Pre-orders can be placed at https://vampireweekend.store/
To accompany the news of Mary Boone, Vampire Weekend today announce a nine-date run of live shows kicking off at the 3Arena in Dublin on November 29th, and carrying through the U.K. in Scotland, Manchester and two separate London shows before wrapping up the run with shows in Paris and Amsterdam.
A fan pre-sale goes on sale from 10am (GMT) on Wednesday 3rd April with a general sale from 10am on Friday 5th April. Fans pre-ordering the album via Vampire Weekend’s website HERE will receive early access to UK & IRE Tour tickets. Further information can be found at vampireweekend.com.
Vampire Weekend
UK & European Tour 2024
Nov 29 2024 Dublin, Ireland 3Arena
Dec 01 2024 Manchester, UK O2 Apollo
Dec 02 2024 Manchester, UK O2 Apollo
Dec 04 2024 London, UK Eventim Apollo
Dec 06 2024 Wolverhampton, UK The Halls
Dec 08 2024 Glasgow, UK OVO Hydro
Dec 10 2024 London, UK O2 Academy Brixton
Dec 13 2024 Paris, France Adidas Arena
Dec 15 2024 Amsterdam, Netherlands AFAS Live
Jenny Don't and The Spurs ' 'Pain in My Heart'
Based in Portland, Oregon in the US Northwest, Jenny Don’t and the Spurs have spent over a decade building a reputation as hardworking and musically-driven stalwarts of the Country Western scene. Despite facing challenges - singer Jenny had vocal surgery in 2019 and drummer Sam Henry was lost to cancer in 2022 - they have remained resilient and fully committed to their musical journey. With a fierce DIY ethos, they have independently released the majority of their output (three albums, ten singles) on their own label, cultivating a vast international following via extensive tours across Europe and Australia/New Zealand, as well as performances in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Mexico.
The group most recently attracted attention with their album ‘Fire On The Ridge’, a collaboration with the Fluff and Gravy label that topped the Alt Country charts and earned excellent reviews in the UK, where they toured in 2023. The year also saw them win the coveted ‘Outlaw Group of the Year’ award at Dale Watson's Ameripolitan Award Ceremony held in Memphis, plus they joined Charley Crockett for multiple dates on his US tour before captivating audiences at the Out On The Weekend Fest in Melbourne, Australia.
Jenny Don’t and the Spurs remain committed to pursuing their passion and will release a brand new album entitled ‘Broken Hearted Blue’ in mid-June 2024. An initial single from it, ‘Pain In My Heart’, has been released today, a song that Jenny explains “draws from the timeless style of Johnny Paycheck and is my take on classic country storytelling. It's all about that moment of reflection, where you realise you've messed up but still hold out hope for redemption. It's like saying, 'Yeah, I screwed up, but hey, I still love you.' That's the vibe – a mix of regret and optimism, just like those old-school country tunes.”