Baltimore genre breakers Double Dagger have made the decision to split up, but are sweeping the east coast with a mini tour before they say goodbye. The three piece band has been a DIY punk staple in the Baltimore scene for 9 years, and are well known for their political approach to punk music that’s still catchy and inventive.
The three members of the band are already working on new projects: lead singer Nolen Strales and bassist Bruce Willen are working on their graphic design company, Post Typography, and drummer Denny Bowen is working on new music under the name Room Runner. To get your last fill of Double Dagger, the band’s also put out an EP called Masks, full of their sarcastic and explosive genre bending music, out now on Thrill Jockey.
The band’s final tour dates will be kicking off on October 12 in Baltimore at Charm City Art Space. Check out more info on their website. -Amanda D.
We've always been big fans of Luke Temple, and it's good to see that, together with the Here We Go Magic crew, the man is keeping at it with increasingly beautiful records and videos. The band's new album "A Different Ship" (stream it here) will be out on May 8, and betrays at least a partial return to Luke Temple's more intimate and melodic sound from his solo repertoire - in this regard, lend a ear to "Hard to Be Close," "Alone but Moving" and "Over the Ocean". This is welcome news for fans like us who always thought that in most HWGM material Luke's noteworthy songwriting skills seemed a little sacrificed on the altar of textural experimentation. This doesn't mean that the band's signature hypnotic, impressionistic sound is lost - it's just that these two elements work together better than they did in past records, and this is what makes this album one of the NYC highlights of the year so far. Indeed, this collection also features songs more in line with the band's past releases ("Make Up your Mind", "I Believe in Action"), which follow on the steps of brainy-pop icons like Brian Eno and The Feelies, but there's definitely a balance here, also betrayed by the almost perfect alternation of melodic songs and less traditional ones.The just released video of "How Do I Know," telling the story of a rejected dancing robot that ends up revitalizing an older man's appreciation for life, seems to reflect on this brain/heart, mechanic/organic dichotomies and somehow bring them to unity. - PDG
Post new comment