New Personnel, New Parts, New Attitudes - Salem Wolves to Release Their First LP Tooth & Nail

The pack finds their stride. Salem Wolves to release first LP Tooth & Nail.

“We think being a singles band is evolutionarily the best thing for most bands. From a culture perspective, it makes sense because things are very content driven and the buzz cycle is short. People expect you to be pumping out new content on a regular basis.” That was Salem Wolves during a 2015 interview with Bishop & Rook. Since then, the band has produced a total of 6 singles and 1 EP. But on May 5th, the band prepares to release their first LP, Tooth & Nail (MegaHex Records), a 12-track record that is comprised primarily of previously released songs. So the question we ask is; will Tooth & Nail be enough “new content”?

This Lineup Though - Warn the Duke Vinyl Release Show

See you at the show - O'Brien's Pub Saturday August 20th.

Pack up your summer vacation early and head to Allston this weekend. Brooklyn, NY's Warn the Duke (former members of Big D and The Kids Table and River City Rebels) will be in town on Saturday, August 20th at O'Brien's Pub to promote the vinyl release of their 2015 debut LP ‘Ghost Be Gone’: recorded, mixed, and mastered by Jay Maas at Getaway Studios and distributed by Wire Tap Records. In celebration of the vinyl tour, the band has released an animated music video for “Noreaster” (originally premiering on punkrocktheory.com).

Like drinking a big glass or red wine, the nostalgic sound of loud 90’s alt/rock and prolific punk gruff along with catchy choruses and bright guitar riffs give you the warm sensation of satisfaction. Standout tracks are “Coastline”, “Harry O’Donnell” and “Chicago Lights”.

Supporting the touring band and making this a completely stacked show are locals Dan Webb and the Spiders, Diablogato, and Bundles. This show is $10 // 21+ // event details here // see you there.

‘Ghost Be Gone’ is available to stream on Bandcamp, iTunes and Spotify. Vinyl can be purchased at the show and via Wire Tap Records (limited pressing of 200).

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Beachy Keen – Riding Retro with Philly’s Queen of Jeans

Catch Queen of Jeans touring through town on August 6th.

Our hearts are aching over the vintage charm and carefree rhythm of Queen of Jeans’ S/T EP. It's essentially what we think opening a bottle of Polar's Unicorn Kisses sounds like.

For those of you who like Habibi / Shannon and the Clams / Colleen Green. Put on your oversized, rose-colored sunglasses, grab your favorite tall boy and hit play as you enjoy porch life with this swoon-worthy summer essential.

Ranging from wistful, ethereal harmonies to mod surf rock, the arrival of Philadelphia’s Queen of Jeans to the Boston area is very apropos. Listen to the band’s seductive sounds live on Saturday, August 6th at Lilypad with Bong Wish and The Heavies (event details) and Sunday, August 7th in Providence with PsychoTropics and Space Camp (event details).

‘Queen of Jeans’ is available for listen on SoundCloud and Spotify. 12” vinyl is available for purchase via Indiana DIY label Third Uncle Records for $15 with two color options: pink / baby blue split side and pink with baby blue splatter. Follow the band on Facebook and visit their official website for additional tour dates.

Record Premiere: Getting Our Zen on With Iron Elbows and 'Sanity Breath'

Record premiere! 'Sanity Breath' by Iron Elbows

Try this Zen Exercise on Your Way to Work.
Put in your earbuds in.
Click play on track “Epicurus”.
And just let the music walk with you.
Do you feel just the slightest bit more enlightened?

Iron Elbows is a Boston-based experimental guitar/synth brainchild of Derek Hixon (AKA Mint Pillow) and Zac Trainor (AKA Gold Must Die) formed in 2007. The pair combines guitar riffs and rhythms with atmospheric synths and mashed out sounds and minimalist sessions like standout track “Epicurus” on their sophomore album, and Bishop & Rook premiere, ‘Sanity Breath’.

“The name of the track was inspired by the Philosopher Epicurus,” Hixon tells Bishop & Rook. “Particularly with his teachings of ataraxia—peace and freedom from fear.”

Once both situated within the Boston area, Trainor relocated to North Carolina, resulting in a new, almost pen-pal approach to recording their second record.

“A lot of our songs, which are usually between 3-4 minutes, start off as a 20+ minute jams we did together. Recording in the same room is the desire, but it's just not our reality anymore,” Hixon explains of his partner’s relocation to NC. “We can only do the minimal now, so trading tracks is what we started doing which yields different results [than recording together]. You never know which way a track is going to turn when you hand it over and it's fun to hear how the other interpreted what you did. It's similar to the fold-in technique of creating poetry.”

In addition to Iron Elbows, the duo maintain passion projects including Hixon’s Visions of the Unexceed Boston music blog and podcast and Mint Pillow DJ nights, and Trainor’s music and visual art.

You can catch an all vinyl Mint Pillow DJ set this Thursday July 28th 9PM at State Park in Kendall Square, Cambridge (flyer below). Follow Iron Elbows on Facebook and visit the official websites of Visions of the Unexcued, and Zac Trainor for additional information. ‘Sanity Breath’ is available on Bandcamp for free (at a name your price donation).

Show Picks for July + August

Friends tell friends when there is a good show happening.

Looking for a good time? Perhaps you’re in the mood for new music, or cheap beer, or a place to hang with friends. Maybe you’re too broke to go on vacation and you blew through every available TV series on Netflix to the point where you’re wondering if your excessive abuse of the streaming service will render surcharges. #netflixshame Whatever your reason, here are some shows we’d go to this summer.

Song Premiere: Choke Up “Hart” – Appearing on Disposable America’s 'SPECIAL INTEREST' Mixtape

Disposable America's 'SPECIAL INTEREST' out July 15th, pre-order now.

Celebratory fist pump. Bishop & Rook is pleased to premiere the new Choke Up track “Hart", recorded at Converse Rubber Tracks and off Disposable America's upcoming benefit mixtape. As expected, Choke Up continues to maintain rank as an exceptionally talented Boston band.