We were caught off guard and wowed by Mariachi El Bronx’s last album (II) and several ensuing and vividly-captured live performances on Letterman, Kimmel and NPR.

At long last the band has announced the November 4th release of their next album, surprisingly entitled III on ATO Records.   The band will follow with a West Coast tour that will bring them to Santa Barbara at Velvet Jones on November 7th.  Check out below the first sample off the new album, the ferocious track New Beat.  We first hear the trademark percussion and horns, and the valiant vocals of Matt Caughthran, but a bit later (starting at 1:55) some added Specials-esque ska-inflections and Ghost Town hectorings.  Bravo Bronx!

See the new album’s tracklist and the upcoming tour dates at bottom.

MARIACHI EL BRONX (III) – TRACK LISTING

1. New Beat
2. Wildfires
3. Sticks And Stones
4. High Tide
5. Nothing’s Changed
6. Eternal
7. Raise The Dead
8. Everything Twice
9. Right Between The Eyes
10. Valya

MARIACHI EL BRONX – 2014 TOUR DATES
West Coast Headline Tour
11/5 – Los Angeles, CA @ The El Rey Theatre
11/6 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Brewing Co
11/7 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Velvet Jones
11/8 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
11/10 – Bellingham, WA @ The Wild Buffalo
11/11 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
11/12 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
11/14 – Sacramento, CA @ Assembly Music Hall
11/15 – Fresno, CA @ Strummers

One month from now will mark the fiftieth anniversary of Johnny Cash’s release of Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian.  At the height of the Civil Rights era in 1964, the album was released by Cash to add to the human rights spotlight the injustices done to Native Americans.

Earlier this year, producer/artist Joe Henry gathered together a cast of superb Americana artists (Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson, Gillian Welch, Dave Rawlings, Steve Earle, and Norman and Nancy Blake, amongst others) to pay tribute to the album and the anniversary by recording a new album entitled Look Again to the Wind: Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears Revisited on SonyMasterworks.  The album is out now.

To get a feel for the depth and quality on the tribute album, check out below (via Rolling Stone) Welch’s and Rawlings’ melodic modulation of (a la Bragg/Wilco to Guthrie’s poetry) Cash’s originally spoken-word cut As Long As the Grass Grows.  Cash’s winning way with words (“Cornplanter can you swim?”) is on display in the telling of the Seneca tribe’s broken treaty and the dam that broke their hearts.  Lake Perfidy indeed.

After listening to Welch and Rawlings, you can watch the Man in Black perform the original live with June Cash and Pete Seeger in , and the song’s lyrics are at bottom.

You can pick up this worthy album HERE and HERE.

As Long As The Grass Shall Grow

West coast twin-brothers The Mattson 2 (Jared and Jonathon) cavort in an evolving soundscape that melds surf-guitar, jazz, rock and Raga elements.  They have a brand new album Agar, on Um Yeah Arts, a label run by surf/skate film director Thomas Campbell.  The album title evidently came from the gelatinous substance that binds and connects items in a petri dish (to simplify, it’s “Raga” backwards).  The guitar and drum duo are on an extensive US tour that will bring them to the Mercury Lounge in Goleta on October 18th.  Be there.

To get a feel for this dynamic duo, check out below the outstanding new track Dif Juz off their new album, which begins Interpol-ated, then Hosannas for a while, but with the Mattson’s own distinctive signature.  Afterwards, check out some of their older recordings (but especially the very impressive live recording of Man From Anamnesis).  Finally, at bottom is their video for Black Rain, a standout track off of their last album, Feeling Hands.

And then get ye to the Mercury Lounge on October 18th to check out this up and coming combo.

The Mattson 2 – Black Rain from matti kakkori on Vimeo.

As mentioned recently here, The Staves have been recording with Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) at the production helm.  At long last we now have a taste of the musical magic arising from their collaboration.  Check out below the fantastic new track Blood I Bled.  The song begins cabin-slow and then takes off via layers of hectoring horns before planing to a sultry finish on shimmering strings.  Like a seaplane.  We hear in the track shades of the fantastic Feist and Joni Mitchell (no higher praise-by-comparisons in our book).  Superb!  Will be difficult now to stave off (apologies) our anticipation for the impending EP of the same name and their long-promised, Vernon-produced second album.  Bring ’em on!

The last year-plus has been incredibly fortuitous for The National, with the band gaining massive popularity following the release of their Best Album of 2013, Trouble Will Find Me, and receiving rapturous crowds on their everlasting tour in support of that album (including at our Best Concert of 2013).  Unfortunately, The National news has recently dwindled down to intermittent glimpses and semaphores from afar.

So we were very happy today to hear Strand of Oaks (and its leader, singer-songwriter Timothy Showalter), had smartly covered The National’s Pink Rabbits, one of our favorite songs off of Trouble Will Find Me.  Strand of Oaks recently released the heavy new album HEAL to critical acclaim, and we’re just beginning to catch up with the group. We’ll have more about them later.

In the meantime, check out below Strand of Oaks’ synth-laden, heartfelt cover of Pink Rabbits.  We love it.

Here at the Late (Late Late) Show, we’re just getting to know Sinkane, the group led by Sudan-born, Brooklyn-resident Ahmed Gallab (who has also been a member of the Caribou, Yeasayer and Of Montreal ensembles).  Sinkane began releasing records years ago, but it’s only been recently, with the release of new album Mean Love (on City Slang), that we’ve been hearing more (good things) about them.  Sinkane received assistance on the album from the likes of guests Damon Albarn, David Byrne, The Lijadu Sisters, Money Mark, and members of Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture, and Blood Orange.   Sold!

With videos/songs as great as How We Be below, Sinkane is destined to impress.  Check out the video (directed by Nick Bentgen) in which crazy-great dancers do their thing to this superb, funkified song.  In addition to soul/funk, we hear the pan-African influence in Gallab’s songs and perhaps a flash-ghosting by Curtis Mayfield.  Check the video 0ut below.

Afterwards listen to another outstanding, soulful track (Hold Tight) off the new album.   You can pick up the new album HERE, HERE and HERE.

Sinkane is on tour in Europe right now (check the dates HERE).

Last month we attended a special concert by The Antlers at the Mack Sennett Studios in LA sponsored by Pandora/StubHub (read our rave review and view pictures HERE).  The entire show is now available in audio and a portion in video HERE.   It was a great West Coast showing by the East Coast band, and it still bears up well a month later.  Check it out.

It’s been eight years since Damien Rice released his last album, but the hiatus will soon end when Rice releases the new My Favourite Faded Fantasy, produced by Rick Rubin.  The album is out on November 11th via Warner Bros Records.

This week Rice released the album’s triumphant title track.  The song begins slowly with Rice’s stirring falsetto, but then adds strings, vocals, drums, fuzzy electric guitar, horns and eventually the entire musical-kitchen-sink as the song builds to dramatic conclusion.  Maybe more artists should take eight years.  Check it out below.

As we wrote recently, Australian sibling-duo Angus & Julia Stone have just released their new eponymous album.  The duo has since been receiving accolades and preparing for a North American tour that is SOLD OUT (see the dates we missed out on below).  They have also released the official video for the breezy and loping track Grizzly Bear off the album.  Check it out below in all its California-centric glory (Joshua Tree, PCH, Big Sur, etc.).

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
10/06 – House of Blues – San Diego, CA – SOLD OUT
10/07 – The Regent – Los Angeles, CA – SOLD OUT
10/08 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA – SOLD OUT
10/10 – Vogue Theatre – Vancouver, BC – SOLD OUT
10/11 – Aladdin Theater – Portland, OR – SOLD OUT
10/12 – Neumos – Seattle, WA – SOLD OUT
10/14 – Urban Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT – SOLD OUT
10/15 – Gothic Theatre – Englewood, CO – SOLD OUT
10/17 – Majestic Theatre – Madison, WI – SOLD OUT
10/18 – Cedar Cultural Center – Minneapolis, MN – SOLD OUT
10/19 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL – SOLD OUT
10/21 – Opera House – Toronto, ON – SOLD OUT
10/22 – Virgin Mobile Corona Theatre – Montreal, QC – SOLD OUT
10/23 – The Sinclair – Cambridge, MA – SOLD OUT
10/25 – Sixth & I Historic Synagogue – Washington, DC – SOLD OUT
10/27 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY – SOLD OUT
10/28 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY – SOLD OUT
10/29 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA – SOLD OUT

Ryan Adams is out on tour in support of his critically-acclaimed new album Ryan Adams (which has tied his highest Metacritic rating), and he’ll play the Arlington in Santa Barbara on October 1st (tickets HERE, though it appears to be sold out).  While at it, he’s appeared on both the Letterman and Fallon shows in the last week.  Check out below as Dave Letterman gushes about Adams’ performance of Gimme Something Good off the new album on the Late Show.  Afterwards watch last week’s additional performances on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon (first, a song off the new album about somebody named Kim, followed by a superb, unplugged performance of great new song My Wrecking Ball).

Kim:

My Wrecking Ball: