Eclectic Cincinnati Reggae crew The Cliftones
— one of the best Reggae outfits in the region — will be celebrating the release of their latest single, “Hold Steady,” this Saturday with a show at Northside club Mayday . DJ Mowgli will also perform. Advanced tickets are available now for $7. The first 100 people through the door will receive a free download card giving access to the single.
Like the band’s previous single — “Hard Ground,” released in January — The Cliftones once again have some legendary ears/mixing fingers involved with “Hold Steady.” “Hard Ground” was mixed in D.C. by Jim Fox, who has worked with icons like Black Uhuru, Gregory Isaacs, Barrington Levy and Culture. For “Hold Steady,” DJ Prophecy (known for work with Bassnectar and Glitch Mob) handled the mixing, while Dub legend Scientist handled mastering duties.
The Cliftones will be unleashing two more singles in the coming months, leading up to a vinyl EP release this summer. Find out more about The Cliftones at thecliftones.com.
For an exclusive listen to “Hold Steady,” visit CityBeat
's music blog here.
The National: About to Get Busy
Cincinnati-bred, Brooklyn-based Indie Rock group The National
has revealed the track listing and album cover for its forthcoming Trouble Will Find Me , due out on the 4AD label May 21. The album — The National’s sixth — is just a part of a slew of activity on the horizon for the band. (View the track listing and album cover at the CityBeat music blog here .)
In an interview with Gothamist.com, drummer Bryan Devendorf said the new release will feature guest appearances by St. Vincent, Sharon Van Etten, Sufjan Stevens and Richard Reed Perry. Each of those artists has been a part of MusicNOW, the unique and popular Cincy music festival put on by The National’s Bryce Dessner. MusicNOW
returns to Memorial Hall (next to Music Hall) on April 12-14 , with performers including Tinariwen, Glen Hansard and Steve Reich. The April 13 date with Hansard has sold out, but weekend passes and tickets for the other dates are available through brownpapertickets.com .
A few weeks ago it was announced that The National would perform at the Tribeca Film Festival, where the road documentary Mistaken For Strangers will also premiere (on April 17). The flick was made by Tom Berninger, a Cincinnatian and lead singer Matt Berninger’s younger brother. Tom — who’s called a “Heavy Metal and horror movie enthusiast” in the press materials — toured with The National as a first-time roadie and brought a camera along. Hilarity (and some friction, reportedly) ensues. The film will also screen at the NXNE fest in Toronto in late April/early May.
After the album release, of course, The National begin globe-trotting, touring the planet — including a headlining show at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, a slot at the Bonnaroo fest in Tennessee and a headlining appearance at Cincinnati’s Bunbury Festival on July 14. (Buy tickets and view the full Bunbury lineup at bunburyfestival.com.)
Here's the song from which the movie's title was swiped:
Local Metal Releases Celebrated Saturday
• Saturday at Downtown club Mainstay, progressive Doom/Drone Metal act Grey Host
will celebrate the release of its latest, Dawn for Vultures . You can pre-order the six-track release (as a CD, download or with a T-shirt) at greyhost.bandcamp.com and get an automatic download of lead-off track, “Noble Beast.” The band will have limited copies of the release available (with a special poster from the show) at Mainstay. Grey Host is joined Saturday by Ohio Knife and Valley of the Sun , which is also working towards a new release. The 9 p.m. show is free. ( facebook.com/greyhost )
Here's "Noble Beast":
• Saturday at Covington’s Madison Theater, local Death/Hardcore/Thrash Metal crew Gabriel’s Hounds
host a release party for their latest effort, The Struggle Between … EP. Joining the group for the 8 p.m., all-ages show: Dark Region , Holesinger , Serpentarius , Souls for the Taking , It ’s Either Me or the Mailman and In Ashes . Admission is $8. You can sample the new album’s title track right now at reverbnation.com/gabrielshoundsofficial or here:
CONTACT MIKE BREEN: [email protected] or @CityBeatMusic or on Facebook here.
