Music Press Release Roundup

We get a ton of press releases from all over the country, and do our best to pick through them to find bands from the NW or who are touring the NW. We’ll be doing a sporadic series of posts just throwing the releases out there (here) regardless of origin/desination. Without further ado, here is NWMB Press Release Roundup #1.

The band: Dubious Ranger

The release:

We’re excited to be working with DUBIOUS RANGER (www.dubiousranger.com).  They are a San Francisco-based band with a funky new sound that mixes David Bowie, Pavement, Talking Heads and modern indie rock. We hope you’re excited about them too.  But, so far, we’ve not gotten your feedback.  Hence, this email because inquiring minds want to know.

Our take: Nice tight 80s sound, “Weapon” slightly reminiscent of Duran Duran.

The band: Toubab Krewe

The release:

Toubab Krewe have added another exciting festival to their summer itinerary. The Asheville-based quintet, which Jambase calls “the next surefire stars of our scene,” are set to play the second annual Rothbury festival (July 2-5), after the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival (June 11-14).

Our take: Not our cup o tea, but we “get” why they’re successful.

The band: Born Anchors NWMB Pick

The release:

The new single Disguise from the BORN ANCHORS upcoming album “Sprezzatura!” is available for free download for a week before its CD release!  Here’s a special link to the fully mastered album, available in full before the official March 23rd street date: http://www.last.fm/music/Born Anchors/Sprezzatura

For more info about the band, here’s last Friday’s Song Of The Day interview at the legendary KEXP Blog: http://blog.kexp.org/blog/2009/03/13/song-of-the-day-born-anchors-in-disguise/

Our take: These new tracks are excellent. Catch Born Anchors at their Record Release Show @ Cha Cha April 5.

The band book: Gooseberries

The release:

What do Silversun Pickups, Rogue Wave, Earlimart and Great Northern have in common?  They’re all featured in GOOSEBERRIES, the new limited-edition book from Sterling Andrews, photographer and mastermind.  This one-of-a-kind collection will be available in a 12″ hand-painted gatefold featuring the 12 individual band portraits along with a bonus DVD of time-lapse videos documenting Sterling’s painting process during the shoots coupled with exclusive artist interviews.

The band: The Juan MacLean

The release:

If ever there was a musical act guaranteed to put a smile on your face, The Juan MacLean is it! In fact, so confident of their intent and ability to bring joy to the world, they actually called their latest dance jam “Happy House,” which nobody could dispute. The track had music lovers like our friends at The Fader “drooling like babies”, and Pitchfork noting that the song’s “dozen never-wasted minutes” were “happy and housey as all get out.”

Our take: The Human League, 2009