Project Rhythm Seed reviews Madeline's B-Sides!

Georgia native, folk pop singer, Madeline recently released B Sides, a collection of demos and rarities from her previous four albums. Madeline Adams has been singing and recording music since she was fifteen with her first album, Kissing & Dancing released in 2002 with modest success. Madeline is a talented chanteuse who produces likeable simple ballads reminiscent of old timer folk artists with whimsical flair. B Sides is another lovely collection of understated, pretty songs from Madeline.

“What Little Girls Do,” “Shame,” and “Beautiful Future” are all nostalgic ballads featuring Madeline’s beautiful voice backed by bare acoustic guitar strums. “Shame” is a gorgeous track filled with mournful lyrics as Madeline sings poignantly, “Well I pray to god you miss me, and I hate my every bone, either this town’s gotten smaller or I swear to god that you’ve grown.”

Read the rest HERE.

A few things that made 2011 a little bit brighter around the Riot Act offices!

As publicists, we spend all year sending you music and asking you to listen. For a change, we thought it might be nice to share wih you what we we had on constant rotation this year. First and foremost, all of us at Riot Act are massive music nerds and that's truly the reason we're in this business. Should there be any other reason? We also included a few other fun lists of neat, rad and / or goofy stuff that has helped to keep us sane throughout the year that was 2011. As always, thanks for listening!!!

Joan Hiller

MY TOP TEN RECORDS OF 2011:
1. Fleet Foxes -- Helplessness Blues
2. Wye Oak -- Civilian
3. TuNeYaRdS -- whokill
4. Wild Flag -- Wild Flag
5. St. Vincent -- Strange Mercy
6. James Blake -- James Blake
7. Kate Bush -- 50 Words For Snow
8. Destroyer -- Kaputt
9. Washed Out -- Within and Without
10. Mountain Goats -- All Eternals Deck

TOP EIGHT QUOTES RE: THINGS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT MOVING FORWARD IN 2012:
1. "Do it!" --Henry Rollins
2. "As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do." --Dale Carnegie
3. "The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them."--Maya Angelou
4. "I hold this to be the highest task between two people: that each protects the solitude of the other."--Rainer Maria Rilke
5. "Forgotten is forgiven."--F.Scott Fitzgerald
6. "Do not weep, do not wax indignant. Understand."--Baruch Spinoza
7. "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."--Bill Cosby
8. "No bullshit this year."--Me.

TOP FIVE THINGS OF 2011 I SAW ON A STAGE:
1. Playing shows with Dave Depper's Ram Project band (and hearing my voice on vinyl for the first time, which did not happen on a stage).
2. Being two feet away from Yoko Ono during her INSANELY AMAZING show (band: Sean Lennon, Charlotte Kemp-Muhl, Nels Cline, Yuka Honda, Yuko Araki, Hirotaka Shimizu, Merrill Garbus) at SXSW 2011.
3. Decemberists at Edgefield w/Rachel Blumberg guest-drumming alongside John Moen
4. Neko Case at Edgefield, killing it.
5. Brittain Ashford, Kurt Braunohler & Kristen Schaal at Hot Tub, Littlefield NYC.

Nathan Walker


Ten Records I Jammed Hard (that weren't my clients equally amazing albums):
1. Timber Timbre "Creep On Creepin' On"
Imagine Screamin' Jay Hawkins for the 21st Century... it's at once spooky and soulful and was on repeat at my house since the first time I listened.
2. Austra "Feel It Break"
A heartbreakingly beautiful voice set against music that even makes my stone legs dance.
3. Peaking Lights "936"
The sound of sun warming your limbs while you lay in the grass. It'll warm you on the darkest of days.
4. Dirtbombs "Party Store"
Mick Collins asked the universe "What would Nathan Walker's perfect party record be?" The answer came back and it was "Party Store".
5. Jacuzzi Boys "Glazin"
F.U.N. - pure and simple
6. Pure X "Pleasure"
Even though I don't do drugs anymore, I still like to listen to music that sounds like I do.
7. Noveller "Glacial Glow"
A calming, gentle record that when listened to with your eyes closed takes you airborne and allows you to travel through sparse, lush landscapes.
8. The Men "Leave Home"
Perfect for the times you need to hear pure anger from your speakers.
9. Little Wings "Black Grass"
Kyle Field is a national treasure and I doubt he'll ever make a record that won't make my top ten.
10. EMA "Past Life Martyred Saints"
Remember Hole before all the drama and lawsuits? Remember how good it felt to hear her sneers shivering through your stereo? Check out EMA.

Ten best things about my job in the past year:
1. For the first time in my life, I've earned enough miles to get a free flight.
2. Finally looking stubborn or old enough that when I say I'm supposed to on the list, door folks believe me.
3. My incredible intern, Anne Ostrowski, who's made my life far, far less stressful.
4. Getting introduced to the music of Sibylle Baier by the Lightman twins from Tasseomancy.
5. Hosting a CMJ party that was packed out to maximum capacity
6. Booking flights to SXSW the day before our sxsw party and making it into Austin with a spare two hours to sleep before the party kicked off.
7. Meeting our newest staff member, Kelly McClure, and promptly devouring pounds of bbq, pints of local ales and shots of nice bourbon.
8. Hanging out with some of my idols, the staff of NPR music in SXSW at 11 am on the final day of the festival. Nothing like pure exhaustion to take everyone's guards down a notch.
9. Jet Blue
10. Getting paid to work in music. AKA having my dream job.

Ten best things about 2011:
1. My wife.
2. 2011 was the year of BBQ brisket (and, unfortunately, gaining five pounds).
3. Fake twitter accounts make my tedious day of working alone from the home office that much better. Nothing helps you maintain your sanity like interacting with fake celebrities via the internet.
4. Brooklyn. In year's past I'd openly despised NYC but 2011 was the year that the city revealed its charms to me.
5. Eating sandwiches! Though, that's in close running for the best thing in the history of man.
6. Becoming friends with the members of Brass Bed and learning the meaning of "muh baw."
7. Purging boxes and boxes of things I'd hoarded through out the years. #freedom
8. #succombingtotheideathathashtaggingthingscanbefun
9. Getting accustomed to crying because of a song, a sentence, a movie, a tv show... just letting it fly when the emotion hits.
10. Embracing old age with an arsenal of eye cream and serums.

Kelly McClure

TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2011 THAT MADE ME WANT TO BACKFLIP ONTO THE BACK OF A UNICORN
1) AUSTRA - FEEL IT BREAK
They say that if you've ever been goth, even for just a little bit, that it stays with you forever. Well this first release from Canadian based, Austra is so beautiful, and so perfect in every way, that not only will it for sure stay with me forever, but it makes me want to wear cloaks and capes again, and hang out in churches just because of the good lighting. I don't know. It's intense.
2) DAVID LYNCH - CRAZY CLOWN TIME
David Lynch scares the crap out of me, while also bringing me insane amounts of mental pleasure, all at the same time. On his first full-length album he sings about, well, who knows what he's singing about really ... but I stand behind it completely.
3) REIGNS - THE WIDOW BLADES
This album is an eerie and beautiful musical exploration into the disappearance of a woman named Millicent Blades. It was recorded at all of the last known locations visited by Millicent on what is assumed to be her last day on earth. DARK! AND GOOD!
4) WILD FLAG - S/T
I was excited about this album for about six months prior to it even coming out. Now that I've had it in my sweaty hands for awhile, it's safe to say that I still love it and play it in full about every other day. Carrie Brownstein can really do no wrong in my eyes.
5) CHRISTMAS - "Namiot" 7"
You know how sometimes you listen to a band and get that "they're gonna be huge" feeling? Well when I listen to Christmas, a punk band formerly from Olympia, Washington, and now from all sorts of different places, the feeling of hugeness is so intense that it would not be deemed healthy to listen to them with headphones on. These sounds need lots of space to rip shit up.
6) DUM DUM GIRLS - ONLY IN DREAMS
If you could take a spaceship back in time and make The Pretenders into a band consisting of a bunch of hot women, that's what the Dum Dum Girls would be. This was my go-to album I'd put on while showering and getting ready in the morning for months.
7) WILD BEASTS - SMOTHER
People have told me that Wild Beasts are an acquired taste. I personally think that anyone who doesn't like this band is just a poop head, although I'm sure taste does factor in there somewhere.
8) LYKKE LI - WOUNDED RHYMES
Lykke Li is a wolverine of vocals and emotional lyrics. I've listened to this album nothing short of 100 times and I pick up something new each time I listen to it. Complex and gorgeous. This is also a surprisingly good "romance album" if you can pick up what I'm putting down there.
9) OKKERVIL RIVER - I AM VERY FAR
I'm loyal to Okkervil River like I'm loyal to the brands of condiments and house cleaning supplies I fill my home with. Why give up on a good thing? And they're consistently good. Will Sheff just "gets me."
10) SANDRA BERNHARD - I LOVE BEING ME, DON'T YOU?
I don't know which is funnier, this comedy album by one of my favorite people on the planet, or the sounds of me listening to it with headphones on and filling an empty apartment with the sounds of insane laughter. The last time I listened to it I laughed so loud that I scared my cat.

TOP TEN BEST THINGS ABOUT LIFE IN 2011
1) Began the year by ending a cross-country drive from New York to Olympia, Washington in a snowstorm, and lived!
2) Moved back to New York
3) Learned about the Slow Loris
4) Joined the Riot Act team and get to work from home!!
5) Best co-workers ever at both Riot Act and Vice Magazine (duality is my thing).
6) Austra
7) Gays being officially allowed to marry in New York slash lesbians in general
8) Met some super attractive people
9) Flew on a plane with my cat for the first time, and neither of us had a nervous breakdown or hurt anyone!
10) Discovered Pies N Thighs (namely the chicken biscuit).

Anne Ostrowski

Favorites of 2011
1. Chad Van Gaalen - Diaper Island. Chad Van Gaalen has been self-recording his albums and animating his own videos for years, his latest is a subdued mixture of indie pop with subtle, electronic flourishes. The first single from the album, "Peace On The Rise" was probably the single most played track in my car all year.
2. Russian Circles - Empros. Oh man, this trio out of Chicago is absolutely incredible live. Their dynamic, instrumental rock is best represented on their debut full-length Enter, but this album is great too, and worth picking up.
3. Papercuts - Fading Parade. The project of multi-instrumentalist Jason Quever of San Francisco, Papercuts elicits the best kind of sleepy and nostalgic feelings with an abundance of vintage keyboards and reverb laden pop.
4. Pygmy Lush - Old Friends. You might be a little confused if you've ever listened to Pygmy Lush's early releases, since they split time between recording delicate folk and full-fledged hardcore, but the songs on this full-length are all slow building folk and somber acoustics.
5. Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin' On. I first really gave this album the attention it deserved when I had to write about Timber TImbre for a writing assignment, and I'm glad I did. This entire album sounds so effortless and natural, and in my opinion, they are one of the few bands that featured saxophone on their album this year and didn't overdo it on the cheese factor (hello Beth/Rest).
6. Mannequin Men - Self-Titled. It was pretty much their song "Hobby Girl" that did it for me, if you can play that song and not have it stuck in your head all day, I will be incredibly surprised, and probably not believe a word you say.
7. Dirty Beaches - Badlands. Retro dream pop from the one man band Dirty Beaches, complete with heavy handed reverb and an unmistakable Roy Orbison influence.
8. Red Fang - Murder The Mountains. Ah, local Portland garage metal at it's finest. Yeah, sometimes it's pretty cheesy and reminiscent of old school metal from decades past, but that doesn't make it any less fun to blast at full volume.
9. Blouse - Self-Titled. '80s era synth pop from local Portlander's Blouse, because sometimes you need some laid back beats to dance to, and these guys provide them in spades.
10. Woods - Sun and Shade. I've always had a soft spot for Woods since first hearing their "Make Time For Kitty" track, because really, there is a disproportionate number of bands singing about cats considering how many cat videos we are all watching on youtube.

Top reasons it rules to be a Riot Act intern.
1) Your work consists of promoting music, really enough said right there.
2) Nathan, Joan, and Kelly are all hilarious.
3) You never have to make coffee or do other boring things typically associated with being an intern. In fact, coffee has actually been bought for me on several occasions.
4) Access to great albums.
5) When you accidentally misspell names in blog posts you are very kindly made aware of it.
6) You get to learn the pr ropes first hand by doing mini campaigns for local bands and events.
7) You like your job so much you decide to stop bragging about being an intern here so no one gets any smart ideas about usurping your position.

SHELBY EARL'S GORGEOUS NEW CHRISTMAS SONG!

This Christmas Is For Us by shelbyearl1

Watch The Loom Play NPR's Roof Top For Their Deskless Concert Series

"When The Loom came to our office to film its Deskless Concert session, band members John Fanning, Lis Rubard, Sarah Renfro, Jon Alvarez, and Dan Desloover, expertly translated their noisy-soft, fuzzed out-yet-refined folk-rock numbers to our strange rooftop setting. We decided that the only way to properly depict such a classy bunch of people was to film them in black and white." Head on over to NPR to read their full review.

LOW TIMES/EETS FEATS SPLIT: LET ME KNOW IF I CAN SEND IT TO YOU.

We are psyched to be working with San Antonio, Texas' LOW TIMES. This trio of rockers cite any number of influences for their surf trash/garage bash sound (The Ramones, Tyvek, and the 13th Floor Elevators are the names that come up most often), but the core of their sound comes down to this: "It's all about fun for us."

Even without them saying so, it wouldn't take long for you to pick up on that when listening to the San Antonio, Texas band's music or seeing them play live. This is a group of young men that loves the hell out of being around each other and playing music together.

Watch Dana Falconberry's New Video For Her Single "Petosky Stone"

Petosky Stone from One Story Productions on Vimeo.

Sadie Magazine interviews Zoe Boekbinder!

Niina: What's the most disgusting food combination you can think of?

Zoe: I love food so much it's hard to even think of a disgusting food combination. Like I actually think bologna and Skittles would be really good.

Niina: It would make a kind of sweet gravy.

Zoe: But I really like sweet and savory together.

Now she’s dodged me completely gracefully, and we are both laughing.

Niina: OK, here’s the real beginning of this interview: how long have you been on this particular tour (with Mal Blum)?

Zoe: Three weeks.

Niina: What is your favorite city you've been in, this tour or ever?

Zoe: Every time I go to New Orleans, something about it just takes me in its arms and cradles me and pets my head. When I go there, something magical happens, and it never fails me, whether I'm there for twenty-four hours or a month.

Read the rest of the interview HERE.

ON APPROPRIATION: a film by artist and director Bon Jane

"After witnessing an idea she pitched to a major artist be used for a video resulting in a nomination to the MTV Video Music Awards, New York artist and director Bon Jane sets out to start a dialogue on artistic appropriation and ethical creative collaboration in the arts. The short documentary on the subject of artistic appropriation and ethical creativity and collaboration will feature interviews with artists, directors and musicians including Gilles Bensimon (photographer, former Creative Director Elle Magazine) and Derek Trucks (musician, guitarist for The Allman Brothers and Eric Clapton), among others. This preview of this film will be released on YouTube, Vimeo and the artist's site on December 6^th, 2011. The official short film will be released Friday, December 16th, 2011, also on YouTube, Vimeo, and the artist's site."

SSG Music premieres "Raining in the Philippines" off of Madeline's B-Sides album!

The four-piece rock band Madeline is led by Madeline Adams from Athens, GA who began her career when she moved to Bloomington, ID to work with punk label Plan-It-X Records and later toured with many punk acts such as Japanther and Against Me. Madeline Adams’ last name was consistently forgotten while she began playing her first shows in Indiana, and ultimately she decided to drop it in favor of the simplistic band name Madeline. Eventually, Madeline Adams returned to Athens to work with Orange Twin Records to collaborate withPhosphorescent, the Elephant 6 collective (including Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, Nana Grizol), Phil Elverum (Mt. Eerie), Karl Blau (The Microphones) and her ownBlack Velvet Band.

Madeline’s musical creations date back to as early as 2000, and along the way some quality songs didn’t make their way onto their studio albums. Madeline Adams plans to change that now, with the release of the Madeline B Sides which is scheduled for release on January 3^rd, 2012 and homes many rare and unreleased songs, including a live favorite “30 Days,” which has never been released until now and her wistful tune “Diving Boards” which was written in 2004 during Madeline’s White Flag session. Have a listen to “Raining in the Philippines,” another one of Madeline’s rare B-sides songs below as an exclusive SSG Music first listen!

LISTEN HERE!

The Pack a.d.'s "Unpersons" Named One of The Top Five Canadian Albums of 2011 On Pop Matters

"In the past, the Pack A.D. have generally been known as the kind of gutsy, ramshackle garage punk act that, while a guaranteed good time, still carry very little cerebral resonance. But on Unpersons, the band dives deep into the gutters of their psyche and tell the kind of harsh break-up story we’ve all experienced. Unpersons simply articulates that universal pain, anger and frustration." Read Pop Matters complete list right here.

Listen to Matt Bauer's Haunting Daytrotter Session Now

"Bauer, as a writer, focuses on those moments that fail to cease. They continue on and they make you worry about them for longer than you'd admit. You want to hear more about them. You'd like the other pieces, for their sparseness and their dances in the gloaming light is enchanting. He sings about those people, places and things passing in the night. It feels like most of what he's interested in occurs during these pitch-black nights, where we can sense that we're not alone, but we can never be sure. We want to know what's out there, what's more. We want to know what's brushing against us, cutting through the air unseen. It seems to be a part of us, so we yearn. He yearns." Visit Daytrotter now.

NEW VIDEO FROM THE JAMES LOW WESTERN FRONT; BAND RELEASES "WHISKEY FARMER" THIS FEBRUARY ON UNION MADE RECORDS

"The James Low Western Front’s new full-length, Whiskey Farmer, expertly and effortlessly delivers just that. The band may come from the lush climes of Portland, Oregon, but theirs is a sound that was born in towns like Nashville, Tennessee and Bakersfield, California. It shuffles, grooves, and sweats with the best of them, begging to be played through the in dash stereo of a pickup truck.
It's with that mood and setting in mind that Low wrote and the band (Tim Huggins, bass/vocals; Dave Camp, guitar/vocals; Joe Mengis, drums) arranged the album’s tracks.
The eight-song collection focuses on the plight of the titular character (portrayed on the front cover of the album by Low himself), someone that has, according to Low, "always done things kind of right- did OK in school, went to a generic college, racked up a shitload of debt, and got a job to pay off the debt. He drinks to forget. He alienates the ones who love him best, and just cannot believe that this is all there is to life." Watch the video here.

Listen To The Loom's Daytrotter Session Up Now

"This band, like it or not, makes us actually pain for and about the things that we try to brush off as the small stuff that's no big deal, that we choose to classify as insignificant." Take a listen for yourself over on Daytrotter.

Download Mannequin Men's Track "Van" on Brooklyn Vegan

"Chicago garage rock outfit Mannequin Men welcomed their fourth (and first self-titled) LP in the beginning of November via Addenda Records. The band just recently returned home from a month-long string of dates with Cheap Time, and we've fittingly got the album closer "Van" to share with you." Download the track now over on Brooklyn Vegan.

Brass Bed Stop By Daytrotter And Get Busy Recording

"Brass Bed music veers into the poppiest sides of neo psychedelic music, that of the Athens, Georgia scene of the late 90s and early 2000s. In fact, the plan on this day had been to team up with PCC and tape a handful of Olivia Tremor Control Center songs, but the idea didn't get far enough off the ground - great in theory and impossible in execution. Some of the oddness and spaciness of Olivia Tremor would have felt strange coming from Brass Bed as they tend to explore the sweetest aches of their hearts and not those bewildering and darker corridors of them." Listen to Brass Bed's Daytrotter Session now.

The Spinto Band's Film Score For "Biba! One Island, 879 Votes" Reviewed On The Owl Mag

"The Spinto Band‘s score to Benjamin Bloodwell‘s documentary is a true testament to their versatility and talent as musicians — it’s not every day you find an organ-heavy track that still manages to remind you of sipping a Pina Colada at the beach! This is an entirely different sound than we’re used to from them and sounds nothing like the band’s more popular tracks. Even in the absence of the familiar heartwarming indie vocals, The Spinto Band‘s instrumental composition delivers." Head on over to the Owl Mag to read the complete review of The Spinto Band's score.

Pop Matters Reviews Shelby Earl's "Burn the Boats"

"With songs that transcend trends and musical boundaries, Shelby Earl’s Burn the Boats is a fine example of a singer-songwriter who has honed her craft to a fine point and whose songs are both touching and inspiring." Read the complete review of Burn the Boats on Pop Matters.