Rock International

It's not surprising that The Picturebooks recorded their 2014 album, Imaginary Horse [Riding Easy Records], in the same garage where they regularly refurbish and repair motorcycles and choppers. The German duo—Fynn Claus Grabke [vocals, guitar] and Philipp Mirtschink [drums]—capture a raw, rich, and real energy befitting of the room's natural reverb, industrial aura, and spiritual spark. Most importantly, the record also begins to rev up the boys' career like never before. Fynn and Philipp first crossed paths at a local skate park. Becoming fast friends, they realized their mutual interests extended beyond shredding half-pipes and into music like The Smiths, The Cure, and Minor Threat. Soon, they began writing songs together, utilizing equipment Fynn's dad Claus had accumulated over his years as a musician and record producer.After two independent releases in Europe, the pair played major festivals such as Sziget and toured with everybody from International Noise Conspiracy to Spinnerette. Simultaneously, they garnered international attention for their motorcycle builds and received prominent profiles in tastemaker publications including DICE Magazine, Kustom, and many others.They made their first trek to the United States in 2013. Following an explosive Hollywood gig supporting Eagles of Death Metal for DICE, they embarked on their inaugural North American tour and buzz began to organically spread through word of mouth and social media, specifically Twitter and Instagram. By the time they returned home, the group had inked a deal with Riding Easy Records. The Picturebooks retreated to their "garage" in order to record Imaginary Horse during early 2014. Mirroring their daredevil skateboarding ethos, they broke rules while recording. For starters, there was considerable physical space between the musicians and the microphones, and it wasn't simply a sterile studio environment. The concrete floors and airy expanse contributed to the sound, and the overall atmosphere proved quite a propos."It really helped us formulate our style," declares Fynn. "First of all, the studio is in the middle of nowhere. There are forests and fields around it. You can focus on making music without any distractions. Our goal was to come up with as unique of a sound as possible. We recorded everything in the garage with two mics next to our motorcycles fifteen feet away from us. I would basically sit on my chopper and sing. We got this incredible, real reverb. It was just awesome." In fact, Fynn even sees quite a few similarities between building a rock song and a bike. He smiles, "Coming from skateboarding and then making music, motorcycles were an extension from both of those pursuits. Building your own bike, you decide the colors, choose the bars, the engine, and the frame. It's like producing a song." They even constructed their own instruments to boot. Fynn picked up thrift shop guitars in Los Angeles. Influenced by the tribal sounds of Native American music, the frontman built custom percussion and augmented his guitars with bells. Moreover, Philipp decided to eschew playing cymbals and adopted large Toms, which he bashes with mallets instead of sticks. They conjuredtrue fire in the garage with that astounding, untainted reverb and their personal arsenal of modified instruments. That fire pulsates through the first single "Your Kisses Burn Like Fire". A hulking beat gives way to a bluesy guitar twinge before Fynn howls the titular refrain."David Bowie used to write one word on a piece of paper, and then he'd put all of these words together to make lyrics," explains Fynn. "I was really intrigued by that technique. This song came together in a similar way. Of course, there's a girl, and this feeling of being lost lyrically. That hurts, but it comes out in the performance." Meanwhile, the title track takes flight on that distorted hum and booming echo before slipping into psychedelic territory. "I had an imaginary horse when I was a kid," the singer recalls. "He was called Pon Pon, and he was with me all the time. He was that companion by my side. It was so crazy I had to write a song about him." "PCH Diamond" tells a vivid, cinematic tale of the band's time in Huntington Beach, CA at the Sun'n Sand Motel. Fynn's lyrics paint a picture of Southern California pulp as he recounts one night in particular. "The Pacific Coast Highway is always the first place we go when we arrive from Germany," he says. "It gives you this strange feeling. We spent three weeks at the hotel in Huntington, and so much happened. The lyrics are a story. I bought this diamond ring from a guy who told me he was a 'Shaman'. It was the cheapest piece of shit ever that I paid too much money for [Laughs]. However, you don't want to fuck around with a shaman so I bought it. It made for a good song subject!" Ultimately, all of these pieces form a blues rock pastiche that's as individualistic as it is infectious. The Picturebooks' Imaginary Horse becomes a reality for rock 'n' roll now. "We never wanted to sound like anybody else," concludes Fynn. "We've done everything possible to create something our own. I hope people see that, hear it, and feel it Record Label: Nois-O-lution Style: Alternative Rock

A ship at port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” (Grace Hopper) Following their debut, “Hold this Ghost”, whose immediate melodies and lush orchestration garnered significant press and a devoted listenership worldwide, Musée Mécanique returns with the ambitious “From Shores of Sleep”, a through-composed musical voyage that finds its lineage as much in the song-cycles of Robert Schumann as in its Portland, Oregon folk-rock contemporaries. Using water as a central image, Musée Mécanique has crafted a story both surreal and insightful, meticulous and moving, a record about travels and transitions, of restlessness and longing, and the grief that comes from leaving things behind.“From Shores of Sleep” is a statement twenty years in the making. Songwriters Micah Rabwin and Sean Ogilvie met in their 9th grade English class and have been making music together ever since. Rabwin reflects “We've known each other for 20 years, through burgeoning adolescence, making bad decisions, having children and getting married. We were coming to terms with what it means to grow up.” Over the course of two years, they labored over lyrics both together and separately, referencing Homer’s Odyssey, Dante’s Inferno, Jacques Cousteau, old sailors legends, as well as their own interactions with the ocean and the rivers near Portland. As Ogilvie notes, “There were so many personal struggles and observations from our combined lives that we wanted to fuse into this one small forty-five minute piece of material.” Rich with wordplay, lyrics with double and triple meanings, and references to earlier songs in later songs, the musical journey ultimately parallels the time and emotional toll of making the record; reconciling the writer’s identities as artists with the responsibilities and expectations of adulthood and forming a dialogue between the dreamer and the realist.Ogilvie’s background in classical composition is apparent throughout “From Shores Of Sleep”, as is his tenure with respected post-rock instrumental band Tristeza. From the upbeat opener “O Astoria” to the arresting choral harmonies of “Castle Walls”, arrangements mirror and interact with the lyrics. Strings, woodwinds and synthesizer sounds appear and re-appear, often playing characters, not unlike Tchaikovsky’s instrumentation in “Peter and The Wolf”. Sirens enter, sung beautifully by Johanna Kunin and Alela Diane. Layered percussion at times resembles the complex rigging of a ship, and elsewhere invokes the steady pulse of ocean waves. The album ends with a quiet meditation on mortality “The Shaker’s Cask”: a pump organ dissolves into a string quintet then makes way for a regal section of woodwind and brass, each change emphasizing the song’s message: all things will pass.To perform the arrangements live is a daunting task requiring more than a dozen keyboards and an array of acoustic instruments from flugelhorn to lap-steel to musical saw. Nevertheless, having swelled from a duo into a solid five-piece, the band now pulls it off with impressive passion and precision. Musée Mécanique includes drummer/ethnomusicologist Matthew Berger, one-man brass section John Whaley, and skilled multi-instrumentalist Brian Perez. Each player must do several things at once, all the while singing complex harmonies, to succeed in capturing both the technical complexity of From Shores of Sleep, and also its emotional depth and generous spirit. Not available for most territories. Please ask for details. Record Label: Glitterhouse Style: Alternative Rock

Artist: Horseback Label: Three Lobed Rec.

Artist: Monochrome Set Label: Video Music, Inc.

Composer: German Brass Label: Berlin Classics (Edel)

Artist: Rick Vito Label: Hypertension

Artist: Nathan Bowles Label: Paradise Of Bachelors

Artist: Christian Death Label: Cleopatra

Artist: Nathan Bowles Label: Paradise Of Bachelors

Artist: Sundials Label: Topshelf Records

Artist: Little Village Label: Sonic Boom

Artist: Andrea Belfi Label: Miasmah

Artist: Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band Label: Gonzo

Artist: Dick Wagner Label: Real Gone Music

Artist: Requiem Label: Cleopatra

Artist: Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band Label: NO QUARTER

Ltd. Edition - 500 RED VINYL!! Formed in the South of England in the late 1980s, THRESHOLD combined the influences of heavy metal and progressive rock to craft their own unique sound which was a far cry from the commercial sound of the time. With a line-up of Damian Wilson (vocals), Karl Groom (guitar), Nick Midson (guitar), Jon Jeary (bass), Richard West (keyboards) and Tony Grinham (drums), THRESHOLD released their highly acclaimed debut album "Wounded Land" in 1993. The following five years saw the release of the albums "Psychedelicatessen" (1994), "Extinct Instinct" (1997) and "Clone" (1998), and tours with bands such as DREAM THEATER, PSYCHOTIC WALTZ and PAIN OF SALVATION. In 1998 Andrew "Mac" McDermott became the band's third vocalist, following stints by Damian Wilson, Glynn Morgan and Damian Wilson for a second time. Later on, THRESHOLD released the records "Hypothetical" (2001), "Critical Mass" (2002) and "Subsurface" (2004), bringing long-awaited chart success for the band. In 2002 founding member Jon Jeary left the band shortly, to be followed in 2006 by fellow founder Nick Midson. THRESHOLD signed a deal with Nuclear Blast Records to release their eighth studio long player "Dead Reckoning" in 2007. Shortly after the release of the album, original vocalist Damian Wilson returned once again for the band's longest run of shows, with two European headline tours and numerous festival appearances, replacing former vocalist Mac, who sadly passed away on the 3rd of August 2011. Over the course of the release of THRESHOLD's overwhelmingly acclaimed new album "March Of Progress" on the 24th of August 2012, the decision was made to re-release the band's seven albums of their pre-Nuclear Blast era, enriched with extensive bonus material. Revive THRESHOLD's past and discover the timeless classics that earned them their legendary reputation through the "Definitive Editions". Record Label: Nuclear Blast Style: Metal

The 7" is available worldwide on a limited run of 750 copies and includes a download coupon. Atlanta trio Dasher's origins and mission statement are relatively simple - Kylee Kimbrough wrote a handful of songs on bass, switched over to drums and vocals, enlisted friends Ian Deaton and Jon Allinson to round out the lineup, and documented the humble beginnings with a debut cassette, Yeah I Know. While that premise is simple enough, describing Dasher's sound is a more complicated affair. Kimbrough cites Patti Smith as a major inspiration. Spin Magazine heard elements of Killing Joke and Wire. Band interviews mention the importance of local hardcore bands Manic and Ralph. Somehow all of these reference points work, yet none of them quite do the band justice. Granted, Kimbrough's commanding vocal delivery would make Patti proud. The primitive urgency of punk pioneers certainly pulses throughout Dasher's catalog. And the deliberate squall of basement hardcore permeates throughout their latest offering, a two-song 7" courtesy of Suicide Squeeze Records. Recorded by Jason Kingsland, "Soviet" b/w "Teeth" captures the no-frills energy of Atlanta's most propulsive post-punk band without tagging on any of the unnecessary conceptual or historical talking points lazy music writers rely o Record Label: Suicide Squeeze Style: Alternative Rock

Record Label: Crammed Style: Art Rock

Artist: Galahad Label: Galahad