Early adopters of home studio recording, the group – whose first release was the now-legendary ‘Santa Dog’ single in 1972, followed two years later by the LP Meet The Residents – have eagerly embraced new tools as they emerged, from two-track tape up through today’s modern digital technology. Leaping early and enthusiastically into the worlds of CD-ROM, DVD, podcasts and Internet video, they also extended their artistic reach into the world of film and video.

There are still tickets available to see this remarkable act in Amsterdam on Monday, 20 May, at the Muziekgebouw aan’t IJ. Get them here!

The Residents embarked on the European branch of their ‘Wonder of Weird’ tour this April. Snorting with glee and anticipation, the band re-interprets (and DEVOURS) its classic material like a hungry horse inhaling hay, while still blowing minds at full speed!

Below, take a plunge into the depths of the Residents’ unearthly intricacies with ‘One-Minute Movies,’ a collection of short films originally released to promote 1980′s The Commercial Album,which was later performed as a medley of sorts on live tours. The songs included are ‘The Simple Song,’ ‘Perfect Love,’ ‘The Act of Being Polite,’ and ‘Moisture.’

Just a few days ago, we learned that Superchunk will release I Hate Music, their tenth studio album, on August 20. The band has also announced US/Canadian tour dates throughout the late summer and fall.

These developments have led to this moment: Belmont Bookings proudly welcomes the truly legendary Superchunk to our European roster!

Check out the official album trailer below!

I Hate Music, while darkly and aggressively energetic, is an album about love more than anything else: love of life, love of living, love of people, and yeah, love of music. It defies its own title so completely and diligently that it never even seems like a fair fight: There’s no pain this deep or yearning this severe without the type of love earned over a lifetime.

These 10 new songs, along with Superchunk’s already remarkable repertoire, are sure to create a show atmosphere unlike any other. Stay tuned for more details!

Doldrums is a musical venture produced by Canadian artist Airick Woodhead. His music helps him deal with the loss of the individual in an increasingly altruistic society. It reflects societal changes on a personal level, as Woodhead is a member of the last generation to remember life pre-internet and 24-hour status updates.

His androgynous voice comes across mid-panic attack, floating in a sea of chopped up samples, disembodied vocals and tribal percussion. Spearing between electro-hallucinogenic freak-outs and languid nostalgia his tracks somehow manage to elevate classic pop melodies above a sample saturated sound collage.

From Lesser Evil, released in February 2013, (Arbutus/Souterrain Transmissions) here’s Doldrums’ video for “Lost In Everyone,” created by Angus Borsos and Airick Woodhead:

HEALTH’s electro-noise grit & grind, paired with Doldrums’ pop experimentation, will make for a night you’ll never forget. Get your tickets here!

This show is *free* for Subbacultcha! members.

Have a look!

JUST ANNOUNCED: Mikal Cronin and his amazing band will be BACK in Europe and the UK for a combo of club & festival dates, beginning in late July. Peep the full list of fresh tour dates below!

25 July   Musicbox, Lisbon (POR)
26 July   Milhoes De Festa Festival, Barcelos (POR)
29 July   El Sol, Madrid (ES)
30 July   Surfilm Festival, San Sebastian (ES)
02 Aug   OFF Festival, Katowice (PL)
03 Aug   Zomerparkfeest, Venlo (NL)
04 Aug   Binic Festival, Binic (FR)
05 Aug   Le Galion, Lorient (FR)
06 Aug   Relache Caserne Niel, Bordeaux (FR)
07 Aug   Le Gibus, Paris (FR)
08 Aug   Haldern Pop Festival, Haldern-Rees (GER)
09 Aug   Oya Festivalen, Oslo (NOR)
10 Aug   Way Out West Festival, Gothenburg (SWE)
11 Aug    Pumpehuset, Copenhagen (DK)
12 Aug   Hafenklang, Hamburg (GER)
13 Aug   Doornroosje, Nijmegen (NL)
14 Aug   Vera, Groningen (NL)
15 Aug   Pukkelpop, Hasselt (B)
16 Aug   Lowlands Festival, Biddinghuizen (NL)
17 Aug   Beacons Festival, Skipton (UK)
18 Aug   Greenman Festival, Brecon Beacons (UK)

For more details and ticket information, click here.

See you this summer!

These New Yorkers will be weaving and winding through all kinds of countries in continued support of this year’s Clash The Truth LP (Captured Tracks).

Amsterdam: Don’t miss Paradiso‘s famed London Calling festival, 24 & 25 May. Beach Fossils will be there performing on Saturday, and you can get your tickets here!

If you’re feeling ultra frisky, there’s still time to make plans for the second annual Beaches Brew festival, co-hosted by Belmont Bookings and Bronson Produzioni.

This festival is *FREE!* It takes place 28, 29 & 30 May, along the beautiful beach of Marina di Ravenna, Italy.

There’s even a special offer on accommodations for festival-goers at the Residence Villa Marina! (Click here for more details on discounted prices.)

The line-up not only includes Beach Fossils, but also The Dream Syndicate, Dirty Beaches, King Tuff, White Fence, Daniel Norgren, Chris Cohen, and even MORE! 

Click here for more details on this amazing (and did we mention FREE?) festival experience.

Let’s get in the mood! Check out this awesome video, created by founding Beach Fossils member Dustin Payseur, to promote their current Euro tour.

Menomena has two upcoming club shows:
15 May     Merleyn, Nijmegen
17 May     Patronaat, Haarlem

The band will also make an appearance at the Le Mini Who? day festival, which supplement’s Utrecht’s Le Guess Who? May Day, Saturday, 18 May. Tickets and more information on all three events can be found here.

These shows are sure to be chock-full of goosebump-inducing loveliness. With their impressive stock of true rock songs and ballad-like gems, Menomena’s live shows never fail to surprise and delight their audience. Their shows typically feature a wide array of instruments, as to replicate the dense instrumentations of the band’s recordings.

Last year saw the release of Menomena’s Moms, a far more personal album than anything the band had recorded before. Download stand-out track ‘Capsule’ below, via Soundcloud.

Stream ‘Together’ here!

In other exciting xx news, Mount Kimbie will be opening their *SOLD OUT* show at Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam on 20 May! 

Mount Kimbie have developed a truly unique sound: their experimental rhythms may lead to the fringes of dubstep and hip hop, but their music oozes emotion and echoes ambient soundscapes, taking the listener to many places far from home.

Below, enjoy the majorly trippy and delightfully psychedelic video for ‘Made to Stray,’ directed by the majestic Leif Podhajsky. Their upcoming full-length, Cold Spring Fault Less Youth, will be released 27 May on Warp Records.

Monomania began life when a new Deerhunter line-up (with additions of bassist Josh McKay and guitarist Frankie Broyles) reconvened in January 2013 at Rare Book Studio in Brooklyn, New York. Produced by Nicholas Vernhes and Bradford Cox, Monomania finds the group recalling its scrappy punk aesthetic; a perfect nocturnal garage rock album full of the layered and hazy vintage guitar sounds that define them.

Listen to the title track!

As well as curating ATP Festival 21-23 June, Deerhunter will be playing a host of tour dates across the world throughout the rest of the year, including the following dates in The Netherlands:

18 May     Le Guess Who? May Day, Utrecht (http://bit.ly/YJQYcY)
20 May     Vera, Groningen (http://bit.ly/197eZdj)

To make sure you’ll see them in a city near you, click here for a full list of all scheduled tour dates.

See him at the Paradiso in Amsterdam! Tickets are still available here.

Fun News: Mikal & Co. were featured on the Netherlands’ own De Wereld Draait Door (DWDD) on Monday, 13 May.

Check it out!

His second full-length record, MCII, is now available via Merge Records. Click here to stream it online, courtesy of 3voor 12, now through 16 May.

The album was also crowned ‘Best New Music’ on Pitchfork last week. Click here to read all about it.

In support of his new material, Mikal Cronin will be touring around Europe  for the next few weeks, with stops in Amsterdam, Paris, London, and 18 May’s Le Guess Who? May Day Festival in Utrecht. Click here for all upcoming tour dates.

Cronin & Co. recently posted a two-part tour documentary from their time in Europe last year. It’s awesome. View them below!

Mikal Cronin‘s self-titled debut from 2011 was all about endings: the end of college, the end of a serious relationship, and the end of his time in Los Angeles, where he grew up. So it’s no surprise that his sophomore release is all about new beginnings.

“Since the first record came out, my life has changed quite a bit,” Cronin says, referencing his move to San Francisco and tours with Ty Segall, as well as with his own band. “I was presented with a whole new slew of problems and situations that I was trying to work through.” “Am I Wrong” and “Shout It Out” dissect his fears over a new relationship, while “I’m Done Running from You” and “Weight” find him freaking out about what it means to grow up in the 21st century.

Other than these few exceptions, Cronin played all of the instruments. “It all makes total sense to me, but when I step back, it sounds kind of schizophrenic,” Cronin says. “Hopefully it all sounds enough like me to make sense.”

The band will stop at Nijmegen’s Doornroosje 5 September, before setting off to Vlieland, where they’ll play the much-anticipated Into The Great Wide Open festival, which takes place 6-8 September. 

If you just can’t wait until the leaves start to turn, be sure to check them out at the Best Kept Secret Festival (June 21-23) in Hilvarenbeek, NL, on Saturday, 22 June. The line-up is INCREDIBLE, featuring Allah-Las, Idiot Glee, SWANS, and many more. Get your tickets ASAP, which can be done by clicking here.

A full list of all shows can be found on the Efterklang website, accessible here.

Here’s the stunning video for ’The Living Layer,’ the fifth song from Efterklang‘s fourth album, Piramida, released through 4AD in the fall of 2012.

The video was made by Malthe Fischer & Eleanor Bock Lund, featuring dancers Karis Zidore, Olivia Riviere, Nanna Stigsdatter and Meleat Fredrikson. Collages of roadside snow and modern Copenhagen architecture compose the setting for this cosmic journey through song.