Watch the new Band of Skulls music video

The amazing English indie rockers Band of Skulls have released another music video from their latest album Himalayan. Following the previously released "Asleep At The Wheel" and "Nightmares", this is the third single taken from the LP, and features the group's distinctive rock sound, rich in catchy guitar riffs and complete with a typically flawless vocal performance by vocalists Russell Marsden and Emma Richardson.

The clip itself tells a story of a female stripper, and as usual with music videos shot in reverse, comes with an unexpected twist in the end. Such simple but effective storytelling. (Oh, and if you're into music videos with strippers and plot twists in them, why don't you check out the one filmed for Porcelain Raft's "The Way Out".)

A lot has happened in music lately

As you might or might have not noticed, I've been absent from the blogosphere for a week or so and phew, there's been all sorts of things going on! Here are some of my picks:

Arguably the biggest scoop is Nirvana's unexpected (or expected, depending on how you see it) onstage comeback. The iconic grunge group was inducted to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility (there has to be at least 25 years from the inductee's debut single; Nirvana's "Love Buzz" came out in 1988). The remaining members of the band then performed a handful of their songs with female singers, with Joan Jett, Kim Gordon (of Sonic Youth), St. Vincent and Lorde singing "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Aneurysm", "Lithium" and "All Apologies", respectively. The group also asked PJ Harvey to join them to sing "Milk It" but unfortunately, she couldn't make it. Check out the performances below:

















Hopefully the performances were also recorded officially so that we wouldn't have to rely on clips recorded with mobile phones.


So that's there. Then to other news:

Band of Skulls share new single + music video 'Nightmares'

The amazing alternative rock trio Band of Skulls - one of my favourite current rock acts - have released the next single taken from their forthcoming album Himalayan. The song, titled "Nightmares", is the second single from the record, preceded by the excellent "Asleep At The Wheel" which was infectious enough to make it to #9 on my Best of 2013 song list.

While "Asleep At The Wheel" was a typical edgier Band of Skulls track rich in riffs, "Nightmares" showcases the group's mellower, blues-influenced side, with the chorus asking "If I died tomorrow, would you be upset / or would you be the one coming to get me?" and Russell Marsden and Emma Richardson's emotional vocals blending together as beautifully and seamlessly as ever. Here's the music video, depicting a love story gone tragically wrong:





There's also a beautiful acoustic live rendition of the song on Youtube. Damn, it really, really makes me want to see these guys live. They actually were in Copenhagen last year opening up for Queens of the Stone Age but the tickets were rather expensive and I couldn't go there anyway so... got to keep an eye on the tour dates, then.





Ah, so stunning. Someone get me a glass of whiskey, a cigarette and a rainy evening like right now. They also played "Asleep At The Wheel" in the same session:






Seriously, how good are these guys?

Popheaval's Best of 2013: #10-1

Alright, I think it's about time to list the remaining half of my Best of 2013 listing. If you haven't seen the first half (#20-11) yet, you can find it over here. But now, let's get on with it - here's my top ten of 2013!

Band of Skulls announce new album, release lead single

Good news for all you fans of actually good indie rock music - the incredible Band of Skulls revealed new details about their forthcoming album last night. The album will be called Himalayan and what you see above is the artwork of the album, probably by bassist/vocalist Emma Richardson like their previous album covers. The LP will be out March 31st next year but they did also upload one of the new tracks on Youtube. The song, likely the lead single of the album, is called "Asleep At The Wheel" and it's good. It sounds distinctively like Band of Skulls and has a nice progressive rock feel to it. Definitely worth checking out!

And there's even more: the band even released a tracklist for the new album on their Instagram page. How great is that! And to save you from unnecessary clicks and seconds of waiting - it is a hectic world we're living in - here's the tracklist:

"Asleep At The Wheel"
"Himalayan"
"Hoochie Coochie"
"Cold Sweat"
"Nightmares"
"Brothers And Sisters"
"I Guess I Know You Fairly Well"
"You Are All That I'm Not"
"I Feel Like Ten Men, Nine Dead One Dying"
"Toreador"
"Heaven's Key"
"Get Yourself Together"

At least the first song of the 12-track album sounds amazing so I'm very much looking forward to it! Well, only four months to go, then...