Anyone familiar with the United Kingdom’s Heliocentrics that’s late to hear their most recent work—with ethno-musicologist/jazz maestro/multi-instrumentalist Lloyd Miller, available on Strut come August 3rd—can rest easy, as the Heliocentrics ain’t ready to let down yet. Because with smashing success, the contemporary acid jazz masters from across the pond have once again shelled out a strong work of deep groove worthy of a thousand handshakes and back slaps.

With longtime jazz master Lloyd Miller in tow (who brings to the table six decades worth of worldly experience), Lloyd Miller & The Heliocentrics is another thrilling trip into Eastern jazz not askew from Heliocentrics’ previous work with Mulatu Astatke. But where the Astatke sessions might summon to mind the charming of poisonous snakes, Lloyd Miller’s presence yields a certain element of high desert mysticism, evidenced clearly in cuts like “Pari Ruu” and “Spirit Jazz,” both of which brim with ivory.

But at 51 minutes, Lloyd Miller & Heliocentrics is not without it’s share of body sweat, as the frenetic “Nava” and it’s meter of five, and “Rain Dance,” with its sitar charm, boldly attest.

-Jacob Sprecher

Apparently ’tis indeed the case, as the legendary of legendary rock ‘n’ roll Scots are set to release their first new album in 20 years on September 13th. The link below is a free download of “I Hate the ’80s,” the first single off Sex With An X. Give it a go, check the European tour dates, and don’t forget to let the sun shine in your bedroom.

15 Sep -Edinburgh Bongo Room
16 Sep – Newcastle Other Room
17 Sep – Leeds Brudenell Social Club
18 Sep – Liverpool Static Gallery
19 Sep – Cardiff Millenium Music Hall
20 Sep – Nottingham Rescue Rooms
21 Sep – Bristol Thekla
22 Sep – London The Scala
23 Sep – Manchester Deaf Institute
24 Sep – UK Glasgow Oran Mor

Do you own a young horse or mule that’s not yet a year of age? If not, you could always just familiarize yourself with Foals from Oxford, UK, inked to Sub Pop and currently on the prowl with their second effort, Total Life Forever.

This here is a record you could spin many different ways. It’s progressive pop. It’s indie-dance. It’s club-worthy. It’s part Talking Heads. It’s part Jim James. It’s a shimmery mass of 1980s tentacles wrapped around contemporary sensibilities. And best of all, this little old six-piece is bound for American turf come the fall:

September 23 – Minneapolis, 7^th St. Entry
September 24 – Chicago, Lincoln Hall
September 25  – Detroit, Magic Stick
September 27 – Toronto, Lee’s Palace
September 28  – Montreal, La Sala Rossa
September 29 – Boston, Paradise
October 1 – New York City, Bowery Ballroom
October 2– Brooklyn, Music Hall of Williamsburg
October 3 – Washington, D.C., Black Cat
October 5 – Atlanta, Masquerade
October 8 – Houston, Walters
October 9 – Austin, Stubbs
October 10 – Austin, Austin City Limits Festival
October 12 – Denver, Larimer Lounge
October 14 – San Diego, The Casbah
October 18 – El Rey, Los Angeles
October 21 – Portland, Doug Fir

Ringing in 10 years of indie-pop dance nights known as LIPSTICK, Old Ironsides went off in shoulder-to-shoulder fashion Tuesday last in Sacramento. Spinning the gamut from A-Trak’s remix of “Heads Will Roll” to righteous old Stones, the mood at Old I was festively drunk, as two-dollar pints of PBR flowed at a rate which tapped the hipster beer of choice before 1 AM.

Live entertainment for the occasion, to the pleasure of the crowd, was provided by San Franciscan pop darlings Magic Bullets. Inked to newly founded Mon Amie Records out of New York and pumping their second and long-awaited full-length, the Bullets, with fresh members on keys and drums, brought to the tiny Ironsides stage the happy-go-lucky pep for which they’re known.

Kicking off the set with the opening cut from the new record, “A Day Not So Far Off” set front man Phil Benson into pogo motion, heels and knees together, with sudden spurts of in-place running that called to mind scenes from A Hard Day’s Night. In the pocket as always, the band, led by guitarist Corey Cunningham (guitar) and Nathan Sweatt (Rickenbacker four-string), found their usual stride of controlled attack, especially evident in the bouncy, danceable rhythm of their latest single, “Lying Around.”

Midway, the Bullets saw fit to pull a dusty cover out of the song bag with Altered Images’ “I Could Be Happy.” With the refrain echoed by smiling boozehounds familiar with the original, Altered Images were certainly done proud, or perhaps bettered, as the Bullets added a bit of oomph with their rendition.

But aside from this detour, the night belonged to new material. “Millions of People Running Around” and “Sigh the Day Away” both stood out among the pack and induced sudden bursts of arm-flailing from the gallows, the latter of which closing an abbreviated set. And while favorites such as “Yesterday’s Seen Better Days,” “The Upstairs Flight” and “Red Room” were left off the list, the Bullets did what all intelligent performers do—leave the audience wanting more.

Catch Magic Bullets deep in their element at The Knockout in San Francisco on Saturday, July 9th, and dig the new record wherever you get the chance.

-Jacob Sprecher