Quick Notes: Dinosaur Jr., Melvins, Red Fang + More

*[SPIN.com] Outside the Mascis family home in Amherst, Massachusetts, Lou Barlow rests his head on his steering wheel, focused on a song that's forcing his small grey pick-up to shiver and shudder. He's currently hearing the latest mix of "Rude," a growler he's added to the family of 13 that he and his Dinosaur Jr. bandmates are hearing back in full for the first time since tracking for their forthcoming full-length began in early February. And as Barlow comes plodding into the kitchen through a side door moments later, he proffers some simple feedback for producer John Agnello: "More grinding" on the guitar sound. "So you'd like more attitude on the guitar then?" Agnello asks. "Nah," Barlow says. "Just more grinding. Alongside the bass."

The indie rock lifers' third still-untitled full-length since reuniting for 2006's Beyond (due tentatively via Jagjaguwar in late August) is, according to Agnello, coming together at pace. "These are three-month records, on and off," he says, of the band's post-reunion output. "And this song," he says, while cranking the volume for Barlow and drummer Murph in the skylit studio upstairs, "is so goddamned catchy you should have seen me and my 6-year-old doing a little dance to it at home."

Spiked with a layer of keys, it's a fleet-footed cousin to the vocal-less, locomotive cut guitarist J Mascis — SPIN's 5th best guitarist of all time — is listening to on repeat at a stereo downstairs, his eyes cast forward. Its "working title," Mascis purrs, is "Downtown" and it's as muscular as one might expect. For the past week, Mascis has been fighting the flu while working on guitar overdubs in isolation, pasting leads and solos to what sounds to be another remarkable addition to a catalogue that only seems to grow stronger. Today marks the first time they're all listening back together. "Shredding," Agnello bleeps, as he cues up an updated mix of "Rude" for Barlow and Murph, replete with more grinding on said solos. "Shredding. This is a shred affront."

*[SPIN.com] As we explored in our long and probing Q&A with the Melvins' sludgemaster general King Buzzo, Melvins Lite is a unique detour for the long-running band, paring down their double-drummer cockfight into a quieter, mellower, moodier rumble-tumble. Teaming with bassist Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, various Zorny freak-jazz massacres), one of the loudest bands on earth has perfectly siphoned their gloomy energy into evil cocktail jazz, Ponty-styled combat skronk and the world's weirdest Wings cover. SPIN is proud to give you the first taste, "Leon Vs. the Revolution," a 2:49 house-party blast that echoes the lean rock of their Atlantic years. Fight! Fight! Fight!

STREAM "Leon Vs. The Revolution" HERE.

*[press release] The Sword have announced 6 warm up shows routing to the Orion Music and More Festival in Atlantic City on June 23rd from their home base of Austin, TX. Following the Orion Festival appearance, the band will commence recording their debut CD for Razor & Tie, scheduled for release in the fall. Direct support on all shows will be Red Fang. Honky will open the shows in Houston and New Orleans and Kyng will open the shows in Atlanta, Raleigh, Baltimore, and Westchester.

The dates for the warm up shows are:

June 17 - Houston, TX - Fitzgeralds -
June 18 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues Parish
June 19 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
June 20 - Raleigh, NC - Kings Barcade
June 21 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
June 22 - Westchester, PA - The Note

*[theprp.com] The Mars Volta have uploaded their official electronic press kit for their latest album “Noctourniquet” below:



*[blurt-online.com] We loves us some far-out space jams at Blurt and those epic, blissful nuggetoids just happen to be Naam's forte. "The Starchild," from the Brooklyn trio's second album The Ballad of the Starchild (Tee Pee) clocks in at close to eleven minutes and it's just beggin' to play through your headphones. On your beanbag chair. Under fluorescent lights illuminating glowing velvet posters of big-titty Frank Frazetta chicks with pet panthers and a Loc-Nar pendant. So plug in and click your way to the heavy-soothing stoner-psych sounds of Naam.



*Engineer Records are currently running a contest to win music and merchandise from New Jersey's Elemae! All you have to do is like Elemae on Facebook, and leave a comment on their page with a town you'd like to see the band perform in, or suggest a name for their upcoming EP. The band will be returning to the UK this November for another acoustic tour. Five winners will be chosen at random next weekend to receiver three of the bands previous releases including Popular Misconceptions of Happiness, A Life to be Defined, 3 Way Split, and more. One grand prize winner will receive all five releases in addition to a t-shirt and an Engineer Records goody bag.