Drew McDowall’s back story reads like a primer of psychedelic fiction woven into statements of the unbelievable, superhuman and outright insane. Somewhere in the chaotic madness, comes an artist such as McDowall with total control and absolute calm within his songs and artistic method.

Growing up in the gangs of 1970’s Scotland, Drew McDowall started to shy away from the daily violence once punk took hold of the counterculture youth. Drew McDowall quickly scrambled to form his own punk band in 1978 with his then wife, Rose McDowall, called The Poems. Shortly lived, the Poems released a single and various tracks but more importantly, the band allowed McDowall to network with other local musicians in Glasgow, such as Orange Juice, and allowed him to travel down to London thus forming friendships with Genesis P-Orridge, David Tibet and countless others, bringing Drew into the fold of the experimental revolution happening in the UK brought upon by Throbbing Gristle and executed by bands such as Psychic TV and Current 93.

During the 1980’s, McDowall found himself in the ranks of P-Orridge’s Psychic TV and collaborating with the mysterious duo comprised of former Throbbing Gristle creator Peter ‘Sleazy’ Christopherson and the enigmatic John Balance who had been creating esoteric and progressive electronic music under the title of Coil. It was during his formative collaborations with Coil that McDowall saw himself shift from occasional contributor to austere full-time member of the arcane outfit. McDowall’s impact on the band’s sound was apparent as the releases transformed from their previous avant pop signature to a more complex and methodic electronic imprint accompanied by even more abstruse subject matter than previous years. McDowall would continue honing his compositional skills with Coil until the release of the band’s two most broad-minded albums, Astral Disaster and Musick to Play in the Dark.

The past decade, Drew McDowall found himself living in New York City and re-appropriating himself within the local music scenes he found himself contributing to. In 2011, alongside his friend and collaborator, Tres Warren (Psychic Ills), McDowall found himself exploring his passion of meditative drone and abstract sound patterns in their project Compound Eye. In recent times, McDowall’s production work has provided the music world with some of the most outstanding remixes for bands such as Nine Inch Nails, Azar Swan and Long Distance Poison as well as his well-received scores he composed alongside artist Tamaryn for the works of Bret Easton Ellis. Outside of his collaborative duties, McDowall formed an audience as a solo artist, playing countless performances and showcases around New York’s electronic music haunts.

Dais Records approached Drew to solidify his standing as a leading electronic musician with the recording of new material neatly wrapped up in his debut album entitled Collapse. Recorded in 2015 in Brooklyn, NY, McDowall’s synonymous modular synthesizer compositions are augmented by obtuse sampling cut-ups and contributions from Nicky Mao (Hiro Kone / Effi Briest) rounding out the lumbering sequential knot work that has become synonymous with McDowall and craft.

Formed in East London in 2012 by members Rachel Aggs (guitar), Billy Easter (bass) and Andrew Milk (drums), SHOPPING forge an itchy, angular explosion of propulsive bass lines, primitive disco-not-disco drums and guitar lines sharp as broken glass. Having done time in a plethora of UK DIY bands including Trash Kit and Wet Dog, they draw from a well of late '70s / early-'80s post-punk with a voraciousness seldom seen these days, bringing to mind the jagged aggression of Gang of Four, the pure, raw yelp of The Slits and the dance-inducing thrust of Delta 5, The Au Pairs and ESG.

The band released their debut album Consumer Complaints in November 2103 on their own Milk Records, and personally hawked around UK indie stores (where it quickly sold out of its 1,000 pressing). The LP drew a flurry of press for their spot-on divining of post-punk’s driving force, seeing them dubbed a “band you need to hear” by NME and “Artist To Watch” by SPIN. Pitchfork wrote that "the fragmented shout-it-out hooks, pin-prick guitar lines and ramshackle rhythms... sound like they were captured live off the floor in the BBC's Maida Vale studios sometime in 1981," noting that “they never sound particularly dated or like a carbon-copy, a testament to the group's song writing abilities.” Rather, Shopping embody the spirit of experimentation, social upheaval, (without becoming didactic) clashing gender politics and ethical change that defined their 70’s counterparts and still ring true today.

On their brilliant new album WHY CHOOSE, their debut for FatCat, the band teams up again with Jamie Grier, who mixed and mastered their debut, this time placing Grier in the recording chair at Glasgow’s Green Door Studios, while mastering duties fall to Alan Douches (Japandroids, Animal Collective, We Were Promised Jetpacks, etc.)

Tracked just before Xmas, the album was edited and mixed in January and February 2015 and is set for release on October 9th. WHY CHOOSE retains the urgency, bite and the bristling, shard-syncopated rhythm-hooks of its predecessor, expanding their palette with the addition of synths on several tracks and seeing vocal duties switched between members. With the majority of its thirteen tracks clocking in at under two and a half minutes (running to 34 minutes in total), the album is lean and precise, powering forward on a relentlessly kinetic, infectious energy and leaving the listener craving more. Spiky and jittery, its angular funk groove pulls off the neat trick of meshing an edginess with an ultimately huge sense of fun. 

Onstage Shopping are a blisteringly energetic, taut and utterly engaging live act. The 405 wrote that "Shopping ignite coals beneath your toes that make you want to gyrate", whilst The Quietus noted how the band "have a life-force all of their own.... you can't help but move to this music". 

The band have recently completed tours with Merchandise and fellow post-punk outfit Golden Teacher. Upcoming dates include shows with ESG, Priests, Ought and a US tour with Shannon and The Clams.

The band say of the new album, “We wanted WHY CHOOSE to have the same feel as our first album but with an even sharper edge. Our main focus was still to have fun and write some songs that would get people dancing but there is also a darker undertone to this record – mostly we are singing about rejection, frustration, fighting, fleeting relationships, wasting time and losing money but there is also a kind of wildness and fun – a liberated freak out of a shopping spree that we really hope people can identify with.”

LIVE DATES:

1st September - Village Underground, London w/ Ought

2nd September - Deaf Institute, Manchester w/ Ought

3rd September - Hare and Hounds, Birmingham w/ Ought

24th September - Fiddler's Club, Bristol w/ ESG, Golden Teacher

26th September - Oval Space, London w/ ESG, Golden Teacher

7th October - The Dalston Victoria, London *Album Launch Party* w/ Joey Fourr, Good Throb [free]

soundcloud.com/shoppingband/straight-lines

If you want to catch Ostrogoth on tour, read below as you have three opportunities!

Saturday October 10th 20115

JH Bogaard, Diestseweg 135, 2440 GEEL
Line-up: Ostrogoth, FireForce, Toxik Shock, Leave Scars, Objector, Mittgard, Dorian's Secret, Innervate, Speed Queen

vvk € 6 / kassa € 8

More info: https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/events/1552315131684481/?action_history=null

Saturday October 24th 2015

Black-Out Bash III, JC De Spiraal, Zakkaai 29, 9500 GERAARDSBERGEN
Line-up: Angel Witch, Ostrogoth, Hyades, Experienced, Indemnity, Organized Chaos 

vvk € 12 / kassa € 15

More info : https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/events/525202450954259/

Saturday November 7th 2015

MACC (Metal Against Child Cancer), CC De Wieke, DEERLIJK

Line-up: Ostrogoth, FireForce, Eternal Breath, Sons Of Lioth, Hope Erodes, No Nonssens, Basement Critters

vvk € 10 / kassa € 15

More info : https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Metal-Against-Child-Cancer/336899923834?fref=ts

The tenth season of Supernatural is out on 16th September on DVD. Also available is a boxset containing all ten seasons?
The bonusmaterial of the 10th season:
 
3 Episode Commentaries
A Very Special Supernatural Special
Supernatural at 2014 Comic-Con
Supernatural Theatre
The Winchester Mythology
Supernatural FANS
Unaired Scenes
Gag Reel
 

As party starter and warm up for the release of the new BONES album “Flash The Leather”, on September 11th, the Swedish for-pack just uploaded one new song on the People Like You YouTube channel!

Check out the Lyrical-Video on the song „Die Wilden Jahre“! But be aware, a big surprize awaits you as the lyrics are entire in German language with vocal support from no one less then Sammy Amara of the „Broilers”, as well as Sammy Heininger from the Punkrock outfit „Three Minute Record“! Open up a Beer to oil up your voice, turn your speakers up to the max and sing along: „Hölle Hölle...“!

Along with the new album comes a headlining tour with support coming from their label mates in ROGERS as well as 4 Promille and The Electric Overdrive. No one will be safe and no one will be able to resist this bone breaking and evil dance of Rock’n’Roll live mayhem. This bold foursome is here with a massive bang and ready to rumble – so: beware!

THE BONES on tour

with ROGERS, 4 Promille, The Electric Overdrive:

25.09.15 (DE) Essen - Zeche Carl

26.09.15 (DE) Lindau - Club Vaudeville

27.09.15 (DE) Wiesbaden - Schlachthof

28.09.15 (CH) Zürich - Dynamo

29.09.15 (DE) Munich - Backstage Halle

30.09.15 (AT) Vienna - Arena

01.10.15 (DE) Stuttgart - LKA Longhorn

02.10.15 (DE) Leipzig - Conne Island

03.10.15 (DE) Berlin - C Club


04.10.15 (DE) Hamburg - Knust

www.bonesrocknroll.com