News, Releases, Yada Yada Yada

Plenty to wrap your ears around this week, and I couldn’t be happier to share it all with you lucky folks – we’ve got debut EPs from metal group Ice Moon, Shanghai sludge rockers Goushen, pop punkster Hangover out of Tianjin, and finally, the latest bit of greatness from Low Bow, Noise Arcade, and Cloud Choir. Check it all out below.

KTR’s is at it again with a slew of releases to wrap your ears around. First up, we have the latest EP from Low Bow, the lo-fi raw blues duo, entitled burn. It’s a steal – four tracks of electric, raw, spacey, surprisingly restrained and shockingly tender lo-fi blues that reverbs with swagger. Don’t know how they pulled it off, but ‘she’s going to save the world’ makes you believe that in fact, she’s gonna save the world. If that wasn’t enough, Cloud Choir and Noise Arcade, two of the city’s more prolific electronic artists, have their latest to share as well – fail-safe device and missing the point – which pushes their music into new and interesting territories – more club-centric beats, whimsical turns, and descents into madness. Gravy – sounds like the two are having lots of fun with their new toys.

For those of yous looking to keep warm by trashing your head side to side, then I’d recommend checking out metalling edge outfit Ice Moon who just released their self-titled debut EP. Grab it over at Indie Music and give it a listen here. Dig what I hear – perhaps I’ve in need of a swift kick to the eardrums, but this does it for me. Five tracks of unfiltered, direct, ass-whopping adrenaline – no pretentions here, just a band giving it their all and giving back to the people. That’s metal.

For something on the opposite side of the spectrum, check out Tianjin pop punk band Hangover and their debut EP, which found its way over here after the group descended on Beijing earlier this month. I’m always curious to what’s happening in Beijing 2.0 (a bit harsh I know) and glad that the scene is fostering to some extent. It’s about as sunny and emo as pop punk can get but gotta give credit where it’s due – there’s some slick production on this baby. For all you pop kids out there, this might just do the trick – give it a twirl.

Last, Shanghai’s hard-hitting ‘rock-out-with-your-cock-out’ rock foursome Goushen released their debut EP a couple weeks back down yonder. Entitled 666 KTV, it’s a nice little introduction to Goushen’s brand of big riffs, punk chick rage, and good old fashion shredding. When you have songs with such wondrous titles like ‘Evil Bitch’ and ‘WeChat Dangers’ you know what you’re getting into. Vocalist Lenz has got that deep raspy voice which gives the music the edge it needs. Give the whole EP a listen on their douban and keep your eyes peeled for the band and album making its way up north soon (fingers crossed).

That’s it for now – check back soon for more new releases, including the epic return of legends Tang Dynasty. Out.