From Senryu’s latest album, Half Wild, comes a new claymation video by Kathleen Block, of Greensboro, NC, conceptualized by frontman, Wil Wright, of Knoxville, TN. The animation is actually Kathleen’s first effort in the genre- well done girl.
Senryu will be performing live tomorrow at the Longbranch Saloon in Knoxville along with Teenage Love.
Senryu, one of our favorite bands, is currently on tour around the US and we’re honored to announce that we’ll be presenting their New York City date, happening tomorrow at Brooklyn’s Bruar Falls in Williamsburg. The show also features three other not to miss bands including Phil and the Osophers, Stars Regardless and killer BOB.
Senryu just completed a brand new Daytrotter session, check it out here and hope to see you all at the show!
Senryu’s new album, Half Wild, drops April 5th (April 1st in their hometown of Knoxville) and as a preview, we have their first single, ‘Great Expectations.’ We spoke with songwriter and lead singer Wil about the album and the meaning behind the single, which you can listen to and download after the jump.
TMS: So tell me about the album, why did you decide to make it more personal?
Wil: My songwriting has always been relatively personal, but very coded.
TMS: And this album isn’t?
Wil: I was advised by a few people who I go to for advice that I might discover more compelling stories and songs if I just decode a bit. Invest more of myself in a riskier way. In the light.
TMS: And did you?
Wil: The songs are still not just my guts on a table, but yes. More than anything, its made the songs impossible to “phone in.” It’s all very challenging to both perform AND listen to. For me.
(Read the article)
Knoxville’s Senryu have what many bands wish they did, an eclectic sound that keeps their now legendary cult following coming back for more; filling venues with an audience who doesn’t just sing back their lyrics, they scream them. The band recently released a remix ep of their single ‘Inklings’ by DJ Tom Ato called All These Clues and will be coming through New York City to play CMJ. In fact, they’ll be playing our free opening day party on Tuesday, October 19th at Pianos.
Senryu have a new album, Inkling, coming out this March and in anticipation, have released a new video of their first single, ‘Obsess Much’ shot by James Khanlarian in Los Angeles. Shot beautifully by the way, all in HD, we assume. We especially loved the stop photography (is that what the term is for the flashing pictures? Whatever, it’s awesome).
The song is a real banger as well. We’d like to hear the radio edit begin at the 52 second mark though (djs, take note). You can download the mp3 of ‘Obsess Much’ for free over on the group’s bandcamp site, we’ll let you head over there to grab it and while you’re there, feel free to download Senryu’s entire catalogue, a practice which we give a hearty thumbs up to.
It’s not everyday that a shaggy haired musician in a 70′s era polyester suit starts making eyes at you. Well, maybe it is, I don’t know you that well. But it’s certainly not every day that you make out with said musician behind a DJ booth while his drummer performs the full choreography from ‘Thriller’. Actually, maybe it is, you don’t know me that well either.
Sometimes fate has a funny way of introducing you to people that will end up an important character in your life’s story. And though once upon a time there was a “once upon a time”, occupational hazard I’m afraid, that musician’s band still remains a part of my story and hopefully in turn, yours. That band is Senryu. A group that over the course of the last two years, we’ve seen grace the pages of Spin and most recently record a session with Daytrotter (which we hope we’ll hear sometime this year, guys!).
Senryu has a new EP out entitled Dying In Fast Forward. Released last week free of charge on Bandcamp and featuring the new additions of Puerto Rican brothers Dan and Andres McCormack to the long time line-up of Wil Wright, Steven Rodgers and Mike Agentis, the title track from Dying In Fast Forward has slowly become ingratiated into my brain. I find myself humming it at all hours of the day. Always a sign of a fine song. While you can download the straight EP from Bandcamp, you can only find the remix EP, Laughing In Slow Motion, here exclusively on TMS. We love it and hope you do too. Make sure to grab both to properly contrast and compare.
MP3: Senryu – Poor Embarrassed Bird (Alkaline)
MP3: Senryu – Shiver And Shine (Frozen Cobra)
MP3: Senryu – Dying In Fast Forward (Arrison Kirby)
One of our favorite new bands is about to do something crazy. Crazy awesome that is!
Today, on this international celebration of revolution, protest and uprising, Senryu will be saying damn the man to conventional music industry norms by releasing three brand new eps at a special benefit concert tonight in Knoxville. Each ep features a goldmine of songs which showcase three different sides of their musical personality, from the dark and mysterious ballad to dance infused wonders.
We are lucky enough to be hosting a song from each ep below, including our site’s unofficial new theme song ‘I’ve Always Been a Slut’. So enjoy and head over to their MySpace for more songs and news on their tour.
Listen to Sun Ra’s ‘Nuclear War’ in the clip below.
Download Senryu’s ‘Plastic Sugary’ here.
Two of our favourite, favourite bands are getting together tonight for a show in Knoxville, TN that promises to showcase more magic than Dollywood – so we thought it’d be a grand opportunity to mention these incredible bands and their upcoming SXSW appearances.
Pattern Is Movement are Chris and Andrew, two of the sweetest guys you’ll ever meet whose innocent demeanor hides a musical genius that we have seen leave audiences astounded. Their fourth album, All Together, will be released on May 6th through Hometapes Records. Download ‘Right Away’ here.
3/06/08 – Charlotte @ Yau Haus – w/ Calabi Yau
3/07/08 – Athens, GA @ Caledonia Lounge – w/ We Versus The Shark & Cinemechanica
3/08/08 – Birmingham, AL @ Cave 9 – w/ We Versus The Shark & Hi Red Center
3/11/08 – Denton, TX @ Hailey’s
3/12/08 – Austin, TX – AFTERNOON (2:50pm) – Austinist/Gothamist Party – w/ A Place to Bury Strangers, Phosphorescent, and Shearwater
3/12/08 – Austin, TX – NIGHT (11pm) – Hometapes Showcase @ Maggie Mae’s Gibson Room – w/ Slaraffenland, Bear In Heaven, Nick Butcher & Tacks, The Boy Disaster
3/13/08 – Austin, TX – Billken Club Party @ Jovita’s
3/14/08 – Austin, TX – Leisure Tourniquet Party @ Hot Mama’s
3/15/08 – Austin, TX – Friend Island: Hometapes-Absolutely Kosher-Misra-Team Clermont-KRTU Party @ Gallery Lombardi – w/ Stars Like Fleas, Megafaun, Bear In Heaven, Slaraffenland, The Gang, Sybris + more…
(the rest of their spring tour dates can be found here)
Senryu bleeds, sometimes quite literally, magic. We’ve been told these Knoxville natives have a mountain of new and previously unreleased material in store for us this year and we can’t wait. They’ve already released a brand new album Oh My Darling, Quarantine last month and have given us a preview of the single, ‘Disco Nap’ on their MySpace. Download ‘Plastic Sugary’ here.
They’ll be playing the After The Jump Backyard during SXSW, so if you’re headed down to Austin, make sure to swing by and check them out along with the rest of the brilliant line-up that evening – check out all the details below.
3/14/08 – Austin, TX – After The Jump Backyard, 1204 Salinas St. w/ The Physics Of Meaning, The Lisps, These United States, Salt & Samovar and Laura Palmer
In Zen & The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, author Robert Pirsig defines the now lost word Chautauqua as “an old-time series of popular talks intended to edify & entertain, improve the mind and bring culture & enlightenment to the ears & thoughts of the hearer.” When listening to the new album Oh My Darling, Quarantine by Senryu, I couldn’t seem to shake that term from my mind. When I delved further into what exactly a Chautauqua was, I discovered that those talks on politics, morality & science were always accompanied by “musicians (opera ensembles, string quartets, but also more lighthearted music), dramatic productions, entertainment of all sorts.” I smiled when I read that & thought, “yeah, sounds about right.”
This Saturday, Senryu will release their fourth album (see the previous Stars & Gartars, Bath Of Broken Glass and Pssst), a short recording with the quirky title of Oh My Darling, Quarantine. Yes, Saturday is not the normal day for a new album release but the band that has grown, recorded and flourished outside the sometimes restrictive rules of the music industry & is doing what they do best – releasing a rare, short run CD at a concert (Pilot Light: Knoxville, TN with Jucifer). A recording you may not be able to find again, or even beg of the band, that is full of gems their true fans will go to any lengths to buy. These rare EPs and albums are Senryu’s Chautauqua, bringing “enlightenment to the ears & thoughts of the hearer.” On this Tuesday, the traditional day for the release of new music, I find myself in the extraordinary position of being the first person to possess a copy of Oh My Darling, Quarantine. I feel as if I have been initiated into a hidden society.
Oh My Darling, Quarantine begins with an introduction, ‘Hey Gravity,’ a short schoolyard style chant about hidden angel wings, and quickly moves into ‘Posture Perfect’, a song that begins reminiscent of The Strokes’ ‘Last Nite’ and evolves into a Shout Out Louds, Boy Least Likely To style pop sing-a-long. ‘Plastic Sugary’ is without a doubt a single, you can listen to it on the band’s MySpace, the single that will have you jumping around at their next show. I have no idea what ‘Plastic Sugary’ is but, hey, whatever, this tune is punk, and shout-y without being too punk and shout-y. Senryu has a particular knack for being able to do that, take a listen to ‘I Am A Battering Ram’, a staple on their MySpace, and you’ll see what I mean. ‘The Glory Of The Morning When I Met You For The 2nd Time’, is a song I thought meant something different than what you are probably thinking as well. It starts off light and silly and slides into a surprising sweetness mid-song with a Muse-like downturn in tempo. Next is ‘Alstublieft’ during which I find myself wanting to be that girl on a plane, ‘Cannibals And Missionaries,’ a strange and haunting song, and to end it all perfectly, my pick for a single, ‘The Breathing Machine.’ When I first listened to ‘The Breathing Machine’, I could think of only one word of description: epic. With threads of I’m From Barcelona & Avett Brothers, it soars with indie pop brilliance that makes the entire LP hard to forget.
What makes this latest installment from Senryu stand out most is that each song is distinct and interesting, incorporating different musical genres and devices which together cry Americana. It’s a little ragtime, punk, country soul and old fashioned rock and roll stirred into one and reinvented in a manner that comes off as both intriguing and endearing. As I listen, I find that what I really crave are the lyrics to interpret it all. Every song gives off a premonition of future performances where the words will be sung loudly back to the band and now that I’m in this secret society, I want to be able to sing too.
I would like to thank Senryu for a first chance to listen & for once again creating a group of songs that I am finding extremely difficult to get out of my head… not that I would want to.
MP3: ‘Plastic Sugary‘ [alt link] [alt link 2]
