Formed in the summer of 2011, Vassals are a Brooklyn three-piece and  a fixture of the NYC DIY scene. Originally an outlet for the bedroom rock of Shay Spence (vocalist/bassist/transgirl), their sonic potential was boosted by the addition of Jon Smith (The Can’t Tells) on drums and Jeff Fettig on guitar. The trio gained acclaim for their frenetic live shows and soon set off to a cabin in New Hampshire to record their debut LP, In My Dreams I Am a Sailor in 2012.

Save for a handful of shows and 2015’s festively furious Here We Come a Vassaling EP, things have been a little quiet for Vassals over the past few years but 2017 sees them return with the Halogen Days EP, the debut release for the fledgling Post Fun label. This darker and more unpredictable material sees Vassals realising the potential that was always so evident on their previous outputs. Self-recorded by the band at their hometown studio, The Creamery, in Brooklyn and with Spence herself contributing the artwork, this record is the result of complete creative control.

Halogen Days offers four songs of bleak beauty, chaotic minimalism and conflicted rage. The material here is frantic but muted, morose but unpredictable. The songs drift effortlessly from slacker-rock ambivalence to postpunk cynicism to huge walls of fuzzing noise and heartbreaking harmonies. Half-muttered and half-screamed, there’s a quiet anger that’s present throughout this record with so much substance beneath its skin. With a full-length LP on the horizon, Halogen Days sees Vassals returning fully formed with a sound and style entirely their own. 

Having made an explosive return to the live arena at the end of last summer with acclaimed performances at Electric Picnic, Festival No.6 and End Of The Road, and currently putting the finishing touches to a long-awaited new studio album, Broken Social Scene have announced news of a number of European live dates in late May and early June. Kicking off in the UK with shows at the Albert Hall in Manchester and London’s Brixton Academy, they then head to Europe for a number of dates culminating in a much-anticipated slot at the Primavera festival.

Founded in 2002 by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, Broken Social Scene quickly established themselves as one of the most vital voices in independent music. Assembled by Drew, and made up of an assortment of musical friends, the band emerged fully-formed from their hometown of Toronto. They were an instantly engaging energetic entity: a tightly-knit community bursting at the seams with talent, personalities, incredible songs and many, many guitars.

Their albums were cinematic, critically-acclaimed splashes of concept and melody, marrying a dizzying onslaught of sounds with finely-crafted choruses. The band’s ability to weave a plethora of voices and varied instrumentation into a brilliant postmodern aural onslaught launched them instantly onto the international stage. Live, their shows were notoriously epic, cathartic affairs, sometimes lasting over three hours. As a group, or on their own, Broken Social Scene’s members released some of the ‘00s most notable independent albums, cementing their status as one of Canada’s most important musical exports.

Tickets for Manchester, London, Antwerp and Amsterdam go on-sale at 9am on Friday (24th Feb), and for Paris at 9am on Wednesday (22nd Feb), available from the band’s website.

Tuesday 23rd May – MANCHESTER – Albert Hall

Wednesday 24th May – LONDON – Brixton Academy

Friday 26th May – NEUSTRELITZ – Immergut Festival

Sunday 28th May – ANTWERP – Trix

Monday 29th May – AMSTERDAM – Paradiso

Tuesday 30th May – PARIS – Alhambra 

Thursday 1st June – BARCELONA – Primavera Festival