SUPER-SIZED SATURDAY NEWS WRAP #118

• The music year is now really starting to heat up, with a number of new tracks serviced to media this week, including ‘Go’ – the new single for Aussie singer songwriter Bob Evans. The track is the second to be lifted from Bob’s forthcoming LP ‘Familiar Stranger’, which is due on March 15. The single’s due out digitally on Monday.
• Also doing the rounds at local radio this week were Fun.’s ‘Why Am I The One’, The Potbelleez’ ‘Saved In A Bottle’ and the new Script single ‘If You Could See Me Now’. For a more comprehensive list of the tracks serviced to media each week, hit up our OFFICIAL FACEBOOK page (usually each Thursday).
• Sony has announced via their latest release schedule that they’ll be releasing a deluxe edition of the latest Train album ‘California 37’ in the middle of March. The album has so far spawned the singles ‘Drive By’ and ’50 Ways To Say Goodbye’, with the repackage due on March 15.

• Fab news for the boys from Perth outfit Eskimo Joe today, with confirmation they’ve raised more than $60,000 via a Pozible campaign to create their new album. In a statement, they described their excitement about the new album, the band’s sixth. “It’s been a great couple of months for us here at the studio, the writing is taking us in some very new and exciting directions, we can’t wait to start recording in March. We feel very honoured indeed to have such a group of loyal supporters out there, the response to our crowd-funding campaign has blown us away. It’s been great to get to know a lot of you through social media, and to surpass our target by so much has left us humbled and inspired. We can’t wait to get these tunes down and send them out into the world. Thanks again, The Joe.”

• It was a big week for the team at Mushroom Records, who celebrated their 40th year with a relaunch in Melbourne. They took over the city’s £1000 Pound Bend, launching with a cavalcade of talent from their roster, while unveiling their brand new logo (above).
• Sneaky Sundays have found a new home in Sydney’s inner east. After becoming a weekly staple at Hugo’s Lounge in Kings Cross, the smash event will now move just around the corner to Santa Barbara, kicking off on Sunday February 24 with a line-up that includes Sneaky Sound System, Ajax and many more.
• iTunes has announced a brand new sales record – and it’s a doozy. The company has now sold more than 25 billion songs worldwide across the past ten years, making them the No.1 music retailer on the planet.
• The news at home is pretty good too, with ARIA this week confirming a 4% jump in the total value of the industry last year – the first jump since 2009. Digital sales were up a healthy 31.14%, though the physical product slumped by 11.71% (but is stable, according to ARIA).

• The forthcoming Groovin The Moo event in Bendigo, Victoria has once again fully sold out. It’s the fourth year in a row the Bendigo GTM event has sold out, with organisers warning that the remaining events (in Maitland, Canberra, Townsville and Bunbury) might not be far behind.
• LA punk band The Bronx have revealed Groovin The Moo sideshows while they’re in the country. The band will play three dates at Sydney’s Annandale Hotel, two at Melbourne’s Corner Hotel and one each at Brisbane’s The Hifi, Perth’s Capitol Theatre and Adelaide’s Fowler’s Live. Tickets for all shows are on sale this Wednesday. The Bronx’ new album ‘IV’ was released yesterday.

• Victorian outfit Yacht Club DJs are taking off on a national tour. The duo will embark on the ‘Mayhem Tour’ from late March, kicking celebrations off with a gig at Brisbane’s Alhambra Lounge. They’ll visit all the states (bar the territories), including a double date in Hobart, with tickets on sale now.
• Neil Young and Crazy Horse have added an extra Melbourne date to their upcoming schedule. They’ll play an intimate show at the city’s Plenary on Wednesday March 13, two days before their Rod Laver Arena date. Tickets are on sale Monday February 18.
• Frontier has also announced a national tour for renowned rock outfit Tool. They’ll visit in late April for shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, with tickets hitting the sales desk on Tuesday February 19.
• In more tour news, The Lumineers, currently riding high on the charts with their single ‘Ho Hey’, have announced changes to their forthcoming show in Sydney. The date at the city’s Metro Theatre on March 27 has now moved to the larger Enmore Theatre on March 28. Extra tickets for the new date/venue are on sale now, with existing tickets to the Metro Theatre show valid for the new show.

• Mark Seymour will release his new album ‘Seventh Heaven Club’ early next month. The new 12 track LP marks the singer’s ninth release since the demise of Hunters & Collectors and will drop at retail on Friday March 01. He’s also hit the road for a national tour.
• Remote Control Records has revealed the forthcoming local release of two new big name titles – one from Vampire Weekend and one from British Sea Power. Vampire Weekend’s new album is called ‘Modern Vampires Of The City’ and will drop on Friday May 03, while the new British Sea Power album is entitled ‘Machineries Of Joy’. It’s due on Friday March 29.
• Also due in March is the new album for UK singer songwriter Billy Bragg. ‘Tooth And Nail’ will drop on March 22 and the singer is offering up a free download of the track ‘Handyman Blues’ from it. Bag it HERE.

• It’s already climbing the charts here in Australia, but it’s No.1 again in the UK this week… it’s Bingo Players’ club banger ‘Get Up (Rattle)’ featuring Far East Movement. Macklemore’s ‘Thrift Shop’ is following its Aussie lead, rocketing up the charts in ol’ Blighty – from No.24 last week to No.2 this week – and the week’s highest new entry comes courtesy of Devlin and ‘Rewind’ at No.10.
• On the UK albums side of things, it’s Biffy Clyro and their new album ‘Opposites’ premiering in the No.1 spot this week, knocking off the soundtrack to ‘Les Miserables’. The deluxe repackage of Fleetwood Mac’s classic album ‘Rumours’ certainly does the business, debuting at No.3, with Justin Bieber’s acoutic set premiering at No.5 and Andrea Bocelli’s ‘Passione’ coming in at No.9.

• Stateside, the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart this week belongs to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and their former No.1 Aussie hit ‘Thrift Shop’. They maintain their No.1 heading for a third straight week with another 381,000 copies in the bag. Bruno Mars’ ‘Locked Out Of Heaven’ is steady at No.2, with P!nk, Calvin Harris and Florence Welch entering the top ten.
• On the US albums chart, Justin Bieber’s ‘Believe : Acoustic’ does Stateside what it couldn’t do in Australia (or the UK for that matter), debuting at No.1. Andrea Bocelli’s ‘Passione’ premieres at No.2, Tegan And Sara’s ‘Heartthrob’ is in at No.3 and Charlie Wilson’s ‘Love, Charlie’ debuts at No.4. Adele’s all-conquering ’21’ is back into the top 20.
• And don’t miss your foray into the Australian charts with our weekly Chart Watch segment. We’ll be back at 9am AEDT with all the goings-on on tomorrow night’s ARIA singles and albums charts. Who’s at No.1 this week? Find out in the morning right here!

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