Cracking The New Sat

In 1973 the band Chicago played a string of dates culminating in two nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden on 14 and 15 June. The support act was Bruce Springsteen, and the tour was, to say the least, not a happy experience for him, as Christopher Sandford relates in Springsteen: Point Blank: “Things soured in Philadelphia…’Kids were throwing rolls of toilet paper,’ says [manager, Mike] Appel. A fan bounced a basket ball off Springsteen’s piano. ‘They’re not paying attention to me,’ was his wild understatement to his manager. Something similar, or worse, happened at Madison Square Garden…Springsteen ran off stage in New York, announced he was quitting, ‘shrieked like a beast’ at Appel and burst into tears. After the recriminations had died down, he vowed he’d never play another ‘shed’ and ‘never as someone’s butt-fuck.’ ‘I told Bruce, okay, no more big venues,’ says Appel.”

"Complacency is such a disease when you’re in a band,” says Tyler Connolly, singer and guitarist for Theory. “People are so afraid to progress, but you have to change you can’t just write the same song over and over. So when I saw where this record was going, I said to the other guys, ‘We’re in a car and it’s going off a cliff. Do you want to jump out or ride it to the bottom?’" With their sixth studio album, Wake Up Call, Theory hit the reset button, diving into a new sound, a new approach, even a new location. The more melodic, intimate style that defines the project is a bold move for one of the leading rock bands in the world. Since forming in British Columbia in 2001, Theory of a Deadman Connolly, guitarist Dave Brenner, bassist Dean Back, and drummer Joey Dandeneau have placed nine songs in the Top 10 on the rock charts, including the Number One hits “Bad Girlfriend,” “Lowlife,” “So Happy,” and “Angel.”

The Olympus Sound is the fifth studio album by Irish power pop band Pugwash. It features contributions from Ben Folds, Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy, and Dave Gregory and Andy Partridge of XTC. The album was released in Ireland by 1969 Records and EMI on 19 August 2011. The iTunes version featured two bonus tracks not included on the CD. On its release, The Irish Times hailed it as "the best Irish album of the year to date" while Hot Press said it was "the best thing [Pugwash] has ever done". The Irish Daily Star named it among its top 10 Irish albums of 2011. It was nominated for the Choice Music Prize 2011, an award given to the best Irish album of the year, in January 2012. After signing a three-year deal with British indie label Lojinx, The Olympus Sound was released outside Ireland on CD and vinyl on 16 April 2012. The CD version includes three bonus tracks not included on the original physical or iTunes releases.