Brooklyn-based experimental band Growing have debuted the first installment in a series of six video vignettes for tracks from their upcoming release PUMPS. Premiered yesterday at The Fader, the “Hormone” and “Drone Burger” videos offer an intriguing visual of the tracks. Stay tuned for more installments of video vignettes from PUMPS, which comes out April 6th but is now available for pre-order at our store.

Following a career of over 30 years, living legend Fred Cole finds himself on the brink of another monumental release. Joined by his wife/fellow ex-Dead Moon founder, Toody Cole, and Kelly Halliburton, they form the Portland-based trio Pierced Arrows. Today just so happens to mark the official release of their album Descending Shadows.

Music can’t get any more authentic than this. We once heard Fred Cole say that this album is “rock’n'roll that’s rough, ragged, and honest.” What’s that you say? You’d like a second opinion, would you? Well, here’s Eddie Vedder himself stating, “Fred and Toody epitomize the true potential and purest meaning of straight, no chaser rock and roll.” Click here to check out the stream for Descending Shadows.

As we announced earlier this month, Black Lips have a slew of tour dates coming up all over the globe. They will be traveling to Australia and Japan before starting up their US tour. SpinEarth.tv has done a special feature about the band’s thoughts on the upcoming tour. The band has been on break for almost a month, the longest the guys have seen in a long time. But, they seem extremely eager to get back on the road for more shows. Check out the video at SpinEarth.tv.

The guys in Acrassicauda have come a long way from having their lives documented in Heavy Metal in Baghdad. They have spent a good part of the past year practicing and recording their upcoming EP Only the Dead See the End of the War (available March 9th). Last week, the band had their first US performance in Brooklyn, NY at The Charleston, which was their first show in almost two years. The show was private so the crowd was full of close friends and family, welcoming the Iraqi metal band’s first performance in the US. The guys played a solid 45-minute set, which included the first track from the EP “Garden of Stones.” Check out the photos from the show in our very own VICE Photo Blog!

Ramping up for their upcoming full-length Descending Shadows (out February 2nd) and their upcoming tour starting February 23rd, Portland’s Pierced Arrows are offering up another new track for download. “Let It Rain” features the inimitably unrestrained guitar and vocal pairing that Fred and Toody Cole forged with Dead Moon over the past two decades, powered by Kelly Halliburton’s equally dynamic drumming that could easily be a highlight in their live show. The band will be touring across the US with Lullabye Arkestra on select dates.

Comebacks are typically a rad occurrence, although they can sometimes involve something highly unwarranted. None of this uncertainty applies to the return of the celebrated psychedelic soul big band explosion King Khan and The Shrines to North America for a slew of live performances. King Khan returns from a year that saw the release of three albums and several tours in the US and overseas. The band’s three week run of dates, which starts in Atlanta and culminates at Coachella on April 18th, mark their first US excursion since last year’s tour in support of the release of What Is?!.

Those who have seen the band know what to expect- and are most likely planning to attend. To the uninitiated: a sweat soaked stage being rocked into a psychedelic oblivion as a sonic pastiche of horns, drums, bass, guitar, and organ weave a gritty soul canvas for Khan to splatter with his infectious persona. Other acts at Coachella be cautioned: the Rock Messiah will be performing in your midst and he intends to take no prisoners. Check out the full list of dates for their upcoming tour here.