Audiovent
Photo: Atlantic

When they titled their debut album Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris, Audiovent hadn't yet managed to tour overseas. If enough listeners connect with their "Energy," perhaps that will change.

"The Energy," the band's first single, is about self-reliance in the face of adversity and was written in the wake of a bad breakup frontman Jason Boyd (brother of Incubus' Brandon Boyd) had with an ex-girlfriend (see "Lil' Incubus? Audiovent's Boyd, Enziger Say No"). The video for song was shot in June by Kevin Kerslake (Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots) in Los Angeles and the Arizona desert and doesn't directly address the subject matter of the track.

"The song's about not being dependent on any person but yourself, and in a weird way, the video kind of makes sense with the song," Boyd said. "It's just kind of us being us and not really following any set pattern — being completely independent."

The straightforward, storyline-free performance video features various shots of the band hanging out in an atmospheric house and walking around sand dunes.

"This video was more of an introduction," drummer Jamin Wilcox said. "We didn't want to get real in-depth with a whole epic video, because we're just introducing ourselves to the world and we wanted people to see who we were and what we're about."

Audiovent chose Kerslake to direct because they liked the way his artistic visuals appealed to a mass audience.

"He has an abstract way he does his videos, but he still makes it commercial enough where it's a good balance," Wilcox said. "We thought he vibed really cool."

To plug Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris, Audiovent will tour steadily for at least the next year; they're currently opening for Greenwheel and Our Lady Peace. While the knights are busy being road warriors, they're also working on new songs. They've been jamming in the off-hours and on the bus and have already amassed a good amount of new material.

"We're always creating," Boyd said. "We've got tons of ideas, but no full songs. As soon as we have a way to record this stuff and lay it down, we'll be doing that. But our music is ever-changing. It's always gonna sound like us, but it's always going to be new and different."

• Audiovent

Belle & Sebastian
Photo: Matador Records

After five years of waiting for a new full-length solo effort, DJ Shadow's fans are finally treated to the follow-up album to Entroducing ... This time the innovative DJ offers The Private Press, an album that took him 15 months to complete and was created entirely from sampled music.

Also out Tuesday (June 4) is young newcomer Avril Lavigne's debut Let Go, an album devoted to urging people to be themselves, as evidenced on such songs as "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi."

Me'Shell Ndegeocello's Cookie: An Anthropological Mixtape shares shelf space with Belle & Sebastian's Storytelling and the Roots' resident human beat box, Scratch, and his The Embodiment of Instrumentation.

And how about those soundtracks to go with the summer movie blockbusters? This week's notables are "Getting There," the latest Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen adventure which bills the twins as "Sweet 16 and licensed to drive"; and music from and inspired by "Scooby-Doo," featuring Outkast, Kylie Minogue and Lil' Romeo, which might just be better than the movie itself. Ruuh-oh!

Out Tuesday, June 4:

• 281 Boyz - Chopped & Screwed 2003 (Ichiban)
• Atreyu - Suicide Notes & Butterfly Kisses (Victory)
• Audiovent - Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris (Atlantic) Read about it ... Lil' Incubus? Audiovent's Boyd, Einziger Say No
• Aurora UK - Dreaming (Groovilicious)
• Beachwood Sparks - Make the Cowboy Robots Cry (EP) (Sub Pop)
• Belle & Sebastian - Storytelling (Matador)
• The Bevis Frond - What Did for the Dinosaurs (Rubric)
• Yume Bitsu - The Golden Vessyl of Sound (K)
• Bloodlet - Three Humid Nights in the Cypress Trees (Victory)
• Boom Box 2000 - Boom Box 2000 (Orange Twin)
• Brand New Sin - Brand New Sin (Now or Never)
• Chris Brokaw - Red Cities (Atavistic)
• Pieta Brown - Pieta Brown (Rubric)
• Clan of Xymox - Remixes from the Underground (Metropolis)
• Preston Clarke - Lane Change (Biscuit)
• Cordelia's Dad - What It Is (Kimchee)
• Danzig - 777: I Luciferi (Spitfire)
• Da Outfit - Lost Underground (Strictly Rhythm)
• Dead Poetic - Four Wall Blackmail (Solid State)
• Deerhoof - Reveille (Kill Rock Stars)
• John Digweed - MMII (WSM)
• Dillinger Four - Situationist Comedy (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Dirty Vegas - Dirty Vegas (Capitol) Read about it ... Days Go By, And Still You Can't Get Dirty Vegas Out Of Your Head
• Dismantled - Dismantled (Metropolis)
• DJ Irene - Phonosynthesis (Warlock)
• DJ Quik - Under Tha Influence (Ark 21)
• DJ Shadow - The Private Press (MCA)
• Doves - The Last Broadcast (Heavenly)
• Engorged - Engorged (Death Vomit)
• Enon - High Society (Touch & Go)
• E.S.T. - Strange Place for Snow (Columbia)
• Glory Fountain - The Beauty of 23 (Lajoy)
• Go Jimmy Go - Soul Arrival (Moon Room)
• The Hellacopters - Cream of the Crap Vol. 1 (Gearhead)
• High Contrast - True Colors (Breakbeat Science)
• Hometown News - Wheels (VFR)
• In Extremo - Sunder Ohine Zugel (Unbridled Sinner) (Metal Blade)
• Jack Ingram - Electric (Sony/Lucky Dog)
• Interpol - Interpol (Matador)
• J-200 - A Trip From Grace (Loose Booty)
• Donell Jones - Life Goes On (La Face)
• Tommy Keene - The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down (spinART)
• Willie Kennedy - Cape Breton Violin (Rounder)
• The Kennedys - Get It Right (Jiffyjam)
• Sherry Goffin Kondor - Mellow My Baby: Soothing Songs (Sugar Beats/Rounder)
• Lackloves - Star City Baby (Rainbow Quartz)
• Avril Lavigne - Let Go (Arista) Read about it ... It's Not 'Complicated' — 17-Year-Old Avril Lavigne Was Born To Rock
• Shannon Lawson - Chase the Sun (MCA Nashville)
• LMNT - All Sides (Purple Leopard)
• Lollipop Lust Kill - My So Called Knife (Artemis)
• Los Lobos - Good Morning Aztlan (Mammoth)
• Luce - Luce (Nettwerk)
• Manowar - Warriors of the World (Metal Blade)
• Matthew - Everybody Down (Rykodisc)
• Tift Merritt - Bramble Rose (Lost Highway)
• The Miracles - Tears of a Clown (Park South)
• Coco Montoya - Can't Look Back (Alligator)
• My Vitriol - Finelines (Epic)
• Myracle Brah - Super Automatic (Rainbow Quartz)
• Me'Shell Ndegeocello - Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape (Maverick)
• Marykate O'Neil - Marykate O'Neil (Seventy-One)
• Teddy Pendergrass - Pure Love (Park South)
• People Under the Stairs - O.S.T. (Om)
• Archer Prewitt - Three (Touch & Go)
• Rearview Mirror - All Lights Off (Gobstopper)
• Rotten Sound - Murderworks (Death Vomit)
• Saeed & Palash - Tide:Edit:07 (Star 69)
• Scratch - The Embodiment of Instrumentation (Ropeadope)
• Seelenluft - Out of the Woods (Klein)
• Sev - All These Dreams (Geffen)
• Side Walk Slam - Give Back (Tooth & Nail)
• Silkworm - Italian Premium (Touch & Go)
• Spaceheads - Low Pressure (Merge)
• Speedealer - Second Sight (Palm Pictures)
• Speedy J - Loudboxer (Mute)
• Swearing at Motorists - This Flag Signals Goodbye (Secretly Canadian)
• The Takers - If the Blues Were Red (Rubric)
• Thuunderboy! - Thuunderboy! (Table of the Elements)
• Trammps - Dance Fever (Park South)
• Trouble With Sweeny - Play Karen & Others (Basement Life)
• Vader - Revelation (Metal Blade)
• Steve Vai - Elusive Light & Sound Vol. 1 (Favored Nations)
• Various artists - "Bad Company" soundtrack (Hollywood)
• Various artists - The Best of Broadway Musicals (Park South)
• Various artists - The Best of "Star Wars": Collector's Edition Soundtrack (Park South)
• Various artists - Celebrate America (Disney/Vista)
• Various artists - "Cherish" soundtrack (New Line)
• Various artists - Chilled Grooves (Water Music)
• Various artists - Cuts: Session 1 (Groovilicious)
• Various artists - "Enough" soundtrack (Varese Sarabande)
• Various artists - "Getting There" soundtrack (Trauma)
• Various artists - If the 21st Century Didn't Exist ... (Five Rue Christine)
• Various artists - Price for Peace (American Journey)
• Various artists - "Scooby-Doo" soundtrack (Lava) Read about it ... 'Scooby-Doo' Soundtrack To Feature Lil' Romeo, Kylie, Shaggy (Zoinks!)
• Various artists - Smooth Grooves: At the Club (Rhino)
• Various artists - Soundbombing III (MCA)
• Various artists - "Spider-Man" score (Soundtrax)
• Various artists - Total Hits 2002 (Rhino)
• Vegas - Retro Lounge Vol. 2 (Park South)
• Yid Vicious - Forverts! (JAM/Knitting Factory)
• Roger Wallace - The Lowdown (Lone Star)
• Anna Waronker - Anna by Anna Waronker (Oglio)
• The Young Dubliners - Absolutely (Higher Octave)
• Young People - Young People (Five Rue Christine)

June 11:

• Korn - Untouchables (Epic) Read about it ... Korn: The Untouchables
• David Bowie - Heathen (ISO/Columbia) Read about it ... Foos' Dave Grohl, Moby Are Bowie Buddies On New LP
• Raphael Saadiq - Instant Vintage (Universal)
• They Might Be Giants - No! (Rounder)
• Various artists - The Osbourne Family Album (Epic) Read about it ... Osbournes Unveil F---ing Family Album

June 18:

• Papa Roach - Lovehatetragedy (DreamWorks) Read about it ... Papa Roach Distance Themselves From Rap-Metal Peers On New LP
• Swizz Beatz - G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories (DreamWorks) Read about it ... Swizz Beatz Unveils Metallica/Ja Rule Track, Sets 'Guilty' Single

June 25:

• Boy George - Night Out (Moonshine)
• Jerry Cantrell - Degradation Trip (Island/Def Jam) Read about it ... Jerry Cantrell Conjures Ghost Of Alice In Chains On New LP
• Solange Knowles - Solo Star (Columbia) Read about it ... Solange, Beyonce's Lil' Sis, Says She's No Destiny's Child

July 2:

• "Men in Black 2" soundtrack (Sony) Read about it ... Will Smith Preps Next LP, New Tracks For 'MIB2'
• Jerzee Monet - Love & War (DreamWorks) Read about it ... Jerzee Monét: Workin' For Her Big Break

July 9:

• Silverchair - Diorama (Atlantic) Read about it ... Silverchair Craft U.S. Diorama, Plan New York Dates

July 16:

• Lil' Romeo - Game Time (Universal/No Limit) Read about it ... Lil' Romeo Battles His Evil Twin On B-Ball Court

• Avril Lavigne
• Dirty Vegas
• DJ Quik
• DJ Shadow
• Audiovent

Audiovent
Photo: Atlantic

When Audiovent tour with Adema next month, they surely won't hit the road under the banner the Sibling Rivalry Tour, but maybe they should.

Adema's frontman, Marky Chavez, is of course the half-brother of Korn's Jonathan Davis. Audiovent's blood runs even thicker: singer Jason Boyd and guitarist Ben Einziger are the brothers of Incubus vocalist Brandon Boyd and guitarist Mike Einziger. And bassist Paul Fried is Ben and Mike's stepbrother. Audiovent are capped off by drummer Jamin Wilcox, son of Jon Wilcox from Todd Rundgren's Utopia.

However, the band, whose major-label debut, Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris, comes out June 4,  isn't Incubus Jr. Yeah, Jason's voice sounds a lot like his bro's on such cuts as "Looking Down" and "Rain," but Jason said that's where the similarities end.

"We're influenced by different people, so that's what separates us," he explained from his home near Calabasas, California. "I'm more into the classic rock sound like the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and David Bowie, and I think he's more into Mike Patton and things like that."

Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris is a melodic hard rock album filled with propulsive guitars, emotionally expressive vocals and galvanic rhythms. The first single, "The Energy," builds from a misty reverie to a full-throttle venting session, and is about Boyd's first true love, with whom he parted ways during the album's creation. 

" 'Energy' and a lot of the record was written during the breakup," he said. "And that song in particular is about my realization that I can't be dependent on any one person except myself. It's just a constant reminder of where I was at that point in my life and now the song just lets me know that I can't get back there again."

Another song, "Looking Down," is a triumphant cut that blends echoey guitars and restrained vocals with more agitated tones, and features the chorus, "We'll stand on top of the world looking down."

"That one kind of has to do with the whole Incubus thing," Boyd said. "It's about how we are gonna set ourselves apart in time and we're gonna make it. We're gonna do what we set out to do from the very beginning. It's kind of our inspiration song as a band."

Naturally, Boyd likes to downplay the "whole Incubus thing." He insisted Audiovent has never asked for nor received direct help from Incubus, and that when he met Ben Einziger in junior high at AE Wright Middle School, he had no idea Brandon was already jamming with Ben's brother.

"It's kind of like fate brought us together," Jason said. "We started only a little bit after Incubus did. We've been together as a band for nine years and we all grew up together. We're best friends."

There's a problem with joining a band with your close friends. As time passes and you tour extensively and deal with the various pressures of the music business, even the best of pals sometimes wind up hating one another. But for now that's not something Audiovent are even remotely worried about.

"We've been through a lot together and right now things are finally starting to happen," Boyd enthused. "It was such an amazing thing to be able to hear our record for the first time. It was like a dream come true."

• Audiovent
• Incubus