Bjork Taps Antony, Timbaland, Lightning Bolt for LP
Plus Konono N°1, Toumani Diabate, Chris Corsano; album due "late spring"

Photo by Leó Stefánsson

Anticipate! The Björk countdown has bjegun: according to a recent post on the Icelandic songstress's official website by the mysterious Meester Fly (high five to reader Adam for the tip), Björk has commenced work on her latest LP, the follow-up to 2004's Medulla-- and she's rounded up quite the little rodeo of special guests and collaborators.

Laying previous doubts to waste, the record will in fact feature a pair of duets with androgynous dude-about-town Antony. It's due in "late spring" and also boasts "some beats" from red-hot producer Timbaland on a couple tracks, "percussive delights" from Lightning Bolt's Brian Chippendale, electric thumb piano magic from Konono N°1 (but you knew that), Kora action from Toumani Diabate, and additional drum-work from Chris Corsano.

Icelandic scribe Sjón contributes some lyrics, and frequent Björk producer Mark Bell is involved once again. There's no title yet, says Meester Fly, who also reports that "nothing sounds really familiar about this experience." The presence of "beats" and "drums" and, um, instruments leads us to believe this won't sound much like Medulla.

Last but not least: Björk will be touring! No details yet, but she will have a band, and, if the words of Meester Fly are to be believed, "We are in for a treat."

As previously reported, Björk covers Joni Mitchell's "Boho Dance" on the forthcoming Joni tribute on Nonesuch, due out this spring.

Of Montreal Launch Tour, Release Digital Single

With the final countdown to the release of the fantastic Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? underway, Of Montreal are packing their bags for an insanely long road trip.

Tonight, the Athens gang will kick things off in Memphis. If all goes according plan (read: no exhaustion-induced collapses), the trek will run through early April. According to Of Montreal's publicist, the band's live show will include "three projection screens, a giant animal...that [bandleader] Kevin [Barnes] will climb in and out of, a ten-foot-high dress that he sings in, [and] costume changes." Holy smokes.

In other Of Montreal news, remember that limited edition "She's a Rejecter" seven inch? Those not into wax can now gank cyber trax from eMusic, where an exclusive digital release of the three-song single is currently available. Like its vinyl predecessor, it features two Hissing Fauna numbers, as well as B-side "Little Rock".

Of Montreal will also record a KEXP session on February 9.

Hissing Fauna drops on both CD and 2XLP on Tuesday (January 23), sharing a due date with Of Montreal's previously reported Icons, Abstract Thee EP. Both are being released courtesy of Polyvinyl. You can stream the album here. [MORE...]

The Constantines Tour Canada

The Constantines continue their never-ending tour with a trek across their home country of Canada this spring. They'll be supporting homeland heroes the Tragically Hip for a few Ontario dates this month, as well as at a CFRU 93.3 FM fundraiser in Guelph tonight, January 18. Then in March, they'll hit the road again.

The Cons will be previewing some new material, which they're currently writing for the follow-up to 2005's Tournament of Hearts. [MORE...]

Lee Hazlewood Taps Granddaughter for Final Album
Phaedra is her name!

Sometimes it's best to bow out while you're ahead, which is precisely what revered septuagenarian songwriter Lee Hazlewood has opted to do with Cake or Death, his self-declared swan song release.

Boasting a number of delicious duets, plenty of political bile, and an Eddie Izzard-inspired title, Cake arrives Stateside January 23 via the UK's Ever Records (also home to Cyann & Ben and Cortney Tidwell). It includes a new, Hazlewood-sung version of the classic he penned, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" (made famous by Nancy Sinatra, made shitty by Jessica Simpson), as well as a twenty-first century take on "Some Velvet Morning", the seminal Hazlewood/Sinatra duet, now featuring the man's granddaughter-- who is named, most appropriately, Phaedra.

Both Cake or Death and first single "Baghdad Knights" are out now in the UK and Europe. [MORE...]

Exclusive: Bonde do Role Sign to Domino

Bonde do Role, Brazilian genre mashers, Pitchfork Music Festival survivors, and friends of Diplo (and who isn't these days?), have taken their party-starting to the next level by signing to Domino Records. Their first release for the label will be the "Solta o Frango" single, scheduled to come out April 10, and they will follow that with a currently untitled album in May.

(We hope that a remix for their now-labelmates Animal Collective is in the works.)

Before they fully become Domino artists, the trio will release the Gasolina EP on January 22 via Diplo's Mad Decent label. The EP features an extended mix of the album version of "Gasolina" as well as remixes of the song by Radio Clit, Buraka Som Sistema, and Scotty B and King Tut.

Bonde also have a full tour in the works, but for now they have four dates planned for March. The last date is an appearance at the Mad Decent South by Southwest showcase, which also includes sets by Diplo, Sinden, Amanda Blank, Flosstradamus, and DJ Blaqstarr. The latter happens to be the newest signing to the Mad Decent roster, and his Supastarr EP is scheduled for a spring release on the label.

The showcase's announcement appears on the Mad Decent blog with a cryptic reference to the addition of "a very special guest ???." Dudes, we can spot an M.I.A. appearance a mile away. (Unless, of course, the breakup rumors are true.) [MORE...]

Cage Launches Winter Tour

Def Jux MC Cage kicks off his U.S. winter tour tonight, still in support of 2005's seasonally appropriate Hell's Winter. The tour begins in Wallingford, Connecticut (an up-and-coming underground rap Mecca?).

Slow Suicide Stimulus, DJ Krazy Glue, CupCake, and Yak Ballz will support Cage on most dates, which gives this tour the roster with the worst artist and group names we've seen in a while. [MORE...]

Mark Eitzel Embarks on East Coast Tour

American Music Club spent a chunk of 2006 holed up at San Francisco's Closer Recording studio working on their new album (due this year on Merge and Cooking Vinyl), so it's no surprise that AMC ringleader Mark Eitzel is seeking out some fresh air.

Eitzel has a short string of East Coast dates lined up, starting this evening in New York City. This weekend, he'll stop by the Big Apple's World Financial Center for Winter Garden's American Beauty Project, a pair of free events celebrating the Grateful Dead's American Beauty and Workingman's Dead albums. Jay Farrar (Son Volt, Gob Iron, Uncle Tupelo), Espers, Tim O'Reagan (the Jayhawks), and more are also scheduled to play. [MORE...]

Cat Power, Seu Jorge Become Works of Public Art
Chan performs at art "Happening"

My, Cat Power, how you've changed. Just a year ago you were breaking down at shows, mumbling, weeping, and skittering off stage prematurely. Now you're looking like the bee's knees on the cover of the latest Magnet, hawking Chanel, and projecting your likeness onto the sides of buildings! It's a new leaf, and we're all about it.

Chan "Cat Power" Marshall joins musician/actor Seu Jorge and silver screen stars Tilda Swinton, Donald Sutherland, and Ryan Donowho as part of multimedia artist Doug Aitken's new installation piece sleepwalking. A large-scale video projection, sleepwalking graces an outside wall of New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for a whole freaking month, "enlivening the building's architecture with the nocturnal journeys of five city dwellers" (thus spake the press release). Indeed, you can see it right now, or tomorrow afternoon, or anytime before February 20.

Aitken-- whose name you might recognize from videos for Interpol, Fatboy Slim, and Sponge(!)-- will host a museum "Happening" celebrating his piece on February 2, featuring a performance by Cat Power herself. The event is part of the MoMA and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center's PopRally series and also includes live music from street drummer/sleepwalking co-star Ryan Donowho (with Hishan Bharoocha), storytelling by Melissa Plaut, a public viewing of sleepwalking, and more surprises. Tickets go on sale January 22 and attendees even receive a swank poster designed by Chicago-based Bird Machine artist Mat Daly.

As previously reported, Cat Power plays both the Langerado Music Festival in March and the Dirty Three-curated All Tomorrow's Parties shindig in April. [MORE...]

Photos: Andrew Bird [New York, NY; 01/17/06]

Photos of January 17 performance at Bowery Ballroom, NYC, by Jessica Suarez
Live review of January 13 performance at the Hideout, Chicago, by Matthew Solarski

(Fun fact! Among the Bird-brained Bowery Ballroom attendees... MONICA LEWINSKY!!)

Is it possible to be too talented? Joined by a drummer (Martin Dosh), a bassist (Alpha Consumer's Jeremy Ylvisaker), and enough talent to raise the Titanic, singer/guitarist/ violinist/pedal-pusher/world-class whistler Andrew Bird promised-- and, for the most part, delivered-- a "marathon" set of mostly brand new material (much from his forthcoming Fat Possum full length, Armchair Apocrypha, out March 20) to the flock of fans fortunate enough to score tickets to this refreshingly intimate hometown performance.

An aura of big things to come pervaded the evening's proceedings, with Andrew himself admitting he's not likely to play so tiny a Chicago venue again anytime soon (his next Chicago gig will be at the 2500-capacity Riviera; the Hideout holds less than 200). It's not surprising, really: Bird has plenty going for him, from his grace with the violin and easy-to-digest voice to his fondness for pedals and storied whistling prowess, right down to his avian good looks and caddish charm. It's enough to take any NPR groupie to giddy stratospheres (and yes, Pitchfork is far from immune). And it certainly impresses dates and girlfriends.

The new music, for the most part, didn't diverge in any alarming fashion from the old music. There were plenty of lush, latticed backdrops built from pizzicato loops, quite a few SAT words and clever turns of phrase (and a few awkward ones as well), one or two rousing rock-outs and radio-ready choruses ("Plasticities" could well be a hit), and sundry sudden virtuosic turns on the violin.

Onstage these assorted talents engage in a somewhat precarious dance, and they don't always jell convincingly-- but every second or third song Bird will stumble into something magical. It's thrilling, in a way, being held in suspense, waiting for the next perfect moment, but frustrating too.

On record, Bird's juggling act is tempered significantly, his talents more often in harmony than not. Live, perhaps a little refinement is in order-- and the nice thing about being too talented? Even if Andrew trims it back a bit, he still has so much to offer.

Follow that Bird as he migrates to Australia and Europe in the coming weeks.

[MORE...]

Bright Eyes Sign to Polydor Outside North America
Next up: Bright Eyes tour of only Clear Channel venues

Conor Oberst and his band Bright Eyes have signed a licensing deal with Polydor Records outside of North America, Bright Eyes' publicist confirmed today. In North America, the band remains on Saddle Creek, the label Oberst helped start.

According to the publicist, "Bright Eyes have been on numerous labels outside of North America over their recording history and the move to Polydor is the newest endeavor to reach as many fans as possible."

As previously reported, the new Bright Eyes album Cassadaga is out April 10 and is preceded by the EP Four Winds on March 6. Oberst and co. hit the road in late February.

To hear a new Bright Eyes song, "Endless Entertainment", sign up for Universal Music UK's Bright Eyes mailing list here. Or just click on the link at the bottom of this story.

David Kilgour Cleans Up With The Far Now
Merge collects Clean chief's best on digital compilation

New Zealand isn't just some Edenic fairytale land where they filmed those Lord of the Rings movies. It's also an Edenic fairytale land with a rich musical history, a land which spawned the so-called kiwi rock of indie legends like the Chills, the Bats, Tall Dwarfs, Straitjacket Fits, the Verlaines, and the Clean.

Not to be confused with David Gilmour, David Kilgour and brother Hamish founded the Clean in Dunedin, New Zealand back in the late 1970s, going on to become one of their country's most beloved bands and exerting a lasting influence on indie rock to this day. While the band has an on-again/off-again thing going on right now, thirty years of kiwi rocking you haven't blunted David Kilgour's songwriting skills a bit. The Clean man returns on January 23 with a new solo LP-- his sixth-- called The Far Now.

Merge Records treats North Americans to The Far Now, showcasing twelve psych-tinged pop tunes penned by Kilgour. Half of the LP features contributions from DK's band, the Heavy Eights, while the other half collects home-recorded fare. Said Kilgour in a press release, "The songs sprung into my lap and pretty much decided how they wanted to sound, and I followed their direction."

If you're new to Kilgour and the Clean's legacy, Merge has just the thing for you. In conjunction with the release of The Far Now, the venerable imprint has assembled a digital-only compilation of the man's best work, titled The Before Now: A David Kilgour Retrospective. It's available for download now and spotlights Kilgour solo tracks alongside classics from his bands the Clean, the Great Unwashed, and Stephen. [MORE...]

Tweedy Reveals Wilco LP Title, Release Date

Finally, some concrete Wilco album news! According to a tip from Pitchfork reader Collin Brown and later confirmed by Wilco's publicist, last night at a solo show in Nashville, Jeff Tweedy announced that his band's forthcoming record is called Sky Blue Sky and it will be out May 15 via Nonesuch. It will be the band's first studio release since 2004's A Ghost Is Born.

Wilco have also scheduled three Australian dates, and Tweedy will continue to make the solo rounds through the end of the month. For all side project dates, back it up to here and here. [MORE...]

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)