525 Recent Items
Arctic Monkeys Unveil Second Album Details
No pressure, guys. It's not like you have to live up to the fastest-selling debut album in UK history or anything.
Arctic Monkeys revealed on their website today that they will release their second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, on April 23 in the UK. (No American release date has been set yet.) It will be preceded by the single "Brainstorm" (not a typo, we think) on April 16. We assume the album will be on Domino, but that has not been confirmed yet.
Thus, the Arctics have joined Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the Arcade Fire, and Bloc Party in the dugout of high-profile indie bands spending the first half of 2007 bracing for the sophomore slump. (Who next? Band of Horses? Tapes 'n Tapes?)
Arctic Monkeys' spring/summer touring itinerary is starting to take shape, with gigs at Coachella, Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, and Glastonbury already scheduled. At the end of July, the band is hosting its own festival at Lancashire County Cricket Ground in Manchester, England. [MORE...]
Arcade Fire Reveal Neon Bible Lyrics
Oh those sneaky, sneaky Arcade Fire kids have done it again. Just a little over a month before the release of their second album Neon Bible, the band has posted the lyrics for every song on the record on the album's mysterious website.
So go to neonbible.com, click on the blinking bibles, click on "lyrics" in the top left hand corner, and enjoy.
This is some pretty depressing stuff. There's a lot of fear of the world ending, lack of hope in humanity, and general distress and discomfort on this record. And quite a bit of distrust in the media: "(Antichrist Television Blues)" seems to be sung from the point of view of a father/svengali like Joe Simpson or Matthew Knowles, while "Windowsill" includes these lines:
"MTV, what have you done to me? / Save my soul, set me free! / Set me free! What have you done to me? / I can't breathe! I can't see! / World War III / when are you coming for me?
"Guess we shouldn't expect any Arcade Fire video premieres on "Subterranean" any time soon.
The "lyrics" section of neonbible.com also includes the text of "The Wolf and the Fox", a fable attributed to the 17th century French poet Jean La Fontaine. The lyrics to "The Well and the Lighthouse" seem to echo the sentiment expressed in "The Wolf and the Fox".
Clicking on that text cues up an audio recording of a child reciting something in French; logic would dictate that the child is reciting "The Wolf and the Fox", but since my French skills are more than a bit rusty, I can't guarantee it.
Remember, Neon Bible is out March 6 on Merge. (As if you could forget.) This week, Arcade Fire play five shows in Montreal, and next week, they hit NYC.
Jesse Sykes Confesses Like, Love, Lust, Kicks Off Tour
Jesse Sykes will release her third album with her band the Sweet Hereafter via Barsuk on February 6. Like, Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul features a guest appearance from Swedish songwriter Nicolai Dunger and production from Tucker Martine (the Decemberists, the Long Winters) and Martin Feveyear (Mark Lanegan, Kings of Leon).
Remember, Sykes isn't your average folkie-girl-with-guitar. The last time, we heard from her, she was singing on the Boris/Sunn0))) record. And just look a that photo up there! She's such a badass!
Sykes and her band kick off their previously reported tour with Sparklehorse tonight in Austin. [MORE...]
Goldfrapp Ride a White Horse on New EP
Goldfrapp are mining their 2005 album Supernature for yet another release, the Ride a White Horse EP, due this coming Tuesday, February 6 on CD and the Tuesday after that, February 13, digitally, both via Mute.
The Horse EP includes five versions of its title track, including remixes by Serge Santiágo, Ewan Pearson, and two from Francois K--solo and with Eric Kupper. It also features a cover of the Ordinary Boys' "Boys Will Be Boys".
In addition, the enhanced disc boasts the "Ride a White Horse" video, as well as London concert footage of the song.
For a sneak peek, check out this e-card. It comes complete with audio, video, and a carousel of bluish-white horses that look like they just left an ice sculpture exhibit. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Battles Reveal New Album Details
It's been awhile since we've heard new music from Battles, the titanic post-math-rock supergroup consisting of multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Tyondai Braxton, drummer John Stanier (Helmet, Tomahawk), guitarist/keyboardist Ian Williams (Don Caballero), and guitarist/bassist Dave Konopka (Lynx). But now, the drought is over.
On April 2, Battles will release the "Atlas" single digitally and on 12" vinyl, backed by a remix by DJ Koze. It's a teaser for the Mirrored LP, due May 15. Both come out on Warp, which re-released the band's EP C and B EP together last year.
The new music is the first time Battles have incorporated vocals into their sonic onslaught, and from what we've heard so far, it kind of sounds like the Knife sent through a post-hardcore meat grinder. In a good way.
Battles will hone their road-warrior skills on their upcoming North American tour, which kicks off in Baltimore on March 20. [MORE...]
Elvis Perkins Supports XL Debut on Tour
Elvis Perkins' debut LP, Ash Wednesday, lands on February 20 via XL Recordings. Why does that name sound familiar (other than the fact that his first name is, um, Elvis)? Well, he happens to be the son of the late actor Anthony Perkins. Yes, the Psycho guy.
In support of the record, Elvis Perkins in Dearland (Perkins + his touring band) have a boatload of dates on the agenda. As previously reported, they'll spend the first half of February across the pond opening for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Once they return, Perkins and co. will embark on an extensive trek through North America, SXSW stop included. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Voxtrot's Ramesh Srivastava Talks Debut LP
Album set for release via Playlouder on May 22
Pitchfork's been crushing on Austin, Texas indie pop quintet Voxtrot for well over a year now, so it's hard to believe they've yet to actually release a full-length record. Oh, they've got EPs alright-- three thus far, including last fall's Your Biggest Fan. And they've got a pretty sweet record deal. So what's going on with that inaugural full-length foray?
Well, it won't be long now. With the band in New York City mixing their debut, Pitchfork caught up with Voxtrot frontman Ramesh Srivastava, who generously disclosed some of the album's dark secrets, shared his thoughts on the record-making process, considered the blogosphere, and revealed just what took so long with that record.
First, the essentials: Beggars Group imprint Playlouder will deliver the Voxtrot full-length worldwide on (or around, as the case may be) May 22. It was produced and mixed by Victor Van Vugt (Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Mojave 3) and recorded in December and January at Premier and Cacophony studios in Austin. To tide over fans in the UK, Beggars/Playlouder will release "Trouble" backed by "Your Biggest Fan" as a limited edition 7" and download single on February 26.
The album doesn't have a name yet, but Ramesh is leaning toward either a self-titled affair ("I guess it's the first time we're presenting ourselves to a lot of people, so maybe we'll just name it after us") or (said in jest) Remember Us From the Blogs? At least we think he's joking.
As an added treat to Voxtrot's biggest fans who've held their breath for nearly two years now anticipating the full-length, the record will contain "12 or 13" entirely new Voxtrot songs (i.e., nothing from the three EPs or the seven inches) drawn from a pool of 16 new jams. Among them, Ramesh's present favorites: "Kids Gloves", "Blood Red Blood", and "Firecracker".
In particular, Ramesh loves "Firecracker" because it sounds the least like his band's previous material. "It's kind of like an odd marriage of styles," he said. "Beats that we haven't used before. I just like the bigness of it, sonically."
The tune, as it turns out, is autobiographical. "In a way it's sort of about the intense experience we've had making a record for the first time with a record label, and what that's been like, and how it affects your self-confidence."
Srivastava and confidence, it seems, have an
on-again/off-again thing going on-- and when the band released the Your Biggest
Fan EP late last year, Ramesh and self-confidence were on the outs. "I like
[the EP], and I like the songs on it, but I wasn't overjoyed with the way that
it sounded, because it all had to be done in this very rushed environment. I
think when that came out I was overly terrified of critical response, because I
thought that we'd gone against ourselves-- because we didn't have time to do it
right."
Fortunately, they made up: "In the end, it ended up not being that big of a
deal. Now I like it, and I realize it's just songs. I like the songs, and it
really doesn't matter that much, the sound of every instrument and every note." [MORE...]
Exclusive: Frog Eyes Shed Tears, Tour to Feel Better
Hey, even the academically successful get a little choked up
sometimes! Hence, Canadian agit-pop tremblers Frog Eyes have Tears of the
Valedictorian, the quartet's previously mentioned fourth full-length, set for
May 1 release via Absolutely Kosher. Frog Eyes' fellow Canadians can scoop it up the same day
via Scratch.
Tears of the Valedictorian collects nine new tracks from Carey Mercer (also of Swan Lake) and company, featuring typically zany titles and copious punctuation. The LP follows up last July's Acuarela EP The Future Is Inter-Disciplinary or Not at All, and guess what? Frog Eyes hit the road this spring to support their latest creation, yapping and yelping down to SXSW for a one-off showcase spot, then circumnavigating the continent in May. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Magik Markers Record With Ranaldo, Tour
[Photo by John Moloney]
Magik Markers will record their first proper studio album in February at Echo Canyon West studio in Hoboken, New Jersey. Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo will produce the record, and bandmate Thurston Moore will release it on his Ecstatic Peace label.
According to drummer Pete Nolan, former guitarist Leah Quimby is "currently enjoying domestic bliss with Rob [Thomas] from Sunburned [Hand of the Man] in Boston." Thus, the new record will feature Nolan and guitarist/vocalist Elisa Ambrogio as a duo, along with "whomever they snare as a 'guest' here and there," according to Moore.
There are also plans for "a DVD documenting the legendary 'Was it a memory or were we dreaming?' first phase of Markers history: the trio with original member Leah Quimby. This will rule," says Moore.
Also ruling is the name of the Markers' upcoming tour, which begins March 8 at a venue to be announced in Brooklyn: "'Relax in a Panic Free Environment' Spring 2007 Deep Fucking South Tour". Noise rockers give everything the best titles. [MORE...]
Back. Street's. Back. Alright! Oh, wait-- wrong "Everybody".
Whoops! Guess I just had boy bands on the brain. But Chicago indie institution
the Sea and Cake? They're a man band. They've got experience, having played together for nearly 15 years, and they've got fidelity, having stuck with hometown label Thrill Jockey since the beginning. Come May 8, Thrill Jockey will serve up yet another Sea and Cake testament to raging manliness, the quartet's seventh album to date: Everybody.
Everybody follows up 2003's One Bedroom and features the tried-and-true lineup of vocalist/guitarist Sam Prekop (Dracula), guitarist Archer Prewitt (mummy), bassist Erik Claridge (Frankenstein monster), and drummer John McEntire (werewolf). What they may lack in synchronized dance moves, they more than make up for with sparkling, graceful arrangements and thoughtful songwriting.
Despite Prekop's best intentions, Everybody contains-- like every Sea and Cake album before it-- exactly 10 songs. Unlike the band's previous LPs, this one was recorded with some help from sound engineer Brian Paulson (Wilco, Slint) at Michigan's Key Club. It was "like a little rock'n'roll boot camp," Prekop told Pitchfork earlier this month.
As previously reported, Cakers Prekop and McEntire are slowly piecing together a electronic record, while Prekop also has a book of photography on the way. Expect the Sea and Cake to hit the road this spring to rock your body right. [MORE...]
The Cribs Enlist Kapranos, Ranaldo for Warner Debut
The Cribs (aka English brothers Ryan, Ross, and Gary Jarman) have signed to Warner for their follow-up to 2005's The New Fellas. They were able to snag Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos as the album's producer, in the time off before Franz begin recording their third album.
(Yes, that's what Kapranos and the Cribs were doing in Vancouver when they showed up at a Ukranian Hall one evening to belt out "Take Me Out", as captured in this video.)
In an interview with NME.com, bassist Gary Jarman revealed that the band were also able to enlist another marquee name for the record: Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo, who contributed some spoken word action.
"We didn't really know what to expect, but he was a really friendly, nice guy," Jarman said. "He's the king of the spoken word... I had a book of his poetry that I really liked called Road Movies. When the Cribs first started we wanted to be a spoken word band, but none of us really could get our heads round doing it."
As for Ranaldo's contributions to the record, Jarman said, "We just had one day in a studio in New York, and we all played live together in the studio, which was really fun. He did five different full-length things, and we all went through it together choosing our favorite parts."
The Cribs will finish mixing the record with Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Slayer, Afrika Bambaataa) in New York City this week, and they will master it back home in Wakefield, England for a spring release. A U.S. tour is forthcoming, though the band have already announced their appearance at Coachella in April.
Isis Frontman Joins Black Metal Supergroup Twilight
Twilight, Nachtmystium prep 2007 releases
Twilight photo by Jennifer Garret2006 may forever be known as the year metal crossed over-- or, at least, the year metal ransacked the casual indie listener's iPod. It was at Pitchfork, anyway: Mastodon's Blood Mountain entered the hallowed halls of Pitchfork's Best New Music section, songs and records from Nachtmystium, Agalloch, and Gojira drew considerable praise from our writers, and, last June, the website inaugurated its first monthly metal column, Brandon Stosuy's "Show No Mercy".
For kids who like their coffee black and their metal blacker, good news: Battle Kommand black metal overlords Nachtmystium and Twilight (featuring Nachtmystium frontman Blake "Azentrius" Judd and members of Isis, Leviathan, Krieg, and Draugar) each have new releases in the pipes for 2007.
First up, Twilight have parted ways with bandmate Malefic (aka Xasthur). "We wish him the best of luck with Xasthur...he still has our support 100%," wrote Judd.
They've also welcomed new member Aaron Turner (of Isis, Old Man Gloom, and House of Low Culture), who'll join Twilight this weekend as they begin writing their next record, the follow-up to 2005's self-titled debut. "We feel that Aaron will bring a new element into our formula and we're very excited to be working with him," enthused Azentrius.
Said album should be wrapped up by autumn, and will "NOT [be] recorded on 4 tracks in hotel rooms like the first! Everything will be way more pro this time around." [MORE...]
The Blow Expand Poor Aim, Tour With Of Montreal
The Blow's Poor Aim: Love Songs EP landed in 2004 as the first project in States Rights Records' and Slender Means Society's collaborative Pregnancy Series. The work, initially limited to 1000 copies, was later released on vinyl via K Records. Now, K is gearing up to reissue Poor Aim on CD with seven bonus tracks. It is due in its expanded form on April 24.
Bonus songs include remixes from Blow buds Strategy, Lucky Dragons, and DJ Alan Fortarte (White Rainbow), as well as the pair's own Jona Bechtolt (aka YACHT) and Khaela Maricich.
The Blow have a short line of shows on the agenda, many of them alongside Of Montreal and YACHT, including one tonight (January 30) at San Diego's SOMA.
YACHT has a handful of his own gigs lined up as well, including two performances at SXSW in March. He plans to release a new album sometime this year. [MORE...]
New Avalanches Album in the Works, Finally
New record "so fuckin party you will die"
Oh Avalanches, since you left us, so much has happened. Girl Talk, for example. And M.I.A. And Diplo and Gwen Stefani and Fergie and...oh we have so much to tell you!
Not that you've completely vanished since your explosive debut album Since I Left You detonated over six years ago. There's been the occasional remix (Belle and Sebastian, Franz Ferdinand, Wolfmother) and DJ set, and various members have popped up here and there, but we haven't heard anything about a new album...until now.
Yesterday, January 29, a post on the Avalanches' official message board credited to "theavalanchesdotcom" offered a progress report, saying that a new album is in the works. The record will be "so fuckin party you will die, much more hip hop than you might expect" and "much of last year was spent cutting up the spoken word/instructional records we need to tell the albums musical story, and we have some 40 odd songs we're narrowing down and finishing."
No release date has been set yet, but "one day when you least expect it you'll wake up and the sample fairy will have left it under your pillow." Awesome! That's even easier than downloading!
To satiate fans, the group has posted a few new tracks on their website, including a Wham!/Digitalism mashup and a remix of a Carl Craig remix of their own "A Different Feeling" (yes, it's a remix of a remix).
Full text of the message board post below: [MORE...]
Jay-Z, M.I.A., Timberlake to Shock With Timbaland
Also: Nelly Furtado, Snoop Dogg, Fall Out Boy, the Hives, Elton John, She Wants Revenge (?!)
Timbaland will follow his monster 2006 collaboration with Justin Timberlake on FutureSex/LoveSounds with an album under his own name, his first since Under Construction II with Magoo in 2003, according to Billboard.com. Timbaland has a whole new batch of collaborators for the album, which is titled Shock Value and due out March 27 on Mosley Music Group/Blackground/Interscope.
Those involved include Timberlake, Jay-Z, Nelly Furtado, M.I.A., Elton John, Snoop Dogg, Fall Out Boy, the Hives, She Wants Revenge, and Mosley Music Group signee Keri Hilson. Its first single-- "Give It to Me" (featuring Timberlake and Nelly Furtado)-- will premiere this week.
Timbaland protégé Nate Hills (aka Danja Handz) told Billboard that Shock Value is "sequenced like a movie," with Timbaland using his ridonkulous guest list to "venture into the alternative world and the real pop world. He has so many different sounds, from hip hop to pop to rock on this album. And he pulls every single one of them off perfectly."
Timbaland is currently on tour with Justin Timberlake, and-- according to Billboard.com-- "debuting snippets from Shock Value during his mini-set each night." [MORE...]
Nick Drake Preps Music From Beyond, Haunts SXSW
O_o
For a guy who died over 32 years ago, Nick Drake has been awfully prolific these days. Not content simply to loan his music to TV adverts and serve up 2004's Made to Love Magic from beyond the pale, Drake's ready to haunt emotional young people well into 2007.First up, the deceased has a new LP on the way, tentatively due in late spring or early summer on Island UK. Titled Family Tree, the disc collects some extremely rare Drake material, none of which has been mastered or released officially. While a few of the tunes have crept onto bootlegs, much will grace fans' ears for the very first time. At least, that's what they tell us-- the tracklist is not yet confirmed.
Next, SXSW festival attendees will have several opportunities to indulge in their love for all things Drake. The favorably-received 2000 documentary A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake-- featuring Drake's actress sister Gabrielle Drake, his producer Joe Boyd, his arranger Robert Kirby, and Paul Weller-- will screen at the Convention Center Theater at 11 a.m. on March 17.
Once sufficiently depressed, drag your feet on over to ACC Room 15 at noon, where Gabrielle, Joe, and special guest Robyn Hitchcock will discuss Nick's legacy at a panel titled "Nick Drake Remembered".
Then get a glimpse of the man himself at the "A Place to Be" photo exhibit, going down at the Habana Annex on March 17 from noon to 6 p.m. This marks the first curated exhibit of Drake's official photographs, most of which were taken by the late British photographer Keith Morris. Several living musical acts will pay tribute to Drake throughout the day.
Finally: If you imbibe enough, you just might catch Drake's ghost playing a few tunes in between sets from Girl Talk and the Pipettes at Pitchfork's SXSW day party.
P.S. As previously reported, classical pianist/radio host Christopher O'Riley reinterprets Drake favorites as part of "Time Has Told Me: A Nick Drake Tribute", going down at UCLA's Royce Hall theater on February 16. Expect O'Riley's Drake takes to appear on Second Grace: The Music of Nick Drake, out this April via World Village/Harmonia Mundi.
Anticon Signs SJ Esau, Thee More Shallows
The folks at Anticon are giving both their hometown of the Bay Area and Bristol, England some love with the recent signings of locals Thee More Shallows and Brit SJ Esau.
SJ Esau (born Samuel Wisternoff) will release his Anticon debut Wrong Faced Cat Feed Collapse on March 13. And it's hard to believe, but SJ Esau was cavorting with Massive Attack and Tricky as a freestyling MC before he even hit puberty. According to a press release, however, his current music is "more Pavement and Low than De La Soul, though his love for all three is no doubt equal." He also has a few shows scheduled for February and March in England.
Thee More Shallows will release their first album for the label-- Book of Bad Breaks-- on April 24, and according to a press release, it "plays like a film but moves fluidly in and out of dark, rich pop and cold, distorted atmosphere." If the record sounds anything like it reads, we're sure the trio will have no trouble fitting with the Anticon aesthetic.
On the live side of things, Thee More Shallows have one show currently scheduled for February 3 at San Francisco's Bottom of the Hill, where Dosh and Kyoto Beat Orchestra will join them. A full U.S. tour in support of Book of Bad Breaks is in the works for May and June. [MORE...]
Maria Taylor Enlists Siblings, Oberst for New Solo LP
Maria Taylor (aka one half of Azure Ray) will release her sophomore solo LP, Lynn Teeter Flower, on Saddle Creek on March 6.
The 11-track album, was recorded with Spoon's Jim Eno in Austin, Now It's Overhead's Andy LeMaster in Athens, Georgia, and Doug Easley in Memphis. It features guest contributions from Taylor's siblings Macey (bass) and Kate (keyboard), as well as the one and only Conor Oberst, who co-wrote and lent vocals to "The Ballad of Sean Foley".
Macey and Kate will serve as Taylor's live band for a string of North American performances set to kick off in early March. First, however, the trio will finish Taylor's already-underway European trek with a free gig at London's Boogaloo this evening. [MORE...]
Klaxons Send Myths Stateside via Rinse/DGC
Sound the alarm! Having stirred up quite the new rave ruckus in their native UK, band-of-the- moment Klaxons have announced their U.S. invasion objectives-- and first up is the release of their debut LP, Myths of the Near Future.Out today in the UK via Rinse/Polydor, Myths won't cross the ocean until late April (provided it doesn't run into any visa troubles). DGC, which fostered some bands that got pretty popular (Nirvana, Sonic Youth), has taken the young trio under its wing in the big scary United States (in conjunction with Rinse).
Myths' U.S. release will likely coincide with a Klaxons Stateside tour. Thus far, the lads have Coachella on April 29 and quite the cavalcade of UK and European engagements lined up in the, er, near future. Don't miss CSS opening up that UK/Ireland stretch. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Xiu Xiu, Larsen Team for New XXL Album
Cover art to include Lil' Kim's cleavage, lots of beef-slinging
At the time of this writing, "Spicchiologi" doesn't register a single hit on Google (not even google.it), which is pretty damned exciting in a way (even if we've just ruined the novelty by publishing this). I mean, how many combinations of letters in the Latin alphabet has Google not wrapped its grimy tentacles all over yet?Chalk it up to two of the world's more original bands to invent such a word-- and then follow it up with a big ambiguous question mark. Spicchiologi? is the sophomore LP from XXL, the transatlantic collaboration between Italian post-rockers Larsen and American avant-shriek-rockers Xiu Xiu. The eight-track disc follows up 2005's exclamatory ¡Ciaütistico! (another Google first, it would seem) and arrives, tentatively, May 29. Like its predecessor, Spicchiologi? bears the stamp of experimental Massachusetts imprint Important Records.
This time around, Jamie Stewart and Caralee McElroy rep for Xiu Xiu, while Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo, Marco "Il Bue" Schiavo, Paolo Dellapiana, and Roberto Maria Clemente go to bat for Larsen. The results? Undoubtedly huge. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Cornelius' Sensuous Comes to the States
Cornelius has found a U.S. home in Everloving Records, which will release his latest album, Sensuous,
on April 24. The U.S. release of the album will have the same tracklist
as the Japanese release, though it will also include bonus features (such
as the video for "Fit Song" and the "360-degree view" thingy that can currently be seen at his website).Cornelius has plenty of tour dates scheduled in his native Japan before the U.S. release of Sensuous, and he'll follow those with a full-blown tour of the U.S. Those dates have yet to be announced, except for his April 28 appearance at Coachella. [MORE...]
Modest Mouse Unveil Dead Tracklist, Release Date
Already fond of long-ass album titles and long-ass tracklists, America's favorite humble rodents-- Modest Mouse-- have finally revealed the long-ass details behind their latest LP after a, um, extensive delay.According to Billboard.com and verified by a publicist, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank-- boasting guitar-work from new recruit Johnny Marr, guest appearances from the Shins' James Mercer, and that sunny first single "Dashboard"-- hits stores via Epic on March 20. It has 14 tracks, including the not-so-smartly-titled "Steam Engenius".
The digitally-inclined may preorder We Were Dead from iTunes beginning January 30, thereby ensuring themselves access to a "Dashboard" download and some swank behind-the-scenes video shoot footage. Actually we have no idea if it's truly swank, we just like saying swank a lot. Swank? Swank. We hope it's more than this, though.
Modest Mouse will hop in their humble tour stretch-Hummers this spring for a presumably long-ass TBA jaunt in support of their new collection of songs, including previously reported stops at the ATP vs. the Fans festival and Barcelona's Primavera Sound. [MORE...]
Animal Collective's Avey Tare Records With ex-Múm Gal
Watching Animal Collective open for FatCat labelmates Múm a few years back, you wouldn't think the boys' tribal melee would jell terribly well with the Icelandic troupe's snowflake-delicate compositions-- but that hasn't stopped Avey Tare from joining forces with Kria Brekkan (aka Storsveit Nix Noltes lady and former Múmmer Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir) for a new Paw Tracks LP. (And in marriage, incidentally.)
In their respective bands, Tare and Brekkan do seem to share a love for all things childlike, whimsical, and subconscious, so perhaps its this unifying thread that runs through Pullhair Rubeye's eight songs. They all have poetic/wacked-out titles and lots of accent marks, at least.
Pullhair Rubeye, sibling squabbling-evocative title and all, arrives April 24 in CD, LP, and digital formats. It presumably includes tunes penned in Paris in August 2005 and "vocals, piano and guitars [recorded] on an 8-track and mixed them down on a cheap 2-track," as previously reported.
While Tare and Brekkan are mulling the possibility of some East Coast happenings this spring, the latest addition to Domino's mighty roster-- Tare's main gig Animal Collective-- hits the tour trail in May.
Fellow Animal Collective member Panda Bear's Person Pitch, meanwhile, arrives via Paw Tracks on March 20, as you know. Be sure to check out album track "Bros" and some more multimedia goodies over in Forkcast. [MORE...]
Q-Tip Readies Renaissance, Kamaal LPs
It's been eight years since former A Tribe Called Quest MC Q-Tip released his solo debut, 1999's Amplified, and he has yet to release a proper studio follow-up. Kamaal the Abstract, his sophomore record scheduled for release in 2002, never came out, but it seems the recent Tribe reunion tour lit a fire under him.
Though he tells Billboard.com that another Tribe reunion is unlikely, he has big plans to release two solo albums, including the release of Kamaal with bonus tracks (the original's tracklist is below). Tapping like-minds Andre 3000, Common, and D'Angelo as his only guests so far, Tip assembled a "hip hop band" for The Renaissance, technically Kamaal's follow-up even though with its spring release on Universal Motown it will likely precede it.
"I wanted a hip-hop sonic feel, something pure to the sound of hip hop with real drums, real emotion and people taking solos. In that sense this record feels like we're moving in a new direction...something hip hop should do," Tip told Billboard.com to explain the idea behind the band.
He also said he will feature songs from Kamaal when he tours in support of The Renaissance, and we're pretty sure he'll visit with some of the many "Bonita Applebum"s among his MySpace friends, who all seem to be participating in the ill-defined "Bonita Applebum MySpace Contest". The "voice message from Q-Tip" doesn't do much to clear up exactly what the contest is beyond a ranking of female MySpace users willing to change their profile names to Bonita Applebum in order to possibly-- according to Tip-- "extend your friend networks and all of that."
And with that, we finally understand what's taken Tip so long to make a new album: cruising for chicks on MySpace. [MORE...]
Times New Viking Sign to Matador, Prep Second LP
Pillage and plunder settlements of Arial, Courier New, Perpetua Titling MT
Capitalizing on a bull market in indie rock, Matador Records went on a binge signing spree in 2006, bringing a bunch of underground luminaries into the crimson folds of their capote-- including the Ponys of Chicago and Australia's Love of Diagrams-- as well as raucous, lo-fi Ohio trio Times New Viking.Comprised of Beth Murphy (keyboards/vocals), Adam Elliot (drums/vocals), and Jared Phillips (guitars), the three-piece helped usher noted DIY imprint Siltbreeze-- responsible for early releases from Guided by Voices, the Dead C, and more-- back into the record-pressing game. Times New Viking have garnered mad praise for their 2005 Siltbreeze debut LP, Dig Yourself, and you can bet they have the kids chattering about the intense, fuck-all rock-itude of their live gigs.
While Matador has dibs on the act's third LP, which they'll record later this year, Siltbreeze will issue Times New Viking's sophomore long-player, Present the Paisley Reich, on February 12. And speaking of those celebrated gigs, TNV have two coming up in their native Columbus, Ohio, where they'll likely be hawking copies of a recent split 7" with hometown buds Psychedelic Horseshit. [MORE...]
Shining Put Their Noses to the Grindstone on New LP
Norwegian jazz/metal/prog quartet (and motorcycle helmet enthusiasts) Shining will release Grindstone-- their follow-up to 2005's awesome In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster-- on January 29 in Europe and February 20 in North America via Rune Grammofon.All Shining members have "various instruments" credits on Grindstone, which is downright post-rockian in its commitment to song titles both long and absurd (witness the debut of a song with the same title as their last record and another with its title in Morse Code!). According to a press release, Grindstone finds the band continuing In the Kingdom's commitment to "moving between complex riffing, filmic soundscapes, [and] jazz, classical and modern composition." [MORE...]
Pollard Preps Self-Released EP, LPs for Merge, Ipecac
Silverfish Trivia, Standard Gargoyle Decisions, Sgt. Disco: Spam email subject lines make great album titles!
Robert Pollard's prolificacy is so large that he needs not one, not two, but three record labels to contain his output. Right now, the former Guided By Voices king is prepping a mini-album for his own label, Prom Is Coming, as well as another solo full-length for Merge and a Circus Devils album for Ipecac.
(Yes, Ipecac. Mike Patton's label. So right now, Robert Pollard is labelmates with both Camera Obscura and the Melvins.)
First up: the self-released mini-album. Last month, we reported that Pollard told Billboard.com that he had wrapped up his next album for Merge, Silverfish Trivia, due in the fall. Well, Silverfish Trivia has evolved into a 22-minute, seven-song mini-LP, and it's due April 17 on Pollard's new label, Prom Is Coming.
Prom Is Coming is Pollard's replacement for the Fading Captain Series-- it is not, as Pollard previously told Billboard, called Record Company Records. Pollard cranked out the mini-album with producer/right hand man Todd Tobias, with Chris George of Invert contributing string arrangements.
28 more songs have already been written for Pollard's next full-length solo album, tentatively titled Standard Gargoyle Decisions and penciled in for a September release on Merge. Although Pollard has already fulfilled his original contract with the label (with the release of last year's From a Compound Eye and Normal Happiness albums), a new one is being created.
Sgt. Disco will be the Ipecac debut from Circus Devils, Pollard's collaboration with Tobias. Due in July, it's 32 tracks long and is "sort of like an indie rock Fantomas" with "more experimentation than you'd expect or have heard from Pollard in the past", according to a publicist. [MORE...]
Perry Farrell's Satellite Party Gets Ultra Payloaded
Book your reservations now, revelers: former James Addiction/Porno for Pyros frontman Perry Farrell has a party planned that should make all that new rave hoopla look like your 1st grade Chuck E. Cheese's birthday non-bash. It's called Satellite Party, and as Farrell enthused to Pitchfork last fall, "it could be the best work I've ever done."Satellite Party transmit their debut full-length-- a concept record, titled Ultra Payloaded Satellite Party, about partying it up on a satellite orbiting the Earth-- on May 15 (Columbia). The eleven-track set features contributions from a whole mess of folks, including New Order bassist Peter Hook, Red Hot Chili Peppers Flea and John Frusciante, Thievery Corporation, film composer Harry Gregson-Williams, and the mysterious pop product known only as Fergie.
Stoners will be especially pleased to learn that Jim Morrison makes an appearance on Ultra Payloaded as well: Farrell unearthed a previously unheard Morrison spoken-word vocal for the album's closing track, "Woman in the Window". Other Party jams include "Celebrate", "Awesome", "Mr. Sunshine", and first single "Wish Upon a Dog Star".
As for the disc's sound, thus spake Farrell: "[It's] this great hybrid of sound, using electronics and hip hop beats and the power and strength of rock'n'roll, and even symphony."
"We know that [2007] is our year," Farrell also told Pitchfork last October, so expect plenty of touring, late night TV appearances, promotional events, and partying. For now, the Party is slated to rock the ESPN Winter X-Games tomorrow (January 25) in Aspen, Colorado-- and don't be surprised to find them at Farrell's own Lollapalooza this summer. [MORE...]
Apostle of Hustle Sing National Anthem of Nowhere
Andrew Whiteman isn't just a guitarist in Broken Social Scene. He's also got a good thing going with Apostle of Hustle, too. That band's sophomore LP, National Anthem of Nowhere, is due in Canada on February 6, the U.S. on March 6, and Europe on March 26, on Arts&Crafts. It was produced by Martin Kinack and Whiteman at various stops across Canada, including, in true indie form, Whiteman's bedroom.
The album's first track, "My Sword Hand's Anger", is available for free download from the Arts&Crafts website by clicking on the link at the bottom of this story. Don't like what you hear? Think you can do better?
The band is offering listeners
the chance to cover, remix, or reinterpret "My Sword Hand's Anger" as a contest. Submissions
will be judged by an Arts&Crafts panel, and one winner will receive
studio equipment, a pair of tickets to an Apostle of Hustle show, and a signed 12" copy of National Anthem.
Apostle of Hustle will spend the next few weeks presenting OUIJA, a weekly residency at Toronto's Rivoli and Kingston's Grand clubs. Whiteman and bandmates Julian Brown and Dean Stone will, according to their MySpace blog, "[do] two sets of both intimate minor-key mood music and flourishing interstellar guitar jams." In addition, they've created what they call "the Jukebox Effect", encouraging fans to e-mail their Myspace page with requests for songs the band should cover. "A new song sacrificed each week!" they promise. [MORE...]
Dinosaur Jr. Reveal Reunion Album Details
Pig has officially been freed
By this time, you're probably aware that J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph are back in full Dinosaur Jr. force. (When Lou isn't too busy with that whole Sebadoh thing, that is.) But they've gone beyond the reunion tour(s) for, um, Beyond, their John Agnello-engineered full-length due out May 1 on Fat Possum.Beyond was recorded at Mascis' Bisquiteen studio in Amherst, Massachusetts, and according to a press release, it's both "some of the best music Dinosaur Jr. have ever made" and "an adrenaline-inducing ride, not of nostalgia, but of bona fide excitement." Well then, color us excited and full of adrenaline.
On May 29, Dinosaur Jr. will release their previously reported Image Entertainment DVD Dinosaur Jr.: Live From the Middle East. Nike will make the previously reported Dinosaur Jr. skate shoe available in a limited edition in February. So hurry up and get in line, because we know demand for those kicks will be high. Right. [MORE...]
Jarvis Gets U.S. Release Date, Tours Europe
U.S. releases for fellow Rough Traders Brakes, the Veils, 1990s too
Looks like Rough Trade Records and the World's Fair Label Group's hot new licensing relationship is off to a damned good start-- these two lovebirds are already expecting.As previously reported, the adored UK imprint hooked up with the NYC-based distributor to help foster its latest releases and escort them across the pond for North American audiences to devour in carnivorous fashion.
First up is the tasty debut release from Jarvis, surname Cocker, the man behind Pulp. Jarvis' Jarvis arrives April 3 with reasonable domestic pricing and that rather hilarious video for "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time". The original version of Jarvis stormed the UK charts this past November.
Not long after, the Veils' Nux Vomica gets a U.S. un-Veil-ing (har har), and they're tacking on a bonus track ("Night Thoughts of a Tired Surgeon") and a video ("Advice for Young Mothers") to celebrate the blessed April 24 event. Brakesbrakesbrakes' (aka Brakes) The Beatific Visions follows up on May 8, with 1990s' TBA full-length debut closing out the first round of releases on May 22.
To celebrate his record's journey to the New World, Jarvis is touring the old: catch him in a European nation near you this winter. Or don't, for as you should know, Jarvis joins Björk, Interpol, Sonic Youth, Arctic Monkeys, El-P, Peaches, Tokyo Police Club, a reunited Jesus and Mary Chain, and a whole heaping mess of others for the 2007 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, playing the fest's opening day (April 27) in sweltering Indio, California.
Finally, as previously reported, Jarvis lends his distinctive vocals to "One Hell of a Party" from Air's latest LP, Pocket Symphony, out March 6 on Astralwerks. [MORE...]
Kristin Hersh's back catalog stretches for miles, encompassing releases by her bands Throwing Muses and 50FootWave, as well as several solo records. But we're pretty sure that nothing in her discography was ever titled after a piece of spam email...until now.
Tomorrow, January 23, Yep Roc will release Learn to Sing like a Star in the U.S.; 4AD will put it out overseas on January 29. (An EP, In Shock, lands today, January 22 on 4AD. It features the album track "In Shock" as well as three non-album tunes.) According to Hersh, she also has new Throwing Muses and 50FootWave albums in the works, as well as an Appalachian folk project.
So, that title. Hersh explained it in a recent interview with Pitchfork, saying, "It's hard to pretend that there's anything artful about titling a CD. It's an artificial grouping of songs. Even titling a song is sometimes a little fakey if you ask me!
"But this just kept coming up; it just wouldn't shut up...this stupid 'American Idol' thing or whatever the hell it was. I couldn't ever bring myself to click on it, but as soon as it became meaningless-- you know, I'd heard the syllables so many times-- that's when it got pretty to me...I mean, like, stars--it sounds like something out of a Madeleine L'Engle book or something."
In the interview, Hersh also spilled a lot more information about the album, as well as talked about signing to Yep Roc, her upcoming tour, and what's going on with Throwing Muses and 50FootWave. [MORE...]
Kanye West Applies for Graduation With Chris Martin
Going straight from Late Registration to Graduation is missing a few steps in between (what about Skipping Class? Changing Meal Plans? Drinking So Much You Wake Up the Next Day at the Airport Wearing a Badge That Says, "Hello, My Name Is: Sloppy McBlzioiuarhgh"?), but Kanye West has never been one to follow the beaten path.
Unless that path has been beaten by Jay-Z. According to Billboard.com, West has chosen Coldplay's Chris Martin to appear on "Homecoming", the first single from Graduation, the higher education-obsessed producer and MC's third album.
Graduation is tentatively scheduled for a Def Jam release later this year, and though Kanye did admittedly great things with Maroon 5's Adam Levine on Late Registration's "Heard 'Em Say", we're still a little skeptical about the Chris Martin collaboration. (Jigga's "Beach Chair" wasn't all that.)
The good news, however, is that West has re-teamed with producer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion, telling Billboard.com, "We'll be working together again on the new project. Jon wasn't just a producer-- he was such a good friend and a great person to bounce ideas off of in the studio. It was the whole experience."
Back in the world of semi-troubling collaborations, MTV.com reports that Kanye has plans to remix Fall Out Boy's "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race", the first single from their forthcoming Infinity on High LP. The album features production from Babyface and a verse from Jay-Z on one track, and pin-up Boy bassist Pete Wentz hopes to get Kanye's remix on the disc as well, even though it's scheduled for a fast-approaching February 6 release. Wentz also said Fall Out Boy have plans to put their own spin on one of Kanye's new songs.
We can only imagine who Kanye might collaborate with next. Might we suggest, um, the guy from Travis?
Maximo Park Reveal Our Earthly Pleasures
The rhythmically restless Brits in Maxïmo Park have delivered on the promises Paul Smith made in his August interview with Pitchfork and given their second album an April 2 release date on Warp Records. Our Earthly Pleasures-- the follow-up to 2005's A Certain Trigger-- has 12 songs, including first single "Our Velocity".
Warp will release the single March 19 with exclusive B-sides in various formats. The album was produced by Gil Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters, Throwing Muses).
Maxïmo Park also have a handful of tour dates scheduled in the coming months, and they'll be heading to places as far-reaching as Moscow and Istanbul. [MORE...]
Corsano + Hair Police + Mouthus + Giffoni = Death Unit
It's a killing machine designed for one purpose
Death Unit have already reached the pinnacle of noise perfection with their name alone, but they will nonetheless release their debut album, the also excellently titled Infinite Death, tomorrow, January 23 via Important Records. Björk collaborator Chris Corsano and Hair Police's Trevor Tremaine both play drums in Death Unit (which, according to the label's website, "was put together with one purpose: to leave nothing alive behind"), while Mouthus' Brian Sullivan is featured on guitar and Carlos Giffoni covers electronics.
Infinite Death is composed of two long tracks titled "1" and "2", one of which was recorded at Sonic Youth's Echo Canyon studio. The other was recorded live on the band's 2005 summer tour. Prurient's Dominick Fernow made the album's artwork, and Khanate's James Plotkin mastered it.
Islands' Nick Thorburn Talks All Kinds of Crazy Stuff
"This record is going to be so good, I'm afraid that we won't get our shit together and be able to record it."
Despite near-non-stop touring in recent months, Islands principal Nick Diamonds-- now going by his given name, Nick Thorburn-- somehow managed to write up enough new material for two whole records, one of which will follow up 2006's Best New Music selection Return to the Sea."I feel a lot of unease and anxiety when I don't have a guitar near me," Thorburn revealed to Pitchfork during a recent chat. "I think that's where [the creative spark] comes from: an urge, a real desire to expunge music from my inner-being."
Thorburn also had mouthfuls to say about his band's latest exploits, his present songwriting ambitions, numerous periphery pursuits, the appeal of his "government" name, disowning "Rough Gem", cryptomnesia, the Killers, and Jelly Donut.
While Thorburn's reluctant to reveal titles, the first of Islands' two new discs should reach the mainland in September-- that is, if it gets made at all. "This record is going to be so good," enthused Thorburn, "I'm afraid that we won't get our shit together and be able to record it."
Thorburn seems invigorated of late by a new songwriting sensibility, one that might throw fans of the previous record for a loop. "The last time I talked to you I wanted to make the perfect pop song and pop record," the ex-Unicorn recalled. "And I realized I misquoted myself, because I have no desire to write popular songs for the populace. I want to make interesting, good music, and I think that's what I meant...I feel a need to write songs that are 15 minutes long right now. Maybe I'll get over that phase."
So what are we in for? "It's a physical record. It's someone plunging your face into a river and rescuing you. If Return to the Sea was the water record, this is the bodies." [MORE...]
Ghost Prepare for Stormy Nights
Ghost take their time when it comes to releasing albums, hence the three year wait for In Stormy Nights, the follow-up to 2004's Hypnotic Underworld. It seems those three years were well spent, though.
According to the Drag City website, the band took that time to "suffuse [the album] with a bright and burning spirit of protest," and the CD and LP versions of the release are suffused with different tracklists.
That's right, almost choose-your-own-adventure style, the double LP release has the album's tracks in an entirely different order than the one on the CD and includes extra track "Caledonia (Sing Together mix)".
Drag City will release In Stormy Nights on January 23. [MORE...]
Radiohead Working on Album Again
fancy that
Having returned from what we presume was some kind of holiday reprieve, the band called Radiohead is back in the recording saddle again, according to a post by Thom Yorke today on Dead Air Space, the quintet's often-cryptic blog."we have staRTed up again had a good today," wrote Yorke. Our experts in the field of hypertext are also "working on a version of '15Step' [a new song they've been playing live recently] and rebuilding our studio in the wind." We hope this one fares better than the one they built on the moon last year.
And, holy Moses, they're still supporting causes as well. This time Thom urges us to sign this petition against nuclear proliferation, and if you ever want to see another Radiohead album again, you'd damn well better do it.
You can still catch Thom Yorke performing live on Nigel Godrich's downloadable web-programme, "From the Basement". And, as previously reported, Jonny Greenwood will deliver his reggae compilation Jonny Greenwood Is the Controller, on March 6. Finally, it's not too late to enter the Radiohead-sponsored music video contest, held as part of the D&AD Global Student Awards. Get those entries in by March 23, or else, you know, no Radiohead. We're warning you.
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...]
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...]
Songs of Green Pheasant Sends Aerial Days Stateside
Cooped up in rural isolation, you've only got a couple options: either go Shining-crazy, or keep your wits about you by creating some lovely, thoughtful, intimate music. Lucky for us, Sheffield-area resident Duncan Sumpner does the latter as Songs of Green Pheasant. (Although one wonders what a Green Pheasant freakout would look like...)Sumpner follows up 2005's haunting FatCat debut, Songs of Green Pheasant, with a mini-album of sorts meant to serve as a bridge between that self-titled LP and another full-length to come. It's called Aerial Days, it landed overseas back in November, and it finally graces U.S. shores via FatCat on January 23.
Green Pheasant brought along a few friends for this one, but he still recorded it exclusively on 4- and 8-track, so it retains the warm, homespun feel of his debut. Don't miss the spacey "Dear Prudence" cover, recorded at the BBC's behest to commemorate the death of John Lennon.
On FatCat's website, Sumpner describes his own songs as "musical jottings of certain times...little candles that light up and stretch out across those three or four years illuminating those pockets of time." Dude that is so emo. [MORE...]
Turbulence Promises Album Will Do Good
Those of us who have played NBA Jam T.E. are familiar with the term "monster jam," and those of us who have ears know that Turbulence's "Notorious" is one of them (though not in the basketball sense). Now the creator of Pitchfork's 33rd favorite track of 2006 is preparing the release of Do Good, his second album for Minor7Flat5, and we're pretty excited, even if "Notorious" isn't actually on the album.Do Good has a January 23 release date, and it features production from Andreas "Brotherman" Christophersen, who-- according to a press release-- "provides sounds ranging from seventies-style roots reggae to dub to dancehall, two-step, and trip hop." And for that little extra touch of authenticity, Do Good was partially recorded and mixed at the Bob Marley-dedicated Tuff Gong studio. [MORE...]
Echo & the Bunnymen Expand Songs to Learn and Sing
In 1985, Echo & the Bunnymen gave us Songs to Learn and Sing. On Tuesday, January 23, 2007, they'll hand over More.
Rhino Records has expanded and remastered the Bunnymen's greatest hits classic, tacking on nine "new" tracks and a DVD. "New" meaning since 1985, that is.
The updated collection, fully titled The Very Best of Echo & the Bunnymen: More Songs to Learn and Sing, spans the Liverpool quartet's lengthy career, including material released after the replacement of drummer Pete de Freitas, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1989, and bassist Les Pattinson, who left the band ten years later.
The DVD boasts eight videos recorded between 1983 and 1999.
Echo & the Bunnymen's current incarnation has a single show on the touring agenda right now; it will take place at the Manchester Evening News Arena (...in Manchester, England) on March 30. [MORE...]
Built to Spill Show Europe What They're Made Of
Suffocation Keep [ft. Built to Spill Bassist Brett Nelson] Drop Free LP
Your pals in Built to Spill-- who are working on the follow-up to last year's You in Reverse (and, we hope, spending more time on its cover art)-- have made a date with the old countries this spring. Clearly they saw that movie Euro Trip and are looking to score with some hot Euro chicks. Can we blame them?
The May-long trek (which bleeds one day into June) kicks off in the Ganja-lands, then winds through Scandinavia, Germany, England, and a bunch of other places. Along the way our trusty Spillers will play previously reported big ticket events like the fan-curated ATP festival and the ATP-curated portion of the Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona. [MORE...]
Plan B Plans American Invasion
Invading Luxembourg was his first choice, but that didn't work out
For those who like their rappers foul-mouthed and tormented, Plan B's debut, Who Needs Actions When You Got Words, was a breath of refreshingly toxic air. But until now, it was only available to UK residents and those willing to pay import prices. Cordless Recordings has remedied the situation, however, with the April 17 release of Who Needs Actions in the U.S.Overeager U.S. fans of the East London MC need not wait so long, though, as Cordless will precede the release of the full-length with the January 23 release of a digital EP titled Time 4 Plan B, featuring solo acoustic and full band versions of album tracks. The EP will also feature non-album track "More Is Enough".
Plan B hasn't totally forsaken the UK, however. 679 Recordings will release "No Good" as a proper UK single complete with remixes on February 19, and he will begin a tour there January 30 in Preston, England. Still, his newfound Yankee love remains intact with the promise of an appearance at South By Southwest in March. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Mystery Jets Sign to Dim Mak
I can't think of many experiences that would be weirder than being in a hot up-and-coming rock band with your dad. Can you imagine? There you are, backstage at Glastonbury, getting sloshed and making out with a groupie, with dad watching the whole time. Or--even worse--watching your dad get sloshed and make out with a groupie. Aren't kids supposed to rebel against their parents, not rock with them?
The English band Mystery Jets-- featuring the talents of frontman Blaine Harrison and his father, guitarist Henry Harrison-- have never exactly done things normally. They live on Eel Pie Island, which is in the middle of the Thames. They use various household items as percussion instruments. Their press bio contains this sentence: " Kai's parents lived with Blaine's parents in a commune in the Seventies ('we used to share hash cookies together', notes Henry, a former architect)." What!
So it should come as no surprise that Mystery Jets have finally gotten around to signing an American record deal, a good year or so after they first gained buzz band status in the UK. The fashionable Hollywood label Dim Mak will release the Diamonds in the Dark EP on April 10, followed by the full-length Zoo Time on May 8. The EP includes a cover of Bloc Party's "Pioneers", while the album features a significantly different tracklist from the band's UK debut album, Making Dens.
An American tour is in the works for the summer. Bring your dad. Or your son. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Gustav Ejstes Talks New Dungen Album
"I say people should eat and drink music as much as they want."
International success can make for some pretty basic misunderstandings. So when the vintage psychedelia of Dungen's third album-- 2004's Ta Det Lugnt-- caught on outside of singer, songwriter, and bandleader Gustav Ejstes' native Sweden, he was suddenly forced to answer questions about why he sang in Swedish, as if it was the result of an aesthetic choice and not simply his native tongue. ("Hey Sufjan, why don't you sing in Portugese?")We were able to avoid the question when we talked to Ejstes recently, though we did ask if he ever writes nonsense lyrics just because he could probably get away with it (he doesn't). He also told us about the recording process, his interest in production, and his love for hip hop (especially Madvillain). Oh, and there was the matter of Dungen's currently untitled upcoming record (tracklist below), which Kemado will release May 1 in the U.S. A Swedish release on Subliminal Sounds is scheduled for around the same time, and Dungen plan to tour "later this spring."
Pitchfork: How is this new album different from Ta Det Lugnt?
Gustav Ejstes: Each song stands out more. [There are] shorter songs than on Ta Det Lugnt, [which] had that collage vibe [where] one song slips into another one, changing and fading into each other.
Pitchfork: Are there fewer of the jazz-influenced instrumental passages?
GE: There are instrumental parts, and the jazz influences are still there. [But] I think the songs are more like traditional songs. The album is not Ta Det Lugnt 2. I think it would be bad if it were just a "volume two." [MORE...]
Drag City Brings Boris' Rainbow to U.S.
And at the end of the rainbow, there's a pot of, um, pot
Japanese metalmongers Boris are continuing their collaborative tradition-- most recently realized on the Sunn 0)))-assisted Altar-- with the U.S. release of Rainbow, a full-length collaboration with guitarist Michio Kurihara (Ghost, Damon and Naomi, the Stars, etc.). Pedal Records recently released Rainbow in Japan, and Drag City will bring it to the States on May 15.Boris will head out a short Japanese tour with Isis and These Arms Are Snakes at the end of January before their Rainbow release party in February. In May, they will tour Japan again with Sunn 0))). [MORE...]
Ninja Tune/Big Dada Prep Diplo, Wiley, Bug Releases
Also Coldcut, Cinematic Orchestra, Blockhead, Fink, Mr. Scruff, more
True to its namesake, albums and singles on the Ninja Tune label(and offshoots Big Dada and Counter Records) appear stealthily and in droves. So stealthily, in fact, that TTC's 3615 full-length already slipped under our radar with its January 8 release on Big Dada.
But there are still plenty of Ninja Tune-affiliated artists who have yet to release their music. We already told you about Amon Tobin's January 22 "Bloodstone" single and its corresponding full-length, Foley Room, which comes out on March 5.
Keep in mind that all Ninja Tune/Big Dada/Counter release information is for the UK and Europe only. North American release information may be different.
Ninja Tune will also release the Cinematic Orchestra's "To Build a Home" and "Breathe" singles-- February 26 and April 9, respectively-- and follow them with the Ma Fleur full-length on May 7. Then, DJ Kentaro's forthcoming album Enter-- which features contributions from Spank Rock, the Pharcyde, Fat Jon, Gaggle, and New Flesh-- is scheduled for an April 26 release, with the Spank Rock-featuring "Free" single preceding it on April 2.
The Bug will also join in the fun by "continuing to explore his obsession with bass frequencies in the world of mutant dancehall" on his own upcoming Ninja Tune album and "Jah War" single, according to a press release. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Page France Reveal LP, MP3, Headlights Tour
Baltimore is supposedly one of the most depressing cities in America, full of drugs, crime, and failing schools. Well, that's what "The Wire" tells us anyway.
But somehow, that (allegedly) festering shithole has produced Page France, who are responsible for "Hat and Rabbit", one of the happiest, bounciest, and all-around peppiest songs of 2007 so far. The glockenspiel (or xylophone? I can't tell the difference) alone provides enough mirth to light a seedy back alleyway for a month.
"Hat and Rabbit" is available as an exclusive download by clicking on the link below. Or wait to hear it in context when it appears on Page France's forthcoming album ...and the Family Telephone, due out May 8 on Suicide Squeeze.
Or hop along with the tune in a live setting, as Page France hit the road with Polyvinyl band Headlights for a cross-country tour in March and April. Page France have a string of dates with the now label-less Margot & the Nuclear So and So's before that tour starts, and Headlights head to Europe with the Album Leaf in February.
Headlights are also prepping a limited edition tour EP featuring live sets recorded at XM Radio, WOXY, Daytrotter, and Indie 103.1 in the fall of 2006. The songs will be culled from the band's debut album Kill Them With Kindness as well as a brand new tune called "This One". [MORE...]
Sigur Rós: "New Album in the Works"
Play Tibet House benefit with Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Philip Glass
Sigur Rós are recording their full-length follow-up to 2005's Takk, according to an update on the band's website. And though bass player Georg Holm writes that the Icelandic musicians "don't know exactly where the album is heading yet," we suspect that their patented formula of epic, orchestral rock might just be too tough to resist. Not that we're complaining, though.
Holm writes, "We have finished recording a few songs but some more things need to be done... We are really just experimenting at this stage. Some of the songs we recorded are old songs, which we had written a while ago... We decided it was time they were recorded." The band expect to finish recording the record this year, and though "nothing is confirmed at this point," there is the possibility of a 2007 release.
Sigur Rós will play two U.S. shows in February. As previously reported, the first is in Miami, where they will accompany a performance of Merce Cunningham's "Split Sides" dance piece. The second is at New York City's Carnegie Hall alongside Lou Reed, Philip Glass, Patti Smith, and Laurie Anderson for a Tibet House benefit. They "will most likely perform just one song" at the latter event. So, like, 15 minutes, then?
Sigur Rós affiliates Amiina have also scheduled U.S. dates beginning in March and continuing into April. Danish label Rumraket recently released the band's "Seoul" single digitally, and the coming weeks will see a vinyl release with a remix from Frakkur, Sigur Rós vocalist Jónsi Birgisson's solo project. [MORE...]
Sonic Youth, Murdoch, Watt, Suzuki on Future Pilot LP
Also: members of the Go-Betweens and Fire Engines
Sure, my mom's high school friend once dated the lead singer of the band that would become Styx (true story), but when it comes to the musical hook-up, I've got nothing on former Soup Dragon Sushil K. Dade, aka Future Pilot AKA. Dude knows and has jammed and recorded with enough legends of the indie rock to impress a new girl in a new pub every night, and he's recruited a slew of these fabulous people for the new, genre-mashing Future Pilot AKA LP.Secrets From the Clockhouse arrives January 22 on Glasgow's Creeping Bent imprint, and boasts a bunch of funny, self-referencing track titles and one hell of a special guests list. Brace yourselves: Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, Stuart Murdoch and Sarah Martin of Belle and Sebastian, Damo Suzuki of Can, Mike Watt of the Minutemen and the Stooges, Robert Forster and the late Grant McLennan of the Go-Betweens, Davy Henderson of the Fire Engines, Scottish folk singer Karine Polwart, Scot rockers Unkle Bob, Scottish illustrator/novelist Alasdair Gray, and baroque chamber music ensemble Concerto Caledonia, also Scottish. Whew!
Patrons of the age of Internet can already download Secrets From the Clockhouse from Rough Trade Digital's online shop. Act fast though-- it's only available through the end of the coming weekend.
In other Future Pilot news, Dade has curated a "Burns Mela" event-- paying homage to Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns-- at the 2007 Celtic Connections festival, which goes down January 28 at Glasgow's Old Fruitmarket. Click here for ye olde details and lineup information. [MORE...]
Dr. Dog Tour With Bobby Bare Jr.
Dr. Dog and Bobby Bare Jr. will gather their prefixes and suffixes together for a tour this March. They will be joined by comic-sketchin' New Yorker Jeffrey Lewis for the trek, which kicks off March 13 in Tucson.
Both acts also have their own hefty treks scheduled for the coming months. Dr. Dog is prepping for a full-blown jaunt with What Made Milwaukee Famous next month, as well as a few scattered dates in April, while Bobby Bare Jr. is currently in the midst of a tour.
Dr. Dog will drop their new album We All Belong on February 27 (not February 13, as previously reported) via Park the Van Records. The band even created a puzzle website in anticipation of the record. If you want to save some time, head directly to the prize. [MORE...]
Kevin Shields: MBV Will "100%" Make Another Album
Kevin Shields has revealed, in an interview published in the January/February issue of Magnet Magazine, that he intends to record another full-length with My Bloody Valentine. It would be the shoegaze overlords' first album since 1991's classic Loveless.
"I do feel that I will make another great record," Shields told the publication. "We are 100% going to make another My Bloody Valentine record unless we die or something. I'd feel really bad if I didn't make another record.
Like, shit, people only got the first two chapters, but the last bit is
the best bit. It's just that it's taken me such an oddly long time for
that to happen." Wait. Better than Loveless? Kev, we know good for press and everything, but holy crap, dude, what are you saying?
Given Shields' recent remix and solo work for Sofia Coppola films and Go! Team singles, the guy has a lot to prove-- although there's no question the album would certainly be one of the most highly anticipated releases of... whatever year it eventually comes out. As for what year that might be, Shields was hesitant to give any kind of timeframe. (Actually, the answer was, "I don't know," so let's just take this with a grain of salt altogether.) But Shields did have this to say, in defense of the band's inability, thus far, to follow their magnum opus:
"A lot of people say the reason My Bloody Valentine didn't make another record is because we couldn't. That's mostly true, but not because we couldn't make another record, but because I never could be bothered to make another record unless I was really excited by it. And just by fate or whatever, that never happened. I'm quite optimistic about the future, even though experience has taught me that I'm probably just delusional."
Hah, well, on the off chance it never happens, we'll always have the past:
Video: My Bloody Valentine: "Only Shallow"
Video: My Bloody Valentine: "To Here Knows When"
Marnie Stern Melts Your Face With KRS LP, Tour, MP3
For a solo artist, Marnie Stern seriously stirs up a lot of noise. Layering frenetic, in-your-face guitar over half-sung/half-spoken vocals and spastic drumming, the New York-based guitar virtuoso-- who amazed audiences last fall at CMJ-- makes it immediately apparent why she's described by her label as "The DIY Lady Shredder."
Until recently, Stern was an unsigned, make-demos-in-her-bedroom kind of solo act (another epithet-- this one designated by her booking agency-- is "The Upper East Side Recluse"). Then Kill Rock Stars discovered her via one of those demos and signed her to its 5RC imprint almost immediately.
5RC folded following Slim Moon's departure from Kill Rock Stars, which means Marnie's much-anticipated, slightly-delayed debut full length, In Advance of the Broken Arm, will arrive February 20 on KRS. Collecting songs Marnie's written over the past two years, and produced by Hella's Zach Hill (who also drums on the album), the LP comes armed with 13 blistering tracks. We're priveleged to share one of them with you.
Get your click on with our exclusive download of "Every Single Line Means Something", a slash-and-burn attack of Stern's shredding and Hill's epic pounding. This shit is bananas.
Not to be missed, Stern brings her sonic assault to the road in February with 5RC graduate BARR, hits up SXSW, and will later join Hill for a TBA summertime rampage/romp. [MORE...]
The Stranglers Choke Out New Album Stateside
Punks and new wavers alike know it well: Thou shalt not wrangle with the Stranglers. In all likelihood, the legendary UK quartet has been kicking out the jams since before you were born, and in a few cases, before your parents were born. And they still bring the fury.In fact, they brought it to the UK just this past fall, in the form of their latest longplayer-- and sixteenth LP overall-- Suite XVI. The audience across the pond has had to hold its breath for some time, but we may all exhale at last on January 16, when Suite XVI arrives Stateside in all its accessibly ferocious glory.
The Capitol/EMI LP runs 11 tracks and features the present Stranglers lineup, which includes founding keyboardist Dave Greenfield, white-maned original drummer Jet Black, original bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel, and 2001 addition Baz Warne on guitar. Burnel and Warne handle vocals.
Still a live force to be reckoned with, the Stranglers frolic around Europe this spring, playing gigs in Iceland and Italy, and hitting up every last crêpe-stand and pay-toilet in France. [MORE...]
Exclusive: MP3: Busdriver: "Less Yes's, More No's"
MC hits the road with Deerhoof, RJD2 in support of new album
Like Native Americans with the buffalo, Los Angeles' Busdriver-- born Regan Farquhar-- uses every piece of the animals he hits while on the road. Hence RoadKillOvercoat, his fifth solo album and first for new label Anti-. DJ Nobody and Boom Bip provided the production on the MC's follow-up to Fear of a Black Tangent, and Busdriver also coaxed a guest vocal spot out of CocoRosie's Bianca Casady.
Anti- will release RoadKillOvercoat on January 30, but
Busdriver has provided us with a teaser in the form of second track
"Less Yes's, More No's". He raps with a breathless,
poetry-jam-for-robots flow over the track's dense electro beat, giving
it a paranoid feel that eclipses the specifics of the lyrical
conspiracy theories. One thing Busdriver seems sure of: we're all
doomed.
The MC will take his gloomy act on the road with Deerhoof and Harlem
Shakes beginning in his hometown on January 24. Then in March, he will
join RJD2 and Happy Chichester on their tour of the South and the East
Coast. [MORE...]
Dntel Sub Pop Debut Revealed
Conor Oberst, Jenny Lewis, Grizzly Bear guest
Jimmy Tamborello's next guest-heavy Dntel album, Dumb Luck, now has a tracklist and a tentative late April release date. As previously reported, Dumb Luck is his Sub Pop debut.
Moving Units' Chris Hathwell adds drums to a few tracks, and other guests include Jenny Lewis, Conor Oberst, and Grizzly Bear. It's not all strength in numbers, however, as he goes it alone on the title track, which opens the record.
In the meantime, a remix 12" of tracks from Tamborello's James Figurine moniker-- featuring DJ Koze's take on "Apologies" and a Superpitcher/Tobias Thomas remix of "55566688833", both originally from the James Figurine album Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake-- is currently available from Monika. And, according to his MySpace blog, Plug Research will release a James Figurine covers 7" "once a couple things get sorted out." [MORE...]
Hold Steady Invade Britain
Introduce Brits to traditional American pastime of passing out in convenience store parking lots
Brace yourselves, Boys and Girls in America: it's time to loosen your grip on the Hold Steady and share them with the boys and girls in the United Kingdom. Vagrant UK has scheduled a January 15 overseas release for the fifth-greatest album of 2006. The band will support the release with a series of shows in England and Scotland in February.
But before they leave, the band will play a hometown show in Brooklyn on January 18 and a gig the next night at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey-- aka the holy land of Springsteendom. [MORE...]
The Ponys Tour Before Turning the Lights Out
The Ponys won't officially Turn the Lights Out until March 20, when their Matador debut of that same name is released, but with ComEd prices on the rise, they're cutting home electricity costs by hitting the road for a tour in advance of the album.
The Chicagoans will headline the previously reported Tomorrow Never Knows festival at their hometown joint, Schubas, tonight, and trot allll the way to Bloomington, Illinois tomorrow.
The Ponys will then take a break until mid-March, when they will launch a North American tour with former In the Red labelmates the Black Lips. [MORE...]
Arab Strap Drop Tears Stateside, Prep Solo Discs
Malcolm Middleton tours
2007 just isn't the same without Arab Strap. We miss the dour duo. We miss listening to their bawdy ramblings and drinking ourselves into oblivion. We miss getting smacked upside the face every time we try to explain their name to some girl at the bar. Lucky for us U.S.-dwelling mopes, Arab Strap have announced plans to deliver their previously reported swan song to our freedom-loving doorsteps.The Arab Strap farewell compilation Ten Years of Tears-- which received a respectable 8.2 from Pitchfork's Joe Tangari just yesterday-- collects a whole mess of Strap favorites, some B-sides and rarities, and a new tune or two, and arrives Stateside via Chemikal Underground on February 20. The U.S. version features the same tracklist as its UK brother (which came out this past October), reprinted below for your perusal.
While the Strap has split, members Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton remain quite active with solo pursuits.
Middleton follows up 2005's Into the Woods with A Brighter Beat, out February 26 on London's Full Time Hobby. Title track single "A Brighter Beat" hits shoppes January 22 in digital and 7" formats. In support of the new disc, Malcolm's touring up a storm around Europe in the coming months, opening shows for both Robin Proper-Sheppard's Sophia and Badly Drawn Boy, as well as headlining a spate of gigs with a full band in March.
Moffat's electronic project L. Pierre (aka Lucky Pierre), meanwhile, follows up 2004's Touchpool with his Melodic Records-stamped third full-length, Dip, on January 15 in the UK and February 6 in the U.S. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Mando Diao Share U.S. Release Details, MP3
Swedish garage rockers Mando Diao want to take us back to a time when Swedish garage rock was all the rage (oh, say, 2002). To that end, they're bringing their album Ode to Ochrasy, which first hit shelves last year via Majesty/EMI Music Sweden, to North America on April 24 via Mute Records.
The disc was recorded in the spring of 2006 and produced by the band with help from Björn Olsson (ex-Soundtrack of Our Lives). "Long Before Rock'n'roll", the album's rompin', stompin' first single, is available as an exclusive free download for 24 hours only by clicking on the link below. After those 24 hours are over, it will be available as a stream.
Mando Diao have scattered performances scheduled from now through early March, most of which take place in their native Sweden. The boys will, however, make their way to the U.S. this spring for a series of dates, including several at SXSW. [MORE...]
MP3: The Pack: "Candy"
They love shoes...and female genitalia!
This track from the Pack's December Skateboards 2 Scrapers EP is definitely hyphier than either "Vans" or "I'm Shinin'", and it's about as good, too. Freshman San Francisco State University business student Young L's production provides a skittering backdrop to the quartet's ode to, ahem, "pussy popping." With the sampled female voice proclaiming, "It's my pussy, I can do what I want," the four MCs (Young L, Stunna, and Lils Uno and B) make no bones about what the "candy" of the title is. Despite the jarring sample, though, the verses are nimble displays of craft that actually paint a fairly egalitarian picture of the love-making arts ("Have you ever heard big girls need love?/ It's her pussy, she can do what she wants.").
According a label representative, the Pack have "no tour dates right now. They are in school!" They are, however, planning the release of their official debut album, which does not currently have a title but promises to feature Too $hort, Keak Da Sneak, Mr. F.A.B., Jody Breeze of Boyz N Da Hood, and the Team. Too $hort's Up All Nite Music will release the full-length.
The album's first single, titled "Fresh" and featuring Dem Franchize Boyz, will come out January 15. A video for the track is scheduled to debut in February.
Gruff Rhys Coming to America Thanks to Conor Oberst
Also: More details of Gruff Rhys / Boom Bip collaboration
Pun-loving Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys will release Candylion-- his recent solo album-- in the U.S. on March 6 via Conor Oberst's Team Love label. It will come out on CD and four-sided LP (the fourth side is an etching).Rhys' collaboration with Anticon-associated turntablist Boom Bip, previously reported to be under the moniker Delorean, is now called Neon Neon, though the currently untitled album they plan to release in the summer on Lex Records is a concept album about John De Lorean (yes, the one responsible for that De Lorean). Guests on the album include former Pharcyde MC Fatlip, Spank Rock, the Magic Numbers, Har Mar Superstar, and Kudu.
Rhys will get his tour on with a boatload of UK dates in March and April, though he does have a few dates before then in Italy and Wales. [MORE...]
Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid Speak in Tongues, Tour
Following two mini-albums in their Exchange Session series, the unlikely pairing of UK knob-twiddler Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet) and legendary NYC jazz drummer Steve Reid is ready to take it to the next level.
Come March 20 (March 19 in the UK), Domino and the duo will expand minds with Tongues, their third collaborative artifact. Featuring ten tracks that pit Hebden's mad-scientist array of electronic doodads against Reid's beefed-up drum kit and percussion palette, the disc was recorded entirely live, with no overdubs, at the Exchange in London. Mastered by a guy at the Exchange (whose name is Graeme Durham), the album even includes a tripped out rendition of "Greensleeves".
In an interview with Pitchfork back in November, Hebden described the collection as "a bit more
punk" than his previous collaborative offerings with Reid.
There's beauty born of Hebden and Reid's struggle between synthetic and organic, and long-time fans of both mens' work and new converts alike will have an opportunity to take it in firsthand, as Hebden and the sexagenarian Reid hit the road this spring. Following two U.S. dates, our Tongues-smiths will hop the pond for a spate of UK gigs. Hebden promises more U.S. and worldwide dates later in the year.
As previously reported, Hebden and Reid performed along with Thom Yorke and the White Stripes on the inaugural episode of Nigel Godrich's "From the Basement". Download the episode now on iTunes or at the programme's website.
Finally, keep your eyes peeled for the previously mentioned new album from Hebden's other non-Four Tet project, Fridge. [MORE...]
Bill Callahan Dumps Smog Name, Drops LP
Indie boys and girls of the world: dress sexy, because today marks a funeral of sorts. Bill Callahan, who shed his trusty parentheses a few albums back, has officially put the rest of his Smog moniker out to pasture.Maybe he's just trying to be more environmentally conscious following a year of record-high temperatures, or maybe his elfin girlfriend put him up to it, but from this point forward Bill Callahan will be simply and unambiguously known as Bill Callahan.
To celebrate this return to his roots, Bill-- who foreshadowed his de-Smoging by playing recent shows under the name his mother gave him-- will deliver another album for Drag City, his first as Bill Callahan and 739th overall.
Woke on a Whaleheart continues Bill's nautical infatuation and sets sail April 17 (UPDATE: RELEASE DATE PUSHED BACK TO APRIL 24), featuring guest contributions from arranger Neil Michael Hagerty (of the Howling Hex, Royal Trux, and Pussy Galore fame), backing gospel vocalist Deani Pugh-Flemmings, guitarist Pete Denton, and violinist Elizabeth Warren.
Get accustomed to the new Bill before Whaleheart awakens by scooping up single "Diamond Dancer", due via Drag City on March 20. The tune comes backed with an exclusive, non-album B-side from the Whaleheart sessions called "Taken", which also happens to be the essence of what Joanna Newsom told you when you tried to ask her out last weekend. [MORE...]
Lily Allen Announces U.S. LP Bonus Features
Like any quality vehicle, Lily Allen's debut Alright, Still has been tricked out to hit the streets. Two bonus cuts have been added to the album's tracklisting for its U.S. release (January 30 on Capitol). The 50 Cent-biting "Nan You're a Window Shopper" and a Mark Ronson remix of "Smile" (which we assume is the same song mentioned here). Also, Capitol claims that the disc will be the first American full-length release ever to be packaged with U-MYX, software enabling listeners to create their own mixes of the album's tunes.
Great, just what we needed-- more "LDN" mash-ups.
Allen is lined up for a slew of Big Day Out appearances, as well as dates across Japan and Europe, a February 2 gig on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno", and a SXSW slot. She's also been selected to headline MTV's first-ever Discover and Download tour, the dates for which have yet to be confirmed.
A Lily Allen Rhapsody Original Sessions EP with three live tracks will be released on February 6. Plus "Smile" is on the soundtrack for Electronic Arts' upcoming expansion pack, The Sims 2 Seasons, which is due next month. So get on perfecting that Allen look-alike Sim. And, for the last time, please refrain from any and all dirty-minded shower cheats (NSFW)! [MORE...]
Sam Prekop Talks New Sea and Cake Disc
Believe it or not, it's been nearly four years since we've heard so much as a whimper from the Sea and Cake, but that doesn't mean the veteran Chicago jazz-inflected pop quartet has slowed down. Cakers Sam Prekop and Archer Prewitt spent the last few years focusing on individual pursuits-- each released a solo record in 2005 (Who's Your New Professor and Wilderness, respectively, both on Thrill Jockey). Drummer John McEntire, meanwhile, has concentrated on his work with Tortoise, while also recording up a storm at his Soma Studios. And Eric Claridge traded the bass for a palette and paintbrush, turning out a pretty sweet series of oil paintings last year.
Now the fire, wind, earth, and heart of the Sea and Cake (water is lame, man) have reunited at last, and by their powers combined, nearly completed work on album number seven. Pitchfork caught up with Sea and Cake captain Sam Prekop yesterday for a chat about recording the latest LP at a "rock'n'roll boot camp," his photography book, his electronic record with McEntire, and the fine art of the album cover.
"We're almost done" with the as-yet-untitled record, reported Prekop. "We have one more song to mix, and then the sequencing." It should see the light of day in May, and like all previous Sea and Cake full lengths, bear the Thrill Jockey stamp.
That's not the only continuing trend here: like the six Sea and Cake LPs before it, number seven will contain exactly 10 tracks (including "Scribble On" and "What Tonight Is")-- which was far from Prekop's intention.
"I was very anxious to make a record that had more than ten songs," he said. "[But] this one has ten, too, which I didn't think was going to happen, because we had actually prepared 15. But for whatever reason, five of them didn't make it. If we felt that we could have pulled off more than ten, we would have, or if it felt right.
"It could be a thing where we just know that ten, that's it, that makes the best record, you can't get further than that." [MORE...]
Exclusive: Blonde Redhead Reveal 23, Announce Tour
When we last chatted with Blonde Redhead's Simone Pace, the band was recording the follow-up to 2004's Misery Is a Butterfly, but still wholly undecided about all those silly logistical things we Pitchfork newsies love to report: an album name, song titles, a release date, and the like. Perhaps they resolved to make up their minds when the ball dropped, or perhaps they're just damned savvy marketers, but the art-rock trio has at last revealed all.On April 10, 4AD will release Blonde Redhead's seventh album, 23, which we sure hope has nothing to do with that forthcoming Joel Schumacher-directed, Jim Carrey-starring numerology thriller. But hmm, wait a minute...23 times four (as in 4AD) times seven (seventh album) plus 23 minus one (um, just because) equals...666!!!!
Holy smokes, we've got ourselves a conspiracy. And we haven't even considered the numeric significance of folks like 23's co-mixers Rich Costey and Alan Moulder, nor that of Mr. Chris Coady, who recorded the Blonde Redhead-produced affair at New York's Magic Shop.
And it wouldn't be a Blonde Redhead marketing blitz/occult conspiracy without the North American tour, which kicks off in mid-March at SXSW. But wait: if Kazu and the Pace brothers rock precisely four SXSW showcases/parties (a reasonable number for a band of their stature), that means they'll play exactly 23 shows on this tour!!! Hot Jesus, somebody call Dan Brown already. [MORE...]
Patti Smith to Release Covers Album
Patti Smith helped launch her career with a cover of Van Morrison's "Gloria", and now, at the age of 60, she's coming full circle. Billboard.com reports that Smith will release a covers album this spring, and it will includes material originally recorded by Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Nirvana, Neil Young, and, Smith says, "some people you'd be very surprised at."
Oh god, we hope she isn't covering "Crazy" too.
In addition, the LP features
guest appearances from Television's Tom Verlaine, the Red Hot Chili Peppers'
Flea, the Black Crowes' Richard Robinson, playwright/actor Sam Shepard, and
Smith's children Jackson and Jesse. It's a family affair.
As reported Monday (January 8), following a March 12 ceremony at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Smith will be admitted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She plans to perform at the event. Other 2007 inductees include R.E.M., the Ronettes, Van Halen, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
And that's not all the punk godmother is up to right now. Smith currently has a photography exhibit, "A Pythagorean Traveler", on display (through January 13) at New York City's Robert Miller Gallery. She'll make an appearance at another gallery, the Boston Institute of Contemporary Arts, on February 21 for a spoken word/poetry show.
In other news, Billboard.com reports that Smith and her band are currently learning songs associated with the "Summer of Love" era of the late 1960s for an upcoming tour.
Finally,
further deluxe reissues are on their way from Smith's Arista back catalog,
following the 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition of Horses in 2005.
[photo by Angelo Cricchi]
Exclusive: I'm From Barcelona Introduce U.S. Tracklist
Sure you and I'm From Barcelona have been going steady ever since you met in Pitchfork's Best New Music section this past August. I mean, you two really hit it off-- something about the beluga whale-sized hooks and anthemic choruses on Let Me Introduce My Friends just made you feel whole and warm, alive and snuggly. But alas, it's been but a wistful, long distance twee pop romance...until now.As previously reported, I'm From Barcelona's Let Me Introduce My Friends crashes U.S. shores at last on March 20, thanks to Mute North America. You and your 29 sweethearts may finally skip hand-in-hand through the clouds, to the tune of a just-revealed, slightly revamped tracklist.
The U.S. edition of My Friends boasts two bonus tracks: "The Painter" (previously available on the Don't Give Up on Your Dreams, Buddy! EP) and what may well be an ode to indie-pop kids' number one turn-on, "Glasses".
Try to keep your heart intact, North Americans, as I'm From Barcelona bound about Europe this January. [MORE...]
Mark Ronson Recruits Lily Allen, ODB for Album
Mark Ronson-- DJ, producer, Allido Records co-founder, and friend of everyone from Christina Aguilera and Jimmy Fallon to Ghostface Killah and Lily Allen-- has announced that the title of his next pop-culture-cannibalizing full-length will be Version and that it will come out April 16 in the UK.
Allen and the bigger-in-Britain Robbie Williams both appear on Version, as does Allido's Daniel Merriweather, who contributes vocals to a version of the Smiths' "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" that Ronson mashes up with the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On". Explaining the concept for Version in a press release, Ronson said, "With my first album, I had all these people like Mos Def and M.O.P. guesting. This time it's not about that. Despite the big names... the songs here are the guest stars. With Version, I've taken these songs that I love and turned them into Motown/Stax 70s versions."
Ronson will precede the album with the release of the limited edition, double A-side single "Toxic"/"God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" 10" on January 29 via Columbia in the UK, on which he turns in lounge-ready versions of Britney Spears' and Coldplay's tracks. Ronson has made both tracks as well as a subtle glockenspiel-and-trumpet-adding remix of Lily Allen's "Smile"-- that he hopes to include on Version if she lets him-- available on his MySpace.
Ronson foregoes Chris Martin's vocals on his version of "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face", instead getting some pep-rally-ready horns to play the vocal melody on a track that's a little bit surf and a little bit ska. For "Toxic", Ronson replaces Spears' vocals with schmaltzy singing and the late ODB's show-stealing verses, which include to-the-point lines like, "I don't want to go back to the police station./ They're trying to send Dirt on a long vacation," and, "Fuck the pussy 'til it's orange like Ernie and Bert."
We mean no disrespect, but step your Sesame Street game up, Russell. Bert is yellow!
Strokes' Hammond Jr. to Release Debut in U.S.
Albert Hammond Jr. has, in a stroke of genius (or common sense), scheduled a U.S. release for his debut solo album, Yours to Keep. The disc will feature two bonus tracks, "Postal Blowfish" (we knew these guys were big Guided by Voices fans!) and "Well...All Right", from the Strokes guitarist, both of which weren't present on the record's original UK pressing, released across the pond last October via Rough Trade.
Yours to Keep will hit the U.S. on March 6 courtesy of Scratchie/New Line Records. A Mexican version will follow, though a specific due date has not yet been confirmed.
As previously reported, Hammond (with guitarist Steve Schiltz and guitarist/keyboardist Marc Eskenazi) is currently making a fool of himself on the road with Incubus. A U.S. headlining tour is scheduled for this spring (dates yet to be announced). And, as mentioned yesterday, Hammond will open for Bloc Party on their upcoming trek through the States. [MORE...]
Kaiser Chiefs Reveal Album Details, Tour
We're not sure if the title of the newly announced Kaiser Chiefs record, Yours Truly, Angry Mob, refers to the rioters the band once predicted, but we do know that the Kaiser Chiefs sure are fond of large groups of revved-up people.
The Angry Mob will invade, pitchforks and torches aloft, internationally on February 26 and in North America on March 27 via Universal. It was produced by Stephen Street at Berkshire's Hook End Manor and mixed by both Street and Cenzo Townshend at London's Olympic Studios.
The disc's first single, "Ruby", is due a week earlier on February 19 on B*Unique on CD, seven inch, and as a download. Each format brags a different B-side: "From the Neck Down" (CD), "Admire You" (seven inch), and "Ruby" (live at Berlin's Kesselhaus in November 2006) (exclusive to the download). These will all be available digitally as well.
The Kaisers will celebrate the album with a series of two-night stands in cities across the UK throughout February and March, and will make their way to the States in early April. Additional U.S. dates are in the works. [MORE...]
Animal Collective Sign to Domino, Tour
Panda Bear reveals Person Pitch details, shares mp3
It's a jungle out there! Lucky for them, however, Animal Collective have used their gift for organization (they're a collective, see) and emerged near the head of the packs of Wolves and Ponies that ravage indie music today. And now, in their quest for eventual domination over humankind, the foursome have signed to Domino Records worldwide, putting them in the company of such fauna favorites as Arctic Monkeys and Caribou.To celebrate, the Collective will hit the road this spring, having already announced a flock of U.S. dates. Use these opportunities to scoop up the previously reported People EP, which drops January 23 via FatCat, and don't be surprised if more dates crop up soon; these are Animals of a migratory bent, after all.
AC will begin recording the follow-up to 2005's Feels shortly, and as previously mentioned, they have a live box set and a movie in the works.
Collective member Panda Bear, meanwhile, has revealed the details behind his latest solo LP, the one he chatted up in a recent Pitchfork interview. Noah Lennox, as Panda Bear is known in human guise, will release Person Pitch into the wild on March 20 via Paw Tracks worldwide.
The eight-track set marks Panda's third solo release and includes "I'm Not" and "Comfy in Nautica", both reviewed by Pitchfork's Mark Richardson in single form. Download an mp3 of "Comfy in Nautica" below. Perhaps it's just the post-Yuletide withdrawal, but the joint sounds oddly reminiscent of a fuzzed-out Christmas carol to me.
Leading up to the unleashing of Person Pitch, FatCat, Paw Tracks, and UUAR (UUnited Acoustic Recordings) will each release (or already have released) a piece of vinyl collecting Panda Bear goodies. FatCat's "Bro's" 12", backed with a Terrestrial Tones remix, hits U.S. and Canadian streets February 21 (it's already out everywhere else). UUAR delivered the aforementioned "Comfy in Nautica" 7" single last year, and Paw Tracks has the previously reported Panda Bear/Excepter split on the way January 23.
And for even more Panda Bear for your money, catch Lennox yapping, yowling, and performing brand new songs on Sérgio Hydalgo's weekly online radio show "Má Fama". If you're Jesus Jonesin' for that, download the episode right here right now. [MORE...]
Cold War Kids Tour With Tokyo Police Club
Not two weeks into 2007, the
Cold War Kids have already made ambitious plans for the year. It all kicks
off this Wednesday, January 10 with a short string of mid-week gigs that find them trekking
back and forth between New York and Los Angeles repeatedly. Then it's off to Europe for a previously reported
tour in support of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, followed by a return to their
North American homeworld in late February, where they'll cross the continent alongside
Ontario-based up-and-comers Tokyo Police Club.
Fans desperate for a more immediate Kids fix can cruise over to the band's
website, home to six recently posted live covers. The Benefit at the District EP is culled from a September benefit concert at
Orange, California's District Lounge, staged in collaboration with the Costa Mesa Breast Cancer Walk. Among the
songs covered, you'll find Tom Waits' "I Don't Wanna Grow Up", Elvis
Costello's "Indoor Fireworks", Fiona Apple's "Fast as You
Can", and more.
In addition, the Cold War Kids are finalizing a new video for Robbers and Cowards' "Hang Me Up to Dry", directed by the Malloy Brothers.
Tokyo Police Club, on the
other hand, are taking the more-oft traversed sell-our-tunes-for-$$ route. Their
A Lesson in Crime EP is now available on vinyl via Paper Bag Records,
and will arrive in the UK and Europe on February 12 with bonus
track "Cut Cut Paste" in tow, courtesy of Memphis Industries.
On February 5, a week ahead of Crime's release, the latter label will drop the "Cheer It On" single, which features the b-side
"Citizens of Tomorrow (Space Ballad version)" (which rules). Bijan Shams recently shot a video for "Cheer It On".
A Lesson in Crime will also make its mark in Australia and New Zealand, where it's dew (wait for it) March 10 on Dew Process.
Tokyo Police Club is currently readying new material in guitarist Josh Hook's basement, "a process which," according to their MySpace blog, "involves general noisiness punctuated by frequent breaks for sparring, wildlife trivia, pizza, and YouTube."
They'll break early next month for their first-ever European tour. [MORE...]
Do Make Say Think Make Album, Do Tour
Say little, think really deep thoughts
Taking at least part of their verb-powered moniker to heart, Canadian post-rock/avant-jazz combo Do Make Say Think is kicking off 2007 right with a slew of activity.First up, they've made You, You're a History in Rust, their fifth LP, set for European release on February 12 (everybody else has to wait until February 26). Constellation will deliver the accusatory eight-track set, and like many releases on the respectable label, History in Rust was recorded in such rustic spaces as cottages and barns.
The disc features the core lineup of Doers-- Ohad Benchetrit, Charles Spearin (both of Broken Social Scene), Dave Mitchell, James Payment, and Justin Small-- and also boasts guest contributions from Akron/Family, BS Scene orbiters Jason Tait (vibes) and Julie Penner (violin), and Great Lake Swimmers' Tony Dekkar.
DMST will then do an extensive tour of the U.S. and their native Canada, hitting up more metropolises in Alberta and Saskatchewan than we knew existed. The whole shebang kicks off on February 23 in Detroit, so we think it's safe to say you'd do well to make haste to one of these gigs. Right. [MORE...]
A-Trak Releases One of Everything
A-Trak's current schedule looks more like a list of New Year's resolutions than an actual calendar of events: it includes the releases of a live CD, a mixtape, and two albums, as well as partnerships with clothing, toy, and skateboard companies. We think it's called "expanding your brand."
The live CD is a double disc release on French label Disque Primeur containing A-Trak's and tourmates the Rub's sets at the Indianapolis stop of their 2006 "Sunglasses Is a Must" tour. It is available for online purchase here.
The albums are debuts from A-Trak himself as well as Chicago MC Kid Sister, a collaboration he revealed to us back in July during his Pitchfork Music Festival interview.
The mixtape is titled Dirty South Dance, and a preview in the form of a remix of UNK's "Walk It Out" (which totally slays, by the way) is available for download below. Since when did the Gossip become the go-to source for dancefloor bangers?
As for the clothes and other goodies, there are so many companies coming out with Sunglasses Is a Must gear that it's best just to list them: "New Era hats, Crooks & Castles t-shirts, Kid Robot toys, Stussy sunglasses, and Zoo York skate decks," according to a press release. That's a lot of stuff, but man cannot live on sunglasses alone.
A-Trak will play with Kanye West at Pepsi Smash in Miami, Florida on February 1.
Arcade Fire Reveal Tracklist, Release Date, More Shows
"Do you remember how music used to make you feel?"
It's an Arcade Fire weekend!
Barely 24 hours after revealing their second album's first single, the band has unleashed a slew of information on their thirsty fans.
According to a terrifically silly YouTube video posted by the band, Neon Bible will be out March 5 in Europe and March 6 in North America on Merge Records. It will contain the following songs, clips of which can be heard in said video:
01 Black Mirror
02 Keep the Car Running
03 Neon Bible
04 Intervention
05 Black Wave/ Bad Vibrations
06 Ocean of Noise
07 The Well and the Lighthouse
08 (Antichrist Television Blues)
09 Windowsill
10 No Cars Go
11 My Body Is a Cage
The album is "written, arranged, performed and produced by the Arcade Fire", with artwork by Tracy Maurice, the same artist behind Funeral's design.
The band also announced a bunch of UK and European tour dates for March and April, with more to come this week. [MORE...]
Amon Tobin Meets Kronos Quartet in Foley Room
For the follow-up to Chaos Theory-- his 2005 soundtrack for the Splinter Cell 3 videogame-- Ninja Tune electronic auteur Amon Tobin took a different approach to recording. Inspired by the "foley rooms" used to create and record film sound effects, Tobin forsook his usual vinyl sources for found sounds on the aptly titled Foley Room. According to a press release, his samples ranged "from tigers roaring to cats eating rats, from wasps to falling chickpeas, kitchen utensils to motorbikes to water dripping from a tap" and also included sounds from the Kronos Quartet, Stefan Schneider, and Sarah Pagé.Ninja Tune will release Foley Room in late April along with a DVD documentary of the recording process titled Foley Room: Found Footage, but "Bloodstone", the album's first single, will precede it with an exclusive iTunes pre-release on January 9 and a complete digital and limited edition 12" release on January 23. [MORE...]
Chin Up Chin Up, Bobby Conn Play Robbins Benefit
Last month, DeSoto Records revealed that Callum Robbins, the ten-month-old son of J. Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines, Channels) and Janet Morgan (Channels) had been diagnosed with Type 1 Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Fans were urged to donate to help offset the family's medical bills.
Well, you really came through this time. Over the holidays, J. Robbins posted on his website, thanking donors and the fine folks at DeSoto for their assistance. As a result of the support the Robbins family has received so far, Callum is soon to be the proud owner of "his first adaptive high chair/play chair...one that supports his back and trunk and will help him make the most of his limited arm mobility."
But the outreach doesn't stop there. A Robbins benefit show has been scheduled for January 27 at Chicago's Empty Bottle, with all proceeds going to J and his family.
Artists lined up to play the
event include Chin Up Chin Up, Bobby Conn, the Life and Times, Red Eyed
Legends, and more to be announced, including a "surprise special guest". Purchase tickets here.
Also, we'd like to note that DeSoto bought back the rights from Atlantic to re-release Jawbox's final two albums, For Your Own Special Sweetheart and Jawbox. They are now available on iTunes.
Justin K. Broadrick Talks New Jesu Album, Tour
Plus exclusive MP3
For someone who's known as one of the godfathers of experimental extreme metal, Justin K. Broadrick is a pretty happy guy. Or at least he sure seemed that way when he spoke to Pitchfork recently about his current band, Jesu, which also includes bassist Diarmuid Dalton and drummer Ted Parsons. The former Napalm Death/Head of David/Godflesh/Techno Animal member was chatty as a schoolgirl when discussing Jesu's upcoming album and North American tour with Isis, not to mention his slew of other projects.
The second Jesu album, Conqueror, comes out on Hydra Head on February 20 in the United States, February 19 in the UK and Europe, February 2 in Japan, and February 27 in the rest of the world. (Whew.) The Japanese version will be amended with a bonus disc containing the songs "Sun Down" and "Sun Rise", originally released on a limited edition vinyl EP on Aurora Borealis. The vinyl version of Conqueror comes out February 27 on Conspiracy Records.
The appropriately epic title track can be heard by downloading the exclusive mp3 below. [MORE...]
Wilco Side Project Autumn Defense Prep New LP
Wilco members John Stirrat
and Pat Sansone are about to wave goodbye to Papa Tweedy and embark on a jaunt
all their own.
Their duo, the Autumn Defense, will spend February and March on a North American excursion in support of their previously reported self-titled record, which is due January 16 on Stirrat's Broadmoor label (note: the first 100 pre-orders will be autographed).
Then, hopefully, they'll get back to working on that new Wilco record. [MORE...]
RJD2 Reveals Tracklist, Tour Dates, New Song
RJD2's third album-- titled The Third Hand, appropriately enough-- comes out March 6 on XL, and he's done the trad rock thing by booking a tour the same month as the album release. The trek begins March 9 in his hometown of Columbus and, as it stands right now, ends March 24 in Baltimore.
RJD2 has also announced The Third Hand's tracklist, which includes the previously reported "You Never Had It So Good" and "Get It", which is newly streamable from his MySpace page. Despite the claim in his Pitchfork interview that Third Hand was a pop album, we're still hearing a lot of hip hop in "Get It"'s syncopated drums, clipped vocal coos, and tinkling background electronics. It sounds like just the sort of downbeat instrumental that he brought in spades to Since We Last Spoke.
So RJ, you're on watch. We expect nothing less than a full-blown chorus from your next MySpace track! [MORE...]
Wu-Tang Plan New Album, Contribute to Compilations
MP3: Hell Razah, Talib Kweli, and Viktor Vaughn: "Project Jazz"
Wu-Tang Clan plan to release their first group album since 2001's Iron Flag this year via SRC Records. Label CEO Steve Rifkind-- whose now-defunct Loud Records released the first two seminal Wu-Tang albums-- made the announcement with a video on the label's blog. Explaining that he just got off the phone with RZA and Wu businessman Divine, Rifkind said, "It's official," though there is no information currently available about potential titles, release dates, or musical guests.
The Clan have also teamed with Nature Sounds for a couple of compilations. The first-- Wu-Tang Clan & Friends: Unreleased-- collects rare and previously unreleased tracks from every living Wu-Tang MC, curated and remixed by Wu DJ and occasional beatmaker Mathematics. Unreleased also features contributions from Wu associates like Cappadonna, Killah Priest, and Solomon Childs. Nature Sounds will release the compilation on January 23.
The second compilation, titled Natural Selection 2.0: A Digital Survival Guide, is a digital-only release currently available from iTunes and scheduled for a January 23 release at all other digital outlets. It features contributions from GZA, Raekwon, U-God, Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, and Mathematics as well as Pete Rock, Talib Kweli, Little Brother, and MF DOOM (under his Viktor Vaughn alias).
Nature Sounds has offered a taste of Natural Selection 2.0 by making the Viktor Vaughn, Talib Kweli, and Hell Razah track "Project Jazz" available for download. It's a pleasant organ-and-saxophone-sampling jaunt through each MC's musical and personal history, with the exception of whatever MF DOOM is rapping about. We're not complaining, though. His mouth-full-of-cookies voice is always a blast to hear, and even though there are no Wu MCs on the track, there are few better summations of the Wu-Tang aesthetic than "enough combined slang to bang all year." [MORE...]
Pelican Reveal Details of Next Album
Windy City metalheads Pelican are lining up a brand new album for spring. Titled City of Echoes, the disc was laid to tape at Chicago's Electrical Audio studios with Andrew Schneider (Daughters, Cave In) last month, and mixing is wrapping up even as you read this. Expect the album to hit May 22 via Hydra Head.
In no particular order, song titles include "Bliss in Concrete", "City of Echoes", "Lost in the Headlights", "Winds With Hands", "Dead Between the Walls", "Far from Fields", "Spaceship Broken -- Parts Needed", and "A Delicate Sense of Balance".
In addition, Pelican also plan to tackle the release of the multi-format set After the Ceiling Cracked, which, as previously reported, includes a live DVD shot in London and directed by Muckspreader Productions' Michael Ward (with mixing by Godflesh/Jesu mastermind Justin Broadrick!), plus a three-inch CD and 12" vinyl featuring the previously unreleased "Pink Mammoth" (a major-key version of the band's original "Mammoth", from their 2003 self-titled debut EP) and a remix by Prefuse 73.
The collection was initially slated to hit shelves this month, but has been rescheduled for a mid-2007 release due to technical setbacks.
Later this year, Pelican will also swoop into Austin, TX and Tilburg, Holland for the South by Southwest (March 15) and Roadburn (April 21) festivals, respectively. We can also expect U.S., UK, European, and possibly Japanese treks to make their way onto the band's '07 touring agenda in the near future.
Of course, if you simply cannot wait another second for new Pelican (or at least Pelican-related) music, guitarist Trevor de Brauw's hardcore-meets-IDM side project Teith have just issued a new EP, Oak City, on Migration Media.
Sparklehorse Announce North American Tour
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter to open
February 2 will mark the start of Sparklehorse's first full-blown U.S. tour in five years. And it's a big one, covering sea to shining sea for a month straight. Seattle's Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter are tagging along for the entire ride.
The trek is in support of Sparklehorse's Dreamt for Lightyears in the Belly of a Mountain, which landed last fall via Astralwerks. Danger Mouse (who helped produce the album) and head horsie Mark Linkous recently began recording together again in Los Angeles. According to Sparklehorse's website, "When asked just what kind of sound they're going for, [Linkous and Danger Mouse] replied 'hummmmmmmmmmm.'"
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter have some new material in store themselves. Their forthcoming LP, Like, Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul, will land on Barsuk in all of its mouthful-of-a-title'd glory come February 6. [MORE...]
Sufjan, Björk, Prince Line Up for Joni Mitchell Tribute
Prior to this moment, only in our wildest and sauciest dreams could we picture Sufjan Stevens, Björk, and Prince rolling around together.
Nonesuch Records, however, has made our dreams a reality; the label recently announced that the three aforementioned artists-- along with Sarah McLachlan, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, James Taylor, and tasteful others-- will be featured on a forthcoming Joni Mitchell tribute record, aptly titled A Tribute to Joni Mitchell. It's due out this spring.
In addition, Billboard.com reports that Mitchell recently spent a few weeks recording new material in Los Angeles, though exactly what she plans to do with the new tunes has not been confirmed. [MORE...]
Nick Cave Live DVD, Grinderman LP Revealed
I pledge allegiance to the grind
Lock up your daughters! Nick Cave is back on the prowl. The notorious Australian lothario is gearing up to make 2007 his bitch, with a live DVD/CD set and a new album from a sorta-new band in the works.
On January 29, Mute UK will release The Abattoir Blues Tour, a live double DVD of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds in all their, er, seedy glory. The first disc captures a performance at London's Brixton Academy on November 11, 2004, when the band was supporting the 2004 double album Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus. The second, from London's Hammersmith Apollo on June 7, 2003, comes from the Nocturama tour. The set is rounded out by a bunch of music videos and a "behind the scenes" film by guitarist Mick Harvey.
The 2xDVD is available on its own and as a limited edition "deluxe" box set which also includes a 2xCD set of 2004 live songs. Those songs can also be purchased as downloads or as a double CD set from Mute's online store.
As previously reported, Cave and Bad Seeds Warren Ellis (also of Dirty Three), Martyn Casey, and Jim Sclavunos have a new band, Grinderman. The horny scuzz-punk group features Cave back on electric guitar (as well as vocals, organ, and piano), with Ellis on guitar, viola, violin, and, why not, electric bouzouki, Casey on bass and guitar, and Sclavunos on drums.
Grinderman's self-titled debut is out on Mute UK on March 5 and in North America on Anti- on April 10. The band's first single, "Get It On", comes out on Mute on February 8 on vinyl and download. The limited-to-1000-copies 7" is a one-sided dealie featuring cover art and a b-side etching by Cave himself. You can hear "Get It On", as well as the charming "No Pussy Blues", on Grinderman's MySpace page now.
As previously reported, both Grinderman and Cave solo will perform at the Dirty Three-curated All Tomorrow's Parties festival in April. [MORE...]
MP3: Talib Kweli, Madlib Team for Free Album
Seems Talib Kweli and Madlib resolved to be more generous and giving in 2007, and they're wasting no time with that. Today the pair delivers Liberation, a nine-track digital-only LP featuring MC Kweli and producer Lib, available for free download now-- cover art and all-- on Stones Throw's website.A lo-fi affair full of soulful samples and plenty of name-dropping on the part of Kweli, Liberation includes guest verses from Consequence and Strong Arm Steady and should whet appetites a little bit until Talib drops Ear Drum, his previously reported new LP, originally slated for release late last year. It's now set to land later this month via Kweli's own Blacksmith imprint, under the mighty Warner Bros. umbrella.
But don't whet those appetites too much. Wrote Kweli on his MySpace, "Some fans will say [Liberation] is the sound they want to hear from me all the time. If so, congratulations, you got your wish. However, do not use this to speculate what Ear Drum will sound like. It is a different project with different influences."
Oh, and add kindness to the list of Kweli resolutions. "Shout out to my brother Madlib," wrote the MC in the same MySpace message, "for being so creative and inspirational, and for giving me a canvas to paint on. This project was inspired by his consistency...In this era of over produced and over marketed product, Madlib leads the pack of independent artists who could care less about all of that." We'll toast to that. [MORE...]
MP3s: Holy Fuck: Various Tracks
"Holy fuck, our hard drive crashed!" said Holy Fuck, when they lost what band member Brian Borcherdt, in an email to Pitchfork, called "a good chunk of material" for their follow-up to last year's self-titled debut. But they also added, "Hey, let's put up some live mp3s on our website so people don't have to wait even longer to hear what we've been working on."The four tracks-- "Safari", "Choppers", "Junglor", and "Chicago Radio Rap Band"-- were all recorded live at radio stations or gigs, and they're all analog electro in the post-rock vein. This stuff would make perfect Megaman-style video game music.
Holy Fuck quickly hopped back on the recording train after their tech troubles and will begin mixing the new record with Broken Social Scene producer Dave Newfeld very soon. They also hope to have an additional recording session next year with Enon drummer Matt Schulz, who Borcherdt said was "recently recruited as one of our few rotating drummers."
Mos Def Conjures True Magic, Shares Stream
Mos Def's New Danger follow-up, True Magic, comes out December 29 on Geffen, and it features production from Pharrell, Minnesota, and Preservation. While you're pondering what an entire U.S. state would sound like behind the boards and why a major label would release an album at the very end of the year on a Friday, you can listen to a stream of a song from the album titled... "Napoleon Dynamite". Hey, remember Napoleon Dynamite? That's that movie Gnarls Barkley were in, right?
Rather than referencing Uncle Rico, tater tots, and his pet llama, though, the MC basically uses the movies title as a jumpoff for a track about, um... well, we're still not quite sure. He sums it up pretty well himself: "But really I digress." It's not awful, just too tame for a guy who used to be able to give a pretty good sermon about exactly what beef is. [MORE...]
Axl Gives Chinese Democracy Tentative Release Date
Cancels four tour dates
Axl Rose is trying to stir up interest in his long-irrelevant band again, and he's doing so with a couple of announcements. Let's start with the typical: Guns N' Roses have canceled their four January tour dates (three in California and one in Nevada), and Axl is blaming the band's management for the poor handling of Chinese Democracy's alleged release.More unexpected is Axl's official announcement that Chinese Democracy is tentatively scheduled for a March 6 release-- and the fact that he did so in an articulate (!) letter on the band's website. Newsflash: Axl Rose can write a sincere letter of apology to his fans. We're not ruling out the possibility that he employs a letter writer for these kinds of things, but we must say that we're impressed nonetheless. Not that we're any more interested in Chinese Democracy now than we were before.
Read the full text of Axl's letter-- which is quite long-- below, followed by Guns N' Roses' remaining four tour dates and the four that were canceled. [MORE...]
Sufjan, Witmer Are Friends of Rosie Thomas
Sufjan alert! Our banjo-plucking, States- songwriting, Christmas-boxing stealer of hearts hooked up (in a purely musical sense, you gutter-dwellers!) with pals Rosie Thomas and Denison Witmer in New York earlier this year to record a batch of songs by Rosie, who sought to escape the pressures of worldwide fame and acclaim and make music the old-fashioned, on-the-fly, inspired way.Seems these sessions proved fruitful enough to warrant the release of an album, Rosie's fourth, titled These Friends of Mine. It's out now in digital format and should have a physical release in March 2007, courtesy of Rosie's own label, Sing-a-Long Records, partnered with Nettwerk. Sufjan sings backing vocals and plays instruments on a number of These Friends' ten tracks, which include covers of R.E.M.'s "The One I Love", Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird", and Witmer's own "Paper Doll".
Best of all, you can stream a pair of songs from Rosie's new disc right now at her website and MySpace: "Much Farther to Go", which features a prominent Sufjan backing vocal, and "Kite Song", an innocuous ballad touched with strings and piano. They're pretty coffeeshop-ripe and a bit Jesus-y, which is great if you're into those things. Even if you're not, you may enjoy them for their pleasant nature and competent arrangements and production. And because you love all things Sufjan. Admit it, you do. [MORE...]
Mary Weiss, Ex-Shangri-La, Readies Solo Debut
Mary Weiss, lead singer of 1960s girl group the Shangri-Las (who you may remember from having songs at #30 and #20 on Pitchfork's 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s list), will return from 40 years of hibernation with her solo debut album. The album is titled Dangerous Game and features all originals except for a remake of Shangri-Las B-side "Heaven Only Knows". Weiss is backed on the album by Memphis garage rockers the Reigning Sound. Norton Records will release Dangerous Game on March 6. [MORE...]
Clipse Release HHNF Companion Mixtape
Clipse have teamed with mixtape-meisters Mick Boogie and Wally Sparks to release Rock Muzick, a mixtape companion to their excellent new album Hell Hath No Fury. The mixtape features Hell Hath tracks, freestyles, and even two "throwback bonus tracks" (including very early single "The Funeral") at the end, according to Boogie and Sparks' League Crew website.
Contributing MCs to the mixtape include Biggie, Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, the Game, Fam-Lay, UGK, Mobb Deep, Rick Ross, and Ab-Liva, of Clipse's four-man Re-Up Gang. Also on two tracks is Lil Wayne, who we thought was on poor terms with the Thornton brothers, not that they have to be in the same room to record a track together. Come to think of it, Biggie-- assuming the name refers to the late Notorious B.I.G.-- isn't even in the same time period. We're guessing this means the involvement of some Diddy-style cut-and-pasting in at least one instance, which must be what the press release refers to with the phrase "creative remixes."
Rock Muzick is available for purchase here, and Clipse do indeed have it for cheap: only seven dollars. They are just talking about mixtapes, right? [MORE...]
Smashing Pumpkins to Play "Some European Festivals"
Yeah, that's pretty much all we know
Since we last paid a visit to Pumpkinland (i.e. Smashing Pumpkins' MySpace), Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin has continued enthusiastically babbling nonsense about the progress of the band's MACHINA follow-up/reunion record.
Though the exact constituency of the band is still unknown, Chamberlin assures us via the Pumpkins' MySpace blog that, "The drums are finished," and that, "We have been very busy carving up the sonic landscape with oceans of guitars and a sea of fuzz bass. We are four songs deep and about a hundred guitars in!" Those wondering what sonic touchstones the record might have would do well to take a look at the following Chamberlin shout-out: "We would like to thank the Grateful Dead, Rush, [and] Billy Thorpe for their guidance in this hour of need."
Honestly, though the promise of engaging Pumpkin prog seems pretty empty at this point, they could do much worse.
According to an entry from the Pumpkins' webmistress, fans hungry to set sail on the band's guitar oceans will get the chance to see them live this summer at "some European festivals." Vagueness from the Pumpkins' camp? You don't say! In her defense, however, she explained, "As for which ones, that's still being finalized, so hold tight!"
The Pumpkins' webmistress also responded to the recent "leak" of four demo tracks allegedly from the recent studio sessions by saying, "OH! And those 'Baker Demo' leaks... well, we read it was a Brit band who was behind that. Don't worry Simon, no one's gonna sue you. The band got a kick out of the story." The Simon she refers to is the lead singer of Amy Blue, the London band who leaked their own songs masquerading as Pumpkins demos via a torrent site as a prank. Pretty clever, actually.
Patrick Wolf Announces Tour, Album Release Date
When we last spoke with singer/songwriter powerhouse Patrick Wolf (nearly a year ago now), he had just signed to Loog Records, with plans to release a new record, The Magic Position, sometime in 2006.
If you're thinking, "Hey, there are only two Mondays left in the year. Wolf's album is probably going to have to wait," you're very astute. It will see the light of day on February 26, 2007. According to Wolf's MySpace, the disc's currently unconfirmed second single will land sometime prior to Magic's release.
The artist previewed some of his new material, including a track, "Augustine", slated for The Magic Potion, on his most recent video podcast, available here (and here for non-iTunes users). Tune in, because Wolf gives away some special info that will help fans answer the question "What age was Patrick when he first started playing the violin?"
Those who answer correctly will have a chance to win two tickets to Wolf's December 19 show at London's Union Chapel. For more details, check out his second-most-recent blog entry.
Following that show and another one-off gig (acoustic and mic-less!) in London this month, Wolf will rest up for a lengthy UK tour. The trek is scheduled to begin in late January, and will run through early March. [MORE...]
Call Me Lightning Sign to Frenchkiss
Milwaukee trio Call Me Lightning seem to have been hanging out with Emily Haines recently. On February 20, 2007, the band's sophomore LP, Soft Skeletons, will land via the band's new label, Frenchkiss Records. As far as we know, the album has nothing to do with Haines' band the Soft Skeleton...but can we ever be sure?
To celebrate the album, Call Me Lightning have planned two record release parties: at their hometown's Todd Wehr Hall on February 17 and at Chicago's Empty Bottle on February 19.
One cut from Soft Skeletons, "Billion Eyes", has already made its way online, and it's easy to see what the group is talking about when it cites the Minutemen as an influence. For some seriously loud drums and a sense of good old-fashioned punk community (note the group vocals during the chorus), download the track below. [MORE...]
Final Fantasy Talks New LP, Arcade Fire, Polaris Prize
"I try to be candid in interviews...but I've learned that whenever you try and make a point about anything, you always end up sounding like a douchebag."
Arcade Fire strings wizard Owen Pallett put himself at a distinct disadvantage by naming own project Final Fantasy. Google it: dude's official website doesn't come up until page seven, such is the interweb might of the RPG juggernaut with which he shares his name. But who needs Google when you've got the Polaris Music Prize, the Canadian honor Pallett received for 2006's He Poos Clouds, and the $20,000 that comes with it? Or an adoring fanbase? Or friends in the Arcade Fire? Or plans up the wazoo? As Pallett told Pitchfork recently via e-mail, with 2006 drawing to a close, he's on a roll.
First up: releases galore. "Right now I'm at work on some 7"s and some EPs," wrote Pallett. "Down the line, I'll follow up He Poos Clouds with an LP with the inoffensive/boring title of Heartland."
"The connotations of Heartland are intended," Pallett elaborated in a post on a message board he frequents at Scandalized Human Zine. "The album title is meant to evoke that mysterious sense of homestead nationalism."
Pallett continued: "It's another concept album, but this one has an overarching narrative. A plot arc, if you will. Like a Batman comic or... or... a 19th century Romantic song cycle like [Robert Schumann's] Dichterliebe.
"Recording wise, it's going to sound exactly like He Poos Clouds but with better microphones, better writing and we're using compressors to make it sound taut and clicky. No more weak, fey shit! Except the singing. That will always be tacky."
Pallett also disclosed some info to Pitchfork on his contributions to next Arcade Fire record, which even your mom is excited about. "I played on a bunch of songs with a string quartet... six? Seven? I don't remember. I also worked with Régine [Chassagne] on a couple of orchestral arrangements. It was fun! Régine is a genius!
"It was the first time I'd ever written orchestral arrangements for a pop album. It was a heavy task. I listened to a lot of Ravel and Rimsky-Korsakov, and looked at a lot of scores. And I had to convince Régine that trumpets and woodwinds were necessary... they were against the idea at first. But everything turned out great in the end." [MORE...]
Neko Case's "Austin City Limits" Set Coming to CD
Case schedules shows with Merle Haggard
Neko Case's debut performance on the PBS show "Austin City Limits"-- which New West Records recently released on DVD as Live From Austin, TX-- now has a CD release date. New West will put out the disc on January 9 with the same tracklist as the DVD, though Fox Confessor Brings the Flood fans should remember that the set is from August of 2003 and so doesn't include new album favorites like "Star Witness" or "Hold On, Hold On".Case has two Australian dates with the New Pornographers this month, and she'll return there for her own tour in January. She will follow those with a handful of U.S. dates, including four opening for country legend Merle Haggard. [MORE...]
MP3: Chris Walla "Dave Narcizo"
Solo album update: "Gibbard has threatened to 'hunt me down and stab me' if I don't finish"
Since we last checked in with Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, he's been busy, though not exactly with his eventually forthcoming solo record.
According to his website, he was asked to work on Tegan and Sara's next record, and his song "Radio" (originally recorded under his Martin Youth Auxiliary moniker) is featured on an Urban Outfitters compilation, the majority of the proceeds from which will go toward the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
But Walla also mentions that Warne Livesey may mix a portion of his record, which we had previously reported as being titled It's Unsustainable, though it all seems pretty up-in-the-air at this point. He writes, "The goal is to have the thing finished by the end of April and out by September or so. It's not a big deal; I just ran out of time. The studio completion and console installation have taken way longer than I anticipated. I still like the songs, and I still like the recordings I've got so far. Moreover, [Ben] Gibbard has threatened to 'hunt me down and stab me' if I don't finish, so I suppose I don't really have much choice. He's got a wicked letter opener, that one."
And millions of emo girls who'd love to see that letter opener, too. Huh huh.
Anyway, in the meantime, Walla is appeasing fans by posting "Dave Narcizo", a song that may or may not be featured on the album, considering it was recorded in 1997 and mixed in 2001. As one would expect from a song recorded onto a cassette deck, it's a decidedly lo-fi tune. It sounds like a tribute to 90s alternative rock, so the inspiration behind the song makes perfect sense. Walla does a pretty good job of explaining it himself, so we've posted his explanation of the song's origin in its entirety below. [MORE...]
David Thomas Broughton Preps Two Albums, Split 10"
He may write longer folk songs than any other songwriter in the genre that isn't Joanna Newsom, but that hasn't stopped David Thomas Broughton from writing a lot of them. Broughton's prolific songwriting will result in the releases of two new full-lengths and a split 10" in early 2007.
The first full-length is titled 5 Curses and is scheduled for a February release on Golden Lab Records in the UK, with Baked Goods distributing the record internationally. Contrary to its title, 5 Curses has six songs that together clock in at just over an hour.
The second LP is It's in There Somewhere, which Birdwar will release in March. Somewhere seems to be more of a traditional record for Broughton, with 13 songs in under 55 minutes. Birdwar will follow its release with a 10" split between Broughton and another UK songwriter, Benjamin Wetherill. The 10" will have four tracks, with each artist contributing one original and both of them covering one of each other's songs. Broughton plays his own "Sometimes" and Wetherill's "April 8th"; Wetherill plays his "We Made Plans to Strangle Your Lover" and Broughton's "One Day".
Broughton has one show scheduled for February 1 at the Luminaire in London. [MORE...]
José González Releases EP, Readies Album
Even while holed up in his home in Sweden working on a second solo album (due in 2007 via Mute in North America), José González manages to get things done. Like, way more things than anybody else accomplishes outside of the home, don't ask me how.
Today (December 12), a digital-only iTunes Live Session EP from José popped up on the iTunes store. The five-track recording features three songs from González's debut, Veneer, as well as B-side "Suggestions" and the previously unreleased (in the States) "Storm".
In addition, the artist recently received something of an indirect Grammy nomination under the category of Best Electronic/Dance Album for Zero 7's The Garden, with which he assisted. As previously reported, González is featured on four tracks, including a Zero 7 cover of his own "Crosses".
And speaking of award nominations, González is currently up for the best video of 2006 through MTV2's "Subterranean". (But who isn't?) Head here to vote.
In addition, González recently participated in a Beatles tribute alongside Razorlight's Johnny Borrell, Queen's Roger Taylor, and Corinne Bailey Rae in celebration of producer George Martin's induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame. The performance will air on VH1 in the U.S. in the near future.
González's side project, Gothenburg trio Junip, will release its Black Refuge EP digitally this month. The EP originally landed last year on the band's own Temeshet label.
A new single from the three-piece is slated for Temeshet in 2007. [MORE...]
Nine Inch Nails Announce DVD, Mammoth Tour
Nine Inch Nails are busy readying Beside You in Time, a 19-track DVD chronically their early 2006 With Teeth-supporting tour, and judging by the stunningly clear trailer on the band's website, it looks like the work is beautifully filmed.
Time will be released in three formats: standard, high-definition, and Blu-Ray, with the latter two featuring "true high definition video audio," according to the NIN MySpace. In addition, three cuts ("Eraser", "Right Where It Belongs", and "Beside You in Time") are viewable from alternate camera angles.
The DVD is due February 27 via Interscope in the U.S. (an international release will follow on an unconfirmed date), and, in addition to the aforementioned content, it includes a variety of bonus features: five songs ("Somewhat Damaged", "Closer", "Help Me I Am in Hell", "Non-Entity", and "Only") recorded during Nine Inch Nails' summer 2006 trek, music videos for "The Hand That Feeds" and "Only", rehearsal versions of "Love Is Not Enough", "The Collector", and "Every Day Is Exactly the Same" (all from 2005), and an image gallery.
Trent Reznor and co. are currently working on a new album, which is scheduled to hit shelves in spring of 2007. They will launch a lengthy European tour in February.
Finally, the band is up for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for "Every Day Is Exactly the Same". [MORE...]
The Stooges Give New LP Title, Release Date
Iggy Pop. Steve Albini. Kelly Clarkson buddy Mike Watt. Along with the other still-living Stooges (guitarist Ron Asheton, his brother and drummer Scott Asheton, and original saxophonist Steve Mackay), these are the elements of the Stooges reunion record that might just make it work. Among the elements that might be indications it will fail miserably: the album and song titles.
The album is called The Weirdness, and songs include "Trollin'", "Greedy Awful People", "Mexican Guy", "Claustrophobia", "I'm Fried", "ATM", "O Solo Mio", "She Took My Money", and "End of Christianity". Billboard.com also reported that the album has 16 songs, including "My Idea of Fun", "You Can't Have Friends", the title track, and "Free and Freaky", the latter of which features vocals from the Raconteurs' Brendan Benson.
The songs are culled from over 30 that the band wrote at a Florida cottage earlier in the year before rehearsing in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and, as previously reported, ultimately landing in Chicago to record at Electrical Audio with Albini in October. The album is now being mastered at Abbey Road Studios in the UK, and the band will follow its March 20 release on Virgin with a world tour.
Despite the largely bland or frustrating nature of reunions, we want to like The Weirdness, so we're biting our tongues and holding our breath. Bloody tongues, blue faces: we're in quite a bit of pain over this whole thing.
Clientele's MacLean Talks New Record, New Member
"It's a record that can laugh at itself."
"You should only make records if you've got something to say," remarked the Clientele's Alasdair MacLean in an interview with Pitchfork's Scott Plagenhoef that took place late last year. Lucky for us, MacLean and his bandmates still have plenty to say, and thus, God Save the Clientele, the band's third full-length proper, should be gracing audio-playing devices in April 2007.This time around, however, as MacLean told Pitchfork today, the Clientele have some slightly more positive things to say. "It's a lot more cheerful. It's a lot more of a happy record. It's an upbeat record, a fun record. Whereas the other records were very neurotic and depressed, I think."
Merge, the Clientele's longtime U.S. home, will deliver the new artifact, while the band haven't settled on a UK label. And although the tracklist has yet to be finalized, God Save the Clientele should include the telling "These Days Nothing But Sunshine", "Here Comes the Fountain", "Wench on Victoria Street", "The Dance After Hours", and "Bookshop Casanova"-- a disco number.
"There's a groovy, disco song, which still sounds like the Clientele," according to MacLean. "I said to the people at Merge, 'This is going to make us millionaires.' And they just laughed at me.
"But we'll have to wait and see." [MORE...]
Frank Black Preps "Winter" CD/DVD, Shares Videos
I'm dreaming of a Black Christmass, and it looks like my wish will come true just in time for the holidays. On December 18, Frank Black will release a limited edition CD/DVD by the, um, interesting title above.
Why the double-"s"? Black explained in a press release, "My father always encouraged me to one day put out a Christmas album, which I always found a bit strange, since he was a self-declared pagan. But, I guess by 'Christmas', he meant winter. And it always sort of bothered me that that extra 's' got dropped off of Christmas."
Yeah, we don't know what he's talking about either.
The UK release (no word on a U.S. version yet) will only be available by mail order through Cooking Vinyl, though it may be out in stores at some point in the future.
The album, produced Myles Mangino, features several live acoustic tracks recorded on Black's 2006 summer tour, as well as five studio cuts done in hotel rooms and Hartford, CT's Planet of Sound Studio.
A DVD including footage from one of the aforementioned summer shows will be packaged with the album, giving fans seven new songs altogether.
Videos for "Do What You Want Gyaneshwar" and "Don't Get Me Wrong" have popped up on YouTube and, according to the fansite FrankBlack.net, are reportedly slated for inclusion on the DVD.
Unfortunately, "Gyaneshwar" is extremely pixelated and blurry here, but we can tell you that it is fast-paced and family-oriented. "Don't Get Me Wrong" switches between high-contrast video of the Pixies frontman strumming his guitar (his head blends in with the white background, and it makes him look like an alien) and creepy clips of a shirtless, heavily eyeliner'd Black resting on what might be a silk teal pillow. Yikes.
Stars of the Lid Return With First LP in Six Years
Still not quite done with your Christmas/ Hanukkah/Kwanzaa shopping? Get with the times already, man! Today we're here to talk about the new cool thing, Easter gifts (in a theoretical, nondenominational, bunnies'n'eggs sense, so as not to exclude anyone). Number one on your Easter shopping list this year: a brand new, 2XCD/3XLP from Los Angeles/Brussels-based guitar duo Stars of the Lid, their first set of new material in over five years.
Because nothing quite lends majesty and intrigue to an egg hunt like a good multi-part ambient drone piece, Chicago's venerable Kranky Records will deliver the double-disc-- the label's milestone 100th release, catalogue number-wise-- on April 2, just a few days before the holy holiday. It's called Stars of the Lid and Their Refinement of the Decline, and follows up 2001's The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid, another two-disc affair.
Refinement's CD cover art will differ from the LP's, with both designed by band member Adam Wiltzie (that's the LP version above). It features a song called "December Hunting for Vegetarian Fuckface", which will surely incite excited chatter around the Easter dinner table.
Lid Stars Brian McBride and Wiltzie now live on separate continents and recorded the new disc in Los Angeles and Brussels. In further efforts to refine decline, they've spent the past five years or so concentrating on their respective side projects, Wiltzie's "The Dead Texan" and McBride's "Brian McBride".
Drone on, my brothers, drone on! [MORE...]
Julie Doiron Preps LP, Shares Paul Simon Cover
Some artists doesn't push the envelope-- instead they draft warm, simple, thoughtful letters, slip them in that envelope, seal it with a kiss, and send it to you on a rainy day. That's pretty much what Julie Doiron's been doing for years now on records that sound instantly comforting and familiar, like your favorite pair of mittens every time you bust them out for the first winter snow.
But enough with the precious metaphors! On to the hard-hitting news: on January 23, Ms. Doiron and Jagjaguwar Records sign, seal, and deliver Doiron's seventh and latest unpretentious full-length opus, Woke Myself Up.
Produced by Rick White-- who played with Doiron in Sub Pop-signed early-90s college rock favorites Eric's Trip-- the ten tracks on Doiron's Woke Myself Up buzz, hum, and murmur with the same timeless topical matter as those of many singers before her, no doubt-- love and regret and such-- but we can expect JD to tread these oft-trodden paths with a refreshingly warmth and clarity that have always been hallmarks of her work.
Bonus! Jagjaguwar have kindly shared an exclusive Doiron track with Pitchfork that won't appear on the new disc. Here she covers Paul Simon's "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard", foregoing the snap and zest of the original and slowing it down for a quiet, contemplative evening around the fire.
Doiron also has a quaint, charming, low-budget video for Woke Myself Up's closing track, "Me and My Friend", linked below.
This Saturday, December 9, Doiron will play with Jason Molina and Ghost Bees at St. Matthews United Church in Halifax, Nova Scotia. That same day, she'll also play at Halifax's Stage 9 with her band Shotgun and Jaybird. Shotgun and Jaybird will also perform on January 19 at the Stereophonic Festival in Sackville, New Brunswick. [MORE...]
Video: Benoît Pioulard: "Triggering Back"
Well, it's not the song we'd have chosen to make a video for. That would have been recent Infinite Mixtape entry "Palimend". And we probably wouldn't have portrayed ourselves as desolate, heavy-hearted, hopelessly romantic photographers, either. But we're not Benoît Pioulard (aka Thomas Meluch), so until we start making our own goddamn videos, we're sort of at this guy's mercy.
The clip isn't exactly bad-- I mean, we're no nature-haters or anything. Like the song itself, the video for "Triggering Back" (off Pioulard's recent Kranky debut, Précis) stirs up plenty of adjectives along the lines of "pretty," "dreamy" and "nice." Sadly, all of those are overridden by the word "corny."
In related news, Ghostly International plans to release the digital-only EP compilation New Faces, on December 26. It features a new cut from Pioulard, titled "Little a Strongly More Grow I", alongside contributions from JDSY, Wisp, the Reflecting Skin, and the incredibly named Manhunter. Those tracks are currently streaming here.
As for touring, Pioulard has a single show scheduled. It takes place tomorrow evening (December 8) with Chicago's own Califone at Ann Arbor, MI's University Club. Seriously, though, if you haven't checked "Palimend"-- come on, we're only giving it away!
Diplo Mastering M.I.A. LP2, Finishing Favela Film
M.I.A. in studio with Timbaland / in Liberia with former child soldiers
It's been a little while since we've heard from the Diplo/M.I.A. camp, but that doesn't mean they haven't been crazy busy. Today comes word via Diplo's website that the ace DJ/party-starter-- along with UK producer/remixer Switch, aka David Taylor-- is right now mastering M.I.A.'s second album, the follow-up to 2005's white-hot Arular.Details on the new disc remain scant, but we do know that M.I.A. shacked up in the studio at some point with everyone's favorite chaperone to the chorus, Timbaland. While it's unclear in what capacity he contributed, a video showing M.I.A. and Tim apparently selecting tracks for her new LP popped up on YouTube earlier this week-- and vanished before we had a chance to share it with you.
M.I.A. hasn't mentioned her dealings with Tim on her MySpace blog (yet), but she did post on December 3 about jetting "OFFFF TO LIBERIA. TO MEET X CHILD SOILDERS [sic]." She also shouted out Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl" and posted what appear to be lyrics to a new jam.
Wesley "Diplo" Pentz, meanwhile, also reports he's putting the finishing touches on Favela on Blast, a forthcoming film celebrating Rio de Janeiro's vibrant Funk Carioca culture that Dip executive produced, co-directed, and handled sound for (the flick shares its title with his 2004 baile funk mix). Joining Pentz, Funk Film's Leandro HBL handled direction, cinematography, and production for the doc, which should see release soon. Scope a blazin' trailer below and catch three more clips by clicking here.
Diplo has two newish tracks on his MySpace now, including a remix of M.I.A.'s "XR2"-- apparently from the insanely-anticipated Piracy Funds Terrorism sequel (out in 2010, his MySpace jokes-- at least we hope that's a joke!)-- and a mash-up of Lil Scrappy and Professor Longhair's "Big Chief" (which Lily Allen also used for "Knock 'Em Out") from the new Hollertronix 6 mix.
Finally, Diplo winds out the year with a few gigs, then heads off to Uruguay and preps for Oceania's Big Day Out festival. [MORE...]
Earth Rework Own Classics for Hibernaculam
Your neck feels sore already
Leading the pack of the UnGoogleables, Seattle psych-drone legends Earth return this spring with a brand new disc for Southern Lord, which has the Dylan Carlson-led crew re-addressing selections from its back catalogue and refitting them for the 21st century zeitgeist, whatever that may be.Tentatively slated for March release, Hibernaculam (spelling intentional, apparently) collects what a press release calls "stark and clean" new versions of "Ouroboros Is Broken" (featured on 1991's Extra-Capsular Extraction EP), "Coda Maestoso in F (Flat) Minor" (from 1996's Pentastar: In the Style of Demons), and "Miami Morning Coming Down" (from an old Touch compilation). Rounding out the four mega-song set is "A Plague of Angels", from this year's limited edition 12" split with Sunn O))).
Truly a 21st century artifact, Hibernaculam will come in stunning dual-disc format, with the flipside DVD containing a documentary on Earth filmed by prolific graphic designer Seldon Hunt, comprised of footage from the band's 2006 European tour with Sunn O))) and interviews with Carlson. \m/ [MORE...]
Wheat Return With Mini LP, Fourth Album
Taunton, Massachusetts' Wheat have returned from a three-year hiatus following 2003's Per Second, Per Second, Per Second... Every Second and their subsequent drop from Sony imprint Aware Records. Now they're a duo consisting of singer/guitarist Scott Levesque and drummer Brendan Harney, and they're getting back into action with two releases for their new label, Empyrean Records, scheduled for the coming months.The first is a mini-album titled That's Exactly What I Wanted...Exactly That, featuring five new songs, including "Little White Dove", a track from Wheat's upcoming full-length. Empyrean will release Exactly That exclusively online on December 15, and the label is also offering a limited edition package deal including the mini-album and a hand-numbered, silk-screened poster and a t-shirt, both designed by the band.
As for the full-length, it's titled Everyday I Said a Prayer for Kathy and Made a One Inch Square (brevity is apparently not part of Wheat's vocabulary) and scheduled for a March 6 release. Empyrean will follow the album deluxe re-issues of the band's first two albums, Medeiros and Hope and Adams.
Finally, at the carefully maintained fansite www.thiswheat.com, Wheat are allowing fans to download the original, "nude" versions of the songs on Per Second, which were recorded before the band signed with Aware/Sony. [MORE...]
Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys Readies Solo Disc
Dafydd Ieuan records with the Peth. Yes, that's a person's name.
Sometimes you want your music to go just a little bit bonkers, and that's why God put Super Furry Animals (Welsh name, roughly: "Ffllygddyll- ddylgldlydllggylldyld") on this Earth, as a foil to all those brooding post-punkers and too-serious emocore yelpers. The Furries' acting frontman Gruff Rhys (English pronunciation, roughly: "dances with pancakes") has a new solo disc on the way-- his second-- titled Candylion (Welsh: "Cyncncnnncnclyn").Rough Trade delivers dozen-song Candylion, which follows up 2005's all-Welsh set Yr Atal Genhedlaeth (pronounced: "ponies make me want to frolic hard"), on January 29 in the UK. A single for the title track is out now, and what's this? A delightful, low-budget video directed by Mark James that will get you in the mood for some intense craft-making? Believe it:
Gruff plays Esquel, Argentina's "Ysgol Gymraeg yr Andes (Capilla Seion)", whatever the hell that is, on December 9.
Another Furry is doing his thing as well: drummer/vocalist Dafydd Ieuan (pronounced "David Hasselhoff") presently plays with the Peth, who apparently have 20 members, some of them possibly other Furries. The Peth are, predictably, total nutcases. They have a pair of glam rock jams available for download now on their MySpace, links conveniently provided below. [MORE...]
Thrill Jockey Preps Arbouretum, Exploding Star Orch
After raking in four-and-a-half stars for the stellar track "Pale Rider Blues", Arbouretum will release their Thrill Jockey debut, Rites of Uncovering, scheduled to hit shelves on January 23.
Arbouretum main man Dave Heumann has lent a hand to people like Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Cass McCombs in the past, and the band's first album was released on Ned Oldham's Box Tree Records. On Rites of Uncovering, listeners can expect contributions from Walker David Teret, percussion from Lungfish's Mitchell Feldstein, and bass from Corey Allender (another Cass McCombs band member).
A lengthy Arbouretum tour will take place around the record's release, though dates have not yet been confirmed. They currently have three shows scheduled for this month.
In other Thrill Jockey news, the Rob Mazurek-fronted Exploding Star Orchestra have a disc slated for January 23. The large collective features, among others, Tortoise's Jeff Parker and John Herndon, Frequency's Nicole Mitchell, Vandermark 5's Jeb Bishop, Born Heller's Jason Ajemian, Isotope 217's Matt Lux, our very own Pitchfork Festival organizer Mike Reed, and Tortoise/the Sea and Cake's John McEntire, who recorded this album at Soma Studios.
The work, titled We Are All From Somewhere Else, is divided into three sections and, according to a Perry Farrell-rivaling album description on Thrill Jockey's website, it "corresponds to a story involving an exploding star, cosmic transformation, a sting ray, the travels of the sting ray, intelligent conversations with electric eels, the destructive power of humans, the death and ascension of sting ray, the transformation of sting ray ghost to flying bird, and the transformation of bird to phoenix to rocket to flying burning matter to a new-born star."
All right then.
Be sure to keep an eye out for additional upcoming Thrill Jockey releases, including Trans Am's previously reported Sex Change (due February 20), Bobby Conn's King for a Day (February 20), ADULT.'s Why Bother? (March 20), and the Zincs' Black Pompadour (March 20). [MORE...]
Of Montreal Share New MP3 Download, New EP Info
Band starts beef with Little Rock, Arkansas
In promoting their upcoming record, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, Of Montreal have embraced the Internet, first uploading individual tracks to their MySpace and later moving on to a full-blown LP stream on Polyvinyl's website. (Not to mention giving away the occasional album track as an mp3.) Kevin Barnes is such a 21st century boy.
But even internet marketing geniuses face day-to-day challenges offline. For instance, Barnes' wife, Nina, lost her hat in Little Rock, Arkansas, inspiring the new Of Montreal track, "Little Rock". What hardship! As previously reported, the song was released yesterday via Polyvinyl as a B-side on the limited edition (2000 copies on blue and yellow wax) seven inch for the Hissing Fauna number "She's a Rejecter".
"Little Rock" documents the incident ("Little Rock, I offered you my heart and you tried to steal Nina's hat. Little Rock, why'd you have to go and do something as stupid as that?") and Of Montreal's subsequent disdain for the location ("We're never coming back to your shitty little town") in a 58-second mostly-acoustic ditty.
Of Montreal without layers upon layers of instrumentation? Believe it, and download the track below. And get ready for the diss track by the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, hopefully coming to a mixtape near you soon.
Another release (even more limited at 500 copies), the "Faberge Falls for Shuggie" DJ edition black label 12", which boasts two cuts from the band's new record, also landed on Polyvinyl yesterday. But you already know that.
In other news, Of Montreal
have a new EP on its way January 23, titled Icons, Abstract Thee. Listeners can
preview its opening track, "Du Oh Meg", on the band's MySpace.
In addition to its inclusion on the Polyvinyl EP, the song will appear on side four of the double-vinyl version of Hissing Fauna alongside three other cuts also slated for Icons. The EP, however, features the exclusive track "Miss Blonde, Your Papa Is Failing", which will not be found elsewhere.
Those interested in pre-ordering the CD versions of both Hissing Fauna and Icons, Abstract Thee at once from Polyvinyl are eligible to receive a special package deal. We love deals!
And just to remind you, Of Montreal will launch a three-month-long North American tour this January. And out of all these dates, there is not one show scheduled in Little Rock. Walking the walk...we like that. [MORE...]
The Fall Reveal Reformation Post T.L.C. Tracklist
Since we last delivered news from the Fall, Mark E. Smith & co. have made a few minor adjustments on their forthcoming Narnack release, due March 13 of next year.
First of all, the album is
going by Reformation Post T.L.C. these days, not Reformation.
Track title "My Door" has lengthened as well; it is now "My Door
Is Always Open". Additional songs include "Insult Song", "Over! Over!", and "Systematic Abuse".
The record's front cover will feature a picture of the band from rock photographer Bob Gruen.
As previously reported, two Fall-related books are also set for stores in 2007. Smith's autobiography, Renegade: The Gospel According to Mark E. Smith, is due on April 26. The second, Perverted by Language, is a collection of short fiction inspired by the Fall's songs; it will hit shelves on June 28. [MORE...]
Low Unveil Drums and Guns Tracklist
Just yesterday, rather than keep it on the down low, we gave you the lowdown on the new disc from slowcore giants Low, newly titled Drums and Guns, set for a not-so-low-key March 20 release on Sub Pop. We also, quite clearly, exhausted our well of Low jokes.Today, we present the tracklist, reprinted below, featuring previously mentioned titles like "Pretty People", "Breaker", "Hatchet", "Violent Past", and a new version of the stunning "Murderer", originally released on low-run, super-limited edition vinyl. Not surprisingly, nothing's changed since yesterday: Dave Fridmann still produced, new bassist Matt Livingston still handled the low-end, and Low still take to the road tonight for a brief series of Christmas fundraisers. Take it from Lil Jon, and get Low this holiday season. [MORE...]
Rob Crow Preps Solo Disc, Fires Up "Robcore" Label
Having Pinned Back his Goblin Cock for now-- and ditching the Ladies this time around-- Rob Crow reemerges in raw solo guise on January 23 with the release of Living Well, via Temporary Residence.The disc has Crow cawing through fourteen tracks, including "Bam Bam", "Chucked", "Burns", and "I Hate You, Rob Crow". Living Well boasts two versions of said self-deprecating number, and hilariously, the "Single Version" is longer than the "Album Version". Stream the former by clicking the link below.
Headbangers might want to check their air guitar skillz at the door, however, as Living Well-- the follow-up to 2003's My Room Is a Mess (Absolutely Kosher)-- features "intensely personal lyrics which document Crow's courtship with his wife, their marriage, and the subsequent birth of their first child," according to a press release. If anybody can make such topics RAWK, however, it's daddy Crow.
Our chilled out patriarch will take to the road in support of the new album beginning in February, dates to be announced. But don't think for a second he'll be slowing down in the time before then-- instead, Crow, whose wristwatch must run at half-speed, is starting a record label.
Robcore, as he's lovingly titled it, delivers its inaugural release-- Wake Up Swimming by Other Men-- on March 20. Touch and Go will handle distribution for Robcore.
And finally, Crow's Pinback-- who have a new LP on the way in 2007-- contribute to the warmly-received O.C. Mix 6 with a cover of Black Flag's "Wasted", as previously reported. Word on the beach is it's pretty god-awful. [MORE...]
Blood Brother, Dälek, Braxton Remix Minus the Bear
Plus: Pretty Girl, Fog, Alias, P.O.S., Crystal Skull, IQU, Plan B (U.S.)
Wayyy back in July, when your skin was being scorched by the sun rather than frostbitten by the wind, we told you of a good Bear called Minus and a cadre of remixers set to re-envision that Bear's 2005 set Menos El Oso. With all those Bear bands bumming around of late, after all, a remix disc might be just the thing to lift Minus above Volcano, Grizzly, Huggy, and Panda on the hallowed last.fm charts.Well we're now quite pleased to share the complete tracklist and title for Interpretaciones Del Oso, due February 20 via longtime Bear den Suicide Squeeze. The disc once again features remix work from O, Hunter (aka Morgan Henderson of the Blood Brothers), the Oktopus (aka Dälek), Fog, Tyondai Braxton (also of Battles), J. Clark (aka Jay Clark of Pretty Girls Make Graves), Alias, P.O.S., Dark Baby (aka Yuuki Matthews of Squeeze labelmates Crystal Skulls), IQU, Michio (aka Monostereo), and Plan B (the Seattle dude, not the UK grimester).
Minus the Bear wrap up a UK tour tonight and tomorrow, and their clip for "Pachuca Sunrise" is in the running for video of the year on MTV 2's "Subterranean". Vote for it here. [MORE...]
Cornelius Schedules Sensuous Shows, Plans Release
Keigo Oyamada, aka Japanese electro/pop/noise auteur Cornelius, has scheduled a trio of dates in Australia in order to play songs from Sensuous, an album he released last month in Japan but which has yet to find a home anywhere else.Since Cornelius is no long on Matador, he is currently looking for a distribution partner with whom he can release Sensuous in the U.S., possibly with bonus tracks. He hopes to release the album around the end of April, though nothing concrete has been determined.
Cornelius' Australian dates begin December 6 in Sydney and end December 9 with an appearance at the Meredith Music Festival alongside Band of Horses, Tapes 'n' Tapes, and Girl Talk, among others. [MORE...]
Clap Your Hands Reveal New Album, Post MP3s
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have finally spoken. The Brooklyn/Philly five-piece has titled its forthcoming self-released record, which is due on January 30, though fans can download it from the band's website on January 16.
The album is titled Some Loud Thunder and is also set for a UK landing courtesy of Wichita and additional
distribution through V2.
The band has made two tracks available for download. "Love Song No. 7" is a long, languid piano ballad that sounds like Aerosmith's "Dream On"...if Aerosmith were intentionally creepy and liked accordions. "Underwater (You and Me)" shows off producer Dave Fridmann's signature majesty, with chiming bells and what sounds like pedal steel. Another track, "Satan Said Dance" is streaming on the Clap Your Hands MySpace right now, but we can't get it to work right now.
As previously reported, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah recently wrapped up a U.S. jaunt with Architecture in Helsinki and Takka Takka. The three groups' live tour EP, initially only sold on the road, can now be purchased online. Please note that the opener, "Some Loud Thunder", is also the title track on the new record.
Finally, we'd like to remind you that CYHSY will take on Europe alongside Cold War Kids and Elvis Perkins this February. Beforehand, however, they'll bring in the New Year at NYC's Hammerstein Ballroom. [MORE...]
Low Re-Title Album, Set Release Date
Drums and Guns due March 20 on Sub Pop
New name, same great taste! Low's forthcoming eighth album, coming out March 20 on Sub Pop, will not be titled The Violet Path, as Alan Sparhawk told us a month ago. Rather, it will be named Drums and Guns.
Given the new title, we assume that the album will retain the violent nature Sparhawk described to us. "Near as I can tell, it's all about killing," he said of the album. "I was kind of realizing the other day that a lot of the songs deal with either killing someone or dying. I don't know, it's kind of funny...maybe that's the big question. [We're] kind of living in a time when it's good to talk about killing and being killed."
Sparhawk also listed potential song titles as being "Murderer", "Breaker", "Violent Past", "Pretty People", and "Hatchet". At this time, the Drums and Guns tracklist has not been revealed. But we do know that it features bass playing by new bassist Matt Livingston, was produced by Dave Fridmann (who also helmed 2005's The Great Destroyer), and that "these songs feature new elements (looped vocals, drum machines, etc.)," according to Sub Pop's website.
Low have a handful of shows scheduled this week, as well as a few in the late winter and spring (including a stint at the Dirty Three-curated edition of All Tomorrow's Parties). The concerts this week are Christmas shows which will also double as fundraisers for the building of a school in Namuncha, Kenya, a project begun with money raised at last year's Low Christmas shows. For more information about the project, as well as photos from Sparhawk's trip to Kenya this summer, click here. [MORE...]
New Pornos Announce Limited Edition Live Album
New Pornographers fans-- get thee to Australia, stat! The band is selling a very limited edition (1000 copies) live album, creatively titled LIVE!, at their shows, as they have been since October.
The disc, a collection of tracks culled from the gang's September 2005-March 2006 tour, will also be on sale on the group's upcoming (and previously reported) jaunt through Australia and Japan. Fans outside these geographical regions can sign up for the New Pornographers' mailing list for information regarding LIVE!'s online sale (assuming it doesn't sell out on the road). [MORE...]
Ted Leo Reveals Touch and Go Debut Album Details
Also breaks up fight
Ted Leo + Pharmacists will be Living With the Living on March 20, as the gang has revealed that phrase as the title of their new album.
The band's 15-track Touch and Go debut was produced by Fugazi's Brendan Canty and was recorded at Massachusetts' Long View Farm Studios, as previously reported. Song titles include "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb", "Fourth World War", and "Army Bound" (which can be heard, in demo form, by clicking the link below). So yeah, it's safe to say that the record is politically charged, though reportedly not openly so.
Leo currently has three dates scheduled-- two December gigs in Seattle (one with Death Cab for Cutie, and one as part of KEXP's Yule Benefit), and, as previously reported, one March slot at San Francisco's Noise Pop festival. He + Pharmacists will hit the road again closer to Living With the Living's release.
The crew recently wrapped up a North American tour, some of it with Leo's brother Chris' group, Vague Angels. On November 24, the siblings and their respective bands stopped by Asheville's Grey Eagle, and, according to text and video accounts from Pitchfork reader Jason Martinez, things got a little rowdy.
"There was a guy in the front row that was 'on something' or really, really wasted," Martinez writes. "He was dancing really weird-like. At the encore he got up on stage and took hold of the microphone and started yelling at the crowd, calling them boring because they weren't dancing and going as crazy as he was. So some guys took him off the stage and then Ted Leo comes out and the video I have starts at this point."
Martinez's footage captures Leo performing an a cappella (like the original) cover of Billy Bragg's "Tender Comrade", half of "Dirty Old Town", and "Treble in Trouble". During the middle track, the aforementioned 'guy in the front row' starts a scuffle. Fortunately, Leo manages to break it up with some a little tambourine lovin'.
"Ted Leo is so Punk Rock!!!" Martinez commented.
Wilco, Yorke, Waits on Bridge School iTunes Comp
Also Bright Eyes, Lou Reed, R.E.M., Ryan Adams, Smashing Pumpkins
20 years ago, Neil Young's wife Pegi co-founded the Bridge School, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting individuals suffering from physical disabilities and speech impediments in achieving their maximum potential.
Each year since the Bridge School's
inception, Neil has organized annual Bridge School benefit concerts, calling in
acts like himself, Billy Idol, Bright Eyes, Emmylou Harris, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Ryan Adams, Smashing Pumpkins, Tegan and
Sara, Thom Yorke, Metallica, Tom Waits, Wilco, Willie Nelson, and more to help raise
money for the foundation. Looks like he found that heart of gold, eh? (Ba dum dum.)
Now, the Bridge School has released a hefty iTunes benefit compilation of recordings from those concerts. The collection features 80 tracks, including several culled from 1997's Reprise release The Bridge School Concerts, Volume 1 (Live).
You can purchase the album as a whole or as individual tracks but either way, proceeds go directly to the Bridge School.
Highlights include Thom Yorke covering Young's "After the Gold Rush" and playing Radiohead's "Street Spirit" solo, the Wilco live rarity "Bob Dylan's 49th Beard", Smashing Pumpkins' "To Sheila", Tom Waits' "Innocent When You Dream", Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" and "Vicious", and more.
iTunes users can download the record here.
Mike Ladd Prepares Performances, Fifth LP
Though MC, producer, poet, and Paris resident Mike Ladd is working on his currently untitled fifth solo album, the third in his Big Dada Infesticons/Majesticons trilogy (this one will go under the name "The Domesticons"), his first priority at the moment is his art. Performance art, that is.Ladd will perform as part of Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival at the BAM Harvey Theater from December 6-10. The piece he will perform is the previously reported "Still Life With Commentator: An Oratorio", a collaboration with composer and pianist Vijay Iyer (who, in the past, has worked with dead prez, DJ Spooky, and Amiri Baraka) and theater director Ibrahim Quraishi.
These performances will be the New York debut of "Still Life With Commentator", which is "an evening of propulsive music, spoken texts, digital interactivity, and movement performed by an eight-member ensemble of musicians and actors [and] a darkly lyrical and sometimes comic portrayal of our media-filtered encounters with war and atrocity, with songs such as 'Jon Stewart on Crossfire' and 'Blog Mom's Anthem'," according to a press release. [MORE...]
John Darnielle, El-P Guest on Aesop Rock LP
Also, mystery project sort of maybe kinda announced
When we saw chief Mountain Goat John Darnielle rapping along to Aesop Rock's lyrics at the Def Jux MC's Pitchfork Music Festival set, we were rather pleased. However, we were still a little surprised to find out that Darnielle will appear on Aesop's new album, which the rapper described as having "a more diverse sound throughout the record than anything I've done" and lyrically is "all stories in one way or another," in a recent update on his MySpace blog. He has titled the album None Shall Pass and says it is scheduled for a release on Def Jux "sometime in the first half of 07."
None Shall Pass will feature production from Blockhead (seven tracks), Aesop himself (five tracks), El-P, and Rob Sonic (one track apiece). DJ Big Wiz adds "scratches and turntable trickery" to every song "(some a lot some a little, but every one)," and "other voices you will hear on the record in one form or another and some more than once (be it in verse, talking, singing, yodeling, ad-libbing, chorus-ing, etc.) include: El-P, Cage, Camutao, Breeze Brewin, Rob Sonic, John Darnielle."
One of these things is not like the other / One of these things just doesn't belong...
Aesop added, "Most of [the album] is recorded, though a few [tracks] are still a bit in 'demo' form and need some fine tuning and re-kicking. All of this is with the exception of this me-and-El joint, which I'm currently writing. I had to wait 'til he was done with his [album]. I ghost wrote all his shit for it. No I'm kidding. I didn't do that. Combine all that with whatever last minute song(s) I write that I deem a necessity for the record (which usually somehow happens starting the day after you should have stopped working)... Mixing in Jan. or Feb. probably." [MORE...]
Robert Pollard Plans Seven Albums, New Label
Also, he's calling off touring for a while
When Robert Pollard tore his calf muscle earlier this month, he was forced to cancel three East Coast dates. Bummer, right? But holy overcompensation, now the Guided by Voices ex has announced, in an interview with Billboard.com, that he has not one, not two, not three, four, five, or six, but seven new albums on his plate.
Sheesh! Not that this guy has ever tended towards restraint, but this seems a bit excessive even for him.
He'll have a lot of time on his hands, as he's saying goodbye to the touring life, at least for now, Billboard reports. "It's too hard to psychologically re-energize yourself each night," he told the website, partially attributing the decision to a lack of audience turnout. "With Guided by Voices, it didn't matter what day it was. What I'm doing now, in my opinion, is not only the same thing, I think it's a step up, even. But you get tired of beating your head against the wall."
So instead of playing not-exactly-packed clubs, Pollard is devoting himself to the preparation of new material. He has wrapped up work on his latest Merge album, Silverfish Trivia, Billboard reports, and plans to release it in the fall of 2007. Tracks include the "string instrumentals" "Come Outside" and "Speak in Many Colors", as well as the "prog-like" "Circle Saw Boys Club" and the wtf?-inducing "Coast to Coast Carpet of Love".
Merge has not confirmed this release yet, however.
Billboard says that Pollard has also teamed with Todd Tobias again under the Circus Devils moniker for a double-disc record titled Sgt. Disco, which is currently label-less. Another record from the Takeovers (Pollard with former GBV bassist Chris Slusarenko), called Bad Football, is due in the spring.
And speaking of spring, come March, Pollard's Fading Captain Series will have officially faded, as Billboard reports that he plans to shutter the label. He'll say goodbye with a 50(!)-track best-of collection titled Crickets, which will feature several previously unreleased numbers. Fading Captain will be replaced by a new label named-- I kid you not-- Record Company Records. [MORE...]
Hella Travel to Outer Space on New LP
Sacramento noise duo Hella have called it quits. In their place is "a new, bombastic five-piece Hella," according to a press release.
As previously reported, bassist Carson McWhirter, guitarist Josh Hill (drummer Zach Hill's cousin), and a Nevada City, California singer/former butcher named Aaron Ross join Zach and guitarist Spencer Seim for the band's January 30 Ipecac debut, There's No 666 in Outer Space.
Four of the first five tracks on the album (all except "Let Your Heavies Out") were written with a Seim-Hill-Hill-McWhirter band that dissolved when they were unable to find a satisfactory singer. Once Ross was found, Seim and Zach Hill decided to reform the old group and "update the songs we wrote a while ago... It came together really smoothly. I think that we all play super well together-- it was meant to happen. I just think it took a few years for everybody to be in the right head space to do it," says Seim.
Zach says, "We're all under the impression that [the current lineup] will be playing with us for a long time. This is basically 'our band' now," and they plan to prove themselves while touring in support of the new record for most of 2007. [MORE...]
Silkworm to Release Final Recordings
Nearly a year and a half after the tragic death of Silkworm drummer Michael Dahlquist, his bandmates will release the collective's last-ever material, a six-track EP by the name of Chokes.
The basic instrumentals for the first four songs, recorded last year with Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio studios in Chicago, were tracked just a few weeks ahead of the automobile accident that killed Dahlquist, along with John Glick of the Returnables and Douglas Meis of the Dials. One of those tracks, "Bar Ice", can be downloaded below.
Track five, "Wrote a Song for Everyone", first appeared during Silkworm's Lifestyle sessions, but failed to grab a slot on the album. Matt Kadane of the New Year added electrical piano to the cut, but otherwise, it was left unchanged from its original form.
The final number is a live cover of Bob Dylan's "Spanish Harlem" performed by the Crust Brothers (Silkworm joined by Stephen Malkmus) at Seattle's Crocodile Cafe on December 31, 2000. Silkworm bassist/vocalist Tim Midgett said of the selection, "That song was handpicked by him [Michael] as his set piece for that show, and somehow that song defines him almost completely in my mind. It's a wonderful performance, and I am reminded every time I hear it of how profoundly and deeply I loved Michael."
The disc is due December 6 via 12XU Records. [MORE...]
Panda Bear Talks Animal Collective, Solo Work
2007: When Animals Attack!
Like the endangered species from which he gets his name, Noah "Panda Bear" Lennox, does not hibernate. He's too busy chewing the bamboo shoots of musical creativity. (Terrible analogy. Just terrible. I'm sorry. I'll stop now.)
Although he and his band Animal Collective have laid relatively low in 2006, touring a bit and releasing just a smattering of tracks and a reissue, 2007 looks to be a blockbuster year for Lennox. In a recent interview, he updated Pitchfork on the status of Animal Collective's next album, the Animal Collective live box set, his own solo album, and many, many other projects.
Animal Collective's year will start off with the January 23 FatCat worldwide release of the People EP, previously available only on the band's just-wrapped Australian tour. As previously reported, it features the tracks "People", "Tikwid", "My Favorite Colors", and "People (live)".
Also in January, the band will begin recording the follow-up to 2005's Feels, at a studio in Tucson, Arizona. Lennox said that they hope to release the album in the fall, "but I couldn't say for sure." Although reluctant to reveal any potential song or album titles ("I have a feeling the other AC boys would be mad if I told you, just because we like to have the thing be new and fresh for everyone if we can"), he did say that "there will be some songs on the album that we've never played live. We wrote them and prepped them but consciously avoided playing them live so that they would be totally new for everyone on the album." Brief tours of America and Europe are in the works for the spring of 2007.
And speaking of Animal Collective in concert, Lennox offered an update about the AC live box set: "I'm really psyched about it and I guess I can speak for all of us in that respect," he said. "I don't know exactly when it will be released, as we're all being kind of relaxed about that part of it. I guess we feel like the Hollinndagain reissue just came out so it's no rush for us to get out another live recording type thing. But I imagine it will be done and out in the spring of next year, like May or something.
"It's going to be three LPs worth of jams: one side of our first New York shows and stuff from around the Danse Manatee time, one side of acoustic jams (including some recordings from home-- most of us used to live together and we would play quite a bit just around the house after work and on the weekends), one side from around the Here Comes the Indian time, one side of solo jams (I think this is mostly from shows that just Davey [Portner, aka Avey Tare] or I did), one side of what we called "The Pumpkin Trilogy" which is a three-part jam from around the time between Danse Manatee and Here Comes the Indian (same time as the Hollinndagain tour), and one side of live Sung Tongs." Whew!
Animal Collective are also working on a film project with director Danny Perez, the friend behind their "Who Could Win a Rabbit" video. Will it be Animal Collective's Purple Rain? Or their Glitter? We'll find out soon...
"We worked together for a while coming up with the scenes and parts and that sort of thing," Lennox said. "Then this past September we started filming it. Sometime in the next four months or so, after Danny's done editing all the footage, the AC will make the music for it." [MORE...]
Babyshambles to Release Capitol Debut EP
Well whaddaya know? A Babyshambles story free of arrests, heroin, and Kate Moss: On December 5, the Pete Doherty-fronted group will make its Capitol Records debut with The Blinding EP, a five-song disc recorded at London's Turnmills Studios this summer. It will first land in the UK on December 4 via Regal.
Director
Julien Temple (the Sex Pistols' Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle and The Filth and the Fury) has already created a video for the disc's title track,
and "The Blinding" is right-- this crowded creation is
packed with blinking white lights loud enough to bring out the
epileptic in all of us. If you're into stabbings, paintings, skulls,
and headaches, this one's for you.
The Babyshambles-produced EP will be supported by the band on a European tour that's already underway and scheduled to run through early January. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Lifetime Reveal New Album Tracklisting
Tailing the release of Lifetime's Two Songs 7" is a pool of long-awaited information surrounding their upcoming LP, the band's first full length since its 1997 release, Jersey's Best Dancers.
The self-titled reunion album is due February 27 on Decaydance (Fall Out Boy's label)/Fueled by Ramen. It was produced by Steve Evetts, who you'll notice holds the same credit all across Lifetime's back catalog.
Visit the group's PureVolume page to stream "All Night Long" and "Haircuts and T-Shirts", both of which were featured on the aforementioned 7" and are slated for inclusion on Lifetime.
Lifetime have a single show on the agenda. It's scheduled for December 27 at New Jersey's Starland Ballroom alongside Thursday and From Autumn to Ashes, but fans can expect additional tour dates in 2007. [MORE...]
M83, Xiu Xiu, Amy Millan, Beach House on Montag LP
Montag wants YOU to help record his album
French-Canadian electronic artist Montag gave his last album the ambiguous title Alone, Not Alone, but we reckon he's very much the latter these days, having enlisted a small festival's worth of A-list indie acts to guest on the forthcoming follow-up, Going Places.Montag hasn't quite finished the disc yet, but hopes to release it in June of next year via Carpark Records, who also delivered Alone. Among the contributors set to go Places: Stars' Amy Millan (who appeared on Alone as well), M83, Ghislain Poirier, Victoria Legrand of Carpark labelmates Beach House, New York synth-pop trio Au Revoir Simone, Vancouver-based folk singer Leah Abramson, and Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart-- with whom Montag (real name Antoine Bédard) duets.
"It only gets weird," wrote Bédard in an e-mail to Pitchfork, "when I sing a duet with Jamie...just because men on men duets make people feel awkward, I think. I love them. We need more men on men duets. I'm really happy with that song."
Bédard goes on to describe the overall sound of Going Places as "happy and fun", despite including "a few songs directly inspired by dead people I met in my dreams." [MORE...]
TV Personalities Cover Killers, Remixed by Black Dice
Sweep Daytime Emmys
Some things just make you feel good all over. Like when a group of bands get together to play music and raise money for an idol who's fallen on hard times. Flashback to July 30, 2004, when New York City's Baskervilles and several area acts they'd recruited-- including My Favorite and Burnside Project-- are doing just that at NYC's Sin-é, paying tribute to Dan Treacy of Television Personalities, who found himself penniless after being released the month before following a term on a prison boat.
Together, the acts raised over $1,000, which Treacy used to record a bunch of songs set to appear on the forthcoming Are We Nearly There Yet?, a collection of semi-new TVPs material slated for U.S. release on February 20, 2007 via Overground Records. Treacy recorded these 13 tracks-- including covers of Bruce Springsteen's "If I Should Fall Behind" and the Killers' "Mr. Brightside"-- with producer Simon Trought at London's Soup Studios. He subsequently recorded My Dark Places at Soup, which saw release earlier this year via Domino.
"I'm as proud and disappointed of this CD as anything I've ever done," wrote the ever-amusing Treacy in a press release. Seems the man hasn't rested since resurfacing, and according to his ever-amusing blog, he's already writing songs for the next TVPs album.
February 20 will also see the release of a four-song Television Personalities EP collecting remixes of tunes from All My Dark Places. Domino will deliver the affair, and remixers include Black Dice, E*Vax of Ratatat, I Will (aka Ian Williams of Battles), and Brooklyn duo LingLing. That same disc arrives January 29 in the UK.
Catch Treacy live this winter as Television Personalities play two London dates. [MORE...]
Six Parts Seven Unveil Album, Share Exclusive MP3
Hear "Night Behind the Stars" here
It's as if Six Parts Seven withdrew completely from the music scene for a couple of years just so we could make a "lost notes from forgotten bands" joke upon their return. Success!
The Kent, Ohio collective recently hammered out its latest LP, Casually Smashed to Pieces, which is slated for a January 23 release via Suicide Squeeze on both CD and limited edition 12" formats. The album was recorded at Seattle's Studio Litho and Akron's Ice House, and produced by Six Parts Seven and Matt Bayles.
The label has honored the new with the old in the form of a free download-only EP, Six Parts Seven MP3EP. We recommend you click it, as those sneaky Squeezers squeezed in two Pieces songs in between the collection's otherwise previously released tracklist. And nothing's more satisfying than hearing something first and then bragging about it right off the bat, amirite?
You don't have to stop spinning new songs there. Six Parts Seven were kind enough to share another fresh number, "Night Behind the Stars", with us. The glistening instrumental, available exclusively below, lasts for a mere minute and fifteen seconds, and its title certainly captures its lullaby-esque nature. [MORE...]
Mark Kozelek Readies Live LP, Sun Kil Moon Reissue
As of late, Mark Kozelek's
been busy pa-rup-a-pum-pummin' up Little Drummer Boy Live, a two-disc, you guessed it, live compilation. But not, as you may have guessed, another one of those gawdurn holiday albums. Instead, the album collects 20 classic Kozelek originals and covers recorded during a series of recent European and North American shows, and arrives November 28 via his own Caldo Verde label.In addition to Mark's take on Xmas standard "Little Drummer Boy", the material spans the Red House Painters/Sun Kil Moon star's mammoth catalogue, including two previously unreleased numbers, "Moorestown" and "Unlit Hallway". Several Little Drummer Boy selections feature Phil Carney as well, also of RHP and SKM, who appeared alongside Kozelek on many of these tour dates. Those of you who choose to purchase the tunes direct from Caldo Verde will be eligible to win one helluva Yuletide present: a 12-string Takamine guitar, played by Kozelek himself from late 2003 through early 2005.
Meanwhile, on February 6, 2007, Caldo Verde will reissue Sun Kil Moon's Ghosts of the Great Highway-- in honor of the record's three-year anniversary (oh boy). The new edition of the record comes with re-worked packaging and a six-song bonus disc. Extra tunes include two covers of Leonard Bernstein's "Somewhere", alternative and acoustic takes, a radio recording of "Gentle Moon", and the previously unreleased "Arrival", which Mark originally put together for the The Girl Next Door soundtrack.
And as previously reported, former Low bassist Zak Sally will put out Nights of Passed Over, a collection of lyrics and other items of interest from Kozelek, on Sally's La Mano 21 publishing imprint. The work, previously released only in Portugal, has been given a makeover since its debut-- a new introduction, the lyrics to Ghosts of the Great Highway, more hand-written lyrics, and several setlists-- and will finally see a North American release in early 2007. Scoop it up then via Caldo Verde, as well as La Mano 21's distributors and Sub Pop. [MORE...]
Exclusive Video: Les Savy Fav Interviews Les Savy Fav
As previously reported, the legendary Les Savy Fav have-- after nearly two years-- finally returned from a hiatus that at one point seemed possibly indefinite. After all, when announcing their plans in mid-December 2004 to take a long break from touring and recording, it had already been more than three years since the band's last proper studio album, 2001's Go Forth. In addition, band members were getting married all over the place, frontman Tim Harrington had started a new business (the home and apparel crossover line Deadly Squire) with his wife Anna, drummer Harrison Haynes had moved to North Carolina to open Branch Gallery, and bassist Syd Butler was preoccupied with the day-to-day operations of his record label, Frenchkiss.
Indeed, Les Savy Fav seemed to be locking up for good, even clearing out their vaults with the seven-inch compilation Inches, and piecing together an album of quieter material (the ill-fated Rabbit Trancing) from old studio tapes. As the new year approached, the four-piece separated, focused on their respective businesses and home lives, and finally, had babies. This year marked two new additions to the extended Savy fam, as Harrington and Butler both celebrated the births of their first children.
Of course, in the words of Joni Mitchell, you don't know what you got ('til it's gone), and by the summer of 2005, the Fav was hinting at plans to regroup. Then came a handful of sporadic tour dates, the long-awaited reissue of their then-out-of-print 1997 debut 3/5, and finally, the official announcement: In July, Butler revealed to Pitchfork that Les Savy Fav had booked time at NYC's Gigantic Studios to record another album-- their first to consist entirely of new material in more than five (!) years.
Now refreshed and re-inspired, the band is hard at work setting the night to music: Tentatively slated for a March release, the as-yet-untitled new full-length is quickly coming together. And today, as proof, the band gifted Pitchfork with exclusive video footage of their own in-studio self-interview as a public document of just what, exactly, they're doing with all that precious studio time. So, without further ado, Pitchfork proudly presents:
In the Studio: Les Savy Fav Interviews Les Savy Fav
Not enough? Alright, you greedy fux0rz. The band also sent this footage of a live performance earlier this month at NYU. No, it's not a new song. But it is one of their finest:
Les Savy Fav: "The Sweat Descends" (Live at NYU)
And with that, Pitchfork now happily rests for the popular U.S. holiday Thanksgiving. Daily content will resume Monday. Go eat some turkeys, you maniacs!
Dismemberment Plan Members Form New Band
Travis Morrison recording
If any band's drummer could be a rocket scientist, it's the (now-extinct) Dismemberment Plan's Joe Easley. So we were thrilled and only a little surprised to find out that Easley is in his final year of study in the University of Maryland's Aerospace Engineering program. We were even more thrilled to find this out from the MySpace blog of Easley's new band with D-Plan bassist Eric Axelson (who now teaches 11th grade English) and D.C. songwriter/guitarist Clark Sabine: Statehood.
The band used to be called Disconnect and was just the vehicle for Sabine's songs until Easley and Axelson hopped aboard and they became Statehood. Now, they have four demos available for download from their MySpace page (and one more at their website, from when the project was just Sabine solo).
They began recording with Dismemberment Plan guitarist Jason Caddell recently, though things are slow-going considering the band members' other commitments. "Hopefully around the holidays we'll find more time. Not sure where this recording is going yet, but we'll put some tracks up when they're done," they write.
Statehood have, however, found time in their schedules to play a show at Washington, D.C.'s Black Cat with the Hold Steady this Saturday, November 25.
Caddell has been busy recording his old bandmates, as he recently produced some tracks at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studio in Chicago for Travis Morrison's upcoming album. Morrison writes on his website, "We aren't done, but we're really far along and we should have everything ready for a spring release."
Morrison is also getting into the holiday spirit. He writes, "I want to organize something that sends people out on Saturday morning to sing to bedridden old folks. Spirituals and all. It kills them that they can't go to church. It's a long-term project, but for starters, I just want to get a bunch of DC rock and rollers to form a carol group for this winter. That'll get the ball rolling socially and all. I need an unfuckwitable inner core of good singers and sight readers: then an outer bunch of people who either have great ears or can read fluently; then the outer ring can accommodate any old freak who likes 'O Tannenbaum'. Dudes with very low or very high voices get extra points but there's room for anyone. If you're interested, drop me a line."
Aereogramme Prep New LP; Share Exclusive MP3
The last release from Glasgow's Aereogramme was an In the Fishtank collaboration with intelli-metal gods Isis. And their new album is titled after a quote from The Exorcist (the book).
So should we expect something nice n' scary from the LP, titled My Heart Has a Wish That You Would Not Go, and due in North America on February 6, 2007 via Sonic Unyon Records (and on Chemikal Underground in the UK)?
Well, no.
From the sound of "Barriers", the album's first single (available for exclusive download below) REMOVED, it seems Aereogramme are headed into dangerous Coldplay/Snow Patrol waters. It's a sprawling legato, lushly orchestrated and romantic, without a hint of menace.
"Barriers" (with B-side "Dissolve") is slated for a UK-only release. A video for "Barriers" is in the works from animator Huge Cuellar.
UPDATE: "Barriers" has been replaced by "Nightmares" at the request of Chemikal Underground. It's a bombastic creeper, pushing forward on a sludgy underbelly and spiky, gothic strings. Now that's what I'm talking about!
Aereogramme's third full length was produced by the band and Martin Doherty. It was recorded at Glasgow's 4th Street Studios.
A North American tour, Aereogramme's first in four years, is in the works for Spring 2007. But first they'll hit the UK and Europe. [MORE...]
Dreamies Return; Download Exclusive MP3
Following a 30-year Dreamies drought, Bill Holt is back on track with another record, and this time, we're getting more than a special edition reissue. This is new material, much of which focuses on the War on Terror.
The Donald Hertz-produced album, titled Program Twelve (The End Is Near), comes out tomorrow (November 21) via Wilmington Studios. Song titles include "Times Square (The End Is Near)", "Are You a Friend?", and our personal favorite, "Move Your Zucchini".
Expect to hear samples from the Michael Radford film adaptation of George Orwell's 1984, Neil Young, John Ford's Mogambo, Paul Sekler's The Battle of Little Bighorn, and more. Oh, and Nelly...who is featured alongside fireworks, Yankee Doodle, gunfire, and Holt's raspy drawl on track eight, "Anarchy", available for exclusive download below. [MORE...]
Dean Wareham Talks Dean & Britta Album, Galaxie 500
"My son said it's the worst band name ever."
Now that we've had some time to let the polite disbandment of polite rock favorites Luna wash over-- and now that the last few hangers-on are finally coming to terms with a life in a Luna-less world-- the beloved band's Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips have reemerged with some new musical offerings.
Come February 27 the pair will deliver its second full-length set of honey-sweet duo work, following up 2003's L'Avventura and the recent Words You Used to Say EP, under the revised moniker Dean & Britta. Zoë/Rounder have signed on to share Dean & Britta's Back Numbers, an 11-song, Tony Visconti-produced (David Bowie, Morrissey) affair mixing originals and some eclectic covers-- including Donovan's "Teen Angel" and Lee Hazlewood's "You Turned My Head Around". As Wareham told Pitchfork in a recent interview, the adjusted band name boils down to simple record-shopping practicality.
"For the last record," explained Dean, "it was Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham. The main problem we ran into with that [is] it was difficult to alphabetize that and our last record got put under 'Phillips', so people who were going to look for the record just didn't know where to look." And the order of names? "I think 'Dean & Britta' rolls off the tongue better."
Fair enough-- although not everybody's feeling it. "My son [Jack] said it's the worst band name ever.
"He's seven," said Wareham with a laugh. "What does he know?" [MORE...]
Explosions in the Sky Miss Everyone, Share Stream
Four Tet, Jesu, Paper Chase, Eluvium, Adem, Mountains, your mom remix new disc
What's that up above? Bird? Plane? Superman? Ever better: It's po-ro torchbearers Explosions in the Sky, setting the heavens aflame with their scintillating, pedal-punched, drama-drenched instrumentals. The Austin four-piece return early next year with their first proper LP in nearly four years, the Temporary Residence-stamped All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, which crash-lands February 20. If that isn't pretty much the most emo album title ever, I'll eat my own broken heart.
I Miss Everyone showcases six soaring post-rock anthems, including 13+ minute epic "It's Natural to Be Afraid", all recorded by the pAper chAse's John Congleton at Pachyderm Studio in the boonies of Minnesota. Click the link below for an exclusive stream of the record's second track, the inspired "Welcome, Ghosts".
And if that weren't enough to write home about, how's this: limited edition, deluxe versions of I Miss Everyone come packaged with a second, album-length bonus disc collecting six remixes-- one of each track-- by several of thee kewlest peeps in the game: Four Tet, Jesu, Eluvium, Adem, Mountains, and even Congleton's own Paper Chase.
Explosions celebrate the birth of their latest opus with two special New York gigs in February and a few scattered dates thereafter, with more tour destinations to follow. If you'd rather experience the band's magic from the comfort of your easy chair, however, tune in to "Friday Night Lights", the NBC football drama series inspired by the Explosions-scored film, which sets gridiron grind against some choice EitS slow-burners. [MORE...]
D.C. techno/prog-rockers Trans Am will return February 20 with their eighth full-length, titled Sex Change and due out on Thrill Jockey.
To record the album, the band left their usual instruments at home and headed for Auckland, New Zealand, where bassist/vocalist Nathan Means had been living since the release of 2004's Liberation. They borrowed instruments and headed to the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand, aka MAINZ, an Auckland recording school where a professor and one of the school's students recorded the band.
According to a press release, "the MAINZ session...was threatened when photos of the band drinking beer in the on-campus studio were discovered by the administration. Future drinking occurred off campus."
Their approach to recording stayed irreverent (and awesome), however, as they then moved to Oneida's Brooklyn studio and employed "a codified series of recording techniques called 'Obscene Strategies'." Taking their cues from Brian Eno's "Oblique Strategies", a deck of cards with appropriately oblique "solutions" to recording problems printed on them, the "Obscene Strategies" were used to "loosen creative blockages" and included the following suggestions:
#11 Take a nap
#16 Make it sound like Jackson Browne
#18 Rip off black musicians
#19 Invite all your friends over
#20 Check your email
#23 Leave the studio unlocked overnight
#31 Hose down the control room
#43 Pillow fight! [MORE...]
Rufus Wainwright Talks Christmas Show, New Album
"The Wainwright Family & Friends Christmas" to feature Lou Reed, Antony, David Byrne, more
When it comes to Christmas extravaganzas in New York City, you'd be hard pressed to match the fabulousness of the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. But Rufus Wainwright is going to try. On December 13 at Carnegie Hall, Rufus and his sister Martha will host "The Wainwright Family & Friends Christmas", a concert "celebrat[ing] the spirit of the holidays and family camaraderie" according to a press release. It's the sequel to last winter's "The McGarrigle Christmas Hour", hosted by the Wainwright siblings along with their mother Kate McGarrigle and aunt Anna McGarrigle.
"It's an off-the-cuff evening of friends and family kind of popping on and off stage as if the stage was our living room," Rufus said in an interview with Pitchfork late last week. "There will be many amazing guests like Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Antony, David Byrne, Linda Thompson, and Teddy Thompson. Sort of an old fashion Christmas sing-along, but with, you know, Carnegie Hall."
"I like the idea of people singing to each other in the privacy of their homes. I think it should happen more often. So that's what I want to recreate...We are all going to be up there pretending to be WASPs, having eggnog. Maybe we will get a black lab on stage or something. Or a golden retriever."
Will they be wearing ugly Christmas sweaters? "Perhaps. Either that or a loud tie. A tie that you never wear that your aunt gave you." [MORE...]
Summer Hymns Don Backward Masks
Just in time for the sunny summer months to hit...er, Australia, Athens' atmospheric folk-rockers Summer Hymns have returned with another round of thoughtful balladry. The brainchild of one Zachary Gresham (formerly of Tooth & Nail act Joe Christmas), the Hymns have repped for Misra Records since the 2000 release of their debut, Voice, Brother and Sister, and the respected Austin label will also deliver their latest, Backward Masks, on November 22.Originally given the title Preliminary Blues, Backward Masks collects 12 new recordings put together by Gresham and fellow core Hymn-slingers Philip Brown-- who also plays with Elephant 6 offshoot the Gerbils-- and Chris Riser (ex-Whiskeytown). The new set follows up 2004 rarities collection Fools Gold and 2003 LP Clemency.
The band recorded much of Backward Masks at its own Illuminati Audio studio, which Gresham and Riser recently opened just outside Athens in Lexington, Georgia. If you're in a nearby band and seeking a place to lay down hot traxx, the place would love to have you. [MORE...]
LCD Soundsystem Gives New LP Title, Release Date
Sound of Silver due March 20
Not content just to work on commission for the benefit of our health, James Murphy has staged the full-on return of his LCD Soundsystem moniker with the release of his second full-length, out March 20 on DFA/Capitol Records. The album is titled Sound of Silver, and, as previously reported, Murphy will tour Europe in March in support of it.
Oh, and in case you missed it, check out the new DFA signing Prinzhorn Dance School, who we wrote about like two hours ago. [MORE...]
Lansing-Dreiden Revisit Dividing Island with Dazzle D
Lansing-Dreiden's
MMVI incarnation has recruited producer Dazzle D to readdress
its The Dividing Island,
released by Kemado in May. The concept multimedia troupe
will self-release Dazzle's Island adventure, coined D.I. by D.D.,
on November 20. D.D. developed roughly 30 new beats for L-D, the best of which made their way onto the CD.
In other news, select images from the D.I. Collection-- which are pretty much chopped'n'screwed portraits of rain-worn statues and stonework-- are still on display at New York City's Rivington Arms gallery, as part of the "What Once Was One" exhibit, which runs through November 22. [MORE...]
Deerhoof's John Dieterich Talks Ballet, New Album
Bonus: New 2007 American Tour Dates!
Deerhoof have a lot of cool stuff going on right now. The band's eighth album, Friend Opportunity, is due out on Kill Rock Stars on January 23, 2007. They just finished tours with the Flaming Lips and the Fiery Furnaces. They picked up a Goldie Award, given out by the San Francisco Bay Guardian to honor the best in local arts, and have been nominated for a Plug Award for Live Act of the Year. And they recently finished work on the score for Justin Theroux's film Dedication, due out next year.
But, far and away, the coolest thing that's happened to Deerhoof lately has been the Milk Man Ballet, a production by the North Haven Community School in North Haven, Maine featuring participation from both students and community members and based on Deerhoof's 2004 album Milk Man. (See photos and video from the performance.)
Earlier this week, Pitchfork spoke to Deerhoof guitarist John Dieterich about the ballet, the new album, and the band's constant barrage of side projects. [MORE...]
Velocity Girl Sarah Shannon Sings City Morning Song
Plus: Exclusive MP3!
Ex-Velocity Girl vocalist Sarah Shannon may have decelerated a bit musically since the quiet demise of that much-loved D.C. band in 1996, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been busy. Gal's just turned her attention to the finer things in life: love, marriage, house-buying, baby-making, and idle strolls down city streets. "I know it sounds very domestic and mundane," quoth Shannon in a press release, "but to me it feels very rich, and that perspective informed these new songs."New songs, eh? That's right: Sarah, who issued her self-titled solo debut via Casa Recording Company in 2002, will follow-up it up at last come February 20 with new LP City Morning Song. Cosmopolitan pop mecca Minty Fresh Records has kindly offered to deliver the 12-song set, which was produced by Martin Feveyear (Mark Lanegan, Crooked Fingers, Rosie Thomas).
While Sarah no longer traffics in lush noise, she does still have a honey of a voice and a keen ear for pop, both of which feature prominently in City Morning Song's opener and title track. Download it exclusively by clicking the mp3 link below. [MORE...]
Dust-to-Digital Plans Holiday Releases
The relentless diggers over at the Dust-to-Digital label have a big holiday season planned, so those of you who aren't buying Kingdom Come the day it comes out can pick up any of the following releases on November 21. But then again, who's to say that Jay-Z fans don't listen to Sacred Harp music?Dust-to-Digital collected 30 tracks of Sacred Harp singing from 1922 to the present on I Belong to This Band: 85 Years of Sacred Harp Recordings, the CD companion to Awake, My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp. Awake, My Soul was the first feature documentary about the singing style, which is also referred to as "shape-note singing" and features some of the most raucous group vocals that have been recorded. (You might be familiar with Sacred Harp singing from the soundtrack to the movie Cold Mountain.) I Belong to This Band comes with a 16-page, saddle-stitched booklet with annotations and an essay by University of Mississippi music professor David Warren Steel.
Then there is the Desperate Man Blues: Discovering the Roots of American Music DVD and its accompanying soundtrack. The film features Joe Bussard-- "king of record collectors"-- "telling the story of 'America's real music' with passionate enthusiasm in his own inimitable style," according to a press release. The DVD includes the documentary and a half-hour featurette; the soundtrack has tracks by Charley Patton, Son House, the Carter Family, Uncle Dave Macon, and Blind Willie McTell, among others. [MORE...]
Air are set to release the follow-up to 2004's Talkie Walkie on March 6 on Astralwerks. The record is titled Pocket Symphony, features artwork by contemporary artist Xavier Veilhan, and was recorded with Nigel Godrich over the last year and a half. Both Air members, Nicolas Godin and JB Dunckel (aka Darkel), sing on the album, and Jarvis Cocker and the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon contribute vocals as well.
Pocket Symphony also incorporates some of the Japanese instruments Godin recently learned to play from an Okinawa master musician: the koto (also referred to as a Japanese floor harp) and the three-string, banjo-like shamisen. However, a press release claims that "conventional instruments continue to play a great role" in the duo's music.
Air plan to spend much of 2007 on tour. They'll hit Europe in the spring and America in May, with festival appearances scheduled for the summer, and more shows throughout the fall and winter. [MORE...]
The Pastels Ready New Album, Score Play
Indie pop kids everywhere overcome with fits of giddiness
If your anorak feels extra snuggly and your chai tastes especially sweet today, that's probably because the Pastels are on the prowl once again. The seminal Glasgow shambling indie pop trio has returned in earnest, with a new album, a collaboration, and a live score for a theatre production all in the works for you, their polite and devoted fanbase.First up, the Pastels have contributed original music to Do I Mean Anything To You Or Am I Just Passing By?, a new, somewhat experimental play written and directed by Gerard McInulty-- aka Caeser, formerly of Factory/Sarah Records act the Wake (which also at one point included a young Bobby Gillespie) and presently of the Occasional Keepers. The work previews November 17 and 18 and runs from the 21-25 at Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre, with Pastels Stephen McRobbie and Katrina Mitchell in attendance to contribute live music to each performance.
According to their MySpace and current label home, Domino Records, the band have also been diligently working on a brand new full length-- technically the follow-up to 1997's Illumination, and their first collection of new material since the 2002 film soundtrack The Last Great Wilderness. Chalk up the long wait to the fact that the Pastels have been busy concentrating on their Domino-affiliated imprint Geographic Music, and also busy being honest and adorable.
Also on the way: a collaboration with Tokyo twee duo Tenniscoats. No word yet on titles or release dates for either record, but after a nearly ten year Pastels hiatus, I suppose we can stand to wait just a wee bit longer. [MORE...]
Costello, Tweedy, Oldham Guest on Charlie Louvin LP
Also: Mac McCaughan, Eef Barzelay, George Jones, Bobby Bare Sr.
Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie Louvin , formerly of the legendary Louvin Brothers, will release his first studio album in over 10 years on February 20 via Tompkins Square, and the record has more guests than a big name rap album.
Louvin and Lambchop's Mark Nevers produced the self-titled LP, which features contributions from Elvis Costello, Jeff Tweedy, Will Oldham, Mac McCaughan (of Superchunk and Portastatic), Clem Snide's Eef Barzelay, classic country singers George Jones and Bobby Bare (the elder), and members of Bright Eyes (no, not Conor) and the Silver Jews (no, not David).
The album's songs include "Ira", a tribute to Louvin's brother of the same name (and the other member of the Louvin Brothers), who died in a car accident in 1965. He also recorded new versions of the Louvin Brothers songs "Must You Throw Dirt in My Face" (available for download now from digital music retailers), "Great Atomic Power", "The Christian Life", and "When I Stop Dreaming", the Carter Family's "Worried Man Blues" and "Grave on the Green Hillside", and traditionals "Kneeling Drunkard's Plea" and "Knoxville Girl".
In support of the album and to celebrate his 80th birthday next July, Louvin will tour the U.S. extensively next year. [MORE...]
I'm From Barcelona Sign to Mute, Introduce LP to U.S.
17% of band can now afford to feed families!
Sure, there are a lot of mean-looking sons of bitches in bands out there, but guess which band would win in a fight every time? How about an exuberant twee-pop outfit from Jönköping, Sweden, called I'm From Barcelona? They might look like total pansies, but there are 29 of these kids-- that's enough to individually pin down every limb your speed metal band has, with plenty of Barceloners left over for ass-kicking, and you guys even drink protein shakes and work out twice daily. You cannot fuck with that.Not even Pitchfork could fuck with that, and since we couldn't beat 'em, we joined 'em, awarding I'm From Barcelona's debut, Let Me Introduce My Friends, the coveted Best New Music distinction and a healthy 8.4. Of course, it certainly helped that the record's overflowing with enormous hooks and irresistible good vibes. Until now, however, U.S. pop kids have had to brave import pricing or resort to the nefarious netherworld of illicit file-sharing to sneak a snack from Barcelona's cookie jar.
Not for long: the good people at Mute North America have just signed I'm From Barcelona-- all 29 of them-- and will treat U.S. audiences to Let Me Introduce My Friends, housing the same twee-lightful tracklist as its European sibling, on March 20 of next year. That should give you plenty of time to beef up and hire a huge posse for the next time Barcelona come a-calling.
I'm From Barcelona play the Trans Musicales Festival in Rennes, France on December 7, sharing the stage with Cat Power, Razorlight, and more. Hopefully signing to Mute brings them one step closer to barnstorming the U.S. someday-- although, alas, our dream Swede double bill of IFB and Peter Bjorn and John probably won't be happening.
And finally, how's this for cultural chaos? A band from Sweden calling themselves I'm From Barcelona performing "We're From Barcelona" unplugged on the streets of Paris? And "Treehouse" in a local restaurant? Believe it, and watch it now on wonderful French blog La Blogothèque. [MORE...]
Ghostface, MF Doom, Spank Rock on Plastic Little LP
MP3: Plastic Little: "Crambodia" [ft. Ghostface Killah, Spank Rock, and Amanda Blank]
Hide your kids, your parents, and your priests, because Philly-based party-rap crew Plastic Little have arrived to tell it like it is-- i.e., very explicitly. For their debut, She's Mature, the verbal rabble-rousers hooked up with some choice emcees and producers, including like-minded posse Spank Rock, Sweatheart's Amanda Blank, MF Doom and his producer/pal King Honey, Diplo, and none other than Ghostface Killah. Hear Ghost show up all contenders on She's Mature cut "Crambodia", linked below for your mp3-downloading pleasure.The disc hits shops November 21 via ToneArm Recordings/Free News Projects, however the super-excited may pre-order now at Plastic Little's album website-- and score some glittery stickers in the process. Part of this gallery rap micro-phenomenon (read up here), Plastic Little have gained a reputation for coke'n'sex-addled lyrical raunchiness, bangin' live shows, and general hilarity, which means those stickers might just be worth something some day. At least a kilo or two.
The immature he's of P-Little celebrate the release of She's Mature with an album release party at New York City's 205 Bar, also featuring Sweatheart, Muppet-rappers Kid America Club, DJ Armani XXXchange, and some very special secret guests. They also plan to hold a "Crambodia" remix contest in the near future. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Cat Power, Lips, Antony Retool Yoko Ono
So do Spiritualized, Polyphonic Spree, Peaches, Le Tigre
Taking aim at stereotypes while simultaneously playing straight to them, Yoko Ono has titled her forthcoming album Yes, I'm a Witch. (It's also the name of one of her songs.) And the legendary artist/musician has conjured quite a list of guests to appear on the record. In fact, the record consists of almost nothing but guests. The idea behind Witch goes like this: Ono chose the artists with whom she wanted to work, gave them access to her back catalog, asked them to chose a song to rework, and then "provided [them] with the vocals and whatever other instrumental elements attracted them from that cut. Almost all the artists chose just the vocals," according to a press release. The result: a remixes/duets/covers record consisting of "entirely new musical tracks."
The Flaming Lips, Cat Power, Antony, Le Tigre, Spiritualized's Jason Pierce, Peaches, and the Polyphonic Spree are among those who contributed to Yes, I'm a Witch, which Astralwerks will release in February. The label will follow it in March with a compilation of dance remixes of Ono songs. [MORE...]
Hood's Bracken Signs to Anticon, Plans Single, LP
Hood's Chris Adams-- aka new
Anticon signee, Bracken-- has temporarily split from brother Richard Adams to
play the solo card, crafting haunted, dubby glitch-hop manifestoes. The one-man act released a 12" single, "Heathens", in the UK last week on Anticon, and now plans to drop the same limited edition single (1000 copies available worldwide) on American soil November 14, courtesy of the same label. In addition to the title track, this slab of vinyl features three songs, including a remix "redone" by Anticon mates Alias and Why?.
Bracken's forthcoming full length, We Know About the Need, arrives via Anticon come January 30. [MORE...]
Exclusive: !!! Reveal New Album
Myth Takes due out in March on Warp
Three exclamation points can barely contain how excited we are to announce !!!'s upcoming album, Myth Takes.
The follow-up to 2004's Louden Up Now, it features typically ChkChkChk-ian song titles like "All My Heroes Are Weirdos" and "Bend Over Beethoven", and hopefully lots of cowbell.
The Brooklyn eight-piece will release their latest work on March 4, 2007, courtesy of Warp Records. While previously only on Warp overseas, and Touch and Go in America, the band is now signed to Warp worldwide.
The 10-track disc is paired with beautiful cover art (as seen above) from painter Kevin Hooyman. [MORE...]
Jay-Z Announces Tracklist, One Day Tour
Sued over Black Album samples
It's old news to those of you who were waiting slavishly by your computers this weekend, checking torrent and p2p sites every half hour for one of the big name fourth-quarter rap albums to leak (and pretty much all of them did), but Jay-Z's Kingdom Come (out November 21 on Def Jam) now has a tracklist.Just Blaze, Kanye West, Dr. Dre, the Neptunes, and Swizz Beatz all produced tracks on the album, and featured guests include Beyonce, Usher, Pharrell, Ne-Yo, John Legend, and Coldplay's Chris Martin, who produced the track on which he is featured, album closer "Beach Chair".
According to various reports, Jay will literally phone it in on November 18 as he teams with Cingular Music for "The Jay-Z Hangar Tour", a 17-hour jaunt via G5 jet to the airports of Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas (where the tour will end). He will perform for radio contest winners in these cities, and Cingular customers with video capability will be able to watch the performances on their phones. [MORE...]
The Fall Ready Reformation, Contribute Song to Car Ad
Mark E. Smith and whoever else is or will be in the Fall come next year will release their gazillionth full-length on Narnack Records in late January/early February. The album is called Reformation and features twelve songs, including the title track, "My Door", "Fall Sound", and "Scenario", which we really hope is a Tribe Called Quest cover. The album cover will feature a photograph of the band by seasoned rock photographer Bob Gruen.There are also two Fall-related books scheduled for release next year. The first is Smith's autobiography, Renegade: The Gospel According to Mark E. Smith, due out on April 26. The second is a collection of short fiction inspired by the band's songs and is titled Perverted by Language: Fiction Inspired by the Fall. It comes out on June 28.
The Fall also contributed the Fall Heads Roll track "Blindness" to a recent commercial for a Mitsubishi SUV. Especially weird is the fact that the company inexplicably decided to keep Smith's vocals, which come in right at the end with, "I was walking down the street." What a ringing endorsement for an automobile!
Ennio Morricone’s Birthday Bonanza Begins
Celine Dion records a track of herself gargling cake in tribute
Today, November 10, is Ennio Morricone's 78th birthday, and to celebrate, the excellent Italian film composer announced that next year he will conduct a 200-piece orchestra and choir in the performance of some of his most well-known works for his first U.S. concert ever. The event will take place February 3 at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. (Rumors have swirled that Morrissey may join him at the concert.)New York's Museum of Modern Art will join in the festivities with screenings of six Morricone-scored films in its collection. Those films are The Battle of Algiers, Once Upon a Time in the West, Two Mules for Sister Sara, Once Upon a Time in America, The Mission, and U Turn. MoMA will run them from February 1 to February 7.
Now for the bad and the ugly: the requisite Morricone tribute album, which is scheduled for release in the spring and will feature contributions from Bruce Springsteen, Metallica (who regularly open shows with Morricone's "L'Estasi dell'Oro" from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly soundtrack), Yo-Yo Ma, the Simon Cowell-from-"American Idol"-designed international "popera" group Il Divo, and Celine Dion. Better yet, according to a press release, "Celine Dion's track was produced by Quincy Jones, marking the first time the two artists have worked together." Finally!
Exclusive Video: The Divine Comedy's Muse Revealed
Latest album gets Stateside release
Victory
for the Comic Muse, indeed! Or
Parlophone, anyway, for giving the Divine Comedy's album by that name a proper Stateside release. Hear chief Comedian Neil Hannon chat up his new record in this exclusive video interview, courtesy of the good folks at his label. As an added bonus, click the track titles listed below to watch Neil discuss the inspiration behind each song on his latest opus.In the interviews, Hannon reveals the story behind the album's eclectic feel, how he finds inspiration in movies and Johnny Cash, his wife's insistance that the raunchy original lyrics to "To Die a Virgin" be changed, and his desire for Dolly Parton to sing "Mother Dear".
Victory, originally released last June (also on Parlophone), will make its U.S. landing this coming Tuesday, November 14-- at which point Hannon and band will have just wrapped up a tour of Ireland/Northern Ireland, with no immediate plans for a visit to North America.
But we can't be too irked by Neil's snub of our continent, as he recently joined in on the Cake Sale, "a band featuring a loose and expansive collective of musician and writers" (according to the Divine Comedy's website) who, on November 3, released a self-titled LP on Oxfam Records in Ireland. All profits from sales of the disc support the Oxfam organization's Make Trade Fair campaign (you know, the one Chris Martin loves).
Others musicians who contributed to The Cake Sale include the Cardigans' Nina Persson, Damien Rice, Josh Ritter, Gemma Hayes, the Thrills' Padraic McMahon, and many more.
Meanwhile, the Divine Comedy's third single from Victory, "A Lady of a Certain Age", was released on November 6 in both limited edition seven-inch (available exclusively through the band's online shop) and digital download formats. One of Neil's finest songs to date, "A Lady" received a 4.5-star rating on this very website earlier this year. [MORE...]
Panda Bear Releases Split With Excepter, Preps Solo LP
Animal Collective will record their follow-up to last year's Feels this winter, and Panda Bear's sophomore LP will be released on Paw Tracks by March, with "mixing maestro Rusty Santos flying over to Lisbon later in November to finalize the jams," according to a press release.
But for fans who want an early taste of the Panda Bear album, Paw Tracks will release a split 12" between him and Pitchfork CMJ faves Excepter on January 23. Panda Bear's contribution is album track "Carrots", and Excepter's track is called "KKKKK".
Animal Collective will finish a handful of down under dates tonight at Wellington, New Zealand's Indigo Bar. Later this month, Collective member Avey Tare will play a trio of dates with Kria Brekken, aka Feels guest and múm member Kristin Anna Valtysdóttir. Before those dates, Valtysdóttir will join the rest of múm to open for the Sugarcubes at their November 17 reunion/20th anniversary show at Reykjavík's Laugardalshöll.
[MORE...]
Rafter Makes Music for Total Chickens
Laments being just another guy in a chicken costume
Rafter Roberts-- noted San Diego music producer/engineer, bearded half of Asthmatic Kitty pop duo Bunky, and fancier of animal costumes-- is about to go Total Chicken on your ass. While the Shins wince away and Deerhoof get Friend-ly on January 23, Rafter will lay his latest golden egg via Asthmatic. And after intense deliberation, he's decided to title this seventeen-song affair Music for Total Chickens. So you know this guy means business.What you may not know is he's also all about the YouTube. Following in the platinum-plated footsteps of Lil Jon, and probably inspired by all those clowns who filmed themselves dancing to "Chicken Noodle Soup", Rafter has announced a music video contest. Fans have from now until the album's release date (January 23, in case you missed it) to squawk together a filmed sequence worthy of Total Chickenhood, using one of the four album mp3s linked below.
A panel of "celebrity" Asthmatic Kitty judges (like, omg, maybe Sufjan!) will choose one clucky winner on the basis of video quality, while YouTube fiends will choose a second on the basis of quantity of views. Each gets $500, which should be enough for a Sufjan Christmas box for every soul on your holiday shopping list.
Bunky-- the duo of Rafter and Emily Joyce-- play San Diego's Ken Club on November 15 with the Places. [MORE...]
Banhart/Newsom Producer Georgeson Releases Debut
Noah Georgeson produced Joanna Newsom's The Milk-Eyed Mender and Devendra Banhart's Cripple Crow, and he has played guitar with Banhart in his band and on Vetiver's To Find Me Gone. He also dated Newsom and was in the band the Pleased with her. So he has something of a nü-folk pedigree.
But Georgeson will make the transition from band member and behind-the-scenes guy to solo artiste with the November 28 release of his solo debut, Find Shelter, on Plain Recordings.
Find Shelter was recorded in San Francisco, where Georgeson currently lives, and in his hometown of Nevada City, California, between 1999 and 2003, when he was living with Newsom in the room where she wrote most of Mender. Prince-style, Georgeson is credited with having "written, scored, arranged, recorded, and produced" the entirety of Find Shelter, according to a press release. He sang and played guitar, piano, organ, and Mellotron on the album, and he conducted the Kite Hill Chamber Orchestra in the recording of the remaining instrumental parts. [MORE...]
Young Jeezy Follows Motivation With Inspiration
Young Jeezy's follow-up to his 2005 debut, the multi-platinum Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101, is titled The Inspiration, and your favorite trapper's favorite trapper has assembled quite a crew to handle the album's production. DJ Toomp produced the first single, "I Love It", and Timbaland and the Runnerz also contributed tracks. A tracklist for the album has not yet been announced, but according to a press release, another track-- "Child of God (Bury Me a G)"-- has "Jeezy envisioning his own death and judgment." Heavy!
Billboard.com reported recently that the album will also feature guest appearances by Ludacris, T.I., Keyshia Cole, Three 6 Mafia, and Young Buck.
Def Jam will release The Inspiration on December 12. Let it snow, man.
LCD Soundsystem Announces New Album, Tour
James Murphy will take a break from working out, remixing superstars, and DJing disco dance parties next spring, when he takes his band LCD Soundsystem on the road in the UK and Europe. The 17-date tour is in support of LCD's second album, due out in March. [MORE...]
White Magic Conjure Up Debut LP
It's been over two years since White Magic released their spellbinding inaugural EP, Through the Sun Door, and at last the Mira Billotte-led, New York-based neo-folkies have a new serving of sonic sorcery on the way. On November 14, they'll follow up Sun Door and the recent "Katie Cruel" single with their Drag City-stamped debut full-length, Dat Rosa Mel Apibus (Latin for "The rose gives honey to the bees," says this here press release).Offered in both CD and double-LP formats, the new album casts a tangled spell in twelve tracks, featuring the bewitching vocals of Billotte (Quix*o*tic) and the instrumentation of "Sleepy" Doug Shaw on guitars, gongs, percussion, etc. Also summoned to partake of the Magic-making: Jim White (Dirty Three) on drums; Tim Dewitt (Gang Gang Dance) on drums; Jesse Lee on still more drums; Shahzad Ismaily on bass; Tim Barnes on bells and percussion; Social Registry-signed Samara Lubelski on violin; Chris Rael on sitar; and Karen Leblanc on accordion.
White Magic descend upon Brooklyn's 3rd Ward this Friday, November 10. [MORE...]
Nick Cave, Bad Seeds Members Are Grinderman
Nick Cave and three members of his Bad Seeds-- Warren Ellis (also of Dirty Three), Martyn Casey, and Jim Sclavunos-- will release their as-yet-untitled debut album as Grinderman on March 5 via Mute in the UK. Grinderman's music is "an instinctual yawlp that...resurrects the demons of each musician's past: the trashcan proselytizing of Birthday Party-era Nick; Jim Sclavunos' late 70s New York no-wave noise wisdom; Martyn Casey's ominous Triffids bass reverb; plus Ellis' avant-garde soundtrack work and his teenage love of Black Sabbath," according to a press release.
"No Pussy Blues"-- the song streaming from the band's MySpace page-- could be mistaken for a track from the Stooges' reunion album, or at least what we hope that record will sound like. It's noisy, funny, raw, and totally cathartic. [MORE...]
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Plan Winter Tour
Cold War Kids, Elvis Perkins support
Clap Your Hands said new album, and now, they've revealed a ten-date European tour in support of the follow-up to last year's self-titled debut. Cold War Kids and Elvis Perkins will tag along for the ride, which begins just three days after the forthcoming record's January 30 U.S. release.
As previously reported, the currently untitled work will be self-released in the States. Wichita Recordings plans to cover its UK landing, and V2 will distribute the Dave Fridmann-produced album to other parts of the world.
Last month, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah wrapped up a U.S. jaunt with buds Architecture in Helsinki and Takka Takka. All three bands contributed to an EP in celebration of the tour. Initially, it was available solely on the road, but CYHSY have a handful of copies left over. These discs will be made available on CYHSY's website sometime in the near future. [MORE...]
Conrad Keely Talks Trail of Dead Past, Present, Future
"There's nothing glamorous anymore to what we do; there's barely any profit in it."
Conrad Keely is frustrated and not a little defeated. When ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead's third album, Source Tags and Codes, grabbed the ears and hearts of listeners and critics (including us) in 2002, he seized the opportunity to write and record a follow-up that would top it in every way. And it flopped. 2005's Worlds Apart took a beating by critics (including us), and it didn't help that it happened at a time when Trail of Dead were undergoing some difficult personnel changes.
Cut to the present. The band's fifth album, So Divided, is scheduled for a November 14 release on Interscope, and they are in the middle of a massive tour with the Blood Brothers. Recently, Keely spoke to Pitchfork about the album (and music in general), the tour (and touring in general), the powerlessness we all feel, and what-- if anything-- makes being in a band still worth it.
Pitchfork: The release of So Divided was pushed back six weeks, and then it leaked. There was a rumor that you leaked the album yourselves. Is that true?
Conrad: No.
Pitchfork: How did that rumor get started?
Conrad: I guess they thought it would be funny if we'd done it ourselves, but I don't know why we would leak the record when we worked so hard on it.
Pitchfork: I thought it was telling that the letter on your website kicking off the current tour was addressed to "fellow pirates."
Conrad: Well you know I'd be a hypocrite if I said I didn't do that type of thing, but I don't usually look for records that are unreleased.
Pitchfork: Is it just a source of frustration for you, or have you thought of a way to solve the problem?
Conrad: I really don't think it's something I can waste my time worrying about. I don't know how it affects record sales or if it does. To be honest, I don't really know that record sales affect-- in the long run-- the career of a band as more-or-less insignificant as we are. We've never recouped a record. Our record sales don't make us or lose us any money. We don't really make money off of it, so it's like, "What do I care?" If I wrote a platinum record, maybe that would be a different story, but these days, we're too insignificant for it to really matter. [MORE...]
Low Tread The Violet Path, Tour
"Near as I can tell, it's all about killing." --Alan Sparhawk
Just as the frost clears on the cusp of spring this coming year, it'll be time to get low with the stately winter-core of Low once again, as the Duluth trio-- now augmented with new bassist Matt Livingston-- unleashes its eighth long-player, and second for Sub Pop, tentatively titled The Violet Path. As with its predecessor, 2005's The Great Destroyer, The Violet Path features production from studio ace and fifth Flaming Lip Dave Fridmann. While on the road with the Retribution Gospel Choir, Low's Alan Sparhawk was kind enough to share a few bits of information on the new disc with Pitchfork.
Themes of murder and death, as it happens, permeate The Violet Path. "Near as I can tell, it's all about killing," Sparhawk told Pitchfork. "I was kind of realizing the other day that a lot of the songs deal with either killing someone or dying. I don't know, it's kind of funny...maybe that's the big question. [We're] kind of living in a time when it's good to talk about killing and being killed." [MORE...]
Juan Maclean, Cut Copy, Digitalism Remix Presets
So do Simian Mobile Disco, Van She
Sydney electro-whiz-kids
Julian Hamilton and Kimberley Moyes have undergone the remix treatment. On November
7, the pair more commonly known as the Presets will package a free bonus disc,
titled Resets, with new editions of its 2006 LP, Beams, which originally hit shops back in May. Remixers featured on the limited
edition, U.S.-only release include Digitalism, the Juan MacLean, Cut Copy, Simian Mobile Disco, Van She, and
more.
In addition, Modular released a Presets' "I Go Hard, I Go Home" 12" late last month. That slab of vinyl is only available in the UK.
As previously reported, the duo is currently supporting the Rapture on their North American tour. After wrapping that up later this month, Moyes will spin four DJ sets in Japan before reuniting with Hamilton for a series of Australian festival appearances. [MORE...]
Original Bad Brains Ready New Album
With Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch donning the producer cap
After recently releasing a live DVD and playing three sold-out shows together to commemorate the closing of CBGB, D.C. hardcore legends Bad Brains seem to be back in commission. According to Billboard.com, the original quartet-- which consists of vocalist H.R., guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer, and drummer Earl Hudson-- are planning the spring release of a currently untitled album, produced by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, aka MCA."The lawyers are finishing up the last little tidbits of it," Dr. Know told Billboard.com. "There's a lot of dubs, and there's some old school-meets-new school Brains. Not moderate tempo, but fast tempo. Yauch said, 'Man, I want y'all to do some old school-type shit,' so we did it like that. I want to start working on the next one, because we did that one two years ago already." He also mentioned four song titles, two of which are dubs ("Article" and "Kingdom Come") and two of which are rock songs ("It's All Rock 'n' Roll" and "Let There Be Light").
Dr. Know is also eager to begin work on his first solo album. "I want to sit down this winter and start hashing her out. I've got a few little riffs working, but I want to sit down and perfect them, put some people together, and record them up. There's going to be total crazy special guests-- whoever I can get. A lot of people said they would participate: Flea, Mos [Def], the Living Colour guys, Darryl, Earl, and H.R."
Bad Brains are considering the release of additional archival video footage as well. One such show, shot by a friend of the band, features them playing with the Circle Jerks, Living Colour, and Leeway.
Video: Tokyo Police Club: "Nature of the Experiment"
Enter into the fast-paced
blissfulness of Tokyo Police Club's new video for A Lesson in Crime EP
track "Nature of the Experiment". Warning: this baby may induce
seizures.
Featured in the colorful,
George Vale-directed clip are an assortment of intriguing
around-the-house
junk, white noise, some seriously cool boots, and an astonishing waste
of plastic wrap. Its bustling nature is telling of both Tokyo Police
Club and, humorously,
Tokyo (even though the band actually resides in Canada). A+, dudes.
[MORE...]
Jay-Z continues his run of either completely selfish or completely misguided decisions as president of Def Jam with the December 19 release of Nas' debut for the label, Hip-Hop Is Dead. So now both Ghostface and Nas get to experience the joy of having their albums buried at a time when shopping for the biggest holiday of the year is winding down.Questionable business plan on the part of his label head aside, Nas' album looks promising. It's tracklist-less at the moment, but-- as you should know (if you don't, listen below)-- first leak "Where Y'all At" was a good sign of the MC being in top form on the LP.
He's certainly not lacking star power on the "featuring" side of the equation. Kanye produced and provided the hook for "Still Dreamin'"; Snoop Dogg appears on "Play on Player"; the Game guests on "Q.B. True G", which Dr. Dre produced; Damian Marley appears on "White Man's Paper (War)", which samples Marley's father; Scott Storch produced "Carry on Tradition"; surprise Midas will.i.am produced both the title track and the Sam Cooke-sampling "Unforgettable"; and Nas himself flipped a James Brown sample in producing "Where Are They Now".
Considering Def Jam's recent approach to promoting their non-Jay artists, this might be the last time you hear about Hip-Hop Is Dead, so mark your calendars. One month is probably enough time for you to forget all about the disappointment that Kingdom Come is sure to be.
Dinosaur Jr. Tour Around Xmas ATP
Dinosaur Jr. have announced a
bi-continental tour surrounding their stint at the Thurston
Moore-curated All Tomorrow's Parties' Nightmare Before Christmas event.
Lou Barlow, J Mascis, and Murph will take to the road late this month, meeting up with Sonic Youth and Thalia Zedek along the way.
On December 6, Barlow will open the trio's London gig with an acoustic solo set. On December 16, Mascis will perform a solo set in Germany, opening for Sonic Youth.
As previously reported, Dinosaur Jr. plan to release a new album, produced by John Agnello, in Spring 2007. It is, according to a recent entry on Barlow's website, "very nearly complete," though we still don't know anything with regard to its title, label, or release date. A DVD from the band is also on its way. Directed by Mascis' brother-in-law Phillip Virus, it documents the first half of the band's reunion tour, and hits stores May 8.
Barlow has some news on the solo front as well. As he continued in the aforementioned post, "I'm working on a CD EP for my friend Jesus right now...I figure it's good practice for my next solo LP to throw some new + old songs together...get my engineering chops back, twiddling knobs...flexing the old hard-drive...Jesus has a label. He does lotsa one-off CDs for indie-types like myself...That will come out and I will do my best to get a box or two to sell on this here site..."
In addition, the bassist recently fell into a "small quantity" of Winning Losers: a Collection of Home Recordings (1994, Smells Like Records) reissues. Tacked on to the disc is the "Losercore" seven inch, now on CD for the first time ever. Barlow also acquired a 12" vinyl of Folk Implosion's Dare to Be Surprised, so stay tuned to see if these rarity items pop up on his online "merch table."
Finally, we'd like to remind you that Barlow, Eric Gaffney, and Jason Loewenstein have reunited Sebadoh. The legendary three-piece will tour this spring, from late February to early April. Specific dates have not yet been confirmed. [MORE...]
Ghostface Cooks Up More Fish
Def Jam taps T.I., the Game, Ludacris, Big Boi for video game soundtrack
Ghostface Killah is already releasing a follow-up of sorts to this year's Best New Music'd Fishscale. It's called More Fish, and it comes out December 19 on Def Jam, featuring the single "Good". According to Ghost's website, Theodore Unit-- his post-Wu posse that includes his teenage son Sun God-- are "heavily featured" on the record, which makes it seem like a 718 or Put It on the Line sort of thing. And that's fine by me.Def Jam is also planning the release of Def Jam Icon-- the company's third video game in association with Electronic Arts-- and its accompanying soundtrack. According to Billboard.com, Big Boi, T.I., Ludacris, Paul Wall, and the Game are among the project's confirmed participants. Apparently, Icon, a fighting game, will also incorporate music into "the various interactive environments" in the creation of such necessities as "a car wash that keeps to the beat of the song." Riiiight. Def Jam Interactive and EA will release the game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March.
Snow Patrol Release Avalanche of Material
Between releasing their fourth full-length, Eyes Open, and having to cancel tour dates twice this year due to injuries and ailments, Snow Patrol have had an up-and-down year. Gary Lightbody and Co. are making up for it by foisting plenty of new material on us: an EP, a charity record, a single, a bunch of UK tour dates, and even a little bit of non-fiction writing.The EP is the band's own AOL Sessions, a digital release featuring live versions of four Snow Patrol songs and a cover of one Bright Eyes song ("You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will.") that you may purchase from iTunes right now.
For the charity record, Lightbody teamed up with Lisa Hannigan-- a vocalist in Damien Rice's band-- to sing a song written by Bell X1's Paul Noonan called "Some Surprise". The track will appear on The Cake Sale, a nine-song album by a collective of musicians of the same name. Other contributors to the record include Rice, the Cardigans' Nina Persson, the Thrills, Josh Ritter, the Divine Comedy, and Gemma Hayes. Oxfam Records will release The Cake Sale in Ireland on November 3, and proceeds will go toward Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign and overseas program work. [MORE...]
Jim Fairchild Talks Grandaddy Breakup, Solo Album
Not long before the demise of West Coast indie rock institution Grandaddy at the beginning of this year, guitarist Jim Fairchild set to work recording a batch of his own tunes under the adopted name All Smiles. The fruits of Fairchild's songwriting labor will blossom early next year, with L.A.'s Dangerbird Records releasing the All Smiles debut, Ten Readings of a Warning, on February 20. Eager for a taste, Pitchfork recently sat down with Fairchild to chat about his new record, some very special guest drummers, and Grandaddy's last days."I recorded a lot of it in Portland," Fairchild said of Ten Readings, "because I lived there for six months last summer. Granddaddy hadn't broken up yet, and it was a really bizarre time. That had been most of my life for ten years, maybe more, and then Jason [Lytle] was making the last record, and the band was definitely gray, and I was like, 'I should probably put [out] these songs that I've always been working on...I should try to turn this into something."
To realize his vision, Fairchild hooked up with some of the Pacific Northwest's finest drummers, with the Black Heart Procession's Joe Plummer playing on most tracks, and Danny Seim (of Menomena) and Janet Weiss (ex-Sleater-Kinney, currently of Quasi and the Jicks) lending their kit-work to a couple songs.
"Janet is so good," enthused Fairchild. "I never saw Sleater-Kinney until last year-- no exaggeration, no hyperbole: that is by far the best rock band in the world." [MORE...]
Figurines' Hjelm Talks New Album, Facial Hair
"I'm actually very content with the volume of this beard at the moment."
Denmark's Figurines unexpectedly took the Pitchfork office by storm earlier this year with Skeleton, a record brimming with peppy, sinfully-catchy indie pop tunes played with relentless vim and jovial abandon. While Figurines' incessant touring will finally come to a close this weekend at CMJ, the four-piece won't be settling down for long, as they set off to record Skeleton's follow-up early next year.
Pitchfork recently chatted up chief Figurine Christian Hjelm about the new record's direction, the band's Stateside success, tourmates Tapes 'n Tapes, and the seasonally-appropriate hair that presently adorns his face. [MORE...]
David Pajo Talks Possible Slint Reunion, Dead Child EP
Plus bonus Dead Child MP3
Fresh off the release of his second solo album as Pajo, 1968, the always-busy David Pajo is gearing up for the release of an EP by his newest project, the previously reported metal band Dead Child. He's also starting to think about the feasibility of a Slint reunion.
"I've been kind of talking to the Slint guys again, and we've been trying to figure out what we should do with ourselves," Pajo said in a recent interview with Pitchfork. "We're sort of attempting to exist as a band again, but we don't want to-- whatever is precious about Slint, we don't want to step on that. We want to play together again, but we've been trying to figure out what our next step should be if we do anything at all."
So what would be the determining factors in deciding just what that next step is? "It's mostly just what everybody wants to do with themselves. There was a huge gap between the 2005 reunion and the last time we played together [before that]. We've spent all this time developing our own lives, and it's kind of hard to put everything that you've been working on for the past 14 years on pause so that you can do Slint again. Brian [McMahan] wants to go back to school, and people have different things that they want to do with themselves, so we're trying to find out if there's even a window where we could all work together in the same capacity again. Me and Britt [Walford] and Brian have this camaraderie [where] there's so much that we don't have to explain to each other, that we just understand when it comes to putting songs together, and it seems like kind of a shame to not do that, even if it's not under the name Slint. I feel like we should continue to play together." [MORE...]
Jenny Lewis Guests on VietNam’s Debut
Band releases digital EP, tours with the Lemonheads
Recent Kemado signees VietNam are preparing for the
January 23 release of their debut full-length with a three-song digital EP, three CMJ
shows, and a tour with the Lemonheads.
The Brooklyn quartet's self-titled LP was recorded in Los Angeles and, as such, some relatively famous names contributed to its creation. Jenny Lewis, Paz Lenchantin (Zwan, A Perfect Circle), and the Future Pigeon horn section are all featured on the album; Jason Lader and Beachwood Sparks' "Farmer Dave" Scher helped produce it. VietNam also features contributions from not one but two members of that indie-est of bands, Maroon 5: a guest spot from keyboardist Jesse Carmichael and production from bassist Mickey Madden. The entire album can be streamed here.
The band will whet the appetites of hungry fans with the digital release of the "Welcome to My Room" EP on November 3. The EP's title track and "Hotel Riverview" are both also featured on the full-length, but the third song is the non-LP track "Goodbye", which was recorded live at Trinity St. Paul United Church in Toronto.
To top it all off, VietNam will kick off a North American tour with the Lemonheads after playing three dates at CMJ in New York this week, the first of which is with fellow up-and-comers Bound Stems, Professor Murder, and Annuals. [MORE...]
Gnarls Barkley Reissue, Upgrade St. Elsewhere
Set to tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2007
Cribbing the "put out the Christmas trees before Halloween" move from your local K-Mart, Gnarls Barkley have announced the holiday release of a limited edition St. Elsewhere CD/DVD package.
The set, due November 7 on Downtown/Atlantic, is, according to a press release, "bound in a deluxe o-card adorned with 3-D lenticular rendition of the album art." Looks like Danger Mouse picked up a few tricks from Gorillaz.
The St. Elsewhere reissue includes a new 92-page booklet featuring a flipbook and other expanded artwork, while the DVD holds four Gnarls Barkley videos: "Crazy", "Smiley Faces", "Gone Daddy Gone", and the never-before-seen "Go Go Gadget Gospel". Audio tracks from the pair's April 16 "Top of the Pops" performance ("Crazy") and May 19 "Later with Jools Holland" stint ("Gone Daddy Gone") will also be included.
According to their MySpace blog, Gnarls Barkley are contemplating radio-play for the "TotP" "holiday version" of "Crazy", and they want fan input.
In other news, Gnarls Barkley aren't completely blowing off October 31. Earlier this week, the duo linked to a YouTube video from its MySpace. The clip documents a Donnie Darko-themed Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse photoshoot for URB Magazine, and it's pretty silly.
Next month, the boys will knock off a short European tour before returning to the States for a Bang! Music Festival appearance and a San Francisco New Year's Eve Eve stint with the Flaming Lips. They will embark on a three-month trek through the U.S. with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in January, though dates for this are currently unconfirmed.
Finally, Gnarls Barkley took home a "Left Field Woodie" trophy at mtvU's 2006 Woodie Awards last week. The event will be broadcast on November 2. [MORE...]
Fennesz Reissues Endless Summer
Soundscape architect Christian Fennesz's Endless Summer received a 9.4 from Pitchfork upon its 2001 release, and Fennesz will release a remixed and remastered version of the album this winter. Editions Mego will release the updated Endless Summer on January 9, along with two bonus tracks: "Badminton Girl" (from an out-of-print Fat Cat 12") and the previously unreleased "Endless".
The label will also reissue the Plays single, which came out as a vinyl 7" in 1998 and a CD single in 1999, on 10" vinyl. Plays consists of two tracks: covers of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" and the Beach Boys' "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)", which were determined by "the relevant mechanical and publishing rights societies [to be] so far removed [from] the originals that they should be considered as homages written by Christian Fennesz," according to a press release. Editions Mego will release Plays on November 6, and both it and the Endless Summer reissue will feature artwork by Jon Wozencroft.
And as if re-releasing an album called Endless Summer in the dead of winter weren't enough taunting, Fennesz also has a handful of live sets scheduled for November in exotic European and Mediterranean locales that most of us will not be attending due to severe cases of Seasonal Affective Disorder and Monetary Absence Disorder. [MORE...]
Peter and the Wolf A-Tourin' Behind Lightness
Bust of Prokofiev a-glowerin' from perch on mantle
We can't really refer to Austin's Peter and the Wolf as Austin's Peter and the Wolf anymore. Seems P&tW string-puller Red Hunter read some Thoreau recently, because the man has decided to forsake his home and all his worldly possessions and live the nomadic life of a traveling troubadour. Now he is, simply, the world's Peter and the Wolf.Hence, Lightness, the title of Peter and the Wolf's debut record, which hits stores on Halloween (October 31) via the Worker's Institute. The disc features 16 tracks addressing such topics as: nature and stuff.
Lucky for you Peter has not forsaken his guitar, a bruised and duct-taped old thing, and he's taking it to a city near you soon. We can't really refer to this as a tour launch, because from now on, life for Peter and the Wolf is one big, neverending tour. Man, that's heavy. [MORE...]
Nina Simone Gets the Remix Treatment
Nina Simone-- the "High Priestess of Soul"-- is well known for her slow, simmering ballads, but she also recorded songs steeped in funk, gospel, and African tribal rhythms that pulsated across dancefloors in the post-disco era. Get ready, because RCA/Legacy Recordings is about to release a "club-friendly" set of Simone's definitive works from her RCA period (1967-74)-- as reinterpreted by various DJs and producers. Due out on October 31, Nina Simone: Remixed & Reimagined is the first release in a series that will showcase other Legacy artists in the coming months. The Simone disc features remixes by Francois K. (U2, Depeche Mode, Mick Jagger), Tony Humphries (Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, Queen Latifah), Coldcut (Eric B. & Rakim, the Orb), Mocean Worker, Groovefinder (whose remix of "Ain't Got No / I Got Life" is a UK Top 30 hit), DJ Logic, Nickodemus, and others.
Click the links below for two extra-special mp3 downloads of Humphries' mixes of "Turn Me On" not found on the album. [MORE...]
Cloud Cult Release New Album, Kick Off Tour
Ambitious indie rockers Cloud Cult are following the release of last year's Advice From the Happy Hippopotamus with another sprawling LP: The Meaning of 8, and if the song titles are any indication, it's an 18-track-long meditation on mortality.
The Meaning of 8 is scheduled for a late February release on the band's own Earthology Records, though they are also in talks with labels about co-releasing and distributing the record.
Cloud Cult begin their fall tour tonight at the Cave at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. [MORE...]
Sally Shapiro Seeks Disco Romance, Shares MP3
Sometime back in excruciating heat of mid-summer Chicago, a wintry little Italo disco throwback by Sweden's Sally Shapiro smuggled its way into Pitchfork HQ like the freshest dancefloor breeze this side of 1984. That wondrous tune, "I'll Be by Your Side", eventually found its way onto our Infinite Mixtape. When the B-side, "Time to Let Go", proved similarly wondrous, the Pitchfork Giddy Threat Level was raised to orange.Now we have full-blown, code red giddy situation on our hands, as Sally Shapiro's long-awaited debut, Disco Romance, graces clubs the world over this December. Diskokaine will deliver this perfect present for a winter holiday of your choosing, featuring nine tunes sung by Sally and constructed by beat maestro Johan Agebjörn, including a cover of twee electro-poppers Nixon's "Anorak Christmas".
But Sally's no disco diva-- quite the opposite, in fact. In a recent e-mail to Pitchfork, Agebjörn revealed just how bashful his vocalist can be: "Sally is so shy that I still haven't heard her sing any of these songs for me live! I mowed the lawn while we recorded the vocals. She refuses to be photographed by someone she doesn't know. She refuses to make a music video or to perform live.
"Still, she's a disco princess."
Enter Princess Sally's court by checking out the mp3 of "Anorak Christmas" below, which starts off sounding just a little bit like Limahl's NeverEnding Story theme song. Which is to say: awesomely. A club mix of the tune will appear on 12" around the time of the album's release, along with three remixes of "I'll Be by Your Side". The Diskokaine-stamped vinyl is conveniently divided into "Italo disco" and "electro" halves for all your DJing needs. [MORE...]
Clipse Release New Video, Push Up Release Date
Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes: YES! Clipse are back; they're really back! The latest news on the duo's Hell Hath No Fury LP-- the long-awaited follow-up to 2002's Lord Willin'-- is that the release date has actually been pushed UP from the previously reported December 12 to November 28. And this time, we believe it.Here's a bit of evidence to support our belief: the video for "Wamp Wamp (What It Do) [ft. Slim Thug]", the second track from the record to receive the video treatment, the first being early single "Mr. Me Too".
"Wamp Wamp" differs from that track in a couple of key ways. First, Pharrell relinquishes any sort of vocal duties, content with just a brief cameo in the R. Malcolm Jones-directed video. Second, the synthesized fuzz of "Mr. Me Too" is replaced with live-sounding steel drums and congas wound so tight they sound about to explode. Pusha T and Malice sound the same way. They bring an infectious energy to their verses while never quite showing their full hands. Slim Thug's Houston drowl (drawl + growl) is another nice addition.
Jones' video for the track is standard hip hop fare: fancy cars, beautiful women, and lots of mugging for the camera. But he paces his shots well, keeping things moving and allowing the video to get out of the music's way. And considering how great that music is, we couldn't ask for much more.
Gang of Four's Allen Talks Wet Confetti, Faux-Hoax
Exclusive MP3!
It's official-- Dave Allen is back in the picture. As previously reported, the bassist is heading out to London next week to set the ball rolling on a new Gang of Four record, the first with the band's original lineup since 1981's Solid Gold (barring last year's Return the Gift re-recordings work).
But recapturing the post-punk movement isn't all Allen's been up to. On Tuesday, he spoke with Pitchfork about Portland, Oregon trio Wet Confetti. In addition to producing the group's sophomore record alongside former Shriekback bandmate Mike Cozzi, Allen contributed bass to the track "Sorry Dinosaur", which is available as an exclusive download below.
The album, titled Laughing, Gasping, will be released February 6 on Allen's Pampelmoose label (/management company/blog extravaganza). [MORE...]
Nick Zinner Produces the Horrors
Those lucky Horrors. First, director Chris Cunningham chose the British punk band as the vehicle through which to make his long-awaited comeback. Now, Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs has shared his production talents with the group (and probably some hair and makeup tips, too.)
Zinner recently stopped by London's KONK studio to twiddle the knobs on two tracks, "Sister Leonella" and "She's the New Thing", for the Horrors' forthcoming debut LP. In an interview that ran October 18 on the band's MySpace page, Nick Zinner said that the Horrors "were very well behaved" in the studio and were "reward[ed] ...upon completion of their final takes with a pint of virgin blood." He also mentioned that he'd like to work with the boys again if his "schedule allowed it." [MORE...]
Rhymefest Talks UK Visit, New Album, Tour
"I think they know Rhymefest might just hit one out of the park."
In true Blue Collar fashion, Rhymefest likes to take his own, hands-on approach to career-building, whether that means meeting with a member of British Parliament to discuss the state of hip hop, scheduling a tour where he will stay at fans' houses and document it for a potential TV show, or recording the theme song for "Crank Yankers". The Chicago MC discussed all of these things in a recent conversation with Pitchfork. He also talked to us about turning 30, his new album, and what it is that Chicago brings to hip hop in 2006 that no one has seen before.
Pitchfork: You just got back from a meeting with David Cameron, the Leader of the Conservative Party in the UK, who invited you to tea after reading a letter you wrote him addressing some comments he made about hip hop back in June. What was that like?
Rhymefest: It was crazy. I mean, he's up to be the next Prime Minister. And I'm the first rapper to ever go to the House of Commons and perform for them, and there were MI5 and MI6 everywhere. They had me in the papers like I was some big gangsta rapper. You had members of the opposite party rallying against me. You heard black people in black neighborhoods looking at me like I was Tupac-- and they didn't even know who I was-- saying, "Yo, he's speaking for us. He's speaking for hip hop!" All from a letter I wrote.
Pitchfork: Did you really perform for the whole House of Commons?
Rhymefest: No, it wasn't a performance. I went to the House of Commons to meet with him, and [I brought] Ged Doherty-- the CEO of BMG UK-- with me because it had to be a meeting of the heads. I'm an artist; I don't have control over who puts records out or who puts money behind them or who does promotion. Hell, I ain't worth platinum. My shit was a brick. As good as Blue Collar was, it didn't sell a hundred thousand records. So I had to take him because he's the one that can affect a change. And when I rapped for [Cameron], it wasn't a performance. It was more of a, "Look, rap music isn't all 50 Cent. It isn't all gangster. It isn't all misleading to the youth. Some of it goes a little something like this..." And I rapped for him.
He said, "All I'm saying is this: I never said, 'Ban hip hop.' Because I understand that everyone needs to be heard and I understand expression." And then he said the word that I have been talking about for the longest [time], and it really lit me up. He said, "[We need] balance." And I said to him, "I agree with what you're saying. But on the other hand, if your policies promote poverty, the problem is that the people don't believe you. If your policies don't coincide with your concern about our music and our expression, then the people are not going to respond to you. Rap music comes from disenfranchisement; it comes from urban rebellion. So until we can calm that down, then you're going to hear a lot of things you don't like. And you can't tell the people, 'Don't cry.' You have to ask them why they're crying, just like we're doing now." [MORE...]
Dave Allen Talks New Gang of Four Album
"I think there's enough going on in the world for us to start pontificating again."
Having come a damn long way-- from being a gang of lads in Leeds in the late 1970s to becoming one of the most exciting and influential bands of the post-punk era to proving their lasting vitality with a recent reunion tour-- Gang of Four won't be slowing down anytime soon. Now comes news that the Four-piece have a brand new record in the works, their first set of new material since 1995's Shrinkwrapped and first with the original lineup since 1981's Solid Gold, barring last year's re-recordings disc Return the Gift.
Pitchfork recently phoned up the man behind Gang of Four's groove, bassist Dave Allen, for a chat about GoF's musical offering to the twenty-first century.
"We're in the very early stages," Allen told Pitchfork. "[Guitarist] Andy Gill and I have been talking-- that's how Gang of Four starts with stuff like this: there's a lot of talking about what do we want to do, how can we do it, is there a need for it? That was a big question for me. After Entertainment! and Solid Gold, we've got to be careful, we've got to deliver something rather special.
"I wanted to be sure that me Andy and [vocalist] Jon [King] especially were fired up about things, and I think we are. I think there's enough going on in the world for us to start pontificating again." [MORE...]
Klaxons Talk Visa Troubles, Debut Album
U.S. Immigration to Brits: "You're not a real band"
Klaxons are in a rush. The British electro-rockers are at the airport in Iceland when Pitchfork catches up with them, heading from a triumphant set at the Iceland Airwaves festival back to a gig in their home country.
"That's pretty much the story of our lives," lead Klaxon Jamie Reynolds says. "We go to the most beautiful places in the world but don't actually get to see them. We just sit in the back of a taxi and then go home."
But the band's hurry isn't just a struggle not to be late. Their music races frantic grooves through candy-colored riffs and comet-chasing synthesizers, and it has propelled the trio to near-instant fame. Despite having only released a few singles in England and an EP (Xan Valleys on Modular) in America, Klaxons have already rocketed to the top of the buzz bin, appearing on the cover of the NME, signing to Polydor, and selling out shows everywhere. Ah, the magic of the internet!
However, Klaxons' rapid rise has been both a blessing and a bit of a curse, when internet hype meets real-world logistics. The band was scheduled to go on its first U.S. mini-tour in early November, but were forced to cancel the shows when the members were denied visas due to the band's youth and its small recorded output. "I guess it's something about not being able to have a visa unless you've been together for a certain period of time," Reynolds says. We haven't even had our [one year] anniversary yet. It's on the fourth of November or something. It does sound a bit crazy doesn't it? Certainly they can't mark your popularity on the amount of time that you have been in existence."
The band is using their newfound extra time to finish up work on their debut album, set to be released January 29 on Polydor in the UK. (They're still negotiating with labels in the U.S.) "We have recorded the majority of it; we have just not finished mixing it yet," Reynolds says. "It has just been a case of the buying the time to make sure that we make the best record possible." [MORE...]
Jens Lekman, AIH on Ladybug Transistor Covers EP
Those indie pop kids, they love to share, and today we find them sharing songs, sharing personnel, and poised to share a brand new EP, that perfect-sized morsel of indie pop goodness. More specifically, Brooklyn-based Merge popsters the Ladybug Transistor will hit us with-- no, make that politely pass us-- a four-song covers disc next week, featuring some very special guests.Here Comes the Rain rings your doorbell on October 31 in all your favorite digital formats. Buy it direct from Merge or any of those other guys on that date, or, if you're lucky/cool enough to live in Europe, scoop it up in tangible CD format on November 1 via Seville, Spain's Green UFOs imprint.
All covers, the four Rain tunes include takes on John Cale ("Empty Bottles"), Trader Horne (title track), Grin ("Everybody's Missing the Sun"), and Kevin Ayers ("Girl on a Swing").
The Gary Olsen-fronted Ladybug Transitor get by with a little help from their friends on this EP, including the Aislers Set's Alicia Vanden Heuvel (who lends vocals to the Trader Horne track), Currituck Co.'s Kevin Barker (guitar), Architecture in Helsinkians Kellie Sutherland, Gus Franklin, and Isobel Knowles (vocals/horns), Lambchop/Calexico gent Paul Niehaus (pedal steel), and Swede pop posterboy Jens Lekman ("additional singing" on title track).
Yeah, we done got you all excited about some "additional singing", but it's Jens, so deal with it.
The Ladybug Transistor are putting together their latest LP, to see release in early 2007 via Merge. Catch them live as they rock an afternoon CMJ show, or as they infest Europe next month with their tasty pop confections. [MORE...]
Pixies Plan New Record!
Every other band breaks up, having no reason to exist anymore
We all pretty much saw it coming, but today at last arrives word from Frank Black himself. According to NME.com, the reunited Pixies hope to one-up 2004's lackluster "Bam Thwok" single and begin work on a brand new album in the coming year."Since we got back together we've played almost everywhere we can," explained Black to the NME website. "I know we like playing and everyone likes touring together, so to keep doing that and not record anything is kind of like being a county fair band. We don't want to do that, so the only thing we can do is become a vital band again.
"So it's just a matter of doing it, I guess."
Black also revealed that a new Pixies disc is no deal without bassist Kim Deal: "We're rehearsing in January, if we can persuade Kim to come out of her house. We offered to go to her but we figured if we book the rehearsals she'll show up."
So there you have it. If all goes according to plan, Pixies will record their first album in over 15 years and one of rock/indie/whatever's most beloved bands will have a stake in next year's new musical landscape. We's stoked. [MORE...]
Fujiya & Miyagi Already at Work on Next LP
It's only been a few months since the up-and-coming Brighton-based electro/krautrock trio Fujiya & Miyagi released their latest full-length, the Best New Music-worthy Transparent Things, in Europe-- and it won't even be available in North America until its stateside release January 23 (via the Deaf, Dumb & Blind label). But that hasn't stopped the Can- and Kraftwerk-indebted Brits from getting to work on the follow-up album. Talking to Pitchfork recently from across the Atlantic, Fujiya & Miyagi vocalist David Best seemed inspired to make fast progress."We've been making up songs since we finished [Transparent Things], really," said Best. "We're recording again in November, just demoing stuff. We've got about ten songs now, and I want to get like 15. It's not a million miles away from Transparent Things so far, but I think the stuff we've come up with on the whole is better."
As with Transparent Things, recording of the new material is being split between the band's home and Church Road Studios near Brighton, with band member Stephen Lewis producing and Alan Boorman (of prankster rockers Wevie Stonder) mixing. Also onboard will be newfound collaborator Lee Adams, best known for his drum work in Stereolab bassist Simon Johns' side project Imitation Electric Piano, who'll be adding percussion. "Last time we played Brighton he played with us, so on the next album, we're going to introduce live drums with electronic beats as well, and Lee's going to do that for us," Best told Pitchfork in an interview last week.
Fujiya & Miyagi haven't finalized any potential song titles as yet, but Best is toying with a title for the album proper: Lightbulbs. "My ex-girlfriend always had a thing about changing lightbulbs immediately," Best stated, "and I always ended up doing the washing up, so it's like a gender reversal. It'll look nice with a lightbulb on the cover."
Yet, for all this progress, the finished product is still a ways off, giving new fans and listeners plenty of time to absorb the excellent Transparent Things. "I reckon we'll be finished by about March maybe," revealed Best. "The songwriting process is well on its way. Then we've got to record it with Lee, and we've never recorded with [live] drums before, so that's going to take a lot longer. But I think we can pretty much sort it out by March, and then hopefully get it released pretty soon after." So we should expect it by summer then? "Hopefully. It might get held up in the cogs of the industry. Or, we've got to find some cogs for it to get held up in."
Bloc Party to Spend A Weekend in the City
Most people spend their vacation time somewhere bucolic and peaceful. Not Bloc Party. Next year, they plan to spend A Weekend in the City with their second album, which will be released February 6 on Vice. It's the London quartet's follow-up to last year's Silent Alarm and Silent Alarm Remixed. (Yeah, we guess that kinda makes it their third album. Or second-and-a-half.)
As previously reported, the album was produced by Jacknife Lee (U2, Snow Patrol) and recorded at Westmeath, Ireland's Grouse Lodge Residential Studios.
According to a press release, A Weekend in the City was inspired by what frontman Kele Okereke calls "the living noise of a metropolis," as well as the music of Philip Glass, Timbaland, Aaliyah, and Bartok. Photographer Rut Blees Luxemburg will provide the record's cover art.
Oh, and the
tracks are in order now (see below)!
Also, we'd like to remind readers that Bloc Party will kick off a North American tour next month with Panic! at the Disco and Jack's Mannequin. Because you might have forgotten. [MORE...]
New Pornos Unveil Tour; Destroyer Debut Reissue Due
Hop into the DeLorean and
crank it back to 1996, when Destroyer (aka Dan Bejar) released his proper debut album, the
four-track-recorded We'll
Build Them a Golden Bridge on Tinker Records, and get familiar-- because when you
come back to the future, it'll be all the rage online.
Golden Bridge has returned and will be released digitally and on CD courtesy of Scratch Records. While it features its original tracklisting (including "Breakin' the Law" and "Streets of Fire", which later developed into New Pornographers songs), the work features brand new, full-color artwork. Destroyer's original, acoustic, rough-around-the-edges version of "Breakin' the Law" can be downloaded below.
Also in the works from Bejar is a disc from Hello, Blue Roses, his project with girlfriend/visual artist/Bonaparte bandleader Sydney Vermont/Hermant. As previously reported, the pair hopes to have it finished by April. In the meantime, Swan Lake, Bejar's collaboration with Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes), is gearing up to release its debut, Beast Moans, on November 21 via Jagjaguwar. And that's not all: Busybody Bejar will also begin work on the follow-up to this year's acclaimed Destroyer's Rubies sometime in the near future.
Destroyer hasn't revealed any tour plans in support of the aforementioned reissue-- not especially surprising given his well-documented dislike of live performance-- but the rest of the New Pornographers are gearing up for an Australian road trip this December.
As previously reported, both the Pornos and guitarist Todd Fancey are working on new records. The former's release is slated for June, and the latter's, the tentatively titled Let the Breeze In, Witches Night, II, or Schmancey, for spring of next year. Fancey currently has one performance scheduled for Brooklyn's Union Hall on November 3. [MORE...]
Smashing Pumpkins Update
Jimmy Chamberlin hops on board the "Great Pumpkin Space Train"
Two down, ? to go. A second member of the reunited Smashing Pumpkins lineup, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin (surprise, surprise), has been confirmed (the first is obviously Billy Corgan). The drummer recently posted two blog entries on the Pumpkins' official MySpace page, notifying readers that the group's new album, the follow-up to 2000's MACHINA/the Machines of God, is coming along just fine.
"I'm here to tell you that great things are on track for the future," Chamberlin wrote. "As some of you know we are indeed creating music again. Music that comes from a place so pure it will burn the lies off the very souls of those who try to discount it. We have arrived at a place in our lives where truth and honesty prevail and we are creating from that place."
Who, exactly "we" are is still unclear.
The drums for the record are currently being tracked, and according to Chamberlin, "things are sounding fantastic." The band recently finished up work with producer Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, the Cars), and claims the partnership to be "one of the best musical experiences we have ever had."
The Pumpkins have now teamed up with Terry Date, who has worked with Pantera, Soundgarden, and, uh, Limp Bizkit. Great.
Chamberlin
explained, "The universe has a way of letting you know that things are
right by introducing people like RTB (Roy Thomas Baker) and Terry into the fold. It's all part of
one big cosmic journey, in so that everyone reading this is hitching their
silver chord to the Great Pumpkin Space Train! Hope this helps clear some
things up for you. Don't forget to cast your eyes skyward this weekend.... You
may see a shooting star." On it, Jimmy.
While the album's label home has not yet been announced, we suspect it to be Warner/Reprise, as that is the company running the online mailing list linked from the Smashing Pumpkins' official website.
In related news, Billy Corgan reportedly contributed to Courtney Love's forthcoming solo album, and will perform at a special show at Los Angeles' Hotel Cafe on November 7 alongside Pete Townshend of the Who and E of the Eels.
Herbert to Reissue 100 lbs With Bonus Disc
We hope you've been working out those listening skills lately, because Matthew Herbert is about to release one heavyweight of a record. The sound sculptor will reissue his 1996 work 100 lbs January 23 via !K7. Included in the package is a bonus disc crammed with b-sides, rarities, and unreleased tracks "more club-friendly than the main album" (according to a press release). [MORE...]
Karen O, Liars Buddies Devastations Release LP, Tour
The weather's getting mighty chilly, but fear not-- Devastations have it covered. On October 24, the Australian-turned-German trio will burn some Coal in the U.S., courtesy of Brassland Records. Having a working website though...well that's another story.
So who are these Devastations and why should you care? Well, they've worked with Liars and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O on her shelved solo album. (Yes, Karen O was working on a solo album at some point. No, we don't know what happened to it.) And they sound a lot like Nick Cave.
In support of the album, which landed in Europe last month via Beggars Banquet, Devastations will make their way to North America for a tour alongside the Drones and Favourite Sons. Squeezed on both sides of jaunt are a handful of European shows. [MORE...]
Black Sheep Return With First Album in 12 Years
"They say the rap game is like the crack game....i think we gonna sell weed...do some hip hop," Black Sheep MC Andre "Dres" Titus wrote on the group's MySpace blog last December. Almost a year later, the Native Tongues duo of Dres and DJ William "Mister Lawnge" McLean returns in earnest with a new single and a new album, both digital-only releases. The single-- "Whodat?"-- saw release in late September to online stores via Black Sheep's own BumRush Records and digital distributor The Orchard. It features four tracks, including clean and instrumental versions of "Whodat?" and B-side "Be Careful".
The album bears the title 8WM/Novakane (8WM stands for "Women With Women With Weed With Wine With Me"!) and, like the single, it's an online-only release via Bumrush and the Orchard. 8WM/Novakane's arrives October 24, making it Black Sheep's first album in 12 years, and follows Non-Fiction and landmark debut A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing as the duo's third LP overall. [MORE...]
Zach Hill and Nels Cline are Damsel
So two avant-noisemakers get pissed after watching the 2004 presidential election and decide that the next day will be the day they record their long-planned improvised collaboration together. No big deal. These types turn their axes to grind into axe-grinding all the time, right?
Well, yes, but this session is special because it's between Wilco's Nels Cline and Hella's Zach Hill, with help from Matt Zivich (Wilco's live sound engineer) and Jonathan Hischke (Hella's touring bassist).
Going by the name Damsel, Cline and Hill have called their first jam session Distressed (rimshot!). Aside from the post-production editing of Cline's Geraldine Fibbers and Scarnella bandmate Carla Bozulich, Distressed's four long tracks were entirely improvised and mixed in a single day at Chicago's Semaphore Studios, and a press release describes the music as "somewhere between the most abstract freak-outs of Wilco's more recent material and the looser, more minimalist moments of Hella... running the gamut from serene electro-acoustic ambience to unhinged, cathartic squall."
All the damsels and dudes can get Distressed on October 24, when the record comes out on Temporary Residence. [MORE...]
Norfolk & Western Tour Unsung Colony
Portland, Oregon folksters Norfolk & Western are gearing up to sing The Unsung Colony. The band recorded its latest project, a 12-track affair, in ringleader Adam Selzer's Type Foundry Recording studio-- and, quoth
a press release, at "a small town high school for symphonic
embellishments."
Recruiting the marching band? We can't be sure, but we'll find out on October 24 when Colony hits stores courtesy of PDX's fine Hush Records. Come November, fellow P-town imprint Jealous Butcher will unveil Colony in lush vinyl format, with a CD of bonus material.
In support of the disc, Norfolk & Western-- not unlike the rail line from which they derived their name-- will spend the closing months of 2006 crisscrossing the country. [MORE...]
Bratmobile's Alison Wolfe's New Band: Partyline
Like girls with glasses? Step in Partyline. The DC trio, fronted by former Bratmobile frontwoman Allison Wolfe, is putting out its debut LP, Zombie Terrorist, next Tuesday, October 24 on Retard Disco Records.
The album, produced by ex-Q and Not U/Ris Paul Ric man Chris Richards and Don Zientara at the legendary Inner Ear Studios, features the Loved Ones bassist Michael Cotterman lending a hand on each and every song. One number, "Trophy Wifey", is available for download below.
Tomorrow, Partyline launch a tour of the States, Australia, and New Zealand, hitting up a few Ladyfests while they're at it. The band will again make its way through the U.S. in January and February, and head to Europe for March and April; these dates have yet to be confirmed. [MORE...]
Skygreen Leopards Become Disciples of California
Battle RHCP for crown of Most Cali-Whipped
Picture this: skygreen-hued leopards walking the West Coast in plain robes and Jesus sandals. Ridiculous, but not far off from the image brought to mind by the title of the Skygreen Leopards' latest full-length, Disciples of California. While they don't have 12 members (yet-- but you know how these folk collectives get), they do have a gospel to preach, and that's the gospel of good vibes. Disciples drops via Jagjaguwar on October 24, and is referred to as a "friends & family" album in a press release, a nod to the disc's communal recording process-- which took place in a new studio with the new Skyband (drummer Jasmyn Wong and bassist Shayde Sartin).
Still not buying the fraternity angle? The band was all about brotherhood this time around: the Leopards even took modern dance lessons from the Lindner School of Ballet's Vaslav Treacy to master discipline and pulse. Someday they will be bigger than Jesus. For now they're spreading the California Love around their home state through gigs with Wooden Wand. [MORE...]
Max Richter Taps Robert Wyatt for New Disc
Max
Richter's modern classical compositions make him perfect for FatCat's 130701 imprint. The new-ish
label will release Songs From Before-- Max's follow-up to 2004's acclaimed The
Blue Notebooks-- in North America on November 28 and everywhere else on October 23. The 12-track album features regular Richter contributors Louisa Fuller, Natalia Bonner, Rick Costa, John Metcalfe, Chris Worsey, and Ian Burdge, as well as Soft Machine gent Robert Wyatt, who reads from Haruki Murakami texts.
As previously reported, Richter contributed to fellow FatCat Vashti Bunyan's sophomore album, Lookaftering, as a producer/co-arranger. He also mixed and co-produced the self-titled, forthcoming EP by labelmates and Glaswegian upstarts the Twilight Sad, due November 14 on FatCat.
As if that weren't enough, Richter's still doing the film thing, scoring a series of never-before-seen Super 8 Derek Jarman shorts
and a new film by Stanislaw Mucha and Kieslowski-collaborator Krzysztof Piesciewicz titled Hope. Finally, Max is also collaborating on music/video project Siberia
with British artist Darren Almond, and a music installation/gallery work with New
York-based artist Monica Bravo. Dude gets around.
Somehow, Max plans to find the time to tour the U.S. and the UK in the near future. [MORE...]
Perry Farrell Talks Satellite Party
Also talks about actually partying on an actual satellite
We've all been there: lying in bed late at night, mind restless, pondering the mysteries of life, when the thought seizes us-- "How awesome would it be to party on a satellite that's orbiting the Earth?" Ex-Jane's Addiction/Porno for Pyros chief Perry Farrell has been there too, but instead of just writing about it in his Live Journal, Perry did something about it. He formed a band.That band, the Satellite Party, debuted in nascent form last year, playing a gig in L.A. and a set at Lollapalooza 2005 in Chicago. They've since signed to Columbia Records, and have a full-length, self-titled debut slated for release in March of next year. Pitchfork recently spoke to Farrell, who was more than happy to chat about the new project's sound and concept, rock vs. hip hop, parties in space, party people, party drugs, Lollapalooza, and partying. [MORE...]
John Vanderslice Tours Europe
Works on new album
Over a year into Pixel Revolt's acclaimed life, John Vanderslice is still supporting the album on tour. Last night, the Barsuk superman kicked off a fall journey through Europe. He will forge on across the continent with his band Photographs for the next month, before heading solo to Australia with the Mountain Goats at the end of December. The latter set of dates has not yet been confirmed.
In other news, Vanderslice is, according to a press release, "very deep into his next record." He is recording it with bandmates Ian Bjornstad, Dave Douglas, and David Broecker at San Francisco studio Tiny Telephone. Scott Solter is producing the work, which is slated for release sometime in 2007. [MORE...]
PJ Harvey's Peel Sessions Coming to U.S.
New album's in the works
PJ
Harvey and Halloween: what do these two have in common? Both are scary. Both are fun. Both involve putting on makeup and costumes. And both are happening on October 31 this year.
On that date, Polly Jean will release her previously reported PJ Harvey - The Peel Sessions 1991-2004 in the U.S. It's coming out on Island in conjunction with the BBC.
But prepare to snack on some of that candy a little bit early. Harvey has made two tracks from the record, "Sheela-Na-Gig" and "You Come Through" available for online streaming. The first was culled from an October 29, 1991 Peel session, and the second is a John Peel tribute recorded on December 16, 2004.
Perhaps best of all, however, is the fact that Harvey is gearing up to begin work on a new record. According to her website, she will likely get things going in November with producers Flood and John Parish. The new material has been prepared mainly for piano, and that is all we know for the time being.
Finally, fans can catch an interview with Harvey, filmed at Ireland's Electric Picnic Festival, on "The Last Broadcast" with Dave Fanning tomorrow night.
Beatles' Cirque du Soleil Collab Coming to CD/DVD
Oil up the cash registers!
For once, all we need isn't LOVE, the "new" "Beatles" CD/DVD due November 21 (November 20 in the UK) via Capitol. The album is actually a soundtrack to this year's Cirque du Soleil theatrical exhibition, also titled LOVE, which combines Beatles master tapes with new production from Beatles producer Sir George Martin and his son Giles.
Yeah, it might be a cool display live with all the contortionists and stuff, but for purely listening purposes...well, that's your call.
In a press release, Paul McCartney said, "This album puts the Beatles back together again, because suddenly there's John and George with me and Ringo. It's kind of magical."
Not fully magical. Only "kind of". [MORE...]
Scarlett Johansson Recording Tom Waits Covers Album
Haha you Pitchfork jokers, what a hilarious hoax headline. Next, you'll tell me Sufjan Stevens is pregnant! Like, JK LOL, right dudes? No. Not kidding, and certainly not laughing. This is 4 SERIOUS, guys. According to a recent report on FOXNews.com (yes, that was the sound of a kitten dying) and confirmed by Waits' publicist, aesthetically pleasing and indie-savvy film starlet Scarlett Johansson is not only singing, but recording an album of Tom Waits covers.Scarlett Sings Tom Waits, as it's called, will tentatively see release next spring via recently-revived Rhino offshoot Atco. It's not Scarlett's first vocal foray-- she recorded a version of Gershwin brothers standard "Summertime" for this year's corny Unexpected Dreams: Songs From the Stars charity compilation.
That's pretty much all the info we have right now, but stayed tuned to Pitchfork, your one-stop ScarJo rumor shop, for more details and the latest hot pix. Oh, and according to Fox News' Roger Friedman, Waits is "one of the premier singer-songwriters in the business." So, best respect-- because lord knows this is, first and foremost, a business.
Wolf Parade/Ex-Hot Hot Heat Dude Readies Folk LP
In the late 1950s, a band comprised of three random British dudes named John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison entered a talent contest under the moniker Johnny and the Moondogs. They would later become the Beatles, arguably the greatest band in the history of everything.Some 45 years later, a random Canadian dude named Dante DeCaro leaves some band called Hot Hot Heat to return home and jam with his old friend Lindy Gerrard (and, later, Mark Devoe). He soon joins Wolf Parade, arguably the greatest band among a certain demographic of fashionable young persons for at least two weeks in the fall of 2005. DeCaro also forms a ramshackle indie folk act with the aforementioned old friends, and calls that band: Johnny and the Moon.
Coincidence? Possibly. DeCaro's Johnny and the Moon claim their name came from a local folk tale. But we'd rather believe something cosmic is at work, and that they too, by name alone, are destined for greatness. I guess we can all find out on October 24, when British Columbian imprint Kill Devils Hills Records releases the eleven-track, self-titled debut by Johnny and the Moon. [MORE...]
Luna's Dean & Britta Cover Donovan, More on EP
Indie rock's sexiest couple? They're certainly in the running. With Luna officially out to pasture, Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips now have plenty of time to focus on the important things, like being sexy, recording covers, and readying the follow-up to 2003's lovely L'Avventura. Today, October 17, Rounder/Zoë Records releases a brand new Dean & Britta EP, collecting four covers and a track from the forthcoming full length, due January 30.The Words You Used to Say EP features the title track-- an original Wareham/Phillips composition set to appear on the new record-- and a quartet of covers: Donovan's "Colours", Bobby Darin's "Distractions, Pt. 1", folkie Michael Holland's "Since I Lay My Burden Down", and yes, Adam Green's "We're Not Supposed to Be Lovers".
Wareham has been getting around, co-producing an album by Holland's alter-ego Jule Brown, and playing on a recent record by Australia's the Sand Pebbles. The Best of Luna compilation dropped earlier this year. [MORE...]
Frida Hyvonen Preps Secretly Canadian Debut
Frida! Like a carillon knell through the storm, the name comes ringing down from the mountaintops to redeem the kingdom of music! Or something. Frida Hyvönen is a swell gal-- she's toured with Jens Lekman, José González, and the Concretes, and last spring released a fine album of spry, immediate piano-pop tunes on the Concretes' Licking Fingers imprint. Have we mentioned she's from pop hotspot Sweden?Frida will finally get the U.S. indie kid audience she deserves come October 24, when Secretly Canadian re-releases the overtly Swedish gal's ten-track debut, Until Death Comes, here in the States. Frida co-produced the affair with the Bear Quartet's Jari Haapalainen and recorded it at Stockholm's Atlantis studio. This very record spawned the P4k hits "You Never Got Me Right" (four-star track review) and "I Drive My Friend" (Infinite Mixtape), and soon you will be able to cradle it in your very own quivering hands.
Until Death Comes also birthed a couple fine videos, including the stop-motion-happy "I Drive My Friend" and the Kate Bush-worthy "The Modern". Catch them both by clicking the links below.
Hyvönen plays a couple European shows in December, and is presently recording new arrangements of a number of tunes she wrote last year for a dance piece entitled "Pudel", by choreographer Dorte Olesens. [MORE...]
Brakes Preview Second Album on Tour
Brighton's Brakes have a vision...more than one, actually. The quartet is gearing up to release its sophomore LP, an eleven-tracker for Rough Trade titled The Beatific Visions. It is slated for a November 6 release.
Bassist Marc Beatty said of the record in a press release, "I like to think of this album as the soundtrack to a great battle between good and evil where the world almost cracks in half, sucking everyone into a life of eternal darkness and misery." So basically, the band's not fucking around.
Brakes will preview The Beatific Visions at a handful of October gigs in London. After that, they'll cross the UK and Spain for a full-blown tour, including four stops at the Wintercase festival. [MORE...]
The Shins Reveal Wincing the Night Away Tracklist
Star in shit-tastic remake of Multiplicity
Lives, get ready to be changed all over again. Pacific Northwest upstarts the Shins have just announced the tracklist to their insanely- anticipated third full-length, Wincing the Night Away. The 11-song set follows up the quite-well- received Chutes Too Narrow and was recorded this summer at Oregon City's Supernatural Sound, with main Shin James Mercer and dude-about-town Joe Chiccarelli (Beck, Tori Amos, Jonathan Richman, U2) co-helming the production chair.
As previously reported, Wincing the Night Away (which, by the way, sounds like an extremely unpleasant activity) hits the streets January 23 thanks to the fabulous people at Sub Pop Records. We'll all be, er, wincing the nights away in anticipation of that date, oh yes.
To keep the young Braffians out there thoroughly stoked, the Shins will release Wincing's first single, "Phantom Limb", in three different formats on three different dates. Pencils ready: iTunes digital on November 14, CD on November 21, and 7" on December 12. The single comes with two exclusive, non-album B-sides, one of them an alternate version of Wincing cut "Split Needles".
The tracklists are just a clicky-click away, my friends. And look! A tune named after veteran indie pop darling Pam Berry! Swell!
The Shins headline Sub Pop's CMJ Showcase, going down November 2 at New York's Bowery Ballroom. [MORE...]
Guns N' Roses Tour...in Support of Chinese Democracy?
So it looks like Axl Rose and co. maybe will maybe finally maybe heap the maybe steaming turd that Chinese Democracy is sure to be upon us. Maybe.
Though we are currently unable to find it on their website, Rolling Stone recently announced that the album would finally see release on November 21. Don't know where they got that information. Now everyone will have to refer to a long-delayed follow-up as the new Hell Hath No Fury.
My prediction: Chinese Democracy, whenever it's released, will sound how the cover of The Spaghetti Incident? looks.
Whether the album actually comes out or not, GNR fans can still get their fix of bloated bullshit rock on the band's upcoming North American tour, which kicks off October 22 in Nashville. Axl's war buddy Sebastian Bach opens all the shows. [MORE...]
The Drones Take Gala Mill Across North America
Not that you'd expect otherwise from a band whose last album bore the name Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By, but Aussie quartet the Drones' newest full-length, Gala Mill, tackles some heavy topics-- including nuclear testing in Australia, school massacres, heroin addiction, convicts, cannibals, depression, isolation, and denial. Whoa. The sound is characteristically heavy too, and (the band hopes) characteristically Australian, with lyrics addressing the Land Down Under's history and mythology. "That was a conscious thing," said singer Gareth Liddiard in a press release, "To make an Australian-sounding record is something that's been frowned upon over the years-- it's not cool. But cool is not cool, you know? You should just be what you are." Whoa.
In order to reconnect with their native commonwealth (after months of touring the U.S. and Europe), the four-piece recorded Gala Mill, their third studio album, in a mill on a secluded 10,000 acre farm in Tasmania. "We just wanted to go somewhere interesting, to steer clear of the boring old studio," said Liddiard, "Studios can feel like hospitals for sick bands." Plus, the farm was supposed to be haunted, so, of course, the bluesy garage rockers thought that was cool (or not cool?).
According to the Gala Mill rumor mill, the nine-track album landed on UK shelves earlier this month and crashes U.S. shores October 24, via All Tomorrow's Parties' ATP/Recordings imprint. The band is presently droning across Europe on tour, and hits the States and Canada at the end of the month, joined by Brooklyn's Favourite Sons and gloomy fellow countrymen Devastations. [MORE...]
Luscious Jackson Reunite for the Kids
Luscious Jill Cunniff to release solo debut
It was children that claimed the life of promising NYC act Luscious Jackson back in 2000, and it's children that have temporarily resurrected the trio of Jill Cunniff, Gabby Glaser, and Kate Schellenbach-- with original Jacksonite Vivian Trimble along for the ride.LJ disbanded to pursue a career in baby-making, and now they're making something for the babies. In a recent interview with MTV.com, Cunniff revealed that Luscious Jackson have emerged from retirement for the moment and have already completed an album of songs especially for children. They've yet to decide upon a title, and are still shopping around for a label.
"It's fun because adults will be able to enjoy this too," Cunniff told MTV.com. "It's like Luscious Jackson with a kids' angle. It's not goofy kids' music-- it's dance-y and has Luscious Jackson beats, but the [lyrical] content is pretty silly."
She went on to say she wouldn't rule out the possibility of future Luscious collaborations, however those will probably have to wait a bit, as Jill Cunniff releases her solo debut, City Beach, early next year.
The disc, due February 6 via the Militia Group, features 12 tracks, including one with a guest spot from Emmylou Harris. The curious may stream the first three songs on the record-- "Lazy Girls", "Happy Warriors", and "NYC Boy"-- on Jill's MySpace as we speak...err, type...err, as you read? Whatevs. [MORE...]
Pavement Pre-Order Yields Rare Live Show, Single
Matador Wants You to "Wow Out"
Hold that Soulseek-leeching mouse click, because Matador has arranged a special incentive for customers who pre-order Pavement's previously reported Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition from participating record stores. Record stores?! Remember those?!
The "Wow Out" program works like this: pre-order the album and receive a "super rare" live show and an extremely limited 7".
Upon arranging the pre-order, customers will be given a unique code via e-mail; this enables them to download the entire live show, recorded April 24, 1994 at L.A.'s Palace, when Pavement were just introducing Wowee tracks to their audience.
Then, on November 7, purchasers will open their mailbox to find both Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition and the aforementioned vinyl. The latter's A-side boasts a rare version of "Black Out" recorded around the time of Crooked Rain's release. It was originally slated for a Thurston Moore-curated compilation, but that didn't end up happening. The B-side holds a previously unreleased version of "Extradition", with different vocals and a "slightly different mix" than the album brought. [MORE...]
Thievery's Garza Tours With Fugazi, Make-Up Dudes
Move aside Bonnie "Prince" Billy, King Biscuit Time, and Darkel-- there's a new solo sheriff in town, and his name is way, way cooler than yours. Meet Dust Galaxy, aka Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation.
Dust Galaxy's debut LP will hit shelves in Spring 2007 courtesy of ESL Music/ViviColorSound. He enlisted Brendan Lynch to produce the currently untitled record (and occasionally play guitar and accordion), and brought in Primal Scream's Darren Mooney and Martin Duffy, the People's Revolutionary Choir's Jim Townsend, and Cornershop's Adam Blake for guest appearances.
Several singles are slated to emerge this fall, including "Come Hear the Trumpets" (currently streaming on Garza's MySpace) which will feature remixes from Shawn Lee, Fort Knox Five, and Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve.
Dust Galaxy will launch a
short tour of the States this Sunday. Supporting Garza in his live band
are James Canty (Make-Up, Ted Leo/Pharmacists), Jerry Busher (Fugazi),
Ashish Vyas (GoGoGo Airheart), and Salem Steele.
It will run through a few major U.S. cities and conclude with a slot at New York's Delancey club as part of the KCRW's showcase at CMJ. Thievery Corporation have a few shows scheduled as well-- they will perform at two days (October 28 and 29) of São Paulo, Brazil's TIM Festival, and at Miami's BANG Music Festival (November 11). [MORE...]
Fujiya & Miyagi Prep Transparent Things for U.S.
Album due in North America on January 23 via Deaf, Dumb & Blind Communications
From the looks of it, Brighton-based Pitchfork faves Fujiya & Miyagi are about ready to go Super Saiyan. Their latest full-length, Transparent Things, has been stockpiling acclaim not only from the international music press but from some of the world's most prestigious DJs as well, including Optimo, Erol Alkan, and the DFA's James Murphy. Last month, your pals here at the Fork tagged it Best New Music, saying, "they're doing for 70s krautrock and motorik what the DFA did for early 80s electro." Indeed, without even being asked, they've gone and done the unthinkable: They've actually made krautrock fun.
So why can't you get a hold of the goddamn record? Well, if you're anywhere in Europe, congratulations: You can just walk into whatever record store and buy it with all your weird-looking money. Unfortunately, we Americans will have to wait for its proper stateside release.
The good news is that Fujiya & Miyagi have just inked a U.S. distro deal with Deaf Dumb & Blind Communications (also home to those The Other Side Of... comps curated by Ellen Allien, Fischerspooner, and Black Strobe), and are planning to bring the album to our shores January 23. The bad news? Until then, DD+B has banned all import sales of the record (what!)-- although opening track and debut U.S. single "Ankle Injuries" will be available via iTunes on November 7.
The North American edition may also feature different cover art, which, if it winds up anything like the ass-ugly artwork on DD+B's website, will be grounds for much sadness. The band's management was nice enough to send over a Euro copy of the record, and to say it sports some of the most beautiful packaging we've seen all year would not be a stretch. Compare:
DD+B, if you're reading this, wtf! [MORE...]
Ghostface, Kweli, Dilla, Common on New DJ Hi-Tek Disc
Reppin' for the 513, Cincinnati DJ and part-time MC Hi-Tek has worked with Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and even 50 Cent in the past, but his second solo album is all him. Well, him and a couple dozen of his high-profile MC friends. Featuring contributions from the aforementioned Kweli, as well as Ghostface Killah, Common, Nas, Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, The Game, Jadakiss, Bun B, Devin the Dude, Kurupt, Papoose, the late J Dilla, and many others, Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip is Hi-Tek's first album since the original Hi-Teknology dropped in 2001.
Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip hits the streets October 17 via Babygrande Records. As previously reported, Hi-Tek guests on the new Talib Kweli record, and joins Kweli, OK Go, and Bootsy Collins for the grand re-opening of Cincinnati's Fountain Square tomorrow, October 14. [MORE...]
Frank Tovey/Fad Gadget Retrospective Hits U.S.
Mute Records' first signing, electro-genius Frank Tovey (aka Fad
Gadget), is finally getting his due with the release of Fad Gadget
by Frank Tovey: A Retrospective in Sound and Vision.
The four-disc set (two CDs, two DVDs) will land in U.S. record stores on October 17,
and features an exclusive new documentary on Tovey's life and his career, which began in the late 1970s alongside those of electronic iconoclasts like Cabaret Voltaire, the Human League, and the Normal, and continued into this century, with Tovey opening for Depeche Mode's Exciter tour. Unfortunately, it ended with Tovey's unexpected death in 2002.
Other points of interest include rare and
unreleased tracks, classic Tovey/Gadget tunes, concert footage, television performances, easter eggs, and
more. The
package, which was put together by Tovey's family in conjunction with
Mute, dropped in Europe last month. [MORE...]
Ric Ocasek Unlocks Cars DVD
OMG! Never-before-seen soundcheck rehearsals!
New cars are manufactured every day, but it's the old ones we remember--the old cars that, however rusted out or broken down, hold the real history. (We learned that lesson from this movie.) Ric Ocasek wants to ensure that we remember the old Cars, so he has teamed with Docudrama to produce The Cars Unlocked, a live DVD featuring over twenty never-before-seen performances spanning the band's career, plus interviews, candid backstage rehearsals, soundchecks, and more.
The DVD, which rolls out on October 17, also comes with the band's first-ever live album: a bonus CD with 14 "direct-from-the-soundboard" songs. In the same way that a vintage car collector might attentively polish his Maserati 3500, Ocasek has packaged The Cars Unlocked in a foil-embossed case containing a 28-page, hardbound booklet he designed, full of newly uncovered photos.
Songs featured on Unlocked include "My Best Friend's Girl", "Let's Go", "Gimme Some Slack", "Up and Down", "Just What I Needed", "Don't Cha Stop", "Moving in Stereo", "Candy O", "You Might Think", "Drive", "Tonight She Comes", "Magic", "Shake It Up", "Good Times Roll", and that perennial favorite "MORE!"
"This is the most comprehensive look at the Cars ever released on any format," said the former frontman in a press release. "I've been sifting through out video and audio archives for a long time, and think I've put together a really personal, inside look at the group."
When Ocasek isn't putting together retrospective films, he has stayed busy as a solo artist, label owner (Inverse Records), and producer, helming projects for bands such as No Doubt, Guided By Voices, Weezer, Hole, Le Tigre, Bad Religion, The Pink Spiders, and others.
The New Cars, meanwhile, continue to suck.
Sebadoh's Eric Gaffney Maps Uncharted Waters
Waters of Gaffney?
Original Sebadoh multi-instrumentalist/ songwriter/noise-maker, lo-fi wizard, and Fields of Gaffney harvester Eric Gaffney leaves those open plains to explore Uncharted Waters with his latest solo release. The disc follows up his 1999 set Brilliant Concert Numbers and arrives today, October 12, via Old Gold Records in the U.S. and Handmade Records in Norway.Uncharted Waters collects 27 tunes Gaffney recorded over the last ten years on four-track, with Pro Tools, and in-studio-- clocking in at over 70 minutes. That is a whole lotta Gaffney. True to form, Mr. Gaffney maintains a ridiculously lo-fi website here.
Gaffney intends to chart the well-trodden waters of New York City, making a voyage to the CMJ Music Marathon to play three gigs.
As previously reported, the original lineup of Sebadoh-- featuring Gaffney, Lou Barlow, and Jason Loewenstein-- will reunite this spring to play a series of shows. The timing couldn't be better: Sebadoh's 1991 uber-classic III saw re-release earlier this year, garnering a very respectable 9.3 from the 'fork dorks. [MORE...]
Mike Watt Talks (and Talks) Stooges Recording
Hot gossip: Steve Albini plays online poker and disses Jack White
Iggy Pop and the reunited Stooges (with former Minutemen bassist Mike Watt replacing the late David Alexander) began recording their previously reported first studio album in 33 years last week at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studios, and, true to his description as "a sort of internet Pepys or Boswell, except without the gout and the syphilis" from the Stooges' rider dug up by the Smoking Gun last week, Watt had quite a bit to say about it.
Amidst detailed accounts of meals ("I'll go down all the breakfast meats, one at a time, each morning!"), an illness, digestive/excretive issues, worrying about playing his bass with a pick and "keeping my body flagpole-straight" while doing it, and lots of gear talk, Watt also wrote about the band's new songs in a series of diary entries on his website under the heading "'Secret Plan': Iggy Pop + The Stooges record an album". We assume "Secret Plan" is just the title he's given his diaries and not the name of the album. But who knows? [MORE...]
Having completed a summer sailboat tour down the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway with Castanets and Peter and the Wolf, Jana Hunter is back on dry land and preparing a more conventional tour of the Northeast with another friend of folk, Providence's Deer Tick. The hauntingly-voiced singer/songwriter is currently working on her second album, the follow-up to 2005's Blank Unstaring Heirs of Doom, on Gnomonsong, the label founded by Devendra Banhart and Vetiver's Andy Cabic. [MORE...]
Christopher Willits Readies Surf Boundaries
Collaborates with Zach Hill, Kid606, Matmos on next Flossin disc
Ah, the autumn. A season of vibrant colors, fresh breezes, resurgent emotions, and, if you're in Chicago right now, raging snow. WTFs aside, fall also serves as an ideal backdrop to San Francisco-based guitarist and Ryuichi Sakamoto/Zach Hill collaborator Christopher Willits' new disc Surf Boundaries, due October 17 via the good apparitions at Ghostly International.Surf Boundaries features 12 placid cuts-- many of them hue-oriented-- and includes Willits' "Colors Shifting", which recently joined the esteemed ranks of Pitchfork's Infinite Mixtape. If "lovely," "serene," and "dreamy" are among your favorite AMG adjectives, this disc is totally for you, my friend.
Willits aficionados are also encouraged to check out The Right Kind of Nothing by North Valley Subconscious Orchestra, C-dub's collaboration with man-about-town Brad Laner (Savage Republic, Medicine, Lusk). It's out now in digital format from Ghostly.
A restless soul, Willits also joins forces on occasion with Hella's Zach Hill and Miguel Depedro (aka Kid606) to form the improv entity known as Flossin. That trio is presently working on the follow-up to 2004's Lead Singer with the gentlemen from Matmos and a posse of indie remixers.
Wily Willits takes Surf Boundaries on the road this autumn, treating audiences in San Francisco, Providence, and Baltimore to a dose of serenity, and hitting up NYC for CMJ, FYI. LOL. TTYL. [MORE...]
Super Furry Animals' Rhys Teams With Boom Bip
Super Furry Anticon
Cincinnati turntable experimentalist Boom Bip and Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys are following the release of 2005 single "Do's & Don'ts" with a full-length.Going under the name Delorean (Al James, call your lawyer!), they are preparing the record for release on Lex Records in the first half of 2007. According to a representative of the label, there are "lots of big guests" on the record (including the Magic Numbers "doing backing oohs and ahhs"), and "it doesn't sound like any Gruff/SFA/Boom Bip stuff."
The two discuss the project in greater detail in an interview for the most recent issue of DVD magazine Specialten. Said interview provided the image above.
Four Tet, More Remix His Name Is Alive
His Name Is Alive's blues have covered the Earth for most of our young millennium; now, those same blues are being shaken up a bit. The Michigan tribe has put together Someday Rmx, a download-only remix album of 2001's Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth (4AD). Best part, it's free.
Several tracks, including contributions from Four Tet and Minotaur Shock, were previously featured on limited edition 12" promo singles back in 2001. The record does, however, feature a new number from Burnt Friedman, and R&B and demo versions of "Write My Name".
Starting today, for a limited time, fans can download the 11-track Silver Mountain Media Group release (with printable PDF art!) on His Name Is Alive's website.
In other news, the latest HNIA album, Detrola will see release in the UK and select European countries on October 16, courtesy of Reincarnate/Essential.
His Name Is Alive have four October gigs on the touring agenda, one of which (Dearborn, Michigan's Stormy Records date) requires attendees to "come early, stand in the front, wear a costume, and bring a tambourine," according to a press release. 100 fun-sized candy bars says the band goes as His Name Is Dead. [MORE...]
Decemberists Plot UK, Euro Takeover
Beware, O United Kingdom, for the war stories, theatrics, and folk-prog of thee Decemberists' The Crane Wife will soon descend on your fine territory.
The album will see release in the UK on January 29, courtesy of Rough Trade. First, however, the quintet will make its way through the U.S. Afterward, Colin Meloy and co. will embark on a just-announced European tour.
And for the ladies and gents in the audience looking to catch Colin's attention, read up on his "Five NEW Favorite Things" in the Decemberists' latest MySpace blog entry. [MORE...]
The Good, the Bad and the Queen Kick Into High Gear
The Good, the Bad and the Queen, the supergroup made up of Damon Albarn (Gorillaz, Blur), Paul Simonon (The Clash), Simon Tong (The Verve), and Tony Allen (Fela Kuti), are gearing up to tackle the good, the bad, and the scene this fall.
Item number one on GBQ's plate is a meal less-than-fit for a king, "Herculean", the first single from the band's debut self-titled album (due in January via Parlophone/EMI [UK] and Virgin [North America], Billboard.com reports). It will be released in CD, 7", and digital download formats on October 30, "and deleted the same day," according to the band's MySpace page. Okaaay, apparently we're all living in computers here. The limited edition single features artwork by Simonon.
Prior to the single's release, the London four-piece will make its debut live at the Pig Nose Inn in East Prawle, England. This kicks off a short tour, which will end in a performance of the Danger Mouse-produced The Good, the Bad and the Queen straight through at the Electric Proms festival in London. [MORE...]
Long Blondes Drive Home Debut, Prep Single
Band actually comprised of short brunettes
Pull
out the peroxide and let down those locks, because from now through
the end of this news story, it's Long Blondes time. The
stylish Sheffield quintet have unveiled a tracklisting, title, and release date for their long-awaited debut full-length, Someone to Drive You Home, as well as info on forthcoming
single "Once and Never Again".
That single, which will precede the Blondes' LP (due November 6 via Rough Trade in the UK), hits shops in CD and two 7" formats on October 23. In addition to "Once and Never Again", it will feature new numbers "Who Are You to Her?", "Whippet Fancier", and "5 Ways to End It". The band churned out these tracks with in-demand remixer Erol Alkan (Franz Ferdinand, Scissor Sisters) as producer.
In support of both works, the Long Blondes have embarked on their first UK headlining tour, a month-long October jaunt. The majority of the trek sees labelmates 1990s on opener duty-- and all standards of rock nomenclature be damned: several bills include a band actually calling themselves Monkey Swallows the Universe (who are not nearly as bad as their name would have you believe). [MORE...]
Raconteurs to Release Instant Bootlegs
Fresh off their North American tour with Dr. Dog and the Raconteurs are already rallying up the troops for another assault, this time on the UK. And oh my gimmick, every gig will see the Raconteurs' set recorded, pressed, and made available to fans as they leave the venue. Each show will warrant its own limited edition (1000 copies) double-disc CD featuring artwork exclusive to the date and a KCRW version of upcoming single "Broken Boy Soldiers (due October 23 on XL Recordings), courtesy of the band and ConcertLive.
Yeah, it's just like that thing the Pixies did. And the White Stripes did.
Following the UK jaunt, the Raconteurs will play Las Vegas' Vegoose Music Festival, a series of East Coast performances alongside Bob Dylan, and a newly announced two-night New Year's party at Chicago's Riviera Theatre. [MORE...]
Tokyo Police Club Sign to Memphis Industries
Exclusive MP3!
Tokyo Police Club, who just released their debut EP-- A Lesson in Crime-- in North America on Paper Bag Records, have signed to Memphis Industries in the UK and Europe.
The band's first single for the label will be "Nature of the Experiment". It comes out in the UK on November 20 with B-side "Box", which is available as an exclusive download below. The "Cheer It On" single, the B-side of which is currently unspecified, will arrive in the UK on February 5. On February 12, A Lesson in Crime will finally arrive in both the UK and Europe along with bonus track "Cut Cut Paste".
Tokyo Police Club will play a few dates with Art Brut and the Spinto Band on October 16 at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA before going on to play CMJ and a ton of dates in both the U.S. and Canada in November. A video for "Nature of the Experiment" is currently in post-production.
Memphis Industries has also signed two other bands: New Zealand's the Ruby Suns (formerly Ryan McPhun and the Ruby Suns) and Scotland's Bricolage. The Ruby Suns' self-titled debut comes out in the UK on December 4 and in Europe in January, and a second album is already "in the works," according to a press release. Bricolage are currently looking for the producer of their debut and hope to begin recording it in November. [MORE...]
Cibo Matto's Miho Hatori Undergoes Ecdysis
Whoa, Cibo Matto! Remember those guys? I know, right? Like, holy nineteen-nineties. No doubt certain among you have wondered what has befallen the two creative minds behind Cibo of late, and today Pitchfork has the antidote to half of your wonderings: Cibo vocalist/lyricist Miho Hatori is doing the solo record thing! Her debut disc, Ecdysis, hits stores October 24 via the good folks at Rykodisc.The term 'ecdysis' refers the periodic shedding of skin or exoskeleton in insects and other nasty buggers. Hatori chose it because it's one of those handy all-encompassing metaphors, and because it's much less obvious/suggestive than Shedding and a way better record title than Molting. Eww.
Ecdysis includes 11 Hatori-produced tracks and features contributions from two former members of Soul Coughing-- bassist Sebastian Steinberg and keyboardist Mark de Gli Antoni-- as well as percussionist Mauro Refosco, cornet dude Jon Birdsong, and accordionist Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman).
And, just in time for Halloween, (trick or) treat your senses to this spookily psychedelic video for "Barracuda", animated by Ishiura Masaru. If you're really digging it, and want to watch it, like, all the time, you can actually and exclusively download the thing below and play it on your video iPod. Holy twenty-first century!
Ahhhh, mushrooms. Now it all makes sense.
Miho joins up with the rotating, incestuous, singer-songwriter-oriented Hotel Cafe tour next week, playing a string of midwest dates alongside coffeehouse favorites like the Weepies, Matt Costa, Charlotte Martin, and Kevin Devine. [MORE...]
Little Ones Sign to Astralwerks
Tour the UK with the Boy Least Likely To
One of the cheeriest band on Earth have hit the big time. Los Angeles five-piece the Little Ones recently signed a worldwide deal with Astralwerks. The label is now officially the band's North American home, and its partner Heavenly Recordings has the band covered in Europe.
The Little Ones' Sing Song EP, which they initially self-released, will get a proper spot in the Astralwerks catalogue come next Tuesday, October 17. It will include a bonus track.
This
winter, the band will record its debut full length in Los Angeles. It is slated for
a tentative mid-2007 due date.
The Little Ones will play the Astralwerks CMJ showcase this November. In January, they'll tour the UK with fellow happy dudes the Boy
Least Likely To. [MORE...]
Ted Leo Talks New Album, Head Injury
Ted Leo is Mr. Punk Rock, right? He spends all his time in the van, he wears the same t-shirt to two festivals in the same city within five weeks of each other, he plays so hard he bashes his face in (more on that later).
So what's he doing recording his new album on a farm in rural Massachusetts? Isn't that something that, like, Devendra or Brightblack Morning Light would do?
Actually, Ted Leo is being as punk as ever. At Long View Farms, where Leo, bandmates Dave Lerner and Chris Wilson, and producer Brendan Canty (Fugazi) recently holed up to work on their fifth album, conditions were pretty hardcore. "They have a barn with a recording studio," Leo explained in an interview with Pitchfork over the weekend. "The only drawback to the whole thing is you're tracking in the area above where all the horses are. By like the tenth day, the constant flies were really starting to bug me."
Perhaps because of those flies (or perhaps because we live in George W. Bush's America in 2006), the as-yet-untitled album is "a little more aggressive" than what we're used to from Mr. Leo. "In terms of sound, the drum sound and guitars and everything, kind of sounds like a 77 punk record," Leo said. "We did a lot of work on actually getting things like we wanted them to sound on the front end, and then listening back it was like, 'Wow that's the sound of an older record."
Not surprisingly, many of the titles of the 14 songs that have been recorded are appropriately punk-sounding: "Sons of Ten", "La Costa Brava", "World Stops Turning", "Born on Christmas Day", "Who Do You Love" (not a cover), "Some Beginner's Mind", "A Bottle of Bucky", "Army Bound," "Bomb Repeat Bomb", "The Toro and the Toreador", "The Unwanted Things", "The Loft Brigade", and "CIA".
All of the music has been recorded, and the band is working on vocals and mixing this week, with a spring 2007 release in mind. "There's some piano on there, some more folky instruments. I played a lot of mandolin on it," Leo said. Aggressive mandolin! We like the sound of that. [MORE...]
Classic Sebadoh Lineup Reunites
New Dinosaur Jr. album and DVD on the way
Sebadoh is back! And it's not the lame late-90s version either.
Lou Barlow, who has been touring with a reconstituted Dinosaur Jr. for over a year (and they have some news of their own, but more on that later), announced on his website recently that his other influential group has reformed in its classic lineup: Barlow, Eric Gaffney, and Jason Loewenstein.
Barlow writes, "Sebadoh Classic will be touring this spring 2/25/07 → 4/07. Sebadoh Classic = Gaffney-era... III → Bubble and Scrape. Eric, Jason, and I will be heading out together..." That's about all Barlow lets on, but those dates are just specific enough for us to buy it. However, he immediately goes on to say, "then the new Dinosaur album will be out... and then... and then... we'll see..."
That's right, there will also be a new Dinosaur Jr. album. It's "almost done", and the band are planning to release it in "Spring '07," though a label and specific release date have yet to be decided. According to a recent report from Billboard.com, the record is awaiting a title, and guitarist J. Mascis, whose Amherst, Massachusetts home studio served as the base of recording, is finishing guitar and vocal parts at the moment. [MORE...]
Modest Mouse Push Back LP, Announce Shows
Modest Mouse have moved the previously reported release date of We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank from December 19 to a more vague "early 2007," according to a press release.
However, the band does have some tour dates scheduled, starting in November with their storming of L. A. and New York. So maybe it's best to think of We Were Dead like a movie: it premieres on the coasts, but the rest of us get to spend too much money on it eventually. [MORE...]
Danava Prep Kemado Debut, Tour
Portland may still be in mourning over the loss of Sleater-Kinney, but that doesn't mean the city's scene is entirely dead. The Thermals brought the apocalyptic heat with The Body, the Blood, the Machine, and now Danava will issue their debut LP on New York's Kemado Records, home of Lansing-Dreiden.
Danava's self-titled full-length is set for a November 7 release on the label and was produced by the band's friend Johnny Jewel (of Glass Candy). So characters in early punk songs (Television's "Little Johnny Jewel") can come to life and produce albums now? Then sign Sheena and Judy up for my debut.
In a press release, Danava are called "sci-fi rockers" and the five-song album is described as continuing the band's "long-standing tradition of musical respect." I hope that means their live shows look like aliens acting in after school specials. [MORE...]
Subtitle Finds Terrain to Roam With Islands on Tour
Subtitle
L.A. robo-rapper Subtitle may be tired of the game (he's retiring the Subtitle moniker at the end of this year-- unless his demands are met-- and continuing as Giovanni Marks), but at least he's got his friends. And on Terrain to Roam, his new album coming out October 10 on Alpha Pup, he enlists pretty much all of them behind the boards. Also: the cover utilizes the Pez font!! Terrain to Roam features production from Madlib, Dntel (aka Jimmy Tamborello), Daedelus, Nobody, Daddy Kev, Paris Zax, Thavius Beck, Omid, dDamage, Crunc Tesla, and Small Is Beautiful (aka J'Aime Tambeur, formerly of Islands), among others. And speaking of Islands, Subtitle will kick off his North American tour this weekend with those Unicorns-descended crazies. [MORE...]
Jóhann Jóhannsson to Release User-Friendly LP
Born in the late 1950s, the
IBM 1401 was a clunker-- and presumably, so was its user manual. Nearly 50 years later, Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson has crafted his own sonic ode to the massive machine with
IBM 1401, a User's Manual,
his debut record for 4AD.
The
disc, due October 24 in the U.S. and October 30 in the UK, is inspired by the work of Jóhannsson's father, Jóhann
Gunnarsson, once a maintenance engineer for one of Iceland's first
computers. Jóhannsson originally put together the piece for a string quartet
to accompany a dance by Erna Ómarsdóttir, and reworked it for a sixty-piece string orchestra for the album.
For v2.0, Jóhannsson added a final movement incorporating,
according to a press release, "electronics and vintage
reel-to-reel recordings of a singing IBM 1401 mainframe computer
found in his father's attic." 1333337.
An early version (from the quartet days) of the finale, non-album track "Passacaglia" will back a "The Sun's Gone Dim and the Sky's Turned Black" single, which hits UK shops via 4AD on October 9. Following the album's release, Jóhannsson will launch a short tour of the UK and Belgium. He'll also play the Iceland Airwaves festival on October 21. [MORE...]
Pit Er Pat Erect Pyramids
Heh heh, he said "erect"
A Chicago-based "glam/thrash/afro-beat" trio (if you believe their MySpace-- we're skeptical), Pit Er Pat return October 10 with their latest longplayer to bear the respected Thrill Jockey stamp: Pyramids. The 11-track set follows up last year's debut Shakey LP and limited edition 3D Message EP and finds our onomatopoeic friends quaking out more of that nervous, jazzy, refreshingly askew pop we love when we're in the mood for something just a bit 'out there.'Comprised of keyboardist/vocalist Fay Davis-Jeffers, bassist Rob Doran, and drummer Butchy Fuego, the band recorded Pyramids at Chicago's Soma Electronic Music Studios, with man-about-town and Tortoise drummer extraordinaire John McEntire at the controls.
Pit Er Pat go tit for tat with audiences across America this autumn. It all begins with a record release party tonight at Chicago's Empty Bottle, and continues in Grand Rapids and beyond toward the end of the month. Call it a Pyramids scheme. Or don't, you killjoys. [MORE...]
Adem, Hot Chip, Simian on Memory Band U.S. Debut
Evoking the traditional folk collective vibes of the Fairport Convention, England's the Memory Band will soon release their U.S. debut Apron Strings, featuring contributions from space-folkie Adem, Hot Chip's Al Doyle, and former-Simian Simon Lord. The pastoral affair arrives October 10 via Vetiver/Vashti Bunyan label Dicristina Stair Builders.Folktronica dude Stephen Cracknell (who, as Gorodisch, released Thurn & Taxis on the Leaf Label in 2001), assembled the Memory Band circa 2001 with the intention of creating a "folk supergroup," in his own words. The MB collected a pair of previous EPs into a well-received self-titled UK debut album in 2004. Certainly worth a listen, particularly if you find most contemporary folk too freak-ish.
Apron Strings also features vocals from folk singer Nancy Wallace and fiddle-playing from Elysian Quartet member Jennymay Logan. Cracknell and Co. tackle a number of traditional folk tunes, as well as covers, including Ronnie Lane's "The Poacher" and Carly Simon's "Why". [MORE...]
Olivia Tremor Control Associates Ready Albums
Boys and girls, meet: Dark Meat and The New Sound of Numbers
The indie music scene in Athens, GA is all-too-often described in tandem with words like "collective," "collaboration," "family," "friendship," and "crazy." At times these descriptors might seem overly simplistic, even stereotypical, but there's no denying that Athens bands just love playing together with each other and being BFF!
Take the new Cloud Recordings bands: Dark Meat and the New Sound of Numbers, both of which have debut full-lengths on the way: The New Sound's Liberty Seeds arrives October 10, while Dark Meat's Universal Indians hits the better record shops on November 21. [MORE...]
Sufjan, Daniel Smith on Daniel Johnston Tribute Album
Kramer's Shimmy-Disc returns as Second Shimmy
Sufjan Stevens and Daniel Smith joining forces to cover Daniel Johnston? Pitchfork boner alert!! But seriously, these two are among 20-odd artists performing Johnston tunes on the new tribute album, I Killed the Monster, due October 10 via venerable New York producer Kramer's Second Shimmy Records. (Isn't this, like, the fourth Daniel Johnston tribute album?)
Kramer put the covers comp together to coincide with the DVD release of the documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston, which hit stores last month. It sees Smith and Stevens tackling Johnston's "Worried Shoes", from 1983's Yip/Jump Music. Other contributors include former Minuteman Mike Watt, former Moldy Peach Kimya Dawson, former One Dove Dot Allison, former next-big-thing Joy Zipper, Half Japanese dude Jad Fair, and Kramer himself, forever doomed to be confused with the bumbling "Seinfeld" character, even though he had the name first.
I Killed the Monster will be the first release from Second Shimmy, which is in fact a reincarnation of Kramer's beloved Shimmy-Disc, responsible for puting out records back in the day from GWAR, Damon & Naomi, King Missile, Bongwater, and Johnston.
Daniel Johnston has one upcoming gig planned (invite only, mind you) for October 17 at Austin's the Belmont.
Johnston also contributes the unreleased track "You Made My High School" to the 50minutes compilation, due out October 30 on London's Exercise1 Records. It's a benefit album for the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, and features 50 artists doing one-minute songs. MC Lars, Grand Mal, Piney Gir, Ladyfuzz, Jeremy Warmsley, and many, many more contribute. [MORE...]
Isis and Aereogramme Go In the Fishtank
Isis' new LP, In the Absence of Truth, won't be released by Ipecac until October 31, but the band have plenty to tide hungry fans over until then, with the previously reported Clearing the Eye DVD coming out on September 26, an ongoing tour with Tool, and now, a collaborative EP with Aereogramme, to be released October 10 via Konkurrent.
In the Fishtank 14 is the latest EP in a series for the Dutch label in which like-minded artists are "given two days studio time [together] and freedom to do whatever they like musically," according to the label's website. Past collaborators have included the Black Heart Procession and Solbakken, Sonic Youth, ICP and the Ex, Low and Dirty Three, and Tortoise and the Ex.
The Isis/Aerogramme EP was recorded in July of last year, and, according to a press release, the resulting three songs are not what you might expect from such a collaboration: "When Konkurrent invited Isis and Aereogramme to do a Fishtank session, we expected a loud and heavy session not yet heard in the series. Expectations can be misleading. Was it the extremely hot weather? The overwhelming 70s atmosphere in the studio? The shitty hotel the night before? We may never know those answers, but we know this: it's the analog warmth that makes the song tender, organic, and fragile." [MORE...]
Cold War Kids Launch Tour Without Futureheads
The Cold War Kids like to sing about how they "used to" vacation, but it looks like they're headed out on another trip, starting tonight in Seattle. The trek was originally supposed to be spent opening for the Futureheads, but, as previously reported, the Futureheads bailed.
Instead of going home and crying, the Cold War Kids sucked it up and decided to make it their own headlining tour, in support of their upcoming LP, Robbers & Cowards, due October 10 on Downtown Records. [MORE...]
Clap Your Hands Talk New LP
It's due out January 30 on their own label
We love Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and all, but that self-titled debut from last year is getting kinda boring. They need new tunes! We sat down yesterday with CYHSY guitarist/keyboardist Lee Sargent for a brief chat about just that-- the new tunes, new direction, new album, new producer, and that plain old self-released approach.As previously reported, mighty Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Sleater-Kinney, Low) will produce CYHSY's sophomore full-length, which has no title yet, but is set to arrive January 30. The band wrapped up recording a short while ago, and received the master for LP2 just the other day. "There might be some revisions to it," said Sargent, "but we're done." Applaud and yell affirmatives, folks!
So what can the legions of Clap-o-philes expect? "The songs are really different-- it's an entirely different thing from the first one. There are certain elements that tie it to the first one, but there's a lot more going on, we had the resources to make it a little more involved...[and] we just had a lot of time to try out some different things."
Don't worry though, it's not like they're rapping about their new website or something. According to Lee, "different" here means "the arrangements are more complex." This certainly holds true for new tunes "Some Loud Thunder" and "Satan Said Dance", both set to appear on the next album, and another recent jam, "The Sword Song", which Lee says likely won't.
Now, the big question for these DIY posterboys: who's putting out the new record? "It's going to be the same arrangement as the first one," said Lee. "Wichita is going to put it out in the UK, and they get distributed by V2 in other parts of the world, but we're going to hold onto it in the U.S. and do it the same way we did the first one."
For CYHSY, the decision to go without a U.S. label once again was motivated by practicality more than bleeding-heart ethics. "The first one worked out nicely doing it that way, so there's really been no discussion to even consider changing that arrangement."
Working with Fridmann, Sargent recalled, was "awesome."
"He's just really good at coloring the songs, and his production is unique-- he makes things really sort of gritty, but in a nice way. He has really tasteful approaches to adding little things here and there, and just...fills out the songs." [MORE...]
You know how when you eat a lollipop, your mouth turns the color of the lollipop? Well, if you were to eat a lollipop made of pure Gun Club-style blues rock, you'd end up with Black Lips, the Atlanta foursome who are the newest signings to Vice Records.The band have already released two albums on Bomp and one on In the Red. Their Vice debut will be the recently recorded Live in Tijuana, a greatest hits package of sorts that will also include new songs. Live in Tijuana will come out on January 23.
A new studio full-length, produced by John Reis of Rocket From the Crypt and Hot Snakes, will follow in the spring. Right now, the band is finishing up a tour of the U.S. with Be Your Own Pet. [MORE...]
Mogwai's Zidane Soundtrack to Be Released
Headbutting not included
If Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno's Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait blew the minds of football (soccer, Americans, soccer) fans and Cannes Film Festival attendees alike, imagine what its Mogwai-provided soundtrack will do. I mean, with those headphones so close to peoples' brains and everything, it's bound to be explosive--like an aural butt to the...nevermind.
On November 6, Zidane the album will be released in the UK via Pias Recordings. Preceding it will be a limited edition two-track 10" ("Black Spider"/"Half Time") and the "Black Spider" single download, both due October 23.
As previously reported, Mogwai also contributed to the soundtracks to the Miami Vice and The Fountain soundtracks. They are currently on the road as well, with performances scheduled through mid-November. [MORE...]
Janet Weiss Talks Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
It looks like Janet Weiss' previously reported gig with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks is definitely a permanent thing. She is now an official member of the band, who will tour the West Coast in January, though specific dates have yet to be announced. In an interview with the Portland Mercury's blog, Weiss said she is excited about "the fall/winter seasons [which] will most likely be dedicated to working on new material, and gearing up to record an album."Weiss further explained the circumstances of her arrival in the band by saying, "I've been intrigued with the possibility of playing with the Jicks ever since John Moen left to be a Decemberist full-time. My schedule hadn't really allowed it though, until recently, when I became much more available. [Jicks bassist] Joanna Bolme joined Quasi on our last round of tours, so I knew for a fact that our rhythm section could stir up some magic. And what self-respecting musician wouldn't jump at the chance to play with one of the staggering guitarists of our generation?! I'm excited to be in a situation where folks like to improvise, to push the envelope."
She also hinted at the sound of some of Malkmus' new material. "Steve's got a bunch of ballsy new songs. I'm enjoying getting inside a new and very different brain, trying to find the drum parts that suit his creativity. I appreciate how far out and wild he gets with his playing, and look forward to forging into some new territory."
Exclusive: El-P Talks New LP, Featuring Cat Power
Reznor, Mars Volta, TVOTR, Aesop Rock, James McNew, Cage, Mr. Lif also guest
Four years after the release of his first solo record, Fantastic Damage, Def Jux label head El-P is finally finishing its follow-up, the previously reported I'll Sleep When You're Dead. The always busy producer-rapper said, "It just feels good to be on the mic again," when he spoke to Pitchfork Monday about the album, which he hopes to release March 6 on Def Jux.
His collaborators on I'll Sleep When You're Dead include Trent Reznor, the Mars Volta, Aesop Rock, Cage, Mr. Lif (whose track "might end up becoming a bonus cut" due to scheduling), Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio), Matt Sweeney (Chavez/Bonnie "Prince" Billy/Zwan), James McNew (Yo La Tengo), Rob Sonic, Mr. Dibbs, and Cat Power (more on that later).
El-P qualified their involvement by saying, "I don't really like records that are all about hardcore collaboration. It's really just about friends, and when I'm making shit people drop by, you know? So they'll pop up on little things, background vocals, but most of these people won't be listed, except in the credits."
El-P met Trent Reznor and the Mars Volta in separate instances of mutual fandom, which led to him remixing their songs. He called his remix of the Mars Volta's "The Widow" "probably the best remix I've ever done." When it came to the collaboration on the new record, he said, "I had them come in at the end of a song and kind of built something up around Cedric [Bixler-Zavala] singing and Omar [Rodriguez-Lopez] playing guitar."
As for Reznor, who contributes to a song called "Flyentology", "he basically does the choruses and breakdowns, and he also plays guitar and bass in a section of it. I've had the comment thrown at me for years: 'You're the Trent Reznor of hip hop!' I like his shit, so I was perfectly happy to take that, and it started to make sense to me: 'Hey, that would be a pretty crazy collaboration.'"
An even crazier collaboration is the one with Chan Marshall, who El-P said he knows from "bumping into each other here and there." Working with Marshall on "Poisonville Kids No Wins", the last song on the album, "made a lot of sense," because El-P originally wrote the song while "looping up 'Love & Communication' [from Cat Power's The Greatest]. I kind of forgot that I had done that, and then I went in and I sampled some heartbreaking James Brown shit that I threw in at the end. But I was like, "Well a) I can't pay for this ever, and something's wrong here. Then I bumped into Chan and asked her to do it, and it wasn't until after she said yes that I realized that I had actually written the song to her music. I didn't want to weird her out, but I told her afterwards."
El-P plans to remix "Love & Communication", as "kind of our trade, you know?" [MORE...]
Stream: Beck: "Dark Star" (TV on the Radio remix)
You already knew that Beck's new album, The Information, which came out today on Interscope, comes packaged with a DVD featuring videos for all of the songs. Well now, as we've come to expect from Mr. Hansen, there's more.
If you buy The Information from iTunes, not only does it come with all of those videos, but you also receive an exclusive remix of "Dark Star" by David Sitek of TV on the Radio. Yeah, the one he talked about in this interview, when he said, "It's
turning into a free jazz song....I have saxophone players and flute
players in here."
It's hard to tell where the original song ends and the remix begins from the stream of Sitek's remix below, but there are plenty of laser noises and sleigh bells and, yes, saxophones and flutes. I'll bet Beck's pleased.
Nurse With Wound Reissue An Awkward Pause
Bonus disc allows fans to create their own NWW remix! Kewl!!
Nurse With Wound: it's not for everyone. But perhaps it's your thing, which is why you clicked on this here story, and in which case you'll be psyched to know that Steven Stapleton's venerable experimental outfit will soon re-release 1999's much-loved An Awkward Pause. It's slated to arrive November 1 via David Tibet's (Current 93) Durtro/Jnana Records."Meh," you say. "I already have An Awkward Pause," you say. And "it's the original pressing, with the bonus vinyl, and Stapleton signed it. In blood."
Well, my friend, what you most certainly don't have is the brand new bonus second disc, featuring demos, remixes, and alternate versions of Pause tracks, and-- get this-- an "Ingredients" version of "Two Shaves and a Shine", which means you can totally create your own Nurse With Wound deep cut. Hands on! DIY! Do try this at home!
An Awkward Pause (both new version and old) also features contributions from numerous NWW associates, including Tibet, Christoph Heemann, Colin Potter, and Petr Vastl (aka Aranos). And nothing says holiday cheer like a Nurse With Wound gig. Catch them at the Thurston Moore-curated All Tomorrow's Parties event The Nightmare Before Christmas, going down December 8-10 at Butlins Holiday Centre in Minehead, UK. [MORE...]
New Clipse Bumped, Pusha Revokes Lynching Comment
Yep, again. Hell Hath No Fury, the looooong-awaited follow-up to Neptunes-produced Virginia rap duo Clipse's 2002 debut, Lord Willin', has been bumped back for the umpteenth time. According to Billboard.com, it's now slated for release on December 12.As previously reported, Clipse had some harsh words for label Jive Records, partnered with their own imprint Re-Up Gang Records. In a recent interview, Pusha T told RollingStone.com, "I hate Jive [Records]...with all my heart and all the passion and my soul I hate these bitches. It's about the lynching of every staff member up in this motherfucker." Um, yikes.
It's rumored that these comments caused the latest delay, although Pusha T recently rescinded (sort of) to Billboard.com, declaring, "I don't hate every Jive staff member, I love some people up there.
"I just got a little emotional."
Whether those remarks really set things back or not, it's clear legal gobblygook has had plenty to do with tying up the release of Clipse's second album for what seems like an eternity now.
"The album's limbo was through no fault of our own," Malice told Billboard.com. "The battle was between Star Trak and Jive, and we were caught in the middle. And we had to wait until they settled it. And when you're suing somebody, every step of paperwork takes six months. And before you know it, years have gone. Who wants that?"
Clipse have a few gigs lined up, including a November 3 show at Philadelphia's Starlight Ballroom, and a spot at San Francisco's Be the Riottt! festival on November 11. They will also appear at this year's CMJ Music Marathon, and, according to Billboard.com, hope to join Young Jeezy and Rick Ross' upcoming tour.
Portastatic Covers Hot Chip on Digital EP
"And I was a boy from S-u-u-u-u-perchunk"
Mac McCaughan's umpteenth album as Portastatic, Be Still Please, comes out October 10 via his own Merge Records, but the release is preceded by a digital EP that is already available from the Merge website.
The Sour Shores EP has four songs, including the title track and its acoustic demo, non-album track "Portraits From Before the War", and a cover of Hot Chip's "And I Was a Boy From School" (!). As if that song could get any more emo!
Portastatic will play one date in Montreal during Pop Montreal (where McCaughan will also be a panelist at the Future of Music Policy Summit) before heading out on a U.S. tour with Jennifer O'Connor on October 11. Happy sailing! [MORE...]
White Stripes Get Orchestral Treatment
If Aphex Twin and Metallica can go symphonic, why not everybody's favorite coed, color-coordinated guitar-and-drums duo the White Stripes? XL Recordings founder Richard Russell didn't just ponder the possibilities-- he done did it, recruiting British film and television composer Joby Talbot and "many of the UK's finest young classical musicians" (according to a publicist) to record an entire album of orchestral interpretations of White Stripes songs.Russell and Tablot christened their project Aluminium, in reference to the Stripes song but with a British spelling to emphasize their place of origin, a good ocean and a half away from Meg and Jack's native Detroit. Aluminium's self-titled debut arrives (for pre-order) November 6 and features ten Stripes covers, including "Aluminum" (retaining the original spelling), "The Hardest Button to Button", and more.
This ain't your prance-y Mozart shit either. These orchestral renditions have a decidedly modern bent, incorporating plenty of odd percussion, dissonance, and jarring tempos-- particularly the almost-title track. Listen to a few tunes from Aluminium's album on their MySpace.
Aluminium will be available exclusively through the band's website, and limited to 3,333 CD and 999 vinyl copies. It features artwork by long-time Stripes designer Rob Jones, and vinyl LPs come with an original Jones silk screen print. In addition, a special Aluminium toy will be available for purchase on the same date the album arrives. [MORE...]
Talib Kweli Returns With New Album
Kicking mad new flava in ya Ear Drum
Respected by hard-hitting MCs (including Jay-Z and 50 Cent) and scrawny, Liberal Arts degree-toting white kids alike, Black Star hip-hopper Talib Kweli returns this November with his latest longplayer, Ear Drum. Kweli's own label, Blacksmith Records (partnered with Warner Bros.) will release the disc, which follows up 2004's The Beautiful Struggle. Ear Drum sees Kweli spitting more of that slick but thought-provoking street poetry you've come to love from the man, and includes guest spots from frequent Kweli recording partner and DJ/producer Hi-Tek, Southern rap legends UGK, embattled songstress Norah Jones, reggae star Sizzla, and MC-on-the-rise Jean Grae.
If reading about this is making you anxious, click below for a stream and video of the first single off Ear Drum, the Kwame-produced "Listen". [MORE...]
Hey Múm! Long time no see, my Icelandic buds! Love your dreamy, intricate, space-chamber- pop-esque compositions. And look, now you're back and about to drop (er, excuse me, carefully set down) a CD of your Peel Session, recorded way back in 2002. On November 14, eh? Via FatCat Records? Great, great. I'm doing well too, thanks for asking! OK, ttyl guys.Múm Peel Session includes four reworked tracks, pulled from the band's debut release, Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today Is OK, and follow-up, Finally We Are No One, all recorded for the late legendary radio DJ Sir John Peel. It comes in lovely homemade packaging, so buy two.
According to a representative for the band, Múm are about 90% finished recording their latest full-length, will master it in November, and hope to have it ready for May 2007 release. [MORE...]
Bert Jansch Tours Behind Black Swan
Folk veteran Bert Jansch, inspiration to legions, has unveiled the tracklisting for his forthcoming The Black Swan, due October 17 via Drag City in the U.S./Canada (and already available elsewhere thanks to Sanctuary).
As previously reported, Swan features contributions from Devendra Banhart, Beth Orton, Otto Hauser of Espers and Vetiver, and Currituck Co.'s Kevin Barker, and was produced by Noah Georgeson. And now, we know exactly who did what: "When the Sun Comes Up" features Beth Orton, "Katie Cruel" Orton and Banhart, and "Watch the Stars" Orton and Kevin Barker.
In support of the record, Jansch is gearing up for some scattered U.S. and English dates, including a London gig with Orton that is happening pretty much right now, and slots at Los Angeles' Arthur Nights festival and Birkenhead's International Guitar Festival of Great Britain. He'll also join Banhart at the Bridge School Benefit in California next month. [MORE...]
Cat Power Covers Redding, Hank Williams for eMusic
Cat Power sure loves these exclusive online-only EP thingies. Just a few weeks after releasing one on iTunes, Chan Marshall has announced that she'll bless her buddies over at eMusic with one.
On October 3, the indie download store will make available a four-song session recorded in June 2006 on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic show. It contains solo versions of two Cat Power songs (the title track from her latest album, The Greatest, and "Good Woman" from 2003's You Are Free) as well as covers of Otis Redding's "Remember Me" and Hank Williams' "Ramblin' Man". We haven't heard 'em yet, but we're guessing they're probably heartbreaking, in typical Cat Power fashion.
Cat Power and the mighty Memphis Rhythm Band head to Europe for a brief trek in November. [MORE...]
Trentemoller Opts for The Last Resort
Break out the headphones and/or the dancefloors: Danish producer Anders Trentemoller takes a break from remixing the likes of the Knife, Röyksopp, and Pet Shop Boys to release his own debut album, The Last Resort, on October 24 via Poker Flat.
If "Physical Fraction" and "Polar Shift" are totally your jams, that's rad-- just don't expect quite the same thing from The Last Resort.
As uber-friendly Trente put it on his MySpace, "The album will show a new side of me. It's...very personal, made not for the dancefloor but for all you dreamers, lovers, and spacers out there."
While electronic at its core, the spacey outing features everything from guitars and bass to celesta, glockenspiel, melodica, and music box. It arrives in three formats: CD, digital, and vinyl, with the CD mixed and the other two unmixed. In addition, the CD will come with a bonus disc containing Trentemoller's biggest singles on Poker Flat and Audiomatique. So you'll get your "Polar Shift" fix after all.
Contributors to The Last Resort include Mikael Simpson (providing distorted bass and guitar), Henrik Vibskov (acoustic drums), and Thomas "DJ T.O.M." Bertelsen (lending his scratching skills). Fellow Dane Ane Trolle assists on vocals, as well as British producer Richard Davis.
For those who want a taste of Last Resort, Poker Flat just dropped a 12" single for "Always Something Better", featuring the original vocal version by Richard Davis, as well as remixes by Matthew Herbert and Trentemoller himself.
Catch Trente as he tours the world this fall. [MORE...]
Jarvis Cocker Reveals Album Title, Release Date
Plus a ridiculous video
This morning, I signed onto the Jarvernet, checked my Jmail, headed over to NME.com, and found out that, hey, former Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker has finally titled his debut solo record. Go figure, it's called Jarvis. The disc, which is said to be produced with Sam Lockwood and John Watson (Cocker's school friends who also wrote lyrics to a couple songs on the record) will hit the United Kingdom on November 13.
But
it doesn't stop there. JarvSpace also posted a pretty sweet video. It
opens on a small, gingerbread-looking house. You're waiting for the
tune to start and out pops Jarvis (who, by the way, is a good two
feet taller than the door, I'd guess). He relays a little message
before kicking into the song, which is paired with footage of skies
and oceans and other nature things. What's posted over these calm backdrops? Why karaoke-style lyrics to the song, of course.
The track isn't expected to be included on Jarvis, NME reports, but it was featured in the film Children of Men starring Michael Caine and Clive Owen, released last week. For Cocker's thoughts on the work (excuse me, "the album of the Millennium"), licking coins, and more, read his latest JarvSpace entry...the one with the subject line "Cyber-sisters & Binary-brothers."
Speaking of JarvSpace, Cocker has uploaded Jarvcast 002, but it's not working. So stay tuned. Also, he has three European gigs lined up for November and December. [MORE...]
Ex-Beta Band Members Are Aliens
Legal ones, though
The Aliens, comprised of former Beta Band members John Maclean, Robin Jones, and Gordon Anderson (who left the band early on to become Lone Pigeon), have invaded Earth. They put out their debut EP, Alienoid Starmonica, in May, and are currently working on a new album to be released in February 2007. And man, are they happy about it.
The British trio released the single "The Happy Song" last week, complete with a video of them singing, dancing, jumping, and tying their shoes with much happiness. And hyperness. (We're talking "I-just-ate-a-whole-packet-of-Fun Dip" hyper.)
This fall, the Aliens will land at various UK venues on a month-long
tour, which will be followed (the band hopes) by appearances in the
U.S., Europe, and "anywhere else in the world that will have us in
2007."
Stephin Merritt Shares Gothic Archies Tracklist, Streams
It's a match made in-- well, hell, as either of these sarcastic mopes would likely put it. But in this case that's a very good thing! As previously reported, one Stephin Merritt (of Magnetic Fields, 6ths, and Future Bible Heroes fame-- and here in Gothic Archies mode) has been recording songs for one Lemony Snicket's (Daniel Handler to kith and kin) A Series of Unfortunate Events book series.Book the Thirteenth: The End-- the latest and final volume in the gloom-besotted series-- arrives, most appropriately, on Friday, October 13. The corresponding CD on Nonesuch, the Gothic Archies' The Tragic Treasury: Songs From a Series of Unfortunate Events, would probably arrive then too, were it not bound by the strange laws which dictate that all U.S. music releases must come out on Tuesdays. Thus, it hits stores October 10.
Were I Snicket, I'd be beseeching you to under no circumstances check out the tracklist and the two streams from the album linked below. That is, unless you like utter damnation, odes to A Series' vile villain Count Olaf, and taking your gothic ornamentation for a stroll. And if those two links aren't cooperating with your machine, and you really can't take a hint, hear the new tunes here. I mean, if you absolutely must.
Merritt hits the road next month, performing as part of the Snicket book tour, with the author himself on percussion. Dates here. [MORE...]
Pernice Brothers Release New Album, Tour
Favor sweaty guys over fashion shows
Joe Pernice is sick of the cynical, the fashion show, the vapid, the overblown. (Or so he sings on his new track "Somerville".) Now the oft-melancholic musician is encouraging fans to resist vapidity and Live a Little, as his long-running band the Pernice Brothers will release a new album by that name on October 3, courtesy of his own Ashmont Records.
Produced by Michael Deming, who also worked on the first Pernice Bros album Overcome by Happiness, the new full-length features strings and horns (a la Overcome) but-- according to the band's official website-- "is much more a rock record, representing the running of big fat analog tape while sweaty guys played on well-crafted instruments through amplifiers and pounded on sweet, old drum kits."
Live a Little, the follow-up to 2005's Discover a Lovelier You, contains eleven new tracks plus a 2006 version of "Grudge F***" by the Scud Mountain Boys (Pernice's former band).
Joe and friends will also bro down on a U.S. tour this fall. [MORE...]
New Pornographers Gear Up for Next Full-Length
Guitarist Todd Fancey talks New Pornos, second solo LP
The New Pornographers have just wrapped up their festival dates with a performance at the V Festival in Baltimore, and they have a Canadian tour scheduled for October, after which they will record their fourth album in November. Guitarist Todd Fancey spoke to Pitchfork yesterday about new albums from both the New Pornographers and his solo project, Fancey.
"[Carl is] working on [the New Pornographers album] now [in New York], and as a band we're going to rehearse the
songs on tour in October at soundcheck. So we'll rehearse the songs, go
over the tempos. Then [drummer/producer] Kurt [Dahle] will probably get the files in Vancouver and
work his ass off again like he did on Twin Cinema and get the drums
down. There will be file-sharing going back and forth between the
coasts. And then it's [touring] Australia [and] Japan. It's busy times,
and I guess we wouldn't have it any other way," said Fancey.
He also said that Dan Bejar and Neko Case will join the band in the
studio, and Bejar will continue to contribute songs to appear on the
new record. Realistically, he expects the record to come out in June.
"There's still a lot of work to do. For the Pornographers, it's going
to take months of preparatory work to set up this campaign. It seems
like things have been ascending slowly record-to-record, and I guess if
we're lucky, it will be the same thing. So it's such a huge campaign,
whereas [with] Fancey it's like, just put it out whenever and do some
touring and have fun with it."
Speaking of his solo project, Fancey is also busy readying the follow-up to his 2004 self-titled solo debut. Along with the soft rock of the first album, he's bringing a couple of other influences to the table. "There's a country rock song on it and a couple of Sabbath-y ones. That was the biggest thing for me growing up when I first got into music, so I come back to it sometimes, just the guitar style [and] a little bit of the vocal style," Fancey said.
[MORE...]
Chris Clark Drops First Name, Third Album
Chris Clark is ready to emerge from the shadows of more senior members of the Warp Records roster like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher with his third LP, Body Riddle, due out October 2 (UK) and October 3 (North America) via Warp. Dude's signaled his ascension by shortening his nom de musique to simply Clark and crafting a slick new album.Body Riddle keeps 11 tracks to about 40 minutes, and, as a press release colorfully puts it, Clark "hijacks the conventional live instrumentation of rock, draping it in the cloak of electronic composition and running it through the kaleidoscopic filters of krautrock, sunburnt psychedelia, and musique concrete." Whether or not that means anything to you, early reports from the Pitchfork camp show smiles.
To count down the weeks leading up to the album's release, Clark has been making exclusive, non-album tracks available for free download-- including a collaborative number with fellow Warpees Broadcast. There are three tunes in all, available now at www.throttleclark.com.
Or catch Clark as he tours the European circuit this fall. [MORE...]
MP3: Damien Jurado Covers Nick Drake
He's also got an album coming out and a tour
He's a moody storyteller with a jones for the acoustic guitar. His music sounds great when it's raining outside.
Are we talking about Damien Jurado or Nick Drake? Or BOTH? Hear the men intertwine into one, as Jurado covers several Drake tunes: "Which Will", "Rider on the Wheel", "Place to Be" and "Parasite", all available below for your downloading pleasure.
And get ready for an onslaught of Jurado in the near future. A long, long time ago (last February), Jurado posted a message on his website announcing that he was working on not one, but two albums which he claimed to be the "best ones yet." One was slated for a fall 2006 release, with the other following in early 2007. Well, things are looking good; the dude kept at least 50% of his promise!
The first, And Now That I'm in Your Shadow will land on Secretly Canadian come October 10. The other release is expected this spring, according to a recent story on Billboard.com
Billboard reported that the two are divided stylistically, with Shadow the "sadder" of the pair. Both feature Jurado's first-ever full-time band, which is comprised of cellist/vocalist Jenna Conrad and, as previously reported, multi-instrumentalist Eric Fisher.
"They write their parts and I can't say a thing about it," Jurado told Billboard. "I trust them, and whatever they come up with is so great. We all split the money three ways and each have our own responsibilities. 'We' are Damien Jurado."
The And Now That I'm in Your Shadow track "What Were the Chances" can be heard as an MP3 by clicking here; the track "There Goes Your Man" is available on his MySpace page.
Jurado kicks off a U.S. tour tonight in Utah. After a few dates with Amy Millan, he'll join up with Rosie Thomas. Then it's off to Europe to round out the year.
Follow the adventures of Damien Jurado (both the band and the man) on his audio blog. He tells you that he loves you a lot. [MORE...]
Wrens Reveal Double LP Meadowlands, Publishing Deal
Last we heard from The Meadowlands, claymation was the cat's meow. Now, just in time for its third birthday, the seminal Wrens record has been given a full-blown resurrection (and then some), courtesy of Absolutely Kosher/LO-MAX/BB*Island.
A double-vinyl, bonus-tracked version of the album is now available in the Wrens' online store. Added songs include "Splitter #7: Fireworks / James, I Wanna" (a two-songs-in-one project-- "James, I Wanna" on the right speaker, "Fireworks" on the left-- previously released via Saddle Creek as part of a Wrens/Park Ave. 7" split), "Our Brightest New Year" (a cut from a 7" put out on Boston label Sonic Bubblegum in 1995), and two previously unreleased (in the U.S.) numbers, "Nervous and Not Me", and "Such a Pretty Lie", which were originally developed for The Meadowlands.
The latter two were cut from the album due to time constraints caused by a string of family deaths and were put on hold...UNTIL NOW. "Nervous" was completed last winter in preparation for The Meadowlands' European release. "Pretty Lie" is, quoth the band's website, "the best existing mix of this 2nd or 3rd version of the song".
In addition to the Wrens' online store, the 2xLP will be available on the band's ongoing fall tour, the next date of which is slated for mid-October.
And finally, good news for all you film students looking to get the rights to Meadowlands tracks for your tight-ass indie flick. The Wrens have worked out a deal with Rough Trade Publishing for the disc, meaning anyone looking to get info about licensing songs can talk to RTP. And that the Wrens have done more in the past few weeks than in the last three years.
Now, maybe, it's finally time to move on? As the band says, "Dear Meadowlands, please end." [MORE...]
Nellie McKay's Head Finally Gets Release Date
While it's far from reaching Clipse-like proportions, the delay on Nellie McKay's sophomore album Pretty Little Head has been substantial, to say the least. Originally slated for release late last year, the album was bumped to January 3 after a shake-up at Nellie's then label, Columbia Records, then shelved indefinitely when McKay split from Columbia over the winter holiday.McKay essentially shrugged, and went on to star as Polly Peachum in a Broadway production of "The Threepenny Opera" (nabbing a Theatre World Award in the process). Now she's back, ready to put the full force of her own new label, Hungry Mouse, and SpinART's distribution muscle behind the October 31 release of Pretty Little Head-- now in double-disc format. Another two-disc release?? Must be some kind of record, man.
Pretty Little Head features 23 tracks in all, the same 23 tracks McKay fought with Columbia over keeping. It includes duets with Cyndi Lauper and k.d. lang and a 40-page booklet depicting McKay having a ball and raising a brouhaha recording the album. [MORE...]
Les Georges Leningrad Prep New Album, Tour
Also prep surrealistic tour wardrobe
Ta-Dada! Montreal-based art- (anti-art?) punk trio Les Georges Leningrad is poised to release another "petrochemical" album. Titled Sangue Puro (Italian for "pure-blooded"), the new full-length will appear in the U.S. on October 3 on Tomlab/Dare to Care Records.
On their MySpace page, the band describes this, their third full-length, as "a mix between Baltimore hip-hop, ludicrous musique concrète and Bakou's industrial hardcore."
Following the release of Sangue Puro, Poney P, Mingo, and BoBo will bring their infamous live show to North America, touring this November with fellow Quebecois Duchess Says. [MORE...]
Erase Errata's Jenny Hoyston Teams With Whitmore
But don't worry, she's not ditching the band
Erase Errata's Jenny Hoyston (aka Paradise Island) and her former tourmate/roommate William Elliott Whitmore are about to take a walk down the Hallways of Always. The two have joined forces to release a duets album that goes by the title above. It comes out on November 7, courtesy of Southern Records.
Recorded in Whitmore's cousin Luke Tweedy's living room (aka Flat Black Studios) over the course of a week, the project features six tracks, including one Hoyston solo number, "We Miss You", about the death of her father.
There has been no talk of the pair joining forces on the road anytime soon, but Whitman and Erase Errata both have extensive fall tours lined up. In addition, Paradise Island will play two gigs as part of Chicago's Estrojam festival on September 28 and 30. The first is an afterparty DJ set at the Abbey Pub with Donna Dresch (Team Dresch), and the second is a live stint at the Metro with Nina Hagen, Chi*Town Sirens, Carnie Gal Extraordinaire, and Alexandra of Oracle Aerial Dance Troupe.
Hoyston released a limited-edition solo CD on the Southern imprint Latitudes recently, and is working on a Paradise Island full-length for Southern, due early next year. [MORE...]
Squarepusher Says Hello Everything
Tom Jenkinson, tireless Squarepusher of the electronic/IDM envelope, greets the world with his latest full-length Hello Everything on October 16. Longtime S-Pusha home Warp Records will release the album, which features twelve whimsically titled tracks, including "Bubble Life", "Vacuum Garden", and "Orient Orange". How cool would it be if this came with cartoon animation? Or puppets?! Digital download fiends can already scoop up the first single, "Welcome to Europe", on iTunes and Bleep.com, as well as non-album exclusive track "Hanningfield Window" (also now streaming at Warp's website). Another non-album joint, "Exciton", hits digital retailers October 2. For the wax-inclined, Warp will release all three singles on one 12" come October 16.
Squarepusher will play what may well be his only live gig this year, joining the Raconteurs and the Horrors at London's Electric Ballroom on October 26. [MORE...]
Trail of Dead Title Album So Divided, Reveal Tracklist
Blah blah 10.0. Blah blah 4.0. Good, now that you're all caught up on ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead's rich, storied history with the website Pitchforkmedia.com, let's move on to the good stuff: according to the band's official website, new album So Divided (Interscope) will slay everything in its wake a good six weeks after our originally reported release date, now hitting stores November 14.The disc features 11 tracks, conveniently enumerated below, including a Guided by Voices cover ("Gold Heart Mountain Top Queen Directory"-- note the slightly altered title) and guest appearances from the Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer and King Crimson's Pat Mastelotto.
The Texas troupe will blaze a trail of death and destruction this fall as they embark on a previously reported tour with fellow noisy nuts the Blood Brothers, whose latest, Young Machetes, drops October 10 via V2. Joining them for the festivities will be Baltimore's raucous Celebration and ToD sibling act Brothers and Sisters. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Sondre Lerche Album Details Revealed
Having gotten his lounge-singer jollies out of his system with the jazzy early 2006 album Duper Sessions, Sondre Lerche is getting ready to rock in 2007. On February 6, Astralwerks will release Phantom Punch, the Norwegian cutie's fourth album with his band.
Anyway, Phantom Punch was produced by Tony Hoffer (Beck, Belle and Sebastian, Air) and features Lerche and his band channeling influences ranging from former touring partner Elvis Costello to "80s pop to Brazilian music".
According to a Rolling Stone article from earlier this year, "sessions for the record were initially conducted on the East Coast with Raphael Saadiq." Raphael Saadiq?! And Sondre Lerche?! Please, god, let something from that collaboration leak.
The album's first single, "Phantom Punch", is available on iTunes now, and can be heard on Lerche's MySpace page. It's a new wave-influenced alt-rocker. I can pretty much guarantee that whatever Raphael Saadiq would have done with the song would have been much, much more interesting. [MORE...]
Ahh, the mystery of 11/7. Is it a release date? Is it a lopsided time signature? For Portland math-rockers 31Knots, it's likely both.On November 7, the band will drop a new six-track EP, Polemics, on Polyvinyl Records. Its gorgeous, translucent packaging might be reason enough to scoop this one up-- then get it autographed as the band tours the West Coast with Menomena in December, dates TBA.
Before that, however, the boys in 31Knots will wrap up mixing their brand new full-length, The Days and Nights of Everything Anywhere, with Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier. That disc should arrive early next year. And as if that weren't enough, 31Knots hope to re-release their debut, ClimaxAntiClimax, via Polyvinyl in the near future. Full speed ahead! [MORE...]
Bound Stems Celebrate New LP With Tour, Daytrotter
With their new album finally on shelves (September 19 via Flameshovel), Bound Stems deserve an appreciation night all their own...and that they will get.
On Friday night, the Chicago five-piece will celebrate with not one, but two (early and late) record release shows at the hometown venue Schubas. These gigs kick off an extensive trek through the States, slated to run through mid-November. Along the way, Bound Stems will meet up with Asobi Seksu, the Velvet Teen, Maritime, and more.
Not sure what to expect? Make an effort to scope out the Daytrotter session versions of Appreciation Night tracks "Andover", "Excellent News, Colonel", "Refuse the Refuse", and "Risking Life and Limb for the Coupon" here (there's a nifty little interview, too). [MORE...]
Daedelus Announces New EP, Tour
We've come to expect Daedelus' frequent record label swaps, but this time around, our brows are just a little bit furrowed. You see, the L.A. noisemaker has teamed with Alpha Pup to release his upcoming Throw a Fit EP, the cover art for which depicts a big ol' cat. Drama.
Assuming all goes smoothly, the work is set for a digital release on September 26 (October 10 on CD). It contains six tracks, five of which are instrumentals. The single song with vocals features labelmate Subtitle who, by the way, has his own release, Terrain to Roam, on its way October 10.
As previously reported, Daedelus will perform at this weekend's Dublab anniversary party in Los Angeles (September 23), but only after a Friday stint at Chicago's Sonotheque. Afterward, he'll make his way to Europe for a series of shows and then head back to the U.S. [MORE...]
PJ Harvey to Release Peel Sessions Collection
PJ Harvey's power is best experienced live and raw, and who better captured that energy than John Peel? The magic of the relationship between the artist and the legendary DJ will be unleashed upon the masses with the release of PJ Harvey - The Peel Sessions 1991-2004, due via Island Records in conjunction with the BBC on October 23 in the UK.
The due date falls during a month of commemorative events honoring the second anniversary of Peel's death.
Louise
Kattenhorn, Peel's former producer, said in a press release, "John
loved the sessions and was thrilled to have Polly record so many for
his show. He considered her a wonderful artist and they were great
friends."
The collection includes tracks spanning from early versions of Polly Jean's 1992 debut, Dry, to her most recent LP, 2004's Uh Huh Her. [MORE...]
Blow Make Paper Television, Invent Paper Tivo
Shows include "Grey's Papyrology", "Project Papercut", and "Tommy Lee Goes to College-Ruled"
"Awesome bullshit" is a pretty good way of describing the Blow's aesthetic. It's also the way Blow half Jona Bechtolt describes his band's forthcoming remix album, Paper Tivo. But everyone knows that before the remixes you have to have the original release (M.I.A. didn't get that memo), and thus, new record Paper Television must precede Paper Tivo.The only album of the two with a release date at the moment, Paper Television comes out October 26 on K Records, and the duo (also consisting of founding member Khaela Maricich) are in the throes of a fall U.S. tour with Architecture in Helsinki (and, later, Jenny Lewis With the Watson Twins) to support it. They plan to take on Japan and Australia in January.
As for Paper Tivo, the Blow hope to release the remix project sometime in December. The CD/DVD will include remixes of songs from Paper Television, and Bechtolt tells us remixers might include "some famous people like Mu, Max Tundra, Hot Chip, Soft Pink Truth [and] DFA" in addition to Bobby Birdman, Anna Oxygen, and Andrew Kaffer, among others. The DVD portion of the release will feature "a tour video by Matthew Chambers, music videos that we're making, real and fake commentary, Google image searches” and, of course, the above referenced "more awesome bullshit." [MORE...]
Beach House Release Debut, Tour
Baltimore's Beach House will release their self-titled debut via Carpark Records on October 3, and if you couldn't tell from our recent track review and Infinite Mixtape entry, we like them a lot. We don't know of any actual beach houses in Baltimore, though. Or at least not any beach houses we'd necessarily want to visit.
The duo will hit the road in October on a tour with a fellow ocean-obsessed duo, New Zealand's Over the Atlantic, whose debut, Junica, comes out today, also on Carpark. Unfortunately, the dates are all bound to the North American continent, so international fans will have to wait to see them until one of the bands actually crosses over the Atlantic. Ba dum dum.
[MORE...]
Various Declare The World Is Gone
Least helpful band name since The Music
Usually, when a new group's music is referred to as sounding like Massive Attack or Portishead, it means we're in for shitty downtempo tracks to play in upscale boutiques. Rarely is anyone able to capture the fear in "Safe From Harm" or "Wandering Star", that sense that something very, very dangerous is lurking just around the corner.
Various do. A shady British production duo known only by their first names (Adam and Ian), Various drew the attention of beats connoisseurs via a serious of mysterious, genre-hopping singles that skipped from dub to mashups to broken folk, yet all maintained that singular sense of dread. Their debut full-length, The World Is Gone, came out on XL in the UK in July; it will be released in America on triple vinyl on September 26 and on October 24 on CD. The single for "Hater", backed by the non-album track "Biker Walk", will also come out on Tuesday.
This is some seriously cool, creepy stuff. [MORE...]
Jeff Mangum Guests on New Apples in Stereo LP
Elijah Wood has a record label?!
Rejoice! For the Frodo has finally joined the
Elephant 6 Collective. Sort of.
Elijah Wood has signed the first act to his newly formed Simian Records -- the Apples in Stereo. And Robert Schneider & co. have a new album due, New Magnetic Wonder, their first in five years. AND Jeff Mangum's on it!
The dual-sided CD is slated for record store shelves on February 7, 2007 via Simian/Elephant 6/Yep Roc. It holds 14 songs and, says a press release, 12 "link tracks". In addition to Mangum, guest contributors include Per Ole Bratset, Bill Doss, John Ferguson, John Fernandes, Pete Fitzpatrick, Bryce Goggin (who also grabs a production credit), Matthew Goodman, W. Cullen Hart, Otto Helmuth, Jeff Holland, Tony Miller, Craig Morris, Adam Sachs, Zach Shaw, and more.
Mangum plays "drums, cow object, backing vocals, handclaps" (no, we don't know what a "cow object" is either-- a friendly reader suggested it might be one of these!), while "London audience" contributes "anger due to Apples' overly-loud guitars." Oh you sensitive Brits!
On New Magnetic Wonder, Schneider invented a new musical scale, the "Non-Pythagorean Scale", which can be experienced on an enhanced portion of the multimedia release (it includes digital files for MIDI usage and an in-depth description of the new scale, which, quite frankly, we'll need).
Other developments include the semi-loss of drummer and backup vocalist Hilarie Sidney, who left the Apples in Stereo to focus on her other band, the High Water Marks. She did, however, compose two numbers on the record: "Sunndal Song" and "Sunday Sounds".
A tour is also on its way, though dates have not yet been confirmed. [MORE...]
Adem's Love Hits U.S., Tours With Juana Molina
Not to be confused with arch-Google-rival the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, singer/songwriter/Fridge-dude Adem makes fanciful folk pop songs about love, outer space, and more love. His latest, the appropriately titled Love and Other Planets, crash-landed in the UK back in April, when we could actually count Pluto among those other planets. Love arrives on Pluto-bereft American shelves at last on September 26, courtesy of the cool cadets at Domino Records U.S.The 12-track affair features tunes co-mixed by Adem's Fridge compatriot, Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet). Adem will celebrate its release by seeking love on this planet next month, launching a 14-date tour with Juana Molina on October 8. Bring a few extra bucks to these gigs, as Adem will be hawking copies of an exclusive tour CD featuring the video for Love's "Launch Yourself", along with remixes by Four Tet, Hot Chip, and others. It'll be, um, out of this world. No doubt about it.
Fridge, meanwhile, have completed their latest LP, to see release sometime during the cold months of early next year. [MORE...]
Klaxons Head to NYC, Europe, Xan Valleys
They look like ravers, they dance like ravers, they smell like ravers...but do they sound like ravers? Not exactly. As Pete Macia pointed out today, London's Klaxons are currently riding the UK buzz train on the back of some sort of alleged "new rave revolution" that seems to be based more on their candy-color aesthetic more than their non-beat-heavy choons.
Which doesn't mean that they're bad, 'cause they're not! We like their manic energy and sense of fun. Plus they seem like the kind of guys who can really party down.
Klaxons hit the U.S. for the first time this week, with two shows in NYC. Their debut EP, Xan Valleys, is in stores October 10 courtesy of Modular. Next week, they head out on a UK tour with fellow rave-not-ravers Shitdisco and Datarock. [MORE...]
Klaxons Head to NYC, Europe, Xan Valleys
They look like ravers, they dance like ravers, they smell like ravers...but do they sound like ravers? Not exactly. As Pete Macia pointed out today, London's Klaxons are currently riding the UK buzz train on the back of some sort of alleged "new rave revolution" that seems to be based more on their candy-color aesthetic more than their non-beat-heavy choons.
Which doesn't mean that they're bad, 'cause they're not! We like their manic energy and sense of fun. Plus they seem like the kind of guys who can really party down.
Klaxons hit the U.S. for the first time this week, with two shows in NYC. Their debut EP, Xan Valleys, is in stores October 10 courtesy of Modular. Next week, they head out on a UK tour with fellow rave-not-ravers Shitdisco and Datarock. [MORE...]
Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci Dude Brings Solo Debut Stateside
Still has a weird-ass name
With Gorky's Zygotic Mynci neatly stuffed under the floorboards, frontman Euros Childs is free to unleash his personal pop designs on the world at large. The next target: the U.S., whose shores will soon see the arrival of the ex-Mynci's debut solo album, Chops. It lands October 10 courtesy of Wichita Recordings, the same label that released the disc in the UK back in February.Childs recorded Chops first in demo form at his parents' Pembrokeshire home and later finalized it at Gorwel Owen's Ofn studios in Anglesey, Wales. Almost entirely a Euros-centric affair, the record also features a pedal steel contribution from GZM founding member John Lawrence on first single "Donkey Island".
"I didn't want it to be some heavy, introspective thing," Childs said in a press release. Instead, he decided to take his sound down the "party music" route. With song titles like "Surf Rage", "Billy the Seagull", and "Stella Is a Pigmy", we don't doubt it. And that reminds us: the U.S. version features a rearranged tracklist, recounted below.
Childs will appear live October 21 at the Gwledd Conwy Feast festival in Conwy, Wales, where we hope they will be serving up some mean chops in ornate artistic arrangements, à la those on the album cover. [MORE...]
Portastatic to Still Please Fans with Album, Tour
Mac McCaughan's career certainly isn't static. But it is increasingly more Portastatic (ba dum dun, ching). Last year saw the release of the band's sixth LP, Bright Ideas, followed earlier this year by the instrumental score to the Canadian indie film Who Loves the Sun. Now Portastatic, Mac's once side-project turned main musical venture, returns with yet another full-length, Be Still Please. The disc drops on October 10 through Merge Records (the label McCaughan co-founded with Superchunk bandmate Laura Ballance). A whole slew of musicians lent their voices and fiddles to the new album, including Laura Cantrell (vocals), Annie Hayden (vocals), Laura Thomas (violin), Margaret White (violin), Peter Holsapple (piano), Matt Brandau (upright bass), Carrie Shull (oboe), Matthew McCaughan (drums/percussion), and Lee Waters (drums).
Portastatic embarks tonight on a chunk of dates opening for M. Ward, followed in October by a headlining tour. [MORE...]
Jay-Z Returns! (Definitely)
No more "probably"
Late last week, when Jay-Z decided to finally confirm the rampant rumors of the end of his "retirement", he went straight to the streets...by granting an exclusive interview to Entertainment Weekly. E-to-the-Dub got H-to-the-Izzo to admit that yes, a new album will be released this fall, yes, it's called Kingdom Come, and yes, Coldplay's Chris Martin produced one of its tracks.
Said Hova of the Martin collaboration, "We met at a charity dinner and just really kept in touch. He sent me these beautiful chords for this song called 'Beach Chair'. I had [Dr.] Dre put some drums on it. It's really, really incredible."
In the time it took to read that quote, Cam'ron wrote five new diss tracks, including one about how he used to pimp Gwyneth Paltrow.
Jigga also revealed to EW that Timbaland, Kanye West, and Dre have done production work for the album, and that he hopes to also work with Rick Rubin and Eminem. Lyrical inspirations include Superman ("Take off the blazer/ Loosen up the tie/ Step inside the booth/Superman is alive!"), a Basquiat painting (a track called "Most Kings"), and the death of his nephew. The album, he said, is "more in the vein of The Black Album than The Blueprint. I've been experimenting with things, different types of music."
He also continued his long-running denial of a relationship with Beyonce. C'mon, dude, it's getting really, really annoying.
Exclusive: RJD2 Signs to XL, Ditches Hip-Hop
"I'm a folk musician at the end of the day."
"I've gone rap free in 2006," claimed RJD2. The Columbus-by-way-of-Philadelphia producer spoke to Pitchfork earlier this week about his currently-untitled third album, which will be released on the indie- and electronic-centric label XL, rather than RJ's longtime home of Def Jux. And instead of the sampledelic hip-hop/electronica of previous albums Deadringer and Since We Last Spoke, the new album was recorded with live instrumentation played entirely by RJ himself.
"Rhythmically, I feel like there's a continuous thread that would run throughout everying that I've done, and I'd like to think the new stuff still has that kind of emphasis on the rhythm section and groove," RJ said. "[But] there are a lot more songs in major keys. There are a lot more vocal harmonizations. I think it's a lot prettier than anything I've ever done. And it's all live. There's, like, one or two samples on there.
He said that, since he began, he wanted "to make pop music. The same shit everybody listens to: the Beatles, your Led Zeppelins, your Tears for Fears. And there are new groups: Elliott Smith or Dungen or Queens of the Stone Age. These are all groups that I feel make-- at the end of the day-- pop music. They do it with their own flavor and their own thing." [MORE...]
120 Days Ready Debut Full-Length
120 days? You won't even have to wait that long, folks. The Kraut-rocking Norwegian four-piece 120 Days, formerly known as the Beautiful People, and those responsible for the excellent single "Come Out (Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone)" (4.5 stars) have set a release date for their eponymous debut. The album, written while the band lived together in a RV in Oslo, will land in the U.S. on October 10, courtesy of Vice Records in collaboration with Smalltown Supersound. (Weird partnership, huh?) Smalltown Supersound will release it in Norway on October 2.
To get the fans all amped up, Vice and SS will drop a limited edition 12" single featuring "Come Out (Come Down Fade Out Be Gone)" and a 10-minute remix by Mental Overdrive. It's slated for an October 2 release in Norway (TBA 2007 worldwide), but can be purchased from Smalltown Supersound's Superstore right... about... NOW.
120 Days have one U.S. show scheduled, taking place this Tuesday, September 19 at Club Midway in New York City as part of the Modular Monthly. [MORE...]
Under Byen Invade North America
Danish eight-piece Under Byen are ready to take on our continent. Their album Samme Stof Som Stof ("Same Fabric as Fabric") will be released September 26 in Canada and October 10 in the U.S., courtesy of Paper Bag Records. It's Paper Bag's first release from a non-Canadian band, so it must be special, right?
Recorded in an 18th century house in Brussels and a Swedish forest, the new material was produced by fellow Dane Carsten Heller and New Yorker Kevin Salem (Yo La Tengo, Giant Sand), with assistance from British electronic artist Leafcutter John.
The octet will play a handful of North American shows this October, including dates with Joanna Newsom and Giant Sand, as well as a single solitary U.S. appearance at a private party. (For details on attending this show, visit the Paper Bag site.) [MORE...]
Beck Announces Tour Dates...With Puppets!
Pitchfork Announces 946th Beck News Story
In order to inform fans of his upcoming album-- the song-and-video extravaganza known as The Information, due out October 3-- Beck will make a few extravagant concert appearances around the U.S. this fall. And he'll be bringing puppets!
The mini-tour includes stops at the dorkily named Download Festival in Mountain View, California and the Detour Music Fest in L.A. For many of the dates, Beck will be bringing along some special puppet friends (created by L.A.-based Puppet Productions) which already accompanied him at Bonnaroo and on previous tours of the West Coast, UK, and Europe. [MORE...]
Dosh Taps Andrew Bird, T'nT for The Lost Take
Tapping TNT generally not conducive to one's well-being
Anticon composer Martin Dosh will release his fourth solo disc as Dosh, The Lost Take, on October 17. It's a bit reductive to call this a solo release, though, as Dosh recruited some of his chief musical pals to record for the album, turning the Dosh experience into something of a Twin Cities Lovefest.A horde of Minnesota cats-- from Tapes 'n Tapes guitarist Erik "I Am Not Horatio" Applewick to Dosh's sometime bandmates in Fog, including multi-instrumentalist Michael Lewis (also of Happy Apple) and guitarist/producer Jeremy Ylvisaker-- all contribute to the record.
One non-Minneapolis marquee musician, Andrew Bird, appears on several of the record's tracks, his violin chopped and screwed by Dosh and producer Ben Durrant. Premiere ornithologists (bird scientists, get it?) already know that Dosh splits drumming duties with Bowl of Fire's Kevin O'Donnell on tour and on Bird's forthcoming follow-up to The Mysterious Production of Eggs, now being finished in Durrant's Minneapolis studio. Bird and Dosh began collaborating after someone convinced Dosh to give Bird's manager a copy of 2004's Pure Trash.
"I guess Andrew liked it," Dosh told Pitchfork, "and he asked me to open for him in Minneapolis in February of last year. And then he saw my set and said, 'What are you doing later in the summer? Wanna get together and play?'"
It appears Dosh checked the "yes" box with one of those crayons big enough for your little nephew. "So, we got together, and it worked out pretty cool." [MORE...]
Busdriver Signs to Epitaph, Tours
Stop the bus: innovative L.A. hip-hop artist Busdriver is pulling up to a U.S. city near you. This fall tour of the West Coast, Midwest, and Southwest serves as a vehicle for promoting Busdriver's debut single on Anti-/Epitaph, "Kill Your Employer (Recreational Paranoia is the Sport of Now)," appearing on October 10.
The track, produced by Boom Bip, is backed by a remix by frequent Busdriver collaborator Daedelus.
Continuing along that route, the fast-talking rapper will roll out his fifth album, RoadKillOvercoat, on January 23, 2007. Produced by DJ Nobody (Plug Research, Ubiquity), with contributions from Boom Bip, RoadKillOvercoat-- besides being a potential target for a PETA campaign-- continues with the same "stadium-sized bombast...hinted at on earlier independent efforts," according to an official press release.
If you want to hear Busdriver explore arenas outside of traditional hip hop, park yourself at the following venues. (P.S. Apparently, dude's playing birthday parties now! Or at least one birthday party for some guy in Spokane. Guess the kids were sick of playing Twista.) [MORE...]
Stephin Merritt Goes Side Project Crazy
Having recently played a benefit performance for 826 Seattle, Stephin Merritt continues his literary dalliance with a new album and contributions to various book-ish comps.
On October 13, Nonesuch Records will release The Tragic Treasury: Songs From a Series of Unfortunate Events, the debut album from Merritt's side project the Gothic Archies. The CD is a companion album to the Lemony Snicket books, featuring a song for every book in the series (plus two bonus tracks). In the spirit of Snicket, The Tragic Treasury is a decidedly grim affair. How grim and gothic? Merritt explains on his website: "What makes this band different from the Magnetic Fields is that any glimmer of hope is absolutely extinguished."
In October and November, Merritt will accompany Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) on the "For Crying Out Loud" bookstore tour, playing songs from the album on ukulele, accompanied by Snicket on percussion.
In other Merritt news, the Future Bible Heroes awoke from dormancy this summer to contribute a song "Mr. Punch"-- a "faux-British vaudevillian dance hall tune"-- to the Neil Gaiman tribute CD Where's Neil When You Need Him? on your favorite label and mine: Dancing Ferret Discs.
The 6ths recently contributed "You You You You You", a track from Hyacinths and Thistles to the music issue of the Oxford American.
And continuing onward in musical prolificacy, Merritt is currently recording a new Magnetic Fields album, to be released by Nonesuch "with a target release of next spring" (according to his website). [MORE...]
El Perro Del Mar Gets U.S. Release
In June, the eponymous debut from El Perro Del Mar (aka the unfortunately named Sarah Assbring) received the P4k "recommended" stamp of approval. Too bad you weren't actually able to pick up the sweet, sad record then, because it was out only overseas on Memphis Industries.
But don't sweat it, because El Perro Del Mar is due in the U.S. on November 7, courtesy of the Control Group (who also brought Figurines to our shores). The disc will also see release in New Zealand, Australia, and Scandinavia sometime this fall. And for your patience, Americans, you will be rewarded with a bonus track, titled "Shake It Off", but not featuring Mariah Carey.
A series of November dates
supporting the record are in the works. In addition, El Perro del Mar has a
handful of European shows lined up for September and October, including a UK tour with Camera Obscura.
El Perro del Mar also contributed to Gotherburg duo Fontän's debut record, Aktionskammarn, which was released August 28 via Best Before End. [MORE...]
Charalambides' Christina Carter Readies Electrice
Googlers beware! Search for Texan psych-folkie and Charalambide Christina Carter, and you just might turn up some bondage pornstar. Not safe for work, dudes!
The Christina Carter we're talking about today, however, prefers acoustic guitars and experimental folk to whips and black leather. She also digs conceptual constraints, and imposed some pretty strict ones as she set out to record her latest solo effort, Electrice: all songs must be in the same guitar tuning and key. The fruits of her self-challenge arrive via Kranky Records on September 18-- possibly in an attempt to get a nice jump on the six kajillion other notable records that come out the next day.
Electrice will be Carter's first widely available solo album since Kranky's 2004 reissue of Living Contact. She recorded, mixed, and edited the four-song disc herself. A four-song LP? Joanna who?
Carter joins folk supastars Shawn David McMillen and Max Ochs on the Imaginational Anthem tour, which is presently snaking its way down the Atlantic Seaboard. The jaunt celebrates the Imaginational Anthem Volume Two comp (Tompkins Square Records). Said disc dropped this June and features contributions from Carter, José González, Jack Rose, Robbie Basho, and others. Totally folk-adelic. [MORE...]
Of Montreal's Barnes Talks LP; Plus Exclusive MP3!
Barnes also explains Outback Steakhouse jingle
How Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes finds the time to pump out as many tunes as he does is still a mystery to us, even after chatting with him about Of Montreal's recording process and the sound of their upcoming album, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (due January 23 via Polyvinyl). But we did uncover some information about the album's artwork and the band's touring plans.
We also received an exclusive mp3 of Hissing Fauna's leadoff track, "Suffer for Fashion", which can be downloaded by clicking on the link below. It's a propulsive, high-energy track for our fast-paced, high-energy, fashion-conscious culture. "If we're all gonna burn out, let's do it together," quips Barnes, "Let's all melt down together." Once again, the band puts a comical spin on consumerism.
And speaking of consumerism, Barnes also explained that whole Outback Steakhouse jingle thing. A clip of the jingle can be heard here. (Extra special thanks to super awesome Pitchfork reader Doug Williams for sending that in.) [MORE...]
Flaming Lips Expand Mystics
Also expand YOUR MIND
Flaming Lips, I think you're cool, but just like a parent yelling at a child to remove its fingers from an electrical outlet, I gotta lay down the law for your own good. No offense, but the last thing At War With the Mystics needs is more of itself.
According to Billboard.com, the band's latest album has been expanded into a two-disc CD/DVD set and is slated for re-release on October 24 via Warner Bros.
In addition to its original lineup of songs, the record will feature the outtakes "Why Does It End?", "You've Got to Hold On", "Your Face Can Tell the Future", "The Gold in the Mountain of Our Madness", "Time Travel?? Yes!!" and the Lips cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", which originally appeared on the Queen tribute album Killer Queen. Also included are eight songs culled from various live radio sessions, one being a cover megamix of Sonic Youth's "Unmade Bed" and Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter", Billboard reports.
The DVD holds the videos for "Mr. Ambulance Driver", "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song", "The W.A.N.D.", and, no kidding, Coyne's 2006 commencement address at his Oklahoma City high school alma mater. Always wear sunscreen, kids.
As previously reported, the Lips are in the midst of a U.S. tour, with a UK tour to follow in November. Their next show, on Friday at the Oklahoma Zoo, will mark the debut of the band's big UFO stage-landing, an event that will be paired with a recording of its July 23 Hollywood Bowl gig for on a live CD/DVD (tentatively due in early 2007). Check out the poster for the show after the jump. [MORE...]
Jay-Z Returns! (Probably)
Possible new album to possibly feature songs, artwork, possibly rapping
Welcome to the new Idlewild, folks! While we here at the 'Fork believe that Jay-Z's rumored "comeback" album will be more forthcoming than the finally-released Outkast album and film, it comes with the same monumental mystery and anticipation attached. (Perhaps even more) With all the rumors coming from musicians, industry people, and bloggers everywhere, this is probably the best worst kept secret in music. Then again, maybe the confused and conflicting nature of those rumors make this "secret" the worst best kept (think about it). Without further ado, let's get straight to the "facts."
The album is called Presidential Gala. Or just Presidential. Or maybe Kingdom Come. It depends on whether you trust, respectively, Nah Right and SOHH.com, AllHipHop.com, or Billboard.com more, but it will have a title. Unless it doesn't. But it does come out on Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam in November, according to Billboard.com. Unless it doesn't.
Based on this picture of a message shown on a screen during Jay's recent performance in Bratislava, Slovakia as part of his previously reported water crisis awareness-raising world tour, Nah Right and AllHipHop.com speculate that the specific release date will be November 21 (though if that's the curve of a "2," why not the 28th?). On the other hand, reports on SOHH.com and NME.com (as well as unconfirmed rumors of one in Rolling Stone, which makes it a rumor of a rumor. Seriously, WTF people?) list the release date as November 14. Also, the MTV documentary about the tour is supposed to air November 24, so maybe that's the date to which the message refers. Did we mention this is all pretty much completely unconfirmed?
[MORE...]
Revenge is sweet, and even though we're not quite sure how we wronged them, the Evens are coming for it. The post-post-harDCore guitar-and-drums duo-- comprised of Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) and Amy Farina (The Warmers)-- returns this fall for vengeance, in the form of second LP The Evens Get Evens. Get Evens follows up the band's 2005 self-titled debut, and arrives November 6 via Dischord. Like any full-length the venerable DC label releases, it will probably read "$10 postage-paid" on the back, and that is awesome. Ten tracks, recorded by the band at the Dischord House and mixed by good ol' Don Zientara at his long-running Inner Ear Studios. Ten bucks. Can't be beat.
The Evens will mount a tour in support of Get Evens this November, dates to be announced. It will be, we reckon, the single coolest thing to happen to you in November since that "Even Stevens" Thanksgiving marathon on the Disney Channel. Seriously. [MORE...]
London Sinfonietta Tackles Aphex Twin, Squarepusher
Ah, the canon of modern classical heavyweights: György Ligeti, John Cage, Steve Reich, Richard D. James, Edgard Var-- wait a minute...Richard D. James!? Isn't that guy, like, Aphex Twin? Yes, yes indeed he is. And Tom Jenkinson is Squarepusher. And both of these IDM icons get the symphonic treatment alongside Ligeti, Cage, Reich, and more on the London Sinfonietta's new double disc Warp Works & Twentieth Century Masters.Warp Records will release the two CD set-- which sees the celebrated London Sinfonietta reinterpret the music of Warp's finest alongside that of some of the last century's finest-- on September 19. Works & Masters features music recorded during two collaborations between Warp, the London Sinfonietta, and the South Bank Centre (the first as part of the Centre's 2003 Ether Festival at London's Royal Festival Hall, the second from two dates on a Contemporary Music Network tour from 2004). Seems the so-called canon just got a whole lot glitchier.
Squarepusher will release his latest full-length, Hello Everything, via Warp on October 17 (North America) and October 16 (UK). [MORE...]
Menomena Unveil Tracklist, Exclusive MP3
Below: Danny Seim promises to be more aware of venue ceiling fire sprinkler run-ins this time
Menomena are barely a month into their big Barsuk signing and they've already worked out a tracklist and release date for their upcoming record, Friend and Foe. The 12-song workout will storm the nation on January 23 of next year. The album's first single, "Wet and Rusting", is available as an exclusive download by clicking on the link below.
Menomena's upcoming tour with labelmates the Long Winters and What Made Milwaukee Famous launches next Monday. It will be followed by a December West Coast stint with fellow Portlanders 31Knots. [MORE...]
Fennesz, Cornelius, Devine Remix Ryuichi Sakamoto
OK kids, time to expand the vocabulary. Today we've got a noun, bricolage, meaning 1) (according to Dictionary.com) "something made or put together using whatever materials happen to be available," 2) an Orange Juice-chugging guitar band from the UK, and 3) (pl.) the title of master composer/musician Ryuichi Sakamoto's upcoming remix project.Stock boys everywhere will pack record store shelves with Bricolages on September 19, courtesy of KAB America. Artists including Cornelius, Craig Armstrong, Richard Devine, Fennesz, Alva Noto, and others formed this 13-track release by remixing material that happened to be on Sakamoto's 2005 solo release, Chasm.
Sakamoto took home an Oscar, a Grammy, a Golden Globe, and a whole slew of other awards for his score to Bernardo Bertolucci's 1987 best picture The Last Emperor. So he's a pretty big deal. In fact, he's taking an executive producer credit (in association with Norika Sora, Evan Balmer, Justin Kleinfeld, and Eric Giambertone) for Bricolages. Nothing like seeing your name in the liner notes, right? [MORE...]
Black Key Carney's Label Releases Two More LPs
Black Keys carny's label releases two more blues-flavored lines of cotton candy
Patrick Carney is a busy, busy man. His band the Black Keys put out a new album today, and they're in the middle of a lengthy world tour (see dates below). He also records bands in his basement and then puts out their albums on his record label.
Audio Eagle, which Carney runs with Jamie Stillman (ex-Party of Helicopters), and which is distributed by the Black Keys' former home, Fat Possum Records, has two new albums in the pipeline-- both from Ohio bands, both due out September 19. The first, Houseguest's High Strangeness, is the debut LP from the quintet recently praised by McSweeney's magazine (and we thought they only liked Death Cab and Sunn0)))) and described by Carney as "like the Feelies on speed... or the Feelies on Adderall and speed."
The second, Beaten Awake's Let's Get Simplified, is the result of the pairing of four dudes (formerly of such bands as Party of Helicopters, Six Parts Seven, the Man I Fell in Love With, and Harriet the Spy) and "a chaos pad," according to their MySpace page. Right now, Beaten Awake are on tour with the Black Keys, with plans for a full-scale fall/winter tour in the works. Let's Get Simplified's press release promises lyrics about "the Cleveland Browns, kittens, and voyeur masturbation." Football, cuteness, and sex-- looks like Beaten Awake covers all the bases.
Houseguest and Beaten Awake will play a co-record-release show at Akron's Lime Spider on September 29.
Meanwhile, the Black Keys will tour the U.S. and Europe on through 2007. [MORE...]
Mark Kozelek Signs Corrina Repp to Caldo Verde
Only did it to boost his own Repputation
So much for the "Caldo Verde is only set up for this specific release. Mark Kozelek is not signing bands" statement on the Caldo Verde website. To be fair, Kozelek did set up the label to release Tiny Cities, the Sun Kil Moon tribute to Modest Mouse, but lookee here: he recently signed melancholic Portland-based singer-songwriter Corrina Repp for the label's second release.The Sound the Hare Heard contributor and Hush Records alumna will release The Absent and the Distant September 19 on Caldo Verde. In a press release, Kozelek explained his repping Repp by saying, "Signing an artist is something that hasn't interested me in the past, but I immediately jumped at this opportunity. She may be the only artist I'll ever sign." So that "not signing bands" statement is true after all, in a way. Don't call Mark; he'll call you.
To cement their label love, Kozelek and Repp will be touring together for a little bit in October. 31 Knots frontman Joe Haege will join Repp on drums and keyboards at all shows. [MORE...]
Now It's Overhead Release Record, Tour
Focus those eyes upward, because today Saddle Creek six-piece Now It's Overhead releases its latest album, Dark Light Daybreak, the follow-up to 2004's Fall Back Open.
In support of the disc, the Andy LeMaster-fronted collective has an extensive U.S. tour lined up. The jaunt is scheduled to kick off in early October, but a couple weeks before that, Now It's Overhead will take part in the Paste Rock n Reel Festival in Atlanta. [MORE...]
Deerhoof Reveal Friend Opportunity Tracklist
Also working on soundtrack to Hollywood movie
Just three days after announcing that their next album, Friend Opportunity, will be released on Kill Rock Stars/5RC on January 23, 2007, Deerhoof have dribbled out even more delicious morsels of newsy goodness.
First of all, there's the Friend Opportunity tracklist, which is printed below, as well as the fact that the album artwork was created by Scottish artist David Shrigley, the man behind Bonnie "Prince" Billy's "Agnes Queen of Sorrow" and Blur's "Good Song" videos.
Then there's the announcement that the band is working with composer Ed Shearmur on the soundtrack to the film Dedication, directed by actor Justin Theroux (Mulholland Drive, Six Feet Under, Miami Vice) and starring Billy Crudup, Mandy Moore, Tom Wilkinson, and Amy Sedaris.
Finally, and most amazingly, on October 23 and 24, at Waterman's Community Center in North Haven, Maine, the North Haven Community School will perform a Milk Man ballet, based on Deerhoof's 2004 album of the same name. It will primarily feature kids from grades three through eight.
In fifteen years, if you meet a kid who graduated from North Haven Community School in North Haven, Maine, and they complain about how much their elementary school or middle school sucked, feel free to call them a liar, and then beat them up. [MORE...]
The Hidden Cameras Tour in Support of AWOO
The Hidden Cameras are about to awoo fans this fall and winter with a new album and gigantic tour. Yes, the loosely organized Canadian collective (soon the words "Canadian" and "collective" will become interchangeable in music writing) led by singer/songwriter Joel Gibb is packing up their glockenspiels, violins, and sparklers and setting out in support of Awoo, due out September 19 on Arts and Crafts.
The tour began last weekend in Canada, jumps down to NYC for one show at the Knitting Factory last week, then goes transatlantic for a month and a half of European dates. In mid-November, Gibb and co. will travel west across the U.S. of A. (and back) to round out their epic journey, ending at the Grog Shop in Ohio in mid-December. (They'll be throwing back a lot of grog by that point.) [MORE...]
Bad Brains Live CBGB 1982 Coming to DVD, CD
Banned in D.C.? Then make your way to New York City, where Bad Brains, pillars of the American hardcore scene, spent Christmas Eve, 1982 kicking off a three-day stint at CBGB. Now, a DVD representing the best these gigs had to offer, Bad Brains: Live CBGB 1982, will be available for your viewing pleasure.
The disc, slated for stores on September 19, courtesy of MVD Entertainment Group, features 17 tracks and bonus material, including a series of 1982 interviews. Jack Rabid of Big Takeover magazine handled the liner notes. A CD featuring the same material will be released on Halloween through MVD.
In celebration of the DVD's release, MVD will screen Bad Brains: Live CBGB 1982 at locations across the U.S. Aside from the show at Washington, D.C.'s Black Cat, all viewings are free to the public. [MORE...]
Andrew Bird Signs to Fat Possum, Titles Record
Losing the Black Keys hasn't slowed down Fat Possum Records. Late last week, the label announced that they've scooped up Andrew Bird, who will release Armchair Apocrypha on Fat Possum in spring 2007.
As previously reported, Bird is all geared up to hit the road later this week with near-conjoined twin Martin Dosh (who has a new record, The Lost Take, due on Anticon come October 17, btw). In conjunction with the trek, he will release Fingerlings 3, the third record in a series of "official bootleg" (quoth a press release) discs.
Finally, Bird, along with Mark Booth and Dave Pavkovic, will soon contribute to Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak's latest dance performance, My Name Is a Blackbird. The three musicians will provide the soundtrack to the project, which is slated to run at Chicago's the Building Stage on April 12-29, 2007. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Michael Mayer Readies Immer 2 Mix
Says "fuck that passive waiting shit"; changes world by his own damn self
So lately your iTunes shuffle keeps calling up those Clap Your Hands tracks you got off Soulseek last year, and they're cool and all, but you're just not feeling them right now. Frankly, you're not really feeling the so-called "indie rock" at all these days. Perhaps it's high time you, as Pitchfork's Dominique Leone once put it, "come down...to the minimal world." And what better occasion than this: on October 30 in Europe and October 4 in America, Germany's minimal techno mecca Kompakt will release Immer 2, the intensely-anticipated follow up to 2002's seminal Immer mix. As with its predecessor, Kompakt co-founder and beloved techno artist Michael Mayer mixed this set, liable to blow up headphones and slick European dancefloors in equal measure with de rigeur tunes from Lindstrøm, Justus Köhncke, SCSI-9, and more.
Whistle not quite whetted yet? Try this: in addition to twelve Mayer-mixed minimal house and techno anthems, copies of Immer 2 will also include a golden ticket to seven additional mp3s hand-selected by Mayer himself. Buttress your playlists with these subtle bangers and your indie rock won't sound quite the same again.
If you're not quite ready yet, try dipping your toes in Mayer's world by catching the man in action at Detroit's Shelter on October 7, or at NYC's T New York on October 6. The latter show is part of the New Yorker Festival and is listed as "A New Yorker Dance Party Hosted by Sasha Frere-Jones". HAHAHAHAHAHA. [MORE...]
Kasabian Take Empire Stateside
All will bow before the angry band with the funny name
On their official website, chart-topping Brit rockers Kasabian re-define "empire" as an adjective, meaning: "to be the best, to have won...Something that is superb, great, and agreeable. You are empire." Hmm, something tells me the OED is not down. But let's try it out:"The sandwich I had for lunch today was pretty empire."
Ehhh yeah. Better than "money" as an adjective. But not much. Linguistic revisionism aside, Kasabian's second LP Empire hits the States and Canada September 19, thanks to the RCA puppy dog. The disc offers 11 tracks written by the band-- Tom Meighan (vocals), Sergio Pizzorno (lead guitar, keyboards), Chris Edwards (bass), and Ian Matthews (drums)-- during two "extreme" years on the road (touring with Oasis, no less). Jim Abiss (Arctic Monkeys, Paul Oakenfold, Placebo) produced the album, and the K gang recorded it at Rockfield Studios in Wales.
Kasabian will seek to expand their Empire later this month as they embark on a North American tour with krazy-kewl Danes Mew, who are, incidentally, totally empire. [MORE...]
Pop quiz, hotshots: what do an old abandoned pencil factory, Merge recording artist Richard Buckner's apartment, and producer JD Foster's (Calexico, Laura Cantrell) hallway have in common? They're all places where Buckner recorded his eighth studio album, Meadows. The ten-track LP hits stores via Merge this Tuesday, September 12 (pencil it in!). Although Meadows was recorded in Brooklyn, it sounds a lot like a long road trip through the spacious American West: Buckner's road-weary voice steers the vehicle, supported by musical contributions from other passengers, including Doug Gibbard (Guided By Voices, Cobra Verde), Kevin March (GBV, Those Bastard Souls, Dambuilders), Steven Goulding (Mekons, Graham Parker, Waco Brothers), and Foster (who also produced Buckner's albums Since and Devotion + Doubt).
Buckner has been touring away these final days of summer with recent Saddle Creek signing Eric Bachmann. The two rambling men will continue criss-crossing the country through the end of this month, and then Buckner will forge on alone for a string of October dates. [MORE...]
Ex-On!Air!Library! Members Prep New Discs
Claudia Deheza talks Prefuse 73 collaboration
Like the hydra's heads and Mickey Mouse's deviant brooms, the celestial, cinematic post-rock stylings of curiously-named New York trio On!Air!Library! never die-- they just multiply. Although the band closed up shop in early 2005, its ex-members have quickly set to work crafting more dreamy music in various outfits: singer/guitarist Alley Deheza teamed with Secret Machine Benjamin Curtis to form School of Seven Bells; Alley's sister Claudia journeyed with Guillermo Scott "Prefuse 73" Herren to A Cloud Mireya; and Phillip Wann-- with pal Jay Giampietro and, initially, Claudia-- established Daylight's for the Birds.The C. Deheza/Herren collabo A Cloud Mireya, first of all, has already dropped its debut, Singular, on vinyl. Those averse to the stylus can take heart: the album arrives September 12 in CD format, thanks to Eastern Developments. A press release claims that production values "were ignored" during the recording of Singular-- which collects songs Deheza and Herren put together over the last three years-- and that the tunes "keep their natural state, evoking the moments they were first played." Raw!
"I would go to Guillermo with a song, complete with structure, lyrics, and melodies, and we would figure out the instrumentation from there," Deheza told Pitchfork via e-mail. "He would focus on drums and textures while I hummed out parts to him for the other instruments. The actual playing on the recording I left mostly to him since I knew it would come out better that way."
Guillermo even sang with Deheza on tracks "Illusional" and "Winter Sleep". And get ready for the cute-meter to explode: Singular isn't the couple's only baby. Herren and Deheza recently welcomed bouncing baby boy Alejandro Elias into the world. Singular's opening track is even dedicated to the little guy. Cute-cute-kaboom!
Meanwhile: Come October 31, L.A. imprint This Generation Tapes will release the debut full-length from ex-O!A!L! member Phillip Wann's Daylight's for the Birds, Trouble Everywhere. Kimchee Records co-honcho Andy Hong produced the ten-track set, which features most of Daylight's current incarnation, including Wann, Giampietro, drummer Brad Conroy (ex-Boggs), and new vocalist Amanda Garrett (one-time backing vocalist for Elliott Smith). Expect five new dream-pop acts to emerge when this one calls it quits-- which won't be anytime soon, we hope! Those new tunes sure are lovely. [MORE...]
OOIOO Unleash Taiga
Old Yoshimi had a band...
Experimental Japanese avant-rock practitioners OOIOO-- led by Yoshimi P-we of Boredoms/Pink Robots fame-- plan to shock, awe, and confound kids across America with new full-length Taiga, due September 12.This is the hardworking fourpiece's third album on Thrill Jockey and fourth U.S. release (not counting, of course, a few LPs only available in Japan)-- not bad for a once fictitious band: OOIOO originally formed as a made-up group for a 1996 magazine article, and went on to open for Sonic Youth.
Energetic frontwoman/songwriter Yoshimi produced the album, which features a line-up of P-we on vocals, Kayan on guitar, Aya on bass, and AI-- making her OOIOO debut-- on drums. Although there are no Lennons on Taiga (Sean appeared on Gold and Green), there are contributions from the likes of Yo2ro Tatekawa (Hanadensha) on drums, Thiam Misato on percussion, and Tonchi on steel pans.
Taiga, meaning "big river" in Japanese and "forest" in Russian, sounds like a back-to-nature affair, featuring chants, screams, tribal rhythms, and bird calls. Nature themes seem to work well for OOIOO, as their sound from album to album-- like the natural world-- continues to grow, change, complexify, and evolve. [MORE...]
Soulwax Share Nite Versions, Tour North America
Belgian mash-up masters Soulwax (aka 2ManyDJs brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, along with Stefaan Van Leuven, Dave Martijn, and Steve Slingeneyer) have the most ridiculously annoying website in the history of the internet. Had to say it.
Moving right along, Soulwax return September 12 with the U.S. release of Nite Versions on Modular Records. Inspired by the idea of extending and expanding songs to make them dancefloor-friendly (à la Duran Duran's disc of the same name and the Human League's Love and Dancing), the Soulwax LP clubifies tracks from the band's last release Any Minute Now.
"We're not trying to make some tribute to the '80s here," said Stephen in a press release, "We're making something that's referential to the whole notion of the 12" single from ‘Blue Monday', ‘French Kiss', or ‘Pigbag', to the present day and like-minded people and friends like Tiga, DFA, and Gomma."
The 10-track album includes Soulwax's club version of "E-Talking", their Kawasaki Dub of "NY Lipps", and the Daft Punk cover, "Teachers". On the latter track, instead of name-dropping their techno/house inspirations (as do Daft Punk), Soulwax list all their rock influences: Cheap Trick, T.Rex, Sonic Youth, Jane's Addiction, AC/DC, the Clash, MC5, etc.
The ‘wax will bring their club-friendly confections to the dance-happy masses across the U.S. and Canada this month. [MORE...]
Three guys and a girl hell bent on creating nationality and gender confusion for concert promoters and casual music fans the world over-- yep, it's Brazilian Girls. The multi-culti quartet has announced the follow-up to 2005's eponymous debut, called Talk to La Bomb and set to make a splash on September 12 via Verve Forecast.The Girls recorded Talk to La Bomb at Electric Lady Studios in New York, with Bowie-producer Mark Plati and old Car Ric Ocasek grabbing co-production credits (the latter for song "Last Call"), along with the band themselves. Listening to the new disc, you might think Ocasek contributed some guitar, and that's because he did.
Also joining the band on La Bomb: Clark Gayton (trombone, baritone, saxophone), Peck Almond (woodwinds), Jorge Continentino (flutes, saxophone), James Zollar (flugelhorn, trumpet), and Mauro Refosco (percussion). Oh, and just when you thought not-actually-Brazilian frontwoman Sabina Sciubba couldn't get any cooler, she goes ahead and sings in five different languages. True story.
The band has a bunch of performances scattered over the next couple of months, both in the U.S. and Iceland. [MORE...]
Deerhoof Reveal New LP Title, Release Date
Deerhoof just don't stop. How they ever found the time to record a new album when they've been on tour incessantly for the past year, we don't know, but they did, and the fruits of their labor have been revealed. On January 23, 2007, Kill Rock Stars/5RC will release Friend Opportunity, Deerhoof's latest opus.
As previously reported, Friend Opportunity was recorded at Tiny Telephone in San Francisco, and sounds "like symphonic grime with drum corps."
Deerhoof are currently on tour with the Flaming Lips. In October, they'll hit the road with the Fiery Furnaces. [MORE...]
Slumber Party Play dat Funky Musik
Remember the greatness of the slumber party? Pillow fights, pizza rolls, freezing friends' underwear, and playing Truth or Dare, Mall Madness, and DreamPhone Girl Talk?
Well, the Party rages on, dudes. Not, however, as the middle school social ritual, but rather in the form of Detroit-based all girl summer psych pop band Slumber Party, led by songwriter Aliccia Berg and a rotating cast of musicians. (Current line-up: Berg, Naomi Ruth, Raquel Salaysay, and Alia Allen.)
Slumber Party went into hibernation while Berg navigated solo territory for a bit, contributing a track to the recent Kill Rock Stars comp The Sound the Hare Heard as Allccia BB. But get that malicious gossip ready: The Party return at last on September 12 to release their fourth album, Musik, via KRC. Residents of Australia and New Zealand can snap it up on September 25, courtesy of their friends at Popfrenzy.
Fans hoping to catch the Slumber Party live experience this fall, stay tuned! Tour dates forthcoming. And don't forget your toothbrushes, ladies. [MORE...]
Nina Nastasia Takes Leaving on the Road
When singer/songwriter types approach the theme of leaving, they often jack the sadness or sense of unresolved-ness up to Phil Collins-"Against All Odds" levels of intensity. But sometimes leaving means simply, unceremoniously moving on, which is something Nina Nastasia knows a bit about. Her forthcoming full-length, On Leaving, hits stores this Monday, September 11 (UK, Europe) and September 19 (North America) and marks a departure from Touch and Go Records-- where she put out two albums and reissued her first-- and a move to Brighton-based FatCat Records. This was "nothing scandalous," remarked Nastasia of the label switch in a press release, "just moving. The way you move sometimes."
Two constants for the recording of On Leaving: Steve Albini, who engineered the past three Nastasia releases, and longtime "musical organizer" (which he prefers to the term "producer") Kennan Gudjonsson. Other steadfast contributors include Nastasia's backing band of violist Dylan Willemsa, drummer Jay Bellerose (Paula Cole Band, Beck's touring band), classical pianist Steven Beck, and drummer Jim White (Dirty Three).
Nastasia will leave cities across the U.S. this fall, but not before treating each to an exquisite live performance-- which is to say: gal's touring. [MORE...]
Electric Six Take on North America
Danger! Danger! New Album!
Last week, a perplexing post popped up on the official Electric Six website: "In a tragic, yet intriguing, turn of events," it read, "Electric Six synthesizer player Tait Nucleus? this morning was administered the 'Chinese Cocktail' by a group of thugs who wanted him out of the picture.....permanently," it read. "However, every cloud is a lining. As long as he does enough crank and trucker speed, as long as keeps snapping peoples' necks and punching brick walls, he can live. He's gotta keep going.....keep moving......keep running.....fuck every person he sees, jump every motorcycle off of every drawbridge, jump out of every airplane, crash every car. Keep it up....1,000 percent of the time. Do that, and he'll be just fine....."
Wait a second...isn't that new movie Crank...ohhhhh, I get it. You jokers!
Electric Six will inject America with yet another dose of their silly disco-punk starting next week, when they release their SECOND album of the year, Switzerland, on September 12, courtesy of Metropolis Records. (It comes out in Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands on September 15, and in the UK "either September 25 or October 2", according to the band's website.) That same day, they'll kick off their "Swiss Vengeance Tour". So watch out.
On September 21, E6 will play the "South Park" tenth anniversary party in L.A. That's so...appropriate.
The band also has a new video for the track "I Buy the Drugs", which you may view here. What's that? The sound of speakers across the country being turned down at once? Five out of five stars! [MORE...]
Cyann & Ben Prep Third Album, Tour
Dreamy French popsters Cyann & Ben are having a busy month. The former Gooom-ies are now signed to Ever Records, on which they released a four-song aperitif of an EP on August 14. The Sunny Morning EP
featured two tracks from the band's forthcoming full-length-- "Sunny
Morning" (which features vocals from Espers' Greg Weeks) and "Let It
Play"-- in addition to two other completely new songs and a Sylvain
Gouverneur-directed video for "Let It Play".
The full-length, Sweet Beliefs, is scheduled for a
European release this coming Monday, September 11. The label's website calls the album
more of the same "psychedelic, noble, fragile, pastoral, experimental
and incandescent...otherworldly grandeur" we've come to expect from the
deceptively named quartet. Ever Records is planning to release both the
EP and the LP in the U.S. in early 2007, but exact dates have yet to be
confirmed.
The band have also just announced European dates for the fall. They begin September 19 in Paris and end December 13 in Strasbourg. Needless to say, it's a French-heavy itinerary. [MORE...]
Isobel Campbell to Lay Down Milkwhite Sheets
Exclusive MP3!
"The guy who mastered my album usually works on death metal records. He said it sounds 'satanic'! I was quite flattered..." You're not going to believe the source for that one, kids. Well, yes, a press release (duh), but the quote came from none other than ex-Belle & Sebastian member Isobel Campbell.
The chanteuse has remained true to her word to put out two albums in 2006, and has announced the release of Milkwhite Sheets, due November 6 via V2 in the U.S.
Unlike album #1, the Mercury Prize short-listed, Mark Lanegan-co-credited Ballad of the Broken Seas, Campbell sings by herself on Sheets. In fact, one track, titled "Loving Hannah", features her voice over no instrumental accompaniment at all. Ooh, gutsy.
The album, recorded in tandem with and shortly after Ballad, was inspired by a variety of folk artists (Shirley Collins, Anne Briggs, Jean Ritchie) and features several Campbell-reworkings of traditional songs.
The fine folks over at V2 were kind enough to hook Pitchfork up with an exclusive track from Milkwheet Sheets, "O Love Is Teasin'". [MORE...]
Zach Hill and Rob Crow's Holy Smokes Prep Second LP
Holy smokes! An exclusive MP3!
The children of today are the future tomorrow (and the next day and the next), which is why all you moms and pops should Talk to Your Kids About Gangs. If you take your orders from the indie-noise supergroup Holy Smokes, that is. Need we mention that their first record was called Masculine Drugs? And it came with a book? That's what we thought.
The group, spearheaded by drummer extraordinaire Zach Hill (Hella/The Ladies/Team Sleep/Nervous Cop/Zach Hill and Mick Barr) and co-conspirator Dan Elkan, and featuring Rob Crow of Pinback/Three Mile Pilot, Carson McWhirter of the Advantage, Jonathan Hischke of the Flying Luttenbachers, as well as Ian Hernandez and J.R. Thompson, will release Talk to Your Kids, their Skin Graft Records debut on November 7.
Check out a sneak peak of the album with this exclusive download of the titanic noise-metal track "Quantum Leaper of Los Angeles County". You'll realize immediately why they signed to Skin Graft.
More Arthur Russell Recordings on the Way
Audika Records is at it again. The label famed for its comprehensive collection of rare Arthur Russell recordings is all lined up to release yet another batch of material from the legendary cellist/composer/singer/disco man.
The newest addition to Audika's Russell catalogue, Springfield, is ready to go and slated for release this coming Tuesday, September 12 (CD with bonus track) and September 26 (double vinyl).
"Springfield" (the song) is one of the last compositions ever created by Russell. He recorded over four hours of tracking with the goal of getting together with a producer for the piece's completion. His efforts will now be rewarded, as the DFA recently edited and completed Russell's original recording. With the exception of minimal keyboards, no overdubs were used for the final product, and three versions are included on the disc, with separate vocal takes. The remaining four tracks on Springfield (three on the vinyl edition) are culled from the 1985 unreleased work, Corn.
The LP is meant to be a companion album to 2004's Calling Out of Context. [MORE...]
Architecture in Helsinki Talk New Album
AIH-Clan Ain't Nothing to Fuck Wit'
A few weeks ago, Australian indie pop band Architecture in Helsinki sent out a MySpace message filled with news. In addition to an update about their new album (which we'll get to in just a little bit), the band announced that they have slimmed down to a six-piece, as members Tara Shackell and Isobel Knowles (no relation to Beyonce) have left the group.
"Their presence and pizzazz over the past few years has helped make AIH what we are," the group wrote. "We want to thank them endlessly for their heart and energy and wish them the very best with their future endeavors."
As for their third full-length, the follow-up to last year's In Case We Die, "the jamz are sounding dope, though, we are probably getting a little too into [member] Cameron [Bird]'s Latin percussion drum machines (the Phil Collins influence is definitely putting a damper on that!)"
We got in touch with Bird, who said that Architecture in Helsinki are hard at work on "a little pan-continental cyber-sonic wang-exploration." He provided Pitchfork with a kind of verbal 'blueprint' of the new album. [MORE...]
Mastodon Climb Blood Mountain
Black Mountain/Blood Meridian members get new side project idea
While TV on the Radio were busy with their Cookie Mountain, Mastodon made plans to visit a far darker place with an
equally high altitude. Come September 12, the latter will drop their newest effort
and Warner Bros. debut, Blood Mountain. BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD!
In anticipation of this release, the follow-up to
2004's Leviathan (this year's Call of the Mastodon featured early recordings), Mastodon have released the "Crystal Skull" 7"
(limited to 2000 copies), courtesy of Relapse Records. Two songs, "Crystal
Skull" and "Capillarian Crest", were pulled from Blood Mountain,
with the former available for streaming at the link below.
And as if that weren't enough, the LP will be released as part of three different packages-- just the album, the album and a limited edition DVD (containing the 45-minute "The Making of Blood Mountain" documentary), and the record, the DVD, and an exclusive t-shirt, oh boy. Before you cough up the dough, however, try trading Mastodon Star Wars collectibles for merch and concert passes. Heheh.
Adding to the Mastodon mystique, drummer Brann Dailor recently described their two forthcoming music videos, for "Wolf Is Loose" and "Colony of Birchmen", to MTV.com.
For "Wolf Is Loose", "We're ghosts in it, and different body parts of ours will be disappearing and falling off." And for "Birchmen", which includes vocals from Josh Homme, MTV says, "the clip will focus on the story of Blood Mountain: a man embarks on a mission up a treacherous mountain in search of the crystal skull, which he needs to place atop the perilous crag, and encounters a smorgasbord of vile creatures, including a vicious wolf and a Cysquatch-- 'a one-eyed sasquatch that can see into the future,' said Dailor."
Holy mother of god, BEST VIDEO EVER!
Beginning tonight, Mastodon launches a North American headlining trek alongside Converge and the Bronx. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Of Montreal Announce New Album Tracklist
Kevin Barnes Sings You a Love You Song
Kevin Barnes must write a lot of music in the tour van. Or backstage. Or whilst changing into whatever whimsical costume (spandex leotard/McDonald's uniform/tailored suit and ascot) he decides to wear for whatever show his band is playing. Otherwise, how would the insanely productive, ever-touring Of Montreal frontman have time to record another album? And yet, voila: the forthcoming CD and double vinyl, titled Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, will arrive January 23, 2007 via Polyvinyl. Featuring artwork by Of Montreal's favorite artist/bro David Barnes, the new album contains 12 tracks written, performed, and recorded by Kevin Barnes, with "some thoroughly rad help" (according to Barnes' publicist) from friends and family: James Huggins, the Late B.P. Helium, Nina Twin, Heather McIntosh, Georgie Fruit, and Alabee Blonde. [MORE...]
Blonde Redhead Talk New Album
Still undecided on title, songs, concept, release date, hair color
New York art-rock trio Blonde Redhead threw many longtime fans for a loop with the stylistic departure of 2004's lush Misery Is a Butterfly (4AD). Gone were the Sonic Youth-y noise jams of yore, replaced by baroque, cinematic, and kaleidoscopic tunes reflecting abstractly on vocalist/keyboardist Kazu Makino's then-recent horse-riding injury. The result polarized, and was largely ignored by certain publications, but damned if it wasn't a gorgeous record.Recently Makino and twin brother bandmates Amadeo (guitar) and Simone (drums) Pace returned to the studio to record Misery's follow-up, which will see release early next year via 4AD. Curious as to what to expect, Pitchfork caught up with Simone for a brief chat about the recording process, the desire to create more economical songs, and the new disc's malleable concept. [MORE...]
The Shins Reveal LP Release Date
January 23, 2007 will usher in an era of fitful sleep, as on that day, Sub Pop will unveil the newest album from the Shins. As previously reported, the record is titled Wincing the Night Away. We hope it doesn't hurt too much.
Posting on their fancy new library-themed website, the band wrote of the release date, "Trust us if we had our way it would be out next week, but 'The Man' has seen fit to do otherwise. The good folks at Sub Pop have scheduled this like a finely tuned machine, and we have all the confidence in the world that January is the magic month for a reason. We are excited."
The Shins also encourage fans attending their Austin City Limits set next week to bring "digital cameras, phones, and other media capturing gadgets" because "your footage could be used in a video broadcast of one of our songs." Ooh, a "video broadcast"-- is that one of them new-fangled inventions the kids are all atwitter about these days? [MORE...]
The Shins Reveal LP Release Date
January 23, 2007 will usher in an era of fitful sleep, as on that day, Sub Pop will unveil the newest album from the Shins. As previously reported, the record is titled Wincing the Night Away. We hope it doesn't hurt too much.
Posting on their fancy new library-themed website, the band wrote of the release date, "Trust us if we had our way it would be out next week, but 'The Man' has seen fit to do otherwise. The good folks at Sub Pop have scheduled this like a finely tuned machine, and we have all the confidence in the world that January is the magic month for a reason. We are excited."
The Shins also encourage fans attending their Austin City Limits set next week to bring "digital cameras, phones, and other media capturing gadgets" because "your footage could be used in a video broadcast of one of our songs." Ooh, a "video broadcast"-- is that one of them new-fangled inventions the kids are all atwitter about these days? [MORE...]
Cat Power Re-Releases Greatest, Records iTunes EP
You know how big, greedy labels love to re-release albums by big, greedy superstars like 50 Cent and Jessica Simpson just months after the records first came out, milking fans for all they're worth? Well, when Matador re-releases Cat Power's nine-month-old The Greatest on September 12, the label swears that they totally aren't being greedy.
First of all, the new Greatest is going to sell for the low price of $9.98. Second of all, it won't be cluttered by any pesky bonus features like videos, games, or even extra tracks. The only difference between Greatest 2.0 and the original will be the artwork-- the new one will boast three different slipcase covers.
Matador boss Gerard Cosloy defends the re-release on the Matablog.
For those of us hankerin' for something new from Chan Marshall, there's a live exclusive Cat Power session for sale on iTunes starting today. It features a solo acoustic guitar version of The Greatest's "Love and Communication", as well as three solo covers: the standards "House of the Rising Sun" and "Wild Is the Wind" (which Marshall also tackled, albeit much less joyfully, on 2000's The Covers Record), and Sandy Denny's "Who Knows Where the Time Goes". Marshall's voice sounds even more gravelly than usual, lending the whole thing the vibe of an illicit late night phone call. [MORE...]
Exclusive: MP3: Charlotte Gainsbourg: "AF607105"
The world got a whole lot sexier yesterday, as 5:55, the new album from French chanteuse (and Serge Gainsbourg spawn) Charlotte Gainsbourg was released in the UK on Because Music. As previously reported, 5:55 features music by Air's Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel as well as lyrics by Gainsbourg with Pulp's Jarvis Cocker and the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon. Beck's father, David Campbell, arranged the strings, and Fela Kuti collaborator Tony Allen contributed his percussion skills.
Sample this international conglomeration of hotness with our exclusive mp3 of the song "AF607105", a collaboration with Air (music) and Cocker (lyrics). It's feathery, breathy, and seductive-- exactly what you expect, and exactly what you want. [MORE...]
Joanna Newsom Announces Very Short Tour
Never thought I'd have to
say this, but Joanna Newsom's latest tour has fewer dates than Ys has
tracks.
The harpist has announced a five-stop North American trek ahead of her upcoming (and may I add astounding) album. The stint will kick off in Toronto early next month and will wrap up shortly afterward.
As previously reported, Ys is due November 14 via Drag City in both CD and 2xLP formats. The record features arrangements by both Jim O'Rourke and legendary Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks. [MORE...]
Sufjan Preps Xmas Box Set
Elf/human pyramid attempt proves fatal for three North Pole-dwellers
Should you awaken this December 25 to find a suspicious bulge at the bottom of your stocking, don't fret just yet (unless you've been particularly naughty)-- it's probably just that Sufjan Stevens Songs for Christmas box set that Asthmatic Kitty is planning to drop on the unsuspecting, candy cane-munching masses come November 21.First off: yes, these are the festive Sufjan tunes that were all over all those blogs. Most of them, anyhow. The creatively-titled five-disc set compiles newly mixed and mastered versions of four of Stevens' infamous Xmas EPs-- slapped together by Sufjan and his buddies over four of the last five Decembers and sent exclusively to friends-- as well as a new gaggle of seasonal selections recorded just this June.
Each of the five discs features Sufjan and pals' takes on a number of holiday favorites, including "Silent Night", "Jingle Bells", "The First Noel", and no fewer than three versions of "O Come O Come Emmanuel" (one with comma, two without-- but no "Adult Contemporary Easy Listening Version", alas).
Sufjan-philes will also be delighted to find a number of exclamation-ridden tunes penned by Suf-jeezy himself in the spirit of the season, such as (we are not making these up) "Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time!", "Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!", "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!", "Get Behind Me, Santa!" (sorry Sufjan, these kids beat you to it), and my personal favorite, "Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day? (Well, You Deserved It!)". Cheeky!
Just in case 42 yuletide tunes aren't enough for ya, the fine folks at Asthmatic Kitty have packed this puppy to the brim with bonus bric-a-brac, including stickers, essays, short stories, songbooks, music videos, comic strips, and, according to the AK website, "an original Christmas Family Portrait painting of Santa Sufjan (with wife and kids!)"-- wait a minute! Sufjan's married? And he has kids?! We're not even going to touch that.
Sufjan also has a huge tour going down and he's writing for magazines.
So be good, boys and girls, and scope the tracklist after the jump. [MORE...]
Mouse on Mars Prep Varcharz, Tour
Lithops record also in the pipeline
Supposedly, some anime films cause epilepsy due to their repeated flashing images. Guess that makes Mouse on Mars, the trio of Jan St. Werner, Andi Toma, and Dodo Nkishi-- who describe their brand of innovative techno as "epileptic music"-- the aural equivalent of anime. Their music is bright, pulsating, cartoonish, and liable to leave you jittery. For those of you who like to flout good health and warning labels, we are pleased to announce that Mouse on Mars will deliver a new album entitled Varcharz on September 12. The album will see release in the U.S. thanks to Mike Patton's Ipecac imprint. Mouse on Mars produced Varcharz at their St. Martin Tonstudio in Düsseldorf. The album's title is a bungling of the word "wortschatz," which means "vocabulary." Got it, ja? Varcharz partially grew out of the sessions for 2004's Radical Connector, but promises to showcase the group's harder and more experimental qualities and call to mind its unpredictable live shows. And while it does not abandon the pop realm altogether, Varcharz-- unlike its predecessor-- features no vocals.
While Mouse on Mars have left the friendly confines of Thrill Jockey for Varcharz, they've not abandoned their old label completely. In fact, Lithops, the glitchy solo project of Mouse's St. Werner, will follow up this year's Queries (Sonig) with the release of Mound Magnet. The set arrives November 7 via Thrill Jockey. Tracklists for both Varcharz and Mound Magnet after the jump.
Lithops will also open a number of dates on Mouse on Mars' forthcoming tour, a North American jaunt with French DJ quartet Birdy Nam Nam that kicks off this November. Finally, MoM would like us to know that Germany's first female chancellor, Angela Merkel, has "bad mouth breath." Cheeky! Ponder that for a few months, and then get your jitter fix with live Mouse on Mars. [MORE...]
Goldfrapp Announce Single, NYC Gig
Starbucks announces new drink, worst pun ever: Goldfrappuccino
Prefacing the previously reported Flaming
Lips/DFA/Múm/andsomuchmore extravaganza that is the upcoming Goldfrapp remix
record, We Are Glitter (due October 17 via Mute in America only), comes a
newly announced single for Supernature hit "Fly Me Away". The five track affair arrives September 26 as
a digital download only, and includes several remixes (including two by Carl Craig as C2) and an exclusive B-side of
the previously unreleased "Boys Will Be Boys". Full tracklist after
the jump!
In support of the remix record, single, and recent success of Supernature and Black Cherry hits ("Ooh La La" was in a Diet Coke ad and on Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance", and "Strict Machine" made its way into Verizon Wireless' Chocolate commercial and a "Nip/Tuck" promo), Goldfrapp will perform at New York's Roseland Ballroom on October 18. Should be glam-tastic. [MORE...]
Polyphonic Spree Announce EP, Tour
Twenty-six singing and dancing robers come up to you, chanting the words "REACH FOR THE SUN!" Of course, you cough up that wallet...to grab some dollars for a Polyphonic Spree ticket, that is!!The exuberant pop troupe/cult have announced their first U.S. tour in over a year. The majority of the trek will see the Spree showing up frat-favorite headliner Matisyahu, though for a few days, they'll top the bill, supported by Good Records (chief Spreeman Tim DeLaughter's label) acts Philip E Karnats and Pilotdrift.
The Spree spent early 2006 recording their third album, The Fragile Army, in studios across the country, including Steve Albini's Electrical Audio in Chicago. Co-produced by the pAper chAse's John Congleton and the Speekers (DeLaughter and fellow Spreester Julie Doyle), the disc is slated to arrive in early 2007 after numerous delays.
Can't stand the...wait? The Spree's got yr back: they'll release the iTunes digital exclusive Wait EP this Tuesday, September 5. Featuring two Army tracks and covers of tunes by Nirvana ("Lithium"), the Psychedelic Furs ("Love My Way"), and DeLaughter's former band, Tripping Daisy ("Sonic Bloom"), the collection should sate fans' appetites until whenever that album finally comes out. [MORE...]
Yeah, we know what you're
thinking: "Who're those California boys standing on Merge Records' welcome
mat?" To which we respond, "It's the Brokedown, and it's okay--
they're cool." Because hey, they're the newest addition to the Merge
roster!
On January 23, 2007, Merge will release the Brokedown's debut LP, I Can't Go On, I'll Go On. The album was recorded over the course of a year with Raymond Richards at Red Rockets Glare studio.
The Brokedown will make their official Merge debut at the label's CMJ showcase in New York during the first weekend of November. Before the festival hits, however, the band will play a handful of East and West coast tour dates. Let's hope their tour van doesn't, er...nevermind. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Hold Steady Launch Social Networking Site!
Makeoutclub.com now even more irrelevant
Watch your back, MySpace; y'all must've spited the Hold
Steady somehow-- whether it was all the scantily clad photos of preteens or the irritating
bulletin surveys or the friend requests from the shittiest of local bands that
turned Craig Finn & Co. away, we'll never know. In fact, these anti-MySpace
sentiments were likely fabricated by me for the purpose of developing a stellar intro
paragraph. Regardless of their motivation, the Hold Steady are giving the 'Space a run for its money with their first-ever
social networking website, appropriately domain'd
www.BoysandGirlsinAmerica.com.
The page includes a video testimonial feature where viewers can talk about the band, likes and dislikes, life experiences, and more. In addition, there's a message board where the lads and lasses of America and elsewhere can discuss today's most important issues. Jeez we love these guys.
The website will see its official launch next week. And if around this time a thread pops up in the BaGiA forums reading,
"Posted: Thu Sep 7, 2006 4:20 pm
Post subject: Holy Hold Steady we love this album!
It totally rocks \m/"
don't be surprised. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Langhorne Slim Signs to V2, Readies EP
Tours with Violent Femmes, Two Gallants
Don yer porkpie hat and break out yer corncob pipe: hootin', hollerin' blues-folkie Langhorne Slim has signed to V2 Records and will release a new four-song EP on September 19. Produced and mixed by Brian Deck at Chicago's Engine Studios, the Engine EP (how appropriate) features the following contributors: Langhorne (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Paul DeFiglia (bass, background vocals); Malachi DeLorenzo (drums, background vocals); Sam Kassirer (Hammond, piano); and Jim Becker (violin). [MORE...]
Exclusive: Hem Ride Funnel Cloud Across U.S.
Sadly, not playing any shows with Twista
Furthering their countrypolitan sound and following the February release of rarities collection No Word From Tom, Hem will release Funnel Cloud, their third proper full-length, September 5 on Waveland Records. Members Dan Messe and Gary Maurer produced the album, which includes contributions from the 21-piece Gowanus Radio Orchestra, Ollabelle vocalist Amy Helm, and ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist and man-about-town James Iha, who sings on "Not California" and "The Pills Stopped Working".Hem will tour in support of Funnel Cloud, and for a taste of what that will be like, you can download the exclusive MP3 the band have shared with Pitchfork, a live version of new tune "Reservoir". [MORE...]
Exclusive: Paul Smith Talks New Maxïmo Park Record
In the wee days of August,
Maxïmo Park posted a mysterious blog entry on their official website. It read,
"Maxïmo Park have started working today on the follow up to A Certain Trigger with producer Gil Norton (Foo Fighters, The Pixies). They
will be recording in London."
Leaves a bit to be desired, yes? Well Maxïes, this is your lucky day, because your buds over at Pitchfork have tracked down Park frontman Paul Smith for more information, and boy did he have a mouthful to share. The man was kind enough to enlighten us on the details surrounding the band's upcoming record, the importance of lyrics, opening for the Stones, and a run-in with a certain Eddie Vedder. [MORE...]
Lou Reed and Zeitkratzer Redo Metal Machine Music
And it's seriously "clangorous"
Lou Reed is keeping busy, as ever: This year, the sexagenarian has seen various reissues and reinterpretations of his solo material, and each project seems exponentially more ambitious. In June, RCA/Legacy put out a deluxe reissue of Coney Island Baby; this December, Reed, Antony, and others will perform a "theatrically realized version" of Berlin in NYC; and now, the musician is teaming up with avant-garde German music collective Zeitkratzer to create "audacious, clangorous realizations" of 1975's Metal Machine Music for a new CD/DVD out in early 2007 on Asphodel. Fans familiar with the oft-criticized two-disc album (thought to be everything from a weird joke to an elaborate test of fan allegiance to an early example of noise music) might wonder how exactly they'll pull this off. But Zeitkratzer has churned out quite a few minimalist reworkings, collaborating with the like of Keith Rowe, Lee Ranaldo, Helmut Oehring, and Elliott Sharp. Reed joins the ensemble to play guitar on the re-metallicized album.
Later in September, our man Lou will play a few shows around the U.S.:
09-12 Kingston, NY – Broadway Theater
09-15 Telluride, CO – Telluride Blues Festival
09-16 Santa Fe, NM – Santa Fe Opera House
Oxford Collapse, Chin Up Chin Up Tour
Joggers on board for five dates
Two bands + two albums + two
labels + one release date = a tour to remember? Let's try that one out: Oxford
Collapse + Chin Up Chin Up + Remember the Night Parties + This
Harness Can't Ride Anything (respectively) + Sub Pop + Suicide Squeeze
(respectively) + October 10 =...oh look-- a tour to remember! Good math, dudes!
In honor of their upcoming releases, both Brooklyn's Oxford Collapse and Chicago's Chin Up Chin Up will collapse upward on the road together, joining forces in early October for a trek across the U.S.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and the two will split, only to meet again later in the month. During this time, Oxford Collapse will run with Portland's the Joggers, who recently announced a handful of tour dates (including one OC-less gig on September 9 at Portland's Musicfest Northwest Festival). Chin Up Chin Up will tag along for the previously reported Cursive/Thermals jaunt. [MORE...]
Lemonheads Return with Album and Tour
Having recently signed to emo-powerhouse- no-more Vagrant Records, the newly re-formed Lemonheads will release their first full-length in almost ten years on September 26. In the near-decade between 1996's Car Button Cloth and this self-titled affair, lead Lemon Evan Dando has been performing more or less as a solo act, releasing an album in 2003 called Baby I'm Bored.The latest Lemonheads incarnation features Dando and two members of the Descendents: Bill Stevenson (drums) and Karl Alvarez (bass). They're joined on the new album by special guest contributors Garth Hudson (The Band) and the mighty J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr., Witch). Dando and Stevenson co-produced the album, which was recorded in Fort Collins, Colorado at Stevenson's Blasting Room Studios.
The resurrected Lemonheads will take to the road this winter, playing to thirtysomethings across the U.S. Dates-- and The Lemonheads tracklist-- ahead after the jump.
But first, just what do the Lemonheads sound like after all these years? AOL has posted a taste from the forthcoming record, new tune "No Backbone", which you may download and test drive by clicking here. Or stream a few more new traxx here. [MORE...]
Ben Folds Preps Rarities Collection, Tour
When Ben Folds isn't detailing the male anatomy on the bathroom walls of Dresden Dolls haters' abodes (see: MySpace blog entry), he's pumping out a rarities collection, touring with an orchestra, planning the follow-up to 2005's Songs for Silverman, and working out the kinks on another live record.
And, um, blogging about vandalizing bathroom walls with wiener drawings. Phew! Looks like Pitchfork will be hanging onto our security deposit this time around.
On October 24, Sony BMG will release supersunnyspeedgraphic, the lp, a collection of Folds songs ganked from rare EPs (Super D, Sunny 16, Speed Graphic, and The Bens EP), B-sides, covers (The Cure's "In Between Days", the Darkness' "Get Your Hands off of My Woman", and Dr. Dre's "Bitches Ain't Shit"), and film soundtrack appearances. The tracks have been remastered, reworked, and relocated since their original releases. All tweaking went down at Folds' Nashville studio with bassist Jared Reynolds and drummer Lindsay Jamieson.
The piano man will begin recording another album entirely in October, and reportedly feels like "blowing shit up in the studio at the moment." Okay, dude. Folds is also toying with the idea of bringing in 100-piece choirs, using piano only, using eight pianos at once, and maybe utilizing some cheap synthesizers he purchased on eBay.
Early next month, Folds will launch an orchestral tour of Australia. Then it's off to the U.S. for a handful of college town dates and a slot at the Vegoose Festival in Las Vegas. A live recording of the Folds/orchestra pair-up is in the planning stages. [MORE...]
Master Musicians of Joujouka Cavort With Corgan
Billy Corgan is trying to preserve a legacy. No, not the Smashing Pumpkins' legacy (didn't he already ruin that with MACHINA?), it's the legacy of being the latest celebrity rocker to discover the Master Musicians of Joujouka. Previous fans of the group William S. Burroughs described as "a four thousand-year-old rock 'n roll band" include Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Brian Jones, Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo, and jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman.
Most recently, it was Corgan who took a break from recording the new Pumpkins album to visit the Musicians in Morocco to observe Boujeloud, their annual fertility ritual where a man drapes himself in goat skins to represent the god Pan (or Boujeloud in Joujouka) and the musicians play music to soothe him, scare him, and eventually drive him from the village. According to a press release, the music for this ritual "has several movements which would equate to a symphony or the score of an opera if it were European classical music."
Quipped Corgan, in a recent issue of Spin: "This is the closest any other music comes to rock...in its intensity."
Enter Sub Rosa, the record label responsible for releasing two previous records by the Master Musicians of Joujouka, 1995's Joujouka Black Eyes and 1996's Sufi. From the same sessions with producer Frank Rynne that produced those albums comes Boujeloud, an album-length recording of music from the ritual of the same name. Sub Rosa will release the record September 12, and it will come with an eight-page booklet of explanatory liner notes written by Rynne as well as previously unpublished archival photographs. And if all that wasn't enough, Joujoukans believe that "dancing to this music brings good health and a long life." Who needs the toe wop? Sign me up for the goat dance!
[MORE...]
Akron/Family Reveal Meek Tracklist, Release Date
Also a few tour dates
Akron/Family will fight the timid fight on September 25 when they release Meek Warrior on Young God Records. The seven-track affair follows up last year's self-titled debut full-length and a split EP with Young God label head Michael Gira's Angels of Light. As previously reported, the quartet recorded the majority of Meek Warrior in Chicago with legendary free jazz drummer Hamid Drake, but members of Do Make Say Think and Broken Social Scene also appear. Griffin Rodriguez engineered the record and played upright bass on "No Space in This Realm". All seven noisy-ass songs are listed in the tracklist after the jump.
Akron/Family also have a handful of shows scheduled for right around the release of the album, and will appear tonight backing finger-picker extraordinaire and sea-chantier Baby Gramps on "Late Show With David Letterman". [MORE...]
The Tyde's Three's Co. Hits U.S. Shores
Contrary to what the deflated 1971 version of Brain Wilson claimed, surf's definitely not up. At least not for longboard-loving, wave-watching band the Tyde and leader Darren Rademaker, who has once again plumbed the wells of inspiration to come up with tunes that can evoke joyful innocence or bitter disenchantment at every (point) break. Three's Co., the third Tyde album (natch), arrives August 29 through the sun-kissed U.S. limb of Rough Trade UK's bloodless body. This time around a handful of past collaborators and new faces join the core duo of Darren and Ann Do Rademaker, including Darren's brother and Beachwood Sparks' Brent Rademaker, the ageless pop wonder Ric Menck, Conor Deasy of Irish west-coast sympathizers the Thrills, and Mickey Madden of the megaselling Maroon 5. The album has been out in the UK for a few months, but the U.S. copy will include two remixes: "Glassbottom Lights" by Jimmy Tamborello as James Figurine (Dntel, the Postal Service) and "Don't Need a Leash" by Nobody. Full tracklist after the break. [MORE...]
Shins Reveal Album, Song Titles
The Shins might've pushed their album back until January, but they recently revealed some details to Billboard.com. In a move uncomfortably reminiscent of Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping", the Shins have titled their upcoming Sub Pop release Wincing the Night Away. Yeah...probably from getting knocked down over and over again.
Save some backing vocals, Wincing is completely finished and ready for mixing in Portland, Billboard reports. The album will likely feature ten full songs and an intro track, including "Phantom Limb" ("a hypothetical, fictional account of a young, lesbian couple in high school dealing with the shitty small town they live in," frontman James Mercer told Billboard), "Red Rabbits" ("a strange psychedelic piano number with this really tweaked out sound"), "Sea Legs", "Spelling Lessons", "Spilled Needles", and "A Comet Appears".
Wincing the Night Away is the Shins' final album under contract to Sub Pop, and the band is well aware. "We really like the more creative sort of ways people have been putting out their records lately," Mercer said. "People are owning their own masters and having distribution deals. That's real attractive. It's an expensive business. It's probably more expensive for the artists than anyone else." Uh oh-- trouble in paradise?
The Shins have a few dates lined up for next month, though they plan to hold off on any sort of mega-tour until the album's release in 2007. [MORE...]
Badly Drawn Boy Gets Born, Tours
Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy, recently laid down the finishing touches on his new LP, titled Born in the UK. (Correct us if we're wrong, but it sounds like there's a syllable missing there?) The 12-track project follows up 2004's One Plus One Is One and is slated to hit stores October 17 courtesy of Astralwerks (October 16 via EMI in the UK).
One Plus One guest musicians and BDB touring band members Sean McCann and Alex Thomas, as well as vocalist Claire Hewitt, also made contributions to Born.
The disc's first single, "Nothing's Going to Change Your Mind", will be made available on October 2-- although several privately pressed, handmade "'Fish ‘N Chip' style" (quote BDB's website) one-sided seven-inches have already been released to select outlets in three different colors. Each of these exclusive singles will be packaged in a foldout Badly Drawn Boy "newspaper" including a Badly Drawn Boy wooden chip fork.
In addition, any remaining fans can spin the album's title track on Badly Drawn Boy's official website (and we mean "spin" literally here, not just in the crazy rock journalism sense). The page's fancy-ass flash player will feature exclusive custom-built EPs, new tracks, unreleased demos, instrumental numbers, and other cuts from the BDB archive, and will be updated once a month.
And of course, in support of the album's release, Badly Drawn Boy will be embarking on a handful of gigs in both the UK and North America. [MORE...]
Thurston Moore Helps Resurrect Peter Walker
Jack Rose, Greg Davis, more show support
Renowned guitarist Peter Walker (note: not this Peter Walker) will, on November 7, release his first new recordings in 37 years. Yeah, take that, Mission of Burma.
This man recorded for Vanguard Records in the Sixties. He studied with Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, worked with jazz flutist Jeremy Steig and guitarist Bruce Langhorne, and excels at both Indian instrumentation and flamenco guitar. Heck, he had what qualifies as the coolest job to ever exist (other than the salaried masterminds behind the iTunes visualization feature), creating music specifically for Dr. Timothy Leary's LSD experiments.
Now, Walker has recorded four new tracks, set for release on A Raga for Peter Walker, a semi-tribute album due via Tompkins Square on November 7.
In addition to Walker's contributions, the disc features previously unreleased compositions by Thurston Moore, Steffen Basho-Junghans, James Blackshaw, Greg Davis, Shawn David McMillen, and Jack Rose-- all artists who were influenced by Walker and wanted to show their appreciation. [MORE...]
Oxford Collapse Remember the Night Parties
Too soused to remember the day ones
Kanine Records graduates Oxford Collapse have scheduled an October 10 release date for their Sub Pop debut and third full-length overall, Remember the Night Parties. The OC only have one scheduled show at the moment, at NYC's Cake Shop on September 9, but they promise a full tour in the fall. [MORE...]
The Hold Steady talk the talk (very, very well, in fact), but can they walk the walk? Oh you bet your mama's life they can. Craig Finn and crew have just announced that they will soon take Boys and Girls in America (due October 3 via Vagrant) to even more boys and girls in America than originally anticipated.
The band has filled out its upcoming North American excursion, and honestly, we couldn't be more pleased. The Hold Steady will make the entire trek alongside Sean Na Na because really, is there anything more appropriate than boys and girls paired with that infamous "na na na na na na" playground chant? [MORE...]
Animal Collective Plan Live Box, EP, Tour
It must be mating season, because Animal Collective have a number of musical babies on the way. Dave Portner (aka Avey Tare) let fans at the Collected Animals forums in on a special band update yesterday, and we have since received confirmation that "wheeter" is in fact the real Portner, so on with the news.
First up is an Australian tour EP, which will feature "People", "Tikwid", "My Favorite Colors", and "People" (live) and will be available during the band's Down Under trek in November. It's possible that the project might see worldwide release, but plans are still up in the air.
The group is shooting to have its long-awaited live box set fully sequenced and mastered by the end of the month. It will be released via Catsup Plate Records, and will likely include three LPs of material packed to the brim with Sung Tongs songs and other pre-Feels material. Not only that, but Animal Collective is "starting to film for a very special release next year," according to their manager.
While we're on the topic of the live recordings, we'd like to remind you that Animal Collective will drop a reissue of the very rare Hollinndagain LP this Halloween via the band's own label, Paw Tracks.
Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) just finished recording a nine-song record, set for release in the winter 2007. There might be a tour around that time, too. The tunes will be divided up into three EPs. A 12", Bros should be out by the end of this year, with a Paw Tracks EP following shortly after. Panda Bear will also be featured on a split with Excepter, due this January on...you guessed it, Paw Tracks.
Portner also recently recorded a track for a forthcoming compilation of bands that have recorded at Brooklyn's Rare Book Room studio.
Finally, Animal Collective have a few dates ahead of them, including performances at this weekend's Leeds and Reading festivals. After that, it's on to Australia and New Zealand. [MORE...]
Mogwai, Portishead Members Collaborate
Geoff Barrow might've hit a block during the recording process for Portishead's upcoming (not sure exactly when) album, but he's got no reservations about Crippled Black Phoenix, a new project from Electric Wizard's Justin Greaves, Mogwai's Dominic Aitchison, Pantheist's Andy Semmens and Kostas Panagiotou, Gonga's Joe Volk, and 3D House of Beef's Nial McGaughey.
Yes, those are all real bands. Or so we think.
The "supergroup" has just recorded its debut album, A Love of Shared Disasters, at State of Art Studios in Bristol. Barrow, who is a part owner of the studio, produced the disc and will release it on his own Invada Records. In a press release, he said of the project, "I've been waiting for someone to make a record like this for a long time."
The release will hit stores sometime this year, and several tracks are already available for streaming on the band's MySpace page. A Crippled Black Phoenix tour is also in the works for 2k6. [MORE...]
Death Cab's Chris Walla Goes Solo
Utilizes famed "Walla Sound" production on new disc
Death Cab cutie and philandering producer Chris Walla, having planted his infamous seeds of production pretty much everywhere by now, is about to get busy in the studio with, um, himself. Walla has announced on his website that former DCFC home Barsuk Records will release his latest solo offering, tentatively titled It's Unsustainable, in March 2007. First critic to dismiss Walla's efforts as "masturbatory" gets a hearty smack on the wrist.
Walla's yet to decide on a moniker, but after flinging with the idea of billing himself "The Convincer", he's now close to settling on his given name. Smart move, Chris. It also seems this won't be a Martin Youth Auxiliary thang, the solo tag under which Walla released a self-titled cassette way back in 1999.
Walla, who's presently putting together a brand new studio called the Alberta Court, has already written the songs that will appear on It's Unsustainable, which he says bear a "pretty dark political stripe." Neocons, watch your backs!! He's also posted a Clinic cover on his website (download below), revealed plans to tour, and beseeched his fans to help him make some damn decisions already.
Still your kid sister's new favorite band, Death Cab for Cutie have just wrapped up an extensive tour. They're presently seeking out a place where body meets bed, although Ben Gibbard will forgo a night's napping to perform solo-acoustic-stylee at Chicago's Revenge of the Book Eaters event (August 24 at Park West) which also features your kid sister's new favorite author, Dave Eggers.
The Grates Schedule North American Tour
"3 best friends that play music for 30 min to 1 hr", aka Australian trio the Grates (we grabbed that description from their MySpace), are going to play music 30 min to one hr at venues across North America in support of their debut record, Gravity Won't Get You High, due out here via Dew Process/Cherry Tree/Interscope on August 29.
Think deciphering that sentence was tough? Try playing the Grates' Maze Adventure.
Anyway, the band will hit Pitchfork's home continent in September after wrapping up a trek across the UK. Then it's back to Australia for a series of shows (depicted in comic form here) with Faker.
The Grates' dates in the States (and Canada and the UK and Australia) are below. Lates!
Modest Mouse Set Title, Release Date
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. December 19 on Epic Records. Yes, Johnny Marr is officially in the band.
Get excited, people.
Isis Triple Whammy: New LP, DVD, Tour
It's been almost two years since Isis brought the goods with Panopticon, and while they've tided fans over between albums with live shows and a remix/reinterpretation record, it's clear the Isis-worshipping hordes are getting restless. But no longer! The wait for new material is over, as the band have completed their new record and a DVD for fall release.According to the band's blog, new LP In the Absence of Truth consists of eight songs, including "Dulcinea" (which you may download below), and clocks in at "a little over an hour." It was produced by Matt Bayles-- who also produced the band's last couple LPs, as well as Mastodon's Leviathan and forthcoming Blood Mountain-- and is tentatively scheduled for an October 31 release on Ipecac.
Ipecac will also release the DVD Clearing the Eye on September 26. Packed with special features-- including a music video for "In Fiction", interactive photo galleries, a discography, and a "graphically rich" twenty-page booklet, according to a press release-- it showcases live Isis performances at CBGB and Hollywood's Troubadour.
Rather experience Isis off the television and in the flesh? Catch the quintet among throngs of tools--er, Tool fans-- as they hit up North American arenas opening for those prog heroes. For those of you who would rather rock out in a more intimate and Maynard-free venue, don't fret-- Isis promise a November/December headlining tour. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Lily Allen's American Takeover
Unveiling the next phase in her crafty scheme to win America's hearts and scale her charts, Lily Allen has finally announced a U.S. release date for her rollicking, Pitchfork-recommended debut, Alright, Still. And what better time for a Lily to grace the U.S. than the beginning of frigid February?
February 6, to be precise, will see the arrival of Alright, bearing the same tracklist that made the UK version a top ten smash. As previously reported, suddenly indie-savvy Capitol Records will do the dropping.
If this U.S. release is phase two, and Lily's previously announced U.S. tour (dates recapped below) is phase one, not-so-silly Lily even has a phase 0.5 of sorts to garnish her internet-cooked hype cake with some more buzz icing. She'll drop the Smile EP digitally on September 26, featuring the titular number one UK single, as well as two non-album tracks and a remix with which Pitchfork readers should already be familiar. [MORE...]
Exclusive: TV on the Radio U.S. Bonus Tracks
Good things come to those who wait. In exchange for withholding the new TV on the Radio album Return to Cookie Mountain from American release for two months (it came out on July 3 on 4AD in Europe, and will be out here on September 12 on Interscope), the band is rewarding us patient Yanks with three bonus tracks.
Two of them, "Snakes and Martyrs" and "Things You Can Do", were previously released as the B-sides to the "Wolf Like Me" single on 4AD. The third track is a remix of "Hours" by El-P.
Here's what the American tracklist looks like:
01 I Was a Lover
02 Hours
03 Province
04 Playhouses
05 Wolf Like Me
06 A Method
07 Let the Devil In
08 Dirty Whirl
09 Blues From Down Here
10 Tonight
11 Wash the Day Away
Bonus tracks:
Snakes and Martyrs
Hours (El-P Remix)
Things You Can Do [MORE...]
Deerhoof Finish New Album, Add Tour Dates
Run four your lives, because a new Deerhoof record is already finished and ready for an early 2007 release on Kill Rock Stars/5RC. The band-- currently a trio after losing bassist/guitarist Chris Cohen in May-- recorded the as-yet-untitled album at Tiny Telephone in their hometown of San Francisco with Jay and Ian Pellicci, who worked as engineers on Reveille. According to the band's publicist, the sound of the album is "like symphonic grime with drum corps." Um... awesome!
Deerhoof will be opening for Radiohead on a trio of European dates beginning today, after which they will head promptly back to North America to play shows with the Flaming Lips and Kanye West (at the Bumbershoot Festival), among others. And don't forget about their December date at Thurston Moore's Nightmare Before Christmas ATP. All of the dates are listed after the jump.
As previously reported, Deerhoof guitarist John Dieterich will be
recording a "minimalist record" with Xiu Xiu sometime this winter. More
info on that as it comes.
[MORE...]
Exclusive: Domino to Release Josef K Anthology
Gregor Samsa anthology coming in 25 years
While "justice" for Kafka's Josef K. was prolonged, crude, and nothing of the sort, justice for American fans of early-1980s Scottish dark indie-poppers Josef K was just ridiculously prolonged. Twenty-odd years prolonged to be exact. That all ends November 7 when the magnanimous folks at Domino Records issue the very first official U.S. Josef K release, a 22-track compilation titled Entomology.
Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Paul Haig, guitarist Malcolm Ross, bassist David Weddell, and drummer Ronnie Torrance, Josef K sounded a wee bit like Joy Division with jangle, and were part of that whole Postcard Records scene that people cooler than you are always talking about. Fellow Postcarders Orange Juice and the Fire Engines were both subjects of Domino releases last year. Can Aztec Camera be far behind...?
Entomology collects a number of JK singles, B-sides, album cuts, requisite Peel Sessions, and even six tunes from the unreleased Sorry for Laughing album, rejected by Postcard way back in the day ("Heads Watch", "Drone", "Sense of Guilt", "Citizens", "Variations of Scene", and "Endless Soul"). Some 25 years on, the taut rhythmic intensity, eerie atmospherics, and looming paranoia of these recordings still resonate-- which is to say, they're pretty effing awesome. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Grizzly Bear to Tour With TV on the Radio
Time to tear yourself away from sending Sgt. Grumbles to everyone on your buddylist (it's hard, we know) and check out our second-favorite four-legged friend-- NYC's Grizzly Bear.
The Brooklyn quartet has just announced that they will spend the fall touring North America, mostly in the company of TV on the Radio. The trek is in support of the Grizz's Warp Records debut, Yellow House, due September 5 (September 4 in Europe).
A video for track three, "Knife", is currently in the works, and Grizzly Bear have put their own spin on Of Montreal's "I Was a Landscape in Your Dream" for the latter band's upcoming remix album, Satanic Twins, due tomorrow via Polyvinyl.
And just for fun, make sure to check out Grizzly
Bear's tour blog to scope out pictures of Chris Taylor giving Rose of the
Pipettes a haircut! We are so jealous right now.
Fridge Talk New LP
Pretty chill dudes, those guys
Before he was known for razzle-dazzling 'em as Four Tet, or avant-jazzing them with Steve Reid, Kieran Hebden was cutting his teeth as part of post-rock trio Fridge. Hebden, bassist Adem Ilhan (who serenades the world as Adem), and drummer Sam Jeffers have kept Fridge in cold storage for a bit, but the boys are finally ready to let their ideas thaw on an as yet untitled fifth Fridge LP. Besides becoming better musicians in the intervening years, and recording some of the new songs in a proper studio (a Fridge first), the band have suggested a return to "earlier-era Fridge eclecticism."
Drummer Jeffers was kind enough to discuss the album in a recent e-mail exchange with Pitchfork. The new recording, he said, marks "a move away from some of the more directed feeling of the last two albums, where we tried quite hard in advance to make 'whole albums' with a single concept or feel." [MORE...]
Cardigans Talk U.S. Release of Gravity
No one-hit lovefools, enduring Swedish pop rockers the Cardigans are poised to finally release their sixth long-player in the U.S. Nettwerk will issue the 11-track affair, titled Super Extra Gravity, on September 19-- although the most devout Cards fans have been rocking the European import for nearly a year now.
Pitchfork caught up with charming chief Cardigan Nina Persson to discuss the release's delay, her film debut, a cancelled U.S. tour, Japanese audiences, and yes, "Lovefool". [MORE...]
Damon Albarn's New Band Gets Name, First Gig
Remember when we told you that Damon Albarn was starting a band with former Clash bassist Paul Simonon, former Verve guitarist Simon Tong and the late Fela Kuti's drummer Tony Allen? Remember when we told you their debut was going to be called The Good the Bad and the Queen? Well, we were wrong, but only about that last part. The Good, the Bad and the Queen is actually the name of the band. Charming, innit?A peek at GBQ's website reveals a "trailer" for the upcoming album, which Billboard.com reports will be released next year on Parlophone in the UK and produced by none other than Danger Mouse. Right, because that guy's not busy enough. Albarn described the album to BBC Radio 1 as "a very English record" and "the first time I've really written about home since Parklife."
GBQ will make their live debut at London's Roundhouse on October 26 as part of the BBC's Electric Proms festival, where they will play their album from start to finish. And if previous reports are any indication, the band's debut single is still due out in October as well.
Replacements' Westerberg, Stinson Unite for Cartoon
No, not Aqua Teen Drunk Force
A grizzly bear, Boog (voice of Martin Lawrence), makes friends with a mule-deer, Elliot (Ashton
Kutcher), in the forthcoming animated film Open Season, set to hit theaters September 29. But that's not the only friendship between wild animals involved with the film, as former Replacements bandmates Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson have also rekindled their bond for its music. Following March's
Replacements best-of reunion, Westerberg and Stinson have joined together for
two songs on the Open Season soundtrack, due September 26 via Lost
Highway.
The disc includes ten Westerberg originals (he and Ramin Djawadi scored the film), two of which ("Love You in the Fall" and "Right to Arm Bears") feature Stinson on bass. Pete Yorn and Deathray each perform a Westerberg track as well, titled "I Belong (Reprise)" and "Wild As I Wanna Be", respectively.
The soundtrack is also home to Deathray's "I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh)" and the Takling Heads' "Wild Wild Life". [MORE...]
Supersystem Tour Behind Sophomore LP
Peddle drugs behind sophomore dormitories
Hate to say it, but those dance moves you've been pulling lately are a bit out of fashion. Thankfully, Supersystem will soon show you how to do it right, both in living rooms and local venues across the nation.
The NY/DC dance-punks (once known as Dischord's El Guapo and not very danceable) will hit us with a new LP, A Million Microphones, on August 22 in the U.S. (September 11 in Europe), courtesy of Touch and Go. The quartet recorded this 11-song set-- the follow-up to their 2005 debut Always Never Again-- with engineer Jonathan Kreinik (Trans Am, the Make Up, Out Hud, !!!) at Brooklyn's Headgear Studio.
Supersystem have a massive fall trek on the agenda, including a stop at Touch and Go's uber-awesome 25th Anniversary Celebration, where you can learn new dance moves from not only those dudes, but also Big Black (albeit for only a few songs), Scratch Acid, Shellac, Ted Leo, Calexico, the Black Heart Procession, CocoRosie, and so many more. It's goin' down September 8-10 at Chicago's Hideout. [MORE...]
Electrelane Release Singles, Rarities Comp
Nimble, often instrumental, and powerful as hell, Electrelane isn't the easiest beast to brand, but we love them all the same. (And not just because guitarist Mia Clarke is a Pitchfork contributor.) They love us too, and to show it, the four-piece has assembled a rarities compilation to whet fans' appetites until the next Electrelane album arrives.
Entitled Singles, B-Sides & Live, this monster drops on August 22 in the U.S. (and the day before in the UK) through Too Pure.
The collection features 16 tracks, including A- and B-sides released on Indenial/Skint, Fierce Panda, the group's own Let's Rock! label, and Too Pure. It includes a kickass cover of Springsteen's "I'm on Fire"), a John Peel session selection ("Oh Sombra!"), and three live tracks (including the band's stab at Leonard Cohen's "Halleluj-- psyche!-- "The Partisan").
Electrelane's four steadfast pistons-- Clarke, Emma Gaze, Ros Murray, and Verity
Susman-- are currently
in Berlin recording their fourth album after spending some
time pursuing personal interests and solo/side projects (Verity as Vera November, contributing a track to the forthcoming Jens Lekman-curated Arthur Russell tribute; Ros in Ray Rumours, Sisisi Sisisi Sisi, Las Pulpas, and probably a few more obscure Iberian lo-fi bands, and Clarke writing for The Wire, Venus, and you-know-who).
No release date has being bandied about for the new album yet, so it
would be safe to assume "beginning of 2007" at the earliest.
[MORE...]
David Pajo to Release Second Pajo Album
George Stephanopoulos to consider Stephanopoulos album
It took a while for former Slint, Tortoise, and Zwan member and Stereolab and Palace contributor David Pajo to get out from under the shadow of his "M" pseudonyms (Papa, Ariel, and plain ol' M) and release material under his own surname, but after last year's well received Pajo, he isn't showing any signs of slowing down.
His second album under the Pajo moniker, called 1968, arrives this coming Tuesday, August 22 via Drag City. [MORE...]
Menomena Talk Barsuk Signing
Below: Menomena sign on the dotted line
As reported by Portland, Oregon's Willamette Week, Menomena have joined the Barsuk roster. Menomena's Danny Seim was kind enough to chat with us on the phone earlier this week; he enlightened us on not only the signing but on the band's upcoming record, side projects, tour plans, and parental advisory intentions.
On Menomena's choice of new label, Seim said, "It was a decision kind of long in the making. We felt that we had kind of reached the point in our career in the band that we needed someone to kind of take over the reins a bit, and allow us to focus more on the creative side of things for once.
"I think that the Barsuk thing, we've really grown to trust them over the past year or so that we've been talking to them and it just seemed like a good fit for us."
Menomena's split from their old home FILMguerrero was completely amicable. In fact, it wasn't even a full-on departure. Seim explained that he has every intention to keep FILMguerrero in the picture when it comes to the band's back catalog, as well as future vinyl releases. In addition, the dudes from Barsuk and FILMguerrero are buds! That's like fooling around with your old significant other while dating her best friend with permission. (FILMguerrero owner John Askew is also in Seim's new side project, Faux Haux, along with Gang of Four's Dave Allen.)
Menomena have already finished up most of the work on their Barsuk debut, Friend and Foe, and plan to release it in January 2007. Blankets author Craig Thompson did the artwork. [MORE...]
Envy Drop LP, Tear Across America
You covet their steez
You might not understand what they're saying, but you know they mean it: Japanese epic hardcore legends Envy are back, with a new record and a rare U.S. tour. The record, Insomniac Doze, drops September 12 (like every other record you care about this year) via Temporary Residence Limited and features the following seven tracks spread out over one blistering hour:01 Further Ahead of Warp
02 Shield of Selflessness
03 Scene
04 Crystallize
05 The Unknown Glow
06 Night in Winter
07 A Warm Room
The tour, an America-spanner, kicks off in San Diego today and culminates in an appearance at the previously-reported Temporary Residence 10th Anniversary Bash in New York City, where Envy will rock alongside Four Tet, Miss Violetta Beauregarde, and tourmates Sleeping People. [MORE...]
Xiu Xiu Adopt New Member, Prep Sixth LP
Get all prolific up in this biatch
Got any big plans for the fall? Going to finally hop on that treadmill? Alphabetize that record collection? Take that art class? Ask that girl out? Well guess what, buddy: you're a total slacker. Bona fide, top notch. At least compared to your art-damaged, hyper-prolific pals in Xiu Xiu. We hacked into Jamie Stewart's pink polka dot Blackberry (jk) so you could cop a glance at their fall to-do list and weep:1. Add new member: Ches Smith, aka tourmate Congs for Brums, aka drummer/percussionist extraordinaire and Tom Waits/Mr. Bungle collaborator; refer to Xiu Xiu henceforth as trio, consisting of Smith, Jamie Stewart, and Caralee McElroy.
2. Tour like wildfire with Smith in tow (both solo and with Xiu Xiu); recap dates below, and what the hey, add a few new ones.
3. Continue work on sixth studio album, already halfway complete. Use non-programmed percussion (first time!). Sing Freddie Mercury part in cover of Queen's "Under Pressure"; phone Michael Gira (Angels of Light/ex-Swans) about singing Bowie part.
4. Release fifth studio album, The Air Force, on September 12. Thank 5RC for their help. Reminisce way back to 2002 when first album was released; opine wistfully, "Those were the days..."
5. Remind the good folk out there of latest EP, collaboration with Grouper, arriving November 7 via Slender Means Society.
6. Tell those good folk of The Air Force's four music videos: "Hello From Eau Claire" v. 1.0 and 2.0 (dir. Corey Smith of "Pox" video fame), "Bishop, CA" (dir. David Horvitz), and "Boy Soprano" (dir. Jose Perez).
7. E-mail Larsen and get crackin' on the next XXL album; record in Italy in December.
8. Text John Dieterich (Deerhoof) about recording minimalist record this winter.
9. IM Freddy Ruppert (This Song Is a Mess but So Am I) about new synth pop/darkwave collaboration.
10. Prep remix album (5RC) and video collection for 2007.
11. Visit a bunch of cities (see itinerary after the jump)
12. Chortle at the underachievers. [MORE...]
Built to Spill Working on New Album
Built to Spill's latest album You in Reverse has only been out since April, but the band is already hard at work on its follow-up. According to the band's label, Warner Bros., Doug Martsch and co. have been popping in and out of the studio while on the road, as well as during breaks from their never-ending tour.
Their next trek kicks off September 12 and continues almost every day up until the Vegoose festival in Vegas on October 28. Think of it as one month-and-a-half-long guitar solo. [MORE...]
Giddy Motors Tell Their Crew to Do Easy
Encourage multiple playings of their record
A jittery, raucous debut album (Make It Pop) and a soundboard manned
by Steve Albini helped make South London's Giddy Motors grade-A
art-punkers in 2002, and brought instant comparisons to the Jesus Lizard, Captain Beefheart, and Mclusky. But after a string of hiatuses (hiati?) and a seemingly endless search for a bass player (Justin Stone, at present, is their sixth), the future of the band came into question. So, like, what's the answer?
Well, we're still not entirely sure. Neither is frontman Gaverick de Vis-- but more on that later. First, we have some good news. Gaverick and the Giddy boys have a new album coming our way: Do Easy, due out via FatCat on Monday, August 21 in Europe and November 28 in North America. [MORE...]
Erlend Oye Talks Kings of Convenience
Album 4 or 13 or 26% Done
Erlend Øye seems to enjoy being one of the Whitest Boys Alive. (As previously reported, his latest musical project-- called yes, the Whitest Boy Alive-- will release its debut album on September 5 on Bubbles Records.) However, he also enjoys being a King of Convenience. And he wants to impress upon fans that his collaboration with Eirik Glambek Bøe still exists.
"I would love to not have to get asked 'is Kings of Convenience over?' after every show I play with WBA," Øye told Pitchfork recently. As proof, he offered that there will be a new Kings album, even if the duo has yet to hammer out exact details.
"I have no idea about when or what or where [we'll record]. We have tons of ideas, but from experience, it takes us as long to get from 0 to 90% done, as it does from 90 to 100%," said Øye.
So just how long does it take to complete 10 percent of an album? "There is a tiny chance we could get a record out in 2007," he said, "But 2008 seems more likely."
Perhaps the process will be sped along by the fact that Bøe recently finished up school (where he studied architectural psychology), making it more convenient for him to participate in Kings of Convenience full time.
Not one to pale in comparison, Øye remains busy touring Europe with WBA this fall.
J Dilla Release Parties Scheduled
Custom shoe to be auctioned on eBay
Dilla madness continues and finally comes to fruition with the August 22 release of The Shining on BBE. And to celebrate its release, 33 1/3 Media are auctioning off a J Dilla customized Stan Smith shoe (the Adidas equivalent of the Chuck Taylor) on eBay.
The shoe goes up for auction August 22 as well, but it will be on display on August 19 at an album release party in Pittsburgh for attendees' ogling pleasure. You can see the video postcard for the auction (which includes frustratingly short shots of the shoe) by watching the YouTube clip after the jump.
Pittsburgh isn't the only city with a release party, though. The festivities began yesterday in Washington, DC and sprawl out to double dates in both Florida and Seattle. There is even a J Dilla tribute in San Francisco featuring Nicolay (Foreign Exchange), steviemack (kaosmathematics) and Dr. Jones, all the proceeds from which-- like those from the shoe auction-- will go toward the J Dilla Foundation. We've done our best to list specific performers at these listening parties, but for the most up-to-date information, you'll do best to check your local listings.
You can also hear an exclusive pre-release stream from Rhapsody by clicking on the link below. [MORE...]
Andrew WK, Thurston Moore on To Live and Shave LP
Exclusive mp3 megamix!
Avant-noize collective To Live and Shave in LA is eager to give fans a hint of their new album, Noon and Eternity (due out on October 31 on Menlo Park Recordings), but have been delayed in their attempts by a force apparently as strict as the Dept. of Homeland Security: MySpace.
Said collective founder Tom Smith (after attempting to post another track on MySpace "for [fans'] already blown drums 'n' lobes"):
"We're tired of not being able to leak more of the forthcoming studio opus, but as Noon and Eternity is comprised primarily of medicated lip balm and vanilla chai tea, we couldn't get a full take past MS's security checkpoints."
But never fear: the band has granted Pitchfork full access to an exclusive Noon teaser mp3, featuring the entire album smooshed into one four-minute stretch! Plus all the tea and lip balm we wanted.
Noon and Eternity, the follow-up to 2001's The Wigmaker, is the product of core TLASILA members Smith, Rat Bastard (bass), and Ben Wolcott (oscillator), along with a veritable army of guitarists-- Thurston Moore, Don Fleming, Chris Grier, and Mark Morgan, rounded out by one Andrew WK on drums. The album, dubbed a "futuristic vision of psych" in a press release (whereas Wigmaker was supposedly "a futuristic approach to punk"), was recorded over a year ago at Sonic Youth's Echo Canyon studios, then mixed and mastered last year.
Before the arrival of Noon and Eternity, the collective will release a chronological TLASILA remix album, called Horoscopo: Sanatorio de Molière, on August 25 on Blossoming Noise. Created over the course of four years and containing eight tracks culled from TLASILA's entire career (1991-present), the album is, y'know, the usual remix fare-- "designed to evoke the typically warped narratives of the Spanish-Italian giallo/spy film co-productions of the mid-1960s." [MORE...]
Just like their namesakes, Portland's Thermals keep whomever comes in contact with them twitching, but in a good way, since they also keep us warm...in our souls, that is. Unlike their namesakes, however, the Thermals are made of pure rock.
Even losing original drummer Jordan Hudson late last year couldn't stop them from recording their third album, The Body, The Blood, The Machine, set for an August 22 release on Sub Pop. And it certainly couldn't keep them from kicking out the jams.
Recorded by Brendan Canty (formerly) of Fugazi, The Body finds Kathy Foster working overtime on both bass and drums. According to a press release, "The lyrics envision a United States governed by a fascist Christian state, and focus on the need (and means) to escape. While hardly a concept album, there is definitely a story told in the songs: a story about getting the fuck OUT while you still can."
We've been rocking out to this album for a couple weeks now, and it's just the kind of hooky, basement punk record that demands to be played loud. Though it is unfortunate that they shy away from the "concept album" classification. Embrace your inner prog rockers, Thermals!
If you pre-order The Body from Sub Pop's website, you'll get a copy of the Burn to Shine 3: Portland DVD thrown in for free. It features live performances from the Decemberists, Sleater-Kinney, the Shins, the Gossip, and, of course, the Thermals.
Right now, the Thermals are no longer drummer-less, as they have recently added Lorin Coleman to their full-time lineup. And you know what that means: now they can go on tour. They only have a few dates scheduled so far, but they promise plenty more in the near future, including a stint opening for Cursive. [MORE...]
Just like their namesakes, Portland's Thermals keep whomever comes in contact with them twitching, but in a good way, since they also keep us warm...in our souls, that is. Unlike their namesakes, however, the Thermals are made of pure rock.
Even losing original drummer Jordan Hudson late last year couldn't stop them from recording their third album, The Body, The Blood, The Machine, set for an August 22 release on Sub Pop. And it certainly couldn't keep them from kicking out the jams.
Recorded by Brendan Canty (formerly) of Fugazi, The Body finds Kathy Foster working overtime on both bass and drums. According to a press release, "The lyrics envision a United States governed by a fascist Christian state, and focus on the need (and means) to escape. While hardly a concept album, there is definitely a story told in the songs: a story about getting the fuck OUT while you still can."
We've been rocking out to this album for a couple weeks now, and it's just the kind of hooky, basement punk record that demands to be played loud. Though it is unfortunate that they shy away from the "concept album" classification. Embrace your inner prog rockers, Thermals!
If you pre-order The Body from Sub Pop's website, you'll get a copy of the Burn to Shine 3: Portland DVD thrown in for free. It features live performances from the Decemberists, Sleater-Kinney, the Shins, the Gossip, and, of course, the Thermals.
Right now, the Thermals are no longer drummer-less, as they have recently added Lorin Coleman to their full-time lineup. And you know what that means: now they can go on tour. They only have a few dates scheduled so far, but they promise plenty more in the near future, including a stint opening for Cursive. [MORE...]
Jon Spencer Teams With North Mississippi Allstars
In 2001, Jon Spencer shacked up in storied Memphis session man/producer Jim Dickinson's Zebra Ranch Studios with Dickinson's sons, Luther and Cody (leaders of the North Mississippi All-Stars). The results were issued as the curious Spencer Dickinson on an obscure Japanese label.
This Tuesday, August 22, Yep Roc Records will re-release
the album as The Man Who Lives for Love, re-mastered with re-tooled cover art and seven
more tracks from the same recording session to make the new name legit. Yep Roc
will also reissue the original Japanese version (tracks 1-12) simultaneously on
vinyl. If you pre-order the disc from the Yep Roc website, you'll get two more
exclusive mp3 bonus tracks as well.
As might be expected, the instruments on the record range from the usual guitar/bass/drums to organ (Jon), mandolin (Luther), stylophone (Jon), and washboard (Cody). According to Jim, Cody and Luther are darker and weirder when Spencer's around: "Jon really brings it out of them," he said in a press release. "They are more spontaneous with Jon than they are by themselves. Cody, in particular, really likes to calculate. Jon is more in the moment, the way he works."
Surprisingly, there's not much straight-up blues on the disc. How disappointing. Also disappointing: according to Yep Roc, Spencer Dickinson has no plans to tour to celebrate the record's release. But the idea of a tour is not as incomprehensible as, say, a Pussy Galore "song." [MORE...]
Nouvelle Vague to Tour in Support of U.S. Release
Information was scarce when Nouvelle Vague released their first album back in 2004.
Bewildered by their easy-listening covers of classic punk songs, listeners often found themselves shouting, "Who is this? What the hell is this? Where the #&%! did this come from?"
However, it's now been learned that, short of walking around with croissants stapled to their foreheads, Nouvelle Vague couldn't be more French if they tried. In keeping with their adopted new wave cinema theme, the band--essentially producers Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux-- will release their second album, Bande A Part August 22 on Luaka Bop/V2 in North America. (It's been out since June on Peacefrog in Europe.)
Besides the Godard-indebted album title, Collin and Libaux have borrowed another of the master director's signature ploys: casting plenty of gorgeous female sidekicks for the project. Featured on Bande A Part are vocalists Melanie Pain, Marina Celeste, Phoebe Killdeer, and Silja (as well as Gerald Toto, who was not a girl last time we checked, but we're guessing he is lovely nonetheless).
If you think these cultivated takes on old chestnuts would relate to just about anybody, you would be right. Just like Esperanto, Nouvelle Vague has that sweeping appeal that makes any live audience swoon. They'll charm North America on tour in September. [MORE...]
Nouvelle Vague to Tour in Support of U.S. Release
Information was scarce when Nouvelle Vague released their first album back in 2004.
Bewildered by their easy-listening covers of classic punk songs, listeners often found themselves shouting, "Who is this? What the hell is this? Where the #&%! did this come from?"
However, it's now been learned that, short of walking around with croissants stapled to their foreheads, Nouvelle Vague couldn't be more French if they tried. In keeping with their adopted new wave cinema theme, the band--essentially producers Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux-- will release their second album, Bande A Part August 22 on Luaka Bop/V2 in North America. (It's been out since June on Peacefrog in Europe.)
Besides the Godard-indebted album title, Collin and Libaux have borrowed another of the master director's signature ploys: casting plenty of gorgeous female sidekicks for the project. Featured on Bande A Part are vocalists Melanie Pain, Marina Celeste, Phoebe Killdeer, and Silja (as well as Gerald Toto, who was not a girl last time we checked, but we're guessing he is lovely nonetheless).
If you think these cultivated takes on old chestnuts would relate to just about anybody, you would be right. Just like Esperanto, Nouvelle Vague has that sweeping appeal that makes any live audience swoon. They'll charm North America on tour in September. [MORE...]
Mirah might think her songs are like this, but other artists really think it's like this. On November 21, K Records will release a Mirah remix album titled Joyride: Remixes. In the spirit of family members retelling each other's stories around the dinner table, the 22-track double album features contributions from K friends and family, including Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie/The Microphones), Guy Sigsworth (Frou Frou), Melanie Valera (Tender Forever), Khaela Maricich (The Blow), Jona Bechtolt (YACHT/The Blow), Cindy Wonderful (Scream Club), Anna Huff (Anna Oxygen), Luke Fischbeck (Lucky Dragons), and others. [MORE...]
Smashing Pumpkins Enlist Queen/Cars Producer
The following message has mysteriously appeared on the Smashing Pumpkins website:
"The Smashing Pumpkins are currently in the recording studio with legendary producer Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, The Cars, The Darkness), at work on their first new album since 1999."
Awesome! If there's anything I want out of a new Smashing Pumpkins album, it's glittery pomp and new wave sparkle.
Still no word on who's in the band other than Billy Corgan, or when the album's coming out. However, I'm guessing that it's going to come out on Warner Bros. or Reprise, since the mailing list on the Pumpkins site is run by Warner/Reprise.
Smashing Pumpkins Enlist Queen/Cars Producer
The following message has mysteriously appeared on the Smashing Pumpkins website:
"The Smashing Pumpkins are currently in the recording studio with legendary producer Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, The Cars, The Darkness), at work on their first new album since 1999."
Awesome! If there's anything I want out of a new Smashing Pumpkins album, it's glittery pomp and new wave sparkle.
Still no word on who's in the band other than Billy Corgan, or when the album's coming out. However, I'm guessing that it's going to come out on Warner Bros. or Reprise, since the mailing list on the Pumpkins site is run by Warner/Reprise.
Ryan Adams Produces New Willie Nelson Album
While he might loathe balladeer Bryan Adams, one-B-shy rocker Ryan Adams loves him some Willie Nelson, at least enough to handle production duties on the man's forthcoming album, Songbird. According to Billboard.com, Adams and Nelson have transcended the generational divide to collaborate on the disc, sure to scare up some respectable sales when Lost Highway releases it on Halloween (that's October 31 to the grownups out there).
In this candybag: eleven sugar-coated tracks, with Adams' Cardinals band backing, including a number of choice and not-so-choice covers: Gram Parsons' "$1000 Wedding", the Grateful Dead's "Stella Blue", Christine McVie's "Songbird", and, oh boy, Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"--this despite Pitchfork's recent strict moratorium on "Hallelujah" covers. They'll rot yr teeth, man. [MORE...]
Stones Throw Celebrates 10 Years With Comp, Tour
New Madvillain album in the works
Turning 10 is a big deal, and for its first year in double digits, Stones Throw Records is having children. Life comes at you fast, I guess. The newborn, Chrome Children, is the full-length collaboration between the Adult Swim network and the entire Stones Throw roster, as previously reported.
The compilation will be released October 3 and comes packaged with a
full-length DVD of the MF Doom and Madlib headlining gig at this year's
SXSW.
Unlike Danger Doom's The Mouse and the Mask, Chrome Children
does not feature actual samples of Adult Swim shows (thank god), but the network
will be airing advertisements and creating animated videos for some of
the songs. All tracks are new and exclusive to Chrome Children,
except for J Dilla's "Nothing Like This" and Gary Wilson's "Dream(s)".
Stones Throw is also offering Peanut Butter Wolf's "Chrome Mix"-- a
20-minute mix that takes half of its tracks from Chrome Children-- as an MP3 download from its website (see link below).
Shortly following the release of Chrome Children, there
will be a Stones Throw 10th anniversary tour featuring Madlib (his
first nationwide tour!), label founder Peanut Butter Wolf, and J. Rocc.
Other Stones Throw artists such as MED, Percee P, Egon and
currently-unannounced guests will also join the tour on select dates.
Madlib is still hard at work with MF Doom on the upcoming Madvillain
album, but he has so many projects in the works before that gets
released that you'd be forgiven for forgetting it existed at all. They
have done a little recent recording, however. Namely, their take on
"The Star-Spangled Banner" (!) and their Chrome Children appearance, "Monkey Suite".
The Beat Konducta has been behind the boards quite a bit recently. He
produced Talib Kweli and Norah Jones on the former's forthcoming album,
Ear Drum, which is tentatively scheduled for a fall release. His instrumental backings for the Dudley Perkins album Expressions,
hit iTunes recently. And Yesterdays New Quintet have just completed
"Summer Suite", a 40-minute long track that Stones Throw hopes to
release this summer. Time's a-ticking, guys, but considering the
abundance of material already being released, I guess I understand. [MORE...]
Aloha Say Hello to U.S. Tour
Say goodbye to privacy, showering daily
Vibe-happy quartet Aloha greets the highway once again, embarking today on a tour that will see the Cleveland-, Cincinnati-, Rochester-, DC-, Brooklyn-based (OK, so everywhere-based) band traveling around the Midwest and East Coast, supported by Frenchkiss four-piece Rahim.
Aloha has already toured extensively in support of their recent 8.0-garnering full-length, Some Echoes (Polyvinyl), which the band is streaming in its entirely on their website.
Also, on September 26, Polyvinyl will release the debut solo album by Aloha drummer and Cex collaborator Cale Parks. Titled Illuminated Manuscript, the 12-track LP first appeared in June on Japan's Stiff Slack imprint (albeit with a slightly different tracklisting and cover art). The label approached Parks after he posted some tracks-- many of them experimental Aloha demos-- on his MySpace page. "I never really set out to make a great solo record," he said of the venture, "It's mostly a collection of random demos and things I'd recorded at home for fun." [MORE...]
In their bid to fling with every small label in the known universe (Guinness, get on this), Xiu Xiu have paired with the Slender Means Society imprint (run by Parenthetical Girls' Zac Pennington) to deliver yet another EP, Creepshow.
To be released November 7, hot on the heels of the Acuarela-stamped covers EP Tu Mi Piaci, and arriving a couple months after the September 12 release of fifth LP The Air Force (on 5RC), this one sees Jamie Stewart and Caralee "Little Panda" McElroy teaming with Liz Harris (stagename: Grouper) for a "largely ambient" affair, according to the label. It's the latest entry in Slender's "Pregnancy Series," which asks artists to produce a concept EP "in a manner that challenges the way that they normally make music." And which results in, you guessed it, challenging music. [MORE...]
+/- (Plus/Minus) Sign to Absolutely Kosher
All right, folks, we need your undivided attention. NYC's +/- have signed to Absolutely Kosher and plan to release their third record, Let's Build a Fire on October 24 through their new home.
The band, which features ex-Versus members James Baluyut and Patrick Ramos, issued an incomplete version of the LP earlier this year in Japan, but since then, things have been rearranged and remixed, not to mention properly mastered.
The band will tour the U.S. in fall and early winter in support of the album, though only a few shows have been announced at this point in time. [MORE...]
The information is out, folks. Beck recently revealed via his official website the tracklisting for his upcoming record, The Information, which, as previously reported, is due October 3 on Interscope.
The disc will be packaged with a DVD featuring videos for each song, and was produced by Nigel Godrich (Mutations, Sea Change).
For the time being, Beck will continue his current European tour. In late September, he'll make a one-off U.S. appearance in California for the West Coast version of the second annual Download Festival.
The Rapture Stream Pieces of New Album
European tour dates added
In preparation for their upcoming full-length, Pieces of the People We Love, the Rapture have set up a website where fans can stream just that: pieces of five songs from the album. Those songs are the single "Get Myself Into It" , "Don Gon Do It", "Pieces of the People We Love", "The Sound", and "Whoo! Alright - Yeah...Uh Huh.", aka the song formerly known as "W.A.Y.U.H.". "Get Myself Into It" can also be downloaded as an mp3 by clicking on the link at the bottom of this story.
Unlike Pitchfork, however, the New York quartet doesn't just give content away for free. In order to access the latter four tracks, you must upload a photo (any photo, as far as we can tell). Upon successful upload of your photo, there is also a short video message from the band.
As for the songs themselves, they're great, featuring the same echoey guitars and spacey synths (and yes, saxophone and cowbell) we've come to associate with the band, all in the service of getting us out on the dance floor. "Pieces" rips the "na na-na-na na na" melody line from the White Stripes' "Fell in Love With a Girl" to surprisingly un-lame effect. "Don Gon Do It" features the lyrics, "Purple dragons fly into your eyes/ Milkshake shimmy cry and cry and cry." And "Whoo!" is this album's clear cowbell-and-woodblock descendent of "House of Jealous Lovers".
Pieces of the People We Love will be released September 12 on Motown (September 18 on Vertigo in the UK), and it will be preceded in the UK by the "Get Myself Into It" single on September 4 in three formats: CD, 7", and gatefold 7". Those tracklists as well as an updated tracklist for the album and a tour itinerary with recently added European dates are all listed after the jump.
You can also take a gander at the Pieces album cover...if you dare. [MORE...]
New Primal Scream LP Gets U.S. Release
But the 2.3 stands, dammit
As previously reported, Primal Scream-- on their new album Riot City Blues-- chose to abandon the caustic, electro-fuzzy sound cultivated on 2000's XTRMNTR to pursue a Stones-ier, more rollicking, mandolin-plucking throwback program, à la 1994's Give Out But Don't Give Up. Bad move, some would say. Regardless, those genre-transgressing Scots have announced a release date of August 22 for the bonus-track-flossing North American version of Riot City Blues-- which debuted at #5 upon its June 5 release in the UK, where mandolins must be the pinnacle of hip. [MORE...]
Walkmen Talk Pussy Cats; Exclusive Stream
The Walkmen's idea to record a song-for-song recreation of Harry Nilsson's 1974 album Pussy Cats started out as a joke. That lighthearted vibe lasted throughout the recording process for "PUSSY CATS" Starring the Walkmen, due out October 24 on Record Collection.
"There was no real plan. It just sounded like a really fun idea," said Walkman Walt Martin. "We decided what we wanted is do it pretty fast so it would stay fun the whole time, and we got lucky somehow and were able to do it fast. It never got to where it was a real drag. It was fun the whole time, somehow."
That sense of playfulness is evident in the outcome, which can be sampled in the exclusive stream of "All My Life", available by clicking below. [MORE...]
Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan Talks Ass-Beating
Also: New Tour Dates
Here at Pitchfork, we do our best to go for the hard-hitting scoops, the things the people really want to know. Like, what's up with the title of the new Yo La Tengo album, I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass, due out September 12 on Matador (September 4 in Europe)? The band has been reluctant to explain themselves...until now. Sort of.
"Well, I mean, the explanation is...it's really not dissimilar to a lot of things we've done over the years in terms of what we want to talk about and what we don't want to talk about...it's kind of like the name of the band," singer/guitarist Ira Kaplan told Pitchfork last week. "Obviously there's something that--you know, it didn't come to us in a dream, but where it came from is ultimately kind of irrelevant to us. It just kind of touched a nerve for everybody in the band and made us laugh."
"As a rule, we sort of let other people decide these things rather than do it for them, but there is a lot of ways to do that. Let's say, 'We're not beating anyone to death. Just a small ass beating.'"
Well, that's good to know, I guess. [MORE...]
Birdmonster Hit the Road in Support of Debut
So it looks like Birdmonster jinxed themselves. A recent entry in their blog reads, "I was half-way to the office and suddenly, my hand was wet. And discolored. And disgusting. I looked up and, if pigeons could smile, that pigeon smiled, flapped its bubonic plagued wings, and flew away, doubtlessly to crap on other unsuspecting bystanders."
How monstrous!.
Despite this roadblock, the San Francisco four-piece has no intentions of ditching its name, especially now that "Birdmonster" is scribbled on venue calendars across the continent.
The band launches a tour this weekend in support of their debut album No Midnight, which will be released by SpinArt on August 29. [MORE...]
Califone Set Release Date, Tour
Fans of Califone's kitchen-sink folk have been tiding themselves over with film and television scores, a reissue, and the promise of a tour documentary, but we here at Pitchfork are happy to announce that the band's honest-to-goodness next full-length is almost here.
Roots & Crowns will see an October 10 release on Thrill Jockey, and if you've read our track review of "The Orchids", you can already guess that some of us think it's pretty great.
Songwriter Tim Rutili explains the album's title in a press release: "Uniting where you come from-- your roots-- with what you strive to be or what you reinvent yourself to become-- crowns... Some of these songs started as hummed melodies into my cell phone recorder while I was driving. Others were triggered by overheard conversations, loops brought in from home, field recordings or sounds we made in the studio before the tape was rolling... We took our time to shape and manipulate a more experimental collage of sounds into solid melodies and more concise song structures."
Longtime collaborator Brian Deck produced most of the album, the tracklist of which is listed after the jump. The tracklist is almost identical to the one we posted in May ("Spider's" instead of "Spiders"), but this time it's confirmed.
Califone have a smattering of tour dates scheduled as well, beginning with two shows in Chicago this weekend and picking up speed in October on the West Coast. The band will also perform live on NPR's "World Café" on November 11. [MORE...]
Boris / Sunn 0))) Collaboration Unleashed
Boris add more U.S. dates
On October 31, All Hallow's Eve, the beast shall awaken and all hell shall be loosed unto the Earth. For on that day, Altar, the Boris / Sunn 0))) collaborative album, is going to be released on Southern Lord. How perfectly EVIL is that?
Altar was written, recorded, and produced by all of the members of both bands, with quite a few special guests: Jesse Sykes (of indie-folk outfit Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hearafter), Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Joe Preston (Thrones/Earth/Melvins/High on Fire), Bill Herzog and Phil Wandescher (Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter), Rex Ritter (Jessamine, Fontanelle), and Tos Niewenhuizen (Beaver, GOD). Dylan Carlson of Earth plays on the vinyl-only bonus track "Her Lips Were Wet With Venom".
KICK ASS!!! [MORE...]
Joanna Newsom Tracklist Confirmed
At last, we have the official, confirmed tracklist for the new Joanna Newsom album, Ys, due November 14 on Drag City.
Yes, it's the same as the unofficial, unconfirmed one that's been floating around the internet for awhile.
As previously reported, it features arrangements scored and conducted by legendary Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks. Jim O'Rourke also helped out.
01 Emily
02 Monkey & Bear
03 Sawdust & Diamonds
04 Only Skin
05 Cosmia
That's right, only five songs. Five looong songs.
For now, the only scheduled Joanna Newsom live show will take place August 24 at the McCarren Park Pool in Brooklyn. Neko Case and Martha Wainwright are also on the bill.
Trail of Dead Tour With Blood Brothers
So gory!
With their new record coming out October 3 on Interscope, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead are putting the rock-mobile into overdrive. They have just* announced the dates of their autumn tour with the Blood Brothers, who also have a forthcoming album. We wish all the best 4 the band on this tour and hope the new album is worlds apart from the last one.
The Blood Brothers album is called Young Machetes and is due out October 10 on V2. Crimes/Sleater-Kinney producer John Goodmanson and Guy Picciotto of Fugazi produced the record, and considering that Fugazi probably won't be releasing new material anytime soon (never say "never," right?), this is probably your best chance to feast on some of that good old Picciotto sound.
The album currently has an unsequenced tracklist, but alas, there is no song called "Ice Cream Eating Motherfucker".
Tracklist and dates below.
* Feeling an overwhelming sense of deja vu? Yes, we posted this story before-- a week ago, to be exact. However, these tour dates weren't confirmed then. But now they are!
In May of 2005, there were snakes on a plane. Hot Snakes to be exact. The now-defunct San Diego band headed to Australia for a tour; they broke up shortly afterwards. Swami Records will release a live album, Thunder Down Under, on August 15, documenting the Hot Snakes' performance for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on May 10, 2005.
Tracklist:
01 Braintrust
02 Hi-Lites
03 Retrofit
04 XOX
05 Think About Carbs
06 L.A.X.
07 Plenty for All
08 Who Died
09 Suicide Invoice
10 Kreative Kontrol
11 Rock n' Roll Will Never Die
12 U.S.
Mint
13 Let It Come
Erlend Oye Is The Whitest Boy Alive
Kings of Convenience may be semi-dormant for now, but that hasn't kept Erlend Øye from being as fidgety as ever. Our favorite DJ Kicker has started a new band. And considering Øye's Norwegian heritage (he's now based in Berlin), they are aptly named the Whitest Boy Alive. (Although several Pitchfork staffers could probably put up a good fight for that title.)
The band began in 2003 as an electronic project for Øye and German DJ Marcin Oz but morphed into a full-fledged four-piece playing what a press release calls "stripped down rock songs without layering, editing or effects." Their debut is called Dreams and is scheduled for a September 5 release on Bubbles, the band's own label. The record sounds a lot like what you might expect from a pair of dance junkies playing rock music. That is, it's a catchy, danceable little LP in the family tree of the new Phoenix album.
The Whitest Boy Alive hit the oft-overlooked Scandinavian festival circuit starting this week, then tour Europe in the fall. [MORE...]
Beck Reveals Album Title, Release Date
If NME.com is to believed, the new Beck album is called The Information, and is out October 2 in the UK. We assume that means it's coming out a day later, October 3, in the U.S. on Interscope.
As previously reported, the disc was produced by Nigel Godrich, features the songs "Cell Phone's Dead", "Think I'm in Love", and "Nausea", comes with a blank cover and a sheet of stickers inside for you to make your own art, and is paired with a DVD of videos for each song.
Beck is currently on the road hitting the European festival circuit. NME reports that when he hits England's V Festivals on August 19 and 20, "He will be joined onstage by a group of puppets for his entire set."
Hell.
Yes.
Can we talk about Lambchop, people? Not the noxious fuzzy-wuzzy with Shari Lewis' hand up its baa-hole, but the massive alt-country collective fronted by Kurt Wagner. The group put out the two-part B-sides/rarities comp The Decline of Country and Western Civilization earlier this year and now are prepping for their latest studio release, Damaged.
Recorded in Nashville with (SHOCKA!) 17 players, the album comes our way August 22 on Merge.
In an interview with Billboard.com, Wagner said Damaged will be a more mellow, concise album, perhaps in the vein of his 2001 LP Is a Woman and not the sprawling 2004 sorta double album Aw C'mon / No You C'mon.
"It was much more about making a concise 'one record' thing, as opposed to the vast array of songs [on previous albums]," Wagner said, adding that his influences for Damaged run the gamut from Uncle Tom's Cabin to electronica to Bob Dylan and "Deadwood". With a name like Damaged, we half expected Trent Reznor to make the cut.
Lambchop are currently on tour in Europe. They'll hit the States in September and head back to Europe from October through the end of the year. [MORE...]
Sorry everybody, no Shins in 2006. The life-changing band's third album, originally slated to come out later this year, has been delayed until early 2007, according to Sub Pop. But they do have a shiny new website, on which they wrote the following album update:
"It gives us great pleasure to say that it is just weeks from being done! We can't leak any details, but we have never been more happy with anything that we've ever recorded before. And we can definitely say that it is due to the fact that we've been given so much time to perfect it. The record is the best we've ever done. We hope that you will agree."
In the meantime, we can tide ourselves over with the knowledge that a bluegrass tribute to the Shins is in the works, brought to us by Iron Horse, the same people responsible for the Modest Mouse, Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, and Led Zeppelin bluegrass tribute albums. Oh lordy. [MORE...]
Stars' Torquil Campbell Preps Second Memphis Album
While bandmate Amy Millan has been busy with her country-fied solo debut, Honey From the Tombs, Stars' other lead singer, Torquil Campbell, has stayed the indie pop course. On August 15, Campbell will pull a Thom Yorke and release an unheralded album of his own.
A Little Place in the Wilderness will be the second full-length from Memphis, Campbell's collaboration with longtime friend Chris Dumont. It will also be the newly founded Good Fences label's inaugural release. The record is coming out in Canada only for now; Good Fences is working on U.S. and European releases
Fortunately for you, however, we have Little Place's first single available as an exclusive mp3 download. "I'll Do Whatever You Want" is an upbeat, likeable piece of dreamy guitar pop with a couple of keyboard flourishes thrown into the background for good measure. That is, it sounds a lot like a Stars song, which is not a bad thing.
Daniel Handler, author of the Lemony Snicket children's books, will co-direct (with Campbell) the song's video, which will be filmed in Vancouver in early September.
Memphis also have a trio of Canadian tour dates coming up, including a date in October at the Pop Montreal festival. Unfortunately, there are no dates in Memphis. Stars get closer on that front with their September 15 appearance at the Austin City Limits Festival in-- of course-- Austin, Texas. [MORE...]
Nikki Sudden Final Album, Autobiography Due
New 7" out now
Former Swell Maps frontman Nikki Sudden passed away last spring, but that hasn't stopped the flow of new Sudden material. A new Sudden 7" recently hit the shelves, courtesy of Atlanta-based Rob's House Records. Titled the Barroom Blues 7", the posthumous release contains two unreleased studio tracks ("Barroom Blues" and "Family Bible") recorded in Athens, Georgia in the summer of 2005 with members of the band Southern Bitch.
The Sudden estate is also arranging for the release of The Truth Doesn't Matter, his final album, due out on October 10 via Secretly Canadian. Originally scheduled for an April 2006 release, the fifteen-track album features a band comprised of Darrell Bath, John Barry, Einar Stenseng, and Danny Hole, as well as special guest contributions from Sanni Baumgärtner, Mark Mulholland, and Elisabeth Wood.
Next year, fans will be treated to a Sudden autobiography, The Last Bandit, which the rock veteran completed before his death. [MORE...]
Bobby Bare Jr. Pals With Trail of Dead, MMJ, Walkmen
Suddenly sees spike in popularity with Super Troopers fans
What do Frank Black, Andrew Bird, and Shel Silverstein have in common? Well, they're all dudes, for one, but more specifically, they have all collaborated with Bobby Bare Jr. And he just keeps the collaborations coming on The Longest Meow, due September 26 on Bloodshot Records.
Recorded with an 11-member band (if you count producer Brad Jones) in 11 hours on March 26, the 11 tracks on The Longest Meow cover territory from "pulsing T. Rex glam boogie" to "down and dirty southern ROCK," according to a press release. Bobby the Younger even "goes all coffeehouse on a Pixies cover." The latter sounds like dangerous territory, but if anyone can pull it off, it's Bare and the band of indie all-stars he's assembled.
To be specific, the Nashville sessions revolved around Bare, bassist Mike Grimes and My Morning Jacket members Carl Broemel and Patrick Hallahan on guitar and drums, respectively, but there were also contributions from Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Doni Schroader (Trail of Dead), Deanna Varagona (Lambchop) and Ben Martin (Clem Snide), among others.
Bare Jr. is on tour with the Walkmen and Drive-By Truckers this summer and fall. At the shows you can pick up the tour-only Nick Nacks and Paddy Whacks, an album of live performances and videos that Bare self-released early this year. [MORE...]
Field Music Prep New Album; Exclusive mp3
With the obligatory eponymous debut out of the way, Field Music have moved on to the next step. The Sunderland boys have finished recording their second full-length, titled Tones of Town, at their hometown Eight Music studio. ("Tones of Home" was unfortunately taken. By Blind Melon.)
Memphis Industries will release the album in the UK on January 22, and in the U.S. around the same time.
Tones' release will be preceded by the "In Context" single on October 9. It will be backed by the B-side "Off and On", which is available for exclusive download by clicking below. [MORE...]
Following in the illustrious footsteps of such alt-rock guitarists as James Iha, John Frusciante, and that dude from Korn who found Jesus, the Strokes' Albert Hammond Jr. is heading out on his own. No, he isn't leaving the band (as far as we know), but according to NME.com, he's putting out a solo album.
Entitled Yours to Keep and due out in the UK on October 9 on Rough Trade, the disc features bassist Josh Lattanzi (Ben Kweller) and drummer Matt Romano (Adam Green) serving as Hammond's backing band as well as guest spots from Kweller, Sean Lennon, Strokes manager Ryan Gentles, Fountains of Wayne's Jody Porter, Mikki James of Thin Lizard Dawn and Sammy James Jr. of the Mooney Suzuki. Greg Lattimer of Thin Lizard Dawn produced the album.
Hammond's 'fro allegedly plays cowbell on several songs. [MORE...]
Get Him Eat Him Prep LP, Tour With Evangelicals
For the follow-up to last year's Geography Cones, Get Him Eat Him (featuring the vocals and guitar stylings of Pitchfork's very own Matt LeMay), have something very special in store. Matt tells us that Jason Caddell, formerly the guitarist in the Dismemberment Plan, is co-producing the currently untitled album.
"We tracked some guitars with Jason at Inner Ear in DC...and some this week with Charles Bissell from the Wrens," LeMay said in an email.
As if GHEH hadn't already fulfilled their indie rock star quota, Zach Condon of Beirut also "came over last week and played some trumpet," in addition to his bandmates "Kristin and Jon, [who] played some violin and baritone sax (respectively)." Namedropper!
In addition to being nameless at the moment, the album also has no release date, though the band is beginning a huge tour of the U.S. tonight in Ohio. They'll start out by themselves before meeting up with Evangelicals and then ending the tour with four shows with Beirut and Curtains.
Speaking of tours, Get Him Eat Him have just finished a tour EP featuring three new tracks and a Sebadoh cover. Each EP is handmade by the band (but watch out for grease-- we hear they like sandwi...er, sammiches), and they have only made about 125 copies. It will be available while it lasts on the tour, but even if you can't attend one of the shows, you can still get it from www.gethimeathim.com/shop. [MORE...]
Outkast Reveal Idlewild Tracklist
Looks like this thing is actually going to come out after all. August 22 will allegedly be the day when the soundtrack album for the long-anticipated Outkast film Idlewild will hit store shelves, and the movie will open three days later, on August 25. We'll believe it when we're actually sitting in the theater and Big Boi and Andre 3000 are dancing away up on screen in front of us.
For now, we've got the official, confirmed tracklist for the soundtrack. The video for "Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me) will premiere on MTV's TRL (that show is still on?) this Tuesday, August 8.
Tracklist:
01 Intro
02 Mighty "O"
03 Peaches featuring Sleepy Brown & Scar
04 Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)
05 Infatuation (Interlude)
06 N2U featuring Khujo Goodie
07 Morris Brown featuring Scar & Sleepy Brown
08 Chronomentrophobia
09 The Train featuring Scar & Sleepy Brown
10 Life Is Like a Musical
11 No Bootleg DVDs (Interlude)
12 Hollywood Divorce featuring Lil' Wayne & Snoop Dogg
13 Zora (Interlude)
14 Call the Law featuring Janelle Monáe
15 Bamboo & Cross (Interlude)
16 BuggFace
17 Makes No Sense at All
18 In Your Dreams featuring Killer Mike & Janelle Monáe
19 PJ & Rooster
20 Mutron Angel featuring Whild Peach
21 Greatest Show on Earth featuring Macy Gray
22 You're Beautiful (Interlude)
23 When I Look in Your Eyes
24 Dyin' to Live
25 A Bad Note
We sure hope track 22 isn't a James Blunt cover.
Blood Meridian: Another Black Mountain Side Project
Though it's been relatively overlooked in favor of flashier scenes in Montreal (Arcade Fire) and Toronto (Broken Social Scene), Vancouver is also a hotbed of Canadian indie talent and collaboration, mostly thanks to the members of Black Mountain. The band's frontman Stephen McBean has received a lot of the attention for his Pink Mountaintops releases, but bassist Matthew Camirand now has his own side project, the non-topographical Blood Meridian.
Blood Meridian's debut is called Kick Up the Dust, and it came out July 25 on Outside Music in Canada and is due out on V2 on August 8 in the U.S. According to a press release, "It's not a blues record. It's not a rock record. It's not a tearjerker. It's just music that absorbs you," which means it's probably a little bit of all of those first three. [MORE...]
Whether touring, recording, producing, or remixing, Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet) has maintained a level of output that rivals that of a Wall Street trader on speed. One need only check the Pitchfork news archive to observe that insane touring schedule-- the headlines reading like some techno-remixed story: "Four Tet to Tour", "Four Tet Expands Tour", "Four Tet Announces Tour", err-AH, err-AH, err-AH.
As far as collaborations go, the man has teamed up with legendary jazz drummer Steve Reid (with whom he's currently touring), played shows with everyone from Animal Collective to Explosions in the Sky to Battles, plus remixed oh, every musician ever. OK, not really, but his remix discography-- which spans six years-- does have a noticeable depth and breadth to it, including reworkings of music by Radiohead, Hot Chip, Beth Orton, Bloc Party, Madvillain, His Name Is Alive, and Aphex Twin, to name just a few.
On September 25, Domino Records will pay tribute to Four Tet's impressive remix catalogue with a two-disc release titled, creatively, Remixes. Disc one contains twelve of Hebden's personal favorite remix projects, while disc two collects every remix of Four Tet's own work that has ever been produced (many of which have been previously available on vinyl only). A particular highlight of this disc is Jay Dee's spin on "As Serious as Your Life."
"Out of all the people involved, and all the remixes produced over the years, [Jay Dee's remix] is the most significant," said Hebden of the Detroit-based hip-hop artist who passed away earlier this year). "He's been one of the greatest producers of recent times."
Remixes:
Disc One (Remixing)
01 Lars
Horntveth - Tics
02 Radiohead
- Skttrbrain
03 Madvillain
- Money Folder
04 His Name Is
Alive - One Year
05 Sia - Breathe
Me
06 Aphex Twin
- Untitled
07 Madvillain
- Great Day
08 Bonobo -
Pick Up
09 Rothko -
Roads Become Rivers
10 Beth Orton
- Carmella
11 Bloc Party
- So Here We Are
12 Pole -
Heim
Disc Two (Remixed)
01 A Joy
(Percee P version)
02 As Serious
as Your Life (Jay Dee remix)
03 Hilarious
Movie of the '90s (Manitoba remix)
04 Hilarious
Movie of the '90s (Koushik's funny flic)
05 A Joy
(remix)
06 My Angel
Rocks back and Forth (Icarus remix)
07 A Joy
(Battles remix)
08 As Serious
as Your Life (remix)
09 Sun Drums
and Soil (Sa Ra Creative Partners remix)
10 First
Thing/Chia (Isambard Khroustaliov remix)
11 No More
Mosquitoes (Boom Bip remix) [MORE...]
MP3: Exclusive: Luomo: "Really Don't Mind"
Make your reservations now, because we're going on vacation to Vocal City. On October 24, Vladislav Delay will release Paper Tigers, the third album under his Luomo moniker. It will come out on Huume, the producer's own label.
According to a press release, the music on Paper Tigers ranges from "experimental ambient house" to experimental permutations of "chart-hitting hyper-pop." Basically, expect some experimenting. Long-time Luomo collaborator and Finnish jazz singer Johanna Iivanainen sings all the vocals on the album, except for a single track sung by AGF (a.k.a. Antye Greie).
The album's first single, "Really Don't Mind", will be released as a 12" on Huume on September 26. The album version will be backed by "an exclusive vinyl-only club mix." The song is a floor-friendly track featuring Iivanainen playing diva, but, as is always the case with Delay's music, there's a lot going on beneath the surface.
Huume has given Pitchfork exclusive access to the radio edit of "Really Don't Mind", which can be heard by clicking below. [MORE...]
What's the world waiting for, exactly? An end to the AIDS pandemic? The elimination of government-sponsored torture? Peace in the Middle East? How about a new Jeremy Enigk album?
On his second solo LP, World Waits, the social agitator and former Sunny Day Realtor assures that there are simple solutions to such problems. "People are starving--feed ‘em," he said in a press release, "As an American especially, it's so easy for me to put on blinders and live in TV land. That frustrates me, that laziness to take responsibility."And what better way to take responsibility than to release a solo album? Wait, don't answer that.
World Waits will appear October 17 on his own Lewis Hollow Records (distributed by Reincarnate/Sony), ten years after the release of his debut solo LP, Return of the Frog Queen. Since SDRE's break-up in 2000, Enigk has not, in fact, been lazy or stuck in TV land. (Or feeding the starving.) Rather, he made an album with the Fire Theft, scored a film (The United States of Leland), and been a regular topic of conversation on Internet message boards. (The kids just adore debating Enigk's spiritual awakening. A friend of mine in college was always trying to point out the salvation messages encrypted within "In Circles".)
World Waits contains ten epically-titled tracks, including the title cut, which Enigk describes as his "love letter to the world." Enigk is currently touring North America, making a stop at Lollapalooza on August 4 and at Bumbershoot on September 3, before heading to Europe for a couple late-summer fests. [MORE...]
Bloc Party Confirm Track Titles
Bloc Party host Kele Okereke has passed out goody bags to his favorite attendees-- the people of fan site blocparty.net.
Okereke hooked the webpage up with an exclusive list of tracks set to appear on the band's sophomore album.
The Jacknife Lee-produced record is set to include at least a portion of the following tunes:
A Prayer to the Lord
England
Hunting for Witches
It Started in an Afternoon
Kreuzberg
On
Seroxat
Song for Clay (Disappear Here)
Sunday
Uniform
Waiting for the 7:18
We Were Lovers
Where Is Home?
Those that don't make the cut will likely appear as B-sides at some point in the future. The disc remains untitled at this point in time. [MORE...]
Joanna Newsom Reveals New Album Title, Release Date
On November 14, the Ys descend. Yes, that's the release date and title of harpist/pianist/woodland creature Joanna Newsom's much-anticipated new album, due out on Drag City. It features arrangements scored and conducted by legendary Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks, and from what we've been hearing, the record contains some looong songs.
That's all the info we have--tracklist, etc., are forthcoming. For now, the only scheduled Joanna Newsom live show will take place August 24 at the McCarren Pool in Brooklyn. Neko Case and Martha Wainwright are also on the bill.
Art Brut Sign to Mute UK, Work on Second LP
Also Announce Fall Tour With We Are Scientists
They formed a band, released an enormously great debut record on two different labels, and played one of the most rousing sets at the Pitchfork Music Festival. And now with a tour and a split seven-inch with We Are Scientists, a new record in the works for an early 2007 release, and a new UK label, it's safe to say Art Brut are taking over the world at an astonishing clip.
In an interview at the festival on Saturday, Eddie Argos and guitarist Jasper Future revealed to Pitchfork that they have signed to Mute in the UK. The label has given them a deadline to have their second record "mastered and done by the middle of December," said Argos. "We don't think it's going to happen. But that's the plan." Both Argos and Future, however, were insistent that the album will be released early in 2007.
About the move, Future said, "We were just shopping and we're on so many different labels all over the world that it's like, ‘Oh we just signed to another label.' ‘Oh, great, that's nice.' And then you find out, ‘Oh, that is pretty good. That's amazing.'"
The band have "seven or eight" songs ready for the currently untitled album. Future said, "We've got the music done, and we're just waiting for Eddie to write the words. That takes a bit longer. Eddie's an artist. He needs time to think...We'll be, ‘Have you written the words?' And he'll say, ‘The best way for me to write is on this sofa with my eyes shut.'"
Argos responded, "One time, I was ‘writing' with my eyes shut, and I woke up and they had four new songs."
Among the songs on the record is "Direct Hit", which the band played in unfinished form at the festival. "That was really an unfinished song. We have Eddie bang out the lyrics on the spot," said Future. "It's hard now, though," said Argos. "We play bigger shows. So you can really embarrass yourself." "So we thought we'd embarrass ourselves at the Pitchfork Festival. No one's going to know about that," said Future.
"I have deadlines," said Argos. When asked what the deadline for "Direct Hit" was, he joked, "About forty minutes ago." [MORE...]
Wilco, Beck, Sonic Youth on Harry Smith Tribute
The late Harry Smith, renowned musicologist, filmmaker, and painter, will be soon receive the tribute treatment with a four-disc box set titled The Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited, due October 24 on Shout! Factory.
The two-CD/two-DVD collection draws performances from Wilco, Beck, Lou Reed, Nick Cave, Beth Orton, Richard Thompson, David Johansen, Steve Earle, and more. In addition, it holds a new documentary on Smith's continuous influence on contemporary music, as well as three of his short films.
The tracks, drawn from concerts staged by Hal Willner (who also compiled and produced Revisited) at London's Royal Festival Hall (1999), Brooklyn's St. Ann's Center (1999), and Los Angeles' Royce Hall at UCLA (2001), take inspiration from Smith's six-LP Anthology of American Folk Music. Released in 1952, it introduced listeners to artists such as Mississippi John Hurt, the Carter Family, Robert Johnson, and Blind Lemon Jefferson.
The first DVD, A Concert Film - The Harry Smith Project Live, will be available separately as well.
P.S. Allen Ginsburg took the photo at the top of this story. That gives you some idea of how cool this guy was.
Exploding Hearts Reissued, Compiled
Nice Boys (Ex-Exploding Hearts) Prep Debut
Press releases and record labels are notorious for over-hyping their bands, but when Dirtnap Records unveiled "big big news" on their website late last week, they weren't screwing around.
On Halloween, the label will reissue late, lamented punk band the Exploding Hearts' 2003 masterpiece, Guitar Romantic, on vinyl. In addition, Dirtnap will drop Shattered, a 16-song collection of Hearts demos, singles, unreleased material, and alternate takes from the GR sessions, in CD format. The disc will pay tribute to the band with a 20-page full color booklet holding previously unseen photos from the archive of Hearts photographer Chrystaei Branchaw and extensive liner notes from Vinyl Warning Records' Fred "The Barber" Landeen.
In addition, Shattered will feature film footage (five songs) from the band's last official show, which took place July 17, 2003 gig at San Francisco's Bottom of the Hill.
Shattered tracklist:
01 (You Left Me) Shattered
02 We Don't
Have to Worry Anymore
03 So Bored
04 Busy
Signals (unreleased version)
05 (Making)
Teenage Faces
06 Shadow
07 Sniffin'
Glue
08 Walking out
on Love
09 Still
Crazy (alternate version)
10 Modern
Kicks (alternate version)
11 Busy
Signals
12 I'm a
Pretender (alternate mix)
13 Throwaway
Style (alternate mix)
14 Black and
Blue (alternate mix)
15 Thorns in
Roses (alternate mix)
16 (You Left
Me) Shattered (alternate version)
An MP3 of "Teenage Faces", originally released as the A-Side of a rare, out-of-print Vinyl Warning Records seven inch, can be heard by clicking below. [MORE...]
Remember Ratatat? Infectious melodies and synthy goodness that you can never get out of your head even if you try? You've been rapping for about "Seventeen Years"? Right, them.
The duo is back with the follow-up to 2004's self-titled release. The album, entitled Classics, will be released August 22 on XL Recordings. Ratatat-er Evan Mast took some time to talk to Pitchfork about the new album and tour plans.
"We worked on it for a long time, like two years maybe," Mast said. For me, my head has been so far into it. I think overall it's much more broad. We were super limited with the first recording--we were confined by space, we had no equipment. This time, things are easier. We expanded the space and recorded in a couple of different places. We had a lot more at our disposal with lots of different thing--recording techniques, a lot of outtakes, getting a lot of stuff out there."
"A lot of stuff" would include not only both acoustic and slide guitar, but sleigh bells and cello. "The little bits and pieces are what make the album...different sounds, different ideas," Mast said. "It's a lot more varied. I think people that know the first album will be kind of surprised. There are definitely mellow songs, but there are songs that are really weird that you wouldn't want to dance to. I think it's a good mix. We like making the dancey songs, but you can only do that so much. A lot of times we would start with a dance song and then went in a weird direction. You just follow where it goes."
They just kick it from their head, you know what I'm sayin'? [MORE...]
Flaming Lips Prep UFO, Live CD/DVD
Also Prep for LSAT
Whether through headphone concerts, insane pyrotechnics, giant mirror balls or explosions of confetti, the Flaming Lips are famous for redefining the live music experience. And now, for their September 15 show at the Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheater, the band is upping the ante by unveiling a giant UFO that will descend upon the stage amid noises, flashing lights, and (no doubt) enthusiastic applause.
Paging George Clinton!
A brief video clip of the UFO's test run can be viewed here.
Footage from the Oklahoma City Zoo show will be paired with a recording of the Lips' July 23 performance at the Hollywood Bowl on the band's first-ever live CD/DVD, tentatively due out in the first part of 2007, according to Billboard.com.
Billboard also reports that the Lips have recorded an alternate version of "Free Radicals" to be included in the next Sims video game. It features Wayne singing the lyrics in the Sims language. Because the song just wasn't trippy enough to begin with.
Flaming Lips tour dates after the jump. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Flaming Lips, DFA on Goldfrapp Remix LP
Goldfrapp love to be played with, manipulated, tweaked, and generally poked and prodded. Over the years, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory have let plenty of musicians put their dirty hands all over their body of work, and soon, they'll reveal the fruits of some of those lascivious unions.
On October 17, in America only, Mute will release We Are Glitter, a collection of Goldfrapp remixes from the likes of the Flaming Lips, the DFA, Alan Braxe & Fred Falke, Múm, and more. All of the originals come from Goldfrapp's latest album, Supernature, except for a re-worked version of "Strict Machine" from 2003's Black Cherry. Goldfrapp themselves have remixed that track, and it will also appear on the Miami Vice soundtrack (as will Mogwai).
Tracklist:
01 Satin Chic (Bombay Mix by the Shortwave Set)02 Lovely 2 C U (T.Raumschmiere Remix)
03 Ooh La La (Benny Benassi Remix Extended)
04 You Never Know (Múm Remix)
05 Satin Chic (Through the Mystic Mix, Dimension 11 by the Flaming Lips)
06 Number 1 (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Main Remix)
07 Fly Me Away (C2 Rmx 4)
08 Ride a White Horse (Ewan Pearson Disco Odyssey Part 1)
09 Number 1 (Múm Remix)
10 Ride a White Horse (FK-EK Vocal Version)
11 Slide In (DFA Remix)
BONUS TRACK:
12 Strict Machine (We Are Glitter Mix)
Zach Condon is picking up some serious speed with this whole music thing. Better known as Beirut or "The Second Coming of Jeff Mangum", Condon continues to take on more and more stage time with no apparent intention of slowing down.
His updated tour itinerary includes shows with Deerhoof, Calexico, and buddy and recording partner Jeremy Barnes. Barnes will serve as part of Beirut's backing band for his October North American dates and all scheduled UK appearances. In addition, he's lined up to play a free event in Moscow, Russia with Calla, Buck 65, and Dengue Fever tonight, and two back-to-back NYC gigs at the Bowery Ballroom in late November.
The ball is rolling on a new Beirut release as well. Condon's band has started recording songs for an EP, a one-sided limited edition 12" due this fall. According to his label, Ba Da Bing!, its tracks, many of which are live staples already, depart from Gulag Orkestar's Balkan folk sound. The EP will be the first official recording featuring Condon's live band.
May we mention once more that Condon is just twenty years old? Don't worry about that pain in your stomach-- it's just the agony of defeat. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Minus the Bear Remix Album
Minus the Bear's Menos el Oso is set to get remezclado. According to Babelfish, that's "remixed" in Spanish. Can't be sure if that's correct, but it sure sounds neat.
Dälek, Tyondai Braxton, Weird Science (aka Steve Aoki of Dim Mak Records), P.O.S., Fog, Pretty Girls Make Graves' Jay Clark, Dark Baby, IQU, and the slew of yet-to-be confirmed artists will remix Minus the Bear's 2005 album in its entirety. The remix disc, currently untitled, is due February 20, 2007 on Suicide Squeeze.
P.O.S. and Minus the Bear will join forces on the road as well. The two, plus Russian Circles and the Velvet Teen, have scheduled a lengthy fall U.S. tour. Don't Minus the Bear ever get homesick for those cold, damp, hibernation-worthy caves? [MORE...]
Clipse's Hell Hath No Fury Actually Being Released
Starting this year, October 31 will no longer be known as Halloween. No, from now on, it will go down in history as the day that Clipse's long-overdue, highly anticipated, potentially earth-shattering second album, Hell Hath No Fury, is finally going to be released. At least that's what Jive Records is telling us right now. But you know how things go with hip-hop release dates.
A couple of lucky Pitchfork staffers heard Hell Hath No Fury, which was produced completely by the Neptunes, this week. They say there's "nothing close to filler" and it's "the best rap album of the year." That's all we're allowed to say about it right now, though.
Get familiar!
Exclusive: New Les Savy Fav Album!
Oh heck yes! Sorry I can't be more eloquent at the moment, but for obvious reasons, a string of curse words (each followed by "YES!" of course) sprang to mind when Les Savy Fav bassist Syd Butler revealed exclusively to Pitchfork that LSF are not dead and are in fact READYING A NEW ALBUM!!!!1 Feels good, don't it?
After 2005's semi-hiatus, talk of Rabbit Trancing, and a slew of mini-releases (the digital EP, limited edition 7"s, etc.), Les Savy Fav are ready to slip into their goddamn-this-band-is-awesome uniforms and get back in the game.
Pitchfork spoke with bassist Syd Butler today about the past, the present, and what's yet to come.
First of all, Rabbit Trancing, a long rumored-about compilation of quiet material and studio experiments, has been called off. Butler explained, "We just got so excited from going to Australia and the Pitchfork festival last year and playing rock songs again that it felt more comfortable to just go back and write new stuff rather than just releasing just noise and practice tapes."
The record Les Savy Fav are working on now does not feature any of the tracks originally intended for Rabbit Trancing, nor any 7" tunes. It's 100% new, and will reflect where the band's at now, which, judging by Butler's enthusiasm, is a place so cool it makes Discovery Zone look like a firepit in comparison.
"We've started practicing, and we have time booked in a studio in three weeks. We'll be recording it with Chris Zane at Gigantic Studios, and then hopefully it'll come out in the spring by SXSW time," Butler said. "We have practice tonight, and it's our third or fourth practice now. We're still trying to decide what it's going to sound like. Is it gonna be a balls-out rock record or is it gonna have some of the more quiet stuff?"
LSF's charismatic frontman Tim Harrington has already prepared lyrics for the as-of-yet untitled effort. According to Butler, this process is a little abnormal ("Usually the lyrics come after, where we're just in the studio banging stuff out and then Tim's rushing to come up with lyrics"), but the point of the hiatus in the first place was to break routine, so all is well in the Les Savy lair.
The record's sound is clearly still in the works, though Butler commented on the weirdness of performing quiet music live. In addition, he mentioned the LP might take a dub route: "I've been listening to so much dub lately, so some of my basslines might be super sparse and dubbed out."
The record, ideally slated for a March or April release, may feature guitar and drum guest contributions from friends of the group.
Finally, and most importantly, "This is definitely gonna happen. We don't want people to think we're aloof or pulling someone's leg. We've booked the time. We know that we're going in November to record it, and we're freaking out and really excited about it."
So are we, Syd. So are we.
The Roots Take Game Theory on Tour
Hip-hop's premier jam band, The Roots, have been studying up. Or possibly just watching A Beautiful Mind. Either way, the group will release Game Theory, their Def Jam debut, on August 29. If the cover art and ?uestlove's comments in interviews are any indication, it figures to be their darkest record yet. The group brought Malik B back into the fold for Game Theory, which also features contributions from Peedi Peedi and former Roots member and human beatboxer/rapper Rahzel.
And like the faithful live performers they are, the Roots have scheduled a positively massive tour in support of their dark Def Jam debut. Supporting them will be Talib Kweli and the Pharcyde, and don't blink or you'll miss that one-off date with Common. [MORE...]
Fugazi's Joe Lally Readies Solo Album
Some want the art. Some want the politics. Fugazi brought both when they were around, and now that the band is gone (but not really, right guys? Right?), the band members are bringing them individually.
Brendan Canty and Guy Picciotto have been busy producing bands like the Thermals and Blood Brothers, respectively. Ian MacKaye has Dischord work and the Evens (who are prepping the follow-up to their self-titled debut for a tentative fall release) to keep him busy. And now bass player Joe Lally-- founder of the Fugazi Live Series and the now-defunct Tolotta Records (which released albums by Dead Meadow and Orthrelm)-- is releasing his solo debut.
There to Here is the album's title, and it is set for a tentative October 9 release on Dischord. MacKaye recorded the album at the Dischord House and at Don Zientara's Inner Ear Studios, where the veteran D.C. producer contributed his services as well. Lally wrote the album in addition to playing bass and singing, and contributors to the record include MacKaye and Picciotto as well as Eddie Janney (Rites of Spring, One Last Wish), Jason Kourkounis (Hot Snakes), Amy Farina (The Evens) and Jerry Busher, who played drums on Fugazi's The Argument and toured with the band as a second drummer. The tracklist for the album is listed after the jump. [MORE...]
What Made Milwaukee Famous Prep Barsuk Debut
Having foregone the simplicity of just calling themselves Beer, What Made Milwaukee Famous have are making a more straightforward move and releasing their debut album, Trying to Never Catch Up, August 22 on Barsuk.
Tonight in Memphis, WMMF kick off a month-long tour which will see them performing with the likes of Hot Chip and the French Kicks. It ends September 16 with a performance at the Austin City Limits Festival in the band's hometown of Austin, TX. That's right-- they're not actually from Milwaukee. Call the authenticity police! [MORE...]
Video: Exclusive: My Brightest Diamond: "Dragonfly"
My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden tests her wings in the new video for "Dragonfly", flitting through the countryside while interpretive dancers in bug costumes leap, twirl, and plié. All of this feels ancient but familiar, just as the gothic dream of dancing dragonflies is interrupted by Shara finding herself, albeit somewhat confusedly, in Central Park.
"Dragonfly" is from Bring Me the Workhorse, My Brightest Diamond's debut album due out on August 22 on Asthmatic Kitty. This isn't the first time Worden's appeared on an Asthmatic Kitty release-- she sang backup on several tracks on Sufjan Stevens' Illinois and toured with him as an Illinoisemaker. My Brightest Diamond will also be the opening act on Sufjan's fall North American tour. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Subtle Sign to EMI
Wolf Parade Collaboration Coming Soon
Doseone (aka Adam Drucker) and his Subtle crew (including Jeffrey "Jel" Logan, also of Anticon fame) have made the move to a major label for their upcoming full-length, for hero : for fool. EMI-- who is also backing Lex Records' long-forthcoming Danger Mouse and MF Doom releases-- will co-release for hero : for fool with Lex on October 3 in the U.S. and October 2 in the UK.
In an email to Pitchfork, Drucker said, "We have taken [EMI's] ears by storm and retained all aspects of our creative control and [our] friendly contract with Lex while doing so."
The album's first single will be "The Mercury Craze", scheduled for an October 17 U.S. release (October 16 in the UK). It will have two B-sides. The first is a remix of "The Mercury Craze" from Pitchfork's own Drew Daniel, aka one half of Matmos and one whole of the Soft Pink Truth. The second is "Middleclass Haunt" a single-track remake of two album tracks, "Middleclass Stomp" and "Middleclass Kill", which Drucker described as "sister songs or...a poem that took two songs to paint."
"Middleclass Haunt" is especially notable for being the collaboration with Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade we previously reported. Drucker "gave Dan the lyrics to them both ["Middleclass Stomp" and "Middleclass Kill"], and he took what rang true to him and sung. Never let him hear the originals though. Made things interesting." In addition to the lyrics, "the music is also an amalgam of the two songs," with Boeckner's "hard rock voice & guitar" featured heavily on the track. [MORE...]
Pere Ubu Hate Women
Also: Rocket From the Tombs tour, not sure how they feel about women
Ohio is the home of hardworking indie pioneers, and, not to be outdone by Robert Pollard, Pere Ubu/Rocket From the Tombs frontman David Thomas has scheduled the release of a new album and more tour dates than we can wrap our tiny little heads around.
Thomas' main band, Pere Ubu, will put out their newest album on September 19 on Smog Veil in the U.S. and Glitterhouse in Europe. It's called Why I Hate Women. Which could pretty much be the title of every emo album ever.
On the band's website, the album is described as "pushing the experimental envelope further than ever but also tightening up their trademark avant-punk attack." So basically, it's a Pere Ubu album. [MORE...]
Tussle Work With Liquid Liquid, Hot Chip, Optimo
It's 90 degrees outside, we're stressing out about the festival, everybody's computers seem to be breaking down at the same time, and the new Basement Jaxx isn't as good as we'd hoped it would be.
In other words, Pitchfork's in the mood for a Tussle.
Tussle the band are ready to satisfying the cravings of fighters everywhere with their second record, Telescope Mind, due October 16 on Smalltown Supersound.
The San Francisco four-piece have pulled together 12 new tracks for the follow-up to 2004's Kling Klang, all of which were recorded last year with Quinn Luke. The closer, "Pow!" features Liquid Liquid's Sal Principato and Dennis Young, and the disc's artwork was created by Kim Hiorthoy.
Tussle plan to release a limited edition 12" single titled "Warning" also on Smalltown Supersound on September 25. In addition, it features a 10 minute Hot Chip remix containing several TM numbers and an Optimo remix. Fans can preview a clip on Tussle's MySpace. [MORE...]
It's time to officially add a second supergroup to Dan Bejar's resume because the debut album from Swan Lake-- the collaboration between Bejar, Wolf Parade/Sunset Rubdown's Spencer Krug and Frog Eyes' Carey Mercer that has only been hinted at until now-- finally has a release date.
The album is called Beast Moans and will be released November 21 on Jagjaguwar. Though the tracklist is below, the specific songwriting credits remain mysterious.
Beast Moans:
01
Widow's Walk
02
Nubile Days
03
City Calls
04
A Venue Called Rubella
05
All Fires
06
The Partisan But He's Got to Know
07
The Freedom
08
Petersburg, Liberty Theater, 1914
09
The Pollenated Girls
10
Bluebird
11
Pleasure Vessels
12
Are You Swimming in Her Pools?
13
Shooting Rockets
Don't forget, Bejar will perform as Destroyer this weekend at the Pitchfork Music Festival, and Sunset Rubdown will play our Friday night pre-party at Metro.
After tackling pre-WWII American music and history on 2005's Transistor Radio, M. Ward has fast forwarded to the present, touching on modern-day issues on the upcoming Post-War, due August 22 via Merge in America and September 4 via 4AD worldwide.
The Mike Mogis/Adam Selzer-produced album, which Ward (who grabs a production credit as well) claims to be his "first band record" according to a press release, features guest spots from Neko Case and My Morning Jacket's Jim James, as well as backup from former Decemberist Rachel Blumberg and former Thermal Jordan Hudson, a pair he has been on the road with over the past 18 months.
In an interview with Billboard.com, Ward explained that the work's theme was assisted by his perusal of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five: "Something that I think about is what is going to happen in the country once these soldiers come home -- what happens to these families that have been broken up," he said. "I like the way these kind of novels had addressed the 'coming home.'"
Post-War's 12 songs include a "rollicking honky tonk" (again, the press!) take on Daniel Johnston's "To Go Home", and the CD will also include the video for "Chinese Translation" [MORE...]
Exclusive: Decemberists Reveal New Album, Tour
Huzzah! The new Decemberists album has arrived! The Crane Wife (due out October 3 on Capitol) was delivered to the Pitchfork office encased in a satin pillowcase resting in the arms of a fair-haired princess riding a black stallion. And it isn't just any old promo CD, oh no. It's made of pure gold.
Once we sent the maiden and the horse away, we settled down with this here tracklist:
01 The Crane Wife 3
02 The Island:
Come and See
The Landlord's Daughter
You'll Not Feel the Drowning
03 Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)
04 O Valencia!
05 The Perfect Crime #2
06 When the War Came
07 Shankill Butchers
08 Summersong
09 The Crane Wife 1 & 2
10 Sons and Daughters
Singer/songwriter Laura Veirs duets with Colin Meloy on the Civil War ballad "Yankee Bayonet", Sun City Girls associate Eyvind Kang contributed violin parts, and co-producer Chris Walla (of Death Cab for Cutie) "sang a bunch and did some keyboard-y bits throughout," according to Meloy.
Good ship Decemberists will set sail this October for a North American tour in support of the album, and we've got the itinerary all for you right here. [MORE...]
The Killers Announce Tracklist
The Killers have revealed the track listing for their forthcoming second album, Sam's Town, due out October 3 on Island.
It features the single "When You Were Young", which I continue to love, despite the taunts and insults of my peers.
Haha, there's a song called "Bling" on it:
02 Enterlude
03 When You Were Young
04 Bling
05 For Reasons Unknown
06 Read My Mind
07 Uncle Johnny
08 Bones
09 My List
10 This River Is Wild
11 Why Do I Keep Counting
12 Exitlude
Drag City Unearths Another Lost Folkie
Sometimes people just don't know what they've got until their friends tell them-- spinach in the teeth, cool parents... hey, even talent. Take musician cousins Mark Fosson and Tiffany Anders for example. Back in 1977, Fosson made his way from Kentucky to Los Angeles to sign to John Fahey's famous Takoma Records. He recorded some tunes, both with and without Fahey, and was moving forward to release them when the label went bankrupt. The recordings collected dust at Fosson's place since then and perhaps would have sat there forever if Anders hadn't gotten on his back about getting them out to the public.
Taking Anders' cue, Drag City will release The Lost Takoma Sessions on July 25, and although Fahey isn't present on these particular tracks, they're likely still worth checking out. [MORE...]
Micah P. Hinson Hits The Opera Circuit
Abilene, Texas native Micah P. Hinson had a slight hiccup between his 2004 debut Micah P. Hinson and the Gospel of Progress and his upcoming follow-up Micah P. Hinson and the Opera Circuit, due October 10 on Jade Tree. In a classic case of "it's all fun and games until somebody gets their back poked out", an over-excited friend punched Hinson in the back, a playful prank which over the next few weeks developed into an unrelenting injury marked by debilitating pain. After toughing out a European tour aided by becoming addicted to Codeine, Soma, Xanax, and Neurontin, Hinson returned to America and immediately underwent back surgery to mend the injury.
During the slow recovery period following the operation is when Hinson recorded Opera Circuit, inviting friends to come to Abilene and help out. Eric Bachmann (of Archers of Loaf and Crooked Fingers) assembled the string and horn arrangements while Gospel of Progress vet H. Da Massa performed harmonica. The album doesn't contain any diatribes railing against friends sucker-punching friends in the back, but it wouldn't be unwarranted if it did. [MORE...]
New Trail of Dead Album Due in October
Bravely hopping back up on the horse that they fell so, so hard from with 2005's Worlds Apart, Texas crazies ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead have revealed that on October 3, they will release a new, currently untitled record via Interscope.
According to Billboard.com, the album, recorded at Trail of Dead's Mob House studio in Austin, features a variety of guest vocalists, including the Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer and members of fellow Lone Star State band Brothers & Sisters.
Last week, frontman Conrad Keely revealed two song titles on his MySpace page: "Naked Sun" (written ten years ago) and "Sunken Dreams". He wrote that the effort's artwork will "tackle on Biblical theme (Salome), a mythological theme (Oedipus), a theme of American 1950s dysfunction, death, urban isolation, and one theme taken from a science fiction novel." So to clear that up, we've got Salome accidentally sleeping with her depressed, suburban mother...in space. Love it.
Billboard.com had the opportunity to speak to Keely about the record (he revealed that an additional track, "Wasted State of Mind", made the cut). He tried to approach the disc with an "I don't give a fuck outlook," but, he said, "it's impossible for me not to care, and when work got underway with this album I became just as emotionally involved as before, and it was another miserable ordeal. But at least I don't work at a coffee shop."
Trail of Dead will hit the road with the Blood Brothers this fall. "These days it seems we end up playing older songs more than new songs, but that might change," Keely told Billboard. "It's going to be particularly hard playing some of these new songs without the help of the backup singers we used in the recording. I wouldn't mind taking a break from touring all together, and possibly starting a family, somewhere far away like Australia or Venus."
White Whale Tour in Support of Merge Debut
"Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe" is such a great song
It's time to walk the trail of history. On July 25, Lawrence, Kansas quintet White Whale will release their Merge Records debut, WWI. The band, comprised of ex-Get Up Kids bassist Rob Pope, three members of Thee Higher Burning Fire, and ex-Butterglory man Matt Suggs, have set out to battle the Decemberists on the high seas for the title of Most Nautically Obsessed Indie Rock Band. (The winner will go on to fight Mastodon in the next round.) [MORE...]
The Curtains (Ex-Deerhoof) Debut on Asthmatic Kitty
Chris Cohen may have said goodbye to Deerhoof, but he's been chugging away at his full-time project turned side-project turned full-time project, the Curtains. Their new record, Calamity, is due October 24 on Asthmatic Kitty.
The album was produced and almost entirely performed by Cohen. He was joined by a few guests in the studio, including guitarist/vocalist Nedelle Torrisi (now a full-on member of the Curtains), keyboardist Annie Lewandowski, Yasi Perera, and trombonist/Illinoismaker John Ringhofer (aka Asthmatic Kitty labelmate Half-Handed Cloud).
An exclusive download of Calamity's title track is available by clicking below. [MORE...]
Arcade Fire to Self-Produce Next Full-Length
Engineer Scott Colburn did us all a favor in sending out his Arcade Fire recording update last week. Two favors, actually. Not only did he catch us up to date on the band, but he inspired Win Butler to make an entry into "Win's Scrapbook" online. And he made it known that, when very happy, even Arcade Fire frontmen can cry.
"The pipe organ was amazing... never heard anything quite like it," Butler wrote commenting on Colburn's newsletter and his tears of happiness. "We also recorded a horn section in the church with microphones 200 feet away with the craziest reverb I have ever heard."
The big news, however, is that the Arcade Fire have decided on a producer for the follow-up album to their 2004 debut LP, Funeral. And that producer is...the Arcade Fire! Who better to entrust this big responsibility, really?
Butler continued, "After trying to decide if we should work with any producers we kind of realized that we already know how we want things to sound so we should just run after that sound as fast as we can and not rely on someone else to guide the good ship Arcade Fire...at least for now.
"We have been producing the record ourselves and working (with) 2 great engineers Scott Colburn...and Marcus Dravs and his assistant François Chevallier. They have been kind of trading off in 2 or 3 week shifts."
String recordings with Sarah Neufeld and Owen Pallett (aka Final Fantasy) have been wrapped up, and Pallett will soon head overseas for a European trek.
"We talked about a lot of ideas for orchestration, and Regine (Butler) and him (Pallett) are trading midi files trying to get 3 songs arranged for late August.
"Regine and I are going to sneak away somewhere closer to the ocean for a week... so that we can record some vocals... a lot of the songs remind me of being near the ocean at night time."
After the getaway, the Butlers will give "3 cheers for Tim (Kingsbury) and the biggest celebration of the year!" at Kingsbury's wedding. Then it's back to business for the Arcade Fire.
"This will be the last update for a while because there is still much work to be done, and a long way to go before things are finished," wrote Butler. "And I don't want to be a tease..."
The doctors are in once again, as kooky (but not Kooks-y) British rockers Clinic have finally unveiled the details of their upcoming record, the newly titled Visitations, due October 10 on Domino.
The album includes "Tusk", previously downloadable from the band's website, and eleven others. At the moment, Clinic have a single show scheduled-- an October 28 appearance at Oxford's Audioscope Festival.
Of equal importance, they recently posted some sound medical advice on their official website: "never use anchor butter." Indeed. [MORE...]
Our little Vagrant friends the Hold Steady will release their first album, Boys and Girls in America, October 3 on the emo powerhouse. Judging by the album's name, it looks as if they're fitting right in over there!
The follow-up to last year's Frenchkiss release Separation Sunday was produced by John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Bob Dylan), tracked at Hoboken's Water Music, overdubbed at Williamsburg's Atomic Records, and mixed at NYC's Magic Shop. Extensive!
We're listening to the album right now. It's pretty great. [MORE...]
TV on the Radio Set U.S. Release, Euro Tour
September 12! September 12! Shout it from the hilltops! That's the day when the Best New Music'd new TV on the Radio album, Return to Cookie Mountain, will be loosed unto North America, via Interscope Records. (It's been out since July 3 in the UK on 4AD). So put that import copy down and slowly back away from the cash register before some extra cash is unnecessarily wasted. (Unless, of course, you're the kind of person who doesn't like to buy major label albums, in which case, spend away!)
To get psyched for the big Return, check out all these silly TVOTR YouTube clips. According to Billboard.com, a music video for "Wolf Like Me" was filmed over the weekend in Brooklyn. [MORE...]
How is it that Lady Sovereign still hasn't put out an album? Doesn't it seem like we've been talking about her for years, like she should have a greatest hits collection by now?
Well, taking a look at the just-announced tracklisting for her forthcoming debut album, Public Warning, due out October 3 on Def Jam, she kind of already does have a greatest hits collection. By my count, seven of its twelve tracks have already been released, and all but two have been floating around on the internet, some for over a year and a half.
Yet somehow, "Ch Ching" isn't on it. WTF? [MORE...]
MP3: Comets on Fire: "Dogwood Rust"
Comets on Fire are back with Avatar, their follow up to 2004's Blue Cathedral. The album will be released August 8 on Sub Pop.
The label's website describes it as "an earthy, more accessible and downright beautiful album... Avatar veers from swinging, bluesy explorations to piano-laced, progressive power balladry to pure tribalism, evoking everyone from the Allmans to Quicksilver to Procol Harum to some insane Fela/Sun Ra/Crazy Horse hybrid, yet remaining wholly Comets on Fire."
If you've got adjective overload like I do right now, you can download "Dogwood Rust"-- the exclusive MP3 we're hosting-- and judge for yourself. You can also preview the new stuff on the band's upcoming late summer tour. [MORE...]
Looks like Win Butler's personal diary might differ a bit from the journal entry he dropped in "Win's Scrapbook" on the Arcade Fire website last month. After revealing to his audience that the band would record with a "huge fucking pipe organ" on two songs, Butler left out an important deal. This pipe organ, found in Montreal's Jean Baptiste church, produced a sound big enough to make Butler cry.
In a recent e-mail update, Scott Colburn, producer/engineer for the Arcade Fire's upcoming sophomore release, revealed a juicy peak into the recording process for the band's new album.
"The band went into the church ahead of me and my assistant James Ogilvie," Colburn wrote. "They recorded a sample of the organ playing a chord in different registers. Win called me and told me how excited he was about the organ. He said is [it] was super loud and so overwhelming that it brought a tear to his eye. I promptly called him a pussy.
"When I first walked into the church and saw the organ, I just stood dead in my tracks. 'Now THAT's a fucking pipe organ!' I thought... During the first take, I became overwhelmed by the grandeur of the whole thing. I heard that piece in it's finished state and it was magnificent! Tears rolled out of my eyes. I don't know what came over me, but it was a complete emotional release. The problem was that there were mics all around me, so I really couldn't sob. So I'm trying to hold back any kind of vocal component to this overwhelming joy I was experiencing.
"When the take was over, I took off my headphones and dryed my eyes on my shirt. James asked if i was OK and I said, 'yeah man, that was a great take!' I looked at Regine with my red eyes and said, 'awesome!' and then I thought...'whose [sic] the pussy now?'"
Other highlights from Colburn's update include a segment where the Arcade Fire try to achieve a "Come Together"-like drum sound. Read the full update after the jump. [MORE...]
Nothing like finding an updated entry in front of the color-changing orb on Devendra Banhart's official website, especially when it brings tidings of a new album.
In late September, Banhart will begin recording his next record, the tentatively titled Smokey, though he warns readers that this name will most likely be given instead to a movie accompanying the album ("its [sic] a one or so hour collection of tours, the writing and recording of the album, and images that make up Devendras [sic] home and life, it will have sound but be mostly scored").
The album, his second for XL Recordings, will be recorded "mostly in California (half on the land and half on the sea, a boat is being rented to track on) and a little in Rio De Janeiro." The music is described as "half extremely mellow, breezy, one quarter melancholic drone bummer, and one quarter equatorial pop." Since "its [sic] been a rough year," "the album is about simple hopes."
Possible guests on the project include Vashti Bunyan, Linda Perhacs, Vetiver, Cibelle, Bat for Lashes, Moon and Moon, Bert Jansch, Hecuba, the Metallic Falcons' Matteah Baim, and more. Production will be handled by Banhart, Noah Georgeson, and possibly Arto Lindsay. [MORE...]
Brit kids the Kooks will attempt to carry their hype across the ocean with the U.S. release of their debut full-length Inside In/Inside Out on Astralwerks. Released last year in the UK, where it went double platinum, the album currently occupies the #2 position on the UK charts.
The teen quartet is hoping for similar reception in North America when Inside In/Inside Out appears stateside on October 3. But given the way every other recent NME buzz band that isn't Franz Ferdinand has fared here, they probably shouldn't get their hopes up. [MORE...]
New Mars Volta Album in August
Start teasing that hair out, because Amputechture, the third full-length from the Mars Volta, will be released August 22 on Universal. A follow-up to 2005's Frances the Mute, the new album features eight tracks that, in typical MV fashion, are long-- some of them 10 to 17 minutes-- with the entire album running over 76 minutes. We hope 70 of those minutes consist of flute solos. You can hear one of the songs, "Viscera Eyes", on the band's MySpace page.
Produced by Mars principal Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and mixed by Rich Costey, Amputechture (oh so punny!) also features contributions from guitarist John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Paul Hinojos (who tours with MV and used to play with Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez in At the Drive-In).
Jeff Jordan designed Amputecture's Andrew Wyeth-on-acid cover art. Titled "Big Mutant", the painting depicts three working class fellows carrying the head of some sort of um, big mutant. [MORE...]
Bob Dylan: New Album, Broadway Musical
While the past few years have seen a massive retro raid of Bob Dylan's archives (the debut volume of his Chronicles bio, two entries in the perpetually vault-clearing Bootleg Series, the Scorsese-directed No Direction Home documentary), rock's greatest living poet is finally set to deliver what fans have been clamoring nearly half a decade for: the follow-up to 2001's astonishing Love and Theft.
Dylan's 44th (!) LP, the healthily-gestating Modern Times is set to hit stores on August 29 via Columbia, and ends Dylan's longest studio album layoff (take THAT motorcycle accident!) in his four decade career. Its tracklist was revealed this week on RollingStone.com: [MORE...]
My Morning Jacket Comes Alive!
Least shocking news of the week: My Morning Jacket will release a double live album and concert film. The space-jam Kentucky rockers, known for their marathon shows, will release Okonokos: Double Live Album September 26 on ATO/RCA. Following on October 31, the record's visual counterpart will make a satisfying plop into the pillowcases of trick-or-treaters everywhere. The Sam Erickson-directed movie, done in 5.1 surround sound, will also be screened in select cities this fall.
According to a press release, "Okonokos is a creative concept conceived by Jim James, and it is as much a question as it is an answer. It is an enigma wrapped around a riddle. Okonokos is whatever you want it to be." In that case, we'd like it to be a triple-scoop banana split sundae. [MORE...]
Jason Molina Plots Another Takeover
The last time we heard from Jason Molina, he was working his way through numerous recording sessions. Reports published last month claiming Molina would release six LPs over the course of 2006-2007 have since been deemed incorrect. The truth, at least for the time being, is that only two discs are on the agenda, both slated for release on Secretly Canadian this year.
First on the list is the solo, vinyl-only Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go, a mostly-acoustic effort Molina recorded in his garage studio. It is slated to hit shelves on August 22, and, according to a press release, is an experimental album similar to Molina's previous solo record, Pyramid Electric Co., as well as Songs: Ohia's Ghost Tropic and Protection Spells. [MORE...]
An album borrowing its name from an Orson Welles film? Sounds like the work of a crafty mind...or the Minders. On July 18, the Portland group will drop its fourth LP, Bright Guilty World, courtesy of Future Farmer Recordings. Robert Schneider of Apples in Stereo, who was a founding Minder, returned to the fold for this album.
Hear an exclusive track, "Accidental Joy", from the album by clicking on the link below. [MORE...]
Sparklehorse Reveal LP Details
Sometimes you make promises you just can't keep, and other times you're able to make good on your word and then some. Count Mark Linkous in the latter camp for now, because the new Sparklehorse album is actually being released this year, just like we said it would be.
We previously reported that Christian Fennesz, Danger Mouse, Tom Waits, Flaming Lip Steven Drozd, and producer extraordinaire Dave Fridmann contributed to the album, but now we can also tell you it's due September 26 on Astralwerks and that it's called Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain.
Sparklehorse will perform at the Austin City Limits festival in September, and there are rumors of a UK tour planned for the fall.
Killers Brace for Sophomore Slump
They're killin' 'em in Vegas
Get ready for "the greatest album of the last 20 years" (according to the guy who made it). The Killers have set a release date for their as-yet-untitled sophomore album: October 2 in the UK and October 3 in the U.S. on Island Def Jam (yes, Jay-Z is their boss). First single "When You Were Young" drops in the UK on September 18, but you can hear a sneak peek of it by clicking the link below.
The disc was recorded with acclaimed producers Flood and Alan Moulder and heavily influenced by Bruce Springsteen, according to the band. If the "When You Were Young" snippet is any indication, they weren't lying: it's got that "wind blowing through your hair as you cruise down the Jersey turnpike" vibe in spades.
According to NME.com, additional tracks set for inclusion on the follow up to 2004's Hot Fuss are "Read My Mind", "Bones", "Uncle Johnny Did Cocaine", and the title track (which, then, is also currently untitled).
Pete Wentz, it's your move.
If I sold a million copies of my first album, my house would, first of all, be a house instead of an apartment. It would have an indoor swimming pool and a maid to clean my cats' litter box and a special room for my platinum album. Then, to keep up with my high standard of living, I would take the next logical step and release another album.
Rowdy British rockers Razorlight appear to have stolen my plan. The four-piece responsible for what the UK collectively deemed "The Shit" (or "the bollocks" or whatever the call it over there) in 2004 will release its self-titled sophomore effort in the UK on July 18 in the U.S. on August 22 via Universal Motown Records Group. The first single, "In the Morning" is out now in the UK, and you can hear it by clicking below.
Razorlight was produced by Chris Thomas, who worked with the Beatles, Sex Pistols, Pink Floyd, and Roxy Music. Bow down. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Basement Jaxx Reveal New Album
Oh my gosh! A new Basement Jaxx album! September 12 will bring Crazy Itch Radio to the floor, courtesy of XL Recordings. It will be available as a download, on vinyl and "specially packaged CD, featuring a super-swish lenticular cover," according to a press release. ‘Cause if there's anything in this world I want to be super-swish, it's my Basement Jaxx CDs.
The follow-up to 2003's Kish Kash is, like that album, a guest-heavy affair, featuring vocals from Jaxx associate Vula Malinga (who sang "Oh My Gosh") on "Hush Boy", grime MC Lady Marga on "Run 4 Cover", veteran British soul singer Linda Lewis on "Lights Go Down", and Swedish pop tart Robyn (as well as a children's choir) on "Hey You".
Full tracklist after the jump. [MORE...]
Icy Demons Fight Back With LP, Tour
Icy Demons, electro-jazz brainchild of Bablicon's Griffin Rodriquez, New New Body/Man Man's Chris Powell (Pow Pow), and instrumentalists Dave Moyland, Matt Schneider, and Dave McDonnell, are set to release the follow-up to 2004's Fight Back! this fall. Tears of a Clone is slated to drop September 12 on Prefuse 73's Eastern Developments label. [MORE...]
It's hard work being sexy, and frankly, our hot Brazilian friends are sick of putting up with it. But sometimes the urge to make people dance can overcome even the mightiest wave of exhaustion. Brazil's Cansei de Ser Sexy (Portuguese for "Tired of Being Sexy"), or CSS for short, will bring their baile funk jams to North American dancefloors this week, as Sub Pop releases their self-titled debut album tomorrow.
Starting Thursday, CSS will sex up North America on the road with Diplo, Pitchfork's resident DJ (seriously, we just stumble into HQ in the morning and dude's already in the middle of some megamix) and Bondo do Role, fellow Brazilians and the first signing to Diplo's Mad Decent label. The triple-threat tour will stop at the Pitchfork Music Festival.
CSS will take a month off between mid-August and mid-September, then they will get sexy again on tour with Ladytron. [MORE...]
Deadly Snakes' Ethier Preps Solo Album
Out of the garage and into the love den: Deadly Snakes frontman Andre Ethier will put out his new solo album, secondathallam, on Paper Bag Records on August 8.
His first solo venture, 2004's Andre Ethier with Christopher Sandes featuring Pickles and Price (Sonic Unyon), contained a handful of raw piano-centric folk tunes-- many of them first takes-- and marked an obvious departure from the Snakes' scrappy garage rock. Picking up where that first un-Deadly solo effort left off, secondanthallam once again features Ethier's Dylanesque vocals, Sandes' piano arrangements, and the horn-and-double bass rhythm section comprised of Pickles and Price. And it's all about love, love, love.
According to a press release, the new album sounds like "an acoustic Sunday afternoon jam session between players who've been around long enough to learn that there's more to love than flowers and sweet nothings." Hmmm, like bluebells and honeybees? [MORE...]
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Enlist Dave Fridmann
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have enlisted the services of producer Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Sleater-Kinney, Low) for the recording of their new album. They began working together last month, but recording will begin in earnest in August. We're looking forward to hearing what they come up with...indie pop stoner prog rock? [MORE...]
Harry and the Potters Tour Libraries...Again
Also invent time machine, go back to the 80s, explain genius idea of touring public libraries to Black Flag. Henry Rollins ends up looking like guy from Hawthorne Heights instead of the Terminator.
So
you're reading our Summer Reading List 2006 and thinking to yourself, "Man,
reading is cool and all, but where is the rocking with which I have to come to
inextricably associate Pitchfork?" Well, if you're really forming such
grammatically uptight sentences in your head when reading a music website, it's
probably time for you to get out of the house. Fortunately, Harry and the
Potters have both of these things covered for you on their "Summer Reading and
Rocking Tour", which begins today in New York City. [MORE...]
Exclusive: The Rapture Reveal New Album
It's been three long years since the release of the Rapture's last record, Echoes, which also happened to be Pitchfork's favorite album of 2003. But come September 12 (September 4 in the UK), the wait will finally end, with the release of the NYC dance-punk group's second LP, Pieces of the People We Love. In the UK, it will be preceded by the single "Get Myself Into It", which comes out August 21...but wait! You can hear it on the band's MySpace page starting today.
The album comes out on Vertigo Records in the UK, and Motown/Universal in America. Yes, we now live in a world where the Rapture are on Motown.
Pitchfork spoke to band members Vito Roccoforte and Gabriel Andruzzi about Pieces yesterday. They revealed that in addition to "Get Myself Into It", the album will also feature the title track, the previously leaked song "W.A.Y.U.H." (which stands for "Woo, All Right, Yeah, Uh Huh", in case you were curious), and "The Devil". They haven't finished working out the final tracklist, but they're looking to make the album 50 minutes and 10 tracks long. [MORE...]
Suicide Squeeze Celebrates 10 Years With Shows, Comp
When most of us turned ten, we were squeamishly entering that wonderfully awkward phase when we grow hair in the strangest of places. Seattle's Suicide Squeeze Records, on the other hand, is taking on its second decade of life with the confidence of an over-developed Hollywood tween.
As we reported in March, the label celebrate the big 1-0 in high style with a series of celebratory shows at Neumos in Seattle, as well as a career-spanning 2XCD compilation. The comp gathers gold from past SS players like Modest Mouse, the Black Heart Procession, and Elliott Smith, and newbie signings such as Metal Hearts, Chin Up Chin Up, and Crystal Skulls. Slaying Since 1996 is limited to 6000 copies and will be available July 25.
Block the plate 'cause here comes the tracklist:
Disc One:
01 764-Hero - "Now You're Swimming"
02 Modest Mouse - "A Life of Arctic
Sounds"
03 The Scenic Vermont
- "Elementary" *
04 Elliott Smith - "Division Day"
05 Modest Mouse/764-Hero - "Whenever You See
Fit" (DJ Dynomite D Remix)
06 Pennsy's Electric Workhorses Songs - "Cycle
Suitor #
07 Pedro the Lion - "June 18, 1976"
08 The Black Heart Procession - "After the
Ladder" *
09 Aspera - "Bird's Fly" *
10 Constantines
- "Dirty Business" *
11 The Magic Magicians- "Cascade Express"
12 The Black Keys - "Yearnin'" (live)
13 Iron and Wine/Six Parts Seven - "Sleeping
Diagonally"
14 The Melvins - "With Teeth" (live) *
15 Les Savy Fav - "We'll Make a Lover of You" *
16 Hint Hint - "Natural Collegiate"
17 We Ragazzi - "Making You Queens
Tonight"
18 The Unicorns - "2014"
19 S - "5 Dollars"
20 Goon Moon - "Rock Weird (Weird Rock)"
Disc Two:
01 Minus the Bear - "The Game Needed Me" (Dalek
remix) #
02 The Aislers Set - "What Fades First" (demo)
#
03 Headphones - "Gas and Matches" (acoustic) #
04 Crystal
Skulls - "Baby Boy" (demo) #
05 Six Parts Seven - "Afternoon Bed" #
06 Metal Hearts - "Jean Baptiste" #
07 Of Montreal
- "Voltaic Crusher/Undrum to Muted Da" $
08 Chin Up Chin Up - "Trophy's for Hire" #
09 Earlimart - "Caruthers Boy" #
10 Red Stars Theory - "Evergreen and Ivorbean"
#
11 Black Mountain - "Voices" $
12 Russian Circles - "Upper Ninety" #
13 These Arms Are Snakes - "Old Paradise"
#
14 Hella - "Meth Leper" #
* Out of print
# Previously unreleased
$ First time on CD [MORE...]
We've already told you that DJ Shadow is getting crunk on his new album, which is called The Outsider and is coming out on Universal, but now, we've got ourselves a tracklist.
As previously mentioned, the disc features guest spots from David Banner, Q-Tip, Keak Da Sneak, and Turf Talk, as well as contributions from Little Brother's Phonte, Lateef the Truth Speaker, hyphy pioneer E-40, and Christina Carter, who is indeed the girl from Charalambides!
Tracklist:
01 Outsider Intro
02 This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way)
03 3 Freaks (feat. Keak Da Sneak & Turf Talk)
04 Droop-E Drop
05 Turf Dancing (feat. The Federation & Animaniaks)
06 Keep Em Close (feat. Nump)
07 Seein Thangs (feat. David Banner)
08 Broken Levee Blues
09 Artifact [Instrumental]
10 Backstage Girl (feat. Phonte Coleman)
11 Triplicate/Something Happened That Day
12 The Tiger (feat. Sergio Pizzorno & Christopher Karloff)
13 Erase You (feat. Chris James)
14 What Have I Done (feat. Christina Carter)
15 You Made It (feat. Chris James)
16 Enuff (feat. Q-Tip & Lateef the Truth Speaker)
17 Dats My Part (feat. E-40) [MORE...]
MP3: Exclusive: Lee Perry vs. DJ Spooky
Jamaican music legend Lee "Scratch" Perry isn't wiling away his seventies playing Scrabble and reading Tom Clancy novels. Nope. The Grammy-winning dub/reggae mastermind is busy putting out albums. His latest full-length, Panic in Babylon, is due out in America on Narnack on August 22.
Originally released in Switzerland in 2005, Panic will come to our shores amended with a bonus disc of remixes by George Clinton, TV on the Radio, and DJ Spooky. Check out Narnack's MySpace page for a clip, as well as an exclusive mp3 of DJ Spooky's remix of "Purity Rock" below. [MORE...]
Peaches Impeaches Bush on Record, on Tour
To retaliate, President orders ambush of the Peach State (Georgia)
Ever since we first heard Peaches ask "what else is in the teaches of Peaches?," I think we all knew there was a little more going on under that fe-mullet than just fucking the pain away and shaking dix. So we waited patiently, and after three years, she's back. In black. And with a politically-charged album to boot (preferably leather).
The high priestess of sextronica delivers her third album, Impeach My Bush, on July 10 in the UK and July 11 in the U.S. on XL Recordings. The first single, "Downtown" (not related to the Petula Clark ditty), came out yesterday in the UK; a U.S. single is expected later this summer.
Fresh as a spring flower, Impeach My Bush features guest spots from Beth Ditto of the Gossip, Joan Jett, Josh Homme of QOTSA and Eagles of Death Metal, Feist, and Samantha Maloney of Hole / Mötley Crüe. [MORE...]
Oh No Teams With Galt MacDermot
I'm still not sure who John Galt is, but I do know that Stones Throw producer and MC Oh No's new album is based on samples of the music of Galt MacDermot, the man behind the musical Hair. I also know that Oh No and Stones Throw are teaming up with eMusic to release a song from the album as the website's first "digital-only 12-inch single."
"Gets Mine"-- from the upcoming Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms LP-- features Buckshot and is currently available for free (even for non-subscribers!) from eMusic.
While the "12-inch" part of the "digital-only 12-inch single" label is a little misleading, Stones Throw and eMusic consider the single, like past Stones Throw 12-inches on vinyl, to be of particular use to DJs. In a press release, Stones Throw founder Peanut Butter Wolf is quoted as saying, "I'm glad we're now able to release stuff digitally as soon as it's recorded. As a DJ myself, it gives me the opportunity to put together sets on a whim."
Arcade Fire Spill Droplets of Album Info
So many bands have appeared on the scene since Arcade Fire released Funeral at the end of 2004 that the album almost seems like ancient history. Remember the days before Beirut, before Tapes ‘n Tapes, before even Clap Your Hands Say Yeah? What a looong time ago.
Fortunately, it's summer, which means it's time to toss the history books out the window and take a dive into the sea of hype. And add a few more drops to that sea, because Win Butler has given us precious little information on the follow-up to Funeral.
In a journal entry on the band's beautiful but thoroughly confusing website (hint: go to "Win's Scrapbook"), Butler gave a progress report saying things are going well in the studio and that the band members are expanding their musical palettes:
"Feeling excited and inspired, learning to play all these new instruments... well, mostly Regine is, to be honest! It's gonna be really interesting how we're going to fit all of these new sounds in a tour bus. This week we are recording a huge fucking pipe organ on 2 songs. What an incredible sound!" [MORE...]
When are acoustic bands gonna strap on the metal and go fully electric? Throughout rock history, it's pretty much been a one-way street, with rock artists stripping down, going unplugged, offering lite jazz versions of their hits, etc.
Spazz-rock duo Hella are continuing this trend, switching gears from the electrified precision of their usual material to an acoustic sound on their new EP, Acoustics. The six-song disc features new versions of previously released Hella songs (from their Hold Your Horse Is and The Devil Isn't Red album) and is due September 12 on 5RC.
Two man acoustical jam:
01 1-800-Ghost Dance
02 Women of the 90's
03 Cafeteria Bananas
04 Biblical Violence
05 Welcome to the Jungle Baby, Your Gunna Live!
06 The Devil Isn't Red [MORE...]
DJ Spooky Mixes Trojan Records
Paul D. Miller-- artist, writer, and DJ Spooky-- has, in the past year, put out an album with Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo, made a podcast using the sounds of New Orleans for a public radio show, created a "Buddhist hip-hop" mix, cooked up some ringtones, and probably been responsible for more music than you or I will ever produce in our entire lifetimes.
And today, he's releasing a new album, In Fine Style: DJ Spooky Presents: 50,000 Volts of Trojan Records on, yes, Trojan Records. The legendary label opened its vaults to DJ Spooky, allowing him to create a two-disc mix connecting Jamaican music history to the present. [MORE...]
Postal Service Begin Work on New Album
LP to Arrive Weeks Late, Covered in Stamps, At Someone Else's Address
Back in 2003, when music was still in its infancy, Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello came together as the Postal Service to release a little record called Give Up, making it okay for indie kids to get down. And the world was never the same.
In years to come, Give Up will serve as an education in the entirety of music's history all by itself. That is, unless its follow-up improves upon it, in which case we can include it in the curriculum as well.
Gibbard has spoken of that ever-elusive follow-up in a recent interview on MTV.com, in which he said, "We're slowly starting. We're crawling right now, and whether that crawl turns into a walk remains to be seen. But we'll know more towards the end of the year. I've just been touring so much and trying to find time to make it happen and make our schedules line up."
Jimmy Tamborello echoed Gibbard's statement in a recent Pitchfork interview, saying, "We're talking about wanting to finish an album by sometime next year, because we have to work with Death Cab's schedule and stuff. I definitely want to do another one."
Tamborello also said he hopes Jenny Lewis will be more involved in the process this time around. The Rilo Kiley frontwoman and solo artist was a vocalist on Give Up, and, depending on her schedule, she might contribute as a songwriter on the upcoming record. [MORE...]
Lou Reed's Coney Island Baby to Be Reissued
Poor Metal Machine Music. Lou Reed's 1975 valentine to noise continues to languish on worst-album-ever lists while his 1976 follow-up, Coney Island Baby, reaps all the accolades. And now, Coney Island Baby is due to receive the deluxe reissue treatment on August 15 courtesy of RCA/Legacy. The expanded album will contain new liner notes by Reed and six bonus tracks. According to Billboard.com, those extra cuts are "Nowhere at All", "Downtown Dirt", and "Leave Me Alone" (the latter two having only been previously available on a 1992 Reed box set), as well as never-before-released versions of "Crazy Feeling", "She's My Best Friend", and "Coney Island Baby" that were recorded with former Velvet Underground member Doug Yule during rehearsals in 1975. [MORE...]
Exclusive: Chin Up Chin Up Reveal New LP
Chicago indie faves Chin Up Chin Up have announced the release of their second proper full-length, This Harness Can't Ride Anything, due out October 10 on Suicide Squeeze. The album, which follows 2004's We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers, marks a couple of milestones for CUCU: a new label (Suicide Squeeze) and a new full-time bass player (Jesse Woghin of the Narrator, replacing Chris Saathoff, who was killed in 2004).
Recorded by Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Red Red Meat, Modest Mouse) at his Engine Studios, This Harness features lyrics that cover familiar Midwestern terrain: "Minnesota, beavers, and breasts," according to a press release (well, I guess breasts aren't exclusively Midwestern). However, the song titles sound like it's some sort of concept album about Lost. [MORE...]
Time to book another dentist appointment: Swedish indie-pop candymen the Legends are getting set to deliver another sugary fun dip of pop confection to U.S. stores. Their sophomore LP, Public Radio, has finally been given a North American release date of June 27, courtesy of Robert Pollard buddies Recordhead. It originally came out in Sweden last year on Labrador.
Public Radio follows the band's 2004 debut Up Against the Legends with a dozen new tracks that take a slightly different approach to the band's signature pop sheen.
"It's different from the first album," head Legend Johan Angeråld kindly explained to Pitchfork via email. "After Up Against I was tired of making indie-hit-songs, so my first idea was to make an album without any choruses at all. Something more sensitive and stronger and not so typical/classic. I didn't follow the idea through 100%, 'cause some songs really need a chorus and there's no need to be stubborn in a stupid way."%FULL ARTICLE
Ear candy or not, Public Radio is packed with the singles "Hideaway" and "He Knows the Sun", and the first 1000 pressings will also include an exclusive bonus disc full of remixes and B-sides.
Tracklist: 01 Today
02 Hide Away
03 People Like Us
04 You're Alive
05 Air
06 He Knows the Sun
07 Something Good
08 I Want to Be Like Everybody Else
09 Heaven Will Wait
10 So Much for Tomorrow
11 These Old Hearts of Ours
12 Do You Remember Riley? Bonus Disc:01 Today (Phone Edit by Les Espions)
02 Hide Away (Mutilated by Project-X)
03 Books
04 He Knows the Sun (Jimahl RMX)
05 Something Good (I Don't So Now I Do Remix)
06 Inside Out
07 Hide Away (You're High Remix by Jimahl)
08 Catch the Ease
A brief supporting tour of the East Coast will take place in July, with the Legends playing alongside Angeråld's other band, Acid House Kings.
Dates:
07-06 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
07-08 New York, NY - Cake Shop
07-09 Brooklyn, NY - North Six
07-10 Cambridge, MA - TT the Bear's
07-11 Washington, DC - DC Nine
07-12 Philadelphia, PA - Kensington South Forum
Exclusive: Hear Of Montreal Remixes
Ingrediants: 1 Satanic Panic in the Attic1 The Sunlandic Twins
1 cup assorted remixers
Directions:
Blend on high, throw in some exclusive artwork from the forever-busy David Barnes, and voila-- Satanic Twins, a limited edition (2000 copies), vinyl- and digital-only double remix album from Of Montreal! It's coming out August 22 on LP and download courtesy of Polyvinyl.
The collection, nearly two years in the making, features tracks from the band's last two albums refashioned by the likes of Grizzly Bear, I Am the World Trade Center, United State of Electronica, Supersystem, and more.
Hear Mixel Pixel's version of "Disconnect The Dots" from Satanic Panic in the Attic and IQU's take on "Forecast Fascist Future" from The Sunlandic Twins HERE. [MORE...]
When an artist dies, the hyperbole begins, and James "Jay Dee /J Dilla" Yancey's case has been no exception. For every "J Dilla Changed My Life" t-shirt, (the proceeds from which go to the Yancey family), there's something like Common's recent statement in XXL: "When we think of John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye, J Dilla will be going down along that history line of greatness," which does little more than create unreasonable expectations for potential new fans, in addition to making us wonder about Common's command of the language.
Fortunately, the exaggeration has been tempered by the promise of new music. The Shining, which is the first of two completed J Dilla albums rumored to be released later this year, has finally received an official release date, and there is a tracklist as well. According to a press release, the album was "over 90% done" when Dilla passed away in February, and it was completed by Karriem Riggins ("longtime associate" of Dilla's). It has now been scheduled for an August 22 release on BBE Records. [MORE...]
Wolf Eyes Prepare to Destroy Once Again
Parades, Mothers, Guitars, Patricks, A.I.D.S. Cower in Fear
Thank God there are still a few non-indie rock wolves out there, right? Those who dig noize and a little blood under the fingernails are in luck, ‘cause Wolf Eyes, kings of all that is screechy and avant, have big news. Their new album, Human Animal, is due out September 26 on Sub Pop. Meanwhile, anticipate the vertigo with their 12" single, "The Driller" backed by "Psychologist", streeting July 25, and this mind-burning tracklist:
01 The Driller
02 Four Strings of Satanic Heritage
03 Rationed Rot
04 Leper War
05 Human Animal
06 Rusted Mange
07 A Million Years of Graveyards
08 Noise Not Music
09 Lake of Roaches
Portishead Drop Hints, Beef With Moby, Gorillaz
Tricky, Morcheeba, Lamb Feel Left Out
The last time Portishead released a new album was the 1998 live disc PNYC. The last time Portishead released an album of new material was 1997's Portishead. So after nearly a decade, we're pretty desperate for something, anything, resembling news of a forthcoming album.
Well, we got some tiny scraps last week, when the Bristol trio updated its MySpace page with some straight up good news: "weve had our meeting with the label it was really positive...which makes the whole thing so much easier to deal with nice people," the blog said. "the tracks are in a right mess but sounding like a album for the first time in years." The music is described as "fukin a bit weird" before the band takes some potshots at artists with whom they're often RIYL'd. "its nice to think us old gits have a few tunes in us without sounding like coffee table zero 7 - moby - chill out shit!!"
Ooh, diss. [MORE...]
Feist’s Open Season Due in U.S.
Remember Feist's new album Open Season? The collection of remixes, rarities, acoustic tracks, collaborations, and covers that came out on Arts&Crafts in Canada in April? Remember how we said that it isn't that great? Well, now Feist's southern North American neighbors will be able to decide for themselves, as Cherrytree/Interscope Records will put out the disc in the U.S. on July 18. [MORE...]
Dirty Pretty Things Cross the Pond
While the Pete Doherty portion of the Libertines continues to get acquainted with England's criminal justice system and perform "Jackass"-style stunts with syringes, the Carl Barat and Gary Powell segment of the band keeps chugging forward as Dirty Pretty Things.
Dirty Pretty Things' debut album Waterloo to Anywhere came out in the UK in May and is now set to come out in the U.S. on Interscope on August 8. Which happens to magically coincide with the launch of the band's American tour. [MORE...]
The Gossip Offer Remix EP, Tour, DVD
The Gossip are taking the
cut-and-paste aesthetic of their album covers to the next level: their music. The
band will release the GSSP RMX remix
EP August 22 on Kill Rock Stars. It features knob-twiddling from Afrika
Bambaataa/New Order producer and ubiquitous remixer Arthur Baker, Le Tigre, and
MSTRKRFT, among others. The EP also includes a cover of Aaliyah's "Are You
That Somebody," modernized for the internet age with a "U." (You can hear the cover on the band's MySpace page.)
Included on the enhanced portion of the EP is live footage of the band playing "Listen Up" at the record release show for their latest album, Standing in the Way of Control, at Portland's Wonder Ballroom. According to Kill Rock Stars, this is only a small portion of the footage that the label plans to release as a full-length DVD, which will also include the band's recent All Tomorrow's Parties' set and more. Morgen Dye, who directed the "Listen Up" music video, is working on the project, and it is very tentatively scheduled for release in April 2007. [MORE...]
Jennifer O’Connor Recruits McNew, Daniel
On August 22, New York-based singer/guitarist Jennifer O'Connor will release her third LP, Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars. The album, which O'Connor self-produced, marks new terrain for the musician, as it her Matador Records debut (she signed to the label last year). It does not mark new terrain for Matador, as she sounds a whole lot like Liz Phair.
Over the River and Through the Woods, um, I mean Over the Mountain... employs the talents of James McNew of Yo La Tengo, Britt Daniel of Spoon, and Kendall Meade (aka Mascott), among others. Despite all the personnel, O'Connor explains on her website that there's a spacious sound to the album (as the title implies); it's stripped of reverb and unnecessary layers: "We purposefully pared everything down to what was necessary for the song." [MORE...]
TV on the Radio New Album Details Revealed
The last time we reported on the status of TV on the Radio's forthcoming album, Return to Cookie Mountain, we had very little confirmed information and lots of questions: Is the version that's floating around online the real thing? Is that really David Bowie singing backup on "Province"? When's the damn thing coming out? And why did they leave Cookie Mountain in the first place?
Well, now we have some answers. Although we still aren't completely sure that the album we've been grooving to since February is the one that's going to appear on record store shelves, or that the Cookie Mountain exit had something to do with a diet, we do know that it is indeed Bowie. [MORE...]
Ensemble Recruits Cat Power, Lou Barlow
While the rest of us seem content to crush on Chan Marshall from a distance, French musician Olivier Alary, aka Ensemble, actually got a song out of her. (He's also worked with Bjork.) The song, "Disown, Delete", will be released August 8 as the first single from Ensemble's self-titled second album and debut for FatCat Records.
"Disown, Delete" CD EP:
01
Disown, Delete (feat. Chan Marshall)
02
Carmine
03
Their Lines
04
Disown, Delete (Tim Hecker remix)
7":
01
Disown, Delete (feat. Chan Marshall)
02
Disown, Delete (Tim Hecker remix) [MORE...]
Air Prep New Album, Dunckel Goes Solo
Pull out those obnoxious Nextel talkie walkies and report the following to everyone on your call list: According to a Billboard.com interview with Air member JB Dunckel, the French duo is almost done with its upcoming studio album, which is slated for an early 2007 release on Astralwerks. Also, Dunckel will put out a solo record via Astralwerks on September 19.
Dunckel's solo debut will be released under the moniker Darkel. Dunckel told Billboard.com that the name was inspired by the black keys on a piano: "Most of the tracks contain some piano, and the chords are on the black keys most of the time, because I like the sound of that. Also, it was made very late at night. You have this attraction for the blackness, the space." [MORE...]
Low destroyed everything last year by recording their big guitar record with Dave Fridmann and leaving Kranky to release their seventh album on Sub Pop. Bassist Zak Sally left the band and was replaced by Matt Livingston of Low leader Alan Sparhawk's side project Retribution Gospel Choir. All that and the band had to cancel their Spring tour due to Sparhawk's health problems.
This year has been far less eventful, but it seems that the Low machine is cranking up again. They have a summer full of festival dates scheduled, including two July shows in London as part of All Tomorrow's Parties' "Don't Look Back" series, in which they will perform their 2001 classic Things We Lost in the Fire in its entirety. And though the specific dates have yet to be confirmed, both Low and Retribution Gospel Choir will be playing the Green Man Festival in Duluth this July. [MORE...]
Dani Siciliano Readies Second Album
You could call Dani Siciliano the Missy Elliott to Matthew Herbert's Timbaland, and she's following up her contributions to Herbert's Scale, the most recent release to receive our Best New Music designation, with her second solo full-length.
Slappers, Siciliano's follow-up to 2004's Likes..., will be released September 19 on !K7. According to a press release, the album "isn't a techno record or a dance record. Slappers is comparable to a singer-songwriter record written on the strings of a guitar, but like innovators before her, Dani prefers the 0s and 1s of electronics to balance out her voice and give the album a singular feel... Dani did much of the production herself, but... Herbert shared some of the production duties."
Other contributions include the beat-boxing of Neil Thomas, drummer Leo Taylor playing a Siciliano-constructed kit made of promise rings (the metal kind, not the emo kind), and singing from Ingrid and Kitty of "cult teen band Kitty, Daisy and Lewis" on lead single "Why Can't I Make You High?". The 7" single of the song will be released June 27 and will include the B-side "Whose Blues"." In a that's-so-Herbert move, the track features what is presumably the source of the album's title, "the percussive sound of asses being slapped."
Get ur freak on:
01 Slappers
02 Didn't Anybody Tell You
03 They Can Wait
04 Why Can't I Make You High?
05 Frozen
06 Too Young
07 Think Twice
08 Big Time
09 Repeats
10 Wifey
11 Be My Producer
While Siciliano will not be appearing with Herbert on his upcoming tour, she will be touring in support of Slappers. Those dates, however, have yet to be confirmed.
July 25 is a special date for Joan of Arc. This year, it will be the tenth anniversary of their very first show, and they're celebrating with two new releases on that very date.
Eventually, All at Once, the band's new album, will be released on Record Label. The label's website says "a good analogy [for the record's creation] would be childbirth; a nine-month gestation period followed by a few hours of labor, or in this case five days of recording in February 2006." The fact that it was recorded in songwriter Tim Kinsella's childhood home might explain the "casual folk-drone" feel of the album. [MORE...]
For example, will the new LP-- titled To the Races-- be more honest, more stripped down, more personal? Will it mark an even more dramatic departure (if that's possible) from his punker days of yore? Perhaps Bachmann will start moniker-hopping Will-Oldham style on successive albums, confusing us even further. Guess we won't know for sure until Saddle Creek releases the album on August 22.
In the meantime, a press release admits that indeed, To the Races carries particular meaning as the first Eric Bachmann solo release, as it is "skeletally spare," with "no pretenses, no pseudonyms, no ornamentation-- qualities that also mirror the album's writing and recording process." Sure enough, Bachmann seemed to be living pretty sparely while writing this full-length last summer, as he voluntarily holed up in his touring van in the Pacific Northwest before heading to the apropos location of North Carolina's Outer Banks to self-record Races in a hotel room. (Can you get more "skeletal"?)
Containing ten tracks about "self-imposed isolation and the search for human connection," the album features a bit of accompaniment from Devotchka's Tom Hagerman on violin and Miranda Brown on backing vocals. Tracklist: [MORE...]
There's the good news, there's the bad news, and then there's the pool
party. As Meat Loaf once said, two out of three ain't bad, right? And
three out of five is even better.
Les Savy Fav's debut album, 3/5, which was originally released on the Self-Starter Foundation in 1997 (and features knob twiddlin' by a guy named James Murphy), is being reissued by LSF's own French Kiss. But you knew that already, because we reported it in March. Now we have a release date: July 25.
Unfortunately, the bonus material originally expected to wiggle its way onto the album will not, in fact, be making the cut. A French Kiss rep was kind enough to explain the situation to Pitchfork, writing via email "As the time inched nearer and nearer to turning in a master for the reissue they could not decide on what to include. Some of the band felt the unreleased songs were good enough, some thought the quality was too low, and some thought the songs flat out sucked and didn't want to tarnish 3/5. So in the end they all decided to just scrap the idea...which is a bummer." Indeed.
However, the reissue does come with some pretty nifty shower cap-themed artwork, though.
So here's the 3/5 tracklist, in all its original glory:
01 Intro
02 New Teen Anthem
03 Cut It Out
04 Pluto
05 Cassolette
06 Scout's Honor
07 Je Taime
08 Raise Buildings
09 Blackouts
10 False Starts
But there will be a pool party. On July 9, Les Savy Fav will cannonball into Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool for a free gig. Really, is there anything more fitting than Tim Harrington in swim trunks?
Oh wait. You mean there isn't actually water in the pool? So it's just a big slab of concrete? That's no fun.
LSF will also rock the Oya Festival in Oslo, Norway at some point between August 9 and 12. A fall tour is in the works, with dates yet to be confirmed.
Lady Sov, MF Doom, Mos Def on Adult Swim Comp
Hip-hop is a nerdy enterprise. From old school heads likening their skills to a science to current MCs obsessing over the intimate details of their whips, chains, and, ahem, business practices, there's no escaping the fact that it takes quite a bit of time to go digging through records for samples or coming up with words that rhyme with "block".
Recently, the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim has been feeding the nerdy side of the genre by teaming up with artists and labels to bring you exclusive music. First came Danger Doom's free-to-download Occult Hymn EP, and a collaborative compilation with Stones Throw Records is scheduled for a September release. Now it's time to add Chicago label Chocolate Industries to the list of Adult Swim collaborators, as June 26 will bring the appropriately named Chocolate Swim, the label's mini-album collaboration with the network. [MORE...]
Muse Prep New Album, Tour World
Devon's chart-topping space-rockers Muse are landing their melodic spacecraft (which runs cleanly on Q Awards) with a brand new album. Black Holes and Revelations, the follow-up to the band's 2003 album Absolution, comes to the U.S. on July 11 on Warner Bros., and the UK on July 3. From August to October 2005, they recorded in Studio Miraval, southern France and mixed at London's Sanctuary Townhouse Studios.
In an interview with NME, frontman Matt Bellamy revealed Black Holes sees the band getting all politically righteous. Songs like "A Soldier's Poem" are directly influenced by the current skirmish in the Middle East...Cool. Because, hey, we all want to know what Thom Yorke would sound like fronting Audioslave at the disco. Um, right? [MORE...]
Luna Remembered on DVD, Comp, Rarities Set
While not exactly at the apogee of the band's popularity, the ending of Dean Wareham's post-Galaxie 500 group Luna was just a bit too much fizzle, not enough bang for our liking. Those pining for fireworks can carouse now, however, because on Tuesday, June 20, Rhino Records will be picking up the slack big time by giving Luna a belated send-off worthy of their career.
The festivities are scheduled for three fronts: a "best of" album creatively called Best of Luna which features 17 songs released between 1992-2004; Lunafied, a digital-only collection of standards done the Luna way; and a Matthew Buzzell-directed final tour documentary, Tell Me Do You Miss Me, on DVD. We do indeed miss you, we really miss you. Tracklists: [MORE...]
New Sublime Frequencies Releases Due
A CD/DVD label that focuses on "an aesthetic of extra-geography and soulful experience"? Sounds sublime. And that's what Alan Bishop, informal ethnomusicologist and Sun City Girls member, continues to aim for with each release on his Sublime Frequencies label, a collective that (like Bishop) gravitates towards sights and sounds either marginalized or completely overlooked by the music industry, mainstream media, academic research, and society in general. On June 20, the label will traverse new aural and visual terrain with the release of three obscure sound collages and one ghostly DVD.
The DVD release, Phi Ta Khon: Ghost of Isan, is a 75-minute film by Robert Millis, who traveled to the Isan interior of Northern Thailand in order to document a rare ghost festival, also referred to as "Thai Halloween" or "Mardi Gras From Hell." As if that doesn't already provide a vivid enough mental picture, the Sublime Frequencies website describes the fest as a hypnotic parade of "magnificent costumes, ornate masks, decorative phallic icons, strange ceremonies, drinking, dancing, and endless addictive Mo Lam music in higher doses than most souls can process." The DVD comes with a short bonus film about Thai spirit houses, plus an eight-page insert with lengthy liner notes and full-color pics. [MORE...]
Panthers Guitarist Forms Cloudland Canyon
Like Garth Brooks transforming into sensitive rocker Chris Gaines in the late 90s, Panthers guitarist (and former Red Scare frontman) Kip Uhlhorn has created the proggy Cloudland Canyon. The Brooklyn noise-punker met German multi-instrumentalist Simon Wojan while on tour in Europe; the fruits of their three-year partnership will be released as Cloudland Canyon's debut album, Requiems Der Natur: 2002-2004, on Tee Pee Records on June 13.The Double's Jacob Morris, Turing Machine/the Juan MacLean drummer Jerry Fuchs, and Uhlhorn's wife, Kelly Winkler, all contribute to the record, which skips the mega-riff rock found on Panthers albums in favor of electronic noodling, synthesizer soundscapes, and post-rock detours. This Heat, Ash Ra Temple, and Tortoise are all cited as influences, if you know what we're saying.
Tracklist:
01 Opening / Ice of Rift
02 Clearlight Intry
03 Carolina Foxtail / Sea Chirp
04 Field Ghosts
05 Coastal Breathe
06 Holy Canyon (Vanquish)
07 Joyful Noise
08 Secondary Chanting
09 Summer Cloth
10 BrightBeijing
Next week, Cloudland Canyon will head to Chicago to team up with Robert Lowe, aka Lichens (he's also a member of 90 Day Men and has worked with TV on the Radio). In addition to recording together, Cloudland Canyon and Lichens will hit the road for a brief tour. Doesn't look like they're scheduled to play any forested areas, but maybe they should. Dates:
06-26 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle *
06-28 Missoula, MT - The Raven
06-29 Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern #
06-30 Portland, OR - Towne Lounge $
07-01 San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern ^
07-02 Santa Cruz, CA - Blue Lagoon
07-03 San Diego, CA - Che Café %
07-04 Los Angeles, CA - Compact Space/4th Party %@
07-06 Baltimore, MD - Talking Head &
07-07 Brooklyn, NY - Union Pool &!
07-08 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church &
* with Zs, Yearling
# with Sir Richard Bishop
$ with White Rainbow, Valet^ with Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound
% with Earthless
@ with No Age, Amps for Christ
& with UW Owl
! with Growing
Tuxedomoon Return
New Album, New Suits, New Lunar Cycle
Legendary San Francisco-bred avant-garde collective Tuxedomoon is back with Bardo Hotel Soundtrack, the second release since the band resurrected itself for 2004's Cabin in the Sky. On June 13, Crammed Discs will release the album through its revived Made to Measure imprint.Though now based internationally with core members living in Mexico, Greece, Belgium, and America, Tuxedomoon returned to San Francisco to record the album, which is intended as the soundtrack to a film the band is making with Greek artist George Kakanakis. It's described as a "series of ‘spontaneous compositions'" featuring found sound and "vignettes".
Tracklist:
01 Hurry up and Wait (Flying Sequence)
02 Effervescing in the Nether Sphere
03 Soup du Jour
04 Flying Again
05 Triptych
06 I'm Real Stupid
07 Airport Blues
08 Needles Prelude
09 Prometheus Bound
The Show Goes On:
10 Baron Brown
11 Jinx
12 Loneliness
13 Remote (Pralaya)
14 Dream Flight
15 More Flying
16 Vulcanic, Combustible
17 Mr. Comfort
18 Another Flight
19 Invocation Of
20 Carry on Circles
Lisa Germano Preps Young God Debut
Singer/songerwriter Lisa Germano
has been around for a long time. She played strings for John Mellencamp
(!) in the late 80s and into the 90s, and toured and recorded with the
Indigo Girls (!!), David Bowie, Simple Minds, Iggy Pop, and Sheryl Crow
(!!!). She also put out several albums on both Capitol Records and 4AD,
as well as collaborated with Giant Sand in the side project OP8. But
this is (relatively) common knowledge. What's not so well-known,
however, is that Lisa Germano can suck you into her dreams. Just ask
ex-Swan/current Angel of Light Michael Gira.
"She seems to play violin, piano/keyboards, and guitar with equal
authority," Gira claims. "As well as producing her own records with
great imaginative effect-- the result is seductive and truly magical.
No one sounds like her. You get the feeling you're walking through her
dreams as you listen. The intensity of feeling in her singing is a
little frightening sometimes-- it's like she's singing very close to
your ear, leading you through her world. It's a place I very much enjoy
visiting, and I hope you will too."
Does that sound a little creepy to anyone else? At any rate, Gira was impressed enough with Germano that his Young God label will release her new album, In the Maybe World, on July 18. This is Germano's first since 2003's Lullaby for Liquid Pig.
Tracklist:
01 The Day
02 Too Much Space
03 Moon in Hell
04 Golden Cities
05 Into Oblivion
06 In the Land of Fairies
07 Wire
08 In the Maybe World
09 Red Thread
10 Seed
11 Except for the Ghosts
12 After Monday
Germano appears on RockPaperScissors, the third album from composer/producer Michael Brook (Brian Eno, the Pogues), out July 18 on bigHelium/Canadian Rational. She sings a song called "Want".
Magnolia Electric Co.'s Molina Records Three LPs
Ghostface and Raekwon aren't the only ones from the projects. Magnolia Electric Co. mastermind Jason Molina even records there. His new solo album, Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go, was recorded at engineer Jim Zespy's The Projects studio in Bloomington, Indiana. The album is in the vein of 2004's Pyramid Electric Co. and will see an official release later this year.
Never one to disappoint fans who expect him to keep up the three-record-per-year pace he established in 2005, Molina has also recorded two new Magnolia Electric Co. full lengths. The first, entitled Nashville Moon and planned for a September release, was recorded in Chicago at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studios and mastered at Abbey Road. The second, tentatively titled The Black Ram, was recorded under the Magnolia Electric Co. moniker with a completely different band at Camper Van Beethoven frontman David Lowery's Sound of Music Studios in Richmond, Virginia. It does not have a release date at this time.
Molina will also be playing a string of solo and full band dates this summer, probably previewing a symphony he has written for 80-piece orchestra to be released in 2009. Or, if you want a more realistic picture of what the shows will be like, here is a clip of Mikey, the keyboard player from Magnolia Electric Co., "taking a bow" at a recent Mates of State show in Atlanta. It is not safe for work or those with discerning taste.
Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go:
01 It's Easier Now
02 Everything Should Try Again
03 Alone With the Owl
04 Don't It Look Like the Rain
05 Some Things Never Try
06 It Must Be Raining There Forever
07 Get Out, Get Out, Get Out
08 It Costs You Nothing
09 Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go
Nashville Moon:
01 Lonesome Valley
02 Montgomery Bound
03 Don't Fade on Me
04 Hammer Down
05 No Moon on the Water
06 Nashville Moon
07 What Comes After the Blues
08 North Star
09 Don't This Look Like the Dark
10 Bowery
11 Texas 71
12 Down the Wrong Road Both Ways
Let Me Tour, Let Me Tour, Let Me Tour:
05-12 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall (Jason Molina solo) *
05-19 Akron, OH - The Lime Spider (Jason Molina solo)
05-20 Rochester, NY - TBA (Jason Molina solo)
05-21 Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Fireproof (Jason Molina solo) #
07-25 Omaha, NE - Sokol Underground %
07-26 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge %
07-27 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge %
07-28 Missoula, MT - TBA %
07-29 Seattle, WA - Capitol Hill Block Party
07-30 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richard %
07-31 Olympia, WA - TBA %
08-01 Portland, OR - TBA %
08-02 Eugene, OR - WOW Hall %
08-04 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill %
08-05 Los Angeles, CA - TBA %
09-18 Salisbury, MD - Holloway Hall at Salisbury College
09-29 Austin, TX - Emo's $
* with the Court & Spark
# with Elizabeth Mitchell, Daniel Littleton of Ida
% with Ladyhawk
$ with Serena Maneesh, Xiu Xiu
Rjd2 Releases Magnificent City Instrumentals
Columbus, Ohio is known for college football, riots induced by college football, and a little bit of independent hip-hop. Producer RJD2 has relocated to Philadelphia, but he still wants to show the rest of us some love by releasing the instrumental version of Magnificent City, Aceyalone's latest RJ-produced album. Pitchfork gave it a glowing 3.2 rating. Hopefully it's better without the vocals.
More magnificent:
01 All for U
02 Fire
03 Cornbread, Eddie & Me
04 Mooore
05 Supahero
06 High Lights
07 Disconnected
08 Caged Bird
09 Solomon Jones
10 A Sunday Mystery
11 Junior
12 Heaven
13 Here & Now
14 A Beautiful Mine
Rjd2 recently released a more successful collaboration (in Pitchfork terms at least) as Soul Position with MC and fellow Columbusonian Blueprint, titled Things Go Better With RJ and Al. The duo is touring in support of the album with fellow Midwesterner One Be Lo, and in July, Rjd2 will play two solo dates, including one on a boat.
Magnificent cities:
05-03 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey *
05-04 Portland, OR - Berbati's Pan *
05-05 Eugene, OR - WOW Hall *
05-07 San Francisco, CA - The Independent *^
05-08 Los Angeles, CA - Echo *#
05-09 San Diego, CA - Casbah *#
05-10 Tempe, AZ - The Clubhouse *#
05-12 Denton, TX - Hailey's *
05-13 Austin, TX - Emo's Jr. *@
05-14 Houston, TX - Walter's on Washington *
05-15 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon *
05-24 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street Nightclub *
05-25 Cambridge, MA - Middle East *%
05-26 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *
05-27 Brooklyn, NY - South Paw *
05-28 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church *
05-29 Charlottesville, VA - Satellite Ballroom *
05-30 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel *
05-31 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn *
06-01 Mt. Pleasant, SC - The Village Tavern *
06-02 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 *&
06-03 Baltimore, MD - Sonar *
07-02 McArthur, OH - Freedom Festival (RJD2 solo show)
07-06 New York, NY - Rocks Off Concert Cruise (RJD2 solo show)
* with One Be Lo
^ with Yo Flaco
# with Blue Scholars
@ with Word Association
% with Project Move
& with Endless Mic
Exclusive: Long Winters Are Putting the Days to Bed
In the spirit of celebrating Christmas in July, the Long Winters are releasing their newest album this summer on Barsuk Records. The follow up to last year's Ultimatum EP and 2003's When I Pretend to Fall will be released July 25 and will be titled Putting the Days to Bed.
According to a press release, Long Winters songwriter John Roderick wrote the album with the philosophy "I like chairs that don't creak and songs that don't suck" in mind, which we can only assume means there will be no Akron/Family-style furniture percussion on the album. It does, however, "combine the lyrical intimacy and melodic complexity of the Ultimatum EP with the guitar pop rave-ups of the band's previous full lengths," according to a press release. All that it's missing are the sexual nuances of early Arcade Fire.
Chairs are for sitting:
01 Pushover
02 Fire Island, AK
03 Teaspoon
04 Hindsight
05 Sky Is Open
06 Honest
07 Clouds
08 Rich Wife
09 Ultimatum
10 (It's a) Departure
11 Seven
Enjoying the presence of new member Jonathan Rothman and keen on erasing the memory of their fall tour with Keane, the Winters are about to hit the road again for a short European tour with Centro-Matic. Expect more dates to be announced in the not-too-distant future.
Short summer:
05-09 London, England - Borderline *#
05-10 Cardiff, Wales - Buffalo Bar *
05-11 Glasgow, Scotland - Cathouse *
05-12 Hull, England - Adelphi *
05-13 Exeter, England - Cavern Club *
05-14 Newport, Wales - Meze Lounge *
05-15 London, England - Water Rats Theatre *
05-16 Brussels, Belgium - AB Box *
05-18 Rotterdam, Netherlands - Rotown *
05-20 Heythuysen, Netherlands - Tom Tom *
05-21 Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli *
05-22 Zichem, Belgium - Den Hemel *
05-23 Darmstadt, Germany - Oetinger Villa *
05-24 Winterthur, Switzerland - Gaswerk *
05-26 Familacao, Portugal - Casa Das Artes *
05-27 Bilbao, Spain - Kafe Antzoki *
05-29 Madrid, Spain - Moby Dick *
05-30 Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain - Café Poniente *
05-31 Mallorca, Spain - Teatre Lloseta *
06-01 Zaragoza, Spain - Casa del Loco *
06-04 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound *
* with Centro-Matic
# with the Gourds
Oakley Hall Ready Gypsum Strings
Coming off of the January release of their sophomore effort, Second Guessing, Oakley Hall are showing you even more love and attempting to rival the ridiculously prolific output (in quantity at least) of fellow country/roots rocker Ryan Adams with the release of their second new album this year, entitled Gypsum Strings. Strings revisits the blueprint laid out by Second Guessing but adds a little bit more of that panacea called "the rock."
Tracklist:
01 Confidence Man
02 Having Fun Again
03 Lazy Susan
04 Living in Sin in the USA
05 House Carpenter
06 Bury Your Burden
07 If I Was in El Dorado
08 Nite Lights, Dark Days
09 Spanish Fandango
The album comes out on the Oneida-run Brah Records on June 6, and the band (founded by former Oneida member Pat Sullivan) will be touring the U.S. to support it. After briefly familiarizing themselves with that crazy Canadian culture (milk in bags?!) on a stop in Vancouver, the band will be ready to join up with the Constantines for the last leg of their tour. And if Oakley Hall are anywhere near as glorious live as their tour partners, those dates should be quite a treat.
Hall and Oaks:
04-20 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge *
04-28 Brooklyn, NY - North Six &
05-18 Baltimore, MD - Talking Head ^
05-19 Raleigh, NC - King's Barcade
05-20 Charlotte, NC - Milestone
05-21 Winston-Salem, NC - Werehouse %
05-23 Knoxville, TN - The Pilot Light
05-26 Lansing, MI - Mac's Bar
05-28 Omaha, NE - O'Leaver's
05-30 Denver, CO - Hi Dive $
06-01 Missoula, MT - The Raven Café
06-02 Vancouver, British Columbia - Pat's @
06-06 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Café +
06-07 Portland, OR - Doug Fir #
06-09 San Francisco, CA - Café du Nord #
06-10 Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland #
06-11 San Diego, CA - The Casbah #
06-12 Tucson, AZ - Plush #
06-15 Austin, TX - Emo's #
06-20 St. Louis, MO - Blueberry Hill #
06-22 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick #
06-23 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern #
06-24 Lansing, MI - Mac's #
* with Kinski, the Bible
& with Elf Power, the Instruments, Frank Bango
^ with Long Live Death, Lexie Mountain Boys
% with the Finks
$ with Rogers Sisters, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
@ with Two Gallants
+ with Court and Spark
# with the Constantines
Sparklehorse Nab Waits, Danger Mouse for New LP
Following their formula of providing Pitchfork with the same news story every two years *, Sparklehorse have announced details of the follow-up to 2001's It's a Wonderful Life. This time, however, the record is finished and scheduled for a tentative September release (hello, 2008!).
The band's website reports that most of the currently untitled album was made "in the style of VivaDixie/Good Morning Spider by Mark [Linkous, songwriter and Sparklehorse leader] alone in Static King Studio." The rest of it was "mixed at Smart Studio in Madison, Wisconsin with Danger Mouse and engineered by Alan Weatherhead and Beau Sorenson." With all those details, how could it possibly be postponed?
And like a kindergarten report card that includes the comment "plays well with others," the album features collaborations with Danger Mouse, Christian Fennesz, Sophie Michalitsianos, Johnny Hott, Scott Minor, Stephen Drozd of the Flaming Lips, and super-producer/past collaborator Dave Fridmann as well as an unreleased song from It's a Wonderful Life with Tom Waits on piano. Whoa!
Yes, it's just like kindergarten, a kindergarten full of music icons.
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.)
Mon: 02-05-07: 02:42 AM CST
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Announce Spring Tour
Mon: 02-05-07: 12:00 AM CST
Arctic Monkeys Unveil Second Album Details
Sun: 02-04-07: 10:21 PM CST
Arcade Fire Reveal Neon Bible Lyrics
Fri: 02-02-07: 06:00 PM CST
SXSW: Good Bad & Queen, Mountain Goats, Mastodon
Fri: 02-02-07: 04:47 PM CST
Love Is All Release Single, Tour
Today's Other Headlines
- Rah Bras Call It Quits
- The Juan Maclean Kicks Off DJ Dates
- All Seven Sly and the Family Stone LPs Reissued
- Ratatat, 120 Days Tour Together
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Browse
Sun: 02-04-07
Fri: 02-02-07
- SXSW: Good Bad & Queen, Mountain Goats, Mastodon
- Rah Bras Call It Quits
- Love Is All Release Single, Tour
- The Juan Maclean Kicks Off DJ Dates
- All Seven Sly and the Family Stone LPs Reissued
- Ratatat, 120 Days Tour Together
- Jesse Sykes Confesses Like, Love, Lust, Kicks Off Tour
- Exclusive: Ed Banger Delivers Second Comp, Tour
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- Sufjan, My Brightest Diamond to Play Music Now Fest
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- Elvis Perkins Supports XL Debut on Tour
- Mountain Goats, Annuals Head WKNC Benefit
- Exclusive: Voxtrot's Ramesh Srivastava Talks Debut LP
Thu: 02-01-07
- Broken Social Scene Score Tracey Fragments
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- Herbert Releases Film Work as Score
- R.E.M., Lips, Ward Cover Radiohead, More on Comp
- Jonathan Richman Tours, Scores Indie Film
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- Exclusive: Dean & Britta Announce Tour, Share MP3
- Bjork, Chili Peppers Set to Rock Roskilde
- Exclusive: Magik Markers Record With Ranaldo, Tour
- Sea and Cake Ready Everybody
Wed: 01-31-07
- Jamie Klaxon Talks Success, Violence, Family, Future
- M. Ward Tours With Norah Jones
- Coldplay Prep Singles Box Set, Tour
- Air Plan European Tour
- Ladytron Tour With Nine Inch Nails
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- Mr. Lif Kicks Off Tour
- Exclusive: Jarvis Announces North American Dates
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- The Shins' Wincing Debuts at #2!
- Photos: Peter Bjorn and John [New York, NY; 01/30/07]
- The Killers Announce North American Tour
Tue: 01-30-07
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- Little Brother Part Ways With 9th Wonder
- Xiu Xiu and Sunset Rubdown to Tour Together
- The Blow Expand Poor Aim, Tour With Of Montreal
- Danielson Movie Heads to DVD
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- The Good, the Bad and the Queen Hit North America
- José González Schedules U.S. Shows
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- Vashti, ex-Arab Strap, ex-Delgados on Idlewild Lit Comp
- Nick Drake Preps Music From Beyond, Haunts SXSW
- Shellac to Play Robbins Benefit
Mon: 01-29-07
- Police to Reunite for Arresting Grammys Performance
- Anticon Signs SJ Esau, Thee More Shallows
- Photos: Annuals [Atlanta, GA; 01/26/07]
- Clipse Announce Winter Tour
- Decemberists Get Embroidery Treatment
- Maria Taylor Enlists Siblings, Oberst for New Solo LP
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- Klaxons Send Myths Stateside via Rinse/DGC
- Exclusive: Xiu Xiu, Larsen Team for New XXL Album
- Arcade Fire Launch Most Anticipated Tour of All Time
- Exclusive: Cornelius' Sensuous Comes to the States
- T.V. Eye: January 29-February 3, 2007
- Ted Leo Expands Living With Chumbawumba Cover
- Pitchfork Music Festival SXSW Party Revealed!
- Afghan Whigs Retrospective Revealed
- Pretty Girls Make Graves Split
Fri: 01-26-07
- Chatham Gets Sonic Youth, Godspeed for "Guitar Trio"
- Okkervil River's Will Sheff Tours With Josh Ritter
- Modest Mouse Unveil Dead Tracklist, Release Date
- The Good, the Bad and the Queen Kick Off Tour
- Tapes 'n Tapes Schedule North American Tour
- Animal Collective's Avey Tare Records With ex-Múm Gal
- Brian Eno Producing New Coldplay Album
- Kaiser Chief Wilson Chats Album, Na's, No's, Hit'n'Run
- Mastodon Kick Off Winter Tour
- Pattern Is Movement Tour With David Bazan
- Smashing Pumpkins Announce First Reunion Shows
- Secretly Canadian Artists Cover Each Other for Comp
- Shins, Lily Allen, Cold War Kids Play KCRW Fundraiser
- Danny! = Next Def Jux Artist
- Girl Talk Seeks Dancers for Vegas Gig
- Q-Tip Readies Renaissance, Kamaal LPs
- Badly Drawn Boy Tours Europe, North America
- RJD2 Extends North American Tour
Thu: 01-25-07
- Beck's Information Deluxe Edition Revealed
- Photos: Deerhoof/Hella/Busdriver [Los Angeles, CA; 01/24/06]
- Capitol and Virgin Totally Hook Up
- Photos: Of Montreal [San Antonio, TX; 01/21/07]
- Joanna Newsom Tours Australia, New Zealand, Japan
- Lemonheads Tour America, Down Under
- Tom Waits Settles Another Goddamn Lawsuit
- Yo La Tengo Hit the Road
- Datarock Transmit Grooves on North American Tour
- The Rapture Launch Winter Tour
- Times New Viking Sign to Matador, Prep Second LP
- Scott Walker Documentary Drifts Into Theatres
- Shining Put Their Noses to the Grindstone on New LP
- Neko Case Launches Bi-Continental Tour
- Pollard Preps Self-Released EP, LPs for Merge, Ipecac
Wed: 01-24-07
- Perry Farrell's Satellite Party Gets Ultra Payloaded
- The Decemberists Offer iTunes Live From SoHo EP
- Apostle of Hustle Sing National Anthem of Nowhere
- Phil Elverum Re-Adopts Microphones Name for New 7"
- Stuart Murdoch, Will Oldham, Jarvis Head Kiddie Comp
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- Dinosaur Jr. Reveal Reunion Album Details
- Jennifer O'Connor Tours, Joins Sykes, Dump for 7" Club
- !!!'s Offer Talks Myth Takes, Out Hud, Politics, Welfare
- The Kooks Return to North America
- The Knife's Silent Shout to Become Three-Disc Set
Tue: 01-23-07
- Producer Disco D Commits Suicide
- Yorke Pimps Liars, Spank Rock, Malkmus on iTunes
- Walkmen, Kaiser Chiefs to Tour Together
- Lady Sovereign to Open for Gwen Stefani
- Junior Boys Extend Tour Stateside, Canadaways
- Toto, Spin Doctors, Marky Mark Sign on for Coachella
- Menomena Announce North American Tour
- Band of Horses Saddle Up for Studio, Enhance Lineup
- The Books Announce Spring Tour
- Jarvis Gets U.S. Release Date, Tours Europe
- Hella Kick Off Tour, Get Ready for Outer Space
- LCD Soundsystem to Fans: Send Silver to #1!
Mon: 01-22-07
- Photos: Mission of Burma [New York, NY; 01/19/07]
- Jesus and Mary Chain to Play Coachella!
- Touch and Go Revisit Festival With Video Awesomeness
- Kristin Hersh Talks New Album
- Silver Jews, Avey Tare, Enon, Black Dice on RBR Comp
- Kanye West Applies for Graduation With Chris Martin
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- Enon Cancel Dates With Of Montreal
- Corsano + Hair Police + Mouthus + Giffoni = Death Unit
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- T.V. Eye: January 22-29, 2007
- Jarvis, Lily, New Pornos, Ghostface Added to Coachella
- Ted Leo/Pharmacists to Tour U.S./Canada
Sun: 01-21-07
Fri: 01-19-07
- Pitchfork Music Festival 2007: July 14-15, Chicago
- Kanye West, RZA, DJ Premier on Beat Kings DVD
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- Dosh Drops EP, Dashes Off on Tour
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- Lily Allen Announces American Tour
- Ghost Prepare for Stormy Nights
- Iron & Wine and Calexico Tour Japan
- Exclusive: The Pipettes to Charm North America
- Arcade Fire Announce UK Single
- Radiohead Working on Album Again
- Bjork Taps Antony, Timbaland, Lightning Bolt for LP
- Of Montreal Launch Tour, Release Digital Single
Thu: 01-18-07
- The Constantines Tour Canada
- Exclusive: Bonde do Role Sign to Domino
- Lee Hazlewood Taps Granddaughter for Final Album
- Cage Launches Winter Tour
- Mark Eitzel Embarks on East Coast Tour
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- Photos: Andrew Bird [New York, NY; 01/17/06]
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- David Kilgour Cleans Up With The Far Now
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- Exclusive: Decemberists Announce Spring U.S. Tour
- Parts & Labor, Jana Hunter Cover Oneida's "Sheets"
- Songs of Green Pheasant Sends Aerial Days Stateside
- Pre-Thermals Material Collected on Urban Legends LP
- Turbulence Promises Album Will Do Good
- Echo & the Bunnymen Expand Songs to Learn and Sing
- Built to Spill Show Europe What They're Made Of
Wed: 01-17-07
- Plan B Plans American Invasion
- Castanets Strike Out on Tour With Shapes and Sizes
- Exclusive: Mystery Jets Sign to Dim Mak
- Low Add European Dates to Tour
- Exclusive: Richard Buckner Tours With Six Parts Seven
- Band of Horses Trot Out on Tiny Tour
- Paul Weller Celebrates 30 Years With DVD/Box, Tour
- DJs Drama & Cannon Arrested for "Illegal" CDs
- Deerhoof Launch World Tour
- Camera Obscura Kick Off Tour, Share Single, Video
- Exclusive: Gustav Ejstes Talks New Dungen Album
Tue: 01-16-07
- Morrissey Seeks California Love on Tour
- Subtle Make Plans With TV on the Radio, Launch Tour
- Drag City Brings Boris' Rainbow to U.S.
- ? of ? & the Mysterians Loses House, Valuables to Fire
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- Slint Rock Spiderland at Primavera Sound Festival
- Postal Service Cheat on USPS-- With UPS!
- Stones Throw Releases Retrospective Comp
- Sonic Youth Tour Japan with Vooredoms (Boredoms)
Mon: 01-15-07
- Frightened Rabbit Hit the States
- Exclusive: Page France Reveal LP, MP3, Headlights Tour
- Sigur Rós: "New Album in the Works"
- Annuals Prep EP, Tour With Dears, Aqueduct
- Leonard Cohen Given Reissue Treatment
- Sonic Youth, Murdoch, Watt, Suzuki on Future Pilot LP
- The Hold Steady Tour With the Thermals
- T.V. Eye: January 15-19, 2007
- Dr. Dog Tour With Bobby Bare Jr.
- V2 Closes Shop on New Releases, White Stripes Are Free
- Ben Gibbard Goes Hollywood
- Kevin Shields: MBV Will "100%" Make Another Album
Sun: 01-14-07
Fri: 01-12-07
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- Video: Jelly Donut vs. Lady Sovereign
- Exclusive MP3: Grizzly Bear: "Knife (Girl Talk Remix)"
- The Stranglers Choke Out New Album Stateside
- Sneakers Release Retrospective Compilation
- Exclusive: MP3: Busdriver: "Less Yes's, More No's"
- Dntel Sub Pop Debut Revealed
- Vashti, Vetiver, Juana Molina, Adem Launch Tour
- Hold Steady Invade Britain
- The Ponys Tour Before Turning the Lights Out
- Arab Strap Drop Tears Stateside, Prep Solo Discs
- Exclusive: Mando Diao Share U.S. Release Details, MP3
- Video Premiere: Rob Crow: "I Hate You, Rob Crow"
- MP3: The Pack: "Candy"
- Yo La Tengo, Walkmen, PB&J; Head Laneway Fest
- El Perro Del Mar Tours America Del Norte
- Viva Voce to Support Shins on Tour
Thu: 01-11-07
- Gruff Rhys Coming to America Thanks to Conor Oberst
- Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid Speak in Tongues, Tour
- Bill Callahan Dumps Smog Name, Drops LP
- Benjy Ferree Launches U.S. Tour
- Misra + Absolutely Kosher = <3
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- Kanye West Gets HBO Show
- Video: Justin Timberlake/Rock Plaza Central: "SexyBack"
- Ex-Test Icicle Balls With Saddle Creek Peeps
- Video Premiere: Beach House: "Master of None"
- Lily Allen Announces U.S. LP Bonus Features
Wed: 01-10-07
- Sov Fights Donut, Parties With Playboy, Helps Islands
- Kanye, Gnarls, Girl Talk Take on Jackie Chan, China
- Field Music Record Futureheads, Share Video
- Mastodon Bring Video Game to Blood Mountain
- Talkdemonic to Tour West Coast
- Video: Bloc Party: "I Still Remember"
- Sam Prekop Talks New Sea and Cake Disc
- Exclusive: Blonde Redhead Reveal 23, Announce Tour
- Rough Trade Inks North American Licensing Deal
- Thurston, Carl Newman Write About Favorite Shows
- The Rapture Announce American Tour
- Patti Smith to Release Covers Album
Tue: 01-09-07
- Exclusive: I'm From Barcelona Introduce U.S. Tracklist
- Mark Ronson Recruits Lily Allen, ODB for Album
- caUSE co-MOTION! Incite Brouhaha on Tour
- Strokes' Hammond Jr. to Release Debut in U.S.
- Kaiser Chiefs Reveal Album Details, Tour
- Video: My Brightest Diamond: "Something of an End (David Keith Remix)"
- Animal Collective Sign to Domino, Tour
- Video: ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: "Naked Sun"
- Bright Eyes Emotes Across North America
- Whitman, Forrest, Belong, Pioulard Record Ringtones
- Video: Clinic: "If You Could Read Your Mind"
- Burrito Brother Kleinow Dead at 72
- Mos Def Album Magically Disappears
- Exclusive: MP3: !!!: "Heart of Hearts"
Mon: 01-08-07
- PB&J;, Patrick Wolf, 120 Days Head Dutch Fest
- John Reis' Sultans Hang up the Crown
- Cold War Kids Tour With Tokyo Police Club
- Simian, Long Winters on Music for Robots Comp
- Emily Haines Serenades NPR Listeners
- M. Ward, Jim James, Ladyhawk Featured on FADER 7”
- The Broken West (Formerly the Brokedown) Plan Tour
- Bloc Party Announce North American Tour
- Do Make Say Think Make Album, Do Tour
- MP3: Beirut: "Elephant Gun"
- Pharoahe Monch Shares New Song, Controversial Video
- A-Trak Releases One of Everything
- R.E.M., Patti Smith, Grandmaster Flash Make Rock Hall
- Ted Leo to Play NYC Benefit for Robbins Family
- T.V. Eye: January 8-15, 2007
Sun: 01-07-07
Sat: 01-06-07
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