Summer Cats are set to release a brand new 7″ as a follow up to what I considered my go-to record of choice last summer, Songs For Tuesdays, next week on the 16th. As you would expect, both tracks remain true to the formula of being deliciously catchy indiepop while neither run over two and a half minutes long in length — which in part packs the songs with plenty of memorable hooks, courtesy of vocalist Scott Stevens.
In the coming months, you can catch the Melbourne-based band here in the US, as they’re set to hit the major cities along with stops at SXSW and Slumberland’s 20th anniversary shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles (Go Sailor reunion!).
I’m probably the last person to mention Broken Social Scene’s long-awaited return to the music world, but it’s such exciting news that I honestly don’t care if I am or not. Thinking back on things, their debut, You Forgot in In People was a catalyst for being one of the main influences for almost everything I listen to now. This along with their self-titled follow-up, which proved that they could easily outdo themselves with a far superior effort.
And just how far has the band’s reach gone as far as my record collection goes? There are at least 20 or so albums that have some vague connection to BSS, whether it be side-projects or bands like Stars, Metric, and Do Make Say Think.
Finally, after a lengthy hiatus, the mega group is set to release a brand new album titled Forgiveness Rock Record, which will be released in May. The band will feature the core group of members including Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Justin Peroff, Charles Spearin, Andrew Whiteman, Sam Goldberg and Lisa Lobsinger. Of course, the usual guests you would expect to accompany a BSS record will also be making an appearance (Feist, Amy Millan, Emily Haines, Jason Collett, etc.).
Our first taste of the forthcoming record comes in this free, downloadable track called “World Sick” — which is basically an equivalent of nearly seven minutes of epic bliss. Still, this isn’t too much of a stretch for BSS, as it has all the trademark sounds you would want from them. But sometimes, a little familiarity is exactly what is needed.
Saw this trailer over the weekend and was genuinely surprised to find out that this documentary about the very private songwriter — or most dubiously known as “the most miserable man in rock” — has been in the works for nearly ten years. Directed by Kerthy Fix and Gail O’Hara, the film seems to primarily focus on the period of Merritt’s time between the releases of 69 Love Songs (1999) and Distortion (2008).
From the many horror stories I’ve heard/read in regards to most interviews with The Magnetic Fields frontman — mostly due in part to his very oft-putting, dry sense of humor and the fact that most of the time he seems to generally not care at all — it’s particularly interesting to have the chance to see a more genuine and open side of the very odd songwriter.
All things considered, it seems to be a big year for Merritt, as The Magnetic Fields are currently touring in support of their recently released 9th studio album titled Realism, along with the announcement of a limited-edition vinyl boxset of 69 Love Songs. Check out the trailer below along with a random assortment of Magnetic Fields covers.
One of my favorite discoveries of 2008 came in the form of this bright, soulful teenager from Hampshire, England. Laura Marling made her mark that year by releasing her excellent debut at the young of 18, Alas, I Cannot Swim, amongst a couple of notable appearances on tracks from Noah and the Whale (“Five Years Time”) and Mystery Jets (“Young Love”) — the now 20-year-old singer-songwriter is set to release not one, but two new albums in 2010. The first of which titled I Speak Because I Can, is due out on March 22nd (UK/Europe) / April 6th (US), with the second album tentatively scheduled to be released sometime in September.
A video for the single “Devil’s Spoke” has been made available from the new record, which Marling explains is “more band-based and more raw” and focuses on themes of “responsibility, particularly the responsibility of womanhood”.
Even better news is amidst a forthcoming UK/US tour is a date here in SLC on May 26th at Kilby Court. While not confirmed on her website, one could assume it’s legit since it’s on the venue’s site.
“I got excited by the idea of making dance music that’s liquid in the way it flows back and forth, the sounds slosh around in pitch, timbre, pan… Dance music that sounds like it’s made out of water, rather than made out of metallic stuff like most dance music does.”
I think it’s important to read that statement from Dan Snaith before diving into this new track “Odessa” from the newly announced album Swim. Snaith’s psych-pop project Caribou has primarily been known to lean towards the psychadelic (beautifully crafted, I might add), at least since I started listening with 2007’s Andorra — a fine album, as evident with it winning 2008’s Polaris Music Prize.
The one thing I’ve noticed while playing this track at work, is just how instantly replayable it is. It’s definitely a dance track from the start, and forgoes any of the current fad of going lo-fi. The sounds feel completely organic, while the production is of surperb quality. Not sure who is doing duties on vocals, but upon my initial listen I was convinced it was Erlend Øye of Kings of Convenience/The Whitest Boy Alive. Hell, upon second glance one could even mistake this track as a Junior Boys-produced KoC track.
What do you folks think? Swim is expected to be released on…ahem…4/20 here in the US on Merge.
Lali Puna is a band that had seemingly disappeared over the last couple of years (six years to be exact) since the release of Faking the Books back in 2004. It’s puzzling to be honest, as I quite liked that album and fondly remember purchasing it along with Of Montreal’sSatanic Panic in the Attic when visiting a friend in Berkeley during the summer of that year. It was a time when I was more adventurous when it came to buying music, and picked it up solely based on Markus Acher’s (of The Notwist) involvement.
With the announcement of Our Inventions (which will also feature The Notwist frontman once again), comes this lovely track called “Remember” which plays like a breezy haze of electro-bliss as Valerie Trebeljahr’s soft-spoken vocals asks “Will you remember me?”
Ah, they really don’t make them like this anymore, do they? You can expect the forthcoming album to hit on April 6th via Morr.
It only took a little more than a year and a half, but it’s with a sigh of relief to report that The Radio Dept.’s oft-delayed third record Clinging To A Scheme will finally see the light of day on March April 20th in North America (frustrating!) and the 21st in Europe. The CD/LP will be available via Labrador. Now that we actually have album art and a tracklist to gloss over, it’s actually starting to sink in and feel more official that this is finally happening.
To add to the great news, a stream (MP3 available below) of the track “Heaven’s On Fire” was made available through the band’s official site, which joins “David” – the single from the previously released 4-track EP in June of last year – as the first songs that we’ve been able to hear so far.
What else needs to be said? I’ve already on record as saying that this is my most anticipated album of 2010, and while I’ve anxious/nervous to hear the final product, I’m confident that when April comes around that we’ll be back here singing its praises in unison.
I didn’t immediately jump onto this new track from The Knife when it flooded the internet a week ago, just because I was anticipating major disappointment. Of course, there is always a possibility of this with anything new, but considering my complete dislike for Karin Dreijer’s solo record, I did have my doubts.
Listening to this collaborative track Mt. Sims and Planningtorock while at work last night definitely put any fears I had to rest almost instantly. Clocking in at 11-minutes, it’s a slow-moving, nearly epic piece of music. I’d like to use the term “epic” loosely here, as that’s just a bit of hyperbole from my part — but listening to it for the first time with a pair of good headphones (only way to go, folks) and these kinds of thoughts begin to percolate. It touches that raw nerve, a primal ferocity lurking beneath that never comes to fruition, but still effective nonetheless.
The new album titled Tomorrow, In A Year, will be based on Charles Darwin and his book ‘On the Origin of the Species’. You can expect the ‘electro-opera’ to be released on March 1st.
This bit of news comes courtesy of Chromewaves, who sadly enough, is probably the only blogger that springs to mind who would care enough to consider posting this sort of thing. Which is one of many reasons why Frank is awesome and you should be reading his blog if you don’t already.
Emma Pollock, who at this point is probably still best known as the former frontwoman of The Delgados, is set to release her second solo album The Law Of Large Numbers in March (which is also looking like another great month of releases). While 2007’s Watch The Fireworks was a satisfying, albeit forgettable record, I still consider Emma a very talented vocalist, so I’m definitely curious to see where she goes with this next release.
It only took a little more than a year and a half, but it’s with a sigh of relief to report that 
Entries (RSS)