Our "Liner Notes" Intvw w/ Syd Matters

The French group Syd Matters is a band that we first discovered on a Paste Magazine CD sampler a few years back with their beautiful song "Obstacles". Since then, the band that has been compared to such acts as Radiohead, Nick Drake and Pink Floyd have put out their stellar 3rd album Ghost Days, which came out back in early 2008. It could be the band's best work to date, with standout tracks such as the tender "Cloudflakes" & "Everything Else", also "Anytime Now" and the fantastic climactic "Me And My Horses". Frontman Jonathan Morali recently sat down w/ us while in Brussels and chatted about the new album, his shyness, his start in the business and more.

Jakob Dylan- Going Solo

Wallflowers frontman Jakob Dylan has announced he is putting out his first solo album, Seeing Things which is hitting stores this June 10, on Columbia Records and also in association with Starbucks Entertainment.
Dylan, who has worked with the Wallflowers since the early 90's, worked on 'Seeing Things' with producer Rick Rubin at his home studio in the Hollywood Hills throughout 2007. The album is said to be mostly acoustic by choice as Dylan has said he needed something different from the sounds of The Wallflowers. He and Rubin stripped back the production to try and create a more simple and powerful album based on sounds of American roots music.

'Seeing Things' will be available simultaneously at Starbucks company-operated locations in the U.S. and Canada and at traditional retail via Columbia.

You can listen to two of the new tracks here.

new video from Joan as Police Woman

Joan Wasser aka Joan As Police Woman who has played in such bands as the Dambuilders and Antony and the Johnsons, has a new album coming out this June 9th (UK & Ire), June 10th in the States titled, To Survive. Joan who has an old school soulful sound just recently put out a new video for the first single off the LP, the song "To Be Loved".



To Be Loved - Video

Jem- album in the Fall

It's been nearly 4 years since we last heard from the Welsh born singer Jem. Having last put out an album back in '04 with her electronic, sample and beat driven Finally Woken . Jem is back with a new song that is featured on the Sex and the City Soundtrack called "It's Amazing", which is from her new album, Down To Earth, which should be coming this Fall.
Jem describes the new album and explains her long abscence on her webite ..."With a sprinkle of hip hop, a sprinkle of funk, a sprinkle of rock, an extra juicy helping of dance floor magic, and this time around some Cuban salsa and Japanese vibes mixed in for good measure" ... "I won't say any more as I want it to be a delicious surprise for you all...". On her abscence ... "In case you've been curious, there have been a few hold-ups over the last year which I can happily say are all sorted now. My label decided to buy all their artists back from SonyBmg last year, so I was 'frozen' for quite a while, this included my website etc. Things are now full steam ahead and I've become label mates with the extraordinarily talented Radiohead, so no complaints here!"

Listen to Jem on Myspace.

Big names lined up for 'Red Hot' charity compilation

Some big names are joining forces on the newest edition of the 'Red Hot' charity compilation album, which benefits AIDS research. It's been reported that Feist and Death Cab For Cutie's lead singer Ben Gibbard are teaming up to record a song together for the forthcoming LP. So far the pair will be joining other big named acts such as Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists, The National, and Dirty Projectors & David Byrne who together are collaborating for two songs on the album.

The album is being slated for a release in the fall or early 2009.

Martha Wainwright on Jools Holland

Martha Wainwright, who's new album I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too hits stores in the States on June 10th, recently appeared on the UK's Jools Holland show. She is currently finishing up a brief tour in Europe before heading back to North America for some upcoming shows in NY, Montreal, Toronto and California in June.

You can catch her performance of her new song "You Cheated Me".

Sigur Ros- new album details revealed

Sigur Ros posted new album news on their website... according to a statement released by the band, they will be releasing their fifth album, Með suð i eyrum við spilum endalaust, which translates in english to (with a buzz in our ear we play endlessly), on June 24th, 2008 on XL Recordings.
The first track from the album, entitled “Gobbledigook,” will be unveiled on England’s Radio 1 tonight (May 27th), and then the track will be available worldwide for a free download via www.sigurros.com. A pre-sale for the album will begin on www.sigurros.com and iTunes on June 2nd, as well as a special deluxe edition of the album to be released later in the year that will feature a “Making Of…” book, a film and more that will be available to pre-order on the band’s website that same day.

The new album, With a buzz… was co-produced with the band by well known producer Flood, and was recorded in such locales as New York City, London, and Havana, Cuba and is the first album that the band has recorded outside of Iceland. The new album also has another first for the group, which features vocalist Jon “Jonsi” Thor Birgisson’s vocals in English for the first time on one track (the remainder are sung in Icelandic).
The material for the album was written, recorded and mixed entirely in 2008 and is being released just one month after its completion.

The tracklisting for Með suð i eyrum við spilum endalaust (with a buzz in our ear we play endlessly):

1. Gobbledigook
2. Inní mér syngur vitleysingur (Within me a lunatic sings)
3. Góðan daginn (Good day)
4. Við spilum endalaust (We play endlessly)
5. Festival
6. Suð í eyrum (Buzz in our ears)
7. Ára bátur (Row boat)
8. Íllgresi (Weeds)
9. Fljótavík (A place in Iceland)
10. Straumnes (A mountain near Fljótavík)
11. All Alright

Wk 5/26 Video of the Week

This weeks video pick of the week is one that's been out there for a little bit, but that just got our attention. The video comes from The Gutter Twins , which is the project of Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli for their song All Misery/Flowers. Lanegan comes from such projects as The Screaming Trees and Queens of The Stone Age and Dulli from the bands The Afghan Whigs and The Twilight Singers, and both had a heavy hand in defining 90's rock.
For this one, the duo who have been hailed rock's princes of darkness hit the streets of New Orleans complete with an appearance by Dulli behind the drums.

The Gutter Twins- "All Misery/Flowers"

new Ep from Iron & Wine

If your living in the UK consider yourself lucky if your an Iron & Wine fan. Sam Beam a co. will be releasing a new 3 song EP called Lovesong of the Buzzard off of last year's The Shepherd's Dog album.
The three-song 'Lovesong of the Buzzard' EP is scheduled to come out on June 2 exclusively in the UK, and includes two non-album tracks, "The Arms of a Thief" and "Serpent Charmer." Meanwhile the group is readying for a summer tour that will make stops across Europe and the US w/ various festival appearances.

Some upcoming tour dates:

June
11 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ First Avenue
12 - Davenport, Iowa @ Capitol Theater
13 - St. Louis, Mo. @ Pageant Theater
14 - Manchester, Tenn. @ Bonnaroo
15 - Columbus, Ohio @ Newport Music Hall

July
4 - Rothbury, Mich. @ Rothbury Festival*
12 - Redmond, Wash. @ Marymoor Park (SP20 Festival)*

August
3 - Chicago, Ill. @ Lollapalooza
6 - Olso, Norway @ Øya Festival
7 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega
8 - Gothenburg, Sweden @ Way Out West Festival
9 - Rees-Haldern, Germany @ Haldern Festival
10 - Myslowice, Poland @ Off Festival
12 - Modigliana, Italy @ Strade Blue

Our "Liner Notes" interview w/ Cary Brothers

Recently we got the chance to sit down with indie singer/songwriter Cary Brothers. Brothers is the founder of the widely popular travelling singer/songwriter showcase called the Hotel Cafe Tour. The tour over the years has had a rotating cast of talented artists such as Ingrid Michaelson, William Fitzsimmons, Sara Barielles and more, many of whom have broken onto the scene with the help of the tour. Cary himself first gained wider spread notoriety after his song "Blue Eyes" appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Garden State. And in 2007 he released his first full length LP titled Who You Are , which includes his hit single "Ride".
We sat down with Cary and touched on how the Hotel Cafe tour got started, his early beginnings in film, songwriting, the music business, how he met Zach Braff and more.

"Liner Notes" interview w/ Cary Brothers

The National- new Documentary & Ep hit stores

There's something to be said for The National's path to success in today's music climate. The band was formed in the late 90's, well before the world we know today of blogging communities that fuel the hype machine and are always ready to crown the next big thing, and sites like Myspace that help band's get recognized before the majors start calling were around. The band has built their following the old fashioned way, by putting out quality albums and by gaining the reputation for being a dynamic live act. In this model, The National have been a slow & steady builder and have seen a steady growth in fan support with each release, having only recently with 2007's Boxer seen themselves become the critic's darlings.
So coming off their most critical and commercial success to date the group has put out the package of the documentary DVD A Skin, A Night along with The Virginia EP . The film and EP retrace the steps of the band and give a rough look inside the process of what eventually became 'Boxer'. The film which was directed by Vincent Moon, follows the band in the early stages of recording the album and gives brief glimpses of insight into the band and rough sketches of songs that ended up on 'Boxer'. Unfortunately those moments are few and far between as Moon just touches on them in short spurts. There are moments when the documentary lets you in to see the groups vulnerability as artists and anxiety in creating the new work, but more often then not those glimpses turn into an extended music video by Moon. Although visually appealing, the film lacks some structure and substance and left me as a fan wishing I knew more about the thought process of the band and the making of the album.
As for 'The Virgina EP', the disc consists of B-sides, demo's and live tracks and is a perfect compliment for fans of 'Boxer'. Although a few of the songs have appeared in various places before, tracks like "You've Done it Again, Virginia", "Tall Saint" and "Santa Clara" are classic National and easily could have made the original cut. Also on the disc is an alternate take on the brilliant "Slow Show" which reveals a different chorus that ended up being used on the track "Blank Slate". In addition there are covers of "Mansion On The Hill" by Bruce Springsteen and "Without Permission" by Caroline Martin that suit the band's sound and personality. For newer fans of the band that might not know the groups work before 'Boxer' and 'Alligator' there's versions of the older tracks "Lucky You" and "About Today", the latter of which closes things out & gives an eye opening look into The National's live show with an 8 plus minute epic with an explosive finish.

Devotchka on Conan O'Brien

Think you haven't heard of Devotchka before??? Well you probably have. If you've seen the movie Little Miss Sunshine then you've heard the band in action, as the movie helped put the band on the map. The group hail from Denver but sound as if their from a hilltop in Serbia somewhere, with their Eastern European, multi instrumental ecclectic sounds. Devotchka brought those sounds to the Conan O'Brien show last week with a performance of "The Clockwise Witness" off of their newest release A Mad And Faithful Telling .


Devotchka- "The Clockwise Witness":

Smashing Pumpkins planning new songs, DVD and shows

In an interview with Artisannews.com, frontman of the Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan revealed the bands plans for the rest of '08. The new version of the reunited Pumpkins which is Corgan along with Jimmy Chamberlain sans D'arcy and James Iha, are looking toward a busy year. According to Corgan .... "We're working on a DVD that's sort of a documentary of our residency Fillmore shows. We're going to put out hopefully some of our early demos for Christmas, probably put out a new Pumpkins single with new Pumpkins in the fall and then do a fall tour, and then we start putting out a new Pumpkins album probably beginning next year."
The Pumpkins reunited back in 2007 with a new line-up that included new members Jeff Schroeder, Lisa Harriton and Ginger Reyes, and the band played a brief tour. A special set of 20th anniversary shows are also in the works to celebrate the milestone for the group. The special series of shows are planned to make stops in New York, Los Angeles and their hometown of Chicago, and according to Billy, they want to make each show unique and are planning to have special guests appear at each show.

Lykke Li- New album coming

Swedish singer Lykke Li has announced plans to release her debut full-length album in the US this summer. Li's Youth Novels will come out on August 19th and was produced by Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn and John. The album 'Youth Novels' comes as the follow up to her EP Little Bit, which was released in the US at the end of March. Li has seen success in Europe and abroad with her catchy, funky beat driven single also titled "Little Bit". So far the album 'Youth Novels' has only been available online via Lykee Li's website.
The new album is being released via Li's own label, LL Recordings.

Lykke Li on Myspace.

The 'Youth Novels' tracklisting will be as follows:

'Melodies & Desires'
'Dance Dance Dance'
'I’m Good, I’m Gone'
'Let It Fall'
'My Love'
'Tonight'
'Little Bit'
'Hanging High'
'This Trumpet In My Head'
'Complained Department'
'Breaking It Up'
'Everybody But Me'
'Time Flies'
'Window Blues'

Ohbijou- Sneak peak

The Toronto based band Ohbijou, have just put up a brief teaser of new material that the band is working on in the studio for their next album. Although brief, the sneak peak sounds and looks promising as the band digs in and holes themselves up in the studio for the rest of the summer to complete the new LP which should be out this fall.
We last heard from the group back in 2007 with their indie, dreamy pop sounds off of Swift Feet For Troubling Times. The group also just recently came off their first ever stop in the US with a show in NYC.

Take a peak at what the band is up to:

Laura Marling album gets release date in US

Laura Marling's debut album, Alas I Cannot Swim has been out in the UK since February, but she can finally see the release of her debut disc in the States, as the album has been released on I-tunes as of May 20th. Although only 18 years old when the album dropped, Marling's folk & country tinged pop sounds have drawn comparisons to heavyweights such as Feist and even Regina Spektor. For now fans will have to settle for the album in digital only form as a physical release of the album won't be hitting American shores until August 19th.
To help celebrate the release in the US, Marling has announced two shows that will take place in New York next month. The UK singer will play at Glasslands in Brooklyn on June 16 and then at the Mercury Lounge on June 18.

Be sure to check out the tracks "My Manic And I" and "Ghosts".
Listen to Laura Marling on Myspace.

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Coldplay video for "Violet Hill"

Coldplay's video for new song "Violet Hill" has been floating around the web for a few days now off and on, getting torn down from websites posting it before it's release. The band has now officially released the video which was shot in the hills of Sicily for all to see.

"Violet Hill"

Bon Iver- "Skinny Love" our Song of the week

One of the best songs of the past year comes from Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver and his song "Skinny Love". The story has been out there awhile now, but for anyone unfamiliar, Justin retreated to the woods of Wisconsin after the breakup of his band and split of a relationship, and in the end came away with the fantastic album For Emma, Forever Ago. It"s one of the most earnest and emotionally raw albums of recent memory.

Take a look at his performance of "Skinny Love" live on Jools Holland:

new unreleased song from Pela

Brooklyn's indie rockers Pela have made available a previously unreleased track titled "Good Foot On A Bad Doorstep", a B-side from their Anytown Graffiti album. The track was made available by Seatle radio station KEXP on their Bonus Song of The Day podcast, and you can listen to the track here.
According to lead singer Billy McCarthy ... "The song is about good old fashion infidelity and it folding back on the infidel. It was originally on banjo and didn’t make Anytown Graffiti. But we knew we’d release it some day".

In other news the band is set to head back out on tour now that Billy is fully recovered from fracturing his wrist months back in Chicago when he fell on a broken pint glass and had to require 45 stitches, cutting short the bands tour.

Upcoming dates:

May 19 ROCK AND ROLL HOTEL Washington, DC, Washington DC
May 20 BEACHLAND BALLROOM TAVERN Cleveland, Ohio
May 21 SCHUBA’S Chicago, Illinois
May 22 400 BAR Minneapolis, Minnesota
May 25 TRACTOR TAVERN Seattle, Washington
May 26 SASQUATCH! MUSIC FESTIVAL Quincy, Washington
May 27 DOUG FIR Portland, Oregon
May 28 BOTTOM OF THE HILL San Francisco, California
May 29 SPACELAND Los Angeles, California
May 31 LARIMER LOUNGE Denver, Colorado
Jun 2 THE BLUEBIRD St. Louis, Missouri
Jun 3 SUN STUDIO SESSION Memphis, Tennessee
Jun 6 BOWERY BALLROOM New York, New York
Jun 7 MIDDLE EAST UPSTAIRS Cambridge, Massachusetts

Scorcese on board for new Sinatra biopic??

According to the Canadian outlet Sun Media, a new biopic on Rat Packer Frank Sinatra is in the works with Martin Scorcese slated to be doing the directing. It hasn't been officially announced yet, but Sinatra's daughter Tina who would also be the film's producer recently said in an interview when talk of Scorcese's name being linked to the film came up..... "Oh, go ahead and print it, I don't care!".
Commenting on if the film will touch on the past rumors that her father was involved in organized crime, she said .... "He never drove the getaway car." ... "I don't want him to be driving the getaway car. That would not be fair. But I trust him (Scorsese) implicitly."
As for who would play Sinatra we'll have to wait and see i guess. Who would you want to see play Ol' Blue Eyes????

MGMT on Conan O'Brien

You can't get much more hyped than these guys lately. Come see what all the acclaim and buzz is about and watch the band perform their spacey rocker hit "Time to Pretend" on the Conan O'Brien show from Thursd night.

Tall Firs-Free album download

A few months back we told you about the band Tall Firs and their great new album Too Old To Die Young. Well in case you missed it, the band is now offering for a limited time the whole album as a free download via the band's label Ecstatic Peace. The band who is known for their live show's also just recently announced some headlining dates out on the West coast in July with a few stops on the East coast in Philly, Maryland and New Haven, CT also scheduled.

Death Cab Live on Letterman

Looking forward to catching a live show from Death Cab For Cutie this summer??? Well take a sneek peak of what the band will offer in the live show, as the group kicked off their album release tuesday of Narrow Stairs with an appearance on The Late Show w/ David Letterman.
Up next for the band is the kick off their world tour, which will be starting May 24th in Oregon and continuing until June in the States, and then heading overseas to Europe and beyond in July and August so far.

Weezer moves up album release

Fresh off the success of their new single "Pork and Beans" reaching number one on the Billboard modern rock charts, Weezer announced that they are pushing up the release date of their new already dubbed 'Red Album'. The move pushes the album up by three weeks, and it will now debut on June 3 rather than June 24 as originally planned.

Beck, Danger Mouse and new album

According to Rolling Stone magazine Beck's 10th studio album which is tentatively titled Modern Guilt is almost ready to be released. The album was produced by Gnarls Barkley's own Danger Mouse and supposedly sees the album taking shape with an overall '60's British vibe according to the article. Beck said ... “It was the most intensive work I’ve ever done on anything". It was the first time the pair had worked together but appaarently they felt at complete ease with each other .... "It felt like we could have been making our fourth record together”.

The album also marks the end of Beck's major label record deal, and according to Beck ... "I don’t have any plans at the moment. It’s anybody’s guess where things are going week to week with the music business.”

Guitar Hero

The new Documentary on the electric guitar It Might Get Loud, produced by the director of Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth is set to premiere at Cannes this month. The documentary follows three famous guitar players that span three generations of music ... Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White. The film was shot in London, Dublin, Nashville and Los Angeles, and is supposed to take an in depth look at the rock instument and chronicle how each musician has used it to create their own sound over the years. The documentary will also feature a jam session that was recorded with the three musicians.

New music- Red Light Company

The UK group Red Light Company came out with their new Ep last week titled With The Lights Out. The infectious title track off the three song Ep "With The Lights Out" is powerful anthemic Arcade Fire'ish rock. The track is the story of singer Richard Frenneaux's boyhood friend who took his own life, of which Frenneaux explained .....“I had a childhood friend who committed suicide, he folded his clothes up neatly by the side of a lake, overdosed on sleeping pills, then just walked in. The song is based around a letter you would write, if you could still communicate with them, covering the denial as well as acceptance of their departure and loss". The other two tracks on the Ep "First We Land" and "Sinking Ship" are piano filled driving alt-rock that seems destined to be played in large arena's someday. Powerful stuff from a band that is relatively new on the scene, only being a year or so old.
The group has already toured with the Editors and is already planning to release a new single in July which will be followed up with a new album which is scheduled to come out this coming Fall.

Red Light Company on Myspace.

Wk 5/12- Video of the Week

Catch the red hot Santogold & her performance of "L.E.S. Artistes" on the BBC2 show Later with Jools Holland from last week. Santogold's new self titled album was released a few weeks ago and has been catching a lot of buzz in music circles. She can currently be see on tour in the UK and Europe thru early June.

"L.E.S. Artistes" from Jools Holland:

Frightened Rabbit

If it wasn't for bad break-ups where would rock music be today?? Some of the best albums always seem to come off of those tragic splits don't they? Well now we can add Frightened Rabbit's newest album The Midnight Organ Fight to the mix. The Scottish band's sophomore effort is filled with singer Scott Hutchinson's raw emotional lyrics of sex, relationships and all that surrounds it. On tracks such as the acoustic charming "Good Arms vs. Bad Arms" you can feel the trouble and despair when Hutchinson sings "I might not want you back but i want to kill him". It's not all doom and gloom, on the country shuffler "Old Old Fashioned" Hutchinson yearns to go back to simpler times ..."Put the wall clock in the top drawer, turn off the lights so we can see" ... "We can both get old fashioned, do it like they did in '43".

Overall on The Midnight Organ Fight the band brings an urgency yet upbeat tempo to most of the songs, which is then blended with Hutchinson's moody and intimate lyrics. There are top notch tracks all over the album, "Fast Blood" which is one of the heavier and faster tracks, but is brilliant power-pop. Two tracks in particular stood out, "Keep Yourself Warm" which again explores the themes of sex and love .."It takes more than fucking someone to keep yourself warm" .. and later sings "I'm drunk I'm drunk and your probably on pills ... If we both got the same the diseases it's irrelevant girl". The other standout is the regretful filled "My Backwards Walk" ... "I'm workin on erasing you, i just don't have the proper tools" ... "I'm workin hard on walkin out, my shoes keep sticking to the ground". The closing track "Poke" is rich with beautiful melodies and rounds out the mood of the album perfectly ...."Why won't our love keel over as it chokes on a bone ... We can mourn it's passing then bury it in snow".

The three piece band is solid and tight musically on the album, as more then a few songs have tempo swings and complex arrangements. But when dealing with the struggles of men and women and keeping relationships together complexity is all part of the equation.
The group kicks off a US tour on May 24th in Philadelphia and will be touring the country thru June.


Frightened Rabbit on Myspace.

photo credit: Dave Gorley

new video from Wintersleep

Fresh off their recent win for best new band at the Juno Awards (Canada's version of the Grammy's), the band Wintersleep have put out a new video for the song "Oblivion" off of their fantastic '07 album Welcome to The Night Sky. The group is currently on tour in the UK and will be stopping in NYC on May 21st at the Mercury Lounge.

"Oblivion" Video:

Joe Strummer Doc. coming to DVD

The documentary The Future Is Unwritten on the legendary Joe Strummer will be coming to DVD on June 24th. The movie which was out in '07 and was directed by Julien Temple, chronicles Strummer's life in and out of The Clash, including his work in the 101'ers, the Latino Rockabilly War, and the Mescaleros. The documentary features interviews with members of The Clash along with celebs like Martin Scorcese, Johnny Depp, Bono, and Anthony Keidis.

Catch the trailer for The Future Is Unwritten:

new tour dates for My Bloody Valentine

My Bloody Valentine, one of the founding fathers of shoegaze have announced additional tour dates across the US and Canada. The group who hasn't put out new material since 1991's Loveless announced in 2007 plans for a reunion, tour and new songs. Since the announcement the group has still yet to appear in public or performed, but the band will kick off the eagerly awaited comeback in London in June, with festival appearances scattered thru July and August. After that they will be hitting North America in September at the ATP festival before jetting to cities like New York, Toronto, San Francisco, Chicago and LA.

June
20 - London, England @ The Roundhouse
21 - London, England @ The Roundhouse
22 - London, England @ The Roundhouse
23 - London, England @ The Roundhouse
24 - London, England @ The Roundhouse
28 - Manchester, England @ Apollo
29 - Manchester, England @ Apollo

July
2 - Glasgow, Scotland @ Barrowland
3 - Glasgow, Scotland @ Barrowland
3-6 - Roskilde, Denmark @ Roskilde Festival
9 - Paris, France @ Zenith
17-20 - Benicassim, Spain @ Festival Internacional de Benicassim
25 - Naeba, Japan @ Fuji Rock Festival

August
8 - Oslo, Norway @ Øya Festival

September
5 - Isle of Wight, England @ Bestival
19-21 - Monticello, N.Y. @ Kutshers Country Club (ATP)
22 - New York, N.Y. @ Roseland
23 - New York, N.Y. @ Roseland
25 - Toronto, Ontario @ Ricoh
27 - Chicago, Ill. @ Aragon Ballroom
30 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Concourse

October
1 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Santa Monica Civic
2 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Santa Monica Civic

Mark Ronson & Kaiser Chiefs team up

Producer extrodinaire Mark Ronson, who gained mass notoriety for producing Amy Winehouse's smash album Back to Black has been confirmed as jumping on board to produce the Kaiser Cheifs next album.
Ronson speaking to the BBC said of the Kaiser Chiefs ..."I'm a huge Kaiser Chiefs fan,"... "Employment is one of my favourite records of the last ten years. There’s that excitement of getting to work on something you’re such a fan of already". He later went on to say ... "The second record was brilliant, but it was more mature and paced. Whitey's guitars on all this stuff are so brilliant. I feel like that energy hasn't necessarily come out on a Kaisers record before".

Interview w/ The Wooden Sky

You don't often think Canada when you think of the alt-country genre. But 2007's When Lost at Sea by the Toronto based band The Wooden Sky was one not to be missed. The genre hasn't seen an album quite as solid since possibly Whiskeytown's Strangers Almanac. The group is currently in the process of recording their next album, and lead singer Gavin Gardiner recently gave us some time for an interview.



The band is in the process of recording a new album. How's that going so far??
Gavin: We're still in the very early stages of the process. There's lots of songs to pick and choose from but as far as having something tangible that we'd all feel comfortable releasing I think we are still a few months away. It's a strange thing when you sit down to create something that you know other people are going to hear, and the challenge becomes remembering the vision that you had before other people got involved.

Are there any noticeable distinctions in the sound the band is heading in as compared to the last album??
Gavin: On the last record Wyatt and I wrote and played the majority of the parts but since Simon and Andrew came on board I feel like we are becoming more and more of a band. I don't know exactly how that is going to change the sound of the band compared to the last record but I am excited to hear the results.

It seems like every new band i'm getting turned onto lately is coming out of Toronto, Ontario. What's in the water up there???
Gavin: There's a lot of music that goes on here, though I doubt anymore then any other major city. But it is great when you can go and watch your friends play music and be genuinely excited about the work they are producing.

How much did the success of the (Friends in Bellwoods) fundraising compilation help get the scene off the ground??
Gavin: It's hard for me to gauge the impact of that compilation. It certainly has helped many of the bands that are on the record. We get e-mails from places we'd never expect who picked up the FIB compilation at another bands show and found us on there. As for getting a scene off the ground, I don't think that was the projects aim but it is certainly not a negative side affect.

You spent the better part of 2007 and early 2008 touring in support of the album "When Lost at Sea". Looking back are there any highlights from the past tour that standout??
Gavin: This past year was the first time we had all gone on the road together so every night was something new. People are so great to us when we come to their town and it sort of makes every night stand out. But if I had to pick only one it would be dance party's in parking lots.

Having changed the name of the band after the original album release. Did it have any negative affect on the band?? No regrets?
Gavin: The only real negative effect it had on the band was that it drew attention to the name of the band as opposed to the band itself. It really put us on the spot and we had to answer a lot of questions about what the new name meant and took some flack from people who didn't like it. Eventually we just put it behind us and reminded ourselves that it's just a name and hopefully is transparent enough to have minimal bearing on the music that we make.

What's your writing process usually like?
Gavin: Usually I write a song, or a bunch of pieces of a song and then Wyatt and I will shift things around and piece it together. Then we take it to the band and it changes some more.

The song "North Dakota" has a little different vibe than the rest of the songs on the album. Is there a story behind that song?
Gavin: That song was inspired by a story I read in a Reader's Digest at my grandmothers house. It was a story of a group of Nuns who were running drugs across the North Dakota/Manitoba border. I remember a classmates parents being busted for that when I was in Junior High (in Manitoba) and it all came rushing back when I read that story.

What kind of music did you grow up with?
Gavin: I grew up in a small prairie town so I listened to the radio, which was mostly shit (Can-con!). I had my Mother's record collection but I never really got any deeper than the Beatles and Richie Valens. I tried to get into Bob Dylan in high school but hated it...I was a shit head in high school apparantly.

Last cd you actually bought??
Gavin: Townes Van Zandt - Our Mother the Mountain

Favorite movie to watch while on the road??
Gavin: Tom Petty - Running Down a Dream

what's your guilty pleasure song?? one that if someone knew you listened to it you'd be embarresed??
Gavin: I'm not embarrassed by it, but guilty pleasure non the less...Destiny's Child - Bootilicious

What's up next for The Wooden Sky??
Gavin: There's a lot of plans, but as they say talk is cheap. But so am I so here we go: we're working on a 7" which will be out soon, writing for the next record and hopefully making a video for another song from When Lost at Sea.


The Wooden Sky on myspace.

Wk 5/05: Video of the week

Our choice for the Video of the week this week goes to Swedish singer El Perro Del Mar and her song "How Did We Forget". El Perro Del Mar, who's tender 60's-esque lo fi sound is the project of Sarah Assbring. El Perro Del Mar just saw the release of her latest album From The Valley To The Stars hit the the US after being out in the UK and abroad since February. She can currently be seen on tour w/ equally talented fellow Swede Lykke Li.

El Perro Del Mar: "How Did We Forget"

The Hold Steady- set release for new album

Brooklyn's rockers The Hold Steady have announced the release date for their newest full-length album Stay Positive . The new LP is set to hit stores on July 15th in the US and July 14th in the UK. The group are coming off of the success of their 3rd full length Boys and Girls In America which featured one of 2006's best rock single's "Stuck Between Stations".
Stay Positive features 11 new tracks and features help from Patterson Hood of the Drive By Truckers. Lead singer Craig Finn said of the upcoming album and sound ...."more dynamics, different instrumentation, more complex arrangements, and not always hiding behind raw volume"

Stay Positive Track List:
1. Constructive Summer
2. Sequestered In Memphis
3. One For The Cutters
4. Navy Sheets
5. Lord, I'm Discouraged
6. Yeah Sapphire
7. Both Crosses
8. Stay Positive
9. Magazines
10. Joke About Jamaica
11. Slapped Actress

Here's a clip of the band performing "Stuck Between Stations" on the Late Show w/ David Letterman from 2007.