This Weeks New Releases (WK 6/30)

With the holiday week ahead this week, you guessed it, slow week for 'New Releases'.
This weeks list features new music from Wilco, Bowerbirds, and the debut from There Will Be Fireworks.

New Releases (WK 6/30):

Bjork- Voltaic (CD & DVD Edition)
Bowerbirds- Upper Air
Leslie Mendelson- Swan Feathers
Levon Helm- Electric Dirt
Matt Duke- Acoustic Kingdom Underground EP
Merz- Moi et Mon Camion
Moby- Wait for Me
O'Death- Underwater Nightmare EP
Spoon- Got Nuffin EP
There Will Be Fireworks- self titled
Ty Segall- Lemons
Wilco- Wilco the Album
Wu-Tang- Chamber Music

'Song of the Week': The Twilight Sad-"I Became a Prostitute"

The emotional noise rockers, The Twilight Sad will release their sophomore album, Forget The Night Ahead this September on Fat Cat records. A few weeks back the band had offered up a sneek peak at the new track, "Reflection of the Television", and now they have announced the forthcoming release of a brand new single "I Became Prostitute." The single comes out this Aug. 3rd and showcases the bands strengths, which is crafting dark building melancholy.
You can hear the track either over on the Fatcat site here, or over on the bands myspace.

Stars singer readies second solo effort

Stars frontwoman and former Broken Social Scene member, Amy Millan is readying her sophomore full-length, Masters Of The Burial, due on September 8th on Arts and Crafts International. The new disc was recorded earlier this year with producer/sound technician Martin Davis Kinack (Apostle of Hustle/Broken Social Scene) in rural Ontario, and features guest appearances from Feist, Evan Cranley of Stars, and lot's of other special guests, and even includes a cover of Death Cab for Cutie's "I Will Follow You Into the Dark".
Th new disc is the follow up her 2006 debut, Honey From The Tombs,

Masters of the Burial track listing:
01 Bruised Ghosts
02 Low Sail
03 Old Perfume
04 Towers
05 Day to Day
06 Bury This
07 Finish Line
08 Run for Me
09 I Will Follow You Into the Dark
10 Lost Compass
11 Bound

The Night Starts Here -

Stars on myspace.
Amy Millan on myspace.

new video: Regina Spektor-"Man of a Thousand Faces"

One of the masters of melancholy, Regina Spektor, just came out with her latest disc, Far earlier this week. The album has been earning her some nice reviews for her quirky piano driven stylings. Even though the album is brand new, Spektor has released three videos off the LP already, and now you can make it four. She has just put out the latest video from the album, for the song "Man of a Thousand Faces."
The new video comes with the special CD/DVD Edition of 'Far' that includes 2 extra tracks & 4 videos.
Regina is currently out on tour across Europe on the Festival circuit, with dates to begin in N. America in Sept.

Man of a Thousand Faces


Laughing With


Regina Spektor tour dates:
Jun 26 Glastonbury Festival UK
Jun 29 Serpentine Sessions London
Jul 1 Le Bataclan Paris
Jul 2 Gloria Cologne
Jul 4 Werchter Festival Belgium
Jul 6 Grunspan Hamburg
Jul 7 Postbahnhof Berlin
Jul 9 Hultsfred Festival Sweden
Jul 11 Oxegen Festival Ireland
Jul 12 T in the Park Festival Scotland
Jul 14 Paradiso Amsterdam
Jul 15 Villa Arconati Milan
Jul 17 Latitude Festival UK
Sep 11 Myth St. Paul, Minnesota
Sep 12 Chicago Theatre Chicago, Illinois
Sep 15 Michigan Theater Ann Arbor, Michigan
Sep 16 Sound Academy Toronto, Ontario
Sep 17 Metropolis Montreal, Quebec
Sep 21 House of Blues Boston, Massachusetts
Sep 22 Orpheum Theatre Boston, Massachusetts
Sep 24 Electric Factory Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Regina Spektor on myspace.

Arcade Fire: new album coming sooner rather than later

In a recent interview with UK magazine NME, Arcade Fire's frontman, Win Butler talked about the probability that the band could be returning to the road, and also be coming out with a new album in the near future. Butler said that Arcade Fire have begun work on the follow up to 'Neon Bible' and stated ... "None of us want to take three years making a record," Butler explained. "It could be that we'll play live [soon] and maybe we'll end up bashing it [another album] out fast. We're in the middle of writing, things are coming together, it's a great feeling." He later added this about playing live ..."If you had asked me [about playing live] six months ago I'd be like 'No, I'm good'," he said. "But now I go to a gig and I get the little…I can imagine being on that stage. It's the step before you actually go and do it."
With the bands label, Merge Records' 20th Anniversary gig coming up soon in North Carolina July 22-26, speculation is abound about the band making an appearance.

watch clips from their recent Documentary Miroir Noir:

Bon Iver's Justin Vernon unveils newest project

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver fame has had a magical run over the past year and a half. So all that awaits now is the follow- up. Fans anxious for any new material from Vernon can quell their thirst slightly with the unveiling of the new project, Volcano Choir. The group is a collection of Wisconsinites and longtime friends that sees Vernon working with the band, Collections of Colonies of Bees. The collaboration actually predates Vernon's Bon Iver with original songwriting dating back to the summer of 2005, right around the time the Bees first toured with Vernon's previous band DeYarmond Edison and then ultimately came together over a weekend in November 2008 at Justin and Nate Vernon's recording studio.

The new album titled, Unmap will be released on Sept. 22nd via Jagjaguwar.

Unmap track list:
01 Husks and Shells
02 Seeplymouth
03 Island, IS
04 Dote
05 And Gather
06 Mbira in the Morass
07 Cool Knowledge
08 Still
09 Youlogy

visit Bon Iver.org

get to know Alberta Cross

Usually when someone recommends a band to me by stating that they have a heavy blues influence, I just know it's not gonna be my bag. Nothing against the genre at all, just usually isn't where I gravitate. But I decided to the give Alberta Cross a go, and I was more than pleasantly surprised, as blues are just one of the many descriptions that could be pinned on the band. The group which was founded by guitarist/vocalist Petter Ericson Stakee and bassist Terry Wolfers, released a critically acclaimed EP, The Thief & the Heartbreaker, back in '07 which nabbed the band opening slots with Oasis, The Shins, and Bat For Lashes. They are now ready with a new release titled, Broken Side of Time, which will be available on September 22nd on ATO Records.

Originally from London, the pair now reside in Brooklyn, NY, with the new album serving as their official introduction to the U.S. audience. 'Broken Side of Time' was recorded in Austin, TX and produced by Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Dead Confederate, Heartless Bastards), with John O’Mahony (Depeche Mode, Coldplay, Kasabian) mixing.

You can hear the heavier, darker new track "ATX" streaming now over on their myspace page

Ive Known For So Long - Alberta Cross

Alberta Cross on myspace

Silversun Pickups going Unplugged

Silversun Pickups latest LP, Swoon has picked up right where the band left off with their '07 breakthrough, Carnavas. The bands '90's inspired indie rock formula is working well, as their lead track, "Panic Switch”recently hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot Modern Rock chart in the U.S. And speaking of the '90's, remember the popular MTV series, Unplugged??. Well it's back this Summer, and the band will see their performance airing sometime this July. SSPU also has some festival and other tour dates lined up this Summer in the U.S. and Canada (check all the dates below).



SILVERSUN PICKUPS live dates:
Aug 2 Jersey City, NJ - All Points West
Aug 3 Baltimore, MD - Ram’s Head
Aug 4 Richmond, VA - The National
Aug 6 Columbus, OH - The LC Pavilion
Aug 7 Lakewood, OH - Lakewood Civic Auditorium
Aug 9 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
Aug 10 Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre
Aug 12 Winnipeg, MB - The Garrick Centre
Aug 13 Saskatoon, SK - Louis’ Pub
Aug 14 Edmonton, AB - Edmonton Event Centre
Aug 15 Calgary, AB - MacEwan Hall
Aug 17 Victoria, BC - The Royal Theatre
Aug 18 Vancouver, BC - The Commodore Ballroom
Aug 19 Vancouver, BC - The Commodore Ballroom
Aug 21 Eugene, OR - McDonald Theatre
Aug 22 Hillsboro, OR - Washington County Fairground
Aug 28 San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Festival
Aug 29 San Diego, CA - San Diego Street Scene

Visit Silversun Pickups.com

Sunny Day Real Estate reunion scheduled

After months of rumors, it's finally been confirmed that there will be a Sunny Day Real Estate reunion. Hailed or hated, depending on how you look at it, for being one of the originators of the emo genre, the Seattle band who found some minor popularity in the '90's, have confirmed a new 20-date fall reunion tour. The band who split in 1995, will see the groups original lineup, frontman Jeremy Enigk, bassist Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters), drummer William Goldsmith, and guitarist Dan Hoerner together again. There was a brief reunion without Mendel in 1997, that saw the band record two more albums before parting again in 2001. Meanwhile frontman Jeremy Enigk, produced several solo efforts since the breakup in '95, most of which focused on Christian related themes.
Sub Pop, Sunny Day Real Estate's former label, also has announced plans to reissue the band's first two records, 1994's Diary and 1995's LP2, on September 15. The reissues will feature remastered audio, rare bonus tracks, and newly written liner notes.

From 1994's Diary:

In Circles (Album) - Sunny Day Real Estate

Sunny Day Real Estate tour dates:
9/17, Vancouver, BC (Commodore Ballroom)
9/18, Portland, OR (Crystal Ballroom Musicfest NW)
9/20, Salt Lake City, UT (Murray Theater)
9/21, Denver, CO (Ogden Theater)
9/23, Minneapolis, MN (First Avenue)
9/24, Chicago, IL (Metro)
9/25, Detroit, MI (St Andrews Hall)
9/27, New York, NY (Terminal 5)
9/28, Boston, MA (House of Blues)
9/30, Washington, DC (930 Club)
10/1, Philadelphia, PA (Trocadero)
10/3, Atlanta, GA (CW Center Stage)
10/5, Dallas, TX (Granada Theater)
10/6, Houston, TX (Warehouse Live)
10/7, Austin, TX (La Zona Rosa)
10/9, Tempe, AZ (Marquee Theatre)
10/10, Anaheim, CA (House of Blues)
10/11, Los Angeles, CA (Henry Fonda Theater)
10/13, San Francisco, CA (Fillmore)
10/15, Spokane, WA (Knitting Factory)
10/16, Seattle, WA (Paramount Theatre)

This Weeks New Releases (WK 6/23)

A jam packed week for new releases this week, with highly anticipated new discs from the likes of Regina Spektor, Deer Tick, Dinosaur Jr., God Help The Girl, and Sunset Rubdown.
Check out the full list below.


This Weeks New Releases (WK 6/23);

Alexisonfire- Old Crows/Young Cardinals
Amazing Baby- Rewild
Bat for Lashes- Pearl's Dream EP
Bibio- Ambivalence Avenue
Christina Courtin- self titled
Deer Tick- Born on Flag Day
Dinosaur Jr.- Farm
Eugene McGuiness- self titled
Fever Ray- Triangle Walks
The Films- Oh, Scorpio
Foreign Born- Person to Person
God Help the Girl- self titled
Jay Brannan- In Living Cover
Jay-Z- D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) single
Jets Overhead- No Nations
The Lemonheads- Varshons
Lissy Trullie- Self- Taught Learner
Modest Mouse- Autumn Beds (single)
Mount Eerie- Dawn
Patterson Hood- Murdering Oscar (and other love songs)
Phenomenal Handclap Band- self titled
Regina Spektor- Far
Serena Ryder- Racing in the Street (single)
Sunset Rubdown- Dragonslayer
The Tall Pines- Campfire Songs
Those Darlins- self titled
Tom Brosseau- Posthumous Success
Tortoise- Beacons of Ancestorship

'Song of the Week': Pomegranates-"Jerusalem Has a Bad Day"

I've been seriously digging the Cincinnati band Pomegranates, ever since catching them opening up for Wye Oak last month. The bands second full length, Everybody,Come Outside! dropped this past April, and loosely flows on the conceptual theme of a young boy leaving home, who swims across the Ocean, only to be abducted by a time traveler. It sounds bizarre, but it actually works well, with the groups charming indie-pop melodies.

Jerusalem Had A Bad Day - Pomegranates

Pomegranates on myspace.

an interview w/ Trixie Whitley

Besides spending time workin' on the blog, I've had the chance to do some corresponding for Spin Magazine's new site, called Spin Earth.tv. I wanted to share one of the recent interviews I did for the site with the amazing young singer, Trixie Whitley. You may recognize the name from her father, Chris Whitley, who tragically passed in 2005, but at the young age of 21, Whitley has grown up fast, doing everything from acting, and DJ'ing, to touring Europe as a Dancer. She is currently working on a new trio project with famed producer Daniel Lanois and drummer Brian Blade, which should be out this Fall.
Check out the interview below to learn more about Trixie, and to hear some of her songs live.

Special thanks to Host Kevin Pearson for helping w/ the piece.
See full report...

Trixie Whitley on myspace.

hear a new song by Frightened Rabbit

2008 was a pretty great year overall for music, but when it was all said and done there was one definitive clear cut favorite for my favorite album of the year. And that belonged to Frightened Rabbit's , The Midnight Organ Fight . Much more than your ordinary break-up album, the intimate discs lyrics and imagery paint one of the freshest and most honest spins on relationships I've ever heard. Since the albums release early last year I think I've worn out my car stereo, iPod, and cd player with the LP, so any news of new material from the band is gladly welcome. Frontman Scott Hutchinson recently stopped by the folks at Off The Beaten Tracks TV, where he played three songs, one of which was a brand new track titled, "Swim Until You Can't See Land."
To see the whole session, which included a cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's, "Song Against Sex" head on over to offthebeatentracks.tv.
And if you missed it, you can check out our interview with Scott from back in October below.

Episode #5.2: Frightened Rabbit - "Swim Until You Can't See Land" from Off The Beaten Tracks on Vimeo.

Frightened Rabbit tour dates:
Jun 13 Rock Ness Dores
Jul 17 Maxwell’s - SOLD OUT Hoboken, NJ
Jul 18 Siren Music Festival Coney Island, NYC
Jul 19 Pitchfork Festival Chicago, Illinois
Jul 21 Magic Stick Detroit, Michigan
Jul 22 Horseshoe Tavern Toronto
Jul 23 Les Saints Montreal
Jul 24 Jerky’s Providence, Rhode Island
Jul 25 Iron Horse Music Hall Northampton, Massachusetts
Aug 18 Queens Hall Edinburgh
Aug 29 Rock at the Racecourse Kelso



Frightened Rabbit on myspace.

grab Eagle and Talon's new album for free!

To celebrate the physical release of their new album, Thracian, which comes out June 23rd, the LA duo Eagle and Talon are giving away a FREE download of the LP up until July 1st. The girls lo-fi, grungy sound produces some truly infectious tracks, with "Ice Life", "We Were Figs", and former 'song of the week' "Hot Caught" leading the way.

To download the album for free, visit http:​/​/​www.​eagleandtalon.​com .

Eagle And Talon - Hot Caught - POTQ.cl

Eagle and Talon tour schedule:
Jun 21 TOM TOM MAGAZINE PRTY,PUBLIC ASSEMBLY Brooklyn
Jun 24 SANTOS PARTY HOUSE New York, NY
Jun 25 UNION POOL Brooklyn, NY
Jun 26 CHARM CITY ARTS SPACE Baltimore, Marylnd
Jun 27 THE RED AND THE BLACK Washington, DC
Aug 21 ECHO CURIO Los Angeles, California

Eagle and Talon on myspace.physiacal

Dinosaur Jr. streaming new LP, Farm

Legendary indie band, Dinosaur Jr. come out with their new disc, Farm, next Tuesd. the 23rd on Jagjaguwar, but you can stream all 12 new tracks now over on their myspace page. The reunited original line-up of J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph definitely show they still have it and why they were a force in the 80's and 90's.


"Over It" Directed by Mark Locke

Ra Ra Riot won't stop touring

We've written a lot about Ra Ra Riot over the past year, as it seems like the band has popped up everywhere. From street performances to radio shows, to side projects, Syracuse's hardest working band has gone full steam ahead ever since the release of The Rhumb Line in August of last year. Keeping up with that busy schedule, the band have just added a bunch of new shows with Princeton, and Maps and Atlases this Fall, in addition to their dates already scheduled with Death Cab for Cutie, The New Pornographers, and Andrew Bird (see all below).

performance of "Ghost Under Rocks" live in an attic. in their hometown of Syracuse, NY.
Directed by Taryn Gould and Emily Kowalcyzk.


upcoming Ra Ra Riot tour dates:
07.08.09: Interlochen, MI Interlochen Center For The Arts
07.10.09: Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre !
07.11.09: Berkeley, CA Greek Theatre UC Berkeley $ !
07.12.09: Reno, NV Street Scene
07.13.09: Salt Lake City, UT Red Butte Garden $ !
07.14.09: Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre $ !
07.16.09: Vancouver, BC Pacific Coliseum # $
07.17.09: Troutdale, OR Edgefield Amphitheatre # $
07.18.09: Redmond, WA Marymoor Amphitheatre # $
07.19.09: Redmond, WA Marymoor Ampitheatre # $
07.25.09: Tulsa, OK Dfest
07.31.09: Jersey City, NJ All Points West
08.09.09: Chicago, IL Lollapalooza
08.29.09: San Diego, CA Street Scene
09.10.09: Ithaca, NY Castaways * %
09.11.09: Toronto, ON, Canada Lee's Palace * %
09.12.09: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania WYEP's Rock the Block
09.13.09: Cleveland Heights, Ohio Grog Shop % *
09.14.09: Columbus, Ohio The Basement % *
09.17.09: Minneapolis, Minnesota Varsity Theater % *
09.18.09: Madison, Wisc Forward Music Festiv -High Noon Saloon
09.19.09: Urbana, Illinois/ Pygmalion Festival *
09.20.09: St. Louis, Missouri Firebird % *
09.21.09: Lawrence, Kansas The Bottleneck % *
09.23.09: Dallas, Texas Granada Theater % *
09.24.09: Austin, Texas Emo's % *
09.25.09: Houston, Texas Warehouse Live % *
09.26.09: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Spanish Moon % *
09.27.09: Birmingham, Alabama BottleTree % *
09.29.09: Atlanta, Georgia The Masquerade % *
09.30.09: Carrboro, North Carolina Cat's Cradle % *
10.01.09: Washington, DC 9:30 Club % *
10.02.09: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Trocadero % *
# with The New Pornographers
* with Princeton
% with Maps & Atlases
$ with Death Cab For Cutie
! with Andrew Bird

Oh, La - Ra Ra Riot

visit Ra Ra Riot.com

The Dodos announce new album plans

The San Francisco duo, The Dodos are readying the follow up to the band's 2008 breakthrough album, Visiter, which featured the fantastic track, "Winter." The forthcoming new disc and third overall from the group titled, Time To Die, is due out this August 31, and was produced by Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, The Shins). For the new album, the pair also added an extra member to the mix, bringing in Keaton Snyder (vibraphone).




The Dodos on myspace.

see the new trailer for: 'It Might Get Loud'

A few months back we told you about the new guitar documentary, It Might Get Loud, that followed three famous guitar players spanning three generations of music, Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White. The doc which was directed by Davis Guggenheim (Inconvenient Truth) premiered at multiple festivals this year, including Sundance, where it was named an Official Selection, and sees the three men getting together to talk guitars, careers and play some music.
The film was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics, and is scheduled for release on Aug. 14., with a just released new trailer now available (see below). In addition to the chatting and jamming, the film promises new original music from Page, the making of a U2 single, and also new music from White.

new Regina Spektor album streaming in full

Over the past several weeks we've been offering up early looks into Regina Spektor's new album Far, with videos for new songs, "Laughing With" and "Eet." Well if your impatient like us and you don't like waiting 'till next week, June 23 (Sire records )to get your hands on the whole thing, your now in luck. You can now listen to the album streaming in it's entirety over on Spektor's myspace page.
Also be sure to take a peek at a great live version of "Blue Lips" off of the Jools Holland Show.



Regina Spektor on myspace.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart continue touring

There may not be a better band out there right now at packing a noisy power-pop punch into 3-4 minutes than, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. The young NYC group which formed only two years ago in '07, released their debut self titled full length earlier this year, featuring the singles, "Everything With You", and "Young Adult Friction" . The band has been getting steady reviews for the disc and they continue to head out on tour, with the latest round of dates seeing them linking up with fellow noisy rockers like, Crystal Stilts, and Cymbals Eat Guitars. Check out all the dates below.

Directed by Art Boonparn


THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART tour dates:
Jun 18 2009 Cake Shop New York, New York #
July 10 2009 South Street Seaport New York, New York % (FREE)
July 18 2009 Pitchfork Fest Chicago, Illinois
July 20 2009 The Echo Los Angeles, California *
July 21 2009 The Rickshaw Stop San Fransisco, California *
July 23 2009 Backspace Portland, Oregon *
July 24 2009 Biltmore Cabaret Vancouver, BC *
July 25 2009 Capitol Hill Block Party Seattle, Washington
Sep 05 2009 Middle East Downstairs, Boston, Massachusetts &+
Sep 06 2009 La Sala Rossa Montreal, Quebec &+
Sep 07 2009 Horeshoe Tavern Toronto, Ontario &+
Sep 08 2009 Logan Square Auditorium Chicago, Illinois &+
Sep 09 2009 Stage Door at the Orpheum Madison, Wisconsin &+
Sep 10 2009 The Slowdown Omaha, Nebraska &+
Sep 12 2009 Monolith Festival Morrison, Colorado
Sep 13 2009 Kilby Court Salt Lake City, Utah &+
Sep 14 2009 Neurolux Boise, Idaho &+
Sep 17 2009 MFNW / Doug Fir Portland, Oregon &+
Sep 21 2009 Casbah San Diego, California &+
Sep 22 2009 Club Congress Tucson, Arizona &+
Sep 24 2009 Lola's Fort Worth, Texas &+
Sep 25 2009 The Mohawk Austin, Texas &+
Sep 26 2009 One Eyed Jacks New Orleans, Louisiana &+
Sep 27 2009 Club Downunder Tallahassee, Florida &+
Sep 28 2009 The Earl Atlanta, Georgia &+
Sep 29 2009 Local 506 Chapel Hill, North Carolina &+
Sep 30 2009 Black Cat, Washington DC &+
Oct 01 2009 Ottobar Baltimore, Maryland &+
Oct 05 2009 First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, Pennsylvania &+
% = w/ Zaza
# = w/ Crystal Stilts
* = w/ Girls
& = w/ The Depreciation Guild
+ = w/ Cymbals Eat Guitars

Come Saturday - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart on myspace.