Up And Coming

Have we mentioned how much we like La Roux in these parts?  Check out these great videos - one is for the song “Bulletproof,” which is on constant rotation here, and the other is a performance with La Roux and Franz Ferdinand, which is absolutely amazing…..watch below!

Crowning a phenomenal debut year for the 17 yr old Australian singer-songwriter, which has included 6 ARIA awards (Aussie Grammy’s), a Brit Award Nomination for International Female Artist of the Year alongside Katy Perry, Beyonce and Pink, and a nomination for Best International Newcomer for the Echo Awards (GERMANY’S Grammy’s), Gabriella Cilmi has landed the coveted Vh1 “You Oughta Know” spot airing the entire month of February.

Check Gabriella’s (not so) “Sweet About Me” video here! 

Having toured their homeland with acts such as Modest Mouse, Kasabian, Cold War Kids, The Dears, Damo Suzuki and Spank Rock, Australia’s The Temper Trap are a wild thoroughbred ready to destroy the stables that hold them.

With rumours of a handful of US dates circulating for early November, now is your chance to sample some of the delights from their forthcoming Jim Abbiss-produced (Arctic Monkeys, U.N.C.L.E., Kasabian, Placebo, Bjork) record which was recorded at Melbourne’s Sing Sing Studios.

The first single, Sweet Disposition electrifies with its controlled mayhem and is representative of the band’s early comparisons to the likes of Sonic Youth, TV on the Radio and Radiohead.

Watch and post the video to Sweet Disposition here:

The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition

Bloc Party’s third album, Intimacy, is available to pre-order digitally today, August 18^th, via the band’s website – http://www.blocparty.com.  Download purchases will be delivered on August 21^st.  The record will see its release in stores on October 28^th, 2008 on Atlantic Records.  Fans who pre-order the physical album, which will contain different tracks from the digital release, will receive a free download of the digital version upon purchase.

Bloc Party alerted fans to Intimacy’s existence, as well as their ability to purchase the record instantly, via their first-ever web chat this afternoon.  After an unfinished version of their last album, A Weekend in the City, was leaked four months prior to its release, the band decided to get their newest collection of songs out to fans immediately upon the album being mastered and ready for the hearing. 

Produced by Paul Epworth (producer for Silent Alarm) and Jacknife Lee (producer for A Weekend in the City), and mixed by Alan Moulder (Nine Inch Nails, My Bloody Valentine, etc.), Intimacy was recorded in Kent and London.  Some songs are Bloc Party at their most wildly experimental, ditching their guitars for something all together more exciting, while other tracks are simply classic Bloc Party, fitting in seamlessly amongst fan-favorites “Helicopter,” “Banquet” and “So Here We Are.”  Urgent, explosive, beautiful, daring – these are all words that describe Intimacy’s ten tracks.  The album’s first single “Mercury” is already a chart-topper in the band’s native England.

Anyone at a loose end tomorrow lunch time should pop into Other Music on East 4th Street, NYC for a special in-store performance by Conor Oberst. He’s playing at Bowery Ballroom too, but it’s been sold out for weeks.

The very adorable and ridiculously talented Jenny Lewis has announced plans for a new a solo album, titled Acid Tongue, on Warner Bros in September. This will be the follow-up to her utterly brilliant 2006 album Rabbit Fur Coat (Team Love). The album announcement comes just weeks after Jenny wrapped a world wide tour in support of Rilo Kiley’s Under The Blacklight album.

Some of Lewis’ most steadfast collaborators appear on Acid Tongue: Johnathan Rice, Farmer Dave Scher (erswhile member of Beachwood Sparks and current Interpol live keyboardist), Jason Boesel, Jason Lader and the lovely M.Ward. She also invited other notable musician friends into the fold, including Elvis Costello for a duet  (a 2006 live favorite: “Carpetbaggers”), Chris Robinson (of The Black Crowes), Benji Hughes, Zooey Deschanel (of She & Him) & Vanessa Corbala (of Whispertown2000) on backing vocals, Paz Lenchantin (A Perfect Circle & Press Here favorite The Entrance Band) and her sister Ana provided strings, Davey Faragher (of The Imposters) on bass, as well as Laurel Canyon’s own Jonathan Wilson on guitar, and even members of Jenny’s own family.  Her sister Leslie Lewis provided backing vocals on two songs while her father, harmonica virtuoso Eddie Gordon makes a star turn on something called a “bass harp”.

The all analog, no Pro-Tools sessions were all part of a shared aesthetic between Lewis, her producers, and her musician collaborators, working quickly and tracking her vocals entirely live and without embellishment. Recorded at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California in just 3 weeks. We’re psyched to see Jenny perform a string of shows with Conor Oberst this September as well as her own ACL Festival and Harlem Apollo show.

Tour dates:
9/16 –  Fox Theatre- Boulder, CO
9/17 – Ogden Theatre- Denver, CO
9/20 – Anchor Inn- Omaha, NE*
9/21 – Ryman Auditorium- Nashville, TN*
9/22 – Bijou Theatre - Knoxville, TN*
9/23 – George’s Majestic Fayetteville, AK*
9/24 – The Lyric Theatre - Oxford, MS*
9/25 – Cain’s Ballroom - Tulsa, OK*
9/26 – Austin City Limits - Austin, TX
10/2 - Sixth & I Historic Synagogue- Washington, DC
10/4 – Apollo Theatre- New York, NY

(*with Conor Oberst )

Acid Tongue – Tracklist:

1. Black Sand                    7. Godspeed
2. Pretty Bird                   8. Carpetbaggers
3. The Next Messiah       9. Trying My Best To Love You
4. Bad Man’s World        10. Jack Killed Mom
5. Acid Tongue                11. Sing A Song For Them
6. See Fernando

Here’s a refresher from Jenny’s last album:

Those marvelous Cold War Kids announced their new album’s title today. Loyalty To Loyalty will be released on Downtown Records in September ‘08.

The band will soon embark on North American tour, bringing audiences songs from both robbers & cowards and Loyalty To Loyalty:

Dates in Full:
08/22/08 Outside Lands Festival, San Francisco, CA
08/23/08 Sunset Junction Festival, Los Angeles, CA
08/24/08 Les Schwab Amp, Bend, OR
09/20/08 Street Scene, San Diego, CA
09/27/08 Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
09/28/08 Richards on Richards, Vancouver, Canada
09/29/08 The Showbox at the Market, Seattle, WA
10/01/08 The Neurolux, Boise, ID
10/02/08 In The Venue, Salt Lake City, UT
10/03/08 Boulder Theatre, Boulder, CO
10/10/08 Fine Line Music Café, Minneapolis, MN
10/11/08 Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL
10/14/08 Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
10/15/08 Webster Hall, NYC
10/16/08 Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
10/17/08 Theatre of the Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA
10/18/08 Nightclub 9:30, Washington, D.C.
10/20/08 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC
10/21/08 Mercy Lounge, Nashville, TN
10/23/08 Lola’s, Ft. Worth, TX
10/24/08 Emo’s Alt. Lounge-Outside, Austin, TX
10/25/08 Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
10/26/08 Voodoo Music Experience, New Orleans, LA

Tickets are available through the band’s website.

They’ve also posted a “second album teaser” on YouTube:

Tricky has announced plans for his first live tour in 5 years, kicking off July 9th in Italy, as well as the release details for his new single “Council Estate.”

Tricky’s live dates are in support his new album Knowle West Boy (Domino Records), released this week in the UK to rave reviews. Q Magazine calls the collection “vivacious”, the NME proclaims that “Tricky’s back” and Uncut states it’s “his best album in at least a decade.” Knowle West Boy is set for US release on September 9th.

In addition to revealing the details of his 2008 tour plans, remixes of Tricky’s debut single “Council Estate” by South Rakkas Crew, Drums Of Death, Toddla T and more are available exclusively through iTunes starting today. The single will be released on CD, 12” single and wide digital release on August 5th.

Tricky is scheduled to play cities throughout Europe, Australia, Japan, Russia and South Korea, before hitting the UK. American tour dates to be announced later this fall (see tour dates below). Tricky will tour with an all new band of European musicians and perform songs from throughout his entire career. Danish singer Kira Skov, signed to Tricky’s label Brown Punk (a joint venture between Tricky and Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records) will take on lead female vocals on the dates.

Confirmed tour dates are as follows:
July 10th Turin, Italy Traffic Free Festival
July 10th Dublin, Ireland Oxegen Festival
July 18th Porto, Portugal Marés Vivas
July 19th Valencia, Spain Benicassim
July 26th Japan Fuji Rock
July 27th Seoul, South Korea Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival
July 30th Sydney, Australia The Metro
July 31st Melbourne, Australia Prince of Wales
August 2nd Byron Bay, Australia Splendour in the Grass
August 3rd Brisbane, Australia The Arena
August 9th Pully, Switzerland Lausanne For Noise Festival
August 14th Hasselt, Belgium Pukkelpop
August 15th Dievenkiskes, Lithuania BE 2 Gether Festival
August 16th Salzberg, Austria Salzberg Frequency Festival
August 18th Holland Lowlands Festival
August 21st Moscow, Russia B1
August 22nd St Petersberg, Russia Manesh Kadetskogo Korpusa
August 28th Saint-Cloud’s Park, France Rock En Seine
October 6th London, UK Barbican

Conor Oberst announces his first set of dates in support of his upcoming solo album Conor Oberst (August 5th in US (Merge Records) and August 4th in UK (Wichita Records)).

Conor also launches his new website today. The website exclusively streams two tracks from his soon-to-be-released album – “Souled Out!!!” and “Danny Callahan“. To keep abreast of Conor Oberst’s goings-on visit the new website.

Tour dates in full:

07/16/08 Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Studio SP
07/17/08 Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Studio SP
07/18/08 Santiago, Chile @ Cine Arte Normandie,
07/19/08 Buenos Aires, Argentina @ La Trastienda
07/25/08 Billings, MT @ Bones Brewing*
07/27/08 Calgary, AB @ Calgary Jazz Festival, Prince’s Island Park
07/29/08 Vancouver, BC @ Richard’s On Richards Cabaret<
07/30/08 Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s<
07/31/08 Bend, OR @ Midtown Ballroom<
08/01/08 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill<
08/02/08 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom or the Hill<
08/03/08 Santa Cruz, CA @ Rio Theatre<
08/05/08 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubador<
08/08/08 Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge**
08/09/08 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle**
08/10/08 Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa**
08/11/08 Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero**
08/12/08 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom**
08/17/08 Saratoga, NY @ Saratoga Music Festival^
08/22/08 Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
08/23/08 Birmingham, UK @ Academy 2
08/24/08 Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
08/26/08 Portsmouth, UK @ Wedgewood Rooms
08/27/08 London, UK @ Electric Ballroom
08/28/08 Manchester, UK @ Academy 2
08/29/08 Inveraray Castle, Scotland @ Hydro Connect Music Festival
08/30/08 Belfast, Ireland @ Spring and Airbrake
08/31/08 County Laois, Ireland @ Stradbally Hall / Electric Picnic
09/02/08 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg
09/03/08 Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique
09/04/08 Luxembourg, @ Den Atelier
09/05/08 Zurich, Switzerland @ Rote Fabrik
09/07/08 Munich, Germany @ Backstage Werk
09/08/08 Zagreb, Croatia @ Studenski
09/09/08 Vienna, Austria @ Arena
09/10/08 Prague, Czech Republic
09/11/08 Berlin, Germany @ Columbia Club
09/12/08 Cologne, Germany @ Gloria
09/13/08 Paris, France @ Nouveau Casino
09/14/08 Salisbury, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/20/08 Omaha, NE @ Anchor Inn
09/21/08 Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium%
09/23/08 Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge%
09/24/08 Oxford, MS @ The Lyric%
09/25/08 Tulsa, TX @ Cain’s Ballroom%
09/27/08 Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
10/02/08 Melbourne, AUS @ The Palace
10/03/08 Brisbane, AUS @ Tivoli
10/04/08 Sydney, AUS @ Enmore
10/05/08 Sydney, AUS @ Great Escape

* w/ A Weather
< w/ Dri
** w/ Evangelicals
^ w/Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, The Swell Season, Gillian Welch, Steve Earle & Raul Malo
% w/ Jenny Lewis

PS: See that? Jenny Lewis is opening! Her new album’s on the way!

Okay, we know there’s a gazillion bands on tour this summer, but if you’re feeling like seeing something particularly special then we strongly recommend you get your hands on a ticket for the Robert Plant & Alison Krauss “Raising Sand” tour with T-Bone Burnett. The album was a highlight of last year and the live show is simply goose-bump inducing. T-Bone Burnett might just be our favorite musician on the planet right now. And who’s cooler than Alison Krauss?! Definitely no one we can think of after seeing their WAMU Madison Square Garden show on Wednesday night. (Big ups to Paul from Rounder for making those highly sought-after tickets available to us!) OH, how we swooned!

Ticketing info can be found via Ticketmaster here.

We have a confession to make. We didn’t used to like Brooklyn. We rarely went there and when we did we complained bitterly about it. But then, during one hot summer’s day spent in a beer garden in Carrol Gardens, we saw the error of our borough-hating ways. We now *love* Brooklyn. We can’t get enough of it. We blush when we remember our bad attitude of the past. And so, with the 2008 “Celebrate Brooklyn” festival we’re going to get our rocks off in Prospect Park every chance we get. Summer Stage? That’s for wimps! The free performances at “Celebrate Brooklyn” is where it’s at. It all kicks off June 12th with the legendary Isaac Hayes. We’re particularly psyched about that, along with Cold War Kids on June 27th, Brazilian Girls on July 11th and Hal Wilner’s Bill Withers project on August 9th.

Get your F train on and we’ll see you down the front.

Here’s our favorite Cold War Kids video:

Performances take place at the Prospect Park Bandshell, which is also hosting some pretty fantastic musical performances this summer, including the lovely Feist on July 9th and Spoon on July 15th and our hero of all heroes, Bob Dylan on August 12th!!!

The Prospect Park Bandshell is at 9th St. & Prospect Park West Brooklyn, New York 11215.

The Zombies were the second UK group following The Beatles to score a #1 hit in America. With gorgeous melodies, breathy vocals, choral back-up harmonies and a jazzy influence, The Zombies ruled the 1960’s with hit singles like “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No”. Ironically, the group broke-up in 1968 just prior to achieving their greatest success – the chart-topping single “Time of the Season”, from their swan-song album Odessey & Oracle. This album has been listed as an influence and source of inspiration by countless musicians and was recently ranked #80 in Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” and #32 by the U.K.’s New Music Express in a similar list of British albums. Lead singer Colin Blunstone went on to develop an acclaimed solo career - releasing some absolutely STUNNING, soulful records in the 70s, while keyboardist/songwriter Rod Argent rocked arenas in the 70’s with his eponymous band, ARGENT.

The popularity of The Zombies’ music, in keeping with their name, shows no sign of dying. Their unsurpassed oeuvre continues to influence musicians around the world, including original fans such as Tom Petty, or relative “youngsters” like REM, Beck, Pavement and Paul Weller. And contemporary cutting-edge American and UK acts such as Fountains of Wayne, Spoon, Badly Drawn Boy, Belle & Sebastian and Super Furry Animals are just the latest in a long line of musicians to play homage to The Zombies as each new pop generation has been able to discover for themselves the undiluted magic of the band’s catalogue.

In recent years, when The Zombies have been feted by pop’s hip aristocracy, it has been largely for their swansong, Odessey & Oracle, from which “Time Of The Season” was taken. It was their second and final album, recorded in 1967 before they went their separate ways, and remains perhaps their greatest artistic statement. Odessey presents an evocation of memory that maybe has yet to be surpassed in pop music, with a peculiarly English yet universal slant on dreams, childhood and the attendant loss of innocence that derives from the passing of both. And it is a record today as celebrated and influential as the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds or Love’s Forever Changes.

Over 30 years later, Blunstone and Argent resurrected The Zombies, paying tribute to the group’s musical legacy and collaborating on new studio material. Joined onstage by bassist Jim Rodford (formerly of ARGENT and The Kinks), Rodford’s son Steve on drums, and renowned session guitarist Keith Airey, they perform a dazzling retrospective of the cherished Zombies catalog, as well as favorites from their post-Zombies careers.

THE ZOMBIES - NORTH AMERICA TOUR DATE JULY 2008:

3-Jul Comerica CityFest, Detroit, MI
5-Jul Summerfest, Milwaukee, WI
6-Jul Taste of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
9-Jul WCommon Ground Festival, Lansing, MI
10-Jul Wolf Den @ Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, CT
11-Jul The Fillmore @ Irving Plaza, New York, NY w/ the Blues Magoos
12-Jul Trump Marina Casino, Atlantic City, NJ
13-Jul Westhampton Beach PAC, Westhampton Beach, NY
15-Jul The Birchmere, Alexandria, VA
17-Jul The Grove, Anaheim, CA
18-Jul The Cannery Casino, N. Las Vegas, NV
19-Jul The Canyon Club, Agoura Hills, CA
20-Jul Regency Center - Grand Ballroom, San Francisco, CA
23-Jul Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
24-Jul El Corazon, Seattle, WA
25-Jul Cascades Casino, Langley, BC (Vancouver)
26-Jul Deerfoot Casino, Calgary, AB
27-Jul Century Casino, Edmonton,AB
29-Jul Dakota Dunes Casino, Saskatoon, SK
30-Jul Casino Regina, Regina, SK
31-Jul Club Regent Casino, Winnipeg, MB

At last! We already posted the “making of“.

Here’s the result!

In other Spiritualized news they’ve announced a few special releases around their upcoming Songs In A&E release. Available physically and digitally through Fontana International /Spaceman on May 26th, deluxe book and double vinyl versions will follow in June. First single, “Soul On Fire,” will be released digitally on May 6th. “Soul on Fire (Live from Union Chapel)” will be available with iTunes pre-order from May 13th; “Harmony 2 extended ” will be available exclusively via iTunes with full album purchase .
iTunes will also release an exclusive 5-track live EP, iTunes Live: London Sessions, on April 29th . Recorded on March 8th at the iTunes Festival in England, iTunes Live: London Sessions features lush string instrumentation and now trademark gospel choir.

In addition to London Sessions and “Soul on Fire,” look for the release of exclusive tracks via iTunes Pre-Order, including “Soul on Fire (Live from Union Chapel)” and the extended version of “Harmony 2 .”

Track listing from iTunes: London Sessions:

1) Sitting on Fire
2) Lord Let It Rain On Me
3) True Love Will Find You in the End
4) Death Take Your Fiddle
5) Walking With Jesus

Now, here’s a very special treat. We thought we were going to have to wait until June before Laura Marling came back to the US to perform. But she’s just announced an opening slot for Adam Green on May 10th at New York City’s Town Hall. What a great venue for her! We first heard the very lovely Laura Marling late last year when we were bowled over by her “My Manic And I” EP.

She was nice enough to perform at our Garden Party at SXSW. Her album Alas, I Cannot Swim was released on Virgin Records in the UK in February. It’s due to see a State-side release in August on Astralwerks.

You can listen to Laura performing on WNYC’s Spinning On Air With David Garland back in January here.

We’re really excited about this! Conor Oberst has announced plans to release a solo album, his first for 13 years, on the very brilliant Merge Records in August. The album, titled Conor Oberst. The recording was made in Tepoztlán, Morelos, México during the months of January and February 2008. In Tepoztlán, a place known for Aztec Magic and Extra-Terrestrial Sightings, a temporary studio was created in a mountain villa called Valle Místico at the outskirts of town. It was produced by Conor Oberst with much help from engineer and long time associate Andy LeMaster. A special band was assembled for the recording, known amongst themselves and to friends as The Mystic Valley Band. It was there at Valle Místico that Conor and the band lived and worked for that time in near perfect harmony, often unaware of the hour or the day. The result is his first solo album in thirteen years, following Water (1993), Here’s To Special Treatment (1994) and Soundtrack To My Movie (1995). In that time he has recorded and performed in many bands and musical projects including Commander Venus, Park Ave., Desaparecidos, and most notably Bright Eyes, his main musical vehicle for the past decade.

Conor Oberst will be touring this album throughout the summer and has already announced an appearance at September’s Austin City Limits festival.

Track List in full:

1. Cape Cañaveral 7. Eagle On A Pole
2. Sausalito 8. Moab
3. Get-Well-Cards 9. NYC – Gone, Gone
4. Lenders In The Temple 10. Valle Místico (Ruben’s Song)
5. Danny Callahan 11. Souled Out!!!
6. I Don’t Want To Die (In The Hospital) 12. Milk Thistle

Live shows for Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band:

8/22 Leeds Festival - England
8/24 Reading Festival -England
8/31 Electric Picnic - County Laois, Ireland
9/27 ACL Music Festival -Austin, TX

Remember when The Strokes and The White Stripes got really big in the UK really fast? And then America had to catch up with the mania? The same happened to Jimi Hendrix, I believe. Well, Florida’s Black Kids just released their first single “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You” on the super cool Almost Gold record label. It debuted at #11 in the British Singles Charts. Pretty impressive! The band have been in the UK recording their debut album with Bernard Butler (Suede, McAlmont & Butler) and it’s set to come out sometime in the early summer.

We reckon this’ll be one of 2008’s biggest summer anthems.

Black Kids are on tour through the middle of August, including a stop off at Coachella & Lollapalooza. Full international tour dates here.

Austin City Limits have announced the line up for this year’s festival - taking place in September. We love Austin, and we’re pretty sure it’s the best darn place in the whole of Texas (sorry Marfa, we haven’t been out your way yet!).

Of their “3 days, 8 stages, 150 bands” we’re particular excited about Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, The Raconteurs, Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band*, N.E.R.D, Iron & Wine, Neko Case, Band Of Horses, Gillian Welch, Against Me!, Okkervil River, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Hot Chip, Vampire Weekend, Duffy, Roky Erickson, Spiritualized, Jenny Lewis, Mgmt, M.Ward, Adele, The Kills and Man Man . And that’s just a tiny taster. Get your tickets here.

* More on this later. Check back next week for details.

She & Him‘s Hiro Ballroom shows sold out in a matter of minutes, but they’ve added another performance for NYU ID holders at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.

April 23, 8:00pm

Tickets: $20 ($12 NYU Students, $16 NYU faculty, staff, alumni) *On Sale NOW at The Skirball Center!* Tickets are $12 with NYU student ID and $20 without.

Must have NYU ID to purchase advance tickets.
Limit 2 advance tickets per NYU ID.

NYU student pre sale today through Saturday at the Skirball Center’s Shagan Box Office, 566 LaGuardia Place. Hours: Tues-Sat noon-6.

The New York Times Arts section ran a cover story on the band today. Read it here.

Anyone not yet hooked on the new album from The Kills - Midnight Boom - is seriously missing out on one of the best records of the year so far. Co-produced by the band and Armani xxXChange of Spank Rock, it’s the London-based duo’s finest moment to date. While the record is brilliant, Alison and Jamie’s live shows always bring an added burst of exuberant genius to the proceedings.

Cheap & Cheerful Video

The Kills LIVE:

4/29/08 Late Night With Conan O’Brien on NBC

4/30/08 Boston, MA @ Paradise *
5/01/08 New York, NY @ Webster Hall *
5/02/08 Washington, DC @ Black Cat*
5/03/08 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s*
5/04/08 Montreal, QUE @ Cabaret *
5/06/08 Toronto, ONT @ Opera House*
5/07/08 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick*
5/08/08 Columbus, OH @ The Basement*
5/09/08 Chicago, IL @ Metro*
5/10/08 Madison, WI @ Annex *
5/11/08 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock*
5/14/08 Vancouver, BC @ Richards #
5/15/08 Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s #
5/16/08 Portland, OR @ Berbati’s #
5/17/08 San Francisco, CA @ Slims #
5/19/08 San Diego, CA @ Casbah #
5/21/08 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater#
5/22/08 Phoenix @ Brickhouse #
5/24/08 Austin, TX @ Parish #
5/25/08 Dallas, TX @ Cambridge Room #
5/27/08 Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge #
5/28/08 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl #

* with Telepathe
# with Child Ballads

U.R.A Fever video.

The Raconteurs just played the first two shows of their Consolers Of The Lonely tour in their hometown of Nashville earlier this week. We wish we were there! They’ll be touring through to the end of June as well as appearing at Coachella and Lollapalooza.

If you have a record player we strongly recommend picking up a copy of the album on vinyl as it comes replete with the most beautiful packaging.

Jack and Brendan gave an interview to Weekend Edition on NPR this week. Listen here.

Catch The Raconteurs -lucky people in Missouri get to see The Fiery Furnaces open for them!!

04/20/08 Vancouver. BC @ Commodore Ballroom*
04/21/08 Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s*
04/22/08 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom*
04/23/08 San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s 365 Club*
04/25/08 Indio, CA @ Coachella
04/26/08 Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint*
04/28/08 Denver, CO @ The Fillmore*
04/29/08 Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theatre*
05/1/08 Dallas, Texas @ House of Blues*
05/2/08 Austin, Texas @ Stubb’s BBQ*
05/3/08 Austin, Texas @ Stubb’s BBQ*
05/4/08 New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
05/27/08 Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club^
05/28/08 Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club^
05/30/08 New York, NY @ Terminal 5^
05/31/08 New York, NY @ Terminal 5
06/01/08 New York, NY @ Terminal 5
06/3/08 Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion^
06/4/08 Montreal, QUE @ Metropolis^
06/5/08 Toronto, ONT @ Ricoh Coliseum^
06/7/08 Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore^
06/9/08 Columbus, OH @ LC Amphitheater^
06/10/08 Cincinnati, OH @ National City Pavilion^
06/12/08 St. Louis, MO @ Pageant%
06/13/08 Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival
8/1/08 Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza

*with Birds of Avalon
^with Black Lips
%with Fiery Furnaces

While we can’t quite picture Jay-Z in a pair of wellies, it seems he’ll be one of the headliners at the 2008 Glastonbury Festival. The past 4 years of perilous mud has filled some music fans with so much dread that when tickets went on sale it didn’t automatically sell out in 3.2 minutes. The way these things work, it’ll probably be blissful sunshine this year. Don’t say we didn’t warn you….! And with 14 years of experience on this subject, we can safely say Glastonbury is still the king of festivals, rain or shine. Other headliners confirmed are The Verve and Kings Of Leon.

Perhaps it’s coincidental that many of our favorite people and things are Welsh…? The Green Man Festival is another Welsh thing we’ve come to admire greatly, a summer camping music festival started by the band It’s Jo And Danny. In the past few years it’s become one of the most popular festivals in Britain, especially for the folk-inclined. That would include us, then.

This year’s spectacular line-up goes like this:

Super Furry Animals / Richard Thompson / Iron and Wine / The National / Black Mountain / Drive By Truckers / Howlin’ Rain / King Creosote / Caribou / Damien Jurado / The Cave Singers / Magik Markers / Alela Diane / School Of Language / Nina Nastasia / Wild Beasts / Make Model / Simone White / The Accidental / Devon Sproule / Jennifer Gentlle / Cath and Phil Tyler / One More Grain / Moon Music Orchestra / Mugstar / Cymbient / Beth Jeans Houghton / The Yellow Moon Band / The Drift Collective / Rod Thomas / Duke Garwood / Brigyn / Wolf People / Threatmantics / Cats In Paris / Radio Luxemburg / City Reverb / Pamela Wyn Shannon / 9 Bach plus loads more and Very Special Guests for the Sunday Headline slot to be announced on 1st May.

We should also make special mention of our old mate Richard Norris who will be “hosting an evening of psychedelic madness”. And who doesn’t need that?

Here’s a special moment from Glastonbury we enjoyed along with the crowd back in 1994. Gosh, it seems so long ago now…

Addendum: It’s Manic Street Preachers performing “Faster” from The Holy Bible, which - if you’re not familiar - is one of the most brilliant punk rock albums of all time.

San Diego’s Grand Ole Party are one of our favorite new bands. We saw them at 2007’s SXSW and immediately leapt out of our seats and dashed over to them after their show to see if they wanted to be friends. They’ve only toured the US three times in their still-early careers - once with Rilo Kiley, once with Vampire Weekend and once (& currently) with Rogue Wave. That probably doesn’t suck at all. Their debut album Humanimals is completely great and was produced by Blake Sennett of Rilo Kiley. They just completed their first video, for track “Look Out Young Son“.

The band have tour dates left - as well as a performance at Coachella - don’t miss them!

4/15/08 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church**
4/16/08 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club**
4/18/08 Chicago, IL @ Schubas**
4/19/08 Chicago, IL @ Schubas**
4/20/08 St. Louis, MO @ Gargoyle Club**
4/22/08 Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre**
4/24/08 Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room**
4/27/08 Indio, CA @ Coachella
5/3/08 San Francisco, CO @ The Fillmore**

**w/Rogue Wave

Posted by CW

Stockholm’s Lykke Li will be releasing her first American EP - the Little Bit EP - on May 6th, and we couldn’t be more excited. Her stripped-down, otherworldly pop magnificence has been in heavy rotation on our stereos since the end of last year. And by stereos, we mean iTunes playlists, obviously.

We found this amazing video of her and two of her band members playing “Little Bit” on a street corner in Sweden. We’re especially fond of her awesome coat and her necklace made of percussion.

Posted by JA

She & Him announced two shows on Thursday and they both sold out in a matter of minutes! Luckily the band, who just released their first album Volume One and saw it debut at number 81 in the Billboard 200, have added two more gigs. Tickets will go on sale this Wednesday. We think it’d be smart to move really quickly on the ‘ol Ticket Master on Wednesday morning.

Last week singer/songwriter Zooey Deschanel was Terry Gross‘ guest on NPR’s Fresh Air where she talked about her musical collaborator M.Ward, making Volume One and her acting career. Listen here. For those of you unable to get a ticket, or living anywhere other than NYC, LA or San Francisco, you can watch She & Him perform on Late Night With Conan O’Brien on April 22nd and on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on April 28th.

She & Him dates so far:

Monday, April 21, 2008
Hiro Ballroom - New York, NY (Sold Out)

Monday, April 22, 2008
Hiro Ballroom - New York, NY
(Tickets go on sale April 2nd at www.ticketmaster.com)

Monday, April 28, 2008
The Vista Theare - Los Angeles, CA
(Tickets go on sale April 2nd)

Tuesday, April 29, 2008
The Vista Theare - Los Angeles, CA (Sold Out)

Sunday, May 18, 2008
San Francisco Oysterfest (at Great Meadow at Fort Mason) - San Francisco, CA

Monday, April 28, 2008
The Vista Theare - Los Angeles, CA
(Tickets go on sale April 2nd )

Tuesday, April 29, 2008
The Vista Theare - Los Angeles, CA (Sold Out)

Posted by CW.

It’s been five years since J.Spaceman’s Spiritualized released an album. In that time J (aka Jason Pierce) has been through rather a lot. In the first piece about the album, which ran in the Guardian newspaper in Britain last week, he recounts how he nearly died of pneumonia shortly after recording.

The new album is called Songs In A&E and is the very eagerly-awaited follow-up to 2003’s Amazing Grace. It’ll be released on June 3rd on Spaceman Records/Fontana. Late last year Spiritualized came to America for a handful of Acoustic Mainlines shows, including a stop at the Harlem Apollo in New York where they received several standing ovations and left not a dry eye in the house.

The band will perform, with strings and gospel singers at Coachella and a couple of shows prior:

April 23rd @ Lobero Theatre -Santa Barbara, CA

April 25th @ 4th & B - San Diego, CA

April 26th @ Coachella Festival, Indio, CA

Posted by CW

The always ravishing Rilo Kiley have announced a spring tour. Their latest album Under The Blacklight was released last year.

Worth noting that they’ll be playing at the Slowdown in Omaha, the new(ish) Saddle Creek-owned venue. We have yet to make the trip out there for a show, but we hear wonderful things. They just won a Esky Award (Esquire Magazine) for Club Of The Year. Well done! (It was all down to those Bobbie Gentry records on the jukebox, we bet.)

Thu-Apr-17 San Francisco, CA Concourse @ SF Design Center
Sat-Apr-19 Portland, OR Roseland
Sun-Apr-20 Seattle, WA Showbox SODO
Mon-Apr-21 Bellingham, WA Western Washington University

Wed-Apr-23 Santa Cruz, CA Rio Theatre
Thu-Apr-24 Pomona, CA The Glasshouse
Sat-Apr-26 Indio, CA Coachella Arts & Music Festival
Thu-May-15 San Diego, CA Concerts in the Park
Sun-May-18 Colorado Springs, CO The Black Sheep

Mon-May-19 Denver. CO Ogden Theatre
Tue-May-20 Omaha, NE Slowdown
Wed-May-21 Omaha, NE Slowdown
Thu-May-22 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
Fri-May-23 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theatre
Sat-May-24 Chicago, IL The Riviera
Sun-May-25 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
Mon-May-26 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
Wed-May-28 Toronto, ONT Phoenix Theatre
Fri-May-30 Worcester, MA Palladium
Sat-May-31 Providence, RI Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
Sun-Jun-01 Northampton. MA Calvin Theatre
Mon-Jun-02 New York, NY Terminal 5
Tue-Jun-03 New York, NY Terminal 5
Thu-Jun-05 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
Fri-Jun-06 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Sat-Jun-07 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live
Sun-Jun-08 Richmond, VA Toads Place
Tue-Jun-10 Norfolk, VA The Norva
Wed-Jun-11 Asheville, NC Orange Peel
Thu-Jun-12 Charleston, SC Charleston Music Hall
Fri-Jun-13 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
Sun-Jun-15 Dallas, TX Palladium
Mon-Jun-16 Austin, TX Stubbs BBQ

Posted by CW

This arrived directly from The Raconteurs:

The Raconteurs are happy to announce that in one week’s time their second album, entitled “Consolers Of The Lonely”, will be available everywhere Tuesday, March 25th.

“Album” meaning: full length vinyl, CD and digital formats; and “everywhere” meaning: local mom and pop Indie retailers, corporate superstores, supermarkets, iTunes, Amazon, the band’s own website and any other location that could get the record up and going this quickly (some places couldn’t move this fast, so they will join in as soon as they can).

It contains 14 new recordings and is being released globally on Third Man Records in conjunction with our marketing/distribution partners, XL Recordings and Warner Brothers Records. The tracklisting is as follows:

1. Consoler Of The Lonely
2. Salute Your Solution
3. You Don’t Understand Me
4. Old Enough
5. The Switch And The Spur
6. Hold Up
7. Top Yourself
8. Many Shades Of Black
9. Five On The Five
10. Attention
11. Pull This Blanket Off
12. Rich Kid Blues
13. These Stones Will Shout
14. Carolina Drama

The album was mastered and completed in the first week of March. It was then taken immediately to a vinyl pressing plant. Then to a CD pressing plant. Then preparations to sell it digitally began. March 25th became the soonest date to have it available in EVERY FORMAT AT ONCE. The band have done no interviews or advertisements for this record before this announcement.

The purpose: to get the album to the fans as soon as possible and as we promised. We wanted to get this record to fans, the press, radio, etc., all at the exact same time so that no one has an upper hand on anyone else regarding it’s availability, reception or perception.

With this release, The Raconteurs are forgoing the usual months of lead time for press and radio set up, as well as forgoing the all important “first week sales”. We wanted to explore the idea of releasing an album everywhere at once and then marketing and promoting it thereafter. The Raconteurs would rather this release not be defined by it’s first weeks sales, pre-release promotion, or by someone defining it for you before you get to hear it.

Another purpose was to also allow people to have their own choice as to exactly which format they would like to hear the album in IMMEDIATELY, rather than having to wait for their favorite format to become available. The band are also not releasing any version of this record that contains bonus tracks. Musically this album will be the same as the band created it no matter what format it is purchased in (The sound quality of each format however, is a different story. The Raconteurs recommend hearing it on vinyl, but the choice is of course up to the listener).

The band also prefer that fans buy the album as a whole instead of breaking up the tracks, but until iTunes and other digital services allows bands to release their albums with the option of NOT breaking it up, it will be sold in that fashion on those particular sites. On the band’s website however, the album will be sold in its entirety as mp3s at 320kb bit rate. Also in Japan, fans will be able to download the record via their mobile phones, as that is how a majority of recorded music is consumed there.

The reason we are announcing this release one week ahead of time is because of retail pre-ordering and stocking, information about this album’s imminent release was bound to come to light and could be confusing to fans. Also in the event that the record leaks, we didn’t want this method of release to be seen as a reaction to such a leak. It’s not. The actual worst thing about a leak is the usual poor sound quality, akin to watching a movie on a wristwatch instead of in a theater. Which for the album’s creators is a bit of a letdown, but again, it is completely up to the listener.

There will be a video up on the internet for the first single, “Salute Your Solution”, on the 25th as well, provided it gets edited in time. We just filmed it the other day!

We hope not to confuse anyone with too many options, or deny them the formats that they like best. The Raconteurs feel very strongly that music has worth and should be treated as such. Thank you to all those who respect music in this fashion, and thank you to our label partners for working with us to get this album to fans in as many formats as possible all at once.

Thank you, and we hope that you enjoy “Consolers Of The Lonely”.

Sincerely,
The Raconteurs

If you’ve lived in Southern California at any point in the past 30 years then you probably know that Robert Hilburn’s music writing for the Los Angeles Times is one of the best things about living in LA. He’s one of the most passionately enthused music critics in the world so it’s exciting to learn that he’s announced plans for a book. The publishing company ModernTimes/Rodale released the following press release today:

ModernTimes/Rodale announced today that they have signed Robert Hilburn, the former pop music critic for The Los Angeles Times, to write a deeply personal and highly opinionated memoir, which will touch on his experiences working with some of the greatest musicians of our time. Hilburn, who is on the nominating committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, will recount his personal ties with John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, John Fogerty, Prince, Kurt Cobain, Stevie Wonder, Ice Cube, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Jack White, and Eminem. Leigh Haber, VP, editorial director of Modern Times, said, “We are excited and honored to have a writer of Bob’s stature share his personal experiences with such an illuminating cast of some of the most important musicians of the 20th Century.” The memoir to be published in 2009 is untitled.

Hilburn, whose reviews and profiles of musicians have appeared in hundreds of publications, was the only writer to accompany Johnny Cash to Folsom Prison for his landmark recording, as well as the only writer to join Bob Dylan on his concert swing in Israel and to go with Paul Simon on his “Graceland” tour stop in Zimbabwe. In addition he traveled with Elton John to the Soviet Union and with the Sex Pistols on their first and only tour of the United States.

In addition to his own search to understand what enabled these artists to make essential contributions to the evolution of pop music from the energy and innocence of the 1950s to the sophistication and commentary of a true art form, the book will share intimate moments with artists that are revealing, humorous and titillating. For example on a visit with Michael Jackson, Hilburn reveals, “I didn’t think anything odd about it at the time when Michael asked me to climb onto the bed with him and watch cartoons on television,” or one of the many late evenings he spent with the brilliant but eccentric producer Phil Spector in the 1970s, including one in which Spector, waving a handgun, barked, “No one leaves the house until Smith & Wesson says so.”

We can’t wait!

Posted by CW

We’re finally able to announce the line-up of our 2008 SXSW party! We’ve been beavering away for the past few months with our friends at Ground Control Touring and Harp Magazine to put together our best ever SXSW party. The Garden Party takes place in the grounds of the French Legation Museum – a quick hop, skip and a jump across  the I-35 from the main drag of 6th street – on Saturday March 15th, noon – 8pm. Get there early, grab some food, an ice cold beer, and kick back for a day of great new music.

Set times are:
12.00   Emmy The Great
12.50   Noah And The Whale
1.40     Laura Marling
2.20     Lightspeed Champion
3.00     Sons And Daughters
3.50     J Mascis
4.30     Thurston Moore and the New Wave Bandits
5.15     She & Him
6.05     Okkervil River
6.45     Kimya Dawson
RSVP:  events@pressherepresents.com

Shout outs to PRS Guitars, Pabst Blue Ribbon, JamBase, Glaceau, The Ice Cream Man and The Austinist for helping make this fantastic event possible.

Posted by CW

We first heard Emmy The Great when she provided some sweet-as-hell backing vocals to the fantastic Lightspeed Champion album. “Who’s that girl with the lovely voice?” we thought. And then: “I wonder if she has a record of her own?” She didn’t have a record of her own, but by the miracle of MySpace we tracked her down and bombarded her with emails asking her to send us some of her homespun recordings. She very graciously did. Her excellent self-released EP “My Bad” arrived in the mail and we’ve been listening to it on repeat ever since. Emmy is 23 years old, lives in London, writes genius songs and sings them in a beautiful soft, whispery voice. She’s funny too. Her blog is liable to make you laugh out loud. We honestly don’t have a favorite song, it was really very hard to choose just one video to post here, but we chose “Easter Parade” because we like the animation with the pile of books. If you like this song, check out her other videos on YouTube – “MIA”, “Gabriel” “City Song”. Emmy The Great will be playing some shows in the US next month. She plays on the London Calling bill at the Bowery Ballroom on March 11^th and on March 17^th at the Roxy in LA. And she’ll be at SXSW. We recommend absolutely NOT missing her.

Our old mate Alex Wagner (ex of Fader, now busy making the world a better place) has started a “monthly musical series” called “Get Weird” at the New Museum on the Bowery on the third Thursday of every month. We missed the first one which featured Hisham Bharoocha (aka Soft Circle) and the magical group Telepathe, not just because it clashed with the Barack vs Hillary Texas debate on the TV, but also because we were already promised to someone else that evening. We won’t make that mistake again and we’re giving you plenty of notice for the next one. It’s March 20th and features South Africa’s BLK JKS who some observant types might recognize from the cover of the current Fader magazine.

Tickets only 10 bucks! - Check it out here.

BLK JKS video for your enjoyment:

Posted by C.W.