Will Johnson's voice is like a settling house -- each creak and groan tells a tale, reveals a secret hidden away. Scorpion is hit most beautiful album yet. The best music is meant to be transformative. Not that it changes us, but that it changes itself from the steel of string and wood and wire of instrument into sound which sublimates into feeling. So it's no wonder that Will Johnson, who transforms so often himself, is capable of such alchemy. He fronts South San Gabriel and Centro-matic. He's played with Jandek. He's recorded an album with Jason [...]

It's a mind-blowing list of new releases on perhaps the biggest release date of the year, so let's get started. You're going to need all the time you can get to pick these up. First up, the long-awaited second album by The xx is potentially KEXP listeners' album of the year. While it's but one of a number of hotly anticipated this year - others come from Dirty Projectors, Animal Collective, and Grizzly Bear - The xx strip down their sound to a sultry murmur, like a whisper in your ear. Oliver Sims and Romy Madley-Croft never sounded [...]
With their last show in Los Angeles dating back nearly six years ago at the Troubadour, Kings of Convenience returned without a new album or any merchandise for sale and still easily sold out the Music Box. Some of many highlights of the evening included their cover of "Thirteen" by Big Star, "Homesick" and "I'd Rather Dance With You". Seth Pettersen and the Undertow kicked off the evening and would later assist the Kings of Convenience on stage. Peruse the above pictures.

Another Brooklyn band you say!? Shut up! No I will not! Yet another Brooklyn band, Via Audio , are dropping their second full length album in the early part of 2010. The album is called Animalore and features this single "Babies". It sort of falls into the dance craze crowd, but it's also quite the pop jam. You can get your hands on the band's new album Februaru 23rd via Undetow Music . Download: Via Audio - Babies [MP3]

MUSIC NEWS - Former Chicago area rocker, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and Wilco member, Jay Bennett, 45 passed away today, May 24, 2009 in his sleep at home in Urbana, Il. His death has been confirmed by his management company , Undertow M usic. It was recently reported that Bennett was suing Jeff Tweedy over unpaid artist royalties. Jay had announced that he needed hip replacement surgery on his MySpace page in April, just weeks [...]
On Friday night, Magnolia Summer is celebrating the release of its third album, Lines from the Frame, with a CD release shindig at Off Broadway. The show starts at 9 p.m., and Jon Hardy and the Public... Continue reading "Magnolia Summer CD Release Show for Lines from the Frame" >
I wrote the cover story this week in the RFT. It's centered around Magnolia Summer and the Undertow Collective, and how the principles are utilizing technological advances and industry smarts to fashi... Continue reading "The Undertow Collective: MP3s and Videos from Centro-matic, David Bazan, Theodore, Glossary, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin" >