Blog: Consequence Of Sound

In support of Valtari , Sigur Rós have commissioned a dozen filmmakers to create music videos for the album's eight tracks. Each filmmaker was given the "same modest budget and asked to create whatever comes into their head when they listen to songs from Valtari . The idea is to bypass the usual artistic approval process and allow people utmost creative freedom." Ragnar Kjartansson's "Ég anda" is the first of these videos to be unveiled and illustrates a step-by-step guide for how to save someone from choking. Watch and learn below. [...]

Over the weekend, Franz Ferdinand performed their first concert in 18 months in Limerick, Ireland. As Stereogum points out, the band debuted four new songs: "Right Thoughts," "Brief Encounters," "Fresh Strawberries," and "Trees & Animals". They also paid tribute to the late Donna Summer with a cover of "I Feel Love". Wach the fan footage below. The band will continue to tour throughout the summer, even making their way to America for appearances at Lollapalooza and Outside Lands . You can see the full tour docket at their website .

The forthcoming JJ Doom album , Key To The Kuffs , packs one hefty collaboration. As Jneiro Jarel tweeted over the weekend, "Just did a song with Beth of Portishead and Damon Albarn! I figured I'll say it since it's already leaked in press!" Key To The Kuffs was due out in May on Lex Records, but currently is without a release date. Below, you can listen to the album's lead single, "Banished".

As previously reported , The xx debuted new material during a trio of intimiate shows in London last week. Now, Pretty Much Amazing points us to recordings of five new songs, which you can listen to below. "Devotion" is the untitled song that first hit the web last week, while "Leave" was previously identified as "As I Am". The other three songs are apparently titled "Closer", "Strangers", and "Friction". Still no word on when The xx's sophomore album will see light, but according to xx producer Rodaidh [...]

In the video for Hot Chip' s "Night and Day", dancing monks participate in a strange, intergalactic religious ceremony as Reggie Watts and supermodel Lara Stone drive spaceships. Watch the Peter Serafinowicz-directed clip below. Hot Chip's new album, In Our Heads , arrives June 12th via Domino.

When Corrina Repp and Joe Haege formed Tu Fawning several years back, the outfit screamed "side project!" Repp had released three solo albums and had earned the reputation as one of Portland, OR's better female vocalists, while Haege had his own career as the frontman of 31Knots. Even with 20082s Secession EP and 20102s Hearts on Hold LP (with Liza Rietz and Toussaint Perrault) , Repp and Haege juggled other projects, Repp as a member of Viva Voce in 2009, and Haege as a touring member of Menomena. The hyper-prolific [...]

Loads of frontmen have had successful solo careers either in addition to their well-known band or independent of it. Whether it's Mick Jagger or Peter Gabriel, these rock gods achieved fame because of an ability to transfer over their initial appeal while blazing their own unique musical path. For The Ramones ' Joey Ramone , the same can't be said for his second posthumous solo LP, "...Ya Know?" , which, despite some appealing cuts, finds him unable to adequately disassociate himself from his punk brethren. The LP's better cuts succeed because of how perfectly Ramones-ian [...]

It's been three years since Gossip 's last disc, Music For Men , the album that found the Olympia, Washington trio moving to a major label. Produced by Rick Rubin, that disc was Columbia Records' attempt to push the band's dance-pop out of the indie world and into the general American consciousness. Where once they had rough edges, Music For Men began the sanding process, and on new disc A Joyful Noise, we're left with smooth dance-pop . Teaming up with British producer Brian Higgins (founder of production [...]

Thanks to her duet with Gotye becoming an inescapable sensation on the internet, radio, and beyond, Kimbra is an artist everyone is about to know. Already a hit Down Under, her debut album, Vows, has been reworked to feature new tracks for its official American and European release. Kimbra's take on pop music is one that demands attention, so much that if Vow were to be summarized in one word, it would be "overwhelming." Where is the New Zealand singer going on Vows? Musically, everywhere. The album runs [...]

We're still waiting for that Big Boi-produced new LP , but over the weekend, Modest Mouse debuted a brand new song called "Heart of Mine" at the Frost Revival in Palo Alto, CA. Watch the footage below. In June, the band will next play a series of shows along the East coast and in Ohio. Check out the full docket below. Hat tip to Kyle for the heads up. Modest Mouse 2012 Tour Dates: [...]

This week, NPR's First Listen series is streaming new releases from Regina Spektor , Sigur Rós , Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros , The Walkmen , and Saint Etienne . Spektor's sixth LP, What We Saw From the Cheap Seats , will be released on May 29th via Sire/Warner Bros. The 11-track effort was recorded in Los Angeles last summer with producer Mike Elizondo. Stream it here . Sigur Rós' sixth LP, Valtari , will be released on May 29th via EMI/XL Recordings. Produced by frontman Jónsi, [...]

Robin Gibb, the lead singer and founding member of The Bee Gees, has died after a long battle with cancer, according to RollingStone.com . He was 62 years old. An official statement reads, "The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery. The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time." This is a developing story.

Few would argue that these are the glory days of Saturday Night Live . But if there's one thing the late-night staple has been solid at as of late, it's their musical guest bookings. This season alone featured Radiohead , Jack White , The Black Keys , Coldplay , Drake , Bon Iver , Florence and the Machine , Usher , The Shins , Sleigh Bells , Foster the People , and Robyn . And to cap it all off, last night's season finale boasted the biggest performance of 'em all when Mick [...]

On Saturday night, Black Sabbath 's original lineup ( sans drummer Bill Ward ) performed together for the first time in over a decade at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, England. Serving as a warm-up gig ahead of their headlining slots at Download Festival and Lollapalooza , the band performed a career-spanning 17 song set. Below, you can watch their performance of "Iron Man". The concert's full setlist at the bottom of this article. For the performance, Sabbath tapped Ozzy Osbourne's drummer Tommy Cluefetos to fill in for Ward. Earlier on [...]

Dave Matthews Band will soon release their seventh studio album, the follow-up to 20092s Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King . According to the band's website , the as-yet-untitled effort will arrive in September, and comes proceeded by a track called "Gaucho". Stream it below, or grab the mp3 download at the band's website . Dave Matthew Band - "Gaucho" As Jambands.com points out, DMB performed "Gauncho", along with two new songs previously debuted by Matthews solo ( "Mercy" and "Sweet") [...]

Last night, Jay-Z and Kanye West kicked off the UK/European leg of their Watch the Throne tour at London's O2 Arena. The duo performed a career-spanning set of over 40 songs, though they only played "Niggas in Paris" four times. Guess they're warming up for the actual Paris date. Below, you can see footage from the concert, as well as the concert's setlist and the rest of The Throne's upcoming tour dates. "New Day": [...]

Last night, The xx performed at the Battersea Arts Centre, the final date in a three-night run of intimiate shows in London. Once again, the band included several new songs in their setlist and you can watch the one possibly entitled "As I Am" below. In case you missed it, you can watch footage of another new song here . Next up for the The xx is a series of UK and European festival slots . And presumably the announcement of a sophomore LP.

Obscure, indeed. Nestled comfortably atop the Cafe Du Nord in the Castro district of San Francisco, the Swedish-American Hall bears the definition of a "hidden treasure" proudly, coveting to a more eclectic, and dare I say mature, crowd. On this particular Thursday evening, the Hall hosted the Portland Cello Project and Amarillo, Texas-native Emily Wells . Touring the United States to promote her fourth and most accessible album, Mama , I know personally that an album - and much less a concert - by Wells is a rare, but precious, occurrence. I first [...]

Garbage appeared on last night's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon , where they showcased a pair of tracks from their reunion album Not Your Kind of People . Watch them perform "Blood For Poppies" and "Automatic Systematic Habit" below (via The Audio Perv ). Not Your Kind of People is out now via the band's own STUNVOLUME imprint.

Beach House capped off a banner week with an appearance on Friday night's episode of Late Show with David Letterman . Supporting their Top Star-earning LP Bloom , the band performed "Myth". Watch the replay below (via The Audio Perv ). Bloom is out now via Sub Pop.