It's been more than a couple of years since the last Band of Horses album. As the band readies Infinite Arms for a May release, the first single off the new one, a peppy little number called Compliments, is out on video. You can download the video off the band's Web site . Compliments - Band of Horses
Formed in 1982, Chin Chin combined the influence of punk and '60s girl group songs to create a sound much like what you hear from Vivian Girls and Dum Dum Girls today. The Swiss band's 1985 release Sound of the Westway is going to be re-released on vinyl April 13, presumably to take advantage of this resurgence in girl group popularity. You can stream the album now on Slumberland Records' site . Dark Days - Chin Chin
So James Murphy announced the name of his last album performing as LCD Soundsystem is This Is Happening . A single off the album (expected in May), Drunk Girls , is making the rounds on the InterWeb and we'll get a chance to see the band's final tour here in Chicago when it hits Pitchfork in July . In LCD's short lifespan, Murphy made two great albums. I'll be looking forward to the new one and whatever he decides to do in the future. On LCD's MySpace page , Murphy [...]
Dum Dum Girls , a band that owes a lot to the '60s girls groups (much like the Vivian Girls), released its first full-length, I Will Be , today. Jail La La - Dum Dum Girls
Great news for Robbie Fulks fans. He'll be doing another month-long residency at the Hideout in April, starting next Monday. There will be a different theme each week. A Robbie show is highly recommended and very entertaining, whether he's covering Michael Jackson or playing a little Georgia Hard . He's one of the reasons to live in Chicago. And even more good news: According to the Hideout's Web site, Chicago rock legends Eleventh Dream Day will be doing a residency in May. More on that later. [...]
New songs continue to trickle out as we wait for the next wave of album releases. The National is stirring a lot of interest in its upcoming album High Violet . Fans got a taste this past week with the release of the song Bloodbuzz Ohio . Here are some other singles from Dosh , Holy Fuck and Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti . The electronic artist Dosh releases Tommy next month ( Andrew Bird appears on the single Number 41). Holy Fuck releases Latin in May. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti is an interesting experimental [...]
If Bettie Serveert can try to make a comeback, why not Teenage Fanclub , another '90s indie darling? The Alex Chilton -loving Scots just released Baby Lee in advance of the new album Shadows , due out May 31. Baby Lee - Teenage Fanclub
WOXY.com , which bills itself as the future of rock and roll has suspended operations because of lack of funding. "Due to current economic realities and the lack of ongoing funding for WOXY's operations, we've been forced to suspend our live broadcasts as of March 23rd. We're continuing to explore options to keep The Future of Rock and Roll alive," the Internet station's site reads. This, of course, is very disheartening news. Let's hope the station can get up and running again. The video below of Besnard Lakes performing And This is What We Call Progress [...]
The National just released Bloodbuzz Ohio off the upcoming High Violet . The band has been performing the song live since last year and the studio version sounds great. You can get an even higher-quality version of the song by going to the High Violet Web site and entering your e-mail. Bloodbuzz Ohio - The National
My only complaint about this new Bettie Serveert album is that the band seems to try a little too hard to be current. Granted these guys made their debut in the early '90s with the excellent Palomine , and every artist wants to sound contemporary. But there are points on Pharmacy of Love where I think, "Jesus, are they just trying to sell a record?" Despite my nitpicking, it's a good album. It's not a great album but worth a listen. [...]
Paul Westerberg writes about his mentor Alex Chilton, who died last week , in the New York Times . "Rock guitar players are all dead men walking," he writes. "It’s only a matter of time, I tell myself as I finger my calluses. Those who fail to click with the world and society at large find safe haven in music — to sing, write songs, create, perform. Each an active art in itself that offers no promise of success, let alone happiness." Westerberg introduced me (and many others) to Alex Chilton, naming a song after the [...]
In case you missed this: The Strokes' Julian Casablancas is featured in the song and the newly released video for the Lonely Island's Boombox . The Lonely Island is the band featuring Andy Samberg and other SNL guys and it's hilarious.
A fawning New York radio interviewer tells Alex Chilton that his band Big Star's newly released Radio City (1974) is getting an awful lot of critical acclaim. "It's really good," he gushes. Alex responds, "Yeah, that's nice. I hope it sells. We've had critical acclaim before." Alex Chilton never sold a lot of records but he made great music that holds up very well four decades later. Radio City and No. 1 Record are still two of my all-time favorite albums. Some would argue Big Star's 3rd (basically Alex's first solo album) was [...]
There's plenty of new music that hasn't made its way into posts but is worth a listen. Here's the first in a occasional series of posts to round up stuff I meant to write about earlier. Moon Duo (Sanae Yamada and Erik Johnson of Wooden Shjips) released the four-song album Escape last month. These guys sound a lot like Wooden Shjips (heavy psychedelic). Sweden's Club 8 is generating a lot of buzz with its electro-pop single Western Hospitality in advance of its album The People's Record (out in May). [...]
With South by Southwest this week, there are only a small batch of new album releases Tuesday. But two biggies come out: Drive-By Truckers' The Big To-Do and the Whites Stripes' live album Under Great White Northern Lights . This Drive-By Truckers album is strong. I haven't heard or seen the White Stripes release (it also comes out as a DVD) other than the teasers. [...]
Sleep Paralysist is a new song from Neon Indian . Check it out here: Sleep Paralysist - Neon Indian
The National played Jimmy Fallon's show this week, performing Terrible Love. Thanks to The World Forgot and Music for Kids Who Can't Read Good for posting the song, which will be on the album High Violet in May. Hardcore National fans (like myself) can't wait for this one. Terrible Love (Live) - The National
Phoenix will be a headliner at Lollapalooza, TimeOut Chicago reports . The French popsters will join previously reported headliners Green Day, Lady Gaga, Soundgarden, Strokes and Arcade Fire, TimeOut reports. Adding Phoenix balances out the roster of top acts a bit and is a huge boost for Phoenix. Separately, here's an interesting cover of Lisztomania by the PS22 Chorus. Lisztomania - Phoenix
Promoting its new album , Broken Bells (Danger Mouse and the Shins' James Mercer), played The High Road on Letterman.
With all the full-length releases today, you'd think this song would get lost. Then again, these guys have become pretty big. Flash Delirium is the first single off MGMT's upcoming album Congratulations . Flash Delirium - MGMT
All the Young Punks
Pure Bathing Culture
Holy Ghost! "Dumb Disco Ideas"
The Weeknd - Kiss Land
MØ - Waste Of Time (Audio)
Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action - Album Trailer
Queens of the Stone Age - Kalopsia
Stop Shaming, Start Being Responsible
Small Black | Only A Shadow
[stream] Smith Westerns // 3AM Spiritual
