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Archive for February, 2011

Gorillaz Are Not Breaking Up; Taking Time Away From Each Other

According to a post by Jamie Hewlett’s son, Denholm, on Gorillaz-UnofficialGorillaz are not split up as previously reported, but instead, are spending time away from each other to work on their individual projects.

Denholm posted the following: “Hey everyonee, listen, i just spoke to my dad and told him about this, and he said its rubbish, they have kinda fallen out, just not about the reasons stated above in the article, they’re just taking time apart from each other to work on other projects 🙂 gorillaz are not gunna split up, its fine 🙂 ignore this tabloid x”

Titus Andronicus To Tour With Bright Eyes

Titus Andronicus will be heading off on a tour throughout the months of February, March, and April. The band will be joined by Irish rock band The Pogues and Bright Eyes, who will be embarking on their own tour in support of their new album The People’s Key.

Check out all the dates below.

Titus Andronicus:

02-10 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge (Rock Camp for Girls benefit)
02-26 Manville, NJ – Manville VFW
03-03 Chicago, IL – Congress Theatre *
03-04 Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Theatre *
03-07 Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live *
03-08-09 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club *
03-11-12 Boston, MA – House of Blues *
03-15 New York, NY – Terminal 5 *
03-17 New York, NY – Terminal 5 *
03-29 Portland, ME – Space Gallery
03-30 Burlington, VT – Club Metronome
03-31 Montreal, Quebec – Il Motore
04-01 Toronto, Ontario – The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
04-02 Gambier, OH – Kenyon College, Horn Gallery
04-03 Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theatre ^
04-04-05 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue ^
04-08 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom ^
04-09 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom ^
04-10 Seattle, WA – Vera Project
04-12 Reno, NV – Holland Show Space at Rainshadow
04-13 Oakland, CA – The New Parish
04-14 Santa Cruz, CA – Crepe Place
04-15 Indio, CA – Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
04-18 Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room
04-19 Santa Fe, NM – Corazon
04-20 Dallas, TX – Club Dada
04-21 Austin, TX – Emo’s
04-22 New Orleans, LA – Circle Bar
04-24 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
04-26 Norfolk, VA – Jewish Mother
04-27 Washington, DC – Black Cat
04-28 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
04-29 Hoboken, NJ – Maxwell’s
04-30 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg

* with the Pogues
^ with Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes:

02-08 Glasgow, Scotland – Oran Mor
02-09 Nottingham, England – Rescue Rooms
02-14 London, England – Scala
02-16 Stockholm, Sweden – Debaser Medis
02-18 Berlin, Germany – Lido
02-21 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
03-02 Miami, FL – The Fillmore ^
03-03 Lake Buena Vista, FL – House of Blues ^
03-04 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle ^
03-05 Asheville, NC – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium ^
03-06 Richmond, VA – The National ^
03-08-09 New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall *
03-10 Boston, MA – House of Blues #
03-11 Portland, ME – State Theatre #
03-13 Toronto, Ontario – Sound Academy #
03-14 Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre #
03-15 Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre #
03-16 Champaign, IL – Foellinger Auditorium #
03-17 Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium #
03-19 Austin, TX – Auditorium Shores $
04-02 Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theatre
04-03 Milwaukee, WI – The Riverside Theatre @
04-04-05 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue @
04-08 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom @
04-09 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom @
04-10 Arcata, CA – Arcata Community Center %
04-12 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater %
04-13 Pomona, CA – Fox Theater %&
04-16 Indio, CA – Coachella
04-28 George, WA – Sasquatch! Festival
06-01 Boise, ID – Knitting Factory Concert House &
06-03 Denver, CO – Filmore Theatre &
06-04 Council Bluffs, IA – WestFair Amphitheater &
06-06 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant !
06-23 London, England – Royal Albert Hall
06-25 Vitoria-Gaseteiz, Spain – Azkena Rock Festival

^ with Cursive
* with Superchunk, Wild Flag
# with Mynabirds
$ with the Felice Brothers, Middle Brother, Man Man
@ with Titus Andronicus
% with Farmer Dave Scher
& with Jenny and Johnny
! with Dawes


Shad’s “Keep Shining” Music Video

Shad‘s “Keep Shining”, from his latest album TSOL, is an uplifting track showing his respect towards women with self-respect and goals and, in his own words, “an ode to the strong and often under-appreciated spirits of women”. Check out the music video, directed by Sarah Michelle Brown, below.

Gorillaz Break Up

Looks like another breakup is on the horizon. Just days after LCD Soundsystem and The White Stripes announced their breakups, Gorillaz will reportedly also throw in the towel. The People has reported that Gorillaz will split due to arguments between Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. One “massive argument” after the band’s world tour “basically ended things.” Furthermore, “things haven’t been great for a while” between Albarn and Hewlett.

We’ll keep you updated on new information about the breakup. At present, The People, one of the UK’s biggest Sunday newspapers, is the only source of this report.

UPDATE: According to Jamie’s son, Denholm, the Gorillaz are not breaking up, but are “taking time apart from each other to work on other projects.”

LCD Soundsystem Announce Final Show

LCD Soundsystem have announced on their website that they will be playing their last show ever on April 2nd at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The band will be playing a three hour set opened by Liquid Liquid and will play “stuff we’ve never played before.” They also requested that fans arrive donned in white, black, or black and white.

Tickets will be on sale February 11th at bowerypresents.com and ticketmaster.com.


Interview: Ace Enders

We had the chance to talk with Ace Enders (The Early NovemberAce Enders and a Million Different PeopleI Can Make A Mess Like Nobody’s Business) about his Kickstarter project. We also discussed his future goals, his new album, touring possibilities, and thoughts on the music industry. He was clearly very passionate about his new projects and his goals. You can support his Kickstarter project here.

LitS: Where did you get the idea for the Kickstarter project?

Ace: I guess just the separation between the supporters and musicians. I remember starting at a young age sort of seeing how the community was and what not, how the music scene has sort of changed. I think it’s the idea that came from all that, and making it more of a community-type thing. Now with the Kickstarter funding, it’s going to be our new thing that we’re pushing and I’m really excited about the whole new program that we’re about to start, that we’re going to unveil this week. It’s going to be pretty interesting, I think.

LitS: So you’ve already reached $20,000. Did you expect this project to be this successful?

Ace: No, I certainly did not. I thought we were going to come right down to the end trying to reach our goal, but I definitely didn’t expect it. I’m really, really just blown away. Every time I see it my breath is taken away a little bit. I’m like wow; I can’t believe we’re actually going to have a good shot at making this work. (more…)

Single: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Belong”

Track: “Belong”
Artist: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Release Date: March 15, 2011
Label: Slumberland Records

“Belong”, the title track and second single from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart‘s, opens with a rather relaxed, sweet sound, before catching the listener off-guard and launching into a heavily distorted and hard-hitting guitar riff at around the fifteen second mark. This certainly isn’t the same Pains that we saw on their self-titled debut; the guitars are heavier, the drums rattle louder, and the band sounds bolder. The change in sound can be attributed to the new production team of Flood and Alan Moulder, the same team that crafted The Smashing Pumpkins‘ classics, explaining the huge distortion that appears on the track. While “Belong” may not have the same catchiness as past Pains tracks, it carries a more defined and confident sound, a markedly positive step forward for the band.

“Belong” is from Belong, out March 29, 2011 via Slumberland Records.

Rating: 8/10

Single: Yellowcard – “For You, and Your Denial”

Track: “For You, and Your Denial”
Artist: Yellowcard
Release Date: January 18, 2011
Label: Hopeless Records

After a 2 year hiatus from music, pop-punk/alternative band Yellowcard announced late last year that they have been working on a new album, which will be their first album released since 2007’s Paper Walls. A certain amount of excitement and hype has surrounded Yellowcard’s latest release, and last month they gave us a taste of what to expect with their single “For You, and Your Denial.” Taking us back to the early 2000’s, “For You, and Your Denial” reminds every Yellowcard fan out there what got them into the band in the first place. Opening with a classic fiddle intro, Yellowcard shows that they haven’t missed a beat as they deliver their trademark pop-punk sound in glorious fashion, taking us all back to a lighter days of jamming Ocean Avenue all summer long. Vocalist, Ryan Key’s vocals are on par with everything Yellowcard has released and the guitar hooks of Key and lead guitarist, Ryan Mendez are as infectious as ever. Drummer, Longineu W. Parsons III also unleashes an impressive performance, rounding out the track and leaving the listener smiling as this release marks Yellowcard’s imminent return to power.

“For You, and Your Denial” is from When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes, out March 22, 2011 via Hopeless Records.

Listen: Via Yellowcard’s Myspace

Rating: 8.5/10

Augustana Announces New Album

Augustana will be releasing their self-titled third album on April 26, 2011 via Epic Records. The first single from the album, “Steal Your Heart”, will hit the radio on February 14.

Check out the tracklisting below.

Tracklisting:
1. Steal Your Heart
2. Wrong Side Of Love
3. On The Other Side
4. Counting Stars
5. Borrowed Time
6. Shot In The Dark
7. Someone’s Baby Now
8. Hurricane
9. Just Stay Here Tonight
10. It Only Means I Love You (You Were Made For Me)

The White Stripes Break Up

After 13 years together, Meg and Jack White have officially announced the break up of their band, The White Stripes.

Read more to find out the reasons behind the break up.