Head over to NPR to stream The Magnetic Fields‘ new album Love At the Bottom of the Sea. The album will be the indie pop band’s tenth and is also their first since they concluded their “no-synth” trilogy ((i, Distortion, and Realism), marking a return to the synth and acoustic guitar roots present on their mammoth 1999 classic 69 Love Songs. Love At the Bottom of the Sea will be officially released March 6th through Merge Records, and you can watch the music video for “Andrew in Drag” below.
Shanghai post-rockers Whitebread make their original debut with a live rendition of their new song “Dead People Laughing”. Heavily influenced by the styles of Mogwai and My Bloody Valentine, “Dead People Laughing” is anchored by a simple mournful guitar riff that leads into moments of crunchy distortion and heavy bass and guitar instrumentation. You can listen to the eight minute live recording below.
Bon Iver‘s S. Carey will make his solo return with a brand new four-track EP entitled Hoyas. Set for release on Jagjaguwar (home to Bon Iver), Hoyas was, according to the press release, recorded in an attic studio “using a single laptop and not much else… Some sounds were composed by handcrafted instruments and others by junk. At times, Carey tracked vocals using nothing more than his laptop’s internal microphone, and most of the beats and synthesized sounds were sequenced and arranged using stock-software.” Bon Iver bandmate Justin Vernon then mixed and produced the album, which is currently scheduled for a May 8th release.
In the meantime, you can watch S. Carey and Justin Vernon in their recent Bon Iver live acoustic session here.
Hoyas EP Tracklist:
01. Two Angles
02. Avalanche
03. Inspir
04. Marfa
During tonight’s War Child 2012 benefit show, Blur members Graham Coxon (guitar) and Damon Albarn (vocals) got together to premiere a new song titled “Under the Westway”. The song features Albarn on vocals and piano while Coxon plays the accoustic guitar, and, as Stereogum pointed out, it does sound very Bowie-esque and special. You can watch the video below or download a rip over here.
The britpop pioneers have also recently announced that they will be headlining an Olympic Closing Ceremony gig this fall August 12th at Hyde Park. Although the band has reunited plenty of times in their eight year hiatus, it looks like they will be sticking together this time, and are also recording a new album. Stay tuned for more Blur news.
February 21st will mark the official release of new single “Shallow” from Jingle Jangle band Beach Fossils, which will be released alongside B-side track “Lessons”. Beach Fossils, who are known for their dreamy lo-fi and summery vibes, are currently leading into a release later this year to follow up last year’s What A Pleasure EP. Via the folks over at Pretty Much Amazing, “Shallow” is available for free streaming and download below.
Working with record labels 4AD and Jagjaguwar, Justin Vernon and Sean Carey of Bon Iver sat down at AIR Studio’s Lyndurst Hall to record a breathtaking 25 minute live session, a stylistic contrast from the band’s recent shows with a full eleven-piece band. Instead, Vernon and Carey provide an intimate, sit-down session, performing songs from the Blood Bank EP and the band’s Grammy Award winning Bon Iver, Bon Iver while also throwing in a cover of Bonnie Raitt‘s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” (which was also included as a bonus track from Bon Iver, Bon Iver).
Be sure to set aside half an hour this weekend and watch the session below, courtesy of 4AD and Jagjaguwar.
01) Hinnom, TX
02) Wash.
03) I Can’t Make You Love Me
04) Babys
05) Beth/Rest
Mat Cothran recently just released his first studio recording under the moniker Elvis Depressedly, supposedly his one and only time recording in an actual recording studio. Check out his new song “Waves of Bad Infection”, which is available on his blog Summer Time in Hell, or below. Mat also recently compiled the Elvis Depressedly songs onto a full length LP, Cutters Only, The Ontological Anarchy of Elvis Depressedly, which is currently available for purchase on iTunes, but will also be released for free in the near future.
Recently I was flown to the middle of the country to record a few songs, this is one of them. More info on this stuff as I’m allowed to disclose it. Thanks for your ears.
Ryan Thomas Schmale recently released his second album under the moniker That Ghost. Rosalind EPhas a very dark tone compared to the more catchy bedroom lo-fi vibes that were present on Young Friday. Schmale looks to the past for his inspiration, whether it be cinema or pictures of historical figures. In his words: “Each haunting melody elicits ghosts past, fading memories, and memories that were never our own.” This album, appropriately, is in honor of Rosalind, the woman featured in the album cover, and can be purchased on the Two Syllable Records Bandcamp. You can stream the entire thing below.
On Valentine’s Day, Denver husband-and-wife duo Tennis will release their sophomore effort, Young & Old, via Fat Possum. With Patrick Carney of The Black Keys manning the boards for the entire album, Tennis seem to have mastered their sound, resulting in another fun, relaxing record of indie-pop jams. You can listen to the ten-song record, in full, below.
Tennis 2012 Tour Dates:
02-09 Paris, France – Point Ephémère
02-10 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
02-11 Ostend, Belgium – Zwerver Cafe
02-13 London, England – Hoxton Bar And Kitchen
02-16 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
02-22 Omaha, NE – Slowdown
02-24 Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
02-26 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
02-27 Indianapolis, IN – Radio Radio
02-28 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
02-29 Toronto, Ontario – Horseshoe Tavern
03-02 Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
03-03 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
03-05 Music Hall of Williamsburg
03-06 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer *
03-07 Washington, DC – Black Cat *
03-09 Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
03-10 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
03-11 Orlando, FL – Orange You Glad Festival
04-24 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
04-26 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
04-27 Vancouver, British Columbia – Biltmore Caberet
04-28 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
04-30 San Francisco, CA – The Independent
05-02 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
05-03 San Diego, CA – The Casbah
05-04 Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
Malcom Lacey, who graced us with one of 2011’s best albums, Plantation, under the moniker arrange, has launched a Kickstarter to help press his upcoming EP, New Memory, on vinyl. In order to do so, he needs to raise $2500; so far he’s raised $1072. There are a variety of fun rewards for pledging such as an early digital download of the EP, signed copies of it on vinyl, even living room shows for the most generous. So, in short, donate!
Below, you can watch Malcom’s Kickstarter announcement video and also listen to a sampler of New Memory.
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