Los Campesinos!-Hello Sadness

Don't quite understand why it takes me so long to break down why a Los Campesinos! song is so good. They are quite possibly my favorite band of right now, yet despite that fact I am always stuck on what to write about for the track. Case in point when "Hello Sadness" hit the web a few days ago. It's such a magnificant track that I wanted to just type "FUCKING LISTEN TO IT ALREADY!" and be done. But I can't do that, not to mention with the cynisim that abounds on internet, I doubt few would believe me.

"Hello Sadness" reaches that zenith of greatness from the lyrics. While the same amount of metaphors and inside jokes are as ever present, there is a utter clarity. "Hello Sadness" mimics another song by the band in terms of structure and sound "Straight in 101", a song about getting laid among other things. "Hello Sadness" plays as the near exact opposite. It's over, it's done, the happiness is gone so bring on the sadness. And as this realization hits the guitars build along with it, finally exploding in beauty and discord at the end to match the emotion of the moment. It's heart breaking and stupendous, and the reason Los Campesinos! are the best indie-pop band of today.   


Links:

Los Campesinos!'s Website
Pre-order Hello Sadness here, from Arts & Crafts

Gauntlet Hair-Keep Time

As the date edges closer to Gauntlet Hair's debut album, so to does the anticipation build for how great it will be. While we wait for that moment, Gauntlet Hair keep upping the excitement with tracks like "Keep Time". "Keep Time" is more in the classic sound that people feel in love, with tidal waves of reverb guitar crashing down along with mountains of cymbals. Ironically I want to make a WU LYF comparison here, despite them coming after Gauntlet Hair. It is wonderful "heavy pop", sprawling and exploding in parts, yet never coming unhinged or noodle-y.   

(mp3) Gauntlet Hair-Keep Time (via Stereogum)

Links: 

Gauntlet Hair's Website
Pre-order Gauntlet Hair's debut here, from Dead Oceans

Video: Youth Lagoon-Montana

Permit me to descend into honest hyperbole for a second. This is Youth Lagoon. For the past few months they (or he, it's the project of one Trevor Power) have been getting a lot of attention for creating songs that morph from simple, quiet gems into huge, larger than life reflections, distilled in just a few minutes. And for a while, I wasn't on board. That's not to say I didn't like Youth Lagoon, but more that I thought the hype wasn't living up to the sound.

Then I saw and heard "Montana". In less absolute words, holy fuck! This video, as well as the song, are absolutely incredible in every way, and made everything about Youth Lagoon click for me. The song has the quiet to loud element that seems to bases of every Youth Lagoon song, but the way the piano melts so effortlessly into the drum beat, and then into the hidden then gorgeous guitar lines just explodes the mind. And the video; the painful, powerful, beautiful, heart touching video is something to behold. If you do not like any of this I question whether you truly have a soul.

The Year of Hibernation, Youth Lagoon's debut is coming out in a few weeks, on September 27 thanks to Fat Possum. I can't wait for it to come out and cause everyone to go even more crazy over Youth Lagoon then they already are.

Links: 

Youth Lagoon on Facebook
Pre-order The Year of Hibernation here, from Fat Possum

Mikal Cronin-Apathy/Get Along

Ty Segall decided to to mellow out this year with Goodbye Bread, which can be viewed as both a good and bad thing. While I'm still adjusting to Segall's new sound, I can turn to his buddy Mikal Cronin for my fuzzed out garage fix. If you heard that name before, it's because Cronin is a staple of the California garage scene, being member of the Moonhearts and teaming up with Segall himself to release Reverse Shark Attack back in 2009. This should all but spell out the type of garage credentials that Cronin has, which are all fully exposed with "Apathy". A quick off-key acoustic guitar strumming morphs into a glorious mess of the most trebled guitars and haphazard drumming ever. Why "Apathy is so great is how it uses so many different parts perfectly. The rather intense verse turns into a suddenly, yet wonderfully catchy chorus. Then at the end a Beefheart worthy sax attack kicks in which adds even more chaos to the tune, but folds into the song with such ease you can't imagine the song without it.

(mp3) Mikal Cronin-Apathy

"Get Along" is definitely a much mellower tune, and will start to draw those Ty Segall comparisons. Not to say those comparisons would be too far off, but would be summing it up too easily. A simple guitar tone held steady by a galloping guitar and simple percussion. It has a Black Lips feel to it, when the Black Lips have ingested a large amount of drugs and slowed down. More importantly it emphasises something that was made apparent by "Apathy"; Cronin has the uncanny ability to go from angular to catchy instantly in his songs giving them unbelievable style and depth in a genre where that is so hard to pull off.

(mp3) Mikal Cronin-Get Along

Links:

Mikal Cronin's Myspace
Pre-order Mikal Cronin's debut here, from Trouble in Mind Records

Brown Recluse-Impressions of a City Morning

While I patiently wait for Pet Milk to release any form of new music (seriously, what's taking them?!), I found out recently that Pet Milk is actually a side project for the band Brown Recluse. Brown Recluse have been kicking around for a while, having released their a few singles and EPs here and there, mainly for the quiet possible the best indie pop label around, Slumberland. After all this time Brown Recluse are prepping for their debut album Evening Tapestry to be released on... Slumberland. And while Pet Milk favored a much louder and Pains of Being Pure At Heart sound to their music, Brown Recluse are much more in debt to the sound of Belle and Sebastien. Next to The Crayon Fields, this is one band truly trying to recapture the subtle pop tones of B&S, with pitch perfect vocal harmonies and organ sound as proof.



Links:

Brown Recluse on myspace
Pre-Order Evening Tapestry here, at Slumberland Records

Chelsea Wolfe

Chelsea Wolfe and her absolutely wonderfully depressing music had been completely unknown to me until a few hours ago. Now thanks to the always great Get Off The Coast I may have found my first new musical love of 2010. The first thing that springs to mind with Chelsea Wolfe's music is the easy comparisons to Zola Jesus which is not at all a bad thing. Both bands have the same tones emanating from their music, but Wolfe's music is based more on a juxtaposition of harsh near industrial music coupled with her silky voice. Though on "Bounce House Demons this style comes off as much more tribal with the repeated jagged guitar line and the punchy, almost stuttering vocal delivery of the song.

(mp3) Chelsea Wolfe-Bounce House Demons

"Moses" is where Wolfe descends into the more siren aspect of her music. Painful vocals easily conveying the agony of the song, along with dissonant bass and drum beats that wouldn't be out of place at a funeral. But for all the soul crushing darkness that is churned out from the music, it amounts to something quite beautiful. A dark, eerie beauty, but a beauty none the less. Both songs are off Wolfe's new aptly titled album The Grime and The Glow, which if I wasn't so strapped for cash would buy in an instant.

(mp3) Chelsea Wolfe-Moses

Links:

Chelsea Wolfe's Website
Buy The Grime and The Glow here, from Pendu Sound

Best Coast Announces "Crazy For You" Album Details

In order to (mildly) not look like a total fanatic when talking about the band, I wanted to wait until all the information was up before I started blabbing about Best Coast's debut LP. It will be called Crazy For You, and comes out June 27 on Mexican Summer. That's the very apt cover art above, featuring Bethany Cosention's cat on it too. The track list is below and this may be my, and possibly many other people's most anticipated album of the year.

Crazy For You Track List:

01 Boyfriend
02 Crazy for You
03 The End
04 Goodbye
05 Summer Mood
06 Our Deal
07 I Want To
08 When the Sun Don't Shine
09 Bratty B
10 Honey
11 Happy
12 Each and Everyday

The album also comes with a bonus track, last year's wonderful "When I'm With You" as well.

Links:

Best Coast on Myspace
Get the album soon here, from Mexican Summer

Nobunny Announces Live Album, Massive Tour With The Spits

After remaining in hibernation for so long, Nobunny has finally sprung to live with a few tidbits of what's to come from his bizarre, warped, and garage obsessed brain. First off was the news that Nobunny will be playing a set at the Third Man Records store on May 21. The reason this is big news is because not only will it be "semi-acoustic" (and anyone who was able to get a copy of Raw Romantic knows this isn't a bad thing), but it will be recorded and released on vinyl by Third Man Records too. His second full length LP Ono is rumored to becoming out later this year on Goner Records as well.

This will be on the heels of another gigantic two and half month long Nobunny tour across the US and Canada, sharing most of the tour dates with fellow lo-fi garage-punks The Spits. Nobunny's shows have become legendary in their own right, so you have absolutely no excuse to not see catch him.

(mp3) Nobunny-I Am A Girlfriend
(mp3) The Spits-Tonight

Tour Dates:

5.8 Calgary, AB @ Broken City Social Club
5.9 Edmonton, AB @ Pawn Shop
5.11 Saskatoon, SK @ Amigo's
5.12 Winnipeg, MB @ The Royal Albert
5.13 Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
5.14 St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
5.15 Milwaukee, WI @ Club Garibaldi
5.18 Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop
5.19 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick w/The Spits
5.20 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle w/The Spits
5.21 Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records *Early show to be recorded for live record
5.21 Nashville, TN @ Springwater Supper Club w/The Spits
5.22 Memphis, TN @Hi-Tone w/The Spits
5.23 Tulsa, OK @ The Eclipse w/ The Spits
5.25 Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory w/ The Spits
5.26 Dallas, TX @The Lounge on Elm Street w/The Spits
5.27 Austin, TX @ Beerland
5.28 Houston, TX @ TBA w/The Spits
5.29 New Orleans, LA @ Saturn Bar w/The Spits
5.30 Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box w/ The Spits, Hibachi Stranglers
5.31 Huntsville, AL @ Voodoo Lounge w/ The Spits
6.1 Chatanooga, TN @ Discoteca w/ The Spits
6.2 Atlanta, GA @ The EARL w/The Spits
6.3 Tallahassee, FL @ The Moon w/The Spits
6.4 Tampa, FL @ TBA w/The Spits
6.5 Miami Beach, FL @ Churchill's w/The Spits
6.6 Orlando, FL @ Will's Pub w/The Spits
6.8 Asheville, NC @ Broadways w/ The Spits
6.9 Charlotte, NC @ Mileston w/ The Spits
6.10 Baltimore, MD @ Sonar Club w/ The Spits
6.11 Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory w/ The Spits
6.12 Pittsburgh, PA @ 31st St. Pub w/The Spits
6.13 Cleveland, OH @ Now That's Class w/The Spits
6.14 Dayton, OH @ Club Vex
6.16 Kalamazoo, MI @ Louies Trophy Room
6.17 Columbus, OH @ Cafe Bobo
6.18 Athens, OH @ The Union
6.20 Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar
6.22 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
6.23 Toronto, ON @ Silver Dollar
6.24 Ottowa, ON @ IX
6.25 Montreal, QC @ Divian Orange
6.26 Quebec City, QC @ Le Cercle
6.27 Burlington, VT @ Monkey House
6.29 Cambridge @ MAPA's Lounge
6.30 New Haven, CT @ Cafe Nine
7.1 Southapmton, PA @ Bordz Skate Park
7.2 Philadelphia, PA @ TBA
7.3 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
7.4 Durham, NC, @ TBA
7.5 Knoxville, TN @ TBA
7.6 Lawrence, KS @ TBA
7.7 Denver, CO @ TBA
7.9 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Woodshed
7.10 Reno, NV @ TBA

Links:

Nobunny On Myspace
Buy Nobunny's debut LP Love Visions from 1-2-3-4 Go Records

Andrew Cedermark Announces Moon Deluxe

Someone must be reading this blog because Andrew Cedermark has announced his first true full length, a 12 inch on Underwater Peoples. The simple yet stark cover art is up top and the record is expected to come out in a few months. The title track "Moon Deluxe" was also released, and it is a scorcher in the vein of The Microphones at their nosiest or an acoustic shoegaze song (if that's possible), with the level of loneliness matched on this track as well.

(mp3) Andrew Cedermark-Moon Deluxe
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In other Andrew Cedermark news, don't forget about his upcoming split tape with Drunk Tigers coming out soon on Funny/Not Funny Records, and an upcoming split 7" with Expensive Looks out on Infinte Best Recordings.

Links:

Andrew Cedermark on Myspace
Underwater Peoples Website

Gun Outfit Announce New Album Possession Sound

Gun Outfit is a stellar bass less trio from Olympia that despite releasing a single and last year's incredible Dim Light on PPM, have gotten minimal press from generally everyone. They usually have a darkness to their post-punk meets SST Records jams, largely in part to the hauntingness of singers Caroline Keith's and Dylan Sharp's voices. They just announced their new album Possession Sound out on PPM on May 5th and released a song and video to go along with the news. New track "My Whole Life" is a bit of a departure, which sounds like the band has been getting their hands on a bunch of Feelies records, but is still great in its own right, especially those crashing cymbals. They also released a their first video as well for the album "Phaeda" and it looks like the band has been listening to a lot more My Bloody Valentine as well. Get excited folks, this looks to be a sleeper hit of the year.

(mp3) Gun Outfit-My Whole Life



Links:

Buy Dim Light here, at PPM Records

Show Me A Word That Rhymes With Pavement

In the wake of the Pavement reunion that is happening right now as you read this, the level at which the blogosphere is excited about it is about at the same level as... well I don't think it has ever been this high. So while everyone is diving back in to their old Pavement records, my friend Jamie from Audio Anti-Hero was kind enough to tell me about Show Me A Word That Rhymes With Pavement. Released by the great Filthy Little Angels Records, a British label that has put out some really great indie pop over the years, has created this 17 track album of Pavement covers by a huge batch of UK artists, including Creative Intersection favorite Benjamin Shaw. And guess what, it is actually a really good cover album! Admittedly a large portion of these artists are very obscure, but that is just another way perk of the album, to introduce you to a possible new favorite artist. The absolute best part though, is Filthy Little Angels has released the whole album for free on their website, so you have absolutely no excuse to not check it out.

Track List:

01 Cats and Cats and Cats - Cut Your Hair
02 Mascot Fight - Carrot Rope
03 The International Karate Plus - Box Elder
04 Vom Vorton - Zurich is Stained
05 Benjamin Shaw - Starlings of the Slipstream
06 Black Heart Generator - Serpentine Pad
07 Postcode - In the Mouth a Desert
08 Ace Bushy Striptease - Secret Knowledge of Backroads
09 Horowitz - I Love Perth
10 Captain Polaroid - Here
11 The Dead Cassettes - Gold Soundz
12 Jack Lewis and the Golden Indies - Stub Your Toe
13 Later - Trigger Cut
14 Rod Jones - Shady Lane
15 Olympic Swimmers - We Dance
16 Billy Ruffian - Stereo
17 Miss Halliwell - Silence Kid

Download Show Me A Word That Rhymes With Pavement

Links:

Filthy Little Angels Website

Japandroids To Reissue Old EPs

For me, the only thing I was disappointed with in Japandroids’ stellar Post-Nothing was that it only had 8 tracks. Thankfully Japandroids are solving this problem. On May 11, Polyvinyl will reissue both Japandroids’ 2007 EP All Lies and 2008's Lullaby as one compilation titled No Singles on CD and LP. Polyvinyl has also released a track from the album titled “Darkness on the Edge of Gastown” to tide us over. It is definitely a lot rawer than what was on Post-Nothing, but it still has that great guitar-and-drums-slamming-against-a-brick-wall sound that Japandroids are able to produce.

(mp3) Japandroids-Darkness On the Edge of Gastown

Tracklist:

01 Darkness on the Edge of Gastown
02 No Allegiance to the Queen
03 Sexual Aerosol
04 Lovers/Strangers
05 Lucifer's Symphony
06 Couture Suicide
07 Avant Sleepwalk
08 Coma Complacency
09 To Hell With Good Intentions
10 Press Corps

In other Japandroids news, I am sure you have heard about their 7 inch single series taking place over this year. The first single goes on sale April 15 and pre-orders are still going on here. Furthermore, the band is still playing a massive tour schedule, so at least catch one them at that end.

Tour Dates:

03-17-21 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-24 Oxford, MS - Proud Larrys *
03-25 Birmingham, AL - Bottletree *
03-26 Nashville, TN - The End *
03-27 Charlotte, NC - Snug Harbor *
03-29 Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel ^
03-30 Philadelphia, PA - The Barbary ^
03-31 Boston, MA - Middle East Downstairs ^
04-01 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom #
04-02 Montreal, Quebec - Il Motore ^
04-03 Toronto, Ontario - Horseshoe Tavern ^
04-05 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig %
04-06 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop @
04-07 Champaign, IL - High Dive ^
04-08 Indianapolis, IN - Radio Radio @
04-09 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall @
04-10 Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry @
04-12 Columbia, MO - Mojo's @
04-13 Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck @
04-15 Las Vegas, NV - Beauty Bar @
04-19 Phoenix, AZ - Trunk Space @
04-21 San Diego, CA - Casbah @
04-22 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex ~
04-23 San Francisco, CA - Independent @
04-24 Salem, OR - Willamette University @
04-30 Vancouver, British Columbia - Lifetime Collective
06-10-13 Manchester, TN - Bonaroo Festival

* with A Sunny Day in Glasgow
^ with Love Is All
# with Best Coast
% with Bear in Heaven
@ with Avi Buffalo
~ with Nobunny

Links:

Japandroid's Website
Pre-Order the album from Polyvinly Records

News: Titus Andronicus Announce Details of Their 2nd Album

Way too long in the making, Titus Andronicus have announced about every detail about their long waited (at least by me) second album, called The Monitar. In an extremely long blog post, band leader Patric Stickles revealed much about the album, along with a few future plans for the band as well.

Here is how it breaks down:

• It will be released on March 9th, 2010 by XL Records


• The album was recorded over the summer with The Airing of Grievances producer and engineer Kevin McHahon


• It is a concept record of sorts. Not really about the Civil War per say, but as Patrick puts it, "It doesn't take place in olden times, nor does it necessarily feature any characters that participated in that conflict. Really, it is a record about how the conflicts that led our nation into that great calamity remain unresolved, and the effect that this ongoing division has on our personal relationships and our behavior and how they're all out to get us (or maybe not?) and yadda yadda yadda."


• It features guest appearances by members of Ponytail, Vivian Girls, the Hold Steady, and Wye Oak, Spider Bags, and Hallelujah on the Hills.


• According to the band, they have tried to take it as far way from their original lo-fi sound as possible. It is self described "hi-fi punk" with multiple new instrumentation and extremely long tracks.


• The first single "Four Score and Seven" is streaming from their Myspace and the band plans to release it as a single on Febuary 9, split into two parts (due to the song being almost minutes minutes long).

And that is just about everything. Go to their blog for the acutual and much better blog post that explains all of this in a much more profound way. Can't wait.

The Tracklist:

1. A More Perfect Union
2. Titus Andronicus Forever
3. No Future Part Three: Escape from No Future
4. Richard II or Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
5. A Pot In Which To Piss
6. Four Score and Seven
7. Theme from "Cheers"
8. To Old Friends and New
9. ...And Ever
10. The Battle of Hampton Roads

Links:

Titus Andronicus Myspace
Titus Andronicus Blog
XL Records

New Albums: Spoon and Los Campesinos!

I do realize this is old news, but it is to good to pass up not talking about. The almighty Spoon will be releasing their 7th album, Transference, on January 25, 2010 on Merge Records. Anyone who does not understand why I am excited about this, it's Spoon people! The track list follows, along with live mp3s from the lovely people at Stereogum of some upcoming tracks preformed live. Also the band today has released the a new song from the album on their Myspace. Titled "The Mystery Zone", apparently the band really loved that piano on "Ghost of You Lingers". Expect cover art and tour dates to come soon.

Track List:
1. "Before Destruction"
2. "Is Love Forever?"
3. "The Mystery Zone"
4. "Who Makes Your Money"
5. "Written In Reverse"
6. "I Saw The Light"
7. "Trouble Comes Running"
8. "Goodnight Laura"
9. "Out Go The Lights"
10. "Got Nuffin"
11. "Nobody Gets Me But You"

(mp3) Spoon-Is Love Forever? (Live) (via Stereogum)
(mp3) Spoon-Written in Reverse (Live) (via Stereogum)

Links:

Spoon Website
Spoon Myspace
Merge Records

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Also Los Campesinos! have released the track list and title of their new album, Romance is Boring. It will be rleased on Febuary 1 in the UK and January 26 in the US and Canada (Yea!) the band has alos announced a UK tour for the album, to take place early next year (Boo!). Tracklist and tour dates follow.

Track List:
1.In Medias Res
2.There Are Listed Buildings
3.Romance Is Boring
4.We’ve Got Your Back (Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown #2)
5.Plan A
6.200-102
7.Straight In At 101
8.Who Fell Asleep In
9.I Warned You: Do Not Make An Enemy Of Me
10.Heart Swells/100-1
11.I Just Sighed. I Just Sighed, Just So You Know
12.A Heat Rash In The Shape Of The Show Me State; or, Letters From Me To Charlotte
13.The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future
14.This Is A Flag. There Is No Wind
15.Coda: A Burn Scar In The Shape Of The Sooner State

Tour Dates:
11 Feb Wrexham, Central Station (14+)
12 Feb Liverpool, EVOL@O2 (14+)
13 Feb York, Fibbers (14+)
15 Feb Aberdeen, Tunnels (14+)
16 Feb Dundee, Dog House (14+)
17 Feb Edinburgh, Bongo (18+)
18 Feb Derby, The Venue (14+)
19 Feb Leicester, The Musician (14+)
21 Feb Cambridge, Junction (14+)
22 Feb Norwich, Arts Centre (14+)
23 Feb Brighton, Audio New Slang Night (16+)
24 Feb Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms (14+)
25 Feb London, KOKO (15+)
26 Feb Falmouth, Princess Pavillion (ALL AGES)
27 Feb Bristol, Thekla (14+)
01 Mar Birmingham, The Rainbow (18+)
02 Mar Northampton, Roadmender (14+)
03 Mar Reading, Plug & Play (16+)
04 Mar Kingston, Banquet New Slang (18+)

Links:

Los Campesinos! Website
Wichita Records