The Wooden Sky, “Something Hiding For Us In The Night”
Recommended if you like Shearwater and Okkervil River, this Toronto-based group are preparing to release their second album, “If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone” on August 25. Check it out! It’s lovely.
First time I heard this band I was immediately transported back to days of yore, circa 1990 something, while discovering Jane’s Addiction ‘in a haze.’ Turns out the NY psych five-piece has been selected for the Flaming Lips curated Sunday date of All Tomorrow’s Parties New York. The three-day festival takes place Friday, September 11th through Sunday, September 13th at Kutcher’s Country Club in Monticello, NY.
Hopewell’s recent album, Good Good Desperation is available now on Tee Pee Records.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
First it was The Dead Weather and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, then Sufjan Stevens, now add Noah and The Whale to the list of indie bands making films. With this endeavor, Noah and The Whale’s chief singer/songwriter, Charlie Fink, has crafted and directed a film to coincide with the release of their new album, The First Days of Spring, which is set for October. The First Days of Spring will be released on Cherrytree/Interscope alongside a film of the same name which marks the directorial debut of Charlie Fink and runs the same length as the record. The release is the highly-anticipated follow-up to their gold- selling 2008 debut album Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down.
Sea Wolf’s sophomore album, White Water, White Bloom is due out September 22 on Dangerbird Records. The band has made a track from the album, “Stanislaus”, available for free download. Look for the band in your town this fall!
Tour Dates:
September
14 Santa Barbara, CA – Soho
15 Costa Mesa, CA – Detroit Bar
16 Pomona, CA – The Glass House
17 Los Angeles, CA – The Troubadour
18 San Francisco, CA – Bimbo’s 365 Club
21 Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
22 Vancouver, BC – The Media Club
23 Seattle, WA – Sunset Tavern
25 Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue
26 Denver, CO – Hi-Dive
29 Minneapolis, MN – 7th Street Entry
30 Milwaukee, WI – Mad Planet
October
1 Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
3 Indianapolis, IN – Radio Radio
4 Newport, KY– Southgate House
7 Columbus, OH – Wexner Center for the Arts
9 Toronto, ONT – Sneaky Dee’s
13 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
14 New York, NY – The Mercury Lounge
16 Brooklyn, NY – Union Hall
17 Philadelphia, PA – North Star Bar
18 Baltimore, MD – The Talking Head Club
19 Washington, DC – DC 9
24 Nashville, TN – Exit In
28 Austin, TX – Emo’s Jr.
An extensive interview with Thom Yorke this month by The Believer revealed that the band has no imminent plans to release a full LP anytime soon. In fact, Yorke was quite candid with his feelings for the traditional album format and creative process, saying: “None of us want to go into that creative hoo-ha of a long-play record again. Not straight off. I mean, it’s just become a real drag. It worked with In Rainbows because we had a real fixed idea about where we were going. But we’ve all said that we can’t possibly dive into that again. It’ll kill us.”
Yorke also went on to discuss his thoughts on the CD and music industry stating, “I mean, I always hated CDs. Me and Stanley [Donwood] always hated CDs. Just a fucking nightmare. There’s a process of natural selection going on right now. The music business was waiting to die in its current form about twenty years ago. But then, hallelujah, the CD turned up and kept it going for a bit. But basically, it was dead.”
But fear not, the band intends to continue to make music, just on their own creative terms. And only a band like Radiohead could help shape and define what that means. So in the meantime look for more EPs one off tracks, like last week’s release of “Harry Patch, In Memory Of”.
Yay, Yo La Tengo! This is the second video in a series of five from the upcoming Yo La Tengo album, “Popular Songs” due out September 8th on Matador Records. Can’t wait to see them at Treasure Island this fall!
I’m a bit smitten with Julian Plenti (aka Paul Banks of Interpol) and his solo debut, Skyscraper. Here’s the new video for the track “Games for Days” available for free download.
Artist: Alberta Cross
Album: The Broken Side of Time
File Under: Moody Rock
Recommended if You Like: Neil Young, My Morning Jacket
Featured Track: “Rise From The Shadows”
God damn, I love this album. Take Neil Young’s vocals, his hard-driving Americana rock and combine it with the pathos of Kurt Cobain and you’ve got Alberta Cross. It’s the best way I can describe it. Other than it’s good, damn good. Just listen to “Rise From The Shadows”. This song slays me every time I hear it. Swirling, haunting melodies that build into a crashing wall of guitars. It’s cathartic and this song should be all the convincing you need to buy their debut album, “The Broken Side of Time”, that comes out on September 22 on ATO Records. It’s a seasoned, polished album start to finish and hard to believe it’s only their first.
If you can’t wait that long, go out and get their EP “The Thief and The Heartbreaker”. Another stellar effort that won’t disappoint. And if you want to be really impressed, go see them live. They’ll be at Lollapalloza this weekend then at Austin City Limits later this fall. More US dates will be scheduled soon. Stay tuned.
I’ve noticed a trend of indie bands making short films (see Part 1). Well, it looks like Sufjan Stevens has jumped on the bandwagon too with The BQE, a 40-minute symphonic and cinematic exploration of New York’s infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Stevens directed and scored the film himself, which consists of footage of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway alongside hula hoopers. Asthmatic Kitty will release The BQE CD/DVD on October 20 with a 40-page booklet with extensive liner notes & photographs and an accompanying stereoscopic 3-D Viewmaster reel.
And if that’s not hip enough for you, Asthmatic Kitty will release a limited edition double gatefold vinyl edition of The BQE on 180-gram vinyl with a large-scale 32-page booklet including liner notes, photographs and a black and white version of a 40-page BQE-themed Hooper Heroes comic book.
Ah but wait, there’s more. The film is going on tour, with modern string quartet OSSO performing a re-arrangement of Stevens’ album Enjoy Your Rabbit. I don’t know what you think, but this smacks of a little too much self-importance for me.
the OCMD 