Ratatat return

Ratatat return for their third tour of Australia in May.

Tour3 will see them play eleven dates, and venturing out into our fair country’s regional nooks and crannies with the Groovin’ The Moo festival as well has headlining shows of their own.

“the coolest unconventional musicians of 2008 – there’s no doubt this is genius at work” (Rip It Up)

“The hallmark of Ratatat’s genius is their willingness to process the absolute hell out of their guitar sounds, warping them almost beyond recognition to create a blueprint for the progression of music for decades to come” (Time Out Sydney)

Evan and Mike navigate their unique sonic hover crafting a free flowing chromatic wave of guitars, keyboards, beats, smoke and mirrors back to add another overwhelming layer of atmosphere with TOUR3.

RATATAT TOUR3
Sat 2 May – Townsville, Groovin The Moo
Sun 3 May – Byron Bay, Great Northern
Mon 4 May – Brisbane, HiFi Bar
Wed 6 May – Gold Coast, Coolangatta Hotel
Thu 7 May – Wollongong, Waves
Fri 8 May – Sydney, Manning Bar
Sat 9 May – Maitland, Groovin The Moo
Sun 10 May – Canberra, ANU Bar
Fri 15 May – Melbourne, Corner Hotel
Sat 16 May – Bendigo, Groovin The Moo
Sun 17 May – Perth, Amplifier

Check out Animal Collective's epic 10 minute remix of their track 'Mirando'


Mirando (Animal Collective Remix) [mp3]


LP3 is out now through XL/ Remote Control.

The Big Pink scoop an NME award

Signed to 4ad earlier this month, The Big Pink scooped up the Radar award at the NME awards last night, touting them as one of the biggest up-and-coming bands.

Check out their video for Velvet

Embed with Peaches

Feel the Peaches love and stream the mixtape we told you about last week on your own blog.



right click to download drums of death mixtape as mp3

Copy to code below to get embed with Peaches
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Peaches' new album I Feel Cream is out May 2 through XL.

Scott Walker duets with Bat For Lashes

Scott Walker has lent his incredible vocals to Bat For Lashes' latest album, duetting on "The Big Sleep".

If you're not up on the iconic Scott Walker already, seek out a copy of 'The Drift' and check out the "30 Century Man : A Scott Walker Documentary - Stephen Kijak's film about Scott's life and work" on DVD.

The Big Sleep

St Helens announce new album title and head North

With Melbourne audiences buzzing about St Helens' recent live shows, Sydney and Brisbane now get their turn to see and hear for themselves why St Helens have already developed a cult following. They'll be previewing tracks from their debut album due in April. And we can now announce it will be entitled Heavy Profession.

Next month, Friday March 13 at The Tote, they'll be playing with fellow Dot Dash label mates Lee Memorial at their Berlin single launch in Melbourne.

TOUR DATES

Thu 26 Feb – Sydney, Hopetoun w/ Songs and The Ancients
Sat 28 Feb – Brisbane, Rics Bar w/ The Ancients
Fri 13 Mar – Melbourne, The Tote w/ Lee Memorial

How To Choose Your Guru Part 2 [mp3]

Beirut marches out with new double EP

March of the Zapotec/Holland is the new double EP from Beirut and is perhaps the most ambitious outing to date, culminating a year where the musical focus was split deftly and smoothly down the middle.

March of the Zapotec finds Zach and the boys in Oaxaca, Mexico. With the help of the 19 piece Band Jimenez, they craft their most beautifully melancholic songs to date, creating an astounding link between the oompa sounds of Eastern Europe and their Mexican counterparts.

Holland is a return to Zach's pre-Beirut bedroom recordings moniker, Realpeople. An exploration into the shimmery waters of synth pop and 90's house, Holland proves that a musically restless soul doesn't quite travel from one country to the next, but instead follows the sounds that speak to it most truly.

March of the Zapotec/Holland is out now.

La Llorona from March of the Zapotec

Hey, it's Elvis Perkins in Dearland

Last month we gave you the first glimpse of Elvis Perkins in Dearland’s new eponymous album, the track Shampoo.

Now comes the new single from the album, Hey. Propelled by the pounding, ring-tailed beat of the marching drum, Hey is one of the catchiest songs from the album and perfectly balances its propulsive rhythm with delicate vocal harmonies supplied by Lavender Diamond front-woman Becky Stark.

Hey [mp3]

In a traditional New Orleans funeral procession, “the second line” refers to the lively troupe of brass musicians who trail behind the mourners, injecting a spirit of spontaneous celebration into an otherwise sombre affair. Indeed, Elvis Perkins in Dearland feels very much like the second line to his exquisitely melancholic and much-hailed solo debut Ash Wednesday, conjuring both the greatest celebration and the saddest funeral, channelling an ageless wisdom that deepens with each new listen.

Elvis Perkins in Dearland is due out early April.

Vampire Weekend vs Miike Snow

Vampire Weekend's latest single The Kids Don't Stand A Chance has been given an electro makeover courtesy of Miike Snow's production wizardry.

Miike Snow are Swedish producers Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg (aka Bloodshy & Avant, producers and songwriters of Britney Spears's "Toxic" and "Piece of Me") and musician Andrew Wyatt (Fires of Rome, Black Beetle).

You can hear their remix of The Kids Don't Stand A Chance over at RCRD LBL.

Super Furry Animals' new studio diary series

Starting today, Super Furry Animals will be releasing 21 individual episodes documenting the recording process of their forthcoming (currently untitled) ninth studio album, captured on four individual hand-held cameras. But this will be no ordinary "the making of the album" story; it's a series of Warhol-like observations, of a band putting the finishing touches to songs, a celebration of the banal nature of the mixing process. Whole chunks of time seem to vanish at twice the speed over a slow game of darts or the making of a cup of tea as a song is played on repeat 26 times on the mixing console.

Inspired by Mike Figgis' groundbreaking film Time Code, the episodes can be viewed through the band's website and podcast series: www.superfurry.com

'Ah! Greetings friends, join us for the next few weeks as we finish up our new album for your ears. We have borrowed 4 video cameras from friends and family and we will document events as they unfold, hopefully with as little drama as possible.'
The Film Council Of SFA.

Introducing Lee Memorial

Lee Memorial is Karl Smith’s new band.

Lee Memorial is also the latest signing to Remote Control’s Dot Dash label, home of Wolf & Cub, New Buffalo, Snowman, St Helens and Ned Collette. Their debut album The Lives Of Lee Memorial will be released late March 2009.

Karl was one half of Sodastream, who were based first in Perth and then in Melbourne. Between 1999 and 2006 Sodastream:
- Released 4 albums, 5 EPs and a live recording
- Signed with Rough Trade US and Tugboat Records (part of Rough Trade UK)
- Toured Europe 7 times, as well as the USA and Japan
“Quite wonderful” said John Peel, “A blindingly beautiful beam of light” said the Sydney Morning Herald

Lee Memorial is named after a guesthouse in Kolkatta, India where Karl’s family used to stay when he was a child. (Karl lived in Bangladesh and India until he was thirteen).

With Lee Memorial Karl wanted to try something a bit different to Sodastream, to present his new songs with a full band.

Joining Karl in Lee Memorial for the debut album are:

- Laura MacFarlane, one time drummer with Sleater-Kinney and founder of Melbourne outfit Ninety Nine
- Tom Lyngcoln from Nation Blue plays lead guitar, a perversely appealing notion given the somewhat diametrically opposite sounds of the two bands
- Madeline Spawton who has no ragged pedigree, which in many ways is a good thing, but plays clarinet and cello which is exactly what Karl was looking for
- Matt Bailey (ex-Paradise Motel) plays bass (Matt has now departure to pursue his solo project, and Steve Thomas from Zond has taken over bass duties)

Lee Memorial is a band - and a band with genuine chemistry, more than evident by the fact that they recorded eleven of the album’s songs in four days.

The debut album The Lives of Lee Memorial will be released late March 2009 through Dot Dash.

Berlin is a hint of the treat in store [mp3]

They will be launching the single at Melbourne's The Tote on Friday 13th March, supported by St Helens and Lakes.

myspace.com/leememorial

St. Vincent's new album details revealed

Actor is the much anticipated follow up to St. Vincent's (Annie Clark) first album Marry Me, one of the most acclaimed debuts of 2007. Actor was co-produced by Clark and John Congleton (Modest Mouse, Polyphonic Spree) and features eleven new songs, all written and arranged by Clark.

Actor, due out May 3, takes the ambitious compositional and sonic underpinnings of Clark's debut as a starting point and never looks back. The arrangements are more masterful, the songwriting grander, the performances ever more confident and inspired. Those who saw St. Vincent at her recent sold out performances at the Sydney Festival will have been lucky enough to witness this first hand.

Speaking for the first time about Actor, Annie Clark commented, "I wanted to make these songs technicolour animatronic rides."

Clark, "a playful chanteuse [and] fearsome shredder" according to the New York Times, sings and plays guitar, bass and keyboard on Actor, with woodwind contributions from Hideaki Aomori (Sufjan Stevens) and Alex Sopp (Bjork, Phillip Glass), plus additional rhythm section work by McKenzie Smith and Paul Alexander of Midlake. Other musicians on the album include Mike Atkinson (French horn, score consultant), Daniel Hart (violin, sarongi), William Flynn (bass), and percussionists Jeff Ryan, Matthias Bossi and Aynsley Powell.

The first St. Vincent album Marry Me earned widespread praise and led to Clark being named Female Artist of the Year at the 2008 PLUG Independent Music Awards and she has toured extensively with artists such as The National, Death Cab For Cutie and Arcade Fire. Before recording as St. Vincent, Annie Clark was a member of The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens' touring band, and performed with Glenn Branca's guitar orchestra.

Actor album art:


Tracklist
1. The Strangers
2. Save Me From What I Want
3. Neighbours
4. Actor Out Of Work
5. Black Rainbow
6. Laughing With A Mouth Of Blood
7. Marrow
8. The Bed
9. The Party
10. Just The Same But Brand New
11. The Sequel

myspace.com/stvincent

The White Stripes perform on Late Night

The White Stripes made a special appearance on Conan O'Brien's final episode hosting Late Night, playing the track We're Going To Be Friends from their 2001 album White Blood Cells.



Conan has been a long time fan of The White Stripes, with the band performing on his show several times and Conan making an appearance in their video for The Denial Twist.

Antony talks Berlin

Berlin: Live at St Ann's Warehouse is Lou Reed's soundtrack to the live performance of the classic album, recorded in late 2006.

Guests on the album include Sharon Jones, Rob Wassermann and Antony.

Below is a video of Antony discussing his experience of working on Berlin: Live at St Ann's Warehouse, which is out now.

Times New Viking cover Velvet Underground

The Wexner Center in Columbus, Ohio recently put on a show of Velvet Underground covers, inviting local lo-fi heroes Times New Viking to take on the musical duties, plus Psychedelic Horseshit performing a couple of songs.

You can download the full set at Pat Radio.

Psychedelic Horseshit:
Sister Ray
Stephanie Says

Times New Viking:
Run Run Run
I'll Be You're Mirror
I'm Waiting for My Man
All Tomorrow's Parties
Sunday Morning
Venus in Furs
I Can't Stand It Anymore
Heroin
Pale Blue Eyes
Here She Comes Now
After Hours

Times New Viking's debut album for Matador, Rip It Off, is out now.

New Basement Jaxx single

Late last year Basement Jaxx released Planet 1 and Planet 2 EPs. Now Felix and Simon kick off 2009 with Planet 3 EP: four brand spankin' new tunes with some new friends taking on the vocal duties.

The first track from the EP is the jazzy, foot-tapping She's No Good featuring Eli "Paperboy" Reed on vocals.

Other tracks on the EP are:
My Turn (feat. Lightspeed Champion)
Wheel N Stop (feat. Serocee)
Twerk (feat. Yo Majesty)
You can hear some of the tracks at the MySpace.

Planet 3 EP is out exclusively through iTunes from next week with a new album to be released later in the year.

In the meantime, Basement Jaxx will be heading to Australia in just over a week to play the Future Music Festivals, along with headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne.

TOUR DATES
Sat 28 Feb – Sydney, Future Music Festival
Sun 1 Mar - Perth, Future Music Festival
Tue 3 March – Sydney, Enmore Theatre
Wed 4 March – Melbourne, Palace Theatre
Sat 7 Mar - Brisbane, Future Music Festival
Sun 8 Mar - Melbourne, Future Music Festival
Mon 9 Mar - Adelaide, Future Music Festival

Jaguar Love get nailed

Nine Inch Nails have handpicked Jaguar Love to be their sole support act for their Melbourne and Sydney shows next week. Both bands will be playing at the Soundwave Festivals with Jaguar Love playing also playing sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney with Minus The Bear.

Originally forming in Seattle, Jaguar Love (Cody Votolato and Johnny Whitney of Blood Brothers and Jay Clark from Pretty Girls Make Graves) soon up and moved to Portland where the ferociously creative and once-noisy musicians added incredibly catchy melody to their songwriting. The result is their debut album Take Me To The Sea, a collection of 10 songs that are as surreal as they are anthemic. Oh, and they’re a little bit glam too.

TOUR DATES
Sat 21 Feb - Brisbane, Soundwave Festival
Sun 22 Feb - Sydney, Soundwave Festival
Mon 23 Feb – Sydney, Campbelltown City Hotel w/ Minus The Bear
Tue 24 Feb – Sydney, Hordern Pavilion w/ Nine Inch Nails
Wed 25 Feb – Melbourne, Festival Hall w/ Nine Inch Nails
Thu 26 Feb – Melbourne, Next! at Brown Alley w/ Minus The Bear
Fri 27 Feb – Melbourne, Soundwave Festival
Sat 28 Feb - Adelaide, Soundwave Festival
Mon 2 Mar - Perth, Soundwave Festival

Highways of Gold

The Veils to release new album, 'Sun Gangs'

The Veils are Finn Andrews, Sophia Burn, Dan Raishbrook and Henning Dietz. Sun Gangs is their third album, and without a doubt their finest to date.

Produced by Graham Sutton (Jarvis Cocker, British Sea Power), Sun Gangs is by turns epic, desolate, wildly romantic and anguished. Described by Finn as “a very modern mixture of prayers, love letters and personal record keeping”, it is their most ambitious record yet ranging from the yearning elegy of Sit Down By The Fire, to the charred, mantis-like groove of Killed By The Boom - this is a record unlike many we are likely to hear this year.

Tracklisting
1. Sit Down By The Fire
2. Sun Gangs
3. The Letter
4. Killed By The Boom
5. It Hits Deep
6. Three Sisters
7. The House She Lived In
8. Scarecrow
9. Larkspur
10. Begin Again

Sun Gangs is due out early April. The Veils will be previewing tracks from the album on their myspace over the next two months. Up now is the track Three Sisters.

Friendly Fires get Frenchy

Skeleton Boy is the new single from UK nu-rave sensations Friendly Fires. With its funk-driven synths, Skeleton Boy is a massively addictive slice of dancefloor-friendly pop, drenched with swathes of lush harmonies and atmospherics.

And now the track has been remixed by Air France to make it even more dancefloor-friendly:

Skeleton Boy (Air France Remix)

You can download the mp3 over at Pitchfork.

Skeleton Boy

Peaches and Cream

I Feel Cream is the highly anticipated new album from shock princess, Peaches. Due out May 2nd, the album follows on from 2006's Impeach My Bush, which featured the wickedly catchy tracks Downtown and Boys Wanna Be Her.

Returning to her electro roots in I Feel Cream, Peaches enlisted Simian Mobile Disco, Digitalism, Drums of Death and rapper Canuck Gonzales to help her out. Other special guests feature on the album but that's a secret for now.

As a teaser for the album's release, UK's Drums of Death has made a Peaches mixtape featuring snippets of tracks off the new album, as well as old favourites that we all know and love. You can download the full mixtape over at BIGSTEREO.

www.myspace.com/peaches

Introducing Blue Roses

The last couple of years has seen a plethora of female singer-songwriters take over the charts. So it comes as a relief to discover that Blue Roses is like no other.

Having tirelessly worked away in friends' bedrooms, recording in churches in her native Yorkshire and borrowing instruments from local music shops, the first glimpse the word will have of Blue Roses (aka Laura Groves) is Doubtful Comforts, a gorgeous, heartfelt plea to a former love.

Doubtful Comforts [mp3]

The song itself sees delicate twinkling kalimba give way to a glorious, lush and symphonic backing and a vocal where Blue Roses pleads “You’re so good at getting my hopes up / Where they don’t belong / I can’t reach them.”

As lead singer Laura explains, “I wanted to create something that would connect with people emotionally, whether it be a lyric or a certain chord change or a sound - something that could perhaps become as important to someone as my favourite records are to me.”

Blue Roses' self-titled debut album is due out in April.

myspace.com/musicofblueroses | musicofblueroses.com

Read Micachu's Lips

Micachu is 21-year-old Mica Levi from the UK. Lips is the first single from Micachu and The Shapes and follows hot on the heels of the eagerly anticipated debut album Jewellery due out in early March. With its short, sharp precession of maddening fret-hits and taunting vocal refrains, Lips leads you everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Lips [mp3]


Never one to rest on her laurels, Mica has been working on a second mixtape – the follow up to last year’s word-of-mouth, must have mixtape, Filthy Friends (download at last.fm). The new mixtape will feature contributions and collaborations from Mica’s friends: The XX, The Invisible, Man Like Me, Rowdy Superstar, Ghost Poet, Dels, Elan, Lime Headed Dog, Dog Bite, Gold Panda and many more. Expect another multi-coloured conflation of skewed garage, dubstep, pop and beats.

myspace.com/micayomusic

Jenny Lewis creates a spectacle with Elvis Costello and Zooey Deschanel

An outspoken fan of Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis, Elvis Costello enlisted her to perform the song Carpetbaggers, a duet by the two that appears on Jenny's latest solo album Acid Tongue, on his show Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... And if that pairing weren't good enough, they were also joined by She & Him's Zooey Deschanel.

Lewis and Costello then go on to perform the track Go Away from Momofuku, an album fronted by Costello.



Jenny Lewis will be touring Australia for the first time this March/April with the V Festivals, as well as supporting Snow Patrol on their sideshows in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide.

VulgarGrad Vs The Band That Knew Too Much

It’s the cold war all over again, except this time it’s HOT! It’s Russia vs. Australia this Friday, February 20 at the Spot in Melbourne.

In the red corner (with a hammer and sickle scribbled out) is VulgarGrad. Playing songs from their upcoming album King Of Crooks, VulgarGrad have won many a brawl in the gulags of Siberia and the mean-streets of Moscow. Fronted by Australia’s most formidable stage and screen actors, Jacek Koman (Children of Men, Moulin Rouge, Romulus My Father), if you turn your back on them, their vodka-drenched songs of felony and misdemeanor will knock you straight to the ground.

In the blue corner (with a few stars and some red and white stripes) is The Band Who Knew Too Much, veterans of sweaty pub fights all over this brown land. Their Aussie songs of beer-drinking and rent-spending hit as hard as woodchopper’s axe.

Officiating the fight is DJ Russian Disco, who makes no attempt to hide his allegiances – he knows the Aussies don’t need any help on their home turf.

Doors open at 9pm, tickets are $12 on the door.

Advance copies of VulgarGrad's brand new CD King Of Crooks will be available at the gig with the official CD launch happening on April 4 at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne.

VulgarGrad on Spicks and Specks

Tetris Andronicus

iPhone users, here is another one to add to your collection of crazy applications courtesy of New Jersey's Titus Andronicus.

The Titus Andronicus iPhone application tests your inner roadie as you are challenged to pack instruments and amps efficiently into 2003 Chevrolet Express - Tetris style.

Featured in the game are tracks My Time Outside The Womb and Titus Andronicus, both of which can be found on their debut album The Airing Of Grievances. Full of triumphant rock anthems, the album is out now.

Titus Andronicus are:
Andrew Cedermark – guitar, keyboard, vocals
Ian Graetzer – bass
Eric Harm – drums
Ian O’Neil – guitar, vocals
Patrick Stickles – vocals, guitar, keyboard, harmonica

myspace.com/titusandronicus

TV On The Radio remix Nat King Cole

TV On The Radio have created a (rather awesome) remix of Nat King Cole's version of the classic Nature Boy.

The remix appears on the upcoming release RE: Generations, a collection of Nat King Cole remixes by Cee-Lo, the Roots, Just Blaze, will.i.am (damn) and others

You can hear the Nature Boy remix here (.mov)

Dark Was The Night compilation out now

Dark Was The Night, the 20th release by the Red Hot Organization to raise funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS, is out now.

Produced by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National, DWTN is available on double CD and triple vinyl and features 31 new and exclusive tracks from a vast array of indie's biggest names including Feist, Arcade Fire and Sharon Jones.

Here are just a few tracks from the release:

M.I.A. has a baby boy

Just a few days after her Grammy performance, M.I.A. gave birth to her first child on February 11th. An ecstatic Maya posted on her myspace:

HAPPY VALENTINES!

SUNDAY NITE I CA M E HOME FROM THE GRAMMY'S STILL IN THE MOOD TO PARTY , I COUDA EASILY GONE OUT BUT I WENT HOME INSEAD , LUCKY I DID!! COZ MY EARLY STAGE LABOUR KICKED IN AROUND 2 AM .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfndz8pW9WY

MY BABY WAS BORN WEDNESDAY , HE IS HEALTHY , FINE , BEAUTIFUL AND THE MOST AMZING THING EVER ON THIS PLANET, OF COURSE IM HIS MUM!!!

ME AND BABY ARE PUTTING OUR TOUR DATES FOR 2010 TOGETHER
AND MAKING MIX TAPES
AND FIGURING OUT A WAY TO BREAK OUT OF THE HOSPITAL !

HOPEFULLY THE WORLD IS BEEN TICKING ALONG AND I AINT MISSED MUCH!

C U SOON ,

AND MY BABY BOY SAYZ HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And here's a pic of the baby, care of The Music Slut.

Sonic Youth Return

Sonic Youth's 16th album, The Eternal, will be released on vinyl, compact disc, and digital album by Matador Records on June 6. Produced by John Agnello and the band, 'The Eternal' not only marks Sonic Youth's return to the independent label sphere (titles on their own SYR label excepted) after a long association with Geffen, but more importantly, ranks as one of their more inspired efforts in a 28 year career.

Recorded through November and December of last year at the band's Echo Canyon West studio in Hoboken, NJ, 'The Eternal' features many firsts for a Sonic Youth album, including a number of shared vocals between Kim, Thurston, and Lee, and the studio debut of former Pavement/Dustdevils bassist Mark Ibold, a member of Sonic Youth's touring band for the past few years.

The band's current extracurricular activities are particularly interesting. The Kunsthalle in Dusseldorf, Germany is now hosting the touring museum exhibition SONIC YOUTH ETC.: SENSATIONAL FIX, which focuses on the band's multidisciplinary work since the band's formation in 1981, including their collaborations with visual artists, filmmakers, designers and musicians. Kim Gordon launches a clothing line, Mirror/Dash, at Urban Outfitters on February 16, and is showing at The Armory Show in NYC March 5-8. Lee Ranaldo, with co-conspirator Leah Singer, just opened installations at the Konsthall in Stockholm and the CNEAI in Paris, and he has a piece in the travelling exhibition "Bad Moon Rising 3", currently at Boots Contemporary Art Space in St. Louis. A Beck/Sonic Youth split 7" is being released by Matador on April 18 for Record Store Day. And the band recently collaborated with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company (along with former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and mixed-media sound composer Takehisa Kosugi) on a work celebrating, and being performed for, Cunningham's 90th birthday on April 16 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Upcoming SY shows include April gigs in Austria and Germany (including the closing of SENSATIONAL FIX in Dusseldorf) and May 16 at the No Fun Festival in Brooklyn. The will be touring throughout the summer in support of 'The Eternal'.

More information on these and the many, many other activities since the 2006 release of their last album, 'Rather Ripped', can be found here.

Of The Eternal, Matador's Gerard Cosloy says, "We've not had a record in our recent history that's been the subject of nearly as much speculation and anticipation. Suffice to say we're pretty amazed at the way the band delivered something this neoteric while still sounding like, well, themselves. Less of a reinvention and perhaps more to do with a particularly awesome dozen songs."

Matador will shortly announce a Buy Early Get Now opportunity for the album with some very interesting bonus material.

Sonic Youth are:
Steve Shelley
Lee Ranaldo
Kim Gordon
Thurston Moore
Mark Ibold

Track listing:
1. Sacred Trickster
2. Anti-Orgasm
3. Leaky Lifeboat(for Gregory Corso)
4. Antenna
5. What We Know
6. Calming The Snake
7. Poison Arrow
8. Malibu Gas Station
9. Thunderclap For Bobby Pyn
10. No Way
11. Walkin Blue
12. Massage The History

Wolf & Cub and Jenny Lewis announced for V Festival

Having just finished off tours with TV On The Radio and Primal Scream, Wolf & Cub have been announced to play this year's V Festivals. They are currently putting on the very final touches to their sophomore album Science and Sorcery which is due out late March and was produced by Bumblebeez' Chris Colonna. Stay tuned for details of a national album tour.
myspace.com/wolfandcub

Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis will also be playing at the festival, making her Australian debut. Late last year she released her second solo album Acid Tongue that featured many of her steadfast collaborators including Zooey Deschanel, M Ward and Elvis Costello, who has been quoted as saying that Jenny is “Flat out great and no mistake. Jenny is up there with the best singer-songwriters..."

myspace.com/jennylewismusic


V FESTIVAL DATES

Saturday 28 March,
Centennial Park, Sydney

Sunday 29 March
Avica Resort, Gold Coast

Saturday 4 April
Melbourne Showgrounds, Melbourne

Sunday 5 April
Claremont Showgrounds, Perth

Jóhann Jóhannsson: NPR song of the day

Late last year Iceland's Jóhann Jóhannsson released Fordlândia, the second instalment in a proposed trilogy based on technology and iconic American brand names.

Featuring on the album is instrumental epic Melodia (Guidelines for a Space Propulsion Device based on Heim's Quantum Theory) . You can listen to the track over at NPR.

TV On The Radio live on The Colbert Report

TV On The Radio gave an energetic performance of Dancing Choose on The Colbert Report last night with a 4 piece brass section in tow.

A.C. Newman takes on a-ha

Despite just releasing his second solo album, Get Guilty, The New Pornographers' A.C. Newman found time to record a version of a-ha's classic track Take On Me for an upcoming Starbucks covers compilation.

Times New Viking A>D>D part 2

Yesterday we posted part 1 of lo-fi thrash band Times New Vikings' A>D>D performance and now comes part 2, where they play the rest of the songs from their Stay Awake EP.

Hate Hate Hate


Sick & Tyred


The Apt

Camera Obscura - new single and album details announced

As announced last week, Camera Obscura will be releasing their fourth album through legendary label 4AD in late April.

Entitled My Maudlin Career, the first single from the album is the title track and is now available for download.

Championed early on by John Peel, Glasgow’s Camera Obscura are fondly regarded by many as one of the UK’s finest acts; having built up over the years a dedicated following with must-have records and tours throughout Europe, USA, Mexico, Australia and South East Asia. Their last album, Let’s Get Out Of This Country (2006), was to prove pivotal for the band, taking them out of the shadows and to long-deserved new heights. “You might not find heartache as enchanting as this anywhere else,” stated All Music Guide in a familiar glowing review.

Having added successful touches to the previous album, Camera Obscura returned to Sweden to work again with Swedish producer Jari Haapalainen (Ed Harcourt, Peter, Bjorn & John, The Concretes). His wonderful understanding with the band continues to flourish, again fully realising not just the potential of Tracyanne Campbell’s songs and remarkable voice, but also the ensemble musicianship of the group as a whole.

Speaking for the first time about My Maudlin Career, lead singer Tracyanne Campbell commented, "Some people who have heard it say it's intense and quite dark. I suppose it is in a way. We were even more open and brave when making it than we were with the last record. I've never been so brutal when its come to writing lyrics. I wouldn't even call them lyrics. Just documentation of what was going on with me for a while. I truly believe it's the best we've done so far."

My Maudlin Career tracklist:

1. French Navy
2. The Sweetest Thing
3. You Told A Lie
4. Away With Murder
5. Swans
6. James
7. Careless Love
8. My Maudlin Career
9. Forest And Sands
10. Other Towns And Cities
11. Honey In The Sun

Times New Viking on Pitchfork's A>D>D

Call & Respond

Performed for Pitchfork's A>D>D.

Pagan Eyes


www.myspace.com/timesnewviking

Radiohead and Adele win Grammys

UK's Adele has won 2 of the 4 Grammys she was nominated for, picking up Best New Artist for her debut album 19 as well as Best Female Pop Performance for Chasing Pavements, which she performed live at the ceremonies. You can hear a radio performance of some of the tracks from the album here.

Chasing Pavements


Radiohead also won 2 awards earning Best Alternative Music Album and Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package for In Rainbows. The band performed the track 15 Step from the album at the awards, backed by the USC marching band.

M.I.A. missed out on Record of the Year for Paper Planes, losing out to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (who?!). And despite her baby being due on the same night, M.I.A. went on to perform Paper Planes to an adoring crowd.

And it wouldn't be a Grammy post without some fashion shots:

Tom Cooney nominated for AMP

Brisbane balladeer Tom Cooney has made the shortlist for the 2008 Australian Music Prize for his debut album Presque Vu. You can hear tracks from the album at his myspace.

The full shortlist is:
Apocalypso – The Presets
Beaches – Beaches
Havilah – The Drones
In Ghost Colours – Cut Copy
Jungle Blues – CW Stoneking
Love Is Gone – Jack Ladder
Presque Vu – Tom Cooney
Primary Colours – Eddy Current Suppression Ring
Sympathy For the New World – Ross McLennan

The Australian Music Prize for 2008 will be awarded on 13th March.

Tom is currently living in Ireland and is working on new material.

Giulia from Presque Vue

It Hugs Back's new video 'Now & Again'

Inside Your Guitar is the debut album from UK's It Hugs Back and is due out April 4th.

The 11-track album is the result of a year's labour of love for the band and was recorded in their home studio, The Record Room in Maidstone, Kent. It is an album that wears its heart on its sleeve as Matthew Simms' softly spoken vocals turn the captivating guitar licks, rhythms and feedback fuzz into something wistful, imaginative and charming.

Their latest video is for the track Now & Again featuring stop-motion Tetris blocks, as directed by Martin Rhys Davies.

Now & Again


myspace.com/ithugsback

Emiliana Torrini 'Jungle Drum' video

The story of Remote Control

It was the Summer of 2001... no, no, no, we're not going to tell the story that way. You can read about how RC got started in the current edition of jmag or click below.

3 new signings for 4AD

The spate of new signings continues with 4AD announcing that Camera Obscura, The Big Pink and Broken Records will be joining their roster, which already hosts many luminaries including Deerhunter, The National and Beirut.

Forming over a decade, Scottish indie-pop band Camera Obscura will be releasing their follow up to 2006's Let's Get Out of This Country early this year.
On being signed to 4AD, the band have posted on their myspace that they "are understandably excited about this but will endeavor not to reflect this in our facial expressions so as not to cause unnecessary alarm."

Taking their name from The Band's 1968 album, The Big Pink are a London duo who create electronic soundscapes described as "The Teardrop Explodes being played by MBV whilst Suicide man the mixing desk". They are long time friends Milo Cordell (founder of Merok who has released Klaxons and Crystal Castles to name a few) and Robbie Furze (former guitarist with electro-punk singer Alec Empire).

There must be something in the water in Scotland that makes people want to form large bands, as Broken Records one up Camera Obscura with 7 members. Using a range of instruments including guitars, bass, violin, cello, accordion, mandolin, piano, trumpet, glockenspiel and drums, they create a sound combining traditional European folk with modern Scottish alternative music. Last year the band released a limited edition single If The News Makes You Sad Don't Watch It on Young Turks (El Guincho, Holy Fuck, Jack Peñate).

Mystery Jets Sign To Rough Trade

2009 is shaping up to be a busy year for Rough Trade. With new albums due out in the next few months for 1990s, British Sea Power and newly signed Micachu, as well as Super Furry Animals' latest offering set for release in the middle of the year, Rough Trade have announced London lads Mystery Jets as their latest signing.

“The Mystery Jets are in my opinion the best British group since the Libertines and I have been wanting to work with them for a very long time, so I am delighted they have chosen to join the roster.” says Rough Trade co-founder Geoff Travis.

Half In Love With Elizabeth

Devastations' only Australian show of 2009 this Friday

A reminder to all you music lovers that Devastions will be playing their only Australian of '09 at Melbourne's East Brunswick club this Friday 6th with support from St Helens.

In the meantime you can read an interview with Conrad over at Mess+Noise.

Devastations also feature on the soon to be released Dark Was The Night compilation having collaborated with Blonde Redhead's Kazu who added vocals to the instrumental track Misericordia from their latest album Yes, U.

DEVASTATIONS ONE AND ONLY AUSTRALIAN SHOW
Fri 6 Feb – Melbourne, East Brunswick Club
Tickets from The East Box Office or 03 9388 9794

Snowman: The Balcony of Our Uprising

Currently calling snowy London home, Perth's Snowman have had an article published in the UK's main Australian newspaper, Australian Times:

Dear Public,

Music is a virus. It can only be contained for so long before it begins to evolve and to breed. The golden strain has now developed. There is no cure. It is airborne, floating in the ether. To attempt to capture it would be like chasing ghosts.

While the global economy crumbles before our very eyes and the fall of the American empire seems imminent, there is a sense that something artistically significant is afoot. As the recession spirals into the next great depression and the major record labels begin to drop like flies, the perfect breeding ground for music is born. From our darkest hours come our finest moments.

You can read the rest of the article here.

In other Snowman news, they'll be playing their first show in Paris on March 4th at La Mecanique Ondulatoire.
They'll also be supporting America's Crystal Antlers at White Heat in London on March 10th.

More details at their myspace.

1990s kick off with new single 'The Box'

A non-stop assault of pop gems, Kicks is the approaching release of 1990s' second collection of knock out songs, which is due out late March and follows on from he group's cult hit loaded and hugely acclaimed debut album Cookies.

With fuzzed out guitars, thumping bass line, organ plus a few "oo-ooos" thrown in for good measure, The Box is the first single from the album.

The Box [mp3]

Super Furry Animals announce new album

Super Furry Animals are currently in Cardiff, hard at work on their 9th studio album, which will be released through Rough Trade in April. Since 2007's Hey Venus the band have been keeping busy with their various side projects including Daf and Guto's acclaimed work as part of The Peth with Rhys Ifans, Cian's forthcoming Acid Casuals release and Som Bom techno nights in London and of course Gruff's Mercury nominated work with Neon Neon.

Currently with a tracklisting but without a title the band promise; "Musically it's based around riffs and grooves we've been playing around with over the last few years. We have enough now for a whole album so even though it's still very melodic we thought we could leave off the acoustic ballads for the time being."

"It's recognisable as a melodic SFA record, but is very focused musically as a cohesive album. And no country rock as Daf has developed a pedal steel phobia. Which has confined the great Nashvillian instrument along with the Saxophone to the banned instrument directive of the SFA board. there's only one slow number which isn't slow at all."

Longtime cohorts Pete Fowler will combine with legendary Japanese artist Tanaami for the album artwork, which is sure to result in a feast for the eyes.

Tracklisting

1.'The Very Best of Neil Diamond'
2. White Socks/Flip Flops
3. Inaugural Trams
4. Sounds Familiar
5. Cardiff in the Sun
6. Where Do You Wanna Go?
7. LLiwiau LLachar
8. Mountain
9. Moped Eyes
10. Inconvenience
11. Crazy Naked Girls
12. Earth
13. Prick

Devendra Banhart covers Kath Bloom

Kath Bloom is a singer-songwriter from Conneticut who has been making avant-garde folk music since the 70s.

Fellow alt-folk artist Devendra Banhart features on her new tribute album Loving Takes This Course with his cover of Forget About Him. And here's the track, care of Stereogum:



Devendra Banhart's latest album Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon is out now.

Introducing Micachu & The Shapes

Rough Trade's latest signing is London's Mica Levi AKA Micachu.

In 2008 the 21 year old released two limited edition 7" singles, a grime mixtape and scored an instrumental piece for the London Philharmonic Orchestra which was performed at the Royal Festival Hall and played at the BBC Electric Proms which included a varied range of guests including Oasis, Goldfrapp and Burt Bacharach(!).

Her new album Jewellery is due out in March and has been described as "an extraordinary introduction to a unique new talent". Little wonder then that Micachu has already won a fan in experimental-pop pioneer Bjork.

She notes inventive composer Harry Partch as one of her biggest influences. He famously used an array of customised and home made instruments. These included a xylophone made of light bulbs, a Cloud Chamber made out of pyrex dishes that could not only be played musically but detect particles of ionising radiation and a series of highly complicated 44 stringed instruments.

Similarly Micachu uses a modified guitar played with a hammer action called a ‘chu’ and a bowed instrument fashioned from a CD rack. She also uses improvised instruments, such as glass bottles or a vacuum cleaner.

Instructional video:


“An ear-bashing of crazy-paving beats, junk-shop punk, electronic drones and deceptively mellifluous bedsit pop” The Times

“Staggeringly inventive, madly capricious, and utterly unpredictable, this is pop for the 2010s” Dazed & Confused

“Unbridled eccentricity” NME

Check out her music at her myspace

No Through Road have no guitars

After battling through the sauna that was Adelaide's Big Day Out, No Through Road had 3 of their guitars stolen from backstage. A post on their myspace says:

After playing a really fun show at the Adelaide Big Day Out 3 of our Guitars were stolen from backstage.
If you see or hear anything about these guitars please let us know.
We really like them and would love to have them back.

Details of guitars:

Nic's guitar: 1966 Hofner 173 Guitar. White Vinyl. black hard case, shape of guitar.

Marcin's Guitar: Gibson SG standard. Serial number 00155608. colour cherry. 2005 or 04. gibson leather case

Dexter's: Fender American series telecaster. Sun burst colour, black hard case. serial number 132423

Thanks
ntr

Despite this the band will be playing tonight in Melbourne supporting The Hold Steady.

Adam Green on RocKwiz

Those who tuned into last Saturday's RocKwiz were no doubt entertained by the kooky yet consistently sharp witted antics of Adam Green.

Endowed in his shiny hot pink jacket, Green opened the show with Morning After Midnight from his latest album Sixes & Sevens, then proceeded to go head to head with American songstress Toni Childs proving he is every bit the music nerd.
The two then closed the show with a duet of the Motown classic (Love Is Like A) Heatwave.

You can view all the performances here

Sonic Youth on Twitter

Be sure to keep up with all of Sonic Youth's adventures
Twitter style!

The voyeur in all of us can now get our fix with updates on what the band are up to and how album number 16 is coming along.



Sonic Youth are due to release their new album The Eternal in the middle of the year through new label Matador.