New mp3 and video - ROX - Rocksteady

Introducing ROX, the 22 year old South Londoner brought up on a healthy diet of traditional Jamaican music and influential artists ranging from Rufus Wainwright right through to Mahlia Jackson.
ROX possesses the rare talent of a daunting vocal range matched with brilliant songwriting skills.

Take a listen to Rocksteady, the very first taste of her debut album due for release early next year through Rough Trade.

Rocksteady [mp3]

The folk at Rough Trade recently spent a day with ROX soaking in some sunshine and talking about her heritage, family and inspirations.

New video and tours: Emiliana Torrini side shows + Me And Armini remix video

*NEW VIDEO* Emiliana Torrini's Me and Armini (remix) from her Me and Armini EP

Emiliana Torrini has just announced two headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne in additional to her festival performances at Falls (sold out), Sunset Sounds and Southbound Festival.

To celebrate her upcoming tour, a Gold Edition of Emiliana Torrini’s stunning album Me and Armini has been released, with the bonus Me and Armini EP.

Included on the EP are remixes of the title track by Dan Carey (Franz Ferdinand, La Roux, CSS, Lily Allen and Hot Chip) and Italian dub producer Simone Lombardi.

MELBOURNE

Saturday January 2 - The Forum

Tickets on sale through Polyester (City & Fitzroy), and Ticketek online or 132 849

Presented by Inpress

SYDNEY

Tuesday January 5 - Enmore Theatre

Tickets on sale from The Enmore Theatre online, via 9550 3666, in person at the venue and Ticketek online or 132 849

Presented by Drum Media

Also appearing at:

FALLS MUSIC FESTIVAL (Marion Bay, TAS and Lorne, VIC – both sold out)

SUNSET SOUNDS (Brisbane, QLD)

SOUTHBOUND FESTIVAL (Busselton, WA)

Emiliana Torrini’s Me and Armini (album) featuring “Big Jumps” and “Jungle Drum” is out now on Rough Trade/ Remote Control. The Me and Armini EP (remixes) is also out now through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

“Sweet, charming, effervescent, funny and delightfully honest; these are just some of the qualities that make Emiliana Torrini a natural entertainer.”
Faster Louder

“The blend of sonic adventurousness, stunning vocals (as always) and continually strong songwriting makesMe And Armini a near irresistible album”
Rave

EMILIANA TORRINI WEBSITE
EMILIANA TORRINI MYSPACE

Tour news - Micachu and The Shapes announce debut Australian tour

"I saw her in London, in June, a year ago and I was really excited about her. I thought it was that sort of 'do it yourself' approach, with all these little guitars and her attitude was really fresh… think it's really, really fun. (She) is a bit of a prankster really, isn't she?" - Bjork

Micachu and The Shapes have announced their debut Australian tour.

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

Micachu with backing from The Shapes (Marc Pell - Drums, Raisa Khan - Keys & Electronics) are a treat to behold. Coming straight out of the East End of London, Micachu and The Shapes are one of the freshest acts to emerge on the indie/alternative scene in recent years.

Their rawkus sound is utterly infectious and has been pricking ears around the world. Absorbing electro-pop, wonky rhythms and edgey Brit Rock within stunning production is garnering them critical acclaim across the board.

Micachu’s debut album Jewellery, released earlier this year, 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.

This new band of 21 year olds are about to have a major impact.

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

Micachu and The Shapes on Myspace

Popfrenzy Presents Micachu & The Shapes

Monday January 4


MELBOURNE - The John Curtin Hotel with special guests

Tickets on sale Friday October 16 from www.moshtix.com.au or 1300 GET TIX

Friday January 8
PERTH - Amplifier with special guests
Tickets on sale Friday October 16 from www.moshtix.com.au or 1300 GET TIX

Sunday January 10
SYDNEY - Days Like This Festival with Cat Power & Dirty Delta Blues, Roots Manuva, Ugly Duckling and others
Tickets available now from www.dayslikethis.com.au

Jewellery is out now on Rough Trade/ Remote Control

The Veils unveil November Australian dates

THE VEILS announce their long awaited Australian tour dates!
Wednesday 25 November - The Zoo, Brisbane
Friday 27 November - Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney
Saturday 28 November - The Toff In Town, Melbourne

Having released their third album SUN GANGS to worldwide critical acclaim earlier this year, talk of an Australian tour has been highly anticipated.

Australian’s have had a long distance love affair with The Veils since the release of their debut album ‘The Runaway Found’ and then with the Triple J anthem ‘Advice For Young Mothers To Be’ from the ‘Nux Vomica’ album. The last Australian tour saw the band sell out shows in Melbourne and Sydney.

The Veils are Finn Andrews, (vocals, guitar, piano, New Zealand) Sophia Burn, (bass, New Zealand) Dan Raishbrook (guitar, odd noise, England) and Raife Burchell (drums, England).

Finn’s father Barry Andrews was a founding member of the highly influential group XTC in the late 1970s, later going on to tour with the likes of Robert Fripp & Brian Eno, Iggy Pop & David Bowie.

In ‘Sun Gangs’ The Veils have brought Finn’s early influences full circle, and created a record that truly lives up to the huge promise and talent that they have always exhibited. Their live shows continue to receive rave reviews throughout the world, with the LA Times recently posting

“... as far as their set last night went, it was probably the most moving, unsettling and unexpectedly haunting thing I've seen in rock music this year... terrifying in all the best ways."

Tickets on sale now. Shows will sell out so be sure to purchase tickets early.
Wednesday 25 - The Zoo, Brisbane - Oztix 1300 762 545 www.oztix.com.au
Friday 27 - Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney - Moshtix 1300 Get Tix (438 849) www.moshtix.com.au
Saturday 28 - The Toff In Town, Melbourne - Moshtix 1300 Get Tix (438 849) www.moshtix.com.au

New album Sun Gangs out now on Rough Trade/ Remote Control

New video from The Veils - Begin Again

Reportage style video for the last track on Sun Gangs made by Sean Gratton, New Zealands hottest young video director.



Sun Gangs is out now through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

2 more Jenny Lewis videos for you

Jenny Lewis' latest album Acid Tongue has been out for a while, but 3 videos for tracks from the album have just surfaced. Last week we blogged Black Sand.

Here she is recording Carpetbaggers with Elvis Costello, up on Pitchfork



And celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton has the exclusive on the clip to See Fernando. Click here to watch:



Acid Tongue is out now through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

New God Help The Girl mp3 Mary's Market

Here's a new God Help The Girl track:

Mary's Market [mp3]

You won't find it on the album. It was recorded a month ago, and promptly put up on the band's website just days after capturing it. It is the b-side to the Funny Little Frog 7" that you can only get by signing up for the subscription.

God Help The Girl is out now through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

New Jenny Lewis video Black Sand

Here is the video for Jenny Lewis' Black Sand from last year's album Acid Tongue:

Black Sand


Acid Tongue is out now through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

A week of God Help The Girl on The Guardian

Stuart Murdoch of God Help The Girl, and Belle & Sebastien of course, took over the UK's Guardian newspaper last week with a week of blog entries and video diaries, giving insight to the project and how it all came together.

Part 1
There's no glamour in being in a pop band
"After churning out records for 13 years with Belle and Sebastian, I decided that I wanted to create a fabulous girl-group sound with my current project God Help the Girl" read more

Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch takes us behind the scenes of his God Help the Girl project


Part 2
How I found the ultimate girl group
"All along, the perfect girl group was singing right in front of me waving a polka-dot hanky in my face" read more

Belle and Sebastian's frontman introduces us to the girls who sing in his new musical project


Part 3:
The Belle and Sebastian frontman puts on his dressing gown and talks about the songwriting process behind his God Help the Girl project


Part 4
The joys of marketing a concept album
"I wasn't much looking forward to the process of promoting the God Help the Girl album. But turning my concept band into something more 'real' – if only briefly – was actually pretty fun." read more

Alas, it's the final video diary from Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch


God Help The Girl is out now through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

You can subscribe to the story at godhelpthegirl.com

Micachu Mixtape #2

Micachu has released a second mix tape as a follow up to last year’s word-of-mouth, must have, Filthy Friends.

Aptly titled Kwesachu the new mixtape is collaborative project from Mica and her friend Kwes, a young producer from London. Kwesachu, features contributions from Mica’s friends: The XX, The Invisible, Man Like Me, Gold Panda and many more.

Click the cassette below to download it:



Micachu's album Jewellery is out now through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

God Help The Girl - Funny Little Frog

The next single from Stuart Murdoch's project God Help The Girl is Funny Little Frog, originally recorded by Belle And Sebastian.

Now before you think you've heard it all before, this version sung by Brittany Stallings is fuller and more lush than the original (this may have something to to do with it being beautifully backed up by a 45 piece orchestra).

As well documenting the recording process, the video shows us the recruting process Stuart underwent to make his musical narrative come to life.

Check it out



God Help The Girl is out June 20th through Rough Trade/Remote Control.

Jarvis Cocker Further Complications out tomorrow!

“Gold” 4 * The Age
“Produced by Steve Albini, Cocker's excellent second solo disc sets hilariously over-the-top come-ons to bruising garage rock and woozy soul” Rolling Stone .
“The dapper man-boy is back and is absolutely brilliant” Beat

Yes, that “dapper man-boy” is most certainly back. Tomorrow, the 23rd of May sees the release of his anticipated second “Pulp-free” effort, Further Complications.

Although Jarvis had assigned the recording duties for this album to studio rat extraordinaire Steve Albini, Jarvis insists he hasn’t “Gone Rock”.

You’ve probably already heard Angela, the catchy, rough around the edges rock tune we posted up a while ago. Here is the full tracklisting with some priceless notes about a few of them from Jarvis himself:

1. 'Further Complications.'
2. Angela
3. Pilchard
4. Leftovers
5. I Never Said I Was Deep
"the phrase that I would like carved on my tombstone"
6. Homewrecker!
"an absolute racket featuring saxophone from Steve Mackey [he played on The Stooges' 'Funhouse', you know]"
1. 'Further Complications.'
7. Hold Still
8. Fuckingsong
"is my surrogate. It's like I can't possibly fuck all the women in the world, but I can at least penetrate them if they listen to this song. [Laughs] It's going to put people off buying it, isn't it? That song going into your ears is like me penetrating your orifice." [via] [via]
9. Caucasian Blues
"an attempt to understand the pain of a man whose Honda Goldwing has run out of petrol"
10. Slush
"I guess that slush will be the ultimate outcome of global warming"
11. You're In My Eyes (Discosong)

Further Complications is out tomorrow May 23 through Rough Trade/ Remote Control

Jarvis Cocker to star in Wes Anderson directed Roald Dahl adaptation

Is Jarvis the-man-that-can-do-no-wrong at the moment?

From The Guardian UK: "A stop-motion version of the former Pulp frontman will feature in Wes Anderson's forthcoming film of Fantastic Mr Fox"

Wes Anderson (director of such classics as Darjeeling Limited, The Life Aquatic, The Royal Tenembaums, Rushmore) is adapting Roal Dahl's classic 1970s childrens book The Fantastic Mr Fox into a stop animation film. Jarvis is set to star in it, well a stop animation version of Jarvis is at least, as Petey "a mandolin-toting child", the Guardian reports.

"Though Petey initially featured more prominently in the film, his role was reduced when American viewers found Cocker a little, er, incomprehensible. "I did a narration bit at the start of Mr Fox," the singer told the Times, "but they showed that to test audiences in the US and they were very bamboozled. So I've ended up on the cutting-room floor. I tried to enunciate clearly!""

Read more here

The film is due out in the UK in October this year, so hopefully the Australian release won't be too far behind.

Jarvis' ALBUM however is out THIS WEEKEND! Further Complications hits the record stores Sat May 23 through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

New British Sea Power soundtrack for Man Of Aran

British Sea Power have written and recorded a new soundtrack for the 1934 film Man Of Aran. The film is being re-released on DVD with the new BSP soundtrackThe BSP Man Of Aran package includes two discs - the re-scored Man Of Aran DVD, plus the soundtrack by itself on CD.

This is an excerpt from it. Each chapter of the DVD corresponds to a track from album, this is chapter 3 and the track is ‘Come Wander With ME’, watch out for the huge sharks in the later chapters…

British Sea Power - Come Wander With Me from Rough Trade on Vimeo.

“It’s a wonderful film,” says BSP guitarist Noble. “The images vary between huge drama and a brilliant kind of ridiculousness - check out the amazing foot-wide bobbled berets that the fishermen wear. It’s a great look, like a 1930s Irish version of Jack White or Kraftwerk. It’s a film that’s also relevant to the current era – a time when the idea of living a simpler life is in the air. The film shows something I'd like to think I could do, but know I never will.”

Man Of Aran is a powerful and provocative dramatised documentary from the late American filmmaker Robert J Flaherty. In a series of startling black-and-white sequences the film presents daily life on the inhospitable Aran islands on the west coast of Ireland. The film was both celebrated and controversial on its release.

The film was created from half a million feet of film shot by Flaherty while living closely with the islanders. But Man Of Aran isn’t a straightforward documentary. The ‘family’ at the centre of the film weren’t related, rather a group of islanders cast as the family unit by Flaherty. The fishing expedition for basking sharks which forms the film’s dramatic heart was based around methods that hadn’t been employed on the Aran Islands for decades. Blending reality and staged elements, Flaherty arrived at a compelling document that captures the elemental power of the island’s past and present. The film won the Grand Prix at the 1935 Venice Film Festival and the eminent film critic Pauline Kael described it as, "The greatest film tribute to man's struggle against a hostile nature."

New Jarvis Cocker video Angela

Here's the new clip for Jarvis Cocker's latest single Angela from his forthcoming album Further Complications.



Further Complications is out May 23 through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

Jarvis turns the tables and becomes the music critic + stream his album

Well if a whole week of Cockery wasn't enough for you, Jarvis seems set on taking over The Guardian newspaper in the fortnight leading up to his latest album release 'Further Complications'.

First up, you can stream the album ahead of its official release, on The Guardian website.

Secondly, Jarvis has again enlisted help from children, this time his own kids Otto (13) and Albert (6), as he steps in as guest review for the Singles Column.

Read the hilarity of the Cocker clan here.

Further Complications is out May 23 through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

New Little Joy video Next Time Around

A charming video for a charming track. From last year's self titled album, here is Little Joy's clip for Next Time Around.

An 8mm video shot on a vintage Bolex.



Little Joy's self titled record is out now through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

New video The Veils on Sun Gangs [short film]

"Sun Gangs has it all: strong songwriting, excellent performances and an interesting lyrical bent... dense, electic and moving" Inpress

"truly great... staggering" Drum Media

"masterful and melodic" **** Rave

"suave yet haunting" **** MX

Sun Gangs has been out for a little while now and the concensus amongst the critics is that while its predecessor Nux Vomica put the band on the map, Sun Gangs is the band's best album yet.

Here's a short film about the album with singer Finn Andrews and bass player Sophia Burn.



Sun Gangs is out now through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

Jarvis Cocker taking it to the kids

If you didn't manage to catch Jarvis' week long live installation at Galerie Chappe in Paris you can still see the recorded footage up on his site.

But if you need to condense it down, THIS is the must see piece of footage from the week:

'Children's Day' (no school for French kiddies on Wednesdays!), with Jarvis leading the kids on a dance routine, like a cool unskivvied one man Wiggle, performing Angela...

Song kicks in around 3.15pm but turn up the volume and hear Jarvis canvassing random questions from the kids mid-set, such as 'where's Albert?', 'where is the toilet?' and responding in French. And bet he never got heckled with 'I'M HUNGRY!' at a Pulp gig.



Further Complications is out May 23 through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

New God Help The Girl video Come Monday Night

Here is the new clip for the first single from Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastien)'s God Help The Girl, Come Monday Night.



If you pop on over to their website you'll see they have relaunched it with a subscription package offer which includes 7″s, a Deluxe CD or LP of the new album, a 10″ and oodles of extra digital goodies. Plus, if you order you will get an instant stream of the entire album.

"This subscription package will gently unwind over the months allowing you to soak up the living, breathing world of God Help The Girl. A musical project with a beautifully and diligently crafted narrative that deserves to be listened to over time, for each place, character and voice to be properly digested before moving on to the next."

In The Guardian's interview with Stuart Murdoch, they describe how the album "comes with a backstory depicting a girl rebuilding herself after a year on a psychiatric ward" and is now "set to be made into a film". Read more about it here.

www.godhelpthegirl.com

God Help The Girl is out June 20 through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

Jarvis Cocker In Paris Day 1

Day 1 of Jarvis' week of Cockery in a Paris art gallery:





Further Complications is out May 23 through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

Jarvis Cocker Is Making An Exhibition Of Himself

Here's a rather long note from Jarvis detailing his schedule of events as he and his set up shop in a Parisien art gallery all this week to rehearse, jam with the audience, provide live accompanying music to yoga and pilates classes and host a children's day amongst other things!

For us poor sods who aren't anywhere near Paris for glorious week of Cockery, we can tune in to Jarvis' website to see it all there: www.jarviscocker.net. It should kick off at 8pm AEST tonight, Tues 5th May.

---

FROM JARVIS:

Back in October 2006, when I was asked to edit The Observer Music Monthly in the UK, I asked the question “What is Music for?”. Two & a half years on I would like to shorten that question to: WHAT IS MUSIC?

ALSO

I have lost count of the number of articles proclaiming the imminent or actual death of the music industry. Does this mean that music can now go back to being an art form again? & If so, is it the first art form to begin adapting itself to the post-capitalist society we now find ourselves living in? Or is it just something you get free when you buy a mobile phone? Digital content.

ALSO

What happens if you get a band to rehearse in an art gallery instead of a rehearsal space? What if you invite members of the public to play with the band? Or invite them to submit song titles which the band then have to base an improvisation upon? Could a live band provide the accompaniment to an aerobics class? What happens if you play music from 12 noon til 7pm, 7 days a week? & What if you invite the kids from the local school to come round on their Wednesday off?

SO

From Tuesday 5th of May until Sunday 10th of May I will be occupying Galerie Chappe, 4, Rue Andre Barsacq, 75018 Paris, France (+33 1 42 62 42 12 www.galeriechappe.fr) from 12 noon til 6/7pm each day (maybe later some nights) & attempting to answer these pertinent questions. I will be assisted by the members of my band: Martin Craft, Steve Mackey, Tim McCall, Ross Orton & Simon Stafford plus, at various times, we hope to be joined by other musicians currently living in the Paris area.

& THEN

If you live locally please come down & join in this experiment. If you don’t you can follow its progress on www.jarviscocker.net which will run for the duration of the installation (more details soon). Each day will be archived & re-broadcast for the convenience of those living in different time-zones.

& FINALLY

A selection of Rankin’s photography for my soon-to-be-released album “Further Complications” will be on view during the course of this show. These images are an integral part of the exhibition & will also be offered for sale through the gallery.

TIMETABLE OF EVENTS

MONDAY 4th MAY – Set-up day. Closed to the public (though no-one can stop you looking through the windows).

TUESDAY 5th MAY
12 – 2pm – BAND REHEARSAL
2 -3pm - BRING AN INSTRUMENT (members of the public are invited to bring an instrument with them & play along with the band. Amplification will be available for electric instruments).
3 – 4pm - YOGA CLASS (with a qualified instructor. The band will provide suitable live accompaniment. Participants must provide their own yoga-mat.).
4 – 5pm – IMPROVISATIONS ON A THEME (throughout the course of the exhibition a box will be available in the gallery into which members of the public can post titles, phrases, suggestions, lyrics or anything else that the band can then base improvisations around. During this hour the band will create a number of pieces based on selections of this material).
5 – 6pm – GUEST PERFORMANCE ( an invited guest will play with the band)

WEDNESDAY 6th MAY
12 -2pm – BAND REHEARSAL
2 – 4pm - CHILDREN’S DAY ( French children traditionally have Wednesday off school. The band will supervise a number of music-based children’s activities over the course of these 2 hours. Parental supervision is required for children under 11).
4 – 5pm - RELAXATION ( the band will provide musical accompaniment to a relaxation class. Participants should provide their own exercise mat).
5 – 6pm GUEST PERFORMANCE ( see Tuesday 5th May)

THURSDAY 7th MAY
12 – 2pm – BAND REHEARSAL
2 – 3pm - IMPROVISATIONS ON A THEME ( see Tuesday 5th May)
3 – 4pm – PILATES CLASS (with a qualified instructor. The band will provide suitable live accompaniment. Participants must provide their own exercise mat)
4 – 5pm – BRING AN INSTRUMENT (see Tuesday 5th May)
5 – 6pm – GUEST PERFORMANCE

FRIDAY 8th MAY
12 – 2pm – BAND REHEARSAL
2 – 3pm - IMPROVISATIONS ON A THEME
3 – 4pm - AEROBICS CLASS
4 – 5pm – BRING AN INSTRUMENT
5 – 6pm – GUEST PERFORMANCE

SATURDAY 9th MAY
12 – 2pm – BAND REHEARSAL
2- 3pm - BRING AN INSTRUMENT
3 – 4pm - DANCING ( the band will play an hour of music designed to encourage people to dance. Dress appropriately)
4 – 6pm - SET-UP FOR OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE (weather permitting)
6 – 7pm - OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE ( the band will play a short open-air concert just outside the gallery)

SUNDAY 10th MAY
12 – 2pm – BAND REHEARSAL
2 – 3pm - QUIET HOUR ( an hour of the softest music the band can play)
3 – 4pm - GUEST PERFORMANCE
4 – 6pm - REVIEW OF THE WEEK ( the band will play music written over the course of the past 6 days)

This is a very rough schedule & will be subject to change at the drop of a hat – but it does give some idea of the kind of things that will be happening. Updates will be available during the course of the exhibition through the gallery’s website.

www.jarviscocker.net

Jarvis Cocker's new album Further Complications is out May 23 through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

New God Help The Girl mp3 Come Monday Night

Belle And Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch has been busily working away at his new project "God Help The Girl".

Brought together as a musical narrative of sorts, the album features all the songs that have been floating around Stuart's head for several years while touring.

Feeling the songs 'just weren't right' for Belle And Sebastian he enlisted the vocal talents of various female singers including Asya of Smoosh fame and newcomer Catherine Ireton.

On 'Come Monday Night' Ireton (who seems to be the leading lady of this project) sings beautifully and somewhat effortlessly over a 42 piece orchestra to create this pop gem reminiscent of 60's girl groups and Bacharach-esque ballads.

Come Monday Night [mp3]

God Help The Girl is out June 20 through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

godhelpthegirl.com

New Super Furry Animals film on Pitchfork

"Reaffirms what a fantastic band they are, and is arguably their best offering since 2001’s Rings Around The World" NME

"The second best major-league band in the UK behind Radiohead" Time Out

"They’re back to gain their art rock crown" Artrocker

Super Furry Animals' Dark Days Light Years is released this week. For their ninth studio album SFA have produced their most spontaneous and inventive album to date.

The band want you to know that the album is chocked full of riffs and grooves… its super melodic… there's only one slow number, which isn't slow at all… oh and there’s no country rock as Daf has developed a pedal steel phobia.

There’s wiggy 70s wah wah (Crazy Naked Girls)… shimmering psychedelia (Cardiff In The Sun)… even a little 80s electro pop (Inaugural Trams)… some motoric grooves (Pric) and infuriatingly pop (The Very Best Of Neil Diamond)

To mark it's release, for this week only Pitchfork are streaming a WORLD PREMIERE 48 minute film film on the making of the album "with in-studio performance footage and endearingly inscrutable interview segments".

Dark Days Light Years is out now through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

New Jarvis Cocker mp3 Angela

Jarvis Cocker has a new mp3 Angela (lyrics here) from his forthcoming Steve Albini produced new album 'Further Complications'. And he has a new website too. Go have a look at him making a name for himself, literally.

Buy the album 'Further Complications' or the single 'Angela' on iTunes.

Looking for mp3s?
Check out our free mp3 download page here!

New video - Jeffrey Lewis and the news! With Noah And The Whale on The Guardian

Jeffrey Lewis just left our shores, but is back on our screens with his latest installment of Jeffrey Lewis TV for The Guardian UK:



Em Are I is out April 18 through Rough Trade.

Jeffrey Lewis tours Melbourne, Adelaide & Perth this Easter

While the rest of us kick back for a relaxing Easter break, there is no resting for Jeffrey Lewis as he finishes his debut Australian tour supporting Darren Hanlon, ahead of the release of his new album Em Are I.

JEFFREY LEWIS
*supporting Darren Hanlon
Thu 9 Apr - Albury, Sodens*
Fri 10 Apr - Melbourne, Polyester Books Fitzroy Watchmen Lecture
Fri 10 Apr - Melbourne, Thornbury Theatre*
Sat 11 Apr - Melbourne, Polyester Records Flinders Lane MIDDAY INSTORE PERFORMANCE
Sat 11 Apr - Adelaide, Big Star Records 6pm Watchmen Lecture
Sat 11 Apr - Adelaide, Jive*
Sun 12 Apr - Freemantle, Mojos*
Mon 13 Apr - Perth, Quality Comics 5pm Watchmen Lecture
Mon 13 Apr - Perth, Devilles Pad*

Em Are I is out April 18 through Rough Trade/ Remote Control

Jeffrey Lewis TV - covering Louie Louie and Cut Your Hair

Caught one of Jeffrey Lewis' sets and now can't get enough of him?

Well The Guardian in the UK can't get enough of him either. In fact he's been doing a series of video episodes for their and his latest is especially good.

Here Jeffrey and his brother Jack, along with Herman Dune get jamming on a cover of the Kingsmen's Louie Louie:



But wait there's more:

Jeff & Laura Marling Vs Eminem

Keep an eye on the Guardian because there are bunch more that will be online in coming weeks.

Jeffrey Lewis is currently touring with Darren Hanlon, with a couple of headlines of his own plus his Watchmen lectures.

Em Are I is out April 18 through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

New video - Micachu 'Lips'

Here's the new video for 'Lips' from Micachu's album Jewellery.



Speaking of Micachu, the lucky Death Of A Disco Dancer crew got to catch Micachu live at SXSW and took a snap after the show:

HAVING MICACHU & THE SHAPES POSE FOR US AFTER A CORKER SHOWCASE THE NIGHT BEFORE (As reported on Day 3: "Cute as buttons, the playful Brit trio steal sound ideas from ‘90s dance and churn it into chirpy leftfield pop."

Introducing Stuart Murdoch's God Help The Girl

Belle & Sebastien's Stuart Murdoch has a new project - God Help The Girl.

The project is a "a story set to music, which Stuart Murdoch has been working on intermittently for the last five years, its origin in some songs that were written while Belle and Sebastian were touring ‘Dear Catastrophe Waitress’ in 2004.

Here's mini doco about how it all came together:



http://www.godhelpthegirl.com/

God Help The Girl is due out June 20.

Micachu according to Grizzly Bear

Here is Micachu being interviewed by Grizzly Bear, talking music school, shapes and sun burn...



Micachu's album Jewellry is out now through Rough Trade/ Remote Control.

1990s album Kicks out now

According to the band this record is influenced from everything from ‘Scary Monsters’/ ‘Golden Years’ – era Bowie, his work with Eno and Visconti to Jay-Z, Hall and Oates, the chops of Hot Chocolate and even the folk licks of Richard Thompson.

References include- Glasgow and girls, girls, girls, current, future, past and fictional, Mongolian Warlords, Bears, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Baader-Meinhoff and Scientology.

The album was recorded at Edwyn Collins’ West Heath yard studio in London and it was produced by Bernard Butler. As with the first album it’s all in all a ridiculously catchy dancefloor filling rock ‘n’ roll album that’s a perfect accompaniment to teenage kicks.

The Box [mp3]




Kicks is out now through Rough Trade/ Remote Control

Jeffrey Lewis - headline show dates and lectures

My god, Jeffrey Lewis is going to have to maintain a steady supply of Beroccas while he's on the country to keep up with the gigantic schedule of shows and lectures he has in store, sometimes with 3 appearances in the one day. Check it out:

Cult anti-folk troubadour and comic book artist JEFFREY LEWIS is coming all the way from New York to support DARREN HANLON on his national tour, play a few of his own shows and present a very special series of lectures on the comic (and now feature film) Watchmen.

Since his emergence at the forefront of the anti-folk movement in the late 90's, Jeff has performed and collaborated with the likes of Kimya Dawson, the Moldy Peaches and Steve Malkmus, winning fans the world over for wry, literate and often downright hilarious songs.

Performing solo on Darren's tour and at his own shows, Jeff will bring his unique mixture of acoustic punk songs to enchant you. Look out for impromptu comic book readings and hand drawn flip pad presentations within the set along with the odd poem or two.

Praise for the Watchmen lecture series:

'[The movie] does not even compare to the experience I had at [Jeff's] lecture... Warner Bros should have given Jeff a hundred million dollars instead. Where the movie didn't add a single thing to my experience of Watchmen, the lecture blew my mind and captured my attention and imagination." [Jason Levian of Floating World Comics, Oregon]

JEFFREY LEWIS
*supporting Darren Hanlon

Tue 24 Mar – Canberra, Tilleys Cafe*
Wed 25 Mar – Launceston, The Hub*
Thu 26 Mar – Hobart, The Republic*
Fri 27 Mar – Sydney, Petersham Town Hall*
Sat 28 Mar - Brisbane, The Avid Reader Watchmen Lecture
Sat 28 Mar - Brisbane, The Old Museum*
Sun 29 Mar - Pomona, The Majestic Theatre*
Tue 31 Mar - Brisbane, Troubadour HEADLINE SHOW
Thu 2 Apr - Armidale, The Armidale Club*
Fri 3 Apr - Newcastle, The Gallipoli Legions Club*
Sat 4 Apr - Nowra, The Tea Club Cafe*
Mon 6 Apr - Katoomba, Clarendon Guesthouse*
Tue 7 Apr - Sydney, Ariel Books Paddington 6pm Watchmen Lecture
Tue 7 Apr - Sydney, Hopetoun Hotel HEADLINE SHOW
Thu 9 Apr - Albury, Sodens*
Fri 10 Apr - Melbourne, Polyester Books Fitzroy Watchmen Lecture
Fri 10 Apr - Melbourne, The Thornbury Theatre*
Sat 11 Apr - Melbourne, Polyester Records Fitzroy INSTORE PERFORMANCE
Sat 11 Apr - Adelaide, Big Star Records 6pm Watchmen Lecture
Sat 11 Apr - Adelaide, Jive*
Sun 12 Apr - Freemantle, Mojos*
Mon 13 Apr - Perth, Quality Comics 5pm Watchmen Lecture
Mon 13 Apr - Perth, Devilles Pad*

Em Are I is out April 18.

www.TheJeffreyLewisSite.com

Sydney scores Jenny Lewis' only Australian headline show

Jenny Lewis arrives in the country this weekend to commence her run of V Festival shows. She will also be supporting Snow Patrol on their side shows.

However, if you want to see Jenny headline her own Australian show, there's only one city you can do it in and that's Sydney.

She will be playing Metro Theatre on Tue Apr 7. Tickets on sale here.

JENNY LEWIS - AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Sat 28 Mar – Sydney, V Festival
Sun 29 Mar – Gold Coast, V Festival
Mon 30 Mar – Sydney, Hordern Pavilion supporting Snow Patrol
Wed 1 Apr – Adelaide, Entertainment Centre supporting Snow Patrol
Thu 2 Apr – Melbourne, Palais Theatre supporting Snow Patrol
Sat 4 Apr – Melbourne, V Festival
Sun 5 Apr – Perth, V Festival
Tue 7 Apr - Sydney, Metro Theatre

Fancy Jarvis Cocker's undies?

Coz if you do, you can bid for them now on ebay.

No, the album recording budget hasn't scraped rockbottom, he's doing it for CHARITY thank you very much. It's all for NNLSDropin, who support destitute asylum seekers.

Who woulda picked Jarvis as a blue Y-fronts man?

At time of posting, we'd like to point out that Jarvis' UNDIES or pants as he'd probably call them, currently has the most bids and at just under AU$300 is fetching more than the intimate apparel of Alison Goldfrapp, Nick Cave, Fergie and Jordan.

Bidding on Jarvis' undies ends April 1, 7.04AM AEDST.

His album Further Complications is out May through Rough Trade.

The Veils - Where I Lead Me video

Here's the latest live video of The Veils acoustic in London.



Sun Gangs is out April 4.

The Veils - The Letter video

Here's the new video for The Veils track The Letter that we posted the mp3 of last week.

Enjoy!

1990s x 59

New clip for 59, from 1990s album Kicks out this weekend, Mar 21.

Super Furry Animals onboard Inaugural Trams

Did you tune in for Super Furry Animals’ live performance of their new album this morning?

Did you check out their madly blogged “in the studio” epics recently? Hilarious verite footage of the truly unglamorous world of a band actually making an album... god bless the Furries for being so honest about it and themselves. Cos of course what really matters is the sounds that come out of it all and this Kraftwerkesque gem singing the praises of a newly completed public transport system in an un-named town in Germany, (really there just aren’t enough songs about this kind of thing are there?), could only come forth from Super Furry Animals. But wait, there is glamour to be had here… really…. coz Franz Ferdinand’s Nick McCarthy drops by to join in on vocals.

Inaugural Trams is off the upcoming album Dark Days/Light Years album which will of course be a total delight.

Inaugural Trams [mp3]

1990s - Stomp

1990s new album Kicks out March 21.

Jeffrey Lewis - To Be Objectified video

Jeffrey Lewis kicks off his tour here next week and has just released the video for To Be Objectified from his new album Em Are I.

This video is really, truly beautiful and encompasses the many facets of Jeffrey Lewis’ artistic life.

Directed by Jack Ferry, in the dogma of his $99 Music Videos project.



Jeffrey Lewis will be doing an extensive tour of Australia with Darren Hanlon kicking off next week.

Tue 24 Mar – Canberra, Tilleys Cafe
Wed 25 Mar – Launceston, The Hub
Thu 26 Mar – Hobart, The Republic
Fri 27 Mar – Sydney, Petersham Town Hall
Sat 28 Mar - Brisbane, The Old Museum
Sun 29 Mar - Pomona, The Majestic Theatre
Thu 2 Apr - Armidale, The Armidale Club
Fri 3 Apr - Newcastle, The Gallipoli Legions Club
Sat 4 Apr - Nowra, The Tea Club Cafe
Mon 6 Apr - Katoomba, Clarendon Guesthouse
Thu 9 Apr - Albury, Sodens
Fri 10 Apr - Melbourne, The Thornbury Theatre
Sat 11 Apr - Adelaide, Jive Bar
Sun 12 Apr - Freemantle, Mojos

Em Are I is out April 18.

Super Furry Animals perform new record in its entirety tomorrow morning!

Just a quick reminder that SFA will be unveiling their new record Dark Days/ Light Years to the world by playing it live, in its entirety and webcasting it on their website tomorrow morning Australian time:

So tune into http://superfurry.com/ :
Tue 17 Mar Australian time
7.00am Melbourne/ Sydney time
6.30am Adelaide time
6.00am Brisbane time
5.00am Perth time

You can listen to a sneak preview from the album now of:
Inaugural Trams [mp3]

The album is available to buy immediately as a download from the start of the gig on http://superfurry.com

The physical album is released in Australia April 11.

A Letter from The Veils

As we mentioned last month, The Veils very fine third album Sun Gangs is due out April 4.

"The Veils [are] purveyors of gothic Americana, inhabiting desert-stormy vistas that are just expansive enough to house the band's most valuable asset: Andrew's magnetic outsize persona." Pitchfork

Here's a taste of what it sounds like
The Letter [mp3]

The Letter is on the album Sun Gangs, available now [iTunes]

Jarvis Cocker - notes on new album and facial hair

Jarvis Cocker has provided some details about his new album Further Complications due out in May:

- the new album has been recorded with Steve Albini at his Chicago studio Electrical Audio

- playing on the new record are Jarvis of course, plus Steve Mackey (bass), Ross Orton (drums), Simon Stafford (keyboards, backing vocals), Tim McCall (guitar), and Australian Martin Craft (guitar, occasional keyboards, backing vocals) plus some extra musicians including a harpist and 'heavenly choir'!

- he hasn't entirely 'gone rock' but during the course of touring his last record he discovered that, with this band, he COULD rock and so he’d be a fool not to (when the situation demanded it).

- the album tracklisting hasn't been finalised just yet but some of the pearler track titles floating around include Slush " song I wrote whilst aboard a ship that was sailing up the west coast of Greenland last year. I guess that slush will be the ultimate outcome of global warming", Caucasian Blues "is an attempt to understand the pain of a man whose Honda Goldwing has run out of petrol", I Never Said I Was Deep "the phrase that I would like carved on my tombstone", Girls Like I Too, The Night They Let Me Out Of The Home "portrays the difficulties of using public transport whilst on crutches", I Found Myself Looking For God "lists unlikely places one can look for spiritual enlightenment", Homewrecker!, Pilchard and Fuckingsong

& FINALLY – WHAT’S WITH THE BEARD?
Jarvis says "I grew it to keep my face warm in the Arctic & then I kind of got attached to it. (The amount of grey in it horrified me at first but now I think it acts as a handy reminder of my own mortality.)"

The Veils acoustic in London

The Veils are set to release their new album Sun Gangs next month.

To give you a taste of what's to come, here's a video of Finn Andrews performing acoustically at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London:


Sun Gangs is out April 4.

1990s - The Road video teaser for Kicks album

The 1990s brand new album Kicks is due out March 21.

Here's a sneak peek:

Super Furry Animals unveil entire new record in gig webcast

At 7.00am AEDST (Melbourne/ Sydney time that is) on Tue March 17, Super Furry Animals will be performing their entire new studio album Dark Days/ Light Years in its entirety, in a special gig webcast.

SFA, Tune in to superfurry.com to see it all unfold, as it is filmed in conjunction with MusicBox, Cardiff and graduate filmmakers from Central St Martins College, London.

You can buy the new album immediately from the start of the webcast from superfurry.com on MP3 download.

Album tracklisting as follows

1. Crazy Naked Girls
2. Mt
3. Moped Eyes
4. Inaugural Trams
5. Inconvenience
6. Cardiff In The Sun
7. The Very Best Of Neil Diamond
8. Helium Hearts
9. White Socks / Flip Flops
10. Where Do You Wanna Go?
11. Lliwiau Llachar
12. Pric

Dark Days/Light Years is out on April 11.

www.roughtraderecords.com

Jeffrey Lewis rolls out new single and tour dates

Part folkie, part indie-rocker, part comic book artist, how does indigenous New Yorker Jeffrey Lewis do it?

After a 2008 spent almost entirely on the road, including support tours with some of the most respected artists around (Jarvis Cocker, The Cribs, Stephen Malkmus and The Mountain Goats, to name but a few!), as well as with artistic and literary projects all over the map (an illustrated rhyming history of Communism, lectures on the comic book Watchmen, blogs for the New York Times, even an illustrated biography of Barack Obama), Jeffrey somehow managed to find the time to record his best album yet.

'Em Are I by Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard is Jeff's fifth full-length for Rough Trade, and represents the first time that all of the greatest elements of his previous recordings have formed a fully cohesive and amazing whole.

With lyrics straight from the heart and melancholic finger-picked guitar, Roll Bus Roll is the first single from the album.

Roll Bus Roll [mp3]

Jeffrey Lewis will be doing an extensive tour of Australia with Darren Hanlon in March/April.

Tue 24 Mar – Canberra, Tilleys Cafe
Wed 25 Mar – Launceston, The Hub
Thu 26 Mar – Hobart, The Republic
Fri 27 Mar – Sydney, Petersham Town Hall
Sat 28 Mar - Brisbane, The Old Museum
Sun 29 Mar - Pomona, The Majestic Theatre
Thu 2 Apr - Armidale, The Armidale Club
Fri 3 Apr - Newcastle, The Gallipoli Legions Club
Sat 4 Apr - Nowra, The Tea Club Cafe
Mon 6 Apr - Katoomba, Clarendon Guesthouse
Thu 9 Apr - Albury, Sodens
Fri 10 Apr - Melbourne, The Thornbury Theatre
Sat 11 Apr - Adelaide, Jive Bar
Sun 12 Apr - Freemantle, Mojos

'Em Are I is due out late April.

myspace.com/jefflewisband

Micachu's golden new single

Micachu is 21-year-old Mica Levi, an unassuming five foot one figure who creates tunes that somehow perfectly define these sometimes scary, often overwhelming, but always exciting times.

Jewellery is Micachu’s debut long-player and is a teeny, but visionary, peek at the infinite maelstrom of musical carnage that hurtles through her brain 24-hours-a-day.

Golden Phone is the first single from the album. A fuzz-fest of disintegrating electronics mashed up with poppy synth beats. [mp3]

Over the past year Micachu has:

- released an avidly received mixtape that moulded concrete grime and ruff-neck hip hop to avant-electronics
- composed a Nuevo-classical epic for the London Philharmonic Orchestra on the personal request of revered conductor Marc Anthony Turnage
- formed a band, The Shapes (aka Raisa Khan on keys and Marc Pell on drums), midway through recording the album, adding a whole new dimension to proceedings and helping to channel the mind-boggling waves of creativity that swell from her scruffily curled head

Jewellery is due out late March through Rough Trade/Remote Control.

myspace.com/micayomusic

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.

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.

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.

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

Emiliana Torrini 'Jungle Drum' video

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

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

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

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

Adam Green on Rockwiz this weekend

This Saturday Moldy Peaches' Adam Green gets his musical wits tested on SBS' Rockwiz. The episode was recorded in early December when Adam came down to visit us for a string of shows including the Meredith Music Festival.

Going head to head with Green will be American singer songwriter Toni Childs where they will no doubt unite for a memorable duet in true Rockwiz style.

To keep up with all Adam Green news, photos and general shenanigans visit his blog.

Adam Green - Rich Kids

A splendour in pink, Moldy Peaches' Adam Green recently strutted his stuff around Australia performing tracks from his latest album Sixes & Sevens.

And now you can download Rich Kids from the album over at RCRD LBL.

Be sure to check out Adam's blog.

Little Joy - No One's Better Sake mp3 and video

It may not being feeling very Summery where you are now, but Little Joy are here to fix all that with their new single No One's Better Sake [mp3]


The video for the new single sees the band timewarp back to the 60s and includes a cameo by a maraca shaking Devendra Banhart:


Little Joy are Fabrizio Moretti from The Strokes, Binki Shapiro and Brazilian musician Rodrigo Amarante. Named after a nearby cocktail lounge, Little Joy's self-titled debut is a little bit Strokes and a little bit Tropicaia... the perfect soundtrack to a lazy Summer.

myspace.com/littlejoymusic

Jarvis Cocker performs 'C*nts Are Still Running The World'

A newly bearded Jarvis Cocker recently played at Rough Trade's 30th Anniversary Special. After talking about shopping and Westfield for 5 minutes, he flows into old favourite C*nts Are Still Running The World. Obvious NSFW warning. He drops the C-bomb alot, but what did you expect from the title, anyway?



Jarvis Cocker will be releasing a new album in 2009 through Rough Trade.

Jenny Lewis lends her voice to Disney

Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis has recorded a new song Barking At The Moon that appears on the soundtrack of Disney's latest animated film Bolt:


Jenny's new solo album Acid Tongue is out now, with guests on the album including Elvis Costello, Zooey Deschanel and M Ward.

myspace.com/jennylewismusic

Unattainable video by Little Joy

Amother gorgeous Little Joy video, this time for Gorilla Vs Bear, of 'Unattainable'.


Little Joy | "Unattainable" from gorillavsbear.net on Vimeo.

Emiliana Torrini charges up and makes the big jump to Australia

Just a quick reminder than Emiliana Torrini returns to Australia this weekend, with full band in tow.

Sun 16 Nov – Brisbane, Powerhouse Theatre w/ Charge Group
Mon 17 Nov – Sydney, Metro Theatre w/ Charge Group
Tue 18 Nov – Melbourne, Forum w/ Charge Group
Thu 20 Nov – Perth, Fly By Night w/ Abbe May

Here's some live footage of Emiliana and the band performing "Jungle Drum" just last month. Turn it up!



And just announced, Charge Group will be supporting at all shows except Perth (where she will be supported by Abbe May)

Little Joy album streaming in full

Little Joy are Fabrizio Moretti (The Strokes), Rodrigo Amarante and Binki Shapiro, three friends who dropped their routine at their respective hometowns to make a record in Los Angeles.

You can now listen to their self-titled debut album in full over at their myspace.

Their album consists of songs Fabrizio already had stockpiled and tracks Little Joy wrote together especially for this project whilst living together in a house in Echo Park. Producer Noah Georgeson (Devendr Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Vetiver, Bert Jansch) came in to produce Little Joy, named after the cocktail lounge just down the street from their home.

The end result is a little bit Strokes and a little bit Tropicaia... in our books that makes for a perfect summer record.

The first single from their self-titled debut album is
Keep Me In Mind [mp3]


Little Joy is due out later this month.

The Long Blondes call it a day

,

Having released their sophomore album "Couples" back in April, UK's The Long Blondes have announced today that they have broken up. A statement on the band's website reads:

The main reason for this is that I suffered from a stroke in June and unfortunately I do not know when / if I will be well enough to play guitar again.

On behalf of the band I'd like to say a big thank you to anyone who ever came to one of our shows, bought one of our records or danced to one of our songs in a club. Thank you, if it wasn't for you the whole thing would have been pointless.

Finally on a personal note, thanks for all your well wishing messages.

Dorian xxx

Guilt


myspace.com/thelongblondes

Albert Hammond, Jr. - Lillywhite Session

The Stokes' Albert Hammond, Jr. released his second solo album ¿Cómo Te Llama? a few months ago. Originally slated to tour Australia in August, the shows were unfortunately cancelled due do a throat infection. Which also coincided with his engagement to model Agyness Deyn. Hmmm...

As a small consolation, you can hear Albert and his merry men play a few tracks from the new album at NPR.

Setlist:
Miss Myrtle
GfC
Rocket
Victory at Monterey

GfC [mp3]


myspace.com/alberthammondjr

And speaking of Strokes offshoots, drummer Fabrizio Moretti has teamed up with Brazilian musician Rodrigo Amarante and LA native Binki Shapiro to form Little Joy. Their self-titled debut album is set for release early November. A little bit Strokes and a little bit Tropicaia... in our books that makes for a perfect summer record. You can download the first single Keep Me In Mind here.

myspace.com/littlejoymusic

Keep Little Joy in mind

Little Joy are Fabrizio Moretti from The Strokes, Binki Shapiro and Brazilian musician Rodrigo Amarante.

The first single from their self-titled debut album is
Keep Me In Mind [mp3]


Moretti and Amarante first made a chance encounter at a Portuguese festival in Lisbon, where both had performed. A year later, Amarante traveled to the US to record with Devendra Banhart on his Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon album, meeting with Moretti on the off hours to humour the idea of working together on music that had no affiliation to their particular bands.

Binki Shapiro, musician and native of Los Angeles and firm favourite out on the blogs, was introduced to them and became a fast friend. Encouraging their musical pursuits, it was not long before she joined them to round out the band.

The self-titled album consists of songs Fabrizio had already stockpiled, and tracks Little Joy wrote together especially for this project whilst living together in a house in Echo Park.

Producer Noah Georgeson (Devendar Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Vetiver, Bert Jansch) came in to produce Little Joy, named after the cocktail lounge just down the street from their home.

The end result is a little bit Strokes and a little bit Tropicaia... in our books that makes for a perfect summer record.

Little Joy is due for release early November.

myspace.com/littlejoymusic

Emiliana Torrini Australian tour announced

At long last Emiliana Torrini is back with a new album, Me and Armini, and will be playing some long awaited shows in Australia this November.

“A perfect cocktail of delicate acoustic ballads, downbeat pop & electro”
J Mag

“With Me and Armini she lays all of her cards on the table & it could well be her defining moment”
The Brag

Iceland’s Emiliana Torrini made a very strong connection with Australian audiences via her Fisherman’s Woman album (which featured the hit single Sunny Road) and subsequent national tour in 2005.

Renowned for her soothing, ethereal vocals, as evidenced via her performance of Gollum’s Song on the Lord of The Ring’s soundtrack, and her sublime, intimate songwriting (she also co-wrote the Kylie Minogue hit Slow), Me and Armini is Emiliana Torrini’s most captivating and ambitious album to date and is a record that is destined to be one of the albums of 2008.

As anyone who saw the 2005 tour will know, she is nothing short of a sensation in the live setting. Exuberant and confident, Emiliana creates a wonderful, organic bond with the audience. And just to make things extra special, these upcoming shows will be performed in full band mode.

Brisbane
Sunday November 16
Powerhouse Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse
Tickets from Powertix (Ph 07 3358 8600 or brisbanepowerhouse.org)
Presented by triple j & Time Off

Sydney
Monday November 17
Metro Theatre
Tickets from Metro theatre at metrotheatre.com.au / (02) 9550 3666
or in person @ the venue - 624 George Street, Sydney
Presented by triple j & Drum Media

Melbourne
Tuesday November 18
Forum Theatre
Tickets from ticketek.com.au or Ph 132 849
Presented by triple j & Beat

Perth
Thursday November 20
Fly By Night (seated)
Tickets from Tickets from Mills, Planet, Star Perth and heatseeker.com.au
Presented by triple j & Drum Media Perth

Tickets on sale Thursday October 9 at 9.00am.

Big Jumps [mp3]


myspace.com/emilianatorrini

Jenny Lewis, Jay Reatard and Fucked Up albums out now

Just released are three new albums that range from soulful guitar rock to hardcore (with pan flute!).

Acid Tongue is the sophomore solo album from Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis. Collaborators on the album include Elvis Costello for a duet on Carpetbaggers, Johnathan Rice, Jason Boesel, M Ward, Zooey Deschanel and Chris Robinson. All of the album was recorded in analogue in just 3 weeks, without the use of Pro-Tools. With the vocals tracked entirely live, Lewis's voice has never sounded so expressive and the narratives have never been so hard-hitting and acerbic.
"The album is boastful, vulnerable and witty, usually within the course of a single song." Prefix

Acid Tongue [mp3]


myspace.com/jennylewismusic


Matador Singles '08 is a collection of all six singles that Memphis boywonder Jay Reatard has been releasing on 7" through Matador over the past months. Not only does the release cater for those who aren’t so bothered about collecting and those who missed out on the 7”s the first time round (frenzy was so intense that it brought down the Matador server twice, once with 10,000+ attempts to buy a copy in a one minute period.), but it's also an outstanding album in its own right. Every song is a perfect snarling pop-punk gem evolving interestingly (and erratically) from punk to pop. As Pitchfork said on the subject, “In this short space of time, Reatard has cranked out more memorable songs than some acts do in their whole careers.”

Always Wanting More [mp3]


www.myspace.com/jayreatard


The new album from posthardcore wunderkinds Fucked Up is The Chemistry of Common Life. Far from being your ordinary hardcore band, Fucked Up merge elements of hardcore songwriting with up to 70 tracks of guitars, organs, winds and vocals. The songs are iconoclastic and startling, with Pink Eyes' growling vocals front and center. Though Fucked Up remain punks at heart - if quixotically diverse ones - they have created a great, weird, heavy record that stubbornly sticks in your brain and your heart. Check out front man Pink Eyes on the cover of NME.

Twice Born [mp3]


Looking For Gold - Fucked Up Blog

Adam Green announces debut solo Australian tour

Adam Green will be leaving his New York home this December to perform at the Meredith Music Festival, along with three headline shows around the country promoting his fifth solo album, Sixes & Sevens.

Adam’s irreverent wit and pop sensibilities were established early on as a teenager with his first band, the much loved Anti-Folk heroes MOLDY PEACHES. Formed with his bunnysuit-wearing-partner-in-crime Kimya Dawson (Adam sported a Robin Hood costume at the time), the band captivated critics and won fans around the world, while propelling New York’s Anti-Folk scene to international prominence. Both Adam and Kimya experienced a resurgence earlier this year when the Peaches were featured on the soundtrack of hit indie film, JUNO, including the anti-love song duet between Adam Green and Kimya Dawson, Anyone Else But You.

Adam went on to experience success as a solo artist, a career that is now five albums deep. It was Adam’s second solo album Friend Of Mine released in 2003 that revealed his innate ability to pen a truly off-kilter folk song, including the single “Jessica” a comic ode to Jessica Simpson that can still make you simultaneously chuckle and weep. Little wonder that Rolling Stone have called him "pure genius", with MOJO referring to him as an "unexpectedly rich talent".

His latest album Sixes & Sevens is out now.

Morning After Midnight [mp3]


Getting Led [mp3]


Catch Adam Green at one of the following shows around the country this December:

TICKETS ON SALE FRIDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER

Meredith Music Festival
12, 13, 14 December
More info: www.mmf.com.au

Melbourne
Sunday 14 December
East Brunswick Club
Tickets on sale at the East Brunswick Club box office, 280 Lygon St, East Brunswick. PH: 9388 9794 or via the website www.eastbrunswickclub.com
Presented by Beat

Sydney
Tuesday 16 December
Oxford Art Factory
Tickets from www.moshtix.com.au, 1300 GET TIX (438 849), on your mobile via www.moshtix.mobi, and all moshtix outlets.
Presented by Drum Media & FBi

Brisbane
Wednesday 17 December
The Zoo
Tickets from Oz Tix, ph 1300 762 545 or online www.thezoo.com.au, Rockinghorse, Butterbeats (city & valley), Moshpit Music, Sunflower, Music Mania, Cosmic Music, Central Station Music, Cooly Hotel, Bombay Rock, Gooble Warming, Kill The Music.
Presented by Rave Magazine

www.myspace.com/adamgreen1

Jenny Lewis's slip of the Acid Tongue

"Flat out great and no mistake. Jenny is up there with the best singer-songwriters..." Elvis Costello

Perhaps better known as co-lead singer in Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis is set to release her new solo album Acid Tongue, the follow-up to her internationally acclaimed 2006 album Rabbit Fur Coat.

Guests on the album include Elvis Costello for a duet on Carpetbaggers, Johnathan Rice, M Ward, Zooey Deschanel and Laurel Canyon's own Jonathan Wilson.

The all analogue, no Pro-Tools sessions were recorded in just 3 weeks. The album's tracks, disparate as they are, share a sparkling vitality; Lewis's voice has never sounded so expressive and the narratives have never been so hard-hitting and acerbic.

Acid Tongue is out October 4th.

Acid Tongue [mp3]

myspace.com/jennylewismusic

Basia Bulat Goes On A Pilgrimage

Basia Bulat hails from London, Ontario and she recently grace Australia's shores to tour her debut album Oh, My Darling that features the track Little Waltz which you may have heard on the Volkswagon ad.

Her new video from the album is for The Pilgriming Vine.

Little Waltz