5/1/09 UPDATES:
Congratulations are in order for 230 Publicity artists Japandroids and Comet Gain this week for winning Best New Music honors at Pitchfork!!!
In addition to Japandroids BNM for it's debut full-length, POST-NOTHING on Unfamiliar, the young band from Vancouver, BC has also made the cover of EXCLAIM. POST-NOTHING will also has coverage on the horizon from the likes of FIlter, Spin, Under The Radar, Canadian Press, CBC, MTV Canada, EYE, Straight, Toronto Star, and many more. The band also has a series of festival dates - Sasquatch, Sled Island, P4k, Capitol Hill Block Party this summer as well as of a ton of headline tour dates.
Comet Gain Broken Record Prayers is out now via What's Your Rupture? The beloved band just completed a string of successful headline dates on the east coast and will announce a few West Coast dates sometime this summer. Keep a look our for features in Big Takeover, Skyscraper, Magnet Magazine.com, Agit Reader, Under The Radar Mag.com, NY Press, Exclaim, and Sup, and additional coverage from the likes of All Music, New Yorker, Time Out, Dusted, Under The Radar, and much more.
Prolific producer Guillermo Scott Herren has just released two of his three spring releases under his monikers Prefuse 73 and Diamond Watch Wrists, a new collaboration with drummer Zach Hill. Prefuse 73's Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian was released on April 14 and Diamond Watch Wrists Ice Capped at Both Ends was released April 28 -both are available now. Also on the horizon, a new EP under the Prefuse 73 moniker, The Forest of Oversensitivity. All three releases are available via Warp Records. Then in May, Herren, alongside long-time collaborator Eva Puyelo Muns and new addition Roberto Carlos Lange, will release a new Savath y Savalas record, La Llama, with new label, Stones Throw. La Llama is available now digitally via Stonesthrow.com and via CD/LP on May 12. Full details below.
Warp enlisted renowned photographer/filmmaker Tim Saccenti to film an interview with Herren about the creative process behind the three releases. It's a fascinating look at the artistry and the process. View/download that here.
Both Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian and Ice Capped At Both Ends have confirmed coverage (collectively) from publications across the globe. Outlets include Alarm, Drowned In Sound, SPIN, FILTER Good Music Guide, All Music, URB, XLR8R, Blurt, Dusted, Signal To Noise, BBC, Magnet, Pitchfork, The Stranger, The Onion, Self Titled, Under The Radar, Remix, PopMatters, and more.
of Montreal is gearing up for yet another busy stretch of touring that includes festival appearances at Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza. The band will co-headline the Hollywood Bowl July 26 with the legendary Grace Jones!!! More info soon!
Also on the horizon, new albums from Jon Hopkins, John Spalding's Love Land, Rubies, Throw Me The Statue, U.S.E (aka United Stated Of Electronica), Pepi Ginsberg, James Husband (of Montreal) and tours/festivals like Sasquatch, Jens Lekman, Cotton Jones, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band. Check back for updates!
May 5 will see the release of the new album from Peaches (XL Recordings). Peaches has never been afraid to be different – to challenge people’s opinions and perceptions of her as an artist. With her pioneering electro-punk sound that now seems to have taken hold amongst a new breed of female stars, Peaches now seems as relevant to the musical landscape as ever before. On her new album “I Feel Cream” she does it again, this time producing, along with the likes of simian mobile disco, soulwax, Digitalism and drums of death, her most pop-sounding album to date. That’s not to say she’s mellowing or taking things easy. Far from it in fact. The beats remain as harsh and uncompromising as ever but with a new-found melodic groove that has only been previously hinted at. A perfect example of this is opening track ‘Serpentine,’ the title track ‘I Feel Cream’ or the luscious synth-pop of ‘Lose You,’ which sees Peaches deliver one of her most delicate and graceful vocal performances yet. Of course, she still retains that lyrical bite – in ‘Billionaire’ (featuring Shunda K of Yo Majesty) she sings of how “You do diddly-squat / No Plot / You took a shot / But forgot you’re the fly that I squat.” Peaches has also enlisted the German rock band Sweet Machine who will act as her session band when she tours the US. The tour kicks off May 15 in Philadelphia and takes her all across North America.
On June 23 4AD will release Travels With Myself And Another, the new album from Future Of The Left. The band burst onto the music scene in 2007 with the release of their critically-acclaimed debut album Curses which was described by Spin as “Piecing together rancid bits of fun, punk and absurdist theater, Future of the Left’s debut album spews confrontational noise with exhilarating flair….Curses is so over the top you just have to laugh in delighted appreciation.” Such critical praise was well overdue for the trio consisting of Andy Falkous (vocals/guitar), Kelson Mathias (bass) and Jack Egglestone (drums). A record that won over an army of fans, Curses was the sound of a band throwing down the gauntlet for what rock music could sound like. With Travels With Myself And Another they’ve raised the bar again and produced a record that is both melodically brutal and uncompromising in it’s lyrical bite. Take ‘Yin / Post-Yin’ with it’s verse “Excuse my manner / I’m having such a bad day / I woke this morning with expectations of gaining nothing / I’ve learned to trust my instincts.” The first MP3 for the album has just been released for the track "Arming Eritrea."
Franz Nicolay (the Hold Steady & World/Inferno Friendship Society) just wrapped up a west coast tour with Sweden's Moneybrother. You can check out the video for "Jeff Penalty" here. Those who have a hankering for more from Franz can see a recent Laundromatinee session from My Old Kentucky Blog here and can listen to an in-studio performance at NPR’s World Café here or his Daytrotter session here.
The Love Language has been touring like crazy and increasing the already buzz-worthy presence of their debut! The band enjoyed the spotlight at SXSW and became one of the most talked about bands at the conference this year with Pitchfork proclaiming "Make way for Stuart McLamb, a genuine new talent!" You can check out footage from their Fader Fort performance at SXSW here as well as their KEXP performance here and here. You can also check out the brand new video for "Sparxxx" here. If you are looking for something you can throw on you MP3 player of choice, you can download a Daytrotter session from the band here as well as a Hear Ya session here.
PDX Pop Now! -- Portland's premier DIY music festival, compilation and music advocacy organization – is in full swing again! The organization will hold a fundraiser event on April 30 which will feature performances by James Mercer of the Shins, Brandon Summers of the Helio Sequence, Marty Marquis of Blitzen Trapper, Ryan Sollee of The Builders & The Butchers, Loch Lomond, and live video DJing by Dantronix. PDX Pop Now! has also announced plans for their much heralded compilation and festival. The Holocene will be holding the all-ages PDX Pop Now! CD release show on June 4 and you can check out the Dylan McConnell designed new look of PDX Pop Now! here. The PDX Pop Now! all-ages festival will be held at Rotture July 24 through the 26 and will again feature outdoor and indoor sets from some of Portland’s best acts.
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