With its first new album in two decades launching this April, Devo is poised to prove to the world that Devolution is real, looking only slightly rounder for the wear. The band played during prime time at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver two nights ago with a smattering of classics like “Uncontrollable Urge” as well [...]

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I know, I know, it’s not news anymore, but I don’t think we ever wrote about it and it’s the least we can do for one of our heroes. So, in case you weren’t aware, the to-be-released Merge Records tribute album Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox features Jeff Mangum, Yo La Tengo, Stephin Merritt and [...]

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I’ve been meaning to mention this for a few weeks now, but I kept forgetting until I saw a tweet today that reminded me. The Magnetic Fields have a new album forthcoming (January 26) and will be touring in support of said album. I’ve already got tix for the DC show and I’m [...]

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The highly anticipated new record Exploding Head from Brooklyn’s A Place To Bury Strangers hit stores today. Definitely worth a spin. Absolutely gutted that I missed their live show last night in DC.

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Downcast new Burial track from the Five Years of Hyperdub compilation on Norman Records, which is due out in the US on October 20, 2009.

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I hadn’t had a chance to listen to the new Julian Casablancas song “11th Dimension” until this past weekend. It’s getting some unsurprisingly heavy airplay on Sirius XMU, and while Casablancas’ voice is unmistakably his own, the music veers away from the crunchy garage jangle of The Strokes in favor or a purer, cleaner pop [...]

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“I Dream of Crystal” is out today. The forthcoming album, Turning The Mind, is out on Mute on October 20th 2009. We Can Create was one of my favourite records of 2007. Sadly, I doubt Turning The Mind will compare, but I will reserve judgment.

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Amusing statement from Ryan Adams regarding the digital relaunch of his PAX AM label:
Thanks for making Pax Am the number one Ryan Adams merch site online. We would hunt anyone else down though.
Did you have a rad summer? Good. If you said no, never worry, Pax Am is here. We are gonna fill [...]

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With an impressive pedigree from both his band and his lineage, it’s unsurprising that Tyondai Braxton would score for a large ensemble consisting of everything from kazoos, piccolo, harp, clarinet, double bass, trumpet, xylophone and glock, just to name a few. Braxton’s debut solo album, Central Market, will be out September 15, 2009 via Warp, [...]

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When Nirvana played the Reading Festival at the end of August in 1992, the band hadn’t rehearsed in months, according to Charles R. Cross’ infamous Cobain biography, Heavier Than Heaven. In fact, both drummer Dave Grohl and bassist Kist Novaselic had no idea if Kurt Cobain would even show. So, when a wheelchair appeared on [...]

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Land of Talk is one of those bands that sneaks up on me and kicks my ass every time. They slip under the radar, and I forget about them completely. Then, a few months later I am reminded how much I like them, and the cycles starts all over again. Luckily for me, the band [...]

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Love and Rockets were another one of my gateway bands in high school that opened up a whole new world of music to me. The band’s fluke Top 40 hit, “So Alive”, represents very little in terms of the breadth of its myriad musical styles. Despite being 3/4’s of the legendary art-punk pioneers, Bauhaus, Love [...]

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AC4 is a new hardcore band that features Dennis Lyxzén and David Sandström of Refused. That news right there puts my ears at full attention, as Refused’s The Shape of Punk to Come is easily one of the best punk rock records I’ve ever heard. Seriously, if you don’t own, quit reading this and go [...]

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Well, this is certainly surprising. Last time I heard Noisettes the London trio was hardly confined to one genre, but its muscles flexed hardest on the rock side of the fence. The band’s recent UK single is a far cry from anything on its sprawling debut, What’s the Time Mr Wolf?, eschewing sinewy bass lines [...]

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Cursive is quickly following up it’s fine new album, Mama I’m Swollen, with a split 10″ picture disc. Fellow Saddle Creek labelmates Ladyfinger (ne) will take the flip side with one track off its latest, Dusk, and an unreleased song. The joint venture is in honor of the second annual Record Store Day on April [...]

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When I first saw Dirty Projectors a few years ago, I was immediately drawn in by the vocal interaction with the oddly compelling chord changes. The band has remained on my radar ever since, but I hadn’t ever quite given it as much attention as I intended. Then I heard “Knotty Pine“, a collaboration with [...]

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Prince played his second consecutive night on The Tonight Show last night, upping the ante considerably with “Dreamer”- a guitar heavy, Hendrix-style rocker. The previous night’s “Ol’ Skool Company” didn’t have much of an impact, save for the awkward, politically slanted shout-outs and funky, hookless jams. Both of these songs are available on Prince’s new [...]

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I unabashedly fell in love with Metric before they even had a record out. Back in 2001, I found myself humming a jingle from a Polaroid commercial and my girlfriend asked who it was and I didn’t know and despite searching the web like crazy I simply couldn’t find out.
So she called Polaroid.

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Portland’s Viva Voce have a new LP, Rose City out on May 26th on Barsuk and as one might expect, they’re on tour and heading to SXSW.
Devotion from the forthcoming LP.
March:
12 San Francisco, CA Rickshaw Stop
13 Visalia , CA Cellar Door
15 Tucson, AZ Plush
16 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room
18 Austin, TX SXSW
19 Austin, TX SXSW
20 Austin, [...]

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