08/31 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
09/01 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House
09/02 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy Hariet’s Pioneertown Palace (Joshua Tree)
09/03 – Phoenix, AZ @ Club Sancton
09/04 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
09/05 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
09/06 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
09/07 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
09/09 – Vancouver, BC @ The Media Club
09/10 – Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
09/11 – Portland, OR @ Rotture
09/16 – San Francisco, CA @ SF MOMA
09/17 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echo
09/18 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Muddy Waters
09/25 – Washington, DC @ Phase 1
10/09 – Atlanta, GA @ Piefmont Park (Atlanta Pride)
10/19 – New York, NY @ Santos Party House (w Salem and Restless People)

“I remember being young and hearing music and thinking, ‘I didn’t know music could do that.’ That can be a feeling of a release, of pent-up tension or aggression, or just being transported through a beautiful moment or an emotional setting. It’s just something that connects. I don’t know why it does it, but it’s there, and I’m bloody glad it is.”

- Ivo Watts-Russell on starting 4AD

As put off as I was by all the hoopla surrounding Wavves’ debut, it was Nathan Williams’ subsequent “meltdown” that really made me wish the whole thing would just go away. So, I was shocked to like the band’s first single off its Fat Possum debut, King of the Beach, as much as I do. “Post-Acid” is a great pop song couched in stridently accented chords and herky-jerky rhythms. Willliams’ voice still rides a sunny slacker wave, but he injects enough Kurt Cobain in the breakdown to pique my interest. Great chorus, too.

Interpol follows up the most bizarre video of its career with a much more conventional short-form take on “Barricade”, the first actual “single” off Interpol, out September 7th via Matador. With the departure of Carlos D., Interpol is “officially” a trio, since there’s no sign of Dave Pajo on bass in this clip. On the first few listens, “Barricade” sounds like formulaic Interpol, but I’ve grown to appreciate its nuances with repeated plays. It’s by far the most aggressive and danceable track off the band’s fourth LP, which hasn’t left my stereo in a week. Couldn’t resist the higher quality leak that eventually surfaced, but I did pre-order the record. Thus, my conscience rests easy.

With inviting melodies and smooth synths, Living Rooms deliver a summery sound representative of hot childhood days spent running through the sprinkler, taking gulps of water from the garden hose, and catching jars of fireflies at dusk.

– I Guess I’m Floating

Always nice to see Southern bands getting attention.

The final blow came in the liner notes to The Cure’s masterwork, Disintegration, where Tolhurst was credited with “Other Instrument,” as he had become little more than the band’s mascot and punching bag. He was sacked shortly before the band’s 1989 “Prayer Tour.” His asking to rejoin the band is far from the craziest thing in the Cure’s illustrious history. He and Smith have evidently patched things up to some degree with Tolhurst even tweeting about his recent communication with his old friend. If he can still bang out those dirges, I don’t see why not. Couldn’t be any worse than whatever dreck that’s been released in the past two decades under the name The Cure. I say go for it.