Sep 02, 2009

We already told you about TV on the Radio‘s falsettoed singer, guitarist Kyp Malone, and his solo venture coming down the pipeline. He’s going by the name Rain Machine and his debut will be released September 22nd on Anti-. After the bouncy TVOTR-esque first cut, “Give Blood,” comes a calmer second track in “Smiling Black Faces.” At first, Malone sings over just a tambourine and a few guitar strums but things change slowly. The climb to a louder, handclap finish is almost worth the time spent listening. (Via Stereogum)

Sep 02, 2009

Watch on YouTube

Here’s another quietly destructive video from Cass McCombs’ new record, Catacombs. There’s no need in spoiling the ending but the quiet folk song’s lyrics gives you a hint at its dark intent. The clip was directed by Aaron Brown, who also helmed the shoot for “Dreams-Come-True-Girl.” The whole thing is just as beautiful as the original track but the shots in the bar and at the end are particularly stunning in the cinematography department. Below you’ll find the rest of McCombs’ U.S. tour dates:

Sep 02, 2009

Califone are road dogs at heart and even though they’ve opened for younger bands that blow up (Iron & Wine, Modest Mouse) quickly they press on with their new weird mix of Americana and postmodern electronics.

You can hear that dedication on “Funeral Singers,” the lead song from the Chicago foursome’s upcoming All My Friends Are Funeral Singers. The album overlays the band’s typical banjo, guitar, violin and electronic noodling. The releases follows 2006’s excellent Roots & Crowns and works in unison with a companion movie of the same name, written and directed by frontman Tim Rutili.

The short film will be hitting film festivals in early 2010 but some Califone fans can view it this fall when the band hits a theatre near you. All My Friends Are Funeral Singers is out October 6th via Dead Oceans. It can be pre-ordered today at Dead Oceans’ store. If you go that route, you’ll receive a full LP download on September 8th as well as two posters and “Lunar H,” a vinyl-only 15-minute bonus cut (side four of the double LP set). Califone live dates are below. (Via Stereogum)

10-10 - Chicago, IL - Museum of Contemporary Art #
10-11 - Chicago, IL - Museum of Contemporary Art #
10-13 - Pittsburgh, PA - Andy Warhol Museum #
10-14 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom #
10-15 - Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place
10-16 - Ithaca, NY - Cornell Cinema #
10-17 - Montreal, QC - Ukrainian Federation #
10-18 - Winooski, VT - The Monkey House
10-20 - Northampton, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall #
10-21 - Portland, ME - Space #
10-22 - Cambridge, MA - Brattle Theater #
10-23 - New York, NY - 92Y Tribeca #
10-24 - Philadelphia, PA - World Café Live
10-25 - Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
10-26 - Charlottesville, VA - The Southern #
10-27 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
10-28 - Birmingham, AL - WorkPlay Theatre #
10-29 - Nashville, TN - The Basement
10-30 - Bloomington, IN - Bear’s Place #

# includes film performance

Sep 01, 2009

Solar Life Raft is the new mix CD from DJ /rupture and Brooklyn’s Matt Shadetek, coming November 10th on The Agriculture. This track, their tweaking of Gang Gang Dance‘s tribal “BeBey,” appears on their new LP as a truncated piece. It’s a fine remix job that showcases the pair’s aptitudes for parsing out drum patterns and dumping in bricolaged melodies and a burrowing bass. Nice work all around.

Sep 01, 2009

The Clean is dropping a new LP entitled Mister Pop next Tuesday, on Merge. The Kiwi postpunk legends’ “Tensile” is a burst of their old school energy. The synth-affected singing is something territory for them, but this is pretty classic Clean. A wash of keyboard, straight-ahead guitars and a meandering bass riff get the job done nicely. (Via RCRD LBL)

Sep 01, 2009

Watch on YouTube

Brooklyn’s Dirty Projectors stopped by The Late Show With David Letterman last night to play “Cannibal Resource” from their best-of-2009 contender, Bitte Orca. The opening cut starts with the group’s guitars chiming and then Dave Longstreth bleating “OK, open your eyes / I think you’re more than a terrified witness / Behind the arbitrary line” over the vocal gymnastics from Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian. The track loses much of its force from the muddy mix. Classic stuff all around. This was the group’s debut late night television appearance, proving they’re not too left-field for a national audience. That being said, the CBS comedian made no comment after the song was finished. Dirty Projectors were featured in our Summer ‘09 issue.

Aug 31, 2009

Soulsavers is a supergroup consisting of Rich Machin, Mark Lanegan, Red Ghost, Martyn LeNoble and Rich Warren (Spiritualized) and their genre-experimentation LP, entitled Broken, was released digitally last week on Columbia. It doesn’t have a physical release date yet but we have the premiere MP-free track right here. The third album cut, “Unbalanced Pieces” features Mark Lanegan’s (Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age) growling pipes.

The album proper also features guest spots from Spiritualized‘s Jason Pierce, Gibby Haynes of Butthole Surfers and Faith No More leader, Mike Patton. Also in the mix is Will Oldham on a track (Lanegan also covers Oldham’s “You’ll Miss Me When I Burn”). All that star-studded power comes across on the cacophonous and spooky production on “Unbalanced Pieces.” It’s a little bit rock, a litte experimental jazz and whole lot of cool rolled into four minutes. Mike Patton also joins him on the mic. It’s the most electronic-enhanced track on the LP.

Be sure to check out our feature on the group in the Fall ‘09 issue. Also, the group’s touring this September. The dates are all below:

09-06 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
09-07 Tacoma, WA - Bumbershoot
09-09 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
09-10 Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour
09-12 San Diego, CA - The Casbah
09-15 Austin, TX - Stubb’s
09-16 Dallas, TX - House of Blues
09-18 New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks
09-19 Atlanta, GA - The Loft
09-21 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
09-22 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
09-23 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
09-25 Toronto, ON Mod Club
09-26 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
09-27 Chicago, IL Double Door