Jun 12, 2009 By Kyle Lemmon Willie Nelson

August pop artists put their stamp on the American Songbook all the time now but Willie Nelson made it popular with 1978’s Stardust. After a spot at #1 on Billboard’s Country Albums chart and Country Male Vocal Performance Grammy, years later it still shines as an exemplar in any genre. On August 25th, legendary singer Willie Nelson will try to recapture some of that Stardust magic with American Classic, his first LP of standards in over 30 years.

Jun 12, 2009 By Kyle Lemmon The Horrors

There are plenty of bands touring this fall but two of the scariest are L.A.‘s noise-mongers HEALTH and Southend, England’s garage-goth mavens The Horrors. Don’t worry, their respective scariness is certainly more Halloween than Bride of Chucky. Plus, both are touring the U.S. in support of impressive sophomore longplayers.

Jun 11, 2009 By Kyle Lemmon The Slits

For 30 years, The Slits proved to be a curious, tangled enigma of London’s punk and dub roots, largely due to their truncated discography. Cut (1979) is still a classic of the genre and set the stage for riot grrl acts to come. After Cut, the band released one more album, 1981’s Return of the Giant Slits, and then disappeared. Well, not exactly. On October 6th, The Slits will finally end that silence with their third full-length, Trapped Animal. Narnack is releasing the group’s first album in 25 years! That’s hardly anything to sniff at folks.

Jun 11, 2009 By Frank Valish Bob Mould

Following a short solo tour in the Spring to support his most recent effort, Life and Times. Bob Mould has announced that he will return to the road in October to continue promoting the album, this time with full band in tow.

Jun 10, 2009 By Kyle Lemmon The Rosebuds

Indie kids get a bad reputation for standing stock still during concerts but our Spring issue-featured label, Merge Records aims to blast that stereotype to smitereens with Merge with Motion. The 20th-anniversary-partying independent rock label kicks off the festivities on Saturday, July 18, at The Carolina Theatre in Durham, NC.

Jun 10, 2009 By Kyle Lemmon Patrick Wolf

According to his Twitter and Pitchfork, British avant-pop musician/Bandstock user/Under the Radar favorite Patrick Wolf was arrested and accosted (read: “almost shot in the face”) after his San Francisco concert Monday night. Wolf’s representatives weren’t able to give any further details regarding the arrest beyond what’s on his Twitter, though we’re told that his current tour will continue unabated.

Jun 09, 2009 By Kyle Lemmon BLK JKS

What happened before the robots? That’s the question some may have for South Africa’s futuristic rock group BLK JKS when they drop their full-length debut, After Robots. Led by childhood BFFs Lindani Buthelezi and Mpumi Mcata, the Johannesburg duo taught themselves guitar. Bassist Molefi Makananise and drummer Tshepang Ramoba, both of Soweto, joined for the group’s promising Mystery EP from earlier this year. The new disc will still feature Secret Machines knob-twiddler Brandon Curtis but will add some horns with Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.

Jun 09, 2009 By Kyle Lemmon Drive-By Truckers

Some die-hard Drive-By Truckers (DBT) fans were a little put off by the Athens, GA unit becoming slightly more countrified on their last studio album, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. Many welcomed the change-up (including myself) but a forthcoming odds-and-sodds compilation, entitled The Fine Print (A Collection Of Oddities and Rarities 2003-2008), looks to be tailor-made for devotees of the band’s more Southern-rock-centric period.

Jun 04, 2009 By Michele Yamamoto Yo La Tengo

Earlier today, the Matador Records blog announced that New Jersey rockers Yo La Tengo will be releasing their new album, Popular Songs, on September 8th.