Head over to NPR's First Listen to hear Dr. Dog's new album Shame, Shame (here) streaming in its entirety. After my first listen, I think it's safe to say that the band has struck gold. Hear it for yourself. The album drops officially next Tuesday, April 6, but you can pre-order it below.
Unveiling La La Land Piece-by-Piece, Starting Today
Due to an early leak, Plants and Animals are tiding over the impatient fans with the streaming of La La Land, one song at a time. Over at the La La Land page, you can now listen to tracks 1-3. "Tom Cruz" has been available since January, but as of today, you can also treat your ears to "Swinging Bells" and "American Idol." The band plans to reveal songs leading up to the official April 20 release, with the next offering from the album due this Thursday.
According to the band, “Swinging Bells” is the tune that inspired the album's name. Amidst the "delicate dabs of rickety 70s piano," the song climaxes with a chorus of "la la las." "Swinging Bells" also acts as a prelude to the next track, "American Idol." The song, as stated by Nic Basque, "brought to life one of our musical dreams: to record a rock sax solo.” Enlisting the saxophone skills of Colin Stetson (Arcade Fire), "American Idol" really hits its mark.
Spoon played New York's Radio City last night and seem to have brought all their friends. With special appearance by White Rabbits' Stephen Patterson, Fiery Furnaces' Eleanor Friedberger, and Wolf Parade/Handsome Furs' Dan Boeckner, the show sounds like it was really special. While I haven't been able to find a better quality recording of the encore performance of "Modern World," the WP song that Britt Daniel has been known to play at solo shows can be viewed above in the choppy YouTube clip. Boeckner went on to help finish the first encore by lending his guitar skills for "I Saw The Light". A full set list of the night and a nice little review can be read here.
To hear Britt's version of the song, listen below, which was performed at San Fran's Belly Up Tavern.
Guest writer and Spoon aficionado E-Rock recently caught Spoon's DC show at the 9:30 Club. Above is the acoustic opener of "Me and the Bean" which looks is the best I've seen live. Spoon will be swinging through Seattle next month for two shows at the Moore - don't miss it.
Spoon Show How It’s Done in DC
submitted by E-Rock, guest Three Colours contributor
Spoon delivered a very strong performance to a sold-out crowd at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. The set plus encore included a full twenty-three songs. Britt Daniel’s vocals were fresh and the crowd was very enthusiastic throughout the entire performance.
Spoon chose to sample heavily from their more recent work, taking almost equally from Transference and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. No pre-Girls Can Tell tracks were included. Nonetheless, the set included a great selection of the Spoon repertoire and had excellent flow. The first series of songs were deliberately more downbeat and slightly more serious, starting with a great minor-chord acoustic version of "Me and the Bean." A rousing rendition of "Don’t You Evah" kicked off a much more energetic series of songs; highlights included "Don’t You Evah", "I Turn My Camera On", and "Got Nuffin", while "Written in Reverse" sounded stronger live than on their LP. During the encore, the “rowdy crowd” (in Daniel’s words) kept the band going for five songs, including an especially strong version of "Jonathan Fisk." Spoon looked very pleased by the end, as did all in the crowd who witnessed the show.
At their core, Spoon is a band that turns a collection of very simple sounds and textures into great music, coupled with strong, memorable lyrics. These aspects of their music are all the more obvious during a live performance. The bedrock for the band is provided by Jim Eno, a master of exciting, repetitive beats. Eno propels the songs forward on his simple kit and sets the proper tone. Multi-instrumentalists Rob Pope and Eric Harvey rounded out the band and provide backing vocals, bass, keys, organ, and percussion including well-placed tambourine. Stephen Patterson (of White Rabbits) was also in tow to provide percussion and guitar support. But the focus of the band has always been on leader Britt Daniel, who was really on fire. He offered great singing and hoarse growls throughout the night, and his guitar work included simple cords to great, messy solos.
While I would love to hear more from Kill the Moonlight (my personal favorite Spoon album) or "30 Gallon Tank" (my personal favorite Spoon single), I have no real complaints for the night. Spoon served up a great all-round live show. While their brilliant studiocraft is hard to top, Spoon’s live performances stood up well, propelled the show forward, and never ceased to entertain. I will not miss Spoon the next time that they come through my town, and neither should you. Also be sure to check out Transference (and Girls Can Tell or Kill the Moonlight) if you haven’t already done so.
The night was captured by Nestor Diaz, which some great pictures can be viewed here.
Plants and Animals are airing a series of TV ads to promote the upcoming release of their sophomore effort La La Land. So far, only three ads are available, but judging from the theme, I really appreciate the band's sense of humor. Always quite candid during interviews, this zany, recurring pickle motif (watch to understand) just makes me giggle. More importantly, there are two song clips for "Celebration" and "Kon Tiki" that can be heard playing during the episodes, as well as their first single "The Mama Papa", which will all appear on La La Land.
La La Land drops April 20.
Also, P&A will play the Crocodile on May 22 w/ Frog Eyes.
So weird things happen when you're without internet for a while. I used to think that going off the grid was a comforting experience where one can let loose and forget about the hustle and bustle of daily life. Unfortunately (it's actually quite sad), I've never been more concerned about finding a way to plug back into to the world-wide web. And as soon I as do, crazy things like the health bill passing (how long was I gone?), UW is in the Sweet Sixteen (again, speechless), and new album news have completely blown my mind...
According to Exclaim News, "Wolf Parade are about to begin mixing their third album, having recently wrapped up recording at Hotel2Tango." There is a tentative Sub Pop release date as early as June 29(!), yet nothing is official.
According to Dan Boeckner, "Everyone's been working on it for 12 hours a day, seven days a week for the last two weeks. We ended up recording, I think, 15 songs, over 80 minutes of music, and we don't really know now whether we're going to put out an LP or a double album. If we did an LP maybe we'd do an LP and an EP, because we want to put all of the songs out. There were no songs that we recorded where everyone was like, 'Oh, that's a dud.'"
Wolf Parade's last album At Mount Zoomer, which relied heavily on overdubs and studio polishing, was unfortunately criticized for its lack of energy in songs that rocked in concert. In response to Zoomer's reception, "the entire [third] album was tracked in a single two-week session, a speed made possible by the fact that the band recorded almost everything live to tape." As Boeckner explained, "This is not a fussed-over computer record. There's almost zero overdubs on the record. So what you're hearing is pretty much what it sounds like live.”
What will be most interesting on this album is the band's new lineup change, and how this could affect the WP sound that we all know and love. For those who need a little refresher, keyboardist/"sound manipulator" Hadji Bakara has left the band to pursue a PhD in English literature. According to Exclaim, Boeckner and Dante DeCara have had to fill the keyboarding roles for "a few songs that are really, really intensely keyboard-heavy, but not like Depeche Mode."
Before the album's release date, the band also plans to release a 7" single! But that's not all... Handsome Furs are also apparently planning to release new material in spring of 2011.
And if this news couldn't possibly get any better, it does!!! Combining two of my favorite bands for one awesome live show, "Boeckner will be playing guitar and singing with Spoon on April 26, when the Texan rockers play New York City's Radio City Music Hall." Holy crap, indeed!
Wolf Parade's tour begins April 1, and expect many additions to follow as the album release date approaches.
Wolf Parade tour dates:
Apr 1 // Quebec City, QC – Imperial de Quebec* Apr 3 // Halifax, NS – Paragon Theatre* Apr 4 // Fredericton, NB – The Market* Apr 6 // Kingston, ON – The Ale House* Apr 7 // Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre* May 6 // Budapest, Hungary – A38 May 7 // Krems, Austria – Donau Festival May 8 // Leipzig, Germany – Pop Up Festival May 9 // Prague, Czech Republic – Matrix May 11 // Salzburg, Austria – Rockhouse May 12 // Bologna, Italy – Locomotiv Club May 13 // Torino, Italy – Spazio 211 May 16 // Brussels, Belgium – Le Botanique May 17 // Brighton, UK – Concorde2 May 18 // London, UK – HMV Forum May 19 // Glasgow UK – Oran Mor May 20 // Dublin, Ireland – Vicar Street May 21 // Manchester, UK – Manchester Club Academy May 22 // Utrecht, Netherlands – Tivoli De Helling May 25 // Zagreb, Croatia – Teatar & TD May 26 // Ljubljana, Slovenia – Menza Pri Koritu May 27 // Milano, Italy – Salumeria della Musica May 28 // St Gallen, Switzerland – Palace May 29 // Dudingen, Switzerland – Bad Bonn Festival May 31 // Paris, France – Nouveau Casino
If you've been keeping up with Handsome Furs' mini-documentary on CNN, the forth episode of Indie Asia was recently released. In this episode, we get a very interesting look into the Chinese underground music scene. It's worth watching. Enjoy!
You can view the previous episodes below: - Episodes 1-2 here. - Episode 3 here.
The newest single "The Mama Papa" just hit the internet, and we're nearly one month away from the release of La La Land. Plants and Animals will be playing no less than six shows at SXSW in the next four days! The band says they'll be giving Austinites a sampling of their forthcoming album (due April 20). Since I'm impatient, I've been trying to find as many new songs on the internet recorded over the past year from P&A. Below are three songs if you can't wait. And don't forget that they'll be playing the Crocodile on May 22 w/ Frog Eyes!
Last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Broken Bells debuted "The Ghost Inside" from their new self-titled album. For those craving some new Shins, take solace in this new music project. Shins lead singer James Mercer recently teamed up with Danger Mouse, which resulted in some really good tunes. Having just performed "The High Road" on Letterman, I think "Ghost" was a great selection from their solid LP. Check it out.
Foals drop video for first single "Spanish Sahara"
The Foals have given us our first glimpse of their new record Total Life Forever. Above you can watch the Dave Ma directed music video for "Spanish Sahara". Dave Ma also directed a couple videos for the band's debut album ("Olympic Airways" and "Balloons"), which can be viewed below. The Antidotes follow-up will be released May 10, and there's a handful of EU dates posted below.
Foals tour dates: Apr 12 // Berlin // Columbia Club Apr 14 // Amsterdam // Paradiso Apr 15 // Paris // Trabendo Apr 17 // Bourges // Printemps du Bourges Apr 29 // The Kazimier // Liverpool Apr 30 // Newcastle University // Newcastle May 2 // O2 ABC // Glasgow May 3 // Leeds Metropolitan University // Leeds May 4 // Ritz // Manchester May 6 // Junction // Cambridge May 7 // Nottingham Trent University // Nottingham May 8 // Anson Rooms // Bristol May 10 // Electric Ballroom // London May 12 // O2 Academy // Oxford May 14 // The Academy // Dublin Aug 1 // Fuji Festival // Naeba Ski Resort
The Brooklyn-based trio Keepaway can't seem to escape the Animal Collective comparisons, and rightly so, there are some similar sounds coming out of Keepaway's self-released Baby Style EP and AC's Post Merryweather Pavillion. However, to those who find Animal Collective's roaming electronic explorations a bit inaccessible, you may discover Keepaway as a breath of fresh air. Less experimentation and more guitar and drum-driven songs make Baby Style an exciting sample of what's to come from these three dudes. Check out the video above for the EP's strongest track, "Yellow Wings".
Beginning this month, Local Natives will kick off their US winter tour in support of their fabulous debut album Gorilla Manor. With their first stop at SXSW, the band will eventually make their way up to the Pacific Northwest in May. Sadly, the only show they'll be playing in the Seattle area is Sasquatch!, which is still cool, but I think I'd much rather see them at a venue like the Crocodile (just my opinion). Hopefully they'll do a secret show or a record store appearance when they're in the area. We'll just have to wait and see. More dates posted below.
If you still haven't listened to Gorilla Manor, check it out below. Lately, I just can't get enough play out of this record - it's so good.
Local Natives tour dates:
Mar 18 2010 8:00P - SWSX Austin, TX
Mar 19 2010 8:00P - SXSW Austin, TX
Mar 20 2010 8:00P - SSXW Austin, TX
Apr 18 2010 3:00P - Coachella Indio, CA
Apr 20 2010 8:00P - Solar Culture Tuscon, AZ
Apr 22 2010 8:00P -The Cavern Dallas, TX
Apr 23 2010 8:00P - Emo’s (inside) Austin, TX
Apr 24 2010 8:00P - Mango’s Houston, TX
Apr 26 2010 8:00P - Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack Little Rock, AR
Apr 27 2010 8:00P - Thirsty Hippo Haittesburg, MS
Apr 29 2010 8:00P - Cafe 11 St. Augustine, FL
Apr 30 2010 8:00P - The Basement Nashville, TN
May 1 2010 8:00P - Masquerade Atlanta, GA
May 4 2010 8:00P - Local 506 Chapel Hill, NC
May 5 2010 8:00P - DC 9 Washington DC
May 6 2010 8:00P - Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
May 7 2010 8:00P - Kung Fu Necktie Philadelphia, PA
May 8 2010 8:00P - Great Scott Allston, MA
May 11 2010 8:00P - Beachland Tavern Cleveland, OH
May 12 2010 8:00P - The Basement Columbus, OH
May 14 2010 8:00P - Schubas Chicago, IL
May 15 2010 8:00P - Rock Island Brewing Co. Rock Island, IL
May 17 2010 8:00P - 400 Bar Minneapolis, MN
May 18 2010 8:00P - The Mill Iowa City, IA
May 19 2010 8:00P - Mojo’s Columbia, MO
May 21 2010 8:00P - Larimer Lounge Denver, CO
May 22 2010 8:00P - Kilby Court Salt Lake City, UT
May 25 2010 8:00P - Empyrean Spokane, WA
May 26 2010 8:00P - Neurolux Boise, ID
May 27 2010 8:00P - Mississippi Studios Portland, OR
May 28 2010 8:00P - Media Club Vancouver, BBC
May 30 2010 8:00P - Sasquatch! Seattle, WA
Jun 3 2010 8:00P - Bottom of the Hill San Francisco, CA
Last night Spoon showcased their strongest track off Transference on The Late Show with David Letterman. Watch the video of "Got Nuffin" above, and you may notice Stephen Patterson (lead singer of the White Rabbits) lending his percussion skills to the mix.
Plants and Animals have just announced a long list of US tour dates in support of their new album La La Land, which drops April 20. Of note, P&A will be hitting up the Crocodile on May 22 with Frog Eyes! Don't miss this fantastic show. And in case you missed it, here's the newest music video of "The Mama Papa", a song album-bound on La La Land.
Plants and Animals tour dates: Mar 10 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ Broken Bells Mar 12 Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace (CMW Billions Showcase) Mar 13 Toronto, ON @ Royal York Hotel (Indie Awards) Mar 17 SXSW 6:20 PM @ Brush Square – Canadian Blast BBQ Mar 18 SXSW 1:50 PM @ Lovejoy – Pop Montreal Party Mar 18 SXSW 4:30 PM @ Emo’s Annex – Soundcheck Magazine party Mar 19 SXSW 9:00 PM @ Antone’s – Billions Showcase Mar 20 SXSW 2:25 PM @ Emo’s Annex – Under The Radar Party Mar 20 SXSW 3:45 PM @ Galaxy Room – Brooklyn Vegan/Mfor Party Apr 21 Quebec, QC @ Theatre Petit Champlain w/ The Barr Brothers Apr 22 Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe w/ The Barr Brothers Apr 23 Ottawa, ON @ Babylon Apr 24 Peterborough, ON @ The Red Dog Apr 26 Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater Apr 28 Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural Centre Apr 29 Saskatoon, SK @ Amigo's Apr 30 Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room May 1 Calgary, AB @ #1 Royal Canadian Legion May 2 Kelowna, BC @ Habitat May 4 Victoria, BC @ Sugar Nightclub May 5 Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore Ballroom May 13 Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop May 14 Columbus, OH @ The Basement May 15 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall May 16 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room May 18 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge May 19 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court May 20 Boise, ID @ Neurolux May 21 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios May 22 Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile w/ Frog Eyes May 25 San Francisco, CA @ The Independent May 26 Visalia, CA @ The Cellar Door May 27 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour May 29 Tucson, AZ @ Plush May 31 Denton, TX @ Hailey's June 1 Austin, TX @ Emo's June 4 Orlando, FL @ Back Booth June 5 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl June 6 Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle June 9 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Head over to NPR and get your first take on Gorillaz's newest album Plastic Beach, which doesn't hit shelves until March 9. Thanks to NPR's First Listen, you can hear the album in its entirety over a week before its official release. Marking the first Gorillaz album in over 5 years, after first listen I'm happy to say it was well-worth the wait. I mean, you really can't go wrong with an introduction track narrated by Snoop Dog...
UPDATE: The music video for "Stylo" is now on YouTube (embedding is disabled). Watch it here.
After hearing two strong songs that are album-bound on Plants and Animals' new LP La La Land, I'm very excited for this release. First, we were treated with "Tom Cruz", and now above is the music video for "The Mama Papa". For those of you who've caught a P&A live show in the last year or so, you've probably already heard this jammer. I like how it's evolved into a fast paced, steady rocker. Is it me, or does Warren Spicer sound a little like Dax Riggs in this track? La La Land drops April 20!
Plants and Animals tour dates: Mar 12 // Lee’s Palace (CMW showcase) // Toronto, ON Mar 13 // Royal York Hotel (CMW Indie Awards) // Toronto, ON Mar 17-21 // SXSW // Austin, TX Apr 21 // Theatre Petit Champlain // Quebec City, QC Apr 22 // La Tulipe // Montreal, QC Apr 23 // Babylon // Ottawa, ON Apr 24 // The Red Dog // Peterborough, ON Apr 28 // West End Cultural Centre // Winnipeg, MB Apr 29 // Amigo’s // Saskatoon, SK Apr 30 // Starlite Room // Edmonton, AB May 1 // The Legion // Calgary, AB May 2 // Habitat // Kelowna, BC May 4 // Sugar Nightclub // Victoria, BC May 5 // The Commodore Ballroom // Vancouver, BC
NPR's First Listen
