[video] Sunset Rubdown - "Dragon's Lair"

Dragonslayer's new epic music video

Sunset Rubdown's homonymic title track off their latest LP Dragonslayer now has a music video. Directed by Throneboogie (who also directed "Black Swan"), "Dragon's Lair" in mini-movie form tops out at +10 minutes. It's well-worth watching.

Buy :: Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer

[mp3] White Denim - "YoYo" at RCRD LBL

"YoYo"

Thansk to RCRD LBL, you can now download the White Denim b-side "YoYo" which originally appeared on the Full Time Hobby release of "I Start To Run". This track does not appear on any full-length album, so if you're a fan, be sure to grab yourself a copy. To hear the song, it's streaming below, though thanks to RCRD LBL's new embedding feature, you can also download this groove-heavy track below.

[new album] Foals - Total Life Forever

Foals finish their sophomore LP

Just announced, it appears that the Foals' new record will be titled Total Life Forever. The Antidotes follow-up will be released May 10 via Sub Pop, and though the MySpace page that reported this news was a bit cryptic, it sounds like the first single may hit the airwaves as early as next Monday.

If you live in Europe, you could catch some of the new album live at these date below:

Foals tour dates:
Apr 12 // Berlin // Columbia Club
Apr 14 // Amsterdam // Paradiso
Apr 15 // Paris // Trabendo
Apr 17 // Bourges// Printemps du Bourges

[video] Handsome Furs - Atop the Great Wall

Handsome Furs - Episode 3 of CNN's mini-documentary

In CNN's third installment of Indie Asia, we see the Handsome Furs visiting the Great Wall of China during their Asian tour.

Dan: "Great Wall trivia part 3: You're not allowed to smoke at the Great Wall of China... we're smoking anyway... 'cause it's a long way to the top, man."

In case you're just tuning in, view Episodes 1-2 here.

[concert] Besnard Lakes @ The Crocodile (5-6-2010)

Besnard Lakes Are Coming to Seattle!

On Thursday, May 6, Besnard Lakes will be playing the Crocodile w/ special guests. The band is about to release their second LP The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night, so this show is bound to feature some new jams.

Tickets are $10 in advance. The Crocodile’s physical box office is located at the Sonic Boom Records locations in Capitol Hill and Ballard. Tickets can be purchased there Monday-Saturday from 10am until 10pm and Sunday from 10am until 7pm. All sales are CASH ONLY. For more information please visit Sonic Boom.

May 6, 2010 // Seattle, WA // The Crocodile
Besnard Lakes
And Special Guests
$10adv

[video] The xx - "Night Time" (Pitchfork Surveillance)

The xx on Pitchfork.TV

I just think this video fits the feel of this song in every way. Great song, great album. Be sure to check out the xx when they come to WA via Sasquatch! 2010.

Buy :: The xx - xx

[concert] Sasquatch! 2010 Lineup Announced

Sasquatch!, Memorial Day weekend's three-day music festival held at the Gorge in the beautiful Columbia River valley, has just announced 2010's lineup. Taking place Saturday (May 29) through Monday (May 31), this list is shaping up to be well worth the ever-rising ticket prices.

A full, up-to-date list is below, but some of the highlights include: LCD Soundsystem, the xx, My Morning Jacket, MGMT, Telekinesis, Dr. Dog, Patrick Watson, Caribou, Nada Surf, Local Natives, Band Of Horses, the Very Best, Ween, No Age, Tegan & Sara, tUnE-yArDs, Girls, Neon Indian, Dirty Projectors, Vampire Weekend, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Midlake, the Hold Steady, Japandroids, She & Him, the New Pornographers, and Broken Social Scene.

Sasquatch! 2010 Lineup (so far):

My Morning Jacket
Massive Attack
Pavement
Ween
Vampire Weekend
MGMT
Band of Horses
The National
LCD Soundsystem
Tegan & Sara
Broken Social Scene
Passion Pit
Deadmau5
She & Him
Public Enemy
Nada Surf
The New Pornographers
The Hold Steady
The xx
Dirty Projectors
OK Go
Drive By Truckers
Kid Cudi
The Long Winters
Minus the Bear
The Mountain Goats
Quasi
Camera Obscura
Fruit Bats
Brother Ali
Midlake
Dr. Dog
Caribou
Simian Mobile Disco
City & Colour
No Age
The Temper Trap
Vetiver
Miike Snow
Portugal. The Man
Telekinesis
Mayer Hawthorne
Why?
Girls
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Wale
The Lonely Forest
Japandroids
Boys Noize
Yacht
Freelance Whales
Laura Marling
Patrick Watson
Past Lives
Cymbals Eat Guitars
The Low Anthem
The Very Best
Phantogram
Neon Indian
Nurses
The Tallest Man on Earth
Fresh Espresso
Mumford & Sons
Jets Overhead
tUnE-YarDs
Shabazz Palaces
Fool's Gold
Morning Teleportation
Z-Trip
Dam-Funk
Hudson Mohawke
The Middle East
Local Natives
Avi Buffalo
Booka Shade
A-Trak
Yes Giantess
Craig Robinson
Rob Riggle
Garfunkel & Oates
Luke Burbank

-More bands to come!

Reduced-price tickets available starting February 20.

Beginning February 20:
Single tickets, per day / $70.00
Discount 3 day pass / $170 (available on sale weekend only)

May 24--May 28:
Single tickets, per day / $80.00

Day of show:
Single tickets, per day / $86.00

[new music] Local Natives - Gorilla Manor

Local Natives New Album Tomorrow

All redundancies aside, Local Natives' debut album Gorilla Manor is nothing short of excellence. Expansive, dreamlike jams comprise the 12-song long player, complete with folky vocal harmonies, rowdy campfire backing howls, clangorous drums, and crunchy guitars which all equate to a record fit for multiple spins. Gorilla Manor drops tomorrow via Frenchkiss Records and should be available at all good (and probably some bad) record stores. To get an early sample, NPR is streaming the album in its entirety (go here), and if you act fast, you may still manage to nab a 7" copy of "Sun Hands" if you pre-order the LP from Insound now (go here). Below, you'll also find video for "Airplanes" and a few other tracks for your listening pleasure.

[tour] Wolf Parade - New EU Tour Dates

More tour dates for WP's LP#3

Apart from opening up their own store, Wolf Parade has apparently finished their 3rd record (or at least have enough new material to go on tour). Posted over at the Wolf Parade fansite, WP will be heading to Europe for the month of May after their quick Canadian mini-tour. This tour is supposedly in support of their new album, so expect new songs to be popping up on YouTube this spring. Dates are posted below.

Wolf Parade tour dates:
Apr 01 // Quebec City, QC // Imperial de Quebec 19+ show
Apr 03 // Halifax, NS // Paragon Theatre
Apr 04 // Fredericton, NB // The Market
Apr 06 // Kingston, ON // The Ale House 19+ show
Apr 07 // Toronto, ON // Phoenix Concert Theatre 19+ show
May 06 // Budapest, Hungary // A38
May 07 // Krems, Austria // Donau festival
May 08 // Leipzig, Germany // Pop Up Festival
May 09 // 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

While we're on the subject, here's an oldie, but a classic - "Modern World". The video was directed by Adam Bizanski.

[video] Handsome Furs - Inside the Forbidden City

Episode 2 of Handsome Furs' CNN mini-Documentary

CNN has just posted the second episode of Indie Asia, a multi-part documentary following the Handsome Furs as they tour through Asia. Showing that it can be great to mix business and pleasure, husband/wife and bandmates Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry travel to the Forbidden City and discovery its exotic mystique. Check it out.

As I watch all these videos, I just get more and more excited about how this is going to inspire another amazing album with new sounds from the Far East!

And in case you missed the first episode, "The Arrival", you can watch it below.

[video] Spoon - "Written In Reverse"

"Written In Reverse" Music Video

Spoon's first single off Transference now has a music video. Instead of using the studio cut for "Written In Reverse", the band opted to use a live recording that gives the video a truer and more realistic feel to it. Capturing Spoon's energy and swagger, this music video works on so many levels, and excites me for the two Seattle gigs later this spring.

Stream :: Spoon's new album Transference here.

Buy :: Spoon - Transference here.

Spoon - EU Dates w/ White Rabbits:
Feb 14 // King Tuts // Glasgow, Scotland - tix
Feb 15 // Academy 3 // Manchester, UK - tix
Feb 16 // Electric Ballroom // London, UK - tix
Feb 18 // Paradiso // Amsterdam, the Netherlands - tix
Feb 19 // Luxor // Cologne, Germany - tix
Feb 20 // Frannz Club // Berlin, Germany - tix

Spoon - US Dates w/ Deerhunter:
Mar 17 // Stubb's // Austin, TX
Mar 18 // Republic // New Orleans, LA * tix
Mar 19 // Workplay Soundstage // Birmingham, AL * tix
Mar 20 // Tabernacle // Atlanta, GA * tix
Mar 22 // 9:30 Club // Washington DC * tix
Mar 23 // 9:30 Club // Washington DC * tix
Mar 24 // The National // Richmond, VA * tix
Mar 26 // Radio City Music Hall // New York, NY * tix
Mar 27 // House of Blues // Boston, MA * tix
Mar 29 // Sound Academy // Toronto, ON * tix
Mar 30 // Royal Oak Music Theatre // Royal Oak, MI * tix
Apr 01 // Aragon Theatre // Chicago, IL & tix
Apr 02 // First Avenue // Minneapolis, MN & tix
Apr 03 // First Avenue // Minneapolis, MN & tix
Apr 05 // Ogden Theatre // Denver, CO & tix
Apr 06 // Ogden Theatre // Denver, CO & tix
Apr 07 // In The Venue // Salt Lake City, UT & tix
Apr 09 // Moore Theatre // Seattle, WA & tix
Apr 10 // Moore Theatre // Seattle, WA & tix
Apr 11 // Orpheum Theatre // Vancouver, BC & tix
Apr 13 // Fox Oakland Theatre // Oakland, CA & tix

* with Deerhunter, The Strange Boys
& with Deerhunter, Micachu & the Shapes

[tour dates] Plants and Animals - Canadian Tour

Welcome to La La Land

As the date for the grand opening of La La Land approaches (April 20), Plants and Animals will be touring the Greater Northern States of Canadia. Hopefully this means a US tour will soon follow. If you still haven't heard their newest track Tom Cruz, check it out here. It oh-so catchy.

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

[new music] The Besnard Lakes ...Are the Roaring Night

New LP from The Besnard Lakes

The Besnard Lakes are the creators of one of my favorite albums of 2007, ...Are The Dark Horse. I've been patiently waiting for a follow-up, but seem to have missed the press-release of this fantastic bit of news. On March 9, 2010, the band will be releasing their second full-length album ...Are the Roaring Night via Jagjaguwar. The first single off the album, "Albatross" drops next Tuesday (Febrary 9). Jagjaguwar plans on releasing the song on 12" b/w "Four Long Lines", which doesn't appear on the LP. To download the track, visit here, or just listen to it at the end of this post. According to their label:

The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night was recorded at Lasek's Breakglass Studios with a vintage 1968 Neve germanium mixing console used to record portions of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti. The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night is a dark bliss-out that folds the eerie guitar epics of the band's breakthrough, The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse, into a wall of affected drones and atmospherics. The toughened immediacy and grit that gives the form a much-needed shove over the cliffs makes for a haunting, provocative swan dive into the crushing tide.

The band seems to have been very busy lately, reportedly contributing to a song which will appear on Adam Franklin's (Swervedriver, Toshack Highway) solo album (to be released in 2010), as well as scoring the music for a 2010 Sundance Film directed by Mark Ruffalo!

The Besnard Lakes' Online Store is now up and running. Check it out. More info on the record is below:

The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night
01. Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent; Pt. 1: The Ocean
02. Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent; Pt. 2: The Innocent
03. Chicago Train
04. Albatross
05. Glass Printer
06. Land of Living Skies; Pt. 1: The Land
07. Land of Living Skies; Pt. 2: The Living Skies
08. And This is What We Call Progress
09. Light Up The Night
10. The Lonely Moan

Albatross 12''
Side A: ''Albatross''
Side B: ''Four Long Lines''

MP3: The Besnard Lakes - "Albatross"

[news] Get Lost

Lost... and found

Tonight on ABC, we finally get answers. For anyone out there who has invested 5 years of their life into following the convoluted, time-traveling storyline of Lost, the season premier of its final season airs tonight 8pm. Get pumped!

[video] White Denim @ The Independent (1-20-10)

Melting Faces in San Fran

I just came across this video of White Denim, performing at San Francisco's The Independent. Captured so nicely, feast your eyes on the band tearing through "You Can Tell" into "All Consolation" into "El Hard Attack / DCWYW" into "I Start To Run".