5/26/2006

New Sufjan Stevens tracks leaked



On July 11th, Asthmatic Kitty will release The Avalanche, a collection of outtakes from the Illinois sessions. Listening to these songs really makes you think...how are his outtakes better than everybody else's best stuff? I can't believe how prolific Sufjan can be.

Below is the tracklisting (as usual, a mouthful) for The Avalanche, as well as links to download most of the songs. Enjoy.

1. The Avalanche
2. Dear Mr. Supercomputer
3. Adlai Stevenson
4. The Vivian Girls Are Visited in the Night By Saint Dargarius and his Squadron of Benevolent Butterflies
5. Chicago (Acoustic Version)
6. The Henney Buggy Band
7. Saul Bellow
8. Carlyle Lake
9. Springfield, or Bobby Got a Shadfly Caught in His Hair
10. The Mistress Witch from McClure (or, the Mind that Knows Itself)
11. Kaskaskia River
12. Chicago (Adult Contemporary Easy Listening Version)
13. Inaugural Pop Music for Jane Margaret Byrne
14. No Man's Land
15. The Palm Sunday Tornado Hits Crystal Lake
16. The Pick-Up
17. The Perpetual Self, or "What Would Saul Alinsky Do?"
18. For Clyde Tombaugh
19. Chicago (Multiple Personality Disorder Version)
20. Pittsfield
21. The Undivided Self (for Eppie and Popo)

Frog Eyes played T.T.'s, I slept through X-Men 3



Frog Eyes and Sunset Rubdown played at T.T. the Bear's last night. Unfortunately, I was too busy drinking, eating cheap popcorn and standing in line to see X-Men 3 (I slept through the whole film, previews and credits included). According to many sources, the show was great. I hear a lot of people went hoping to see Spencer Krug do his best Wolf Parade impression, which never happened. Poo.

I was never too fond of the Waits-raping Frog Eyes until I heard an alternate version of "A Latex Ice Age", courtesy of Said the Gramophone. It's as gentle and melodic as the band gets. Check it out:

Frog Eyes - "A Latex Ice Age"

If you're willing to make the trek, both bands will be playing the Fuel Rocket Club in Hanover, NH tonight. Details here.

5/25/2006

Sonic Youth/Flaming Lips to play Boston!



Celebrate, hug your mother, rejoice, whatever. According to the official SY site, Sonic Youth and the Flaming Lips are coming to play Boston in September at the Bank of America Pavilion. Sonic Youth will be touring to support Rather Ripped, which comes our way on June 6th, and the Flaming Lips are pretty much just touring for the hell of it. We can't blame 'em, nobody can ever seem to get enough.

09/03 - Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion

Was I the only one who saw Sonic Youth do "What a Waste" on the season finale of Gilmore Girls? Coco Moore must be a coke addict already.

B. Fleischmann - The Humbucking Coil (Morr)



I've literally forgotten what's so vital about intelligent electronica. Even with a band like Matmos, who makes it so very clear that they are trying to relate to the Karma Loop-buying, sushi-eating, fjord-sipping hipster, it seems to make sense to the band, a small group of allegiant fans, and Ryan Schreiber. I've never particularly disliked truly celebrated, innovative electronica (read: Autchre, Aphex Twin, Richard Dorfmeister), but sometimes it can be a little too much for me.

B. Fleischmann has always hit my radar, mostly because of his collaborations with Jimmy Tamborello and the Album Leaf. And then there's the whole thing about him being buddies with Erlend Oye...eh. They're all German, and they all are great. I was pleasantly surprised to hear The Humbucking Coil, though. It still is the same old live instruments/vocals/crazy panning as you're used to hearing from the ambient techno cronies. It's very subtle, very melancholy, and very lovely. Not as many blips as I am used to from this guy, but I still adore it.

His voice sounds like Boston singer/songwriter (and my BBQ buddy) Ad Frank, which always kind of freaks me out. But then I remember that Ad would straight out tell me that he fucking hates his life, and B. Fleischmann just beats around the bush. I love that goddamn bush.

B.Fleischmann - "First Times"

Black Heart Procession tour with Castanets



Touch and Go's bleakest indie rockers, the Black Heart Procession, will be touring the United States in August with Devics (Filter Recordings) and Raymond Raposa, a.k.a. Castanets. It's been a good year since we've gotten any news about any of these bands, and it's nice to see they are emerging from their respective cocoons.

8/1 - Boston, MA - The Middle East

Great! So that makes Silver Mt. Zion and Black Heart Procession in the same week, at the same venue. Maybe I'll invent a festival and invite them.

5/23/2006

The Curtains sign to Asthmatic Kitty, Chris Cohen quits Deerhoof



Three-piece twee poplets The Curtains announced yesterday that they will release their fourth album, Calamity this fall via Sufjan Steven's Asthmatic Kitty label. The band, a self-proclaimed "crossover jazz band without the improvising" proudly bear their influences on their sleeves, playing off the innovation of Devo, Captain Beefheart and the Velvet Underground. I can hear some Deerhoof in it too, which I guess shouldn't surprise me, as their drummer, Chris Cohen, happens to be Deerhoof's bassist. Or should I say Deerhoof's former bassist.

That's right. With the news of the Curtains signing came the news of Chris Cohen's departure from the cutie pie indie rock band Deerhoof. "This is the band that I've always done on the side (I started it with my friend Trevor before I ever joined Deerhoof)," said Cohen on Deerhoof's MySpace page, "and I feel a real strong pull to go and perform our new material live and focus all my energy into that. I hope you all understand." We understand, Chris.

Additionally, Stereogum reports that Deerhoof has recently posted a nine song EP on their website, which includes covers of the Beatles, My Bloody Valentine, Canned Heat, and more. I've heard the Beatles in Spanish, German and French, but never Japanese (or with the word "panda" in it). It proves to be Cohen's last recorded material as a 'Hoof.

The Curtains - "Fletcher's Favorite"
Asthmatic Kitty - The Curtains Calamity Page
Deerhoof - Nine Song EP

Sub Pop, Secretly Canadian announce release schedules



Two of indie rock's most influential (and quite frankly, best) record labels have announced their summer and early fall release schedule. Sub Pop gives us new music from The Album Leaf, Comets on Fire and The Thermals, while putting out the debut releases of Brazilian samba-punk outfit CSS and Allentown, Pennsylvania noise bath aficionados, Pissed Jeans. Secretly Canadian sticks to the basics, with a new one from Songs:Ohia (this time under the Jason Molina moniker) as well as a double album from Windsor for the Derby. The full roster is below:

SUB POP
Pissed Jeans - Don't Need to Make Myself Disappear 7" (June 6)
CSS - Cansei de Ser Sexy (June 13)
Wolf Eyes - The Driller 7" (July 25)
Comets on Fire - Avatar (Aug. 8)
The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, the Machine (Aug. 22)
Chad vanGaalen - Skelliconnection (Aug. 22)
Rosie Thomas - If Songs Could Be Held (Sept. 12)
The Album Leaf - Into the Blue Again (Sept. 12)
Dead Moon - Echoes of the Past (Sept. 12)

SECRETLY CANADIAN
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - According to Plan (July 11)
Windsor for the Derby - Calm Hades Float / Minnie Greutzfeldt (Aug. 22)
Jason Molina - Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go (Aug. 22)
Early Day Miners - Offshore (Aug. 22)
Rhys Chatham - Trumpet (TBA)

There are also some rumblings of a new Shins album in late fall. That would be nice.