Dancing About Architecture Indie Music News 6.15.10
Posted by Ian Wright on 06.15.2010
BRAND NEW ARCADE FIRE SONGS, a new Sufjan Stevens album, The completion of The Pavement reunion, a new album from Women, new singles from Panda Bear, and more.
The bit at the start
Hey y'all. It's World Cup time so I've not been too focused on music over the last few days. This is actually the first World Cup that I've been gambling on (I'm doing … alright on the matches, just about breaking even I think maybe a little up even but I've got a lot of bets on top scorer and eventual winners to wait on the results for) and it's an unusual experience, cheering goals in matches that I'd ordinarily have no emotional stake in is strange. Usually I'd watch most of the competition with a pretty neutral interest, favouring the underdog usually but on Sunday night I was all like "fuck you Australia, I need the Germans to blitzkrieg you so that my handicapped bet on them to win by 3 or more pays out."
And even if some of my bets don't pay off (Japan won their first ever match in the World Cup that wasn't on Japanese soil today, the fuck was that?) I can always look at this and it makes me smile …
In fact so preoccupied am I with football that the only gigs I'm planning on attending in the next month are Philip Glass in Dublin (because c'mon it's Philip Glass, playing solo piano at that) and Arcade Fire in Paris (because they're one of the 5 best live acts I've ever seen) but that doesn't mean that there isn't some interesting stuff to cover this week. No sir, (or madam) not at all.
Beg, borrow, buy, steal or download this album.
Silver Jews – American Water
Because I'm relistening to it now and it's fucking brilliant.
You news, you lose
So yeah, speaking of Arcade Fire, as I just was.
To recap new album the The Suburbs is out, depending on where you live in the world, on August 2/3. The band played a bunch of gigs in Quebec and in Toronto last week and as you might imagine video and audio recordings of the new material cropped up on the web.
Yesterday it was announced that in addition to the recent very limited edition white label 12" of "Month Of May" and "The Suburbs" not one, but 2 singles would be released, one in North America and in the UK. And both were debuted on the radio too last night too. US single "Ready To Start" was played on Seattle's 107.7 The End and you can listen to it here.
Meanwhile in the UK Zane Lowe played "We Used To Wait" and you can listen to that song here.
Both are good.
New Sufjan.
Aside from the BQE thing and that exceptional number on the Dark Was The Night compilation there's been no sign of fresh material from Sufjan Stevens in a while. In fact speaking to Paste last year he cast doubt over whether he'd ever make a new album again.
However in a recent interview The National's Bryce Dessner said that Stevens is in fact working on a new record, in his band's studio in Brooklyn. And he and his bandmates are playing in it.
Speaking to Exclaim! he said "We've played on some of the tracks and been listening to some of the stuff as he's been working on it. … It's going to be incredible. It's going to probably blow people's minds."
So yay. I thought that Illinois was a little overblown but I've got unending love for the 2 albums previous to that.
Hey Gary! So … what have you been up to?
The Pavement reunion has been going pretty well so far then. All of the "classic" Pavement lineup members together again and kicking ass pretty much any night that they go on stage.
However this isn't the original lineup that's on tour right now. The original lineup circa Slanted And Enchanted included "eccentric" drummer Gary Young, so eccentric in fact that Pavement mythology has it that the reason that Bob Nastanovich was drafted into that band was to ensure that there was someone was there to keep the beat at gigs when Young decided to do handstands mid-gig.
It was announced last week that Young will rejoin the band for one gig in the band's home town of Stockton, CA in the Bob Hope Theatre on June 24th. This is their first ever hometown gig so I suppose it's apt. And also kind of nice to include him on the reunion buzz.
Lots of Panda Bear singles on the way.
Specific details of the ones beyond the first one are a little thin on the ground but here's what's out there so far. The title track of Panda Bear's forthcoming solo album Tomboy will be released on limited edition 7" on Animal Collective's Paw Tracks label on July 13th. On top of that prior to the album's release in the autumn there will also be a number of similarly limited singles release on various labels, namely Domino, Fat Cat and uber cool German dance label Kompakt.
I love Women, women are indifferent to me.
All male Canadian outfit Women will release their second album in a couple of months. Public Strain will be out on Jagjaguar in the UK on August 23rdand in the US on September 28th, the same day as it's release in Canada on Flemish Eye. Like their self titled debut this album is produced by Chad VanGaalen.
Tracklisting:
01 Can't You See
02 Heat Distraction
03 Narrow With the Hall
04 Penal Colony
05 Bells
06 China Steps
07 Untogether
08 Drag Open
09 Locust Valley
10 Venice Lockjaw
11 Eyesore
By the way, if you only ever track down one tune by Women, make it "Black Rice," you wont' regret it in the slightest.
The YouTube video of the week
New tune from Wavves.
If you can you should go to these gigs.
The Books
06-21 Chicago, IL - Jay Pritzker Pavillion (Millennium Park)
08-13 North Adams, MA - Solid Sound Festival
09-04 Monticello, NY - ATP Festival
09-29 Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero
09-30 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10-01 Durham, NC - Shaefer Theater
10-03 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
10-04 Knoxville, TN - Square Room
10-05 Charlotesville, VA - Jefferson Theatre
10-21 Somerville, MA - Somerville Theatre
10-22 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street Nightclub
10-23 Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret Mile End
10-24 Ottawa, Ontario - Capital Music Hall
10-25 Toronto, Ontario - The Mod Club
10-26 Pontiac, MI - The Crofoot Ballroom
10-27 Grand Rapids, MI - Ladies Literary Club
10-29 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
10-30 Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Culture Center
11-13 New York, NY - Zankel at Carnegie Hall
11-29 Los Angeles, CA - Music Box at The Henry Fonda Theatre
11-30 San Francisco, CA - Palace of Fine Arts
12-03 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theatre
12-04 Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre
12-05 Vancouver, British Columbia - Vogue Theatre
Sleigh Bells
06-11 Rijeka, Croatia - Hartera Festival
07-01 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar *
07-02 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel *
07-03 Pittsburgh, PA - Brillobox *
07-04 Philadelphia, PA - Bamboo Bar (Making Time) *
07-06 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle *
07-08 West Palm Beach, FL - Respectables *
07-09 Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits *
07-10 Atlanta, GA - Vinyl *
07-11 Nashville, TN - The End *
07-12 Indianapolis, IN - Radio Radio *
07-13 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop *
07-14 Louisville, KY - Zanzabar *
07-15 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick *
07-17 Los Angeles, CA - LA State Historic Park
07-18 Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Music Festival
07-20 Toronto, Onatario - Phoenix Concert Theatre ^
07-21 Montreal, Quebec - The National ^
07-22 Boston, MA - The Royale ^
07-24 New York, NY - Governors Island
08-11 Oslo, Norway - Oya Festival
08-13 Gothenburg, Sweden - Way Out West Festival
08-14 Helsinki, Finland - Flow Festival
* with Nerve City, Popo
^ with Die Antwoord
Menomena
06-09 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Studio 80
06-12 Lucerne, Switzerland - B-Sides Festival
09-10 Seattle, WA - Showbox at the Market
09-11 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom (Musicfest Northwest)
09-14 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
09-16 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theater
09-17 San Diego, CA - Casbah
09-18 Tempe, AZ - Clubhouse
09-21 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre
09-22 Omaha, NE - Waiting Room
09-23 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
09-24 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
09-25 Chicago, IL - The Metro
09-27 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
09-28 Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club
09-29 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
09-30 Boston, MA - Royale
10-01 New York, NY - Webster Hall
10-05 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
10-06 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10-07 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
10-08 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
10-09 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
10-11 St. Louis, MO - Luminary Arts
10-12 Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck
10-14 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
10-15 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
10-16 Boise, ID - Neurolux
Writing under the influence
Without which this column would not have been possible:
Talk Radio
The Wrens – Life Stories From The Union
The Wrens – 89-09
Silver Jews – American Water
The bit at the end
Right, it's late here and I want to watch the Breaking Bar finale before some pricks spoils it for me. Without seeing this week's episode I have to say that I've really enjoyed this season. Probably the strongest one yet. In fact I'd go so far as to say that it has now replaced Mad Men as my favourite post The Wire TV show.
I also started to watch Friday Night Lights over the weekend. I'm genuinely surprised by how good it is.
You can follow me on twitter, I'm endlessly fascinating.
