Steve Haag reports:
As debut indie rock albums go, few can match the production pedigree involved in Grand Rapids, Michigan trio Whirlwind Heat's upcoming Do Rabbits Wonder. Produced by White Stripes frontman Jack White (who discovered the band way back in 2000), recorded by power-popper Brendan Benson, and mixed by Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev), Do Rabbits Wonder has, besides a stupid title, the official thumbs-up from V2 Records, and will be released April 15th on White's V2 vanity label Third Man Records. The name of the label is yet another, more overt nod to master filmmaker Orson Welles.

Whirlwind Heat, formed in 1996, are a trio consisting of vocalist/Moog-icist David Swanson, bassist Steve Damstra and drummer Brad Holland, who have known each other since the fourth grade. Here's their government-enforced background check: They caught their first break in 1997 when the appropriately-titled-in-this-day-and-age Arab on Radar allowed them to open for them at a Grand Rapids art gallery gig. A few singles for Offsite and Italy Records found the ear of White, who caught them at a show at the Magic Stick in Detroit. They then released a three-song EP in 2000 called Glaxefusion, toured around Detroit with MC Paul Barman and The Dirtbombs, and finally found their way into the studio with White and Benson. The rest, as they say, is mystery.

As for the album's title, Do Rabbits Wonder, let's have Swanson handle that one, because his answer, courtesy of the band's webpage, is just so fucking priceless: "We all love rabbits. They're so innocent, you just wonder what they're thinking about; they bounce around everywhere, bouncing from one thing to the next, trying to find food, trying to survive." Be like the squirrel, girl. Oh, and if that's not crazy enough-- though we're pretty sure it is-- the band has also done away with the tyranny of normal song titles, opting instead for colors as song titles. Again, sez Swanson: "We wanted a way to make it unique... We're sick of hearing the chorus of songs and knowing that's the title. It just didn't seem creative to us, so we wanted to come up with something different. The colors aren't always connected to the emotions or the energy of the songs, but we tried to match them up as much as possible." So expect song titles like "Orange", "Tan" and "Gray". It's like a terrorist alert system you can hear!

Whirlwind Heat is currently taking their Crayola box, er, setlist to Europe, in support of Jack and Meg White. A guy plucks you from obscurity and signs you to his record label, the least you can do is support his shit. Dates:

05-13 Stockholm, Sweden - Cirkus
05-14 Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
05-15 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
05-17 Koln, Germany - E-werk
05-19 Berlin, Germany - Casino
05-20 Hamburg, Germany - Grosse Freiheit
05-21 Amsterdam, Holland - Parisudo
05-22 Paris, France - Olympia
05-25 Madrid, Spain - Aqualung
05-27 Lyon, France - La Transbordeur
05-28 Zurich, Switzerland - Rote Fabrik
05-30 Vienna, Austria - Wuk
06-01 Rome, Italy - Horus

Those of you looking for some actual Jack White news-you-can-use, look no further. Stripe-heads across the nation are preparing to stay up late four nights in a row next week, with the confirmation that the Stripes will be playing Late Night with Conan O'Brien on April 22-25, performing a different song each night. For you "morning people," keep in mind that Comedy Central airs the previous night's episode of Conan the following day. Check your local listings for air times.

And yes, the rumors are true. The Stripes have added additional dates to what will undoubtedly end up being an incredibly rigorous spring/summer/fall/winter/spring tour in support of their DiCrescenzo-depantsed new full-length Elephant. "History will prove me right!" insists Brent, and perhaps he is correct, but goddamn, don't these kids put on a show! Dates:

04-07 London, UK - Wolverhampton Civic Hall
04-08 Manchester, UK - Apollo
04-10 Glasgow, UK - Glasgow Academy
04-11 London, UK - Brixton Academy
04-12 London, UK - Brixton Academy
04-15 Detroit, MI - The Scottish Rite Theatre (inside the Masonic Temple building)
04-16 Detroit, MI - Masonic Temple (Main Theater)
04-19 New York City - Hammerstein Ballroom
04-20 Boston, MA - Orpheum
04-27 Indio, CA - Coachella Music and Arts Festival
04-28 San Francisco, CA - Warfield
04-29 San Francisco, CA - Warfield
04-30 San Diego, CA - Soma
05-13 Stockholm, Sweden - Cirkus
05-14 Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
05-15 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
05-17 Koln, Germany - E-Werk
05-19 Berlin, Germany - Casino
05-20 Hamburg, Germany - Grosse Freiheit
05-21 Amsterdam, Holland - Paradiso
05-22 Paris, France - Olympia
05-24 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Festival
05-25 Madrid, Spain - Aqualung
05-27 Lyon, France - Le Transbordeur
05-28 Zurich, Switzerland - Rote Fabrik
05-30 Vienna, Austria - Wuk
06-01 Rome, Italy - Horus
06-02 Bologna, Italy - Flippaut Rock Festival

.: Pitchfork Review: White Stripes: Elephant
.: Pitchfork News: White Stripes to Play Eight Dates in April
.: Whirlwind Heat: http://www.whirlwindheat.com
.: White Stripes: http://www.whitestripes.com

Brandon Dameshek reports:
With all the instability and inability among our many nations to reach any kind of common ground, it's nice to see that some of the good ones haven't forgotten how to make an informed, collaborative decision. Yes, it seems that Mogwai have thrown out the Pitchfork-reported, working title Bag of Agony for their new album (though it does have all that cool assonance), and have instead settled on the Ren-and-Stimpy-meets-R.E.M.-inspired Happy Songs for Happy People. The record is now reported due on June 10th via Matador Records.

The group's previous efforts, including 2001's Rock Action, lend a certain air of seriousness-cum-end-of-the-worldliness to their presence, which leads us to believe that the new title might-- just might-- be ironic. Mogwai mega-man Stuart Braithwaite has weighed in on the band's latest effort, describing the album as "forty one minutes fifty seconds of total unadulterated brilliance." Let it not be said that he was immodest! Tracklist:

01 Hunted by a Freak
02 Moses? I Amn't
03 Kids Will Be Skeletons
04 Killing All the Flies
05 Boring Machines Disturbs Sleep
06 Ratts of the Capital
07 Golden Porsche
08 I Know Who You Are But What Am I?
09 Stop Coming to My House

As of now those nine tracks are little more than words on your screen, obviously giving you all sorts of aches and pains that even a gallon's worth of Nyquil couldn't handle. So before you go toss yourself from a bridge a la deceased poet John Berryman, why not check out this shitload of tour dates? Did we mention that they're nearly all European dates? Hmmm, looks like Berryman knew what was up.

04-18 Thessaloniki, Greece - Mylos Club
04-19 Athens, Greece - Ark Nr 6
05-03 Bergen, NOR - Logen
05-04 Oslo, NOR - John Deeckets
05-07 Norwich, UK - Waterfront*
05-08 Northampton, UK - Soundhaus*
05-10 Dublin, IRE - Village*
05-12 Cardiff, UK - University*
05-13 Portsmouth, UK - Wedgewood Rooms*
05-14 Brighton, UK - Concorde 2*
05-15 Oxford, UK - Zodiac*
05-16 Leeds, UK - Cockpit*
05-18 Liverpool, UK - Masque*
05-19 Edinburgh, UK - Queens Hall*
05-24 Barcelona, SPA - Primavera Sound Festival
05-26 Brussels, BEL - AB Box
05-27 Koln, GER - Prime Club
05-28 Hamburg, GER - Schlachthof
05-29 Amsterdam, NET - Melkweg Max
05-31 Copenhagen, DEN - Pumpehuset
06-01 Berlin, GER - Maria
06-02 Strasbourg, FRA - Laiterie
06-03 Lyon, FRA - Ninkasi
06-05 Paris, FRA - Elysee Montmartre (w/James Orr Complex)
06-06 Nantes, FRA - Olympique (w/James Orr Complex)
06-22 Los Angeles, CA - All Tomorrows Parties
06-27 Glastonbury, UK - Glastonbury Festival
07-27 Naeba, Japan - FujiRock

* w/ Kling Klang

.: Pitchfork Review: Mogwai: Rock Action
.: Pitchfork News: Mogwai plan June release for new LP, sell pacemaker
.: Mogwai: http://www.mogwai.co.uk/go/main
.: Matador: http://www.matadorrecords.com

Rob Mackey reports:
Deep Elm's been a no-no around here since that unending series of Emo Diaries compilations. Remember when they were selling shirts that said "I [Heart] Emo"? You guys, bring those back! You could make a mint with a Hot Topic distro deal! But we at the Fork (well, everyone except Rob Mitchum) are allergic to that kind of thing. We're talking burning eyes, itchy nose and throat, sneezes, coughs. Straight up. On the antihistamine tip. But whatcha know: the memo on my desk says we just received a bulk shipment of Claritin down in the mail room, so here we are.

That having been needlessly said, the emo-gone-space-rock champs in Appleseed Cast are gearing up to tackle America. Or, at least, everything west of the Mississippi River. See, emo's clean-cut intellectual big brother scored one fuck of a coup-- they got called in as a support act for a long-assed leg of Cursive's U.S. spring tour. So get your super-sober-psych-rockin' ass out to a club and witness a bunch of skinny li'l heartbroken saddos doin' the boneless hippie dance to the Cast's earth-rockin' groove. Tell 'em Bob Weir sentcha:

04-05 St. Louis, MO - Creepy Crawl
04-06 Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
04-14 Kansas City, MO - El Torrean
04-15 Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre
04-16 Salt Lake City, UT - Bricks
04-18 Seattle, WA - Graceland
04-19 Portland, OR - Meow Meow
04-21 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
04-22 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
04-24 Pomona, CA - Glass House
04-25 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
04-26 San Diego, CA - The Scene
04-27 Tempe, AZ - Nita's Hideaway
04-28 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
04-29 El Paso, TX - Club 101
05-01 Austin, TX - Emo's
05-02 Houston, TX - Fat Cats
05-03 Dallas, TX - Trees
05-04 Oklahoma City, OK - City Arts Center

.: Pitchfork Review: Appleseed Cast : Low Level Owl Vol. I & II
.: Pitchfork News: Cursive to Reveal Ugly Organ on Spring Tour
.: Deep Elm Records: http://www.deepelm.com

Nikhil Swaminathan reports:
It's always interesting to see what happens when one member of a group is at a level of technical proficiency that is beyond the imaginations of his bandmates. Van Halen pulled it off by adding frontmen that were already stars in their own right (let's just face that Sammy Hagar is a better vocalist than Eddie VH is a guitarist any fucking day of the week), and now the Kent, Ohio-based Party of Helicopters are giving the formula another run. After a stint recording for Troubleman Unlimited, the band is now switching to the ATL-based Velocette label to release their third LP, Please Believe It, on April 8th. POH is now officially fully mobilized behind their axe man, Jamie Stillman, with 10 new songs that will make you reminisce about your mom standing behind a fiery trash can full of Iron Maiden tapes. Seventh son of a seventh son? Shiiit, that Iron Eddie wasn't nothin' but a cameo appearance in the John Lithgow segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie. Tracklist:

01 The Good Punk
02 Mic My Mind
03 Cover Me
04 Delta '88
05 The Toucher
06 Rising Up is Hard Work (Let's Just Sit Here)
07 Brutal Enigma
08 Never Ending Cycle
09 Boston
10 Science Reasons

Party of Helicopters are currently on tour in support of the new rekkid. Once again, the band relies on Stillman (and slightly less ferocious drummer Cory Race) for live fan conversion. Their mix favors arena-ready riffs and often leaves singer Joe Dennis looking like a mute Iggy Pop impersonator. But at what is more than certain to be a reasonable price, you can watch Stillman harass members of the audience while playing some of the more intricately written guitar parts in the indie rock world. It hits and misses (hey, just like Patriot missiles) on disc, but the raw intensity makes for a good 45-minute investment. Better to pay to watch POH bring down the house than Queen Latifah and Steve Martin, eh? You caught us straight tr... dude, no. Dates:

04-10 Ann Arbor, MI - The Heidelberg
04-11 Lansing, MI - Temple Club
04-12 Charleston, IL - The Dungeon
04-15 Chicago, IL - Double Door
04-16 Champaign, IL - High Dive
04-18 Columbus, OH - High Five
04-19 Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre
04-23 Portland, OR - The Satyricon (w/Other Men My Age)
04-24 San Francisco, CA - Hemlock (w/Yellow Press, Other Men My Age)
04-25 West Hollywood, CA - The Troubadour
04-27 San Diego, CA - The Casbah
04-28 Phoenix, AZ - Modified (w/Mono)
04-30 Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
05-01 Kansas City, MO - Grand Emporium
05-02 Chicago, IL - Metro/Smart Bar
05-05 Akron, OH - Lime Spider
05-06 Rochester, NY - Bug Jar (w/The Apes)
05-07 Cambridge, MA - Middle East Club (w/The Apes)
05-08 New York, NY - Knitting Factory (w/The Apes)

.: Pitchfork Review: Party of Helicopters: Mt. Forever
.: Party of Helicopters: http://www.thepartyofhelicopters.com/