Atlas Sound Announces North American Tour

Photo by Jason Bergman

With his debut LP as Atlas Sound all wrapped up and waiting for its February 19 release on Kranky-- and with Deerhunter's looming (albeit temporary) hiatus kicking off over the weekend-- Bradford Cox is in possession of virtually the first bit of free time he's had since the release of Cryptograms way back in February.

One might think a few months away to rest, catch up on some records, and maybe throw a few more songs on the blog would be the perfect antidote for a wild 365. But not for Bradford, who'll head out for a full-on Atlas Sound tour as winter draws to a close.

Atlas Sound sets things off in Atlanta on Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel's release date, followed by three weeks around North America. Kranky labelmates White Rainbow and Valet will join Atlas Sound for the trek. Indeed, Bradford's also suggested on the Deerhunter blog that Brian Foote (of Nudge) and folks from the opening acts may partake of the Atlas Sound live thing, although that's not 100% confirmed just yet.

In other news from Camp Cox, Deerhunter's "After Class" will see release February 26 on the Rare Book Room comp. The band will also appear in We Fun, a forthcoming documentary examining Atlanta's underground rock'n'roll scene. Atlas Sound and Deerhunter dates are available after the jump. [MORE...]

U.S. Gets Hey Willpower [ft. Imperial Teen, Tussle] LP
Imperial Teen, Tussle play December dates

Though it's been revamped with a fresh tracklist and brand new artwork not found on its previously released European issue, Hey Willpower's full-length debut P.D.A. ought to still pack a potent poppy punch when it drops in the U.S. January 22 via Tomlab.

Hey Willpower, as you may be aware, is the catchy side project featuring Imperial Teen's Will Schwartz, Tussle's Tomo Yasuda, and a rotating cast of characters. The disc comes at a bit of a lull for the band, with no live dates planned at the moment. Instead, Schwartz will focus his efforts on a trio of upcoming Imperial Teen shows, while Tomo and Tussle rock three of their own upcoming gigs, including that Worried Noodles happening. Wait... Will Schwartz... Hey Willpower... I get it now! [MORE...]

Fogarino/Franklin's Setting Suns EP Finally Emerges

Photo by Christy Bush

So the Setting Suns-- the oft-discussed, hardly prolific duo comprised of Swervedriver frontguy Adam Franklin and Interpol stickman/secret weapon Sam Fogarino-- are, indeed, for real. And they've got the digitized stuff to prove it, too! The nascent band's self-titled debut EP is available this very moment via iTunes from DH Records, and a physical CD release (sans one of the iTunes tracks) can be expected February 5.

And if that's not enough proof that the Setting Suns are finally on the rise, the band will hit the stage of New York City's Mercury Lounge December 19. That comes at a break in Interpol's touring schedule and before a reunited Swervedriver hit the road next year. Furthermore, a promise is made on the Suns' website about a full LP, due next year. One thing at a time, gentlemen. [MORE...]

Bright Eyes' Oberst Forms Band With M. Ward?
Oberst sheds Bright Eyes moniker for two intimate shows

Conor Oberst and M. Ward go way back. Ward opened Bright Eyes' 2002 Lifted tour. He joined Oberst and Jim James a couple years later for their collaborative triptych trek. And when Bright Eyes serenaded Los Angeles with help from the LA Philharmonic a couple months ago, Ward was there.

So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone that Oberst and Ward have taken the next logical step with their musical relationship. They've allegedly gone and formed a band.

The news comes from an Omaha City Weekly report, which indicates Oberst and Ward's unnamed band plans to record an album next year. Representatives from neither Oberst's nor Ward's camps could confirm the collaboration, however. But given these guys' history, it falls a wee bit closer on the likeliness scale than, say, a Bright Eyes/Soulja Boy collabo.

The City Weekly bit also mentions a second Oberst side project set to record in 2008. This one finds our perennially bedheaded emoter working with Jake Bellows of Omaha act Neva Dinova. Bright Eyes and Neva Dinova, as you may recall, previously collaborated on the 2004 EP One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels-- so again, not exactly a shocka, even if this too has yet to be confirmed.

The picture may become a little clearer come December 29 and 30, as Conor Oberst takes the stage at Minneapolis' 400 Bar with nothing but the name his parents gave him. Well, that and "a different backing band," according to a Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune report. "Word from 400 Bar management," the report states, "is that Oberst wants it explicitedly known these won't be Bright Eyes shows-- i.e., he won't be doing any of those songs! He will be playing new material." We'll leave it to you super sleuths to put two and two together here.

Thanks to reader Marissa Malouff for the tips! [MORE...]

Blood Meridian Seek to Liquidate Paris on New Disc

A handy refresher course: Blood Meridian is the Black Mountain side project featuring the latter's Josh Wells and Matt Camirand. They've already got a pair of fine releases to their name, sure, but why stop there? Blood Meridian have crafted Liquidate Paris-- either a hefty EP or a fit'n'trim LP depending on who you ask-- which they'll release on CD and LP November 20 via Elevation Recordings. Actually, funny story about that label...

Anywho, Liquidate Paris. The disc began its life "in a moldy basement beneath a crack infested street in Vancouver," not unlike Nardwuar. Following Blood Meridian's tradition of naming stuff after books, the disc's title was lifted from the WWII novel of the same name by Danish author Sven Hassel. Both the CD and the vinyl (Elevation's first foray into analog) are limited to 1,000 copies apiece, so you'll want to get on that one.

Wells and Camirand are over in Europe for a mess of Black Mountain dates, which run up to the release of that band's In the Future LP. Those dates-- and the Liquidate Paris tracklist-- after the jump. [MORE...]

Richard Swift Embraces Science, Technology on New LP
Also tours with Cold War Kids

You know Richard Swift as the genial, barrelhouse piano playing guy with the fuzzy hair and the pretty darn good records. You may also know Swift the filmmaker, as his many audiovisual antics include stepping behind the camera for a number of his own music videos. But do you know Richard Swift, engineer of pulsing, largely instrumental krautrock? Nah, we haven't met that dude either.

But all that should change January 22, when Secretly Canadian releases Music From the Films of R/Swift, the debut full-length from Swift's Instruments of Science & Technology project. Collecting a dozen cuts from the multi-talented Swift's more open-ended side, the disc promises to bewilder and beguile in equal measure.

The Swift we already know and love has a few plans for the near future as well: a forthcoming LP of "60s style" rock tunes, and a more imminent tour with Cold War Kids. I'd go (instru)mental too if I had to endure this every night. [MORE...]

Coyote Reveal Outsides on New Album

The best things come in pairs, don't they? Peanut butter has jelly. Pancakes have syrup. And there are also a few complimentary pairs that don't have to do with food, like Insides and Outsides. That is, Insides, Philly/Brooklyn band Coyote's debut EP, and Outsides, its forthcoming full-length follow-up.

Following the untimely death of member Trevor Butler (also of Bottom of the Hudson) just a few months ago, Coyote now consists solely of Russell Higbee (Man Man, Lewis & Clarke), Jeff Mooridian (Vaz), and Ryan Hamilton. Still, the trio hasn't let unfortunate circumstances stand in their way, as they will issue Outsides via awesomely named label Hot Dog City on November 20.

Coyote also have a pair of tour dates scheduled, starting with a show in Philly on November 23. [MORE...]

Former Dismemberment Planners Prep Statehood LP

Photo by David Holloway

Almost a year ago, Pitchfork reported the formation of Statehood, a new band featuring former Dismemberment Plan/ex-Maritime bassist Eric Axelson and former Dismemberment Plan drummer/actual rocket scientist Joe Easley. For their background, you can read that story. But now, the band has finally finished its debut album, and the talk from here on out is Futuretown, USA.

Led by songwriter Clark Sabine and rounded out by guitarist Leigh Thompson, Statehood will release Lies and Rhetoric, the aforementioned debut record, on November 19. That's a Monday (the industry norm is Tuesday), but since they're self-releasing, they can roll like that.

Also taking place in times yet to come: Statehood's tiny East Coast tour, which starts November 16 in Philly. And since we're talking about the D-Plan, don't forget Travis Morrison is also touring out East this month. [MORE...]

Alan Sparhawk's Black-Eyed Snakes Go Skiing on DVD
Black Mountain pissed they didn't think of idea first

Usually when a band releases a DVD, it's of some live show, or it's a documentary chronicling the history of the band, or maybe it's some kooky music-related movie with interviews and music videos as extras. Not so for Low guitarist/vocalist Alan Sparhawk's Black-Eyed Snakes side project.

The Snakes have released a short film called Cross Country With the Snakes on DVD, featuring the cross-country skiing talents of the band and, in particular, those of drummer and one-time Olympic hopeful Brad Nelson. And sure, the DVD-- shot by skiing fanatic Hansi Johnson-- also has some live footage from the shows the band played on its Colorado/Utah road trip, but the real prize is getting to see the Snakes' impression of Low's "Belarus" video.

As part of the Banff Mountain Film Festival tour, Cross Country With the Snakes will screen at Minneapolis' Midwest Mountaineering on November 16 and 17 and at the Duluth Cross Country Ski Club on November 18 and 19. The DVD is available from Low's chairkickers.com now.

For their part, Low still have those Down Under dates scheduled in January, starting January 9 in Auckland, New Zealand. [MORE...]

Franz's Thomson Drums Up Domino 7" With Correcto

Paul Thomson-- again, possessor of the greatest name in rock'n'roll-- drums in a little act called Franz Ferdinand from time to time. It's a good gig, for sure: sometimes Alex whips up a cake just for laughs and lets Paul lick the spoon, and periodically he gets to read all about himself in appealingly alphabetized form. But, despite the perks, all the pressures of keeping the beat in one of those big famous rock bands can get a little trying, even when possessed with the resilience of spirit a name like his affords a person.

That's the point when Paul's especially glad to have Correcto, the slightly lower-profile band for which he also hits the skins. Though that profile may not be so low for so long: Correcto's peppy "Joni" will be released as a single (7" and download, if you're interested) November 12 in the UK from Franz and them's Domino label. Backed with "Wasting Time", the single apparently serves as a harbinger for the LP the band have been recording over the last several months, expected early next year.

Correcto have a smattering of dates surrounding the impending release of "Joni", and-- lucky you-- they're all listed after the jump. Have at it. [MORE...]

Hello, Blue Roses [ft. Dan Bejar] Reveal LP Details

Photo by Jen Weih

It was over a year ago when we first greeted Hello, Blue Roses in these here pages. Now the duo-- which includes a man you may know by the name of Dan Bejar and a lady you may not (but should) called Sydney Vermont-- has spilled the beans on its previously mentioned debut full-length release.

A strange flower indeed, Hello Blue Roses (note the absent comma) blooms in January-- the 22nd, to be precise-- thanks to the green thumbs at Chicago's Locust imprint.

The 14-track set apparently finds Bejar and Vermont averting the indie rock status quo. Mused Bejar via press release, "The Hello, Blue Roses songs are completely untethered to any of the bullshit streams coursing through the scene right now...a product of not really caring what people think, but still caring a lot about people." Amen, brother.

Hello Blue Roses' title track will also find its way onto a split 7" due from Locust in early 2008 (with a corresponding digital download expected by the end of the year). Labelmates Starless & Bible Black serve up the release's other half, contributing a tune called "Calico".

Take care not to confuse this with the other Hello, Blue Roses split 7" we recently reported. That one, as a reminder, features Frog Eyes on the flip and arrives via Absolutely Kosher on December 4.

Dan dons his Destroyer guise, meanwhile, to play that Scratch Records anniversary gig at Vancouver's Richard's on Richards November 10. [MORE...]

Faint Guitarist's Metal Side Project Preps LP for Relapse

Vverevvolf Grehv-- pronounced "Frankenstein Tomb", I assure you-- is the metal side project of Dapose, guitar player for Omaha synth-rockers the Faint.

Dapose said of the Grehv project that he "wanted to hear synthesizers and filters and electronic music beat up on metal music," which is by turns a painful and intriguing notion. Crafted entirely by Dapose on guitar and laptop, Vverevvolf Grehv's debut Zombie Aesthetics is due March 4 in North America, and March 10 elsewhere from Relapse.

Neither Dapose nor the Faint have any tour dates on the way... because they're finally making another Faint record, right? Actually, right! According to the latest posting on the band's website, they've hunkered down into their newly-constructed ENAMEL studio-- the one bassist Joel Peterson told us about this past March-- recording the new one. Ooh, you've got me worked up so anticipatory!

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)