Sunset Rubdown, Final Fantasy Draw Sea Monsters
As does Cadence Weapon

It takes all kinds: some folks to lead, others to follow. Some to start wars, some to fight them, some to end them. Some to create, some to destroy. And at least one guy to make a zine collecting drawings of sea monsters.

Trevor Basset is that guy, and Sea Monstre is his zine. Initiated earlier this month, Sea Monstre presently exists in blog-form on the world wide web, but the Seattle-based Basset hopes to sell hard copies in zine-friendly local shops and online in early 2008.

So just who has contributed to Sea Monstre thus far? Well, in addition to a few of Basset's fellow illustrators and graphic designers, a handful of musical types you might recognize have served up leviathan renderings. Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy), former Pitchfork contributor Rollie Pemberton (Cadence Weapon), and three members of Sunset Rubdown-- Spencer Krug, Michael Doerksen, and Jordan Robson-Cramer-- all gave it a go; those are Krug's, Pallett's, and Pemberton's doodles, respectively, above. And since this is an ongoing project, who knows just who will pop up next?

Now if only we could get some indie rock celebs to put stuff on their cats...

Helio Sequence Keep Looking Ahead on New LP, Tour

The longest track on Keep Your Eyes Ahead, the forthcoming fourth full-length from Portland duo the Helio Sequence, clocks in around four and a half minutes: a far cry from the long-legged tendencies of their past works. Could the Helio Sequence be seeking their big pop moment? Hard to say this far out-- especially when the press material makes note of both "impossibly big guitars" and "newfound appreciation for minimalism"-- but the judgment's yours to make January 29 thanks to Sub Pop.

The Sequence is currently on the road with Minus the Bear and labelmates Grand Archives. Dates and the KYEA tracklist after this thing. [MORE...]

Band of Horses Launch Tour

It's a good time for Band of Horses. They just released a killer sophomore album, Ben Bridwell's Georgia Bulldogs are ranked #10 in the Bowl Championship Series standings, and now, the band gets to celebrate both by heading out on tour.

Though the Horses' MySpace page lists the first date of their tour as taking place in "get some, Virginia," it actually starts tonight, October 30, in Charlottesville. Close enough, right? [MORE...]

Patrick Wolf Starts Label, Plans Reissues, Takes Photos

Photo by Kathryn Yu

The Wolf-man sleepeth not, it would seem. At some point in between wrapping up a North American tour, gearing up for dates in Australia, Japan, and the UK, planning a lavish tour finale, and talking in tomes to this very website, young Patrick Wolf has found time for a few more extracurriculars.

Given that Wolf has long championed unsung kindred spirits, it makes perfect sense that he's gone and started a label. Bloody Chamber Music, as he's christened it, will first see about reissuing in expanded form Wolf's two pre-Magic Position LPs-- 2004's Lycanthropy and 2005's Wind in the Wires-- before getting to the work of other artistes.

According to a recent MySpace post from Wolf, the first outside release for Bloody Chamber Music will come courtesy of London pop singer Craig Template. The Wolf reissues, meanwhile, will sport "new digital booklets and videoscapes for you to engage and get lost in." Trippy!

While this whole label endeavor is still technically in the planning stages, Wolf and co. hope to fire it up around the end of 2007.

Wolf has also been keeping a Fujifilm-sponsored tour photo diary over on Facebook.com, which is some kind of social networking website or something. In conjunction with this, he'll play a special secret show in London on November 19-- open only to 100 lucky folks who win a contest on Wolf's Fujifilm Facebook page.

If fortune shines upon you and you get into this gig-- or go to any other, for that matter-- Wolf has also humbly requested, via MySpace, that you TURN OFF YOUR GODFORSAKEN FLASH should you wish to take photos. Actually he was much nicer about it than that, but angry capital letters are fun. [MORE...]

Bradford Cox's Atlas Sound LP Gets Release Date

Photo by Jason Bergman

On February 19, Chicago-based experimental imprint Kranky will release Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel, the debut album from Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox's Atlas Sound project. The disc is a true solo project, with all parts laid down by Cox, who received recording "guidance" from Kranky labelmate Nudge's Brian Foote. Foote's imprint (no pun intended) on the proceedings was recently documented on Deerhunter's blog, with Cox expressing a particular fondness for a "vintage warmer" plug-in he claims should be "all over" the LP.

"This album is for my best friend Lockett," says Cox in the press release, referring to Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt. "It has a lot to do with childhood. I wanted to make an album that was uplifting but honest, which is why it seems sad a lot of the time. I want to make music that could be 'healing' or therapeutic to people who relate to it."

Whatever kind of music he's making, he's cranking out a lot of it. The hyperprolific Cox recently completed an EP under the Atlas Sound moniker while driving from Austria to Switzerland. The EP-- entitled Altitude Sickness-- is available via the band’s blog.

Deerhunter are presently in Europe, where there'll be for much of the next month. In Europe and looking to get rocked in a manner befitting a Pagan? ATP will release those Bats this weekend. [MORE...]

Frog Eyes, Bejar's Hello Blue Roses Split a Single
Frog Eyes play Israel, Hello Blue Roses Sign to Locust

In the latest missive fired from the "Canadian songwriters with funny voices" camp, Carey Mercer's Frog Eyes and Dan Bejar's Hello Blue Roses have recorded a split single, out December 4 (or, if you will, just "in time for the holidays") on Absolutely Kosher on both 7" vinyl and digitally.

Frog Eyes gets the A-side, so we'll start with them. The single sports rerecorded versions of "Policy Merchant" and "Stockades" from this year's Pitchfork-recommended Tears of the Valedictorian. The new recordings feature a new member of the Frog Eyes flock: Chet/Himalayan Bear frontman Ryan Beattie on guitar and backup vocals.

Then there's Hello Blue Roses, yet another side project from Destroyer's Dan Bejar. The newish act, comprised of Bejar and singer Sydney Vermont, has a full-length in the works for an early '08 release on Locust, but for now, their two songs on the 7" will have to do. "Foam Hands" is a Hello Blue Roses "cover" of a tune from Destroyer's forthcoming full length, with Vermont handling the vocals rather than Bejar. To end the set, there's a cover of "Wall of Death" from onetime lovebirds Richard and Linda Thompson's Shoot Out the Lights.

The disc will come stuffed in a full-color jacket and will only be available to the first 500 people who pony up the dough. Fret not: The digital EP of the tracks is unlimited.

Though you may just catch Dan Bejar making an appearance on the current New Pornographers tour, you'd be playing some cagey pool to bank on it. A surer bet: Frog Eyes' European tour currently in progress, with a couple new dates in Israel added. [MORE...]

Secretly Canadian Signs Seattle's Throw Me the Statue

Photo by Jacob Krupnick

Tossing around chunks of marble and steel sounds to me like a darn good way to lose some teeth, but the friendly, cornfed types at Secretly Canadian have been strapping on the padded gear and practicing their ducking just the same in preparation for the arrival of their latest signee.

Seattle-based Throw Me the Statue, helmed by one Scott Reitherman, have become the latest members of the Secretly Canadian fold. SC will issue a slightly amended version of the group's debut full-length, Moonbeams, on February 19 (the disc, in its original form, has been out for a few months now on Baskerville Hill).

Moonbeams' fluttering, harmony-drenched lo-fi-- crafted primarily by Reitherman and multi-instrumentalist Casey Foubert (Pedro the Lion, Crystal Skulls, Seldom)-- calls to mind a particularly sunny day with the old K Records roster. Here, just check out first single "About to Walk" for yourself in the download section below. Or, if you must, hold tight until December 4 when "About to Walk" gets backed with "The Old Believer", pressed into a 7", and released as a single by Secretly Canadian.

But you can't wait that long, can you? Duly noted. Adventurous sorts can peep Reitherman's game as he opens four shows on new labelmate Jens Lekman's tour, then plays one hometown gig in December. Just, you know, watch your head. [MORE...]

Photos: Vegoose Festival [Las Vegas, NV; 10/27/07-10/28/07]

Photos by Sung Kim

The third annual Vegoose festival took place this weekend at Las Vegas' Sam Boyd Stadium, and it was the last place in the U.S. to behold Daft Punk's magical pyramid of lights this year. Joining the French robot duo were Iggy Pop and the Stooges (performing their classic album Fun House in its entirety), Rage Against the Machine, M.I.A., Lupe Fiasco, Ghostface Killah performing with the live band Rhythm Roots Allstars, both the Shins and Mastodon decked out in Halloween costumes, Queens of the Stone Age, Battles, Blonde Redhead, Public Enemy, Muse, Gogol Bordello, and Cypress Hill.

Tons more photos below the jump.

DAFT PUNK




IGGY AND THE STOOGES

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

THE SHINS




M.I.A.




GHOSTFACE KILLAH

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE


LUPE FIASCO




BATTLES

[MORE...]

Black Keys, Six Parts Seven, GBV Members on All-Ohio Comp

As a Cincinnati Reds fan who was rooting for the Cleveland Indians in the MLB postseason, I'm afflicted with Ohio fever. As a record label based in Akron, Audio Eagle-- run by Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney-- has the disease as well.

But the label has fashioned a remedy for those of us who suffer from this affliction: a compilation of 21 tracks, all by Ohio bands. With Midwestern straightforwardness, AE has called the comp Audio Eagle Records Presents: A Compilation of Bands From Ohio. It includes songs from the Black Keys, Six Parts Seven, former Guided by Voices members Doug Gillard and Todd and Tim Tobias (as Clouds Forming Crowns), Heartless Bastards, Southeast Engine, and more.

The comp hits select Ohio record stores November 1, and a national release through Nail Distribution will follow on January 22. [MORE...]

Love of Diagrams Embark on Fall Tour With Enon

Perhaps borne of their actual affinity for graphs and blueprints, Love of Diagrams have mapped a slick, circuitous route for their U.S. tour. After starting up tonight (October 30) in Seattle, the Aussie trio will move roughly counterclockwise through the States, with a slight jolt from Louisiana to Florida, presumably to abate wind resistance.

Love of Diagrams will be joined by pals Enon (and, perhaps, a big bag of free chalupas) for most dates; they'll plot their final point in Chicago November 23.

Meticulous planning: it's the only way to rock. [MORE...]

Gold Standard Laboratories Closing Its Doors

California noise-punk label Gold Standard Laboratories announced yesterday, October 29, via a statement on its website that it is calling it quits this month, citing "the onset of factors that have seriously limited our ability to maintain what we feel is the essence of the label." (See below for the full text of the statement.) Most of the label's 14-year back catalog will remain in print both digitally and physically, with mail order available via Redeye Distribution/11spot.com.

Gold Standard Laboratories, or GSL for short, was founded in 1993 in Colorado by Sonny Kay of the punk band Angel Hair (and later of the VSS and Year Future). In 1996, Kay and the label moved to California. Between 1996 and 2001, GSL released early records from future stars like the Locust, the Rapture, !!!, Out Hud, and the Faint.

In 2001, Kay partnered with Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, then of At the Drive-In. GSL would go on to release many Rodriguez-Lopez projects, including records by the Mars Volta, De Facto, and various solo and collaborative groups. [MORE...]

Roisin Murphy Injures Eye Socket at Moscow Gig

Poor Róisín Murphy! Seems the UK dance-pop chanteuse was Overpowered by a derelict stage prop during a performance in Russia this past weekend. While treating fans at Moscow's Ikra Club to Overpowered jam "Primitive" on Saturday, October 27, Murphy hit her head on a chair and had to be rushed to a hospital.

As the statement from Murphy's camp puts it, she "severely damaged her eye socket." Thankfully, she's now back in the UK and recovering, and "despite [a] serious concussion and losing a lot of blood, her vision is unimpaired."

Murphy has had to cancel at least a week's worth of gigs, including upcoming performances in Warsaw, Berlin, and Prague. Other European dates-- beginning November 3 in Munich and wrapping up November 24 in Hamburg-- are on for the moment, but may be nixed depending on Murphy's condition. UK and Ireland dates thereafter, however, "should be unaffected."

Murphy hopes to reschedule the cancelled dates before the end of the year. [MORE...]

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.)