Arbouretum, Lungfish Dudes Ready Human Bell Album

When most of us hang with our friends, we... do what? Crack open a few beers? Play some video games? Talk philosophy, if we're feeling ambitious/high?

But when Baltimore bros Dave Heumann and Nathan Bell pal around, they make sweet instrumental guitar duets together and record them. This might have something to do with the fact that Heumann is the leader of Arbouretum and Bell was a member of Lungfish from 1996 to 2003. Call it creative restlessness or something.

Going under the name Human Bell (get it?), Heumann and Bell will release their self-titled debut LP via Thrill Jockey on January 29. The album features contributions from Matt Riley (The Moss Collector), Michael Turner (Warmer Milks, Speed to Roam), Peter Townshend (Speed to Roam, Bonnie "Prince" Billy), and Ryan Rapsys (Euphone, Ambulette), on various instruments including "quartz singing bowl" and guitar, vibraphone and kalimba, and "orbital spirit guitar," according to a press release. Production on Human Bell comes from Paul Oldham and Antony West, with Tortoise's John McEntire handling the mixing.

Human Bell also have a pair of dates coming up this month to celebrate the album's release. [MORE...]

Broken Social Scene Head Out on World Tour
BSS Presents Brendan Canning LP due May 27

None of that "Presents..." business here! Broken Social Scene-- or as many as they can stuff in a suitcase, anyhow-- are headed Down Under for a proper band tour next month. From New Zealand they'll head to Australia, where they'll make all stops at the traveling Laneway Festival. Then it's off to Japan for a pair of dates and, eventually, a stopover in Singapore before the scene is (temporarily) Broken anew.

Attendees at these gigs can expect a heady mix of BSS classics, material from spiritual leader Kevin Drew's recent solo joint, and quite possibly at least one tune from the forthcoming Broken Social Scene Presents Brendan Canning LP.

But not for long, as May will bring a flurry of new BSS goings-on. Broken Social Scene proper will perform at the Explosions in the Sky-curated ATP festival. The Brendan Canning album will arrive May 27 on Arts & Crafts, as reported by Billboard and confirmed by the band's publicist.

In other news from the Scenesters, Jason Collett's new disc, Here's to Being Here, is out February 5 from Arts & Crafts. And for those of you who prefer your rock'n'roll silent and readable, there's a book in the works as well. [MORE...]

Hukkelberg's Rykestrasse Leads to North America

March 4, noted Norwegian singer-songwriter Hanne Hukkelberg's Rykestrasse 68 heads to North American thanks to the Nettwerk label, following a 2006 release (to much international aplomb) in her native Norway.

The disc, "a tribute to the six months she spent living in Berlin," is a darker, more somber affair than its well-regarded predecessor, Little Things. 68 features members of Jaga Jazzist and Shining, and sports a rather bizarre (but extremely effective) cover of the Pixies' "Break My Body". A video for "A Cheater's Armoury" drawn up by MTV animator Andreas Palegolas is included with the disc.

Hukkelberg will make her way to this year's South by Southwest festival, and a brief U.S. tour is being plotted around the trip. Those dates have yet to emerge, but Hukkelberg's got a pair of Scandanavian dates set in stone over the next couple months. [MORE...]

No Age Come up With a Few Good Nouns for Sub Pop
This is the noisiest game of Mad Libs ever!

Photo by Daniel Cantó

Verb may be what's happening, but for the very-happening Los Angeles noise punks of No Age, this spring is all about Nouns. That's what Dean Spunt and Randy Randall have dubbed their first proper full length (and follow up to Weirdo Rippers, last year's stellar singles collection and-then-some/Pitchfork's #12 album of 2007).

It's due May 6 on their new label Sub Pop. We're without a tracklist for Nouns at the moment, but there's a good chance the recently-Forkcasted "Sleeper Hold" will make an appearance. Get familiar!

The lads of No Age always seem to find themselves in good company, be it the folks who kick around their L.A. homebase the Smell, their soon-to-be tourmates in Liars, or the plethora of bands they'll join at this May's ATP vs Pitchfork festival. And you, too, could be among good company, if you show up at one of the places right after this thing here. [MORE...]

Nada Surf Get Lucky With Ben Gibbard on New Album

Nada Surf, aka the sappiest indie poppers in the Barsuk catalog not named Death Cab for Cutie, will follow up 2005's The Weight Is a Gift with their fifth full-length on February 5. It's called Lucky, and speaking of Death Cab, Ben Gibbard is among the album's guests, alongside Ed Harcourt, the Long Winters' John Roderick, and Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter guitarist Phil Wandscher. It's a regular Barsuk party.

Lucky will make its way to European shores February 4 (February 18 in the UK), and early pressings of the record will come with a four-song bonus CD.

The band has plenty of tour dates to keep them and us occupied before and after those staggered releases, including engagements in Europe, the U.S., and Canada. [MORE...]

Radiohead (Sorta) Announce North American Tour!
In Rainbows tops U.S., UK charts

There are three essential components to any respectable Pitchfork News tour story-- dates, cities, and venues-- but when your band is called Radiohead, you can get away with announcing them one at a time.

Today Radiohead confirmed that they are indeed coming to North America in the near future, and provided folks with a handy list of just which cities they'll visit. No dates, no venues, just cities. Did yours make the cut? Have a look (arranged alphabetically):

Atlanta
Boston
Charlotte
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Houston
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
Miami
Montreal
New York
Philadelphia
San Diego
San Francisco
Santa Barbara
Seattle
St. Louis
Tampa
Toronto
Vancouver
Washington, DC

The cities listed above will be graced by the men of Radiohead in two waves, the first popping off before that oft-reported European jaunt (which begins June 6), and the second taking place sometime after said jaunt ends (on July 8).

As the guys explained on Dead Air Space late last month, they've been working with environmental group Best Foot Forward to reduce their carbon emissions on this forthcoming tour, which may go some to explain why it's taking them a minute to put it all together. They also provided some pointers on how YOU can help. Observe:

* If average car occupancy increased from 2.2 to 3, the whole tour's overall CO2 output would be reduced by 22%.
* Halving fans flying would reduce overall CO2 consumption by 5%
* And if 10% of car users travelled by bus it would reduce CO2 emissions by 7%

And if I may add my own suggestion: Bikes!

Radiohead's In Rainbows, meanwhile, presently sits atop the Billboard 200 album charts. After a street date violation resulted in a paltry first "week" showing, Thom and the boys moved 122,000 units in their second week, good enough for a #1. In Rainbows also reigned over the UK charts in its first week of release.

Still hot on the Radiohead newswire: Amplive, under pressure from Radiohead's publishers, has agreed to abandon his In Rainbows remix project for the time being; the "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" single blows up UK shelves January 14; Thom Yorke's rolling out some remixes; and the band so did not demand a bunch of advance money from former label EMI. So there.

Finally, according to Uncut.com (via ateaseweb), Radiohead will perform on the 200th episode of "Later... With Jools Holland", which hits BBC Two February 1. Also performing: Cat Power, Feist, and Dionne Warwick. [MORE...]

Spoon Head Down Under
Join Big Day Out bill, celebrate Spunk! Records' 10th anniversary

Spoon didn't exactly shy away from the road in 2007, and the sharp sonic space-savers have already begun spooning out the dates in 2008. They've joined the bill of the previously reported Big Day Out Festival, which will find them rubbing elbows with the likes of Björk, Battles, and something called an Arcade Fire. Your guess is as good as mine.

Not only that, but Spoon and the Arcade Fire have scheduled a duo of joint dates free from the rest of their traveling companions, which, of course, gives us hope for plenty of headline fodder to come in this new year. Or, if they so please, they could pick up Jens Lekman and Andrew Bird, who will both join them in fêting the 10th birthday of their Australian label, Spunk! Records, at a party on January 21. Or we could just let them make up their own damn minds about whom they choose to cavort and caper with, I suppose.

After doing their Down Under duty, the lads head to Japan, Portugal, and the UK for one-off gigs.

In other positive Spoon news, that Diplo character just mixed them up for a good cause. In other negative spoon news, this. [MORE...]

Black Kids Tour With Sons & Daughters, Kate Nash

Photo by Mike White

Though they've still only got a handful of songs to their name (four of which are still free, by the way, and still bearing our Best New Music distinction), the Black Kids have certainly stretched those few songs as far as anyone could imagine over the last few months.

On a wing and a prayer and some catchy tunes, the band have lined up quite a sizable UK tour this winter, with dates alongside Glasgow's Sons & Daughters and British songstress Kate Nash. Nash has reportedly taken to covering the Kids' "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You" from time to time recently, which can only serve as the foundation of some kind of collaborative onstage hijinx.

To note: the gigs from January 29 through February 1 are free, as part of the Vice Live tour. Though if you go, someone might take your picture and then make fun of it later on the internet or in a magazine. [MORE...]

Jay Reatard Signs to Matador, Plans Singles Barrage

When he isn't getting all bruised up or doing his best Carrie impression, Memphis's Jay Reatard is writing, recording, and plowing through live shows at a pretty damn ridiculous clip. He's also turned plenty of heads in so doing, including those of the folks at Matador. Yup, they've signed Jay and will help him hit us over the head with six singles in 2008.

Details on the singles are fairly scant at the moment, but we do know that Matador hopes to have the first one out by March and intends to release them in an absurdly unconventional fashion. With each successive single, the quantities pressed will actually decrease. In a nutshell: as demand goes up, supply will go down. I'm no economics major, but I'd say that means maximum eBayability is practically ensured here.

However, for those who just want the rock without all the record-flipping interruptions, a CD/LP compilation collecting the limited edition singles will eventually surface. There's also a little live activity brewing in the Reatard camp; have a look right after this thing. [MORE...]

Sufjan, MBD, Asthmatic Kitty Roster on New DVD

It was only a matter of time before those folks over at Asthmatic Kitty sprung a DVD on us, and come March 4 the world will embrace the incredible inevitable.

Frankly we couldn't be more psyched about Encyclopedia Asthmatica Vol I (even if the title and packaging are taking us on a trip down memory lane), as it comes packed with footage of pretty much everybody on the AK roster and includes no fewer than four previously unreleased vids featuring label poster boy Sufjan Stevens.

My Brightest Diamond, Castanets, Rafter, Shapes and Sizes, the Curtains, and Bunky pop up on Vol I as well, and frequent perusers of this here website will no doubt recognize illustrator Tom Eaton's video for Sufjan's "Put the Lights on the Tree". Also nestled amid the music videos and live footage is material from CandyStations' Deborah Johnson (who has worked with Sufjan, Wilco, Calexico, Lambchop, and others), and a clip of the Think/Dance Collective "frolicking in shoes made of bread to the music of Half-Handed Cloud." Fresh!

They even thought to dazzle up the menus, with music from Rafter and design by AK website Sidebar contributors Zack and Gala Bent. Keep your cursor glued to this here site for a tracklist, and know that Encyclopedia Asthmatica Vol I will be available for preorder beginning February 4 online and at your local indepedent record store.

Malkmus' Real Emotional Trash Album Cover Revealed
Expect a run on thrift store 70s folk festival t-shirts any minute now

When we rung up Stephen Malkmus last month to talk Real Emotional Trash, he answered the phone just as he was "down in the basement, fucking around" and "trying to secure the cover art for this new album." Consider it secured: that right there before your very eyes will grace the front of every copy of Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks' Real Emotional Trash when it hits March 4 from Matador. Hypnotic!

Apart from our ogling, we've also got word that a couple of those Jicks tour dates we told you about last week were slightly more tentative than originally reported. The folks at Matador jumped the gun on announcing those gigs in D.C. and Philly, and have since apologized for the haste on the Matablog. "When and if they're finalized," they write, "we'll be posting something to that effect." Hey, who wouldn't want ol' Malky boy and the band in their building? Crazy people, that's who.

Also, John Vanderslice has been added as the opening act for the shows. [MORE...]

Men [ft. Le Tigre's Samson, Fateman] Play Shows

With Le Tigre on hold for the time being, JD Samson and Johanna Fateman's previously mentioned partycore project Men is free to rock face from coast to coast.

But hold on a second. The coasts on this here continent are rather far apart, and really, don't you suppose folks would prefer a thorough face-rocking to some half-assed, fly by night face-rocking? I reckon they would, and I gather Men agree. Thus, the duo is going to take it one coast at a time, and restrict its rocking of face to Los Angeles for the moment. The first such instance, a Check Yo' Ponytail event, pops off January 12.

And JD Samson sure hasn't forgotten about the coast she calls home. Catch her DJing at a handful of Brooklyn parties in the weeks to come. [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.)