Bloc Party's Russell Lissack Fires Up Pin Me Down
"Cryptic" on Kitsuné comp, 12" due in April

When we reported on the Kitsuné label's Maison 5 compilation last week, there was one band we had a little trouble putting our finger on. That band was Pin Me Down, whose "Cryptic" made the Kitsuné mix. As it turns out, Pin Me Down contains a familiar face: Bloc Party guitarist Russell Lissack.

New York based songwriter Milena Mepris rounds out the duo, who met in 2004 when Mepris' former band Black Moustache opened a NYC gig for Bloc Party. They've been largely crafting tunes intercontinentally, employing email to shoot tracks back and forth over the pond that separates 'em. Hey! Just like the Postal Service!

But soon enough, Pin Me Down will take this mysterious new project beyond the realms of the "Cryptic". Kitsuné has a 12" remix single for the track tentatively set to arrive April 21. The Kitsuné Maison comp, meanwhile, is due worldwide February 4.

But a brand new band ain't all the good stuff coming from Mr. Lissack lately. According to NME.com, Lissack, a vegetarian, recently served as a guest judge in the selection of a new design for a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) t-shirt.

It may be a little hard to believe, but Bloc Party aren't touring at the moment, and apparently have no plans to any time soon. They will, however, play the NME's Big Gig at London's O2 Arena February 28, alongside Klaxons, Kaiser Chiefs, Manic Street Preachers, and the Cribs. And they've still been making their fair share of compilation appearances lately, what with the tunes they contributed to the Xfm Debut Sessions disc and the Green Owl environmental comp.

Sunn O)))'s O'Malley Does KTL LP/Tour, Art Collab LP
KTL also gears up for Kindertotenlieder theater performances

Photo by Gisele Vienne

When he isn't crafting .01 mph metal jams with Sunn O))) or helping run the Southern Lord imprint, Stephen O'Malley is doing, well, heaps of other things.

One of those things is KTL, his doom-laden collaboration with Mego label chief Peter Rehberg (aka Pita). Since joining forces in 2006, KTL have managed to hit us with four full-length releases already. The latest, Live in Krems, dropped just this month on Editions Mego. The vinyl-only, four-song set was recorded, you guessed it, live in Krems, Austria at last year's Donaufestival on April 30, 2007. It's limited to a mere 500 copies, so you'd best get on that.

KTL will join Earth and Sir Richard Bishop for a European tour that kicks off February 13. Later, in April, they'll set up shop at Paris' Théâtre de la Bastille for a five-night run of the theatrical piece that was the basis for their formation and the source of their name: Kindertotenlieder. That means "Songs on the Death of Children", so you know this is going to be heavy.

Kindertotenlieder will head to Spain for two May performances as well.

Come February 5, look out for another new release carrying the trusted O'Malley name. 6°Fskyquake is a collaborative effort between O'Malley and Hungarian black metal vocalist extraordinaire Attila Csihar. In addition to having the perfect black metal first name, Csihar was also the dude who put the Nightmare in this past December's ATP Nightmare Before Christmas event, appearing with Sunn O))) as the terrifically horrifying tree-creature seen here.

Consisting of a single 33+ minute title track culled from an original eight-and-a-half hour piece, 6°Fskyquake was created in conjunction with a pair of summer 2007 exhibits featuring work by sculptor Banks Violette. The CD version comes to us thanks once again to Editions Mego. [MORE...]

Super Furry Animals Taking Requests on Tour

Now that Hey Venus! has a physical release in North America and Super Furry Animals are venturing out into the physical world in support of it, the band can focus on more important things. First among those things is the song selection on their tour, which kicked off last night (January 13) in Hoboken, New Jersey and features the Welsh outfit alongside the Fiery Furnaces, Holy Fuck, and Times New Viking on various dates.

And how are the Animals determining this tour's set lists? Well, they're not. You are, or at least you can if you vote via a nifty little widget they've created. It's located here but we've chosen not to embed it out of courtesy, because it starts playing music automatically.

UPDATE: Fixed! 

Just pick a show, vote for a song, and hope for the best! [MORE...]

Hot Snakes, RFTC Members Form Night Marchers

Over the years, John "Speedo" Reis has pulled the plug on just about every musical institution he'd ever been involved with: Drive Like Jehu, the Hot Snakes, the Sultans, and the mother of them all, much-missed San Diego garage revivalists Rocket From the Crypt.

Moved by the spirit of togetherness, perhaps, Reis' disbanding streak has reverted into something he was always better at: forming bands, putting out records, and rocking the crap out of a live show.

Reis' new thing, the Night Marchers, intend to do just that and then some. Comprised of Reis, his old Hot Snakes-handlers Gar Wood and Jason Kourkounis, and Tommy Kitsos of CPC Gangbangs, the Night Marchers will issue their full-length debut, See You in Magic, April 22 from Swami/Vagrant Records. (Not, as previously reported, March 25). The band will take their new tunes for a spin on the road this winter, with a few Cali dates previewing what's sure to be a spitfire showing at SXSW.

While we're dishing up the Reis, we may as well remind you that R.I.P., the live CD/DVD recorded at Rocket From the Crypt's final show in 2005, will be released on Vagrant February 26. [MORE...]

The Death Set Go Worldwide on LP, Singles, Tour

Photo by Frank Hamilton

Call it rigor mortis: spry punkers the Death Set are alive and well and putting out a whole bunch of music in the coming months. Ninja Tune offshoot Counter Records will issue the Death Set's full-length debut, Worldwide, April 7 in the UK and April 22 in North America.

Before that happens, though, there's a Counter single for album cut "MFDS" due in the UK February 11 and February 26 in digital form in North America, plus an etched 7" for "Around the World" coming to North America in March (exact date TBA). What's more, a video for "Negative Thinking" is already floating around. Couldn't settle on a single track to showcase the sound, could you, fellas? That's a nice problem to have.

This deadly combo will perform many a set over the next few months as well, with a huge tour hitting the U.S. soon and Europe and the UK sooner. They have plans to show themselves off at SXSW, though a couple dead dudes playing music is probably gonna draw a crowd no matter where they are. [MORE...]

Portishead Reveal Album Release Date, Creative Title

Photo by Eva Vermandel

It's taken Portishead over ten years to craft their follow-up to 1997's Portishead, but probably not more than a couple minutes to decide on a name for the thing. Entitled Third, the album will be released April 14 on Island Records. (Since that's a Monday, we assume there will be a different U.S. release date.)

According to the band's website, Third is an 11-track affair, with 49-minute-and-13-second run time. And, even after all these years, it's still too damn far away.

Thanks to Jason Klekovic for the heads-up.

In other Portishead news, the band recently announced a tour and a stop at Coachella. [MORE...]

Photos: Band of Horses / Cass McCombs [Philadelphia, PA; 01/22/08]

Photos by Michael Alan Goldberg

See the clouds of dust gathering out yonder? Band of Horses are racing across the land, with singing, songwriting fellow Cass McCombs in tow.

Ben Bridwell and company kicked off their winter tour this past weekend in their home state of South Carolina, and they've saddled up for the long haul. Last night they played Philadelphia's Fillmore, and they'll continue on a U.S. trajectory that culminates February 13 with the Tibet House benefit at Carnegie Hall. Then it's on to Europe and the UK, and back to Florida just in time for Spring Break. More photos and the rest of the Horses' dates below.

BAND OF HORSES




CASS MCCOMBS

[MORE...]

Malkmus/Matador Add Extras to Trash Pre-Order

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks' forthcoming Real Emotional Trash will mark their very own entry in Matador's "Buy Early Get Now" pre-order program, which has previously deluxe-ified albums by the New Pornographers, Yo La Tengo, the Ponys, and some band called Pavement.

The Real Emotional Trash Buy Early Get Now will feature the following extras:

1) A stream of the album in its entirety, available immediately.

2) Two One exclusive Trash B-sides, "Walk Into the Mirror" and "Pennywhistle Thunder", available immediately. UPDATE: Only "Walk Into the Mirror" is available now.

3) A recording of the band's full set at Portland's Doug Fir Lounge on December 21, 2007.

4) Every other Trash B-side and exclusive track, available from the BEGN site 90 days after physical release.

5) A Trash poster and the album, picked up from your local store or shipped together on the album's release date, March 4.

Of course, to take advantage of the offer, you have to purchase the album before March 4 by visiting buyearlygetnow.com and following the site's instructions.

Malkmus and his Jicks aren't all about the instant gratification though. The band's U.S. tour with John Vanderslice is still two months away. [MORE...]

Tokyo Police Club Reveal Elephant Shell LP, Tour

Following a pair of frustratingly brief EPs and hype enough to circle the blogosphere twice over, Tokyo Police Club have finally finished work on their debut LP. It's called Elephant Shell, and it's coming out in late April on new home Saddle Creek in the U.S. and Memphis Industries in the UK.

With the record in the can, it's time for a Tokyo Police tour, the Canadian leg of which continues tonight in Oakville, Ontario. The band will head out anew later in March for a lengthier run, with dates running up to the unveiling of Elephant Shell. Hey, if you've got the songs, might as well show 'em off, right?

In other Tokyo Police Club news, they've recently designed a t-shirt for Playboy, and contributed a track to the CBC Radio 3 compilation. [MORE...]

Lightspeed Champion Adds North American Dates

Former Test Icicle Dev Hynes, aka Lightspeed Champion, has begun venturing throughout his native UK and the European mainland on a tour in support of his Omaha-enhanced debut, Falling Off the Lavender Bridge.

Taking care not to neglect the North American members of his fan club, the Champ recently snuggled two weeks of dates in the U.S. and Canada right in the middle of his itinerary. These shows will eschew Lightspeed Champion's typical full-band setup for a duo of Hynes on acoustic guitar accompanied by violinist Mike Siddell (ex-Hope of the States).

Falling Off the Lavender Bridge comes out February 5 on Domino. [MORE...]

Lil Wayne Arrested on Drug Charges

According to a TMZ report, Lil Wayne was arrested last night (Jan. 22) near Yuma, Arizona on three felony drug counts: "possession of dangerous drugs, possession of narcotics, and possession of drug paraphernalia."

His previous legal trouble (not to mention his claim on Da Drought 3 of being "so high I could eat a star") may make Wayne's arrest less than surprising, but considering that police told TMZ the Drug Enforcement Agency was involved, the charges are still pretty serious.

An MTV.com report says that "the border patrol found a .40-caliber pistol, 105 grams of marijuana, 29 grams of cocaine, 41 grams of ecstasy, and various drug paraphernalia" in Wayne's tour bus. The rapper was arrested along with two other men.

At the moment, Wayne is in the custody of the Yuma County Sheriff's Department.

In an unrelated story, MTV.com reports that Tha Carter III is now due for a March 18 release.

Sonic Boom's Spectrum Plans Three Releases, Tour

"Three chords good, two chords better, one chord best," Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember has been known to mutter. The former Spacemen 3 guitarist and current Spectrum mastermind is heading out with a full Spectrum but a single chord on a North American tour that kicks off later this week. Care to bask in all the nuance Sonic Boom can muster within the key of C or whatever? You know where to go.

In other news from Mr. Kember, he and Memphis recording icon Jim Dickinson recently completed Indian Giver, a collaborative LP tentatively due March 1 on Birdman. The nine-track set is billed to Spectrum Meets Captain Memphis.

And Spectrum is sure on a roll in 2008. In spring we can look forward to a new EP on Mind Expansion Records titled Walking & Falling. The EP will herald a brand new Spectrum LP, the first in some 10 years, due later this 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.)