Panda Bear, Of Montreal, Battles on Rough Trade Comp
With Dan Deacon, No Age, Justice, Vampire Weekend, Dirty Projectors, Von Südenfed

The folks behind London's Rough Trade shops are well known for their frequent compilations of fave-raves. But the next one, Counter Culture 07, is a bit different; a bit more personal; a bit, if you will, rougher in its trade.

For the first time, Rough Trade put the mix together independently (in contrast to previous comps where they partnered with various labels), lending the set the unique feel of a passion-driven mixtape. The double-disc Counter Culture 07 compilation packs 41 tracks from the previous year, from now-familiar favorites from Of Montreal, Battles, Panda Bear, No Age, Justice, Dirty Projectors, Vampire Weekend, and Dan Deacon to top-shelf stuff from lesser-known acts like Supersilent, Om, Arthur & Yu, and Magik Markers.

The set is available now at Rough Trade and elsewhere February 11 on Counter Culture Records. Gaze with awe at the tracklist after this here thing. [MORE...]

Frightened Rabbit Get in Midnight Organ Fight, Tour
Top 10 album title of the year contender right here, people

April 15, FatCat Records will issue The Midnight Organ Fight, the anticipated sophomore LP from the scruffy, searching Glaswegian hop-alongs of Frightened Rabbit. The disc-- the follow-up to the beloved (if too little heard) Sing the Greys LP-- was recorded in Bridgeport, Connecticut with Interpol/National/Twilight Sad producer Peter Katis over a mightily prolific two week period.

The band has a handful of dates in the UK and Europe coming up fast, plus a trip to the States yet again in March for the SXSW shindig (with an appearance of note at the Scottish Arts Council showcase). A full tour of the U.S. is being planned right this instant, but for now, we must wait. [MORE...]

Ladytron Reveal Album Details, North American Tour

Photo by Staphane Gallois

Hips (and hipsters), get to shaking: Ladytron have a new one for you. According to Spin.com (and the band's MySpace), Velocifero, the fourth LP from the slinky Liverpool-based dance-rockers, will be released in the U.S. June 3 on their new label Nettwerk. Recorded in Paris, the disc was produced by the band, with a little help from Alessandro Cortini and (as we mentioned) Ed Banger's Vicarious Bliss.

The band will embark on a tour with their sonically likeminded labelmates Datarock this spring, and make even the non-hippies dance at Bonnaroo. [MORE...]

Jay-Z Launches Ad Agency, Expands Tour

Photo by Kyle Gustafson

Jay-Z may have given up the Def Jam presidency, but his tendency for corporate dabbling remains intact. His newest venture, according to a report from The New York Times, is a joint one with entrepreneur Steve Stoute. Together, the pair is launching the NYC-based Translation Advertising.

A division of Translation Consultation and Brand Imaging, Translation Advertising's goal is to "help marketers reach multicultural consumers," according to the Times. The company will announce its first clients soon.

As co-chairmen of Translation Advertising, Jay and Stoute will own 51% of the company. The other 49% will be the property of Interpublic, the agency company to which Stoute sold Translation Consultation last year for an estimated $10-15 million, according to the Times.

Stoute told the Times that Jay will not be involved in "day-to-day operations" as much as he will "use his eye, his taste, his understanding of the culture" to help guide the company. "He left his day job at Def Jam; he has to do something," Stoute said.

Among the other things he's doing to keep himself busy: touring. Jay has already added more dates to his previously reported "Heart of the City" co-headlining jaunt with Mary J. Blige, which kicks off March 22 in Miami. [MORE...]

Leonard Cohen to Play Glastonbury
Hot Chip, British Sea Power, the Verve, Kings of Leon added to the lineup as well

The Verve, Kings of Leon, Hot Chip, British Sea Power... festival favorites, all. And, heck, if Jay-Z wants in on something, you should never, ever say no. But even though we knew Leonard Cohen would be touring this year, we're a little surprised to hear that the legendarily reclusive singer-songwriter's first announced gig is an appearance at England's rather gigantic Glastonbury Festival. Surprised, and way more jealous of all Glastonbury attendees than we were before.

Yes, according to the BBC, Leonard Cohen will join the aforementioned lot-- and Neil Diamond!-- in pummeling the hills at Glastonbury June 27-29. No word on just where Cohen's set will fall in the festival's lineup, though the idea of Leonard Cohen warming up the crowd for Friday night headliners Kings of Leon is a pretty depressing one. "California Waiting", you are no "Famous Blue Raincoat".

No word yet on the album he's apparently working on, and Glastonbury remains the only date at the moment. He'll make a stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame March 10 to pick up some award or something.

Portishead Add Dates, Third Details Surface
Pop Group's Mark Stewart weighs in on new Portishead disc

Photo by Eva Vermandel

Portishead's Third may have been a good seventh of a lifetime in the making, but if post-punk icon Mark Stewart knows anything, the album will be well worth the wait.

The former Pop Group frontman and current Maffia leader received an advance copy of Third and waxed thoughtful on the disc for German magazine SPEX. Among Stewart's revelations: Third is no "straightforward rehash of [Portishead's] well-loved, trademark sound," it employs a marked degree of crate-digging, it has the band jacking funk the way Zeppelin jacked blues, and, oh yeah, its songs have titles! Who'd have thunk it?

"Small", "Magic Doors", "Deep Water", first single "Machine Gun" (Slowdive, where u at?), and a "very German-sounding" number called "We Carry On" are among the 11 new P-head tracks we can look forward to when Third hits UK shops April 14 via Island (U.S. release details forthcoming).

"Deep Water", in particular, sounds intriguing. Writes Stewart: "For the extraordinary one-and-a-half minutes of 'Deep Water' Portishead hired a male choir, arranged like one of those traditional barbershop choirs from the 1920s-- back in the days when hairdressers would not only cut hair, but also entertain their customers with pitch-perfect a cappella harmonies. For a brief moment, Portishead reference and revive an endearing English song tradition."

Stewart's complete musings can be found here, or in print in the forthcoming SPEX #313 (out February 22).

In other rumblings from camp Portishead, the Bristol bumout crew's long overdue 2008 tour has nearly doubled in size since our last dispatch. They also mention "filming stuff for the future" on their website. Ooh, perhaps a sequel to To Kill a Dead Man? Or at least another music video.

Finally, Mark Stewart has an album called Edit on the way via Crippled Dick Hot Wax! in May, and he and the Maffia are among the two or three bands added to the SXSW lineup yesterday. [MORE...]

The Kills Prepare for Mammoth World Tour

Expect plenty of Midnight Booms on the Kills' forthcoming world tour in support of said disc's March 18 U.S. / March 10 UK release on Domino. The din of night will be blowing through speakers all over the place when these Kills come around, hopping as they are from continent to continent well into the spring. The trip also has the raucous pair making a splash in Tokyo shortly, SXSW eventually, and morgues inevitably.

Those seeking an even greater fill of Kills can head over to MidnightBoom.com right now, download the component parts of album track "Cheap and Cheerful", and remix them to their heart's content. Look out for a "Cheap and Cheerful" single as well in March. [MORE...]

Yelle Gets Physical Release for Debut, Tours

Photo by Grégoire Alexandre

While her debut album POP-UP popped up digitally last year, French electro-popper Yelle has yet to convert her sizable studio presence into something more tangible in the U.S.

The days of digital-only Yelle on American shores will be over soon enough, however, with the U.S. release of POP-UP on CD and the lady's first U.S. performances in New York City and at Coachella.

The April 1 release of POP-UP on Caroline will come with a single bonus track: "A Cause des Garçons (Tepr Remix)".

In addition to the aforementioned U.S. shows, Yelle has plenty of European dates in the coming months. [MORE...]

Subtle Reveal New Album ExitingARM

Adam "Doseone" Drucker and his compadres (including Jeff "Jel" Logan and Dax Pierson) in the genre-melting Subtle will unleash ExitingARM, their third LP, on Lex Records May 13. The self-produced for hero: for fool follow-up is self-described as the group's "post-modern-pop opus and the 3rd installment in the epic of [recurring character] HourHeroYes."

For a lot more of what Doseone had to say about making the album (and a whole lot of other stuff), check out our interview here and here.

Subtle are currently working on a May tour, a digital comic book/almanac, and a new website. Until all that jazz is ready, though, feast on "Unlikely Rock Shock", the first taste of ExitingARM that hit Forkcast a week ago. [MORE...]

Go! Team Play Benefit for Old Cinema, Add Shows

Photo by Nilina Mason-Campbell

Gather 'round, do gooders! There's a cause to be helped. It seems the Duke of York's Picturehouse in Brighton, England-- which has been operating continually since 1910, making it the longest-running cinema in all of Britannia-- has a leaky roof, and that's enough to put the ol' picture shack in jeopardy. Talks are under way to close the place down, provided the proper roof-fixing funding isn't accrued in time. And that's where we (and, perhaps more importantly, Brighton's own Go! Team) come in.

The Team are bringing their rollicking live show to the rickety Picturehouse March 14 for a benefit concert. They'll perform a pep rally in the cinematheque to the visual accompaniment of Bob Jaroc, who previously worked with Plaid on Greedy Baby. All in all, it ought to be the best time you'll have at the cinema this year, at least until the Daydream Nation movie comes out.

If you're looking for a little fun with the Go! Team minus the rain hat the Duke of York's gig may require, the band has added a few dates in Mexico this month and in France come April since last we spoke on the matter. [MORE...]

Jenny Lewis Working on New Album
Collaborating with Elvis Costello, M. Ward, Zooey Deschanel? Maybe not.

Photo by Michael Alan Goldberg

Although she's still technically in Rilo Kiley mode-- the band has another tour in the works and will toast Under the Blacklight at both Coachella and Bonnaroo-- Jenny Lewis knows the benefits of making a little time for herself. And in recent weeks, this time to herself has consisted of a return to the studio to start work on the follow-up to her 2006 solo-ish LP with the Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat.

Though, it would seem, Lewis has hardly been alone. According to a report from EW.com's Hollywood Insider blog, she has been working with beau/tourmate Johnathan Rice, Blacklight co-producer Jason Lader, and "Farmer Dave" Scher of Beachwood Sparks/Tyde. What's more, M. Ward, Zooey Deschanel, and the Black Crowes' Chris Robinson apparently "dropped by" to contribute some guest vocals. And to top it all off, Lewis recorded a duet with Elvis Costello!

Sounds grand, but according to Lewis's publicist, we shouldn't necessarily believe everything we read. Lewis's publicist described the phrasing of the EW.com report as "misleading" and the list of guest musicians as "inaccurate."

So all that's really confirmed at this point is that Lewis is indeed in the studio working on the Rabbit Fur Coat follow-up, and that said studio is in Los Angeles. Other than that, we'll just have to wait and see. But hey, new Jenny Lewis album in the works! That's pretty cool.

Thanks to reader Jon Latessa for the initial tip. [MORE...]

Daydream Nation, Soon to Be a Teen Comedy Movie Starring That Girl From "Heroes"
Save the cheerleader, save the album

Daydream Nation: Sonic Youth's masterpiece, the inspiration for two decades of indie rock, still sounds great today, the greatest album of the 1980s, "You'd be hard pressed to find many fans of indie rock who don't have some love for this record."

Daydream Nation: Forthcoming teen comedy directed by Michael Goldbach, starring "Heroes" cheerleader Hayden Panettiere and maybe Kieran Culkin, "the producers are hoping to reinvent the coming-of-age story for the 21st century, calling the film an intellectual comedy a la Juno and Election."

See also: The Replacements, Can't Hardly Wait, Just Like Heaven, Things We Lost in the Fire

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.)