Rob Kleckner reports:
Gone but not forgotten. Former members of the Unicorns, Nicholas "Niel" Diamonds and J'aime Tambour have joined forces to form a new side project: Islands. Since disbanding, the only other Unicorns-related project was Th' Corn Gangg, and we haven't heard from that camp in awhile. So it's about time they got back to work. After all, we're still waiting to find out who has been cutting their hair since they've been gone. No telling if Islands's music will hold that secret, but it's the only place we have to look.

Elliot Aronow, the editor of the Simple Mission blog, says: "I know you've been wondering. Where is Nick Diamonds? Where is J'aime? Montreal? L.A.? NYC? Since winning the hearts of the masses as two-thirds of the Unicorns, the pair have been busy traveling around this country and theirs working on various and sundry projects including a brand new fantastique pop group called Islands."

Diamonds himself has described the new group's music as "F-14 Tomcat blah, blah," which we're told by Aronow is "French Canadian slang for fiery, shiny, and shimmering madcap pop." Obviously.

Available for download are two tracks, "Flesh" and "Abominable Snow", at the Simple Mission website, which can be heard by following the link below.

* The Simple Mission: http://www.thesimplemission.com

Death Cab for Cutie Unveil Their Plans

Rob Kleckner reports:
Remember when your favorite band hopped on to a major label and they were never the same again? Months and months in the studio, blowing thousands of dollars on tape and coke and haircuts. Fear not, fans of Death Cab for Cutie, as bassist Nick Harmer tells us, "It's still a very special Death Cab."

Pitchfork spoke to Harmer just after the band had completed a photo shoot in New York and he spilled some details on the band's upcoming album, and major-label debut, Plans, which is due August 30. Fortunately, the band didn't go through any indie-to-major bullshit when they jumped ship from Barsuk to Atlantic. Harmer said the new label was fantastic and didn't interfere in the least. "I was as apprehensive as the next person going into the process," he said, "wondering how involved they were going to be, if they would keep looking over our shoulders. But with all honesty, they just let us do what we needed to do, and as thankful as we are for that, it was strange because we didn't expect it."

So no shenanigans? "Well, while we were up [in rural Massachusetts], there were two studios and for the first week, the guys from Jet were in the other studio, writing and rehearsing. Near the end of when they were there, they had some label people come up and one night we were just making a god awful racket trying to come up with a noisy part of the record. Banging on pots and pans and making all kinds of noise, to maybe later manipulate it into some ambient texture someplace. And the next morning, we come downstairs and they were like, 'Man, we don't know what you guys were doing up there, but it sounded amazing!' We were like, 'Wow, really?' It was a funny moment. If there was ever a major label moment, it didn't even come from our own label but another label entirely, which made us laugh a bit. We told them, 'Cool, well, tell everyone you know that you liked what you heard!'"

Produced again by band member Chris Walla, Plans picks up for where their previous album, Transatlanticism, left off. "It's not completely different", says Harmer. "There aren't any conceptual ties, but we approached it similarly. In some ways [Plans] is an extension of Transatlanticism, but more realized as an album, as a complete thought from start to finish. The performances are that much better, the sound, the production quality. We pushed hard to keep moving in the direction began with on the last album, and I think we'll keep pushing in that direction for awhile. Not everyone's going to like everything you do, obviously, but I'd be surprised if someone who liked Transatlanticism would not like this record."

The album's first single is expected to be "Soul Meets Body", and the band shouldn't have trouble coming up with some B-sides, as they recorded several more songs than what made it onto the album. Guest spots on the album include Beulah's Bill Swan and Harvey Danger's Sean Nelson.

Tracklist:

01 Marching Bands of Manhattan
02 Soul Meets Body
03 Summer Skin
04 Different Names For the Same Thing
05 I Will Follow You Into the Dark
06 Your Heart Is An Empty Room
07 Someday You Will Be Loved
08 Crooked Teeth
09 What Sarah Said
10 Brothers on a Hotel Bed
11 Stable Song

Death Cab have a few festival gigs lined up through the September, before a full North American tour later this fall. Dates:

07-07 Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest
07-24 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
07-30 San Diego, CA - San Diego Street Scene
08-06 Bend, OR - Les Schwab Amphitheater
08-13 Osaka, Japan - SummerSonic
08-14 Tokyo, Japan - SummerSonic
08-18 New York, NY - Central Park SummerStage
09-24 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits

* Pitchfork Review: Death Cab for Cutie: The John Byrd EP
* Death Cab for Cutie: http://www.deathcabforcutie.com

Franz Ferdinand Reveal New Album Title

David Nadelle reports:
Franz Ferdinand. Again.

Describing the sound of a band is one thing; describing album cover art is another beast altogether. For example, this writer would have described the Franz Ferdinand debut album cover art as a throwback to the classic geometric abstract art of Mondrian and Malevich, expressing the mechanical written movement of Russian futurist fonts, reflecting a faux-Socialist/Realist political movement, with a nod to early Factory Records minimalist imagery.

Someone who certainly would have a better grasp of the Franz Ferdinand cover-design-thing is the Glasgow art-wave-obsessed foursome's main man himself, Alex Kapranos, who has revealed to the UK press what the future holds for Franz's album artwork and titles-- basically more of the same. In speaking with the NME, the lithe singer laid down the skinny on the Franz art aesthetic, claiming that the only changes in store for the new album due in September will be the color selection. Like their debut, there will be no title to the new disc, and the cover will now boast a black, red, and pale green surface as opposed to the first album's mix of dark brown, orange, and cream.

Said Kapranos: "The whole point is that the album doesn't have a title. We decided quite a while ago that we didn't want to give any of the albums titles, they were just going to be called Franz Ferdinand. The albums are going to be identified by their colour schemes rather than a title. The contrast of different colours creates a different mood. We experimented with different combinations of colours and this one stuck. At one level they looked good together, and they capture the mood of this record quite well."

Needless to say, a lot has happened to the band since the days they used an abandoned warehouse in Glasgow to host illicit art house rave-ups. But when the excitement of the accolades and award nominations subside, the business of making new albums must be at hand. As is the case when a debut album takes off commercially and critically, there's a lot of expectation and speculation as to what is in store for the difficult second album. The band will spend the next while selecting the final tracklisting from a stash of songs, some of which have been premiered and tested at various live dates recently. Among the titles which will make up the album are: "Turn It On", "Do You Want To?", "Your Diary", "I'm Your Villain", "What You Meant", "Outsiders", "Walk Away", "Well, That Was Easy", "Evil and a Heathen", "Eleanor, Put Your Boots Back On" and You Could Have it So Much Better". Rumors of a new song called "Arts of Pleasure" are unsubstantiated at this time...

* Pitchfork Review: Franz Ferdinand: Franz Ferdinand
* TV on the Radio: http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk/

TV on the Radio Drop More Hints on Album

Rob Kleckner reports:
You didn't think we'd let you live with just a tracklist, did you? Please. We're back with more detailed information on the forthcoming TV on the Radio album. Which is good news, because that tracklist was just too much of a tease. So we spoke to multi-instrumentalist and producer David Andrew Sitek about it via email to help flesh this thing out.

The recording process just finished, and mixing is under way. The album was recorded at Sitek's Staygold Studio (say that three times fast!) in Brooklyn and recorded by Sitek himself, per usual. As for the sound of the new album and what to expect, he says it will be "very large, full production, personal, anthemic, and worthy of makeout sessions with the sky. We have really been influenced by our personal lives more than music. Not to say we don't breakdance to other music, but we have been rather insular for most of the process."

Guests abound on this album, including Katrina Ford (Celebration, Lovelife), Chris Taylor (Grizzly Bear), Martin Perna and Stuart Bogie of Antibalas, and members of Dragons of Zynth and Omegamoon, as well as some other "special people." He expects the first single to be either "Wolf Like Me", "I Was a Lover", or "Playhouses". Always a good sign to have more than one choice for a single, usually means the tunes are good. As for a title and release date, they're still unsure, as Sitek says, "Look, we let you take our bra off; the panties will have to wait."

Finally, he tells us, "This has been a strange and incredible time for us and hopefully we will reflect that enough to make you feel like you are in the hotel rooms with us, on the plane with us, asleep in the grass with us, stomping your feet and shaking your fist at the naysayers with us, not answering our phones with us, staring at the future in disbelief with us, accepting the miraculous with us, giving it back with us."

We just can't wait to hear the damn thing! Here's that tracklist we mentioned:

01 Playhouses
02 I Was a Lover
03 Province
04 Snakes + Martyrs
05 Wolf Like Me
06 Tonight
07 Dirty Whirlwind
08 A Method
09 Let the Devil In
10 Blues From Down Here
11 Wash the Day Away

* Pitchfork Review: TV on the Radio: Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
* TV on the Radio: http://youngliars.blogspot.com

Prefuse 73 Added to Intonation, Two-Day Passes Scarce

Rob Kleckner and Ryan Schreiber report:
In reverse this time!: Head of Femur, Pelican, the M's, Thunderbirds Are Now!, Dungen, Xiu Xiu, A.C. Newman, Out Hud, Magnolia Electric Co., Four Tet, Deerhoof, the Hold Steady, Andrew Bird, the Wrens, Will Oldham, Jean Grae, Diplo, El-P, Les Savy Fav, Broken Social Scene, the Go! Team, Death From Above 1979, Tortoise, and the Decemberists.

Now, we don't like to go around all snobby and pretend we're better than other people (sike!), but if we do say so ourselves, that is one fine motherfucking lineup. Yes, the Intonation Music Festival is comin' up around the bend; as of this very minute, it's only three-and-a-half weeks away. And with the door closing fast on your chance to scoop up those limited $22 two-day passes-- they're supposed to be on sale through July 9, but we're already running low on 'em-- your opportunity to spend two sunny-ass summer sizzlers with twenty-five of the greatest independent bands on Earth is ticking away without your consent. Sincerely, this is the kind of magic you just don't fuck around with: If you want in, you best snatch those suckers now.

Oh, what, a deal-sealer? Christ, you'd think 88 cents a band would be enough! What are you, some kind of asshole? Alright, look. We like you a lot, we think you got potential, we like your moxie. And because we're feeling like Mr. Generous today, we'll throw in one more. Ladies and lads...

PREFUSE 73!!

Yes, that Prefuse 73. Indeed, glitch-hop pioneer Scott Herren has signed on at the last minute, sporting a five-piece touring lineup that, judging from their recent shows, could quite easily be dubbed the rightful successors to the title of World Famous Supreme Team (or, for those in more of a Letterman mood, The World's Most Dangerous Band). If I had it in me right now to elucidate how sick their last Chicago performance was, I promise you would be like "holy crap." And did we mention that lovable Biz3 Publicity is hooking you up with a just-ridiculous string of incredible DJ sets by Pelican, Dungen, El-P, Diplo, Jean Grae, and Will Oldham throughout the day? Suffice to say, this is some first-class Dune shit: Come out and watch dudes kill people with sound.

As stated previously, it's all happenin' at Chicago's Union Park over two gorgeous summer days-- Saturday, July 16 and Sunday, July 17. Plus, the shit ain't only bands: In addition to the DJ set, there'll also be a massive record fair courtesy of WLUW, a variety of food, clothing, and art vendors, secure bike parking on-site, and a bunch of schoolkids impressing everyone by creating their own album covers. Children under 10 will be admitted free, but only if they promise to stop whining and put that back.

Oh yeah, and we've finally got the schedule. Synchronize your watches and begin your stage-to-stage training regimen, 'cause when the weekend of the festival comes, you'll want to relax and enjoy the music. Go:

>> Saturday, July 16:
1:00 Head of Femur
1:30 Pelican
2:00 The M's
2:45 A.C. Newman
3:30 Magnolia Electric Co.
4:30 Four Tet
5:30 Broken Social Scene
6:30 The Go! Team
7:20 Prefuse 73
8:00 Death From Above 1979
9:00 Tortoise

DJ Stage-presented by Biz3
3:30 Laurent from Pelican
5:30 Will Oldham/Jean Grae
7:30 Will Oldham/Jean Grae

>> Sunday, July 17:
1:00 Thunderbirds Are Now!
1:30 Dungen
2:00 Xiu Xiu
2:45 Out Hud
3:30 The Hold Steady
4:30 Andrew Bird
5:30 Deerhoof
6:30 The Wrens
7:30 Les Savy Fav
8:30 The Decemberists

DJ Stage-presented by Biz3
3:30 Reine from Dungen
5:30 El-P
7:30 Diplo

* Biz3: http://www.biz3.net/
* Intonation Music Festival: http://www.intonationmusicfest.com/

Flaming Lips DVD Video Collection Due Soon

David Nadelle reports:
It's been full-steam ahead on the good ship Lip as of late, hasn't it me mateys? Arrr, Oklahoma city's finest, the Flaming Lips, have certainly been busy playing festival dates and putting the finishing touches on At War With the Mystics, their new album due January or February 2006. Now they will be giving the fans more of what they really want, by releasing a new DVD collection on August 22 which will feature 19 of their sometimes berserk videos spanning their sojourn with present label Warner. VOID (Video Overview in Declaration) will include their latest tune "Mr. Ambulance Driver", which will be released on the Wedding Crashers soundtrack on July 14 and which will, furthermore, be included on the new album in 2006. All of your favorite Flaming Lips video moments since 1992 are featured both in glorious surround sound and stereo. Don't avoid the VOID:

01 Mr. Ambulance Driver
02 SpongeBob and Patrick Confront the Psychic Wall of Energy
03 Fight Test
04 Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
05 Do You Realize? (UK Version)
06 Race for the Prize
07 Waitin' for a Superman
08 This Here Giraffe
09 When You Smile
10 Bad Days
11 Christmas at the Zoo
12 Be My Head
13 She Don't Use Jelly
14 Turn It On
15 Frogs
16 Talkin' 'Bout the Smiling Deathporn Immortality Blues (Everybody Wants to Live Forever)
17 Phoebe Battles the Pink Robots
18 Are You a Hypnotist? 19 Do You Realize? (U.S. Version)

In other Flaming Lips news, the band's website claims that filming and production continues unabated on their full-length feature film Christmas on Mars, scheduled for release either at Christmas 2005 or mid-2006 depending on where you're reading your music news. And while we're talking about the visual side of the Lips, and you long to see the boys in action, here's some dates coming up, including one aboard the high seas:

07-15 Masontown, WV - Marvin's Mountaintop, All Good Music Festival
07-30 San Diego, CA - Qualcomm Stadium, Street Scene Festival
10-14 to 17 San Pedro, CA to Ensenada, Mexico - Xingolati Groove Cruise of the Pacific

* Flaming Lips: http://www.flaminglips.com/

Public Enemy to Return in August

James Gregory reports:
After a three-year downtime, groundbreaking rap outfit Public Enemy have reconvened for their first full length LP of new material since 2002's Revolverlution. The upcoming Rebirth of a Nation features 14 tracks, and will be released on August 28 through indie rap label Guerilla Funk Recordings.

And while Chuck D & Co. have been smacking their heads against the wall of relevance since the late 1990s, the recent Public Enemy set at the 2005 Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta garnered rave reviews from critics, apparently showing an outfit still capable of delivering their message with uncompromised fire.

Rebirth of a Nation will also mark P.E.'s first release for Guerilla Funk, who, their website proudly states, "is a company dedicated to the rejection of the current homogenization of hip-hop, and was born out of necessity to counter the stranglehold of censorship now plaguing the entertainment industry." And is also as a haven for clock-wearin' MC's who like to nail Brigitte Nielsen. Anyway, fight the power, the tracklist looks like this:

01 Raw Shit
02 Hard Rhymin'
03 Rise
04 Can't Hold Us Back
05 Hard Truth Soldiers
06 Hannibal Lecture
07 Rebirth of a Nation
08 Pump the Music, Pump the Sound
09 Make It Hardcore
10 They Call Me Flavor
11 Plastic Nation
12 Coinsequences
13 Invisible Man
14 Field 'n' Nigga Boogie (XLR8R Remix)

* Pitchfork Review: Public Enemy: Revolverlution
* Public Enemy: http://www.publicenemy.com/
* Guerilla Funk: http://www.guerrillafunk.com/

Liars to Release New Album, Tour Europe

Kati Llewellyn reports:
As they busy themselves and prepare for the release of Drum's Not Dead, due out in October, Liars have announced some tour dates, and hopefully they're being honest.

The new album, following up 2004's They Were Wrong, So We Drowned folklore, was recorded at Berlin's Planet Roc by Holger Muller and went through the mixing process at The Instrument in London with Gareth Jones. This time around, Liars are jumping on the CD/DVD package bandwagon (not that we're complaining), and the combo will include visuals created by the band for each track on the record. Trippy.

Liars are also kicking off a tour in early July, hitting a handful of countries before Drum's Not Dead's release. Countries? Yeah-- the European dates:

07-02 Athens, Greece - Synch Festival
07-05 London, England - 100 Club
07-09 Paris, France - Feedback Festival
07-11 Salzburg, Austria - TBA
07-13 Torino, Italy - Spaziale Festival
07-14 Florence, Italy - Arezzo Wave Festival
07-15 Pescara, Italy - TBA
07-16 Ostuni, Italy - Liberazione Festival
07-17 Dour, Belgium - The Dour Festival
07-18 Ravenna, Italy - TBA

* Liars: http://www.liarsliarsliars.com/

Lady Sovereign Announces Summer Tour Plans

Matt Amis reports:
The reigning queen on the UK grime scene, Lady Sovereign (she's just as short as Lil' Kim, but without the whole "slut" thing!), is taking a trip abroad and giving us yanks a preview of her forthcoming debut album on Island/Universal. The 18-year-old, between dips around London, will take a week to rock two sold-out shows in New York and Chicago.

According to Sov's official website, she was recently in the studio putting the finishing touches on two final tracks to the Straight Up Cheeky which is due for a late Summer release (probably late August). While we have little in the way of a tracklist, we can gather that 18 tracks have been written-- not all of which will make it onto the album-- and that Basement Jaxx produced no fewer than two of them.

More U.S. club dates will probably be announced on Sov's summer swing. Her peoples have divulged that New York and Chicago are just two rungs in a limited eight-show U.S. club tour, which will stretch out to a full stage tour following the release of Straight Up Cheeky. In addition, we can expect a limited 12" U.S.-only EP with a few of Sov's singles and some exclusive tracks. Goal! Dates:

07-01 London, England - Fabric
07-08 Chicago, IL - Sonotheque
07-13 New York, NY - Knitting Factory
07-15 Dour, Belgium - Dour Festival
07-22 London, England - Diesel Awards
07-23 London, England - Finsbury Park
07-29 London, England - Club NME @ KOKO
08-04 Milton Keynes, England - Empire
08-19 Hasselt, Belgium - Pukklepop Festival
08-26 Cornwall, England - Eden Project
08-27 London, England - TDK Festival
08-29 London, England - Nottinghill Carnival

* Lady Sovereign: http://www.ladysovereign.com/

American Analog Set Sign to Arts & Crafts

Joel Ebner reports:
Furthering our suspicions that Canada is secretly attempting to take over the democracy-lovin' continent we inhabit, Toronto's Arts & Crafts Records have signed a record deal with the American Analog Set. Prompted by the temporary hiatus taken by their former home at Tiger Style Records, the AmAnSet started looking for a new label, and according to frontman Andrew Kenny, the agreement "seemed like a good fit for both of us." Indeed, the band's crafted indie-pop fits right in with Arts & Crafts' noteworthy roster, which already includes the likes of Stars, Feist, Apostle of Hustle, and Pitchfork darlings Broken Social Scene.

Of course, the whole idea of signing a recording contract is so that a band might drop a record or three, and by God, the American Analog Set will have one out this year. Titled Set Free, it will be released on September 20 in North America, and for those who can't wait, we suggest purchasing a cheap flight to Prague during the week of July 27, as to be present for the album's early European release via Morr Music. Or, you could just snag the import online. Tracklist:

01 Born on the Cusp
02 Immaculate Heart i
03 Immaculate Heart ii
04 Cool Kids Keep
05 She's Half
06 JR
07 Play Hurt
08 Theme From "Everything Ends.."
09 Sharp Briar
10 The Green Green Grass
11 First of Four
12 Fuck This..I'm Leaving

According to Kenny, the band spent more time writing and recording than on previous albums because they wanted things to be just right. He says of the new songs: "Overall, i'm most pleased with how the record captures some of the things we do live."

How appropriate, then, that the band will be showcasing their bizness on a world tour starting in September. Stay tuned for specific dates.

* American Analog Set: http://www.amanset.com/
* Arts & Crafts: http://www.arts-crafts.ca/

The Dandy Warhols Complete New Album

James Gregory reports:
Christ, 10 years and I still can't get over the name...but whatever, it's news. Okay, so according to a press release the band's label so kindly tucked into our non-headline inbox, self-important psych-rock revivalists the Dandy Warhols have recently finished a year-long stint in their Portland studio assembling tracks for their upcoming fifth album.

Titled Odditorium or Warlords of Mars (at least that's one thing you don't have to be jealous about, Anton), the disc was produced by singer/guitarist Courtney Taylor (the Rob Thomas of indie rock) and longtime band collaborator Gregg Williams, with Tchad Blake. behind the mixing desk. The 12-track LP will see release on September 13, and is the band's first album since 2003's Welcome to the Monkey House. Stop holding your breath, the final tracklist looks like this:

01 Colder Than the Coldest Winter Was Cold
02 Love Is the New Feel Awful
03 Easy
04 All the Money or the Simple Life Honey
05 The New Country
06 Holding Me Up
07 Did You Make a Song With Otis
08 Everyone Is Totally Insane
09 Smoke It
10 Down Like Disco
11 There Is Only This Time
12 A Loan Tonight

And the gifts don't stop there, as the release conveniently sums up the Dandy's latest musical direction for those already planning their late 2005 purchases-- noting that Odditorium "finds the band venturing beyond the synthesized pop of 2003's Welcome to the Monkey House into expansive new musical terrain, while frequently revisiting the stripped-down sound of their earlier years." Which in layman's terms means: "Fans old and new are gonna LOVE this shit!"

And while no live dates have been confirmed in support of the LP, the release does allude to some late-2005 activity, including a namesake-worthy concept tour, explaing that "A full-scale North American fall tour will be announced shortly, along with an acoustic 'Suitcase Tour' in which the band will play using everything they can fit into a single suitcase (besides acoustic guitars)." In the meantime, fans can check out the Dandy Warhols at this year's Lollapalooza Festival, which is being held July 23 and 24 at Grant Park in Chicago.

* Dandy Warhols: http://www.dandywarhols.com/

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