Knife Unveil Deluxe Silent Shout Details

So how do you make Pitchfork's number one album of 2006 even better? Start by not messing with it at all, then tack on two more discs packed to the brim with bonus multimedia content.

As previously reported, Mute will unleash a deluxe edition of the Knife's Silent Shout, featuring a live disc and a DVD in addition to the original synth-rattled masterpiece. The whole kit and caboodle lands in record stores at last May 8.

Since the Knife are meant to be seen as much as heard, the DVD includes the Silent Shout: An Audiovisual Experience goodies released last fall overseas, including footage of the Andreas Nilsson-designed live show shot in Gothenburg, Sweden on April 12, 2006, all the Knife music videos to date, and the short film When I Found the Knife.

The cold, sleek triptych is rounded out by a live CD featuring audio versions of the Gothenburg gig set.

Olof and Karin, meanwhile, have kept suspiciously quiet in 2007, which can only mean they're getting primed to take us on another nightmarish escapade into the chilling oblivion of our subconscious!! Or maybe they're playing pinochle and crocheting. [MORE...]

Carl Newman Reveals New Pornographers LP Details
"We're like Fleetwood Mac if Dylan joined."

The notion of a fourth album from a band like the New Pornographers— the side-project-gone-amok that, among others, harbors principal songwriter Carl Newman, Destroyer's Dan Bejar, and titan-voiced troubadour Neko Case— seems an almost impossible feat. It's hard enough keeping centrally-located bandmates together, let alone riding out the schedules of so many otherwise-occupied musicians over the many miles that separate them.

But against the odds, Newman tells us that the band's fourth LP of dashing, deftly crafted pop will be out in August, and will almost certainly be titled Challengers.

Pitchfork spoke to Newman in a rare break from recording to discuss the album’s progress, his high hopes for his downtime at the Pitchfork Music Festival (at which the New Pornos will play), the pros and cons of indie rock endorsement deals, and the importance of brevity. [MORE...]

John Vanderslice Hits the Road

[Photo by Piper Ferguson]

John Vanderslice will kick off a U.S. tour with recent Beggars signee St. Vincent April 6 in Portland. He will take the stage as part of a duo with drummer/Moogster Dave Douglas, and St. Vincent's Annie Clark will also contribute some vocals to their sets.

Vanderslice recently posted on his website a new version of his last album Pixel Revolt, remixed by Scott Solter.

All dates listed below are with St. Vincent. [MORE...]

Iron and Wine Set Single for July

Faces will melt as Sam Beam delivers the latest Iron and Wine single-- the first off forthcoming LP The Shepherd's Dog-- on July 10 via Sub Pop. "Boy With a Coin" includes a single edit of that Dog cut, along with two exclusive jams from the Shepherd sessions.

Mere days later, Beam will appear alongside his trap rap idols Clipse at the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival. Iron and Wine play the fest's second day (of three), starting mosh pits across Chicago's Union Park on July 14. Tickets are so damn cheap they might as well be free, and you can nab some here.

Look for the complete Shepherd's Dog opus to surface sometime in September. [MORE...]

Mono Tour With Grails, World's End Girlfriend
For once, "out with Mono" doesn't mean make-up work

'Tis a bill made in a languid, sludgy sorta heaven: Japanese, experimental, instrumental, drone metal/post-rock act Mono will join Oregonian experimental, instrumental, drone metal/post-rock act Grails and Japanese, experimental, instrumental, electronic/post-rock act World's End Girlfriend on a month's worth of U.S. dates.

You might remember Mono from last year's Albini-boosted You Are There, their 2006 disc with the snowy mountains on the front. Mono and World's End Girlfriend-- who'll ride the Mono-rail to the end of the line-- go back like car seats, having linked up 2005 for the well-received collabo Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain.

Portland's Grails will join in on all the fun May 3, just two days after Temporary Residence (also home to Mono) lets their new album, Burning off Impurities, free. [MORE...]

Wilco Expand World Tour

Wilco have added North American dates to their previously reported world tour. On June 13, they'll begin their short North American trek in Davenport, Iowa. In July, they'll head to Europe for a few festivals.

The tour is in support of Wilco's newest album, Sky Blue Sky, which Nonesuch will release on May 15.

Thanks to reader Rachel Korman for the tip! [MORE...]

O'Death Sign to Ernest Jenning, Deluxe-ify LP

Photo by Ed Zipco

Death Cab for Cutie, Death From Above, Death Vessel, Murder By Death, Death Unit...why y'all gotta be so morbid? Ah well. Add New York's O'Death to the list of demise-mongers.

The Waitsian, Gothic Americana combo-- hotly-tipped, as the Brits would say-- has signed to Brooklyn's Ernest Jenning Recording Co., who will reissue O'Death's 2005 LP Head Home in deluxe format June 12.

The new edition of Home will feature "some additional tracking and a new mixing and mastering job," according to a label spokesperson. European Death-wishers should look to Berlin-based City Slang for the album this summer.

What's more, Ernest Jenning-- who's also served up releases from Dälek, Saturday Looks Good to Me, and the Occasion-- will treat O'Death fans to a 7" packed with non-album cuts shortly after the album's release.

If you believe the hype, the live O'Death show is where it's at. Catch them playing a handful of East Coast dates this month. [MORE...]

El-P Announces Spring Tour

El-P and his touring full-band ensemble will kick off a spring North American tour in support of I'll Sleep When You're Dead with an April 27 appearance at Coachella. After a month and a half of shows, the tour ends June 8 in Washington, D.C.

But first, they'll finish their previously reported European dates, which continue April 5 in Geneva and end April 20 in Madrid.

The Def Jux general will also lead his army to two TV appearances. On May 22, they will play "Jimmy Kimmel Live", and on June 11, they'll storm "Late Night With Conan O'Brien". [MORE...]

Bright Eyes Add Pre-Order Goodie

With the flurry of recent Bright Eyes news, it's hard to believe that there is still news to report on Cassadaga (out April 10 on Saddle Creek, just in case you don't remember). But indeed there is.

Eager ears who pre-order the CD from Saddle Creek will receive an exclusive 3" CD (think very small LaserDisc) with bonus track "Susan Miller Rag". And to avoid accusations of physical release-ism, iTunes pre-orderers will also get the song as an MP3. And those who pre-order the LP will get the same song on a 7".

Saddle Creek has also made another song from the album available as a free download from their website. The ghostly "No One Would Riot for Less" is one of the album's highlights.

And although you can stream Cassadaga in its entirety, we highly, HIGHLY suggest buying a physical copy of this one. It has the best packaging we've seen in a good long time. (Yes, even better than Neon Bible and Hissing Fauna.) We're not going to spoil the surprise by describing it-- you're just going to have to find out for yourself.

Bright Eyes' tour in support of Cassadaga kicks off April 22. Support comes from the likes of recent Merge signees Oakley Hall, Gillian Welch, and McCarthy Trenching, who are on Conor Oberst's label Team Love. [MORE...]

Pitchfork Seeks Full-Time Web Developer

Pitchfork is seeking an experienced web developer and webmaster for full-time CMS and website development in our Chicago or New York office. The ideal candidate will possess thorough knowledge of PHP and/or Ruby and Ruby on Rails, be willing to work under pressure and on deadline, and produce efficient and thorough results.

Requirements:

>> 3+ years experience robust scalable applications (language agnostic)
>> Extensive experience in PHP or Ruby/Rails development and database technology, MySQL, Mongrel, Linux admin, and Apache proxy
>> Experience developing/launching PHP or Ruby systems for high-traffic websites

Interested parties should send a resume to jobs@pitchforkmedia.com, along with one example of a self-developed multi-author CMS, and references from previous clients/employers. (Examples of additional dev projects would be ideal, but are not essential.) Deadline is Friday, April 6 at 6:00 p.m. CST.

Bumbershoot Bundles Shins, Wu-Tang, Devendra, Lupe
Plus: Magnolia Electric Co, DeVotchKa, Roky Erickson, Lyrics Born, Miranda July

And the summer of silly-named festivals is upon us! Although give Seattle some credit-- the moniker for theirs makes a good deal of sense. After all, how better for a city known for its rain to respond than with a festival named after an umbrella? And so Bumbershoot once again invades the shadow of the Space Needle in 2007, crashing numerous Seattle Center venues from September 1-3.

Chart darlings the Shins, hip-hop entrepreneurs Wu-Tang Clan, and your kid sister and mom's favorite bands-- Panic! at the Disco and Crowded House, respectively (in most cases)-- head the "partial" lineup presently posted on Bumbershoot's official website. Other highlights include Devendra Banhart, Lupe Fiasco, Magnolia Electric Co, DeVotchKa, Gogol Bordello, Lyrics Born, Roky Erickson & the Explosives, Norma Jean, and Steve Earle. The Bumbers promise more acts will be announced soon.

Tickets are on sale now, and because Bumbershoot is committed to providing the most Pacific Northwest bang for your buck, the 37th annual edition of the fest also sports three stages of comedy, dance and theatre performances (including the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Taylor Mac, and DECADANCETHEATRE), a Literary Arts program (featuring readings from Miranda July), visual arts galore, and even some TBA fun for the wee ones.

Last year's fest brought together Kanye West, the New Pornographers, Spoon, A Tribe Called Quest, Lady Sovereign, Deerhoof, Vashti Bunyan, and more top talent by the torrent.

Mike Patton and Fennesz Tour Together
Epic!

Mike Patton is no stranger to collaboration, and he has recently announced that he will spend late May and early June touring with Austrian noisemaker Christian Fennesz after wrapping up his tour with/as Peeping Tom.

The duo's dates together begin May 28 at the Moers Festival in Germany and end June 9 in Tel Aviv.

Fennesz has plenty to keep himself busy before then as well, including a collaborative album with Ryuichi Sakamoto and a tour of his own. [MORE...]

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