After The Olivia Tremor Control went on hiatus, songwriter W. Cullen Hart's first step was to create the Circulatory System. Featuring members of the former Olivias and other notable Elephant 6 luminaries, the Circulatory System's self-titled first album explored themes of the larger and the smaller, the here and the far away, and the now and the forever.
Seven and a half years in the making, culled from hours of recorded material sculpted in at least seven different studios, the new Circulatory System album is an absolutely stellar document of song and sound. Still concerned with matters of the inner/the outer, the incomprehensibly huge and the very, very small, Signal Morning is an imperative blast of kinetic motion. Composed by W. Cullen Hart while in the midst of battling Multiple Sclerosis within his own system, the new album finds Hart broadcasting his urgent pleas to the world(s) to evolve into a higher dimension, or for existing patterns to reveal themselves at peace within the natural order of the universe.
Featuring all the members of The Olivia Tremor Control, as well as Jeff Mangum and Julian Koster of Neutral Milk Hotel, Signal Morning has been eagerly anticipated since the release of the first Circulatory System record earlier this decade. The album is due out on Cloud Recordings in CD and Digital format on Sept 9th. The vinyl release will be in October.
Keeping with our recent weekend disco theme, here's a great live performance from Music Go Music performing on Face Time. Their new album Expressions is due out Oct. 6th. Get out your mirrored ball!
Sonya Cotton is one of the finest singer/songwriters of our time. Her latest album Red River (due out on Sept 1st) is one of the most peaceful, delicate, and beautiful recordings I have ever heard. Perhaps the best compliment I can give her is I would trade in my Joanna Newsom records to be able to listen to her on a quiet, contemplative day. Every track on Red River is pretty much perfect. Our favorites include "Brother and I", "Canal", and "Sickness." Be sure to follow the link below to a great podcast of Sonya Cotton performing or, at the very least, take some time and investigate Sonya Cotton on your own.
Clock Hands Strangle hail from the semi-moist, manatee ridden state of Florida. The same state that has given us such horrendous acts such as Limp Bizkit, Creed, and 'N Sync. All jokes aside, it is fascinating that such a well versed, literate bunch of indie folk/roots rockers would spring up from a state that has devalued it's grade school education system in hopes of retaining it's larger population of retirees and tourists.
In June, Clock Hands Strangle released their latest album Distaccati. In an interview with Groupee.com, primary songwriter Todd Portnowitz explains his writing process for the album as such, "...most of the lyrics on Distaccati came about as a reaction to reading a slew of modern literature, writers like T.S. Eliot, who said that an artist must 'destroy his personality' to create anything substantial. I understand the notion—it’s the same for a scientist, who must completely remove his subjective self from the experiment in order to reduce the amount of bias in the results; but I only agree with it in part. Writing this album was a way to wrestle with that question - how much of yourself should be in art? How much should be pure, removed observation?" Even the word Distaccati itself means 'detached' in Italian.
We caught up with these thoughtful gentlemen via in the internet and persuaded them to answer a few of our highly suspect questions....
Viva: What's the most embarrassing band you loved as a kid? Todd: Ace of Base. Had the CD and tape. What you gonna tell your dad, it’s like a wheel of fortune. Brian: Stryper. Nick: Probably DC Talk. Cristian: Coolio. Adam: Skankin’ Pickle.
Viva: Who smells the worst in van after a show? Todd: Nick. And as a side note, I still stand by my wager that I could go five days on the road without a shower and still smell sweet. Brian: A tie between Cristian after two days or Nick's beef jerky. Nick: I think it's between Adam and Cristian. One always smells worse than the other. Cristian: Me. Adam: Nick.
Viva: More frightening clock: Doomsday or Biological? Todd: Biological, but I was always more afraid of the whole atomic time vs. earth time (time measured by an accurate cesium clock vs. time measured by the earth’s rotation). I remember reading an article about how in the 70s they had to add two “leap seconds” in order to make the two clocks agree, so that our satellites would be coordinated, and GPS systems would continue to function. I believe there was even an entire week lost in Great Britain at some point way back in the day, from trying to coordinate atomic time and earth time. People were protesting in the streets, fighting for their week back. Brian: I don't have a menstrual cycle ... So doomsday. Nick: Biological. You should see Nick Sr. Cristian: Doomsday. Adam: Neither. I welcome male pattern baldness, the returning of Christ, and my ascension into the kingdom of heaven.
Viva: What's the funniest thing that has happened to you on the road? Todd: I think we were in Champaign-Urbana, and someone’s girlfriend straightened my hair. We put on a little mascara and went and took fake emo pictures out by these abandoned railroad tracks, pretending to look like we’d just listened to The Used for three hours and were all suffering from metaphorical “wounds to the heart.” Some of the pictures are still circulating online. I’m not sure anyone ever got the joke, so there’s probably people out there who think we’re really that lame . . . I guess I don’t blame them. Brian: Nick getting punched repeatedly after fooling around with this dude’s girlfriend in Tulsa, OK. Nick: Hard to choose, but I would say the time we were in D.C., staying at a hotel with Brian's family, and his Mom walked in on Todd just as he was going to pee in the kitchen sink . . . Cristian: We stayed with this girl who thought we were going to steal her cat (apparently it had happened three times), she also warned us to “keep the volume down” if there was going to be any sex (it was only the five of us staying there) . . . she was strange, to put it mildly. Later in the night Nick and Todd went upstairs to her room to ask for pillows and both came back downstairs with these traumatized faces. For a little while they wouldn’t say what happened, and just sat there blank-faced. The suspense, waiting to hear what sort of whacked out shit they’d seen, was the funniest thing ever. Adam: Almost dying on an icy highway, driving from Toronto to Chicago.
Viva: What's the last concert you attended? Todd: Silver Jews w/ Monotonix Brian: mewithoutyou in Tampa Nick: Was at the mewithoutyou show with Brian and Cris. Cristian: mewithoutyou Adam: Radiohead
Viva: Who's in heavy rotation on your iPod? Todd: Eric Dolphy – Out to Lunch, and The Complete Prestige Recordings. Brian: The new Clem Snide album and the new Joan of Arc. Nick: I don't have an ipod. Cristian: Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Adam: Phantom Buffalo.
Viva: What was the worst fight over nothing that you got into with each other after being road weary and exhausted? Todd: Nick and I had a long and bitter argument over the difference between a “bite” and a “taste.” In New York, Nick purchased this giant, amazing-looking burrito, and I asked for a “bite” so that I could “taste” it. He assumed that my asking for a “bite,” implied that I was hungry, but too cheap pay for a burrito. Really I just wanted a “taste,” so I could see how tasty the burrito was. The “bite,” in my belief, was just a necessary evil for exploring the “taste.” Twenty minutes later the burrito was gone and I never got a taste. Or a bite. This argument continues. I mean, we’d go to different bars and all order different beers, and occasionally we’d “sip” each other’s beers in order to “taste” them, so that our next decision would be more informed. What’s the difference between a beer and a burrito? I support tasting in all forms, wholeheartedly, and affirm with great conviction that neither hunger, nor greed, nor thriftiness, play a role in the tasting process. “To expand the pallet is to expand the mind,” as William Howard Taft once said. I wanted that burrito… Brian: Either Cristian’s bad driving or Todd’s horrible navigating. Nick: We don't fight really, just know how to push each others buttons. Although there were a few pretty good fights when a couple of us brought our girlfriends with us on tour. Cristian: Whether or not to eat at Cracker Barrel at the end of our last tour. Adam: I got absurdly angry with Brian and Nick in St. Paul, MN because they started trying to help pack up my drums immediately following a show. I have my methods.
Why? is one of the most intelligent, thoughtful bands ever to grace indie rock. They have just announced their Fall tour schedule supporting the release of their 4th, and perhaps most poignant, album Eskimo Snow (due out 9/22). Take a listen to the MP3 "This Blackest Purse." It's a bit of a departure from last year's Alopecia, but surprisingly, they recorded both albums at the same time deliberately making the albums each others' opposite. Whether you are already a Why? fan or not, when you hear this record, you will be instantly in love.
09/24 Cincinnati, OH Northside Tavern * 09/26 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge / Wordless Music Series + 10/01 Cambridge, MA Middle East #% 10/02 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church #% 10/03 Pittsburgh, PA Assembly Room, William Pitt Union FREE SHOW #% 10/04 Ann Arbor, MI The Blind Pig #% 10/05 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge #% 10/06 Madison, WI UW Madison Terrace #% 10/07 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock #% 10/09 Denver, CO Bluebird #% 10/10 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue #% 10/13 Annacortes, WA Department of Safety &$ 10/14 Seattle, WA The Vera Project &$ 10/15 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom &$ 10/17 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall *%$ 10/20 Los Angeles, CA Echoplex *% 10/23 Phoenix, AZ Modified Arts *% 10/24 Tucson, AZ Club Congress *% 10/26 Denton, TX Hailey's *% 10/28 Birmingham, AL Bottletree *% 10/29 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle *% 10/30 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle *% 10/31 Atlanta, GA Lenny's %^@ 11/02 Orlando, FL The Social %! 11/03 Gainesville, FL Common Grounds %! 11/04 Tallahassee, FL Club Downunder %! 11/06 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon %~ 11/07 Houston, TX Walter's On Washington %~ 11/08 Austin, TX Fun Fun Fun Fest 11/10 Lawrence, KS Jackpot Music Hall %~ 11/11 St. Louis, MO Firebird %~ 11/13 Bloomington, IN Rhino's Youth Center ~
* = w/ Serengeti and Polyphonic # = w/ Dark Dark Dark % = w/ AU & = w/ No Kids $ = w/ Mount Eerie ^ = w/ Jemina Pearl @ = w/ Islands ! = w/ James Husband ~ = w/ The Moore Brothers + = w/ Owen Weaver with Flexible Music
This fall Vic Chesnutt will embark on a six-week North American tour in support of At the Cut, the Athens, GA-based singer-songwriter’s latest effort. The touring band features Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto and members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Silver Mt. Zion, all of whom collaborated with Chesnutt on the new album which is out September 22 on Constellation Records. "Chain" is a great preview of what is to come!
October 23 Mavericks Ottawa, ON October 24 Ukranian Federation Hall Montreal, QC October 25 Sommerville Theater Cambridge, MA October 26 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY October 27 Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY October 28 First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, PA October 29 Ottobar Baltimore, MD October 30 Black Cat Washington, DC October 31 The Soapbox Wilmington, NC November 1 The EARL Atlanta, GA November 2 40 Watt Club Athens, GA November 4 Southgate House Newport, KY November 5 Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL November 6 Detroit Institute of Arts Detroit, MI November 7 Lee’s Palace Toronto, ON November 19 Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, MN November 20 West End Cultural Centre Winnipeg, MB November 21 Amigo’s Saskatoon, SK November 22 McDougall United Church Edmonton, AB November 23 Knox United Church Calgary, AB November 25 Richards on Richards Vancouver, BC November 26 Lucky Bar Victoria, BC November 27 Crocodile Seattle, WA November 28 Mississippi Studios Portland, OR November 30 Great American Music Hall San Francisco, CA December 1 The Regent Los Angeles, CA December 2 Club Congress Tucson, AZ December 4 Hailey’s Denton, TX December 5 Central Presbyterian Church Austin, TX
Merge Records is kind enough to give us all a free MP3 of the track "Gravitate" from the upcoming Lou Barlow release Goodnight Unknown due out on October 6th! It's pretty great. We are really excited about the record.
The first time you hear charming French duo Cocoon they will steal your heart. Our pals at Grandcrew.com caught them at La Maroquinerie in Paris. In the player below, you can watch the crowd sing along to song "On My Way", which is great, but not even close to being their best song. The entire concert is 17 songs long and can be viewed here:
First String Teenage High: The Songs of Tullycraft Played By People Who Aren't, was orignially co-released in 2003 by AAJ & Bumblebear records. The initial run was only 500 cds and has been completely sold out for quite some time. This was back in the day before iTunes, Amazon MP3, Emusic, etc...were easily accessible to small indie labels.
First String Teenage High started as a labor of love by Bumblebear Records owner Jimmy Hughes (current member of Elf Power & mastermind behind wonderful band Folklore). With Sean Tollefson's support, Hughes lovingly complied the tracks over a two year period. Some of the songs covered are actually from Sean's bands that were precursors to or side projects of Tullycraft - Crayon and Six Cents & Natalie. Sadly, very few of the bands that contributed to the album are still in existence.
First String Teenage High will be available for download via all major outlets on July 28th, 2009 thanks to the fine folks at Unchikun Records!
Track List: 1. Pipper the Kissing Cat - Pedal 2. Murder Beach - 8 Great Ways 3. Invaders from a Forbidden Planet - Josie 4. Kanda - Break Seaside and Over 5. Snowfort Inc. - Snap Tight Wars 6. Crewsin' for a Brewsin' - Bailey Park 7. Seasick Crocodile - Pink Lemonade 8. Hollie Impossible - Actives & Pledges 9. Blister Fist - Surfer Girl 10. Eric Metronome - Spoiler / Needed To 11. Saltine Crack Whores - Wild Bikini 12. My Place in Space - Superboy and Supergirl 13. Boyracer - She's Got the Beat 14. Beltline - The Lives of Cleopatra 15. Kisswhistle - My Date with Rachel Sweet 16. Yar's Revenge - Bee Sting Stings 17. Gang Wizard - Meet Me in Las Vegas 18. Winnebago - Knee High Susan 19. The Boys' Star Library - Stay Cool I'll See You This Summer 20. Genoe - Miss Douglas County 21. Bugs Eat Books - Sweet 22. Dipstick & Eggnog - 1st String Teenage High +2 Bonus Tracks That Were Hidden on the CD!
Japancakes "Behind the Mountains" is their first ever song to utilize voclas! While the band has mentioned the idea of introducing vocals to their music through the years, it has never quite happened… until now. From Athens, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Taiwan, Japancakes have put together three versions of their single "Behind The Mountains." With the comforting airy vocals from Orenda Fink (Azure Ray) on the English version, accompanying Japancakes soundtrack style, some beautiful and simplistic visuals are drawn. These visuals come to life in the first ever video from Japancakes, directed by Ryan Berg. Stunning and simple, this video captures a glimpse of the beauty that comes to mind when thinking of all involved in the project. Even more so, another beautiful vocal version is available. With lyrics written and performed in Mandarin, by Moon (Miss Stocking), this unique version is equally beautiful in all areas. And keeping with Japancakes true instrumental roots, an instrumental version is also available. You can digitally download the tracks on iTunes the song starting July 28th!
If you live within a few hundred miles of the Chapel Hill, NC area, you owe it to yourselves and to the future of indie rock to go to the Girls Rock show at the Cats Cradle on July 18th.
Come witness a new generation of young, musical women who have just finished up a unique week of summer camp where they trained and practiced tirelessly to perform original compositions in front of a live audience. Eighteen girl bands with members ages 7-17 will take the stage at this premiere local concert venue to showcase their creativity and individuality and to play some rockin’ tunes.
Each band was formed and all music was composed on-site at three Girls Rock NC camp locations around the Triangle region of North Carolina. Girls Rock NC is an organization that provides music and arts programming and makes the creative community more accessible for young women. It places musical instruments in the hands of girls and encourages them to express themselves through song, rhythm, and movement. Girls Rock NC also promotes self-assurance by addressing important issues surrounding body image, gender equality and helping girls develop good relationships with their peers.
This year marks the 5th annual Camper Concert Showcase and, once again, the public is invited to attend to support these young musicians and the efforts of the Girls Rock NC organization. The program will be emceed by Laurelyn Dossett of traditional roots duo Polecat Creek and Betsy Shane of punk rock band Pink Flag. Tickets are $5 and may be purchased at the door on the evening of the show. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. For more information, visit girlsrocknc.org or call (919) 641-2727.
Whoever wrote that girls are made of “sugar, spice and everything nice” could have just summed it up by saying, “GIRLS ROCK!”
Keeping with the electronic dance theme of this weekend, the fabulous Swedish band Val Venosta sent us this fun-tastic video and free mp3 of their song "Peace and Quiet is For Libraries" along with the following note:
Hi, as we say in Sweden "Liten tuva stjälper ofta stora lass", which means that in the summer you can't just sit in your room and play with you synthesizers!
Amazing French electronica band Vitalic are coming out with their first album in 4 years in September 2009! Your Disco Song is the first preview of the album available. Enjoy!
We get a lot of music on a daily basis from bands that for one reason or another have to do their own promo. We actually encourage this and really do listen to absolutely everything sent our way! Thankfully, Apteka found us on the interwebs and decided to send us their latest EP entitled Tour. Based out of Chicago, Apteka has done a fantastic job re-imagining the indie rock sounds from the early to mid-90s that made thier hometown the hotbed for truly rockin' indie tunes. We might be biased since we love Steve Albini, Seam, and Touch and Go Records, but Apteka does a great job invoking that era without completely mimicing it. Their are offering their EP as a free download. You can get it here:
Slumberland Records has been knocking it out of the ballpark as of late with fantastic releases. Australian band Summer Cat's album Songs for Tuesdays is yet another homerun. If you like really well done, upbeat indie pop/rock, then you owe it yourself to check these guys out. The album is due out on July 14th. Take a listen to the free MP3 and watch the video below! You will definitely be hearing a lot from Summer Cats in the coming months!
Two really great indie bands Casper & the Cookies and Everything Now! are heading out on tour together on July 15th! They will be up and down the East coast and all throughout the Midwest. If they are coming to a town near you, get up and go!
7/16 - Columbus, OH - Circus 7/17 - Youngstown, OH - Cedar’s Lounge 7/18 - Pittsburgh, PA - Brillobox 7/19 - Scranton, PA - The Bog 7/20 - Boston, MA - Middle East Club 7/21 - New York, NY - Cake Shop 7/22 - Brooklyn, NY - Bruar Falls 7/23 - Philadelphia, PA - Danger Danger Gallery 7/24 - Washington, DC - Solly’s 7/25 - Fredericksburg, VA - Eyeclops Gallery 7/26 - Baltimore, MD - Joe Squared 7/27 - Charlottesville, VA - Twisted Branch 7/29 - Athens, GA - Caledonia Lounge 7/30 - Knoxville, TN - Pilot Light 8/1 - Little Rock, AR - TBA 8/3 - St. Louis, MO - The Firebird 8/4 - Columbia, MO - Mojo’s 8/5 - Lawrence, KS - Replay Lounge 8/6 - Des Moines, IA - Vaudeville Mews 8/7 - Minneapolis, MN - Nomad World Pub 8/8 - Ames, IA - Ames Progressive 8/11 - Iowa City, IA - The Mill 8/13 - Madison, WI - The Frequency 8/14 - Chicago, IL - Beat Kitchen 8/15 - Fort Wayne, IN - Bill’s City Grill
The Winter Sounds are back with another great release Church of the Haunted South. The album is a 12 song re-envisioning of all things that were great about Brit & Scottish pop from the late 70s and all throughout the 80s. The album is like listening to your old records and reminiscing of a time when MTV still played videos and you could not wait to see what was coming on next. Take a listen to "Trophy Wife" in the player below. The band has also kindly made the track available as a free download.
This is the first official music video from WAVVES, directed by Pete Ohs, who has previously worked with The Arcade Fire, The Unicorns, Fiery Furnaces, Au Revoir Simone, etc. It was shot mostly on the band’s first European tour. WAVVES has three US dates coming up…..
WAVVES
07/15 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom* 07/18 Chicago, IL Pitchfork Fest 08/28 San Diego, CA Street Scene
After The Olivia Tremor Control went on hiatus, songwriter W. Cullen Hart's first step was to create the Circulatory System. Featuring members of the former Olivias and other notable Elephant 6 luminaries, the Circulatory System's self-titled first album explored themes of the larger and the smaller, the here and the far away, and the now and the forever.
