Some of week's interesting and important music news includes:
–The Strokes return with a new single "Under Cover of Darkness" from the upcoming album Angles and unveil its cover art.
–LCD Soundsystem announces a farewell show at Madison Square Garden, no one can get tickets at the presale, more show for Terminal 5 are announced as a result, and scalpers take over the number one spot on the "most hated" chart from Hosni Mubarak.
-The Danger Mouse-Jack White-spaghetti western project Rome release date is announced for May 17. In a related story, TWD's Kyle begins a three-month fit of ecstatic anticipation.
–Video of Yo La Tengo's spin-the-wheel tour date in Chicago, in which the group performs the classic Seinfeld episode "The Chinese Restaurant" (in its entirety!) surfaces.
-The AV Club begins what should be an excellent new feature on writers' favorite years in music with a look at 1966. I can only imagine what it would have been like reading blogs for yearend lists back then…you know, if blogs existed…and if I was alive. Stacked year fo' sho.
Some music we dug this week:
-James Vincent McMorrow has been getting a lot of attention from other blogs lately and it is certainly well-deserved. He just released his debut album Early in the Morning and it's excellent. James is a singer-songwriter with his own sound, but those who dig artists like Bon Iver, Iron & Wine, or the Fleet Foxes to name a few, will probably find James highly diggable as well. A video just came out for the wonderful song "This Old Dark Machine." It is a subtle, impressionistic clip that matches the music well.
You can find more great music from James Vincent McMorrow here or purchase his album here.
-Howth is the duo of Carl Creighton and Blake Luley. In a basement studio of an apartment in Brooklyn that has since burned down, the two crafted their self-titled debut album. It often feels like the work of more than just two men. The sounds of this album are expansive yet retain the primacy of the home recording method that captured them, which is a nice blend if I may say so. The album is available here on bandcamp and well worth a listen or purchase. I particularly love the track "Needles and Pins," how it is both ruminative and energetic in its exploration of the metaphor of limbs falling asleep.
[Kyle's Pick]
-Chiddy Bang released a new song called "Rebels". It's the first song of theirs I've heard that isn't based around a sample of a popular indie song, and I have to say I'm even more impressed. It allows the talents of Chiddy and Xaphoon to shine through without the novelty of a current trendy tune.
Chiddy Bang – Rebel
A few other quick hits:
-Another week, another great discovery from Sweden. The band Le Fever has a new EP called Beginner's Luck available for download and/or streaming at their website. Check out the super lead track "This is the Last Time" below.
This is the last time by Le Fever
-Raised By Tigers out of Denton, TX have a rocking album out called Reunion Parts. Check it out here. I like the track "Sunspots" a lot.
-The troubadour known as Marbled's latest EP is called Electric Sleep. You can listen to it here. It's like the "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" to his earlier Milk Teeth's "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning". While different, I think both are good.
-Folk-rock band Churchill from Denver released the album Happy / Sad this past Tuesday, check out the single "Miles" here.