Jana Hunter forms new band Lower Dens, tours with Future Islands

By Erika H on

Jana Hunter forms new band Lower Dens, tours with Future Islands

Whatever happened to Baby Jan(a Hunter)? It’s been three years since the lo-fi, tragically folk queen of my heart released There’s No Home (TMT Review), her sophomore album and last full-length to date. Imagine my extreme delight when I happened by her MySpace this February and noticed a blog update announcing that she’s active and has formed a full-fledged band, Lower Dens. By delight, I mean a dull wave of the most satisfying kind of depression due to listening to “There’s No Home” on repeat for a good two days.

Demo tracks have been up on Lower Dens’ own MySpace for a little while now, but now the facts are out: the debut (what would have otherwise been Jana Hunter’s third LP) is called Twin-Hand Movement and is slated for release July 20 via Gnomonsong. According to the label, the sound is more along the lines of new wave, drone pop, or post-punk than the moody sleepiness of Hunter’s previous crooning, but to a certain extent, the band — introducing production levels and instrumentation previously alien to Hunter’s albums — remains a case of once Jana Hunter, always Jana Hunter. Chris Coady (who’s nobody to sneeze at: see Teen Dream) mixed the album at DNA Downtown in New York, and Sarah Register (of the Lodge, New York, and one-half of Talk Normal) mastered it. How can it not be good?

There is also a single, “I Get Nervous,” due May 31 from Gnomonsong, and according to Stereogum, there is a collection of demos (including at least one song not on Twin-Hand Movement) for sale at concerts. You can buy it, too, because Lower Dens just left Baltimore for a massive tour with Future Islands, whose second LP, In Evening Air, came out in early May. Stand warned: Bette Davis will not be allowed entry to any shows. This Baby Jan(a) is a team player again.

Check out “Hospice Gates” (off Twin-Hand Movement) here.

Tourdates: (all with Future Islands)

05.17.10 - Lubbock, TX - Riprocks
05.18.10 - Las Cruces, NM - Equinox
05.19.10 - Phoenix, AZ - Rogue Bar
05.20.10 - San Diego, CA - Tin Can Alehouse
05.21.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Sync Space
05.22.10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Smell
05.24.10 - San Francisco, CA - El Rio (early)
05.25.10 - Eureka, CA - Lil Red Lion
05.26.10 - Portland, OR - Rotture
05.27.10 - Ellensburg, WA - Raw Space
05.28.10 - Olympia, WA - Northern
05.29.10 - Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern (early)
06.01.10 - Denver, CO - Rhinoceropolis
06.02.10 - Kansas City, MO - The Foundation
06.03.10 - Bloomington, IN - The Bishop
06.05.10 - Chicago, IL - Permanent Records (in-store, 5 PM)
06.05.10 - Chicago, IL - The Hideout
06.06.10 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Cafe
06.07.10 - Toronto, ON - Double Double Land
06.08.10 - Montreal, QC - Green Room
06.09.10 - Burlington, VT - Monkey House
06.10.10 - Dover, NH - Brickhouse
06.11.10 - Boston, MA - Brookline Cable Access
06.12.10 - Brooklyn, NY - Silent Barn
06.13.10 - Baltimore, MD - Penthouse

• Lower Dens: http://www.myspace.com/lowerdens
• Gnomonsong: http://www.gnomonsong.com

RIP: Hank Jones, jazz pianist and composer

By Shane Mack on May 17 2010

From The Washington Post:

The legendary pianist Hank Jones, 91, an eloquent and lyrical soloist and accompanist to every major name in jazz since the 1940s, died May 16 in New York City.

Mr. Jones was known for his light touch and his embrace of bebop’s fast pace and complex phrasing. He played “as though he were plucking the piano’s strings instead of striking its keys, and his gracefully restrained single-note style are a reformulation of their aesthetic in modern jazz.,” wrote David Rosenthal in “Hard Bop: Jazz and Black Music, 1955- 1965.”

• Hank Jones: http://www.officialhankjones.com

[Photo: Ed Newman]

Kurt Cobain exhibit opens at Seattle Art Museum, much to the ire of the Estate of Layne Staley

By Nobodaddy on May 17 2010

A Seattle-tastic new exhibit celebrating the life and work of Seattle’s-favorite-son-that-hated-Seattle Kurt Cobain (TMT file photo) opened this past week, according to Spinner, at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) in downtown Walla Walla… I mean, Seattle. The show, which is curated by the museum’s “Jon and Mary Shirley Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art” Michael Darling (TMT file photo), runs now through September 6. Tossing Cobain’s presumable disgust of such a display to the wind like so much angel hair and baby’s breath, the exhibit consists, as you would imagine, of some great/not-so-good art that was inspired by Nirvana’s late, attention-hogging frontman.

Titled simply as “Kurt,” the SAM event purports to “explore the ways in which the grunge movement’s [second-]most iconic figure [next to Layne Staley] continues to influence modern artists from a multitude of disciplines,” according to Darling’s dandy announcement. The curator also said that the exhibit “asks viewers to question why and how Kurt Cobain came to mean so much to a generation [of Guitar Hero players].”

So, there you have it. Plan your summer getaways to sunny Washington State accordingly. Just don’t try to “come as you are” if you’re not wearing a shirt or shoes. Hahahahaha hahahahaha. Hahahaha hahahahaha. Hahahahaha. BOOM! Here comes the ROOOOOOOOSTER!! YEAAAH!

• SAM: http://www.seattleartmuseum.org
• “Kurt” exhibit slideshow: http://tinyurl.com/28gnttt

RIP: Rosa Rio, renowned organist

By Shane Mack on May 17 2010

From Spinner:

Rosa Rio, a prolific organist who continued to perform until a year ago, died Thursday, May 13 at her home in Sun City Center, Florida. She was 107. Rio’s death was confirmed by her husband, Bill Yeoman.

As a female organist, Rio was a rarity in a profession of mostly men. At nearly 108 years old, she was also one of the last living organists of the silent film era, having gotten her start as the soundtrack to films starring early film legends like Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Though she performed in movie theaters around the country, she could often be found at movie theaters in Brooklyn, including the Fox Theatre and the Paramount.

• Rosa Rio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Rio

The Arcade Fire announce new single, god willing

By Aaron Norman on May 17 2010

The Arcade Fire’s website has been updated with an image of a postcard, with the following message:

Howdy yall- Just finishing up pressing our new 12”. Should be in stores in the next couple weeks. God willing. Good luck with finals. See you this summer!”

This will more than likely be a single off of the forthcoming album, scheduled for release sometime later this year.

• The Arcade Fire: http://www.arcadefire.com

Dirty Projectors announce new summer tour, are perverts?

By Mango Starr on May 17 2010

From the Secret Diary of Dave Longstreth:

The Yale campus is always littered with a bunch of fine foxy females, but I always try my best to avoid their friendly advances. Don’t get me wrong; Yale chicks are all super super cute (with surprisingly big tits, actually), but I always rush to get to my music class. Why? Two words: Ms. Toshiko, the Japanese musicologist who taught the entry-level course, Music As Diaspora.

Let me tell you, diary, Ms. Toshiko is fucking blazin’, so incredibly hot that my pants would be on fire every time we even got CLOSE to making eye contact. I’m sure she knew how hot she was too; she’d always wear really tight miniskirts and revealing blouses, just daring students to not stare at her as if their lives depended on it.

But while her outfits were par for the course, today was a special day.

After a discussion about African polyrhythms, Toshiko dismissed the class. I always took my sweet time before I left, though, as I loved watching her erase the marker board. I felt a little perverse for doing it, but really — Ms. Toshiko is so incredibly sexy. She must’ve known that I take awhile to pack up my stuff, because today, after all the students left the room, she suddenly turned around, looked me straight in the eyes, and said, “Hey Dave, would you mind helping me erase the board?”

My heart was racing. “Yes, I’d love to,” I muttered. I promptly approached the marker board and grabbed an eraser, starting from the right side, as she continued from the left.

“So, how’s school going?” she asked.

“Pretty good, I’m having a blast.”

“That’s great to hear!” she said with enthusiasm. “How do you like my class?”

“I love it. I absolutely love it.”

“Oh yeah? What do you like best about it?” she said as she turned her body toward me, wearing a cute half smirk on her face.

I was starting to sweat. I was scared to tell her the truth, but if there was ever a moment to seize, this would be it. After all, when would I have the chance to be fully honest with her again? When could I ever possibly talk to her again on such an intimate level? I took a moment to catch my breath, wiping the sweat off my brow.

“Dave?” she asked. “Did you hear me? I asked what you liked best about my class?”

It was now or never, I thought to myself.

“I have to be honest with you, Ms. Toshiko. I really loved the time we spent on African scales. That was fucking rad.”

Dirty Projectors’ summer tour:

05.30.10 - Seattle, WA - Sasquatch Music Festival
06.19.10 - Denver, CO - Westword Music Showcase
06.25.10 - London, UK - Barbican
06.27.10 - Pilton, UK - Glastonbury Festival
06.29.10 - Paris, France - Olympia
07.02.10 - Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07.04.10 - Werchter, Belgium - Rockwerchter Festival
07.06.10 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Academy 2
07.09.10 - Balado, UK - T in the Park
07.10.10 - County Kildare, Ireland - Oxegen Festival
07.12.10 - Lyon, France - Les Nuits de Fourviere
07.14.10 - Cartagena, Spain - La Mar De Musicas
07.15.10 - Benicassim, Spain - Benicassim
07.17.10 - Ferropolis, Germany - Melt! Festival
07.18.10 - Suffolk, UK - Latitutde Festival
08.06.10 - Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
09.11.10 - New York, NY - Terminal 5
09.23.10 - Pomona, CA - The Glass House

• Dirty Projectors: http://www.dirtyprojectors.net

[Photo: Fishplums]

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