Bobby Birdman Is Back: With a Quick Swoop, He Unveils He’s Got New Moods
By Jon Lorenz on 11-11-2009
Bobby Birdman... remember him? It's been three years since he's released a record, so his name has seemed to fade a bit, but back in the day he was touring with Will Oldham and fellow counterparts YACHT and Dirty Projectors and releasing records on Hush, Not Not Fun, and States Rights. Now he's back, and the artsy crooner's got a new record for ya. As of November 10 (a.k.a. YESTERDAY), you can pick up the ol' Birdman's New Moods, out on Fryk Beat, at record stores near you. So put on them dancin' shoes cause Bobby B. has got some tunes that will make you do the jitterbug in hyperspeed!
New Moods is said to be Birdman's "most focused and complete musical effort to date; upbeat pop anthems jostle up against shimmering slow a cappella numbers, while New Orleans bounce, dancehall, and hyphy funnel noisily into each self-produced pop number. Sun-drenched guitars and Bobby Birdman's characteristic, unfuckwithable new-school croon wash over drumline weirdness and tyrannical sub bass, like a rogue wave on the Malibu beaches he frequently surfs."
Sounds fun right? Wanna hear more? Well, let me tell you that Birdman's "melodies are so irresistible that they hook into a timeless, Van Dyke Parks-cum-Perry Como sound that's as at home blasting out of a tape deck on your beach towel as it is in the club." Sound enticing yet? No? Well, why don't you just take a trip over to RCRDLBL and take a listen to "Only for a While" and see how ya feel after that.
New Moods tracklisting:
1. Only for a While
2. Dust Design
3. What You Say
4. Weighty Wait
5. Victory At Sea
6. Bloody Mess
7. Silent But Violent
8. You'd Be Surprised
9. Setting Sun
10. Truth Be Told
11. Well Sprung
12. Back and Forth
Tortoise Setting Off for European Tour
By Aaron Norman on 11-10-2009
Chicago band Tortoise, after only a
short break, is once again setting off on tour. However, unlike their
Beacons of Ancestorship tour earlier this year, which featured
almost exclusively U.S. dates, this time around Tortoise is packing
for Europe. Kicking off at Barcelona's International Jazz
Festival and ending in the U.K. with some guests at the All Tomorrow’s
Parties 10-year anniversary show, Tortoise will be looping through
Europe and playing a total of 20 shows in 11 countries.
As a band, Tortoise is pushing 20 years and still going strong, with six albums under their belt spanning over a decade. Here's hoping for at least another decade of Tortoise
11.18.09 - Barcelona, Spain - ES Jazz Festival
11.19.09 - Esch sur Alzette, Luxembourg - Kulturfabrik
11.20.09 - Leuven, Belgium - Stuk
11.21.09 - Kortrijk, Belgium - NEXT Festival
11.22.09 - London, England - Royal Festival Hall
11.24.09 - Rubigen, Switzerland - Mühle Hunziken
11.25.09 - Rome, Italy - Circolo Degli Artisti
11.26.09 - Florence, Italy - Vipertheatre
11.27.09 - Bologna, Italy - Estragon
11.28.09 - Milan, Italy - Magazzini Generali
11.29.09 - Zurich, Switzerland - Stall 6
11.30.09 - Erlangen, Germany - E-Werk
12.01.09 - Leipzig, Germany - Werk II
12.02.09 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega Jr
12.04.09 - Olso, Norway - Rockefeller
12.07.09 - Poznan, Poland - Slodownia @ Stary Browar
12.08.09 - Bochum, Germany - Bahnhof Langendreer
12.09.09 - Paris, France - Alhambra
12.10.09 - Nantes, France - l'Olympic
12.11.09 - Minehead, UK - ATP 10 Year Anniversary Festival *
* Melvins, Shellac, and For Carnation
The Magnetic Fields to Release Realism in January 2010
By Mr P on 11-10-2009
The Magnetic Fields are back and presumably better than ever. Their eighth LP, Realism, is set for release January 26 via Nonesuch. Aside from the title, release date, label, and tracklisting, we ain't got much else to say. But I bet it'll be as compelling as 2008's Distortion (TMT Review). I mean, why not?
Realism tracklisting:
1. You Must Be Out of Your Mind
2. Interlude
3. We Are Having a Hootenanny
4. I Don’t Know What to Say
5. The Dolls’ Tea Party
6. Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree
7. Walk a Lonely Road
8. Always Already Gone
9. Seduced and Abandoned
10. Better Things
11. Painted Flower
12. The Dada Polka
13. From a Sinking Boat
Jack White Turns Down Slash; Slash Disappointed, Crying
By Kid Midnight on 11-10-2009
Slash, former lead guitarist for hair-metal maestros Guns N' Roses, was pretty upset that Axl Rose actually managed to get Chinese Democracy out; he, like everyone else on the planet who wasn’t Axl Rose, thought that the album would never actually be released. Well, as we all know, the album is totally available for purchase, but this whole situation had Slash pretty upset, so he decided that, in order to feel better, he has to release a bitchin’ solo CD.
Slash called up all of his famous friends -- people like Adam Levine, Nicole Scherzinger, Iggy Pop, Cypress Hill, Fergie, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Meat Loaf, Dave Grohl, Flea, Chris Cornell, and every non-lead singer member of Guns N' Roses -- wrote a bunch of songs, and set about making that bitchin’ album. But then Slash realized that one of his songs had no vocals. So, accordingly, he called up Jack White, because Jack White is already in a bunch of bands and Slash totally digs Jack White.
Then the unexpected happen: “I wanted to get Jack White to sing on something, but he didn’t want to sing. He said ‘I’ll play drums, I’ll play guitar, but I don’t wanna sing.’ He was one guy that I wanted to work with. Pretty much everyone else that I went after I managed to get.”
Hiatus Never Means Having to Say You’re Sorry: The Return of Field Music Imminent!
By David Nadelle on 11-10-2009
No matter what anyone tells you, there are only two possible outcomes when bands split up: 1. One part of the group becomes arena-selling megastars while the other part(s) withers and dies from talent/attention envy, and 2. All parties soldier on releasing terrible records on their own, stubbornly refusing to admit that despite wanting to bludgeon their former bandmate(s) nightly, they can't possibly survive without the healthy competition and creative collaboration their union once provided. Those are the two split scenarios. There are no others.
Acts going on hiatus are a trickier breed to classify. Often a "hiatus" is just another way to say "we need to see other people... permanently" or "we're really splitting up but we don't want to hurt your feelings." So it was with great trepidation that lovers of Sunderland's Field Music first read that their heroes were taking a break from playing and recording together some two-and-a-half years ago. Unexpectedly, but not overly surprising given the members' talents as songsmiths, both David and Peter Brewis stepped up large by releasing killer albums through their non-Field Music projects in the interim -- Peter with his self-titled masterclass The Week That Was and David with Sea from Shore (TMT Review) by his School of Language project.
The sheer amount of reunion shows and "comin'-out-of-retirement" bullshit means most semi-splits are never permanent and Field Music kept the promise they made to return by announcing that they have resumed activities under the Field Music banner and have a 20-track DOUBLE album coming out in the new year. If you're excited now, try not to blow your load too early. If you're not excited, you'll have time to plan your eruption. Measure is due February 16, 2010, a Tuesday, on Memphis Industries/Revolver.
Measure:
1. In the Mirror
2. Them That Do Nothing
3. Each Time Is a New Time
4. Measure
5. Effortlessly
6. Clear Water
7. Lights Up
8. All You'd Ever Need to Say
9. Let's Write a Book
10. You and I
11. The Rest Is Noise
12. Curves of the Needle
13. Choose Numbers
14. The Wheels Are in Place
15. First Come the Wish
16. Precious Plans
17. See You Later
18. Something Familiar
19. Share the Words
20. It's About Time
There will be a full tour announced closer to Measure's release date but the Brothers Brewis will play two U.S. dates at the beginning of December, bookended by shows in the U.K
11.13.09 - Liverpool, England - The Bumper
11.19.09 - Manchester, England - Deaf Institute
11.21.09 - Glasgow, Scotland - Captains Rest
11.22.09 - Edinburgh, Scotland - Sneaky Pete's
11.27.09 - Newcastle, England - The Cluny
11.28.09 - Newcastle, England - The Cluny
12.03.09 - Brooklyn, NY - The Bell House
12.05.09 - Chicago, IL - The Beat Kitchen
01.07.10 - London, England - Hoxton Bar & Grill
