Neon Indian plays North America like a giant synthesizer

By Aaron Norman on

Neon Indian plays North America like a giant synthesizer

Alan Palomo is Neon Indian – a 21-year-old whose debut album Psychic Chasms caught the attention of blogs last year… and eventually everyone else. From closely guarded internet secret to Jimmy Fallon guest musician (this past February), it will be interesting to see what effect this propulsion has on Mr. Palomo.

Alan’s music is essentially lo-fi electronic pop; very relaxed, some have dubbed this amalgamation “chillwave” but it’s doubtful this term will stick. More than likely you’ve heard this album, or at least the singles, whether you’ve wanted to or not. If you want to see it in a live format without Jimmy Fallon standing near you, you’ll have the chance this summer on Neon Indian’s North American tour.

Here are the dates:

05.12.10 - New York, NY - Terminal 5 *
05.13.10 - Boston, MA - House of Blues *
05.29.10 - Calgary, AB - Hi Fi Club
05.31.10 - George, WA - Sasquatch
06.02.10 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
06.03.10 - Costa Mesa, CA - Detroit Bar
06.04.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Natural History Museum / First Fridays #
06.05.10 - Corvalis, OR - Flat Tall Music Festival
06.07.10 - Austin, TX - Emo’s
06.09.10 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
06.10.10 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
06.11.10 - Cincinnati, OH - Fountain Square
06.12.10 - Pittsburgh, PA - Brillobox
06.13.10 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
06.17.10 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
06.19.10 - Denver, CO - Westword Music Showcase
07.17.10 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom

* Massive Attack
# Peanut Butter Wolf

• Neon Indian: http://www.myspace.com/neonindian
• Lefse Records: http://lefserecords.com

José González’s revived old band Junip goes on tour

By Annapocalypse on 05-04-2010

Remember José González? Sure you do, you probably had his cover of The Knife’s song “Heartbeats” on some sappy mix CD somewhere. Well, González has emerged from hiding with a new… err, old band in tow. Originally formed in the late 90s, Junip was González’s band before his singer/songwriter career took off. González has announced that he’s reforming Junip for an EP and full-length album (TMT report), in addition to a freshly announced summer tour. The still-untitled releases will come out later this year on Mute Records. In a press release, González said about his band, “We are really happy to have had the time to write and record these songs and now are excited to have the opportunity to play them live.” He’s probably stoked to be relevant again, too.

Junip on the road:

05.28.10 - Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound Festival
06.08.10 - Boston, MA - Great Scott
06.09.10 - Brooklyn, NY - Knitting Factory
06.10.10 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
06.12.10 - Milawukee, WI - Turner Hall
06.13.10 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
06.16.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Eagle Rock Arts Center
06.18.10 - San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop
06.19.10 - Seattle, WA - Vera Project
07.21.10 - Nijmegen, The Netherlands - De Affaire Festival
07.23.10 - Gent, Belgium - Boomtown Festival
08.12-14.10 - Rees-Haldern am Niederrhein, Germany - Haldern Pop Festival
08.12-14.10 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Way Out West Festival
08.15.10 - Leicester, UK - Summer Sundae Festival

• Junip: http://www.junip.net
• José González: http://www.jose-gonzalez.com
• Mute: http://www.mute.com

The Black Keys announce deluxe edition of Brothers, expand tour to October

By E. Nagurney on 05-04-2010

If there’s one thing The Black Keys can do, it’s play big-riffed blues revival rock. If there’s another thing The Black Keys can do, it’s make a sweet blues face (and, if you don’t know what I mean, just Google “blues face”) while playing the aforementioned big-riffed blues revival rock. If there’s a third thing The Black Keys can do, it’s go on tour playing that big-riffed blues revival rock and make some serious blues faces. The Akron-based duo will end up doing all these things this summer, as they head off to tour all around the United States. Along the way, they’ll hit up some festivals (Bonnaroo, Wanee Music Festival) and some late night shows (Letterman, Fallon) that’ll take them all the way to Fall.

The group has also announced that a limited deluxe-edition of their new record Brothers (out May 18) is available for pre-order at their website. Included in the deluxe edition package will be a 56-page hardbound book of photos, the Brothers album on CD, digital downloads of the tracks “Tighten Up” and “New Girl” delivered to fans upon ordering, a download code for the record, and an exclusive 9 ¾” x 6 ½” lithograph, some of which will be individually numbered by the band.

The Black Keys tourdates:

05.20.10 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden *
05.25.10 - New York, NY - “Late Show with David Letterman”
05.26.10 - New York, NY - “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon”
06.02.10 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot !
06.03.10 - Denver, CO - The Fillmore !
06.04.10 - Kansas City, MO - The Crossroads !
06.08.10 - Minneapolis, MN - First Ave !
06.09.10 - Minneapolis, MN - First Ave !
06.10.10 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant !
06.11.10 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
07.27.10 - New York, NY - Central Park Summerstage
07.28.10 - New York, NY - Central Park Summerstage
07.23.10 - Constellation Brands- Marvin Sands PAC - Canandaigua, NY§
07.24.10 - Nautica Amphitheatre - Cleveland, OH
07.26.10 - DAR Constitution Hall - Washington, D.C. #
07.27.10 - Central Park SummerStage - New York, NY#
07.28.10 - Central Park SummerStage - New York, NY#
07.30.10 - Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing - Philadelphia, PA#
07.31.10 - Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion #
08.01.10 - Montreal, QC - Osheaga Festival
08.03.10 - Toronto, ON - Kool Haus #
08.06.10 - Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
08.08.10 - Des Moines, IA - Val Air Ballroom #
08.09.10 - Omaha, NE - The Anchor Inn #
08.11.10 - Louisville, KY - Iroquois Amphitheatre #
08.12.10 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium #
08.13.10 - Columbus, OH - The LC Amphitheatre #
08.14.10 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit #
09.03.10 - Indianapolis, IN - Verizon Wireless Music Center ^
09.04.10 - Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center ^
09.05.10 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom %
09.07.10 - Burgettstown, PA - First Niagara Pavilion ^
09.08.10 - Hershey, PA - Hershey Park Stadium & Star Pavilion ^
09.09.10 - Charlottesville, VA - Charlottesville Pavilion %
09.10.10 - Charlotte, NC - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre ^
09.11.10 - Virginia Beach, VA - Virginia Beach Amphitheatre ^
09.13.10 - Raleigh, NC - Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre ^
09.14.10 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel %
09.15.10 - Atlanta, GA - Lakewood Amphitheatre ^
09.17.10 - West Palm Beach, FL - Cruzan Amphitheatre ^
09.18.10 - Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre ^
09.20.10 - Birmingham, AL - Verizon Wireless Music Center ^
09.21.10 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues %
09.22.10 - Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion ^
09.23.10 - Dallas, TX - Superpages.com Center ^
09.25.10 - San Diego, CA - Soma §§
09.27.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium §§
09.29.10 - Oakland, CA - The Fox §§
10.02.10 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre §§
10.03.10 - Vancouver, BC - The Orpheum §§
10.04.10 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom §§
10.10.10 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom §§

* Pearl Jam
! Brian Olive
§ The Flaming Lips
# The Morning Benders
^ Kings of Leon
% The Whigs
§§ Nicole Atkins

• The Black Keys: http://www.theblackkeys.com

[Photo: James Carney]

Reggie Watts to kick audiences in the brain on Conan O’Brien tour, release new CD/DVD

By Nat Towsen on 05-03-2010

I believe the first words of my gasping reaction to Reggie Watts’ appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon were, “I didn’t know you were allowed to do that on television!” Watts had somehow managed to achieve the psychedelic intensity of his live performances in spite of the natural reductions caused by broadcast television and proximity to Jimmy Fallon. Months later, in an event that retroactively rendered my reeling exclamation prophetic, comedy hero Conan O’Brien asked Watts to join him on the Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour, elevating the tour from pre-legendary to pre-traumatic.

For those unfamiliar with the bear-shaped mouth-music maestro, Reggie Watts is the lead singer of patchwork-genre band Maktub. In recent years, Watts has branched out on his own with an act that combines live-sampled singing and beatboxing with absurd, impression-based, stream-of-consciousness rambling. His live performances are often spontaneous, the tech setup worked into the act, as he performs in several shows per night. Regardless, Watts frequently achieves a level of transcendence otherwise uncommon to the New York City comedy scene that has come to adore and support him.

If you need more convincing to pre-order Reggie Watts’ new CD/DVD, Why $#!+ So Crazy? (due May 18 in Europe and July 6 in the US), turn off your lights and watch the video for “Fuck Shit Stack” in HD. Don’t have any eyeballs? Listen to some tracks on his Muxtape page, using ears.

Reggie’s still on tour with Conan O’Brien. Check out the remaining dates:

05.05-07.10 - Brighton, UK - Brighton Festival
05.09.10 - Boulder, CO - Mackey Auditorium *
05.10.10 - Denver, CO - Ellie Caulkins Opera House *
05.13.10 - Dallas, TX - McFarlin Memorial Auditorium *
05.14.10 - Austin TX - Austin Music Hall *
05.15.10 - Tulsa, OK - The Brady Theater *
05.16.10 - Kansas City, MO - Midland Theater *
05.18.10 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theater *
05.19.10 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theater *
05.20.10 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theater *
05.22.10 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall *
05.30.10 - Atlantic City, NJ - The Borgata, 7:00 & 10:30 shows *
06.01.10 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall *
06.02.10 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall *
06.04.10 - Boston, MA - Wang Center *
06.05.10 - Boston, MA - Wang Center *
06.06.10 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun *
06.07.10 - Upper Darby, PA - Tower Theater *
06.08.10 - Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall *
06.14.10 - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theater *

* Conan O’Brien

Why $#!+ So Crazy? tracklist:

01. Fuck Shit Stack
02. Thanks for Coming
03. A Future in the Future
04. Squirrel Joke
05. Get Your Shoes On
06. Muffins
07. Social Construct Intro
08. Social Construct
09. 7 Xanax, Glass of Wine
10. Rainbows
11. Gnome Sayin’?
12. Tuck Tuck Squirrel
13. My History Thus Far
14. Fields of Donegal
15. Butter + Toast

• Reggie Watts: http://reggiewatts.com
• Comedy Central: http://comedycentral.com

The Most Serene Republic release new digital EP, tour a largely chaotic republic (America)

By Kid Midnight on 05-03-2010

Shit, The Most Serene Republic are (despite their band name) violently pointing a gun at my head right now and forcing me to tell you the following!! First off, they want you to know that they have a new song that is available for free download on their website. The song is called “Photocall” and features samples from Jon Brion’s work for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Oh god! Just don’t shoot me, Most Serene Republic! Please! I’ll swear I’ll tell them anything!

Okay, okay, okay: now they want me to tell you that their video for “Heavens to Purgatory,” directed by Ben Steiger, is nominated for the Juno award for “Video of the Year!” Congratulate them! Please! Oh, and, and, they also want me to let you know about their new video for “Jelly Chamber,” which is a track off their new six-song digital EP, Fantasick Impossibliss. The EP is available tomorrow on the band’s own label, Home Of The Rebels, and you can watch the video at the Chocolate Grinder. Here’s the — OW, FUCK — tracklisting:

01. Comeuppance
02. Pink Noise
03. Jelly Chamber
04. The Church of Acorns
05. Ache of Goon
06. Fantasick Impossibliss

So what else do you want me to tell them?! Please, just point the gun away from my baby! I had nothing to do with this review!

Okay, finally, The Most Serene Republic want you to know that they will be heading out on a spring co-headlining tour with Annuals this May!! Here are the dates, which I swear on my life are accurate:

05.05.10 - Pontiac, MI - The Crofoot
05.06.10 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
05.07.10 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
05.08.10 - Minneapolis, MN - The 400 Bar
05.11.10 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile
05.12.10 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
05.14.10 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
05.15.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland
05.16.10 - Phoenix, AZ - Rhythm Room
05.19.10 - Austin, TX - Emo’s
05.20.10 - Houston, TX - Mangos
05.21.10 - Denton, TX - Hailey’s
05.23.10 - St. Louis, MO - Old Rock House
06.15.10 – Washington, DC @ DC9
06.16.10 – Philadelphia, PA @ North Star Bar
06.17.10 – Boston, MA - Great Scott
06.18.10 – Brooklyn, NY - Knitting Factory
06.19.10 – Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell’s
06.20.10 – New York, NY - Mercury Lounge

PLEASE CALL THE COPS! I’m not joking around, The Most Serene Republic have a gun to my head and they keep making me do this and I just want to take my baby home and nourish it… maybe if I just… *BANG!*

[ed: TMT would like to take this time to mourn the violent and unexpected passing of Kid Midnight. Condolence cards are discouraged.]

• The Most Serene Republic: http://www.themostserenerepublic.com
• Arts&Crafts: http://www.arts-crafts.ca

I have heard the future and it is horrible: The Chap condense new album to under four minutes, release as free preview to longer, more boring version

By Nat Towsen on 05-03-2010

To tease the hearts of buzzy experimental pop fans who rabidly await the release of their fourth album, Well Done Europe, The Chap have used technology brought from the future, in a time machine, to condense the entire album down to three minutes and twenty-nine seconds. But why make this version a preview? Why release the long version at all? Will we really have time for long music in the future?

And why stop there? If you can condense one album to the length of a song, I want an album in which all of the songs are albums. Do you hear me, future? I want a pogo stick that never tips over and a horse with a British accent. I want music that makes time last longer.

Listen to the condensed LP, courtesy of Bandcamp. It’s definitely worth the time. Then check out the condensed lyrics here.

Well Done Europe arrives July 6 (May 24 in Europe) through Lo Recordings, and is available in a deluxe edition that includes an entire meal in a pill and a car that is also a pill.

Tracklist:

01. We’ll See to Your Breakdown
02. Even Your Friend
03. We Work in Bars
04. Obviously
05. Gimme Legs
06. Well Done You
07. Nevertheless, The Chap
08. Pain Fun
09. Torpor
10. Maroccan Nights
11. Few Horoscope
12. Chalet Chalet

• The Chap: http://www.thechap.org
• Lo: http://www.lorecordings.com

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