Pandimensional Head Trips and Flute Solos: Dungen Rides Again

by Kenny Bloggins on 07-06-2009

Now that Animal Collective (or AnCo, as known on Hipster Runoff) have blown the fuck up and hang tough with David Letterman and Ashton Kutcher and the like, former label and AnCoBros FatCat want some of Domino's current cheese. For the first time ever, the Collective's first two LPs Spirit They've Vanished, Spirit They've Gone and Danse Manatee have received the vinyl treatment, both pressed on audiophile-worthy 180-gram 12-inchers.

Spirit, recorded and released in 2000, was originally issued only on CD. Later, FatCat combined Spirit and experimental sophomore effort Danse Manatee as one priced-to-owned double disc. But who cares about CDs anymore? Now, you can have the full sound spectrum experience with club bangers such as "Chocolate Girl" and "Aah Good Country," the perfect showcase of AnCo's earlier, stranger, and (in this writer's opinion) better work.

Grip 'em here and here while the getting's good. Though, you'll have to import if you live outside the UK/Europe. Did I not mention that?

Now check out AC on three different continents this summer:
07.16.09 - Paris, France - Cigale
07.17.09 - Dour, Belguim - Dour Festival
07.18.09 - Grafenhainichen, Germany - Melt Festival
07.19.09 - Jarocin, Poland - Jarocin Festival
07.20.09 - Graz, Austria - Postgarage
07.21.09 - Ferrara, Italy - Bands Apart Festival @ Piazza Castello
07.22.09 - Rome, Italy - Bands Apart Festival @ Piazza Castello
07.23.09 - San Sebastian, Spain - Jazzaldia at Kursaal
07.26.09 - Nigata, Japan - Fuji Rock Festival
08.08.09 - Chicago, Illinois - Lollapalooza
08.14.09 - Brooklyn, New York - Prospect Park Bandshell
08.15.09 - Brooklyn, New York - Prospect Park Bandshell
08.20.09 - London, UK - Brixton Academy
08.21.09 - Crickhowell, UK - Green Man Festival
09.12.09 - Monticello, New York - All Tommorw's Parties @ Kutchner's

by Kat Gardiner on 07-06-2009

The Skygreen Leopards' website looks like a third-grader's final thesis: a numbered list of the many exciting things there are to learn about leopards (the big cat), both in general and in specific. For example: "3. Leopards have a very beautiful coat with a tawny background and rosettes, that aids them in camouflage. Their coat is distinct from that of Cheetah and Jaguar." Also: "13. Man-eating leopards always operate at night since unlike tigers they never lose their fear of man and only enter human territories in the cover of darkness. This makes them very difficult to counteract." Unfortunately, due to time constraints, modesty, or faulty encyclopedias, the band, The Skygreen Leopards, missed some key facts about their own -- musical -- variety of the species.

I took it upon myself to continue where they left off:
14. The Skygreen leopard is a very rare species, boasting only two cats; one named Glenn Donaldson and the other Donovan Quinn. Donaldson is not only a big green cat, but is also the co-founder of the Bay-area experimental folk label Jewelled Antler

15. The Skygreen Leopards first release on Jagjaguwar (sixth total if you're keeping track at home) came out in 2006 and was called Disciples of California. It was and is a very dreamy, pastoral folk album that reminds me of wind rushing through long grass on a day in early September

16. The Skygreen Leopards are set to release an album called Gorgeous Johnny on July 21, also on the Jagjaguwar label

17. Jagjaguwars and Skygreen Leopards are third cousins twice removed.

by E. Nagurney on 07-02-2009

If this whole musician thing doesn’t work out for War On Drugs guitarist Kurt Vile, he can always go work in supervillainy. I am sure Vile's a lovely man, but his name seems more suited to creating nuclear monstrosities and doing battle with Iron Man than it is to playing woozy rock. But until Vile grows a robotic crab arm through some experiment gone awry, the songwriter will be sticking with making some songs, which he’ll perform across the East Coast and California these next two months.

Then again, I’m not so sure Vile isn’t organizing an evil Indie Rock Legion of Doom. Aided by the bloodthirsty Violators on the first leg of the tour, Vile -- who recently signed with Matador (TMT News) and released a new album God Is Saying This To You... on Mexican Summer -- will recruit some of the most dreaded names in indie rock on various dates of this tour: Evil masterminds Sonic Youth! The ghostly Espers! International psych-rock bandits Dungen! Deadly falsetto warriors Built to Spill! Frightening times we live in.

The Indie Rock Legion of Doom vs. The Justice Venues of America:
07.02.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory *+
07.04.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Woodsist/Captured Tracks Fest *
07.05.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie (KRAAK Fest) *
07.17.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Bruars Falls *^&
07.18.09 - Boston, MA - Church (Homegrown Fest) *^
07.19.09 - Montague, MA - Montague Bookmill *^
07.23.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s @&
08.11.09 - Baltimore, MD - Talking Head Club #
08.13.09 - Asheville, NC - Transfigurations * (Harvest Record Fest)
08.14.09 - New York, NY - Cakeshop
08.15.09 - Ridgewood, NY - Silent Barn
08.16.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Vox Populi
08.19.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Rittenhouse Square *
08.25.09 - Santa Ana, CA - Galaxy Theatre %
08.26.09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour $
08.29.09 - Big Sur, CA - Kemado/Mexican Summer/Folk Yeah Festival $
08.30.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA $
09.01.09 - Portland, OR - TBD $

* Violators

+ Sonic Youth

^ Blues Control

& Coconuts

@ Tyvek

# Espers

% Built To Spill/Woods

$ Dungen/Woods

by Nobodaddy on 07-02-2009

While Wisconson-based, snarky, smarmy, snarly folk-punk-alterna-blues troupe Violent Femmes impatiently waits their turn in the numbingly long line that currently sprawls outward from the “MID-'80s–MID-'90s BANDS WAITING TO REUNITE, TOUR, PLAY ALBUMS IN THEIR ENTIRETY AT FESTS, AND TALK/NOT TALK ABOUT RECORDING A NEW ALBUM TOGETHER” counter at the DMV or wherever, singer Gordon Gano has chosen to pass the interim time by releasing a new album... for the first time in some seven years (the Femmes must be getting close to the front of that line by now).

Due September 15 on the niche-market-elder-statesmen-loving Yep Roc label, the new album Under the Sun is credited to Gordon Gano & The Ryans and is apparently “a collaboration” between Gano and Bogmen leaders/scorers of tepid films (Fever Pitch, anyone?) Brendan & Billy Ryan. Take it away, glowing press release:

“The music that inspired his collaboration with the Ryan brothers spawned during fertile sessions in the café’s, bars and laundromats of New York City’s West Village [...] Brendan and Billy Ryan bring musicality and new color to Gordon’s visceral lyricism and signature adenoidal drawl. A filled-out next chapter to the music of the Femmes, Under the Sun is the music of a mature band, a band made of men not boys, men who have supplanted wonder for angst, controlled passion for reckless...” blah blah blah, bloop, bleep-bleep blah. You get the idea: it’s the best record ever. It’s for old people. Let’s move on to the details.

The whole shebang was largely recorded at the Carriage House in Stamford, CT and features Gordon “2G” Gano on vocals/guitar/violin. As for the Ryan brothers, Brendan handles keyboards/accordion/horn duties, while Billy tackles guitar/backing vocals. Other must assuredly competent-as-fuck but appositely low-profile contributors include Frank Black... whoops, I mean, Frank Ferrer (sorry to pique your interest like that) of Guns N' Roses and Psychedelic Furs on drums, and Lonnie Hillyer of Maggie’s Dream and Bernie Worrell on bass. Some real unit-movers, huh? Meanwhile, Phil Palazzolo (The New Pornographers, Neko Case) engineered and mixed the project. There is no tracklist as of yet, but rest assured, if we get our hands on one... uh, and if it’s a slow news day, we’ll go ahead and post one for you.

by Liz Louche on 07-01-2009

I imagine The Clientele as some sort of mystery band — the sort of music you hear drifting toward you on a lazy summer breeze in that just slightly magical time as the sun sets, before the moon rises. Dusk, many would say -- although, clearly The Clientele would call it “the gloaming.” It’s hard for me to imagine a few normal-looking dudes and one lady sitting around hashing out what kind of drum beat to play when and who owes how much on the rent money for their practice space. So thank God there are Merge Records press releases to make that vital connection between sordid everyday reality and mystical fan hypothesis for me.

Check this out! Sure, the band formed in suburban Hampshire, England several years ago, and practiced in a thatched cottage. Sure, the singer is named Alasdair (MacLean’s the surname), and rumor has it that early on in their career, the group nailed down their stance on Surrealist poetry (pro), versus their collective stance on blues-style solos and aggro shouting (con). I hear what you’re saying. This band sounds like it’s populated by the lovable pre-war British creatures of The Wind in the Willows. But trust me — they do things that aren’t 100% bucolic and Albion sometimes.

Things like... releasing albums! The Clientele have three full-lengths under their belt so far, as well as their debut collection of early 7-inch singles entitled Suburban Light. They also contributed a track to the Sandra Bullock/Keanu Reeves time travel weepie The Lake House. And now they have a new album due October 6 on Merge, Bonfires on the Heath, which sounds like pretty much the most delightful foray into Wuthering Heights territory this side of Kate Bush.

The band is performing later this summer at Merge’s anniversary showcase in New York.
07.19.09 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg

Tracklisting:

1. I Wonder Who We Are
2. Bonfires On The Heath
3. Harvest Time
4. Never Anyone But You
5. Jennifer & Julia
6. Sketch
7. Tonight
8. Share the Night
9. I Know I'll See Your Face
10. Never Saw Them Before
11. Graven Wood
12. Walking in the Park