Icky Blossoms sign to Saddle Creek; prepare to be hazed by Conor Oberst, young’ins
By Emceegreg on Jan 24 2012
Your tween-loving heart will be glad to hear that Icky Blossoms, the band composed of Tilly and The Wall’s Derek Pressnall, vocalist Sarah Bohling, and filmmaker/musician Nik Fackler, have signed to Saddle Creek. Signing with Saddle Creek means more than just a legally binding contract to clean Conor Obert’s teardrop-shaped pool and look after Rilo Kiley’s pet Gila monster — it means you’ve made it!
Icky Blossoms may sound like a rude attack on Mayim Bialik’s appearance and cool hats, but the name also represents a group of friends from Omaha, Nebraska that possibly make dance-pop reminiscent of a gross flower. TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek will help the gang record their debut in the studio, where it is likely that Cursive frontman and Saddle Creek member Tim Kasher will play hidden camera pranks on the band à la the masterpiece television series Punk’d.
If you want an idea of want Icky Blossoms sound like, you can check out two tracks on their Facebook page. That’s as far as I’m going to help you out.
• Icky Blossoms: http://ickyblossoms.com
• Saddle Creek: http://saddle-creek.com
Soul Jazz’s Sounds of the Universe store begets a shiny new record label
By Liz Louche on Jan 24 2012
Baby lambs. Tiny peeping chicks. KITTEHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All newborn things, all adorable. But really — let’s be honest here — is there anything in life more precious than a newborn record label? In these trying times, it gives one heart to see a fledgling label giving it a go, and that’s precisely what the good people at revered label Soul Jazz’s London record store Sounds of the Universe are doing. That’s right! A record label’s store is giving birth to another record store. Babies having kickass babies. Somebody call Maury!
Appropriately enough, the store’s new label shares the same name: Sounds of the Universe. Its inaugural release comes from Chicago electronica dude Jamal ‘Hieroglyphic Being’ Moss, a fellow equally influenced by his hometown’s storied dance music past and the ethereal space strains of the legendary Sun Ra. The Sounds of the Universe label will release Shikaakwa, Moss’ limited-edition one-sided 12-inch named after the Native American word for Chicago, sometime towards the end of January. With hand-etched artwork from Japanese artist 2yang and a limited run of only 300 copies, this puppy, available through the Sounds of the Universe shop and website, will likely sell out quickly. Better break out those nasty bubblegum cigars while you’re at it.
• Sounds of the Universe: http://www.soundsoftheuniverse.com
• Soul Jazz: http://www.souljazzrecords.co.uk
Pelican return with a new EP and a big beak full of slimy, delicious fish
By E. Nagurney on Jan 24 2012
Pelican is a large bird that resides primarily near the water. Pelican is also an instrumental metal band from Chicago. Ha! Got you with the classic bait-and-switch! You clicked this story thinking that it would be about your favorite bird, but now you have to read a story about your favorite instrumental metal band from Chicago. You’ve got to read this and… that sounds like it’s going to be okay for you. Really, what’s left to say about Pelican, the bird? There’s no blood in that stone, if you follow me.
But Pelican, the band? Plenty left to say about them! We could talk about how they haven’t put out anything since 2009’s What We All Come to Need and we just did. Let’s even talk about how they’re breaking that recorded silence by putting out a four song EP called Ataraxia/Taraxis through Southern Lord on April 10. Heck, while we’re chewing the fat, let’s touch on the fact that this marks a new stage in the band’s history, since all four members of Pelican live in different cities, leading to a greater focus on composition and utilizing different recording techniques.
All this talk about Pelican is making me thirsty and also hungry for fish. Let’s sit down and quench our thirsts. Sate our hunger for the sea’s delicious treats. While we’re sitting, we can talk more about Pelican. Did you know they’re going on a European tour in April? They are.
Ataraxia/Taraxis tracklist:
01. Ataraxia
02. Lathe Biosas
03. Parasite Colony
04. Taraxis
Pelican dates:
04.06.12 - Zottegem, Belgium - Dunk! Festival
04.07.12 - London, UK - The Garage *
04.08.12 - Birmingham, UK - Vudu Club *
04.09.12 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
04.10.12 - Glasgow, UK - Stereo
04.11.12 - Manchester, UK - The Ruby Lounge
04.12.12 - Brighton, UK - The Haunt
04.13.12 - Bristol, UK - The Cooler
04.14.12 - Tilburg, Netherlands - Roadburn Festival
04.15.12 - Paris, France - La Maronquinerie
04.16.12 - Karlsruhe, Germany - Jubez &
04.17.12 - Dudingen, Switzerland - Bad Bonn
04.18.12 - Milan, Italy - Magonlia
04.19.12 - Munich, Germany - Feierwerk &
04.20.12 - Berlin, Germany - Cassiopeia &
04.21.12 - Helsinki, Finland - Nosturi
* Chelsea Wolfe
& Tombs
• Pelican: http://www.pelicansong.com
• Southern Lord: http://www.southernlord.com
[Photo: Lisa Shelley]
2 Live Crew prove they can still make you horny by reuniting
By Brittany Flynn on Jan 24 2012
Time to take your pants off and show everyone that neon pink g-string you’ve been wearing since 2 Live Crew had you feeling so horny all those summers ago. There is no better time for a 2 Live Crew reunion, especially as the emcees are in their 50s at this point. If they were to reunite at 65, you’d probably have to see them play nursing home venues, where many a hips would be sure to pop out of joint.
Luther Campbell is all the wiser, so on his stop through the Sundance Film Festival — where he’s promoting a short called The Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke — he announced his group will begin touring this summer. Get ready to pop that coochie and shake that azz all summer long. We’ll have tourdates as they become available.
• 2 Live Crew: http://www.myspace.com/official2livecrew
Colin Stetson announces US tourdates with Sarah Neufeld; quick, get some Kleenex or a tube sock
By Jared Micah on Jan 24 2012
If there’s one guy the writers at Tiny Mix Tapes get a huge boner for, it’s Canadian stack-of-bricks bass saxophonist Colin Stetson, whose album New History Warfare Vol 2: Judges on Constellation made #3 on our year-end list. But for me, it’s less about his lumberjack physique and more about his enormous… saxophone.
This spring, Stetson will arrive in the East Coast with his mammoth horn to stir up our hormones. Alongside the beefcake will be the smoldering sexpot Sarah Neufeld, whose powers of seduction have overtaken the likes of Tim Hecker and who Stetson has performed with in Bell Orchestre and Arcade Fire. You might want to clean your pipes before going to any of these gigs.
Tourdates:
03.23.12 - Durham, NC - Motorco Music Hall $
03.30.12 - Kingston, ON - The Grad Club *
03.31.12 - Waterloo, ON - Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics *
04.01.12 - Buffalo, NY - Big Orbit’s Soundlab *
04.03.12 - Brooklyn, NY - Glasslands *
04.04.12 - Amherst, MA - Hampshire College
04.05.12 - Troy, NY - The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center *
* Sarah Neufeld
$ Tyondai Braxton
• Colin Stetson: http://colinstetson.com
• Constellation: http://cstrecords.com
