Pelican Sign to Southern Lord, Announce Tour
By Kid Midnight on Feb 9 2009
As announced to me personally through telepathy, instrumental metal band Pelican have left one respected indie-metal label and signed with a new respected indie-metal label. Pelican have up until this point released the bulk of their recordings through Hydra Head Records, including their amazing debut full-length Australasia and their most recent work City of Echoes. However, upon the release of their forthcoming EP (currently being recorded at Red Room studios in Seattle, WA), they will officially be under the Southern Lord label.
Guitarist Trevor De Brauw gives us a hint of what we can expect from the newest material: “The new material promises to be heavier, darker and very "riff-oriented." Well, butter me up and call me excited! I love riffs! The band further teases us that a “very special guest guitarist” who “has been very influential to the band” will be making an appearance on the EP. I’m betting that it’s a guy with a bunch of tattoos and some sort of interesting facial hair. That or Kevin Shields -- he’s everywhere these days.
In addition to the new label, Pelican are also heading out on a tour. Yay! The tour, alongside new label mates Wolves in the Throne Room (this is surely the best Wolf-related band name yet!), features a return to SXSW for the Southern Lord showcase. The band also assures us that, upon completion of the musical road-trip, the band will hunker down in their power cave and begin hammering out their fourth full-length.
Pelican March/April 2009 tour:
03.15.09 - Iowa City IA - The Picador *
03.16.09 - Kansas City, KS - Riot Room *
03.17.09 - Tulsa, OK - The Marquee *
03.18.09 - San Antonio, TX - Scout Bar * plus Tricky
03.19.09 - Little Rock, AR - Vino's **
03.20.09 - Austin, TX - Elmo's - SXSW
03.22.09 - Austin, TX - Red 7 **
03.25.09 - Tempe, AZ - The Sets **
03.26.09 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah **
03.27.09 - West Hollywood, CA - The Troubadour **
03.28.09 - San Francisco, CA - Slim's **
03.29.09 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre **
03.30.09 - Bellingham, WA - Nightlight **
03.31.09 - Seattle , WA - Neumo's **
04.02.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Club Vegas **
04.03.09 - Denver, CO - The Marquis Theatre **
04.05.09 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle **
* Tombs, Dredg
** Tombs, Wolves In The Throne Room
Women Add U.S. Tour; ATTENTION: Horny Guys, This Is Probably Not What You Think
By Scott Lauer on Feb 9 2009
Lo-fi psych sensation Women will be making a trek this spring to prove to the masses that they are indeed men -- that, and to show off tracks from their particularly solid debut LP Women (TMT Review). Although it's a blogger-happy song, “Black Rice” has still got to be one of the best tracks to come out of this millennium, and the rest of the album ain't too shabby either.
According to Jagjaguwar, Women’s label, the group will be setting out this spring to show off their awesomeness for crowds in the United States and Canada, with help from Abe Vigoda, Crystal Stilts, and Chad Van Gaalen. The dates with Chad Van Gaalen especially make sense, since he both recorded Women's album for them and has had Women members in his touring band.
Women tourdates:
02.13.09 - Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hounds
02.14.09 - Glasgow, UK - Captain's Rest
02.15.09 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
02.16.09 - Manchester, UK - Night & Day Cafe
02.17.09 - London, UK - White Heat Mayfair @ Madam Jojo's
02.19.09 - Kortrijk, Belgium - De Kreun !
02.20.09 - Lille, France - L'Aeronef w. The War On Drugs
02.21.09 - St. Malo, France - La Route Du Rock Festival
02.22.09 - Paris, France - Maroquinerie
02.23.09 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
02.24.09 - Hannover, Germany - Ruby Tuesday @ Cafe Glocksee
02.26.09 - Berlin, Germany - Magnet Club
02.27.09 - Leipzig, Germany - NATO
03.01.09 - Lloseta-Mallorca, Spain - Teatre Lloseta
03.02.09 - Elche, Spain - Centre Cultural Escorxador
03.03.09 - London, UK - Scala
03.08.09 - Fargo, ND - Aquarium
03.09.09 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock
03.10.09 - Mt. Vernon, IA - Cornell College
03.11.09 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
03.12.09 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
03.14.09 - New York, NY - Music Hall Of Williamsburg*
03.15.09 - Washington DC - DC9*
03.16.09 - Lexington, KY - Al's Bar*
03.17.09 - Jackson, MS - MS121 Milsaps*
03.18.09 - Houston, TX - Rudyard's*
03.19.09 - Austin, TX - SXSW
03.22.09 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada#
03.23.09 - Norman, OK - Opolis#
03.28.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland+
03.30.09 - Visalia, CA - The Cellar Door+
03.31.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill+
04.02.09 - Portland, OR - Holocene+
04.03.09 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey+
04.04.09 - Victoria, BC - Sugar+
! The Constantines
* Crystal Stilts
# Abe Vigoda
+ Chad Van Gaalen
Mario Speedwagon’s Under The Radar News Roundup: Ticketmaster Takes Over The World, 4AD Signs Some Bitches, Crystal Antlers To Release LP, Decemberists Debut New Album At SXSW
By Mario Speedwagon on Feb 6 2009
Hey ya’ll.
- Ticketmaster (ugh) and Live Nation are close to merging into one, big, corporate mess. The company will be called Live Nation Ticketmaster and would be a concert promoter and ticket supplier all-in-one kinda management company. One potential problem would be that, since the new company would be, like, some sort of superpower, they’d have to be under review by antitrust authorities. Ticketmaster sucks, by the way. The Boss thinks so too.
- 4AD signed a shit-ton of bands: the latest signings to the label are The Big Pink, Broken Records, and Camera Obscura.
- Crystal Antlers are going to be dropping their LP, Tentacles, via Touch and Go on April 7, 2009. I dug their EP, so I’m excited to hear it. Meanwhile, the band is currently on tour in Europe and has a few dates in the states afterwards with the Cold War Kids. Check it out.
- So, if you happen to be going to SXSW this March and also like The Decemberists (one of these two things apply to me; I’ll let you guess), you can check out a full performance of their latest album The Hazards of Love at the NPR showcase on March 18, 2009 at Stubbs. NPR will broadcast and webcast the entire concert, which will be anchored by Bob “All Songs Considered” Boilen, Carrie “Sleater-Kinney/NPR BLGGR” Brownstein, and David “KUT” Brown.
Yep, that’s it. Oh also, check this out. HILARIOUS.
Why Cut Out the Middle Man? Yaris and Urban Outfitters Release Benefit Compilation
By Ez Green on Feb 6 2009
Urban Outfitters and Toyota aren't the kind of corporations who follow the rules or use vowels in their proper places. They say "fuck you grammar, wr done with yr oppression." They're the 21-century Allen Ginsberg and Thurston Moore of the manufacturing and retail sectors. At last that is how they see themselves, or how they want you to see them.
On January 27, Toyota -- under their branding of their hip new station wagony car thing, the Yaris -- and Urban Outfitters -- that store where your little sister shops -- recently released a Free Yr Radio compilation. The digital release features (a) exclusive tracks from bands that people who read this site tend to like, and (b) an avenue to recruit a new target market for Toyota and UO products. The album is available exclusively at Insound for 99¢, with proceeds going to 12 independent radio stations that are probably out of range of wherever it is that you live.
In the words of their PR strategists, the corporate duo's goal for the Free Yr Radio campaign is to "start a conversation with their customers about the importance of independent radio and to encourage people to talk about, listen to and support their favorite stations." What a nice sentiment.
Personally, I think people who "illegally" download music should be sent to Gitmo for one last taste of real U.S. justice before it closes in 2010 (maybe). But those of you with no respect for the rule of law could probably grab these albums off the internet for free, make a donation to your local community radio station, feel good about yourself, and avoid having to participate this PR campaign altogether. It's yr choice.
Free Yr Radio tracklist:
1. !!! – Must Be The Moon (Live at KEXP)
2. Chairlift – At My Side
3. Yeasayer – Final Path (Daytrotter Sessions)
4. White Williams – Blue Steel
5. Dan Deacon – Cave Birth
6. No Age – Padded Chair
7. Mudhoney – The Lucky Ones (Live)
8. King Khan & Saba Lou – Past and Gone
9. The Secret Machines – The Walls Are Starting To Crack (Live at KEXP)
10. The Walkmen – In The New Year (Live)
11. Tokyo Police Club – Your English Is Good (K-Os Remix)
12. Jamie Lidell – Rope of Sand (Live at Austin City Limits)
